The Handsomer You Are, the Stronger You Become

“Hm…?”

Kang Hyunsoo stared blankly at the hunters collapsing to the floor, glass still in hand.

It was such an abrupt and strange event, with over ten people falling simultaneously, that it almost seemed like a prank.

Other attendees shared his confusion.

“What’s going on? Did they all just get drunk and pass out?”

“Embarrassing! Get up already! You’re hunters, for crying out loud.”

“Maybe they drank too much of the expensive stuff?”

Some laughed or clicked their tongues at their fallen teammates rather than rushing to help them.

But then:

“Hey, hey, get up. You can’t sleep here.”

“Wait, something’s wrong…!”

“They’re not breathing!”

The situation took a grim turn.

Not only were the hunters on the floor unresponsive, but:

Crash! Thud! Clatter!

“What the—? Someone else collapsed over here!”

“Ugh, I’m… suddenly so sleepy….”

Thud!

Even those who had been laughing moments ago started losing consciousness one by one.

Even Hwang Wonchang, who had been sneering at Hyunsoo earlier, couldn’t stay on his feet.

“What is happening…?” Hwang muttered as he dropped his glass and crumpled to the floor.

This isn’t just drunkenness.

Realizing something was seriously wrong, Kang Hyunsoo immediately threw his drink to the ground.

But as he did so, a faint ping echoed in his ears.

“Ugh…!”

His vision blurred, and he felt himself growing faint.

Poison? A drug? Whatever it is, they must have spiked the drinks.

But who? And why?

Questions flooded his mind, but no one was there to answer.

Thud!

Kang Hyunsoo collapsed to the floor, joining the rest of the unconscious hunters.

“People are passing out!”

“Call 119! Someone call 119!”

The banquet hall quickly descended into chaos, with organizers and attendees scrambling to assist.

However, the commotion didn’t last long.

Soon, the hall grew eerily calm as every hunter—including Kang Hyunsoo—had fallen unconscious.

“Are they all asleep now?”

“It appears so.”

“As always, the drug is incredibly effective. Move the new recruits to the initiation site.”

“Yes, understood.”

The staff, their faces devoid of emotion, began dragging the unconscious hunters out of the banquet hall.

They grabbed them by the arms, heads, or even the backs of their necks, dragging them across the floor with little regard for their well-being. It was clear this wasn’t a rescue operation.

Even the head of security, who was overseeing the scene, made no effort to help.

Instead, he sneered, kicking the heads of the unconscious hunters.

“Heh. Imagine how easily we subdued these hunters, who gained their powers through such ‘talents.’ Truly, his greatness is unmatched.”

Meanwhile, as the staff moved the unconscious hunters, a group approached Kang Hyunsoo.

But when they reached him, the head of security raised his hand to stop them.

“Wait. The champion is someone the president holds in high regard. I’ll take him personally.”

“Understood, sir. I’ll prepare the others for the initiation.”

“Good. Carry on.”

The staff member bowed and exited the hall with the rest of the unconscious hunters.

Now, only Kang Hyunsoo and the head of security remained.

“Well, let’s get going.”

The head of security grabbed Kang Hyunsoo by the back of his neck to lift him up. Unlike the others, he couldn’t risk dragging Hyunsoo and risking injury. After all, upsetting the president was out of the question.

But the moment he lifted Hyunsoo:

Whoosh!

“What the—?”

The security head’s vision flipped upside down.

The ceiling and floor had reversed, and his body was floating midair.

“What… how are you awake?!”

Before he could fully process what was happening, he caught sight of Kang Hyunsoo’s sharp, awake eyes.

“Impossible…”

The head of security’s shock turned to terror, but he couldn’t finish his sentence.

As his body hurtled toward the ground:

BAM!

Hyunsoo’s fist connected squarely with his face, slamming him into the floor.

The deafening sound echoed through the banquet hall, and the head of security crumpled into unconsciousness.

“…This guy’s just a civilian?”

Hyunsoo muttered as he stared down at the limp form of the security head.

When Hyunsoo had first collapsed to the ground, he had closed his eyes and remained still to assess the situation.

Though his vision blurred and his body felt heavy, his consciousness was clear, and he could move.

Unlike the other hunters who succumbed to the poison in their drinks, Hyunsoo had an unexpected advantage.

[Harmful substance detected in the body.]

[Activation Triggered]
[Skin Improvement (E)]
[Harmful substances expelled through the skin.]

The Skin Improvement trait from his Beauty talent had activated, purging the poison from his system.

So it has this kind of effect too?

This unexpected bonus allowed Hyunsoo to maintain his strength and mana.

Instead of acting immediately, however, he chose to observe.

Is this just an accident with the drinks, or is it a deliberate scheme targeting us hunters?

It wasn’t long before the culprits revealed themselves.

The staff, security, and waiters—those managing the event—began dragging the hunters away.

Their actions, far from being rescue efforts, made their intentions clear.

Even then, Hyunsoo waited until he was certain.

When he overheard the head of security speaking by his side and felt the man’s grip on his neck, he confirmed his suspicions.

These people were the perpetrators of the scheme.

Hyunsoo wasted no time responding. Pretending to be unconscious, he struck as soon as the moment was right.

