The Gates on Earth served as barriers, separating those who went in from those who were outside. Frontier was different, it didnât have any barriers. In other words, you could easily disturb someoneâs hunting grounds anywhere you went. However, the land was vastâŠ
âItâll be easy to hide a couple of people here.â
The party of four, composed of two Players and two Adventurers, sat on a boulder in the dark forest. They were a strange bunch but the reason they were together was even stranger.
âItâll be even easier to hide corpses here.â
âWho should we kill next?â
âI dunno. I think the rumors have spread too much around here.â
âShouldnât we start moving to another region? I think people are starting to take notice of us.â
Hunters. The one thing these four had in common was the rush they felt when taking a life. They didnât particularly like killing humans; if possible, they wanted to kill monsters.
âTsk, hunting monsters is pretty fun, but they donât give us any money.â
âIf the Adventurer Guild gave us good Quest rewards in the first place, we wouldnât be forced to do this.â
âYeah, itâs societyâs fault that we had to resort to killing people.â
Once again, they were pathetically blaming others for their problems. The four stood up and looked at their leader, the Adventurer Dell.
âSo what should we do? Leave right away?â
âOr⊠How about we leave with a bang?â
âTsk. Thatâs what I want, but we donât have any good targets.â
Their average level was 76, which meant they were stronger than the majority of people in Gilleon. Their team was also quite balanced. The two Players were a healer and a mage, and the two Adventurers were a swordsman and an assassin. It was a coincidence that they met, but their party layout was perfect. This was why they were able to stay on the run for so long.
âThere have been more city guards on the field lately. Itâs scary.â
âWellâŠWe did go a little wild.â
Fifty people had already died in their hands in Gilleon alone. In addition, they were also the culprits of all the missing cases in Gilleon.
âOh, I was roaming the hunting ground a few days ago when I heard a weird rumorâ At Muto, the healerâs words, the other three turned to look at him.
âWhatâs that?â
Muto continued. âThey said that Seo Jun-Ho came up to the 2nd floor.â
â...Seo Jun-Ho?â
âWhoâs that?â
The two Adventurers looked at him in confusion. Only the mage seemed shocked.
âDamn, really? That Seo Jun-Ho? The Super Rookie?â
âWho is he? Explain.â Dell interjected.
The mage started to explain. âSeo Jun-Ho is a super famous guy from our world. In terms of pure skill, they say heâs around the same level as Kim Woo-Joong.â
â...Kim Woo-Joong? The Sword Saint?â
âThatâs right.â
Dell shook his head. âForget it. Thereâs no way we can kill a monster like him.â
The mage disagreed. âIâm telling you, heâs still a newbie.â
The healer, Muto, nodded in agreement. âHe should be just a little over level 30. Even if heâs a monster newbie, shouldn't the four of us be enough to take him on?â
â...Level 30? Youâre sure?â
âYeah.â
Dell fell deep in thought. Despite being a killer, he valued his own safety more than the thrill. âIf heâs only level 30, wonât he be broke? I donât know if weâll be able to make a decent profit off of him.â
âNah. His armorâs really expensive. Itâs worth at least a few hundred gold.â
âWhat?! A few hundred?â
âIt was made by a super famous blacksmith. Even if we have to sell it on the black market, itâll go for some tens of gold.â
A few hundred gold⊠The four of them gulped. Even if they divided the profits, each person would be getting at least dozens of gold.
âWith that much⊠Wouldnât it be enough to live and relax for a few years?â
âWe can go to a big city, get some chicks, and drink expensive wineâŠâ
âShit, now Iâm getting excited. Heâs a walking wallet.â
Greed was already visible in the eyes of the four people. The two Players were especially sure that they would succeed.
âEven if heâs ranked number 1 in the Cave of TrialsâŠâ
âHeâs still only level 30.â
They were over level 70, and their stats would be significantly higher than him.
âIâm telling you, thereâs no way weâll fail.â
âLetâs go!â
The four people began roaming their hunting ground around Gilleon.
***
âAwooooâŠâ A whip wolf whimpered helplessly as it breathed its last.
âThatâs why you shouldnât try to eat people whoâre just passing by. You shouldâve been nicer.â Seo Jun-Ho wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand and looked around the clearing, which was covered in blood and the corpses of wolves. He reached into his inventory and pulled out a saw.
âTime to harvest the leather.â He had already been hunting monsters for five years, so the process was familiar to him. âBack in the day, we used to eat monster meat if we ran out of rations inside a Gate.â
The Frost Queen frowned. â...Do not say such vile things. My appetite will disappear.â
Ssk, ssk
Perhaps because his Weapon Mastery skill had recently reached rank S, Seo Jun-Ho was able to skin the wolves quickly and efficiently
âLook at this. Do you see how I didnât lose any of the hide? This is high-grade stuff.â He hummed as he started to collect the leather. He had leveled up twice from killing 54 level-45 whip wolves.
