Chapter 23

SMH 23

Swordmaster Healer – Episode 23

TL: Boko

Editor: Ren

Chapter 8 – The Final Memory (2)

When it became close to midnight, Sung Joon went to his scheduled C-rank dungeon and entered alone. Right after, two men came out of the darkness.

It was the Hound guild’s Chief Recruiter, Jung Tae Min and his subordinate, Choi Yong Deok.

“Chief, it looks like he’s already gone in!” exclaimed Yong Deok.

“Were we a little late? It’s better this way! Let’s see how long it takes him to come out!” said Tae Min.

“I’m sorry?” Yong Deok asked. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“This dungeon is currently in the process of being attacked. May I ask why you’ve come?” asked the Dungeon Bureau worker as he approached.

“This is who we are,” Tae Min said. He took a business card from his breast pocket and showed it to the Dungeon Bureau worker. Ordinary people weren’t allowed access to the surrounding area around the dungeon but guild members were classified as ‘interested parties’.

“You cannot trespass,” said the worker.

Since guild members sometimes went on standby outside of the dungeons, the Dungeon Bureau worker didn’t say much more and returned to his original position.

“Nice. Bring out what we brought!” ordered Tae Min.

“Understood!” Yong Deok responded vigorously and brought out a small lawn chair from his bag.

“I told you to prepare the other stuff as well… ” Tae Min said.

“Of course I prepared them!” he replied.

Subsequently, he took out a small sack. It had various snacks inside.

“Good, now let’s wait like this until Kang Sung Joon comes out!” Tae Min said, encouraging himself in a raised voice. He took out some beef jerky from the sack and put it in his mouth.

That’s how five hours passed.

Tae Min and Yong Deok were exhausted. Tae Min finished off the last canned coffee and Yong Deok turned his face to Yong Deok.

“How much longer?” Tae Min asked.

“Five hours have passed. If we look at the stats, when a B-rank Hunter solos a C-rank dungeon, the clearance time is around six to seven hours. I predict that Kang Sung Joon will take at least six hours, so there’s one hour left,” Yong Deok replied.

“I really want to sleep.”

“So do I.”

Tae Min stood up briefly and stretched.

“The dungeon entrance is opening!” Yong Deok exclaimed.

“What? You said it’s only been five hours,” replied Tae Min in astonishment.

Yong Deok replied, “I expected it to take at least six hours, but the entrance is opening.”

Shortly after, the dungeon entrance opened fully. Sung Joon slowly walked out.

“H-he came out.”

Tae Min pulled Yong Deok up from his chair and began walking over to Sung Joon. Sung Joon was in the process of confirming his dungeon clearance with the Dungeon Bureau worker.

“We’ve confirmed the dungeon clearance. It’s about ten minutes from tenth place. Congratulations,” said the Bureau worker.

“Is that so? Thank you.” Sung Joon smiled faintly.

‘I can solo a C-rank dungeon now,’ he thought.

Sung Joon hadn’t just gotten stronger, his movements had also become more nimble. He had absorbed mana, strengthening his body, and so his limit had gotten even higher.

Not too long ago, a C-rank dungeon was somewhat difficult, but this time, it was easy.

“Well done,” the Dungeon Bureau worker said.

Due to his Mana Absorption skill, Sung Joon hadn’t used much stamina but since it was late, he naturally felt tired. He tried to hurry and get home but Tae Min and Yong Deok appeared in front of him.

“May I ask who you are?” Sung Joon asked.

They definitely weren’t some cult. Those people wouldn’t be able to be in the vicinity of the dungeon at this hour.

‘Are they an interested party?’ he wondered.

An interested party; in other words, it was highly likely they were Hunters or guild members.

“I apologize for so abruptly coming to see you. We’re from the Hound guild,” began Tae Min.

‘The Hound guild’s Chief Recruiter, Jung Tae Min… I kind of expected it but they’re a bit early,’ Sung Joon thought.

Sung Joon accepted Tae Min’s business card and examined it. Just as he had expected, Tae Min was a guild member.

‘I didn’t expect a mid-upper rank guild to come…’

Ever since the Phoenix guild had invited him to join their guild, various other guilds had started to keep a close eye on Sung Joon. Sung Joon knew they were watching him but he didn’t think a mid-upper rank guild would have come and found him themselves.

“I’m starting to understand who you are,” Sung Joon said.

“Then, let’s talk for a bit…” Tae Min replied.

“Since it’s daybreak right now, I’ll contact you later, in the afternoon,” Sung Joon said, firmly cutting him off.

Sung Joon called a taxi and went home. Tae Min and Yong Deok looked at each other vacantly in the very place that Sung Joon had just left.

“Chief, did we waste our time here?” asked Yong Deok.

“No, I gave him my business card so it’s partly a success,” Tae Min said, smiling with some effort.

Sung Joon arrived home. Before he went to bed, he accessed Hunter.com. Since he didn’t have much information on mid-upper ranked guilds, or higher, he went to Hunter.com to find some answers.

He looked through community sites where a lot of Hunters gathered, and found information on the Hound guild. Sung Joon was able to find bulletin board messages from Hunters who had been invited to join the Hound guild

‘It’s not bad,’ he thought.

Guilds were corporations. The more Hunters they had, the more influence they possessed. Therefore, several guilds used coercive means to increase their numbers but at the very least, it seemed like Hound wasn’t one of them.

After searching Hunter.com, Sung Joon determined that the guild most famous for its coercion was a Korean Top 30 guild called the ‘Great Demon’.

‘I don’t need to worry about a Top 30 guild,’ he thought.

Sung Joon shook his head. A high-ranked guild could exert more influence in Korea than large companies. He didn’t think a place like that would keep an eye on him.

“Time to sleep!” Sung Joon said and laid on his bed. When he fell into a deep sleep, he saw his final memory.

*  *  *

‘Did my Magic Absorption awaken my sleeping memories…?’ Sung Joon mused.

The background was similar to that of his most recent dream.. He was in the center of the plains, which were filled with corpses of men and monsters alike. Unlike last time, however, there were twelve people surrounding him.

“Roukel… Thirteen Knights…” someone said.

His memories were faint so all Sung Joon could make out was his past life’s name, ‘Roukel’ and ‘Thirteen Knights’.

Sung Joon entrusted his body to his awakened memories. Swinging his sword, he swept the blood off in one stroke and twelve knights pointed their swords at him.

“In the name of his Imperial Majesty.”

For some reason, when he heard the knight’s brilliant voice, he felt a strong sense of loathing and repulsion from deep within.

Sung Joon opened his mouth. He said something but his voice was so faint that he couldn’t hear it. There was one thing he was certain of; the strong emotions were flowing back into him.

“Give up. Are you going to fight the rest of the Knights?” someone asked.

Sung Joon smirked. “Why not?”

He had been able to improve his body much more than the last time through Mana Absorption so his memories were clearer this time. However, they still weren’t complete.

“Roukel…”

The scene returned to the conversation. His memories weren’t complete so Sung Joon couldn’t be sure but it seemed as if he knew the twelve knights.

Anger, frustration, and other similar feelings went crazy in his head. However, there was a clear winner.

Betrayal.

Eventually, Sung Joon raised his sword and assumed a battle position and the knights ran at him. At the same time, Sung Joon woke up.

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“AH!” he cried.

Rising from his bed, Sung Joon organized his thoughts on his dreams and faint memories and came to one conclusion.

‘I was betrayed.’