Chapter 4: Guild’s artifacts.

Chapter 3: The Guild’s Artifact.

“Kieeeek!!”

As Redvine collapsed with a scream, its body vanished, and a giant magic stone dropped.

At the same time, a gate opened, making it clear that the hellish place had been cleared.

“W-we won!”

“We’re alive! We survived!”

The Crow Guild members rejoiced at their survival, but then suddenly stopped cheering when they saw the blood-soaked girl at their center.

She had lost so much blood that it was a wonder she was still alive, yet the girl stood there, expressionless, as if it were natural.

Shhhling—

The chains connected to the guild members returned to the girl, and Baek Yi-hyun watched her before slowly approaching her.

He then held his sword to her neck and spoke.

“What are you?”

“Guild Master!”

“Shut up! There’s no way a kid followed us into the gate! Are you a monster?!”

“…No.”

“Then why are you here? What’s your objective?!”

“I found myself here when I came to.”

“Ha, you expect me to believe that?!”

Just then, a guild member approached and said.

“Guild Master, still, we survived thanks to that child.”

“…”

Baek Yi-hyun took a deep breath, thinking calmly again, then glared at the girl and said.

“What was that chain just now?”

“My skill… my ability, that is. I take others’ injuries in their stead.”

At the girl’s answer, Baek Yi-hyun recalled being impaled in the chest by Redvine’s attack and touched the injured area.

“What was your purpose in helping us?”

“Purpose?”

“I don’t know if you’re human or a monster in disguise, but why did you go to such lengths to save us?!”

“…?”

At Yi-hyun’s question, the girl tilted her head, appearing not to understand the intent of the question, but then spoke as if it were obvious.

“Because it’s natural.”

“What?”

“It’s only natural for me to take injuries or be a meat shield.”

“…”

Her already dead eyes lent more credibility to her words.

Eyes that had already walked through hell and given up on everything.

Baek Yi-hyun looked into her eyes, then involuntarily averted his gaze.

He had lived a difficult life himself, but for such a young girl to have seen hell to that extent was chilling… no, her eyes suggested hell was natural.

“…”

However, Baek Yi-hyun was more interested in her ability, so he didn’t decide to kill her or run away.

Frankly, the previous battle was incredibly easy to win thanks to her ability.

It felt like playing a game.

In reality, people naturally get hurt and feel pain.

Even a small injury can determine victory or defeat in a gate, but the battle just now was like playing a game with cheats on… no, it could only be described as a joke.

Abandoning defense and focusing solely on offense was a revolution, enough to negate his entire career as a hunter up until now.

‘This girl looks like a s*ave, or was she an experimental subject? She took all our guild members’ damage, survived, and is still standing.’

Baek Yi-hyun momentarily envisioned himself clearing countless gates using her.

A guild that abandoned defense and focused only on offense.

Then, not only C-rank gates but even A-rank gates would be cleared without fear.

Baek Yi-hyun imagined countless desires, smiled, and lowered the sword he had held to the girl’s neck.

He then extended his hand to the girl.

The girl stared blankly at his hand before cautiously taking it.

****

Recently, a guild became a hot topic in the hunter world.

The Crow Guild.

Previously, it was just one of many ordinary, common C-rank small guilds, but at some point, its guild members began clearing gates quickly without any injuries, and then easily cleared B-rank gates.

Recently, they even cleared A-rank gates with all guild members unscathed, growing into an A-rank guild at a dazzling speed.

Naturally, Baek Yi-hyun, the Guild Master of the Crow Guild, also gained attention, and people noticed a difference: unlike before, he always carried a small box that looked like an artifact.

Artifacts are rarely found items in gates that possess powers difficult to explain by modern science, making them truly dream items for hunters.

The common belief was that he had accidentally acquired such an item and used it to grow his guild.

“The news just came out, Hyung-nim, that we’ve become an A-rank guild with the minimum number of members!”

“Hahaha! The world is watching us!”

“Then how about recruiting new guild members this time? The love calls for our guild are endless!”

“Hmm…”

Baek Yi-hyun stopped smiling at the mention of new guild members.

His gaze naturally drifted to the sophisticated-looking box.

