Chapter 168 (Part 1)
Chapter 168 (Part 1)
Chapter 168: See You Again? (Part 1)
Ryu Min, pretending to head to the restroom, quickly transformed into Hwang Yong-min. He disguised himself with low-level equipment, ensuring no one would suspect it was actually him.
‘That bastard Ju Seong-tak, will throw his crutches and come running the moment he sees me.’
Having finished his preparations, Ryu Min lingered near the main gate. Soon, he locked eyes with Ju Seong-tak.
“You! You bastard!”
Ju Seong-tak’s face contorted with rage as he charged towards Ryu Min with murderous intent. As expected, though he didn’t throw away his crutches.
“Finally, you bastard! I can’t wait to grind you to dust!”
Ju Seong-tak, equipping his gear as he ran, threw his crutches. But Ryu Min, using his Rune of Foresight, had already foreseen this move.
‘He’ll throw the crutch, then stab with a dagger while casting the Curse of Fear.’
His plan was to paralyze Ryu Min with fear and then stab him through the neck.
‘Not a bad strategy, but I’m not falling for it.’
Ryu Min didn’t dodge the crutch but lightly deflected it. The crutch flew away, obstructing Ju Seong-tak’s vision. Taking advantage of this, Ryu Min closed the distance and punched Ju Seong-tak in the face.
Bam!
“Ugh!”
Ju Seong-tak crumpled to the ground, a few teeth broken. Ryu Min lightly kicked him in the side.
Crunch—
“Aaagh!”
As Ju Seong-tak writhed in pain, Ryu Min grabbed his hair and slammed his head into the ground repeatedly. One, two, three times. Ju Seong-tak’s forehead split open, blood flowing, leaving him barely conscious.
“Hey, Ju Seong-tak.”
“Ugh…”
“Get it together. Or do you want me to smash your head even more?”
–You bastard, you’ll regret this.
‘Good, he’s conscious enough to think.’
Ryu Min pressed down on Ju Seong-tak’s head to prevent him from casting the Curse of Fear.
“You bastard, I crippled you to make you think straight, and you still come at me like this? Do you have a death wish? Still not learned your lesson?”
“……”
“Why do you keep coming at me when you clearly can’t win? Do you think you’ll suddenly get stronger if you charge at me again? Huh? Can’t even use a single skill before getting knocked down.”
“……”
“You think reckless charging will make you stronger? Know your place, idiot. Or do you miss my beatings that much? Want me to grant your wish? Where should I cut next? Want me to gouge out an eye this time?”
Even without reading his mind, Ryu Min could see Ju Seong-tak trembling with rage.
‘It’s humiliating, huh? He’s got a lot of pride.’
Just a bit more taunting, and he’d likely get rid of him as intended.
“Come on, say something. What should I do? Start the surgery as I see fit?”
“……”
“Not saying anything, huh? Boring. Just get lost, you bum.”
Ju Seong-tak silently got up, grabbed his crutches, and limped away.
Tap-tap-tap.
“Jeez, look at him move quickly when told to get lost. Guess he wants to live after all?”
Ryu Min taunted him as he walked away, but Ju Seong-tak didn’t look back. He just kept walking like a defeated soldier.
“If I see you in front of me again, I’ll kill you for real. Got it?”
Ju Seong-tak left the gate and soon disappeared from sight.
‘Humiliated in front of people like that, he won’t show up for a while.’
Ryu Min chuckled, then noticed the sharp glares from the members of the Grim Reaper Cult aimed at him.
“Ahem, sorry for fighting suddenly in your sacred place. As you can see, that guy attacked first.”
“Do you know him?”
At Eom Jun-seok’s question, Ryu Min nodded vaguely.
“I know him but don’t worry. He’s just a crazy guy.”
Ryu Min then locked eyes with Seo Arin, who was glaring at him with sudden anger. He realized his mistake.
‘Oh right, I’m still in Hwang Yong-min’s form.’
Hwang Yong-min had ambushed Seo Arin early on, so they had a bad relationship.
‘I shouldn’t stay here long.’
He never intended to stay in this form anyway, so he turned around, grumbling.
“Carry on with your business. Sorry for causing trouble.”
“Weren’t you here to join our cult?”
“Yes, but I’ll join next time.”
Leaving that with Eom Jun-seok, Ryu Min moved to a secluded area out of sight and reverted to his original form. After removing his equipment and using invisibility, he snuck up behind Min Juri and tapped her shoulder.
“Ah! You scared me! When did you get here?”
“Just now.”
“Where were you?”
“Watching the fight from over there.”
“You saw it too? The fight between those two.”
“Calling it a fight is a bit much. It was one-sided.”
“True, it was a one-sided beating. I was seriously debating whether to intervene or not, seeing someone with injured limbs getting beaten like that.”
‘From an outsider’s perspective, it must have looked like I was mercilessly beating up a defenseless cripple.’
But some might understand. Ju Seong-tak had been the one to draw his weapon first.
Ryu Min glanced at Seo Arin. She looked troubled, probably due to seeing Hwang Yong-min earlier.
‘She’s debating whether to go after Hwang Yong-min for revenge.’
Summoners only shine in the mid to late game when they have many summoned creatures. Seo Arin, now, could probably fight anyone without fear.
Taking revenge on Hwang Yong-min should be a piece of cake for her.
If he were still alive, that is.
‘Anyway, Ju Seong-tak. That guy seems like he’ll cause trouble…’
Though he had succeeded in sending him out, the threat wasn’t eliminated. Ju Seong-tak might control his anger in front of the strong, but he’d likely take it out on the weak without hesitation.
‘Knowing Ju Seong-tak’s nature, that’s probably what he’ll do.’
As he pondered the danger, Heo Tae-seok led everyone inside.
“All right, everyone, the show’s over. Let’s go back inside and finish our discussion.”
Following Heo Tae-seok, Ryu Min glanced back. He couldn’t help but feel uneasy about the ticking time bomb Ju Seong-tak had become.