TOP 86

Chapter 86

Role Model

When Namgung Myung suddenly appeared before me—

‘…I want to kill him!’

A wild, consuming urge for revenge swept through my entire body.

I wanted to smash my fist—my One Punch—straight into his smug face.

It was an instinct I could barely suppress.

Because of that bastard, I had run, survived, and grown stronger.

But—

‘…I have to… hold it in….’

I suppressed that instinct.

I endured it.

Now was not the time or place to let it all explode.

‘This kind of revenge… isn’t right.’

Killing him when he didn’t even know why, without understanding what he did—

That kind of revenge wouldn’t satisfy me.

Besides…

‘There’s no doubt that Gaia’s Cult is behind him.’

Namgung Myung was nothing more than a middle boss.

It was Gaia’s Cult that killed my parents and orchestrated the betrayal.

How do I know that?

‘Namgung Myung—he’s not that kind of man.’

He was just a petty, narrow-minded coward.

There’s no way he could’ve brought the Cult in and led the betrayal himself.

It didn’t make sense.

‘The Cult must’ve just used him.’

Of course, that didn’t mean his sins were forgiven.

Far from it.

He had betrayed my parents’ trust and stabbed them with his own hands.

That scene…

‘I saw it with my own eyes.’

So, for the sake of the bigger picture, I had to hold back my rage—for now.

That was what I told myself as I calmed my emotions.

Well, honestly—

The biggest reason I couldn’t lash out right now was simple.

‘I can’t win.’

At my current strength, I couldn’t beat Namgung Myung.

I was only a 6-Star Hunter, while he was an 8-Star.

What if I used One Punch?

‘My current mana: 45,000. Stored mana in the Dwarven Draupnir: 25,000. Mana Loan skill—still on cooldown.’

That means, at best, I could fire one One Punch with about 70,000 mana.

Thanks to the attack-boosting option of the Dragon Skin Gloves, it’d hit harder than a normal 70,000-mana strike…

…but still not enough.

Not enough to kill an 8-Star Hunter in one blow.

And then—

‘…That necklace.’

A glimmering rainbow necklace hung around his neck.

A famous item.

He’d even shown it off on TV before.

‘It blocks one fatal attack, doesn’t it?’

Because of that item, I couldn’t even bet everything on one strike.

Of course—

‘If I prepare properly… someday, I might.’

Now that I had the Dragon Skin Gloves, which cut mana cost by 50%, I knew that someday—when I was ready—I’d be able to face him head-on.

In that instant, my emotions, my plan, and what I needed to do next—all aligned perfectly.

And meanwhile—

“You again? Move it, you bastard!”

Namgung Myung barked and tried to shove me aside.

Physically, I was no match for him. But that didn’t mean I was going to let him push me around easily.

So I did what I’d practiced countless times in my head.

“Hello, Hunter Namgung Myung! I’ve long admired your power and leadership!”

I bowed deeply, overflowing with the excitement of someone meeting their idol for the first time.

‘…It’ll work. It has to work.’

By lowering my head, I hid the tension in my eyes.

For the past ten years, I’d thought endlessly about how to get close to him—how to make him like me.

What I was doing now was the product of that obsession.

‘He loves flattery. The over-the-top, shameless kind.’

And my calculation hit the mark perfectly.

“…What the hell?”

Namgung Myung’s hostility softened—just a little.

Time for my next line.

“I’ve come this far by taking you as my role model, Hunter Namgung Myung! It’s an honor to finally meet you in person!”

“…Hmm. A role model, huh? Hah! Well, I am kind of amazing.”

It wasn’t even a lie.

He was my role model—

Especially in the art of betrayal.

‘While I’m under your wing, I’ll hide my knife. And at the perfect moment, I’ll stab you with it.’

That was my plan for revenge.

To return his betrayal exactly as he’d given it.

Just like what my parents had suffered.

‘A traitor deserves to die by betrayal.’

So I hid my blade and coated my tongue in honey.

