I Was the Strongest Sword God in My Past Life

part 91

‘This is just a gate.’

Yes, it’s just a gate. These people are just residents of a fictional world. But it’s so vivid. That’s why the mistakes of novice saviors often lead to affection for the characters. In the fast-paced gate, such behavior creates a dangerous moment.

‘After all, they’re just characters.’

So Ji-en tried not to be too attached to his teammates. However, it was a difficult task even for a veteran like Ji-en. Ji-en’s previous life was as a disciple of the sword god in the 3rd sector’s gate. As a gate character, Ji-en knew that the gap between reality and the gate was not significant. Despite this, Ji-en felt a strange feeling and looked at his teammates.

“I’ll just trust our team leader from now on!”

Franklin.

“Yes! Next time, I’ll be prepared too.”

Kumo.

“Yes, the team leader’s skills are top-notch.”

Sinhae.

“Students don’t drink, do they? And even if they do, it’s not a big deal once they’re employed.”

Jinyura.

“Not at all.”

Jeon laughed slightly as she glanced at her teammates without realizing it.

Stratagem, persuasion, and proof.

At 2 a.m., Amy woke up with a start, looking pleased with herself as she gazed at the cleared quest.

[Quest – You are a journalist. Move to the broadcasting team and Christie’s auction house for an investigation.]

[Details – You defeated a rival journalist. Obtain an interview with Yume, the daughter of the Sky Group.]

One character, two characters.

Amy’s quest content had changed by just a single character.

“It was a strong opponent, to be honest. Surprisingly, they could talk well too. Huh, but I was still my opponent.”

Now, Amy’s habitual inner monologue for broadcasting. She brought up a hologram on her phone to check the viewers’ reactions.

– How did you catch Jeon as a spy?!

– What did you really do?! ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

– I’ve seen that on a textbook, you’re a model student! 😂

– It’s moving… even historical records! 🤩

Amy, still half-asleep, tried to grasp the situation.

‘Is that the story of the party leader’s exploits?”

Amy’s eyes widened.

The problem was that, even though she was the one who had happened, her story was nowhere to be found in the chat log.

– Instead, the Secret Lady is leaving… 😭

– Red Queen is leaving like that… 😭

– Beautiful flowers have thorns… 😭

– That woman has thorns, but they’re too big… 5th-grade Hunter… 😭

“Those people… watching the main camera while talking nonsense on my channel?”

Amy glared at the camera, but this time, the viewers had a lot to say as well.

– What’s there to talk about for 4 hours when we just sleep?

– There’s nowhere else to chat besides here 😭

– You’re the one who bullied me and shut down the official account of G-channel, right? 😱

Those who were miserable due to believing in Amy’s words were true fans.

“Ah, I see. My channel was exclusive, wasn’t it? Sorry~ Hehe, please watch enthusiastically and chat enthusiastically too!”

Amy smiled and checked the number of viewers. Despite it being dawn, the number of viewers was astonishing.

“What’s going on, I wonder……”

Just then, the viewers began to spew out their explanations in the chat.

– I thought you were on our team, but it turns out you’re a spy!

– Red Aunt is actually a 5th-grade Hunter!

– But at night, I’d sneak around like a cat, and then suddenly, Jien would appear! I’d stab the bed with my sword, stab, stab, stab!

Amy looked at the chat window, which had become chaotic.

‘……What’s going on with this anyway.’

The current situation was hard to understand, not just for Amy.

* * *

“aaah! When will the main quest be given? Are we thieves? We’ve only stolen three buildings in a day!……”

The mysterious protagonist was Chris.

And the person beside him was Demonna, with white hair. She was wearing a black bodysuit and stretching her hand behind her back, looking awkward.

‘……Kuup!’

Demonna’s face turned red as if she was about to cry.

“……Did the zipper come down again? This is the third time. It’s getting familiar, isn’t it? How many times will you do that?”

Chris, who was grumbling, lifted the zipper on Demonna’s bodysuit, which made her face relax and she let out a sigh.

“Huuu……”

“You should put the zipper in front, don’t you think? I don’t like my clothes here.”

The name of the organization that Chris and Demonna belonged to was [Black Tower]. They were a center for handling affairs in the Hunter world, doing anything for money.

“Hey, you can talk if you have a mouth.”

‘……’

Chris’s interrogation made Demonna shake her head.

“Ugh, please just say something……”

As Chris was overcome with despair, Demoana leaned forward and handed her a piece of paper. The paper had written letters with a pen.

[Just give up and write it off]

Chris looked at the paper and gave her eyes a piercing gaze, manifesting her magic. Chris’s growth increased the effects of her magic, allowing her to monitor the entire 5-story building with a single glance. Chris carefully surveyed the building, muttering to herself.

“……I just want to hit you once with a hammer.”

That was an unattainable wish.

Considering Demoana’s strength, Chris would have to produce many things with just one hammer.

“Hu, there are 2 guards on the 3rd floor, so go up the right stairs to the 2nd floor, move through the restaurant pipes, and enter through the window on the opposite side. You’re listening, right?”

Chris shot Demoana a suspicious glance, but Demoana just nodded instead of answering.

“Yeah, let’s move. I’ll go the other way.”

* * *

That took about 10 minutes.

