After reassuring Choi A-rin and sending her home for the time being, I began using the tracking skill I had placed on the bastards I had encountered earlier in order to chase them down.
Ding—!
[The target's location is being tracked.]
◎ Skill ‘The Sergeant Major Knows Where You All Are~!’ (Rare Grade)
※ It is said that this is a legendary skill(?) among NCOs, which naturally awakened when a Sergeant Major tried to find late-term sergeants who had holed themselves up.
- In accordance with the Trait, you can find the target no matter where they hide.
- The Sergeant Major's eyes will continue tracking the target.
▶ The individuals currently being tracked are located at an underground fighting arena gambling den.
The detailed route will be displayed in conjunction with the ‘Third Eye’ skill.
‘Oh-ho~! So I just have to follow what I can see in front of me?’
As lines unfolded before my eyes as though a navigation system were guiding me, I took out a cigarette from my pocket, lit it, and slowly set off while exhaling smoke.
“Let's see, shall we head to where those bastards are? There's a good chance that Choi A-rin's father is at the underground fighting arena gambling den as well.”
***
“What? Is this really the right place? It only looks like an ordinary mountain slope.”
When the location guidance stopped in the middle of a desolate mountain, I tilted my head and looked around, checking the terrain. Then—
“Alright, alright—! Move quickly. Keep moving without drawing any attention!”
‘What is that place?’
I found a place on the mountain slope where security was obviously extremely tight, despite its decrepit-looking building.
‘Could the bastards who tried to kidnap Choi A-rin earlier be in there? That might be the underground fighting arena. Still, security is quite tight. I could charge in recklessly, but that'd be noisy, so should I use my stealth skill?’
Ding—!
[Stealth Skill Activated.]
◎ Skill ‘A Late-Term Sergeant Just Wants to Hole Up.’ (Rare Grade)
※ It is said that this skill came into being when Sergeant Park, a late-term soldier with only a week left until discharge, was seized by a powerful urge to hole up somewhere.
- In accordance with the Trait, it becomes more likely that the target will naturally fail to notice you, as water flows.
The effect of the skill rises from Rare to Mythic Grade due to the effect of the ‘Mythic’-grade Awakened Class.
‘Oh-ho~ As expected, it's useful every time I use this skill.’
I naturally slipped through the tight security, but the bastards did not notice me at all. I slowly went down the stairs and began moving underground.
‘Oh~! The tracking skill is activating again.’
Ding—!
[The target's location is being tracked.]
◎ Skill ‘The Sergeant Major Knows Where You All Are~!’ (Rare Grade)
※ It is said that this is a legendary skill(?) among NCOs, which naturally awakened when a Sergeant Major tried to find late-term sergeants who had holed themselves up.
- In accordance with the Trait, you can find the target no matter where they hide.
- The Sergeant Major's eyes will continue tracking the target.
※ Re-scanning the locations of the two people tracked earlier and guiding the way.
“Good! Let's take a look at those bastards' headquarters.”
I cracked my knuckles and went deeper underground, where the bastards were hiding.
***
“That is it—! Good job! Just cut his throat and kill him already—!”
“Ah~! How can that bastard not even use a skill properly? Are these odds really certain? You are not cheating us, are you? How could he lose?!”
“That bitch over there is quite pretty, is she not? Hey~! Manager! Can I spend the night with that Awakened bitch today? Add some candy that will make the mood even better as an option too. Here—! Take it. This is a tip.”
“Ohohoho—! There are quite a few young, well-built men tonight~! Oh my, my!! Chief Choi. I will take those two men over there today. Send them to my bed within two hours~! I will feel young again for the first time in ages. Ohohohong~!”
‘What? This is not just a group of madmen... It is not only organization members here?’
On a stage set up like a dogfighting ring, they had placed Awakened people and were betting money against one another while shouting, “Kill him!” As I watched the trade in kidnapped Awakened proceed naturally, I stared at it all with an incredulous expression.
‘Not only the Villains, but the bastards gathered here are just like that trash too.’
Ding—!!
[The tracked targets are nearby.]
◎ Skill ‘The Sergeant Major Knows Where You All Are~!’ (Rare Grade)
※ The targets are moving within 10 meters of the skill user.
‘The bastards are near me? !!! Oh-ho~! I gave them time to go turn themselves in at the police station and reform, but I knew those bastards would be here.’
