Chapter 19

Five men.

He was clearly outnumbered, but Woojin stepped in front of them without a moment's hesitation.

“You lot over there.”

No answer came from within, but the faint trembling of the bushes betrayed their confusion.

“Come out.”

SHING

Woojin drew his sword.

“You've heard a little about me, haven't you? There hasn't been enough time for you to come over from the central continent... Can anyone from around here really take me on?”

“... Arrogant bastard.”

Someone emerged from the bushes. Judging by his leather armor and the short weapons dangling all over his body, he seemed to be a Ranger.

“Are you with the Genesis Corps?”

“I'm Peron of the Blan Clan. You've heard of us, surely? We're the largest alliance in the Dark Forest.”

“No. It's only been a few days since I left Moretti. Am I supposed to know who you are?”

“... What?”

Peron's confident swagger gave way to a scowl at Woojin's reply.

“Anyway, why are such big shots in the Dark Forest pulling a stunt like this?”

“You should know the reason better than anyone.”

RUSTLE, RUSTLE

The foliage stirred in several places at once.

'They're doing that on purpose.'

They were making a show of having him surrounded.

“It's a commission from [Genesis Corps]. Their leader says he wants to meet you. Count yourself lucky. We normally only accept assassination jobs.”

He curled his fingers into a circle and gave a nasty smile.

“But the pay was good enough for us to make an exception. So don't try anything stupid. Not unless you want to die.”

“I see. So you don't intend to kill me.”

Woojin nodded in understanding.

“I intend to kill you, though.”

WHOOSH!

At that moment, an arrow flew out of the bushes.

CLANG!

Despite its incredible speed, Peron astonishingly twisted his body, drew the sword at his waist, and deflected the arrow.

“You bastard... Shooting at me without warning?”

“What else am I supposed to do to someone who's come to kill me?”

Woojin scoffed at him, but inwardly, he couldn't help being surprised.

'He blocked Ruen's arrow?'

He narrowed his eyes at Peron.

'Rangers have high Agility, but even so, most levels wouldn't be enough to so much as react to Ruen's attacks now that she's awakened Uldin's Trait.'

That meant he had to be at least level 40—effectively the strongest level range in the beginner area. That was when players graduated from the Dark Forest and prepared to move to the central continent.

'So he had a reason to be confident.'

“Nice try. We've been watching you since you left Parta. Did you think that would work?”

“I wouldn't know without trying.”

Woojin shot forward, charging at him with a shout.

“Ruen! Don't hold back! Blow his fucking head off!”

Peron flinched involuntarily at his shout. Apparently, he wasn't confident he could fight Woojin while also blocking incoming arrows.

“What are you doing? Find her!”

At his shout, the bushes began shaking frantically.

[Using Hungry Brand.]

▶ Ranger Peron has been branded.

▶ You steal 1/3 of his highest stat (Agility).

▶ Your Agility increases by 15.

▶ Ranger Peron's Agility decreases by 15.

“... Huh?”

Just as Peron tried to retreat from Woojin's rush into close range, he felt his body grow heavy.

“W-wait...!”

He hurriedly raised his sword to block, but Woojin twisted his blade, changing its course. The sword that had been aimed at his chest instead sliced past his side.

“This one's for real.”

At Woojin's warning, Peron forgot the pain in his side and hastily raised his arms to shield his head.

“Not the arrow. My sword.”

“Shit!”

Now behind Peron, Woojin drove his sword into his thigh.

“Aaaargh!”

Peron pitched forward with the sword still embedded in his leg.

“You're not even worth using a skill on.”

Woojin looked down at him and spoke dispassionately.

“Hey, stop acting like you're dying. With pain adjustment, it barely hurts anyway.”

Planting a foot on Peron's back, he bent down.

“You know better than I do that you lose experience when you die at level 40 and above. Call your men back. Now. Unless you want to die.”

“Fuck...”

Peron's face contorted. This was a disaster. He had boasted to the Genesis Corps that his success rate was one hundred percent.

'This is impossible. I lost to some low-level nobody in the Dark Forest?'

He had even equipped himself with top-of-the-line gear in preparation for the central continent. It defied all common sense.

“One.”

With casual ease, Woojin dragged the blade embedded in Peron's thigh downward with all his strength.

CRUNCH!

With the sound of bone being severed, Peron's leg came away from his body.

Only then did he realize that common sense did not apply to his opponent.

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

“What does it look like?”

Woojin turned toward the remaining leg.

“Two.”

“W-wait! I'll call them! I will! You bastards! Get out here right now!”

Pale-faced, Peron frantically waved a hand and shouted.

'One, two, three... '

Soon, four men emerged from the bushes, not counting Peron—just as Ruen had said.

“Why are they walking out on two perfectly good legs?”

Woojin directed the question at Ruen, who would be hiding somewhere in the forest. He couldn't see her, but he thought he sensed unease somewhere at his words.

“... I'm sorry.”

TAP

Ruen dropped from a tree and bowed to him, hiding her face beneath her hood.

