45

The whole world was large. If you were looking down from space, you could see that the Earth was just a small, blue planet. That was how large the world is, and it would only make sense for there to be other intelligent life on the other side of space; it’s only that we are not able to see them.

Gates connected the different parts of the world so that we could encounter living creatures that we had never known about before.

“Three years ago, there was an S-rated gate in China. Do you know what it was called?”

“I don’t know.”

“It was ‘Zhuge’s Tomb.’”

“Zhuge?”

“Yes, a traditional Chinese family that was known for their great intelligence.”

I nodded. I had probably heard about them before I went to Valhalla.

“By the way, I heard that the gate your brother cleared is related to an Egyptian myth.”

The place where I stayed, Valhalla, was known as a place that originated from Nordic mythology. It was also called Viking’s heaven. I didn’t know if they ended up arriving there, but what was interesting was that the place I had been to shared the same name as the myth I knew.

What was even more interesting was Yeo-Hwa’s words before she sent me back here. She begged me to kill the Western Emperor so that this continent could be safe. That was what she had foreseen. I had a hypothesis that she had seen something through the gate, but this was just a thought. Nothing has happened yet so far, so I would have to think about it when it did become real.

“Zhuge’s tomb was different from what we learned in history. In fact, the Egyptian myth was also different inside the gate.”

“That’s interesting.”

“Indeed. At first, people thought that the gates were reshaping the history of Earth. It turns out that that was wrong. Most of them are some kind of history that has existed in space. Even now, everything about it is still a mystery. We, however, have some hypotheses.”

“Tell me.”

“You know those geniuses who suddenly get inspiration out of nowhere?”

“Yes.”

“We think that’s some sort of sixth sense. I think being able to see the secrets of the world is some supernatural sixth sense. That’s how the geniuses get their inspiration.”

“That’s your hypothesis?”

“Yes, but we are still researching it. We don’t know yet. But that’s the closest thing we can surmise, so we assume that it’s true.”

I nodded.

This man had a high degree of tension. He was enthusiastic, and his larger body frame emphasized just how bright he was.

Meanwhile, Mr. Han approached us.

“Hyeok.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Stop talking and do some work.”

And so, Jang Hyeok went to work.

We were walking near the tomb, where there was a very wide space. I had a question in my mind, so I turned and asked Mr. Han.

“Is it true that the Hunter authority will be dissolved?”

“You haven’t heard that from your brother?”

“No, I haven’t.”

Mr. Han stopped for a bit, then he sighed and started to explain.

“As you know, the Hunter authority is run on tax money. However, a terrible incident had just occurred.”

“Do you mean the anti-Hunter organization?”

“Yes. Isn’t it ridiculous? The Hunter authority manufactured a weapon to stab the Hunters in the back! If other countries developed it independently, I could understand that. But it was the Hunter authority. They were supposed to support us, not stab us in the back.”

Mr. Han was really furious about that.

“I understand their actions of developing weapons, but they didn’t share that news with us and even manipulated the budget reports. We were doubting the authorities, but this was a clear shot.”

Mr. Han spoke quietly, but coupled his words with determined gestures.

“It will still take a while, maybe a month or two, for the authority to be dissolved. You’ll see in time.”

That meant I was about to lose my job right after getting it.

Wow.

Anyway, we passed the hall and arrived at a large dome.

Mr. Han announced that this place would be the base camp. Hunters from the Ko-gu-Rea guild immediately took out supplies from their inventories.

They certainly were veterans. Some of them took charge in standing guard while the others quickly set up the place for a camp. This was their usual routine for an S-rated gate, not just moving quickly, but investigating first and doing research on the specific gate.

I stood still and watched over them.

***

Pretty soon, a base camp was established.

I stopped in front of a tent and set up a wooden chair right beside the campfire. I sat down and observed the fire dancing in front of me.

I was not sure how long I spent gazing at the fire, about three hours, I supposed.

Hyeok and Mr. Han had already gone to explore the gate.

Watching the fire made me feel comfortable. It reminded me of old memories.

Ten minutes later, Mr. Han returned. He set up another chair next to me and asked, “Son, have you heard of Nibelungenlied?”

Nibelungenlied.

“I’ve seen it in my GED textbook. Isn’t that a German epic poem?”

“…GED?”

“You heard that correctly.”

I guess he probably didn’t expect that. He smiled awkwardly.

“We found some records and murals inside. Do you see that man?”

He was pointing at a skinny man who was observing the wall. “He is an interpreter. He is considered an elite, and his ‘interpret’ skill is ranked at an S-level. According to what we’ve found, this place is a tomb.”

“Tomb?”

“S-rated dungeons are always like this. All of them are tombs, and monsters were revived from there. In other cases, it’s something forbidden. It’s the same thing here. We found that Siegfried and Gunther are here, as well as a sword named Balmung. Kriemhild is also here.”

This was rather surprising. They had been inside for only a short time, but he had learned a lot about this place already.

“You’ve found out a lot already.”

“Well, Ko-gu-Rea is right next to Cheon-Myeong, after all.”

I looked around. Most of the Hunters were still working. By pairing themselves, they were able to accomplish more.

“Are you allowed to rest like this?”

“I thought you were bored, so I came here to chat with you. Why, should I go?”

I chuckled and continued to watch the fire. He smiled and brought out a bottle he had in his pack, placing the bottle and two cups next to him.

He whispered, “Your brother is a great man.”

“Is he?”

