Ch.45Illegal Transaction Site Is Dangerous (1)

I felt a bit hurt in my pride, but in any case, I succeeded in luring Jackson to Korea with Helena’s help.

However, there was still a major problem remaining.

‘Seeing them in videos, A-rank hunters are quite formidable…’

In public opinion, hunters ranked A and above are often considered true national assets.

While hunters below that level might be considered exceptional combat weapons, those at A-rank and above truly entered the realm of superhumans capable of splitting seas and shattering mountains.

‘Their specs are impressive, and their skills are quite remarkable.’

In fact, some of the A-rank hunters I saw in videos seemed capable of defeating Hans or Jack, which said it all.

Of course, this was largely because I couldn’t fully exert my power, but regardless, impressive is impressive.

‘They’re definitely not to be taken lightly.’

Compared to me in my prime, they would be nothing more than flies, but that wasn’t the case now.

From what I could see, the individual differences among A-rank hunters were also significant. To be honest, in my current state, I wasn’t confident I could completely overpower Jackson.

‘I need to gather more strength.’

For that reason, I called Song Hayeon and ran as many dungeons as possible for two weeks.

“If you want to do more, couldn’t you go with that Gwak Minji person tomorrow instead of me? I’m dying here.”

“…She needs to play the game.”

Song Hayeon complained about being suddenly dragged along for this grind, but I remained firm. In the end, she managed to gain enough experience to reach level 28.

‘It’s a bit tricky…’

I would have preferred to reach level 30, but it seemed difficult to grow any faster in small dungeons.

In the end, I had no choice but to be satisfied with that and depart for the battlefield.

‘…This petty bastard.’

Now, it was time for him to pay for his wrongdoings.

#

The plan was simple. Jackson would come to Korea to get his hands on some item, and I would find him and eliminate him.

According to Helena, given Jackson’s current situation, he would act in secret without informing his guild or anyone around him, so there would be no repercussions if he disappeared.

If someone is going around doing suspicious things, shouldn’t they be prepared to end up as a corpse?

‘Helena’s underling has the item, and Jackson is coming here to steal it.’

When I revealed this fact, Song Hayeon tried to stop me with an incredulous look.

“Are you really going to fight over a game? This isn’t some real-life confrontation.”

“I-I told you. I’m going to tear him apart. From what I’ve heard, he deserves to die.”

“I understand you’re angry, but we’re talking about an A-rank hunter! Even that Johan guy or whatever his name was had failed his promotion exam. And you haven’t changed much since then…”

Strictly speaking, she was right.

Although my growth rate was faster than others, I had only gained about 10 levels since then.

“…If you’re going to keep nagging, you might as well come along.”

“Of course I have to go. If something happens to you, Seoha will fold me in half.”

And so, Song Hayeon and I headed to Yeongdeok, traveling for several hours.

The place we arrived at was a remote mountain valley with no houses, passing cars, or people in sight.

As we waited near the spot Helena had tipped us off about, Song Hayeon, finally grasping the reality of the situation, expressed her anxiety.

“Even if we do fight, what are you planning to do afterward? Throw him into the sea like some gangster?”

Song Hayeon’s expression suggested she couldn’t understand why she was even here.

“I-I’ll turn him into an undead and command him. He’s entering illegally, so no one will know.”

“…Are you sure there won’t be any consequences? No headlines in tomorrow’s papers?”

“Helena guaranteed it. And we have justification.”

“Because he suspended your game ID?”

“Ugh. That too. But he’s coming to illegally steal something—you think he’ll just take the item and leave? He’ll try to eliminate witnesses. We’re doing a good deed by stopping him.”

After considering various concerns with a confused look, Song Hayeon finally spoke to me as if she had given up.

“If you’re going to do it, you need to take him out in one go without mistakes. You saw how petty he is, right? If we let him escape, we’ll end up on some political blacklist.”

I had expected her to say something about not killing people recklessly, so I stared at Song Hayeon with slightly suspicious eyes.

“What? He’s a notorious criminal, right? He’s probably locked up many people, so if he dies, it’s his fate.”

As expected, there was a reason Song Hayeon had earned the title of Necromancer.

I nodded with satisfaction and maintained my standby position.

And not long after, we heard movement.

Rustle.

