Ch. 58 - Chapter 58

Yoo Jiwon, bare without any clothes, was excreting filth from head to toe.

Two beings watched this gruesome scene.

Their forms were similar to humans, but at first glance, it was clear they were not of the same ‘species’.

They were about 1.5 times taller than an average human, and their skin was pale, tinged with a bluish hue.

And they possessed unusually white pupils.

The one among them with unusually large, pointed ears opened its mouth and spoke.

<We came all this way, thinking we had finally found a decent test subject. But this thing seems even more inferior than an ordinary human.>

The being with long hair then replied indifferently.

<Insects like this are perfect for experiments. We don't even need to deliberately provide stimuli for conversion.>

<...Indeed. Just watching it crawl around is enough to tell it's in a highly unstable state.>

They possessed an androgynous appearance that made it difficult to determine their gender.

They looked down at Yoo Jiwon's body, which swelled and contracted like a balloon, with eyes full of contempt.

Soon, the Pointy Ears, frowning in displeasure, approached Yoo Jiwon.

<What a truly disgusting creature. If it weren't an experimental subject, I would kill it right now.>

<However, it does meet the most crucial requirement.>

<Indeed.>

The most crucial requirement for conversion.

That was 'berserk.'

A state where one exhausts their Aether and loses control over their own body.

Yoo Jiwon, in his current state, was an excellent guinea pig.

Swoosh.

The long-haired being placed a hand on Yoo Jiwon's forehead.

Immediately, Yoo Jiwon's eyes turned crimson.

-Gaaaaaaaaah!

Soon, bones of bizarre shapes began to protrude and burst from Yoo Jiwon's back.

The muscles in his upper body, including the trapezius, expanded several times over, and ugly patches of hair began to sprout all over his body.

Even the screams he let out were no longer resembling humans.

After the conversion was completed, Yoo Jiwon had finally become a Chimera.

Watching Yoo Jiwon's entire body writhe, Pointy Ears twisted their lips into a vicious smile.

<Rise, my child. Devour everything you see before you.>

Everything before your eyes.

The humans.

With those final words, the beings with white pupils vanished without a trace.

* * *

"Oh, Hunter Chun Haesun!"

As I opened the door to the Cleanup Clan office, I was greeted by the welcoming voice of Yuk Cheolwan.

It had been nearly a week since I last visited after catching the Giant Treasure.

Hmm.

The office felt strangely unfamiliar.

It wasn't just because it had been a while since my last visit.

The office, which used to be as messy as Yuk Cheolwan's appearance, was now unrecognizably clean.

The dust that used to roll across the floor was gone without a trace, and the walls, which had previously emitted a musty, moldy smell, now carried the fragrance of cotton (!).

"I thought I came to the wrong place."

"Huh?"

"The office has changed so much.”

"Ah. Hahaha. Actually, my wife has been scolding me a lot lately. She said working here would make me sick even if I weren't.”

"Aha... So sister-in-law came by."

So that's why.

It seemed that while I was away, Yuk Cheolwan's wife must have come and cleaned this place up.

"Come to think of it, your beard looks much neater now, too. And your hairstyle as well."

"Hehehe. Is that so?"

It wasn't just the office that had changed.

Yuk Cheolwan's appearance, which had previously been close to a bird's nest, had also become unrecognizably neat.

This was clearly a pleasant change.

As his life stabilized, everything around Yuk Cheolwan seemed to be finding its own stability as well.

He awkwardly scratched his temple, and I couldn't help but find it quite endearing.

Of all the changes in the office, the one I particularly liked was the coffee machine Yuk Cheolwan used every day.

"Oh, you changed this too?"

The old instant coffee vending machine had disappeared, replaced by an espresso machine.

I remembered the vending machine coffee Yuk Cheolwan had offered me the first time we met.

The vending machine had its outer skin peeling off in patches, with dried liquid splattered and stuck all over it.

