The Veteran Player Already Knows

Chapter 15 - Provocation (2)

Jeong Hee-seong of the Leopard Guild was in a very good mood.

It was because two sandbags, perfect for a good beating, had suddenly appeared.

In fact, he didn’t even care whether these green-as-grass kids in front of him had really beaten up his guildmates or not.

He just wanted to beat someone up for any reason at all.

‘I’ve been a bit stressed lately, this is perfect.’

Jeong Hee-seong smiled with satisfaction as he gripped his beloved axe.

People had their own reasons for becoming Climbers, but Jeong Hee-seong’s reason for choosing this profession was simple.

He could split things with this axe and get paid for it.

And, if he was lucky, there were times when he could do such things to people without any problems.

The Leopard Guild he was currently a part of was particularly tolerant of such matters.

The Guild Master of Leopard was famous for never holding anyone accountable, as long as the pay was good and the cleanup was thorough.

In a case like this, well.

Was it not a common occurrence for ‘accidents’ to happen near a dungeon?

“Well, I won’t kill you, so don’t worry. I’ll just fix you up to the point where you’ll be mulling over your regrets in the hospital for a few months.”

As he said that, Jeong Hee-seong immediately activated his skills.

They were just a few simple physical enhancement skills, but even with just that, the intimidating aura emanating from Jeong Hee-seong grew several times stronger.

“H-hyung-nim! You said you wouldn’t kill them! They’re just cadets!”

He heard someone from behind trying to stop him with a surprised voice, but Jeong Hee-seong didn’t even pretend to listen.

Wasn’t it obvious that his claim of not intending to kill them was a lie?

He would just chop up the guy appropriately, and as for the girl, she looked pretty, so he could play with her for a bit before getting rid of her.

‘Hmph. I hope they put up a little fight.’

Jeong Hee-seong thought with a snort.

After all, he was an F-grade Climber who had passed the official test.

Although it was the lowest grade, the ones he was facing were cadets who hadn’t even been properly licensed.

No matter what, there was an insurmountable gap between a pro and an amateur.

Jeong Hee-seong thought so and raised his axe.

“Hup!”

With a yell, the axe came down fiercely.

It was a terrifying momentum that made one wonder if any human in its path would even be left in one piece.

His other stats were borderline, but it was with this powerful single blow alone that Jeong Hee-seong had passed as a pro Climber, so his confidence in his attack was immense.

So.

When the sound of the axe hitting the bare ground echoed intensely.

The bewilderment he felt was not ordinary.

“…”

Silence fell.

In front of him, a man stood completely unscathed, scratching the back of his head.

There was no vigorous movement; he had simply dodged it by taking a few steps back.

“Did he just read the entire trajectory and dodge it by moving slightly…?”

“Where in the world is there a cadet who can dodge that? If there was, he’d be a pro already…”

At the sound of the guys behind him whispering, Jeong Hee-seong finally snapped back to his senses.

“…Y-you were lucky. But next time…”

“Hey. Shut up for a second.”

The man, who was rubbing his temples, said that and then turned his head towards the woman.

“How did that look to you?”

“Pardon?”

“How fast did the attack look? Rate it from 1 to 100.”

“Uh… about a 7…?”

“You think so too, right?”

As Jeong Hee-seong’s face crumpled at the sight of his ultimate blow being scored a 7, the man let out a sigh and added insult to injury.

“This won’t do. He’s too weak to even test properly.”

“…These bastards!”

His face turning red and blue, Jeong Hee-seong heaved his axe again.

He was about to chop up both the man and the woman who were spouting insolent words.

The axe, filled with an even more vicious physical force than before, hideously cut through the air.

“Still, well…”

In the meantime, the man kicked up two pebbles and opened his mouth.

“There is one more thing I can try.”

And the next moment.

-!

-!!

Lightning roared twice.

“…”

What came before the pain was bewilderment.

Of course.

