Chapter 34

Long Outing

She spoke, almost as if testing me.

“When you’re referring to the D.C. contacts…”

“I need a connection with the Washington D.C. market.”

People thought that black markets operated independently, but that was only half-true. Some of them exchanged information and products in conjunction with each other, and also shared profits.

At the heart of the alliance was the Black Market in Washington, D.C. At this point, ordinary people and many guilds did not know their existence, since it was a place where black markets dealt with each other.

To achieve my goal, I had to face the owner there.

“I want to meet with the owner of the D.C. Black Market, in other words, the Senator.”

Oh Jin-hwa did not smile anymore.

“How did you get to know him? The presence of the fourth market in the United States…”

She was still testing me.

“Isn’t D.C. the first market? Considering America, even all over the world?”

It was only then that Oh Jin-hwa stopped pretending.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t give you this information for free.”

“I guessed so.”

“I can’t get paid for it.”

“···Then?”

“If you give us a ‘safe’ route we can reach you with, we’ll tell you within three days, whether or not we’ll be able to provide information, and how much it costs.”

I informed her of a burner account.

“Do you have anything else to buy?”

I bought some things that I had left later on. They were small items, but would be tagged if I purchased them from a standard Hunter store.

“Let’s move on to the sell-off now.”

I turned to look at the trunk—a huge suitcase with rolling wheels that followed me automatically in this building without a touch. When the device was operated remotely, the fuselage was laid to the side, and the lock was, in turn, opened.

Tick!

The top shelf of the bag, from which it was divided into several layers, was opened.

“The item is Lorto’s Dagger.”

“If you don’t mind···”

“Go ahead.”

One of the staff came in and tore up the analysis scroll.

‘You’ve been a very useful, dagger.’

I obtained artifacts to be used as weapons from the dungeon in the meantime.

It was not for nothing that the item description explained to replenish the poison diligently, but this sword’s poison gland was an object that needed to be charged when it was consumed. When paralyzing poison was needed, the Five Snakes could be used, so I thought of selling the dagger.

Oh Jin-hwa, who finished the analysis, spoke up.

“We offer you 2.2 billion won.”

“All right.”

It was a little cheap, but I still gave way for the next deal.

Rattle!

When Oh Jin-hwa took the dagger, the trunk shelves went over, and the next frame came up.

“It’s a skill card.”

There were ten skill cards, all ranging from A-Class to C-Class, and all were goods sold at high prices in this era.

After attacking the dungeon, I always picked a skill card if there wasn’t a useful item for me to use. Skill followed the flow of the time, so I picked the time-limited one for present times. It was not hard work to choose the reward, as it was apparent through [The Successor’s Eyes].

If I released these cards on the Hunter Store in Yangji, I would be tagged, and investigations about the source would be pursued. The black market was perfect for shaking off this much at once.

“You have only good ones. You have a good eye. I’m amazed.”

She said that she was amazed in words, but her voice was calm. However, I didn’t miss her gaze, staying a little longer on one card.

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[Fire Mastery (Rank: A)]

A-rank, the highest level of magic skill cards available in a normal dungeon.

However, that was not the only reason Oh Jin-hwa was attracted to it.

Right now, the KH Guild had won the bid and had now been targeting the gate in Dunchon-dong, Daejeon, and although the stability status is ‘normal,’ the attack had been dragging for four months. It was unknown to other guilds, but they were having a hard time dealing with the boss monster, ‘Blizzard Ant.’

According to KH Guild’s simulation results, ‘Lava Field,’ which could only be used by learning Fire Mastery above A-Class, must be cast by at least two people to destroy ice burrows that the boss was hiding in, but··· The problem was that there was only one such hunter in the guild.

Although it was not a dungeon in danger of immediate collapse, the fact that it would take a long time to attack could have caused concern among the residents around, and KH Guild began secretly searching for skill cards, aware that the right to clear could be transferred to other guilds depending on the government’s influence. Unfortunately, however, there were no supplies not only in Korea but also in the world.

Oh Jin-hwa’s eyes glow quietly. I would be thinking about how expensive I could sell it back. I was sure there must have been KH guild contact in the black market.

“We offer 38 billion for all ten cards.”

3.8 billion won each.

“Is that the best?”

“It’s at the best price, considering that you trusted today’s purchase transaction through us, also that the cards you are selling are all valuable, and you are trading ten cards at once.”

I spilled it as a passing word.

“I heard it’s very chilly in Daejeon these days.”

“···”

Oh Jin-hwa only had a little silence, but she did not seem baffled and immediately responded.

