A portable grill had been set up in the middle of Siul's studio apartment.
The exhaust fan was running at full power, and the window had been left slightly open.
Siul sat in front of the grill wearing his most comfortable T-shirt.
“How long has it been since I did this?”
Meat was already sizzling on the grill.
It was not the thinly sliced pork belly he usually ate to save money.
This was top-grade Korean beef, its sheen alone setting it apart.
And there was not just one cut. Sirloin, chuck flap, skirt steak, and several others had been laid out and grilled together.
“Money really is great. Maybe getting my head blown apart was worth it after all?”
SIZZLE…!
The sound of meat cooking tickled his ears.
Siul flipped the meat with his tongs, then finally gave in and popped a glistening, juice-filled piece into his mouth.
“Wow.”
He barely even needed to chew.
The instant it touched his tongue, the meat seemed to melt apart.
Siul immediately grabbed a can of beer.
CLICK.
Foam rose as he opened it, and Siul poured it down his throat as though he had been waiting for that exact moment.
GULP, GULP—.
“Ahh!”
The cold beer ran down his throat, only for a heated exclamation of satisfaction to come back out.
“This is insane. Why does it taste so good?”
Whenever a piece of beef melted in his mouth, the beer swept cleanly through the rich, lingering fat it left behind.
'Even the alcohol tastes different.'
He had certainly drunk himself sick of alcohol ever since becoming terminally ill.
But today, it held a different meaning.
He was not drinking because he was afraid of the future and wanted to get drunk.
He was drinking to celebrate and gather strength so that he could live just as hard tomorrow.
That single difference changed everything.
“You damned dragon. Thanks to you, I have been bouncing back and forth between hell and heaven.”
He had reached the point where he could say it with a faint laugh.
That was how much calmer he had become.
And how much stronger.
'I am starting to get the hang of fighting, and I am getting used to my immortality Trait too. As long as I do not overdo it, leveling up steadily should not be difficult.'
As Siul imagined a brighter future, a question suddenly occurred to him.
'But how far can I actually level up through these Quests?'
Siul stopped moving his chopsticks and seriously considered the question.
'Normally, S-Rank is the highest rank an Awakened can reach. Even Gates in Korea only go up to S-Rank.'
Of course, the situation changed once the scope expanded overseas.
In vast countries such as the United States and China, SS-Rank Gates were occasionally discovered.
There were even SSS-Rank Gates in the seven territories designated as restricted areas by the World Hunter Association.
In other words, S-Rank was the highest rank for an Awakened, but Gates and the monsters inside Dungeons could reach as high as SSS-Rank.
Because of that, S-Rank Hunters from various countries formed alliance Guilds and attempted to clear Double-S or Triple-S-Rank Dungeons.
'Then I guess my leveling limit is probably S-Rank too?'
Simply reaching that point would be enough to earn him the honor of placing his name among the strongest people in the world.
But Siul wanted more.
'If possible, I would rather be able to level all the way to SSS-Rank and fight that damned dragon one-on-one.'
He knew he was asking for a lot, but it was still a wish he could not help imagining.
Even if he became an S-Rank Hunter, he would still be an insignificant existence before the Judgment Dragon.
'Still, I suppose I should be grateful if I can even meet it again.'
Siul swallowed a bitter smile and took another sip of beer.
'Ah, but I do need to report my Reawakening eventually.'
A Reawakening report meant notifying the Hunter Association that the officially registered record of one's Awakening Rank was incorrect and undergoing another evaluation.
'Leaving myself registered as D-Rank will keep making things inconvenient.'
If he had his way, he would submit the correction tomorrow.
But doing so would make things troublesome later.
'My Rank will keep changing as I level up. If I report it now, I will have to do it all over again.'
One Reawakening report could still be considered within the bounds of normality.
A second one, however, would inevitably attract suspicion from the Association.
There had never been a single known case of someone Reawakening twice.
'I suppose I should wait until I reach S-Rank before reporting my Reawakening.'
It would be inconvenient for a while, but that seemed like the best way to avoid unnecessary complications.
