The Cannibal of France

—Splat!

—Screeech!

Every time I pierced a harpy's heart, a bloodcurdling shriek seeped into the void stone.

I could practically picture Japmir weeping, but what could I do? To my ears, it sounded as sweet as a lullaby.

Flap!

Flap, flap!

The harpies desperately flapped their frozen wings, trying to escape. But it was already too late.

Slash!

With a single swing of my blade—

—Spurt!

Blood sprayed like crazy. It was far more graphic than any gore movie.

It was all thanks to the Vampire's Necklace. You could call it the maximization of bleeding.

Splaaash!

Blood had splattered before, but never to this extent. At this point, I was practically taking a shower in it.

On top of that—

—Boom!

Every time the Vampire set effect triggered, harpies exploded left and right. Blood, flesh, bone fragments, and feathers rained down indiscriminately. It was beyond grotesque.

Slice!

As I swung the Sword of Calamity in a wide arc, the harpies with low health were swept away in droves. They coughed up blood and died instantly.

A few of them, having accumulated stacks of Scaffold, collapsed with their necks snapped as if twisted by an invisible hand.

—Screeech!

—Skreeee!

As the body count piled up, the harpies' shrieks echoing within the void stone grew denser. Honestly, I was getting sick of it. It was hard to tell which skill was applying to which monster anymore.

Thrust!

I just...

Stab!

...indiscriminately...

—Squelch!

...slaughtered them.

—Kaboom!

The last harpy burst, spraying blood everywhere.

Spurt!

And with that, it was over.

Pitter-patter.

Bits of flesh and other debris rained down around us.

"Whew, haaa..."

Man. Killing them might be easy, but when there are hundreds of them...

It actually makes for a decent workout.

Yeah. Quite a workout!

I wiped away the wetness—unsure if it was sweat or blood—and looked around.

I saw the mangled corpses of the harpies, along with my teammates, who were just as drenched in blood as I was due to the Bleeding Explosion.

"...Is that a new skill?" Baek Harim asked, wringing out his blood-soaked clothes.

"Not a skill, just an item set effect," I replied, pointing to my necklace. "I grabbed it after killing a vampire."

"Ah..." Baek Harim nodded in understanding.

Then, Choi Muryeong spoke up. "Hunter Lee, what do you plan to do with the harpy nests and eggs?"

True to his role as a supporter, he showed the exemplary attitude of securing the byproducts first without overstepping for even a second.

"Last time, I just burned them all to ashes."

"...Is that so?"

Well, looking through Alteon's memories, the elves had burned down the harpy nests in disgust. So I had just followed suit.

"Rare magic stones can be found in harpy nests. Also, if you list the eggs in the shop, other races will buy them."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes."

"Then let's gather them."

"Understood."

Hmm. He was surprisingly obedient. Choi Muryeong was faithfully sticking to his supporter role, just as promised.

Tsk. It made it hard to pick on him.

"You're probably the only person in the world who would use the world's number three hunter as a porter," Cha Yerin whispered in my ear once again.

I smirked and replied, "Well, you've got to have some fun in life."

While Choi Muryeong searched the nests, I took a breather and drank a potion. Honestly, I didn't really need to, thanks to the Vampire's Ring and Vampire's Bracelet, but it had long since become a habit.

Plus, I'm thirsty...

Gulp, gulp.

"Ahhh."

After refreshing my throat,

"Hunter Lee, I have finished gathering," Choi Muryeong said, returning after thoroughly searching the nests. He pulled out several ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rare magic stones and dozens of harpy eggs from his inventory.

"I found a total of three rare magic stones. One is fire-attributed, one is water-attributed, and one is metal-attributed."

Unlike ordinary magic stones, these rare ones pulsed with unique elemental energy.

"Harim-hyung, you should take this one," I said, handing the fire-attributed stone to Baek Harim. "If you commission a blacksmith through the Association, you could probably get a decent item out of it."

"Are you sure I should take this...?"

"Of course."

Next was the metal-attributed stone.

"Hunter Cha, this one's for you." It would be perfect for crafting a shield or a helmet.

"Th-thank you!"

Finally, there was the water-attributed stone. I glanced at Choi Muryeong.

"I don't think Hunter Choi has much use for this."

"..."

"So I'll keep it."

The water-attributed stone slipped right into my inventory.

Showing no signs of complaint, Choi Muryeong simply nodded and shifted his gaze to the harpy eggs.

"We obtained sixty-seven harpy eggs. While a perfect three-way split is impossible, I suggest Hunter Lee takes twenty-three, and the other two take twenty-two each."

"Hey, shouldn't we split the eggs among the four of us?"

Choi Muryeong shook his head at my suggestion. "It is fine. I will receive a reward box as well, so this is more than enough."

