Kill the Hero

Clang! Clang

As he walked out of the rest area, Kim Woo-jin made sounds with the coins in his fist and the first thing he did was check his car.

Sitting in the car was Lee Jin-ah, looking extremely dissatisfied. Nevertheless, he stayed within the small light car. Even without the mask, given his extremely large size, they decided it would be better if he was not captured by any CCTV or dash cam.

All Lee Jin-ah could do as Kim Woo-jin was gesturing for him to hurry and make the call.

Making the shape of a phone in the small car, Lee Jin-ah looked exactly like a gorilla in a zoo. Kim Woo-jin laughed loudly then made his way to the public phone booth.

Ching!

After inserting two coins, he dialed a number from memory.

The phone rang briefly.

“Hey, you’re really famous right now.”

Oh Se-chan started talking immediately as he answered.

“Isaac Ivanov, how does it feel to become a hero?”

Asked Oh Se-chan in a playful voice.

“What’s the plan for the future?”

“Hey, don’t do that. You should say something else, be excited! This is a historical moment. If you feel like it, you could write an autobiography. Then you could sell it for 19,000 or even 21,000 won!

“This is a public phone. I don’t have a lot of time for this call. What is the plan for the future.”

Hearing his resolute words, Oh Se-chan knew that he could play no longer.

“That name is Isaac Ivanov. It’s basically a disposable character with the title of First Needle Snake Hunter right? After raising it a bit, we have to use it on a bigger stage.”

Kim Woo-jin did not express any disagreement. As Se-chan had said, if the value of Isaac Ivanov’s name increases, there would be more ways to use it.

As a way to get into a high ranking dungeon, nothing was better than this name.

“I see that you have no disagreement.”

“I’ll leave it up to you.”

“Alright, then let’s move on. Do you know Jin Hye-mi?

Jin Hye-mi, when he heard this name, Kim Woo-jin could only think of one woman.

“Isn’t she a member of Park Yong-wan’s guards? Ah!”

The moment he asked the question, he realised why it was asked.

“Is that who the Skull Guild targeted?”

“That’s what happened. Blew her right up. There was a spy from the Yamato Federation within the group that entered with Jin Hye-mi. Of course, no one knows the exact situation. It’s not unusual for players to die in a dungeon. But the important thing is that something happened.”

Oh Se-chan said in a low voice.

“I have the data to prove what happened. And I have Park Yong-wan’s phone number.”

That was enough for Kim Woo-jin to figure out Oh Se-chan’s plan and how it would turn out in the future. He could already imagine Park Yong-wan’s reaction.

‘Park Yong-wan will immediately recruit hunting dogs.’ (TL: In this case, the ‘hunting dogs’ are more like assassin’s or bounty hunters)

After finding enough hunting dogs to pay back for what he had suffered, he would then release them immediately.

Of course, they would also reach out to Kim Woo-jin. Asking him to be a hunting dog who would go out to kill the members of the Skull Guild, instead of being bait.

‘There’s no reason to say no.’

From Kim Woo-jin’s perspective, this was exactly what he’d been waiting for.

‘But I can’t do it for free.’

He didn’t intend to just work for free.

“Now, do you have any more questions?”

Oh Se-chan asked, after Kim Woo-jin went silent.

“I need a workshop.”

“A workshop?”

“I plan to make items.”

“Directly?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, I’ll introduce you to a place I know. Anything else?”

“I don’t have any money on hand, can you lend me some? Don’t I need to eat?”

While he said this, there was no change in Kim Woo-jin’s voice. Naturally he knew that Oh Se-chan would never give him money. Whenever money was brought up, Oh Se-chan would immediately find some excuse to end the call.

“I knew you’d ask, so I prepared some in advance.”

But the words that came out of Oh Se-chan’s mouth surprised him instead.

“Open the glovebox. There’s some money for a meal. Then let’s talk next time.”

The time on the call ended with that.

After that, Kim Woo-jin walked toward his car. Lee Jin-ah still had his disgruntled expression, and as he saw Kim Woo-jin approach, he rolled the window down.

“What did Se-chan say?”

Kim Woo-jin answered him honestly.

“He said that he put money in the glovebox, for us to have a meal.”

“Really?”

Surprised, Lee Jin-ah hastened to open the compartment in front of him.

“Oh my God, don’t tell me Oh Se-chan actually left food money! Is the world about to end?!”

Lee Jin-ah was surprised to find an envelope inside. He immediately took it out and checked inside.

“What the? 2,000 won?”

What he found were two thousand won bills.

“Is this right? With this money you can’t even add an egg or a potato to a basic udon at the rest area. The only thing this can buy is a cup of ramen…”

“Ah.”

Only then did the two of them realise.

Who was Oh Se-chan afterall?

The hunt of the Needle Snake was truly over.

…

[The hunt of the Needle Snake is successful!]

The reaction to the successful hunt of the Needle Snake, which had never happened before, was wild.

[Isaac Ivanov, the First Needle Snake Hunter!]

[Just who is Isaac Ivanov?]

Naturally, the interest in Isaac Ivanov, the first person to hunt a Needle Snake, was high.

[Is Isaac Ivanov a Necromancer?]

[Has a new skill tree appeared?!]

Moreover, eyewitness recounts of the fight increased the interest in Isaac Ivanov. Very few players were capable of summoning Skeleton Soldiers that could fight that well.

