Chapter 123: Eliminating Loose Ends

Episode 123:

As soon as Franco’s head was severed, a notification appeared before Kim Jinsung’s eyes.

—

▶ You have defeated a villain.

▶ Acquired 230 Beast Karma points.

▶ You have acquired the opponent’s skill ‘Mana Seal’.

▷ Mana Seal: Seals the target’s mana, rendering them unable to use it. Continuously consumes mana to maintain the target’s mana sealed state.

▶ Do you want to delete an existing skill to acquire the ‘Mana Seal’ skill?

—

‘I definitely need to get this.’

Without a moment’s hesitation, Kim Jinsung began to choose which skill to delete in exchange for Mana Seal.

‘…It’s better to get rid of Petrification Powder. I can use that skill when I transform into Forgineiro anyway.’

Kim Jinsung immediately deleted the Petrification Powder skill and placed Mana Seal in the empty slot.

He then looked at the hunters trapped in the Mist of Illusions.

‘Should I try it out?’

He immediately used the Mana Seal skill on the closest companion of Franco.

The man, who had been flailing his sword wildly, trapped in the Mist of Illusions, suddenly stopped with a bewildered expression.

“…Huh?”

He seemed confused, as if his body wasn’t responding properly.

He didn’t seem to realize that his mana had been sealed due to being trapped in the Mist of Illusions.

Kim Jinsung approached him from behind as he struggled helplessly.

The man didn’t even notice as Kim Jinsung openly drew his dagger.

‘With his mana sealed, he doesn’t even notice me approaching eve without using the Stealth Approach trait.’

When he approached Franco, who was trapped in the Mist of Illusions earlier, he had used the ‘Stealth’ skill and the ‘Stealth Approach’ trait, which made mana detection impossible.

Even though trapped in the Mist of Illusions, one wouldn’t be completely oblivious to the presence of others nearby.

But this time, he hadn’t even used Stealth, and the man was completely unaware of his approach.

‘This makes hunting much easier.’

Kim Jinsung immediately plunged his dagger into the enemy’s neck using the ‘Neck Cutter’ skill.

**Thud!**

After embedding the dagger deep, he swiftly slashed diagonally, cleanly severing another head.

He continued to hunt down the remaining enemies in the same manner.

Each time he used the Neck Cutter skill, another enemy would fall, their head severed.

Finally, Kim Jinsung approached Ivan from behind and stabbed him in the neck with his dagger.

“Ugh…!”

**Swoosh!**

Ivan’s head fell off and rolled on the ground.

Another notification appeared before Kim Jinsung’s eyes.

—

▶ You have defeated a villain.

▶ Acquired 205 Beast Karma points.

▶ You have acquired the opponent’s trait ‘Picture Appraisal’.

▷ Picture Appraisal: Appraises pictures or texts within your field of vision, allowing you to discover hidden pictures, texts, etc.

—

“…So that’s how he noticed Karen’s hidden tattoo.”

Kim Jinsung looked at Karen.

Karen was also struggling, trapped in the Mist of Illusions.

Kim Jinsung could now see the burning devil tattoo hidden behind the dragon tattoo on his left chest.

He hadn’t been able to see it earlier when he was using Shadow Concealment.

‘This is a decent trait. It could come in handy later.’

Kim Jinsung’s gaze shifted to the bottom of the notification.

Descriptions of the traits he had obtained from killing the other five were listed there.

—

▷ Possessor of Chosen Herculean Strength: Permanently increases Strength by 40.

▷ Genius Martial Artist: Permanently increases Strength and Stamina by 35.

▷ Chosen Toughness: Permanently increases Skin Defense by 45.

….

—

‘…They’re all traits that increase basic stats. Still pretty good.’

The rewards were much better than the stats he had gained from killing the pirates earlier.

Moreover, he had also gained 200 Beast Karma points, which was significant.

‘Increasing stats like this is much better than having mediocre skills.’

Considering the high-level Demon World Dungeons he would have to face in the future, he needed to become much stronger than he was now.

And gaining permanent stat increase traits was the most straightforward and reliable way to become stronger.

Kim Jinsung’s gaze returned to Karen.

‘What will I get if I kill him?’

He briefly pondered, looking at Karen, the only one left standing.

Since he was able to fight a Twin Head Ogre alone, he should be able to gain at least a high stat increase trait.

‘…No.’

After a brief moment of consideration, Kim Jinsung shook his head and deactivated the Mist of Illusions skill.

The gray mist around them instantly vanished.

Karen, who was still disoriented, looked around.

Seemingly grasping the situation, he thanked Kim Jinsung.

“You saved me. Thank you very much.”

Kim Jinsung then casually extended his hand towards Karen.

—

▶ You have used the ‘Mana Seal’ skill.

▷ The target can no longer use mana.

—

“……!!”

Karen’s eyes widened as he realized his mana had been sealed again.

Kim Jinsung spoke to Karen, who was looking at him with a ‘Why…?’ expression.

“I sealed your mana just in case you try to run. I have trust issues.”

Kim Jinsung picked up the hunter shackles lying on the ground in the corner of the cave.

He then tossed them to Karen.

Karen instinctively caught the shackles as they flew towards him in a parabolic arc.

“Choose.”

Karen heard the same words Franco had said to him earlier.

“Obey me, or suffer the same fate as those corpses.”

“……!”

