Chapter 59 (2/2)

Because he lived the furthest away from the scene of the incident, Ahn Sangmin had arrived the latest . The man glanced at the Gate . The phenomenon that was like a door to another world was now an iron wall, cutting everyone off from the other side . Just looking at it made it hard for an ordinary person to breathe . .

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‘But if it’s Hunter Sung Jinwoo…’.

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The man who had triumphed over incident after incident . That man just might be able to surpass everyone’s expectations here . Baek Yoonho quickly approached Ahn Sangmin,.

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“He’s a Hunter that Chief Ahn had his eyes on?”.

“Yes sir . ”.

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Ah . Baek Yoonho remembered the whispers around the office . .

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‘Now that I think about it…’.

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Lately, people were talking about how Chief Ahn was coming and leaving the office in a hurry . As expected, it was for the recruitment of a new Hunter . The man’s eyes were never wrong . .

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‘Could it be…’.

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The fires of hope lit up in Baek Yoonho’s chest . .

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“What’s the Hunter’s rank? A? Or maybe B?”.

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It couldn’t have been S . There had only been 10 S-rank Hunters born in South Korea; every single one of them knew each other . But Ahn Sangmin shook his head!.

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‘My god!’.

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The hardened face of Baek Yoonho relaxed in an instant,.

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“Are you telling me an S-ranker went in with them?”.

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Ahn Sangmin calmly replied,.

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“No sir . He’s an E-ranker . ”.

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Baek Yoonho looked like he had swallowed a bug . .

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Jinwoo was surprised . .

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‘So this is the other world that they talked about?’.

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This was his first time seeing it person, but Jinwoo had read up on the Red Gates on the internet in the past . They all used the expression of being “sucked in” . Jinwoo agreed . When the Gate seemingly grabbed onto his hand and pulled him in, all he saw for a moment was darkness, and it felt like he was sliding down a tunnel . .

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‘Holy!’.

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When he opened his eyes, he was in the middle of a forest covered in snow . .

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“Where are we?!”.

“I don’t think this is a Dungeon . ”.

“The Gate is gone!”.

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The other Hunters looked around and could not hide their panic . While they were in chaos, Jinwoo calmly looked around with narrowed eyes . .

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‘I don’t sense anything weird . ’.

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Thanks to the System, even in a situation like this, he was able to remain calm . First thing that he analyzed was the trees . Giant evergreens, impossibly large to be found in their country, covered the landscape, reaching high into the sky . The top of the trees were stacked with snow . He lowered his gaze and met someone else’s eyes . It was the A-rank Hunter Kim Cheol, who had also been surveilling the surroundings . .

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‘ . ’.

‘ . ’.

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The two stared down at each other, then looked away . Han Songyi approached Jinwoo and lightly tugged on his clothes . .

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“Excuse me… Something went wrong, right?”.

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Her eyes were filled with fear . The confidence she displayed outside was completely gone . Suddenly, Jinwoo’s hand shot toward her face . .

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‘ . ?’.

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The girl’s eyes widened . .

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grab!.

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The arrow Jinwoo caught lightly trembled as if angry at not hitting its target . The target was Han Songyi’s forehead . .

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“Ah, ah…”.

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Realizing what just happened, Han Songyi’s face turned white . However, the scream that rang forth did not come from her . .

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“Kiyaaaaah!”.

“U-uwak!”.

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thud.

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Blood seep out the Hunter’s mouth as he fell to the ground, an arrow sticking out of his temple . A crimson flower bloomed on top of the snow . The Hunters began to moan in fear . The two arrows had flown toward them at the same time . Thanks to that, most of them did not see Jinwoo catch the other arrow . .

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“Over there!”.

“It was them!”.

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A B-rank Hunter pointed toward a faint spot on top of a distant tree . Long before he pointed, Jinwoo and Kim Cheol’s eyes were already looking in the direction . There were two people standing on top of the trees . .

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‘Or rather, they certainly aren’t people . ’.

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White hair . Skin as pale as snow . Silver eyes . And the trademark of their race, pointed ears . .

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Because of their fair beauty and the fact that you could only see them in high-level Dungeons, they were quite famous among the magic beasts . .

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‘Ice elf . ’.

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Also known as the White Walkers . [1].

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Those that never met them in person refer to them as ice elves . However, those that have faced them directly in battle called them White Walkers . Their reasoning was that a pretty name like “elf” was not fitting for these things . Jinwoo was able to understand why the Hunter sunbaes called these things White Walkers while gritting their teeth . .

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‘ . They’re laughing at us . ’.

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The two elves had lowered their bows and were laughing disgustingly at the Hunters . It was as if they were deciding which food to eat first at a buffet . .

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‘And this was your decision?’.

