The Gates on Earth served as barriers, separating those who went in from those who were outside. Frontier was different, it didn’t have any barriers. In other words, you could easily disturb someone’s hunting grounds anywhere you went. However, the land was vast…
“It’ll be easy to hide a couple of people here.”
The party of four, composed of two Players and two Adventurers, sat on a boulder in the dark forest. They were a strange bunch but the reason they were together was even stranger.
“It’ll be even easier to hide corpses here.”
“Who should we kill next?”
“I dunno. I think the rumors have spread too much around here.”
“Shouldn’t we start moving to another region? I think people are starting to take notice of us.”
Hunters. The one thing these four had in common was the rush they felt when taking a life. They didn’t particularly like killing humans; if possible, they wanted to kill monsters.
“Tsk,?hunting monsters is pretty fun, but they don’t give us any money.”
“If the Adventurer Guild gave us good Quest rewards in the first place, we wouldn’t be forced to do this.”
“Yeah, it’s society’s fault that we had to resort to killing people.”
Once again, they were pathetically blaming others for their problems. The four stood up and looked at their leader, the Adventurer Dell.
“So what should we do? Leave right away?”
“Or… How about we leave with a bang?”
“Tsk. That’s what I want, but we don’t have any good targets.”
Their average level was 76, which meant they were stronger than the majority of people in Gilleon. Their team was also quite balanced. The two Players were a healer and a mage, and the two Adventurers were a swordsman and an assassin. It was a coincidence that they met, but their party layout was perfect. This was why they were able to stay on the run for so long.
“There have been more city guards on the field lately. It’s scary.”
“Well…We did go a little wild.”
Fifty people had already died in their hands in Gilleon alone. In addition, they were also the culprits of all the missing cases in Gilleon.
“Oh, I was roaming the hunting ground a few days ago when I heard a weird rumor” At Muto, the healer’s words, the other three turned to look at him.
“What’s that?”
Muto continued. “They said that Seo Jun-Ho came up to the 2nd floor.”
“…Seo Jun-Ho?”
“Who’s that?”
The two Adventurers looked at him in confusion. Only the mage seemed shocked.
“Damn, really? That Seo Jun-Ho? The Super Rookie?”
“Who is he? Explain.” Dell interjected.
The mage started to explain. “Seo Jun-Ho is a super famous guy from our world. In terms of pure skill, they say he’s around the same level as Kim Woo-Joong.”
“…Kim Woo-Joong? The Sword Saint?”
“That’s right.”
Dell shook his head. “Forget it. There’s no way we can kill a monster like him.”
The mage disagreed. “I’m telling you, he’s still a newbie.”
The healer, Muto, nodded in agreement. “He should be just a little over level 30. Even if he’s a monster newbie, shouldn’t the four of us be enough to take him on?”
“…Level 30? You’re sure?”
“Yeah.”
Dell fell deep in thought. Despite being a killer, he valued his own safety more than the thrill. “If he’s only level 30, won’t he be broke? I don’t know if we’ll be able to make a decent profit off of him.”
“Nah.?His armor’s really expensive. It’s worth at least a few hundred gold.”
“What?! A few hundred?”
“It was made by a super famous blacksmith. Even if we have to sell it on the black market, it’ll go for some tens of gold.”
A few hundred gold… The four of them gulped. Even if they divided the profits, each person would be getting at least dozens of gold.
“With that much… Wouldn’t it be enough to live and relax for a few years?”
“We can go to a big city, get some chicks, and drink expensive wine…”
“Shit, now I’m getting excited. He’s a walking wallet.”
Greed was already visible in the eyes of the four people. The two Players were especially sure that they would succeed.
‘Even if he’s ranked number 1 in the Cave of Trials…’
‘He’s still only level 30.’
They were over level 70, and their stats would be significantly higher than him.
“I’m telling you, there’s no way we’ll fail.”
“Let’s go!”
The four people began roaming their hunting ground around Gilleon.
***
“Awoooo…” A whip wolf whimpered helplessly as it breathed its last.
“That’s why you shouldn’t try to eat people who’re just passing by. You should’ve been nicer.” Seo Jun-Ho wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand and looked around the clearing, which was covered in blood and the corpses of wolves. He reached into his inventory and pulled out a saw.
“Time to harvest the leather.” He had already been hunting monsters for five years, so the process was familiar to him. “Back in the day, we used to eat monster meat if we ran out of rations inside a Gate.”
The Frost Queen frowned. “…Do not say such vile things. My appetite will disappear.”
Ssk, ssk
Perhaps because his Weapon Mastery skill had recently reached rank S, Seo Jun-Ho was able to skin the wolves quickly and efficiently
“Look at this. Do you see how I didn’t lose any of the hide? This is high-grade stuff.” He hummed as he started to collect the leather. He had leveled up twice from killing 54 level-45 whip wolves.
