Holy B-Class Life

#002

“Ugh, it feels like metal powder is sticking to my skin.”

Looking closer, they were two familiar B-rank hunters. They had been complaining non-stop since the moment they entered the gate, without resting for a full day.

Their incessant grumbling was starting to get irritating.

The attack force of about 100 people who entered the A-rank gate had clashed with monsters three times. Exhausted from the continuous battles, hunters were sprawled here and there in the safe zone, each groaning.

Although it was a busy situation even for resting, these two kept noisily chattering.

“It’s just your imagination, man. There’s nothing sticking to you, don’t make a fuss.”

“I know, man! I’m just saying.”

Sitting alone, Yoon Pa-ran slowly opened his combat rations. He felt uneasy having to enter the gate right after Min-woong’s incident, but he pushed away his thoughts.

In the circular clearing where the attack force was gathered disorderly, rustling sounds began to emerge one by one.

“That flower over there looks peculiar. Should I pick one to take out? It might sell for some money.”

“Ah, why do rich people collect these damn gate items…”

Yoon Pa-ran reflexively glanced around at the hunters’ conversation.

Clearly, they were in a forest, but something was strange. Everything in the forest seemed to have a metallic sheen.

It was what they called a metal terrain gate.

At the entrance and exit of the clearing where they were resting, metal statues taller than a person stood in pairs like sentries. The space created by those statues was called the safe zone.

For unknown reasons, monsters never invaded this space.

“It’s fortunate that Dan Joo-hyuk came along. We should be able to get out quickly.”

One of the chattering hunters in front opened his mouth while rummaging through his belongings. After wearing out his mouth complaining all day, he was now spouting nonsense.

In the first place, the reason they were suffering like dogs was because of him, what an idiot.

Hearing such nonsensical words made Yoon Pa-ran’s blood boil. He frowned deeply as he scooped up some food and put it in his mouth.

At that moment, the complaining hunter said with a grinning face while opening his rations:

“When we get out this time, I’m gonna have some fun.”

“Again? After causing that trouble last time?”

“If I hadn’t had that brat then, I could’ve lived more freely without getting my nose pierced. Tsk. If she acts up again, I’ll just leave her or something.”

Despite the nasty words flowing out, his conversation partner just kept grinning.

He even added more to it.

“Didn’t I tell you to just throw her away back then? I said it was all just tricks to leech off hunters using a kid.”

Yoon Pa-ran’s eyes hardened as he held his rations.

His sharp tone burst out in an instant.

“Shut up. Why are you bragging about that crap so loudly? Should I ask the Gate Management Office to send you an official letter?”

Hearing such ear-rotting words naturally made his anger rise. Some might say it’s best to let these things slide, but not for Yoon Pa-ran.

Moreover, even monsters should at least know that the words coming out of their mouths are garbage. It shouldn’t always be the decent people who have to put up with such filthy talk.

The two B-rank hunters who were talking immediately looked at him.

“What? You little shit, green behind the ears…”

The grumbling hunter started cursing at Yoon Pa-ran’s youthful face.

However, his companion quickly restrained him.

“Hey, stop it. …That’s Yoon Pa-ran.”

“What? Huh… damn…”

The reaction was quite immediate. Even the hunter who was about to curse stopped abruptly and grimaced at the name Yoon Pa-ran.

Yoon Pa-ran was just a B-rank hunter like them. So they certainly weren’t reacting that way out of fear.

“Tch. It’s too dirty for me…”

“Just bear with it, bear with it. I told you that guy’s not your ordinary troublemaker.”

Yoon Pa-ran’s brow furrowed again at their whispered voices. But as they quickly retreated, his anger subsided a bit.

They acted like they were avoiding him because he was dirty, but the result was fine anyway.

Yoon Pa-ran inwardly let out a small sigh. He’d have to be wary of those two until they left the gate, but he didn’t regret it.

Just then, a low voice came from right behind him.

“Fighting with other hunters again, I see.”

In the metal forest, voices echoed strangely. His low voice also created tension as it wrapped around the clearing once.

Unlike before, those around held their breath and watched. Yoon Pa-ran, his spine fully tensed, lifted his slightly lowered head.

“If you keep living like that, you’ll get stabbed in the back in a gate, Hunter Yoon Pa-ran.”

The metallic sun hanging in the gate sky had been shining a weak light all day. The guy who suddenly appeared in front of Yoon Pa-ran stood with his back to the sunlight.

Due to his large build, Dan Joo-hyuk’s shadow completely covered Yoon Pa-ran.

His high-bridged nose cast deep shadows on his face. His shiny face was noticeable despite the backlight, and there was a faint smile on his lips.

At first glance, it seemed like quite a friendly smile. But was it because of the strange metallic sunlight? Yoon Pa-ran found Dan Joo-hyuk’s smile unsettling.