The coffee mix that came out of that machine honestly….. looked even more dangerous than a Poison Monster's blood.

"Yeah. As soon as my wife saw the old machine, she reported it as hazardous waste."

"You really married well."

"Huh?"

"Ahem, ahem. Shall I give it a try?”

Ignoring his reaction, I pressed the Americano button.

The sound of coffee beans grinding filled the air, and soon the rich aroma of coffee spread throughout the office.

Whirr.

"Hmm. The aroma is nice, and the taste is great too."

"Haha. I'm glad you like it. But I remember you used to say you didn't like coffee before...."

"I've decided to like it from today. Slurp.”

".....?"

Yuk Cheolwan, looking slightly bewildered, went ahead and made himself a mocha latte.

We sat on the sofa and started catching each other up on how we'd been.

"Things have been pretty busy lately, so I haven't been able to schedule any dungeon runs. There were also some training sessions I needed to do."

"Someone as skilled as you, Hunter Chun Haesun, still needs training?”

"Of course. I almost died when I caught the Giant Treasure. Next time, I want to catch something like that on my own, without getting help from anyone.”

"Haha. Catching an 8-star monster all by yourself. That's a level a novice like me can't even imagine. It would be a difficult task even for a guild, let alone a clan."

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen any recent activity records for the 'Cleanup Clan.' Were you waiting for me to come?"

At that, Yuk Cheolwan waved his hand dismissively.

"Ah, no, that's not it. There were some low-level dungeons among the permits we received, but… I wanted to spend time with my wife after she was discharged from the hospital. It seems there were many things she wanted to do together with me.”

"Aha..."

Right.

I could imagine how he must feel.

After a long and difficult battle with illness, his wife had finally recovered. Of course, he'd want to spend as much time as possible with her.

After all, the reason he took on the role of a ‘cleaner’ and ran through Poison Dungeons was solely to heal his wife.

There was no longer a need for him to chase after dungeons with such fervor as before.

"But on the other hand... I started feeling afraid."

"Afraid?”

"Yes. I think, deep down, I had been relying a lot on you, Hunter Chun Haesun. The thought of going into a dungeon without you made me suddenly feel afraid.”

"Haha. Anyone listening might think you're an 'E'-ranker, Clan Leader."

"You know the saying, 'You don't know what you've got until it's gone’."

It was funny that a 'tanker' on the battlefield depended too much on their 'healer.’

To others, it might sound like nonsense, but the trust Yuk Cheolwan placed in me was genuinely that significant.

"So, what are your plans going forward?”

A 'B'-rank Knight is quite popular in the market.

Especially one who quietly handled the tough jobs as a tanker, even more so.

If Yuk Cheolwan were willing, he could easily join any decent guild.

Which means it wouldn't be surprising if the Cleanup Clan office were to close its doors at any time.

However, Yuk Cheolwan's answer was a little different from what I had expected.

"You can't just unlearn something you learned... For now, I plan to keep the clan running."

"Even after clearing out all the permitted Poison Dungeons?”

"Yes. And, though it might be a bit embarrassing to say this..."

Yuk Cheolwan blushed slightly and cautiously explained another reason.

The income from working with a ‘certain someone’ was several times higher than what he could earn by being active in a regular guild.

A certain someone.

That is, working with ‘Chun Haesun’.

"That's an extremely realistic and understandable reason."

"Haha. Hope you understand the burden of being the head of the household.”

Yuk Cheolwan might not be the most perceptive, but he was no fool.

It seemed like he had felt a few things this time while collecting the Aurum Bloom.

Aurum Bloom was one thing, but being 'on standby' at a dungeon that even the Association hadn't identified yet was quite significant.

No matter how capable or famous a guild might be.

It was impossible for even the Glory Guild to predict dungeons in advance.

Therefore, it seemed that rather than committing to a specific guild, Yuk Cheolwan decided to place his bets on me as an individual.

Actually, that bet was quite accurate.

