23 Chapter 22 (2/2)
”Hyung-nim!!”
Yu Jin-Ho froze on the spot from surprise.
”Don't sweat over the dead guy and why don't you come over here?”
Hwang Dong-Seok beckoned with his fingers.
Yu Jin-Ho stared at the spot where Jin-Woo was. Just like what Hwang Dong-Seok had implied, Jin-Woo wasn't moving an inch as he remained buried under the debris.
”You.... you murderers....”
Tears pooled around Yu Jin-Ho's eyes.
Hwang Dong-Seok and his dongsaengs simply giggled at the label of 'murderers' thrown at their way. Well, that was the truth, to begin with, anyway. Just how many died by their hands inside many other dungeons?
While they were looking at Yu Jin-Ho and continued to smile, Jin-Woo was under the pile of rubble, doubting his own eyes at the moment.
The contents of the quest were slowly changing, that was why.
[Emergency Quest: Kill all the enemies!]
There are lifeforms holding murderous intentions towards the '&*@##'. Kill them all in order to secure your own safety. If you do not follow this instruction, #$%^%$#$%^!&*#$%^$.
The number of enemies left to kill: 8
The number of killed enemies: 0
A few words suddenly became illegible, before changing their shapes.
[Emergency Quest: Kill all the enemies!]
There are lifeforms holding murderous intentions towards you. Kill them all in order to secure your own safety. If you do not follow this instruction, your heart will cease functioning.
The number of enemies left to kill: 8
The number of killed enemies: 0
What a clear-cut threat that was.
If he didn't finish the quest as intended, 'it' would kill him, instead.
'Kill if I don't want to be killed, is that it?'
The contents were pretty shocking, but Jin-Woo's fluster didn't remain for long.
No, his flustered mind rapidly morphed into one of relief. Even he found it hard to believe, but that was the truth.
There was this fear that always lingered in his mind, starting from the day these quests popped up in front of his eyes alongside Stat values and such.
'What would happen to me if this mysterious phenomenon suddenly stopped'?
What if all these things only happened as a coincidence, and they could end at any given moment?
Such fear always accompanied him.
However, through this Emergency Quest, the truth became clear.
Things happening to him were not a coincidence nor were they some weird goodwill from someone. If the quest was generated by something holding some form of goodwill, then it should've just said ”Overcome this danger”, and not threaten him to kill him as a penalty.
The System had a clear purpose.
It was either 'Make Seong Jin-Woo strong' or 'Need a strong Seong Jin-Woo'.
'And, depending on the situation, me who could kill other Hunters at the drop of a hat, even....'
He could glean such intentions from the System now. Jin-Woo felt reassured by that revelation.
'What a relief that....'
….That, it was not a coincidence.
….That, it definitely had a goal.
Whenever he found himself in danger, he yearned to be stronger. He so dearly wished to stop living the life where it was no different from dangling precariously on the edge of a cliff.
But, on that fateful day, during the most dangerous moments of his life, his opportunity came.
The goal of this System and Jin-Woo's wishes lined up perfectly.
'The System is using me, and I'm using the System.'
That was all there was to it.
As long as there was an end goal, a purpose, this phenomenon would never suddenly vanish from his eyes.
Jin-Woo slowly got up from the rubble.
[HP: 1360/2600]
As expected of a magic spell shot by a rank C Hunter; it was only a single hit, yet his HP had almost halved. There was no more room left to take it easy now.
Intense malice filled up Jin-Woo's eyes.
He began walking towards Hwang Dong-Seok.
”What the heck?”
Hwang Dong-Seok and his goons had been surrounding the scared Yu Jin-Ho, so they ended up discovering Jin-Woo rather belatedly.
”What's going on here? He's still alive.”
”But, Gyu-Hwan hyung looks like a dead fish, though?”
”What an embarrassment this is. He's a measly rank E, you know.”
Hwang Dong-Seok scratched his chin.
”Hey, Gyu-Hwan-ah, why didn't you finish him properly the first time?”
Joh Gyu-Hwan's face reddened somewhat.
”Yeah.... I should've.”
But, this wasn't right.
He really did pour his all with that shot.
He had spent over a third of his overall magical energy, yet how could this kid stand back up? Could the attack not connect properly? But then, there wouldn't have been such a loud explosion if that was the case.
Lots of questions formed in his head, but there was no time to ask them.
Because, Jin-Woo opened his mouth first.
”Since you're playing around with people's lives....”
The eyes of Hwang Dong-Seok's group were now fixed to Jin-Woo. He came to a stop in front of them.
Yu Jin-Ho flinched in surprise, but the reactions of other Hunters were rather subdued. Some of them even began smirking in derision.
Jin-Woo spoke with a dry voice.
”...You've all sufficiently resolved yourselves, right?”
Hwang Dong-Seok let off a snort after hearing that.
”What the hell is this fool even saying?”
”Hyung-nim, let me handle this kid.”
A Hunter with tiny little eyes approached Jin-Woo and placed his arms around the latter's neck.
”It looks like you Mister hasn't really figured the situation out yet, but the thing is.... Eh?”
The expression of the tiny eyes became weirder and weirder as he strengthened his arms.
'….What the hell? Why can't I pull him down?'
He tried to perform a headlock with his physical strength, but no matter how hard he pulled, Jin-Woo's upper body showed no sign of budging.
Wasn't this b*stard supposed to be only a rank E?!
Cold sweat formed on the forehead of the tiny eyes.
'How could he be this strong....”
It happened then.
Slice.
The head of the tiny eyes fell to the ground.
Thud.
”J-Joon-Tae!!”
Hwang Dong-Seok's eyes trembled like an earthquake.
”Wha-what the hell?!”
”That knife, just when did he?!”
”Where did he get that?!”
Hwang Dong-Seok and his goons quickly took several steps back and yanked their weapons out. Jin-Woo's hand was already holding the 'Poison Fang of Kasaka'.
Blood dripped from the tip of the blade.
Tti-ring.
[The number of enemies left to kill: 7]
[The number of killed enemies: 1]
'Seven left.'