A Grave Encounter

Around noon in Busan, the train finally pulled into Busan Station. After receiving Ayla's personal information, Kang Hyuk coolly parted ways with her. To be honest, he didn't trust her. The home address she gave him was likely fake, and her contact information would probably change after some time. However, Kang Hyuk didn't care. He already had five million won in his pocket, and if she ran away, he could just hunt her down and finish her off then. An F-class villain, after all, was nothing but a flea trying to leap out of a jar. At any rate, having secured an unexpected windfall on the train, Kang Hyuk set off with a light step.

First, he planned to find a place to stay. His tasks in Busan were twofold: first, to secure the corpse Gwang-ui had requested, and second, to eliminate the low-tier villains lurking in the city. To accomplish this, establishing a base of operations was a must.

"Welcome, guest. This is the Rotte Hotel."

Shortly after, Kang Hyuk arrived at a luxury hotel and booked a room equipped with a computer. He had originally planned to stay in a cheap inn or motel. But since he had just pocketed a free five million won on the train, he decided to splurge on a high-end hotel. A man couldn't live on dew alone. Indulging in occasional luxury like this would, in the long run, benefit him in one way or another.

"...Now, let's choose a target first."

Entering the room, Kang Hyuk turned on the computer and immediately accessed the Busan Public Security Bureau database. As the nation's second-largest city, Busan was teeming with villains. Kang Hyuk began scrolling through the list, focusing primarily on low-tier targets. Who is worth hunting in Busan? If I'm staying for about three or four days...

"Aha."

As he scanned the list, his eyes suddenly lit up. A very appetizing alias caught his attention.

Aside from the fact that he resided in Busan, no other information about the D-class villain Networker had ever been made public. However, Kang Hyuk knew exactly where this guy lived. After all, Networker was a villain who had appeared in the main story of the game.

The cemetery is located in Seo-gu, but this guy lives in Dong-gu. It'll be better to secure the corpse Gwang-ui requested first, and then go hunt this guy down! Will three days be enough?

After that, Kang Hyuk earmarked another villain besides Networker. If time permitted, he intended to eliminate that one as well.

"...Let's move."

A moment later, having finalized his schedule, Kang Hyuk left the hotel. Striking while the iron was hot, he intended to put his plan into action starting today.

After parting ways with Kang Hyuk, Ayla headed straight for the Happy Orphanage. Her actual reason for coming to Busan was to visit this place. Her mother was the director of the Happy Orphanage.

"Ayla! How long has it been!"

As she entered the orphanage, a kind-looking middle-aged woman welcomed her. Ayla chuckled softly and greeted her.

"Mom, it's been a while."

"Why didn't you call first?"

"I wanted to surprise you."

Saying so, Ayla pulled an envelope of cash from her coat. It was exactly the same thickness as the one she had given Kang Hyuk.

"Take this, Mom. It's your allowance for this month."

"Oh my, so much?"

"This money is only for you to spend on yourself, Mom. So absolutely do not spend it on the orphanage kids."

When Ayla warned her, her mother gave a bitter smile. Ayla was always like this. She absolutely hated it when her mother spent her money on the orphanage children. Perhaps the reason she acted this way was because, since childhood, she felt the orphanage kids had stolen her mother's love from her. Her mother looked at Ayla with eyes full of guilt and regret, though Ayla pointedly avoided her gaze.

"Anyway, I should get going."

"What? You're leaving already?"

"I've confirmed you're doing well, so that's enough. Oh, and I won't be able to come down to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Busan for a while."

"Are you busy with work?"

"You could say ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that."

Ayla shrugged. Her mother had absolutely no idea that she was the 'Witch of Seduction'. What would her mother's reaction be if she found out that the Black Dragon Society was hunting her, and that a man ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠named Kang Hyuk held her life hostage? At the very least, she wouldn't just stop at fainting.

"Still, shouldn't you visit your father before you leave?"

"Forget it. Why should I care about that man?"

