CH 29

[A clash of the big guilds at the Korean Item Trade Association!]

The sensational headlines dominate the current affairs section, and the guilds’ publicists are swamped with incoming calls.

Han Cha-soo woke up with a terrible dull pain.

“Ugh.”

He groaned into the throbbing back of his neck. His gray eyes, barely able to lift his eyelids, were blurry with pain.

“Ah, crazy.”

The pain felt like someone had hit him with a hammer. It couldn’t have hurt like this otherwise….

It wasn’t a hammer, but it was something close.

Dazed, Han Cha-soo recalled his last memory.

He was barely out of the exchange when someone punched him in the back of the head.

“Ha….”

Why is life so hard?

Han Cha-soo stared at the ceiling, half in a daze. I don’t believe in God, but if there is one, I hope I only meet him once.

It would be easy to beat God in a novel world.

A moment of blasphemous thought. Han Cha-soo soon looked around the room.

His steady eyes twisted in wonder.

‘What is this place?’

A room that didn’t look like a hospital room. Han Cha-soo’s eyebrows rose at the sight of the iron-framed bed and low-grade bedding.

If it looked familiar, it probably was. In comparison, yes. It was similar to a field ward.

But it was the first time in this world. I guess it’s a space that serves a similar function, but….

Where it was attached to, that was the question.

Chulk, chulk.

“Tsk.”

I tried it just in case, but the door wouldn’t open. The doorknob kept turning in vain.

Indeed, he is the one who openly knocked people out and dragged them. Would you let me run away just because I came to my senses.

“…What would happen if I hit it.”

I remembered where my coat and dagger were. As I rummaged through my inventory, I heard footsteps.

They seemed to be coming this way.

Han Cha-soo quickly threw himself onto the bed he was lying on. He cracked his shin against the frame on the way but didn’t let a groan escape.

It was all habit. He closed his eyes and rolled over.

With a well-timed creak, the door opened. Followed by the sound of strong footsteps pounding the ground.

Thud, thud, thud.

The heel of a shoe hit the floor for the last time. An icy chill ran up my spine.

Zap!

The entire bed froze. Han Cha-soo stood up and faced a chilly stranger.

“If you sleep in the cold, your mouth will turn.”

The man’s piercing blue eyes swept across Han Cha-soo’s face. Despite the cold light, the eyes were persistent.

“You’re in better shape than I thought.”

A quick, sweeping gaze. It seemed disingenuous, but he was careful where he looked.

“Hunter Han Cha-soo, do you know who I am?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Well, fair enough.”

The man was now sitting on the bed across from him. He fumbled in his arms, apparently looking for a cigarette.

‘I don’t think you have a hard feeling for me.’

Han Cha-soo took a calming breath. The frozen sheet rustled under his fingertips.

‘Then why did he bring me here?’

Han Cha-soo looked at the man facing him, and he looked back at him.

Maybe it was the piercing eyes and jet-black shade, or the ferocity of his cigarette, or maybe it was the hollowed-out cheeks.

But it wasn’t scary, it was somehow familiar. Looking for a reason, Han Cha-soo swallowed hard.

‘The poster.’

The man he’d seen in the previous world, on a half-torn poster under a collapsed roof.

The same rough, twisted feeling he’d gotten from him radiated from the man.

“Then you don’t know why you’re here.”

When he came to, the man’s face was close. The stench of tobacco stung his nostrils.

‘…I think you’d look better in a leather jacket than a suit.’

I turned my head, remembering the poster. The man was definitely more stage worthy than government official.

“Hey, Hunter Han Cha-soo.”

The man called out again, but I couldn’t make eye contact. I felt like laughing at the incongruity.

So I looked away and…. and there it was. It was purely coincidental.

The man’s left forearm, untucked, had white scales sprouting from beneath the sleeve.

“Ah.”

Realization hit me like a wave. A small smirk played across his lips.

Ki Tae-yeon, head of the Crisis Management Office at the Awakening Management Bureau’s First Headquarters.

He was a rival to Jung Yiheon in the organization.

His main ability was ‘freeze’, and his outward hunter rank was A-rank.

In addition, despite his appearance, he was a capable government official in his own right.

Ki Tae-yeon glanced over and blurted out.

“I guess you’re a more carefree person than I thought.”

“…….”

