Chapter 29 - Black Dragon Party (1)
“Are you meeting my sister often these days?”
A question came from Seo Ah-in, who was sitting in the seat across from me.
It was a long-awaited vacation from the guild, so I had dragged this girl out to the city with me.
She had been gearing up to say something for a while, and it seemed this was what she wanted to ask.
“What?”
“I keep feeling my sister’s mana around you lately. I think you were together just a little while ago too.”
“Are you stalking me or something?”
Seo Ah-in sent me a pathetic look.
I felt like it was meant to say that being that self-conscious was a sickness.
“Stop with the nonsense and just answer me. Are you hanging out with my sister these days?”
“Yeah.”
I answered simply, and Seo Ah-in blinked, as if she hadn't expected to get an answer so easily.
“You asked, so why are you reacting like that?”
“Because my sister always kept everything she did a secret from me. So I thought Mr. Kim Gyu-sik would also make excuses.”
“Uh. I’m not going to tell you what we’re meeting for either.”
In fact, it was all things I could tell her.
But Seo Hye-in had asked me not to tell her sister about her if possible.
That person wanted Seo Ah-in not to be interested in her if possible.
I knew very well why that was.
“…I thought so.”
Of course, seeing her collapse onto the table and mutter, it was clear that she didn't know that at all.
But seeing her whole voice steeped in fatigue, there seemed to be other reasons as well.
“Are you very tired?”
As soon as I said that, she shot me a look as if she would kill me.
“…I’m making the thing you asked for with Mr. Yoo Ho-jun every day at the dorm. Thanks to that, we’re dying.”
“I asked for that because it has its use. Our dwarf blacksmith has more urgent matters.”
“You say it as if we’re people who can be ground down however you want…?”
It’s roughly similar.
“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize if you don’t mean it. If you tell me about my sister, I’ll forgive you.”
“Why are you even curious about that?”
“…I don’t know. Mr. Kim Gyu-sik, you’re an idiot.”
The girl, who muttered bluntly, sipped the coffee placed in front of her.
Then she looked at the cup with wide eyes.
“What is this. Where on earth did you buy this?”
They were just drinks that cost a few thousand won that I had gotten for takeout from a nearby cafe.
Could it be that her palate was so refined that she couldn’t possibly eat it?
“Why? Is it bad?”
“I’ve never tasted anything that looks this bad for my body before!”
It’s so delicious!
Seo Ah-in, who left that impression, then shoved the straw into her mouth with a terrifying force.
“…”
Right.
I’m glad it suits your taste.
‘By the way…’
I had just asked why she was curious, but considering that this girl had been having various doubts about me since the Tower, it wasn't that strange.
Apart from her curiosity about what her sister was up to, she was probably digging into my background here and there through Mr. Kim Jae-han by now.
It would probably be difficult for someone at Mr. Kim Jae-han’s level to find out right away, but if I waited for some time, there would surely be results.
Well.
‘I’d be grateful if they did that for me.’
Because.
There was something that had always been bothering me since I fell into the world of Conqueror.
[ Kim Gyu-sik ]
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“…”
Every time I see this window, all I can do is sigh.
Originally, it was a window with a simple introduction of the character, but now it was in this state.
The problem was that I still didn't know how this had been reflected in this world.
‘Surely…’
There were a few ‘changes’ I could guess. Even if I found out exactly how this was applied later, it wouldn't deviate much from that category.
And whichever way it had changed.
If I could just ‘maximize’ it, they would surely be things I could roll to my great advantage.
So, for now, I just had to wait slowly for them to bring back the results.
“By the way, what have you been doing since earlier?”
As I was thinking that, Seo Ah-in asked, resting her chin on the table.
Why? What’s the problem?
“Isn’t it harder to find something that’s not a problem…?”
She said, looking at the things I was diligently tending to.
Small firearms, a one-handed longsword, magitech defensive equipment, and other various gear.
It was a heavy armament, at a level where you could go to war by yourself if you wore it all.
They were things I had received from Ironclad a little while ago.
As expected of a legendary blacksmith, he had whipped up this much by himself in that old workshop.
