The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood

Chapter 93:

‘How… how did this happen…?’

This is a B-Class gate. That means the traps should have been designed to inflict damage on awakened individuals of the same rank. But how did this happen?

‘Don’t tell me?’

There was only one possible explanation. Instinctively, I glanced at my right hand. What I saw was a silver ring on my index finger, glowing faintly.

[(Enhanced) Intermediate Ring]

[Grade: General]

[Description: A ring imbued with the magical power of protection. When worn, damage is slightly reduced.]

This was the very item that Gu Seohyeong had enchanted.

‘Heuk!’

After experiencing the performance myself, I think I understand why everyone is so obsessed with the Enchanter’s skills. Who would have thought that just one ring like this would block all of those fierce attacks?

‘If it weren’t for Gu Seohyeong, I can’t imagine what would have happened to my body by now…’

I stood up carefully, wiping away the cold sweat.

‘I, I’ll never forget my magical tools again!’

And by the time I made this promise to myself, the monster had already been defeated.

“Kiririririk!”

Pugh!

As soon as the A-class members dealt with the last fragment of the monster, they immediately rushed over. Seeing their guildmates sprawled and tangled on the ground, how could they not be surprised?

“Ah, we’re really sorry! We couldn’t deal with the monster quickly enough, causing even you, the appraiser, to go through such confusion…”

The A-class holding the crossbow lowered her head with an apologetic expression. Anyway, the monster died before it could harm us, so there’s no need to apologize this much. 

“It’s okay.”

At this point, I even feel a little anxious. If she, who was meeting me for the first time, came out saying sorry like that, the weak-hearted Ahn Yoonseung would hit his head on the ground. 

‘Hmm?’

But why? Fortunately, nothing I worried about happened.

“Hyung-nim!”

The A-class member who approached me did so with such an unexpected attitude, starting to say things I couldn’t have imagined.

“As expected, there’s no one else like Hyung-nim. I never thought you would throw yourself to save the C-Class hunters!” 

With those words, Yoonseung looked at me with a gaze full of admiration.

***

From the moment Neo Sisters’ Ahn Yoonseung heard the news of the mutation, he had been feeling a vague sense of unease. 

Only two A-Class were urgently mobilized, and soon after, conflict arose with the guild appraisers during a busy hour.

-You’re going to put D-Class into the B-Class gate?

-I can never go!

-It is a human rights violation. This. 

Even if they promised to provide top-tier protection and enveloped them in layers of items, the A-class members couldn’t convince the guild appraisers to enter the gate. Despite it being a company order, they refused to take on such a level of risk.

‘This is a big problem.’

Of course, Neo Sisters didn’t back down easily either, but as the negotiations dragged on, the survival rate of the stranded hunters continued to decline. That’s when Ahn Yoonseung reluctantly took action. After all, he did have at least one acquaintance among the appraisers.

“H, hello? Kiryeo Hyung?”

Kim Kiryeo was truly qualified for this job. Wasn’t he the most capable appraiser he knew, and wasn’t his skills as a hunter impeccable?

“Hyung-nim! I’m sorry, but can you please do me one favor? Please help me!”

Even the aspect of the awakened person’s personality was perfect.

-Okay.

Which hunter in the world willingly comes to rescue stranded members of another guild? However, as expected, Kim Kiryeo, like a great gentleman, immediately accepted his request. Up to this point, it was as expected. But there was one condition to receive help.

“I’m telling you in advance, I’m only going to use my real appraiser skills.” 

Kim Kiryeo emphasized this part from the time they spoke on the phone. He said he would only pave the way as cleanly as possible. Of course, since this was called with that intention from the beginning, it’s something they have to deal with…

‘Aha!’

It was only after listening to the conversation that followed that Yoonseung understood the other person’s true intentions. 

“You remember that I’m an F-Class, right?” 

“Ah, yes.”

“But if by any chance the monster comes towards me… what would happen then?”

