Thinking back, getting eight artifacts from the Dwarf Party was an absolute jackpot.
‘Nothing. None.’
I delved further into the first hunting ground, but due to the dungeon’s expanding nature, it was getting harder to meet any Hunters. Finding a villain among them would be even tougher.
Perrk!
“Kyyaaaak!!”
– ‘Corrupted Sea Nymph’ has been defeated!
– You have gained a very minimal amount of experience points.
‘Can’t you just die quietly?’
It’s quite a mystery how someone can scream like that upon having their head burst open.
Though the hunt for villains was delayed, I managed to defeat the ‘Corrupted Sea Nymph’ and steal the skill [Blue Mine] through [Larceny].
[Blue Mine] fused with the Skeleton Bomb, enhancing its performance.
[Skeleton Bomb Lv.17]
– Processes the bones of monsters into magic bombs, throwing them to inflict damage (800% of attack power).
– The higher the grade of the processed bones, the more additional damage occurs.
– You can detonate all stored bombs at once.
– Bombs come with a stealth function by default.
– Current bombs stored: 181/200.
The bomb level increased by 2, boosting its attack power and granting it a stealth feature. Now, when burying time bombs, I don’t even need to apply the stealth each time.
‘Hmm… If I go deeper and can’t find anything, I’m out of options.’
The seemingly endless swampy area ended, leading me to the border of the next hunting ground.
Splash—
Beyond this point, I’d have to engage in underwater combat for a while, and once I entered, it would be hard to retreat until I reached the safe zone.
‘I guess I really have to leave.’
I eventually exited the dungeon, using another gate to the left of the entrance I came in through and quickly extended my senses to fly into a bustling plaza.
After wandering the streets for a while, the awaited message popped up.
– A villain has been detected in close proximity!
‘That’s it! Hah, I almost survived. Should I have come out sooner?’
My guess about it being better outside was spot on.
‘Those women.’
Twins with identical faces and body shapes. They were tall Hunters standing at around 180 cm, with a rare slender physique.
They were leisurely sipping coffee when they perked up at the sound of an auction broadcast and promptly moved.
– Woong-i’s strategy for ‘Blue Manatee’ is utterly useless. “Defeat the Abyss Hunter quickly before casting a shield? Are you crazy? If that’s possible, I wouldn’t be suffering!!
– Woong-i is just messing with us, you know?
– Still, it would be nice if that guy had some actual skills. He’s always gambling instead of working.
– Ugh, I’m pissed. If I’m going to work as a temp for another party, I need to get my hands on the “Duck Feet” this time. It’s tough to do it without that.
– They say a lot of goods have come out; there’s a chance today.
‘I need to buy Duck Feet too. Should I try entering the bidding?’
There’s a piece of equipment colloquially known as Duck Feet. It’s a very small wing-like item that attaches to the sole of your shoe, reducing water resistance and aiding in quick direction changes.
Of course, just because you wear it doesn’t mean you can swim like a fish, but it’s an essential item for underwater combat.
It’s a product with decent availability, but you still have to go through auctions to buy it cheap.
They soon lined up to enter the auction house.
As I closely followed the twins, they turned to look at me when I cast a shadow over them.
“Wow, he’s really tall! Much taller than us.”
“Is it necessary to walk around looking that intimidating?”
‘Have I stacked up too many bones…’
With my armor haphazardly covered in bones, I had to admit I looked terrifying.
“Hey, if you keep acting tough, you’ll just end up looking ridiculous~ The weather’s nice, you should at least take off your helmet!”
“······.”
“Whoa… whatcha doing?”
“Yeah, seriously. Even when you give advice it’s still a hassle.”
As I waved my hand signaling them to look ahead, they soon turned their heads and gossiped about me behind my back.
(How unlucky. Do you know who he is?)
(I don’t know. I guess he thinks he’s something special?)
‘I can hear everything, you know…’
I followed the two of them into the auction house.
Inside, the auction was in full swing, and the Duck Feet were neatly displayed on the podium.
There were over 50 pairs available, and if the number of interested buyers exceeded fifty, new participants would bid a higher price to claim a spot.
[As always, some have unfortunately missed out on the last auction, so we’ll start with a full house. ‘Aqua Plighter’ starting at 2.5. Yes, bidder number 4 at 2.55, very nice. Bidder number 27, 2.65… …]
As it was an essential item, the recent winning bid quickly soared up to 3 billion.
A single pair costs 3 billion, which means buying a set would cost double that.
It’s not even an artifact, nor is it using top-tier monster byproducts, so the price is still quite steep for a piece of equipment.
“What? It’s already gone up to 3 billion!”
“I’ll get it even if it takes a hit today. Just buy it, damn it.”
The two jumped into the bidding, while I simply watched them quietly.
My main goal was to kidnap them, but I also had an interest in Duck Feet, so I couldn’t help but shake my head.
‘This is too expensive. Why would Duck Feet go over 3.5 billion?’
If I sell everything I acquired after coming over to Udo, the income would easily be in the tens of billions.
I had enough financial backing to enter the bidding and win, but my sense of economy insisted that price was outrageous.
[Yes! Bidder number 115 along with 50 others, sold for 3.7!]
“Kyaa! Got it!”
“Hehe, finally bought it!”
The two purchased Duck Feet for a whopping 740 million. Together, they spent nearly 1.5 billion.
Despite that, seeing the two getting the equipment they wanted and smiling brightly made me wonder if these people were really villains.
