Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Park Hye-yeon's Hidden Truth
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"Tell me everything you just said. In detail."
Park Hye-yeon spoke to the two homeless men she'd been talking to. The men glared at her.
"You little brat, talking down to us like that without any manners...!"
But their eyes soon changed.
"You're a real pretty one, aren't you? Definitely not a face we've seen around our turf before."
Park Hye-yeon always used her [Stealth] skill or hid her face with a robe when she moved around. It was to avoid getting tangled up with people as much as possible. But the moment she heard her father's name, she'd rushed over to them.
"Well? Say it again. Tell me what you were talking about."
The men looked at Park Hye-yeon.
"If you hand over that bread you're holding, we'll think about it."
-Thud
Park Hye-yeon tossed them the bread.
"Now talk."
One of the men, Choo Do-jin, brushed off the bread and muttered.
"Pretty face, but no class."
Choo Do-jin glanced at Park Hye-yeon's face and thought to himself.
'If I play this right, I could have some fun.'
Then he puffed up and said.
"Kid, I don't know why you wanna hear our story, but this info's valuable stuff. You're gonna have to pay a proper price."
"I already gave you the bread. That's all I have."
"Heh heh... Not that kind. You know what I mean, right? The other kind of payment."
Choo Do-jin signaled with his expression to the other homeless man beside him. And just as they lunged at Park Hye-yeon...
[Lightning]
Lightning whipped wildly through the air before surging toward the men.
-Zzzzzzap!
"Gaaahhh-!"
In an instant, the men were fried by electricity.
-Twitch twitch twitch
Shaking all over like they'd been electrocuted. One of them already looked dead.
She was used to it. Living in this cesspool, she'd been through this sort of thing more than once or twice.
Park Hye-yeon grabbed one of the still-breathing men and questioned him.
"What's your name?"
The man trembled as he answered.
"Ch... Choo Do-jin... If... if you'd told us you could use magic beforehand, we never would've been so rude... S-sorry..."
Of course, magic users among the homeless were extremely rare. Practically nonexistent. If they had the means to learn magic in the first place, they wouldn't be living like this. And if they could use it, they'd find some kind of job.
Park Hye-yeon was a rare case. Born into poverty, but a genius who taught herself magic. Her mana pool was lacking, but her understanding was unmatched. Just look at that serpentine [Lightning] spell—she was a natural.
Park Hye-yeon looked at Choo Do-jin with disgust.
"Does it matter if you have power or not? No power, you take and rape whatever you want. Got power, you grovel like this. That's normal, right?"
"Th-that's just how it is... This... this place is like that..."
She glanced around. This underground space where the homeless lived. A stinking sewer. Someone getting one-sidedly attacked, and no one batted an eye. It was just another everyday scene. People were either scanning the ground for scraps or clutching their starving stomachs.
Park Hye-yeon imagined it.
'If I didn't have power... Something awful would've happened.'
'No one would help.'
Suddenly, sadness washed over her at being in this situation.
But she quickly corrected herself.
'I don't even deserve to feel sad. I drove my father to his death, got abandoned by my mother. The only people on my side... I pushed them away myself.'
A sharp pain stabbed her heart. Not physical. An indescribable ache. What most called sorrow.
Separate from that, one fact burned in her mind.
'To survive, I have to get even more ruthless.'
Watching those two nameless men show her such malice moments ago, and seeing everyone else ignore their electrocution, Park Hye-yeon reaffirmed her resolve.
And she wanted her original answer.
She raised her hand, gathering mana.
"Choo Do-jin. Answer me. What were you talking about earlier?"
"It... it's..."
As Park Hye-yeon started chanting, Choo Do-jin bowed his head and spilled everything.
"Th-the dungeon accident that's been all over the news lately. The one where a middle-aged hunter died during a raid. You know why it's such a big deal?"
"Start from the beginning. Tell me everything you know."
"Got it. Dungeons are unpredictable by nature. People die all the time, right? But the issue is, it wasn't some random guild that went in."
Choo Do-jin glanced at her nervously. Park Hye-yeon gestured for him to keep going.
"The ones who entered that dungeon were the top-tier Baal Guild. Even Guild Leader Choi Seung-hyun was with them. It was a C-rank dungeon. As you know, Choi Seung-hyun's the strongest swordsman out there. And it wasn't just him—the whole Baal Guild crew went in."
"Honestly, a C-rank's something their guild leader could solo. But the weird part? They hired a mercenary hunter. Just one guy, name's Park Chan-seok. Baal Guild put out a huge bounty to find someone to join them."
"Doesn't that strike you as odd? A top guild swarms a measly C-rank gate, and they pay top dollar for a merc on top of it?"
"And lately, there's this creepy rumor going around. About people sacrificing folks to something in the dungeons."
Park Hye-yeon's trembling hands barely held steady as she spoke.
