A Fool's Stage
"..."
I didn't even need to look back to know.
This was the voice of the Japanese hunter, Kenji.
"Wow, I thought you were dead."
"What?"
"You were gone for so long, I figured you kicked the bucket."
At my words, Kenji's eyebrows twitched. Oh, did that hit a nerve?
"But you weren't dead..."
"..."
"Just hiding, huh?"
When I grinned and looked at him, Kenji's face twisted in pure rage.
"You bastard...!"
"Kenji."
The one who stepped forward to stop Kenji as he reached for his weapon was none other than Nakamura Ryohei. His face was strangely pale.
These bastards...
There wasn't a single trace of combat on them. Their clothes were only slightly disheveled.
They really were just hiding here the whole time.
Honestly, I didn't know whether to be angry or thank them for letting me hog all the experience points. I was genuinely conflicted.
"...You all did well," Nakamura said, completely unfazed—or rather, utterly shameless.
"We will take care of the rest from here."
What kind of bullshit was this? These bastards hadn't shown their faces until the table was fully set, and now they wanted to slide in and take a spoon to it?
It wasn't just me. Everyone stared at Nakamura with dumbfounded expressions.
"Take care of what?" I asked.
"This terrible blight that has defiled Tsushima Island..."
"Hey."
I glared at Nakamura, tilting my head. Ah, my temper was starting to flare. This wasn't just trying to share the meal; they were trying to steal the whole damn table.
"Are you out of your mind?"
Kenji immediately drew a shuriken at my words.
"Shut your mouth, trash!"
"What?"
"This is the territory of Great Japan! Don't you dare act like you own the place just because you killed a few monsters!"
"..."
"Stop ordering Nakamura-san around and follow instructions!"
Wow. I shouldn't have even bothered asking. This guy was completely unhinged. He looked like he had rabies.
"The rest of you are no different!" Kenji barked, pointing the tip of his shuriken at the Korean hunters.
"We, the peace-loving people of Japan, tried to protect Tsushima Island to the very end, but your interference has turned this beautiful island into a wasteland!"
The bullshit just kept coming.
"So you guys leech off of contribution points, screw things up, and now you're blaming us?" I scoffed.
They were the ones who exploited system loopholes to take it easy, and now they were acting like ungrateful wretches after being saved from drowning.
Whoosh!
Kenji's shuriken flew straight toward me.
Swish.
I lightly dodged it using the blink effect of [Echo Walker].
Thwack!
The shuriken embedded itself directly into one of the Kappa eggs.
"I've hated you from the very beginning," Kenji spat.
"What a relief. I can't stand you either."
Let's throw down, you bastard.
The moment I drew my sword, Choi Muryeong stepped in front of me, while Nakamura held Kenji back.
"Kenji, we have more important matters to attend to," Nakamura warned.
"..."
Kenji glared at me, grinding his teeth, before finally lowering his shuriken.
"...I sincerely mean it when I say you all worked hard. I am grateful to the Korean hunters," Nakamura continued, his expression tense.
"However, as Kenji said, this is Japanese territory. Therefore, we will take over from here."
"No, I'm asking what the hell that even means. If you were going to handle it, why did you call us in the first place?" I retorted.
"..."
"You bastards were nowhere to be found when we were slaughtering the fucking Kappas, and now you're trying to boss us around—"
Just as I was about to unleash a torrent of colorful curses,
"What is it that you want?" Choi Muryeong stepped forward.
"What do you mean by 'taking over'?"
"..."
Nakamura couldn't find the words to answer Choi Muryeong's question.
Honestly, there was no point in even asking. I should just slaughter everything and leave this island. Of course, by 'everything,' I meant the Kappas.
Shring.
The moment I aimed my sword to plunge it into an egg,
Clang!!!
Another shuriken flew in.
"Don't touch it!!!" Kenji screamed.
...Should I just kill this bastard first?
I looked up at him, but then—
Thud-thud-thud-thud...
Thud-thud-thud-thud...!
Huh? What was that?
A black dot in the sky was rapidly approaching us.
A helicopter...?
The object drawing near was indeed a helicopter. And in that instant, it clicked.
These bastards...
...They're planning to broadcast this!
While everyone was debating whether to drop a nuke on Tsushima Island, they were busy setting up this kind of stunt?
Are they completely insane?
"Hey, are you guys out of your minds?" I asked.
"..."
"If these things hatch, you're screwed. You know that, right?"
"Once preparations are complete, we will handle everything," Nakamura insisted.
"Cut the crap. We already handled it."
"We also fought against the Kappas—!"
"You ran away and left Shinya to die."
"...!!!"
"A guy ranked fourth in the world abandoned his comrade the moment he ran into a pack of Kappas."
"T-That was...!"
"The eggs? Sure, take them all. But keep one thing in mind."
"...?!"
"The moment I get out of here, I'm holding a press conference."
"There is a strict non-disclosure agreement regarding this raid—!"
"Fuck off."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Shurikens flew at me in rapid succession.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Of course, I dodged them all again. Thanks to that, the poor Kappa eggs took the hits instead.
"...Then I will kill you here," Kenji muttered darkly, drawing a pair of swords.
"Kenji! The helicopter is almost—!"
"I'll finish this before it arrives."
Ignoring Nakamura's warning, Kenji marched toward me step by step.
Ooh, I'm so scared.
"Hunter Lee Taepyeong, let me handle this..." Choi Muryeong offered.
"Taepyeong, this is a bit..." the other hunters murmured, trying to mediate.
