Chapter 87 – After the Villain Terror Attack (2)

“Are you feeling any better?”

“Thanks to you. Don’t just stand there so stiffly, have a seat.”

Mister Kaldoma looked better than I expected.

During the last villain attack, he was caught in a surprise assault and lost his right arm.

I ended up saving him in his groggy state by using my Inventory skill.

Well, thanks to that, I was able to use his ability to easily subdue that Siegfried fellow.

It would have been a bit more difficult otherwise.

The problem started after that.

-Skill copy complete.

-Invisible Arrow LV2

Kaldoma’s ability was now engraved in my skill list.

I had acquired the Porter skill during combat, but its name was peculiar.

Skill Copy.

I tried using it just in case, and it was exactly as it sounded.

I can use the skills of people I’ve stored in my Inventory.

But that was always temporary; things were a little different now.

I could now permanently use another person’s skill.

“I should start by thanking you for saving me.”

“I’d be disappointed if it’s just words.”

Contrary to the rumors, Kaldoma didn’t seem like such a prickly person.

During the actual villain attack, he fought alone to save his comrades.

“It’s a bit disappointing for you to say that after taking my bread-and-butter skill.”

Footage of me engaging the villains after his defeat had already spread everywhere.

He, too, knew that I could now use Invisible Arrow.

“I should get some compensation, after all.”

Literally an invisible arrow, it excels at surprise or unorthodox attacks.

More importantly, with enough proficiency, you can use quite a few arrows and even fire them in succession.

There was just one drawback.

“It uses up more mana than I thought.”

“Right? It’s actually a bit tough. That’s why I smoke, though not by choice.”

He brandished a cigarette that had a mana recovery function.

It’s not like smoking those has any significant effect. It’s closer to a stimulant.

It scrapes together every last drop of your mana from the very bottom.

Whether it’s a regular cigarette or a mana cigarette, they’re both bad for your health.

“I saw the video, you used it incredibly well. I was shocked. I think I spent a year training under a waterfall to master that thing. Oh, you know? The waterfalls in Nigeria are the worst. Cold, lots of bugs. No women.”

Kaldoma chuckled and put a cigarette to his lips.

“The compensation. I prepared this for now, but I’m not sure if you’ll like it.”

“What is it?”

What he handed me was a USB.

A USB compatible with a power suit, at that.

“It’s kind of a manual. It’ll be helpful. Since you’re using it anyway, you might as well use it well. I can’t use Invisible Arrow anymore, after all.”

He gestured to his empty arm and smiled.

“I heard you’re getting an arm transplant soon.”

“What, you knew? Damn, this isn’t fun.”

Kaldoma made a genuinely bored face after saying that.

What’s this old man doing at his age?

“Of course, I didn’t call you here for some small protest. You, um. That thing.”

Kaldoma put his lit cigarette into a paper cup.

“That power of yours.”

“…?”

“The Inventory skill. Uh. It was surprisingly cozy, you know.”

What, was this what he wanted to talk about so badly?

But cozy?

Is he aware that he was inside it?

“That power. The Inventory, that.”

Kaldoma hesitated, as if about to say something.

He put another cigarette in his mouth.

I lit it for him. Then I opened my mouth.

“Do you remember what happened when you were inside the Inventory?”

“…”

No one had ever remembered before.

They just felt it as a brief lapse in the flow of time. But this man looked like he had seen something.

Kaldoma slowly smiled.

The tips of his fingers holding the cigarette began to tremble.

What is this?

“I saw the space you created. A dimension, that is.”

This is interesting.

After taking a long drag from his cigarette, Kaldoma continued speaking.

That free-spirited, foreign S-Rank hunter. His eyes were now filled with fear.

For the first time.

He hadn’t made a face like this even when surrounded by villains.

“There were a lot of people inside.”

“A lot of people?”

That’s strange.

Corpses, maybe, but Kaldoma was the only living person I’d put in there.

“Yeah, like zombies. Things that were neither alive nor dead. They were in there.”

I had no idea what he was talking about.

What was in there?

Could he have mistaken the corpses for something else?

“No. They weren’t corpses. Because their hollow eyes were looking right at me.”

Kaldoma trembled.

“They spoke. They told me to give them everything I had.”

