Chapter 142: The Hunt
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 142: The Hunt
Nearly two hours had passed since I arrived at the dojo.
“...Master.”
After a mere two hours, I was sprawled on the floor, so exhausted I could barely lift a finger.
“Don’t you think this is a bit too intense?”
I wish that had a sexual connotation, but unfortunately, it didn’t.
My entire body was drenched in sweat.
For the first hour, I’d exhausted my magic and internal energy at full power. For the remaining hour, I’d sparred with my master.
Of course, “sparring” meant I was the one getting beaten up the entire time.
I’d always been confident in my stamina, but sparring at full strength for an hour after forcibly depleting my magic and internal energy was bound to be overwhelming.
Especially against an opponent who was at least two steps ahead of me in both physical ability and swordsmanship.
“Get up.”
“You could beat me to death and I still wouldn’t get up.”
Swoosh. As my master’s wooden sword rose, my body had no choice but to follow.
Over the past hour, I had learned firsthand just how painful her wooden sword was against a defenseless body.
Now, the mere sight of it made me flinch automatically.
For the record, Noel had gotten bored of watching my training after thirty minutes. She found a spot in the corner of the dojo and promptly fell asleep.
“Um... did something bad happen to you today?”
“...Nothing of the sort.”
“For someone who says that, your expression has been...”
A glare. The moment I spoke, a wrinkle formed between her brows.
I knew I wouldn’t get anywhere arguing further, so I quietly raised my wooden sword.
If she wanted to hide it, she should have at least hidden her drooping tail.
It wasn’t like it was always wagging, but I’d never seen it hang so limply before.
They say the tails and ears of beast-kin are one of the body parts that reflect their emotions. It seemed to be true.
“Looks like you have the luxury to think about other things.”
“Ah.”
Thwack—
Thud. A merciless strike sent me sprawling to the floor once again.
...Should I just pretend to be unconscious?
I had no idea what was bothering her so much, but thanks to my master sparring with the intensity of someone out for blood, I felt like I was going to die from exhaustion.
“Get up.”
“...”
*
“Agh... be a little gentle with those pain patches.”
“You’re being a baby.”
Back home, I had Noel apply pain relief patches to various spots on my body.
For the record, these weren’t the ordinary patches you’d buy at a pharmacy; they were for hunters. A normal person’s skin would probably melt if they used one.
During the spar, I had done my best to dodge, block, and counterattack, but I was no match for my master when she was serious.
My whole body was covered in bruises, and even my wrist throbbed.
...It didn’t even look like she swung with much force, so why does my wrist hurt more from blocking?
My training had paid off somewhat, as I was able to block her attacks normally a few times. But even then, the damage I took was no different from when I’d blocked recklessly.
The pain felt less like our swords had clashed and more like she had struck my wrist directly with her blade.
Smack!
“Ack?!”
“All done.”
“Then just say you’re done, don’t slap me...!”
“Hm? Isn’t this how you’re supposed to do it on Earth?”
“...Where did you even see that?”
“From The S-rank Hunter and the Dirt Spoon Heroine!”
“The S-rank Hunter and what...?”
“The S-rank Hunter and the Dirt Spoon Heroine! It’s a modern masterpiece, and you don’t know it?”
A quick search revealed it was a drama that had recently finished airing.
I wasn’t one to go out of my way to watch dramas, so I had no idea.
No wonder I kept hearing noises from the living room while I was showering. She must have been watching it.
“What’s it about?”
“It’s just like the title. The dirt-spoon heroine meets the S-rank hunter hero and turns her life around. Of course, the process isn’t smooth. It’s a masterpiece that depicts the hero and heroine growing mentally as they overcome all sorts of adversities together.”
“Hmm...”
The plot was so predictable it was almost surprising.
Still, for someone who had probably only seen a little bit of it, she seemed to know a lot.
If I were to make a drama title about my situation with Choi Hyena, would it be something like, ‘The Dirt Spoon Genius Mage Hero and the Heir to a Prestigious Magic Family’?
Even though I’d come up with it myself, it sounded like a title that would get terrible ratings.
“Um, Master. Are you going out again today?”
“Where?”
“That.”
Noel pointed at the TV.
—We have breaking news that the deceased city council members have tested positive for P.S. The National Forensic Service is currently...
It was the news about the deaths of the city council members that had been shaking the nation since this morning.
Other news channels were all busy reporting on the events of last night as well.
I mean, the simultaneous murder of three city council members was shocking enough, but the fact that they died while having a drug-fueled orgy? You can imagine the uproar.
And it wasn't just any drug. They had taken P.S, a substance for which mere possession was a serious crime.
The only channel showing something different was broadcasting a press conference held that morning by the Hunter Association’s chief secretary.
—...The Hunter Association hereby declares its commitment to strong countermeasures and cooperation to create a safe, drug-free society.
I hadn’t expected the Association to move so quickly. The branch manager must be furious.
This made things a bit complicated. The Association would inevitably try to find the person who murdered the council members.
Should I have just gotten rid of all the drugs?
But I soon realized it wouldn’t have made much of a difference.
Taking P.S was known to cause purplish spots on the internal organs. Since the council members were murder victims, their bodies would, by procedure, be sent to the National Forensic Service.
An autopsy would be performed if necessary, so even if I had cleaned up all traces of the drugs, it would have been impossible to hide the fact that they had taken P.S.
Of course, I could have just put the bodies in my inventory, but that felt unsettling, so I wanted to avoid it as much as possible.
Besides, evidence of the drugs could have turned up in a place I hadn’t thought of, so there was no point in dwelling on what was already done.
“I have to go. I only need to take care of two more, then I can take it easy for a while.”
