A week earlier, the four people who had heard my entire story reacted in ways that were all the same—and yet completely different.
“You controlled a captured Named Monster and used it to raid? Hahaha! You’re fucking insane!”
“……Are you actually fucking crazy?”
“I’m sorry to say this, but… are you really insane, Hunter Jin Taekyung?”
“You’re insane. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear any of this.”
The only person who laughed was Im Kkeokjeong. Song Song, Butler Kim, and Team Leader Choi looked at me as if I were a mental patient.
But what could I do? The moment the interview ended, the media erupted like an active volcano, and before an hour had passed, I had become a celebrity known by half the population of Korea.
“I should have stopped you even then.”
Papapapapat!
Team Leader Choi lamented as he watched Warlordmon’s Quick Attack.
But the water had already been spilled, and considering how badly I had spilled it, everything had been cleaned up without a hitch.
“Still, it all worked out.”
Even the government-affiliated audit team, famous for its thoroughness, failed to discover the truth behind the incident.
That was only natural. No one could have imagined such a thing. Besides, there was evidence to back up that version of events.
“The mana distribution survey conducted with a mana meter came back clean. They even found bones along with fragments of the armor the Skeleton Warlord was wearing, so it was an open-and-shut case.”
Everything leaves a trace.
Unlike the other Skeletons, which had melted or been smashed apart by One Annihilation, the Warlord’s bones were unbelievably hard and had managed to retain their shape perfectly.
Those bones, still saturated with powerful mana, were accepted as crucial evidence proving the existence and defeat of a Named Monster.
“Come to think of it, didn’t they put those broth bones up for auction? I wonder how much they sold for.”
- Broth bones?! Do not refer to my noble body in such a manner!
“You still don’t understand your situation. Warlordmon, Body Slam.”
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Bouncing off the office wall like a tennis ball, the Warlord clicked its jawbone mournfully.
- Ah, my loyal soldiers. I long to see you.
“So, where’s this month’s tribute of troops?”
- ……I shall replenish them as soon as possible.
Just then, the office door opened with a click.
A pair of shapely legs started to step inside, then stopped short. Looking at the light-brown eyes above them, I asked,
“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming in?”
“……Jin Taekyung, you crazy bastard. If you were me, would you want to enter a room where someone was playing ball with a talking skeleton?”
“Yeah.”
I waved the Skeleton Warlord at the revolted Song Song.
“Warlordmon, scare her.”
“Eeeeeeek! Don’t! I said don’t!”
“Warlordmon, wag your tail.”
- I do not have a tail.
“Then use Quick Attack.”
Papapapapat!
- Urrrgh, urrrghhhh!
“Eeeeeeeek!”
Thank God for the sound-blocking spell.
Just as Song Song’s screams and the Skeleton Warlord’s howls formed an exquisite harmony like an a cappella performance, Team Leader Choi’s phone, which had been lying on the table, rang.
“Everyone, be quiet for a moment.”
Several minutes passed as Team Leader Choi stared intently at the screen. Then his lips finally parted.
“I think I’ll have to step away.”
“Did something happen?”
Team Leader Choi shook his head at my question.
“I’ll tell you once this matter is confirmed. And, Miss Song.”
“Yes?”
“First, cancel the additional raid scheduled for next week. I expect to be neglecting my duties for several days, so please assist Butler Kim.”
At that moment, Butler Kim needed ten bodies and still wouldn’t have enough. He was busy handling the aftermath of the incident, commanding the Guild members during raids, and training in the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique all at once.
Of course, he was sharing the work with the other four people, myself included. But as the Guild Master, his workload was on an entirely different level.
“Got it. That’s easy enough. It’s not like we can make Uncle Kkeokjeong do it.”
Song Song nodded readily, then paused and looked at me.
“But what are you going to do?”
“Me?”
“Who else could I be talking about? There’s no one here but you.”
“Warlordmon, Quick—”
“If you do that one more time, I’ll kill you. I mean it.”