Thud.

The head of security had been rendered unconscious in a single blow.

The attackers had orchestrated a full-scale operation targeting the tournament hunters. Kang Hyunsoo had assumed they were hunters themselves, given the scale and organization of the attack. Yet, the unconscious security chief lying before him emitted no trace of mana—he was an ordinary civilian.

For a moment, Hyunsoo questioned whether he’d made a mistake, but that wasn’t the case.

Their actions and conversations had clearly stepped far outside the bounds of normal behavior.

“Master! The tournament participants are being dragged off by the staff! This looks like a full-blown crime targeting hunters!”

Swallow fluttered into the room just as Hyunsoo had knocked out the security chief, reinforcing his suspicions.

Hyunsoo crouched to check the unconscious man’s breathing, confirming he was alive, and then began questioning Swallow.

“Where did they take the hunters?”

“To an underground passage. It was full of doors and twisted like a maze… I couldn’t go deeper because one of the doors shut behind me, almost trapping me.”

“And you thought it was a good idea to act alone? What about covering me when I was in danger? You just scuttled off on your own?”@@novelbin@@

“Thanks to your Skin Improvement, you were completely fine! I was thinking ahead and acted preemptively, Master.”

“…Wait, you knew about the Skin Improvement’s detox effect? Why didn’t you tell me it could neutralize poisons?”

“The description will update when its grade increases. For now, it can only detoxify weak poisons, so it’s not exactly reliable. Relying on it recklessly could backfire.”

“Only weak poisons, huh? Does that mean the poison that knocked out the hunters is considered weak?”

“They’re all under level 200, Master. It’s no surprise they were affected by a weak toxin.”

“Fair enough…”

Hyunsoo nodded in agreement.

While hunters might seem overwhelmingly strong to ordinary people, there were vast differences in power even among hunters, depending on their level.

Despite Swallow’s reckless actions, his initiative had proven valuable. Swallow had pursued the culprits and uncovered critical details while Hyunsoo was incapacitated.

“Alright, keep up the good work, Swallow. You did well.”

“Oh? A compliment, Master? How rare.”

“Don’t make it sound like I’m always chomping at the bit to criticize you. I give credit where it’s due.”

With that, Hyunsoo acknowledged Swallow’s contributions and pulled out his phone.

No need to overthink this. Once I report it to the police or the Hunter Bureau, it’ll be dealt with.

But when he tried to make the call:

[Unable to send or receive signals in this area.]

“Damn it. They really went all out.”

Whatever the culprits had done, both phone and internet signals were completely blocked.

Hyunsoo considered abandoning the scene to escape and find help, but:

“There are guards stationed at the building’s exits as well,” Swallow reported after scouting outside.

And more importantly:

“They don’t seem to realize that you’ve regained consciousness yet.”

Hyunsoo let out a long breath.

“These bastards… What are they trying to pull?”

If he simply fled, the whole incident might be covered up.

There was no telling whether the abducted hunters would be freed or disappear without a trace. The chances of it being swept under the rug were high.

In his previous life, he had never heard of such an event occurring.

I need to figure this out. No, I have to figure it out.

His instincts told him to dig deeper, especially with the peculiar connection nagging at him: Ji Wonhoon’s secretary, who bore an uncanny resemblance to the agents of Babylon.

Taking the ID badge from the unconscious security chief, Hyunsoo turned to Swallow.

“Lead the way. We’re following those hunters.”

“You’ve caught the scent, Master.”

“Yeah, I’m certain Babylon’s involved.”

“I feel the same. This way, Master.”

Hyunsoo followed Swallow out of the banquet hall, twin swords in hand.

As Swallow had warned, the path was labyrinthine.

They exited through an emergency stairwell and descended one flight of stairs before finding themselves in a narrow hallway.

Multiple doors lined the corridor.

Fortunately, no guards were present to complicate matters.

Instead, two large steel doors equipped with lock panels blocked their path.

[Access Badge Required.]

“Do you know which one it is?”

“Not beyond this point, Master.”

Hyunsoo clicked his tongue.

“Guess I’ll have to pick one.”

He decided on the left door and pressed the security chief’s ID badge to the lock.

[Access Granted.]

The steel door slid open, revealing a dark corridor stretching into the distance.

This feels like a trap.

“Looks clear so far, Master.” Swallow flew ahead to scout, confirming there were no immediate dangers.

Hyunsoo advanced cautiously, his guard up, until he reached the end of the corridor and entered a wide, well-lit space.

“What the hell is this…?”

His voice echoed in the cavernous room.

Under bright fluorescent lights, rows upon rows of massive glass tanks stretched as far as the eye could see.

The space resembled a laboratory, its sterile, eerie atmosphere putting Hyunsoo on edge.

Each glass tank was filled with a blue liquid. Floating within were strange, amorphous shapes that seemed almost alive.

At the far end of the room, one tank caught his attention.

Is that… a person?

The sight was disturbingly familiar yet alien enough to cause cognitive dissonance.

Compelled to investigate, Hyunsoo moved deeper into the room. But as he approached the tank:

Whoosh!

A sharp, murderous aura surged toward him from behind.