07. Eldoras (3)

After going through a thorough checkpoint and entering the checkpoint, the inside was much noisier than the outside.

“Look at the potion and go! It is excellent for rapid healing!”

“How about an emergency magic stone bomb! It will surely destroy even the armor of knights in the middle layer!”

For hunters, they sell everything from potions that are necessities, miscellaneous items, and even souvenirs. There really was no such thing as a market.

Yoon Seo-hee was busy looking around here and there with a curious look on her face, perhaps for the first time in a place like this. To be honest, it was the same for me as well, and among us, the only ones who were normal were Song Ha, who was familiar with the top because he was a retired hunter, and Baek Ji-soo, who was always expressionless.

It is noisy and reminiscent of an exhibition hall I visited before.

I said while watching the hunters buying and selling things.

“It’s very noisy.”

“Isn’t it a place that hunters always pass through? It’s always like this. It’s noisy whenever you come, so let’s go quickly.”

“I will be entering the tower soon. Wouldn’t it be okay if I looked around for a while? They seem to be selling a variety of things.”

“No, no. It is a place that stimulates such consumer psychology and sells it at a high price. If you look for it, it’s all sold outside anyway, but it’s twice as expensive as the market price? Almost everyone who buys stuff here is an idiot.”

Mmm. Like that. Indeed, it is a word that feels like a retired hunter.

Most of what I know about the tower is textbook knowledge, so Teacher Song Ha should know better about this field experience.

“What?”

As I calmly took my eyes off the market and walked, I saw a familiar figure from behind.

A muscular giant wearing a long robe that looks like something out of a martial arts movie.

He is the leader of the Dark Celestial League who took responsibility for the previous gate boss escape incident and resigned. He was Ha Seok-cheol, a semi-S-class hunter.

“Ummm… What kind of thing is this?”

“Oh my gosh! An excellent choice! Speaking of this horse liquid 抹額, it is an item with magical powers to drive away disasters and defeat ghosts! Put this on your head and be amazed by the world. Holy power dwells in the aura, so it deals more damage to spirit-type monsters!”

“Huh? That’s right. That’s a very good thing. Give me one.”

“Guest… No, grand bargain! Thank you. Then, how about this gemstone bracelet that is a set with this item? While it has the effect of greatly enhancing the effect of the end liquid, I think it really suits Daehyeop’s manly appearance!”

“Heh heh, I’m like a man? No, what’s so far… How much would it be if I bought both?”

“If you purchase together as a set now, you can get a special price only for Daehyup-“

“… ….”

Hunter Ha Seok-cheol was buying things that seemed ineffective at first glance at high prices.

I think someone just said you’re an idiot if you buy stuff here.

No, and Aura itself is effective against Spirit type monsters. So, isn’t that horse liquid not having any effect after all?

I heard that he was arrested for bribery and other crimes after the Gate incident, but it was strange to see him here again. However, they are not close enough to pretend to know each other. To put it bluntly, it is difficult to see the faces of the perpetrator and the victim.

I decided to just ignore it.

“Huh? Oh wait! Isn’t the boy passing by Kim Yi-jin a student?”

“… ….”

You only met once and you recognized my face?

“Umm, hello. See you again.”

I was even called by name, but it was hard to just ignore it.

As I looked back at Ha Seok-chul with a confused face, the party also stopped walking. Yoon Seo-hee was fainting at the time, so the two of them looked like they wanted to sign something. Teacher Song Ha didn’t seem too surprised to hear anything about the ‘unidentified academy student’ in the Gate incident.

Ha Seok-chul forgot about buying anything and strode toward me. The saleswoman who was selling the goods had a wrinkled expression at the interruption of her business, but Ha Seok-cheol didn’t care at all and grabbed my hand and shook it loudly.

“Yeah. I never thought I would see student Kim Yi-jin here. Nice to meet you!”

“Ah, yes… Nice to meet you, too. But what are you doing here?”

Are you under arrest? Ha Seok-cheol smiled shyly and said, as if he understood the meaning contained in it.

“Of course, thanks to student Kim Yi-jin.”

“Yes? Is it because of me?”

“Yes. I heard you. Did you say something to the special envoy? Thankfully, I never went to jail. What a relief!”

Ah, is that the point?