“I learned many times from your wisdom today. I offer 43 billion.”

She had undergone a quick change of tone, understanding my implication that I knew about the KH Guild.

Thanks to this, it jumped by 5 billion won in an instant. This was less than half the premium that they would receive from the KH Guild.

I thought this was enough since I was not going to deal directly with the KH kids.

“All right.”

Unlike the past life, the Dunchon-dong dungeon would likely be cleared by KH Guild this time.

After that, I sold a few more things that I had prepared, and I settled the money that I spent and earned that day and returned home, having made more than 30 billion won in cash.

*

Seo Gyu-cheol called me back that day almost a month after the Okcheon dungeon incident.

“I’ve prepared your next mission.”

Since the day I was known to barely have managed to survive the Okcheon dungeon, I had only encountered Seo Gyu-cheol in a series of reporting occasions.

This was the first time I had been with him alone since then.

‘What a great daddy. That’s a great daddy.’

“The exploration is next week. The dungeon grade is E.”

It had been a while since the media beat him up for sending a novice hunter to an unsuitable dungeon, and yet again, he had chosen another dungeon that was too much for a novice.

He floated the hologram, like the last time, and gave me a brief explanation. His tone made it clear that he found nothing wrong with this at all.

It was as if he didn’t know about the accident that had recently happened. He didn’t even ask his son for consolation or regards.

The reason why the most intense emotion of the original Seo Jin-wook in response to [Mercadius’ Seed] was ‘Anger’ was in front of my eyes. The reason why he had such deep anger since he was young.

“Do you have anything to say?”

When I stood still without a reply, Seo Gyu-cheol asked in a cold tone. And so, I replied in a tone that was similarly cold to him.

“Yes.”

“Say it.”

I said it.

“Well, I can’t go to a dungeon.”

There was a chill of silence in the office.

“What does that mean? Are you disobeying my orders?”

“No, it’s not disobedience. It’s requesting, my superior.”

“What’s the appropriate reason?”

Now, Seo Gyu-cheol looked at me with eyes that seemed to kill.

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Wow. Are those eyes one could give their kid?

“What part of this dungeon do you not like?”

“It’s not just this specific dungeon; it’s about dungeons overall. I don’t think I can go to a dungeon for a while. I don’t want to go.”

There was no dungeon exploration with Celestial Dragon for the time being.

We didn’t know how many Park Chang-hee could be hiding within this guild. I wanted to wait until Iponia grew up.

“… Are you kidding me?”

“It’s not a joke.”

I spoke with a stiff look on my face.

“I’ve had nightmares since the last dungeon exploration. I can see Team Leader Park Chang-hee’s last appearance. It’s not that I won’t go to dungeons forever. I don’t mean to quit as a Hunter. I need time to get back into the dungeon—a time to relax. I can’t talk to anyone else, but I’m telling you because you’re my father. Please understand this.”

The moment I said that, something flew into my sight. I let myself get hit on purpose.

Puck!

Shatter!

Now, would one look at this?

I barely held in my desire to raise the ends of my lips.

“What?! What did you just say? Talk to me again!”

Seo Gyu-cheol’s roar resonated within the entire room.

He, who had never made a loud noise so far, keeping his cold atmosphere, was venting his anger for the first time. His eyes were burning.

As he was shouting, I glanced at Seo Gyu-cheol’s crystal glass broken and rolling on the floor. It just hit my forehead and shattered to pieces. If I were a non-Awakened, my forehead would have been torn with it.

‘What a mess, huh?’

Seo Gyu-cheol kept shouting.

“What? Having nightmares? You’re so spectacular in many ways! For a Hunter, fighting and accidents are routine. What are you going to do with such a weak mind? That’s amazing. Incredible! I don’t know from whom you have inherited the fragile mind that could shatter with a puff!”

I simply listened, all without moving.

This was a bit more intense of a reaction than I had initially expected, but the way I intended for it was about right.

“What? You can see Park Chang-hee? Are you going to turn Park Chang-hee’s death in vain? He wouldn’t be able to close his eyes if he knew he died because of an idiot like you. I don’t care, get ready on your own. If you can’t make it, I will hang a leash on you like a dog and drag you there!”

It was not just the curse that made Seo Jin-wook’s sanity often blew away in front of Seo Gyu-cheol in his previous life. Seo Gyu-cheol also worked hard to add to it.

‘I have to make sure if there are seeds in the core once he charged up enough of Mana.’

When I was silent, Seo Gyu-cheol reached out his hand as if he was about to throw a coaster this time.

All right, that was it.

Whip!

