Ch. 9 - The Strongest Supporter (2)

"SeonSoo hyeong!"

 The newbie hunter of the TooShin Guild, Kim InHo, grinded his teeth in anger after seeing Kang SeonSoo covered in blood.

 The suited man, who was standing very relaxed, smiled at him.

 "Don't worry. You'll go visit him soon."

 They got angry after hearing the provocative words coming out from The Salaryman's mouth.

 "This bastard is a wanted villain!"

 "What a crazy asshole. How does he dare murder in the middle of a dungeon? Does he even realize how many hunters there are here?!"

 Fifteen hunters took out their weapons. Among them, there was a trainer that used to be mid-ranked.

 "I did it because I can pull it off."

 The Salaryman smiled at the man that was leading the group. He was a very big and muscular guy. He blanded the big sword he was carrying.

 Zoom!

 The big sword made an air-cutting, sharp noise. It seemed like he would be able to break The Salaryman's neck.

 Paf!

 His big sword froze mid-air.

 "W... What's happening?"

 "Isn't it obvious?"

 The Salaryman shook his hands. After that, a shadow thorn appeared and sewed that man's feet to the ground.

 The Salaryman hit the immobilized man with his briefcase.

 Paf!

 His vertebral column was cut in half. The man's head rolled on the ground like a bowling ball. Hunters with weak hearts screamed in desperation at the sight that had just unfolded in front of them.

 "You're all screwed."

 The Salaryman raised both of his hands in the air. Shadow thorns appeared under the feet of the hunters and immobilized them.

 "Well, then."

 With the intention of hitting the immobilized hunters, he approached them while twirling the briefcase around.

 The man that was about to become the first target was trembling.

 Slash!

 After hearing a sudden air-cutting noise, The Salaryman subconsciously backed away. A kukri slashed through the air of where he was standing just before.

 A blond guy that had just appeared was frowning as if blaming himself for missing.

 The Salaryman looked at the man's feet.

 He wasn't wearing shoes.

 The Salaryman rubbed his neck. It had been a long time since someone had managed to hurt him.

 "There's nothing more satisfying than stepping on someone with a great potential."

 "No."

 It wasn't just the blond guy that had come to confront him.

 "You're the one who's gonna be stomped."

 All hunters that were around here had gathered together. Among those who had come to the rescue were some high-ranking hunters.

 "I'm going to ask, just in case."

 He smiled while his eyes formed a crescent-moon shape.

 "Do you think you'll be able to do anything if you all attack me simultaneously?"

 The high-ranking hunter laughed at the arrogant remark of The Salaryman.

 "Today is definitely not your day."

 All the enraged hunters jumped at The Salaryman.

 ** *

 The overall atmosphere of the dungeon had become dark grey.

 The dungeon was created with a core. And that core emitted high-intensity mana.

  The mana has color. A yellow magnetic field had covered this space that was grey until a few moments ago.

 Once the dungeon fails the process of expanding itself, it develops the available space. By developing, I'm talking about creating monsters.

 The fact that the grey dungeon had turned back to yellow meant that the dungeon's core had activated once again. And thus going to try to expand its territory.

 I reached the respawn place. While rushing towards this place, I saw people who had basically become meat. This crazy person had gently cut them into pieces. Because of this, I confirmed one of my suspicions.

 'He didn't finish off these people on purpose.'

 This serial killer didn't have the intention of killing people. The only people that had died were those who lost too much blood.

 The people that were getting a grip of themselves were bitting their lips while holding their hands and legs that had been cut off.

 While I walked in, I couldn't help to notice the pitiful look they had on their faces. They were begging for someone to help them.

 Sadly, I'm neither a healer nor a rich potion dealer. I couldn't revive the dead people, but I could try to save those that were still alive.

 "If I return a wallet, the reward is 5%. Since I'm saving your lives, don't you all there forget about today."

 "Ugh..."

 I'm sure they're saying that they'll compensate me accordingly. I placed all these people inside my inventory.

 Even for me, it's amazing. Fifteen people disappeared instantly.

 The name of everyone inside the inventory appeared in a list.

 Just in case, I also picked up the arms and legs. I'm sure they'll be able to notice their body parts.

 - Kwon JuHoo's arm.

 Dear god.

 The name of the owner of the arm appeared on the system. It's actually useful to know who's the owner, but it still creeps me out.

 From 50 spaces available, I had just 20 left.

 There were currently 10 people inside my inventory. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get compensation for saving these people. But they're hunters that earn good money. So I'm sure it won't end up with a simple thanks.

