Chapter 6
Five Azure Demon King, who usually never says a word, was just lurking as usual.
Suddenly, he said something I couldn't understand.
'Harvest my organs? What does that mean?'
Meanwhile, the others seemed properly triggered by Five Azure Demon King's chat and were making a huge fuss.
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: What kind of nonsense is this bastard spouting?!
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: Lord Demon King, mind your words!
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: Comparing us to demonic cultivators is insulting!
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: I must say, I'm different from the other seniors.
"Huh?"
That was a strange way to defend himself.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Hit them with facts and the old fogies can't say a thing, huh?
"Lord Five Azure Demon King, are you a person...? No, Korean...? No, are you a hunter?"
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: That is the Demon King.
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: He's just a beast with too much time on his hands, wandering around everywhere. Pay him no mind.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Can you feel the difference in power?
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: Damn you! Do you think we're the same as you, just breathing easy in a cushy position?
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: The difference in talent is insane, right? Some people level up just by breathing, while others have to put on a whole show to level up.
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: Isn't Lord Demon King the oldest among us?
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Shut your yap.
So he's a demon beast king or something? He's awfully good at this.
Using lines he picked up online makes him seem like a person, too.
And his messages come in really fast.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: You seem kindhearted for a member of the human race, so I'll tell you something that'll do you good.
"What is it?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Those guys are being nice to you because you're from a different plane and cultivation world from them.
"What's a plane? And what's a cultivation world?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: A plane is a dimension, and a cultivation world is a planet.
So did that Red Cloud Thread I got earlier mean it could wrap around the entire Earth?
The scale of it all is too big for me to understand.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Anyway, they have no chance of ever meeting you, so they're enjoying themselves with no consequences.
"Enjoying themselves with no consequences?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Yeah. If you were even in the same plane, they'd be searching for you with bloodshot eyes.
"Why would they come looking for me?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Who knows? You're useful for all sorts of things. They could make pills out of you, use you as a furnace cauldron, or even switch into your body like getting a new ride.
"What does that mean...?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: If they want to spice things up, they'll erase your soul and turn you into a puppet, or modify your body until you're a monster.
"Huh?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: That demonic sect bastard pretending to be AFK would grind up your body to make human pills, then pull out your soul and make you work as a ghost servant.
"What are human pills?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: They grind up people and make medicine out of them! Those bastards are cannibals who eat people to raise their cultivation!
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: How dare you lump us in with lowly demonic cultivators!
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: But you eat our kids all the time because they're good for you, don't you? Tsk, tsk.
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: You eat us, too!
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: You started it! You eat demon beasts you've burned alive, you bastard!
Do they really eat people?
No, more importantly, there was so much I didn't know.
"Then what's a furnace cauldron?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: A sex partner.
"A sex partner? You mean the kind I'm thinking of?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Yep, that kind.
"Pervert... But then, what does 'burning at the stake' mean?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Yeah, that's the key point. Those bastards are worse than the KKK.
"You know about the KKK, too?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Yeah. Those bastards look human and talk like humans, but they eat you because you're a different species. They're total non-humans.
For a moment, I couldn't think of anything to say.
The people who'd helped me when I was struggling and even sent me gifts were grinding people up, making them into sex partners, and turning them into puppets?
"Lord Five Azure Demon King, is what you said true?"
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: We don't turn people into human pills! Believe me!
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: But you ate the demon race, right?
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: We only teach those who attack us a lesson. Honestly! Lord Demon King, please don't make such reckless accusations.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: You turned her into a Jewel Bar because she was prettier than you, right?
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: I haven't made human pills or furnace cauldrons. Don't worry.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: You made puppet dolls and went, 'Go, Pikamon!' and all that shit, didn't you?
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: I haven't done anything at all.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: You took one of our kids and made them into your furnace cauldron! You beast-eating bastard!
He was single-handedly laying into them.
The fact that nobody could refute him made it sound like they'd really done something awful.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Anyway, if those guys ever ask you to visit, or say they'll come to where you are, don't let them.
"Uh... Right. No, how could they do that?!"
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: They charge at me trying to kill me. If I let them go, they'll just stab me in the back again later.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: It wasn't for no reason. We only did that to those who attacked us without knowing their place.
