Kill the Hero
Chapter 28
The first day Kim Woo-jin met Park Shin-hye was the day he received an offer from Lee Se-joon.
"Hunting dog Kim Woo-jin, I need your strength."
Naturally, the memory of his first meeting with Park Shin-hye was hazy, for it was the same day when the light that will save the world reached out to him.
After that, he had no particular memory of Park Shin-hye.
Their roles were different in the first place.
Kim Woo-jin was the hunting dog that cleaned up Lee Se-joon''s surroundings while Park Shin-hye was the flower that decorated Lee Se-joon.
Kim Woo-jin had no reason to be interested in Park Shin-hye.
To be completely honest, he was too busy; too caught up fighting to save the world.
In other words, that day was the first time that he felt any interest or emotion toward Park Shin-hye.
It was the day when he was betrayed by the hero he trusted more than anyone. He saw the true side of Park Shin-hye and developed feelings of anger and hatred towards her.
"Woah! It's Park Shin-hye!"
"Messiah's Goddess!"
"Goddess! Please look at me just once!"
"Please save the world!"
That Park Shin-hye was now in front of Kim Woo-jin.
The woman who is carrying out a plan to swallow up the world was walking through a thunderous shout of cheers.
When he saw her, Kim Woo-jin admitted it honestly.
'How terrifying.'
Kim Woo-jin admitted that she's the most terrifying prey he's ever chased after.
Already, Messiah Guild has become irreplaceable… and the Yamato Federation, which conspired to invade the Korean Peninsula, was nothing but a puppet.
'To think she would fool the world so perfectly.'
Everything she planned was progressing covertly.
No matter how uninterested he was in her movements, Kim Woo-jin only realized her conspiracy just before he died.
If Kim Woo-jin hadn't been so lucky this time around, finding her tail would have come about much later.
'Now I know how the other players felt about the Messiah Guild.'
She was a prey that Kim Woo-jin had to catch.
'No, come to think of it, many in the world has tried to hunt the Messiah Guild, but no one has succeeded.'
However, Kim Woo-jin had no intention of giving up the chase.
It was the first time he discovered her carefully hidden tail.
Under such circumstances, if he intended to give up the hunt just because it leads to a monster when you chase after the tail, he would not have talked about hunting in the first place.
"I can't win using force alone."
Rather, this situation in which he finally found the tail was a golden opportunity.
History began to shift away from the past.
It was the perfect time to make the crack even bigger.
'And I don't even have to be the one causing the trouble.'
At that moment, Kim Woo-jin held his smartphone and called someone.
There was a short tone and a straight voice.
"Yes, I am Kim Woo-jin."
As soon as Kim Woo-jin finished introducing himself to the voice, he started to talk.
"I called you cause I have something to report about dungeon. It's information I didn't report, but I thought I should tell you. I believe this isn't something I should report by phone or text. May I meet and talk to Mr. Park Yong-wan?"
Park Yong-wan, his mood wasn't so great.
It was due to the news he received from Busan.
Even though the A+ rank dungeon was cleared in three days, the report given to him was full of confusion and uncertainty.
Despite losing 31 players, and the Orc Champion being hunted on the 2nd day, no one could give a clear answer to how the process went.
Therefore, Park Yong-wan accepted Kim's personal interview with pleasure.
From Busan to Gimpo, he gave Kim Woo-jin the earliest plane ticket and even provided a taxi for him at the airport.
The entire process was paid for by Park Yong-wan's personal card as well.
Park Yong-wan has never treated anyone with favor since becoming a player.
"Skull Guild was weird?"
"Yes, I didn't write it in the report because I wasn't too sure, but the actions of the Skull Guild were certainly strange."
"Tell me more in details."
Fortunately, it was worth the favor.
"I've never seen them hunt an orc before."
"As you know, Skull Guild wears a skull mask. If I saw them hunt, I wouldn't have been mistaken."
"Maybe you just didn't see them hunt?"
"Yes. But it is easy to tell if someone had fought the orcs or not, the appearances of Skull Guild members who were resting did not look like they had engaged in a fight with the orcs even once. And…"
"And?"
"Sometimes, Skull Guild members seemed to be observing the movement of our guild and other guilds."
"Spy?"
"A Skull Guild member stole a glance at our guild and left."
