INHO 15

End and Beginning (15)

“Alright. I appreciate the help.”

I dropped my guard and loosened up.

Yeah. He’s the kind of person who’d die for someone else, after all.

Maybe I’d overreacted. Guess I was just on edge lately.

“Thanks for trusting me.”

He looked visibly relieved, like he’d been nervous himself.

“You two shooting a drama without me or something?”

“He said he’s helping us, shut up.”

I jabbed Yiul in the ribs with my elbow, and that finally shut him up. Min Hajun watched us with a curious look.

“You two… seem really close?”

“I told you, we’re on a hey-you basis.”

“You talk down to literally everyone you meet.”

“What? I’m polite to old folks, you know.”

I reached over again to shut Yiul up before he could dig himself deeper.

“Anyway, don’t mind him. Long story.”

“I just didn’t expect Wind to have anyone he’s actually close with. That’s new.”

Thankfully, Hajun didn’t seem to think much of Yiul’s complete lack of manners.

“He’s coming with us, right?”

“Yeah. He’ll get inside on his own—you don’t need to worry.”

“Guess it’d draw more attention if the guild got involved, huh.”

Considering Yiul’s anti-social streak, getting him tied up with Transcendence would only make things more suspicious. ‘Wind joins a guild’? Yeah, that’d make headlines.

“Yeah, yeah. Unlike baby Hunter Yuha, I’ll come in later on my own. Go ahead first.”

Yiul waved his hand lazily, as if shooing us away. Then, catching my glance, he clutched his side—apparently my earlier hit had left an impression.

I just shook my head and followed Hajun toward the gate.

At the gate entrance, we were logged in as Min Hajun of Transcendence Guild + one guest. Just like that.

And I’d spent days struggling to get in before this. Great.

“Thanks to you, that was easy.”

“Well, guild members’ entries are all handled by the guild anyway.”

Especially when your guildmaster’s basically a walking golden ticket. I wouldn’t have doubted either.

Inside, it was night—two enormous moons hung overhead, larger than Earth’s. Though… could you even call them moons?

Looks like one has a ring…

A faint halo shimmered around the bigger one. The alien sight drove home the fact that this wasn’t Earth. Still, the twin moons gave off enough light to see by.

“Looks like the fight’s already over. Shall we head in?”

The ground was littered with mangled remains—cut, scorched, unrecognizable.

The first wave of hunters seemed to be handling things fine.

“You didn’t come here for something else, did you?”

“Well, since I’m here anyway, might as well clear it before leaving.”

Come to think of it, Hajun’s outfit was way too casual for a gate run. Last time, he’d been fully geared up. Today? A T-shirt, joggers, and—

White sneakers. Who raids a gate in white sneakers?

One step in and they’d be soaked in blood and muck.

“You’re gonna regret that laundry later.”

“Huh? Haha, I’ll try to be careful.”

When I pointed at his shoes, Hajun just laughed lightly. I didn’t pry further; he was helping us, after all.

“I’m here to clear it too, so let’s go together. Let me know if you find the gate core.”

“You’re not waiting for him?”

“Wind? He’s not a kid—he’ll catch up.”

The earlier party seemed to be progressing fast, so I started feeling pressed for time.

If someone else destroys the core first, there’s no point in me being here.

Not like I could ask them to hold off. Whoever’s in a rush moves first.

I led Hajun deeper into the gate. The thick green moss underfoot gave off a faint, fishy smell.

Thud!

After a short walk, I heard a dull impact behind me. Turning around, I saw Hajun pointing at the ground.

“Not a high-ranked one, apparently.”

At our feet, a giant centipede, bigger than a man, writhed with its body impaled. Hajun’s voice was calm.

“Looks like a scavenger that came to feed on corpses.”

Its countless legs kept twitching restlessly—stubborn thing.

“Let’s move before more show up.”

I approached and cleanly sliced off its head. The creature convulsed violently for a few moments before finally going still.

Best to finish them properly—half-dead monsters tended to lash out.

