Holy B-Class Life

#008

“Mind your own business.”

At this point, a fundamental question couldn’t help but arise. Despite the sharp exchanges between them, he always made sure to speak to me at least once whenever we met at the gate.

I never initiated conversation with Dan Joo-hyuk. If he just kept his mouth shut, we wouldn’t even have to make eye contact, but it was all so wasteful.

Having to go through the same gate twice in a row with that lunatic.

As Yoon Pa-ran was thinking this absentmindedly, he soon realized his mistake. A peculiar high-level gate showing unusual patterns. Wasn’t this exactly the type of event that bastard Dan Joo-hyuk loved most?

“Sigh…”

A sigh escaped naturally. He slightly regretted only asking about the pay scale, but it was probably too late now.

“Alright, Hunters. We’ll be entering soon.”

The civil servant who had been anxiously watching from afar since Yoon Pa-ran got out of the taxi approached hastily. Then, nervously, he squeezed between the two of them.

His trembling body made it seem as if he had already done something wrong.

Dan Joo-hyuk always started the arguments first. Yet, the Gate Management Office only told Yoon Pa-ran to restrain himself and other nonsense.

Infuriated, he immediately turned it around, asking if they were discriminating based on rank. After that, seeing them act so cautiously was quite unpleasant.

“As you all know, since the gate is on the verge of going berserk, the entry coordinates might be unstable. Please take one of these shield items, and if you get separated from the main group, make it your primary goal to regroup at the first safe zone as quickly as possible.”

The dispatched civil servants nervously handed out badge-like items to each hunter.

Yoon Pa-ran, who had naturally moved away from Dan Joo-hyuk to where the other hunters were standing, also received an item.

[Forgotten Sacred Energy’s Protection A]

May the sacred energy’s protection be with you.

The item’s description was poor, and it was as small as a fingernail. The thick straight line piercing through the circle looked shabby.

However, despite its appearance, it was a valuable shield item that could block one fatal blow in an A-rank gate. Given the gate’s rank, it seemed they were allocating resources for damage control.

The hunters each attached the shields to their chests. The civil servants checked and recorded this one by one.

The gate measurement device had been emitting loud warning sounds for a while now. The irregularly fluctuating appearance of the gate heightened the tense atmosphere.

“The party leader here is Hunter Dan Joo-hyuk. We don’t have much time left, so please cooperate well!”

While everyone else was lined up seriously, only Dan Joo-hyuk was grinning.

After giving a disapproving glance at the curve of his lips, Yoon Pa-ran turned his gaze to the gate. His cheek felt oddly itchy, so he lightly brushed it with his fingertips.

That madman’s condition for choosing gates was always the same: Will it be interesting?

It was well-known in the hunter world. Yoon Pa-ran had heard about it too, but it was a mindset he could never understand.

Well, it would be a problem if I started understanding a madman.

Thinking this, Yoon Pa-ran neatly set aside his thoughts. Except for Dan Joo-hyuk, all the hunters were busily checking their equipment with tense expressions. Most of the faces were unfamiliar to Yoon Pa-ran.

“We’re entering.”

Following Dan Joo-hyuk at the front, the hunters entered the gate one by one. The red trajectory swirling as if swallowing people seemed a bit ominous, but Yoon Pa-ran gripped his sword tightly and stepped forward.

While he had handled gate breaks several times before, it was his first time directly entering such an anomalous gate.

However, he wasn’t too worried. Given the number and rank of the gathered hunters, the chances of it being a life-threatening mission were very low.

While this early gate rampage was certainly an anomaly, it wasn’t without precedent. Gates going berserk for unknown reasons had been steady, and the survival rate of hunters wasn’t significantly different from other gates.

So it should be fine. Thinking this, Yoon Pa-ran pushed his legs into the swirling red circle.

However, he was overlooking one thing.

That life always tended to blindside Yoon Pa-ran.

❖ ❖ ❖

“Ugh…”

Immediately after crossing the gate, Yoon Pa-ran staggered, holding his forehead with his hand.

The nausea that occurred when crossing gates was several times more severe than usual. Instinctively shaking his head, he struggled to stand upright.

It was clear that the entry coordinates had become unstable due to the unstable wavelength.

