I Became a Hunter with the Heavenly Slaughter Star Trait. - Chapter 44

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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 44

 

Episode 44

 

“….”

 

Even though I find Sakura suspicious,

 

that’s just my feeling after all.

 

‘It must be my prejudice.’

 

There was also that incident related to ‘Dan’ not long ago.

 

So because my feelings aren’t good,

 

maybe I’m just feeling suspicious for no reason?

 

Anyway.

 

The other people besides me,

 

seemed to already know Sakura.

 

So the introductions were finished simply.

 

And,

 

“Woooah….”

 

What remained was the preliminary meeting with the Chinese side.

 

There are a total of five Chinese Hunters participating in this Special Floor conquest.

 

All things considered,

 

they’re all Hunters who have made their mark in Asia.

 

Especially.

 

Zhang Yuan-long, China’s 1st ranked Hunter,

 

despite still being young.

 

His support within China was tremendous enough to earn him the title ‘Yellow Dragon’.

 

Although his world ranking only reaches 8th place,

 

that’s still impressive nonetheless.

 

From what I heard,

 

the Chinese side also expects that if this Special Floor conquest succeeds,

 

Zhang Yuan-long could rise up to world ranking 6th place.

 

Well.

 

It’s a story that has nothing to do with me though.

 

Nothing special happened during the preliminary meeting either.

 

Especially since I’m the newest of the new.

 

Occasionally chatting with Ban Hae-yeong and Han Si-on,

 

I just looked around at the surroundings here and there.

 

“Tae-pyeong, this is your first… Special Floor, right?”

 

On the way after the meeting ended.

 

Sakura suddenly spoke to me.

 

“Yes. It’s my first time.”

 

“I heard you’re still level 25….”

 

“That’s right.”

 

“Ah, is it rude… to ask about such things?”

 

“Not really. I don’t mind.”

 

When I answered roughly,

 

Sakura asked with a puzzled expression.

 

“You don’t… mind?”

 

“No.”

 

“Why….”

 

“Well, it hasn’t even been a year since I awakened.”

 

At those words, Sakura’s eyes sparkled.

 

“But to already participate in a Special Floor conquest, that’s really amazing!”

 

“I was just lucky.”

 

“You’re even modest…!”

 

No, I really was just lucky.

 

From Choi Mu-ryeong choosing me,

 

to meeting Narin on the Random Layer,

 

and even killing the Lich King on the 30th Floor.

 

It was all just good luck.

 

I wonder if my trait might be [Luck].

 

By the way,

 

‘This woman is being too aggressive….’

 

I’m giving her casual responses,

 

but she’s talking to me to a strange degree.

 

Normally,

 

if she wanted to build friendships, she’d choose Choi Mu-ryeong or Zhang Yuan-long.

 

But me, who you could say just became a Hunter?

 

“….”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

My loser radar, honed over 20 years of being single,

 

begins sending strong warning signals.

 

‘…Fucking suspicious.’

 

* * *

 

Sakura was flustered.

 

Completely contrary to her expectations,

 

no matter what she tried, Lee Tae-pyeong didn’t seem to have any intention of falling for her.

 

Even when she gave genuine compliments about how cool he was,

 

“Ah, yes.”

 

He would answer indifferently.

 

“Actually, my parents….”

 

Even when she tried to create a sense of kinship with information she’d gathered beforehand,

 

“Kids who grow up without parents are surprisingly common.”

 

He would answer like a psychopath.

 

“I can’t believe you don’t have a girlfriend.”

 

Even when she openly flirted,

 

“I don’t have a boyfriend either.”

 

He would respond with nonsense!

 

Her plan to naturally win his favor,

 

and make Lee Tae-pyeong let his guard down had all turned to bubbles.

 

An iron wall.

 

No, mithril wall level.

 

This was extremely troublesome.

 

She had to win Lee Tae-pyeong’s favor,

 

make him let his guard down,

 

obtain ‘Dan’,

 

and finally make Lee Tae-pyeong….

 

At minimum, crippled.

 

At maximum, dead—that was her true goal.

 

-No more irregulars like Choi Mu-ryeong should appear in South Korea.

 

-So you must eliminate Lee Tae-pyeong without fail.