"Explain in detail."
"I don't know more than that. But putting the pieces together, that's our guess. That Baal Guild used the hired hunter as a sacrifice for something. And faked it as an accident to cover it up."
"Otherwise, how does a top guild full of swordsmen lose someone in a C-rank? And why hire a merc if not for that?"
"...."
Park Hye-yeon pieced it together.
'My father... used as a sacrifice?'
"Where's Baal Guild's headquarters?"
She asked the man.
"Y-you're not thinking of going there, are you? Why...?"
Park Hye-yeon fixed him with a cold stare, and he waved his hands frantically.
"It's... not solid info, so if you do go, please don't mention me. If they catch wind I blabbed, I'm dead..."
Park Hye-yeon thought as she looked at Choo Do-jin.
Powerless, penniless, begging for life so pathetically and vilely. Incompetent, bowing endlessly to unfair treatment.
'Pathetic, pitiful, filthy, repulsive.'
At the same time, burning rage toward Baal Guild filled her.
'Haven't confirmed it yet, so I need to check it out there first.'
Guided by Choo Do-jin, she entered Baal Guild's headquarters and shouted.
"Get me the Baal Guild leader!"
"What?"
One of the Baal Guild swordsmen stared at the girl in disbelief.
"Beat it, kid. This ain't a playground."
Then, faint voices drifted from farther inside. Park Hye-yeon quietly cast a spell.
"Guild leader, there's some weird buzz lately. Seems like that hunter incident from before... it's spreading under the radar."
"Ah, fuck. One dead hunter and everyone's losing their shit. People die in dungeons sometimes, right? The same assholes who ignore dozens dying normally are on our case now?"
"Guess since we were there, no way an accident happens in a C-rank. Why hire a merc hunter in the first place..."
"Sigh... Fucking perceptive idiots. But whatever, even if they know, what can they do? Ignore it."
"Yes, sir."
The girl knew instinctively. The man spewing curses inside was Baal's guild leader. And the hunter they meant was her father.
-Flash
-Zzzzzzap!
Park Hye-yeon unleashed her magic at Choi Seung-hyun, her eyes bloodshot.
-Whoosh
But the spell vanished the moment Choi Seung-hyun swung his sword.
-Bam!
He counterattacked, and Park Hye-yeon went flying.
"What the fuck is this kid?"
-Clang
She fired off a few more spells, but Choi Seung-hyun swatted them away like annoying flies.
-Flash
Suddenly, Choi Seung-hyun dashed at her. Reaching her face, he whispered.
"Kid. No idea why you're here causing trouble. Don't care. Crying like that, you must have some grudge against me. Not my problem. But pull this shit again, you're dead. Not a threat—I'll really kill you. Weak and powerless? Stay crushed. I don't tolerate twice."
-Thwack!
Choi Seung-hyun struck the back of her neck, and she blacked out.
He shook his hand irritably.
"Fuck, drag this kid out. Bad luck or whatever."
-Thud
Park Hye-yeon awoke beside a trash heap.
-Drip drip
"Hic...!"
Tears streamed down her face.
Powerless, penniless, she could do nothing. Couldn't even land a proper hit on the man who might've killed her father before getting tossed aside. Worse was the despair of knowing she'd lose no matter how many times she tried.
'Overwhelming power gap.'
She instantly knew the chasm between them was unbridgeable.
"Hic...!"
The girl wept. Endless tears for her own helplessness against the man who caused her father's death.
-Grind
She gnashed her teeth to the breaking point.
'Infuriating, but no way I can win with my power alone... I need... help.'
Park Hye-yeon sought help everywhere. Passersby, homeless, even government offices directly.
Especially the authorities, most likely to help: "Baal's guild leader killed a hunter. Punish him." She pleaded over and over. But the response was always the same.
"No evidence, sweetie. We need proof to investigate."
Playing dumb. Even homeless knew it was fishy, but the state wouldn't even look into it. Soon she realized: they just didn't want to piss off Baal's leader.
One middle-aged hunter's death wasn't enough to move people.
Her father, who was her whole world, faded into oblivion.
Inside the dungeon.
-Grind...
'Hurry... I need power... Power to get revenge on that man...'
Park Hye-yeon repeated it in her head.
She craved revenge. It was the only reason she lived. Nothing else gave her life meaning. She'd seen too many vile, nauseating people to find helping others worthwhile. Years in this unjust, irrational world had shattered her emotions completely.
Park Hye-yeon glanced at the Helmont Academy students glaring at her from afar. She turned to her teammates.
"Everyone, let's hurry. Clear this place fast and move on to more training."
Park Hye-yeon headed deeper into the dungeon with the others.
"Let's go too..."
Kim Siyeon, Baek Hyunseo, Lee Haru, and the other Helmont Academy beginner class students followed behind.