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Chapter 12 - The Tower’s Master (4)
As I pretended to tremble, one of the men spoke out firmly.
“Stop, calm down. It’s a shame what happened to your other party members, but forget about them now. If you want to make it in this line of work, there’s nothing you can do about things like this.”
I slid both my hands under my knees and bowed my head down like a withered plant.
A younger man who was standing in the back whispered to the man who was interrogating me.
“Senior, he really doesn’t seem to know anything. He didn’t even know that it was a double dungeon.”
The dungeon that I’d appeared in after leaving the Tower of Trials was a different dungeon entirely.
A double dungeon, also known as a fake dungeon.
It was a special dungeon that appeared occasionally, created out of two dungeons overlapping with each other. If it was a regular dungeon, the exit gate should appear right after clearing it, but in the case of a double dungeon, instead of an exit gate, you would immediately be sent to the next dungeon.
This is where the problem starts.
The reason why double dungeons were called fake dungeons is simple: because the second dungeon’s grade was much higher than the first dungeon’s grade. They came to be called fake dungeons due to being dungeons that hid their true grade.
It wouldn’t matter if the Hunters that went inside the dungeon could also clear the fake dungeon safely and exit, but in a situation like this one, it could end in disaster.
On top of this, double dungeons had one more problem.
‘Stragglers.’
Because you weren’t entering the dungeon from a normal route, stragglers could appear. Stragglers referred to Hunters that didn’t make it out of the dungeon and were either missing or dead. In the case of double dungeons, the proportion of stragglers was pretty high.
‘I was lucky.’
The dungeon we went in initially was a D-grade dungeon, and I came to my senses in the second dungeon after leaving the Tower of Trials.
The C+ grade dungeon ‘Harpy’s Canyon’ was effectively classified as a B grade dungeon because of the dangerous terrain and the flying monsters. Normally, once the max capacity of people was reached, or if 1 hour had passed since someone went in, regardless of the number of people, this dungeon would become impossible to enter from the outside and enter a closed state.
However, there were Hunters called ‘Keys’ that could open dungeons in this closed state with the rare ‘Dungeon Open’ skill.
Since this incident was one that happened to the Association’s trainees and took place in a dungeon owned by the Association, there was a great need to resolve it quickly even while considering the potential aftermath.
Apart from the double dungeon, the Association currently suspected that I, the sole survivor, had killed all of my fellow party members inside of the dungeon.
Having quickly grasped the situation, I kept boldly insisting that I didn’t know anything.
Of course, I didn’t forget to throw in some somewhat exaggerated acting.
The other official saw me shaking with my face as white as a sheet and continued to try and persuade his senior that I was innocent.
The guy in front of me was the senior, and the guy behind him was the junior, but for some reason I got the feeling that the senior Hunter was taking note of the junior’s responses. There seemed to be some kind of bigger story here.
The junior official kept coming to my defense.
“Look, what could a talentless guy do to kill his teammates?”
“I’m just concerned about the fact that he suddenly gained an affiliation after entering the dungeon.”
“You said the god was so minor that you’d never even heard of it before. It’s uncommon, but there have been cases of people gaining affiliations after entering a dungeon.”
Wow, pretty harsh to call it so minor.
The man who was interrogating me crossed his arms and let out a sigh.
“Whew, alright. Let’s end the investigation here, then.”
“Um…does this mean I can resume Hunter activities as usual?”
“Ah, don’t worry about that. You shouldn’t have any trouble going back to your regular Hunter activities, Kang Han-kyul-ssi. It wouldn’t be right to restrict you from Hunter activities because of an unfair accident.”
“Thank you so much!”
The official in charge of the investigation left first, then I was allowed to leave the interrogation room. No further investigations were conducted on me.
After coming out of the Association building, I sat down on a bench near the entrance and turned on my phone.
After spending the entire morning getting interrogated, it was already afternoon. I had my phone off for a long time, but there was no one in particular that would care about me enough to contact me… Or at least that’s what I thought.
