After the gate attack was over, I decided to continue Ahn Yoonseung’s training.

 

Even if the process can no longer be used as a method of making money, a promise is still a promise.

 

So, I was just trying to finish correcting Ahn Yoonseung’s skills.

 

‘As expected, you’re the only one!’

 

However, I never thought that the promise would turn out this way.

 

Is this why people should live good lives?

 

“You robbers, you tried to kill me for an item!”

 

In a few minutes.

 

As I watched the criminals being instantly subdued by the A-Class hunters, I felt a deep determination in my heart.

 

‘Hunter Ahn Yoonseung, from now on, you are my older brother…!’

 

In Hunter’s society, it’s the best thing if you’re strong.

 

***

 

Meanwhile, the incident was shocking, even from Ahn Yoonseung’s perspective.

 

[I’ll check your skills as soon as I finish work.]

 

[Thank you so much, Hyung.]

 

[Yeah.]

 

‘I, it’s a relief. My heart sank when I was caught in a denial situation. I thought Hyung wouldn’t call me anymore for sure …’

 

On a sunny afternoon.

 

The moment Ahn Yoonseung read the text message from Kiryeo, he felt deeply moved.

 

‘He still treat me the same way, even though I’m no longer useful.’

 

What is the value of an A-Class hunter to Kim Kiryeo?

 

Of course, it is nothing more or less than a door opener used to enter the upper gate.

 

At least Ahn Yoonseung himself believed so strongly that he had been through a lot of emotional distress over the past few days.

 

“Phew.”

 

However, contrary to his worries, Kim Kiryeo still contacted him.

 

Moreover, he will take his precious time to correct his skills. How can he not be thankful for this?

 

‘I don’t really believe in things like destiny, but is it possible that the nobleman who is in my arms is Hyung-nim?’ 

 

Ahn Yoonseung headed to the appointment site while thinking of a meaningless thought. 

 

It was in front of the F-Class gate, which Kim Kiryeo had told him about in advance. 

 

‘Wow, it’s small.’

 

He killed time without much thought.

 

However, 

 

Five minutes passed, ten minutes passed, and already twenty minutes had passed.

 

“I think he’s a little late?”

 

His mind was filled with wonder all of a sudden. 

 

No matter how much he arrived earlier than his appointed time, it has been quite some time since Kim Kiryeo’s team entered the gate; so why is there still no news? 

 

‘At this point… if it were me, I would have swept it away quickly.’

 

At this moment, a thought passed through my mind.

 

“Don’t tell me, is it an abnormal variation?”

 

A phenomenon that is crushing the new team of A-Class hunters, who were doing well, and taking the lives of innocent hunters even at this moment.

 

Abnormal rise in the rating of the gate.

 

What if that scary incident happened again this time?

 

“Probably not, right?”

 

There’s no reason to worry about it.

 

It’s not an accident that happens that easily in the first place. The probability of it occurring can be said to be very slim.

 

“Probably not…” 

 

Still, he couldn’t get negative thoughts out of his head.

 

He couldn’t ignore that low possibility since he had been directly involved in the accident before. 

 

Gulp.

 

In the end, Ahn Yoonseung made up his mind. 

 

‘Let’s take a look inside for a moment.’

 

Yeah. 

 

All he has to do is check whether a variation has occurred or not.

 

He carefully stepped into the gate. 

 

However, what happened next shocked him more than he could have imagined.

 

Soon after, Ahn Yoonseung ran into Kim Kiryeo, who was surrounded by hunters he didn’t know.  

 

“Help me!”

 

Ahn Yoonseung gasped in shock when he saw this scene. 

 

Hunter Kim Kiryeo was injured. 

 

It was something he had never thought about before. 

 

That person, who hid his skill and was always overwhelming and relaxed, got hurt and started bleeding heavily. 

 

Am I hallucinating right now?

 

“You robbers, you tried to kill me for an item!”

 

But there was no time to waste by doing nothing.

 

Ahn Yoonseung came to his senses after hearing Kiryeo’s words and adjusted his equipment. 

 

They are frogs. They are trashy humans who prey on fellow hunters.

 

“Why is Ahn Yoonseung here…!”

 

“Hey, Kim Jaehyun! You said this punk is an F-Class with nothing special! How are you going to explain this situation!”

