Chapter 128 – SSS-Rank Hunter (3)
Supernatural abilities.
Occult phenomena that don’t exist in reality.
If you think about it, magic, martial arts, immortal arts—all of them could be classified as supernatural abilities. They just pretend otherwise by slapping on a vague label like “systematic academic discipline.”
“Is that a supernatural ability?”
“If it’s not a supernatural ability, what do you think it is?”
“Haha…”
She’s extremely cold.
You shouldn’t judge people by appearance, but I was certain this woman wasn’t just a passing extra.
‘Maybe the patient’s wife or girlfriend?’
It hasn’t been confirmed yet, but would a man with an SSS-rank supernatural ability just sit back and watch a charming woman like her stay by his side without doing anything?
No way.
“Do you not know Park Hyo-man-ssi?”
“I know him.”
“Oh!”
So she really is his wife or girlfriend? This might end surprisingly easily.
“But why are you looking for him?”
“He’s a friend.”
The safest answer.
If he didn’t exist at all like Nam Hae-soo, it would have been trouble, but this patient doesn’t seem to have fallen into self-loathing.
“A friend? Really?”
Her gaze was sharp enough to carry a hint of hostility.
“Yes.”
I liked the attitude of this supernatural-ability woman whose name I didn’t even know yet.
‘She seems to know Park Hyo-man very well.’
If she didn’t know him well, she would have just said, “Oh, I see?” and moved on. But her reaction felt a bit excessive.
“Is being a friend a crime? You’re reacting a little too sensitively.”
“…Of course.”
“Why is that obvious?”
“Yes. Because…”
“……”
I really hate people who trail off at the crucial moment. Even if she’s a stunning beauty!
“He died while hunting an SSS-rank monster.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
“……”
It seems two liars have met each other.
***
‘He died?’
No way. If the patient had died, this world wouldn’t be maintained like this.
Park Hyo-man-ssi is definitely somewhere nearby.
(Suspicious.)
Right?
(If you could touch that woman’s head, you’d know the truth, but that’s probably impossible, huh?)
Yes.
A hand might be possible, but touching the head of a full-grown adult would be far too rude.
‘Besides…’
How am I supposed to catch a woman who can fly through the sky without wings?
“Did you take down that Genius Wolf by yourself?”
“Uh… Genius Wolf?”
“No. Wolves don’t run on two legs just because they’re smart, right? That monster’s name is Genius Wolf.”
“……”
It translates to the same thing anyway.
I was overflowing with the urge to point that out, but this wasn’t the situation to quibble over trivial naming issues.
‘He might have fallen into a dangerous enough situation that she’s certain he’s dead.’
Like during the historical drama <Palace Maid Deok-chun>, there’s a chance I arrived just in the nick of time to save the patient’s life.
“That wolf… monster—I killed it alone.”
“What’s your rank?”
Rank.
Her tone was as if she were asking to see my driver’s license.
This was a moment that required quick thinking.
“I don’t particularly want to share my personal information with someone who doesn’t know me.”
“Is that so? I didn’t expect someone with such strong pride that they’d hide themselves in front of an S-rank or above.”
(How frustrating! Junior! Ambush her and smash that arrogant wench’s head. I’ll extract every last bit of unnecessary information for you!)
Oh! What a splendid suggestion!
The usual me would have rejected the senior’s unethical proposal, but this woman was lying.
‘Should I just go for it?’
As if she knew what was in my mind, she refused to give me any opening to close the distance.
To catch a supernatural-ability user who could escape into the sky at any moment, I first needed to get as close as possible, but she was clearly on guard.
(Are you an idiot? Of course she’s wary when you’re hiding your identity!)
Aha!
“You bravely came into an S-rank hunting ground all by yourself.”
S-rank hunting ground!
It was a term I’d never heard before, but I understood it meant a dangerous place swarming with monsters.
“To find a missing friend, I have to take at least this much risk.”
“…May I ask your name?”
“You wouldn’t know it even if I told you. Kang Moon-soo. And you, beautiful lady?”
“You don’t know my name?”
The beauty glared at my face with a tone that sounded deeply offended.
I smirked and replied.
“Do you think every man in the world knows your name?”
