Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Translated by: ShawnSuh

Edited by: SootyOwl

With a loud screech, the car entered the parking lot and came to an abrupt stop. As Min Sung got out of the backseat, the driver got out of the car in a hurry and led the champion toward the entrance, saying, “This way, sir.”

However, when the two arrived at the store, Ho Sung was caught off guard by what he saw.

“Oh, right… It’s the weekend. Kinda crowded, huh? Haha…” Ho Sung said, sweating profusely while looking at Min Sung cautiously. There was a massive line in front of the ice cream parlor called Push Push, which seemed to be popular among couples and female high school students. Being a tiny store with only two small tables, most customers tended to get takeouts.

“I’ll see if I can arrange something with the owner so that you can skip the line…”

“We gotta respect these people. We’ll wait in line.”

“Ahaha… Of course.”

‘Since when are you so considerate?’ Ho Sung murmured internally as he got in line with the champion. From the looks of it, they would be waiting for at least an hour just to get into the store.

‘I sure hope he doesn’t go apeshit on me for having to wait too long. Eh, it’ll be fine. He’s the one who suggested we wait in line, anyway,’ Ho Sung thought, anxious to calm the beast that was Min Sung Kang with ice cream.

—

At the sound of the knock on the door, the guild master of the Shadow Guild tapped the screen of the monitor on the table. At which point, the door opened, and a sexy female secretary wearing glasses walked in and bowed politely.

“Your report, sir: Highly Classified,” she said after briefly organizing the file and handing it to the guild master. Taking the file from her, the guild master read through the report. Then, his eyes widened for a brief moment.

‘So, Min Sung Kang cleared the labyrinth…’ he thought, smiling bitterly as he regained his composure. As startling as the news was, it wasn’t unexpected. Still, it was alarming in the sense that it had confirmed that the champion was officially a miscellaneous type.

‘Of course,’ the guild master thought. It would’ve been stranger news if a mere level 150 powerful enough to bring down the entire Shadow Guild on his own turned out to be not a miscellaneous type. However, it was strange that a miscellaneous type would turn up out of nowhere when they hadn’t seen a new one for a decade. Although the champion wasn’t in direct conflict with the Shadow Guild, he was bound to make himself and his power known to the world eventually, and as the guild master of the Shadow Guild, he felt the urgent need to prepare and plan for the guild’s future. With a dark expression on his face, the guild master stared at the report regarding the champion.

—

Central Hunters’ Institute: Conference Room of the First Labyrinth Exploration Team.

Tae Gyum, level 1,100. The three-star Director of Investigations stared into the monitor with a hardened expression. To his left and right were five supervisors sitting shoulder to shoulder.

“The Shadow Guild seems hesitant to discuss the recent incident,” Tae Gyum said to the supervisors.

“The media hasn’t said much either.”

“According to our investigation, there was no indication that other branches were in Seoul around the time the labyrinth was cleared.”

After the supervisor’s responses, the Director of Investigations’ expression hardened even more. The labyrinth had been cleared by a mysterious party who had no affiliation with the Central Hunters’ Institute. If the suburban branches had nothing to do with it, there could only be one explanation: a third party. Never had there been anything like it in the history of the institute. Yet, the Shadow Guild, the largest intelligence organization around, was refusing to speak about the matter and focusing solely on recovery.

“Headquarters will take charge of this investigation. Mr. Ahn, put a tracking team together this instant.”

At Tae Gyum’s command, the man bowed in a soldierly manner. Then, just as the Director of Investigations was about to speak, the door opened all of a sudden and the supervisor of the Dungeon Gate Team rushed into the room. At which point, everyone looked toward him.

“Sir, we… We have a problem,”

“What is it?” Tae Gyum asked with a furrowed brow. At that moment…

‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ the siren started blaring, and an announcement came from the PA system.

[Attention. In ten minutes, there will be an emergency meeting for all officers of one-star and above at the Central Conference Room. I repeat. All officers of one-star and above, please report to the Central Conference Room in ten minutes.]

Then, springing up from his seat, Tae Gyum told the supervisors, “Supervisors, have your reports ready by the time I’m done. Until then, be on standby.”

“Yes, sir!” the supervisors replied simultaneously. With that, Tae Gyum pulled the supervisor of the Dungeon Gate Team aside and walked out of the conference room.

“OK. Let’s hear it.”

Breaking out into cold sweats, the supervisor of the Dungeon Gate Team said, “S-so… It seems like a new dungeon gate is about to open. On top of that, we’re picking up irregularities in the preexisting dungeons. According to our system maintenance radar…”

“OK, that’s enough,” Tae Gyum said, cutting the supervisor off mid-sentence and walking away in a hurry. Staring at him from behind, the supervisor let out a deep sigh, and remembering that he had a place to be, he rushed in the direction of the Central Conference Room.

