Chapter 44: Demigod Guild

When Yu-jin transformed into a burning sun and scorched the surrounding area, many hunters immediately gave up because they could not stand the intense heat.

Meanwhile, the hunters who chose to stay in the battle tried to stay as far away from Yu-jin as they could, enduring the pain.

The Darkness Element hunter also threw away his arrogance and tried to endure the scorching heat. The Shadow creature took a spot in front of him to block Yu-jin’s searing sun with its hand and body. But that wasn’t enough. Even with his Mana being poured into the Shadow creature to regenerate. It slowly continued to melt again and again.

Ji-woo was also in the same situation as that hunter but with a different outcome.

“Hhm?!”

Ji-woo sensed something was amiss and immediately knew what the problem was. He then leaped backward closer to the walls of the Training Center like the other hunters had done.

Even though the scorching sun couldn’t cause any harm to Ji-woo, his clothes were affected by that as they were especially not made for battle. It almost burned his entire outfit. Luckily he acted fast, so his pants were still intact.

Ji-woo smiled wryly. He could be said to be half-naked now with parts of his shirt burned and gone.

The other hunters didn’t have time to look at Ji-woo and try their hardest to survive the attack.

However, the hunters’ desperate defenses didn’t last until the end after Yu-jin’s scorching sun exploded and released even more powerful shock waves across the fields.

Ji-woo was shocked, worried that the shockwave would destroy his pants too. He leaned his upper body forward and right leg to the back. He put both hands to the front and split the crashing waves with his fingers.

Soosshh–

The aftermath of the explosion caused the entire lower ground to get covered in a cloud of smoke.

The Demigod hunters didn’t know the result and expected Yu-jin to be the sole survivor of the Battle Royale.

Contrary to the predictions, they gaped in shock when they saw the other hunters left standing other than Yu-jin in there.

“F**k!”

“What the heck!?”

“How are those two still standing after such an explosion?!”

First of all, the Darkness Element hunter still able to hold his ground was within an acceptable range. After all, he was a rare hunter with a unique ability.

But, Ji-woo and Tae-han?

Everyone on the upper floor couldn’t wrap their minds about how the two of them had managed to stand on their feet after a terrifying wave swept through the other hunters.

And more importantly, compared to Ji-woo, Tae-han survived in a more sorry state. There were almost bruises all over his body.

Only Ji-woo had the leisure to catch a glimpse of how Tae-han blocked the intense heat and the shockwave.

Tae-han used fire as a shield. Even though the flames weren’t strong enough, he continued to endure them. That was why he had many injuries all over his body. And fortunately, he was wearing clothes that were strong enough against the scorching sun. Otherwise, his fate would be the same as that of a shirtless Ji-woo.

“That bast*** must be cheating!”

“Screw that wimp!!!”

Some Demigod hunters show their disdain toward Ji-woo.

The referee frowned, seeing his guild members acting like petty losers.

“Shut up! Just do your job. Go, pick up those collapsed hunters in there.”

The other Demigod hunters were startled.

“Y-Yes, Hyung~nim.”

“Yes, Hyung!”

The referee’s mouth twitched.

Why worry about the group of newcomers? If they were incompetent, then they wouldn’t survive hunting in the dungeon. There was no need to make a fuss about a trivial matter like that. Let the Portal Gate decide their fate later.

The referee shook his head then jumped to the lower ground, greeting the four newcomers who would join the Demigod guild from here on.

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Cha Tae-hyun. Vice leader of Demigod guild Main team.

“Ahn Yu-jin~si, Kim Gi-tae~si, Lee Tae-han~si, and lastly, Kim Ji-woo~si. Congratulations for joining us.”

The referee smiled. He already knew their name.

“There is no kind of ceremony to welcome the four of you here. We have a tight schedule. So for now, go back and come here tomorrow morning to integrate the hunter ID with the Demigod guild database and begin the training with the other.”

“Yes, sir!”

Of the four hunters, only Tae-han gave a bright and enthusiastic response to Tae-hyun despite getting injured. Meanwhile, Yu-jin kept staring resentfully at Ji-woo. And Gi-tae was just standing there like a supporting character completing the Demigod four newcomers.