“That’s right! You’re an 8-Star Hunter, and the Guild Master of Fate Guild—one of the seven major guilds of Korea!”

“Heh. I like you, kid.”

Thankfully, he seemed to take a liking to me.

And—

‘He didn’t recognize me.’

He had no idea.

If he knew I was the son of Do Sang-chul—his sworn brother—

If he knew I was the son of Yoo Mi-ae, the woman he stabbed in the gut himself—

He could never smile at me like that.

“Well, let’s save the fan meeting for later. I’ve got business to take care of right now.”

Namgung Myung waved me aside with a friendly gesture—very different from his earlier aggression.

So I stepped aside obediently.

‘He’s calmed down. He won’t cause a scene now.’

I still needed to protect Han Sugyeol, but it looked like he’d be fine.

Just defusing Namgung Myung’s rage had been enough.

After all, I couldn’t stop him by force, and I couldn’t risk angering him—not yet.

“Hey, Han Sugyeol.”

Sure enough, Namgung Myung’s tone softened noticeably.

Gone was the flood of swearing from before.

“That mutant drake corpse—weren’t you supposed to use that to make my armor? And now you tell me you can’t? Mind explaining that bullshit?”

Not that his anger was gone entirely.

“……”

Han Sugyeol swallowed hard.

He was a small craftsman barely 160 cm tall, standing before a towering 180 cm 8-Star Hunter.

No match physically—but the craftsman’s spirit was steady.

“I–I think there’s been a misunderstanding, Hunter Namgung.”

He stammered, but spoke without shrinking away.

“A misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?”

“I–I did agree to make your armor, yes.”

“You did.”

Namgung Myung’s glare said: Let’s hear your excuse.

Han Sugyeol pressed on.

“B-But the contract was… canceled.”

“Yeah?”

“It—it’s canceled!”

“So what?”

“I–I even paid you twenty billion won in penalty fees…”

As he spoke, I rubbed my forehead inwardly.

‘Seriously, this guy… did he sell all his social skills to pay that penalty?’

Sure, a contract can be canceled if you pay a penalty.

And twenty billion won wasn’t exactly pocket change.

But—

‘Some people always want more than what’s written in the contract.’

Especially greedy, powerful bastards like Namgung Myung.

“Ha. You little shit.”

Crack!

Namgung grabbed Han Sugyeol by the collar.

“Y–you can’t—!”

“What was that? You think I came here to listen to excuses? You looking to die?”

Han Sugyeol panicked; Namgung was furious.

“L-let go—”

“So what about my armor, huh!? What!?”

“I–I paid you twenty billion! You can buy—something else—”

“Something else? Something else!? You idiot, money can’t buy top-tier gear like that!”

“B-but I didn’t break the contract! I found the drake corpse myself—!”

“And you promised to make my armor out of it. Didn’t you?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“Seven-Star monsters don’t grow on trees! You skimmed off rare material that was mine! What, got a better Hunter client than me now?”

Watching it unfold, I thought—

‘Yeah… I should probably hide this.’

If he noticed the Dragon Skin Gloves on my hands, that’d be bad.

He might connect the dots and realize they were made from his drake corpse.

Luckily, he hadn’t noticed earlier while he was fuming.

‘Still… this isn’t bad.’

In fact, I was enjoying it a bit—seeing that bastard lose his temper when things didn’t go his way.

As I discreetly moved to store the gloves in subspace—

Ding!

[「Dragon Body – Stage 3」has detected an item with draconic traits.]
[You may synchronize Dragon Skin Gloves with 「Dragon Body – Stage 3」.]
[Upon synchronization, the item will be absorbed into your body.]
[All item effects will permanently apply to your body.]
[Proceed with synchronization?]

‘…Oh.’

A message popped up—telling me I could absorb the gloves directly.

No reason not to.

‘Synchronize.’

Shhhk—

The gloves vanished—not so much disappeared as fused into my skin.

Their power transferred perfectly into my Dragon Body trait.

