Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: A Day of the Returner
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Namsan Outdoor Botanical Garden had grown eerily quiet since the tower's appearance.
In the deepest part of that garden, a blue spark crackled—zzzt! zzzzt!
Moments later, a fierce burst of sparks formed a circular ring, and a figure stepped out from within.
"......"
It was Lee Sang-hyun. He had finally returned to Earth from the ruined rune world.
Unfortunately, he cut a pitiful figure. His clothes were in tatters, likely from colliding with a drifting meteor in space, and his face was smudged with soot in several places.
To put it bluntly, he looked worse than the homeless folks who haunted Seoul Station.
Of course, his eyes remained as calm and sharp as ever.
...First things first, I need clothes. Wandering the streets like this will get me reported in no time.
A ruined rune world might be one thing, but he couldn't stroll around people-packed South Korea looking like a beggar.
Lee Sang-hyun expanded his sensory field, searching for anything useful.
...There we go.
Just then, he sensed a rowdy group beating someone in a basement. They looked like loan sharks, and they seemed to have both money and weapons.
Let's go.
Lee Sang-hyun dashed straight there. It was close enough that he arrived in under ten seconds.
The underground organization created by First Player Choi Tae-seong dominated the Itaewon area. Excluding Choi himself, every member was a Second Player, making it a massive outfit.
Their main businesses were illegal Nectar distribution and importing/selling artifacts (stolen goods). They dabbled in high-interest loans and gambling too, and had even dipped into drugs—an utterly depraved crime syndicate.
Today, as usual, they had dragged in a delinquent debtor and were beating him half to death.
"You really wanna die that bad?"
"If you don't have money, sell your damn organs and pay up!!"
"Quit your whining. Just pay what you owe. Problem solved. What's the issue?"
"I hear Brazil's short on manpower these days... A trip abroad ain't so bad."
The debtor, covered in bruises from head to toe, could only beg for his life and nothing more.
...Pathetic vermin.
Choi Tae-seong glared coldly at the debtor who had borrowed money but failed to repay on time, sneering in disdain.
"......"
Lee Sang-hyun didn't just stand by and watch. He knocked out the entire group, debtor included.
"Gurk?!"
"Kughaaak...?!"
"Ughooook..."
"Kruuuh......"
Thud.
By manipulating the blood in their bodies, Lee Sang-hyun felled them without any resistance.
This guy's... Choi Tae-seong, right? Guess he's the boss around here.
Choi Tae-seong was a borderline Grade 2 hunter, teetering on the edge of Grade 3... but it seemed he'd hit a wall and stalled out.
What a dump.
The basement was a textbook criminal hideout.
Still, Lee Sang-hyun rummaged around diligently for wearable clothes. No luck.
With no choice, he stripped a gang member of similar build and changed into those.
Of course, he left the underwear on. Just grabbed a top, pants, and jacket.
And a fat wallet.
...This wallet's stuffed. Must be decent income.
Lee Sang-hyun collected cash from Choi Tae-seong and the gang, then grabbed a smartphone and checked if fingerprint unlock worked.
Ding.
Fortunately, Choi's phone unlocked with just a print.
Unlock disabled. Cash and phone sorted... Now for weapons and Nectar.
He snagged two artifact swords from a hidden stash, then destroyed all the Nectar.
Shrrk.
This guy's got bad luck. Might end up dead, so I'll help a little.
To Lee Sang-hyun, the debtor was just a guy who'd borrowed money—nothing more, nothing less.
No obligation to help... but he might get killed by the waking Choi Tae-seong, so he stuffed half the recovered cash into the debtor's clothes, then carried him upstairs and released him.
"Ugh... Ah... Aaa...?"
The waking debtor was dazed for a while. Then he noticed the cash in his clothes, frantically looked around, and bolted from the spot.
He'll figure it out.
Lee Sang-hyun paid it no more mind. Whether that debtor repaid or not had nothing to do with him. More pressing was what to eat next.
Top of mind...
Chinese food.
Jjampong rice sounds good.
Lee Sang-hyun ordered jjampong rice, sweet-and-sour pork, and two cans of soda at a nearby Chinese joint. He sat quietly, scrolling and searching on the smartphone.
...Twelve years, huh.
Incredibly, twelve years had passed since the tower appeared on Earth.
Twelve years...
Not one, not three, but twelve. The staggering span left Lee Sang-hyun briefly stunned. Just for a moment, though—he snapped out of it.
The Strongest 7, huh...
The fact that the world had essentially been divvied up by the Strongest 7 brought the ruined rune world to mind, tightening his chest. He nearly sighed.
But Lee Sang-hyun held it in and kept digging for info.
Korea, Japan, China, Russia, Italy, Brazil, USA... Kang Mu-hyuk? If it's that Kang Mu-hyuk... he's one of the Strongest 7? Hmm. That's surprising.
