Chapter 42
Magic Prodigy (3)
“Who! Is! The Orc! Chief!?”
Kang Hyeon swung his fist with emphasis on each word.
“Kuuk! Uk! Keheuk!”
Each time, the fat man responded with a crisp reaction.
“I, I’m sorry for not recognizing the great hero Kang Hyeon!”
“We’re sorry!”
Those who were just mocking him as the great orc chief were all bowing with their heads to the ground.
“What’s with this ‘great hero’ stuff?”
“They’re just flattering you. They’re saying whatever comes to mind since they need to survive.”
Kang Hyeon frowned at Yoon Na-rae’s voice coming from beside him.
“Why are you like that?”
Kang Hyeon asked the man with a fierce expression.
He was a man who looked like a typical extra villain with a bald head and a scar near his eye.
“Yes. I am the leader…”
The leader was currently being ‘flower-arranged’ by Kang Hyeon. This means he was planted in the ground with only his head showing. With just his smooth head visible above ground, from behind he looked exactly like a large egg talking.
“Why did you do it?”
“Pardon…?”
“Why did you mock someone’s face, you ostrich egg?”
The leader was flustered by the sudden personal attack.
“Should we crack an egg today? Hm?”
“I’m sorry! My torn eye must have affected my vision!”
“Huu… Forget it.”
Kang Hyeon sighed and roughly ran his hand through his hair.
“How long have you all been doing this?”
“I’m not sure what you mean…”
“How long have you been bandits?”
There were many such robbers in uninhabited areas of South Korea. Naturally, meeting bandits here wasn’t particularly surprising. However, Kang Hyeon currently knew nothing about North Korea’s situation.
So even if it was troublesome, it was good to ask about even small details to gather information.
“It’s been about 1 week…”
“What? 1 week? Are you lying?”
When Kang Hyeon looked at him with suspicious eyes, the ostrich egg shook his head repeatedly.
“No! Until just recently, we were properly conducting guild activities.”
“Then why are you doing this now?”
“Well… Another guild drove us out of the city. After that, as we tried to make ends meet, we ended up like this…”
“Are you kidding? Should I make some fried eggs today?”
“Pardon…?”
“Looking at how plump you are, you’ve been eating meat three meals a day. What do you mean making ends meet?”
“You couldn’t handle the guild rivalry and ran away, right? And then you chose robbery as your next source of income.”
“That’s correct…”
The leader quickly agreed, thinking he might die if he made the wrong excuse.
“Alright. I understand.”
There was limited information to be gained from these small fry. Kang Hyeon raised his fist, thinking to handle this cleanly. Then the leader shouted with the most pitiful expression he could manage.
“P-please spare me!”
“Why should I?”
“If you spare me, I’ll do anything you ask!”
“You weren’t going to spare me either. Did you listen when someone weaker than you made such a request?”
“Please, I beg you! We actually haven’t taken anyone’s life here!”
“How can I believe that?”
When Kang Hyeon spoke in a cold tone, the leader began to shed chicken-drop tears.
“I didn’t intend for things to be like this from the start. When we were in Kaesong, we really lived while maintaining at least basic business ethics. Sob sob…”
“Wait.”
Kang Hyeon stopped as he caught something in the leader’s words.
“Did you just say you came from Kaesong?”
“Yes…? Yes! That’s right!”
“You should have said that from the start, man.”
“I’m sorry!”
Although Kang Hyeon hadn’t asked in the first place, now wasn’t the time to argue about such things.
“Seong-ah. Did Choi Yeon-hwa say earlier that she was in Kaesong?”
Shin Seong-ah nodded at Kang Hyeon’s question.
“Yes. I heard she’s operating around the refugee camp that was previously in Kaesong.”
“I see…”
Kang Hyeon grabbed the ostrich egg with his hand.
“Ugh? Kueeeeee!”
The leader was pulled out of the ground with a scream.
“My head feels dented…”
It wasn’t just his imagination. The leader could clearly feel the mark of Kang Hyeon’s hand imprinted on his head. But there was no time to groan in pain.
“Lead the way.”
“Pardon…?”
“I said lead the way, man.”
The leader stood there with a stupid expression at the sudden command to lead the way.
Looking at him, Kang Hyeon smiled.
“Let’s go. To Kaesong.”
***
Ippotranslation
***
“Um… Mr. Kang Hyeon…?”
The captain hesitantly called out to Kang Hyeon.
