The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood – Chapter 96

Ch 96: Rumors （1）

One Friday afternoon.

“Hoo…….”

Seon Uyeon, an employee of the Association, finished work and sat at home.

She was enjoying her leisure time with a green tea in one hand and a mouse in the other.

“Hmm?”

She stopped the mouse after discovering a post on social media.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

No, if this goes on, people will think I caught the boss.

It wasn’t us who killed the Baron!

The Baron, it wasn’t us!

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A post written by a famous hunter and 88 comments below it.

If it’s the Baron, it must be referring to what happened yesterday….

‘Hmm.’

Click, click.

Seon Uyeon scanned through the opinions on the post.

However, no matter how much she searched social media, Kim Giryeo’s name was not mentioned.

So, thankfully, it seems the citizens don’t know the identity of that appraiser yet.

“Hmm.”

It suddenly occurred to her that Kim Giryeo, who wanted to live quietly, would find even this small amount of attention uncomfortable.

‘He got unnecessary attention trying to help us…….’

But what can she do?

If she had to point out who’s at fault, it was the hunter’s own doing.

‘How can he not stand out when he showed that kind of skill.’

Slurp.

Seon Uyeon took a sip of her tea and once again pondered the situation at the time.

Anyway, yesterday was a surprise.

Because that F-rank hunter, who hadn’t shown his face for a while, suddenly appeared at the scene.

━No, how long are we going to argue with just one barrier?

As soon as the man arrived at the scene, he berated them for struggling with such an easy task.

After hearing the explanation later, the Hanshin incident was indeed absurdly simple, just as he had said.

━You asked how we caught the Flower Baron?

━Yes.

━He died because of the barrier maintenance cost. When the magic stone was taken, all the mana was sucked into the barrier.

━Huh? That can’t be…….

━Why?

━Well, it hasn’t been like that when we removed the magic stone before…….

━Then it seems the unreasonable expansion of the area was the cause. He was slowly expanding the barrier after he escaped, right?

In fact, if you just look at his actions, the other party only picked up the fallen magic stone.

However, based on that, Seon Uyeon realized Kim Giryeo’s skill.

‘Huh.’

From the moment the man first stepped into the scene, he exuded an atmosphere of ‘this is an easy task’.

This was proof that Kim Giryeo had seen through the entire situation even before he came to the barrier.

In other words, the Baron’s futile death was also as he had calculated.

‘That’s right. From the beginning…….’

If so, this is truly admirable, regardless of whether he possesses an appraisal skill.

‘How on earth?’

To be able to figure out the weakness of the barrier in an instant just by seeing a fragment of the scene reported on TV.

She could no longer even keep up with his thoughts.

Because Kim Giryeo always seemed to act as if he was looking two or three steps ahead of the situation.

‘His perspective is completely different from ordinary hunters.’

It’s to the point where it’s scary.

Yes. That awakened one is really scary, and makes people shrink back…….

“I don’t know what he’s thinking.”

And sometimes, he helps others without any compensation, making him a truly incomprehensible person.

“Hoo.”

Why does Kim Giryeo go around doing good deeds? Just for fun?

Of course, whatever the reason, it’s true that things worked out well this time thanks to him.

Thanks to his overwhelming Flower Baron hunt, everyone was able to go home safely and on time.

‘Come to think of it, did I properly thank him?’

But if she thinks about it, it’s not just about yesterday.

Whenever the awakened one named Kim Giryeo was involved, things always worked out well for her.

‘…….’

Then, could ‘that incident’ also be like that?

Seon Uyeon put down her teacup and fell into deep thought for a moment.

◈◈◈

The next morning.

“Are you done talking now?”

“Is the security here working properly?”

“Teacher, don’t drag out the conversation for no reason…….”

I was having an argument from early in the morning.

Because a dangerous creature like a tiger was prowling in front of the door.

“Well… thank you for your concern. But it’s still a bit uncomfortable if you come all the way to my house like this.”

It’s a bit of a difficult situation to explain, but I was currently getting the stink eye for going to the Flower Baron’s incident scene.

It was because Kang Changho suddenly came to check on my condition.

