Chapter 31

Junhwi sent me a KakaoTalk message.

[Hyung, have you ever thought about joining a guild?]

[Yuna noona said she’d look into finding one for you.]

It was a sudden offer I hadn’t expected.

A guild, huh?

If I were still the ordinary D-rank Hunter I used to be, I would’ve jumped at the chance.

But a lot had changed since I reunited with Sia. At this point, I didn’t really need to join a guild.

In fact, under the circumstances, it might cause more trouble than it was worth.

Still, I was curious why Yuna noona had suddenly made me the offer, so I called Junhwi right away.

[Hyung, aren’t you on a date? You can call me later.]

“Ah, my girlfriend had something else to do afterward. I just saw her off.”

I gave him a vague explanation.

[Oh, I see… Oh, right, hyung. You saw the message I sent, right?]

“Yeah. That’s why I’m calling. A guild? Why all of a sudden?”

[That’s exactly what I was told. Yuna noona doesn’t have your number, so she asked me to pass it on.]

“I see. But why would she suddenly offer to find me a guild? Junhwi, do you have any idea?”

[Not really. Maybe she just wants to look after an old friend’s little brother now that she’s seen him again?]

But it seemed Junhwi hadn’t heard the reason from Yuna noona, either.

That only made me more curious.

I could understand if it was something his sister had asked her to do, but since Junhwi didn’t know anything about it, that didn’t seem to be the case.

It wasn’t as if she’d seen me doing well in a Gate, either.

Had Yuna noona always been so meddlesome?

Why had she wanted to introduce me to a guild?

“Could you tell Yuna noona I appreciate her looking out for me, but I’m not thinking of joining a guild right now?”

[Uh, hyung, don’t you have Yuna noona’s number? She gave you her business card.]

“Ah, right. I gave it to my girlfriend.”

I added that I’d done it because Sia might feel uncomfortable if I contacted Yuna for any reason.

[…Would one phone call really be a problem? She must think highly of you if she’s even offering to find you a guild. Besides, you said you’ve known each other since kindergarten.]

“That’s exactly why I don’t think I should.”

Remembering how intensely Sia had reacted to every little thing Yuna noona did, I felt like I shouldn’t let the two of us develop any kind of connection.

If even the slightest connection formed…

I couldn’t guarantee what might happen.

[Then I’ll pass the message along for you. By the way, hyung, this is about something else. Are you interested in a dungeon Gate?]

A dungeon Gate, huh?

Generally speaking, Gates fall into three categories.

The most common are regular Gates. You clear them by killing all the monsters inside.

Next are dungeon Gates. Their themes and clear conditions vary, and even after being cleared, they can be challenged again at regular intervals.

The last category is extra Gates, which don’t fit into any of those three types.

The dungeon Gate Junhwi mentioned was relatively safe compared to other types. It was also a good place to gain combat experience.

Since you could clear it repeatedly at regular intervals, there was little uncertainty once you learned its patterns.

Because of those features, large guilds tended to buy the rights to challenge most dungeon Gates and monopolize them for training their Hunters.

In other words, I’d never had the chance to enter one, since I’d never belonged to a guild.

“Why are you asking about a dungeon Gate all of a sudden?”

[My sister’s guild is challenging one of their own dungeon Gates tomorrow. There’s no limit on the number of people who can enter, so if you’re interested, I can ask my sister about it.]

A chance to join a dungeon Gate raid.

For someone without a guild, it was a great opportunity.

I’d been looking for a Gate to visit tomorrow anyway.

The timing couldn’t have been better.

“I’d appreciate that. Thanks for thinking of me.”

[No need to thank me… You saved my life. I’ll text you the time, location, and Gate name.]

Not long after we hung up, Junhwi sent me a text with the details.

[We’re leaving from the main entrance of the Danpung Guild headquarters at exactly 10 tomorrow morning. The dungeon Gate is called “Garden of the Dragon Sword.” The raid leader hasn’t been decided yet. I’ll send you their contact info as soon as it is.]

