The Otherworldly Magic Swordsman Who Disciplines the Hunter World Chapter 23

“Since the Vice Master has arrived, they will handle it on their own. As long as they clear it properly, there won’t be a problem. The reason outbreak dungeons are a headache is because people get sucked inside when the Gate first opens.”

“Aha… Sucked into the Gate?”

Somehow, it was a familiar story. Because Julian had been sucked into a black hole in exactly that way.

Was that a Gate? To them, it was the inside, but to Julian, it was effectively the outside.

Lost in thought, he tapped his fingers rhythmically.

Somehow, it felt like he almost understood, yet not quite. The worlds connected by the Gate, the monsters wandering between them, and the difference between himself and the people here who could not see mana.

There was something called a System here, and Julian could not see it.

‘Maybe this place is…’

“Are you really not from here?”

He snapped back to his senses at the sound of Gong Siyoung’s voice. Before he knew it, the car was slowing down. Gong Siyoung, hesitating as if troubled, glanced over his eyes.

“I was wondering if… you really came from inside a dungeon.”

Julian blinked his eyes. He had been sticking by him all this time, and he was only asking that now?

“Then what have you been thinking of me as until now?”

Gong Siyoung shut his mouth with a startled face. I could guess just from that expression. Whatever he thought, it probably wasn’t anything good.

The honest reaction made Julian laugh first.

“Whether that place is inside or outside a dungeon, I’m definitely not from here. In the place where I lived, there is nothing like this or that.”

He pointed to the car and the scenery outside the window in turn. Unlike this world, which was convenient and comfortable no matter where one looked, Julian’s world was a place that was more desperate and earnest than this.

Monsters appeared at all times, and people died far too easily. It is a world where it is easy to die, and easy to kill.

“It hurts my pride a little, but it is a place much filthier and harder to live in than here. Compared to that, this place is, well, heaven.”

A life where safety cannot be guaranteed easily plunges a person into despair. Attacks from monsters, the tyranny of lords, famine and plague; despair and death by various names hovered around.

To Julian, it was a scene as familiar as breathing.

“Is the fact that you can see outbreak dungeons also related to being from that place?”

“Well, I think so… Since there is so little mana here, it stands out when it clumps together like that.”

“…What is mana?”

Until now, Julian had asked the questions and Gong Siyoung had answered, but now it was the opposite.

Gong Siyoung’s reaction of being embarrassed even while asking was quite amusing. Julian cleared his throat with a hem hem to avoid showing too much of his smile.

“To put it simply, it’s like the power needed when using magic. A mage’s circle changes depending on how delicately they handle mana. It’s like the source of power.”

Mana was not infinite. There were differences depending on proficiency, but if one used magic, the amount of mana used would leave the body.

Once mana was exhausted, magic could no longer be used from then on. The only way was to wait until mana accumulated again, or to use magic stones to fill it up quickly.

“And that mana thing was visible to your eyes when the Gate opened?”

“That’s right. Because there is so much mana inside a dungeon. I wonder if that’s why it protrudes outside the Gate. I don’t know for sure, but that’s my guess.”

For Julian, Gong Siyoung, who could not see mana, was actually the strange one. Why can’t he see it?

Mana definitely moved even when Gong Siyoung used his skills. It meant that he also knew how to use mana in some way.

He knows how to use it without even being able to see it? Like saying something is hot yet cold, things didn’t quite add up.

“Can I ask one more thing?”

“As much as you want.”

The car slowed down. As they entered a building, the surroundings grew dark. It felt exactly like entering a cave.

Gong Siyoung tossed a question to Julian, who was looking at the parked cars.

“If… you really came from another world. Don’t you want to go back to your original world even now? No matter how I look at you, you don’t seem desperate, but then again, one never knows.”

That was also why Gong Siyoung could not trust Julian.

For someone talking about another world and such nonsense, he had no sense of crisis or anxiety.

Is that possible for even the most thoughtless person? He crossed over to another world overnight and was dropped into a strange environment with no one he knew and nothing he recognized. And yet, he can act so casually?

It made much more sense that he was a crazy person rather than believing that. Though, as it turned out, that was a wrong judgment.

“It’s strange no matter how I think about it. Anyone is bound to be flustered if they lose their way.”

Julian’s attitude had been consistent from then until now. Gong Siyoung was right. Even if he was surprised by the unexpected situation, he was not flustered.

Rather than reacting emotionally, he just let it slide in a ‘I guess so’ kind of way. It was different from being thick-skinned.

