The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood

Chapter 97:

Inside the damp cave filled with moist air, the sound of water droplets falling from the distant ceiling echoes.

Tuk.

As water droplets fell once again, the creature coiled beneath it gently raised its head. 

-Shrrrrr….

It was a snake, not yet transformed into a dragon adorned with shimmering scales all over its body. The snake flicked its blue tongue and soon fell asleep after tasting the cave’s air. 

“It seems like its sleeping patterns are similar to humans.” 

However, what was going on? Suddenly, Koreans flowed from a gloomy passageway where no one seemed to be there. This was the voice of someone wearing a gray raincoat.

“If it hadn’t slept for 6 hours, it would have grown a little faster.” 

Su Yehwi of the Rakshasa Temple slowly walked towards the light. 

It took a lot of effort to raise that one snake. The first challenge was finding a place to hide the boss. That’s when he discovered a way to eliminate dungeon pathways. 

‘I like this place because it’s spacious.’ 

This was originally an E-Class gate where a boss resembling an amphibian appeared. However, the boss has currently lost the status of dungeon owner and is confined to a small room here in a pitiful state.

“Croak! Croak!”

On the day when Imoogi’s growth is complete, Soo Yehwi plans to kill the real boss to open the exit to the city.  

‘I need to protect it well until then.’

Besides, is that the only thing to worry about? They also need to manage the numerous bosses brought in for feeding purposes diligently. Most importantly, one must survive on their own in this monster’s lair…

“Achoo!”

Su Yehwi sprinkled yellow powder on his head again. It was a stealth item for monsters that eliminated body odor and sound.

“Cough.”

By the way, can this operation really be completed on time? They promised Rep. Kim that they would carry out the terror attack before next spring. 

But while he was preparing for various things, winter had already begun outside. The Imoogi still hasn’t produced the results he hoped for.

‘Hohoho.’

In addition, thanks to the interference of some evil spirit, he is now a wanted criminal.

‘If the association hadn’t suddenly caught up with me, I would have been more prepared. Thanks to this, we are running out of food.’

Certainly, this time, too, that guy must have schemed something. The only person he sincerely thought bothered him was only one person until now.

“Kim Kiryeo.” 

Su Yehwi muttered the man’s name and fell into thought for a moment. Why has the blond man, who possesses unprecedented abilities, not become famous until now? Furthermore, why did he reveal himself only this year when he was executing his plans…

“It’s suspicious.” 

Interest and disgust. Emotions exploded in Su Yehwi’s heart for a moment, but the waves calmed down quickly. He always had a firm faith in his heart, which effectively maintained his composure. 

“Don’t worry, everyone. I will definitely enlighten this society.”

Su Yehwi put his hands together as if praying and activated the PIXY analyzer he was wearing on his wrist. And the value displayed by the machine that scanned Imoogi was… 

[???]

[Grade: ??]

[Description: No registered information available.]

Su Yehwi checked the panel on his wrist and smiled broadly.

“Aha!” 

In fact, it didn’t matter what the promise was with Rep. Kim, but it seems that Heaven didn’t want his servant to become a liar.

***

The story returns to the park again.

“To sum up, the situation is very bad.”

We’re in big trouble. No matter the conflict of interests within the religious order, Rakshasa Temple will ultimately follow the brainwasher’s crazy ideas. 

“Yes. I can’t guarantee anything, but the probability of an accident occurring is quite high.”

Anyway, nothing good comes from being reincarnated on Earth. Isn’t a large pseudo-religious group being controlled by a brainwasher? And of all people, this brainwasher happens to be a crazed human who wants to massacre hunters.

‘Should I leave Korea?’

I touched my forehead and began to think seriously. Fleeing overseas. It was an idea that had already crossed my mind three times this year alone. 

***

And the next day.

Around the time the TV weathercaster announced a chilly morning, I got up from my seat and hastily grabbed my outdoor attire.

“Haa.” 

First, should I start with the conclusion we reached yesterday? For now, Seonwoo Yeon and I decided somehow to figure out the plan of the Rakshasa Temple. How to prepare for a major accident such as a terrorist attack changes the number of casualties.

