The two of them stepped into the elevator. The floor Kang Yujun pressed was the 25th floor.
Ding.
The high-speed elevator reached the 25th floor in an instant.
“Unit 2501. This is your place.”
After stepping out, Kang Yujun stopped in front of one of the doors.
“I’m right above you, unit 2601. If you make any noise between floors, I’m coming straight down, so live quietly.”
“I’m below you. How am I supposed to make noise between floors? You’re the one who should behave.”
Lee Kanghyun was extremely uneasy. There was no way that crazy bastard would actually avoid making noise between floors. If he got bored, he was the type of person who would stomp around just to annoy him while calling out, “Kanghyun~.”
Lee Kanghyun sighed and looked at the door lock. Even the door lock looked like some cutting-edge model.
What a waste of money.
“What’s the code?”
“I’m not telling you.”
What kind of nonsense was that?
Lee Kanghyun stared blankly at him.
“Are you kidding? It’s my home.”
“You’re always inside anyway. You never go out. Do you really need to know the code?”
“Are you insane? How am I supposed to throw out the trash?”
“I’ll throw it out for you.”
“Get lost! Tell me right now before I break it.”
At Lee Kanghyun’s sharp reaction, Kang Yujun’s eyes curved. The smile hanging on his lips was extremely irritating.
“Curious?”
“Just tell me.”
“Guess.”
“One, two, three.”
As soon as Lee Kanghyun started counting down, Kang Yujun burst into laughter.
“0000 was too easy, so I changed it to something meaningful. 0127.”
“What is that?”
“My birthday.”
Lee Kanghyun’s expression turned cold.
“Are you seriously trying to get yourself killed?”
“Why? It’s easy to remember. January 27. The birthday of South Korea’s greatest Hunter, Kang Yujun.”
Lee Kanghyun was left speechless by the shamelessness.
He had actually called himself South Korea’s greatest Hunter. His self-love was on another level.
What was that called again? Narcissism?
“Change it immediately. To 0000.”
“No. 0127 has a higher security level.”
“Don’t bullshit me. They’re the same. How many people in South Korea know your birthday? One of your fans could just come and get in.”
“Oh, true. That makes sense.”
Kang Yujun nodded.
“Then let’s do this. Combine your birthday and my birthday.”
A chill ran through Lee Kanghyun’s entire body.
They were not newlyweds. What kind of person set a password by combining birthdays?
“No! Absolutely not.”
“Then just use 0127. It’s not like my fans are going to come to your house.”
0127.
So now every time he entered his home, he would have to type that bastard’s birthday.
Every time he pressed those cursed numbers, Kang Yujun’s annoying smile would come to mind.
That was completely unacceptable.
Once that bastard leaves, I’m changing the password.
Just as Lee Kanghyun was quietly thinking that—
“Oh, by the way, you need fingerprint recognition to change it. I registered it with my fingerprint, so you can’t change the password.”
…
Lee Kanghyun simply wanted to die.
***
Contrary to Lee Kanghyun’s concern that Kang Yujun would show up at his home constantly to bother him, he surprisingly did not visit very often.
It was not for nothing that he had achieved more than 1,500 raids. Kang Yujun spent both day and night traveling around clearing gates.
Meanwhile, Lee Kanghyun still did absolutely nothing. He spent the entire day lazing around on the luxury bed Kang Yujun bought for him.
The alternative service condition presented by the Ministry of National Defense was clearing one gate per week for three years.
Having to go out every week was annoying, but he managed somehow. Most weeks followed the same routine: if Lee Kanghyun stayed holed up at home, Kang Yujun would break in after a week and drag him out to raid a gate.
He only met the exact standard set by the Ministry of National Defense: “once a week.”
Posts calling Lee Kanghyun a shameless freeloader were frequently uploaded online, but he did not care in the slightest.
Two months passed like that.
One sunny Wednesday afternoon, inside a B-rank gate.
“Ah, I’m tired.”
Lee Kanghyun sat on a wide rock and yawned.
In front of him, Kang Yujun was performing a dazzling sword dance. Every time blue waves sliced through the air, the heads of the orcs fell one after another.
All Lee Kanghyun did was occasionally kick away an orc or two that stupidly noticed him and charged over.
“Kang Yujun. Are you done yet?”
“I’ve taken care of them all. We’re right before the boss.”
Kang Yujun approached while wiping the blood from his sword. His face was spotless, without a single drop of sweat.
Today’s gate was unusually quiet compared to normal. Since it was only B-rank, the monsters were weak and there were fewer of them. For Lee Kanghyun, it was the perfect working environment.
“Let’s kill the boss and leave quickly. I want to sleep.”
“How many hours do you sleep a day? And you can still sleep after sleeping that much?”
Come to think of it, how many hours did he sleep?
While Lee Kanghyun searched his memory, he jumped down from the rock after a monster appeared in the distance.
The boss was an Orc Lord.
The enormous Orc Lord charged forward with a battle cry while holding an axe, but it was no match for Kang Yujun. When his sword swept horizontally, the Orc Lord’s axe split in two.
