Chapter 20: The Man Who Prepares for Misfortune （1）
During his seclusion training, Kang San didn’t check any outside communication.
When he finally returned home, his phone was naturally overflowing with messages, and among them were names of people he had recently connected with.
『Kim Myeong-min: How are you doing?』
A message from 2 weeks ago.
It seemed like a simple attempt to check in, but he had unintentionally ignored Kim Myeong-min’s message.
‘It doesn’t seem like it was Ranger business.’
If it was something important, he wouldn’t have just sent a single text message.
Kang San composed a message to send to Kim Myeong-min. Starting with the explanation that he hadn’t been able to check his messages because he was in seclusion training, he sent a message asking about Kim Myeong-min’s well-being just like Kim Myeong-min did. Kim Myeong-min was a connection Azmoon had made for him. The fact that he was a Ranger reeked of trials, but it was necessary to maintain a good relationship with him.
“But why did this person contact me so much?”
Unlike Kim Myeong-min, who sent only one text message in a month, there was someone who contacted him every single day.
It was Jo Han-byeol.
The person who was the team leader of Team 2 during the promotion test.
After the promotion test, those who were impressed by Kang San’s skills each took his contact information, and Kang San readily gave his number to Jo Han-byeol as well, since Jo Han-byeol’s skills weren’t bad. As he searched his memory, he recalled Jo Han-byeol saying that he would definitely contact him again later, but he hadn’t expected him to contact him this much.
The contents of the messages were like this:
『Kang San-nim, are you busy?』
『It’s been a week since you’ve responded. ㅠㅠ』
『Did you block me by any chance?』
『ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Can you please respond?』
The messages were getting increasingly clingy.
Reading the messages, Kang San chuckled.
He didn’t know what the reason was, but he couldn’t help but reply to Jo Han-byeol’s sincerity, who had sent a message again today.
━I haven’t been able to check my phone because I entered the Stat Training Center. But what’s the matter?
He put his phone on the desk for a moment.
After taking a hot shower for the first time in a while, his phone was ringing, as if Jo Han-byeol had checked his reply.
Click.
“Hello?”
『Oh, you finally answered!』
“Ah, yes. As I said, I couldn’t check my messages because I was focused on training.”
『I understand. How could you check your messages if you entered the Stat Training Center? Still, thank you for contacting me like this. The reason I called is… do you remember what I said to you after the promotion test, Kang San-nim? I said it would be nice to go on a raid together sometime.』
He remembered.
The problem was that not only Jo Han-byeol but everyone who took the promotion test with him made the same suggestion, but Jo Han-byeol was particularly memorable.
“Yes, I remember.”
『That’s a relief. So, what I’m saying is, would you be willing to go on a raid together this time? While working as an E-rank Hunter, I’ve come to realize just how outstanding your defending skills are, Kang San-nim. During the promotion test, I was able to attack comfortably without thinking about defense because you were holding the line so firmly, but during the past month in other parties… ugh, I don’t even want to think about it. There are so many people in the world who don’t even have the basics of being a Tanker. I mean, there was even a guy who just ran away because he was in danger!』
He was a typical TMI（Too Much Information） type of person.
Jo Han-byeol rambled on and on, but ultimately, his goal was to go hunting with Kang San.
It wasn’t bad.
Jo Han-byeol was a decent player at E-rank.
Seeing him accurately aim and fire arrows even in urgent situations, it seemed like he could do his part sufficiently in an E-rank party.
The problem was…
‘I don’t know what will happen because of me.’
Kang San was unlucky.
He was the owner of misfortune, the kind where he’d break his nose even if he fell backward, so he didn’t know what would happen when he went to the Other World. While most of his misfortunes were at a level he could prepare for in the past, ever since he accepted Azmoon’s trial, life-threatening situations had been occurring quite frequently.
That’s why he hesitated.
A party with him meant that not only himself but also the party members could be dragged into the ‘realm of trials.’
“It could be dangerous if you’re with me. As you saw during the promotion test, unexpected variables are quite common for me.”
『It’s okay. What if a variable occurs? Even then, it was a dangerous situation that required the examiner to intervene, but didn’t you throw yourself to protect the team members, Kang San-nim? If I think that a Tanker like you will protect me, I’m willing to take any risk.』
“…….”
They were good words.
Strong trust.
Kang San’s negative thoughts faded away at the faith Jo Han-byeol was showing.
He also needed a stage to check the results of his training.
‘Alright, I can’t avoid raid parties forever. Let’s try it once. Jo Han-byeol is a decent player, and I have the power to protect him. I can’t overcome the trials if I can’t protect my teammates anyway.’
The answer was set.
Kang San spoke.
“Okay. Let’s do it together.”
✦✦✦✦✦✦
A few days later.
The team was quickly formed.
Since Jo Han-byeol happened to have one companion, they recruited a new party member and formed a 4-person raid party.
For the raid zone selection, Kang San used the choice he had received as a reward. It was a shame to use it on an E-rank zone, but he didn’t want to waste time participating in a zone auction. And since Jo Han-byeol paid a reasonable amount for the choice, Kang San readily used it.
The day of the raid.
The team member Kang San personally selected introduced himself.
“My name is Jeong Chan-woo, and I’m 20 years old. I’m an E-rank Hunter, and my position is Sub-Tanker. You might think I lack experience because of my young age, but I’ve cleared 30 raids in the past six months, so I’m confident that I’m quite skilled at the E-rank level. If you trust and follow me, I’ll prove my worth in the field.”
He was a man who exuded confidence in both his tone and attitude.
Kang San had browsed the party recruitment site for the last piece of the puzzle, and Jeong Chan-woo caught his eye.
