Chapter 5 …
Kim Yeowool and I were tightly bound and being dragged somewhere.
They must have thought we were sound asleep, because the guards weren’t particularly strict.
Thanks to that, I was able to squint and sneak a look to see where we were being taken.
Their actions showed no hesitation—it was as if kidnapping someone by sedating them was second nature.
“Judging by their looks, these guys were nasty from the start…”
The village chief had two burly men with him—no more additional reinforcements.
“I’ve heard of crazies who eat human flesh… hopefully, they’re not that type.”
We were silently dragged to the village chief’s container.
I wondered what they could possibly want to do in such a cramped space, but when the door opened, the scene was different from before.
A staircase leading underground appeared when the floor panels were lifted.
“They have a basement…?”
Even as we were brought down the stairs for a full ten minutes, they handled us carefully.
If their intention was just to move us, they could have thrown us roughly, but apparently there was a reason for keeping us alive.
“Phew… my back’s going to give out.”
“Stop whining, kid. Just a little longer and you’ll be on the other side of that door.”
“Got it.”
Putting a living person on the other side of a door?
I wasn’t sure why, but I couldn’t leave any variables unchecked.
Kim Yeowool also waited quietly for my instructions.
“Time to move.”
I used Kim Yeowool’s Kwon-wang Stance, and the ropes binding her came apart easily.
However, unlike her, it didn’t release a burst of explosive energy.
“Whoa, look at her using someone else’s skill.”
“Shut up, summon.”
“Huh…? Huh? Huh huh huh?”
The guards’ eyes trembled at the sight of the ropes being ripped like plastic.
Kim Yeowool’s hidden magic surged visibly.
She revealed herself without restraint, as if to show them what kind of being they had captured.
“Uh… uh… eugh…?”
Unable to process what was happening, the two men’s hands trembled at the sight of her power.
Even the village chief’s eyes widened as if they might pop out.
“An E-rank hunter… no, her magic is definitely E-rank…”
“Why, did you expect at most D-rank?”
The village chief flinched, struck at the heart of the truth.
Kim Yeowool’s mocking laughter brushed past them.
In this space—and in this village—there was no one stronger than Kim Yeowool.
That meant…
“What should we do?”
“Subdue them.”
Despite the command, the two guards couldn’t even think of resisting.
Kim Yeowool leapt like a sudden strike and swiftly subdued the two D-rank hunters.
They dropped to their knees, heads bowed, completely stripped of morale. They didn’t dare even reach for their weapons.
“Wh-why does someone like you still exist in Korea…?”
“Do I need a reason why I shouldn’t?”
Meanwhile, the village chief had disappeared, hiding his presence.
He, too, seemed to be an awakened being.
Originally, they intended to bind all three of us and pick off what they needed.
But now the situation had changed.
In a confined space, variables are never a good thing—especially in an unknown area.
“Just kill them both.”
“Yeah.”
The cold response drained the color from the guards’ faces.
“Wait! I know the village chief’s weak point…”
“Kill them.”
“Yeah.”
Kim Yeowool’s hand, clad in Kwon-wang Stance, swiftly struck the necks of both guards.
Without a word, they perished, their faces etched with despair and terror.
“Are we really supposed to kill them even though they might have useful info?”
“They’re variables, and the village chief isn’t worth strategizing against.”
Since becoming a hunter, I had also come to sense some of the power Kim Yeowool felt.
The ‘something’ behind that door was at most mid-to-upper B-rank.
With an infinitely resurrecting S-rank hunter at our disposal, there was no reason to leave a variable alive just to fight a B-rank monster.
Kim Yeowool must have realized this too, because she chuckled and approached me.
Standing in front of the thick iron door, she knocked on it and glanced at me.
I was used to this: I handled strategy, she handled execution.
“No need to open it, just blow it up.”
“Isn’t that a bit extreme for a lady?”
“Seems like all the ladies in this world are dead.”
Still chuckling, Kim Yeowool summoned energy into her hands.
The golden blaze of Kwon-wang Stance ruthlessly shattered the thick iron door.
KWA-AAAANG!
In the darkened room, a golden explosion tore the door apart.
Beyond the door, the village chief stared in disbelief at the destruction and at Kim Yeowool.
“You cheated the ranking, you coward…”
“Coward? Hah! In this world, it’s only natural.”
If you were looking for naïve young men, sorry—this place is full of survivors who had come back from death.
I trusted Kim Yeowool, and she trusted no one but me.
No one gets a free pass for being slightly decent on the first meeting.
“That’s quite the creature you were raising,” I remarked.
Behind the chief stood a grotesquely twisted black creature, making unsettling noises.
Three arms on the left, two on the right, an unfinished arm on its back, two left legs, four right legs, one head, eight eyes, and a charred black body.
Bald, though.
Even as a creature, it hadn’t solved its hair loss problem.
It blocked the way between the chief and us while making unpleasant noises, seemingly following orders.
A tamer, huh.
Its strength wasn’t impressive. At best, upper-mid B-rank.
