Chapter 11
Chapter 11
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Prey's Pulse
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"But did you find out anything when you interrogated them last time?"
"Didn't get much. They were total grunts."
Two pieces of meaningful information.
"Their boss is apparently a pretty famous high-rank awakener."
"Hmm."
And he got the address of the branch where the underling worked.
Not like barging in there would yield anything useful.
'Let's see how they react first.'
He killed the two he'd sent.
What would their next move be?
They might send stronger assassins.
Or they might try to make contact.
'Doesn't matter either way.'
Back in his Kyle days, assassination attempts were just part of daily life.
'Gotta keep doing what I was doing and wait.'
Time to raise my magic power faster.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ F+ Dungeon <Dragonfly Plains>.
He pulled out Aden.
"A-Rank disciple, reporting for duty!"
Monsters were visible right away.
"Whoa, these are the dragonflies I practiced on last time... Whoaaa!?"
Aden nearly tumbled backward again.
"Wh-what's with all these?!"
"That was F-. This is F+. Same monster type, so more of them."
"But this is way too many!"
That time there were about 30.
Here, around 80.
"They say this is one of the highest difficulty F+ dungeons."
"You picked this on purpose?"
"My magic power's at E- now. Wanted to see how it'd hold up."
The dragonflies started targeting them.
"Th-this gonna work? You couldn't even stop those loan sharks last time."
"Stronger targets drain mana way faster. A bunch of weak ones like these is less of a burden."
"How about I cast spells like last time and you stop them...?"
"Quiet, you."
He pulled down his mask.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ "【Stop】." Keeeng-
Aden, who had been worrying it might not work, marveled.
"Whoaaa..."
The frozen scene was always mystical.
Especially with dozens of monsters suspended in midair.
"Ooh... You've gotten a lot stronger?"
"Not yet."
"What do you mean?"
"A- ah-"
He cleared his throat.
Yesterday, before getting Section Chief Choi's call.
He'd cleared the dungeon and claimed the rewards.
One of them unlocked a new Word of Command.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ "【Fall】." "Huh? Wh-whoaaa!"
Thud thud thud-
Eagle-sized dragonflies.
Dozens of them plummeted all at once.
As if pressed down from above.
"Whoa, now you can do two words? On this many?"
"Mana jumped a lot entering the E range."
"They say there's a wall between ranks. Guess it's true. But..."
Aden looked up at the sky.
About 30 were still frozen in the air.
"Tch, can't get them all at once yet."
If they were ground monsters, he'd slice them one by one.
But floating in the sky...
"You handle them."
"Huh? What if I go berserk? You won't have mana to stop me."
"Not like that. Take them down one by one with moderate spells."
"Aha."
Stable ice arrows fired repeatedly.
All the dragonflies dead.
"Let's pick up the magic stones."
"Money!"
Finished off the World Tree roots too.
Slice.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [One hero has achieved 'Perfect Clear! (Solo)' in an F+ Dungeon...] [Special reward granted for 'Perfect Clear! (Solo)'.] Today's reward: [Random Box (+2)].
"Open it now!"
"Jackpot!"
The familiar light and sound effects rang out.
Ding!
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Item 'Prey's Pulse' has been granted.] "Huh?"
Not an elixir this time?
"Oh!? A ring? No way, an item?"
"Let me see."
[Prey's Pulse]
A ring that detects others' murderous intent. Not just 'killing aura', but actual intent to kill.
When detected, it tightens on the finger and points to the source.
"Oh?"
This is pretty good.
His past life as Kyle was riddled with constant assassination attempts.
For Kang Hyun, a very welcome item.
He explained the effect to Aden.
"Hmm...? Isn't that kinda niche? How often does someone actually try to kill you in life?"
"Happened just the day before yesterday, you punk."
"Aha!"
Aden instantly revised his opinion, thumbs up.
"Totally OP item!"
What a clown.
"This is why I can't quit Perfect Clears."
He slipped it on his finger.
"Keep getting these generous rewards in F-range. E-range is gonna be exciting."
"Yeah."
"Next, E-? Time to escape F-range!"
"They won't approve E- solo clears."
"Huh? Why... Oh, collapse."
F-range dungeons don't collapse even on failure.
E- and up are different.
Hence the strict controls.
"Called me crazy for wanting to solo."
"I'd have said the same."
"What, punk?"
"Hahaha! Those rotten Awakener HQ bastards! Denying my master permission!"
This guy's getting cocky again.
"Snatching your snacks. No more buying them."
"Argh! N-no! Those were the first snacks I've had in 15 years! My long-lost luxury!"
"That bad, huh?"
What kind of life did this illegal immigrant have?
Starting to feel guilty here.
"...Let's cash in the stones and I'll buy a ton of snacks. Food too."
"Yay! Long live Perfect Clear Master!"
Gotta cover meal costs from now on...
'...Wait. I'm the academy head, she's a student.'
Should I be paying her?
But Aden deftly cut off his doubts.
"So what now? Stuck from E- forever?"
Kang Hyun just scratched his head.
Couldn't form a team either.
Can't use Words of Command in front of others.
'Just keep looping F+?'
Oh yeah, that was Section Chief Choi Young-ho, right?
He'd made an appointment.
'Gotta ask him.'
If he plays up Aden being A-Rank well enough.
Might snag some special privileges.
'Too optimistic?'
Whatever, worth a shot.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Today was finally magic stone cash-in day.
Kang Hyun waited in the HQ lobby, excited.
