Chapter 187 – Sleeping with the Enemy (3)

The bearded man was already down in the banquet hall.

Of course, he hadn’t come down quietly. Bottles of liquor were scattered around the seat he occupied.

“What’s this, is the lovey-dovey time over already?”

The bearded man, with a woman in his arms, waved and greeted us.

This isn’t some kind of nightclub, yet he’s certainly living it up.

“Hunter Ralph, if you continue this here…”

A man who appeared to be the manager spoke with a troubled expression, but the bearded man paid him no mind.

“Isn’t this place for treating world-class hunters? I’m just here to be treated. Right, my elite hunter friends?”

“It’s all good, but this isn’t a bar, my friend.”

“Let’s go to a place like that after we eat.”

The other hunters cheerfully played along with the bearded man’s words.

“For your information, that damn racist is a monster with a strength stat of 99.”

The Japanese hunter said as he passed by my side.

“It’s a form of hazing the new guy. No need to get involved.”

Who was it that said Korea and Japan were on bad terms?

What was that saying? The enemy of my enemy is my friend?

It’s cute how he’s looking out for me because we’re both Asian.

A strength stat of 99 meant he was, quite literally, a superhuman.

It’s said that fewer than fifty people have achieved a stat of 99.

-Combined Stats

-Strength: 191

-Agility: 180

-Stamina: 174

-Magic: 112

-Luck: 125

But there was nothing for me to fear. After all, there was likely no one with stats more outrageous than mine.

At best, some of the former Villains might have surpassed the stat limit.

Come to think of it, I heard the Tushin Guild was in complete shambles. And Seol Ji-hoon was arrested.

That Demon King bastard, his devious nature hasn’t changed one bit.

He seemed to have been sharpening his knives, just waiting to take down the Tushin Guild.

“Are you ignoring me? Yellow? Can’t you understand English?”

“?”

While I was lost in thought for a moment, the bearded man had come up to me and was cracking his neck.

“What did you say?”

“I asked if all Asian women were this pathetic.”

“Ah.”

The bearded man gripped the woman’s arm and shook her.

The innocent woman, her face pale, pleaded for help from the people around her.

Even with the bearded man’s excessive behavior, the staff couldn’t properly intervene.

With the opening of the Gates, the era of the law of the jungle had returned.

Hunters were the absolute predators.

And in this new era of survival of the fittest, it was rare for a hunter to be punished unless they killed someone in broad daylight.

This was even more true if the hunter in question was an elite S-rank with a good track record.

In other words, only another elite hunter could stop the bearded man. But no one stepped forward.

Just as the Japanese hunter said earlier, it was an annual event, like hazing a rookie.

Right now, the only person who could step in was me.

“What’s this? I was looking forward to the food here, heard it was delicious.”

I ignored the childish squabble and sat down.

The Japanese hunter also took his seat without any change in expression. The remaining hunters sneered, finding the situation amusing.

As if he had established his dominance, the bearded man let go of the woman, practically tossing her aside.

“Boring, so boring.”

The bearded man said, deliberately bumping into me as he walked past.

“Hey, bring more drinks over here. And this food’s cold, throw it out and bring a new one.”

The bearded man spoke as he drained his remaining glass.

I immediately stood up from my seat and walked quickly toward him.

“What?”

I balled my fist and threw a straight punch.

*Smack!*

Unable to dodge, the bearded man was struck and went tumbling to the floor along with his chair.

“*Cough.*”

At the sudden turn of events, the hunters inside choked, and the sound of coughing filled the air.

The agitated voices of the restaurant staff were not worth paying attention to.

“You, you bastard!”

The bearded man, hit by the surprise attack, got back to his feet.

He then swung a wide punch at me.

I dodged it with a slight turn of my chin and countered.

*Thwack!*

I brought him down with a low kick.

I immediately got on top of him, securing a mount position. My next task was to attempt some facial reconstruction on his surprised face.

*Smack, thwack!*

“This son of a…!”

*Thwack!*

“*Ugh,* you piece of…!”

*Smack!*

Strength 99?

This is what it feels like to be hit by a force that far transcends 99.

I could tell just by the look in his eyes.

The damage piercing through his shield must feel utterly foreign to him.

“H-hey, stop!”

Only then did the other hunters move to stop me. I feigned reluctance and stood up.

Watching the heavily beaten man cough up blood all over his face, I said.

“Right now, at this very moment, there are kids starving to death without food or water. And you’re throwing food away? Throwing it away?”

Hearing the reason he was beaten, the bearded man’s face contorted even more.

Of course, it was just an excuse, a pretext.

Despite his battered face, he staggered back to his feet.

Wow, he can still stand after taking that.

He’s definitely an elite hunter.

“I was going to go easy on you, but I’m killing this bastard today!”

As the bearded man reached out his hand, space distorted, revealing his connection to his inventory.

The weapon he pulled out was a battle axe. A blood-red aether coated its blade.

An S-rank hunter.

And not just any S-rank, but an elite hunter who prided himself as the best in his country. As he raised his weapon, the staff screamed and fled.

A fight between ordinary people was one thing, but this was a clash between superhumans.

It would become a scene of utter chaos.

“Battle Field!”

The bearded man used a skill.

A red shadow formed beneath his feet, soon expanding into a circle three meters in diameter.

He smirked, pleased with himself for activating a single skill.

“Ralph, this is going a bit…!”

“He’s going to die!”

Seeing Ralph even activate a skill, the other hunters grew uneasy.

Using a skill was equivalent to firing a gun at an opponent.