His tone was the same. It was calm as if he really cared, but Yoon Pa-ran unconsciously swallowed dry saliva.

“That’s none of your business.”

Though smiling, Dan Joo-hyuk always went around leaking the unique aura of an S-rank without hiding it. An ambiguous force, whether killing intent or hostility, made the skin tingle.

He had been quite hungry, but as soon as he saw Dan Joo-hyuk’s face, Yoon Pa-ran’s spoon movements became less enthusiastic.

Despite Yoon Pa-ran’s dismissal, Dan Joo-hyuk just shrugged his shoulders slightly and continued speaking.

Still with a calm voice and smiling face.

“They say a frightened dog barks louder. It seems to resemble you, Hunter Yoon Pa-ran.”

Yoon Pa-ran’s face hardened further at the obvious provocation.

It was an unknown number of times this nerve war had happened. In the five years since Yoon Pa-ran started his hunter life, this bad relationship had lasted for four of them.

As a B-rank hunter, Yoon Pa-ran was called to many gates. Not because he was exceptionally skilled. It was just that B-rank hunters were the most useful for various levels of gates.

However, that fact alone wasn’t enough to cause frequent encounters with S-rank hunter Dan Joo-hyuk. Originally, S-rank hunters should have been quite reluctant to move.

If there was any misfortune for Yoon Pa-ran, it was that this Dan Joo-hyuk bastard happened to be an ‘unusual’ S-rank.

“Looks like you hurt your ears while clearing gates. Can’t even hear properly.”

It was difficult even for Yoon Pa-ran to argue with an S-rank hunter.

“Oh my, are you really scared?”

However, he gritted his teeth and didn’t avoid Dan Joo-hyuk’s gaze. Bowing to unreasonable provocation wasn’t Yoon Pa-ran’s way.

Even if afraid, he had lived by charging forward first, not letting anyone block his path.

“My ears do hurt a bit from hearing bullshit.”

Shortly after Yoon Pa-ran became a hunter and entered gates with Dan Joo-hyuk, Dan Joo-hyuk began to pick fights in earnest. The trigger seemed to be nothing much. At least, it wasn’t in Yoon Pa-ran’s memory, so it must have really been nothing.

Since then, he would come to pick fights like this whenever they rested inside a gate.

Suddenly, what little appetite remained disappeared completely. Yoon Pa-ran put down his combat rations with a careless gesture.

Following that hand with his gaze, Dan Joo-hyuk smiled as if amused and asked:

“Why aren’t you eating more?”

“Mind your own business.”

His low voice, as if worried, wasn’t funny at all.

As expected, Dan Joo-hyuk began to prattle on as if he had been waiting for this.

“You’re still in your growth period, what will you do if you don’t grow taller?”

His small and seemingly fragile physique was one of Yoon Pa-ran’s complexes.

Since it was visible on the outside, it was also the part that got picked on the most throughout his life. After all, an orphan kid who was also small tended to look easy to push around.

However, in Yoon Pa-ran’s life, Dan Joo-hyuk was the only one who had mocked him for being small more than twice. He had corrected the manners of the rest, even if he had to bite them with his real teeth.

“You bastard, why are you picking a fight again!”

That’s why Yoon Pa-ran disliked Dan Joo-hyuk. He was annoyed by that sly face and the fact that such a guy was Korea’s representative S-rank hunter.

“Hmm…”

He also didn’t like Dan Joo-hyuk’s eyes that pierced straight at him whenever they met like this. It was hard to tell what was contained in them.

Until now, other people he had friction with usually poured relatively simple emotions at Yoon Pa-ran. Hatred, contempt, anger, and so on.

But Dan Joo-hyuk was a bit strange. Like a madman, he did too many unpredictable things. It was hard to tell if he found his own actions amusing or irritating.

If it was Dan Joo-hyuk, it couldn’t possibly have a good meaning anyway.

“Ah, have you already passed your growth period? Oh my, I said unnecessary things to a really small person.”

Dan Joo-hyuk apologized while touching his chin as if embarrassed. His expression didn’t look sorry at all.

It also made his blood boil that someone younger than him kept using formal speech. What’s the use of formal speech when everything coming out of that mouth was unpleasant?

The fact that his teeth would only break if he tried to bite also made him furious.

“Fuck.”

Even as he reflexively cursed, Yoon Pa-ran didn’t let his guard down.

Although they had never gotten into a fistfight with him, cold sweat ran down his back. Glaring at Dan Joo-hyuk with a sharp edge, Yoon Pa-ran said threateningly:

“If you have nothing to say, get lost.”

After smelling the rotten stench of monsters for nearly 20 hours, he was really tired. It was quite annoying when he needed to rest quickly.

At that, Dan Joo-hyuk smiled even more brightly and approached Yoon Pa-ran.

“That’s good. I do have something to say.”