“You’re wrong. It’s every person.”
“……”
She’s severe.
I could almost believe it if someone said this woman was the Ranuvel patient.
(Keep the possibility open. This patient might have wanted to be reborn as a strong and beautiful woman.)
That’s a truly shocking possibility!
“I am Kim Ji-young, the Witch of the Far East—one of only ten—no, nine SSS-rank supernatural ability users in the world.”
“Oh! So you’re an incredible person. What was your relationship with Park Hyo-man-ssi, who was also an SSS-rank ability user?”
“We were comrades who hunted SSS-rank monsters together.”
Comrades-in-arms.
A lukewarm relationship.
‘This is suspicious…’
There’s no rule that an impressive man and woman have to date, but considering this world is a “dream made solely for the patient,” it was very strange.
The possibility that he has no interest in women?
If that were the case, a charming SSS-rank ability user like “Kim Ji-young” wouldn’t exist at all.
Just like how, in the romance fantasy novel I Became the Youngest Daughter of a Count’s Family, only handsome men swarmed around the protagonist.
The dream world, which is kind to the patient, respects their tastes.
(Wait. Yoon So-ra is investigating in reality right now. Genius Wolf, Kim Ji-young. She says more data is needed.)
Thank you.
Thanks to the senior, it was convenient to receive information from reality in real time.
‘If this world is based on a novel or comic…’
It would be much easier to approach.
“Where are you going?”
“To find my friend who went missing while hunting an SSS-rank monster.”
I’d wasted a lot of time because of this suspicious woman, but I was satisfied with obtaining the information that the patient was active under his real name, “Park Hyo-man.”
In the world of the historical drama <Palace Maid Deok-chun>, I suffered because I mistakenly assumed the patient was naturally the protagonist “Deok-chun.” This time, I’d secured a guarantee that wouldn’t happen.
Float~
“To be honest, I’m surprised. I didn’t expect Park Hyo-man-ssi to have any friends.”
The woman who followed me, flying through the air like a ghost ignoring gravity, looked at me as if I were a curious creature.
“You only say that because you don’t really know Park Hyo-man. He’s the kind of friend with deep enough bonds to borrow money from friends.”
“Did he borrow money from you?”
“Yes.”
My ironclad rule is that I never lend money, no matter how close the friend. The same goes the other way around.
However, to ensure smooth progress, I decided to become a liar myself.
“So you’re looking for him to get the money back?”
“Please think of it as us being close enough that I lent him money.”
“Close enough to risk your life?”
“I didn’t risk my life. As you can see, I’m perfectly fine.”
The surroundings were quiet—so quiet that I almost missed the wolf monster that had attacked me earlier.
“That’s only because you haven’t encountered any monsters yet.”
“Thank you for your concern, but I’ll judge that for myself.”
I need to find Park Hyo-man-ssi before he moves elsewhere.
In the martial arts novel <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?>, after I lost Mao Zhai in Sichuan Province, I had to wander all over the Central Plains, right?
I didn’t want to turn a problem that could be solved easily into a difficult one.
“Oh my! You’ve misunderstood me.”
“What misunderstanding?”
“Do you think the only things threatening your life are monsters?”
“…I see.”
Thud, thump, thud…
Objects flying toward me as if aiming for my life lost their force right before impact and fell.
“Nullification…!”
“I don’t have time for this annoyance…”
I charged toward the woman, who was wearing a slightly flustered expression.
I’d suspected it since she started lying with that suspicious attitude, but even if you expect it, it’s not a pleasant experience.
Shiiing—
I drew the sword that had sliced the monster. This was a custom item I’d brought with me into the dream, like clothing, from the start.
Unlike in the world of the historical drama <Palace Maid Deok-chun>, I didn’t have to stain the blade with blood every time to maintain “my world.”
(Steal her memories, then kill her.)
I’ll try!
Without hesitation, the woman began soaring high into the sky.
Her plan was to attack one-sidedly from a safe distance where my sword couldn’t reach.
“Hmph!”
If this had been an empty plain, her judgment would have been correct, but this was an urban ruin filled with half-destroyed high-rise buildings.
And I am the man who dominated modern track and field.
Whoosh!
