The incident happened on the way home that afternoon.
‘Come to think of it, with everything going on, I never did get my gift. What was in Brooklyn’s shopping bag?’
The alien archmage had turned down Kang Changho’s offer of a ride and chosen to walk home instead. It was a fairly long way, but the weather was pleasant, and days this leisurely were rare.
‘If it was food, I’m going to feel a little cheated.’
Giryeo had been using skill training as bait to squeeze money out of heroes. As a result, the number-one-ranked Hunter was growing stronger by the day. And the more he learned, the safer the world became from the threat of dungeon breaks. It was, in every sense, a win-win arrangement.
With the wind firmly in his sails, Kim Giryeo’s money-making scheme had been progressing without a hitch.
At least, until today.
‘Well, whatever. Haseong’s tuition payment came through. I should get home and check the latest auction listings.’
But just as he was nearing his studio apartment, Giryeo turned into an alley with broken streetlights—and suddenly felt something was wrong.
A strange sensation spread across the right side of his face.
Cold.
Sharp.
As though some tremendous impact had just struck him, his vision blurred, the world flashing hazy white for an instant.
*_*
Boom!
All of it had been caused by Kang Changho, who had been walking quietly beside him until, without warning, he attacked.
His fist slammed straight into Giryeo’s face.
The protective barrier generated by the ordinary defense ring Giryeo always wore shattered instantly. Worse, the bones of his face seemed to cave inward, followed by the sickening sensation of fractured pieces shifting beneath the skin.
An orbital fracture.
Giryeo instinctively covered the damaged side of his face with one hand and spoke.
‘What is this...’
In truth, the archmage had activated a spell a split second before the fist landed.
The fireball creation function of the pyromancer necklace.
In other words, he had attempted to initiate mutual destruction at a speed that could scarcely be called human.
And yet, something about the situation was strangely off.
If Kang Changho had launched that surprise attack using [Improvement], the blow should have carried enough force to shatter Giryeo’s skull outright.
‘What the hell is this?’
Kang Changho’s attack had been far too weak to kill him.
Considering that his opponent was an S-rank Hunter, it could barely even be called a serious punch.
So Giryeo merely kept his magic ready and watched.
Soon enough, Kang Changho cleared up the mystery himself.
‘Why are you so soft?’
Drip. Drip.
As the S-rank spoke, blood from Giryeo’s face pooled across the back of his hand before dripping to the ground.
‘Even if your body’s weakened because you’re using your mana elsewhere, it’s still strange. Your reflexes are too slow.’
*_*
‘You seem quick when it comes to controlling mana, but your eyes can’t keep up. And not just now. It’s always been like that. Almost as if you’re missing something a high-ranking Awakened should naturally be able to perceive...’ 𝙍â₦Ò฿Ɛ𝓢
Kang Changho tilted his head slightly to the right.
Then he finally voiced the suspicion he had been harboring for some time.
‘No way. Are you really an F-rank?’
At that, Giryeo muttered in disbelief.
‘When I asked you to believe me before, you didn’t even pretend to listen. So why are you making such a fuss about it now...’
The blond Hunter gathered mana while clutching the half of his face that had been crushed.
Not the mana within his battered body, but the energy stored inside his necklace.
‘If you’re that curious about my reflexes, why don’t you try hitting me again?’
It was a warning.
No matter how Kang Changho chose to test him, Giryeo was making it clear that he could still drag them both down together.
Kang Changho responded with a faint gesture of surrender.
‘Calm down. I was curious about something, that’s all. I wasn’t trying to test [Improvement].’
But for some reason, the S-rank Hunter’s gaze gradually turned cold.
‘Still, that reaction is exactly what I expected. Even after ending up like this, you keep trying to put yourself above everyone else. It’s a little...’
‘If you don’t like it, then kill me.’
‘Right. That attitude of yours is exactly the problem. How did our contract end up like this?’
The corners of Kang Changho’s mouth lifted into a smile.
Yet the expression was stiff and unnatural, like an alien creature imitating the smile of a human being.
‘It definitely started as nothing more than a way to kill time.’
Perhaps this was the face of a man who had perfected the art of concealing his emotions.
Kang Changho continued, finally revealing what he truly thought.
‘To be honest, the moment I started showing my interest openly, our positions completely reversed. Lately, it’s been bruising my pride little by little.’
His expression, however, remained remarkably indifferent for someone claiming that his pride had been wounded.
‘Which is why I’m telling you this.’
Kang Changho briefly looked down at the other man’s blood running across his hand.
Then he made a shocking declaration to the Hunter standing before him.
‘Kim Giryeo, the truth is, I was in China around the time you attended the Gate Star anniversary party.’
*_*
‘And while I was there, I met another contractor who could serve as a sacrifice. Simply put, I’ve already found an Awakener who can replace you.’
The blond man said nothing.
‘You should understand what that means by now. That pathetic threat of mutual destruction isn’t going to work on me anymore.’
Nothing changed on Giryeo’s face.
Inside his head, however, his thoughts had become more tangled than ever.
Kang Changho had signed another contract?
He had always claimed that he had no intention of using his desire for [Improvement], yet somehow he had found another Hunter whose abilities he coveted.
Giryeo swallowed dryly.
Meanwhile, Kang Changho took several steps closer.
‘Don’t be so nervous. Your abilities are still the ones I want most.’
That relaxed manner born from overwhelming magical power.
Yes.
That was the air naturally carried by predators at the very top of the food chain—those who knew themselves to be invincible.
In his previous life, Giryeo himself had lived exactly like that.
There had truly been nothing for him to fear.
