TRWAHD 05

Chapter 05

The scene could only be described as utter chaos.

There, the Yeti lay with a hole through its neck.

*’I really took that thing down.’*

An F-class Hunter who had taken down a D-class monster, standing nearly 3 meters tall.

If the Association found out, it would be an immediate investigation.

*’And I can’t exactly tell them about Cheonhwi-nim either…’*

I couldn’t even begin to guess how many days the investigation would take.

At a time when every second counted for my revenge and curse breaking,

I couldn’t afford to waste time on such nonsense.

*’I need to hide it somehow…’*

*-Tudeudeuk.*

A small sound reached my ears.

“What’s that sound…”

What could possibly make a sound from the half-destroyed convenience store?

There was one person.

The one who always caused trouble.

The one who claimed to be a D-class Hunter and completely looked down on me, an F-class Hunter.

*’Right. That bastard was here?!’*

He could take responsibility for this troublesome situation in my place.

With a smile forming on my lips, I headed over there.

Arriving at the source of the sound,

I saw Choi Jin-ho lying on top of the convenience store goods.

Still motionless with his eyes closed.

*’Look at this bastard?’*

His eyelids were twitching.

And his belly was rising and falling as he breathed.

Yet he was pretending to be unconscious.

*-Tuk. Tuk.*

I nudged him with my foot.

“…”

Choi Jin-ho gave no response.

So I crouched down beside him and whispered in his ear.

“I know you’re awake. Get up while I’m being nice.”

As soon as I finished speaking,

Choi Jin-ho’s eyes flew open and he answered.

“Yes! Yo… you called?”

He was so nervous he even stuttered.

I tapped his stiff neck and asked.

“Why are you so nervous? Scared?”

“Ah! No… not at all!”

“You were so informal before. Why the sudden formal speech?”

Choi Jin-ho heaved his heavy body up and prostrated himself.

*’He moves fast for that body.’*

“I’m sorry! I didn’t recognize you, Hunter-nim, and I made a mistake.”

“You’re a Hunter too, aren’t you?”

“I’m nowhere near someone like you, Hunter-nim.”

“Hunter-nim? Did you see? Me taking down the Yeti?”

“I didn’t see anything.”

If he didn’t see anything,

why would this arrogant bastard suddenly act like this?

“Really?”

As our eyes met, Choi Jin-ho began to sweat like rain.

His pupils were shaking violently.

“I’m sorry! Please… just spare my life!”

“You think I’m going to kill you?”

“Because you’re… an unregistered individual. Aren’t you going to kill me to keep your secret?”

He mistook me for one of those who commit crimes by falsifying their identity or grade.

*’So that’s why he’s being so respectful.’*

Since he was acting this way, I saw no reason to clear up the misunderstanding.

“What should I do with you?”

“Just tell me anything. I’ll do anything you say. Just please let me live. I’ll keep your secret too.”

“Are you really willing to do anything?”

*-Huuk. Huuk.*

Choi Jin-ho’s head bobbed up and down rapidly.

“Yes! Just say the word and I’ll do it.”

Good.

If he was that desperate,

it was only right for me to give him a task myself.

“You take responsibility for this.”

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

“That thing. Make it so you were the one who did it.”

I pointed with my chin toward the Yeti’s corpse.

Seeing it, Choi Jin-ho nodded as if understanding.

“Yes! I understand. I’ll say I did it.”

If I left all the cleanup to Choi Jin-ho, the heat wouldn’t come to me.

But even if some did come my way, it wouldn’t matter.

*’An F-class killing a Yeti is a less believable rumor than a D-class doing it.’*

As I was about to get up, I looked down at Choi Jin-ho, still stuck to the floor, and spoke.

“Oh! Give me your Hunter ID and number.”

“Yes. Ah? That’s…”

“The bounty and magic stones will come, right? Were you planning to take them?”

“No, sir! Of course I’ll give you everything.”

Choi Jin-ho hurriedly pulled out his Hunter ID from his pocket and handed it to me.

I examined the ID I received.

