The Otherworldly Magic Swordsman Who Disciplines the Hunter World Chapter 4

Julian’s face was reflected on the dark lenses of the glasses. Can he even see what’s in front of him wearing something like that? Pushing down the question, Julian answered obediently.

“Julian.”

“Ah, then may I call you Mr. Lian?”

“No, just Julian.”

“I see. So it’s just Mr. Julian.”

The tone was strangely sarcastic. Julian shrugged his shoulders.

“You can just call me Yuri, too.”

“Right. Just Mr. Yuri then. According to Hunter Gong Siyoung, he said he found Mr. Yuri in a newly appeared A-rank dungeon. Is that correct?”

“Ah, so that place is called a dungeon.”

It seemed they called that strange space where ash fluttered a “dungeon.” Whether he wanted to or not, information about the other world was steadily piling up.

Julian looked around his surroundings with fresh eyes. If they call that a dungeon, what do they call this place? Outside the dungeon? Whatever the name, the difference between that place and this one was stark.

The environment was one thing, but above all, the concentration of mana was different. Inside the space they called a dungeon, mana overflowed everywhere. Thanks to that, hadn’t he easily suppressed the Hellhounds even without a magic stone?

However, it wasn’t like that here. It was almost as if there was none at all… yet even so, there were spots here and there where mana pooled.

For instance, the black glasses Gong Sijin was wearing. Mana was uniquely gathered only there. To Julian’s eyes, the energy flowing through those glasses was visible.

It wasn’t that he was exceptionally good at reading the flow; rather, any sword user could see that level of energy flow.

It wasn’t just Gong Sijin’s glasses. The men in the room were all wearing items similar to that.

They feigned otherwise, but in Julian’s eyes, they looked like weapons. Or something similar to a weapon? It was a bit difficult to judge whether they were magic tools or not, but in any case, they were not ordinary objects.

Well, he had no intention of acting like he knew. Opening his mouth for no reason would only increase their wariness. There were times when one had to pretend not to know what they knew, and pretend not to see what they saw.

“Right, I was caught in the dungeon and brought all the way here.”

The other side must have brought him this far because they had something to gain. Just what could it be? Julian watched Gong Sijin’s expression, which was hidden behind the glasses.

“Well… fine. There is one more thing I’d like to verify. Can you cooperate with us?”

“As much as you want.”

Gong Sijin smiled broadly at the favorable response. Contrary to the gentle voice, a cold question followed.

“There is no record anywhere of Mr. Yuri entering the dungeon. Did you perhaps deceive the Bureau and sneak in secretly?”

Gong Sijin paused for a moment. Simultaneously, mana pooled near the black glasses. While tracing the shimmering flow with his eyes, Julian scratched his head.

“Well. I’ve never deceived anyone…”

If he was asked how he got here, he didn’t have much to say in response. He couldn’t act like he knew a fact that even he himself didn’t know.

Julian leaned back against the chair. Crossing his legs, he bobbed the tip of his foot.

“This is the first I’ve heard that the place is a dungeon. I don’t know what the Bureau is, and I’ve never deceived anyone. In the first place, I have no memory of entering a dungeon or whatever.”

“Then how were you inside? You handled the monsters and cleared the dungeon by yourself. Surely you aren’t going to say you don’t know about that either?”

What on earth does “cleared it” mean?

Thinking that asking about that would only ruin the atmosphere further, he forced himself to swallow the question.

The gazes of the men surrounding Julian grew sharper little by little. It looked as though hostility was gradually growing along with suspicion.

It was fascinating all over again. From their perspective, it was natural to be suspicious of him, who had dropped out of the sky. They must be curious about his identity and what happened in the dungeon. He understood that well enough.

However, Julian could not understand them at all regarding a completely different point. They captured a suspicious person who couldn’t even prove his identity, yet they were investigating him so quietly through conversation alone?

‘Are they angels?’

What would have happened if such a thing occurred in the Empire? Wouldn’t it start with locking him in a dungeon and beating the hell out of him? Or maybe they would have cut off an arm or a leg first?

To answer questions, one only needs their tongue attached. As for the rest, cutting it off or putting it back on wasn’t a big problem.

After being tortured like that day and night, it would only be when the thought “Wow, I’m definitely going to die now” occurred that they would generously provide a priest.

He knew it well because he had similar experiences a few times. After going through a time that was neither treatment nor torture, truths and lies alike tended to flow out smoothly.

Comparing it to those days, his favorability toward them suddenly shot up. If people who interrogate only through mild words aren’t angels, what are they?

For the sake of the angels, Julian obediently confessed the facts he knew.