"...Ayla."

Her mother's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠expression hardened. Ayla twirled her hair irritably before finally replying as if she had no choice.

"Sigh... Fine."

"Buy some flowers to take with you."

"Hmph, flowers? That man loved alcohol so much when he was alive. He'd probably prefer floral liquor over actual flowers. Anyway, I'm off!"

Ayla waved her hand dismissively and walked out of the orphanage. Her mother could only watch her leave with a sorrowful gaze.

Under the cover of a pitch-black night, Kang Hyuk slipped into the cemetery in Seo-gu, Busan. If his predictions were correct, the corpse of the D-class hero Dual Machine Gun that Gwang-ui had requested would be here. After securing the body, he planned to head out early tomorrow morning to eliminate the D-class villain Networker.

By the way, the atmosphere is incredibly eerie. Am I going to run into a ghost or something?

Kang Hyuk quietly drew his revolver. This was a world where heroes and villains existed, and all sorts of supernatural abilities that defied science were real. In other words, encountering a ghost here wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility. Who knew? Maybe a virgin ghost would suddenly pop out.

"Sob... sob..."

...No way.

Just as Kang Hyuk was winding himself up with tension, the sound of a woman weeping suddenly drifted into his ears. He swallowed hard. Could it really be? Had a virgin ghost actually appeared?

Feeling his heart thumping, Kang Hyuk began to creep stealthily toward the source of the sound. What kind of clothes is she wearing? Is her face pretty? If she has a good body, I wouldn't mind personally helping her move on to the afterlife...

Lost in these idle thoughts, he advanced quietly. But a moment later, when he finally reached his destination, he couldn't help but let out a hollow sigh. The owner of the voice wasn't a virgin ghost at all—it was none other than the Witch of Seduction.

"Ha! What are you doing here?"

"...Kyaaaah!"

When Kang Hyuk suddenly spoke up, Ayla shrieked. Clutching her chest, she whipped around. But the moment she recognized the man as Kang Hyuk, she let out a sigh of relief and demanded, "Y-You! What are you doing here? Why are you in a place like this?"

"That's my line. What about you? What are you doing here?"

Kang Hyuk glanced past Ayla. A small tombstone, and a single cup of alcohol placed before it...! Only then did Kang Hyuk realize why she was crying here.

"Ho... this is unexpected. Who is that?"

"T-That's none of your business."

"Uh-uh. I don't think that's an appropriate answer between friends."

Click.

When Kang Hyuk cocked his gun, Ayla flinched. Ultimately, she had no choice but to open her mouth.

"...My dad."

"Your dad? How did he die?"

"You're curious about the strangest things. It's nothing special. He died of cancer."

Ayla looked as though she felt deep resentment toward her father, yet missed him terribly at the same time.

"Hmm..."

Kang Hyuk stroked his chin as he looked at her. For some reason, he felt a strange, novel sensation. Back when he played Hero of the World, Kang Hyuk had never cared about the backstories of villains. Villains were just bad guys who caused immense harm to innocent citizens. Why should he care about their pasts?

However, now that he was actually a part of the Hero of the World universe and had witnessed the multi-dimensional nature of the Witch of Seduction, he found himself curiously wondering about the backstories of other villains as well. Maybe I should listen to Networker's story later too? Of course, that didn't mean he had any intention of letting the guy live. Right now, the most important things to Kang Hyuk were experience points and money.

"...W-What? What are you thinking about now?"

Seeing Kang Hyuk staring blankly, Ayla asked irritably. Kang Hyuk shrugged and holstered his gun.

"I just thought you looked surprisingly admirable."

"Ha? Admirable?"

"I thought you were just an evil wench who went around draining men's essence. But seeing you like this, I guess that's not entirely true. Maybe other villains have more to them than meets the eye, too."

"..."

Ayla seemed utterly speechless at his words. Leaving her to her thoughts, Kang Hyuk began to walk away. At any rate, he had a job to do tonight.