“You don’t know when you’ll be leaving.”

The voice was dry, but the words were heavy. It sounded half threatening, half like he might actually kick my ass.

But I wasn’t scared at all. I knew what was going on.

“You can’t hold me for so long, because I was around the exchange.”

Ki Tae-yeon stopped twirling his cigarette and raised an eyebrow.

“The mask was to keep out the smoke, and I broke the glass to make an exit. There must have been a few other people who came out after me.”

There were regular employees at the exchange, and any number of them could have used the path he had broken.

Instead, the man seemed generally disappointed.

He was sad that he had lost his threats. Han Cha-soo glared at the man.

“If you tell me something false, I’ll take care of you.”

The official blinked his blue eyes slowly and offered me a plea deal. For an innocent man, it was ridiculous.

“I’m not good enough to go to jail for someone else’s crime.”

“I heard you’re good enough to stand in the way of others.”

According to the Heavenly Spirit Guild members, that’s what they say. Ki Tae-yeon muttered as he ran a hand through his hair.

Han Cha-soo’s eyes narrowed. He wondered why he was holding on to him when he knew everything.

“It’s not my fault, so I’d like to go back.”

“Oh, that’s impossible.”

“What?”

Ki Tae-yeon lit a cigarette and flashed a faint smile.

“I haven’t heard hunter Han Cha-soo’s testimony about what happened at the Irregular Gate.”

“I thought guild master Geum Myeong-yeol has told you.”

“No, no, no. A case needs multiple perspectives. We want to know what you saw, hunter Han Cha-soo.”

The sharpness of his words prickled my skin.

A crunching, freezing sound, and a chill rising from the floor.

I glanced down to see a chill in the air, and as if that weren’t enough, the door was frozen shut.

‘I don’t think he’ll let me go that easily.’

Ki Tae-yeon laughed lightly and dusted off his hands, the ice catching the fallen cigarette and swallowing it whole.

“And I was wondering what happened in the Frost Giants’ dungeon as well.”

Let’s get to know each other one day at a time, his lips curved as he spoke slowly.

Han Cha-soo stared at him, then let out a low sigh.

“You’re not going to let me go?”

“I can’t let you go. We need you.”

“…Okay.”

If I were a normal person, I’d beat my chest in frustration.

But… I’m not.

Han Cha-soo calmly brought up the skill window.

‘I didn’t expect to try this here.’

I can’t help it. A man who captures and threatens innocent citizens deserves what he gets.

Staring at the skill window, he silently thought to himself.

[Disable Regeneration Skill]

[Caution! Passive skills will automatically reactivate after a period of time]

[Do you wish to disable the skill ‘Regeneration’?]

He nodded, and an azure spear filled the air.

[Deactivate skill ‘Regeneration’]

[WARNING! Disabling skills of the Recovery will have adverse effects on your body, take your time and consider carefully]

[You have contracted the status ailment ‘Poisoning’!]

[Your poisoning level will increase]

.

.

.

[Current poisoning level  44%]

[Health drops rapidly]

[Health drops quickly]

[Health drops quickly]

[You have the condition ‘Keratosis’!]

A message window fills my vision.

And Han Cha-soo collapsed, vomiting blood.

“Kulk, kulk…. Huh!”

“What the hell, hunter Han Cha-soo, wake up! Hey! Damn it, Woo Jeo-geun. Where are you!”

“Chief…. Oh no.”

“Did you see that? Go get the healers and tell them to bring all the people they can!”

Han Cha-soo smiled faintly as he watched Ki Tae-yeon lash out at someone.

Then, as if waiting for it, the last window appeared.

[Passive skill reactivated]

[Skill ‘Regeneration’ is activated]

“Don’t close your eyes, come on, and don’t smile so faintly!”

Who told you to intimidate an innocent person like that.

Hearing Ki Tae-yeon’s screams, Han Cha-soo closed his eyes in peace.

And Ki Tae-yeon couldn’t recover from the shock.

“Hunter Han Cha-soo!”

He held onto his limp body, but his pale face showed no sign of opening his eyes.

“Get your shit together, man.”

“Ugh….”

His actions had the opposite effect. He grabbed his shoulders and shook him ever so slightly.

“Cough.”

The blood that had been pooling in his mouth gurgled out. Ki Tae-yeon stared at Han Cha-soo in disbelief.