Chapter 87

“Kim Kiryeo, what are you doing?”

“Someone of your level should understand without me having to explain, shouldn’t you?”

Without hesitation, I shifted my stance on the narrow foothold.

“Still, I’ll give you a simple explanation. People tend to assume that Awakened individuals like us are extraordinarily durable.”

“...”

“But that isn’t necessarily true. Even Awakened individuals are vulnerable to attacks from within if their mana control slips for even a moment.”

“...”

“If you target their insides, they burst much more easily than you might expect.”

How remarkable.

Who would have thought that a single low-grade magic tool could reverse the course of the entire conversation?

“Kang Changho, do you know the exact conditions under which Improvement evaluates a target?”

Fwoosh.

In an instant, a sunlike mass of magical power gathered around my ears. It was a sign that the spell could be completed with the slightest exertion of will.

“I don’t.”

“...”

“But whatever the criteria may be, I doubt anyone could make a decision quickly enough if their brain and spinal cord were destroyed all at once.”

In other words, I was now threatening an S-Class hunter.

“Hunter Kang Changho, do you still intend to lay a hand on me?”

It was a shocking declaration: if he pushed me too far, I would take my own life before Improvement could activate.

The S-Class hunter stared at me in disbelief.

“If someone tries to kill you, you’ll commit suicide? Do you honestly think that makes any sense?”

But Kang Changho was forced into silence by what I said next.

“Of course it makes sense. Because I can actually do it.”

“...!”

Now, let us discuss something practical.

When two magicians of roughly equal ability fight, what determines the outcome?

Affinity? Knowledge?

Unfortunately, neither answer is correct.

Surprisingly, battles between magicians are often decided by momentum. Magicians are creatures heavily influenced by their state of mind. The instant one side begins to believe they might lose, the entire balance of the confrontation can shift.

And there was one thing I could declare with complete confidence.

I had never once lost a battle of nerve between magicians.

“Look.”

Not once.

“Hunter Kang Changho.”

I changed my approach.

If I activated the Pyromancer Necklace, I would kill myself before he could do anything to stop me. Therefore, he should abandon whatever scheme he had in mind.

“You’re taking this bluff too far. There’s no realistic way you could possibly—”

For the first time, Kang Changho appeared genuinely unsettled.

I couldn’t help smiling at his reaction.

“A bluff?”

Well, this was not merely a statement intended to win a contest of wills.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

As the footsteps of the giant spider drew closer, I folded my arms and looked up into the empty air.

“I’m sorry, Changho-ssi, but I have no particular attachment to this life.”

What followed was a brief monologue.

“To be honest, I’ve already lived long enough.”

“...”

“I’ve seen more than enough filth, and I’ve already achieved what I spent so long yearning for.”

“What?”

“Of course, it would be pleasant to continue living like this for a while longer.”

While he remained silent, I straightened my posture and spoke with confidence.

“But dying would still be preferable to allowing someone like you to control me.”

As the conversation continued, a succession of emotions crossed the S-Class hunter’s face.

Shock.

Confusion.

Astonishment.

“Haa.”

Finally, he let out a quiet sigh.

“Anyway, if you want to steal someone else’s skill, wait quietly until the contract expires.”

“...”

“Don’t complicate matters with pointless interference.”

How many people in this world could speak so forcefully to an S-Class hunter?

But regardless of who stood before me, I had no intention of spending the next ten years living with my head bowed.

Not even for a moment.

“Do you understand?”

It was time to bring this matter to a conclusion.

Prepared to destroy myself at any moment, I spoke in an almost serene voice.

“If you understand, could you please deal with the spider lurking nearby? Its presence is becoming so irritating that I feel as though my head might explode.”

For a while, Kang Changho simply stared at me from across the collapsed passage.

Then he suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hahaha!”

His eyes gleamed with intense interest as he laughed.

***

“...Fine. I lost.”

It seemed this man truly wanted my abilities.

The moment I threatened to render his coveted Improvement useless, he immediately became compliant.

“I promise I won’t do anything like this again. So put down the necklace first.”

What a dramatic resolution.

To my surprise, Kang Changho had even broken into a cold sweat as he tried to dissuade me from harming myself.

At this point, I was beginning to wonder exactly what kind of ability he imagined I possessed.

‘Ugh, forget it. Asking would only be a nuisance. Whatever he imagines, I’m still the only one who would know how to use that magic properly...’

Clink.

I obediently released the necklace.

Of course, the gesture was meaningless. I could control a low-grade magic tool like this perfectly even if it were lying beneath my feet.

“I’m glad we managed to resolve this through conversation.”

Kang Changho seemed to have realized that much.

He narrowed one eye and gave me a peculiar look. Although he no longer displayed the same hostility as before, his imposing physique still exerted considerable pressure.

“Hmm... Hunter Kang Changho, I admit that I also have something to reflect upon.”

Threatening suicide was a last resort.

Had Kang Changho lost his mind and charged at me while shouting, “Then let’s die together,” I would have had no solution.

So I decided to make a concession while I still had the advantage.

“From your perspective, I can understand why it would be unsettling for someone under contract to visit such a dangerous place.”

“Ha.”

“As an apology, from now on, whenever I go somewhere dangerous, I’ll make sure to report—”

Wait.

Now that I thought about it, Kang Changho disliked me going anywhere near gates in the first place.

‘Huh?’

In that case, since I was planning to quit being a hunter, perhaps I should simply ask him to lend me three billion won.

The idea flashed through my mind.

I abandoned it only a few seconds later.

