Chapter 52 …
Déjà Vu (5)
Lee Kwang-moo felt like he was lost in a forest. The memory that wouldn’t come to him kept nagging at him, insisting that he recall it immediately.
If he didn’t remember, it would be too late. His intuition sounded the alarm.
“…….”
Yet, he couldn’t remember.
It was as if someone had hidden it away carefully, sealed deep inside.
Sighing in frustration, he caught the gaze of a man sitting in an old chair, who looked at him strangely.
“Kwang-moo hyung, what are you drawing?”
“The beady-eyed guy I mentioned earlier.”
“This one?”
“The face that smiles with just the mouth… I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before.”
“Wasn’t he a stranger?”
“Yeah, he’s definitely someone I don’t know.”
“Then that’s fine, isn’t it? Why are you so worried about it? Not like you at all.”
“…….”
The man nodded as if in agreement, but Kwang-moo felt uneasy. Not knowing why made him restless.
If it weren’t for the voice of a middle-aged woman beside him, he probably would have kept wandering through his memories.
The woman slowly lowered her black sunglasses and looked ahead.
“Oh my, it really is a beady-eyed guy, isn’t it?”
“So you finally brought him along, huh?”
Kwang-moo murmured but then raised a question.
At the corner of the alley, Choi Yeon was alone.
Lee Sung-joon, who should have been stamping approval, and the new recruit pair he had sent earlier were nowhere to be seen. Only Choi Yeon stood there.
Abruptly, Kwang-moo spoke, tossing the question.
“Kim Ho-won. Where did the others go, and why did you come alone?”
“Let the other two be. They’re having a nice dream right now.”
“Seriously, they’re useless.”
“Exactly, if you treat them well, they get lazy. Starting tomorrow—no, starting today—they’ll be running the dungeon rounds.”
“Yeah, that’s what we should do.”
Hearing about the dream, Red Pang misunderstood and started babbling.
Choi Yeon deliberately did not correct their misconception. He had mentioned the dream precisely to make them misunderstand from the start.
“By the way, that guy’s funny, huh? He must know why we sent them, yet he just sauntered over here?”
“Is that a problem, Mr. Kang Ji-hyuk?”
“Ha, these guys are hopeless. Did they even sell our names?”
“No, we already knew. That middle-aged woman is Oh Hye-rim, right?”
“Middle-aged woman? Are you teasing me? Can’t even open your eyes properly—”
Swoosh.
Choi Yeon’s gesture cut off her words.
The dagger he drew from his waist spoke for him, even to Red Pang.
I’m right here—the one you intended to handle. What more needs to be said?
Seeing that, Kwang-moo shook his head.
“Younger guys… they think they can do anything just by drawing their swords. Hey, Kim Ho-won, watch this.”
Then he accelerated the mana circulating quietly within him. He showed off the increasingly rough circulation, pointing to himself as if to say, look at this.
“See? Isn’t it impressive? This is D-rank Hunter level. E-ranks like you couldn’t even dream of this speed.”
“…….”
Seeing Kwang-moo boast, Choi Yeon was utterly taken aback.
The mana circulation had certainly sped up, but it was far from smooth. That kind of circulation would scatter mana and waste it.
It was a completely reckless flow—honestly, the Red Blood team leader they faced yesterday had been better.
There are usually three cases where a D-rank Hunter circulates mana like that: severely injured, sick, or lacking training.
If he had to choose?
Choi Yeon didn’t like gambling, but he could bet his entire fortune it was the last one.
A middle-aged man living off the blood of young hunters surely wouldn’t train properly.
He snickered quietly.
“Yeah, that’s it! That damn smile is so annoying!”
Step!
Kwang-moo stomped harshly.
Gang Ji-hyuk stopped him.
“Enough! What do you think you’re doing, Kwang-moo hyung? I’ve got this here!”
Rising leisurely from his chair, he let out a scream like one from a haunted house—or when a snake suddenly pops out of the bushes.
Whish! Whish! Whish!
Wires shot from the chair, binding Gang Ji-hyuk before returning him to the seat.
What the hell is going on?
Choi Yeon tossed a dagger from his chest at the stunned Red Pang.
Clang! Bang!
Kwang-moo immediately drew his sword to deflect it. He only blocked the dagger aimed at himself and Oh Hye-rim—not the one flying toward Gang Ji-hyuk in the chair.
Thunk!
Gang Ji-hyuk cursed as the dagger pierced his thigh.
“Ugh! Damn it! That almost hit me!”
“Don’t worry. It hit exactly where I aimed.”
“What?”
“The thigh—”
“Because the femoral artery is a thick blood vessel, the drug takes effect fast.”
Oh Hye-rim slipped in from behind Kwang-moo, holding a dagger, lightly licking it with her tongue.
A small smile appeared on her lips.
“Not bad, weasel poison. Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Enjoying… I’m not, ugh…”
Thud.
Gang Ji-hyuk slumped in the chair, paralyzed quickly by the drug, just as Oh Hye-rim had said.
She giggled.
“See? I told you to get a bit of poison resistance skill.”
“Oh Hye-rim. Show him what real poison is.”
“Anytime!”
Swoosh!
Oh Hye-rim hid behind Kwang-moo, intending to use him as a shield while casting magic. Seeing mana gather, Choi Yeon dashed forward.
According to information from Haedrim Detective Agency, Oh Hye-rim’s poison bullet magic has a power above D-rank.
“Seeds of Sorrow!”
Closing the distance with Red Pang by half, Oh Hye-rim shot the poison bullets.
Three bullets in the short casting time, but only one reached Choi Yeon. Seeing the Seeds of Sorrow, he reconsidered calling it her specialty—the power was too weak.
