Chapter 27 - Leopard Guild (2)
“But, how do you plan to escape?”
It was a question from Ironclad while I was unlocking his restraints.
I got the keys from the guard who was sprawled out over there.
Serves him right for dozing off on duty.
“What do you think?”
“…Let me say this in advance, I’m of almost no help in anything. My arm is in this state.”
Ironclad said, pointing to one of his dangling sleeves with his head.
But, hmm.
To be honest.
“I don’t think you would have been helpful even with your arm.”
“…”
“Well, don’t worry too much.”
I said, going around to the other cells and unlocking them one by one.
There was no reason to leave them here.
These people would all serve as excellent ‘evidence’.
“Wh-what?”
“The slaves are escaping! Stop them!”
And while the freed demi-humans were all rioting, Leopard Guild members came down from above as if they had noticed something strange.
Among them were some who realized that this was the cause of the situation after seeing the bundle of keys in my hand.
“This bastard is the cause! Kill him first!”
At the same time as those words were spoken, a thick, ominous energy was transmitted towards me.
Hmm.
Well.
“Hey, you guys.”
I opened my mouth to the people arrayed in front of me, each equipped with a menacing tool.
Judging by their expressions, they didn't seem to have any intention of letting me live from the start.
“Uh… what was it. I have to say it, so I’ll ask. If anyone wants to surrender, do it now. Then I’ll go easy on you.”
As soon as those words ended, laughter erupted from all over.
“Is he crazy? He’s going to take on this number alone?”
“He looks dumb, and his intelligence seems to match his looks.”
“…”
No.
For an extra, their tongue-lashing skills were unusual.
As I was feeling dizzy from the rather sharp attack, Ironclad next to me spoke in a low voice.
“The number… is quite large. Is it still okay not to worry?”
“Yes.”
“…Alone? Against this many people?”
“You already heard me, why are you asking again.”
I continued with a smirk.
“I can handle it just fine by myself.”
I said, bringing up the status window in front of me.
[Kim Gyu-sik]
[Lv.20] [Guardian Angel Buff Active]
[ Strength: 4
Agility: 4
Durability: 2
Stamina: 4
Luck: 1
Mana: 3 ]
[ Stat Points: 26
Skill Points: 13 ]
The skill points and stat points I had accumulated from catching the golem before.
I had saved them for this moment.
The skill points had a use later, but the stat points could be used here without any problem.
[ Strength: 4 -> 10
Agility: 4 -> 10
Durability: 2 -> 10
Stamina: 4 -> 10
Luck: 1
Mana: 3 ]
And I evenly distributed the points to the stats related to close combat.
At this level, I wouldn't be looked down on as a Climber anywhere.
So what did that mean?
It meant that even the lower-level combatants of the Leopard Guild rushing at me now, I could go on a rampage against them by myself.
I picked up whatever was nearby.
What came to my hand were a broom and a bucket.
“What’s he doing?”
“Is he going to clean for us?”
Hmm.
In a way, it was cleaning.
[Arcane Burst]
[Observation]
[Double Pulse]
The broom and bucket, which flew like a flash of light, each slammed into one of the Leopard Guild members.
It might have been a laughable sight.
If the guys who were hit in the forehead with them hadn't flown far away and crashed as if hit by a cannonball.
‘Oh.’
As expected, skills that directly used the body were greatly influenced by stats.
I had only balanced my physical abilities, but the power had noticeably increased.
“…”
“…”
And the Leopard Guild members, who seemed to have collectively lost their words, stared blankly at their comrade who had flown far away.
The mocking faces from a moment ago had completely vanished, not even a speck of them to be seen.
“Hey, uncles.”
And as I said that, unlike before, tense eyes turned towards me.
As for me, well.
I was just picking up a few other things in my hand.
“You’re the ones who said you wouldn’t surrender, right?”
“…Get him! Kill him!”
Watching the men rush at me menacingly, I checked my wristwatch.
The ‘appointment’ was soon, so.
I’ll just get some exercise until then.
***
A pub inside Rotten Town.
It was always a noisy and dirty place, and thanks to that, someone inside stood out even more.
It was no wonder, as she was wearing a spotless uniform that matched her pure white hair.
“Why did you ask to meet in a place like this?”
“It’s precisely because it’s a place like this that secrets are kept, young lady.”
Seo Ah-in pouted at Kim Jae-han’s words as he sat down.
She usually kept this kind of childish behavior hidden in front of others, but in front of the person who had served her since she was young, it was a futile act in the first place.
“By the way, I was quite surprised. For you to contact me first, young lady.”
She couldn't help it.
With her own information network, she would never have been able to find what she was looking for.
Especially considering the mysteriousness of the person in question.
“…”
Of course.
That didn't mean she was in a position to casually contact Kim Jae-han.
“…Mother is…”
Seo Ah-in, who was about to say that, quickly shut her mouth.
After a long silence, she immediately brought up another topic.
“Did you look into what I asked for?”
“…”
Kim Jae-han, who had been looking at Seo Ah-in with pitiful eyes for a moment, nodded in response to her words.
“You mean the background check on the Climber named Kim Gyu-sik. I’ve completed the search through all available routes.”
A strange emotion was present on Kim Jae-han’s face as he brought that up.
He himself had been watching that man so closely, and to receive a request to investigate him from an unexpected place.
