Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: The Bait
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I figured the hideout would be some special place.
But it was just a neighborhood inn.
A rickety old wooden shack smack in the middle of Gyeongseong.
I leaned back in a chair that looked like it’d collapse any second and asked Ma Jeongwoo,
“How’s your body holding up?”
Ma Jeongwoo propped himself up on the bed and replied.
“Thought I was a goner.”
Judging by the state of his stripped-off golden armor, I could tell just how many attacks he’d taken.
Countless scratches, big and small, gouged into the back.
This guy never lets an enemy get behind him in a fight, but to take a beating like this...
“...How many were there?”
“Over a hundred. Swear to god.”
“That many? Yi Ryanghun’s level isn’t high enough to summon that many.”
“Those people we rescued in the fourth round. Most of ’em sided with Yi Ryanghun.”
“...What? What kinda bullshit is that? Why would they side with him?”
We rescued them from living like slaves, and now they betrayed us? No way that makes sense.
It hadn’t even been that long since we freed them from those Japanese bastards’ clutches.
Ma Jeongwoo let out a hollow laugh.
“That’s what I’m saying. Those scumbags bit the hand that fed them.”
“...They weren’t all infected with the virus, right?”
“Nope.”
“Maybe they were blackmailed into it.”
“Could be. But... even if they were blackmailed, attacking us like that? That’s crossing a line.”
“Damn right.”
Jo Younggi, who’d been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, shut the window.
Thud.
In the ‘Land of Ruin’ system, closing the window keeps chat from leaking outside. That also meant conversations stayed trapped in here.
“Kim Cheonjae, first things first—find a way to lift the curse on your friend.”
“Curse?”
Jeongwoo pulled up his shirt to show his shoulder. Purple skin and bulging veins, just like the curse Yi Ryanghun hit me with before.
“Damn it, that bastard used this curse again.”
“If it weren’t for this, we wouldn’t have lost to them. The curse is stronger than I thought.”
“I’d have died too if it weren’t for Sora... Wait, where’s Sora?”
I scanned the room.
No sign of Yoo Sora.
“Sora got out thanks to Ri Keruna risking his life.”
“Ri Keruna?”
“Yeah. We had a huge fight with them escaping the ‘Conqueror’s Tomb.’ He slipped out in the chaos—”
*cough*
Ma Jeongwoo hacked up blood.
I handed him my handkerchief, then asked Jo Younggi,
“You haven’t seen Sora?”
“Nah, want me to look?”
“...Please. We can’t lift this curse without her.”
“You can’t do it with your abilities?”
“I’m a necromancer, not a healer.”
Jo Younggi pointed at Michael with his finger.
“That guy’s a priest, right?”
“...He is, but he hasn’t learned any curse-lifting skills.”
“Hmm...”
Michael gave an awkward look.
“I’ve got a curse on me too~”
“You too? Where?”
“It’s kinda embarrassing to show, but want me to~?”
“Upper body or lower?”
“Lower.”
I waved him off.
“Forget it.”
*Crack!*
The sound of a whip cracking echoed.
-Die! Die!! Die!!!
Kim Ria’s shout.
Blood-soaked Hanjo groaned in agony.
Kim Yeonhui and Kim Ria had him tied up, tormenting him.
Kim Yeonhui’s assassin-exclusive skill, Shadow Bind, and Kim Ria’s druid skill, Vine Whip, kept the torture going.
*Crack—snap!*
Kim Ria lashed Hanjo with thorny vines. Each hit tore his skin. Muscles might be tough, but skin isn’t...
It was a scene straight out of a horror flick.
The bandages wrapping his body were soaked red.
I patted her shoulder to calm her down.
“Hold on. I need to ask him something.”
“...Let me know when you’re done.”
Kim Ria stepped back with a reluctant look.
“Hanjo. Snap out of it.”
He was too drained to even sit up. His health bar was scraping bottom—he was one step from death.
He lay on the floor, flashing a sleazy grin.
“Keuh... Kill me.”
“...I’ve got a proposition for you.”
Hanjo’s eyebrow twitched.
“...A proposition?”
“Yeah. A deal. I’ll spare your life if you give me some info.”
He hesitated for a moment.
I grabbed Michael’s gun and pressed it to his temple.
*Click.*
“This isn’t just any gun. It’s loaded with Angel’s Grace.”
“...”
“I’ll heal you and let you live. In exchange: Yoo Sora’s location, info on Yi Ryanghun, and...”
“...And?”
“The way out of this game, as far as you know. Share those three things.”
* * * * *
*Rustle.*
Kim Ria untied the vines binding Hanjo with a bitter expression.
He leaned against the wardrobe, gasping for breath.
“That it? That’s everything I know.”
“Yeah... Guess I’ll honor the deal then.”
Kim Ria snapped sharply.
“No way! Cheonjae, why let that scum go?!”
I pulled out a cigarette and lit it as I told her,
“Made a promise.”
“A promise? No! Do we really have to keep promises with trash like him?”