 But there's still something I don't understand.

 Why didn't this guy kill all these people? He knew that most of them were still alive.

 While hunting sharks, you use blood to attract them. Since they're creatures that can smell blood from a distance.

 Most hunters inside Anyang Amusement Park have either a low ranking or are newbies. There are some mid-ranking hunters among the people who frequent the third layer.

 What the killer wanted was a place with a lot of weak hunters. Make the dungeon drenched in blood to call something.

 That something that was summoned was was probably the one who changed the color of the dungeon from grey to yellow.

 In the other world, we call this an 'offering.'

 I don't know why he's doing this. And I honestly don't care about his reasons.

 I hate hunters, so I'm going to kill them all. I really don't want to understand someone that thinks like an edgy teenager.

 Since this guy is a villain, there will probably be a good reward for catching him. And if he's someone infamous, I'll probably be able to gain some popularity too.

 If you gain popularity, the amount of money you get for signing off with a guild goes up. You may also appear in some commercials or even marry a famous actress. Then you'd also be able to buy a big house and live comfortably.

 But before that.

 "Hello."

 "C... Coach...!"

 A black curtain was grabbing the blondies neck. Around him, there were a lot of hunters that had lost consciousness.

 "How did you enter here?"

 The Salaryman, who was choking the blondie, asked while blinking. He seemed surprised.

 "Why are you choking him? With other people, you just cut some of their extremities."

 "How he resisted annoyed me too much."

 Well done. On his first day in a dungeon, he had managed to resist a dangerous criminal.

 His face was pale because of the shock. It seemed like he was about to cry.

 I came at the perfect moment.

 I had saved some people that were about to become an offering. So he should've noticed that I was coming here.

 "First, put him down. If you keep doing that, Mr. Hunter will die."

 "A few moments ago, I told you that you were lucky. Right?"

 The Salaryman smiled softly at me. If it weren't for the current situation, I would have thought it was a truly gentle smile.

 "I cancel what I said."

 "C... Coach!"

 The blondie looked at me with worrying eyes.

 A black shadow rushed towards me.

 ** *

 The high-ranking hunter Lee JunSoo couldn't understand the current situation.

 Even if they were mostly newbies, ten hunters had tried attacking simultaneously.

 But the result was a complete defeat.

 They weren't able to even scratch The Salaryman.

 The thorns that came out from his shadow could pierce everything around.

 Lee JunSoo was a B+ rank hunter. Even an A-class hunter wouldn't be able to toy with him in such a humiliating way.

 'He's above A-class.'

 A psychopathic killer that was above A-class. This was a complete disaster.

 Everyone around him was agonizing in pain.

 The high-ranking hunter was grinding his teeth. Even though The Salaryman was capable of killing them, he didn't.

 Right now, he was choking the blond newbie hunter.

 'Damn.'

 Even hunters that had just awakened had fought while risking their lives. But everyone here was about to die.

 He remembered that nightmare.

 A criminal awakening.

 It's a horrible incident that happens when a murderer awakens and obtains great power.

 With the appearance of gates, villans began appearing too. And because of one of these crazy people, Lee JunSoo had lost friends who had been with him since they were doing the military service.

 'I'm going to die either way.'

 He was okay with someone like him dying. After all, he had lived a good life up until now. But he couldn't just stay still while watching young hunters die.

 The high-ranking hunter stood up while vomiting blood. But then, someone appeared.

 'Is it an employee?'

 For a moment, he had hopes things were about to turn around. But soon, that hope became desperation.

 'Why is it him.'

 The one that had appeared was a trainer who hadn't even awakened.

 'Lee HyunBin.'

 Everyone that frequented the Anyang Amusement Park knew about him. Even at thirty years old, he was someone who hadn't given up his dream of awakening.

 'Run...!'

 The high-ranking hunter screamed. He did it because he wished someone to make it alive from this situation, but he couldn't finish his words because of the blood.

 That man looked at him and raised his hands. As if asking him to calm down.

 Lee JunSoo couldn't comprehend this man's calmness.

 Was it that he couldn't feel the overwhelming strength of the other person because he wasn't a hunter?

 Lee JunSoo looked at the other hunters that could move. Those who were able to carry a weapon stood up.  

 "Arrggg!"

 The Salaryman's shadow choked Lee JunSoo and the other hunters.

 He was so overwhelmingly strong, yet he still watched his back. The hunters were getting more desperate with each passing second.

 "I cancel what I said."

 After saying that, thorns came out from The Salaryman's shadow.

 Was it because the attack was too fast? The man didn't even try to avoid it.

