Chapter 53
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Ma Kyung-rok's Hobby
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"...."
Ma Kyung-rok fell silent.
'He knows what Seo Ah-rin and I talked about?'
He couldn't tell if Ryu Min was just bluffing or if he'd truly seen it in the future.
However.
"You ordered actress Seo Ah-rin, didn't you? To seduce me by any means necessary."
Ryu Min's next words forced him to bow his head.
There was no way he could have said that without seeing the future.
"I-If you were offended, I apologize. I was merely trying to build a closer relationship with you, the major shareholder...."
"But ordering her to make a move on my brother as well crossed the line."
'He knew about that too?'
Seeing the future was a truly terrifying ability.
Ma Kyung-rok bowed his head once more.
"I am truly, truly sorry. I made a foolish judgment against the Prophet. I will rectify everything that made you uncomfortable."
He apologized with the utmost deference, as if speaking to his own father.
At that, Ryu Min's expression softened, his anger seemingly subsiding.
"Since you're apologizing sincerely, I'll let it go this time. I'll pretend I never heard what you ordered actress Seo Ah-rin to say."
"Thank you so much for giving me a chance."
Ma Kyung-rok bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
There was only one reason he would humble himself like this.
'Getting on the Prophet's bad side won't do me any good. Not if I want information about the next round.'
For the sake of survival, he had to cling to the Prophet as his lifeline.
Just then.
Click-
The door opened, and Seo Ah-rin and Ryu Won walked in.
Ahn Sang-chul, having finished placing their order, peeked his head in from behind them.
"Representative, what are you doing...?"
"Ahem."
Ma Kyung-rok straightened his back with an awkward expression.
"Everyone, leave."
"Pardon?"
"I have something serious to discuss with the major shareholder in private. Manager Ahn, please guide the others to the room next door."
"Ah, understood. Everyone, this way."
Once the door closed again, a heavy silence hung between the two.
Judging by Ryu Min's face, he still seemed displeased.
'Damn it, I was trying to put him in a good mood through Seo Ah-rin, but I just made him more upset....'
Regardless of his intentions, it seemed his behind-the-scenes scheming had been offensive.
'No wonder he didn't show the slightest personal interest in Seo Ah-rin... was it because he saw the future?'
For Ma Kyung-rok, the situation was difficult in many ways.
"You want to know about the next round?"
"Yes... have you seen it?"
"Of course. The reason I accepted your invitation was to give you information on the fifth round. But."
Ryu Min slowly shook his head.
"If you act like this, it will be difficult to give you information, let alone work together."
"I'm truly sorry. Please, for my sake, cheer up."
The heir to one of South Korea's most powerful conglomerates was repeatedly bowing his head.
Faced with this, Ryu Min had no choice but to take a step back.
"You must not hide anything from me, and you must trust me completely."
"Of course. I will do so."
"Furthermore, there should be no interference with the company's operations. While I hold the management rights with 51% of the shares, I don't want things delayed because of shareholder meetings. As the representative, you can persuade the other shareholders, can't you?"
"Absolutely. Don't worry about that. I will do whatever it takes to keep the other shareholders in line so they don't interfere with your management."
Only then did Ryu Min smile.
"Then I can rest easy. If you can do that for me, I'll make sure to grow the company."
"Hahaha, thank you."
Seeing that his mood had improved, Ma Kyung-rok could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Then I'll give you the information you want on the fifth round."
Ma Kyung-rok's eyes sparkled.
But when he heard it was the most difficult round yet, his smile vanished instantly.
"There's no need to worry. Representative Ma Kyung-rok, you should have no trouble clearing it."
"What is the quest?"
"It's a quest to kill 300 orcs. But it's not as simple as it sounds."
'Orcs? What's so hard about killing orcs?'
In most games, orcs were classified as weak monsters.
It was only natural for Ma Kyung-rok to be puzzled.
"Is there any other information?"
"The zones will be merged."
"The zones?"
"Since the number of people is low, they're likely combining the separated zones."
"Then I'll be able to meet players from other zones? Like the Black Scythe, for instance."