“...”
*Sizzle. Crackle.*
*Hiss—puff.*
White smoke veiled my face.
Hanjo staggered to his feet on shaky legs, glancing around nervously.
“You really gonna let me go?”
“Yeah. Get lost before I change my mind.”
“...”
“I’ll give you thirty seconds. If you’re not out of my sight by then, I won’t be responsible.”
Jo Younggi and Ma Jeongwoo glared at him in silence.
Kim Yeonhui gripped her dagger’s hilt, stepping forward like she’d gut him any second.
“Kim Cheonjae, I don’t get your actions.”
“You don’t have to.”
“We should kill him now.”
I extended my arm to block her path.
“No. I just told Kim Ria the same—I made a deal with Hanjo. Answer my questions, and I let him live.”
Kim Yeonhui flushed red.
“A deal? What if everything he said was bullshit to save his skin?”
“It’s all true. No lies.”
“How can you believe that! Whatever. I’m killing him—deal with it.”
As Kim Yeonhui moved again, Jo Younggi grabbed her wrist.
“Stop.”
“...Why?”
“Don’t get heated. How’s an assassin supposed to function if she can’t control her emotions?”
“...”
“Kim Yeonhui, do as Kim Cheonjae says. We take our pay and get out.”
Kim Yeonhui looked deflated.
“What? No, do you know what kind of guy he—”
“I know. I know, and so does Kim Cheonjae. And he has final say on what goes down here.”
“...”
Jo Younggi opened the closed window again.
*Thud.*
Light poured in, brightening the room.
Hanjo crept to the window and said to me,
“You’ll regret sparing me.”
“Won’t happen. And here’s a warning: don’t team up with Yi Ryanghun again. However it goes down, you’ll end up dead.”
“...”
“Go.”
*Bang!*
I fired the pistol.
A yellow glow and silver bullet erupted from Michael’s gun.
Hanjo’s forehead, hit by the shot, glowed as his health bar filled.
*Thud.*
He tumbled straight out the window.
Seconds later, a dull impact echoed from outside.
*Thump!*
He hadn’t even landed properly. But true to Japan’s top ranker, he got right back up.
I smoked my cigarette, watching Hanjo sprawled below.
“Phew... Bait deployed.”
Once Hanjo was gone, Kim Ria rushed over and demanded,
“Cheonjae!”
“My ears are ringing. Talk quieter.”
“No, why’d you really let him go?”
“...Bait.”
“Bait?”
“Yeah. Bait.”
I exhaled smoke slowly, running a hand through my hair.
Then I closed the window and explained to everyone.
What was coming next, my prepared plan.
And that Hanjo would die soon.
* * * * *
Jo Younggi, Kim Yeonhui, and Kim Ria headed out to find Yoo Sora.
While they searched, I sat by Jeongwoo and chatted.
“Find out anything about Sora?”
“Well... I did some digging while we were in the canyon. Looks like it checks out.”
“Why was someone like that living with us in the villa?”
“Dunno exactly, but she’s no ordinary player, that’s for sure.”
“...Testing us?”
“Pretending she knows nothing about the game? Highest odds.”
Yoo Sora.
Her true identity was coming into focus, but not fully yet.
We’d know for sure after this round.
But what was she, really?
“...Kim Cheonjae, open that box first.”
“Box? Oh, the box!”
The box from the labyrinth gate.
Special reward for 100% kill rate, all monsters hunted solo.
*Creeeak.*
I opened it—empty. But my radar clearly marked it as an ancient relic. No items inside.
‘Maybe an invisible item?’
I reached in and rummaged—nothing.
“...”
I scratched my head.
‘What the?’
Just an empty box.
“What’re you doing? What’s inside?”
“...Air? No, nothing.”
“Nothing at all?”
“Yeah. My radar says ancient relic, though...”
Ma Jeongwoo dragged his aching body over beside me.
“Really empty?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
Jeongwoo flipped the box around, then asked,
“This the special reward?”
“Yeah.”
“Marked as ancient relic?”
“Yup.”
“...Then that’s it.”
I tilted my head.
“What’s that mean?”
Ma Jeongwoo pointed to the scraps of gold on the desk.
Leftovers from crafting the golden armor.
“...No way?”
“Think so.”
“Ma Jeongwoo... you genius bastard.”
“Hey, I know crafting better than you.”
I slammed the box on the ground.
*Boom!*
*Crunch—*
Sure enough.
The metal hinges crumpled, but the wood was unscratched.
I tested the durability with Dragon Fang on the panels.
*Thud! Thud!*
Not a mark.
Even the description was vague.
[???: Ancient Crafting Material.]
“Confirmed.”
“With that durability, hand it to a dwarf craftsman and you’d get something insane.”
“Dwarf... Too late for that. Who else can craft items from ancient relic materials?”
We put our heads together, pondering. Didn’t take long—we both knew every crafting NPC in ‘Land of Ruin.’
“...Vulcanus.”
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