Chapter 132

Chapter 132

Yeongjin clutched his side, gasping for breath.

‘What the hell are those bastards?’

Whoosh-!

Young-jin tore his clothes and wrapped them tightly around his waist.

It wouldn’t stop the blood flowing from the deep gash in his side, but it would prevent the wound from tearing further.

Swoosh-!

“Kyaaaah!”

“Guhh…!”

The harpy, diving vertically from the sky, spun mid-air, leaving claw marks on Young-jin’s shoulder before soaring upward again.

In his normal condition, he would have snatched up a harpy like that in an instant and torn its wings to shreds, but Yeongjin’s current state was so poor his vision was blurry.

‘I’ve lost too much blood…’

Yeongjin clutched his side.

“Haah… I managed to escape, at least…”

Yeongjin hid in a narrow valley and leaned his body against the rock for a moment.

He had escaped the three unknown monsters, but he wasn’t completely safe yet.

This place was inside a dungeon.

Unless he found a way out, he would be discovered sooner or later.

But the problem was he didn’t know the entrance.

He had entered unconscious and knew nothing about the layout of this place.

“Hey… you know how to get out of here, right?”

Youngjin said, staring at the iron chain wrapped around his arm.

Chains studded with magic stones that emitted a faint red glow.

He asked, hoping for an answer, but of course, none came.

“If I stay here, it’s only a matter of time before I get caught…”

Young-jin took a slow, deep breath and gathered his mana.

He couldn’t fully heal the wound, but he had to prevent it from worsening or becoming infected.

He concentrated his mind as much as possible, focusing his mana on the wound.

“Huff… huff…”

The bleeding gradually stopped.

The more it did, the tighter Yeongjin squeezed his clothes, pressing down on the wound.

It stung and hurt, but if he bled any more, he wouldn’t even have the strength to run away.

He kept his mind focused.

Sssshhh-.

Yeongjin’s mana gushes out like mist from his torn wounds, glowing brightly.

Unaware of this, Youngjin continues to channel mana to heal the wound.

Clang!

The iron chain, loosening on its own, fell to the floor.

Then it began to wriggle like a snake.

Clank-.

Snap-!

The iron chain climbed up Young-jin’s body.

Legs, waist, chest, neck.

Soon, they wrapped around his entire body.

And the crimson magic stone at his chest sucked up the mist-like mana lingering around him.

Pop!

The red magic stone emitted an intense light.

The dazzling light turned the surroundings white.

Young-jin’s eyes snapped open!

“Ah…!”

That feeling from the first time he awakened.

That emotion, that energy, and that knowledge he’d never felt before in his life—that sensation of it all pouring in—was felt once more.

Swoosh-!

Young-jin rose from his seat.

A power unlike before.

Ever since the lesson where he received mana from Dojae, Youngjin had been feeling a persistent sense of alienation.

And Young-jin thought it felt like when food gets stuck in the gap where a wisdom tooth had fallen out.

Usually, it didn’t hurt or feel like anything, but once he started paying attention to it, that mana became endlessly irritating.

But now it was different.

All the mana felt like it had always been there, familiar.

Chu-rak- chu-rak-.

“Someone like you, hyung…”

Young-jin clenched and unclenched his hands, examining his appearance.

Black iron chains wrapped around his entire body.

Just as Dojae wore armor made of stone, he too was clad in chainmail armor covering his entire body.

“Golem armor, huh…”

Power overflowed.

His body felt more refreshed than after a deep sleep, and his mind was clearer than ever before.

Everything appeared brighter, and sounds from far away became audible.

And Young-jin ascended the valley with light, nimble steps.

Thwack- thwack-!

Just two wall kicks.

Yeongjin leapt up the valley, over 20 meters high, in two bounds.

And a moment later.

Thud-thud-.

“Monster…?”

The boss of the gang that kidnapped Young-jin appeared and asked.

He drew his dagger, keeping his distance.

“Who is it? Who ordered my death?”

“Shim Young-jin?”

The boss drops his sword in shock.

Then, with a bitter smile, he says.

“Oh dear, what’s with that look? What difference does it make? We reached a nice agreement, but coming out like that is troublesome.”

