Chapter 10
Chapter 10
This is a short sword I picked up at the very bottom of the River of Three Hells in the underworld. So much time has passed that the blade has completely lost its edge and color, leaving only a piece of iron in the shape of a sword.
Personally, I’d recommend using the rotten blood of an orc as an alchemy material instead…
The Broken Red Short Sword.
That’s what Toyoto spat out when I went to buy it.
But I didn’t budge.
“No, this is fine.”
“Hm… if that’s what you say, then so be it.”
Toyoto didn’t question it.
Why I had chosen this sword? He didn’t know. He just held his top hat with one hand and bowed his head politely.
“Then please come again next time.”
With that, he disappeared beyond the torn dimension.
I returned home immediately.
The house was still empty.
Silent to the extreme.
I entered my room and took out the short sword.
A small sword, about 30 cm.
Its color faded, giving it an awkward appearance.
Looking at its blunt edge, it didn’t seem usable as a weapon.
Just as Toyoto said, it was nothing more than a chunk of iron.
However…
Shick—
I sliced my palm with the sword.
The skin was cut along the blade.
Despite its blunt look, bright red blood flowed.
The blood soaked the blade like water.
The wound healed almost instantly.
But that wasn’t the only change.
The sword absorbed the blood, turning bright red, and its once blunt edge sharpened.
[Red Short Sword absorbs its owner’s blood.]
[Red Short Sword reveals its true form.]
It was a grotesque sight.
“…It’s been a while.”
I brushed the blade as if greeting an old friend.
[Red Short Sword (A)]
The name in the status window had changed.
Red Short Sword
Grade: A
Attack: 500
Effect: A short sword that strengthens according to the blood it absorbs. Reveals its true form when absorbing the user’s blood. Currently, most of its abilities are lost due to erosion by time.
‘Its grade has dropped.’
A.
Not a low grade by any means.
But to me, who remembered the sword’s original rank, it felt low.
‘…From SSS down to A…’
Yes.
The Red Short Sword’s original grade was SSS.
One of the few legendary blades in the world.
And before I fell into hell…
It was my most cherished weapon.
And now, it had returned to me.
Why? I didn’t know. I couldn’t know.
Toyoto only said it was a sword picked up from the very bottom of the River of Three Hells.
“…I can’t make sense of this.”
My mind was full of questions.
As I said, the Red Short Sword was my beloved weapon.
A sword I used in life.
It shouldn’t even exist in the underworld—let alone at the River of Three Hells.
I still remembered vividly.
Hunters swarming, the blade piercing through everything, the blood pouring down.
Even as my life flickered like a weak candle, I gripped the Red Short Sword tightly in my right hand.
And now it was said to have been left at the bottom of the River of Three Hells?
Ridiculous.
Not just incomprehensible—it was unacceptable.
Had someone moved it?
If so… who?
A death god? Yama? Angels of the Celestial Realm?
Why would they intentionally drop the sword into the river?
That wasn’t the only puzzle.
The Red Short Sword was a future artifact.
A legendary sword that shouldn’t exist in this timeline.
I wondered…
‘Why is it here…?’
Had it traveled back in time with me when I returned to the past?
The sword remembers its user.
It only obeys the one engraved on its soul.
A semi-ego-less artifact.
That is what the Red Short Sword was.
So…
‘It’s not strange that it followed me to the underworld and returned to the past.’
Of course, this was just speculation. I wasn’t even certain.
Swish—
I swung the Red Short Sword from top to bottom.
The familiar weight. The cold sensation.
It felt like reclaiming a lost treasure.
‘Whatever the reason…’
I had recovered my cherished sword from my past life.
That was what mattered.
Its grade had dropped, and most of its abilities were gone, but the most important one remained.
The ability to strengthen by absorbing blood.
Shick—
I cut my palm again.
The blood clung to the blade and was absorbed.
[Red Short Sword absorbs blood.]
[Red Short Sword’s attack increases by 100.]
The tip became even sharper.
The effect was exactly as it had been in my past life.
A mere brush could slice the skin,
but the wound healed instantly.
This was unique to the Red Short Sword.
Reforged with my own blood, it would never harm me.
“…Can it not be strengthened further?”
Even after more blood, its attack didn’t increase.
Probably, it would need someone else’s blood—or a monster’s—to enhance further.
And of course, its lowered grade meant there was a limit.
Shiiik—
Suddenly.
Smoke rose from the Red Short Sword.
Then the blade reverted to its blunt form.
Attack returned to normal, and the color faded to gray.
No need for a sheath.
I placed the Red Short Sword on my desk.
‘A blood merchant and the Red Short Sword…’
Everything was full of the unexpected.
‘But my goals remain the same.’
Kill villains, prevent dungeon outbreaks.
Gain good karma, reduce bad karma, and reach heaven.