'Leveling up to S-Rank… Can I do it before my notified death date?'
Siul's gaze shifted toward the holographic screen floating in the air.
The minimized screen expanded as soon as he looked at it, making the text clearer.
【Time Remaining: 163 days, 16 hours, 25 minutes】
* * *
In front of a gate near Yongsan Station.
Security personnel moved busily beyond a temporary fence.
They were employees of the company that owned the Gate, positioned densely around the area.
But uniformed government officials were mixed in among them as well.
“Is it because we are next to Yongsan Station? Why are there so many people here?”
Siul stopped checking his equipment and looked around.
The atmosphere felt strangely different today.
There seemed to be more than twice as much security as usual.
People patrolled the restricted access zone constantly, and radio communications were noticeably more frequent.
“Mr. Siul, how are you feeling?”
Park Do-hyun approached Siul while tightening the straps of his protective gear.
“Good. But does it not feel a little chaotic today?”
At Siul's remark, Park Do-hyun discreetly looked around before lowering his voice.
“There is a reason for that. This contract is a little unusual.”
“How so?”
“We have taken plenty of outsourced jobs before. Major Guilds, smaller Guilds, private clients, even the Hunter Association—we have received work from just about everyone….”
Park Do-hyun paused and looked around once more.
“But this time, the client is the government.”
Siul's eyebrow twitched.
“The government?”
“I was surprised too. The government rarely outsources Dungeon clears to private contractors.”
“That is usually the case. The government has its own personnel and Special Hunters who can be deployed at any time.”
They possessed forces powerful enough that there was little reason to entrust such work to outsiders.
For the government to outsource a Dungeon clear to Min Hyung-sik's team, which consisted of nothing more than B-Rank and C-Rank Hunters, was indeed unusual, just as Park Do-hyun had said.
“I do not know why, but it is making me nervous. There are so many people watching, and Team Leader Min seems especially tense too.”
While the two continued talking, Min Hyung-sik finished the necessary procedures and approached the Gate.
“Everyone ready?”
When they all nodded, Min Hyung-sik hurriedly took the lead.
“Then let us move.”
Siul and Park Do-hyun stood up at the same time and exchanged glances.
'As expected.'
'He is really feeling the pressure.'
Judging by how much force Min Hyung-sik was putting into his voice, he clearly wanted today's Dungeon clear to end with an excellent performance.
Since the request had come from the government, it was understandable that he wanted to make a good impression.
“Let us stay focused and do this properly.”
* * *
『 You have entered the B-Rank Dungeon ‘Silent Graveyard Fortress.’ 』
〈B-Rank Gate – Yongsan Sector 9〉
Dungeon Name: Silent Graveyard Fortress
Monsters Appearing: Skeletons
Estimated Clear Time: Approximately 4 hours
“This place is really eerie….”
Park Do-hyun adjusted his grip on his shield, looking frightened.
It was understandable.
Just as the Dungeon's name suggested, the scene before them was a dark expanse filled with graves.
Collapsed stone walls and graveyards stretched across the landscape, while a dense mist of Mana hung between them.
It felt as though a ghost could leap out beside them at any moment.
“Do not stop. Keep moving forward.”
Min Hyung-sik instructed them, his shoulders noticeably tense.
“Undead become troublesome if you give them too much time. Everyone, maintain formation. Mr. Siul, you may push forward whenever you see an opening.”
Following Min Hyung-sik's instructions, Siul moved with his dagger already drawn.
“Why does this Dungeon feel so unpleasant?”
Park Do-hyun whispered to Siul with an uneasy expression.
“What feels unpleasant?”
“This is not even one of those Dungeons where monsters attack immediately after you enter, and we have not encountered anything yet. But I keep feeling as though something is watching us.”
According to the other party members, Park Do-hyun was a Hunter known for having particularly sharp instincts.
“Could a monster be hiding and watching us?”
“But the monsters in this Dungeon are not supposed to fight that way….”
