There's trouble.

It was around the time when I unexpectedly started worrying about settlement money. I suddenly sensed another person's magic energy surging and quickly turned my head.

U, ugh...

Upon closer inspection, I could hear the sound of teeth gritting from the direction of the fallen Cho Sangoh. That A-rank hunter had been hit directly by a Unique-grade magic tool and hadn't completely passed out. However, it's clear that there was a significant impact, as he was still unable to steady his body properly.

He's conscious?!

For reference, I was already on edge due to the sudden injury. And now, with the enemy in front of me muttering curses and releasing magic, it's no wonder I was feeling a surge of fear.

I indistinctly drew my weapon. I was determined to land the finishing blow before the mysterious sorcerer could recover.

However, judging by Cho Sangoh's awakening level, he's probably on the upper tier of A-rank. With Hydra, I wouldn't be able to break through the sorcerer's magic barrier, fully armored as he is. So now, I would have to rely on methods other than physical damage.

[Screaming Stake]

[Rank: Unique]

[Description: Inflicts [Pain] status abnormally on the target hit.]

As I mentioned earlier, awakened individuals here tend to neglect equipment that grants resistance to status effects.

“Y, you b*stard! What the hell did you do to me...?”

I approached the crawling hunter, gripping my weapon tightly.

“I'll kill you...!”

What followed was a silver streak cutting through the air. Then, the echoing scream of someone in pain.

***

– Aaaaargh...aargh!

Startled!

On a quiet afternoon, the new recruit of the Neo Sisters guild pricks up her ears at the noise that suddenly erupts from a distance.

“What's that scream?”

“Did a monster emerge somewhere?”

The new guild member, having chosen a job that protects the neighborhood, possessed an above-average sense of justice. As soon as they heard the scream, they immediately ran toward the source of the noise, accompanied by their superior. They thought that, if a citizen was in danger, as awakened individuals, they might be able to help.

“Heuk.”

But guess what? When they arrived at the scene, the situation was far from ordinary. Amidst the grim and eerie sight of pedestrians sprawled like corpses, a blonde man was coldly slashing at others, his expression utterly devoid of emotion.

“Aaargh!”

Another scream erupted. The one being attacked showed no visible wounds, but for some reason, with each thrust, they let out a torn cry. The hunter, who had collapsed, curled up tightly, clutching the area he had been struck. His eyes were covered in sweat, and his mouth was dripping with digestive juices that he couldn't swallow. Despite the grotesque state, he continued to writhe in pain.

“Kiaaaaaaah!”

The one wielding the dagger, not feeling any pity for the other's disheveled appearance, continued their fierce attack. It was truly a cold-blooded act.

“Huh? That person is...?”

At that moment, the new recruit of the Neo Sisters recognized the true identity of the cruel man.

Black sambagean eyes and a suit. These are the distinctive features of Korea's fourth S-rank hunter.

“Huh, is it really him?”

She had heard a lot about that hunter from her direct senior, so she had been quietly looking forward to the day she'd meet him. But she never expected to see Kim Giryeo in person under these circumstances.

She wasn't encountering him after he had heroically handled a dungeon break, nor was it a casual meeting on the way to or from the Hunter Association.

“Aaargh!”

Seeing the same person ruthlessly stabbing someone like that?

“What on earth is going on!”

The new member of Neo was stunned by the sight they had never seen before, but in truth, the situation was just as overwhelming for him.

“Please, please save me...!”

After being thoroughly beaten by Giryeo, Cho Sangoh was unknowingly begging for mercy.

What on earth happened? He never imagined such a defeat. When he found Kim Giryeo's weakness, he was overjoyed and thought that with his honed skills, he could at least put up a good fight. But to think that he couldn't even exchange a single blow and ended up rolling around miserably.

“What, what, what happened!”

Since the control of the body unexpectedly collapsed, it is natural to be surprised. Even at this moment, Cho Sangoh is panicking because his hands and feet are not moving properly, and he asked for a conversation.

