Naked, Yoo Ji-won spewed filth from both ends. Two beings watched his wretched state. Their forms were similar to humans, but a single glance was enough to tell they were not of the same ‘species’.
They were about one and a half times taller than the average human, and their skin was so pale it had a bluish tint. They were beings with white pupils, something not commonly seen. Among them, the one with particularly large, pointed ears spoke.
“I came all this way because they said they found a decent test subject for once. Isn’t this one even more inferior than an ordinary human?”
At that, the long-haired being replied indifferently.
“A bug like this is perfect for testing. There’s no need to intentionally provoke it for the Conversion.”
“…True. Just watching it crawl around now, it looks unstable enough.”
The owners of the androgynous faces, whose gender was hard to discern, looked down at Yoo Ji-won’s body, which was inflating and deflating like a balloon, with eyes full of contempt. Soon, the pointy-eared one scowled and approached Yoo Ji-won.
“What a truly nauseating bastard. If it weren’t a test subject, I would have killed it right this instant.”
“But it has the most necessary requirement.”
“Is that so.”
The most necessary requirement for Conversion. It was ‘Rampage’. A state of being unable to support one's own body after depleting all Ether.
The current Yoo Ji-won would make for an excellent test subject.
Ssk.
The long-haired being placed a hand on Yoo Ji-won’s forehead. Soon, Yoo Ji-won’s eyes filled with crimson blood.
“Kraaaaaaaah!”
Strange bones protruded and shot out from Yoo Ji-won’s back. His trapezius and other upper body muscles expanded several times over, and patches of hideous fur began to sprout. Even the scream he let out was far from human.
Having completed his Conversion, Yoo Ji-won had finally become a Chimera. Watching the writhing Yoo Ji-won, the pointy-eared one gave a sinister smile.
“Rise, my son. Devour everything you see before you.”
Everything he could see.
Meaning, humans.
With those words, the white-pupiled beings vanished without a trace.
“Oh, Hunter Cheon Hae-seon!”
As I opened the door to the Cleanup Clan office, Yuk Cheol-wan’s welcoming voice rang out. It had been nearly a week since I’d last visited after catching the Giant Treasure.
Huh.
The office felt quite unfamiliar. It wasn’t just because I hadn’t been here in a while. The office, which had been as messy as Yuk Cheol-wan’s appearance, was now unbelievably clean.
The dust that had rolled around on the floor was gone without a trace, and the walls that once gave off a musty, moldy smell now had a cotton scent (!).
“I thought I came to the wrong place.”
“Pardon?”
“The office has changed.”
“Ah. Hahaha. My wife already gave me an earful about it. She said working in here would make a healthy person sick.”
“Aha… so your wife paid a visit.”
That explains it. It seemed Yuk Cheol-wan’s wife had cleaned the place while I was away.
“Come to think of it, your beard is very neat too, isn’t it? Your hairstyle as well.”
“Hahaha. Is that so?”
The office wasn’t the only thing that had changed. Yuk Cheol-wan’s attire, which had been close to a complete mess (….), had also become impeccably clean. It was certainly a pleasant change.
As his life stabilized, everything around Yuk Cheol-wan was finding stability. The way he scratched his temple, looking sheepish, felt rather cute. Among the changes in the office, what I liked most was the coffee machine Yuk Cheol-wan used every day.
“Oh, you changed this too?”
The old instant coffee mix vending machine was gone, replaced by an espresso machine. I remembered the vending machine coffee he offered me when we first met. The machine had its outer layer peeling in places, with dried liquid caked all over it.
The instant coffee that came from it looked… more dangerous than the blood of a Poison-type Monster.
“Yes. As soon as my wife saw the old machine, she reported it for disposal.”
“You really married well.”
“Pardon?”
“Ahem. Shall I have a taste?”
I ignored his reaction and pressed the americano button. The sound of beans grinding filled the air, and a fragrant coffee aroma spread throughout the office.
Whirr.
“Mm. It smells good and tastes good too.”
“Haha. I’m glad you’re satisfied. But I thought you said you disliked coffee before…”
“I’ve decided to like it starting today. Slurp.”
“……?”
Looking bewildered, Yuk Cheol-wan got himself a mocha latte. We sat on the sofa and started by catching up.
“I’ve been busy with this and that lately, so I couldn’t schedule any dungeons. I also had things I needed to train.”
“Even someone like you needs to train, Hunter Cheon Hae-seon?”
“Of course. I almost died just catching the Giant Treasure. Next time, I want to catch it on my own without relying on others.”
“Haha. Catching an 8-star Monster alone. It’s a realm someone like me can’t even imagine. It would be difficult even with the full force of most guilds, let alone a Clan.”
“Come to think of it, I noticed the Cleanup Clan hasn’t been active recently. Were you waiting for me?”
Yuk Cheol-wan waved his hands in denial.
“Ah, no. There were some low-rank dungeons among those we have permits for, but… I wanted to spend time with my wife, who was recently discharged from the hospital. It seems there were many things she wanted to do together.”
“Aha…”
Right.
I could only imagine how he felt. After his wife returned from a long battle with illness, he would naturally want to spend as much time with her as possible. In the first place, the reason he roamed Poison-type dungeons as a ‘cleaner’ was for his wife’s treatment.
There was no longer a reason to chase after dungeons with fire in his eyes like before.
“On the other hand… I was scared.”
“Scared?”
“Yes. I suppose I was relying on you a great deal in my heart, Hunter Cheon Hae-seon. The thought of going into a dungeon without you suddenly scared me.”
