‘Heuk.’

The speed of the monster was beyond imagination. Just closed my eyes for a moment, and it was already within arm’s reach.

‘Oh my!’

Because the situation occurred so suddenly, I was unable to react in any way.

But then.

-Puk!

The creature that was right in front of me suddenly disappeared. At the same time, I heard a dull bursting sound.

‘D, did it explode?’

When I quickly turned my head, I caught a glimpse of Kang Changho’s outstretched arm out of the corner of my eye. That S-class defeated the charging monster. Kang Changho was staring at the blood that had come from killing a monster, and then he spoke in a quiet voice.

“You didn’t react even when the enemy was charging at you… Could it be to test how I would respond?”

Honestly, it’s ridiculous. I simply had poor body vision, so I couldn’t follow the movement.

“No. It can’t be.”

I immediately denied what he said. Then, after a brief moment of silence, Kang Changho glanced at me and casually flicked the blood off his hands before returning to silence.

‘W, what is it?’

Up until this point, I was still confused about the whole situation.

-Whoosh!

But after a while, as Ahn Yoonseung, who failed to manage his mana, missed monsters more frequently, the S-class standing by his side gradually began to show his true value…

-Pagh!

The second monster and the third monster as well.

-Pagh!

Even though this time we hadn’t even entered dangerous territory, he voluntarily took care of it?

‘Huh?’

When I came to my senses, the corpses of C-Class monsters were scattered horribly around me. In other words, Kang Changho has been thoroughly managing this area since a while ago.

‘Huh?’

I rolled my eyes, pointed to the corpse lying on the floor, and asked a question carefully.

“Hunter Kang Changho, I’m asking just in case, are you going to take these bodies?”

“No.”

“Then can I take some?”

“Sure.”

After that answer, an unknown emotion bloomed in my heart.

‘This hunter… he’s incredibly sincere….?’

Is this the emotion of Koreans?

***

It’s a clear day, with the green grass shining in the blue light. In a landscape with high saturation, people wearing dark leather clothes tend to stand out.

“Huh?”

A few minutes ago now.

Ahn Yoonseung’s complexion hardened as he spotted Kang Chang-ho in the park. Like most in the industry, the young man didn’t particularly want to confront that S-Class.

“Why is Kang Changho here…”

Yoonseung held his breath for a moment due to the pressure created by the highest Awakener, but in the meantime, the thing he was worried about happened. The other person suddenly shouted someone’s name.

“-Hey, Kim Kiryeo!”

Korea’s third S-Class is a person who has always been famous for only showing interest in strong people. If so, attention would naturally be focused on that hunter now.

‘Ugh, as expected, he’s picking a fight with Kiryeo Hyung…!’

Yoonseung looked to the side with concern.

But surprisingly, it seemed that Kang Changho wasn’t just pretending to know because the other person was strong.

“Changho-ssi, you’re here.”

What’s going on? Kim Kiryeo naturally greeted the appearing S-Class as if he knew he would show up.

‘Did you develop some kind of friendship in the meantime…?’

He really wanted to hear an explanation, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the gate. Yoonseung tried to focus on the red gate that soon appeared.

‘Come to your senses. Today is an important day to show off my skills to my benefactor!’

He took his position, assuming that the person standing behind him was his teammate.

“Ugh!”

However, there was no way a proper hunt could happen with just one defense-type hunter.

A moment later, a monster that had not been restrained managed to slip out towards the rear. Normally, at this point, he would have immediately deployed his shield toward his comrade, but…

‘There’s no need for that now.’

Ahn Yoonseung quickly canceled his skill. That monster was practically heading to its own grave by now.

‘Pitifully.’

A few seconds later, he became curious about what the fleeing monster had said. He glanced briefly behind him to check.

‘H, huh?’

However, what followed was so shocking that he almost dropped his shield.

-Peukh…

‘Kang Changho… dealt with a C-Class monster?’

What is this?

After that, Yoon Seung checked the rear from time to time, but the situation was always the same.

‘No way!’

While the blonde hunter stood by with an indifferent expression, Kang Changho took the initiative and eliminated all the monsters approaching from the rear.

