There’s a chance that Mireu Guild was the one to raid the Great Dungeon. After advancing to S-rank, there’s only two people Jiho hasn’t been able to open the system window for: Joo Yiwon and Kim Tae Yong.
If he’s hiding his strength, then Kim Tae Yong might be as strong as Joo Yiwon.
“No, that’s not right….”
Jiho frowned.
Someone stronger than that guy exists?
No way.
“There’s no way….”
Jiho mumbled doubtfully.
Even if Kim Tae Yong is hiding his strength, there’s no reason for him to continue hiding it when he’s being humiliated by Joo Yiwon. And it seems like he’s even lost to Yiwon once.
Jiho, who had been lost in thought, glaring at the plant Kim Tae Yong jabbered about, pulled at his hair.
“Would it hurt to just tell me? A**hole.”
Saying stuff like he knows Kim Tae Yong’s secret, or to be careful. Jiho’s thoughts were in disarray because of Joo Yiwon, who only drops hints and never provides any useful information.
In the end, the arrow of blame pointed towards Joo Yiwon, who only speaks vaguely.
Just try coming home. He’ll corner Yiwon and shake out all of the information he’s hiding.
Jiho gnashed his teeth at Yiwon, who’s hiding a lot of things.
For a while, Jiho was so busy that he had no time to rest.
And even though it’s been over two weeks now, Yiwon never appeared back home.
Jiho was furious at his roommate, who’s sent not a single message about not coming home. But fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, Jiho was so busy that he didn’t have time to keep thinking about Yiwon.
In just that bit of time, No Name’s office had filled up quite a bit.
No Name successfully recruited one A-rank hunter and fourteen B-rank hunters. And today, a hunter that Jiho especially needed ended his contract with his previous guild and is coming in for his first day of work at No Name.
That hunter’s name is Park Geon Ho.
Park Geon Ho is 35 years old this year. With his shaggy hair, rumpled clothes, tall but crooked posture, and light scent of cigarette smoke, he has quite the impression.
From his appearance alone, Geon Ho looks like a neighborhood gangster or someone unemployed, but he is actually a B-rank support hunter with a search-attribute skill.
Park Geon Ho, who came up to the guildmaster’s office as soon as he got to work, received his first shock from Shin Jiho’s appearance, which a camera can’t fully capture, and his second shock from how unexpected his first job was.
“You want me to investigate Ipeulis Guild?”
“Yes. I understand that it will be hard to find any information on it because it is not a formally registered guild, but I would like you to gather as much information as you can about it, no matter how small that is.”
Park Geon Ho’s eyes, which usually appear slightly dull, sparkled.
“Alright. That sounds like it will be fun. I’ve only heard rumors about the guild. It is a guild that deals with information, right?”
“That is correct. Have you heard of it before?”
“Of course.”
Park Geon Ho answered confidently. Jiho took a peek at his system window.
Status
| Name | Park Geon Ho |
| Occupation | No Name’s Guildmember |
| Rank | B |
| Title | Tenacious Search Dog |
| HP | 234 |
| MP | 502 |
| STR | 89 |
| AGI | 367 |
| Skills | Chase ( A ) Fortify the Body ( A ) Summon Cotton ( A ) Hunting Dog’s Nose( B ) Until My Feet Catch Fire ( B ) Install Trap ( C ) Breakfall ( F ) |
Each and every one of his skills are incredibly useful. Jiho doesn’t understand why he was evaluated as a B-rank when he has multiple A-rank skills.
Information
| Chase (Lv. 8) | |
| Rank | A |
| Description | Chase after the selected target. For accurate tracking, you must know three pieces of information: the target’s name, related keywords, and its mana pattern. Once you have all three pieces, you will be able to check the other’s exact location once it comes within a 10km radius of you. If you do not have enough clues, this skill will lead you to a keyword that provides a clue. |
Particularly, the practicality of his first skill, [Chase], needs no words. If they keep following the keywords for Ipeulis Guild, about which they have very little information for, something will eventually pop up.
“Since we do not know where the guild is, it will probably take a long time. There is no need to rush.”
“Ah, no. Their headquarters should be in Seoul.”
Park Geon Ho assured.
“Have you run into Ipeulis Guild before?”
“Yes, slightly. My old guild had been… disrupted by Ipeulis before. At that time, the response was the fastest in Seoul.”
Park Geon Ho scratched the back of his head like he was embarrassed.
Park Geon Ho’s previous guild was a malicious guild with connections to gangs. Park Geon Ho had been struggling under them because of his father’s debt. When he awakened, it was even harder to escape from that guild.