‘Heuk.’

Of course, even now, my desire to flee abroad is as strong as ever… But tangled in complicated global rules like visas and all, I ended up having no choice but to cry and defend Korea.

‘It’s like they’re putting a knife to my throat and telling me to be patriotic.’

Still, the only consolation in the midst of this is that I quite like the new season.

“Phew.”

Having lived in the cold deep sea, I left home satisfied with the current temperature, which resembled the water temperature of my hometown. It was my first winter experience since coming to Earth.

 But things didn’t go as well as I thought.

“I’m sorry.”

“What does Seonwoo Yeon have to be sorry about?” 

“Still, I’m sorry…” 

Seonwoo Yeon and I completely messed up the plan from the very beginning. 

“I never thought the higher-ups wouldn’t even pretend to listen…” 

Association and police.

Do you know what response we got when we reported to them that a pseudo-religion was trying to cause a large-scale dungeon break?

– So what?

– What are we supposed to do about it?

…The word came back as a rather polite expression.

The testimony of an ordinary citizen fell far short of moving government ministries.

“I think we need to gather more evidence before making a report. The police seem willing to act if we have substantial evidence.”

“If there is evidence in this kind of situation…” 

“Are we going to look for the missing Imoogi?”

Moreover, there is one more problem.  

Now, I have no choice but to admit it. The research results of Rakshasa Temple were truly impressive. Their creation, the ‘Closed Gate Passage,’ remarkably effectively blocked tracking efforts beyond imagination.

‘By destroying the entrance, did the dungeon become a completely independent space?’

In the end, both Seonwoo Yeon’s skills and my magic detection failed to determine the coordinates of the Imoogi. So, we ended today’s schedule without any significant progress. It will probably be the same tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

‘Keugh.’

So what should we do from now on?

Am I really just waiting helplessly for the incident to unfold? The only backup I have is one bodyguard, and even he’s just a person who might be blindsided if an uncontrollable dungeon break occurs. 

‘No, it would be a big enough problem if 15 bosses disappeared nationwide. What are those idiots still sitting around thinking!’

The timing and location of the terrorist attack, even the danger posed by the evolved Imoogi. Right now, everything is uncertain. There’s truly nothing that can be guaranteed. 

‘Ugh.’

So, I decided to try to reduce this uncertainty a little bit. It might be somewhat embarrassing, but anyway, I’ll struggle to the end so that I won’t regret it later. 

*** 

The next morning.

An unfamiliar visitor appeared at the headquarters of Korea Magic Tower.

The person he was talking with was a shabby young man wearing knee-length jeans and an old sweatshirt, but for some reason, he wasn’t in an atmosphere where he could easily start a conversation. 

“W, welcome. What brings you here today?”

The man answered the guide’s question with cool eyes.

“I have an appointment with the CEO here. Do I have to climb the maze again?” 

There was a faint worry in his voice. No matter what, he doesn’t want to destroy the Magic Tower’s elevator twice.

After a while.

“Ah, Kiryeo-ssi! Welcome.”

Soon, they arrived at the top floor of the building. Kim Kiryeo bowed his head and sat down at Esther’s welcome.

“I’m sorry for being late in checking your text message. I was at the Nonsan Gate until late last night.”

Tak. 

There was a black, hot drink on the table that aliens hated, but it didn’t matter. He said his next remarks would be much ruder than this.

“Anyway, why did you suddenly ask for my time? Huh? What happened to our Kiryeo-ssi?” 

Kim Kiryeo calmed himself by pretending to drink coffee. 

Dealing with a cursed wizard is difficult, especially since he has never bowed down to others while living as an archmage.

‘In my hometown, I never bowed my head to anyone other than my boss…’

Nevertheless, Kiryeo didn’t give up. Even if the cursed wizard hates him, saving his life is the most important thing right now.

“I came to ask you a favor.” 

So what kind of favor can a lowly F-Class person ask for in order to survive? Kiryeo soon expressed his opinion.  

“First of all, I’m not forcing you, so please listen without being offended.”

Minimum measures to prepare for terrorism at Rakshasa Temple. 

