Chapter 56
Chapter 56
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Cleanup and Cover-Up
-----------------------------------------------------------------
[Chapter 56]
“Eek! Hiiiik! Graaaah!”
Ah, he dodged.
I’d planned to sever his neck in one clean strike without any suffering, but the bastard thrashed around and ended up getting his opposite shoulder sliced instead.
Watching him roll on the ground, screaming in agony—it was so pathetic, especially piled on top of his earlier arrogance, that I almost burst out laughing.
“Pfft, what’s this? Were you a fake? Word is, the real Gangnam Aces from Seoul Guild have sky-high pride. They’re supposed to keep their cool even under torture or facing death.”
“Ugh… Kgh… Uwaaah, I-I’m not a fake!”
“Fake or real, you’re all the same once you’re in the afterlife, so just go quietly.”
“N-No. I… I! I-I’m……!”
Those were his final words.
Even so, true to his “Gangnam Ace” reputation, he didn’t beg pathetically for his life—his head just flew off.
Truth be told, I was teasing him, but holding onto that much pride at the end is impressive.
What the hell do those Neo-Gangnam bastards drill into their people? Unbelievable.
“How do I clean this mess up? Haa~”
A sigh escaped me naturally.
Now I had to figure out how to handle this, and it wasn’t going to be easy.
First things first: I gathered the four heads and swept up all the scattered belongings.
I’d sort through them properly once I was out.
The one thing to watch for? Check Bae Younghoon’s stuff for any recording devices or artifacts that could’ve captured video or audio.
‘If I say I was alone and couldn’t recover the bodies properly, just grabbed the heads? That should work.’
Officially an E+ Hunter, so if I claimed I prioritized grabbing belongings and items until my inventory weight limit was maxed out, that’d explain it.
Scavengers probably don’t have families anyway, and for Bae Younghoon, handing over his stuff packed with pricey items ought to earn some gratitude.
‘Especially with all that cash. Scavengers carrying stacks of money in their inventories is a goldmine.’
As big-shot Scavengers who’d looted and killed thousands, each had around 10 billion in cash, plus mana stones, jewels, and other valuables stuffed in.
It was such a massive windfall that I wouldn’t have to worry about money for a while—I couldn’t help but grin.
“Ugh! This isn’t the time to be happy! Get it together! I can celebrate after I handle this cleanly, so focus now!”
The most dangerous enemy was myself—I refocused with that reminder.
Huge gains, sure, but the situation wasn’t fully resolved yet, so I got moving.
My plan: Make it look like the three Scavengers fought Bae Younghoon to a mutual destruction. I’d present the heads as proof.
‘As a lame E+ like me, I couldn’t help anyway.’
They’d call me a coward, but wasn’t it better than jumping into a fight beyond my level, dying, and leaving no body or items to recover?
Yeah. I’d returned parts of the bodies and belongings, plus revealed the “truth” of the incident—who could complain?
‘That said, I never got why that Gangnam Ace was so obsessed with capturing Scavengers alive.’
I wanted to check his belongings, but no touching electronics.
Still, rumors online and Academy knowledge let me guess.
Seoul Guild. Formed amid chaos after the Grandmaster incident punched a hole in Korea’s Hunter defense network nationwide.
A guild solely for “protecting Seoul,” not serving any constellations. Most top guilds like Blue Dragon built power alongside constellations, making this one unique.
‘…Working backward from what I saw today, I can predict.’
How does a guild without constellation blessings stand tall like the top three?
Capital, recruitment, politics—sure, but that alone wouldn’t cut it.
If it did, we’d have tons more like Three Stars or LLL Guilds.
So Seoul Guild must have some ace in the hole impossible for others, and what I saw was part of it.
‘Using captured Scavengers as experience packs?’
That theory needs talented Awakeners with killer aptitude.
Farming barren land versus fertile—it’s obvious, but finding those talents is cutthroat.
‘Or in the end…?’
Human experimentation on Awakeners?
Didn’t fit as constellation sacrifices—Seoul Guild Hunters had varied traits and abilities.
Even Slaughter King’s minions shared blood, flesh, demon magic/skills despite class differences, but Seoul Guild’s two S-ranks were totally different lines.
“Haa~ This bastard, that bastard…”
Fighting SS-rank Ma-in human rancher Lee Moks who bred people like livestock, only to think Seoul Guild does vivisections on Awakeners? Nauseating.