With someone like him, he could easily kill monsters in a gate like this as if swatting flies. However, showing such scenes to other Neo Sisters guild members would certainly make the situation quite unusual.

‘If he’s exposed for disguising his grade…!’

In other words, what the other person said was interpreted in this way.

-I am F-Class externally. Where there are eyes to see, power cannot be used.

That’s why he’s telling him not to let monsters come to him! 

At this moment, Yoonseung made a firm promise to himself that he would do his best to protect Kiryeo’s secret. No matter what they misunderstand, they are definitely mistaken. 

‘Don’t worry, Hyung!’

But even if their intentions were a little different, they were able to achieve what they both wanted. Anyway, Kiryeo didn’t want to be attacked by a monster, and he was planning to do his best to prevent that situation from happening…

.

.

.

In conclusion, Yoonseung kept his promise excellently. Even when a grotesque monster resembling a centipede suddenly split into eight pieces, he remained calm and swiftly dealt with it.

[Shield of Protection]

Yoonseung used his awakening skill to spread a circular barrier in the dungeon. He created a huge protective shield around himself and trapped the monster in reverse. 

‘This way, I could use it like a makeshift barrier.’

To flip the inside and outside of the barrier and use it aggressively in battle!

This was an application of a defense skill directly taught by the Hunter Kim Kiryeo. Now, even using just one skill, he’s constantly amazed by the excellence of that F-Class.   

“Oh! Yoonseung-ah, well done!” 

“Sunbae-nim! Please take care of the ones on the right quickly!”

However, Yoonseung couldn’t stay lost in admiration forever, so he quickly removed the fragments of the monster he had captured with his skill. 

Pugh!

Breaking through its tough shell, breaking, breaking, and breaking again..

“Huh?”

But then, Yoonseung had a moment of doubt as he looked at the scene unfolding outside the barrier.

‘Why is Kiryeo Hyung running?’

Tak, tak, tak.

Other C-Class may be like that because they are surprised by the monster, but… he didn’t expect Kim Kiryeo to sprint like that. That cool-headed hunter rarely gets flustered, and there was no way such a noble and powerful person would run away from a B-Class boss in the first place. 

‘Why on earth?’

Then why is Kiryeo moving so busily right now? Yoonseung soon found the answer to that question.

“Wait!”

“Ugh!”

“Keugh!”

This is because a small incident soon began when the C-class members who were running at the front fell down.

‘Huh?’

Yoonseung, inside the shield, couldn’t even understand why the guild members outside suddenly fell over… 

At that moment, something poured down from the ceiling. It turned out that the trap with blades raining down was triggered because they stepped on a switch.

‘Heuk!’

Even for an A-class hunter, it’s impossible to deal with such sudden events. Yoonseung tried to use a buff skill in a hurry, but he couldn’t make it in time because of the casting preparation.

-Tick!

But it’s okay. There is someone outside this protective barrier who has already predicted the entire sequence of events.

“Aaargh!”

As the guild members on the ground screamed, Kim Kiryeo pretended to fall with them, he used his body as a shield to block all the blades.

-Tick, tick!

If Kim Kiryeo hadn’t collapsed at the end on purpose, what would have happened to the C-Class people below him? 

‘Such quick judgment in a chaotic moment?’

Yoonseung exclaims in admiration. Now he understands everything clearly. When the C-Class hunters panicked and lost control, Kim Kiryeo assumed they would trigger a trap and ran with them. 

‘If anything happens, I have to protect it like that!’

It’s touching. Even without flinching at the traps in the B-Class gate, willingly taking on the role of protecting the weaker ones could draw admiration and respect. 

‘Wow. Kiryeo hyung is really something, how can someone be like that…’

Truly an icon of altruism.

Yoonseung’s awe for the hunter grew day by day. So, without realizing it, he blurted out the words he had been thinking to himself.

“As expected, there’s no one else like Hyung-nim. I never thought you would throw yourself to save the C-Class hunters!”

Yoonseung gave praise in an overflowing voice.

“Uh… uh… Is that so?”

