EFME 133

Three days later.

Sunyul was at the Pocheon Dungeon, Room B–304.

He wasn’t there as Lim Sunyul, but disguised as Lee Sunwoo, a B-rank auxiliary hunter.

‘To think I’d use this fake name again.’

Thanks to keeping the disguise item he had used back then, dressing up was easy. Low-grade dungeons also tended to be lax with identity verification.

The reason Sunyul had gone so far as to disguise himself to come to this dungeon was entirely because of Choi Seongha.

Choi Seongha was mingling with people quite socially, with the sensitive appearance he had shown before nowhere to be found. Of course, he also spoke to Sunyul without any hesitation.

“A B-rank auxiliary yet a free hunter, that’s unusual.”

“It’s auxiliary in name, but my skills aren’t really much. They’re just a mixed bag….”

“What do you mean a mixed bag? Everything has its use.”

“Not really. I wish I had some useful skills too.”

The skills Sunyul intended to use were exactly three. Out of [Researching Magus], he chose [Flight], [Summon], and [Liberation].

Because Sunyul’s concept today was an ‘auxiliary hunter whose abilities are ambiguous in many ways,’ he deliberately left out his useful abilities.

“Now, since Mr. Mesha is here, it feels like there won’t be anything difficult. Since it’s B-minus grade, everyone pay attention. Well then, let’s begin the raid!”

With the voice of the raid leader, who was excited to get a carry from an A-rank hunter, Sunyul entered the dungeon.

Because it was a B-rank dungeon, there was no issue of being affected by the cracks in dimensions. He shouldn’t look strange for no reason, so it was a stroke of absolute luck.

Sunyul stayed stepped back for the most part inside the dungeon. He felt like a burden, but there were parts where he implicitly played an active role.

When disarming traps, he would fly over with [Flight] to activate the gimmicks, send a homunculus made with [Summon] to a dangerous place to check what happens, or open locked doors with the [Liberation] skill.

But he couldn’t do a single thing in battle.

It couldn’t be helped. Sunyul’s [Researching Magus] is an S-rank skill, but the skills derived from it were not all S-rank. In particular, the homunculus is useful in many ways, but in terms of strength alone, it is at an F-rank level, so it didn’t help at all in battle.

Since it felt like it was only a hindrance, he simply didn’t summon it out when fighting.

Unlike Juyoung, who possesses a proper form and can think, Sunyul’s homunculus doesn’t exactly have a will of its own. Furthermore, strictly speaking, what Sunyul sends out is merely a terminal of the homunculus, not the main body.

But despite that, he felt needlessly sorry for repeatedly pushing the homunculus to its death. Before catching the boss, during a brief break time, Sunyul summoned the homunculus and stroked it.

It was an action done without much thought, but unexpectedly, Choi Seongha, who hadn’t paid much attention to Sunyul until now, approached.

“Are you okay?”

“Ah, yes.”

Choi Seongha glanced down at the homunculus.

“Well, that thing was weak indeed.”

“Right….”

“You played an active part in other places though. Cheer up.”

“…Thank you.”

Sunyul managed a smile with a sullen face. Weak… of course it’s weak, but how competent our kids are. It was just frustrating that he couldn’t properly refute it.

“I couldn’t use my skills properly before either.”

“You did, Mr. Mesha?”

Sunyul asked back in genuine surprise. Choi Seongha’s performance today was quite excellent.

He inflicted critical damage by placing the position of a magic bomb, which was right on the verge of exploding, in front of a monster’s vital spot, and appropriately controlled the swarming monsters by continuously sending them back so they could deal with only a small number safely.

Seeing that, he had inwardly admired him. He had been looking down on him without a reason just because he was a cultist, thinking that he is a pretty competent person as a hunter.

“Yeah. After researching how to use it and getting help this way and that, I came to use it like I do now.”

Sunyul’s eyes sparkled as if it were highly interesting.

“Wow… really?”

“Yeah. Actually, I could never have done it alone, and there were people who helped me.”

“They must be amazing people.”

“Well, it’s not like each individual is immensely amazing or anything like that. It’s an Awakened gathering, but the ranks vary. Regardless of rank, when everyone puts their heads together, good ideas come up.”

“…That’s cool.”

“Right?”

Choi Seongha smiled in a good-natured way. It was a smile that looked truly harmless. With such a smiling face, Choi Seongha talked about the gathering he attends. Really… listening to it like this, it sounded like a decent gathering.

Even though Sunyul knew full well that it was a gathering to lure people into the Church of Doom.

‘This is why people say humans are scary.’

If he hadn’t known anything, Sunyul would have fallen hook, line, and sinker for his words. Because even now, when he knows everything, it sounds plausible.

Choi Seongha, who had lined up the explanations, smiled and took out a business card from his breast pocket, handing it over.

“If you happen to be interested in the gathering, let me know. Even if it’s not for that, call me whenever you need my help.”

“Thank you!”

Sunyul greeted him while pretending to be deeply moved. And he said straight away.

“Um, I am interested in the gathering.”

“Already?”

“No, it’s because you are very strong, Mr. Mesha, and you said you received help. I wanted to try attending at least once too….”

“….”

