“Cut the bullshit and get up. We’ve got somewhere to be.”
“Where?”
As I straightened my bent leg and stood up, Eun Woojeong followed suit and lifted his upper body.
“Looks like a dungeon break happened nearby. Monsters are heading this way, so we’re going to stop them.”
“Dungeon break?”
Eun Woojeong glanced down at the robe and mask I’d tossed at him and frowned.
“A dungeon break? Now?”
“Yeah. You can feel the monster aura, right? They’re getting closer by the second. So snap out of it.”
“You want me to go fight that with you?”
Eun Woojeong blinked, then curled up the corner of his mouth in a smirk.
“And why would I do that?”
“...Ha.”
This one’s no better than the last. Their sense of morality is seriously screwed up.
Cha Sahyeon at least has the excuse of growing up in a fucked-up environment, but Eun Woojeong? What the hell is this guy’s problem? Is this what people mean when they talk about sociopaths?
“Could you listen for once? I literally saved your life.”
“Why don’t you try calling that guy again? The one from earlier. I’d like to face him properly.”
“Face him properly? You got fucking obliterated. What are you, a middle schooler?”
I clicked my tongue, but Eun Woojeong didn’t even flinch.
“Come to think of it, he only showed up when I attacked you. Is that why you called him your guardian angel? If I attack you again, will he show up?”
Eun Woojeong stood as he spoke, but there was no killing intent behind the provocation. It wasn’t sincere—it was just him testing the waters.
“Probably. But I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m not planning to save you a second time. If dying young is your life goal, be my guest.”
“You really think I’d lose again. No doubt at all.”
“Does anyone doubt the sun will rise in a few hours?”
“...Hah.”
Eun Woojeong let out a scoff of disbelief and fell into thought.
He stood silently with a blank face, then let out a soft sigh and moved his arms.
He raised his left arm, hesitated, then pulled the robe over himself with his right. It looked unnatural somehow, and I narrowed my eyes. Then he finally spoke.
“You’re interesting. I thought all my curiosity would vanish once I saw your face.”
Covering himself with the red robe, Eun Woojeong then put on the mask.
“From the ridiculous Hunter you call a guardian angel to the weird-ass skills you have. Everything about you is strange.”
“Just so you know, even if you go digging for my info later, you won’t find anything. I’m doing you a favor telling you in advance.”
“I figured as much. There’s not much public info on Cha Seohu either. Most of it’s locked down—probably because he’s from the outer zone. You’re the same.”
“Ever considered getting to know someone the normal way? I guess you’re a criminal down to the bone—you’re a pro at digging into people’s pasts.”
“Just hearing you say that sounds exhausting. Who has time for that crap?”
“Everyone else, you lunatic. Anyway. Are you helping or not?”
I didn’t have the patience—or time—for banter anymore.
I asked the question and began checking my gear.
I pulled the dusted hat down over my head, then grabbed a mask from my inventory to replace the one I’d lost. Wearing a mask like Eun Woojeong was annoying, but I didn’t have a choice.
Should’ve brought a spare. I’ll make sure to stock up next time.
I also really wanted to change out of these damp clothes, but no way I was stripping in front of Eun Woojeong. It’s warm out—if I leave them alone, they’ll dry on their own.
“Mm, fine.”
Eun Woojeong gave in without much fight.
“I’ll help.”
“Good. Smart choice.”
Judging by his annoyingly light tone, it was obvious he was planning to pretend to help while staying close and bothering me more.
He’s S-rank, so most monsters wouldn’t be a threat. If he lends a little support, other Hunters will be summoned soon enough.
Honestly, as long as he helped, I didn’t care. Like he said—he still had a few strings left to pull on me. Lucky for him.
“You’re an S-rank, after all. Shouldn’t you be working for the sake of the civilians? Ever heard the saying ‘with great power comes great responsibility’?”
“Isn’t that from a superhero movie?”
“Yeah. You’re a Spider, too, aren’t you? Learn from your senior.”
“......”
Eun Woojeong shut his mouth like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. I ignored him and held out my hand.
“Give it.”
“Give what?”
“My weapon. My sword. Hand it over.”
Finally, Eun Woojeong pulled the sword from his inventory and returned it to me.
He did it with an irritated toss, but I didn’t give a damn. Grabbing the sword, I leapt out the window first.
The spectators poured out of the stadium in waves, evacuating in perfect order under the guidance of the staff and Yesung Guild members.
“Guildmaster.”
As Kwon Taehyuk tried to gauge the monsters’ location by sensing their aura, Han Goeun ran over to him.
“I’ve finished checking the inside of the stadium. All the spectators have been evacuated, and the staff followed. No civilians left.”
Han Goeun had been ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) a support mercenary during the previous competition between Circle and Ronik Guilds, and she’d only come today to watch the ranking match. She had no idea she’d end up involved in cleaning up a dungeon break.
She was just curious to see her superior and Cover Hunter face off—but what a mess this had become. Still, at least they managed to evacuate everyone before the monsters arrived, and that was a relief.
“You’re heading straight to the dungeon site, right?”
Kwon Taehyuk nodded, just as a familiar voice came from behind.
“Are we departing now?”
Ryu Sunghyun, fully prepped, asked as he approached. Kwon Taehyuk gave a curt nod and started walking toward him while issuing an order to Han Goeun.
“Take the guild members and sweep the commercial buildings around the stadium. Make sure anyone still remaining gets out. I’ll keep sharing our location—have the support team meet us when they arrive.”
“Understood.”
“Let’s go, Hunter Ryu Sunghyun.”
