Chapter 12: A Lesson

“I don’t know where my artifact helmet and my porter bag are either after I get transferred here. When I check my belongings, I only have my phone now.”

Kim Ji-woo already got sweated around his forehead. Not because he worried about the mistake but was concerned about his payment.

Im Taek-won was familiar with the situation where a porter lost their bag or lost the suit helmet. But the artifact suit that Ji-woo wore right now was too damaged.

And the weird thing about all of this was, Ji-woo seemed not to be injured. There was no trace of wounds that could get found after Im Taek-won looked at Ji-woo from head to toe.

But Im Taek-won didn’t want to ask Ji-woo about what was happening to the artifact suit. He needed to deal with his guild matter faster.

Im Taek-won demanded that they handle their death hunters as soon as possible.

“I don’t care about that now. You must know the payout percentage based on how many Magic Crystals or Magic Stones you can bring back. But the bag is gone. And you ruined the artifact suit too. It cost a lot to repair it or buy the new one.”

Ji-woo couldn’t accept the reason. “Is it not my fault. Shouldn’t that be your hunter’s job to make me and my equipment safe?”

Im Taek-won heard the refute, gave Ji-woo a contempt look.

“You’re not our guild members. And don’t forget, we lent you the artifact suit. So, you need to be responsible for the damage if you still insist on getting the money.”

Ji-woo couldn’t utter any single word anymore. What I’m Taek-won said was the truth and fact for him. He was not a guild worker and didn’t do his job as a porter, making the Demigod guild that lent him the artifact suit have a loss instead of a profit from the hunt.

Moreover, the price of repairing and buying new artifact suits was enormous. One of the materials for the artifact suit itself was Magic Crystal or Magic Stone.

One Magic Crystal cost 1 million won, and that was only just 1 part of the material.

Want to pay Ji-woo after losing the helmet and damaging the suit? Dream on! Not only that, he even didn’t bring any Magic Crystal or Magic Stone back.

Instead of getting revenue, the Demigod guild didn’t get anything in return. Why should they pay a nameless stranger on the street for that immense loss?

Audacious!

If Ji-woo could return the artifact suit back in good condition, the Demigod guild could pay the fee for the part-timer even though it lost the porter bag.

Ji-woo thought back about his actions in the dungeons. He was full of himself and so cocky that he forgot his objective. Now, he didn’t get what he hoped for it.

In this reality, who would pay you for being a hero?

Ji-woo admitted his mistake and apologized to Im Taek-won. “I’m sorry, sir.” He bowed then took off the artifact suit.

Im Taek-won took the artifact suit and left Ji-woo at the entrance. He didn’t want to bother Ji-woo anymore.

Ji-woo lowered his head, feeling sorry toward his mother. 

Ji-woo held remorse in his heart, remembering the promises he made. He wanted to be the one that took care of the family. However, he failed today.

“Fuu… Let’s move on from this failure. There’s still a chance for me tomorrow.”

Ji-woo tried to change his mood and stay resolute about his plan to shoulder the burden of his family.

Tik, Tik–

Sressh–

Came the sound of raindrops. The night got blessed by the rain.

Ji-woo saw a silhouette of women walking hastily amidst the light rain and put her hand at the top of her head.

“Wait for long?” Hwang Eun-bi asked.

Ji-woo smiled, then shook his head.

“Nope. Let’s go back now.”

“Yes, Imo might be worried about you.”

Ji-woo then walked with Eun-bi to the bus stop since her car was at the guild headquarter after losing consciousness earlier.

She chose to go back by public transport with Ji-woo because she was the one that invited him to be a part-timer.

At the bus stop,

Ji-woo noticed Eun-bi seemed lost in her thoughts and wanted to ask her about what happened.

But the bus came and disrupted Ji-woo’s intentions.

Inside the bus, on their way back.

Eun-bi spoke first and broke the silence between them.

“I wanna ask about what happened to you, but after I got warned by my senior hunter from the Demigod guild. I don’t want to drag you more into this. And I think it is not a good idea to inquire more about the incident.

“I can only say, I’m sorry for bringing you into this mess. I should protect you and others better. After all, I’m one of the high-rank hunters in there.”

Ji-woo didn’t like the part where he looked like someone that needed protection.

‘Why does she always think I’m weak, simply because I never show her my power? Did she even know, the one beating that Black Wolf is me!’

But, Ji-woo didn’t want to explain. Instead, closing his eyes and sighed.

Eun-bi misunderstood Ji-woo’s response and thought he was angry at her.