“Haha. Anyone who heard you would think you were an E-ranker, Clan Leader.”
“Don’t they say you don’t notice a filled seat, but you always notice an empty one.”
A Tanker relying on a healer on the battlefield. Others might wonder what he was talking about, but the trust Yuk Cheol-wan had was just that great.
“What are your plans for the future?”
A B-rank Knight was quite popular in the market. Especially a Tanker who silently took on the tough jobs. If Yuk Cheol-wan wanted to, he could join a decent Guild.
Depending on how you looked at it, it wouldn’t be strange if he closed the Cleanup Clan office at any time. However, Yuk Cheol-wan’s answer was a little different from my expectation.
“You do what you know… For now, I plan to continue running the Clan.”
“Even after you’ve cleared all the permitted Poison-type dungeons?”
“Yes. And, it’s a bit much to say this, but…”
Yuk Cheol-wan’s face reddened as he cautiously explained another reason. The income was several times better when working with a ‘certain person’ than when active in a regular Guild. A certain person.
Meaning, when he worked with ‘Cheon Hae-seon’.
“That’s an extremely realistic and understandable reason.”
“Haha. I’d appreciate it if you could understand it as the weight of being the head of a household.”
Yuk Cheol-wan might be a bit slow, but he was no fool. He seemed to have realized many things while collecting the Gold Eternal Flower this time. The Gold Eternal Flower was one thing, but being able to ‘wait’ in advance at a dungeon the Association hadn’t identified was quite significant.
No matter how great a Guild was, even Glory Guild, predicting a dungeon in advance was in the realm of impossibility. Therefore, Yuk Cheol-wan seemed to have bet on me as a person rather than committing himself to a particular Guild. In fact, it was a pretty accurate bet.
After all, I had brought a ‘gift’ for him today as well.
“I have something for you, Clan Leader.”
“For me?”
“Yes. I got something while I was out of town.”
“Out of town… ah!”
Though I hadn’t cleared a dungeon, I had killed a Monster once.
“You must be talking about the Gosong District Gate…! I heard the news and was deeply impressed. It seems that wherever a hero goes, incidents always follow.”
“Haha. Even with such praise, I can only give you one.”
I took out a large, cone-shaped material from my bag.
“This is…?!”
Sparks flew from Yuk Cheol-wan’s eyes as he identified the item. This was a material that Knights, especially Tankers, would go crazy for. A rare resource reputed to be harder than special alloys.
It was the Horn of Taurus.
“I-Is it really okay for you to give this to me?”
Even as he asked, Yuk Cheol-wan couldn’t take his eyes off the Horn of Taurus. Though he usually had a modest disposition, a glint of ‘greed’ could be seen on his face.
Right.
A person should be a little greedy like that.
“Yes. Do you like the gift?”
“Like it is an understatement! Isn’t this a high-grade material that even A-rankers have trouble obtaining!”
Yuk Cheol-wan took the horn I offered with both hands and turned it over and over. His eyes were filled with admiration and joy. Of course, it couldn’t compare to Pranium, but the Horn of Taurus was worth hundreds of millions on the market.
There was a saying that ‘getting the horn is several times harder than killing the Taurus,’ which spoke volumes about how strongly the beast’s horn and head were connected. It was common for Hunters, unable to cut the horn off on-site, to behead the creature and carry the whole head, so that said it all.
What would the value of such an item be, brought in a perfectly processed state when it was difficult to kill and difficult to harvest?
‘He probably wouldn’t have that expression even if he saw a mountain of gold and jewels.’
A smile naturally formed on my face as I looked at Yuk Cheol-wan’s moved expression.
“From what I’ve heard, you can mount it on your shoulder for protection, or attach it to a shield or other device for breaking through things.”
“That’s right, Hunter. Even the toughest of foes will get holes punched in them if they’re pierced by this horn. Several guys I know transferred to other guilds after receiving an inferior horn as a signing bonus.”
“That’s a shame. If they had just stuck around, they could have gotten something much better.”
Yuk Cheol-wan gave a bitter smile at my words. He must have gone through a lot of heartache watching his colleagues leave while running the Cleanup Clan. But now, he had obtained the finest item a Tanker could get.
“Anyway, that’s great. I plan to focus on conquering Poison-type dungeons for the time being as well.”
A B-rank Tanker is a very effective resource for dungeon conquering, and more importantly, looking at his eyes full of faith, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse. He was the one who saved his wife from the incurable disease of ‘mental corruption’, so the trust he showed was, in a way, only natural.
“Um… but…”
“Yes?”
“Maybe it’s because you’ve been training… but you give off a slightly different feeling than before, Hunter.”
“I do?”
“Yes. I can’t explain it, but I feel an unknown sense of pressure from you.”
I should take back what I said about him being slow. Was it because my abilities as an Esper, the natural enemy of Tankers, had fully blossomed? Despite trusting me completely, Yuk Cheol-wan seemed to have developed a slight fear of me.
In a way, it was a natural phenomenon. There was a thing called ‘compatibility’ among Hunters, and Knight-type Tankers and Espers were perfect natural enemies. Yuk Cheol-wan’s instincts had automatically reacted to my psychic power level, which had reached S-rank.
“Don’t be surprised when you see it later.”
“Pardon?”
What kind of expression would Yuk Cheol-wan make when he saw the Crimson Venom Snake? His already large mouth would probably open as wide as a gate. I gave a mysterious smile to the blinking Yuk Cheol-wan.