Crash!
"Keuk!"
A large body, so plump one might doubt it could fold, bent in half like a clamshell. At Iron Arm's merciless fists, the employees of 'Trust Private Loans' fell like autumn leaves. Today, there was no mercy in his hands.
His usually gentle personality was now as hot as fire. Having nursed his wife for a long time, he had a special attachment to family. It hadn't been long since the Irregular team was formed, but Iron Arm cherished Kang Jeong-hyeon like a nephew.
Cheon Hae-seon handled everything so well on her own that there was nothing to worry about, but Kang Jeong-hyeon, for all his abilities, was clumsy in many ways. He'd had a feeling when Kang Jeong-hyeon said he was going to pay back the loan sharks, and sure enough.
Seeing them treat the young Kang Jeong-hyeon so unfairly, Iron Arm saw red.
‘Iron Arm… for me…!’
As he watched the scene of the brawl from behind the sofa, something hot surged up in Kang Jeong-hyeon's chest. Had he ever received kindness from another his entire life? Forget others, Kang Jeong-hyeon was a man who had been tormented as a test subject even by his own father.
Kang Jeong-hyeon watched Iron Arm's massacre show with a fiery gaze. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a doubt arose, 'Isn't he just angry because they didn't recognize him?' but Kang Jeong-hyeon immediately shook his head vigorously.
Crash.
When Iron Arm grabbed a man by the collar and threw him, the giant, weighing over 100kg, broke through the glass window and was flung outside. It was fortunate they were on the first floor; otherwise, that would have been the day he died.
"That, that crazy bastard."
The face of Ban Hae-min, the representative of 'Trust Private Loans', was a mess of shock and terror. He had expected a strong Hunter, but he never imagined they would be so helplessly beaten. It wasn't that their attacks were entirely in vain.
While Iron Arm was folding the giant in front of him in half, another subordinate from behind had swung a wooden plank at the back of his head.
Crack!
Normally, one's vision would go yellow and they would collapse. But Iron Arm's head, far from slumping forward, turned back with extreme smoothness.
"What are you?"
Soon, Iron Arm turned around and snatched the wooden plank in an instant. His hands danced splendidly in the air.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
"Do you know how much that hurt? Hitting a person with a wooden plank! You ignorant bastard!"
Watching his subordinate being beaten like a dog on a summer day, Ban Hae-min swallowed dryly. 'He's hitting him with a wooden plank right now too... and is that the reaction of someone in pain?' It was just that his colleagues were monster-level; Iron Arm himself was not a Hunter to be trifled with.
A B-rank Knight could join almost any guild, and since he was a Tanker, a class people tended to avoid, his pay was on the higher side. If that was the case even within a guild, there was no way the ordinary people in this loan shark office could stop his massacre.
Of course, it was strictly forbidden for a Hunter to assault a civilian. But these guys were 'criminals' before they were civilians. For them to report Iron Arm would be the same as volunteering to go to jail.
That was precisely why Iron Arm could beat them up with a clear conscience.
Bang! Bang!
"Heok!"
The giant who had resisted to the very end collapsed, foaming at the mouth. Now, only one person in 'Trust Private Loans' was left unscathed. The mastermind who had tried to frame Kang Jeong-hyeon, Ban Hae-min.
‘That son of a bitch…!!’
Ban Hae-min had already lost quite a lot. In this business, rumors spread in an instant. If word got out that all his subordinates had suffered a devastating blow, the other hyenas in the area wouldn't just stand by.
How much effort had he put into feeding and raising those pig-like bastards. With so many sins under his belt, he would have to lie low and hide for a while. 'Even if I go down, I'm not going down easy.'
Ban Hae-min's eyes turned vicious. He had known from the start that Iron Arm was someone he couldn't handle. He too was once a Hunter who belonged to a guild.
Even if he hadn't seen his subordinates fall like autumn leaves, he wouldn't have recklessly thrown himself at Iron Arm. However, that didn't mean there was no way out.
Click.
