Chapter 171

Chapter 171

A certain luxurious hotel in Samcheok, Gangwon Province, an event room.

“...”

“...”

Amid the noisy crowd, a strange silence flowed, and the first to open his mouth was Gio.

He spoke calmly, as if he were stating a perfectly ordinary piece of common sense.

“I will be the one preparing the meals, so I have no worries that the food will taste bad.”

“...Ah, the young master will do it?”

“My cooking skill and digestive ability are excellent. Therefore, even in the dungeon, I am confident I can make and eat delicious meals.”

“That’s a pretty novel answer too.”

“Thank you for your concern, but you seem a little close. Could you take a step back?”

“Ah, sorry.”

A hunter with crescent-moon-curved black eyes smiled broadly and raised both hands. It was a typical gesture of surrender, and also a typical gesture of mockery. He stepped back a little from Seo Gio.

“I guess I’ve heard so much about Hunter Seo Gio that I thought I’d gotten close on my own.”

“Ah, so that just now was an attempt at friendliness. I understand what you mean.”

“Our young master is really broad-minded, isn’t he? And you’ve got a good sense of humor too. It’s really so nice to see you like this.”

Many hunters pretended not to, but were secretly listening to the two of them with great interest. However, Hunter Seo Gio didn’t seem to care much, and neither did the blond hunter who had first asked for “conversation.”

“I’ve always had this habit of saying things without thinking. You’ll understand, right?”

Long, straight blond hair and a well-proportioned physique. With a face like an honest knight from a fairy tale, he strode forward with a vivid provocation, and Seo Gio replied with a smile.

“You are truly humble.”

“Huh, do I look humble? That’s the first time I’ve heard that, so I’m a little surprised.”

“It was an enjoyable conversation.”

“And you don’t feel like having more conversation with such an enjoyable conversation partner?”

“I had planned to simply show my face and return. I ask for your understanding.”

“Hm...”

The hunter, Sanarae, drew out a long nasal sound with an unreadable expression, then grinned and stepped back. Just like when he first approached Seo Gio, it was an utterly frivolous retreat.

“Let’s have another enjoyable conversation later.”

“That is welcome news.”

Then Curator Garasani, who had been watching the situation, approached.

“Hunter Seo Gio.”

As if some abrupt quarrel had been picked, perhaps because of the lineup of people in this raid, quite a few had started seeing Seo Gio as a greenhouse flower.

The Collector’s personnel, who had recognized that in advance, had kept a bit of distance so as not to give the impression of excessively “monitoring Seo Gio” or “waiting on him,” but this kind of case was an exception.

“Is there something I can help you with?”

“Well, an explanation of the situation?”

“Yes, you must have been surprised by the sudden situation.”

Garasani continued, making an expression as if he had gone through a lot.

“For something like this to happen the moment you arrive at the gathering place.”

That’s right—Gio had been picked for a quarrel the moment he entered this room.

To explain the current situation, we need to turn back the clock a little.

* * *

“A hotel?”

At Gio’s question, Juhyun nodded.

“Yes. Since it’s an event hosted by the Sun Church, it seems like they put a lot of care into it.”

“May I ask in what sense they have put in a great deal of care?”

“I thought Mr. Gio might not know these hunters’ customs very well, so I’ve organized it.”

Juhyun, who had visited the Collector for the first time in a while, spoke with Gio in a small meeting room.

“It would be good if the dungeon they’re being dispatched to raid were near the guild involved, but in most cases, it’s usually in an entirely different region.”

“That does seem likely.”

“Even this time, it’s a dungeon in Samcheok, Gangwon Province. So if the circumstances allow it, especially large organizations that care about appearances don’t dispatch hunters straight to the dungeon.”

“Then...”

“They find a base as close to the dungeon entrance as possible where hunters can rest. You can think of it like a rest stop, and this is what you could call the hunters’ custom.”

Seo Gio, who did not know the current workings of Earth well, asked.

“They do not go to raid immediately?”

“They’re trying to bring hunters into the best possible condition before entering the dungeon.”

“Because moving between regions will consume stamina?”

“That is the biggest reason.”

Juhyun nodded.

“Using a hunter’s skills or equipment, it’s possible to teleport personally, but in those cases, usually only the hunter themself can move. And even then, it consumes stamina or mana, or durability.”

The same was true even if a specialized teleport hunter, who did not participate in raids and could move other people, helped them. More than anything, just because you’re the one being moved doesn’t mean you don’t expend stamina.

