79 – Hunters and Hunters (1)
“Cool, cool.”
Hong Da-yeon spat out blood with a bluish face.
Reddish blood gushed out.
I moved her hand and closed it tight to stop the bleeding.
Stains of sticky blood stained Hong Da-yeon’s hands.
“Ah.”
Seeing that sight, Mina bit her lip and shook her shoulder.
Clenching her fists, she threw her armies to pieces. It seemed that she did not want to see this spectacle any longer. Considering her Mina personality, she was only natural.
But she just stood still, not helping Hong Da-yeon or threatening Ye-rin.
“Why, why…… ? Why…… ?”
Suddenly Hong Da-yeon looked up at us with her empty eyes and muttered.
I crushed her paper cup with a bitter expression.
“Why, Mr. Dayeon? You used your powers against us.”
“Ah, ah…… ?”
“I hoped not to. I couldn’t help it.”
“That, that, cool, how…… ?”
She let out a deep sigh and dropped her paper cup to the ground, which she trampled on several times.
Poison-soaked droplets splattered on the ground.
“Dayeon’s awakening ability, poison manipulation, right?”
“…… !”
I wiped off the water from my shoes and floated my luck.
Dayeon Hong’s toxin manipulation.
This is the ability to create toxins in the body and release them to the outside.
Of course, it couldn’t produce deadly poison or emit it at a long distance, so it was very impractical, but it was possible to create paralytic poison.
Dayeon Hong handed it to us with paralysis poison in a paper cup.
It was difficult to identify with the naked eye because the poison was transparent in color, but I was able to determine whether Hong Da-yeon had used her ability or not by using her absorption ability.
The result is…… Ha. f*ck.
Dayeon Hong used her awakening ability.
She couldn’t let her go until she confirmed the use of her awakening ability.
“Teacher.”
Suddenly, Yerin pulled my sleeve slightly.
She gestured toward the outside of the door.
There have been guys who have been secretly spying on me.
Is it time to move slowly?
I thought Hong Da-yeon would come out now that she was incapacitated.
“Yes. Okay.”
“Yes.”
I was very taken aback by Yerin’s act of suddenly stabbing Hong Dayeon, but I did not deny Yerin’s behavior itself.
That’s probably because Hong Da-yeon attacked first.
Party members who used their abilities with malice were subject to immediate punishment.
Treachery inside the tower was a serious crime that would be difficult to tolerate under any circumstances.
“There are three of them. Come out right now.”
Then why did Dayeon Hong suddenly try to neutralize us with paralysis poison?
Hong Da-yeon If you were alone, it would be difficult to return with these trophies.
The reason is obvious.
Because Hong Da-yeon was not alone.
“Come out when I have something nice to say.”
Yerin grabbed Hong Dayeon’s hair with her rough hands and thrust the knife into her neck. Hong Da-yeon tried to resist her by letting out her shrieking screams, but she couldn’t escape Ye-rin’s touch.
“Come out? Before he dies.”
“Yes, Yerin… ….”
“Why?”
“…… No, nothing.”
Yerin’s behavior, as if holding Hong Da-yeon hostage, did not seem right to Mina, but because she was well aware of the current situation, she calmed her dissatisfaction by biting her lips without saying anything.
‘Yerin is playing a bad role.’
It was a bit rough, but it was necessary to some degree.
Because we are now targeted by Scavengers.
“Ah, what is it? Hong Da-yeon, that stupid b*tch. Why are you puffy?”
“f*ck. Are you embarrassed to be caught by chicks?”
“I wanted to get some money comfortably after a long time.”
Three men and women appeared.
It was a mixed group consisting of two men and one woman.
“This person. Are you frakchi?”
Yerin grabbed Hong Da-yeon’s hair a little more roughly.
Da-yeon Hong frowned at her and squeezed her wound tightly.
The idea was to stop her bleeding by compressing her wound.
However, the blood flowed endlessly.
