Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Beter's Definition of Diet
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“Gah!”
A sword suddenly flew through the air.
It pierced the throat of the guy standing right beside him.
“……”
The sudden event left everyone too stunned to react at first.
They just stood there in silence.
But moments later, as the man clutched his throat, spewing blood and dying in agony, screams erupted from the group.
“H-Hiiik!”
The man at the front, Jeong Chan-sik, was no exception.
He couldn’t believe the subordinate who’d been calling him “hyungnim” just moments ago was dead.
What the hell just happened?
He’d heard that the only hunter who’d entered this place was an F-rank.
They’d even checked his hunter ID, so it couldn’t have been a lie.
Yet one of his men had just been killed by that supposed F-rank hunter.
Did he fake his rank or something?
It was a reasonable suspicion.
Come to think of it, something had felt off from the start.
An F-rank hunter waltzing into a dungeon decked out in gold and jewels?
No sane person would pull a stunt that crazy.
“…You were luring us in from the beginning.”
Food left out in the middle of a battlefield always had poison in it, no matter how appetizing it looked.
“Ha!”
Realizing the situation, Jeong Chan-sik let out a disbelieving laugh.
“To think I’d fall for a trap like this.”
He muttered to himself in self-reproach.
He’d failed to read such an obvious setup and lost a man for it.
“You’re one of them too, huh.”
“……”
He asked in a pointed tone, but got no reply.
Still, Jeong Chan-sik already had a good guess about the guy’s identity.
That silence only confirmed it.
It happened sometimes.
Hunters hiding their true rank.
It was a favorite tactic of those called “villains,” and a damn effective one.
Because it let you catch the enemy off guard.
Villains.
Villains were different from regular hunters.
They entered dungeons not to hunt monsters, but other hunters.
Jeong Chan-sik was one of them.
He’d always been the predator, hunting other hunters.
This time was no different—he’d come to hunt hunters, never imagining he’d become the prey.
But the reality?
The predator had walked right into a trap.
Of course, falling into a trap didn’t mean it was over, so Jeong Chan-sik stayed calm.
He’d seen through their scheme, even if a bit late.
They’d lost one man, but he still had the numbers advantage.
Jeong Chan-sik eyed the figure ahead with a smug grin.
Two of them.
One was an obvious novice, young and green-looking, with a gold necklace dangling around his neck that screamed “steal me.”
He probably wasn’t much of a threat.
Likely the bait.
Of course, you never dropped your guard against another hunter.
The real deal’s gotta be the other one.
With that thought, Jeong Chan-sik turned his gaze to the figure beside him.
A being cloaked head to toe in a black robe.
Face hidden by a mask, hands gloved—completely concealed.
And that sword throw that killed his man was still burned into his mind.
But even so, he didn’t think they could do much now.
“How about we call it here? Hand over everything you’ve got, and I’ll let you live. You’re unarmed anyway, right?”
Jeong Chan-sik said with a sleazy grin.
No matter their skill, it was just two against their group.
He didn’t buy that two people could take them all.
And they’d been dumb enough to toss their weapon.
Which meant the enemy was down to bare fists.
But in response to his “generosity,” they remained silent.
Why aren’t they saying anything?
The advantage was clearly his.
Yet the enemy seemed way too relaxed.
That composure started making Jeong Chan-sik uneasy instead.
Bluffing? Or real confidence in their skills?
No one could stay that calm otherwise.
His mind raced.
If they were the real deal, pulling out now might be smart.
But abandoning the juicy prey right in front of him felt like such a waste.
The gold and jewels on that one kid alone weren’t worth risking for.
Even villains valued their own lives.
Of course, that was without knowing about the purple gem the kobold behind them had.
Definitely a magic stone.
Seeing the purple magic stone erased any thought of retreat from Jeong Chan-sik’s mind.
And maybe they were bluffing about it, trying some psychological warfare.
Yeah, has to be.
He shook off his unease.
His eyes fell on the sword on the ground.
The black blade they’d thrown.
It looked expensive just at a glance.
“Ha… You don’t even know this is your last chance.”
He muttered under his breath and slowly reached for the sword.
But in that instant.
Thud.
A figure had closed the distance silently.
The one in the black robe.
“H-How—?!”
There’d been distance between them, but now they were right in front, batting away his wrist as he went for the sword.
And that wasn’t all.
The figure scooped up the fallen sword and swung it through the air.
“Huh…”
It happened in a flash.
In that split second, they’d closed in, grabbed the sword, and swung.
A simple motion, but the result was anything but.
Jeong Chan-sik sensed the subtle change first.
Eh…?
The presence of his men behind him vanished.
Something thudded to the ground, but he didn’t dare look back.
His body began to tremble uncontrollably.
He didn’t know what had happened.
No—he didn’t want to know.
The metallic tang of blood filled his nose.
Dark red liquid pooled around his feet.
He wanted to deny what had happened.
But he’d die before turning around to check.
Looking back now would mean regret he couldn’t undo, so he clamped his mouth shut.
In this moment, Jeong Chan-sik had only one option.
“P-Please…”
He dropped to his knees fast.
