Unexpected Rewards and Consequences

"Come to the Blue House in three days?"

Seo Ha-rin nodded at my question.

"Yeah, I told you clearly, right? If you meet that woman later, make sure to pass it on exactly. That I came here? Keep it secret from everyone else."

She glanced at me, a strange smile playing on her lips.

"Good thing you came. You're worth it. Keep working hard like this. Don't forget our promise. Alright, I'm out."

"Wait! Who am I supposed to meet there?!"

I grabbed at her, but she ignored me.

Her black bob hair swayed slightly, and then Seo Ha-rin vanished right before my eyes.

In an instant. Just like the lightning that had struck moments ago.

"……."

I turned my head, and there it was—a single mana stone sitting all alone.

Blinking didn't make it disappear.

The shattered asphalt road was the only proof that everything had really happened.

This was S-rank. The pinnacle of hunters.

I ignored the notifications popping up one after another.

At that moment, my world was still frozen on the bolt of lightning that had torn Arakhan apart.

The biggest change since becoming a mage?

I could no longer simply marvel at superhuman feats with pure awe.

My stalled brain kicked back into gear. The type of ability Seo Ha-rin had used, the synthesis process.

The quality of her mana, the color. Blue? Was that the limit of her caliber?

No, it was more red.

My consciousness sank slowly. A process of conviction I couldn't fully grasp myself. Lingering confusion from the ideas that followed one after another.

"That won't work."

I muttered with my hands clasped together. A clue that seemed just within reach, then slipped away.

"Hyung-nim! You really did all this yourself, right?!"

"Sunbae, are you okay!?"

This too... no. I swept back my wet hair.

"Stop gawking with the other civil servants and hunters—come grab the mana stone! Something this size will fetch a good price. You all saw from start to finish that that hyung-nim took it down alone, so don't even think about getting greedy!"

Visual data alone wasn't enough.

I scraped together the remnants of her mana dispersed in the air and forcibly jammed them into my mind.

"What's with that hyung-nim, just sitting there like that? It's all over! Snap out of it!"

In that instant, the world slowed, and fragments of information floated around me.

More than ten mana circuits required. A spiral structure array.

"Ah."

I caught it.

"Is this it?"

At that moment.

Crackle!

A small bolt of lightning sparked between my palms.

"Huh?"

"Sun...bae?"

Only then did I lift my head at the voices.

The tattooed guy with the axe and Officer Lee Ye-ji stood there, mouths agape, staring down at me.

"Ah, I'm fine."

I stood up from my spot.

The rain had already stopped, returning to the usual weather.

This hazy taste of fine dust clogging my throat. This was my true hometown, Incheon.

"Looks like it all wrapped up nicely... Can't do much about the wreckage, though."

Arakhan's remnants still loomed imposingly in place.

Huge, bone-dry tree-root-like things. The battle's aftermath was worse than expected.

Though most of it was my fault.

It'd take the civil servants a while to get everything back to normal.

"They won't hold me accountable for arson, right?"

I joked, and the tattooed guy grinned back.

"They would be total bastards if they did!"

Why's this guy acting so buddy-buddy? As I stared, he bowed deeply.

"F-rank hunter Lee Han-seong, hyung-nim! That was seriously impressive! I thought it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all over after seeing your post, but you're my lifesaver."

Ah, that QuitKoreaNoLove. I didn't really want to know.

Just stay in the community, please.

"Nah, not that big a deal. Just did my job."

I had no idea why everyone was acting like this since last time. Feeling awkward, I picked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠up the mana stone from the ground.

"Whoa, it's freaking huge. Jackpot."

Lee Han-seong gawked crudely.

It really was. Something this size, fitting perfectly in my pocket, had to be worth billions.

I knew two main ways to dispose of mana stones.

Sell through a broker.

Or go directly to crafting hunters in Seoul and commission something.

Either way, solid side income.

'But the main event...'

A total of 3,200 points from the subjugation!

Thinking of the shop's amazing items made me grin involuntarily.

Even the 100-point mana potion I'd chugged earlier proved ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it.

Recovery beyond any normal elixir, no side effects.

Was my luck finally turning? From tomorrow, I could happily ponder how to spend all this wealth.

Sure, some parts didn't add up, and there was a nagging feeling, but it all ended well, so whatever.

Thump. See, even my heart was pounding excitedly.

"Hunter up front. Mind having a word?"

I was deep in visions of a happy future when a suspicious voice came from nearby.

"Me?"

A mother and son who looked eerily alike.

Clad in fine clothes, exuding elegance, handsome features—they screamed upper-class elite.

"Follow us."

They nodded and slipped into a nearby single-family home without waiting for my answer.

What the? Isn't this a crime?

Feeling dubious but following anyway.

Why had my heart been racing like this since earlier? Thump thump. The eerie sensation intensified as I entered the house.

Arrhythmia or something?

Creeeak.

The old front gate shut on its own as we entered. The atmosphere shifted in an instant.

"Territory management is a total mess. I can tell what kind of trash this country's leader is without even looking."

The son spat on the floor, scowling.

"How dare a lowly hunter meet our eyes?"

An overbearing tone out of place in modern times. And an exotic appearance to boot.

