Chapter 27. Ending Bad Ties (2)
“How may I help you?”
As soon as the automatic doors at the entrance opened, a man with a thuggish face but an uncharacteristically friendly smile greeted me. His unpleasant grin made me frown, but he didn’t seem offended and instead let out a hearty laugh, welcoming me warmly.
“Haha! My face does look a bit rough, doesn’t it? But don’t worry! This isn’t one of those illegal businesses you might think it is! I mean, what illegal company would have a place of this scale? Just trust us, and let me know what brought you here, what discomforts you might have had. I’ll guide you through everything.”
He spoke with the ease of someone who had done this many times before, smoothly leading the conversation.
‘I was tricked by my old classmate’s overly friendly smile and slick words into signing that contract back then.’
Thinking about it again, my frustration surged, and a wave of anger welled up inside me.
‘No more holding back.’
Since I had come here to cause a scene anyway, I resolved to return all the pain, anxiety, and fear they’d caused me. I aimed a verbal bomb at the smiling man.
“This place is going out of business today.”
“…Pardon? What are you saying, sir?”
“I’m shutting this place down today. So stop shoving that nasty face of yours in mine and get lost.”
Thud!
With those words, I planted a kick into the gut of the confused thug, sending him flying. Almost as if used to such occurrences, another thug who had been watching over the lobby reached for his walkie-talkie to call for backup.
“You crazy bastard, causing trouble in someone else’s business? Just wait until the bosses get here—you’re done for.”
“Pfft! Didn’t you just say this wasn’t that kind of place? And what bosses? Why don’t you just put up a sign saying you’re a gang? And why are you backing away? Come here.”
“Eek!”
I grabbed the neck of the retreating man and yanked him toward me.
“P-please, spare me!”
“I’m not going to kill you. I’m not a murderer. Just think of yourself as unlucky and enjoy a few months in the hospital.”
Crack!
I twisted both of his arms back.
“Ahhh!!”
“What… what’s going on?”
“Security! Security! What are you doing?”
Seeing the two thugs being effortlessly taken down, the customers began to scream in fear.
I glanced at them briefly before unleashing the power of the sun towards the sky.
Boom!!!
“Ahhh!”
“Ahhh!”
With a deafening roar, a wave of screams echoed through the building, only to be followed by a sudden silence.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this place has engaged in far too many illegal activities, and soon, the Inspection Department, armed with evidence, will be paying a visit. I recommend leaving this place quickly unless you want to get caught up and dragged away by them. Consider this a fair warning.”
“Eek! Understood!”
Terrified by my display of power and the mention of the Inspection Department, the customers turned pale and hurriedly gathered their belongings, fleeing the building.
Everyone understood the weight that the term “Inspection Department” carried. They exist above modern police who handle ordinary civilians, tasked with investigating crimes committed by those with powers and dealing with awakened criminals. The department even holds conditional life-or-death authority over such criminals, making them a truly fearsome force.
They only move when solid evidence is in hand, and the fact that they were coming here meant…
‘There’s no way for this company to survive now.’
Anyone caught up in the situation could end up being investigated alongside the company, so they rushed to escape.
At that moment, a group of thugs, responding to the backup call, rushed down the stairs, catching sight of the fleeing customers before turning their attention to me, the cause of the commotion.
“This bastard! How dare you cause trouble in our sacred business!”
“Boss, doesn’t this guy look familiar? His face seems oddly recognizable.”
“Who cares? He’s probably here to cause trouble because he can’t pay back his debt. Newly awakened idiots always think they’re so strong, don’t they?”
As I watched about ten thugs approaching me with menacing expressions and an intimidating presence, I let out a small laugh.
How could they be so confident? Could they not see the two thugs lying unconscious at my feet? Or was there some powerful fighter among them that I didn’t know about?
Shaking off those idle thoughts, I pushed off the ground and charged at them.
“This crazy bastard! Hey! Get him!”
“Boss orders! Beat him up! Just don’t kill him—break all his limbs!”
Seeing them all pull out their brutal weapons from their waists, I paused my charge.
“Aren’t weapons against the rules?”
“Shut up. You ambushed us first, and now you’re whining about rules?”
“Okay, got it.”
After all, even as a hunter, getting hit by a weapon would hurt.
“I guess I’ll fight from a distance then.”
“What nonsense are you spouting? Get him!”
Unlike me, who had stopped, the thugs continued to charge at me. As I watched these fools, my eyes began to glow red.
“Sun.”
A small sun, not even a quarter the size of my palm, emerged above my hand. It was empowered by the relic’s influence, growing even stronger as it flew towards them.
“What…?!”
The thugs, witnessing this mysterious phenomenon, were stunned. In that split second, they couldn’t decide whether to run or continue their attack. That hesitation became the last sight they ever saw.
I threw the small sun like a grenade into the center of the group, then casually whistled as I plugged my ears.
Boom!!
The entire building shook with the explosion, and when I opened my eyes, all that remained in front of me were half-naked men, roasted to a golden brown.
“Good, I controlled my strength well. They’re all still alive.”
I had worried that I might mess up since this was my first attempt, but it seemed I didn’t. They were covered in burns all over their bodies but were still alive, writhing on the ground in excruciating pain.
“How gross.”
I turned my gaze away from the sight of these half-naked, charred men whose clothes and hair had burned away and headed toward the elevator.
Ding!
As the elevator, which had been moving nonstop, came to a halt, more thugs stepped out. And with a single blow, they, too, became well-cooked meat.
