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SCREEECH—!
Han Dokyeom and Beom Yeonhu’s gazes swiftly pierced through the darkness. Was it a monster? If so, not even a trace of its presence could be felt.
Beom Yeonhu’s sturdy back blocked Dokyeom’s view.
A moment later, rustling sounds began to emerge from the bushes. It sounded as if the wind was blowing through them, yet every now and then, a crunching and snapping noise echoed like a scream.
After a tense pause, someone pushed aside the bushes and revealed themselves. Through the gloom, two shadows emerged, no, three.
The man at the forefront crunched through the snow, stepping forward. Amidst the hailstones of falling snow, his eyes, white as the flakes, were visible. His raven hair was heavily dusted with snow, and sweet-smelling breath plumed from his lips.
It was him. It was Kang Taesan, the man who had promised they would meet again. He appeared, bringing two other men with him.
*Crunch—*
“Hunter Han Dokyeom.”
Kang Taesan’s eyes crinkled in a gentle smile. Behind him stood Byeon Yeongchan, Kang Taesan’s friend, along with an unfamiliar man.
Frozen breath now billowed from Kang Taesan’s mouth.
“At first, I just followed because I wondered why you were venturing so far out… but it seems I might have chased you for nothing. Still, I was genuinely worried, so I followed. What should I do?”
His blinking eyes, feigning distress, seemed subtly cunning. With a deep sigh, he uttered an audacious remark.
“I think we’re lost.”
‘Lost’, indeed.
With eyes so sly, there was no way he was genuinely lost. While Dokyeom couldn’t discern the truth behind his claim of following out of concern, it was abundantly clear that he had deliberately pursued them.
“So, I was wondering if you might take us with you. I don’t know where you’re headed, but… I think I could protect you better than Yeonhu, at least.”
His confident gaze seemed to weigh down on Beom Yeonhu. Beom Yeonhu, however, offered no words, no actions, not even a flicker of expression. Such was the stark difference between an A-rank and a C-rank.
Their very ranks alone ingrained their perceived worth into people’s minds.
‘What should I do?’
Dokyeom fell into thought, observing Kang Taesan and the two men behind him. He found himself unable to decide whether it was better to leave the three behind or take them along.
‘Why is he suddenly so obsessed and interested… Ah.’
If his sudden interest stemmed from being registered as a
Originally, according to the novel’s plot, Kang Taesan wasn’t a man driven by such intense tenacity or obsession. However, something had stimulated his inner self during a certain process, twisting him into a character vastly different from his original portrayal. His level of intensity was now comparable to Taeseongyeon’s.
Yes, he had changed far too much. While he always possessed a degree of greed for wealth and power, Kang Taesan’s ambition had once been a pure yearning rather than a corrupted desire. He was a man who didn’t shy away from his own excessive desires, striving honestly to achieve things through his own efforts.
Yet, the ‘Kang Taesan’ standing before Dokyeom now radiated a cunning so profound it felt as though his insides were utterly black. If money were his sole objective, he should have joined the Woohwa Guild long ago.
The fact that he lingered around Dokyeom indicated he desired something else entirely. If that desire was the reason Kang Taesan had become so obsessed—
“Will you not, Hunter-nim? I wish to accompany you.”
“Yes, let’s go. We can go together. If you want to, what’s stopping us?”
It wasn’t a bad idea to figure out what that ‘lump’ was before it grew any larger. That was Dokyeom’s reason for agreeing to go with Kang Taesan.
The biting wind lashed at Dokyeom’s cheeks. Amidst it, Kang Taesan smiled softly, revealing a dimple on one cheek, his emotions overtly clear.
****
[‘???’, a demon of the ‘Lemegeton’, watches you.]
“Achoo!”
It had already been several days. Dokyeom huddled, clutching his trembling hands tightly and blowing on them. Even his exhaled breath felt like ice.
Indeed, the deeper they ventured into the forest, the more severe the cold became. The intensity of the frigid air increased as they approached the snowy mountains, reaching below -80 degrees Celsius by the time they would reach the witches. At this point, it was likely around -45 degrees Celsius.
It was a temperature at which an ordinary person would freeze to death in the middle of the night.
This also meant they had been moving upstream along the lake for quite some time.
“Dokyeom, cover yourself with this. You’re shivering too much.”
“My little puppy… no, Brother… are you really not cold? Not cold at all? Why am I the only one freezing?”
