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Chapter 4
D-rank uncle, Choi Kang-Sik, was fighting his own desperate battle.
Clang!
He was still using the emergency hammer.
Just when it seemed he had somehow taken down five goblins with the palm-sized hammer.
“Damn it!”
The hammer broke in two.
The goblins didn’t wait.
Five or six of them, hopping over car roofs, approached.
Dripping purple tongues and crimson eyes, Choi Kang-Sik and the other citizens felt their legs go weak.
“Kyaak!”
Cold sweat beaded on Choi Kang-Sik’s temples.
Even a D-rank Awakened could handle two or three, but any more was beyond him.
Choi Kang-Sik tightly closed his eyes.
His life flashed before his eyes.
So this is how it ends.
The civilians hiding behind Choi Kang-Sik screamed.
Choi Kang-Sik blinked his eyes open.
The next moment.
The shadow cast by the young man, SeoWonSeok’s back, fell over him and the citizens.
Uh!
The dagger blade, lunging from below the chin, pierced up through the crown of the head.
The goblin skewered like a kebab convulsed violently before going limp.
SeoWonSeok, without hesitation, threw the goblin, dagger still in it, away.
Splash!
The goblin, painting the guardrail with blood, plummeted into the Han River.
“Right side!”
One of the civilians shouted.
At the same time, SeoWonSeok rammed his knee forward.
Crack!
With the sound of shattering bone, another goblin met its end.
SeoWonSeok, without even a moment to catch his breath, looked back at Choi Kang-Sik.
“That car over there!”
“Uh, yeah?”
“Check the trunk!”
Choi Kang-Sik glanced to the side.
Inside the hazily opened sedan’s trunk.
A silver rod shone with a brilliant luster.
It was a gleaming golf club.
Then, a middle-aged man being protected by Choi Kang-Sik came panting over. He was the car’s owner.
“You can’t do that!”
“What do you mean I can’t?! We’re all about to die here!”
“It’s… it’s a limited edition! Time-limited!”
“Do you want your lifespan to be time-limited?!”
They say all the world’s famous sayings bloom from construction sites.
Indeed.
The car owner fidgeted with his gold ring, looking for an excuse, but the moment he made eye contact with a goblin, he backed down.
Choi Kang-Sik threw the gaze he took from the car owner towards SeoWonSeok.
“Hey! Let me help-!”
As if waiting, a goblin bit into SeoWonSeok’s shoulder.
The creature threw its head back, chewing the chunk of flesh it tore out.
Choi Kang-Sik swung the golf club down.
A direct hit.
The goblin’s skull caved in before it collapsed.
“Hey you!”
Choi Kang-Sik grabbed SeoWonSeok’s shoulder, then instinctively let go. Sticky blood and grease covered his palm.
“…Are you… are you okay…?”
He couldn’t bring himself to shake him.
Afraid he might collapse if he did the wrong thing.
But it seemed his worry was unfounded.
“I’m okay… I think so.”
SeoWonSeok stretched his bloodless lips into a smile.
“Ah, no, you’re bleeding this much, how can you be okay…!”
Choi Kang-Sik’s eyes widened.
The blood generously staining the road gathered along the cracks in the asphalt, forming a path of blood towards SeoWonSeok.
Upon reaching his shoulder, the blood immediately soaked into the wound.
Bubble bubble.
As the torn flesh bubbled like foam, the tissue rapidly regenerated.
<Life Contract: Offering Activated> Han Bi-yeol → SeoWonSeok Transferred Experience Points: +1,247 (x 4.3 multiplier)
<Superior SeoWonSeok’s level rises from 3 ➢ 4!>
<All stats +1, plus Event Reward +1>
The wound had healed.
Perhaps sensing the strangeness, the goblins began to slowly back away.
Thanks to that stalemate, we gained a moment to catch our breath.
I stared across Haengju Bridge.
As expected.
‘He’s slicing away, absolutely delighted.’
My gaze crossed with Han Bi-yeol’s.
“Ugh”
Ugh?
Even while tearing through the goblin horde, he remained consistently aware of me.
“Hey, hey.”
