Chapter 85
“Munch, munch! So, you just acted as his errand boy after getting beaten to a pulp like a dumbass?” said a morbidly obese Southeast Asian man over two meters tall.
His neck was covered with fat. He had small black eyes and messy curly hair. He scarfed down a slice of pizza in each hand.
“S-Sir Budiono, that’s not what happened...” the red-haired man whose ear Seong-Hwi had severed trailed off as he bowed on his knees before Budiono.
“Munch, munch. Then what happened?” Budiono asked.
The red-haired man shouted so that he could live, “H-he was aiming for our team from the beginning! I am certain he is from Pure Ladies and Gentlemen—Kurgh!”
Budiono kicked the red-haired man with his elephant-like leg. The man tumbled across the ground, vomiting blood.
“How are you certain when you have no proof? Huh?”
Budiono repeatedly stomped on the red-haired man’s head as if he were an insect.
“Kurgh! Mercy—”
“I told you to collect at least the Coins your snot is worth, but what did you say? Massacred?” Budiono continued to stomp on the man’s head as he shouted, “The Union’s investigative team is ransacking our business sites as we speak! How will you take responsibility for our profit losses?!”
“Kurgh!”
The red-haired man fainted, but Budiono did not stop.
“How dare you lose to a fucking nobody?! Do you know how much shame you’ve brought me in the clan?!”
Clan Hard Drug was a drug cartel centered around Drug King El Chapo. There was intense competition for influence within the clan, and those who pleased El Chapo were granted more profitable business territories and products for sale.
El Chapo, as his alias would suggest, was known for drug production and distribution. He had even recently created a new drug known as Liam, short for Love is a moment, through the right blend of his D Weapon and Mirror World materials.
“You’ve cost me the opportunity to distribute Liam!”
There were eleven members on the human ranking in Hard Drug. Eight were Semi Rankers and three were Rankers. Among them, Budiono was 945th in the human ranking, making him a Semi Ranker and the tenth most powerful in Hard Drug. His chance to distribute Liam was already low due to his low rank in the clan, but even that tiny chance had been extinguished.
The red-haired man whose head was being stomped by Budiono was already dead.
“Huff! Cheon Seong-Hwi, an Asian man, was it? How dare he pick a fight with Hard Drug?”
Hard Drug was a cartel. Exacting a bloody revenge against those who messed with the cartel was an ironclad rule. Humans needed to be shown what the consequences of messing with Hard Drug were through excessive revenge.
“He wants to hunt us, huh? Kekek! That means he’ll show himself again soon. I’ll tear off your skin and parade you throughout the Capital!” Budiono shouted, his eyes filled with bloodlust.
***
“What? You were behind the Paysandu massacre?” Jurie asked Seong-Hwi who was drinking tea across from her.
“Yeah.”
“Are you insane? Do you know how relentless the bastards at Hard Drug are?”
“Do I have to know so much about filth?”
Seong-Hwi had seen humans whose lives were destroyed due to the drug Liam that spread throughout the Capital in his past life. Humans addicted to Liam did whatever it took to collect enough Coins to buy more. This caused a boost in the crime rate, and many people turned into Chaos because they used Coins to buy Liam instead of paying the survival tax.
The Drug Crime Squad, which the Union heavily invested in, stepped up but failed to capture El Chapo, who had been the mastermind.
They should still be in the preparation stage to distribute Liam, Seong-Hwi said inwardly.
Since he needed sacrifices to let his name be known, he settled on Hard Drug since their eradication would benefit humanity.
“Make a post on the Network, Jurie,” Seong-Hwi said.
“Saying what?” Jurie asked.
“That Cheon Seong-Hwi is beginning his Hard Drug hunt.”
Jurie stared at Seong-Hwi dumbfoundedly. She did not like Hard Drug either since they were associated with countless shady rumors. However, disliking them was different from picking a fight with them. After all, Hard Drug was undoubtedly worthy of being called a major black clan.
“Why would you—Ah! Did your tarot card reading tell you to?” Jurie asked, her eyes shining.
Seong-Hwi was a prophecy D Weapon user. His actions were always beyond her understanding, but they always reaped benefits.