Even with the sun still high, the sky felt dark.
Of course, dark or not, the living keep living.
‘Just end it at my conspiracy theory. No desire to verify this crap.’
Felt like when I saw Jeong Min-su’s notebook.
Grab the gist, then stop digging. No need to wade into filth myself.
Dig too deep, cleanup’s a pain—and if Seoul Guild uncovers I’m the Golden Knight? Headache.
‘Knowing the inside scoop is enough.’
Resigned, I headed to the Association and reported the dungeon incident with some embellishments.
Three Scavengers fought Seoul Guild’s Gangnam Ace; weak E+ me hid, came out to find them exhausted, so I finished them off.
“Th-That must’ve been a huge ordeal.”
“And bodies over… Seoul Guild member’s belongings seemed more urgent, so I grabbed everything. Inventory weight limit meant only heads.”
“Ah, y-yes! Understood. We’ll process handover right away. Contacting Seoul Guild too……”
As expected for official E+ Hunter, the staff didn’t suspect a thing, cleared the dungeon, and said they’d call Seoul Guild.
After handing over bodies, ID confirmations, Scavenger intel, etc., I met the Seoul Guild staffer.
“I’m Jeong Yak-su from Seoul Guild. Thank you for recovering our Hunter’s gear and body.”
“No, I’m sorry I couldn’t help more. But I brought all belongings and equipment I could.”
“Truly grateful. People like you still exist in this world.”
“I’m guild-affiliated too, and owe my life—only natural.”
Lip service to the guy who called me trash, watching Jeong Yak-su check items.
ID confirmed, legendary/heroic items intact—no issues.
“All accounted for. Thank you. As thanks, how about the Scavenger bounties?”
“No. Too much for E+ me, and sudden cash is useless. Just D-rank dungeon clear reward. He risked life for those Scavengers—me taking bounty? Absurd.”
“Ooh, a noble soul in this cynical world.”
“No, just know my place. Any greed, I’d have lingered grabbing more Scavenger stuff and died to leftover monsters.”
Truth: Took Scavenger cash/gear too. Greed’s bottomless, bounties handed over—if caught, I’d lose it all, so lie boldly here.
No proof anyway unless they kill me, and I gave what’s theirs—no problem.
“Hmm, understood. We’ll do that.”
“Yes. Then I’ll be off.”
Jeong Yak-su eyed me suspiciously, unresolved, but nothing to find—I’d done my duty, hard to probe.
Even if I claimed leaving everything, they’d have no say—bounties on top? Generous.
Hunter losses? Everyday in the industry!
‘Saw some filth, but profited, foiled their plans—good enough.’
Pocketing D-rank reward, I left management office, called taxi to Academy.
Neo-Gangnam Special Fortress, usually just annoying, looked extra repulsive today.
***
Seoul Guild, ‘Gangnam Ace’ VIP reception room.
Dungeon fights/disputes? Common. Hunters or Scavengers—death anytime, industry reality.
Yoo Seongwon and Seoul Guild knew, so gear/body/bounty splits minimized losses—clean agreement.
“You think this makes sense? Our Younghoon dying so pointlessly… impossible!”
“Waaah… Oh, Younghoon! Younghoooon!”
“Bae Jeong-su Chairman, Hunter work fights between life and death. Younghoon young master B-rank, but foes were three C-rank Scavengers who killed thousands, enslaved more. Tough opponents.”
But parents’ grief over lost child? No compromise.
Show rational evidence? They deny death or cry conspiracy.
“Retrieving body and items intact? Miracle. Chairman, our guild mourns ‘Gangnam Ace’—noble member, future leader. Devastating. If injured but alive, we’d act—but gone. Truly sad.”
“Shut up! You trash! What do you know! Damn! Damn! Noble son of Neo-Gangnam, our Younghoon—why die! While E+ trash lives!”
“Dear’s right. Something’s wrong! That trash is in on it! Grab and deal with him!”
‘Zero chance… If so, wouldn’t bring every item/gear. Poor guy.’
Staff thought Bae Younghoon’s parents—Seoul Guild special unit ‘Gangnam Ace’—denied reality, vented hate wrongly, but couldn’t correct.
His parents funded Seoul Guild founding and Neo-Gangnam Special Fortress via sponsor corp.
‘My life matters too.’
Wrong words, even right? Straight to underground lab as test subject—staff holds tongue.