Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 288

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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288
“The Witch, your suspicion was correct. I received a clone as payment for the contract. I wiped its memories and tried to create a useful puppet, but perhaps because it was made from a corrupted soul, it simply wouldn’t obey.”
Gaff shrugged his shoulders.
During the final confrontation with the Administrator, I too had created a doppelgänger using a monster’s soul. But a monster’s soul was already damaged, making the quality poor—the doppelgänger was starkly different from my original self. It could only perform simple, violent tasks.
So if I were to create a doppelgänger from the deceitful souls flowing through the rivers of the Demon Realm, the result would be equally worthless.
“Are you planning to hand my brother over to a demon?”
Bae Na-young directed her hostility toward the King of the Demon Realm. Clone or doppelgänger, it was still Ji-seok regardless of what they called it. The soul could be purified however necessary. I couldn’t afford to lose Ji-seok again.
“He’s not your brother. And do you really think he’d follow that creature?”
“Ha! Even if he lost his memories, you think my brother would follow a demon? He already hated you all, which is why he escaped the Demon Realm in the first place!”
“He didn’t follow you all either.”
It was true—in the current situation, Ji-seok showed no affection toward either the demon race or humans.
“Besides, just now you both tried to embrace him, didn’t you? That’s not how he originally was, is it?”
“…”
“Right. I’ve had a brilliant idea. Forcing him with power was the wrong approach. From now on, I’ll seduce him with a succubus instead. If I breed a child between a demon and Ji-seok, I wonder what will come out?”
“No! Absolutely not!”
“Bye bye~”
As if he couldn’t hear Bae Na-young’s screams at all, Gaff dove backward into the magical circle that had summoned him, and the cloud-shaped Gate closed shut.
“Find him! Immediately! By any means!”
The moment I imagined Ji-seok playing around with a succubus, Bae Na-young’s eyes filled with blood as she grabbed Jae-in by the collar and shook her.
“Cough… Calm down….”
“Calm down?! A succubus?! This is war! War with the Demon Realm!”
Violet placed her hand on the shoulder of the blood-eyed Bae Na-young.
“Why?! Aren’t you worried?! Your brother will be sowing his seed in the Demon Realm!”
“Do you think I’m not worried? First, calm yourself. Could you show Ji-ho you like this right now?”
“Huff… Fine. I understand.”
At the mention of Ji-ho, Bae Na-young bristled for a moment, but realizing she couldn’t let him see her in such a state, she took a deep breath.
Released, Jae-in attempted to track Ji-seok again, but the soul traces had been completely erased—it was impossible to find him.
“Rather than that… why don’t we search for the demon instead? They’ll be looking for him too anyway, won’t they?”
“Alice, that’s a good idea. And while it’s conventional, let’s also search by facial recognition. Deploy drones and maximize satellite coverage. Ms. Bae Na-young, we’ll find him soon.”
Jae-in tried to calm her, but Bae Na-young’s heart wouldn’t settle—she bit at her fingernails.
“There are already so many women trying to take my husband… A succubus? Absolutely not.”
Violet felt oddly guilty and said nothing.
* * *
The Ji-seok everyone was searching for wasn’t far away. Following where my body led, I ended up in Korea—in Seoul. My body had originally been drawn toward World Tree City, but as I drew closer, something felt off, so I changed direction and headed to Seoul instead.
Seoul had lost much of its vitality after World Tree City, but as the capital of Korea and home to the nation’s greatest commercial districts, the streets were still packed with people.
“Damn, there are so many people.”
The Demon Realm had few high-rise buildings and correspondingly lower population density. In contrast, this place called Seoul had buildings that seemed to touch the sky, and the people living in them filled the streets.
As I walked through the streets in full armor, people glanced at me sideways.
“…Is that cosplay?”
“He really does look like him though?”
“How long has it been since he passed? And yet you couldn’t even pay your respects… tsk, tsk…”
I looked down at myself clad in armor, then gazed at the statue standing in the plaza—a figure that bore an uncanny resemblance to me.
The statue’s expression was excessively solemn, its gaze lifted slightly toward the heavens, and I found myself frowning involuntarily at the sight.
“Is this the one that woman mentioned a few days ago?”
I stood silently for a moment, observing my own statue.
I understood why people’s eyes were drawn to me—my appearance resembled the statue’s. But the resemblance was superficial; once I removed this armor and changed into new clothes, the matter would be settled.
As I surveyed my surroundings, a Clothing Store caught my eye, and I entered immediately.
The shop was small, and a petite, energetic Shop Owner stood alone behind the counter.
“…Welcome~”
When I walked in wearing armor, her eyes betrayed a thought—’What kind of lunatic is this?’—but she reasoned that I might be a cosplayer searching for an outfit, or simply someone with eccentric tastes.
She decided my impression wasn’t bad. Since I rarely engaged in public activities, she didn’t watch much news and failed to recognize my face immediately.
Sales had been sluggish that month, making each customer precious, so she smiled brilliantly and began her professional service.
I silently pointed to the clothes a mannequin was wearing.
“Ah, this season’s new arrival. Would you like to try it on? You’re quite tall, so… this size?”