“You’ve been doing that all the time these days, and now you’re doing it in the middle of the street, so everyone is staring…”
Seo Ah-in pointed out with a sigh.
Indeed, the people passing by were all glancing at me, then flinching and retreating upon seeing the Climber license I was wearing on my chest.
Basically, to ordinary people, each and every Climber felt like something from the heavens, so they couldn't say anything even if I looked so suspicious.
“Besides, that’s not even standard Climber equipment…”
“Uh. I know.”
As she said, since Climbers were a profession that beat up Demonic Beasts, they mostly preferred heavy things.
The things I was wearing now, well.
They were optimized for catching people rather than Demonic Beasts.
“But right now, I need this more than that.”
“…Where would you use that?”
As soon as Seo Ah-in said that, a sudden commotion arose around us.
The sound of something exploding. The sound of people screaming.
Seo Ah-in, who had been sitting still and sipping her coffee, was also startled and jumped up as loud explosions erupted in succession.
I smirked at her and told her.
“Over there.”
“…”
“Lead the civilians away appropriately. I brought you out to do that.”
I said, storing the armaments.
“W-wait a minute! Then Mr. Kim Gyu-sik…!”
This girl.
She still worries even after seeing what I do.
“…Ah, come to think of it, it’s meaningless for me to worry about you.”
Seo Ah-in, who said that, nodded and disappeared in a flash.
“…”
No.
It was good that she now moved as I asked without any further explanation of the situation.
But it did feel a bit strange.
‘Let’s see…’
First of all, this situation itself was an encounter with a long tradition in the game.
Among the people sitting at the top of the Hunting Alliance, there were many who were very keen on their own interests.
If you got on the wrong side of those people, bad things would happen like this.
‘Still, I don’t want to get friendly with them.’
How should I put it.
Almost everyone there… was a dirty person.
It was hard to say that Seo Hye-in was perfectly clean, but at least she had room for extenuating circumstances.
On the other hand, the faction opposite Seo Hye-in were trash to the point where it would be rude to even compare her to them.
‘In the first place…’
The first event that happened when you built up a hostile relationship with them was them sending a hitman your way without any hesitation.
You could tell their level just by the fact that they would casually try to kill someone just because they were displeased.
‘In that case…’
Surely, the guys who came out around this time…
“Sinner Kim Gyu-sik! The day of judgment has dawned! Come and receive the blade of repentance!”
“…”
It was impressive every time I heard it.
How could he say such things in the middle of the street without blinking an eye.
Thinking that, I stood up from my seat.
I deliberately moved to a deserted place.
I would have a big fight with those guys anyway, but it was more convenient to fight in a place where no one would get caught in the crossfire.
And as I entered a dark alley, guys in black light armor and masks appeared one by one from the surroundings.
Right.
They looked exactly like Japanese ninjas.
But what they were doing was setting off bombs in broad daylight and swinging swords.
What a bizarre mismatch.
At least, seeing them each striking a pose on top of a building, they seemed to be reasonably faithful to their concept.
“Sinner Kim Gyu-sik, listen! Your heinous crime-”
And the sentence of the guy who was about to continue was immediately cut off.
It was because I had just emptied a whole magazine of bullets into his body.
“--!!”
The guy, who was letting out a strange scream that was hard to believe was human, soon flipped over to the other side of the building he had been standing on.
It was a bullet that Ironclad had put his heart and soul into making. A lightning type attribute bullet.
A current that would be more than enough to stun him upon impact probably flowed through his entire body.
In anti-personnel combat, not against Demonic Beasts, there were few things as effective for suppression as this.
“…”
“…”
A sense of bewilderment was felt from the other subordinates who saw their leader collapse and fall to the floor with a slither.
“Sorry. I’m not a big fan of concept-freaks.”
I reloaded the pistol I had just fired with a deep sigh.
As a bonus, I activated the magitech equipment, prepared the longsword, and got the other gear ready for use.
The reason I had asked Ironclad to prepare such deadly equipment was because I had to produce a perfect result in this battle.
If you crushed these guys in the game… a rather special event would open.
In that respect.
“Well, I’m not going to kill you, so…”
I continued with a smirk.
“Just say hi to your boss for me.”
Once again, the pistol spat fire.