Hajun watched quietly, then dismissed his ice spear and nodded.

“Right. This way?”

He pointed toward an untouched path—no signs of people. Smart choice; following blood trails would just draw more beasts.

The other hunters seemed to be doing fine without casualties, so they wouldn’t need us.

We didn’t know where the core was yet, so it made more sense to move fast with fewer people.

We headed into a dense forest. The towering trees blocked out the twin moons, making it darker.

“The ground’s slippery—want to hold onto my sleeve?”

“I’m fine.”

I steadied my stance to avoid slipping. Maybe he offered because I’d grabbed his sleeve back in that desert pyramid.

Shhh—

The only sound was the rustling of leaves in the wind. Somewhere distant, a faint cry echoed—not threatening, just eerie.

“Was today your day off?”

Seeing no immediate danger, I struck up a conversation—my way of thanking him for coming.

“Yeah, actually. I was just visiting my mother.”

“Oh, I hope I didn’t mess up your plans.”

“Not at all. I’d already said hello and was heading home.”

His expression softened. Clearly, he had a good relationship with his family.

“The weather was nice, so I went for a walk—and happened to see you sitting there.”

“That’s quite a coincidence.”

Running into someone like that, in such a vast place, was almost impossible—especially since I’d never even been near that gate before.

“A lucky coincidence.”

He smiled, placing a hand on a nearby tree as he scanned the surroundings, then turned back.

“Thanks to that, I’m having an unexpected kind of day.”

“You’re not teasing me for dragging you into a gate, are you?”

His light tone made it easy to tease back.

“Of course not. It’s hardly trouble… and definitely worth coming in for.”

“You mean you could clear something like this with your eyes closed?”

“Well… that too.”

The tension eased completely. It barely felt like we were inside a gate anymore. Maybe I’d grown stronger—or maybe this one was just easier.

A comfortable silence passed before Hajun spoke again.

“To be honest, I was really worried.”

“About me?”

“Yeah. I’m glad to see you looking healthy again.”

I didn’t know what to say. I’d brushed off all his concerned messages with a simple ‘I’m fine.’

“I must’ve looked pretty weak back then.”

Not that I was, but collapsing twice in front of him probably said otherwise.

“I was more worried because Wind took you away so suddenly. You know how secretive he is about everything except his skills…”

A polite way to say he didn’t trust Yiul. I clicked my tongue internally. Yiul’s terrible social skills really left an impression everywhere.

“I was fine. Just passed out from using too much mana.”

“You did see a healer, right?”

“Yeah. Surprisingly, he’s kind of meticulous—apparently went and got one while I was unconscious.”

Hajun’s eyes widened. Yeah, I get it. ‘Yiul’ and ‘meticulous’ don’t exactly go together.

“That’s… unexpected.”

“He’s not… all that bad.”

I bit back the urge to mention his constant nagging—for the sake of future cooperation. At the end of the day, he wasn’t truly a bad person.

“He might lack teamwork, but I’ve seen him save people. He’s not a bad guy.”

Hajun nodded in agreement, and I quietly sighed in relief. The last thing I needed was those two at each other’s throats.

We walked in silence for a while after that.

“Looks like something’s coming.”

Hajun stopped and conjured an ice spear. A rancid stench drifted in on the wind, making my nose wrinkle. I wrapped myself in a light aura of mana, ready to move.

Ssshhhk—

Something nearby was burning. But we still couldn’t see it. Just as the tension peaked, Hajun struck first.

Kieeeek!

The sound of a spear piercing flesh echoed, and then a massive monster burst into view, shrieking.

“So that one earlier was a baby.”

“No wonder it’s pissed.”

I nodded, the theory making sense.

The creature was enormous, its long body writhing as it clacked its jagged mandibles together with a sharp snap.

The ice spear lodged in its side looked tiny—like a toothpick. Hajun summoned a larger, sharper one and pulled me back.

But before we could get clear—

—the monster charged straight at us.

“Watch out—!”