Chapter 128: Chapter 128: Jin Hyo-young (3)

“I didn’t mean to kill you…”

Thud!

Tragically, Jin Hyo-young’s life was abruptly ended. She couldn’t complete her sentence before succumbing to death.

“I didn’t know you would die from that attack either.”

Kang-hoo sneered at the lifeless Jin Hyo-young.

What she likely meant to say was that she hadn’t intended to kill, so why should she be killed?

The more I ponder it, the more absurd it seems.

She clearly didn’t understand that being alive to face kidnapping or trafficking is a fate far worse than death.

Had she truly considered such outcomes, she would never have embarked on her dangerous path.

To leave behind words claiming she didn’t intend to kill, after attempting to drag someone down with her, is ironic.

Given Jin Hyo-young’s valuable skills and appearance, her demise was indeed regrettable.

Nonetheless, I acquired the Constellations of Nightmare and Heart Demon, which had piqued my interest even before the battle.

The Constellation of Nightmare might not be immediately beneficial, but the Constellation of Heart Demon seemed particularly useful for future encounters.

It means I can now perfectly neutralize mental attacks from adversaries who fear me.

Fortuitously or unfortunately, her death came enveloped in a dark-red outer layer.

Thus, she was spared the indignity of being left exposed. Though, in a way, this could still be considered a form of exposure.

Kang-hoo meticulously relieved her of her possessions.

I removed her magic-focused items, planning to sell them, and kept a ‘bracelet’ that seemed useful for myself.

The bracelet I’m currently wearing is a Rank 6 ‘Mage Hunter’ bracelet, which boosts anti-magic by 25.

The bracelet worn by Jin Hyo-young offered far superior benefits.

【Pear Blossom - Bracelet】

【Rank: 4】

【Anti-Magic +50】

【Durability +50】

There was no reason for me not to make the switch.

I was quite satisfied with it.

It made me question if I had been overly frugal with my investments in bracelets until now.

【Shin Kang-hoo Lv.103】

【Class: Assassin】

【Unique Talent: Quite Excellent Strength / Exceptionally Excellent Dynamic Vision】

【Strength 670】 【Agility 270】

【Stamina 721】 【Magic 20】

【Anti-Magic 445】 【Durability 595】

【* Dark Energy 100】

Checking my stats on the full screen for the first time in a while, I was generally pleased.

It’s no problem to deliberately keep my magic below 50.

As for the Dark Energy stat, the ‘*’ indicates it’s a stat that doesn’t exist for traditional hunters.

The same goes for the marking of hidden skills; for instance, White Day Slash and Black Moon Slash are marked with a (’*’) next to their names.

“All in all… it’s worth about 5 billion won.”

Kang-hoo estimated the value of the items he took from Jin Hyo-young.

That’s quite a profit for a 12-hour investment.

And then.

I checked her smartphone. If someone had ordered her, they would have made at least one call.

So, I looked at the call log, and what do you know, a too familiar name caught Kang-hoo’s eye.

“They really are up to all sorts.”

The person who left their name all over the recent call records was none other than Kang Dong-hyun.

Jin Hyo-young was also a hunting dog sent by Eclipse. Or perhaps… it could be said she was a honey trap.

Kang-hoo made the call.

Kang Dong-hyun seemed to be waiting, as the connection was immediate.

-So quick? Was Hyo-young better at this than I thought?

“Just spouting nonsense.”

-What, f*ck?

A moment of sharp swearing passed between them. Their expressions darkened simultaneously.

Kang-hoo’s face was filled with displeasure, while Kang Dong-hyun appeared slightly flustered.

Kang Dong-hyun asked.

-Is Hyo-young dead?

“Even if you think of your hunting dogs’ lives as worthless, isn’t it too easy to throw them away?”

-Her sleep ability didn’t work either? Wow… Impressive, Shin Kang-hoo?

“If you’re praising me because you’re embarrassed about being beaten twice, I’ll accept that.”

-Yeah. Quite embarrassing. Happy now?

“Why are you so interested in me?”

-You know why.

“Kang Dong-hyun. Given the circumstances, Eclipse better watch its step from now on.”

-Why, are you breaking the non-aggression pact?

“I can forgive favoritism, but not stalking. I hate it even more when someone like you clings.”

-Alright. Look forward to it. You’d better watch your back from now on. I tend to hold grudges more than you think.

“Isn’t it your side that’s at a disadvantage, with so many of you? I’m completely alone.”

-Shin Kang-hoo. You won’t be able to use the alias Jung Sun-kyu anymore. I’ll help you find your lost self. How’s that for consideration?

“As usual, a guy who sends underlings twice because he doesn’t have the guts to show up himself. Do whatever you please.”

-Shin Kang-hoo. Be careful. The next time you meet me in person, there won’t be a next time.

“Then come yourself. Don’t just hole up in your room smoking cigarettes.”

-Shin…!

Kang-hoo hung up the phone.

Given that things with Eclipse had been bad from the start, becoming officially enemies now didn’t bother him.

It was rather fortunate that he had been able to live quietly until now since escaping from the Cheongmyeong Detention Center.

The same went for the alias.

Even if his real name became known to the world, it wouldn’t have been a problem.

If he had been a hunter making noticeable achievements using his real name, there might have been a lot to hide.

For Kang-hoo, his real name was a symbol of the innocence before he was dragged into the Cheongmyeong Detention Center.

That is, even if they followed his real name to investigate his life, they’d only find 29 years of living as an orphan.

It was rather fortunate.

He planned to reveal his real name to the people around him this time.

Operating under his real name would make license processing and official tasks much faster.

Of course, this would also allow the Hunter Public Safety Bureau to officially monitor him, though that was a downside.