Cases like this were usually one of two: escaped lunatic from a hospital, or...

"H-Hyung-nim! Bow your head quick!"

Lee Han-seong urgently yanked my arm.

"Those are from the Management Bureau!"

My eyes locked on the mana badge they flashed. A silver rose emblem dead center.

It had been over a century already.

When black towers sprouted simultaneously in every nation's capital, a group calling themselves 'Tower Managers' appeared alongside them.

Convinced of their superiority over humans, they made bizarre, arrogant demands.

But the whole world bowed to their nonsense.

Why? Because they were the real deal.

They had the authority to bar entry to a nation's tower if they wanted.

In this barren era where climbing the Tower was the key to survival, it was far more rational to treat them as privileged elites and prevent disasters like Arakhan from leaking out.

Their symbol? That silver mana badge.

A disaster had escaped the Tower, and I'd handled it, so their visit wasn't strange.

"……."

I knew.

Now that I was a hunter too, the right move here was to bow my head and comply.

"You touched the Tower's property without permission, so pay the penalty, you filthy thief. Suggest your own fine and cough it up. Hand over that mana stone in your pocket too."

I shouldn't question this bullshit.

Better to think of it as stepping in shit and get out—fact acknowledged.

But.

"Is your mom Medusa or something? Can't even look at you?"

A vulgar curse I'd never dream of uttering normally flew from my mouth.

"What the hell are you, you rude bastards?"

"Hyung-nim?"

I shook off Lee Han-seong's hand on my shoulder.

"While the prophecy came down and I was racking my brain alone, where the hell were you hiding? What, you crawl out now that it's over to steal the killing blow in relay?"

"W-What did you say?"

Because clowns like this—congressmen, S-rank hunters, big shots—act this way, the country's gone to shit.

Seo Ha-rin, you were right. Should've smashed them sooner.

"Hey, you punk."

My violence didn't stop at words. I swung straight for the son's jaw. Let's see if he could stay noble after that.

"What? Touched the Tower's property? With all the residents' homes burned to ash? You know insurance won't cover this shit?"

Like all these outwardly refined types, the son was a pushover.

Couldn't even resist as I beat him down.

"The common folk are about to be out on the streets!"

The kid did try to fight back, technically.

My fists had never even scrapped with friends growing up—how strong could they be? I was secretly pinning him with my Invisible Hand to keep him still.

Felt good inside. Like all that pent-up resentment was draining away.

Thud! Thud!

I gifted his scrawny body some merciless kicks, and the mother's haughty attitude crumbled instantly.

"S-Sorry! Please, just this once, have mercy on me..."

"Hm."

"What's wrong...?"

The woman, flat on the ground, peeked at my mood. I said coldly,

"Killing the son in front of the mother, or the mother in front of the son. Which do you think hurts more...?"

I spat whatever came to mind, then finally sensed something off.

"Huh?"

Still stomping the son's head, I asked,

"Han-seong, was I always this brutal?"

"First time meeting you today—how should I know! Hyung-nim, seriously, why are you doing this? You're gonna get us in deep shit!!"

"Yeah? Even rethinking it, is this worth going this far? Too crude and violent."

The son's face, swollen with blood, twisted.

"Y-You psycho..."

Every word sent broken teeth flying. Annoying, so I kicked him again and pondered.

'What's really going on? This feels weird.'

Déjà vu. Like I'd had a similar experience before.

'I'm not like Bingbing Girl with her anger issues.'

Then chills hit me. A forgotten fact flashed through my brain.

"......A week's passed."

"Pardon?"

"Exactly one week since I killed that rapist. Past midnight when I did it! Don't you get what this means?!"

"You're scaring me for real, hyung-nim!!"

Thump thump thump. My heart pounded madly.

My blood ran cold.

I'd thought killing Arakhan—a clear 'evil'—before it was too late would be fine, no issues.

But rethinking it...

'Fuck, she stole the killing blow!!'

Seo Ha-rin, you useless bitch!

I thought I'd solved one problem, only for a bigger snowball to roll in unnoticed.

Unfortunately, the little grimoire inside me had classified the managers as 'evil'.

Heavenly Killing Star.

Born under the heaven-sent star of murder. Had I really turned psychopath?

Me? The one with perfect relationships everywhere—from the Sky Orphanage to the District Office, the model of normalcy?

"Kid, get up and run."

I lifted my foot and urgently whispered to the son.

"Grab your mom's hand tight and bolt! You can do it, right? You have to. If you die here, it's big trouble. Stake your life on it!"

A beating might slide somehow. But killing managers? No way.

'No precedent for this.'

Send the kids off first, then dash to a holding cell and kill some random bastard. That'd fix it.

I still thought it was salvageable.

But.

Crack!

Space tore open suddenly.

A massive transparent finger emerged from a hole in the ceiling.

"Wha...?"

I gaped in panic, at a loss. Everyone else seemed unfazed—it was visible only to me.

Hallucination? That brief hope shattered in seconds.

─────.

The moment the transparent finger touched the mother and son...

Their heads vanished from their necks, wiped clean from existence.

A cheerful chime rang out, congratulating me without knowing my heart.