Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Broker (2)
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The broker finished his call and let out a sigh of relief.
He checked that no one was around, and his demeanor instantly relaxed.
The broker hung up the phone and looked me over again.
His eyes were filled with blatant greed.
"Yeah, kid. You got the mana stone?"
"Right here, see?"
I pulled the pouch full of mana stones from my bag and shook it.
The broker reached out to take the pouch.
"Mister, you been doing this business for a day or two?"
I snatched the pouch back like a hawk.
"Bring the scale. And don't even dream of faking the weight."
I positioned myself on the opposite side of the sofa to keep him from getting too close.
A large table sat between us.
Minimum safe distance secured.
Basic of basics.
"Hahaha, what a fun girl."
The broker chuckled as if my boldness was ridiculous.
His gaze was fixed on me.
Like a wild dog eyeing prey right in front of it.
The tension in the studio apartment grew heavier by the second.
"What're you waiting for? Check it. See if it's really 1.2 kilos."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll do as you say."
The broker sighed and pulled out a scale.
Only then did I hand over the mana stone pouch.
Inside that pouch was one of my fingers.
I'd prepared it before coming here.
I started running a mental simulation for a potential ambush.
*If anything seems off, blow up the pouch first...*
The pouch packed with mana stones would act like a tear gas grenade.
Of course, I'd have to control the power so it didn't kill anyone.
I'd already practiced this yesterday.
*Anyone coming through the door from outside, I can handle with a sand bog.*
I wasn't without worry.
Beating these lowlife thugs wasn't a big deal.
But cleaning up afterward was a headache.
I wanted to hide the fact that I was a mage as much as possible.
If it came to a fight, I'd have no choice but to reveal it.
*Ah, whatever. They're just thugs—what can they do? They can't even go to the cops...*
I pushed down the anxiety as best I could.
With my savings running dry, this had to happen sooner or later.
A person can't live off mana stones.
Five years since the towers appeared.
South Korea's social infrastructure was in ruins.
Especially in policing and public safety.
With retirements and deaths in the line of duty, there weren't many cops left.
The remaining ones didn't want to get involved in hunter-related crimes anymore.
This got worse in rural areas, where in some places, the police were practically backing powerful hunters.
But these pathetic thugs wouldn't have any police connections.
Even if they begged the cops for help, they'd just get ignored.
In a situation like this, I could cause a bit of chaos without much worry.
*Honestly, pre-tower security was just too good.*
With the world's best public safety before the towers, the gap felt huge now.
This was probably what normal countries were like.
I'd never traveled abroad, so I didn't know firsthand.
But everyone on the gallery said so, so it must be true.
"It's really one kilo of mana stone... Kid, where'd you get this?"
The broker's words snapped me out of my thoughts.
He was still eyeing me suspiciously.
Hey, if you're planning to stab me in the back and take it all, why keep probing like this?
"I told you. I'm a hunter. Got it straight from the tower."
"...How far up did you go?"
"4th floor."
"Hmm, yeah, right. 4th floor. You can farm a kilo of mana stones on the 4th floor, huh."
He clearly didn't believe a word.
Thinking about it, that made sense.
I'd harvested way more mana stones than normal people could.
No way an average hunter pulls over 1kg from the 4th floor.
"I'm really a hunter, seriously!"
"Oh yeah? What's your class?"
"...Can't say. It's a special class."
"Hmm, sure. Special class."
"I said really!"
I had nothing left to say, so I let out a bleat of frustration.
The broker set the mana stone pouch aside and sipped his coffee.
This guy must be loaded. Most coffee plantations got wrecked by portals after the towers fell.
In this world, coffee was a massive luxury. Cigarettes too.
Seeing him leisurely drink it made my mouth water.
It'd been ages since I'd had any...
Did he notice?
The broker smirked and tossed a question my way.
"You don't have a mom, do you?"
"...?"
"No dad either?"
A sudden ambush diss?
All facts, but that made it hurt more.
A fresh experience: getting roasted in real life.
My head throbbed.
I'd been confident in verbal spars, so the shock hit harder.
*Fine, I'll just blast off one of his arms right now.*
This wasn't an emotional decision. Purely rational.
That was when I steeled myself.
The broker suddenly cupped his chin with both hands and got serious.