He asked with eyes full of anticipation, but Ryu Min carefully shook his head.
"You won't be in the same zone as the player called Black Scythe."
"Ah... is that so?"
Ma Kyung-rok, who had been eagerly awaiting a meeting with the Black Scythe, looked disappointed.
Just then, a question he'd been wanting to ask came to mind.
"Prophet, do you happen to know the Black Scythe's identity? His real-world identity, I mean."
"That, I do not know."
Though disappointed by the answer, Ryu Min wasn't finished.
"But the two of you will meet soon enough."
"Really?"
Ryu Min gave him a confident smile.
They had, in fact, already met.
"And one more thing."
"Please, go on."
"There's someone you're currently chasing, isn't there? A man named Hwang Yong-min."
"....!"
Ma Kyung-rok tensed up as if he were standing before a skilled fortune-teller.
"You know about that as well?"
"I told you. There's no point in hiding things from me."
"Haha, as expected, the Rune of Future Sight you possess is beyond imagination. If you happen to know who that man is...."
"Stop the chase."
"Pardon?"
Ma Kyung-rok's eyes widened.
Why was he suddenly telling him not to pursue Hwang Yong-min?
"Is there a reason?"
"If you mess with him, you will suffer a great disaster."
"Specifically, what kind of...."
"This is as much as I can tell you."
With that, Ryu Min closed his mouth.
In truth, there was no reason for Ma Kyung-rok to suffer any disaster.
Ryu Min had simply told him not to touch Hwang Yong-min because he still had use for him.
'I'm supposed to let that bastard who touched my people live?'
The hunt for Hwang Yong-min was nearly complete.
Once he had confirmed evidence that the man had ambushed him, he planned to dispose of him without anyone knowing.
Being told to back off now was bound to cause discontent.
But.
"Understood. I will no longer pursue Hwang Yong-min."
Ma Kyung-rok chose to comply.
Listening to the Prophet was a hundred times more beneficial than worrying about some thug.
"Then let's restart the party. In a wholesome way, without any liquor or hostesses."
"...Understood."
Ma Kyung-rok soon called back the others from the next room.
"Manager Ahn. Go back to the manager and tell him to bring cider and snacks instead of alcohol."
"Pardon? Y-yes, I understand."
"And actress Seo, step outside. I need to have a word with you."
"Huh? Yes...."
Seo Ah-rin wore a dark expression, but when she returned to the room after their conversation, she looked bewildered.
'The representative suddenly apologized.... What's going on?'
He had said he was sorry and asked her to forget everything he'd said earlier.
It was only natural for Seo Ah-rin to be mystified.
'Could it be that the man they call the Prophet said something to the representative...?'
Seo Ah-rin's gaze naturally drifted toward Ryu Min.
Since the representative's attitude had changed right after speaking with Ryu Min, it was a logical assumption.
'Nah, that can't be it. Considering who the representative is.'
In any case, she was relieved that she wouldn't have to entertain him.
"Now then, let's enjoy round two."
Ma Kyung-rok said with a grin, but inwardly, he wasn't entirely pleased.
'I need to blow off some steam tonight.'
With a sigh, Ma Kyung-rok began filling everyone's glasses as the cider arrived.
"Alright, a toast to Major Shareholder Ryu Min's survival! Cheers!"
"Cheers!"
Clink-!
They sang songs, ate food, and had a good time.
A very wholesome one.
***
In the darkness of early dawn.
"Heok, heok, heok!"
An old man ran for his life, not daring to look back.
With every movement, blood sprayed from the stump of his severed arm.
"Hoo-wook, hoo-wook, ah!"
Upon entering a dead-end alley, the old man frantically tried to turn back.
Or rather, he was about to.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Huk!"
The fiend who had cut off his arm was standing there like a ghost.
In that moment, the old man lost his balance.
"Keok!"
His body tilted and slammed into the ground.
He could see his own two feet, now severed, rolling in his line of sight.
A delayed wave of pain shot up from below his knees.
"Guwaaaaaaah...!"
