GM Ch91

Park Gyuyoung was quite confident in himself. His skills were specialized in concealing his presence. As long as he used his skills properly, ordinary people or low-ranking hunters wouldn’t notice even if he took something right next to them.

Since getting caught on the spot would be impossible to recover from, he moved as cautiously as possible. He wore a baseball cap he usually didn’t wear, and used his profession to thoroughly identify the locations of the CCTV cameras and find the blind spots. He didn’t even approach the tightly secured Hunter Market building and instead loitered around the crowded flea market.

Park Gyuyoung carefully selected targets who were either ordinary people or hunters much lower in rank than himself. Even then, he didn’t touch the items they carried on their bodies. Due to the nature of the flea market, many people carried cash, so he targeted wallets or envelopes.

At first, he used his scouting skills to check the ranks and repeatedly looked around to see if there were any high-ranking hunters nearby, moving cautiously. But as he realized stealing was easier than he thought, he began to gain confidence.

As the crowd grew after lunchtime, Park Gyuyoung moved around boldly. He sneered at the ordinary people who didn’t notice him taking wallets from their pockets.

“How much is all this?”

At the eastern end of the Hunter Market site where the flea market was held, there was a four-lane road. Hiding among the beautifully arranged street trees, Park Gyuyoung checked the two wallets he had just stolen and laughed when he saw they were both filled with 50,000 won bills.

In just a few hours, he had amassed a significant amount of cash and magical tools. Although the magical tools were low-grade trash, they would fetch a decent price if sold second-hand.

It would have been perfect if he quietly left now. However, the temptation to make a few more rounds to buy more drugs kept him from leaving easily.

While he hesitated on what to do, people suddenly poured out from an old shopping building across the four-lane road. Even from a distance, he could tell they were hunters just by their extraordinary aura.

“What the…?”

All of Park Gyuyoung’s skills were related to survival. He instinctively felt that the six hunters were unbelievably strong, and it left him speechless.

As he thought about how unfair the world was, he realized he recognized one of them. Short hair tinged with red, broad shoulders, and a distinctive swagger.

Park Gyuyoung immediately recognized Kwak Jonghoon, whom he had always admired. At the same time, he suddenly realized that all the hunters with him were S-class.

Their faces were different from what was known. However, he could distinguish Seo Wooju, Choi Euiseong, Lee Hana, and Yoon Soohyuk by their hairstyles and outfits.

Then he suddenly became curious about the hunter next to Yoon Soohyuk. It was hard to see the face because of the baseball cap, but no matter how he looked, it didn’t seem like Hwang Sujin disguised as a man.

“Huh?”

As the man talking casually with Yoon Soohyuk turned his head, a name popped into Park Gyuyoung’s mind. It was Kim Minjun. He hadn’t watched the opening ceremony video many times, but he remembered the face clearly.

What was a mere C-class brat doing there? Park Gyuyoung ground his teeth in resentment, but instinctively felt that Kim Minjun was stronger than him.

Park Gyuyoung tried to deny it, using his detection skill, but he froze in place. The information about the person was completely filled with ■.

“It can’t be. There’s no way… no way.”

Park Gyuyoung desperately tried to ignore the truth. However, he couldn’t stop the fierce jealousy that surged within him.

How could a mere C-class brat be there? Why? Questions swirled chaotically in his mind. Yet, he continued to grind his teeth, following Kim Minjun with his eyes.

“That’s the guy. I’m sure of it!”

Startled by the voice behind him, Park Gyuyoung snapped back to reality. A man was pointing at him, and beside him were two hunters wearing the Red Flame Guild’s uniform. They were security personnel.

Sensing danger, Park Gyuyoung immediately ran in the opposite direction. He cursed under his breath. He had two wallets in his pocket containing other people’s IDs. It would be hard to claim he just found them.

He should have ditched them quickly.

If he got caught like this, not only would he lose his government job, but he could also end up in jail. That was something he absolutely couldn’t stand.

Park Gyuyoung bolted. If nothing else, he was confident in his stealth skills, so he dashed toward the shopping district across the street.

“Stop right there!”

Someone shouted loudly, but he didn’t look back. However, his desperate escape ended in seconds. Suddenly, chains wrapped around his body, causing him to fall.

Realizing it was Choi Euiseong’s binding skill, Park Gyuyoung struggled. He knew it was a futile resistance, but the unfairness of it all was maddening.

Why did I get caught? Why now? In front of S-class hunters? Fuck!

Dragged to his feet by the Red Flame Guild’s security personnel, Park Gyuyoung noticed the S-class hunters looking at him with disdain. As his pride was crushed, he locked eyes with Kim Minjun.

