Chapter 27: Chapter 27

“Why’s no one answering? Are you from Earth?”

Richard blinked, then replied, “T-that’s right.”

It was so unrealistic that he replied casually. He couldn’t even tell if he was dreaming or not.

“A r-rescue team!”

One of the C-grade hunters screamed. Despite having collapsed due to hunger, everyone somehow regained strength and jumped to their feet.

“A rescue team is here?!”

“No way! Really?”

“Someone really came to rescue us! Sob! We’re saved! Damn...!”

Some hunters sobbed and others howled. They couldn’t help but react that way. Salvation had come just as they thought they were done for! However, there was one person who reacted calmly—Canean.

“Cough, cough... Fools, prepare for battle!”

“? !”

“Mr. Canean. What are you doing? Have you gone crazy?”

“You fools! There is only one spot left for this dungeon! How did two people enter?”

“!!!!”

The hunters’ faces paled. Some dungeon monsters could show all sorts of illusions. If so, then the two in front of them right now... ?The hunters gulped, but they didn’t raise their weapons. They were exhausted and weak.

“Ah. Is that so? I apologize for the misunderstanding I’ve caused. I didn’t enter through the dungeon door.”

“N-No?”

“I fell here from the Abyss.”

An Abyss returnee! Occasionally, people would get lost in the Abyss upon mistakenly getting caught up in a gate or dungeon. Most never came back, but there were lucky ones that managed to return.

“An Abyss returnee?”

“That’s right.”

“Why should we believe you... ”

“Whether you believe me or not doesn’t matter, but what else can you do if you don’t believe me?”

Canean couldn’t help agreeing with Choi Yeonseung. The fact that he went missing in the Abyss and survived guaranteed that he was strong?in his own right. And there were two of them! In comparison, the hunters were all on the verge of starvation and lacked teamwork.

“I... I see.”

“Stop suspecting us or you could offend us when we just came to help. You’re from Earth, right?”

“Right...”

“Phew.”

Choi Yeonseung was so thrilled that he had to hold back his emotional trembling. The moment the guy who was talking closed his eyes and trembled, the hunters were puzzled.

‘Is he a drug user?’

‘What’s wrong with him?’

However, Canean noticed it. ‘An Abyss returnee...!’

The Abyss had a different concept of time from Earth. Spending a few days in the Abyss only to find out years had passed on Earth was a common story. Nevertheless, even that short amount of time was enough to ruin people. Those who went missing in the Abyss usually returned broken in some way. They would be lucky to have just one of their limbs blown off! Only a handful managed to come back intact.

‘He was trying to find a way to return to Earth.’

Richard, who had been blankly listening to the conversation, asked a question. “Wait. What about the ghouls above?”

“The ghouls? They’re all dead.”

“? ?! ”

“What? You’re not making any sense...”

“This friend of mine is a great magician.” Choi Yeonseung pointed to?Odaigon. Odaigon waved awkwardly.

“Is he an Abyss returnee as well?”

“Yes. His story is even sadder. He lost his memories.”

“......”

Odaigon?couldn’t help staring at Choi Yeonseung.

Master...!!

“Tsk tsk. He lost his memory...”

“I feel bad for your young friend.”

The mutters of the hunters made Odaigon feel even sadder. These insignificant people dared pity him!

‘He’s a great magic user!’

On the other hand, Choi Yeonseung’s words stunned Canean. The two of them wiped out an entire army of ghouls...

‘Maybe they’re A-grade hunters!’

As a B-grade hunter, Richard Parker often wondered what made A-grade hunters so great. There was only one level difference. However, A-grade and B-grade were in different leagues. Canean knew that even better since he had seen an A-grade hunter fight before. That rank was the domain of monsters.

“Then you’re also a magician... Right?”

An ordinary person with no abilities wouldn’t be able to survive in the Abyss for a long time and wipe out a horde of ghouls.

“I’m a martial artist.”

“......”

“......”

