The Poisonous Healer

Two men were seated facing each other on a luxurious sofa.

The Head of the Glory Guild, Gu Gyeon.

And the Vice President of the Hunters' Association, Yoo Inwon.

Whenever the two men met, a pleasant warm breeze would often blow.

They would be busy praising each other for doing noble work for the people of South Korea.

The deep connection between the Association and the Glory Guild was a well-known fact to everyone in the industry.

Yoo Inwon, who visited other guilds only once a year, would frequently visit the Glory Guild headquarters almost every month.

But recently, an unusual tension had begun to creep in between them.

When Yoo Inwon's son, Yoo Jiwon, began preparing for the Hunter Qualification Test, discord crept into their once-harmonious atmosphere.

Yoo Jiwon did not grow to meet their expectations.

The expectation that he would at least become a 'B'-ranker was shattered miserably, and he very nearly failed, almost not even receiving the minimum rank.

It was only because Yoo Inwon pulled strings from behind to secure him an 'E' rank that he avoided becoming the worst laughingstock in the history of the Hunter Qualification Test.

The strange tension between them grew, eventually reaching an irreversible point.

The explosion at the Glory Guild's research laboratory.

Yoo Jiwon was at the laboratory at the time and then went missing.

A blessing in disguise, perhaps.

According to the results of the Glory Guild's internal investigation, no trace of Yoo Jiwon's body was discovered.

A faint hope that he might still be alive somewhere.

That was the single lifeline Yoo Inwon was clinging to now.

"Please don't worry too much, Vice President. Hunter Yoo Jiwon is strong. He must have survived."

"I pray... that he has.”

Yoo Inwon's tone of voice had become indistinct and dull, different from before.

Not only his hairstyle, but even his neatly trimmed beard had grown unruly.

The many fine wrinkles that were already there now densely covered the corners of his eyes.

Yoo Jiwon was his only child, born late in his forties.

With his son gone missing after the explosion, it would have been strange if he were in his right mind.

Gu Gyeon also wore a genuinely regretful, somber expression.

However, the face he was contorting was akin to crocodile tears.

'Just get the hint and get out of here. Damn it.'

Normally, the life or death of an 'E'-rank healer would be none of Gu Gyeon’s concern.

When clearing high-difficulty gates, dozens of hunters die every single day.

It was enough to just throw some money their way as consolation; he neither felt the need to involve himself in, nor did he have any intention of doing so.

It might be more convenient if he just stayed dead forever.

After all, the 'experiments' recently conducted on Yoo Jiwon were clearly illegal.

The only reason an all-out search was being conducted was because of the position held by Yoo Jiwon's father.

Gu Gyeon had his employees comb through every inch of the area around the research institute, but Yoo Jiwon was not found.

However, no matter how much he was placated, Yoo Inwon showed no sign of intending to leave.

He seemed to be expecting some more special, extraordinary measure.

'Well, there's no helping it... They say a crisis is an opportunity.'

Looking at Yoo Inwon, who was pitifully staring at the ground, Gu Gyeon decided to reconsider his plan.

Right now, he was showing weakness due to a family member's life hanging in the balance, but if the Vice President of the Hunters' Association held a grudge, no guild would be able to withstand it intact.

He decided to pull out the drastic remedy he had in mind.

"Starting today, our guild's hunters, including myself, will be searching the Haebang Neighborhood area.”

"Is... Is that true?"

"Yes. All Hunters will be mobilized, leaving only a small number of emergency personnel behind. Of course, this matter is strictly confidential, so I hope the Association will also closely monitor the media."

"Don't worry about that. It will definitely be handled that way."

When it came to finding his own son, something like 'guild operating regulations' wouldn't even register on his radar.

For the time being, Yoo Inwon would act as the Glory Guild's loyal watchdog.

'Yoo Jiwon... just where the hell is he…’

The Glory Guild also suffered significant damage from this laboratory explosion.

State-of-the-art medical facilities and specialized personnel in the scientific field.

The effort to solidify the relationship with the Hunters' Association had backfired like a boomerang.

After sending Yoo Inwon away, Gu Gyeon roughly pressed the call button.

"Tell Maria to get ready to go out with me.”

* * *

"Doing this is really making things uncomfortable."

