Chapter 157: Together, Hanshin (2)
“Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter!”
In front of the Item Auction House.
While heading home after spending about three hours window shopping for Magic Tools on my rare day off, I was met by an unfamiliar voice.
A mysterious man who looked to be in his thirties.
I sensed it from his voice, and indeed, he was someone I hadn’t met before.
“Huh?”
The man who had rushed over from somewhere hurriedly began to introduce himself.
“Hello! I’m Cho Sang-oh from the Hanshin Guild.”
Hanshin…
Hanshin?
“Phew, I’m glad to see you’re still at the auction house as per the tip. Ah, not to get off track! I heard that Mr. Kim Hunter rejected our guild’s proposal last week. Do you remember that?”
As Cho Sang-oh continued explaining, I finally recalled where I had heard the name Hanshin.
I don’t know all the details, but they were the guild that had been trying to recruit Jeong Ha-seong.
But why did a member of such a guild suddenly call out to me?
“Personally, I find it regrettable that you turned down our offer. I heard that you dismissed it by saying A-Class is too weak…”
“…”
“To be honest, I’m quite confident in my skills. So, if it’s not too rude, could you please give me just one chance?”
“A chance?”
“I’ll prove myself by conquering the Gate, just like a Hunter should! That’s why I came to see you.”
It wasn’t exactly a welcome subject. This Hunter was basically begging to be hired for a job that wasn’t even forming yet.
“I’m sorry. As I mentioned last time, that’s difficult.”
If it gets out that I’m just exploiting Jeong Ha-seong’s money without any plans to form a team, I might find myself in a pickle down the streets of Seoul…
So I firmly rejected his request for a chance.
But if it was going to end with just a few words, he wouldn’t have come to find me like this.
“Please wait, Mr. Kim Gi-ryeo! I have a 1st class qualification as a Beast Disassembly Specialist from a private company. So I can actually play a great support role…!”
Looking at his outfit, he must have just come out of the Gate.
He approached with his shining orange armor, and the clanking noise of the armor was quite impressive with every step.
“Also, I’m not asking for money, I’m saying I’d work for passion. Can’t you even allow that?”
“That is…”
“Are you really not even taking a glance at me just because I’m A-Class? Really?”
To be honest, had it not been for my sudden interruption, Hanshin would have probably signed a contract with Ha-seong without a hitch. So I could understand if he felt a bit unjust.
He might have missed the chance to be a hero’s ally right in front of him.
But like everything else, I had my own reasons.
“I’m sorry, I’ll take my leave now.”
Deciding that further conversation was pointless, I turned to leave.
However, Cho Sang-oh saw this action and quickly moved ahead to block my way at the entrance.
“Disregarding people again…! Hey, wait a sec.”
What followed was a blatant provocation from Cho Sang-oh.
“What if I’m better than you?”
“…”
“Mr. Kim Gi-ryeo. I didn’t say that I was confident about my skills lightly.”
“…”
“I believe that if we raced to conquer the same Gate 1:1, I could win against you, an S-Class.”
Does this guy really not care about my abilities even after boasting like that?
Cho Sang-oh proudly proclaimed his skill level quite loudly, and honestly, this was getting somewhat interesting.
‘An A-Class believes he can beat an S-Class in speed? What kind of awakening abilities are we dealing with here?’
But such thoughts were things I couldn’t just spill out.
No matter how exceptional the Hunter was, there was no need to entangle myself in filth for a false contract aimed for profit.
‘His name is Cho Sang-oh, right? I’ll just search him at home to see what skills he’s using…….’
I maintained my silence and attempted to leave quietly.
But Cho Sang-oh frowned as he saw my dismissive attitude.
“Ah, seriously. Just relying on your rank and acting all high and mighty.”
I merely wanted to avoid the conversation. I had no intention of making him angry like this.
“Hey, are you scared you might lose?”
“…”
“Sorry to repeat myself, but honestly, it’s a bit funny. You treated an A-Class like they weren’t even an Awakened. But now that it’s time to measure strength, you’re all quiet, huh?”
The intensity of his criticism began to rise.
“Honestly, I noticed it since the Siren incident. Just looking at you, Kim Gi-ryeo, you’re just another Hunter who only goes after easy, favorable Dungeons.”
“…”
“With that kind of attitude, how’s it feel to flaunt being S-Class? Huh?”
These were excessively rude comments for someone I had just met.
But I could understand why Cho Sang-oh was acting like a street thug. He likely wanted to provoke the S-Class Hunter out of pride.
‘Is this a provocation tactic?’
But what could I do?
It had been a few months since I had entered Kim Gi-ryeo’s body, and I had somewhat adjusted to living as an F-Class by now…
“Stop ignoring me and answer! You can’t even conquer a Dungeon properly if the attributes are wrong, right? Huh?”
Being called weak doesn’t even sting anymore. That’s just the truth.
‘Oh, so I’m just that low-level loser, huh?’
I nonchalantly brushed off Cho Sang-oh’s insults.
But given the current situation, it was a bit tricky.
Cho Sang-oh, whose tone had grown harsh, suddenly fell silent when I tried to walk away without a response.
Then he started channeling a thick magic power into his arm.
‘Hold on, magic power?’
In the past, this would have prompted a quick reaction from me, but as I just mentioned, I was now an unfortunate wizard trapped in Kim Gi-ryeo’s body.
