Chapter 144
Chapter 144
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Chapter 27 Bounty Hunter (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I closed my eyes and reaffirmed my goal.
If I didn’t reflect on my sense of purpose like this, it felt like I wouldn’t be able to move forward.
After a brief moment of calming my emotions with my eyes shut.
It wasn’t long before Team Leader Han Seok-jun approached the vehicle.
“We’re done talking with the SDT side, but Lee Jun-mo’s condition isn’t great, so it looks like we’ll need to escort him to the hospital. The other players need to stay with me because of Yoon Ji-hye, so it’d be best if you two head back first.”
“Yeah, once things are wrapped up, hand it off to the on-site agents and return.”
“Yes, Commander.”
As their conversation wrapped up, the vehicle’s engine started.
“We’ll head straight to the airport.”
“……Yes.”
I rubbed my eyelids as I gave a prompt reply, not wanting to be late.
When I opened my eyes, an infuriating number was plastered there, just looking at it souring my mood.
[Time Limit]
• 239:45:11
The ten-day leash the system had slapped around my neck was ticking away relentlessly even now.
As I stared at the timer, lost in complicated thoughts, Commander Yang Jo-cheol asked.
“By the way, what’s the exact destination? If we have to hit multiple spots, give me the list. I’ll plan the route.”
I answered without a second’s hesitation.
“Forget the route for now—just head to Afghanistan first. Specifically, the Panjshir Valley near Kabul.”
The other missions only had one target each, but that one had three.
The more heads, the greater the uncertainty.
‘I have no idea why they brought in those monsters or what they’re doing with them.’
But since a hidden mission had popped up for me, those targets had to die—no exceptions.
There was no room for compromise on that point.
I steadied my breathing as I faced the approaching death.
* * *
Inside a dilapidated brick building covered in cobwebs and dust.
A man and woman sat at opposite ends of the room, their seating reflecting their frosty relationship.
The two, who appeared to be in their mid-20s, passed the time staring out the windows in their respective directions.
Eventually, weary of the endless silence, the man, Siddiq, spoke first.
“When’s Ghazal coming back? No reply to chats either.”
Glancing back at him, the woman, Azita, replied in a sullen tone.
“Probably busy hunting.”
“……What’ll we do when Ghazal gets back?”
“What do you mean?”
“Evolved species again…….”
“Siddiq, please stop with the weak talk. This is all for the greater good! We have to accept minor sacrifices.”
At Azita’s rebuke, Siddiq shot to his feet, raising his voice.
“When did I ever talk weak?! I just…… we don’t know how this’ll turn out…….”
But Azita cut him off without listening, snapping sharply.
“Freaking out like that won’t make Ghazal come back faster, so cut it out. Always waffling on, making everyone else anxious too!”
Siddiq grumbled every time about decisions already made, dragging out side arguments.
She could tolerate it once or twice.
But he wore her down every time, so Azita couldn’t help but get irritated.
As a result, Azita’s glares at Siddiq grew sharper by the day.
Feeling insulted by her attitude, Siddiq’s face flushed red and blue.
Just as he was about to raise his voice again, a brilliant white light flashed.
“Kirrrr…….”
“Kee…….”
Suddenly, in the empty space, creatures appeared that instinctively screamed “monster.”
They dripped slimy mucus, and on their sides dangled six or seven octopus-like tentacles lined with suckers.
There were six of the limp, unconscious monsters, each with two stars on their heads.
“Ghazal!”
Azita, who had just been scolding Siddiq, lit up and jumped to her feet.
Ghazal, as he was called, let out a long breath and released the monster’s tentacles from his hands.
“No trouble?”
“No, still quiet. You’re not hurt?”
“I’m fine, same old routine.”
Including Ghazal, who smiled faintly, all three gathered here were Players.
They were also part of the resistance fighting the Taliban.
Their goal was the same: drive out the Taliban that had pushed from Kabul to the Panjshir Valley.
They were prepared to use any means necessary to achieve it.
That’s why they felt no particular guilt about using the monsters from Bihari.
“Wow, quite a haul this time!”
One look at Azita’s delighted face as she eyed the limp monsters said it all.
She saw systematically dismantling armed forces with these monsters as a brilliant strategy.
Ghazal, who had first suggested the method, felt the same.
“Took some effort to bring them alive. Just release these, and they’ll wipe out the Taliban scum.”
Of course, their opinions weren’t unanimously aligned.
“……You’re really doing it again?”
Judging by Siddiq’s noticeably paler face after Ghazal’s return, he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about this approach.
“There are civilians in the area where the Taliban came from…….”
Evolved species and monsters didn’t discriminate in their attacks on humans.
Every time they released them and blocked escape routes to massacre Taliban, nearby villagers died too.
Siddiq’s voice trembled as he recalled the hellish scenes.
“Last time, the whole village…….”
“If you wanna play the noble one, get out now!”
But he couldn’t finish.
Azita shoved his shoulder—thud—and snapped at him viciously.