‘Nothing else, but ‘that’ Kang Changho?’

Kang Changho was a top-level awakened person and at the same time a hunter with a thorough self-righteousness. A prime example of this was his refusal to comply with the Association’s summons, despite facing significant penalties. Borrowing the power of Kang Changho is something that even the government has given up on.

But how can such a person so obediently help others?

‘Is this really the S-Class I know?’

From Ahn Yoonseung’s perspective, it was difficult to speculate that they were bound by a contract related to ‘[Improvement]’.

Therefore, he ends up making a big mistake while trying to understand the situation with only the information he has.

‘C, could it be that Hyung has made up his mind and decided to firmly establish his position now…!?

Would that aggressive S-Class have left someone like Kim Kiryeo alone until now? Surely, Kang Changho must have provoked Kiryeo with high-intensity arguments while this side was unaware. And perhaps, Kim Kiryeo, having tolerated it to some extent, might have stepped in mercilessly the moment his opponent crossed the line.

No, it’s not just speculation that it might have happened, it’s more like it actually did happen, right?

The gap is so big that it’s unbelievable. In order to get Kang Changho of the world to do chores, that level of secrecy was necessary.

‘I really don’t think there is any explanation other than this? Look, Kang Changho is crawling on Hyung-nim without even making a protest!’

Ahn Yoonseung was amazed. To think that even the formidable force of the Hunter Association couldn’t keep the unchecked power of an S-Class in check! Isn’t it enough to say that this is amazing?

‘Wow, the more I know about him, the more impressive he becomes.’

Ahn Yoonseung swallowed dry saliva. There was a time when he thought he would like to team up with Kim Kiryeo, but when their levels were so different…

‘It’s difficult to be a team member.’

Ahn Yoonseung defeated the last monster with a bitter expression. However, the gloom didn’t last long.

‘Then how about I become a porter?’

The hunter industry has more diverse occupations than expected.

‘In long dungeons, there are cases where you have to find room and board inside the gate. If I learn the necessary skills for such times, I might be able to help Hyung-nim one day…?’

That blonde man is a natural-born hunter. Because of his exceptional skills, he may not feel the need to team up with others. It probably won’t be easy to find team members in the future. So, Yoonseung decided to aim for a role as a support member of the team rather than as a colleague. That was because there was a high chance of working with Kiryeo.

‘Let’s improve my skills! So I can be even more worthy of being Hyung-nim’s porter!’

His intention was pure. He only wanted to be of help to his lifesaver.

However, because he greatly misunderstood his opponent’s skills, his goal setting was slightly wrong…

‘That’s right. Right now, I can’t even reach your toe, so training is the only way to go!’

This useless effort will come later.

They ended up putting Yoonseung in the position of a monster rookie who ‘drags a dead team by the collar’.

***

Day 5 of the Red Gate attack.

“Hmph!”

Boom!

The sharp thorns surrounding the monster’s body shattered mercilessly against the silver shield. As the broken thorns scattered in all directions, Yoonseung swung his mace down onto the exposed skin of the monster. With a sound, the monster split into small pieces. Another one down, another monster hunted.

‘It seems like your skills are gradually improving?’

But it wasn’t a very surprising scene. I’ve been watching Ahn Yoonseung at work for the past five days.

‘Is this already the fifth gate?’

We originally started hunting safely at C-Class, but now we have gradually gained confidence and are confidently attacking B-Class solo.

However…

‘Seup.’

To be honest, even B-Class was a bit disappointing to me. If I could effortlessly conquer those A-Class gates, known for their toughest challenges but also the greatest rewards, then making 2.6 billion in no time wouldn’t just be a dream.

‘Honestly, even if a jackpot happens, it’s hard to make lottery-like profits with B-Class hunts.’ f𝚛ee𝐰𝗲𝐛n𝐨v𝚎𝗹.com

Looking at the red gateway across the street, I licked my lips. Is it too presumptuous to think that it would be an A-grade gate?

-Kwaaak!

As you can see, I have such a strong bodyguard attached to me.

‘Ack!’

Meanwhile, another monster dashed forward. This is because the hunter nearby kicked the approaching monster.

