Chapter 28: The Predecessor’s Leaf

A sigh emerged from the depths.

Kim Jeong-cheol, wailing in agony, looked thoroughly pitiful.

Whether it was because he didn’t consider this a battle, he quickly retreated, glaring at his shattered right arm.

But then… as if a lizard’s tail was regrowing, a new arm sprouted.

They said it was a demon’s claw, and indeed, it wasn’t an ordinary human’s regenerative ability.

“Grrk! Wheh!”

The incessant babbling wasn’t human either.

Ever since earlier, the way he kept squawking like some pack mule was really annoying.

Of course, struggling in such agony was only natural.

But since that agony was self-inflicted, there was no reason to feel sympathy.

Kim Jeong-cheol emitted black mana of debt and glared at me, then charged again.

“Don’t look at me with those eyes!”

Why the sudden outburst of jealousy and nonsense?

His frown deepened as Kim Jeong-cheol wildly swung his fists.

Whether he was emitting black mana or trying to restrain himself, the punches he threw at the wooden dummy were weak.

His attacks were that powerless.

Try hitting me all day; does the dummy get destroyed?

“Ugh, ouch! I told you, don’t look at me like that! I—I’ve gotten stronger—pfft!”

I soothed Kim Jeong-cheol’s night with a warm touch.

He somersaulted from head to the ground.

“Krk!”

Yet his eyes remained fixed on me.

There was a fiery will reflected in his gaze.

Right, you must have your reasons. You must have had some jealousy. That’s why you sold your soul to the demons to gain such overwhelming power.

But so what?

What do you expect me to do?

You act so proud, jealous of your power, when you’re just a demon hunter.

If you were doing good but getting beaten by evil, I might feel sympathy.

But you? You use your power to commit crimes and evil acts, so what right do you have to freak out?

I stomped hard on Kim Jeong-cheol’s chest with my right foot.

“Cough!”

It would have been better before he transformed.

Back then, he was calm and precise with his strikes.

Now, he was just like a maddened pack mule intoxicated by uncontrollable power.

“There are no personal feelings. I’m just doing what needs to be done.”

I added my own words to what he said.

Then, I used the world-shaking technique to slice Kim Jeong-cheol’s neck.

His throat was cut as smoothly as tofu on a cutting board.

Even as his body fell and his head dropped, Kim Jeong-cheol didn’t die and continued to glare at me fiercely.

I had even spared his final words.

Why aren’t you dead?

“I’m waiting for you in hell—!”

I covered his mouth with my right foot.

You gotta keep the noise down.

Kim Jeong-cheol grunted and babbled for about a minute before suddenly going silent, as if his power had shut off like a computer.

Was it because he died?

His transformed body emitted smoke and slowly returned to its original form.

… Honestly, he was an utterly disgusting bastard.

“How long can someone live after their throat’s been cut?”

Was this how those who had faced me before felt?

I finally understood why Jeon Myeong-hwan had fled in fear.

It was disgusting enough just seeing a guy talking with his throat slit, but someone picking up his spilling guts with no shame—that must have been truly revolting.

[Administrator Baek Do-un has defeated the demon’s claw!]

[As a reward for defeating the first demon’s claw, you receive the ‘Predecessor World Tree Leaf’.]

[The Predecessor World Tree Leaf has been sent to your mailbox.]

Predecessor World Tree Leaf…?

At that moment, the Predecessor World Tree Leaf flashed in my mind.

Despite the name, I recalled the memory of a log tree.

Yeah, since it’s called a leaf, surely something huge like a parasol would sprout out.

Since the log tree was called a leaf, the leaf itself must be something similar.

Another message popped up.

It was a world quest.

[A grade 4 Predecessor World Quest has appeared.]

[Quest details – Administrator Baek Do-un successfully defeated the demon’s claw. Continue fighting other demon claws to achieve victory. (1/10)]

[Success reward – None currently. Adjusted based on the number of claws defeated.]

[No penalties upon failure.]

Since I defeated Kim Jeong-cheol, the count shows 1/10.

If I defeat nine more, I can complete it, but where will I find the rest?

Since there’s no penalty for failure, I can take my time.

… Ah, damn.

There was something I completely forgot: Kwon O-seok and Han Gi-hae were still around.

I chastised myself for being distracted by the reward item and looked around cautiously.

“Eek!”

“D-Don’t come near!”

Kwon O-seok and Han Gi-hae hadn’t fled.

Instead of running away, the idiots held Kim Jae-sik hostage.

They had already tied his arms behind his back with a rope.

Such foolish and clueless bastards.

They probably weren’t thinking straight to do something like this.

They must have thought doing something, anything, was better than just dying trying to escape the hunter who easily killed a terrified person.

If only they had escaped separately, there might have been a chance for at least one to survive.

Han Gi-hae pressed a sword against Jae-sik’s neck and shouted,

“Don’t move! If you move, this bastard dies!”

Really, do they honestly think that would work on me?

Absolute conditions are essential for restraining someone via hostage.

The hostage has to be ‘very precious’ for that to be effective.

Unless it was Do-hee or Tae-cheon, meeting Jae-sik for the first time made it unlikely to work.

I shook my head and said,

“Do whatever you want, kill or not.”

Before I could finish, Jae-sik called out to me.

With one eye squinting, I stared back.

Jae-sik…

He looked at me without any emotional fluctuation.

A face that accepted death.

Really…

Unable to hold back, I chuckled.

“Ha, haha.”

Ignoring the bewildered Han Gi-hae, I focused on Jae-sik and asked,

“Will you be okay?”

“I’m a hunter too.”

Only 62.