“W, wait! Hunter! I understand. I understand, so just stop for a moment... Ughhh!”

The attempt ended in failure. From Giryeo's perspective, he couldn't believe the words of a human who suddenly pulled out an axe on a busy street.

What would happen if he gave such a person a chance and ended up being threatened again?

“Before getting stabbed in the back for no reason, I should completely incapacitate him!”

However, the stun item had just been used and was on cooldown. Therefore, the only thing that could be done immediately was to use the [Screaming Stake] to deal mental damage.

“Keugh, aaagh!”

How could Kim Giryeo continue the torture without the slightest hesitation, even when the person was crying as if their life was about to end? There was a fundamental issue tied to this soul in that place.

Unfortunately, the magician here is too distant from mammals to appreciate the nuances of their cries.

In other words, this was similar to how humanity remained indifferent to the injuries of jellyfish. Yeah, jellyfish. How many Earthlings on this planet would genuinely empathize with the pain of a jellyfish?

“Please, please stop... Stooop aaaaggh!”

Bloodshot eyes. Cracked vocal cords. Cho Sangoh, with his limbs barely moving, flailed as he tried to respond to the situation, but an alien proceeded with a mental attack without even flinching.

“U, ugh... Keugh.”

When he grabbed the affected area with trembling hands, he felt a dagger again, and when he crouched down, he felt his skull being finely cut against his empty scalp. How could anyone continue to endure such unnatural pain?

In the end, the guild member of Han Shin collapsed, foaming at the mouth before the paralysis effect had fully worn off. It was the result of consecutive pain that caused him to faint.

“..._...”

Soon, silence descended on the unconscious opponent, lost in thought.

“Did I take care of him?”

It was around the time when Giryeo uttered the forbidden incantation.

“E, e, excuse me.”

Suddenly, a gentle voice of someone came from beside him.

Heuph.

The Neo Sisters' new recruit finally let out the breath she had been holding for a long time. Seeing Giryeo relentlessly suppressing the opponent, they had unknowingly felt overwhelmed. However, now that the situation had more or less come to a close, they couldn't help but ask this question.

“What kind of situation is this...?”

She and her superior, who had arrived at the scene, stared at Giryeo with terrified expressions. The cold-faced man soon parted his thin lips to answer.

“It was self-defense.”

The new witnesses, members of the Neo Sisters guild, tensed up for a moment, wondering if that S-rank was a madman. However, after hearing the full story, the hunters soon uttered these words.

“He deserved to get hit!”

“Wow, he swung a weapon at someone who was just standing still? Ugh! Now that I think about it, Hunter, there's blood on your neck!”

By the way, the possibility of Giryeo lying was low. This place was a public institution with massive national funding poured into it. Therefore, CCTV cameras were scattered all around.

“Wow, even after going through such an annoying situation, you managed to handle it without hurting anyone.”

The youngest member of Neo glanced at the fallen Cho Sangoh. And at that moment, a female hunter, who had been reporting to 119, spoke up. She was a woman familiar with Kim Giryeo. As an A-rank hunter skilled in crossbow handling, she had briefly interacted with him last year.

“Uh... Hunter Kim. If it's not too much trouble, may I ask what that is you're holding in your hand?”

“Yes?”

“I was wondering what it was, since it looks like you can stab someone like that without leaving a wound.”

The hunter with the crossbow awkwardly found a new topic, standing there blankly until the ambulance arrived. In response, Giryeo lifted the dagger he had grabbed and began to explain. It's called a screaming stake, and its performance itself makes it impossible to cause physical harm.

“Ah! That trash dagger?”

The brown-haired crossbowman recognized the equipment's name after hearing it. However, that at moment, a small doubt suddenly arose.

It had to make contact with the skin. Most monsters would go on a rampage when stimulated by pain, making them harder to deal with. Moreover, there was the downside that even if it slightly touched the wrong part of the body, the owner would be affected by its effects as well. In fact, it was an item that was largely avoided.