“No one can deny that he is skillful. He started from nothing, but now he is the owner of the largest company in this country. It’s very difficult to do that.”

He was correct.

“Have you heard of Dae-Han Corporation?”

“Dae-Han… Yes, I’ve heard of it.”

Before going to Valhalla, I had worked for them once, constructing their apartment.

“I was the CEO of that corporation. In other words, I had plenty of resources to start with, but your brother made everything all by himself. He literally created something from nothing.”

It was hard for me to react. Of course, I was pleased to hear my brother’s achievements, but I’m not him.

“If someone asks if I’m talented, I can’t answer that. Everyone praises me, but I know that if Hyeok were not with me, I would not be where I am now.”

He glanced at Hyeok, and so did I. We watched him directing his fellow Hunters. Mr. Han smiled brightly.

“I guess we do have something in common. We have a good person beside us.”

Mr. Han handed me a drink which I politely took. I tried to pour him a drink as well, but he refused, wanting to pour it by himself. The two cups were filled. We laughed and cheered for each other.

When I took a sip, I was surprised. “It’s water?”

“What do you expect? This is a gate, a battlefield. The commander cannot be drunk.”

I laughed. This man was a really good guy. Even if it was just water, it seemed as pleasurable as if I were drinking wine.

“If you don’t mind, may I ask you something?”

I nodded.

“You were missing for ten years, but you became an S-rated Hunter. What have you been doing?”

“I was in Valhalla.”

“Valhalla? A place from Nordic Mythology?”

I shook my head.

“I’m not sure about that, but what I am certain of is that I was not dead, and Valhalla was a place where living organisms survived. I lived there for ten years and was able to return home.”

I was always confident about that part of my life. I had nothing else to hide. I was not ashamed of the fact that I was in Valhalla. In fact, I was not ashamed of any single action I made there.

The people I met, and the bonds I formed with them, were valuable and meaningful.

“Um… Valhalla… Was it okay for you to tell me that?”

“There’s nothing to hide.”

To be honest, I would have answered the same even if someone else had asked the question. It was just that no one else had bothered to ask me about it.

“If that’s how you feel, then I get it… Although, that was quite odd of you.”

“I think you are odd as well.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“Obviously.”

We laughed and clinked our cups together.

“Also, forget what Jang Hyeok offered you.”

“You mean his recruitment offer?”

“Yes, that.”

I shrugged. “Why are you so sure? Maybe I could join you in your guild.”

Mr. Han laughed out loud.

“You can tell a good joke as well. Hyeok and I both know that you are not the type of person that will belong somewhere.”

Was it that obvious?

“I didn’t look for your information to know that; I can sense it through my experience. I have lived quite a long time, and, if I am correct, you are more likely to create your own company. I would bet that you will not join Cheon-Myeong as well.”

“Correct. You can read people well.”

He chuckled, and we clinked our cups together again.

We had a good conversation. From trivial to serious topics, we talked about a lot of things. It had been a while since I felt this comfortable with someone.

“I know you will lose your job if the Hunter authority is dissolved, but… you’re registered as an awakener. Can I consider that as your way of saying that you will continue being a Hunter?”

I laughed softly. “Do you want me to do that?”

“To be honest, yes. I want you to be an active Hunter.”

“Why?”

“Well, there’s no specific reason behind it.”

A Hunter, huh?

“My brother asked me to help him out if there’s ever a situation that he can’t deal with.”

“Oh.”

“So I guess I’ll do the job as a Hunter. I’ll even make something like a PMC.”

He laughed as if he had gotten the right answer.

“See? My guess was correct. That’s a nice suggestion. I can hire you as a mercenary, and we can collaborate.”

“Sounds good. But prepare a lot of money for it.”

With that, we cheered once again. We spent our time together like that.

Since it was getting late, I thought that we were going to sleep and start investigating tomorrow, but I was wrong. Hyeok came over and reported what they had found.

“Mr. Han, we found it.”

What he meant was that they had found a key to clear this gate. Clearing a gate was like a game. Unlike me, they didn’t have enough power to just destroy everything inside, so they had to investigate to find the most efficient way to finish the mission as a team.

Hyeok had just found a clue to do that. Mr. Han smiled and moved to clean up our mess, but I stopped him.

“What’s the matter?”

“I’ll clean it.”

Both of them looked surprised.

“You? But how can I ask a guest to do that? I’m the one who brought all this.”

I shook my head.

“I got a good drink; this is just my way of thanking you.”

Mr. Han smiled. “You are a nice person, son.”

“I’ve already heard that a lot today; give me some new compliments.”

“Is that so? Well then, thank you for your service.”

“It’s just cleaning. You don’t have to thank me.”

Mr. Han liked the way I said that.

“I’ll check on what Hyeok has found so far. We can continue our conversation soon.”

“Alright.”

Mr. Han and Hyeok left for the expedition.

After they left, ten Hunters remained in the base camp with me. It was Mr. Han’s kindness, deciding to leave some Hunters to protect me. That was his intention.

It had definitely been a while since someone thought about me like that.

While I was cleaning up, I was lost in thought about the past. But after a while, my instincts were telling me that something was happening.

Suddenly, I felt the ground shaking, coupled with a loud, rumbling sound. Something was happening underground, and an aura was forming. Was this really an S-rated gate?

Then I heard the distinct sound of something being sliced off.

An object rolled downhill and stopped near my feet.

I froze.

It was Mr. Han’s head.