“Well, it’s not like that.”
A man who is estimated to be in his mid-thirties shrugged his shoulders lightly and gave a quick reply. Despite Hong Da-yeon’s obsession, he remained unconcerned. He deserved it. Because Hong Da-yeon was her bait, not her colleague.
“…… Scavenger.”
Mina muttered quietly.
“You guys…… Do you like killing other people and stealing their loot?”
“Huh? Oh, yes. It’s comfortable They’re all doing it to make money.”
The man in his thirties smirked.
“Is it hard to hunt monsters in this world? It’s a lot easier to rob other hunters and steal their loot. Hunters have a lot of expensive equipment, so it’s quite nice.”
“… ….”
“Well, beating the heads of kids who ask for help is kind of fun.”
“…… Trash.”
The man chuckled as he turned his pistol round and round, and Mina spat out her swear words with her brow twisted in an unusual way.
She had never heard Mina’s swear words before, so she was a little different.
You mean that man’s behavior is unacceptable?
Well, Mina became a hunter to save people from long ago.
‘Hong Da-yeon ended up being a bit uncomfortable, but I don’t hide my hostility towards that guy.’
Perhaps it was because she had told Mina about Hong Da-yeon’s situation to some extent, she seemed to feel uncomfortable with Hong Day-yeon even though she sympathized with her a little.
‘A scavenger anyway… ….’
Scavenger.
A slang term for a hunter who causes crime.
Most of the scavengers kill and trample others in order to solve their personal greed and desire.
To steal loot, to accept an assassination request, because it’s fun to hurt people, etc.
There are many reasons, but they were unburnt garbage that calmly committed unacceptable crimes.
‘All three of them are C-rank hunters.’
It was something I had already mastered through dreams.
I knew everything about each equipment, compatibility, and ability.
All the names and places of origin of the three of them.
“Hong Da-yeon, that b*tch was exposed like an asshole, so things got complicated for no reason.”
A woman grumbled as she crossed her arms disgruntled behind a man in her thirties.
“Dayeon Hong tried to attack us after feeding us the paralysis poison, but things didn’t go well?”
“What is it? I know you well.”
At Yerin’s sarcastic remark, the man in his thirties smiled and nodded.
They also seemed to have information about us already.
However, judging from how relaxed she was, she seemed to have no idea of Yerin’s abilities.
‘Do you think of Yerin as just a D-rank hunter with good skills?’
I could understand to some extent why they maintained a relaxed attitude in a situation where they had to engage in an all-out war.
Basically, our party ranks lower than them.
One rank E, two rank D.
At the same time, the party over there was three C ranks.
From C rank, there was a tendency to treat it as an area of talent and treat D rank as the deep sea, so we showed confidence that we could easily defeat it.
Also, we’ve been attacking secret passages almost non-stop until now.
Subdued countless golems, avoided traps, and caught boss mobs.
Unlike us, who consumed a lot of stamina and abilities, they were in full condition.
And it seemed that he had some knowledge of our armed status, tactics, and capabilities.
‘They seem to think they’ve already caught the fish.’
I slowly clenched my fists.
“Oh, and taking her hostage is useless, so kill her or not, do whatever you want.”
The man in his thirties glanced at Hong Da-yeon and simply waved his hand.
“I was going to throw it away anyway.”
I know why Dayeon Hong became one of them.
Da-yeon Hong owes a lot by using private loans, and while she is having a hard time every day due to snowballing debts and illegal collections, the man who came to him as a creditor dragged her in on the condition that he reduce the interest to some extent. Because.
Hong Da-yeon had no choice but to help the scavenger party in order to pay off her mother’s hospital bills and the huge interest from the loan company. Because she usually acted as a reliable porter, it would have been easier for her to fool people.
‘…… After all, why were these guys? Bad luck.’
That scavenger party killed and played with new hunters half for profit and half for fun. It is truly human garbage.
‘But that doesn’t mean Hong Da-yeon’s faults will go away.’
