He Got Played?
Annoying.
It had started off tedious.
Of course, removing my helmet wouldn't reveal Bae Hyeongsin's face.
Instead, I'd have to show the skeleton bandit.
That would make Kim Taesu—suspecting the skeleton for a monster—might attack.
But I could explain about the summons.
Still, this place was public.
I had no intention of revealing my identity.
I just wanted to quietly pick the right map stones and level up.
"Faking death?"
That was a decent option too.
Operation Fake Death.
The downside was that Kim Taesu, that Hunterpol detective, might use his investigation pretext to stir up trouble.
Or...
"It'd look suspicious, but telling just one person more wouldn't hurt, right?"
That seemed like the best choice.
I called Hansik on his phone.
When Hansik picked up, he handed the phone to Kim Taesu.
Kim Taesu had no choice but to take it.
"Who is this?"
Voice laced with suspicion.
"Hello? Detective Kim Taesu. I'm the owner of the zombie man standing in front of you. Just know it's one of my summons. I have no desire to reveal my abilities."
"Summon? Looks like a human to me."
I respectfully asked him.
"It looks human, but it's my summon. Detective Kim Taesu, according to Article 29 of the Awakened Status Information Protection Act, 'Awakened individuals have the freedom not to disclose their abilities to anyone other than the people specified in this law.' Of course, if a warrant had been issued, the situation would be different, but surely you don't have one, Detective."
Even though I only prepared for the civil service exam for three years.
That was enough legal knowledge.
I first told him I was a person protected by law.
"Huh. You seem to have studied law. The police have the authority to check the identity of suspicious persons to ensure the safety of the citizens."
"If it's a license, I'll show it."
Hansik showed Kim Taesu his Awakened license.
"Lee Doosik... E minus?"
"You got it, it's an E-class."
"How am I supposed to believe this? It could be a lost or stolen license. And do you seriously think an E-class hunter can enter a B-class gate? Face covered? I'm warning you. Take off your helmet. Please cooperate."
Hah.
Yeah, he wouldn't understand logically.
Even if Kalid was harmless outside the gate, the trash monsters inside this place weren't weak.
The hunting ground where a minimum C-class five-person party had to risk their lives was right here.
"Detective. I have no obligation to explain, but for the sake of cooperating with public authority, I will tell you the identity of my summon. But I have no intention of disclosing it to anyone you haven't allowed. You must keep it a secret. If you break that, I'll sue."
"Hah. What, did you become an awakener to be a lawyer? Your tongue is too long."
"This call has been recorded. You agreed to protect my information."
"That's why nerds are... Chat, where the hell did you hear that? Fine, then take off the helmet."
I finally ordered Hansik to show only the detective his identity.
Hansik scanned the surroundings, then raised his helmet lens slightly in front of Detective Kim Taesu.
"Wak! Son of a bitch, startled me!"
"I was trying not to make it public to the masses."
"What? Necromancer?"
"Isn't it written on your license? Summoner. If you're still suspicious, go ask the Awakened Management Association. Hunter Baek Jongdu and Hunter Ahn Seongjin know my abilities."
Necromancer was the class that raised corpses.
But I was different.
I was a summoner who created something from nothing.
Of course, the results would be similar, but the process was different.
"Hah. I believe you. But what is an E-class doing here? If you came to do business, the shovel and pickaxe look suspicious."
"Do I have to explain that too?"
"I'm on duty. Since you've cooperated this far, you might as well tell me. Otherwise, it feels weird."
He mixed casual speech and honorifics to the end.
How rude.
"Is it a request?"
"You're really picky. Fine, it's a request."
"If I tell you, will you do one of my requests?"
Give and take, right?
If there's something going out, there must be something coming in.
There was no such thing as something for nothing in this world.
I put a condition on him.
"This guy is troublesome. Doosik, do I look like I have time?"
"Do I look like someone I can speak informally to? And isn't this the abuse of public authority? I told you the call is recorded. If you keep acting like a bully cop on the internet, I'll upload the recording."
"Upload or not."
He was famous for the nickname 'Tess-hyung'.
Probably because abuse of power and bullying was his daily routine in Hunterpol.
"Then I won't tell you. Return my license and step aside. I'm not idle either."
"If you don't tell me, I'll find out anyway."
"Go ahead and figure it out. Just give me back my license and phone."
Detective Kim Taesu reluctantly returned the license and smartphone to Hansik.
Hansik tied the backpack containing the shovel and pickaxe and walked into the gate.
* * *
The first impression inside the gate was a highway rest area.
A three-story building had been built.
One thing to note: objects from outside the gate could be brought inside.
Of course, there were restrictions.
First, an awakened could enter the same gate only once a day.
Second, only items they could carry out could be brought in.
That meant the buildings inside this gate had been constructed without heavy machinery.
Of course, even the pyramids were built without heavy equipment, but this wasn't one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
It was clearly a building constructed by the awakened one brick at a time with their own labor.
"Hmm... The entrance looks safe."
Most importantly, there were dozens of hunters spotted at a glance.
There might be even more inside the building.
They were smoking cigarettes in the smoking area or chatting in small groups.
Their clothing and weapons looked like they were from an online game.
Anyone stepping into the hunter world for the first time felt a renewed sense of awe.
At that moment, a bored voice came over the speaker.
"What are you standing around for?"
It was Detective Kim Taesu.
He had pretended to be busy but followed me here.
Every awakened could only enter each gate once a day.
He had given up that one entry to follow me.
He must have looked suspicious enough.
"Ignore me and do your work."
I ordered Hansik.
Hansik took out a mana compass from the front pocket of his backpack.
It was an instrument that guided to the place with the strongest mana flow inside the gate.
Even though it was made in China, it was expensive.
