Chapter 83

Im Changsoo’s attention had been fixed entirely on Song Song for some time.

Damn, she sure knows how to play hard to get.

He had deliberately kept circling near her and tried striking up conversations in passing several times, but Song Song’s responses had been utterly matter-of-fact.

“Oh, okay.”

“Thank you.”

“I understand.”

For all his effort, the results were pathetic.

What a difficult bitch.

They said that when women looked at men, they cared about their faces when they were young, but their bodies and abilities once they got older. Im Changsoo possessed all three, and he had never failed at picking up a woman.

There had been women who became disgusted with his shallow relationships and left first, or ones he had grown tired of and dumped before they could leave.

But he had never encountered indifference like this.

She sure knows she’s hot shit.

Even when he grew irritated, the anger slowly melted away whenever he looked at Song Song’s sleek figure and dreamlike face. Her fragrant natural scent, completely different from the smell of other women’s cosmetics, helped, too.

Don’t get impatient. She’ll fall for me eventually.

There was still plenty of time. The Minotaur’s Labyrinth was a labyrinth in the truest sense of the word. Raid times could stretch to twice as long as those of other Gates.

That was more than enough time to pick up one woman.

There was only one problem…

One guy keeps getting on my nerves.

Choi Minwoo, was it? He looked more suited to a fashion magazine than a Gate. His polished face, his long limbs—even his characteristically impassive expression irritated Im Changsoo.

The rest are just fucking idiots.

The old geezer who did nothing but chuckle and the bandit-like middle-aged man were out of the running from the start.

There was one more young guy named Jang Taekyung, but he didn’t even qualify as competition.

He’s weirdly irritating, though.

A run-of-the-mill C-rank Hunter. He wasn’t even part of a major Guild, just a small-timer scraping by with high-end equipment he’d leased despite it being above his station. Yet his attitude and way of speaking were strangely confident.

In fact, at the end of their conversation a moment ago, Taekyung had seemed almost annoyed with him.

Trying to save face, are we?

With the two irritating bastards, Jang Taekyung and Choi Minwoo, standing together, it was only natural for Im Changsoo to keep his eyes and ears trained on them.

—Mooooo!

It was when the Minotaurs began appearing one after another.

“What do you think?”

“It would probably be difficult, wouldn’t it?”

Well, look at these bastards.

Im Changsoo, who had just been about to call his men back, closed his mouth and listened.

“What about you, Mr. Taekyung?”

“Me?”

That was already absurd enough, but the answer that came a moment later was even more ridiculous.

“I’m not sure.”

A C-rank Hunter facing eight Minotaurs, and what? He wasn’t sure?

The bastard would be a corpse within a minute even in a one-on-one fight, but all he had going for him was his mouth.

Crazy bastards. Go ahead and write a novel.

Im Changsoo let out a short laugh, then suddenly paused.

An idea had flashed through his mind: this was a chance to humiliate the two men he disliked in front of Song Song.

That was why he abruptly stepped between them.

“You were having such an interesting conversation that I couldn’t help overhearing some of it. You don’t mind, do you?”

He planned to get an apology, laugh at them, and make it unmistakably clear who held the upper hand.

But then…

“Then should I call you Shit Changsoo?”

“What?”

“Im Changsoo or Shit Changsoo. I don’t care what your surname is.”

Shit Changsoo.

Im Changsoo’s brain froze at an insult unlike anything he had ever heard in his life.

Silence fell all around us.

Sangdong Guild. Peace Guild.

Even the Minotaurs seemed to stop mooing.

In that suffocating silence, the man’s tightly closed mouth finally opened.

“…You little shit.”

At this point, using polite speech would have been ridiculous.

I gave him an equally breezy answer.

“What, you little shit?”

“You really… Are you insane?”

“Everyone on Earth is already spinning. Don’t you know geocentrism, you ignorant bastard?”

“That’s heliocentrism. Geocentrism is the cosmological view that the Earth is fixed at the center of the universe, unmoving, while the Moon, Sun, and planets orbit around it, each traveling along its own celestial sphere…”

Smack.

Im Kkeokjeong’s enormous, cauldron-lid-sized hand had approached so quietly that no one noticed it until it clamped over Team Leader Choi’s mouth.

“Mmph. What are you doing? Mmph, mmph.”

…

I wished he would just drop dead right there.

There was a limit to having no sense of the situation. I almost wondered whether Sangdong Guild had paid him.

