Chapter 17

Giving Back What I Received

“…….”

Kang Jae-ho stared blankly ahead.

He couldn’t believe it.

The Dark Shadow Unit’s formidable older brothers had turned tail at the mere mention of ‘Gi So-yul.’

“Ugh.”

His abdomen throbbed.

His skin was swollen.

Before him stood a Skeleton wielding a sword.

Bone One, was it?

He felt like he had fractured something in the area where that damned skeleton had kicked him.

“Shit.”

Tuh.

Kang Jae-ho spat out a curse along with dark red blood.

Then, he thought.

‘How did it come to this?’

It was supposed to be a plan without variables.

No matter how extraordinary a Dungeon he had cleared, that guy was just an E-grade mercenary.

But they had two A-grades and five D-grade or higher Hunters.

And yet.

‘Unbelievable.’

He had faced five of them alone.

That’s right.

To be honest, things had gone wrong from that point.

“Heh heh heh.”

Laughter burst out.

He didn’t want to admit it, but he had to.

That his judgment had been wrong.

He had underestimated the Hunter Ju Dong-hoon too much.

And he had too much faith in the Dark Shadow Unit, a criminal organization.

What made it even more miserable was that.

Even five minutes after his superiors had fled, Gi So-yul had not appeared.

‘I’ve been had.’

He admitted it cleanly.

His mistakes and shortcomings.

That’s why he assessed the situation more calmly.

As long as he was alive, the fight wasn’t over.

‘First, if I keep fighting that guy like this, I’m bound to lose.’

Ju Dong-hoon was definitely strong.

He seemed to have absorbed the power of some unknown ‘opportunity’ faster than expected.

‘But he has a foolish sense of justice.’

He had clearly reacted to the F-grade porters.

When he had threatened the porters, he had stepped forward without a word.

A purity that hadn’t yet been tainted by this rotten society.

Kang Jae-ho’s eyes flashed as he shouted.

“What are you all doing? Move! Send those damned Skeletons back to the grave!”

“B-but! The Skeletons are too powerful!”

Someone retorted.

Kang Jae-ho was dumbfounded.

“Shut up! Are you just going to stand there and die? If you want to live, move! Move! Or you’ll die by my hand!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

“There’s no choice! Let’s keep fighting!”

The Hunters, exhausted in mind and body by the overwhelming difference in power, did not give up.

They had realized.

That giving up here meant death.

‘And I’ll take advantage of the chaos.’

The corners of Kang Jae-ho’s lips curled up slightly.

In his sight were the two clumsily standing porter siblings.

‘I’ll take those guys hostage.’

The only means of escape for a terrorist whose life is held hostage.

Kang Jae-ho intended to stage a hostage situation.

“Trying hard, aren’t you?”

I controlled the Skeletons and looked ahead.

Shoong! Shoong! Shoong!

The attacks of Kang Jae-ho’s group poured down on each of the five skeletons.

Their attacks were desperate.

They were clearly giving it their all, and each attack was filled with murderous intent.

They must be struggling to survive.

“…….”

It was bitter.

Why were humans so eager to devour each other?

Could it be the tragedy of this era, directly revealed by the emergence of ‘Hunters’ and humans gaining more primal ‘power’?

It was a pity.

It felt like just 10 years ago, things were so peaceful…

Ah, or was it?

Was the world always rotten?

Come to think of it, even back then.

It’s not like there weren’t people trading in human lives…

Anyway.

“Bone One.”

I called Bone One.

Creak!

He nodded instead of answering.

In fact, I had been aware of it for a while.

Where Kang Jae-ho’s gaze was directed.

What kind of scheme he had.

It was a pity.

Did he really think a hostage situation would work when I had five troops?

“Deal with it.”

Ta-da-dat!

Bone One, raising his sword, moved his feet to block Kang Jae-ho’s path.

Whoosh!

At the same time, he swung indiscriminately at him.

“Ugh?”

Kang Jae-ho reflexively raised his arm in shock.

An unconscious defense.

Poosh!

His arm was severed.

A large amount of blood poured onto the sandy ground.

“Kk, kkaaaaack!”

He screamed, trembling.

I watched the scene with a blank face.

Sympathy?

There was no way I would feel that.

He had clearly aimed for my life.

Therefore, he had to pay the price.

What if I had been weak?

If I hadn’t met the Old Man, or hadn’t awakened?

Would they have let me live?

‘There’s no way.’

This was just self-defense.

To climb to the Ranker position in this harsh world, I had to harden my heart.

‘The same goes for the rest of them.’

I gestured to the Skeletons.

[‘Bone Five’ uses the skill, Fireball (Lv.1).]

Whoosh!

Bone Five summoned a fireball once again.

He still had plenty of energy.

“D-dodge it!”

“Don’t touch it! Get as far away as possible!”

“W-what about the party leader?”

“Is that what matters now? Find your own way to survive!”

The charging guys widened the distance.

‘Geez…’

I suddenly felt a sense of novelty.

The day had come when five Hunters, who were quite experienced, couldn’t stand up to my skeletons.

I seemed to have gotten a lot stronger in a short amount of time.

“Shall we finish this up?”

Pa-ba-ba-bak!

The remaining Skeletons also moved.

Bone Two thrust his spear, and Bone Three shot his arrow.

And Bone Four used his shield as a weapon, performing a body slam.

“Kkaaaack!”

“Kkeugh!”

The Hunters, who had each widened the distance, couldn’t withstand the concentrated fire of my skeletons.

Bone Two’s spear was fierce, and Bone Three’s arrow was careful.

“It hurts! It hurts!”

“Damn it!”