‘But, it’s natural if you think about it.’
After all, if you were in a position to be in close contact with that man, it would be difficult to overlook his ‘otherness’.
He had realized that fact at a glance. There was no way the clever young lady, despite her poor treatment in the family, would not know that.
“What are the results?”
Kim Jae-han carefully chose his words.
Even he had a hard time figuring out how to deliver this news.
He had already conducted his own investigation a long time ago.
But he was doubtful as to how the young lady would accept the results.
“…There is nothing.”
“What?”
“His past history, including his birth records… is on a level that is completely untraceable. To the point where I think he’s a man who truly has nothing.”
Seo Ah-in blinked blankly.
One of the things that set the Hunting Alliance apart from other large guilds was its overwhelming information network.
That alone was said to be enough to compete on an equal footing with the world’s renowned large guilds, not just in Korea.
That was why what she had just heard was all the more shocking.
“Is it… because he’s from the slums that the investigation is difficult? But with the Hunting Alliance, even that should be more than enough…”
“No. That’s not the problem. Rather, we were able to uncover all of the man’s activities from his upbringing in the slums to his arrival at the boot camp in less than a day. However.”
Kim Jae-han sighed deeply and continued.
“From his birth to his first ‘discovery’ in the slums… that entire period is a blank slate. I couldn’t find out anything even after mobilizing all the means at my disposal.”
“…Did he fall from the sky or something…?”
“I actually think there’s a higher probability of that being true.”
Seeing Kim Jae-han’s dejected reply, Seo Ah-in immediately shut her mouth.
The more she dug into that man, the more suspicious points seemed to emerge.
She had thought that if she handed it over to them, her questions would be resolved to some extent.
This, what on earth.
“…”
“…”
A silence fell between the two for a while.
After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, while Seo Ah-in continued to keep her mouth shut, Kim Jae-han opened his.
“But, young lady. There is one thing I would like to ask.”
“Yes?”
“What do you think of that man?”
What was this all of a sudden?
Seo Ah-in blinked blankly again and asked back.
“Why so suddenly…?”
“Well… for one, he’s a man whose intentions I can’t figure out at all. I’d like to ask for the opinion of the young lady who spends time with him up close.”
Hearing that, a bitter smile appeared on Seo Ah-in’s face.
“Can’t figure out his intentions… that’s certainly true.”
In fact, she couldn’t even remember how many times she had been tricked by that man.
It had been like that from the moment they first met at the graduation exam.
No, thinking about it made her angry.
Seo Ah-in decided to list the characteristics related to that man that came to her mind.
“He’s not just black-hearted, he has a rotten personality too.”
“…Is that so?”
“On top of that, he’s a bit… petty. And he’s often annoying when he talks. Also…”
And as she listed one or two, it later turned into a mountain of slander, so much so that Kim Jae-han, who had brought it up first, was flustered.
But, for the most part, how should I put it.
Most of them were things that would sound strange to the listener.
“You seem to get along well with that man, young lady.”
“Where do you see that?!”
“Well. It sounds like you stick around him often enough to know so much about him.”
“…”
Huh.
Does it turn out that way.
Come to think of it, she felt like she had always been with this man recently.
The hostility she had felt when they first met at the boot camp had long since been greatly diluted.
How did it end up like this?
As Seo Ah-in was pondering that, Kim Jae-han on the other side opened his mouth with a serious face.
“Young lady. Do not get too close to that man.”
“…What?”
“Of course, I am also well aware of the ‘value’ that man possesses… but there are too many concerning parts. It’s possible he approached the young lady with impure intentions…”
Kim Jae-han, who had spoken up to that point, immediately shut his mouth.
It was because he had seen Seo Ah-in’s expression.
“…He’s not that kind of person. Mr. Kim Gyu-sik.”
She answered in a stiff tone, and then sighed and continued.
“I’ll take care of that myself.”
“Young lady.”
“Thank you for your hard work. I’ll contact you again next time.”
Seo Ah-in, who said that, immediately shot up from her seat.
As she left the pub without looking back, a faint voice escaped her lips.
“…Annoying.”
At the same time as those words passed through her vocal cords and reached her ears, she flinched and stopped walking.
‘Huh.’
I’m annoyed right now.
She hadn’t even realized it herself until she said it out loud.
‘…Why? Why am I annoyed?’
It was strange.
When she was told to keep her distance from that man just now, a flash of annoyed anger had welled up.
Why did she feel that?
Logically speaking, there was nothing wrong with Kim Jae-han’s words.
Moreover, the subject of the conversation was that detestable man.
“…”
Thanks to her deep contemplation on that topic, Seo Ah-in only realized much later that she had wandered deep into an alleyway.
If it weren’t for the obviously gloomy and dark atmosphere, she wouldn’t have noticed it at all.
“…Ugh.”
She hated this kind of atmosphere.
I have to go back quickly.
Thinking that, Seo Ah-in immediately tried to turn around.
The reason it was ‘tried to’ was because something she couldn’t possibly ignore had touched her skin.
The lingering scent of mana.
Very, very familiar.
Two patterns, and both belonged to people she knew.
“…Mr. Kim Gyu-sik.”
She knew one, and the other one was.
“Sister?”
She muttered, looking as if she had lost her mind.