Chapter 11: Intuitions

At 2 p.m.,

Kim Seo-jun left his house to put his plan into action.

He retrieved the dagger left by the assailant yesterday, pulled a worn baseball cap down over a hoodie he rarely wore, and put on a dull navy mask.

He had already gotten the car keys from his father for smooth travel to his destination.

Since he had gotten his license right after turning eighteen last year, driving was no problem.

Kim Seo-jun first headed down to the underground parking lot.

When he arrived at the site of the fierce fight with the attackers, faint bloodstains remained on the floor.

‘This must be from the guy who took a punch to the face from my fist.’

It was the blood from the man who had been hit hardest in the face first.

Following the bloodstains, they led out of the parking area.

Then, somewhere in a corner of the apartment complex, the blood trail abruptly stopped.

‘He must have gotten into a prepared car and fled from here.’

Kim Seo-jun immediately headed to the security office at the complex entrance.

Slipping a 50,000 won bill to the security guard, he asked to see the CCTV footage from just before the power went out last night and just after it came back on.

The man in his forties showed the footage without suspicion.

They were well acquainted, and the guard knew Kim Seo-jun was a student at Hunter Academy.

Kim Seo-jun watched the video right there in the security office.

Checking the spot where the blood trail ended, he saw a black van parked in a row.

After noting the license plate, he thanked the guard and returned to the underground parking lot.

‘Now it’s time to meet him in person, Go Han-seok.’

Kim Seo-jun drove his father’s car toward Yeonhoe-dong, where Go Han-seok lived.

An hour later,

Kim Seo-jun parked in front of what appeared to be a grand mansion.

‘The Vice Guild Master of the Hyeonmu Guild really lives in a flashy place.’

The house was enormous, like a small fortress.

The parking was bunker-style, with a spacious yard, and a large three-story building stood prominently.

‘A guy more obsessed with stealing what others have than enjoying what he owns.’

To Kim Seo-jun, Go Han-seok was exactly that kind of person.

But from today on, he wouldn’t be able to do that anymore.

Kim Seo-jun put on his mask and cap, pulled his hoodie over them, then called Go Han-seok.

The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered.

Seeing Kim Seo-jun’s name on the caller ID, it was obvious Go Han-seok was deliberately ignoring the call.

Kim Seo-jun sent a blunt text.

‘I know everything you did, so answer the phone.’

As soon as he sent the message, the phone rang.

It was Go Han-seok.

“Go Han-seok, you cowardly bastard! Do you think just hiding your neck like a turtle will solve anything?”

Kim Seo-jun sneered, making Go Han-seok angry.

—“Kim Seo-jun, you little punk! What the hell are you babbling about all of a sudden? If you have time to talk nonsense to someone resting at home, why don’t you just go to sleep!”

“Oh? So now you’re going to pretend you don’t know? You’re only hurting yourself.”

—“Hurt myself? If you don’t want to get your ass kicked by me at the academy tomorrow, cut it out and hang up.”

“Did those guys fail to report properly yesterday? I exposed everything—who you worked for, how much you got paid—all in front of me. And it’s all clearly recorded on video.”

—“…What?”

“So quit the bullshit and come out. There’s a place called Myeonhoe-dong Arboretum near your house. If you don’t show up at the park entrance within thirty minutes, I’ll send all the evidence straight to your father.”

Of course, there was no real evidence, but Go Han-seok had no choice but to respond.

The mere fact Kim Seo-jun called him directly and said this meant he had some form of proof.

Kim Seo-jun ended the call without waiting for an answer.

The person Go Han-seok feared the most was none other than Go Tae-hwan.

From the circumstances, it was clear Go Han-seok acted on his own without telling his father about this matter.

But he had made a mistake, and the evidence had fallen into Kim Seo-jun’s hands, so he couldn’t help but fear Go Tae-hwan finding out.

Kim Seo-jun waited for a moment.

Sure enough,

Within five minutes, the bunker-style parking lot’s gate opened, and a car pulled out.

‘Simpleton.’

Kim Seo-jun recognized the car Go Han-seok was driving and quietly followed it.

About ten minutes later, the car stopped in a clearing about one kilometer from Yeonhoe-dong Arboretum.

Shortly after, another vehicle appeared.

A black van.

Its license plate matched the van that had lingered near Kim Seo-jun’s house.

From a distance, Kim Seo-jun observed everything.

Four people got out of the van, and Go Han-seok stepped out of the sedan.

