F-Class Destiny Hunter

Chapter 31

After saying that, Gong Joo glanced at his wristwatch. It was almost time for the meeting, so he quickly got up from his seat.

"Damn it, I have to see Team Leader Seomun’s face again. I'll be back after the meeting."

"Yes, please take your time, Team Leader."

Gong Joo left the break room with an unwilling expression on his face. Then, the rest of the team let out a sigh of relief after he left.

"Phew, that was suffocating."

"Yeah, it's tough for us too when the team leaders are fighting among themselves."

"Zone 3 and 4 have it good."

They grumbled but didn't show a face of great concern. Only Annaby seemed troubled. She took a sip of her cocoa, but instead of tasting the sweetness, her face twisted in bitterness.

Seeing this, Ju Sungtae nudged Annaby, "What's wrong, Annaby? What's bothering you?"

"Well, it's just that... with the missing person and dangerous individuals in other zones..."

"Don't worry too much, just like the Team Leader said. There are risks everywhere."

Even with his words, Annaby's expression didn't brighten. She got up from her seat.

"I have something I want to check. Excuse me."

After exchanging pleasantries, Annaby left the break room. Left alone, she carefully called up the list of Zone Four and checked it. Then, she stared intently at one person's file. Under the "Special Note" section, the following message was written:

[Special Note: Awakened during incarceration at the penitentiary]

And below that, a word caught Annaby's attention, causing her to bite her lip:

[Serial murder. Life imprisonment.]

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Seo Gangrim alternated his gaze between the fallen Yoon Geoul and the woman standing next to him. When he pulled out his sword and aimed it at them, the woman's eyes widened in surprise. At the same time, the people nearby drew their weapons and aimed at Seo Gangrim.

【Are they going to fight already?】

【How interesting.】

【Who wants to bet on the winner? I bet on Seo Gangrim losing and will wager 10 spirit pearls.】

【I bet 10 too.】

【Me too.】

【Deal!】

When he used "Destiny Analysis," most of them were at the Human rank. Among them, the highest-ranked person was a Spirit Second-class, named Ju Hyereong, the woman standing next to Yoon Geoul. Ju Hyereong hurriedly tried to stop the others.

"Are you from Zone Two too? Calm down. He's not dead. He was receiving treatment. Put down your weapons, everyone."

Based on her attitude, Ju Hyereong seemed to be the leader of this party. Following her words, one by one, people put away their weapons. Seo Gangrim glimpsed at Yoon Geoul's chest slowly rising and falling. Yoon Geoul complexion was a bit pale, but he didn't seem to be in immediate danger.

"Please explain the situation."

"Well, you see... Ah! Shin Sooah, Bom-ah! Are you with him?"

Ju Hyereong spoke, turning towards Seo Gangrim. Shin Sooah and Yoon Bom hurriedly ran over and stood by my side.

"Gangrim-ssi, these people are not enemies."

Despite Shin Sooah's protest, Seo Gangrim didn't easily relax.

A man with a gentle appearance approached and spoke, "Shall we start with introducing ourselves? Hello, I am Nam Yujun, a trainee from the Zone Four."

"I'm Ju Hyereong. Nice to meet you," Ju Hyereong also introduced herself.

As Seo Gangrim entered this stage later than others in his previous life, he didn't know many faces.

"I'd like to hear about the current situation first."

"Oh, that. We set traps for hunting monsters, and someone got caught in one..." Ju Hyereong answered, scratching the back of her head, looking embarrassed.

"We were bringing him here for treatment. We didn't expect anyone from another district to be here. I'm sorry."

It seemed that Ju Hyereong was the one who set up the traps. Seo Gangrim checked her profile.

[Name] Ju Hyereong

[Rank] Spirit Second-class

[Attribute] Gold

[God] Guardian of the Joo Family

It was a new divine title that Seo Gangrim had never seen before. Seeing "Guardian of the Joo Family," it seemed that her god might be an ancestral spirit. Among the gods, there were powerful beings that existed in myths and legends, but there were also cases of humans becoming gods.