Moving even faster in the dream, I stepped on the frames of shattered windows and rapidly closed the distance.
“S-rank nullification and B-rank physical enhancement too?! Just what the hell are you?!”
The shocked woman hurled objects at me as I climbed the building.
“Acting cocky.”
Grab.
I caught one of the objects flying toward me and threw it right back at her.
“Ah?!”
It would have hit if I’d stained it with blood, but I was too hasty. The brick I threw was caught by her ability and quickly lost its force.
“Tch.”
“How dare you…!”
Ruuuumble—
Realizing her ability didn’t work on me, she swung both arms that had been still until now.
It looked like she was pulling something toward her.
She seemed to be exerting real power now.
‘So what? Huh!’
Clang! Clang!
Thick rebar rained down from the upper part of the building.
That wasn’t her ability—it was gravity!
If I ignored it, it wouldn’t end with just a minor injury.
(Cut it down.)
“Easy for you to say…!”
I evaded by diving through a shattered window into the building.
(How pathetic.)
There’s no need to risk my life when there’s an easier path, right?
But I agree that dragging this situation out isn’t good.
‘Oh!’
Electrical cords from household appliances—common in the modern world. A toaster would have just the right weight.
Swipe—
I sliced my wrist with the sword and roughly smeared blood on the appliance and cord.
(Crude idea.)
“Hmph. We’ll see about that.”
The woman I thought had fled was actually searching for me, flying low and fast between the buildings.
Where does that confidence come from?
It wasn’t bad for me.
“Hello?”
I leaped toward her in a surprise attack from mid-air.
“Hmph!”
As if teasing me, she retreated to a distance just barely out of reach.
“Catch!”
As planned, I threw the toaster.
“Something like this… Huh?!”
The woman panicked, realizing too late that her ability didn’t work on it.
Whirr~
The toaster’s cord wrapped around her neck without any interference.
“Come down!”
I yanked the cord in that state.
Crack!
“Guhk—?!”
Her eyes rolled back and foam bubbled from her mouth as she struggled desperately.
Float~
Judging that maintaining her ability was difficult with her mind going in and out, she slowly descended to the ground.
“You didn’t have to go this far, but thanks?”
A splendid human elevator.
(Hey! The head!)
Yes!
The moment she landed safely, I pulled the cord still wrapped around her neck.
“Save m—”
“Too late.”
Crack!
I drove my knee into her face.
(Good. Got it.)
Thud.
Confirming that the senior had read her memories, I discarded the limp woman without regret.
“……”
“…What now?”
Should I just crush her head under my foot?
“How dare you! Get away from Kim Ji-young-yang right now…!”
At that moment, a burly man charged at me like a bear.
“Who’re you?”
“I am the hardest man in the world! SSS-rank ability user, Steel— Argh?!”
Slash!
The man whose right arm was severed by my sword let out an ugly scream.
“Steel what?”
“My arm?! My arm— Gah?!”
I powerfully side-kicked the confused man’s abdomen with a taekwondo strike.
“Hap!”
This time, another woman leaped toward me with a sword.
She had a youthful face that looked barely twenty. But the greatsword in her hand was as large as her body and menacing.
(Just showing off.)
Indeed.
But I suppose to fight elephant-sized monsters, a weapon needs to be at least that big.
However,
“I’m human.”
I don’t need a sword that huge meant for killing people.
Slash—
It was impressive that the girl could swing such a heavy chunk of metal effortlessly, but my admiration ended there.
Dealing with a human far slower than me was simple.
“Kyaaa…?!”
The girl, having lost one leg, collapsed with a tearing scream.
“You bastard!”
“This son of a bitch!”
There were more comrades? Including the ones I’d already taken down, it seemed there were nine in total.
“Come on.”
I’ll teach these monster hunters that humanity’s greatest predator is humanity itself.
_____________________________________________
TL Note: Want to read ahead? Join My Patreon for early access:
- Plus Tier: 7 chapters per week (~48 chapters ahead)
- Premium tier: 9 chapters per week (~97+ chapters ahead) + access to all my other ongoing series
[For this novel specifically, check the collection under “Shaman: Breaker of Dreams”]
Link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/Vritratls
_____________________________________________