“What.”
“We’ve arrived at Kaesong now, would it be alright for us to return…?”
“No.”
Kang Hyeon’s response was sharp as a knife.
Normally, they would have given up right away, but this time the captain persisted.
“Well… Given that we were driven out, it feels awkward to go back in…”
“Think about it carefully. Would you rather get scolded by me now? Or would you rather worry about the ones who drove you out?”
At Kang Hyeon’s words, the captain nodded with a stern expression.
“I’ll try going in with a thick skin on my face.”
“Yes, that’s what you should do.”
He had nearly ended up having to be cautious for the rest of his life.
The captain secretly let out a sigh of relief behind Kang Hyeon’s back.
“How big of a city is Kaesong in North Korea?”
“Uh…”
The captain pondered carefully at Kang Hyeon’s sudden question as they walked down the street.
“I’m not exactly sure, but it’s definitely one of the top cities you can count on one hand.”
“It seems quite poor for being such a city.”
“Yes… I suppose it’s because it’s already a fallen country…”
To put it nicely, it was a ‘city,’ or a ‘refugee camp,’ but in reality, it was no different from a ‘pigsty.’
The crowded people were all shabby, and the streets were overflowing with filth.
‘This is the worst I’ve seen since my revival.’
Kang Hyeon frowned at the piercing stench.
“Do you know who Choi Yeon-hwa is?”
“Choi Yeon-hwa… Choi Yeon-hwa…”
The captain kept muttering the name as if trying to recall something.
“Ah! That devil!”
“Devil…?”
“Yes. Among ourselves, we usually call her either devil or sword demon. Choi Yeon-hwa originally led a guild alliance called Iron Person, but at some point, she just went completely crazy.”
Kang Hyeon looked at Shin Seong-ah as if asking what this meant.
But Shin Seong-ah was equally clueless.
When she shrugged her shoulders, Kang Hyeon turned his attention back.
“What do you mean by went crazy?”
“Well… Should I say she became gloomy? Like someone with loose screws, she would be blank and suddenly start wielding her sword… Anyway, she wasn’t in good condition.”
“Is that why you call her sword demon or devil?”
“Yes. That woman’s sword skills were truly ghostlike, so people half-jokingly, half-seriously said she must have made a deal with the devil.”
“Hmm… This is strange.”
The Choi Yeon-hwa that Kang Hyeon remembered was an extremely bright and positive person. Someone who always radiated happy energy to those around her. Additionally, due to her cute appearance and aegyo, she kept many men awake at night.
‘That girl is a ghost? A devil?’
It was an unbelievable story.
“This won’t do. Originally, I was planning to just stop by and say hello on my way to Ollien, but now I need to look into this properly.”
“Yes. I wondered why we couldn’t contact her, and now we know why. This is definitely something that needs to be investigated at the guild level.”
Shin Seong-ah also agreed with Kang Hyeon’s words.
After all, Choi Yeon-hwa was an executive who managed the Badass Guild in North Korea.
Even though their interactions had decreased, they were still members of the same Badass Guild.
They couldn’t just stand by and watch them disappear so meaninglessly.
“Hmm… I remember Ms. Choi Yeon-hwa definitely had considerable talent with the sword, it would be unfortunate if she went down the wrong path.”
In the past, Han Se-yeon had also coveted Choi Yeon-hwa’s talent and tried to recruit her into the Dangun Guild.
Choi Yeon-hwa, who was Kang Hyeon’s fan, instantly rejected that offer, but Han Se-yeon still maintained positive feelings toward Choi Yeon-hwa.
“It’s too early to make conclusions. Let’s meet Choi Yeon-hwa first and talk, then we can judge.”
Just as everyone nodded at Kang Hyeon’s words.
“Hey! Who do we have here!?”
A group of men approached the captain.
“Why did you come back here after running away with your tail between your legs?”
“Yo-Yong-su…”
Upon seeing them, the captain trembled and quickly hid behind Kang Hyeon.
“What’s this now?”
“Wow, what an ugly expression. Where did this guy come from?”
The man called Yong-su and his companions snickered while looking at Kang Hyeon.
Thick veins gradually began to appear on Kang Hyeon’s forehead.
“Hey hey. This bastard seems angry. He’s getting serious?”
“Wow, scary enough to appear in nightmares. His face is really fierce, really fierce.”
The captain watching from behind secretly rejoiced.