“You think we want them to die?”
She glared at Siddiq with venomous eyes, spouting sophistry.
“We can’t hand the country over to those murderers, so we grit our teeth and do it!”
Thud, thud.
Shoving Siddiq repeatedly, Azita spoke in a voice thick with suppressed emotion.
“If you wanna act all saintly, bow out. We can handle it without you!”
With that, she turned—smack—and started hoisting up evolved species.
“Yeah, Siddiq. If it’s too much, you’re free to go. We’ll take care of the rest.”
When even Ghazal chimed in, Siddiq’s head drooped.
He clenched his fists, trembling briefly.
“……I’ll do it.”
Mumbling in a pathetically shaky voice, Siddiq crouched down.
Intending to shoulder an evolved species himself. Backing out alone now felt cowardly.
At Siddiq’s decision, Ghazal gave a bitter smile and patted his shoulder.
“Sorry for burdening you.”
It wasn’t what he truly wanted either—this cruelty.
But they had no choice.
It was a sacrifice for the greater good, so just endure a bit longer.
Repeating the words he’d said countless times, Ghazal hoisted his evolved species.
“Shall we head out?”
“Yes.”
“……Yeah.”
“Everyone got invisibility magic stones?”
“Use them now?”
As they each shouldered two evolved species and moved toward the door, reaching for their invisibility magic stones.
The mana in the space around them suddenly surged.
“Huh……?”
The three, knowing what that meant, froze in place.
Azita reacted first amid the sudden tension.
“Siddiq, what about the barrier stone! Use invisibility!”
“I didn’t do it! Did you mess up?”
While Azita and Siddiq bickered, Ghazal stared at his feet.
‘Warm……?’
Heat seeped up from the bare dirt floor, not even cemented.
No, not warmth—scorching heat.
What felt warm quickly turned hot, erupting into flames in the blink of an eye.
Ghazal reflexively wrapped his body in attribute mana.
The advanced attribute stone she’d bought months ago granted the cloud attribute.
The grade-4 advanced water mana was more than enough to shield Ghazal from the sudden blaze.
“W-what? Fire?!”
“Out, get out now!”
Azita and Siddiq, lacking attribute mana, flung open the rickety wooden door and bolted outside.
“Wait……!”
Ghazal opened his mouth to stop them, but it was too late.
They were already out, and almost simultaneously—thud, thud!
Dull, eerie sounds echoed.
Ghazal hurled himself sideways.
He flung off the evolved species he carried and escaped the doorway.
Looking up reflexively right after, Ghazal’s eyes began to tremble.
Two black spear tips protruded through the building wall.
The red liquid dripping from them was Azita and Siddiq’s blood.
Without thinking, instinct took over.
Ghazal rolled forward, away from the wall—just as thud!
This time, a black spear pierced straight through the wall, barely grazing past him.
Thump, thump, thump.
His heart pounded wildly at the sudden deaths of his comrades.
Then, faint mutterings came from outside.
“Tch, annoying.”
No doubt about it—the speaker was a Player.
The surrounding flames, and the fact his comrades died without lifting a finger, made it clear.
‘Did the Taliban have a Player?’
Otherwise, no reason for a strange Player to ambush them.
Gulping, Ghazal drew his sword.
His comrades hadn’t stood a chance, but they were bronze ranks.
She, on the other hand, was a strict silver rank, twice awakened.
Ghazal had no doubt she could overcome this crisis.
‘Pull back first.’
Pity about the captured evolved species, but she could get more.
Right now, survival came first.
She had to complete the mission her fallen comrades couldn’t.
Only then could she save the people suffering from the long civil war.
Taking one steadying breath, Ghazal arranged her attribute mana.
Unrealistic mist began to spread over the flame-licked ground.
‘Mist Form.’
A grade-4 spell that obscured vision and disrupted mana.
An auxiliary magic that neutralized detection or stealth spells, mainly used for infiltration or escape.
As soon as it activated, Ghazal scooped up the evolved species she’d tossed.
She hurled it toward the door while kicking off the ground toward the wide-open window.
Using the evolved species to pin the attacker’s attention at the door, planning to slip out the building.
Once outside, escaping wouldn’t be hard.
But the moment her foot hit the empty window frame, Ghazal froze at an inexplicable chill.
Immediately after, something dark streaked past her eyes.
A beat later, a vicious whoosh cut the air, rough wind grazing her face.
The same spear that took her comrades’ lives had passed right in front of hers.
If instinct hadn’t halted her, her head would be skewered.
As Ghazal stood rigid, that unfamiliar voice rang in her ears.
“You’re dead anyway.”
The voice was far too close.
While she was dazed, the mystery Player had closed in right to her nose.
Ghazal swung her sword almost reflexively.
Too frantic to even think of using mana.
She could only stare blankly as her blade sliced away like paper.
At the same time, her neck was severed—but Ghazal remained unaware of her death until consciousness faded.
For someone who’d massacred hundreds, it was a remarkably peaceful end.