You Will Be Blessed If You Do Good Deeds¿

After enjoying a pleasant lunch, the receptionist at the guild building called out to Han Jae-young.

"Guildmaster, Hunter Yoo Han-ul is here to see you."

Upon hearing this, Han Jae-young's shoulders slumped. Shin Ji-eum, who had been sipping on a taro bubble tea, burst into laughter.

"To have to see a sour face right after lunch... I think our Guildmaster’s going to get a stomachache."

"Why didn’t you kick him out?"

"Oh, should I send a security guard for you now?"

"Never mind..."

"Well, at least you’ll get some eye candy, Guildmaster. Hunter Yoo Han-ul is quite handsome."

"If you like him so much, do you want to go with him, Hunter Shin Ji-eum?"

"If I get a stomach ache, it’ll last forever. If that happens, come to me. I’ll give you a hand."

"Ugh."

There was no one helpful around.

Han Jae-young sighed as he got into the elevator that went up to the top floor. The ultra-fast elevator made the ride feel unusually short. When he arrived at the familiar office...

"Hello."

"Hunter Yoo Han-ul..."

As the receptionist had said, a familiar face was sitting at the desk. The man with white hair and features that seemed sculpted to perfection. The one and only Yoo Han-ul, the S-rank Hunter whom the entire country praised.

"Aren’t we meeting a little too often lately?"

Well, it was true that Han Jae-young had more connections with Yoo Han-ul than other S-rank Hunters, but that didn’t mean he was thrilled to see him this often.

Especially considering...

"Hunter Han Jae-young. I heard that the Central Administrative Office person I mentioned last time—who approached me—is missing. Do you know anything about that?"

When such a bothersome issue was brought up, Han Jae-young covered his ears with a frustrated look.

"That person from the Central Administrative Office, what’s his name? The vice-chief or whatever? He fled overseas. Haven’t you heard the results of the police investigation? Why are you asking me? Go to the police."

Yoo Han-ul’s reaction was just as perplexing.

He came to get some information, and now Han Jae-young was pretending to chase after flies like this? It wasn’t something that would bother him, but this was a bit too much.

"I thought you might know something. The timing seems just too... suspicious."

"Ahhhh, I can’t hear, I don’t know anything, I haven’t heard anything."

It was an unbearable sight. Even Yoo Han-ul, who usually didn’t flinch at much, felt like he wanted to cover his eyes.

"Hunter Han Jae-young, what are you, a child?"

"I thought you’d be lenient with me since you let Da-on slide."

"Da-on is really young, but you... well..."

"I don’t know anything, but they keep coming at me like this. Do you know how many people are trying to probe me right now?"

Han Jae-young was about to lose it.

He had just gone to the dungeon to find an item and observe the curious figure named Jeong Da-on, only to be caught up in a mess. And by chance, that dungeon turned out to be a den of corruption.

He never would’ve expected that a high-ranking official from the Central Administrative Office was receiving bribes and covering up a cyber gambling ring run by a gang. And who could have guessed that when an investigation was triggered by Han Jae-young’s report, that person would suddenly disappear?

Now, everyone suspected that Han Jae-young was somehow involved in the disappearance.

"Some are asking if I killed him out of anger," Han Jae-young muttered.

Of course, half of those who suspected him were just trying to find dirt, while the other half were excited about the possibility that Han Jae-young might have exposed some weakness.

"I don’t get it. The government officials at the Central Administrative Office don’t know anything about the scene anyway."

Although the government had hired many ex-Hunters in recent years for the practical aspects of operations, those making policies were more focused on avoiding responsibility than understanding the reality of the situation.

"But there’s a lot of money circulating in the Central Administrative Office."

Dungeons were both a crisis and a new resource mine for humanity, with Hunters extracting valuable resources, while government officials were figuring out how to distribute them, making money by the bucketful.

It wasn’t strange for officials to take bribes and disappear once they’d pocketed enough, especially if they were laundering their identities and fleeing to Southeast Asia or China.

"Why do you think I’m involved?" Han Jae-young asked.

"Well, the timing is just too perfect. I mean, the person I mentioned and then... this disappearance..."

"So, what? You really think I killed that guy?"

"Well, the cleanup afterward was just too clean."

"Are you saying I used magic to kill him?"

"It wouldn’t be impossible."

"Unbelievable!"

Han Jae-young was irritated, but this wasn’t just some casual incident. If a few gang members went missing, that would be one thing, but the disappearance of a high-ranking official from the Central Administrative Office would not quietly fade away.

Even if he’d fled with cash, they should have at least caught a trace of him, but instead, it was handled quietly under the guise of a missing person case.

It was clear that someone was trying to cover it up.

And if someone was trying to cover this up...

"So, what? You think I killed him in a fit of rage, and now the government is sweeping it under the rug?"

"Well, it’s a possible scenario."

Currently, only 11 Hunters were rated S-rank in South Korea, and not even half of them were active. Considering the power of an S-rank Hunter, even if Han Jae-young had committed murder, he was someone the government could never afford to let go.

Han Jae-young let out a chuckle.

"Hey, but listen, this is funny. What if I did kill him?"

"Then you should confess and find redemption."

"That’s rich."

"...Well, let’s stop the jokes here."

"That was a joke?!" Han Jae-young was speechless.

