66 Chapter 65 (1/2)

On the way home.

Vroom….

Jin-Woo was busy licking his lips in unhappiness as he drove the van.

'Tsk….'

Was it because the gap between his Stat values and the extraction target's were too great? What a disappointment it was, but his extraction attempts ended in failure.

'What a waste, but there's nothing I can do now.'

He'd still be able to kill a boss from a high ranking dungeon in the future. What's important now was to quickly raise his skill levels high enough so that he'd not miss out on another chance.

Levelling up. Now that was something Jin-Woo excelled in.

And also….

Jin-Woo's hand left the steering wheel for a little while, as a dagger with an elegant, flowing, arched blade appeared in his grip.

[Item: Baruka's Dagger]

Rarity: A

Type: Dagger

A dagger used by the great warrior 'Baruka'. Weight reduction magic has been applied to it, allowing the wielder's movements to become even more agile than before.

Attack: +110

Agility: +10

Well, he didn't walk away completely empty-handed; this was the dagger the boss had been using. There were two, but one of them was broken, so he threw that away and took the remaining dagger.

'The Baruka's Dagger, eh?'

Not only did it feature high attacking power, but it also raised his Agility, too.

On that front alone, there was no need to compare it to 'Knight Killer', a dagger ranked 'B' he paid handsomely for, never mind the rank C 'Poison Fang of Kasaka'.

Its rarity alone was at A, too!

This was probably one of the best weapons to replace the Poison Fang of Kasaka that had been losing its effectiveness lately.

'I like the way it feels in my hand, too.'

While he was mulling over the things that happened inside the Red Gate, they had arrived before Hahn Song-Yi's home.

Screech.

She had been sitting in the passenger seat without saying a word as if she wasn't even there in the first place. As soon as the van came to a stop, she climbed out of the seat and bowed her head.

”Drive safely.”

”I will. Good night.”

Hahn Song-Yi turned around to leave.

Seeing her slumped shoulders and powerless gait, it seemed that the original goal of this trip had been met, one way or the other.

'Well, although things did get a lot complicated, I was trying to change her mind anyway….'

It was rather likely that she wouldn't try to become a Hunter in the future. It'd be the same story for anybody if their first dungeon experience just so happened to be a Red Gate.

He nodded his head in satisfaction and was about to start the van again, but then, the passenger side door was abruptly opened from the outside.

'...?'

Jin-Woo shifted his gaze. Hahn Song-Yi had returned to the van and was holding on to the door.

'What's the matter with her?'

His curiosity only lasted for a little while.

Hahn Song-Yi bowed her head deeply again, this time looking much calmer than before.

”Thank you for everything, oppa.”

He only now realised that, from some time ago, the honorific she used to address him changed from 'ahjussi' to 'oppa'.

”Uh, sure thing. Don't mention it.”

”Uhm, excuse me….”

”Mm?”

”Tomorrow…. No, see you later.”

Later?

Before he could ask her for clarification, Hahn Song-Yi hurriedly ran away. After her back disappeared from his view did he realise what she was talking about.

'Aha.'

From today onwards, he'd be teaming up with Yu Jin-Ho again to mop up the rest of the raids. Hahn Song-Yi was a raid team member, so of course, they'd see each other again later on.

'Ah, so she meant that, huh.'

What a relief that was, though.

His plan would've been affected pretty badly if Hahn Song-Yi refused to come out of her house because of the trauma from this incident.

'This worked out for the best.'

And now, he would use his shadow soldiers to clear out the rank C dungeons even faster than before. He felt utterly confident of clearing up the remaining raids in the shortest time possible.

Also, he couldn't wait to see how Yu Jin-Ho would react after witnessing his shadow soldiers in action, too.

'The reactions of that man Yun Ki-Joong were really priceless, weren't they?'

Jin-Woo chuckled softly and leisurely turned the steering wheel.

The next morning.

”Yawn~.”

Jin-Woo yawned grandly as he stepped out of the apartment's foyer. He only closed his eyes for a bit, but hell, it was time to meet up with Yu Jin-Ho already.

”Hyung-nim, good morning!”

He heard the familiar energetic voice greeting him. Yu Jin-Ho was already here, waiting.

”You don't even have a car, so how did you get here?”

The raid team's favourite ride, 'Mister Van' had been commandeered by Jin-Woo last night and was currently parked neatly in the apartment's parking lot nearby.

”I caught a taxi, hyung-nim.”

”Ah, a taxi.”

And here he was, thinking of going to fetch the kid instead….

”Oh no, it's fine, hyung-nim. I'm the one asking for your help, so it's only right that I'm the one driving you around, at least.”

Yu Jin-Ho grinned happily and replied.

This morning started like any other.

However….

”Uh?”

Yu Jin-Ho discovered something new. And that was a cylindrical something held in Jin-Woo's hand. Yu Jin-Ho's curiosity peeked in an instant.

”Hyung-nim, what is that?”

”Ah, this?”

Jin-Woo grinned mysteriously.

”I'm going to use it inside the dungeon today.”

”Heok!”

Suddenly, the chill invaded Yu Jin-Ho's back.

'Is it a weapon he's going to use inside the dungeon?'

Hyung-nim had already displayed many extraordinary things before; just what kind of a horrifying weapon was he bringing to a dungeon today, then?

Yu Jin-Ho was getting pretty psyched up already.

Gulp.

Yu Jin-Ho swallowed his dry saliva and raised his head after finally settling his mind.

”Hyung-nim, let's get going.”

”Hold on.”

Jin-Woo pulled out his phone and dialled someone.

”There's someone we should take along, as well.”

”Excuse me? Who?”

”Hey, Song-Yi. It's me. Meet us at the parking lot. We'll go to the Gate together.”

Song-Yi…. Could it be that Song-Yi?

As soon as Jin-Woo ended the call, Yu Jin-Ho asked him.

”Hyung-nim, the person you want to take with us, is she that high-schooler in our team?”

Jin-Woo nodded his head.

Hahn Song-Yi lived near here, and their destination was the same, so there wasn't any reason to go there separately, now was there?

Unfortunately, Yu Jin-Ho didn't see it that way.

Hahn Song-Yi….

The rather-cute high school girl with her hair tied up in a bun.

'He already knows her number, and can talk to her in such a friendly manner, too…. Could hyung-nim and her have formed a much deeper relationship than meets the eye?'

For sure, hyung-nim was a cool guy even from another man's perspective.

'Especially when he uses nothing but a dagger to totally rip apart a monster….'

While hyung-nim wouldn't be interested at all, it'd not be a strange thing for an impressionable school girl to fall for a man like that.

Yu Jin-Ho nodded his head. If this was the case, then there was something he had to make sure right away.

”Hyung-nim. Should I call Miss Hahn sister-in-law from now on?”

'….Did this guy fall off the bed and hit his head or something??'

Jin-Woo's crumpled expression was implicitly implying that. Even if Yu Jin-Ho was not too quick on the uptake, he should still be able to figure that one out pretty easily.