To be honest, I had slightly expected today’s work. I thought there might be a dramatic and cool situation, or that I might do something impressive.

However, reality was different from my imagination. Moreover, the situation inside the gate was even more different from what I had imagined.

“What are you doing there? Quickly come this way! It’s dangerous!”

“Ah, ah, there, there! Monster! There’s a monster!”

“Get out of the way, you fool!”

“Oh dear, why can’t I use my strength?”

There was one fact I hadn’t realized before, as the awakened ones around me usually started from at least A-rank. For combat awakened ones below E-rank, it would be better to do delivery work instead.

It was a total mess. The gate’s rank was C, and the monsters’ ranks were around C and D, but the situation inside was serious.

A few people unable to move due to injuries, people showing no signs of cooperation, a giant mantis charging in while everyone was in chaos…

The mantis swung its arm like a large sickle. An uncle standing blankly was sent flying with a ‘Kuhek-!’ sound.

Surprisingly, there were no casualties. The association hunter in charge of overseeing our team first checked on the injured.

“Is the emergency treatment finished?!”

“Ah, ah, this thing is so hard, attacks don’t work. What should we do?!”

“For insect-type monsters, aim for the joints, belly, or head!”

“Hey! We’re fighting here, what are you doing?!”

It was utter chaos. I thought that if these people had enough experience, or if they could just work together, they could have ended the situation earlier.

As if used to this situation, our team’s association hunter calmly checked the wounds of the injured.

I had heard that sometimes the association handles gates that no one enters until they’re about to burst due to lack of popularity. I didn’t know it would be this bad.

“I’m coming to support now!”

“Hurry up and come! What are you doing, really?!”

That voice was drowned out by the sound of a giant bee going ‘woooong’. A giant bee following the giant mantis. I pondered why this gate hadn’t been conquered yet. Was it because the giant insects were disgusting?

Min Yu Shin, who was observing the situation beside me, asked me.

“Shin Ah, what do you want to do?”

“Well…”

This situation would be quickly resolved if either I or Min Yu Shin stepped in. Originally, those monsters, no matter how high their rank, were only C-rank, so they couldn’t even attack me.

“Should we just watch for now?”

“What if we get scolded for just spectating?”

“I thought you might say that, so I tweaked our presence a bit.”

“Wow… As expected of a sneaky class.”

“Assassin isn’t that sneaky of a class, you know?”

“Hmm, wait a moment. Let me try something first.”

: Removes all debuffs and increases all stats and attack power by 10%.

“Oh, what’s this? My body suddenly feels lighter?”

“Hey, watch out for the poison!”

“Alright, let’s deal with the mantis first! Let’s bind it!”

Just by thinking about using the skill, the system window kindly informed me of everything. Unlike last time, no singing voice spread.

Min Yu Shin, who was watching with his arms crossed beside me, asked.

“Hm? Is this your skill, Shin Ah?”

“Yes.”

“This kind of thing is only good when rank and stats are high. If they’re that weak, it won’t make much difference.”

“…It seems so.”

Still, it was better than nothing, and people’s movements changed. Especially the association hunters showed movements as if they were flying.

“I’ll go support for now, do you want to stay here? I’ve erased our presence, so no one should approach or anything.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll be back soon after cleaning up, wait here.”

Min Yu Shin did some light stretches and dashed out. He showed the lightest movements of all, catching the giant bees. Then, he secretly extracted their venom without others noticing.

‘So that was his goal.’

Anyway, with Min Yu Shin’s participation, the cleanup was done quickly.

Min Yu Shin and I returned in a state that was neither tired nor hurt, while the others were in somewhat ragged conditions.

“Good work everyone. We’ll take care of the aftermath, so please go rest first. We’ll support the treatment of the injured, so please go to the guided location.”

The association hunters were to handle the aftermath. One of them guided the injured, and somehow, the remaining people ended up drinking. I tried to leave but was caught.

Min Yu Shin winked at me. That bastard, he deliberately made me get caught.

And so, we gathered for drinks. Those who were injured, those who were healed and fine now, everyone sat together ordering cheap meat and alcohol. This scene reminded me of uncomfortable company dinners.

“Ah, this is the taste.”

“Let’s have a drink. After all, we’re comrades who survived together today.”

The people who came for support ranged from those in their 20s to uncles. Among them, the uncles skillfully mixed soju with beer. Their skills in mixing drinks were excellent, even if they couldn’t fight well.

