Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Small Gift
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In the world-class hunter powerhouse that is South Korea, there are a total of 37 rankers, and 20 of those 37 are in Seoul.
If you pick the five relatively young rankers among those 20 hunters in Seoul?
Ranking 20th, Berserker Jang Dae-woong.
Ranking 58th, Master Archer Ki Pa-rang.
Ranking 380th, Dark Emperor Gi So-yul.
Ranking 510th, Black Sword Lee Seon-ah.
Ranking 830th, White Pig Yoo Sang-don.
These are the ones who come up.
Young blood in their twenties, the rising stars who will lead South Korea as a hunter powerhouse in the future.
Internet enthusiasts call them the five stars floating over Seoul.
They call them Seoul's Five Stars.
* * *
“…….”
Gulp.
I swallowed hard.
‘Jang Dae-woong…….’
As someone dreaming of becoming a ranker, how could I not know that man!
I blankly stared at the monster that had dropped from the sky.
World ranking 20th.
Domestic ranking 2nd, and the eldest of Seoul's Five Stars.
A man said to be able to pulverize an entire mountain with a single fist.
‘To think the connection Gi So-yul called was someone of that caliber.’
I marveled inwardly.
Then again, Gi So-yul is a big shot herself?
[08:31:01 PM]
“Exactly one minute late, but looks like I’m not too late.”
Jang Dae-woong slightly lifted the corner of his mouth.
“Everyone here except that guy over there—are they all Hellhound’s lackeys? Oh, by the way, Hellhound is my personal nickname for him. Haha!”
He clenched his fist and stood up, laughing heartily.
But not a single person could look at him and laugh along.
“Huh…….”
“Ugh, um…….”
All the Shadow Assassins hunters were sweating bullets, glancing around nervously.
Some tried to sneak away, but they couldn’t.
All of them.
They were crushed by the overwhelming power of the Berserker.
It was just one man’s arrival.
Like a massive Siberian tiger appearing before a flock of dozens of sheep.
The Berserker’s presence made everyone’s hearts tingle.
Then.
“B-Berserker, sir.”
The assassin, Go Jae-young, cautiously stepped forward.
“Did you call for me?”
Jang Dae-woong fixed his gaze on Go Jae-young.
“Y-Yes. If I may ask, what brings you here?”
“That’s definitely rude.”
“Urk.”
Jang Dae-woong’s aura intensified.
Just his glare was enough to completely break Go Jae-young’s spirit.
Even so, Go Jae-young didn’t give up.
No, he couldn’t give up.
The moment he did, it was death.
“This is a personal matter between our Shadow Assassins, Pa-rang, and that man Ju Dong-hoon up ahead……. O-Of course, I’m not trying to question your presence here, Berserker sir, but is there really any benefit in clashing with our Shadow Assassins……?”
“Hmm, interesting words.”
Jang Dae-woong smirked.
“No benefit in me clashing with the Shadow Assassins?”
“…….”
Go Jae-young flinched awkwardly.
“Hahaha, truly beyond imagination? Unfortunately, I’ve always thought the opposite. That the Shadow Assassins have to pull out all the stops to avoid clashing with me. Looks like we’ve had a misunderstanding!”
Jang Dae-woong burst into laughter after holding it back.
‘Damn it.’
Go Jae-young gritted his teeth.
There was no flaw in his words.
The Shadow Assassins’ leader, Hellhound, was ranked 92nd.
The man before him was a whopping 20th.
An absurd gap.
In truth, any clash would be 100% a loss for the Shadow Assassins.
“Friend. First off, there’s a huge error in what you said. The moment Hellhound dared to mess with Ki Pa-rang, this stopped being personal.”
“N-No way. An alliance with Pa-rang?”
Go Jae-young’s eyes widened.
‘Oh?’
I was surprised too.
Because.
Seoul's Five Stars was just a name slapped on by enthusiasts.
There had never been any public sight of them hanging out together.
