Episode 90 Lv. 100 (1)
* * *
Half a day later.
A man downed a glass full of vodka in one go, a bitter expression on his face.
His gaze had been fixed on the CCTV screen output through the monitor since earlier.
The source of this video is an abandoned factory that Jeon Jong-du’s Osho mercenary group used as a secret meeting place.
Today, there was a clash with Kim Soo-kyung’s mercenary group there, and Jeon Jong-du was killed.
“Those worthless guys. I don’t know where they spent all that money they earned. I invested a lot of it.”
The man waved his hand in the air, a gesture that was full of disappointment.
His name was Nikolai Strakh. He was the master who ran the Kashmar Guild in Russia.
Kashmar means ‘nightmare’ in Russian, which makes a lot of sense considering what he was doing.
The Kashmar Guild’s goal was to kidnap useful hunters from overseas and bring them back, then turn them into human weapons.
The Bezumiye in the abandoned factory was also a work of the Kashmar Guild.
The process of making it was so brutal that human rights were put on the line, and the methods were truly brutal.
Moreover, since it was a task that required a lot of patience and hard work, the supply was far short of demand.
There was a worldwide demand for human weapons that could be used anywhere, anytime without burden.
In particular, guilds or organizations with dirty backgrounds preferred it more, and even the purification guild had a purchase case.
Anyway, one of the main trading partners for the Kashmar Guild that supplied hunters from outside was the Osho Mercenaries.
This time, it was completely torn apart by Kim Soo-kyung’s mercenary group.
Not only that, Jeon Jong-du, who didn’t seem like he would die, died.
Even if he were still alive, it would not have been a big deal to revive the mercenary group.
Since the roots had been uprooted, there was no way to revive it with the stem attached above.
As a result, the supply route for hunters on the Korean side was cut off. At least until a replacement was found.
“Who the hell are you?”
Strike was repeatedly examining the focused image of Kang-hoo on the screen.
There was also an internal CCTV in Jeon Jong-du’s secret location on the second floor, and that footage was secured.
Although it was not visible to outsiders, Jeon Jong-doo had the authority to view it because he absolutely followed Strake’s orders.
Kang-hoo’s skillful response to being hit by Jeon Jong-du was surprising.
Even though his physical appearance alone could easily overwhelm Jeon Jong-du, Kang-hoo was not like that.
In addition, there was a trick to twist the classic counterattack pattern once more to catch them off guard.
Furthermore, circumstances were captured where a mental skill was used. This is a skill that does not suit an assassin.
Rather than feeling resentful about the fact that Jeon Jong-du was killed, I was more interested in Kang-hoo.
Who could it be?
We ran a search bot developed within the guild based on the secured screen, but were unable to find any information.
Judging by his skills alone, he seems like someone who has probably been featured in a Korean hunter-related broadcast or article at least once.
Searchbots couldn’t find a single piece of information about him. There was no similar person.
“A guy like that would be a good alternative to Jeon Jong-du. In fact, he could be even better.”
Strike had no intention of giving up its supply of ‘materials’ from Korea.
Hunters from Korea have high sales value and are highly responsive to experiments and drugs.
In many ways, it is easy to modify and control, so the investment cost is much cheaper.
Giving up the purchasing route in Korea was like cutting off the contract with the cheap source.
“I guess I’ll have to send someone.”
Even if you spend a hundred days worrying about it in Russia, not Korea, you won’t be able to get any more information about Kang-hoo.
Strike decided to create a route that would allow him to make direct contact with Kang-hoo.
If you look for a person, you will eventually find them.
Especially since this incident will probably bring you into contact with Kim Soo-kyung’s mercenary group, you should be able to create a connection.
Strike had already thought of Kang-hoo as the successor to Jeon Jong-du.
The person who is actually going to give rice cakes isn’t even thinking about it.
* * *
Around that time.
“40 billion won. It has been deposited. Please check. It took some time because it is a large sum.”
“Thank you for your quick response.”
Kang-hoo had just confirmed the deposit of 40 billion won that he had received from Kim Soo-kyung.
The balance jumped from 36.6 billion won to 76.6 billion won.
This includes 10 billion won in reward money received from Kim Soo-kyung and 20 billion won from selling Jeon Jong-doo’s items.
It also contained the sum of 10 billion won that was collected from the disposal of orange magic stones obtained previously.
“And the additional deposit is a personal thank you. Thanks to you, the battle ended early and the damage was greatly reduced.”
Kim Soo-kyung then sent an additional 5 billion won separately. It was a token of appreciation for Kang-hoo’s efforts.
Thanks to this, a balance of 81.6 billion won was created. Now, 100 billion won is within sight.
money.
Money is something that is really difficult to earn if you decide to save it.
But, without thinking about it and just focusing on my work, I ended up saving this much money.
Of course, this is just the beginning.
To buy more valuable and worthwhile items, you need more money. There is no upper limit.
Kang-hoo looks at the 80 billion won balance for the first time and feels satisfied for quite some time.
Kim Soo-kyung made a subtle suggestion.
“Have you any intention of joining our mercenary group?”
“I hate belonging to any organization the most. I hate having to watch what other people think, and I hate having more family members to worry about.”
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
As soon as I heard his story, I answered sharply. It was because I had been thinking about it for a long time.
Being in a group rather than alone means that responsibility increases.
Kang-hoo wanted to focus solely on himself in all situations. But isn’t this a world where it’s hard to survive?
