Chapter 16: #King of Insects

“Crushing Forefinger of God.”

A brief silence ensued.

The flame guy glared at me, his expression twisted like a devil, as I pointed my finger.

“

Ha

! Bastard, what kind of bullshit is this?!”

Pzz, pzzt!

A strange noise came from the armor...

Boom!

Like short-circuiting wires, the golden glow around the armor was gone in a flash!

-----

[Old Scrap Metal Armor in Yu Il-Shin’s Eyes]

Armor made of scrap metal. Around for 29 years.

Special note: Just melt it already.

-----

The armor had reverted to its original state, consistent with the appraisal result. What was once dazzling Mithril Armor had turned into rusty junk that would crumble at the slightest touch.

Heh, did you see that?

I wasn't actually confident that this would work, but I'm glad it did. The idea occurred to me because I could turn off the porch lights without using the switch.

“Need we say more?” I smirked at the flame guy.

In truth, my heart was racing.

What if he gives me hell for that? Should I call the police now?

“You just ruined our goldmine! You’re gonna pay for that!”

His bulky underlings got furious and raised their fists all at once. I didn’t doubt they could crush my skull easily like a watermelon with those.

Argh! I’m gonna die!

But thankfully, I got to keep my head. Someone I least expected had saved me.

Slap!

“Enough, you moron! Acting as you please!”

“H-hyung-nim?”

After being slapped by the flame guy, his underling stared at him in bewilderment.

“Do you have holes for eyes?! Be quiet!” The flame guy roared.

Not daring to make eye contact, the bulky underling hung his head. The atmosphere in the shop felt like carnage.

Then, the flame guy shifted his attention to me. As if his previous outburst had been a lie, he had a humble smile on his face.

“Haha, they’re so cheeky. You should’ve told me that you’re a high-ranking Hunter.”

Eh? A high-ranking Hunter? Who, me?

“Please excuse us. Mind if we leave?” The flame guy gave a polite ninety-degree bow.

“

Mm

.” I casually nodded, trying to hide my apparent awkwardness.

“Thank you! Let's go!”

“Hyung? Wait, what?”

“You dimwits! We have to go!”

The flame guy and his muscular underlings ran out of the shop.

“

Phew

, I almost got a heart attack.”

Thankfully, they let things go. I wasn’t really sure how the misunderstanding came to be, though. My guess was because of how I had easily dispelled the enhancement and deception skills. Nevertheless, the fact remained that I was a G-rank Hunter.

Still, my abilities turned out to be much more useful than I thought. Maybe if I struggle to make ends meet as a writer, I could make a living as an appraiser?

Just then, the store owner grabbed my hands.

“Thank you so much! We’ve been trading with him since my mother’s time... If not for your help, I’d be in deep water.”

“I’m not a Hunter, though...”

“

Aah,

you did say that. You must be a Hermit then!”

The Hermits, also known as the recluses, referred to people who had abilities but did not work as Hunters, going about their normal daily lives. As a matter of course, I wasn’t one of those people.

I was just one of the many ordinary citizens. Like everyone else, I thought that in this day and age, the more honor and wealth, the better. If I made it big one day, I’d ditch my job as a writer. After all, despite the amount of effort I had put in, it could barely sustain me. It also didn’t cover my private insurance or severance pay.

“May I have a look at the item you want to sell?”

The store owner gazed at me expectantly, which made me uncomfortable. No matter how I look at it, there was nothing impressive about my ring.

I fished out the Druid’s Ring from my pocket. It seemed smaller than usual, like a child’s toy.

“Oh, is that it? Let me appraise it!”

Contrary to my anxiety, the store owner was quite enthusiastic. However, after measuring it, we discovered that the mana count was only 12. Compared to the fake armor, which had a mana count of 560, it could only be considered as a piece of junk.

“I'm sorry, this item is only a Grade D at best.” The store owner was deflated.

I had pretty much expected that reaction. Also, she was lying.

I had gathered information about Hunters before. I knew that, on average, Grade D items had mana count of over 100. Grade C if the mana count was over 200, Grade B if over 300, and Grade A if over 500. Meanwhile, Grade S item had over 1000 mana count and could fetch an astronomical price.

“B-but, you did help me identify the counterfeit item earlier. This item isn’t too bad. Please sell it to me!”

I now understood why scammers kept flocking to her. She was too generous.

“No, there’s no need. It's not that great.”

I didn't have high hopes for the stamina recovery ring to begin with. While I was in dire need of money, I’d feel bad selling it to her. I’d rather come forward about my difficulties to my editor instead.

“If I get my hands on something else, can I come back again?”

“Of course! That's what I wanted to ask, actually! Next time, I'll buy your items at a higher price than the market rate. Please come again, Mr. Hermit!” The store owner bowed deeply as I left her shop.

I looked at the Druid's Ring in hand, feeling bittersweet. As expected, I wasn’t fated to win the lottery in this life.

[Appraisal succeeded.]

Just then, my innate power activated on its own, and a new message window appeared.

-----

[Druid's Ring]

A ring imbued with the vitality of the forest. No.808 never took it off.

Special note: Better give this to Sung Mi-Ri, who is nearby.

