Chapter 10 - Counterproposal
Counterproposal
━ This is a broken dagger I picked up from the very bottom of the Samdocheon in the Netherworld. A lot of time must have passed—its blade has completely worn away, its color faded, leaving it nothing more than a lump of iron that barely retains the shape of a dagger.
━ Personally, I would recommend Rotten Oak Blood, which can be used as an alchemical material, but…
A broken Red Dagger.
That was what Toyoto said when Lee Jeon-seok purchased it.
However, Lee Jeon-seok did not change his mind.
━ No, this will do.
━ Hmm… if that is what you wish, sir.
Toyoto showed no particular curiosity.
Why had Lee Jeon-seok chosen this?
He merely grasped the brim of his gentleman’s hat with one hand and bowed his head.
━ Then I hope you will use our services again next time.
After that, he disappeared once more beyond the torn dimension.
Lee Jeon-seok returned home immediately.
The house was still empty.
A deathly quiet filled the interior.
Entering his room, Lee Jeon-seok took out the dagger.
A small blade, about 30 centimeters long.
Its faded, awkward appearance made it look useless.
With such a blunt edge, it didn’t seem fit to be used as a weapon.
Just as Toyoto had said.
It was nothing more than a lump of iron.
However—
Slice—.
Lee Jeon-seok drew the dagger across his palm.
His skin split cleanly along the blade.
Contrary to its dull exterior, vivid red blood flowed freely.
Blood ran like water, soaking the blade.
The wound had already healed cleanly.
And that wasn’t the only change.
As if absorbing the blood, the dagger turned crimson, and its once-blunt edge sharpened.
[The Red Dagger absorbs its owner’s blood.]
[The Red Dagger reveals its original form.]
It was an utterly grotesque sight—
Yet.
“…Long time no see.”
Instead of recoiling, Lee Jeon-seok ran his fingers along the blade fondly.
[Red Dagger (A)]
The name in the status window had changed.
━
Red Dagger
Grade: A
Attack Power: 500
Effect: A dagger that grows stronger in proportion to the blood it absorbs. When it absorbs the user’s blood, it reveals its true form. Currently, most of its abilities have been lost due to erosion by time.
━
‘The grade dropped.’
A.
Not a low grade by any means.
But for Lee Jeon-seok, who remembered the Red Dagger’s original rank, it felt undeniably inferior.
‘…To think it would fall from SSS to A.’
That’s right.
The Red Dagger’s original grade was SSS.
A famed blade—one of only a handful that existed in the world.
And during his lifetime—
Before he fell into hell—
It had been the weapon Lee Jeon-seok cherished the most.
Yet now, it had returned to him.
He didn’t know why.
There was no way to know.
Toyoto had merely said—
That it was a dagger picked up from the deepest part of the Samdocheon.
“…I can’t make sense of this.”
Questions flooded his mind.
As mentioned before, the Red Dagger was Lee Jeon-seok’s beloved blade.
One of the weapons he had used while alive.
Naturally, it should not exist in the Netherworld—let alone in the Samdocheon.
Lee Jeon-seok still remembered it vividly.
Hunters swarming toward him.
Blades piercing through his entire body.
Blood pouring down endlessly.
Even as his life flickered like a dying candle, he had tightly gripped the Red Dagger in his right hand.
And now he was supposed to believe it had fallen into the Samdocheon and been left there?
Absurd.
It didn’t just defy understanding—it defied reason.
Had someone moved it there?
If so, who?
A grim reaper?
King Yama?
Envoys of the Celestial Realm?
Why would any of them deliberately throw the Red Dagger into the Samdocheon?
And that wasn’t the only mystery.
The Red Dagger was an item from the future.
A famed blade that should not exist in the present.
Lee Jeon-seok thought—
‘Why is it…’
…existing in this time period?
Had it returned to the past along with him when he regressed?
The Red Dagger was a weapon that remembered its owner.
It followed only the one engraved into its soul.
A semi-ego sword, devoid of its own will.
