Chapter 64. Pre-Contract
The morning after the kidnapping incident was wrapped up.
♬~ ♩♪~♪
Seonwoo-yeon moved her hand to respond to the ringing bell in her pocket.
“Hello?”
Once she answered, a familiar voice flowed through the receiver.
– I tried reaching out because I had a missed call.
It was Kim Gi-ryeo’s voice.
A missed call, huh? Seonwoo-yeon pondered for a moment and recalled the previous event.
Ah, right, I called this person while talking to Ahn Yoon-seung for a bit.
“Oh, that call?”
– What did you need to contact me about?
“Nothing in particular. I’m sorry for bothering you for no reason.”
Seonwoo-yeon politely apologized, and then suddenly blurted out a thought.
“By the way, I called about two days ago. Did you happen to go into a Gate or something?”
It was too long a time to simply assume he forgot to charge his phone.
– No, I got kidnapped for a bit.
The reply that followed was shocking.
Kidnapped. That’s not a word that casually comes up in everyday conversation.
“Excuse me? What?”
– I said I got kidnapped. But I’m fine now. I just got all my stuff back.
“Wait, please tell me more. Where were you kidnapped to?”
Seonwoo-yeon urged, startled, but the actual victim didn’t seem very interested in the topic.
– It’s already over…
“Still!”
– It was the Nachalsawon.
“Pardon?”
– The terrorist hideout you mentioned. I was held there and then managed to escape.
The Nachalsawon targeting Kim Gi-ryeo. There were a mountain of questions Seonwoo-yeon wanted to ask, but she prioritized this one first.
“Are you, um, okay?”
At that moment, a sound like wind brushing by came from the microphone on the receiver.
Had they laughed? Or were they sighing?
– I’m fine.
Seonwoo-yeon let out a tiny sigh of relief after hearing his assurance. But just then.
– Anyway, I’m glad it wasn’t urgent. I’ll hang up now.
“Wait! Just a moment.”
– I’ll be busy today, so I won’t be reachable. If you have something to say, just text me.
Click.
He hung up the phone.
Seonwoo-yeon stared blankly at the black phone screen and muttered softly.
“What in the world happened…?”
There were still many things she was curious about.
But she couldn’t just hold up a busy person and ask a barrage of questions.
Seonwoo-yeon had no choice but to seek another way.
Since she was close with many police officers, getting information about what Kim Gi-ryeo had mentioned wouldn’t be too hard.
“Hello? Detective Cha, this is Seonwoo-yeon. I called because I wanted to ask you something.”
However, the outcome of that case was unexpected.
“…It was a disaster?”
Not long after, she received news from the police.
– Yes, yes. It’ll be in the news soon, but I’ll tell you anyway.
The cult Nachalsawon had a senior member arrested last night.
However, the circumstances leading up to the arrest were quite the spectacle.
Because the Nachalsawon was organized like a loose structure, tracking their hideouts was incredibly difficult.
For some reason, it seemed that Kang Chang-ho had attacked the great teacher’s hideout.
So when Seonwoo-yeon asked Kang Chang-ho how he knew, he simply said he was there to rescue Kim Gi-ryeo.
Conversely, Kim Gi-ryeo claimed he was a kidnapping victim and that he knew nothing about it…
“Wow.”
The testimony of the brainwasher who survived there played a crucial role.
That man, who worked as a supplier for Nachalsawon members, went into a fit when Kim Gi-ryeo’s name came up during the interrogation.
“Shaking, were they?”
– It was a complete frenzy. They were shouting that he was a demon disguised as a human.
“Isn’t it a bit strange? Why would you be so scared of someone you tortured?”
– According to them, it was all the doing of that F-Class. They claimed he got deliberately captured to infiltrate the cult.
“…”
– Hahaha, but does that even make sense? Honestly, who would know when they’d get kidnapped?
“…”
– Anyway, they’re just making excuses. The victim was bewildered, saying, “What are you talking about?”
Seonwoo-yeon dropped the phone from her hand.
– Seonwoo-yeon Hunter?
A scene from a summer night flashed through her mind.