While Iron Arm was grabbing a resisting subordinate by the collar and asking, 'What's my name?', he carefully opened a drawer. While running the loan shark business, there had always been big and small troubles. A borrower who was quite powerful, or others encroaching on his territory.
A Hunter device he had purchased for a large sum of money in preparation for such times. It was originally forbidden for a civilian to use Hunter devices, but since the business itself was illegal, it was no big deal.
Click.
Kang Jeong-hyeon's ears perked up. While watching the massacre in a daze, he had sensed an unfamiliar sound. Kang Jeong-hyeon's face hardened as he turned his head.
Ban Hae-min was now aiming a gun-shaped device at Iron Arm.
"Watch out!"
In Kang Jeong-hyeon's vision, he saw Ban Hae-min's finger. Clearly pulling the trigger. At the same time, Kang Jeong-hyeon stretched out his arm.
Shwaaaaaaaaaaak.
A dark brown plant stem shot out, piercing through the old bandage.
Bang!
"?!"
Iron Arm and Ban Hae-min. The faces of the two men changed abruptly. Anger rose on Iron Arm's face again as he saw the firearm device, while Ban Hae-min's jaw dropped to the floor in astonishment.
The bullet he thought would surely hit its mark had been blocked by something unbelievable. In this dreary office where not even a single small flower pot was grown, where did this plant come from? Amazingly, the end of that plant stem was connected to Kang Jeong-hyeon's arm.
"You... what the hell are you, you bastard... kehk!"
The question was never finished. Iron Arm had strode over and lifted Ban Hae-min by the neck.
"Where did you get this? You should know that it's a serious crime for a civilian to possess a Hunter device."
With his last resort blocked, Ban Hae-min had no moves left. His sunglasses were knocked off, and his exposed face was filled with despair. Cornered, he began to beg, rubbing his hands together.
"I... I'm sorry! I was just so scared! I really didn't mean to hit you!"
He aimed and pulled the trigger, and now he says he didn't mean it. For a moment, Kang Jeong-hyeon couldn't believe his ears. How could a person be so shameless?
But unlike the naive Kang Jeong-hyeon, Iron Arm had seen plenty of this type of person.
"Right... You didn't mean it. Well, that can happen."
"Yes. I'm really sorry!"
"It's these hands that are the problem. You're not at fault. Aren't you?"
"Yes! ... Huh?"
Iron Arm gently took both of Ban Hae-min's hands.
"So I just need to punish these hands."
"No, that's not... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!"
Crunch.
A sound so horrific that even Kang Jeong-hyeon winced was heard. Under Iron Arm's pressure, Ban Hae-min's hand bones were completely shattered.
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Ban Hae-min, half-crazed with pain. Iron Arm struck his neck with a knife-hand chop.
"Kehk!"
Ban Hae-min lost consciousness and collapsed, and only then did Iron Arm's expression return to normal.
"Are you okay, Jeong-hyeon? This is a pretty dangerous weapon..."
"Yes. I'm fine, uncle. I used my toughest plant, so... The bandage is a waste, though."
The bandage Kang Jeong-hyeon unwound every time he released his power was, surprisingly, recycled.
[Please, if you use it once, throw it away and wrap a new one! I'll buy you a whole box of bandages!]
Unable to watch any longer, Bi-soo pleaded with Kang Jeong-hyeon, but each time, Kang Jeong-hyeon would just scratch the back of his head and smile.
[Hehe. It's a waste.]
Kang Jeong-hyeon, a man who didn't fit in with a loan shark's office at all. Watching him lament the torn bandage, Iron Arm smiled wryly. 'Even if he earned billions, a disposition like this probably wouldn't change.'
And why would it? This was a purity he had maintained despite a lifetime of suffering at the hands of his father. Iron Arm patted Kang Jeong-hyeon's head once before starting to clean up.
The illegal loan contracts and cash they had. Originally, he had only intended to resolve Kang Jeong-hyeon's debt contract, but their business methods were more vicious than he could have imagined. The outrageous interest rates and collection of advance interest were, needless to say, illegal acts.
