CH 40

She also had torn cuts and bruises on her head.

My heart was pounding. It’s not just a fall or an accidental wound. Someone attacked Grandma. The moment I saw the wounds, I intuitively noticed it.

‘Don’t tell me, that guy before….’

Drip, drip, drip. The blood soaked the floor.

First, I had to take Grandma to the hospital. I didn’t have much time.

“Grandma, I’m calling an ambulance now….”

“Hurry … run away….”

“Yes?”

Grandma licked her dry lips. I couldn’t hear her well because her voice was so thin and she’s trembling.

“Please don’t speak more. The wound could open. Hold on to me!”

After raising Grandma up, I was about to go outside, but all of sudden, an acrid smell spread.

“….Uh?”

Tap.

A lit paper flew in from the outside.

Unbeknownst to me, gasoline was sprinkled on the floor. The embers quickly grew, and the fire burned objects in the workshop, blocking the exit in an instant.

Someone set the fire.

My heart was pounding even harder. In an instant, The fire blazed high so quickly and smoke began to come inside.

If we didn’t get out quickly, we could suffocate like this.

“……Ugh!”

I tried to get close to put out the fire, but I had no choice but to retreat from the scorching heat.

This time, I took water from a bucket and poured it on the fire. It seemed to die down for a moment, but then it started to burn more intensely.

What should I do?

There is no time to spare. I thought it would be better for me to take the water on my back and carry Grandma out.

“Grandma, wait a minute!”

I took the tap water from the bucket again and poured it over my head. Even the cold sensation is soon wiped out by the heat.

“….”

The fire grew stronger.

It was the moment when I felt my head dizzy from the heat and the acrid smell…..

The texture of the air seemed to have descended heavily.

I’m definitely standing in the same place, but it feels like a completely different space from before.

Then, a wide net of light spread over my head.

I’ve seen this kind of net somewhere. Where was it….

Right, it was when I went to the tutorial dungeon with Ki Yoohyun.

The scene that followed was incredibly mysterious. It was unbelievable even though I witnessed it with naked eyes. Fine particles of light from the air formed a net and landed on the flames, and the fire disappeared in an instant.

It could only be described as completely gone.

The red flames, the acrid smoke, and the heat that heated my cheeks. After the net was lifted, they ceased to exist as if they had not been there from the beginning. Only the remaining soot reminded me of the existence of the fire.

[Achievement: Avoiding the Second Death Crisis

Congratulations.

You safely escaped the danger of death.

Let’s value life.

Reward: Random Skill Point 1]

Almost at the same time as the annoying system notification pops up.

“Rieul-ssi!”

It was Ki Yoohyun who ran into the blackened and collapsed entrance.

He slumped down after his black eyes found me, gave off a light of relief.

I’m alive now.

The moment I saw him, I was so happy that I felt like crying.

“What happened? Are you okay?”

The fire was extinguished, but Grandma was still unconscious. I held back my tears and spoke.

“Yoohyun-ssi, Grandma…..”

***

He failed.

He failed again.

Jijon forced his trembling legs to move.

He could see a workshop engulfed in flames from a distance. His fear grew bigger, and now his whole body began to tremble like an aspen. It seemed as if the flames behind his back were chasing him.

Jijon, who ran to a place where the fire was hidden by the darkness, collapsed. He recited as he touched the ground with his weak hands.

“It’s not me….”

He didn’t do it.

He didn’t kill the old lady.

But who will believe him? The old lady is already….

“Ri-right! Report … report….”

Jijon tried to take his phone out of his pocket. However, his fingertips trembled and did not move properly.

“I didn’t do it….”

No one hears the low murmur.

In return for letting him join C&L Corporation, CEO Lee Sein put forward one condition. It was to get a ring with a red stone from a certain Hunter.

She said it would be okay to spend any amount of money. Not only that, she even said that illegal means can be used if necessary.

At first, Jijon thought it was an easy job. The Hunter World is a world of the law of the jungle. Even if Jijon forcibly takes the ring away from the opponent, the weaker side is at fault.

However, when he found out that the opponent was an old lady, he was greatly perplexed.

She was a small, skinny grandmother who would collapse at the stroke of his fist.

He was a supreme man who would do anything to succeed as a hunter, but he wasn’t vicious enough to threaten an old lady with force.

“I know who sent you.”

The old lady was not surprised to see Jijon holding a sword. Rather, she served hot barley tea and said in a calm voice.

“The ring you’re looking for has already been delivered to the right owner.”

“Ugh … the right owner is none of my business! Give me the ring!”

“That is impossible. Instead, I’ll give you one of the items here, so can you step down?”

“Who do you think came to get these junk items?”

“All of them are made by me, Kim Deokyi.”

“Hmmm, hmm! Then show me … well, if it’s a decent item, I can accept it!”

He couldn’t scare the old lady, so he tried to step down after getting a suitable item.

Whoosh!

Then, suddenly, a mysterious man appeared from behind and swung a knife.

An unpleasant sound was heard. The knife stabbed the old lady’s stomach in an instant, and the assailant ran away immediately. Jijon was startled, unable to breathe.

“Grandma, are you okay? Wa-wait, hold on a second. I … damn, you bastard!”