***
“Everyone, thank you for your hard work.”
Seo Hye-in’s voice, after finishing the regular meeting, was unusually bright.
It was because her reputation within the guild had particularly improved thanks to her good handling of the demi-human slave case she had received a little while ago.
She didn't have a particular need for recognition from others, but at least she was quite proud of the fact that she had made good use of the opportunity she had ‘received’.
‘…Mr. Kim Gyu-sik.’
Thinking of the name that she had been recalling often lately, Seo Hye-in walked slowly down the corridor with a blank expression.
It was a name of a person she had only known for a short time, but one who had continuously brought her huge benefits as soon as she kept him nearby.
At first, even her close aides, who had questioned why she was so keen on recruiting an F-grade when there were other promising prospects, had now all changed their opinions.
‘This guy is the seed of a big shot. We must tie him to us.’
‘Hey, you were just calling him a mere F-grade last time, what’s with you now…’
‘A person can make mistakes, you punk.’
Seo Hye-in’s lips twitched as she recalled the conversation that had taken place at the regular meeting today.
See. What did I say last time?
She had known he was such a talent from the moment she was first introduced to him by Kim Jae-han, so she said.
‘…Oops.’
Seo Hye-in hurriedly managed her expression, realizing that her current appearance would surely look foolish to others.
Compared to the intellectual and cool-headed appearance she showed in front of others, she often exposed this side of herself when she was alone.
Especially after her younger sister had gone to a minor guild, which was no different from a place of exile, due to ‘family circumstances’.
“…”
As she recalled her younger sister’s face, a reflexive strictness appeared on her expression.
At least, it was a proposition engraved in her like a conditioned reflex.
She must always be composed in front of her younger sister.
It was something she had been educated on to the point of her bones and flesh being ground down by her ‘mother’.
Well, maintaining such an expression usually had its various advantages.
For example, being able to majestically caution an employee who was staring intently at their phone in the corridor.
“It’s working hours now. What are you doing.”
“Wha-!”
The employee, startled by someone speaking from behind, jumped up.
And upon realizing the speaker was Seo Hye-in, his face instantly turned pale.
“D-Director?! I’m sorry!”
“…Be careful next time.”
When he started trembling this much, it made her feel sorry for saying anything.
Besides, if he was this afraid of her, it made her a little downhearted too.
What.
She just gave a warning, and he was treating her almost like a ghost.
She didn’t even speak scary.
She grumbled inwardly and passed by.
To be precise, she was about to.
If the video on the screen of the phone the employee was hastily putting away hadn’t suddenly caught her eye.
“…Wait a minute. What is that?”
“Pardon?”
The employee, who was flustered by the sudden question, soon came to his senses and began to explain.
“Ah, there’s a sudden commotion in the middle of the city. They say some ninja-like guys in black clothes are fighting one person in broad daylight. Someone is uploading a live video of it.”
“…”
Ninjas in black clothes.
It was a characteristic she was well aware of.
Heukryongdang (Black Dragon Party).
A notorious clandestine organization that undertook assassination requests for anyone as long as they were paid.
They were guys who would often kill people in broad daylight and disappear, so their recognition among the public was quite high.
And despite that recognition, the skills of their members were quite outstanding, enough that they hadn't been ‘purged’ yet.
Another poor victim would increase this time.
She sighed inwardly, thinking that.
So.
“But the quality is bad, so I don’t know who this person is, but he’s pushing them in a one-on-many fight. This is no ordinary skill, this is?”
She couldn't help but be surprised when she heard this.
“…Pardon?”
Pushing them in a one-on-many fight against the Heukryongdang?
That was a feat that even a high-grade Climber would find quite difficult.
At least, if there were people who could do that, there was a high possibility that she would have heard the news as soon as they were attacked.
Was there someone that skilled that she had missed?
Seo Hye-in tilted her head and briefly took the employee’s phone.
The flustered employee handed it over, and after watching the screen playing there for a moment.
Her expression became strange.
That was because the ‘usage pattern’ of mana felt in the video was somehow…
Familiar.
No, no matter what.
It was impossible for a current F-grade Climber to do such a thing.
Could it be.
‘Mr. Kim Gyu-sik…?’