“At this rate, I’ll reach level 50 before the ten days are up.” Still, he wasn’t as fast as he used to be. Back then, he had traveled the world and hunted monsters that attacked cities. It was only reasonable that he leveled up quickly. “My Fame should increase once I go back and get my rewards.”
“Didn’t?that little fox say that your benefits would increase if you gather more Fame?”
“Why do you keep calling Captain?Gong that? Anyway, yeah.” He nodded. Players could get higher-grade Quests the higher their Fame was. Not to mention, nobles generally wouldn’t speak with Players whom they had never heard about. In other words, if Players wanted to interact with nobles, then they had to have at least a high enough Fame. “I only wish they’d give me more than 50 Fame for completing the Whip Wolf Quest.” He would have to do a lot of Quests before his Fame became high enough.
“Captain Gong also said that I would have to reach at least 1,000 Fame before I could even talk to a noble…” This meant that he had to do 19 more Quests similar to today’s Quest. He sighed as he peeled off a hide. “I wish I could catch a criminal or something. If I handed them over to the authorities, I’d get a bunch of Fame.”
“You seem to think too simply of life.”
“Just one time…”
The two of them continued to chat as Seo Jun-Ho skinned the wolves. Suddenly, Seo Jun-Ho’s hands stopped. Both of them turned their heads.
“Contractor, someone is approaching.”
“I sensed it too.” He scanned the corpses and scratched his head. “Well, I’d also be surprised if I saw this…It’s not a big deal.” It’s not like he’d committed a crime. On the contrary, killing the wolves was beneficial for others. He continued to harvest the leather without a care in the world.
“I wonder who it is. They keep walking around.”
“That is also what I sensed,” the Frost Queen spoke up.
“…What, they just left?”
“Strange. I expected them to come closer.”
“Weird.”
15 minutes later, Seo Jun-Ho sensed a familiar presence. It was the presence of the man who had been wandering around him not too long ago.
“Ha, it’s a man.” He smiled and scratched his nose. “I knew it. I’m pretty sure it’s a fan.” He shook his head.
“…Contractor, what made you think of such a thing?”
“Think about it. If they weren’t a fan, why would they keep stalking me and even bring their friends over?”
“Hm,?I’m not sure. Perhaps they wish to attack you.”
“I’m not sure about that. It makes no sense.” As he felt their approach, he became sure of it. “They’re fans. They’re gonna ask for autographs. Wanna bet on it?”
***
“You guys know the plan, right?” Dell whispered.
“Yeah.” The three others nodded. Muto had discovered Seo Jun-Ho a few minutes ago.
“First, I’ll pretend to be his fan. He won’t be that?suspicious because I’m also a Player.”
“How about you try asking for his autograph?”
“Ooh,?good idea. He’ll be perfectly fooled.”
“Alright, then I’ll approach him from behind,” said the assassin, Finn as he gripped his dagger. If they surrounded him, it would be a piece of cake.
“And then I’ll throw a fireball from a distance…”
“While Finn and I will ambush him. Perfect.”
Normally, they wouldn’t even come up with a plan. But their opponent this time was Seo Jun-Ho.
“Hey, wait…”
“Is that the smell of blood…?”
As they cut through the thicket, they came into a large clearing full of dozens of wolf corpses.
‘H-How many are there?’
‘That’s at least 40…No, 50.’
‘He killed them all by himself? In one sitting?’
‘He’s crazy…’
They went pale.
Seo Jun-Ho dropped his saw onto the ground as he stood up. “You there. You’ve been following me around for a while now.”
“…!”
Their hearts started to beat faster. Dell swallowed nervously, and Finn’s hand crept toward the dagger strapped to his waist. Had he already noticed their purpose?
Muto trembled as he spoke, “I-I’m…I’m a fan…C-can I have your autograph…please?” He sounded like he was reading out of a textbook. 𝘯𝑜𝘷𝑙．𝑐𝘰𝘮
‘Idiot!’
‘Jesus, who would fall for that?’
‘I forgot how bad he is at acting.’
Seo Jun-Ho grinned. He smirked, looking to his side where there was nothing.
“I suspected as much.”
“…?”
“Do you have a paper and pen? I can take a picture with you too if you have a Vita.”
“A-an autograph, please.” Muto pulled out a paper and pen from his inventory. As Seo Jun-Ho signed his name, Finn slinked behind him, while Dell gripped the handle of his sword. Daniel slowly started to create a fireball.
“Mmhm.” As Seo Jun-Ho finished the autographs, the Frost Queen burst into laughter. Seo Jun-Ho’s face immediately went red.