Although it seemed to have eaten plenty of humans, in the ruined Korean peninsula, human supply must have been scarce.
Shouldn’t be too difficult, then.
Glancing at Kim Yeowool, she didn’t seem particularly tense either.
Even the monster hesitated at her Kwon-wang Stance, stepping back slowly.
“What should we do?”
“What do you mean, have you ever left something like this alive?”
“Never.”
Smiling brilliantly, Kim Yeowool stepped toward the creature.
The monster, making its grotesque noises, backed away.
The chief cowered behind it, unsure of what to do.
Further discussion was pointless.
Now, only two monsters remained in that room.
Kim Yeowool’s punch slammed into the three left arms of the creature.
The massive limbs yielded easily; two of them bent at unnatural angles.
The creature screeched like nails on metal and lunged at her again.
“Tch.”
It ran with furious, slobbering rage—a true monster.
The tamer, terrified, didn’t even attempt to control it.
“This is why they’re disgusting.”
Tamers existed before.
Crazy fools who thought they could manipulate monsters for strategic advantage.
Most failed, leading monsters into rampages.
And as a result, both monsters and humans were hunted by hunters.
Control a monster? Strategic manipulation?
“Enough with the nonsense.”
Kim Yeowool’s heel smashed the creature’s head.
A clean kick, and the rampaging creature froze.
Despair filled the chief’s eyes.
Realizing he had no chance, he pressed his head to the ground, blood running down his forehead, begging a much younger girl for his life.
“Please… spare me… my daughter is waiting at home, if I disappear, she…”
Kim Yeowool glanced at me.
She wasn’t checking if I wanted him dead.
She was checking if there was anything to gain before killing him.
Of course, someone who built a village this size would have plenty to offer.
“Yeowool, that was too much… think of the child left behind.”
“…Yeah.”
I quietly approached and patted him on the shoulder.
“You didn’t want this either; who in the world would willingly raise such a monstrosity?”
“I-I only did it to prevent him from going out of control…”
“Of course, it must have been painful… this was your sacrifice, sir.”
Hope began to glimmer in the chief’s eyes.
“Still, we handled that creature—surely we can’t go empty-handed?”
“Y-yes! You’re the hero who saved the village, we’ll give you anything.”
“Thanks, we were just running low anyway.”
I took the village chief’s trembling hands.
He must have lived a comfortable life; not a single callus.
“Can we take things from your house?”
“Yes, everything important is in the second-floor study. Take as much as you like.”
“I think we should thank you for this.”
Kim Yeowool’s disgusted expression grew.
I quietly pressed the chief’s shoulder, my brain tingling from the whole ordeal.
“Anything else?”
“No? That’s all.”
“Ah, thanks, we’ll put it to good use.”
“Y-yes, of course…”
The chief couldn’t speak anymore.
His head was flying through the air.
Of course, the chief had no daughter.
Even in death, he was a disgusting human being.
“That old man had more wealth than I thought.”
“Where do you think all this came from?”
“…Ugh. Thinking about the source just makes it creepier.”
“So are we leaving some behind?”
Most of it were potions, but occasionally there were useful items.
Kim Yeowool picked up a glove from a corner, grinning.
“No way.”
“Take as much as we can use.”
We took all the potions, a few sets of clothes, shoes, and some proper food.
“Anything else to see?”
“I’m good. Anything more would just weigh us down.”
“Then let’s go; staying longer won’t do us any good…”
“What’s wrong?”
Kim Yeowool’s gaze fell on mine.
At the edge of it was a photograph of a girl, smiling brightly, holding the village chief’s hand.
“So he really had a daughter…?”
“Huh? No, not that.”
What I saw wasn’t the photo.
It was a purple talisman peeking out from behind it.
Not magic, but it emitted a faint, mystical aura.
“Just a stone? Doesn’t seem like a magic stone.”
“Huh? You don’t feel it?”
“Feel what?”
Kim Yeowool stared blankly, genuinely confused.
There’s no way she, practically S-rank, couldn’t sense this.
Carefully picking up the talisman, the system message appeared:
[Talisman of Protection]
Once per instance, the summoned creature will take a fatal blow on behalf of the summoner. Automatically activates if the summoner’s life is at risk, and then is destroyed.
As expected, an item a monster tamer would have.
“Hmm…”
“What? Tell me! Let me see too!”
I understood why it wouldn’t show up to a summon—it’s basically telling the creature to die for its master.
Of course, between Kim Yeowool and me, there were no secrets, so I read it aloud.
What would her reaction be?
I watched her cautiously, a bit nervous.
“Eh, that’s awesome, isn’t it?”
“…Really?”
“If I die, I respawn in an hour. If you die, it’s over. I’d rather die than you!”
Kim Yeowool beamed genuinely and shoved the talisman into her pocket.
“Never leave this on your body, got it?”
“Uh… yeah, I will.”
Perhaps she had felt guilty for getting stronger alone; now, she finally looked relieved.
