After the Tower appeared and the value of Hunters skyrocketed, it was only natural that every nation entered a fierce war to recruit them. It was common for Hunters to be scouted with high salaries, and if necessary, they were often threatened, kidnapped, or even turned into drug addicts to be taken away.
And in this business of kidnapping Hunters, the most aggressive, active, and intense country was, quite obviously, China. - Those Chinese bastards, stop stealing our Hunters! - Hey, get your facts straight! - What?
Isn't it a fact that those bastards from China are practically kidnapping our Hunters? - Apologize to the bastards! - Ah, sry;; Every country in the world cursed and hated China for this. - Hey, but aren't the Hunters who sold out their country and went to China bastards too?
At the same time, they also cursed and hated the Hunters who fell for China's temptations. In many ways, public opinion was not favorable towards the Hunters who had gone over to China. In other words, the fact that people still pledged allegiance to China, immigrated there, or secretly smuggled items meant that there were significant merits to doing so.
Kim Jae-byeong was one of them. As a member of the Comet Guild, he had long ago established a connection with the Black Forest Guild, one of the Chinese Communist Party's guilds, and passed on important information from within the Comet Guild. The rewards were sweet.
But what Kim Jae-byeong truly desired was not such simple compensation.
‘Instead of these small jobs, let’s pull off one big one and just retire.’
His goal was to retire as a traitor with a hefty sum, rather than live as a Hunter who could die at any moment. The reason he consistently fed information to the Black Forest Guild was more to earn their trust than for the rewards.
Hiding his true intentions while acting as a loyal Hunter of the Comet Guild, the moment he received a direct call from Chief Secretary Kim Jeong-bin, he thought.
'It's here!'
The moment for the jackpot he had so eagerly awaited had come. Naturally, he immediately contacted the Black Forest Guild, and they responded right away. Ten million dollars for important information.
'If I kill that bastard, they'll give me fifty million dollars, is that it?' And if he eliminated the unidentified Hunter who had obtained that information, they would give him five times that amount, along with Chinese immigration and protection for his entire family, including himself. They told him to come to the Chinese embassy immediately.
'Tsk.'
Of course, that didn't mean Kim Jae-byeong was planning to be reckless. He knew all too well that showing hostility to a Hunter of unknown identity in an unfamiliar place was an act of madness. Above all, the moment he entered the Tower and heard the mission details, Kim Jae-byeong gave up on eliminating Park Jin-soo, if nothing else.
‘Ah, if I just kill that bastard, I can retire immediately and live the rest of my life playing and eating. If only I could rip that bastard to shreds.’
He could only glare at Park Jin-soo's back, nursing the desire to kill the man in his heart. Kim Jae-byeong's memory ended there.
Crack!
“Aaargh!”
The moment Park Jin-soo brought the hammer down on Kim Jae-byeong’s instep, Kim Jae-byeong's mind went blank. He simply writhed in pain, letting out a scream. It was the others who reacted to the situation.
“What, what is this?”
“What do you think you’re doing?”
The other Hunters, who considered Kim Jae-byeong a colleague, immediately showed hostility towards Park Jin-soo. Faced with such hostility, Park Jin-soo nodded his head.
‘It’s definitely different.’
The hostility from the Hunters now and the killing intent he had felt from Kim Jae-byeong a moment ago were fundamentally different. If the feeling from those who felt threatened by his current actions was like a light tap on the shoulder, the feeling from the goblins was like someone tapping on his head.
And the feeling he had gotten from Kim Jae-byeong a moment ago was like a strong punch to the shoulder.
‘I would’ve been screwed if I’d just left him alone.’
Therefore, Park Jin-soo felt a sense of satisfaction at having eliminated a very significant risk factor. Of course, the situation was not very good. From the other Hunters' perspective, Park Jin-soo had suddenly attacked a colleague, nothing more, nothing less.
Naturally, it was a situation where they had to subdue Park Jin-soo, if not kill him. A physical confrontation was inevitable.
“You.”
The one who stopped this catastrophe was Lee Ji-soo. 'He's a crazy bastard, but.' First of all, Lee Ji-soo knew Park Jin-soo was a madman.
'He was quiet back then.' However, the Park Jin-soo she had seen had never displayed such unbelievable madness. Although it was just one time, Park Jin-soo was not some monster crazed for slaughter, afflicted with a disease that made him unable to hold back without seeing blood.
The very reason he was beloved by the people of South Korea, despite being a serial killer, was that he only killed those who truly deserved to be torn to shreds. It was impossible for a psychopath crazed for slaughter to say, "Oh, grrr! There aren't any damn criminals who should have gotten 10 years but only got one!
I guess I'll have to hold back on the slaughter today!" That meant there was a high probability that Park Jin-soo had a reason for doing this. Even if a physical conflict was to happen, she had to hear him out first.