Of course, there weren’t all good stories about Isaac Ivanov. In fact, the reaction of the Korean public was the worst.

-A+ rank Dungeon stolen by Russian Bastard!

-Dog Bastard!

-I’m gathering a team to go catch this bastard!

(TL: Let’s just say the above sentences were much…harsher than I made them to be. There is only redundancy only because I tried to tone it down as much as possible.)

From the perspective of the Korean people, the sweet fruit that was the A+ rank dungeon was taken away by foreigners.

[Monopoly! An exclusive interview with Ahn Young-jun, who participated in the Needle Snake Dungeon!]

Ahn Young-jun’s interview further exacerbated the opinion of the public against Isaac Ivanov. But that didn’t last very long.

[Exclusive Interview with Isaac Ivanov!]

[Isaac Ivanov says, ‘I’ve always admired the Messiah Guild’.]

[Isaac Ivanov says, ‘I want to do something that others do not do, like the Messiah Guild’.]

[Isaac Ivanov, ‘Lee Se-jun is my idol.’]

When the interview with Isaac Ivanov, who heavily praised the Messiah Guild, was released, the public opinion in Korea changed rapidly.

-What are you doing? Why aren’t you sending Choco Pies?

-If you’re korean, please support Isaac Ivanov!

-I admit that I’m honored to be Korean!

Positive reactions toward Isaac Ivanov began pouring in.

When he saw the interview, Kim Woo-jin could not stop himself from laughing. In the interview, Isaac Ivanov showed nothing but pure fanaticism toward the Messiah Guild.

‘He looks the way I used to.’

Like Kim Woo-jin before he returned to the past.

There was another reason for this interview.

‘I wonder if he’ll need to throw more bait.’

The interview wasn’t really to change the public’s opinion about Isaac Ivanov. Instead it was a bit thrown by Oh Se-chan toward the Messiah Guild.

If he spoke about the Messiah Guild to this extent, then they would not be able to move against him.

For the Messiah Guild, in order to move against Isaac Ivanov, they would need to use a different identity.

‘They’ll move sooner or later.’

If Kim Woo-jin knew anything about the Messiah Guild, then they would definitely move against Isaac Ivanov using a different name.

‘Yes, attack as much as you can.’

This was exactly what Kim Woo-jin wanted. He was eagerly waiting for that day while preparing. No, he was already prepared.

A armor made of the Needle Snake’s skin and a dagger made with its venom covered fangs were already completed.

[Yellow Dragon’s Spirit Orb]

Rating: Legendary

Available for level 1 and above

Description: This was the Yeouiju, which had once belonged to the Yellow Dragon. It is said to contain near infinite magic power.

Effects:

Magic Power increased by 50

Magic Power recovery increased by 200%

His new legendary item shined brightly in Kim Woo-jin’s inventory. However, the most brilliant thing in his possession was his blood poisoning skill.

[Blood Poison]

Rank: A

Effects:

Turn your blood into poison. The higher the skill rank and player’s level, the stronger the poison.

With the support from his halo, Kim Woo-jin’s Blood Poison had already reached the A rank. And this didn’t factor in the bonus of the Plus Ring. This meant that with the Plus Ring it would become an S rank skill and if he raised it by one more level then it would become an EX rank skill which was the level of transcendence.

‘I’ll let them attack me till I’m bloody.’

This skill meant that Kim Woo-jin would become more deadly, the more he bled.

A week later, the news Kim Woo-jin had been waiting for, finally arrived.

[Park Yong-wan has cleared the 6 Floor Dungeon!]

The typhoon was about to blow.

…

The moment Park Yong-wan stepped out of the dungeon gate, the public went wild with his name.

[Park Yong-wan, a new legend!]

[Park Yong-wan sits down with the President!]

On TV, news related to Park Yong-wan was broadcasted almost 24hours a day, including the meeting with the Korean President which highlighted their close relationship.

“Hurray, Park Yong-wan!”

Even the protesters who usually stood in front of the Phoenix Guild condemning them, were instead filled with fans singing praises for Park Yong-wan.

It was truly a hero treatment. Thanks to this, humanity was able to escape the fear of the monsters coming out of the 6 Floor Dungeon.

“Kim Woo-jin.”

This hero who was now talking to Kim Woo-jin…

“If I ask you to kill a player, can you do it?”

Threw out a very un-heroic question.

“What’s wrong?”

“There is…something very bad.”

“What’s going on..?”

“First, answer the question. If I ask you to kill someone, you can, can you?”

The silence was long as it seemed that Kim Woo-jin was thinking about the answer.

Soon after, Kim Woo-jin broke the silence.

“Sorry. I don’t know if they’re targeting me, I can’t kill a player who has nothing to do with it.”

After saying that, Kim Woo-jin stood from his seat and turned to leave, not forgetting to bow first.

It was a clear sign of rejection.

Kim Woo-jin who’d just refused the request, slowly approached the door.

Park Yong-wan did not try to stop him, and so Kim Woo-jin didn’t stop, however he was slowly counting in his head

“I’ll change the question.”

Park Yong-wan finally called out as Kim Woo-jin grabbed the doorknob and began to twist it.

“How much do I have to pay you to kill a player who has nothing to do with it? Huh?”

Hearing the question, Kim Woo-jin returned to his seat.

“How much are you willing to pay?”

For any errors and issues contact me through discord :-