“……Attack.”
That was probably enough.
I casually slipped Warlordmon into my Inventory as it spasmed reflexively like one of Pavlov’s dogs.
“I’m getting ready to leave work.”
“Leave work? I’m working overtime today.”
“I have somewhere to be.”
“Oh, really? What could possibly be so important that you get to leave on time while everyone else is still working?”
I answered with a huge yawn.
“An exam.”
“An exam? What kind of exam?”
“What kind do you think? Don’t you even know what day it is?”
Song Song blinked for a moment, then her eyes widened.
It was the middle of November. Even the busiest person alive would know what day it was. It was the day of an exam important enough for the news to run a countdown.
“Are you taking the college entrance exam?”
“Are you crazy? My sister is.”
I checked the clock hanging on the office wall.
Five in the afternoon. If I left now, I thought I could arrive in time for the end.
“I’m heading out. Hang in there. You too, Song-i.”
I rose from the soft sofa and left the office.
I could picture my mother praying fervently near the test center and Hayeon working her way through the questions.
I’m worried. She probably hasn’t been able to study properly lately because of me.
For the past few months, Hayeon had been exposed to the media because of the various problems surrounding me and had been forced to endure intense attention from everyone around her.
For a student on the verge of taking the college entrance exam, it was devastating.
I feel bad.
I hoped the results would reflect all the effort she had put in.
With an uneasy feeling in my chest, I headed for the test center. An hour later, I saw Hayeon’s gloomy face and realized that what I had feared had come to pass.
“You… No, never mind. You worked hard.”
“Yes, sweetheart. You worked so hard.”
At my mother’s and my words, Hayeon gave a faint smile.
“Well, this is something. The man whose face is so hard to see actually came all the way here.”
“My little sister is taking the college entrance exam. Of course I had to come, you idiot.”
“Even after disguising yourself like that?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Yes. Sunglasses and a mask at night look really stupid. They make you stand out even more.”
“Damn it. No wonder people kept staring at me.”
“Are you an idiot? Of course people are going to stare if you disguise yourself that blatantly.”
Hayeon’s grayish smile was as wilted and feeble as she was. Seeing how completely drained she looked only made me feel guiltier.
“You okay?”
Hayeon answered with a depressed expression.
“No.”
“I’m sorry. It’s because of me.”
“I thought I’d get a perfect score, but I got one wrong in English.”
“As your brother, all I’ve done is cause you trouble like this. I’m so sorry I can’t even bring myself to look you in the face… What did you say?”
“I got one wrong. I missed a perfect score on the college entrance exam by one question!”
Thud! Thud!
I stared blankly at Hayeon as she kicked the ground in frustration.
Is she crazy?
She got only one question wrong across every subject on the college entrance exam?
I knew she was smart, but I had no idea she was this smart.
No, more importantly, how does she already know she got one wrong?
Was that why she had come out thirty minutes late?
Either way, one thing was certain. This winter was going to be a fairly warm one for our family.
And…
“I got one wrong! If I’d gotten just one more right, I would have had a perfect score, but I missed it!”
If I left this lunatic alone, the students and parents around us would set up a net over heaven and earth to hunt our family down.
“Stop talking nonsense and let’s go eat.”
“Let go! How could someone with seventh-tier school grades understand how I feel?”
“Keep your voice down, please.”
I grabbed my hysterical sister by the back of the neck and dragged her away. From inside my Inventory, the Skeleton Warlord muttered,
- Blood truly cannot lie.
You’re getting one hundred Quick Attacks. Guaranteed.
Time flew by.
With Hayeon’s college entrance exam finally over, our family moved into our old house after the remodeling was completed, and my mother shed tears of emotion at the unexpected gift.
“Son… Thank you so much. I don’t know what to say.”
“It’s nothing. Please don’t say that.”
“I’m grateful too, son.”
“Hayeon, do you want to end your life now that your college entrance exam is over?”
Resolving the matter I had kept in mind for so long left me feeling much lighter.
