Dungeon Predator (WN)
Dungeon Predator (WN) - Chapter 17: New Ability

"So, live or die?"

Eder shook.

The demon sword seemed to incite a certain sense of primal fear from Eder.

However, his feelings of unfairness and resentment far outweighed his fear. He'd even given him 1,000 gold, so what was this treatment!?

"I'll do it!" Eder yelled.

Eder pondered hitting Kang Oh's head, damn the demon sword, but that would only be beneficial to Kang Oh.

By killing him, Kang Oh would gain experience points and an annoying quest would be canceled. Plus, he'd already received 1,000 gold in advance.

Ultimately, he didn't have much choice.

Furthermore, he couldn't run away now that he'd attached to Kang Oh.

"Haa."

His anger subsided and his shoulders drooped.

'Guess I should use the carrot now.'

Because he had a long history as a gamer, Kang Oh knew very well how to handle NPCs.

Not only did he employ flattery, but he was familiar with the proper use of the 'carrot and the stick' when dealing with NPCs.

"It's not all bad. If you continue helping me to the best of your ability, then I'll introduce you to someone," Kang Oh said.

'This'll work 100%.'

Kang Oh was absolutely sure.

The other day, they had met the Beastman, and Kang Oh had realized that Eder was weak to women.

"What do you mean by 'introducing me to someone'?"

"I'll introduce you to a girl."

"A girl?"

"Yeah. My little sister's really beautiful. They call her the Reincarnation of the Goddess of Beauty, Erina."

He was using the exact same lines he'd used to convince Burkan.

"Really?" Eder asked.

"Yeah, really."

He was lying, of course. Not only was his little sister not the Reincarnation of Erina, but she didn't even have a game character.

"I'll do my best."

Eder's attitude had done a 180.

'What a simple guy.'

Kang Oh grinned.

As expected, old bachelors were susceptible to women!

It was especially effective for a really old bachelor like Eder.

"Read the book and find clues of the demon sword's whereabouts, Brother-in-law."

Kang Oh pointed to The Loxia Chronicles and made sure to call him his brother-in-law.

Brother-in-law.

As if he were his little sister's husband.

"I'll do my very best," Eder replied, standing at attention like a military recruit.

"Good."

Kang Oh left the Altein Central Library.

He dumped 1,500 pages of reading to Eder, yet walked so light-heartedly.

* * *

Kang Oh found the NPCs that taught support skills.

"You have to truly understand the mount in order to truly..." an old soldier wearing armor said.

"That's enough with the explanations. Please just teach me the skill."

Kang Oh learned the Riding skill, which was Arth's equivalent to a driver's license, and also learned several other support skills.

First Aid! Emergency Repair! Create Map! Disarm Trap! Search Path! Create Illustrated Monster Book!

'These are the most useful skills for killing monsters and exploring hidden dungeons.'

He didn't learn Lighting, Gather Medicinal Herbs, Fishing, etc. that other users learned to gather pocket money.

He didn't plan on learning them in the future, either.

After all, he'd benefitted so much from clearing just two hidden dungeons.

'While others gather chump change, I'll aim big!'

A get-rich-quick scheme that would ruin one's family!

But this didn't apply to Kang Oh, who possessed Hyper Intuition.

"While other people waste time searching, I go straight to the source," Kang Oh muttered.

"Huh, what did you say?"

"Nothing. More importantly, I'd like to learn some skills."

Kang Oh was inside the Swordsman Guild. The martial arts instructor looked him over.

"You look quite skilled. Why don't you try and learn a combat skill?" the martial arts instructor said.

"Which skill?"

"Cross Slash, Continuous Slash, Power Strike, Destroy Heart, etc. You should be able to learn most techniques."

"It's fine. I'd like to learn Basic Evasion and Quick Feet," Kang Oh said.

The martial arts teacher brought over a skillbook from the bookshelf.

Basic Evasion!

Quick Feet!

"It's 2 gold, huh."

Kang Oh paid for the skillbooks and used it on the spot.

[You have learned the passive skill, Basic Evasion (Beginner).]

[You have learned the passive skill, Quick Feet (Beginner).]

These skills, coupled with Kang Oh's Hyper Intuition, would maximize his evasion.

'I'll attack without getting hit.'

That was the style that he sought. A one-sided beatdown. A one-sided advantage. How good does that sound?

Kang Oh grinned, and the martial arts instructor asked, "Are you really not going to learn any combat skills?"

"I'm fine."

With his Hyper Intuition pointing out weaknesses, his SS-rank demon sword, as well as Gluttony, which would explosively increase his abilities, he had enough attack power.

It would be a waste of time to learn more combat skills. It was better to keep using Slash to improve his proficiency in it.

"In any case, I wonder if Eder found a clue yet..."

Kang Oh, having finished his business here, headed to the Altein Central Library.

* * *

Turning the clock back...

Eder, who had been immersed in The Loxia Chronicles, secretly looked to his left and right.

"He's gone," Eder muttered.

As he said, Kang Oh had definitely left the Altein Central Library.

Then, he straightened his back and pushed The Loxia Chronicles away.

"Does he think I'm an idiot?"

Kang Oh's 'carrot' hadn't worked in the slightest.

In fact, it'd be even stranger for it to have worked.

But there was a reason why he acted like it had.

He needed to get out of Kang Oh's clutches, as he had threatened him with the demon sword.

'You'll see first-hand what a ghost's resentment feels like.'

