Sucker
He'd even secured a Pathfinder to accompany them to Cheonchu Mountain.
"So you're saying five hundred coins, right?"
"That's right. If things get ugly out there, charge him more."
"I doubt Sanghae will actually pay up, though."
The Pathfinder Won-goo had brought along was a woman named Baek Seol, her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wore a mask that hid everything but her eyes, and even those eyes alone marked her as a considerable beauty. The striking thing was how much white was streaked through her hair, paired with skin so pale it bordered on ghostly.
"He will. Even if he balks, it's written into the contract, so he'll pay. And from the looks of it, that bastard skimmed plenty off the top this time. He can afford it."
"Then I'll hand over a few coins as thanks."
Baek Seol spread her hands wide open as she said it.
"Save it. Just cut me a deal on supplies sometime down the line."
"For you, Director, anything. Though you're certain it's on Cheonchu Mountain?"
"Certain."
Won-goo smoked a cigarette and watched Baek Seol scan the terrain. The rest of the crew did the same.
"Must be quite the Pathfinder if the Director picked her up personally?"
Jo Mu-sa asked.
"Is Baek Seol actually... any good?"
Mu Beob-sa said, glancing at Won-goo. Won-goo just bit down on his cigarette and snorted.
"Good? She's the lowest-rung Pathfinder there is. Bet she hasn't even put much into pathfinding abilities, either."
"Then why...?"
"Even a mutt is half king in its own territory. That's Cheonchu Mountain for you. It's Baek Seol's backyard."
"Back... yard? W-what's that... mean?"
"It means this mountain is her home. Su-won, you seriously don't know what a nawabari is?"
Mu Beob-sa supplied the explanation.
"Just trust me. Cheonchu Mountain might as well be Baek Seol's living room."
"Director."
Baek Seol, who'd been reading the ground, came back over.
"One man, three women. That's right, isn't it?"
"Knew it. You're the best there is."
"I can find them fast. There's a quick route, though, and a longer one that loops around."
"The quick route runs through monster territory, I take it? Roughly what threat level are we talking?"
KUWANG! KUNG! KUNG! KUNG!
"Tsk. Sounds like that thing's throwing a fit. Kkakdugi."
"Yes, Hyeong-nim!"
"Drag it out here for now. Looks like I'll have to give it another round of therapy before we move. Baek Seol, sorry. We left in such a hurry I couldn't finish treating it properly."
"It's fine. The monsters on the way aren't high-grade."
"Then we take the quick route. No sense making the job harder than it needs to be."
"Yes."
What Lee Hyun-sung had brought back was a small cage made of steel rebar. Inside it, the Goblin Hexer was confined.
"It's a goblin."
"Yep."
"I'll circle the area and map out a route while you work. Thirty minutes should do it?"
"Plenty."
And with that, Baek Seol melted into the forest.
"Hyun-sung. Get it out and hang it up. Let's start with a fresh examination."
"Yes, Hyeong-nim."
At those words, Mu Beob-sa slipped inside the Trailer. A moment later, the Hexer's screams began to ring out.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Educating the Hexer took less than half an hour. However much less fear a goblin felt than a human, no creature could hold out against merciless physical therapy.
Soon the Goblin Hexer had gone quiet, doing nothing but trembling in its cage and swallowing its terror.
"Your technique's improved, Kkakdugi."
"It's easy now, Hyeong-nim."
"Good. Sooner or later you'll be able to hang out your shingle as a licensed Physical Therapist yourself. Your meridian work is coming along nicely."
"Thank you for the praise, Hyeong-nim."
"That's all. Keep a close eye on it. If it looks like it's hurting again, work it over. That thing is our lottery ticket."
"Yes, Hyeong-nim. I will guard it well."
"Let's move."
They climbed the mountain under Baek Seol's guidance. Over six hours of traversing the slopes they crossed paths with monsters several times, but none posed a serious threat.
They dispatched each one with ease, and where they finally arrived was a school.
"There was a place like this out here? A school on a mountain? How does that make sense?"
"Places that only show their true nature once you get close? There's more than one or two of those since the world turned over. Baek Seol."
"No other traces. Whoever it is, they've settled in well."
"They're definitely here?"
"Yes."
"Kkakdugi. Bring me a bag."
"Which bag, Hyeong-nim?"
"Number two backpack."
"Understood, Hyeong-nim."
Lee Hyun-sung fetched the bag, and once Won-goo had slung it on, he spoke.
"Everyone in, and stay sharp. This target lifted a Named-grade item and ran. He's eaten at least twenty gold coins. Don't rush at anything on sight—if you spot him, call it out immediately."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The school was spacious, but it showed no particular signs of disturbance. Spaces like this usually ended up as monster dens.
