Chapter 471: A New Beginning (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 471: A New Beginning (4)
For the past few days, the Red Moon Guild had been busy verifying the authenticity of their intelligence.
"We've confirmed the records. Kang Min-ho, an E-Rank hunter, entered Incheon accompanied by an 'unidentified individual.'"
"A few days ago, Kang Min-ho was issued a pass for an E-Rank hunting ground—an area where D-Rank Soldier Ants occasionally spawn. Given his current skill level, it should be impossible for him to defeat even one. Yet, we've confirmed records of him selling Soldier Ant byproducts at the Hunter Market. If it were just one or two, we might have assumed he'd grown strong enough to qualify for a promotion. But since he sold parts from five or six, it's highly likely this unidentified individual was involved."
"This unidentified individual is currently staying at Kang Min-ho's villa. There have been no further movements since."
Red Moon.
As a major Hunter guild centered in Incheon, they had gathered intelligence on Roman Dmitry in the blink of an eye.
Go Sang-ho, the action leader of Red Moon, visited the Hunter Market under the guild master's orders.
The Incheon government was already involved in this matter. Moving hastily based on unconfirmed rumors would only cause trouble, so they first needed to verify whether this unidentified individual was truly a Peak Hunter. The method was simple. By examining the Soldier Ant byproducts presumed to have been harvested by this person, they could at least deduce the extent of his power.
"...What is this?"
Go Sang-ho's eyes widened.
As he examined the Soldier Ant carcass, the Hunter Market manager chimed in.
"I was shocked when I first inspected it, too. Soldier Ants have incredibly tough outer shells, so hunters usually have to hack them to pieces to finish them off. But this one... the shell was sliced through with astonishing precision. You know as well as I do, Mr. Go Sang-ho, that this level of skill requires at least a B-Rank. The problem is, simply examining the carcass isn't enough to confirm if this is even the full extent of the person's power."
Where on earth did a powerhouse like this come from?
Go Sang-ho was a C-Rank hunter.
As a seasoned veteran with plenty of experience, he could tell just by looking at the carcass that this opponent was a level above him. In that case, there was no reason to hesitate. A Peak Hunter was someone they absolutely had to recruit, even if it caused friction with the Incheon government. He immediately reported his findings to the guild master.
An order came down immediately.
"Recruit the unidentified individual by any means necessary. We must secure him before anyone else snatches him up."
And so, following his guild master's orders, Go Sang-ho arrived at the villa where their target was presumed to be staying.
* * *
The front door opened.
When Roman Dmitry revealed himself, Go Sang-ho was internally taken aback.
He really is a foreigner?
Their gathered intelligence had mentioned the target was a foreigner, but seeing it in person was still a shock.
It was a mystery. Powerhouses of B-Rank or higher were precious talents that foreign nations would never willingly let go of. He couldn't understand why a foreign hunter of this caliber was wandering around as an unidentified individual. What was certain, however, was that this man was an unaffiliated powerhouse. Regardless of his nationality, his sheer strength was reason enough to recruit him.
Go Sang-ho spoke up.
"Nice to meet you. I am Go Sang-ho of the Red Moon Guild."
He extended his hand, offering a warm smile and a handshake. But Roman Dmitry only looked down at him with a cold, impassive expression.
This was not how Go Sang-ho expected things to go.
He thought the man would show at least a flicker of curiosity at the name 'Red Moon.' Awkwardly withdrawing his hand, Go Sang-ho continued.
"...I apologize if my unannounced visit offended you. I'll get straight to the point. Red Moon is the representative Hunter guild of Incheon. In preparation for the upcoming Great Chaos, we have joined forces under our guild master, a B-Rank hunter. I can confidently say there is no guild in Incheon that compares to us. What do you say? If you join Red Moon, we will guarantee your safety here in South Korea. For your information, our guild master is a cut above other B-Rank hunters. He secured his B-Rank qualification five years ago and plans to challenge the A-Rank promotion exam in the near future."