Not only had he not read The Loxia Chronicles, but he hadn't even looked at it.

Instead, he passed the time by reading some of the medical books here that he'd wanted to read.

Of course, he'd turned it to a certain page so that it looked like he'd read some of it.

Time passed, and Kang Oh had finally returned.

"Hey, Brother-in-law!"

'Like hell I'd ever become your brother-in-law.'

However, Eder's actions completely contradicted his inner feelings.

"Welcome back."

Eder looked really happy to see him.

Kang Oh looked blankly at him and asked, "Have you found any clues?"

"I haven't found it yet. It's such a long book, so I will need more time to read through it," Eder said.

He would, of course, never find any clues to the demon sword no matter how much time passed.

"Hmm. It is quite a thick book."

Kang Oh nodded his head.

"I will need a week at the very least."

Eder planned on buying as much time as possible and then continue dragging this out by asking for more time.

'What can he even do if I can't find any clues!?'

"I got it."

Eder's congenial smile matched that of his smiling mask.

However...

“You’ve done something wrong, haven’t you?” Kang Oh asked.

He stared at Eder with piercing eyes, as if he were interrogating him.

“Excuse me?”

Eder flinched and his heart sank. ‘No way. Did he figure out my plan?’

“Did you, or didn’t you?” Kang Oh asked again.

‘Eh, no way he found out. There’s no way.’

“I didn’t.”

He played innocent.

“Is that so?”

Kang Oh suddenly drew his demon sword and pointed it at Eder.

“W-What are you doing?”

“You know why.”

“I have no idea! And if you hurt me, then you’ll be violating the contract!”

Eder had one thing he could rely on.

He believed that Kang Oh wouldn’t hurt him!

“I don’t think it’ll be in violation of the contract. There’s nothing in the contract that states I have to keep you safe,” Kang Oh said.

“No! You signed a contract stating you’d sincerely complete my quest. And the contract states that I have to be safe.”

In other words, if he hurt Eder, then Kang Oh would be violating the clause that stated that Eder had to be safe. This would be in violation of the statement that he had to do his best to complete his quest.

However…

“The quest states that I have to keep your ‘body’ safe. There’s nothing there that states that I have to keep your soul intact.” Kang Oh grinned.

“Huh?”

Eder, shocked, looked over the details of the quest again.

The quest really did only safeguard ‘his body’.

“I can’t do anything to you if you return to your body. But you’re outside of it right now.”

He wouldn’t encounter any problems from destroying Eder’s soul right here and now.

When Eder had written the contract, Kang Oh had found this loophole right away.

Swish.

Kang Oh pushed his sword right in front of Eder. The tip of the blade touched Eder’s mask.

“This is your last chance. If you confess, then I’ll forgive you.”

* * *

“I’m sorry.” Eder bowed his head.

‘As expected.’

Kang Oh knew that Eder was lying to him and that he planned on getting in the way of his plans.

How?

It was all because of his Hyper Intuition.

It seemed as though it had another ability, aside from ascertaining weaknesses, warning of danger, and finding hidden objects/places.

It was the ability to see through lies!

'I'm sure.'

Kang Oh recalled the feeling he'd felt when he returned to the Altein Central Library and had looked at Eder.

Eder had welcomed him back.

But as he looked upon Eder, he felt unpleasant and uncomfortable, as though he were pricked by a thorn.

So much so that he wanted to punch Eder in the face!

The reason for this unique feeling had to be because of his Hyper Intuition.

However, it shouldn't have activated now.

It had activated in a completely different situation.

What kind of ability was it?

He’d felt out Eder, who was the source of this unpleasantness.

Once he confirmed that the book was indeed thick, Eder insisted that it would take a long time to go through it.

When Eder said that, that unpleasant sensation only became stronger. It was as though there was a whisper in his head, saying ‘Don’t trust him.’.

‘Hyper Intuition senses danger. Is it warning me when someone has malicious intent and is planning on betraying me?’

Kang Oh checked whether his hypothesis was right or not, and asked him a question to wash away this feeling of unpleasantness.

“You’ve done something wrong, haven’t you?”

Seeing as how Eder flinched, Kang Oh knew he was right. He subsequently interrogated Eder and got him to confess, proving that his hypothesis was right all along.

“You were acting like you were looking for clues, while you were actually trying to get in my way, weren’t you?”

Kang Oh was checking to see if he was right.

“Yes,” Eder confessed weakly.

“I’ll let this go just this once.”

Kang Oh withdrew his demon sword.

He’d kept his promise; Eder had confessed to wrongdoing, so he gave him a second chance.

“In exchange, find some clues from The Loxia Chronicles. Properly this time,” Kang Oh pushed the thick book towards him and emphasized the word ‘properly’.

“Understood.”

Eder had no choice but to reply obediently.

* * *

Jae Woo got ready to go out.

He wore a white T-shirt with a peace sign on it, as well as a pair of jeans and a baseball hat.

"Big brother, where are you going?" Yura asked.

"I have some business to attend to," Jae Woo said curtly.

"Ah, are you going to the bank?"

"Mm, just some business."

Jae Woo was headed to the bank, just as Yura had expected.

The Piggy Savings Bank!

It was a bank that used a red piggybank as its mascot. It meant that their bank would be a piggybank for the normal person.

"Welcome."

"I came to pay a debt."

It was an exhilarating feeling, like throwing a resignation letter at your boss's face.