Because I even brought a ‘gift’ for him again today.

"I have something for you, Clan Leader."

"For me?"

"Yes. I picked up a few things while I was out in the provinces."

"The provinces... Ah!”

I didn't run a dungeon, but I did defeat a monster.

"You must be talking about the Gosong District Gate...! I heard the news too, and I was deeply impressed. It seems like wherever a hero goes, incidents and accidents just follow.”

"Haha. Even if you praise me like that, I can only give you one."

I pulled a large, cone-shaped material out of my bag.

"This is...?!”

Yuk Cheolwan’s eyes sparkled as he eyed the item.

For a Knight, especially for those specialized as tanks, this material was something to go wild over.

A rare resource considered even harder than special alloys.

It was none other than the horn of a Taurus.

"T-this... are you really sure it's okay to give this to me?”

Yuk Cheolwan asked this without being able to tear his gaze away from the Taurus horn.

He was usually easygoing, but a hint of greed could be seen in his face now.

Yes.

People should be a bit more greedy sometimes.

"Yes. Do you like the gift?"

"I love it! This is a high-quality material that even A-rankers have a hard time obtaining!"

Yuk Cheolwan accepted the horn I handed over with both hands, turning it over and examining it from every angle.

His eyes were filled with admiration and delight.

Of course, it couldn't compare to Pranium, but a Taurus horn was still an item worth billions on the market.

There was a saying that ‘retrieving the horn is harder than slaying the Taurus itself’, as the creature's horn and head were incredibly firmly connected.

It's said that in the battlefield, because the hunters couldn't cut off the horn, they often ended up carrying the beheaded Taurus head with them.

Something that's hard to defeat and even harder to harvest, now brought back in a perfectly processed state, just imagine how valuable it is.

'Even if he had laid eyes on a treasure trove, he probably wouldn’t have made such an expression.'

Seeing Yuk Cheolwan's face, overwhelmed with emotion, made me smile naturally.

"I looked into it, and apparently you can equip it on the shoulder for self-defense, or attach it to a shield or other device to use as a weapon.”

"That's right, Hunter. Even the sturdiest creatures will end up full of holes if they get stabbed by this horn. There have been quite a few people who received a Taurus horn as a signing bonus and transferred to a guild.”

"What a pity. If they had just stuck around here, they could have gotten even better items."

At my words, Yuk Cheolwan gave a wry smile.

I didn't know for sure, but while running the Cleanup Clan, he must have endured a lot of heartache seeing comrades leave.

But now he has obtained the most valuable item a tanker could hope for.

"Anyway, it's all good now. I'm also planning to focus on clearing Poison Dungeons for the time being.”

A 'B'-rank tanker is a pretty valuable resource for dungeon raids, and above all, seeing that earnest, devoted look in his eyes, I couldn't bring myself to refuse.

Considering that I had saved his wife from an incurable disease of 'Mental Corruption,' the trust he placed in me was, in a way, only natural.

"Um... but..."

"Yes?"

"Maybe it's because of the training... but I feel something a little different about you now, Hunter.”

"Is that so?"

"Yes. I can't explain it, but I sense an indescribable intimidation coming from you, Hunter."

I take back what I said about him not being perceptive.

Maybe it's because my abilities as an 'Esper,' which could be considered a tanker's natural enemy, have fully blossomed.

Even though he trusted me completely, it seemed that a hint of fear had arisen in Yuk Cheolwan toward me.

In a way, that was only natural.

There is a thing called 'compatibility' among Hunters, and tanker-type Knights are in a perfect predator-prey relationship with Espers.

Yuk Cheolwan's instinctive senses were automatically responding to the level of my ‘S’-rank psychokinetic power.

"Don't be surprised when you see me later."

"Huh?"

What kind of expression would Yuk Cheolwan make when he sees the Red Venomous Viper?

His already large mouth would probably gape open wide.

I flashed a strange smile at Yuk Cheolwan, who was blinking in confusion.

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