Under the dim moonlight, a clean-cut Awakened person looking down at others while wearing handcuffs.
“Thanks for making time despite being busy.”
– Oh, it’s nothing. The help I received from you was significant.
Click.
Seonwoo-yeon hurriedly ended the call.
“Could it be that Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter…?”
Her tense face reflected in the darkened screen.
*
Around 11 AM.
At a cafe near Sindorim Station.
“Hold the vanilla latte, no coffee, please.”
“Excuse me?”
“And also add an iced Americano.”
For an Alphauri, coffee shops weren’t the most welcoming places.
But this time, there was no choice.
If they went to a restaurant like that, they’d be gorged in no time.
“So, why did you suddenly want to meet?”
Clink.
As the drinks were placed down, a brief question flowed out.
I lifted my gaze to observe the opposite side.
There sat Kang Chang-ho, an S-Class Hunter of South Korea, prominently.
His large build looked uncomfortable on the cafe’s sofa, with hair tinged bluish-purple.
At one point, I wondered why his hair was so uniquely colored.
It seems Earthlings occasionally have hair change to a cold hue as a side effect of awakening.
‘Hmm.’
Let’s put reality avoidance aside for now.
“First of all, thank you for coming out like this. The reason I called you, Hunter Kang Chang-ho, is…”
I struggled to find the words. Kang Chang-ho was watching me with his arms crossed.
“To express my gratitude.”
“Hmm?”
However, the reaction was unexpected, as his eyes widened in surprise.
“Since the police investigation made everything chaotic, I couldn’t properly thank you yesterday. I’m really grateful.”
“Ah.”
Now we were getting to the main point.
“Um, but… while I’m thankful for saving me, you were still watching me, right? Could you please stop that?”
I said it sincerely.
Seeing my serious demeanor, Kang Chang-ho didn’t offer any hasty excuses.
“I don’t want to.”
But being this brazen wasn’t okay, dude.
“You don’t want to?”
“Why? You got help because of me.”
“Are you seriously saying that? If you keep acting like this…”
“Like what? Should I report you or something?”
Hmm.
The S-Class Hunter took a sip of his coffee, then continued leisurely.
“Go ahead. I’m a 20-something Awakened male, and I’ve been stalked recently. Tell the police that.”
I wondered how they would respond.
Kang Chang-ho smirked confidently.
“This is why I love Korea. The law doesn’t work properly.”
“Ugh…”
“If you have enough money, there’s no better country to live in.”
Hearing that made irritation bubble up inside me.
Not only was I reincarnated as an F-Class, but I also couldn’t even deal with that alien stalker.
So I couldn’t hold back and blurted out a repressed comment.
“You’re an [Enhancement Heart] holder, right?”
Since the moment I discovered that skill on Pixiwiki, I had been thinking about it continuously.
[Enhancement Heart]
[Description: Kill a strong person to steal their skills.]
“If not, I can’t explain your actions.”
“Oh really?”
“No idea how a trash like me caught your eye, but you’ve been circling around me to make me your sacrificial offering for Enhancement Heart, right?”
“Hmm.”
“The reason you haven’t killed me so far is that you weren’t sure if I qualify as a ‘strong person’ for the conditions of the Enhancement Heart.”
The blue-haired S-Class Hunter fell into a long silence at the mention of the Enhancement Heart.
And after a long while, he finally spoke his first words.
“Yeah.”
A refreshing admission.
“Close enough.”
Kang Chang-ho was indeed an [Enhancement Heart] holder.
A chill ran down my spine.
‘Honestly, I didn’t want to know much about that!’
Had I known it would be this terrifying, I wouldn’t have prodded.
Kang Chang-ho himself confirmed it—he was targeting me as a skill theft offering.
‘Ugh.’
But the horrifying part didn’t end there.
“Well, since the Enhancement Heart is out in the open, maybe I should mention this.”
He began to speak with a strange remark.
“Actually, I’ve been wanting to propose something to you for a while.”
“A proposal?”
“In this Dungeon Shock era, it’s not a bad condition. Once this deal goes through, you won’t worry about living expenses anymore and your safety will be guaranteed for life.”
