Illegal Gate (3)
Thud. The bastard's body pitched forward.
Electric attributes were the best for knocking people out, after all. Grunting with effort, I shoved his heavy corpse deeper into the gate. That's when Ray tossed out a quip.
"To think he'd believe your words so easily."
"His mental fortitude was just that pathetic. And there really were guys skimming mana stones from here."
Daring to touch Seol Rokjin's property. They had no idea how terrifying he was yet—that's why they made mistakes like this.
"When you've got something to hide, your thinking gets sloppy."
Lies required skill too. Hit their weak spot and rattle them, and they had no room to suspect me.
I dragged the body further into the gate, then set down the backpack slung over my shoulder. A regular miner would pull out a pickaxe here, but what I took out was something else.
"You planning to kill everyone in here?"
"Even if it wasn't me, they were all dead men anyway."
Once Seol Rokjin found out about the embezzlement, he'd hold everyone here accountable with their lives.
I calmly filled the pouch at my waist with potions. This stuff could be my second life, so I had to pack it carefully. In my hand was a sharp dagger about the length of my palm.
It might not look like much, but it was crafted from monster bone—tough enough not to crack under most impacts. Cost me 30 million won for this baby.
Its first mission? Straight into the throat of the bastard in front of me.
Stab. The blade pierced flesh, severing his carotid artery. Squirt. Blood sprayed across my face. I wiped it off with the back of my hand.
Hot.
My first kill since regressing to this life.
Didn't feel a thing.
Yeah, figures.
"Your hand."
Ray's words made me notice my hand trembling.
"Ha."
Even after doing this who-knows-how-many times, it still hit me fresh.
I muttered to myself, but the nauseating tactile memory of the blade slicing through skin lingered on my fingertips.
This sensation never quite got familiar. Come to think of it, it had been ages since my hands got this dirty.
The shaking faded quickly. My soul was worn smooth by now, so maybe that was why. I wiped the blood off on my pants.
From here on, I needed to stay sharp.
The enemies ahead wouldn't go down as easily as this one.
This gate was a rocky mountain terrain. No sweat-fests like my old mining gig, which was nice, but cover was scarce.
On a barren stone hill with no trees or grass, they'd spot me from a mile away.
These guards were at least C-grade hunters. Charging in plain sight was suicide.
I pulled a cloak from my backpack and draped it over my clothes. The moment it touched my body, it began blending with the surroundings.
"Oh, nice."
"Made from transformation lizard hide."
From a mid-to-low-grade monster like the transformation lizard, you could craft camouflage like this. No hiding spots? Camouflage yourself. It wouldn't fool someone up close scrutinizing the background, but no one would bother.
Nearly all my cash went into this cloak. Only good for about three uses, but waltzing into a guard swarm naked was suicide anyway.
I flipped on a mask to cover my face too.
A plain white one with a smiling face, grabbed from some corner store. Durability was crap since it was cheap, but it wasn't for armor anyway.
"And what's that?"
"Can't kill everyone here."
"Didn't you just say you were?"
"That was about the bad guys working here. Not the poor suckers dragged in against their will."
Getting duped into coming here was a crime, sure—but not one worth dying for.
Now fully covered, I followed the tracks on the ground.
With every step, memories sharpened. Ones I'd long buried—or tried to.
In my past life, I'd come here chasing promises of bigger bucks. The creep at the entrance smirking as I entered stuck with me, but back then, it was just excitement.
Even in an illegal gate, I could get out alive. Or so I'd naively thought.
How stupid.
Didn't take long to reach the mining site. Clang, clang. Pickaxes on stone—I flattened myself on the hilltop and peered through binoculars.
"Hell on earth."
Sometimes mana stones were buried in soft soil; other times, embedded in rock like this. Purity was better here, but mining conditions sucked.
Skinny men below, hacking away under the guards' glares—Ray was right; it looked like hell.
"Even slaves don't get treated like that."
"Worse than slaves. At least you don't use slaves as disposables. These workers? One-and-done. Work 'em till they drop dead, end of story."
"Disposables."
"Can't have them blabbing about this place outside."
No intention of letting anyone leave alive.
That's why no treatment for mana poisoning—just grind them till they die here.