He stomped toward me.

I could see the tables between us being sliced apart on their own.

Ah, so it seems anything that touches that circle, that Battle Field, gets automatically shredded.

Wow! That’s totally broken!

To think everything around him gets sliced up just by standing there.

It was certainly a useful skill. But while it might have been effective if I didn’t know about it, I could see several weaknesses at a glance.

“You’d be better off putting that axe away.”

“Why? I’ve set the stage, so come at me.”

“If you say so. This counts as self-defense, right?”

Without hesitation, I drew my number two sword from my inventory.

I then wrapped the two-handed sword in a layer of magic.

“Oh, right. Is it okay if you go home in pieces?”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“I’m asking if it’s okay to send your arms and legs home separately.”

“This bastard…!”

Enraged, Ralph charged at me with heavy footfalls.

At that moment, a dagger flashed past his face.

Ralph, who had been rushing forward as if to settle things once and for all, stopped in his tracks and looked in the direction the dagger had come from.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Standing there was Danny, the leader of the Asian branch, his face cold.

“Well, I…”

Ralph, who had been in a state of high excitement, suddenly showed meek eyes, as if his rage had never existed.

This is interesting.

“What will the public think if hunters belonging to the Union get drunk and brawl like this?”

“Danny, it’s not like that.”

“This is a place for a quiet meal, not for you to cause a scene. Put the axe away.”

Unable to defy his leader’s command, Ralph, who had seemed ready to go all out, stored his weapon in his inventory.

“My apologies, everyone. I, Danny, apologize for today’s little incident. Manager, please serve our finest champagne to all the guests here. A small token of my regret.”

The commotion quickly subsided.

These were the words of a global ranker, one of the top 10 in the world. The incident was dismissed as a momentary happening, transformed into a mere memory.

“My apologies. You know how it is when rough men first meet; there’s always a bit of a power struggle.”

“I understand.”

Danny came over to me, patting my shoulder consolingly. Then, he whispered in a low voice.

“Ralph was aggressive, but you were no less so. Be careful from now on.”

Hearing his voice, whispered so that others couldn’t hear, I couldn’t help but smile.

“Aren’t you misunderstanding something?”

“…?”

Danny looked at me. So did the other hunters.

Ralph stared at me in shock, as if I were a madman.

“Misunderstanding?”

The long-haired man smiled at me with the smile of a world top-10 ranker.

“I haven’t joined the Union Hunters yet, have I?”

I had never formally joined.

I had received an offer from the Union Hunters and had merely accepted an invitation.

Even the Japanese hunter, upon hearing my words, let his jaw hang open as if it were dislocated.

The person I was actually speaking to was this fellow named Danny, but the reactions of the others seemed far more entertaining.

“So, you shouldn’t be giving me orders. Mister.”

The air was so still it felt frozen.

I looked around, worried that people might have forgotten to breathe.

“Ah, right. That’s true.”

Danny smiled brightly.

I smiled brightly back.

“Everyone’s dying to get into the Union. In fact, from Korea, only two people were ever invited. Though one of them is dead now.”

“Just because other people’s dogs like being on a leash doesn’t mean I will too. Right?”

“You, you crazy bastard…!”

Someone said towards me.

For a moment, I felt Danny’s magic stir in a complex way.

I had just openly called them dogs.

It’s an insult in Korea, but I’m not sure how it’s taken overseas.

“I assume it’s because you haven’t yet heard about the benefits of joining the Union. I was actually planning to explain them after our meal.”

As if to clear the frozen air, Danny wrapped an arm around my shoulder and laughed.

“I’m sure you’ll be more than satisfied.”

I already knew the gist of it from extracting information from Lucky Boy Lee Han-seong, but I was curious what they say during the initial scouting pitch.

Anyway, this guy seemed to be misunderstanding something. So, as Danny tried to lighten the mood with a smile, I whispered softly into his ear.

“…”

I could see a slight crack form in the fake smile Danny wore for the public.

I hummed a little tune and sat back down in my seat.

I was about to eat authentic Italian food; my mood was refreshing.

Ralph was pressing a handkerchief to his bloody nose, glaring at me as if he wanted to eat me alive.

Oh, right.

“Hey, friend, I’m sorry. Let’s make up.”

“What?”

Hearing my words, the veins in Ralph’s eyes bulged.

In elementary school, when kids fought and one got a bloody nose, the one who caused it would apologize like this. I guess it’s different in other countries.

“You crazy bastard, you’re so full of yourself. Let’s see if you’re still so smug after you hear my family name.”

Saying that, the bearded man grinned, looking like a grade-schooler about to reveal his father is the CEO of a major corporation.

“My full name is Ralph Kruger.”

Ah, I’ve heard that name before.

Kruger.

The same surname as Ian Kruger, the current number one ranker, also known as Big Man, the strongest man on earth.

In other words, he was trying to say he was the brother of that strongest man.

“And?”

“What?”

“And so what?”

“You don’t know Kruger?”

“I know of him, yes.”

“You do?”

For a moment, Ralph’s expression turned into one that said, *this isn’t how it was supposed to go*.

If that guy was truly worthy of being rank one, he’d probably thank me for teaching his troublesome little brother a lesson.

If he wasn’t that magnanimous, he’d come looking for me, fuming.

If it’s the former, I’d be happy to be thanked by a ranker; if it’s the latter, I’d be happy to get to fight a ranker.

Isn’t this the perfect opportunity to snatch the number one spot?

“Am I supposed to be scared or something?”