Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Justice Prevails
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Whack—
There was a helmet made of monster hide, but the impact was anything but light.
The acceleration from falling, the weight of the mace, and the sound of the blow all attested to that.
Decisively,
[Decent Combat Sense] (E, Lv. 2)
Jeong-hyeon's senses, upgraded from F to E rank, were telling him as much.
Three coins—enough to buy exactly one F-rank trait with a single refresh.
The gamble where he'd staked everything had paid off.
On top of that, it seemed the existing level was preserved even after the rank-up.
For Jeong-hyeon, this was the best possible outcome.
"Huhk—"
Ji-yoon, already trembling, now collapsed completely, her legs giving out.
He'd told her to pretend to flee alone and that he'd save her at the crucial moment, but she probably hadn't trusted him fully.
And who could blame her? It was a fight against a D-rank hunter, after all.
But the battle wasn't over yet.
His attack had landed squarely, but it hadn't finished off Han-seok.
'He's gotten this big.'
Han-seok's head loomed half a head taller than Jeong-hyeon's.
The sheer mass behind that massive axe felt all too real now.
Gripping the mace with both hands, Jeong-hyeon swung with all his might.
Clang—
But the axe, already raised, blocked it.
It was hard to believe this came from Han-seok, who had stood motionless as if dazed.
Blocking with the axe, Han-seok slowly turned to face Jeong-hyeon.
Blood streamed from his right temple, his face ghastly enough to send chills down anyone's spine.
Perhaps that's why Ji-yoon had collapsed.
"......Did you kill Hee-soo?"
His voice sank low.
Jeong-hyeon sneered.
"Hee-soo, huh? What, was she your precious villain partner?"
"You bastard!"
Han-seok's face twisted, and his axe flew.
The speed was incomparable to the zombies, skeletons, or goblins Jeong-hyeon had faced before.
The combat sense that read muscle movements to predict attack paths.
In previous fights, those paths had appeared with plenty of time to react and dodge comfortably.
'This one's almost instant.'
With Han-seok, the delay was virtually nonexistent.
If he didn't dodge the moment the path appeared, it would be Jeong-hyeon's head splitting open.
Swinging an axe that size at such speed was unbelievable.
This was the true power of a D-rank hunter on full display.
Jeong-hyeon swiftly evaded Han-seok's axe.
There was no room to close the distance or attempt a counter.
No—if either his rank or level had stayed the same, his arm would have been severed clean off, his instincts screamed.
But he had a plan in mind.
As Jeong-hyeon eyed Han-seok's forehead, he thought.
'At this rate, his strength will drain fast.'
The bleeding from his first strike hadn't stopped; it worsened with every exertion.
Blood now dripped from his jaw in heavy drops.
Bleeding from the head, clustered with sensory organs, was fatal in combat on its own.
Plus, a blow like that would have caused a concussion.
In fact, Han-seok's axe was fast, but its trajectory wobbled unsteadily.
It swayed precariously.
'I hope his strength fades quicker.'
Of course, Jeong-hyeon's condition wasn't great either.
The fact he hadn't collapsed yet was a miracle.
Even with E-rank physical enhancement barely holding him together, his combat ability was severely diminished compared to normal.
If he hadn't luckily upgraded his combat sense, this one-sided exchange wouldn't have been possible.
"You rat!"
Crack—
Han-seok's axe cleaved anything it touched.
A tree where Jeong-hyeon had stood moments ago splintered like a stick.
But if it didn't connect, that was that.
If Han-seok had stayed calm, he might have realized Jeong-hyeon couldn't be just an F-rank dodging every attack.
Even injured, he had a D-rank axe skill trait.
No matter how agility-focused, an F-rank newbie evading him repeatedly?
It didn't add up.
But Hee-soo's death, the direct head blow, and the rage of their crime spree ending blinded Han-seok's judgment.
For Jeong-hyeon, it was the greatest stroke of luck.
"Hahk— hahk—."
