Chapter 342: To Do List
“Life is all about timing,” and this situation proved it firsthand.
[P: By the way, what types of functions did the Legendary Hunter Ha-seong possess?]
They online people couldn’t ever recognize their own mistakes.
Even an organization that handles information from around the world couldn’t dig up the secrets that came from the universe.
Aliens.
To put it metaphorically, they were like strangers beyond that distant fence.
As long as they didn’t know the truth that the soul of a marine being was housed in the body of a Korean person…
It meant that mammals trapped on this small planet had to continuously face the imbalance of information.
[P: I guess, books are merely media for conveying knowledge, and the black ones are perfectly weaponized. Therefore, maybe the Sword of Sunset has far more destructive abilities than the Book of Extermination.]
[靑春: Friend, sorry, but is a foreign artifact really that important now? We’re in a real mess here!]
[P: Should I disable the swear filter?]
[靑春: Ugh.]
[靑春: Never mind. I’ll just go silent for a bit. I’m so sick of hearing about Korean Hunters. Got it? Don’t talk to me for a while.]
Thinking of Kim Gi-ryeo as weak now was far too casual.
What they didn’t know was that the current flow had become an opportunity for someone.
Specifically, a certain mage was cheering on a future schedule.
But one could say that part of it was fortunate.
-So, shall we start wrapping up for departure?
The new goal of this mage was nothing less than meeting with them.
If misunderstandings arise in human relationships, honestly, correcting the wrongs by facing each other is indeed an ideal solution.
*
A while later.
A sunny weekday afternoon.
-Brrrrrrrr.
The sound of an engine revving echoed in the middle of a dry field.
“Oh. That’s quite a large vehicle, almost never seen in Korea.”
As I could tell from the thoughts that just popped into my mind.
I was currently in America.
A well-known advanced country on Earth.
What a leap into a place like this.
“Hmm.”
Compared to the first time I arrived in America as Seo Esther’s escort, this revisit came with a lot of hardships.
“They say it’s more comfortable to smuggle in by boat, but did I foolishly choose the faster route?”
First, I had to sneak into the cargo hold of a passenger plane arranged by a broker, and afterward, I barely endured a long time using an oxygen mask.
“By the way, a non-awakened would freeze to death as soon as the airplane reached high altitude. Regular folks absolutely shouldn’t try to follow such acts…”
Moreover, by the time the plane arrived at its destination, I had to avoid the airport check, so I used hiding items like [Shroud of the Underworld] and various terrain-ignoring mobility items.
Avoiding people’s eyes required tremendous effort and money.
And the place I arrived at, thanks to all kinds of magic, was right here.
“It certainly doesn’t look like a place where mammals would gather.”
In the undeveloped region of Western America.
Yet unfortunately, my journey with some companions didn’t end here.
Teleportation magic was quite rare on Earth.
“Among mammals, it seems there are a few who can handle that magic. But even then, one little mistake can lead to disaster, and survivors who can even master it are scarce, with magic manifesting as items being even rarer.”
Really, it couldn’t be helped.
For various reasons, we would have to get in a vehicle and travel for a while now.
“Of course, I know teleportation magic, but it consumes a lot of magic power, so it’s not something I can carelessly spam…”
However, under these circumstances, someone might start to wonder.
Why did this Great Mage choose to come to America out of all the countries?
But the truth was tied to a shocking reason.
My memory sweep and cross-verification with Earth-side investigators revealed that the final backing of the Beasts turned out to be none other than that world-renowned “mana resource company.”
“I’ve heard it used to create online games, though…”
[PIXY]
Few on this planet would likely be oblivious to those letters.
Even the Alphauri walking around the streets could recall the name PIXY.
Mana testers.
Artifact-type analyzers.
And high-end translators, among others.
They plastered their name on items that everyone, both hunters and regular people, frequently used. Honestly, it had become impossible for that company name to remain unknown.
Being deeply involved in the lives of Earthlings, the PIXY corporation was infamous for raking in astronomical amounts of money.
Yet why would such a flourishing international giant take an interest in urban terrorism?
“Ha, I figured it out the moment I heard rumors about me torturing aliens. It’s clear that PIXY was fundamentally corrupt!”