“I'm sure I told you to be prepared.”

“Heh... What a load of bullshit. Prepared, my ass... You're making an NPC do some weird shit.”

Peron's lips twitched as he looked at Woojin.

“Kill him.”

“... Pardon?”

“He was going to kill us. And you're the only one who can kill this bastard.”

“W-wait...!”

“What? You attacked someone. You should've been prepared for at least this much.”

“No! We only took a job to capture you. We never intended to kill you!”

Woojin gave a faint laugh at Peron's words.

“Really?”

He pulled his sword out of Peron's leg, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and dragged him farther down the forest path.

“You need to be at least level 50 to disarm traps. And the traps you laid are the kind used on the central continent.”

“W-wait...!”

“If you're lucky, you lose a leg. If not, you die on the spot. And you didn't intend to kill me?”

“Eek...!”

Woojin pushed Peron's face over a trap on the ground.

“You're the one who needs to cut the bullshit. You've probably stationed men at the shrine, too, planning to catch me there when I revive.”

He pulled back on Peron's neck.

“Now I'm curious. You normally step on a trap with your foot. What happens if you press it with your head?”

“You crazy fuck...!”

Without hesitation, Woojin shoved Peron into the trap they had laid.

CLICK!

CRUNCH!

Sharp spikes shot out of the ground and pierced straight through his head.

His body toppled, its head destroyed, and the traps on the ground triggered in a chain reaction, unleashing a deafening roar.

“Gasp...!”

“Ugh...”

Watching him turn to ash in an instant, his men groaned involuntarily.

“Pride won't keep you alive. Will it?”

Woojin collected the loot dropped from Peron's corpse.

Name: Cheetah Ring

Grade: D

Description: Slightly increases Agility.

[You have equipped the Cheetah Ring.]

▶ Agility increases by 5.

▶ Agility is now 35(+35).

Slipping the ring onto his finger, he looked at Peron's remaining companions.

“Peron lost... What the hell happened? This isn't what they told us.”

“They said it was all because of that Church NPC, that this guy was nothing special... Nothing special? He's a fucking monster...”

“What do we do...?”

They muttered among themselves, looking troubled.

'It's over.'

They had already lost their will to fight and could no longer harm him.

“What exactly did the Genesis Corps hire you to do? Tell me the truth, and I might just let you go.”

At his offer, they exchanged glances.

“... The job was simple. Capture you and hand you over two days from now.”

“Two days? Not tomorrow?”

“The meeting place is far away. We'd need time to travel there, too.”

“Where?”

“... The Bloodstained Cave.”

Woojin nodded at the reply, his expression saying he had expected as much. It was the last of the Dark Forest's three field dungeons, a high-level dungeon requiring at least level 40 to enter.

But level wasn't the only issue. Unlike the Dark Forest's other dungeons, the Bloodstained Cave was the one place in the beginner area where player killing was possible.

'It was meant to let people experience PK before moving to the central continent, but... '

At some point, level-49 players had begun camping inside and hunting lower-level players, turning it into an abandoned dungeon. Forget going to the central continent—they simply fought among themselves in that lawless zone.

“They must be pretty bitter about what happened at the citadel. Trying to drag me to a dungeon where PK is allowed, just so they can kill me somehow.”

Woojin smiled coldly.

“Fine. You there. Tell the Genesis Corps you've caught me.”

“Wh-what do you mean...?”

“Tell them to meet you at the Bloodstained Cave in two days. Don't worry about me running away. I was planning to go there anyway.”

The Bloodstained Cave was the last of the Dark Forest's three time attacks.

“But...”

They looked at Woojin helplessly.

“If you can't do it, tell them the truth. I don't care... But will they really let you off after you took their money and failed the job?”

None of them could answer.

“Getting on their bad side won't do you any favors. Not unless you plan to rot in the Dark Forest forever. You need to go to the central continent, too, don't you?”

“... Damn it. Fine. We'll do as you say. But... you have to come, no matter what.”

“Don't worry. I'm doing this because I want to meet them myself. Be grateful I'm letting you leave alive without any more trouble, and get lost.”

GRIND

Their faces were full of resentment, but none of them dared argue.

“... Is it all right to let them go?”

Once the others had left and they were alone, Ruen asked in a worried voice.

“Probably. Money won't have been their only reason for accepting the job.”

“What else, then?”

“They probably need a reliable backer so they can hunt on the central continent.”

On the central continent, where PK was freely permitted, only a tiny handful of independent players actually survived. That was because most of its dungeons belonged to clans.

The clans maintained their own hunting grounds, with an unspoken agreement not to encroach on one another's territory.

'That's why they'll do anything to get into a major clan's good graces.'

If anything, his offer was something they should welcome. As long as he showed up, they wouldn't have to reveal their failure.

“What we need isn't the lives of a few worthless bastards.”

It was time.

“If the Genesis Corps learns they failed, they might head straight for us. But a false report will buy us another day.”

There were two dungeons left to complete in time attacks. This would give him two days.

“That's enough to clear the remaining dungeons.”