Chapter 49
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 049
Chapter Title: Academy Raid Incident, with Kang Hwa-yeon
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"Looks like no one's around anymore."
After bursting out of the training room, hardly anyone was following me anymore.
"Was I too much of a madman?"
Still, I'd successfully slipped away.
That's all that mattered.
The Purity Faction's assault on the academy. I had no idea why it was happening so early, but it was too late to change my plans now—and I had no intention of doing so anyway.
"I don't want to let go of this honey pot."
Professor Kang Geom-seon had been called to Building 1, where the explosion had occurred.
The academy side was probably still treating it as an accident rather than terrorism.
No terrorist incidents had ever happened at the Seoul Hunter Academy since its founding.
'Who in their right mind would terrorize a place crawling with monsters?'
Terrorism here wouldn't even be efficient in the first place. Forget the faculty—every student was a top-tier ability user.
It wasn't the kind of facility your average terrorist, aiming for maximum casualties, would target.
'Unless you're a group like the Purity Faction.'
The academy had been caught off guard precisely because of that.
No one but the Purity Faction, with their deep-seated hatred for hunters, would pull off an attack like this.
But until now, they'd steered clear of Seoul territory, since the Inferno Clan handled security there.
Until today, that is.
'They must've judged Lee Seong-hyeon—hailed as Korea's greatest genius hunter ever—to be enough of a threat to throw caution to the wind.'
Contrary to the academy's assumptions, the explosion had obviously been the Purity Faction's doing.
'The opening shot signaling the start of their terror attack.'
It wasn't even a diversion tactic exploding somewhere unrelated to their main goal. They'd just set off a blast in an area packed with high-ranking students.
'In the end, it only led to a bunch of injuries—no fatalities.'
If things had gone according to the Purity Faction's original plan, Lee Seong-hyeon would've died right there.
'But they got outplayed instead.'
The anti-society group Purity Faction, who revered gates that spawned monsters as sacred "voids."
Lee Seong-hyeon had taken on dozens of their members single-handedly—first-year students at that—and earned a medal for it.
The media, naturally, made a huge fuss over it.
Lee Seong-hyeon was strong, sure.
But the Purity Faction wasn't usually this sloppy. They'd shown bizarre gaps in security during what should've been their most cautious operation: the academy raid. The reason remained a mystery.
'Whatever. It works in my favor. They took all the damage.'
And on top of that, I'd scored a valuable prize.
Something even Lee Seong-hyeon couldn't obtain despite wanting it.
[Stone of Growth].
A game-like item that raised a skill level by 1—something you'd normally have to grind insane training or boss hunts for.
The way to get that stone was tied to this academy raid.
"Almost there."
A material storage room tucked away in a remote corner of the academy, far from Building 1.
Its thick door came into view.
The academy's material vault housed everything from historically valuable artifacts to high-grade materials.
This was one of the most heavily secured ones.
'But our Purity Faction pals will crack that security for me.'
I crept forward, minimizing my footsteps.
Two men in white hoods.
The main goal of this academy raid was killing Lee Seong-hyeon. Raiding the material storage was just side loot for the Purity Faction.
'Meaning these guys aren't execs or heavy hitters.'
The big guns were probably all deployed against Lee Seong-hyeon. These were likely grunts.
Which meant I could take them with a surprise attack.
Wait for them to come out with the materials, kill the one carrying them, snag the goods.
Let the other one go, then pin the theft on him.
'On second thought, a bit tricky.'
Should be fine, though.
At my current skillbook level, I was beyond average—pretty exceptional, even.
Plus, these guys had temporarily disabled the security system. Meaning no one to watch me cause havoc.
No eyes on me, and I could spam skills freely.
I had confidence. No fear of losing.
'You dug your own graves.'
As I watched them excitedly from behind, their conversation drifted over.
"Alright, success."
With those words, the impossibly thick vault door began to creak open.
'Yes, that's it! I knew you'd pull it off!'
Now hurry up and bring out my materials.
I'll be right here waiting.
I hadn't even gotten it yet, but my heart was already pounding. Bad habit.
"Alright, heading in."
"Don't forget—just grab that item and bail. Can't be late for the next op."
Next op?
Did these grunts even have a next phase?
It bugged me a little, but I decided to ignore it.
'Probably nothing.'
The two men chatted as they entered the vault together.
'Amateurs. Even Purity Faction grunts are just civilians without their fanaticism.'
