“…Hyung, do you know Hunter Kang Chang-ho?”
Well, that’s fine.
You never know.
He might know Kim Ki-ryeo, but honestly, I thought the chances were low.
For now, I stayed silent.
Of course, throughout this exchange, the S-Class Hunter’s gaze remained fixed on me.
Who told him he could stare like that?
Out of sheer stubbornness, I looked back at the approaching Hunter.
But as the distance between us closed, I began noticing features I hadn’t paid attention to before.
‘Wow, are we even the same species?’
He looked to be around 190 centimeters tall.
Sharp eyes opened wide enough to reveal the whites around them.
A crooked nose.
Everything about him was intimidating.
It was easy to tell he was mixed-race from his exotic appearance, but there was something even more striking.
Those vertically slit pupils.
“Your eyes are unusual.”
“I guess that’s because of the Dragon Eyes.
It’s a really rare item.”
While I was whispering with Yun-seung, the S-Class Hunter stopped right in front of me.
I looked up at Kang Chang-ho.
Then he spoke first.
“Hi.”
For someone with such a fierce appearance, his greeting was surprisingly ordinary.
“Name?”
“Pardon?”
“Your name.”
This Hunter had met me for the first time and immediately asked for my name.
“This is Kim Ki-ryeo.”
It wasn’t a difficult question, so I answered.
“Hunter rank?”
He immediately asked the next question as if my name alone was enough.
Unable to hear our conversation properly, Ahn Yun-seung stepped between us.
“Ah, hello!
Hunter Kang Chang-ho-nim, this person is a porter helping me.
Is there some kind of problem…?”
But did Kang Chang-ho even look at Ahn Yun-seung for two seconds?
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
The response was cold.
Ignoring the A-Rank Awakened entirely, he asked me again.
What rank was I?
Well, answering wouldn’t cost me anything.
“I’m F-Rank.”
“Really?”
I answered honestly.
But the reaction I received was unexpected.
“Really?”
Kang Chang-ho raised an eyebrow and smirked.
Beside me, Ahn Yun-seung was sweating nervously on my behalf.
Personally, though, I thought this reaction was natural.
Just by looking at him, it was obvious this S-Class had excellent control over mana.
‘He must’ve sensed the mana inside Kim Ki-ryeo’s body.’
After all, lungs are merely output organs.
Damage to the respiratory system doesn’t reduce the total amount of mana stored in the body.
A sensitive mage could probably estimate someone’s capacity just from the faint traces leaking through an injured lung.
“If you don’t believe me, would showing my Hunter ID help?”
At this point, I simply wanted to avoid looking suspiciously alien, so I spoke as naturally as possible.
Kang Chang-ho’s smile deepened.
“An F-Rank Awakened who looks an S-Class in the eye and answers without hesitation.”
Oh.
Come to think of it.
Yun-seung had mentioned something similar before.
He said being around S-Class Hunters gave him goosebumps.
Then for an F-Rank…
Wait.
Was it true that they usually couldn’t even lift their heads?
“Hunter Kim Ki-ryeo, if you don’t mind…”
I was briefly lost in thought, and it seemed Kang Chang-ho was about to suggest something.
But then—
“Hyung!
It’s time!”
“Huh?”
“We only came here to take a quick look.
Shouldn’t we get going?
If we don’t leave now, we’ll be late for our appointment…”
Ahn Yun-seung abruptly cut him off.
Putting aside the interruption, what appointment?
‘Wasn’t today’s plan just to check out this Gate?’
The excuse sounded strange, but his intentions soon became clear.
For some reason, Ahn Yun-seung wanted to separate me from Kang Chang-ho.
“Hyung!
Let’s go.”
Judging from his expression, he was genuinely panicking.
Honestly, I hated leaving behind the rare opportunity to observe an S-Class Hunter, but I eventually gave in.
Thanks for reminding me.
I forgot I was busy.”
The moment I agreed, Ahn Yun-seung grabbed me and practically dragged me away.
Kang Chang-ho merely watched us leave.
He didn’t seem interested in following.
Only after we’d gotten a considerable distance from the Gate—
“Yun-seung-ah, why did you do that?”
That was the first thing I asked.
Ahn Yun-seung pressed a hand against his temple.
“Hyung, it looks like you really don’t know who Hunter Kang Chang-ho is.
Have you been overseas recently?”
“I came from very far away…”
For a moment, I felt slightly nervous because of the translation issue, but soon I learned the full story.
“I didn’t want to say it because it feels like gossip, but that Hunter…
his reputation isn’t very good.”
“Reputation?”
“He has a criminal record for assault.”
“…!”
“And honestly, nobody wants to enter a Gate with an S-Class ex-convict.”
According to Ahn Yun-seung, that Gate had practically lost all its participants the moment Kang Chang-ho appeared.
His explanation continued.
“Besides, even setting his criminal record aside, his recent image isn’t exactly good either…”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you know Hunter Choi Jin?”
“No.”
“She ranks third among A-Class Hunters.
She’s my cousin, so we meet occasionally.”
Hmm.
For once, Ahn Yun-seung frowned deeply.
“My noona told me she was attacked after entering the same Gate as Kang Chang-ho.”
Violence inside Gates wasn’t unheard of.
After all, they were effectively lawless zones.
The problem was that the perpetrator was an S-Class.
“I heard he doesn’t even bother with weak Hunters.