 

The Japanese government was already keeping a close eye on Lee Tae-pyeong.

 

Not simply because of the ‘Dan’ incident,

 

but because of Lee Tae-pyeong’s quiet progress in building the fastest clear records.

 

Even in this Special Floor conquest,

 

the fact that Choi Mu-ryeong had demanded ‘Jie’ from the Chinese side.

 

Japan had noticed this as well.

 

Not only was a mere level 25 Hunter participating in the Special Floor,

 

but Choi Mu-ryeong was directly demanding a weapon for that Hunter?

 

And that weapon was supposedly the pair to Japan’s S-rank weapon ‘Dan’?

 

From Japan’s perspective, this was absolutely maddening.

 

The reason Japan had handed over ‘Dan’ in the first place

 

was based on the judgment that China would never give up ‘Jie’ no matter what.

 

Without ‘Jie’, ‘Dan’ would be useless.

 

So they had exchanged information about the [Wrath of the Sun] map for ‘Dan’, but…

 

A Special Floor just happened to open in China,

 

and South Korea would obtain ‘Jie’ as a condition for participating?

 

If ‘Dan’ and ‘Jie’ were brought together like this,

 

and an SS-rank weapon was completed,

 

only Japan would end up looking foolish.

 

The Tower, in the end,

 

was war.

 

Even though it seemed like nations were cooperating now,

 

ultimately it would become a war between Tower-climbing nations.

 

The Japanese government predicted this.

 

If not, why would the Tower be divided by ‘nationality’?

 

If all of this was for the survival of humanity,

 

why would required contribution points exist by nation?

 

In the end, it would become a war between nations.

 

A kind of Fourth World War would break out.

 

To prepare for that time,

 

as important as strengthening one’s own nation was

 

weakening other nations.

 

That’s why Japan was working behind the scenes.

 

Persuading Hunters from neighboring countries to naturalize as Japanese Hunters,

 

or for Hunters with no intention of naturalizing,

 

crushing their potential before they could grow further.

 

Lee Tae-pyeong’s case fell into the latter category.

 

Because the first button had already been fastened wrong due to the ‘Dan’ incident.

 

Luckily, they had cut off the tail and could gloss over the fact that they tried to harm Lee Tae-pyeong with ‘Dan’,

 

but it was already too late to establish friendly relations.

 

So what the Japanese government dispatched

 

was Sakura.

 

On the surface, Japan’s greatest healer,

 

but in reality, a kind of ninja who handled various assassinations.

 

Was it thanks to her healer profession?

 

Or was it due to her outstanding aptitude?

 

Her assassination success rate so far was 100%.

 

Because of this, the Japanese government

 

had volunteered to send their nation’s greatest healer to the Special Floor that occurred in China.

 

They would obtain the Special Floor’s rewards

 

and eliminate the thorn in their side, Lee Tae-pyeong.

 

Truly killing two birds with one stone.

 

That’s why Sakura’s responsibility was enormous.

 

But…

 

‘It’s not working at all…’

 

Sakura was already wearing various items that increased favorability.

 

The ordinary-looking earrings, rings, and necklaces

 

were actually all Tower items.

 

However, for some reason, they had no effect on Lee Tae-pyeong.

 

Lee Tae-pyeong didn’t blush or stutter when looking at Sakura.

 

Rather,

 

he showed a somewhat annoyed attitude.

 

‘Why on earth…!!!’

 

There was no way for Sakura to know

 

that the [Quiet Eira Forest Earrings] Lee Tae-pyeong wore

 

were negating the effects of the items she wore.

 

It was only natural.

 

There was no way a human would possess an elf’s item.

 

‘…Should I change my plan?’

 

If the items weren’t effective,

 

pestering him further

 

would only make him suspicious.

 

“Ah…!”

 

So the clever idea Sakura came up with was

 

-Thud.

 

to collapse.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

“I, I pushed myself too hard in the Tower yesterday…”

 

This was a common symptom among overworked healers.

 

Most healers didn’t do physical training.

 

“Oh no…”

 

Come on, hurry up and support me!

 

Sakura closed her eyes, pretending to be dizzy.

 

“This is why healers need to do physical training too.”

