Chapter 135
Chapter 135
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: ACT.24 Hunters (5)
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Jeong Ha-yeon had two major roles.
‘The first is to hold the enemy’s attention.’
To Paradise, the ‘Hunters’ were nothing more than disposable pawns.
They must have expected to fight the guilds eventually.
Paradise’s true objective was likely this.
Create a large-scale battle, and when the players venture deep into their base…
detonate pre-planted bombs all at once, eliminating both their disposable pawns and the players.
It was a tactic Paradise had used often.
‘To lure the enemy in like that, they have to put on a convincing act themselves.’
If they retreated too quickly or fell too easily, the enemy would naturally become suspicious, thinking, ‘Something’s off with them.’
They needed to show that they were putting up a fight.
But the enemy wasn't stupid either.
If they realized their opponents were just a distraction, they wouldn't commit their own forces.
This is where the twins' presence would have a major impact.
Jeong Ha-yeon would go first, making them think she was alone and letting their guard down.
Then, the powerful twin duo following behind would join the fray.
Naturally, the enemy would judge them to be the real elite attack team and gather their forces there.
The situation was set up perfectly for the enemy to misunderstand.
They would have no time to even consider that Jeong Ha-yeon's group was the decoy.
Meanwhile, I planned to infiltrate the relatively unguarded areas and eliminate whatever trump cards they had.
‘I won’t let a single one of them leave here alive.’
To draw someone in and kill them, you can’t leave that spot yourself.
In other words, if you lure them in but fail to kill them, you’ve cornered yourself.
My eyes gleamed with a cold light.
I would weaken Paradise’s forces as much as possible right here.
‘Her other role is…’
I glanced at Lee Do-hyeon, who was following me, his body tense with nervousness.
Though he hadn't died, the fact remained that he had been attacked.
I recalled the glimpse of suppressed fury on Jeong Ha-yeon’s face as she moved out earlier.
Given her personality, if she met Choi Nam-hoon in this state, an argument was inevitable.
That argument would be her second role, and the catalyst that would send Choi Nam-hoon to his ruin.
“We’re here.”
We were in an alleyway riddled with signs of corrosion from the poison.
When I suddenly stopped, Lee Do-hyeon looked at me quizzically.
“Didn’t you say there was something I could do to help?”
“I did.”
“But what can we do in a place like this…”
One by one, presences drew closer.
Their strengths varied, but it didn't matter.
The money they offered had nothing to do with their strength.
If I had to deal with them anyway, I might as well get something out of it.
I walked over to Lee Do-hyeon and took back the cloak.
Suddenly finding his perception-dampening ability halved, Lee Do-hyeon jumped in surprise.
“Se-hyeon-ssi!? Why my cloak!?”
“I’m not Kim Se-hyeon.”
“…What?”
“And from now on, you’re not Lee Do-hyeon either.”
Both of us were now wearing masks.
Lee Do-hyeon’s mask still offered some perception dampening, but mine had no special effects; it was literally just to hide my face.
With just the mask, Lee Do-hyeon would now register to others as ‘someone I think I’ve seen before, but I can’t place him.’
Not that they’d be able to recognize his face properly with the mask on anyway.
“But I don’t know how I can be of any help. I’m not a player…”
“Don’t reveal any information.”
I cut Lee Do-hyeon off.
“Don’t try to do anything, and don’t say anything. That’s the best you can do.”
There was nothing Lee Do-hyeon could do to actively help me.
In fact, not trying to do anything was the most helpful thing he could do.
“Well, well. It was true. He said they’d come if we laid an ambush here.”
“That old man is really something else. How does he see the future so clearly?”
“There’s an extra one that wasn’t here before. Is he using stealth? Looks like he’s a player too.”
Players who had spotted us were slowly approaching.
They were the owners of the presences I had been sensing.
Four in total.
All of them were B or C-rank.
Due to taxes, fees, and reduced income from the virus, many players couldn't advance past D-rank, making even C-rank players a relatively small portion of the population.