"Still."

I picked up one of the harpy eggs. It looked like a slightly bluish ostrich egg.

Toss!

"At least take one."

"...Thank you," Choi Muryeong said, bowing his head as he caught the egg.

Haha. It was nice to see him knowing his place!

Flash!

Right on cue, the reward boxes dropped before us. Mine was platinum, while the other three received gold.

Click.

I opened it to find—

An Eraser Fragment. And it was unusable.

Did that mean if I gathered more fragments, I could use it like the Eraser I got before?

That thing was incredibly useful.

After all, it was thanks to the eraser that I had consumed Alteon's blood. I carefully placed the ordinary-looking fragment into my inventory.

Man, my luck with the reward box was great this time! Last time I ran this floor alone, I barely got anything.

I glanced at Choi Muryeong's back.

Could it be...?

Did this guy have some kind of luck-related skill?

If so, that changes things...

The next day.

"I learned how to cook kimchi stew from Mr. Do Sangjin. Please eat, and let us head to the 50th floor together."

The day after that.

"Today is soybean paste stew. Please eat, and let us head to the 50th floor together."

The day after that.

"Rolled omelet and stir-fried sausage and vegetables. Please eat, and let us head to the 50th floor together."

And the day after that.

"Today, I have prepared spicy stir-fried pork—"

"Oh, for crying out loud!!!"

Choi Muryeong.

This bastard was a total psycho.

Wasn't this guy the elite hunter responsible for leading South Korea's tower climbing efforts? Why was he here cooking stir-fried pork?! Did you really need this level of obsession to reach rank three in the world?!

"I'm going to get indigestion! Are you protesting or something? Why are you doing this?!"

"Yes, I am protesting," Choi Muryeong replied without cracking a single expression.

"Is it bothersome?"

"Extremely."

"This issue will be resolved if you take me to France."

That damn France trip. Whether it was L'Mangeur or whatever, I was obviously going to kick his ass anyway.

"Do you really have to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠go?"

"Yes." Choi Muryeong nodded solemnly.

I was sick of this. Absolutely sick of it.

"Hunter Lee Taepyeong."

"What?"

"I know what kind of ability Lucien Moreau possesses."

What was he talking about? The French government had explicitly claimed they didn't know what Lucien Moreau's ability was.

"How do you..."

"Tan Weiming of Singapore."

"..."

"I heard it from him."

Tan Weiming was the victim who had been kidnapped eight years ago.

"Lucien Moreau wasn't trying ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to kill Tan Weiming."

"Didn't you say he tried to extract his heart?"

"That is correct. However, he was not trying to kill him."

What kind of nonsense was this? I stared at Choi Muryeong with a look of utter confusion.

"He was trying to eat it."

"...What?"

"'I am going to cook your heart now.'"

"..."

"...Apparently, that is what he said."

"..."

"Furthermore, the place where Tan Weiming was discovered was the kitchen of Lucien Moreau's residence."

"..."

"In the kitchen, butter was melting on a preheated pan."

"That's..."

"Of course, the French government claims all of this was a coincidence."

"..."

"They also argued that Tan Weiming's testimony was merely a hallucination brought on by a state of terror."

So, Lucien Moreau wasn't just some crazy psychopathic killer, but a cannibal who ate people?

Even fiction wouldn't be this absurd.

"Okay, but even so..."

"The French government ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is still keeping Lucien Moreau's existence a secret."

"..."

"They won't even disclose whether he is dead or alive."

It was definitely suspicious. For a criminal of that caliber, execution would be the standard procedure. Yet, all information regarding him was classified.

"No one knows the reason why."

Choi Muryeong handed me a tablet. The screen displayed Lucien Moreau's photo and profile.

"This is data I compiled through my own independent investigation," Choi Muryeong said.

Which meant even the Hunter Association didn't know about this. Choi Muryeong... he was taking this way more seriously than I thought.

"That is why I wish to go with you."

"..."

"We cannot afford to lose a key asset like you in a place like France."

Choi Muryeong's voice was filled with conviction. "I am simply trying to eliminate any potential variables of danger."

Lucien Moreau...

Hearing the details left a bad taste in my mouth. He wasn't just a simple murderer. The fact that he tried to 'eat' them made it far worse.

On top of that...

Trait unknown, skills unknown...

There was no way they were actually unknown. The French government definitely knew. They were just keeping it under wraps.

If that was the case...

"Ah, seriously."

This was driving me crazy. I stared at Choi Muryeong in silence for a moment.

Then, I sighed.

"Fine."

"...!"

"Let's go together."

"Thank you."

"But."

"Yes?"

"Choi Muryeong."

Choi Muryeong waited for my next words with a solemn expression. I spoke with equal gravity.

"Don't you dare try to show off by cooking over there."