Lee Hayoon's POV
I should've paid attention…
I shouldn't have let my guard down-
Sigh… why did I underestimate the gate…
He's a B rank for fucks sake!
I put my hands on my face and groaned in frustration, but then I noticed the blood on my hands, so I went and cleaned them…
While going, I could smell disinfectant and medicine from the hospital.
I opened the door to the washroom and looked at myself in the mirror.
My black hair is dishevelled, my clothes and hands have blood on them, and my face looks dead, if I'm being honest… the eyebags, pale complexion.
I quickly washed my hands, but then I could feel a wave of tiredness hitting me, and I felt like puking-
"Agh…" I groan, then I splashed water on my face. The cold helped me distract myself.
Before this gate I had done 2 new dungeons that came near Chuncheon and in Pocheon… it was pure luck that the gate was in Incheon…
I put my hand on my face and sighed, maybe I should do as Ambrose said and shouldn't stress it.
I get out the washroom… right now the hospital is quite, except for small chattering, it's relaxing.
I looked at the clock and noticed it's midnight…
I was walking back to my seat to wait for Ambrose… I hope he-
"Lee Hayoon?" a nurse called out, and I turned and looked at her.
"Is Ambrose ok?" I ask.
I hope he's alive-
"The surgery was a success, he is doing well, actually I believe by 3 days he will be fully healed" she explained with a perplexed expression "Does he have any healing skill?"
"I don't know, he didn't tell me", I answered.
I was grateful he was ok, but he was stabbed through the stomach, and he will be healed in a few days. That's odd. Maybe I should ask him later…
"Can I meet him?" I ask.
"Ah… sorry, but Mr.Ambrose is still asleep", the nurse replied.
"I see… I'll come back in the morning, please contact me when he wakes up", I asked.
"Of course", the nurse smiled and left.
I have to go and report back… The Guild leader must be in his office doing late-night work.
I walked out of the Hospital and went walking to my Guild building, which was an hour away.
When I reached the building was quiet and the lights were off… well, except for the leader's office. I went inside and up the elevator and walked to the door and knocked.
"Come in", a muffled deep voice spoke behind the door, and I walked in.
A tall, muscular man with black-haired and light skin wearing a formal shirt, tie and pants was sitting at his desk and reviewing with wire glasses on
"Guild leader-" I started, but got cut off
"Just call me Alaric… It's after hours and don't worry, I know about why you are reporting late and someone already debriefed me about the new dungeons" he explained, looking up from his paper "so what happened in the gate?"
I told him about what happened, and he nodded along.
"It's good that you took him to the hospital, good job", he complimented me, and I smiled a little
"What was his name again?"
"Ambrose"
Then suddenly, he froze and looked like he had spaced out
"Uh… Alaric?" I called out, and that seemed to help him snap out
"Ambrose, huh?" I heard him muttering to himself, putting his hand on his mouth
I looked at him confused and asked, "Is he someone you know? Or is he the person you're looking for?"
I mean… this guy literally made this guild, which also became the strongest, just so that he can find a person he can't remember…
If Ambrose is that person, then-
"I'm not sure, I'll have to meet with him", Alaric cut me off
"He gets discharged in a minimum of 3 days", I replied
"That's too soon", he looked confused
I nodded, "Yeah… seems like he has a healing skill, but I'm not sure"
"he also has a boutique in Seoul, which is not that famous but quite popular", I continued.
"Mhm, alright, guess I'll have to go there, give him flowers", Alaric remarked
"What? Why?" Now it was my turn to be confused
"Well, he did save your life, and I want to meet him, it's a good excuse", he shrugged and smirked.
I sighed
"I'll be leaving then, bye Alaric" I turned to leave.
"Alright, rest well", Alaric said as I walked towards the door.
I opened the door and turned to him, "Good night", and with that, I left.
When I reached home, I took a hot bath and relaxed.
He's fine
He won't die
He won't leave you like the rest
He understands-
I sobbed, I'm pathetic- it was my job as a higher rank than him, to make sure he doesn't get hurt, but I blew it!
