《The Huntress, your Knight next door》 Chapter 1 Chapter 1 These days, the world was on the verge of its collapse. In many parts of the world, orbital distortions occurred causing the emergence of gates connecting to other worlds from where mana flowed and contaminated the Earth¡¯s human population. Humans who could use mana became superhumans, and the country gave these superhumans the task; either to close the gate or to keep the peace on Earth. Hunters. A being that hunts monsters in this world. ¡°It¡¯s funny now that I think about it.¡± Jin Hee mumbled over the unreasonable self development book titled Twenty years have passed since the gates were opened when she was a child. Jin Hee, who just graduated from college, grew up in a world where the presence of gates and hunters soon became common knowledge. Therefore, she felt no resistance or strangeness with the reality of this world. However, every time she recalls the memories of her past life, she thinks that nothing was more ridiculous than this. She can¡¯t believe something more miraculous has happened than magic that connects dimensions without any difficulties. If the wizards and scholars of the world she lived in in in her previous life had heard about this, they would have turned upside down with bubbles in their mouths. Just thinking of the existence of a spirit world attached to our world could already be considered a miracle, but the sudden appearance of the gates of a completely unknown world was on a different level. Moreover, the connected world was not just one. This world was entangled with all kinds of different worlds like spirits, heavenly beings, demons, and unknown alien creatures. Even this world had become accustomed to this situation, and it has either dug up resources beyond the gate or made an industrial revolution with the body parts and mana stones of the other world¡¯s monsters. The vanguards that were made of superhumans called ¡®the hunters,¡¯ and the title of Hunter soon became a promising occupation. Humans chosen by mana. They were the most famous celebrities in the world, and they were also great men who were respected more than anyone else. The Earth¡¯s weapons did not work for the monsters because their mana stones were equipped with their own shield, so they could not cause serious damage to their bodies unless they were attacked with a force similar to a mana stone. Earth¡¯s scholars called it ¡°Protoplasm Defense,¡± and Jin Hee defined it as ¡°The Blessing of Mana.¡± Monsters who are born with mana or humans who can handle mana do not die unless they are attacked by mana. In short, a large monster that can turn three or four apartments complex into a hollow field will not be hurt even if it rains grenades at them. Mana was so absurd, that humans had no choice but to rely more on it than anything else. And they had no choice but to worship mana hunters. In modern human warfare, the army and weapons will still exert great power, but in this world where we had to fight monsters, the Hunters were the only countermeasure. Treatment of hunters, civilian safety, political forces, and all sorts of incidents took place when the gates opened, but now, 20 years later, it has been quite stable. In a fast-paced country, the organization of hunters was quickly organized, and hunter companies or unions began to be formed. The gate was threatening, but it was a groove of greedy treasures. The amount of energy emitted from the monster¡¯s gemstone was more efficient than any other resource, and the monster¡¯s skin, teeth, and blood opened up a new horizon of industry. Giant wheat and new fruits made from plant seeds from other worlds have already begun commercialization. In summary, it was a story that humanity was in danger thanks to the gates, but this was reversed with the appearance of the hunters. Science was advancing at a rapid pace, and the world economy has never been so booming. ¡°It¡¯s roughly like that.¡± Jin Hee closed the book. The contents of the book were all full of praises to Hunters. The way to become a hunter was the end of the second last page, which was summarized as ¡®Go to the certification point and get a hunter certification¡¯. If it was going to be like this, she should have read only the last page instead of reading from the beginning. Jin Hee put the book on the bookshelf with a dissatisfied expression and got up. She was now at a bookstore. The Hunter Center nearby happened to be on their lunch break so she stopped by this place to spend some time. However, in the end, Jin-hee sighed quietly, saying she wasted time reading a useless book. She fully understood that the Hunter¡¯s current situation and praise were everywhere in the mass media. On the other hand, she was also aware of the problems brought by the Hunter system. The stories of having a job as a Hunter means riches and success, while those non-hunter people live feeling the difference between wealth and poverty. Jin-Hee left the bookstore and headed to the Hunter Center. Even among the surrounding commercial buildings, the tall and colorful glass building was visible. When she opened the door, an employee at the desk welcomed Jin-hee. ¡°Welcome, what brings you here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here for Hunter¡¯s certification.¡± The employee opened his eyes round, and then calmly guided her. ¡°After filling out the evaluation application form, you can head to the evaluation room on the second floor. May I see your ID, please?¡± When Jin Hee handed over her driver¡¯s license, the employee¡¯s eyes shook again. ¡°Is it rare for adults to come?¡± ¡°What? Ah¡­ Yes. Maybe it is.¡± The employee replied, in confusion. Awakening as a hunter usually occurs during puberty. At the latest, in high school. It is not known whether the awakening started due to the onset of sex hormones and secondary growth spurt, or whether there was any other reason, but very few people awakened as a hunter after adulthood. Unless the mana sensitivity is so low that you live without knowing it all your life and only get caught by a detector. The employee thought that Jin Hee was such a case, ¡®but did not express his thoughts and sent Jin-hee upstairs. The interior was as colorful as the exterior of the building. The steel floor, the walls visible from the outside, and the sparse flower pots are all real flowers. There was no diffuser, but the scent of flowers filling the hallway made her want to pick one. Jin Hee stood in front of the door with the doorplate ¡°Sensitivity Evaluation Room¡± in the hallway on the second floor and knocked. ¡°Oh, come on in.¡± When she opened the door, a large auditorium welcomed her. With a vacant lot in the center, a square panel stood in the center. A thin, large blue panel lit up the surrounding area as if it were filled with water, and a man in a casual suit beckoned her. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Hunter Na Yoon-Soo, in charge of the assessment room.¡± ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Seo Jin-Hee.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re here for Hunter¡¯s certification?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Yoon Soo took out a pad from the desk around him. He flicked over something and continued to speak. ¡°Seo Jin Hee, you are 22 years old. You took the sensitivities test both times in middle school and high school. Did you feel okay back then?¡± ¡°Yes. I recently felt Mana.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± As it was unusual, he turned the pad over and over again, and soon, Yoon Soo scratched his head and laughed. ¡°Well, we¡¯ll see if you could do it for yourself. Why don¡¯t you come over here and stand?¡± Yoon Soo led Jin Hee to the front of the panel. When she stood on the floor where a sticker was located, she suddenly noticed someone in the corner of the auditorium. A man was sitting in a chair, looking their way while eating snacks. ¡°¡­¡­.¡± Only the sound of crunching and eating snacks rang on the quiet auditorium. ¡°Oh, that¡­ Don¡¯t worry about him, let¡¯s proceed.¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Yoon Soo covered Jin Hee¡¯s view with cold sweats. Jinhee nodded her head understanding it could be his boss or supervisor. ¡°Now, this invisible wall is going to go over Jin Hee¡¯s body. You can raise the mana and magic in your body. Don¡¯t be too nervous. You will repeat it five times, so be calm. It doesn¡¯t matter how you use mana. You can use magic or strengthen your body. Instead, please make your best efforts. That way, we can maximize the sensitivity and measure it higher.¡± ¡°¡­What is your grade?¡± ¡°Me?¡± he asked, pointing at himself. ¡°I¡¯m Class B. Well, it¡¯s B-class by international standards and Level 2 by Korean standards.¡± Jin Hee opened her eyes wide. He was a higher grade than expected. He looked at the surprised woman and laughed. B-levels were considered executives-level hunters in small and medium-sized enterprises, and they could, not be reached by efforts alone. He must be a decent elite because he is a young man with such a high rank. Then, I should make it just below that level.¡¯ Jin Hee remembered the ¡°Bazette¡± in her memory. She used the mana breathing method as a knight, and slowly strengthened her body. She estimated the output while looking at the mana core located in Yoon Soo¡¯s chest. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s get started.¡± Chapter 2 Chapter 02 When Yoon-soo pressed the pad, the panel slowly approached Jin-hee. Jin-hee raised her mana moderately, thinking that the amount she exerted would be passable. Hiding her mana wasn¡¯t difficult for her, who was an outstanding knight and a swordmaster on her pinnacle. With a buzzing noise, the panel ran through her five times in total. ¡°The grade is¡­ Wow, it¡¯s a C class!¡± That¡¯s just fine. It was the highest grade that could be raised to a general talent, and the class was also nicknamed Elite in its own way. ¡°Since you have a sensibility from the beginning that matches the upper limit of the C class hopefully, you will quickly rise to the B level. Congratulations!¡± Yoon-soo said with a bright face, and Jin-hee replied with a small smile. But she knew that it was just empty praise. C-class, who couldn¡¯t get up to B-class, were a dime in a dozen, and on the Internet, C-class was nicknamed ¡°Bottleneck Level¡±. This is because you can¡¯t go up to B-class without great talent. That¡¯s why Jin-hee also wanted to get a C-class. It¡¯s just the right grade to be treated well without unwanted attention. ¡°Then, can I go now?¡± ¡°Oh, wait a minute. I have to give you a confirmation of the evaluation¡­¡± Yoon-soo later explained the Hunter¡¯s certification. Hunter cards will be mailed in about a week, and only after passing online education and gate field training can they be active as a hunter and so on. ¡°If you belong to a company, the field training will be handled there.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just me, so I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± It¡¯s not that she¡¯s not interested in a Hunter¡¯s company, but she doesn¡¯t feel the need to join one. She doesn¡¯t want to be restricted since she¡¯s comfortable doing everything alone. After completely hearing the explanations, Jin-hee left the evaluation room. As soon as she opened the door and was about to leave, she turned her head and peeked into the corner. Her eyes met with the man who was still looking in her direction. ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± He smiled as a greeting, but Jin-hee turned her head without any response and left the evaluation room without hesitation. ?¨T©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥?©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥¨T? ¡°Oh, give me the trash. I¡¯ll throw it away on my way out.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Yoon-soo accepted the empty snack bag from his senior, Shin Hyun-Sung. ¡°But please refrain from making such visits while on duty. You¡¯ll get in trouble if it¡¯s known I hid you.¡± ¡°Let me catch my breath, too. When I get back, I have to face all the reports again.¡± Hyun-sung grumbled and yawned. Their workplace had the worst working conditions. He has been working all day and night for two days, and all he got is a pile of reports and nagging. Yoon-Soo had an expression of understanding, but nevertheless, he did not help Hyun-Sung. ¡°No matter what, you can rest somewhere else. Even the customer who just came would not have been able to concentrate because of the Senior.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t concentrate? I don¡¯t know about that.¡± Hyun-sung, who smiled, stole the pad Yoon-soo was holding. ¡°Look at this.¡± ¡°What?¡± He showed Yoon-soo the sensitivity test that was conducted five times in total. Under the screen with the name Seo Jin-hee, the result value of Class C was written. ¡°What¡¯s the problem? It¡¯s class C, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to see the results, but to see the number of times. She¡¯s done it five times, and the numbers are the same, right?¡± ¡°Yes, they are.¡± ¡°Normally, beginners have a big deviation when they use mana. That¡¯s why we always do five tests to see the highest output.¡± Looking at the numbers of other testers, the difference was clear. The inexperienced beginner hunters recorded values with deviations, but Jin-hee¡¯s values were perfectly the same. ¡°Wow, now that you say it.¡± ¡°To emit mana at a certain level, you must have excellent mana handling skills. This is no skill for a beginner. She was hiding her power. It seems like she was intentionally trying to get a C class.¡± ¡°But she wasn¡¯t a hunter even in high school, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Right. That¡¯s why it¡¯s interesting.¡± It says that it hasn¡¯t been long since she has awakened as a hunter; but the thing is, she was either a genius with an excellent ability to handle mana or a person who has been hiding her power for some reason. It wasn¡¯t uncommon that some of the hunters sometimes cheated on tests to lower their ratings, but he didn¡¯t know that he would see it from a first-time Hunter. ¡°She¡¯s a peculiar person. Even if you only receive a B class, your treatment will be different¡­¡± ¡°She must have her reasons.¡± It was illegal to forge a Hunter¡¯s rating to have a high evaluation, but it is not illegal to induce it to receive a lower rating. Hyun-Sung didn¡¯t have to nitpick Jin-hee¡¯s rating because he knew that. ¡°There are a lot of new hunters these days.¡± ¡°Yes. This month alone, we got three B-levels, right? It¡¯s a good harvest.¡± Yoon-Soo said while recalling a number of new recruits who passed the assessment room. This year, there were many outstanding new hunters. After finishing the conversation saying he should also try his best, Yoon-Soo began to clean up the evaluation room, and Hyun-Sung looked at the door where Jin-hee left. ?¨T©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥?©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥¨T? There was quite a lot of training to go through to become a hunter. Online training was only 12 hours, but the actual gate exploration takes place a total of 3 times. And in the end, you have to complete one dungeon quest yourself to be recognized as an official hunter. Regardless of the online training, it was a drag for her to go on an exploration with middle and high school students. This is because she was the only one with common knowledge among these pretentious kids with Chuunibyu Syndrome. (Note: Chuunibyu Syndrome or 8th Grade Syndrome ¨C is a condition where people believe they have superpowers.) Some of them who came to do the operation were even obnoxious bastards. She doesn¡¯t hate children, but she thinks that she¡¯s going to hate them because of this incident. Jin-hee blocked the kakaotalk profile of the same group member. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She looked up and examined the party. She was in front of the Level 5 gate near Gangnam Station. There were a total of five people in the party, and the goal was to break through the dungeon called ¡°Herbal Garden¡±. ¡°I introduced myself earlier, but I¡¯ll do it again because there¡¯s a newcomer. Hello, I¡¯m Kim Yu-jin, the party leader for this Herbal Garden party. I¡¯m a D-Class Wizard.¡± Kim Yu-Jin was a typical D-class hunter. It is a hunter who does not challenge dungeons of level 3 or higher because they are dangerous and goes in and out of safe dungeons of level 5 or lower for the purpose of making a living. It¡¯s probably the most popular lifestyle among hunters. When entering the Herbal Garden dungeon, it literally falls in the middle of a huge herbal field. Unlike dungeons where the boss is set, herb field dungeons are always open dungeons, and there are no clearing specifications. Its main mission was just to go in there, dig out the necessary herbs, and eradicate wild animals and low-quality monsters that would occasionally attack. The various herbs from the dungeon were equal to earning a bunch of money just by grabbing a handful of them, so this dungeon was characterized by a part-time entry to refrain from drying out the herbs. For example, if a party went in last week, there was a rule that no party could enter until a week passed. Although there was no punishment for violating it, nor guards in the gate, it was a pretty important issue for the livelihood of the hunters around here. ¡°As I will tell you again, all you have to do is escort me and my friend while we are digging medicinal herbs, do not touch the medicinal herbs.