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: I only used the dead. I never did anything like that to anyone living.
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: I only did it because I fell in love at first sight.
While they were all busy making excuses, Blood River Patriarch, who'd been quiet until now, finally spoke.
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: So what if we eat people? Why make a fuss over it?
"What?!"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: The others are at least tolerable, but that bastard is the absolute worst piece of shit.
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: Kid, live a long time yourself. Then you'll see whether you do it to keep living or not.
No, what was with him coolly admitting he was a cannibal?
"How long have you lived?"
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: About 4,000 years. You should try living that long, too.
"4,000 years?!"
That meant he'd been born when Grandfather Dangun founded Gojoseon and was still alive today!
My mind went blank.
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: You'll live that long, too. Why are you so surprised?
"I'm going to live for 4,000 years? I don't plan to live that long."
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: What are you talking about? Whether you're an animal or a person, isn't it natural to want to live a long time?
"What's the point of living that long? Wouldn't you get bored? Is everyone else like that, too?"
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: Yep. This place is full of crazy bastards obsessed with immortality.
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: You say that like you're any different.
ㄴFive Azure Demon King: I was born this way! I'm a ridiculously talented freak who levels up just by breathing. What do you want me to do about it? If you're jealous, you should've been born a demon beast.
Five Azure Demon King really knew how to get under their skin.
No, was this really the time to be impressed?
"I mean, even if you want to live a long time... Do you really make human pills, furnace cauldrons, and puppets?"
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: Your cultivation world must be like that, too. The strong taking from the weak is only natural.
"It isn't like that."
Well, there were a few things that came to mind.
"It's not like it never happens, but it's pretty rare."
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: Where is there a cultivation world like that?
"I'm the only cultivator here."
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: Really? Then isn't that place a grotto-heaven blessed land? You could become its king.
Since when were we talking about kings?
"There are so many hunters here. And there are lots of really strong people."
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: They're still mortals of the lower realm. No matter how much the kings of the lower realm boast about themselves, sending one disciple from our sect would be enough to finish them all. We decide who the king is.
"Is there really any reason to go that far?"
ㄴBlood River Patriarch: It's not a matter of why. We do it because we can.
I didn't really understand.
Maybe our values were just too different.
Wouldn't it be better to earn a decent living, buy beef, and sleep in a warm house?
Why struggle for thousands of years?
Thousands of years was too long for me to even imagine, but still, why go out of your way to live that long?
It seemed our values were completely at odds.
After the silence stretched on, Jade-Cold Ice Empress spoke up.
She sounded like an adult comforting a child after telling them a scary story.
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: I swear upon the Dao that in my life, I've never harmed anyone without reason.
"Huh?"
ㄴJade-Cold Ice Empress: So don't worry about such pointless talk. Hurry and go up. There's something you need to do there.
"Swear upon the Dao? What does that mean?"
ㄴTaehyun Zhenren: It's a Great Dao Oath. It means you'll be punished by the heavens if you lie.
"Punished by the heavens? So it's like saying you'd only swear to it if you were telling the truth?"
ㄴTaebaek Sword Lord: It's real. If you swear upon the Great Dao and lie, you won't be able to escape the heavenly tribulation in the future.
ㄴHeavenly Secrets Pavilion Master: Lies become inner demons, making it harder to endure the heavenly tribulation.
Was it like swearing on your mother's life?
Did cultivators have to avoid lying?
They all sounded so serious that it didn't seem like a lie.
Would I really be punished by the heavens?
Still, at least Five Azure Demon King had warned me what to watch out for.
If they asked me to come visit later, or said they were coming here, I could just ban them, right?
It didn't seem so bad if I thought of it as an online course.
"Okay. I'll head to the fourth floor for now."
I hurried toward the fourth floor.
1.
<Fourth-Floor Public Field>
"Everyone, run just like I taught you earlier!"
At the hunter's shout, the other hunters scattered in every direction with practiced ease.
'It feels rewarding seeing them move just the way I taught them.'
The hunter who remained was named Han Seong-woo.
He was a bus driver who was quite popular with newbies.
Other bus drivers hurriedly took their passengers to the target floor to save time, then called it a day. He was different.