“Could you please refrain from attacking the gate for a while from now on?”

As those words left his mouth, Esther’s eyes widened. No, of all things, asking a hunter to refrain from hunting?

“What…” 

“To be exact, I hope you don’t enter a dungeon that is too long.”

Kim Kiryeo immediately puts down his coffee cup. 

“I’ll explain why.”

Kim Kiryeo immediately revealed the series of processes in which a brainwashed awakened person was stealing A-class monsters and plotting malicious things. He spoke without a moment’s hesitation.

“The missing Imoogi and pseudo…” 

After hearing this, Esther also let her smile fade and engaged in the conversation seriously.

“So, you want me to reduce the gate raids? In case you can’t reach me during a terror incident?” 

“Yes.” 

“But for a while, how long does that last…?”

“December.”

“Yes.” 

“The cult leader there had long ago predicted in a speech that a major natural disaster would occur at the end of this year. I only received the information this morning.” 

Let’s see. December.

A cult leader attempting to prove their powers by making their prophecies come true is something that has happened even before the era of Dungeon Shock.

Esther immediately nodded with a look of understanding.

“Alright. Then I will adjust my schedule. Well.” 

To be honest, he was even prepared to kneel in front of the S-Class. But to have the request granted so smoothly…! 

“Really?”

Kiryeo felt a surge of joy but quickly regained his composure. There were still matters that needed to be confirmed.

“Oh, and I have something else to say.”

“What is it?”

“The Rakshasa Temple probably looks down on S-class hunters. After all, they put in a lot of effort to raise those monsters, so they might die in an instant.” 

He recalled an incident that occurred last August. Seonwoo Yeon said that the person who carried out the suicide bombing at that time was also presumed to be a member of that pseudo-religion after comparing his facial expressions.

“So, Esther-ssi, from now on, you should also be careful in your daily life…”

But when he thought about it carefully, it didn’t seem like those cults would necessarily have targeted only Jung Haseong. Kiryeo asked a question out of curiosity.

“Uhm… just in case, have you been caught up in an assassination plot or something recently?”

And the answer that followed was as expected.

“Surprisingly, there it was! Well, when the police call, they say they combed through the front lines as they were chasing down some criminal organization and my name suddenly came up?”

“Your name?” 

“Police warned me that someone with invisibility skills was planning to kill me.”

“Ah!” 

“That… probably someone named Park, Park something.”

“If it’s invisibility and a criminal organization… huh? Could it be Park Juntae?”

Esther clapped her hands in surprise.

“Oh my! That’s right.” 

Park Juntae.

That illegal unregistered person had been caught investigating Esther’s personal information using his criminal organization 

However,

“But later I heard that, apparently, he was already dead before they could arrest him, you know?”

This side had never actually seen the other person. Unbeknownst to her, Park Juntae had failed to assassinate him twice, and in return, he was executed by Su Yehwi. 

“Is that so?” 

It was Kiryeo’s first time hearing this news, but there was no reason to be sad. 

“Anyway, if nothing has happened so far…” 

Kiryeo gave a dry response. 

“…Wait a second.” 

But then, Esther tilted her head as if she sensed something was strange.

“But why does Kiryeo-ssi know Park Juntae?”

What followed was an obvious question. Of course, Kim Kiryeo only got to know Park Juntae by a truly absurd coincidence, but the truth and lies of the original words are invisible to the eye. 

“We met briefly before.”

“Why?” 

“It wasn’t a pleasant encounter. It just seemed like Park Juntae came to kill me…” 

“A, and then?” 

“Hmm?”

“He tried to kill Kiryeo-ssi! So what happened next?” 

Kim Kiryeo only answered Esther’s questions with the truth. 

“As far as I know, nothing happened. Park Juntae suddenly ran away at the end.”

“Yes?” 

“So I’ve been curious about what this guy has been up to all this time.”

The problem is, that an alien unnecessarily moved his facial muscles, pretending to show friendliness to Esther. Kim Kiryeo immediately lifted the corners of his mouth in response.

“I really didn’t know he was dead.”

However, saying such things with a smile on his face would naturally make others think…