That was what the Red Dagger was.
So—
‘If it followed me into the Netherworld… and then returned to the past, it wouldn’t be that strange.’
Of course, it was only speculation.
Even that lacked certainty.
Swoosh—.
Lee Jeon-seok swung the Red Dagger downward.
A familiar sensation.
Heavy yet cold.
It felt like reclaiming something long lost.
‘Whatever the reason…’
He had recovered the blade he once used in his previous life.
That was what mattered.
Though its grade had fallen and most of its abilities were gone, its most important ability remained intact.
The ability to strengthen itself by absorbing blood.
Slice—.
Lee Jeon-seok cut his palm again.
Blood clung to the blade and was absorbed.
[The Red Dagger absorbs blood.]
[The Red Dagger’s attack power increases by ‘100’.]
The tip of the blade sharpened even further.
The exact same effect he remembered from his past life.
Even a slight graze would cut skin.
Yet the wound healed almost instantly.
That was a unique trait of the Red Dagger.
A Red Dagger refined by Lee Jeon-seok’s blood would never harm him.
“…Is this the limit of strengthening?”
Even after feeding it more blood, the attack power no longer increased.
To strengthen it further, he would likely need to absorb the blood of someone else—or a monster.
And with its reduced grade, there would certainly be limits.
Hiss—.
Suddenly.
Smoke rose from the Red Dagger.
The blade dulled once more.
Its attack power returned to its original value, and its color faded back to gray.
A form that didn’t even require a sheath.
Lee Jeon-seok placed the Red Dagger on his desk.
‘An item merchant… and the Red Dagger.’
Everything was beyond expectation.
‘Still, what I need to do hasn’t changed.’
Kill villains and stop dungeon rampages.
Accumulate good karma.
Reduce bad karma and go to heaven.
That was Lee Jeon-seok’s ultimate goal.
First, he had obtained his Hunter license.
Though he was only F-rank for now, reaching B-rank would be easy.
Because he had knowledge of the future.
Thanks to the Mark of Eternity, he remembered everything.
Where and which villains would rampage.
When dungeon outbreaks would occur.
‘The one I need to be most wary of is the Dawn Society.’
The largest villain organization in South Korea.
But—
‘They won’t move for a while.’
Lee Jeon-seok opened his notebook and began writing.
A symbol appeared on the blank page.
A snake and a sword intertwined.
The emblem of the Dawn Society.
‘After failing the department store terror attack, they’ll suspect there’s a traitor among them.’
Naturally so.
The department store terror plan had been information known only to top executives and the execution team.
Suspicion of an internal traitor was inevitable.
‘They’re meticulous—extremely cautious.’
So for the time being, they would devote all their efforts to rooting out traitors.
He was certain.
Because no one knew them better than Lee Jeon-seok.
‘The Dawn Society is on hold for now.’
Slash—.
He drew an X over the symbol.
At least six months.
They wouldn’t make a move.
‘In that case…’
Lee Jeon-seok began writing again.
Minor villains and dungeon outbreaks.
Everyday incidents.
People he had killed—and people he must save.
And the large-scale villain suppression operation the Association would soon carry out.
‘Was it about two months from now?’
That operation would result in countless deaths—hunters and civilians alike.
‘A tragedy caused by the Association’s complacency.’
So many people had died.
If he could stop it—
If he could save those who were meant to die—
Wouldn’t that earn him an enormous amount of good karma?
However, to participate in that operation, he needed to raise his Hunter rank to at least C.
‘Perfect timing. There’s a villain rampaging in Yeongdeungpo two days from now.’
Lee Jeon-seok wrote down the memories as they came.
The villain’s appearance.
Clothing.
Traits and abilities used.
And the exact time the incident would occur.
‘What I need to do is clear.’
He closed the notebook.
In two days.
Go to Yeongdeungpo and hunt the villain.
Depending on severity, killing villains was permitted.
He would likely gain a new trait as well.
As he was deep in thought—
The sound of the front door opening echoed through the house.
