Chapter 20: 20

The air reeked of blood when Lee Min-Chan woke up, and he recognized his surroundings to be the corpse dismemberment center. It was the place where monster corpses were processed to extract meat and leather.

“Wh… What the hell?” He tried to get up, but his body would not listen. He then realized that he had been thoroughly bound up with a rope. “What’s this?! Release me!” He squirmed with all his might and screamed until his voice started to crack, but there was no reply from anywhere.

The corpse dismemberment center seemed to be awfully quiet and empty, and only a lamp swinging from the ceiling cast a dim light across the room.

“Argh…” Lee Min-Chan groaned. A man slowly approached from the other side of the room—it was Kang Yoon-Soo. Lee Min-Chan screamed and pleaded, “Spare me! Please! Spare me!”

“Shut up,” Kang Yoon-Soo cut him off. His voice was cold and emotionless, and Lee Min-Chan briefly fell silent as he commanded.

However, Lee Min-Chan squirmed with all his might and soon pleaded with the man again.

“Spare me! Please! I won’t do that again! I won’t kill anyone, and I won’t manipulate anyone either!

“I’ll live as a good person! I’m young and I didn’t know what I was doing!

“I’m still a kid, right? So please! Spare me!”

The only response to his pleas was silence.

Kang Yoon-Soo stood up as if he had finally found what he was looking for, and he was holding a whip in his right hand. Lee Min-Chan felt goosebumps all over his body when he saw the very same whip he had used all this time.

“Spare me! Please don’t hit me!” Lee Min-Chan begged as he trembled uncontrollably.

“I don’t plan to kill you with my hands,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Lee Min-Chan’s expression brightened when he heard those words. He was certain that despite the fact that the man in front of him was void of expression as if he were wearing a mask, he could not help but hesitate when it came to taking someone’s life.

However, just as the youth started to feel relieved, Kang Yoon-Soo slowly raised the whip and said, “You’ll die by your own hands.”

Lee Min-Chan felt chills run down his spine. ‘What the hell is he talking about?’ he thought to himself. While he was still confused, however, the whip in Kang Yoon-Soo’s hand viciously struck his cheek.

“Aaaaaack!” Lee Min-Chan screamed.

The precision and pain dished out by Kang Yoon-Soo’s strikes were incomparable to Lee Min-Chan’s own. Kang Yoon-Soo whipped him while narrowly avoiding any vital points, and every lash ripped his skin apart. Kang Yoon-Soo whipped him just enough to not kill him, but the pain he felt made him wish for death.

“It hurts! I said it hurts! Fuck!” Lee Min-Chan screamed as he bit his torn-open lips, and his cheeks were wet with tears and blood. However, Kang Yoon-Soo did not stop whipping him. “Why! Why are you trying to kill me!? You son of a bitch! You could have reported me or handed me over! I know I did wrong, but you don’t have the right to kill me! You fuck…!” he protested angrily.

Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly stopped whipping Lee Min-Chan, and just before he was about to lose consciousness, he heard the man answer his question.

“To what extent can a man express his anger against a boy who raped and killed his wife?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked.

“What…?” Lee Min-Chan replied, dumbfounded.

“The man killed the boy multiple times in his rage. Sometimes he killed him instantly, and sometimes he chose to torture him. He killed him hundreds of times, always, every time, until even his rage started to dissipate,” Kang Yoon-Soo said. At that moment, the tip of the whip viciously struck Lee Min-Chan’s cheek. Lee Min-Chan felt as if he had received a burn on his cheek, and he could only breathe roughly from the pain.

“You asked why I would kill you, right?” Kang Yoon-Soo asked in a low voice, before bringing his face up close to Lee Min-Chan’s. It was close enough for Lee Min-Chan to feel the man’s breath; then, a cold, eerie voice entered the youth’s ears.

“When you killed Shaneth, she was my wife. That’s the only reason you’re going to die,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“What the fuck are you talking about?! You psycho! You’ll really kill me?! Then you’ll be a murderer!” Lee Min-Chan screamed at the top of his lungs as his whole body trembled with rage.

“I know,” Kang Yoon-Soo said as he stepped back and raised the whip. He whipped the boy’s chin, and the boy could only cry and tremble at the immense pain he felt.

“You son of a bitch! You son of a bitch! You son of a bitch!” Lee Min-Chan cursed loudly.

Kang Yoon-Soo casually pointed at the ground after hearing the boy curse him, and the boy’s face turned pale when he saw what was on the ground: A horsewhip, a wooden club, and a dagger. These were the tools he had used to torture the girls—his victims.

Kang Yoon-Soo stabbed the dagger into the spot just above Lee Min-Chan’s wrist, then struck the boy in the face with the wooden club.