 

Ahn Yoonseung has never hit anyone in his life, but he is also a high-ranking hunter belonging to a big guild. 

 

He reacted quickly, as he had received relevant training in preparation for this situation.

 

‘I can’t believe there were people who acted like frogs even at such a low-rank!’

 

Just when they thought they heard the sound of the wind. 

 

Ahn Yoonseung ran quickly and knocked down the team leader who seemed the strongest. 

 

“Keuk! Keugh!” 

 

In fact, there was no grand strategy at all.

 

As long as the A-Class hunter decided to subdue them, the only obstacle was controlling the strength so the opponent wouldn’t die.

 

“Argh! I, I’m sorry! No, there was some misunderstanding…!” 

 

Crack!

 

Then there was the sound of a hunter’s arm bone breaking.

 

All of these frogs were now unable to move, but Ahn Yoonseung’s feelings were complicated.

 

‘It broke too easily.’

 

Maybe he wouldn’t have been able to come to his senses if this person hadn’t talked to him right away.

 

“Yoonseung-ah, thank you. I survived thanks to you.”

 

“Hyung-nim!”

 

Ahn Yoonseung turned around in surprise.

 

There was a man standing there who looked cold and had a cut in his face.

 

“What would have happened if you hadn’t saved me…”

 

He was talking as if there was nothing to worry about, even though one side of Kim Kiryeo’s face was covered in blood.

 

“You were waiting outside, but you came in because I was too late.”

 

“Aah, yes.” 

 

But after a while.

 

Ahn Yoonseung paused after hearing the next word that Kiryeo said. 

 

“Sorry. You must have been hesitant to enter the gate by yourself…I made you suffer for no reason.” 

 

Now that he thinks about it, he usually feels scared just hearing the buzzing sound of the gate.  

 

However, today it wasn’t difficult to enter the gate.

 

He was just worried that Kim Kiryeo might be in trouble due to the gate variation. 

 

“No. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as I thought.”

 

“Is that so?” 

 

Kim Kiryeo heard those words and raised his head. 

 

“Look! You are starting to feel more confident in your abilities, so you’re not scared of the gate anymore.” 

  

He doesn’t think this incident has anything to do with confidence.

 

“Anyway, I’m really glad you had the courage. If you had been just a little bit late, I would have died.” 

 

“Heuk! Hyung, your chin is bleeding.”

 

“It’s all right. It’s all right.”

 

“Still.”

 

“Hunter Ahn Yoonseung saved me, so everything is okay now.” 

 

‘I was helpful!’

 

While no one was looking, Ahn Yoonseung smiled. 

 

‘I saved… Kiryeo Hyung.’

 

But right after that.

 

After the stormy time was over and things felt more stable again, Ahn Yoonseung’s thoughts became calmer.

 

Huh?

 

‘Is this the right thing to say now?’

 

He knew because he broke their arm, but they were all D-Class or lower-awakened people. 

 

But these guys assaulted Hunter Kim Kiryeo?

 

‘I didn’t have time to think about the situation as strange because I was only looking at Hyung-nim getting hurt.’

 

Ahn Yoonseung tensed up his body when he felt a sense of incompatibility.

 

“Yoonseung-ah, let’s get out of the gate quickly. I have to report these as soon as we get out.” 

 

Why didn’t he notice it earlier? 

 

Looking at it now, Kim Kiryeo didn’t look scared at all, even though he was attacked by the same hunter.

 

“Oh no, I think I broke two ribs.” 

 

Rather, he just had an expressionless expression, as if he had predicted the accident.

 

“….” 

 

He must be thinking about something completely pointless, right?

 

It would be a mistake to feel like everything was planned out.

 

Because Hunter Kim Kiryeo…

 

‘There’s no reason to do something like this on purpose.’

 

He couldn’t quickly express the thoughts that came to his mind.

 

It was such a moment.

 

“Ahn Yoonseung.” 

 

With a sharp look that couldn’t be hidden by the blood, Kim Kiryeo looked at Yoonseung intently.

 

And then he suddenly says something like this.

 

“If I had a high awakening rank, I would definitely team up with you. Come to think of it, it’s rare for a hunter like you.”

 

“….” 

 

“Being strong is being strong, but more than anything, you take the lead in saving others.”

