Chapter 59
Chapter 59
“Well, it’s not bad, I guess.”
That was Jeonghyeon’s brief evaluation.
Chaejun, who had been diligently swinging his sword until just now, might feel a little wronged, but what could he do if that was the truth?
‘Manager Cha said he was a fake level, but was he really?’
Maybe his expectations for a C-Rank Level 4 were too high.
After all, he had the highest rank and level among those Jeonghyeon had met under the premise that he had seen them fight.
But the feeling of actually seeing him in action was nothing but disappointing.
Well, it wasn’t bad.
His movements were clean and without any unnecessary flourishes, and his destructive power was considerable despite the fact that a sword wasn’t a very good weapon against slimes.
But that was all.
“But, how should I put it…… It doesn’t really inspire me.”
Although he said it partly to provoke Chaejun, Jeonghyeon wasn’t very satisfied.
However, Chaejun was a professional.
A professional villain.
To be honest, Jeonghyeon couldn’t help but admire the way Chaejun acted outside of combat.
Pew!
No matter how haphazardly he threw the daggers.
Swish!
No matter how awkwardly he swung the mace,
“Oh, Hyung-nim! Nice shot!”
‘Nice shot my ass.’
Chaejun showered him with praise as if he was with the strongest Hunter.
Even though it was a performance that would make even a three-year-old shake their head.
Naturally, Jeonghyeon was currently acting like a troll to the point that he felt self-loathing, let alone the gazes of others.
‘It’s fun, but do I have to deceive him this much……’
It was part of the operation.
The gist of the operation was to make Chaejun underestimate the abilities of the operation team and make him reveal his true colors as soon as possible.
Therefore, Jeonghyeon had diligently studied the famous series”Ordinary F-Ranks”on MyTV.
His Throwing Technique lacked finesse, and he seemed to not understand the concept of impact with blunt weapons.
Furthermore, his movements were distorted as if he was doing some kind of comical dance.
At first glance, Jeonghyeon’s acting was so perfect that one would doubt if he even had any Traits.
On the other hand, as someone who had to act like that, he couldn’t help but feel self-loathing.
‘Can’t I just catch him first?’
Anyway, judging by the way Chaejun was fighting, he wasn’t that great.
However, he had to endure it because Yerin had repeatedly emphasized that there were various restrictions on arresting a Hunter.
━ You’re saying we can only catch him if he makes a hostile move?
━ Yes. There’s no other way under the current law. And it’s also the cleanest way to arrest him inside a Gate.
━ What kind of crappy law is that……
━ If it weren’t for that, I would have beaten him to death outside myself.
━ I guess so……
In a world where Hunters themselves were treated as valuable national assets, and where ordinary people could also suffer great harm, the process of arresting villains was ridiculously complicated.
First of all, the ability to urgently subdue a Hunter outside a Gate was limited to situations where the villain was caught red-handed causing direct harm to civilians.
Even in this case, recording, documentation, and evidence collection of the situation at the time were essential, and combat actions were extremely restricted to prevent civilian casualties.
Furthermore, since the person in charge had to attend the National Assembly hearing, it was common for the higher-ups who issued operation permits to avoid it altogether.
On the other hand, the situation was a little better inside the Gate, which could be considered a space for Hunters only.
If the opponent made a hostile move first, the right to self-defense was guaranteed without limitation.
However, even in this case, one could not launch a preemptive attack just because the opponent was a villain.
This was because so many bizarre incidents had occurred before this rule was established.
Since there was no way to know if Hunters would collude and commit crimes inside the Gate, numerous safety devices were attached to arrest operations.
After the post-Gate system was somewhat established, there was strong criticism that the regulations were excessive, but the law had not yet changed.
This was why some people said that the Association was deliberately not amending the law to prevent it from exerting excessive influence over Hunters.
In any case, even though it was a bad law, it was still the law, and the operation that Jeonghyeon had to carry out had to abide by these rules within a larger framework.
