Ch.21The Saint is Mostly a Psychopath

“Ah… so this is the place.”

Aila looked at her smartphone screen, then at the bizarre device in front of her.

A structure resembling dozens of intertwined crustacean legs.

In its center, a black sphere floated gently.

“So this is a gate made for training…”

The structure was familiar, as was the terrain.

On her way from Busan to Seoul, Aila had destroyed a total of three gates.

One of them was the gate that had appeared at the location right before her eyes.

“I did something unnecessary.”

No wonder they were angry.

Aila sighed inwardly.

Though her intentions were good, it seemed she had ultimately caused a major inconvenience.

She had essentially robbed others of their opportunity to grow.

“Haah…”

Aila let out a long sigh.

She needed information.

Common knowledge of this world, that sort of information.

Otherwise, incidents like today’s might happen again.

Aila looked down at her smartphone.

‘They said I could find out anything by connecting to this… internet, right?’

Before accessing the internet, Aila looked at the top of the screen as Kang Seona had instructed.

A single dot, with three lines spreading out from it like waves.

This was the environment that allowed connection to the “internet” Kang Seona had mentioned.

‘To think they could create such devices without using magic.’

Well, with that level of technology, they must be able to handle gates freely…

“Hey, who’s that? I don’t recognize her.”

A voice reached Aila’s ears as she stared glumly at the ground.

Looking around, she realized the area had become crowded with people.

Everyone was gathered in one place, equipped with backpacks and weapons.

Some of them were looking at Aila.

Aila quickly ran toward them.

More and more gazes turned toward her.

“…Are you perhaps a hunter participating in the raid?”

“Ah, yes!”

“…The assembly point isn’t in front of the device, it’s over here. Please keep that in mind next time.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Then please stand over there.”

Aila stood among the people as instructed by the man.

Gazes converged on her.

“Who is she?”

“Never seen her before.”

“Is she from another region?”

“She doesn’t look that strong…”

Stares and whispers poured toward Aila.

Hunters from specific regions rarely leave their territories.

Therefore, hunters who operate in the same region typically know each other.

Which meant that if an unfamiliar hunter appeared…

“Hey, you.”

“Are you talking to me?”

“Yeah. Are you from another region?”

Wait, could this be…?

“Yes! I’m from Seoul!”

Aila felt her heart race.

This situation seemed very close to what the Hero had described as ‘that.’

Now that man would say, ‘Outsiders get lost! This is our territory!’ right?

Hmm… how should I respond then?

Right, I’ll start by breaking his arm.

Having finished her calculations, Aila cautiously raised her head.

“See, I told you guys!”

“Ah shit, I was wrong.”

“I told you she looked like someone from Seoul!”

“Oh, shut up!!”

The man who had spoken to Aila was walking toward the others.

As if simply finding out where she was from was enough.

“…Huh?”

What’s going on?

A loud voice reached Aila’s ears as she stood there bewildered.

“Alright! It’s time to enter the dungeon!! Everyone gather around!!”

People began to move in sequence.

Aila followed them.

“Now, I’m opening the dungeon. Current total: 36 people, 32 C-rank hunters, 1 B-rank hunter, and 3 A-rank hunters. The dungeon’s estimated rank is C6.”

Huh? What does C6 mean?

She was about to ask when she remembered Kang Seona’s words.

‘If there’s something you don’t know, search for it first.’

Aila took out her phone and quickly opened the internet.

She had already confirmed earlier that this place had internet access.

“I see.”

After a few searches, Aila understood what C6 meant.

The alphabet at the front indicated the dungeon’s rank, while the number behind represented the dungeon’s size.

It ranged from 0 to 9, with larger numbers indicating bigger sizes, so 6 probably meant above-average size.

It was quite a systematic classification.

Just as Aila was admiring this, she heard:

“C-rank hunters, please form groups on your own.”

Huh?

Form groups independently?

Amid murmurs, people started gathering together.

Some formed groups of three, others four or six.

And in the midst of it all, there was one person who couldn’t find a group and stood alone.

It was Aila.

“……”

Standing alone and lonely, Aila approached a group of three women.

