Chapter 22

I opened my eyes, having completely absorbed the last dregs of the Lizard’s struggling energy.

With this, I could now use Intermediate Magic nine times without issue.

For someone like me, whose Status Window Rank is fixed at F, self-assessment is more important than anything.

Looking at the experience from my past life and the standards of my current one, all things considered.

My current Rank seems to be somewhere between C-Rank and B-Rank.

I could beat a truckload of C-Ranks, but even a single B-Rank would be a struggle.

That’s about where I stood.

If I could just absorb one decent Elixir, I feel like I could make the full leap to B-Rank.

As the thought of Wi Jeong-rak’s face crossed my mind, my steps brought me to a café near Ilseong.

“We’ve all decided to resign.”

Choi Soo-jung said it like a sinner the moment I ordered.

Never mind the way she was cowering as she said it; the content was more shocking.

“Resign? Why?”

They’ve cleared a D-Rank Dungeon, so Ilseong should be starting to treat them well, right?

“After you left, Hyung, the company started treating us well. They gave us a new office and even provided us with good Items. So, it was nice, you know? But how should I put it? It felt like a weight had been lifted, or like we were finally being acknowledged. We just didn’t have any lingering attachments anymore.”

As if making an excuse, Choi Soo-jung spewed out a torrent of words.

Team leader Kim Jeong-su, Kim Soo-gyeom, and Lee Won-sik, who were beside her, were nodding their heads fervently.

“It might not be as good as Ilseong, but we’re thinking of going independent.”

“You mean you’re starting a company?”

“Probably. There wasn’t any place that would take all of us. Well, thanks to you, Hyung, we don’t have to worry about starving to death now. If things get really bad, we can just run E-Rank Dungeons.”

Kim Soo-gyeom pointed at Team leader Kim Jeong-su like a tattletale.

“And the Team leader says he’s quitting being a Hunter! He doesn’t even appreciate your kindness, Hyung!”

Looking to the side, Team leader Kim Jeong-su cleared his throat a couple of times.

“After clearing the D-Rank Dungeon, I felt like I’d found some kind of peace. I’m satisfied with this.”

I see.

Well, it’s not like there’s a law that says all Hunters have to enter Dungeons.

“But why are you all cowering like you’ve committed a crime?”

At my words, Choi Soo-jung began to cautiously glance around like a puppy that had caused trouble.

“Aren’t you angry?”

“Me? Why?”

“Because we’re betraying the one who raised us, without even appreciating your kindness.”

The one who raised them?

What is this all about?

As I stared at them, dumbfounded, Kim Soo-gyeom scratched his cheek.

“We’re the Association’s black ops agents, Ilseong’s undercover spies. We’re supposed to periodically feed you information about Ilseong, but if we suddenly quit, we thought you’d threaten our families, Hyung…”

“Hey. Be quiet. I don’t think that’s it.”

Choi Soo-jung, who had been studying my expression, cut Kim Soo-gyeom off.

“Are you really okay with it? With us leaving Ilseong?”

“What’s there to be okay or not okay about? It’s not my life.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Really, really?”

Only after I’d said ‘really’ several times.

Only then did the kids let out a deep sigh and start picking at the coffee and cake in front of them.

“We were really nervous. About what you might say.”

“I’m glad that’s not the case.”

“Damn it, I told you he’d be fine.”

“You were the most scared, Team leader, what are you talking about?”

As they giggled amongst themselves, Team leader Kim Jeong-su set a serious tone.

“And, I have something to give you.”

Right. The reason we met today was because Team leader Kim Jeong-su had something to give me. I’d forgotten all about it because of all the weird talk about undercover agents and spies.

Team leader Kim Jeong-su glanced around cautiously before handing me a cell phone.

“What’s this?”

“The phone Im Seong-joon had on him before he died.”

Team leader Kim Jeong-su lowered his voice as much as possible.

I went a step further, casting a double layer of soundproofing magic. This was a story no one should overhear.

“I was that bastard’s driver, you know. I swiped it when he went to the bathroom. Just in case there was something I could use as leverage.”

Team leader Kim Jeong-su leaned his body far forward.

“But, that bastard was meticulous, anyway. He made it so the password couldn’t be cracked.”

A password?

“He’s probably the only bastard who’d put a B-Rank Seal on a single cell phone. I went to the Black Market, and they said it would cost 500 million to break it. And that it would take at least a month.”

No wonder. A faint trace of Mana was leaking from the outside of the phone. So it had a Seal magic cast on it.

