Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Park Kwang-rim
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A person's shadow popped out from between the trees off the roadside.
Roughly my height, a foreigner in a suit.
"Your skills exceeded all expectations. Truly a spectacular show."
Judging by his accent... probably Chinese? A Chinese guy capable of tracking me down in the dead of night... Ah, I know exactly who this is.
"No need to mention it."
I brushed off the man in the shadows and finished up what I was doing.
[Lightning]
Zzzap!!
"Graaaah!"
The Mad Dog sprawled at my feet was already half-dead, but with a third party butting in, who knew what curveballs might come? Better to knock him out cold.
I glanced toward the shadows and said,
"If you're not here to get in my way... mind waiting just a moment? Let me wrap this up first, then we can talk."
I shoved the unconscious Mad Dog into the prepared carry-on. Now that I looked closer, his arm was twisted in the wrong direction.
Badly broken... Should I patch him up a bit?
[Hardening]
No healing spells at tier 1, but I could harden the broken arm to serve as a makeshift splint.
Anyway, that'd do for him. The biker gang whose rides I'd jacked was milling around nearby, but none of them had the guts or loyalty to charge in risking their necks.
Cleanup more or less done. Now to deal with that lurking Chinese guy... What the hell was he doing out here?
I headed toward the source of the voice and called out his name.
"By the way, Mr. Park Kwang-rim? What brings you all the way out here?"
"...I heard about the rising new talent and thought I'd drop off a business card."
He'd probably planned some slick surprise entrance to make an impression, but he looked thrown off that I already knew his name.
As I drew close enough, Park Kwang-rim stepped fully out from the shadows between the trees.
A slant-eyed man in an outdated suit, topped off with a fedora straight out of another era.
"I already have my own dealer lined up..."
The guy's name was Park Kwang-rim. Chinese, but like Tudor, one of the brokers working the Paju scene.
"If it's business, I'd appreciate it if you went through Tudor at Cafe Basilissa."
"That's precisely the issue—Tudor's been hovering over you like a mother hen, Ms. Kim Shin-hwa..."
Park Kwang-rim paused to flash a smile while fiddling with his fedora.
Looked like he had some ulterior motive brewing.
"What do you say? At least hear me out? Tons of people are dying to know who Kim Shin-hwa is."
Park Kwang-rim dabbled in brokerage, but information trading was his real specialty. In other words, a full-on info broker—think private eye on steroids.
"Doesn't seem like chatting with you would get me anywhere useful. You'd just blow a few words from me into headlines and peddle them to every lowlife in town."
I needed a reputation, sure—but not some tabloid rumor mill.
Nailed it, apparently; he winced and pressed on.
"If it's money you're after, there are way better outlets than Tudor. You know her commission rate is one of the highest in the business, right?"
That much was true.
Tudor's cut ran pretty steep, even by industry standards.
"I could hook you up with cheaper, more reliable dealers if you want."
"It's not like I'm desperate for cash. I'm good with Tudor."
Money mattered, but if that was all I cared about, there were easier gigs. I'd picked Tudor for the quests she unlocked down the line... and the items only she could source.
Not to mention, she was rock-solid reliable—zero betrayal risk.
Especially with this Park Kwang-rim creep. I knew exactly what kind of mess dealing with him would bring.
*'Never do a damn thing with this guy!'*
"Not cash? I can connect you to other networks just as easily. As a mage, surely you want knowledge or artifacts that actually help? I've got ties for that too."
More tenacious than I'd figured.
He'd hyped me as promising, but headhunting this aggressively after I'd only bagged four or so bounties in a month? No way.
"Enough. Spill the real reason you tracked me down here."
"Hmm... Very well."
Tsk, called it.
"You look about ready to snap, so just one question."
Snapped already.
"What?"
"Were you at Unjeong Station around a month ago, by any chance?"
Unjeong Station...
Ah, so that's what this was really about.
About a month back, I'd hit the cultists there—the [Fomalhaut's Descendants]—and cleaned out their stash.
Even trashed their church while I was at it...
"A month ago... Can't say anything rings a bell."
Especially not info to share with Park Kwang-rim of all people.
It'd spread to everyone faster than the 9 p.m. news.
"I see. One of my clients has been hunting for something since then—thought you might know something."
So the Fomalhaut's Descendants had slipped him cash to track me down?
"Then I've got nothing."
"Right. They lost a ring. You really have no clue?"
Must be a big-deal relic to them—they'd be frantic. That ring was sitting pretty on my finger right now.
"Doesn't look like there's anything I can do to help."
