The Otherworldly Magic Swordsman Who Disciplines the Hunter World Chapter 8

“Strange?”

At that time, they had definitely killed the boss monster and the “Clear” notification had appeared. He didn’t know how long the cooldown was, but since it hadn’t even been half a day yet, there shouldn’t be anything to rush for?

— Well. I don’t know the details either. It seems like you’ll need to check it out. I’ve already posted a notice because of that, so we’ll have to depart tomorrow as soon as the personnel are gathered.

Siyoung, rubbing his forehead, glanced toward the room where Julian was.

“…Got it.”

Right. This was only because the guild master ordered it, so he was doing it out of necessity.

Did anyone think he was concerned because he felt guilty about breaking the sword and leaving it in the Dungeon?

He was going on a raid because they said the Dungeon was strange; this was by no means because he was concerned about Julian’s sword.

If he saw the sword while he was in there, he’d pick it up as he went; it wasn’t like he was going in specifically to find it, right?

— What are you muttering about?

At Gong Sijin’s counter-question, he flinched. He quickly changed the subject, saying it was nothing.

“I got it, so don’t be late tomorrow and come exactly on time. I’m hanging up.”

He hurried to end the call without even giving him time to answer. Regardless, things were progressing steadily as he had decided. Gong Siyoung leaned back leisurely on the sofa.

∞ ∞ ∞

“Aha, so you’re saying you want to know my rank?”

As soon as morning came, he felt hands roughly shaking his body. Beside Julian, who woke up like someone struck by lightning, stood Gong Siyoung with a fierce gaze.

He was dragged somewhere just like that, without even being able to remove the sleep from his eyes. Tears welled up slightly as he tried to hold back a yawn.

While he was rubbing the corners of his eyes, Gong Siyoung pushed Julian’s back.

“Let’s move quickly, quickly.”

“Is someone chasing us? Why are you acting in such a hurry?”

Getting into the car as if being pushed, he clicked the seatbelt into place. He had felt this since yesterday, but it seemed Gong Siyoung disliked him quite a bit.

Hadn’t they never talked in enough detail to actually dislike each other? Separate from his curiosity, Julian did not dislike Gong Siyoung.

That was because, for starters, Gong Siyoung’s appearance was attractive. The prickly face that resembled Kkambi was cute, and the mole tucked on his cheek was also a bit cute? No matter how he looked at it, he had a likable face and was full of charm.

Even his grumbling or irritated attitude wasn’t that bothersome. Among Julian’s comrades, there were many with personalities far more shitty than Gong Siyoung’s. He had rubbed shoulders with those guys without much trouble, so this much was just endearing.

To be more honest, it was actually more comfortable because he acted sharp. There is no one in the world who is kind without a reason. It felt much more human and honest for someone like Gong Siyoung to openly be on guard and get annoyed.

“It’s because I’m not a person with as much free time as you.”

Gong Siyoung shot back without losing ground. He could have just ignored him if he disliked him, but was it just his personality to answer every single time? Julian looked at him with interested eyes.

When he asked a question, an answer popped out promptly even if it was mixed with irritation. The “No ‘Whoa’, no ‘What is this’, no admiration” was still in effect, but if he asked without being bothersome, useful information popped out reasonably well.

Thanks to that, Julian found out the name of this fluffy and comfortable vehicle. A “car”. Even the name was cute, wasn’t it?

Above all, he could catch on to what they wanted from him. Gong Siyoung hadn’t mentioned it directly, but it was clear from the flow.

They were certain that Julian’s world was “Beyond the Dungeon.” Through the pouring questions—how he crossed over, where he crossed from, what kind of place it was—Julian realized the importance of the information he possessed.

In the end, they were in a similar position to him. They needed to verify the validity and truthfulness of the information he held, and for that, they had to build trust.

Various excuses followed, but the proposal itself was clear. It was to ask if he would go together to that first Dungeon where they met.

Well, that wasn’t difficult. He had no intention of lying, and he had planned to go at least once to find his sword anyway.

However, it seemed a Dungeon wasn’t a place one could just visit as if going for a stroll like Julian thought.

He heard that in order to pass through a Gate, something called a “Hunter Registration Card” was needed?

And to get a registration card, he heard he had to go to a place called the Hunter Management Bureau and receive a rank evaluation.

He didn’t know why things were so complicated. Anyone could be a mercenary as long as they held a sword and put their name down roughly.

In that regard, it seemed a Hunter was a profession closer to a knight than a mercenary.

“Hey, I have something I’m curious about.”

Gong Siyoung frowned as if asking what it was now. But since he didn’t tell him to shut up, it should be okay to ask, right?

“How long does that rank evaluation take?”

