Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Avenger (5)
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I locked the door and sat down at my desk.
Under Laura's persistent urging, I hurriedly opened the looted 'Necronomicon.'
-------------<Item>-------------
◈ Name
Necronomicon
◈ Rank
--- A
◈ Stats
Strength -200
Agility -100
Intelligence 600
Luck -200
◈ Description
A replica of the legendary grimoire 'Necronomicon.' It contains all the essential functions.
※Restriction: Those who have contracted with the demon 'Kobal.'
◈ Effects
Contains various types of black magic
Black magic computation assistance
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The book opened to reveal squiggly alien script.
I had no idea what any of it said.
'How the hell did Ma Bo-seong read this thing?'
As I grumbled inwardly, Laura prodded me.
[Next page.]
I turned the page.
I stared at the unreadable book for a while.
[Next.]
I turned the page.
About five minutes passed.
Laura was clearly delighted.
[Demons and humans alike use magic so creatively.]
"What do you mean?"
['Philosopher's Stone' is required.]
Philosopher's Stone.
It was a fixed drop item, so buying it from a guild wasn't impossible, but it was tough given my situation.
It cost a lot of money, and you needed a solid identity.
I had the money, but no way to explain where it came from.
"What do you need it for?"
[To refine my body.]
"Pardon? But you said my level wouldn't even cut it."
[Not my true body. The temporary body I'll use before creating my true one. A rough humanoid form should suffice. I got the inspiration from this book. I can leave the soul as is and use the proxy body via remote control.]
'Make a humanoid body?'
I was momentarily stunned by Laura's words.
Wouldn't that make me obsolete?
"If I make you a body, you'll handle the resurrection yourself?"
[No. Refining my true body requires at least worm-class dragon power. How could a temporary body produce that? Making the temporary one worm-class would be putting the cart before the horse.]
"Then why bother making a temporary body at all?"
[Why? Because... I'm bored.]
Well, dragons were the type to transform into humans and wander around for fun out of boredom.
For a human, it'd be like turning into an ant out of boredom with life and playing pretend in ant society.
I'd been going on about "no spoilers since I see the future," so it must've been no fun for her.
She was helping me out, so it was hard to refuse.
'Philosopher's Stone, huh.'
Normally, guilds or management agencies sold them for around 500 million won.
'S-steal it?'
On second thought, stealing felt off. I could just sneak in, leave 500 million there, grab the stone, and slip out.
They might report it, but whatever.
'Dark Knight's already a villain anyway.'
It was a villain label they slapped on me.
Gotta tough it out with sheer villainy.
"Anyway, got it. I'll find a way."
[Dispel usage won't change since the soul stays attached to your body, but with a physical form, the range of usable magic expands, allowing smoother combat support for you.]
I opened the door and headed to the living room.
Park Ha-yeon was sitting at a small desk, studying.
"What're you up to?"
"Yeah. Pondering how to best use the new skill I got."
"You're studying hard. Good."
Park Ha-yeon was more diligent than I'd expected.
She studied diligently and didn't neglect ability development.
Didn't seem the type to get distracted by romance either. Just feed her the occasional hidden skill, and she'd be fine.
"I've got some business. Heading out."
"Take care!"
I slung on my crossbag and left the house.
The bag was stuffed with gear for 'Dark Knight' activities.
Today's hunt had a clear target.
The 'K Pharma Villain' kidnapping Yang Min-seo had delayed things a bit, but I had to keep my promise.
Jang Seo-yoon's tear-streaked face flashed in my mind.
I'd made a promise to her.
To make Hwang Ha-rin pay for her crimes.
***
JW Management.
A luxurious hero lounge.
Two women were eating desserts.
One was Lee Yeon-hwa, a towering woman nearly 185 cm tall.
She whined, clinging to Hwang Ha-rin.
"Medusaa~ Let's hit a club after work~"
"Annoying. Go by yourself. And I told you not to call me Medusa."
"But that's what everyone calls you."
Hwang Ha-rin.
A B-rank Awakener with the 'Petrification' skill, she'd graduated Hero Academy with top marks, joined a famous management agency, and was active as a hero.
'Medusa' was a nickname derived from her skill.
She hated it.
"I've got a date with my kinda-boyfriend tonight."
"Kinda-boyfriend? Who?"
"Silver Tail."
"What?! For real? He's so cute, I'm jealous...."
"You should skip the club and find a decent hero instead of picking up random guys."
Knock knock.
A knock at the lounge door.
"Come in."
In walked the manager overseeing the heroes.
He beckoned to Hwang Ha-rin.
"Ha-rin, let's talk for a sec."
"Yesss? I'm off soon though......"
"It'll just take a minute."
