Broken Ranker Devours Myths - Chapter 37

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Broken Ranker

Devours Myths

Chapter 37

Goblin Market (2)

The place Lee Hyeon headed to was an abandoned building in Uijeongbu, on the outskirts of Seoul.

This place, which seemed to have been untouched by human presence for over ten years, was the gateway leading to the black market.

Swoosh!

Lee Hyeon revealed himself right in front of that abandoned building.

Wearing a white coat and a black goblin mask.

‘From now on, I’m not Jang Lee Hyeon but Zeus’s Apostle. I need to act arrogantly, and recklessly while being violent and brutal.’

Lee Hyeon had been pondering how to rescue Go Jin-woo throughout his journey here.

First, he had no intention of revealing his true identity as Jang Lee Hyeon.

Unlike at White Burn, his identity could easily be exposed here.

It wasn’t just Seo Chang-woo’s gang, but making enemies with the Black Market side would also become troublesome.

‘The [Drug King], who monopolizes over 70% of the world’s black markets, absolutely cannot tolerate his territory being defiled.’

The Drug King, who was also among the Nine Thousand, was able to privatize all the black markets worldwide because of his thorough security management.

He absolutely did not allow conflicts to occur in his territory.

He punished even simple disputes, and when murders occurred, he sent hitmen under the pretext that they had tarnished his reputation.

Due to such fanatical obsession, most people tended to avoid conflicts in the Black Market.

Even the people of the underworld who feared nothing in the world ultimately feared the Drug King’s wrath.

‘That’s also why I sent Jin-woo hyung there with peace of mind.’

However, Lee Hyeon was thinking of turning the Black Market upside down if necessary.

Korea, with its good security, wasn’t originally a major interest area for the Drug King, so the level of the administrators was pathetically low,

And it was impossible to predict what scale of collision might occur between the prestigious family and the Black Market.

‘If it’s really the prestigious family that kidnapped Jin-woo hyung, there must be some secret connection between the prestigious family and Korea’s Black Market.’

So even after dealing with the prestigious family and rescuing Go Jin-woo, he had to prepare for the Black Market’s persistent pursuit afterward.

That’s why he brought out the identity of ‘Zeus’s Apostle’ again, which he had planned to use once and discard.

‘Rumors about Zeus’s Apostle are probably already spreading little by little among Rankers in secret. Then it would be best to divert all attention in that direction.’

Of course, for this to make sense, several assumptions were necessary.

1. Do not leave any connection between ‘Zeus’s Apostle’ and Go Jin-woo.

2. The conflict between ‘Zeus’s Apostle’ and the prestigious family will occur for other reasons.

3. Thoroughly reveal ‘Zeus’s Apostle’s’ arrogant personality and overwhelming violence.

And,

‘Never create any link that could connect to Jang Lee Hyeon.’

Fortunately, the current ‘Jang Lee Hyeon of White Burn’ was someone who had only recently returned to the industry due to injuries.

On the other hand, Zeus’s Apostle was a skilled individual who had blown away India’s famous Ranker Mukesh Ambani in one move.

So it would be difficult to make the connection immediately, but…

‘Still, there’s no harm in being careful. The Drug King is quite a persistent bastard.’

However, if there was one major problem, unlike with Mukesh, there was no stage filled with Great Curses now…

‘Well, if there isn’t one, I’ll just have to make one.’

Lee Hyeon was a fighter who knew well how to draw opponents into a situation favorable to himself.

“Whoo!”

After taking a long breath, Lee Hyeon opened his closed eyes.

His eyes flashed golden as white lightning, Kéraunos, symbolizing Zeus, sparked up.

Fortunately, perhaps thanks to wearing the mask, Lee Hyeon found it easy to immerse himself in his new identity.

When he forced open the door of the abandoned building and entered, a hidden dungeon appeared inside.

Whoosh!

[You have entered the dungeon!]

[Dungeon ‘Goblin Market’]

[Stories about ghost markets that only open at specific times and disappear without a trace when they end commonly exist throughout the world.]

[The items sold in such markets boast mysterious yet bizarre characteristics because they have been touched by non-human hands, including fairies. This is because their common sense differs greatly from that of humans.]

[Choose and purchase the items you need carefully. Depending on your purchases, the fairies may either curse you or give you blessings.]

[Success: Purchased items.]

[Failure: Purchased items.]

Murmur murmur.

The place Lee Hyeon entered was a bustling market street crowded with an enormous number of people.

“Choose, choose! Pick anything!”