“He’s definitely the thief.”

Even from a considerable distance, the sound of someone clicking their tongue thundered in his ears. It was the same voice he had heard over the phone.

Jealousy, resentment, and the despair and shame of being screwed all converged into one emotion. A dark rage consumed Park Gyuyoung.

***

Park Gyuyoung’s appearance as he roared was grotesque.

His right arm, covered in dark red fur, had grown to the size of an adult man’s torso, while his relatively thin left arm was a mix of scales and fur. His torso had swelled to the point of tearing his clothes, with patches of fur and scales mixed in.

His shins below the knees had elongated at odd proportions, and long horns had sprouted from his head and right shoulder. His face, covered in red fur, had eyes, mouth, ears, and nose that were bizarrely enlarged.

In every way, he no longer looked human.

“A real monster.”

At Soohyuk’s muttering, Minjun sighed inwardly. As far as he knew, the transformation into a monster was the rarest side effect related to Whispering Poison. The information he had was more like a legend.

The monsterized human was said to charge recklessly like a berserker, without distinguishing between friend and foe. While they weren’t much different from regular monsters, the problem was that they could use the skills they had before transforming. Fortunately, Park Gyuyoung’s skills didn’t seem related to attacking.

Moreover, there were six S-class hunters here, including himself. Even though Park Gyuyoung’s rank had risen to A-class after transforming, subduing him wouldn’t be difficult.

Minjun pulled a spear from his inventory. The other S-class hunters moved in perfect coordination as well. They positioned themselves with their backs to the crowd gathered at the flea market, as if they had practiced for this moment.

Despite the dangerous situation, most people were focused on watching rather than feeling a sense of crisis. Even when Choi Euiseong and Kwak Jonghoon released perception-disrupting items and urged them to retreat, it had no effect. Instead, more phones appeared as if it were a concert. People trusted in the power of the S-class hunters and believed they would be protected.

Meanwhile, Park Gyuyoung stopped roaring and charged straight at the barrier. His movements seemed capable of destroying everything, but Soohyuk’s golden barrier held firm.

However, due to the nature of the reversed barrier, it was possible to enter from the outside, but using skills was impossible. To attack Park Gyuyoung, the barrier had to be removed.

“The durability is decreasing. 94, 93, 89, 87. What should we do?”

Yoon Soohyuk reported the remaining durability of the barrier.

“Hunter Yoon Soohyuk. Wait.”

Seo Wooju, who had given the order, stood in front of the people. At the same time, a silver wall appeared in front of his outstretched hand.

“It’s hunter Seo Wooju!”

Seo Wooju’s ultra-wide defense skill had been instrumental during dungeon breaks, so no Korean could be unaware of it. As the towering fortress appeared, people felt even more at ease.

Everything was going smoothly, but Minjun couldn’t shake off a sense of foreboding. It would be ideal if the monsterized Park Gyuyoung could be subdued without incident, but if he were to explode, the consequences were unpredictable.

Anticipating the worst, Minjun spoke to Soohyuk beside him.

“Guild leader, make sure to use your defensive skill at the end.”

“Don’t worry. Get ready! Disabling the barrier! 3! 2! 1! Disable!”

As the barrier, whose durability had been steadily decreasing, disappeared, Park Gyuyoung staggered, swinging his fists in the air. Simultaneously, the S-class hunters launched their ranged attacks. Minjun also executed his skill with precision.

The sharp attacks all hit Park Gyuyoung directly. However, he didn’t fall. Though his stance faltered once, he managed to hold on. The wounds and missing parts of his flesh quickly regenerated.

However, the subsequent coordinated attack from the S-class hunters was explosive. Choi Euiseong bound Park Gyuyoung with chains, while Kwak Jonghoon and Lee Hana unleashed flames.

Engulfed in unquenchable fire, Park Gyuyoung’s chest was pierced by Choi Euiseong’s dark blue spear and Yoon Soohyuk’s golden sword.

All these attacks occurred in less than ten seconds after the barrier disappeared.

“Wow!”

“Amazing!”

“All the S-class hunters are here!”

As the signature skills of the S-class hunters exploded in a dazzling display, the crowd erupted in cheers. From the start, the outcome of the battle was predetermined. Without any fierce confrontation, Park Gyuyoung let out a monstrous scream and collapsed to the side.

No matter how much stronger the monsterized Park Gyuyoung had become, it was impossible for him to withstand the concentrated attacks of the S-class hunters for more than a few seconds. Given the unprecedented situation and the sheer number of people gathered, it took time to control their power to prevent unintended casualties.