 

Although Ahn Yoonseung tried to avoid the assumption he had made, the next words broke his resolve. 

 

“You are a truly great awakener. I wish you knew this yourself.” 

 

The compliment is that if he were a high-ranking awakened person, he would definitely have teamed up with him. 

 

Because it had the most important meaning to any beginner hunter. 

 

‘Ah…’

 

I see.

 

Everything was his plan.

 

Ahn Yoonseung sighed briefly.

 

For what reason was he unable to form a new team, and why was he having such a difficult time? 

 

Betrayal by a colleague? That may have its own reasons, but what had the biggest impact was the defeat that day.

 

‘Did Kiryeo Hyung see right through that…’ 

 

The day he experienced a strange variation. 

 

Ahn Yoonseung and his team lost in front of his nose. 

 

It was clearly his mistake. It is the duty of a defense awakener to protect his team. 

 

Ahn Yoonseung has not been able to shake off these past failures to this day. 

 

‘I couldn’t interact with new hunters because I felt like I couldn’t protect the team.’

 

But something happened that made him have to protect a friend who was in danger…

 

Perhaps Kim Kiryeo was trying to create a ‘successful experience’ for himself by creating a situation similar to that time?

 

You are not incompetent.

 

If you put your mind to it, you can save your teammates.

 

If this accident was meant to teach him that, then everything finally made sense.

 

‘Then he got those scars for acting?’

 

Ahn Yoonseung turned his head and looked at Kiryeo’s injuries. 

 

Torn skin and flowing blood. How many people can do something like that for others?

 

-If it’s okay with you, I’d like to train you during this leave period.

But he thinks if it’s Kim Kiryeo, he could do that. 

 

He readily shares valuable secrets that others wouldn’t even mention. He was fundamentally different from ordinary hunters in many ways. 

 

‘The reason he asked me to wait in front of the F-class gate was so that he could call me naturally…?’

 

When he realized the truth, he got goosebumps all over his body.

 

He was perfectly guided from start to finish.

 

But he wasn’t offended. Didn’t he regain some of his confidence, as his opponent intended? 

 

‘It’s just difficult to find courage at first.’

 

Moreover, thanks to this, the feeling of resistance to even entering the gate has decreased…

 

Wait, did Hunter Kim Kiryeo calculate all of this?

 

‘How can a person do this?’

 

Yoonseung, who had been looking at the awakened person walking next to him for a while, opened his mouth with difficulty.

 

And he asked a question.

 

“T, that. What on earth are you thinking by continuously taking care of me, Hyung?” 

 

“Take care? Me?” 

 

“Yes.” 

 

“Hmm… Is that so?” 

 

Then Kim Kiryeo stood tall.

 

But the answer didn’t take long.

 

“Well, you’re a good kid.”

 

Helping others and being kind.

 

“That’s enough.”

 

When he asked if there was another reason, Ahn Yoonseung couldn’t say anything. 

 

Kim Kiryeo. He really was an extremely friendly person to Hunter who had no malicious intent. 

 

“Ah, we finally got out of the gate. Yoonseung-ah, can you report it for me?” 

 

After Ahn Yoonseung heard this, he took out his cell phone, which he had kept in his protective case. 

 

But at the time he was making a phone call.

 

Kiryeo raised his hand and said something absurd.

 

“And I’m sorry, but let’s start training tomorrow. I have to go home quickly.”

 

It’s surprising that he asked to meet again in a day, but that’s aside. 

 

“Home? You should go to the hospital, not home! Or should I call a healer I know?”

 

“I’ll take care of it.”

 

“No, but still.”

 

“That’s enough. It’s troublesome. Don’t call people because I’m getting tired.”

 

Kim Kiryeo refused to be examined and left the alley with a quick step.

 

Ahn Yoonseung, who saw this, couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Oh my.

 

“No, where in the world is the F-Class who treats himself alone! How much does the potion cost?” 

 

Although he was an incredibly talented person, there was still one thing he was clumsy about.

 

The damn F-Class. 

 

Kim Kiryeo clearly took advantage of the poor frogs in this situation, as expected. 

 

“He’s not really good at acting. Or did he just leave because it seemed like I noticed everything….” 

 

Ahn Yoonseung muttered with a face full of doubts and continued reporting criminals.