Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Organization Sweep (2)
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After a small barbecue party at my place wrapped up and I practiced a bit with the talismans, I fell asleep.
"See you later."
"Krurrung."
With a send-off from my housemates, I headed to work.
The moment I arrived, the support team was bustling about.
Today, Team 10 had a new rescue mission assigned.
According to the concise briefing from former Team Leader Park Cheolwoo, a sudden monster phenomenon had broken out in a commercial building, and there were civilians still trapped inside who hadn't evacuated in time.
With victims still emerging even now, we quickly finished our preparations and rushed to the scene.
But when we actually arrived, the sight that greeted us was nothing like a typical monster outbreak.
There wasn't a monster in sight. Instead, in the center of the plaza in front of the commercial building, a man was standing unsteadily, clutching what looked like a sword-shaped item.
Around him, several police officers lay collapsed with severe wounds, groaning in pain, and the man was on the verge of tears, screaming desperately.
"Please... please, someone stop me! My hand... my hand is moving on its own!"
Contrary to his pitiful cries, the sword in his hand was slashing wildly through the air like a living creature, menacing everything around it.
It seemed the man had overestimated his abilities, mishandled an item beyond his control, and it had gone berserk.
Item rampages like that could cause massive damage to the surroundings, so swift suppression was essential.
"...We'll move the injured officers out. Bora and Minjun, you two handle that guy."
"Yes."
While the team members carried the wounded police to safety, I slowly drew my sword.
Perhaps sensing the faint glow of the Returning Sword in my hand, the tip of the rampaging sword in the man's grip twitched like it had a will of its own, pointing straight at me. A blatant provocation, as if saying, "Let's go."
I decided to answer his challenge. I approached him slowly but without hesitation.
"Don't come closer! It's dangerous! My sword... my hand won't obey me!"
The man was still crying out.
The instant I entered his range, his sword swung at me ferociously.
I swung my hand with full force toward his sword as well.
Whoosh!
Clang—!
My Returning Sword clashed head-on with the man's rampaging blade.
And in the next moment, both swords shattered like glass, scattering across the ground.
The fragments left in the man's hand lost their power and fell to the floor. He collapsed on the spot, staring blankly at his empty hand with a hollow expression.
"Huh, how...? It didn't even scratch against a wall..."
"No need for me to step in after all."
Bora let out a hollow laugh and tucked away the talisman she'd pulled out.
One incident resolved.
I shrugged lightly.
I tapped the sheath to resummon my Returning Sword.
All that was left was to calm the man down and wrap up the situation. The mission had ended more anticlimactically than expected.
Well, these things happen sometimes.
Only after the rampaging sword lay in pieces did the man finally regain his composure, gasping for breath raggedly.
"...What happened?"
"...W-Well..."
We waited a moment for him to calm down, then cautiously asked what had gone down.
He still seemed shell-shocked, staring vacantly at the sword fragments on the ground for a long while before slowly opening his mouth.
"I... wanted a job at a monster agency."
His voice was still trembling faintly.
"These days, getting into big corporations dealing with monsters is like reaching for the stars, but I heard smaller, independently run agencies would hire you if you could handle even one item properly. So... I really psyched myself up and bought this sword through Jinmyeong Group."
He stroked his arm with a shaking hand.
There was a small bloodstain on it.
"Just like the manual said... I drew the sword and dripped a bit of my blood on the blade, and suddenly—really suddenly—it got burning hot like it was fusing to my arm, and it completely took over. It started moving wildly, regardless of my will. I swear! I didn't do anything!"
Listening to his desperate explanation, I couldn't help thinking of cursed demon swords from games or novels.
Items that grant immense power to the user but erode and rampage through them in turn—dangerous things like that.
At that moment, Hanbit, who had been listening quietly from the side, darkened with a cold expression. He approached the man and asked in a low voice.
"Did you really buy it from Jinmyeong Group? If you still have that manual, could you show it to me?"
The man looked puzzled but pulled a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it to Hanbit.
Hanbit took it and examined it closely. His eyes sharpened. After a moment, he shook his head and stated firmly.
"This isn't a Jinmyeong Group manual. The logo, the format—it's all a shoddy fake. Where exactly did you buy this?"