This one, though, was quiet.
Which made finding the target no great challenge.
"I'll drop back and hold the rear."
"Right."
Baek Seol said. The trail led to the school's auditorium, and in front of its doors the crew checked their weapons one last time.
Lee Hyun-sung looked to Won-goo, and Won-goo nodded.
The vanguard was always Hyun-sung. That was because, among all of them, he was the most specialized in survival.
So Lee Hyun-sung entered first.
The first thing that met his eyes upon entry was an enormous amount of blood.
Bloodstains everywhere across the auditorium floor.
Everyone could tell at a glance these were the marks of a battle. And corpses were strewn about as well.
A major fight had clearly gone down in here.
"There he is."
They had no trouble locating the target, either.
The man was slumped against a wall in the corner of the auditorium.
At first everyone kept their guard up, but once it became clear he wasn't in any state to respond, they closed the distance.
Four bodies in all.
Three of them were dead. The main target, the man, lay dead clutching his belly, while the two women had died with life drained out of them, their faces frozen in torment.
"Can you understand me?"
Won-goo asked the girl. She was staring at the crew with eyes brimming with terror.
"You've got a rough idea of why we're here, right? No need to be too scared. We only do the job we were hired for. Understood? If you understand, then answer my questions. That way nobody gets hurt and this ends quietly. Got it?"
"Y-yes......"
"What's your name?"
"Hye-ji."
"Hye-ji. Family name?"
"Jeon."
"Jeon Hye-ji. And that man over there?"
"My father."
"And the others?"
"Hostages... the priest's women......"
Jeon Hye-ji was exactly as the file had described—a small, slight girl. Her skin was white as flour and had a soft, supple look to it. Her features weren't striking, but she was more than pretty enough to be called a beauty.
"The priest, huh......"
Won-goo's expression stiffened slightly.
"Hyeong-nim. Found it."
Lee Hyun-sung held up Cullen's Syringe.
"Good. Anything else?"
"There's some quality equipment, I think... but I'd need to get it appraised to be sure."
"Grab that too."
"Yes sir."
"Hye-ji, was it? Our business here is finished. As long as you don't try anything clever while we're leaving, nothing will happen to you."
"Is that the end of the commission?"
"That's right."
"Do you take other commissions?"
"Hm?"
"I want to hire you."
"I don't take just any commission. And I don't take just any payment."
"Gold coins."
At Jeon Hye-ji's words, the crew's movements froze for an instant. Won-goo's too.
"You're saying gold coins as the fee?"
"Yes. I can pay them."
"What's the job?"
"I have to find my younger siblings."
"Your siblings? The file we received said nothing about that. They're not back at that place you came from, are they? We can't touch anything like that."
"No. They came out with me, but we got separated. Father told me to forget them, that I'd never find them......"
"You understand it's a very difficult job? No telling how long it could take."
"Yes. But if they're alive, then there's a chance I could find them."
"So you want us to escort you until then?"
"Yes."
"That won't do."
"......"
"No need to look at me like that. It's a commission with no end date in sight. The cost of protecting you the whole time keeps racking up. Taking all that on for a single gold coin doesn't add up. It's simple arithmetic, that's all."
"I can pay more."
"More gold coins?"
"I took a lot of them with me when I left the church."
"You still haven't adjusted to the outside, have you. In this world, you don't go flipping your hand face-up for anyone."
"I'm only showing it because you're someone it's safe to show. You come up as someone who keeps his promises."
"......?"
"It's my Innate Talent."
"You came out of 3B, didn't you?"
Jeon Hye-ji's eyes went wide. Ironically, the apocalypse had only made religion's grip on the world stronger.
"How did I know? There are only a few places that call a Gift an 'Innate Talent' and an Ability an 'Acquired Talent.' And the only one of those anywhere nearby is 3B."
A talent one was born with, installed from the moment life began, was called an Innate Talent—or a Gift. It was an entirely different thing from an Ability acquired after the fact.
It couldn't be forced into existence, and it couldn't be changed.
"Ah......"
"If you can really pay more gold coins, I'll take the commission. But we set a term. If you pull your weight—earn your keep—I might extend it."
"Earn my keep?"
"You've got to use that Gift of yours. Learn to fight, too. Reading a stranger's tendencies at first sight......"
Won-goo's words were cut off by Baek Seol, who came hurrying into the auditorium. Her expression was grave.
"What is it?"
"Director. Was this... a more complicated job than it looked?"
"What are you talking about?"
"A gang is moving in on us. Looks like they've been tailing us with intent."
"What? Who?"
"Poke, most likely. There's no one else around here with that kind of manpower."
"Not Poke. We settled that with a contract. You think I'd have come this unprepared?"
"Then......"
