Chapter 161: Chapter 161: Small Fry (1)

The conversation with the three members of the Spitfire Guild ended well.

From the moment he showed the Gold Card, they adopted a completely subservient attitude.

They even went so far as to ask Kang-hoo to put in a good word with the master when he met him later.

It was understandable since the presence of the Gold Card made it clear he was a VIP guest of the guild master…

It wasn’t unreasonable for them to be so deferential. They believed Kang-hoo to be a high-level expert.

In addition to the orange mana stone taken as collateral, they also secured three orange mana stones obtained as loot from Turbo.

And he even got a talisman for enhancing buff skills.

After the three from the Spitfire Guild left, Park Dong-jae handed over all the mana stones to Kang-hoo.

Then Kang-hoo asked.

“Why are you giving this to me?”

“Why else? You worked hard to get them, so they belong to you. I don’t have any claim to them.”

“We agreed, didn’t we? I take the experience points, and you take all the loot.”

“This wasn’t a boss monster raid.”

“Still, a promise is a promise.”

“No, this is different. Don’t even think about giving it up. If you don’t take it, I’ll throw it away!”

Park Dong-jae’s determination seemed firm.

Reading his intent, Kang-hoo accepted without further refusal.

It seemed the battle with the Spitfire Guild members was considered separate from the earlier raid.

Thanks to this, Kang-hoo secured a total of 60 billion won worth of mana stones, including the ones taken as collateral.

In return,

He gave the buff-enhancing talisman obtained as loot to Park Dong-jae.

It was meaningless to him since it didn’t enhance his own buffs but rather the buff skills he used.

It was perfectly suited for Park Dong-jae and had no use for him. There was no reason to hesitate in giving it away.

“Thank you, hyung. I’ll use it well.”

“Same here. Use it well.”

“By the way, hyung. When did you start getting such VIP treatment from the Spitfire Guild?”

Park Dong-jae was as curious about it as the three who had been surprised earlier.

The Gold Card isn’t something just anyone can get. It’s a kind of token given to truly grateful benefactors.

In other words, it implied that the master of the Spitfire Guild owed a significant debt to Kang-hoo.

Park Dong-jae couldn’t guess what that debt might be.

“There was such a thing. It’s a sad story, so I don’t want to tell you the details.”

Kang-hoo deflected the question.

Thinking about Park Min-sung brought up memories of his parents, Ganiere and Melissa, which made him feel heavy-hearted.

Even if he had never been a parent, he could empathize with the emotions.

He didn’t want to recall those feelings unnecessarily. Sad emotions were quite unpleasant for Kang-hoo.

It was like a forbidden emotion that the character Shin Kang-hoo should never feel. It was exactly that kind of feeling.

“You’ve got good eyes. You should become a gem soon, hyung.”

“You’re already a gem.”

“…That’s not true.”

“Anyway, let’s head back. There’s no more route to proceed, and it’s time to return.”

“Rest?”

“Yeah. Rest.”

“Phew. Finally… I was wondering when we’d get a proper break. Oh, gosh.”

As soon as Kang-hoo finished speaking, Park Dong-jae collapsed on the spot.

Although he hadn’t shown it, he had been quickly exhausting himself trying to keep up with Kang-hoo.

Kang-hoo was more passionate and burning like a furnace than Park Dong-jae had imagined.

Being with someone who never showed signs of fatigue made him change too.

Somehow, just saying he was tired felt like an apology.

So, he had endured with sheer willpower until now, but he had reached his limit.

Not only his physical strength but also his mental strength had hit a wall. A maddening headache was coming on.

“The success rate is 50%, but let’s try teleporting back.”

“I’ve been curious about this for a while. The time you saved me from the Osho Mercenary Corps was with teleportation, right?”

“Yes.”

“100% means complete success. So, what does 50% mean? Could only half of my body be transported?”

Kang-hoo couldn’t help but laugh at Park Dong-jae’s witty (?) idea.

It wasn’t mockery. The probability issue could be interpreted completely differently without a clear approach.

If it were as Park Dong-jae suggested, Kang-hoo wouldn’t use teleportation unless it was 100%.

After all, if only half of his body moved, it would mean instant death, and he wouldn’t take such a ridiculous risk.

“The body is considered to be fully transported. The issue is whether the complete teleportation succeeds or fails.”

“Ah, that’s simple.”

“Yes. The teleportation skill isn’t as detailed as you think.”

It’s the power of the original work.

Thanks to it not being overly detailed, there were no variables in teleportation.

If the original author had been a weirdo, he might have made Park Dong-jae’s imagination a reality.

“Okay, I understand. Each of your skills is so amazing that I’m always curious.”

“Ask anytime you’re curious. Except for trade secrets, I’ll tell you everything.”

“Alright, then shall we trust our luck and teleport?”

“Yes. If it fails, we’ll walk back. If it succeeds, we’ll save more than half a day.”

“Oh, God, please…”

After lightly holding Park Dong-jae’s shoulder, who was pretending to pray with his eyes tightly closed.

Without any hesitation, Kang-hoo used the teleportation skill.

