Chapter 3 - An Unwanted Return (3)

A photo album that Kang Min kept had caught Kang Hyuk's eye. The photo album was filled with photos of what his brother did after he returned to Earth. Kang Hyuk opened the photo album and saw many hunters in the photos. Kang Hyuk was quickly looking through the photo album, when he suddenly stopped and thought, ‘This is the guy, huh?’

A mysterious smile appeared on Kang Hyuk's face; he remembered the few faces his brother saw right before his death. He saw it through the eyes of the dead. Kang Hyuk carefully observed the hunter in the picture, he had a sharp jawline, slit eyes, disheveled brown hair and cheeks that were scarred by a knife. A tattoo on his forearm caught Kang Hyuk's attention. Kang Hyuk looked through his younger brother's photos and found a photo of his brother with the same tattoo on his forearm, ‘They’re from the same guild, huh?’

The information on Kang Min that the association provided, had mentioned his guild in detail. Kang Hyuk found materials related to his brother's guild. Kang Min was the master who led the guild. The information also contained all the profile photos of guild members. Kang Hyuk found the person’s picture within the profile photos given. He checked his name, affiliation, and class.

Thud- After closing the photo album, Kang Hyuk took out his picture.

 ***

Kang Hyuk drove his brother's car to Seocho-dong. There was a Gargoa guild building that Kang Min ran previously. Kang Hyuk went into the lobby of the building and approached the female receptionist sitting at the information desk, "I'm here to find this hunter. Do you know him?"

The female employee who looked at Kang Hyuk then turned her attention to the photo that Kang Hyuk held out and said, "That's Hunter Hwang Kyuho… May I know what it is regarding?"

"I have some personal business with him. Can I meet with him?" Kang Hyuk asked.

"No, he's out to shut down the gate at Sinsa Station currently," the female receptionist replied.

"When is he coming back?" Kang Hyuk asked.

"I’m not sure about that. It depends on how long the raid takes to complete. He might be back today or in a few days," She explained.

"What do I need to do to meet Hunter Hwang Kyuho?"Kang Hyuk asked.

"May I know your name? I'll tell the guild's office to inform him that you’re looking for him when he gets back," She told Kang Hyuk and Kang Hyuk turned away without replying her.

He thought to himself, ‘The gate at the Sinsa station...’

He knew even before he was summoned that dungeons would appear on Earth. Dungeons in which hunters would enter and fight with their lives. There have been all sorts of incidents and accidents that happened inside, but very few of them have been made known to the outside world. Kang Hyuk left the lobby and headed to Sinsa Station as he thought, ‘Perfect timing.'

 ***

Near Sinsa Station, a luxury car approached the area where the gate appeared. Kang Hyuk came out of a vehicle parked in a deserted area.

‘The mana is... in that direction,’ Kang Hyuk easily sensed the mana that was inside the gate. Compared to Hela, where he lived, it was very easy to detect mana on earth. When he went to the place where he could feel the mana, the entrance to the gate appeared.

The staff of the association that managed and guarded the entrance and exit of the gate of that neighborhood saw Kang Hyuk, "Hmm? That person is…"

Two of them could recognize Kang Hyuk because Hwang Sangwook had previously announced that Kang Min's older brother had returned, and some staff in the vicinity flocked over to see what Kang Hyuk was like.

"That’s the elder brother of Hunter Kang Min, isn’t he? What is he doing here?"

The staff said to Kang Hyuk as he approached, "Hello. Mr Kang Hyuk, this area is dangerous because it is the gate…"

"Are there hunters inside?" Kang Hyuk cut him off.

"What? Yes. Hunter Hwang Kyuho, who leads the Gargoa Guild's 1st Attack Squad, is currently raiding the dungeon," the association staff answered.

"I see. I'll take a look inside," Kang Hyuk responded.

"What? W-wait a minute. You can’t just go in suddenly. This is an A-Class gate that is very dangerous," the association staff stopped Kang Hyuk.

"Hey, he’s the brother of Hunter Kang Min and he’s a returner. If that's the case, he should be eligible to enter the A-Class gate," the other association staff retorted.

"While that's true, he still can't just go in without giving the guild and association prior notice…" the association staff trailed off.

"He’s already gone in though," the other association staff stated.

