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Chapter 71
Late at night.
From the top floor of the HP Guild, Han Jae-young arrived at the underground training area by elevator, where the rhythmic sound of punches hitting a sandbag reached his ears.
Thud!
Thud!
Han Jae-young shook his head inwardly.
Around lunchtime, Shin Ji-eum had come up to the office and complained about the constant punching for the past few days, asking him to do something about it. Yet, here she was, still at it in the late hours of the night.
"Are you really planning to switch to becoming a knight?"
As Han Jae-young asked this, Jeong Da-on, who had been striking the sandbag, turned to look at him.
Her face was as expressionless as always, but her hair, which was tied up high, was damp with sweat, and her forehead glistened. Just two weeks ago, he had dismissed her as someone who didn’t know how to use her body, but now, if someone saw her, they'd likely think she was truly a knight.
Her body, which had previously seemed like that of an ordinary person who had never exercised, now had a slightly more toned appearance.
Well, more than her physique, it was clear from the increasing number of times Da-on cleared the training VR program that something had changed.
"I just thought I shouldn’t waste the strength gains I've made."
She said this, but that alone couldn’t explain why she’d been living in the guild’s training hall for nearly a week after clearing the dungeon.
In reality, it seemed more like she was venting her frustration.
"That’s what a knight would look like, you know. Becoming a magic knight wouldn’t be a bad path either."
"Don’t make me laugh. So?"
"I came to tell you the result, actually."
Han Jae-young sighed and sat down on the bench press.
A week ago.
While clearing a dungeon that had been used as a trash disposal site, a Hunter’s body was discovered in a mummified state.
Though the fingerprints were damaged, it was easy to identify the person thanks to the photo Da-on had taken.
"Her name was Lee Tae-yeon, 27, a female C-rank Hunter. She was once a member of the guild but quit due to her gambling addiction. The landlord of her last address said she hadn't paid rent for three months."
"And family?"
"She was thinking about reporting her missing, but the landlord contacted her, and she knew about it. Apparently, she'd cut ties with her family long ago due to gambling debts."
Hunters falling into gambling.
Considering that being a Hunter is quite a respected and well-paying job, it was surprising, but in reality, it wasn’t all that uncommon.
Maybe it was because constantly risking their lives in dangerous battles with monsters made Hunters accustomed to the kind of thrills that led to addiction.
Especially among lower-rank Hunters, there were more cases of people falling into gambling.
Once they get hooked, they end up making more money than they would by risking their lives for a regular payday, and it’s easier to spiral down.
For someone like Han Jae-young, who had been an S-rank Hunter in South Korea for years, this wasn’t such a shocking story.
"So, what about the owner of Bitnaerim?"
This part was still a bit of a surprising tale.
Or perhaps, it was the kind of story that was so frustratingly familiar.
"Here's the funniest part. When I investigated the so-called 'owner'... it turned out they were a homeless person."
Jeong Da-on raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"It's a case of identity theft. The gangsters bought a homeless person’s ID for a few hundred thousand won and set up the company under that name."
The so-called "owner" that Lee Yun-ho and Won Deok-cheol knew turned out to be an illusion.
The ID had been purchased from a homeless person for a few hundred thousand won.
The actual person acting as the owner was one of the gang members involved in running loan shark businesses and online gambling sites.
It was a classic case of organized crime using stolen identities.
Bitnaerim wasn’t just embezzling government subsidies; it was also a company established by Lee Yun-ho for distributing illegal potions.
By using someone else’s identity to set up a company, even if the police found out, the real criminals would only be charged with identity theft, a relatively minor crime.
Even if they were convicted after a long trial, such fraud cases typically resulted in only a few years of prison time.
"But that doesn’t explain everything..."
"Yeah, it doesn’t."
Even if they were organized criminals, they were still essentially ordinary people.
According to the investigation, it seemed that there were a few low-rank Hunters among them, but those thugs couldn’t have had the technical skills to create the strange things found inside the dungeon.
This was one of the suspicions Han Jae-young had about Jeong Da-on.
The more they talked, the more he sensed a deep disdain for humanity itself in her demeanor.
And more than anything...
"Why, are you a fairy hybrid?"
That attitude.
Han Jae-young was most intrigued by how nonchalant Jeong Da-on was, even after realizing his transformation into a fairy.
Fairies.
Even in a world full of monsters, fairies were still more of an urban legend.
Especially in Korea, where they were something found in children’s fairy tales.
But Jeong Da-on wasn’t even surprised when Han Jae-young transformed into a fairy. She didn’t show any shock at the very existence of fairies, or even at the fact that Han Jae-young was a shape-shifter.
So, the most natural assumption was that Jeong Da-on herself must be a hybrid of some non-human race, which was why she didn’t react as if it was unusual.
"I don’t think hybrid races with different species are that common. I’m human. You’ve seen my family."
"You think it’s rare to meet a 20-year-old Hunter who uses incantations? Are you really human?"
"It’s almost like you want me to not be human. Do you need an ally or something?"
Saying this, Jeong Da-on gathered her bag and put on her coat, then turned to Han Jae-young.
"I'm just an apprentice Guild member, so I don’t have to come to the guild every day, right?"
"Of course. You're still an apprentice."
"Then don’t contact me tomorrow. I have personal business to take care of."
"Now I’m curious. I’ll contact you anyway."
"I’d rather talk to a cat."
"Don’t you communicate with Leo?"
"Exactly."
With that, Jeong Da-on left the training hall.
Han Jae-young, left behind, understood the meaning of her words a moment too late and clicked his tongue.
The nurse, looking at the IV drip, kindly spoke.
"Choi Mi-yeon, the medication has been administered."
"Okay."
"If you feel any itching or warmth, call us immediately. I’ll come back later."
With those words, the nurse hurried off.
Choi Mi-yeon, left alone in the private hospital room, stared up at the white ceiling.
Hunters in the Water Balloon State needed medication several times a day to keep their bodies functioning normally, and she had been in the hospital ever since pushing herself too hard during the dungeon.
During her investigation by the prosecutors, she had been going back and forth to the prosecutor’s office, but for the past week, her condition had worsened, and the investigator had started coming to the hospital room instead.
To be honest, she almost welcomed the investigation.
There was no one to contact, and no one to talk to.
When left alone, useless thoughts began to take over her mind.
Why did I do that back then? Why didn’t I do that?
If I had done better, if I had known earlier, just a little more...
The waves of self-hatred that visited every night were eating away at Choi Mi-yeon’s body faster than the medication could heal it.
‘It’s frustrating.’
Choi Mi-yeon rose from her bed and opened the window.
The small window, barely big enough to stretch out an arm, was better than nothing.
The cold night air rushed into the room. The curtains attached to the hospital bed fluttered softly in the breeze.
"Hello."
And then, a voice like the wind.
Choi Mi-yeon turned her head.
A girl with long hair, as dark as the night’s veil, parted the curtain and poked her head in.
"I’ve come to ask for your help, accomplice."
The welcoming nightmare had arrived.