I Am The Anti-Mage

Chapter 74: Warlord: Time to Hunt

Ji-woo dragged the two kids away and excused themselves from the food stall.

At the coffee shop, Ji-woo, Dong-hyun, and Yu-jin went to the second floor and sat near the terrace. Ji-woo narrowed his eyes at Dong-hyun and Yu-jin.

Meanwhile, Yu-jin just stared back at Ji-woo. And Dong-hyun didn’t know what to do there. Even when their Ice Americanos got served at the table, the stares continued.

“So, what was the purpose of coming to me? It wasn’t just to admire my face, was it?”

“Tch! Shameless to the roof! Dong-hyun already told me about the event. You can’t hide anything from me anymore.”

“I know that. So basically, what did you want to talk about with me? I’m busy. Keep it short. And if you’re not happy with it. Go to the guild and report it to them. It doesn’t matter.”

Yu-jin flinched because she couldn’t get the upper hand in conversation with Ji-woo.

Dong-hyun, on the other hand, just gulped and sweated profusely. He was surprised that Ji-woo didn’t care about the secret and wanted to let Yu-jin reveal it to others.

“How did you kill those Demonic Apes?

“You’re not an E-rank hunter, right? Who the hell are you?

Ji-woo sighed at the barrage of questions. He told her to ask but what came out was not just one question. He then took out his Hunter ID and showed it to Yu-jin.

“Here. Kim Ji-woo, an E-rank hunter. Clear? As for the Demon Apes, I just killed it.

“It’s over, right? I want to go home.” Ji-woo got up from his seat.

Dong-hyun and Yu-jin were taken aback by Ji-woo’s careless attitude. They both thought the chat would get long, and there would be a rebuttal in the middle.

What was that? Said yes, and admitted to the event?

Yu-jin stood up and hurriedly grabbed Ji-woo’s hand. “Wait! Wait! Please, sit down first. What you said doesn’t explain anything.”

Ji-woo turned to look at Yu-jin. “There’s no need for an explanation. And, it’s getting late, and you guys should rest tomorrow. Don’t underestimate the dungeon. Who knows, if you’re not careful, your heads might fall off your bodies.”

Dong-hyun repeatedly nodded while Yu-jin still didn’t let go of her hand on Ji-woo’s.

Ji-woo stared at Yu-jin with his icy cold gaze and placid natural expression.

“Is your brain just a display in your head? Think about it carefully. The answer to all of this is simple. I’m stronger than anyone inside that tier-3 Portal Gate. That’s all. Why is it so hard to comprehend that?”

Yu-jin widened her eyes, and her body trembled as she let go of Ji-woo’s hand. She had expected such a thing but hearing it directly from Ji-woo made her feel inferior.

In the previous guild entrance exam, Yu-jin was unhappy that her duel with Ji-woo got turned into a Battle Royale. But, it turned out to be luck that she accidentally got it.

In the Battle Royale, Ji-woo actually avoided Yu-jin on purpose. Even though she had fought seriously and with all her might. Someone capable of killing those Demonic Apes should be able to deal with her quickly, even without breaking a sweat.

When Ji-woo left the coffee shop, Yu-jin seemed downcast and disheartened, looking down at the floor.

Dong-hyun came over from behind and comforted her.

“Ji-woo hyung is strong. Maybe around A-rank or S-rank hunters? I don’t know the reason why he’s hiding that either.

“Anyway, I’m sure he didn’t have any malicious intentions for it and chose not to leave us in the end.

“Don’t be suspicious and curious about what happened. Just let it go. After all, maybe more than half of us would have to die to defeat those Demon Apes if it wasn’t for Ji-woo hyung, who stepped in.”

“Let’s go back. We need to rest before the tier-3 Portal Gate hunt begins.”

Suddenly, Yu-jin raised her face and looked at Dong-hyun, who got frightened because of that.

“Fine, whatever the reason is, it doesn’t matter. From now on, I will stick with you guys. I also want to learn the same technique as you.”

“What!!?

“Yu-jin~si, don’t be like this. Please, throw away such an idea.”

“Hump! You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll do it myself!”

Dong-hyun felt like crying in protest about his imminent fate. ‘I’m not worried about you! I’m worried about my head!’

