Chapter 45: Echidna (1)
"What a reaction…"
Cha Yeon-Joo looked at all the headlines about Kang Seong-Soo.
Oh Kang-Woo, who was sitting in front of her, shrugged as if it was no big deal.
"It's because I threw them good bait," he said.
Since the beginning of human history, people have always liked heroic tales. The public was fascinated by them, and Seong-Soo's story seemed just like one.
"You… faked those tears during the interview, didn't you?"
"Yup."
"Why go that far?"
"Because it's more moving that way," Kang-Woo replied and took a sip of coffee. "Kang Seong-Soo had to get their attention so I could stay off the radar for a bit longer."
If Kang-Woo got famous, things could get quite bothersome for him. He would have revealed to the public that he was the one who had killed the variant monster if there were something he could gain by becoming famous. However, there was absolutely nothing in it for him to become famous at this time.
'It'll do more harm than good.'
If the public's attention were centered on him, he would have to be careful with his actions. That was especially bothersome for someone like Kang-Woo, who didn't care about doing anything illegal as long as it benefited him. Kang-Woo didn't want to suffer because of unexpected circumstances.
'I'm sure I won't be able to hide forever, though.'
If he were to continue getting stronger, it was inevitable that others would notice him.
'I can think about that later on.'
If there were nothing he could do about it, he would probably try to find ways to profit from that newly obtained fame.
Kang-Woo put down the cup of coffee and looked at Yeon-Joo.
Yeon-Joo sighed and asked, "So, what actually happened inside the Gate?"
Right from the start, she hadn't thought that Kang-Woo would lose against the variant monster. After all, he was someone that had easily won a fight against a high-ranking player of the Red Rose Guild. Even if the variant monster was strong, it probably wouldn't be able to win against Kang-Woo.
"Nothing much. Kang Seong-Soo's party fought the monster first. Then I defeated it."
"But was Kang Seong-Soo really beaten up by the variant monster?"
"Yeah."
"The marks on his face were clearly done by a person."
"There's no way that could have happened. I'm sure you're mistaken," Kang-Woo answered calmly.
Yeon-Joo looked at him with a troubled expression. She couldn't help but feel anxious whenever she talked to him. He was someone who had talent far beyond her expectations. The problem was that he was capable of ignoring societal moral standards without hesitation for his own benefit.
'Am I raising a tiger cub?'?she thought worriedly.
Yeon-Joo ultimately shook her head and continued the conversation. "Hmm. First, tell me more about that variant monster."
This was why she had called Kang-Woo over. She wanted more information on the variant monster.
Kang-Woo nodded and proceeded to tell her more about the Buer. Of course, he didn't tell her about its Full Stomach characteristic.
"For a monster like that to appear in a B-rank Gate…" Yeon-Joo held her head with a complicated expression.
According to Kang-Woo, the Buer was a strong monster—so much so that it was hard to believe it had appeared in a B-rank Gate.
'It's at least an A-rank monster,' Yeon-Joo remarked inwardly.
The Buer was likely to be an elite A-rank monster. There was a massive gap in strength between monsters of even a single rank difference, so the difference in power between the Buer and the monsters in the B-rank Gate couldn’t be taken lightly.
'Too many weird things have been happening lately.'
The demon cult had suddenly become more active, and even a variant monster had appeared. The world had been slowly but surely achieving a state of normalization throughout the five years after the Day of Calamity, but now things were once again becoming chaotic.
'Come to think of it, the timeframe in which weird things started to happen and the time when Kang-Woo awakened as a Player are similar.'
It was hard to believe, but it had only been a month since Kang-Woo had awakened as a Player. It had been within this period that the demon cult suddenly became more active, and strong monsters that didn't match the ranks of their Gates started to appear.
'I'm sure it's just a coincidence.'?Yeon-Joo shook her head after looking at Kang-Woo for a little while.
It was true that Kang-Woo was growing at an unprecedented pace, but that didn't mean it had something to do with the demon cult or the sudden appearance of variant monsters. She couldn't blame him for something without evidence.
'Moreover…'?
Yeon-Joo watched Kang-Woo silently drink a cup of coffee.
Even though she did not see Kang-Woo as a kind and generous person, she didn't think he was a psychopath like the members of the Demon Cult, who used people as offerings.
'He isn't that level of human garbage.'
At least, that was what Yeon-Joo wanted to believe.
'Either way, we're in the same boat now.'
After the incident with Seong-Soo, it was publicly known that the Red Rose Guild was supporting the rookie Oh Kang-Woo. Of course, the news about that had been buried by the heroic tales of Seong-Soo, but anyone could probably find out about it easily if they wanted to. This meant that everyone knew that there was an alliance between them.
Yeon-Joo didn't want her guild's relationship with Kang-Woo to crumble just because she was suspicious of him.
"What are you thinking about for so long?"
"Oh… Nothing much."
"There's something I wanted to ask you."
"What is it about?" Yeon-Joo tilted her head and looked at Kang-Woo.
"Have you heard of a Rift Fragment?" Kang-Woo asked.
His question was about the words that had appeared in the message window that had appeared after he killed the demonic beast. He wanted to know if Yeon-Joo knew anything about it.
"No. It's my first time hearing about something like that."