“also.”
Kim Soo-kyung laughed.
I wasn’t flustered because it was an expected answer, but it felt decisive because it was so quick.
Even though he knew Kang-hoo’s true feelings, he still wondered if his mercenary group was that unattractive.
Anyway, the proposal fell through.
However, Kim Soo-kyung pulled out another ‘string’ that could connect her with Kang-hoo.
“Then what about the client?”
“That’s good. I don’t have to worry about it. I have the power to choose.”
Kim Soo-kyung’s proposal, which was taken out in a transformed form, was also accepted by Kang-hu.
There was no reason to refuse.
This is because Kim Soo-kyung and his mercenary group are expected to continue to grow in an upward curve in the future.
In the original, the Osho Mercenaries, who were a hostile force, have disappeared, so things will accelerate.
In that case, it would be good to establish some kind of connection with Kim Soo-kyung. It would definitely be beneficial.
‘Now, the route for requests will open up to Gangwon-do as well. More often and in greater quantities than before.’
The requests that Lee Ye-rin asks are also fairly distributed by region.
It is true that there have always been few requests from Gangwon-do.
Perhaps there were some cautious aspects due to the relationship with the Kim Soo-kyung mercenary group.
Thanks to this, the request has become more scalable. I think it will be of great help in the future.
* * *
Around that time.
“… … What is this busyness?”
The problem solver, who was chasing Kang-hoo at the request of Black Bone Corps leader Shin Jun-ho, was wandering around the Daejeon Station area.
There were traces of Kang-hoo here. Quite a lot. But there wasn’t enough to make it a base.
What I felt while tracing the flow of the river was that the location was not easily pinpointed to one place.
Hunters usually have a central base of operations where they believe they are safe.
It felt like there was no such place for Kang-hoo. Maybe he had stopped by Daejeon Station a few times?
“It smells delicious… … This guy really has a lot of secrets.”
The troubleshooter licked his lips with the tip of his tongue.
He walked slowly again and closed his eyes.
It’s about communing with the traces of mana. It’s also connected to spiritual powers, so I started feeling it right away.
at that time.
“It’s dark.”
Not far away, a person with quite a few traces of Kang-hoo was felt to appear.
Although he was not Kang-hoo himself, he was someone who had traces that made it clear that he was related.
What the troubleshooter saw was a woman walking in front of Daejeon Station, holding a long sword.
‘I found the link.’
The problem solver smiled.
We’ve finally found the starting point of the string connecting Kang-hoo. Now it’s time to speed up the tracking.
* * *
Swish.
A night of heavy rain expected as the typhoon moves north.
In a weather that was too bad for driving, Kang-hoo rested at a safe hotel provided by Kim Soo-kyung.
Since it was a hotel directly operated by the Kim Soo-kyung mercenary group, there was no need to worry about safety.
I was concerned that there might be wiretapping or illegal filming, but upon checking, there was no separate device. It was a worry.
Kang-hoo, who entered the room, filled the spacious rectangular swimming pool with hot water.
It took quite some time, but I waited while lying on the bed without thinking about anything, and it went by quickly.
Soon, Kang-hoo filled the pool with hot water and immersed his body deep inside.
It was a deep dive that completely submerged the head.
Kang-hoo went all the way down to the bottom of the pool and fell into a world of deep sleep.
It was a great space to organize and refine my thoughts.
‘If you want to get to level 100 as quickly as possible, you have to go to dungeons. The downside of being a mercenary is that you can’t enter dungeons freely.’
A mercenary who does everything by himself.
It looks good, but there’s just one problem: there’s no affiliation, so there’s little connection between dungeons.
This is because if you belong to a guild, you can easily be assigned to conquer dungeons owned by the guild.
You don’t have to worry about securing a license or a schedule for the raid. Everything is taken care of at the guild level.
However, mercenaries have no easy way to access dungeons other than going to open dungeons.
‘It’s too bad to waste Lee Hyun-seok’s chance. Not yet.’
There is no easy way.
Since Lee Hyun-seok owes me a favor in rescuing Min Soo-hyeon, I guess I can ask for a dungeon license.
But considering the value and difficulty of the dungeon he owned, it seemed like a waste to use it now.
There are many dungeons that will be useful to challenge later when you level up a bit more. It’s a shame that there aren’t any now.
‘There’s Jeon Se-hyeok too, right?’
When I think of Lee Hyeon-seok, I naturally think of his friend Jeon Se-hyeok.
He is a mercenary with his own powers, so he will probably have a few dungeons of his own.
Think briefly, act quickly.
Kang-hoo called Jeon Se-hyeok.
As if things were going well, he picked up the phone before the signal even finished ringing once.
– Yes, Mr. Shin Kang-hoo.
He is the only one, along with Han Seo-yeon, who knows his real name.
I was always called Jeong Seon-gyu, so when I was called by my real name, ironically, I felt awkward.
“How have you been?”
– Let’s get to the point. I know you’re the type of person who hates awkward greetings or elaborate speeches.
They say that if you pretend, it will work.
This makes it easier to talk.
If you are sure what you want from both parties, there is no need to beat around the bush.
Kang-hoo got lucky.
“Is there a dungeon that would be useful for a strategy? I just need to farm experience points. I don’t mind the loot.”
Give up all loot.
If there was a dungeon left for Jeon Se-hyeok, it would be an offer that Gumi would be tempted to make.
