Off to Kill
Jo Kang-tae, who had posed the question, stared at Jin-hyuk.
A single call last night, made with caller ID blocked.
The woman, who identified herself as a former Hunter Agency employee, had sent him one photo along with a name.
Along with an explanation that the person was suspected to be the current runner of the Book of Honor.
"This bullshit?"
Jo Kang-tae twitched his eyebrow.
He looked like the epitome of an innocent pretty boy.
The kind of guy who'd crumble at a single touch, and yet he was supposed to be the runner? The thought that they'd gotten it all wrong hit him hard.
"Me? That famous runner?"
Jin-hyuk shot back with a face that truly seemed clueless.
Under normal circumstances, Jo Kang-tae would've shrugged it off as a mistake and turned away right then.
If it weren't for the woman's additional words and that photo.
—You spoke with Personnel Director Lee Chang-gi, right? The one who stole the bag assigned to Player Jo Kang-tae—that's the guy. And this man is the person closest to Lee Chang-gi at the Hunter Agency.
A photo of Jin-hyuk together with ranker Cheon Se-yeon and Jin Yun-ho.
He couldn't just send him off with a simple denial.
"Whatever. Follow me."
Jo Kang-tae grabbed Jin-hyuk's shoulder.
Whether he was really the runner or not, he'd find out after giving him a good beating.
And even if he wasn't the runner, it didn't matter.
If he was an acquaintance of Jin Yun-ho, the one who'd stolen his bag, then whoever he was, Jo Kang-tae wanted to pummel him senseless.
"Are you deaf? I said follow me. How many hits do you need before you...?"
Clang!!
His vision twisted in an instant.
"Huh?"
As his field of view dropped like slow motion, Jo Kang-tae drew a question mark in his mind.
What the hell had just happened?
He desperately lifted his eyes, wondering if Jin-hyuk had done something.
But Jin-hyuk hadn't moved an inch.
He was simply looking down at Jo Kang-tae with an impassive face as he collapsed.
"I'm busy, so good luck."
With a very casual nod, Jin-hyuk resumed walking toward the subway he'd been heading for.
Jo Kang-tae tried to get up, but his shattered sense of balance refused to return.
Beeeeeeeeeeee.
He tried to yell for him to stop, but the ringing in his ears made it impossible to even tell if the words were coming out right.
"Hey! Hey!! You there..."
As Jo Kang-tae tried to shout again, a palm appeared in his vision.
It was just a split-second glimpse, but he was certain.
That palm had just slapped his left cheek.
[Berserker's Blessing]
He reflexively activated his awakening ability and staggered back.
Barely dodging the palm, Jo Kang-tae shook his head left and right.
Then he glared ferociously at the owner of the hand.
"What the fuck are you, you bastard!!"
White hair slicked back neatly, sunglasses perched on the bridge of his nose.
Dark raised the corner of his mouth as he looked at Jo Kang-tae.
"I don't have a name to give you. It's a waste to share it with weaklings."
Jo Kang-tae's face twisted in fury.
Not only had he slapped him out of nowhere, but that attitude on top of it?
And now, he couldn't just let it slide anymore.
"Hey, isn't that Jo Kang-tae?"
"What? The one from that Tower Site post? Whoa, it really is him."
"Who's the one who hit Jo Kang-tae? Looks like a foreigner."
"Mixed race? I think he just spoke Korean."
It was right in the middle of the street on the way to the subway station.
People were gathering, snapping videos and photos from all directions.
He'd already taken one hit.
He couldn't just take this lying down.
"Fuck...!"
Jo Kang-tae glanced back and forth between the subway station and Dark.
Jin-hyuk had already vanished inside.
If he wanted to catch him, he had to chase after him now.
"You're a lucky foreigner, you piece of shit! I'm letting you off because I'm busy!"
Choosing Jin-hyuk, Jo Kang-tae turned his body.
Deep down, he wanted to crush that guy first, but it was broad daylight in a crowded street.
If he used his abilities here and caused an accident, his days as a promising player would be over, fancy title or not.
Smaaack!!
His vision flipped once more.
A stinging pain ran from the back of his head down his neck.
This was weird.
He'd even wrapped himself in the Berserker's Blessing—why did it hurt so much?
Grit!!
Clenching his teeth, Jo Kang-tae balled his fists.
Daylight or crowds be damned—he didn't care anymore.
His reason had already flown off to who-knows-where.
"I'll kill youuuu!!!"
A savage aura erupted from Jo Kang-tae's body.
The Berserker's Roar, boosting his physical power, speed, reaction time—every bodily ability skyrocketed.
He might not have gear, but it was more than enough to beat a person to death.
It should have been, anyway.
Smack!!
Nothing changed.
The hand still flew in, and Jo Kang-tae couldn't dodge it.
It was simple logic.
Dark's hand had sped up even more than Jo Kang-tae had.
The blessing that mitigated damage had, in turn, amplified the slap's power.
And so.
Thud!
The outcome of Jo Kang-tae collapsing was inevitable.
He hit the ground and passed out cold.
"Hmm."
Dark shook the blood off his hand and looked down at Jo Kang-tae.
It had only been a brief scuffle, but he'd figured it out.
The man before him had grown complacent with his given abilities and stagnated, refusing to push further.
Dark's mind flashed to Jin-hyuk, who had been rolling in the dirt until dawn that very morning.
"Know your place before you pick a fight. You're a million years too early."
With those quiet words, Dark spun on his heel.
"Uh... huh...?"
