Chapter 26: Weight (2)
From the moment he started tailing me, Hong Han-sol had thoroughly disguised himself in his own way.
Bon Breaker, known for being skilled in dirty work.
He must have done surveillance to the point of boredom.
He wore a disposable invisibility suit and even thoroughly erased the traces of energy that could leak from his items.
Even so, he kept a distance of over 10 meters while following me and Sanarae.
Everything was perfect.
If not for the “Beholder Sage” attached to my side.
[Espionage Lv.1]
[The Beholder Sage can observe someone without being detected, and conversely, no ordinary disguise can ever escape his sight.]
[Can detect entities disguised with invisibility or illusion magic below level 10.]
To the Sage, all of Hong Han-sol’s efforts must have looked like child’s play.
Judging by how he only informed me long after Hong Han-sol started tailing.
Of course, it didn’t feel like a joke to me.
But I wasn’t particularly tense either.
Hong Han-sol was already in the palm of my hand.
I decided to play with this toy a bit more usefully.
***
“When did this bastard Kim Han-ul get there?”
Hong Han-sol cursed harshly.
A voice filled with killing intent.
But his eyes, looking at Han-ul, were wavering.
“Since earlier.”
“What?”
“I knew you were tailing me even before I entrusted the Bloodstream Stone.”
Hong Han-sol’s pupils shook as if struck by an earthquake.
That couldn’t be.
He hurriedly glanced at the Status Window floating in one corner of his vision.
[Silent Footsteps Lv.2]
A passive that removes the energy leaking from items and the presence of the caster.
A skill directly granted by the “Barefoot Thief Who Steals Reports.”
A stealth skill capable of deceiving not only Monsters but also most Hunters of similar rank.
And yet that trump card had been completely broken.
‘There’s no way this bastard is skilled enough to break my skill. That woman beside him? Did that bitch do it?’
Come to think of it, from the moment he started tailing, Sanarae disappeared and some strange woman was beside him.
It was a face he’d never seen before, and she looked airheaded, so he assumed she was just a recruiter.
“Don’t spout bullshit! You just got lucky, and you think that kind of bluff will work on me too?”
In the end, Hong Han-sol denied reality.
“Then check.”
“What?”
“Check whether it’s bluff or not.”
Han-ul’s expression under the moonlight was as cold as his voice.
No matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t the same ordinary civilian he saw at the cafe that morning.
“What the f—.”
Hong Han-sol instinctively stepped back.
“H-hyung, p-please s-save me.”
“Uhhuhh….”
Crying voices around him grabbed his ankles.
The 3 guild members were frozen in place, tears streaming down their faces.
Cornered.
In the end, Hong Han-sol pulled out a weapon from the suit under his coat.
A sharp dagger emitted a cold gleam.
He aimed the dagger at Han-ul and clenched his teeth.
‘He’s just a brat who got promoted to B-rank a few days ago. Before that, he was no different from trash.’
Meanwhile, he himself was one of the key figures of Bon Breaker.
An A-rank Hunter who formed a contract with the Divine Throne the moment he awakened.
When it came to stealth and assassination, he was confident he wouldn’t fall behind even S-rank Hunters.
‘If it’s come to this, I’ll kill both that blacksmith and Kim Han-ul and bury them here.’
To disguise it as chaos after a fight, even one of the guild members he brought would have to die.
But that didn’t matter.
Trash that couldn’t help even in this situation were better off dead.
‘Show me your hand.’
Still pointing the dagger, Hong Han-sol glared at Han-ul.
In this field, especially in fights between Hunters, the one who shows their hand first is almost always destroyed.
Hong Han-sol knew that from experience.
Then Han-ul, who had been staring at him, pulled something out from his chest.
‘What’s your weapon?!’
A Hunter who cleared the Garden of Mind alone.
There had to be a hidden card.
Hong Han-sol tensed up.
And suddenly—
“What?!”
Han-ul threw something to the ground.
Boom!
“Smoke?!”
The workshop filled with thick fog.
But the fog disappeared too quickly to be mere smoke.
And in its place—
“What is that?”
A Monster about waist height stood there.
Hong Han-sol muttered blankly.
“…Goblin?”
No matter how you looked at it, it was a Goblin.
A Monster that even trash Hunters could handle in E-rank Gates or Dungeons.
It wore slightly different armor, but still—a Goblin.
After a brief silence—
“Hahahaahahahahaha!”
Hong Han-sol burst into laughter.