At least one should've stood guard for contingencies. Can't both go in.
I strung up a thin wire I'd prepared at the door.
A special wire coated in glass dust. Enough to slice skin on its own.
I gripped it in my left hand.
Psyche's Blade unique effect activates.
Corruption applied to the Silver Thread.
Anything I recognized as a weapon got the corruption effect—super useful.
I pressed flat against the wall by the door, prepping my ambush.
Soon, footsteps—two men running out.
"This the right one?"
"Yeah, that's what the boss said."
Yes, that's it.
Hurry and bring me the [Stone of Growth].
"Come to think of it, that target..."
"Ah, she's a looker. Real shame to kill her. Would've been nice to sample..."
...?
These guys are men.
The target is Lee Seong-hyeon.
Sample her? A looker?
I'm gonna lose it.
I knew they were into arson, murder, rape—every crime under the sun.
'Didn't know they went after guys' holes too.'
They had to die.
If I slipped up and got caught, the same could happen to me.
Hearing that nightmare made cold sweat pour from the terror.
Psyche's Blade in hand, I hugged the vault entrance wall, waiting for them.
Time to test it out.
I donned my prepped mask.
Planning to let one go meant exposing my face could backfire badly.
So, kimchi mask it was.
'No idea why I have a kimchi-shaped one, but whatever.'
With this, I could conquer my fear.
-Snap
One's ankle hit my trap.
"Gahhh!! My ankle! It's sliced off!!"
"What bullshit—it's fine..."
As he clutched his ankle and bent down...
I plunged my dagger into the other's neck from the side.
-Stab.
"Gurk!"
"Wh-what the hell?!"
The man crumpled with a brief death rattle.
Success.
Now hit the other and make him flee.
'Not sending him off unscathed, though.'
No time for him to react—I activated the next skill.
Dark Screen
"D-damn it! Who's there?!"
Who?
The last thing I wanted was the Purity Faction taking a real interest in me.
"To think scum like Purity would invade our turf. You should regret this."
"D-damn it! Who the hell are you?! Show yourself!"
Dark Strike!
From the darkness behind him, I stabbed into his shoulder.
"Argh...!"
"We lurk in every shadow. I'm sparing you to use your mouth as our messenger. Tell your leader clearly: our name is Black Core. And we show no mercy to those who cross us."
"Bl-Black Core?!"
His voice trembled in fear.
I'd blurted out some random notorious group name on the spot—didn't expect it to land so well.
'Scared of a fake group.'
"Now get lost if you understand."
I yanked the blade from his shoulder.
"Argh!"
Had I gotten too into the roleplay? 'Black Core' just sounded cool—stirred the inner child.
"D-damn it!"
He clutched his shoulder and bolted like a madman.
I checked the corpse for the stolen materials.
"This is it!"
A blue gem in a transparent box.
It vanished upon contact, its effect triggering.
Just +1 skill level might seem meager, but it worked on any rank, any current level.
A cheat to break personal limits.
Later skills would be tough to level—perfect for those.
'And I get one today.'
The [Stone of Growth] had been donated by the Inferno Clan—one for them, one secured in the academy vault.
"Easier than expected."
Did I even need to learn Flash Strike from Professor Kang Geom-seon? I'd overthought it.
Didn't need that much prep after all.
'Things are going suspiciously smoothly. Good's good, though.'
Then, voices from afar.
"How strong is that bitch that they need backup?"
"Apparently, besides the fire user, there's an ice attacker ally."
"Let's hurry anyway."
"Capture her alive if possible."
What the hell? Bitch? Fire, ice? Her?
'Wait... that sounds exactly like Kang Hwa-yeon and Baek A-rin?'
No time to hide—three Purity goons locked eyes with me.
"Wh-what the hell is that?!"
How did this happen?
Why were they here, and why were Kang Hwa-yeon and Baek A-rin in danger?
Plus, their gear showed they were trained—unlike the grunts I'd just smoked.
Of course things wouldn't go that perfectly.
I gestured calmly for the Purity thugs to chill.
"Whew... alright. Let me explain what's going on here. Everyone just calm down."
...I got nothing.
They'd seen this scene—no way they'd let me go easy.
'From what they said, I can't just send them after me either.'
I'm screwed.
Thoroughly screwed.
That instant.
I felt DESTINY.
"SHIT! What the hell is all this?!"