I Tamed the First Rank Chapter 60
- HoshiMiya
- May 3
- 7 min read
Updated: May 8
On the way back to the tent, Choi Jin-hyeok saw him off. It was a forward base with nothing dangerous. It seemed like the purpose was to see me off and to keep 8-se on his palm a little longer.
“Thank you for bringing me here.”
Choi Jin-hyeok put his hand down in front of the pouch and watched 8-se crawl away, then straightened his back with regret.
“Considering 8-se is essentially your familiar, bring him to the company frequently. Ideally, when our work schedules align.”
“I think it would be good if you let him get some fresh air.”
“Squeak!”
“By the way………………. Are you worried about something?”
“Oh, me?”
“Your expression is exactly like my younger sibling who was worrying about where to apply colleges.”
“That’s right. You said you have a younger sibling.”
“He’s a guy who’s about the same age as you.”
Choi Jin-hyeok seemed to be in his mid-30s, so they must be quite a bit apart in age. As he continued speaking, he stroked the head of 8-se, who was peeking out of his pouch with one hand. The rare smile on his face was one of pride in his younger sibling.
"I raised him alone because of circumstances, but he grew up well without being crooked. He became a public servant hunter because he was given a relatively safe mission compared to the guild, even though he worked shifts and had a low salary. I couldn't die before my younger brother."
In Yoo-shin nodded his head in agreement. It was truly a scary and tragic thing to have a family member die first.
"Actually, I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I'm not sure if it's always a good thing to rely on someone to forget all your boredom and tedium."
"So it was love advice after all."
"T-t-that's not it."
I thought it was a bit too obvious, but Choi Jin-hyeok also immediately concluded it was a problem with Hyeon Gyu-ha. Although, it seems like our relationship is the opposite of what he thinks.
"What are you worried about?"
In Yoo-shin hesitated and moved his lips, slightly avoiding eye contact.
"It’s just………………. You never know how relationships between people can change."
“It’s not easy to find a place to rely on, so if it’s a relationship that you’re confident you can last a lifetime, then it’s okay to lean on it. But if you’re already feeling anxious, doesn’t that mean you’re not confident it can last a lifetime?”
“……”
“Then you should prepare to become independent and stand on your own.”
“…………………I guess so.”
Hearing his voice lower, Choi Jin-hyeok brushed his hair back and answered lightly.
“I'd like to tell you that you don't need to worry about Hyeon Gyu-ha. Unlike other hunters, he's been a standout since his teens, so he's unintentionally seen and heard a lot. But you're the only person he treats specially. Hyeon Gyu-ha really doesn't trust people.”
The more he heard that he was the only one, the more his shoulders slumped.
It was the same even after he said goodbye to Choi Jin-hyeok and returned to the tent. The inside was warm because Hyeon Gyu-ha had brought a mattress and a fan heater, but the chill in his heart didn’t go away at all.
Time passed even under the still-same evening glow.
“Ah, did I wake you up?”
In Yoo-shin opened his eyes at the sound of Hyeon Gyu-ha returning to the tent after shifting guarding duty onto someone else.
"I couldn't sleep, so I just kept my eyes closed."
"Since we agreed to wake up early tomorrow morning, let's go to sleep now. Are you cold?"
"It's rather hot."
"It’s better to be hotter."
Hyun Gyu-ha playfully replied and lay down next to him. It was bare floor on the mattress.
"Gyu-ha-ssi, did you bring a sleeping bag?"
"I've never used a sleeping bag since I just slept out in the dungeon. I can sleep on the roof, so don't worry."
I heard that some dungeons enter cities or towns depending on the setting. But it would be better to sleep inside a building instead of on the roof.
Hyeon Gyu-ha, who was lying on his side with one arm supporting his face, whispered softly.
"This is my first time setting up a tent. It's a hassle to carry around things, so I usually eat energy bars, but today is the first time I've roasted meat or marshmallows. I've had all kinds of new experiences while traveling with you, Master-nim."
"………………Is that annoying?"
"It would have been really annoying in the past, but……………….”
The dim sunlight of the approaching dusk did not penetrate the tent, so the interior was noticeably less saturated. The light flaxen hair was like dyed blond, and the reddish amber eyes were like brown.
Hyeon Gyu-ha smiled with the face of an ordinary person, not a mixed-blood father who was a king.
"It's not so bad to go through this with you, even this."
In Yoo-shin was able to say that.
"Gyu-ha-ssi, next Wednesday is our shift. Would you like to go somewhere with me?"
"Okay."
Hyeon Gyu-ha agreed first and then asked where he was going.
