Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: The Sweetness of Revenge
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Unfortunately for Dimdim, Lee Si-woo wasn't foolish enough to face nine mages by himself.
The moment the mages showed signs of moving, spurred by Dimdim's scream, he connected to Barathrum and vanished.
Having lost Si-woo right before their eyes, the rat-kin mages murmured in confusion.
“What…? He disappeared right in front of us?”
“Could it be… Invisibility? No, that can’t be. That’s a secret art known to be usable by only a select few high-ranking arcane mages…”
“No, this is strange. Even with Invisibility, you should be able to feel a presence! But this… he’s completely gone. I can’t feel anything at all!”
“Ah, is it an artifact?”
They wandered around, completely oblivious to the smartphone lying on the ground in a transparent state after Si-woo had connected.
Finding them pathetic, Dimdim, who was lying face down on the ground, screamed.
“You idiots! It’s not Invisibility or an artifact! It’s just a trick! Now hurry up and spread out to find him! Do not, under any circumstances, let him get away! That bastard Lee Si-woo killed the gray fox and our kinsmen! He’s the enemy of our clan—!”
At Dimdim’s enraged roar, the mages exchanged glances before scattering in all directions.
Had Dimdim been in his right mind, he never would have given such an order.
Even with a little thought, it was clear the phenomenon was too profound to be a mere trick.
But Dimdim, blinded by resentment, had lost his reason, and the mages had dispersed.
The only one who remained was his younger brother, who stayed behind to tend to Dimdim’s injuries.
“Brother Dimdim, are you alright?”
In response to his brother’s worried voice, Dimdim exhaled a heated breath, overcome with emotion.
“Hah… hah… I’m fine, so you go too…”
Crack.
Before Dimdim could finish his sentence, the sound of a bone breaking echoed around them.
An ominous presence, and his brother’s knees buckled, collapsing weakly to the floor.
Next to the prone Dimdim, his brother’s corpse fell, its neck twisted at a bizarre angle.
As if having forgotten how to speak at the shocking sight, Dimdim let out a strange groan.
“Ugh… ah… uh…”
As Dimdim began to gasp for air, the gentle sound of footsteps tickled his ears.
Dimdim shrieked at Lee Si-woo, who, after killing his brother, ignored the incapacitated Dimdim and walked away.
But Si-woo didn’t look back.
Live bait was always more useful than dead bait.
* * *
The mage Harman was a combat mage who had spent half his life on the battlefield, and his rank was a testament to his exceptional career and achievements.
He was one of the very few cases of a shunned human becoming a Summoner’s direct subordinate mage.
A dragon from a ditch, a self-made man of a kind rarely seen.
Lee Si-woo was now keenly aware of just how valuable his knowledge and experience were.
“Keuk…”
With a groan, another mage collapsed, his abdomen pierced by Si-woo’s hand.
He had been ambushed by Si-woo, who had used Search to detect the mage’s location, read his path, and waited at the optimal assassination point.
Freely using abilities like Search and Trap was impossible for a fledgling 1st Circle mage, but it was no difficult task for Si-woo, who was already like a seasoned combat mage.
Like a stray cat hunting sparrows, Si-woo cleverly and cruelly lured the mages, taking them out one by one.
KABOOM!
Startled by the explosive power of a trap made from a five-layered Magic Arrow, a rat-kin mage deployed a Mana Shield and stumbled backward.
Just as the rat-kin mage’s attention was fixed on the trap ahead, the adjacent wall crumbled and Si-woo burst through.
“Guh-heok!”
The rat-kin mage, who never imagined Si-woo would smash through a wall, was terrified.
Si-woo landed a straight punch to the rat-kin mage’s chest, dispelling the Mana Shield, then crushed his skull with a hook.
That made five.
In just over thirty minutes, Si-woo had eliminated more than half of the rat-kin mages.
But Si-woo wasn’t unscathed either.
Not only were his hands trembling like a diabetic suffering from hypoglycemia, but a terrible hunger was making him dizzy.
‘I’m running out of food.’
Si-woo devoured the last lunchbox from his backpack, then chugged a two-liter bottle of water.
Even after that, the hunger remained, a clear sign that overusing his Mineralization ability any further would be dangerous.
‘Killing them all in this state is impossible. No, even if I get lucky and take care of them all, if an unexpected variable like another mage intervening occurs, I’m a dead man. This won’t work.’