Anyone would feel that way if their body, which could repel bullets, was turned into rags by just two pebbles.

“What…!”

As blood gushed out, the excruciating pain finally swept over him.

His arm and leg, which had been directly hit by the two pebbles the man had thrown, were fluttering like paper, looking as if they were about to be torn off from his body.

Basically, a pro Climber’s body had a toughness comparable to a rock, and Jeong Hee-seong was a type who had gone all-in on extreme physical enhancement.

In terms of simple physical performance, he was at a level that could compare favorably not just to an F-grade but to a D-grade Climber, two ranks above.

And that was done with just two pebbles?

‘No way…!’

But before the horrified Jeong Hee-seong could even properly manage his tattered limbs, the man was already picking up two new pebbles.

“The random status effects are not great, but in terms of simple calculation, the damage multiplier is 8. Better than I thought…”

Muttering something, the man turned his gaze and his eyes immediately met Jeong Hee-seong’s.

“…”

And in that gaze.

Jeong Hee-seong immediately realized that the situation had gone terribly wrong.

If there had been a hint of intoxication with his own skills, he could have at least understood.

To produce such a result with just two pebbles, at least in Jeong Hee-seong’s opinion, he had met the qualifications for it.

No, if nothing else.

If there had been even a minimum of emotion.

It wouldn’t have been this bizarre.

“Hick…!”

But.

There was nothing but emptiness in that gaze.

As if he were meticulously analyzing the results he had produced.

He was just calmly observing Jeong Hee-seong’s state, with the eyes of a scientist injecting a new drug into a test subject.

And from that sight, Jeong Hee-seong could recall the words this man had said earlier.

Hadn’t he said he was ‘too weak to even experiment on’?

It surely wasn’t a lie.

This man didn't even think of him as an ‘enemy’ in the first place.

He was just using him as a ‘target’!

‘This guy… I shouldn’t have touched him!’

At that realization, the blood drained from Jeong Hee-seong’s face.

But before he could react, the man was already moving on to the next action.

“Well, I don’t know how many more you can endure…”

The man said in a calm voice as he wound his arm back.

“…Do your best. That way I can gather some data.”

And the pebbles flying towards his eyes like a flash of light were the last thing Jeong Hee-seong remembered.

***

“…Is that true?”

“Yes.”

Mr. Lee Seong-jin wiped his face with his hand.

His expression looked as if he was contemplating whether to get angry or not.

“You’re not telling me to believe that right now, are you?”

“Is there any part of it you can’t believe?”

“I know that guy Jeong Hee-seong. The Leopard guys are all thugs and gangsters, but he’s a particularly vicious one among them. But do you know why he’s still active in the Guild Village without any issues?”

“I don’t know.”

“He’s damn good at fighting. That’s why no one touches him. His rank is an F-grade Climber, but he once beat a D-grade Climber one-sidedly.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. And a guy like that is now-”

Mr. Lee Seong-jin rubbed his temples and looked at the documents he was holding.

It was a document describing the serious injuries Jeong Hee-seong had suffered and been hospitalized for today.

“-multiple fractures, internal bleeding, muscle rupture, tissue necrosis… Damn, that’s a lot. This is just a roundabout way of saying he’s a corpse. Anyway, he’s in this state, and you’re telling me you did all this with pebbles?”

“Yes.”

Hearing my answer, Mr. Lee Seong-jin rubbed his temples with an expression of disbelief.

“…Alright, fine. Let’s say that’s possible. It’s just tiring to nitpick the details. Considering their tendencies, it seems true that you were provoked over something ridiculous. If anything, I should praise you for getting out of there without getting hurt.”

Mr. Lee Seong-jin finally relented with a deep sigh.

“Will the Leopard Guild not cause any trouble? Seo Ah-in had a bad run-in with them the other day, and this time they got beaten badly by me.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

Mr. Lee Seong-jin replied as he put away the documents.

