Chapter 54

54. Group C

“…”

Ko Byeong-gap only moved his eyes and glanced sideways. Jang Yong-il was lying down with his eyes turned upside down. He seemed to have fainted.

“Ack! You… child! Who’s going to kill who?”

Jo Gwang-heon staggered to his feet.

‘He must’ve broken his neck, but he’s not giving up at all.’

Honestly, he was impressed. His eyes were alive even in that intimidating situation.

‘Even though he’s a psychopath, he has excellent qualities as a warrior.’

Ko Byeong-gap didn’t disperse the tension at all.

To do your best when catching a rabbit wasn’t a cliche story. The being in front of him was a predator at the top of the food chain. It would be arrogance if he let his guard down.

He calmed down and took a stance. The tip of his sword moved gently like a fox’s tail.

‘I’ll finish this as soon as possible.’

Pot!

“Huh?”

Ko Byeong-gap literally moved like lightning. With a swing of his sword, he narrowed the distance in an instant. The blade quickly aimed for his neck.

Jo Gwang-heon responded half a beat later.

“That was fast, but I’ve dealt with attacks like this before!”

Jo Gwang-heon quickly armed himself with Karma that surrounded him from head to toe and formed a shield stronger than any other armor.

A live attack that didn’t carry that kind of Karma could easily…

Huh?!

‘No, it’s gonna go through!’

Just before the blade touched his neck, Jo Gwang-heon could tell by instinct the fact that that blade would cut through the barrier and rip off his neck.

He quickly pulled himself out. However, it was after the blade had already passed by.

Shing!

“Keeek! Ack!”

“Did you move your neck at the last minute to minimize the damage? What animal instinct! But I guess the finish was a bit clumsy, right?”

About 30 percent of Jo Gwang-heon’s neck fell off. His skin was torn off along with a broken neck bone. It wasn’t unusual for his head to fall off at any time.

“You, you!”

Jo Gwang-heon sat down and glared at Ko Byeong-gap as if he planned to kill him. Only anger and fear remained on his playful face.

‘My Karma’s been breached? Against the raw attack of a low-level awakener?’

Jo Gwang-heon couldn’t believe it at all. Wasn’t he a regular porter?

‘… His Karma is bad. Needless to say, he’s a low-level awakener, but what the hell is that power?’

That was the case from the very beginning. No matter how careless he was, and if he wasn’t ready for battle, it wasn’t like his neck would be broken by the kick of a lower awakener.

Moreover, the earlier blow was obviously a high-level attack.

‘Damn it! I shouldn’t have been attacked in the first place!’

His neck injury was serious. It would’ve been really dangerous if he didn’t get treatment right away since he slowly struggled to breathe.

‘Let’s leave for now.’

Jo Gwang-heon made such a pledge and moved secretly. He concentrated the Karma in his body to his lower body.

In a split second, Jo Gwang-heon kicked the ground and ran.

‘I don’t know what kind of magic he used, but he can’t keep up with my speed without the help of Karma—!’

“Are you going to run away?”

“What?! Argh!”

The blade cut across Jo Gwang-heon’s back and tore off his skin, and his blood gushed like a fountain.

“Ugh! Ugh!”

Jo Gwang-heon fell on the floor and struggled like an overturned turtle.

Ko Byeong-gap stepped on the man’s abdomen, held it firmly, and raised his sword.

“Oh, stop! Don’t!”

“It’s amazing. Why do you look so upset?”

“It was a joke! It was just a joke!”

“Didn’t you ever think that a stone thrown as a joke is still a thrown stone?”

“Oh, no, I was just trying to scare him. I really didn’t mean to kill him!”

“What a load of shit.”

Ko Byeong-gap stabbed his sword.

“If I die…!” At that moment, Jo Gwang-heon screamed.

The sword, which fell sharply, stopped.

“I’m not like you guys! If I die, people will go looking for me right away! Then, they will soon find out that you’re the culprit—”

“Don’t worry. Your body will never be found anywhere else in the world.”

“What, what?”

Ko Byeong-gap wiped his nose and swung his sword again. That time, he was really going to end it.

“Okay, that’s it.”

Tuck!

‘… Feet?’