In any case, summing up the results of my investigations so far revealed.
The ultimate decision-maker that sent Enzo Chiano to Korea was the shareholder of PIXY, “Andy Oliver.”
“For now, the face I saw in the corpse memory research matches the driver’s license picture of some mammal that Kang Chang-ho brought.”
But he wasn’t a chairman or CEO, just a person holding a fraction of the company’s shares. So why was he treated like the representative of the company…?
This is where a conversation we had before departure popped into mind.
-Andy Oliver? Oh, that guy is the only son of the PIXY founder.
-!
-So after his mother died of old age, he inherited the company shares and ran the company for a while.
-Ah.
-When they began cooperating with the federal government, I think it was around that time. Anyway, at some point, like many companies in America, they started using professional managers, and Andy Oliver stepped back.
-Why’s that?
-I heard it was because he was constantly being compared to the previous chairman…
-Compared in what way?
-The founder, Barbara Oliver, was pretty popular across the country during her lifetime. But the investigation into the Beast incident revealed that Andy Oliver’s stepping back was merely a façade.
-…
-It simply wouldn’t show on the surface anymore. He was still the very backbone of PIXY.
-…
-Moreover, the Oliver family, even from the beginning, had a stronger tendency towards development than entrepreneurship. Most of the foundational technologies of the company were actually born under their leadership. To put it simply, he’s the one who could easily abuse PIXY’s technology today and thus inevitably know loads of information regarding Gates.
Well, that’s a rough summary.
Of course, it sounded like the heir of that mana resource company had always had problems.
This part was found out through a certain Great Mage’s foray into Enzo’s memories.
Andy Oliver was the one who even swapped out the [Book of Extermination] that his country possessed for a fake.
“So the U.S. government was actually an innocent victim wronged by private forces?”
Hidden reasoning was almost enough to cause a mess.
Certainly, if I had used [Justitia] to interrogate the high-ranking officials of that government, they would have all been cleared of charges.
“Of course, as for the president of the Spectrum Guild, who seemed to be affiliated with Enzo, he was aware of the fact that the [Book of Extermination] was passed on and thus couldn’t escape arrest.”
Additionally, PIXY had gotten involved in various secret wrongdoings.
For instance, violating privacy laws.
“They indiscriminately collected information recorded in various analyzers under the pretext of ‘for the sake of the world’ and sifted through important data stored on their servers to conceal it.”
Rumors about PIXY and the International Gate Alliance spying on Hunter information had circulated within Earth for some time.
The reason there hasn’t been an uproar over this matter was perhaps that they were good at hiding their crimes?
Or perhaps they were good at keeping their own secrets under wraps.
“Hmm.”
Anyway, those thoughts were as far as they would go.
-Clump.
I finished my reminiscences and slowly boarded the vehicle in front of me.
The vehicle that had been waiting for me was a pickup truck that looked easy to carry furniture or large items.
However, the moment I got in, the man in the driver’s seat began lamenting.
“—But Kim Gi-ryeo. Do you really have to see this kind of thing with me? There are already two S-Class Hunters absent, so it would be much easier to get caught.”
That was Kang Chang-ho’s remark.
To add some context, it was nothing more than grumbling, with no need for a response.
“The issues have already been well resolved without any noise.”
But looking back now, why was the life of a super psychic so tiring?
Just as I heard, on Earth, S-Class Hunters were indeed extensively covered in the news when they moved around carelessly.
Consequently, rumors spread across Korea around this time.
Two S-Class Korean Hunters suddenly started tackling a high-level Gate in Masan!
Of course, that was a lie.
A ridiculously obvious disguise.
Entering a Gate someone else is holding would typically get you labeled as a steal-thief or frog (human hunter). Thus, the chances of being caught for the alibi we created seemed low.
We had set up guards at the phony Gate that Kang Chang-ho hired. So there was no need to worry.
“Now that I think about it, this Gate is used for all sorts of shady dealings.”
I strapped on my seatbelt, recalling the Gate’s dangers.
“Ha.”
But then.
-Brrrrrrrr.
As the engine warmed up and the pickup truck was about to roll out…
The person next to me found the upcoming road boring, it seemed.