The man's face filled with shock at Hanbit's words.
"What? A fake? No way... I just searched 'Jinmyeong Group' and bought it from the top site that came up! Wasn't that the official seller?"
Hearing that, the details of the sub-quest Hanbit had asked me about recently flashed in my mind.
An organization impersonating Jinmyeong Group, distributing dangerous fake items.
It seemed their tentacles reached farther and deeper than I'd thought.
"How exactly did you transact for that item? Did you meet the seller in person?"
At Hanbit's question, the man nodded.
"Yes. Since it's a high-value item... the seller suggested a direct handoff first. We met at the agreed spot, they demonstrated the item's effects right in front of me, I confirmed it, then paid."
Direct trade, huh. That might be the surest way to make contact with them.
Right there, I made up my mind. I'd do a direct trade with them myself and meet them face-to-face.
I needed to see with my own eyes what kind of scum they were to impersonate Jinmyeong Group so boldly and distribute so many fake items.
We returned to the company first and accessed the site together with Hanbit.
Just as the man said, searching 'Jinmyeong Group' put their counterfeit site right at the top.
"These bastards..."
Hanbit's face twisted.
The site design was crude, but the array of items listed was staggering. Offensive items, armor, even rare auxiliary ability items.
Peering at the screen with me, Hanbit voiced his doubt.
"How the hell... did they get their hands on so many different kinds of items?"
His words reminded me of the casino monster outbreak from not long ago.
They'd been auctioning off tons of items there too.
Maybe these guys were sourcing items in bulk from some special monster outbreak we didn't know about?
Contacting them came first.
I picked one item from the long list that was relatively cheap and didn't seem too dangerous.
It was called [One Stroke Wonder], a brush that let you write endlessly without ink—a pretty modest function.
Picking something too pricey or powerful might arouse suspicion, so this felt just right.
"Done..."
The trade request went through quickly, and next was setting the date and place.
I chose from several options. Without hesitation, I picked the earliest: 'tomorrow morning.'
Perfect—tomorrow morning was my day off.
Hanbit repeatedly warned me to be careful right up until we parted.
I nodded that it'd be fine in response to his sincere concern, but truthfully, I felt a bit of tension too. It was a meeting with a shadowy organization for an item trade, after all.
The next morning, I headed to the meeting spot they'd designated.
It was an old, deserted parking lot next to a mart—sparsely populated.
The shady vibe was perfect for them. I leaned against one side of the lot, waiting.
Right on time, a black van pulled slowly into the entrance. The heavy tint made it impossible to see inside.
It stopped in front of me, and the passenger window slid down smoothly. A rough-looking guy scanned me and asked.
"You the buyer?"
His voice dripped with wariness.
I nodded silently, and he jerked his chin toward the inside of the van.
"Get in for now. We'll show you the goods inside."
I hesitated a moment, but since I'd come this far, there was no backing out. I opened the back door and got in obediently.
That's when I realized there were more people inside than expected.
One in the driver's seat, one in the passenger seat, and two more in the row behind mine, already watching me.
Their presence crammed into the tight space exuded heavy pressure, but oddly, I didn't feel scared.
Compared to the subway station packed with monsters recently, this was a breeze.
The moment I was fully in and the door shut, the guy in the passenger seat suddenly spoke in a totally different tone—openly condescending.
"Alright, customer. Before we hand over the goods, one thing to check."
He grinned sleazily as he continued.
"We gotta add a handling fee to yesterday's agreed price. Bring an extra 500,000 won on top of the original amount. Simple, right?"
"Won't let you out without paying up. Got it?"
It was half-threat.
Changing the price out of nowhere before even showing the item.
The vibe in the van screamed, "Don't pay extra, and you might regret it."
A normal person would've gotten scared, forked over the cash, or frozen in terror.
In that atmosphere.
I let out a small chuckle.
Every guy in the van turned to stare at me.
Confusion and irritation flashed across their faces. Probably the first time someone reacted to their intimidation like this.
The laugh had slipped out unbidden.
Monsters were begging me to leave, yet here humans were trying to trap me—it felt a bit ironic.
"Bro, this punk's laughing."
"...Why?"
The men eyed me like I was some freak.