“What?”
A number I’d never seen before had sent me a single text saying [Call me after you're done].
‘This texting style…it’s gotta be Choi Soo-hyun.’
Choi Soo-hyun was one of those Key Hunters that had the Dungeon Open skill. The one who had opened the second dungeon in the fake dungeon, Harpy’s Canyon, was none other than Choi Soo-hyun.
‘Can’t believe Choi Soo-hyun is also a Key.’
Hunters who had a skill to open dungeons were pretty rare.
The youngest ever Awakened, an S-rank Hunter, and a Key on top of that.
At this level, there was no doubt that this guy was a civil servant just as a hobby.
After confirming that this strange number was actually Choi Soo-hyun, I called him.
He picked up the phone before even the third ring.
Hello–Haesung Building, underground parking lot, B3 21-2.Sorry?Come.
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator: Igixri
Proofreader: Imagine
Discord Link: https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
After Choi Soo-hyun was done with this one-sided conversation, he hung up the phone. With my phone, I searched up the Haesung Building that he’d mentioned.
It was right across the street. Standing in front of the crosswalk, I muttered to myself while looking up at the building.
“This guy is a real headache…”
Even when he wasn't Unaffiliated, he must have been called an eccentric on a regular basis.
Cars were packed densely in the underground parking lot of a building that housed the headquarters of both a company and a guild.
McLaren 920S Spider.
It was the latest supercar that hadn’t even been out for a year yet.
I’d read on the internet that the two industries that had profited the most during the advent of the Hunter era were supercars and luxury goods. It was a kind of compensation mentality that arose out of people who worked without knowing when they might suddenly die.
Seeing Choi Soo-hyun’s car, I muttered in an assertive tone.
“Look at this, I knew this guy was a civil servant just as a hobby.”
“Damn kid, I can hear everything.”
Choi Soo-hyun glared at me through the rolled-down window.
“Just get in for now.”
Choi Soo-hyun started driving off before I’d even finished putting on my seatbelt. After driving up to ground level, Choi Soo-hyun fished out a homemade hard candy piece from a jar and rolled it around in his mouth.
“Heard you got an affiliation.”
“It ended up that way.”
“Congrats. Anywhere is good, it’s better to have a place you can entrust yourself to when you’ve just Awakened.”
“Yes, but where are we going?”
Choi Soo-hyun had turned off the navigation and was speeding off in some direction.
“My place.”
“I’m not the type to go on dates with men, though.”
“Wanna die?”
Choi Soo-hyun vigorously chewed the candy in his mouth with a straight face.
“I’m not allowed to joke now? How are you going to make it through life if you take everything so seriously?”
“Ahh? People would think you’re older than me or something by the way you talk.”
Ignoring Choi Soo-hyun’s words, I leaned back in the comfortable car seat and popped a piece of candy from the glass jar into my mouth. Fortunately, Choi Soo-hyun didn’t seem all that concerned about what I did.
“So, why are we going to your house?”
I waited for Choi Soo-hyun’s response while swirling the grape-flavored candy inside of my mouth.
“For a reason.”
Choi Soo-hyun refused to elaborate. But I didn’t think that his behavior was all that significant.
‘He’ll tell me in due time.’
There was no reason to rush it, really.
Maybe it was because I’d been interrogated since the morning, but I felt tired. The heater coming from the car was also warm, so I started to doze off.
I only woke up again about 30 minutes later.
It seemed like we had arrived, I could see a private garage in front of us through the windshield. Choi Soo-hyun, who had already gotten out of the car, knocked on the door of the passenger seat as if telling me to get out.
I opened the door and got out, rubbing my eyes.
“It would’ve been nicer if you’d opened the door for me too.”
“You can open the door by yourself.”
Choi Soo-hyun beckoned for me to follow him with a wave of his hand.