"Sigh... Truth is, stuff like that is damn near impossible to track unless the thief hawks it to a fence. I'm basically throwing in the towel."
In other words, try selling the ring and you'd get pinched—so if it's you, sit on it for a while?
Could read as a veiled threat, but it sounded more like he was covering for me.
I gave a vague nod, then said to Park Kwang-rim,
"That it?"
"That's it."
"Good. Hand over a business card before you head out. I'll hang onto it."
"Of course. If things go south with Tudor, give me a shout anytime."
"Eh... More like, if I ever need to track someone down in a pinch, I can hit you up."
His slant eyes narrowed further at that. He knew zilch about me, yet here I was knowing way too much. Had to grate on him.
He was a powered with a super-rare ability called [Dowsing].
Give him a few clues, and he could pinpoint any person's location.
Catch was, it only worked on people—not objects.
If it did objects, he'd have sniffed out the ring on me already.
Park Kwang-rim schooled his expression and pulled out a card.
"Ah, ahem. Here's my card. Mind if I get a way to reach you...?"
"Hmm, no phone yet."
That part was legit.
Tudor was about due to hook me up with an ID—then I'd get a smartphone first thing.
But Park Kwang-rim took it the wrong way and looked a touch deflated.
"Understood. Hit me up whenever. As you know, when it comes to finding people, nobody in Paju touches me."
Guy showed up in person just to flex that power. No doubt.
Either way, getting cozy with Park Kwang-rim could come in handy later for sniffing out random hiders like that Lee Chang-hyuk.
"Ah, wait—one more thing."
"Yes?"
"Give me a lift to Basilissa?"
"......"
*You* offered earlier?
* * *
"Pretty much what went down."
"Hmm... Flexing your popularity right now?"
Back at Cafe Basilissa, I filled Tudor in on Park Kwang-rim. She pulled a sour face for a second.
A complaint, sure—but with her looks, it came off more like she was plotting some mischief.
"I told you to lay low, and he still comes sniffing around... Guess I should send a little 'gift' his way over at Yada Party soon."
Yada Party housed his operation.
Business card read... [Yada Detectives: People-Finding, Affair Probes, Evidence Gathering, Fraud Busts, Errand Services]. Absurd name.
Tudor started muttering to herself, scheming the perfect 'gift' for Park Kwang-rim.
"Vomiting curse? Nah, maybe pneumonia to match the season? Orthodox choice, but a car wreck's solid too..."
......Tudor was a witch.
If Tudor ever sent you an unexpected present? Drop everything and bolt to the nearest church.
Might dodge an accident on the way—and learn how to lift the curse, or at least blunt the damage.
Not that I gave a damn about saving Park Kwang-rim, but I piped up to pull her focus.
"Body's loosened up now, so maybe it's time to crank the job difficulty up a notch."
......Is that why you brought it up?"
"Nah, not really. Just what happened."
"Hmm... Those were basically intern gigs anyway—easing you into the vibe."
"Knew it."
Everything after the Lee Chang-hyuk bounty hunt had been straight tutorial quests.
Hauling secure cargo, defending key spots, sabotaging rival groups' secret gear, and today's chase quest.
Variety, sure—but all low-stakes, wrap-up-in-a-half-day stuff.
"Super pleased with this one too. Didn't expect you to clear it solo that fast without backup. Impressive."
Her expression brightened. Looked like Park Kwang-rim dodged a bullet.
"No need for some probation period right out the gate."
"Heh, can't argue with results proven. Still, to build a rep as a solid, trustworthy broker, you've gotta dot every i."
Fair point. Even if I'd racked up more wins, she'd have stuck to the game's scripted timeline.
All told, that made five quests down, intro included. Time for the real headaches to roll in.
"But not starting today. Figure you'll be tied up taking care of backlog stuff for a bit."
"Tied up?"
"Yeah—new ID's ready, so you'll wanna catch up on all the normal-person things you couldn't do before."
"Ah—you mentioned it before. ID finally came through?"
"Yep. Congrats—you're officially a regular Korean who can do credit now."
"Feels kinda off."
I cracked a wry smile and tapped my mask with a finger.
One freak lightning bolt, and poof—my whole life reset, along with every scrap I owned. ID, nationality... basics I'd never even thought to be grateful for.
Now? Absurd prices just to get the fundamentals back.
"Here—ID first."
Tudor slid a small envelope my way. Inside: the ID card and a bankbook.
"Took longer than I expected."
"Yeah, they're cracking down on illegals nationwide now—not just Paju. Caused a snag."
Foreign affairs bureau on the prowl? What a pain.