Editors: Spade, Roki
Proofreader: Sapphire
When Jung Yisun fully opened his eyes, only then did he feel someone’s presence in front of him.
Up until that moment, he could barely hold onto his consciousness. He’d endured, blinking through the overwhelming drowsiness, only to pass out again. It felt like he was in a room of some sorts, but he couldn’t make out where exactly with his vision pitch black, so he drifted back to sleep. He finally woke up when he heard someone pull a chair in front of him and sit down. Suddenly, it felt like cool water was being poured over his head.
“Ah…!”
It wasn’t actual water pouring over his head, but it sure felt like it. The familiar sensation was not so different from when he would receive healing from Na Gunwoo. As Yisun blinked sluggishly, washing away the haze, someone spoke to him. “Are you awake now?”
A voice that contained a hint of aggressiveness. It was Cheon Hyeongwon. Yisun blinked sluggishly to look at him, then slowly moved his eyes around to check his surroundings. The suddenness of the situation was disconcerting, but he decided to analyze the situation first.
It seemed like he was inside a hotel room. The lights were off and the blackout curtains were closed, leaving the space very dim. It was still daytime, with just enough sunlight peeking through the curtains to help him make out the general structure. The interior was quite worn out, and the corners showed signs of neglect. Maybe it was a hotel that had closed a long time ago.
While Yisun was checking the space, Cheon Hyeongwon said, “I didn’t want to resort to this, but I don’t think I can afford to miss this opportunity.”
“What is this all about?”
“You’re not surprised? That’s unusual.”
Cheon Hyeongwon was quite surprised by Yisun’s calm response. He thought he was just dazed from the aftereffects of the drug, but his expression didn’t change much even after he regained focus.
“… Surely this wasn’t done to recruit me…”
It was said in a bit of a mocking tone, which made Cheon Hyeongwon laugh. Even when he pulled out big moves in the dungeon, he always had a listless expression, so Cheon Hyeongwon thought he was simply a reserved guy, but it seems that was not the case.
He sat back in his chair, crossed his legs, and spoke in a pleasant tone. “You said you didn’t want to work in Paradise, so I thought we could wait until you changed your mind.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“…Qtja?”
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Finally seeing a change in his expression, Cheon Hyeongwon spoke leisurely, “Isn’t it unfair that only Chord can easily enter the dungeons while us other Guilds have to struggle with the ruins and destroyed paths? Isn’t it unfair that Chord not only gets priority entry rights to the dungeons, but now they even have a Restorer? The immense glory, items, and magic stones that come with clearing an S-class dungeon, how come Chord gets to monopolize them all!”
As his words grew increasingly heated, Cheon Hyeongwon slammed his hand down on the nightstand next to him. Although a certain amount of the items obtained in the dungeon was handed over to the Hunters’ Association, he just couldn’t reconcile with the fact that Chord got to enter first.
He seethed, “Us second and third-ranked teams have been preparing to clear the S-class dungeons, yet every single time, Chord clears it first… So what are we training like fucking dogs for?? Don’t we also deserve a fair chance?”
Cheon Hyeongwon started ranting about how, since there were seven dungeons, it made more sense for them to take turns entering the dungeon. By then, Yisun had finally gotten over his initial shock and frowned slightly. It was only natural for the third-in-line team, who hadn’t had the chance to enter the dungeon at all since the first-in-line was constantly clearing them, to bear grievances, but that was a matter for the Hunters’ Association to address…
Besides, the devastating damage that could occur if the raid failed was simply too great for them to take such bitterness into account and allow it to interfere. Did Cheon Hyeongwon’s personal feelings matter much in the face of a nation-wide emergency? Not to mention, Paradise Guild’s record in the third dungeon was not exactly helping their case…
“The damage incurred if an S-class dungeon raid goes wrong would be huge. The explosion would blow the entire city into smithereens…” Yisun said, letting the last thought slip out. Since the other party was agitated, he had to remain calm.
“If you’re so worried about the damage, then why don’t you join me in Paradise?”
Cheon Hyeongwon’s smirk caused Yisun to make a congested expression. If he thought that Sa Hyeon was hard to talk to, Cheon Hyeongwon showed him a new level of impossible to tolerate. It was like talking to someone with no common sense at all.
Finally, Yisun frowned and said, “After doing such a ridiculous thing, do you think I’m still going to restore for you when you enter the dungeon?”
“Well, you’ll just have to stay here until it all ends.”
“…”
“Maybe after a long enough stay here with the company of only silence, you’ll change your mind? At least I think so.”
Cheon Hyeongwon burst out laughing at Yisun’s bewildered face. Yisun averted his gaze, not wanting to look at him at all, but the loud laughter was still buzzing inside his ears. He realized that when you really disliked someone, even the sound of their laughter would be irritating.
Cheon Hyeongwon tried coaxing Yisun, who was on the bed with his back to him, “There are actually quite a few Hunters who switch teams mid-raid. ‘We’re supposed to clear the dungeon together, but oh, what’s this? We don’t get along? Let’s jump ship.’ Especially when it comes to valuable Healers. If they don’t feel like they’re treated well within their team, they won’t hesitate to switch.”
