Episode 11. The Slum Broker
A place where people barely managed to build shelters using tents and wooden boards over ruins.
It had been trampled by monsters during the Great Cataclysm, but people who had nowhere else to go gathered here, and somehow, life resumed.
We walked through the heart of that place.
“It’s been a while since I came here.”
Has it been almost three years?
The scenery of the slums brought back a flood of memories.
Seeing me like that, Prill asked:
【Eugene, have you been here before?】
“I used to live here.”
【So this is your hometown?】
“Hmm… you could say something like that.”
【???】
Prill tilted her head in confusion, and I chuckled as I kept walking.
Squelch. Squish—
I felt something sticky beneath my feet.
Nothing surprising.
This place had nothing to do with hygiene.
If where the Ironclad Gang operated could at least be called the “city,” then this slum was truly beyond the reach of law and welfare.
There was no such thing as sanitation or municipal services here.
【Ugh, the smell!】
Prill held her nose and grumbled.
“You’ll want to get used to it.”
【…Eugene, why did we come to a place like this?】
“Because I need to.”
【For what exactly…】
She looked thoroughly displeased with the surroundings, puffing out her cheeks. I gave her a brief explanation.
“You remember those guys earlier? The Ironclad Gang?”
【Yeah. I told you they’d be trouble!】
“Exactly. I’m here to solve that trouble.”
【Oh…!】
The Ironclad Gang definitely wouldn’t leave me alone.
Even if I had the moral high ground, they’d see it as a hit to their pride.
That’s why I came here—to settle things.
【But Eugene, the people here are looking at us weird.】
She seemed to have grasped the situation but was still on edge.
And understandably so—people in the slums stared at us with a mix of curiosity, greed, and jealousy.
For some reason, that made me laugh.
【Why are you laughing?】
“Just reminded me of the old days.”
Ten years ago.
I was teleported here by my mother.
It was good to escape immediate danger, but that didn’t mean I was safe.
I had no food, no place to sleep.
And since I was fleeing from a massive power like the Gaia Order, I couldn’t even seek help from the authorities.
To make things worse, the people in the slums tried to exploit me however they could.
Violence and bullying were just the beginning—forced labor, attempts at sexual exploitation, even nearly becoming a test subject in some shady experiment.
That’s the kind of place this was.
A place where people would do anything to survive.
There was no luxury here—just the struggle to live another day.
So…
“Hey there.”
…this was a place full of these kinds of scumbags.
A middle-aged woman with kind-looking eyes approached me.
“Is this your first time here? I know a good—”
“Beat it.”
“Wait, just listen to what I have to say—”
Shing—
I drew my sword and pointed it at her.
“I said beat it. I won’t say it three times.”
“Click.”
She clicked her tongue and walked off.
I sheathed my sword and muttered,
“There’s always someone like that.”
It had been a while since I came here. It felt a bit novel, but still unpleasant.
【…Eugene.】
“What?”
【I don’t get it. Couldn’t you at least hear her out?】
Prill didn’t seem to understand why I reacted that way.
Why cut someone off before they even say anything?
But she didn’t know.
“There’s only one reason someone approaches a stranger. Know what it is?”
【Only one? Hmm…】
She thought for a moment but came up empty.
【No idea!】
“It’s when they want something.”
【…?】
Even after hearing that, she tilted her head like she still didn’t get it.
So I explained more clearly.
“People don’t do things unless it benefits them. That woman talked to me because she thought she’d gain something. What could that be?”
【Hmm, I still don’t know…】
“Exactly.”
【???】
“She’s hiding something.”
【…Ohhh?】
The most dangerous thing in the world is “kindness without reason.”
Even if it seems harmless, you never accept it.
“Because it’s always a scam. Got it?”
I’d been through that kind of thing countless times.
At one point, I used to be grateful for what looked like genuine kindness—but eventually, everyone showed their true colors.
Now I can spot these petty tricks before they even start.
【I get it. But… couldn’t she still have been a good person?】
“Hmm.”
Prill still had faith in humanity.
Despite being over ten thousand years old, her mental age wasn’t that high.
So I chose to preserve her innocence for now.
“Well, I suppose that’s possible.”
【Right!?】
Definitely not just because I didn’t want to argue.
We continued walking through the slums.
Thankfully, no one else bothered us after that.
Normally, we’d have swindlers, thugs, and pickpockets all over us…
‘Hunters sure are handy.’
I was wearing a sword.
And a pretty decent one at that.
So it was easy to tell I was a Hunter.
‘Even these people value their lives.’
Messing with a Hunter could get you killed.
People here, who followed the law of the jungle better than anyone, knew that well.
So they didn’t dare touch me.
The middle-aged woman earlier had been an outlier.
“We’re here.”
We stopped in front of a shabby convenience store halfway up a slope.
<Peace Mart>
【…Is this place about to collapse?】
The door was cracked, the sign half-fallen, and the building tilted slightly.
Prill wasn’t wrong—it did look like it could fall apart any second.
“It doesn’t.”
I said with a reassuring tone.
It looked the same when I first saw it ten years ago.
I had worried back then, but it had held up all this time.
Stronger than it looked.
Creak. Clunk—
I pushed open the stubborn door and stepped inside.
“Who’s there?”
“Grandpa. It’s me.”
“Who… Oh, Eugene? Been ages.”
An old man wearing a monocle greeted me warmly.
This was Grandpa Kim Pyung, a man who had been a lifesaver for me.
“It’s been about three years. I’ve been busy.”
He hadn’t changed much, just a few more wrinkles maybe.
Suddenly, I remembered the past.
The first time I fell into this place.
