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Chapter 13
After settling into the senior center, I set out alone to scout the apartment complex.
I wanted to search for the ogre that had roared earlier.
Since I couldn’t even see a strand of the ogre’s hair, it looked like it had gone the other way.
I stayed a while to learn the layout and to map out escape routes before returning.
That was the product of obsessive time awareness and intense training.
Tap—tap—.
I could even pick up faint footsteps from outside.
From the rhythm of the sound I estimated stride length, and from the weight I inferred the type of shoes.
The conclusion I reached was:
“Four men, wearing combat boots, between 174 cm and 181 cm.”
One of them walked unevenly. He was clearly injured in the leg.
They must have fled a battle with monsters and drifted here.
Sensing movement belatedly, Jeong Somi quickly grabbed a pistol.
“Oh? Someone’s coming from outside!”
“Doesn’t look like monsters….”
Hwang Hyeju also put her hand on her sword when our eyes met.
“People are as scary as monsters these days.”
Because of the punk delivery drivers we’d run into earlier, the two were distrustful and both turned their gazes to the door.
“This way!”
A group of men entered the management office building where the senior center was.
The dull clack of granite underfoot drew closer and the door swung wide.
Two men in their early to mid-twenties came in first. They looked like college students.
“Boss, hang in there just a bit longer!”
Following them was a man who looked about ten years older than those two—someone helping up another person.
His head was bowed so I couldn’t see his face, but from his build and the streaks of white in his hair he seemed nearly middle-aged.
Jeong Somi warned them sharply.
“Put your hands up over your head and stay still!”
The men looked surprised—apparently they hadn’t expected anyone to be inside the senior center. Then, spotting the pistol she was pointing, they flinched and raised their hands.
“A-A gun?!”
“Don’t shoot!”
After the initial shock, the middle-aged man emitted a groan that brought them back to their senses, and the leader spoke in a calm voice.
“No need to be on guard. We’re not looters—we’re players from the Goyang City Defense Force!”
“That’s right. Calm down. We were fighting goblins, ran into an ogre, and fled here.”
After the burly man spoke, the student-like fellow added an explanation.
Both were wearing combat suits.
They were the new combat suits supplied by the military; the two following in the back wore the same uniforms.
And since all four carried weapons—swords and axes—
“It’s true.”
I trusted the claim that they were “players” from the “defense force” enough.
Whether I could fully trust them was another matter, but the man supporting the injured one didn’t give us time to consider it.
“There’s no time! Can’t you see he’s injured? If we don’t treat him fast, he’ll die!”
A short, stocky man shouted. Everyone’s eyes turned to the middle-aged man.
A broken spear was lodged in his thigh. The bleeding was heavy—he’d likely hit the femoral vein.
Blood trailed from the entrance of the senior center to where he had been walking into the room.
I looked at the bloodstains without expression, then stepped forward and said, “Fine. Let them in.”
Only then did Jeong Somi lower her gun and motion them inside.
“Lay him over here.”
I pointed to a blanket-covered spot on the floor.
Each time he limped, groans leaked between the middle-aged man’s chapped lips, as if weight on the penetrating wound hurt.
“Ughhhh…!”
When they finally laid him down and I saw his face, my heart dropped.
“…Heo Jae-du?”
He was someone I knew.
He didn’t seem to recognize me. Well, in this situation there’d be no moment to notice past grudges.
I tore my gaze from Heo Jae-du and looked at the students.
“What are your names?”
Perhaps my abrupt use of informal speech annoyed them; the burly student frowned slightly.
“…I’m Lee Jin-seong.”
“I’m Kim Sang-gi. Teacher, are you a player too?”
Instead of answering, I glanced toward the window and asked another question.
“Did you lose the people chasing you for sure?”
“…Huh?”
“Why are you asking back? There’s no time—answer quickly. Did you shake them off for sure?”
When I suddenly snapped, everyone in the room turned to look. I ignored them and glared at the two young men, demanding an answer.
“Uh… well…”
Kim Sang-gi fumbled through his memory and continued.
“They probably couldn’t have chased us this far. We got a bicycle and ran.”
“A bicycle? But you four walked here.”
“The tire burst midway and we had to ditch it. I’m telling the truth.”
He didn’t sound like he was lying.
But even if they’d dragged a bike, goblins with their sensitive noses would have smelled the blood Heo Jae-du left behind.
I softened my tone a little.
“You two, go outside and find mops or something to clean up. Help cover this up. Junior and Hyeju, help them. It will take those two a while.”