"Nah, if he wants to fight, we should fight," I declined casually.
Seeing this, a twisted smirk spread across Kenji's face.
"I heard you use dual swords too. Before you die, I'll show you what real dual-wielding looks like."
"Before I die? Or before you die?"
"Enough wordplay."
Shring! Shring!
Kenji drew his twin swords from his waist. I just stood there, watching him blankly.
"Come at me!" Kenji took a stance.
So that was a ninja stance... It looked kind of ridiculous.
"Come at me, you bastard!"
"Is that it?" I asked.
"...What?"
"Your last words. Is that all you've got?"
My final remark must have hit a sore spot.
"Aaaaagh!"
With a pathetic battle cry, Kenji lunged at me.
Instead of clashing swords with him, I lightly leaped into the air, spun, and landed behind him.
Tap.
At the same time—
Thud! Squelch!
Kenji's twin swords plunged not into my heart, but straight into a Kappa egg.
"Cheap tricks!" Kenji spat out a cliché villain line as he pulled his swords back out.
Swish!
I easily dodged Kenji's blades once again. Was this guy really a ninja? Why was he so slow?
Just as I was about to say something, he shouted,
"[Clone Technique]!"
Poof! Poof! Poof!
Kenji's signature skill, [Clone Technique], activated. In an instant, his splitting shadows materialized into multiple Kenjis.
Then, four simultaneous attacks rained down on me.
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
This was actually somewhat impressive. Too bad for him, though.
It was the absolute worst matchup for my [Killing Time].
Splat!
I immediately smashed a nearby Kappa egg to activate [Killing Time].
Not only did I dodge the attacks as smoothly as flowing water, but thanks to the subtle time delay between the real body and the clones, I was able to land a clean hit.
Crack!
My fist smashed right into the real Kenji's nose.
"Argh! Cough!"
Kenji groaned, clutching his nose as blood gushed from both nostrils.
"Y-You bastard...!"
Maybe he was durable, because he immediately lunged at me again with his twin swords.
Swish!
Was that clone technique just for show?
Swish!
His basic attacks were actually better.
Swish!
Even if they were a bit old-fashioned.
"Aaaaargh! Fight me properly!!!" Kenji screamed, swinging his swords like a madman.
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
Look, even if I wanted to fight properly, what was I supposed to do when the gap in our skills was this massive?
This guy is Japan's number two...?
It was absurd. My excitement completely evaporated.
Let's wrap this up...
I lightly dodged Kenji's attacks while adjusting my grip on Jeoldanchamgeuk.
"Finally, a real—!" Kenji bared his teeth in a grin and charged at full speed.
"Ah."
Right. Come to think of it, I had another sword besides Jeoldanchamgeuk.
The sword I received from the Elf Emperor—no, my adoptive father.
Should I use it for some practice?
I quickly put away Jeoldanchamgeuk and pulled out the [Sword of the Successor (Incomplete)] from my inventory.
Because I took a moment to switch weapons, Kenji missed another opening, which drove him absolutely wild. He lunged at me, practically screaming.
"Ah, hold on, hold on. I'll get serious now."
"I'll kill you!!!"
Oops. That attack was all brute force and no technique.
I'll just dodge this one and...
Just as I thought that—
Crack...
Huh? A cracking sound?
Crack! Snap!
The eggs that had been cracked by Kenji's stray attacks began to hatch all at once.
Fortunately, I immediately sliced the egg right behind me, but Kenji, who was blindly charging forward with eyes only for me, wasn't so lucky.
Chomp! Rip! Tear!
The newly hatched baby Kappas immediately latched onto him and began to tear at his flesh.
"Aaargh!!! What is this...?!"
Before Kenji could even grasp the situation, the baby Kappas began to devour him.
Chomp! Crunch! Tear!
"Aaaaaaargh!"
He swung his twin swords frantically, but it was useless against the baby Kappas already clinging to his body—unless he wanted to stab himself.
"Oops..."
Well, they were clinging so tightly to him that I couldn't even help him if I wanted to. Actually, didn't he say he didn't need any help anyway?
"Aaargh! No! Noooo!"
Crunch!
"Gah! Cough...!"
Ultimately, with his throat torn open, Kenji collapsed. Even as the baby Kappas continued to feast on him, the infection took hold, and his body began to transform into a Kappa.
Wiggle! Twitch!
"Kenji!!!" Nakamura screamed in despair.
Regardless of his cries, I calmly raised the [Sword of the Successor (Incomplete)].
"You guys said it yourselves, right?" I asked.
"H-Huff..."
"A human turned into a Kappa..."
"...!"
"...is no longer human."
Thrust!
I drove the blade straight through Kenji's heart.
"Gurgle...!"
Kenji coughed up blood, his eyes bulging.
"Lee Tae-py..."
Before he could finish my name, his breath ceased.
At that exact moment—
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The helicopters arrived directly overhead. The baby Kappas that had been eating Kenji raised their heads to look up at the sky.
Kee...
Slash!
Taking advantage of the distraction, I sliced off the heads of the baby Kappas in a single sweep.
Thud, thud, thud!
Their heads rolled onto the ground.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The cameras on the helicopters pointed in our direction. They were probably zooming in on me, mistaking me for Nakamura Ryohei.
Well, it would be hard to believe that the man standing there looking completely devastated was Japan's strongest hunter, Nakamura Ryohei.
I grinned widely and tilted my head up so they could get a clear view of my face.
So they wanted a show, huh?
Then I'll give them one.
A real show.