‘If it weren’t for him, would I have survived?’
Hard to say.
But probably not.
The world wasn’t kind enough for a 13-year-old to survive alone.
The one who helped me back then was this man, Kim Pyung.
Of course, he hadn’t helped me out of pure kindness.
“No such thing as free favors.”
It was more that our interests aligned.
He provided food and shelter, and I did some pretty dangerous work in return.
But I preferred it that way.
It wasn’t “help”—it was a “deal.”
And I was still grateful.
‘He did me a huge favor.’
Just being given the chance to strike such a deal had saved my life.
Moreover…
“Grandpa. Are you still doing ‘that thing’?”
“Of course. Gotta make money.”
Back then, the work he gave me helped me a lot.
And that work was…
Fake identity brokering.
After the Great Cataclysm, many people wanted new identities.
With so many deaths and disappearances, there were plenty of unused ones too.
Grandpa’s job was to connect that supply and demand.
He was a fake ID broker.
‘I benefited from that too.’
That’s how I stopped being “Do Eugene” and started living as “Kim Eugene.”
It was a desperate necessity back when I was a fugitive.
And now…
“Then you’re still in contact with Ji Hyun-woong, right?”
This time, I didn’t need a fake ID—but I needed his help.
Contact with the Hyunwoong Gang, a rival to the Ironclad Gang.
‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I need Hyunwoong to deal with Ironclad.’
That’s why I came.
“Haha. Still as impatient as ever. Couldn’t you at least say hello first?”
“You look well enough.”
“Not curious about Anbin?”
A name I hadn’t heard in a long time—Kim Anbin, Grandpa’s grandson.
‘Wasn’t he the optimistic kid who thought awakening would solve everything?’
To be honest, how was he?
I didn’t care much.
We weren’t close.
Still, I asked out of courtesy.
“So… did he awaken?”
“Not yet.”
“I see.”
“That’s all?”
“Well… he doesn’t like me anyway.”
“Haha. True.”
Grandpa chuckled, then answered my question.
“I’m still in touch with Hyunwoong. He needs things from time to time.”
Just as expected.
Through Grandpa, I could get in touch with Ji Hyun-woong, the guild master of the Hyunwoong Gang.
“Can you set up a meeting?”
“For free?”
“Of course not.”
Nothing comes for free.
I never expected help just because we were acquainted.
I didn’t want it that way either.
“How much?”
“100.”
Thud.
I dropped a backpack full of magic stones in front of him.
“Exchange this for cash and take 100.”
Grandpa opened it and looked surprised.
It was a hefty amount.
Worth hundreds of thousands of won, easily.
“Exchange fee’s extra.”
“Of course.”
After calculating even the exchange fee, Grandpa asked with wide eyes:
“What the hell did you do at Ironclad?”
He thought I was just a porter, but here I was with a mountain of magic stones.
It made sense to be shocked.
I shrugged.
“Just… my severance pay.”
Severance pay.
Not exactly wrong.
I didn’t receive it—I helped myself to it.
Grandpa looked me in the eye.
“You left them for good?”
“Yeah.”
“Pfft. You never listen when I tell you not to do something. Now you come to your senses.”
“…I had my reasons back then.”
Ironclad had a nasty reputation.
I hadn’t wanted to go there either.
‘If only they weren’t the only source of mana suppressants…’
If I could’ve gotten those drugs anywhere else, I’d never have gone to them.
Now, I didn’t need them anymore.
“Alright, I’ll set up a meeting with Hyunwoong.”
“Yes. As soon as possible.”
“Haha. Got it.”
He smiled warmly.
It wasn’t free, but I could feel the genuine goodwill behind his actions.
So different from the hostility I felt at Ironclad.
‘This place really is peaceful.’
This slum was like a second home to me.
With both my parents gone, it was the only place I had any real connection to.
Here, I could finally let my guard down a bit.
【Eugene!】
Just then, Prill called me in a curious voice.
‘Hmm?’
【What’s this? I feel cold coming from inside!】
She was pointing at a fridge.
A standard ice cream freezer you’d find in any small store.
‘Ahh. That’s called a fridge.’
【A fridge? Cool!】
‘Want to see something cooler?’
【What is it, what is it?】
For the excited Prill, I decided to give a little service.
“Grandpa, mind if I take one ice cream?”
“Hm? Sure, go ahead.”
With his permission, I opened the freezer and took out a vanilla bar.
I wondered how she’d react after tasting it.
Curious, I handed it to her.
‘Here, try it.’
【You eat this? Hmm… okay.】
Just as she was about to take a bite—
Boom— Boom—
“…Huh?”
Something huge was approaching from the back of the store.
And it was heading this way.
My instincts kicked in, and I braced myself.
‘At least a 2-star class.’
As it got closer, I became certain.
A huge monster, minimum 2-star level.
I could handle it, but Grandpa Kim Pyung was a non-Awakened.
“Grandpa, get out. It’s dangerous.”
“Hm? Eugene, what’s goi—”
“No time to explain—!”
At that moment—
Slide—
The sliding door at the back of the store opened, revealing a massive figure.
A man easily weighing 150kg.
“Old man! What’s with all the noise!? …Huh? My ice cream!”
He saw the ice cream in my hand and shouted.
“…A person?”
I’d assumed it was a monster, but it was a human.
Still, I couldn’t relax.
He was an Awakened I’d never seen before—there was no guarantee he wouldn’t attack.
But then…
“Ki-Kim Eugene!?”
He recognized me.
“…You know me? Who are y—”
“You bastard.”
Bang!
He cursed and slammed the door shut, disappearing back inside.
What…?
“…No way.”
