Chapter 8
*
Meanwhile, at Incheon Central Ecological Park.
In the dead of night, when not a soul was around.
Despite its name, Central Ecological Park was shrouded in an eerie atmosphere.
As if it were a jungle untouched by human hands.
Bushes, weeds, trees, and other plants had grown to an unnatural size,
radiating the untamed energy of the wild.
The park was eerily quiet, entirely at odds with the otherworldly scene.
That atmosphere, which might almost have seemed peaceful, didn't last long.
Boom!
“Where are you hurrying off to? We haven't even begun yet.”
Kwoooar!
A gigantic monster shattered the forest's silence.
And a woman in black martial-artist garb was chasing it.
She was none other than the S-rank Hunter Cheonhwa.
For some reason, she'd left China for a while,
and although she'd supposedly disappeared from the world, she was now active in neighboring South Korea, of all places, with the Aenghwa Guild.
She was chasing the monster to deal with the uncontrollable Gate Break that had occurred in the ecological park.
Kwoooar—
Perhaps realizing it couldn't escape Cheonhwa, who was chasing it,
the bear-shaped monster began charging at her instead.
The monster easily stood over 20 meters tall.
It looked like a highly dangerous situation to any ordinary person,
“As expected of a beast, you're true to your instincts.”
but Cheonhwa wasn't called one of the top S-rankers for nothing.
“Blackflame Heavenly Blossom One-Flame Blade (黑炎天花一炎刀).”
As she took up her stance and murmured the name of her technique, black flames surrounded the area,
and flames reminiscent of black spider lilies surged from her sword,
Shhk—
cutting clean through the monster's neck as it came within arm's reach.
Rumble—
The monster's severed head, sliced off by Cheonhwa's single strike, flew past her.
Black flames continued to burn at the cut, refusing to go out.
Cheonhwa watched the sight in silence.
Just then.
“…Your skill is truly remarkable.”
“You're here.”
A man wearing something like a black martial-arts uniform appeared beside Cheonhwa.
He spoke as if he'd known her for some time,
maintaining a deferential posture and bowing his head as though addressing someone of high standing.
“Lady Cheonhwa, when do you plan to return to China?”
“…Soon. It seems the time isn't right yet.”
Cheonhwa answered with a nod.
Her clenched fist trembled ever so slightly, where no one could see.
“More importantly, what happened with the matter I asked you to handle?”
“Regarding your previous request, I kept watch on the child you mentioned and confirmed they entered the Tower.”
“Just as I thought…”
Cheonhwa nodded as if she'd already expected as much, then slipped a hand inside her robe.
“And what happened after that?”
“About an hour later, I confirmed they left the Tower carrying what appeared to be mana stones.”
Cheonhwa nodded for him to continue.
“And?”
“They successfully made contact with the broker we arranged.”
“When?”
“Around one this afternoon.”
“One o'clock…”
At the man's words, Cheonhwa looked thoughtful for a moment,
then gestured for him to leave and turned away.
The man stopped her as she turned.
“Lady Cheonhwa, I'm truly sorry, but why did you order us to keep watch on that child?”
“...”
Cheonhwa was silent for a moment at the man's reasonable question.
Then she pulled the hand she'd tucked into her robe back out.
“Potential. A very useful one…”
In her hand was a bottle resembling a potion,
filled with green liquid.
“I'll go there myself at one today.”
“Understood.”
At Cheonhwa's brief command, the man in black vanished in an instant.
Once their voices had faded, only the monster's corpse and the park's silence remained in that corner.
“It won't be long before I put those damn things down.”
She wore a faint smile.
**
“I'm tired…”
I woke up, squinting against the clear sunlight.
Maybe because so much had happened yesterday, my whole body was stiff and exhausted.
More than anything, the thought that I had to go out again today after all that trouble yesterday was weighing on me.
Of course, it was to make money.
“Yawwwn—I could've sworn the broker said they'd send me a photo of the map…”
After checking the rewards I'd gotten from the Tower yesterday,
I'd arranged a deal with a broker I'd barely managed to find online.
Maybe because it wasn't exactly legal, finding one had been a pain in the ass.
I was lucky to find one; otherwise, I might've spent the entire remaining two days just trying to find a broker.
I picked up my phone, which I'd carelessly tossed on the floor, and opened Telegram.
The chat at the top of my Telegram screen was saved as [Broker 1].
I wonder when they sent it.
The chat contained a map link and a photo of a dark back alley.
Gulp—
“Why am I getting so nervous over this?”
I hadn't even left yet,
but the thought of getting involved in something illegal made me nervous for no reason.
Still, when I thought about the money and the quest, I couldn't just back out.
I shook my head and quickly changed clothes.
“Haa… I really should buy some clothes.”
Wearing the same hoodie over and over was starting to feel gross.
Since I was going out to trade the mana stones anyway, I figured I should order some clothes and underwear.
“Well, guess I'd better get going.”