Guarantee of living and safety.
It certainly held a charm, but the problem lay with the cost that would follow.
“How old is Kim Gi-ryeo, by the way?”
“24, I believe.”
“You’re younger than I expected.”
Kang Chang-ho suddenly asked my age in the middle of the conversation, then continued with his next sentence.
“Then, to get straight to the point…”
The condition of the deal he was offering was just one.
“Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter, would you mind dying by my hand at age 34?”
“…!”
“Just promise that, and I’ll make sure you live like a noble while you’re alive.”
As soon as I heard that, cold sweat streamed down my back.
It had been several months since I escaped from my hellish home planet.
I thought I was finally enjoying a new life, and now? He wants me to die in just 10 years?
“How old are you this year, Mr. Kang Chang-ho?”
“31.”
“Then think carefully for yourself. Would you want to die in three years? 34 is such a young age!”
Naturally, I rejected it.
Honestly, I thought it was nonsense. But it seemed he had a different perspective.
“Is this that ridiculous for you to just get up and leave?”
Kang Chang-ho calmly spoke as he looked up at me, preparing to leave.
“For me, ten years is a long wait, and besides, Hunters have short life expectancies anyway.”
“Life expectancy?”
“Even those respected A-Classes can die if they make one wrong move against a monster. Do you really think it’s worth scraping by to save up for retirement in this world?”
“…”
“Who knows what’ll happen in the future?”
“Huh.”
“Instead of that, living life to its fullest when you’re young isn’t too bad. I’ll support you with at least 50 million won every month.”
“…”
“And you can have as many houses and cars as you want, too.”
Kang Chang-ho expressed his thoughts without changing his expression.
“I assure you, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone willing to take this deal among the other bottom-tier Hunters.”
Bottom-tier Hunters, huh.
Oh yeah, well put.
“Kang Chang-ho Hunter, you’re forgetting something….”
I stopped trying to leave and sat back down on the sofa.
“The condition for using Enhancement Heart is to kill a ‘strong person,’ right?”
“Yeah.”
“While I don’t know the precise criteria, F-Class wouldn’t fit the category of a strong person.”
“True.”
“Well, that settles it. I’m genuinely F-Class! Don’t get me wrong; killing me would get you nothing.”
I expressed my grievance.
But Kang Chang-ho’s reaction was subtle.
He propped his chin with one hand and simply rolled his eyes in apathy.
“If that’s the case, how did you manage to tackle Golden Fragrance? The police said you were the Awakened person who took down Grid.”
I swiftly answered that question as well.
Catching Grid was purely a matter of luck, and all I did was slip on the ice.
It was an absolutely undeniable truth.
“Hahaha.”
Upon hearing the details of the Gate raid, the S-Class Hunter laughed out loud.
“You slipped and accidentally defeated the boss?”
“If you don’t believe me, just ask another Awakened who was there during Golden Fragrance…”
“So you’re going this route, huh?”
Kang Chang-ho stared at me with a smile, then finally spoke.
“Then how are you holding up right now?”
“Pardon?”
“Take a look around you.”
The surroundings?
I turned my gaze. Only then did I finally comprehend what he meant.
“Ah.”
The customers who had been sporadically seated were quietly fainted.
Moreover, the cashier staff at the far counter was frozen, her complexion turned pale.
That meant…
“I’ve been gradually increasing the pressure since earlier, but I honestly didn’t expect it to reach this point before anyone was normal.”
Kang Chang-ho had continuously released magic power throughout our conversation.
So subtly that not even a great mage would notice.
Damn it.
In my hometown, this amount of magic power was what even infants threw around, so I got used to it without realizing it…!
“Suddenly gone quiet, huh?”
Grind.
That S-Class Hunter casually asked while resting his arm on the table.
“Just what is your real Awakening rank?”
To be honest, answering wasn’t hard. But I had to rephrase my response a bit.
‘Hey, you jerk! I’m F-Class, F-Class! How many times do I have to repeat that I’m bottom-tier trash!’
Saying that would only worsen the situation.
