Chapter 160
Chapter 160
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 160
Chapter Title: Chapter 30: Perception (3)
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“What……!”
It wasn’t teleportation magic. There was no telltale glow.
So what other methods were there to vanish like this, aside from magic?
‘Maybe a relic?’
The drop rate was abysmal—practically nonexistent—but not zero.
Jang Ryun himself carried one with an ambiguous effect.
Assuming the intruder had used a relic explained why he’d been hiding in the shadows.
‘It wasn’t invisibility or stealth.’
That would mean the guy had at least two relics on him.
Jang Ryun clicked his tongue as he stared at his now-empty hand, then glanced downward.
His eyes met those of Joo Woo-ryeong, who was still bent at the waist with a dumbstruck look on his face.
“Half-kill this bastard first and lock him up.”
“I-I had nothing to do with that guy……!”
“Shut up.”
Jang Ryun irritably kicked Joo Woo-ryeong.
“Gahk!”
He was the one who’d brought the intruder. There could’ve been collusion, so interrogation was a must.
Once he confirmed Joo Woo-ryeong being dragged away, Jang Ryun mulled over the sudden intruders.
‘Could it be that guy?’
Recently, his underlings who’d been luring bait outside the operation had been ambushed.
He’d heard the one leading those attacks was a fairly well-known player in the Association.
‘From the UK, I think.’
If they’d discovered the operation and charged in on some misguided sense of justice?
‘I heard he was tied to the government.’
In that case, it’d be better to contact his superiors rather than handle it himself.
If word got out that they’d killed him, it could spark friction between nations.
“Tch.”
Jang Ryun tsked shortly and bellowed at the players, who were rolling their eyes in dazed expressions.
“What are you idiots doing? Go find out if any more snuck in!”
Only then did the players, who’d been eyeing each other warily, start bustling about.
“Check if all the meat’s accounted for first!”
Shouting again, Jang Ryun moved to personally direct the search.
But he hadn’t gone far before he had to stop.
One step, another step.
The sound of approaching footsteps grew closer, bold and unmasked by any attempt at stealth.
There was no doubt the owner of that presence was yet another intruder.
‘This one’s a gold badge.’
The sheer aura was on another level.
Jang Ryun’s eyes gleamed as he sensed prey crawling fearlessly into his territory.
‘Devour that guy, and I might leap ahead in one go.’
He’d been thinking it’d be tough to reach his next awakening on the mana tributed by these small fries anyway.
“Everyone, make way!”
Jang Ryun shoved the other players aside and pushed forward.
It didn’t take long to spot his desired target.
The man blocking Jang Ryun’s path was a textbook white guy.
His excitement cooled a bit.
‘The real UK guy?’
Had that bastard already reached gold badge?
If it really was the Brit, better not to touch him.
‘Should I just swallow him whole without reporting up?’
Jang Ryun smacked his lips as he scanned the white man up and down.
Drops of red blood fell from the spear in his grip—he’d clearly already killed a few small fries on the way.
The scent of blood was whetting his appetite even more.
He wanted to gobble up the guy’s mana right then and there.
But he’d only recently taken over the log operation, so there were a lot of things to watch out for.
Starting a feud with the UK side would surely bring reprimands from above.
“Got a lot of guests today.”
Jang Ryun prioritized identifying the intruder.
If he was really some saint from the UK, he’d have to talk him down nicely.
He was even willing to cut a deal to keep him quiet if needed.
Unaware of Jang Ryun’s thoughts, the intruder replied in a flat tone.
“Didn’t expect the guest treatment.”
“What’s so hard about that? Would’ve been nicer if you’d given advance notice…… How about introducing yourself now?”
Jang Ryun lowered his longsword slightly and flashed a straight smile.
The other man chuckled lightly in response.
“Sure, no big deal.”
“Oh?”
Jang Ryun focused on what would come out of the intruder’s mouth.
“The guardian of that greenhorn you messed with earlier.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the answer he’d hoped for.
As he hesitated, unwilling to let it go, the surrounding mana suddenly surged.
It was a phenomenon Jang Ryun knew well.
“And the one who’s gonna kill all of you here.”
Sure enough, before the intruder finished speaking, a barrier formed over the area.
* * *
At first, he’d planned to move alone, excluding the party members.
‘Hunting and murder feel different, so I figured they’d all back out.’
He’d half-hoped for that himself.
It wasn’t something to share with others, he’d thought.
So he’d given his party members the unvarnished report he’d received.
He had to step away for this, so they should hunt separately.
But his expectations were way off.
- Of course we’re coming with!
The tone made it sound like the most obvious thing in the world.
Kim Yul didn’t just tag along—he took action, borrowing a suitable relic from Yang Hye-won and heading in to scout the interior himself.
‘Was pretty baffled when he said he could hide in the shadows right off the bat.’
Thanks to Kim Yul relaying the cave’s layout, securing escape routes had been a breeze.
As a bonus, he’d even identified who was behind this damn operation.
‘Didn’t expect a gold badge to show up this soon, though.’
Info from Kim Yul.
Personally, he’d predicted Kim Yul, who hunted with him, would be the second gold badge.
The difference in absolute mana absorption was that stark.
Whether you could hunt general-grade or not made that big a gap.
