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Chapter 6
“Damn it… Do you know how much money I just burned because of these idiots?!”
250,000 Purple Coins.
In the future, after humanity advanced further into the Abyss and Green Coins appeared above Blue, Indigo, and Purple Coins, their value would drop considerably.
But at the present time, when even Blue Coins were incredibly rare, a single Purple Coin was worth about 1,000 won.
To overpower those five criminals…
Ju-ha had just spent resources worth 250 million won.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
So the hand he used to wake Kang San grew much rougher.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
“Wake up, you bastard! You don’t get to sleep peacefully after costing me that much money!”
After about five slaps…
Kang San’s lips split, his cheek swelled up, and he finally screamed as he jolted awake.
“Aaaagh! W-What…? Was it all a dream? Then why does my face hurt so much?”
“A dream?”
“Did getting beaten scramble your brain?”
“Gah!”
Seeing Kang San frantically retreat, Ju-ha flashed a cold smile.
“Looks like you’re awake.”
“Now…”
“We have something to talk about.”
“…Talk about what?”
“Quit pretending.”
“I’m talking about the Fox.”
Kang San’s face instantly stiffened.
Only then did he remember accidentally revealing that he had seen Ju-ha’s status.
“Damn it!”
“I never thought he’d survive!”
Who would expect a Level 0 Hunter to defeat five hardened criminal Hunters?
No matter how talented he was…
His stats should have been low.
His experience almost nonexistent.
Victory had seemed impossible.
The Fox had already investigated everything.
Ju-ha wasn’t affiliated with any major guild.
Nor was he the child of some famous Hunter.
Believing everything was safe, Kang San had let the truth slip.
“W-We were just hired muscle!”
“The Fox paid us one billion won to kill you and bring back your card!”
Ju-ha already knew.
The outer district of the Black Market had another name:
Mercenary City.
A place where anonymous mercenaries accepted any job for money.
It had been established by the Mercenary King, an A-Rank Hunter, with the permission of the Black Market’s S-Rank owner.
It functioned as an underground labor market.
That was precisely why Ju-ha had planned to visit.
He intended to hire trustworthy mercenaries to secretly move his younger sibling to Seoul, away from both the loan sharks and his employer.
“I was planning to use the same company I remembered from my previous life…”
Mercenaries who committed crimes while under contract were permanently expelled from the underworld.
Their reliability was unquestionable.
Even though they were expensive, Ju-ha had intended to hire the best.
“But now…”
“Something more urgent has come up.”
Looking down at the terrified Kang San, Ju-ha smiled darkly.
Then slowly raised his fist.
“So…”
“You’re going to cooperate, right?”
*
Ring!
“Thank you for your business.”
“Please visit us again.”
“This has been your consultant, Fox.”
As soon as the customer left, Fox hurriedly checked the burner phone hidden in his pocket.
Mission complete.
[Photo Attached]
The card has been left at the usual location.
Please transfer the payment.
“Heh…”
“Kuhahaha…”
Seeing the photograph of Ju-ha’s bloodied corpse, Fox struggled to suppress his laughter.
“That’s enough work for today.”
It was only 1:00 p.m.
Far too early to leave work.
But today was special.
As Black Money’s top consultant, he enjoyed an excellent reputation.
His request for a half-day off was approved immediately.
“Everyone, have a great day!”
Cheerfully waving goodbye to his coworkers, Fox left the building.
“Hahaha!”
“This feels amazing!”
Thirty billion won.
No…
After paying the mercenaries their one-billion-won fee…
He’d still make thirty billion.
Enough money to spend an entire year living in luxury.
“I’ll stay in a hotel suite tonight.”
Since he’d already taken the afternoon off…
He might as well leave the Black Market and enjoy the outside world.
Trying to suppress his excitement, Fox hurried toward the agreed meeting place.
After walking for some time…
He arrived at a deserted location where not a single person could be seen.
He glanced around cautiously.
“Perfect!”
He threw open what looked like an old trash container and grabbed the black card hidden inside.
“Holy shit!”
“Thirty billion won!”
He eagerly held the card toward the light.
Then…
His smile froze.
One letter was engraved on it.
D
“…Huh?”
Fox rubbed his eyes.
Then looked again.
Still…
D.
Not the brilliant crimson A he had expected.
Just a dull bronze D.
His confusion lasted only a moment.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Steady footsteps echoed behind him.
The sound was familiar.
But hearing it here…
Was impossible.
Fox turned around in horror.
“…”
A quiet sigh escaped the newcomer.
Fox froze.
“D-Director?”
“W-What are you doing here?”
Standing before him was a man wearing a black suit and a white mask.
The Director simply stared at him.
Silently.
Like a disappointed parent waiting for a child to explain themselves.
“W-Wait!”
“This is all a misunderstanding!”
Fox hurriedly threw the card away.
But the excuse only made things worse.
“A misunderstanding?”
“What exactly is being misunderstood?”
“I-I…”
The Director sighed.
“I knew you were playing little games.”
“I ignored it.”
“But in the end…”
“You crossed the line.”
“You idiot.”
As the Director slowly removed a hand from his pocket…
Fox’s face turned pale.
“P-Please!”
“I can explain everything!”
“I’m Black Money’s ace consultant!”
“My ability is valuable!”
“Please… just give me one more—”
Crunch!
He never finished his sentence.
A tiny sphere of condensed mana shot from the Director’s fingertips.
Fox’s head exploded instantly.
Blood scattered in every direction.