Hong Dayeon herself is well aware that this is something she does not want. She
She is also well aware that she belongs to the scavenger crowd to cover her mother’s hospital bills and pay off her interest.
However, what about the hunters who have been sacrificed by Hong Da-yeon so far?
No matter what the circumstances were, as long as there were victims who were killed because of Dayeon Hong, she was a scavenger with no room for excuses.
For her mother, for the hospital bills, the words were a sin that could never be exonerated.
‘Still, she would have helped a little if Hong Da-yeon had tipped us at least a little… ….’
She clearly understood in her head that Hong Da-yeon was a scavenger who cheated and profited from others, but she wanted to give at least some help.
I was willing to pay for her mother’s hospital bills if she paid for her crime later.
Because she was helped by Dayeon Hong in the old days.
She was a little help, but thanks to her that day she was able to adapt to porter work.
So, when she posted a porter announcement, she deliberately chose her Hong Da-yeon.
Hopefully Hong Da-yeon will make a slightly different choice.
‘Of course, there is no way Hong Da-yeon, who had deceived others and poisoned others until now, would suddenly change her mind…… She thought that seeing these billions of loot might change her mind a bit.’
We said that we would divide this enormous loot into quarters, but Hong Da-yeon, who serves as the bait for the scavenger party, will not receive a proper reward.
No, it might have been something Hong Da-yeon had done to reduce her mouth even a little.
Hong Da-yeon must have been well aware of that fact.
But in the end, Dayeon Hong chose to make us the scapegoat, keeping her mouth shut.
It seems that our party did not live up to Hong Da-yeon’s expectations.
I could have been afraid to tell you that I was a scavenger, or I could have thought that our party couldn’t stand them.
Actually, revealing my telekinesis ability was effective in attracting Da-yeon Hong a little more firmly.
With this telekinesis ability, which has the strength of B to A ranks, you should have been confident that you would be able to defeat them without difficulty.
However, I did not reveal my telekinetic abilities.
Because this telekinesis ability was always a contingency plan.
The safety of Yerin and Mina was much more important to me than Dayeon Hong.
It was self-evident that if they were to discover their telekinesis abilities in advance, they would not have revealed themselves so obediently, and they would gradually pressure us until the moment we got out of the tower.
They are C-rank scavengers and experienced veterans.
No matter how much Yerin was there, it was impossible to be unnecessarily vigilant.
As long as I asked Mina and Yerin for their understanding and brought in Hong Dayeon, I had an obligation to protect them as much as possible.
I couldn’t reveal my telekinesis ability to Hong Da-yeon even for their safety.
‘By the way, these guys…’
I glanced away.
I saw them.
Before inviting Hong Da-yeon as a porter, he mentioned to them in advance that Hong Da-yeon could be a scavenger.
In Ye-rin’s case, she accepted Da-yeon Hong as her porter without much opposition. No, it was rather good, she nodded. He noticed that fighting between hunters would naturally happen as he climbed the tower, but he wanted to experience a person-to-person battle in advance.
In Mina’s case, she seemed to accept it with the thought that she couldn’t let a scavenger like Hong Da-yeon wander around on her own. Because of her anxiety element called Hong Da-yeon, she was a bit squeamish, but even though she was able to escape alone during the Chok-Gwi incident, considering Mina’s character who fought against the Chok-Gwi, it was a decision she couldn’t understand. It wasn’t.
If you were like normal hunters, you would have yelled at them, asking why you brought such dangerous elements into the party.
But that’s the same for me too.
It is true that I hired her as her porter to help her Hong Da-yeon even a little bit, but the underlying reason behind her was to gain practical experience with her hunters.
Since she already knew about the scavenger party Hong Da-yeon belongs to, she was confident to deal with them without much risk.
As Yerin said, if she climbed the tower in the future, she would become the target of numerous scavengers, but it wasn’t bad for her to experience a person-to-person battle beforehand.
