Chapter 20 – Hunter, Verdi

Chapter 20: Hunter, Verdi

*Sniffle.*

“Ms. Verdi?”

“Huh…?”

“Are you… crying right now…?”

“What are you talking about…”

Oh, I really am?

I quickly rubbed my eyes with my sleeve.

This punk, talking nonsense…

Still, I felt good.

Like I’d regained a will to live, I guess. Just a little bit.

And…

I felt a faint sense of liberation from the auditory hallucinations that oppressed me.

‘Guess there was at least one person after all.’

I’d thought no one in this world had a good opinion of me anymore.

From the moment I sent my only comrade away.

But here was one.

“H-here, take this!”

Deneb held out a handkerchief, so I snatched it quickly and wiped my face.

Man, showing such a pathetic side to someone else…

“Um… I told you my secret too, so if it’s okay, could I ask you just one thing?”

“…What is it?”

“By any chance, what’s your relationship with Verdiol hyung-nim…?”

‘…!’

At Deneb’s question, I quickly turned my head away.

I try to hide my feelings, but when it actually comes down to it, I can’t.

My face must be ashen right now.

Even Deneb would think it’s strange if I reacted like that.

‘What do I say?’

Saying we have no relationship at all feels a bit off…

“It’s because your magic is similar to what Verdiol hyung-nim used. Please! I’d really like you to tell me!”

So that was the reason.

Now I understood why Deneb had been following me.

‘You saw my magic before, didn’t you?’

Back in my old body, after I got past E-Rank, I almost never used magic in front of anyone.

Except for one comrade, I mostly went into Gates alone.

The time I used magic in front of Deneb when she was caught in a Dungeon Break was probably the only instance, wasn’t it?

If I told a half-baked lie to someone who’d seen my magic firsthand, I’d be found out in no time.

In that case.

“I’m Master Verdiol’s disciple.”

In my opinion, this was the most reasonable answer.

If I were a disciple, there’d be nothing strange about using the same magic.

“I knew it!”

Deneb said with a joyful smile, as if she’d expected it.

Seeing that she didn’t doubt it at all, choosing ‘disciple’ was the right call.

“Then, do you know where my hyung-nim is right now…?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Huh, why not?!”

“Because Master asked me not to.”

The person you’re looking for is right in front of you, you brat.

I couldn’t say that, though. If I told her honestly, I felt like she’d give me a cold stare along with some nonsense like, ‘hyung-nim, why are you in a girl’s body…? Could it be…?’

Especially since I’m not a man but a woman, and a young girl’s body at that.

“Verdiol hyung-nim…?”

“Yeah. So sorry, but you can’t meet him. Instead.”

I smiled and added to Deneb, whose face had fallen.

“I can pass along a message.”

Even if it’s to the person right in front of me.

“Then please make sure to tell him! Tell hyung-nim I’m grateful, and that I’m waiting for him to come back! I’m begging you!”

“…Yeah. I’ll make sure to tell him.”

I promise.

Because I’m not a liar.

Anyway, ‘come back’…

Can I even return to my original body in the first place?

* * *

Before Mariano and his thugs came to, we stripped their gear and bound them with rope.

Even if they woke up, they wouldn’t be able to fight us now.

“What do we do now?”

Deneb wiped the sweat from her forehead and asked me with a worried face.

“We can’t leave the Boss Room without defeating the boss. We could wait for outside support or…”

“…?”

At Deneb’s words, I tilted my head.

“I mean, if we don’t defeat the boss—”

“Then we just do it.”

“Huh?”

When I said it like it was obvious, Deneb replied with a surprised look.

To her, I pointed my finger in the direction of the boss.

“You want us to take down a C-Rank Gate’s boss, just the two of us?”

I just nodded. At that, Deneb threw her arms up in shock.

“Are you serious…? No matter how skilled you are, Verdi, a C-Rank Gate’s boss is something even a B-Rank Hunter barely beats alone. Wouldn’t it be better to wait for support? If they find out I’m missing, the guild members from my side will step in, and they could easily break through the Boss Room door—”

“And what if we wait that long and those guys wake up and break free from their restraints?”