“You could say that,” Seong-Hwi fudged.
He thought, Looks like the events at Paysandu alley became a huge issue.
Trophy’s human escapees were currently spreading his name through word of mouth. He would earn even more public interest and curiosity if he started a lone hunt against the infamous Hard Drug, which was why he had killed the Hard Drug clansmen so brutally.
Murders happened so often, several daily, that they had become commonplace in the Mirror World. He needed more than just killing to pique people’s interest. For example, including keywords like Hard Drug, killing for pleasure, a mountain of corpses, a sea of blood, massacre, and declaration of war would garner much more interest.
Jurie began writing a post about Cheon Seong-Hwi beginning his Hard Drug hunt.
“Try to make it as sensational as possible,” Seong-Hwi remarked.
“Okay, that’s my specialty. I was a reporter on Earth!” Jurie replied as she typed rapidly on her phone.
This much noise should get Kabuka’s attention, Seong-Hwi thought. He then thought about what he needed for the Hard Drug hunt. Since I decided to postpone opening cubes until my caliber was heightened by using the genes Lina makes... I suppose the best option is to borrow a new destiny.
He had the perfect one in mind.
***
Cheon Seong-Hwi: A New Supernova!
The super rookie Cheon Seong-Hwi, who recently saved his kind imprisoned by Clan Trophy, fought against Hard Drug, a black clan infamous throughout South Earth. Hard Drug attacked Cheon Seong-Hwi first, reportedly because they were aiming for his items.
...
The Hard Drug clansmen, unlike their infamy, were massacred one-sidedly by Cheon Seong-Hwi. The most surprising was that the super rookie Cheon Seong-Hwi declared he would hunt down Hard Drug. He expressed no fear for Hard Drug, who attacked him in the dead of night, and that their leader, Drug King El Chapo, was but a rat hiding in fear.
After finding out his attackers were subordinates of the Semi Ranker Budiono, 945th in the human ranking, Cheon Seong-Hwi expressed, “It wouldn’t be a bad idea if I killed Budiono and became a Semi Ranker,” and...
The information Jurie released for free on the Network seemed neutral, yet cleverly not simultaneously. She made Seong-Hwi out to be a high-spirited super rookie by mentioning the fact that he saved his fellow humans from Trophy’s imprisonment. On the other hand, she made Hard Drug out to be a shameless bunch who attacked someone for their items.
The parts where she called El Chapo a rat and Budiono a weakling who Seong-Hwi could kill at any time acted as a catharsis for regular humans who feared Hard Drug. The Capital’s residents were impressed by Cheon Seong-Hwi, who openly revealed himself as the culprit of the Paysandu massacre without fear of repercussions from the Union.
Not only that, but he had the gall to declare war against the infamous black clan Hard Drug alone. Such actions stimulated people’s desire to see an individual come out on top against a massive group. Hence, the name Cheon Seong-Hwi spread throughout the Capital despite Seong-Hwi not even being in the Mirror World for four months.
***
“Gahaha! Did you see that post on the Network?”
“Kehe! I heard it from an informant. Hard Drug has become a laughingstock.”
“Geheh! They called for an emergency. I saw Budiono running as his fat jiggled.”
Black Humans discussed the super rookie Cheon Seong-Hwi picking a fight with Clan Hard Drug as they sat on the Cecil Hotel lobby couches.
“He sure is fearless. I’d bet he has no idea how fearsome El Chapo is.”
“Kekek! A super rookie, huh? Are there humans who haven’t been called that?”
“A supernova is a star that shines brightly for a moment and disappears. He needs to face the horrors of reality.”
The Black Humans who knew about Hard Drug believed Cheon Seong-Hwi was reckless. After all, one couldn’t be sixteenth in the human ranking by chance.
A boy with black hair, black eyes, and brown skin stared at the group of Black Humans as he swept the red carpet with a broom. He was Chaya Singh Rai.
I would expect nothing less from hyung-nim! He’s going against Hard Drug this time! Chaya shouted inwardly as his eyes shone.
