Splat.
Seong-ho stepped in the blood pooled on the ground and recoiled in horror.
"Hiik......?!"
He had to run, now.
If Kim Min-chan was really dead...... then he too might be killed by that man.
Seong-ho bolted for the Gate.
Pa-pa-pat!
"Gyaaagh!"
"Damn it......!"
Even at the screams behind him, Seong-ho didn't stop running.
'It's...... it's him. It's him......!'
Seong-ho scrambled through the Gate and returned to Earth.
Meanwhile, Teinen's S-rank Hunters lay sprawled on the ground, limbs severed by Kang-hyeok.
The Homunculi followed behind Kang-hyeok, finishing off the Hunters.
The S-rank Hunters yielded an enormous amount of experience.
"Tsk...... I overdid it."
That slash a moment ago had killed far too many of the enemy.
He should have left them alive to strengthen the Homunculi......
"More to the point, what are these things?"
"......This face — it's a man named Lee Yong-su, an S3-rank Hunter of Teinen Guild."
"Teinen Guild?"
"This one is also an S-rank Hunter of Teinen Guild. And this one too......"
So Teinen Guild had attacked them?
Why?
Kang-hyeok furrowed his brow and examined the corpses.
They wore black suits, not Teinen Guild's uniforms.
"That golden slash a moment ago...... don't tell me. No, was it? They attacked because I turned down their recruitment offer...... and since this is a Gate the Association manages, there's no way they mistook us for criminals."
"It's certain they came to kill us. For now, I'll bury the bodies in the forest. If a survey team comes through, it could get dangerous."
"No, no need. Just gather them in one place. I'll erase them all at once."
"Ah......"
Arbon nodded and, with the guild members, gathered the S-rank Hunters' corpses into one spot.
Kang-hyeok loosed three slashes at the bodies, tearing them to shreds.
He had erased the evidence completely.
"One of them seemed to run for the Gate earlier...... well, no matter. Let's just get on with hunting monsters."
"Yes, understood."
Following behind Kang-hyeok, Arbon quietly breathed easier.
If Kang-hyeok hadn't been with them, that attack would have cost them their lives.
'I keep...... receiving nothing but his grace.'
He had to repay this debt, no matter what.
And to do that, he'd have to grow far stronger than he was now.
Steeling his resolve, Arbon picked up the loudspeaker that had fallen to the ground.
The Gate station employee tilted his head at the sight of Seong-ho, who had fled out so early.
Not even two hours had passed since they entered the Gate.
'Back...... already? And why alone......'
Seong-ho rushed up to the iron door.
CRASH!
"O-Open it! Open it right now!"
The station employee hurriedly opened the iron door and ran to Seong-ho.
"Y-You're out already? But why alone......"
"Move!"
Seong-ho shoved the employee aside and fled in a panic.
"......What was that?"
The employee flinched and looked toward the Gate.
"Don't tell me......"
Had something gone wrong?
Surely not all the Teinen Hunters who'd gone in had been wiped out?
If so, GH Guild might come after him for answers.
"O-Oh, fuck......"
What should he do?
He had to think up an excuse.
And hide the 100 million won he'd been given somewhere, too.
The employee hurriedly shut the iron door and went up to the management office.
The CCTV repair technician was currently checking the wiring.
'If I say I was with the repair technician the whole time......'
He hurriedly grabbed some drinks and went to find the technician.
Meanwhile, GH Guild spent two straight days moving from place to place, sounding their sirens.
The Homunculi seemed almost traumatized by the sound; even during meals they kept glancing around warily.
All the Mana Stones had been moved near the Gate.
WEEEEEEEEEOOOO—!
At the sound of the siren, monsters once again began swarming in.
Kang-hyeok unleashed bursts of mana to pin their movements, then flew at the A-rank monsters and sheared off their limbs.
Splurrrch-splurch—!
"Go!"
"Yes!"
Arbon and the guild members hurled themselves forward.
Slash—!
-Kwoooor!
-Kyaak—! Kyak!
"Master, Lizardmen over there......!"
An A-rank monster, a Lizardman General, was bearing down on them, leading a large host of B-rank Lizardman Warriors.
"Hup......!"
Kang-hyeok unleashed another burst of mana.
The fighting grew fiercer as time wore on.
When the day to return came around, the guild members gathered up the countless Mana Stones and walked to the Gate.
"Arbon, cross over first and contact the Association. Ask them to send freight trucks."
"Yes, understood."
"Once we've moved the Mana Stones, the job's done!"
The 120 guild members crossed the Gate one after another and began hauling the Mana Stones through.
When the GH Guild members appeared on the CCTV, the Gate station employee jolted upright, breaking into a cold sweat.
'D-Did they finish the whole job and come back? Could it be Teinen never found them......'
No, that couldn't be it.
He recalled the one Teinen member who had fled in a panic.
'F-For now, best to stay still......'
He held his breath and quietly watched the CCTV.
At Arbon's call, the Association sent freight trucks right away.
The station employee kept opening and shutting the entry door, waiting for the GH Guild members to leave.
Once the trucks loaded the Mana Stones and departed, GH Guild's shuttle bus arrived.
[This is the GH Guild shuttle bus.]
"I-I'll open it now."
At the driver's voice, the employee opened the door.
