Chapter 75

Thump, thump!

Shin Jongoh could feel his heart pounding furiously.

‘No way.’

He stared down at his trembling hands in disbelief.

‘I’m a C-rank Hunter… so why…?’

Why was he being thrown around by Joo Donghoon’s slap?

Why couldn’t he even handle one of the skeletons that bastard summoned?

Just because he’d lost his money and become a beggar—did that mean his power had vanished too?

Absurd.

Joo Donghoon.

That guy was clearly just a production-type Hunter.

And just a few months ago, he’d been an E-rank nobody.

Now he was supposed to be some kind of monster-level fighter?

‘That’s bullshit…!’

When had the handle fallen off the grindstone? None of this made sense.

Throb!

His face burned where the blood vessels had burst, and pain pulsed through his gut where he’d been hit.

‘This won’t work.’

He had no chance.

One exchange had been enough to realize it—his speed and precision were on a completely different level.

‘I need to retreat and plan for later.’

Shin quickly gathered his thoughts and made up his mind.

He’d run for now.

‘It’s fine. I’ve got hidden money stashed away.’

His grandfather might have seized his official assets, but he still had several accounts under false names—his personal sunflower field of wealth.

If he gathered it all up, he’d have at least five billion won.

‘I’ll use that to hire mercenaries and take him down.’

Not just Joo Donghoon, but every other scumbag who dared to hold a grudge against him—he’d wipe them all out.

In a world where money solved everything, that was the only truth Shin Jongoh believed in.

“Huff, huff, haah!”

He ran.

Pride meant nothing now; survival came first.

Tap-tap-tap!

He darted between buildings with everything he had.

But—

“What… the hell?”

He was forced to stop.

At the end of the alley stood two skeletons holding swords and one holding a shield.

Woooom…

Just from their presence, he could tell he couldn’t break through.

“D-damn it!”

Shin spun around.

He’d find another route.

But—

“Huh? What the—?”

He froze.

Skeletons began appearing from every alleyway.

“Wh-what the hell? Why are there so many skeletons?”

It wasn’t just the alleys.

Creak! Creak!

From every rooftop, skeleton archers drew their bows, aiming down at him.

“Th-this is insane…”

If hell or the underworld truly existed, this was what it would look like.

The sight of skeletons surrounding him on all sides was horrifying.

“S-stay back! Stay the hell back, you freaks!”

He stumbled backward, shouting in panic.

Before he knew it, he was right back where he started—

The littered cigarette butts, the torn garbage bags—

And Joo Donghoon standing over them, hands in his pockets, calmly watching.

“Son of a…”

A curse slipped out between his teeth.

—

“Hm.”

I looked at Shin Jongoh.

The terrified man trembling before me—was this really the same Shin Jongoh I knew?

That smug chaebol heir, overflowing with superiority and arrogance.

The Hunter who acted like the world revolved around him, trampling others for fun—now looked utterly pathetic.

No courage, no pride.

“Why? You ran off, only to crawl back?”

“Y-you bastard!”

“Bastard? That all you’ve got?”

“Wh-what do you want from me?!”

“What do I want?”

I smirked.

“Let’s just say… think of this as a dungeon. My Skeleton Dungeon, to be exact.”

“…”

“Clear it, and I’ll even give you a prize. Hell, I could make you an S-rank weapon if you want. How’s that sound? Cool, right?”

“D-don’t screw with me! How the hell am I supposed to clear something like this?!”

He shouted, but his voice was trembling.

Like prey cowering before a predator.

Honestly, it was disappointing.

Where was that arrogance he’d had when he bombed my house and picked fights just for fun?

Step, step.

I finally lifted my foot and walked toward him, looming over his shrunken frame.

“Do you feel wronged?”

“…”

Even such a simple question left him speechless, his eyes lowered.

Pathetic.

Was it just his family’s nature to act strong only toward the weak?

“Hm, not answering?”

“Y-yes! I feel wronged!”

What a sight.

He’d thrown away all pride and even resorted to honorifics.

“Really? Then tell me—why did you do it?”

“Huh…?”

“You think what you did to those people was justified, but what I’m doing to you is unfair?”

The kind of man who only saw his own pain and never understood the suffering he caused others—

We called those people psychopaths.

And in my experience, psychopaths were society’s disease.

Better gone than kept around.

“People like you…”

Yes. People like him.

“…wouldn’t understand even if I tried to explain it.”

Destroying my home, sabotaging my business, hiring assassins—just because he felt like it.

I had no reason to let him live.

He’d come after my life.

If not for Ki Soyul, I’d be the one dead now.

And I wasn’t merciful—or stupid—enough to let someone like that walk free.

“So stop pretending to be human.”

“W-what?”

“To me, you’re just a beast that obeys its greed. No… worse than a beast. You’re a devil.”

Thud!

My foot slammed into his chest.

“Guh!”

Even with a light kick, he clutched his ribs and gasped for breath.

“Ugh, urgh!”

He gagged and choked.

The classic act of a coward—playing the victim.

Pitiful.