Yet…
Not a single drop touched the Director.
Calmly turning around, he bowed.
“My deepest apologies.”
“This incident was entirely our company’s responsibility.”
He addressed the person who had silently watched everything unfold.
Shin Ju-ha.
*
“Wow…”
Watching Fox die with a single effortless attack, Ju-ha shivered.
“Just how strong is he?”
“Was that mana?”
To graduate beyond F-Rank, Hunters needed the four basic physical stats:
- Strength
- Agility
- Vitality
- Endurance
To advance beyond E-Rank, they had to awaken one of the three advanced stats:
- Mana
- Internal Energy
- Ether
Possessing even one of those determined whether someone qualified as a D-Rank Hunter.
Hunter ranks weren’t determined solely by stat grades.
For example…
Even Kang San, officially an F+ Hunter, didn’t possess a single F+ stat.
His highest stat had only been Strength [Common] F (41/99).
Likewise…
Even S-Rank Hunters hadn’t actually raised their stats to S-Rank.
The highest confirmed stat in the world was still only A-.
Humanity’s ranking system was merely a human invention.
In the future, once humanity connected with other dimensions and races, the System itself would replace those rankings with official classifications.
“That Director…”
“His Mana stat must be at least C-Rank.”
“Which means…”
“He’s probably at least an A-Rank Hunter.”
The higher a stat’s grade became…
The harder—and more expensive—it was to raise.
And Ju-ha’s own stat was Mythic.
“If it weren’t for the Golden Treasury…”
“I’d be in trouble.”
Right now, each stat point increased his F-Rank stats by one.
Once he reached F-Rank…
Every increase would cost twice as many points.
While he pondered that…
The Director approached and bowed respectfully.
“I sincerely apologize.”
“This was entirely our company’s fault.”
“I see.”
“Yes.”
“I personally recruited Fox.”
“As such…”
“I bear responsibility as well.”
Ju-ha quickly waved his hands.
“You really don’t have to apologize that much.”
He genuinely felt uncomfortable.
He had only exposed Fox to eliminate a future threat.
“No.”
“We must compensate you.”
“If you have a little time.”
Ju-ha checked his watch.
More than five hours had passed.
Any longer…
And his younger sibling might be in danger.
“I’m sorry.”
“I don’t have time.”
“I have something extremely urgent to take care of.”
Instead of looking offended…
The Director seemed relieved.
“I don’t know what it is.”
“But perhaps I can help.”
“What do you need?”
After hesitating for a long moment…
Ju-ha explained part of his situation.
“If that’s the case…”
“Forget hiring mercenaries.”
“Leave everything to us.”
“We’ll safely relocate your younger sibling.”
“We’ll even provide a house in Seoul.”
“While we take care of that…”
“Would you spare us a little of your time?”
“…If you’re really willing to help.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh.”
“And don’t worry.”
“Our chairman absolutely despises murdering customers to erase evidence.”
“We don’t do things like that.”
“…I see.”
That unexpected reassurance somehow sounded strangely threatening.
The Director quickly escorted Ju-ha back to Black Money.
He was shown into a luxurious VIP room.
“Please wait a moment.”
Then the Director left.
“Not bad.”
The room wasn’t flashy.
But it was elegant.
Ju-ha quietly waited.
Before long…
The door opened.
“Oh!”
“Is everything finished?”
He immediately stood up.
But instead of the Director…
A young girl entered.
She held a lollipop between her lips.
She was so breathtakingly beautiful that she seemed sculpted from the very ideas of beauty and cuteness.
Ju-ha instinctively swallowed.
His body froze.
“Why is she here…?”
Although he looked older…
And actually was older…
He couldn’t treat her casually.
She was…
Seo Ye-rin.
The owner of the Black Market.
Chairwoman of Black Money.
An S-Rank Hunter.
A master of Word Spirit Magic.
She had awakened at just ten years old, becoming the youngest S-Rank Hunter in history.
An absolute monster.
At that moment…
A system notification appeared.
《As a reward for overcoming Evil Fortune, Heavenly Fortune grants you the Luck of Encountering an Extraordinary Person.》
“So…”
“Meeting an S-Rank Hunter is my reward?”
“I’m not sure I like that…”
The atmosphere of the VIP room changed completely simply because she had entered.
She looked directly at him.
“You.”
“…Yes?”
“Fox.”
“Dead.”
“You?”
“…That’s right.”
She pulled the lollipop from her mouth.
Then tilted her head.
Her eyes shone with mysterious light.
As if trying to uncover every secret in the world.
Immediately—
《Authority: Golden Tower rejects the insignificant creature attempting to observe its owner.》
《Authority: Heavenly Fortune ignores the gaze of one beneath the heavens.》
《Your Authorities partially conceal your information from this high-level inspection.》
《Unique Ability: Supreme Soul rejects all intrusions beneath its exalted rank.》
《Inspection completely blocked.》
Unlike the Fox’s failed appraisal…
This time the system displayed proper notifications.
Crackle!
Sparks burst from Seo Ye-rin’s eyes.
“Ow!”
“Oh no…”
Using an appraisal skill on someone without permission was an enormous breach of etiquette.
Normally.
But when the person involved was an S-Rank Hunter capable of killing you with a single breath…
The situation was very different.
“Are you alright?!”
Ju-ha called out in alarm.
Seo Ye-rin blinked once.
When she opened her eyes again…
There wasn’t even a trace of anger.
Instead…
She looked at him with endless fascination.
“You…”
“Interesting.”
