Chapter 10
[Withdrawal 300,000 won - Details: [Physical Enhancement - Gold] skill usage fee]
KABOOOM!—
“U-Unnie, it's collapsing!….”
“It's fine. It won't collapse from this. If something this small could bring it down, even an earthquake would make all the buildings around here sink, wouldn't it?”
- Aaaah, it's collapsingggg
- So you'd have to be able to put up with that much to live with that noona…
- She's my wifeㅎㅎ
- ?
When we arrived at the location indicated by the email, what we found was a more ordinary-looking commercial building than I'd expected.
Of course, seeing where it was located, I assumed it would be hidden, so I'd brought along a tool, too.
[Ludo's Staff (Staff of Ludo) - Cooldown: 7 days]
It was one of the treasures I'd brought with me when I returned to Earth.
At first, I thought it might be a magic-related treasure because it was a staff, but I was a little disappointed to find it was just a simple navigation tool.
On top of that, its performance was rather mediocre. All it could do was locate nearby passageways.
Its one advantage, though, was that no matter what concealment magic had been cast, it would ignore it all and always find a passageway.
Anyway, when I used the staff to find the passage leading underground, I saw that it had been blocked off with a huge pile of iron plates.
There was probably a proper way to open it, though.
Squeeze—
KABOOOM!—
“There, open.”
That was a method for people who didn't have enough strength.
If it opens when you knock, why bother looking for a key?
“Ugh… r-really….”
- [LushGreen] She sure knows how to knock;
- Such a polite young man
- But is it okay to stream while breaking in like this?
- Yeah, they might be watching, too
- [I'mGonnaDie] This is high-level taunting, meow. She's basically saying, 'I know you can't beat me, so come try.'
- By the way, where's Terra?
“Terra? They're at home. They're probably playing a game by now. You don't bring a little kid somewhere like this.”
Who knows what they might see.
Of course, Terra said they weren't a hatchling, but to me they just looked like a little kid….
I didn't think it was right to bring them somewhere like this, emotionally speaking.
Of course, in exchange, last night I had every single stone in the house processed.
[3,700,000 won]
I'd duplicated some money in advance.
Clomp—
Following the stairs down, we came to a hallway that looked like it belonged in an office building.
However, there wasn't a single person walking around in the hallway.
Was this a kind of disguise, too?
So that even if someone found the place, it would look like an ordinary office?
Well… I wasn't quite sure what the point was.
I'd never decorated or disguised my own lair, after all.
As I took another step, thinking that over—
Clang!—
A dagger wielded by one of the gang members who'd leaped out from the side swung at me.
The one who blocked it wasn't me, but Ha-eun with her sword.
“Oh, nice counter.”
“What's with the 'nice counter'?! Why were you just standing there?!”
“Because I knew you'd block it?”
Come to think of it, they really were trying to kill me with that swing.
Their technique was pretty sloppy, but they aimed right for my temple.
Of course, even if they'd stabbed me, I wouldn't have died.
‘That wouldn't even leave a scratch on my scales.’
Tap—
I grabbed the gang member's wrist.
Then—
[Withdrawal 200,000 won - Details: [Physical Enhancement - Gold] skill usage fee]
Slam!—
I used a shoulder throw to slam them straight into the floor.
I didn't really need to save money anymore, did I?
I could top it up every day with Terra.
…Though Terra would have to work pretty hard for it.
“Ghk….”
“All right~ Take your pick. Tell me where your boss is and be done with the beating, or keep taking hits while you talk. Which'll it be?”
“Aagh! Where does that strength come from—”
Looks like they weren't ready to talk yet.
Crack—
“Aaaagh!”
“Whoa, keep going and your arm's going to come off.”
“T-Third floor! On the third basement floor—”
Whack!—
After the guy confessed, I struck the back of his neck and knocked him out, then looked around.
There are still more of them hiding.
- D-Damn
- The streamer finally ripped a person's arm off…
- She hasn't ripped it off yet
- She ripped a golem apart before. You think she can't do the same to a person?ㅋㅋ
“All right, you guys hiding, come out now. If you come out quietly, I won't hurt you.”
“….”
Hm, so nobody's coming out?
[Withdrawal 100,000 won - Details: [Acceleration] skill usage fee]
Bang!—
I sprinted down the hallway at full speed.
***
Crack!—
Bang!—
What was happening in the facility wasn't a fight… but a one-sided beating.
They couldn't even keep up with my speed in the first place.
[Withdrawal 200,000 won - Details: [Mana Charge] skill usage fee]
[Withdrawal 50,000 won - Details: [Magic Missile] skill usage fee]
Dududung!—
I fired off small missiles, then turned around when I sensed someone behind me.
“W-Wait—!”
Wham!—
They tried to say something, but I grabbed the gang member by the neck and slammed them into the wall anyway.
They were Awakened, so a hit like that wouldn't break their neck.
“U-Uaaah!”
Then, seeing another attacker charging at me with a knife raised high, I took one step toward them, lowered my stance, and—
[Withdrawal 50,000 won - Details: [Acceleration] skill usage fee]
Wham!—
“Gah!—”
I kicked them upward from below.
As they flew diagonally into the distance and slammed into the wall, I scanned the area and spoke.
