Chapter 172
Chapter 172
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 172
Chapter Title: How to Survive in a Brutal World (1)
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Whoooosh!
In a chilly Siberian city.
A man in a black suit burst through the door into the pristine office building.
“Brother Zahar!”
The burly bald man with a fierce face was named Pavel.
He was Zahar’s own brother, infamous for his brutality in this region.
“What’s going on?”
Unlike his brother, Zahar’s kind face was covered in a thick beard as he asked.
“I heard some Eastern foreigners—a man and a woman—are heading toward our building.”
“Foreigners?”
Zahar frowned.
This city, ‘Krasnoyarsk,’ was already done for.
With no one wandering the streets, no shops open, how could it function as a city?
The government had washed its hands of it, and criminal organizations were rampant.
Citizens had to join a gang just to survive.
In short, everyone here was basically part of a gang.
“You’ve got some guts coming to a place like this. They’re obviously not tourists. What’s their purpose?”
“No idea. But them heading straight for us gives me the chills.”
Even if the city was ruined.
There were countless organizations here.
So why head for our headquarters of all places?
“What’s their vibe?”
“No clue. They’re too far to judge. What do we do?”
“Hmm.”
Zahar tapped the table with his fingers, pondering.
“Probably here because of that dungeon this time...”
“Then why not go straight there? Why come our way?”
“Get the guys on standby for now.”
A brutal city.
In a place surrounded by criminal organizations on all sides, vigilance was essential to survive.
There were more gangs wiped out by sudden raids than you could count on two hands.
“Should I just take the guys and handle it myself?”
“You?”
“They look young. I’ll ask what they want, and if they’re nobodies, just dunk ’em real quick.”
“Damn it, you lunatic.”
Zahar looked at his brother Pavel with pity.
That was always his brother’s problem.
He understood getting rough to survive in a place like this.
But when he spouted thoughtless crap like that, it made his chest tight.
“Who the hell said dunking people? Just talk to them politely and send them packing. They might be heavy hitters, so be careful.”
“Heavy hitters?”
Pavel snorted.
“Bro, even if a ranker shows up, no sweat. Plus, it’s just two of them. Remember? We’ve already dunked more than two rankers.”
The Zahar brothers were S-rank hunters.
Most of their gang members were A-rank too.
That’s how they’d claimed several buildings in this ‘city of mafias.’
In other words.
Not world-class, but local thugs for sure?
And not just that.
Russian hunters had fought people more than monsters.
So they had tons of experience in hunter-vs-hunter combat.
Clueless rankers who challenged them often ended up dead.
“Still, be careful. Screw up against a high ranker, and we’re really fucked.”
“Come on, bro. That’s your problem—too damn paranoid. Why would a high ranker come to a dump like this?”
“...Yeah, maybe.”
Zahar felt he might be overreacting.
There was no way someone from the world’s top 100 would come to a backwater like this.
Still.
“You memorized the new ranker list this time, right? Completely changed.”
“...Bro, it’s been less than a week. Us thick-headed types need at least a month!”
“Ugh, it’s important.”
Zahar shook his head.
Fair enough.
Thinking of a smart brother made his skin crawl a bit.
“Anyway. Just in case, be cautious. Ask their reason politely.”
“Got it, bro. Trust me.”
* * *
Halt!
As Gi So-yul and I emerged and walked down the deserted road, we stopped in place.
“They really came, huh?”
Gi So-yul looked at me with amazement.
I’d scanned the city with the Azure Heaven Heart Method right after arriving and headed straight for the strongest energy signature.
I hadn’t explained in detail, so she must’ve found it intriguing.
“Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen... no, twenty? They’ve already surrounded us.”
Amje closed his eyes and sensed the surrounding energies.
“Bingo. Spot on.”
I nodded.
“Exactly twenty. And their energies feel seriously murderous.”
I turned my head too, scanning the area.
I spotted a crumpled beer can in the corner.
One that had been stomped flat.
Step, step.
I walked slowly through the silent air.
Clang!
Then kicked it hard.
Screeech!
The crushed can sliced through the air, flying off somewhere.
And then.
Thud!
“Gah!”
A dull impact echoed with someone’s scream.
I muttered to that scream like a melody.
“I know you’re all watching. Come out.”
The city was so quiet.
Even a whisper carried far.
“Hoo.”
Soon enough.
Someone stepped out with an intrigued expression, thud thud.
A sleek bald head, body covered in scars.
“Coming out swinging right from the start?”
He smirked and muttered.
“Looks like you can throw down a bit. Who are you, and what do you want here?”
“Hm.”
I made a surprised face.
Fine if he didn’t know me, but not knowing Gi So-yul too?
Not big on rankers?
Or maybe info was slow in this ruined city?
‘Makes sense.’
I’d heard about this.
Our tiny country had fast internet, quick info.
But in big places like Russia or America, it got slower the further out you went.
“You guys the local mafia here?”
I asked by way of greeting.
“What?”
The bald guy scoffed.
“Mafia? Heh heh heh, yeah. Mafia. So what?”
“Just got some questions.”
“Questions, huh...”
The bald man kept chuckling like it was hilarious.
Then he stopped laughing and stared at me.
“Hey, hey. Kid.”
“Yeah?”
“You don’t seem to know this place yet. This ain’t somewhere you just barge in and get answers. Know how to ask properly?”
“How?”
I asked out of pure curiosity.
“How? Heh heh. Pay up. Something with value.”
Slurp!
The bald man licked his lips with a creepy grin.
‘Ew.’
What’s with that.
It made me grimace involuntarily.