But something still nagged at me.
They might reach out to my family.
Taking a family member hostage was a simple yet effective tactic.
I didn’t think Lee Jungryong, who had a weakness, would resort to such a method, but I had to prepare for the worst.
I’ll keep making money anyway, so there’s no reason to hold back.
Top Hunters were high-income earners—wealthy enough to be called walking small and midsize businesses.
But even those top Hunters couldn’t compare to my income.
I finished raids several times faster than other people, and I often played solo.
A Hunter’s outstanding skill naturally drew in wealth.
And if there was one more thing that came with it, it was fame.
“Butler Kim, could you handle the interview and advertising offers that have come in for me?”
“All of them?”
“No. Just the important ones with high pay.”
Even though I accepted only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of offers, an enormous sum of money was deposited into my account.
The interest people showed in me was that intense, both in Korea and abroad.
A few advertisements, interviews, and appearances on television talk shows. That was more than enough.
The number in my bank account became morbidly obese, and the Peace Guild’s stock price shot up.
Two birds with one stone. A double gain.
“May I ask one important favor?”
“Of course. Anything.”
“Please look into a security company. A reliable one.”
“Heh-heh. Leave it to me.”
My mother and Hayeon didn’t notice a thing.
They didn’t know that the houses on either side of ours and the ones across the street had been secretly purchased. They didn’t know that several seemingly happy married couples were actually secret bodyguards.
They were merely puzzled.
“Son, did you know a lot of married couples live around here?”
“Really?”
“Yes. I run into them every time I go to the neighborhood market. There are young couples and older couples, but every single one of them seems to be childless.”
“It’s the age of low birth rates.”
“Oppa, there are only two men living next door. They walk around with their arms linked.”
“……It’s the age of gender equality.”
That made them stand out way too much!
A few days after I asked the company to rearrange the personnel, a KakaoTalk message arrived from Hayeon.
Jin Hayeon
Wow
This time two women moved in
They walk around with their fingers interlaced all the time;;
“…….”
Could this security company really be trusted?
Contrary to my concerns, the bodyguards did an excellent job.
Reports came in every thirty minutes, and they never took their eyes off my family.
I was so busy I barely had time to breathe, but everything was proceeding smoothly. Even so, there was one disappointing thing.
My leveling up.
Ding.
System
You defeated a Lv.70 Skeleton Archer!
You gained an extremely small amount of EXP!
The difference in power is substantial. The amount of EXP gained is drastically reduced.
“Oh, shit. God, please!”
Contrary to my desperate hopes, the EXP factory was no longer of much help to me.
Three or four level-ups. That was all.
- Heh-heh. I do not know what these things you call EXP and level-ups are, but this is good news. Human, this is what comes of greed!
“But if I erase you, I can probably get one more level-up, right?”
- ……I shall try harder. Please, anything but that!
“Hoo. I’ll put that off for now. But you’ll keep offering up your tribute of troops.”
- Why?! You said there was nothing left to gain from killing my soldiers!
“That’s true for me. Our Guild members still need to gain experience of their own.”
- Experience?
“We can use them to give our people some combat practice. Have your subordinates rehearse their acting. Tell them to make it convincing without letting on that they’re going easy on us. Of course, you know what happens if anyone on our side dies, right?”
- ……You intend to suck the marrow from my bones. Just how cruel can the human race be?
The Skeleton Warlord lamented, but I already held its leash.
The new Guild members gained real combat experience—well, almost real—against the Skeletons, who were excellent supporting actors.
That’s right. Work hard and grow big and strong.
It was exactly one week after Hayeon’s college entrance exam when Team Leader Choi appeared.
“Long time no see, everyone. But before we discuss what happened, I need to show you this first.”
With a tired voice and a stiff smile, he looked at us, pulled a USB drive from inside his jacket, and connected it to the hologram TV.
“This is a video from China.”
Beep.
The video began playing with a chilly electronic tone.
Comments
Comments need a network connection.