Hae-ryeong and Hae-min
– Twins with the skill ‘Twin Cast’.
– Total of 194 people killed to date.
– Must kill and consume a heart at regular intervals to maintain the ‘Twin Cast’ skill.
‘What is this…’
The Twin Cast skill is a special skill that requires two individuals to synchronize perfectly, and as expected, it’s incredibly rare since it relies on perfect synchronization.
‘I’ve heard of the maintenance conditions, but this is the first time I’ve seen the owners. And the conditions are so bizarre. They need to consume hearts?’
‘Would I go so far as to kill someone just to maintain a skill?’
Maybe it’s less of a guilty conscience because they’re two, but it’s still wrong.
‘If I leave them like this, there will be continued sacrifices.’
Hehehe—
The two appeared to be in high spirits after their successful shopping, and laughter never left them as they walked down the street.
“Let’s eat after we shower. I’m dying to shower off this feeling.”
“Yeah. But you know today is that day, right?”
“Has it already come to that… Let’s just eat first and decide.”
“If we eat and then do ‘that’, we’ll be full.”
“Ugh, you always have to finish everything, don’t you? You could last with just a little.”
“I feel like it needs to be that way. That kind of intuition is important.”
‘······.’
At some point, I began to kill my presence and trailed behind them.
Since I was stealthily following, they didn’t notice me until they passed through the elevator and entered a room together.
“······ What the?!”
“Ugh, who, who are you?”
Once they entered their house, it seemed the two realized my presence.
Of course, that was because I had caught up to them in a state of deactivation.
A powerful being who could go unnoticed until right behind them.
In fact, I simultaneously cast a powerful plant-based entrapment spell on both of them. They had to be high-rank magicians.
The two, with their arms bound by the ancient ent’s branches, quickly showed they had no intention of fighting.
“Please, spare us.”
“I’ll do anything… Please.”
Then, the short-haired one started unbuttoning her top.
As a result, her small, firm breasts befitting her slender type became visible.
‘There’s nothing worth watching here; what’s with all this undressing?’
“I’ll do anything. For real.”
“I’ll… I’ll lick you too, if that’s what you want. You’ve never done it with twins, have you?”
The two began carefully revealing their tops, indicating they were completely surrendering.
But.
‘Something’s going on.’
I sensed a very subtle connection forming between them.
A minuscule flow of magic power that could only be detected by narrowing my perception to the utmost limit.
‘Incredible… I can feel a high-level aura, just like when I summon a meteor. Is this Twin Cast?’
“I’ll lick every corner to serve you. I can assure you, you won’t regret it!”
The twins slowly turned their heads towards me, their tongues flicking about.
‘What are you trying to do behind my back?’
[Ice Enamel]
[Void Cut-type Flame Cut]
[Corrupted Green Bind]
“Ahhhhhhh!”
I severed the legs of both women in an instant, reinforced their bindings, and then slammed their heads with my club.
Thwak—Bang!
Thud—
‘The club Ddung-i made is fantastic. By the way… I’m really feeling it now. I’ve hardly hit them, yet…’
I’ve become overwhelmingly capable of subduing A-rank mid-tier Hunters without difficulty.
‘Though it would be different in a proper face-off, I have the advantage of striking first, so they’re not my match.’
As I gazed at the two suspended in the air, captured by the Gori unit, I continued to think.
‘Considering the number of victims they’ve killed, I could certainly gather a substantial amount of fragments. But it’s a shame to kill Hunters with a Twin Cast skill.’
[Camouflage]
I transformed into a human form and awakened the unconscious twins.
“Khuhuhk…! Kyaaaaaa!”
The revived twins screamed as they looked at their severed ankles.
However, this space was already inside the [Realm of Boundaries].
No sound could escape from here.
“Please spare us! You bastard, spare us!”
“What do you want from us?!”
With their eyes bulging, Hae-ryeong and Hae-min screamed in anguish.
“Hae-ryeong, Hae-min.”
They flinched!
“How do you know our names?”
“Does that matter? Can you summon about three Hunters like yourselves?”
“Uh-uh… What do you mean?”
“Are you telling me you’re a Hunter?”
After hurling curses for a while, realizing I was trying to make a deal, the twins quickly reversed their demeanor and asked politely.
“You’ve killed 194 people to maintain your Twin Cast skill…”
“”───?!!””
Their faces expressed shock, as if to ask how I knew that.
“I can know everything.”
“Huh… I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to curse earlier; it just slipped out because I got so scared. Please just spare me… Huhuh…”
“We had no choice! If we lose that skill, our lives are over!”
‘So the Twin Cast skill is linked to your lives? That’s the first I’ve heard of it… I’m not quite sure.’
Anyway, it seems they finally regained some composure, constantly rubbing their hands together while bound.
“When I say you’re Hunters, I mean bad guys who’ve killed at least 50 Hunters.”
“50…?!”
“There are three Hunters with such criteria. If you can’t summon them immediately, you both will die by my hand. In a brutal way.”
“Yikes…?!”
“50… 50… I-I can find them! Just give me a moment.”
“My mind is blank; I can’t think straight. Just give me a little time.”
“I’ll give you one minute. Do I seem like I have that kind of time to wait for you?”
“Sorry! Sorry!!”
The twins’ eyes darted left and right in a frenzy.
In a desperate attempt to survive, they needed to pull anyone in.
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