But I wasn’t the type to fall for that.

“…”

I tilted my chin slightly.

Behind me, the victims who had been watching stepped forward one by one.

Their faces burned with rage and hatred.

“You filthy scum. How does it feel now? Taste what you did to us…”

“You turned my brother into a vegetable. It’s time you paid for it.”

“You killed my parents. I’ll kill you too. You’ll die just like them!”

Their hatred was far deeper than mine.

And since I was generous, I decided to let them have their turn.

The result would be the same anyway.

“Have at it.”

“Kill him! Kill him!”

“Die, you bastard! No—bastard’s too nice a word for you!”

A dozen enraged victims pounced like starving wolves.

“Wh-what the—!”

Shin tried to backpedal, but—

“Gaaaah!”

He was swallowed by the mob.

Rip, tear!

Hands filled with hatred shredded his clothes.

Thud! Thud!

Fists and feet pummeled his body relentlessly.

Soon, Shin Jongoh’s resistance faded completely.

“…”

I watched for a moment, then turned away with a sigh.

What they were beating wasn’t a man.

“Goodbye, Shin Jongoh. Try living decently in your next life.”

All he’d ever been was a monster who saw human lives as disposable.

—

Second floor of Dmir Workshop.

“Heh, Master. Is everything finally settled?”

Dmir grinned, hammer in hand.

He meant we could finally finish the project we’d put on hold because of all the chaos.

“Yeah. Let’s start right away. It’s urgent.”

Training could wait. I had to complete the Berserker’s weapon.

Even if I’d grown braver lately, I wasn’t insane enough to rip off a guy who smashed skyscrapers for fun.

“At least it’s over, Master.”

“Hm?”

“I used to picture Jang Daewoong only from your stories. But now that I’ve seen him in person, I can craft his weapon in far greater detail.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I’ll make it not just slightly crazy—but utterly insane.”

“…”

Well, sure.

Let’s do it.

Let’s make something truly powerful.

Clang! Clang!

[Completion: 32%]

The Blacksmithing began once more.

—

The Republic of Korea—second strongest Hunter nation in the world.

And the most powerful guild in Korea?

Without question, there was only one answer.

“The Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.”

Founded by Korea’s top-ranked Hunter, Hase Ra, the guild boasted countless rankers from both home and abroad.

And with so many rankers came countless divisions.

Rank 509, Lee Seonah—the Black Sword—led one such division: the Black Sword Unit.

“Captain!”

A male Hunter burst into the office.

Lee Seonah frowned from her desk.

“Ahem. You’re calling me Captain again, Deputy?”

She rubbed her arm with a grimace.

Goosebumps had risen across it.

“I told you to call me Team Leader!”

“Haha, but ‘Captain’ has that martial arts vibe, you know?”

“Hmm, I’m not exactly a martial arts nerd.”

Truthfully, she didn’t even like the guild’s name, “Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.”

If not for her respect for Hase Ra, she never would’ve joined something with a name like that.

“But shouldn’t you be used to it by now?”

“Right, right! As team leader, I should be the one adapting! Oh, what a mistake! Guess our lovely team will be adapting with a week of night training! Everyone ready?”

She beamed cheerfully.

Her deputy started sweating bullets.

“Haha, Team Leader, you’re funny! But uh… about that assignment?”

“…”

“Seriously, though—‘Captain’? Where’d you even get that word? Never heard it before.”

“Haah. So, what did you come to tell me?”

She sighed and gestured for him to sit.

“Well, it’s about the dungeon request we just received.”

“I see.”

Requests didn’t just come to mercenaries—large guilds got them too.

After internal review, those missions were distributed to teams.

And since the Black Sword Unit had a 100% success rate, they were often assigned difficult dungeons.

“I think we should withdraw from this one.”

“Oh?”

Lee Seonah tilted her head.

Her deputy wasn’t one to back down from challenges, so hearing him say that was a first.

“It’s an A-rank dungeon, but apparently it has a special gimmick.”

Gimmick—complex mechanisms or traps more intricate than the usual ones.

“A gimmick, you say?”

“Yes. And apparently, it requires a necromancer. We don’t have one on the team. And necromancers aren’t exactly easy to find—hiring one as a mercenary would be nearly impossible.”

“A necromancer, huh?”

Lee Seonah stroked her chin, eyes gleaming with interest.

She only knew of two necromancers.

The first—rank 948, the Dark Lord Kim Hyukseon.

The second—not a ranker, but the one Seoul’s Five Stars had recommended next.

The Skeleton Lord, Joo Donghoon.

“Heh, this dungeon sounds fun.”

She straightened up in her chair, smiling.

For some reason, she felt more drawn to Joo Donghoon than Kim Hyukseon.

Maybe it was curiosity about why her friend Ki Soyul was so interested in him—or how he kept growing stronger every time they met.

“Um, Captain—uh, Team Leader? I said we can’t go without a necromancer.”

“It’s fine. I think I might be able to find one.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Not certain yet, but… we’ll see.”

A grin spread across Lee Seonah’s lips.