“I can’t believe I’m talking to people like you.”

Im Changsoo looked at Team Leader Choi and me as if we were unbelievable.

“How did airheaded bastards like you even become Hunters?”

“What, do they recruit based on school transcripts? Get a TOEIC score of 900 and you’re B-rank, and if you can speak Chinese, you’re A-rank?”

“You’d better shut that mouth if you want to live a long time.”

“Wow, threats now? I’m so scared I won’t even be able to piss in Sangdong Guild’s direction.”

Im Changsoo ground his teeth, sparks flying from his eyes.

“You seem to have forgotten… This is a Gate.”

“I know, asshole. I also know that eight Minotaurs are coming toward us from over there.”

They say even a tiger comes when you talk about it.

Right on cue, the bellow of a bull echoed through the cavern.

—Moooooo!

“They’re coming!”

“What do we do?”

“What do you think? Get back! Hurry!”

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The cavern floor shook every time the herd of Minotaurs moved.

Watching his team members run back with their tails between their legs, Im Changsoo spat out a wad of phlegm.

“You should consider yourself lucky.”

“I tend to be pretty lucky.”

Thanks to the System, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I was living a second life. I had gone through enough hardships to die from, but I had always been blessed with incredible luck.

“We’ll see each other after I deal with those bastards.”

“That works, too.”

“I hope you’re prepared to take responsibility for what you said.”

“I think I can handle that.”

I looked at the Level window floating above his head.

System

Level 65 Im Changsoo

Level 65. High.

Compared to his other team members, he was nearly ten Levels higher, which meant he was probably quite capable even among B-rank Hunters.

Of course, he still wasn’t as good as me.

Well, character and ability aren’t proportional.

Hunters weren’t selected based on TOEIC scores, school grades, or personality tests.

I shook my head and turned away.

“How about now?”

“…?”

“The Minotaurs. Didn’t you say you were confident you could handle them alone?”

Ah. I had a rough idea of what he was getting at.

His intentions were obvious from his tone and expression, and a short laugh escaped me.

“I don’t remember saying anything like that.”

“You should take responsibility for what you said.”

“You’re too childish. I can’t indulge you. If you have a problem, settle it one-on-one after the raid.”

Butler Kim and Miss Song, who had been watching the situation with calm expressions, spoke up as well.

“It would be better if both of you calmed down.”

“Excuse me, but don’t you think this is a bad time?”

Boom-boom-boom.

Even now, the Minotaur herd was drawing closer by the second.

It was fortunate that they were approaching cautiously. If they had really wanted to, the battle could have begun long ago.

“You heard them, right? Don’t put innocent people in danger. We’ll deal with this later…”

“Five bills.”

“Huh?”

Im Changsoo spread all five fingers wide.

That wasn’t five stars… it was five bills.

Was he talking about the thing I thought he was?

“The Minotaur herd over there. If you handle them alone, I’ll give you five big bills per head.”

“Big bills?”

“Yeah. Big bills.”

That meant fifty million won per Minotaur, or four hundred million for all eight.

Even for me, a C-rank Hunter, that was a considerable sum.

But…

I didn’t want to look weak in front of everyone, especially Song Song, by showing how easily money swayed me.

This was a matter of pride!

Miss Song. Can you hear my heart?

I gazed deeply into her eyes and answered.

“I refuse.”

Im Changsoo’s eyebrow twitched.

“Even if I give you all rights to the byproducts?”

“No.”

“Magic Gems might come out of them.”

“Still no.”

My answer was as firm as a juvenile court judge’s. Im Changsoo bit his lip.

“What a pointlessly proud bastard. I’m offering four billion won and all rights to the byproducts, and you’re refusing?”

“Get lost… Wait. What did you just say?”

Had I heard him wrong?

All kinds of thoughts raced through my mind. Only after sorting them out could I finally part my lips.

“How much? Four billion won?”

“Didn’t I say? Five big bills.”

…

“Then… five hundred million per Minotaur?”

You should’ve said five fucking huge bills.

Four billion won.

The mind-boggling sum left not only me, but Song Song and Im Kkeokjeong, gaping.

What the hell, is this guy made of money?

He was the team leader of a mid-sized Guild and a B-rank Hunter, so he probably earned a lot.

But casually offering billions of won like this was absurd.

“You’re just giving me four billion?”

“Just? That won’t do. This is a bet.”

“What kind of bet?”