"Doesn't matter. We'll know when we walk out."
The group moved swiftly out of the auditorium.
Baek Seol had been telling the truth. Roughly a hundred men had surrounded the Trailer and were waiting.
And at their center stood Poke, grinning like he'd just won the lottery.
"Man... this is just embarrassing."
"Surprised, are you?"
"Sanghae brokered this deal. You think ignoring the contract like this won't come back on you?"
"Pfft... everybody knows contracts are scary. But I haven't violated anything, have I?"
"That's refreshingly shameless nonsense."
"It's true! We're not Poke's Labor anymore, you know?"
"......?"
"This is how it went... the guys from Poke's Labor, see, this gentleman here absorbed them. So the one you've got business with isn't me. It's him."
Poke grabbed the shoulder of the subordinate standing beside him as he said it.
"It's called a hostile takeover... an M&A, I believe?"
"And you think that applies to this situation?"
"Did I get it wrong? So what if I did? The situation's hostile either way, isn't it?"
"Let's say you dodge the contract's penalty clause with a sleight of hand like that. You still won't do business again."
"No need to worry about that. I've set up shop at a few other shelters in the meantime. Figured I'd sell this Named-grade item while I'm at it. I'll fetch a very pretty price, don't you think?"
"You son of a—"
"Thank you for the compliment. Oh, and I heard you did something good too, Hyeong-nim. How'd you manage to scoop up Baek Seol as well? Baek Seol! Finally, today, you'll accept my love! No, wait—today, shall you accept the love of all of us!"
Poke roared with laughter as he shouted. His men roared along with him.
"So that's why you brought this many."
"Well, with Hyeong-nim Hyun-sung here and all, I had to match. Know your enemy and know yourself, and you'll never be defeated in a hundred battles. That's the saying, right?"
"It is."
"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result. Beautiful words, aren't they? So come on out now. It's checkmate, Hyeong-nim. Quit hiding in there like a coward. If we come in and drag you out, it'll be the death of you. For real."
"You're going to kill me?"
"Ah... no, not kill. Your abilities are too valuable for that. But... missing a limb or two doesn't really interfere with driving, does it? Could probably get by with one eye, too. Your nose wouldn't be much use anyway. So, coming out? No? Then we're coming in."
At Poke's raised hand, his men surged forward—all of them armed with an assortment of blunt and bladed weapons.
"Our new recruits aren't fully trained yet, so they're a bit rough! We apologize in advance. Hyeong-niiim!"
Poke howled with laughter. And from Won-goo, who had been standing silent, the answer came back.
He was watching the enemies filing slowly through the building's entrance.
"Know your enemy and know yourself, and you need not fear the result. Good saying... except it doesn't mean you won't die."
"Excuse me?"
"You miscalculated."
With that, Won-goo drew the final component from his backpack and snapped it into place. A shotgun took shape in his hands.
"Sure, I'm stuck with a crap-tier Gift. But I'm not stupid enough to get played for a sucker at this point, either."
Won-goo murmured it quietly.
His Innate Talent. His Gift was the Blessing of Machine Civilization.
It let him handle machinery far beyond any normal man, and with coins, he could purchase special abilities of the same lineage.
BOOM!
Flame spat from the muzzle. Bodies at the front were hurled backward, tumbling several meters.
The firepower was flatly inhuman. It looked like an ordinary pump-action shotgun, yet its power was absurd, off-the-charts strong.
"A gun? Those still exist?!"
The roar made the whole crowd flinch. Poke was among them—but he quickly twisted his face and bellowed.
"He's got a gun! Then close the distance! Everyone, get inside, now!"
At Poke's scream, the reserves waiting in the rear charged in as well.
In that window, Won-goo gave Poke a leisurely middle finger and bolted deep into the building.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"We're really just... waiting here?"
Baek Seol asked. But no one seemed particularly moved. Least of all the veterans—Mu Beob-sa, Lee Hyun-sung, and Jo Mu-sa. The youngest, Su-won, and the weather man Geum Chul-soo looked a touch uneasy.
"Hyeong-nim ordered us to stand by."
At Lee Hyun-sung's words, Baek Seol's eyes turned sharp.
"Are you serious?! So if he told you to die, you'd just die?!"
"Yes."
"Unbelievable......"
"Miss. You haven't worked a proper job with the Director yet, have you?"
"......?"
"When the Director tells us to stay put, it's because things are about to get messy. And what does that mean? It means Director Gong has properly opened up for the first time in a long while."
With that, Mu Beob-sa made a gesture like cracking his head open.
Baek Seol's expression sank at the words. Mu Beob-sa yawned and added one more thing.
"You don't want to watch an opened-up Director Gong see to his patients. People start looking... very different."