“Wow…”
An Yeong-ho, who had followed Kang-hoo to the rooftop, looked surprised.
The fact that Kang-hoo had stealthily climbed up along the window frame while in stealth mode was astonishing.
Moreover, it was unbelievable that he had single-handedly subdued two hunters who should have been at least level 7 or 8 if they were sent to tail someone.
If he hadn’t subdued them at once, one of them might have screamed or called for backup.
But, apparently, because they were killed in one strike, the followers at the first-floor entrance were still just looking around.
“Let’s get out of here.”
Kang-hoo extended his hand.
He didn’t usually take men’s hands, but they needed to get out of the building quickly.
Fortunately, the buildings were of similar height and not far apart.
Thus, it was possible for Kang-hoo to leap over them, even with the efficiency halved for two-person jumps.
The two kept jumping from building to building until there were no more suitable structures for leaping.
Only after they had moved far enough from the modern bar building did their relentless leaping come to an end.
Thanks to taking breaks at intervals, Kang-hoo didn’t trigger his hypersensitivity.
“Phew. Phew. Phew.”
The one who had worked hard was Kang-hoo, but it was An Yeong-ho who flopped down on his back.
Perhaps because he hadn’t grown into a skilled hunter yet, An Yeong-ho appeared to have many clumsy aspects.
“Thank you so much. I would have been kidnapped for sure if you hadn’t risked your life to save me…”
An Yeong-ho’s eyes teared up.
In reality, Kang-hoo hadn’t risked his life to save him, but there was no need to correct that impression.
“I didn’t help you for nothing.”
“Of course! I didn’t mean to suggest repaying your kindness without giving anything in return!”
An Yeong-ho bent forward as much as he could to show his utmost respect to Kang-hoo.
An Yeong-ho, the hunter who can only speak the truth.
There was no bluff or pretense in his words. Everything he said was sincere.
“My name is An Yeong-ho! I’m twenty-three years old. Could I at least know the name of my savior, even if it’s a pseudonym?”
“Jung Sun-kyu. I’m twenty-nine. It’s not my real name.”
“Sun-kyu hyungnim! Thank you so much!”
An Yeong-ho spoke the truth, as per the characteristics of his constellation. Or rather, he was compelled to speak the truth.
If he didn’t speak, he could hide the truth.
But once he started speaking, he had to tell the truth.
It felt awkward for An Yeong-ho to add ‘hyungnim’ to a pseudonym, but it didn’t matter.
Now that he knew Kang-hoo’s age, Kang-hoo began speaking more casually.
“Why is the Jeonghwa Guild after you?”
“I don’t know. I wanted to grow on my own in Korea, so I even turned down my uncle’s support.”
“Your uncle?”
“Oh, my uncle is the vice-master of the Rikou Guild, which firmly holds the top spot in Japan’s Kansai region…”
“The Rikou Guild.”
“Yes, that’s right! Do you know of it?”
“I do. The Rikou Guild is like the Jeonghwa Guild in our country.”
“Yes! My uncle is the vice guild master there. The guild master is his best friend.”
“You came to Korea despite having such a strong supporter.”
“Yes. I didn’t want to rely on my uncle’s help, and I’m more familiar with Korea.”
“Hmm.”
“Suzuki Fumiya. That’s my uncle’s name.”
A familiar name.
There was not even a slight discrepancy between the content of the original story Kang-hoo remembered and An Yeong-ho’s words. It meant there was no lie.
“Anyway, I left the guild because my ideas and the guild’s operations didn’t align. It wasn’t a fixed-term contract, so there shouldn’t be any problem…”
“What exactly didn’t align?”
“There were many instances where we had to treat hunters who were not affiliated with our guild. Clearly, they weren’t domestic hunters.”
“And?”
“In the underground training room, they made us repeatedly use the same skills under the guise of pattern analysis. Skills that I had already maximized proficiency in and didn’t need to improve further.”
“They said it was for pattern analysis?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what they said. Chae Gwanhyeong nim claimed it’s the most crucial analysis for a hunter.”
“…”
Kang-hoo’s brow furrowed deeply as realization dawned on him.
Yu Cheonghwa.
Among The Thirteen Stars.
A Chinese hunter capable of imitating other hunters’ skills and patterns existed.
Not as perfectly as Kang-hoo’s Skill Plunder, which allowed for understanding the usage and utilizing it with maximum proficiency, but…
He could mimic it to an efficiency of roughly 10 to 20 percent of the original skill.
Naturally, it was a time-intensive process that required the ‘victim’ to keep repeating the action.
The process An Yeong-ho described matched almost exactly with Yu Cheonghwa’s typical skill-copying route.
Due to the bad ending, The Thirteen Stars had become a massive conspiracy.
Thus, a connection at this point between them was not at all surprising.
With The Thirteen Stars exhibiting a sense of transcending solidarity, helping each other learn useful skills seemed only logical.
‘This is the unfolding scenario.’
Kang-hoo smirked bitterly.
The Jeonghwa Guild was a bastion of colossal hypocrisy.
It even went so far as to pursue and attempt to abduct someone who had left the guild voluntarily.
Of course, they would have employed hunters whose affiliations were unknown to the public. Hunters who could be discarded at a moment’s notice if they caused any trouble.
“I have 300 million won in my account. I can transfer it to you right now. Consider it a small token of my gratitude.”
“I won’t turn it down. In truth, it might even be a bargain for saving a life.”
“You’re right. And I’ll ask my uncle to ensure the guild compensates you adequately.”
“Like what?”
“If you come to Japan, I’ll grant you access to the dungeons under my name whenever you want.”