Hwang Ha-rin grumbled as she followed the manager.
He entered the meeting room, sat down, and put on a grave expression.
"Have a seat."
"Yesss."
He pulled out a stack of printouts.
The first page showed Hwang Ha-rin coldly brushing off a young man's offered handshake.
The manager sighed.
"If these issues keep popping up, it's a problem. I've told you time and again: heroes are 'celebrities' before they're 'warriors' beating villains. Most of your income comes from fans. Government subsidies exist, but they're minimum wage level."
Hwang Ha-rin bristled at being lectured by a non-Awakener.
She snapped back curtly.
"What, am I some two-bit whore? Do I have to shake hands with street trash who won't even make eye contact just 'cause he's a hero fan? If he were hot, maybe, but look at this guy's face. Total basement-dweller vibe."
The manager took offense, raising his tone.
"Haa. To be blunt, heroes aren't much different from idols. You both live off fan cheers. No fans, no money—you'd be scraping by on 1.8 million won a month. And in JW Management, you're the lowest earner by far."
"Same as idols? We're the ones protecting incompetents like you. Do idols save people from villains?"
He bit his lip and flipped to the next page.
It showed Hwang Ha-rin in civilian clothes, spectating a hostage situation.
"This is why I called you. This one's fatal. Even off-duty, how can a hero just watch villains harm citizens right in front of her? A paparazzi caught it and is blackmailing us. Demanding 1 billion won from the company."
"Ha, what? Even on my day off...! I..."
Her eyes widened as emotion surged.
The manager sighed and warned her.
"Choose your words carefully. We're considering terminating your contract. Paying 1 billion this time is one thing, but repeats will bankrupt us."
Crunch.
Hwang Ha-rin's teeth ground together.
'Without us, you'd die to villains or monsters tomorrow, you evolutionary reject.'
She swallowed her anger and replied.
"...Got it."
"If you get it, shape up. Always smile at fans, fight villains off-duty or not. Or don't get caught at all. You're five minutes over. Head out."
Hwang Ha-rin slammed the meeting room door shut and stormed back to the lounge.
Lee Yeon-hwa greeted her.
"Medusa, hi hi."
"Shut up. Fuck off."
"Whoa. You mad?"
Hwang Ha-rin ignored her, grabbed her things, and left.
Rage boiled to the top of her head.
'Such humiliation!'
She got into her foreign luxury car in the parking lot.
Hwang Ha-rin pulled out a mirror from her bag and checked her face.
A venomous scowl.
"Ugly mug. Haa... Calm down. Hold it in."
She muttered to herself.
She couldn't meet 'Silver Tail' looking like this, so she forced a bright smile.
She started the car and drove off.
About ten minutes in, her phone rang.
It was Lee Yeon-hwa.
She answered on speaker.
She'd be home or at the club by now.
'Did I hurt her feelings earlier?'
Hwang Ha-rin apologized first.
"Oh, Yeon-hwa. Sorry about earlier. That boomer manager was being a total asshole..."
[S-save me! Kyaaak!]
No reply—just a scream.
Then desperate thrashing to survive.
"What? What's going on?"
[Why... why are you a hero...!]
Next, a voice like rusty metal scraping.
[No. You're a villain. Remember Jang Seo-yoon?]
[Ah, aaah... How do you...!]
Lee Yeon-hwa's shocked gasp.
Then the sound of sharp blade slicing flesh.
[Urk. Wherever you heard... I was young, I made a mistake... I've repented!]
[It's over.]
Hwang Ha-rin bit her lip.
Something was seriously wrong.
She immediately called the agency.
Calling the police would just loop back to heroes anyway.
This was direct.
"Yes, sunbae-nim! Iron Fist here!"
A young man's voice.
The hero on duty today.
"Big trouble. Something happened to Yeon-hwa. She called, got attacked—sounds bad. Attacker's voice like Dark Knight!"
"Gasp! Really? We'll alert everyone and search! You coming right away, sunbae-nim?"
She hung up, pretending not to hear.
Hwang Ha-rin pulled over to the roadside.
She tapped her index finger on the wheel, conflicted.
Dinner with 'Silver Tail.'
Canceling now might mean no reschedule—he was busy.
'This chance I finally got...'
After five minutes of agonizing, she decided.
Text 'Silver Tail.'
[Silver, so sorry. Seems my colleague got hit by a villain—have to rush. Really sorry about tonight. Dinner next time?]
Hwang Ha-rin recalled the call.
Something vague nagged at her.
"But who's Jang Seo-yoon?"
A familiar name, on the tip of her tongue.
"Probably nothing."
Hwang Ha-rin turned the car around and headed back.
She had to join the search.