"If I hadn't been in the role of an observer, I wouldn't have realized it. There were also instances where I've even seen him use his Silent Hunter skills."
The information Kim Woo-jin told him were not pleasant news.
'In summary, the Skull Guild didn't intend to hunt orcs from the beginning. However, they still entered the dungeon… In other words, there's a good chance they were only after the Orc Champion. Or the players. If they were after the Orc Champion, it's very likely that Skull Guild joined hands with another guild. They were probably wiped out because a legendary item dropped after killing the Orc Champion. In order to gain the ownership, it's likely that the Skull Guild was thrown away.
In conclusion, it turns out the Skull Guild played a trick, and during the process, there was an unknown problem. Unfortunately, the evidence related to it seems to have disappeared within the dungeon.
There was nothing about it that made Park Yong-wan feel better.
"Damn it, If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have cared so much about this!"
To be honest, Park Yong-wan just wanted to deal with this as if nothing had happened.
"Anyway I wonder why Park Shin-hye from the Messiah Guild came. Do you know why?"
However, Park Shin-hye, her name, made Park Yong-wan reluctant to give up.
For all the well-known players in Korea, not just Park Yong-wan, Park Shin-hye's presence was an undeniable one.
"That's what I want to ask."
It was the decisive reason why Park Yong-wan couldn't help but be interested in the dungeon. "Do you have any information on the movement of the Messiah Guild in the dungeon?"
"Nothing special. But if I had to add my personal opinion, I felt that they were too conservative, too safe."
"You felt that they were too conservative?"
"I thought that the Messiah Guild would go after Orc Champion from the beginning. They are not the type to avoid water and fire, are they?
"Certainly."
"But this time they moved too calmly. They just slowly dwindled down the number of orcs. As if they didn't care about the Orc Champion."
Therefore, Park Yong-wan was more inclined to listen to Kim Woo-jin's words more deeply.
Of course, Park Yong-wan did not believe 100 percent of Kim Woo-jin's words.
'So the evidence lies within the Skull Guild, huh? Maybe it would be good to dig around and take a look.'
It wasn't a bad idea to look into the Skull Guild when he had no other leads.
'If you think about it, the Skull Guild is really fishy. Even though they don't have any sponsors near the top 10 within the financial circles, their mobilization of funds and connections are better than most decent guilds…'
Moreover, Park Yong-wan already suspected the Skull Guild to have a slightly different secret than the other guilds.
Kim Woo-jin's words had enough basis for him to keep his ears open.
"Kim Woo-jin."
Park Yong-wan moved on to the next question.
"What do you want?"
Now, he tried to ask for the price for the important information that Kim Woo-jin kept even from the guild.
"What do I want?"
"I hope you don't act all innocent and nice in front of me. It's not very pleasant when you know it's an act."
Kim Woo-jin nodded at such remark.
Then he loosened his gentle face and said with a smile around his mouth.
"I'd like to be introduced to a broker."
"Broker? Aren't you already acquainted with Hayashi Konsuke?"
"It's true that we know each other."
"Then wouldn't it be better to trade with him?
At Park Yong-wan's question, Kim Woo-jin said while shrugging his shoulders.
"After my first deal with Hayashi Konsuke, a phone call came from Mr. Park Yong-wan, and I was immediately offered a role as an observer in the A+ rank dungeon to watch over my colleagues. I don't want to make a deal with him when it's pretty obvious as to what happened."
Such an answer made Park Yong-wan chuckle.
'He's much smarter than I thought.'
Kim Woo-jin was right.
It would be crazy to trust a broker who handed over his trade partner's information to someone else due to suspicion.
"I'll let you get into contact with any broker you want."
Above all, Park Yong-wan thought it was worth giving a player like Kim Woo-jin some preferential treatment.
"He's usable."
He was well-worth fattening up for future uses.
Hearing what he wanted, Kim Woo-jin opened his mouth.
"Oh Se-chan, I heard that name is the most reliable on this floor. I heard he's the best when it comes to money laundering, is that right?"
Park Yong-wan smiled back at Kim Woo-jin's reply.
"Even if you get a call from a number you don't know, it would be good to answer your phone for a while."
That was a memory.