The cold seeping into his bones made him babble nonsense. Dokyeom, his eyes red-rimmed, watched Beom Yeonhu remove his windbreaker to cover Dokyeom’s hands and neck.
“It’s just like wearing a short-sleeved shirt in early winter. It’s bearable for me, Brother.”
‘Ha, an E-rank, seriously.’
“Brother, I’m going to Agon and I’ll be right back. Just stay like this for a moment. I’ll get some firewood too.”
Beom Yeonhu immediately plunged through the snow, running towards the frozen lake. Just then, Agon abruptly popped out of a hole drilled into the ice.
Several wriggling fish dangled from their mouth. Beom Yeonhu quickly cut open the fish, pouring their guts into a poison kit to check for toxins.
He then offered the non-poisonous fish to Agon, signaling them to retrieve more. Even Agon, who usually acted as if they would devour anything, temporarily cooperated with Beom Yeonhu when it came to securing food. Perhaps because Dokyeom’s meal was at stake, it was quite a significant improvement.
“Hmph!”
Dokyeom sneezed again. Meanwhile, Beom Yeonhu’s dependable back headed towards a cluster of trees. As Dokyeom watched his muscular arms, which visibly strained as he snapped thick branches, he suddenly heard a muttered curse beside him.
“That punk is so reckless.”
As soon as Dokyeom turned his head, Byeon Yeongchan, who was sitting beside Kang Taesan, shivering and warming himself by the fire, flinched. Beneath the brim of his cap, his eyes clearly held a look of disdain.
Throughout their journey, he had repeatedly grumbled about Beom Yeonhu’s attitude, uttering curses. Yet, he himself shivered, refusing to move from the fire, all the while muttering about how Beom Yeonhu was trying too hard, calling his actions nothing but reckless bravado at every opportunity.
Kang Taesan was in a similar predicament. His unwavering gaze remained fixed on Beom Yeonhu’s back, who was still breaking off branches.
Kang Taesan’s sharp eyes narrowed. For him, this situation was full of questions.
Could a C-rank hunter, who had no resistance to the cold, truly move about so unhindered in this frigid weather? Even he shivered uncontrollably, though he could endure it. He was confident he could move as much as Beom Yeonhu, but that was only possible because he was an A-rank. How, then, could a mere C-rank hunter so nonchalantly shrug off this cold?
The blurry pieces of the puzzle had gradually begun to fit together the moment they arrived here. His suspicions now solidified: it was the E-rank hunter before him who had transformed Beom Yeonhu.
Kang Taesan, seizing an opportunity, hesitated, about to speak.
“Hello, subscribers! How have you been? You see the snow falling here, right? Haha, I told you I’d definitely come here! Huh? Hunters? Ah… we were together originally, but then someone just quietly got up in the middle of the night and disappeared. I can’t stand not knowing things like that! You know me. So I followed, and the scenery here is just… wow, can you see it?”
Everyone’s gaze—Dokyeom’s, Kang Taesan’s, Byeon Yeongchan’s, and the others’—simultaneously shifted to the left. A man holding a camcorder was shivering in the snow, recording a live broadcast.
His ears were adorned with numerous piercings, and his face was brightly, almost shyly, lit. Though he looked quite young, he was a legitimate B-rank hunter, apparently drafted for the Red Gate攻略.
The other man behind Kang Taesan was precisely this fellow.
Introducing himself as ‘Baek Jiun’, he confidently stated that he was a hunter who had volunteered to be in charge of transmitting news from inside the gate to the outside. He assured them the filming was in good hands.
“The temperature here is -45 degrees Celsius! Crazy, right? The temperature is crazy, but I’m going to show you something even crazier today! Everyone, please prepare yourselves mentally. Oh! It’s not scary. It’s… hmm, it might be cute? Maybe? I found it cute.”
Baek Jiun aimed the camcorder at his face and grinned. Then, he slowly turned around. Behind him, something was currently squeaking and rolling around in the snow. He probably wanted to show that.
*Screech— Scree—*
“Oh, my….”
It was Dali.
Dokyeom gazed at Dali, who was gleefully frolicking in the snow, and let out a fading sigh of resignation.
‘Well, as long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters.’
Dokyeom had never expected Dali to be able to release the
‘Perhaps it’s because of their
The excitement doesn't stop here! If you enjoyed this, you’ll adore The Eldest Sister Leaves Home: Building a Fortune and Making Her Toxic Family Seethe!. Start reading now!
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