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Before returning to Choi Yoo-seong and Na Sehun, I dismembered the Twin Headed Orc. As expected, I was able to get an intermediate magic stone from the corpse, and the Orc Breastplate I obtained as a reward for killing it had an ability that increased my critical strike defense rate by 30%.

As soon as I took off my previous armor set and put on the breastplate, it transformed to suit my body shape.

[I ignored it before, but it's amazing now that I’m looking at it. Are all things here like this?]

"Isn't it some kind of magic? The principle behind it hasn’t been discovered even after 15 years of research."

[Hmm. I'm sure it's related to the Second World.]

"I got it already. I think you can stop saying that. Excessive foreshadowing is annoying."

[What do you mean?]

"Nothing. Let's go."

[What are you going to do with those guys?]

"Well. I don't have anything else to ask them about except Seol-ah. I'll hand them over to the Hunter Management Bureau after that. They've been doing bad things, so the Bureau should take care of them."

[…I see.]

The Heavenly Demon's response was vague.

"Why are you answering like that? It's making me anxious."

[It's nothing. Let's go quickly.]

On the way back, I stopped at the cleared-out Orc villages and collected mana stones until my backpack swelled up like it was about to explode.

My Inventory was now only about 5% free.

[Aren't you being too greedy?]

"I can't just throw money away."

***

The Heavenly Demon's bad feelings turned out to be correct.

“…”

[Hmm….]

Choi Yoo-seong and Na Sehun were nowhere to be seen.

"I'm sure I knocked them out…."

[The vines are broken.]

Seeing the smooth cut that severed them, it seemed a knife or another sharp object had been used.

"Someone was here."

[A member of their guild?]

"I don't know."

[Was this the bad feeling I had?]

"What if they're already gone?"

Regardless of how the Heavenly Demon felt, it wasn’t something I could undo. And the more I thought about it, the more my head hurt.

A lot of time passed following that.

I arrived at the gate at dawn, but the sun disappeared over the horizon before I knew it, and the two moons were faintly visible again.

I decided to destroy the Summoning Stone and quickly return.

The moment I attacked the Summoning Stone, a 30-minute timed attack notification popped up, but I was able to destroy the Summoning Stone with just a few strikes.

<SYSTEM: Time attack succeeded. Remaining time 29 minutes 30 seconds.>

<SYSTEM: The Summoning Stone has been destroyed.>

<SYSTEM: You gained 459,368 EXP.>

<SYSTEM: Summoning Stone destruction contribution (1st place).>

<SYSTEM: Acquired 'Athena's Ring' as a contribution reward. You can find it in your inventory.>

<SYSTEM: The Gate will expire after 48 hours.>

<SYSTEM: Remaining time 47 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds.>

Since I had destroyed the Summoning Stone alone, I expected a new Hidden Piece but didn’t receive a new title.

Still, as I remembered, I got Athena's Ring.

[Athena's Ring]

[Grade: Advanced]

[Option: Permanently increases the user's magic power by 10% when equipped.]

[Set Effect: There are no wearable sets.]

10% didn't seem like a big deal, but it was a pretty good option because it was a permanent increase.

My magic power was currently 87, so I was getting an extra 8.7 on top of that. It increased by 0.5 to 2 per level, so I would receive a bonus effect equal to a whopping six levels.

[You're gradually becoming an unbalanced character.]

"Compared to you, I'm still far off. I plan to become a more unbalanced character in the future."

[Looks like you have more to gain.]

"All the information about Hidden Pieces and items I have is only until the Third Cataclysm. After that, hunters became extremely reluctant to disclose such information. I must get everything I know."

There were three years left until the Third Cataclysm. After that, stronger monsters would appear.

I figured I could easily fight until then with my current stats.

[The portal seems to be late.]

"I know."

It took some time, but the portal opened.

Whooong-

It felt strange, but it didn't bother me much because the space around me was soon distorted, and I left the gate.

***

“Kyaaaaah!”

"Pervert!"

"Get out of here, you pervert!"

"The bastard is running away. Get him!"

Unfortunately, the construction of the women's restroom had been completed.

[You've definitely changed the future! Kukuku.]

'Damn it!'

I didn't know why things kept getting complicated like this.

If it were before the return, the massacre known as the 'Curse of Exit 7' would be happening now. However, because I destroyed the gate, there was no attack, and the construction was finished while I was in the dungeon.

I really wanted to knock out the people screaming here, but if I did, there might be real commotion.

I sprinted towards the exit.

There were too many people for the Heavenly Demon Air Stride technique to be useful.

[Just barge through them and go!]

'I can't.'

If I used it here, it would attract people's attention. Above all, I didn’t want innocent people to get hurt in the aftermath.

As the women shouted, 'Get him!', the soldiers and police stationed nearby started chasing after me.

'Let's just go outside.'

As soon as I was outside, I tried to soar into the sky with the Heavenly Demon Air Stride. Then I heard a commanding voice.

"Stop!"

Yoo So-eun, dressed in her military uniform, stood there with a gun pointed at me. I wasn't a monster, so if I got shot, I'd die.

[I think she wants to say hello. Kukuku.]

I grimaced as the Heavenly Demon teased me.

"Raise your hands! If you move, I'll shoot!"

I hadn't heard that in a while. It felt like I had to shout a password for some reason.

[What are you going to do?]

'Well... I planned to meet Yoo So-eun when I handed over Choi Yoo-seong and Na Sehun. I'll have to reluctantly follow her orders.'

[So you already had something in mind.]