“I need something to gain, too.”

The corners of Im Changsoo’s lips curled.

“If you die or run away, all the rewards promised so far are void. On top of that…”

His head slowly turned.

His gaze stopped on one person.

“Me?”

“Yes. I’d like to invite Miss Song to join our Guild.”

Im Changsoo bowed politely.

The sudden change in attitude was so different from how he had acted until now that it was downright creepy.

“Ugh, that’s giving me goose bumps. Just act the way you were. It looks much better than putting on a fake act.”

…

…

Song Song had an honest personality.

She shuddered, as if she really had gotten goose bumps, and folded her arms.

“Shit Changsoo—no, Im Changsoo, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Okay. I’ll be blunt. You’re not my type.”

Her blunt declaration came in like a 160-kilometer-per-hour fastball, tight and inside. Im Changsoo’s gaze wavered.

“You’re tall and handsome, but you look exactly like you’d cheat. I hate wind, you see.¹ I finally got my hair looking nice, and if it gets mussed up… Ah, no, that’s not what I mean, is it?”

“Y-yes? Yes?”

“Anyway, you’re not my type. I absolutely can’t stand womanizers who flaunt their money.”

I had never seen Im Changsoo look so dumbfounded.

To anyone else, I probably had the same expression right now.

“Oh, that look you just had was kind of okay. But I’ve been watching you for a while, and your personality is kind of… You can tell that yourself, can’t you?”

Im Changsoo barely managed to compose his expression before answering.

“We can work those things out one by one.”

“Do you really have to taste something to know whether it’s shit or soybean paste? You don’t seem interested in anything but bumping bellies with me. Am I right?”

“……!”

“……!”

Everyone, myself included, was left gaping.

As if bashful, she toyed with her hair while delivering one line after another, each blow landing like a nuclear bomb.

“It’s not like I particularly dislike Sangdong Guild.”

Im Changsoo, who had been taking hit after hit without a break, brightened and asked:

“Really?”

“Yes. I can always switch again anyway.”

…

Miss Song, are you a genius?

After delivering a massive fuck-you with an innocent expression, Song Song continued.

“But I’d need to ask permission before switching Guilds. Right, Guild Master?”

“Ah, of course.”

Butler Kim had been watching with an interested look in his eyes. Song Song turned toward him.

“Team Leader, what do you think?”

“What do you mean? About Song Song switching Guilds?”

“If we lose this bet, that’s what will happen, right?”

Team Leader Choi calmly nodded.

“Go ahead.”

“Isn’t that a little too easy an answer?”

“I answered easily because it was an easy question.”

For just a moment, I thought I saw hurt in Song Song’s eyes.

No, surely not.

The emotion had passed too quickly for me to be certain.

Returning to her frank, easygoing self, Song Song turned to Im Changsoo and said:

“Then I’m in on the bet. What about you, Mr. Taekyung?”

“I…”

My deliberation wasn’t short.

From the moment I first heard Team Leader Choi’s question, a strange certainty had already taken root deep in my heart.

The certainty that I was stronger than those bastards.

“I’ll take the bet.”

A smile spread across Team Leader Choi’s lips.

“I’ll join in, too. A bet is more fun when the stakes are high, isn’t it?”

“Wow, look at you, a proper gambler. How much?”

“Four billion won. Of course, I’m betting that Jin Taekyung will take down all eight.”

“What?”

Im Changsoo stared at Team Leader Choi for a moment, then let out a short laugh.

“You’re an interesting bunch. One of you is desperate to get himself killed, and the other is dying to throw away his money.”

“So what’s your answer?”

“Obviously, yes.”

“Should we write up a contract?”

“A contract? What do you take me for? I keep my word once I’ve given it. You don’t have to keep yours. I’ll make you keep it. Everyone, move back!”

The enormous, damp cavern transformed into a Colosseum.

An arena with an absurd amount of money at stake.

I was the gladiator who had to fight the Minotaur herd.

“Team Leader Choi. What will you do if I lose?”

“You will win.”

Where did this confidence come from?

Faith in himself? Or in what he’d seen of me so far?

It didn’t matter.

I would simply do my best to achieve my goal.

Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!

—Moooooo!

Twenty meters ahead, I could see each of them clearly.

Hot breath steaming from their nostrils. Heat. Muscles. Weapons held high.

This is my first time fighting a cow.

It should be an interesting experience.

I gripped my spear and charged at the herd like a matador.