¡± Even digging for herbs has been restricted. You can¡¯t dig up herbs in the dungeon unless you¡¯re a so-called herbal hunter. The rest of the Hunters were allowed to enter the dungeon only for escort purposes, and there was no system such as performance-based bonuses, so they could only receive a certain amount of compensation from the party leader. It was a kind of hidden rule made by the hunters around here. However, since such a simple mission is considered as a complete dungeon quest, there were quite a few people who came just to complete the Hunter¡¯s official certification like what Jin-hee is doing now. You don¡¯t need to do anything else, and it¡¯s nice to quickly come and go as it¡¯s located in Seoul. Of course, the pay was very stingy, but since there are not many tasks to do, it can also be considered as a good pastime. Herbal hunters were also very pleased that the newcomers participated just because of that. That¡¯s what Kim Yu-Jin also thought. But not this time. ¡°Uh¡­¡± None of the five Hunters were friendly. First of all, even if Kim Yu-Jin and one of her associates were a fixed party, the remaining three of them seemed to have no interest in listening to Kim Yu-Jin¡¯s words. When she asked everyone to introduce themselves, they only said their name and kept their mouths shut. The party was organized like this. Kim Yu-jin, the party leader and wizard, and Kim Dong-Soo, her associate and alchemist. New Hunter Seo Jin-Hee. Likewise, new Hunter Lee Si-Young. And Hunter, Park Jun, who is always stuck behind Lee Si Young. Both of the fixed parties; Kim Yu-Jin and Kim Dong-Soo, were rated D, but Jin-hee and Lee Si-young were new, but C-class. Besides, Park Joon is a whopping B-class. It was a strange situation where the party leader was D-class, and the party members were higher in rank. Kim Yu-Jin, who already had a fixed party for a long time, has a general idea of the situation. ¡®The person named Seo Jin-hee is a soloist who just came to get the official certification.¡¯ She¡¯s not sure why she, who seems to be an adult, is only now becoming a hunter, but she knows that her purpose is simply to accomplish the mission. And Lee Si-young, the same new hunter, had a similar situation with Jin-hee, but¡­ His case was a little different. ¡®Look at the cuteness.¡¯ Unlike Jin-Hee, who came out wearing free equipment rented by the state for the new hunters, Lee Si-Young had expensive artifacts wrapped around his body. His appearance is also like that of a prince. Matured-looking wavy hair parted on one side, smooth skin, and big round eyes. He seems to be 170 centimeters tall, but his face still looks so young. And there¡¯s even a B-class hunter named Park Joon following him. It was obvious. Lee Si-Young is a son from a rich family. The precious child of the house came out to be certified as a Hunter, and the escort was a B-class Hunter. ¡®It¡¯s overkill for a B-Class hunter to come to a Level 5 dungeon¡­¡¯ Even a B-Class hunter¡¯s breath for an hour could be compared to the price of Kim Yu-Jin¡¯s digging of herbs for a full day. The difference between Grade B and Grade D was huge. It¡¯s obvious why B-Class like them were behind C-levels. ¡°W-Well, then let¡¯s go in~ Everyone turned on their smartwatches, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The answer came only from Jin-Hee. When Kim Yu-Jin broke out in cold sweats, Kim Dong-Soo, who was next to her, tapped her shoulder to just let it go. One of Hunter¡¯s basic equipment, SmartWatch, is a device that draws signals directly from inside the dungeon and is an essential piece of equipment that records each other¡¯s location and the coordinates of the entrance. Jin-Hee and Park Jun were wearing them, but Lee Si-Young was not wearing his equipment. Kids these days. Kim Yu-Jin swallowed a sigh. Chapter 3 Chapter 03 The entrance to the Herbal Dungeon was at Gangnam Station, but the entrance on the other side of the door was located in a large mountain range. As they carefully entered the warped gate, the thin air peculiar to the high mountain greeted them. And under her feet, she saw several medicinal herbs sprouting on the slopes. There was no tree on the slope where the herbs were planted, and it seemed as if there was a big hole in the middle of the mountain range. It was clear that it was a herb field made by someone. ¡®This is Level 5.¡¯ Jin-hee looked around. There was no sign of movement around the herb field except for a few wild animals. Dungeons are rated by expeditions and hunters entering and leaving the dungeon. The Herbal Garden Dungeon appeared a year ago, and its danger was evaluated as the lowest level among the 5th-Grade Dungeons. The risk is low, but it can be seen as a dungeon with little to gain. So the hunters who use this dungeon were in majority one¡¯s who liked safety. This Dungeon has a low salary for a hunter, but it is a dungeon that guarantees a large amount of money for the ordinary person. It¡¯s understandable enough. No matter how great a job with the nickname of ¡®Hunter¡¯ is, they are all modern men after all. Some also consider it not bad to consider safeness and doing a comfortable job to make money. ¡°Tsk, what a boring thing to do as a Hunter.¡± ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± However, there were definitely quite a few people who hated this kind of Hunter¡¯s activity. People like Lee Si-Young; the boy next to Jin-Hee. Safety first means not to challenge yourself. Hunters can¡¯t be strong in the usual way. You must continue to use mana and magical power, struggle between life and death a lot of times, and must have as much achievement as you can, to raise your grade. It is one way to train your body or study, but the fastest way to grow was for a Hunter to fight beyond the gate and gain experience with combat. However, the hunter named Kim Yu-Jin has claimed to be a herbal hunter even though she is a wizard. It meant that she had no intention of going up. In fact, it was a very common and obvious choice, but it would seem different to greedy hunters like Lee Si-Young. They would have thought they were just complacent and easily satisfied. ¡°Young Master, we¡¯re still doing the same hunter tasks. Even if this place is Level 5¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make me laugh. What kind of Hunter task is this? Picking-up herbs just to go back and make small money? Even a passing dog will laugh.¡± The hunter named Jun Park seemed to be a relatively polite person. Jin-Hee glanced at him. Kim Yu-Jin and her partner were already digging for herbs in the middle of the herb field. The other party, who was in charge of the escort, only had to look around. Park Jun had an expression that said, ¡®He¡¯s starting again¡¯, and Lee Si-Young just kept clicking his tongue in a manner that was out of place for his age. ¡°That¡¯s why I told you to go to a Level 3 Dungeon.¡± ¡°Level 3 are dungeons that can only be challenged by Class B or higher.¡± ¡°What is that? Do I look weaker than a Class B? I¡¯m going up soon.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that you can¡¯t do it¡­¡± That person is having a hard time, too. Jin-Hee turned her head completely not caring about the duo anymore. It was also fun to watch the whining of a rich kid in real life, not just in a drama, but she was worried that it would cause a stir. Jin-Hee patrolled in the opposite direction from them. ¡®It¡¯s peaceful.¡¯ She can be a party leader after becoming an official hunter and set-off on a dungeon mission alone but she chose to participate in a simple mission like this. However, she didn¡¯t fully expect that it would be an overly peaceful mission. She walked around without stepping on the medicinal herbs. And when she was already pretty far from the party, she drew the sword hanging from her waist. A simple sword with little decoration, the length is comparable to a short-sword. People said that the durability and power of this equipment are poor because it is leased by the state, but this was a good enough sword for Jin-Hee. ¡°Obviously, modern is modern.¡± It was on a different level from those swords forged on a smithy that was blended with miscellaneous irons. Even if it was used back in her Bazette days in her old world, this sword could become a famous sword or could be considered as an expensive piece of equipment. She swung her sword several times to stretch her muscles. Her body was incomparably fragile to that of Bazette, but her talent was still there. Because she lacked muscle strength, she used mana to strengthen and wield the sword, which quickly revealed the talent of the past. ¡°I wish I had grown taller.¡± Bazette was about a span taller than Jin-Hee. The height difference meant that the sword should also be modified. She¡¯ll have to fix it slowly later. Still, she caught the sword after a long time and felt energized. The moment she was thinking about going into the woods and doing some training. ¡°Huh?¡± She detected something. ¡°Hmm? Hey, what is that?¡± In the opposite direction from where Jin-Hee was, a shadow of a person was seen in the forest on the side where Lee Si-Young and Park Jun stood. Lee Si-Young, who was looking over there, called Jun. Jun Park turned around, wondering what to say, and as soon as he found it, he took out a small Orb from his pocket. The orb quickly turned into a spear. ¡°Come back here, Young Master.¡± It was unusual. Jin-hee detected its presence, but Park Jun did not detect them until they came close. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± There was no answer. Numerous people walked out of the shadow of the forest. Wearing black leather armor and masks that looked suspicious, they slowly took out their weapons. Like Park Jun, they used an orb to summon various weapons such as swords, crossbows, and wands. ¡°H-Hey?¡± While Park Jun confronted the unknown people, Jin-Hee quickly ran to Kim Yu-Jin and her companion. ¡°Run straight to the gate.¡± ¡°W-What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a monster. It¡¯s people.¡± The gate is just above the herb field, so at least it¡¯s not a group that entered after the party came in. That means they were waiting inside the gate since before their arrival. Then the story was obvious. ¡®They are assassins.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯ll protect you, so run straight to the gate. And report it.¡± ¡°B-But¡­¡± Kim Yu-Jin pointed to Lee Si-Young and Park Jun. The enemies slowly surrounded the two. ¡°Can you help them?¡± (Jin-Hee) ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± (Kim Yu-Jin) The word ¡°by your skills¡± was omitted. But Kim Yu-Jin knows. Even if 100 D-Class hunters like her gather, they were no match for B-class hunters. It was right to retreat. Jin-Hee stood in front of Kim Yu-Jin with a sword. Kim Yu-Jin said with a small voice, ¡°Good Luck¡± and ran straight to the gate with her associate. ¡°¡­You go, too.¡± Jin-Hee slowly walked toward Jun Park. Even though Kim Yu-Jin ran away, no one even glimpsed at them. As expected, the goal is either Park Jun or Lee Si-Young. As Jin-hee approached, the enemies now surrounded not only Park Joon but also Jin-Hee at a certain range. ¡°It looks like there¡¯s a lot who hold grudges with you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s any of your business.¡± Park Jun grabbed the spear right away with a tense expression. Jin-Hee glanced at Lee Si-Young. She could see the boy with a puzzled expression on his face as if he hadn¡¯t figured out the situation yet. ¡®It looks like he came from a big shot family.¡¯ There are quite a few conflicts of interest between Hunters because of dungeons, but she didn¡¯t expect it to be this open. He didn¡¯t take a B-Class Hunter as an escort for nothing. Jin-Hee grabbed her sword with a carefree expression. ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± The start of the fight was unexpected. As soon as she thought about how long the stand-off would take place, the assassin that was holding the sword in front of them rushed in. A straight attack with a definite target. It¡¯s Lee Si-Young. Park Joon calmly blocked him, but the weapon that went in their direction wasn¡¯t only one. A crossbow bolt flies in and a spear is also stabbed from behind. ¡°¡­Hot!¡± It was a simultaneous attack, but Park Joon was placid. Immediately after bleeding out his words, he pushed the assassin with a spear, and at the same time grabbed Lee Si-Young¡¯s head and pressed it down to the floor. He raised his fist through the passing bolt and smashed the spear. Before anyone could even realize, a gauntlet was already worn on his hand. Defense and counterattack at the same time. Park Jun¡¯s spear turned its direction and pierced the assassin who tried to attack with a sword. The sword¡¯s owner was stabbed in the chest in a single stroke, and this strike was different from the assassin who used the spear. ¡®I don¡¯t even need to help.¡¯ The assassins did not target Jin-Hee. As soon as the battle started, they rushed to Lee Si-Young, but Park Joon was destroying all of them. Because he was a Class B, his movements were certainly different. It was faster and more powerful than the hunter¡¯s battle video that she occasionally saw on the internet. Jin-Hee was watching modern martial arts for the first time, so she slipped back and observed the battle with a rather intrigued expression. ¡°¡­Huh?¡± Then she found something strange. ¡°Don¡¯t lift your head up, Young Master!¡± ¡°Y-Yes!¡± Park Jun¡¯s effective hits were slowly piling up. The assassin holding the sword was wounded in the chest, and the assassin holding the spear was stabbed in the thigh. The victory was definitely on Park Jun¡¯s side. He was fighting safely with his ¡®luggage¡¯, so it only took more time, but with Park Jun¡¯s natural skills, it should have been decided in a few minutes. Strangely, however, the enemies did not fall. The enemy with a cut on his thigh showed no signs of slowing down but rather became even faster. The assassin, whose upper body was pierced, continued attacking without fear of his wound. On the contrary, Park¡¯s movement was slowing down. He may not feel it, but she could see it because she was watching the fight from a different perspective. Park Jun¡¯s movement is slowing down half a beat, while the enemy¡¯s movement is speeding up one beat. ¡°Swish!¡± A bolt flew again. This time, the target was not Lee Si-Young, but Park Jun. Park Jun hurriedly bent down to avoid it, but he couldn¡¯t avoid both swords and spears from a low position. He somehow managed to stop the sword while lifting his spear horizontally, but he could not stop the spear from stabbing him. About half the span of his shoulder was stabbed by the spear. Clenching his teeth and enduring the pain, he raised his foot and kicked the enemy. ¡°Argh!¡± He escaped roughly at the same time a small window was created. Park Jun clenched his teeth and put his hand on his shoulder. It would have been dangerous if he had been stabbed deeper. ¡®¡­Where is it?¡¯ There¡¯s no time to rest. When Park Jun faced his enemies again, Jin-Hee¡¯s eyes were not on the fight anymore, but scanning the surroundings. An enemy who does not shake even if he is hurt. On the contrary, the more they get hurt, the weaker the other side gets. After seeing the short battle, Jin-Hee fully understood the situation. ¡®Who is the mastermind?¡¯ It certainly is here. The one who controls these dolls. Found it. Jin-Hee picked up a stone on the floor and threw it toward the middle of the herb field. ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± Chapter 4 Kang! There was a sound like a window breaking, and a huge crack appeared in the center of the herb field. Seen through the rubble of the shattered landscape was a boy in a black hoodie. His face, which was only visible under his nose, looked similar to Lee¡¯s age. The boy with pale skin said, clicking his tongue. ¡°What, how did you know?¡± At the same time, the enemies attacking Park-Jun stopped moving. As if they were mannequins, he stepped back, confused as he saw those who had stiffened their posture. ¡°W-what is this¡­?¡± (Park-jun) ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯ve seen through my skill. Hey, you have pretty good eyes.¡± (Assassin) Jin-hee didn¡¯t answer. She just stepped back again and stood in front of Park-jun. He noticed that she was buying him time to catch his breath. ¡°T-Thank you.¡± (Park-jun) ¡°Stay back. These are all dolls.¡± (Jin-hee) ¡°Dolls?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jin-hee kicked an enemy who tried to touch Lee Si-young. The texture was like a human being, but he collapsed on the floor while he was still in an awkward and stiff position. ¡°You know them? Yeah, they¡¯re my dolls. Parasites, to be exact.¡± Parasite. It was obvious what the word meant. ¡°They all have no mind. It¡¯s like an automatic doll, so even if they get hurt, they don¡¯t stop.¡± Only then did Park-jun realize that his struggle was pointless. No matter how much he swung his spear, there was no slowing down in the movement of the dolls. As time went by, he gradually lost his stamina and became sluggish for unknown reasons, so he would have been killed by the dolls. ¡°His weapon is probably a cursed tool. You¡¯ve slowed down, haven¡¯t you?¡± (Jin-hee) ¡°C-come to think of it¡­¡± ¡°Since you didn¡¯t realize it, it¡¯s more like a cognitive decline in speed than physical weakness. The more you get hurt, the more hallucinations you get.¡± I pretended to infer, but in fact, I was almost certain because the movement of the mana was so visible. The more wounded the enemy¡¯s weapon dolls are, the more disrupted the mana movement around Park¡¯s head flows. The boy in the black hood opened his mouth. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s great. I¡¯ve never met someone who saw through me that much before. This is the first time.¡± ¡°You sound like you¡¯ve been born for about thirty years. Child, you¡¯re old enough to have played with Yu-Gi-Oh cards are you not?¡± (Jin-hee) ¡°¡­Fine, there¡¯s a reason for you to have a bad mouth.