Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Scorpion Hunt
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A weapon like a baseball bat.
In other words, a blunt weapon was one of those arms that didn't require any special techniques to begin with.
Just swinging its hefty weight with full force made it plenty threatening.
That was why I was so curious about what would happen when it combined with the Weapon Technique skill.
So I swung it through the air first.
And in that moment, I understood.
I could wield this heavy bat with speed and precision.
That was it, but it was enough.
The sensation of my body's weight shifting from my toes, through my legs, hips, and waist, all the way to the tip of the bat—it was downright addictive.
They say baseball players know right away after hitting the ball whether it's a home run or not.
Now I got what that meant.
If someone had taken this swing, they'd have gone flying like a baseball.
It would've been a home run.
"Hoo. Let's go."
I packed the baseball bat into my bag and boarded the train.
My appearance now was different from usual.
I was wearing the full-body armor I'd bought from the Black Market, looking something like a racing driver.
Even so, no one paid me any mind.
A world with Heroes and Villains was different, after all.
I headed toward the location where that guy was supposed to be.
Just because the Scorpion Gang was gone didn't mean the Villain would live an honest life, and right now Scorpion was running a shady loan shark operation with the gang remnants.
That was a relief for me.
If he'd turned over a new leaf and gone straight, even I would've struggled to fight him.
Though if that were the case, he wouldn't have taken that job in the first place.
Screech.
"Hup."
I'd nearly reached the office where he was supposed to be when a car pulled up in front suddenly. I ducked into hiding.
Two burly men stepped out of the stopped car.
"Hey, you getting out or what?"
"This fucking bitch has lost it."
Inside the car, a woman who looked just barely twenty was trembling violently. The men yelled at her.
She was dressed in a revealing gown that plunged deep into her cleavage—something you'd see at a year-end awards show—but contrary to her outfit, she seemed utterly timid.
Her spirit completely crushed, she shook pitifully.
"You signed the paper saying you'd pay it off with your body if you didn't have the money."
"I-I really meant to borrow from somewhere else and pay it back, but my credit score dropped so the bank wouldn't lend to me, and the interest rates are too high..."
"Jesus, shut up already."
Frustrated, one of the men grabbed her arm and tried to drag her out by force.
This was enough watching.
I already knew from the intel that these guys were running a scam-like loan shark racket.
So there was no hesitation.
I took a deep breath and strode toward them confidently.
"Hey, over there."
"Huh?"
One spotted me approaching in my obviously suspicious getup and pointed, but the other was too focused on dragging the woman out to react.
And then my bat... no, the baseball bat shone.
I swung it lightly, striking the shin of the guy holding the woman dead-on.
Clang.
A clear sound rang out, followed by a filthy scream echoing everywhere.
"Gaaahhh!"
He collapsed clutching his leg.
"You bastard!"
The other one pulled something from his coat and charged, but I reflexively swung the bat at his incoming hand.
Clang.
It was amazing.
I'd perfectly timed the hit on his hand hurtling toward me in an instant.
This had to be the power of Weapon Technique.
"Ngh..."
They say pain so intense you can't even scream...
The man who'd been hit in the hand was holding his breath from the agony, his face turning red.
Unable to even scream, he clutched his hand and sank to the floor.
One of his fingers was bent in the wrong direction. I looked away.
They deserved it, but it was painful to even watch.
And that's when I noticed what he'd dropped.
It was a knife.
A small pocket knife, only finger-length, but enough to threaten a life.
"...Scram."
As I raised the bat like I was about to swing again, the guys limped away, writhing in pain as they fled.
"Th-thank you."
"Close the door and lock it. I'll be back soon."
The timid woman bowed in thanks, but there was no time for chit-chat.
The guy I'd hit in the shin had screamed so loud that Scorpion and his underlings had probably heard it.
A fight could break out any second.
The woman nodded vigorously at my words, shut the car door, and hit the lock button.