If the opponent was a criminal, that is, a scavenger, he could fight sincerely without needing to control his strength.
Just as they tried to fish us with her Hong Dayeon as bait, I also caught them with Hong Dayeon as bait.
The goals were different, but in the end, the actions were the same.
Knock down each other’s parties.
‘…… I’m not crazy either.’
It was an act I would never have dared to imagine in the past.
I knew their strength, but to think of hunting C-rank veteran hunters in reverse.
I was a little unfamiliar with my actions to fight criminals without hesitation under the name of actual combat experience.
That’s even while taking Mina and Yerin, taking some risks.
‘Is it the effect of the memory in the dream or is it because I want to say that I have gained some strength?’
Maybe it could be both.
“Okay. Then, without a long thought, shall we play? Ah. Don’t be too nervous, I’ll kill you.”
“That sucks.”
At the words of a man in his thirties who seemed very relaxed, I spat out a swear word.
“Crow cub, don’t brush your teeth for nothing.”
From noble mtl dot com
“Ah, that’s too much, really.”
Crow is a slang term for a scavenger.
It is often used among hunters.
“Then I will deal with the two of you. Please deal with one teacher.”
Yerin naturally said that she would be in charge of the two.
The scavengers stared at Ye-rin with bewildered eyes, but she only stepped forward confidently.
“It may not be enough for the teacher’s training opponent, but it is important to gain practical experience in interpersonal battles.”
“Wow, f*ck. What are you hearing from a D-rank brat?”
“Isn’t it because you look like dog sh*t? But since I’m being treated like a wholesaler, it’s a little pissed off.”
“That gray-haired b*tch, that’s my taste. Do you like it.”
“f*ck you. Do you like Lori? It’s disgusting.”
“What? He’s an adult, you idiot.”
They are grumbling among themselves.
Does that mean she is confident in her own skills?
Well, that’s why he showed himself proudly like this.
Since all of them were veteran C-rank hunters, I could fully understand their relaxed appearance.
“Yerin… ….”
“Huh? What’s the matter?”
Mina quietly raised her voice before Yerin took another step forward.
“I can deal with at least one person.”
“Why?”
Yerin blinked her eyes as if she hadn’t assumed Mina in the first place.
“I am also one of the party members. In the first place, she heard what her brother had to say about her scavenger and after contemplating it, she came with some determination.”
“But those guys are C rank hunters?”
She wasn’t trying to drug Mina, but when she looked at it objectively, it was unavoidable that she lacked Mina a bit.
She is still in a situation where she lacks experience and lacks ability.
On the other hand, they are scavengers who have hunted hunters for a long time.
She was well aware that Mina was strong among D-rank hunters, but she could be a bit dangerous.
“I’m not doing this without thinking. I am confident.”
Mina asserted herself intensely, clutching her bowstring.
“I can’t leave that scavenger alone. So it won’t get in the way. Leave at least one to me.”
“…… But what should I do, sir?”
“Minaya. Are you really okay?”
I spoke to Mina with a little worry.
Mina vigorously nodded her head and replied vigorously.
“Yes. Brother.”
“…… Okay. You must have thought of something.”
After scratching my temple once, I kindly gave permission.
She didn’t expect Mina to react like this, so she was a little embarrassed, but she remembered that when she used the bow, Mina was quite powerful.
“Good, good. Are you done talking? Then let’s do it for a long time. Being one-on-one…… Well, I don’t really recommend it, but I’ll take care of it if you guys want it.”
“… ….”
Why is that bastard so relaxed?
It’s kind of annoying.
“Then can I deal with that guy?”
“No, I will.”
“Teacher?”
“Yes.”
I put Yerin behind her and put her foot down.
At some point, it seemed like we were facing each other with that man.
The man kicked and twirled his pistol and knife with one laugh.