—

‘What to get?’ Min Sung thought. There were thirty-one flavors available in total, making it difficult to decide. Then, a list of the top ten most popular flavors came into view.

‘Ah! That’ll help!’

‘1st: Honey Cheese Line. 2nd: Island Music. 3rd: Almond Monmon. 4th: My Dad is an Alien. 5th: Mint Chocolate Man. 6th: Cheesecake Girl. 7th: Strawberry in Love. 8th: The Temperature of the Wind. 9th: The Rainbow. 10th: Mystical Cotton Candy.’

Staring at the list, Min Sung immersed himself in thought. Although the list was showing some of the most popular flavors the store had to offer, finding the flavor that suited his taste was yet another challenge. Despite having spent a significant amount of time deciding, Min Sung simply couldn’t make up his mind.

‘I think I could use an outside opinion,’ the champion thought, saying, “Ho Sung Lee.”

“Sir!” Ho Sung Lee let out, startled by Min Sung’s voice. Having grown weary of waiting, he had been dozing off while standing.

“I could use a suggestion.”

Frankly, the most rational choice was to follow the list and go with the most popular flavor: the Honey Cheese Line. However, choosing an ice cream flavor was a matter of preference, which meant that popularity didn’t always equate to satisfaction for some. Thankfully, being the tactful and sensible person that he was, Ho Sung knew exactly what Min Sung was looking for.

“The Honey Cheese Line is definitely their most popular flavor, but people either hate it or love it. Not only does it have a really strong cheese flavor, but it’s also incredibly sweet. Though, if you have a sweet tooth, then, I would definitely recommend it. BUT, as a dessert, the cheese might be a bit overbearing.”

“You have good judgment,” Min Sung said, nodding.

“Thank you. Speaking of which, are you thinking of getting a cone or a cup? You’ll be able to try multiple flavors if you decide to go with a cup.”

“Can you get more than one flavor?” Min Sung asked, looking toward Ho Sung.

“Of course! I’d recommend you get them in pints, though. It’s their smallest size, so you should be able to try the different flavors without stuffing yourself.”

“I’ve been so preoccupied with the menu that I completely forgot about how full I was. Nevertheless, I’d still like to try a variety,” Min Sung said, his eyes sparkling with interest.

“In that case, I’d recommend a pint of Almond Monmon, Island Music, and Mint Chocolate Man,” Ho Sung said.

“I’ll trust your judgment.”

“Sure thing. Are you going to order them yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Then, allow me to give you a useful tip. It’ll help you out tremendously when you’re at an ice cream parlor by yourself.”

“Go on,” Min Sung said, nodding.

“When you order, make sure to ask the employee that you’d like all the flavors to be visible.”

“And why is that?”

“That way, they don’t stack the different flavors of ice cream on top of each other. It’ll keep the flavors from mixing.”

“I see,” Min Sung said, impressed.

“Hello! What would you like?” the employee sporting a pink hat asked.

“A pint, please.”

“What flavors would you like?”

“Almond Monmon. Island Music. Mint Chocolate Man. I’d like the flavors to be visible.”

“Sure, thing. Do you have a membership card or a punch card?”

Min Sung shook his head.

“Not a problem. You’re all set,” the employee said, taking the money from Min Sung and handing him a buzzer. With that, Min Sung moved away from the line and waited for his ice cream.

“Sir? Would you mind if I went out for a smoke?”

With his eyes fixed on the employee skillfully preparing his ice cream, Min Sung signaled with his chin for him to go on instead of replying.

—

Exhausted, Ho Sung walked out and smoked his cigarette.

‘Son of a bitch. What the hell am I doing? It’s not like I’m making any money or increasing my level just by following him around… Oh, wait. I guess my level has been going up,’ he thought, chuckling.

‘But what the hell’s the point? I’m gonna die a slave, anyway. I’ll always be under his shadow, no matter how many times I level up.’

Min Sung Kang was not only a monstrous hunter, but he was a miscellaneous type whose power was beyond anyone’s imagination. Realizing the reality of his life as a slave, Ho Sung grew increasingly dismayed. To make matters even worse, his mindless blabbering had brought him the added obligation of being on standby nearly 24/7.

“Sigh… you IDIOT! GO KILL YOURSELF!” Ho Sung said, smacking himself on the lips. However, the pain on his lips did little to take his stress away. In fact, he made things worse by hurting his shoulders and the back of his neck.

‘Man, I could really use a day off,’ he thought, looking up at the sky. At that moment, a puzzled look appeared on his face, and the wind started to blow out of nowhere. As the wind grew more violent, the clouds in the sky started to distort, eventually looking like crumpled up paper.

“Wha…?”

Then, with a thunderous roar, a crack appeared out of nowhere, slowly tearing the sky in two.

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