He had to deliberately act like a rich Hunter with garbage skills to induce Chaejun to draw his blade first.
“Wow, Hyung-nim. That was a really nice shot!”
He clapped and cheered even though the sword had absurdly pierced only through the slime’s body.
“As expected of Hyung-nim! The mace on your back wasn’t just for show!”
Even when Jeonghyeon swung the mace clumsily in a terrible posture, Chaejun laughed as if he was about to collapse.
“Stop f cking flattering me. You’re making me sick.”
“Oh, I always speak the truth, Hyung-nim!”
Although Chaejun must have been itching to kill Jeonghyeon for being so obnoxious, he was still flattering him like that.
For a moment, even Jeonghyeon,
“Am I really that good?”
was about to honestly ask that question.
Of course, the only one who would nod enthusiastically to that question was Chaejun.
He barely managed to regain his composure after seeing the expressions of Junhyeon and Gangjun, who were watching him from behind, turn sour.
‘Why do all villains act so friendly at first? Is there some kind of academy or something?’
He couldn’t help but compare him to the masked duo he had met before, as they were both villains.
Didn’t they also act like they would give their liver and gallbladder to a newbie at first?
Why bother if they were going to kill them anyway?
From Jeonghyeon’s perspective, he couldn’t help but have these questions.
Well, there must be a reason.
‘Tsk, still, he’s putting in so much effort, I should at least pretend to fall for it. Ah, I know what to do.’
Since he was doing it to make a living, even if he had to catch him for sure, it would be rewarding as a villain to play along to some extent.
Besides, he had just come up with an idea to end this tedious operation in one fell swoop.
“You’re the first one to praise me this much. Have you ever thought about working under me? You’re a hundred times better than those stone-headed bastards.”
“Oh, I’d be honored!”
Chaejun, who even bowed while replying to Jeonghyeon’s indirect offer.
Jeonghyeon’s smile towards him deepened even more sinisterly.
Of course, it was Chaejun’s flattery that Jeonghyeon admired, but Chaejun himself was seething inside.
He was literally a bigger pain in the ass than any other nuisance he had ever encountered.
If there hadn’t been slimes to beat up right in front of him, something would have happened already.
‘Just you wait…… I’ll make sure to kill you more painfully.’
In fact, if he wanted to make a move right now, he could.
However, Chaejun was just waiting for the right opportunity.
He had to strike when Jeonghyeon was more relaxed and more off guard.
It was quite fun to watch the expressions of those so-called rich bastards become filled with despair.
Jeonghyeon might be acting all arrogant and cocky now, but he would realize that he was no different from others once he got stabbed in the stomach.
That he was also a human being who could bleed and feel pain.
‘Make sure you pay a hefty price for your lesson.’
Thanks to this, a strange situation was unfolding inside the Pompo Slime Gate, which was known as a playground, where they were sharpening their knives against each other.
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“Guys, let’s take a break. I’m tired.”
Break time.
Chaejun, who had been hunting almost all the slimes by himself because Jeonghyeon was acting like a total waste, Junhyeon was a Healer, and Gangjun was a Tanker, was sweating profusely as he settled down in a corner of the open space.
Meanwhile, Jeonghyeon plopped down on the ground facing Chaejun.
Naturally, Junhyeon and Gangjun, who were acting as Jeonghyeon’s bodyguards, tried to take their places beside him, but━
“Hey, you guys go get some water or something.”
“……Yes?”
“Didn’t you hear what I said earlier? I kind of like this guy. I want to talk business with him, so get out of here. You have no sense. Tsk.”
When Jeonghyeon clicked his tongue and spoke, Chaejun’s eyes widened as he looked at him.
Did he really mean that he wanted to hire him, and not just as a joke?
Moreover, Jeonghyeon even smirked slightly in his direction.
‘That bastard is a truly unique nutcase.’
He had carried many rich fools on his back before.
Most of them were very satisfied until they died.
But none of them had ever said they wanted him to work under them.
