Growing Interest
A pair of red-furred wolf monsters. The way to deal with them was a prolonged battle as the baseline.
You had to wear them down steadily while facing both at once.
For as long as possible.
That way, once you killed one, the other wouldn't be hard to finish off.
But if you killed one too early, the survivor would fly into a frenzy of rage and vengeance, launching attacks that ignored life and death.
A berserk state.
It became even harder than facing two.
The reason the remaining one wasn't charging now was thanks to Taeju. The killing intent rising from him was holding back the red-furred wolf's assault for the moment.
The wolf monster was probably agonizing over it.
Should it go for the strongest-looking human first, or clear out the weaklings?
Taeju glared at the monster, infusing his gaze with killing intent.
Wolves are like dogs—they need a hierarchy sorted out.
You dare come at me?
Then he turned his head again.
"Didn't you come to Jirisan to hunt monsters? Where'd all that confidence from earlier go?"
Kwon Dongseok and Jang Wonjun exchanged glances.
Run? Or fight?
They knew how terrifying a wolf was after losing its mate.
Five combat agents.
If they rushed in recklessly, it would be total annihilation.
But they couldn't ignore that suspicious porter either.
How the hell did he have that kind of power?
No tattoo on his face, even.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Clink, clink.
The only sound at the scene was coins jingling.
"Fine! I'll take the dilemma off your hands."
Pew!
A single coin, shot out like a suppressed pistol round.
"Gaaahhh!"
This time, it sliced off Jang Wonjun's left ear.
"Ah, it hurts! It hurts!!!"
At the same time!
"Grrrowl!"
The red-furred wolf leaped high into the air.
As soon as Taeju's attack hit another human, it seemed to harden its resolve.
If it went for the strong one first, it might not get to kill the others.
Start with the weaklings.
As many as possible.
"Uwaa! G-get away...!"
It clamped down on the writhing Jang Wonjun's throat,
Crunch!
"Kek?"
shoved Kwon Dongseok down with its forepaw,
Crack!
and crunched his skull like candy in its massive jaws.
Crunch, cruuunch!
No scream even escaped.
The mana compatibles bolted in terror without looking back.
"S-save me!!!"
"Uwaaaaa!"
"D-don't come!"
But they couldn't evade the enraged wolf's attacks.
Crunch!
"Agh!"
Crunch!
"Guh!"
Grind!
"S-save... me..."
In an instant, the wolf tore through all five. It threw its head back and let out a howl.
"Awooooooo!"
A victory howl.
In that moment, a coin shot from Taeju's hand, tracing a silver line.
'Insolent beast...'
The target: the red-furred wolf.
Thwack!
The coin half-buried itself.
The wolf flinched but didn't fall.
It had pierced the hide but not the bone.
'Tch, coins just aren't enough after all.'
There were techniques in the martial world that used coins as hidden weapons.
Gold Coin Darts.
But even those required specially made coins for effect.
Ordinary ones wouldn't work on monsters.
Then?
Subdue it with raw power.
Thud!
The wolf kicked off the ground and lunged at Taeju mid-air.
Shhht!
Taeju's form blurred like a heat haze.
A linked motion practiced countless times.
Phantom Bewilderment Step into Blood Seal Poison Palm.
He already knew the essence and secrets of the technique perfectly.
The only issue was his lack of inner power.
In the blink of an eye, Taeju slipped under the airborne wolf's belly.
A crimson palm struck softly into the unguarded red-furred wolf's lower abdomen.
Thud!
"Kyaaang!"
Bloody viscera sprayed into the air simultaneously.
Countless palm strikes flickered in and out of existence.
Pah! Pah-pah-pah! Pah-pah!
The wolf couldn't land on its own paws.
The Blood Seal Poison Palm, laced with potent poison energy, had already snuffed out its life mid-air.
Thump!
'How many hits did I need to take this thing down?'
Even for a monster, just a wolf.
Dang Gunak would've ended it with a glare.
He could do it too.
Once he raised his realm in Hunwon Musang Dokryeong Gong.
Now, only one person left.
His fellow porter collapsed, legs giving out.
"T-Taeju, brother, s-save me."
Taeju scratched his head and replied.
"Come on, why would I kill you?"
"...Really?"
"You aren't hurt anywhere?"
"N-no, not at all. Even if I was, it's nothing."
Taeju grabbed his fellow porter's shoulder and helped him up.
"I've got a favor to ask."
"Anything."
"What we saw today..."
"What happened? I didn't see a thing."
The fellow porter trembled as he spoke.
He must've been really shocked.
Even porters who saw all kinds of gruesome stuff didn't witness five people dying right in front of them every day.
Speaking of which, the greatsword was broken.
Now his only weapon was coins.
Military-issue, mixed with monster byproducts, but still.
Taeju tossed the greatsword aside and headed back to Gurye with his fellow porter.
The corpses? The monsters would handle them.
Like at Seoraksan.
He hadn't killed them directly, but he'd made it happen.
No pangs of conscience, though.
As the Absolute Poison Demon Dang Gunak,
or as Absolute Poison Demon Kim Taeju,
he despised those who used the weak as shields to save their own skins.
Like the Zhuge Clan bastards.
Gurye was full of drugstores.
Competition was fierce as a result.
Buy medicine, get free vitamins. Exclusive deals on special drugs. Loyalty programs with mileage based on purchase amount...
All those sales tactics became pointless overnight.
Thanks to Baek's Drugstore releasing their variant three-line striped mosquito antidote.