Pukeok!

Lee Min-Chan could not stay conscious from the pain. He could not stand it anymore. He flinched and closed his mouth, and blood started to pour out of his mouth as he shook. Scared out of his wits, he had bitten his own tongue, and his tear-filled eyes quivered.

“Fuck… It hurts… I’d rather die than be tortured… Kuheok!” Perhaps because his bitten-off tongue had rolled down his throat, the boy had stopped breathing. His body, that had been trembling as if he were having a seizure, suddenly stopped moving.

He had killed himself.

Kang Yoon-Soo stared uninterestedly at the body and said, “The world doesn’t revolve around you.”

He stretched out his right hand, and the Ring of Life Suppression on his finger shone with a black light. “Soul Extraction.”

[Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahk!]

Lee Min-Chan’s soul howled in despair as it was sucked into the ring.

[You have extracted a boy's corrupted soul.]

[Corruption Level: Average]

[Remaining Uses: 3 times]

Kang Yoon-Soo brought the ring close to his ears, and it was cold to the touch. A soul with a high corruption level could be used as material for spirit weapons, or be infused into a doll to inflict curses on someone.

‘I have to get rid of the evidence. The investigators will catch on if there is a corpse.’ He picked up the soulless, empty shell of Lee Min-Chan’s corpse, as well as the boy’s torture tools and equipment. He placed the corpse in the sharp opening of the dismemberment machine without a hint of hesitation.

The room filled with the sounds of a corpse being dismembered.

***

“So what I’m saying is… You have a lot of explaining to do. Especially about last night. There is a limit to being cold and indifferent, you know. We’re traveling together, right? Don’t try to bear it all alone, and at least… Are you listening to me?”

Kang Yoon-Soo slowly opened his eyes. The aroma of coffee tickled his nostrils, and the morning sun blinded him. Shaneth was sitting in front of him, looking displeased.

“Really…” Shaneth said.

Kang Yoon-Soo said nothing.

“You’re such a meanie… You’re too honest…” Shaneth added while pouting.

It was a warm and peaceful morning at the Golden Ale Inn, and the breakfast brought by the inn staff was scrumptious and fragrant, but Kang Yoon-Soo did not touch the food at all and just drank alcohol.

“Are you only going to drink alcohol this early in the morning?” Shaneth asked.

“I don’t usually eat breakfasts,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied nonchalantly.

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“That isn’t good for your health,” Shaneth said, worrying about his health.

“I know.” Kang Yoon-Soo shrugged.

Shaneth was speechless.

Kang Yoon-Soo poured another glass.

Lee Min-Chan might have been young and ill-tempered, but the manipulation skill he’d had was dangerous. If he had been left alone, he would have ended up becoming a formidable foe in the future. ‘Now that Lee Min-Chan is dead, it’s time to start the real hunt,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought to himself.

It was time to hunt monsters. Hunting monsters was the most basic way to increase one’s strength, and normal Travelers would look for monster lairs or receive quests from the Continentals. However, hunting the normal way held no value for Kang Yoon-Soo.

‘Hiledan was the starting location of the legendary quests,’ he thought. Legendary quests were quests with hellish difficulty that could only be received by people that had reached the pinnacle of their class. However, they also provided one with an opportunity for exponential growth.

Shaneth stopped eating her breakfast and stared at him. “So, what do you plan to do today?” she asked.

“I’ll go hunt,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Where?” Shaneth asked again.

“At the Alchemist Guild Building,” Kang Yoon-Soo answered.

A guild was an organization formed by people who shared the same goals. Many guilds in the Sylphia Continent had been founded by Travelers who had been summoned.

“What do you mean?” Shaneth asked with her eyes wide and her head tilted to one side. She thought, ‘What does he mean by hunting in a guild’s building?’

Kang Yoon-Soo just stared at her. He had seen her die hundreds of times, and it had been no different in the life before this one. The world had been destroyed because of the Demon Lord, and Shaneth along with it. However, she, who had died with the world, was now alive and well in front of him, and she looked exactly the same as always.

“Thank you,” he said suddenly.

“For what?” Shaneth asked in confusion.

Kang Yoon-Soo answered as if he were stating the obvious, “For being alive.”

***

The pair left the inn and went out onto the streets; it was not difficult for them to spot the alchemist guild’s building. Shaneth tilted her head to one side and asked in confusion, “I’ve never heard of being able to hunt in the alchemist guild’s building. It’s not as if it can be a monster lair or something, right?”

“It’s possible,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied with his characteristic bluntness as he went inside the building.

A blonde woman who seemed to be a receptionist greeted them. “Welcome to the Hiledan branch of the alchemist guild. How may I help you?” she asked with a smile.

