Ch. 55 - Chapter 55

[You need to hurry, Jieun. A KTX train is already...!]

"Dammit. Don't talk to me when I'm already swamped!! Huff, huff.”

He was a decent guy overall, but his nagging was the problem.

With that thought, Go Jieun, an A-ranker of the ‘Blue Sword’ guild, ran at full speed, her eyebrows deeply furrowed.

Go Jieun was the elite knight of the Blue Sword Guild.

Despite her slender physique, she wielded a massive greatsword and fought with an unrestrained style.

This unconventional charisma has made her a celebrity and even having her own dedicated fan club.

She was running with a scowl on her face.

This kind of mobile combat was the style she hated the most.

It wasn’t because of the weight of the large greatsword.

She just found it bothersome to have to track down and defeat monsters one by one.

Drawing enemies into danger zones to eliminate them all at once was her preferred method of combat.

Although she disliked mobile warfare, as an 'A'-rank knight, her sprinting pace was essentially faster than most cars.

Soon, Go Jieun saw the KTX train with her own eyes, and as always, a rough curse escaped her lips.

"Fuck."

Four cars of the train had already been overturned.

She narrowed her eyes even further and sent a message to the guild leader.

"A dozen of Taurus breached the defensive line and caused chaos. There seem to be dozens of casualties. There might be... deaths too. I’ll send the coordinates, so dispatch three healers.”

[I'll deploy them right away. Don't you need any combat support?]

"No need."

[You said it's a Taurus. Even if their rank is low—]

Click.

Go Jieun cut off the communication.

She thought that this level of nagging was practically a disease in itself.

"You're going to pay for making me run around like this.”

Go Jieun also knew that the Taurus's ‘Charge’ skill possessed physical destruction power above 'A'-rank.

But this kind of all-or-nothing slugfest was exactly the style Go Jieun preferred.

Either its four horns would shatter, or my bones would break.

Being hit directly by their attacks could be dangerous, but the current combat power of the Blue Sword Guild was insufficient to be recklessly deployed without careful consideration.

The overwhelming number of monsters that had surged forth was enough to completely shatter a defensive line that had never once been breached before.

Clang.

Go Jieun drew her greatsword from her back and leaped.

She flew dozens of meters in a single leap, and the fact that she held the greatsword in her hand absurd.

Just as the greatsword, easily over two meters long, flashed under the sun, she had to release the tension in her arm.

"Huh?"

Even from a distance, the scene felt out of place.

The Tauruses, which normally never stopped charging from place to place, were now huddled together.

But upon closer inspection, the Tauruses were slumped over.

No, more than slumped, they were already lifeless.

Their necks were twisted in a grotesque manner.

"What…. in the world...”

Could it be aftereffects from colliding with the KTX?

Go Jieun briefly considered the possibility but then shook her head roughly.

While trains are said to be much more robust than in previous eras, but they're not enough to withstand the Taurus's ‘Charge’.

Rather, she should be grateful that the train cars were only overturned instead of being flung away entirely.

'It definitely looks like they collided with something, though…’

Go Jieun turned her eyes and began scanning the surrounding area.

For now, she was grateful there was no secondary damage.

She reconnected to the communication she had disconnected. Beep.

[Didn't I tell you not to cut communication during combat...!!!]

"Situation resolved."

[...Already?!]

"Wasn't me. When are the healers arriving?”

[The hunters have too many injuries. We're sending one C-rank healer for now.]

“What? How are you supposed to treat all these injured people with just a C-ranker?”

[We're barely managing to rebuild the defensive line, so you handle coordinating the people there.]

“You irresponsible son of a bitch…”

Just as another stream of curses was about to burst from Go Jieun's lips, her mouth suddenly froze halfway.

Because people were streaming out of the train.

“Eh?”

Although people were familiar with gates and monsters, witnessing such devastation firsthand is on a completely different level than merely hearing about it.

Those who have suffered direct attacks from monsters invariably fall into a state of panic.

However, the expressions on the faces of the people on the train were strangely calm.

