Ch.207207. Let’s Analyze the Dark Site

Login/Logout was one of those skills that made me sigh every time I invested points into it—necessary but frustrating.

I had to use it, but seeing how many growth points it consumed always made me sigh. I’d think, “With these points, I could…” but since I rarely spent points conservatively anyway, I always ended up concluding that leveling up Login/Logout was the better choice for immediate needs.

But now that it was at level 4, that feeling of regret had completely disappeared. When I needed to log out to handle matters on Earth and then had to visit the farm again, I no longer had to worry about whether I had enough stacks left. Even during this logout session, I’d already gone back once with Seo Hyoju to film a Q&A, and the 4-day cooldown had quickly refilled, giving me 3 stacks again. So I could log in without hesitation, bringing along the assassin who I suspected was from Dark Site.

Last time, I simply cut their throat, but this time I brought the hunter-like assassin to the farm without killing them. Their ability was reconnaissance, and they were only A-rank, significantly lower than the previous assassins. They didn’t seem like they were here to kill me, more like they were here for surveillance. That’s why I brought them along instead of killing them immediately.

I had quite a few questions of my own.

“Ugh!”

“Keep quiet. How are you supposed to be an assassin if you whine so much about a broken wrist?”

“…”

I actually wanted to do this last time too. I had some questions for that S-rank assassin. I only killed them because we couldn’t communicate, but this time I had learned the dimensional language, so we could talk.

Since the farm wasn’t suitable for this kind of business, I took them west toward the mountains, leaping along the way. At the entrance to a deserted mountain area with no people around, the trembling look in their eyes suggested they had accepted whatever fate awaited them. The fact that they were still shaking meant they still had the will to live.

I kept my grip on their neck while trying to reassure them.

“If you answer my questions properly, I’ll let you live.”

“…”

“At first, I was worried I might have caught an innocent person who was just using a stealth skill. I didn’t want to kill someone because of my own paranoia. But you’re carrying the same thing those assassins from before had, aren’t you?”

I couldn’t understand why these Dark Site guys were so eager to identify themselves, wearing their organization’s emblem in plain sight. Sure, ordinary people would just wonder what it was and move on without recognizing it as the Dark Site emblem, but what were the chances that three different people would be wearing the same emblem? Especially since this one was a foreigner—this was undeniable evidence.

I could have apologized for breaking their wrist, healed it, and sent them on their way, but once I saw that emblem, this person was essentially already dead—how dead depended on what happened next.

Killing someone is unsettling, even after having done it once. In the Rift Dimension, I could somewhat dull that feeling by thinking of it as farming a world. But the uneasiness remains. However, letting someone who tried to kill me go free would be even more unsettling. And I’m not alone in this.

With various issues and the Hunter Association’s protection, I might be safe for now, but if my family’s safety is endangered, it would likely be entirely my fault. If I’m going to do this, I need to do it properly. So I steeled myself.

“AAAAARGH!”

I drew my Madness Sword and cut off one of their arms. After stopping the gushing blood with healing, I questioned them again.

“I have quite a few questions. Can you answer them properly? Or should I just get this over with quickly? I don’t want to waste time.”

Instead of answering, they tried to pull out a hidden weapon with their remaining arm, so I cut that one off too. Having suddenly lost both arms, the Dark Site operative stared blankly at their severed limbs on the ground.

“Hmm. If you answer well, I might reattach them. Otherwise, I wonder if wild animals will come to eat them?”

Their eyes wavered. After a moment of consideration, they opened their mouth.

“I came looking for Dark Site’s assassins.”

“The S-rank and SS-rank ones?”

“…I was ordered to find the whereabouts of two assassins who went silent. I have nothing to do with assassination.”

“I’m sure. How could someone with your abilities assassinate me anyway?”

“…”

Their words weren’t lies—they only had reconnaissance abilities and almost no attack skills. Even the dagger they tried to swing was just for minimal defense; their slowness wasn’t due to lack of skill.

Not that this excuses anything.

“They were assassins sent by Dark Site, weren’t they? To kill me.”

“Did you kill them?”

The scout remained dedicated to their mission. They asked me about the assassins’ whereabouts, and I laughed.

“Did I kill them? Why are you asking me? You must have looked around already.”

“…There were traces, but no signs of combat. There wasn’t even a trail showing where they went. They vanished without a trace.”

“Then why ask if I killed them? You said they disappeared.”

“I thought so, but after seeing how you brought me here, I realized that’s what happened to them.”

“Correct!”

To be precise, I put their corpses in my belt, but still. Fear filled the scout’s eyes. How could they possibly return? With both arms gone, escape was impossible, and their chances of survival seemed nonexistent.

“Have you asked everything you wanted to know? Ask anything. I’ll answer. Yes, I killed both assassins you sent. They were trying to kill me, so what choice did I have but to kill them?”

“…How did you detect assassins using stealth?”

“Because I have the ability to detect stealth?”

“But according to our information, you only had close-combat weapons and holy magic. No ability to detect stealth…”

“You didn’t think all my information would be public, did you?”

“…”

“How do you think I caught you? Didn’t you consider that using stealth to approach might be more dangerous than coming openly?”

I freely resolved the scout’s curiosities. Knowing I had no intention of letting them live, the scout calmly asked for the information they wanted. Not that I had much more to give. My only connection to Dark Site’s assassins was catching them in stealth, killing them, putting their bodies in my belt, and scattering them around here.

“Where are the assassins’ bodies?”

“Who knows? Maybe monkeys ate them and they turned into dung?”

“…”

Fortunately, the scout, perhaps wanting to live a little longer, asked me with a seemingly detached attitude:

“If you have questions, I’ll answer them.”

“Why did Dark Site accept this request? How much were you paid for something like this? Couldn’t you guess my rank? I must have been at least S-rank.”

“Dark Site’s internal situation isn’t good. We needed money, and the client offered to pay a large sum in cash. This was when there wasn’t much information about the Farmer Hunter, and an SS-rank assassin was dispatched along with an S-rank to handle what we thought was an S to S+ rank hunter. Obviously, we wouldn’t have accepted such a request now.”

“Then why are you here now?”

“The two missing… assassins are important resources for Dark Site. My mission was to confirm whether they really died or ran away.”

“What about the request concerning me?”

“That’s… a decision for those above me. Someone like me wouldn’t know. But if I go missing too, Dark Site won’t treat this as a simple request anymore. We’ve never let anyone who messes with Dark Site live.”

“Hmm. For all that talk, you seem to be quite cautious around America.”

“…”

“I guess Korea just seems like an easy target.”

I understood what the scout was trying to say. While they appeared to be speaking resignedly, it was half a threat. They might not touch me, but if I killed them too, it would no longer be considered just a request—it would be seen as an attack on Dark Site itself, and they might come after me to preserve their organization’s pride.

It’s quite an intimidating statement. If I had just one or two fewer abilities, or if I lacked certain items, I might have been scared.

“I have a good idea.”

“…?”

“I’ll set up a special Dark Site section at the Farming Department Store. I’ll sell items I get from hunters you send, along with your emblems.”

“…”

“One last question. Who made this request? It was Kang Sungjun, right?”

“Dark Site doesn’t reveal its clients. But I see this is my end.”

The scout bitterly smacked their lips and nodded.

“That’s right.”

War, huh.

Even thinking about the Rift Dimension is complicated enough that it’s better not to engage, but simply avoiding everything isn’t always the best approach either. Why do you think America became such a taboo for terrorists to touch? I need to reach that level—where they think they might all die if they mess with me.

Looks like I need to prepare for that.