“We came to hunt chimeras,” Kang Yoon-Soo answered.

The receptionist was taken aback and responded, “Ah… You mean the Chimera Dimension?”

“Yes,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“So you have finished the secret quest of the alchemists. What is the password?” the receptionist asked.

He had never finished such a quest; in fact, it was actually his first time entering the building. However, Kang Yoon-Soo recited the password as if he had already known it. “Destroying the world is easier than creating it,” he said.

“You have proven your qualification to enter the A-Class restricted area, the Chimera Dimension,” the blonde receptionist said in a professional tone. “The Chimera Dimension is a dangerous place filled with vicious chimeras, but you will be able to grow immensely and obtain rare rewards. Of course, we, the alchemist guild, will not be liable for your death or any violation of your human rights,” she continued.

Kang Yoon-Soo nodded. They were details he already knew even without having to hear about them. He had learned about the Chimera Dimension in a previous life after hundreds of adventurers had died in it.

“The Chimera Dimension is composed of five floors, and you will start from the first floor. A boss monster resides at the top floor, and the Chimera Dimension will automatically close once the boss dies,” the blonde receptionist explained.

‘The timing of its closing is the problem.’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

The Chimera Dimension was actually a place that anyone was free to enter. It was a place that one could leave if they felt their life was in danger while hunting, as well. However, a sudden event that prevented people from leaving the Chimera Dimension had occurred. The people in the Chimera Dimension had ended up unable to leave, and all of them had died.

The alchemists feigned ignorance and refused to take any responsibility for the event, but the truth was very different. They had used the people inside as test subjects for their secret research, all because one alchemist desired to create a far superior artificial lifeform. The Chimera Dimension existed not only in Hiledan, but in other cities too.

‘Rumier Kazan, the genius royal alchemist,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought as he looked at the blonde receptionist. She was just an employee, and the real evildoers were only a few alchemists. There was a time when he had given his all to expose their evil doings out of his sense of justice. However, he had no reason to do that this time.

“I have someone I want to meet.” Kang Yoon-Soo brought up his other agenda to the receptionist.

“Who is it? If it is urgent, we are able to send a message for a fee,” the receptionist replied.

“Someone who’s currently doing a quest for the alchemist guild. His name is Han Se-Hyun. He wears white armor and a mantle with a white lion drawn on it,” Kang Yoon-Soo said as he gave one gold coin to the receptionist.

The receptionist looked through the files and nodded. “He is someone whose record is still with us. I will send the fastest message available to him, and it will reach him by tonight at the latest.”

Kang Yoon-Soo walked toward the corridor. Shaneth caught up with him and asked, “Who was that person you contacted a while ago?”

“Someone who’ll be helpful later on,” Kang Yoon-Soo said. He frowned when he remembered something about the man.

Han Se-Hyun was someone he had always met whenever he regressed, and it was hard to forget about him since he was such a nuisance. ‘I wouldn’t have to meet him if it weren’t for my level. I need him to easily solve some of the upcoming difficulties…’

While Kang Yoon-Soo was deep in thought, Shaneth asked curiously, “But what’s a Chimera Dimension?”

“The alchemists’ trashcan,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“What? What do you mean?” Shaneth asked.

“I don’t want to bother explaining,” Kang Yoon-Soo answered, as if Shaneth were a nuisance as well.

Then, Shaneth took out the bottle of alcohol from the bag and started to wave it around. It was as if she were showing that she could break the bottle at any time.

Kang Yoon-Soo slowly began to speak. “The alchemists have a lot of failed experiments that they have to get rid of more often than not, but they can’t discard the failures wherever they please. That’s why one alchemist thought of a solution to create a dimension where they could discard their failed experiments. The failed experiments they discarded one by one soon started to mix with each other, and that was how it became a lair of chimeras.”

“People volunteer to go to such a dangerous place…?” Shaneth asked in disbelief.

“It’s because it’s a hidden hunting ground,” Kang Yoon-Soo said. Although the Chimera Dimension was also a place where crazy alchemists would go to obtain sacrifices that they could use for their experiments, there was no need for him to explain that to her as well. ‘However, the rewards don’t disappoint. Especially the sword the boss chimera will drop. I can use that for quite a while.’

Kang Yoon-Soo stood in front of a shabby-looking charred fireplace. He grabbed Shaneth’s wrist just as she was about to look at him, then said, “Try not to puke.”

“What?” Shaneth responded.

Kang Yoon-Soo simply took a step toward the fireplace, and his body was sucked in as if it had swallowed him whole. Shaneth stood there with her mouth wide open, but before she could even react, the fireplace swallowed her whole as well.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

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