"What?" the association staff replied and quickly turned around as Kang Hyuk's back disappeared through the gate entrance, "What should I do?"

"Let’s just report this first. If it looks like we’re going to get scolded, we can just say that he went in on his own," the other association staff suggested.

"I don’t care anymore. The returners have always done whatever they want, I’m sure the association will take care of this," the association staff replied exasperatedly.

The association's staff ignored what just happened and continued their guard duties at the gate entrance.

Bzzttt- An unfamiliar environment appeared in front of Kang Hyuk with a calm wave-like sound. The smell of blood accompanied by a scream full of bloodlust pierced the humid air. Kang Hyuk was more familiar with this atmosphere than the peaceful daily life of earth, ‘This atmosphere isn’t as good as compared to Hela, but it's not bad.’

Kang Hyuk sensed mana as he entered the dungeon, ‘That way, huh?’

The place where hunters had already swept through was filled with the corpses of monsters.

Plod, plod. Kang Hyuk walked past them as he uttered calmly, "Arise." Wherever Kang Hyuk's feet touched, it started to turn black and spread around.

Whoosh- The black light that fluttered struck the corpses of nearby dead monsters.

Bulge. The dead monsters' lifeless eyes wriggled, the internal organs that was outside exploded and the skeleton of the corpse was crushed.

Crack! Crack! Skeletal soldiers were summoned as the monsters' corpses exploded.

Crack! Crack! Sound of bones clashing.

The skeleton soldiers summoned by Kang Hyuk were taller and wider than normal people. They wore armors that exuded a black light and carried a sword at their waist. These were all skeleton knights who followed Kang Hyuk in Hela. Needless to say, they had thicker bones and more combat experience than ordinary skeletons. They were like shadows that could appear wherever Kang Hyuk wanted. The skeleton that wore the strongest armor had blood-stained eyes. The skeletons followed Kang Hyuk as he passed by them.

Plod, plod- Kang Hyuk advanced as the summoned skeleton soldiers followed behind him. Whenever he found the corpses of the monsters that the hunters killed, Kang Hyuk summoned them all as skeletal soldiers. All the traces of death left behind in the dungeon were resurrected under Kang Hyuk's command. Kang Hyuk was alone when he first entered the dungeon but by the time he had walked around the first floor and found the stairs to the second floor, there were already 40 skeleton soldiers following him. Kang Hyuk's gaze stared over the dark stairs, "That way."

Kang Hyuk and the skeleton soldiers disappeared into the darkness of the stairs.

 ***

Crack! Thud! The head of a giant horse fell to the floor. Dark red blood spread out of its mouth under its wiggling tongue.

The hunters approached the dead demonic beast whose stomach was split in a straight line.

Thud! Swish! Disgusting waste and intestines flowed from the split stomach.

"Kyuho! It’s dead," a hunter shouted as he saw a hunter appear from the demonic beast’s split stomach along with the cheers of hunters. That hunter was Hwang Kyuho.

Hwang Kyuho said as he wiped off the intestines that had covered the scar on his cheek, "Phew, that was dangerous."

The hunters rushed to him and took out potions. "Here, Kyuho, here's a recovery potion. We mustn’t allow you to absorb any poison that was within the demonic beast's corpse after all."

"You’re really quick at doing things like that. I like you." Hwang Kyuho said to the hunter.

"Thank you!" the hunter exclaimed.

The rest of the hunters all bowed towards Hwang Kyuho and took turns to speak, "Kyuho, isn't this the first time that someone got rid of an A-Class gate boss so quickly?" one of the hunters said.

“I think you just set the new record of completed an A-Class gate raid in Gargoa guild.”

"I think you broke Kang Min's record."

Hwang Kyuho then responded, “I've always been able to break his record, I simply let him have the glory.”

"Pardon? Really?" one of the hunters asked.

“All that stuff about Kang Min being the best in the world, don’t you guys know it was just bullshit?” Hwang Kyuho said as he snorted.

"But Kang Min was indeed strong, wasn't he?" one of the hunters questioned.

Hwang Kyuho looked at the hunter who spoke out of turn and said, "You're new, aren't you?"

"Yes, that’s right!" the new hunter replied.

"Come here," Hwang Kyuho told the new hunter. The new hunter ran to Hwang Kyuho and stood at attention.