He had to get the evaluation or whatever quickly so he could enter the Dungeon, and that way he could find his sword.

“Well. I heard it varies from person to person. It took me about 5 hours. The lower the rank, the faster it ends, and the higher the rank, the longer it takes.”

“I see… Then, is 5 hours considered finishing quickly?”

“What does that mean? Are you saying my rank is low?”

“No, I never said that.”

Since there was no standard, how could he know if 5 hours was a long time or a short time.

Despite his harmless expression, Gong Siyoung’s face showed no sign of softening. A strangely stiff tone followed.

“5 hours is a fucking long time. You know I’m S-rank, right?”

He didn’t know. He had guessed from the context that Gong Siyoung was a Hunter, but since he didn’t even know what S-rank was, there was no way he’d know if Gong Siyoung was S-rank or whatever.

“What is S-rank?”

“…A Hunter rank. Do you perhaps not even know what a rank is?”

“Hey now. Even I know what a rank is. 1st Circle, 2nd Circle, things like that. The higher it is, the better.”

He didn’t know if S-rank was high or low, but at least he knew the concept of ranks.

While replying, Julian slightly extended his hand. At the moment he was about to surreptitiously press the button with the triangle on it, Gong Siyoung, who noticed like a ghost, smacked his hand away as if shooing a bug. His hand turned red along with a stinging pain.

Before he could even say it hurt, he met a spiteful gaze. Julian straightened his posture slightly before Gong Siyoung could explode in anger like a lightning bolt.

“…Hunter ranks are divided into seven types. There are F, E, D, C, B, A, and S-ranks. I’m only going to explain this once, so listen well. And just try to press a button again. I’ll dump you right there and leave.”

Julian nodded. At the calmed response, Gong Siyoung let out a sigh.

“F-rank is actually not much different from a normal person. It’s just that they can use skills or items; they are often physically inferior to normal people.”

“What are skills and items?”

“…The things I used on you in the Dungeon. It refers to techniques that can attack monsters or defend, like those.”

Aha, then it seems skills are something similar to magic.

Then items must be like magic tools, right? He was curious if he was right and was about to ask, but he met Gong Siyoung’s eyes. At the look telling him to shut up, Julian closed his mouth sheepishly.

Only after confirming the silence did Gong Siyoung continue the explanation. Whether it was his imagination or not, his voice seemed to contain more irritation than before.

“From the class above that, E-rank, the abilities don’t change, but you can see it as a difference in utility and influence. For example, if a D-rank healer fixes a torn wound, an S-rank healer is capable of reattaching a severed leg or arm.”

The ranks go up from F to E, D, C, B, A, and S, and once you have Awakened, the rank cannot be adjusted.

One could use items of a higher rank than themselves, but the influence was greatly reduced. It was more powerful for an S-rank Hunter to use a B-rank item than for a B-rank Hunter to use an S-rank item. In this world, the absolute measure was a Hunter’s rank.

“Then, once you’re labeled as F-rank, you’re F-rank forever? Not that you can go to a higher stage through effort?”

“Theoretically, yes.”

The more he listened to the explanation, the more confused he became. He had thought of it as “something similar to a mage,” but hearing that talk, it wasn’t that either.

In magic, everyone starts at the 1st Circle. It was possible to raise the circle through awakening.

That itself was hard as hell, and limits existed depending on a person’s talent, but anyway, it wasn’t impossible.

Hadn’t he himself moved up to the 5th Circle after working his ass off starting from the 1st Circle?

“How do you do that rank evaluation? Do you take a test or something?”

“No way. When you go to the Management Bureau… just know that it’s there once you go. There’s nothing difficult about it.”

Whether he had grown tired of talking, the explanation strangely flowed along half-heartedly. There were many things he was curious about, but it didn’t seem like a proper answer would come out even if he asked.

Julian closed his mouth with quick wit. It seemed the only thing he was gaining while talking to Gong Siyoung was learning how to read the room.

‘Speaking of reading the room, thinking about that makes me think of food…’

Since when had he been starving? He hadn’t realized it yesterday because things were so hectic, but thinking about it, he hadn’t been able to eat anything for quite a long time.

Since it was two days ago that he had deployed saying he was going to an extermination battle, has it been about two days?

Wondering if the atmosphere was right to ask for food or not, he first checked Gong Siyoung’s expression. Having no intention of speaking further, he was staring straight ahead with his mouth stubbornly shut. The car ran quickly along the wide-open road.

“Excuse me…”

“You see that building? That’s the Hunter Management Bureau. I’ll drop you off at the entrance, so take a good look.”

Gong Siyoung’s finger pointed to a large building far away. His gaze moved following the hand. Julian gave a small exclamation of admiration.

“It’s huge.”