“Born with a golden spoon, huh.”
“Ha ha. I can’t deny it. But of course, that’s separate from my debt to you for today…”
“Is someone coming to pick you up?”
“They should be here in about 10 minutes. There seems to have been a fight between organizations on the road on the way here. It was blocked.”
“So that’s why you were left to the Jeonghwa Guild’s followers for a while.”
“When things start to get tangled up, they just keep getting more and more entangled. Anyway, just let me know your account, and I’ll transfer it right away.”
Kang-hoo quickly provided his account number.
As An Yeong-ho said, he is indeed a golden spoon. So, putting a straw in won’t even be noticeable.
Later.
The situation was swiftly resolved.
Kang-hoo first received a ‘token of appreciation’ of 300 million won from An Yeong-ho.
Next, Kang-hoo, through An Yeong-ho, also completed a call with his uncle, Suzuki Fumiya.
Kang-hoo utilized his ability to speak five languages fluently, which he didn’t have as Shin Kang-hoo but did as the original author.
The conversation was straightforward.
Expressing gratitude for rescuing his nephew and offering a public announcement if desired.
Kang-hoo skipped all formalities and expressed his desire for assistance in his future activities in Japan.
And of course, to document all these conversation contents and guarantee them.
With electronic contracts now active, getting a guarantee regardless of distance was not difficult.
The official promise Kang-hoo obtained from Suzuki Fumiya was to issue ten licenses for dungeon raids owned by the Rikou Guild.
With Japan having as many worthwhile dungeons as Korea, Kang-hoo now had ten valuable cards to use.
“Hyungnim, thank you so much. I’ll be going then. I’ll make sure I’m the only one who knows the contact information you gave me.”
“Just go already. You’ve been thanking me over and over. It’s not like I helped you for free.”
“Still, thank you very much!”
An Yeong-ho remained grateful until the end.
And so, their brief encounter came to an end.
For Kang-hoo, it was an unexpected connection to Japan.
Things seemed to be going well.
Kang-hoo had found a decent motel to sleep in and woke up just past 2 PM.
After taking alternating rides on the Gyeongchun Line and the Gyeongui-Jungang Line, he arrived at Yangpyeong Station around 4:30 PM.
It was a suitable time, just before early evening.
It was the perfect moment to begin his work.
Then, a call came from Lee Ye-rin.
“Yes.”
“How did you clear that dungeon so quickly by yourself yesterday? It wasn’t even an easy solo dungeon!”
“I didn’t really time it.”
“You finished much faster than I expected, so we have plenty of time left on our guard contract!”
“Well, it’s a time contract, after all.”
“Anyway, I was just surprised. It’s good to clear dungeons as fast as possible, though.”
Lee Ye-rin poured out her praise as if scolding, then her voice lowered, sounding a bit awkward.
Upon reflection, this was her way of expressing gratitude and admiration, a typical Lee Ye-rin outburst.
Kang-hoo didn’t say much, and Lee Ye-rin filled the silence.
“You know about the reward for the Heo Jeong-tae job, right? Just checking again.”
“Of course.”
“The next request is set up. It’s an infiltration mission… It’s highly paid but really difficult.”
“Where is the request?”
“The Jeonghwa Guild.”
“…”
Fate continued to play such games. There was nothing he couldn’t do just because the request came from the Jeonghwa Guild.
“How about it? Interested?”
“As long as the reward is certain.”
“I’m looking into giving priority to issuing dungeon raid licenses as a reward. I’ll look into it more.”
“I’ll contact you after dealing with Heo Jeong-tae.”
“Alright. Fighting!”
“…”
The cheer was a bit out of the blue, but he hung up without giving it much thought.
For the time being, regardless of the request, his top priority was ‘dungeons.’ In other words, leveling up took precedence.
He wouldn’t have even started the Heo Jeong-tae capture request if it weren’t for the dungeon rental rights.
Money wasn’t that important.
Kang-hoo checked his watch.
“Too bright a time isn’t good, nor is it when it’s completely dark.”
He planned to create the most advantageous situation for himself against Heo Jeong-tae, who had a high level.
“A dimly lit time.”
That would be the best time to disrupt the vision of a rush-type character like Heo Jeong-tae.
Slowly.
Kang-hoo began to move toward Heo Jeong-tae’s house.
Although the Yangpyeong Station area was bustling with people, no one recognized Kang-hoo.
6 PM.
Before the sun, now well past the west, created a red sunset and cast a subtle twilight.
Heo Jeong-tae left his house.
He was undoubtedly a man, but outwardly, he was unmistakably a woman in disguise.
With long hair, a dramatic makeover, and the help of shaping underwear…
He appeared as a natural woman.
His legs were slender enough to make it impossible to guess he was a man.
Heo Jeong-tae was on the phone with a man from the moment he left his house. It was Chae Gwanhyeong from the Jeonghwa Guild.
“As promised, if you kill Lee Yeong-min’s uncle, I’ll give you the remaining 200 million won. How about it?”
“I’ll do anything for the pay.”
His voice was unmistakably male, but outside, keeping his mouth shut was enough.
“Good, work hard.”
“Just one question. If Lee Yeong-min’s uncle dies, will Lee Yeong-min become loyal to Jeonghwa?”
“Exactly. We’ll say the culprit who killed his uncle on behalf of the guild is ‘Red Eyes.’”
“I see…”
“Then Lee Yeong-min, with nowhere to go, will have no choice but to be loyal to our guild.”
“Very meticulous.”
“Anyway, contact me once it’s done. I’ll pay you immediately.”