Since monitoring was merely about observing results after the fact, it wasn’t really a problem.

“…….”

Kang-hoo stared expressionlessly at Jin Hyo-young’s body, lying in the empty field for a long time.

What had she wanted?

Was it Kang Dong-hyun’s approval?

Or was it to constantly affirm her superiority based on her looks and fill her self-esteem?

Step by step, step.

Indifferently, Kang-hoo’s steps faded into the reeds against the backdrop of the dawn moon.

The delicate balance between life and death was not unique to this place; it occurred everywhere.

It was just another dawn, nothing special. Just a bit more tumultuous.

Afterward.

Having moved to Gyeongju in advance, Kang-hoo checked into a hotel and rested well.

Kang-hoo had decided to meet Park Dong-jae in the evening, so there was still plenty of time.

Hunter News was reporting as breaking news that Jeon Electric Pharmaceuticals’ first storage warehouse had exploded.

The storage warehouse, filled with expensive and various raw materials, had high security.

This meant that a significant number of people were involved in this explosion.

The flames of the White War were properly igniting.

From the perspective of Jang Si-hwan in the original story, it was just a slightly noisy issue outside of Seoul.

But from the perspective of a mercenary, reality was completely different. It was a close and possible reality that one could be swept into.

“I do need to farm Dark Energy for sure…”

Kang-hoo muttered.

Of course, increasing the Dark Energy stat alone wasn’t the answer; Dark Energy skills also needed to be improved.

For this, strategizing in Japan was essential, but unfortunately, he couldn’t go right away.

However, he could look at the Rikou Guild’s owned dungeon list in advance and make plans.

For example, he could request a list prioritizing dungeons with an undead concept.

“I wonder if asking for observer status is too much.”

Observer status allows one to receive treatment almost as if they were a guild member, without actually being affiliated.

The treatment Kang-hoo received from the Spitfire Guild was precisely this observer status.

If the Rikou Guild could extend that much power, activities would become much easier.

It seemed necessary to make good use of An Yeong-ho. Given his uncle’s immense power, it wasn’t as if there were no options.

“Speaking of which… if I go to the Rikou Guild, does that mean I’ll meet Akiyama Takashi?”

Suddenly, a name came to mind.

Akiyama Takashi.

A hunter currently acting as an observer for the Rikou Guild and also a member of The Thirteen Stars.

Unlike other members who were active publicly, no one had seen Takashi’s face.

Even The Thirteen Stars had not seen him; they had only heard his voice.

The reason was simple.

The entity active publicly was Takashi’s avatar, not his actual self.

This was a concept separate from avatar magic, where the avatar and the original were a community of fate.

The avatar grows through outside activities, while the original stays home, ‘controlling’ the avatar.

Surprisingly, this control was conducted through a special pad designed by Takashi himself.

For Takashi, every moment of controlling the avatar was like playing a game.

They shared not only sight and senses but also fate. If the avatar dies? The original dies too.

“By now, he must be indulging in the samurai concept, causing chaos by dressing his avatar in various colored masks.”

It was uncertain if there would be business this time. However, he did want to meet him if possible.

Because he was very skilled at analyzing patterns and debuffs in new dungeons, Jang Si-hwan had personally recruited him in the original story.

He joined The Thirteen Stars not out of a sense of mission but for the opportunity to take on various challenges.

“This should be interesting.”

Thinking ahead about his activities in Japan brought both anticipation and a bit of nervousness.

The ecosystem there was different from Korea’s, and there were guilds hostile to Korean hunters.

Since it was a foreign country, there were definitely things to be cautious about, so he planned to move carefully.

5:30 PM.

“Are you here?”

Park Dong-jae, who had arrived 30 minutes earlier than the agreed time on purpose, greeted Kang-hoo.

The messages exchanged just before had said he was just leaving Gyeongju Station, but that must have been a lie.

“You lied.”

“I wanted to come early to check the surroundings and see if there were any dangers.”

“All by yourself?”

“It’s a small token of gratitude for my lifesaver.”

“Anyway, we should drop formalities now. It gets annoying when there’s a lot to say.”

“Okay. I’ll call you ‘hyung’. No, I will!”

“Right. Let’s go with that.”

The sorting of their relationship was swiftly completed.

As Kang-hoo was older than Park Dong-jae, they naturally settled into a brotherly relationship.

Kang-hoo asked.

“The briefing?”

“Not needed. This dungeon is one that Se-hyeok hyung, Se-yeong, and I used to frequent. What about Seon-kyu hyung?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“I’ve already gone through the materials handed over to me. Ah, and from now on, call me Kang-hoo.”

“Huh?”

“That’s my real name. Jung Seon-kyu is an alias.”

“Ah…!”

“There’s been an issue that makes it impossible for me to hide my alias anymore.”

Kang-hoo gave a wry smile and showed him a screen he had just pulled up on his smartphone.

It was the content of a new hunter marked for assassination on Eclipse’s official website.

The photo was a mugshot taken just before being incarcerated in Cheongmyeong Detention Center.

【Shin Kang-hoo】

【From Cheongmyeong Detention Center. The alias currently known to be used is 'Jung Seon-kyu'.

Updates will continue as other aliases are identified.】

He has a history of killing key Eclipse members Cha So-hee and Jin Hyo-young, and of infiltrating Club Hades to illegally utilize the underground dungeon.

As of today, this hunter is designated as a first-class assassination target by Eclipse, with the following bounty set:

【For capture: 20 billion won and all equipped items.】

【For elimination: 5 billion won and all equipped items.】

“Wow.”

Park Dong-jae’s mouth hung open in shock.

A big shot was standing right in front of him.