NOVEL NEXT #101
#101
Who was that?
“Hunter Yoon Pa-ran. It’s been a while.”
“Ah!”
Only when the hunter approached did Yoon Pa-ran recall his hazy memory. It was the hunter with the watch from the Gumun-dong A-rank anomaly gate where most hunters had been wiped out.
Right. He was one of the survivors.
“Have you been well?”
…What was his name again?
“Yeah. And you?”
Though the hunter’s evident joy felt a bit awkward, Yoon Pa-ran tried to respond kindly. He had left a good impression even during the chaos of clearing the anomaly gate.
However, instead of answering, the nameless hunter’s face hardened as he glanced at Yoon Pa-ran’s side.
“I see Hunter Dan Joo-hyuk is with you.”
Why did he say they were together when Yoon Pa-ran was trying to keep some distance?
Dan Joo-hyuk blatantly ignored the watch hunter’s words without responding. Seeing Dan Joo-hyuk’s even less sociable attitude, Yoon Pa-ran carefully distanced himself further.
Seemingly unbothered by being ignored, the watch hunter turned back to Yoon Pa-ran. His bright expression, so different from when he looked at Dan Joo-hyuk, still felt awkward.
“Hunter Yoon Pa-ran, by any chance…”
“Hunter Park Jung-hoon!”
Before he could finish speaking, an official standing in front of the gate called for him.
Dan Joo-hyuk, who had been ignoring people until now, finally smiled and looked at Park Jung-hoon.
“They’re calling you.”
By the way, so that’s his name.
“Ah. I’ll see you inside then.”
“Sure.”
Yoon Pa-ran was relieved he could learn the name without having to ask. He responded cheerfully, feeling a bit more at ease.
“…”
However, Dan Joo-hyuk stared at Park Jung-hoon’s retreating back for quite a while for some reason.
Come to think of it, Park Jung-hoon must be one of the hunters Heo Sang-yeon asked to monitor. He seemed to be observing him as if gauging his condition.
While stretching his neck muscles, Yoon Pa-ran also glanced towards the gate.
Many people were gathered there, including the official who had called Park Jung-hoon earlier. It was a chaotic scene with officials checking hunter rosters and hunter assistants from various guilds mingling together.
Armed hunters also began to gather in front of the gate. It was almost time to enter.
“Sigh…”
Yoon Pa-ran deliberately let out a long sigh to relieve tension.
It was his first time entering a gate with others while wearing this item. It also meant it was his first time coordinating with others as a ranged attacker.
But today, he kept making eye contact with someone every time he turned his head. It couldn’t be because of his unusual outfit. Since it was an A-rank gate, there were at least ten others wearing similar items.
It was probably because he, formerly a close-range attacker, was now dressed like a ranged attacker.
Trying not to show his nervousness, Yoon Pa-ran hardened his expression. He quietly thought that he’d need to perform well inside the gate to avoid being looked down upon.
Meanwhile, Dan Joo-hyuk took another step closer, hovering in his field of vision. Lowering his voice, Yoon Pa-ran whispered softly to him.
“You should go now too.”
“Why?”
“There’s no need to let everyone know we’ve been working together.”
Despite the whisper, Dan Joo-hyuk deliberately moved closer, as if to make it more obvious.
Frowning reluctantly as he looked up, Yoon Pa-ran saw Dan Joo-hyuk smiling rather gently.
“We weren’t exactly strangers who never talked, wouldn’t it look stranger if we avoid each other?”
“Hmm…”
Is that so?
“…”
Come to think of it, it wasn’t that strange for him to be talking with Dan Joo-hyuk. They always exchanged a few words when they met. Of course, most of the time it was Dan Joo-hyuk picking fights, so their exchanges weren’t exactly pleasant.
Having somewhat agreed, Yoon Pa-ran just moved a little to the side. He thought this distance wouldn’t make them look too close.
“So, the shoes aren’t uncomfortable, right?”
“No.”
“You might not adapt well once we’re inside, did you bring spare equipment?”
“Yeah.”
He had agreed to keep his rank a secret for now. Having to exert only upper B-rank level power while wearing the equipment might make today’s gate a bit tricky.
He had heard from Dan Joo-hyuk that the stone was in the Russian gate too. It might be a good idea to conserve strength, not knowing when or where that strange stone might appear.
Thinking that all these anomalies might be closely related to his skill, he tensed up, his back stiffening.
“Are you not hungry?”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Is your luggage not heavy?”
Yoon Pa-ran wanted to double-check his equipment due to nervousness, but Dan Joo-hyuk kept talking.
