Chapter 319

At the same time, Ranking No. 1 and No. 2 were both getting lost in pointless thoughts.

My god. No matter how many times I check, it's always the same disgusting bug-like number.

Sir, sorry to interrupt, but wouldn't 33Aw at least put him around guinea pig level?

Of course, there was a considerable gap between imagination and reality.

By this point, Kim Giryeo had already had his true level completely exposed somewhere along one of the cave's side passages. However, the people currently facing powerful enemies over by the grassy area had no way of knowing exactly what kind of danger their separated companion was in.

If those things are willingly treating him as their leader... then that spear-wielding Beast must be unusually strong, even compared to the S-ranks here.

This was the moment when all the effort the alien creature had poured into maintaining his fabricated image came back to bite him.

Because Jung Haseong and Esther didn't know the truth, neither of them made any serious attempt to rescue him.

Perhaps, after seeing Kim Giryeo willingly allow himself to be captured and dragged away by the Beast, they assumed he had some kind of plan.

Or perhaps they hoped that the blond Awakener, having removed the most troublesome enemy from the battlefield, would return and join the fight later.

The Hunters had placed their faith in a fallen mage.

In this world, faith and hope were originally regarded as ingredients even more vital to sorcery than mana itself.

But when that very ingredient became distorted—

Could a miracle still function properly even then?

This is really strange.

Yes?

I, I thought the wounds I gave you when you ran away earlier had been healed with potions. But now you're getting injured right in front of me, and that thing is still rampaging around like nothing happened... What is it, some kind of zombie?

The situation was deteriorating in more ways than one.

The foreigners dressed in black leather were beginning to adapt to the flames like monsters that didn't even understand pain.

Even without an [Appraisal] ability, I can tell. Both of them are geared out to the absolute limit...!

The enemies were equipped with secretive items so rare and dangerous that they hadn't even been registered in any country's PIXY database.

Because the fire mage had secured a favorable position from the outset, he had managed to keep the enemies pinned down from a distance for quite some time.

At moments, the barrage of attacks even drove them backward.

But in barely a hundred seconds, the distance between them began shrinking rapidly.

Even when Esther, driven by fear for both her own safety and that of her companion, cast a curse that blinded the enemy, the battle continued to grow increasingly unstable.

This is seriously frustrating. Their wounds are definitely increasing, so why aren't they getting tired?

What made it even more baffling was the question of why.

Why were they imitating Beasts when they were obviously human?

Why had they seized control of this dungeon?

Those brats aren't even real monsters.

And why had they launched such an aggressive hunt for an S-rank from another country who had been living quietly, baring their teeth as though they were ready to tear their own jaws apart?

Because the motive driving those brutes in human skin was still unknown.

***

How did you end up doing something like this?

A few years earlier.

Brooklyn.

Eastern United States.

A leisurely lunchtime.

Hey, Brooklyn Morgan. We're on the same team now, so we'll be seeing each other a lot. Don't ignore me like that, alright?

It was so long ago that even the exact date was difficult to remember.

More precisely, this was during the early days of the [Spectrum] Guild.

While South Korea was still at the stage where Seo Esther was debating whether to establish her base in the Magic Tower or the Grand Hall, Spectrum had already gathered three renowned S-class Hunters, including an immigrant from Italy.

But as anyone could tell simply by looking at the situation from another angle, there was a certain contradiction in top-tier espers joining a company as employees.

After all, this was an era in which monsters were already rampaging through the streets, and a single high-quality mana stone could produce as much energy as a nuclear power plant generated in an entire year.

The S-rank superhumans who had begun appearing later possessed enough talent to safely clear even highly dangerous A-rank Gates.

Fundamentally, every one of them was a high earner.

They had so much money that even calling them wealthy barely captured it.

Moreover, most monsters that struck fear into ordinary civilians could, under the right circumstances, simply be hunted down and killed by them.

Where were we?

To put it metaphorically, an S-rank Awakener was like the only hunter in a world without guns.

Through the single phenomenon of Awakening, they possessed power, authority, and wealth—the complete package.

So why would people like that willingly place someone above themselves and agree to obey that person indefinitely?

The reason I signed with Spectrum.

Work was generally a good means of satisfying one's desire for self-actualization.

But despite that advantage, at least the S-ranks here hadn't tied themselves to their jobs for anything so wholesome.

More precisely, you were asking how I ended up joining this company, right?

What the—so you were listening the whole time while pretending you weren't.

THUD.

A broad, bear-like man leaned his back against the wall.

Now standing in a relaxed posture, he continued speaking calmly.

Actually, the truth is...

Brooklyn Morgan, whatever reason was written into your contract, let me make one thing clear first.

The reason I joined the Spectrum Guild was...

Service?

Yeah. You could call it serving a sentence.

A few years ago, my family had their factory stolen through fraud.

Hmm.

As frustrating as it was, that con artist turned out to be far more capable than I'd expected.

Since he'd been a co-founder from the beginning, he wasn't exactly lacking in business sense.

The guy went from living under a crooked roof to moving into a luxury villa in Rome in only three years...

Ah, Rome. That place really is something.

And once that bastard started making money, he surrounded himself with several bodyguards who cost $5,000 apiece and lived like a king, enjoying himself right up until the Dungeon Shock.

The man with the warm, gentle-looking face gave a soft chuckle.

So eventually I got sick of looking at him, broke into his house, and gouged out his eyes with my thumbs.

I told him that even if he healed them with potions, I'd come back and do it again.

And I kept that promise more than once.

So, well, it wasn't exactly surprising when that once-successful businessman was eventually found at the bottom of a lake.