In some ways, it looked as if he had given up on understanding. Or had resigned himself.

“So it’s a bit… yeah. No matter what you say, your words don’t feel sincere.”

The car, having arrived at its destination, stopped slowly. The engine turned off and silence descended. In the space where the lights had gone out, Julian blinked his eyes slowly.

“Well. I’ve never particularly hidden my sincerity…”

If Gong Siyoung felt that way, there wasn’t much to say. As if he hadn’t spoken to hear an answer, Gong Siyoung stood up from his seat first without lingering.

The sound of the car door slamming shut echoed. Gong Siyoung, who got out without even saying he was leaving, moved along the path.

Julian, still sitting in the passenger seat, muttered softly.

“Should I have been flustered?”

Even if this place was strange, it wasn’t creepily flustering or confusing. He didn’t particularly feel like he had to go back home either.

Is it because he had been wandering for so long? Or is it because this place is so cozy?

“Wait for me.”

Lest he be left behind, Julian quickly got out of the car.

Leaving the unanswered question tucked away, he followed Gong Siyoung.

∞ ∞ ∞

“Ah, I see. So what we generally think of as skills are magic to Mr. Yuri. You said you use a sword too? Could I perhaps take a look at it?”

“As much as you want.”

“Oh…! It looks incredibly beautiful? The grip is good too… Wow, this is truly artistic. It’s really great?”

“He’s a fellow who knows how to see things. What was your name?”

“Myeong Haejin. Just call me Haejin comfortably. Mr. Yuri, you are older than me, so you can just use informal speech with me.”

Haha, hoho, the laughter never stopped. White hair and pink hair put their faces together and chattered away.

At the unseasonable conversation, the corners of Gong Siyoung’s eyes twitched minutely.

‘Is no one going to take those two away?’

It had only been 10 minutes since they gathered in the meeting room. Even though it was a serious situation, the atmosphere was infinitely light. I thought an apartment residents’ association would be more solemn than this.

The reason the atmosphere became like this was, without a doubt, because of those two.

Shouldn’t they at least pretend to be serious, even if they aren’t miserable about the appearance of a nested dungeon? Even if Julian is like that because he’s a person from another world and knows nothing, why on earth is Myeong Haejin being like that. I was disgusted by his light attitude in everything.

A total of five people were gathered in the meeting room. Including Gong Siyoung and Julian, Woo Yujin and Gu Jayoung, who were the first to enter the dungeon, were also there. When Myeong Haejin was added to that, I couldn’t manage my expression at all.

Right, I had expected it to some extent. Since they had entered the dungeon together, it seemed likely that Woo Yujin and Gu Jayoung would accompany them, and I suspected that if those two went, Myeong Haejin would follow too.

I didn’t not know why Gong Sijin organized the team that way.

Aside from disliking Myeong Haejin, his skills were impeccable. Even Gong Siyoung admitted that.

In some ways, Myeong Haejin was more reliable than an S-class Hunter. No matter where you put him, Myeong Haejin did more than his share. He always assessed situations rationally and calmly, and his judgments were generally correct.

If one looked at it rationally, it could be called an optimal team. Gong Siyoung who is S-class, Myeong Haejin who is a veteran with good judgment, Gu Jayoung who is a healer yet also has attack skills, and Woo Yujin who, despite talking a lot, is one of the top skilled close-range damage dealers.

Both the positions and the composition were optimal. It was certainly so… but why did I feel so bad?

“I’m sorry, am I a bit late?”

The meeting room door opened and Gong Sijin appeared. Bringing an armful of documents, he set the bundle of papers down on the table. Curious gazes followed the heavy stack of documents.

“The Bureau meeting just kept dragging on and only just finished. Originally, the Vice Master was scheduled to brief you all, but since he suddenly became busy as well, I came instead. I couldn’t exactly leave sensitive information to someone else.”

Gong Sijin winked while looking at Julian. He clapped his hands and looked around at the people.

“Everyone has heard the rough explanation, right? More details are in the documents I’m handing out now, so please refer to them.”

Then, he handed out the documents one by one. The red words ‘Confidential’ were stamped on the files.

The rustling sound of paper replaced the silence for a while. After a short pause, Gong Sijin opened his mouth.

“Yesterday afternoon, an abnormal phenomenon occurred inside the dungeon that appeared within our district. A Gate leading to another dungeon appeared, and the time remaining until it opens is…”

Gong Sijin checked his wristwatch.

“Exactly 5 hours left. In 5 hours, you all must enter that place.”