Before Ko Byeong-gap could cut his neck, the blade was blocked by a foot. He frowned and looked to his side. There stood Jeong Seon-kyung, Song Han-gil, and Shim Seung-seop.

‘When the hell did they get here? I didn’t even notice.’

It was similar that time, even as they stood beside him. He didn’t feel a trace of them, so it felt like he was facing a ghost.

Ko Byeong-gap turned his head again and looked at his sword.

‘It was a blow with all my will, but she blocked it with only the back of her foot without a single scratch?’

“Oh, that’s bitter! Here.”

When Jeong Seon-kyung bounced her foot, the sword soared. Ko Byeong-gap almost missed the handle.

“Ko Byeong-gap. You really wanted to kill him?”

“… When did you come?”

“Ko Byeong-gap, have you ever killed a man?” Jeong Seon-kyung replied vaguely.

She smiled softly, but he didn’t feel the slightest pleasure. Rather, there was an overwhelming amount of energy that came from her.

She had never felt that heavy as much as she did when she hunted monsters. Ko Byeong-gap instinctively widened their distance.

“What are you going to do?”

“Don’t get me wrong. I’m not angry because of you.”

Jeong Seon-kyung looked down at Jo Gwang-heon while she said that. Her eyes were very cold. She looked at him as if she was looking at a pest.

“Jo Gwang-heon, I knew you were a bad guy, but I didn’t know you were this bad.”

“Sa… Save…”

“I’ll save you. Yeah, you have to live.”

Jeong Seon-kyung bit her cigarette and looked at Ko Byeong-gap.

“Ko Byeong-gap. It’s not about killing people recklessly.”

“He’s not a man by my standards.”

“Oh, that’s not a good idea. You are not the center of this world.”

“…”

“And you… No matter how crazy you are, he’s a member of the same roof.”

Ko Byeong-gap took a moment and soon recovered his sword.

To kill Jo Gwang-heon was already out of the question. There were three S-rated hunters before him.

Instead, Ko Byeong-gap asked with a bit of anger, “Since when have you been watching?”

“From the beginning.”

“From the beginning? Damn it! If you were watching from the beginning, why didn’t you help? Mr. Yongil almost died!”

“Calm down, Mr. Byeong-gap. There was a good reason.”

“What? Why?”

“You can’t just go out without thinking.”

“Then you mean someone should have paid the price?”

“Hey, Ko Byeong-gap. We were going to step up, but what could we do when you suddenly jumped out and fought?”

“Hik! Hik! Save… Save me…”

“Ugh. This bastard is going to run out of breath.”

Jeong Seon-kyung took a potion bottle out of her arms. It was an elixir, the best potion.

She fed Jo Gwang-heon very little elixir. She also sprinkled a drop or two on his injury, and he recovered just enough to avoid death.

“Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!” Jo Gwang-heon gasped like a newborn foal.

“Hey, Jo Gwang-heon. You can hear me because you’re not out of your mind yet, right?”

“Urgh…” He nodded.

“Listen, we caught you trying to kill an ally. Then, you ran away in defiance. We were forced to fight you, and in the process, you were almost decapitated. Don’t forget to remember.”

“What?”

“You will be thoroughly expelled from our society, as well as the Guild and the Hunter Alliance. You’ll end up in a prison camp because of your attempted murder.”

“A… A camp?”

“Yes, just rot for about fifty years.”

Jo Gwang-heon’s face was filled with despair.

It was natural punishment for a crime committed by a hunter. In particular, serious crimes such as murder and rape were severely punished. There was no goodwill for them.

Criminals sentenced to death or life imprisonment entered a special correctional facility called a camp. It was a place like hell from which there was absolutely no escape.

Once they got in, they wouldn’t be able to come out until they were a crooked old man. Even if they managed to come out, it was highly likely that their life had already been ruined.

“Woo, don’t be ridiculous! What did I do? Yeah, show the evidence! Do you have proof?”

“Is this rotten bastard still out of his mind? Do we look like crabs? There are a few eyes here.”

“Huh… If you take it off, that’s all of you have. If you don’t have any physical evidence, then…”

“Seung-seop, please show us.” Song Han-gil said to Shim Seung-seop.

