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Chapter 27
When Woo-hyun said that, the boss cautiously asked him,
“Ho… could it be you?”
The boss asked if Woo-hyun was affiliated with Noir Viper. In response, Woo-hyun used his enhanced strength technique and kicked him in the groin.
Smack! Crack!
“Kyiyaaaaahhh!!!”
The boss let out a soprano scream that transcended ordinary pain, reaching a pitch of sheer agony. Seeing the blood leaking from his lower body, Woo-hyun said,
“Ah. Broken, huh? So stop talking nonsense and just answer the question. Next time, I won’t hold back.”
Realizing from Woo-hyun’s actions that the next time would truly be painful, the boss quickly answered,
“If you turn the handle of my axe, it’s inside!!!”
“That’s more like it,” Woo-hyun said.
He then twisted the lower part of the axe handle the boss was holding and found a rolled-up contract inside.
The contents were exactly what Woo-hyun expected.
Noir Viper would attack Serin, and Park Jun-mo’s YS Guild would appear like a prince on a white horse at the critical moment, driving away Noir Viper and saving Serin.
By playing the villain in this scenario, they had promised to receive $5 million from Park Jun-mo.
“So cliché. Really cliché.”
Woo-hyun handed the contract between Noir Viper and Park Jun-mo to Serin.
Reading it, Serin furrowed her brows and asked Woo-hyun,
“How did you know there was a contract?”
“Noir Viper is professional. Have you ever seen a professional take a job without a contract?”
Serin nodded, understanding. Woo-hyun continued,
“Besides, these kinds of shady workers always make something like this as insurance. Especially the branches in Asia or America where Noir Viper’s influence doesn’t reach—they almost always carry a contract with them. After the job, it’s sent back to the headquarters in France.”
After Woo-hyun’s explanation, Serin finally understood their method of operation.
“So anyone who uses Noir Viper can’t betray them, and in a way, they end up on a leash,” she said.
“Bingo. From Noir Viper’s perspective, it’s like catching a sucker. That’s how these bastards operate. If a client doesn’t request a job later, they’ll force their way to get what they want.”
The boss couldn’t help but suspect Woo-hyun was an insider, given how detailed his knowledge of Noir Viper was.
Humming to himself, Woo-hyun started inspecting the boss’s body.
Then he noticed a bracelet on the boss’s left wrist.
“Found it.”
Seeing Woo-hyun eyeing the bracelet, the boss panicked.
“N-no! That’s impossible!!!”
The usually obedient boss suddenly freaked out over a single bracelet. Serin couldn’t help but be curious.
“What’s that?”
Woo-hyun pointed to the corpses of Noir Viper and said,
“These guys came completely unprepared. Even if they weren’t here to hunt and planned to return in a day, they should’ve at least brought something to erase their tracks.”
Serin immediately understood what he was talking about.
“An extra-dimensional item.”
An extra-dimensional item allows one to use an “extra-dimensional space,” functioning like an inventory in a game. They’re extremely versatile, and high-level players almost always carry one, while lower-level players can’t afford them due to the steep cost.
‘I couldn’t take the skill, so I’ll at least take this,’ Woo-hyun thought.
After contracting with Erzebet, Woo-hyun had gained control over Dracula’s vampiric ability. This prevented enemies from instantly turning into mummies when drained of blood.
However, because he couldn’t use Gift-Vampire, he couldn’t acquire the unique skills of mid-tier players. And even if he could absorb their stats, he’d still have been limited. With Serin beside him, he couldn’t rely on her either, so he decided to secure the boss’s extra-dimensional item.
Even with Woo-hyun’s 800 billion in assets, buying an extra-dimensional item was burdensome—the prices were astronomical.
Snap!
As Woo-hyun tried to pull the bracelet from the boss’s wrist, sparks flew, pushing his hand away.
“Bound ability too? This is like a golden goblin.”