After finding them, I used my stealth skill once more and cautiously approached with a wicked smile, as though I had encountered someone I had been waiting a long time to see.
‘Let's see what those bastards are up to.’
***
THUD—! THWACK—! THUD, THUD—! THWACK—! THUD, THUD—!
“Aah—! Aaaaah—! S-Spare me! Stop—! Please stop hitting me! Aaaaah—!”
“You bastard! Do you know we nearly died because of you? What the hell did we go through because of your bitch of a daughter?!”
“Aaaah—! I will somehow take responsibility for my daughter... Aaargh—!”
“Fuck, all that suffering because of some alcoholic gambling bastard. Hey—! Give me a cigarette if you have one.”
“Hey, hey—! Go easy on him. He is still our customer, you know. Heh-heh.”
“Customer, my ass~! He is an alcoholic at the bottom of the barrel who would even sell his own bitch of a daughter.”
“Uuugh... Guh—! P-Please spare me.”
“Fuck, we're not going to kill you! The debt we have to collect from you in place of your brat is not just a penny or two. If it comes to it, we'll gut you and collect everything we are owed. Do you not think so?”
“!!! My belly? Aaargh—! I-I will somehow bring my daughter and repay the debt. So please, give me one more chance!”
“Wow~ This father is complete trash? Heh-heh. Well~! Your bitch of a daughter seemed useful enough, did she not? Since she is an Awakened, we can put her in the fighting arena and use her until she is worn down. Once she is no longer of any use there, she has a pretty face, so there are plenty of perverted old men who enjoy breaking female Awakened. We can sell her to them and make extra profit too. It will be more profitable than I thought. Heh-heh.”
“T-That is right. My bitch of a daughter is a very useful child. If you wish, I will personally drag her here and offer her to you, so please do not cut open my belly.”
“Unlike her completely useless father, it seems that she has at least brought you the fortune of having a daughter? Then bring her here right now.”
“R-Right now?”
“Yes. I will call some of the men under me later and attach them to you, so use whatever means necessary to bring her. Understood?”
“I-If you do that, will all my debt be forgiven?”
“Of course. Your bitch of a daughter is obviously top-grade merchandise. And if she is sold to the perverted old men for a high price later, we will even give you some of the extra profit.”
“Even some of the difference... T-Thank you!”
“Wow~ I never thought I would be thanked by someone for selling off his own daughter. Heh-heh. This work is more rewarding than I expected. Hahaha—!”
“You bastards are sitting around pulling every kind of fucked-up bullshit imaginable.”
“W-What? How did you get in here?”
“!!! H-Hey, it is that bastard we ran into at the villa earlier?”
“Come to think of it, it is him—! You came at just the right time!”
“I gave you one last chance to run to the police station, reflect on your sins, and turn yourselves in so that you could reform, yet you are here doing this... Pathetic.”
“W-What? Hey—! We only let our guard down earlier, and we have our own weapons here, you know?”
“That is right, and if we just call the organization members here, you will be finished right away...!!! Ghk—! Guh—!”
Ding—!
[You swiftly subdue the opponent using bayonet techniques.]
◎ Skill - ‘Basic Bayonet Art: Long Thrust and Turn Strike’
※ It is said that this skill awakened when a late-term assistant-instructor squad leader, who bore a grudge over the completely vanished legendary bayonet art ‘Nineteen Drill Movements,’ practiced like a madman on the parade ground.
In accordance with the ‘Mythic’-grade Trait of the Awakened Class, the opponent's neck is stabbed at the speed of light.
All resistance of the attacked target is changed to 0.
When I suddenly thrust at the bastard's neck in a surprise attack, he died instantly without even letting out a single cry. The remaining organization member raised both hands and looked at me as though surrendering, opening his mouth to tell me to calm down.
“F-First, please calm down. I was going to turn myself in as soon as I resolved this...!!! Guhhh—!”
“As I said at the villa earlier, you are trash that cannot be reformed. You have proven that yourselves once again. That is why you will die here today.”
“Guhhh—! I cannot die here...”
“Stop resisting and die.”
SQUELCH—!
After thrusting the bayonet attached to my rifle deep into the bastard's neck one more time and swiftly pulling it out, blood began spurting out like a fountain. With the bastards' blood on my hands and gun, I trudged over to Choi A-rin's father.
“Aaaaah—! W-Who are you?”