It was the same for Park Jin-soo. He had no intention of causing any more trouble here.
“I have a talent called Survival Instinct.”
So he spoke.
“If there's a person trying to kill me, I can feel their killing intent. And over there.”
“Aaargh!”
“That son of a bitch was trying to kill me.”
He spoke the truth, without a single lie.
“Survival Instinct?”
“That Yellow Grade one?”
And the moment they heard the name of that talent, the eyes of several Hunters changed. To a common person, it would sound absurd, but Hunters were different. They knew better than anyone what kind of talents and skills could be obtained in the Tower.
And therefore, they also knew that to survive in the Tower, they had to trust their own talents and skills above all else. Of course, that didn't mean they trusted Park Jin-soo's words.
“And you attack a person just for that?”
At Lee Ji-soo's question, Park Jin-soo wore a blank expression. An expression that said, Why are you asking such a question? If you ask me why people breathe, what should I say?
At that expression, Lee Ji-soo’s face crumpled as well. 'What in the world?' Just then, Park Jin-soo rolled his eyes a few times and spoke.
“Uh, I thought this would be enough of an explanation, but it seems I was wrong. Then I’ll explain it for you.”
Calmly.
“We are here to hunt the Floor King. Mr. Kim Jeong-bin emphasized the security and success of this operation more than ever before. He summoned only trustworthy members. But one of those members harbored hostility and killing intent towards me. That means he's a risk that Mr. Kim Jeong-bin failed to screen out. Right?”
“That’s.” “Then that means he’s a person who has been deceiving both Mr. Kim Jeong-bin and the Comet Guild all this time, so wouldn't it be dangerous to go hunt the Floor King with a Hunter like that? Right?”
At those words, Lee Ji-soo’s expression hardened. It was the same for the others. If Park Jin-soo’s words were indeed true, if Kim Jae-byeong was really a traitor, then undertaking this raid with such a traitor would be extremely dangerous.
Of course, that alone was still not enough to quell their hostility towards Park Jin-soo. Park Jin-soo knew that too. But Park Jin-soo was not worried.
“Now.”
Because he could feel it.
“Let’s stop fighting amongst ourselves for now.”
“Says who?”
“Huh? Then are we not fighting them?”
Kieeeeeeeeeeeek!
The presence of goblins, running towards where Park Jin-soo and the Hunters were.
“It’s goblins!”
“At least two hundred, no, more than three hundred!”
The moment they heard that sound, the Hunters’ expressions became rigid. Soon, as the sound grew closer, Lee Ji-soo and all the other Hunters thought.
‘It’s more than five hundred!’
A massive horde of goblins, a sight never seen on the 1st floor, was now approaching.
“We’re retreating!”
The only conclusion that could be drawn in this situation was to flee the scene for now, just as Lee Ji-soo had said! It was the most obvious choice that any Hunter of the Tower would make, and the other Hunters had no complaints about it.
“Huh?”
Except for one person, Park Jin-soo, who had a complaint.
“We’re running away?”
At his disgruntled question, Lee Ji-soo made a dumbfounded expression and said.
“Are you going to fight them then?”
At Lee Ji-soo’s words, Park Jin-soo nodded his head and said.
“Yes.”
With his words, Park Jin-soo began to run in the direction the sound had come from. Kim Jeong-bin, the moment the Floor King hunting party tore the ticket, he immediately picked up his smartphone. He made calls here and there.
To the Minister of Justice, a member of the National Assembly, and even a Guild Master.
“Yes, Chairman, I’ll take care of it.”
And the moment the brief call with the Chairman ended, a subordinate came to Kim Jeong-bin and said.
“Chief Secretary, will it be alright?”
At his subordinate’s worried words, Kim Jeong-bin answered.
“Who?”
“Pardon?”
“Us, or the Hunters who entered the Tower?”
“Of course, the Hunters. Didn’t they go to a dangerous place no one knows about?”
To that question, Kim Jeong-bin answered as if it were nothing.
“No problem.”
“Pardon?”
Confidently.
He had every reason to be.
‘He’s a man who caught 10,000 goblins by himself.’
Park Jin-soo was simply on a different plane of existence.
‘Without any preparation.’
Talent aside, he was like a being sent from the heavens to conquer this Tower. Moreover, the situation was different now. He wasn't alone; he had nine 1st floor specialists with him, and among them was Lee Ji-soo, who could be called the best 1st floor specialist the Comet Guild had.
Crucially, he had been given something. 'I even gave him the Skull Breaker.' Various grades of items dropped in the Tower.
And the level of those items varied depending on the color of the gem attached to them. They were often compared to cars. If an item with no grade was a Chinese car, then a Red Grade was a regular car, an Orange Grade was a sports car, and a Yellow Grade was a supercar.
And with such explanations, they would always add one more thing.
