Chapter 14
Chapter 14
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Wolf Hunt (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
《Wolf Hunt》- (1)
01.
A day and a half had passed since he'd dealt with the Ace guild members who'd committed murder.
"......"
Outside the window, the sun—unchanged as ever—was rising, signaling the arrival of a new morning, a new day.
The sunlight felt more peaceful and warm than ever, but the city of Seoul it shone upon—and by extension, the entire nation of South Korea—was plunged into utter chaos.
...The guilds and players who'd finished their preparations had finally entered full-scale combat. They clashed fiercely with the monsters pouring out from the rifts of light, locked in intense battles of attack and defense.
Some cities had successfully sealed their rifts with relative ease, but what was invading the world now wasn't some mere illusions—it was the monsters from Season Off Fantasy. Beings of monstrous destructive power and durability, incarnations of cruelty without blood or tears.
Even with players joining the fray, many cities were being overwhelmed by the monsters' ferocious assaults and sheer numbers, losing ground instead of gaining it.
Still, the fact that a counteroffensive had begun was undeniable, offering a beacon of hope to a populace shrouded in worry and despair over whether everyone would just die.
And so, the world stood on the cusp of another massive turning point, a new chapter in the story.
"......So peaceful."
No matter how many times he looked, the world was a dizzying mess. But at least this rundown neighborhood where he lived looked no different from usual.
Of course, being part of Seoul, monsters did wander in from time to time.
Most were D-rank ones that even civilians could handle, and the occasional C- to B-rank intruders were swiftly taken care of by the neighborhood's sole player, his Holy Shield Knight buddy. Nothing that seriously disrupted public safety.
If he had to name the biggest threat this place had faced since the incident began, it would hands-down be those Ace guild members who'd murdered people and looted valuables.
...As always, humanity's true enemy wasn't beasts or monsters—it was humans themselves.
"Humans......"
Lying on his bed, lost in idle thoughts, his mind drifted to humanity as a species... and to his own past, filled with disillusionment toward it.
Suddenly, a memory from exactly five years ago flashed through his mind.
"......I was so young back then."
Five years ago, back when his business was booming. He had been arrogant, conceited, swollen with pride, utterly clueless about the world's dangers—an immature fool.
— Today, it's my treat!!!
— Order whatever you want!!
— Hey, bro's buying you an apartment! Joining a big corp is a breeze now, man!
— Awesome, bro! You're the man!
— Oppa, you're so cool...
Money pouring in just for breathing, surrounded by people fawning over him like mad. Back then, he'd felt like a king, brimming with confidence that his power and influence could achieve anything.
He'd even thought he could rival Korea's top conglomerates—or surpass them entirely.
But of course, that was foolish thinking.
Nothing in the world is absolute. What comes quickly goes quickly. And short-sighted, foolish decisions always exact a heavy toll from those who make them.
— Huh...?
One day, he came to his senses to find his accounts frozen, his office gone, and everyone around him vanished.
Cast out onto the streets in an instant, all he had left was crushing debt, disgust toward humanity, and contempt for his own arrogant self.
— Fuck, fuck, fuck...
He loathed himself for mistaking that fleeting brush with power and influence for the be-all and end-all of existence.
He hated himself for failing to know his place, for blindly chasing endless greed without grasping reality, leading to his downfall.
He despised his lack of composure, his naive trust in others, his fixation on ideals and desires—his choices were utterly contemptible, regretful.
— Know when to stop climbing, got it?
"......"
An empty cart rattles for a reason.
Those with real power make no noise. They simply watch from on high, heavy and composed, in silence.
Fakes, on the other hand, are noisy to the bone. Stupid, loud, thinking what's right in front of them is everything, charging upward without even a ladder.
But up high, unprepared, they're greeted by the 'real' ones, fully prepared.
The fate of fakes who can't face reality is singular: kicked down into the depths by the real deal.
The price he paid to realize that—to swear never to repeat the mistake—was far too steep.
...He'd been an empty cart, a fake among fakes.
"......"
......But now, everything was different. He stood higher than anyone else now. Higher than those who'd cast him into the abyss—perhaps higher than anyone in this world.
'Selverion' had never once looked up at anyone. Nor had the Frost of Ruin, the God of Ruin.