“Are you Choi A-rin's father?”
“W-Who are you?!”
“An Academy teacher.”
“What?”
“From now on, we will begin proper family counseling.”
***
After making Choi A-rin's father kneel on the floor, I sat in a chair with my legs crossed, a cigarette in my mouth. I exhaled smoke into the air and watched him for a long time with a look of utter contempt.
“...Um, sir?”
“...”
“Um...”
“What?”
“I heard that you are an Academy teacher...”
“That is right. I am the teacher in charge of your daughter, Choi A-rin.”
“Is it... alright for a teacher to be here?”
“Then is it right for a bastard who calls himself a father to abandon his bitch of a daughter and be at a gambling den?”
“...”
Unable to refute my words, he remained silent and merely watched my reaction. After a long quiet spell passed between us, Choi A-rin's father made a cautious expression and opened his mouth.
“Um...”
“What?”
“You met my daughter?”
“Yes. You have a very pretty daughter.”
“Right? Even in my eyes, she is a very pretty child. She especially takes after her mother and has a very lovely face.”
“That much is true.”
Choi A-rin obviously did not have a face that took after her father, so I nodded in agreement.
“Do you perhaps like my child, teacher?”
“!!! What?”
“You came here to this illegal place yourself because you like her, did you not? To talk to me.”
“...”
‘This bastard's completely insane.’
Curious how far Choi A-rin's father, who seemed to have something seriously wrong with his thinking, would keep rambling, I decided to let him continue for the time being.
“Keep talking.”
“I-I knew we would understand each other. That is why you came all the way to a place like this despite the danger, even though you are a teacher. Is that not so?”
“Get to the point.”
“I will sell my daughter.”
“!!! What?”
“In exchange, pay off my debt. Or, the two men in front of us are dead now, so if you search their pockets, there will be a key to the safe where they keep their money. If you empty that out and give it to me, I will sell my daughter to you cleanly. It would be even better if you added a little more money.”
“So you are saying that you will sell your daughter to me?”
“That is right. If I cannot pay the money here, they will cut open my belly and take all my organs! In that case, should my bitch of a daughter not show filial piety to her father?!”
“Filial piety... So you will sell your daughter to me? Her face is pretty enough, I suppose.”
“You do like her. I knew we would understand each other. How will you pay? Seeing your skill earlier, it'd be better to rob those bastards' safe so that we can each get a share...”
THWACK—!
“!!! Guh—! Guh—!”
“You piece of trash! Can you call yourself the father of a child after saying that?!”
Unable to listen to any more of his bullshit, I struck his head with the rifle butt in fury. Choi A-rin's father looked at me with a startled expression.
“W-Why are you doing this? Are you worried that escaping will be difficult? I know the escape route here well, so...”
“You crazy bastard—!”
Ding—!
[The target is strongly restrained. ▶ Restrained Target: Choi Il-mun]
◎ Skill - ‘The Military Police Are Here~!’
※ It is said that this skill was acquired by chance by a military police investigator who arrested military criminals.
The target's body is bound by powerful ropes.
Until the skill user releases it, the target will remain restrained for the next 72 hours.
“Mmph—! Mmph—! Mmmmmph—!”
“Now that I have tied up his mouth with rope too, I won't have to listen to that bastard's bullshit for a while.”
After binding Choi A-rin's father with ropes, I kicked his body hard and spoke.
“You should be grateful that you are at least keeping your life thanks to your daughter.”
“Mmph—! Mmph—! Mmmmmmph—!”
Leaving Choi A-rin's father writhing and struggling behind me, I stared with contempt at the people gambling on the fighting matches earlier.
“Hurry up! Kill him already! Haha—!”
“Ah~! I lost money on this round! Which bastard brought in someone like that? Manager!!! Can't you do your job properly?!”
“How much would it cost to spend today with the bitch over there? She is an Awakened too, right? Heh-heh.”
“Ohohong~! Add that muscular fellow in front of us to the two men from earlier as well. Bring them to my bed~!”
CLICK—!
“All the wicked people are gathered here.”
That had not been my plan, but seeing trash like this and pretending I had not would never suit my nature. I chambered a round, lit the cigarette in my mouth, exhaled smoke, and spoke.
“Just for today, it's time to return to being Villain Sniper Cha Tae-seok, not Baek Seon-woo, for the first time in a long while.”