Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Tree Tree (1)
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📰 Top Secret Info from My Bro Author: Rice Swindler Rice Swindler If any suckers have stocks in Lotus Guild, pull 'em out right now. Bitcoin, stocks, Ethereum, Monero—anything tied to Lotus, dump it all, lol. [18 Likes] [2 Dislikes]
💬 Comments — af1d_User ? Suddenly? — Rice Swindler Rice Swindler Yeah, just pull out no questions asked, casual. — af1d_User Why should I? — Rice Swindler Rice Swindler If you're salty, don't. I'm sharing this premium intel thinking of you casuals—special, star, secret shit like this. Tch, casuals are hopeless science lololol — af1d_User What a retard
>ㅗ — The one of one Rice Swindler still kicking around, huh? — Rice Swindler Rice Swindler Yep, still alive and kicking~ — The one of one Weren't you fucked after siphoning drugs in South America? — Rice Swindler Rice Swindler Damn near did, but who am I? Korea's top rice swindler lololol. Always got a way~ — The one of one Can you spot me 2kg like usual? — Rice Swindler Rice Swindler Wait a bit, I'll DM you later. — The one of one ok — kkk So why dump stocks all of a sudden? Guild master kick the bucket or something? That witch? — Rice Swindler Rice Swindler Nah, unfortunately she's still alive. — kkk Then why bother dumping stocks? Lotus is skyrocketing. They cleared that A-rank gate in Incheon no sweat, nothing to tank the price. — Rice Swindler Rice Swindler I wasn't gonna spill this much, but for you kkk, check your DMs lol — kkk ok for now "Private message? Really? Such a hassle..."
A sleek, well-maintained officetel somewhere in Seoul, South Korea.
Inside, a woman tapped away at her keyboard with quick clacks.
The woman using the nickname kkk made a big show of how annoying it was, but still clicked her mouse to send a private message to Rice Swindler Rice Swindler.
Say what you will, but Rice Swindler Rice Swindler was a reliable contact who'd invited kkk into the deep, dark world of Hadal.
He didn't peddle bullshit intel or stir up pointless drama on his own.
"Where is it..."
kkk: So what's this top-secret info you mentioned? Rice Swindler Rice Swindler: You know Sword Princess, right? kkk: Sword Princess? The A-rank hunter in Lotus? Rice Swindler Rice Swindler: Yeah. kkk: Why bring up Sword Princess out of nowhere? Rice Swindler Rice Swindler: Oh, Sword Princess is about to bite it soon. "...What?"
kkk: What the hell does that mean? Why's Sword Princess dying all of a sudden? Rice Swindler Rice Swindler: lololol Typo, obviously. Someone put out a hit on her, duh? "A hit... contract?"
kkk: Sword Princess is A-rank? Some killer gonna take her out? A mere killer? Rice Swindler Rice Swindler: kkk, why you gotta sound so hot and bothered? kkk: ...What the hell does that mean? Rice Swindler Rice Swindler: This is Hadal. Korea, China, US, Russia, Southeast Asia, South America, India, Europe... the deepest underbelly where all the world's filthy, ugly desires converge. You're a newbie so you don't get it, but there are killers here who can snap A-rank hunters like twigs. "Killers like that... exist?"
kkk: For real? Rice Swindler Rice Swindler: Of course. You don't know Tree Tree bro? "Tree Tree?"
kkk: What's Tree Tree? Rice Swindler Rice Swindler: There's this killer operating in Hadal, and that's the one. The guy who took out a Chinese S-rank hunter a year ago. "...Huh?"
Rice Swindler Rice Swindler: Killer who's offed an S-rank is going after Lotus Guild's Sword Princess lol. So if you've got any Lotus stocks, dump 'em now. Her death will tank their price hard. That's all I got. Don't go blabbing I told you, got it? kkk: Rice Swindler Rice Swindler: Hm, cat got your tongue? I'm out. Hit me up later if you want the good stuff, cheap. Rice Swindler logged off, leaving kkk alone in the chat window.
kkk quietly closed it and shut down Hadal.
"So, Sword Princess is gonna die, huh?"
kkk's real name: Han Chae-hwa.
An A-rank hunter and member of Heavenly Wolf Guild, Lotus Guild's rival.
Also an investigator tasked by her guild master sister to probe the dark web known as Hadal.