“......”

At that moment, an awkward silence fell.

‘What is with this unpleasant silence?’

Choi Yeonseung was puzzled. The way the hunters looked at him had changed. It was a bit like… looking at an antique! He didn’t know why, but it was pretty unpleasant.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“N-Nothing... It’s just that it’s been so long since I’ve seen a martial artist.”

“... ? ”

It had been a long time since they had seen a martial artist. There were quite a lot of martial artists before Choi Yeonseung left. Of course, they numbered far fewer than magicians, and they often said that they should just learn magic too, but…

Martial arts definitely had their own advantages.

“Are there no martial artists on Earth right now?”

“It isn’t that there are none... They’ve just become just very rare.”

“Why did you learn martial arts? This is the first time I’m seeing it.”

While Choi Yeonseung was wandering around in the Abyss, martial arts had become so weak that the people of Earth began asking, ‘Why did you learn this?’

“... What year is it now?”

“It is the year 2039. How long were you gone?”

“... Thirty years.”

“Hah...”

“Wasn’t the record twenty-eight years... What happened to that man?”

“He’s in a mental hospital right now.”

“The next one was twenty-seven years, right? How is that person doing?”

“Didn’t he write an autobiography? I think it was called ‘The Years I Spent in the Abyss’.”

“What? He wrote a book about that?”

“Hey. It’s a bestseller.”

The hunters looked at Choi Yeonseung like they were seeing a rare creature. It was hard to believe that he had been in the Abyss for 20 Earth years! Since?time flowed differently in the Abyss, he could’ve just spent a few months in the Abyss, but even that was still great enough. Luck usually didn’t play a part in their survival within such a chaotic space.

“Groan. Well, what happened to martial arts or that I’ve been wandering for thirty years doesn’t matter right now... I’ll worry about that later. For now, let’s clear this dungeon and get out.”

“Have you found the boss monster?”

“No. This dungeon’s format seems to require wiping out all the ghouls to clear it. A few ran away while I was sweeping through them, so I’ll go and kill them. By the way...”

Choi Yeonseung looked around at the group.

“None of you are in good condition, are you? You did well when coming in first.”

“......”

The hunters were skin and bones! Their voices were shaky, and their hands and feet were trembling. One or two of them would likely die if left like this. Anyone would think that they were the ones that survived the Abyss.

“I need to feed you something.”

“Food... You have food?!” One of the hunters jumped in response.

“How else would I have survived in the Abyss?”

“...Uh, that’s right. Did you bring food with you?”

“You weren’t just holding out?”

Thump!

They immediately got an answer.

Choi Yeonseung threw a large chunk of meat wrapped in cheap paper to the ground. “What did I eat? I was self-sufficient. Has anyone watched ‘I am a Natural Person’ here?”

“?”

“? ?”

“Tsk tsk. This is why Westerners... You didn’t watch that useful show?”

Odaigon?was also puzzled. What was this?

“It will help you in life once you watch it. What is the lesson of the program? It shows that you can eat anything.”

‘? ? ’

‘What is he saying?’

‘Is that like a hunter education program in Asia?’

“Odaigon. Create a fire.”

“Yes. Mas—”

-Didn’t I say not to call me Master?

“...Hyung-nim?”

“Yes.”

‘How can I be so disrespectful?!’

As Odaigon shamed himself, the other hunters had strange expressions. Odaigon?was slightly pale and handsome, while Choi Yeonseung was like a muscular warrior. No matter how they looked at the two, Choi Yeonseung seemed like a subordinate. Moreover, he was a martial artist, so he should be weaker than magicians. If so, why did Odaigon still treat him as a big brother?

“Is it because he lost his memory?”

“Hmm. Maybe.”

As the hunters contemplated the survivors’ relationship, Odaigon lit a fire and Choi Yeonseung used a kitchen knife to cut a large chunk of meat and put it in the frying pan. Choi Yeonseung had studied many ingredients in the Abyss, but he couldn’t create ingredients that didn’t exist. Hence, he could only ever cook meat dishes.