Kwon Taehyuk and Ryu Sunghyun were headed to the dungeon to stop the monsters.
They had support from Yesung Guild, and the third-ranked Hunter, Chae Juwon, had also said he’d request reinforcements from his guild and come. They just needed to hold on for a little while longer.
The two of them moved together out of the stadium and quickly advanced in the direction of the dungeon.
The presumed source of the dungeon break was located at Cheonmasan.
Once, the area was full of apartment buildings and schools—people lived there in droves. But ever since a dungeon appeared near the entrance to Cheonmasan, the whole place had been deserted.
They passed through a desolate street lined with darkened, abandoned apartment complexes, and as they neared the dungeon, the monster aura intensified. Savage cries rang out in every direction.
With no working streetlights, a thick veil of darkness blanketed the area. The anticipation of battle had their instincts flaring, hearts racing with a sharp blend of excitement and tension.
Five swords launched from inventory floated into the air, poised to strike at any moment.
BOOM!
The ground trembled with a roar. Part of an apartment wall collapsed, and someone tumbled across the ground.
“Urgh...”
KRAAAAH!
As the man groaned in pain, a monster burst through the rubble with a voracious howl.
The creature looked like a massive lizard, but it had muscular, humanoid arms. Just as it tried to grab the fallen Hunter to tear him apart, its neck was severed in a flash.
SPLAT!
Black blood splashed as the monster’s head fell to the ground.
The man who had nearly been devoured scrambled back and spotted Kwon Taehyuk and Ryu Sunghyun. Throwing up a hand, he shouted in cheerful recognition:
“Hey! You two finally made it!”
You’d think they were meeting at a diner or something.
Cover’s lively greeting made Kwon Taehyuk press his forehead with a pained expression, while Ryu Sunghyun gave a sheepish smile.
“What took you so long? I’ve been waiting at least thirty minutes. If you’d just arrived a little—whoa!”
CRASH!
Cover, running up like an excited puppy, threw himself to the side just in time. One of Kwon Taehyuk’s swords had stabbed the spot where he’d been.
“Are you nuts? Why are you attacking me?!”
“I’m not the crazy one here. You are.”
Kwon Taehyuk approached with cold, composed eyes. Cover scratched his head as if only now remembering the ranking match, then quickly made himself scarce.
“Ha...”
The place he ran to? None other than behind Ryu Sunghyun. He hid behind him with only his masked face peeking out and said:
“Sorry for missing the match. I had my reasons. If I wasn’t here, those monsters would’ve reached the stadium. I’m the one who held them back.”
By the time he’d sensed the monster aura, the match had already started—but Cover shamelessly used the dungeon break as an excuse.
Honestly, if Eun Woojeong hadn’t blindsided and kidnapped him, he would’ve made it to the match just fine. So, really, it was one and the same.
Kwon Taehyuk frowned, arms crossed, and let out a sigh of irritation.
“Why didn’t you answer your phone?”
“I don’t have a phone. Even if I did, I wouldn’t have answered—I was busy checking out the dungeon break the moment I arrived. But more importantly—are you speaking informally to me now? Can I do the same?”
“Not you. I asked why Hunter Cha Seohu didn’t answer.”
“Ah.”
Cover’s expression turned awkward behind the mask.
What kind of excuse could he make now? Cha Seohu was probably resting at the hotel. What reason could he possibly have to miss a call? Say he was asleep?
There wasn’t any proof, so he could bluff his way through anything. Just as he opened his mouth to make something up—
“You dump work on me and goof off here?”
A calm voice rang out, accompanied by the rattle of chains from above. Riding the chains, Eun Woojeong descended and landed not far from Cover.
“Huh. This group’s starting to feel familiar.”
He glanced at Kwon Taehyuk, Ryu Sunghyun, and then Cover in turn and muttered. The same sentiment sparked in both Kwon Taehyuk and Ryu Sunghyun.
In truth, it was the same mystery that had surfaced during the Gwanghwamun incident.
Why was it always these four?
Before Cover came along, the three of them barely crossed paths once a year. And Eun Woojeong, who operated in total secrecy, even less than that.
‘Is someone orchestrating this?’
Eun Woojeong had that exact gut feeling. And with it came a surge of curiosity.
He had only tailed Cover to observe him—but now something else had caught his attention. The more interesting things got, the better it was for him.
“Cover Hunter.”
Ryu Sunghyun, not particularly fazed by Eun Woojeong’s arrival, turned back to Cover and asked:
“Looks like Hunter Cha Seohu changed his number. Do you know it?”
Kwon Taehyuk shot him a look of disbelief. What the hell kind of question was that in the middle of a monster crisis?
“Of course I know~ Want me to type it in for you?”
“Yes.”
Ryu Sunghyun held out his phone, and Cover entered Cha Seohu’s new number. The two of them seemed totally unhinged.
Kwon Taehyuk, unable to watch any longer, cut in between them.
“Why are you giving out someone else’s number without their permission?”
“Huh?”
Cover looked at Kwon Taehyuk for a moment, then casually replied,
“Well... because he’s not ‘someone else,’ obviously.”
Kwon Taehyuk’s face twisted into something grotesque.
‘Not someone else? Then that means... is he seriously implying he and Cha Seohu are...?’
Ryu Sunghyun touched his lips, an unreadable look in his eyes.
‘Not “someone else”... does he mean that? Or... something else?’
Eun Woojeong silently nodded to himself.
‘Makes sense. They’re twin brothers.’
A flawless case of shared misunderstanding.

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