At that, Brooklyn paused briefly before asking a question.

Was that after you Awakened?

Of course.

It was only after gaining superpowers that I could finally get past all his bodyguards and face him directly.

Wow, that's unexpected.

So the S-rank immigrant everyone in America welcomed was actually the main culprit in such a disgusting assault case?

That's the first I've heard of it.

Naturally, the man leaning against the wall and watching his conversation partner continued speaking smoothly, as though he'd prepared for this moment in advance.

The reward Spectrum promised me for joining was to clean up the aftermath.

To make sure the incident never leaked out.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt caused by fraud.

A suffering family.

And brutal revenge.

A steady supply of dungeon resources was just a bonus.

Alcoholic.

Sure, all the stressful stuff is over now, but I still have this thirst that never seems to go away.

It's not even just about getting drunk.

To be honest, I simply think most alcohol tastes good.

It's one of life's small pleasures.

As the conversation drifted into subjects guaranteed to provoke humanity's innate curiosity—revenge, murder, and shady deals—Brooklyn finally showed a flicker of interest in the man standing by the window.

He had killed someone in the name of vengeance.

He had retaliated against the person who had harmed his loved ones.

And now, in exchange for having that crime buried, he was working beneath Spectrum's umbrella.

It was a story that felt remarkably familiar to someone else's past, wasn't it?

BUBBLE, BUBBLE.

Sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains, laying soft streaks of gold across the room.

A woman with short golden hair was boiling water, probably to brew black coffee.

The Italian man, who had only recently changed his nationality, watched her intently for a moment.

Then, without warning, he started another conversation.

Brooklyn.

Come to think of it, I just noticed something.

Looks like you've got a scar on the back of your neck.

A scar?

It's difficult to see in a mirror.

And it's small, so I didn't notice it until now.

If an Awakener who constantly used healing skills on their own body still had a scar, it was probably not because they had neglected the wound, but because a slight error had occurred during the healing process.

Want me to remove it for you?

The man, leaning comfortably against the nearby wall with his legs stretched out, spoke in an easygoing tone.

With a little anesthetic and a pair of forceps scissors, I can clean it up nicely.

I'll take care of it while you drink your coffee.

I've practiced on my own skin plenty of times, so I'm practically an expert by now.

At first, he had asked why she had joined the company.

But when the woman clearly showed no intention of answering, he naturally changed the subject.

You, with that scruffy beard and all that leg hair, are talking about skin care?

Hahaha. This is fashion!

Why, you really don't like it?

A refreshing laugh followed.

Brown hair.

A beard of the same color.

A height nearly equal to Brooklyn's even when she wore high heels.

But almost twice her body mass.

And so on.

Enzo.

Enzo Chiano.

An S-rank Hunter of the Spectrum Guild.

To be honest, the man who had led the conversation up to this point wasn't someone anyone would describe as conventionally handsome.

If anything, he looked more like an ordinary farmer than a high-ranking Awakener.

And yet, surprisingly enough, the entire reason he'd been talking to Brooklyn this whole time was nothing more than calculated seduction.

Like everyone else in the world, he possessed his own kind of charm.

Something rough and masculine, perhaps.

After all, emotions weren't born from appearances alone.

Mammals were creatures naturally more susceptible to the warmth of another person's arms than to the cold perfection of a Michelangelo sculpture.

So really, there was nothing impossible about it.

As expected, S-class healers really are that rare, huh?

The Spectrum administrator had personally given Enzo, who could practically be considered one of the founding members, a direct order.

Brooklyn.

Get along with that transcendent new human being no matter what.

And if possible, establish a special relationship with her.

Enzo Chiano had accepted the proposal without resistance.

Then, solely to create a sense of kinship, he fabricated a story about his life before joining the company that resembled the other person's past.

The higher-ups must really want her on their side if they're resorting to such a clichéd trick.

It wasn't because of any grand sense of duty.

Nor had he been won over by the words of the holders of the [Knight's Oath] contract, which would become meaningless anyway once he died.

It was simply deception and calculation born from a hunch that this path might be less boring.

I can somehow tolerate the beard, but honestly, the leg hair is just a terrible choice.

Wouldn't it be weirder if I suddenly showed up completely clean-shaven?

Want me to shave and show you later?

If you don't want to drink a 30-ounce iced Americano, then just stop talking.

The American male S-class Hunter, who appeared simpler than anyone else, actually possessed a rather complicated inner world.

To put it simply, he was twisted.

In other words, strange.

Extremely capricious.

He sometimes helped other people, but so rarely that calling him kind-hearted would have been a stretch.

It was as though he'd chosen alcohol instead of cerebrospinal fluid to soak his brain in.

If a person spent their entire life drenched in liquor, how could some part of them not end up damaged?

Anyway, Brooklyn.

Sit down.

I'll remove that scar on your neck in no time.

For a while, Enzo followed his superior's orders and worked to gain the powerful woman's favor.

He simply treated her kindly at every opportunity.

The game of giving things to others was something he could remain focused on even through a miserable hangover.

And in truth, Brooklyn's attitude toward him did soften noticeably day by day.

So did the lightning-type Awakener from America ultimately succeed in achieving his goal?

It was an easy game.

That was something Enzo Chiano had once thought.

Hmm?

Of course, that was what he believed—

right up until Brooklyn Morgan's spearhand strike pierced his liver.

Some time afterward, Enzo saw the healer smiling and felt a surge of confidence strong enough to invite her to the upcoming year-end party.

Oh my.

There's someone even crazier than me in this world.

Because the moment Brooklyn heard that invitation, she suddenly beat Enzo Chiano like he was a dog thief who had just stolen her beloved pet.