“Yeah, no more agreements now. A hundred billion? I don’t have money to give to the likes of you. Go to the boss and grovel, saying ‘I’m sorry’!”

“…Young Master…? This is hopeless. I knew he was stupid, but this stupid…?”

Whoosh-!

CRASH-!

Young-jin’s fist collided with the boss’s dagger.

The boss instantly closed the distance, raised his blade to block Young-jin’s attack, and widened his eyes in shock.

“What… what is this destructive force…?”

“None of your business. Just tell me who ordered you to kill me.”

Kaboom-.

Thud.

Young-jin relentlessly drove his fists into the boss.

He had almost no experience in unarmed combat, so his attacks were monotonous, but his power and speed were enough to overcome that.

“Ugh!”

The boss groaned as he was pushed back.

Sparks flew every time the chains binding Young-jin clashed with the boss’s dagger, chipping away at the blade.

“Talk now! Or you die!”

“With… that skill? Hah!”

The battle raged on.

Initially evenly matched, the boss began to be pushed back as Young-jin’s attacks grew increasingly fierce.

Clang!

Then, a sword appeared from nowhere and stabbed Young-jin in the side.

“Guh!”

Young-jin’s groan echoed.

Fortunately, the chain mail held, but the blow landed on a spot where his wound hadn’t fully healed yet, causing Young-jin to stagger.

“Well done!”

“What is this?”

“It’s Shim Young-jin!”

Clang! Clang!

“Really? How did he suddenly…?”

“I don’t know either!”

Clang-!

Kwang-!

Young-jin endured the combined attacks of the two, swinging his fists and legs.

The movements felt incredibly unfamiliar at first, but he attacked by piecing together his memories.

The way Dojae had struck down monsters, the way he’d sparred with Ji-yoon, the way he’d dodged his own attacks.

Thud-.

CRASH-!

“Guh…”

Young-jin’s fist struck the late-arriving man squarely in the solar plexus.

The man’s mask became damp with a dark liquid.

“Get out of here first!”

The boss shouts, grabbing Young-jin’s arm.

“And get out of the dungeon with Myeong-eun!”

“Yes…!”

The man begins to run as the boss blocks Young-jin.

To keep him from escaping, Young-jin unfurls the chain bound to his arm and fires it.

“Where do you think you’re running off to!”

Clang-!

But the boss’s dagger strikes the chain, deflecting its path.

The man grows distant in the meantime.

“Huff, huff…”

Once the man was completely out of sight, the boss released Young-jin and backed away.

“He’s useless anyway. All I need is to know who he is.”

Yeongjin abandoned the fleeing man and approached the boss.

The important thing wasn’t killing these men, but finding out who had ordered his own death.

“This is bad… This is completely screwed up…”

The boss slipped his hand into his coat pocket.

Realizing he was about to do something, Young-jin immediately rushed toward the man.

But the man had already pulled out a rubber ball the size of a candy.

And the moment Young-jin was right in front of him.

Pop-sizzle-.

Ignition erupted from the man’s fingertips.

The rubber ball exploded in a massive burst of flame.

Boom-!

“Ugh!”

Young-jin stepped back to avoid the explosion unfolding before his eyes.

The fierce flames shot up to the sky’s edge, and the intense heat melted the chain, breaking it apart.

“See you later, young master!”

Meanwhile, on the opposite side, the boss fled at incredible speed.

Young-jin began chasing after him, determined not to lose sight of him.

The distance had grown quite large.

The old Young-jin couldn’t have chased him, but the new skill he gained, along with the overflowing power, boosted Young-jin’s running speed several times over.

“Stop right there!”

“Guh…!”

The gap, which had been nearly 100 meters, steadily closed.

90 meters, 80 meters, 70 meters…

It had closed to about 20 meters.

The man, seemingly out of nowhere, threw a dagger at Young-jin.

Whoosh-!

Thud-.

Yeongjin catches the flying dagger instead.

Then, he slides the chain down his hand to wrap it around the sword hilt.

Clank-.

Whoosh-!

The chain on his arm unravels, propelling the dagger along its length.

Thud!

“Guh.”

The dagger pierced the boss’s calf, spun around once, and bound the leg with the chain.

