Free Web Novel“What are you doing?!”
Joo Seowon recoiled, half-reaching out to stop me.
I shook off his hand and calmly smashed the cultist’s face one more time.
“Hey, Seo Jehyun!”
“Stay still.”
“Are you out of your mind—no, what are you doing?”
Just then, the cultist came to after two shots to the face.
“Ugh—haa...!”
His eyes flew open where he lay sprawled on the floor. I raised my arm to check his condition, and Seowon grabbed it at once.
“What the hell are you doing! You said you were going to ask questions. If you’re going to beat him, at least don’t overdo it. His face is a wreck! Tell me what you’re going to do before you do it, you punk!”
Like that would change anything. Still, for Seowon’s sake, I answered with a very friendly smile.
“From now on, I’m going to ask where Jin Haedo is. If he doesn’t answer, I’m going to hit him.”
“...What if you beat him to death—hey!”
“He’s got a regeneration skill. He won’t die from a few punches.”
“Even so....”
The paralysis wore off and the bastard, who had drifted out again, focused his eyes and met mine.
“N—no...! Disciple Kim!”
“...Disciple Kim?”
“You back with us? Good. Then I’d like you to tell me where Jin Haedo is.”
This wasn’t something that should be dragging out like this, but the way things kept getting weirdly delayed was turning my mood to shit in real time.
'And if we’re being exact, I went out at dawn and got randomly stabbed—so I’m allowed to beat him more, aren’t I?'
Yeah, we’re starting with a few more hits. I drove my fist into the side of his face again.
“Aaagh! D—Disciple...!”
Seowon grabbed my arm again, urgently.
“Stop... stop it.”
“......”
Scrubbing both hands through his hair, face knotted up, Seowon looked me straight in the eye.
“Hey, I’m not stopping you because I’m worried about this cult freak. I mean, maybe a little! His face is a blood pie right now!”
“......”
“But you’re just... too angry.”
“Me? No, I’m calm.”
“Calm, my ass. You’re pounding the crap out of a guy.”
What does that have to do with anything?
A bit of violence and my composure had nothing to do with each other. Of course, if I beat him to death, that’s where the problems would start.
Acting like he was feeling me out, Seowon carefully offered an alternative.
“Let’s... lock him in the spare room for now and try something other than violence.”
“Like what?”
“Use something like a truth serum. There’s gotta be an item for that if we look. And if it’s just Jin Haedo’s location we need, it doesn’t have to be from this guy, right? There’s Ryu Taejun.”
“......”
“Can we maybe... think a little broader here?”
He’s got a regeneration skill and he’s a C-rank hunter. Plus, search his body and you’ll find more than a couple items... Isn’t tossing a guy like that into a room a bit too humanitarian?
'Ah... Joo Seowon, seriously.'
I stared at him for a beat, then stood up.
“Fine.”
I dragged the guy across the floor and shoved him into the nearest empty room.
Once the door was shut, the eyesore vanished and my mind started to settle.
'Guess I really was pissed?'
Well... considering I stepped out in the morning and got stabbed, being angry was natural.
I slowly accepted that and looked quietly at Seowon.
“Seowon.”
“Huh?”
“The guy in there is a C-rank hunter. He’s got a regeneration skill, and probably that reflection skill that bounces skills back. If he tries anything, don’t entertain him.”
“...Okay.”
“And when I said he’s not right in the head, I wasn’t exaggerating. He’s actually unhinged, so don’t try to persuade him or any of that.”
“......”
Yeah... it was a shitty event to wake up to, but there’ll be a way to handle it. Worst case, hand him over to the cops.
'With a regeneration skill, they can’t nail me for assault anyway.'
Once I organized my thoughts, a wave of fatigue hit me, unrelated to my physical condition.
“Then I’m going to shower.”
I stripped off the rag of a shirt and stuffed it into the kitchen trash, then headed upstairs.
After a quick shower and a change of clothes, I checked the time; it was already past 9 a.m.
'Time flies.'