"Hoo..."
So this time, he planned to stand where Selverion had, silently gazing down at the fakes rampaging below.
And if there was anyone drunk on the power and influence of this moment,
anyone fixated on the heights without facing reality,
anyone deluded into thinking they were kings,
he wanted to tell them this:
─── Don't get cocky.
The fate of fakes was to be crushed by the real ones.
02.
"Ah..."
As he took down a slime shambling through the poverty-reeking neighborhood, Holy Shield Knight Kim Dong-wook let out a dazed groan. Even after 36 hours, the shock that had rocked his mind showed no signs of fading.
"Selverion, Selverion......"
The image of that beautiful white-haired girl kept haunting him. Her effortlessly toppling those powerful Ace guild members, extending a hand to check if he was okay—it all flickered endlessly before his eyes.
"D-Dong-wook...? You okay...?"
And then there was Priest Yoon Ji-ah, his college classmate and close friend, calling out to him worriedly. At her voice, Dong-wook hurriedly nodded.
"Y-Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Totally fine."
He wasn't fine at all.
Having a casual conversation—not to mention a handshake—with Selverion herself, the God of Ruin, and even hearing "Call me if you need help"? How could anyone stay sane?
Like a soul bewitched by a fox spirit, Dong-wook couldn't function in daily life, her face constantly on his mind—for better or worse.
Meeting her twice might just break him entirely. With the cleanup she'd asked for done, he hoped to avoid her as much as possible now.
"Y-You don't look fine at all...?"
"Huh...? What? What'd you say?"
"...Never mind. Let's call it for today and head back to rest."
"Yeah, good idea..."
At Ji-ah's suggestion to wrap up patrol early, Dong-wook let out a deep sigh and agreed wholeheartedly. Even he thought he needed a break—a mental one.
"Let's head in..."
After picking up the D-rank magic stone reward from the asphalt where the slime had dissolved, they prepared to return to their boarding rooms.
A shower the moment they got home would clear his head and sort out his thoughts. With lighter hearts, Dong-wook and Ji-ah turned down the alley.
"...Hey! Hold up a sec!"
"...?"
That was when an unfamiliar third voice struck the backs of their heads. A lively yet charismatic woman's voice lodged itself in Dong-wook and Ji-ah's ears.
"Who...?"
Dong-wook cautiously turned at the command to stop. Before him stood three people—two men and a woman.
Strangers, but judging by the shields and odd harp-like weapons in their hands, they were players like him.
'Players...?'
Players who could help take down monsters should have been welcome, but Dong-wook frowned instead.
With most players fighting to reclaim the bustling districts, coming to this poor neighborhood didn't bode well.
Even SPR had deprioritized it. Players visiting here? Only one reason: to loot or assault freely.
The Ace guild raiders from the other day came to mind, and Dong-wook instinctively gripped his massive iron shield aggressively.
He quickly scanned them, assessing potential enemy classes.
'Ironclad Soldier and Bard...'
Standing before him: a tanky Ironclad Soldier clad head to toe in armor, and a Bard specialized in buffs and debuffs.
A common combo—the Bard's buffs maximized the Ironclad's defense.
'...But what's with the woman up front.'
The leader-like woman at the fore had wolf ears and a tail, her class impossible to guess.
Animal features were likely just customization; no visible weapon. Maybe a close-range brawler? Or a Druid who attacked with plant roots, needing no gear?
'Damn...'
In Season Off Fantasy, without info screens showing classes, pre-battle mind games guessing positions were a total pain.
Unable to pin down the woman's class between brawler or Druid, Dong-wook grimaced.
"Heh, no need to be so on guard."
"...?!"
Noticing their sharp glares, the wolf-eared woman smirked and addressed Dong-wook.
"We're not weirdos—we came to see you. Holy Shield Knight Kim Dong-wook, nickname 'Sin Sadong Masochist,' right?"
She shrugged, rattling off his exact info. Hearing his real name and nickname from a stranger, Dong-wook stepped back with a growl.
"Who the hell are you...?"
"Pfft, relax already? We're from the 'Ace' guild. The ones handling the capital region right now."
"Ace...?"
Ace: one of Korea's Top 4 guilds, SPR's core force defending Seoul and the capital area.