Who would take in a Dark Hunternet member whose identity hadn’t even been properly verified?
“Hey, aren’t you going? You’re really starting to piss me off.”
“But…… You can’t be alone.”
“Why? Are you afraid that this piece of sh t will try to harm me?”
Jeonghyeon was now even making remarks that belittled Chaejun.
At this point, it was impossible to tell if it was a dedicated act or if it was truly coming from his heart.
Even Junhyeon and Gangjun, who had been warned about Jeonghyeon’s behavior at the cafe before entering the Gate, found it difficult to distinguish between the two, so how could anyone else?
He looked normal on the outside, but was he actually a psychopath?
Come to think of it, he had a strange feeling about him ever since he saw him handling the equipment with those unusual eyes.
Jeonghyeon smirked at them and pointed at Chaejun.
“Hey, do you know what’s scarier than rank? It’s money, money. In the end, Hunters do it for the money, so what can he do to me?”
Anyway, since this situation wasn’t discussed beforehand, Junhyeon and Gangjun were exchanging glances when,
“I’m fine, so you two go ahead. Hyung-nim seems to be very uncomfortable.”
Chaejun said with a smile.
Jeonghyeon also leisurely urged them on.
“Yeah, yeah, that piece of sh t is saying so too. Don’t worry and go wash your faces or something. Ugh, the smell of sweat.”
“……Then we’ll be back.”
Junhyeon and Gangjun finally left their spots.
They couldn’t completely erase their suspicions towards Chaejun, so they didn’t take their eyes off him until he was out of sight, but as soon as they were no longer visible, they quickly left.
Did they think they should come back as soon as possible since things had turned out like this?
Of course, Chaejun had no intention of missing this opportunity.
The reason he had forced a smile and played along with Jeonghyeon, despite the rage that was driving him crazy, was the same.
He would cut off at least a few of Jeonghyeon’s fingers and toes before his bodyguards returned.
Whether or not he knew Chaejun’s intentions, Jeonghyeon got up from his spot and started stretching.
“Oh, that’s better. Ah, my body is stiff from hunting so hard. Stiff, stiff.”
He even had the audacity to turn his back to Chaejun while doing so.
Under normal circumstances, one would be suspicious of things going too smoothly.
However, Chaejun had already seen that Jeonghyeon’s skills were not just at the level of an ordinary F-Rank, but at the level of trash, and his mind was half-gone due to the pent-up frustration he had accumulated.
If he hadn’t thought about it in the first place, it would have been a different story, but since he had already decided to kill him, there was no need to kick away an opportunity that had rolled right into his lap.
Jeonghyeon, who seemed oblivious to Chaejun’s inner thoughts, asked while still stretching.
“Hey, how much would you like for a monthly salary?”
“Monthly salary? Uh…… My asking price is quite high.”
Chaejun responded however he could while greedily scanning Jeonghyeon with his eyes.
Those expensive equipment and the thick wallet that must be inside.
“Ah, so, how much━ This bastar━!”
‘With that trashy speed, he won’t be able to react even if I ambush him right away.’
With that thought, Chaejun grabbed the sword he had placed beside him and lunged at Jeonghyeon with lightning speed.
A clean surprise attack, as expected of a C-Rank Level 4.
Jeonghyeon’s eyes widened in surprise at Chaejun’s sudden move, but it was too late.
He could clearly see the future that would unfold in 1 second.
The sight of Jeonghyeon screaming and bleeding from his left side.
It wouldn’t be a major wound, but it wouldn’t be a pain that a pampered young master could endure.
‘You bastard…… You should have watched your mouth, knowing your place.’
However,
Clang!
The future that actually unfolded was completely different from Chaejun’s expectations.
Before he even knew it, the sword that was aimed at Jeonghyeon’s side was flung away with a short metallic sound.
And Jeonghyeon, who should have been rolling on the ground bleeding by now,
“What the hell are you doing, you bastard?”
was glaring at him with a chilling smile.