The two women nodded, but Lee Jin-seong looked puzzled.
“Cover up?”
“I mean clean up the blood. Goblins go crazy for the smell of blood.”
When I pointed at Heo Jae-du, the man who’d been supporting him glared at me as if daring me to blame someone.
That hateful look brought back a past I wanted to forget.
“Where’s your dad? Huh? You must’ve told your kid where he is!”
That was in middle school—exactly the day after entrance ceremony.
A follower of the father who’d skipped out on debts had come to our home to find him.
He asked where my father was; when I didn’t answer he beat me.
I really didn’t know. Had I known I would have told them. Maybe even his lackey knew, but to satisfy his boss he had to come back with something.
“Ha… you stubborn bastard. Let’s see who wins.”
After being beaten so much my face was puffy, his gaze looked like that—doglike devotion to please his boss.
I was terrified back then.
Now it seemed laughable.
I smirked and stepped toward Heo Jae-du’s new lackey.
“Relax your gaze. Unless you want to have a stare-off with me.”
“Don’t get smart. I’ll kill you.”
“Can’t you tell right from wrong? I’m the only one here who can save your boss.”
“…You can? Really?”
I reached down toward my erector spinae area and pulled an emergency kit from under my plate carrier.
From it I took out a syringe-like device, some hemostatic bandages, and painkillers, and spread them on the floor.
“What’s that syringe?” someone asked.
“Oh this? It’s a hemostatic injector.”
This hemostatic injector looked different from hospital syringes. There was no needle—the tip looked like a pastry piping bag.
Inside the cylinder were small granules—compressed sponge. When the sponge absorbed blood it expanded and sealed the wound.
Explaining that, the dying Heo Jae-du begged me desperately.
“P-please inject it quickly!”
At the same time the lackey reached for the injector in my hand.
“Give it here, I’ll do it….”
I lightly twisted my wrist and his hand swung through air.
He angrily demanded what I was doing; I shrugged.
“I didn’t say I’d give it for free.”
“…What?”
“This is the only one I have, and I can’t give it away to strangers for nothing.”
“Still—that’s ridiculous! Give it here!”
When the lackey lunged to take it by force, Heo Jae-du intervened.
“Beomdo! Stop! Don’t haggle—just give it like he asked.”
“Boss…”
“Don’t make me say it twice.”
Beomdo glared at me as if to kill, but then his expression softened.
“How much do you want? One large bill? Two?”
He fished out his phone and tapped the screen. The familiar banking app opened.
As he jabbed the screen with grimy nails, I pressed his phone down with my index finger and said,
“You’re making a big mistake. I don’t want that money. I want coins.”
“…Coins?”
“Yeah—coins. Won’t be worth as much in won over time. You wouldn’t keep that anyway.”
“So… how much do you want?”
“I have a conscience. I won’t ask for too much—just 4,000 coins. No haggling.”
“F-Four thousand?”
He acted like a tourist getting ripped off.
I wanted to ask for more, but I didn’t want him to walk away from the deal, so I kept it to 4,000.
It turned out they didn’t have even that much.
Both Heo Jae-du and Beomdo hesitated. Then Beomdo looked me straight in the eye and asked,
“Aren’t you a soldier? Is this how soldiers should be?”
I realized my clothes made it easy to misunderstand—maybe I shouldn’t wear military uniform anymore.
I fixed them with a steady voice.
“I was a soldier. I just got discharged recently. Even if I were still active, nothing would change.”
“You’re really going to demand it?”
“Decide now. If you don’t, he’ll go into shock from lack of oxygen.”
“4,000 coins is too expensive! We should just buy a potion instead!”
“You won’t fix it with a potion.”
At my words, Heo Jae-du begged in a small voice.
“…I only have 2,000 coins on me. Is there any way?”
“Hmm…”
I pretended to ponder, then said,
“What if you borrow the money from me? Then use it to buy the injector.”
Heo Jae-du, who clearly wanted to live, snapped up that bait faster than I’d expected.
“Deal. Let’s do it! Beomdo, go get paper and a pen—write a contract.”
“Wait. Sorry, the price just went up a thousand coins.”
“What? Where’d that come from? You were the one who said no haggling….”
“Thinking about it, 4,000 was too cheap. It’s your boss’s life, after all.”
In the end we settled at 5,000 coins and I drew up a loan contract on the spot.
Loan 3,000 coins. Term three months. Interest 10% compounded.