And something like a recruiter scouting top new talent. That was Han Chae-hwa.
"Not far from here to Lotus... better hurry."
After six months of dead ends, fresh intel had finally come her way.
Chae-hwa threw on a coat, slipped into her shoes with a clack-clack, and headed out.
Today, a hunter using the nickname Tree Tree was supposedly killing Sword Princess. If she rushed over now, maybe she'd catch it. That was her thinking.
An A-rank hunter like Sword Princess's location was unknown to civilians, but for Chae-hwa of Heavenly Wolf's intel team, it was child's play.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Nice... good breeze, good weather, perfect."
Overcast skies thick with clouds.
No rain, barely any wind.
Vision a bit dim without sunlight, but nothing to sweat.
"Whew..."
Open flat plain.
And in its center, a swirling black something.
The gate—the thing that upended human history.
Inside that smoky black vortex, Sword Princess was probably soloing it.
Yeah, Sword Princess. Alone.
"Her hobby's clearing gates below her rank... what a shitty pastime."
Intel said Sword Princess was a narcissist sadist. Loved dropping the weak under her pretty, beautiful sword.
Made sense, then. One of her well-known hobbies: soloing low-rank gates.
Others might think she threw herself in to prevent gate outs, but nah. Just feeding her filthy urges.
"She'll be out soon."
Whatever. Not my business.
Hypocrite or poser, gonna kill her either way.
"Perfect sniper perch."
On the lone hill rising from the flat plain, she set up her tripod and unpacked her anti-materiel rifle, prepping the shot.
Mana barrier around her—no one outside would spot her.
Yeah. Setup complete. Stage set. Just waiting for the star to take center stage.
Sword Princess. Beautiful enough for the moniker? What dance would you perform?
Looking forward to it.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Haaah... this was boring."
The woman known as Sword Princess, real name Seo Ye-rang.
Pure white dress, plunging neckline, thigh-hugging fit.
Beautiful twin swords in hand, inverted cross necklace at her throat.
"Guess I'll head back to the guild."
Sword Princess shook goblin blood from her blades, yawned, and stepped out of the gate.
Of course, the gate wasn't cleared.
Once a hunter enters, it stays shut till the boss drops.
And monsters inside smell humans outside, crawling out to hunt—so if you enter, you clear it or bust.
Or at least call cops or military for containment. Sword Princess? Nah.
"What to eat today~"
She hadn't killed the boss or closed the gate. Just bailed 'cause she lost interest.
Sword Princess felt zero guilt, of course.
She was the superior, beautiful one. Grunt work was for inferiors.
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 Grazed cheek Wind pressure alone shreds flesh to bone
Whoosh—!
Until a bullet grazed her cheek.
"...What?"
Sword Princess was arrogant, but not fragile.
Her arrogance sharpened her situational awareness beyond all.
'A gun?'
The bullet whipped past her cheek.
Riiip—!
Just a graze, barely. Yet her cheek tore open to the bone.
Wind pressure alone. Pure wind pressure.
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 Leg obliterated
Flesh shreds like cannon fire
Bang—!
"Hng...!"
A gunshot echoed from somewhere.
Invisible line sliced the air, slamming her leg.
Boom—!
Just one bullet. But her leg exploded like it'd taken a shell.
Flesh shredding apart.
"Aaaahhhh—!"
Screaming bloody murder at the sudden agony.
Can't take this lying down. Sword Princess gripped her swords and slammed them into the ground.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Orchid Shadow Slash Orchids bloom, shadows lift within 500m radius. Petals slice all
"Orchid Shadow Slash...!"
Her swords hit ground—countless orchids bloomed midair, stripping shadows in a 500m radius.
Orchids fell where shadows vanished, shredding everything.
Would instant-kill civilians. Sword Princess's trump card, survival only—no thought for surroundings.
"Hahk, hahk... This buys time... just a bit...!"
Skill ended. She dragged her mangled leg, crawling across the dirt.
Pulled her phone to call Lotus rescue—right then.
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥 Headshot
Massive hole center skull
Bang—!
Another line etched the air.
Splat—!
Straight to her head.
Huge hole blasted center-skull. Her body crumpled.
Thud.
A pitiful end for Lotus's flower, the next-gen S-rank prospect.
Well, hearing her bounty was 2 billion might cheer her up a bit.
The killer idly wondered.