Soon, steam rose from Han-seok's body as ragged breaths poured from his mouth.
Just as Jeong-hyeon predicted, his attacks slowed significantly, the wobbles growing worse.
Jeong-hyeon's eyes gleamed.
Thud—
'Now—'
The massive axe buried deep into the ground uselessly, and Jeong-hyeon surged forward into Han-seok's guard.
His armor was far tougher than Hee-soo's, but this guy had fought this long after a headshot.
Aiming for the heart, like with Hee-soo, was best.
In his current state, he couldn't react properly to this speed anyway.
'What?'
But in that brief moment, Jeong-hyeon's eyes widened.
His certainty that his strike would land before Han-seok could react shattered.
A new red path traced out.
Aimed straight at his right arm.
"Kuaaaak!"
The powerful impact and searing pain sent Jeong-hyeon flying back, tumbling away.
It wasn't the axe.
Han-seok's fist had smashed the bandaged wound, launching Jeong-hyeon's body.
Still panting, Han-seok grinned.
"You think you're the only smart one? Lucky bastard."
Amid the crashing pain, Jeong-hyeon realized he'd fallen for Han-seok's feint.
His strength was fading, sure.
He couldn't control his physical responses perfectly.
But Jeong-hyeon had overlooked something.
'I underestimated him too much.'
He'd let his guard down at some point.
Han-seok couldn't imagine Jeong-hyeon's true nature either, but Jeong-hyeon hadn't grasped Han-seok's full power.
A level 2 gate, so level 2 wasn't a lie, but he hadn't expected this gap.
"Ugh......"
Above all, the pain in his right arm was excruciating.
The barely staunched wound had burst open again; hopefully the bone wasn't broken.
"How the hell did you kill Hee-soo? Wait, are you even really F-rank?"
Yanking his axe from the ground, Han-seok asked.
His fishy grin reeked of victory now.
But that didn't mean he'd give time leisurely like before.
Jeong-hyeon gritted through the pain to answer.
It was a close call.
"F-rank, agility type, yeah......"
"Bullshit. F-rank? Kid, I've killed plenty—don't feed me that crap."
Approaching with axe raised, Han-seok laughed freely.
F-rank?
Even off-guard, they wouldn't lose this badly to some F-rank.
Every F-rank he'd seen was less than a bug.
"Whatever, rank doesn't matter for a dead man. Let's end this."
Finally, Han-seok loomed right over Jeong-hyeon.
Was this truly the end?
Instead of closing his eyes, Jeong-hyeon glared up with burning intensity.
"One last question. What's your real name?"
"Huh? Real name? What for?"
"Whatever."
"Heh heh heh, Na Joo-cheol. Happy?"
"Nope."
"What?"
Joo-cheol looked baffled.
Jeong-hyeon smirked.
"How do you have zero learning ability?"
"You little shit, ever since—"
"Behind the knee!"
Stab—
"Ughaaak!"
Joo-cheol's massive frame buckled to his knees.
His axe nearly dropped on Jeong-hyeon, but he rolled aside just in time.
Turning with bloodshot eyes, Joo-cheol saw Ji-yoon stumbling backward.
A sharp splinter of wood pierced his calf.
"You double-crossing bastards—!"
But Joo-cheol's words cut short.
Jeong-hyeon, now up, drove the mace into the center of his back.
He couldn't be sure it pierced the heart.
But the sensation of crunching spine was definite.
Yanking the mace free unleashed a gush of dark blood.
Joo-cheol stared at Jeong-hyeon in disbelief.
"How......"
Jeong-hyeon replied with a weary smile.
"You thought you were the only one hiding something? Murderer scum."
And that was it.
Joo-cheol and Jeong-hyeon collapsed in opposite directions almost simultaneously.
"Jeong-hyeon-ssi!"
Ji-yoon rushed to him.
Fortunately, he was still breathing.
"Ji-yoon-ssi......"
"Yes?"
"Good job."
"......"
