Chapter 40

Chapter 40

‘Hey, what do we do? I think we’ve been spotted.’

Do-jae glared angrily down the narrow alleyway.

It was where Song Ji-yoon and Yook Hyeon-jae had been hiding and watching.

‘I don’t know. You figure it out.’

‘You tell me what to do?! After spying together yourself!’

‘I clearly said we shouldn’t do this.’

Song Ji-yoon and Yook Hyeon-jae bickered in hushed voices.

They thought they’d been following him well until now, but it turned out they hadn’t.

‘Should we say we just happened to pass by and saw them?’

‘Come up with something plausible. Do you think the captain will buy that?’

‘Then what do you suggest we do?!’

‘What else can we do? We have to go grovel and beg.’

‘Ugh. What if the class president hates us now?’

Song Ji-yoon made a pouty face.

More than anything else, she was worried about being disliked by Dojae.

‘I’d probably be really angry if it were me… But the class president is different. If we just apologize as much as possible, won’t he forgive us?’

‘Do you think so? Really? Huh. Huh.’

Yook Hyeon-jae’s positive words calmed Song Ji-yoon’s nerves a little.

She took a slow, deep breath, preparing to be scolded.

But then Dojae’s voice came again.

“I don’t want to make a big scene. Come out quickly.”

His voice was even sharper than before.

It was a line that utterly crushed Yuk Hyeon-jae’s consolation.

‘Hyunjae. Thank you for everything. I don’t think I can show my face around the unit anymore.’

‘You’re being uncharacteristically dramatic. Let’s just get out of here now.’

‘Yeah….’

Slumped shoulders, bitter footsteps.

Just as Song Ji-yoon was about to exit the alley.

Slap—.

‘Wait.’

Yook Hyeon-jae grabbed her wrist.

Then he watched as a man of slight build slowly appeared before Dojae.

***

He was about 160cm tall.

His weight was 50kg, or maybe even less.

This small man appeared before Dojae without a sound.

“How long have you known?”

The man spoke in a surprisingly high-pitched voice.

If not for his distinctly masculine frame and flat chest, he could easily have been mistaken for a woman.

“For quite a while. Around the time you left the cafe, I think.”

The man was astonished.

Because she had acted completely unaffected, even though she knew he was watching her.

“Huh… Then why didn’t you do anything?”

“I didn’t want to interrupt the rare pleasant time I had. It was a bit annoying, though.”

For Dojae, today was truly a special day.

He tried on some stylish clothes and styled his hair to look his best.

He relaxed at a cozy cafe… well, he sat there for a while, and he also visited a popular restaurant.

Strolling along the riverbank in the cool breeze was, needless to say, wonderful.

He didn’t want that perfect day ruined by a single fly buzzing around him.

“I don’t know how you figured it out, but it’s good confidence. Just know that excessive confidence is recklessness, okay?”

“Whether it’s recklessness or not isn’t for you to judge. Why were you following me?”

“Heh heh. If I was going to tell you that, do you think I’d have followed you around?”

“True enough.”

The man slipped his hand into his chest pocket.

Now that the target had spotted him, the mission was a failure.

There was only one course of action left for the man.

“It’s a shame, but I’ll have to take you with me.”

A dagger was drawn from within his clothing.

The blade itself was nothing special, but it was coated in a deadly neurotoxin.

Even an A-class physical hunter would be incapacitated for a significant time if struck by this potent venom.

His plan was to quickly incapacitate them with the nerve toxin, kill the two watching from over there, and then disappear from here with Dojae.

Swish-.

The man vanishing into the darkness.

Night is his optimal stage.

And just one strike was enough.

A single strike. He was confident he could thrust his dagger into his target, no matter who they were.

How many hunters had lost their lives at his hands?

And Dojae, reported as a C-rank Awakened One?

He didn’t know what special method they used to track him down while he was hidden, but he was certain they’d never find him in this darkness, in an ambush like this.

‘If he finds out the target spotted us, Manager Kang is gonna go ballistic. Ever since we got wiped out by the Captain, he’s been pushing us way too hard.’

The man moved slowly through the darkness.

Do-jae stared toward the end of the alley.

‘What are you looking at!’

Meanwhile, the man had completely closed in behind Dojae.

‘Come on, let’s go. We’re going to spill everything!’

The dagger he had carefully concealed in his coat, lest it reflect in the streetlight.

He thrust its sharp tip into Dojae’s back!

Thud!

Whoosh-.

Thud-.

Thud-!

***

What just happened?

When the situation ended, Dojae was holding the man’s arm and pressing down on his back.

“Sorry, but I can’t let it get torn—it’s borrowed.”

Just moments ago, in the span of mere seconds.

Dojae, who had already anticipated the man stabbing him from behind with a dagger, spun around and kicked the man’s wrist.

Then, grabbing the man’s arm as he lost his balance and fell, he slammed him to the floor, pinned his back with his knee, and crushed the man’s neck with his arm.

“Gah! Gah!”

As his throat was crushed, the man struggled to breathe and circulate blood. He coughed repeatedly, then passed out.

Dojae picked up the dagger the man had dropped.

A slippery liquid, like oil, coated the blade.

[Equipment Info]

Name: Dagger

Category: Sword

Description: A dagger whose only qualities are its hardness and sharpness. The blade is coated with Creul’s neurotoxin.

Effect: Central Nervous System Paralysis

Skill: None

“Kriul.”

Kriul is an extremely powerful Level 3 monster.

The secretion it uses when attacking causes stiffness and paralysis in any area it touches.

As stated in Dojae’s treasured book, ‘Monster Encyclopedia’.

If this neurotoxin enters the bloodstream, it paralyzes the central nervous system, causing the entire body to stiffen rigidly.