“Just because you have a supercar doesn’t mean you’ll set a record. Of course. In the end, the driver is what matters.”
In the end, the person wielding the item was what was important. Right now, Park Jin-soo was proving that fact. - Grade: Yellow - Usable from Level 8 - Attack Power: E+ - Durability: F+ - The hammer used by the Skull Breaker.
A powerful force resides within it. - - Damage increased by 44 percent when attacking the target’s head. - - Physical ability increases by 1 percent each time a head is destroyed (Duration 100 minutes, can be stacked up to 100 times). He was using the supercar given to him well. No, it was beyond just using it well.
Whack!
[You have defeated a goblin!]
Whack!
[You have defeated a goblin!]
One shot, one kill! He began to eliminate the hundreds of swarming goblins by striking each of their heads once.
‘It’s so shiny.’
Not a single goblin could withstand the combination of the Skull Breaker’s Hammer and his Weakness Detection talent. The first to realize Park Jin-soo’s immense power were none other than the goblins themselves.
Kiririri!
The moment the number of goblins Park Jin-soo had defeated reached one hundred, the goblins realized that the being before them was a monster and retracted their hostility. They began to run away. Seeing that, Park Jin-soo frowned.
That was all. Park Jin-soo did not chase the goblins. Normally, he would have chased down every single one and drilled a new breathing hole in their skulls, but things were different now.
“Now.”
Park Jin-soo turned his head and looked at the Hunters. They had expressions stained with shock and eyes filled with terror. It was because they knew.
The people gathered here were Hunters who had caught incomparably more goblins than the average Hunter, and thus they knew just how ridiculous what Park Jin-soo had just shown was. Just like how people who have only held a steering wheel might think, "F1?
Isn't that just a competition of machine specs?" whereas those who have properly driven a racing car on a circuit can only watch F1 racers and exclaim, "Wow."
“It seems everyone has calmed down somewhat.”
The feeling he had sensed from the dazed Hunters just a moment ago, the one that stimulated his Survival Instinct, was gone. Meaning, their hostility had vanished.
“I’m glad. Thank you for understanding me.”
In that atmosphere, Park Jin-soo spoke with a faint smile.
“Then let’s talk again. By any chance, is there anyone here who has served in the special forces, or a place like the National Intelligence Service, or as a mercenary?”
He posed a question. Of course, no one was in their right mind to answer.
“What do you mean by that?”
Lee Ji-soo, who had been through all sorts of things, was the only one who managed to hold onto her thread of reason.
“Ah, it’s nothing much. I was just wondering if there was anyone who knows how to get information from hostages or prisoners.”
“Information?”
“Yes.”
With his words, Park Jin-soo turned his head, and there he saw Kim Jae-byeong crawling on the ground, trying to escape. He looked at him and said.
“Like torture. Are there no experts here?”
There was no further response to his question, and at that fact, Park Jin-soo nodded his head.
“Then I’ll do it. I’m not a pro, but I do have some experience.”
“Uh, ugh, do, don’t come here. Do, don't come here!”
And then, he approached Kim Jae-byeong, who had lost his mind and was reacting purely on survival instinct, and spoke.
“Hey, why did you try to kill me? Who wanted to kill me?”
“I, I, I…”
“Did you happen to sell me out to the Chinks?”
“Uh, uh?”
And at the words he casually threw out, surprise colored Kim Jae-byeong’s terror-filled eyes. How did he know that?
“Huh? Was I right?”
Of course, Park Jin-soo hadn't said it knowing the truth.
“Ah, it’s nothing special, you said this was kind of a national project, right? When you think of a country that would try to shit on a national project run by South Korea, China is the first that comes to mind, right? So I just threw it out there, and it hit the mark right away.”
He had just been fishing, and the fishing was a success. At that, Park Jin-soo smiled and said.
“So to sum it up, you're a bastard who sold out his country to China. Wow, a real son of a bitch who deserved to die. But you’ve been eating and living well all this time? That's the kind of person I hate the most. The bastards who should be paying for their sins but instead live in luxury because of them.”
Crack!
With that, Park Jin-soo brought the hammer down on Kim Jae-byeong’s other knee.
“Aaargh!”
“Alright, torture's over.”
Leaving Kim Jae-byeong’s exploding scream behind him, Park Jin-soo got to his feet.
“Everyone, from now on, this one here… what was his name? Ah, I don’t know. Let’s just call him a son of a bitch. It feels wrong to use the name of a bastard who sold out his country to China.”
And then he spoke to the Hunters.
“Aaargh!”
“Anyway, from now on, he’s going to scream, and then the goblins will come to eat him. Then we’ll hunt those goblins.”
“Aaargh!”
“Hey, scream louder. You think the goblins will come with just that? Louder. If your voice gets quiet, I’ll smash your fingers with the hammer.”
The hunting method.
“Alright, let’s go hunt some goblins!”