¡± The boy shrugged and laughed. And when his fingers snapped, the enemies who had stopped straightened their posture again. ¡°So what? Do you think you can get me just because you found me? Or do you think fighting together with a C-class kid like him is enough? His guardian is already half dying anyway.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous.¡± Park Jun clenched his teeth and got up from his seat. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare touch the Young Master, you have no idea who you are dealing wi¡ª.¡± ¡°Oh, of course, I know. Do you think I attacked you without knowing anything? You are the fourth young master of the Golden River Corporation. And what¡¯s more, you¡¯re 12 years apart from the third young master, and you¡¯re treated the most preciously by your father like a baby that still needs milk.¡± ¡°Watch your mouth¡­!¡± ¡°I know a lot. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here to kill him.¡± Came to kill. Lee Si-young¡¯s complexion, who was still at the words, turned blue. ¡°What are you talking about? Why would you kill me? Who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the villain. No, let¡¯s say I¡¯m an Avenger. Hehe, a formidable enemy who punishes the evil Golden River Corporation, which sucks the blood of the common people.¡± The boy laughed. Lee Si-young said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense,¡± and cried out, ¡°What did I do wrong?¡± But soon, when Park Jun stopped him with his hand, he kept his mouth shut. ¡°You¡¯re lying, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, I am.¡± The boy answered Jin-hee¡¯s question coolly. ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t really have a reason. I don¡¯t have much time left, so just die. It¡¯s time for me to get serious.¡± ¡°G-Get serious?¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯ve been fighting with all my strength this time, old man? I was just playing around because I was wondering when she would come out. But now that¡¯s over, we¡¯d better end this quickly.¡± The dolls clenched their weapons strongly at the boy¡¯s gesture. At the same time, black magic began to dwell in their hands, it was a very different kind of mana enhancement phenomenon compared to before. Park Jun¡¯s complexion, which wasn¡¯t good, turned even paler. The magnitude of the mana felt was no joke, it was as if one by one, B-class hunters were appearing in front of their eyes. Even if he was in perfect condition, he could not guarantee a perfect defense. Now that this has happened, he must make Jin-hee and the young master run away. Park Jun held the spear straight and tried to step forward. His exhausted body was filled with explosive magic. There was still power left to be blown up and at that moment the girl said something interesting. ¡°That sounds fine. I wanted to warm up, too.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± Jin-hee said, smiling for the first time since she entered the dungeon. She kicked off at a rapid pace branding her sword. Swish. The sound of colored paper being cut off by scissors rang everywhere. At the same time, the necks of the dolls who were surrounding them all fell to the ground. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Come on, get back up. A doll that won¡¯t die it¡¯s perfect for a rehabilitation exercise.¡± Jin-hee¡¯s eyes were folded beautifully. ¡°Just now¡­ Mana.¡± Park Jun was the only one who saw the magic thread from the edge of the sword with his eyes. At the end of the sword that was branded from the waist in an instant and swung in the air, there was a mana sword equivalent to several meters. A thin, long, wire-like mana instantly cut down the dolls¡¯ throats in no time. Beyond strengthening the body, it is not difficult to enchant weapons. It was possible not only for B-class hunters but also for high-ranking C-class hunters. However, it was the first time for Park Jun to see it as such a clear phenomenon while being used as a weapon. Pulling out mana like a thread is only possible with much concentration and talent. Even if he could put mana on the spear and strengthen it, he could not implement a solidly structured weapon of pure mana. ¡°Wh-What have you done!¡± The boy in the hoodie shouted, panicking as if he couldn¡¯t believe what he just saw. The dolls whose necks had disappeared got up again, holding their heads up like Durahan and sticking them to their necks. ¡°Well, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve used it, so it¡¯s not that powerful.¡± In the past, the mana implementation could have extended up to 5 meters. However, whether it was due to the lack of practice or experience, or the body¡¯s inability to withstand it, it was barely over 2 meters. A mana sword was not a commonly used skill because it needed a preparatory stance or time to concentrate. However, you just have to use the technique multiple times to loosen your hands. The origin of her swordsmanship is the mercenary combat skills. It is a bloody combat technique that uses swords, daggers, spears, knives, and all sorts of weapons to kill enemies. Even if you try to say a good word about it, it is not refined swordsmanship because it is mixed with techniques from all over the world. However, it was also true that it was a highly versatile sword technique. There was no limit to how she could use the sword. It is random because it has no form, and it is unpredictable because of the variety of movements. Jin-hee grabbed the sword in reverse this time. Looking at the short sword, it looked as if she was holding a dagger. ¡°Don¡¯t get cheeky because you hit them once!¡± The dolls who regained their momentum even stronger than before flooded her. This time, Jin-hee bent down and rushed toward them as if she wasn¡¯t going to give them a chance to strike. ¡°Be careful!¡± Park Jun screamed at her advance, which was likely to be attacked immediately, but Jin-hee¡¯s movement was agile. She twisted her body to avoid the sword aiming straight at her chest, and swung the sword she was holding as a dagger upward. After splitting the jaw of one doll at once, Jin-hee¡¯s sword, which turned to the other side naturally, was stuck in the neck of the enemy who was attacking with the spear. The neck, which had already been cut once, was weak in durability, and the head fell again. ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤!¡± The bolts of a crossbow carrying magic flew like a bullet at her forehead. However, she turned her shoulder lightly, avoiding with a difference akin to a thin piece of paper, and threw the sword she was holding in a reciprocal movement. Her sword that stabbed exactly into the enemy¡¯s head was likewise, injected with mana, and the doll¡¯s skull split like tofu. The enemies recovering again tried to grab her back, but she advanced the same way as before, arriving in front of the enemy holding a crossbow in a second, pulling out the stabbed sword, turning and swinging it horizontally at the same time. In a natural motion like flowing water, the enemy¡¯s head fell again. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s awesome.¡± Lee Si-young, who was looking from afar, opened his mouth. It was a sword fight that seemed more like a haze. The sword continued to take the enemy¡¯s head just by twisting her shoulders or reversing her waist. Unlike the rigid and formal sword techniques that Lee Si-young had seen so far, it was as if he was watching a concerted play. Park Jun who was watching beside also doubted his eyes. If Lee Si-young was surprised by her movements, Park Jun was surprised twice more at the fact that all of the places she attacked were the doll¡¯s head and neck. She was literally playing with her enemies. If arms and legs were cut off, the enemy could be neutralized instantly, but she purposely aimed only at the neck and head. As if she wanted to fight more. ¡°Ihhrk!¡± The boy in hoodies was now even using magic. When he wielded his black bone cane, numerous magic arrows aimed at Jin-hee. Each one does not have great power, but if the number exceeds twenty, it is also quite the weapon. A sharp arrow embroidered in the air and flew straight toward Jin-hee like that of a crossbow. But she was not flustered in the least. ¡°I guess you can¡¯t use magic very well when you¡¯re controlling the dolls?¡± That¡¯s exactly what it was. The boy¡¯s arrow hit rate was terrible. Of the over twenty arrows, only about five reached her. After pushing all of them into the enemy¡¯s body she used as a shield, she flew away as if she was dancing again. Short swords have a short range of hits. The way to use that range is simple. Using the legs. From afar, she approached the enemy that was trying to widen the distance using a spear. He tried to cut her with the spear, but her foot was faster. With an exciting rollback kick, she kicks the spear before it creates a piercing angle. Then, with the rotational force, she turned once more, approaching the target and swinging the sword at the same time. The head of the spearman doll falls again. ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous¡­¡± Dozens of minutes of fighting continued. The number of times the enemy¡¯s head fell could not be counted. The boy in the hoodie had no choice but to admit. That woman and him¡­ ¡°I¡¯m no match.¡± Chapter 5 ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± Jin-hee said nothing as if she had read the boy¡¯s thoughts. The boy¡¯s main skill specializes in battling against numerous opponents. It focuses on many-to-many battles, killing enemies with dolls that never die. However, it is also a technique that only works for those who are below his own skill level. It is a skill that has a higher chance of winning when dealing with ten opponents whose skills were lower than his, but it doesn¡¯t work well with one opponent with similar capabilities. Jin-hee¡¯s ability was far above the boy¡¯s magic. It would have been easier for him to fight with ten Park Juns. If it were Park Jun¡¯s honest sword style, a war of attrition would have worked, but for Jin-hee, who finds the enemy¡¯s gap with amazing accuracy, the doll was a substandard opponent. ¡°You¡­ I¡¯ll remember this.¡± The boy clenched his teeth and mumbled. The mission failed. As long as that woman is here, there is no way to touch Lee Si-young. He could have waited for Jin-hee to lose strength, but the delay for that was too long. ¡°Oh, running away? Well, it¡¯s time for the backup to come soon.¡± ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± Did she know everything from the beginning? The boy spat the moment he heard Jin-hee¡¯s words. Kim Yu-jin¡¯s group, who left the gate earlier, may be bringing reinforcements by now. Lee Si-young is, after all, one of the successors of the ¡®Geumgang¡¯ Corporation. (Note: Golden River Corporation was used before but the Korean term which is Geumgang is going to be used moving forward.) Even if he was young and his abilities were insignificant he was from that big corporation. If hunters from the Geumgang Group came, it¡¯ll be difficult to guarantee his life, even if he was only a boy. ¡°Remember correctly. I¡¯ll definitely come back and kill you next time¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah. You talk too much.¡± Jin-hee frowned, cutting the boy¡¯s words. In fact, she planned to let the boy go. It wasn¡¯t that she was averse to murder. Jin-hee was neither foolish nor too virtuous to feel guilty about killing a person who tried to kill her. It was for the simple fact that he just helped with her rehabilitation. And if these enemies were left unattended, they would become more interesting by the time they came back for a second round. But thinking about it again, this person could be a headache in the future if left alone. ¡°Heok!¡± Her sword shone again. But this time it was not their neck but the body. The dolls fell to the floor in two halves. The boy certainly belongs to some kind of a group. They obviously anticipated and carefully planned to ambush Lee Si-young in this place. He also jokingly said that he was an ¡®avenger¡¯, so they must be an organized group of bandits. If she lets this guy go, she doesn¡¯t know what kind of hindrance will come along with him next time. She enjoys fighting strong enemies, but it wasn¡¯t fun if it could interfere with her daily life. She hated those sorts of things. She had a family and she had a house that she could laze around comfortably on her days off. She wasn¡¯t the same as when she was Bazette. ¡°Unfortunately, my relationship with you will end here.¡± ¡°Wh-what?¡± As the dolls collapsed, the boy who had been hit by mana looked up at her with cold sweat. The boy immediately raised his head up. But Jin-hee wasn¡¯t at the place where she used to be before. ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤!¡± Suddenly, she was already in front of the boy¡¯s eyes, and once again was in the posture of using her mana sword. ¡®I¡¯m going to die.¡¯ The boy¡¯s pupils dilated and time slowed down. Like a kaleidoscope. He only realized it now. She was playing with him. The boy¡¯s all-out efforts to detain her were to no avail. And in just a blink of an eye. She got rid of all the dolls and got to the boy. She was confident that she could end this fight in just a few seconds. Obviously, there were protective magic circles and traps around the boy, but somehow it was destroyed as soon as she stepped in. Death. He could see the golden mana hanging from her sword. No matter how high his body enforcement defense is, the moment that sword reaches him, they¡¯ll be all useless. And like those dolls, his neck will fly in the air. ¡®No!¡¯ The boy clenched his teeth. Then he stopped using magic. What he used reflexively was what was inside his pocket, the escape device he was told to use in an emergency. [Generate the gate.] ¡°Huh?¡± Suddenly, a distortion with the air changed the trajectory of the sword. A small black hole-like gate was created right in front of her. ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!¡± The sword deviated greatly due to the space distortion of the gate, but the boy could not avoid it. His right arm that was raised to protect himself, was cut diagonally, and soon fell off. Blood surged from the boy¡¯s forearm up to a neat cross-section. ¡°I-I¡¯ll kill you!¡± As Jin-hee got a little surprised by the unexpected appearance of the gate, the boy snatched his right arm with his left hand as he was about to fall to the floor. The gate grew as big as the boy¡¯s height and swallowed him up. ¡°I¡¯m not going to leave you alone, wait for it! The next time we meet, I will surely¡­!¡± ¡°Oh, damn it.¡± The little boy¡¯s tone is harsh. Jin-hee shook off the blood on the sword and clicked her tongue. By the way, she never thought that a tool to create a gate would exist. It was common sense that it was impossible to artificially make or remove gates. She didn¡¯t expect that the attack would be blocked due to a gate¡¯s appearance. If she had known this beforehand, she would have stabbed him immediately without giving him any time to rant. Jin-hee calmly mumbled her bitter regret. ¡°Are you all right?¡± Park Jun, who was still pressing his chest, slowly approached. Lee Si-young, who had turned pale, was following him from behind. His eyes were filled with fear and strange respect, and on the other hand, Park Jun looked sorry. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I feel like a burden.¡± ¡°¡­No. It¡¯s okay. You fought well enough.¡± She bent her elbows to wipe her sword through her clothes and stuck it in her waist scabbard. Then Park Jun asked with a serious expression at her familiar body movement. ¡°¡­By any chance. Are you perhaps actually not a new hun¡­¡± Before Park Jun could even try to finish his speech, a big disturbance came from the gate. ¡°Ms. Seo Jin-hee! Mr. Park Jun!¡± Kim Yu-jin entered the gate with a dozen people who appeared to be hunters. The situation developed rapidly. Park was immediately taken to the emergency room, and Lee Si-young was surrounded by people from the Geumgang group. Of course, Jin-hee wasn¡¯t ignored either. The paramedics asked her if she was hurt, and Kim Yu-jin, who was listening to the situation, thanked her. After sending them all back, Jin-hee headed for the police station. And while she was telling the detective about the situation inside the gate. ¡°Can I have a moment?¡± Park Jun came back. Apparently running in a hurry with a bandage around his chest, he took her out to the hallway, saying he had something to talk with her for a while. ¡°Is it alright if I announce that I¡¯m the one who took care of this?¡± ¡°What?¡± When Jin-hee tilted her head wondering what he was talking about, he said with an apologetic expression on his face. ¡°It¡¯s actually confidential, but¡­ Today¡¯s raid wasn¡¯t only focused on us. It happened simultaneously.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°The heads of different companies like ours, executives, guild leaders of Hunter Guilds, and even key members of the National Assembly have been attacked. They were from a bigger organization than we thought. By now we believe that they¡¯re already in hiding, whether it¡¯s in a country or a business. The timing of the raid was unfortunate, and many people were even killed at home or on a trip. This case will probably be reported on the higher-ups, and if that happens¡­¡± ¡°¡­Are you worried about me?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± She doesn¡¯t think he was trying to steal her achievements. Even in Jin-hee¡¯s eyes, Park Jun did not seem to have that kind of personality. He was just worried about her, who had no clear background. ¡®Figures.¡¯ Park Jun¡¯s choice was right. Her strength was seen by him. It was a great thing, but she was a solo hunter. If the report goes up, it will definitely get attention, and then it will be easy for the enemies to single Jin-hee out. ¡°And Geumgang¡­ ¡­Probably won¡¯t help.