“Now, what is this…” 

 

My body freezes in unexpected situations.

 

However, Kang Changho looked around Jung Haseong, who had collapsed with a calm expression, and said,

 

“Have you heard of a gate called Iron Maiden that appeared in Northern Europe?”

 

“Yes?” 

 

“It’s exactly the same format as this dungeon. You can only escape by sacrificing one of the matched hunters.”

 

He laughed quietly, and one of his dimples dipped.

 

“Furthermore, if you look at the recent trend statistics for EX-Class dungeons, it is said that the survival rate is only 60% regardless of hunter level.” 

 

That means…

 

“60%… I’m too anxious to risk my life. So let’s make sure we go.” 

 

Are you planning on using that S-Class hunter as a living sacrifice!

 

It wasn’t difficult to figure out his intentions.

 

Kang Changho predicted that this dungeon would eventually require human lives and prepared a sacrifice in advance. 

 

“It’s comfortable now that there’s no one barking unnecessarily.”

 

It seems that personal feelings are also mixed in selecting a sacrifice… 

 

I accepted this situation in silence.

 

Wouldn’t it be right to just do what the S-Class says since my body can’t use magic anyway? 

 

If the gate is asking for a real living sacrifice, then of course I don’t want to die.

 

I want Kang Changho or Jung Haseong to die if possible, but I don’t have the power to choose a sacrifice. 

 

“Hmm.” 

 

So for now, it’s good to just follow along.

 

I made that calculation in my head. I’m standing, but…

 

Immediately after that, as soon as I saw the scene where Kang Changho put the unconscious arm of Jung Haseong into the lion statue, a different sound came out without me realizing it.

 

“Wait a minute.”

 

Even though it was a long-awaited escape from the danger of being a sacrifice,

 

‘This is not it.’

 

The top-ranked Hunter was an Earthling who wasn’t bad enough to protect me inside the gate, even though I was meeting him for the first time. 

 

But to kill someone like that by knocking him out in an unexpected attack?

 

“I will open the next room. So, please put Jung Haseong down.”

 

Even though I knew this was a bad sand capture game, I decided to open the door to the second half.

 

“Why? Do you suddenly feel guilty?” 

 

“….!”

 

“Just stay still while someone else carries the gun. Don’t worry. I’ll let you go alive.”

 

Damn it. However, this Hunter isn’t in the mood to negotiate.

 

How can I save Jung Haseong who fainted? What should I do? 

 

“Anyway, when you look at the strength of the lion statue’s blood sucking. This test will soon end…”

 

It was the moment I started thinking hard.

 

Surprisingly, the key to solving this situation was given in a ridiculously simple way.

 

“Huh…?” 

 

Because the next room… was the exit.

 

“Ooh!” 

 

At the end of the road, which used to be white, a gate mixed with blue is humming open. 

 

In addition, there is a fountain with a smiling woman carved in the center of the room.

 

When I looked inside carefully, I found a missing golden bracelet.

 

I took the bracelet soaked in clear water and checked it.

 

This is a magic tool. That means…

 

‘Rewards for clearing the passage and gate leading to the outside!’

 

The bloody white prison is finally over!

 

I was surprised when I found the exit out of the blue while I was very nervous.

 

“It ends here? That’s easy?”  

 

Kang Changho also changed his expression after seeing the exit. 

 

“No, but the EX-Class Iron Maiden that appeared most recently… Dungeon statistics…” 

 

He dropped Jung Haseong on the floor and placed his hand on his forehead. 

 

“Oh my, I thought I would need a living sacrifice, so I attacked Jung Haseong.” 

 

Anyway, I thought it was okay because everyone survived. 

 

However, after listening to what he said next, it seems that the situation is not that simple. 

 

“If Jung Haseong wakes up and protests, it will be a really big problem.”

 

“Here is the dungeon reward. What about giving him this and saying sorry?” 

 

“Hunter Kim Kiryeo, I’m sorry, but messing with the top ranking isn’t something that can be overlooked so easily. The association will not sit still.”

 

Why, are you going back to prison then?

 

Kang Changho sighed and looked this way.

 

“If this guy had done his job, things would have been neat because you, who survived because of his sacrifice, would also keep the secret.”