He’d figured his party members would hit gold badge first, then others would follow sequentially.
‘Well, not everything goes according to plan.’
If he’d been caught off-guard by a gold badge mid-fight without knowing, it would’ve been dicey.
‘But thanks to Kim Yul, no worries there.’
Even without his party’s help, evacuating the demihumans and killing the players wouldn’t have been impossible.
Still, they’d made entry a cakewalk.
He smiled quietly.
“What’s so funny?”
The man before him revealed his displeasure.
Roughly mid-to-late twenties, around his age—an East Asian man named Jang Ryun.
The mastermind behind every inhuman crime here, the key target he needed to hunt.
“Kill us? All of us? Man, why are you kids so fearless these days?”
He laughed in disbelief, and it was definitely the affable type.
If they’d met on the street clueless, he might’ve mistaken him for a celebrity—neat and handsome.
Seeing that face in a place reeking of blood created a bizarre disconnect.
And that disconnect dredged up old memories.
‘Think it was on the news.’
Something out of a movie: organ trafficking happening in real life.
Criminal orgs dealt eyes for 200 million, hearts for 800 million, livers for 400 million on average.
‘Human body price tag was 1.7 billion or 1.8……?’
He’d asked his mom after seeing it.
Was that kind of crime really happening?
She’d just given him a bitter look, no clear answer.
Probably sparing words since he’d been a kid not even ten yet.
‘Never imagined I’d one day face an organ trafficker from another world.’
As he revisited that memory with a strange sense of nostalgia, a chat message arrived.
- Pudding: Yul got here safe, so don’t worry.
- Kj: See? Told ya nothing’d happen.
He could clearly picture Kim Yul preening smugly.
He shook his head and warned the two.
- K: Just in case, don’t lay a hand on any players.
If his hypothesis was right, Yang Tae-ho and Kim Yul might get bounty missions.
Ignorance was one thing, but now that they knew, they couldn’t just let it slide.
That’s why he’d personally killed all the players guarding the prison entrance or patrolling the cave perimeter.
No harm in being cautious, so he repeated the warning.
- K: Especially Kim Yul—don’t act on your own like this. If fighting breaks out, just neutralize, don’t kill.
- Kj: Uwaaaaaah
- Kj: Got it, I said! How many times you gonna tell me!
- Pudding: I’ll watch Yul close, so you stay safe too. These crazy bastards got a gold badge for a head? Super dangerous, right?
- K: Don’t worry. How’s the evacuation going?
- Pudding: Sheesh, such a worrywart. We’re sweatin’ buckets over here too, so focus on the fight.
Since last night, Yang Tae-ho and Ahel had teamed up to dig an escape route behind the cave.
With Kim Yul joining after escaping via Yorril’s shoes, the evacuation could now proceed.
All he had to do was kill the players gathered here in the meantime.
A simple plan with zero complications.
‘Map shows 53.’
He’d killed 4 guarding the prison on the way, so nearly 60 in total.
Strangely, no burden or guilt weighed on him.
Before the real slaughter began, he shook off his spear.
Blood from the players he’d just killed splattered to the ground.
As if on cue, Jang Ryun and the Chinese players gripped their weapons tighter.
“You and that greenhorn earlier—you’ve both lost all fear. Or maybe your heads are messed up.”
He twirled a finger by his temple.
Jang Ryun thrust his sword forward.
His posture screamed he’d charge any second.
But Jang Ryun held a tense standoff without moving first.
Better to strike first than wait forever, he thought.
“You really won’t say where you’re from?”
Jang Ryun spoke up.
The same question as before. The guy was curious about his identity.
Ignore him? Play along? No time wasted on it.
The area with him and the players was already double-barriered by Ahel.
‘She grumbled about using her stockpiled mana artifacts, but……’
She’d assured him a couple hours at least.
No player could break a double barrier from someone who’d wielded spatial magic for years.
“Damn it! Everything’s sealed!”
“What about our side?”
“That path’s blocked by that bastard!”
“Teleport stone?”
“It’s a double barrier!”
Indeed, the other players were milling about in panic, unable to escape.
Better to pry info from him then.
He was curious why the guy was stalling anyway.
“What’s it matter? You’re dead either way.”
Jang Ryun’s lip twitched at his words.
“You cocky little shit, keep crawling ’cause I’m going easy?”
“If I’m so cocky, why keep going easy?”
He looked dying to kill him but wasn’t acting.
‘Waiting for backup?’
If so, he was fine letting Jang Ryun stall longer.
‘Radriol’s line turned up nothing.’
Hundreds were locked in the prison he’d found en route.
Could players run a human trafficking op this massive without a peep?
‘Feels off.’
Maybe Bi哈尔 side had accomplices.
Not certain, but suspicion didn’t hurt.
If his guess was spot-on and backup was coming?
‘Catch ’em red-handed.’
His eyes gleamed at the symbols over Jang Ryun and most players’ heads.
But observing Jang Ryun’s reactions sowed doubt in the hypothesis.
‘Less waiting, more hesitating.’
Luckily, no need to ponder long.
“You wouldn’t happen to be from the UK, would you?”
Jang Ryun spilled the reason for his hesitation himself.
Damn System