SSS-Class Sui**de Hunter - Chapter 7

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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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Episode 7. The True Nature of Mutterings (1)
1.
I immediately searched for Geom Seong on my smartphone.
-Apparently, he was once an elder of a major Northern European conglomerate family.
-His real name is Marcus Callenberg. He was a figure who lacked for nothing, yet he abandoned his family, his connections, and his fortune to enter the Tower alone, or so they say.
-No one knows exactly what skill he possesses.
-He apparently has a habit of muttering to himself from time to time.
I clicked my tongue.
“Not much helpful information here.”
I searched for interview videos or anything like that, but there were none. It seemed this gentleman was the complete opposite of Yeom Je in temperament. Yeom Je would spew profanities at journalists, but his fundamental nature was attention-seeking, so he’d been quite heavily exposed in the media.
Geom Seong, by contrast, was thoroughly enigmatic.
Perhaps that’s why the information floating around the internet was so vague. He was supposedly an elder of a major conglomerate, he allegedly entered the Tower alone, he purportedly had a habit of muttering to himself. It was all just speculation.
‘Well.’
I turned my head.
A table tucked in the corner.
Geom Seong sat there alone, drinking Milk-Vodka.
‘At least the part about him muttering a lot seems to check out.’
The old man’s fashion sense was far from ordinary. Mixing vodka with milk was one thing, but now he was sipping his drink without any snacks, muttering to himself endlessly.
“…Shut up. Don’t make a fuss. From the start, you were…….”
Mumble, mumble.
I couldn’t make out exactly what he was saying, but each time he tilted his glass, he’d mutter something, his brow deeply furrowed. It was honestly a bit frightening.
‘Could he have some kind of mental illness?’
A Hunter with a mental illness ranked number one. It was terror itself—like a nuclear warhead ready to explode at any moment.
‘…Actually, thinking about it, Yeom Je was a psychopath too.’
Perhaps developing a mental illness was a prerequisite for becoming Ranking 1.
‘Anyway, all the top-ranked Hunters are basically lunatics.’
I shook my head and continued searching for information on my smartphone. Still, there was nothing but speculation, but one post caught my eye.
-[WARNING] NG Words You Must NEVER Say in Front of Geom Seong!
“Hmm?”
It was an intriguing title. The site where the post was uploaded was the Hunter Professional Community—a place where only those with Hunter credentials issued by the Management Bureau could join. An exclusive club, so to speak.
An anonymous post was up there.
-I witnessed this myself. There are NG words you must never say in front of Geom Seong. If you don’t want to die, never say this to Geom Seong. You’ll actually die.
└What is it?
└It’s about grandchildren. A few days ago on the Layer 9 Hunting Ground, several top-ranked Hunters were picking a fight with Geom Seong. One of them said:
‘Looking at how you carry yourself, I can already guess what kind of character your bastard grandkids must have.’
‘Probably inherited your arrogance and think they’re better than everyone else.’
‘How embarrassed your grandchildren must feel, seeing you like this.’
-Then he killed him.
└What? He killed him?
└Yeah. He actually killed him. The guy’s head flew off the moment he said, ‘Your grandchildren must be so embarrassed……’ Nobody could even react. In a blink, the head separated from the body.
After that, the post was flooded with comments.
-Don’t make up lies.
-This is some Major Guild spreading rumors again.
-So just because someone’s doing well, they can stomp on people?
Most responses were disbelieving.
But the anonymous author stuck to their guns.
-Believe it or don’t, do what you want! I just thought you should know.
-Of course, I don’t think Geom Seong was wrong. The guy who brought up someone else’s family in the first place was at fault. But because of this incident, top-ranked Hunters definitely got upset as a group. You can tell from how the media’s been criticizing Geom Seong lately.
-Anyway, be careful if you run into Geom Seong. Take care.
With that, the author posted no more comments.
As if there was nothing left to say.
“…….”
I stared down at my smartphone, thinking.
‘NG words that must never be spoken.’