As the shuttle passed through, the employee's body trembled.
Would Association staff come with police to investigate?
'Th-There's no evidence. And I buried all the money underground.'
The shuttle carried the GH Guild members and soon passed out through the gate.
While the employee shook with anxiety, Kang-hyeok, the moment he reached GH Guild headquarters, deposited a million won into each of the bus drivers' accounts.
"If you give me the receipts for the fuel, I'll transfer that right away too."
The drivers promptly handed over the receipts they'd prepared.
Arbon checked the amounts and deposited the fuel costs as well.
"Well then, we'll see you again next time."
"Yes, thank you! Please call us again!"
The drivers bowed their heads as they said their goodbyes.
They were all people who'd been laid off amid their bus company's financial troubles.
They now worked as proxy drivers, but with the economy worsening, work had grown scarce.
For now, the jobs GH Guild gave them made it possible to get by.
A few hours of driving for a million won.
Work like that wasn't easy to come by.
"Everyone, head up and rest."
"Yes, understood!"
"Arbon, reserve a Dungeon Gate for next week."
"Yes, understood."
Three days living in a dungeon, four days of rest.
He planned to run that schedule on a fixed rotation.
More to the point — should he lodge a protest with Teinen?
No — if lumps of experience wanted to come to him, that was something to welcome.
'It'd be nice if stronger Hunters showed up.'
Of course, he had to mind his family's safety too.
'I should assign guild members as bodyguards. To Yu-na's school as well......'
Heading home from work, Kang-hyeok let out a small sigh.
A day later, the news reported that Teinen Guild's master, Kim Min-chan, had gone missing.
Along with him, a number of other S-rank Hunters were reported missing as well.
Kang-hyeok let out a dry laugh.
"So it really was Hunter Kim Min-chan."
That golden sword energy only a Grandmaster could produce.
Kang-hyeok rose from his seat and went into his office.
He powered on the PC and checked the reactions on social media and AeTube.
-Does it even make sense that an S1-rank Hunter, Park Min-chan, went missing?
└Isn't he just away for a bit? Calling it a disappearance after only a few days......
└They say his phone doesn't work either. And he's not at home.
└You can't make calls inside a dungeon.
└But there's no record of him reserving a dungeon.
└Then he went into a dungeon the Association isn't managing.
└He went into a controlled zone? Without government approval?
└He's probably just off having fun somewhere. Leave him be. Like an S1-rank Hunter would drop dead?
-The bigger problem is that other S-rank Hunters vanished with him. More than dead...... I'm worried they might be defecting to another country.
└We're fine without Kim Min-chan. We've got Park Kang-hyeok.
└Lolll agreed, honestly one State-Power-Class Hunter solves all our worries.
└He'll turn up on his own eventually. Just leave it.
└You think S-rank Hunters are small fry? They might've gone into an unverified dungeon in an ordinary zone.
└Fair point.
└Nothing dumber than worrying about S-rank Hunters.
People didn't react much to Kim Min-chan's disappearance.
There was no way S-rank Hunters had died so easily.
Then strange rumors began to spread across the internet.
-What the hell are these posts saying Park Kang-hyeok killed Teinen Guild's S-rank Hunters?
└How would Park Kang-hyeok kill Teinen's S-rank Hunters? Besides, they say he spent three days and two nights in an A-grade dungeon.
└The Teinen S-rank Hunters went missing starting the very day GH Guild entered that A-grade dungeon. And Kim Min-chan showed his face at Teinen HQ that morning.
└Park Kang-hyeok really killed Teinen's S-rank Hunters? Why? For what reason?
└These are just posts thrown out with zero evidence. Someone's trying to start a rumor.
-They say Hunter Park Kang-hyeok was caught on CCTV entering the Dungeon Gate. The thing is, the CCTV broke down afterward...... so, did Hunter Park Kang-hyeok slip out of the Gate during that window?
└There's no evidence Hunter Park Kang-hyeok killed the Teinen S-rank Hunters. Please, hold off on the wild speculation.
└Isn't it stranger that S-rank Hunters vanished as a group? Makes me suspect the Teinen S-rank Hunters attacked Hunter Park Kang-hyeok.
└If a whole group tried to hunt a State-Power-Class Hunter......
└Please, hold off on the speculation! They say an investigation's underway, so let's put it in neutral and wait!
In the end, Kang-hyeok was summoned to the Hunter Association.
Avoiding the reporters' eyes, he entered the Association and met at once with its executives.
"It's been a while, Hunter Park Kang-hyeok."
"Yes, it has."
Kang-hyeok exchanged greetings with the executives and cooperated actively with the Association's investigation.
"So, Hunter Park Kang-hyeok, you're saying you never left the Gate?"
"Yes, that's correct. And more to the point...... the footage after the CCTV was repaired......"
"Yes, no one entered or exited the Gate, and it captured you, Hunter Park Kang-hyeok, emerging with your GH Guild members. The Gate station employee was away with the CCTV repair technician for a time, so he couldn't answer with certainty."
"It does seem there are many who suspect me."
The Association executives gave wry smiles.
Their opponent was a State-Power-Class Hunter.
Provoking him too much would do no good.
If he were to naturalize to another country......
Korea would suffer a staggering loss in national strength.