Like someone who had witnessed something they shouldn’t have.

“They grabbed me. And they fumbled over every inch of me. You know that feeling? Like sleep paralysis, my body wouldn’t move. But I could feel all of it. That horrible sensation.”

Kaldoma crushed the cigarette in the paper cup without finishing it.

“What in the world have you been putting in there?”

“This is the first I’m hearing of it, so I wouldn’t know. Let’s try to figure it out once we gather more witness testimonies.”

At my words, Kaldoma let out a quiet laugh.

Just then, a knock came from the door.

“Kal…”

The visitors were hunters from the Shinhwa Guild.

The three members of Team 6, who had survived thanks to Kaldoma, had mustered the courage to visit his hospital room.

“I’ve got a lot of guests today. Though I’d prefer it if they were women.”

“We hope your surgery goes well.”

“Of course it will. You guys bring the bananas I like? Don’t even think about coming in without bananas.”

The members of Team 6 slyly revealed a fruit basket filled to the brim with bananas.

Seeing it, Kaldoma burst into a hearty laugh and waved them in.

They were from the same guild and would have things to talk about, so I left the room.

As soon as I stepped out, someone was standing right at the entrance.

I recognized the face. Not that we had any connection, but I’d seen him a lot on TV.

The man who shines as Korea’s number one ranker, Yeomje Hwang Jae-yeon.

What was he, known for his arrogance and sharp tongue, doing here?

And of all things, holding a bunch of bananas that didn’t suit him at all.

“Hanul, I see.”

Of course, it’s Hanul. What else would it be, Du-ul?

Hehehe. That’s funny. Maybe I should start using that one.

“If I had been there, I would have sorted out the situation in an instant.”

“Tell me that when you actually show up on site next time.”

Hwang Jae-yeon shot me a dirty look.

What? I’m right, aren’t I?

He really does live up to his reputation as a first-class jerk.

I heard he and Kaldoma don’t get along very well.

But it seems that’s not entirely true.

An unfortunate hunter who couldn’t even make the rankings because he was a foreign mercenary.

I wished Kaldoma a speedy recovery and left the hospital.

* * *

The USB Kaldoma gave me contained various ways to utilize Invisible Arrow.

You could even call it a textbook.

Normally, the arrows are loaded with mana. But it said you could also stack them to fire a high-energy blast.

I’ll have to practice that sometime.

My main skill is swordsmanship. Since I primarily focus on close-quarters combat, my mid- and long-range attacks are somewhat weak.

The most I could do was use daggers for harassment.

I don’t know what kind of villains will show up in the future. It would be good to learn some mid- to long-range attacks.

On the way home, I thought about what Kaldoma had said.

He claimed to have seen something in my Inventory, in that space of unconsciousness.

I opened my Inventory.

As expected, there was nothing inside.

Other than the weapons and emergency rations I had stored beforehand.

It’s a space I use, but there’s something in there that even I don’t know about?

It’s a creepy thought.

I considered that Kaldoma might have seen something wrong due to the shock of his arm being severed, but he seemed surprisingly composed.

Above all, a famously fearless S-Rank hunter had eyes filled with terror.

It’s not like I can go in there myself to check.

What makes S-Ranks different from other ranks? Should I try coaxing Seo Hyun-ji to go in?

Just ask her to pop in and out for a moment.

Come to think of it, that sounds like a decent plan.

Seo Hyun-ji will be coming over later anyway.

Today is the housewarming party.

With a new slave—no, a new companion with nowhere else to go—we needed to move to a bigger place.

The new place I moved to is a two-story detached house with a front yard.

Actually, there’s a reason I welcomed the slaves—I mean, the three foreign brothers.

A full-blown battle with the villains is about to begin. If that happens, those bastards are capable of anything.

Karin.

Karin could be threatened. So it’s better to have at least these three guys sticking around.

If there’s one thing they’re good at, it’s protecting their master.

“Mister, I ordered all the food.”

Karin was beaming after using a delivery app for the first time in a while.

A liege lord this happy just from ordering delivery food.

No, that’s not right. Now with the three foreigners added to the mix, they were all gulping and waiting for the delivery.