“…As expected, would it be too sudden?”

Sunyul read Choi Seongha’s countenance. At that, Choi Seongha, who had been contemplating, smiled readily.

“No. Then when do you have time?”

“Um, for this week, my time is fine tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. For next week, I have time on Friday.”

From the night of the day after tomorrow, he enters a dungeon. He was on edge thinking whether it was too tight, but Choi Seongha nodded his head readily.

“Then as it happens there’s a gathering tomorrow, so let’s meet. Where do you live?”

“Seoul.”

“That worked out well, the gathering is held in Seoul too.”

‘…That gathering, it must be everywhere, right?’

No matter where Sunyul lived, it seems he would have said it’s in a close place that’s good to go to. Because only then would it be easy to meet often and lure him in. It was a truly scary thing.

After running all of the dungeon and receiving the distribution of items, Choi Seongha detached a bit of his share and gave it to him.

“Th… Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. Get home safely.”

“Yes.”

Sunyul took the bus up to Seoul along with the other raid members.

⊹₊｡ꕤ˚₊⊹

When he went into the house, Juyoung welcomed Sunyul instead of Muyoung, who was away after entering a dungeon. Along with that, he proffered a large box of unknown identity.

“A gift has arrived for you, Mr. Sunyul.”

“A gift?”

“Yes.”

There was nothing for a gift to come for, so what on earth could it be. Since it was set up so that he doesn’t receive gifts coming from people he doesn’t know, it would be a gift that came from someone Sunyul knows.

Opening the box, a card was placed inside. Sunyul opened the card to read it.

「𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒈𝒚.

𝑷𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒊𝒕.

—𝒀𝒐𝒐 𝑺𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒚𝒖𝒏—」

…It was a gift sent by Yoo Sunghyun.

“Did it come to the house?”

“They sent it to the house from the guild. They said it wasn’t a dangerous item.”

“Umm.”

Sunyul checked what was inside. It was clothes.

…Made by the Melior Guild.

“….”

Items made by the Melior Guild, that is, made by Park Haemin, start from a few million won at the cheapest. But these clothes… checking them, the options seem quite good. If it’s this much, it would be worth at least tens of millions of won.

His hands trembled from the burden. Even though tens of millions of won was no longer big money to Sunyul now, it was crazily burdensome.

Sunyul read the card once more. Even if he tells him to accept it… how could he accept something like this.

Sunyul straight away made a phone call to Yoo Sunghyun. Before long, Sunghyun answered the phone.

─Ah, Mr. Sunyul.

“Wh-what is this gift you sent?!”

─Did you receive it? I felt sorry about last time too… and I’ve been thankful during that time too, so it’s a gift I’m giving to cover both.

“It’s too expensive!”

─It’s not big money to you, Mr. Sunyul.

“No… no, objectively it is big money!”

─It’s not an amount that either I or you, Mr. Sunyul, can’t handle. Please accept it.

“No….”

─It’s because I want to see you wearing that, Mr. Sunyul. Yes?

At the voice smooth as silk, the story Jo Seokwon had told suddenly came to mind.

‘If a face is pretty, he touches them indiscriminately. He must have resolved to touch you too, Mr. Sunyul.’

…He had said that.

Sunyul decided to have a sense of vigilance. The counterpart is a person suspected of being an influential figure in the Church of Doom, and even if it’s not that, if he is making a move…. Sunyul had Muyoung. He had to draw a line clearly.

“I am sorry. I can’t accept such an expensive thing.”

─Mr. Sunyul.

“It’s really troublesome if you send this kind of thing at your own discretion. I’ll send it back. Please take it back.”

─….

The counterpart was silent. Thinking whether he had spoken too strongly, he was contemplating what words he should add, when a sigh was heard from beyond the receiver.

─I am sorry if it caused you trouble. I must have been a bit hasty. I’ll take back the gift.

It was a statement with a strange corner, but Sunyul couldn’t catch on to that far. He merely focused only on the part that he would take it back.

“Ah, yes. As long as you take it back… it’s fine.”

─Should I go pick it up right now?

“No. Since I can use a skill, I’ll bring it to your house.”

─…Since I am not at home right now, then by any chance, could you bring it tomorrow?

“If it’s tomorrow morning, it’s fine.”

Sunyul hung up the phone after making an appointment with Yoo Sunghyun. Letting out a deep sigh, Sunyul approached Juyoung.

“Juyoung….”

“What is the matter?”

“Regarding receiving a gift today, can you keep it a secret from the Guildmaster?”

“….”

The homunculus, designed to follow its master’s commands, was silent. Sunyul smiled awkwardly and added a word.

“If he asks, you can tell the truth. Just don’t tell him in advance. Okay?”

“I understand, Mr. Sunyul.”

Juyoung answered readily. Sunyul let out a sigh of relief. Because he didn’t particularly want to make it known that he received a gift from someone else.

‘Because the Guildmaster would mind it.’

Sunyul would also mind immensely if Muyoung received something like expensive clothes as a gift from someone else. Of course, since Muyoung is more of an adult than Sunyul, he might pass it off as if it’s nothing but….

Sunyul also contacted the guild to make the same request, concealing the evidence, and was satisfied.