There was nothing I could do. Therefore, the magic power that Cho Sang-oh was gathering burst into the air without any hindrance.
Fwoosh!
Right when I thought I heard the wind swoosh by, a sudden whirlwind filled the still air.
This was the pressure created when Cho Sang-oh pulled out his weapon.
With speeds that were hard to follow with the eyes, he drew an axe and brought its blade right up to my throat.
All the trash that littered the street was thrown around, unable to resist the fierce gust.
He had merely drawn his weapon, yet this destructive force was astounding.
“…!”
However, that action had a further change.
Cho Sang-oh seemed to just want to see my reaction. He actually stopped the blade of the axe almost 10cm from my throat.
Thud, drip…
The monstrous acceleration created by an A-Class Hunter had a massive impact on my pitiful body.
My throat was cut.
Even just from the wind and slight magical power from that axe blade, my skin tore, and blood began to flow freely.
The blood…
“An S-Class got cut?”
“Did he just hit someone?”
Both Cho Sang-oh and I were shocked simultaneously.
But it was clear that we were astonished by different aspects. This A-Class probably never dreamed such an outcome would occur.
“Huh, huh? No way, I thought you were suppressing your magic and the like… but what in the world…”
Thud.
Ignoring the bewildered expression of Cho Sang-oh, I clutched my bleeding throat.
The situation wasn’t good. This was the street near the Dungeon Item Auction House.
With Hunters passing by, it was awkward to attempt physical recovery…
“Wait a minute, you aren’t just a total low-life, are you? You look like your reaction time is sluggish.”
I was in a dilemma about whether to conceal the existence of recovery magic.
At that moment, anger flared up at Cho Sang-oh’s chuckling face, and I shouted.
“Is now really the time for that? Why the hell did you suddenly draw a weapon… what the hell?!”
“Ah, well, if you want to file a complaint later, go ahead.”
But that Hunter cut me off with an audacious tone.
“I didn’t expect it either. I thought a lowly A-Class like you wouldn’t even scratch our esteemed S-Class.”
Casting a glance, Cho Sang-oh snickered as he looked at me holding my throat.
“Mr. Kim Gi-ryeo, let me ask you one thing. If I beat an S-Class to the point of sending them to the ICU here…”
“What?”
“Honestly, wouldn’t it be a gain for me just to spend some time in jail?”
An A-Class Hunter who knocked down an Awakened being revered as a transcendent?
Yeah. It would definitely make headlines. Morally, he’d probably get criticized, but everyone would surely acknowledge his skills.
An uprising against higher ranks would naturally have such an effect.
‘Damn.’
But this time, things were going badly in many ways.
I was merely a flash of boastful power registered through medication filled with F-Class magic power!
“What’s going on? What happened?”
“Looks like a fight.”
Whispering.
Meanwhile, Hunters passing by began to stop and glance over at us.
“Cho Sang-oh Hunter… I’ll let this incident slide if you stop here.”
I pointed at the onlookers and urged him to stop before it became a real serious issue, but Cho Sang-oh seemed to be enjoying the situation instead.
“Oh? Well, if they want to watch, let them. I’m just going to knock off some of your hot air anyway.”
And with that confident voice, I realized that the person in front of me was someone who wouldn’t be persuaded by mere conversation.
To pull out a blade, you need quite a bit of guts.
Unless he’s a psychopath, of course.
‘…Right?’
Anyway, it seemed that this Hunter was greatly interested in S-Class.
Upon observation, I began to gather why he felt so confident.
From his armor to the trivial accessories on his ears.
He was decked out in two Epic-grade pieces or their equivalent high-performance items, making him one of the top A-Class Hunters.
It was clear. Cho Sang-oh’s gear was so enticing, even I was tempted.
But the sorcerer of this world was overlooking something.
‘All of them are items that recklessly boost magical power…!’
Any Magic Tool, when overly specialized in one ability, tends to leave a big gap in other areas.
“Hot air?”
Moments later, I took a deep breath and spat out a short sentence.
“Let’s see where that hot air is coming from.”
But it wasn’t a meaningful statement.
This was just me stalling, and in fact, I had my pocket’s little surprise activated since earlier when he turned around to check the witnesses.
[Surprise Box!]
[Grade: Unique]
[Description: It applies a strong [Stun] effect to the surrounding area.]
By the way, in this industry, people seldom carry equipment that grants stun resistance.
After all, magical monsters that wield such spells are very rare, and the effects of [Surprise Box!] wouldn’t be blocked by just a couple of stun resistance rings.
Other owners of [Surprise Box!] say it’s pretty much a mutual destruction tool, and there’s no way that he could predict this situation.
“Ha, what a little brat you are…”
Thud!
About 2 seconds later. Just as I’d thought, Cho Sang-oh couldn’t even finish his sentence and crumpled down helplessly.
It was a straightforward conclusion without any chance involved.
Getting bold based on gear alone, only to suffer a collapse like that reminded me of my own past.
“Hmm.”
But all things considered.
I managed to deal with the fame-blinded mad hyena just fine.
However, a small problem followed in this process.
“Ugh?”
“Huh!”
Thud-
The effect range of the Magic Tool was surprisingly wide, leaving even nearby spectators knocked out.
“Oh no.”
Counting, there were about five victims lying on the ground.
This shouldn’t qualify as assault, right? It should count as self-defense, wouldn’t it?
…Shouldn’t it? Oh, Korea’s law?
