Chapter 64: |
The morning after the kidnapping incident was resolved.
♬~ ♩♪~♪
Seonwoo Yeon moved her hand when she heard the bell ringing in her pocket.
“Hello?”
When she answered the phone, she heard a familiar voice coming through the receiver.
-I called because there was a missed call.
It’s Kim Kiryeo’s voice.
But a missed call? Seonwoo Yeon thought for a moment, recalling a previous incident. Ah, right, there was a time when she briefly called this person while talking to Ahn Yoonseung.
“Aah, that call.”
“It wasn’t anything special. I’m sorry for bothering you for no reason.”
As Seonwoo Yeon politely apologized, a sudden thought crossed her mind, and she voiced it aloud.
“But I called two days ago, did you happen to go in and out of any gates?”
Isn’t it too long of a time to think that he missed a call just because he forgot to charge his phone?
-No, I was briefly kidnapped.
However, the following response was shocking. Kidnapped. It was not a word one would expect to come up in ordinary conversation.
“Yes? What did you say?”
-I was kidnapped. But I’m okay now. I just got back all my belongings.
“No, please tell me more. Where were you kidnapped?”
Seonwoo Yeon was shocked and urged, but the kidnapped person himself didn’t seem very interested in this topic.
-It’s already over…
“But still!”
-It’s a Rakshasa temple.
“Yes?”
-I came out from that terrorist hideout you told me about.
Rakshasa Temple had targeted Kim Kiryeo. There were a lot of things she wanted to ask, but Seonwoo Yeon prioritized this question.
“A, are you feeling okay?”
At that moment, there was a sound of wind over the microphone on the other end of the line. It was unclear whether the person on the other end was laughing or sighing.
-My body is fine.
Seonwoo Yeon felt a little relieved after hearing his confirmation. But then.
– I’m glad it wasn’t anything urgent. I’ll hang up for now then.
“Huh? Wait a second.”
-I might be busy today, so I may not be able to answer calls. If you have something to say, please leave a text message.
Tuk.
The other party hung up the call. Seonwoo Yeon stared blankly at the black cellphone screen and muttered softly.
“What on earth happened…?”
There are still many things she is curious about, though. However, it is impossible to ask a person in detail when he is busy. Seonwoo Yeon had no choice but to find another way. Since she was on good terms with many police officers, it wasn’t difficult to gather information about what Kim Kiryeo mentioned.
“Hello? Detective Cha, this is Seonwoo Yeon. I called because I have something to ask you.”
However, she didn’t expect the outcome of that incident to be like this.
“…Did it fall apart?”
Soon, news arrived from the police.
-Yes, yes. Since the news will come out soon anyway, I’ll just tell you.
Pseudo-religious Rakshasa Temple. One of its senior members was arrested last night in an emergency operation. However, the circumstances leading up to the arrest are quite extraordinary.
Rakshasa Temple operates in a way similar to a clandestine organization, making it very skilled at covering its tracks, which has made it extremely difficult to trace its whereabouts. For some reason, it is said that Kang Changho attacked the Teacher Dae’s hiding place.
So when asked how Kang Changho knew about the location, it was said that he was only going to rescue Kim Kiryeo. On the contrary, Kim Kiryeo claimed that he knew nothing because he was a kidnapping victim…
“Haa.”
The testimony of the surviving indoctrinator here plays a crucial role. The man, who worked as a supplier of Rakshasa Temple’s believers, caused a stir during the trial when Kim Kiryeo’s name was mentioned.
“He’s trembling greatly?”
-It was very chaotic. He was calling him a complete demon in human skin, making a huge fuss about it.
“Isn’t it a bit strange? Why would he be so scared after seeing the person he tortured?”
-He says this was all planned by that F-Class person. Did he intentionally get caught to infiltrate the cult?
“….”
-Hahaha, but does that even make sense? Honestly, who knows when he’ll be abducted while just living his life.
“….”
-Anyway, he’s just making a fuss. The victim was also shocked, asking what nonsense it was.
Seonwoo Yeon drops the hand holding the cell phone.
-Hunter Seonwoo Yeon?