The driver suddenly opened his mouth again.
“Is your adrenaline just low, or what? You’re not a hospice patient. Why on Earth does our Hunter always jump right into the dangerous and annoying matters everyone else avoids?”
“Huh?”
“Moreover, I’m supposed to use you when I need to.”
“Oh, was that another jab at me?”
“You clearly said you’d keep your nose out of my life from now on. Why’ve you been so inconsiderate lately?”
Clunk.
Kang Chang-ho lightly tapped the top of the steering wheel with one hand.
“Honestly, it feels like every day you’re blowing up balloons and setting off fireworks right next to me.”
It was such a very Earth-like metaphor that I momentarily didn’t get it.
Yet anyway, glancing at the atmosphere, it seemed like the driver was in a bad mood.
“How dare this S-Class lose his temper in front of a Great Mage…?”
I gazed at the driver without a sign of emotional expression, purely out of pure curiosity.
Of course, Kang Chang-ho, being an S-Class Hunter, quickly noticed this glance. As soon as he caught my gaze, a thought seemed to pop up in his mind.
Without additional concern, it reflexively led to the following words.
“By the way, did you know? Your expressionless look actually makes you look like a serial killer; it’s double that compared to usual, our Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter.”
Ah.
Just to explain this sentence, I should mention first that…
“I sneaked through both departure and arrival.”
Both Kang Chang-ho and I turned out to be among the top-ranking Awakened in the world, with our faces already long spread in reputation.
“Then, thinking about what I’m about to do to that PIXY shareholder, it’d be better to keep my tracks well hidden.”
We had already altered our appearances.
[Mirror of the Vampire]
To be precise, we used an item with that name.
It was of a lower grade compared to Enzo’s [Doppelgänger’s Jealousy], but if it took even minor damage, and if DNA testing were performed, the identity would be exposed immediately.
However, if it was merely to deceive the eyes, there couldn’t be a more efficient disguise.
A moment of reflection passed.
In any case, the meaning behind Kang Chang-ho’s words was simple.
I looked different today than usual because I wore a disguise.
However, if I were to be recognized in this form by my fellow countrymen… I wonder how they would feel about it?
“Looking like a serial killer? Odd. Is this truly more frightening than Kim Gi-ryeo’s own appearance?”
A rocky, ambiguous-toned body hair.
A haircut slightly shorter than one that showed the forehead.
And to find additional peculiarities, blue eyes and deep double eyelids…
The appearance I currently adorned came roughly to this.
Regrettably, I hadn’t escaped the chronic issues.
Let’s cut to the chase; my current disguising appearance also had the three-hundred-eye phenomenon.
But maybe I was born without much muscle. This physiology I borrowed from this mammal had eyelids drooping downward, and the focus had a somewhat vacant feel.
“Honestly, I’d say this looks much simpler than my original appearance. No, almost stupidly so.”
A fleeting question surfaced.
Why did Kang Chang-ho describe this impression in such a way?
“Well, surely I feel there’s quite a difference from Kim Gi-ryeo’s appearance. But if it’s just color… Then there’s just a pair of eyes, one nose, and one mouth. It’s all like that. Anyway, since I tried to pick a sample with a similar structure to move comfortably…”
I struggled to turn the mirror located around the center of the dashboard toward me.
And I examined my current appearance again.
Since I mimicked a Western persona to operate in America, naturally, there were slight differences on the surface as well.
“Is this what freckles look like? Or is it melasma? There’s also a mark that looks like spray paint on my nose.”
In the end, to aliens, everyone looked the same.
However, I suppose this appearance, with a much blander aura compared to Kim Gi-ryeo, was favorable for stealth as a positive assessment that I’d gladly accept.
So, for a while, I was lost in deep thought, carefully inspecting the mirror and reconsidering my disguised state.
“……”
But at that moment.
I sensed a gaze somewhere.
Suddenly turning to my side, I found the driver staring at me.
“……”
For reference, that Western-looking guy with chestnut-colored hair was actually Kang Chang-ho’s disguised form.
Yet he had disguised himself as an older man and was now stealing glances at me while driving, eyeing me as if I were a strange person.