âAt this rate, Iâll reach level 50 before the ten days are up.â Still, he wasnât as fast as he used to be. Back then, he had traveled the world and hunted monsters that attacked cities. It was only reasonable that he leveled up quickly. âMy Fame should increase once I go back and get my rewards.â
âDidn't that little fox say that your benefits would increase if you gather more Fame?â
âWhy do you keep calling Captain Gong that? Anyway, yeah.â He nodded. Players could get higher-grade Quests the higher their Fame was. Not to mention, nobles generally wouldnât speak with Players whom they had never heard about. In other words, if Players wanted to interact with nobles, then they had to have at least a high enough Fame. âI only wish theyâd give me more than 50 Fame for completing the Whip Wolf Quest.â He would have to do a lot of Quests before his Fame became high enough.
âCaptain Gong also said that I would have to reach at least 1,000 Fame before I could even talk to a nobleâŠâ This meant that he had to do 19 more Quests similar to todayâs Quest. He sighed as he peeled off a hide. âI wish I could catch a criminal or something. If I handed them over to the authorities, Iâd get a bunch of Fame.â
âYou seem to think too simply of life.â
âJust one timeâŠâ
The two of them continued to chat as Seo Jun-Ho skinned the wolves. Suddenly, Seo Jun-Hoâs hands stopped. Both of them turned their heads.
âContractor, someone is approaching.â
âI sensed it too.â He scanned the corpses and scratched his head. âWell, Iâd also be surprised if I saw thisâŠItâs not a big deal.â Itâs not like heâd committed a crime. On the contrary, killing the wolves was beneficial for others. He continued to harvest the leather without a care in the world.
âI wonder who it is. They keep walking around.â
âThat is also what I sensed,â the Frost Queen spoke up.
â...What, they just left?â
âStrange. I expected them to come closer.â
âWeird.â
15 minutes later, Seo Jun-Ho sensed a familiar presence. It was the presence of the man who had been wandering around him not too long ago.
âHa, itâs a man.â He smiled and scratched his nose. âI knew it. Iâm pretty sure itâs a fan.â He shook his head.
â...Contractor, what made you think of such a thing?â
âThink about it. If they werenât a fan, why would they keep stalking me and even bring their friends over?â
âHm, Iâm not sure. Perhaps they wish to attack you.â
âIâm not sure about that. It makes no sense.â As he felt their approach, he became sure of it. âTheyâre fans. Theyâre gonna ask for autographs. Wanna bet on it?â
***
âYou guys know the plan, right?â Dell whispered.
âYeah.â The three others nodded. Muto had discovered Seo Jun-Ho a few minutes ago.
âFirst, Iâll pretend to be his fan. He wonât be that suspicious because Iâm also a Player.â
âHow about you try asking for his autograph?â
âOoh, good idea. Heâll be perfectly fooled.â
âAlright, then Iâll approach him from behind,â said the assassin, Finn as he gripped his dagger. If they surrounded him, it would be a piece of cake.
âAnd then Iâll throw a fireball from a distanceâŠâ
âWhile Finn and I will ambush him. Perfect.â
Normally, they wouldnât even come up with a plan. But their opponent this time was Seo Jun-Ho.
âHey, waitâŠâ
âIs that the smell of bloodâŠ?â
As they cut through the thicket, they came into a large clearing full of dozens of wolf corpses.
âH-How many are there?â
âThatâs at least 40âŠNo, 50.â
âHe killed them all by himself? In one sitting?â
âHeâs crazyâŠâ
They went pale.
Seo Jun-Ho dropped his saw onto the ground as he stood up. âYou there. Youâve been following me around for a while now.â
â...!â
Their hearts started to beat faster. Dell swallowed nervously, and Finnâs hand crept toward the dagger strapped to his waist. Had he already noticed their purpose?
Muto trembled as he spoke, âI-IâmâŠIâm a fanâŠC-can I have your autographâŠplease?â He sounded like he was reading out of a textbook.
âIdiot!â
âJesus, who would fall for that?â
âI forgot how bad he is at acting.â
Seo Jun-Ho grinned. He smirked, looking to his side where there was nothing.
âI suspected as much.â
â...?â
âDo you have a paper and pen? I can take a picture with you too if you have a Vita.â
âA-an autograph, please.â Muto pulled out a paper and pen from his inventory. As Seo Jun-Ho signed his name, Finn slinked behind him, while Dell gripped the handle of his sword. Daniel slowly started to create a fireball.
âMmhm.â As Seo Jun-Ho finished the autographs, the Frost Queen burst into laughter. Seo Jun-Hoâs face immediately went red.