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He gripped his baseball bat tightly with his right hand, prepared for an encounter with a patrolling member of the Tyrant guild.

In the moment of confrontation, he aimed for a decisive blow to the head, intending to finish them off in one strike without being detected.

“These guys are just selling people, so I guess it wouldn’t matter if I didn’t go easy on them.”

It’s always tough at first.

Kang Jin-hyuk steadied his wobbly heart, determined to take the opponent’s life without hesitation if necessary.

“Alright.”

With newfound confidence, Kang Jin-hyuk took a deep breath and bolted out towards the entrance.

As he caught sight of a hunter directly in front of him, he swung the bat with all his might.

Whoosh!

To his dismay, the bat merely sliced through the air, not making contact with his target.

Kang Jin-hyuk’s bewilderment was palpable as he realized he had missed his mark completely.

He had aimed precisely for the opponent’s head and was confident in his distance, yet it was as if he had struck at a ghost.

He quickly concluded that the member of the Tyrant guild must have activated some special skill, and his tension peaked.

‘This is bad.’

Having squandered the opportunity for a surprise attack, the guild member would surely sound the alarm.

If that happened, the operation would fail.

Han Young-seok and the Titan hunters would abandon him immediately, leaving him with no chance of survival.

Kang Jin-hyuk desperately contemplated how he might navigate through this crisis.

“If it doesn’t work, then I’ll just keep swinging until it does!”

He swung at the oppressive air again and again, but not once did he land a meaningful hit.

All he heard was the whooshing sound of his failed swings.

At least he found some comfort in knowing that nobody was around to witness this embarrassing display.

“What is this?”

Before he could complete ten fruitless swings, Kang Jin-hyuk noticed something strange.

No matter how ineffective his attacks were, the opponent hadn’t even tried to retaliate.

In fact, they weren’t even glancing in his direction.

It was as though they were staring straight ahead, like a lifeless doll.

“I can’t have turned into a ghost, right…?”

Extending his hand, he felt his fingers pass right through the opponent’s body as if it were a hologram.

To confirm his suspicions, he touched the wall beside him, its surface felt solid and real.

If there was nothing wrong with his own body, there could only be one answer.

As he focused on the seemingly stationary figure, Kang Jin-hyuk furrowed his brows.

“Damn it, it’s just a fake created using an illusion skill.”

Since it was an illusion, there was no Karma value visible.

Unlike the heavily fortified three-layer barrier surrounding the building, the entrance was merely a single illusion standing guard.

Touching the illusion would not trigger alarms, nor would it call for backup.

It was simply a façade.

“Do they think they’re some military organization with such weak defenses?”

It was possible that even if the guards were mere illusions, they could be watched over by something like CCTV.

Kang Jin-hyuk took a careful look around.

“Nothing visible for now.”

He couldn’t completely ignore the possibility of hidden cameras.

Taking out one of the miscellaneous items he had hastily packed, he retrieved a small EMP made from monster materials of electrical affinity.

Using this would render any electronic device within ten meters as scrap metal.

The downside was that it would damage even his owned electronic items without discrimination.

Although he felt regret over the smartphone payments, he couldn’t afford to hesitate about that now.

Kang Jin-hyuk placed the device on the ground, and it emitted a blue glow, creating waves around him.

“Is it working?”

He pulled out his smartphone to check if it turned on.

Pressing the button repeatedly yielded no response, indicating the EMP had worked successfully.

“Damn, what the hell? Why did my phone suddenly shut off?!”

Hearing a shout from inside the building startled Kang Jin-hyuk.

Quickly dropping to the floor to avoid being seen, he pressed himself against the wall as a hunter stepped outside through the door.

“I’m so damn fed up with waiting in this hick town. And now the damn phone is acting up too.”

The hunter’s shoulder bore the silhouette of a dinosaur, the symbol of the Tyrant guild.

Caught up in vainly trying to entertain himself with the phone, the current situation was like a personal crisis for him.

The guild member searched everywhere, trying to revive his dead phone.

It seemed he assumed there was a network problem when he lifted his phone over his head.

‘No one seems to be inside, and… just that one guy?’

Kang Jin-hyuk couldn’t fathom how a place responsible for producing Alraune could have so few people.

Even if he believed that the barriers were secure, it didn’t make sense to leave so few guards behind.

“Damn, while the rest of them are slacking off inside, I’m left on lookout duty?”

Kang Jin-hyuk perked up at the sound of the hunter’s complaints.

Unbeknownst to him, someone nearby was eavesdropping, filled with discontent.

“After all, there’s no one foolish enough to break through these barriers. Setting up a few illusions is enough. Damn it, why am I stuck guarding here?”

Realizing from his words that there was only one person holding the entrance, Kang Jin-hyuk confirmed that there was no necessity to stay put anymore.

As the Tyrant guild member turned to look elsewhere, Kang Jin-hyuk quickly advanced.

Before the hunter could react to the sound of footsteps, the baseball bat reached his head first.

A sharp thud echoed, and the hunter collapsed without a sound, utterly still.

“Guess he won’t stir awake anytime soon.”

Perhaps he wouldn’t wake up for a lifetime, but Kang Jin-hyuk chose not to ponder that point.

He owed no courtesy to a villain whose Karma was over 800 and who trafficked humans.

Kang Jin-hyuk entered the building through the open door, seamlessly slipping inside.

The spacious interior could easily accommodate around a thousand people, resembling a prison one might see in a movie.

Looking up, he spotted cells lined with metal bars, with anguished groans reminiscent of sick patients echoing from within.

In stark contrast, the sounds of laughter and chatter emanated from the ground floor.

Kang Jin-hyuk was certain that the remaining hunters were inside that brightly lit room.