I gently caught the crystal coaster that he threw. Seo Gyu-cheol’s eyes widened.

“Put a leash and drag me? Is that… something you would say to a son that is suffering?”

It had only been two months, so it was just about time to relapse.

Not to the point of disrespecting the parents··· Should I start flipping things over?

I fumbled the memory of how Seo Jin-wook expressed his anger against Seo Gyu-cheol. As soon as I revived the closest memory, I thought about how I could express it with my Awakened body.

Right after I had thought it through…

“How?! Can you, to your father!”

“This bastard?”

I shivered as if I couldn’t contain my rising anger, and with the glass coater in my hand…

Whip!

Clang!

I threw it right in front of where Seo Gyu-cheol was looking.

The expensive pottery that had been placed all over the room was broken continuously.

Seo Gyu-cheol shouted.

“Somebody outside! Get him out of here!”

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I played the original Seo Jin-wook with the textbook example of anger management disorder, who kept breaking things in the room and left himself to explode in anger.

My riot with force continued until the hunters rushed into the office and dragged me out.

*

The next day after a ruckus between Seo Gyu-cheol and Seo Jin-wook took place, Secretary Kim Byeong-ho headed to Seo Jin-wook’s bedroom.

The quiet gaze of the company’s employees followed his path. Rumors had already spread about what happened between the father Seo Gyu-cheol and his son, Seo Jin-wook, yesterday. There was also a murmur that Seo Jin-wook’s mental illness had finally recurred.

He knocked on the door with curious eyes in the background.

Knock, knock!

“Team Leader?”

After a five-second wait, he knocked again.

“Team Leader? Team Leader Seo Jin-wook?”

After two mechanical repetitions, Secretary Kim took the key out of his arms and opened the door. Something he would never do in ordinary times.

He entered the room.

And inside was···

“···Hmm.”

There was no one in Seo Jin-wook’s room. Not only himself but also no ‘cat’… that resembled a cat that he raised.

What was left inside was all the shambles of furniture and utensils. Some were broken, torn, shredded, and slightly tanned.

‘He outdid himself. The housekeeping team will have a hard time.’

Secretary Kim was not at all shaken. He calmly straightened up the fallen chair, sat down, and made a call.

“···Yes, this is Kim Byeong-ho. Team Leader Seo Jin-wook, I think he left home. He left a note.”

The paper he was holding was in rough handwriting, with all kinds of profanities scribbled on it, saying that he would leave the house, and that nobody should come after him.

After putting down the note back, Secretary Kim waited for someone to come.

As he turned his eyes out of the window, the sky was unusually blue. He muttered something that no one could hear.

“···I don’t know what you’re thinking, but please come back safely.”

*

“Welcome to Chicago.”

Chicago O’Hare Airport, immigration checkpoint.

After I got my passport back from an immigration officer, I came out of the immigration office and saw myself reflected on the window.

“···It’s comfortable. No Mana consumption, too.”

The reflection of me was the face of ‘Kang Min-Guk,’ a businessman who perfectly matched the picture of his passport.

What had changed was not just appearance. Now, if someone pulled out my hair and did a DNA analysis, the result would be consistent with the present Kang Min-Guk, and not of Seo Jin-wook. Thus was the power of the item purchased on the black market.

In fact, this kind of preparation was not necessary to avoid airport inspections. A few days later, I needed this item to participate in exploring the Chicago Gate dungeon as a hunter of another status.

“Chicago···”

I had only been here once in my previous life. I had no chance to visit twice, since the city itself was annihilated entirely afterward.

Beep!

As I operated the terminal, a self-driving car came with an empty driver’s seat. I opened the door and registered the user, and it drove downtown.

I came here today to get my hands first on the items that one of my former colleagues would use. Not long ago, I discovered that Randy, Nate, and Hibiki all existed in this period.

‘I think I’m the only one who was reincarnated among the four dead in Angelica’s hands.’

The three of them and I had something in common – that we died at the Tower of Choice.

It would be highly beneficial if I could meet my former colleagues in this life.

In such a situation, if I stoke the items they would use, I would feel guilty, but this would be done for a reason. I came to Chicago to get the sword that Randy had used in his previous life.

Would I take it and guide it to Randy? Of course, I had the intention to. However, it was still going to be a long time from now.

Randy, of a calm and fair nature, often acted as a mediator between us, and someone might have mistaken him for the eldest, but in fact, he was the youngest of the last five.

To estimate how young he was…

Randy Samuel Hickerson, his birth date was December 3, 2033.

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In other words, the sword king, Randy, who was the strongest hunter in the previous life, was just currently a four-year-old child.