The B-grade gate in the D8 area. It was one of the gates that the Roheon Guild handed over to Ha Tae-heon.
"When was it last cleared?"
"A week ago."
So, if there were any monsters, there'd only be around one or two. I walked into the gate.
Hwiing—
As soon as I entered the gate, a strong wind blew past my face. A barren wilderness spread wide before me.
"It's very spacious for a B-grade gate," I said to Ha Tae-heon, who followed me into the gate.
He replied, as he used his ability, "I've brought you to the B-grade gate in the D8 area, as you requested." In Ha Tae-heon's hand, there was a long sword made of black dust.
"You'd better get it right."
"You don't trust me much, do you? I've even signed a contract."
"Even if it wasn't me, it'd be hard for anyone to believe you in this kind of situation."
"Um…"
Was that so?
'He has a point. I'm familiar with him, but Ha Tae-heon has only seen me twice now…'
It made sense to be wary.
I was a little sad, but I thought this opportunity would make progress in our relationship.
"Hey, don't be like that."
As I approached him with a smile, Ha Tae-heon narrowed his eyes and backed away slightly.
"I came all the way here to find Ha Tae-heon-ssi's item. If I was going to scam you, I would have run away before signing the contract. So."
I wrapped one arm around Ha Tae-heon's waist and pulled him in. Ha Tae-heon's body, which was touching my side, stiffened.
"Let's find the item first and talk. Then I will look a little more trustworthy."
"This… Let go."
"Please be patient. This is more convenient if you're going to use your abilities."
Actually, I was uncomfortable, too. I reflexively thought of Park Geon-ho and Cheon Sa-yeon. It would be too much to ask Ha Tae-heon to do the same thing like with those two.
When I used my ability, Ha Tae-heon and I easily rose up to the sky. I found something round on the west end that looked blurry.
'I think that's it.'
I looked up at Ha Tae-heon and said, "Let's go to the west for now."
"..."
Why are you looking at me like that again?
Ha Tae-heon's eyes staring at me were incredibly cold. I pondered and asked, "Ha Tae-heon-ssi, are you afraid of heights…"
"Shut up."
"Yessir."
Since you said it was scary, I tried to lower the altitude. I pulled Ha Tae-heon's waist a little more and hugged him, raising his body high.
"..."
His gaze became more intense. I guess he really was scared of heights. Serves you right*.
I inwardly hummed and moved to the west.
The blurry thing grew clearer as we got closer.
"Wow."
It was the corpse of some living creature. The dry outer skin was covered with grey sand and thick ribs over the pierced belly skin. The long snout was slightly open, with pointed teeth embedded in the exposed mouth, and its thick, short front feet were hardened like stones. The appearance was similar to that of an alligator in many ways.
"Brilliant."
Pointing to the area near its belly button, I asked Ha Tae-heon, "Have you ever been inside by any chance?"
"…I don't go to places where monsters don't appear."
That seemed right. Others would look around out of curiosity. Ha Tae-heon was the kind of person who would clean up the monsters neatly and leave the gate.
I descended to enter the pierced belly. As soon as my feet touched the ground, Ha Tae-heon mercilessly struck my arm wrapped around his waist.
I rubbed my stinging wrist and complained. "Ow, that hurt."
"Be grateful that your arms are still intact."
Chills.
I quietly shut my mouth and followed Ha Tae-heon as he walked ahead.
The inside of the corpse was dark and dreary, like an empty building.
"Let's go up towards the head for now."
First, I had to find the heart. If this creature was similar to an alligator, the heart would also be located below the neckbone.
In the novel, there was only a simple description of "I went inside a giant creature and found a heart" so I didn't even know where the heart was.
"Do you have a lighter or something?"
It was too dark inside to wander around looking for the heart. While I held a thick tree branch I found on the ground, Ha Tae-heon took out a lighter from the inside pocket of his jacket.
"Ha Tae-heon-ssi, do you smoke?"
"Sometimes."
You smoked? I tilted my head. There was never a smoking scene in the novel.
After lighting the branch, I applied wind on it once. I moved slowly, lighting the surroundings with a roughly completed torch. Inside the corpse, which was so wide that we couldn't see the ends, there were many crows with shining golden eyes.
Kkaak, kkaak.
Despite being monsters, both size and behavior were that of ordinary crows. The crows' eyes turned to Ha Tae-heon as they flapped their black wings.
"Are you saying there's an item in this place?"
"Doesn't it look like there's a hidden treasure here just by looking at it?"
As I was walking with the light on the floor, I saw an unfamiliar object and stopped walking.
"Why aren't you walking?"
"…I'm coming."
I turned around, scratching the back of my head. I wasn't too sure. I'll have to think about it after finding the item.
"Ha Tae-heon-ssi."
After walking for a while, I looked up and asked, "What does Ha Tae-heon-ssi think that could be?"
I raised the light up to check properly. As the darkness receded, something large and round appeared.
"That…"
Close to the oval, it had a relatively deep red colour. The stem, which stretched out in many branches, was facing the inner wall, and a clear vein appeared on the surface as if it would wriggle at any moment.