Whirrr!!!
With each use of the sun, a surge of vitality and a sense of omnipotence flowed through my body. I turned my head slightly to glance at the relic floating beside me.
‘I really want to appraise it.’
Appraisal abilities are rare. Even rarer than healers are those who can appraise items. No one in this country can appraise a myth-grade item. No, even on a global scale, such appraisers don’t exist.
Even Seo Ye-rin, the top appraiser and Word Spirit magician in Korea, can only barely appraise the names of items of legendary grade, showing just how difficult it is.
“I’ll just have to figure it out through experience.”
For now, I know two effects. All stats +20. Greatly increased recovery speed for health and mana.
Even these are incredible effects, but it still feels lacking for something of myth grade. I climbed over the charred bodies, guessing that the surge of vitality I was feeling was likely another ability of the relic, and stepped into the elevator.
“Let’s take out the boss and the strongest guys first.”
I pressed the button for the top floor, took a deep breath, and started preparing myself.
The opponent is an E-rank hunter. Although he hasn’t managed to awaken enough magical power to reach D-rank, he’s undoubtedly physically stronger than me.
And then, I’ll have to face the ten or so hunters that are guarding him.
Ding!
As the elevator chime signaled its arrival, I began channeling the power of the sun.
“Die!!”
“Kill him!!”
As soon as the doors opened, two familiar figures lunged at me with knives, as if they had been waiting for this moment. I transformed Manbyun into gauntlets, infused them with the power of the sun, and struck out.
Boom! Boom!
My fists melted their blades on contact, smashing into their solar plexuses.
Sizzle!!
The twin’s flesh burned under the impact, causing them to scream as they collapsed to the floor.
“Aaagh!”
“It burns, it burns, it burns!”
It’s said that the most excruciating pain a human can feel is the burning agony, and the twins writhed on the ground in torment. I left them there and walked forward.
Thud, thud, thud!
Blocking my path was a team made up of the boss’s most trusted hunters. Most of them were F- ranks who had barely made it through one or two entries into the Tutorial Zone. Yet, in a world where they could extort and bully ordinary people, they were always at the top.
Maybe that’s why, even after seeing their fallen teammates and me, they didn’t seem particularly frightened.
Instead, they cursed the fallen twins, even spitting on them. Typical trash who can’t even gauge the difference between themselves and their opponent.
“So, it’s you, Shin Juha.”
The man at the front, who styled himself as the boss’s left-hand man, Yook Gwang-sik, glared at me with fierce eyes.
If Kang Cheol-woo, who tried to kill me in the Hidden Stage, was the boss’s prized piece and official right-hand man, this guy was just trash desperately trying to earn the boss’s favor.
He had been one of those who tormented me the most, alongside Kang Cheol-woo, in his bid to gain the boss’s trust.
Yook Gwang-sik looked down on me, speaking with a face full of arrogance.
“I heard rumors that you awakened and ran away… So, why did you come back here? And what’s the meaning of this mess? Do you really think you can get past all of us and reach the boss? Even if you are strong—”
“Ah, you bastard. You’re still as chatty as ever, huh? Just shut up and attack me. Actually, you know what? I’ll come to you.”
His attempt at sounding calm and composed fell flat, lacking any sincerity.
I transformed Manbyun into the shape of a sword. As the flames of the sun surged along the blade in my hand, I pushed off the ground and charged toward them.
“I won’t kill you. But I’ll make you pay for coming after my life.”
“Ma… Magical power? And it’s elemental magic? Damn it! Blo… Block it!”
Too late. That smug arrogance of yours is what’s strangling you. You trash.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Guided by Mugeuk, I could sense their attacks and move precisely as I wanted. I cut down the limbs of more than ten hunters.
Some lost arms, others legs, some ears… and some lost more… sensitive parts.
“I’ve cauterized the wounds with fire so they can’t be reattached. You’ll have to live like that for the rest of your life. Or you could pay a healer for recovery. That’ll cost at least a billion won.”
“You… damn… Shin Juha!!!”
Ignoring Yook Gwang-sik, who was foaming at the mouth in pain after losing his manhood, I turned and walked to the door of the boss’s office, where he was waiting for me.
“…Unbelievable. It’s absurd. A trash like you, who couldn’t even bring in a billion won, has brought my company to its knees.”
“You haven’t even fought yet. Are you already admitting defeat?”
“Even if I beat you, I know that my chances are gone. These damned pigs wagged their tails when I was feeding them money, but now that this has happened, none of them answer my calls!”
“That was me. More precisely, it was Seohwa Group’s princess, who nearly died at the hands of the Kang Cheol-woo you sent, who pulled some strings.”
“Seohwa… Seohwa Group. That bastard Kang Cheol-woo. I only told him to bring you in, and he made a mess of things he couldn’t handle. So, you even brought in the Inspection Department?”
“How did you know? I’ve been here for about an hour, so they should arrive in around 30 minutes.”
With a heavy sigh, the boss pushed his massive body up from his chair.
“Then I just need to kill you and escape in those 30 minutes.”
“Wow, you even packed your things?”
“Yeah, all because of you. You’ve ruined everything I’ve built!!!”
He pulled out a pair of brass knuckles from behind and charged at me.
“Alright then, let’s end this. Today.”
Today is the day to bring this twisted relationship to a close. With that thought, I moved.
Boom!!!
A massive roar echoed through the office as the boss’s fist clashed with my sword.
—
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