Anyway, looking at it again, the reaction speed is really amazing. I thought he was just having fun, but how could he protect a 5m radius like a sword?

“Thank you.”

I bowed my head and took the magic stone from the corpse.

However, Kang Changho remained silent, focusing once again on his task at hand. That Earthling began carrying a tablet PC with him at some point during the mission.

‘Surfing the web right in front of the gate?’

Normally, this would be considered crazy, but is this guy just an ordinary awakened person? S-rank hunter Kang Changho has been fulfilling his duties perfectly all this time. Thanks to this, I was able to retrieve the materials of high-level monsters without any harm.

‘Hohoho.’

If I had known this would happen, I would have signed the contract a long time ago!

Honestly, I didn’t expect Kang Changho to be this helpful. When he said he had ethics, I brushed it off as nonsense.

‘Ehem, I didn’t have enough faith…!’

Is this why you shouldn’t judge others by their appearance? Our Changho might look a bit intimidating, but he’s actually got a good heart. Always diligent and sincere.

‘If this continues, I will save 100 million in the blink of an eye.’

Glance.

I took out the item box I had lent to Ahn Yoonseung in advance and diligently collected the materials from the monster.

Because of that, my hands were covered in blood, but it didn’t matter. Because basically, counting money can get my hands a little dirty.

“Phew, it’s all taken care of!”

After waiting for a while, it seemed like Ahn Yoonseung had already solved all the monster waves.

“Heuk! Hyung-nim, there is blood on your hands…”

“Ah, this?”

“I, I missed so many enemies that you ended up catching a few! I’m sorry!”

“It’s not like that.”

“No! You don’t have to be considerate of me because I might feel embarrassed.”

There was a brief moment of confusion during the conversation. Well, this aside.

“Anyway, you did well today.”

After a light praise, we proceeded to wrap up the hunt. We had to gather the monsters we had taken down to make it easier for the cleaners.

‘Ah.’

However, at that moment, as I crouched down to lift the monster, a sudden shadow loomed over me. It was Kang Changho, approaching closer.

“Kim Kiryeo.”

It seems like he has something to say.

“Can you stop?”

While this side is silent, Kang Changho’s remarks continued.

“Are you going to protest right now because I’m not giving you money?”

“Yes?”

“Someone who normally doesn’t do that is suddenly visiting the upper-level Red Gate every single day. To be honest, it doesn’t look good.”

He takes a moment to choose his words. He didn’t look particularly angry, but as an S-Class hunter, just standing quietly was enough to create a sense of pressure.

“Kim Kiryeo, how about taking a break from gate raids for a few days?”

“Yes?”

“Pushing yourself like this isn’t good for your health. For both of us. I’ve mentioned this before, but considering how loosely the contract terms were drawn up, we should be considerate of each other in these matters.”

“….”

“Of course, with the loophole in the contract regarding red gates, you can do as you please, but there shouldn’t be any risk of death even if you do.”

Kang Changho quickly gave advice.

“Just know this. I’m not as bound by the oath as you are.”

That would mean that he could attack me at any time if he wanted to.

“If you happen to secretly go to the Red Gate and get caught… It won’t be fun for either of us.”

After making him work non-stop for 5 days, that guy finally showed his true colors.

‘Well, there’s no such thing as overdoing something to make your temper worse.’

I knew it.

My life was established solely by his generosity. Some weaker individuals even went so far as to stake their lives on futile promises, while on the other hand, the other side was in a favorable position where even minor considerations could be ignored depending on their mood.

A one-sided relationship. Or a tilted balance.

By this point, I could have been living with that S-class Hunter not as a bodyguard, but rather burdened with unnecessary constraints.

‘It can’t go on like this.’

However, we were aware of such issues long before as well…

“I apologize. I’ll correct it immediately.”

I gathered my thoughts and spoke. However, contrary to my gentle external reaction, I was planning a different plan inwardly.

‘Kill me.’

Because there was at least one way to prevent Kang Changho from doing that. After today’s settlement is done, it’s time to start preparing for it. With that determination in mind, I lifted the last corpse.