'Sweet, money.'
Modern money.
Even made Hero Kyle smile.
'While I'm here, update my awakener rank too. E- now... Wait.'
Okay to declare E- right away?
Growth too fast.
Gonna attract aggro again.
'Tch... Dungeon permits are a hassle too. Nothing but annoyances.'
If only he had a connection in the government.
Someone sharp.
Lost in thought, his turn came.
"Please come to the counter for your exchange~"
After Kang Hyun entered.
The reception desk staff picked up the phone.
"Section Chief Choi, Awakener Kang Hyun is here."
<Yeah? Take good care of him. Report anything to me right away.>
Kang Hyun entered the counter room.
Same as the registration office.
Where he'd come with Aden.
And the third face he saw.
The new hire woman.
"Please place the stones on the scale?"
"Sure."
Kang Hyun pulled a pouch from his inventory.
The staff blinked.
'Where'd that come from?'
Some kind of magic?
But doubts lasted only a moment.
Massive pile of stones poured out.
Enough to make the staff flinch.
'Wh-why so many?'
Didn't he just register recently?
Gathered all these in that short time?
'Wow...'
Maybe he's actually super skilled?
'Wait.'
Training flashed in her mind.
Awakener intensity.
Team kills in dungeons.
Monopolizing stones.
Item theft.
The staff shivered.
'N-no way...'
Newbie manual rule 4.
No arbitrary judgments.
If suspicious, consult handler.
"Um... please wait a moment..."
"Sure, take your time."
She stepped into the hall.
Called the 1st floor security team leader.
'If it's sketchy... he'll handle it, right?'
If this guy's a criminal awakener?
Fine. 1st floor team leader's E+.
Moments later.
Staff reentered the counter.
Behind her, the suited 1st floor team leader followed.
"Haha, this newbie hasn't learned stone valuation yet. I'll help you."
"Sure, go ahead."
Kang Hyun fiddled with his phone.
The team leader eyed him.
'Definitely abnormal stone amount... Huh? Wait, this guy's face?'
It's that guy.
Kang Hyun, right?
'Our company's hit.'
The guy who borrowed money and awakened.
Why's he still alive?
HQ security, 1st floor team leader.
But essentially a company grunt.
His job: leak info.
Pass new awakener data to the company.
'Wasn't yesterday execution day?'
Did the info not go through?
Need to resend.
'Sketchy guy with all these stones.'
Better to kill types like this quick.
Then.
Kang Hyun's hand twitched.
'Hm?'
Finger tightening.
The [Prey's Pulse] ring from the reward.
'Well now, what's this?'
Released his grip.
The ring moved his finger, pointing at the security guard.
Meaning the guard harbored murderous intent.
Kang Hyun shot up from his seat.
Whoosh!
"M-Mommy!"
Staff startled or not.
He grabbed the guard's collar outright.
"Guhk."
"Funny guy. Hey, you know me?"
The guard's eyes widened in shock.
'Wh-what the hell is this psycho!'
But opponent was F-.
Tried to reverse grip and slam him.
'Ugh... why won't it move!'
Kang Hyun already had center of gravity and angle advantage.
Instead, the guard got slammed onto the desk.
Crash!
"Gah!"
"Kyaaah-!"
Chaos erupted.
Section Chief Choi Young-ho rushed down after the desk report.
"What happened?!"
Kang Hyun waved.
"Oh, long time no see, Section Chief Choi."
"O-oh, long time no see."
Choi flinched.
Never expected to meet like this.
Casually greeting while pinning the guy.
Somehow instilled trust in onlookers.
But the 1st floor team leader was puzzled.
'Section Chief Choi? Why's he here?'
HQ's famed competent guy.
Not the rank to rush down for this.
A bad premonition passed.
'No way? Spy busted... Nah, overthinking.'
Just on edge from the mess.
Meanwhile, Choi quickly assessed.
'1st floor security team leader pinned by an F-?'
Possible?
Brief surprise, but opponent was a Perfect Clear awakener.
Made sense.
Something special about him.
"What happened?"
"This guy's HQ staff, right? Feels like he's taking orders from some shady outfit."
"Wh-what are you blabbering about, you psycho!"
HQ security guard.
Kang Hyun, freshly registered awakener.
No evidence even.
But Choi couldn't brush it off.
'Affiliation? Shady orders?'
And the target happens to be a Perfect Clear awakener?
Coincidence?
A possibility clicked in his mind.
'No way... foreign spy?'
Foreign countries had approached Kang Hyun recently.
Safe to assume many nations knew his location.
This fit.
Assassination attempt on an awakener.
Precedent galore.
Failed recruitment?
Or simple Korea check?
Motives aplenty.
'That's what Perfect Clear awakeners are.'
Choi wrapped it up.
Fire in his eyes.
'The gall! Targeting our Perfect Clear awakener!'
Korea's future!
'You traitor scum!'
Thanks to Kang Hyun, they caught a spy.
1st floor team leader, long hidden in HQ.
Didn't know how he sniffed it out.
'Gonna expose them all.'
Who's behind him.
Any shady HQ dealings so far.
'Investigation will reveal it.'
If innocent, no issue.
That'll come out too.
"Security! Code red! Suspected spy! All team leaders here now!"
At Choi's shout, the 1st floor team leader paled.
Pieces falling into place fast.
Baseless provocation.
Choi arriving like it was scripted.
'B-busted!'
Company grunt exposed.
It was a trap!