In her mind, a scene from a summer night passed by. Under the faint moonlight, a clean-cut figure of an awakened person, looking down at others while wearing handcuffs.
“Thank you for your time despite your busy schedule.”
-Phew, it’s nothing. How could I forget the help I received from Hunter Seonwoo Yeon?
Tuk.
“Hunter Kim Kiryeo, no way…”
Her nervous face was reflected through the turned off screen.
***
Around 11 a.m.
A cafe near Sindorim Station.
“Please give me a vanilla latte without coffee.”
“Yes?”
“And an extra glass of iced Americano.”
For Alphauri people, a coffee shop is not a welcoming place. But this time there was no choice. Going to a restaurant with someone like him would end up giving me an upset stomach.
“So, why did you suddenly ask to see me?”
Tak.
As soon as I put down my drink, a short interrogative sentence flows. I looked up to the opposite side. There sat Kang Changho, the S-Class hunter of Korea.
With a physique so large that the café sofa seemed uncomfortable, and hair that was a bluish-purple color. I once wondered why his hair color was so unusual. Earthlings occasionally experience changes in their hair color to a cold shade as a side effect of awakening.
‘Hmm.’
Enough about escaping reality.
“First of all, thank you for meeting me. The reason I called Hunter Kang Changho is because…”
I opened my mouth with difficulty. Kang Changho is watching with his arms crossed.
“I just wanted to say thank you.”
“Huh?”
But I guess the other person didn’t expect me to bring up such a topic, as he quickly widened his eyes in surprise.
“I couldn’t even tell you properly yesterday because I was so busy with the police investigation and all. Thank you very much.”
“Ah.”
Now, let’s get to the point.
“Um, but… I appreciate you rescuing me, but… You were still keeping an eye on me, right? Could you please stop doing that?”
I said seriously.
Kang Changho also saw this attitude and probably sensed that this side was confident, so he didn’t make any lame excuses.
“But I don’t want to?”
But isn’t it a bit too bold to come out like this? This b*stard.
“You don’t want to?”
“Why would I? Thanks to me, you got some help.”
“Are you saying that now? If you keep coming out like this…”
“If I keep coming out like this, what? Are you going to report me?”
Hmm.
The S-Class hunter took a sip of coffee and spoke leisurely.
“Go ahead. I’m an awakened man in my 20s and I’ve been stalked recently. Go tell the police about that.”
How will they deal with it?
Kang Changho gently drew an arc with the corner of his mouth. He had a confident expression.
“This is why I like Korea. The law doesn’t do its job properly.”
“Huh…”
“If you have money, there’s no better country to live in than this.”
When I heard that, annoyance suddenly rose inside me. It’s already frustrating enough to have been reincarnated as an F-Class, but to not even be able to catch one alien stalker like this… So, I couldn’t help but voice my pent-up frustration.
“You have [Improvement], right?”
I had been thinking about that skill ever since I discovered it on pixywiki.
[Improvement]
[Description: Kill a strong person and take away the target’s skills.]
“Otherwise I can’t explain your actions.”
“Is that so?”
“I’m not sure how someone like me, a low-rank, caught your attention, but it seems like you’ve been hovering around with the intention of using me as a sacrifice for your skill improvement.”
“Hmm.”
“The reason you haven’t killed me so far is probably because you weren’t sure if I belonged to the category of ‘strong’ required for your skill improvement.”
The blue-haired S-class hunter remained silent for a long time when the word improvement came out. And it was only after a long time that he spoke again and said the first words.
“Yeah.”
Indeed, it’s a refreshing acknowledgement.
“It’s mostly correct.”
Kang Changho really seems to have the [Improvement].
I got a chill down my spine.
‘Actually, I didn’t really want to know!’
If I knew it would be this scary, I wouldn’t have even tried it. Kang Changho himself confirmed this. It means that I have been targeted for skill theft.
‘Ugh.’
And this wasn’t the only terrible thing.
“Then, the improvement must have been exposed as well. Should I just talk about it now?”
Soon after, the other person started making strange remarks.
“Actually, I’ve had something I wanted to propose to you for a while.”
“A proposal?”