Inside that box, the girl was sleeping with her eyes closed, and it was dangerous for it to be known carelessly that she was being used as a meat shield.

Moreover, some guild members were starting to feel guilty, so recruiting new members in the current situation was risky.

“We’ll postpone that for later.”

“Understood. But is it really okay to keep that child in the box? At least a room to stay in…”

“Hey.”

“…!”

The guild member broke into a cold sweat and quickly covered his mouth at Baek Yi-hyun’s killing intent.

“That’s not human. Logically, there’s no human who doesn’t die and takes others’ injuries.”

“Th-th-that’s right.”

“This is an artifact. I found it accidentally in a gate.”

“An artifact…”

“Yes, and a very loyal artifact that follows my commands.”

Having conducted various experiments with the girl since finding her in the gate, he knew well how valuable her ability was.

The girl’s ability: Chain of Sacrifice.

An ability that takes others’ injuries and even their pain, turning the Crow Guild into an absurd guild that only focuses on offense, but what was most outstanding was the girl’s regeneration ability.

No matter what injury she sustained, she wouldn’t die and would quickly regenerate.

It was truly infinite power.

However, traveling around with the girl openly drew attention.

Furthermore, dragging a young girl into a gate was considered the worst crime in this country, an absolute illegality.

So, to conceal this, he had a sophisticated box made to look like an artifact, and he carried her around inside it.

“With this, our guild will stand at the pinnacle of this country!”

****

I saved a newbie and got a party invitation.

Well, that doesn’t really matter.

Since I knew nothing about this world, I decided to join their party for a while to learn about it.

How much time had passed since then?

I realized that this world was very similar to the Earth I knew.

The only difference was that this world had ‘gates,’ like in a game, and people awakened as hunters to conquer these gates.

I didn’t know why gates appeared or what their true nature was, but if a gate was left unattended for too long, a phenomenon called a ‘break’ would occur, and monsters from inside the gate would attack Earth.

So, it was a natural society in this world for awakened hunters to form guilds, clear gates, and acquire new resources through the magic stones dropped by monsters.

‘Well, other than that, it’s the same as the Earth I know, so maybe it doesn’t matter…’

Currently, I’m living with a person named Baek Yi-hyun in the Crow Guild.

Of course, all I do is use the Chain of Sacrifice from inside the box, but it doesn’t really matter.

After all, just watching the newbies fight provides me with food, shelter, and clothing.

Of course, there’s another reason.

It’s because of the message window right before my eyes.

[Linking and adapting body and soul…]

“Haaam…”

I’m not entirely sure, but perhaps it’s like my soul is updating because my body has changed?

Thanks to that, I spent most of my time sleeping in the box.

Honestly, I could leave the box anytime, but it was surprisingly cozy and comfortable.

They seem to be using me as a tool, but isn’t that the natural role of a tank?

They need me.

I’m faithfully fulfilling my role.

Even when I’m asleep, just connecting the chains, a very simple task, makes my existence essential to everyone.

This is the joy of being a tank.

Just then, I felt the box shake and realized we were entering a gate today.

“Hey, use the chain.”

“…”

His tone is a bit annoying, but I’m sleepy now.

Whatever he says, he’s a newbie anyway, so maybe it doesn’t matter…

“Chain of Sacrifice.”

I immediately used the skill and promptly fell asleep.

****

At the same time.

Someone was lost in thought, looking at documents containing information about the Crow Guild.

“Something’s suspicious.”

“The Crow Guild, you mean?”

“Yes, even with an artifact, their growth rate is too fast.”

“Perhaps illegal drugs?”

“I wonder, but since they’re hiding it this much, it probably isn’t legal.”

“What exactly is that artifact?”

“…”

The Guild Guardian Association, or simply the Guardian Association, managed all guilds and hunters in South Korea.

The old man stroking his short white beard and gravely looking at a photo was named Choi Tae-seok.

He was the Association President of the Guardian Association.

And the woman before him was Choi Ha-yeon, Choi Tae-seok’s granddaughter and one of the Association Hunters, who outwardly served as his secretary but secretly gathered vast amounts of information as an undercover agent, assisting the Association.

The photo she brought this time showed Baek Yi-hyun returning after clearing a gate, with blood dripping from inside the box that looked like an artifact.