¡± She is strong, but in the end, she is only just a C-rank hunter. Even if she is in danger, Geumgang will not help. The state should be able to help, but the power of those who manipulate the gate and commit simultaneous terrorism could not be easily handled. Moreover, as Park Jun said, the suspicion that the enemy was hiding behind a country or a company could not be easily overlooked. It was only right to expect that there would be conspirators within that organization who perfectly predicted the movements of major factors and simultaneously executed terrorism. Therefore, Park Jun¡¯s proposal was to make it seem that he¡¯s the one who prevented the terrorist attack and Jin-hee hid in safety. ¡°Fortunately, you¡¯re just a new hunter, so you don¡¯t have a history of hunter activities yet. I also deleted all the party records on our smartwatch. If you¡¯re careful, you¡¯ll be fine for a while. You only have to lay low until we find the enemies.¡± ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± ¡°Of course, we¡¯ll pay for the cost. In return for your help¡­¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll accept the money. I¡¯ll also write the statement as Park Jun said.¡± When Jin-hee nodded nonchalantly, Park Jun was embarrassed and opened his eyes in a circle. ¡°Is-Is it really all right?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Getting recognized doesn¡¯t give me an achievement certificate.¡± In addition, she did not want to be introduced to the media as the new hunter who averted a terrorist attack. Honor is a good thing, but she hates to think that her face would be sold to the media indiscriminately. She nodded to him as a sign that their conversation was over and then walked back to the office where the detective was waiting. ¡°¡­You¡¯re quite an interesting person.¡± Looking behind her, Park Jun scratched his cheek. In fact, it was a rude and far-fetched proposal, but he didn¡¯t expect that she was going to accept it that easily. ¡°Oh, but I don¡¯t want to just rest at home.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to work. You¡¯re going to pay me, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± Do whatever you want. Park Jun mumbled as if he didn¡¯t know what Jin-hee was thinking. ?¨T©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥?©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥¨T? ¡°Oh, hello?¡± ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤?¡± She was on her way back after she finished filling out the statement report. While looking at the already dark sky and thinking about taking a taxi, someone suddenly talked to her. The man with thin eyebrows, slanted eyes, and a beautiful jawline was about one head taller than her. To sum it up, she thought it would be this kind of face if a fox was turned into a person. ¡°I see you often.¡± He greeted me with a grin. While Jin-hee was looking back on whether she had ever met such a person, he leaned against the wall of the hallway and said as if he was upset. ¡°Oh, you must have forgotten. We met at the evaluation room last time. Don¡¯t you remember?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± The man who was eating the snack. Jin-hee said as if she remembered it now. ¡°I remember you. What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I was just passing by, and I saw a familiar face. Besides, I heard you were involved in a terrible incident.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± It¡¯s a really terrible incident. Though terrible was an underrated term when you think about what happened in the herb garden. Unidentified humans are scattered on the floor in half, while a large company¡¯s B-class hunter was hit by a spear on his shoulder. Jin-hee could say that she fortunately survived such an incident, but it wasn¡¯t the case for those people around her. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s really fortunate though. This terrorist attack occurred in a total of 20 different places, and there were only two places where no casualties were reported. One of them is where Jin-hee was.¡± ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± Jin-hee looked around quietly and soon leaned against the opposite wall of the man, making him smile a little. ?¨T©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥? Chapter 6 ¡°I see.¡± ¡°Park Jun is a strong hunter, isn¡¯t he? He¡¯s a hunter who had a high-speed promotion at Geumgang Group. He was born a Class B, but there are not many people who are as honest and strong at such a young age.¡± ¡°It looked like it.¡± ¡°His spear skills are also amazing.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Perhaps feeling that Jin-hee¡¯s answer was insincere, the man paused for a moment and stared at her eyes. Jin-hee, who was staring blankly at the floor with her arms crossed, felt the man¡¯s gaze and raised her head. Dry eyes looked back at him, showing that she was not interested in the least. There was no need to talk in a roundabout way, so the man got to the point at once. ¡°But when I examined the bodies of the terrorists, they didn¡¯t have a lot of spear wounds.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°Attacks using mana can cause burns, clean cross-section cuts, or leave unique marks. Like a bullet wound.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°But not only did the bodies show traces of mana, but also traces of a sword. It has a thickness of 20mm and a length of more than 5cm. A deep attack had 15cm of length. It¡¯s a ¡®stabbing¡¯ print that you can¡¯t make with a spear.¡± ¡®Stabbing,¡¯ I¡¯ve probably trusted the sword in the skull of an enemy who used a crossbow. Lastly, the man spoke to Jin-hee, with an interesting smile on his face. ¡°It just so happens that you¡¯re the only one who used a sword on the scene, Jin-hee. Such a coincidence, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Name.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°You knew my name.¡± Jin-hee asked as if she suddenly remembered the fact. The man, who was about to frown because he was wondering what the hell she was talking about, replied in no time, while thinking that Jin-hee might not know his name. ¡°I heard it in the evaluation room last time. Oh, my name is Shin Hyun-sung.¡± ¡°So, Shin Hyun-sung.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Are you a cop?¡± ¡°¡­No.¡± He¡¯s exactly the kind of guy who works with the police, or the kind that manages Hunters. It was obvious considering the fact that he was at the police station at this time or when he was at the state-run Hunter Center. Jin-hee looked straight at the mana hole in Hyun-sung¡¯s chest. The size of the mana hole was not directly related to skill, but it¡¯s size was so huge that it was incomparable to Park Jun and Na Yoon-soo¡¯s that she saw the other day. Even with her skills, she couldn¡¯t tell the exact measure of it. What a funny person, Jin-hee smiled. ¡°So there¡¯s no reason for me to be questioned, right?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± This was clearly an interrogation. At the end of the day, his lines became more and more aggressive to say that he was just slightly testing her. When he couldn¡¯t find anything to answer, Jin-hee loosened her arms and knocked on the wall of the hallway a few times. The moment she made a knocking sound, Hyun-sung¡¯s pupils trembled relentlessly. This woman knows. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have to bother like this.¡± ¡°You knew, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°About what? That you put a barrier on the corridor to keep people from coming here? Or did you come to me because you didn¡¯t get a satisfactory answer even if you asked Park Jun?¡± ¡°Oh, my.¡± Hyun-sung scratched his head and laughed. It wasn¡¯t as sweet a smile as before. His lips twisted then he slowly spoke. ¡°If you were a master-level hunter, you should¡¯ve said so from the beginning. I¡¯m getting tired of beating around the bush.¡± ¡°I know right. It would have been better if you had honestly asked from the beginning.¡± Thanks to him, I don¡¯t feel so good. Jin-hee tapped the wall again with a smiling face, and pressed her finger. Suddenly, the sound of fireworks rang out from the wall where there was a pounding sound. The barrier that Hyun-sung had set was shattered. Although it was only a low-level magic, this barrier was weaved like a spider web. It was a barrier that even a high-level hunter could hardly recognize. It was a kind of magic trick that¡¯ll make it difficult for ordinary people to enter, and for the people inside to go out without permission. She forced her mana into the barrier and broke it in an ignorant way, walking briskly to the other side of the hallway. ¡°The next time you come, bring a gift. Who knows, if so, you might get the right answer.¡± ¡°¡­If you don¡¯t explain it here, I¡¯ll continue to suspect you.¡± ¡°Be my guest.¡± Jin-hee walked, waving her hands over her shoulders. ¡°¡­What a cocky woman.¡± Hyun-sung, who used mana to clean up the remains of the barrier, sighed as he heard Jin-hee open the exit door of the police station. Of course, he knew she wasn¡¯t involved with the terrorist group. It was hard to connect her back to terrorism because she even gave up her accomplishments to others. However, it was necessary to determine how much power she was hiding. ¡°She¡¯s definitely not B-Class.¡± Among B-level hunters, even Park Jun, who was considered to be quite good-skilled in his own way, had a hard time with the terrorists. He doesn¡¯t know what the situation was like, but if she¡¯s at the level where she can defeat an enemy that can easily defeat a B-class hunter, he has to consider the possibility of her being an A-class. In addition, she has the skills to instantly notice and destroy these types of barriers. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll have to do some research.¡± At that moment, with a fox-like impression, he disappeared from the police station as if he had put on a disguise. ?¨T©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥?©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥¨T? 02 Combat Crows ?¨T©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥?©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥¨T? Jin-hee returned to her home and went out to look for a gate the next day. Park Jun had called her, and said it would be better if she went into hiding for a while, but she thought it would be okay to go out in a cap and mask on, so she took the sword and went out. ¡®I¡¯m going to have to change my sword.¡¯ She had only used it for a while, but the blade has already cracked in some places. It was a fight between blades, and the ready-made rental sword couldn¡¯t make it because they didn¡¯t manage it properly. There was even dry old blood on it. Even yesterday¡¯s doll enemy weapons were much better than her sword. So she thought that she¡¯d have to make some money. Even if Park Jun said he would send her some compensation, she doesn¡¯t know when that would happen, and the salary she received at the company she worked for a short time started to wither. The place she came to was Sillim Station. Still, she tried her best to fulfill Park Jun¡¯s request. There were a lot of people just like Jin-hee. In other words, it is a checkpoint for people who do not want their identity to be revealed. ¡°¡­There are a lot of people.¡± Jin-hee muttered as she raised her black mask up to the tip of her nose. If you cross the bridge at Sillim Station and go into the corner, you will find an alley where there were many Chinese shops in the past. This place where a lot of foreigners lived has become a place where the general public hardly lives due to frequent opening of gates. There were not many high-grade gates, but this was due to the frequent apparition of ¡®special-managed¡¯ dungeons where monsters occasionally pop out of the gates. There are three main types of dungeons: ¡®normal¡¯, ¡®specially-managed,¡¯ and ¡®unmanaged.¡¯ Among them, the specially-managed type refers to a very dangerous type in which the creatures inside the gate occasionally pops out to Earth, and there were many gates like this in Sillim. Naturally, the general population decreased, but on the contrary, the influx of hunters increased. Unlike other safe dungeons, the risk was high, but because there were many gates, there was not much competition between hunters. Hunters entering and leaving Sillim often called this place ¡®gold mine.¡¯ A place where the supply (dungeon) and demand (hunter) matched quite well with the absurd number of gates making the country unable to manage. And above all, the reason why it is so popular with certain hunters. ¡®It¡¯s a real lawless area.¡¯ This is because this is the top hotspot for ¡°uncertified hunting ground¡± in Seoul, that even large corporations and the government have given up. A country¡¯s official hunter can only be a person with no criminal record. Becoming an official hunter means that the hunter¡¯s welfare, equipment rental, and job hunting are possible at the same time as tax is properly being paid, and of course, he is treated with respect externally. However, most of those who have a criminal record or do not want to pay taxes, and those who do things behind the law, did not receive official Hunter certification, nor did they want to receive it. Those who have the Hunter qualifications will be subject to disciplinary action and their qualifications can be revoked if they commit a criminal offense similar to a previous conviction. And it was here, in Sillim, where such people gathered. In the past, restaurant stalls did illegal business without paying taxes, but in modern times, uncertified hunters are doing just the same here in Sillim. ¡°Come on, I¡¯m selling Giant Mantis leg shells! There is nothing like shell equipment!¡± ¡°Replica mana recovery potion only 200,000 won! The effect is 50% of the potion level of the Hat Witch!¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for a party! Class C wizards~ Those who hunt in shifts from night to morning~¡± It was really like a market. All kinds of monster corpses and illegal weapons were being sold in stores that sold Chinese food, and people who covered their faces like Jin-hee were clamoring to find a party. For uncertified hunters, Sillim was a place of life. It wasn¡¯t like this at first either. Just as gates were popping up one after another, people flocked to it, and eventually gangsters, ex-convicts, and illegal immigrants gathered here, and eventually the land became a difficult place for the state to manage. As a group of people who did not understand common sense nor justice gradually gathered, those who were ¡®real hunters¡¯ steadily left this place. Because they didn¡¯t want to explore the dungeons among dangerous people who might betray them. For this reason, Sillim became a place called a lawless zone, hunting ground for uncertified hunters, and black market. Originally, Jin-hee thought to go to the gate where an official hunter could enter, but suddenly this place came to mind and she moved on. If you¡¯re going to move while hiding your identity, this kind of place was perfect, and it¡¯s not like it¡¯s happened only once or twice in her previous life. She casually crossed the market and entered the gate alley. Gates marked with road signs or traffic lights were seen in every corner of the alley. While she was contemplating where to go in, she found a sign with the words [Caution: Regenerate often]. Regeneration refers to the level at which monsters are created, and the frequent regeneration means that monsters in the dungeon are constantly being created. Grade 4th. It seemed perfect for warming up. She walked into the gate. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s hot.¡± Unlike Sillim, which has the spring weather, inside the gate was muggy. It was a jungle. There are many trees that seem to be able to reach 10m, and it was difficult to even walk on the floor with all kinds of weeds around. The temperature was around summer level and even the moisture was suffocating. She wondered if she had come in for nothing, but wanted to see more of what the place had to offer, so she went further in and moved on. What kind of prey do we have here? It should be enough to train her skills like the last doll enemies and make some money while she was at it. She was looking around with that thought when, ¡°¡­?¡± She felt someone¡¯s presence. To be exact, many. As she sensed the presence and stopped her steps, a man stepped out of the huge tree across from her. Not just from that tree, there were five people walking out from all over the place. ?¨T©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥?©¥©¥©¥ Chapter 7 ?¨T©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥?©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥¨T? ¡°Wow, I never dreamed that a female newcomer would come to a place like this.¡± The man in the front giggled and opened his mouth. All five of them were dressed dirtily. Some were wearing half-torn leather pants and others were shirtless, not to say they were all wielding blood-stained weapons. ¡°Brother, I think we got a poor catch this time. The weapon she has is obviously rented. She must be a real rookie.¡± ¡°Yeah, but just be glad that we have some catch this time. If you sell a new hunter, we can play around for a month.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± What is this old-fashioned conversation? Am I not in Korea but in medieval Europe right now? I slowly looked at the faces of those around me. ¡°I guess she didn¡¯t understand the situation.¡± The man who was called ¡®brother¡¯ continued to laugh and talk. ¡°Lady, why did you come here? You should¡¯ve looked for a party or gone through a crowded gate instead. Just by looking at it, you should have suspected that this gate was a dead end.