Chapter 39
'I'm not even confident I can make it a perfect tie.'
Yoon Seo had always been full of confidence when it came to his abilities after awakening. The moment he awakened, he knew he was among the top 1% of the world's strongest awakeners, and in reality, monsters and dungeons that others struggled to handle often felt less challenging than a mere pastime for him. Of course, the Great Dungeon was a completely different story…
Even now, Yoon Seo was sure that his traits, skills, and stats placed him within the top 0.01%. After all, he even possessed a Gaia Skill.
However, he had gained a fatal flaw, healing resistance, from the Great Dungeon. Even if he didn't personally consider it a flaw, it was still undeniably a critical weakness. In a world where healers could restore severed limbs as long as not too much time had passed, Kwon Jihan wouldn't hold back during a sparring match…
Besides, to make a perfect tie meant having the ability to completely overwhelm his opponent. At first, Yoon Seo had been confident he could overpower Kwon Jihan, but as time passed, that confidence wavered. When considering Kwon Jihan's Evolver trait and his L-rank skill,
'I have no choice but to delay the fight as much as possible while desperately pushing another Seo Chaeyoon candidate.'
Late yesterday afternoon, Yoon Seo had received a message from Park Soobin.
[Spy] Yoon Seo, they've decided on two additional hunters joining the elite second team.
Park Soobin, who had been saved in Yoon Seo's contacts as Spy, was now feeding information to him in reverse. Yoon Seo waited after receiving the message, but even after a few minutes, no names were mentioned.
Why was he stopping mid-sentence like that? Just as Yoon Seo furrowed his brows at the screen, Park Soobin's next message popped up.
[Spy] ^^
The moment Yoon Seo saw that insufferable smiley face, he understood.
It meant "I won't tolerate being left on read."
In the end, Yoon Seo moved his fingers and replied.
[Me] Who is it?
[Spy] Hunter Hong Euiyoon and Hunter Hwashim, apparently.
[Spy] Once their vacation is over, the Team 2 waiting room is going to get crowded.
[Spy] But we're still having lunch together, right?
[Me] Yeah, let's eat together.
[Spy] Hehe, was my intel useful? ^^
[Me] I'll be counting on you from now on.
[Spy] Leave it to me. ㅎㅎ
Since he couldn't contact Tae Jaesik due to surveillance, it seemed he'd have to rely on Park Soobin's help from now on.
For some reason, Park Soobin was being unusually favorable toward him.
'I should push for Hong Euiyoon among the candidates. Hwashim is a no-go…'
Just thinking about Hwashim made Yoon Seo want to put off knitting.
In truth, Yoon Seo had no right to be upset about his peaceful days being threatened. After all, he was hiding his identity and abilities.
But Hwashim…
Hwashim was really a C-rank, so this was seriously unfair for him.
Yoon Seo couldn't even imagine how frustrating and suffocating it must be every time someone around him said, "You've been hiding your real skills, haven't you?"
On top of that, being selected as an elite hunter meant he'd be entering S-rank dungeons from now on. For a C-rank like Hwashim, it was practically a death sentence.
Though he was naturally stoic, Yoon Seo believed that, at this moment, Hwashim was probably the most miserable person in the world.
In the end, Yoon Seo would have to fight while both concealing his S-rank abilities and ensuring Hwashim's safety, keeping himself unscathed while deliberately making it look like a close call.
Not an easy task…
Yoon Seo turned off the TV and sank deep into the sofa.
Silence filled the spacious room.
With both hands, he busily moved his knitting needles as he lost himself in thought.
I've been way too complacent. Not knowing about the dungeon's highest contributor system was entirely my mistake. I need to study dungeons now.
'Instead of things like baking cookies, fishing, hiking, running, or knitting, they should've left behind something like 'Study the Gaia system' or 'Train your skills.' These wills won't even let me die in peace, what kind of suffering is this?'
Yoon Seo mentally counted the wills he still hadn't fulfilled.
There were still 18 left.
But considering he had reduced them from 301 over the past ten years, it was a significant decrease.
Yoon Seo wanted to die so badly. He was sick of the gruesome scenes from the Great Dungeon flashing before his eyes whenever he closed them, and he was fed up with restful sleep always ending in nightmares. He could hardly stand living on, dragging himself forward after so many sacrifices. Even now, he felt like he was losing his mind, desperate to end this life as soon as possible.
But because of the absurd wills of 301 people, he couldn't die and had to keep pushing forward.
No, actually, when he had just come out of the Great Dungeon, there had been 299 wills. Then, two surviving Revengers had contacted Yoon Seo right before they died, leaving behind their wills, bringing the number up to 301.
That had been truly ridiculous. After barely escaping that horrific dungeon together, one of them had somehow found Yoon Seo's number and, in broken Korean, had said:
'I think I'm about to die soon. Chaeyoon, I'm leaving you my will. Before the Great Cataclysm, I used to be an office worker. So.'