“We hunters usually can handle tier-1 Portal Gate easily. It just…, we didn’t expect they would come all together after killing one Silver Wolf.

“You might find this is no more than an excuse. We usually hunt in the dungeons with surprise attacks and close the Portal Gate with ease. It is to train our new and low-rank guild members too.

“But… In that situation, Except we have all of our Squad as D-rank hunters, it will be difficult to clear the dungeon.

“You don’t know the hunters’ difference in rank is a huge factor for clearing the dungeons, right?”

Ji-woo, who at first was not interested in hearing Eun-bi talk, began showing his curiosity.

“What about the rank difference?”

But after voicing out his curiosity, Ji-woo instantly regretted it.

‘Why should I f**k*ng care with the hunters b*st*rd business? I didn’t get payment because of their petty loss!’

Eun-bi was happy that Ji-woo asked her. Immediately said, “How big is the difference between E-rank hunters and D-rank hunters?”

Ji-woo shrugged.

“For example, E-rank hunters need 1 Magic Crystal to solidify their power. Then how many Magic Crystal did a D-rank hunter need?”

This time, Ji-woo shifts his face and looks at Eun-bi. He is waiting for the continuation.

“It needs 10 Magic Crystals.”

Ji-woo frowned and asked, “Then for C-rank hunters need 100 Magic Crystal?”

Eun-bi answered calmly. “Nope, it needs 1000 Magic Crystal.”

Ji-woo was surprised. “So much?”

“After D-rank, each rank will multiply by hundreds.”

“Then, Portal Gate with tier level has the same concept with the hunters too, doesn’t it?”

Ji-woo made a conclusion based on how the E-rank and D-rank hunters perform at tier-1 Portal Gate.

Eun-bi nodded. “That’s why until now, we can’t close all of the Portal Gate because we lack top high-rank hunters.

“And that’s the reason too, why is there no one who can clear dungeons alone.”

‘Alone? You mean no one can solo that Portal Gate?’

Ji-woo then found something odd from what Eun-bi just said.

“A high-rank hunter can easily close that Portal Gate from before? What do you mean they can’t clear the dungeons alone?”

“High-rank hunters can’t enter a low-tier Portal Gate?!” Eun-bi answered confusedly.

“But you, a D-rank hunter, can enter tier-1 Portal Gate before?”

Now, Eun-bi feels awkward explaining this well-known information.

“E-Erm… The Portal Gate seems to have Mana restriction in each tier. If hunters have huge Mana on them, they can’t enter.”

Haha, Haha–

Ji-woo laughed hearing this ridiculous reason about the Portal Gate.

‘What a bullsh*t! This Portal Gate is clearly cheating all people in this world!’

Eun-bi was horrified by Ji-woo’s laugh.

“Ji-woo~si, are you okay? Why are you suddenly laughing?”

“Ah, I’m fine. Sorry, it’s nothing.”

Ji-woo really doesn’t know whether this Portal Gate was a joke or a disaster that fell upon them. But he didn’t care that much anyway. What was important now was to make money for his family and let his mother take a break from work.

However, remembering about money made Ji-woo pissed.

‘That b*st*rd is cheating me too! I save their members!’

In the midst of Ji-woo grumbling, Eun-bi took something from her pocket.

“Take this.”

Eun-bi gave Ji-woo an envelope and put it in his hand.

“This is your fee for working as a part-time porter. Thanks for accepting my offer.”

“I thought they wouldn’t pay me after all that happened in the hunt?”

Eun-bi smiled and assured Ji-woo.

“My guild itself told me to give you this. But still, there is not much in there. So don’t get your hopes up.”

Ji-woo was glad. He still got his money even though Eun-bi said there wasn’t much inside. To be truth, he just let out his frustration about his own mistake. In the beginning, he never intended to hold an account with the Demigod guild.

The truth was, the money came from Eun-bi, not from her guild.

Before Eun-bi met Ji-woo at the entrance,

Eun-bi got scolded by Jung Hyun-dun, and after that, she got a full ear from Im Taek-won about Ji-woo as a part-timer porter.

Felt guilty after bringing him to dungeons, Eun-bi decided to take her own money. And use her guild as an excuse.

Eun-bi wanted to help Ji-woo’s mother too. Because she doesn’t have parents, She thought of her as her mother.

“Thank you for this. At least I can still earn.”

Ji-woo wanted to say that Eun-bi could call him again for the porter job, but after looking back on his performance for today’s hunt. He changed his words.

Ji-woo was still thinking about what he needed to do to secure some income for his family. He thought working related to that Portal Gate was too troublesome.

It might disturb his family in the future.