“But you never know. Maybe the Association has someone who can break it. Try taking it.”

For now, I decided to think about Im Seong-joon later.

With the Head of department in his current state, I might just be stirring up trouble for no reason.

There was something more urgent.

“Mr. Wi Jeong-rak.”

Wi Jeong-rak, who was in the middle of getting back the items he had surrendered upon his detention, tilted his head.

“Secretary Officer?”

“Mister?”

Yuja, who had been chattering next to Wi Jeong-rak, asking if he’d eaten or slept well, did the same.

“What brings you here…?”

“I heard you were being released today. You’re heading home, right?”

“Yes, but…”

“Let’s go together. I’m heading that way myself. Ah, our ride is here.”

“Hyung! Over here!”

Arriving with perfect timing, Kim Soo-gyeom waved from the driver’s seat of a van.

After a moment of hesitation, Wi Jeong-rak checked Yuja’s complexion.

His deliberation seemed short.

“Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Mister. My dad is okay now, right?”

“Mister. Do you want to come over to my house? I have lots of fun things.”

Yuja’s once chubby cheeks had become gaunt, and the area under her eyes was hollow as if she hadn’t slept in days. It was evidence that the Mana Disease, now in its later stages, was accelerating.

“But you know what? Yesterday, Dajeong was bragging that she has a Nintendo at her house…”

The reason she was still making a fuss was to tell Wi Jeong-rak not to worry. They said the child had been sick since she was young; she had become an adult too quickly.

But that, too, had its limits.

Yuja, who had been forcing her eyes open, passed out before five minutes had passed.

Watching Wi Jeong-rak lay Yuja down in the back seat, I spoke.

“Yuja’s condition has worsened.”

Wi Jeong-rak gave a bitter smile without answering.

I casually asked him.

“Shall I take a look at her?”

“You, Secretary Officer? No. It’s alright.”

Of course. No father in the world would suddenly entrust his child to a stranger.

So I came prepared.

“I’m not some weird quack. I have a healing Skill.”

In case he didn’t believe me, I even drew up my Mana and touched it to Wi Jeong-rak’s body.

[Relief]

He would feel the fatigue accumulated in the detention center melt away.

“For now, it will be more effective than an Elixir. Yuja’s complexion looks very poor, are you still sure you’re okay with it?”

Wi Jeong-rak’s eyes widened.

“Th-that’s amazing. Last time I saw you, your combat abilities were also quite considerable.”

“I’m an Association agent, after all.”

“I don’t know if it’s alright for me to keep receiving help like this. I don’t have anything to give you right now…”

“I’ll just collect it all at once later.”

Wi Jeong-rak, who had paused at the word ‘later’, spoke with an embarrassed face.

“I know it’s shameless, but I’d like to ask you for this one favor.”

Slipping into the seat next to them, I placed my hand on Yuja’s head.

I could feel the expanded Mana Pathway very clearly.

And the highly concentrated Mana that was fiercely circulating through it.

“The essence of treating Mana Disease isn’t about pouring in Potions, Elixirs, or Elixirs.”

“?”

“If anything, that just makes the disease worse. It’s like drinking seawater when you’re thirsty.”

When my mother was sick, no one gave me an answer. Everyone said they didn’t know the cause, and that there was no cure.

Thinking of that frustrating feeling back then, I explained the treatment method to Wi Jeong-rak.

“The essence is that you have to narrow the pathway the Mana is moving through.”

Zzzzzap—

I wrapped a thin layer of Mana around the pathway.

The speed of the Mana that had been wandering through her bloodstream began to decrease rapidly.

At the same time, Yuja’s Mana flowed into my hand.

“Like this.”

I smiled with satisfaction.

The first reason was that I had gained the confidence that I could cure Mana Disease. The next was that I could finally use Intermediate Magic ten times without issue.

“She’ll be all better after three more treatments.”

“I’m an ignorant man, so I don’t know what you mean, but thank you. Yuja’s face has brightened up. Her breathing is even, too. Your Skill is much better than the Elixirs I make, Secretary Officer.”

Well, it’s not like he’d believe me if I explained in detail right now.

Instead, I took a business card from my wallet and handed it to Wi Jeong-rak.

“Why this…?”

“I thought you might need it.”

“Pardon? Ah, do you perhaps need an Elixir?”

“It would be nice to have one, but I’m thinking of letting it age a bit more.”

Right after I said that with a smile, the car stopped.

“Hyung. We’re here. A wide-open place with no people.”

I looked out the window.