Become an office worker in my place and work diligently.
It was an absolutely ridiculous will.
And a few days later, another surviving Revenger had called and left his will before dying as well.
Chew your food at least 20 times before swallowing.
It was beyond absurd.
He had hung up after saying that, and when Yoon Seo called back immediately, he didn't answer. A few days later, news broke that he had really died.
'They got to die and rest in peace, while I'm the one left unable to die.'
Yoon Seo was resentful. He had even thought about leaving a will for La Bijina before dying himself, printing out the entire list of wills he had received and handing it to her, saying, "Please fulfill these." But unfortunately, La Bijina was too unstable for that.
So Yoon Seo had no choice but to fulfill the last wishes of the dead himself.
Haah.
Letting out a deep sigh, Yoon Seo looked down at the knitting he had been working on. This was Hunter Linda Daisy's will.
'Chae…yoon. I think this is the end of my life….'
'Just hold on a little longer. You have to survive and see your family.'
'I… don't think I'll make it…. Chaeyoon, I have one last wish….'
'Shut up. Please.'
Knit 100 sweaters by hand.
This was the 98th sweater.
The last one had been given to Park Youngbum, which had made Goh Heewon jealous. So this time, he was knitting it in Goh Heewon's favorite color, yellow.
At first, he hadn't even known what knit and purl stitches were, constantly unraveling and redoing his work. But now, he could knit with his eyes closed. Cable stitches were nothing, and he could even add lace patterns or leaf designs.
For this yellow sweater for Goh Heewon, he was knitting a yoke-style pattern on the shoulders. It looked like there would be some leftover yarn, so he considered making a small bag with it. Oh, maybe he should knit gifts for the new team members?
Perfect had 30 people in total, so he would need about sixteen or seventeen extra skeins of yarn….
Wait, no. What the hell was he even thinking?
As soon as he finished fulfilling these wills, he was never picking up knitting needles again.
Yoon Seo shook his head vigorously at that moment.
Bzzzt.
The U-Pad vibrated and lit up.
Perfect Team 1 / Team 2
Next Friday, 20:00
S-Rank Yellow Dungeon Raid Scheduled
Next Monday, 13:00
Mandatory Briefing Attendance
It was a message from Perfect's manager.
The dungeon schedule was finally set.
An S-Rank Yellow Dungeon was a dangerous place where casualties were not uncommon. Considering that Perfect had cleared an S-Rank Green Dungeon just last week, the schedule was pretty tight.
Before entering the next dungeon after clearing one, hunters spent their time checking their weapons and armor, visiting the item auction house, and training to improve their skill proficiency. Meanwhile, they also made time for their families, lovers, and hobbies. That's why mid-level hunters usually had a break of two weeks to a month between raids. Lower-ranked hunters, lacking funds, often entered dungeons repeatedly without rest…
On the other hand, high-ranking hunters also frequently entered dungeons with short breaks in between. If an S-Rank Dungeon with a tight deadline was discovered, A-Rank and S-Rank hunters had no choice but to go, regardless of when their last raid had been.
Honestly, if someone really didn't want to go, they could just shamelessly refuse. They might get some criticism, but no one would actually punish a valuable high-ranking hunter.
However, no matter how exhausted they were, hunters never declined a sudden raid schedule.
It was because of justice and duty.
They thought about the consequences of failing the raid due to their absence, how much damage it would cause, how many people would be injured or killed, how many would be left in grief. That was why, despite their fatigue, they dragged themselves into battle once more.
'It's stupid. Justice is nothing. It's just an unfair obligation.'
If some idiot willingly walked into danger because of a so-called sense of duty, Yoon Seo would grab them by the collar and tell them to wake up immediately.
['Kwon Jihan' has activated the
[It has no effect on you.]
"..."
Startled by the sudden notification, Yoon Seo turned toward the door.
Kwon Jihan, who he had thought was just a delinquent but had apparently been kind enough to pet Haechi for ten minutes, was announcing his arrival with a hostile system log.
***
Yoon Seo waited tensely. Soon, footsteps echoed in the hallway, and the door swung open.
A tall man with jet-black hair and piercings in his ears stepped in. Flashing a grin at Yoon Seo, he greeted him like an old friend.
"What are you doing here alone?"
It was an oddly casual greeting.
Yoon Seo found it ridiculous but intentionally kept his response indifferent.
"Watching TV. What about you? Why are you here?"
"This is the Perfect Team 1's waiting room, and I'm part of Perfect Team 1."
"You should be on leave."
"I don't need a break. More importantly, I feel like moving my body."
"Then go train instead of standing here. The door's right there."
Ignoring Yoon Seo's words, Kwon Jihan strode in and sat down beside him on the right. A cool shadow fell over him.
Yoon Seo's right-side muscles tensed up, and his hair stood on end.