I Became a Hunter with the Heavenly Slaughter Star Trait. - Chapter 29
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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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Episode 29
Episode 29
Early dawn.
I was getting ready to go out early.
Just once.
Except for the team dinner I had with my teammates,
I had only lived inside the Management Bureau.
It’s really been a long time since I’ve gone out.
“Hmm.”
A hoodie and jeans.
Is this too shabby?
But there’s no need to dress up just to catch a scammer, right?
Let’s just go.
“Oh wait.”
Still, it would be better to cover my face at least.
I pulled a black baseball cap down low and headed outside.
“Please get in.”
Do Sang-jin opens the car door for me.
I don’t know much about cars, but it’s a nice one.
Is this also provided by the Management Bureau?
“We’ll depart now.”
The car started silently.
Our destination was the outskirts of Seoul.
The place we arrived at looked like an ordinary office.
“Are you sure it’s really here?”
“Yes. This is the place.”
I scratched my head and looked up at the building.
“Are you really planning to go in with me?”
“Yes.”
“…”
“Don’t worry. I can at least protect myself.”
When I smiled brightly, Do Sang-jin nodded.
It wasn’t a bluff.
No matter how impressive a rental scammer might be.
The opponent would be an ordinary human.
-Step. Step. Step.
A 5-story building without even an elevator.
It looked ordinary from the outside, but the inside was gloomy.
I couldn’t feel any signs of people either.
When we reached the fifth floor.
I could see cigarette butts piled up near the stairwell door.
-Sob, sniff.
-Please. That’s…
And faintly audible crying sounds.
I don’t know what it is, but they’re definitely up to no good.
“Please wait behind me.”
“Yes.”
I answered like a gentle lamb,
and waited behind him as Do Sang-jin instructed.
-Click.
With the heavy sound of the doorknob turning.
-Creak.
The door opens.
And.
“I can’t do this anymore!”
I can see someone crying and pleading desperately.
A face covered in blood as if severely beaten.
Whatever happened, it’s obvious without even looking.
“What the hell are you guys?”
The man who was about to throw a punch looks at the open door and frowns.
“We’re from the Babel Tower Climber Management Bureau.”
Do Sang-jin answers in a dry voice.
“What? Babel Tower? Management Bureau?”
“The Management Bureau protects climbers by…”
“Are these bastards crazy?”
The man burst into hollow laughter and approached us.
One step.
Two steps.
Do Sang-jin was carefully watching his movements.
And the moment the man took his third step.
“Hunter.”
“Yes.”
“Do you feel threatened?”
At the businesslike question, I smiled wickedly and answered.
“Yes. I’m so, so scared right now.”
“Understood.”
Do Sang-jin nodded.
-Whack!
He immediately threw a punch at the man.
-Crack! Whack! Thud!
Ouch, what about his nose bone.
“Gah! What the, aaargh!”
Who knew a rental scammer’s screams could sound so sweet.
Seeing the man getting beaten up enthusiastically, the other guys took off their headsets and jumped up from their seats.
“B-Boss!!!”
“Wh-what the hell is that bastard?!”
The guys charging straight at Do Sang-jin.
Do Sang-jin, who was grabbing the fallen man by the collar and beating him to a pulp.
-Crack! Thud! Smack!
Lightly dodged the punches of the guys rushing at him,
and immediately delivered counter punches.
‘His movements are flawless!’
Perfect.
Almost textbook level.
If it came down to just fighting, I wonder if I might lose.
“Amazing…”
Admiration escaped me without realizing it.
-Crack!
-Crack!
-Crack!
-Crack!
After turning three or four burly men into bloody pulps like that.
Do Sang-jin dusts off his suit and turns to look at me.
Then, in an infinitely polite tone.
“Finished dealing with the suspicious individuals, Hunter Lee.”
He said he ‘wouldn’t kill’ them.
And indeed, he ‘only didn’t kill’ them.
Nasal bones, cheekbones, jaws, teeth, collarbones, and so on.
I can see he beat them up quite thoroughly and evenly.
“So, what do we do now?”
“Since they threatened an awakened person’s safety, they’ll receive appropriate punishment.”
Hmm.
Actually, those guys didn’t lay a finger on me.
Well, whatever works, right?
“Also, if we hand them over along with the evidence here…”
That’s when it happened.
-Creak.
An old door on one side of the wall opens, and
“What’s this about evidence?”
A hoarse voice can be heard.
Complete with a cackling laugh as a bonus.
I turn my head to look.
“Where did these bug-like things crawl in from…”
A man covered in scars with an unkempt beard was walking out.
It seems Do Sang-jin wasn’t aware of the scarred man’s existence either.
His expression has hardened.
The scarred man gradually approaches.
-Swish.
And then, a blade suddenly appears in his hand.
It has a serrated edge, and a magic stone is embedded in the handle.
“…!”
My mind snaps to attention.
That wasn’t an ordinary blade.
‘A Tower item…!’
Which means.
That scarred man is also an awakened person.
Though I don’t know if he’s a formally registered Hunter or not.
“Sang-jin, I’ll handle things from here.”
I stepped forward in front of Do Sang-jin.
“Please take this person and get away.”
And I glanced at the man who had been crying and begging just moments ago.
After confirming that Do Sang-jin helped the man up and retreated,
I looked around once and shouted at the scarred man.
“Isn’t it cheating to pull out a Tower item against a human instead of a monster?”
