#086
“Welcome, Guide Lee Eunseok.”
Lim Gyucheol greeted him with a professional attitude. Eunseok nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
“What are you looking for today?”
“I’m here to see some sniper rifles.”
Eunseok answered calmly while quickly scanning the interior of the store. As expected of a place selling expensive items, there were quite a few visible CCTVs. As far as he could tell, there were no blind spots.
“Follow me. We actually have a good piece.”
Gyucheol led the way. In the area he guided Eunseok to, there were several sniper rifles on display that Eunseok had noticed before.
“They’re all reliable in performance, so you can choose based on your preference.”
Gyucheol said, pointing to the sniper rifles.
Instead of picking up each rifle, Eunseok just visually estimated their size and weight.
In fact, for dealing with monstrous creatures, especially boss-level ones, the bigger, the better. It meant more firepower. However, he had to consider the process of reaching the dragon in the previous A-rank dungeon. If he focused solely on firepower and lugged around a .50 caliber anti-materiel rifle, it would only become a burden.
The automatic rifle he already had was sufficient to cover medium-range sniping. He had confirmed its effectiveness by bursting both eyes of the dragon. But Eunseok was looking further ahead.
It was possible up to A-rank, but what about an S-rank boss?
It was physically impossible for Eunseok, as a guide, to engage in close combat with a boss. The best way he could contribute as a combat force was to support team members with his specialty: sniping.
In the end, Eunseok decided to compromise. As he picked up one of the displayed sniper rifles, Gyucheol smiled.
“This one uses 6.5mm rounds. It’s easier to carry than large-caliber sniper rifles, but still packs a punch.”
He seemed to be doing his job as a store employee well, despite also being a secret informant.
“You know your stuff. Then, do you perhaps know about this as well?”
Eunseok took out his phone and typed something.
Apostles of the Apocalypse
After typing these words in his notepad, Eunseok showed the phone screen to Gyucheol. Gyucheol’s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly when he saw the screen.
He knows.
Eunseok inwardly concluded.
Gyucheol’s reaction was so subtle that someone not trained in observation would have missed it. Even that reaction lasted only for a split second.
“I’m not familiar with that. If I don’t know about it, it means it’s not in this store.”
Gyucheol answered with a professional smile.
Seeing Gyucheol’s well-trained reaction and smile, Eunseok thought that he might be more than just an informant for the Baekho Guild. He was too skilled to have been trained by a private company. He might even be affiliated with the Ability Management Bureau. In any case, what was certain was that this man knew something about the group called the Apostles of the Apocalypse.
Eunseok deleted the text he had written on his phone and put it back in his pocket. Then he tapped the sniper rifle.
“I’ll take this one.”
“Excellent choice.”
Gyucheol said with a smile and proceeded to fetch a box of ammunition suitable for the chosen rifle.
“Oh, and…”
As Eunseok was about to leave the store with the rifle box slung over his shoulder, he turned back as if he had just remembered something.
“Yes?”
“If you hear anything about what I asked earlier, could you let me know?”
“Well, it seems like a hard-to-find item, so I’m not sure if I’ll have the chance.”
Gyucheol played dumb.
“Anyway, please do.”
Eunseok requested with a slight nod. Gyucheol gave an ambiguous smile.
After taking the newly purchased rifle to his lodgings, Eunseok headed straight to the guiding room. It was almost time for Ji Taeuk’s appointment.
As he entered the corridor, he saw a figure standing in front of his guiding room door.
“Ji Taeuk hyung?”
When Eunseok called out, Ji Taeuk’s shoulders jerked slightly as if startled. Then, as if nothing had happened, he waved his hand with a welcoming face.
“Am I late?”
“No, I arrived too early.”
Ji Taeuk showed his watch, which hadn’t yet reached the appointment time, with an apologetic expression.
“Let’s go in.”
Eunseok opened the guiding room door and ushered Ji Taeuk inside.
“Why is your level so high?”
Eunseok asked as he immediately pulled Ji Taeuk’s watch to check. The level had risen to a deep orange color.
