Chapter 359: Monster Hunter (2)

"What?" Leonard sprang to his feet in surprise.

Even the subordinate who reported to him daily had never seen such an intense reaction.

"Why the hell are those bastards here?"

By bastards, he was referring to Kai and Yoo Ha-Rin.

To that obvious question, the subordinate shook his head. "I’m not exactly sure either... Rankers have been visiting more often lately, so maybe it’s for the same reason."

"

Ugh

. My chest suddenly feels tight... and I can’t digest properly," Leonard grumbled and slumped back into his seat.

Learning was human nature, and that was why the masters of the eight great guilds had instinctively learned one truth.

Kai. That bastard is a dynamite. Touch him, and you’re as good as gone.

Being especially quick-witted, Leonard knew better than anyone not to mess with those two people.

"No need to act tough and end up getting smacked..."

"Pardon?"

"I mean there’s no benefit in getting on Kai’s bad side... Wait, hold on." Leonard’s expression turned serious as he recalled something. "Isn’t that guy on good terms with the Cheonhwa guild?"

"Well, considering they teamed up to take down Black Bee, I’d say they’re pretty close. Seol Eun-Yeong also appeared with him on

Dungeon of the Absolute

."

"And he’s got some ties with Warriors too, right?"

"That too... He helped with the Zatan Raid, so I doubt they’re on bad terms."

"You don’t think this bastard came all the way here to kick me around just because Cheohwa and Warriors complained about me, do you?"

"No way.

"Right? I’m just being paranoid, right?"

"

Um...

I wouldn’t say for sure."

Because he didn’t want to take responsibility.

Leonard didn’t like that answer and smoked his pipe.

"Where are the Cheonhwa and Warriors people right now?"

"Cheonhwa is exploring the west, and Warriors are in the east."

“Start treating them a bit better from today just in case. No picking fights. If they order food, give them about 5% extra."

"Understood. What about the other guilds?"

"Who else was there...

Ah,

right. Black Market and Black Dragon." After thinking for a moment, Leonard smirked. "Black Market... I think it’s fine to mess with them. And as for Black Dragon, we can openly pick a fight with them."

"A-are you sure that would be okay?"

"Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure Kai doesn’t get along with Black Dragon anyway."

Leonard’s assumption was close to the truth, since Kai was still suspicious that Black Dragon could be connected to the Revenge guild.

"

Hmm

. Honestly, I’d rather the Black Dragon guys caused a bit of trouble right in front of him."

"Things work out great for us if that happens. Two birds with one stone."

"Well, maybe we can’t get both birds, but we can at least enjoy the show." Chuckling to himself, Leonard felt much more at ease. "And notify everyone that Kai and Yoo Ha-Rin, under no circumstances, are to be touched."

"Yes, sir."

"Make sure they listen. Not even the slightest provocation is allowed."

"Of course."

"Seriously, don’t do anything that might make them uncomfortable. You get what I mean?"

"

Yeah,

I got it."

When the subordinate grumbled in a sulky voice, Leonard cleared his throat.

"So what are the two of them doing now?"

"They’re eating."

"

Oh?

At the restaurant?"

"No, at the bar."

"What!?" Leonard once again shot to his feet.

His eyes darting in panic, he asked, "Don’t tell me they were served retort meals."

"Of course they were. That’s what we always use, right? You keep telling us we need to cut costs, so..."

"Wait, you’re telling me you actually served them three-minute retort meals? To Kai and Yoo Ha-Rin?"

"What else could we serve? There’s no chef stationed there. Only the restaurant has one."

Leonard’s palm struck the back of the subordinate’s head. "You idiot! You should’ve thought about who you were serving before putting out food like that!"

***

Kai and Yoo Ha-Rin sat with slightly hardened expressions because the food they had ordered had a familiar, cheap taste.

"Sorry. The quality is really low for the price."

"No, you didn’t do anything wrong, Ha-Rin... Besides, I think it’s fine."

Kai stirred the mushroom soup with his spoon, then brought it to his mouth. Then, he exaggeratedly made a satisfied expression and gave a thumbs up. He was trying to keep her from feeling bad.

"If you say so... But this tastes exactly like the instant food I have at home."

"No way. The Mafia guild wouldn't pull something that shady at their own bar."

"

Hmm

. I’ve got rich taste buds, and this tastes exactly like retort food..." Yoo Ha-Rin tilted her head and grumbled but still scraped her bowl clean.

After rinsing her mouth with cold water, she stared intently at Kai’s dish. Realizing what that gaze meant, Kai gently offered her some of his chicken sandwich.

"Would you like some of this if you’re still hungry?"

Yoo Ha-Rin jumped back and waved both hands. "N-no. I could eat more, but I’m not hungry, really."

"Don’t worry and please have some. I have a small appetite anyway, so I can’t finish it all by myself."

"

U-umm.

If that’s the case, then I guess I don’t have a choice. No choice at all..."

Yoo Ha-Rin’s expression brightened for a moment, but she quickly composed herself. She carefully took the sandwich and bit into it, chewing enthusiastically. They were clearly eating the exact same chicken sandwich, yet hers looked so much more delicious.

Is this the feeling people get when they watch mukbangs?