 A sharp sound echoed through the dungeon but couldn't pierce the target.

 Lee JunSoo thought that he was imagining things.

 The Salaryman couldn't comprehend what had just happened.

 It should've hit him, but it didn't.

 The Salaryman raised his lips, and the thorns attacked once again.

 The shadow spread through the dungeon walls and then attacked while making a sharp noise. But the shadow suddenly disappeared.

 Clash!

 The man had broken the lantern that illuminated the dungeon.

 Clash!

 While walking towards The Salaryman, the man broke the lanterns one by one.

 "..."

 The Salaryman frowned.

 Once the dungeon became dark, the shadow disappeared.

 He dropped Kim TaeYang.

 While grabbing his neck, Kim TaeYang coughed while trying to breathe.

 "Shadows can't form without lights. No one besides you thought about a strategy as simple as this."

 "That's because this is something you learn in primary school. While you get older, you tend to forget about things you learned when you were a kid."

 "The only issue with your plan is that I was aware of this weakness."

 While saying that, The Salaryman lifts his arm and takes out something from his inventory.

 It was many sources of light. He scattered them around.

 "I just mentioned the theory behind why shadows form, right?"

 The shadow that was under The Salaryman began spreading.

 "W... Watch out!"

 Everyone on the floor, agonizing, knew how dangerous this technique could be.

 The thorns of the shadow.

 But the man in front of The Salaryman had disappeared.

 The Salaryman startled.

 Plaf!

 The man was right in front of him. He just body-slammed him.

 'What?'

 The high-ranking hunter saw The Salaryman tremble.

 "Ugh..."

 The Salaryman took a step back while groaning. The man body-slammed him again.

 He fell to the ground.

 Tens of hunters had tried to attack The Salaryman simultaneously, but they weren't able to do anything. Yet, this S rank monster was receiving a beating.

 The Salaryman drew a pattern in the air and disappeared.

 "He's behind you!"

 The villain had disappeared and then reappeared behind the coach. By the time Kim TaeYang had shouted his ubication, the shadow knives were already about to hit Lee HyunBin.

 Comparing it to a shooting game, it was as if the screen were full of the opponent's bullets.

 Kim TaeYang thought that he was about to see his coach, Lee HyunBin, get murdered.

 The opponent's shadow devoured Lee HyunBin.

 During the two weeks he had known him, he'd learned to appreciate him. But there was nothing he could do to save him.

 "Hehe."

 The Salaryman subconsciously laughed.

 With the death of this man, the final hope had disappeared. He was having a great time looking at the desperation in the other hunter's eyes.

 To be honest, he was flustered.

 This man had seen through the weakness of his technique. Not only that, he seemed to have a lot of experience fighting.

 He would have probably died if the other person had a weapon in his hand.

 "Now..."

 The Salaryman was about to finish off the rest of the survivors. But he suddenly got chills from behind.

 "Why are you laughing? If you've thought of a funny joke, say it out loud. So we can all laugh."

 "...!"

 The Salaryman turned around while extending his arms and increasing their distance. He tried to choke the opponent, but he just avoided the attacks.

 'How?!'

 While The Salaryman was horrified, the other man had managed to grab his arm.

 He had a stupidly strong grip.

 The man, no, Lee HyunBin, landed a punch on The Salaryman's chin.

 The Salaryman was about to lose consciousness, but he managed to get a grip of himself and counter-attacked. But there was only air in front of him.

 "That's my afterimage."

 The punch he received on the sides felt like he had been hit with a hammer.

 "I wasn't sure about your preferences, so tell me what you like."

 Pow!

 HyunBin's straight punched The Salaryman. This attack was different from the one before since he was using a skill that belonged to one of the people inside his inventory.

 Smite

 He was using a skill that increased the damage output.

 Everyone saw The Salaryman falling to the ground and struggling to get a hold of himself.

 No one could believe what they were seeing.

 The high-ranking hunter Lee JunSoo remembered something a friend of his had told him.

 - The hunter that guy was in charge-off once made a mistake, and the monster escaped. He ended up catching it with his bare hands.

 An unawakened person with no special equipment, cathing a monster as if it was nothing was something unheard-of.

 -  If someone like him awakens, he's probably going to be a real monster. He has a real chance of becoming the first S rank hunter born in the Anyang Amusement Park.

 Lee JunSoo had laughed at his friend's words.

 "You're really lucky. Go and buy a lottery ticket."

 The one who had put the situation under control was grabbing The Salaryman by the collar and was saying something he couldn't understand.

Comments