The scarred man cackles at my words.
“If you know that, you’d better run away right now.”
“…”
“Kekeke… Well, you’ll die before even going down one floor anyway!”
The scarred man immediately rushed toward me.
And at the same time, his figure disappears.
‘It’s an afterimage!’
Does he have speed abilities?
With a buzzing sound like a mosquito flying,
His afterimages appear and disappear here and there.
Ah.
This type is annoying to deal with.
Of course, it’s not like there’s no way.
If I just snap the neck of one of these guys lying here,
[Killing Time] would activate immediately.
Then I’d be faster.
But.
These guys lying here.
No matter how much trash they are…
In the end, they’re humans, not monsters.
Right, humans.
Not just me.
These pieces of trash who sucked the lifeblood out of common people.
They deserve to die, but.
Even such ‘trash’ has human rights.
Hmm.
Is human rights the right term to use in this situation?
Anyway.
-Buzzzz!
The mosquito-like sound gets faster and faster.
Now even the afterimages are hard to follow with my eyes.
I’ll kill you!!!
It would be convenient if he shouted something like that.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t seem to be that type.
Then…
‘Is that the only method?’
Tsk.
I pretended to panic and looked around frantically.
Then a cackling laugh briefly brushed past my ear.
-Stab!!
I felt something strongly pierce my side.
“…!!!”
But that’s all.
I felt no intense pain in my side.
Not even blood spurted out.
Instead.
-Trickle.
Shadows flow down as if alive.
The shadow armor’s effect nullified the first attack.
Thanks to the shadows swallowing the blade.
“Wh-what is this!”
The scarred man’s afterimage also stopped.
And at the same time.
“This actually works?”
I pretended to look around while grabbing the ballpoint pen I had prepared.
-Thunk!!!!
I drove it straight into his ear canal.
“Aaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!”
I can’t kill him.
Just halfway in.
-Thud.
The scarred man dropped his knife and collapsed to the floor.
Blood streamed from his ear.
He rolled on the ground, making a complete scene.
“Ugh, so noisy.”
-Thwack!
I kicked him in the stomach and then
turned around.
“Sang-jin.”
“Yes, Hunter Lee.”
“This is self-defense, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Then should I call the police now?”
“Yes, I’ll make the report.”
I kicked the knife the scarred man had dropped far away,
and said in a trembling voice.
“Oh my, how scary. Please tell them to come quickly.”
* * *
“Thank you for your hard work.”
The police arrived shortly after.
Actually, there wasn’t much for me to do.
Do Sang-jin handled most of it.
The report, submitting evidence.
I just watched like a good citizen.
Perhaps because the Management Bureau was involved,
the police thoroughly searched the scammers’ building.
As a result.
“So they were also human traffickers?”
They uncovered new facts.
The criminals weren’t just running rental deposit scams.
They also operated a loan business,
saddling the scam victims with massive debts.
Not only that.
Using that debt as leverage…
They were forcing victims into the Tower.
If they returned alive, they’d become Tower climbing slaves.
If they died? No evidence would remain anyway, so that was the end.
The person I saw crying when I came in
must have been a Tower climbing slave too.
Truly vicious bastards.
Damn!
I should have stuck another pen in his other ear too.
Anyway.
It’s unclear whether we can recover the money, but
at least we caught the rental deposit scammers properly.
Money isn’t an issue anymore anyway.
Solving the rental deposit scam puts my mind at ease.
“Thank you, Sang-jin.”
Do Sang-jin shakes his head.
“This case was solved by you, Hunter…”
“No way! If it weren’t for you, Sang-jin, I wouldn’t have even known these rats were hiding here.”
I firmly grasped Do Sang-jin’s hand.
“Please continue to work with me in the future.”
“Of course, Hunter Lee.”
“Then…”
I grinned and stepped forward.
“Let’s go get some food!”
* * *
After returning, I cleaned out the buffet with Do Sang-jin.
The Management Bureau cafeteria is divided between officials and hunters, so Do Sang-jin refused, saying it would be awkward.
But I insisted and forced him to come in with me.
“…If you eat this much, my cooking definitely won’t be enough.”
Do Sang-jin let out a quiet sigh watching me demolish the buffet.
“Well, it’s because of an item effect, so it should get better soon, right?”
It’s a side effect from the dantian activation thanks to the [Socks of Peaceful Sleep].
Once the dantian stabilizes, my food intake should return to normal.
Until then, I have no choice but to raid buffets.
“Ah, that was delicious!”
After wiping out all the food in the cafeteria,
on the way back to the First Section.
“Lee Tae-pyeong.”
I heard someone calling my name.
It was a voice I’d never heard before.
When I turned my head,
“…”
“…”
A man in civilian clothes but
with a distinctly military aura was looking at me.
An unfamiliar face.
We were definitely meeting for the first time.
-Step. Step. Step.
The man slowly walked toward me.
He didn’t seem like an official.
Another hunter perhaps?
I faced the approaching man silently.
“Why did you refuse?”
Standing in front of me, the man asked abruptly.
“Excuse me?”
“I asked why you refused.”
Huh?
What are you talking about.
Who are you to suddenly come at me like this?
As I just stared back with a bewildered expression.
“This Hunter.”
Do Sang-jin whispers from behind.
“…It’s Hunter Choi Mu-ryeong.”
Choi Mu-ryeong?
South Korea’s Hunter Ranking 1st place.
That Choi Mu-ryeong?
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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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