They seemed to argue briefly but then shook hands as if they had come to an agreement.

Go Han-seok took something out of his car and handed it to them.

It was a small bottle filled with a yellowish liquid.

‘So he really was carrying the Guihwa Extract.’

Kim Seo-jun’s prediction was spot on.

That Go Han-seok could carry Guihwa Extract around so easily suggested he was probably raising Guihwa at home.

‘Then naturally, he must be raising the Phantom Worm too.’

This confirmed that the person who injected Go Tae-hwan’s body with the Phantom Worm’s bodily fluid was definitely Go Tae-hwan himself.

After finishing their conversation, they got back into the cars and headed toward Yeonhoe-dong Arboretum.

Kim Seo-jun anticipated their moves clearly and stepped out of his car to walk lightly toward the arboretum.

His hands were nicely covered with black leather gloves.

*****

Go Han-seok parked near the entrance of Yeonhoe-dong Arboretum.

Three minutes remained until the thirty-minute deadline Kim Seo-jun had set.

‘Kim Seo-jun, you bastard! I’ll never let this go!’

His eyes filled with malice.

Until now, no one had ever dared oppose Go Han-seok head-on.

Friends his age, adults in their thirties, no one could resist him.

Go Han-seok knew this was because of his father, Go Tae-hwan’s powerful social position and influence.

He had used that background skillfully.

But now, for the first time, someone was blocking his way.

Kim Seo-jun.

A weakling with F-class mana and poor stamina who couldn’t even run properly.

During training matches, he just quietly got beaten and surrendered, but this kid stubbornly kept attacking until he finally knocked Go Han-seok out.

Even if Go Han-seok had been careless, passing out in front of professors and classmates was humiliating.

He couldn’t just let Kim Seo-jun go.

He wanted to tell his father and have not only Kim Seo-jun but also his father destroyed.

But to do that, he had to admit that he himself had been beaten badly in a one-on-one fight with Kim Seo-jun.

That scared him.

It would be the fastest and surest way to get revenge, but Go Han-seok knew he would be severely punished by his father.

So he chose the second-best option.

Using scavengers for revenge.

Scavengers were hunters who had awakened their mysteries but had weak mana and ordinary mysteries, limiting their growth.

They never used their power for others, only for personal gain.

They extorted powerless citizens through loan sharking and didn’t hesitate to cooperate with crime organizations.

They especially favored one type of job: revenge services.

Though called revenge services, scavengers almost never stood for the weak against the strong.

Nine times out of ten, the rich used scavenger services to corner the poor even further.

They were easy to exploit because, despite their weakness, they were hunters with mysteries—cases involving scavengers had to be handled by hunter police, but these hunters were skilled at escaping, so resolving such cases was rare.

As a result, scavengers infiltrated deeply into society, feeding off the blood of ordinary citizens and weak hunters to grow ever larger.

‘Should I believe what those guys say?’

Go Han-seok was torn between believing Kim Seo-jun had evidence and the scavengers’ claim that no evidence was left.

But one thing was certain.

The scavengers had made a mistake during yesterday’s assignment, allowing Kim Seo-jun to discover that he was behind them.

So he decided to make sure Kim Seo-jun would never use mana again.

‘If I poison him with Guihwa Extract and inject this, he’s finished.’

Go Han-seok pulled a syringe from his jacket pocket.

It contained a green fluorescent liquid.

Phantom Worm’s bodily fluid.

If this mixed with Guihwa Extract inside the body, it would damage the body so badly the user would never be able to use mana again.

‘Show yourself, Kim Seo-jun!’

Go Han-seok stared sharply, scanning his surroundings.

But no sign of Kim Seo-jun appeared.

The promised thirty minutes had already passed.

‘Is he mocking me?’

Annoyed, Go Han-seok called Kim Seo-jun.

—“The number you have dialed is turned off. Please try again later.”

Something unexpected was happening.

*****

Smack.

A man struck in the back of the neck by a light hand fell immediately.

Kim Seo-jun caught the collapsing man in a shadowy corner of the arboretum.

Although it was midday, the dense trees cast heavy shade, making the area quite dark.

Fortunately, the scavengers hired by Go Han-seok had wisely hidden themselves in the shadows, making dealing with them easier.

‘That’s the third one.’

Kim Seo-jun carried the unconscious man to a spot a little further away.

Two others were already lying there, unconscious, near a tree trunk.

He laid the third man beside them and then implanted the Sun God Technique deep into the man’s mind, embedding a strong trauma.