I understood everything else, but there was one thing that caught my attention.

“Dragon?”

Dungeon Gates had names that reflected the distinct features of their interiors, since they didn’t disappear after being cleared like other Gates.

But this one was called the “Garden of the Dragon Sword.”

It struck me as a curious coincidence, given that my girlfriend was a dragon and I was aiming to reach the point where I could freely control a dragon’s power.

Why was this dungeon Gate called the Garden of the Dragon Sword?

That whole day, those five syllables stayed on my mind.

1

The next day.

Before heading to the Gate, I visited Rokan’s lair.

There wasn’t any particular reason. I simply wanted to pay my respects as his granddaughter’s boyfriend and have breakfast with him.

I also wanted to ask him about the dungeon Gate I’d be visiting today.

“Lord Rokan, I’m here.”

“Welcome. What have you got there?”

“Red ginseng juice. I feel like I’m always imposing on you, Lord Rokan.”

I remembered how tired he’d looked while making the control gear last time, and it had been on my mind.

I didn’t know whether something like this would work on a dragon, but surely it was the thought that counted.

“Oh, thank you.”

“And I brought some food, too. If you haven’t eaten yet, I thought we could have breakfast together.”

“Sounds good.”

We made small talk over breakfast, and I naturally brought up the dungeon Gate I was going to visit that day.

“I heard today’s dungeon Gate is called the Garden of the Dragon Sword. Have you heard of it?”

“That’s the first I’ve heard of it. Gates are something you Hunters care about. I’ve never had much interest in them.”

I’d thought he might at least have heard the name, so I was surprised.

Seeing my reaction, Rokan nodded as if he understood why I’d asked.

“You were hoping to find a clue, weren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about it for now. How about you record some footage and bring it back? Then we can talk about it.”

I didn’t have much choice.

Still, maybe I’d find something useful if I brought back a video.

The odds were slim, but perhaps I’d find the faintest clue about the power I possessed.

After finishing breakfast, just as I was about to head to the meeting place, I got a video call from Sia.

[Oppa, good morning! Wait, are you at Grandpa’s lair?]

She seemed a little surprised that I was with Rokan at this hour.

“Yeah. I thought it’d be nice to have breakfast with him.”

“Oh, it’s Sasha.”

Rokan greeted his granddaughter warmly, too.

[You and I really are on the same wavelength. Actually, I was planning to visit your parents today, too.]

“You’re going to see my parents?”

[Yeah. It’ll probably be a while before I can visit them with you, so I’m going to go by myself.]

Sia held up a large bundle of gifts she’d bought for my parents.

It might have felt awkward or uncomfortable for her to visit them alone, but I was just grateful she wanted to go.

[Oh, and Oppa, you said you’re going to a Gate today, right?]

“Yeah. At ten. I’ll call you after I get back.”

[Okay! Talk to you later!]

We didn’t have much time, so we kept the call short that morning.

“Then I’ll be in touch again soon, Lord Rokan.”

After leaving the lair, I headed for the main entrance of the Danpung Guild headquarters, where we’d agreed to meet.

The meeting time was almost here, and nearly everyone who was coming seemed to have arrived.

As I looked around, a man approached me.

“You’re Yoon Minjun, right?”

“That’s me.”

“I’m Oh Taeseong, the leader for today’s raid. Nice to meet you.”

Maybe it was because he was the leader, but he gave off a distinctly different presence from the other Hunters gathered there.

He was broad-shouldered and looked very masculine.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from my brother-in-law. He said you saved his life.”

“Your brother-in-law?”

“My girlfriend is Junhwi’s older sister.”

Oh.

He was Jiyoon’s boyfriend.

I hadn’t heard that she had a boyfriend.

So that was how an outsider like me had been allowed to join a raid at a guild-owned dungeon.