¡± ¡°Was the owner here?¡± ¡°Huh? Of course, there¡¯s no owner. But this is our territory.¡± At Jin-hee¡¯s question, the man scratched his short dandruff-full hair. ¡°This is the Nogada Village that we¡¯ve taken over. We don¡¯t loot hunters these days because they don¡¯t have a lot of money, but I didn¡¯t know that such a treasure would willingly roll down onto our arms like this.¡± Looting. Seems like these people are living in this place like thieves. I¡¯ve only seen it in my past life, and I didn¡¯t know that there are also people who do such obvious things in modern times. Jin-hee, who has a puzzled expression on her face, immediately patted her chin and muttered. ¡°Ah, no, this is rather good¡­.¡± ¡°What are you muttering? Lady, let¡¯s work like professionals. Yes? Let¡¯s just stay still If you don¡¯t want to get hurt¡­.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, if you don¡¯t want to get hurt, you have to stay still.¡± ¡°¡­So the lady can speak.¡± The man approached Jin-hee with an insidious smile when he heard her answer. It turned out she was quite the beauty. She had a rough worn-out boxed t-shirt, jeans, a hat, and a mask. But the eyes and skin that appeared between them seemed to be pretty. He can make a fortune with her. The man approached with such a vulgar thought. ¡°All right.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Suddenly, he had his knees to the ground. Jin-hee had approached from behind, kicked his shin, made him kneel down, pulled the sword from her waist, and put it to his neck. ¡°Everyone, shut up and give me everything that can make money. Then I will spare his life.¡± ¡­Isn¡¯t this line reversed? But the man couldn¡¯t spit his words because of the short sword¡¯s blade, which began to spill his blood by squeezing the skin around his neck. Jin-hee smiled so brightly that it could be seen through her mask, and she began negotiations by pretending to be a threat to the remaining four thieves. ¡°Come on, wait! What are you doing now!¡± (Thief) ¡°What am I doing? It¡¯s the same thing you were trying to do.¡± ¡°What kind of strange thing are you talking about?¡± Jin-hee said with a smirk. Every time she spoke, the sword moved, scratching more and more the skin in the neck of the man who was held captive. As the man started to make shrills and slurping sounds, the other brother he had been talking to came out. ¡°Hey, stop it! Let go of our brother. We were wrong, okay? We¡¯ll just let you go!¡± ¡°Just let me go? Haven¡¯t you figured out the situation yet?¡± Jin-hee gave an artificial laugh and grabbed the man¡¯s hair. ¡°Why don¡¯t you wash your hair, it¡¯s too oily.¡± Muttering a bit of complaint, she continued. ¡°You thought of selling me out, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°T-That¡­.¡± ¡°You were trying to sell people, right? Well, it¡¯s obvious. A beautiful woman suddenly appeared alone, apparently a beginner, and this is a lawless area. When you say you¡¯re handing me over to the top, you¡¯re giving me to a gang or the mafia.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± It was not possible to refute, because the trash-like conversation they had moments earlier was the proof of that. They couldn¡¯t say anything in front of her, who proudly called herself a beauty. Even if they had something to say, their boss¡¯ head would fly if they opened their mouths. Slave trading and human trafficking are some of those words that Jin-hee extremely hates. She thought she would never hear those words again, and it¡¯s quite vexing that she encountered them again in modern times. Ah, I¡¯m really disappointed. ¡°Hic!¡± ¡°Oh, sorry. You will die soon at this rate.¡± As the sword shook, the wound on the man¡¯s neck got worse. The man drew the mana to strengthen the area around his neck, but somehow, the sword was ignoring all his efforts and digging into him. This sword is a ready-made cheap sword that could not do that much damage alone. However, seeing all this happening just meant that the mana contained in this woman¡¯s sword was several orders of magnitude higher than his own. The man¡¯s face gradually turned blue. Not because of fear and despair, but because of real blood being lost, his head was getting cold. ¡°Why would I let you go when I was threatened like that? I told you, put down your weapons and give me everything that can make money.¡± ¡°Well then¡­ If we give it all, will you spare our brother?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± The thieves have a strong sense of camaraderie. If these guys had the mind level of a real bandit, they would have either attacked her either way or ran away without caring if this guy in front of her was already killed. Jin-hee smiled slightly when she saw the man trying to negotiate calmly. Jin-hee laughed quietly. Of course, she knew it was all acting. ¡°You think I¡¯m lying?¡± (Jin-Hee) ¡°Oh, no! Then we¡¯ll put the weapon down. Wait a minute.¡± As the man said, his colleagues laid down their weapons calmly. They were putting their weapons down on the floor with a slow gesture, but their eyes were on Jin-hee until the end. She just noticed that it wasn¡¯t a look of abandonment or acceptance. ¡°Why don¡¯t kids like you keep their promises?¡± Jin-hee held a sword in her hand and took a dagger out of the man¡¯s waist with the other hand. It was pretty good stuff, and just as she predicted, there was poison in the tip. As soon as Jin-hee picked it up, she did not hesitate to throw it to her left. ¡°Cough¡­!¡± The dagger was precisely buried in the neck of a man who was pulling a bow¡¯s string across another tree. It was a long-distance of nearly 50 meters away, but her throw was accurate. ¡°Gasp!¡± It was an obvious ruse. At the same time as their boss was held hostage, they tried a sneak attack with another colleague hidden behind the tree. They were going to shoot her with a bow while pretending to negotiate, and so to speak, the act of kneeling down was to gain momentum. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal? I gave you all a chance, but you just kicked it with your own legs.¡± ¡°Hey, stop! Wait! We¡­.¡± The man tried to say something again, but Jin-hee¡¯s sword had already been thrust into the air neatly. Seeing the bloody body of his boss, the man started to scream, but Jin-hee said again. ¡°Come on, give me something worth of money. But your lives, I will take as a bonus.¡± Jin-hee¡¯s dry, black eyes painted a smooth arc. She didn¡¯t go easy on the situation. Even if she was the modern Jin-hee, the ¡°Bazette¡± in her was a knight. Knights were those that cut the wrists of people who steal, cut the tongue of those that commit fraud, and execute people who kill others. There, the ¡°slave traders¡± were immediately sentenced to death. ?¨T©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥?©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥¨T? Her father noticed that Bazette was talented in martial arts when she was still at a young age and yet to make her social debut. However, he did not want to put her on the front line at this time when the Empire was in turmoil and soon kept Bazette away from the arts. However, a genius¡¯ talent was bound to emerge in the end. ¡®You¡¯re very mature, my lady.¡¯ Bazette had a playmate. For generations, a fairy was often chosen as a nobleman¡¯s playmate for the emotional development of the child. This is because the energy emitted by the fairies was effective in calming children¡¯s emotions. The fairy girl had always played with Bazette, who has been somewhat mature since childhood. But one day, she was kidnapped by slave traders. It was because Bazette went in and out of the mercenary guild to learn martial arts. Realizing her own talent for martial arts, she had a habit of sneaking away from the mansion in search of a swordsmanship teacher in the mercenary guild. It was the fairy friend who always protected her by following her by her side. However, the fairy who hid Bazette to protect her was caught by a passing slave trader instead. Armed with special artifacts, he kidnapped the fairy and fled. Bazette, belatedly realizing that, pursued the slave trader along with mercenaries that were close to her. However, by the time they arrived, the fairy already had a slave seal branded on her back. As the mercenaries were slaughtering all the slave traders, Bazette held her only friend, the Fairy, close to her chest, and with a crying whilst smiling expression on her face, decapitated the Slave Guild master. At that time, Bazette was still seven years old. It was the first time that she killed with a sword. ?¨T©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥?©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥¨T? ¡°Well now, tell me. Where is the organization that buys people?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Jin-hee left only two people alive. After beheading all the thieves, she tied the remaining two to a tree. Tying them tight with the ropes they had and taking away all their hidden weapons, she spoke once more. ¡°If you let me know, I¡¯ll cut you some slack.¡± Slack? Do you call this slack?! The man clenched his teeth and looked at Jin-hee, but soon saw her calm face and bowed his head. Both their wrists had their nerves and mana circuits cut off. They could recover if they went to the hospital, but it was impossible for them, as uncertified hunters, to receive legal surgery. ¡°¡­It is in District 2.¡± ¡°It is?¡± ¡°It is in District 2, ma¡¯am.¡± (Note: He spoke with informal language at first, and after Jin-hee asked back, he changed to formal language.) From what he divulged, the gates of Sillim are ruled by four huge organizations. The ¡®Underground Syndicate¡¯, which was made up of both certified and uncertified hunters, was generally responsible for commercial arbitration and street management. An armed force united by the original gangsters of the area was the ¡®Crows¡¯. The ¡®Miners¡¯, was a farming organization of uncertified hunters united to make a living. And finally, the ¡®Container¡¯, is an informal association of external companies. ¡°Why don¡¯t they just band together already? It¡¯s hard to memorize.¡± The neutral one is the Underground Syndicate, and the thugs doing illegal work were the Crows and the Miners who united to make a living. On the other hand, the Container was trying to make some gains from all the mess. According to them, it was always the Crows and the Miners that were in the center of illegal things. The Miners who did anything for money sold all kinds of things to the Crows, and among them, there were monsters, artifacts, and even people. Those tied to the tree belonged to the Miners. It was their job to settle down in a dungeon where monster regeneration was frequent like this one and to sell the accessories that came out from hunting to the Crows. Then, like the case with Jin-hee, he said that if a novice hunter or an outside hunter came in, they would kidnap and sell them. ¡®If you buy a person, it¡¯s no brainer that there is a place where you can sell them.¡¯ It was difficult for Jin-hee to predict that far, but the outline was roughly drawn in her head. The gangsters called the Crows were obviously selling people to one of the other two organizations. It was not known what kind of treatment those people and hunters would receive, but such a black market does not work without consumers. There must be more complex interests intertwined than what she was just told. Of course, she wasn¡¯t meticulous enough to care about every single little thing. Chapter 8 ?¨T©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥?©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥¨T? ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll cut you some slack.¡± Jin-hee turned around, saying as if she had spoken great words. ¡°W-Wait a minute! You have to untie this first!¡± The man who was tied up struggled and said, but Jin-hee never turned back. ¡°You should try to untie it yourself. It¡¯s not tied that hard, so you¡¯ll work it out.¡± ¡°If-If the monster comes! We¡¯re going to die!¡± ¡°That is up to your luck.¡± Take care of yourself. Without any compassion, Jin-hee abandoned them and went out of the gate. ?¨T©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥?©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥¨T? She didn¡¯t mean to act as a messenger of justice. Although she has the approach of a knight, Jin-hee rather hates stupid behavior that is intolerant of injustice and tends to make the situation even worse. The fact that she dared to visit the crows was not something she actually did because she thought deeply about it. She has the power so there is no reason to put up with things that bother her right in front of her nose. It was only up to that level of commitment. It was just a simple notion to her, but for the gangsters, it was the start of a big incident. ¡°Huh?¡± As she was looking for traces of the Crows in the alleys around the park in District 2, she came across a boy who was arguing with a man. ¡°Hey, let me go!¡± ¡°Little boy, that¡¯s why you should have done things in moderation, right?¡± The man was grabbing the boy¡¯s neck. The boy rebelled, biting his hand or kicking the man¡¯s stomach, trying to somehow escape from the man¡¯s hand, but it was to no avail. Although the boy looked like a hunter, the man¡¯s mana was far superior. Compared to his wild tone and sloppy attire, the amount of mana he had was considerable. At a glance¡­. ¡®That¡¯s the same level as that person named Park Jun.¡¯ It was comparable to a B-class hunter. She thought he was just another bastard, but he must have been a pretty good hunter. Jin-hee approached with a curious expression. ¡°I want you to release my sister!¡± ¡°Hey, how is ¡®that¡¯ your sister? You made a deal with us. Then it¡¯s ours.¡± ¡°My little sister is not a thing!¡± ¡°You should listen to people.¡± The man smiled and slapped the boy on the cheek without mercy. ¡°Ouch!¡± ¡°Kid, that¡¯s the way the world is. If you take money, you should be able to pay it.¡± ¡°Such a deal¡­ I never did that!¡± ¡°No, you did. Everything you ate and slept on was our money.¡± Slap! Slap! The boy¡¯s face turned back and forth spinning in the palm of the man¡¯s hand. There was a little blood in his mouth, but the boy did not stop glaring at him. If it had been an attack loaded with mana, the boy¡¯s head would have fallen from his neck long ago. That was just plain beating to harass people. ¡°If I had known you were¡­ Gangsters, I wouldn¡¯t have taken the money!¡± Jin-Hee, ¡°¡­.¡± Jin-hee approached slowly and grabbed the man¡¯s arm. ¡°And who¡¯s this lady?¡± ¡°Well, this child¡¯s guardian.¡± ¡°What? There¡¯s no such person¡­.¡± ¡°¡­Future guardian.¡± The man tried to shake off Jin-hee, but when she pulled his arm out, he was forced to step down helplessly. As if he did not understand the situation for a while, the man asked in an ambiguous manner. ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t know who you are, but¡­.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I say I¡¯m his guardian?¡± Jin-hee raised the boy who was lying down. Both cheeks were already bruised and swelled, making it difficult to recognize his face. The boy who didn¡¯t know who she was just blinked his eyes. I guess I¡¯m lucky today, Jin-hee smiled thinking so. The boy who faced Jin-hee¡¯s mysterious smile blushed unknowingly. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll give you a choice, too.¡± It was like deja vu. Like the thieves, she met earlier in the dungeon. ¡°What?¡± ¡°As the guardian of this child, I want to hear the whole story. Are you willing to talk without making a fuss, or should I hit you first before you start talking?¡± She wiped the blood off the boy¡¯s mouth and looked at the man. It was a threatening negotiation. ?¨T©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥?©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥¨T? Jin-hee¡¯s initial prediction was right. The man was one of the Crow¡¯s executives, and the boy was a victim of the Crows. What was only unexpected was that the Crow¡¯s behavior was more evil than she thought. ¡°I¡¯m from an orphanage.¡± The boy, Park Chung-ha, slowly talked about his situation. Jin-hee and Chung-ha entered a restaurant near the alley. Sitting leisurely in the corner of a restaurant, Cheong-ha continued to wipe his face with a wet towel. He was a boy born and raised in an orphanage here in Sillim. The institution in question was an institution run by a social welfare corporation created by a Hunter company, which was destroyed when he was young, putting the position of the institution in jeopardy. Another social welfare corporation should take over the nursery, but for some reason, no corporation wanted to step forward to take over, and soon the nursery school would be dismantled and the children had to be scattered to other nursery schools. The children, who were already like family members, did not want to part ways, and it was at that time that the Crows appeared. They raised the nursery with huge capital, and soon regained the government¡¯s approval for what they had done. Although they didn¡¯t know the Crows were gangsters, the children and social workers welcomed those who helped them with open arms. The misfortune began at that time. Having taken charge of the secretariat of the nursery, they kicked out the social workers with all kinds of excuses and used abusive language and violence against the children. It was no use calling the police or telling the public officials. Even if there were inspections for a while, it eventually returned to its original state. If you become an adult, you can leave the nursery, so let¡¯s hang in there, that was the hope of the remaining students. However, the violence got worse, and even Chung-ha¡¯s sister was dragged away by them. ¡°¡­Why did the gangsters take the nursery over?