I looked at the corner of the bar. The elderly man was still sitting there.
“…Too much noise. I’ll handle it myself, so leave me alone…….”
He continued muttering to himself, as he had been.
Looking at him again, he seemed genuinely mentally ill. But even if he was, he was still Ranking 1. That fact—that this old man possessed a skill beyond imagination—remained unchanging.
‘That’s fine.’
And for me, that fact alone was enough.
‘It’s worth trying.’
2
“That hit the spot.”
“Ah, have a good night, sir!”
Geom Seong drained his glass and left. The moment he walked out, the drunks who’d been holding their breath all this time let out a collective sigh.
“Finally he’s gone.”
“Must have dementia or something. Why’s he muttering like that?”
“Who knows. Either way, he’s killing the mood…….”
It seemed everyone in the bar had been waiting for Geom Seong to leave. I was no exception.
Though for a different reason than they were.
“Here’s my tab.”
I stood up quickly. I handed the Bar Owner the money I’d already counted out beforehand. There was no time to waste.
“Ah, yes. Thank you. Come again!”
“Much appreciated. Good night.”
Ding—
The bell hanging on the door chimed.
Night had fallen deep. Darkness settled over the streets.
‘Where’d he go?’
I scanned my surroundings. The bar district was crowded with people to match. Dozens of them laughed and exhaled alcohol-warmed breath into the night sky.
‘Which way did the number one Ranking go?’
Fortunately, I spotted the figure I was looking for not long after.
‘Found him!’
His clothes were distinctive enough. In all of Babylon, Geom Seong was the only one walking around in a suit on these sprawling streets.
I quickly masked my presence and began following the old man.
‘What Skill does he possess?’
My heart raced.
‘Yeom Je had the Regression Skill. It was EX-Rank. Geom Seong succeeded a generation before Yeom Je—wouldn’t he have an even more broken Skill than Regression?’
That would soon be mine. If luck favored me.
* * *
How long did I shadow the old man?
We left the bustling district and turned into alleyways. A bit further and even the alleys fell away. The outskirts of the outskirts. A barren wasteland with no buildings standing. Through that desolate emptiness, Geom Seong trudged forward.
“Mm.”
He stopped walking.
“This should do.”
Geom Seong turned around. Starlight dimly illuminated the old man’s frame.
“Come out now, young man.”
“…….”
“No one would know if anything happened here.”
He was staring directly at the tree where I’d hidden myself.
I sighed inwardly.
‘I’ve been made.’
Well, it was unrealistic to think I wouldn’t get caught tailing someone ranked first. I accepted my own incompetence and stepped out from behind the tree.
“Forgive me. I have something I need to ask of you, no matter what.”
I tried to speak as respectfully as possible. But for some reason, Geom Seong let out a bitter laugh.
“Heh. You deliberately made a clumsy tail so I’d notice, didn’t you? I don’t understand why you’d come at an old codger like me with such menace.”
“…….”
What?
He seemed to think I’d intentionally made noise to announce myself. Beyond that, though I hadn’t made any overtly aggressive moves, Geom Seong was already gripping his sword hilt. Pure readiness for combat. Like he could strike me down at any moment.
‘Why?’
Of course, if he was going to be like this, I had no complaints. My purpose was to die by Geom Seong’s hand, after all.
‘But I haven’t done anything except follow him……?’
Whether or not he noticed my confusion, Geom Seong’s expression grew harsher still. His eyes seemed to gleam with killing intent.
“…Impressive acting. A top-tier assassin truly worthy of the front lines.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Don’t play dumb. You might fool other Hunters, but not these eyes. Did you think I wouldn’t recognize that you’re the elite assassin the Black Dragon sent?”
Uh…….
This old man was laboring under a massive misunderstanding.
‘Should I be happy about this or not?’
Either way, things were working out. At this rate he’d kill me without me having to bring up grandsons and granddaughters.
But I had no idea how he’d mistaken an F-Rank Hunter like me for an elite assassin. Honestly, I was completely baffled.