‘These crazy bastards. Do you not know who’s standing in front of you? It’s the famous Kang Hyeon, you punks!’
He seemed to have already forgotten that he himself had failed to recognize Kang Hyeon and had joked about him being an Orc Chief.
“Are you the most famous guild in Kaesong?”
The men frowned at Kang Hyeon’s sudden question.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m asking if you’re the most successful in this city.”
“Kekek. You’re asking the obvious. Why? Want to join us because we’re successful?”
“Hey. With his looks alone, most people would run away just by standing next to him.”
“Hahaha!”
The men kept laughing, finding something extremely amusing.
“Sorry, but we don’t accept just anyone. And that bald guy hiding behind you. He’s quite an annoying fellow. At least he needs to be dropped…”
Yong-su stopped speaking as Kang Hyeon approached with a fierce expression.
“What? Want to throw a punch?”
“Yeah, going to throw one.”
As soon as the words ended, Kang Hyeon’s fist struck the man’s face.
“Yo-Yong-su!”
“This crazy bastard!”
The man was foaming at the mouth with his teeth completely shattered.
Not a single tooth remained intact, so he wouldn’t even be able to wear dentures in the future.
“Unfortunately, all the dental implant hospitals have closed. Sorry about that.”
“You bastard! Do you know who Yong-su is!?”
“It’s too late to beg for your life.”
The men drew their swords and glared at Kang Hyeon.
“Sigh… I only need one person.”
“What?”
“I’m saying I just need one person to spill information. Who wants to talk?”
“What is this crazy bastard saying!?”
The men ignored Kang Hyeon’s words and swung their swords.
Kang Hyeon expressionlessly watched the sharp blade descending toward his crown.
Clang!
The sword that hit Kang Hyeon’s head broke right away.
“Uh…?”
The men’s mouths gaped open at the sight,
“Come to think of it, I don’t think I need to leave one person alive. After all, vermin keep coming out no matter how many you kill.”
“If I crush you guys, other vermin will appear.”
Even at this point, Kang Hyeon didn’t know.
That his words would become reality.
“Sigh… This is tough. What kind of hardship is this.”
Yoon Na-rae looked at Kang Hyeon with a meaningful gaze while patting her shoulder.
“What? What do you want me to do about it?”
“It’s nothing. In the end, Choi Yeon-hwa wasn’t here. Though we went through all this trouble for nothing, it doesn’t matter. How could a mere guild member question the Guild Leader’s decisions…”
Kang Hyeon and his companions had to fight all day long.
“How were we supposed to know that guy was the neighborhood boss’s younger brother…”
Yong-su, whose teeth were knocked out by Kang Hyeon.
It was because he turned out to be the younger brother of the guild leader who commanded the largest guild in Kaesong.
Thanks to that, the group had to fight exhaustingly against thousands of people.
“It seems like every ability user in Kaesong came out to challenge us.”
Yoon Na-rae kept nodding at Shin Seong-ah’s words.
“You had a hard time too, right? But couldn’t say anything…”
“Yeah, I’m sorry. Is that enough now?”
“Hehee”
Yoon Na-rae made a strange laughing sound and seemed pleased at Kang Hyeon’s apology.
“By the way, it’s surprising that none of those city folks we beat up knew where Choi Yeon-hwa went.”
In the end, it was resolved when Kang Hyeon caught the guild leader.
However, no one there knew anything about Choi Yeon-hwa’s whereabouts.
Kang Hyeon and his companions had to leave Kaesong without any results.
“Let’s go to Olien for now. We have no choice since we don’t have any information right now.”
“I think that’s good too. We can gather information about Choi Yeon-hwa gradually as we move.”
Shin Seong-ah also agreed with Kang Hyeon’s words.
“Then let’s camp here for tonight.”
The sun had completely set while they were fighting in Kaesong.
The group quickly finished preparing for camping and gathered around the campfire.
“It’s been a while since we slept outside.”
“Sigh, an idol shouldn’t sleep in a place like this…”
“There you go again with the idol talk.”
Kang Hyeon said with a frown.
“Hey! It’s true though!? Does the Guild Leader doesn’t know anything? Do you know how popular I am? If my million Yoon Na-rae Guardians knew that Goddess Yoon Na-rae was sleeping on the ground like this, they would be crying streams of tears.”
“Yeah, yeah. I got it, so please be quiet. I can’t sleep because of you.”
“Tch…”
Yoon Na-rae was determined to teach him a lesson someday.