[Grade: D]

*’He really is a D-class.’*

Considering his actions when faced with the Yeti, it was hard to believe,

but the ID proved his grade.

However, the numbers below it made me doubt my eyes.

“Hey. Are you really 22?”

“Yes. That’s right…”

I looked back and forth between the photo on the ID and his face.

No matter how I looked at it, the age didn’t make sense.

He looked well over 30, yet he was only 22.

*’I never imagined he’d be two years younger than me.’*

To be honest, even while speaking informally earlier, I had felt a slight pang of guilt.

Because he looked older than me.

But in this situation, using formal speech felt a bit awkward.

If he was younger than me, I didn’t need to feel any guilt.

“Why… why do you ask?”

“Did you not eat well as a kid?”

“Ah. How did you know? My mom used to give me stuff from some strange place when I was young, saying it was good for me…”

Was that true?

I’d doubted it because his appearance didn’t match his age.

*’That makes it a little more believable.’*

I cut off Choi Jin-ho’s rambling.

“Never mind. Your number.”

“Yes. 010…”

After getting his contact info, I walked toward one side of the convenience store and said.

“I was just an employee here. Don’t say anything strange.”

“Yes! Of course. But what are you doing over there…”

*-Tuk. Tuk.*

I started searching through the debris.

Specifically, the CCTV storage device.

It was the only evidence that I had hunted the Yeti.

“I need to get rid of the evidence.”

How could I completely destroy it?

After a moment’s thought, one thing came to mind.

The concrete fragment that had crumbled into dust.

*’He said that time I used Refine, I was touching the foundation, right?’*

*-Tadadak.*

I could now feel people approaching, even I could sense their presence.

“Refine!”

Magic quickly flowed from my hand into the storage device.

*-Pajijik.*

Soon, sparks flew and smoke billowed.

*-Pagagak.*

Then, I heard a sound of breaking from inside.

*’Done.’*

Now all evidence was gone.

All that was left was for that old-looking bastard to handle things properly.

“They’re coming. Do it right. You know what happens if you make a mistake, right?”

“Yes! I’ll keep that in mind.”

*-Tadadak.*

“What the?! It’s already been dealt with?”

“Already? By who?”

People arrived one by one.

They paid no attention to the half-destroyed convenience store.

They only looked at the Yeti and talked.

“Oh! This is a one-hit kill!”

“What’s the big deal? I could take down a Yeti like that in one hit too.”

“Hah… You? That’s hilarious.”

“What?! You bastard!”

Those who had come to deal with the monster

were acting like a bunch of thugs.

At that moment, a single cold remark froze the surroundings.

“Quiet.”

“…”

In an instant, those who had been chattering fell silent.

As an awkward and heavy air settled around us,

*-Poljjak.*

Cheonhwi nestled into my arms.

[That one over there is at least decent. From the flow of his energy, he’s a talent worthy of reaching the pinnacle.]

*’Pinnacle? What’s that supposed to mean?’*

He always spat out unfamiliar and alien words.

With all eyes around, I couldn’t ask now.

*’I should ask him to explain the terminology at least once.’*

The one who seemed to be the leader approached me and Choi Jin-ho and spoke.

“I’m Park Soo-ho, Team Leader of Association Response Team 3.”

A brief introduction.

Then, glancing at the Yeti’s corpse, he continued.

“Who took down that Yeti?”

At his words, I subtly nudged the frozen Choi Jin-ho.

*-Tok.*

“Ah! Yes. It was me.”

“Please verify your identity.”

At his request, Choi Jin-ho presented his Hunter ID.

“D-class Hunter Choi Jin-ho?”

“Yes.”

“Then, what about this person?”

Feeling his gaze on me, I immediately gave my prepared answer.

“I’m an employee here.”

After looking around at my words, he nodded and said.

“Contact the owner. And the cleanup team will come to sort out the surroundings.”

Having said his piece, he turned to walk away but stopped.

Then he stared fixedly at me.

[Hah. How absurd. How dare he stare at this Venerable One.]

