Chapter 118 - Chapter 120

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 120

Chapter Title: Life of an Outsider

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"Surrender quietly. Then you won't get hurt."

Thirty-two players. I scanned the faces surrounding me.

'No [Human Hunters] among them.'

Those guys have a distinct vibe. Unnaturally relaxed, yet unable to hide their excitement right before the hunt.

And if their target was a guy like me, they wouldn't politely urge surrender or give time to assess the situation. They'd swing their weapons without a word.

"You listening?! Drop all your weapons and raise your hands!"

Anyway, a quick glance showed they were all small fry.

I pondered for a moment.

'What to do. They're human like me, so maybe give them one chance?'

Instead of drawing my weapon, I held up my open palm.

"Hey, friends."

As I spoke, the enemies tensed and thrust their weapons closer. I put on a friendly face and continued.

"Is this right, us Earthlings turning on each other? Especially smack in the middle of enemy territory."

"...."

"I'm asking if it's okay to attack fellow countrymen instead of those worthless locals."

Some consciences stirred, as they glanced at each other hesitantly. As expected, no human hunters here. Just naive villagers fresh from Earth.

A twinge of pity hit me, so I added more.

"And say you take me down. Then what?"

"Obviously, we'll drag you to Varkus and collect the... bounty."

"Haha, funny. Wake up, people. You think Varkus will hand over my bounty to you? More like he'll say great job, kill you, and pocket it himself."

500,000 gold isn't pocket change. No way Varkus would just hand over that much without a fight.

"N-No way."

"Varkus values his promises. He said he wouldn't do that."

"Who said?"

"A-A reliable informant."

I let out a small chuckle.

"Hey, you guys. Why so naive? Forgotten how they treat us? To them, we're beasts. Vermin like stray dogs or weasels, not worth the effort to kill."

"!!"

"If they weren't pressured by the royals, we wouldn't have a foothold in this city. You all saw the quests, right?"

"...."

At that, they lost their resolve and lowered their weapons. No justification left, no will to fight.

Instead, the harsh reality they'd ignored planted fear in their eyes. Despair shook their spirits.

Tak tak.

I knocked hard on the building wall, halting their panic midway.

"Don't do that. Look around. In commoner neighborhoods like this, loot the nice houses. Most belong to soldiers who got rich robbing us humans."

"But soldiers' houses are dangerous..."

"Don't worry. Seventy percent of them are out working during the day. Easy money."

"!!"

Hope flickered in their eyes. They'd probably never dreamed of hitting big houses like these. Get caught, and you're dead—no way they'd even peek over the walls.

'I've given them plenty already.'

Bestowing favors on would-be killers? Unthinkable for first-run Kang Min-jun.

'But I wanted to help.'

I'd been at the bottom like them once, desperate enough to try anything. Got used, nearly died plenty.

Even with my mistakes, a few kindnesses kept me alive.

So in this run, I'm paying it forward. That's why, from the tutorial, I gave one chance to even the clueless ones who rushed me.

Of course, opening a path for them wasn't just altruism.

'This trial's brutal—barely any survivors. Kill them off, and only a handful left.'

Can't have that. Let them survive, scurry like villains around the city, and it dilutes the heat on me. Soldiers chase them instead.

Proof: They mostly hit weapon shops at night, so no ambushes at the alchemy store yet.

Dispersing soldier forces alone makes saving them worthwhile.

"Honestly, I felt uneasy. Robbing our own countrymen?"

"Tell me about it."

"Like he said, let's target rich houses ourselves. No more falling for local lies."

Good—they appreciated my mercy, minds changed. I watched warmly, then called out as they turned to leave.

"Mind if I ask one thing?"

"Hm?"

"Who egged you on? That informant you mentioned."

By the third trial, everyone learns infighting in enemy turf leads nowhere good.

Betrayals come after escaping danger first.

If they're this shaky, someone's sowing discord to make us self-destruct.

"What was the name?"

"Inope, right?"

"Ah, yeah. That's it."

Inope?

"One of the three executives under Varkus, or something."

...Ah, got it.

Varkus's [Black Anchor Merchant Company] spans all of Haran. They lurk in shadows, stealing info that funnels to Varkus.

Three executives oversee that midway.