Sometimes deceased ancestors became guardian gods, and special individuals could also became gods, like General McArthur. Ancestral gods might not have the power compared to other gods like Mama or Agni, but they were more passionate due to their blood ties.

When a god serves multiple people, it's easy for them to become neglectful, but ancestral gods had a strong tendency to help and save their descendants in any way possible.

Seo Gangrim took a quick look, and found out that the "Guardian of the Joo Family" appeared to be a hunter when he was alive.

[Ability] Trap Master

[Rank] Human First-class

[Description] The number of traps that can be set increases according to the grade. Prey gathers even without bait.

▼

[Ability] Hunter's Sense

[Rank] Human Third-class

[Description] When operating in mountainous areas, all abilities increase by 20%.

In other regions within the Demon World, she might have to work hard, but in the Blade Forest, she could boast remarkable efficiency. There was nothing particularly special based on her profile alone, but Seo Gangrim couldn't trust her blindly. He knew there was a murderer here. The murderer killed people and looted their spirit pearls and items. And one of the murderer's targets was Seo Gangrim.

Seo Gangrim was weak and vulnerable, and often alone, so he made a perfect prey. To make a long story short, the murderer escaped, leaving Seo Gangrim at the brink of death. Thanks to Shin Sooah, he survived, but she lost one eye while trying to protect him.

Seo Gangrim looked at Shin Sooah's still intact eye. According to the flow of fate, she would lose her eye again because of him. This time, Seo Gangrim had to capture the murderer before he went on a rampage. But because the murderer wore a mask, no one knew his face. Nevertheless, it's a definite fact that the culprit was among them. When Seo Gangrim didn't put away his weapon and just stared, Yoon Bom cautiously spoke up.

"This person is telling the truth, Oppa. Yoon Geoul got caught in a trap, and I got hit by an arrow. These people helped us with the treatment."

Seo Gangrim glanced at Shin Sooah. She nodded slightly, as if indicating that they could be trusted. He then put away his sword, and Ju Hyereong's manner relaxed.

"Would you mind if we talk until he wakes up? It's my first time seeing people from other zone, and I have many questions."

Could Ju Hyereong be the culprit? Seo Gangrim observed her while gauging the atmosphere of the people around her. He also needed information for now, so he sat down on the pathway and looked around before asking Ju Hyereong, "It must have been a while since you entered this stage."

"Yeah, about three days, I think?"

The place where they gathered was somewhat organized as a resting area, albeit shabbily. They had set up a camp near the spring, clearing the area of plants with bladed leaves. There were also a few alarm traps set up in this vicinity along the way.

Pretending to know nothing, Seo Gangrim asked a question, "Did you personally create this resting area?"

"Yeah, sometimes we can't return to the lobby depending on the circumstances."

It was a wise decision considering the size of this place. While Ju Hyereong and Seo Gangrim were talking, someone kneeled down next to Yoon Geoul.

[Ability 'Regeneration' has been activated!]

After activating the ability, Yoon Geoul's complexion started to regain some color. The person let out a sigh of relief and smiled.

"I've detoxified him and restored his stamina, so he'll be fine soon."

It seemed they had applied poison to the trap. The elixir Seo Gangrim had could only treat injuries, not detoxify. He mentally noted that it would be a good idea to buy antidotes from the store.

"Uhh..."

Yoon Geoul struggled to open his eyes. It seemed he had overcome the dangerous situation. Seo Gangrim stood up and approached Yoon Geoul.

"Since the treatment seems to be complete, I'll take him away now."

"Huh? But it would be better for him to rest a bit longer..."

"Lying on a bed would be better than staying here. I can carry him."

As they didn't know who among them was the murderer, it was better to go to a safer place if possible. Ju Hyereong nodded, seemingly resigned.

