Chapter 27
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 027
Chapter Title: Overtime
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Woojin headed to the river and washed his body. As he roughly wiped away the rat entrails stuck to various parts of him, big and small fish swarmed in to devour them.
A beast showed up too. It had been prowling the riverbank and veered this way after catching the scent of blood.
“Catch it.”
Woojin muttered the order. Rex lunged forward the instant the command left his lips, clamping down on the beast's neck. The two tangled in a chaotic frenzy of snarls and thrashing.
Woojin listened to the uproar while leisurely continuing his laundry. He rinsed the clothes he'd stripped off earlier, then wrung them out with all his strength.
Drip—
Bright red blood streamed down. Like squeezing a filthy mop, he repeated the process several times until the bloodstains soaked into the fabric visibly faded.
Woojin inspected the blood-drained clothes. The stench had definitely lessened. In exchange, the whole outfit was a wrinkled mess, utterly shabby.
Guess I'll have to make do.
No spare outfit to change into. He'd packed extras, but with the luggage bag soaked in gore, everything inside was in sorry shape.
Confirming as much, Woojin dumped the bag's contents without a second thought. He filled the emptied space with a massive pile of rat tails instead. No clue on the exact count—they were far too numerous to bother tallying.
Woojin soon wrapped up the wash. The beasts' brawl had quieted as well.
Finished already, huh.
The beast lay sprawled on the dirt with its throat ripped open. Badger beast, judging by its looks. Rex dragged the carcass over and dropped it at Woojin's feet.
Didn't look like one with a bounty on it. No recollection of seeing its kind on the request board.
Just harvest the inner core and ditch the rest.
Woojin sliced open the badger's belly and extracted the core. He felt eyes on him—Rex staring at the core with obvious expectation.
“Here.”
He tossed it over without hesitation. The wolf snatched the flying core and gulped it down. Woojin watched for a moment before turning to check on his luggage bag and the queen rat's corpse.
The queen rat wasn't listed in the request, so no idea on its payout... but he'd hauled the body anyway. Woojin gripped its head in his left hand, then toed the remaining torso toward Rex.
“You carry this.”
After feeding it the core, it was time for the wolf to earn its meal. Rex apparently agreed, obediently chomping down on the body without protest.
The wolf and the hunter set off toward the city.
After that...
It wasn't exactly smooth sailing. First off, they got held up at the city gate inspection. He'd washed in the river, but the blood reek was still way too potent.
Even after clearing the checkpoint, stares dogged him everywhere he went.
Looked like he needed to buy a fresh set of clothes... but he was short on coin, bone-tired, and itching to unload those damn rat tails fast. So he beelined straight for the Church Alliance.
Thud!
Woojin dropped the luggage bag and queen rat corpse onto the floor. The priest handling bounties' eyes shook violently.
“...All these leech rat tails?”
“Yeah. Here's a pristine body for comparison.”
Woojin rummaged in the bag's side pocket and pulled out one leech rat corpse. Strangled clean, so it looked intact without a mark.
The priest fished a tail from the bag, then peered at it and the rat's tail in turn through a magnifying glass.
“Shape matches perfectly. And that huge one by the bag...?”
“The rats' ringleader. Pulled queen bee duty for the pack.”
The priest's face twisted oddly as he listened.
“...This is too big for me to approve the reward. Mind waiting a sec?”
The priest bolted from his seat and rushed off somewhere. Clearly fetching a superior. Left alone, Woojin plopped down and hunkered in.
The wait wasn't long.
Soon a middle-aged man strode in. Neatly combed hair, plain priest's robes. He approached Woojin with a warm, folksy smile.
“Pleasure to meet you. Name's Conrad. And yours, brother?”
“Call me Jin.”
Conrad bobbed his head repeatedly, clearly intrigued.
“You've been making waves lately. Here's hoping we cross paths often.”
Seemed Woojin's rumors were still buzzing around Pioneer City.
Couldn't be helped. Mercs got loose-lipped over drinks, and his exploits were the sort that spread like wildfire.
Once greetings wrapped up, Conrad's gaze shifted to the haul.
“Trophies look massive even at a glance... You reach the cave's end?”
“Yeah. Ringleader holed up deepest.”
Conrad rummaged in his robes and produced a sheet of parchment. An illustration took center stage on it.
Conrad held it out.
“Ever spot this in the cave?”
Woojin took it and studied the drawing. A bizarre lump clinging to a rock wall—like a massive heart snared in spiderwebs.