Jang Dae-woong continued.
“And second. I really, really hate Hellhound. Especially the Shadow Assassins. To the point of loathing. Haha.”
“…….”
“Like mosquitoes sucking the blood of the weak to survive. A plague on society. Unmanly bastards.”
Jang Dae-woong clenched his fist and raised it high.
Whooosh! Wooong!
An immense amount of energy began gathering there, enough to choke the breath from your lungs.
“And third. Do you really think I’m the only one who came here?”
Jang Dae-woong’s meaningful question.
As if answering it, another figure dropped from the sky.
A woman with black hair and a long rapier.
“Wow, as expected of the Berserker. Impressive! I rushed here as fast as I could, and I’m just now arriving!”
Ranking 510th.
Black Sword Lee Seon-ah smiled brightly.
And then.
Another figure soon descended.
Boom!
A thud heavy enough to shake the world.
“Hey, I came running the moment I got the call. Hellhound can be handled by the Ki siblings anyway…… Plus, I was curious about the person So-yul wanted to introduce. For her personality to introduce someone first? Heh, that’s world-shaking!”
Ranking 830th.
The chubby man nicknamed the White Pig.
White Pig Yoo Sang-don too.
‘Wow.’
I was in awe.
With just one call from Gi So-yul.
Three of Seoul's Five Stars had gathered at once.
Beings who could each be considered national asymmetric assets.
‘And they all…… look familiar.’
Faces you’d only see on mass media.
The rankers who shine for South Korea, respected by hunters worldwide.
Such people were moving vividly right before my eyes.
Only then did I truly feel what Gi So-yul had said.
[I’m willing to introduce you to many connections on that side. Connections that could directly change your life.]
The identities of those connections were clearly the ones before me.
“Hahaha, it’s been a while, everyone!”
Wooong!
The energy gathering in the Berserker’s fist kept amplifying.
“It’s been a while, so we should exchange greetings. But first, if we don’t clear out these bugs in front of us, won’t the bugs feel left out? Haha.”
“As expected, Berserker! So bold!”
“Hey, hey! Jang Dae-woong! You’re not planning to hog all the fun alone, right? Leave some for me.”
The relaxed conversation among the rankers.
“…….”
I envied how they could have that conversation overlooking the entire Shadow Assassins.
It meant they were strong enough for the enemies to not even register.
“D-Damn it!”
Go Jae-young shouted in desperation.
With three rankers having appeared, they had only one choice left.
Thrash about.
“Everyone, go all out! We outnumber them! Focus on one at a time!”
Just as Jang Dae-woong had said.
They had no choice but to thrash like bugs.
But.
“F-Fight?”
“I can’t!”
“There was no talk of this!”
From a criminal group whose only collective goal was personal gain.
Expecting proper control was impossible.
The hunters scattered like frightened rats, fleeing in all directions.
“…….”
A perfect reversal of the situation.
I looked on bitterly as I approached Kim Jun-seo.
My brother, who’d been stirring up trouble lately.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
As I undid his bindings, I watched the rankers’ battle.
No, the massacre.
* * *
Kwa-gaga-gang!
The ground split into a crater from the Berserker’s swung fist.
Whoosh!
The swung strike tore through the air, slamming into the backs of fleeing hunters.
Kwaduduk!
It was a strike of utter annihilation.
Hunters hit directly were torn apart entirely, not even leaving corpses behind.
If anything was left, it was just the bright red blood staining the wrecked ground.
‘C-Crazy.’
Go Jae-young trembled.
‘Just one punch, and all the guys who were running are gone?’
This was the power of ranking 20th.
Terror gripped him.
Like prey caught in a trap, his body froze solid.
Lee Seon-ah swinging her black sword strikes.
Jang Dae-woong endlessly shouting [Hahaha!] as he crushed opponents.
In his eyes, they looked like nothing but ferocious reapers.
‘D-Damn it. Where did it all go wrong?’