It was ridiculous, but Yoo Han-ul didn’t flinch. He had something else on his mind.

"‘Cleanup’ doesn’t refer to the murder scene. The fact that this case is being closed so quietly seems like an attempt to suppress the Yeongjong Island dungeon’s publicity. They’re trying to connect it with you, Hunter Han Jae-young."

It was obvious that the high-ranking official’s disappearance and the subsequent cover-up were meant to tie Han Jae-young to the situation.

But if Han Jae-young wasn’t involved, then those suggesting he was were most likely trying to prevent the incident from becoming public.

Han Jae-young’s expression, which had been full of irritation, turned serious at Yoo Han-ul’s words.

"So, what you’re saying is... I’m just a decoy, and the ones trying to cover this up are the ones connected to the dungeon?"

"Yes. That’s my hypothesis."

"Well... that makes sense."

Han Jae-young pondered deeply. He had been so sensitive because of the ridiculous accusations of murder, but he was already aware of the dangers of the Yeongjong Island dungeon.

Or rather, the dangers of the monster found in the Yeongjong Island dungeon.

The S-rank monster first discovered—‘Tight Giant.’

The threat from that monster was completely different from any monster they had faced before. Just its mere existence could absorb human souls and increase the dungeon's synchronization rate.

That was its only purpose.

"Yoo Han-ul. I’m saying this because I trust you, but things are really getting weird. This is still just my guess, though."

Han Jae-young lowered his voice as he whispered.

"I really think the S-rank monster we found was artificially created."

From the way his energy had fragmented and pieced together like something stitched together, he suspected that some mad sorcerer had created it as part of an experiment.

"I know it sounds crazy saying it out loud... but why aren’t you surprised?"

Despite Han Jae-young’s apparent readiness to speak, Yoo Han-ul didn’t seem surprised at all.

"I am surprised, but..."

"I’ve known you for a while now. You’re acting like you already knew."

"........"

"Come to think of it, you’re right. If I had just thought it was a normal S-rank monster, I never would have brought up the whole ‘publicity’ issue. Once it’s cleared, that’s the end of it."

Han Jae-young narrowed his eyes.

"Where exactly have you been getting all this information?"

Yoo Han-ul kept his mouth shut, choosing silence. He knew Han Jae-young was sharp enough to see through any lies, but he couldn’t exactly tell him the truth either.

-Quest: SAVE THE WORLD is currently in progress.

-Do you want to check the information about ‘Tight Giant’?

The system had been feeding him all the information ever since he accepted the quest.

What Yoo Han-ul knew was that the "enemy of mankind" posed a huge threat, and one of those threats was the ‘Tight Giant.’

If the ‘Tight Giant’ was made in the dungeon, it could lead to widespread dungeon breaks, a situation humanity could not handle.

"At least, the good news is that it seems we won’t be able to mass-produce it," he thought.

-The system is currently tracking Soul Core traces.

-So far, three Soul Cores have been discovered.

Recently, Yoo Han-ul had been busy smashing the Soul Cores the system had found.

But beyond the Soul Cores already made, it was important to figure out who the "enemy of mankind" actually was.@@novelbin@@

"I really want to investigate who pressured to end this case as a closed investigation."

And anyone who secretly created such a monster must have had considerable power and wealth.

At the very least, they were connected to Imanbok, the leader of the True Light Church, and high-ranking officials at the Central Administrative Office.

"...If I didn’t know you better, I’d really think you were suspicious."

Han Jae-young sighed and raised his hands in defeat after glaring at Yoo Han-ul.

"Since I know what kind of person you are, I’ll help you. You just need to find out where the pressure to close this investigation came from, right?"

"Yes, please."

"Talking to the stiff government officials won’t be easy, so you might be needed. Just a heads-up."

"That’s fine."

"And are you curious if the corrupt official is really dead or just missing? Want me to look into it?"

Yoo Han-ul paused at that.

It didn’t make sense for a bribed official and a gang involved in illegal activities to just vanish without a trace.

The word "fled" was easy to say, but evading the investigation wasn’t so simple, especially without leaving any trace.

In fact, it was more likely that he was killed.

If that was the case, then no matter how much of a fraud and criminal the victim was, the killer would still have to be punished.

That was only natural, wasn’t it?

"...If possible."

"Got it. I’ll contact you once I find the culprit... Are you okay, Yoo Han-ul?"

Han Jae-young suddenly noticed Yoo Han-ul’s frown and looked at him in surprise.

"Are you feeling sick?"

Yoo Han-ul had suddenly grimaced and was pressing his temple.

"I’m fine. It’s just a headache... I think."

"You think? You should get checked. Did you hit your head while fighting a monster?"

"I don’t make those mistakes."

"That’s what you think. I had a checkup last time and found out my cerebrospinal fluid was leaking..."

Han Jae-young kept nagging, but Yoo Han-ul didn’t pay much attention.

He already knew the cause of his headache.

• Was this really the right thing to do?

Ever since he accepted the strange quest to "Save the World," strange images he had never seen before kept flashing in his mind.

They came like waves that splashed his feet in moments of carelessness.

He didn’t even know what triggered it.

The voice, full of grief, kept echoing in his ears.

• I didn’t want to become a demon...

A fragile voice that didn’t match the grand title of "enemy of mankind."

That voice had been tormenting Yoo Han-ul’s mind for a long time.