Ryu Seon-young, holding a cara, directed a question at Han Jae-young.
"Do you think the culprits are still inside the dungeon, Hunter Han Jae-young?"
"If their goal really is energy drain, they'll likely visit this dungeon periodically, so at least the traces of the culprits should remain."
The case had been a complete mystery up until now. If they could find even a trace of sothing, it would help solve the case.
"Since the culprits might still be in the dungeon, let's walk from here. And whatever happens, don't stray from or Jeong Da-on Hunter's side."
"Yes."
Ryu Seon-young swallowed nervously.
"Ryu, be really careful."
Detective Lim whispered quietly as they walked together.
"Anyway, guys like them don't care about prison. They'll fight to the death. You can kill anyone here and no one will know, you know."
"You're sharp."
Jeong Da-on complinted him.
"Hmm, it's nothing much."
"Still, don't worry."
He was likely trying to reassure her with a faint smile, and his voice was gentle.
She really couldn’t understand why he had a bad reputation.
"You won't have a chance to resist, so I'll end it quickly."
…Could his words be easily misinterpreted?
Not long after, they saw a few large tents spread across the barren land.
"Hey, you guys! Knock it off."
Then, the noisy sounds began.
Han Jae-young made a quiet signal with one hand and silently took out an item.
A white, glowing powder was scattered around their group.
Ryu Seon-young wasn’t sure what kind of item it was, but she guessed it was probably sothing that interfered with the opponents' perception.
"No matter how thirsty you are, what are you trying to brew, so kind of centipede wine?"
"Isn't anyone curious? We’ve already caught one, let’s brew it!"
"Seriously, they’ve earned so much money, but they’re trying to die over it."
"Money’s useless here. If we can’t get out of the dungeon, it’s been a week and I’m dying for so alcohol."
"Well, if you die, that ans more loot for ."
"Man, you're harsh."
Three n were talking in front of the tents.
They were all big, intimidating figures, clearly the type of thugs involved in organized cri.
Swish!
And then, at that mont.
A massive shadow-like figure brushed the ground.
No, it wasn’t like a shadow…
Ryu Seon-young’s mouth hung open.
‘It’s really a shadow!’
The shadows of the three n sitting in front of the tent were growing abnormally large.
‘Must be magic, right?’
At first, she didn’t feel anything odd, as the n continued talking, but when the light around them started to dim, they looked up.
"…Bro, doesn’t sothing seem off?"
"What do you an off?"
"Sothing's giving the chills… Hmm?"
It wasn’t until their shadows grew to the point of darkening the area around them that they noticed sothing strange.
"Is this a monster? It’s gotta be a monster, right?"
"Is there a monster that lives in shadows? All we've got here are slis or maybe centipedes..."
"I don't know! Hurry and take that thing out!"
"Alright, alright!"
The youngest-looking man fumbled and pulled sothing from his pants pocket.
‘What is that?’
Ryu Seon-young zood in on her cara.
A rough-looking pendant appeared on the screen.
‘A snake-shaped carving?’
However, before she could inspect the pendant further, it happened.
Boom!
A beam shot out from the pendant the man held.
The beam hit the ground and caused a large explosion.
Dust was kicked up everywhere.
Even Ryu Seon-young and Detective Lim froze in surprise at the sudden blast.
‘A, an attack item?’
It had the power of sothing like a grenade, though she wasn’t sure exactly what it was.
"Hey, why’d you shoot at the shadow like that! Every shot is precious! The guy yesterday didn’t even charge it properly because his magic was weak!"
"Then where should I have shot it? I wouldn’t know unless I’ve tried this before..."
"I think we’ve seen enough."
Han Jae-young, who had been silently watching the situation, spoke.
"Taking out the item from your pocket and not even distinguishing whether it's a monster or not… You're definitely not a hunter."
Ryu Seon-young, holding her breath and observing, was startled by Han Jae-young's words.
Until now, the n hadn’t realized they were being watched, but… Could it be that it’s okay to speak this freely? Is the sound completely blocked here?
"You guys, what are you doing?!"
"Hunters? You guys… When did you get this close? You wanna die?"
‘No, they can’t be!’
The three n turned toward them after hearing Han Jae-young’s voice.
They all had intimidating expressions.
"You punks, where did you shout from? You know you’re committing a cri right now, right?"
Of course, they had Detective Lim, who was just as intimidating as the big n.
"Where did you co from? Are you coin scamrs or drug dealers?"
"Ah, is that a cop?"
"Quit bothering ... No, officer. What did I do wrong to be a criminal?"
"Yeah, we were just, uh, camping inside the dungeon."
"I already know, you idiots. We found the body and secured testimonies!"
Of course, that was a lie.
There was only suspicion so far; the fact that the n were here didn’t make them guilty.
It seed they knew that, as they burst into laughter.
"Testimonies? What a joke. We didn’t do anything, I swear!"
"Officer, get a grip. This isn’t the ti when just threatening people works."