Finally, when he started saying unnecessary things, Yoon Pa-ran firmly cut him off.
“It’s not heavy. Stop making me talk.”
Disregarding this, Dan Joo-hyuk whispered even more intimately into his ear.
“Stay close to me when we go in.”
“Why?”
“We have things to investigate together, remember?”
His tone strangely made Yoon Pa-ran want to rub his nape. Feeling that Dan Joo-hyuk had become even weirder lately, Yoon Pa-ran questioningly examined his complexion.
As their eyes met, Dan Joo-hyuk’s deep eyes curved even more. Finding it oddly difficult to maintain eye contact, Yoon Pa-ran quickly turned his head away.
Anyway, they did have a lot to do in this gate, as he said.
First, they needed to find out what medium was necessary to use [Sacred Zone S], the skill created by his unique ability. He really wanted to know if the safe zone could be set up outside the gate too. He had first tried experimenting with a blessing fragment, but it yielded no results.
Secondly, they needed to determine if [Sacred Energy S] could improve the symptoms of hunters suffering from injury aftereffects. Especially, it would be good if they could find the exact conditions that cause seizures in those who have touched [■■■ Fragment].
Of course, they couldn’t solve everything in this gate. So for today, it meant Yoon Pa-ran could move alone.
“You focus on the attack team. I’ll handle things on my own. Besides, I’ll be in a ranged position, what are you talking about?”
“Being close means I can borrow that power if needed, even for the attack team’s sake.”
Dan Joo-hyuk smoothly countered.
However, just because his tone was smooth didn’t mean the content could be glossed over, so Yoon Pa-ran unconsciously criticized him.
“Since when did you care so much about others’ wellbeing?”
Despite the sharp rebuke, Dan Joo-hyuk smiled even more broadly as he answered.
“Actually, I needed a test subject worth purifying again, so this works out well.”
That’s more like it.
He had heard that people who touched the stone in the Russian gate changed as if they had become monsters. Dan Joo-hyuk said he’d like to recreate that situation once more to see if it was a temporary phenomenon.
“I’m also curious to see what changes might occur if you, Yoon Pa-ran, purify them directly instead of me.”
“Sigh…”
It was clear his experimentation obsession had kicked in again. Although Yoon Pa-ran was cooperating because having information seemed increasingly important, it was still a headache-inducing matter.
“Still, it’s better to hope it’s not injury aftereffects.”
“…Are you worried about Hunter Park Jung-hoon?”
“Of course.”
He was naturally concerned since they said high-ranking hunters were in short supply.
Unlike B-rank and lower hunters who were quite numerous, A-rank and above high-ranking hunters were very rare. Not only was there a big skill gap, but the number of awakenings itself was low.
Maintaining the number of high-ranking hunters was important, even for the sake of the orphanage’s safety. As he was thinking this, an unfamiliar voice sounded from behind.
“Dan Joo-hyuk.”
Yoon Pa-ran quickly turned with a wary look. Though the voice was somewhat unfamiliar, the approaching person was a face he knew.
It was Kim Sin-cheol, an A-rank hunter, known as the most skilled among ranged attackers with the throat attribute.
“Are you fighting again…?”
For some reason, he slowly wedged himself between Dan Joo-hyuk and Yoon Pa-ran with an awkward posture.
Like Yoon Pa-ran, he too was wearing a long tunic item that reached his ankles, befitting a ranged attacker. Rumor had it that his equipment was also quite good.
Of course, the S-rank item Yoon Pa-ran was wearing would be much better.
“Oh, Hunter Yoon Pa-ran. Your equipment has changed.”
Yoon Pa-ran nodded reflexively at the compliment about his equipment.
But soon he had to shut his mouth, feeling awkward. He couldn’t reveal information about the equipment. Especially if it became known that what he was wearing was the rumored item from the Russian gate, it would clearly be very troublesome.
After pondering, Yoon Pa-ran soon had a good idea. It was a good opportunity to naturally move away, pretending to be uncomfortable.
“…”
Dan Joo-hyuk intently watched Yoon Pa-ran’s retreating figure as he quickly moved away with a stiff expression.
Kim Sin-cheol didn’t find it strange that Yoon Pa-ran avoided the situation. There were rumors that he wasn’t the type to enjoy small talk, and it was common for hunters to be on edge before entering a gate.
However, he had to awkwardly gauge the situation behind Dan Joo-hyuk. After all, Dan Joo-hyuk’s gaze, slowly turning from Yoon Pa-ran’s back to him, seemed quite fierce for some reason.