Now, Si-woo had to choose: retreat, or continue fighting the rat-kin mages with his Mineralization ability sealed.
But instead of picking one of the two options, Si-woo headed for the main entrance of the officetel, where he had first encountered Dimdim.
When Si-woo showed up of his own accord, Dimdim, who was being protected by two rat-kin mages in front of the officetel, glared at him with bloodshot eyes.
“Lee Si-woo…”
With no proper medicine or treatment facilities, how effective could first aid have been?
Si-woo spoke to Dimdim, who looked like a walking corpse being escorted by his fellow mages.
“Do you hate me?”
Dimdim ground his teeth and said,
“You son of a bitch, what kind of question is that…”
“Half of you are already dead. That leaves only five. Ah, Mr. Dimdim is little more than dead weight, so I suppose it’s four. But… will that be enough?”
Dimdim shot back, his eyes glinting coldly.
“We won’t know until we try. You must have burned a considerable amount of energy killing us. So your food must be nearly gone. Am I wrong?”
“Well, it’s a fact that I’m low on food, but my situation isn’t so dire that you need to worry. Unfortunately for you, I have enough left to take care of you all.”
A lie. But Dimdim, who couldn’t know the truth, had his pupils waver. Not knowing how many lunchboxes Si-woo had, he thought it might be true.
The rat-kin mage supporting Dimdim spoke in an angry voice.
“So? Are you telling us to run away? That’s the most masterful bullshit I’ve ever heard.”
“No. It means the stage is finally set for a proper negotiation.”
Dimdim could only let out a hollow laugh at Si-woo’s absurd words and actions.
Negotiate with Lee Si-woo, who was as good as his mortal enemy?
It was nonsense not worth considering.
“The bastard’s spouting nonsense about negotiating.”
Si-woo’s expression didn’t change at Dimdim’s harsh words as he replied.
“You’re so naive. Don’t you see? This whole mess is because of your poor choices.”
“…What?”
“You should have either stayed out of this from the beginning or sided with me. Haven’t you realized it yet? That you no longer have a choice?”
“What the hell is this son of a bitch saying…”
“An outside VIP intervened and used you to try to kill me. But I didn’t die, and I exposed everything. In a situation like this… do you really think the Senior Magic Tower backing me will just stand by?”
If they had killed Si-woo outright, Rios would have backed the rat-kin as promised.
But not only had they failed, Si-woo had blatantly revealed the whole story.
Even if they succeeded in killing Si-woo now, the Senior Magic Tower, furious over Rios’s corruption, wouldn’t remain silent.
Regardless of the outcome, the rat-kin were bound to face severe consequences.
Only then did Dimdim realize their reality, and his face turned pale.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…”
Si-woo smiled faintly.
“Do you want to kill me? I doubt it. Not only is it unlikely I’ll die, since I can just run away if things go south, but even if you get lucky and succeed, your clan has no future. Isn’t that right?”
Just then, Si-woo’s Danger Sense picked up a Magic Arrow flying at him from behind, and he twisted his body lightly to dodge.
It was a surprise attack from a hidden rat-kin mage.
Despite being caught from behind, Si-woo spoke in a relaxed tone.
“Is this your answer?”
Dimdim squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.
“Stop! Stop it! Don’t attack!”
At Dimdim’s command, the two rat-kin mages hidden behind Si-woo emerged awkwardly. Their faces were full of discontent, as if they couldn’t understand Dimdim’s order.
Dimdim silently lowered his head.
Murky tears, mixed with blood and sweat, dripped onto the ground.
They were tears of rage, blaming his own incompetence for being unable to do anything to the man who had killed his own brother and ruined his clan’s future.
Was that all?
What was more despairing was the reality of having to beg that very enemy for his clan’s future.
Si-woo spoke in a soft voice, as if soothing a child.
“Please, think of the future of your children and descendants.”
Dimdim asked in a voice as dry as desert sand.
“…What do you want? Food?”
“Yes. If you give me food, I will guide you to the Top 10.”
“I… no, we cannot trust you. We both crossed the line long ago… How can we possibly believe your words?”
“Why don’t we put aside such meaningless words? Mr. Dimdim, you know very well that you no longer have any choice, don’t you?”
Dimdim sighed.
Was he the only one?