They were even forming two orderly lines (!) and slowly carrying their luggage out.

"What in the world is going on here."

Go Jieun approached the people with wide, disbelieving eyes.

She raised her voice, infused with Aether, so that everyone around could hear her.

"Everyone! A healer will be arriving soon! If you see someone in critical condition in your train car, please raise your hand!”

"Huh? It's Hunter Go Jieun! I saw you in an advertisement!"

"That's not important right now, the patients…."

"There aren't any patients.”

A man who appeared to be a college student pointed inside the train with his thumb.

“The person inside took care of everyone’s injuries. He also handled that bulls.”

“What?!”

Go Jieun couldn't believe her ears.

‘Defeating a Taurus’ and ‘healing’.

Weren’t these abilities completely incompatible?

What would be the point of classifying hunters if someone could both defeat it alone and heal everyone alone?

"Are you from the Blue Sword Guild?”

A voice reached Go Jieun's confused ears.

A voice even more youthful than the college student she had just spoken with.

A lean-looking young man leaped from the top of the train and landed gracefully in front of her.

“Most of the patients have been healed. There were about nine critical cases, but they’re stable now.”

Healed nine critical patients in an instant?

Go Jieun had kept her distance from studying since her school days, but now she had to kick her brain into high gear.

A healer capable of instantly healing critical patients and caring for dozens of injured people at once.

Given his healing power and time frame, he would likely need to be at least an 'A'-ranker or above.

She slowly studied the face of the young man before her.

He was slightly sharp-featured, but undeniably handsome, more so than anyone she'd seen recently.

'He's better-looking than…. Son Jungi.’

'A'-rank healers weren’t exactly common, but a healer this exceptionally handsome could only be one person in all of Korea.

A healer who appeared in a dazzling debut, cleared the 'Poison Dungeons,' and had been walking a heroic path ever since.

The hunter that reporters resort to all sorts of tricks just to land a single interview with.

"Are you…. Hunter Chun Haesun?"

"Yes."

After giving a short reply, Chun Haesun began hopping here and there along the rice paddy ridges.

What's this?

Why was he doing that?

But her curiosity was short-lived, as something else caught Go Jieun’s eye.

‘Wow, he's really quick.’

Though she hated running, Go Jieun was well-versed in ‘movement techniques’.

But Chun Haesun's body movements held something special that went beyond mere technique.

It was something different from the movements of ordinary high-level hunters.

She had discerned that Chun Haesun's Poison Steps was no ordinary movement.

Chun Haesun, who had picked up something from the rice paddy ridge, stood before Go Jieun once more.

In his hands were cone-shaped lumps that resembled chunks of iron.

"I got these before Blue Sword Guild arrived... so it should be fine if I keep them, right?"

Only then did Go Jieun realize that the objects were the horns of a Taurus.

The horns of a Taurus possessed such exceptional strength that they were the perfect material for Hunter devices.

They demonstrated outstanding performance not only in weapons like swords and spears but also in shields.

However, whether Go Jieun took the horns or not was not an important issue to her.

"That guy said earlier, did Hunter Chun Haesun really defeat the Taurus?”

"Yes."

"Uh, how?"

The Taurus's difficulty level was rated 4 stars.

Its physical level reached 'B', and its 'Charge' skill possessed power that exceeded that level.

And he took down not just one, but four of those things?

A single healer?

Within Go Jieun's sightline, Chun Haesun came into view, lightly scratching the back of his neck.

That's a gesture she would do sometimes too.

When explaining felt like too much of a bother.

"Just, because."

"Just... what...?”

Faced with such an obvious sign of annoyance, Go Jieun swallowed a hollow laugh.

Even the head of the Blue Sword Guild didn’t treat her this carelessly.

The handsome young man before her seemed to have no interest in anything except the Taurus horns.

"Please have the Blue Sword Guild handle the cores. As you can see, I have no hands for them.”

"No, wait, at least give me some proper details..."

"The nearest station from here... let's see..."

He pretended to search for something, but his hands remained motionless.