 

He scratches his long hair, which resembles a lion’s mane.

 

Up until this point, his gestures and tone were light and playful, so I didn’t feel it was serious, but a few seconds later.

 

“First, since we’re inside the gate, should I kill Jung Haseong?”

 

Kang Changho’s face calmed down and he began to look down on the Hunter, who fainted.

 

“Yes?”

 

“The body will disappear when the gate closes anyway.”

 

Soon, the man with the dragon’s eyes turned his neck.

 

“But the problem is…” 

 

In his blue field of vision, he saw Kim Kiryeo’s figure.

 

“There is a witness.” 

 

Please save me. 

 

I couldn’t even make a sound and just stood there.

 

“In any case, witnessing a murder from a third-party perspective that has nothing to do with condoning a sacrifice in order to survive has a different weight.”

 

While I was frozen, Kang Changho looked me up and down and said this.

 

“From your perspective, there would be no reason for you to keep quiet about me killing Jung Haseong.”

 

“So… are you going to kill both of us?”

 

Even in my hometown, killing people involved to prevent information from being leaked wasn’t uncommon.

 

So I thought I was going to be killed by Kang Changho…

 

“Huh. Why are you saying such disappointing things? Why did I kill Hunter Kim Kiryeo?”

 

Huh?

 

“It’s troublesome, but I have to give up on Jung Haseong. That’s the path with the least damage.”

 

When I heard this, a ray of hope rose in my heart.

 

“I’d like to ask you a favor instead.”

 

But unfortunately, Kang Changho had no intention of letting the unlucky witness go.

 

“Hey. Kim Kiryeo, can you testify… that you were the one who knocked Jung Haseong unconscious?”

 

Kang Changho took his hands out of his pockets and began to warm up his wrists lightly.

 

“If you don’t want to, you’ll die here.”

 

Those sharp gazes were still directed at me.

 

***

 

Kang Changho has good eyes.

 

Because he obtained a rare item called Dragon’s Eye from the A-Class monster Green Dragon.

 

Mongolian-like vision allowed him to identify distant objects. (T/n : 몽골인 (Mongolian) is symbol of ‘excellent eyesight’.)

 

There has never been a time when he had to squint his eyes in order to look at something in more detail.

 

‘Did I just see something wrong?’

 

But one day.

 

For the first time, Kang Changho began to doubt his own eyes.

 

The dragon’s eye not only enhances the wearer’s magical power, but also has the ability to gauge the awakening level of others with the naked eye.

 

So, whether Kang Changho likes it or not, he has seen the magical power of many hunters.

 

‘I wasn’t mistaken.’

 

The hunter he had just met was exhibiting a strange form of magical power that he had never seen before.

 

The total amount of power is really insignificant compared to his own, which is an S-Class.

 

Nevertheless, Kang Changho couldn’t take his eyes off him.

 

He has seen hundreds or thousands of awakened people so far, but this is the first time he has seen something like this.

 

“What’s your name?”

 

“It’s Kim Kiryeo.”

 

Maybe this man has ‘the skill’ that hunters around the world are desperately yearning for.

 

The odds are too high to ignore, so let’s start by making connections.

 

Originally, he spoke with such a light heart.

 

However,

 

“What’s your rank?”

 

“It’s F-Class.”

 

Kang Changho became more interested as time passed.

 

The hunter who introduced himself as Kim Kiryeo shamelessly lied in front of him.

 

‘How long has it been since I’ve been treated like this…?’

 

Ordinary people, or so-called low-level awakened people between F and D-Class.

 

Because they perceived the difference in magical power between them and the S-class hunter as a kind of difference in size, they often trembled when they saw him, as if they had encountered a huge beast.

 

It’s been a long time since it became difficult to buy even a single item at a convenience store.

 

But to meet a low-level hunter who makes eye contact and talks like this.

 

‘What is this punk?’

 

It’s interesting.

 

What is he hiding?

 

Why isn’t he afraid of the S-class?

 

“Hunter Kim Kiryeo.”

 

Kang Changho used this little interest as fuel to touch Kim Kiryeo a little.

 

But the results were shocking.

 

“Huh.”

