Chapter 126

Chapter 126

“Hey… Don’t get into any trouble. Stay safe.”

“Got it.”

“If I contact you, teleport over immediately.”

“Got it.”

“And stop picking on the kids…”

“Anna! If you’re going to do that, at least raise my limit before you go! I’ve already maxed out this month’s limit!”

Briasilius snapped irritably.

Nearby new guild members shivered and looked around nervously.

“Suddenly feeling chills…”

“Where’s this chill coming from….”

Regardless, Dojae glared at Briasius and continued speaking.

“Stop bothering him. I told you to keep a close eye on Ji-yoon. I’ll consider raising your limits after I get back.”

“Really? Seriously?”

“Yeah… Ugh, is this a dragon or a gaming addict…?”

“Yesss! Dojae, don’t worry. This big brother will make sure the kids are well taken care of!”

“No… that’s not what I meant…”

“Bro! If you’re that worried about Do-jun, why not just take him with you?”

Young-jin appears pulling two large suitcases.

And that wasn’t all—he was also carrying a bulging backpack and a sports crossbody bag.

“Where… are you moving to?”

“Heheh. Big bro’s gonna pack everything for me anyway, so whatever.”

“You saying that makes me not want to pack your stuff at all.”

“Oh, come on! I packed your stuff too, so please help meee. Okay?”

Young-jin clings to Do-jae, acting all cute.

Do-jae reluctantly stuffed Young-jin’s belongings into the sub-space.

He catches the gaze of Briasius, who had been watching the scene intently.

“Why?”

“Nothing. Have a safe trip, bro!”

Briasilius says cheerfully.

But his eyes clearly revealed he was up to something.

“What on earth is he thinking…”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Nothing. And I’m not taking Dojun, so start the car.”

“Yes!”

After Young-jin left, Do-jae went to find Eun-hee.

Bang!

Bang-!

Thud-!

Eun-hee was exchanging blows with the new guild members.

Drawing on her experience, she was acting as an instructor, teaching them the tricks of fighting monsters.

“Hey, you guys, hold on a sec.”

Eun-hee set down her training sword and approached Do-jae.

Her expression, unlike her gruff past self, had softened considerably, becoming gentle and kind.

“Are you leaving?”

“Yes. I’m sorry to leave things behind like this.”

“When have you ever not been? From what I hear, you didn’t really have much to do at the guild anyway…”

“Ah… That was part of the original contract…”

“Just kidding. Heh.”

Eun-hee raised her hand to cover her mouth and laughed brightly.

Thump-thump.

“What’s wrong, Dojae?”

“Nothing…”

Do-jae answered, bowing his head deeply.

He remembered what Jeong In-gon had said the day he was invited to Eun-hee’s family dinner.

‘How far have I gone with Eun-hee?’

Do-jae clenched his fists and lifted his head.

He knew her feelings better than anyone, and he also knew his own heart well.

That was precisely why he couldn’t accept her feelings, nor could he give his own.

The members of the Guardian Guild here, his younger brother Do-young, the many hunters he’d met so far, and the ordinary people living ordinary lives.

Along with the otherworldly beings: Sarieta, Osun, Tahul, Salta, Catania, and others.

Until the day countless beings escape Gelahan’s grasp, Dojae resolved to keep his heart closed.

“Well then, I’ll be going now.”

Just as Dojae was about to leave.

Eunhee grabbed his arm and said.

“Dojae! I don’t know how you grew so strong, what you do, or why you keep getting caught up in such danger… But still, have a safe trip!”

Eun-hee waved goodbye to Do-jae as he walked away.

Even though he hadn’t done anything for her, he always received this kind of encouragement from her.

Feeling a sense of reassurance in his heart, Dojae headed toward Youngjin’s car.

***

“Hmm! This is America! The land of freedom and equality, the United States! Bravo!”

The moment Young-jin stepped out of the airport, he spread his arms wide and took a deep breath.

Do-jae pretended not to notice Young-jin and walked away, keeping his distance.

“Hey, brother! Since we’re in America, let’s start with a burger… Brother? Brother!”

Before he knew it, Young-jin was running after Do-jae, who had already gotten far ahead.

“Where are you?”

“Ah, hyung-nim. Why are you walking alone again?”

“I don’t know you.”

“Huh-huh-huh… My bad. I won’t leave you behind.”

“We’ve got a long way to go, so cut the nonsense and follow me.”

“Yes…”

Dojae headed to the rental company with Youngjin to pick up a car.

In this vast American land, the destination was too far to travel without a car.

With limited time, they needed to travel quickly by car.

Do-jae pointed to the reserved SUV and spoke with the rental company owner.

“Huh? Bro, is this really going to cut it? Wouldn’t something bigger, like a truck that can handle off-road, be better?”

But Young-jin spread his arms wide and stopped Do-jae.

Do-jae finished the payment without a second thought.

After all, all he needed was a car that could handle the road just fine.

“Off-road… Don’t worry, there are better ways to get around.”

“Huh? You’re not seriously suggesting… running there, are you?”

“Hmph. Keep complaining and I really will make you run.”

“Ugh. I’m too scared to even talk to you!”

Dojae climbed into the vehicle and tried to start the engine.

Vroooom-!

The engine’s deep, resonant roar, not at all frivolous, confirmed this was indeed a car built to run long distances.