If he submitted what was here to the local authorities, he could save the people who had been suffering.
"What if... what if the local police are also in league with these guys?"
"Oh. Now you're asking some worldly questions. I'm very pleased. Keh, keh, keh."
"Is that... a compliment?"
"Hmm? Of course! It's a compliment! A compliment indeed!"
Since the appearance of Monsters, the world had become quite a harsh place. A world where living with a pure heart often meant you'd be taken advantage of. If one could choose their disposition, in this day and age, one should live as 'Cheon Hae-seon', not 'Kang Jeong-hyeon'.
Would Hunter Cheon Hae-seon be upset if she heard this? 'No. Perhaps Hunter Cheon Hae-seon was also like Jeong-hyeon at first...' Iron Arm entertained such a thought for a moment, but then he recalled the face of the demon... no, Cheon Hae-seon, who had instructed him to 'extract their marrow if you don't like them'.
'Hmm. No way.'
Swoosh.
Slowly, and quietly, I entered the dungeon entrance. A brand new, fresh(?) Poison-type dungeon that had just been created.
Normally, I might have come with my companions, but today I was completely alone. A 3-star (★★★) Poison-type dungeon. Considering my recent fame, the difficulty was excessively easy.
But on the other hand, it was a suitable place to test a 'new skill'.
Ssshhh.
A faint haze shimmered from my palm. The Pracel I received from Dr. Jin was now perfectly one with my Black Ether. It controlled the output when I released 'Poison Flame', and in some cases, it converted Black Ether into blades and bullets.
And right now.
'Pracel' was preparing another form of weapon.
Poison Mist.
A skill obtained after absorbing the Core of the fish head... no, the 8-star (★★★★★★★★) Monster 'Squama'. Just like downloading martial arts skills through a machine in the movie 'The Matrix', absorbing Squama's Core made the sensation of Ether tangible in my hands. Vaporizing the Ether surrounding my body, I slowly scattered it in all directions.
Ssssssssssssss.
Tiny particles sprayed out from my palm. At a glance, it looked like a fine black powder was adorning the surroundings. Unlike the black smoke that rises from burning things, the black mist dominated the atmosphere without any particular smell.
Koo-reu...
"Do you like it?"
Ppori, who was on my shoulder, shivered and stretched its body. Then it flapped its small wings and darted about in the Poison Mist.
Kkwang!
Since it already fed on my poison energy as nourishment, it might feel like a pleasant shower to Ppori. But unlike that special creature, for the Monsters inhabiting the vicinity, it was a terrible end.
Hiss... Thud. Flump.
Greenish-blue bats that had been breathing fine on the trees dropped down one after another. The large lizards crawling on the ground had all flipped onto their backs and died long ago. What was surprising was that not only the animals, but even the purple plants living nearby had turned black and died.
A radius of 100m. Regardless of animal or plant, all life within that area met its end in an instant.
"No, this is... too strong."
I hadn't even used half of a quarter of my Ether. But the effect was truly tremendous. A formidable skill that killed all living things that entered the mist in a single breath.
Like the 'Poison Rain' Kiril used, it couldn't intercept all desired targets, but this, on the other hand, could slaughter everything that got in the way. If there was a downside, it was that Poison Mist did not distinguish between friend and foe.
Using Poison Mist thoughtlessly in battle would result in not only Monsters but also the people next to you all dying. A skill that must be used only when facing the battlefield alone. In other words, it should be considered a 'solo play' exclusive skill.
"Good thing I came alone. I could have sent someone next to me to their grave while testing this."
I chuckled once and called Ppori.
"Stop playing and come back now. Let's quickly take care of the boss Monster and get out."
Kkwang!
"It's no use resisting. I'll just leave you here."
Grrrr...
Ppori puffed out its belly and growled. But no matter how I looked at it, it was just cute. Stroking the head of the grumbling Ppori, I started walking towards the boss Monster.
The place I had passed through. The area where the Poison Mist had formed had already transformed into a vast land of death where not a single blade of grass existed.