‘I’ll continue protecting you just as I have until now. But from this point forward, ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) you should show me some respect. It would be better for you to exercise a little more caution in how you behave. That’s all I wanted to say.’
How did I end up in such a miserable position?
‘If you keep provoking me with a body that weak... do you really think you stand to gain anything from it? Don’t you agree, Hunter Kim Giryeo?’
At that moment, the magician wearing human skin finally realized something.
Even his arrogance had limits.
Pretending to be powerful with nothing but words was riddled with flaws.
From the very beginning, trying to deceive people with nothing but an ordinary body—in a profession where strength and ability were constantly being demonstrated in real time—had been insanity.
‘Whew.’
And so, from this moment onward, Giryeo decided he would obtain genuine power capable of turning his lies into reality.
The item!
If he could only get his hands on the item he had already set his sights on, no one would ever treat him like a weakling again.
At last, he would possess an ability worthy of an S-rank.
‘Hmm...’
The first tutoring payment had already arrived, bringing him close to his target amount.
Giryeo therefore decided to move his schedule forward and immediately began making plans.
Kang Changho, apparently finding it strange that the man in front of him had gone silent, eventually spoke again.
‘Do you want some recovery medicine?’
Giryeo answered indifferently.
‘It’s fine.’
Anyone else would have caused an uproar after taking a punch to the face.
But Giryeo had an unusually high tolerance for pain.
So he decided to view the situation positively.
An S-rank Hunter had had his pride wounded and still chosen to spare his life.
Wasn’t that something to be grateful for?
Besides, whenever Giryeo thought of the word “karma,” he somehow found himself capable of accepting every misfortune in the world.
After all, considering the “things” he had done in his previous life...
Well...
Hmm...
‘Hmm.’
Normally, telling someone who had suffered a sudden misfortune that it was all the result of karma from a previous life would sound completely absurd.
But in Giryeo’s case, every memory of that previous life remained perfectly intact.
And because of that, sometimes...
It felt strangely convincing.
Besides, by Earth’s standards, Kang Changho was only thirty-two years old.
To an archmage, his soul appeared not merely young, but almost childlike.
And so Giryeo decided that, as the elder between them, he would generously overlook a single blow from the primitive sorcerer.
‘Haha. Anyway, Kang Changho. What a fascinating person...’
Generously.
‘That damned primitive b*stard...’
Generously.
Generously.
Generously.
***
The Korean item auction house.
Perhaps because rain had fallen continuously from morning until noon, the building was filled with damp air, and there were relatively few people around.
Good.
I like humidity anyway, and the fewer people around to notice me, the better.
Tap, tap.
I quickly made my way toward the manager.
‘Hello.’
The moment I produced the card I had prepared and handed it over, the manager’s eyes widened.
‘Heuk! H-hello. S-rank Hunter Kim Giryeo...!’
‘I’d like to participate in the auction.’
‘Y-yes! Of course! I’ll process everything immediately.’
He bowed as though greeting a king and hurriedly began working on his tablet.
Yes.
This is it.
That boundless reverence and consideration shown toward an absolute powerhouse.
Even if only because I enjoy this feeling, I have to reclaim my former status somehow.
‘H-here is your number tag. I hope you enjoy the auction.’
While I was briefly lost in thought, the employee handed me a tag marked with the number 33 and politely indicated the auction hall I was supposed to enter.
Before going in, however, I decided to stop by the restroom.
My budget for today was an astonishing 3 billion.
With that much money on the line, there was no such thing as being too careful.
‘If people realize that an S-rank Hunter is desperately bidding on a particular item... I can certainly understand why that would make them interested in it too.’
I stared at Kim Giryeo’s reflection in the mirror.
I had no idea how effective such a trivial little trick would be.
Still.
It was worth a try.
***
‘Oh~! So this is an auction house that sells epic items!’
A few minutes later, a youthful-looking Hunter entered the softly lit room.
She was none other than ‘Jakyeong’, the youngest member of the Neo Sisters guild.
Her team leader was a marksman who wielded a crossbow, and her immediate senior was a Hunter named Ahn Yoonseung.
Normally, her rank would have been far too low for her to enter a place like this.
But today was different.
‘Team leader, you’re the best!’
This auction house allowed registered bidders to appoint proxies whenever they were unable to attend in person.
Thanks to that system, Jakyeong had been given the opportunity to visit a place she had long been curious about.
The Awakener who had originally registered for the auction had suddenly had something added to their schedule and could no longer attend. When their subordinate asked for a favor, they had readily lent her their number tag.
‘Since I almost never get a chance like this... maybe I should buy at least the cheapest thing here?’
Murmur, murmur...
As she waited, the empty seats around her gradually began to fill.
Then the hosts entered.
Soon afterward, the auction began.
‘This item is the [Fairy Frank]. It was discovered five years ago in the northwestern region of Finland, and its effectiveness, proven during the first conquest of the White Tower, is...’
‘Bidding will begin at 50 billion.’
‘...80.7 billion. 80.7 billion. 80.7 billion. Sold.’
‘Our next item is [Efreet’s Heavy Armor].’
The auctioneer skillfully drew out bids with a smooth, practiced stream of eloquence.
Elaborate descriptions flowed one after another, accompanied by the sight of equipment whose designs possessed a somewhat antiquated yet elegant charm.
Jakyeong happily admired each item as it passed across the stage.
Then, while slowly turning her head, she happened to notice the person seated beside her.
[Number 33]
A blue shirt that looked like something a first-year engineering student might wear.
A hat pulled low over the face.
A few strands of black hair visible beneath it.
Ever since the auction began, the man had been quietly sipping from the stainless-steel tumbler in his hand.
Strange.
She had never seen him before.
And yet...
There was something oddly familiar about his profile.