He knew what it was. Featured often in the Demonic Realm Chronicles.
Rift Core.
Rift Cores were like seeds that spread the Demonic Realm. Wherever one took root, the surrounding land gradually warped into demonic territory, just like a plant burrowing roots.
To purify a Demonic Realm-infested zone, you had to destroy the Rift Core. Pinpointing them was one of the Church Alliance's prime directives.
“No Rift Core in that cave.”
Conrad let out a disappointed sigh at Woojin's firm denial.
“What a shame. We figured odds were high... Still, confirming it's gone is harvest enough.”
Hunting Rift Cores meant scouting countless danger zones. In that light, the leech rat cave was a headache they'd have poked eventually once expeditions kicked off.
But Woojin had rolled up his sleeves, sparing them the hassle. Conrad had every obligation to reward that effort.
“Two hundred gold coins it is.”
“...Isn't that a bit much?”
Woojin doubted his ears for a second. Way bigger than he'd anticipated. Conrad chuckled and waved it off.
“It's just two hundred. We're talking a job needing multiple veteran Holy Knights—and one slip could mean fatalities.”
Weigh the supplies, manpower, and risks? Two hundred gold was fair play.
“But verification first, of course. Bit rude to ask, but... could you guide us to the cave tomorrow? We'll inspect inside, then pay out handsomely, no skimping.”
For all they knew, Woojin might've overlooked it. They'd send a team for cross-check; if they found one, tack on another hundred gold.
Made perfect sense, so Woojin nodded. Even so, the sum felt so massive the whole thing bordered on surreal.
...Shouldn't have bickered with Claire.
Just days ago, scrapping over a hundred gold felt downright idiotic now.
Next morning.
Woojin scarfed a quick meal at the inn, then headed to the Church Alliance. Conrad was waiting out front, as if expecting him.
“Lead on.”
“...You're coming personally?”
Conrad seemed set on tagging along. Cave delving could get dicey, so Woojin voiced concern.
Conrad laughed and jerked a thumb back.
“My brothers here'll escort. We're good.”
Two hulking Holy Knights stood there, arms crossed. Top-tier fighters at a glance. No offense to Raymond, but comparing their skill would be insulting.
Woojin nodded. No mishaps with those guys along.
They exited the city and trekked toward the cave. Midway, Conrad piped up with a sudden curiosity.
“Where's the wolf? Word is Skull Crusher runs a wolf beast like a hunting dog.”
With so many escorts, no need for Rex—but Conrad eyed him eagerly, keen to see the rumor in the flesh.
Impressing the client never hurt.
Might as well feed it breakfast while we're at it.
Woojin whistled. The red wolf padded hesitantly from the woods. He fished half a turkey from his bag and handed it over.
Crunch, crunch—
Rex plopped down and tore into it. Conrad couldn't hide his awe.
“Incredible... Taming a wolf beast for real. Harmony Church would kill for that.”
“Any special reason?”
“Wolves are one of Goddess Ea's symbols. That's why Harmony Church poured effort into taming them.”
Thinking back... Raymond was a Harmony follower too.
No wonder. Guy was obsessed with wolf-taming methods for a reason.
Those pop-ins whenever Woojin had a gap? Probably Raymond grinding for the church.
Conrad kept sharing church lore after that. Woojin listened intently, and time slipped by quick. Before long, the leech rat cave came into view.
“Watch your step. Cave's damp—floor gets slippery.”
Woojin gave the heads-up, then entered with Rex. Conrad and the two Holy Knights followed, torches raised. The four pressed deeper.
...Except they had company already.
“Squeeee!!”
Three hefty badgers wheeled on them, fangs bared. Claws stretched like sickles, mouths crusted with dried blood.
Same breed Rex had bagged yesterday.
Claw Badger, I think?
Not powerhouse types, but reckless as hell. Badgers gonna badger—Earth's Guinness record for ballsiest beast.
Judging by the scene... they'd swarmed for the rat corpses Woojin had ditched.
“I'll handle these.”
He drew his machete. No way he'd let the client tangle with trash mobs after that payday. Time to earn his keep.
The Holy Knights saw it differently. Standing by while one guy faced three beasts? Dishonorable. They moved to draw swords.
But Conrad reined them in.
“Let him be. He wants solo.”
Might as well gauge his skills.
Archbishop Conrad, ruler of Pioneer City 1, fixed his gaze on Woojin's movements.