The conversation that got initially expected to be lengthy ended with the three Ice Americanos not get touched at all.

The next day, Ji-woo got good news about the Portal Gate from Seok-jin. However, the process did not go smoothly. The broker informed him that the only available Portal Gate was tier-4.

Seok-jin asked to confirm whether Ji-woo was able to close the tier-4 Portal Gate or not.

“Well, I know you’re from the Demigod guild. But it’s a tier-4 Portal Gate that we’re talking about it. Apart from being quite expensive, you also need a lot of hunters to hunt in that dungeon. Are you sure you want it?

“I know it’s annoying to get doubted. And I also have no other choice. I have to make sure my client, who bought the Portal Gate, has a way of closing it. If you can’t do that, I’m sure to get in trouble later.”

Seok-jin still had a misunderstanding about how Ji-woo did his job. He thought Ji-woo cleared the previous Portal Gate with his friends from the Demigod guild.

“I can promise you that I can take care of this matter and won’t let you get into trouble, sir.”

“Alright, let’s do it like before. It costs 435 million won, and you can pay 300 million first.”

“Agreed. Thank you, sir!”

Ji-woo felt grateful to Seok-jin. He knew the Portal Gate could get sold elsewhere and instantly got a full payment out of it. However, the broker chose to tell him first to return the favor regarding the Golden Arachnia.

Unfortunately, the good news also brings bad news to Ji-woo. His hundreds of millions of won had dried up after only a day in his pocket. The advance payment and Magic Crystals had already cost him 315 million won. And he also bought hunter clothes which were of better quality than ordinary clothes. In the end, he only had 5 million won left in his account.

The money had got sent, and Ji-woo got a message about the location of the tier-4 Portal Gate. It would be a showdown between him and the Demigod guild hunters in their hunt at the Portal Gates.

The next morning. There were three large buses capable of accommodating 50 people parked in front of the Demigod guild headquarters.

The Main Team Leader, Oh Dal-soo, and Vice-leader, Cha Tae-hyun, would join as overseers. They would wait at each Portal Gate shrine along with the gatekeepers. And another supervisor was Jung Hyun-don, an A-rank hunter, a member of the Main Team.

Among the crowd of hunters, Yu-jin found Dong-hyun and approached him.

“It turns out that Ji-woo really didn’t come. Do you know the reason?”

Dong-hyun gave Yu-jin a confused look and then distances himself a bit from her. Yu-jin didn’t give up and approached him again.

“Besides the trick from before, what else did Ji-woo teach you?”

Dong-hyun had the urge to bang his head against the wall because Yu-jin stuck to him like glue.

“Listen to me, Ahn Yu-jin~si. We’re not that close. Please, can you stay away from me?”

Yu-jin turned her face to Dong-hyun. She wasn’t offended by that.

“Ji-woo is strong, I admit it. You also showed significant improvement after being taught by him, right?”

Dong-hyun patted his chest. “Let’s not think about that. We’re going to hunt now. Don’t let our thoughts wander around.”

Yu-jin interjected. “The current you won’t die in a tier-3 Portal Gate as long as there are no Double Owners. However, the guild has given us guidelines when it comes to an unconquerable dungeon. We only need to survive for three days inside, and they will send reinforcements next.”

Dong-hyun sighed and was glad. However, not because of Yu-jin’s words. But, because the topic shifted from Ji-woo to the Portal Gate. He’d rather worry about a tier-3 Portal Gate than thought about training with Yu-jin. He didn’t know how Ji-woo would respond to it. One thing for sure was that his head would meet Ji-woo’s hand more often later on if that happened.

The time had come, and the hunters got onto the bus. Yu-jin and Dong-hyun turn out to be separated.

Dong-hyun was on the team under Tae-hyun’s supervision, while Yu-jin was on the group under Dal-soo. This time, each team only gathered around 40 to 45 hunters. All B-rank hunters from the Main Team were also get reserved at the headquarters.

On another journey, Ji-woo took the KTX train to go to Busan. The location where the level-4 Portal Gate was. It took about 2 hours and a half to get there.

The tier-4 Portal Gate got located in a small village that had got abandoned due to Mana Impact.

Ji-woo stood in front of the Portal Gate with the hunter gear suit and a duffel bag in his hand.

“Time to hunt.”