“To begin with, the number of specialized hunters who help with that kind of movement is extremely small. They’re high-level personnel, and there are many places that seek them out, so it’s hard to even book them.”

“It is not a method that can be used commonly.”

“Of course, large guilds like the Collector probably already have a few hunters with such skills... but even if the Collector moves in such a convenient way, most other guilds won’t be able to do that.”

“Then is there no teleport facility provided by public institutions? Thinking of someone named Cha Eunhyeok who once sold you fish-shaped buns, I vaguely recall hearing there was something like that.”

“That only exists where it has been installed. It’s very limited; it seems that Mr. Cha Eunhyeok is in a province with fairly well-formed infrastructure. Especially in Gangwon Province, there aren’t any installed terminals.”

“...What do you mean there are no terminals in Gangwon Province?”

When Seo Gio asked in shock, Juhyun continued explaining.

“It means there are no transit facilities installed by the city or government. Of course there are no dedicated teleport terminals, which are classified as high-end transportation by human standards, and there are no railways either, which are non-magical transportation, and there aren’t even properly made roads where you can use buses or cars.”

Even so, when most hunters move to Gangwon Province, they have to use these “not properly made roads.” That was why Gangwon dungeons were known as raid locations where the march itself was quite grueling.

“In many aspects of infrastructure, the gap between cities and provinces is that large. Gangwon Province is a region where the aftermath of the Great Catastrophe still remains, and the only place even set up so people can live is Samcheok... it’s quite a barren zone.”

“I understand.”

“So in this raid, all the more reason to provide accommodations where hunters can rest. Even if it isn’t a far province like Gangwon, most dungeon raids require rest beforehand.”

Juhyun smiled in her characteristic way.

“So that hunters can raid in peak condition.”

“From the way you speak, it seems there is another reason.”

“You are correct, Mr. Gio. In other words, as I said earlier, it will be a matter of appearances.”

At the unexpected answer, Gio looked up at Juhyun.

“Appearances?”

“Especially because they are Seoul guilds.”

“Do Seoul guilds place importance on appearances?”

“Mm, this is a characteristic of a country called Korea, but...”

With an awkward face, Juhyun explained.

“Korea is famous as a country with many good personnel, but its land area is small compared to most countries. And within that narrow land, only Seoul and Busan have developed greatly and gathered personnel.”

At those words, Gio thought.

‘...How is this different from before the Great Catastrophe? The degree of survival difficulty...?’

Apart from the doubt of an old-era Korean, Juhyun’s explanation continued.

“And Seoul, in particular, is a place where popularity gained from citizens is important. SNS is especially developed, citizens are tightly bound, and there are so many guilds that thrive on the support those citizens send.”

“Do you mean selling an image?”

“You understood well. To Seoul citizens, the image of a guild or a church is extremely important. Because the more strong and perfect they appear, the more they can believe they will be safe. That is also the pride of Seoul citizens.”

“I do not understand what kind of pride that is.”

“It’s one of the representative instincts of humans that is not hard to find—mistaking something that is not theirs as their own. Citizens who have nothing bind themselves into the same team as famous guilds. People don’t only mind themselves and remain indifferent to their surroundings like you, Mr. Gio.”

“Oh...”

Listening, the human Seo Gio almost felt a little hurt for a moment. No matter how indifferent my personality is, is it right to keep being treated like this? It seemed it was. Being treated like a precious portrait was welcome.

After naturally finishing his self-justification like water flowing, Gio nodded.

“I understand.”

“Do you? Mr. Gio, you’re smart.”

Juhyun smiled as if teaching a younger sibling.

“In that sense, large Seoul organizations must keep up appearances. And a large-scale raid like this is an event perfectly suited for keeping up appearances. Because it includes the custom I mentioned.”

“The custom of securing accommodations near the dungeon?”

“Yes. Even guilds with little money, at minimum, always keep this custom. A guild that doesn’t even keep this custom... well, it gets stamped with the perception that ‘it’s a guild that doesn’t care what happens to its own members.’”

And in reality, that was not very far from the truth.

“Indeed, a hunter’s survival rate is greatly affected by their condition that day. Unless they want to advertise that they’ll openly kill their own guild members, they tend to secure accommodations near the dungeon.”

Of course, there were exceptions.

“As an exception, there are illegal guilds. Those illegal guilds that don’t need to care about citizens’ opinions don’t mind at all and drive their hunters into dead ends. Illegal guilds don’t keep customs well.”

“Are all illegal guilds like that?”

“There may be other cases, but all the ones I know were like that. Customs are kept by groups that at least need to maintain minimum appearances, but those places... well, you can imagine.”