I aggressively splashed the water with my hand and sobbed more with my hands covering my face.
I'm so tired… I want to sleep…
___
Ambrose's POV
It hurts so bad…
Well, thankfully, my fast healing worked immediately.
But… how am I going to explain my fast healing…
"Agh..." I groaned as another surge of pain came from my stomach
I get a lot of pain when I heal…
I tried to sit up and lean against the bed, then a nurse helped me sit.
"Mr. Ambrose, you're finally awake", the nurse exclaimed
"H-How… long?" I asked, coughing, and my voice was raspy
The nurse gave me a glass of water and said, "You've been asleep for 6 hours after the surgery" I listened and nodded.
"Just to be sure, do you have any healing skills?" She asked
Damn it… Why did she ask…
I drank the water, then looked at her.
"It's a part of my skill", I explained to her that my skill 'blood manipulation' heals me from injuries… which is far from the truth. I was experimented on 435 years ago, and that experimentation led to me not being able to die.
The nurse nodded and asked, "I see, you have an effective skill, Mr. Ambrose. Are you a hunter by any chance?"
"I was, now I'm a Gatekeeper", I replied
Her expression became perplexed, and she started speaking to me in an annoyed tone, "You know how much hunters get? Why have you become a gatekeeper? At this point, you're only helping yourself" She rolled her eyes and got up.
"I thought you were a hunter working in Lee Hyoon's guild… turns out you're just a gatekeeper, who was luckily his partner" She got more annoyed.
"I just don't get why we have to save people like you, you don't even do dungeons, only think about yourself! You should be grateful that someone like Lee Hayoon, who is ranked 6 on the Rank board, saved you, and with that, she left.
I'm not surprised that she spoke to me like that… it's common behaviour towards gatekeepers… even if the branch tells people again and again that gatekeepers help as much as hunters, people will not get it…
But I don't regret being a gatekeeper…
Back then, when hunter's retired we used to call them Gatekeepers and they were given gifts and cards by people to thank them for their sacrifices…
Now people criticise those who don't want to do dungeons, calling them selfish and weak… even to those who already retire, maybe that's why retired hunters are coming back, and the public also wants the previous Rank no. 1 to come back…
I sighed and looked around, and it was a white hospital room…
Sigh, I hate hospitals…and on top of that, I had an operation…
"011"
I look up
white cloaks…
Their clipboards…
The others scream every night.
Sometimes I hallucinate their screams…
Some nights I scream-
"Today is your operation"
I don't say anything.
I don't want to speak.
I want to live in this place.
Why did they do this to me?
Why didn't they let me die?
Why can't I kill myself?
I saw the person leaving, and I could feel myself smiling, and I started chuckling.
They did this to me
They tortured me… with those experiments and operations.
I took shaky breaths, I could feel my mind going blank.
Then I started crying and felt unable to breathe.
What is happening?
I flinched as I felt tears go down my cheeks, and I wiped them.
I need to stop myself from getting flashbacks.
⌈System notification⌋
Sigh... What now?
⌈Congratulations!
You have cleared the Gate.
Rewards: Tiger tooth x1
Monster stone x 10
Magic stone x 10
Crystal x 10 ⌋
Ah, the rewards from the gate… I forgot
I sat there and looked at the reward and accepted it, putting it in my inventory…
I'll sell the Monster stones and maybe use the crystals and Magic stones for my outfits.
I looked out the window and saw it was night, the hospital is pretty quiet today… It's relaxing
I should sleep, it's late… I wonder how Lee Hayoon is doing.
___
In the morning, I woke up and after eating and all the checkups, I lay on my bed.
knock knock
Was it the nurse at the door?
"Come in…" I weakly replied. my voice became raspy and dry because I hadn't used it for hours now.
Lee Hayoon opened the door, and I was surprised… I didn't think he'd come to visit.
"Ambrose!" he exclaimed, and he sat beside me.
"I'm sorry", he apologised, looking down.
"It's not your fault…" I coughed out, and Lee Hayoon looked at me worried
I didn't want him to feel bad… not when I can't die…
"But-"
"No… buts… listen, it's not your fault… I didn't die," I cut him off
"But you could have! I don't want you to die!" Lee Hayoon exclaimed, "Please don't undermine your life!"