Tae-hyun smirked and turned around, leaving the four of them. He didn’t care too much about their attitude. He understood these newcomers wouldn’t give him a bit of respect unless he showed who was in charge with his strength. However, he didn’t have any plans to entertain them anytime soon.

Letting them do whatever they want first and allowing conflicts between fellow guild members would increase their high sense of competitiveness. That was as long as they did not cause problems for the guild.

After all, a place where only the elite of the elite gather would have fierce competition.

The four newcomers glanced at each other, and then the three of them turned their gaze toward Ji-woo. The other three seemed to have a tacit understanding that the weakest and cowardly among them was Ji-woo.

Ji-woo didn’t care about the petty stuff. He shrugged and left the three of them as Tae-hyun did.

“Our fight is not settled yet!”

Yu-jin folded her arms, snorting coldly. She really wanted to beat up Ji-woo, who left her indifferently. But she changed her mind. After all, they were in the same guild. So she could continue their battle whenever she wanted.

At the door of the Training Center, when Ji-woo was about to leave. He got offered a plain white shirt by Dong-hyun.

Ji-woo considered politely turned down the offer. However, he thought it would be strange to walk around shirtless on the street, especially at night. He then chooses to accept it.

“Thank you. I owe you one.”

“Eiii, there’s no need. Think of it as senior taking care of his junior.”

Hehe–

Dong-hyun laughed awkwardly. He never thought that Ji-woo would qualify as a guild member. That was why he was now trying to be nice to him. Because of the four hunters who became a new member, Ji-woo seemed to be the easiest to become an underling who could get ordered around.

Ji-woo himself knew why Dong-hyun changed his attitude toward him. Therefore he emphasized that it was a debt that he would pay off at a later date and say goodbye to Dong-hyun, leaving the Demigod guild base.

In the end, Ji-woo bought new clothes, pants, and shoes on the way home, costing him hundreds of thousands of won.

Now, Ji-woo had another pressing problem. Hunter gear, especially clothes that get modified according to his physique. He could not fight enemies that used Mana with his ordinary clothes.

‘Sigh, another problem that requires money to solve it.’

Tilili, Tilili–

Suddenly, Ji-woo’s smartphone rings. It was a call from a previously unknown number. He still didn’t remember who it was, then immediately declined the call. And it didn’t ring again, just like before.

“This is the second time today.”

Ji-woo tilted his head. It was not the time to think about the call. There were several other things that needed to get done first.

—- —-

In the morning, there was a rare occasion at Ji-woo’s house. The family of three was having breakfast together for the first time since Ji-woo returned.

Ji-woo’s mother was delighted to see her children eating together after all the time, despite the awkward silence of their breakfast moments.

Kim Ji-won, who saw her brother’s new appearance for the first time, glances at him from time to time.

Ji-woo’s short hair with 4/6 long bangs parted slightly covered the eyes caught Ji-won’s attention. Especially with a clear difference from his previous long wavy hair.

Meanwhile, Ji-woo, who was aware of his little sister’s gaze, teased her without turning his face to the side.

“Is this Oppa getting too handsome that makes you keep staring at it, Ji-won~ah?”

Ji-won was surprised and embarrassed after being caught by Ji-woo. Her face flushed.

“Humph! No!”

Ji-won then quickly finished her breakfast and headed to school.

Ji-woo shook his head, watching the shy Ji-won leave hurriedly. On the other side, his mother smiled happily at the behavior of her two children.

“Now, how was the job that you talked about yesterday, Ji-woo~ya?”

Uhuk, Ugh–

Ji-woo coughed after hearing the question from his mother.

“I’ll tell you later when I get the job, mom. The notification will be out in a few days.”

Ji-woo’s mother cast a glance at him.

“Actually, what job is it that makes you wait to be accepted or not to disclose it?”

Ji-woo could only smile uncomfortably at his mother. He didn’t want to talk about his job until he got the money as an official hunter.

‘The day after tomorrow, I might be able to go to the Portal Gate again.’