It was one of Gyeonggi Province’s dead towns. All that was there were abandoned rice paddies, and even those had been trampled into a wasteland by Monsters that had popped out of a Gate.

Thanks to that, a vast, empty lot had been created.

Perfect for a fight.

Getting out of the car, I said.

“Good choice. You can head back now. Thanks.”

Kim Soo-gyeom tilted his head innocently.

“From here? How? A taxi won’t come out this far.”

“Walk?”

“……”

Around that time, Wi Jeong-rak, who had followed me out, spoke with a wary expression.

“Secretary Officer. Where are we?”

“Sorry for not explaining beforehand. I didn’t think you’d believe me if I told you.”

At my words, Wi Jeong-rak’s face hardened even more. Then he asked, as if wondering.

“Were you hired by JW?”

“No.”

“You’ve done something foolish. I had no intention of running away any longer, anyway. However, please just give me a little time.”

He doesn’t believe me even when I say no. Then again, anyone would think I looked like a guy up to something suspicious.

Until then, my gaze was on Kim Soo-gyeom, who was walking away with a frustrated look on his face.

When the back of Kim Soo-gyeom’s head, his shoulders slumped as he trudged away, had completely disappeared.

Only then did the guy who had been tailing us reveal himself.

The General Manager from the JW Chairman’s office.

“Aren’t you Secretary Officer Choi Gi-woong? What brings you here?”

The guy approached with a disgusting smile.

I looked back at him and said.

“I had some business.”

“That’s great. I have some business too. Head of section Wi. Didn’t we have a promise?”

Wi Jeong-rak glanced at me for a moment, then nodded his head as if in resignation.

“General manager. I’m not asking for much. Please give me three months. By then, I probably… won’t have a reason to run away.”

“That’s not for you to decide, Head of section Wi. I think about a week should be enough. Let’s make it next week. What time is good for you?”

He spoke of killing someone as casually as if he were scheduling a lunch appointment.

As I stared at him, dumbfounded, the General Manager smiled at me.

It was that look again.

‘What can you do?’ Exactly that kind of look.

“Are you alright, Secretary Officer? You don’t look so good.”

This time, we weren’t at the Association, so he even struck up a conversation.

Ignoring him, I gestured at the guy with my chin.

“By any chance, how do I meet Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan?”

At my sudden question, the corners of the guy’s mouth drooped.

“Secretary Officer Choi, you’re quite fearless. Do you even know who you’re asking for?”

I know him well. The name of JW Bio’s Chairman.

And that he’s a man who would offer up his own heart for his daughter who has Mana Disease.

The General Manager, who had been deep in thought, frowned.

“No way. Did you come here to lure me out? What are you banking on? Did you bring backup?”

“I wouldn’t need backup just to deal with the likes of you.”

“I don’t know what gives you this nerve. I did a background check on you, Secretary Officer. I was wondering just how great you were to act so stiff in front of me.”

“……”

“I was surprised, in a different way. Does the Association accept F-Ranks as agents these days?”

The guy grinned as if that were some huge secret.

He must have been expecting a surprised reaction. But I’ve been looked down on for being an F-Rank so much that I, the person in question, am on the verge of building up a tolerance.

“You’re a C-Rank. And your Potential Rank is B-Rank.”

But it seemed the guy wasn’t.

At my casually tossed words, the man’s face froze into a cold mask.

“…How did you know?”

I just smiled without answering.

His reaction became even more intense.

“How many kids do you think I’ve seen die for acting cocky, trusting in the Association’s name? Getting rid of a 5th-class official isn’t a difficult task for me.”

“Is that all you have to say?”

“You’ll get seriously hurt.”

The guy, who had been glaring at me while trying to create a tense atmosphere, suddenly relaxed his expression.

“Let’s meet again. Both of you.”

“I never said I’d let you go.”

The guy who had turned his back let out a deep sigh.

The air about him strongly suggested he was holding back just one more time. I added another word to tell him not to.

“How do I meet Chairman Lee Jeong-hwan?”

Snap.*

Finally, the man’s patience broke.

“Then try and take me in. If you can.”

“That was the plan.”

As soon as I drew up my Mana, I manifested an Intermediate Magic.

[Spatial Leap]

I opened my eyes with the strange sensation of gravity pulling me down.

I had crossed space and arrived right in front of the man.

His magnified face was slowly. Very slowly, contorting in shock.

I thrust out the blade of my hand like a dagger.

[Divine Punishment]

The lightning contained within it swallowed him whole.