Chris and Demoana were on the rooftop of the building, dressed in black, with their bodies covered in black bodysuits, and the bright white moonlight shining down on them.

Chris gazed down at the red and blue cityscape below, whispering to herself.

“We’ve succeeded.”

“……”

Nodding.

Demoana nodded her head, indicating that the contents of the quest they had received had changed into evidence of their success.

[Quest – You are a Hunter. Perform the orders of the Black Tower.]

[Details – Steal the rare artifact, Bloody Orb, from the auction house, Christie.]

“Finally, a quest that’s truly a quest.”

Chris smiled proudly as she checked the quest, but Demoana wrote something on the paper with a skeptical look on her face. After being with Chris, Demoana’s expressions had become more varied, albeit slightly.

Tap-tap-tap.

Demoana finished writing and handed the paper to Chris.

[Is this another theft?]

Chris looked at Demoana, his mouth curled into a sneer.

“Hey, there’s a scale to even theft. Is it the same as breaking into a rich man’s vault and stealing a rare artifact?”

According to Chris’s words, Christie’s auction house was the final destination of this gate, just like it was. With a total of 4 quests received, they had finally reached the core.

“Look, the Black Tower has given us our orders too. The auction starts at 6 pm.”

Considering that the night was still young, they had sufficient time.

“Then let’s head back to the organization.”

Chris stood behind the night lights, smiling like someone else.

“Are you going to pull off one last heist?”

***

Hunter Association.

This place, where they issue Hunter Licenses from 2nd to 6th grade, was an organization that housed a variety of Hunters. In a world where national borders were becoming increasingly unclear, the Hunter Association wielded a power beyond that of a nation.

“…That’s the department chief, and monster hunting? That’s too much.”

Isabel’s palms were facing the sky as she spoke. Suddenly, her magic gloves snapped onto her hands, creating a large flame.

“Can’t be helped, can it? It’s a labor shortage, after all.”

Kua smiled brightly and leaned against Isabel.

“Well, considering there are monsters like this in the city…”

Isabel didn’t even look at her, tossing the fireballs on her right hand to the right and her left hand to the left.

Peng! Peng!

As a result, a 3-meter-tall monkey-like monster was caught off guard and disappeared, and a scorpion-like monster was melted by the flames.

“Exactly! How scary is it for ordinary citizens?”

Kua’s worries were unfounded, as the citizens of the 1st district were familiar with monster appearances. They watched the battle from the building or secretly took photos, with diverse reactions.

“Kwwaaah!”

At that moment, a tiger-like monster charged towards Kua, who grasped the air with her gloved hand.

Dong.

The various monsters, wrapped in water droplets, floated away into the sky. Isabel’s expression remained cold.

“This isn’t a zoo… Hold on tight.”

Isabel grasped the flame-made spear and threw it with perfect form. Kua had already lined up the monsters in a straight line, so the spear pierced through all of them like a bullet. The monster-hunting combination of Isabel and Kua was excellent. Even a 5th-grade Hunter would have struggled with the scene, but they took out all the monsters in under 10 minutes.

“Waaah!”

“Hunter Association forever!”

“Blessings of the Fire Witch! Blessings of the Water Fairy! You two, fight on!”

The surrounding cheers poured in.

However, Isabel seemed displeased.

“That witch of his… “

“That, yes. Fairy, indeed… “

On the other hand, Kua blushed at the citizens’ reactions, as if embarrassed. The task assigned to Isabel and Kua by the Hunter Association was one and the same: to respond.

“Uh… but isn’t that the same for Sabela too?”

“Yes.”

Isabel looked at Cuva with a smile, as if she didn’t know anything. Recently, Cuva had been criticizing Isabel more often. Although she wanted to argue back, she only spoke the truth and always smiled, making Isabel feel like she had no equal. Cuva seemed to worry about Isabel’s feelings, so she asked her if she was doing well.

“Is the party leader doing well?”

“Jien is fine.”

Isabel trusted Jien completely. For her, trusting someone other than herself was a rare emotion.

“That’s not all, did you receive a new quest?”

Isabel read the hologram and asked Cuva.

[Quest – You are a member of the Hunter’s Association. Help Lucia Elquienne head to Christie’s Auction House.]

[Details – The leader of the Hunter’s Association will oppose Lucia Elquienne’s opinion. Support her opinion.]

“Yes? Yes! But this is… Ah, I understand! It’s a connected quest!”

Cuva’s eyes sparkled with excitement at the prospect of meeting Lucia. Isabel also smiled slightly at the sight.

“That woman is probably playing a role for the Hunter’s Association. Since she’s been constantly on the move, it’s possible we’ll meet her.”

“Of course! Now we can join forces!”

“And is Jien also at the destination?”

“Phew, it’s the main quest now. I feel like we’ve reached the starting point.”

“Ah…”

Isabel looked around.

This world was a place created by the Gate, a 5th-grade difficulty level.

‘But…’

The level of the quest given so far was too low. According to Isabel’s standards, it was a trivial matter. In such cases, the front is easy, but the back is difficult. The Gate’s variables are unfair. A difficult Gate may appear, but an easy one does not.

‘A calamity that will occur at the auction house…’

Isabel’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rain starting to fall from the sky.