Cheon Hyeongwon insisted that it was quite a common occurrence. Even though he’d kidnapped him and brought him to such a place, he was still willing to pay everything he’d offered before, as long as Yisun signed a contract to work for Paradise. He’d even offered a deal far better than the one he gave him in the hospital lounge, but he still didn’t get a response. House, car, money, and more such tempting words all fell meaninglessly into space.
“So, taking advantage of your sudden disappearance, let’s just say you joined Paradise, okay??”
“…….”
“Chord will definitely fail in the fifth dungeon without a Restorer, so after Crusade also fails, we can enter together in about four or five days. If you need time to think, we can also skip the fifth dungeon and start with the sixth.”
Cheon Hyeongwon said this confidently, obviously thinking that he had already won Yisun over. But in reality, he had been looking around the space. Now that he was more sober, he checked around to see if there was anything he could use to contact the others, and then scanned the room for any other presence. Since it was an abandoned hotel, naturally, there were no landlines. And fortunately, it seemed that the only people in the room were Cheon Hyeongwon and him.
There might be other people waiting for him in the hallway once he opened the door, but Yisun decided to focus on calculating the distance from the bed to the door for now.
“Restorer Jung Yisun.”
As soon as Cheon Hyeongwon called his name, Yisun rushed to the door. Cheon Hyeongwon, who had been unhappy with Yisun’s lack of response, suddenly jerked to his feet as he ran toward the door.
“Hey!”
Cheon Hyeongwon didn’t expect Yisun to suddenly run off like that, so he belatedly chased after him while muttering curses. Fortunately, the door wasn’t locked, so Yisun was able to go straight out into the hallway, but unfortunately, there were other people waiting for him. Although they were quite far away, they were all Hunters from the raid team led by Cheon Hyeongwon.
The Hunters quickly followed behind the fleeing Yisun. The corridor was unnecessarily long and dark with all the lights off. The windows in the hallway were all boarded up, save for the one in front of the stairs at the end. The sunlight streaming through it made for Yisun’s only guiding beacon, yet even that light was dim, as the sky outside seemed cloudy. Even so, he ran frantically in the darkness of the hallway.
“Catch him now, you morons…!”
Yisun ran, narrowly avoiding people’s hands. The elevator wasn’t a possible option, so he had to reach the stairs somehow.
But in the chase with the Hunters, he was clearly the weaker party. He had somehow managed to catch them off-guard and escape, but eventually his arm was grabbed firmly by someone. Following him was an angry Cheon Hyeongwon, who came up to him with a scowl on his face and snatched his arm. Yisun’s face frowned at the forceful grip.
“Did you think I brought you here to play games with you? Do you have trouble understanding human speech? I’m making a proposal, a proposal! I said I was willing to satisfy any of your conditions, so why are you running away?”
Cheon Hyeongwon’s rant made Yisun take a deep breath and glare at him. This was definitely one of those situations where you didn’t know what to say because it was simply impossible to communicate. Cheon Hyeongwon himself couldn’t understand Yisun’s words, and yet here he was getting all angry.
He let out a sigh and turned his head again to check the hallway. The staircase was just a few steps away, but he was stopped right in front of it. He squinted at the sunlight falling on his feet and spoke in a calm voice, “Haa… Okay, then, let’s talk about the conditions again. Can you let go of my arm for now?”
Cheon Hyeongwon slowly loosened his grip at Yisun’s words, suspicion still coloring his face. As soon as he noticed that, Yisun swiftly pulled his arm back and ran.
Yet, it only lasted for a moment.
Cheon Hyeongwon was an S-class Hunter —albeit a Mage—and there was no way a non-combatant Awakener could escape in front of him. Yisun’s arm was grabbed again, and as he struggled to get away, he was knocked to the ground with a thud. His body fell backwards, and he grimaced as he felt pain shooting up his arm.
Cheon Hyeongwon scoffed in disbelief and lowered himself to eye-level with Yisun. He spoke through clenched teeth, voice thick with anger. “Are you afraid of Chord taking action against you? Why, because of Sa Hyeon? If you’re afraid of that little bastard, then in Paradise, yes, I’ll protect you personally—!”
Just then, the angle at which light fell through the window changed as the sun slowly set. It gradually emerged from behind the clouds and illuminated Yisun, who had fallen in front of the window. His shadow was only barely perceptible as he stepped out of the darkness of the hallway.
“Protect him?”
An eerily familiar, relaxed, gentle voice was heard. It sharply cut through the space, a chilling disparity that didn’t seem to fit in with the overheated atmosphere. Yisun stared at the figure behind him as a hand wrapped around his shoulder. His eyes widened in shock as he couldn’t believe that person had suddenly appeared.
Sa Hyeon.
The moment their eyes met, Yisun was hit with an electrifying realization. ‘Marking.’ That was the only word to explain how the man had appeared the moment his shadow had formed.
Sa Hyeon’s gaze swept over Yisun’s stunned state, and soon landed on Cheon Hyeongwon, who stood in front of him, mouth agape. Shrouded in shadows, a beautiful smile appeared on his face.
“You’ll have to make it out alive first.”
Min: Rip to that idiot 
RIP to that idiot, you will not be remembered
Thanks for the chapter
I applaud Yisun’s patience in dealing with that idiot’s stupid logic. Time for some karmic justice
Rip that idiot
R.I.P. idiot. Thanks for the update ❤️
Too infantile and proud
Thank you for your translation 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