"Hahaha. Please don't worry, Hunter Chun Haesun. It's only natural for a knight to do these things.”

"No, I mean I'm uncomfortable because of the people watching."

"Huh?"

I meant it literally.

Today was the day Bisu was moving.

I wondered where she got so much furniture from, especially when she would be living alone.

A 1-ton truck was fully loaded with Bisu's belongings.

Bisu had asked not only me but also Yuk Cheolwan for help.

He probably didn't trust me, Chun Haesun, because of my frail appearance.

So she flirted to ask for help, but behind the scenes, she made a move on Yuk Cheolwan?

Once again, I thought she wasn't a woman to be taken lightly.

Such a sly one.

"Hup."

Yuk Cheolwan hoisted the furniture in both arms and began climbing the stairs.

The 'Hup' seemed to come out purely out of habit; for him, this level of effort was probably no different from lifting a cup of coffee.

I followed behind him, carrying light items like blankets.

If someone were to see an adult carrying a heavy load while I was just handling the light stuff, it would be the perfect situation for them to point fingers.

But Yuk Cheolwan, unaware of these circumstances, stubbornly insisted on carrying all the heavy items himself.

He said that compared to the favors he had received (?) before, this was nothing.

Hmm.

Well, he did receive the Aurum Bloom and the Taurus Horn from me, so it was understandable, but why was I the one doing the work while Bisu gets the rewards?

"I brought you drinks!"

Bisu, the main character of the move, brought a bag full of energy drinks.

We leaned against the wall of the studio apartment building side by side and opened the lids.

"Wow... You actually moved all the furniture in the short time it took to buy these?"

"Haha. There's a reason why low-rank knights take side jobs at moving companies. This much is a breeze.”

"If it weren't for you, Clan Leader, it would have taken all day. Thank you so much~"

Bisu cooed, adding a nasal tone to her voice.

"Clan Leader. Don't get swayed by this woman's sweet talk and make sure you get your payment.”

"Hey! You think I'm doing this just to haggle down the moving costs?"

"You might be able to fool the Clan Leader, but you can't fool me. That's exactly how you acted when you tried to scam me."

"Ugh, you're so annoying. Pay for the drinks."

"I don't have cash. Deduct it from the payment."

"Urgh..."

Watching us not give an inch to each other, Yuk Cheolwan burst into laughter.

"Hahaha. You two always seem to get along so well."

"Does this look like we're getting along right now?”

"It looks that way to me. By the way, Bisu. What are your plans from now on?"

That was something I was curious about too.

An Esper who had mastered not only Stealth skill but also 'Buff'.

Her abilities weren't publicly known for the time being, but once her value became recognized, every guild would rush to recruit her.

Just like when I was assessed as an 'S'-rank healer.

The problem is, it was not even certain whether she would take the Hunter exam.

Bisu, who had been active in the black market, seemed far from happy.

Now that she had finally gained her freedom, would she really want to fight monsters so close to death again?

Bisu's appearance was so outstanding that one might wonder if she even needed to do that.

Her red hair, rarely seen in Korea, and her bewitching features.

Even the scars that once marked her face were now completely gone.

In fact, while moving today, there wasn't just one or two men who had asked Bisu, ‘Can I help you with that?’.

But they all hurriedly left seeing Yuk Cheolwan coming down from the studio apartment building.

"Hmm... While packing up at the black market, I gave it some thought…”

Bisu's gaze scanned my face for a moment.

"I'm going for something that makes a lot of money."

"If it's about money... maybe a celebrity...?”

"I thought about that too, but isn't there someone around here who makes way more money than the average celebrity?”

After saying that, Bisu stared intently at me.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"Because you're someone who makes a lot of money."

"How do you know that?”

"Heehee. Whenever you left the black market, I would ask the old lady. How much did you swindle today?”

Then, she turned her gaze back to Yuk Cheolwan.

"People call Hunter Chun Haesun a noble hunter, right? But all of it is just to make money for themselves.”

"Is that so...?"

"Chun Haesun has made tens of billions from the black market, but people don't know that~"

"Huh?"

Yuk Cheolwan looked at me with a puzzled expression.

Why.

What.

"So, I was thinking~ maybe I could be Chun Haesun's assistant. Even a fifty-fifty split is generous, don't you think?"