“Uh, uh... There were high-ranking hunters who used something like the Screaming Stake...?”

It was a rather unusual choice for a hunter. However, this question was quickly resolved. Seeing the crossbowman tilting her head, the newcomer next to her suddenly spoke up.

“Team Leader, he must have bought that to use for situations like this, right?”

“Huh!?”

“See? Hunter Kim Giryeo already has another main weapon at his waist.”

A longsword called Hydra hung where she was pointing.

“Honestly, for an S-rank, killing someone is nothing. The Scream Stake was probably bought for situations where controlling strength is necessary, don't you think?”

“Ah.”

“Besides, I heard from Senior Yoonseung...”

The youngest guild member happily showed off her knowledge.

“I heard that the S-rank Hunter dislikes using skills. He believes natural abilities are the best. Apparently, he uses tools often so that he can adapt easily whenever he returns to being an ordinary person.”

Right? Neo's newbie stared at Giryeo with sparkling eyes.

Of course, this was nonsense that didn't match the truth at all, but it was appropriate to use as an excuse...

“Yes, that's true.”

Giryeo immediately took advantage of the newcomer's misunderstanding. Even though it was their first time meeting, he told the lie without hesitation. It really seems like he gave his conscience a dog.

“By the way, now that I think about it, you seem familiar. From the way you're calling Yoonseung 'senior', are you from the Neo Sisters?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Someone from there went to a dungeon with me before, right?”

“Oh! You remember it.”

With the crisis now passed, all that was left was to handle the aftermath. A few minutes later, several ambulances arrived at the scene. The incident had come to a close.

***

The next day.

“You crazy bastard!”

The quiet building was suddenly thrown into chaos. The news that the guild's ace, Cho Sangoh, had engaged in a full-scale battle with an S-rank hunter eventually reached the ears of the representative.

“Are you crazy? How on earth did you make things like this! Yesterday, you were supposed to show the power of an A-rank by betting on a dungeon raid! Why the hell did you suddenly provoke that hunter outside?”

He looked down at the guild member who had lowered his head as if he was pathetic. However, Cho Sangoh still didn't seem to think he was at fault. Instead, he merely muttered excuses in a tone full of resentment.

“I, I did it because I thought I would win.”

“What?”

“I thought I could win even if we fought right then and there! And I was pissed off. Do you know what that b*stard did to me? He acted all high and mighty just because he's S-rank, not even listening to what I said, just brushing me off. Seeing that made my blood boil...”

Bang!

Unable to listen any longer, the representative of Hanshin slammed his hand down on the table.

“Be quiet!”

At that, Cho Sangoh closed his mouth with a defeated expression on his face.

“Phew...”

A preemptive attack on an S-rank in front of others? Normally, an employee who caused such an incident would be fired immediately, and the representative would have gone to Kim Giryeo to apologize, bowing deeply. “That rude hunter is no longer part of our guild, so please don't hate all of Hanshin because of him,” they would have apologized like that, at least.

But this time, such a heartless move was not an option. The man in front of him, in his thirties, was none other than his own son.

“Ugh, this damn kid. I let my guard down because he hadn't caused any trouble lately...”

But at least he came back safely.

As the saying goes, “The arm bends inward.” In the end, the representative of Hanshin couldn't be harsh to his own flesh and blood.

“But, don't worry. It's not like I just got beaten. I actually managed to land a hit on the S-rank.”

“What?”

“Really? Anyway, the other side is probably too embarrassed after getting hit by an A-rank to make a fuss...”

But at that moment,

Tring

. The notification sound of someone, set to the default tone, rang out.

“Oh, I forgot to put it on silent mode.”

Cho Sangoh took out his phone and checked the messenger, but his expression quickly stiffened as he scanned the screen.

[Hey Cho Sang = = what are you doing right now? Go check the curtain bulletin board, you're a total star now. = = ]

[A kid who's been the life of the party for three years is going crazy = = ]

[http://teamcurt....]