His face brimmed with pride.
Just as he said, Red Moon was a formidable organization. With most of the nation's powerhouses concentrated in Seoul, Red Moon's guild master had established a base and built up his own empire in Incheon. A guild led by a Peak Hunter naturally demanded the attention of all local hunters, and not long after its creation, it grew into a renowned force.
Currently, Red Moon boasted about a hundred hunters under its banner. Go Sang-ho's pride was well-founded.
Before Roman Dmitry could even answer, Go Sang-ho added with a confident look,
"Come to Red Moon. If you are a Peak Hunter, we will treat you with the respect you deserve."
It was a perfect pitch. He believed there was no way the man could reject the offer.
Instead, Roman Dmitry simply raised his phone with an indifferent expression and made a call. The recipient was Kang Min-ho.
Click.
[What's going on...]
"Someone has come looking for me. Is this your doing?" Roman cut him off.
Hearing the cold question, Kang Min-ho instinctively realized that something had gone horribly wrong.
[No, it's not! I did report to the Incheon government, but I secured a promise that they wouldn't approach you for at least a month, just as you requested. It seems the information leaked. I am truly sorry.]
"Then let me ask you one thing. How does this world deal with those who trespass on another's territory?"
This was a baffling turn of events. Watching Roman casually hold a conversation with someone else right in front of him, Go Sang-ho barely suppressed the anger rising within him.
"Trespassing? Even if this was a sudden visit, it's completely uncalled for to condemn me like that."
"Answer me."
Roman Dmitry paid absolutely no attention to Go Sang-ho. He pressed Kang Min-ho on the other end of the line.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Kang Min-ho spoke in a cautious voice.
[Ever since the Great Chaos, trespassing on someone else's territory is considered a hostile act. If the intruder does not back down even after a warning... you are legally protected under self-defense, no matter how you choose to punish them.]
Click.
Roman hung up. Then, he looked down at Go Sang-ho with a chilling gaze.
"Choose. Will you back down now and never seek me out again, or will you cross that line and trespass on my territory?"
* * *
Irritation instantly flared within Go Sang-ho.
He wasn't some door-to-door salesman trying to peddle cheap goods; he had come to recruit this man on behalf of the prestigious Red Moon Guild. Yet he was being treated like a vagrant.
Even his patience had its limits. Even if the opponent was a powerhouse, there was no reason for Red Moon to bow down unconditionally.
"It seems you are gravely mistaken about something. Red Moon's proposal is mutually beneficial. A Peak Hunter? Yes, I know how incredible your skills must be. But Red Moon already has an established force recognized by everyone in Incheon. You are a single individual; we are a massive organization. So think wisely. A Great Disaster is approaching. In a chaotic world where heaven and earth are turned upside down, do you really think you can prepare for every threat alone, even if you are a Peak Hunter? It's impossible."
The Great Disaster.
It was an overwhelming reality. No matter how strong an individual was, they could not survive a Great Disaster alone.
"The fact that nations are desperately building Shelters is proof of the limitations of a single individual. I don't know why a foreigner like you is here, but in a situation where anything could happen at any moment, Red Moon is reaching out to save you. In this city of Incheon, trusting Red Moon is far wiser than trusting the Incheon government."
As the action leader of Red Moon, Go Sang-ho had often encountered situations like this while recruiting powerhouses. Those who overvalued themselves frequently acted out of line, forgetting their place just to artificially raise their market price.
In times like these, he had to break their pride. There was no reason to accommodate the opponent's every whim just to absorb them into the guild.
Step.
He took a step forward. Stepping over the threshold into the entryway, Go Sang-ho wore a fierce expression.
"If you want to test us, go ahead and try. Red Moon is—Argh!"
Flash.
A sudden, agonizing scream tore from his throat.
Go Sang-ho's eyes bulged. The very moment he had stepped into the entryway, he witnessed his own leg flying through the air.