Just as Park Do-hyun said, the monsters in this Dungeon did not approach stealthily.
As soon as their enemies drew near, they revealed themselves quite openly.
SKRIIITCH!
A sharp sound like stone scraping against stone rang out.
Min Hyung-sik and the party immediately stopped.
At the same time, white shapes began emerging from behind collapsed gravestones and beneath half-buried stone walls.
RRRUMBLE!
“Those are….”
Skeleton soldiers.
Blue flames flickered inside their empty eye sockets, while old swords and spears rested in their hands.
The Skeletons native to this Dungeon had appeared.
“Ten Skeletons ahead! More on the left!”
“Their numbers keep increasing! Be careful!”
Min Hyung-sik's team quickly formed their battle line.
Siul moved forward half a beat faster than the others.
'When they have numbers on their side, striking first is essential.'
After entering boss rooms alone twice already, Siul had learned a useful trick for fighting large groups of enemies.
'Kill the leader, and the rest will fall in line.'
Siul targeted the one monster among the Skeleton soldiers wearing a distinctive helmet.
A Skeleton Officer.
The commander leading the unit.
'That one alone has a Danger Level of 8.'
In Siul's vision, the strength of enemies was displayed numerically as their danger level.
The other Skeleton soldiers had a danger level of 7.
Only one had a value of 8.
That was the real reason Siul had selected it as his target even before noticing its distinctive equipment.
WHOOSH!
The Tracker's Blade traced a sharp trajectory toward the Skeleton Officer.
“Khk…!”
The Skeleton Officer's neck bones shattered instantly, and it collapsed.
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
The Skeleton soldiers froze for a moment.
Their commander had died, crushing their morale.
Siul did not miss the opening.
“Now!”
Min Hyung-sik immediately repeated Siul's command.
“Charge!”
“WAAAAH!!”
The party members surged forward all at once.
The hesitating Skeleton soldiers were overwhelmingly pushed back by Min Hyung-sik's team, whose momentum had already surged.
“That team is pretty good.”
Elsewhere in the Dungeon, the unpleasant gaze Park Do-hyun had sensed was watching the battle unfold.
Two people in a state of invisibility observed Min Hyung-sik's team from within the Dungeon.
『 Concealer's Necktie 』 ― A-Rank
While the user wears the necktie, their presence is visually erased.
Kang Ho-cheol and Baek Ga-hyeon, both wearing neatly tied neckties with their Special Hunter suits, watched Min Hyung-sik's team fight with interest.
“Nothing beats watching a good fight and secretly spying on people.”
“That sounds terrible when you phrase it that way.”
The two of them had entered the Dungeon much earlier.
They had been waiting there even before Min Hyung-sik's team began the raid.
“Commissioning the Dungeon clear under the government's name was a good decision.”
“There could hardly be a better way to observe Mr. Kim Siul.”
The job Min Hyung-sik's team had accepted today had, in fact, been arranged by these two.
It was a means of investigating Siul and extracting information about him.
Baek Ga-hyeon carefully observed Siul's fighting.
The way he slipped between the Skeleton soldiers, the timing with which he broke away from the formation, even the angle at which he raised his weapon.
“His instincts are good, but he does not strike me as particularly skilled. If we judge only his raw combat power without his equipment, I would place him somewhere around the middle of this team.”
Kang Ho-cheol agreed with Baek Ga-hyeon's assessment, though he had another observation of his own.
“His combat power is not especially remarkable. But he is not D-Rank either. He is using Skills.”
“That is true. It looks like Mr. Kim Siul's official record with the Hunter Association really is incorrect.”
A Hunter who apparently needed to file a Reawakening report.
And that Hunter just happened to be connected to a rift suspected of being a Black Gate.
He had even blocked an S-Rank Hunter's Memory Theft Trait.
“How could I not find him interesting?”
Kang Ho-cheol grinned as he watched Siul.
By then, Siul and the party members had defeated the unit of Skeleton soldiers and were catching their breath.
Kang Ho-cheol and Baek Ga-hyeon did not miss even those smallest breaths.