He was young, as he said.
However, after confirming that he had safely completed numerous raids in a short period and that he had attached a video of his hunting, Kang San judged that Jeong Chan-woo was the right fit. He didn’t know what variables would arise in the Other World. At Kang San’s current level, E-rank wasn’t much of a burden, but it was still necessary to carefully select his team members.
Next.
After Jo Han-byeol finished his introduction, the man who was said to be Jo Han-byeol’s companion stepped forward.
His face looked quite young.
Young enough to be mistaken for a high school student?
But no one doubted him because he was wearing a robe, a symbol of a Mage.
“M-My name is Yeon Woo-bin. M-My rank is D-rank, and my position is Mage. Please take care of me!”
Yeon Woo-bin bowed his head deeply.
His face was slightly flushed.
It seemed like he was quite shy.
However, Kang San showed a surprised reaction to the information he revealed.
“D-rank?”
“It doesn’t seem suitable for an E-rank party, right? Actually, this friend doesn’t have much practical experience. He’s D-rank, but he doesn’t intend to take any advantage in the distribution. Just think of it as being able to comfortably utilize a D-rank Mage in an E-rank zone.”
Jo Han-byeol answered on his behalf.
Kang San’s gaze alternated between the two.
‘He certainly seems to lack practical experience.’
Lack of experience.
That was a significant risk factor.
He hesitated slightly, but the fact that Yeon Woo-bin was Jo Han-byeol’s friend and a D-rank Hunter resolved the issue.
‘Still, the fact that he received a D-rank means he’s qualified.’
Their destination was an E-rank hunting ground.
If he had been planning to go to a D-rank zone, he would have excluded Yeon Woo-bin, but since it was one rank lower, he could allow it.
The preparations were complete.
Now it was time to move to the Other World.
“Then let’s move.”
At Kang San’s words, the group moved to the warp point.
✦✦✦✦✦✦
Before warping.
Kang San explained the place they would be hunting today.
“The point we’ll be attacking today is the habitat of the Black Ants. As you know, Black Ants are E-rank monsters that are the size of small dogs, unlike ordinary ants, and they mainly use attacks with their hard teeth and poison they spray from their tails.”
It was basic information.
He added an explanation of things to be careful of in case of an emergency, but in reality, it wasn’t a very challenging hunting ground with their current strength.
After the explanation, they immediately entered the warp point.
Bright light flared.
When the dizzying headache subsided, the group found themselves in a completely different space.
“……What is this?”
Jeong Chan-woo showed a bewildered reaction as soon as they arrived.
Black Ant habitats are usually formed in forests, but the forest here was a little different from what was commonly known.
Thick fog had risen.
The surrounding scenery was not clearly visible.
“Fog in a Black Ant habitat? There was no such information.”
Jeong Chan-woo asked accusingly.
Fog was a very important factor.
Having one’s vision obstructed posed a considerable risk regardless of rank, so this was something that was always checked when choosing a hunting ground. The problem was that Kang San had definitely checked this fact. According to the information recorded by the exploration team, there was no variable called fog in this Black Ant habitat.
That meant…
‘It happened to appear right now.’
Was it Azmoon’s trial?
Considering that Azmoon wasn’t responding, it seemed like it was just one of the misfortunes that commonly happened to Kang San.
He was used to it.
The raids he had been on…
Had there ever been a time when something like this didn’t happen?
The difficulty of his misfortune had increased drastically since he accepted Azmoon’s trial, but these minor misfortunes had always been frequent.
Kang San spoke in a calm voice.
“It seems things are a bit different from the exploration team’s information.”
“So what are you going to do? We don’t know what might happen if we proceed with the raid in this environment.”
Jeong Chan-woo was quite negative.
Jo Han-byeol felt the same way.
Although Jo Han-byeol supported Kang San, the fog that had formed around them was definitely a dangerous variable.
“My arrow attacks won’t be effective in this situation. It’s rare for the exploration team’s information to be wrong, but this had to happen. It’s not your fault, Kang San-nim. Who could have imagined that this kind of fog would appear? If you decide to give up on the raid, I’ll help you find a new zone.”
There were two choices.
Push through or give up.
Kang San spoke.
“This isn’t something we can’t solve. Although the fog is obstructing our vision, we can still vaguely make out shapes within a 10-meter radius. So, we can secure a space that’s less affected by the terrain and install signal cords around it to track the monsters’ locations. If we prepare in advance and wait for the enemies, the fog won’t be a big problem.”
“You’re saying we should just blindly wait?”
“No. We’ll lure them to us.”
“How are you going to do that?”
It sounded plausible.
However, Jeong Chan-woo couldn’t understand Kang San’s words at all.
While waiting was a safe method, luring had the disadvantage of taking a long time.
Time was gold.
Wouldn’t it be faster to give up here and hunt somewhere else?
Jeong Chan-woo’s question was natural.
He was a truly sensible person, but Kang San had lived a life of the unconventional.
“Actually, I brought Golden Honey just in case. Black Ants go crazy for it, so if we apply it to something like a rock beforehand and lure them, they’ll have no choice but to move to where we want them to.”
“……Golden Honey?”
Jeong Chan-woo’s eyes widened.
Golden Honey?
That was a very expensive snack, so why would he be carrying it around?
Perhaps he read that look in his eyes.
Kang San smiled.
“I always prepare for misfortune. What do you think? With Golden Honey, I think we can solve the problem of the luring operation.”
It was absurd, but he couldn’t help but agree.
Quick judgment and accurate response.
Jeong Chan-woo thought that Kang San might be a better leader than he had initially thought.