Lim Sun-joon, a memory of a person who was sent from the Yamato Federation to take over the Korean Peninsula.
It was an opportunity for Kim Woo-jin.
'Oh Se-chan.'
The opportunity to have a broker dedicated to his trade.
'Though he isn't someone I can trust…'
Of course, Kim Woo-jin did not have much faith in Oh Se-chan.
'However, I do like the fact that the Yamato Federation hates him to death.'
The important detail was that he wasn't won over by the Yamato Federation and was listed on their assassination list.
'And if he was a member associated with the Messiah Guild, he wouldn't have been on the Yamato Federation's assassination list.'
Looking at the situation as a whole, there also existed a possibility that the Messiah Guild wasn't associated with Oh Se-chan either.
'Since I didn't know his name, it would mean that they had succeeded in the assassination.'
More importantly, their assassination would have been successful.
If such famous person was still alive 2 to 3 years later, Kim Woo-jin definitely would have heard something about him.
'Hayashi Konsuke must have taken his spot after he died.'
Kim Woo-jin knew the history after that.
After the disappearance of the Black Market tycoon Oh Se-chan, his clients became clients of Hayashi Konsuke, who gave the Plus Ring to Johann Georg. And Park Yong-wan, who was one of them, moved over to Japan with his players and considerable number of items through Hayashi Konsuke…
In other words, the Yamato Federation's plans had to be changed more depending on how much longer Oh Se-chan lived, which would affect the Messiah Guild's plans as well.
'Value of a card like Oh Se-chan is certainly worth the effort.'
That, however, wasn't the only reason Kim Woo-jin wanted to make contact with Oh Se-chan.
'Even if that wasn't the case, I will be able to get in contract with those associated with the Yamato Federation just by staying near Oh Se-chan.'
As long as Oh Se-chan's name was on the Yamato Federation's assassination list, players from the Yamato Federation would continue to rush toward him.
Like a moth flying toward the flames.
From Kim Woo-jin's point of view, it was an opportunity to gather a clearer picture of the Yamato Federation.
'In the process, if I catch a new tail of the Messiah guild…'
Making most of the opportunity was the best Kim Woo-jin could do right now.
Uung!
At such a moment, Kim Woo-jin received a call.
The caller ID was unknown, but Kim Woo-jin answered the call without hesitation.
"This is Kim Woo-jin."
Then a surprised voice came out.
There was an apology.
Kim Woo-jin replied to him.
"No, I'm sorry. You called the wrong number."
That was the end of the call.
It was one of those experiences that happens sometimes when someone calls the wrong number. However, Kim Woo-jin did not brush off such accident as an accident. Rather, he dialed the number he just got the call from.
It was the same voice that made the call not too long ago.
But the way he spoke was completely different.
Unlike a while ago, there was no sign of weakness, but rather it was filled with very heavy, cold tone.
Kim Woo-jin replied to the question.
"Yes."
"I need money. I'd like you to introduce me to a dungeon that's worth a lot of money. And I also need some money laundered as well."
"You only have to give me the dungeon report and enough gas money to get to the dungeon gate."
The moment the call was over, he received a text message.
'Kobold.'
As soon as he saw the details, Kim Woo-jin was sure.
'He doesn't planning on getting a new client.'
He was sure that Oh Se-chan didn't want to increase the number of his customers anymore.
The evidence was that kobolds were used as a test.
Kobold was a monster that walked on two feet with a dog-like head, and their physical abilities were located halfway between a goblin and an orc.
Their individual strength was far behind the orcs.
Their strength as a herd, however, was too much to compare to the likes of orcs and goblins, making them a difficult monster to deal with.
They definitely weren't the right type of monster to test a new customers' skills.
In other words, he did not intend to increase the number of his clients as Kim Woo-jin previously thought.
'Maybe he already knows there are people who are after him.'
Moreover, such a way of selecting his customer often indicated the broker felt threatened by the idea of accepting new clients.
'This won't be easy.'
It was obvious that Oh Se-chan was not an easy bait.
Then, Kim Woo-jin received a second text.
"Ilsan."
It was a text that contained the location of the dungeon gate.
In addition, the text also included the answer to Kim Woo-jin's demand for his transportation expenses.
It was the moment when Kim Woo-jin truly met someone who wasn't easy to deal with.