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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Boss Down, Let's Begin (2)
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"Backline healer, what are you doing? We're a party—hurry up and heal him!"
The raid leader yelled at the frozen Ha Yeonsi, who approached on trembling legs and collapsed to her knees.
"Gonghyeok oppa. Why'd you go down here? What about the kids?"
Gonghyeok and Yeonsi were the eldest siblings at the orphanage. After awakening as hunters, they'd used their earnings to run the place and care devotedly for the children.
Gonghyeok had a mediocre avatar and wasn't the most reliable big bro, but he was the only companion who'd always join her on these terrifying raids.
With the orphanage director dragged off to Dungeon Babel, only the pitiful orphans remained. Among them, she couldn't just let Gonghyeok—the one trying to play big brother to everyone—die.
Her face deathly pale, hands shaking, Ha Yeonsi chanted the spell over and over.
"F-Flesh Mending Flower, Flesh Mending Flower, come on!"
Dozens of flesh-colored flowers bloomed from her hands, wrapping around Gonghyeok's legs.
The flowers glowed as flesh knitted back together and the misaligned bones slowly realigned.
Her low rank meant full recovery would take 12 hours. But patching up legs shattered into dozens of pieces with just a few casts like this? That was the perk of a unique skill.
"Gonghyeok oppa. Get up, please get up!"
Tears splashed onto Gonghyeok's face as she clutched her chest and sobbed.
Gonghyeok placed a hand on his chest and sat up, resting it against his jaw.
"Don't cry, Yeonsi."
Yeonsi kept her face buried in his chest. She clearly didn't want him seeing her tear- and snot-streaked mess.
As Gonghyeok quietly stroked her hair, raid leader Park Juntae approached.
"Come on now, save the lovey-dovey stuff for home."
Clap clap clap.
Park Juntae clapped to get everyone's attention.
"Casualties and corpses handled. Time to divvy up the loot. Here's your agreed share."
Park Juntae shoved over about 40% of the piled-up coins and material items.
82 purple coins and assorted materials.
The roughly 50 coins and materials from the boss fight had been auto-distributed by the contribution system, so no one could touch those. The rest came from clearing trash mobs in the dungeon.
But Gonghyeok spotted one issue.
"You. You skimmed the skill coin."
Skill coins and items weren't part of the auto-distribution. It was like they were designed to make parties fight over them.
The mood soured in an instant.
Everyone knew it. Skill coins mattered more than plain coins or materials.
That's why, even after hogging all the boss loot, he'd handed over the rest fair and square—it meant they'd take the skill coin for themselves or sell it, no arguments.
One-Strike Firework was the lowest-tier strike skill, but still worth at least 150 purple coins.
Split among the remaining nine, that was about 15 coins each. Seemed laughable, but raising a stat by 1 cost 10 coins. Big value.
"No, come on, that's too much even for you. You got carried all the way to the boss room. We were wiped out, and you swoop in and snag everything."
"Skill's whatever. That avatar's solid, though. Too bad the personality's trash."
The other hunters grumbled. A warning to take it easy and scram.
"Enough. She did pull her weight big-time. Fair claim on what dropped from the boss."
Park Juntae cleared his throat and eyed Gonghyeok.
"We'll throw in another 10% coins. Skill coin's best sold through our Bronze Giant raid group. Dangerous for kids like you to hold onto."
"Raising a dog in your guts. Why's all this bullshit spewing from your mouth, old man?"
As Gonghyeok casually picked at his ear, one hunter spat a curse.
"This prick's been talking down to us all along! Bronze Giant Juntae hyung your buddy? I'll smash your skull right—"
"Ho ho ho, Jang. Easy now. I'm fine. You're brave yourself... mouthing off to the guy who just solo'd a minotaur."
"No, even so, that bloody runt with no manners..."
Manners? Gonghyeok had forgotten how to even count his age after 200-something loops.
Calling him "old man" instead of "pathetic trash" was the social grace he'd barely scraped together after countless regressions.
Around the third loop, he'd gotten fed up with everything—titles, polite speech—and started mouthing off, sparking endless fights. After that, he made a minimal effort.
Watching the scene, Yeonsi whispered softly to Gonghyeok.
'Oppa, what's with you all of a sudden?'
'Nothing. Just watching.'
'...Oppa?'
His drastically changed demeanor unnerved Ha Yeonsi.
"Ahem, sorry about that, young folks. Got greedy without thinking. They say seeing treasure stirs the heart... Here's the skill coin."
When Park Juntae handed it over without fuss, Ha Yeonsi accepted politely and stowed it in her inventory. As Gonghyeok organized the rest of their spoils.
A skinny guy from the corner, face twisted like he'd eaten shit, jumped forward.
"Hey. Park Juntae. Who said you could hand that out? Think this is your raid group just 'cause a few of yours tagged along?"
"Whoa! Sangmin. Pull it together—we'll call these kids tomorrow and run it again. Safer to clear the dungeon a few more times, right? Isn't it, Miss Ha Yeonsi?"
"Huh? Oh, y-yes. Probably..."
Kraaak—ptoo!
Even with her answer, Sangmin wasn't satisfied, hawking a loogie and glaring.
"Park Juntae. Kept bragging about your Bronze Giant handling it earlier too. Keep it up, and someone'll cave your skull in with a pickaxe for real.
And you brats. Don't take this world lightly. You never know when you'll end up dead in a ditch. Over some petty greed. Item or coin goes missing, next day bodies floating up in the Han River? Happens all the time."
With Sangmin's ugly rant, the contentious loot split finally wrapped.
The hunters exited the dungeon and disbanded the raid at Seoul Station.
"Tch. Avatar gold spoon duo strolling off together. How's anyone supposed to stomach that?"
"Even in the final dungeon, they'll just hog it all between them."
Yeonsi sighed at the malicious talk behind them.
"Oppa, what now for tomorrow? Rumors like this'll spread."
"It's fine. No more raiding with those guys anyway. Just us two is enough."
"Even after you solo'd that minotaur just now..."
Gonghyeok didn't wait for her to finish, ducking into a nearby convenience store to buy a pack of Camel cigarettes and light one.
Flick—flick flick—
'Can't even compare to the crap rolled up by Babel hunters. Unless it's alchemized, anyway.'
Watching Gonghyeok puff away, Ha Yeonsi looked baffled.
"Oppa, you never smoked? Back there too—what, when did you..."
"...Yeonsi."
Gonghyeok exhaled a plume toward the sky and stepped up to her.
"Two's enough for raids. Ignore the trash strutting around like hunters. They're just scraps who can't even reach the final dungeon."
He crouched to meet her eyes, voice flat.
"And don't fear the monsters. The monsters are the ones hunted by that trash. Ever see a butcher scared to dress meat, bawling like a baby?"
"Y-yes..."
Ha Yeonsi shrank back, chilled by his hollow gaze and emotionless tone.
"Good. Yeonsi stays a good girl this time too."
"This time?"
When she questioned his odd phrasing, Gonghyeok ruffled her soft hair.
"Means you're still lovable even after I kill you ten times."
"W-what? Oppa, isn't this way too fast? What are you even saying!"
Watching her blush and back away, Gonghyeok pondered.
'When to kill her this time?'
Last loop, killing too soon made the late game hell. Better to time it carefully.
He remembered.
Even after finally... defeating the demon king and saving the world.
The fate of the hunters, who could only doom the world in turn.
Ju Gonghyeok had to carry that horrific fate on his back and press on.
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