“Buy fruit! These are fingernail fruits from the finger branches of a human-faced beast’s offspring! They’re full of juice!”

“We’ll trade for any item! Those curious about fortune, divination, good luck, bad luck, come over!”

Half the crowd was human, while the other half consisted of non-humans commonly classified as monsters.

They added to the noisy atmosphere by walking along the paths throughout the market, browsing items displayed on stalls, and bargaining with merchants.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been here too.’

「So this is originally a dungeon with a market concept?」

Son Wukong looked around with an interested expression.

Sha Wujing added with a smile.

「Heh heh heh. Among the poems this priest likes, there’s one called ‘Goblin Market’ by a poet named Christina Rossetti. I suspect that might be the origin.」

「Humans and non-humans gathered from various places don’t mind each other and only focus on market activities… That’s clever thinking. This way, it’s hard to distinguish who are Natives and who are Outsiders, making it perfect for moving around while hiding one’s identity, right?」

Son Wukong immediately saw through the structure of how the Black Market operated.

“The gates connecting to this dungeon appear sporadically in various places.”

「Ah, then the administrators just need to thoroughly control those gates?」

“That’s about right.”

Lee Hyeon quickly passed through the bustling market street.

A flower shop selling jeweled flowers, a fruit vendor selling apples that gleamed like obsidian, a fabric store selling cloth made from sewn monster hides, and so on.

After passing through all the various blocks, he entered the Butcher Block set up in one corner of the market.

A space where the stench of rotting corpses mixed with the smell of grilling meat.

‘Here it is.’

The place Lee Hyeon visited was the butcher shop located deepest inside among them.

A place that hung and sold human or demi-human body parts.

While it had a horrific appearance that seemed like only non-humans would visit, this was merely a disguise.

In reality, it was a fence shop that Lee Hyeon had visited several times following Go Jin-woo.

“Oh my! It’s been a while since we’ve had a human customer visit. So, what can I get you? Liver, lungs, intestines, heart parts, and so on – we have whatever part you want, so please speak comfortably.”

A butcher whose arms were completely covered in tattoos greeted Lee Hyeon with a hearty laugh.

[Activating ‘Sacred Relic: Mask of the Golden Arhat’.]

[Curse Incantations ‘Voice Modulation’ and ‘Chill Infection’ are added.]

“I came to get some parts.”

A modulated voice different from Lee Hyeon’s usual voice flowed out from behind the mask.

A voice that made listeners cower and stirred up anxiety.

“…Are there any specific parts you’re looking for?”

The Butcher’s eyebrow twitched unpleasantly, but he soon laughed it off casually.

“Kidneys and spleens, and they should have good circulation.”

“The type is…”

“Mix Shadow Fairy and Volcanic Dwarf parts in a 3.5:6.5 ratio. Match it to a total of 31.7kg.”

“…”

“Don’t have them?”

“Oh my! Of course we do. It’s just that we rarely have customers looking for those parts, so I was surprised. They’re quite precious items, you see. Please wait a moment. I’ll go check our inventory first.”

The man hurried inside, then came out with a troubled expression.

“Ah, what should we do? Since we don’t handle these items very often, we’re short on quantity. I’m afraid you’ll have to come back next time. Sorry, customer.”

Snort.

A sneer leaked out from under the mask.

“There seem to be quite a few people shopping in this underground. It’s not because it’s difficult to bring out the goods because of that, is it?”

An arrogant tone.

Lee Hyeon stomped the floor hard with his foot.

Thump…!

Bewilderment flashed in the man’s eyes.

The building swayed as if it would collapse immediately.

Moreover, the energy emanating from Lee Hyeon was formidable.

Crackle!

White Lightning even sparked up over Lee Hyeon’s shoulders.

The lightning bolts drew spiral shapes in the air as they gathered together, then began to compress tightly into spherical forms.

Dozens of Thunder Orbs made of white light.

Each one growled as if it would explode at any moment.

The result of what Son Wukong had made him practice for Condensed Lightning had become a proper weapon.

Naturally, it wasn’t a level that a junior gang member manning the store entrance could handle.

“Customer, that’s…!”

“Stop playing word games. Tell Boss Yang. I came here because Chairman Peng’s introduction said you were trustworthy, but if it’s going to be like this, know that it won’t be fun.”

The man didn’t know who Chairman Peng was, but he could only roll his eyes helplessly at the high-handed attitude of someone who casually called the boss by name.

As Lee Hyeon expected, the boss was underground dealing with customers since morning.

