The Otherworldly Magic Swordsman Who Disciplines the Hunter World Chapter 50

At that moment, Julian had made a choice. Even when he suspected they might be inside Minos’s hallucination, and even when he was not yet certain of that suspicion, he already knew the method of escape.

In a world where one could only flee by dying, he had purposefully gone around stabbing his comrades. At least one person had to remain there. Even though he knew that perfectly well, he did not let it show.

“There is no one in the world who wants to die. It is usually the case that those who say they want to die actually want to live longer than anyone else… But you, you keep acting the opposite way.”

Nothing in this world is a given. However, Julian acted as if it were natural in every situation.

Naturally, he stood at the very front, and even though no one asked, he stepped forward without hesitation to deal with threats. Every single choice made in those moments was directed toward others.

“I was waiting to say this. Thank you for saving us. But… don’t do that from now on.”

Standing up, he whipped his body around. He left the hospital room after saying only that. Both his entrance and his exit were arbitrary.

Julian, watching the door close with a thud, scratched his cheek.

“So… he’s saying thank you, right?”

Why is the expression of someone saying thank you so grim? It is truly impossible to understand him.

Still, thanks to Gong Siyoung, he was able to roughly grasp the situation. It seemed they had successfully escaped both Minos and the dungeon while he was unconscious. Hearing that no one was hurt was the best news he had received.

Julian kicked off the bed and stood up. He reached for the sword leaning diagonally. The sword, greeting its master, let out a fine hum.

“Thanks. It’s because of you.”

If not for Igni, he might have been trapped there to die without a choice. It seems there really is always a way out for a person. If you strike at the weakness, you can preserve your life even in the worst of situations.

“Wait, then that means all of that was real.”

The one who told Julian the escape method was the status window. The thing that had been discriminating against him by not appearing showed itself like magic once the rest of the party had vanished.

Not only that. It even went as far as specifically mentioning his name. He didn’t think that was normal… The words saying he shouldn’t be there and the words telling him to come back were incredibly significant.

Where on earth was it telling him to return to? If it said “there,” it meant there was a “here.”

“What on earth was that? That thing.”

While he was lost in deep thought, struggling with the problem for a long time, the door opened once more. Gong Siyoung, with a sullen face, appeared as he pushed the door open.

Julian tilted his head. Didn’t he just make a very meaningful exit? For someone who did, this was an remarkably fast re-entry.

As if noticing his gaze, Gong Siyoung consciously avoided eye contact. From behind the man who didn’t know what to do with himself, someone peeked their head out. Julian quickly recognized him.

“Gong Sijin?”

“Hunter Yuri, is your body alright? I came after hearing the news that you woke up!”

Gong Sijin entered the hospital room with a loud laugh. Gong Siyoung, who was awkwardly pushed inside, came to a stop near the bed.

“I heard Mr. Yuri went through a lot. Don’t worry about your body for the time being and get plenty of rest. Fortunately, they say it isn’t a cerebral hemorrhage.”

He had always been kind, but now it was excessive. He reached out to Julian with a gentle, fox-like face.

At the gesture to come closer, Julian moved his steps as if possessed, with his sword tucked at his side. Gong Sijin, holding Julian’s hand tightly, had eyes shining brightly.

“You’ve worked hard. Thanks to you, we’ve learned much more about overlapping Gates. And above all, everyone was able to come out without being hurt. It would have been impossible without Hunter Yuri.”

Because the body cam was lost during the escape process, there wasn’t much data. However, the stories he heard were enough.

Many things had been brought to light. The reset, another Gate inside a Gate, and the appearance of a type of monster never seen before.

Even looking at just one of these, phenomena requiring research occurred consecutively. It was a serious situation where it wouldn’t have been strange if anyone had been injured.

“The Gate in question has been temporarily sealed. There is still some time before the Second Circle Gate opens.”

“Second Circle Gate?”

“The overlapping Gate. The dungeon was given a name after this raid ended. Dante’s Labyrinth, Inferno.”

The warning words that appeared when the Gate first opened. And the Gate inside a Gate that continued thereafter.

It was still difficult to be certain what kind of connection there was, but there was no disagreement that the place resembled the entrance leading to hell.

People loved giving names, and through that, they gained certainty.

“Passing through the First Circle Gate leads to the Second Circle Gate. It’s a structure where circles are connected within circles, going deeper and deeper. Just like the depiction of hell in Dante’s Divine Comedy.”

“What kind of madman gives a dungeon such an ominous name? Are they holding a ritual for us to go to hell, or what?”

Gong Siyoung muttered irritably. A person talking about hell and such might be excited to chatter, but as someone who had to go inside, it wasn’t something to welcome.

Even if it was just words. It wasn’t as if he was crawling into hell with his own feet, so it was impossible for his mood to be anything but bad.

Gong Sijin gave a bitter smile, perhaps empathizing with those words.