‘Now I won’t draw attention.’

Perfect. I’d just hidden them from Namgung Myung.

And—

‘Bare hands really do feel better.’

Even if the gloves were weightless, nothing beat the sensitivity of bare skin.

My hands now had the same durability as the gloves—no downside at all.

The power of dragons truly was incredible.

Anyway—

“Ha! You want to feel heat? How about I show you how hot it gets!”

“I–I already feel enough heat at the forge every day…”

“…You little—what did you just say?”

Their argument was heating up again.

And then—

“Hey, he’s mocking me, isn’t he? I can just kill him, right?”

Namgung turned to me, snapping his head.

“……”

He wanted me to agree.

Which made sense—after all that praise I’d heaped on him.

And normally, I would’ve humored him to win more trust.

But not this time.

I couldn’t nod to him killing Han Sugyeol.

Not after that craftsman had just given me a legendary item.

Fortunately—

“Ha-ha-ha! Look who it is—Hunter Namgung Myung himself!”

A booming laugh interrupted us.

Namgung’s eyes narrowed. “Who—Guildmaster Gil Do-ik?”

The short, broad-shouldered Guildmaster of Blacksmiths Guild—and Chairman of the Korean Item Craftsmen Association—walked in.

Despite his small frame, he radiated strength.

He strode up to Namgung and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“Forgive our Sugyeol. The boy’s lacking in social graces.”

Because of their height difference, the gesture might’ve looked comical—but somehow, it didn’t.

‘He’s not backing down.’

From Gil Do-ik emanated a quiet confidence—the pride of someone who knew his worth was equal to, or greater than, Namgung’s.

“Ha! Guildmaster Gil. I just got royally screwed here, and this is how you greet me? Should I take it as open disrespect from Blacksmiths Guild?”

“Come now, Hunter Namgung. You’re the one who disrespected us first.”

“What the hell—”

“Who was it that barged into our forge and started smashing things?”

Gil Do-ik’s eyes glared like a furnace, his presence pressing down on Namgung.

After all, from the Blacksmiths’ perspective, Namgung was nothing but an intruder.

“…Hah!”

“There’s no contractual problem here, as far as I can see.”

Up till now, Namgung’s power and reputation had let him dominate the situation—but not anymore.

‘Sure, Gil Do-ik can’t beat him in strength…’

But strength wasn’t everything in this world.

Gil Do-ik had social standing that rivaled Namgung’s power.

“…Guildmaster Gil. Should I take this as you declaring yourself my enemy?”

Namgung finally reined himself in, sensing it wasn’t smart to push.

Gil Do-ik proudly countered,

“So what then? Should I stand by and let one of my people die? My guild’s third Black-Rank craftsman?”

“…What?”

“Oh? You didn’t know? Han Sugyeol’s being promoted to Black Rank.”

“……”

Namgung’s face froze.

Purple Rank and Black Rank—two worlds apart.

Purple was already extraordinary, but Black…

‘That’s basically a national strategic asset.’

Gil Do-ik had just told him that Han Sugyeol was now someone he couldn’t touch recklessly.

“…Damn it.”

Namgung finally muttered a curse under his breath.

Then—

“Hey. Let’s go.”

He jerked his chin at me.

‘Already treating me like a subordinate?’

Well… I didn’t mind.

It meant my plan was working perfectly.

“Yes, Hunter Namgung!”

I barked energetically, then exchanged a look with Han Sugyeol.

‘Thank you for the item.’

‘N–no, thank you…!’

‘And sorry I couldn’t protect you more.’

‘I–it’s fine! I understand!’

That was enough.

I followed Namgung out of the workshop.

And just as we reached the door—

“Waaaait a second!!”

Gil Do-ik’s booming voice echoed behind me.

He strode over, eyes wide—

And suddenly grabbed my wrist.

“T-this item…!”

‘Huh?’

Then he shouted—

“To think I’d see the Legacy of the Ancestors here!!!!!”