"Really, you’re brazen. You think being a cop in the dungeon makes you a cop everywhere?"
As they raised their voices, Ryu Seon-young guessed that the victims had probably been treated the sa way.
The n walked toward Detective Lim, laughing mockingly.
"Ah, but these punks are really bold."
"Is this guy a man… or what? Is he a woman?"
Actually, the group didn’t look particularly intimidating at first glance.
Detective Lim was, of course, a veteran officer with a reputation, but the other three were different.
Ryu Seon-young herself was clearly soone who worked in an office, not one to do much physical activity.
Han Jae-young was tall but very slender, and Jeong Da-on, still youthful, looked no more intimidating than anyone else.
‘…Still, are they crazy?’
Even if Han Jae-young or Jeong Da-on weren’t recognized, hunters shouldn’t look that different from ordinary people on the outside, no matter how high their strength stats were.
And magic users were not so rare anymore. How could they act like this just by looking at appearances?
‘No, they must be relying on sothing.’
Earlier, the beam shot into the ground.
One of the n was still holding the pendant that had fired the beam.
‘They think they can win the fight with that.’
Ryu Seon-young’s cara naturally focused on the pendant in the man’s hand.
"You bastard, what are you filming?!"
His violent attitude and profanity made Ryu Seon-young flinch involuntarily.
But then, at that mont.
"...You shouldn’t shout at the weak like that."
"What’s your problem?"
Jeong Da-on stepped forward, blocking Ryu Seon-young.
It was an unexpectedly brave move.
But outwardly, Jeong Da-on seed much weaker than Ryu Seon-young.
Naturally, the n sneered.
"This is really funny, isn’t it? What did she eat? Hey, hey!"
Thwack!
The man’s large hand slapped Jeong Da-on’s head hard.
Ryu Seon-young gasped, her eyes widening as she looked at Jeong Da-on.
She was hit too hard!
"Are, are you okay...?"
‘...Huh?’
Ryu Seon-young narrowed her eyes.
Jeong Da-on’s face was hidden by long hair, but…
‘Is she smiling?’
"Oops."
It was Han Jae-young’s voice.
It sounded oddly amused.
"…Pitiful."
"What? If you have sothing to say, spit it out... What’s going on?"
The man, who had been full of confidence, faltered.
"What, what’s this?!"
Squirm, squirm.
The dust from the explosion had concealed it, but the shadows had remained at their feet.
And now, those shadows began to crawl up their legs.
"To remove the shadow, you need light, not bombs."
Han Jae-young smiled and spoke.
"What the hell is that nonsense?"
"You did this, didn’t you?! You better clean it up right now!"
And then.
The shadows writhed, and finally ‘stood up.’
In front of their original owner.
"I’ll make sure to finish it off first."
In the strange scene, Jeong Da-on raised her head.
Her face, once covered by hair, was revealed again, and a calm smile unexpectedly appeared on her face.
And that made the situation even more bizarre.
Why was she smiling in this situation?
"...You hit first."
As soon as Jeong Da-on said that, she raised her hand.
Wham!
"Arrgh!"
The man holding the pendant had his hand twisted unnaturally, and the pendant fell to the ground.
This ti, Jeong Da-on’s shadow stretched out, her arm moving on its own to pick up the pendant.
"This was what they were relying on, huh? Too bad."
Crack, crack!
"Aaargh!"
"You crazy monster, let go, let go!"
The sound of bones cracking didn’t stop in one go.
The shadows rcilessly broke the n’s joints one by one.
It was too easy to overpower them.
Perhaps feeling their stunned gazes, Jeong Da-on turned and smiled.
"Ah, don’t worry. It’s just a simple shadow magic."
"Well, ‘simple’ can an different things to different people."
"Quiet."
As Jeong Da-on spoke, Ryu Seon-young felt the tension in her body dissipate.
The situation was a little weird, but...
"Thank you. You protected and took the hit... Are you okay?"
Jeong Da-on’s act of protecting her and trying to reassure her was genuine.
Her anger at the criminals was also real.
‘Maybe they deserve this.’
If things had gone wrong, she could’ve been killed by the explosion!
Thinking that, it felt like a justifiable revenge.
"I should be thanking you."
"Eh?"
Jeong Da-on still responded to Ryu Seon-young’s gratitude with a warm smile.
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
"You’re a journalist trying to uncover the truth behind the hunters who died unjustly. As a fellow hunter, it’s only natural for to help."
"Ugh."
Ryu Seon-young covered her mouth.
She was overwheld with emotion.
She hadn’t done this for recognition, but to hear those words was touching.
‘She’s a good person, isn’t she?’
"Ugh."
"…By the way, would you take a look at this?"
"Eh?"
Jeong Da-on, giving Han Jae-young a brief glare, showed Ryu Seon-young the pendant the man had dropped in front of her cara.
"I think this is why they were abducting low-ranking hunters."
And then ca the bombshell.
"They exploited the magic of low-ranking hunters to create this item."
Reviews
All reviews (0)