[Would you like to teleport?]

[Teleporting more than two people may not succeed. The probability is exactly 50%.]

He ignored the warning.

It was a simple matter of success or failure. There was no need to get hung up on the words.

And then.

Flash!

The teleportation succeeded.

Right after teleportation succeeded, bringing them back to the starting point instantly, Kang-hoo thought to himself.

‘It was also 50% when I saved Min Su-hyun, and it succeeded. It succeeded when I swapped places with Jin Hyo-young. By the odds, isn’t it bound to fail this time?’

It was a thought that came to him while considering the numbers.

A 50% chance, yet it succeeded three times in a row.

If this happened in a gacha game, everyone would expect three consecutive failures soon after.

‘I should probably offer some sacrifices for the time being.’

If there were no issues, he thought he should use it every time the cooldown resets for the next three days.

Of course, using it alone is 100%, so he would need someone to accompany him.

Anyway, the dungeon raid was completed. It was a raid summed up by the phrase “a bountiful harvest of skills.”

Listening to other hunters at the entrance, the Kanis Guild was in the middle of their third raid.

It looked interesting.

Elite hunters were coordinating perfectly, creating a picturesque scene.

So, on the other hand, he looked forward to it.

The mystery dungeon raid he would tackle with the people from the Myeongga Guild.

They were already known as elite hunters, so there was no doubt about their skills.

Outside the dungeon, Kang-hoo and Park Dong-jae relaxed with a cold beer to soothe their spirits.

Kang-hoo wasn’t particularly fond of alcohol, but he knew how to match the mood of those who liked it.

A can of beer paired with butter-grilled squid on a bench tasted incredibly good.

Park Dong-jae said this was his routine. Beer was the elixir of life he rewarded himself with for returning alive.

Hunters have various routines, and for Park Dong-jae, a beer was an essential element.

Kang-hoo wasn’t particularly interested in jinxes or routines. They could cloud objective thinking.

After downing about half the can,

The dampness of his tired body subsided somewhat, and a pleasant buzz started to rise.

Park Dong-jae spoke up.

“Hyung, be careful from now on. I worry about you more than I do Se-hyuk hyung. You’re making more enemies.”

“If you’re going to dip your hands into every tasty pie, you’ll inevitably get some crumbs on you.”

“Still, given who we’re up against, it’s a legitimate concern.”

“I always appreciate your concern. But don’t worry too much. I’m always on guard.”

“Got it. By the way, did you know? Se-hyuk hyung is planning to hit the Eclipse guys hard soon.”

“Come to think of it, Se-hyuk has been pretty quiet lately.”

Kang-hoo nodded.

Jeon Se-hyuk was a hunter with a deeper grudge against Eclipse than Kang-hoo.

The reason they became close so quickly was also because of their shared animosity toward Eclipse.

It wasn’t surprising.

There had been no quiet period for Jeon Se-hyuk.

Until now, Jeon Se-hyuk had been visiting and slaughtering at Eclipse’s various hideouts, big and small…

He had been causing trouble for Kang Dong-hyun.

But Jeon Se-hyuk was so powerful that Kang Dong-hyun couldn’t easily take action against him.

Judging by the situation, Kang Dong-hyun decided that stepping in personally would lower his status.

It might be a good opportunity to join Jeon Se-hyuk and have a refreshing sword dance together.

To pass the test set by the Black Constellation, he needed to kill Go Gyeong-ho.

Eclipse’s eighth-ranked officer, enforcer Go Gyeong-ho. From a perspective of coveting abilities, he was a tempting target.

“Dong-jae.”

“Yeah?”

“If you ever need information fees, let me know anytime. I’ll pay a fair price for any information I need. I won’t refuse a favor.”

“That works for me. Don’t worry. I’ll charge you for really important information. I’m not a pushover.”

“That’s good for me.”

“I’m going to invest more in the Black Network. No, I’ll go all-in. I believe in the power of information.”

Park Dong-jae seemed to be becoming an important key in Kang-hoo’s future plans.

And right now, this relationship was working very conveniently for Kang-hoo.

Kang-hoo intended to manage their relationship well so that it wouldn’t reverse or distort.

As long as he didn’t show excessive subservience to Park Dong-jae or express unnecessary gratitude.

If he did that… Park Dong-jae would always be there like a sunflower facing the sun.

Separating his feelings of valuing Park Dong-jae as a buffer and strategically using him.

Kang-hoo could manage this separation of seemingly indivisible emotions.

It was both a great advantage and a flaw that made him stark and unsentimental.

Of course, Kang-hoo didn’t care. Whatever form it took, it was all part of himself.

There was no need to be surprised or deny it. This and that were all him.

There was no need to worry if the other person could accept it.

Just do what he wanted. He had always done so, and he always would.

Two hours later.

Right after parting ways with Park Dong-jae, Kang-hoo received a call from Lee Ye-rin and was now at Daejeon Station.

With teleportation on cooldown, he had just arrived by the early morning KTX train.

The topic she hinted at for their conversation today was ‘overseas missions.’

It was a proposal with much greater expansion potential than Kang-hoo had anticipated.