"Yoo So-eun, it's me."

"How do you know my name? Hey, raise your hands I said!"

At the time of our initial meeting, I had worn a shopping bag, so she didn't recognize my face. And since three months had passed, it seemed she couldn't remember my voice as well.

"We met at Hyehwa-dong Gate, remember? I was wearing a shopping bag over my head."

"Hyehwa-dong? Ah, that shopping bag!"

Fortunately, she remembered that.

"Do you recognize me now?"

"I didn’t say to put your hands down. Step over to that wall."

"Hmm…."

Her reaction remained cold even though she knew who I was now.

***

Hunter Management Bureau.

I had been called to the interrogation room in the basement under the main building.

A cumbersome procedure followed, but the misunderstanding was quickly resolved as they found the cleared gate’s entrance in the women's bathroom.

Now, I was having a comfortable conversation with Yoo So-eun.

"So, you mean you were chasing the Heaven's Way Guild?"

"That's right. It's a guild led by a man named Choi Yoo-seong, and it's notorious for its shady dealings."

I couldn't tell her I caught them and then subsequently lost them.

"How did you know there was a gate there? If you don't convince me, you'll have difficulty getting out of here today."

"That sounds like a threat."

"It's part of the investigation."

Her tone was businesslike, but her expression was full of goodwill. She seemed to have a lot of questions about me.

[She's asking a difficult question! Kukuku.]

'Are you having fun?'

[Absolutely. What are you going to do?]

'Stay still. I'll take care of it.'

"You still have that habit of staring into space. Is this a difficult question to answer?"

"As you know, I have a skill that allows me to detect magic power. That made it easy to spot."

A hunter's skill information was confidential, so she couldn't ask for more details.

"Huh…."

Yoo So-eun suddenly leaned closer, so I couldn't speak.

Her big eyes were full of curiosity. She was a soldier, but she was very pretty this close.

She had a completely different vibe from Lee Seo-yoon.

She smelled nice, and suddenly my heartbeat quickened.

[Sudden crisis! Sing the national anthem quickly.]

'Were you this noisy in the Martial World too?'

[In that world, my mouth would always itch from pretending to be serious. But there's no one watching now, right? Kukuku.]

He seemed to have a completely different personality from the Heavenly Demons I read about in martial arts novels.

Anyway, I felt my face blush with her so close to me.

Then, So-eun's eyes narrowed into half-moons.

"I’ve been curious about something."

"What are you talking about?"

"It’s the same thing today… Back then, you acted like you knew everything. And I was also curious about the face hidden in that shopping bag."

[The latter is probably what she was really curious about. Kukuku.]

'Are you starting this again?'

[Ahem, people save the best for last.]

The distance between us was so narrow that I had to push my chair backward.

"You're too close."

"What? Anyway, I'm inquisitive about that skill."

As I pulled myself back, Yoo So-eun’s expression quickly changed, and she corrected her posture as if nothing had happened.

[What is this situation?]

'I don't know.'

She pressed for an answer.

"Can you give me more details?"

"I'm sorry I can’t be more specific. As I said earlier, you need to know that it is a skill that detects magic power."

"I understand. I wouldn't have told you either. So, you discovered a gate in the women's bathroom at Gangnam Station with that skill, and you went there alone?"

"Yes."

"I can understand the other things, but it's hard to believe you cleared the gate by yourself."

[It is a reasonable doubt.]

"The magic power I felt from the gate was weak. So, I thought the monsters would be weak too. I would’ve run if they were strong."

"Hmm…."

Yoo So-eun's eyes narrowed.

"Did you not see the other hunters?"

"I didn't."

'Suspicion' was displayed on her status bar.

She seemed to think that Choi Yoo-seong and Na Sehun’s disappearance might have something to do with me.

Of course, she wasn’t entirely wrong. I had lost them.

"Let me see… So, the reason Byeong-gi hunts alone is to make money off of mana stones?"

"It's natural since it's the main source of income for most hunters."

"I want to do that too, but I am bound by the government… Sometimes I feel like I want to collect mana stones too, though."

The hunters from the Management Bureau received a salary, so they couldn't take advantage of salvage. Even if they collected mana stones, they would be owned by the Hunter Management Bureau.

Instead, their salary was high, and their pension was guaranteed.

"By the way, So-eun, didn't you say that collecting mana stones from corpses was disgusting?"

"I don't care. I just need my subordinates to do it."

"…I see."

After a while, I was able to leave the Hunter Management Bureau.

The misunderstanding that I was a pervert was cleared up, and because Yoo So-eun vouched for my identity, the case was closed though I had to pay a fine for violating the Night Curfew Act.

[Does the rank of second lieutenant hold some power here?]

"It isn’t a high rank. Seong-jin Hyung's comment that So-eun has high-ranking connections is true."

In fact, even if she didn’t, the power of the officers who commanded the special forces teams under the Management Bureau was considerable.

Anyway, I thought it would be good to get closer to Yoo So-eun.

[Will you cling to power??]

"Do you always have to say it like that? You do know that it isn’t true, right?"

[Why are you angry? Can't I make a joke?]

"You're not sulking because I didn't find your joke funny, are you?"

[That is not the case here…]

"Of course it isn’t. Anyway, So-eun said she would ask for help finding gates, so let's wait for her to call."

[You are too calculating.]

"I will not comment on that."

Because my phone had been confiscated before the investigation finished, I connected to the Internet to search for the news.

I wanted to see how the 'Curse of Exit 7' changed.

"What is this now?

[Mmm… The curse continues.]