That was why C-rank players like these banded together to work as bounty hunters.
‘So far, so good.’
From their perspective, Lee Do-hyeon was someone who had ‘suddenly appeared out of nowhere.’
My move to make them mistake him for a player, not a civilian.
It seemed to have worked perfectly.
“He said to kill them all, right?”
“Said a war is about to break out, so we should consider anyone approaching this area an enemy and kill them.”
“What, that’s it? Simple.”
“Huk…!”
Terrified, Lee Do-hyeon stumbled backward.
I remained still, but because of his reaction, they mistook my stillness for fear as well and sneered.
“We haven’t even done anything. Why are you so scared already?”
“Seeing those masks just reminds me of those bastards. Pisses me off even more.”
“Ah, those guys?”
“I don’t like them either. They seem close to Choi Nam-hoon, but when I tried to get friendly and talk to them, they didn’t even bother to answer, like I was a nuisance.”
“Once we make a killing in coins and get stronger, let’s take care of them first.”
“Sounds good to me.”
They chatted among themselves as if we weren't even there.
Masked individuals who hung around Choi Nam-hoon.
It was obvious who they were talking about.
Paradise.
The ones who attacked Lee Do-hyeon last time had also been wearing masks, so the connection was easy to make.
‘They might look like a huge organization, but they’re not very united.’
In a way, it was to be expected.
The bounty hunters and the civilians were just partners with aligned interests, not comrades who cared for one another.
Lee Do-hyeon glanced at me nervously and spoke cautiously.
“Wh-what should I do?”
“Don’t worry. Just relax your body and stay still.”
Lee Do-hyeon nodded, his face fraught with tension.
He must believe I can win even when outnumbered.
It seemed that showing off my power when I rescued him had paid off.
“The one on the right looks weaker. Let’s take him out first and get started.”
The players’ gazes converged on Lee Do-hyeon.
Suddenly targeted by several people, Lee Do-hyeon pointed a finger at himself in confusion.
“M-me?”
“Who else but you!”
“Uwaaah?!”
One of them kept an eye on me while the other three charged at once.
A slight smile formed under my mask.
I knew they would do this.
Lee Do-hyeon stood frozen like a stone statue, his eyes pleading for me to save him.
Not yet.
‘Just a little longer.’
The various weapons drew closer and closer to Lee Do-hyeon.
The moment a red aura formed around the players’ bodies.
*Swoosh.*
“Whoa!?”
I created a pool of darkness beneath Lee Do-hyeon’s feet and pulled him into it.
“Huh?”
“What the!?”
Having suddenly lost their target, their weapons swung through empty air, causing them to stumble off-balance.
I didn’t miss the opening. A spike shot up from the ground behind the highest-ranked player, piercing him through the chest.
“Keoheok!”
His eyes widened as if he didn't understand what had just happened, then rolled back as he collapsed.
The faint red aura surrounding his body vanished.
Immediately after.
[You have acquired a bounty of 2000 coins.]
The long-awaited system message flashed and disappeared.
“Bounties are sweet.”
[The ‘Devil Who Mocks the Heavens’ readies a notepad and pen.]
[The ‘Lurking Shadow’ asks what you are doing.]
[The ‘Devil Who Mocks the Heavens’ replies that there is much to learn.]
The condition for the penalty to be applied was initiating an attack on a civilian.
The important thing here was only the fact that ‘an attack was made.’
Whether the attack landed or not was irrelevant.
‘The trick is to have Lee Do-hyeon evade the moment the attack is registered.’
That had been my goal from the start, and Lee Do-hyeon’s terrified reaction had drawn their attention perfectly.
I was using him, but I did so only because I was confident I could prevent him from being hit even once.
I could see the red Karma aura around their bodies, and my stats were high enough to react in time.
“Wh-what happened!”
“Why do we have a bounty on us!?”
The other two, who hadn't been attacked, were confused, unable to comprehend why they had suddenly been marked with bounties.
“Why? Because you attacked a civilian first.”