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­.¡± ¡°And why did they take your sister?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± That means you won¡¯t tell me. Jin-hee looked at him quietly, pushing the bought kimbap and ramen from the restaurant to the kid. It was visible that Chung-ha was hiding a more indispensable story. Why the gangster took over the nursery school and why Chung-ha¡¯s sister was taken. Besides, what were the thoughts of those who left the nursery so unattended? There will be more information Cheong-ha knows than that, but he remained silent about it, whether he could not tell anyone what he had seen. Though she thinks it was much better. Rather than trying to deceive her by lying, it¡¯s much better to keep your mouth shut because you know but you can¡¯t tell. Jin-hee asked as she looked at Chung-ha, who was quickly eating, whether he was hungry. ¡°Then do you know where that Crow group is located?¡± ¡°¡­I know. I¡¯ve been there before.¡± ¡°Have you been there?¡± ¡°Yes. ¡­I had no choice.¡± I guess he can¡¯t tell me this either. Looking at Chung-ha who closed his mouth again, Jin-hee gestured as if to hurry up and eat. ¡°But Noona¡­ Why are you helping me?¡± (TL: I¡¯m using Noona in this one, the setting is on modern Korea for those that don¡¯t know, Noona means ¡®¡¯older sister¡¯¡¯ it¡¯s an affectionate way of calling an older female in Korea.) ¡°Me?¡± What should I say? Jin-hee thought about it and laughed and said, ¡°I won¡¯t tell you.¡± Since you are hiding something, I will also take part in the play. ¡°¡­I know you¡¯re strong, but it¡¯s dangerous. That guy was the weakest of the executives.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s great. A man like that was the weakest.¡± The words she said were supposed to define that she was impressed, but her expression didn¡¯t show it at all. Chung-ha frowned at Jin-hee, who spoke calmly. Obviously, her martial arts was great. It was jaw-dropping even for Chung-ha, who hasn¡¯t faced a real battle before, to see an executive who could compete with a B-class hunter faint in just a few blows. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, there¡¯s a rumor that the boss is an A-class hunter.¡± ¡°Heh.¡± ¡°I see~.¡± Jinhee was amazed. It didn¡¯t mean she was scared or nervous. It was amazing that a class-A hunter was a gangster boss in such an alleyway. I thought it was a funny joke that a B-class Hunter was a gangster executive, but it is quite surprising that there is even an A-class Hunter. Just as the difference between Class B and Class C was huge, the difference between Class A and Class B was immeasurable. Even if a group of hunters that are said to be the top in Class B unite together, they won¡¯t be able to handle the power of one Class A hunter. ¡°¡­You, believe me, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I do, because I can trust what you¡¯ve seen in person rather than rumors flowing about.¡± ¡°¡­But are you still going to help me?¡± Chung-ha was deliberately avoiding answering Jin-hee¡¯s questions about the whereabouts of the Crows. He really appreciates her saving him, but he doesn¡¯t want to let others get caught up in it when he himself was ready to die. Jin-hee held a chopstick and pressed Chung-ha¡¯s forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This Noona is stronger than you think.¡± It was killing two birds with one stone. In addition to cleaning up the traffickers, she can get a chance to fight the strong self-proclaimed boss. It seemed more fun than farming in a half-assed dungeon. While seeing Chung-ha suffering from the stab in his forehead, she laughed as if looking forward to it. Within District 2 that the thieves pointed out, Chung-ha gave detailed directions to the Crows¡¯ base. ¡°You don¡¯t have to come too.¡± ¡°This is where my sister is.¡± ¡°¡­Then I can¡¯t help it.¡± Jin-hee nodded her head saying that she understood Chung-ha¡¯s insistence. The route was guided by the kid. Passing through a maze-like alleyway, they went into the depths of a ruined building and saw an unexpected entrance. Perhaps it was a magical barrier, a black curtain was spread out in the place where one wall of the building was all sunken. ¡°If you go over there, you will find the stronghold of Miners and Crows.¡± ¡°Wow, I feel I¡¯m going to face some real villains now.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t find this place even by satellite or by a navigator. It¡¯s in the middle of the ruins and it¡¯s blocked by magic, so if you don¡¯t know the place, you¡¯ll never find it.¡± ¡°Awesome.¡± At this point, she was amazed by the efforts of the gangsters. ¡°This is a real lawless place. In the first place, unless you are from one of the two organizations, you can¡¯t get in and come out alive.¡± ¡°Then what about you?¡± ¡°¡­I have experience.¡± I don¡¯t know what experience it was, but Chung-ha muttered as if he didn¡¯t want to talk about it then went closer to the ruins of the building near the entrance, and came out with something. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a hat. Take yours off and put it on.¡± It was an all-in-one hat with a mask that looked like a gas mask. When I put it on, there was not a single part of the face that was revealed except the part around the eyes. It looked strange, but I was more curious as to why it was thrown on the floor. As if he knew I would ask, Chung-ha answered first. ¡°This is what the miners often use. There are several places with poison mist in the Sillim dungeons¡­ I¡¯ve seen them go out with this often. And it¡¯s too much trouble, so when the filter runs out, they just throw it away. When they finish settling the things they get from the dungeons they throw it around here. Most of this area is a garbage dump.¡± ¡°You have prepared a lot, huh.¡± ?¨T©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥?©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥¨T Chapter 9 ?¨T©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥?©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥©¥¨T? There was a lot of dust on it, the boy muttered while rubbing it off and pressing it lightly in his hands. ¡°That¡¯s right. I did a lot of preparations. ¡­If only that damn bastard didn¡¯t find out.¡± Do you mean the damned bastard that I beat up earlier? I remembered the face of the fainted man who was hanging from an energy pole. ¡°Do you have anything else to prepare before you go in?¡± ¡°Originally, I was planning to pretend that I was a miner who comes and goes, and so, I was looking for a party to join and do it but¡­ I don¡¯t need any more since I have this.¡± Chung-ha put on the mask himself and took out a small badge from his pocket. It was a seamless metal badge decorated with a crow. ¡°If you carry this, you will pass all the checkpoints.¡± ¡°If you show what the executive had, won¡¯t you be more suspicious?¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t. We¡¯re supposed to exchange it often. An errand boy, the mistress, aides, and all kinds of people carry it.¡± This part was just like any other gangster-like loose security system. I wondered if it was a reference to something like a mafia movie. Jin-hee shrugged her shoulders, telling him to take care of it. She said he knew more about this place than her anyway. Chung-ha rubbed his tense shoulder a few times and signaled Jin-hee to follow him. ¡°¡­.¡± After crossing the Black Curtain, a market-like landscape in a large dome unfolded. Perhaps it was a market in the past. The ceiling was covered with plastic domes, but the lights were not lit properly on the road, so people could be seen passing by in the dark alley. It was quite different from the market near Sillim Station. That place was without order but was lively, and in contrast, everyone here was walking down the street with dark faces. It was hard to find liveliness or laughter. ¡°Most of them are miners.¡± As Chung-ha walked forward, he said softly. It was said that the entrance part of District 2 is where the miners live, and unlike the station area of ??Sillim Station, it is a place where all kinds of people live. ¡°The area near the station is a place where well-to-do people gather. It¡¯s the exact opposite here.¡± This is a place where miners with no dwelling or low ranked hunters live, and most of them are subordinates of the Crows. Chung-ha skillfully avoided people and went deep into the alley. Jin-hee followed him without saying a word. She wanted to take a look around, but she clicked her tongue and turned her head, seeing that their eyes were filled only with dirty desire, despair, and anger. ¡°This is it.¡± ¡°Is it smaller than what I expected?¡± ¡°There is a basement.¡± The building of the Crows was a four-story building that looked like a community center in the past. There were two guards standing at the entrance, but no other signs of presence were felt inside the building. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°¡­What is it?¡± He swallowed saliva, and then calmly approached the guard. And after a brief conversation with the guard, he took out a badge from his arms and showed it. The guard nodded, ¡°Aha,¡± and then opened the door. ¡°It¡¯s easy.¡± ¡°Because they have confidence in their skills.¡± The Crows are the strongest of the four organizations in Sillim Station. All of the executives, starting with their boss, had the skills of a high-level hunter, and the violence they wielded was the driving force that made all the hunters around them bow their heads. With such a basis, the poor security preparations they had were understandable. Since there are no hunters around who can stand against them, they might become arrogant. ¡°My sister is down here¡­ Are you still going with me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you.¡± I wore a mask and there was no way to identify me, the conditions were just perfect to cause a mess. Of course, she never thought that the lowly culture of this place would change in a single fight like this. This was just an act of fighting off annoying people and doing rehabilitation exercises. It wasn¡¯t something to be thankful for. She didn¡¯t have that big sense of duty in her to clean up Sillim Station, and she didn¡¯t have much sympathy to help an unlucky boy named Chung-ha. ¡®It¡¯s not like there is none.¡¯ If you ignore it, it will come to your mind tonight, that¡¯s all. Both Bazette and Jin-hee were the same in regards to preferring comfortable relationships. After he said, ¡°We¡¯ll go in,¡± she moved her feet to the basement of the building where he wanted to go. It was a well-finished staircase at first, but as they went down, the roughly dug-up bumpy stairs welcomed them. Well, you dug a basement in the middle of a city like this. Jin-hee couldn¡¯t help but admire the size of the area that was similar to a subway station¡¯s underground shopping mall. The ceilings were high, and the systematically divided hallways and dwellings were the first to be seen. ¡°¡­The Crow leader is a wizard. He is also a magician who manipulates land and water. This is the hideout that the boss made.¡± ¡°You know a lot, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Chung-ha murmured softly as he entered the huge hallway where all kinds of lights were illuminating the ceiling and the underground base where people with violent expressions came and went. ¡°¡­Because I worked here.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± Now that we have come this far, did he think he could trust her, or did he decide that there was no need to hide it anymore? Chung-ha straightened his back and walked forward so as not to cause suspicion around them. Occasionally, there were eyes looking at them, but as soon as they saw her attire and mask, they laughed at her, but no one spoke to them. It was like the eyes of aristocrats looking at the lower classes. Chung-ha said, walking close to Jin-hee, so as not to be heard by them. ¡°I am not a member of the organization, but I worked here. I served as a subordinate under an executive.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°¡­Because I thought it was cool.¡± He said while covering the mouth over his mask, whether he was ashamed even thinking about it. When he was younger than now, Chung-ha said that he admired the Crows who helped rebuild the orphanage. The influence of the media was strong. While watching movies and cartoons where Yakuza, Mafia, and gangsters do justice, Chung-ha also had the idea that there could be good gangsters at the time. Because of that, he also dreamed that he would be a righteous gangster in a gang full of brotherly love. It was silly, but at the same time, it was a delusion of his young age. But he didn¡¯t know then that delusions and fantasies were beautiful when they were just that, illusions. Chung-ha¡¯s dream collapsed just after discovering the ¡°prison¡± in the basement. ¡°This is it.¡± Chung-ha stood in front of the prison sighing. A large steel window stood between the bumpy but wide corridors. Somehow, there was no one around. After looking inside, Chung-ha threw away the romantic concept of a gangster. ¡°The door¡¯s locked?¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s okay.¡± He put his hand on the key chain. Then he closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. ¡°¡­I joined the Crows and worked under one executive because of this ability from the beginning.¡± At that time, a click was heard as if the lock was being released. ¡°It¡¯s not magic, is it?¡± ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t use Mana. This is¡­.¡± Soon, when all the holes were clicked, the locks were unlocked and the bars opened. Chung-ha raised his palm and showed it to Jin-hee. An opaque but unformed air current swirled on the palm of his hand. ¡°Psychokinesis.¡± The ability was neither magic, nor a technique using mana, but a unique skill. ¡°It doesn¡¯t use much physical strength. It¡¯s just enough power to lift things in front of me. But it¡¯s quite useful.¡± It was a good skill to handle even the smallest detail, such as opening a lock or breaking or repairing a circuit in an electronic device. An executive who thought it was a pretty fun skill took Chung-ha to work, saying, ¡°I will raise it myself.¡± Chung-ha breathed heavily as he opened the cage. ¡°Be prepared, this is a dump.¡± And he led Jin-hee to the vicious place where he was disillusioned about the gangsters. The inside was damp and dirty. The smell of blood mixed with the smell of vomiting and defecation was so bad that if you didn¡¯t wear a mask, you had to cover your nose, but even a mask with a broken filter was better than nothing. What was unusual was that there were large crows perched in the middle of the hallway. The crows were making their nests in the corners of the ceiling or running around on the floor. When Chung-ha and Jin-hee appeared, they flapped their wings and disappeared to the end of the hallway. The prison had a long hallway in the middle, and the rooms covered with iron bars were lined up on either side of it. In a small prison where there would be no room for three or four people lying down sparsely, people were hanging from the ceiling. ¡°¡­.¡± Indeed. It was hanging ¡°Whoever hangs by the neck is the one who will be ¡®removed¡¯ tomorrow morning. The person that hung from the legs is the one who will continue to do so.¡± There were two people hanging from the ceiling. Dead bodies hanging from their necks, and those with ankles hanging on, vomiting or drooling. ¡°If they hang people, crows will appear and eat the flesh. It¡¯s a place where you don¡¯t have to torture a person to see results.¡± It was the reason why many crows were raised. ¡°Those who hang from their heads are those who have nothing more to dig up or are useless. Crows like thin flesh, so they are particularly good at nibbling at necks. After a while, the crow devours the entire neck, and the body and head of the corpse separate and fall, so the gang members retrieve it. When another person comes in again, they are tied by their feet and hanged. At first, they try to resist the crow¡¯s attack, but soon they lose strength and are slowly devoured from the thigh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s cruel.¡± And it¡¯s grotesque. Even modern humans can be this cruel. It was so cruel and ugly that it reminded me of the torture methods I saw when I was Bazette. There are no human rights here. I grinded my teeth. ¡°The fear of the Crows comes from this. Rumors of the brutal treatment spread, and no one could resist.¡± Chung-ha went forward without looking at the prison. Each prison door was enchanted. It was simple magic that made an alarm sound when it was forcibly opened, but it could not be ignored. The moment I opened the door out of compassion, it was obvious that the gang members out there would run to this location in no time. Eventually, Chung-ha and Jin-hee arrived at the end of the prison, in front of a neat ¡°room¡± that was incomparable with the prison cells they had seen before. It was the same with the bars, but things were different inside. A neat wallpaper, bed, sofa, and table seemed to make it look like a shabby inn. Chung-ha murmured, holding the bars in his hand. ¡°¡­It¡¯s Min-ha.¡± There was a girl asleep. The girl, whose ankle was tied to a chain with a huge iron ball on the end, laid on the sofa asleep. Although she had never seen Chung-ha¡¯s face properly due to bruises and swelling, Jin-hee could tell at a glance that the two were brother and sister. Because she had the same dark blue hair as Chung-ha. But what caught Jin-hee¡¯s eye more than anything else. ¡°No way.¡± They were two wings hanging from Min-ha¡¯s back. Transparent wings with a tinge of yellow light. Two pairs of small wings hung on the girl¡¯s back. There¡¯s no way I wouldn¡¯t recognize that. ¡°¡­Fairy.