Now everyone went straight to Baek's.
Supply had stabilized briefly, but rumors spread outside, drawing expeditions from other cities and reigniting the frenzy.
Limit two per day, yet people still lined up before opening.
Buy now, resell later—plenty of buyers.
Even for non-antidote meds, it was Baek's.
Other pharmacies' sales plummeted.
YJ Drugstore, once Gurye's top earner, dropped by more than half.
This was do-or-die.
Time for countermeasures.
So they gathered.
The reps from Gurye Pharmacy Association affiliates.
Just three showed up.
YJ Drugstore's Jo Hoonseok, Gurye Nuri Drugstore's Lee Gilho, Saenjihyang Drugstore's Oh Nambok.
About 200 pharmacies in Gurye, but these three controlled 70% of the market.
With massive capital and influence, they'd colluded on prices, dumped to undercut, monopolized, and squeezed out small shops, seizing ownership.
In free city Gurye, that wasn't illegal.
Just winners and losers in a dog-eat-dog world.
The autonomous committee didn't care about ownership.
As long as the number of operating pharmacies stayed steady.
The remaining 30%?
Cheonwang Bio Pharma's direct stores, based in Gurye.
Using lax drug sales permits to test new monster raid meds and turn a profit.
Just one exception.
Baek's Drugstore.
They'd planned to swallow it too.
But Baek Hongpyo had thick local support.
He'd taken in orphans from monster waves, fed them, trained them for jobs.
The committee warned hands off.
So they left it alone.
Sparing one? No big deal.
Big mistake.
That little shop was shaking up Gurye's entire drug market solo.
"The ingredient analysis results accurate?"
"We compared them together. All identical."
"Then why different outcomes?"
"That's what I'd like to know."
"This is driving me nuts."
Mosquito poison antidote analysis.
They hadn't sent to one lab.
Gurye's big pharmacies grabbed samples at rumor and shipped to renowned imperial labs independently.
Blue-face mushroom, silk fern, old woman ragwort root, swamp water parsley... toxic plants.
Plus medicinal herbs like medicinal mugwort, moonflower.
Diluted in purified water to exact ratios.
Should've yielded similar effects, right?
"Animal tests bombed too."
"Stink rabbit keeled over sniffing it."
"I tested a drop—nearly died."
These were Gurye's top pharmacists and owners, with mini labs per store.
Same ingredients, but poison instead of antidote.
What about bigger pharma with better tech?
"Heard Cheonwang Bio's analyzing too."
"Results?"
"Same as us. Can't copy yet."
"They'll crack it soon. Just time."
"We know. Problem is now. Can't wait or we're dead."
"No choice. Same old playbook."
"Hoo, been a while since we spilled blood."
Exactly.
That's how they'd conquered Gurye's pharmacy market.
"Let's start. Developer info?"
"Kim Taeju. Basic from autonomous committee."
"Discharged soldier. From Paju... huh? Father Kim Ungbang, colonel? Master rank. Too big a fish."
"Not really."
The association reps eyed YJ's Jo Hoonseok, once Gurye's sales king, puzzled.
"Eldest son? Heir, right? That's huge."
"Surface info. This is fresh intel I dug up. Pass it around."
"Hmm... Mana Rejector? Enlisted 'cause kicked out? Real? Family dirt like that ain't public..."
"Got a Paju contact to ask. Famous there."
Father general, son Mana Rejector.
"Birth mom dead, stepmom Japanese descent Honda Mitsui, two half-sibs. Bet she wants him gone."
"Hah! Classic."
"No contact post-discharge, not even home."
Background? So what?
This was free city Gurye.
Far from Paju.
"Meet first. Don't know Baek's offer, but outbid for sales rights."
"Refuses?"
"Time for work."
Jo Hoonseok grinned slyly.
"Grab sales rights, recipe, or sabotage production. Any one works."
No deal? Intimidate.
No trade? Steal.
Nothing? Eliminate.
That's what led their success.
Samhan Empire Army's Jirisan Monster Defense Legion.
HQ in Sancheong.
Master Oh Jinhyeong, legion commander, got his adjutant's report in the office.
"Found out?"
"Yes, sir. From Gurye autonomous committee."
"Developer?"
"Kim Taeju, male, 29. Detailed via imperial ID."
The mosquito poison antidote exploding in popularity.
Military requested supply too.
Legion's Jirisan jungle strategy: constant surveillance and suppression to prevent waves.
Antidote changed that.
Chance for full sweep op.
But rejected for lack of stock.
"Wait a bit," they said, but Gurye supply alone looked tight.
Couldn't strong-arm with authority.
Impossible to force.
Free city Gurye.
Emperor's decree: minimal state interference, free economy.
Oh Jinhyeong scanned the report slowly.
"Kim Taeju... wait! Discharged soldier? Imperial officer? Awakener?"
"No, sir. Mana Rejector."
"Absurd... ah!"
He spotted the family ties at bottom and understood.
"Kim Ungbang's son. Heard rumors—eldest a Mana Rejector. Why discharge?"
"No reason listed, but unfit for service? Mana Rejector with lieutenant bars..."
"Hmm, plausible."
Anyway, good break.
"Contact Paju. Tell them I want to speak with Colonel Kim."
"Yes, sir!"
Through the father, secure supply—easy. Maybe cheaper, more volume.
Family, right?
Unless disowned.
End of Growing Interest
ⓒ KkucchiKkuchi