Each of them suffered fatal wounds, clutching their injured areas and collapsing.

The end of the battle.

Swish!

At the same time, Bone One shook off his sword and walked towards the Hunters.

The guys were frightened by Bone One’s fierce eyes.

“D-don’t come any closer!”

“Please save me! I was wrong! Kang Jae-ho told me to do it!”

“H-hey! Think about it again! Don’t we have the bond of being Dungeon survivors together!”

The Hunters were babbling something at me.

But my eyes remained unchanged.

‘If they were good guys in the first place, they wouldn’t have joined the Dark Shadow Unit.’

Whoosh!

Bone One indifferently swung his sword.

Poosh! Slash!

Two Hunters, their necks severed, collapsed.

Instant death.

“Huk, hukeu?”

The remaining Hunters staggered back, dripping blood.

But Bone One’s actions were merciless.

Poook!

“Keo, keoeok!”

The blade smoothly pierced one Hunter’s chest.

His heart was skewered like a skewer.

The guy trembled, feeling the temperature of the cold metal all over his body.

“Ahheuk, aah… Aheueuk!”

His expression looked very painful.

Slash!

Bone One pulled out his sword, bestowing the blessing of death upon him.

“Now there are two left?”

I slowly recited.

There were five, but I killed three, so there were two left.

“You bastard!”

At that moment, Kang Jae-ho rose up, holding his sword with his remaining arm.

“Did you think I’d just take it lying down?”

Then, he sprinted towards the porters with all his might.

But.

Poosh!

Bone One’s greatsword swept past his legs, as if he had anticipated it.

“Kkaaaaack!”

Thud.

Kang Jae-ho, his legs severed after his arm, lost his balance and rolled.

Then, he trembled and writhed in agony.

Tears were streaming from his eyes.

“You damn bastard. Why! Why! Did you have to appear in front of me!”

Thud, thud.

I slowly approached him.

And grabbed his remaining arm.

“What are you talking about? You’re the one who appeared in front of me?”

“Kkeuheueuk!”

Kang Jae-ho could only groan at the simple answer.

He had nothing to say.

He was the one who had revealed his intentions first and got beaten up.

“Damn it! Don’t do anything stupid. Just… kill me!”

“Kill you?”

I shook my head.

“Sorry, but you can’t die easily.”

“What?”

“Even if you’re going to die, you have to pay the price for your actions, right?”

Drag, drag, drag.

I grabbed his arm and dragged him.

“Th-this bastard?”

Kang Jae-ho’s eyes widened.

He had figured out my intentions.

[In order to break the seal of the Ancient Desert Scorpion King, a sacrifice must be offered.]

[Place the sacrifice on the two magic circles inscribed.]

[The sacrifice must be a living Hunter of F-grade or higher.]

That’s right.

I was planning to use him as a sacrifice for the Dungeon.

Just like they had tried to do to the porters.

“Hahaha, to know the pleasure of killing two birds with one stone. It seems there’s no need for separate moral education.”

The Old Man, who had been watching with his hands behind his back, laughed heartily.

He wore a very satisfied smile at my judgment.

‘I have to be thorough, Elder.’

“Well, well! Excellent!”

Leaving the Old Man’s praise behind, I continued to drag him.

“You crazy bastard! Just kill me! Kill me!”

“Shut up. Who would benefit from that.”

Thud!

When I placed Kang Jae-ho on the altar, the patterns engraved on it lit up.

“Heueuk, kkeuheueuk.”

Bone One placed the remaining guy on the altar as well.

[A sacrifice has been offered.]

[Judging the conditions.]

My heart was heavy.

Originally, if a Dungeon of this kind appeared, I would have backed away without clearing it.

I didn’t like the idea of having to obtain rewards only through someone’s sacrifice.

‘But.’

To become a Ranker, I had to set a clear standard.

And the standard I set was simple and clear.

‘I give back as much as I receive.’

If I received a favor, I would definitely repay it.

If I made an enemy, I would definitely take revenge.

If someone aimed for my life?

I would also take their life.

It might be difficult, but it was a weight I had to endure to become a Ranker.

[Conditions are met.]

[The seal that has been in place for a long time is now released!]

Flash!

A pillar of pure white light exploded from the two altars.

In response, the two sacrifices disappeared without a trace.

“Farewell. If there is a next life, be sure to live kindly.”

It was the end of a criminal who had forced someone’s sacrifice.

I shook off the guy’s blood from my hands.

‘Come to think of it.’

I had a question.

Why wasn’t Gi So-yul coming?

The Dark Shadow Unit guys had clearly shouted, ‘Gi So-yul is here!’ and ran away.

In fact, I felt like I owed her another debt.

If it hadn’t been for her, I would have had to fight two A-grades.

And I might have been the sacrifice on that altar instead of them.

“Hoo.”

My head was complicated.

I had promised to explain the opportunity to her, but I hadn’t decided how to do it yet.

And how the escaped Dark Shadow Unit would come out was also a headache.

I might need protection.

But I didn’t want to belong to somewhere.

‘As expected, having power means having more to think about.’

Just as I was loosening my stiff neck muscles with my hands in my pockets.

Kugugung!

That was when the ground shook.

“Kyaa!”

“N-Necromancer! Over there!”

The porter siblings shouted with their mouths wide open.

At the same time, a message popped up.

[Ding!]

[Stage: Ancient Desert Scorpion King]

[The Ancient Desert Scorpion King has been released from its seal.]

[The Scorpion King’s rage, after being forced to sleep for a long time, pierces the sky.]

[Eliminate the target.]

“Ah, right… That guy was there.”

Thoughts later.

First, I had to deal with the boss in front of me.