Ch. 8 - The Strongest Supporter (1)

The man with the black-rimmed glasses appeared to be a good person. 

Plink, plink.

However, the drops of blood falling from that man's suitcase made him look scary.

"What do you want?" Kang SeonSoo said to him.

This guy was strange. He didn't appear to be a hunter. Who enters the dungeon while dressed in a suit? Even if he was a guild employee, he would only be wearing a protective vest.

'Don't tell me...' Kang SeonSoo remembered the notice that every guild had just recently received.

Some people awakened while working in the dungeon. Others were awakened as a result of the influence of a gate. Some people were unsure of what to do when they first awakened. Most of these people usually register themselves as awakened people. And instead of being judged on all they've done up to this point, they begin to be evaluated based on new parameters.

But some people chose not to register on purpose. The reason was simple. When you register as an awakened person, they look into your criminal history. And even if you're a spiritually awakened person, you'll still be judged if you commit a crime.

People were aware of the possible disasters that could occur if a criminal obtained something more powerful and dangerous than a gun.

Naturally, awakeners who did not register with the "Gate Control Bureau" became criminals. 

However, the government provides them with time to redeem themselves in exchange for their service. 

Some people choose to redeem themselves. Others, though, choose to stay anonymous. 

Among these people was someone who had lately gained popularity. Someone dressed in a suit who appeared to be smart. He's a villain that goes by the nickname 'The Salaryman.'

"It seems like you know who I am." The man gently smiled.

"I'm going to kill you now." Kang SeonSoo selected a club from his inventory. It was a weapon that could immobilize your opponent if you added magical power to it.

Kang SeonSoo grabbed the weapon and attempted to strike the opponent with it. But he realized he couldn't move his hand for some reason.

"What's going on?" Kang SeonSoo tried to move again, but he was unsuccessful. He felt that something was holding him down.

"Huh? What! AAARRRGGG! " Kang SeonSoo cried out in agony. The vines emerging from his shadow bound him as if it were a chain.

The Salaryman calmly approached Kang SeonSoo, who was trembling in fear. He looked like a moth caught in a spider's web.

"All hunters are evil." The Salaryman walked right past him. It was as if he was saying he didn't have to do anything else.

A terrifying scream echoed out throughout the dungeon.

It was so loud that all of the hunters around realized something was wrong.

"What's wrong with that scream?"

"Huh? S... Someone has died! "

Even though they were killing human-like creatures just a few moments ago, these people were making a scene out of another person dying. Every day, hundreds of other life forms are killed. No, tens of thousands.

The Salaryman smiled. There was no one here who could stop him. It made no difference how many hunters were in the area. There wasn't, and there won't be anyone who can stop him. 

"Dear hunters, I'll teach you what it feels like to be hunted from now on."

* * * 

It was true.

"Isn't there a healer?"

"Call the Bureau quickly! We need a high-ranking healer! No, call an ambulance first! "

The dungeon's entrance looked like a battleground.

He'd walked into this place just like any other day a few moments before. The entrance guard was what he saw. He despised him when he laughed at him and asked when he'd awaken. But when he told him he had finally awakened, he was genuinely happy for him.

He came to this place for half a year with the goal of awakening. Naturally, he made friends with the people who worked here.

He was sad to see others crying because their extremities had been cut off.

"E... Everyone died. Only I survived..."

"Please, stop talking! We need to stop the bleeding!"

"It's already too late..."

Every single guard that was protecting the dungeon was dead.

"An S rank hunter will arrive in about 30 minutes!"

"What on earth are they thinking?! He's most likely flying here. 30 minutes is far too long! There's a serial killer inside the dungeon right now! "

The person who appeared as the villain was known as 'The Salaryman.' Even though he was awakened, he was unregistered and utilized his powers to commit acts of terror.

His shadow manipulation ability was excellent for use in a dark place like a dungeon. 

He was a hunter who hunted other hunters.

Kim TaeYang was in danger.

Although he had only known him for a short time, he had learned to appreciate him. He was harsh with him since he didn't want him to end up dead while exploring the dungeon. This was a place where those who were overconfident died instantly because they weren't careful enough. 

"We can't just sit here and wait for a top hunter to come! Call every soldier available right now! " The person who had been trying to scout me was also making some calls. 

Is it just my imagination, or does she peek at me from time to time?

I've come to a fork in the road. There's a serial killer inside right now. One who was also highly skilled at using his abilities.

Even though I had also awakened, I couldn't use my talents properly because I had only recently acquired them. This meant that I wasn't sure that I'd be able to defeat the assassin.

But inside the dungeon, there was the blondie, whom I'd only known for two weeks, the people I didn't greet but recognized, and my superior from the training center. 

- The Anyang Amusement Park is going to be sealed off soon.

‘What?’

A strange message suddenly popped up in the system window. Since everyone here hadn't awakened yet, they couldn't read the message.

I looked at the dungeon's entrance. I had mana as well now that I was connected to the system. That means that I could see it.

A strange energy wriggled at the dungeon's entrance.

- Master?

One day, the blondie suddenly said that to him.

I kindly asked him what he was talking about. Then, while laughing, he said that their relationship reminded him of the ones that a master had with his disciple in martial arts movies. That's why I told him that I wasn't old enough.