The conversation continued warmly. They talked about how their lives had been, what they were like before the gate incident, what jobs they had, or why they came to support the association. Due to low rank, or lack of skill. For various other reasons, the people gathered here each had their own lives.

“Miss over there, how did you end up in a place like this?”

A middle-aged woman who had been talking for a while asked me. It was a sudden question. I looked around. Indeed, there was no one my age.

“Oh, um. Somehow?”

“Somehow, you say. These days, young folks are said to hate this kind of support work and try to pass it off to others.”

“Come on, why would a young person do this kind of work? It’s better to take the test and secure a position in the association.”

“Says the person who failed that test 5 times… What did you do to fail 5 times?”

“Sob, don’t suddenly press on my sore spot. I’m doing quite well now, you know.”

The arrow of conversation that had returned to me quickly flew elsewhere. They then debated how difficult it was to become a hunter affiliated with the association. Most of it was useless chatter. I recalled the older brothers and sisters who had told me to definitely get nailed down in the association.

Min Yu Shin and I didn’t drink. Watching them chat warmly, we maintained our sanity even as strange nonsense got stuck in our ears. Just staying in this awkward place for an hour and a half, thinking ‘I see’. Before we knew it, the drunk people were staggering up, saying let’s go for a second round.

Don’t they have to go to work tomorrow? Unable to ask that, I declared that I would skip the second round.

“Well then, see you tomorrow. Get home safely.”

“Goodbye. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

It reminded me of the days when I used to work at a company and had dinner gatherings. The atmosphere was quite different from then. They didn’t force me to drink, didn’t suppress with authority, and nonsensical talk… well, this was still present. Anyway, it felt so different that the past seemed far away.

The past that wasn’t even a few months old now felt so distant.

I could hear chattering voices from afar.

“But why is that young lady in a place like this?”

“Well, she said she ended up here somehow.”

“Looking at her today, she didn’t do much. Really…”

“The person next to her didn’t look like a bodyguard? Maybe I’m thinking too much.”

“Well, maybe she’s a third-generation chaebol experiencing commoner life.”

In a way, it was correct. I turned my gaze to Min Yu Shin. He wore a sly smile.

“…Why did you bother to come along here?”

“Hm? Well… just because?”

Just because my foot. I was about to ask what he was thinking but stopped. As long as there were no problems, it was fine.

Min Yu Shin asked me in return.

“So what did you think today?”

“What do you mean?”

“Thoughts you had while looking at those people, or when entering the gate.”

“Hmm… It’s too haphazard?”

“Puhaha, that’s true.”

“They handle things too carelessly?”

“Actually, regular raid teams don’t proceed like that. The association should have proper raid teams and they should have formed proper teams even with support people. This time was probably an emergency deployment.”

“Ah… But still, it’s too careless…”

“Well, that’s how people live.”

That was true. I let out a small laugh at his words.

In fact, I was a bit taken aback. I was surprised that the work I came to do as support for the association was different from what I expected, and that gate raids were conducted so carelessly. I came here citing the reason of wanting experience, but there wasn’t much work here for me to gain experience.

It was natural that there would be a big difference since the gates I had been involved in so far were S-rank.

They wouldn’t take a B-rank to an A-rank or S-rank gate, so this plan was flawed from the start.

‘I wonder if it’s difficult to gain experience while maintaining the concept of hiding my strength.’

If so, I’ll have to find another way. To be able to protect myself even in unexpected situations, without Cheon Shin Woo knowing.

Min Yu Shin messed up my hair pretending to pat it.

“Ack, what are you doing!”

“You looked like you had a lot on your mind. You still have 4 more days to work, so experience it and think about what you want to do.”

“Tch…”

He, a friend of my brother, just laughed as if it was amusing.

In the time when darkness had fallen thickly. At night when everyone would be asleep, a man who had just begun his proper activities, blending into the night scenery, laughed.

Cheon Shin Ah, his friend’s sister, wasn’t a fool, but she still showed signs of immaturity due to her young age. Meanwhile, she was just like Cheon Shin Woo, proceeding with things as she pleased, so it was naturally difficult for those in the position of assisting them.

Still, his friend’s sister was better than Cheon Shin Woo. At least she would understand if you explained why something couldn’t be done.

“Well then…”

Blending into the darkness and erasing his presence to the limit, he did his job as if it was natural.

“Hic, urgh. Huuu…”

He quietly approached someone sitting drunk on a street bench, and silently placed a knife against their throat.