Probably, Jae-sik was going to say more but stopped himself.

After all, hunters accept death regardless of rank.

They were the kind who entered this world crawling with monsters.

Then, as a fellow hunter, shouldn’t I respect that resolve?

After nodding once, I stepped forward.

“You crazy bastards! Shut up..!”

“Stop! I swear I’ll kill you for real!”

Hearing this, Kwon O-seok and Han Gi-hae screamed loudly.

Though they were the ones holding the knife deciding a man’s breath, their expressions and actions looked exactly the opposite.

Of course. The path they were on wasn’t one of survival.

“I said I’m going to kill you! Stop this!”

“Kill him. He’s a hunter. He accepted it. So, kill him.”

One step, two steps.

I didn’t stop moving forward.

They looked at me helplessly.

That was never a hostage situation that could be resolved.

“But if you kill this bastard, what about you? Will you survive?”

If they killed Jae-sik, I would have every reason to take revenge and kill them too.

No one gains anything from this—only three more senseless deaths.

I boldly stepped forward and stopped right in front of the three men.

Even when I got this close, Kwon O-seok and Han Gi-hae didn’t kill Jae-sik.

They must have realized.

The hostage play they used to survive was actually a one-way ticket to hell.

“What do you want to do? If you want to use this guy as a hostage, I can wait.”

I said this and silently stared at them.

They looked at each other, then nodded as if they had decided.

They lowered their weapons and loosened the grip binding Jae-sik’s arms.

They must have judged that surviving and going to prison alive was better than a senseless death.

Foolish as they were, they weren’t beyond saving.

“Well thought out, fools. You just saved your own lives.”

Once freed, Jae-sik let out a sigh of relief.

Yeah. Even if you accept death, living is still the best.

[Middle level dungeon]

Mujoo Dungeon Ant Nest was a very quiet and peaceful place.

The only people who came were hunters clearing monsters when the dungeon’s mana ran rampant.

And even then, after one clearing, it would take three months for the mana to spread again, so hunters only came four or five times a year.

Because of this, the ‘Mujoo Ant Nest Management Office’ became a naturally quiet place.

It was even ranked in the top 10 preferred postings by the Hunter Association.

“I… Why on earth did you come here?”

Because they had been posted here, the managers were relieved, thinking, “Finally, life will get easier!” but now they were biting the ground.

There were suspicious figures before them.

The grade guild leader Baek Do-un of Mujoo and his party members.

From the same guild, vice-leader Baek Do-hee and her party.

“Sorry to bother you so early. I came to meet a friend, but it’s so crowded. Haha.”

“One’s just meeting her brother. Why so annoying?”

One sat leisurely under a tree, the other sat on air as if on a chair, coolly responding.

Their sharp words weren’t directed at the managers.

They were aimed at the ten or so guild members behind them.

The manager watched their pale and despairing faces and realized they had blindly followed Tae-cheon and Baek Do-hee.

“My friend… you mean Baek Do-un?”

“Yes. Didn’t you hear? He went into the dungeon yesterday afternoon.”

“Y-Yes, yesterday afternoon?”

The manager was shocked, eyes wide.

He recalled yesterday afternoon but couldn’t remember the faces of the people who entered.

He only remembered that two had come with Kim Jeong-cheol’s group.

He looked at his subordinates.

One of them handed over a file.

On it was a smiling photo of a young man looking refreshing.

Next to it was written ‘Grade 0 Hunter Baek Do-un’.

After seeing that, the manager thought,

“He’s dead! That bastard should be dead by now!”

“Ah… I remember! Yes, that’s right…”

The manager did not confirm the identity of the person who entered the dungeon.

There was no need to remember the face of someone destined to die.

They must escape. Anyone here will die horribly!

The manager pondered how to slip away quietly.

But unfortunately, no good idea came to mind.

“Phew. Finally, you came out, brother.”

Baek Do-hee floated down from the air.

White hair, white eyelashes, white skin.

Her whole body looked as if snow had fallen.

Everyone’s eyes followed her as she looked around the Ant Nest.

The manager also looked up toward the sky and prayed desperately.

Please! Please don’t kill them!

Not long after, Baek Do-un and Kim Jae-sik emerged from the Ant Nest.

They were dragging someone.

Alive? How?

The manager smiled bitterly, unable to understand the situation.

Kim Jeong-cheol was a powerful hunter who had previously defeated even Grade 8 hunters who came to complete quests.

Baek Do-un, only a Grade 2 hunter, couldn’t possibly have escaped that man’s demonic power.

Yet here he was, alive.

Baek Do-un stopped at the exit and spoke with a voice that seemed to have fallen into despair.

“Do-hee? Why are you here? You said you’d arrive on Friday!”

“Oh, did you believe that? What a disappointment. Of course, it was a lie.”

Do-hee smiled, narrowing her eyes.

To mock her brother.

Seeing that, Baek Do-un was despondent.

“Ahh, gods! You’re taking away my two remaining days of freedom like this!”

Such nonsense.

Those gathered in front of the Ant Nest watched the stumbling Baek Do-un and thought about their precious younger sister and only friend.

Only one person had a different thought.

The manager.

He didn’t care whether Baek Do-un had escaped or fought Kim Jeong-cheol.

He was alive, after all.

If they just silenced the mouths of Kim Jeong-cheol’s group, everything would be fine!

Just as this thought came, the manager’s thoughts froze.

Baek Do-un staggered toward him.

Before he could react, Do-un suddenly stabbed the manager’s side with a dagger.

“Memory! Why… why?”

“Just considering,” Do-un replied with a smile.

As seen in the photo, the smile looked cool and refreshing.