The flash of the cameras at the exit of the Gangnam Station dungeon was more blinding than the explosion of my own leap to Level 99. I hadn't even had time to pull up my pants before the Hunter-Net drones were already zooming in on my bewildered silhouette.
"Kang Jin-Woo! A word on your unconventional combat technique?"
"Is this a new type of psychological debuff for S-Rank monsters?"
"Mr. Kang, the Hunter Ethics Committee has just issued you a summons!"
I stammered, trying to cover my dignity with the shreds of my porter's jacket. The power flowing through my veins was intoxicating, but the social shame—that was a slow, acidic burn. I was the strongest man in the room, and yet, I wanted to bury myself beneath Seoul's asphalt.
Suddenly, a chilling shadow fell over the crowd of journalists. The temperature dropped ten degrees in a single second. The microphones went silent; the cameras lowered.
Park So-Hee stepped forward, her high heels clicking on the concrete with the precision of a funeral metronome. Her presence as an S-Rank Hunter crushed the air around us. She looked at no one but me. Her gaze, usually described by the media as an icy abyss, shone with a light only I could identify: a ravenous hunger.
"This man is under the exclusive protection of the Baekho Guild," she declared in a velvet voice that brooked no argument. "Any image of him broadcast without my consent will result in the immediate revocation of your press license. And the destruction of your equipment."
She placed a gloved hand on my shoulder. The contact was electric. She leaned toward my ear, her scent of lilies and monster blood overwhelming my senses.
"Don't say a word, little prodigy," she whispered. "We're leaving before the vultures tear you apart. Or worse... before she arrives."
She? Who was she talking about?
Before I could ask a single question, she ushered me into her armored limousine—a high-tech beast worth over ten billion won. Inside, the opulence was indecent: white dragon leather, a minibar filled with vintage mana potions, and a cathedral-like silence.
Park So-Hee sat across from me. She crossed her long legs, her pencil skirt riding up a notch that nearly made me forget my own stat bar. She stared at me with an intensity that made me deeply uncomfortable.
"Do you realize what you've done, Jin-Woo?" she asked, slowly unbuttoning the collar of her silk blouse.
"I... I killed the Boss?" I tried, my throat dry.
"You broke reality," she countered with a light, almost demonic laugh. "Going from E-Rank to Global S-Rank in three seconds... The system chose you for a reason. And that reason... I intend to study it very, very closely."
She stood up and moved to the seat right next to mine. The limousine lurched into motion, isolating us from the outside world. She placed her hand on my thigh, her fingers gripping the fabric of my pants with a force that was anything but diplomatic.
"You are rich, Jin-Woo. Your surplus EXP is being converted into credits by the system. You currently hold more liquidity than half the chaebols in this country. But money won't protect you from predators."
My interface suddenly went haywire.
[Alert: Level 1 Obsession Detected.]
[Target: Park So-Hee.]
[Status: Possessive. Urge to "Mark".]
"Why are you helping me, Ms. Park?" I asked, my heart racing from her proximity.
She brought her face close to mine, her lips brushing against my own.
"Because I have never seen a man capable of being so... shameless to get what he wants. It excites me beyond all reason. I want to see how far your 'indecency' can go."
She was about to kiss me when a terrifying sound tore through the roof of the limousine. Claws of pure metal sliced through the armor as if it were paper. The vehicle swerved violently.
"JIN-WOO!" a woman's voice screamed—sharp, shrill, and filled with pure fury.
The roof was ripped off in one go. In the night sky of Seoul, a silhouette floated, surrounded by an aura of purple flames. It was Yuna, my childhood friend who had disappeared two years ago after awakening as an A-Rank Hunter. But she wasn't A-Rank anymore. Her eyes were bloodshot; her black hair floated like serpents.
"I've looked everywhere for you..." Yuna whispered, landing heavily on the road, forcing the limousine to a halt. "And I find you in a car with this... this old hag?"
[Alert: "Calamity" Level Yandere Detected.]
[Relationship: Childhood Friend / Obsessed.]
[Status: Ready to kill to "reclaim her property".]
Park So-Hee stepped out of the car, her icy composure not flinching an inch. She stood in front of me, summoning a dagger of blue crystal.
"Back off, brat. This specimen now belongs to Baekho's private collection."
"His name isn't 'specimen'," Yuna spat, summoning two shadow katanas. "He's my husband. He doesn't know it yet, but I've already prepared our room. A room with no windows, where he'll never need to wear pants in front of anyone but me ever again."
I watched the two women face off. One, the rich and dominant MILF who wanted to use me as her luxury toy. The other, the overpowered Yandere ready to raze the city to lock me in a basement.
And me? I had enough EXP to buy the whole city, but I didn't even know if I could survive the next minute without triggering a civil war.
"Girls..." I started.
"SHUT UP AND BE CUTE!" they screamed in unison, their auras colliding and pulverizing the windows of the surrounding buildings.
The system lit up again before me.
[New Quest: "The Pervert's Choice".]
[Objective: Calm both predators simultaneously.]
[Reward: SSS-Class Artifact "Chains of Submission".]
[Failure: Death by dismemberment (literally).]
It was time to spend my EXP. I opened the artifact catalog and scrolled through the pages at lightning speed. If they wanted indecency, I was going to give them a show they'd never forget.
"System, purchase artifact [Scent of Forbidden Desires] and [Cloak of Partial Invisibility]. Cost: 100 million EXP."
[Purchase Confirmed.]
[Remaining Balance: Incalculable.]
I had no choice. To survive two women of this caliber, I had to become the monster they hoped for... or the master they would fear.