I gestured with my eyes toward Mariano and his thugs, who were still unconscious.

Even though I’d bound them, they were C-Rank Hunters. If they woke up, it was obvious a headache would follow.

So the easiest thing would be to finish off the boss quickly and hand them over to the Association.

Of course, Deneb’s reaction was normal.

On the surface, I was a D-Rank Hunter.

Even if I’d beaten a C-Rank bandit group, she wouldn’t want to take a life-or-death gamble.

“Deneb, you don’t have to fight.”

“W-What?”

“While I take on the boss, you gather up the equipment those guys were wearing.”

I pointed at Mariano’s gang as I spoke to Deneb, then turned and walked toward where the boss was.

“Wait a second. Verdi? Are you really going to fight? And alone?”

“Oh, right.”

Something came to mind at Deneb’s words, so I turned back and said,

“Keep today a secret. I’ll keep your secret too, okay?”

Deneb, who’d been staring blankly, started to say something at first, but eventually just nodded.

I knew she wasn’t a loose-lipped kid. So it should be fine.

Still, just in case, I figured I’d add one more thing.

“This is a warning. If what happened today gets to anyone else’s ears… you know what’ll happen, right? The Master will definitely be disappointed.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

The moment the word “Master” came out, I saw a frightened expression cross Deneb’s face. That warning should be enough.

I headed toward the center of the Boss Room. What stood there was a Lizardman.

But its aura was distinctly different from the Lizardmen I’d seen so far.

[ C-Rank Demon Beast, Lizardman Karakum (Boss) ]

The Lizardman was clad in full armor, holding a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, its appearance reminiscent of some tribal chieftain.

The Lizardman noticed me approaching and stared in my direction.

It immediately aimed its shield at me.

But it didn’t charge straight in like the common mobs.

Its cautious demeanor really made it feel like a proper boss.

‘Still, it’s only C-Rank.’

I reached out my hand.

[ Flame Element — Fireball Lv.2 Set ]

Flames poured from my outstretched hand.

WHOOSH—!

The fire engulfed the Lizardman in an instant.

But then.

“Oh?”

I let out an admiring sound at the sight before me. Karakum thrust its shield forward, and light flowed from it. That light protected its master from the Fireball I’d unleashed.

‘A C-Rank can do that?’

I was a little surprised. Demon Beasts these days were different.

Then how about this.

[ Ice Element — Frost Nova Lv.3 ]

This time, a cold-looking blue light flowed from my hand.

*CRACKLE!*

The moment the blue light touched the shield, the shield and the Lizardman’s hand holding it froze solid in an instant, along with a flash of light.

I could see a flustered expression rise on its lizard face. But that lasted only a moment.

“Grrrk!”

As expected.

Even so, it was the boss — it snapped back to its senses immediately. Ignoring its frozen shield and hand, it swung the sword in its right hand at me.

*SWISH! CLANG!*

But that sword was easily blocked by my Mana Shield.

The difference from the thug’s sword earlier was that this one had decent durability, enough to withstand the strength of my Mana Shield.

Even though its slash was blocked, the creature didn’t panic and kept swinging its sword. In that regard, I thought this Demon Beast had far more spirit than those bandits.

But that was as far as it went.

I leisurely dodged its flurry of attacks and reached out my hand.

Creating it didn’t take long.

I could forge it just by thinking.

[ Mana Sphere Lv.2 Set ]

This was the Special Ability I’d received when I came to this world: Incantationless Casting.

Since I didn’t need to chant incantations, no one could match the speed at which I cast magic.

That speed gave me the upper hand in a fight.

But speed alone meant nothing if my magical power wasn’t up to par.

If my magic had been weak, I wouldn’t have been able to break through this Lizardman’s shield, let alone subdue Mariano’s gang.

As a Possessor, the only Special Ability I received was Incantationless Casting.