Feeling hungry again, Kai quickly finished his sandwich. It really did taste better than before.

Once they finished eating, the two left the bar.

"You mentioned earlier we need to get an entry pass to operate in the Dark Zone, right?"

"

Ah,

yes. I already checked where it is, so just follow me."

With a full stomach, Yoo Ha-Rin took the lead with cheerful steps. The place they arrived at after following her lead was the management office built right at the front of the Dark Zone.

"Welcome."

"We’re here to get entry passes."

"Sure. Please write your name, level, job class, and affiliated guil... d?!"

The Mafia guild member looked at the two and jumped in surprise mid sentence, then shook his head.

"N-never mind. You don’t need to fill out any forms."

The member immediately handed over two entry passes and began explaining the basic rules.

"First, indiscriminate PK inside the Dark Zone is prohibited. If you get caught, our guild and nearby players will cooperate to hunt the offender down."

"That’s good to hear."

"Yes. That’s why you’ll need to join our regional channel. You’ll get alerts through the channel if a PKer shows up, a boss monster appears, or there’s a known intentional stealer."

"Regional channel,

huh

..."

As the name implied, it was a type of chat room accessible only to those active in the area.

"There’s no need to actually talk in it, right?"

"Not at all. Just being in it is fine. If anything comes up, please speak up immediately. The Mafia guild will support you with the utmost care."

"Thanks."

The two joined the channel and took their entry passes.

"

Oh

, and it’s better not to go north... but I suppose it should be fine for the two of you.”

"What about the north?"

"The deeper you go into the Dark Zone, the darker it gets, and stronger monsters appear. So most people usually explore west or east from the camp."

"I see."

"Oh, and one last thing. Here’s the map."

"Map sharing... Is that special treatment too?"

"There's nothing we wouldn’t do if the two of you are going to explore the Dark Zone."

Kai muttered with a look of surprise. "The treatment is better than I expected."

"I was surprised too. Why is a place like this being criticized on the community forums?"

"

H-haha

... Well, the community is where people make stuff up all the time. What was it... anonymity! They hide behind anonymity."

As the guild member spoke with an awkward smile, the surrounding players who had been watching let out scoffing laughs.

"

Hmph.

So only top-rankers get treated that well,

huh.

"

"Yeah. We paid for all that. Solo players are practically forced to buy the map too."

"

Tsk

, how are we supposed to live like this? Let’s just go hunt. You only get treated well in this world if your level is high."

Hearing the grumbling of the nearby players, the two finally understood the situation, but they had no particular response to give. After all, they too had poured in countless efforts to reach where they were.

"Let’s get going then."

Kai entered the Dark Zone with Yoo Ha-Rin. The marked direction on the map was N—north.

***

"As expected, it’s really dark."

"

Oh

, you were on my left."

The Dark Zone was literally a place with not a single ray of light. It felt like waking up in the middle of the night and searching for the bathroom in pitch darkness. And that wasn’t all.

Ding!

[There is no sunlight in this area.]

[The effects of Solarain Body are no longer active.]

The passive skill Solarian Body that increased all abilities by 20% while the sun was out was gone.

It should be daytime right now...

Kai looked up. It seemed the leaves overhead were blocking the sunlight, which had deactivated the skill.

"

Hm.

Ha-Rin."

"Yes?"

"Could you close your eyes for a moment?"

"My eyes?"

They couldn’t see anything anyway, so why ask that now?

Yoo Ha-Rin tilted her head but obediently closed her eyes. "They’re closed."

"Okay, then..."

Kai snapped. At the same time, Sacred Flare lit up around him. He had determined it was impossible to proceed without visibility and activated the skill.

"The Mafia guild member at the office was right. The northern path really is darker than the outskirts."

"

Huh?

Did you turn on a light?" Yoo Ha-Rin cautiously opened her eyes and hurriedly looked around. "

Hmm.

I heard some monsters in the Dark Zone have highly developed vision. They’ll probably see this light from far away."

Kai responded briefly to her worry. "If they come, we’ll just kill them all."

"I guess that works."

They were a party made up of the first and third top ranked players. On top of that, both of them had Mythic grade classes.

I should take this chance to see Ha-Rin’s skills.

Kai had previously teamed up with her once at the Sanctuary of Corruption. However, back then she was a beginner, and now she was a Knight of Change. He looked forward to seeing how much she had changed.

"Shall we get going?"

"Yeah." Yoo Ha-Rin firmly nodded and stood beside Kai.

"

Kaaaaagh!

"

"

Graaaagh!

"

Just as she had warned, monsters that had spotted the Sacred Flare began to reveal themselves with shrieking cries.

"Quite the crowd coming in."

Two in front, and one crawling through the trees.

Staring at the three monsters—no, reckless fools drawn to the flame—Kai muttered, "Should I warm up first?"

"No."

Yoo Ha-Rin rotated her body and lightly stretched, then she loosened her fists without drawing any weapon.

"Maybe it’s because I had that chicken sandwich at the end, but I feel a little heavy. I’ll go first."

"Sure. Ladies first."

Kai stepped aside with a gentle smile.

At the same time, Yoo Ha-Rin looked at the charging monsters and slowly said, "Skill activation, Change."