His gaze wasn’t aimed at me, but at Cheonhwi in my arms.

*’Did he notice this isn’t an ordinary cat?’*

The tense standoff continued,

but he turned his body away and called out.

“Search the area for any remaining monsters.”

“Yes!”

At his command, the other Hunters moved quickly.

*-Teolseok.*

“I thought I was going to die from the chills.”

Choi Jin-ho sat down heavily and lamented.

I couldn’t understand how someone like that could be a higher-ranked D-class Hunter than me.

Ignoring him, I called the store owner.

A short while later.

The owner came running, out of breath.

His hair was disheveled, and despite it being winter, he wore only a thin padding over his pajamas.

He seemed to have rushed over in quite a hurry.

“Huff. Hah.”

“You’re here?”

“Min-woo. What on earth happened here?”

“Because of the monster…”

Before I could finish,

the owner saw the half-destroyed convenience store and gaped.

“Ah… No!”

Thus, the owner’s wail broke the silent dawn.

I carefully approached the owner, who seemed half in a daze.

“Boss? … Are you okay?”

Having somewhat calmed down,

the owner grabbed my shoulder and asked.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

“Good. I’m glad you’re okay. For now, go home and rest. I’ll contact you later.”

“Okay.”

Leaving the owner behind, staring blankly at the ruined store, I headed home.

—

*-Bogeulbogeul.*

Ramen boiling for a meal.

Once it was done,

I sat down immediately and turned on the TV.

Seeing it, Cheonhwi bristled all over and shouted.

“Kyaaak! What is that box?! How are people trapped inside it?!”

“It’s a TV? People appear on it because it’s a broadcast.”

“Broadcast? What sorcery is that?!”

“Hah…”

A sigh escaped me.

Where to even begin explaining this?

I couldn’t even begin to guess.

“Just think of it as a video taken from far away appearing here.”

“Video?”

“Ah! Forget it. Just think of it as it is.”

“How dare you speak to this Venerable One like that!”

Ignoring Cheonhwi hissing at me, I turned up the TV volume.

[Today at approximately 3:10 AM, an unexpected Gate surge occurred in the middle of a city in Gyeonggi Province, with about 10 monsters attacking the city center.]

“Gate surge? What is that?”

At some point, Cheonhwi had stopped hissing and was sitting beside me, watching the news.

“In simple terms, monsters just popped out.”

“Those magical beasts?”

“Yes.”

“Dealing with those beasts is easy enough, so why all this commotion?”

“Because it can happen anytime, anywhere.”

“Anytime?”

“Yes. That’s why civilians die defenselessly.”

[Due to this Gate surge, there have been 6 civilian deaths and 20 seriously injured, totaling about 50 casualties.]

“Many have died from those mere beasts.”

“Yeah. The damage is bigger than I thought.”

There were no casualties from the Yeti that appeared at the convenience store,

but it seemed other places had suffered considerable damage.

The casualty count was higher than expected.

*-Ririririririri.*

At that moment, my phone rang.

[Old-looking D-class Hunter]

“Hello.”

“Hyung-nim. The bounty came in, so I called.”

“Already?”

“Yes. Just give me your account number and I’ll send it right away.”

“No. Withdraw it all in cash.”

“In cash?”

“Come to the convenience store. Bring the magic stones too.”

“You mean now?”

“Then when were you planning to give it?”

“Understood. I’ll be right there.”

“Yeah.”

*-Ddu. Ddu.*

Fascinated by the conversation,

Cheonhwi, who had been observing me silently, asked.

“Is that the pathetic one?”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

Leaving the empty pot in the sink, I started getting ready to go out.

“Where are you going?”

“Now that I have some starting capital, I need to go prepare to make real money.”

With the convenience store closed due to the Gate surge, my regular income was cut off.

And the money I needed now was a whopping 10 billion won.

Money wouldn’t just fall from the sky by sitting around.

I had to get moving and earn it myself.

Besides, I had that small, cute little cat with me.

With him, I could sweep up all the money.

Let’s go.

Time to make some money.