Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 018
Chapter Title: Mad Hunter: ??? (2)
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2.
Two burly men leaning against either side of the gate.
They were hunters armed with weapons, and as we climbed down from the wagon, they flashed sleazy grins.
“Where you folks off to in such a hurry? Gotta pay the tip first.”
Tip?
As I stood there baffled, Park Ji-won let out an enraged shout.
“Cut the crap and let us through. We already paid the toll coming in.”
“Oh? Isn’t this Sergeant Park Ji-won?”
One hunter snickered mockingly. It seemed “outer district knight” was just a term of ridicule.
“But what’re we gonna do about this? They’re saying from now on, we gotta charge tolls for folks heading out too.”
“Like hell!”
“Not joking one bit. Hand over one soulstone each and you can pass.”
“What kinda bullshit is that? Let us through already. Please.”
“Pissed? Then take the north or south gate detour. Being a knight and all, you could head out the east Nightmare Zone too.”
[Lv : 6], [Lv : 5]
The trash laughed uproariously.
Strangely, Jeong Ha-kyeong just wore a look of contempt and stayed silent. Park Ji-won’s voice cracked with sobs.
“You rotten bastards…… You rotten bastards…….”
“Rotten bastards? Fuck, you should be thanking us. Guarding Paradise’s gates at the crack of dawn in case monsters try sneaking in?”
“What nonsense! Heteromorphs can’t even get in here!”
Right…… So that’s how it was.
The contours of this disgusting situation came into focus.
These scum were occupying the only gate, extorting tolls from other hunters.
“Little shit’s been spoiled rotten every time she comes through, no wonder her mouth’s like that…….”
I’d beaten down plenty of gangsters and punks before. I knew these two lumps were just small fry.
That they could run rampant because a massive organization had their back.
And finally.
That scum like these, who toyed with the powerless and innocent, should never be treated like people.
Choi Uk’s words suddenly came to mind.
- The world’s already rotted to shit. No time for naive chit-chat.
Feeling a dull ache in my chest, I stepped forward and grabbed the wrist of the bastard reaching to strike Park Ji-won.
“Haha, check this punk out?”
Surprisingly, he drew his sword with his left hand and swung it right away.
“Die!”
Head. Heart. Head.
Unbelievable. This guy’s intent from the start wasn’t subduing—it was killing. The skilled hand of someone who’d murdered plenty already.
But hey.
Compared to Cha-Ratevil, it was child’s play.
I dodged lightly, then grabbed his head and smashed it into the ground.
Once. Twice. Three times.
“Guh! Guh!”
The head convulsed wildly in resistance. On the fourth, it went still. He wouldn’t be waking up for a while.
“Wh-what the?”
I looked up to see the other one staggering back in shock.
“L-level what the fuck…… 3, 38? M…… Lead Hunter?”
Pathetic worm.
He’d only just checked my level and title.
“No way…… You’re that lunatic who took down the boss solo…….”
“Yeah. I’m Kim Baek-jun.”
I gripped my sword and stood.
Barely suppressing the murderous urge surging from my bones. Feeling rage similar to when I faced Cha-Ratevil.
“Who’s your boss?”
“H-heeek!”
The gatekeeper bolted, but I didn’t chase. Instead.
“Ji-won, let’s go.”
I took Park Ji-won’s hand and headed through the gate into the mist.
It hadn’t been a real question—it was a threat.
No time to interrogate anyway. That’s when.
“I’m the one in charge here.”
Never imagined the guy would show up himself.
“Anything I can help you with?”
I turned to see a young man staring at me.
Eyes curved like a crescent moon.
Neatly trimmed beard. Pristine white leather armor emblazoned with a snake.
He looked about my age, giving off a tidy impression overall.
“Well now, a new face. Where’re you from?”
Behind him stood three hunters.
All clad in pristine white leather armor like uniforms: from the left, [Lv : 10], [Lv : 9], [Lv : 11]. The air grew tense, the atmosphere heavy.
“R-rep Jin!”
The gatekeeper scrambled toward him.
“Th-that guy, he’s the Lead Hunter! That madman!”
“Lead Hunter?”
That must be the boss.