“I heard earlier that I’ll get paid a bounty even if I just bring a head…”

Karen’s eyebrow twitched. It was a question with a predetermined answer.

“…What do you want?”

Karen asked Kim Jinsung with a hardened expression.

“You said you used to live on this continent, right?”

“…That’s right.”

“Then you must know a lot about Sselepoh City, the capital of this continent.”

Karen nodded.

Kim Jinsung said to him,

“Guide me.”

He had originally planned to follow Rio and his party to Sselepoh City.

But now that they were all dead, he had no one to guide him.

Of course, this time it wasn’t a request but a forced command, but Kim Jinsung didn’t care.

‘He should at least do this much after I saved his life.’

Kim Jinsung looked at Karen with a confident gaze.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the monitoring room of the Immigration Control office,

a man was anxiously glancing back and forth between the monitor and the clock.

It was Pablo.

“Why aren’t they coming out?”

He fidgeted, staring at the monitor showing the situation at the cave entrance where Franco and the others had entered.

‘The staff member will be back soon!’

Pablo checked the time again.

12:45 PM. It was almost time for the staff member in charge to return from lunch.

He had to leave the monitoring room before then. This was a restricted area for unauthorized personnel.

If he was caught here, Pablo would be in a very difficult situation.

‘…Oh!’

Someone emerged from the cave entrance.

Pablo’s face, which had brightened with anticipation, instantly hardened.

‘Jin and Karen…?’

It was Kim Jinsung and Karen who walked out of the entrance, unharmed.

They then walked out of the monitor’s view.

No one else came out of the cave after that. He waited for a while, just in case, but it was the same.

‘Why are only those two coming out? Don’t tell me…?’

He hurriedly called Franco. But…

– …The subscriber you have dialed is not available…

The voice that answered wasn’t Franco’s but an automated message.

Pablo’s face turned pale.

‘He never turns off his phone during operations…’

At this point, there was only one conclusion Pablo could draw.

‘The plan failed!’

His gaze shifted to the monitor next to him.

He saw Kim Jinsung and Karen, who had just appeared at the edge of the monitor, walking towards the Immigration Control office.

‘If the plan really failed, it’s highly likely that those two killed Franco and the rest of the crew.’

Otherwise, it didn’t make sense for them to be walking out so casually.

‘Then they’ll definitely come looking for me and question me as soon as they return to the office…’

The thought made his heart sink.

Just the fact that he had brought outsiders into the entry exam was enough to get him fired.

And if they found out that he had helped outsiders hunt down entry applicants?

He would be spending the rest of his life in prison. He might even be summarily executed.

‘This is bad! What should I do?’

Pablo began to rack his brain.

* * *

A while later,

Kim Jinsung and Karen returned to the Immigration Control office.

“…Huh?”

Kim Jinsung’s eyes widened in surprise as he stood in front of the information desk.

Pablo, who had been there earlier, was gone, replaced by a female staff member he had never seen before.

“Identification cards, please.”

The female staff member said in a businesslike tone, extending her hand.

She glanced at their faces after receiving their identification cards, then continued,

“You took exam number 3. Please submit proof of monster hunting.”

Karen handed her the sack he was carrying.

The female staff member opened the sack and used a long pair of tongs to count the trophies inside.

“…Twenty, correct. You have passed the entry exam.”

As the staff member was about to stamp their identification cards with a ‘Pass’ mark,

“Where’s Pablo?”

Kim Jinsung couldn’t help but ask.

“Pablo? Do you know him? He suddenly said he had a stomachache, took sick leave, and went to the hospital.”

Kim Jinsung and Karen looked at each other.

The same thought crossed their minds as they exchanged glances.

‘He sensed something was wrong and ran away.’

The staff member then handed them their identification cards.

“Please take your cards and wait in the waiting room inside.”

They headed towards the waiting room the staff member pointed to.

It was empty. It seemed no one had passed the entry exam so far.

“What are you going to do about Pablo?”

Karen asked Kim Jinsung.

“Considering his involvement with Franco and his group, he’s definitely connected to the Triunfo Clan.”

“……”

“And the Triunfo guys I know will chase their targets to the ends of the earth for revenge. They’re known for their ruthlessness even within the New Continent.”

Despite Karen’s words, Kim Jinsung remained silent, sitting still.

“Mr. Lee Jinhwan.”

The staff member at the counter called out to Kim Jinsung.

He walked over to her, and she handed him two items.

“This is a hunter watch and a smartphone. A hunter watch is essential for entering dungeons, so please don’t lose it.”

Kim Jinsung immediately put on the hunter watch and touched the screen.

The screen lit up, and text appeared.

Name: Lee Jinhwan

Age: 20

Occupation: Hunter

Demon World Dungeon: Not yet experienced.

Trial Tower: Not yet experienced.

Below the text was a square code with a complex pattern. It seemed to be a unique identification code for the New Continent.

Kim Jinsung then turned on the smartphone and fiddled with it.

Karen had also received and put on his hunter watch.

“Congratulations on becoming a citizen of the Sselepoh continent. The exit is on the right.”

Kim Jinsung and Karen walked towards the direction the staff member pointed to.

As they exited, a fairly large downtown area unfolded before Kim Jinsung’s eyes.

He slowly looked around the downtown area of El Nacon port city.

“What are you going to do now?”

Karen asked him.

It was a question asking whether he wanted to head straight to Sselepoh City or deal with Pablo first.

—