“He was a civilian!?”
“No way!? That guy definitely revealed himself from stealth!”
“He was never in stealth to begin with.”
“Don’t screw with me!!”
The hunters had become the hunted.
Usually, people in this situation can’t accept the change and resist.
They were no different.
“That guy was taken by surprise, but we won’t be so easy!”
“So, you can block it if it’s not a surprise attack?”
“Of course!”
“Then I’ll attack. Try and block it.”
I swung my sword in a short arc.
The two players, expecting a sword wave, raised their guard in front of them, only to suddenly cough up blood.
Several spikes had erupted from beneath their feet, impaling them before they could do anything, bidding farewell to this world.
For all their bold claims, it was a disappointingly dull end.
“You said you could block it.”
I clicked my tongue.
Even though I had feinted with a sword swing, it was an attack that even an A-rank player would struggle to block. There was no way C-rank players could have stopped it.
They had already forgotten that their first comrade had died by being impaled on a spike.
[You have acquired a bounty of 2000 coins.]
[You have acquired a bounty of 2000 coins.]
There had been four.
Three were dead.
I shifted my gaze to the last one, who stood frozen in a daze.
“What are you doing? Not attacking?”
“You… you son of a bitch!!”
The only one who hadn't joined the initial attack charged at me in a rage.
A sharp strike aimed for my vitals.
There was no bounty for killing this one.
Instead of dodging, I simply said one thing.
“You’d better not attack.”
“What kind of nonsense…?”
Lee Do-hyeon suddenly appeared between me and the man.
The sight of Lee Do-hyeon, who was so shocked he was screaming silently.
If the man attacked now, he would be attacking a civilian.
Then he, too, would get a bounty, which was exactly what I wanted.
The man must have realized it too, because he gritted his teeth and forcibly retracted his attack.
But forcefully stopping an attack in motion requires absorbing a considerable backlash and leaves you open.
Naturally, it creates the perfect opportunity for a counterattack.
But he had no choice.
If he didn't retract his attack, he’d be branded with a bounty and hunted by other bounty hunters.
And that was exactly what I had been aiming for.
“You were fooled.”
I dispelled the ‘image of Lee Do-hyeon’ and closed the distance in the blink of an eye.
The man tried to counter in alarm, but the delay from retracting his attack made him too slow.
“That was just an illusion I created.”
“You son of a…”
The man’s face twisted in despair.
He spat out a frustrated curse, but my fist buried itself deep in his solar plexus, causing his eyes to roll back.
He trembled for a long moment without even screaming, then went limp.
I could have used the real Lee Do-hyeon to get a bounty on him, but I didn’t want to risk him getting hurt.
If Lee Do-hyeon had been injured, the system might have judged that I had assisted in the attack, giving me a bounty as well.
There was no reason to take such an unnecessary risk.
[The ‘Devil Who Mocks the Heavens’ is pleased.]
[You have been sponsored 600 coins.]
‘Tsk.’
Killing the first three was no problem since their Karma was activated, but killing this last one might earn me the disapproval of some of the angels.
They frowned upon killing even in self-defense.
If it weren't for the sponsorship system, I wouldn't have to worry about what those preachy bastards thought.
Grumbling internally, I tied the unconscious man to a nearby utility pole.
“Huak!?”
When I pulled Lee Do-hyeon out of the darkness, he collapsed to the ground, his face looking half-withered.
“S-Se-hyeon-ssi. I don’t mind you using me, but please, don’t send me back to that place. Please. That’s no place for a person…!”
“…Really?”
“I can’t see anything! I can’t feel anything! It feels like my very existence has been erased!”
Lee Do-hyeon screamed, hugging his shoulders.
I hadn’t felt anything like that.
Was it because I was used to my own ability?
But unfortunately for Lee Do-hyeon, I couldn't grant his request.
I scratched my cheek and said.
“You’ll have to go in there a few more times.”
“…”
[Oh dear, tsk tsk.]
Besial, who had been watching secretly, shook his head.