Soon, the doorbell rang, *ding-dong*, and the three foreigners—no, four people including the slave-owning liege—had a glint in their eyes.

“Team Leader, we’re here! Wahaha, Seo-yeon, you’re here too?”

Kim Tae-yang and Kim In-ho were the first to arrive.

“Oh, foreigners?”

Kim Tae-yang blinked at the sight of the three foreign brothers.

“Say hello. These guys will be joining Team 3 soon.”

“A pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Rawin politely shook hands with Kim Tae-yang and Kim In-ho.

The expressions on Kim Tae-yang and Kim In-ho’s faces changed instantly after the handshake.

The calluses on their hands.

They must have instinctively sensed just how much he had wielded a sword.

“Good morning. Nice to meet you. I am Leon.”

“Hello! A strong and powerful morning. If you ask me, I am Vincent.”

“Uh, are you crazy?”

Kim Tae-yang gave his blunt impression of meeting the foreign brothers.

Rawin had adapted quickly and was speaking normally, but the other two were the problem.

Leon was somewhat okay, but Vincent, in particular, was a little rough around the edges.

The youngest of the foreigners, Vincent, pointed a finger with glittering eyes.

“I see you. I remember your face.”

“What’s the guy who looks like he’ll be the first to die after the tutorial talking about? Huh?”

Kim Tae-yang, unable to shake his old habits, started growling at Vincent.

Soon, the delivery food began to arrive one by one.

We had ordered so much, I thought there must be a queue at the door.

“What? Weren’t you guys waiting in line?”

Seo Hyun-ji, who arrived late, asked nonchalantly.

I think she might be a bit of an idiot.

They’re obviously delivery people, why would you be lining up with them?

Then again, ordering this insane amount of food might be outside the realm of common sense.

Anyway, as soon as the heaps of food arrived, the two who had been fighting in the corner…

Wait, why are those crazy bastards fighting?

“Hoo, hoo. Just you wait until after we eat. *Pant, pant*!”

“*Huk, huk*! You are lucky. Vincent is weak today from hunger.”

“I’ve been starving for two days.”

“Vincent was mistaken. He has starved for three days.”

“I’ve gone a week.”

“I have starved for a month.”

The two, facing each other, began circling one another again, sizing each other up.

*Thwack, thwack!*

I gave both of them a noogie at the same time.

“Everyone else is working, and you two are playing around here? Huh?”

“Not playing. We decide who is man and who is woman.”

“You mean who’s right and who’s wrong, you bastard. Your Korean patch is incomplete.”

The bickering pair quieted down after seeing my smiling face and went inside.

Strange. The kids get quiet whenever I smile.

I looked in the mirror and smiled.

Looks fine to me.

What’s the problem?

“It’s obviously scary when you smile like that.”

Just then, Seo Hyun-ji interjected from behind me.

“About what we talked about before.”

At my words, Seo Hyun-ji crossed her arms and made a displeased face.

“Isn’t that too selfish of you?”

“No, it’s not. Being selfish.”

Being selfish is when you act childishly on your own.

“I thought it was a win-win situation. Was I wrong?”

It’s good for both of us.

The fact that Seo Hyun-ji, with her temper, wasn’t saying anything proved it.

I was talking about having the moderate faction join us.

Now that the villains had taken over the Agency and carried out an attack.

The showdown between villains and hunters was about to begin in earnest.

Honestly, in a head-on confrontation, the villains can’t beat the hunters.

The villains have no other option but to carry out terror attacks from within the populace.

But how long could that possibly last?

It might be different in a vast country like the United States, but in the small land of Korea, a country with a robust network and resident registration system, there’s a limit to how long one can run and hide.

I forced a choice upon the moderate faction.

The hardline faction has a superiority complex and seeks to become the masters of this place.

The moderate faction wants to conform to the other world, to adapt and live.

The moderates had already supported us in the operation to retake the Agency at my previous suggestion.

They were already in a position where they couldn’t turn back to the hardline faction.

“That’s not something I can decide.”

Of course, it wasn’t a decision Seo Hyun-ji could make.

It was a matter for the clan’s leader to decide.

I intended to meet the leader of the moderate faction.

“That’s why he’s here.”

For a moment, I didn’t understand what Seo Hyun-ji meant.

“The elder.”