“Nothing to offer? Then take a beating and scram. Or try somewhere else.”
“Hm. No other options?”
“Other options?”
“Yeah, like a counter-proposal. I won’t beat the crap out of you if you cooperate nicely.”
“What?”
The bald man tilted his head like [What the hell?] before scowling hard.
“You don’t get your situation, do you...”
He gestured with his hand.
Then.
Rustle!
Nineteen hidden hunters revealed themselves.
‘Not bad caliber.’
Each one was elite.
A few S-rank level, all at least A-rank hunters?
About on par with the early Delaila Trial participants.
“You gonna stand by that?”
That’s when the bald man’s face turned vicious.
His underlings surrounded Gi So-yul and me with relaxed smirks.
“These guys got balls of steel, huh?”
“They’re acting cocky with just two? Man, what a joke.”
“They don’t know how scary the world is. Or Russia, specifically.”
“Pavel bro? Break a finger first? No need to just listen.”
Burly guys covered in tattoos.
Total delinquent vibe.
‘Perfect.’
I smiled.
This made it easier.
Even if they were criminals.
I’d felt a twinge about roughing them up first for info.
But if they came at me hostile, I could beat them freely, right?
“Hey, look at that guy. Smiling?”
“Hasn’t snapped out of it? Or is he nuts?”
“That one’s a lost cause, bro. Rip off a toe too?”
Hm.
You’re the lost cause.
Keep talking about fingers and toes on normal folks.
Time to give it right back.
One word can settle a thousand-tael debt, but one word can also lead to ruin, right?
“Dong-hoon, should I handle them?”
Gi So-yul asked in a chilling voice.
I shook my head.
“Nah.”
Then whoosh! I swung my newly made staff.
“Time to give the non-awakened ones some real combat training.”
[Uses skill, ‘Skeleton Lord Summon’ (S-rank).]
[Uses 30 stamina.]
[‘Bone1’ appears.]
[‘Bone5’ appears.]
[‘Bone8’ appears.]
I summoned three skeletons total.
Bone1, Bone5, Bone8.
Creeeak!
They rose from the ground, joints creaking as they gripped their weapons.
“What, a necromancer?”
“Heh heh heh, skeletons? This punk’s looking down on us bad.”
Clatter! Shing!
The twenty hunters drew their weapons too.
“Hey.”
The bald man called Pavel stepped forward.
“Kneel and apologize now. I’ll spare your life.”
“Apologize? For what?”
“Tch, lunatic. Just beat him. I’ll dunk him in a drum later.”
That was it.
No more words needed.
Now for the language of fists.
Then talk again after.
* * *
“Go.”
Screeeeech!
Bone1 and Bone8 charged at insane speeds.
Slash!
Bone1’s greatsword first severed a mafioso’s ankle.
And.
Boom!
Bone8’s gauntlet slammed another’s gut hard.
One clutching his ankle and collapsing, another floating mid-air before flying off.
All in just three seconds.
“W-What!”
“Crazy, what’s so fast?!”
The Russian hunters panicked, but it was already too late.
Boom! Slash! Slash!
Unleashed, Bone1 and Bone8 pounced like wolves among sheep.
“You bastard!”
One S-rank hunter swung his blade at Bone1’s neck.
Clang!
“W-What?!”
A heavy shock jolted his hand.
Like slamming layered iron armor.
And.
Roar!
He felt his body heat up instantly and screamed.
Bone5’s fire-attribute magic.
“Gaaah! Gaaaaah! Water! Douse it!”
Sizzle!
A fellow mage summoned water and sprayed it.
Barely extinguished, but his skin was already blistered red.
“F-Fuck...?”
The hunters sensed something off.
Insanely tough and fast.
A- and S-rank hunters getting wrecked helplessly.
Even match?
Bullshit.
No formations or teamwork mattered.
Just bulldoze in, and dodging was their only option.
‘What?’
Pavel suddenly felt a chill.
He’d brushed off his brother Zahar’s words.
‘Real heavy hitter?’
One that multiple A- and S-ranks couldn’t handle...
‘A ranker!’
Not just any—a pretty high one.
Cold water doused his head, having underestimated.
‘This is fucked.’
Just looking at the situation told him.
His guys couldn’t even take one skeleton.
‘Damn it.’
Brother Zahar was right.
Should’ve been careful always.
“Gaaaaah!”
Then, one underling screamed.
Clutching his fingers and toes, hopping mad.
Definitely the one who’d talked big earlier.
“Goddamn.”
It meant one thing.
The enemy wasn’t going all out.
Toying with them while holding back.
Otherwise, how could he target just fingers and toes so blatantly?
‘What do I do?’
Grip!
Pavel clutched his axe.
‘Necromancer, so hit the main body?’
But.
He only thought it—couldn’t move rashly.
‘Now I see.’
How overwhelming the man and woman’s auras were.
And then it hit him.
‘Come to think of it.’
Recently... a high ranker using skeletons popped up, right?
Couldn’t recall the exact rank, but it had shocked him.
“...”
Suddenly, Pavel felt his heart drop to his stomach.
The guy he hadn’t even glanced at, thinking he’d never cross paths.
Why the hell show up now, of all times?
‘Fuuuuck.’
Only one option left.
The biggest reason the Zahar brothers survived the brutal mafia world.
Their pride was lighter than you’d think.
“S-Sorry! My bad!”
Pavel dropped to his knees fast, hands raised high.
“Surrender! Surrender! What’re you idiots doing?! Kneel now!”
He yelled desperately at his men.
“I’ll spill everything! Please, just spare our lives! Bro!”