After the incident, when the Special Investigation Department came out of the investigation, they asked about it. As a victim of this case, do you want the punishment of the Black Chun Lord, the perpetrator and the cause? I heard that the sentence will change to some extent depending on my answer.

But I didn’t want to ruin a person’s life with my words.

He said that if he wanted to be punished, he had to attend the trial as a witness later, so it was bothersome, and it was because the scene of him kneeling down and banging his head in front of him at the time of the incident left quite an impression.

When I said I didn’t want to be punished, Yoon Seo-hee and Baek Ji-soo followed my opinion, and I heard that Byung-jun and the civilian woman who was present also did the same. Did you get a hefty settlement or something?

“There are still charges like bribery, but even so, isn’t it a given S-class hunter? I decided to work in the public security because I thought it was a waste to rot in prison.”

If you work in public security… Are you talking about the punishment unit?

I’ve heard it a few times. Among the hunters who committed crimes, if the sentence is relatively low and the skills are good, they are affiliated with the public security and work for the country. It is a type of legal transaction, so opinions are divided in the private sector, but if you build up your performance, you can get out of prison that fast, so quite a few hunters are working in public security that way.

“Then I guess he belongs to the public security now.”

“Ummm… It was that way not too long ago. But not now.”

“Yes? Are you already out of prison?”

How many months has it been? Did you just hit the S-class gate by yourself?

Ha Seok-cheol shook his head as if he had read my thoughts.

“No, it’s not like that. In other words, it was sold for money… I think some rich girl negotiated with the government instead of me. It’s long to explain. Anyway, I didn’t mean to say this, but I wanted to say thank you in person at least once! Let me know if you ever need my help. I will repay you greatly.”

“Oh, yes. Okay.”

“Mmm! Yes. Then go on a tour.”

Ha Seok-cheol laughed heartily, and disappeared toward the entrance of the tower as if he had forgotten what he had just bought.

I could feel the saleswoman looking at us resentfully from the other side. Ignoring their gaze, we also moved to the entrance.

“The Lord of Darkness, Ha Seok-cheol… By the way, there is no Black Chun Blind now, right? I’ve only heard rumors, but he’s a man with more personality than I thought.”

“Have you ever met the teacher?”

“Because the activity area was different. Teacher, when I was active duty, I didn’t know Ha Seok-cheol, the leader, but all the main members of the Heukcheon League were all stubborn, so I was surprised only at the lower middle class, but even if the teacher looks like this… Oops. Hmmm, I almost said something useless. Shall we go in too?”

School Song Ha evaded what he had been saying to the point of being forced, and then hurried on his way.

Come to think of it, teacher Songha must have been on active duty at one time, but why did she quit being a hunter and become an academy teacher? I’ve been curious about it for a long time, but it seemed like he was reluctant to say anything, so no one in the school knew about the teacher’s active career.

I heard rumors that you were active from the very beginning right after Outbreak.

Wait, then teacher Songha is now… ?

“Lee Jin-ah. Didn’t you just feel very rude?”

“… Oh, no.”

On the outside, this is Teacher Song Ha, who looks only in her mid-twenties.

Well, there is a possibility that he has been active since a very young age… I decided not to think too deeply.

Anyway.

After walking for a while, we finally arrived at the entrance of the tower.

“This… Is it a gate?”

“It’s natural that the inside of the tower is another world. It’s a bit dark and I feel bad, but you just have to close your eyes and go in. Nothing will happen.”

Since he had already been checked, no one stopped him, and the Hunters around him could be seen entering the black gate without incident.

Until now, I hadn’t felt that kind of atmosphere at all because of the modern architecture and market atmosphere, but looking at the huge entrance with a plausible atmosphere at a glance, I finally felt that I was entering the tower.

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Gulp. I heard a small swallowing sound from the side. Yoon Seo-hee’s nervous face was evident.

I lightly squeezed that hand. Our gazes briefly crossed.

Teacher Song Ha entered the gate first, and the three of us followed her into the gate.

Since I entered with my eyes closed, the first thing I felt was the difference in the air.

It was a modern air until just now, but this place… Every time I breathed in, I felt something damp, heavy, and full of moisture.

A sense of heterogeneity as if you had just taken one step and entered another world.

Feeling that sense of difference, I slowly opened my eyes, and there….

“Check your equipment and set your position. Check the number of people and enter in 30 minutes!”

“… Yuna?”

The first thing I saw was a familiar face.