Sigh… after living for so many years, it has become a habit…
"Huh?" he looked at me as I patted his head… I admit, his hair is soft, just like Layla's fur...
"Listen, if you want to make it up to me, then promise, you will always keep your guard up, ok?"
"Ok… I promise"
"Uhm…I wanted to ask-"
Lee Hayoon's eyes became unfocused
"Uhm… can you wait? I have some messages," he explained
I nodded, "Sure"
And with that, he went out of the room
I opened my inventory and removed the gem.
Huh… it looked pretty… but the description was interesting, to say the least.
There isn't any item like this… maybe I should tell Kim Harin about
knock knock
It must be Lee Hayoon
"Come in", I said, and put the gem back in my inventory
Lee Hayoon peeked through the door and smiled awkwardly at me "Um... so my guild just called me for a few dungeon runs, so... I'll see you later", he explained.
"Alright, be careful," I smiled
"Alright, get well soon," he smiled back, and with that, he left
There are 4 major Guilds: Lang Yao Ge, Gandhyeol, Mukgeom, and Munjin.
It is the strongest, I think it's Mukgeom.
___
After three days of staying in the hospital, I can finally leave.
In those three days, Lee Hayoon came every day to check up on me and also got my clothes and all from my apartment, even if they were short visits… It was nice
I packed up and was going to leave, but someone knocked on my door.
"Come in", I said, looking at the door
A woman opened the door, she had blue and green eyes, brown hair-
"What do you want, Kim Harin?" I asked
"I was just looking for my smoking buddy, you know, since he called me himself", she replied, sarcastically.
I reviewed my notebook today… didn't I write down- Ah...
I stood up, "I forgot…I want you to look for something for me-"
"I will, but what happened to you?" she asked, cutting me off
"Nothing, just got injured at a gate"
"You wouldn't come to a hospital if you were injured"
"I got injured trying to save someone-"
"Who"
"Lee Hayoon"
She looked at me, "That kid? He was your partner? He got you here?"
"Yes"
"Ok, tell me later what happened" she sighed "What do you want me to look for you?"
I took out the gem and showed her "This" She looked at the gem, and her eyes widened.
"The description-"
"Yes, that's why I want you to look into it", I quickly cut her off; I don't want anyone hearing.
"...fine", she put the gem in her inventory.
"Where did you find it?" she asked
"The gate", I replied
She looked at me deadpan and said, "You owe me a cigarette"
"Mhm, I'll make sure to give you the best one"
She smiled and snickered
Then she hesitated, but then said, "Anyway, the assistant director wanted to speak with you" She leaned against the wall.
I looked at her and asked, "To return as number 1?"
"Not necessarily number 1, but in the top 10", she replied
"You know my answer"
"Yeah… I know, just saying… if you change your mind, then call me"
"Sure"
And with that, she left.
Kim Harin, her system name was Geulimja… she was my team member We dungeons together along with Cheong Su-Jin…
I shook my head- it was best not to see that memory…
⌈Messages from Leee⌋
I clicked on the message.
⌈ Leee: Sorry, can't come today to drop
You're at your apartment
Leee: Got a dungeon to finish
Leee: Wait, you have a shop, right?
Leee: Can you tell me your timings?
Leee: I'll see if I can come. ⌋
This kid… can't he send one continuous message?
⌈ Leee: Sorry, can't come today to drop
You're at your apartment
Leee: Got a dungeon to finish
Leee: Wait… you have a shop, right?
Leee: Can you tell me your timings?
Leee: I'll see if I can come
AD: It's alright, my shop is open from
9 am to 5 pm most time
And you're free to come anytime
Leee: Really? Thanks man!
Leee: I'll come today
AD: That's fine. Bye, and good luck with
your dungeon run
Leee: Thanks, see you later, gtg
AD: See you later. ⌋
I close the message tab… I wonder what he's going to buy from my shop.
I took my bags and left the hospital on my motorcycle.