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Jinwoo’s eyes became sharp . An arrow to the right of the party . An arrow to the left of the party . Their targets were not random . The Hunter killed by the arrow was a newly Awakened C-ranker in his 30s . Other than Han Songyi, he was the weakest of the group . And the other arrow was aimed at….

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‘Han Songyi . ’.

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The elves had targeted the two weakest members of their party . .

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‘If it wasn’t for the System, I would’ve been the other target . ’.

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The White Walkers’ calculating ways annoyed Jinwoo . Making sure they could see him, Jinwoo held out the arrow and crushed it in his hand . .

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crack!.

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Accepting the challenge, one of the White Walkers slid a finger across his throat . Even between human and magic beast, it was a universal gesture . .

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Jinwoo’s mouth formed a smile . His eyes were not smiling . .

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‘ . You . I will kill you myself . ’.

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At a mere magic beast’s taunt, Jinwoo’s eyes filled with a cold fury . The White Walkers quickly disappeared behind the tree . .

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“I don’t think they’re here to be friends . ”.

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Kim Cheol finally opened his mouth . As he was the sole A-ranker of the party, everyone turned their eyes to him . He was technically the leader of this Raid after all . .

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“I’m sure some of you noticed . This is a Red Gate . ”.

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Kim Cheol spoke in a condescending manner, but nobody dared to complain . .

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“That means that until we are all dead or a Dungeon Break occurs, no one will be coming for us . ”.

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Many of the Hunters groaned in defeat . Some of the ignorant ones had hoped for a rescue, and the fact that no such help would be coming crushed their spirits . Kim Cheol continued,.

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“If we stay here, we’ll either freeze to death or be ambushed by those bastards . I will go and clear this Dungeon to leave . Who’s with me?”.

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With wide shoulders and a powerful look in his eyes, Kim Cheol looked rather dependable . After a brief pause, the Hunters approached the man in unison,.

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“I’ll go . ”.

“Me too please . ”.

“Let’s leave here alive . ”.

“I’ll help as well!”.

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However, Kim Cheol shoved a man who had approached him . .

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“Ow!”.

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He had held back, but it was the power of an A-ranker . The man walked backwards while clutching his chest in pain . .

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“Not you . ”.

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“Huh?”.

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“And you, you, you and you . ”.

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In addition to the man, Kim Cheol pointed to several others, including Jinwoo and Han Songyi . Jinwoo’s eyes twitched, realizing Kim Cheol’s intentions . The musclehead had pointed to a total of 5 people . They were the C-rank and below Hunters . .

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“Unfortunately, we cannot take you with us . ”.

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“What?”.

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“What do you know of Red Gates?”.

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The man shook his head . .

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“A day in here is an hour outside . Worst case scenario, it’ll take months before either we take down the boss or a Dungeon Break occurs . With that in mind, we can’t babysit you all . ”.

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“What do you mean babysit us?!”.

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The Hunters that would be excluded tried to protest but were silenced when Kim Cheol gave a fierce look with his eyes . With a false kindness, Kim Cheol continued,.

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“Don’t feel bad . All you have to do is survive until we take down the boss . ”.

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“Still…”.

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The excluded Hunters looked toward the other Hunters in Kim Cheol’s group pleadingly, but not one of the stepped forward . They all looked away . Except one . .

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“Excuse me . ”.

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A female B-ranker in Kim Cheol’s team raised a hand . .

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‘ . ?’.

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When Kim Cheol turned around, the woman gestured to Jinwoo . .

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“We can go from here to there, right?”.

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“ . If you want . ”.

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Without a hesitation, the woman walked over to Jinwoo’s side . Kim Cheol looked back and forth between the woman and Jinwoo . The A-ranker snorted then spoke with a loud voice,.

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“Well, looks like we have a spot open . We’ll take one more from your end . ”.

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“M-me!”.

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The man who was shoved earlier quickly ran over to Kim Cheol’s side . That’s how it should be, Jinwoo thought . .

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‘This woman’s the weird one . ’.

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Jinwoo stared at the woman at his side with a suspicious gaze . Meeting his eyes, the woman quietly spoke so no one else could hear,.

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“That man, Kim Cheol, he didn’t see the arrow coming . ”.

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Just because you were a high-ranker, didn’t mean that all your stats were evenly distributed . Kim Cheol’s agility stat might’ve been low . Knowing the power of the different stats, Jinwoo did not give it much thought . .

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“So?”.

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The woman smiled widely,.

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“You . You’re not an E-rank, are you?”.

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Translator’s Notes:.

[1]: “White Walkers” (백귀): One way to translate is the Japanese phrase for “Hyakki Yako”, aka the “Procession of Hundred Demons” . It’s also could be referring to Korean translation of “White Walkers” from Game of Thrones . I decided to go with the latter . With “Ygritte” and “White Walkers”, I think the author might be a fan of the show . .