Grilled iron plate steak!

“There are no bowls. Well, now isn’t the time to argue about that.”

Bang!

Choi Yeonseung smashed a nearby stone with his fist and swept his palm over the top, creating a smooth stone slab.

“...!!!”

That was the first time they saw that move!

“T-This... ”

“What? Was that your first time seeing that? It seems that martial arts users really are gone.”

Choi Yeonseung was taken aback. This was something that martial artists often did before he went to the Abyss.

Creating instant tools! He scraped the stone’s uneven surface, smoothening it.

Meanwhile, the well-heated frying pan started to cook the meat. Along with a sizzling sound, the red meat’s juices dripped, causing the huddled hunters’ eyes to widen as they drooled. They were like hungry beasts.

“Who... who are you going to give it to... ”

Choi Yeonseung laughed at the question. The hunter who asked the question blushed, seemingly ashamed.

“Did you think I’m only going to feed some of you? Just wait calmly. There is plenty of meat.”

Choi Yeonseung wasn’t lying. Before long, everyone had been served a piece of unidentified meat steak.

“Let’s start eating!”

Everyone started eating like crazy. They didn’t even talk.

‘Delicious!’

‘This is really delicious!’

Since they hadn’t eaten for a few days, they would’ve likely found anything delicious at this point. However, this steak truly was amazing. They would've gladly sold their souls to eat something this delicious! Its rich taste, which started from the meat’s juices, was no joke.

‘I wish there was rice,’ Choi Yeonseung thought as he looked at the hunters eating the meat. The Abyss had plenty of meat, but it was hard to obtain rice.

As the hunters stuffed the meat into their stomachs, they strangely felt their strength recovering. Due to their hunger, they thought it was due to the hearty meat. However, they soon realized that wasn’t the case. Their depleted magic power was being restored!

‘W-What?’

‘This feeling of strength... ’

It was similar to the resilience they felt when taking high-quality mana potions! As everyone whispered and looked at each other, Choi Yeonseung and Odaigon looked guilty.

-Did they…?Did they perhaps notice that I gave them the lowest quality meat?

-This is why I told you it was better to throw the meat away, Master!

-That would’ve been a waste. I thought they would eat without complaints since they’re hungry.

He had accumulated meat when wandering around the Abyss, leaving only the by-products behind. Among them, tough meat with little magic power was a nuisance. It wasn’t like Choi Yeonseung would die if he didn’t eat, so there was no point in eating something like that. Hence, he sneakily cooked it for others instead…

“Ugh!”

“Sob!”

“? ? ”

Crying?

Did it taste that weird?

‘No. Aren’t they eating well?’

“Thank you… Thank you so much!”

“I will work hard from now on...!”

The hunters stuffed the meat into their mouths while tears dropped from their eyes. Being saved from certain death came as a huge shock to them. From now on, they decided to live their lives to the fullest every day! It wasn’t known how long their dedication to that would last, but they sincerely meant it at that moment.

Canean slowly swallowed the meat and muttered. “Hah... This is amazing. Such meat... I’m sorry I doubted you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Look. Can’t you feel your magic power being restored and increasing? He probably doesn’t have a mountain of rare meat like this, yet he still gave it to us.”

“... He probably just missed company since he’s been wandering around the Abyss for so long.”

“Even so, that doesn’t change a person’s true nature. Giving so generously... I’ve seen this before. He didn’t even become angry when I called him a monster.”

The calmness of the strong! It didn’t matter to Choi Yeonseung if Canean called him a monster or not, so Choi Yeonseung just remained calm. However, Canean perceived his apathy differently. To Canean, he was a great person!

“You have to get to know someone like this, not guys like them.”

“What... I don’t even know who he is.”

“Well, do you intend to keep hanging out with the hunters over there?”

“......”

“Absolutely not.” Richard shook his head.