"I've got a daughter about your age at home."
"..."
"Her mom died in that big disaster five years ago. I've been raising her alone.
I became a hunter to feed her. But I quickly realized my limits. Thought I might die if I kept going.
So I quit that hunter crap and chose something safer."
*What's with the sudden melodrama...*
Ignoring my dumbfounded look, the broker spilled his life story unprompted.
"Seeing you makes me think my choice was right."
"What do you mean?"
"If I'd died too, my daughter might've ended up like you. That's what crossed my mind."
"...What do you mean by that?"
What was so wrong with how I looked?
It left a weird bad taste in my mouth.
"And you can't hide it anyway."
"Hide what?"
"You're missing a hand, right? Even stuffed in the pouch, it shows. Now I see you've only got four fingers on your right hand too."
"..."
That was just from using the sand bog earlier.
I can reattach it.
Sweat beaded on my forehead as this guy wildly imagined the worst.
"At first, I thought maybe some lowlifes caught you and forced you into begging.
But from what I just checked, that doesn't seem to be it."
Checked?
Was that what the phone call was about?
Then the sigh of relief wasn't because I came alone.
That greedy gleam wasn't greed—just a naturally ugly mug?
And all this was out of real concern for me...?
No way.
No one in this world is that nice. It had to be a trick.
"I don't know if you stole it or really went into the tower...
But you should quit this dangerous stuff. Here, I'll give you some money."
"...Cut the crap. Just pay me. 1.2kg of mana stone—twenty million won."
"You got a bank account?"
"Of course. I'm an adult."
"Alright, read off your account number. I'll transfer right now."
The broker actually did it on the spot, cool as ice.
"Did it go through? How much?"
"Yeah... Twenty million. Wait, what's with the extra 5,678 won?"
"To confirm it's really your account and not some beggar's."
"That's kinda creepy."
"Anyway, get home safe. Don't stay out late. World's a rough place these days."
"Hmph, if you're so worried, why not walk me all the way home?"
"Oh, should I?"
He seemed serious, so I quickly stopped him.
I left the studio apartment in a daze.
On the way out, I snuck my hand and fingers back while watching him closely—broke a real sweat.
Getting caught would've felt like resurrecting at a funeral.
"People like that exist in the world...?"
Somehow, I felt betrayed by the world.
I'd been suspecting the broker nonstop, ready to smash him at the first opening—and now I felt like the bad guy.
Even back home, I sat there in a stupor for a good while.
Then my phone buzzed again.
This time, a bank app notification.
[K Bank: 30,000,000 won deposited. Sender: SSalDaPam]
"What the? New scam?"
That nickname was definitely the broker's Telegram ID.
I fired off a message immediately.
[Think you sent it to the wrong place? Just got another 30 million.]
[Think of it as pocket money from your uncle ^^~~*]
"His texting style is for real?"
Before meeting, he'd been all curt one-word replies, rude as hell—now this saccharine crap was beyond adaptation, straight-up repulsive.
"He gave me fifty million total, so I'll endure..."
Yeah. Extra thirty mil in hush money—what couldn't I put up with?
You can always stomach holiday nagging after a fat New Year's envelope.
I bit my lip and sent a thank-you.
"Whew, today's been a mental massacre..."
Maybe going out to meet people was a mistake after all.
What possessed me to muster that courage?
To shake the broker from my mind ASAP, I booted up my computer and logged into the Hunter Gallery.
But scrolling down the posts, I froze at one title.
[Title: Fuuuuck... Shat myself again, they say...]
[✪ Title: Chat) In this brutal world.... Kinda makes my heart ache...]
[Title: Successful Hun-bud... Tonight's dinner....]
Garbage posts mixed in with a shining blue star—the mark of a quality post.
But what hooked me was the weird vibe from the title.
"This can't be...?"
I clicked it, just in case.
[✪ Title: Chat) In this brutal world.... Kinda makes my heart ache today....^^]
[Everyone, tough day out there huh~,,,,
World's so harsh and tough these days? I'm hanging in there thinking of my daughter waiting at home.... Heh heh....;;
Had a deal today, met this friend,,,, Opened the door and damn, there's this super young girl standing there,,,,]
"Crazy bastard?"
No need to read further.
This was the broker.
With trembling hands, I scrolled down the post.