“Well… Everyone’s been constantly deployed lately, right? With so many people coming back injured…”
“Is there no other healing-type hunter in the guild besides you, hyung?”
“No, that’s not it, but I’m the only A-rank. Naturally, I should be the one healing severely injured hunters.”
Ji Taeuk spoke weakly, showing clear signs of recent overexertion. If hunters’ fatigue kept accumulating like this, it was only a matter of time before something went wrong.
Eunseok swallowed a sigh inwardly and began guiding, holding Ji Taeuk’s hand. Ji Taeuk’s tense face relaxed.
“Hyung, if it’s too hard, why don’t you take a vacation and rest for a while?”
“What vacation for a hunter? We have to deploy immediately when something happens.”
Eunseok couldn’t find words to respond to Ji Taeuk’s statement. Indeed, Ji Taeuk was an A-rank, and a precious healing-type hunter at that. If he were to be absent, it would tie up the entire 1st Combat Team. They might be able to handle mutant suppression, but high-rank gate conquests would be impossible.
However, if the 1st Combat Team were to be absent during such a busy period, it would create a significant void. If a gate were to burst, all the blame would be directed at the 1st Combat Team and Ji Taeuk.
“Being a hunter isn’t easy either.”
As Eunseok mumbled, Ji Taeuk let out a faint sigh.
“Eunseok, have you ever thought it would be better if you were just a normal person instead of a guide?”
Ji Taeuk asked.
Eunseok couldn’t bring himself to say that he wished he were a hunter instead of a guide in front of the exhausted Ji Taeuk.
“Since it’s still early for me, I haven’t had such thoughts yet. But who knows what might happen later.”
“…I see.”
Ji Taeuk sighed again. Guiding was all Eunseok could do for him, who seemed so tired. Eunseok slightly increased the guiding output. Ji Taeuk leaned deeply into the chair with an ecstatic expression, as if intoxicated. But it didn’t last long. Both their watches rang simultaneously.
Checking the watch, there was an urgent deployment alert for a mutant.
“They don’t give us a single day of peace.”
Ji Taeuk grumbled with a somewhat brighter face, his levels having dropped significantly due to the intense guiding.
***
Perhaps due to the shock from the previous kidnapping incident, the team members refused to leave Eunseok’s side throughout the mutant hunt. After competing to stay with him, Eunseok ended up moving together with Moon Bora all day.
The mutant suppression itself was smooth. However, by the time they arrived, there were already casualties and severe injuries.
Mutant suppression was different from gate conquest. In gates, they prioritized the boss while ignoring the smaller creatures. But with mutants, even one left behind could lead to human casualties, so they had to thoroughly search the surrounding area and deal with them decisively. As a result, it took quite a long time.
When the 1st Combat Team returned to the guild building, it was already nearly 9 PM. Just as everyone was getting out of the car and exchanging greetings, all their watches rang with alert sounds. Checking their watches, they saw a schedule for an A-rank gate conquest tomorrow morning.
“Argh! Damn it!”
Moon Bora was the first to explode after checking the alert. The rest of the team members either rubbed their faces or let out heavy sighs.
“Let’s split up, shower, and then take turns receiving guiding before going to sleep.”
Eunseok said, estimating the time in his head. Since there were no injuries today, they only needed to guide four people, excluding Ji Taeuk who had received guiding earlier. Even allocating 30 minutes each, two hours would be sufficient.
“But won’t that be too hard for you, Guide Lee?”
Han Cheolyong asked worriedly.
“Well, it’s not like I’m fighting you four in turns. I’m just sitting still and guiding.”
At Eunseok’s words, the irritated faces of the team members relaxed.
“Then I’m number 1! I’ll quickly shower and come to the guiding room!”
Moon Bora raised her hand, claiming the first spot, and ran inside.
As Eunseok opened the door to his lodgings and was about to put down his duffel bag, he flinched. There was a pair of dress shoes in the entryway. There was only one person who could freely enter Eunseok’s lodgings.
“Choi Hanseo?”
As he called out while entering, he saw Hanseo sitting on the dark living room sofa, tapping on a tablet. Eunseok frowned at the sight and turned on the living room lights.