He carefully explained what to watch out for and even let them practice on monsters that looked manageable.
He was a best-in-class driver who answered people's questions without getting annoyed.
And right now, his life was in danger.
"Ghh..."
Han Seong-woo was limping away with an injured leg.
A Great Tusk Wild Boar had charged at one of his passengers a moment earlier.
The monster, known as a wild boar in Korea, had attacked them.
He'd thrown himself in front of it and saved the passenger, which was all well and good.
But he hadn't managed to dodge in time, and the boar had injured his leg with its tusk.
His pants were soaked in blood, so it looked like the muscles in his leg had been torn.
Besides, unlike wild boars in nature, these creatures were smart. Climbing a tree or hiding wouldn't work against them.
They were troublesome enough to notice his injury and slowly close in around him.
'At this rate, I'm really going to end up as pig food.'
He was truly backed into a corner.
Then a small figure caught his eye.
Someone was walking up ahead.
Han Seong-woo immediately recognized her.
"That kid is..."
It was the NPC he'd seen on the first floor.
She was so cute that he'd made offerings to her a few times as he passed by.
He'd even taken pictures and saved them on his phone.
'But her outfit's different. Now she really looks like an NPC.'
Before, she'd worn clothes like those of ordinary Koreans. Now she had on some strange outfit.
The clothes rippled like they were alive.
'Now's not the time to think about that.'
More importantly, he remembered a video that had appeared on the Hunter Gallery a while ago.
The streamer had called for help, and the NPC had spammed Fireballs until the horned rabbits vanished.
That NPC was definitely friendly and would respond if you called for help.
He shouted urgently, just like the person in the video had.
"Kid! Help me!!"
The NPC must have heard him, because she whipped her head around.
Then, just like in the video, she started swinging her arms around to warm up.
'It's exactly like the video.'
He grew desperate.
If he waited for her to finish warming up, he felt like he'd die first.
"Hurry up and help me! I really think I'm going to die!!"
At his desperate shout, the NPC stopped moving, pursed her lips, and then...
ㅡ Wheeeet!
She suddenly whistled.
"What is she doing?!"
At that moment.
A dagger shot up from the NPC's arms.
ㅡ Shing!
The dagger cut through the air, defying gravity.
It swerved wildly in every direction as it flew toward them, just like that scene from a superhero movie.
'Yondu?!'
The only difference was a long red thread trailing behind the dagger.
Like a needle and thread, the dagger stitched through the air and pierced the boars in an instant.
"Squeeeek!"
"Keeek!"
"Squeeeek!"
ㅡ Shrrr!
Nearly ten boars were instantly turned into pork stitched together with red thread.
Then the thread began to retract, dragging the boars toward the NPC.
And the moment the boars' carcasses reached the NPC...
ㅡ Pop!
They vanished completely without a trace.
"She's definitely an NPC."
Han Seong-woo, who'd been staring in shock, suddenly looked up at the empty air.
The drone camera was flying around without a problem.
'It got all of that!'
He thought he could put an end to the debate that had set the Hunter Gallery on fire today.
As Han Seong-woo let out a sigh of relief, the NPC approached.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. You saved my life. Thank you!"
Han Seong-woo thanked her.
But even after he thanked her, the NPC just stood there, staring up at him.
"Don't you have anything?"
"Huh? What do you mean, anything?"
Ah! He remembered what had happened in the video.
He was sure the streamer had given her some oil grass.
'Maybe I should give her some materials?'
Han Seong-woo hurriedly rummaged through his bag and handed over some junk items.
But she didn't look happy.
"Anything else?"
She didn't seem to like them. Had the pattern changed?
He searched through his bag again.
All he had left were four lunchboxes he'd bought for the passengers, minus the ones he'd handed out.
'They were expensive lunchboxes from a lunchbox shop, though.'
On the off chance, he held them out.
"This is all I've got right now..."
At that moment.
The NPC's frowning eyes lit up.
"You're giving me all of these?"
Her tone had changed completely.
He nodded without thinking.
"Yeah. You can have them all."
"Really? Thanks!"
The moment he handed the lunchboxes to the NPC, they vanished without a trace, too.
'She's definitely an NPC.'
Han Seong-woo decided he'd go to the gallery today and put an end to this debate.