Thump! “Kugh!” The hunter groaned as he got punched in the stomach and fell to the floor, “Keuk…”

"Do you think I'm strong? Or do you think Kang Min is strong? Hwang Kyuho asked.

The new hunter who was on the floor grasped the situation. He only realized he had made a mistake when he got punched. The dungeon is a common place where hunters were killed because they ruined the atmosphere within the raid.

"I think you're way stronger," the new hunter replied.

"Kukuku," Hwang Kyuho and the other hunters giggled.

Hwang Kyuho added, "There are always people who need to be beat up before they learn. Let’s get out of here since we’ve defeated the boss."

"Okay! What should I do with him, Kyuho?" one of the hunters asked.

Hwang Kyuho glanced at the new hunter who sat on the floor and said, “Teach him some discipline and come out."

The hunters grinned as he responded, "Alright."

"I'll go out first, make sure you guys educate him properly but don't take too long,” Hwang Kyuho said as he took the return stone out of his pocket.

“Kyuho, shall we head to where we always go then?" one of the hunters asked as he smiled wickedly.

Hwang Kyuho took out a cigarette and laughed, "You pervs. Sure, let’s go there, you little punk. Since you guys did great today, let’s get you guys wet. I’ll see you guys there.”

All the hunters giggled and one of them said, “Yes, sir! We’ll be right behind you!”

Hwang Kyuho broke the return stone with his hand and suddenly disappeared into the air. Five hunters remained and the four hunters said to the hunter on the ground, "You little brat, you’re so darn clueless."

One of the hunters then asked, "Hey, what's your name?"

“Taeho. I’m Oh Taeho,” the new hunter replied.

Another hunter squatted down to look Oh Taeho in his eyes and asked, “How old are you this year?"

“I’m 21 years old," Taeho replied.

One of the hunters pulled Oh Taeho's cheek and said, "I didn't like it when you acted cheekily because Kang Min favored you."

“I-I didn't act cheekily though," Oh Taeho replied.

Another hunter imitated Oh Taeho's tone. The hunters tapped Oh Taeho's head, teased him and one of them said, "You punk! The guy who looked after you is now dead, you need to get a grip of the situation and get a sense of your position, get it?"

“I'm sorry," the new hunter apologized.

"Taeho, if you're sorry, give me your sister's number," one of the hunters said.

"Hey, I heard his older sister is really pretty," another hunter added.

"She’s more than just pretty, her chest and hips are total art pieces,” another hunter responded.

“Tae-ho, is that true? Why didn't you tell us about such a treasure?" another hunter said to Oh Taeho.

Oh Taeho bit his lips as he heard a lot about what hunters did in the dungeon when Kang Min was still alive. Kang Min's Gargoa Guild was the only guild that had never had trouble with other hunters. Since they had the strongest hunter that was armed with overwhelming power, no one thought of causing any trouble with them. He never overlooked minor mistakes or things that happened in the dungeon, and always made sure the hunter that was responsible was held accountable via thorough investigation. While the number of their enemies increased, no one protested directly to Kang Min because he was too strong.

Oh Taeho had awakened as a metahuman while he lived with his sister, a non-metahuman who had not awakened. Before he awakened, he already knew about Kang Min, who was an advocate for protecting the non-metahumans, and joined his guild. Oh Taeho became a hunter to repay his sister who took care of him, and Kang Min had watched over and protected him until Kang Min was killed in a mysterious accident.

After Kang Min died, Oh Taeho became a prey for other hunters. Hunters, who used to be wary of Kang Min because he was powerful, began to show their true colors one by one.

“How many times do I have to tell you that if you let me have a go at your sister, you’ll have a much better life?” One of the hunters said.

“I’m going to have a go at her too, do you think you’ll be the only one to have her?” Another hunter added.

Oh Taeho clenched his fist, he wanted to kill the trash in front of him but he was helpless because he was weak.

"Punk, you want to go out, don't you? You want to see your sister, right? Bring her along next time, you understand?” One of the hunters warned him.

Oh Taeho wanted to live so he needed to get out of the situation first, the moment he was about to say something.

Plod, plod- He heard someone approach, the hunters all turned back as Kang Hyuk appeared before them. Kang Hyuk looked at the hunters one by one without saying a word because the person he was looking for wasn’t there. He then asked, "Where is Hwang Kyuho?"

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