After receiving extra fuel, Dojae stowed it in the sub-space and picked up Youngjin.

“Let’s go.”

“Right now? What about the hamburger…?”

Young-jin, who had been singing the hamburger song since the plane.

Do-jae, fearing Young-jin would genuinely sulk if he didn’t buy the burger, surrendered and said.

“That damn burger… Let’s buy it and take it with us.”

“Hehehehehe. Got it!”

At Dojae’s words, Youngjin climbed into the car with an excited look.

For just a moment, Dojae regretted bringing Youngjin along.

He thought he should have teleported over with Briasilius instead.

‘Nah, bringing that guy might’ve killed me with stress. Even if he whines, Yeongjin listens better.’

The reason Dojae flew all the way to America.

It was for the quest.

[Quest]

Type: Sub

Content: An unrecognized entity covets what it should not possess. Eliminate that entity and restore things to how they were. (Location: Nevada, USA)

Restriction: Must be completed before clearing the dungeon

Reward: 1 Magic Stone

Failure: Dungeon Break

‘This is clearly a new sealed memory.’

The quest reward lists 1 Magic Stone.

As the previous quest indicated, this refers to a ‘Sealed Memory’.

In other words, Dojae came here to obtain a new sealed memory and meet the next Seeker.

And to get Youngjin to level 80 within the remaining time, he brought Youngjin instead of Briasius.

Also, if anything happened to Youngjin while Dojae was away, he wouldn’t be able to respond immediately, so this was better for Youngjin too.

“Two cheeseburger sets, please.”

Dojae, entering the drive-thru, skillfully ordered the burgers.

The cheeseburger was the menu item Metallic Hero liked best.

Recalling that, Dojae didn’t need to choose anything else.

“That’s the spirit! Nice choice.”

“I am a little… curious, though.”

“Right? Glad you listened to me, huh? Hehehe, bringing me along was an absolutely brilliant choice, bro.”

“Yeah. Let’s just leave it at that…”

“But bro. You couldn’t speak a word of Chinese, yet your English is amazing? Did you ever live in America?”

No.

Dojae had never been abroad before that trip to China last time—it was his first time ever.

His English was limited to what he learned in school during his student days, and he never needed it during his life as a hunter.

However, after receiving the quest, he studied English nonstop for three days.

Dojae had raised his Mental stat to be comparable to his other stats, so his comprehension and memorization abilities had improved enough to handle simple communication with ease.

Of course, Young-jin had complained that Dojae only watched movies and TV shows, but he probably didn’t realize it was all for pronunciation practice.

“I told you. China was my first time abroad. I only started studying English the day before yesterday.”

“Whoa. So you weren’t just killing time watching them, you were actually studying? You’re seriously no joke, bro.”

“Take that as me saying you’re a genius.”

“Wow… You’re shameless…”

Young-jin stuck out his tongue in disbelief.

Dojae and Youngjin left the city behind and started driving down an endless, long road.

***

The car carrying Dojae and Youngjin drove nonstop.

Except for a brief bathroom break, it drove nonstop for ten hours, stopping only after sunset when pitch-black night fell.

“Ugh, seriously… Bro, one cigarette is okay, right?”

The moment Youngjin got out of the car, he lit a cigarette.

Having driven nonstop without even allowing time to smoke during bathroom breaks, Young-jin finally gave in to his pent-up craving.

“I told you to just smoke in the car.”

“Come on, there’s a non-smoker here! That’s just not right!”

Do-jae didn’t care whether Young-jin smoked or not, so he told him to go ahead, but Young-jin had stubbornly held off until now to finally have one.

“Let’s go.”

“Huh? Where in the middle of the night…?”

“Where else? The dungeon, of course.”

Dojae pulled off the road and stood on the empty ground.

Then he opened his pocket dimension and tossed the entire car inside.

“How are we supposed to get there from here? There’s no road, and we’re still far from the dungeon.”

“Well, I plan to go like this.”

Dojae pulled four golems out of the pocket dimension.

He simply reshaped them into flat forms, then linked the four together to create a simple means of transport.

It was a kind of vehicle, moving on golem legs, with no roof or walls, just open and exposed.

“Get on. While we’re moving… you know?”

“Here too? Are you serious?”

“Of course. I told you, create your own skill within a month.”

“Ugh… I’m trying, but…!”

Despite Youngjin’s refusal, Dojae placed his hand on his shoulder.

Still, having done it a few times before, Young-jin naturally assumed the posture.

After another round of replenishing Young-jin’s mana, some time passed.

Dojae suddenly looked toward somewhere.

After staring in that direction for a while, he turned to ask Youngjin.

“Youngjin, what happens if we take over a dungeon another guild was raiding?”

Youngjin lay still.

The night sky visible from the vast, unlit land was breathtakingly beautiful.

He sat up to answer Dojae’s question.

“It’s kind of ambiguous, you know. Well, if a guild clearly occupies it, they’d face legal consequences. But unless the dungeon is explicitly owned by a guild, proving the act of taking it is difficult, and interpretations vary depending on the situation.”

“Right? It could just be going to help out.”

“Right. The top priority is clearing the dungeon to prevent a dungeon break. But why?”

“Ah, I think we should probably help with the dungeon run.”

“Huh?”

Youngjin reacted as if Dojae had started saying something strange again.

But Dojae remained silent once again, offering only a faint smile.