He had been ecstatic when he recently heard that the one who rescued their fellow humans imprisoned in the late Clan Trophy had been Seong-Hwi. Others simply brushed it aside, but Chaya couldn’t because he knew Seong-Hwi had made preparations in advance before risking his life to infiltrate Trophy’s base.
However, even before Chaya’s overflowing admiration died down, Seong-Hwi had declared war against the drug cartel, Hard Drug.
Amazing! I wonder when I can stand by hyung-nim’s side again?
Chaya had undying respect for Seong-Hwi but was also anxious because it felt like he was rising too fast, leaving Chaya behind. Seong-hwi had hired him as a mercenary, meaning Chaya needed to be of use to him.
Just then, a refreshing scent lingered around his nose. Chaya looked up and saw a beautiful male elf with grey skin and green eyes smiling at him.
“Ah! Front Manager!”
“Thank you for working so hard every day when you’re just a handyman, Chaya.”
“Not at all. I was the one who said I was willing to do anything you asked of me. This is my job.”
The male elf nodded satisfyingly at Chaya’s answer and said, “You don’t have to come to the lobby starting tomorrow, Chaya.”
“Pardon? W-what do you mean?” Chaya asked, his expression hardening because it sounded like the male elf was firing him.
“Oh, I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant.” The male elf shook his head and continued, “I recommended you to somewhere else. There happens to be a vacancy in the Executionary Corps.”
“Executionary Corps?” Chaya asked in shock.
All Black Humans feared the Executionary Corps of the Cecil Hotel.
The elf answered, “That’s right, the Executionary Corps. Your ability is specialized in that field of expertise, after all. It’s too much of a waste for you to clean the floors. Oh, and no need to worry. You’ll be cleaning there as well.”
Chaya gripped the broom tightly and thought, This is it! I can do my part if I enter the Executionary Corps!
Rather than becoming a member of the Executionary Corps, Chaya was happier that he could prove his worth to Seong-Hwi and be of use to him by entering the corps.
***
“Huuu. Cheon Seong-Hwi, like I thought... you’re different,” Shin Jun mumbled as he stood next to Ye-Ji and read through the post on her smartphone.
After closing the dungeon, Growing Undead Forces, he returned to Butuan, where Clan One Tree had settled. The One Tree clansmen became stronger by completing the dungeon quest and obtaining rewards.
Jun had returned to Butuan, confident in how much he and his clansmen had grown. His clan was the fastest growing in Butuan, which used to be a city in the province of Agusan del Norte, in southern Philippines. They had graduated from being called newbies and gained fame as dungeon closers, albeit F-rank.
However, his confidence was shot once he returned to Butuan and heard about Cheon Seong-Hwi from the non-combatant Ye-Ji.
“He killed the goblin High Ranker Tutobure at Trophy, rescued the human prisoners, and this time... he declared war against Hard Drug.”
How can these be the accomplishments of someone who was Lost and arrived at the Mirror World the same day as me? Jun wondered.
Seong-Hwi had been different from the others since the Dark Forest. Back when he knew nothing, Jun believed he would one day catch up to him, but he was not so sure anymore.
“Who is Cheon Seong-Hwi, Jun oppa? Do you know him?” Ye-Ji asked Jun once she noticed his hardened expression.
Jun shook his head. He was the only one among his comrades who knew Card was Cheon Seong-Hwi.
I probably shouldn’t tell them, considering even I’m... feeling so lost.
They started from the same position, but the gap between them slowly grew wider despite Jun and the others clearing a dungeon, which was considered a treasure chest in the Mirror World.
A tiger that devours the wolves, huh? Even so, my thoughts haven’t changed, Cheon Seong-Hwi. You won’t be able to change the world alone.
Jun’s eyes filled with determination once he recalled his bet with Seong-Hwi. Since they did not wager anything, Jun would not lose anything even if he were to lose the bet. However, Jun wanted to win no matter what. The destiny of an entire race being influenced by one person was impossible.
We must become stronger as a whole. I believe in One Tree. The shade provided by this tree will one day cover the world!
Jun began to think about what to do next, having no time to be conceited after hearing about Seong-Hwi’s accomplishments.