-----

The special note on it changed. Didn't it say “increases elemental power” before?

Wait. But Sung Mi-Ri...

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“Thunder Emperor?”

***

“Move!”

Cursing under their breath, the Hunters who burst out of Hye-Ja Trading disappeared into the crowd on the streets.

Sung Mi-Ri wore the cap low, covering her face with a large mask, to disguise herself. The heavy, fine dust prevented her from standing out in the crowd. She had concealed her aura as well.

Phew, at least he doesn’t look like every Tom, Dick and Harry.

To sense her concealed aura, he’d at least have to be a C-rank Hunter. She was planning to step in if he proved to be no match for the muscular Hunters.

But what was she, the Thunder Emperor, doing here of all places?

The following day, she visited the hospital to secretly check up on Yu Il-Shin. To her surprise, he had been discharged early. Yes, the man whom she recalled had suffered heavy burns when she first saved him. Even though she had witnessed the same man recover fully without a single scar left behind, it was still outrageous.

Sure, he could’ve consumed the highest-grade potion. The question would be, "From where?" The general public shouldn’t have had any access to items distributed only to the highest-ranking Hunters.

The more she observed him, the more peculiar he became. He somehow knew her true identity, which was only revealed to her family and the top brass of the Hunter Association. He could also recover from critical injuries overnight.

Thankfully, she had learned of Yu Il-Shin’s residential address. In fact, that was how she ended up here. And just now, he had dispelled high-ranking skills that were applied on the armor.

Back then, at the examination center, she clearly remembered that he was just a G-rank Hunter. Was it really because of Yu Il-Shin that she was able to surpass her limits that day?

But...

What am I doing right now?

A wave of regret swept over her too late.

I’m totally a stalker now.

No matter how desperate she was, she shouldn’t be doing this. Moreover, her older sister had caught on to the fact that she was staying out late at night recently. On the outside, her older sister may appear like an eye-catching, slender beauty, but on the inside, she was akin to raging fire doused with oil. One wrong move, and Yu Il-Shin would get implicated.

Yeah, I should stop. It might be better to approach him sometime later in a more proper manner.

She was about to turn and leave when she heard a voice.

“

Thun

... no, Ms. Sung Mi-Ri?”

Surprised and flustered, she turned around in the direction of the voice, only to see Yu Il-Shin standing there.

But how...?

Despite the fact that she had a cap and a mask on, Yu Il-Shin easily spotted her amidst the crowd. His eyes were clear and profound, as if he were a sage.

Yu Il-Shin looked around briefly, before starting cautiously, “

Uhm

, you might think I’m crazy for saying something like this out of the blue...”

He placed something in Sung Mi-Ri’s hand and continued.

“Please take this. It will definitely help you.”

What she received was a small ring that looked like a toy. But as soon as it was in her hand...

Pzz! Pzz!

The blue gemstone on the ring turned yellow, shining mysteriously.

“T-this is...!”

Sung Mi-Ri snapped to her senses and looked for Yu Il-Shin, but he had already disappeared into the crowd.

***

I hid under my covers.

Fuck.

My face was still flushed.

Thunder Emperor may be greatly admired and respected by many, but Ms. Sung Mi-Ri herself was still a young teenage girl.

For an adult like me to hand her a toy ring while blurting those words... I couldn’t stop cringing.

Even if she had covered her face with a cap and a mask, it wasn’t difficult for me to spot her in the crowd. She stood out to me like light shining in the dark.

But it ended up becoming my newest dark chapter...

It’s still a good thing, right?

As soon as I handed her the Druid’s Ring, the special note for Thunder Emperor changed instantly.

-----

[Sung Mi-Ri]

A female human. Has been around for 19 years.

Special note: Extremely electrifying.

-----

A new modifier was attached to the existing word.

...Was that ring really beneficial for her?

Ugh, how do I stop myself from cringing?

Whiiing~!

Ah, right, the hole in the wall. Spring might have arrived, but the weather was still chilly. I wrapped myself in the blanket I had borrowed from my older sister, trying to fall asleep.

Ding!

[The innate power Blind Eyes of God has been activated.]

***

I had a dream that I was in a palace.

The palace itself was much larger and more extravagant than any other architecture that had existed across all eras in this world. The grand hall, the size of Jamsil Stadium, was filled with hundreds of thousands of insects. They ranged from wasps, beetles, spiders, and even the red ants similar to the ones I had killed. They were lying on the floor, shaking their heads.

On a closer look, they didn’t seem to be ordinary insects. Each had a bizarre appearance, seemingly a mix of human and insect. If anything, they looked like insectoid aliens that came out of a Sci-Fi movie or comic. The only thing they had in common was their red color.

Bowing their heads toward the altar, the insects had a look of fear and awe on their faces. The faint silhouette behind the thick veil spoke languidly.

-A monster worshiped by the uncivilized black tribe had wiped out a 100,000-strong army...? Are you sure this report is true?

His soft voice was heard clearly by everyone, as if it had been spoken directly into their minds.

The insects buried their heads onto the ground, trembling like mad.

“I am immensely sorry, Your Majesty! Your incompetent followers deserve to die!”

...Your Majesty?