"Where?"
"The shrine where my adoptive parents are buried. They saved me………………… They both passed away on the same day."
Seeing his pupils dilate, In Yoo-shin pulled down his blindfold and pretended to sleep. He heard his breathing irregularly rising and falling in his ear, and then swallowed as if giving up.
Today would be the last night he would sleep while listening to his breathing up close like this.
Early in the morning, the hunters came back to sweep the dungeon where the monsters had respawned once more, and the boss decided to hunt after lunch. The cleared dungeon would be collected and collected by the contracted service company before the reset time.
Originally, it was normal for them to come in with the hunters, but Hyeon Gyu-ha said something to the manager.
<Do you actually expect me to do the work of a babysitter for the workers, on top of everything else I'm already doing?>
The manager was certain that since the founding of the Department of Supernatural Affairs and Public Safety, and even in the distant future, there would be no boss like Hyeon Gyu-ha.
The hunt after lunch also went smoothly. The Awakeners, who had been making expressions of disgust at the sight of the demons’ corpses and the smell of blood yesterday, somehow adapted.
[Only one monster survived in the dungeon.]
[All monsters in the dungeon were annihilated.]
[The dungeon boss, 'A Day Without Abnormality' appears.]
Those who were awakened felt nauseous or really sick at the appearance of the dungeon boss. The hunters who were used to the gruesome sight also frowned, and In Yoo-shin quickly covered his mouth.
The only one who didn't react was Hyeon Gyu-ha.
"I thought there would be a corpse, but it really is a corpse."
"………………This isn't an ordinary corpse, is it?"
Choi Jin-hyeok made a face of nausea.
To be precise, it was not a corpse, but a group of zombies. It was a gruesome corpse that clearly showed the horrors of a battlefield.
The axes were made up of cannons, bombers, machine guns, and other weapons of the time. On top of that, countless corpses formed a group and continuously crawled up, poured down, and scattered. The corpses of young soldiers who had lost limbs, had their heads burst open and their brains were leaking out, their eyeballs and internal organs were hanging out, and they had lost their upper or lower bodies.
"It's not enough that they were forcibly dragged into a dungeon, but they're making a zombie movie. What a bunch of crap."
Gong Tae-seong, who had been relatively calm, swung his sword in annoyance. As the flames spread, the dozen or so corpses that had been rushing in front of them were burned.
The gruesome appearance and the large number of them were not a big problem, the corpses rushing in like rain were not a big problem. The real problem came afterward.
"Be careful! It seems to be some kind of poison!"
Song Chan-young, who had been waiting while observing the situation from the rear, shouted.
A disgusting stench began to emanate from the corpse fragments scattered on the ground, cut, stabbed, and pierced by the Hunters. The ground, which had deteriorated to a color similar to rust, boiled and spread murky smoke.
At the same time, the muzzles and barrels of the cannons that formed the axis of the colony began to spark.
Koo-ung! Bang!
What they fired wasn't bullets, but rather the corrupted corpse poison(屍毒) that flowed from the dead.
“Uagh!”
The Hunter exposed to the venom screamed. The red blisters that quickly boiled over his skin burst, oozing pus and the terrible pain of his flesh being torn apart struck him. A disgusting smell quickly emanated from the rotten flesh.
The moment Hyeon Gyu-ha urgently evacuated In Yoo-shin high into the air, the surrounding scenery of the dungeon began to change in the blink of an eye as if a ray of light was spreading around Choi Jin-hyeok and erasing the background.
The ground where the snow had melted and become sticky became a relatively hard and even alley, the thick birch forest became buildings that tightly filled the alley, and the sun that was setting in the west became a night sky without even a moon.
A unique field that unfolded by releasing all the bound artifacts.
The laws of the world change.
Priests in their crimson robes, who are supposed to be pure and pious, willingly defile their souls with the seeds of the seven deadly sins. The splendid starlight shatters on the spires of the great cathedral that towers high in the sky. In contrast, corpses disappear into the shabby and damp nights of the back alleys, and gold loses its master. Those deeply steeped in sin, yet incredibly competent in worldly matters, wear rings poisoned with the venom of their kind.
This was no longer a dungeon where the perfect days of the frontlines repeated. It was a world ruled by secret poisons that were willingly used for the glory of the family and oneself.
The poison that the 'A Day Without Abnormality' sprayed did not break the laws of the field. The corrupted poison that collided with the secret and absolute poison lost its function.
Choi Jin-hyeok shouted, gasping for breath as his mana was rapidly depleted.
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Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader: Editor M, eteryl
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