“Two more?”
The Gyeonggi Province Governor and the Director of Urban Planning. Once I dealt with those two, I planned to either handle the rest later or just leave them be.
So far, I had taken care of the district mayor, the Chairman of Redevelopment, a few city council members, and some hired thugs.
More people had died than I expected, and the social impact was significant. Grandma Choi Young-ok had advised me that going any further would be dangerous, so it would be best to hold back for a while.
“Besides, it doesn’t seem like there’s anyone left who’s done enough to deserve death.”
Most of the remaining people had just taken bribes and turned a blind eye.
On another note, dozens of thugs must have died early yesterday morning. Was that story buried because of the city council incident?
...Was it buried on purpose?
No matter how shocking the council members' case was, there was no way the murder of dozens of people overnight would go unnoticed.
It was just a guess, but it seemed like the higher-ups had intentionally suppressed the story to prevent public unrest from the string of murders.
“You’ll be going late tonight, too, right?”
“I suppose so.”
According to my information, tonight’s target, the Director of Urban Planning, would be passing through a road on the outskirts of the city late at night.
I had no idea why he would be there at that hour, but the official reason was that he was returning from a business trip.
A high-ranking public official on a business trip on a weekend.
The business trip is just an excuse. He’s probably going to meet his sugar baby while avoiding reporters and his wife.
The man was in his mid-fifties; I didn’t know where he got the energy.
He must be really pent up to travel to another province on a weekend just to meet a woman.
“Um, in that case, can we order delivery for dinner? They’re re-airing the show from the first to the last episode after the commercials!”
“...You mean that S-rank hunter thing you were talking about?”
“Yes!”
Noel’s eyes were filled with anticipation.
Wasn’t today the first time she’d ever seen the drama?
I found it hard to understand how she could get so hooked so quickly, especially since I rarely even watch movies, let alone dramas.
“Hmph... Maaaaster...”
Noel sidled up to me, wrapped her arms around me, and pleaded in a sweet, cloying voice.
I don’t think I’d ever seen her ask for something so politely before.
“Fine. I was planning on going alone today anyway.”
“Really?! I love you, Master!”
“...”
She only calls me ‘Master’ when she wants something.
*
Due to a past Gate Break incident, about half of the Namsa-eup area in Yongin had become a ghost town, devoid of people.
Nearby, there was a deserted road that crossed the Jinwicheon stream.
It was quite a distance from the Gyeongbu Expressway, so it was rare to see any cars passing through.
In the bushes near that road, armed members of the Heuksan Guild lay in ambush.
“Team Leader, are you sure he’ll come this way?”
“This is a good place to get things done, but didn’t they say the chairman was killed in his own home?”
“I don’t think he’s coming...”
“If I were the killer, I’d just toss a few bombs into his house and be done with it.”
“Ugh, why are there so many damn mosquitoes!”
Hearing the complaints from all around, Cha Myungjin, the team leader of Heuksan Guild’s First VIP Elimination Team, scowled and glared at them.
“All of you, shut up.”
At the murderous aura that felt like it was choking them, the team members fell silent at once.
Their team leader, Cha Myungjin, was a man of few words. If they didn’t listen the first time he spoke, he was known to have a cruel streak, immediately cutting off the neck or limbs of even his own team members.
“We are dogs. And dogs just need to do as their master commands.”
The chief secretary wielded power comparable to the vice guild master even on a normal day. Now that he had been granted command authority by the guild master, Go Taebeom, his orders were as good as the guild master’s.
“Soon, the vehicle of Ham Seokjae, the Director of Urban Planning, will pass through here. If it passes without incident, we return to the guild.”
At his words, the team members all prayed in unison.
Please, let him pass without incident.
Even for Black Hunters who killed as easily as they breathed, hunting a fellow hunter like this was not a pleasant task.
No matter how much of an advantage numbers gave in a fight, their target was a skilled individual estimated to be a high-tier B-rank.
Moreover, nothing was known about his abilities. If they were unlucky, they could be the ones to die.
“Sir, I have a question.”
“A question?”
At that moment, someone broke the silence and raised a hand.
“If the culprit appears, do we have to capture him alive no matter what?”
“Yes. However, he said it doesn’t matter how, as long as he’s still breathing.”
“But I heard the target is quite skilled. If we try too hard to capture him alive, couldn’t we be the ones who get taken down?”
It was a valid concern.
The team leader was a high-tier B-rank, on par with the target, but the team members were all D-rank or C-rank.
Their forces were, in many ways, insufficient to capture a high-tier B-rank hunter alive.
“Don’t worry about that. If it comes to it, we’ll use the Anti-Hunter Restraining Chains... Wait.”
As he was explaining, a sense of unease flashed through Cha Myungjin’s mind, and he pushed his senses to their peak.
The First VIP Elimination Team consisted of twelve members, including himself.
But there were a total of thirteen people here.
The numbers didn’t add up.
“Hmm, so you even prepared Anti-Hunter Restraining Chains?”
A voice he’d never heard before, accompanied by a chilling killing intent, constricted around them.
A dense concentration of magic instantly enveloped the area.
“Everyone, battle forma—?!!”
It was a heavily overcast night.
It was so dark that anyone but a seasoned assassin would have trouble seeing an inch in front of their face.
But just then, a gust of wind blew, and the full moon revealed itself from behind the clouds.
Slice—
An elegant arc of blue Sword Qi sliced through the team members’ necks.
“Me?”
In a place now splattered with the blood and flesh of his former team members, a man cloaked entirely in black stood with a black sword dripping blood.
“If you’re so curious, why don’t you find out for yourself?”