NPLLD 25

Chapter : 25

As Expected, the Stick is the Best Medicine (4)

‘What the hell is this guy?’

Jo Han-bin, who still didn’t even realize he was trapped inside a labyrinth, struggled to calm his pounding heart—but his fear refused to subside.

Everything that had happened… was caused by that man.

That was the only truth he could barely grasp.

“P-please… spare me. I had no bad intentions.”

‘What the hell am I hearing?’

Seo-yul scratched his head, genuinely wondering if the world’s common sense had changed.

“So trying to kill me was a good intention?”

“I-I wasn’t trying to kill you! I was ordered to gather information about you! It was Park Jin-beom who told me to do it!”

“Oh, really?”

Thinking back, it was true that his objective might have been more about gathering information than killing.

“But what about the five Management Bureau hunters you killed and ran wild freely afterward?”

“T-that is!”

There was no excuse that could justify it.

Jo Han-bin was a blacklisted fugitive hunter who had brutally murdered Seo-yul’s colleagues.

Realizing he had no answer, he desperately shouted:

“I’ll surrender! I’ll go to prison and never do this again!”

“You think going to prison erases your crimes?”

“B-but Korea focuses on rehabilitation over punishment! If I’m rehabilitated—”

“Shut up. Since when was it your Korea?”

Seo-yul scoffed.

People like him always thought the Management Bureau hunters were weak, so they acted boldly.

Even if caught, they wouldn’t be executed.

That was why they could act without restraint.

“You can’t do this as a public servant!”

“Public servants aren’t human or something?”

There was no reason left to listen.

Seo-yul slowly closed the distance.

Jo Han-bin struggled violently against the ropes—but it was pointless.

Seo-yul grabbed the front leg of the chair he was sitting on.

Jo Han-bin instinctively looked toward the Corrosion Lake behind him.

Chi-iiiiiiik!

Inside it, a grotesquely melted hornet head floated.

“Eek! W-wait! There are other ways! Why this—!”

“Because it’s necessary. You’re enhancement material.”

“Enhancement… material?”

Jo Han-bin’s skills—Silent (sound erasure), Fade (scent erasure), Phantom Hands (sensory deception).

If those were fused into the hornets…

It would become a nightmare beyond both humans and monsters.

“Wait! If you spare me, I’ll tell you everything about the blacklisted hunters—”

SPLASH.

Without another word, Seo-yul lifted the chair and threw him, still bound, into the Corrosion Lake.

“AAAAAAAAAAGH!”

His skin sizzled and melted.

But the acid also burned through the ropes.

He desperately tried to crawl out—

THUD.

Seo-yul stepped on his head.

“I already checked your phone and Park Jin-beom’s. You people formed an organization, didn’t you? Like a guild. Oracle, was it?”

Jo Han-bin’s body continued melting.

“If I ever meet Oracle, I’ll make sure they meet a worse end than you.”

“Y-you bas—”

Before he could finish, his body collapsed completely.

The corpse sank into the lake.

[System]

[Would you like to assign Jo Han-bin’s traits to the Corrosion Lake?]

[Jo Han-bin’s trait ‘Silent’ has been transferred.]

[Jo Han-bin’s trait ‘Fade’ has been transferred.]

[Jo Han-bin’s trait ‘Phantom Hands’ has been transferred.]

Deep inside the lake, the hive absorbed the liquid greedily.

Seo-yul watched for a moment.

“Grow well.”

Inside the hive, the boss-to-be Vespa faintly glowed in response.

Later

After leaving the labyrinth through the Sphere, Seo-yul checked his missed calls.

‘Vacation time… guess no one calls.’

But then—

[Director Lee Han]

He sighed and answered.

“Yes, Director.”

-Sorry to interrupt your vacation.

“Where should I go?”

Seo-yul was already putting on his raid suit.

On the other end, Lee Han was confused.

-Y-you’re coming already?

“Was I not supposed to?”

-A dungeon break occurred near Inwangsan Tunnel. Black macaque-type monsters were released. A child is still trapped inside the tunnel. We need you urgently.

“I’ll be there soon.”

30 Minutes Later

Vroom—

Seo-yul arrived on a motorcycle.

Smoke rose into the sky. Black macaque monsters rampaged everywhere.

“Get lost!”

Hunters of the rescue division were struggling to evacuate civilians.

Seo-yul activated his skills.

[Synesthesia activated.]

[Silent Wave activated.]

He quickly located the trapped boy inside a car.

At least thirty monsters blocked the tunnel.

Seo-yul lowered his spear, Roga, to the ground.

Screeeeeech!

Sparks flew as he accelerated.

Flames erupted along the spear.

“Red Lotus.”

Without hesitation, he charged into the tunnel.

Inside the Tunnel

The place was already overrun.

Screams echoed in darkness. Fire and smoke filled the space.

“Get out of the way, you bastards!”

Rescue hunters fought desperately, but the child was still trapped.

“Damn it! Hurry!”

Just then—

BOOM!

A monster lunged toward a civilian.

“NO!”

A hunter screamed—

But—

WHOOSH!

Something burned through the air.

A motorcycle crashed away.

And then—

The monster’s head was cleanly severed, skewered on a spear.

Seo-yul stood there.

“Senior!”

“Se, Seo-yul!”

Relief spread—but so did shock.

He was different.

Sharpened. Dangerous. Unrecognizable in strength.

“I’ve located the child. I’m going in first.”

“This is the fastest way to clear the monsters.”

Silence followed.

Even Lee Han, who usually objected, now only nodded.

“…Please.”

Seo-yul entered.

Inside the tunnel, battle begins

Monsters rushed him.

But—

Everything felt slow.

Too slow.

SHHK!

One strike cut down two monsters.

PUK!

Another was pierced straight through.

SHHK SHHK PUK!

It was slaughter.

Back outside, the rescue team watched in shock.

“Is this real…?”

“He got stronger again?”

“Is that really Seo-yul?”

One monster suddenly lunged toward the trapped child—

“Seo-yul! The kid first!”

Seo-yul was already airborne.

He spun mid-air—

And drove his spear straight through the monster.

But dozens more rushed him.

“Air Strike ready!”

Just then—

Seo-yul raised one finger.

Silence.

Everyone stopped.

He thrust downward—

PUK!

The monster was pinned to the ground, killed instantly.

But the swarm surrounded him.

Seo-yul narrowed his eyes.

“…Time to use it.”

A new technique.

The ultimate strike of Dragon King Spear Art.

“BREAKING WAVE—!”

A shockwave erupted from the spear.

The tunnel shook.

And everything was swept away.