Scorpion's loan shark office was on the third floor of this building.
It was a rundown old commercial structure. The first and second floors were vacant, so the risk of innocents getting caught up seemed low.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but a chilling aura hung over the place from the entrance.
First floor, second floor.
And third floor.
"Urgh, raaah!"
Kindly enough, I bashed away the weapon of a guy ambushing me with a scream.
Surprisingly, he'd swung a bat too.
But unlike my Villain-grade one reinforced with iron rods, his was just a plain wooden bat.
His bat splintered with a crack upon clashing with mine, shattering into wooden fragments.
The man's face filled with despair at losing his weapon.
I kicked him hard in the gut. No resistance in him at all.
This was my first time attacking with my body directly, but the Strength skill must've been effective—the guy flew back into the wall, crashed, and passed out cold.
It was more power than I'd expected.
For a second, I almost apologized.
"He's not Scorpion either."
I'd figured Scorpion would come charging out the moment he heard the scream.
The intel file said he was impatient and hot-tempered.
Maybe the intel was wrong, or his personality had changed.
I scanned the third floor and stopped in front of a door.
It was a push door.
"..."
He's probably inside there.
Someone waiting for me to open it, ready to ambush.
Just a gut feeling.
If an impatient guy was holding back, it had to be for an ambush.
So I recalled that earlier kick and slammed the door open with all my might.
Thud!
The flimsy commercial building door couldn't withstand my kick.
It swung wide, smacking someone inside who went tumbling down.
"Shit!"
A man preparing to ambush cursed as he fell, but he got right back up into stance.
"You little...!"
I knew at first sight.
The man before me was the target, Kim Scorpion.
He glared at me, assumed a pose, and his body took on a faint blue glow.
His ability hardened his entire body.
That was why he didn't bother with weapons.
His hardened fists and feet were lethal enough.
Scorpion advanced slowly toward me, then suddenly unleashed a fast punch.
I naturally tried to block with the bat I held—
Ting—
A sound that didn't seem like fist meeting bat, and that was all I could manage.
The shock traveled from the bat straight to my hands, making my palms throb.
"What the hell is this?!"
He looked just as flustered, shaking out his fist in anger.
No need to hold back against this guy.
Before he could attack again, I got into position and swung with everything I had.
Whoosh.
The bat cut through the air with a whistle. Seeing it, he raised his guard.
Crack.
The bat collided with his arm.
But unlike before, this time a satisfying crunch I'd never heard rang out.
A thought flashed through my mind.
'Home run...'
Despite the tension, it ended too anticlimactically—Scorpion crumpled to the floor.
The synergy of Level 3 Weapon Technique and Strength was incredible.
His arm blocking his head, and even his head itself, absorbed the impact. He buckled at the knees and blacked out.
[Hidden Quest Completed]
[Victory in battle against Villain.]
[Acquire Fetish Emotion LV.1 skill.]
[Fetish Emotion becomes LV.2.]
"Oh."
The skill I relied on most had leveled up, and an exclamation slipped out unbidden.
That made it real—the fight was truly over.
Tension drained from my body, and belated pain hit my stiffened muscles.
I hadn't taken a single hit, but the intense movements had overloaded my body.
Lucky my first Villain opponent was him.
Beating a person with a baseball bat normally takes real guts.
But since he was a Villain, witnessing their crimes alone erased any hesitation.
"...Time to search the place?"
I rummaged through his office like I was farming loot.
My original goal wasn't just to take him down—it was to collect the 50 million won.
So I searched the office. And I found it.
A safe that looked plenty suspicious.
I wanted to open it, but had no way.
In the end, I relied on the bat once more.
...To sum it up, the safe was tough.
Tougher than Scorpion, tougher than my baseball bat.
"..."
I hammered it repeatedly with all my strength, and all that remained in my hand was the iron rod embedded inside the bat.
So for now, I hauled out the safe as-is.
Hoping that 50 million was inside.