“What can we do? The Management Bureau made the official announcement that way. Whether it’s really hell or not doesn’t matter. What’s more important than that is the fact that Gates can continue to be connected.”

Every time there is a reset, a completely different dungeon appears. Even if you kill the boss monster and clear the dungeon itself, it’s over once the reset happens. You have to start from the beginning again.

And that’s in a completely new environment, in a situation where you don’t know what rank of monster will appear.

“Hell, is it…”

Julian smacked his lips. It wasn’t exactly wrong, but it felt strange.

The environment inside the dungeon was not much different from the place where he used to live. Using the word “lived” was a bit of a misnomer, but anyway, it was a real space.

It was similar to the territories of monsters he used to frequent while carrying out monster subjugation battles. Come to think of it, there or hell, well, maybe they are similar?

“People from the Management Bureau will visit Hunter Yuri tomorrow. Actually, Siyoung shouldn’t be here like this either; he should be having an interview…”

Gong Sijin, his voice trailing off, turned his head. Gong Siyoung naturally avoided his gaze. A scene where one person stared intently and the other desperately avoided the gaze continued for a long time.

Gong Sijin was the first to give up. He shrugged his shoulders and changed the subject.

“I’ll be attending then as well, so don’t worry too much. This incident made it certain. That Hunter Yuri is a truly important talent.”

Pat-pat, just as he was patting the back of Julian’s hand, medical staff appeared in the room. Gong Sijin quickly gave up his spot.

“I’ll be going now. I’ll leave Siyoung here, so feel free to use him if you need help with anything.”

Gong Siyoung’s face distorted violently. Gong Sijin, letting the complaint of “Hyung, why are you talking about a person like they’re an object?” pass through one ear and out the other, vanished out the door.

“Patient, did you have any pre-existing chronic conditions? Do you still feel dizzy or have a headache now?”

“Huh? No. As for chronic conditions, not particularly…”

“Do you suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, or hyperlipidemia, or is there anyone in your family with cerebrovascular diseases like stroke or cerebral hemorrhage?”

“Pardon?”

Julian questioned him back with a face that didn’t understand at all. Gong Siyoung, who was watching the situation, quickly jumped in between the two.

“Is there anyone among your family members who suffers from something like a chronic illness? You know, headaches or dizziness, things like that.”

“Mmm… I don’t think so… Probably?”

The doctor, picking up on the situation, scribbled something on the chart.

“No family history… Then do you drink or smoke often?”

“Often… not really, but occasionally? When possible, I don’t skip it?”

He liked both alcohol and tobacco. He hadn’t been able to do any of it since coming here, but before that, it was his own little joy in life. But he felt like he would get scolded for some reason if he said it that way, so he trailed off slightly.

The doctor, who scribbled on the chart once more, nodded.

“Fortunately, there are no major abnormalities in the examination. It’s likely due to factors such as accumulated fatigue, stress, and environmental changes… but if the same symptoms occur, you must come to the emergency room immediately. Since the health of hunters fluctuates so much, even if there is nothing wrong right now, it’s better to watch the progress. Understood?”

He nodded while feeling quite intimidated. Only after leaving behind a long string of various explanations did the medical staff disappear like the ebbing tide.

In the hospital room where only Gong Siyoung remained, Julian let out a weak sigh.

“I feel like my energy has been sucked out…”

Why do I feel like I’ve been scolded? It’s not like I did anything particularly wrong, right?

He rubbed his forehead and flopped down onto the bed. While he blinked his eyes slowly, Gong Siyoung organized the cluttered hospital room.

“Get some sleep. I’ll stay for a bit until it’s time to leave.”

The sound of curtains being drawn was heard. The sound of a chair rolling followed, and after that, the sound of Gong Siyoung’s steady footsteps.

As he stared blankly at the white ceiling, drowsiness began to pour in.

He was certainly tired, it seemed. Along with the sensation of becoming languid, a slight yawn escaped. Contrary to the thought that it wasn’t the time to be resting comfortably, his eyelids sank down endlessly.

‘I have to find out about the status window first…’

If being able to talk to the status window or being called by name were common occurrences, the story would change. He had to enter a dungeon to check. Though he would have to finish the interview or whatever first.

Even amidst various thoughts, sleepiness steadily rushed in. Julian, who had been blinking slowly, soon exhaled a steady breath. Leaving behind closed eyelids and a soft, rhythmic breathing sound, he fell into sleep.

Gong Siyoung, who had been watching that sight for a long time, whispered softly.

“You… are safe now. There won’t be any reason for you to enter a dungeon from now on.”

The hand clutching the end of the curtain stopped for a moment and then moved as if nothing had happened. Gong Siyoung, who meticulously drew the curtains so that no sunlight would shine through, moved his steps.

The click of the door closing echoed exceptionally loud.