An anti-hunter specification armament. It specializes in killing hunters rather than killing monsters. The protective clothing also seemed to have a special enchantment that blocks the hunter’s abilities to some extent. All of those things seem expensive, but it’s a lot of money. Did you kill and rob other hunters, or did you buy and sell the loot you robbed?
“Are your ability buffs and debuffs correct?”
“…… I know that.”
“Sure. Because the background check is basic. Well, I know you know Jihyun Lee to some extent, but no one knows what happens inside the tower.”
“…… Okay. I guess.”
The interior of the tower, out of reach of public authorities.
This was a jungle of the jungle.
It’s not like joining a clan with a party with high credibility.
A trustworthy team member was an indispensable factor in attacking the tower to prevent these idiots from acting hastily.
“Well, good. We must have had a lot of chatter, shall we begin soon?”
The man grinned and sparked a spark from his finger.
That man’s name is Oh Seung-yeon.
He has the ability to awaken electromagnetic interference.
Various applications are possible, such as controlling current and magnetic force.
In my dream, I could say that I was a talented person who reached the B rank.
As long as it’s B rank, you can get treatment no matter which clan you go to, and you’ll be treated immediately. Excluding the 4 major clans, it is safe to say that he is in fact the ace of one clan.
…… Well, it’s all in the future.
It’s stronger than a normal C-rank hunter, but it’s still inferior to a B-rank hunter. It would be reasonable to think of him as a slightly stronger C-rank hunter now.
‘Okay then… ….’
I reached out to Seungyeon Oh before he could move.
Now that I’ve already done a preliminary research on myself, and I’m not paying attention to myself as a support person, this gap was my chance.
‘In Yerin’s case, she evaded my telekinetic ability without much difficulty.’
Based on the experience of interpersonal warfare with Yerin, she gradually gathered her psychokinesis abilities.
‘I always told you that the activation time of the telekinesis ability is slow, and that it is not difficult to avoid it if you grasp the magic flow… ….’
The advantage of the telekinesis ability is the ‘invisible’ ranged attack.
However, after understanding the flow of her magical power, Yerin avoided all of my attacks by taking advantage of the brief gap in which her psychokinesis was activated.
I don’t know if Oh Seung-yeon is capable of such feats, but in any case, he is a talented person who can reach the B rank in the future. Therefore, he cannot be careless.
‘Let’s induce evasion by lightly using the telekinesis ability, then try to take advantage of the gaps with personal firearms.’
I wouldn’t lose to Oh Seung-yeon, but I didn’t think I would win easily.
Because Yerin defeated me without even using her awakening ability.
“Aren’t you coming? Shall I go first?”
“… ….”
Oh Seung-yeon moved an electric current and focused it on his right hand and tried to pour it down on me, and I quickly restrained Oh using my telekinesis ability.
“Ok?!”
In that moment, Oh Seung-yeon’s right arm was bent backwards. Oh Seung-yeon cast a puzzled gaze. In her right arm, which turned opposite her, her white bone protruded. Oh Seung-yeon let out a scream in her pain.
“Sir, sir, baaar?! f*ck off, evil?! What is this…… ?!”
“?”
I moved my intangible power and pressed Oh Seung-yeon’s whole body.
Oh Seung-yeon’s whole body began to distort like a sheet of paper.
His arms are broken, his legs are broken, his teeth are falling out… ….
In that moment, I thought that this was enough, and I released my telekinesis ability.
Oh Seung-yeon fell down with his whole body twisted.
“Mr., f*ck, moo, ugh, big, ugh.”
That’s it.
Oh Seung-yeon passed out, regurgitating blood.
“Wow! Teacher is great.”
“Yeah, as expected, my brother.”
Yerin, who had been watching the scene, cheered me on with a smile, and Mina trembled in admiration, as if recalling the image of me knocking down her tentacles.
“…… No, wait.”
I looked at Yerin as if I was dumbfounded.
“Why can’t he avoid his psychokinesis?”
“Yes? How do you avoid an invisible attack, sir?”
Yerin answered with a smile.