“I heard the number of illegal guilds is not small.”

“Since it’s a world where the population is overflowing, illegal guilds are also thriving greatly. There’s overflowing manpower in the slums right now, and it’s work that can use third-grade provincial citizens or fifth-grade citizens who are criminals.”

“The population is overflowing.”

Thinking of how South Korea once worried it would collapse due to population decline, it was an astonishing change. And with things having changed this much in a truly horrific direction, Seo Gio was left speechless. He shrank back.

Unaware of Gio’s inner thoughts, Juhyun continued.

“The Sun Church, and the guilds participating in this raid—including the Collector, which includes you, Mr. Gio—have all built reputations above a certain standard. They will draw that much attention from the world, so it seems they plan to hold a small party, praying for the raid’s success.”

What did that mean? Gio asked.

“What is a party praying for the raid’s success?”

“Mm... it’s not quite a custom, but it’s an event that is not uncommonly included in raids. Depending on the circumstances, they may do it or not.”

Juhyun continued as if teaching the human world to a cat who knew nothing.

“Literally, it’s an event to pray for the success of the raid. Within the bounds of not wasting hunters’ precious stamina, they hold a small, short, cheerful festival to lift the mood. A human who gets sufficient rest and a festival in such a good space becomes full both mentally and physically.”

“A festival is not something I welcome.”

“I know Mr. Gio doesn’t particularly like noisy atmospheres. And a lot of reporters and media people will gather, so the number of humans won’t be small, either. I don’t recommend openly not attending, since it could cause controversy, but... in times like this, you can briefly show your face and return to your room.”

“Is that acceptable?”

“Not all hunters like such events. There are hunters who are shy around others, and hunters who consider the event itself pathetic. Since quite a lot of people gather in one place, you may run into people who don’t suit you, too.”

Even so, such events generally have a good perception.

“The most representative significance of such parties is socializing. They are often held when more than one group gathers like this raid; faces are unfamiliar and they don’t know one another’s combat styles, so it means ‘Adapt on your own while this event is going on.’”

“I understand well that it is good intent.”

“Of course, in that process, there may be friction with people who don’t suit you, but this too is one of the event’s meanings. Before actually entering the dungeon, it’s to identify hunters whose teamwork matches and hunters whose teamwork doesn’t. The lineup of hunters is important during a raid.”

“...One thing has made me curious.”

The introverted human Seo Gio asked.

“You said ‘the lineup during a raid,’ but do they not group people with the same guild?”

“Ah... certainly, Mr. Gio may feel discomfort about that part as well.”

It was such obvious common sense that she hadn’t explained it. Juhyun nodded as if she felt sorry.

“The trend is to keep guild members together as much as possible, but the most important factor when forming raid parties is that hunter’s position. For example, if a certain guild sends a bunch of healers, those healers will have no choice but to be scattered to different places.”

It was extremely reasonable, and—

“...”

Gio’s spirit wilted completely.

‘It feels like I’ll spend the whole raid period being shy around people and then come back.’

Then was there any meaning in showing the Collector employees his full social prowess?

Juhyun spoke as if comforting him.

“Reporters will probably come into the venue too, but it’s fine. At least one Collector guild member will be attached to your side, Mr. Gio... and if the event is truly burdensome, as I said earlier, you can just show your face and leave.”

“Would that not be rude to others?”

“I believe there are many hunters who don’t enjoy such events. If you do that, the hosts will remember you as ‘a hunter who doesn’t like noisy places’ and form a lineup suited to that. It isn’t the rudeness you’re worried about.”

“Then that is a relief.”

Gio felt reassured by Juhyun’s kind support.

“If it is only to show my face, it seems there will be no problem.”

And so Gio headed to the only hotel in Samcheok, Gangwon Province, with the Collector’s people around him.

And the moment he came down from his assigned room and entered the event room, the gathering place, he was immediately picked for a quarrel.

* * *

Back again to the hotel’s event room.

“If you wish, I will lodge a formal protest with Haeryeong.”

At Curator Garasani’s words, Gio asked.

“Is the person who just spoke with me affiliated with the Haeryeong Guild?”

“Yes. You may have been very displeased.”

“No, it was not as displeasing as you thought, Curator.”

“Then that is a relief.”

“...Haeryeong...”

It was a guild he had heard about from Juhyun.

“...”

Gio’s eyes fixed on the man he had just spoken with.

When their gazes met, and he saw the other side wave lightly, Argio pulled his hood down.

“...What a shame.”

There was no malice.

(To be continued in the next episode)