They vied with Legend for Korea's top spot. Hearing they were from that prestigious guild, Dong-wook examined them more closely.
Only then did he notice the red diamond Ace emblem on their collars.
"See? Told you we're Ace. No need to doubt. Actually, we got called here because you reported it."
"Reported...?"
"Yeah. You reported the other night that our guild members murdered locals here and fled, right?"
"Oh."
Dong-wook's eyes widened at the wolf-eared woman's blunt words.
Right—he'd reported to SPR and 112 that Ace members had killed residents and fled.
The assassin and thief perpetrators were already dead by Selverion's hand, but he couldn't just spill about her, so he'd fabricated the report.
If their own committed crimes and vanished, an internal guild probe was natural.
So their visit to this backwater and knowing his identity wasn't so strange.
Dong-wook finally eased his guard and nodded.
"Yes, that's correct. I'm Kim Dong-wook, the witness and reporter."
"Good, we got the right guy!"
The self-proclaimed Ace wolf-eared woman clapped with a bright smile. Her fluffy, fur-covered hands looked like mittens.
"......Like wearing dummy mittens," Dong-wook thought.
"Mind if I ask a few questions about the incident? We can do it right here if moving's a hassle."
She asked permission for witness questioning on their guild members' crime. Dong-wook nodded without hesitation.
"...Sure, if it's quick. Ask away."
No need for guild HQ or police station—just a few questions here were fine.
Stick to the facts on the incident; deny knowledge of the perps' whereabouts. No burden.
Only he and Ji-ah witnessed it, in a cheap neighborhood without CCTV. As long as he stonewalled, they'd never learn Selverion killed them.
'Alright, what first? Last sighting? Escape direction?'
Dong-wook smugly awaited her predictable, routine questions.
It took just three seconds for that to shatter.
"Okay! First question."
"......"
"...Why'd you lie?"
"...Pardon?"
The utterly unexpected "Why'd you lie?" made Dong-wook flinch. He stammered back in confusion.
"Lie...? What lie? Who? Me...?"
He replied with innocent bewilderment. The wolf-eared woman narrowed her eyes, glaring sharply.
"Heh, playing dumb? Cut it. You falsely reported Woo-jin and Jin-ho fleeing."
"Wh-What...? What are you talking about...?"
...She seemed to know something. Somehow piercing his fabricated report instantly, the Ace member's words beaded cold sweat on Dong-wook's forehead.
But he couldn't just say, "Selverion killed your scum guildmates." He absolutely didn't want to irk the God of Ruin.
So he played dumb to the end. He didn't know how she saw through it, but with him as sole witness, her suspicion was all she had.
"...Lie? I have no idea what you mean. Everything I know is what I reported."
"Heh, pretty stubborn, huh."
At Dong-wook's brazen response, the wolf-eared woman smirked, her sharp eyes glinting. She sighed and spoke again.
"...Holy Shield Knight, I got a bad temper. I hate when people lie. So answer straight this time."
"......"
"Who killed Woo-jin and Jin-ho?"
"...?!"
Dong-wook jolted.
Wait—how did she know they were dead? Selverion turned their bodies to ice dust; no witnesses, no CCTV. Guessing? Or leading questions for a confession?
"K-Killed? I really don't know what you're talking about. Last I saw, they fled downhill."
Her loaded questions nagged, but betraying Selverion now was suicide.
She'd spared him last night—how could he say, "Selverion showed up and killed them all," breaking her trust and request?
He was duty-bound to keep her secret, and he had no desire to die pointlessly offending her.
"Haa..."
At his persistent denial, the wolf-eared woman sighed deeply. Her next words were cold, devoid of mercy—unlike before.
"......Holy Shield Knight, do you know my class?"
"Y-Your class?"
"Yeah."
Her sudden question about her class—Dong-wook, who'd guessed brawler or Druid, just shook his head.
She reached out to the Ironclad Soldier for something and continued.
"My class is 'Beast.'"
"B-Beast?!!"
"Yep. Ultra-rare class, Beast."
Beast.
One of Season Off Fantasy's four rare classes, alongside Pirate, Meteorologist, and Alchemist.