I guess connections really do matter in Korea.

“My brother-in-law wanted to repay you somehow, so I offered to help.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re his benefactor. If there’s anything I can do, I should help. Oh, we’ve been chatting among ourselves for too long.”

Maybe he noticed the guild members waiting behind him, because Taeseong briefly introduced them one by one.

Most of the guild members were a year or two older than me. Apart from Taeseong and one or two others, they were all D-rank Hunters.

I’d been a little worried they might find it awkward having an outsider along, or quietly leave me out. But everyone greeted me kindly.

“Nice to meet you, Minjun!”

“We’ve heard a lot about you from Junhwi!”

“Last time I had a drink with Junhwi, he talked about you for over an hour.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. I was curious what kind of person you were. I’m glad we finally get to meet.”

After exchanging greetings in a friendly atmosphere, we got into a vehicle to head out.

It was about a thirty-minute drive from the Danpung Guild headquarters to the dungeon Gate.

“Minjun, did Junhwi tell you anything about the Gate we’re going to today?”

“I only heard the name. He didn’t explain what kind of Gate it was.”

Maybe because it was the guild’s private property, I couldn’t find any information about it online.

“Have you ever taken part in a dungeon Gate raid?”

“No. I learned about dungeon Gates in the academy, but…”

“Then I’ll give you a quick briefing.”

Taeseong, the leader of the raid team and Jiyoon’s boyfriend, gave me a brief rundown of the Gate we were going to challenge.

First, dungeon Gates had a very different feel from regular Gates, starting with their environments.

For example, the terrain in the Garden of the Dragon Sword consisted of a flat plain with countless sword hilts planted in the ground like gravestones.

And unlike regular Gates, which had the simple clear condition of defeating every monster inside, dungeon Gates each had their own conditions.

I remembered hearing about this in one of my academy theory classes.

“For the Garden of the Dragon Sword, the clear condition is to survive for three hours after entering the Gate.”

“That’s all?”

“Yeah.”

“…That sounds easier than I expected.”

Taeseong let out a hearty laugh, as if he’d heard that reaction before.

“My friend Juwon, sitting behind you, said the exact same thing once. Word for word.”

Taeseong pointed to the Hunter sitting behind me.

Juwon must have felt embarrassed remembering it, because he waved his hand and tried to defend himself.

“That was ages ago. Ahem. Anyway, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Even if it’s only three hours, the monsters keep coming without a break.”

Taeseong added that while it was tough, it wasn’t impossible to endure.

We’d talked about a lot of things related to dungeon Gates, but as the conversation went on, I felt like I was forgetting something important…

Oh, right.

“By the way, Taeseong, why is this dungeon Gate called the Garden of the Dragon Sword?”

He’d already told me the terrain inside was covered in sword hilts.

But they could have just called it the “Garden of Swords.” Why call it the “Garden of the Dragon Sword”?

Rokan had told me that no sword related to dragons—not even the Dragon Bone Sword—had ever been officially revealed to the world.

Taeseong answered my question.

“It’s named after a map in a game our guild master plays.”

“…What?”

His answer left me dumbfounded. Taeseong grinned and waved a hand as if to say he was joking.

“I’m kidding.”

Man, that startled me.

He’d said it with such a straight face, I’d actually believed him for a moment.

“There’s a large statue in the very center of the dungeon. It’s shaped like a dragon wrapped around a sword.”

“And that’s not all,” he continued. “There are characters engraved at the base of the statue. They seem to come from another world.”

I’d never seen them myself, but I thought I’d heard that things like this sometimes happened in dungeon Gates.

“Have they deciphered the writing?”

“Not all of it. As far as I know, they’ve only deciphered one sentence.”

“What does it say?”

In response to my question, Oh Taeseong took out his phone, searched for something, and read me the translated sentence.

“‘The great emperor who united the continent with a sword blessed by a dragon sleeps here for all eternity.’”