¡± Jin-hee murmured quietly. It was the same fairy wings that I saw when I was a Bazette. Chapter 10 Fairies had pure souls and are famous for their kindness to humans among other races. They don¡¯t lie, they never intentionally hurt anyone, and they don¡¯t blame others even if they are killed. That¡¯s why their numbers were small. The body of this race was an excellent research specimen for wizards and scholars, and a good eye-catcher for luxuries. Ornaments and paintings made by squeezing the wings of fairies. An aristocrat who has a winged fairy as his servant. A wizard who killed a child raised by a fairy in front of her eyes to test the power of fairy tears. In the midst of all the abuse, the number of fairies gradually decreased, and soon became a rare race that was not commonly seen in Bazette¡¯s world. It was a difficult existence to see unless the person was a high-ranking aristocrat or a wizard. Such a fairy was now in front of Jin-hee. It wasn¡¯t even a small fairy, but a fairy who had grown up to the level of a human child. ¡°¡­Was your sister a fairy?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Chung-ha said, still clenching his teeth. Now I know why the Crows kidnapped his sister. In Bazette¡¯s world, it was a rare species highly sought after by slave merchants. In a world where only humans existed, Min-ha must have been a treasure worth coveting on its own. I can see why the Crows¡¯ executive called Min-ha ¡°that¡±. They thought Min-ha was not human. ¡°Is that why the gangsters were targeting the nursery school?¡± ¡°¡­There is a reason other than this. I will explain that to you after I rescue Min-ha.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± There was one more reason to save Chung-ha¡¯s little sister. As soon as she found the fairy, Jin-hee¡¯s eyes were more gloomy than curious. Seeing Min-ha¡¯s appearance reminded her of her childhood. A fairy who was her only friend and companion. The fairy¡¯s figure glimpsed before my eyes. ¡°First of all, I¡¯ll save Min-ha and run away in one go. I¡¯ve thought of the fastest route to get away.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll probably follow us right away. But I know the way up from here in prison. The emergency passageway I prepared is actually a sewer right in front of the guard at the entrance. We¡¯ll be caught by the guards, but if we run right away¡­.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°¡­Noona?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Chung-ha shook Jin-hee up as she was thinking about something. She habitually put her hand on her eyes but soon realized that there was a mask and put her hand down. Chung-ha looked up worriedly at her lackluster movement. ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. ¡­You, run away.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°As I said from the beginning, I have business here.¡± To be exact, she has one more business there. She has a good reason to mess with these guys now. It¡¯s not as simple as before. There was an obvious irritation in her. ¡°You¡¯re alone! It¡¯s dangerous!¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough. I think I¡¯ll be even angrier if you get caught on the way so just take care of your sister.¡± At Jin-hee¡¯s serious tone, Chung-ha nodded unconsciously. Just go already, no more talking. Jin-hee pulled out the sword from her waist ready to take action. She wasn¡¯t planning to touch the lock, she was going to cut it all at once. ¡°Brother¡­?¡± At that moment, Min-ha opened her eyes as she woke up to the sound of Chun-ha and Jin-hee talking. Min-ha rubbed her eyes for a moment to make sure it was not a dream, and as soon as she made sure that the face behind the mask was her brother, she approached the door dragging the heavy iron ball. ¡°Oh, brother! Are you really Brother?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me Min-ha. Are you hurt anywhere? Are you okay? Huh?¡± Chung-ha¡¯s voice was already filled with a crying tone. Tears were already forming in Min-ha¡¯s eyes as she frowned because of the pain of dragging the iron ball until she arrived near the door. ¡®As expected, she¡¯s a fairy.¡¯ Jin-hee unconsciously stopped breathing due to Mana¡¯s energy when she came closer. Her mana¡¯s sensitivity allowed her to feel the dense energy of mana wandering around Min-ha. At the same time, the annoyance in her heart gradually calmed at the scent from her wings. This was the power of fairies. Just being around them makes one calm and cool down their emotions. Of course, it¡¯s a weak energy that can be denied with pure will, but the power to manipulate unconsciousness alone was of great value. If the Crows noticed this power and tried to exploit it. ¡°¡­.¡± A number of ¡°fairy products¡± that I saw during Bazette¡¯s time came to mind. As Jin-hee¡¯s eyes were about to fiercely lit again, Min-ha¡¯s hands approached outside the bars and held Jin-hee¡¯s hand. A soft hand wrapped around her cold hand and held it. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°¡­What?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± She read my emotions, Jin-hee soon relaxed her eyes and sighed. She slowly pushed Min-ha¡¯s hand away, ever so gently so as not to be fierce. This has often happened. The fairies would sometimes read human feelings or make their hidden likes surface to the conscious. Bazette in the past also frequently experienced that. When she was angry or sad, the fairy used to comfort her like this. ¡°Oh, Min-ha. This is the one who helped me.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, she¡¯s the one who helped me get here¡­.¡± ¡°No, brother. I¡¯m not worried.¡± Min-ha held Chung-ha¡¯s hand together. With teary round eyes, she smiled brightly. ¡°I don¡¯t doubt her. It¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°R-Really?¡± ¡°Yes, because this is¡­.¡± She¡¯s someone who knows about fairies, Min-ha swallowed her words. However, Jin-hee knew her following words. Min-ha, a fairy, couldn¡¯t have not recognized Jin-hee¡¯s feelings toward her. ¡°¡­All right, then can you just step back? I¡¯m going to cut off the bars.¡± (Jin-hee) ¡°Oh, before that¡­ Could you do me a favor?¡±(Min-ha) ¡°Favor?¡± (Chung-ha) ¡°Yes, it¡¯s nothing big, I just wanted you to rescue someone who is also imprisoned here.¡± Is there anyone else I need to save? When Chung-ha tilted his head, Min-ha looked at Jin-hee¡¯s face and said, ¡°Like me¡­ He¡¯s a ¡®different¡¯ person. He¡¯s right next door. He was the one who kept talking to me when I cried or couldn¡¯t sleep. He cheered me on so that everything would be okay.¡± Jin-hee and Chung-ha turned their heads to look at the room next to her. Unlike the room Min-ha was in, the next room was a room just like any other cell. The difference from the other rooms was that it was a dark room with no light coming in. Because of that, it felt like there was no one inside. Jin-hee walked towards the room, and she opened her eyes wide at the sudden feeling of life energy. In the dark room, where even a silhouette could not be seen, a man was hanging upside down. Although she couldn¡¯t see it through her eyes, she could feel that the man was staring straight at her as she looked around him with her mana. ¡°You are¡­.¡± Oh, my God. Jin-hee sighed again. As she looked at him through magic, she immediately learned who he was. ¡°You are a Draconian.¡± His appearance was of a normal human, but to her, it was clearly visible. A blazing Dragonov¡¯s mana core unique to Draconians could be seen in the man. What the hell is this? Jin-hee approached the grate, confused. The man¡¯s energy became more and more agitated, but she didn¡¯t care. ¡°Me¡­ Do you know me?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± How could I not know? In her previous life, Bazette¡¯s family crest was a dragon, and one of the progenitors of the family was a Draconian. Because of that, they had a close relationship with the Draconian tribe, and some of their escort knights were actually draconian themselves. There was no way she could not have been unaware of the feeble but burning mana core. ¡°It¡¯s him. He helped me.¡± Min-ha said next to her. Her voice was trembling as if asking for help. Chung-ha also looked up at Jin-hee. ¡°Haaa, okay, okay. I can¡¯t get past it once I¡¯ve seen it.¡± Jin-hee pondered for a long time, then she sighed and answered. A fairy who was her childhood friend and a symbol of her family, a Draconian. I couldn¡¯t even say it as a joke when they were right in front of me. ¡°¡­Shut up, human. No help needed. It was only for the sake of the fairy¡­.¡± ¡°Okay, stay still. I will cut the door and release the chains on your legs at the same time. Even if your limbs and mana circuits got cut off, can you still run?¡± ¡°¡­.¡± The draconian frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡± ¡°Shut up. I¡¯m doing it because I want to.¡± I don¡¯t need your opinion. Jin-hee muttered. ¡°I have a lot to hear from you, so save your breath. You can explain what¡¯s going on in the future.¡± ¡°¡­Human, do you trust me?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the use of asking? Didn¡¯t Dragorod say, join hands with a human and you¡¯ll catch a loach in freshwater. Listen to me if you don¡¯t want your dragon life to end without even having the chance to live.¡± ¡°¡­!¡± The draconian eyes twinkled. In the pitch-black darkness, golden eyes lit up in an instant. It was a proverb that only draconians or his relatives knew. It was meant to take on a rewarding challenge (even if you know you will be betrayed) rather than to make a trivial and unsuccessful attempt. ¡°¡­You, the Empire¡­!¡± ¡°Shut it.¡± She nervously drew her sword. ¡°Chung-ha, step back.¡± ¡°Uh, huh? Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to break this. Take your little sister and this guy then run away right away. If either of them is lost or gets hurt, I won¡¯t let you go.¡± ¡°What about you Noona?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to beat up the boss here. I have a lot to ask.¡± Jin-hee gave strength to her sword. A straight see-through mana covered the top of the sword, making another thin, long sword on top of the steel one. Seeing this, the draconian muttered in a low voice. ¡°Heavens, a knight¡­.¡± ¡°Shut up, bite your tongue.¡± Drawn Sword. Dragosword First step : (Suspended Slash Dragon Claws). ¡°¡­!¡± A total of four slash attacks were unleashed. Two strikes cut the top and bottom of the iron bars of both cells respectively, the third sword slash cut Min-ha¡¯s chain, and the last sword cut the draconian chain. There was not even a slashing sound. After only the sound of the wind swaying, everything was cut off at once. Four slashes reminiscent of dragon claws were released, however, each ¡®claw¡¯ flew in a different direction and cut the target. She cut everything off, and all that was left was the sound of sheathing the sword. Not noticing that his hair was swaying in the strong wind, Chung-ha had his mouth agape. ¡°¡­No way, are you-.¡± (Draconian) ¡°No need to say anything, just get out.¡± ¡°¡­All right. I will obey you.¡± The ferocious attitude was gone, and the draconian spoke in a polite tone. He slowly walked out of the prison and knelt before her. Chapter 11 Brown skin, red hair, and golden eyes glowing with excitement. The huge man, much larger than her, knelt down on his knees and offered the best gratitude he could. Jin-hee deliberately did not reply to his thanks, but the Draconian waited until the end. Jin-hee sighed and reached out to him. The Draconian naturally held her hand and kissed it a total of four times, from her wrist to her fingertips. Four kisses, to symbolize the dragon¡¯s claws, and the four Dragonov¡¯s Mana Core. ¡°I will repay the grace that saved my life. Noble person.¡± ¡°No need.¡± ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± After bowing his head and saying his greetings, he got up from his seat. The traces of a crow¡¯s beak were evident on his thighs, and his arms and legs had torn mana circuits, so even giving them strength would be painful, but he resolutely stretched his back. ¡°Let¡¯s go, human child and fairy.¡± ¡°W-What?¡± (Chung-ha) ¡°¡­¡­ Are you okay, uncle?¡± (Min-ha) ¡°It¡¯s okay, fairy.¡± The iron ball was left on the floor and Min-ha walked out of the grate. She tightly grabbed her brother¡¯s hand as if she was still anxious. The Draconian glanced at Jin-hee, and placed Chung-ha and Min-ha on his shoulders, respectively. ¡°I, I can run!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a hindrance to the Lady.¡± Chung-ha asked to get down, but Yong-in was adamant. The big man bowed his head once more, at Jin-hee¡¯s beckoning to get out quickly, and immediately walked outside. After struggling, Chung-ha, who soon sighed, gave up and guided him toward the escape role he found. Although disposable, there was a cave in one of the prison¡¯s cells that led to a sewer right in front of the entrance on the first floor. ¡°Then I¡¯ll see you later, noble person.¡± ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± She beckoned him once more to leave quickly. ¡°No-Noona, good luck! No, that¡¯s not it, you must escape!¡± (Chung-ha) ¡°Unni!¡± (Min-ha) ¡°Noisy! Hurry up and go!¡± Jin-hee smiled and sent the three of them away. The moment they went into the burrow to the sewer. ¡°¡­¡­Here it comes.¡± Weeahhh-! There was a commotion outside the prison. Perhaps after the door was cut down, emergency alarms began to sound throughout the underground base. Jin-hee slowly walked out of the prison. Similar to her gait, her two eyes were calm and drowsy. ¡°There is an intruder¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Yes. Can you guide me to your boss?¡± One strike, One kill. Jin-hee swung her sword as usual in front of numerous Crow gang members. It was for only a moment. It didn¡¯t take even 10 minutes for her to defeat numerous crow fighters and move towards the center. Had it not been for the terrain characteristics of a narrow alley, she would have ended the fight in a shorter amount of time. ¡°You punk¡­¡­ !¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± An executive also appeared. The executive, who appeared with a scruffy face as if to show that he was sleeping just a minute ago, run while showing and boasting around. ¡°Huh!¡± He was cut with only one strike. There was not even the slightest hesitation in Jin-hee¡¯s sword. The mana blade that slipped through his boasting cut off the executive¡¯s neck in one breath. The gang members took a step back at the ridiculous scene. Just by looking at her, they could see by far that they were not a match. ¡°They¡¯re quick to flee.¡± She captured one of the crow gang members who was trying to escape. As the sword was placed around his neck, he nodded his head with a face that was ready to say anything. ¡°Where is your boss?¡± ¡°In-inside! At the end of the alley on the right¡­¡­!¡± ¡°Okay, got it.¡± After saying thank you and letting him go, he ran away. Looking at his back, Jin-hee walked to the place he told her. After all the fuss she made, Min-ha and Chung-ha have probably ran away well, ¡®¡­¡­ But where is their nursery?¡¯ I didn¡¯t hear where they ran away. The sudden thought made Jin-hee realize she had made a mistake. She was taken aback by the appearance of the fairy and the Draconian, and forget how she was supposed to act. ¡°Now!¡± ¡°Die!¡± While she was clasping her chin and thinking about what to do with this situation, she saw two men running at the same time from inside a crossroad in the hallway. An obvious surprise attack. They both appear to be B-Class hunters, so they must be executives of the Crows. As soon as the battle started, Jin-hee scanned the surroundings with mana, so their arrival was expected. As if it was not a lie that the executive who used violence against Chung-ha was the weakest among them, these people¡¯s movements were quite fast. Two swords aimed precisely at her neck and chest. A two-point breakthrough attack, which is difficult to avoid in a narrow alley. However, she was not surprised by this kind of attack. ¡°Why are you screaming during a surprise attack? I really don¡¯t understand.¡± After all, the attack was a stab type of movement. She used one of her fists to hit the side of the sword that was pointed at her neck. And the sword, which was aimed at her chest, Jin-hee changed its path with her own sword and deflected it. At the quick parrying, the two men stiffened for a moment. She did not dodge, but because Jin-hee counterattacked, their tensed posture abated and she did not miss the gap. She dug in at once. The distance between them was two steps, but with just one step, Jin-hee¡¯s sword reached their space. ¡°¡­¡­ !¡± She received two attacks, but only one counterattack was enough. When the sword was slashed horizontally, a deep cut appeared on both men¡¯s necks at the same time. ¡°Ku-hoo!¡± ¡°Grade B is definitely different.¡± Jin-hee murmured, leaving the bodies of the two men helplessly collapsing behind her. The skills of the Crows¡¯ executives were not bad. Jin-hee criticized them for the botched surprise attack, but their speed and sharpness were top-notch. Aside from their swordsmanship, if only strength was taken into consideration, they could be compared to any other knight. Then, how strong is the boss? As she walked down the hallway, Jin-hee spread her senses widely. ¡°Huh?¡± Before long, a large wave of mana was felt in her detection range. The place is at the end of the hallway. She strode forward and opened the door to the room. It was a huge office. In the theme of a cave, all sides were finished with wooden walls, and luxurious paintings were decorated here and there. In front of an antique table, a man was sitting on an executive chair and looking this way. ¡°Welcome, sit down.