'Varkus practically knows everything about Haran.'

Downside: Info's pricey. So players here use the cheaper executives below him.

'Executives handle districts, gather local intel for Varkus reports—can sell player-requested info cheap.'

Basically side businesses under Varkus, who probably knows and allows it.

Anyway, if an executive targeted me, reason's obvious.

'I'm farming solo without using them—hurts their wallet.'

No doubt Inope runs this commoner district. World full of folks dying to crush me.

"Thanks for the info."

"No problem. We owe you. Learned a lesson too..."

Nods, smiles of agreement.

In this world, at least fellow Earthlings are trustworthy.

"Anyway, good luck."

"Alright, let's head out, everyone."

"Happy hunting."

Exchanging blessings, they started scaling the walls one by one.

Pfuk!

A watermelon-splitting sound— the first guy's torso exploded into chunks. Blood-soaked survivors froze, then screamed in shock.

"Wh-What?!"

"Wh-Why'd that guy just die?!"

"What the hell happened?!"

Not the time.

"Everyone, off the wall!"

My shout snapped them alert; they backed from the wall. Too late for one woman.

"Ah..."

Pfuk—her torso burst like a melon.

"Eek!"

That's when I saw it: a handaxe slicing through the air near the wall, butchering people.

"Uwaaak!"

"G-Get off the wall! Hide behind buildings!"

The axe that shredded them mercilessly whirled back like a boomerang, vanishing afar. A trail of red blood followed like a fading afterimage.

'...A cursed axe?'

Selection Process has bloodthirsty weapons, prefixed 'ma-' : demon sword, demon axe, demon spear, etc.

Checked the corpse. Good, not a demon axe—no mummy state. The blood trail was just late drips from the blade.

'Demon axe would've been a headache, but this? Only one returning weapon fits.'

Magic engineering weapon. Ancient city ruins unearthed a [Mage-Tech Era] treasure, probably.

'Now, how to handle this.'

Pfuk!

"Eek! Another... another one's dead!"

Anyone climbing met an instant axe from afar, then gone. Thrown from so far, we couldn't even spot the thrower.

Curious, I edged to the wall—whoosh, axe flying from high in the city.

"Hey, what're you doing?! Dangerous!"

"You'll get killed!"

I swiftly pulled [Apprentice Knight's Longsword] from inventory to block, testing its power.

Kwang!

What the—?

'At least equal to my strength?'

Arm muscles throbbed as the axe ricocheted skyward. I quickly targeted it with [Full Appraisal].

'100% bonus Strength damage? What kind of broken weapon is this?'

Twelfth trial's [Giantslayer]—edible only there—got 60% bonus at narrative max. Third trial, already 100%?

Whirlic— Axe returning to owner. I quickly backed from the wall.

"Y-You okay?!"

"Yeah, lucky. See what it was?"

Nods.

"Sniping with an axe? Ridiculous."

Tell me about it. Accuracy aside, power like a cannon shell.

Pajik—metal screech. Glanced down: fresh shop sword cracked.

One clash, durability wrecked. Massive damage.

"Damn, it was a trap. They planned to kill us humans from both sides!"

"Wh-What now?"

"...Sniff, I don't wanna die."

Huddled in buildings and shadows, panic set in.

Black Anchor and city guard wouldn't team up. Probably soldiers got suspicious mid-raid on that lady here.

Or these idiots in black robes hopped walls daytime, caught sentry eyes.

...Anyway, survive this first.

"Hey, wanna live?"

"Got a way?"

Footsteps in my ears. Lots. Closing fast outside—soldiers, probably.

'1,000?'

Ear to ground, I laughed hollowly. Nearly 1,000 soldiers. Dead serious hunt.

Too many even for my girls. Plus raid-boss tier in mix.

'Maybe more than one.'

This committed? Likely multiple leaders. No saintess, I'd struggle solo.

'Numbers too high—weak summons get shredded.'

Strong ones? Uncontrollable, raises alerts, city at risk.

So, moderate chaos while I control firepower... only one option.

"Y-You have a plan?"

"Need help? We'll pitch in."

I stood, stretched, grinned.

"Nah, nothing big. Wanna live? Chase me good. That's the plan."

Time for some fireplay after ages.

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