That’s why I worked hard to increase my magical power.

And as a result—

I was able to become the best mage-type Hunter.

*Thunk!*

A translucent, fluorescent mana sphere pierced through Karakum’s body.

“Krr…gh!”

The Lizardman’s body, three times larger than mine, crashed to the ground with a *thud*.

Tough luck, Lizardman.

…And Mariano’s gang was lucky.

Could Mariano’s party have guaranteed victory against this boss?

If I had to guess, Mariano’s gang would have killed us, then waited for rescue instead of challenging the boss.

A High-Rank Hunter could easily break down the door to a C-Rank boss room.

I could clearly picture Mariano slipping away smoothly, muttering something about his comrades’ sacrifice.

“Ms. Verdi, you actually took it down…”

After the Lizardman lay motionless for over ten seconds, Deneb hurried over and stared at its corpse.

Deneb’s mouth wouldn’t close. She kept letting out “Wow…” after “Wow…” — it was like watching a little kid.

Well, that was fair. She was still a minor, after all.

*Zing—*

While I was collecting the loot, including the boss’s Magic Stone, a Gate leading outside formed.

This dungeon would close soon. I’d have to drag Mariano’s gang out before that.

“Can you wake them up?”

“Huh? Are you sure that’s okay?”

Deneb asked with a worried expression.

“You want to leave them here?”

“Well… they tried to kill us.”

Deneb’s reasoning was sound.

Saving bandits who’d tried to kill them — and had done the same thing multiple times before.

Of course, I had no intention of forgiving those bastards either.

But—

“I don’t plan on becoming a murderer.”

I was different from them.

I was a Hunter, not a killer.

And—

“I’m not satisfied with just taking their gear and walking out of here.”

*Heh.*

I wiped the act off my face and spoke with a smirk.

Whether they died here or got thrown into a detention center, their lives were over anyway.

If you end someone else’s life, you should be ready for yours to end too, right?

I just wanted to milk it a little more.

Drag them to the Association and squeeze out everything I could.

If I left them here, I’d only get their gear.

But if I took them out, reported them to the Association, and had them locked up in a detention center, I’d get a bounty.

“Hehehe…!”

The bounty, the gear value, plus the profits from the C-Rank Gate.

Three birds with one stone! Jackpot!

A gleeful laugh escaped me.

“M-Ms. Verdi…”

Deneb was looking at me like I was some kind of weirdo, but that wasn’t my problem.

“Hurry up and wake them. Let’s get out of here.”

Time to head back.

* * *

“Wake up!”

“Ugh…”

The moment Mariano and his thugs came to their senses at Deneb’s shout and fully opened their eyes—

“Wh-whoa?!”

Mariano cried out in shock at the sight before him.

The corpse of a Lizardman, far larger than any they’d faced, lay cold and still in front of him.

The Lizardman’s body soon turned to blackened ash and vanished from the world.

“What’s with the surprise?”

“Huh?!”

At the voice from behind, he turned to see the girl they’d been confronting, Verdi, glaring at them with a frown.

“Who… did you guys take that down?”

“Yeah.”

Verdi answered with a bored tone.

Mariano’s sly mind raced.

He had to escape. If he didn’t, he’d die!

But he couldn’t.

*Ggwa-ak—*

His hands and feet were bound. When had that happened? On top of that, all his Hunter gear had been stripped off.

What the hell was going on? He’d thought she was just a D-Rank Hunter who’d done well on a Rank Advancement Exam.

Mariano’s face went pale as he realized too late that the being they’d messed with was a disaster.

But regretting it wouldn’t change anything now.

“Choose.”

Verdi said with a cold sneer.

“The Gate’s going to close soon. You can either stay here forever, or come out with us and turn yourselves in to the Association.”

Mariano cautiously looked around. Everyone in his party, including himself, was bound and stripped of their equipment.

The moment he saw that sight.

“P-please, spare me! I’ll do anything!”

Mariano’s choice was already decided.