“Whew~ Let's see. One, two, three, four… fifteen? Good grief~ They're all human, so they don't even drop mana stones. Ah! Should I at least pick their pockets?”
“Unnie.”
“What! They're bad guys anyway!”
- ㅋㅋ
- Sometimes the streamer is kind of messed up
- Sometimes?
- All the timeㅋㅋ
- She was so cool just a second ago
- Wow; when she uses skills nonstop, it's just ridiculous;
- [LushGreen] Show us some other magic, too
[I'mGonnaDie donated 100,000 won!]
[You should be fighting instead of farming, meow]
“Huh? I'd already beaten them all up.”
- [I'mGonnaDie] There's a staircase leading to the boss room up ahead, meow
- What the hellㅋㅋ What game are you playing?
- Isn't this basically a game to the streamer?
- Might be easier than a game
- They're insanely good at games, too. They just get banned every time, so they don't play
- At that point, life must be boring
A boss room, huh.
It didn't seem like a bad way to describe it.
If I cleared it, I'd get the World Tree's Leaf, too. The rewards were pretty great.
Ha… now that I think about it, I want to get my hands on it even sooner.
“Don't worry, guys. It's not as boring as you'd think. Collecting treasures brings something new every day.”
- Uh, why is she blushing?
- Ooh
- Sometimes you're pretty cute^^
- [NotAtAllSuspicious] Gasp!!
As we descended the last flight of stairs, what came into view was an underground parking garage, completely different from anything we'd seen so far.
But.
“Um, Ha-eun.”
“Yes?”
“Wasn't there no parking lot here when we looked from above?”
“Uh… I think so…?”
“Then what is this place? Does it connect to the neighboring building?”
Would they really go to all that trouble just to conceal it?
They must've really hated getting caught.
Now that I looked, every single car here was a luxury brand, too.
How much was all this worth….
Could I digitize the treasures and sell them off?
…No.
Come to think of it, if these had been obtained illegally, that could cause problems.
- This really does look like a treasure vault, doesn't it?
- Let's steal just one, shall we?
- Wow, legendary
“I'm not interested in cars—”
Thud!—
“Hm?”
Just then, a heavy noise came from one corner of the parking garage.
When I looked over, a lavish door, completely out of place in a parking garage, caught my eye.
Crash!—
“Ugh… h-help—”
At that moment, the door flew open and a blood-soaked gang member was flung outside.
A huge man came out after him, wearing brass knuckles as he flexed his hands.
Wham!—
Wham!—
Wham!—
He grabbed the gang member by the collar and kept driving his fists into him.
“You! You piece of shit! Talking back to me!”
He looked at the unconscious gang member and, apparently still worked up, hurled him at a car.
Crash!—
- Whoa, what the hell;
- Isn't he actually dead at this point?
- Ah, shit, the age-restriction filter kicked in
- Kids, get out of hereㅋㅋ
- That's Lee Ho-jin, right?
- So after getting his Hunter license revoked, he's been going around doing this?
- He was sketchy even back when he was a gangster
Gangster background?
He seemed more famous than I'd thought.
The viewers could recognize him, too.
“Ha, who the hell are you? Who sent you, breaking into my place?”
“Who are we? Uh, well… Hunters who came to arrest you? Streamers?”
“Jesus, you people are total nutjobs, too.”
He walked toward us, taking a deep drag from his cigarette with his bloodied hand.
“Haa… Well, looks like you're two of the people those bastards were after. You two think you can handle big brother?”
Ah, so that's the vibe?
And he doesn't even know who I am, does he?
Looks like he's the type to start trouble and then not bother managing it.
Mm, I've seen plenty like this.
Of course, most of them were executed in coups or died in assassinations.
“Both of you are pretty good-looking. It'd be a shame if you got hurt.”
As he said that, he cracked his knuckles, as if trying to intimidate us, and came closer.
He was almost a full head taller than me, looking down at me with eyes filled with intense greed.
Interesting.
I like greed, too.
“Frozen with fear? Well, I guess that can happen after seeing me.”
He reached out his huge hand.
His target seemed to be my chest.
Did he feel lust for this body?
Or was he lusting after the idea of holding a woman in his arms?
Hard to say.
Of course, more than that—
“Heh….”
“Huh?”
“Treasure.”
My greed seemed to be greater.
“…!”
Tap—
Lee Ho-jin sensed the threat and quickly backstepped, putting some distance between us.
Slash!—
But my claws were faster. They grazed his cheek, and thick, sticky blood trickled out.
“You fucking… I was going to go easy on you since you have a pretty face.”
Though mostly buried beneath his clothes, I managed to catch a glimpse of it.
That necklace he was wearing.
So that's the World Tree's Leaf?
I finally found it.
“Pretty….”
“…Unnie?”
Whatever filthy thoughts that guy had about me—
That didn't matter.
They were just delusions that could never come true in reality.
More than that, I wanted to examine more closely the potential of the first treasure I'd encountered in this world.
What kind of light did it hold?
What did it represent?
And… how powerful were its abilities?
The moment those thoughts began to pass through my mind.
Along with the small leaf that suddenly began to glow.
- Hey, what is that?
- ?
- It has a passive like that?
- [I'mGonnaDie] That's so busted, meow
“Tsk.”
The wound on Lee Ho-jin's cheek healed at an incredible speed.