The compass needle was 100% pure mana stone.
I had bought it with big expectations.
The wandering compass found stability.
There would be no one with stronger mana than Kalid inside this gate.
The compass pointed in a direction filled with towering trees and thick undergrowth.
But this was a gate with one of the highest populations in South Korea.
There had to be a path for people to pass through.
"You won't even answer?"
Kim Taesu spoke again.
Correct.
Hansik ignored the bothersome detective and walked in the direction of the compass.
The skeleton soldier's steps were very slow.
It was impossible to shake him off.
"You really aren't cooperating? That just makes the owner, Doosik, more tired, you know?"
It was a blatant threat.
The ultimate epitome of unlikability.
But Hansik, who followed orders, acted as if he hadn't heard and began walking slowly enough to bore someone.
"Hey, what the hell is an E-class doing here? Looking for something to ask about?"
A shovel and a pickaxe.
Those would look like tools to dig up bodies or criminal gains in the detective's eyes.
He probably wouldn't imagine they were for picking map stones.
Moreover, the letter 'A' was written on the badge I had glimpsed earlier.
Detective Kim Taesu, who was chasing A-class Awakened criminal Bae Hyeongsin, was also an A-class hunter.
"Rather, that's good."
I smiled.
Kim Taesu, who didn't know my scheme, kept chasing Hansik impatiently.
"If a monster comes out, I won't help."
What could I do? Ignore it.
"Walk faster. It's driving me crazy."
He really talked a lot.
Hansik walked steadily in the direction the compass pointed, slowly but consistently.
Now the three-story building at the entrance of the gate was out of sight.
So was the crowds.
"This is... the gate."
The view from Hansik's bodycam was eerie.
It felt like a monster could pop out at any moment.
It was not a place where hunters died for nothing.
Hansik walked cautiously, scanning the surroundings and guarding himself.
Detective Kim Taesu, who had said he wouldn't help if a monster appeared, was truly watching from a distance, dragging his feet.
"Hah... That's why he's a detective?"
In movies where the detective is the protagonist, they have essential virtues.
First, their temper is so bad they're called crazy.
Second, they're tenacious.
Third, they fight well.
It's very likely that Detective Kim Taesu possessed all of these.
In that sense, respect.
But at that moment, a subtle movement was captured in Hansik's bodycam.
And at the same time, Hansik took off his helmet and lay down flat.
Hansik, who had no intention of taking off the helmet, removed it without hesitation.
"?!"
Detective Kim Taesu had no choice but to be startled by the sudden action.
"Kyaaaah!"
Sure enough, a monster had appeared.
A huge frog.
It was a B-class trash mob called Perilok.
From what little I had studied, it was said that the expensive parts were none, but the back legs tasted good.
"Kyak?"
Perilok jumped toward Hansik.
Faking death.
He had only checked that there was no flesh on the skeleton.
"Kyaaaah!"
"This bastard."
Perilok's long tongue shot out straight at Detective Kim Taesu hiding behind the tree.
"Chejeong."
Kim Taesu blocked the Perilok's tongue with his shield like a whip, and at the same time tried to snatch it with his bare hand.
But it was quickly retracted back into the Perilok's mouth.
Detective Kim Taesu came out from behind the tree, pointed at the lying skeleton soldier, and tattled on the Perilok.
"Hey, dumb frog, that's just faking death! Attack it for me, not me!"
"Kyaaaah!"
"Tsk tsk. The police side with the monsters."
The frog couldn't understand human speech.
Perilok jumped up to the tree and whipped Kim Taesu again with its long tongue like a whip.
"Chejeong-"
Defense successful again.
Or not, Hansik, who was observing the situation, secretly got up and waved at Kim Taesu.
"Hey, you stupid frog! Look at that! It's just faking death!"
What to do?
Hansik began walking the way he had been going.
"Hey! Don't stop there? Hah, damn it...."
Eventually, Detective Kim Taesu picked up the fishing rod he had on his back.
Shield and fishing rod? Not a knife or hammer?
What was this?
No matter what the setup was, the scent of a veteran filled the air.
Hansik, curious, stopped walking and started watching.
"Kyaaaah!"
Perilok again launched a tongue attack on Kim Taesu.
"Chejeong"
This time, he blocked it with the shield.
Kim Taesu threw the fishing line in a wrapping motion toward the retracting tongue of the Perilok.
The fishing rod looked ordinary, but the line was not.
It had a subtle glow, and it was clearly operated by mana.
The unusually large fishing hook tied to the end could even catch a shark.
"Oh... As expected, A-class."
The fishing hook had caught the Perilok's tongue.
"Kyaaaah!"
Perilok in pain.
But that wasn't the end.
Kim Taesu's attack had just begun.
He began swinging the fishing rod in the air, and the fishing line that came out with the sound of ziiiing and reel spinning started wrapping around Perilok as if it were alive.
Perilok, sensing something that wasn't visible, jumped into the air and rolled on the ground to avoid it, but it was impossible.
This was a B-class gate.
Perilok was a B-class trash mob.
On the other hand, Kim Taesu was an A-class hunter, top 10% among the 0.25% of awakened in humanity.
He said,
"Die."
Kim Taesu slammed the fishing rod on the ground like a judge's gavel.
Perilok fell with a thud and couldn't move.
"Go in peace."
"Zzzzzzzzzit-"
High-voltage current began flowing through Kim Taesu's fishing line.
Perilok convulsed for a long time, turned pitch black, and...
"Kyaaaak-"
With the final words like those of a squeezed Perilok, it exploded with a bang like a water balloon in a microwave.
Cruel.
The back legs I had heard were delicious didn't remain.
"Hey, you zombie man bastard!"
Kim Taesu shouted at Hansik who was watching in front.
Hansik answered with a high-five.