While the guild isn’t that well-known to the public, it’s pretty famous in the black market. Even though Park Geon Ho wanted to run away, it was impossible to do so. It was then that Heaven Guild offered to protect him.
The problem is that Heaven Guild’s conditions weren’t that much better for Park Geon Ho than when he was in his previous guild. Yet Park Geon Ho was so desperate that even if it was a 10-year long-term contract with excessive demands, he would’ve accepted it.
The debt wasn’t the only problem. Because his previous guild is fairly large, if he were to enter any random guild, his previous guild would obviously retaliate. Park Geon Ho could only aim for guilds big enough to protect him.
Right when he was about to sign that unfair contract, Jiho stepped in.
Although No Name isn’t affiliated with a big corporation like Heaven Guild, since its relationship to Chungram is public knowledge, Park Geon Ho agreed immediately.
Jiho probably gained a lot of hate for stealing a hunter that was basically one foot through the door. But given that Heaven Guild never really liked No Name for basically being affiliated with Chungram in the first place, that doesn’t matter. Not when he can gain a hunter as useful as this.
“Then I will give you a buff on your skill.”
“Oh, this is the famous [Blessing of the Star]. Hundreds of posts go up a day on HS about receiving [BotS] these days, I can finally experience it myself.”
Those kinds of posts are getting posted to Hunter Space? Even though Jiho felt a little curious about the change in atmosphere in that community that was always especially passionate about cursing him out, Jiho simply nodded instead of asking further.
[Blessing of the Star].
When Jiho said the command, lights, sparkling like a nightscape, poured down over Park Geon Ho.
The scene was so stunning that even Park Geon Ho, who isn’t particularly emotional, let out a breath in awe. On top of that, even without his skill activated, Geon Ho felt like he could sense everything right now, a feeling he usually only gets when he uses his skill.
“Wow…. This is amazing. It’s even better than I’ve heard.”
“This will last for about six hours.”
Though Jiho’s tone was calm, Jiho was actually very surprised. Six hours is double the amount of time that hunters normally last when they first meet him. It seems that his favorability towards Jiho is pretty high thanks to Jiho repaying his debt for him.
“Come and receive the skill every time you come into work. While the skill is in effect, work on investigating the guild. Other than that, take it easy. There is no need to overexert yourself….”
“I understand.”
“All you have to do is find someone suspicious. Do not dig in too deep just in case. Safety comes first….”
“Yes, yes. I am very good at that.”
Park Geon Ho chuckled. He left the guildmaster’s office to get started on the investigation.
“It should go well, right?”
Jiho was a little nervous about entrusting such a job to someone he met for the first time today. But after remembering that this person worked for a guild related to gangs, he felt a little more reassured.
“It’d be nice if he can find something about it.”
Ipeulis.
Although it’s too early to know if [Ipeulis’s Protection], the skill that saved him when his heart was pierced that time, is even the slightest bit related to Ipeulis Guild….
Jiho can only hope that something, anything, will be found.
After working busily, it was already time to get off of work. Taking a peek at the time on the clock, Jiho took the elevator to the basement.
Jiho’s new car was parked to one side of the parking garage. But that’s not what he’s here for. Jiho scowled at the ultra-luxurious, ultra-expensive car made out of dungeon materials.
“Did he give me this so that he wouldn’t have to see me….”
Thinking about Joo Yiwon, who he hasn’t seen in days now, Jiho grumbled this. Then, he saw the reason and being that made him come all the way down here approach him. Seeing it, Jiho’s irritated expression smoothed out into a bright smile.
“Hi.”
A round cat with gray stripes stood in front of Jiho. Though the cat isn’t fat, its face and eyes are round, making it look especially innocent.
Jiho has been seeing this cat for the past two weeks now.
“Meow. Mrooow.”
The cat acted friendly, rubbing its head all over Jiho’s legs.
Because Yiwon isn’t home and Jiho’s been feeling bored while home alone, Jiho started taking small walks around the inside of this building. It was on one of these walks that Jiho happened to run into this guy. This cat doesn’t seem to like other people; it only acts friendly towards Jiho.
Jiho smiled as he looked at the cat who he’s gotten closer to over the past couple of days.
“Hi. Were you hungry?”
Jiho spoke gently as he poured cat food into the bowl he brought with him.
At first, Jiho worried that other cats would begin to flock over here if he were to start giving food to one cat.
But thanks to the barrier installed around this building, not even the smallest bug nor animal can enter. Only this cat waltzes in and out of this building.