Thud.

Thud.

A group of people appeared from somewhere, and shortly after, a few more people emerged from a different direction and began their transaction.

Helena had said that the ones dressed in black were affiliated with her.

As they took out what appeared to be a box containing the item, I finally spotted my target.

‘There he is.’

The reconnaissance bugs I had deployed earlier sent signals from between the trees on the opposite side.

And sure enough, something began flying from there with a fierce sound.

Swish!

Clang!

“Who’s that?”

Slash.

Though I had roughly anticipated it, there must have been skilled hunters on the transaction side as well, as the attack was thwarted.

Then, a man began to emerge with leisurely steps from the spot where the bugs had sent their signal.

A Westerner with blonde hair and blue eyes.

It was Jackson.

“Seems like there are some hunter nobodies mixed in. How troublesome.”

“…You!”

The hunters on the transaction side looked at Jackson with surprised expressions.

It was a natural reaction, given that he was a famous hunter.

“Why is the Holy Knight of Wheel of Fortune here?”

“Are you after the Black Thorn Stake?”

“This has nothing to do with Fortune. It’s a personal matter.”

The hunters appeared highly tense.

Not only because they were facing an A-rank hunter, but also because revealing his identity like this meant he intended to silence them with death, which wasn’t particularly strange.

If there was a time to step in, it was now.

I pushed Song Hayeon’s back as she swallowed nervously beside me.

“…What?”

“Y-you go out first and draw their attention.”

“……”

As Song Hayeon looked at me with an expression that said “what nonsense is this,” I answered while sweating profusely.

“…T-ten minutes, so we need to time this right today.”

Finishing off an A-rank hunter in a short time isn’t easy. Therefore, I needed to be careful about when to use the ring.

“Ah, geez. You talked like you could handle everything yourself…”

Though grumbling, Song Hayeon reluctantly got up and began heading toward the crowd.

Thud.

Thud.

“So you’ve finally shown your true colors.”

“…Why are you here?”

Upon seeing Song Hayeon, Jackson wiped the confident expression from his face and looked at her with confusion.

And for good reason.

He had raided the transaction site to acquire his desired item, only to find Song Hayeon there out of nowhere?

Jackson’s mind was clearly in a state of cognitive dissonance.

“Did it feel good to oppress others with your position and power?”

At Song Hayeon’s boldly spoken words, Jackson didn’t even pretend to answer, instead rapidly moving his eyes as if contemplating something.

“…This is strange. This situation is too strange.”

Whoosh.

Bang!

And then, without a moment’s hesitation, he turned around and began to flee.

“Huh? Master! He’s running away!”

The response was so unexpected that I hurriedly revealed myself and chased after him while shouting to Song Hayeon.

“T-trip him up!”

“How am I supposed to do that?”

“Do something!”

At those words, Song Hayeon took out multiple catalysts for Skeleton Masher from her pocket, enhanced them with magic power, and threw them into the distance.

“Undead Call!”

Poof!

Poof!

[Grrrk.]

[Giiik.]

“Kuh!”

Crash!

Slash!

Crunch─!

True to his A-rank status, Jackson shattered them instantly, demonstrating his strength. However, this managed to slow him down a bit.

Taking advantage of that timing, I decided to bring out something perfect for this situation.

“Book of Death.”

Poof!

Snap.

A sinister book with large clashing teeth appeared in my hand, and I immediately opened to a new page I had checked in advance.

“Extraction.”

Tssss.

“Materialization.”

Swish!

The page number was 9. What was contained there was a treasure that had once been the symbol of the arena known as the Sky Palace in the Western Continent.

“Duelist’s Ring.”

Whoosh.

Flash─!

Recognizing its master’s command, the Duelist’s Ring instantly flew and absorbed into Jackson’s wrist, while a matching wedge pattern was engraved on my wrist as well.

With this, neither of us could escape from the other until one of us died.

A literal forced death match.

Feeling that the moment I had been waiting for had arrived, I activated the ring’s mental stabilization magic.

Whoosh.

“I can see right through you.”

“What is this…”

Despite Jackson’s obvious confusion at the unfolding events, that was none of my concern.

“I’ve lost sleep every night because of you.”

“……”

Finally, the true hour of vengeance had arrived.