I pulled the hood over my head and stepped outside.
With my beloved weapon, a cheap kitchen knife, in one hand, and the mana stones in a black bag in the other,
I headed to the location marked on my phone's map.
I walked for about thirty minutes after leaving home.
When I checked the navigation on my phone, I could tell I was almost at my destination.
To top it off, I could see a place that looked exactly like the back-alley photo the broker had sent me.
Are people in the underworld really something else?
How had they found such a deserted alley?
Slightly tense, I fiddled with the handle of the kitchen knife in my pocket as I headed deeper into the alley.
‘Hmm… They said it was this way.’
Maybe the meeting spot was farther back in the alley than I'd expected.
Even though I thought I'd gone pretty deep, I still couldn't see the place where the broker had said we'd meet.
‘…Is it over there?’
Just as the thought of turning back crossed my mind,
I finally found the place the broker had mentioned.
I went straight over and began looking for the broker.
They had to be somewhere around here, but even though the meeting time was passing, I couldn't see hide nor hair of the broker.
I was busily searching for the broker at the meeting spot when—
“Waaah!”
A familiar sensation.
The feeling of floating, as if someone had lifted me up.
“You sure did fool me and run off last time.”
And that unnecessarily formal way of speaking.
“H-hello.”
It was Cheonhwa.
How on earth had she known I was here?
And how had she figured out I'd fooled her?
I cautiously raised my head to look at Cheonhwa.
‘Should I play dumb?’
Her gaze was openly fixed on me.
Given the circumstances, it seemed like she'd already found me out,
but I decided to pretend I had no idea and test the waters.
“Fooled you? What are you talking about…”
“Oh? You still intend to play dumb after all this?”
Hmm… She definitely knew.
Maybe she'd investigated me for some reason, whether through her wealth or her authority as an S-rank Hunter.
“Ahaha… I really don't know what you're talking about.”
“...”
When I played dumb again, Cheonhwa looked at me with narrowed eyes.
I tried to avoid her gaze while gauging her reaction as slyly as I could.
“Are you still going to pretend you don't know?”
Cheonhwa pulled something out and held it up in front of me.
‘S…moothie?’
It was my Goblin Head Smoothie, the one I'd lost and spent ages looking for.
How had Cheonhwa gotten her hands on it?
As I thought it over, the answer suddenly struck me.
“Damn it—I looked everywhere for that!”
Back at the Gate, when Cheonhwa had found me and carried me out,
I'd thought she still hadn't figured out who I was.
Apparently, she'd checked my hoodie pocket when she slung me over her shoulder.
“So, you've finally admitted it.”
“I… Give it back!”
I felt like a rabbit caught by a hunter.
No matter how much I struggled while she held me by the scruff of my neck, I couldn't reach the smoothie.
I twisted my whole body and even tried punching her, but she didn't so much as blink, as if my blows were nothing but a joke.
Cheonhwa had been watching me with an inscrutable look, but at last she spoke.
“Calm down. I'm sorry I took it, but if you'll just do me a favor, I'll give this potion back and grant your request, too.”
“Why would I do you a favor? What reason do I have to trust you?”
She seemed to be acting nice, but I couldn't trust her.
She was still holding me like this and tormenting me. How was I supposed to trust her?
Besides, she wasn't even a Hunter from our country, but one from China. Why should I trust her?
How was I supposed to know you weren't some kind of spy?
Just as I was struggling once more to get free of her hand,
Cheonhwa spoke.
“You may not believe me, but listen. I'm not some secret agent or spy like you think.”
“…W-what?”
Cheonhwa stared straight into my eyes.
What was this… Could S-rankers read other people's thoughts?
Or had she already figured out everything I might be thinking?
I was starting to get a little scared.
“H-how am I supposed to believe that?”
“If I were a spy, wouldn't I have kidnapped you instead of making a deal?”
“Besides, I like it here more than my own country.”
…Is that okay?
Somehow, hearing a martial artist say she didn't like her own country shattered my image of her.
Or maybe that article had been true after all.
“Anyway, to get to the point, I'll pay you twice what you were going to get for those mana stones.”
“N-no, but how can I believe— Huh?”
She dropped a bombshell in response to my continued distrust.
“T-twice as much…? R-really?”
My brain short-circuited at the words twice as much.
Mana stones were currently worth at least four million won, and I had three of them to sell.
‘Three would be twelve million… so twice that would be…’
Even a simple calculation put it over twenty million won.
“J-just tell me what you need! I'm amazing at doing favors!”
“Good grief…”
Call me a pathetic bootlicker if you want.
But it was twice as much.
Not 10% or 30%, but a whole 100% extra.
And you'd still hold your head high after hearing that?
You'd have to be pretty rich or an idealist to do that.
When I suddenly started groveling and changed my attitude, Cheonhwa looked at me in disbelief.
Her gaze did make me feel a little awkward, but…
It was too much money to ignore a figure like +100% profit.