Jeong-hyeon grinned ear to ear, thumb up despite his tremors.
For him, it was impossible not to laugh.
[Hidden Achievement: 'Justice Implemented' achieved. Acquired 5 coins.]
[Hidden Achievement: 'With Overwhelming Power?' achieved. Acquired 5 coins.]
Two alerts popped up simultaneously the moment Joo-cheol died—how could he not laugh?
But Ji-yoon, clueless, didn't know what to make of his words and laughed through tears.
Then, as if remembering, she reopened the bag.
The bandage on his right arm was soaked through with blood.
She needed to staunch it again.
"Ow, that hurts."
"Just a moment."
Unwrapping it revealed a mess.
Ji-yoon poured water from the canteen to rinse it roughly.
Jeong-hyeon screamed, but there was no choice.
As she prepared to heal the somewhat cleaned arm, Ji-yoon startled.
"No, the wound isn't as deep as I thought. Wait, it is deep, but......"
Having watched every roll, she couldn't comprehend.
Healing it urgently improved the wound visibly bit by bit.
Around then, urgent footsteps approached from afar.
Jeong-hyeon turned his head toward the sound, but saw nothing with the naked eye.
Someone else this time.
Whatever.
He couldn't do anything now anyway.
Dying without spending his coins was a shame, but all tension had drained; he couldn't twitch a finger.
Ji-yoon, wrapping the bandage, scanned warily too.
Soon, one person appeared.
"Han Jeong-hyeon-ssi, Nam Ji-yoon-ssi! If you hear me, respond—Team Leader!"
More gathered in his wake.
Their black set armor bore the Hunter Association emblem on the chest.
They surrounded and secured the area; soon, someone in similar but finer gear arrived.
Surveying the clearing, he looked shocked.
"What the hell is this...... First, assess the situation!"
"Yes, sir!"
Some approached Jeong-hyeon and Ji-yoon, checking everywhere.
The apparent leader pulled out ID and introduced himself.
"Hunter Association, Investigation Division 3 Team Leader Kim Seok-woong. First off, we're deeply sorry for being late. My apologies."
Jeong-hyeon let out a hollow laugh, unsure how to respond to the deep bow.
The Association shows up after he'd been through hell.
But he couldn't rage at the polite team leader.
"We should evacuate you two to safety first, but we can't just yet—please understand. The culprits change faces......"
May I ask how the situation unfolded?
Seok-woong probably suspected them too.
His face was calm, but his tension was obvious.
Face-changing villains.
Jeong-hyeon had seen it; absurd bastards.
As the victim, anger surged, but he understood Seok-woong's position.
'Without those 10 coins, we'd all be dead.'
The mere thought of the blissful 10 coins aided his empathy.
"They're all dead."
"Pardon?"
"I said they're all dead."
How else to put it.
Spilling every detail here felt too grimy.
Then, his radio crackled.
—Team Leader, Kim Hee-soo corpse confirmed. Identity solid.
"......Team Leader-ssi, Na Joo-cheol's the real deal too."
Identities confirmed simultaneously, Seok-woong gaped blankly.
The pair who'd entered the gate with the masked duo were novice hunters, awakened recently.
One unregistered traitless, the other an E-rank non-combat healer.
How did they kill two D-rank villains?
They'd been active for ages.
Estimated level 2, but near endgame—still no comparison.
"How in the world...... No, my apologies. We'll talk after leaving. Recover bodies and withdraw."
Issuing similar orders via radio, Seok-woong scanned around.
The gruesome scene mostly looked like Na Joo-cheol's axe work.
The more he pondered what happened, the more it fogged over.
Ji-yoon got helped by medics; Jeong-hyeon was stretchered out.
Cha Ye-rin was probably outside by now, sealing the perimeter.
'How do I even report this?'
Freshly registered trait-unknown hunter and E-rank healer kill two high-level D-rank villains.
Unbelievable.
But the evidence said it was true.
He'd hoped they survived; this impossible reality dizzied Seok-woong.