Chapter 34
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Treasure Hunt
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My brain refused to process it. Why the hell was this guy here? No, before that.
I lowered my head and looked at my wrist. A red string was tied around it, and on the other end of the string, about as long as my arm, was someone else’s wrist—not my brother’s. No, not even a person.
“…You.”
“Eek.”
I grabbed him by the collar. Why the fuck was I paired with this bastard? No, why was he even here in the first place, and why was he participating?
“Han Ji-eon Hunter?”
Ji Hwa-yeon, who had paired up with Haena—her hair and eyes now sparkling like red gems from Pattern Activation—called out to me, seemingly not grasping the situation. My brother stared blankly at his now-free hand.
“And who might that be…?”
“…….”
I bit my lip, suppressing my rage, and barely managed to open my mouth.
“The one… from that dungeon, the hunter.”
“…Ah.”
Ji Hwa-yeon’s expression darkened in an instant. I could feel the skin-prickling killing intent from here. But since only my brother, Ji Hwa-yeon, and I knew about the hunters we’d encountered in the dungeon, to everyone else, it probably just looked like my partner had been snatched away.
That made it hard to press the issue. Questioning him would reveal this bastard’s identity. Saying he was on the dungeon’s side would just sow more confusion. Plus, with the string already connecting us, hostility wasn’t an option.
After a brief silence, Haena spoke up.
“Uh, so Han Ji-un Hunter doesn’t have a partner?”
“Probably.”
“Then we’ve got one extra on our side. How about pairing with them for now? The one we were originally gonna pair with ended up with someone else, so we’re looking for a spare. Better with someone you know, right? Even if you two don’t. They’re an A-Rank support, but experienced.”
“That’s the offer, Han Ji-un Hunter. What do you say?”
My brother glanced at his hand, clenched his fist, stared at the damn carnival-pink hair, clenched his fist again, then lowered his hand.
“Yeah. Let’s do that.”
Thankfully, no bloodshed. Not that he could use his power here anyway.
My brother followed Haena and Ji Hwa-yeon as they moved off. Watching them go, I gripped the bastard’s collar even tighter, yanked him closer, and said,
“Why are you here?”
“To join the game?”
“Why are you joining the game?”
“’Cause it’s fun~”
“…….”
“Scary~”
Over there, my brother had paired with a foreign hunter and was coming back with Ji Hwa-yeon and Haena. But that—
“Argh.”
I couldn’t hold back the urge to punch him.
My fist shot up and slammed straight into the damn thing’s cheek. As I reared back for another, thwack—my fist was blocked.
“Don’t get so mad. How do you know I won’t be useful?”
“You? What the hell could you do?”
“Calm down.”
With my blocked hand, I grabbed his collar again.
I couldn’t trust him from the start. Even if he said something helpful, whether he liked me or not, this guy was the enemy.
“What’s your angle?”
“No angle.”
As I glared at the carnival-pink hair while gripping his collar, something shot toward his back with force.
Thwack! It made a sound like his skull cracking, and the pink head lurched forward. Behind his lowered head, my brother walked past.
“Gaaah…….”
Before the pink head could lift his face, something smashed into his side. Another grotesque sound rang out as he crumpled. I let go of his collar and watched Ji Hwa-yeon pass by behind him.
“Gaaaaah…….”
Seeing him genuinely suffer…
‘Guess mine didn’t hurt, huh.’
I thought about hitting him properly, but using power here was pointless, so I held back. Glaring at the trembling pink head as he got up, I said,
“Stop faking it and get up.”
“No, really… especially my side, my weak spot…….”
Ah. Already exhausted. Life……
The pink head let out a sigh and approached me.
“I’m strong, you know.”
“It’s not about strong or weak.”
As I clutched my head, the voice echoed again.
—Hmm, looks like everyone’s paired up except one! So, as mentioned, that one~
Whoosh. The unpaired person flew into the air. His face twisted in terror, then—
—Tada!
His head turned into a balloon. His flailing body went limp. Soon after—
—Pop.
Splatter. The balloon burst, spraying blood everywhere. People murmured for a moment, then fell silent. They’d steeled themselves for deaths.
‘They just hope it’s not them.’
—No more unpaired. Now, time to climb the tower! Move out!
Whoosh. My vision shifted instantly.
Rustle. Looking down at the sound, I saw green grass. I looked up again.
“A hill?”
Someone’s voice came from nearby.
A hill. I stood atop it. Below stretched a village, and the sky sparkled like a pink gem.
‘Where’s brother or Ji Hwa-yeon…?’
Gone. A few Korean hunters were around, but hardly any.
‘Because of this?’
I looked at the string on my wrist. Red.
‘Brother’s was green, Ji Hwa-yeon’s yellow for sure.’
Like traffic lights. Other colors existed too, of course.
As I tried to get my bearings, something sparkled into view from the sky.
—Hello~ I’m the clone.
A small bear shape like delicate glasswork, with shimmering fairy wings.
I flinched at the sight. It was the thing that had flown under that turquoise head, killing people grotesquely.