Was it his mother?
Lee Jeon-seok opened his door and stepped out.
He was about to greet Han Yuri.
At that moment—
Ding—.
A message arrived on the phone he had left in his room.
━ Hello, Hunter Lee Jeon-seok. My name is Kim Baek-dong, team leader of the Hunter Association’s Villain Response Department.
━ I’m contacting you because I have a proposal I’d like to make.
※ ※ ※
Kim Baek-dong.
He arrived in Yeongdeungpo with his subordinate intern.
They had arranged to meet Lee Jeon-seok there.
As the intern drove, he suddenly spoke.
“Lee Jeon-seok… His residence is Eunpyeong-gu, right?”
“According to the paperwork.”
Kim Baek-dong answered while lighting a cigarette.
He opened the window and exhaled the smoke.
“I wonder why he insisted on meeting in Yeongdeungpo.”
The intern voiced his curiosity while waiting at a traffic light.
Kim Baek-dong merely shrugged.
“Maybe he has business here.”
After that, there was no further conversation.
After driving a bit longer—
They arrived at the meeting place.
The intern parked the car.
“Wait at a nearby parking lot. Pay with my card.”
Kim Baek-dong stepped out of the car, crushed the cigarette underfoot, and spoke.
The extinguished butt floated in midair before dropping neatly into a trash can.
Leaving the car behind, Kim Baek-dong entered the café ahead.
This was the place he was to meet Lee Jeon-seok.
As he opened the door—
“Oh dear, am I late?”
Lee Jeon-seok was already seated not far from the entrance.
“I just arrived as well.”
Thankfully, Lee Jeon-seok had come moments ago.
“Americano.”
“Mango latte for me.”
They ordered first.
The employee nodded and left.
“You don’t like coffee?”
At Kim Baek-dong’s question, Lee Jeon-seok shrugged.
“I don’t dislike it, but I prefer mango.”
“I see.”
Everyone had their own tastes.
“More importantly,” Kim Baek-dong continued.
“Have you had time to consider the proposal I sent you?”
The offer to become an Association Overseer.
Kim Baek-dong explained that if Lee Jeon-seok joined, he would receive a signing bonus equivalent to an A-rank Hunter, along with numerous benefits related to dungeons and items.
A suitable offer for someone destined to become an Overseer.
However—
“I’m sorry.”
Lee Jeon-seok bowed politely.
‘…As expected.’
Kim Baek-dong swallowed his disappointment.
Overseer.
Honor and status.
A profession that had everything.
And enormous pay.
On the surface, it was a job anyone would envy.
But it came with severe drawbacks.
The most glaring one—
You never knew when you might die.
Unlike ordinary Hunters.
Overseers constantly faced villains, and annual casualties exceeded dozens.
That was just within a single department.
No matter how good the benefits, it wasn’t a job one could easily accept.
A Hunter more dangerous than Hunters.
That was what an Overseer was.
So Kim Baek-dong hadn’t expected much.
But—
“Instead, I’d like to make a proposal of my own.”
“…A proposal?”
Kim Baek-dong looked puzzled.
A counterproposal?
That was unexpected.
“I’ve heard the Villain Response Department uses a mercenary system, similar to guilds and agencies.”
“That is true, but…”
In truth, it wasn’t used often.
Being a mercenary didn’t make the job any safer.
Same risks.
Completely different pay and prestige.
Most would rather join officially than work as a mercenary.
Yet mercenaries hadn’t disappeared entirely—because the department was perpetually understaffed.
Lee Jeon-seok said calmly.
“As a mercenary of the Villain Response Department, I’d like to participate in an operation the Association will conduct in about two months.”
In that instant—
Killing intent surged from Kim Baek-dong.
“May I ask where you heard that information?”
A sword was already in his left hand.
The café employee carrying coffee stumbled in shock.
Lee Jeon-seok didn’t panic in the slightest.
As if he had expected this reaction.
“I have precognitive abilities.”
“…What?”
An utterly outrageous claim.