It made sense, given Kwang-moo’s crude mana circulation. She probably had the same issue.
With this much…
Bang!
Choi Yeon didn’t block the poison bullet—he took it. The weak power didn’t slow his charge at all.
“What? You’re just taking my poison bullets?”
“You deal with poison. He probably has resistance skill like you!”
“Ah!”
“Keep firing! He can’t be fully immune.”
“Y-yes! Got it!”
Guild master or not?
Kwang-moo quickly assessed the situation and attacked. Clang! The weapons clashed.
Clang! Clang!
The alley echoed with metal as the poison bullets interspersed.
Years of coordination in the same guild showed—the poison bullets weren’t too troublesome. Choi Yeon had resistance skill, after all.
Thwack!
Having planted none of the bullets, Choi Yeon calmly threw his dagger. It whizzed past Oh Hye-rim’s head, leaving him unimpressed.
“Wire Shift.”
Threads of mana coiled around Oh Hye-rim like snakes, binding her alongside Gang Ji-hyuk.
At that moment, Kwang-moo accelerated his mana recklessly, judging it an opportunity with Choi Yeon lacking a dagger.
Kwang-moo’s sword attacked Choi Yeon.
Though more powerful, Choi Yeon considered it insignificant. The rough circulation slowed the speed and scattered his mana.
He dodged easily, moving as he wished.
Thud.
His back hit the wall.
The exterior wall of the public parking lot building—Kwang-moo thought he had cornered Choi Yeon and activated a skill.
“Steel Chain!”
The diagonal slash reached Choi Yeon’s neck—
“What…?”
—but it didn’t.
The building absorbed the full force. Kwang-moo stared in shock. His skill was blocked by a wall.
Choi Yeon expected it, so he wasn’t surprised. Rough mana circulation often reduces skill power.
Presumably, the Steel Chain skill would have been far stronger in another hunter’s hands.
“The wall’s sturdy, right? I even came earlier to test it and was surprised myself.”
“Uh, ack!”
Kwang-moo gritted his teeth, trying to pull his sword free.
He failed—the newly drawn Forgotten Ritual Dagger at his waist grazed his side.
“Stop. Even a twitch, and you’ll bleed.”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
Kwang-moo was more foolish than expected.
Ignoring the warning, he moved and ended up drawing blood.
Thud! Gripping his stomach, he yelled at Choi Yeon.
“Kim Ho-won…! You’re not an E-rank Hunter!”
“You just realized that?”
“Who…! Who are you?”
“Me?”
“Who sent you?”
Choi Yeon was honestly bewildered by his arrogance.
His self-importance was extreme. Red Pang wouldn’t have sent someone like this, right?
Still, Choi Yeon didn’t dismiss it lightly.
“If I had to name someone, it would be you.”
“What?”
“Your actions brought me here today.”
“What the hell are you talking about—”
“I’m Choi Yeon, a Sunhwa-dong university hunter.”
“……!”
Kwang-moo’s eyes widened.
Sunhwa… the university…?
Old memories suddenly resurfaced.
That’s why he’d felt déjà vu.
“Don’t ignore me.”
When he was a rookie, Kwang-moo had encountered the smiling face at a dungeon in Sunhwa-dong.
That hunter’s name was…
“…Kim Jae-sang?”
“Yes, our university chief.”
“You’re his subordinate? That unlucky bastard’s?”
“Ha ha. Unlucky, huh? Must be the same person.”
“…….”
“What happened exactly?”
The answer came to him. His face flushed red and blue as the memory became clearer.
Seeing him, Choi Yeon thought it might be nothing serious—just a bit of embarrassment.
By the way…
“I’ve been meaning to ask, Oh Hye-rim.”
“What? What is it?”
“Those sunglasses… are they inspired by Modney?”
“…Why? Are you a fan of Modney?”
“Not a fan.”
“Funny. You are! So… do I look ridiculous?”
“No, I’m just surprised.”
Choi Yeon shrugged.
Following a celebrity isn’t bound by age—admiration doesn’t age.
However…
“If a ranged magic user wears black sunglasses, can they even see properly?”
“…….”
Exactly. That’s why only one of the three poison bullets hit.
Even if all three hit, Choi Yeon’s poison resistance skill would nullify it.
He didn’t point this out, letting Oh Hye-rim blame herself.
Sure enough, biting her lip in frustration, she met Gang Ji-hyuk’s glare without backing down.
The guy who became incapacitated immediately at the start of battle thinks he’s so great?
Bound by wires, stabbed by a paralytic dagger—she would have fared no differently, but it was easier to scold him since he suffered.
While Gang Ji-hyuk and Oh Hye-rim glared at each other, Kwang-moo called out to Choi Yeon.
“Why didn’t you reveal you were a university hunter from the start?”
“Then you’d have just gone back to Yeongseong-gu. You wouldn’t have thought to touch me like now.”
“…True.”
“That won’t do. I plan to eliminate Red Pang today.”
“Eliminate? Since when does a university hunter have that authority?”
“Do I need it?”
Choi Yeon pointed to the alley behind him. Kim Jae-sang, the university chief, had arrived.
A smile lingered on his lips, making Kwang-moo glare reflexively.
“He’s the unlucky one.”
“Who are you calling unlucky?”
“Kwang-moo. They say you’re really unlucky, chief.”
“Kwang-moo? Hah, I’m offended! I even saved your life once.”
Far! Kwang-moo gritted his teeth.
Apparently, he wanted to forget being saved.
Which isn’t very understandable.
What’s so shameful about a hunter saving another hunter? They coexist in this industry.
“Nearly killed after being lured by an orc…”
Ah, that one’s understandable.
How do you even get lured by an orc? In a D-rank dungeon with only Orc Centurions?