Furthermore, it states that even an extremely small amount of this neurotoxin is sufficient to cause death.

Given that it carries such a dangerous toxin, it’s clearly no ordinary creature.

“Then again, an ordinary person wouldn’t have any reason to be watching me.”

Dojae flipped the unconscious man over, positioning him face-up toward the sky.

“Ugh. Even if he wakes up, he probably won’t reveal his identity himself.”

Rummaging around.

Dojae searched the man’s pockets.

But there was nothing.

No wallet, no smartphone.

Nothing that could confirm his identity.

But that wasn’t really a problem.

Dojae had the Golem’s eyes.

Pop-.

[Character Info]

Name: Jang Ji-woo

Level: 48

Classification: Human

Details: 29 years old, male, 161cm, 47kg, member of the MID 1st Shadow Unit under the Suppression Army Intelligence Command. Currently on surveillance duty for Lee Do-jae.

Status: Knocked Out

[Stats]

Strength: 42 / Stamina: 28 / Agility: 93 / Spirit: 10 / Resistance: 0

[Skills]

Passive: Dagger Technique Lv Max.

Active: Stealth Lv 7, High-Speed Movement Lv 5.

The man seen through the enhanced golem’s eyes was named Jang Ji-woo.

He belonged to a unit I’d never heard of before.

“MID 1st Shadow Unit?”

Dojae turned on his smartphone and searched.

But only strange abbreviations appeared; there wasn’t a single piece of information related to the Suppression Army.

Then why was the Suppression Army Intelligence Command monitoring him?

And from an unknown, hidden unit, no less.

Zzzzzz-.

Dojae opened his sub-space and pulled out a hemispherical orb from within.

‘Is this why?’

The memory (damage) of his sealed left foot.

At first, he only sensed it, not knowing its name. It was only after obtaining the golem’s eye that he learned the truth.

Unlike the memory of the sealed right hand, this showed no reaction whatsoever, so I had simply stored it away in the sub-space.

‘If I must find a connection to Tobon, this is the only thing. MID, the Transcendence Stone, the memory of the sealed left foot… There’s something here…’

Dojae lifted Jang Jiwoo and leaned him carefully against one wall.

He figured someone would discover it and report it, or else he’d handle it himself after waking up.

And whether he got scolded or fired for failing his surveillance duty was none of his concern.

‘The unsettling part is taken care of. What remains is…’

Do-jae looked toward the end of the alley.

He had planned to leave if a fight broke out, but he was still hiding.

Scratching his head, Dojae called out to Song Ji-yoon and Yook Hyeon-jae.

“Why don’t you two come out already?”

***

Hesitantly.

“I’m sorry…”

“We’re sorry…”

Song Ji-yoon and Yook Hyeon-jae said in hesitant voices.

Do-jae pressed them with a slightly angry tone.

“You should’ve turned back when you had the chance. Did you two follow all the way here?”

“We were just so curious…”

“Still, that’s not right. Stalking someone’s private life is a clear crime. If you’d turned back at the cafe, I might have let it slide. But following us to the restaurant and then the park too?”

“Huh! You knew all along?”

“Yeah. If you’re gonna tail someone, do it properly. You’d catch the attention of any old lady walking by like that.”

“Gulp…”

Dojae had noticed the moment he stepped outside the base.

He’d recognized them from the very start but had simply turned a blind eye.

He had a pretty good idea what they were thinking.

But damn it, these guys were blatantly following him.

What’s more, he was extremely concerned that Jang Ji-woo, who was monitoring Dojae, might do something to them.

“Let’s go back.”

“Huh? You’re not going to scold us anymore?”

“You’re not kids. What good would scolding you do? It’d just hurt your feelings.”

“As expected… Captain…”

“I’m sorry, Captain. We won’t do this again.”

Do-jae nodded and smiled.

To Jae and Yook Hyeon-jae saw that smile as nothing but kind and merciful.

But the next day, when they saw that same smile from Dojae again, they realized it wasn’t a smile of forgiveness.

“Everyone, I have good news. Starting today, until the moment we withdraw, Song Ji-yoon and Yook Hyeon-jae will take charge of all cleaning duties. Spotless! Of course, you’ll still carry out your regular duties as usual.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Whoa! Sweet deal, sweet deal!”

“What did you guys do?”

“Hmm. I think I know.”

The members cheer at the news they won’t have to do their equally assigned cleaning duties.

Son Jeong-gyu looked at Song Ji-yoon and Yook Hyeon-jae and asked. Kang Eun-taek, reading their dejected expressions, said with a look that still felt like a bargain.

“Captain! You were acting like you’d forgiven us for everything yesterday!”

“When did I ever say that?”

“You said you wouldn’t scold us verbally!”

“You got it. Starting today, you’ll be punished through actions.”

“Aaaargh! That’s just too much!”

Song Ji-yoon screamed, grabbing her hair in frustration.

A makeshift tent in the empty field.

Even the slightest back-and-forth quickly makes it dirty, and a half-hearted cleaning won’t even show.

Only when the ten assigned members diligently cleaned their sections did it feel somewhat clean. Thinking about having to manage that daily with just two people going forward, Song Ji-yoon and Yook Hyeon-jae felt utterly hopeless.

“Alright, everyone take a break. Ji-yoon and Hyeon-jae, shall we start cleaning the restrooms? Let’s go together.”

Do-jae smiled contentedly and stepped outside the barracks.

Behind Song Ji-yoon and Yook Hyeon-jae’s slumped shoulders, the remaining members cheer them on.

“Fighting!”

“Clean it thoroughly!”

“Good luck!”

They probably didn’t know.

And through this incident, they would have learned.

That Dojae is surprisingly the type to hold a grudge.