He spoke with such confidence that even the other A-class who were with him began to be influenced.

“Oh… I guess I misunderstood the situation. Actually, you were protecting our guild members, weren’t you?”

The A-Class hunter with the crossbow, despite her sullen expression, offered a belated thank you. She, too, had come to realize that Kiryeo had protected the company’s people 

“Thank you.”

“We really survived thanks to you. Hyung-nim!”

The ironic sight of two A-Class people bowing their heads to the awakened person at the bottom. However, the person receiving the greeting is indifferent. He silently dusted off his clothes without any response.

‘He is a great person.’ 

A detached atmosphere, as if this was nothing. Yoonseung becomes confident again after seeing Kiryeo’s reaction. He is a powerhouse of another level whose expression doesn’t change even when he puts A-Class at his feet. 

‘Oh, what nonsense are these Earthlings babbling about?’

Of course, he was silent for a completely different reason. 

‘Over here, we barely escaped death and are completely out of our minds…’

What can he do? He can know the depths of ten roads, but he can’t know what’s in one person’s heart.

***

So they successfully rescued the stranded hunters and safely exited the gate. More precisely, they defeated the boss and officially opened the exit.”

“Uh-huh!”

“It’s outside!”

“How relieved I was to see Hunter Ahn Yoonseung inside for real…!”

The stranded C-class hunters burst into tears of relief as soon as they returned to the safe zone. How amazing is it that they just came back from death? Kiryeo nodded, fully understanding their feelings. 

But why? Around the time the wet C-classes started wrapping themselves in blankets, someone quietly approached this corner. It was the person in charge of the mutant gate attack, Kim Team Leader of the Neo Sisters. 

“You said your name was Kim Kiryeo, right?”

“Yes.” 

Proud of himself for saving his comrades, he spoke with a much brighter face. 

“Thank you so much for responding to my sudden request for help today.”

At first, there were formal greetings, but eventually, Team Leader Kim secretly revealed his intentions to Kiryeo.

“But from what I hear, I heard that Kiryeo-ssi is a completely freelance hunter…?”

But no answer came back. It’s not that he simply doesn’t want to go to work because his mind is in a very complicated state right now.

‘Damn it.’

Kiryeo, lost in deep thought, naturally ignored the team leader’s words

‘I can’t do this.’

His worries were mainly about one hunter.

‘I can’t leave Ahn Yoonseung like this…!’

He took Yoonseung’s principle of respect quite seriously. Wouldn’t that distorted view of him as someone great lead to an accident in a dangerous area like a gate? 

‘Why do you overestimate me like this!’

Kiryeo gripped his trembling legs and quietly resolved himself.

Let’s get the facts straight. I’m just a good-for-nothing F-class, and I’ll spend the next three hours making that absolutely clear to you.

“Hyung-nim!’

However, due to Ahn Yoonseung’s subsequent actions, Kiryeo ended up completely forgetting his promise. 

“Excuse me, this…”

“Hmm?”

“It’s a magic stone that came from the boss monster earlier.”

After a while, Ahn Yoonseung sneaks something into Kiryeo while others are not looking.

An oval-shaped magic stone that shines beautifully in pink. Could this be none other than the coveted Pink Diamond of the magic stone world, highly valued even among collectors! 

“Why are you giving this to me?”

Kiryeo looked surprised as he held the magic stone in his hand, but then Yoonseung explained.

“I always see you collecting magic stones whenever we enter a gate, so I set this one aside, thinking you might need it.”

“Really?”

“Well, it’s not like I can do much with these other than sell them for money, right?”

“Y, yeah…?”

“But if someone like you were to have it, I’m sure it would be used in a much more meaningful and worthy way…!”

Ahn Yoonseung asked back with shining eyes.

“Right?” 

At this, Kiryeo closed his eyes tightly, pondered for a moment, and finally said a word.

“I’m glad you at least understand what I mean.”

“Of course!” 

Yeah. Let’s talk about being a great person…