It was laughter born from disbelief.
“You brought out just one Goblin to fight me?”
“Hey, is that all? Show me more.”
His face regained absolute confidence.
[The Barefoot Thief Who Steals Reports…]
That confidence was enough to ignore the voice echoing in his mind.
“Looks like you awakened a taming-type Skill. But you can’t possibly only have trash Monsters like that, right? Show me more.”
“I’d rather not. This alone is already more than enough.”
“?”
Hong Han-sol’s face twisted.
Then suddenly, Han-ul drew a sword from his waist.
Hong Han-sol frowned.
‘That looks dangerous.’
It was clearly an A-rank or higher item.
So that’s it.
Understanding dawned.
“That bastard… Item Power.”
“Kiruk?”
The Goblin tilted its head.
But Hong Han-sol’s focus was already fixed on the sword.
“Then this is simple.”
Flash!
Hong Han-sol charged forward.
Item Power only works against low-intelligence Monsters.
In Hunter vs Hunter combat, real combat experience mattered most.
Han-ul looked like the perfect newbie relying on items.
‘What luck.’
As he charged, a sinister smile spread across his face.
A golden opportunity.
To obtain both the top-grade Bloodstream Stone and that sword!
“Kiruk?”
‘A Goblin like this—’
Thud!
“Kuheok?!”
There wasn’t.
With a heavy impact—
His waist bent like a shrimp.
Hong Han-sol slowly lowered his eyes.
A club.
A wooden club was embedded in his abdomen.
“W-what is—ugh!”
He vomited violently.
“Kiruk.”
Their eyes met.
“This bastard…!”
Even after taking a hit, an A-rank Hunter was still an A-rank Hunter.
Hong Han-sol thrust his dagger.
Whoosh!
It sliced through the air.
“Eh?”
The Goblin was still there.
Only its head had tilted slightly.
Just that was enough to evade a 0.1-second attack.
Its eyes narrowed upward.
As if mocking him.
“Y-you…!”
Thud!
Before he could curse—
Another strike hit his side.
“Kehruk.”
The Goblin beckoned with its finger.
Clink.
The bracelet on its arm jingled.
At that provocation—
The A-rank Hunter snapped.
“What the hell is this?!”
A blue glow flickered on his dagger.
He drew on the power of the Divine Throne.
He unleashed a barrage of attacks.
Each strike powerful enough to pierce mid-level Monsters.
But—
All of them were dodged.
Not only that—
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Kuugh! Ugh! Ack!”
Each missed attack was followed by brutal counterstrikes.
The slower his dagger became—
The faster the club moved.
In the end—
Hong Han-sol collapsed.
Clang.
The dagger fell.
Thud!
He dropped like a rag.
[The Barefoot Thief Who Steals Reports…]
[Warned you!]
[Shakes head.]
[Trembles in humiliation.]
[Contract terminated.]
‘You bastard Divine Throne…’
But he couldn’t even curse.
All he could do—
“P-please… spare me…”
Beg for his life.
“Kiruk.”
But the Goblin only looked at Han-ul.
“Good work. Go back.”
“Keruk!”
The Goblin vanished.
Only Han-ul remained.
“P-please… spare me.”
“That’s difficult. I don’t like my abilities being exposed.”
“I won’t tell anyone!”
“Really?”
“Yes! Please!”
Hong Han-sol prostrated himself.
“Hmm… I don’t want complications either.”
Relief.
But—
“I wonder if that person agrees.”
“…?”
A chilling presence filled the room.
The shutter closed.
Darkness swallowed everything.
And from the shadows—
A figure formed.
Blue eyes glowing.
“Sa…na…rae…?”
***
“Sorry.”
Sanarae approached.
“I wasn’t careful enough.”
“It’s fine.”
“What will you do with them?”
“Curious?”
Sancheon spoke instead.
“Don’t go too far.”
“…Fine.”
“I’ll handle it.”
‘That’s scarier.’
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
“I’ll make the best item of my life.”
“I trust you.”
“I’ll be going.”
“I’ll drop you.”
“Your guild members?”
“They’ll transport them.”
“Alright.”
***
“That felt like I lost.”
Sanarae spoke while driving.
“I thought I put weight on your scale… but it was the opposite.”
“We help each other.”
“…Thank you.”
She drove off.
“…Feels good, Sage.”
The Sage fluttered.
Then—
[Prepare! In 2 hours, the 702nd Wave will begin.]
It really did feel good.