“No matter how small and humble our guild is, we’re not so rotten as to find fault with self-defense. If they want to pick a fight, let them. If we can’t even protect our own guild members, we can’t ask you guys to work with us.”

Hmm.

That was a reassuring answer that made a smile spread across my face.

‘Thinking about it, it doesn’t make sense, though…’

It’s the same everywhere, but fists are closer than the law.

Especially a group with a strong thug-like tendency like the Leopard Guild might come at us recklessly.

The reason this man could speak so firmly was proof that this guild was not as flimsy as it appeared on the outside.

As I was thinking that, Mr. Lee Seong-jin took out a cigarette and spoke again.

“There’s just one problem.”

“A problem?”

“You’re starting to attract some attention.”

“Attention?”

“Yes.”

Puffy smoke billowed inside the office.

“Two cadets who haven’t even obtained official licenses have beaten up the notoriously infamous Leopard Guild in this area twice. It’d be strange if you didn’t attract any attention.”

“That makes sense. But there shouldn’t be any particular problem with that, should there?”

“That’s true for the young lady.”

“Pardon?”

“You’re plotting something, aren’t you? Shouldn’t you avoid standing out?”

“…”

Hmm.

Just like this guild, this man was quite a capable person, more than he appeared.

Meaning, he was quick-witted.

“There’s no reason for the top graduate of the boot camp to come to a place like this and take it easy. Logically speaking. Isn’t that right?”

“Seo Ah-in was also second in her graduating class.”

“She has a clear reason for being kicked out to this side. But you don’t.”

The cigarette smoke reached where I was.

The feeling of the chemical substance entering my lungs was like poison seeping into my veins.

‘…Well now.’

I didn't know how many metaphorical meanings were contained in that one sentence.

He knew about Seo Ah-in’s family background, he knew about the ‘power struggle’ she was entangled in, and he had also revealed that he had looked into my past all at once.

He was also letting me know that their guild wasn’t as small as it appeared on the outside.

‘No wonder he never asked me anything about myself until now…’

In short, Mr. Lee Seong-jin was negotiating with me.

We had gotten along well so far, but in order to continue to do so, he was telling me to reveal some of my intentions.

“It’s nothing much, even if I am plotting…”

Well then.

Shall I be honest to some extent?

“Could you please pass on my regards to your younger sister?”

As soon as I answered that, Mr. Lee Seong-jin’s expression twisted.

“You…”

After uttering just that word, Mr. Lee Seong-jin, who had been silent for a long time, continued his sentence in a quiet voice.

“…How much do you know?”

I feel like I’ve been getting this question a lot lately.

There would be no gain in saying ‘I know everything’ here, so I’ll just beat around the bush.

“Just that your sister is a bit… a unique person?”

I continued with a smirk.

I put it mildly by saying she was unique, but to be precise, she had a paranoid personality that avoided exposure.

“It must be hard for you to ‘act’ as the guild master for her sake.”

For instance, The fact that she was so thorough as to avoid exposure to the point of ‘seating’ her older brother as the guild master while she pulled the strings from behind proved it.

‘Of course…’

There was a reason I was trying to find such a shady character.

The ‘rewards’ that could be obtained by getting involved with her were of a value that was hard to find an equal for in the entire scenario.

“…”

Mr. Lee Seong-jin looked at me with an even more furrowed expression, but I didn’t care and just shrugged my shoulders.

“I know that much, and that’s why I came here. Does that explain it a little?”

“It explains it. Trust is a separate issue, though.”

“That’s harsh. I think you could trust me by now.”

“…I don’t know. I get that you’re a terrifyingly smart guy. But I’m not sure if you’re a dangerous guy or not. I pride myself on having a good eye for people.”

Mr. Lee Seong-jin stubbed out the cigarette he had smoked down to the filter in the ashtray and continued.

“Ah, one thing is for sure.”

“What is that?”

“That you’re a black-hearted person.”

My, my.

That’s a bit harsh.