Why did I suddenly remember that?

"Hey, what are you doing?! Stop! "

"You cannot go inside! Someone catch him! "

I subconsciously ran towards the dungeon. 3 seconds later, the entrance collapsed. 

Kaboom! Boom!

Something exploded at the dungeon's entrance. A black curtain blocked the entrance to the dungeon.

"As a trainer, I'm in charge of the newbie hunter. If something happened to him, it would be "troublesome." I mumbled while scratching the back of my head.

[ The condition has been met. ]

[ Synchronization 1% ]

‘What’s this?’

The blue status window on the right began to shine. There was something written inside it. It was almost impossible to read the content inside because it looked like a damaged image. 

‘What is the condition?’

First of all, the other status window has been activated. I'll probably receive something if the synchronization bar gets to 100%. This was obvious. But the problem was that it didn't say what the condition was.

‘Entering the dungeon? Getting involved in dangerous situations?’

'I'm pretty annoyed now. Time to beat up the serial killer first. ' I entered the dungeon while mumbling. Once inside, I could see blood everywhere. It was a truly horrific scene. What a crazy bastard.

These kinds of things used to happen all the time in the other world. On the other hand, South Korea was a democratic country. Even if the world had become a hunter's paradise, he couldn't think of anyone capable of such horrific crimes.

I remembered the suited man that was at the entrance. His first impression of him wasn't good. 

- You're really lucky. You should go and buy a lottery ticket. 

At first, he couldn't figure out what those words meant. But he was finally starting to understand it.

He was really lucky since he was about to be released from the dungeon. As a result, his own life was endangered. 

Sigh. 

‘What would have happened if I'd met that guy in the other world?’

I'm sure he couldn't have looked me in the eyes without exaggeration. And someone like that acted as if he had decided to let me go out of kindness.

‘This makes me really angry.’

Despite the fact that I had awakened as a Supporter, my strength had significantly increased, and I had obtained Magical Power. Even if I'm just at level 1, I'm confident that I won't lose against someone like him.

The number of victims rose as I walked deeper into the dungeon.

"Cough, please... Save me..."

"I... I have kids at home... Since I'd awakened as a hunter, I promised that I'd make them happy… that I’d make their lives easier. "

Two trainers and two hunters were present. One had died due to heavy bleeding. The other three, on the other hand, were somehow still alive.

What a filthy scumbag. He had severed people's limbs as though they were lego pieces that could be easily removed. The sight of this terrible scene made me grind my teeth.

"I'm sorry." The barely living survivor's hopes were crushed after hearing my words. It must be soul-crushing to realize that the person who came to save them couldn’t succeed in doing so. Unfortunately, I don't have a potion with me. They are, after all, way too expensive.

Potions required magical stones of a higher rarity. 

So, you might be wondering. How much does a potion cost? 

USD 100K. I'm not even kidding. It is indeed that expensive. After all, these potions could heal a person who was about to die.

I inspected the wounds of people who had been wounded. They were screaming in pain. I apologized for not being able to assist them. The killer had cut people's limbs in an almost surgical way. It seemed like only a doctor could reattach them.

[ Do you want to store him in the inventory? ]

[ Yes / No ]

‘What?’

I removed my hands from the wounded person. The message disappeared. When I put my hands back on him, the message reappeared.

Is it referring to this person's clothing? I put my hands on his skin just in case. The message was still there.

"Store," I said the command. My voice message was converted into text by the system. Then the system converted it into an algorithm. This basically means that I used a skill to keep the explanation short.

The person I was touching disappeared and was placed in my storage. Is something like this even possible?!

In the other world, I'd tried many different things while using the system. But I had never heard about storing a real human being in the inventory. 

[ Tanker Lee ChangWook Lv.3 ]

Force: 09

Agility: 06

Vitality: 13 

Magical Power: 05

Luck: 05

HP: 0 / 25

MP: 1 / 1

Current Status: Bleeding

I could see the status of the person inside the inventory. I tried touching the other people. After all, no one could see that people were disappearing since everyone was in a very critical condition.

First, I stored three people in my inventory to check how they were doing.s

[ HP: 0 / 25 ]

It was clear they'd all lost a lot of blood just by looking at them. Their HP was also at 0. Three minutes had gone by. I accessed the inventory just in case and tried speaking with them. Obviously, I wasn't expecting a reply.

For the record, this is not a kidnapping. I'm attempting to save your life. Don't say anything weird later.

[ A temporal skill slot has opened. ]

[ Tanker Lee ChangWook's 'Provocation Lv.2' ]

[ Melee Damage Dealer Kim JiHoon's 'Acceleration Lv.1' ]

[ Melee Damage Dealer Shin WooJun's 'Double Cut Lv.3' ]

It seems like I could now borrow the abilities of the people stored in my inventory. I don't have any special skills right now. So this was better than nothing.

I arrived at the respawn point. The dungeon began to shake violently. I dropped my body and faced the wall.

An earthquake? No, it didn't feel natural. The dungeon stopped shaking after about 30 seconds. And then, I realized that the dungeon's atmosphere had changed. It was starting to irritate me.

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