 

“…!!!”

 

“You’ll be in big trouble if you neglect physical training just because you’re a healer.”

 

A lecture out of nowhere?!

 

Sakura felt her hands trembling with bewilderment and anger.

 

‘What the hell is wrong with this guy?!’

 

Fortunately, she could play it off as if it was due to anemia.

 

“Should I bring you some water?”

 

Still a voice full of disdain,

 

but anyway, this was a chance to be alone with Lee Tae-pyeong.

 

“If, if you could just help me to my room…”

 

Sakura stood up with Lee Tae-pyeong’s support.

 

-Wobble!

 

She staggered as if about to collapse again,

 

-Thump!

 

Lee Tae-pyeong catches Sakura.

 

But something was strange.

 

“Oh my, are you alright?”

 

“…Yes.”

 

Rather than embracing her,

 

it was more like grabbing her by the collar to lift her up.

 

‘This bastard….’

 

Sakura dangled from Lee Tae-pyeong’s grip,

 

and returned to the dormitory.

 

‘I need to kill him quickly….’

 

Now that the conclusion was reached,

 

killing would be easy.

 

“C-could you bring me some water…?”

 

“Yes.”

 

While Lee Tae-pyeong, who had supported her all the way to the dormitory,

 

went to get water.

 

Sakura secretly took out an item from her inventory.

 

A poison needle coated with basilisk venom,

 

that the Japanese Government had obtained from the black market.

 

With this,

 

even the strongest Hunter would have their limbs paralyzed in an instant.

 

Of course,

 

the basilisk’s poison needle wasn’t perfect either.

 

But it could buy enough time.

 

Kill Lee Tae-pyeong.

 

Enter Babel Tower with the corpse,

 

and abandon that corpse there.

 

No one would be able to find Lee Tae-pyeong’s body.

 

There would be no evidence left that Sakura killed Lee Tae-pyeong.

 

Sakura would simply

 

testify that she told Lee Tae-pyeong about the Special Floor and he got scared.

 

She would be able to safely escape suspicion.

 

After that,

 

the remaining people would create the ‘reason’ themselves.

 

Starting from he got scared and ran away,

 

all the way to it’s a Chinese Government conspiracy.

 

If that happened, this would become a problem between South Korea and China.

 

After that, she just needed to pick up the falling crumbs.

 

-Ping!

 

Sakura carefully hid

 

the basilisk’s poison needle inside her wrist.

 

And….

 

“Here, water.”

 

Lee Tae-pyeong approached, unaware of anything.

 

Sakura, who had been sitting on the sofa, got up and received the cup Lee Tae-pyeong handed her.

 

-Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.

 

After Sakura slowly drank the water,

 

“Then I’ll be going now.”

 

“Wait a moment, Tae-pyeong.”

 

She grabbed Lee Tae-pyeong as he was about to leave.

 

And.

 

The moment Lee Tae-pyeong turned to look at her,

 

-Stab!!!!!

 

Precisely,

 

aiming for the space between his eyebrows.

 

She thrust the basilisk’s poison needle in.

 

-Swoosh!

 

At that moment,

 

Lee Tae-pyeong’s face turned pitch black.

 

Had the basilisk’s poison taken effect?

 

Sakura unconsciously smiled silently.

 

However.

 

“…What are you doing?”

 

What broke the silence was none other than Lee Tae-pyeong’s voice.

 

-Slowly….

 

Lee Tae-pyeong’s face, which had turned pitch black, instantly returned to normal.

 

Like shadows disappearing.

 

-Clatter!

 

And,

 

the basilisk’s poison needle fell to the floor.

 

“Huh? Huh huh?”

 

Sakura stared at Lee Tae-pyeong with a dumbfounded expression.

 

Lee Tae-pyeong’s face was ice-cold.

 

“Hey.”

 

“…!”

 

“What the hell are you doing right now.”

 

Sakura unconsciously stepped back.

 

“Th-this can’t be….”

 

The basilisk’s poison needle didn’t work?

 

It had never failed even once until now!

 

“H-how…!!!!”

 

There was no one to answer her.

 

Only,

 

“Not going to answer?”

 

someone asking.

—————
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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