That was my ultimate goal.
I had already received my hunter certification.
It was only F-rank for now, but B wouldn’t take long.
I had future knowledge.
Thanks to Eternal Stigma, I remembered everything.
Where villains would run amok,
When dungeon outbreaks would occur.
‘The most important one is Yeomyeonghoe.’
The largest villain organization in South Korea.
But…
‘They won’t move for now.’
I opened my notebook and scribbled.
Symbols appeared on the white page.
A design of a snake intertwined with a sword.
It symbolized Yeomyeonghoe.
‘After failing the department store terror, they’ll think there’s a traitor inside.’
Naturally.
Only top executives and executors knew of the department store plan.
So they’d assume a traitor existed.
‘They’re cautious because they’re meticulous.’
They’d spend the next months flushing out traitors.
I was certain.
No one knew them better than I did.
‘Yeomyeonghoe is on hold for now.’
Swish—
I drew an X over the symbol.
For at least six months, they wouldn’t move.
‘Then…’
I wrote down notes.
Minor villains and dungeon outbreaks. Daily incidents. People I had killed and those I needed to save.
And the large-scale villain purge the association would conduct soon.
‘Was it two months from now?’
Many hunters and civilians would die in that operation.
‘It’s a tragedy born of the association’s negligence.’
Many people had died.
If I could prevent that…
Save those who would die…
Wouldn’t I gain a huge amount of good karma?
But to join the operation, I’d need to raise my hunter rank to at least C.
‘Coincidentally, a villain will go berserk in Yeongdeungpo in two days.’
I jotted down everything I remembered.
The villain’s appearance. Clothing. Skills and abilities. Time of incident.
‘My immediate task is set.’
I closed my notebook.
Two days later.
I would go to Yeongdeungpo and hunt the villain.
Depending on severity, killing was allowed.
I could probably gain new abilities as well.
As I contemplated this,
I heard the front door open.
My mother?
I opened the door.
She had come to greet Han Yuri.
At that moment.
Ding—
A message arrived on my phone left in the room.
“Hello, Hunter Lee Seok. I am Kim Baek-dong, head of the villain response division of the Hunter Association.
I am contacting you to propose an offer to you.”
Kim Baek-dong.
He came to Yeongdeungpo with his intern, who was his subordinate.
They had arranged to meet me there.
While driving, the intern asked.
“Hunter Lee Seok… you live in Eunpyeong District, right?”
“If the paperwork is correct.”
Kim Baek-dong lit a cigarette.
He opened the window and exhaled the smoke.
“I don’t know why we’re meeting in Yeongdeungpo.”
The intern asked while waiting at the traffic signal.
Kim Baek-dong just shrugged.
“Well, maybe he had business there.”
No further conversation took place.
Soon, they arrived at the meeting point.
The intern parked the car.
“I’ll wait at a nearby parking lot. I’ll pay with my card.”
Kim Baek-dong stepped out, extinguished his cigarette with his foot, and it floated into the trash bin.
He walked into the café directly ahead.
I was already there.
“Oh, I must be a little late.”
“Just got here myself.”
Luckily, I had arrived moments ago.
“Americano.”
“I’ll have a mango latte.”
They ordered first.
The staff nodded and left.
“Don’t like coffee?”
Kim Baek-dong asked. I shrugged.
“Not really, I just prefer mango.”
“Fair enough.”
He continued.
“Have you considered the offer I sent via text?”
An offer to become a supervisor in the association.
He explained that joining would give me an A-rank-level contract, dungeon and item benefits.
A qualified supervisor was a natural step.
But…
“Sorry.”
I bowed neatly.
‘…Expected.’
Kim Baek-dong swallowed his disappointment as anticipated.
Supervisors. Prestige, honor. A coveted job with immense pay.
But also enormous risk.
A supervisor constantly faces villains; dozens die every year in just one department.
No matter the benefits, this was not a safe job.
A hunter more dangerous than a hunter.
That was a supervisor.
So Kim Baek-dong had not expected much.
Then…
“Instead, I have a counterproposal.”
“…A proposal?”
Kim Baek-dong looked surprised.
A counterproposal. Something unexpected.
“I heard the villain response division has a mercenary system like other guilds or offices.”
“That’s true… but…”
The system wasn’t used much.
Being a mercenary carried the same risks. Different pay and prestige.
Better to join formally than as a mercenary.
Yet the system still existed because they were chronically short of personnel.
I said,
“As a mercenary of the villain response division, I want to participate in the operation the association conducts in about two months.”
Immediately.
Kim Baek-dong’s aura became deadly.
“May I ask where you got that information?”
A sword appeared in his left hand.
The staff bringing coffee jumped in shock.
I remained calm.
As if I had expected this.
“I have precognition.”
“…Excuse me?”
A statement so absurd it was unbelievable.