Its hallmark: transforming into a werewolf periodically. In werewolf form, all stats surged massively, unleashing devastating power.
The top pick for berserkers, but so rare, not just anyone could become one.
...The wolf-eared woman, revealing her class as Beast, continued darkly.
"So, when I go werewolf, all my stats spike—especially my sense of smell, big time."
"Sense of smell..."
"Heard wolves' noses are hundreds of times better than humans'? Mine can even pick up scents from 2-3 days ago."
"......"
"And the moment we entered this neighborhood, the air reeked of blood. Mixed with familiar scents—Woo-jin and Jin-ho's."
"Blood..."
A ominous premonition surged; Dong-wook swallowed dryly. She eyed him intently, her gaze laced with killing intent.
"...Tracked the scent slowly. Dug where it was strongest... and guess what came up?"
"...!!!"
Dong-wook's face drained white at what she lifted from the Ironclad Soldier.
The wolf-eared woman held up, toward him, the assassin's severed legs—cleanly sliced by Selverion in one strike.
'Oh no.'
The bodies had turned to ice dust, but the assassin's legs, flung far, had remained at the scene.
Of course he'd collected and buried them deep in the hills behind. Who'd think to track blood scent and dig them up?
Unimaginable.
'Fuck, shoulda burned 'em.'
Dong-wook regretted choosing burial over cremation. But how could he predict a ultra-rare Beast would come here with such an absurd nose?
It was like a natural disaster.
The wolf-eared woman grinned ferociously.
"You won't still claim Woo-jin and Jin-ho just ran off after seeing this, right?"
"......"
"No way an 800-level scrub like you lopped off Woo-jin's legs. Clearly, you had help."
"......"
"...Spill it quick. Who was it—daring to touch our guildmates."
She snarled at him like a true beast. Dong-wook could only sigh deeply.
'We're screwed.'
Her unimaginable evidence made denying the deaths impossible. That painted him suspicious for hiding it, hard to dodge suspicion.
But with things this far, Dong-wook decided to go all-in, bolder.
He scowled back at her.
"...Those guys died for doing shit deserving death. Killed innocents for personal gain, tried to rape a college girl."
"Oh...?"
"Scum got what they deserved—why the fuss? Is Ace a trash heap sheltering retards?"
No love lost for Ace after their loot attempt on his turf. Dong-wook lashed out at the whole guild.
"......Funny guy, Holy Shield Knight."
Her face darkened sharply at his words. She spoke in a tone compressing fury.
"But how can I trust everything you say when you've hidden their deaths? Makes me think it was your setup."
"S-Setup...?"
"Yeah. You killed someone, framed Woo-jin and Jin-ho. To tarnish Ace's rep."
"......"
"Makes sense—no CCTV, only you as witness. Why believe you blindly."
"No, the rape victim can confirm..."
"...Shut it. No more business with you."
She cut him off mid-sentence. Her goal had shifted elsewhere.
"Bring your head. And that bastard who killed Woo-jin and Jin-ho."
"Uh..."
Ordering him to fetch the culprit—Selverion herself. Did she grasp the enormity? Still snarling, Dong-wook scratched his chin.
"Tricky. You'd regret it. Not calling her anyway."
"...What? Regret?"
...Her lips curled at his words. She clenched her fluffy-furred fists hard and bellowed.
"You don't think I'm on Woo-jin and Jin-ho's level, do you...?"
"......"
"...I'm top 20 in Korea. I solo S-rank monsters. You dumb Holy Shield Knight."
"......"
"Bring your head. I'll kill you all at once, hang 'em at our office."
Enraged at being underestimated, she vowed to slaughter him and the culprit together.
...But the culprit wasn't someone he could summon at will. A being too lofty for any mere player to even gaze upon.
Dong-wook gave a wry smile, gripping his shield tight.
"Sorry, can't do that. Not mine to call. Just go quietly—we'll settle peacefully later."
"Oh? Too bad—I hate peaceful."
He'd warned and offered a solution, but she scoffed it off. Her black eyes narrowed predatorily.
"No biggie. Force her out."
"Force...?"
"Yeah."
Beast eyes hunting prey.
A menacing voice echoed through the alley.
"Kill you, and she'll crawl out herself."
......Then her figure vanished from sight.