The man elbowed my side.
“What kind of guy are you?”
Choi Kang-Sik tried his hardest not to show it.
I chuckled dryly.
“SeoWonSeok.”
“…? Introductions? Suddenly?”
“If we can become fellow guests in the afterlife on the same day, at the same time, we should introduce ourselves, right?”
“What kind of peach garden oath is this?!”
A reverse peach garden oath.
“I can’t die today. Tomorrow’s the housing subscription announcement day. In this tough world, I have to at least get my own house before I die, damn it.”
Hmm.
“Anyway, I’m Choi Kang-Sik. Just call me Mr. Choi.”
“Yes, man.”
“Mr. Choi would be… fine.”
The man planted the golf club upside down on the road surface, then rested both hands on its grip. The car owner watching this looked sickly.
‘He’s deliberately drawing aggro to himself.’
So it doesn’t focus on me.
Having taken so many hits in my past life, I pride myself on having developed some foresight, and this man seems trustworthy.
It’s okay to be a bit honest.
“I don’t really know my ability either. And I didn’t lie about my grade.”
“Then, what, is it a second awakening?!”
“I don’t know.”
“Well… you’d need a separate test to be sure about that. If you don’t want to talk, fine. The important thing right now is how to survive. Right?”
I nodded.
With at least a B-rank hunter present, no matter how many Gate Breaks occur in succession…
‘The monsters are goblins.’
There’s no way he can’t exterminate them.
When the time comes, Han Bi-yeol will naturally take care of the Hobgoblin host.
Besides, if there are too many civilian casualties, even a B-rank or higher hunter would struggle to be free from public criticism.
What most arrogant hunters fear the most is social perception. Their value varies drastically based on reputation.
“That guy, he’s just playing around.”
“……”
“Anyway, blond curls are not to be trusted! Heh heh! What kind of hunter is a freeloading brother-in-law?!”
From the perspective of someone like me or the man, who have one foot in the industry, it’s infuriating.
The citizens look at that hunter with envious eyes.
Not knowing he might be holding their lives hostage to fill his own pockets.
It’s pure deception.
Gulp.
Merely surviving isn’t enough.
I need to make Han Bi-yeol’s public image plummet.
And along with him, the other hunters watching from nearby who haven’t shown themselves yet.
‘I have a plan.’
I forced open my stiffened jaw.
“Mr. Choi man.”
“Yeah?”
“Can you protect the civilians here?”
“Why ask the obvious? I even got new equipment. Just leave it to me.”
The man thumped his chest with his fist. It made a drum-like sound. The golf club owner’s complexion grew darker.
“You there, come out.”
The car owner, already looking sallow, flinched.
He looked around, then pointed at himself with his fingertip.
“M-me?”
“Not you. The person behind the gold-ring man.”
“…Behind me… Eek! W-who are you?!”
As the car owner quickly stepped aside, someone crouching was revealed.
With short hair, they looked like a man at first glance.
“……”
As soon as they raised their head, revealing their features, you could tell they were a woman.
The citizen, reminiscent of a tomboy, slowly stood up with her hands behind her back.
“You, you’re a reporter, right?”
“…How did you know?”
I walked over with heavy steps and reached out my hand.
“Give it.”
“Give… what?”
Brazen-faced.
‘As I thought.’
She was the reporter who tormented my brother terribly in my past life.
‘Seeing her up close…’
It’s certain.
Name: Reporter Gijaryeong
Affiliation: HTN.
The epitome of the trashy journalist who poured out malicious articles about my brother.
Ironically, Gija-ryeong became a completely different person after my brother’s death.
She reported articles daily, questioning the suspicious death of the A-rank hunter.
‘At first, it was probably for attention.’
But one, Reporter Gija-ryeong who diligently followed the trail, finally reached it.
The mastermind behind my brother’s death.
At that point, this reporter had also tried to contact me, Seo Bo-Seok’s younger brother.
I refused.
Then one day, after reading one of Gija-ryeong’s articles, I changed my mind and boldly contacted her.
Soon after, I was finally able to meet our tenacious ill-fated connection.
However, in a black-and-white photograph.