"A heart?"
"That's right."
No matter how you looked at it, it was a heart. Now all that was left was to find the hidden device near the heart.
「While looking around the heart, Ha Tae-heon found a hole with a unique pattern. What could this be?」
The location of the hidden device was not properly explained, so I had to find it myself. I put the branch on the ground and floated.
"I will take a closer look."
I needed to check the heart first. As I got closer to the heart, several crows that had been staring at me as if they were on guard flew away and cried loudly.
'It's like the heart of a living creature.'
Maybe it was because it was the only red colour in this place full of achromatic colours. I carefully placed my hand on the heart. It was cold to the touch.
I scrutinized the heart carefully, moving to the side little by little. I couldn't find the pattern I was looking for, but there was something strange about it.
'Why is it… so hard?'
The heart of the dead creature was too cold and hard. Like touching a machine.
The object I found earlier suddenly came to mind. This—there was no way…
"Han Yi-gyeol."
"Huh?"
I stopped thinking at Ha Tae-heon's call and looked down. Pushing the dust piled up on the floor with his feet, Ha Tae-heon asked, "Are you looking for this?"
My eyes widened. Where the dust had brushed aside was the pattern I was looking for.
"That's right."
I went down and knelt down on my knees, examining the pattern closely. When the wind blew away the remaining dust, all the hidden patterns were revealed.
"Can you open it?" Ha Tae-heon murmured, looking down at the pattern..
It was difficult to identify the pattern engraved with squiggly letters at first glance. In the novel, Ha Tae-heon found the pattern quickly, but it took a while to figure it out.
I pulled out the second item I had already brought from my backpack.
"This is what you need to open this device."
A horn branch from the top of a bluish bighorn tree in an A-grade or higher gate (from chapter 15). Without it, the device couldn't be activated.
I turned the triangle-shaped branch upside down and inserted it into the device. The horn branch and the device fit perfectly as if they were one body from the beginning. After confirming that it was properly inserted, I turned the horn branch to the right.
Clack.
Kugugugung!
I could hear it unlocking from beyond the floor, and the patterned device began to split in half as if it opened its mouth. A cloud of dust rose and a horn branch fell under the device. I took out the box hidden inside it.
"Ta-da~ look at this, Ha Tae-heon-ssi. It's the treasure."
When I lifted the pretty heavy box and showed it to Ha Tae-heon, he gave me a shaky expression.
"What. Aren't you happy? Do you know what trouble I went through to get this…"
"It's pretty dangerous to open without thinking."
"You are worried too much."
I put the box down on the floor and opened the lid without hesitation.
"Wait…!"
"It's fine."
Even if something happened, there was nothing to be afraid of when an SS-class item was next to you. I checked the inside of the box after throwing aside the lid.
'As expected.'
Seeing the navy blue coat neatly folded, I smiled deeply.
An SS-class coat. Even if you don't identify the rank, the aura it exuded was extraordinary. I picked up the coat and handed it to Ha Tae-heon.
"Here you go, Ha Tae-heon-ssi. It's yours."
Ha Tae-heon looked at the coat in my hand slowly. As I said, it was a sharp gaze that seemed to confirm whether it was an S-class or higher.
"If you want to check its stats, it would be a good idea to measure the rank. I'm guessing it's SS-class, but there's nothing wrong with checking it out."
"I'm sure it's above S-class."
However, Ha Tae-heon only looked at the coat and did not receive it. Contrary to my thoughts that he would be happy to get an SS-class item, the air surrounding Ha Tae-heon became heavier for some reason.
What, why?
"Ha Tae-heon-ssi?"
"..."
Ha Tae-heon, who was standing still with a frown on his forehead as if in thought, suddenly grabbed my wrist and pulled me strongly. After this sudden action, Ha Tae-heon said in a low voice, "What the hell is your game?**"
Black eyes fluttered in disbelief. A big hand gripped my wrist strongly.
"From the Red Market to this coat. Have you planned it all?"
"Ugh, wait…"
"What were you aiming for when you approached me? Did the Requiem Guild Master order it? Pretend to find the item, and earn my trust?"
The pain was so strong that I grimaced. Feeling my wrists throb, I forcefully smiled. "…why is that important?"
"What?"
"Whatever reason I approached Ha Tae-heon-ssi, the result is an SS-level item, isn't it?"
I wrapped Ha Tae-heon's hand with the opposite hand.
"Think rationally. Do you think you will be able to deal with the Requiem Guild, which is putting pressure on the Roheon Guild, without a single item?"
"You…!"
"Let me be clear."
I expected that it would look suspicious anyway.
Like Min Ah-rin in the novel, there was never a moment when I expected Ha Tae-heon to recognize me as a colleague. Just a good guy who knew a lot—that was enough for me.
"Cheon Sa-yeon and I don't have the kind of relationship you think we do."
Without avoiding the cold gaze, I faced it firmly.
"I want to break free from Cheon Sa-yeon, and in order to do that, Roheon needs to be stronger than he is now."