The crowd stared blankly back and forth between the coolly departing Dark and Jo Kang-tae, sprawled out in an undignified faint.
No one knew what to do; they rubbed their eyes.
It was hard to believe at first, but the situation was slowly sinking in.
The famous player Jo Kang-tae, who had even unleashed his awakening ability, had been unilaterally thrashed.
By a mysterious foreigner who hadn't used any abilities at all.
Waiting for the subway, Jin-hyuk turned to look behind him.
Dark's manifestation had just lifted a moment ago.
"He shouldn't have resisted."
Then it would've ended with that first slap to the cheek.
If not... well, who knows.
"Sniff sniff sniff."
"Kancho? What's up?"
Kancho, who had been hiding, circled around him.
Now up to Jin-hyuk's shoulder, Kancho reached into the hood of his sweatshirt.
"Boss. Found this."
Jin-hyuk took the pen Kancho handed him and examined it.
It was small, but the blinking light suggested it wasn't an ordinary pen.
'He must've slipped it in when he grabbed my shoulder earlier.'
Jo Kang-tae, the player who'd posted that provocative thread on Tower Site.
The fact that he was using something like this meant he was dead serious.
And since he even had a photo, it probably wasn't a solo act.
"Should I toss it?"
Because of the Yeon Merchant Guild, Dongdaemun was a place he had to visit often.
He didn't want to have to dodge and weave around prying eyes every time.
"No."
Jin-hyuk smiled and slipped the pen back into place.
If they were so determined to come find him, what could he do?
He'd have to greet them properly.
Just... after he'd made some preparations of his own.
"Boss, your face looks scary."
"Sorry. How about I grab some gelato on the way back from shopping?"
"Sounds good."
"Okay. We're getting on the subway now, so you have to stay quiet."
"Sip!"
With Kancho hidden on his shoulder, Jin-hyuk boarded the train.
It looked like tonight was going to be a long one.
A few hours later, at Jo Kang-tae's house.
"Uwaaaah, fuck!!!"
He slammed his fist into the computer monitor.
In this era of social media dominance.
Even though it had only happened two or three hours ago, countless videos were already up.
Jo Kang-tae, who trash-talked the runner on Tower Site, gets utterly wrecked lolololRaise your hand if you wanna see our Kang-tae's cheek spinning around.And he even used his awakening ability lololol But the opponent was a foreigner whose awakening status is unknown.Jo Kang-tae is total trash, agree? Without the gear the Hunter Agency hooked him up with, he'd be weaker than a regular person, that frail fuck.
He smashed whatever was within reach—the nearby speaker, picture frames, TV, air conditioner, everything.
But that only made his rage boil hotter; he was going insane.
Crack!
Shattering the mirror, Jo Kang-tae lifted his head.
The confident, fearless image he'd once had was gone without a trace.
Standing before the mirror now was a loser whose face was swollen like a steamed bun from getting slapped by some nameless bastard.
Riiiing riiiing riiiing.
His phone rang.
Player Hunter Agency.
He already had over thirty missed calls.
Of course, he didn't pick up this one either.
This wasn't a call out of concern for him after getting slapped around mercilessly.
In a world where synchronization rates made superhuman abilities feel as natural as breathing.
But separate from that, the state was wary of the negative impacts these powers could have on society.
That was why they were strictly forbidden.
Especially the use of abilities in situations that could endanger multiple lives—and even more so if the target was a civilian.
He didn't think that foreigner was a non-awakener.
But in the videos, there wasn't a shred of evidence that the guy was awakened.
Therefore, Jo Kang-tae had violated every single prohibition the state enforced to the letter.
'That bastard... he didn't flinch at all.'
Normally, anyone watching someone get slapped would be startled.
But Jin-hyuk hadn't shown even a flicker of surprise.
As if he'd known Jo Kang-tae was going to get beaten all along.
'It's him. He's the runner.'
Having reached his own conclusion, Jo Kang-tae opened the hidden safe in his house.
All the gear he'd received from the Hunter Agency so far, or bought with exorbitant sums of money.
Items usable even outside the tower.
He checked the GPS he'd planted on Jin-hyuk.
Not far.
Grinding his teeth, he suited up.
Thud thud thud!
"Player Hunter Agency here! Player Jo Kang-tae! Open the door!"
"Haaah."
Jo Kang-tae let out a deep sigh.
Why the hell was everyone losing their shit like this?
"Player Jo Kang-tae! Open the do..."
Creeeak.
The hunters' eyes widened.
Jo Kang-tae, fully geared up like he'd just come back from climbing a tower.
"Door's open, you fuckers."
He didn't wait for a reply.
A hammer wrapped in energy swung wildly.
"Kuah...!!"
The hunters went flying, rolling across the floor.
As a famous player, they'd come prepared to some extent.
But they hadn't imagined he'd be kitted out like this.
"Trash."
With a sneer, Jo Kang-tae stepped out of the building.
He activated the action cam mounted on his armor and started a NewTube live stream.
Hunting the Book of Honor Runner.
A title impossible to ignore.
Viewers surged in rapidly.
@ What the hell? Didn't Jo Kang-tae get dragged off by the Hunter Agency? And he's streaming now?
Only an idiot who knew nothing would say something like that.
Overwhelmingly demolishing the Book of Honor runner in front of as many eyes as possible.
That was what made countries outside Korea salivate over Jo Kang-tae.
It was the only path left for him to survive right now.
'Just wait a little longer, Book of Honor runner.'
A chilling smile crept across his lips.
'I'm coming to kill you right now!!'
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T/N:
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