Even with minimal consideration, I could foresee several problems.

‘If I suddenly ask for billions, it will look suspicious. Naturally, he’ll wonder what I intend to do with that much money.’

It was little more than intuition, but I strongly felt that I should not allow this Earthling to discover that my true objective was obtaining healthy lungs.

Besides, my problems would not end once I acquired a new pair of lungs.

I was in a hurry at the moment, so there was little else I could change, but...

‘Finding a replacement body might be even more troublesome.’

That was right.

A body.

A suitable vessel to replace Kim Kiryeo.

In other words, I would eventually need the corpse of an Awakener ranked at least E-Class.

As expected, recklessly abandoning my status as a hunter did not seem like a particularly wise decision.

‘In this profession, the death of an Awakener can occur without attracting too much suspicion.’

So I decided to solve the money problem on my own.

“Shall we leave the gate now? We’ve already defeated the boss.”

“Yeah.”

“And the items we obtained here will be divided eight to two, correct? I recorded our previous call.”

At my current rate of progress, reaching my goal should not take too long.

***

<Mid-Autumn, a Park near Mapo-gu>

Whirr.

The sound of banknotes being counted came from the ATM.

Click.

When the machine fell silent, several blue bills protruded from the cash dispenser.

Rustle.

I counted them one by one before placing them in my wallet.

“One hundred thousand won.”

What should I buy for lunch today?

The past seven days had swept by like a typhoon.

I had entered a gangsters’ hideout while investigating a Rakshasa temple, and that incident had led to a life-or-death confrontation with an S-Class hunter.

“Whew.”

It had been an extraordinarily hectic period.

But all of that was behind me now.

After working so hard, I had finally completed everything on my schedule.

“I can finally live a little more comfortably.”

Recently, I had only been helping Ahn Yoonseung with his skill training on a limited basis.

And even that was restricted to Thursdays.

On the other days, Yoonseung apparently had business to handle at his company.

‘He must be preparing to return to work in earnest.’

The money...

No, this wasn’t about money.

Still, watching one of the first people I had met on Earth gradually drift away left me feeling strangely disheartened.

There was nothing I could do about it, however.

Putting the thought aside, I took a bite of my triangle kimbap.

Oh, by the way, where was I eating?

“Chirp, chirp, chirp.”

“Why are birds so common on this planet...?”

Lowering my gaze, I found myself looking at a familiar creature standing near my feet.

That was right.

I was currently in a park in Seoul.

“And why do the birds on this planet walk around on the ground...?”

More precisely, I was sitting on a bench, eating triangle kimbap and drinking soda.

“Grruk. Guu, guu.”

“Hmm. It is rather cute.”

Wasn’t this peaceful?

To be honest, the past week had been exhausting. At one point, I had remained awake for almost three consecutive days.

‘No, seriously. If I was going to live like this, why did I even bother reincarnating?’

Late though it might have been, I decided to return to my original purpose.

Rest.

Something so easy to obtain now, yet so impossibly difficult to achieve in my previous life.

‘Let’s take it easy for a while.’

Content, I enjoyed the quiet afternoon.

And just like that, time slipped away.

***

Ten days later.

—Crrrk.

After several days of rest, I had developed something resembling a routine.

Perhaps I had also grown more comfortable using cash rather than cards.

‘Twenty thousand won.’

I would wake in the morning, withdraw however much money I expected to need that day, and buy a variety of triangle kimbap I had not yet tried from the convenience store.

Then I would come to the park, sit on the same bench, and eat.

Recently, my life had become an endless repetition of this simple routine.

Crunch.

But I rather liked it.

To a soul that had crossed over from a distant corner of the universe, even the most ordinary things remained fascinating.

‘Interesting.’

Clouds.

Birds.

Green plants.

Lately, I had become completely absorbed in exploring Earth.

In a sense, it was a hobby perfectly suited to an alien.

‘Hmm.’

However, remaining in the same place for ten days inevitably led me to notice and remember certain details.

For example, the colours of the pigeons’ beaks.

Or the woman who appeared on the rooftop of the building across the street.

‘She’s there again today?’

Whenever I sat on the bench and raised my eyes, I saw the same scene.

Every day at eleven o’clock, an Earthling appeared on that rooftop as though she had arranged an appointment.

‘Even her posture is always the same.’

Her hair was tied into a round bun, with untidy strands sticking out around it. She wore angular glasses and was always dressed in the same white coat.

Perhaps because I had seen her face every day for the past ten days, I was beginning to feel a peculiar sense of familiarity toward her.

“Hmm.”

Lost in thought, I took the final bite of my triangle kimbap.

‘I wonder whether she’ll be there tomorrow as well.’

Only three seconds passed after that thought entered my mind.

“Huh?”

A moment later, the woman in the white coat abruptly placed one foot on the railing.

I did not need to think long to understand what that meant.

Clang.

“H-Huh?!”

The person on the rooftop suddenly tried to jump.

A human body began to fall.

“Ah!”

The sight sent a chill through me.

My mind went completely blank.

Of course, I was capable of casting magic even in such a state, but...

To be honest, I had little confidence in the result.

Kim Kiryeo possessed only F-Class magical power, and the woman had fallen from an enormous height.

Whoosh!

I immediately cast wind magic to slow her descent, then sprinted toward the building across the street.

I had to make sure she was safe.

“H-Heugh...”

I searched frantically, wondering where she had landed.

Then I saw her.

A woman lay motionless beside the flowerbed.

And she was wearing a white coat.