Chapter 43:

Chapter 43:

Chapter 43

Scavenger.

It’s a word that is commonly used to refer to petty thieves, but among collectors, scavenger is a more versatile term.

Basically, scavengers are those who make a living by secretly collecting or stealing the scraps of stories or texts that other collector parties leave behind after hunting in the world of ideas.

They couldn’t hunt the phantoms that were too hard for their own power, but they still needed their by-products.

‘Of course, that’s still better than the worst.’

Some scavengers among them don’t stop at just stealing sneakily.

They rather hit other collectors from behind or even kill them in some serious cases.

Especially this kind of group never moves alone, but forms a thorough organization or party.

The four who approached us now were exactly that kind of vicious scavenger party.

“So you’re saying that’s true, Mr. Yu-hyun.”

Surprisingly, Kang Hye-rim didn’t ask if it was true.

I realized anew that I had built a great trust with her and felt somewhat proud.

No, this is not the time for that.

“How did you know they were scavengers, Mr. Yu-hyun?”

[The spirits nod at Kang Hye-rim’s words.]

[The spirits are curious about how you knew.]

How did I know?

I just read their ‘book’ and guessed their identity right away.

Of course, I couldn’t say that honestly, so I spat out the lines I had prepared beforehand.

“Their equipment. Did you look closely?”

“Huh? That... “

“It was fine. It looked like they had just entered the world of ideas, clean. They clearly told us that. They said they tried hunting here for a while, but it was too hard and they couldn’t do it. But for that, their outfits were too neat and they didn’t look tired at all.”

I moved my foot lightly and stepped on the swamp.

Splash!

“Look. This is a swamp that sinks up to your ankles. If you move a little bit violently, mud splashes like this. Even if you’re an average level collector, your clothes will get dirty as soon as you get into a fight. You can’t avoid it.”

[The spirits marvel at your deduction.]

[Some spirits ask if they might have changed clothes.]

“That’s not possible. First of all, the clothes that collectors wear are not ordinary clothes, but special items that are close to the power of stories. Do they change clothes because they are dirty? Usually collectors are not rich enough to do that. They don’t have spare clothes.”

If there were collectors who could afford such bourgeois things, they wouldn’t have to come to this dirty place to earn points.

“More than anything, it’s suspicious that they approached us without hesitation. Well, it’s funny to say it with my own mouth. But honestly, we’re not usually liked by other collectors, right?”

“That’s... true.”

[The spirits nod their heads as they can’t refute.]

Hey, can’t you deny it a little bit?

“Other collectors either avoid us or show interest in us. But those guys came over as if they didn’t know us. Isn’t that strange? Basically 4~6 people form a party, but we’re only two. Then they should have doubted us in reverse.”

Are they two?

Maybe they have something up their sleeve?

It was natural to think of that.

Or maybe they came in first and waited for the rest of their party to arrive later.

Whatever conclusion they came up with, it was very suspicious that they came up to us kindly and offered to join us.

“They didn’t doubt us, and they didn’t know who we were. And there were contradictions in their plausible excuses. It’s certain that they had some intention and approached us while hiding it.”

I looked around and chuckled.

“It’s foggy enough that you can’t see the scenery outside a few tens of meters away. The sound doesn’t seem to spread well either. It’s the optimal condition for people to die without being noticed, isn’t it?”

“Then why did you accept their offer? If they have something up their sleeve, you could have just refused.”

[The spirits agree with her words and nod their heads.]

Well, as Kang Hye-rim said, it would have been enough if we had just refused them sharply from the beginning.

Arm dealer.

It was a nickname that Baek Woo-hyun used to call Han Yong-woon.

It was a nickname he gave him because he had worked part-time at a cellphone store before he became a collector.

“Damn it. Look at your face. Why? Do you feel guilty for doing this?”

“Woo-hyun. No matter what, this doesn’t seem right.”

Han Yong-woon had known Baek Woo-hyun since before.

They weren’t really good friends.

Rather, they were enemies if anything.

In his school days, Baek Woo-hyun was a bully who harassed other kids, and Han Yong-woon was a victim of his abuse.

But even after graduating from high school and becoming a collector in society,

Han Yong-woon couldn’t escape from Baek Woo-hyun’s clutches.

He thought things would change when he awakened, but rather Baek Woo-hyun got cocky as a collector and forced Han Yong-woon to join his side.

‘This is wrong no matter how I think about it.’

Han Yong-woon didn’t even know that his party was scavengers until recently.

He just followed them because they lured him with a good deal.

“Ha, hey. Arm dealer. Are you talking back to me?”

Gasp!

At Baek Woo-hyun’s words, Han Yong-woon shuddered.

When Baek Woo-hyun lowered his voice, he remembered the old memories he didn’t want to remember.

Damn it.

He clenched his teeth.

He thought he had escaped after becoming an adult and a collector.

But reality was not like that at all.

He was still a coward and a loser, and nothing more than a lackey of Baek Woo-hyun.

‘But.’

He didn’t have the courage to deny it either.

What’s the point of shouting that something is wrong?

A powerless shout has no effect. It only invites ridicule and beatings if he’s lucky.

‘This is wrong.’

He didn’t think he could kill people.

This was not morally right.

To cheat and deceive them and try to kill them.

That kind of thing...

“Hey. They’re coming. Keep your face straight.”

Looking at us with a glare and saying that, Han Yong-woon couldn’t say anything back.

He just rolled his eyes and nodded his head.

He was still a coward after all.

He succumbed to the violence and power in front of him, and tried to do something that went against his conscience and beliefs.

‘How did this happen?’

Han Yong-woon hated his miserable fate so much that he felt like going crazy.

But more than that, he couldn’t stand himself for not being able to do anything.

But he couldn’t scream or cry.

He just showed a blank face to the sword master woman and her male companion who were approaching us.

That was the best he could do.

And so the hunt began.

The hunt of those who think they are deceiving and those who try to eat them.