“Since you don’t want it stolen, hand it over. The camera.”
That’s how I know her face.
I saw it in a memorial photo.
Meeting both Han Bi-yeol and Gija Ryeong at Haengju Bridge…
‘We really have a tenacious ill-fated connection.’
By the way, this reporter doesn’t seem to have any intention of coughing up the camera.
I called Mr. Choi.
“man! One civilian here says they’re leaving!”
“W-wait a minute!”
Reporter hurriedly held out the camera.
“Ah, damn it…”
I snatched the camera.
It’s common knowledge that electronics near a gate become useless.
But what kind of people are reporters?
They are warriors of reversal who rush to the battlefield the moment a story breaks.
The broadcasting company, fully demonstrating journalistic spirit, somehow found a way.
“Is this it?”
I moved my index finger to the button next to the shutter.
Click.
A chip, resembling a SIM card, popped out.
“No!”
I let Reporter who lunged at me, slip by, pulling my shoulder back. Facing the reporter looking back in shock, I put the chip in my pocket.
“Magic stone-made SD card confiscated.”
That’s right.
Those broadcasting company bastards developed the over-technology of inserting magic stones into SD cards.
“You… how do you know that?”
Only then did Reporter expression completely change.
The previously clumsy demeanor vanished, replaced by the face of a cold career woman.
“My family suffered because of a reporter during my prime.”
“Give it back. That person and I are different people.”
Aren’t you?
“If you want it back, let’s make a deal.”
“This is blackmail and coercion. Deals should be made on fair terms.”
“man! The guest says they’re leaving!”
Reporter furrowed her brow.
But what can she do?
Just a few steps out, and goblins swarm.
It’s only calm because the man and I are here.
One civilian?
They’d be torn limb from limb in under a minute.
“…Let’s hear it.”
“Good thinking. It shouldn’t be a bad deal for you either.”
I dragged Reporter to a deserted spot and explained the terms of the deal.
Reporter , who had been indifferent, gradually gained a sparkle in her eyes as the conversation continued. She even smacked her lips, as if salivating.
“I’ll do it. No, please let me do it.”
Right.
“Then give it back now. I bought that on loan.”
She added it cost a year’s salary.
“And according to your conditions, I need to take photos, right?”
“Backing out now?”
I pointed my chin at the clutch bag Reporter side was carrying.
“You have a spare in there, don’t you?”
“…!!”
Reporter is a true reporter.
She wouldn’t carry only one storage device.
“You… just who are you…”
“Let’s learn about each other gradually.”
I passed by Reporter side
“If the deal is successful, I’ll return it then.”
I won’t.
I have to collect the debt from my past life.
I’ll enjoy your reporter’s year’s salary.
After finishing the conversation, I returned to Mr. Choi man.
The goblins were slowly revving up. With Han Bi-yeol pushing them, their only retreat was here.
Since it’s a Gate Break, they probably want to eat as many as possible before leaving. So they intend to approach this seemingly easy side.
The Hobgoblin, hiding in the mass of jade-green, was also coming this way.
That guy and his underlings probably intended to fill their quota and quickly throw themselves back into the gate.
It’s still too early.
Standing side by side with Mr. Choi man, I said.
“man, just hold out for a few more minutes.”
“Me, whatever. You watch your own health while doing it. My brain’s stiff, so I don’t really understand the plan.”
“Just protecting the civilians is a more splendid thing than what I’m doing.”
“A younger brother who sacrifices himself is more impressive.”
“Younger brother?”
“Why are you like this, so disappointingly.”
The man slapped my back.
“We made a peach garden oath earlier, didn’t we?”
There’s a resonance.
“Let’s do that.”
Mr. Choi wore a broad smile on his lips. He spat on his hands a couple of times and picked up the golf clubs, one in each hand.
Reporter went to a secluded spot and crouched down.
A dot sparkled at her fingertip.
It was a camera.
“Kyaaaaah!”
With a shout, the goblins charged. I also moved my feet. The collision was immediate.
‘Ugh.’
Crossing my arms, I barely defended my face and ran. Towards the Hobgoblin.