The other rat-kin mages also silently wiped their eyes with their sleeves.
They were overcome with sorrow and resentment for their wretched plight.
Finally, Dimdim spoke.
“I will give you the food. But promise! You must… keep your promise.”
Si-woo smiled brightly.
“Don’t worry. I may be a liar, but I’m not the kind of scoundrel who treats a promise like a worn-out shoe.”
It was a completely untrustworthy assurance.
* * *
Inside the officetel, there was no suite like Dimdim had mentioned, but the food collected by the ten rat-kin mages was certainly there.
Indeed, the abilities of the rat-kin with their Food Trace Talent were considerable; though it was only the second day, they had stockpiled over forty lunchboxes in the officetel.
It seemed they had swept up every lunchbox in the vicinity.
There was also plenty of water, but food had been the problem, not hydration, so Si-woo swept most of the lunchboxes into his backpack and devoured six of them on the spot to secure more calories.
Carried on a fellow mage’s back, Dimdim, who was staring at Si-woo with dazed, vacant eyes, spoke.
“We kept our promise. Now you keep yours.”
Having finished his meal, Si-woo spoke with the languid expression of a well-fed predator.
“When I was young, my parents died.”
Dimdim frowned at Si-woo’s sudden confession.
“What are you suddenly talking about…”
Si-woo brought a finger to his lips and made a shushing sound.
“Shh, be quiet. You see, I was quite cunning even as a child. I was very quick-witted and had a cruel streak that was unbecoming of my age.”
Having said that, Si-woo rested his chin on his hand and let out a long, weary yawn.
Was it because of the encroaching drowsiness?
The events of that day came back to him vividly.
“I had a friend. We were so close that we went to a faraway foreign country together. And… he was a dear friend. Yes, a very dear friend.”
The metallic scent of blood brushing past his nose, the red bloodstains spattered here and there on the old bathroom wall.
The other children who followed the adults and never returned.
The child was quick-witted and cunning.
And he was cruel.
“Let’s play a fun game. We’ll switch names. What do you think? It’ll be fun, right?”
The friend became Lee Si-woo, and Lee Si-woo became the friend.
“Lee Si-woo. Come out. It’s snack time.”
And so, the order was reversed, and so was fate.
The child was as swift as a rat, as cunning as a cat, and as vicious as a demon.
So vicious that, even when he saw his parents while escaping, he didn’t make a single sound.
It’s still vivid.
The sight he saw through the crack in the door as he carefully crawled down the hallway, avoiding their eyes.
His mother’s eyes, meeting his as she lay on the operating table.
What could his mother have been thinking at that moment?
Perhaps she hoped her young son would escape this place and report it to the police?
“My friend died.”
The child did not report it to the police.
The child knew how old this decrepit building was, and he knew that bad adults had lived in it for a long time.
So the child didn’t trust adults.
Because he knew there were no good adults here.
Sometimes, he would think.
Is a child who gives up the chance to save his parents simply because he doesn’t trust, or because he’s anxious, normal?
Or is he a monster?
“The child vowed revenge.”
In truth, it wasn’t a vow but an escape.
An escape to shove all his guilt into the fetters of revenge and forget.
Si-woo looked at Dimdim with hazy, fog-like eyes.
Dimdim, who had been tense for some time now, had a face as rigid as a statue.
“And I succeeded. So I know. I know just how sweet revenge can be.”
As Si-woo’s skin slowly turned golden, Dimdim let out a scream-like cry.
“Run! Survive, no matter what! He, he… has no intention of letting us live!”
Si-woo said.
“I hope you never know that sweetness. Ever.”
He was a liar, and a piece of trash who threw away promises like worn-out shoes.
But that was why he was alive.
And he would continue to survive, no matter what.
Because if he died, he would have to meet those he had abandoned.
He didn’t have the courage to face them.
He was afraid they would ask him about that day.
He didn’t want to die.
Because he didn’t want to see, and he didn’t want to hear.
Drip, drip, drip.
Droplets of blood trickled down from Si-woo’s fingertips.
Having killed all ten rat-kin mages, including Dimdim, Si-woo’s kill score was now 18.
At present, he was ranked first in kill score.
Si-woo stared at a spot in the air where a wind spirit, which would be transmitting visual information to the outside, was likely to be.
As expected, there were no good adults here either.
Yes, including the child who was now all grown up.