Thinking this was strange, Jiho checked the cat’s system window, but the cat was just a normal cat.
Thanks to that, Jiho was able to relax and feed the cat. Though the owner of the building might not like him feeding a cat in their parking garage….
If it’s the Yiwon that Jiho knows, he probably won’t say much.
Now that Yiwon’s started taking up a larger portion of his life, even though Jiho is trying not to think about him, he dominates his mind. Jiho frowned, before sighing and addressing the cat.
“Do you want to go home with me?”
“Mew…”
The cat answered something to Jiho’s words as it gulped down the food. Although the cat doesn’t look like it has any interest in what Jiho is saying, as someone who’s always liked cats, Jiho was happy with just that.
“So cute….”
If this cat really doesn’t have an owner, Jiho would like to take him home with him.
Wouldn’t it be better than being out in the streets? On a rainy day like this, it’s probably hard to survive.
Since he consumed a lot of cat-related videos this past year whenever he needed to calm down, Jiho’s learned a lot about cats, so he’s confident that he can raise one well.
Though he wants to bring the cat home immediately, he can’t.
“I have to get permission from the owner.”
Jiho thinks that the subject of bringing a living being home isn’t something that can be talked about over phone or text. Jiho wanted to talk about it face-to-face, but that isn’t easy.
Why is Joo Yiwon not returning home?
Jiho usually knows Yiwon’s schedule to a tee. It’s not that hard to find; after all, Joo Yiwon’s schedule is displayed on Chungram Guild’s homepage.
These last two weeks, Yiwon’s been traveling to raid dungeons overseas. Of those days, the number of days he’s been in Korea is four. Even though he was supposed to have a day or so to rest, Jiho’s never seen Yiwon come home.
“That cold bastard….”
He only calls him Honey in words. That bastard has always been weird, showing his face for a little bit, only to disappear after teasing Jiho. Jiho was the fool to think that anything would change if they started living together.
“There’s no response from Joo Haeun either. Did he even ask her for me? What do you think? Joo Yiwon is the mean one here, right?”
Jiho complained to the cat. The cat rubbed its head on Jiho again.
“Mrow. Meow, mrowww.”
“Are you comforting me?”
Jiho interpreted the cat’s action to make himself happy. He stretched his hand out to pet the cat, but before he could touch him, the cat sent out a series of punches with his front paws.
“You’re self-willed too, I see.”
Jiho chuckled and pushed himself up. Of course, this cat is much, much cuter than that dark and twisted Joo Yiwon.
As Jiho started going up the stairs, the cat followed him. As Jiho opened the door to the first level, he worried that the cat would be kicked out if it went into the lobby.
Why is this cat following him today?
Jiho observed the cat with concern. When they reached the first floor lobby, Jiho gingerly picked the cat up into his arms. This time, the cat sat obediently in Jiho’s arms.
Jiho was going to place the cat back outside since it lives on the streets, but now that he’s held him, it was hard to let go. He wants to snatch the cat home.
“Hm, still, I should get permission before I take you home…. Don’t get hurt, and be careful, okay?”
“MROW!”
The cat cried angrily at Jiho’s words. Wondering if he did something wrong, Jiho’s eyes widened. But soon, he was shocked by something else.
An unforeseen fissure suddenly opened up in front of him.
“Oh no.”
Thankfully, the fissure itself wasn’t that dangerous, but the monsters that come out of it can hurt people.
Holding the cat, Jiho tried to avoid it. Since the fissure is right in front of No Name’s office, as long as he can lure the monsters, someone will come out and take care of it.
His plan was to run around a bit before facing the monsters, but….
“MEOWCK!”
The cat let out a guttural sound before it leaped out of Jiho’s embrace. Even if Jiho was a little distracted, the cat was so fast that even as an awakened one, Jiho couldn’t react to it in time.
The cat charged straight for the monster. Then, it bravely threw a very cute punch.
“Nya!”
BANG!
Contrary to Jiho’s expectations, the result wasn’t cute at all. The monster that got hit by the cat’s cute cotton-like little fist flew away, as if it was hit by a truck.
“Wh-what was that?”
Shocked, before Jiho could grab the cat, the cat jumped over the corpse of the monster and disappeared.
LaZ Bird Corner
Cat used [Cat Punch]. It was very effective!
In Korea, they call this move [Meow Meow Punch] (YouTube LINK). After reading Eleceed, all I can think about whenever I see this word is Casein Nitrate.
There’s so many notes about Geon Ho’s skills why are his so complicated???
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