“If you didn’t want me to come, you shouldn’t have acted so bravely.”

How dare a primitive like you pressure a great magician like me!

Anyway, seeing that he came right away like this even though the news hasn’t been released yet, it’s clear that there is an S-rank informant in the Association.

But now is not the time to look for such a lackey.

“Hunter Kim Giryeo, open the door properly first.”

“My room isn’t tidy, so that’s a bit…….”

I first calmed the S-rank in front of the door. To be precise, it would be right to say I persuaded him.

“No, listen to me. I clearly called you before I went to the scene, right? It’s just that you didn’t answer.”

“Oh.”

“Besides, there was a chance that the Baron would push his way into our house, how could I just stand by and do nothing…….”

However, Kang Changho cut me off and answered shamelessly.

“Still, stay still until I reply in the future. If it seems dangerous, I’ll come right away.”

Am I crazy? To expect your help?

‘He’ll probably rush over. Since he needs to hit me in the back of the head to activate his enhancement skill!’

My trust in him had been shattered a long time ago since the 『Dimensional Treasure Vault』 incident last time.

I realized that there were many risks involved in trying to survive by relying on Kang Changho.

“Why that face? I promise. I’ll really come.”

So I ignored his words with a sullen face.

But at that moment.

A noise that made my mind flash came from behind me.

━Ring ring ring, ring ring ring.

Oh no.

The ringtone I changed in my sleep is louder than I expected.

“Just a moment.”

I ran into the room and checked the caller. Then, three familiar letters appeared on the phone screen.

‘Seon Uyeon?’

It was a rather early call for her.

◈◈◈

One hour later.

I came out to the park in front of my house.

It was because a weekend appointment suddenly came up due to the phone call earlier.

I sat on a bench and killed some time, and soon enough, the face I was waiting for appeared.

“Hunter Kim Giryeo-nim?”

Straight bangs and long straight hair.

I got up from my seat and bowed to Seon Uyeon.

“Hello.”

“Ah, hello.”

So now it’s time to have a conversation.

“So, where are the documents?”

I sat down on the bench and started the conversation first.

Since I had already heard a rough outline of what topic would be discussed today in the earlier phone call.

“Here it is.”

Seon Uyeon quietly took out the documents from the bag she had brought.

“As I mentioned earlier, this is data about the terror caused by the Nacha Temple. Please take a look at it first.”

The paper Seon Uyeon handed over was densely filled with writing in black ink.

Also, the information showed a certain commonality.

『Minotaur』

『Rank: B』

『Origin: Labyrinthos Maze （Seoul Jung-gu Sejong-daero ###-#）』

『Shows signs of using tools such as axes, and occasionally has mutated individuals that use magic.』

‘The back pages are all just monster descriptions?’

At first glance, these documents looked like the results of a monster search by an analyzer.

But if you look closely, a unique item called ‘Origin’ has been added.

‘Origin?’

I tilted my head, not knowing the meaning of the item. Then, Seon Uyeon added an explanation.

“Do you remember the dungeon break terror that happened in August?”

‘Ah, the one where Jeong Haseong got hurt.’

“Perhaps because it was such a big accident, the Association has only now finished investigating the truth.”

“…….”

“In the process, something strange was discovered.”

She swallowed hard and continued quietly.

“The bosses that should have been there have disappeared somewhere.”

The boss disappeared?

“Well… when a dungeon break occurs, all the monsters inside the gate should come out, right?”

“That’s right.”

“But when we checked later, almost no boss monster corpses were found in the August terror.”

“…!”

“Because of this, we also conducted a full investigation of the artificial dungeon breaks that had occurred so far. Similarly, there were many cases where the bosses had evaporated.”

After hearing that, I now fully understand the meaning of these documents.

This is a list of the bosses that have disappeared.

Daejeon. Ulsan. Jeju.

And the areas where evaporation occurred are more diverse than I thought.

“Hmm.”

When I fell silent, Seon Uyeon continued the conversation with a calm face.

“For reference, the monsters written on this document could not be tracked even with my 『Searcher』 skill.”

“Ah ha.”