He only picks fights with strong Awakened.”
“Why?”
“I know, right?
Why?”
He sighed heavily.
“Anyway, this isn’t just some rumor online.
It’s something I heard directly from family.
I was worried something might happen if Hyung got involved too…”
After hearing the explanation, I finally understood his behavior.
So he had evacuated me because he thought that crazy S-Class might hurt me.
“I get the general idea.”
What a fascinating mammal.
I patted Yun-seung on the shoulder.
“Then let’s head back for today.”
If such a dangerous Hunter had shown up at the new Gate, there was no reason to risk our lives by entering with him.
“We can always look for that amazing plant another time.
If we really need it, we can just buy it.”
“Yes.”
We were just about to call it a day.
Then a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
I stopped Yun-seung before he could leave.
“Wait a minute, Yun-seung-ah.”
“Yes?”
“You said earlier that Kang Chang-ho’s eyes were from an item called Dragon Eyes.
If it’s an item, does that mean it can be bought and sold like your shield?”
Yun-seung nodded.
“When you first get it, it looks like a small bead.
Most people swallow it when they use it.”
Then wouldn’t that mean fresh organs could also be traded?
‘That’s right!
Lungs are delicate organs, so they need to remain alive.’
I am a genius mage, not a mad scientist.
I had no intention of harvesting lungs from living people.
But if organs were already being sold…
“Yun-seung-ah, are Dragon Lungs a thing?”
Did he realize how important this was to me?
“They are.”
“Where can I buy them?
Are any for sale?”
“Well, let me check.
Just a second.”
Tap tap tap.
Ahn Yun-seung pulled out his phone and searched.
Then he looked up.
“I can only find past transactions.
There don’t seem to be any available right now.”
‘Damn.’
“But lungs aren’t popular, so one might appear eventually.”
“Unlike eyes or hearts, they don’t increase mana capacity.
The liver can be used to make medicine, but Dragon Lungs don’t really do anything.”
A trash-tier item that Hunters barely valued.
“Can you check the market price too?
You said there were transaction records.”
Actually, that was even better.
If Hunters considered them useless, they should be cheap.
I hid my excitement and waited for his answer.
“2.6 billion won.”
“Oh.
Right.
260 mil— …What?”
“If I remember correctly, around 2.6 billion won.
Honestly, that’s cheap!
You couldn’t buy most other Dragon parts even if you had the money.”
I shouldn’t have asked.
The next day.
I turned on my phone to verify what I’d heard.
[S-Class Hunter’s Shocking Criminal Record…
“Sentenced to One Year for Assaulting a Driver”]
[Kang Chang-ho Faces Controversy After Selling Nari Steel Shares at a Low Price]
But after looking into it, I discovered that Kang Chang-ho’s history was even more dramatic than I’d imagined.
Even before becoming a Hunter, Kang Chang-ho had lived as the sole heir of a wealthy corporate family.
Then one day, he was imprisoned for aggravated assault.
Getting arrested for committing a crime wasn’t unusual.
However, Korean society had a peculiar tendency…
Wealthy people usually hired expensive lawyers and managed to bury such incidents.
So the fact that he’d actually served prison time was noteworthy.
In any case, the internet was flooded with stories claiming Kang Chang-ho was constantly beating people up.
Yet even that seemed mild compared to the scandal that followed.
“Hmm.”
His parents had died during a Dungeon Break several years ago.
And immediately afterward, Kang Chang-ho had sold all the company shares he’d inherited, effectively disposing of the family business.
People interpreted this as evidence of some conflict over money.
This was because the timing of Kang Chang-ho’s Awakening remained unclear.
“Interesting.”
The problem, however, was that I wanted facts.
From an alien’s perspective, nothing was more toxic than vague rumors and sensational speculation.
“But rumors are still rumors.”
For now, I decided to ignore everything except officially confirmed information.
After that, I turned off my phone and headed outside.
“Ah, I’m hungry.”
Today, I planned to visit a restaurant I’d already chosen.
Life should be enjoyed.
After all, earning money is meant to support living.
“Taxi!”
The moment I stepped onto the main road, I hailed a passing taxi.
“Driver-nim!
Please take me to ○○.”
“Sure~”
I leaned back against the seat and reread the restaurant reviews.
Since I can’t handle hot food, I recommend sweet-and-sour pork…
—Screech!
Crash!
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, the vehicle shook violently alongside the driver’s scream.
The taxi collided with something and spun halfway around.
Unable to withstand the momentum, I slammed face-first into the passenger seat headrest.
“Ah!”
Pain shot through my nose, and adrenaline immediately surged.
What the hell just happened?
“What the hell?!
Are you hurt?”
“I-I think…”
“Let’s get out first.”
Still bewildered, I followed the taxi driver out of the vehicle.
Once outside, I saw a red sports car embedded in the side of the taxi.
“Hey!
Did you start drinking in broad daylight?
You’re supposed to drive straight!”
A moment later, a man leisurely stepped out of the open-top sports car.
Dark bluish-purple hair.
Black sunglasses.
Unlike the taxi driver, I already knew exactly who he was.
“Hello, Kim Ki-ryeo, F-Rank Hunter.”
Click.
Kang Chang-ho closed the car door and walked toward me.
When he stopped in front of me, he held out his phone and said,
“I’d like to settle this properly.
Could I have your contact information?”
Are you crazy?