"Quiet. If you don't want your tongue cut out too."
"...."
At the cold words, the old man clamped his mouth shut.
He was terrified.
Terrified of this monster who was slicing him up like an insect.
"W-why are you doing this to me...? What did I do wrong...?"
"You're asking because you don't know? Child rapist Jo Doo-pal."
"Ha."
Jo Doo-pal let out an involuntary sigh at the name that had followed him like a brand his entire life.
"That was so long ago, why bring it up now? I served my 12 years diligently and was released! I'm just an ordinary old man...."
"I told you to be quiet."
The assailant's sword sliced off his remaining arm.
"K-kuuuuhp!"
"Don't make a sound, it's noisy. Unless you want a slow and painful death. If a witness shows up because of you, the body count will just increase."
"...Khhhp."
Jo Doo-pal bit his lip so hard it threatened to burst.
He might have lost all four limbs and should have given up on life, but the human instinct for survival told him he didn't want to die just yet.
"Good. Lucky for you an old geezer like you isn't deaf."
"...."
"A piece of trash like you living is a sin, isn't it? I'll kill you in a moment, so just wait."
An undulating energy flowed from the man's sword.
'W-what is that?'
The dark aura instantly engulfed Jo Doo-pal.
"Keok! Kuh-heok! Keok!"
Flesh was gouged from his entire body, and blood splattered everywhere.
As he was being nibbled away by the dark aura, Jo Doo-pal let out his dying breath.
"Keo-heo-heo-uhhh...."
"Now, die."
The dark aura returned, coiling around the sword like a snake.
With a swing of the blade, the head was sliced off as cleanly as cutting through tofu.
Tsssssssss-
The energy that had covered the blade vanished.
Ma Kyung-rok, the fiend who had retrieved the dark aura, smiled bitterly.
'To think I had to keep trash like that alive, even for a moment.'
Ma Kyung-rok looked down at the mangled corpse with contempt.
He'd had a hobby of hunting criminals even before becoming a player, but it was rare for him to play with them like this.
He usually struck a vital point and killed them instantly.
'But it's necessary to charge my black magic.'
Using the dark aura required a certain amount of black magic.
The method for charging it was simple.
To take another's life.
That was why Ma Kyung-rok had been able to charge his black magic by killing goblins since the first round.
Of course, this was only possible for him, with his Rune of the Black Knight.
'But things like goblins barely charged it at all.'
There was a limit to how much black magic he could charge by killing monsters.
But humans were a different story.
'Killing humans yields more black magic than killing monsters.'
For Ma Kyung-rok, whose hobby was killing criminals in the first place, this was a fortunate turn of events.
It was almost as if being a Dark Knight was his true calling.
'Especially if I kill them using the dark aura, I can gain even more black magic.'
Looking down at the corpse, Ma Kyung-rok raised his sword.
Dark aura began to seep from the blade.
'Devour it.'
He pointed the sword at the corpse, but there was no reaction.
'I guess it can't eat a corpse?'
The dark aura could only gnaw away at the life force of a living opponent; it couldn't consume a corpse.
This was why he had torn the flesh from the criminal with the dark aura before killing him.
'Still, cleaning up trash like this is a great way to relieve stress.'
Smiling, Ma Kyung-rok took out a burlap sack he had prepared and stuffed the body inside.
All the while, he scanned his surroundings, checking for any potential witnesses.
'Not a chance.'
He had deliberately lured his target to a deserted alley, and at an hour when most people were sound asleep, the probability of being discovered was low.
'Ah, there was one person.'
The Prophet, Ryu Min.
He might have seen a scene like this through his Rune of Future Sight.
'If that's true, it means he approached me knowing I'm a serial killer....'
Ma Kyung-rok recalled Ryu Min's demeanor.
He hadn't been intimidated by the heir of Oseong Group in the slightest, instead boldly demanding what he wanted.
"Heh, interesting."
Suppressing an escaping laugh, Ma Kyung-rok made a call.
"Manager Ahn. Come over here and clean up some trash for me."