[Player Han Se-hyeon]
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Profession: Loan Shark
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Achievement: Ogre Slayer
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Level: 4 (2%)
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Unique Trait: Moneylending
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Skills: Small Loans (Low Interest), Collateral, Debtor Ledger, Illegal Debt Collection (Beginner)
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Status: Strength 14 (+6) / Agility 13 (+3) / Stamina 15 / Mana 8
He put up “Agility” as collateral.
It wasn’t just my imagination—I really felt lighter.
“Here’s the remaining 2,000 coins.”
Heo Jae-du returned the 3,000 I’d lent him and paid the rest.
“Okay. Amount confirmed. Pay the loan back slowly. Well, you don’t have to pay if you don’t want to.”
“Just give me the syringe!”
“You want to stab him yourself?”
“Give it here. Don’t think I don’t know your game—after you treat him you’ll demand more money!”
“Oho… you know how it works.”
Maybe from being a hardened lender. I smiled slightly and turned away.
I no longer harbored hatred toward him.
I’d already exacted my revenge, and clinging to old emotions didn’t help my work.
But erasing memories entirely was impossible, so I had to stay indifferent.
Even thinking I’d become numb, childhood nightmares still rose unexpectedly. Each time I thought:
“The damn past is not my fault.”
My father’s sins were in no way my responsibility. I chanted that to myself like the Lord’s Prayer.
These days I don’t chant it anymore—I relied on medical help. I’d been on psychiatric meds for about three years, and now I’d stopped completely.
Anyway, can that guy even do it?
Sitting propped against the wall, I addressed Beomdo, whose hands trembled holding the injector.
“If you give me 3,000 coins I’ll help you. Oh, you said you have nothing. I’ll lend it to you. Since it’s the second time, I’ll cut the interest in half—5%.”
“Shut up! You bastard! Charging 3,000 just to stick a syringe—what kind of person are you!”
“You’re really angry. Anyway, that syringe needs to be pushed in deep. Otherwise those sponges will pop out.”
“Shut up. I’ll handle it myself.”
Fine. I closed my inventory.
[Money on hand: 7,900 coins]
Now I needed only 3,000 coins.
“Ten thousand coins.”
The minimum amount needed to obtain a skill.
“The problem is finding a loan client who needs ten thousand coins….”
Also, skill value had to be considered.
As a Loan Shark I could take skills as collateral, and the loan cap scales with the skill value.
Whether the borrower wanted a loan and the skill value—finding someone who met both conditions wouldn’t be easy.
I’d worry about that later….
“By the way, that Kim Dae-ho brat doesn’t seem to plan on paying the interest.”
My second debtor, Kim Dae-ho, hadn’t paid interest since yesterday.
He probably intended to forfeit his collateral.
I’d expected as much. The three strength points I’d taken as collateral could be regained by just raising one level.
Now that a second release had begun, getting one level up wouldn’t be hard if I wanted.
Rather than forcing him to pay interest every day and repay principal to awkwardly hold onto it, I thought it wasn’t worth it.
“Still, I got 600 coins in interest from Kim Dae-ho and the stat is fully mine, so not bad.”
Just as I decided to let go of lingering feelings toward him—
ZZZZT—
My phone in my pants vibrated loudly.
It was Jeong Somi calling.
Seeing her name on the screen filled me with a strong anxiety.
My instincts were almost never wrong, so I snatched up the SCAR assault rifle and answered.
The first thing I heard was ragged breathing.
“—Sunbae—”
Jeong Somi’s voice scraped out. She sounded like she couldn’t speak loudly. I kept my voice low, too.
“Junior, are you okay?”
“Sorry. We’re surrounded by a group of goblins. We were working and found goblins, but Lee Jin-seong insisted on chasing them, and now we’re surrounded….”
“Tell me details later. Where are you now?”
Somi roughly described their position and I recognized it from memory.
“I’ll be there in five minutes.”
I hung up and walked to the doorway. Neither Heo Jae-du nor his lackey asked anything.
They must have felt the urgency from the call, yet they left their faces as if hoping I wouldn’t speak to them and would just go outside.
“Really rude. You could at least say goodbye, even if you’re not escorting us, right?”
I asked before leaving. Silence came back.
I’d expected that. Still, cheeky. Their comrade must be in trouble and they were shut up tight.
So before I left I said one thing.
“Heo Jae-du, go to the hospital for sure. Actually…that syringe I gave you is defective.”