¡± ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± The middle-aged man smiled like a gentleman in a stylish beard and gray suit. ¡°Are you the Crow¡¯s boss?¡± ¡°The word Boss is violent. Call me Leader.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a funny thing for a gangster to say.¡± ¡°¡­¡­You have a big mouth.¡± Likewise, that¡¯s not something you want to hear from a gangster. Jin-hee looked around. No hidden people or mana was felt. There was only the Boss and herself. Let¡¯s see what he wants to talk about. Jin-hee put her sword on the floor, and sat on the chair across from the boss. ¡°It¡¯s amazing. It¡¯s not like there hasn¡¯t been an intruder before, but I¡¯ve never seen such an exciting intruder.¡± He crossed his legs and clasped his knees. At that relaxed and natural behavior, Jin-hee held back her snorting. He seemed to be enjoying the feeling of being an aristocrat. And I¡¯m the noble in here. ¡°By the way, do you mind taking off your mask?¡± ¡°No. I hate it because the air here is dirty.¡± ¡°Hmm, I see. I understand why you want to hide your identity.¡± He listened to her as if he had misunderstood something. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to dig out your organization. We all know how this business works, everything is more of the same, right? Is it a new syndicate? Or it could be an ¡®outsider¡¯. Geumgang Group and Brion are paying attention to this industry these days right?¡± ¡°¡­¡­Well, think as you please.¡± He¡¯s trying to get something from me, Jin-hee thought so with a small smile under her mask. ¡°Well, as our organization has grown in size, there is a lot of information leakage. We thought it was possible to hide it for at least half a year, but it seems to be overdoing it.¡± ¡°¡­¡­What do you mean by didn¡¯t hide it well. You move so openly, didn¡¯t you think that rumors wouldn¡¯t spread?¡± Now, that¡¯s what I want to hear, let¡¯s listen to it more. The boss seemed to think that she was a sender of an external organization or a rival organization, but if you think about it, the situation was mysterious. An unidentified hunter suddenly defeated all the executives and captured the Fairy and the Draconian while the Crows were trying to research them. Common sense would never think of her as a private stand-alone hunter. Besides, while we were arguing, the Fairy and the Draconian went out through the exit, which he didn¡¯t even know existed. It was only natural for him to think like that because, in the eyes of a third party, everything might have been meticulously planned. ¡°Hmm, I see. Have you known about that since they were at Garam Orphanage?¡± The place where Chung-ha and Min-ha lived was Garam Orphanage. Now I know the name. Jin-hee answered, pretending not to know. ¡°Since the time you forcefully took over. Of course, there is no way a gangster like you would do such a bad thing, right?¡± ¡°Well, it was an urgent business. But it¡¯s no big deal because there was a treasure there.¡± ¡°¡­Fairy.¡± ¡°Right.¡± The boss chuckled. It wasn¡¯t the relaxed laugh he showed until now, it was an evil laugh that suited this dark corner of the underground. ¡°There are endless ways to use ¡®that¡¯. If we can figure out how to use it a little bit more, a quick fortune is not even a dream.¡± ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± ¡°Well, we couldn¡¯t do that because of your little party.¡± Aside from saying it was regrettable, his attitude remained firm. Jin-hee, who wondered what kind of confidence he had inside, asked in a nonchalant tone. ¡°So what are you going to do now? Are you going to fight to stop me?¡± ¡°Me? With you? Seems like you are looking down on me¡­..This place has been made entirely by my own mercy.¡± In an instant, the boss¡¯s mana filled the room. Did they say that he was a Class A wizard who used magic of earth and water? When he let out his energy, the surrounding walls shook relentlessly as if an earthquake had occurred. Jin-hee quietly bit her lips. It wasn¡¯t that she was overwhelmed with energy or that her body hardened out of fear. She just decided to wait. ¡®This kind of guy definitely likes situations where he is seen as a strong man who hides his power.¡¯ And as expected. When she was silent, the boss immediately dismissed his magical powers and smiled gently. ¡°Oh my, I made a mistake. I¡¯m kidding, I didn¡¯t call you to fight.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Really?¡± He plays the whole charade all by himself. Pretending to be calm, she asked so. She almost burst out laughing, but she managed to hold it in. Her voice was low as if she had lost some strength due to the energy released before. ¡°I want to make a deal.¡± (Boss) ¡°Deal?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The boss pulled something out of the drawer inside the desk. He placed the box the size of the palm of his hand on the desk. It was a jewelry box. ¡°It contains the highest grade magic crystals and elixir. It will be worth billions of dollars.¡± ¡°¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤¡¤.¡± Even if the level of wealth of the Hunters was ridiculous, a billion was not an easy amount to give out like this. ¡°Of course, this is an advance payment. When you make a deal with me, I¡¯ll give more right away.¡± ¡°What is this deal about?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a contract.¡± ¡°Contract?¡± Chapter 12 ¡°Yes.¡± The boss pointed his finger at the ceiling. ¡°Leave your organization above and sign a contract with mine. I guarantee you double the amount you received. You can catch the fairy again and become an executive right below me as a member of the organization.¡± ¡°¡­¡­Double? You must have a lot of money.¡± ¡°Of course, as a hunter of my grade you would get a lot of money¡­but that¡¯s not all you see. ¡®Up¡¯ is even better.¡± There¡¯s someone above. Jin-hee, who almost hastily asked a question, suppressed herself. After all, if she stays still, he¡¯ll tell her. The behavior of that boss has been fully understood, and, as expected, the boss spoke on his own. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to know about ¡®Them¡¯. Well, in the end, it will be out eventually. ¡­The Crows are just a sub-organization. I, ¡®we¡¯ will grow bigger.¡± ¡°¡­Who is ¡®Them¡¯?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you that. The story ends here. If you become a member of the organization, I¡¯ll tell you everything. Because we, too, are always welcoming talented hunters.¡± I don¡¯t think he¡¯d tell more. Jin-hee thought quietly. Do I need to know the organization that is above this person? Rather, what I was curious about was not the identity of this organization or what they were doing. ¡°Then, can I ask you one more question?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°¡­The man in the room next to the fairy. Where the hell did they come from? I¡¯ve never seen such a race since I was born.¡± ¡°Hmm. That one was a coincidence.¡± ¡°¡­Coincidence?¡± ¡°Yes. Taking over Garam Orphanage was the original plan, but we don¡¯t know why a child who should be human became a fairy. I just approached the orphanage because of the instructions from above. As for that man¡­right, it was found at the gate.¡± ¡°Gate? In Sillim?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if he came from a gate in Sillim, but our gang found it camping there. It¡¯s a humanoid monster whose skin changes to one like a reptile, so I caught it myself. It was a difficult task for the executives.¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t know where they were born.¡± ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate, but that¡¯s about it. Your organization didn¡¯t know that either? Well, you never know, maybe the first ones to discover them, whoever they are, might know.¡± Said the boss while stroking his beard. Does that mean it¡¯s all a coincidence? The organization, which realized that Min-ha was there, tried to take over the nursery, but it did not seem to know yet why Min-ha became a fairy or where the fairy was born. The same goes for the Draconian. Okay, then there¡¯s no more business here. Jin-hee got up from her seat. ¡°Well? Have you made up your mind?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She replied with a small smile. Indeed, things got easier thanks to the opponent who was overconfident in his own skills and flaunted around for free. There was not even a need to use her hands for torture. Jin-hee took out her sword, which had been stuck by the chair. ¡°¡­I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the answer I¡¯m thinking of.¡± ¡°Of course. It would be a shame to come all the way here and just go back empty-handed.¡± ¡°Haha, fools rush in where angels fear to tread.¡± (Note: Literal Korean idiom {A puppy doesn¡¯t know to be afraid of a tiger.}) The boss once again released his mana. Again, the ground shook at the magic that filled the room, but this time Jin-hee, who did not need to act, also smiled. ¡°¡­!¡± In an instant, the room turned upside down. In the room filled with the boss¡¯s mana, Jin-hee¡¯s mana reversed the tide and wrapped around him. Mana. This magical energy was something mysterious. The strong can recognize the weak, but when the level of mana is the same or similar, they cannot recognize each other¡¯s level. Not to say, that the weak can never estimate the strength of the strong. She had already seen through the boss¡¯s mana level. Conversely, the boss must have been thinking of Jin-hee¡¯s mana was ¡®just below his own¡¯. He must have never dreamed that Jin-hee had deliberately not revealed her mana. Come to think of it, I think I like the expression of a strong person who hides their true power. Jin-hee smiled and looked at the boss. ¡°W-what¡­!¡± ¡°I got tired of acting like a fool.¡± The Crow extermination is now at the end. The boss got up with his eyes wide open due to the deathly pressure of her mana, and Jin-hee¡¯s sword mercilessly headed towards him. The most important thing in a battle between a wizard and a knight is distance. The distance that the knight¡¯s sword can reach usually cannot exceed 5m even if they use mana, and on the contrary, wizards have magic to intercept all enemies who come into view. Therefore, unless the knight aims at the back of the wizard or fights together with another wizard, it was right to retreat if there was a distance. Of course, if the fight develops at close range, the knight has an absolute advantage. A magic circle created by a wizard is not very vulnerable to the intrusion of external mana, but the moment a defensive magic circle is cast, attack magic cannot be used at the same time, and the wizard falls into a lull. Therefore, the battle with the Crow leader was extremely advantageous to Jin-hee. ¡°This wench¡­!¡± The boss, who had already given up on the gentleman¡¯s attitude, swung his hand, and the stone protruding from the wall flew in as a spear. The magic of water and earth has good compatibility. By compacting and kneading the surrounding ground with water, the caster can perform various attacks with little mana usage. Earth magic had a limited way of usage, but if water magic could be used, the spectrum of skills increases indefinitely. However, the opponent wasn¡¯t a good match for the boss. Earth magic uses the surrounding land, in other words, the durability of the attack was also the same as the surrounding space. ¡°It¡¯s boring for an A-class.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± As Jin-hee swung her sword with a lukewarm face, numerous stone spears were shattered in one breath. No matter how much you attack, in the end, it¡¯s only a stone. Its strength and sharpness could not be compared to iron, and although the quantity was large, it was only dizzying with no actual damage effect. Of course, if the caster uses more complex magic, proper attack magic is possible instead of this crude attack, but Jin-hee did not give leeway. ¡°You had a big mouth after all.¡± ¡°Gahak!¡± At the same time as the stone spear was thrown, the boss who was about to cast another magic was hit by Jin-hee¡¯s kick and flew backward. As he coughed when he hit the wall, drops of blood came out to show his internal organs were damaged. ¡°T-That¡¯s absurd¡­this¡­¡± ¡°I know. The skill difference is absurd. I thought you were the warmage type, but it seems like I was mistaken.¡± (Note: Warmage forgoes all subtlety in favor of blowing stuff up and dealing piles of damage. Some games have them wield swords to complement damage when they cannot cast spells.) Jin-hee couldn¡¯t understand why he pretended to be strong by emitting mana. At first glance, the boss was a typical Wizard type. She hasn¡¯t seen it first-hand, but if you look at the amount of mana, of course, the magic skill itself was excellent. However, in magic, there is a casting time, and no matter how fast, it¡¯s a ridiculously long time in a battle between knights whose lives go back and forth in a time frame of seconds. Because he was so confident, Jin-hee thought that he was a warmage capable of close combat, but that was not the case at all. ¡°You don¡¯t have much fighting experience, do you?¡± ¡°¡­!¡± Just by seeing it was apparent what kind of magic strategy he used. The boss¡¯s way of fighting was focused on artillery. A method in which he pours spells of enormous attack power in a focused area from a safe place. Since he had never done close combat, he would only have his own confidence from battles, and he knew his destructive power, so his habit of underestimating his opponent only increased. Jin-hee was a person who had experienced it a lot. Wizards who did not deal with a knight in front of their eyes often did not know the danger of the battlefield. It¡¯s the same for a Hunter. Rather, modern hunters had positions that were even more standardized than the ones she had seen in war. ¡°People who don¡¯t have a lot to show always talk big.¡± ¡°That freaking mouth¡­!¡± ¡°And? What are you going to do about it?¡± ¡°¡­!¡± Jin-hee approached the boss who was about to spit out insults again. The boss swallowed his words at Jin-hee¡¯s appearance, which was just around the corner, destroying all his magic with a sword. There was fear in his eyes. Helplessness, despair, and¡­ ¡°Come on, wait! Any money¡­ ¡­ !¡± Cowardice. ¡°No, I¡¯m good.¡± ¡°That¡­!¡± Jin-hee¡¯s sword was stuck in the boss¡¯s chest. His suit jacket, which had all kinds of protection charms, was pierced like a piece of paper, the blade on his chest pierced through him at once. ¡°¡­.¡± It was a futile death for the leader of The Crows faction who was an A-class hunter and ruled the neighborhood. The corners of his freshly bloodied lips trembled as he was about to say something, but his movements stopped soon after. Jin-hee looked down at the corpse, immediately shook the blood from her sword, and looked around. It was a place she came to have some light exercise, but a lot of things got tangled up again. * * * The first thing she did in the room was to look around. She took some seemingly important documents, swung her sword through the door of a room that appeared to be a safe, and entered. Of course, she also took all the magic stones that the boss was going to offer her. When she entered the door earlier, she threw away all the luggage bags of the thieves she had met. Seeing what she found, there was no need to carry them around. ¡°As expected, there¡¯s no cash.¡± Most of what was visible were in-kind valuables. Inside the safe, there were chests that she had only seen in movies and artifacts that she did not know for what they were used. She couldn¡¯t carry all of them out, so Jin-hee put the things that looked reasonably expensive in the two briefcases that were in the corner of the room. While she was picking things up, she found a sword that was just on display. Did that wizard even collect swords? When I took it out, the shape was close to that of an Arming Sword. This sword, which had almost no decorations but was characterized by a straight blade and a crude handle, was a military sword favored by knights. ¡®Why did you use this as decoration?¡¯ The Arming Sword was a sword for practical use, not a decorative or ceremonial sword. This is because it is a sword that is close to off-the-shelf like the sword she has been using. ¡°Huh?¡± As she held the arming sword in her hand, Jin-hee could feel strange mana circling the handle. Just in case, she directly put in her own mana and the energy contained in the sword reacted with Jin-hee¡¯s energy. ¡°Aha.¡± After a few swings, she knew how to use it. ¡°It can transform.¡± When this sword was first pulled out, it looked like an arming sword because Jin-hee was originally a knight who often used an arming sword. When she thought that she wanted another sword, the sword changed its shape and changed into a two-handed sword, a dagger, and even a rapier. It was a sword that transforms using mana, so even if you can¡¯t use it, it¡¯s a rare sword that one would want to own. ¡°That is great. I was going to change the sword I was using.¡± She threw away the sword she wore around her waist and put a new sword in her belt. The size was changed to the size of a short sword. I¡¯ll have to buy a spell sheet later so it can be turned into an Orb. Jin-hee thought it was the biggest harvest she could get, and went outside. The hallway was quiet. The crows disappeared out of nowhere, and only the bloodstains left by her were seen in the hallway. ¡°Well?¡± Shall we visit the place called Garam Orphanage first? While trying to take out her cell phone and search for a map, she realized that someone was looking down at her from the stairs. I was still wary of my surroundings by spreading mana, but I didn¡¯t get that person in my detection. The man, who was crossing his arms above the stairs, had his face shadowed due to the outside lighting. I could only see with my eyes that he was tall and wearing a suit. ¡°Who?¡±