I threw the daggers I had collected from the goblins. The daggers sliced through skin. I suffered a momentary numbness.
‘Goblin poison has a paralyzing effect.’
Yet, I kept moving stubbornly. Seeing me, Han Bi-yeol was taken aback.
“…How…?”
He muttered softly, as if to say, ‘I avoid goblin poison too?’
∴ Once a Life Contract is established, the Subordinate (乙) cannot cause any form of additional harm to the Superior (甲).
That’s right.
Like the goblins, I also smeared my blood on the blades.
Any goblin that stabs me even once cannot paralyze me. Because they entered a Life Contract with me just before dying.
““Kyaa, aaaah!”
Disregarding injuries, I pushed forward.
A sharp glint returned to Han Bi-yeol’s dazed pupils.
He realized my purpose.
“How dare… my experience event…!”
Han Bi-yeol emitted a dangerous killing intent as he approached.
The enraged bastard outright chopped the goblins blocking his way into pieces.
Perfectly leveled up, I approached the Hobgoblin as soon as I recovered.
Hobgoblins are of the shaman type.
Their combat ability isn’t outstanding.
One knife to the neck kills them.
What’s special about this bastard is that he’s the host for the goblins.
Like a certain game’s Protoss race, he’s mentally connected to the goblins. Simply put, he’s almost one body with the goblins he leads.
‘No wonder Gate Break is an abnormal phenomenon.’
In normal Abyss Gates, such a vertical hierarchy is virtually non-existent.
To borrow Mr. Choi’s analogy.
This is a limited-time event.
I pushed the blood-smeared blade towards the Hobgoblin’s neck. He also thrust his staff at me.
“Stop right there, you bastard!”
Han Bi-yeol’s hand reached for my collar.
The moment a dramatic three-way standoff was achieved on Haengju Bridge.
‘Let’s see who’s faster.’
Stab!
A tearing sound.
And a death rattle.
“Keer, rrruk…….”
The Hobgoblin collapsed.
“You son of a bitch!!”
With no strength left to resist, my collar was grabbed.
“From earlier, huh? I had a feeling you were damn irritating, and now you’re interfering? I’ll make you disappear without a trace…!”
Click.
That sound captured Han Bi-yeol’s attention.
“What is this.”
Click.
Reporter Gija-Ryeong with her vulpine eyes was there.
Han Bi-yeol belatedly took a moment to reflect on his and my state.
I was covered in blood, and Han Bi-yeol was holding a curved sword while gripping my collar.
Prickly gazes pierced Han Bi-yeol’s skin.
“That person… is he really a hunter…?”
“That young man ran out to save us, why is he doing that?”
“Earlier he said something about an experience event, could it be…”
There were far too many witnesses around.
“There are many eyes watching. Watch your language?”
“You, you, you…”
While the flustered Han Bi-yeol stammered.
A staff stabbed into my thigh.
Han Bi-yeol and I looked down.
The fallen Hobgoblin, with a trembling hand, shoved the staff into me before letting his arm drop.
Dead.
Truly a final struggle.
Because of that, I suffered a fatal wound.
‘No.’
The break is about to end, but if this continues, I’ll die before that…
<The Subordinate has violated the Life Contract> Violation: ∴ Once a Life Contract is established, the Subordinate (乙) cannot cause any form of **additional** harm to the Superior (甲).
<Imposes a penalty on the Subordinate who forcibly annulled the Life Contract.> <However, as the Subordinate has died, the penalty is transferred to his family.> <Therefore, imposes ‘Penalty: Death Sentence’ on the 156 entities named ‘Goblin’ instead.> <The activation condition for the Penalty is a verbal command.>
“Death Sentence…?”
The head of one goblin that had stabbed me burst like a water balloon.
I swept my gaze.
Over each of the faces that had cut me.
Bang…!!
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
Starting with that, they exploded in a line.
Blood flooded Haengju Bridge, overflowing into the Han River.
<A warning to other Subordinates.>
Han Bi-yeol’s face turned deathly pale.
<The Life Contract is absolute.>
Blood covered the Han River area around Haengju Bridge.