* * *
Immediately after hanging up, Kang Min-ho sprinted straight for the villa. He had just arrived in front of the building to move some luggage.
To think the information leaked.
Based on that phone call, someone had already paid Roman Dmitry a visit. He was furious. In accordance with his promise, he hadn't uttered a word to anyone outside of the Incheon government, yet the intelligence had leaked as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
It probably wasn't the Incheon government's doing directly. Even when he spoke with Kim Jun-hyeok, the man had warned him that information could slip through the cracks, even if the government itself kept its distance.
The countless informants infesting the city. One of the major factions had made a move.
Kang Min-ho quickened his pace. He couldn't let his relationship with Roman Dmitry be ruined over this incident.
Bursting onto the scene with the intent to hastily defuse the situation, he froze solid at the sight before him.
"...Wh-What?"
His eyes widened. Blood was splattered across the floor. A man was writhing on the ground, clutching the bloody stump of his leg in pure agony.
It was a gruesome, entirely unexpected sight.
Staring at Go Sang-ho, Kang Min-ho asked with trembling eyes, "...What on earth happened here?"
"Exactly what you see. This man trespassed on my territory, and I severed one of his legs as payment."
At those words, their phone conversation flashed through Kang Min-ho's mind. He had never imagined that his mention of self-defense would lead to such a brutal outcome.
There was something strange, though. Roman Dmitry didn't hold anything resembling a weapon, yet Go Sang-ho's leg had been severed cleanly, as if sliced by a master swordsman.
Only Roman's bare hand was stained with blood.
Goosebumps erupted all over Kang Min-ho's body. If Roman possessed the skill to cleanly sever a limb with his bare hands, his strength was far beyond what Kang Min-ho had initially estimated.
Roman Dmitry spoke.
"He claimed to belong to Red Moon. How do you think they will respond to this?"
"...I recognize him. That's Go Sang-ho, the action leader of Red Moon. Since a key figure of their guild has been attacked, they will definitely retaliate, if only to protect their reputation in Incheon. This is a separate matter from the self-defense I mentioned over the phone. Even if you did nothing wrong by the laws of this world, no faction in a world ruled by violence will simply overlook an attack on their own. They won't see this as their fault; they will see it as an insult to Red Moon's pride."
"Is that so?" Roman Dmitry replied calmly.
Right then, Go Sang-ho screamed, his face pale with shock and excruciating pain.
"You crazy son of a bitch! You think you'll get away with this?! Red Moon's recruitment offer is officially off! The guild will hunt you down for what you did to me! You'll die a painful death, torn limb from limb!"
A new life.
Roman Dmitry stood at a crossroads. He had not yet decided what he would live for in this world, but one single truth remained unchanged.
To reign.
He would not leave those who showed him hostility alive.
Thud!
Go Sang-ho's head flew into the air.
It was a strike delivered with the bare edge of his hand. With a single, fluid motion, Go Sang-ho's neck was severed. The head spun through the air, his furious expression still frozen on his face, as if he hadn't even realized he was dead.
Thump.
Roll.
It was a shocking, grisly sight. As Kang Min-ho stared blankly at the head rolling across the floor, a cold voice reached his ears.
"Now that I think about it, I haven't told you my name yet."
Baek Joong-hyuk. Roman Dmitry.
Two lives, and two names.
"My name is Roman Dmitry. Now, lead me to Red Moon's headquarters. As I live in this world from now on, I will prove to people the weight of my words."
Roman Dmitry.
He would live by that name. Unlike his life as Baek Joong-hyuk, which he had cast aside without regret, he kept his life as Roman Dmitry buried deep in his heart. And just as in his past life, there was no backing down for Roman Dmitry.
"Lead the way."
At the commanding voice, Kang Min-ho stood utterly dazed. It seemed he had brought a far more dangerous individual into his home than he could have ever imagined.