‘Only one left.’

He already knew where the last one was hiding.

About ten minutes ago, they had parked their van two hundred meters from the park entrance and then scattered into the arboretum.

Kim Seo-jun had watched all their movements from behind, understanding exactly what they planned.

‘The moment I show up in front of Go Han-seok, they plan to ambush and capture me. Stupid fools.’

Both Go Han-seok and his men were truly foolish.

Perhaps because their opponent was just nineteen-year-old Kim Seo-jun, they had fallen into a serious misconception.

‘Did they just think yesterday’s failed attack was a coincidence?’

Although their mana was only D-class, they were veteran scavengers with criminal experience.

A nineteen-year-old academy student alone defeated four veteran scavengers?

If the student had B-class mana or higher and was a promising prospect, maybe.

But Kim Seo-jun was just an F-class mana failure, so they could never accept that they had been completely outmatched.

To avenge their humiliation, they had teamed up with Go Han-seok again to come here.

Kim Seo-jun thought that made things easier for him.

He glided toward the hiding place of the fourth scavenger.

The fourth was the most skilled among the attackers yesterday.

She hid closest to the entrance where Go Han-seok was.

But she had no idea Kim Seo-jun was approaching from behind.

Right next to the arboretum entrance was a three-story building under construction.

The woman crouched low on the rooftop, watching Go Han-seok pacing below.

Five minutes had already passed since Go Han-seok’s appointment with Kim Seo-jun.

Go Han-seok looked uneasy.

Suddenly, he made a call.

Something went wrong—Go Han-seok flinched and hurriedly looked toward the woman.

Then he drew an X with his hands and quickly left.

The gesture meant the operation was over.

‘Is this how it’s going to end?’

As she sighed in frustration,

The woman suddenly felt a strange unease and spun around, throwing a dagger.

The yellowish dagger sliced through the air like a flash of lightning.

Surprisingly, at the tip stood Kim Seo-jun, his face hidden under his mask, cap, and hoodie.

“Good intuition.”

Standing, Kim Seo-jun instantly caught the flying dagger.

Then, he sharply bent his index and middle fingers inward while holding the dagger.

At that moment,

A tiny stone flew from an unexpected angle.

It looked as if another accomplice was throwing a projectile from elsewhere.

But it was just Kim Seo-jun’s interception technique from Cheongungsi.

Smack.

The woman’s animal instincts allowed her to swat the stone away.

It wasn’t an ordinary pebble; her hand hurt badly after hitting it.

Then,

Kim Seo-jun suddenly rushed to her, grabbing her neck tightly.

The shocked woman tried to resist, moving her hands, but—

Thud.

Without mercy, Kim Seo-jun punched her in the face.

“I don’t make exceptions for women.”

Still holding the unconscious woman’s neck, Kim Seo-jun searched her body and found a small bottle half-filled with yellow liquid.

He pocketed it and threw her to the ground.

Looking down from the rooftop railing, he saw Go Han-seok running frantically toward his car.

‘Trying to run away? Not gonna happen.’

Kim Seo-jun pushed off the rooftop railing and leapt up.

Like a soaring raptor, he dove through the air straight toward Go Han-seok.

Unaware, Go Han-seok hurried into his car.

At that moment,

Boom.

A loud thud came from behind as the rear passenger door opened and slammed shut.

“Who—!”

Startled, Go Han-seok lifted his body reflexively and prepared to strike whoever entered.

But the intruder was faster.

Before Go Han-seok could turn halfway,

His neck was suddenly wrapped around by the intruder’s arm from the back seat.

“Move, and you die.”

“Ugh!”

Go Han-seok couldn’t see who it was.

The voice was harsh and broken.

The man in the back seat pulled Go Han-seok’s head toward the driver’s headrest, squeezing his neck tightly.

“Listen carefully. From now on, your answers to my questions will decide whether you live or die.”

The grim reaper-like voice made Go Han-seok sweat profusely, barely able to answer.

“Y-yes.”

The man in the back seat chuckled softly at the subdued tone.

“I like how cooperative you are.”

Thoroughly hiding his face behind a hoodie, cap, and mask, it was Kim Seo-jun.

He had unfolded the Volaesinbo technique and flown in like a ghost.

As soon as Go Han-seok got into the driver’s seat, Kim Seo-jun slipped into the back seat.

He changed his voice with inner energy and began raising the Sun God Technique, slowly filling Go Han-seok’s mind with intense fear.