"Fifty-fifty? That's nonsense. Even 10% would be excessive.”

"Oh. But you're not saying you won't do it together, are you?"

I smiled inwardly.

That naive person had no idea just how valuable she was.

If I could secure a 'Buff' that significantly enhanced a hunter's abilities, even if I have to give away 10%, that would be an incredibly profitable deal.

If Bisu knew the whole story, she might even report me to the 'Hunter Fair Trade Commission.'

"Fine, I'll see how you do."

"Hmph. Still acting all high and mighty till the end.”

"Haha. Ms. Bisu. Then, after you pass the Hunter exam, you can join our clan. I think it would be great for the three of us to work together like before.”

"Shall we? Ohoho."

I had a feeling that might be the case, and it seemed Bisu would be working with us for the time being.

Well, who else would she have connections with besides us?

An Esper with 'Buff' skills and a 'B'-rank knight with the Taurus Horn.

Combined with a team that included a Poisoner.

Somehow, it felt like things were gradually coming together.

Maybe we should just start a guild?

"I have no interest in working with civilians. Get your Hunter license first. It won't be easy, though.”

"The Qualification Test? I heard anyone who's Awakened can get it quickly."

"You have to take a theory exam too."

"Ugh..."

At the mention of a theory exam, Bisu's face contorted miserably.

"Hahaha. By the way, Ms. Bisu, I don't think you should be wandering around at night for a while."

"Why? You saw a stalker or something?"

At Bisu's innocent question, Yuk Cheolwan forced a bitter smile.

"That's not it... It's just that an old friend of mine who used to be a colleague lives around here... and he said people keep going missing."

"Missing?”

"Yes. Crime happens in any neighborhood, but I think we need to be careful because the rumors have been bad lately."

Missing.

For a moment, the incident of the Glory Guild Research Institution explosion flashed through my mind.

The incident happened nearly ten days ago, but the media hadn't even properly reported on it.

Perhaps because of that, not many people seemed to recall the incident.

But somehow, a feeling of unease crept in.

Did they ever actually find Yoo Jiwon's body?

With the incident being blatantly concealed, there was no way for me to verify.

Bisu, being naive, was happy about finding a cheap studio apartment, but everything that's cheap usually has a reason for being so.

The gloomy atmosphere hanging over the neighborhood was quite unsettling.

"Thank you for your hard work today. Because of me, you couldn't even spend time with your wife…”

"Haha. Not at all. Now she's even starting to nag me to go out and meet some friends."

"Already?”

Even as he said that, Yuk Cheolwan seemed eager to hurry home.

After leaving Bisu's place, we headed in our respective directions.

Thump, thump...

I confirmed that Yuk Cheolwan had disappeared from sight and stopped walking.

It seemed like I wouldn't feel right until I resolved this nagging unease.

The gloomy energy blanketing the entire neighborhood.

A faint, wafting scent of blood.

So faint you'd only notice it if you intentionally focused.

I might not have noticed it before absorbing the Golden Core.

But there was definitely the smell of blood.

The most remote corner of the Haebang Neighborhood administrative district.

From the abandoned, half-finished building left behind due to land rights issues.

-Squeak, squeak.

As I got closer to the derelict building, a strange sound became audible.

A bizarre sound, somewhere between laughter and the noise of something being chewed.

As I stepped inside the abandoned building, I focused all my senses.

Because things that shouldn't have been on the floor were scattered about.

A torn dress.

A bag with its strap broken.

A handful of hair ripped out.

And then, a bone, just a lone hand left behind.

Crunch.

The sound of chewing something hard echoed.

The gleaming finger bone seemed to point the way.

There was definitely something beyond there.

Something related to the disappearances happening in Haebang Neighborhood.

As I took a step, all the blood in my body ran cold.

"……!!!!!!!!!"

Yoo Jiwon.

No, 'what used to be Yoo Jiwon' was devouring a corpse, chewing on its human hands.

A sigh escaped me at that demonic sight.

No matter how much a hunter goes berserk, I had never heard of one eating people.

“You didn't just lose it as a hunter; you gave up being human altogether.”

Yoo Jiwon, who had been frantically devouring the corpse, flinched.

Eyes empty, devoid of focus.

With eyes sunk deeper than despair, Yoo Jiwon stared at me.