After a few more swings, the massive body collapsed to the ground with a heavy crash.
There was no chance for Lee Kanghyun to do anything. I got up for nothing. I should have just stayed sitting.
Kang Yujun sheathed his sword and turned around. Lee Kanghyun was already facing the exit.
“We should go together, Kanghyun. Just wait while I collect the mana stone.”
It was going to be the same peaceful, boring walk home as always.
Should I pick up some chicken on the way home?
As Lee Kanghyun considered the meaningless question—
Boom.
Boom.
The air began vibrating unpleasantly.
The sound made his ears feel blocked, and Lee Kanghyun stopped with a frown. Kang Yujun’s expression hardened instantly. Instead of collecting the mana stone, he tightened his grip on his sword again.
The weight of the air had changed. Humidity rose rapidly, and the concentration of mana became so thick that his skin prickled.
The mana fluctuations inside the gate were unstable. The unpleasant pressure made Lee Kanghyun’s expression darken further.
Gate mutation.
A phenomenon where, immediately after a clear, the gate’s rank rapidly rises or its internal structure becomes distorted.
That irregular disaster had happened at the worst possible moment.
The ground shook as if it were being overturned.
The corpse of the Orc Lord that had just died was engulfed in purple flames. Instead of melting away, it began twisting together and swelling into something grotesque.
Then the blood and flesh of the dead monsters began gathering in one place. The ceiling split open, and a black crack swallowed them both.
“Ha…”
A deep sigh escaped Lee Kanghyun’s mouth.
It was not because he was afraid.
“I want to go home…”
“Lee Kanghyun! Stop spacing out and move!”
Kang Yujun shouted urgently and grabbed Lee Kanghyun, throwing him backward.
BOOM!
A massive tentacle slammed into the spot where Lee Kanghyun had been standing. A large boulder shattered into pieces and was crushed.
An enormous, unidentified grotesque creature covered in sticky fluid crawled forward. The mana it emitted was at least A-rank.
No, it was close to S-rank.
Lee Kanghyun rolled across the ground and cursed. He had no time to be annoyed by the dirt on his clothes; he had to roll again to avoid another tentacle.
Kang Yujun formed a water barrier and blocked the monster’s attack.
However, the moment the creature’s black slime touched it—
Sizzle.
The surface of the water bubbled violently, and droplets scattered everywhere.
“It’s acidic. Don’t let it touch you!”
Kang Yujun shouted.
It was a complete mess.
Lee Kanghyun stared blankly down at his now dirt-covered sweatpants.
Then he looked at the monster rampaging in the distance.
He wanted to go home.
He wanted to go home desperately.
But the exit was already blocked by a red barrier.
Lee Kanghyun irritably messed up his hair.
Hiss—
The monster expanded its body to a massive size.
Dozens of black poison masses shot out in every direction like shotgun pellets.
Kang Yujun reflexively swung his sword.
A thick wall of water formed in the air.
But this time was different.
The moment the poison touched the water, the droplets boiled violently and severed Kang Yujun’s mana connection.
Drip.
Splash.
The water wall that had been harder than steel lost its strength and poured onto the ground like ordinary water.
Kang Yujun’s eyes widened.
It was not simply acid.
The monster’s poison erased mana itself.
Taking advantage of the vanished barrier, a massive tentacle extending from the creature’s body shot straight toward Kang Yujun.
It was too late to dodge.
He gritted his teeth and twisted his body, trying to avoid a fatal injury.
Thud.
A sound like flesh being torn apart echoed.
The disgusting smell of burning flesh filled the air.
But something was wrong.
There was no pain.
Kang Yujun slowly opened his eyes.
And stared blankly at the figure standing in front of him.
Lee Kanghyun was bleeding in his place.
Sizzle.
The horrifying sound of the flesh on his pierced arm melting away struck his ears.
White smoke rose, accompanied by the nauseating smell of burning.
“Ugh.”
A short groan escaped Lee Kanghyun’s mouth.
Kang Yujun’s gaze moved to Lee Kanghyun’s left arm.
The sleeve of his gray hoodie crumbled the moment it touched the poison.
The poison that reached his bare skin began melting it away.
“Lee Kanghyun…”
Kang Yujun’s face went pale.
The sword in his hand trembled.
For a moment, his breathing stopped.
The horrifying sight before him caused his mind to freeze. The calm judgment of an S-rank Hunter vanished instantly.
“Your arm…”
Kang Yujun reached toward Lee Kanghyun with a trembling hand.
But he stopped before touching him.
What if it hurt more?
What if it melted further?
This was not a simple amputation. The pain of an arm melting from acid was horrifying.
Lee Kanghyun tightly shut his eyes.
Meanwhile, several tentacles flew toward them simultaneously.
“Kang Yujun! Block those!”
“Lee Kanghyun…”
“Block them!”
Lee Kanghyun clenched his right fist and struck Kang Yujun hard on the head.