Shim Seung-seop showed his cell phone with a face that seemed to die of boredom. Cell phones were prohibited items that couldn’t be carried during operations.

When he looked at his cell phone, Jo Gwang-heon was astonished.

A video of the scene where Jo Gwang-heon assaulted Jang Yong-il played on his phone.

“Uh… How…”

“Ko Byeong-gap.”

“Uh, yes.”

“I’m taking this scum down and handing him over myself. So don’t worry about this guy’s disposal.”

“… Okay.”

“Huh! He tried to kill me too! I’m a victim, too!” Jo Gwang-heon struggled to the end.

The video was cut off just in time. The video didn’t show Ko Byeong-gap knocking down Jo Gwang-heon.

Jeong Seon-kyung laughed out loud and said, “Why are you making a fuss when you don’t have proof?”

“You’ve seen it!”

“What do you mean? I didn’t see anything? Did you see anything?”

“What? No. I’ve only seen that person trying to kill Yong-il.”

Jeong Seon-kyung trembled without a blink. Song Han-gil also responded appropriately.

“Sigh, can I go now?”

“Yes, Seung-seop. You can go now. Thank you for your help.”

“Don’t call me for something like this in the future.”

Shim Seung-seop left without expressing any emotion.

“That’s absurd…”

“You can go around saying you almost died against D-class hunters. Who’s going to believe you?”

“Huh, he’s a D-class? What a load of crap!”

“Oh my God, why is the dog barking like this?”

“Hik!”

Jeong Seon-kyung put her finger on Jo Gwang-heon’s forehead. Afterward, she shot a short shock wave of Karma, then Jo Gwang-heon’s eyes rolled back and he fainted.

The case was over. Jeong Seon-kyung sneaked up on Ko Byeong-gap and playfully poked him in the side.

“Ah. This is the vibe that comes from experience. To get the job done, you have to be certain. Did you think you would be good at everything if you roughly pluck the seedlings and ask them?”

“Since we even filmed a video, the punishment of Jo Gwang-heon will be unavoidable. Rest assured, Mr. Byeong-gap.”

Ko Byeong-gap was a bit puzzled. In fact, Jo Gwang-heon and himself were the same in trying to commit murder, but the group turned a blind eye to it.

Ko Byeong-gap felt unbearable curiosity and asked, “Why are you taking my side? And so does Han-gil.”

“Hm? Looking at him upsets me. Hey, isn’t this what a team is for? This is the time to help.”

“Yes, Byeong-gap almost made a mistake, but it ended well, didn’t it? That’s good enough.”

“This son of a bitch is trash, so let’s say you threw him in the trash can. That makes you a good guy, we can’t shove you in the trash.”

Song Han-gil bounded Jo Gwang-heon’s limbs tightly. After that, he slumped him on his shoulder. Ko Byeong-gap carried Jang Yong-il around him.

The three went back to their camp.

“But Ko Byeong-gap, you’re a bit strong, aren’t you?

“…”

“I thought you were weak, but then I saw it. Heh heh.”

“Right… I never thought that you would have a hidden power.”

The two of them… No, including Shim Seung-seop. The three clearly witnessed the power of Ko Byeong-gap, and yet, they didn’t ask much.

“Aren’t you going to ask?”

“What?”

“Aren’t you going to ask how I got that kind of power?”

“What the… is that a big deal? You must have something different from others. Why? Should I be curious?”

“No. It’s not like that.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

Jeong Seon-kyung clicked her tongue while she snapped her fingers.

“Hey, if you want to get my attention, don’t show off. Find another way. That’s not how you buy my attention.”

“…”

“I’m a little curious. How did you do that? At first glance, it didn’t seem like your Karma was being abnormally amplified.”

“That…” He was speechless when she asked.

Song Han-gil quickly waved his hands as Ko Byeong-gap blurred out his words.

“If you don’t want to talk, you don’t have to. If you didn’t reveal it on purpose, there must be a good reason.”

“Thank you.”

“Well, thank you. We’re on the same team.”

‘The same team.’

Ko Byeong-gap grinned at the words.

He realized three weeks after the expedition began that Group C was a pretty good team to be in.