As if expecting something to pop up automatically.

One way or another, she was getting the feeling he was a strange fellow.

"I have to get to the terminal now? I really should hurry up and get my driver license or something.”

After grumbling like that, Chun Haesun bowed politely toward Go Jieun.

"Please take charge of the people here. It’s your jurisdiction, so I’m sure you’ll handle it well."

"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute.”

“Yes?”

Go Jieun instinctively blocked his path.

Because the image of Kim Seunghwan, the leader of the Blue Sword Guild, popped in her mind.

If Kim Seunghwan found out that she had encountered Chun Haesun and simply let him go, he might nag her about it all year long.

All the guilds were frothing at the mouth to recruit Chun Haesun.

And she’d let him slip right through her fingers?

For the future of the Blue Sword Guild, and for the sake of her own mental health, she couldn't let that happen.

"You helped us out so much, it must be fate. I was thinking we could help you get to your destination."

"...How exactly?”

For the first time, Go Jieun smiled in front of Chun Haesun.

They may lack hunters, but not money.

That was her guild leader, Kim Seunghwan’s, habitual phrase.

"By the sky.”

***

"Driver's license age restrictions don't apply to hunters. You could even obtain one first thing tomorrow."

"Oh. Really?"

"I can't believe the world-renowned Hunter Chun Haesun didn't know that. Did you not read the guidebook you received during the qualification ceremony?”

"I'm not really fond of reading."

"Ahaha. Oh dear. It seems I've been quite helpful to you today in more ways than one, Hunter Chun Haesun…”

"True."

Go Jieun watched the exchange between Kim Seunghwan and Chun Haesun and chuckled softly.

They seemed to get along better than she expected.

As soon as the situation was resolved, Kim Seunghwan arrived at the scene by helicopter and immediately headed towards Gaebang Neighborhood, where Chun Haesun lived.

For Chun Haesun, who didn't even have a driver's license, let alone a car, transportation was quite an appealing offer. Just as expected, Kim Seunghwan rushed over in a flash and ushered him onto the helicopter.

She was astonished to see Kim Seunghwan immediately start lecturing Chun Haesun as soon as introductions were over, but Chun Haesun listened to his words obediently and attentively.

Somehow, it felt like he had built up a tolerance for nagging.

Does anyone in his family nag Chun Haesun that much?

‘How could that be?’

Even if he wasn't affiliated with a guild, Chun Haesun was treated as a 'hero' among people.

It was hard to imagine him being nagged by family.

"If Hunter Chun Haesun were to join our Blue Sword Guild, private helicopter wouldn't even be an issue. Haha."

The only real problem with Kim Seunghwan was that he was an excessive naggger, in every other aspect, there was nothing to fault him for.

His refreshing appearance and cheerful personality were typical of the ‘bright, outgoing type’.

"I don't have any plans to join a guild yet. I already belong to a clan."

"It's not that we're asking for an immediate decision. This year, our Blue Sword Guild is aggressively pursuing the expansion of our jurisdiction. We plan to claim some of the Seoul districts currently allocated to the Glory Guild.”

"Glory Guild?"

At the mention of Glory Guild, Chun Haesun, who had been gazing out the window, turned his head.

It was a clear expression of interest.

Ah, come to think of it, Chun Haesun had always been a resident of Gaebang Neighborhood.

Her eyes were fixed on her phone, but Go Jieun perked up her ears, intently catching every word of their conversation.

"Yes. This is strictly confidential, but..."

Kim Seunghwan leaned in close to Chun Haesun's side.

So that's what he was about to bring up.

Go Jieun had also recently heard this story from Kim Seunghwan.

An incident desperately being covered up by the Association, the media, and the Glory Guild.

"One of the Glory Guild's laboratories was reportedly blown up. That in itself is a serious matter, but what's even more significant is..."

At the words that followed, Chun Haesun’s pupils wavered ever so slightly.

“They say one hunter who had entered the lab that day went missing. Yoo Jiwon. The son of the Vice President of the Hunter Association, that is.”

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