[Lv : 23]. Eating up tolls like this had leveled him to rival Nightmare Zone hunters. A glint flashed in his eyes.
“Oh dear, it really is you! Sorry for not recognizing you sooner. What an honor.”
The businesslike hostility from before vanished, replaced by calculated deference.
“Why would someone as great as you seek out a lowly worm like me?”
“You wanted tolls, so I figured I’d pay up face-to-face.”
Of course, my payment method was fists.
That’d been the plan…… But tricky now. Not the time to throw down, not with how urgent things were.
“Tolls? What tolls?”
Rep Jin looked at me puzzled, then glared at the gatekeeper with a sigh.
“Lee Soo-hun, what weird shit have you been pulling since morning?”
“Y-yes?”
“Asking for tolls? Who gave you permission for this crap?”
“N-no, that’s─”
Check this out.
Already cutting off his tail?
“I warned you—do anything to tarnish the organization’s rep again, and you’re done.”
“R-rep! I-I’m sorry. My mistake!”
Rep Jin drew a whip from his belt. It instantly coiled around the gatekeeper’s throat.
No one had time to react.
“U-uaaaagh!”
The gatekeeper’s body froze over in crystals, then shattered with a crackle, scattering ice shards everywhere.
……This psycho?
Cold sweat beaded on my skin. Killing as naturally as breathing?
“This won’t happen again. I’ll make sure of it personally.”
“You’re one repulsive bastard.”
“Repulsive? Right you are. In the eyes of a heroic Lead Hunter like you, we must seem worse than bugs. Cowards hunkered in the rear. Even cockroach larvae are braver than us…….”
“Don’t change the subject. You think my eyes are for show?”
I glanced at the info window above his head.
“Your level says it all. Proof this farce is your doing.”
In the tense silence, I calculated.
If I strike now, can I take them down quick?
No…… Beyond those buildings and behind the trees. Over ten enemies in ambush.
Would take too long.
And right now, I didn’t have time to spare.
“Whoa, whoa, calm down first.”
He pulled a cigar from his pocket, lit it, and blew smoke my way.
“Ever hear of ‘supreme under heaven, I alone am honored’?”
“No time for sermons.”
“Buddha’s enlightenment. Interpretations vary, but to me, it means this: ‘The world finds peace when I rise to the top.’”
I caught on quick to the sophistry he was spinning.
“Trying to say you’re upholding order?”
“Haha! Sharp as ever. Listen. Around 350 hunters operating in the west. You know they’re all human weapons, right? Let those weapons rampage unchecked—what happens to the streets?”
Beating down gangsters and punks taught me this: Among leader types, con artists like him were the most dangerous.
“Bloodbaths every day, citizens trembling in fear, no?”
Unlike others, they wrapped evil in good, even swaying the innocent.
“So that’s why I─”
“─Spare me the rationalizations.”
“Rationalizations? My level’s a symbol of the force needed to control that chaos. Call me a cop from the old world.”
This fucker.
That jabbed at my pride as an ex-cop.
“Know the police oath? First article?”
“Do I have to?”
“Article 1: Righteous Police. Pursue truth in justice’s name, never compromise with injustice or illegality. You, violating it from the start, dare call yourself a cop?”
“Ahahaha! My bad. Didn’t think the analogy’d rub you that wrong. Then just think of me as a necessary evil.”
He even bowed apologetically. But he couldn’t hide the killing intent writhing within.
“After all this explanation, if you still can’t understand…… Well, for us…….”
That instant, I decided.
Time seemed to slow. I swallowed dryly.
You, at least, right here……
As I reached to summon Dawn Sword, Park Ji-won tugged my sleeve.
“Hyung.”
Park Ji-won’s desperate eyes.
Meeting them snapped me back.
Stupid…… This isn’t the time to fight him. Words or fists. Already wasted over five minutes.
“Got it. Let’s go.”
I gave Rep Jin one last look.
“Can I go? Or you want a fight?”
“No idea why you’re asking my permission. I told you the tolls were those guys’ solo act…….”
This prick, right to the end.
I hurled my sword at his feet to cut him off. It stabbed the ground, vibrating.
“……Right?”
Rep Jin just smiled at the insult. Yeah. He knew it benefited him if I left quick.
Same for me.
