After leaving the association, the first thing I did was to call Hunter Ahn Yoonseung.

Hyung-nim! Whats going on!

Oh, its nothing special. Lets eat together.

The next place I arrived at was a local restaurant. It was still a bit early to call it dinner time, so the timing seemed perfect as there were few people around.

You like pork, right? Eat as much as you want

Heuk! Thank you.

Now that the bribe is ready, I guess its time to slowly bring up the topic.

I pushed the well-cooked meat dish to Yoonseung and hinted at what I wanted to discuss.

But Yoonseung-ah.

Yes!

I have a problem these days.

Yes, yes.

I didnt intend for it to happen, but somehow it looks like Ive become a target for assassination by Jung Haseong, you know?

Clank!

After hearing those words, Ahn Yoonseung dropped the chopsticks he was holding. I quietly took out new chopsticks from the cutlery container and spoke again.

Listen to me first. He hasnt killed me yet.

Although my tone remained calm, it was actually a situation that made me want to go crazy and jump around. Who could have known that a meeting at the EX-Class gate would develop like this?

Trying to bury someone in an unknown gate, Jung Haseong is truly too much.

What did I even do!

At best, I committed a bit of perjury, tried to pass on some monster attraction, and was just using the gate reward that Jung Haseong worked hard to clear.

Oh. Is that reason enough?

Anyway.

Lets get back to the main point for now.

I need some advice. Youre a high-ranking hunter. Do you know anything about Jung Haseong?

Even if you suddenly ask me that.

I just want to smoothly resolve things.

After a long pause, Ahn Yoonseung hesitantly opened his mouth.

Its hard to imagine in the first place. I mean, its not like any other hunter that Jung Haseong?

What do you mean?

I havent really had a chance to interact with him. Hes generally a boring person. In a way, hes similar to you, Hyung-nim.

Ahem. He cleared his throat for a moment.

Rather than having personal disputes with anyone, he just occasionally gets heated when it comes to gate conquest strategies.

Yoonseung muttered to himself for a moment before speaking carefully.

Isnt there just a misunderstanding between you two?

Uhm.

It doesnt make sense for Jung Haseong to be angry enough to kill someone, and it doesnt make sense for someone as polite as you to earn such a grudge

Finally, an objective perspective intervened. It was only after hearing those words that my thoughts began to return to normal.

Is that so?

Now that I think about it calmly, I wonder if I misunderstood Jung Haseongs suggestion a bit?

Have I become sensitive to unnecessary distrust of humans?

I came to my senses and slowly admitted to myself that my worries had been a misunderstanding.

Listening to you, that seems to be the case. Well, it wouldnt make sense for the top-ranked hunter in Korea to harbor feelings towards someone like me, whos just an F-Class.

Then Ahn Yoonseung laughs lightly.

Hahaha.

Well, Hyung-nim. Anyway, you probably wont need to worry about that kind of thing in the future.

While skillfully handling my chopsticks, I briefly glanced up at Yoonseung.

Hunter Jung Haseong would also find it burdensome to pick a fight hastily.

What?

Remember the incident at the White Maze? There was an event like that, so I suppose they wouldnt take their guard down against Hyung-nim either.

I quietly focused on his words.

Thats how it is with hunters fighting each other. People are different from monsters, so they often hide their abilities.

Oho.

Yoonseung shrugged his shoulders and said it as if it were natural.

This awakened person must be hiding something If the other party thinks that way, friction is unlikely to occur easily.

Its a very likely story.

Come to think of it, even in the previous park incident, the assassin mistakenly thought the target was a strong person, so there was no fight.

I see.

Beep.

And at this moment, a notification sound rang on Kim Kiryeos cell phone.

What is it? A message?

Yeah, mhm. Let me reply quickly.

I spoke after noticing the eyes staring blankly in this direction without saying a word.

Why? Curious?

N, no. Thats

Its nothing special.

What followed was a readily accessible text message inbox.

(7 days ago)

[Kiryeo-ssi, if you havent eaten yet, would you like to have lunch together today? I know a good Korean traditional restaurant!]

[Im sorry. Im busy with a police investigation right now.]

(4 days ago)

[Hello! The weather is getting cooler. ^^ I suddenly thought of you, Kiryeo-ssi. Have you had a meal?]

[I just ate.]

(1 minute ago)

[Hunter Kim Kiryeo! What are you up to today~~? You didnt already have dinner at this time, did you?]

[Yes, Im currently eating pork ribs with a friend.]

Its just a greeting message. Lately, she has been texting me often these days.

I casually showed the phone screen and then focused on my meal without much thought, but for some reason, Ahn Yoonseung was sweating profusely.

The sender of the message is saved as Seo Esther?

What does that mean?

***

As summer approaches its end, the hunter society in Korea is experiencing a minor cold.

The number of gates has increased again.

Since the appearance of the EX-Class dungeon last time, there has been a sharp increase in both the frequency and difficulty of gate occurrences nationwide.

This time its also an A-Class? Which guilds are capable of handling it?

Both Neo Sisters and Korea Magic Tower have already sent their entire main teams to attack.

Ugh, so theres no one else but that hunter after all?

However, regardless of the country, Korea is a nation that possesses numerous S-Class hunters, despite its small land area. Therefore, it was able to handle this situation to some extent.

Contact No. 1!

In other words, it means that certain hunters are actively participating in the situation.

-Drring

Next, the man covered in blood pulled out his phone from his pocket.

A-Class gate?

Jung Haseong muttered with a tired face. Just after finishing the gate, he was called out again.