“So, the Association concluded that it would be better to focus on other things than to look for these bosses…….”

Seon Uyeon slammed her leather bag hard on the bench.

“Honestly, this is too unsettling. That’s why I called Giryeo-ssi. I was hoping that maybe if we looked at it through an appraiser’s eyes, we could find something.”

I don’t think I’ll be able to do what a searcher couldn’t.

“Have you ever seen any of the bosses on that list outside?”

“Let me take a look first.”

I carefully checked the documents to answer Seon Uyeon’s question.

“Are the boss photos attached next to this?”

“Yes.”

Of course, as expected, I had never encountered these bosses directly either…….

But just one thing.

There is a point that catches my attention.

『Imugi』

『Rank: A』

『Origin: Reservoir Gate （Daejeon…）』

『Strong resistance to water attribute. Be careful as the boss’s mana value grows if it consumes normal monsters around it.』

『Large Turtle』

『Rank: B』

『Origin: Beach Gate （Gangneung…）』

『When it recognizes an enemy, it summons minions （Small Turtle） every 4 minutes.』

I stared intently at the descriptions of those two bosses for a while.

Soon, cold sweat poured down my spine like crazy.

Because I was starting to get a sense of what they had done.

“What’s wrong?”

A monster that grows under specific conditions disappeared one day.

Also, along with another monster that can periodically satisfy its conditions.

And the Nacha Temple, the culprit of all this, has the technology to remove the entrances of dungeons…….

‘D*mn it.’

I soon realized the terrorist’s goal.

“Don’t tell me they’re raising monsters inside the gates?”

That’s right. That’s why they kept repeating experiments related to gates.

‘To use the sealed gates as a cradle for monsters……?’

Moreover, I already predicted where the grown Imugi would be used.

“Since the Imugi monster here is an A-rank by nature. If they started raising it since August……. It may have reached a level close to S-rank.”

“Huh?”

“These guys are preparing a terror that is incomparable to last August.”

But Seon Uyeon seemed to find this claim somewhat absurd. Soon after, she asked back with a surprised face.

“Why would the Nacha Temple do such a thing?”

“Ah.”

“Ho, perhaps, as other people say, the cult leader was a spy sent from a foreign country……?”

Why does the Nacha Temple commit terrorism?

This was a question that had been discussed before.

So now it’s time to reveal the reason.

“That’s probably…….”

I covered my mouth and let out a groan.

“Have you ever received a flyer from those pseudo-religion people while walking down the street?”

“What did you say?”

“If you look closely, the Nacha Temple’s doctrine is written on it.”

“Doctrine?”

“The Dungeon Shock is a divine punishment that heaven has given to mankind, and the creatures inside the gates are our apostles who will awaken us. Something like that.”

“Ah ah.”

“So, they say that hunters who suppress monsters are all Satans who must die…….”

Perhaps some members of the Nacha Temple might think of this doctrine as just a provocative slogan to attract followers.

Yes. That would be a relief.

I’d rather have that pseudo-religious group be blinded by money and profit, as Seon Uyeon said.

But unfortunately, the Nacha Temple has no choice but to reach a destructive end point.

Because the one who actually controls that group was this person.

As long as he is the head. Whether they are raking in money or coveting power right now, they are all just intermediate steps in this idea.

“I found out while investigating that drug addict last time, but Su Ye-hui of the Nacha Temple is 100% a Ideological Transfer type.”

“Ideological… what?”

“She uses a brainwashing method that copies and pastes her thoughts onto others.”

Brainwashing magic is largely divided into two categories.

One is the autonomous instruction type that inputs propositions as desired.

And the other is this Ideological Transfer type.

In particular, the latter was a good way to brainwash a group because it consumed significantly less mana.

However, there is a limit that you can only use thoughts that you sincerely believe in as material.

“Still not getting it? Well, Su Ye-hui is an awakened one who infects others with her ideology.”

That limit has now become a factor of fear.

“And here’s the problem.”

“….”

“The brainwashed followers I met all believed in this doctrine very enthusiastically, what does that mean?”

“….”

“And secondly. What was the role Su Ye-hui was playing in the Nacha Temple……?”