The code phrase Lee Hyeon mentioned was only given to the store’s VIPs,

but right now it was such a big deal that even such people had to be turned away.

But the opponent seemed completely unconcerned about such circumstances…

“You look like you’re pondering.”

Lee Hyeon’s eyes curved coldly.

“Let me relieve you of that pondering.”

“…!”

Lee Hyeon extended his hand forward.

Surely not?

Would he really cause a ruckus even though this was the Black Market?

The man tried to shout for him to wait just a moment,

Flash!

Rumble!

But before that, one Thunder Orb shot forward and exploded simultaneously.

Instantly, fierce winds swept through and lightning bolts fell in streams.

It was enough power to easily blow away a small butcher shop.

“There it is.”

Thanks to that, a secret door prepared in the floor of the destroyed storage was revealed.

Lee Hyeon walked toward the door with his hands in his pockets.

With each step, Thunder Orbs shot forward one by one, pouring down lightning.

Boom boom boom! Boom boom boom boom!

Rumble…!!

* * *

Lee Hyeon decided on several characteristics that ‘Zeus’s Apostle’ would likely have.

‘I can’t just focus on personality or offensive style. Overwhelming destructive power. And a combat style to match. It has to be completely different from Jang Lee Hyeon.’

So Lee Hyeon set his new identity as a Lightning Mage.

Since Jang Lee Hyeon’s combat style was rough and aggressive.

But Zeus’s Apostle had to be overwhelming yet flashy, arrogant, and elegant at the same time.

A lightning-type mage who boasted destructive power and firepower pursuing only extreme efficiency

would suit Zeus’s Apostle very well, wouldn’t it?

Fortunately, Lee Hyeon had many tools for this.

[The Rage Energy generated by Dueoksini’s Deep Breath (A) is infused with the lightning of Zeus and Indra that you collected.]

[Curse Incantations ‘Attribute Lock’, ‘Range Reduction’, and ‘Exhaustion Induction’ are granted.]

‘Attribute Lock’ that forcibly fixes only one attribute to a mage so they cannot cast magic of other attributes,

‘Range Reduction’ that prevents firepower range from exceeding a certain area,

And ‘Exhaustion Induction’ that causes severe magic power waste, making opponents exhausted.

Each one was a curse born to torment Hunters.

But when that combination was done creatively, a decent magic was born.

Explosive magic that could compress lightning to the extreme limit then detonate it with Samadhi Divine Wind.

[A new magic has been born.]

[The name ‘Thunder Orb’ has been implanted.]

[Congratulations! Your understanding of lightning attributes has deepened as you awakened to magic utilizing curses.]

[Skill increases by 2.]

[Magic Power increases by 1.]

…

Moreover, the lightning energy fragments that poured out while the firepower expanded connected with each other, inducing additional chain explosions.

The lightning bolts that poured down like a downpour truly swept away everything they touched.

“St-stop it! Stop him!”

“We can’t! His firepower is too strong!”

“This bastard, what the hell is he! How can he have so much lightning… Ahhh!”

“Black Market! What the hell is the Black Market doing! They should come quickly and stop him… Gah!”

The first floor had long been devastated. The storage that had been stocked with truly various meats was also blown away in an instant.

Moreover, the gang members who had been in the underground space and came running after hearing the commotion met no different fate.

Many of them didn’t just end up with simple injuries, but suffered third-degree burns or even died in succession.

Dust and smoke billowed everywhere. The smell of burning meat vibrated in all directions.

Lee Hyeon had already decided to completely erase this organization ‘Blue Dog’.

‘They abandoned loyalty and sold Jin-woo hyung to a prestigious family in the first place. They have to pay for their own sins themselves.’

Lee Hyeon had already gained conviction in his suspicion that they were involved in Go Jin-woo’s kidnapping.

Just before detonating the Thunder Orb,

it was thanks to eavesdropping on conversations taking place underground through [Golden Eyes of Truth] and [Combat Sense].

-But that doctor we handed over…

-I hope you don’t forget that unnecessary curiosity only hastens one’s death.

-It’s not that…

-If you’re worried about the Cartel side, don’t concern yourself. They’ll turn a blind eye to it.

-That’s not it!

-Hm?

-There’s something about his personal information that I haven’t been able to tell you yet.

-Something you haven’t mentioned?

Conversations that were clearly related to Go Jin-woo no matter who heard them. Moreover, the guests having this conversation were definitely from Prestigious Families.

Therefore,

Lee Hyeon planned to sweep away all of them while simultaneously catching the Prestigious Families by the tail.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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