"Hmm… I see."
"What is it?"
"After I killed the variant monster, I got a message saying that I had defeated a B-rank Rift Fragment."
"Hmm." Yeon-Joo nodded with a bright and curious gaze. "Okay. I'll try looking into those Rift Fragments."
Kang-Woo nodded and continued, "One more thing."
"Shoot."
"When are you going to give me details about your request?"
"Ugh…" Yeon-Joo's expression darkened the moment Yeon-Joo heard the word request.
Kang-Woo said calmly, "I'm sure you're aware of it, but we've entered a definitive alliance. However, there's an issue that hasn't been resolved between us."
"…"
"Wouldn't it be troublesome for you if I rejected the request after you've invested so heavily in me?"
"Yeah…."
"Don't worry. I won't reject it unless it's something completely outrageous. I want to maintain our current relationship too," Kang-Woo said, leaning back in his chair. "So, isn't it about time you tell me?"
Yeon-Joo sighed.
After thinking about it for a while, she yielded with an expression that seemed to say there was nothing she could do about it.
She began, "There's an organization called the Demon Cult."
"…"
"We are still unsure about this organization's size and how long they've been operating, but they suddenly became more active recently."
"And…?"
"They're lunatics who perform weird rituals with live humans as sacrifices. Our guild is collaborating with the government to catch them."
"So, that request..."
"I was planning to ask you to help us eliminate the Demon Cult once we find their location. We don't have solid evidence yet… but they're too powerful for us to brush them off as simply a cult made up of crazy people."
"…"
There was a heavy silence between them.
Kang-Woo finally understood why Yeon-Joo was trying to gather as many strong people as possible, even if she had to make those proposals personally in spite of her high status as the guild master of a major guild.
'So, she's planning to wage an all-out war against the Demon Cult,'?Kang-Woo realized.
It was no surprise that the Red Rose Guild, one of the largest guilds in Korea, knew about the Demon Cult's existence, considering that the government was already investigating the Demon Cult.
'Not bad.'
No, this situation was much better than not bad. Kang-Woo was already trying to hunt down the Demon Cult, so being able to do it with the help of a large guild and the government was the ideal situation. Moreover, Kang-Woo would definitely need their help if the Demon Cult was strong enough for even Yeon-Joo to be wary of them.
'The only thing I don't understand is...'
Kang-Woo frowned slightly and asked, "But why are you trying to get rid of the Demon Cult? Is it just because of a moral sense of responsibility?"
Yeon-Joo remained silent after hearing the sharp question.
Kang-Woo could understand why the government was trying to hunt down the demon cult, seeing as it had the duty of protecting its country and its people.
However, Yeon-Joo was different. She wasn’t some hero of justice. She had no reason to put so much effort into getting rid of the Demon Cult.
Of course, any ordinary person wouldn't approve of the Demon Cult's lunacy. Nevertheless, Yeon-Joo was in charge of a guild; she couldn't just mobilize an entire guild because of her sense of justice.
'And it's not like she can benefit from them the way I can.'
In Kang-Woo's case, he would be able to obtain lots of demonic energy through the Demon Cult's ritual. However, that wasn't the case for Yeon-Joo, so she had even less of a reason to face them.
"It's not like I'm doing it for charity. The government promised us a huge reward for eliminating the Demon Cult."
"Ah, so that's your objec—"
"And there's one more reason," Yeon-Joo said quietly, interrupting Kang-Woo.
She emitted a strong wave of bloodlust. It was suffocating and seemed to fill the room in the form of a thick invisible liquid.
'She's stupidly strong.'
Kang-Woo was impressed by Yeon-Joo's strong bloodlust. It was the first time he'd felt her power from such a short distance.
'So, this is a Ranker.'
Now that he had gotten even stronger after achieving his Fifth Awakening, Kang-Woo had a great desire to fight Yeon-Joo. It took him some effort, but he managed to suppress that desire.
"One of the people they sacrificed was a member of our guild," Yeon-Joo said.
"…"
"I can't forgive them, no matter what," she stated while still emitting her terrifying bloodlust.
'It must've been someone dear to her,' Kang-Woo thought.
It wasn't hard to guess that based on her reaction.
Kang-Woo nodded and spoke in a serious tone, "Okay, I'll accept the request."
"Thanks."
"I told you. I always repay my debts."
After saying that, Kang-Woo changed topics. "Putting that aside, what about the favor that I asked of you last time?"
Yeon-Joo had called Kang-Woo here to get information about the variant monster, but he had come here because he needed to get something from her.
"I got it," Yeon-Joo replied.
She took out a card from the drawer and handed it to him. The card had his picture and the words S-rank Gate Temporary Access Permit printed on it.
"I'm going to ask again, just in case. You're not planning to hunt there, right? If you are, I can't give you this," Yeon-Joo said.
"I already told you many times that I don't plan to do so," Kang-Woo replied.
"Then why in the world do you want to enter an S-rank Gate?"
"There's something I have to do there," Kang-Woo said with a smile.
He grabbed the S-rank Gate access permit, placed it in his pocket, and walked out of the Red Rose Guild building.
While walking to the parking lot, he opened his status window.
'I can finally use this.'
His status window showed him the new Trait that he had obtained with his Fifth Awakening.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