Lee Sang-hyun learned who the Strongest 7 were and where they lived.
He also found out six black towers remained, managed by the Strongest 7; Nectar created Second Players; and wars raged over Nectar supplies.
Early stages of downfall...
Lee Sang-hyun swallowed his bitterness and searched more.
Recent events... Giant monster and monster wave... Lots of deaths.
Meanwhile, the sweet-and-sour pork arrived first. Lee Sang-hyun cracked open a soda can and chugged it down. Then he cautiously bit into a piece of pork.
Munch munch gulp!
Freshly fried, it was crispy and hot. The sauce was perfection—spicy, sweet, tangy in perfect harmony, universally appealing.
Not bad.
Satisfied, Lee Sang-hyun dove deeper into the internet. Calls came in occasionally, but he hit ignore.
"Your jjampong rice is here."
Jjampong rice and sweet-and-sour pork made a stellar combo. The soda was ice-cold refreshing; he ended up downing three cans.
Oh, right... What about the system? Better check my status window.
Lee Sang-hyun called up the system and checked his status. His connection had snapped when he went to the rune world.
Nothing had changed except the ranking.
Events from the disconnected period apparently weren't reflected.
...Nameless did this on purpose, no doubt.
He couldn't pinpoint why right now, but Nameless had clearly sent him to a system-less rune world intentionally.
Lee Sang-hyun rose, paid for the food, and stepped outside.
Earth—South Korea, that is—was gradually darkening. Time was 6:43 PM.
Time's tight, but even rushing needs a plan. First, wash up. Think slowly in the bath. Good ideas will come.
Lee Sang-hyun decided on a brief rest.
Tracking the smartphone wasn't hard. Dead simple, and always on his mind.
Grind!
Choi Tae-seong ground his teeth. Some unknown bastard had raided him, stealing cash, artifacts, and even Nectar.
And for some reason... one of his men was down to just his underwear.
I'll kill him. No matter what, I'll kill that bastard and dump him in the trash!!
His rage-clouded eyes gleamed murderously. Whoever it was, he'd slaughter them on sight.
Yet despite the fury, Choi stayed cool-headed. The enemy's ability was annoying, and they might be stronger than him.
So he brought along a Grade 3 hunter—a black hunter he'd met by chance.
"You better make this worth my while. You get me?"
"...Of course. Don't worry about that. You'll get more than you want."
Choi Tae-seong swallowed his seething humiliation. Revenge mattered more than money right now. Revenge on the prick who raided his office and swiped his artifacts and Nectar.
Soon, he arrived where his phone was: a 24-hour sauna.
"...He's in there?"
"Yes, boss."
"......"
Choi couldn't believe the thief who stole his stuff would hole up in a sauna.
It was absurd on the face of it.
But he reconsidered. Only a total psycho would raid his office.
"...We're going in."
Choi entered the 24-hour sauna with his men and the black hunter in tow.
Lee Sang-hyun had sensed Choi and his gang hunting him from afar.
But he didn't engage—just waited for them to enter the sauna.
Plan was to knock them out in the changing room. Doing it on the street would cause a scene.
"......"
Soon, they entered the changing room. Lee Sang-hyun manipulated their blood to induce anemia and passed them out.
"Krugh... Huh...?"
"Ughooo......"
"Shii, fuuuck......"
"Uuuuh......"
Thud.
There was a Grade 3 hunter stronger than Choi, but it wasn't tough.
Annoying, but gotta move for a bit.
Lee Sang-hyun dumped them in the nap room and locked the door. Even kindly blocked it so no one else could enter while they slept soundly.
Banana milk looks tasty. Or chocolate milk? Coffee milk?
A normal person would've bolted at Choi's arrival, but not Lee Sang-hyun. He soaked in the warm bath, leisurely easing his fatigue.
And if the resilient Grade 3 showed signs of waking, he'd politely knock him out again.
Jjajangmyeon this time? Or doenjang jjigae, kimchi jjigae ain't bad either.
Lee Sang-hyun mulled his next meal from the soothing hot tub.
Choi Tae-seong woke the next day—after a full day had passed.
"......"
And again, his wallet was cleaned out. Not just that—the black hunter's clothes were stripped too.
His sub-space items were safe, but being left in humiliating undress crushed his pride.
"What the fuuuck... He took my clothes? Not just anyone's—my clothes... Left me in just my underwear... Took my clothes? That crazy son of a...!!"
Crunch!!
Obviously, the black hunter was pissed. Truly enraged—he'd rip the culprit apart regardless of Choi's job.
"Find that bastard NOW!! Find him!!"
"...Yes, understood. Please wait a moment."
Choi Tae-seong suppressed his humiliation and rage, vowing over and over to pay this debt back in full.
And Choi Tae-seong's smartphone...
Was still on.