Ignoring the blood soaking the floor.
He slammed his forehead to the ground.
“Please spare me…!”
The supposed F-rank hunter was actually an overwhelming powerhouse.
Not someone Jeong Chan-sik could handle, even if their skills were close.
All he could do was beg for mercy.
Snap.
A sound rang out.
Bone cracking?
Curious as he was, Jeong Chan-sik kept his head down, holding his breath.
Eyes shut, he waited silently.
Clap, clap, clap.
“As expected of you, Maru.”
Another voice joined in, applauding the figure approvingly.
Maru…?
Jeong Chan-sik listened intently, catching every word.
Maru was an unusual name.
Maybe a foreigner.
His mind whirred as he clung to a sliver of hope that this could lead to escape.
With Jeong Chan-sik still prostrated on the floor, Beter and Maru began discussing the situation.
Clack, clack.
“You’re right, Maru. They were after the dungeon. Specifically that purple stone.”
As Beter spoke, the dungeon’s owner, the kobold behind them, freaked out.
“N-No way…!”
Intruders had breached the dungeon, but the incident wrapped up quickly.
The real issue was elsewhere.
“It seems keeping that purple stone here any longer isn’t wise, Dungeon Master.”
The kobold nodded furiously at Beter’s words.
“What do?! I don’t wanna die!”
Even with the merchant guild contracted to protect the dungeon, repeated intrusions were bad news.
So the kobold asked Beter if he had a solution.
True to form as a merchant, Beter had one ready.
“Simple, Dungeon Master. Change the contract from 90% handover of the yellow and purple stones to 100%. We’ll take all of these dangerous items off your hands.”
Beter flashed a charming smile and presented a new contract.
“G-Good! Protect our dungeon! Take stones! All of them!”
Moved by Beter’s consideration, the kobold signed again.
Beter watched with satisfaction, then turned to Maru.
“That settles it.”
First client secured, intruders dealt with.
The corpses had dirtied the dungeon, but cleanup was easy.
Maru shed his robe, revealing the cape on his back.
The “Corpse Harvester’s Cape.”
A gift from the great Master to Maru.
The black-and-white cape etched with unknown runes stirred at the scent of blood, moving on its own.
It gobbled up the scattered bodies with wet crunches.
Incredibly, the corpses vanished endlessly into the cape.
It took less than a minute to clear them all.
Once done, Maru donned his robe again.
Clack, clack?
(What about that one?)
“I’m pondering what to do with him too, Maru.”
Now just the guy with his face planted on the floor remained.
Beter thought for a moment, then asked the prostrated man.
“What’s your name?”
“J-Jeong Chan-sik… Please… just spare my life…!”
The man answered in a terrified whimper.
From cocky confidence to groveling cowardice—it felt oddly surreal.
But Beter felt no pity.
He just mulled over how to dispose of the human pest.
This scum had dared obstruct the Master’s will.
Killing him outright would be too merciful.
Then an idea struck Beter.
“Oh, how about this? A dieting method.”
Clack?
(Diet?)
Maru tilted his head at the unfamiliar term.
He’d spent time on Earth, but not like Beter, who’d studied humans extensively in the lab over long years.
Mindful of that, Beter explained in detail.
“Dieting was a term some researchers used often. It’s a process to reduce body weight.”
Maru nodded at the explanation.
“So, what does reducing body weight mean? Removing parts of the body, right? That’s dieting.”
Beter continued.
“And it’s supposed to be done slowly. Meaning prolonged torture by gradually slicing off body parts. Peeling skin bit by bit or extracting organs sounds ideal.”
Clack!
Maru’s expression lit up with understanding.
He’d learned something new today.
Even small knowledge could prove useful in serving the great Master someday.
Jeong Chan-sik, however, had a very different reaction.
These guys are insane… Totally fucking crazy!
Who defines dieting like that?
p>Convinced he’d stumbled into psychos, he wailed in despair.
“Spare me…! Please!!”
But to Beter and Maru, a human life was worth less than an insect’s.
No matter what Jeong Chan-sik screamed, Beter just said his piece.
“Maru, let’s wrap this up and go scout the Black Sun Guild.”
They were busy, after all.
The kobold dungeon was their first client, but it was barely a start.
Far from the grand merchant guild the great one desired.
And the restrictions were severe.
Beter still had to disguise as a human hunter to leave the dungeon.
Maru, a skeleton, hid under a massive robe and mask.
It limited their operations.
So Beter planned to use humans.
First target: the Black Sun Guild, where his disguised persona Ji Sung-min belonged.
But intel showed it wasn’t a formal guild—more a loose gang.
Locating them was tricky.
Luckily…
“I know! I know a guy in the Black Sun Guild!”
Jeong Chan-sik shouted from the floor.
“I’ll tell you everything! Just spare my life!”
His chance had finally come.
A shot at surviving these dieting-obsessed, murder-happy lunatics.
Beter didn’t want to miss it either, so he leaned down.
His slime body bent in an eerie, unnatural arc.
He whispered to Jeong Chan-sik.
“Lie to me, and your diet will be very painful.”