"It should be fine since he received treatment. We'll see each other later."

Seo Gangrim nodded lightly and gestured to the three of them. Yoon Geoul, who had just recovered, looked around with a bewildered expression and ultimately climbed onto his back.

A while later, Yoon Bom, who had been following, said, "It's a shame to part so soon. I didn't expect to encounter people other than us..."

Yoon Bom seemed regretful about leaving early.

Seo Gangrim was finding it hard to believe that with her personality, she would grow up to be Korea's top sniper.

"Don't trust people too easily. We have hundreds of demons to kill, so ultimately, there will be competition for it. There's also a reward for the first to clear this stage."

Currently only Seo Gangrim, Yoon Bom, Yoon Geoul, Shin Sooah, and Dokgo Jun had entered this stage. Just the five of them. Even if they kill 300 demons each, they would need to slay 1,500 in total. With their own hunting to do, what if they encountered people from other teams? The battle between demons and humans would turn into a battle between humans.

Seo Gangrim glanced at Shin Sooah, and said, "By the way, could you please explain exactly what happened?"

"While we were hunting, Geoul and Bom got caught in a trap. I gave them an elixir, but it didn't detoxify them."

Yoon Geoul, who was on my back, made a faint sound. Shin Sooah continued explaining, "In the meantime, people from the Zone Four came and said they had detoxification abilities. So we received treatment."

"What if that was a bait? How would you handle it?"

"We thought about that possibility too. However, we judged that it would be more dangerous to move in a poisoned state. If it was a bait... we planned to resolve it by force."

Seo Gangrim glanced at the sword Shin Sooah was holding. With her, it would have been easy to subdue them even with their numbers. Still, Seo Gangrim couldn't help but worry about them a bit. Yoon Geoul’s fate had changed, but what if he were to die by chance?

In the midst of that, Yoon Geoul groaned from behind, "Hyung, hold on a moment... I think I'm going to throw up."

It looked quite painful for him to gasp for breath. His recovery time was too short. Seo Gangrim gently put Yoon Geoul down on the ground. Judging from his condition, he needed to rest.

"Let's take a break. It's better to camp here for the night."

"Camping? There's no need for that..."

"The sun is slowly setting, and we don't know exactly when it will go down. It's better to prepare for nighttime while we still have some leeway."

Shin Sooah nodded as if agreeing with those words. Yoon Geoul scratched the back of his head, looking apologetic.

"Then let's find a place to rest for now."

Seo Gangrim looked around and found a spot near the flowing river. He cleared the surrounding bushes and looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to set beyond mountains.

【Ah, it's a shame that we won't get to see them fight. But it's good that they're not going back right away.】

【At night, everyone else would have left, and it would've been boring!】

“Night comes quickly here.”

Shin Sooah commented as she sat down in her spot. The flames Seo Gangrim ignited were quietly burning, illuminating them.

"It's my first time sleeping outside like this," Yoon Bom said that and snuggled up next to Shin Sooah. Camping seemed somewhat intimidating for her. Yoon Geoul stared at her for a moment and muttered, "Coward."

"Are you not scared? It's a demon-infested place. If they suddenly gather while we're asleep..."

"Well, that's..."

Both of them wore uncomfortable expressions.

Seo Gangrim tossed an incense into the flames. Soon, a peculiar fragrance spread in all directions, and Shin Sooah curiously asked, "What's this?"

"It's called Mansoo incense. It emits a scent that drives away demon. I bought it from the store."

It had no effect on strong demons, but it would be fine in this area with only a few minor ones. In the meantime, Yoon Bom and Yoon Geoul looked at Seon Gangrim with sparkling eyes.

"Hyung, you really know a lot."

"That's right. You're strong, and you know a lot... Oh, Oppa, I have a favor to ask."

"What is it?"

"Can I become Gangrim-oppa's disciple?" Yoon Bom asked with shining eyes.