A bound ability prevents anyone other than the owner from using an item. Assigning a bound ability requires extreme effort and is usually reserved for top-tier items.
Even EX-level items Woo-hyun received from others didn’t have bound abilities. But items like extra-dimensional items, which could lose everything inside if misplaced, sometimes had them even if they were lower-tier.
Still, a bound ability meant it was at least an S-rank item.
Slash! Whoosh!
Woo-hyun decapitated the boss with Dracula, and blood sprayed like a fountain, soaking his arms.
Naturally, the bound ability deactivates if the owner dies.
Woo-hyun removed the bracelet and opened the system information window.
[Item-Kivisis (EX): A bracelet-shaped pocket of the goddess Hera. Contains an infinite extra-dimensional space, allowing infinite storage of items. Living beings and items not owned by the wearer cannot be stored. Bound to the wearer, who can automatically recognize the contents. (Currently bound: None)]
‘What a windfall!’
Even as a regular extra-dimensional item, it was already amazing—but this was an EX-rank unique item. Woo-hyun finally understood why the boss had gone to such lengths to keep it.
Click!
[Item-Kivisis (EX) is now bound to Player-Cheon Woo-hyun.]
Seeing the system message, Woo-hyun nodded in satisfaction.
“Then let’s loot…”
As Woo-hyun prepared to loot the items from the dead Noir Viper and YS Guild members, he sensed numerous presences nearby.
“Did you send a rescue request to the hunting ground HQ?”
“Yeah. Right after the snakes attacked. Looks like they’re here.”
Clicking his tongue, Woo-hyun muttered,
“The loot’s been spoiled.”
Still, having secured Kivisis, he thought he had more than enough for his mount fees. He left the cleanup to Serin.
“Handle the rest. I don’t want the hassle.”
“Got it.”
Woo-hyun erased his presence using blood magic and disappeared in an instant. Immediately, players from Myungji Mountain hunting ground arrived. Serin calmly explained the situation, and once again, South Korea, already stirred by the Kwon Woo-jin Gate incident, became chaotic.
<That Evening, Blue House>
The report that Woo-hyun and Serin had been attacked reached the Psychic Department immediately. Minister Han Myung-jin went straight to the Blue House to brief President Lee Dae-soo.
“I knew Youngsung Group was a regular client of Noir Viper, but I don’t recall them ever acting this blatantly. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes. Anything can happen in a hunting ground, but this is the first time they’ve dragged Noir Viper into the open. It shows how afraid Youngsung Group is of Chairman Yoo Shin-hyuk’s anger,” Minister Han replied.
President Lee nodded in agreement.
“Indeed. It’s quite a cliché—help arrives in the nick of time, building a relationship with Miss Blue to avoid Chairman Yoo’s wrath.”
Minister Han responded,
“Clichés work because they’re effective anywhere, anytime. If Mr. Red hadn’t intervened, this could have happened.”
Lee glanced at the profiles of the captured Noir Viper members.
“Mr. Red and Miss Blue are growing fast. Jonathan Deike, the Korean branch chief of Noir Viper, was a top C-rank player slated for B-rank promotion. And two people caught him? They’ve grown faster than when Minister Han visited last time.”
Minister Han agreed.
Though the method of government contact with Woo-hyun and Serin wasn’t yet decided, it was certain they would be approached soon—their growth was monstrous.
That day, President Lee upgraded Mr. Red and Miss Blue’s security level and began formalizing government contact strategies.
<A Few Days Later, Woo-hyun’s Home>
After breakfast, Woo-hyun, Jung-hyuk, and Sun-hye were having a short tea time before work.
Taking a sip of coffee, Jung-hyuk finally spoke,
“Son… were you serious when you said you’d be fine losing 100 billion won with Sky?”
Woo-hyun realized that Jung-hyuk had likely gained something from his hint about watching the flow of Chinese-made magic stones. If not, there would be no reason to ask about risk-taking in case of failure.