“…Excuse me, if it’s alright with you, could I join your group…?”

“Ah, our current composition has just the right balance, so…”

“…I understand, sorry for bothering you.”

Aila turned away.

Next was a group of five men.

“Excuse me, but…”

“We’re fine, thanks.”

“…I see, sorry.”

Aila’s attempts were rejected twice in a row.

Her head drooped.

She felt dejected.

“Hey.”

“…What is it?”

When she turned toward the male voice, she saw the man who had made those incomprehensible remarks earlier.

“Would you like to join our group, if that’s okay?”

“Really?! Don’t take it back!”

Aila immediately expressed her agreement to the man’s offer.

“Opening the dungeon! All groups, please enter in order!”

Simultaneously, the black sphere at the center of the device expanded widely.

“Dungeon is open. Everyone please enter in order, maintaining the sequence.”

The sphere expanded into an oval-shaped black panel.

People slowly threw themselves into that surface.

After all the people in front disappeared, it was Aila’s turn.

She slowly inserted herself into it.

For some unknown reason, dungeon entrances had the property of blocking objects moving above a certain speed.

Therefore, one had to enter dungeons slowly and carefully.

No point in rushing and painfully colliding with the entrance.

“Ugh.”

Up, down, left, right—a strange sensation of twisting senses and directions.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a cave with dark blue walls.

There was no sign of people.

After walking a short distance along a narrow path, she found people gathered in a wide open space.

“Once everyone’s here, you can depart.”

At the words of the man standing in the center, people gathered in small groups and dispersed.

“Let’s get going then.”

“Ah, yes.”

A total of five people, including Aila, walked down the path.

The cave was spacious.

As the path split into multiple routes, people scattered.

“Are we alone now?”

At that voice, Aila looked around.

“Let’s introduce ourselves first. My name is Choi Jin-sung. I mainly use this sword.”

The man who first spoke to Aila tapped the sword at his waist as he spoke.

“I’m Sung Sin-young. I specialize in ice magic.”

The woman standing next to him said.

“…I’m Koo Ha-joon. I use a short spear.”

The man walking at the front turned around and spoke.

“I’m Ha Yu-ra! I use a bow… Nice to meet you all!”

The woman walking right next to Aila said.

Two men at the front, two women supporting from behind.

A formation that couldn’t work without trust between members.

They must be close friends.

In many ways, it was a well-balanced composition.

“I’m Aila, pleased to meet you all.”

Aila, who had squeezed into their midst, greeted them as politely as possible.

“…Is that all?”

“Pardon?”

“Like, what weapon you use, what you can do, don’t you have more to say?”

“Ah.”

Indeed, just saying her name doesn’t reveal what she’s good at.

Just as Aila was about to speak after hearing Koo Ha-joon’s words:

“Hey, isn’t it obvious? Looking at the sword she’s carrying, she’s clearly a swordsman like me, right?”

Right? Am I right?

She’s definitely a swordsman.

Feeling slightly uncomfortable with Choi Jin-sung’s overfamiliarity, Aila retorted in a blunt voice.

“No, I’m a saint.”

“…A saint?”

“Yes.”

The atmosphere instantly sank.

“Th-that’s a funny joke… haha.”

“It’s not a joke.”

Everyone stopped walking, and silence descended.

Aila wouldn’t have known, but this was a natural reaction.

There had been quite a few hunters with the title of “saint” until now.

Like the Saint of America or the Saint of Italy.

…Well, the problem was that most of those saints were people with twisted personalities.

The Saint of America was executed after being caught conducting human experiments to maintain her appearance eternally, and the Saint of Italy was arrested after her connections to the mafia and various criminal charges were revealed; she was now rotting deep in prison.

One might call it prejudice, but what could be done?

The precedents had left too deep an impression.

In the current climate, most people who called themselves saints were mentally disturbed.

‘Shit, did we step in something bad?’

‘I told you we should’ve gone by ourselves.’

‘…Looks like we’re screwed.’

‘Wh-what should we do…?’

‘Everyone’s so quiet. I like how cautious you all are.’

The party of five walked silently down the path.