“In times like these, with dungeon shocks and all, it wouldn’t be a bad deal. If this deal goes through, you won’t have to worry about living expenses anymore, and your physical safety will be guaranteed for life.”
Guarantee of life and safety. It’s definitely an appealing statement, but the problem lies in the cost that will follow this.
“Kim Kiryeo, how old are you now?”
“I’m 24 years old.”
“You’re younger than you look, huh?”
During the conversation, Kang Changho suddenly asked for my age, and then immediately uttered the following sentence.
“Then, I will be straightforward.”
There was only one condition of the deal he offered.
“Hunter Kim Kiryeo, is it okay if you die by my hands at the age of 34?”
“….!”
“If you promise me that, I will let you live like a noble as long as you live.”
As soon as I heard that, I broke into a cold sweat.
It had been several months since I escaped from that hellish home planet. I thought I was finally enjoying my new life, but what? Die in just 10 years?
“Kang Changho-ssi, how old are you this year?”
“31.”
“Then, think about it for a moment. Would you want to die in three years if you were in my shoes? 34 is still such a young age!”
I naturally refused the offer. Honestly, I thought it was absurd. But the other person seems to have a slightly different perspective.
“Is this something that makes you jump out of your seat like that?”
Kang Changho looked up at me preparing to leave and spoke calmly.
“In my position, even waiting ten years is a lot, and hunters, after all, have a short life expectancy.”
“Life expectancy?”
“Even those top-tier A-Class can die from just one wrong move against a monster. Are you trying to save money for retirement by working hard in a place like this?”
“….”
“Do you know what will happen in the future?”
“Haa.”
“Rather than that, isn’t it better to enjoy what you can while you’re young? I’ll support you with a minimum of 50 million won each month.”
“….”
“And I’ll provide you with a house, a car, anything you want.”
Kang Changho expressed his thoughts without even changing his facial expression.
“I guarantee you, there will be a line of other lower rank hunters eager to accept this deal.”
Lower rank hunter.
Wow, you said it right.
“Hunter Kang Changho, you’re forgetting something…”
I stopped leaving and sat down on the sofa again.
“The condition for using the improvement is to kill the ‘strong’, right?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m not sure about the exact criteria, but F-Class wouldn’t fit into the category of strong.”
“That’s right.”
“Then it’s settled. I’m truly an F-Class! Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing to gain from killing me.”
I voiced my frustration, but Kang Changho’s response was subtle. He just rested his chin on one hand and rolled his eyes with a sour expression on his face.
“Then how did you attack the Golden Fragrance? The cultists were saying that in the police station. They said they captured you because you were the awakened person who killed Grid.”
I quickly answered that question as well. Capturing Grid was purely a stroke of luck, and the only fault here was slipping on the ice.
It is truly the truth without any lies.
“Hahaha.”
The S-Class hunter laughed out loud as soon as he heard the process of clearing the gate.
“You stumbled, and then the boss died.”
“If you don’t believe me, ask another awakened person in the Golden Fragrance…”
“So, you’re coming out like this.”
Kang Changho looked at me with a smiling face for a while and then said,
“Then how are you holding up now?”
“Yes?”
“Just look around for a moment.”
What do you mean by look around?
I looked away. Only then was I able to understand what the other person was saying.
“Ah.”
The customers, who were sitting there for a while, are now lying unconscious in silence. Moreover, even the cashier at the checkout counter who was far away was frozen with a blue complexion.
That means.
“I slowly increased the intensity from a while ago, but I never thought you would be fine until it got to this point.”
Kang Chang-ho was releasing his magic throughout the conversation. And he did so subtly enough that even a grand magician wouldn’t notice
Damn it.
In my hometown, even newborn children had this much magical power, so I got used to it without even realizing it…!
“You suddenly became quiet, huh?”
Drrrk.
The S-Class hunter asked vaguely, leaning his arms on the table.
“What is your real awakening class?”
To be honest, the answer itself wasn’t difficult. But before that, I need to polish up the sentence a bit.
‘Hey you b*stard! F-Class, it’s an F-Class. How many times can I say that I am a low-rank, you b*stard!’
Because saying something like that will only worsen the situation.
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