'Guards first.'
I'd set a noise-making trap behind the hill. Carefully, I slid down the slope.
Hiding behind a nearby rock, I hit the button. A voice leaked from the trap.
"H-Help! Please save me!"
A little girl's voice—impossible in a place like this.
"What the hell's that noise?"
The guard reacted instantly. Not an adult voice—a kid's. As I said before, surprises make thinking sloppy.
Instead of radioing backup, he bolted up the hill.
I slipped out of his line of sight.
"What the fuck."
He realized it was a cheap speaker trick and scowled. But just as he opened his mouth, grasping it was a trap—
I was already there, dagger plunging into his throat.
"Guh."
Incredulous, he clutched his neck.
But no matter how hard he gripped, the blood pouring out wouldn't stop. Carotid and vocal cords severed in one go—he crumpled silently.
Even top hunters struggle with ambushes like this.
Unless you're 6-star superhuman, a 4-star's easy pickings.
Another down. I dragged the body to a corner boulder and hid it, exhaling sharply.
"Two left now."
Mining spots were scattered, so guards were spread out. Hide this one well, and I could pick off the rest the same way.
I had to.
"Hey, you check it out?"
A voice from beyond the hill—I dropped flat instantly.
This wasn't planned.
Luckily, he didn't spot me behind the rock. But he did see the bloodstains on the ground.
"Wh-what the—!"
He yanked his radio from his belt. Just as he opened his mouth, I charged.
Thud-thud-thud. I kicked off hard, but it took time to close the gap. He reacted fast.
"Gah!"
My thrown dagger sank into his forearm. Solid hit, but not a kill—problem.
He ripped it out and flung it down, mana surging through his body.
His pupils glowed blue. I gritted my teeth.
Most blue pupils meant physical enhancement. Sure enough, his muscles bulged visibly.
'Shit, picked the wrong one.'
My body was trained decently, but softened during academy break, and without natural physical talent, it couldn't match his power.
In seconds, he hoisted me overhead and slammed me down. Crack. Back hitting stone—agony like my body shattering.
At least I'd snatched his radio mid-fall and chucked it away.
Good—no backup now.
"Who the hell are you? Who sent you?"
Ptoo.
I spat blood-mixed saliva.
"You think I'll just tell you?"
"Not exactly the position to mouth off."
Ray was right—I was outmatched.
I could wield mana freely now thanks to Ray, but raw physical specs lagged.
That was only if I played his game, charging like an idiot.
I drew a potion from my waist pouch.
"Physical enhancers like you? Always banking on your tough bodies."
My childhood friend Jeong Hosan had A-grade potential in physical enhancement. Think I sparred him zero times to hone my skills?
Even body-hardening types had gaps.
Especially low-grades like this guy.
I smashed the potion on the ground. Thick smoke billowed instantly. True to "enhancement," he tracked my presence through it and lunged.
Exactly what I wanted.
I hurled another potion at him.
Acid this time.
"Aaaagh!"
Drenched in venom harsher than hydrochloric acid from a red viper, he screamed.
Spotting his opening, I jammed my fingers into his eyes. Squelch. Worst tactile feedback ever.
"No enhancer covers weak points like these."
"Gaaaah!"
Blinded, he grabbed me and hurled me. My body flew, smashing into a rock.
"F-fuck."
Ribs cracked just days ago, barely mending with Ray's help—now snapped clean. Groan. I clutched my side.
"My eyes! My fucking eyes, you shit!"
Writhing blind on the ground, he wailed.
Damn it—this noise would alert everyone, radio or not.
I zapped him with an electric bolt. As he collapsed, I slumped, gasping.
Only for a moment. Limping up, I grabbed the fallen dagger and rammed it into his throat.
Huff, huff.
"Brutal."
"But effective."
Even at the academy, they said I fought too viciously. Holding back was for the strong. To beat them, this was the way.
And I survived.
My whole body throbbed from his punches.
"Ugh."
Awakener bodies healed fast, sure. But grinding like this daily? It'd break me.
Just this spot—finish here, then rest awhile.
"Damn."
I picked up my shattered mask, sighing. No spare.
That's when I felt eyes watching from above.