I just wanted out of this repulsive, filthy, ugly “Paradise” as fast as possible.
Maybe that’s why.
Stepping into the mist felt like coming home.
[Entering Area: Hunting Zone - ‘New Eunpyeong-gu’]
[Warning: Stage 4 Yellowish Fog blankets the area.]
- Until stage easing: (4) hours.
3.
……This is bad.
Worst case.
Stage 4 Yellowish Fog. Visibility under 50 meters.
Traveling ground routes to World Cup Stadium Station in this was suicide. Park Ji-won said urgently.
“We can take the DMC Station underpass. No fog there.”
“Yeah. Head there now.”
Cross one main road from the Paradise Zone exit, and it’s DMC Station.
As we ran, Park Ji-won cleared up questions.
“Those guys earlier? White Snake Society.”
“White snake…… That’s why the white uniforms.”
“Yeah. Bad gang ruling all of Bukgajwa-dong. Over 40 hunters under them.”
“He really keep order?”
“Hell no! They take every cut, make and sell drugs, kill anyone. If not for that bastard…… Ah, here.”
DMC Station Exit 4 was sealed with a bulkhead. Dented in spots, but intact overall.
“How do we get in?”
“Wait a sec. There’s a code.”
Park Ji-won knocked on the bulkhead door.
Long twice. Short three times.
Thorough. But even with the code, how to lift the bulkhead?
Rumble.
Surprisingly, it began rising.
Just a bit, but enough gap to crawl through. Dim light leaked out.
“The mechanism’s weak…… Can’t raise it more. Follow me.”
I crawled in after Park Ji-won. As I tried standing, someone offered a hand.
“Welcome to DMC Station.”
A young man in modern military gear.
Bulletproof vest. Rifle. Gas mask bag. But weird—no level visible. Noticing my gaze, he smiled weakly.
“I’m no hunter. We’re called Stalkers.”
Stalkers?
What kinda creepy name to brag about?
“Nothing impressive. We follow hunters topside, scavenge stuff. No clue why the name. From some classic novel, I hear.”
The young man yelled to another Stalker, “Close the door!” Glancing over, I couldn’t hide my disbelief.
A steam engine, about two meters square.
A hunter shoved firewood into the furnace. Pssshhh—steam burst from the exhaust, turbine spun wildly, and the bulkhead began descending.
Steam generator……?
The Stalker explained proudly.
“Hunters brought it from Paradise.”
“That powers the platform lights too?”
“Yup. What…… Incandescent level, still dark. But better than nothing. Firewood’s everywhere these days.”
Steam engine generator.
Heard they sell them at Paradise Zone’s <Factory>. First time seeing one. Because.
“Pricey, right?”
“Hunters gave up leveling for us…….”
Now I get it.
Why outer district knights lag in levels. Sacrifice.
Curious about Jeong Ha-kyeong’s reaction, I glanced—since the gate, she’d been deep in thought, silent. The young man asked abruptly.
“You a hunter too?”
“Not just any. He’s the Lead Hunter.”
At Park Ji-won’s words, the young man blinked. Outer folk can’t see info windows.
“Lead Hunter? No way. The real deal……?”
“No time to chat. Ji-yeon noona still not here?”
“Yeah…… Not yet.”
The responder was a middle-aged man.
Special Forces beret. Sturdy build. Chainmail over combat fatigues. Obviously a hunter.
Not sure when he arrived, he offered a tired smile and handshake.
“Never thought you’d really come. I’m Baek Hyeon-jong, station master of DMC Station.”
Station master.
Less old meaning, more leader of this survivor group. I nodded.
“Kim Baek-jun. This is my colleague Jeong Ha-kyeong. Here for Park Ji-yeon.”
“We’ve been waiting. You must be tired—let’s talk in the station master’s office.”
“What’s to talk? Just open the tunnel bulkhead and we’re gone!”
At Park Ji-won’s impatience, Baek Hyeon-jong sighed wistfully.
“I get it’s urgent. But you know—we used all energy opening the main bulkhead. World Cup Stadium Station bulkhead needs 15 minutes.”
“That long?”
“Could smash it…… But that’d take longer. What’ll it be?”
“For now…… To the station master’s office.”