“I think I’ve gathered enough intel for reconnaissance…”

He had surveyed the internal layout and identified the hunters’ locations.

Even if he were to retreat now, it was a significant enough gain for which no one could admonish him.

However, Kang Jin-hyuk wasn’t inclined to pull back yet.

Returning empty-handed would surely mean Han Young-seok wouldn’t provide him with actual spoils.

There was little hope he wouldn’t even snitch on Kang Jin-hyuk’s actions against Tyrant.

“No matter how I think about it, my loot should be secured by me.”

Kang Jin-hyuk decided to head upstairs first.

As he moved, he encountered hunters, all of whom turned out to be mere illusions without any visible Karma.

He made a roundabout path to count the number of imprisoned individuals.

So far, he had detected seven survivors; all were young women in their twenties.

It seemed they had not been given a proper meal, showing a drained look as they lay on messy beds without any energy.

Even as Kang Jin-hyuk got closer, they didn’t even bother to turn their heads, sapped of strength.

“Guess they’re only being kept as fodder.”

With nothing to give those destined to die, he sighed in frustration.

As a fellow human, could they really commit such acts without feeling a shred of guilt?

Continuing to inspect the upper floor with a heavy heart, Kang Jin-hyuk stopped in front one of the cells.

Unlike the previous ones, the occupant here was a man.

Torn and filthy clothing revealed a body covered with blood, indicating he was a victim of abuse.

The man, chained up, sensed Kang Jin-hyuk’s presence and slowly raised his head.

Upon meeting Kang Jin-hyuk’s gaze, he expressed confusion.

“You are… someone I’ve never seen before…”

The man sighed deeply, perceiving Kang Jin-hyuk as a newcomer.

“Before it’s too late… you should escape… The people here are all insane…”

Kang Jin-hyuk studied the man with intrigue.

Despite being all torn up, the symbol of Tyrant was etched around his shoulder.

“Why is a Tyrant hunter locked up here?”

“…”

The man didn’t seem inclined to respond and instead lowered his head quietly.

Kang Jin-hyuk stepped closer to the bars and spoke again.

“I’m not a guild member here. I heard you’re crafting something and came to investigate.”

The man’s eyes widened with surprise at this.

His expression shifted from hopelessness to alertness, almost as if he’d found hope.

“Is that really true…?”

“Of course. Why would I come all the way here to lie?”

As the man bit his lip, tears began to flow down his cheeks.

Kang Jin-hyuk patiently allowed the emotions to calm down before the man spoke with clear determination.

* * *

“It’s been quite some time, and there’s no sign of them returning.”

Checking his wristwatch, Han Young-seok clicked his tongue in frustration.

If an alarm went off, he’d have to abandon the mission.

He didn’t feel detected, but waiting indefinitely didn’t seem prudent.

Baek Jin-woong noted Han Young-seok’s dissatisfaction and quietly chimed in.

“Why not ignore the delay and proceed?”

“Are you suggesting to proceed without a scouting report?”

“Honestly, the information we’ve gathered is sufficient. We can send Jin-hyuk as bait while we ambush from behind.”

“Hmm.”

Han Young-seok found Baek Jin-woong’s suggestion highly appealing.

“Alright, it’s getting late; let’s proceed like that…”

Just as Han Young-seok was about to concede his idea…

An arrow struck the watch on his wrist unexpectedly.

A shot that hadn’t given him a chance to react shattered the watch into countless pieces without leaving a scratch on his wrist.

“Who the hell did that?!”

Baek Jin-woong shouted, pale with shock, as another arrow flew from the same direction, landing near his feet without warning.

Once Baek Jin-woong turned in the direction of the shots, he caught sight of Lucia perched on a tree above.

Recalling her as Kang Jin-hyuk’s ally, he gritted his teeth in frustration.

“Are you intending to fight us?!”

“No, I’m merely cautioning you not to harbor any foolish thoughts.”

Finishing her remark, she loosed another arrow, effortlessly shattering the glasses of a guild member who had been discreetly casting a skill.

As the glasses flew straight past their owner’s face, the dude jumped back in panic, losing balance and crashing to the ground.

“Damn it!”

Baek Jin-woong could no longer hold back his anger and was set to charge when Han Young-seok stepped in front of him.

“Stop it. Fighting amongst ourselves is foolish.”

“But she just attacked us!”

“She’s only here because she wants Jin-hyuk to abandon us. She’s not here to pick a fight with us.”

Upon hearing Han Young-seok, Baek Jin-woong simmered down but remained irritated.

Lucia looked on in surprise, commenting sarcastically,

“Oh? You’re not charging in recklessly? I honestly thought you’d be the type to leap toward me without assessing the situation.”

“Ha, we were the ones who misstepped. Why would we act so boldly?”

However, while Baek Jin-woong suppressed himself, Han Young-seok’s mind calculated quietly.

Thus far, every arrow Lucia had loosed had hit its mark, as they were aimed only at taking out her targets.

Among the gathered thirty guild members, not a single one had managed to avoid the attacks.

‘She could easily kill any of us while making it appear as if it’s just a game.’

Han Young-seok wondered how Kang Jin-hyuk had brought such an impressive hunter into this chaotic melee.

“There hasn’t been a single case where such an extraordinary archer has appeared before.”

It was only a fleeting thought, but he couldn’t shake off the question of how such a gifted individual had come into existence.

Baek Jin-woong narrowed his eyes, regarding Lucia with simmering anger.

“Enough of this! Are you really serious about starting a war with us?!”

“No, I cautioned you so you wouldn’t make rash decisions.”

Lucia’s reply triggered something deep within the guild members’ hearts.

If they had all gone up against her, their decisions would only end in side casualties regardless of her true intent.