“I was right on the verge of dying while doing a monster subjugation campaign, you see? But suddenly a sort of black curtain was made, and I was sucked right into it. When I opened my eyes, I was inside that dungeon or whatever it is.”

He didn’t forget to add that there were Hellhounds that came with him, and that he had handled them with his own hands.

While spinning the chair around, Julian looked at the men in the room.

“Does that serve as an answer now?”

There was no reply.

∞ ∞ ∞

“I told you, he’s a nutjob.”

Why think about it so hard? Gong Siyoung asked back noncommittally. Increasing the speed of the treadmill, he stepped forward quickly.

“I heard that talk about a subjugation campaign too. He’s just a nutjob possessed by some weird delusion.”

During the time that man called Julian accompanied him from the dungeon to here, he had babbled all sorts of other crazy things besides that. He started by being horrified and amazed when getting into the car, and then what did he say while staring at the passing scenery until his eyes almost popped out?

“If you build buildings that high, how do you deal with Griffins or Wyverns? If you cross paths with even a Harpy, everyone will die!”

He couldn’t even understand what on earth the man was talking about. Having heard enough, Gong Siyoung had eventually ended up putting on noise-canceling earphones.

Anyway, he was certain of one thing from that experience.

The man he picked up from the dungeon, that man named Julian or Yuri-al or whatever, was a crazy person.

How could he not be? Aside from the excessive reactions and the fuss, the things he spat out were all bizarre and grotesque.

“There are guys like that among Hunters sometimes. The ones in bad shape. He’s that type, I tell you. He probably escaped from a hospital or something and luckily hid in the dungeon.”

“No. I’ve already confirmed that it’s not a lie.”

Gong Sijin shook his head. He pulled a pair of sunglasses from his pocket. Gong Siyoung squinted at the black sunglasses dangling from his fingertips.

“You even used an item?”

“I have to be sure about these things.”

The ‘Mirror of Truth’ that Gong Sijin possessed was an A-rank item.

It determined the truth of every visible subject and was not restricted by rank. Questions from Gong Sijin, who wore the item, were always marked as ‘True’ or ‘False.’

And the answers Julian spat out were all ‘True.’

“Siyoung-ah, think about it. What if that man really was summoned from beyond the dungeon, alongside the monsters? We might be able to learn the truth about the dungeons we’ve been fighting.”

Julian wasn’t lying. He really had crossed over from “somewhere” along with the monsters. It was an opportunity to approach a truth that neither the dungeons nor the system had revealed.

However, Gong Siyoung had a face that suggested he understood even less. He brought the treadmill to a stop with a rough motion. His irritable gaze turned toward Gong Sijin.

“Fine, thinking optimistically, let’s say that crazy guy is right, and let’s say there’s a secret or whatever. But? What does that have to do with me?”

Even though he was the one who first discovered him, Gong Siyoung had zero desire to be involved with that man.

When he was busy enough running dungeons? Why would I do such a bothersome thing when it’s not like the guild lacks people?

“Because we don’t know Mr. Yuri’s rank.”

Gong Sijin shrugged his shoulders. It wasn’t that he wanted to entrust even this kind of cleanup to a precious S-rank Hunter.

But what could he do? Julian’s rank came up as ‘Unknown’ no matter what skill was used.

His skills were unidentifiable, his identity was suspicious, and there was no telling where he might bolt to.

However, they couldn’t just keep him tied up either. There was still a mountain of information to dig out from Julian, and in such a situation, it was advantageous to maintain as favorable a relationship as possible.

He had privately requested a rank evaluation from the Bureau, but until then, someone was needed to watch Julian. As the right person for that job, he chose Gong Siyoung.

Being an S-rank, he could easily suppress Julian if a problem arose.

Moreover, their personalities matched perfectly. Since Gong Siyoung was the type to let other people’s words go in one ear and out the other, he wouldn’t be swayed by Julian even in most situations.

“Besides, you’re the one who brought him in. You picked him up, strictly speaking. If you picked him up, you have to take responsibility until the end.”

Gong Sijin tapped his shoulder. It was a tone of admonishing a thoughtless younger brother who had picked up a stray dog without permission.

And the current situation wasn’t much different from that.

“I hate it. I have to run dungeons. You know it’s an emergency right now.”

“Don’t worry. It’ll only be a day or two at most, and I’ll handle things on my end for that long.”

“What about the sudden dungeons? I have to check those—”

“Yes, it’s fine. We have our team members. The world won’t end just because you’re gone for one day.”

Strength gradually entered the hand gripping the shoulder. Gong Sijin smiled broadly. A threat disguised as a suggestion descended upon the irresponsible younger brother.

“Do you want to listen while your hyung is speaking nicely, or do you want to listen after getting hit once, Siyoung-ah?”