Displayed in the private garage were the latest models of cars from every luxury brand I’d ever heard of, from the McLaren that we’d arrived in to Chevrolet, Porsche, Ferrari, Bugatti, and more.
“Wow, that’s no joke.”
I was awake enough at this point to mutter snarky comments like this under my breath. The door opened to an elevator that was connected to the garage.
“What are you doing? Get in.”
I diligently followed Choi Soo-hyun into the elevator. I regretted falling asleep in the car and missing the front view of the house.
“This place really screams filthy rich, doesn’t it?”
“If you want to call me rich, call me that. Drop the ‘filthy’.”
“Should I say you’re really damn rich, then?”
“Wanna die?”
As soon as the elevator doors opened, I quickly ran out of his reach. I could feel Choi Soo-hyun’s exasperated expression behind me. When I turned around, I saw him make a fist.
A single nonchalant punch from an S-rank Hunter could probably break a couple of this body’s ribs like it was nothing.
Putting his hand into his suit pocket, Choi Soo-hyun exited the elevator. I was worried that he might actually hit me, but he didn’t do anything like that.
In front of us was a clear floor-to-ceiling glass wall with a nice view of the gardens below. For a moment, the image of my semi-basement apartment flashed inside of my head.
This house’s bathroom was probably bigger than my entire apartment. This damn guy.
“You said you’d been under investigation all day today, so have you eaten yet?”
“Do you think I’ve had the time?”
“What do you want? Pizza? Chicken? Burgers are fine too.”
“You’re making me choose between fast food options while living in a house like this?”
“Then should we be eating pesticide-free organic produce?”
“Ah, don’t say that. I’m fine with either chicken or burgers.”
“Then pizza it is.”
I had no idea why he went out of his way to ask me if he was just going to do what he wanted anyways.
“I’ll order the delivery, so just sit here quietly for now.”
Choi Soo-hyun waved his hand at me while going up to the second floor.
I flopped down onto the gigantic U-shaped sofa that was nearby. My body sank so comfortably into the cushions that you could tell me this was a bed and I’d believe you.
Woof.
“Woof?”
Woof woof.
“Ah, oh my god. It’s a puppy.”
A fluffy puppy was sitting next to me on top of the sofa. It seemed to be…a bichon?
The bichon, who had been barking directly at me, turned around and coolly jumped off of the sofa.
“Shong-shong, dinner time.”
Turning around, I stuck my head out above the sofa. Choi Soo-hyun, who’d changed out of his suit into a comfortable pair of sweatpants, cuddled the puppy in his arms.
“What’s with the name?”
“What’s wrong with it? He’s a bichon, so Shong-shong. It’s fitting.”
Choi Soo-hyun stared at me as if to ask if there was a problem.
“Wow, damn. Never mind.”
I sighed and closed my mouth. Well, it’s not my dog. None of this was really that important.
“Why did you invite me to your house?”
“Before that, you know you owe me some thanks, right?”
Shong-shong, who had quickly finished eating his dinner, scurried over on top of Choi Soo-hyun’s feet. He bent down a little to pick Shong-shong up and hold him to his chest. That puppy had to weigh something no matter how small it was, but when Choi Soo-hyun picked him up, he curled up into his arms like a cotton puff.
Chewing over Choi Soo-hyun’s words, I got up from the sofa. I thought about today’s events.
All that had happened today was getting called to the Association early in the morning, being interrogated all day, then being kidnapped by Choi Soo-hyun to go to his house. I couldn’t even call those things ‘events’.
‘Something to thank him for…’
I was the only survivor of an incident that happened in a dungeon practice organized by the Association. Yesterday wasn’t the first time that I’d been called by the Association, before this, I’d probably gone there thousands of times.
At some point, the people who’d initially suspected that I might’ve murdered the teammates that went in with me had started to change their tune. Instead of being labeled as a Hunter Killer from the start, it was much better for me to have it be chalked up to a simple accident.
“Was that your doing?”