Chapter 32: Kai

Kei’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

"If there’s truly no other way... break the space stone."

Ular tightened his lips. He still didn’t understand why Kei had said that, but at this point he no longer thought it was just a casual remark. Could this young Craftsman actually sense the danger that Guild Black Rose and this city of Dong-San were facing?

"So what do you mean?"

Ular looked up at Yudian.

Yudian stared at his younger brother for a long while, then turned around and switched off the warning charts on the screen. The red light still reflected on his face.

"Notify all hunters of Guild Black Rose."

Yudian’s voice rang out slowly but with heavy weight.

"For the next three months, use every means to strengthen their combat power."

Ular’s eyes widened.

"Three months? We only have three months to prepare?"

"No."

Yudian looked straight at him.

"We only have three months before the situation spirals beyond control."

He turned back to look at the B-rank Dungeon gate displayed on the screen.

"Three months from now, we will settle this Dungeon."

Yudian paused, and each following word rang out like a declaration of war.

"Once and for all."

...

Kei had no idea about Yudian and Ular’s fierce determination. He happily headed home, and on the way back, spotting a supermarket with a discount promotion, he dropped in.

Kei cheerfully picked out items in the supermarket. He had gradually adapted to the modern life of this world. In fact, influenced by Mrs. Kim Hye Ji and the energetic girl Kim Sora, Kei felt he had come to especially enjoy the feeling of living the life of ordinary humans.

However, as Kei was standing at the meat counter choosing beef, a massive chest blocked his path.

Kei startled and stepped back, looking up to see who was blocking him, only to suddenly come face to face with a pair of arrogant vertical yellow pupils.

Kei’s whole body trembled. From his memories, it seemed another pair of vertical yellow pupils had come to life, overlapping with the eyes of the black-haired, yellow-eyed man with a face as beautiful as a sculpture standing before him.

But then Kei’s expression darkened. He told himself it was impossible. The little black dragon in Kei’s memories had died a long time ago. Because it protected Kei, it had closed its eyes and breathed its last breath in his arms.

He simply stood still at the meat counter, watching the man before him with a wary gaze.

The other man said nothing. His vertical yellow eyes continued looking down at Kei, showing no attempt to hide his cold appraisal. His tall frame nearly blocked out all the lights behind him, making Kei feel as though he were being stopped by a massive wall.

"Excuse me."

Kei spoke first. He shifted his body, intending to go around the man to grab the discounted beef. But the man also stepped to the side.

Kei stopped.

The other man moved to the other side, blocking his path so naturally it was almost deliberate.

The corner of Kei’s mouth twitched slightly.

"What are you doing?"

"You have a very strange smell."

A deep voice rang out. Not loud, but every syllable carried a pressure that made the people picking groceries nearby instinctively fall silent.

Kei tightened his grip on the shopping cart in his hand.

"This is a supermarket. There are plenty of strange smells here. Are you implying I stink? That’s a bit rude."

"It’s not the smell of food."

The man’s yellow eyes narrowed slightly.

"It’s the smell of magic power. Wait... what is magic power?"

He muttered as if his thoughts were in disarray, saying words he himself didn’t understand, but Kei understood them very clearly.

Kei’s heart pounded hard.

He immediately withdrew all the magic power fluctuations radiating outward, while taking another half step back. But that action didn’t escape the other’s eyes.

A sharp glint flashed within those vertical pupils.

"You do have magic power, don’t you? But wait... what is magic power actually..."

Kei didn’t answer.

He looked the man over from head to toe.There were no signs of an ordinary human hunter. The energy around him was too dense, and his body also gave off an inexplicable sense of overwhelming pressure. More importantly, those eyes made Kei’s instincts scream nonstop.

Not a human, this guy is a non-human!

"You’ve got the wrong person. I don’t understand what you mean by magic power or whatever. I’m just a freshly awakened F-rank Craftsman."

Kei said calmly, then turned around to leave.

This time, the man didn’t stop him. But just as Kei took a few steps, the voice from behind rang out again.

"Kei."

His footsteps froze.

The air around him seemed to suddenly grow cold.

Kei slowly turned his head back. The black-haired man was still standing by the meat counter, holding a tray of beef that he had apparently picked up at some point. He looked at Kei with a calm gaze, as if knowing his name was completely natural.

"You know my name?"

"I do."

"Have we met before?"

The man didn’t answer right away. He lowered his head to look at the tray of meat in his hand, seemingly pondering which part to choose. That serious expression was completely out of place with the tense atmosphere between the two.

After a moment, he finally looked up.

"Perhaps I know, but I can’t recall?"

The vague answer made Kei even more wary.

He didn’t remember ever meeting this man in the current world. As for the old world... Kei didn’t dare to think further. If it really was that person, if it really was the black dragon that once stayed by his side, then why would he appear here? Why would he take the form of a grown human?

And why didn’t he recognize him?

For a moment, Kei felt a panic stirring in his chest, and his voice trembled.

"What’s your name?"

Kei asked.

The man looked straight into his eyes. In that instant, the vertical yellow pupils overlapped with the image of a dying little dragon in his memories.

Kei heard the faint breathing from years past. Felt the small chest growing cold in his arms. He closed his eyes, forcing that memory to sink down.

"My name... is Kai. They all call me Kai."