 

Whether he experiences a sudden car accident or receives a luxurious offer worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

 

Kim Kiryeo was expressionless about everything. There was really no reaction.

 

At this point, he feels like he’s ignoring him, an S-class hunter, as if he were a bug.

 

‘It’s dry.’

 

But Kang Changho didn’t care.

 

No, on the contrary, he likes his indifference as much as he has suffered from all kinds of gazes. 

 

So, he’s not doing this because he finds Kim Kiryeo’s attitude offensive. 

 

“Look. Kim Kiryeo, can you testify… that you were the one who knocked Jung Haseong unconscious?”

 

The situation returns to [Unidentified Gate] again. 

 

Kang Changho asked for a deal with the F-Class hunter he met at the gate.

 

“Even if Jung Haseong remembers the circumstances before and after, there is no evidence of what happened inside the gate. In the end, the testimony of the attackers takes priority in the trial.” 

 

“You’re telling me to lie…” 

 

“All you have to do is say one word. There was a conflict during the attack, so you tried to calm Jung Haseong.” 

 

There was a conflict during the attack, so you tried to calm Jung Haseong.

 

“Of course, if you plan to reject the offer or change your mind later.”

 

Kang Changho lowered his eyes and looked at the hunter in front of him.

 

“I can’t be ruined alone. If I get caught by the association, my life in Korea will be over, so no matter what it is, I will kill you.”

 

He made a threat to him.

 

However, contrary to his serious appearance, he actually didn’t care much about what the other person chose.

 

Because it’s just some kind of verification.

 

‘I can resolve the issue with Jung Haseong on my own anyway, but it just so happened to be a good thing.’

 

Kang Changho was secretly curious about what abilities that awakened person, who was aloof even in front of the S-Class, was hiding.

 

So he tried to trick the other person with this absurd suggestion. 

 

If he’s hiding some extraordinary power or secret…

 

At the time when an unreasonable threat is made to him. He will wriggle as a reaction if he can’t stand it.

 

‘Let’s see how it turns out.’

 

“All right. You mean I can just go around saying it was me who put Jung Haseong to sleep, right?”

 

Kim Kiryeo bowed and came in.

 

Regardless of how fearless he appeared, he was undoubtedly a low-level hunter on the inside, right? 

 

‘Something is strange.’

 

No. Kang Changho looked at the man in front of him again very carefully.

 

Kim Kiryeo lowered his head, pretending to be troubled, but his facial expression didn’t show the slightest sense of fear. 

 

‘Hmm?’

 

He didn’t agree to lying because he was afraid of being threatened. Then?

 

‘…He’s trying to avoid a conflict?’

 

It was surprising how close Kang Changho’s guess was to the truth, but he was completely wrong about the most important part.

 

‘Don’t tell me, the reason why magical power seems unstable…’

 

He turned his dragon eyes and looked at Kim Kiryeo.

 

Even at this moment, Kim Kiryeo’s body had a magical power that wavered dangerously like a candle.

 

‘What if it’s suppressed by a status abnormality skill?’

 

A skill with the attribute of sealing the awakening ability of others.

 

Those to whom it is applied often appear as if their magic power is slightly trembling. It just doesn’t shake that violently.

 

However, Kang Changho had ruled out the possibility of a conditional abnormality from the beginning.

 

That’s, the stability of status abnormalities that affect the awakening value is low enough to be removed with low-level potions…

 

‘You said with your own mouth that you can’t enter the S-Class gate ‘right now’. That means it was possible in the past.’

 

Based on his previous attitude, there was a high possibility that Kim Kiryeo was a high-level awakened person.

 

However, if his magical ability had been decreased to that of an insect, the discomfort he would have felt would have been comparable to being tied and wearing a straitjacket at the same time.

 

“….”

 

A suspicious hunter who made direct eye contact with the S-class and said that he could not enter the S-Class gate ‘right now’. 

 

Such a person tries to avoid the fight, at least for this moment.

 

And he agreed right away to such a ridiculous request.

 

‘As if he can’t reveal his skills.’ 

 

Moreover, what on earth are you using by lowering the awakening value to F-Class?

 

If he thought about it rationally, the average hunter would have no reason to do that. 

 

“….”

 

But again… There are no absolutes in this world, right?