Confirming this, Youngjin pulls the chain with all his might.

Clang!

The chains tighten with a metallic clang.

One pulled him out while the other tugged.

The fierce tug-of-war between Young-jin and the boss seemed to be going Young-jin’s way as the boss was slowly being dragged back.

But the Boss’s sudden move caused the chain to snap.

Shack-!

Right above where the chain had been fastened, the Boss severed his own knee.

Young-jin was stunned—did the Boss really fear him enough to sever his own leg and flee?

After all, the distance between him and the Boss wasn’t much, and he’d be caught soon enough.

“Guh… Hahaha…! Almost there…”

The boss, running hard on one leg, arrived at the top of the hill and smiled with a look of relief.

But his expression twisted instantly.

Youngjin ignored the change in his expression and immediately tackled him to the ground.

He then bound a chain around the leg, which was dripping blood, tightening the pressure.

“What the hell are you doing! Even if you’re mad, you didn’t have to cut off my leg!”

“Haah… It’s over… How the hell did you even find me… Hahaha…”

The boss ignored Young-jin’s words, staring straight ahead and laughing.

Only then did Young-jin see the scene the boss was watching.

“What’s that look, Young-jin?”

In front of the dungeon entrance.

A man stood beside two of the boss’s subordinates, who were buried in the ground with only their heads poking out above the surface.

It was Dojae, wearing an expression of utter bewilderment.

***

“What the hell are these guys?”

“Kidnappers.”

Dojae asked, looking at the faces of the three men stuck in the ground.

The stones connected to Dojae’s feet bound the three men tightly, making escape impossible—they couldn’t even get out of the ground.

“Huh… What did you do to get kidnapped?”

“We didn’t do anything…”

Yeong-jin hung his head, kicking the innocent ground with his foot.

Looks like he’s got something on his conscience.

“How’s your body holding up?”

Do-jae looked at the torn side of Yeong-jin’s torso.

The long wound had healed, but the dried bloodstain showed it had been a deep cut.

“Oh, this? I’m fine now. Heh heh.”

Young-jin awkwardly rubbed his side as he spoke.

There were other large and small wounds visible, but they were minor enough that they probably wouldn’t even leave scars.

“Your body sure has been through a lot.”

“A hunter should have at least one scar, right?”

“The problem is, these weren’t from monsters… they were from people…”

“True… It’s the same in China and the US. Is it my fate to never go abroad?”

“Judging by your pointless chatter, you’re perfectly fine. Anyway, we’ll talk later about what happened while I was gone and that body…”

Do-jae approached the men, who were only showing their necks, and said.

“Lee Min-gi, Choi Chang-hoon, Park Han-kyung.”

The men’s names were called one by one.

They flinched, their mouths gaping as they looked at each other.

Do-jae crouched down before them, drawing the ‘Fangs of Sraka’.

Then, slowly, he cut away their masks.

So close to their skin it was almost touching.

“Who sent you to kill Young-jin?”

“……”

They did not answer.

Clearly, they were filled with fear, but no one spoke.

Then again, Dojae didn’t expect threats to work on men strong enough to cut off their own legs and flee.

“Impressive loyalty. Or are you being blackmailed?”

“…Then you understand, right? That we won’t talk? Go ahead and kill us. If we die by an S-Class Hunter, we don’t really have anything left to say. Heh heh.”

Park Han-kyung curled the corners of his mouth in a sneer.

Then Young-jin points at him and says.

“Bro! That’s the guy. He’s the leader.”

“Oh? Well, if you can talk to him well, that should be fine…”

“Heh heh, I doubt any threats would work on him. He’s the kind of guy who makes a living with his tight lips.”

“Seems like it. That’s why I know a group that’s good at reforming people like you.”

“What…?”

Dojae sheathed Saraka’s fangs once more.

Then, leaving them buried in the ground, he commanded the golems.

“Gonggol! Wipe out the remaining monsters and come back.”

“Huh? Boss, is that it?”

“Of course! Don’t you think they won’t open their mouths anymore?”

“I guess so…”

“Then wait and see. You’ll find out in a few days. But first, tell me what you did while I was gone?”

Dojae sat down on a suitable rock and grinned.