Was targeting Gi So-yul such a grave greed?
One thing was certain.
Those rankers made sure to finish off the fleeing ones first.
The odds of survival were 99% death anyway.
For that 1%, Go Jae-young gave up fleeing and racked his brain.
‘Gotta hide first.’
He slipped into a nearby shadow, activating stealth.
‘Even a tiger’s den can be survived if you keep your wits.’
From within the shadow, Go Jae-young quickly used a skill.
[Skill: ‘Corpse Creation’ (B-Grade) used.]
His survival secret technique: corpse disguise.
Swish!
A corpse identical to himself appeared before his eyes.
A fresh corpse, as if just killed.
‘Heh. Even a ranker won’t think this is a trick…….’
His eyes widened just as he smirked in triumph.
Poke poke.
Someone was prodding his back with what felt like a stick.
“Human.”
Shockingly, the prodder was a skeleton.
The skeleton that damned human Ju Dong-hoon called “Sun.”
“What are you doing hiding there?”
The skeleton even spoke, bizarrely.
“H-How did you find this place?”
Go Jae-young panicked.
“Do you think a trick like that would work on me, who has lived my whole life without eyes?”
Deceptions meant nothing to Sun Spear.
To him, sight was merely a curious form of entertainment from the start.
Flash!
Light flashed from Sun Spear’s spear.
The glaring light instantly erased the shadow where Go Jae-young hid.
Naturally, it drew the attention of all the nearby rankers.
“Th-This! Shit!”
Cursing, Go Jae-young surged with energy.
No choice now—all or nothing.
At least dragging Ju Dong-hoon down with him would ease his mind in death.
“Die!”
Thung!
Just as he stepped forward to plunge his dagger into his throat.
Puk!
“Guh, guhek!”
Something blocked his chest, halting his advance.
Go Jae-young’s gaze slowly dropped.
There, a vicious bone spear was embedded in his chest.
Puhwak!
Blood gushed from his mouth.
“Foolish, human. You dared try to pass me to reach my lord?”
“Keuheuk…… Keuuk!”
“You reek of the same filth as the humans from the world I once lived in.”
Sun Spear’s spear slowly rotated—grrr.
As if it knew exactly how to maximize a human’s pain.
“A mere…… skele……ton?”
Spitting blood, Go Jae-young shook his head.
He couldn’t believe it.
That his life, spent dreaming of becoming a ranker, would end so pathetically.
The skull with its icy expression drew close to Go Jae-young’s face.
“I can see right through what you’re thinking from your eyes.”
Sun Spear’s voice was chilling.
“You think your life is over?”
“Keuk, keuhk. Kuuuk!”
Go Jae-young clamped his mouth shut and lowered his gaze.
No anger, nothing.
Resignation.
The mounting pain had brought him to the point of wanting to give up on life.
“I thought so too. But the afterlife definitely exists. I am proof. Look. I, who died, now live in this reality.”
“Keu, keuk?”
The afterlife exists?
Go Jae-young’s eyes wavered.
“You will pay for your sins even after death.”
“W-Wait……. S-Spare me. Please spare me. I-I’ll atone while alive! Alive! Please!”
Go Jae-young begged hysterically for his life.
Puhwak!
But Sun Spear mercilessly yanked out the spear.
Whirlic!
The spear spun gracefully before plunging puuk! into Go Jae-young’s throat.
Go Jae-young’s body shuddered violently before going limp.
“…….”
The end of a criminal who had stopped at nothing to achieve his goals.
On Seonyudo Island, where all Shadow Assassins hunters had already vanished without a trace.
“…….”
Step, step.
I looked down bitterly at the dead Go Jae-young.
In truth, everything Sun had done and said was on my orders.
“Farewell. You got back what you dished out, so don’t feel too hard done by.”
Making him tremble in fear until his final breath.
That was my own little gift prepared for him.
A terribly modest little gift, compared to what he’d done.