Thinking that he had to catch the criminal, Jijon hurriedly ran out the door.

The assailant had already disappeared, but as a C-class Hunter, he should be able to catch up. Such a vicious bastard could not be forgiven.

However, as he left the main gate of the workshop and chased after the mysterious assailant, the fire that flew from somewhere lit up.

“O-oh, no…..”

The fire spread quickly and blocked the entrance to the workshop.

The moment he saw that sight, he was filled with fear.

The assailant had already disappeared, and he was the only one left.

At this rate, he will be accused of being the culprit. It can’t happen. This time he succeeded in trying to become a successful hunter. He cannot be framed for murder.

Jijon was driven by fear and fled from the workshop.

Still, in the end, his conscience caught his feet. Every time he thought of the old lady’s palce face, his steps became heavy, and he eventually collapsed on the ground.

Jijon gasped for his breath and murmured.

He’s the supreme. In order to become the supreme leader of the Hunter World, he gave up his common real name and took this name.

However, it is impossible to run away just because he’s afraid of being framed.

He could barely hold the phone in his hand. Jijon struggled to suppress his shaking and entered the number on the screen. The sweat drips down like rain, and his fingers slide.

“Ugh, 1, 1, 9….”

It was just then.

Pukh!

“Aaargh!”

A person on the other side of the alley stepped on Jijon’s hand, who was holding the phone, with his foot. He was so strong, even with the power status of a C-class Hunter, Jijon couldn’t shake his hand.

Krak!

The phone screen shattered on the heel. His face, terrified and in pain, was reflected on the black screen. The bones of his right hand appear to have been broken. Jijon carefully raised his head, wrapping his right hand that had been trampled on the heel of his shoe.

In front of him, an unexpected figure was looking down at him.

“You’re….”

It was the secretary who guided him when he met Lee Sein, the CEO of C&L Corporation. A very beautiful secretary, but with an atmosphere of ambiguous age and gender.

His name is Aeon.

Wait, did he have a face like this? Was he this creepy?

Jijon met the secretary’s eyes and was frightened. The eyes with a strange light seemed not to be human eyes. It was strange, as if it had been embedded with bluish imitation jewels.

Before he knew it, goosebumps appeared on the back of his neck.

Then, the secretary smiled slightly and moved his lips. The tone was soft, but the cold, subdued voice felt intimidating.

“It’s disappointing.”

“Y-Yes….?”

“The CEO will be very disappointed, too. We can’t believe you can’t do such a simple thing right. How would the CEO, who believed in Hunter Jijon, feel about this failure?”

“Don’t tell me … no way, you ki-killed the old la-lady.”

The hardened tongue did not move straight.

“Don’t worry. Even if Hunter Jijon didn’t do his job properly, I handled it well. I’m glad the weather is sunny. The news said that even a small fire can easily become a big fire because it is dry.”

“But the old lady …. such an old lady, how can you?”

“We explained everything to you. The current No. 1 ranker will betray humanity, and we need that ring to stop him.”

The secretary bent his knees and sat on the ground.

Jijon was startled and tried to step back, but it was quicker for the secretary to step on his hand.

“Argh! Argh!”

The back of his hand, crushed by the heel of his shoe, hurt.

Irrespective of Jijon’s screams, the secretary slowly took out his phone and held it out.

Jijon didn’t know what it meant, so he blinked blankly, and the secretary smiled. It was a creepy smile.

“If Hunter Jijon feels remorse, it’s okay to report it. Yes, because you can’t do anything bad to an old lady.”

… Gulp.

“But do you know this? The knife that stabbed the old woman at the crime scene would be found.”

“That, what….”

“Not long ago, the CEO gifted a weapon to Hunter Jijon. Where’s the knife that Hunter Jijon used to use now?”

Jijon, who understood the secretary’s words, turned pale.

The knife he originally used was disposed of by the Hunter Market, so he entrusted it to this secretary in front of him. His name was written on it.

He clearly saw a strange man who suddenly appeared attacking the old lady. But what if that person was ordered by C&L? What if he used his old weapon as the crime weapon?

Even if he reports it, it means that he is the one who will be accused of being the culprit.

“Ugh, if I say that I was ordered by C&L, it’ll blow it up.….”

“Do you have any evidence?”

“Evidence … there are plenty of them!”

“You didn’t even sign a contract with us.”

“What, what……?”

The secretary continued as if reading a book.

“Hunter Jijon is a person who has nothing to do with our company. However, it is regrettable that we, as a leader in the Hunter industry, did not realize that such a vicious hunter exists. We will do our best to be more careful in recruiting talent for the development of the Hunter industry in the future.”

“…….”

“…..If we do it, it will be over.”

The secretary said abruptly, putting him on the last wedge.

“The Hunter Jijon’s family are all ordinary people.”

“…….”

“You must be very worried. Rifts, monsters, and every other things. It’s a dangerous world. We don’t know where or what’s going to happen.”

“….Hik.”

Tuk. Eventually, Jijon dropped his phone from his hand.

“Don’t worry. The CEO still believes in Hunter Jijon. You’ll do well next time.”

Coldly, the secretary laughed.