Come to think of it, I’d been half-forced to drop the work I’d planned for the morning. That could wait with no real impact... but going to meet Im Haekyung with my head like this felt like a lot.
'And I was hoping to have him do a little Mental Domination today, if possible.'
I needed to confirm whether that flash of my past with “Kwon Taehan” when I got bounced off that mental barrier really was a side effect of Im Haekyung’s control. I’d planned to provoke him just right or strike a deal.
'Not happening with this headspace.'
If I let him crawl through my unconscious like this, I might spend an hour cussing him out to his face.
Thinking through worst-case scenarios, I did a quick check of my body. The abdomen where the blade had lodged was fine, and a careful once-over of the rest showed nothing wrong.
I cracked the door, intending «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» to rest then head to Haeseong, and found the usual visitor there.
“Hi.”
“......”
“Waiting is becoming a habit, huh?”
Do Yehyun stood at the door, staring straight at me, then asked:
“...Are your injuries okay?”
“I’m fine. Thanks to someone who handled his skill awfully well.”
“......”
Under normal circumstances he would’ve loved that kind of acknowledgment, but his reaction was muted. I twitched a brow. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
“What’d you come to say?”
“I think... it’d be good if you retired soon, Hyungnim.”
“...I’m twenty-four, and you want me to retire? I don’t even have a proper job yet.”
A sudden push for retirement almost made me laugh. He didn’t crack a smile.
Instead, after a pause, he spoke quietly.
“...I have something to tell you later.”
“Can’t you say it now?”
“I want to organize my thoughts first.”
“When?”
“When you get back from going out... then.”
It wasn’t a heavy ask, so I nodded.
'Feels like a scolding coming.'
I’d thought I’d brought home a docile kid: listened well, decently capable, a bit weak-willed, easy to steer. Turned out he was an admirably diligent nag.
“Don’t go too hard on me.”
“When did I ever scold you, Hyungnim.”
“See you later, then. You heading out now?”
“...I have to. I’m assisting today.”
“Do well.”
Yeah—that’s what I call diligent.
I waved to send him off, and his eyes lingered a second.
After seeing him out, I went down to the kitchen, grabbed a quick bite, and left a little early to keep my original appointment.
'First time I’m driving myself to Haeseong, huh?'
With the rough morning behind me, I could only hope the afternoon with Im Haekyung would go smoothly.
***
11 a.m., Haeseong Guild building.
I arrived, parked, and headed for the lobby.
I wondered if I needed to say I was here to see Im Haekyung like last time, but the lobby staff guided me the moment I got close.
“The Guild Master is waiting upstairs.”
I followed them into the elevator and through a building I’d been in once before, familiar enough now to feel odd, until we reached Im Haekyung’s office.
Inside the neatly outfitted office, I saw him perched on the reception table.
The staffer who’d escorted me closed the door behind me and left.
“Long time no see.”
I offered the first greeting; he smiled in reply.
“It really has been a while.”
“Yes.”
“Better to see you in person than hear you on the phone, right?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Because I meant none of it, my voice came out flat. He let out a small laugh—just like he had over the phone.
'Is that supposed to mean “quit your crap”?'
Letting the laugh die at a convenient point, he kept the smile and said:
“I kept the time free so we could have lunch first. Conversation goes better with a meal, after all.”
“......”
“About last time—if I’d known you were that fragile, I wouldn’t have handled you so roughly. Not that I did handle you roughly...”
Tilting his head slightly, he trailed off. Watching that string of contrived gestures, I crooked up one corner of my mouth.
'Some apology.'
How do you manage an apology with zero sincerity? Not that I wanted one. If anything, I wanted to ask him for another round of mental control.
I answered blandly.
“I’m fine. I got something from the dungeon rewards back then.”
“Sounds like it was good.”
“It wasn’t bad...”
Yeah. It bumped a stat or two—nice reward. But compared to what he got, wasn’t I way short?
Name: Im Haekyung
Age: 32
Rank: S
Titles: —
Main Skills: Brainwashing (S), Mental Suppression (S), Mental Domination (S), Dispel (B)
'Of all things to receive, he had to pull these.'