Someone yelled at the glass bear.
“Where are we!”
—Here? Village hill. Your task is simple. First, those with red strings—you’re the students. So, play the student role faithfully and find the treasure.
“Treasure?”
The one who’d asked first echoed.
—Yup. Treasure. You’ll know it at a glance. Like, that’s definitely the treasure.
That reminded me of a game.
Treasure hunt.
—First, you need to look like students~ Yaap.
As the drowsy tone ended, sparkling powder rained down on everyone. I covered my nose and mouth with my sleeve in case it was poison, then poof—my clothes changed.
—Now you look like students~
Black jacket with yellow patterns, white shirt, black tie, gray pants.
—Oh, right. This too, this too.
As I stared blankly at my new outfit, something appeared on my head, and a cape draped over the jacket.
—Head to the school on your own~ Oh, the longer you delay, the worse it gets, so find the treasure quick.
The glass bear yawned sleepily and vanished.
“…….”
I fiddled with the clothes, but couldn’t feel them. Touching my arm, I felt the jacket sleeve, so the uniform was probably an illusion. I was too annoyed to care. I said to the carnival-pink head,
“Let’s go.”
“Huh?”
“We’re supposed to find the treasure.”
“That—”
“Fuck, are you kidding me?!”
A hunter who’d tried to grab his intangible hat flew into a rage and toppled a nearby tree.
“I’m a proud hunter here to fight! And what? Treasure? Cut the bullshit!”
He stomped off, shaking the ground. The other hunters, deflated, scattered too.
Everyone but our group headed down the hill. I sighed and looked at our Korean hunters. Had to look after these guys at least.
“Yun Sia Hunter, Park Woo-yun Hunter.”
“Yes?”
“Yeah!”
“And you two… were on brother’s team?”
“Yes…….”
So few people left—just six.
“Let’s split up for now.”
“Is that okay? Something might happen…….”
“Doesn’t seem like anything big will go down right away. It said the longer the delay, the worse it gets, so at least no deaths here. And it’s a treasure hunt, so splitting up to search makes sense.”
“Hmm, true.”
I surveyed the hill below. Average-sized village, oversized buildings that didn’t fit, and forest… port…?
“Three teams perfect. Giant building, village, forest and port.”
“Then us!”
Yun Sia grabbed Park Woo-yun’s wrist and shot her hand up.
“We’ll take the village!”
“Then we’ll do forest and port.”
“Settled. If trouble, run to where the others might be.”
Everyone moved to their zones, uneasy. And me too.
“Let’s go, pink head.”
“I’m not a pink head. Forgot already? Say it: Gel—”
“Got it, pink head.”
“…….”
Dragging my uneasy baggage—no, burden—I headed for the giant building.
The path was peaceful. Eerily so. Peaceful enough to question it. That made it even more unsettling. My decision in this situation:
“Spill what you know.”
“Hm?”
“Ten seconds. If not, I cut the string and we both die. Ten—”
“…This is a newly created space. A kind of illusion.”
“Illusion?”
“Not sure exactly, but probably based on some old place. Bits copied from your world.”
“Fucking creepy.”
It was just as he said. Kids hopping in the grass, elders tilling fields, ‘people’ visible as we descended into the village.
“…….”
All masquerading as humans.
Boom! A massive explosion echoed from afar. Someone was blowing up this creepy place in my stead.
Ignoring it, I spoke.
“Where’s the treasure likely?”
“Dunno for sure, but knowing that personality, probably the giant place.”
“Giant place…”
I looked ahead. We’d arrived. From afar, it was just a big building, but up close, it was clear.
“A school.”
“Giving us uniforms like this? This is prime suspect.”
I sighed deeply. Five years since I wore a uniform, and now school in uniform.
With mixed feelings, I stepped through the school gate. Then, suddenly.
“How about the fire club if you like fire-related stuff?”
“Fire? Ice is the trend! Join the ice club!”
Students handing out flyers, hustling for club recruitment. Pushing past, I strode inside, climbed the stairs—and it got even better.
“…Hah.”
Students caught by teachers while casting magic, groups chatting in hallways, kids graffitiing blackboards and fleeing while pranking.
I stood still, taking in the scene. The pink head commented on my expression.
“Lost in memories or something?”
“Memories my ass. Just…”
Looking at them, it was…
“Pathetic,” I thought.
Not just a copy—blatant rip-off. And if it was from the past, all fake anyway.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“One job from now on.”
Holding back the urge to blow it all up, I continued.
“Find the treasure fast and end this.”
“Think it’ll be that easy?”
“Shut up.”
I know that.
I pushed through the crowds. In this huge school with endless classrooms, when would we find it? Then—
Crash!
A wall exploded right in front of me, red gems shattering and covering the area as someone flew out, followed by familiar faces.
“Ah, Han Ji-eon.”
“Ji Hwa-yeon, Haena.”
Unlike me, Ji Hwa-yeon and Haena in neat suits burst through the wall after sending someone flying.
What the hell now.