“Preposterous! To come all this way and still put on an act!”
Seeing my face, Geom Seong’s lips twisted into a sneer. It was genuinely, sincerely disgusted—so much so that I found myself wondering why he was reacting that way. Surely my appearance didn’t look like an assassin’s.
“Did I not tell you? My eyes cannot be deceived!”
“Sir, I’m genuinely curious, so I have to ask…….”
In the end, I couldn’t hold back the question.
“What makes you so certain I’m an assassin? A high-ranking one at that? I think of myself as fairly ordinary-looking, honestly.”
“Silence.”
Shink.
Geom Seong drew his blade.
“I possess several Skills. Among them is the Skill to Discern Number of Humans Killed. Thanks to this Skill, I have survived countless crises over the years.”
“……?”
What? I still didn’t understand.
‘Ah.’
A few seconds passed before comprehension dawned.
‘I killed Yu Su-ha.’
That was true.
Today I had hunted Yu Su-ha. I killed him because I knew what kind of monster he would become, but people of this era didn’t know that. To them, I was simply a murderer.
Even if murders happened far more frequently inside the Tower than in the outside world…….
‘Murder is still murder.’
In other words, Geom Seong’s eyes likely saw the number [1] floating above my head right now. That [1] meant nothing other than Yu Su-ha’s death.
Was it any wonder that Geom Seong would be wary of me?
“I understand, Geom Seong.”
“Hmm.”
“You may be cautious of me, but I have nothing particular to say in my defense. Though, hear me out—consider it an explanation. I truly had pressing reasons, reasons I cannot fully disclose, but genuinely grave reasons for doing what I did. I would swear an oath to heaven on it.”
My words carried absolute sincerity.
But the situation had taken an odd turn. Upon hearing my earnestness, Geom Seong’s expression only crumpled further.
“Revolting.”
“Sir?”
“For a demon who has murdered countless humans like you to dare speak such drivel. I have not lived a life entirely free of blood myself……. But I have never committed such indiscriminate slaughter!”
It was getting worse.
I was genuinely bewildered.
“No, wait—sir. Slaughter? I’ve only killed one person in my entire life.”
“Shameless lies spill from your mouth!”
Screech.
Geom Seong thrust his blade toward me.
And he spoke.
“I see the number [4091] floating above your head, clear as day!”
My jaw went slack.
“What nonsense is…….”
I started to retort, to ask what kind of nonsense that was, but my lips sealed shut. More precisely, they sealed themselves. In that instant, I understood exactly where the number 4091 had come from.
‘Ah.’
One for Yu Su-ha’s death.
And.
‘The number of times I killed myself.’
4090.
It matched perfectly with the number of times I had died by my own hand.
“Prepare yourself, demon!”
If that was true.
“Whether sent by the Black Dragon’s witch or hired by someone else, I know not—but I shall strike you down with all my might!”
To this old man’s eyes, I could only appear as a serial killer who had massacred 4091 people—a killer of historic proportions.
My spine went cold in an instant.
‘This won’t do.’
This was serious.
‘It’s not a question of whether to copy Geom Seong’s Skill or not!’
That was it.
‘From now on, every time Geom Seong finds me, he’ll try to kill me!’
Because to him, I was nothing but a repulsive mass murderer by mere existence—a virus that needed to be erased from the world as quickly as possible.
“Wait, hold on!”
I reached out my hand.
“Just wait a moment, please……!”
In that instant.
Geom Seong’s blade came hurtling toward me.
SSS-Rank: The Hunter Who Lives by Dying (serialized)
Author | Shin Noah
Publisher | Kim Ju-hyeong
Published by | J Plus Media Co., Ltd.
Marketing | Han Jae-hyeok
Address | 204 Daerung Post Tower 1st, 288 Digital-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul
Email | [email protected]
Website | www.jayplemedia.com
© Shin Noah 2019
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder, and may not be reproduced in any form or by any means without the permission of the company and author.
Violation of this prohibition may result in criminal and civil legal liability.

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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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