Driver, start the car.

Ah, CEO. The blood

However, he silently headed to the next destination. Hunting monsters.

That was what being a hunter meant to himthe job he had taken on.

Blood will spill again anyway, lets just go.

In this way, Jung Haseongs state of overwork accumulated.

The next day, Jung Haseong swallowed the recovery potion he had acquired at the auction house. It had been exactly 40 hours since he last slept.

While S-Class hunters were being dispatched like this, what could the alien great wizard be doing?

Phew!

Returning to the story.

This is a one-room apartment in Mapo-gu where Kim Kiryeo lives. The blonde man standing there shouted with a proud expression on his face.

Its finally over.

Its nothing compared to a certain hunter who is going through a hard time, but in fact, Kim Kiryeo has been busy at work for the past few hours. He had to fix this serious flaw in his body as soon as possible.

Should we check if the modification was successful?

Todays results were like this.

[Version 1.2.2 Changes]

This is quite a long sentence. So to put it more simply

Its perfect!

As of today, Kim Kiryeo has acquired Pain Resistance. Since eliminating all pain sensations would cause problems, a mechanism has been added to nullify it only when a certain level of pain occurs.

Im quite close to my past body.

I am not afraid of pain anymore!

In truth, he had recognized the need for this modification for a while now, but he kept putting it off out of laziness. But why? He came to his senses after going through the fire because of Jung Haseong. He thought he was going to die of shock if he kept putting it off.

To think I would come to know what it feels like to be engulfed in flames. I never wanted to collect data like this.

Kiryeo wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was quite tired, perhaps because he had been concentrating for a long time.

Phew, I think Ill call it a day. Ive earned enough for now. Wouldnt it be a bad idea to try delivery cooking

But then, at that moment, something brushed past his sharp senses.

It felt like a dark and immense wave, pushing against him in the direction he was heading.

Ugh.

By the time he noticed the flow of magic, it was already too late. Soon after, a deafening explosion echoed through the one-room apartment.

Boom!

Grrrr

Bippo, Bippo, Bippo.!

Kim Kiryeo froze and looked straight ahead.

What is this situation now?

The sound seemed to come from very close by, didnt it?

Thankfully, the room was fine, but an indescribable anxiety began to creep in. Kim Kiryeo put on his slippers and quickly ran out into the hallway.

And there, the first thing he saw was

Huh.

The building.

The building was blown away.

Haha.

Kim Kiryeo laughed as he looked at the buildings right side, which seemed to have been bombed away. He could see steel beams and shattered cement. Of course, except for his own room, 304, the lines next to him have completely collapsed.

Damn it

There was more than one resident who came out after hearing the sound. Following that, a loud voice echoed in the corridor.

Get out of here right now before the unstable building collapses. Run away.

Everyone was shouting like that.

Every damn thing happens on this cursed planet.

It occurs around late August.

It was the beginning of the Dungeon Break terror attack that would cause numerous victims.

***

Preparing for evacuation wasnt difficult.

After all, these are the only valuable items.

Lets just take the magic tools and go.

I hugged the sleeping incense burner and set out on my way. In addition, I also brought along recovery potions, protective bracelets, reflective mirrors, and the like, but none of them were particularly bulky.

Hmm.

But the problem is where to evacuate from now on.

What, why is the phone not working?

My first thought was to ask for help from Ahn Yoonseung, but my cell phone was having trouble.

The phone isnt working.

Maybe everyones on call?

What should we do

Listening to the passersby, it seemed like this inconvenience wasnt just happening to me.

Should I first follow the people to where people run away?

There was no time to stand idly by.

I wonder what kind of accident happened because monsters were roaming around the streets at this very moment.

Kyaaak!

Ruuun!

Are there no awakened people around?

Pterodactyl-shaped monsters are screaming alongside humans.

Debris soared through the air, mingling with blood and smoke.

With the appearance of monsters, the peaceful scenery of modern times instantly turned into what resembled a battlefield.

Everyone is too busy running away to worry about anyone else.

I ran frantically amid such chaos. Thanks to this, I was able to barely find shelter. It seems that people on Earth use subway stations as air-raid shelters in times of emergency.

Everyone gathers at the subway, huh?

But

Oh!

The subway station I arrived at was already packed with evacuating citizens. Furthermore, hunters at the entrance blocked any more people from entering, claiming that they couldnt accommodate any more.

Damn it!

I would be very grateful if Kim Kiryeos damn brain could come up with the Earths evacuation tips right now.

Unfortunately, there is absolutely nothing to point out.

If I stay here any longer, Ill be trampled to death by the crowd.

I had no choice but to look for another solution. As I stop and sharpen my senses, I feel various types of mana.

The mana within awakened people.

The external mana rises from the ground.

And the movements of the creatures from the gates.

In the end, I have no choice but to run away alone.

I took a deep breath and began to move. Originally, I planned to choose areas without monsters until the situation calmed down.

That thing over there Could that be that person?

In a moment, I arrived at a narrow alley.

I turned my head north on the quiet street. Although the situation wasnt clear to the naked eye, when I sensed the magic power, it became certain.

Beyond that building, Jung Haseong was there.

In a situation where monsters roam, an S-Class hunter appears before me.

In the midst of such chaos, I briefly felt a twinge of guilt at the thought of bothering someone who was undoubtedly busy, but for an alien on the verge of death, conscience was unnecessary anyway.

Well, considering Im already a sort of parasite attached to Kim Kiryeos body

I also specialize in parasites.

I followed Jung Haseongs energy with shining eyes.