Although it was his first time experiencing this, he was familiar with the emergency response procedures. Quickly assessing the situation, Yoon Pa-ran immediately drew his sword and assumed a combat stance. If he didn’t want to die, he had to move quickly.

Then, a low voice was heard near his ear.

“Oh my.”

Reflexively looking over, it was clearly Dan Joo-hyuk, who had entered first.

Fortunately, there were no visible monsters around. However, Yoon Pa-ran soon had to look around urgently with a shocked expression.

“Ha…”

No way.

“It’s just the two of us.”

Of all the people to be separated with, to end up drifting inside the gate with Dan Joo-hyuk.

The shocked Yoon Pa-ran looked around somewhat desperately. However, no matter how hard he strained his eyes to search, no other hunters appeared.

“Who are you looking for so intently? Like a lost puppy.”

Yoon Pa-ran, who had immediately straightened up, glared at Dan Joo-hyuk. As if he could cut down any monster at any time, he hadn’t even drawn his sword.

Looking down at him as if he were ridiculous, Dan Joo-hyuk continued to mock.

“If you can’t even handle gate nausea, why did you come to an anomalous gate?”

Honestly, for his first experience with gate nausea, he had overcome it quite quickly. There was no reason to be criticized like that, but Dan Joo-hyuk clicked his tongue as if even that was unsatisfactory.

The sound of his tongue clicking echoed far into the space where they stood.

“It would have been interesting if you had fallen alone.”

“I can take care of myself.”

After confirming once again that there was no sign of monsters, Yoon Pa-ran answered sharply.

He casually sheathed his sword while waving his arm. As the dizziness completely subsided, he had the leisure to look around at other things.

Suppressing a sigh, he surveyed the surroundings and could tell that this gate was an indoor terrain type.

All internal environments with traces of artificial civilization, rather than natural environments, were collectively called indoor terrain. The specific appearance of each indoor terrain varied, and this time too, it was the interior of a building with an unknown purpose.

Shiny stone materials resembling marble surrounded the square corridor where they stood. However, the ceiling height of the corridor was disproportionately high compared to human stature. Judging by the echoing sound, it was estimated that a vast space would continue.

This was a terrain Yoon Pa-ran had never seen before. Suddenly dropping into the middle of a gate was a more daunting experience than expected.

Finally, after letting out a small sigh, Yoon Pa-ran looked at Dan Joo-hyuk again. Like it or not, he had to go to the first gathering point with this guy.

However, Dan Joo-hyuk continued to provoke him.

“I heard there’s quite a special bonus this time, is that your goal?”

“What’s it to you?”

It was well known that Yoon Pa-ran moved according to money.

The reason he prioritized money was obviously for his siblings, but Yoon Pa-ran didn’t bother denying his reputation as materialistic.

Honestly, he thought he was a bit better than Dan Joo-hyuk, who was rumored to go crazy and rush in at the sight of any gate.

“Just give the orders.”

“The proper thing to do is answer the question I just asked.”

“Stop messing around, you lunatic.”

Dan Joo-hyuk had been spouting nonsense since earlier when the situation was tense enough as it was.

It’s because he’s S-rank, isn’t it? Yoon Pa-ran got angry at the guy’s hateful face, overflowing with composure. He also glared at him intensely, to the point where his brow hurt.

Only then did Dan Joo-hyuk let out a small laugh and present a proper plan.

“Alright. Let’s quickly rendezvous at the safe zone first.”

“I can’t tell which direction to go.”

Dan Joo-hyuk’s suggestion was flawless, but there was one problem. Due to the corridor looking the same on both sides, it was ambiguous which direction they should take.

This was because they hadn’t fallen at the starting point of the gate. Usually, with the gate entrance behind them, at least one direction would be clear.

However, Dan Joo-hyuk unexpectedly pointed in one direction with certainty.

“This way.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I can sense monsters from that direction.”

Yoon Pa-ran couldn’t sense anything. For now, it meant the monsters were far enough away that they could respond.

Newly impressed by the wide-ranging sensing ability of an S-rank hunter, Yoon Pa-ran silently nodded. He checked once again that the scabbard at his side wouldn’t shake, as they would soon be moving non-stop.

However, Dan Joo-hyuk made another out-of-place comment.

“Aren’t you going to argue?”