The Shop Owner quickly assessed me with a practiced eye, then retrieved an appropriate size. Despite the armor, she could estimate my measurements from my height and facial structure alone.
“Pants too.”
“Of course~”
Though I appeared younger than her, my casual tone made a vein throb on her forehead—but her customer service skills didn’t crumble. Especially not during a slow sales month.
Once she handed me pants that fit, I absorbed the armor and released it as I took the clothes.
“Kyaaah! You can’t undress here!”
Though the Shop Owner cried out, I calmly pulled on the pants and draped the shirt over my shoulders, now fully naked.
The Shop Owner was more startled by my exposed physique than by the vanishing armor. She found herself admiring what could only be described as a sculpted body, and she made no further objections, instead savoring the view between her fingers.
“My! It suits you wonderfully!”
Though the outfit was simple—just a shirt and pants—my physique brought the ensemble to life far better than any mannequin could.
“Use this belt, and these shoes will complete the look…”
She forgot all about my earlier indiscretion and enthusiastically coordinated the outfit with renewed energy.
Once the styling was complete, she surveyed me with satisfaction—until her gaze caught on my hair.
My hair was disheveled like that of someone who’d lived in the mountains for decades, utterly at odds with the carefully coordinated outfit. As someone in the service industry, she couldn’t bring herself to tell a customer their hair looked terrible.
But I, quick to read such signals, noticed her expression and glanced at the promotional photo displayed in the shop.
I then swept both hands through my hair, absorbing the excess, and my hair transformed to match the style in the photograph.
“My! Magic? Is it magic?! You’re a mage!”
The Shop Owner circled me, clapping her hands as she admired my newly shortened hair.
“I’ll take it.”
“Pardon? Yes. How will you be paying?”
“Paying?”
“…Money… You have some, right?”
“I don’t.”
“A card?”
“A card?”
I tilted my head, my expression suggesting I had no idea what she meant.
“…Sigh. Whatever.”
The Shop Owner hung her head, berating herself for being so blinded by sales that she’d dressed him without even checking his payment.
Ji-seok could have simply walked away or killed the woman, but he found himself drawn to her—she had good taste in clothes, and her face wasn’t bad either.
“I’ll give you something better instead.”
Ji-seok plucked a handful of hair from his head. Immediately, new strands grew back in their place.
He gathered the hair in his palm and clenched his fist with tremendous force.
His fist glowed crimson as intense heat and pressure compressed the hair within.
As I pressed the hair, I stripped away the unnecessary proteins, and soon the carbon within crystallized into a diamond.
“There.”
A diamond the size of a pinky fingernail emerged—easily over one carat.
The Shop Owner blinked rapidly, staring at the diamond as it sparkled brilliantly under the store’s lighting.
“Hmm? Not to your liking?”
The moment she saw the diamond, her mind began racing.
The clothes he’d just been given exceeded a million won, but at wholesale prices, they were worth only half that.
Yet this man—he could make his armor vanish and manipulate his hair at will. He had to be a mage. Though he seemed a bit unhinged.
If that diamond was genuine, she could easily earn millions.
“No, no! Please, take it!”
She snatched the diamond and held it up to the light. Though rough and unpolished, its brilliance was unmistakable.
“Good? Then come play with me.”
“Ah… well… I still have work to finish…”
No matter how captivated she was by Ji-seok, she couldn’t abandon her shop. Besides, there was something dangerous about this man.
She clung to her last thread of reason.
“Well then, goodbye~”
Ji-seok, unbothered, waved and walked out. The Shop Owner waved back with a dazed expression.
“…Hah!”
She snapped back to reality and examined the diamond again.
“This has to be real, right?”
Eager to close up shop, she kept fidgeting with the diamond.
* * *
“Hmm… People are still staring.”
After grooming my hair and changing clothes, I stepped onto the street. People still stared, but for a different reason now.
“Is he a model?”
“Should we go talk to him?”
“Are you crazy?!”
I didn’t mind the women giggling and stealing glances. But.
“He really looks like that Hunter Lee Ji-seok…”
“Is he his brother?”
“Probably just someone who looks similar.”
Many people recognized my face. I’d thought changing clothes would be enough since the statue’s features differed from my actual face, but a statue could never be identical to the original.
People remembered my face from the news.
“Tch, that bastard must’ve been quite famous around here. What a pain….”
I rubbed my face with both hands.
My eyes sharpened, my nose became more angular. Unlike my usual benevolent appearance, my face now bore a lighter, almost rebellious quality.
“This should be enough that no one recognizes me.”
I strolled through the streets at ease, observing the people around me. Everyone wore carefree, joyful expressions, and their happiness began to rub off on me as well.
I noticed people using something called cards when conducting transactions. Most relied on cards, though I occasionally spotted someone paying with cash.
“So that’s money. I could create diamonds every time, but honestly, that’s too much trouble. I need to figure out how to get some cash.”
My sense of smell was remarkably attuned to the scent of money—not the opportunity to earn it, but the actual paper and dye of currency itself, far keener than any dog’s.
“There’s plenty over there.”
Turning my head, I spotted the Rigen Bank. Unaware that it was actually my own company, I confidently walked toward it with the intention of stealing some money.

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