NOVEL WEB Chapter 48
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“Are you satisfied with this?”
At the team leader’s question, the tail fur tilted its head.
“What do you mean?”
“The payment. I consider this enough.”
“Wow~ you think you can get away with this? You expect me to explore the Plateau with just this? Is that really an even trade?”
With an unpleasant expression, the team leader brushed his hands off.
“If you weren’t from the Square, I would never have entertained this request.”
“Oh, come on! These are things I need to separate anyway?”
“…….”
“The scales are still tilted, you know? The night is long, so if you could please be more accommodating… well, who knows?”
“Huff.”
The team leader recalled the first time he met the tail fur earlier.
***
When asked where she thought he was from, there was no response, leaving the tail fur with an awkward smile.
“I thought I had a mystical concept going here. Was it not working?”
“…….”
“Oh, come on~ I’m a mage. A. MAGE! I’m expensive, you know?”
“A mage…?”
“A genuine mage! Now, look at this.”
A purple cuff was indeed attached to her robe sleeve.
“…Purple Square? Are you saying you’re from the Square?”
“Oh my, you don’t believe me? Would this help convince you?”
At her fingertips, a form of magic appeared. It was a manifestation of magic power rather than just magic, but this precision proved she was indeed a mage.
The team leader looked at the tail fur in disbelief.
“What’s a mage from the Square doing here?”
“Well, thanks for putting it out there for me!”
She wasn’t just some intel gatherer. At that question, the tail fur grinned.
“We’re also on the hunt, you know? Not monsters like dawn, but still.”
“What do you mean?”
“Blind Spot. That’s the name of the organization—or should I say, those traitors—we’re after. We were tracking them smoothly, but things got complicated. Blind Spot teamed up with another organization.”
“…….”
“You must have heard about the recent incident in Busan, right? The sewer case.”
Of course, he knew. It was Hong Yu-ri who discovered the experimental site in the sewer. He’d heard they were working on a chimera, though not even the alchemist had found a chimera.
“We suspect that an organization collaborating with Blind Spot was scheming in the sewer.”
“So, you’re chasing either Blind Spot or their allied organization…?”
“Oh my~ How clever you are. Exactly! More precisely, I’m tracing a person called ‘Tail’ from that allied organization.”
“…….”
“Ah~ You must be wondering, ‘Could it be that you’re called Tail Fur for that reason?’
As she mimicked his voice, the team leader looked at her as if she were ridiculous.
“Bingo~ But I didn’t always go by that, you know? How long do you think I’ve been stuck here? Haha, it’s been a solid three years!”
Even though she was laughing, the prominent veins on her arms showed that her laughter wasn’t genuine.
“Ah, I know I look like a fool! But it’s frustrating! Hiding away and not showing my face at all!”
“…….”
“Staying like this won’t change anything. Besides, they already know we figured it out.”
As the tail fur explained, she began to vent her frustration.
“Honestly, the Square is to blame! Master, you’re too much! Throwing me into this mess!”
“I really don’t care about your issues. I’m not interested.”
The team leader coldly interrupted her.
“Is there any reason you’re sharing this? Is it a trade?”
“Oh, I’m not wasting words… Yes, that’s right. I dig up information on the Plateau for you, and you help me with my job a bit. A win-win, don’t you think?”
“…I believe your backing is the Square. It shouldn’t be impossible to dig into the Plateau.”
Behind the information broker’s unbelievable 100% success rate lay the massive organization called the Square.
“But isn’t it true that you haven’t gotten a hint about that organization for three years?”
At the team leader’s question, the tail fur shook her head.
“This time it’s different. The sewer in Busan. I managed to find a clue there.”
“…….”
“It was quite ridiculous. I thought ‘the darkness under the lamp’ was a fool’s saying—turned out it was true…”
‘The sewer in Busan.’
She could have caught a lead when they were supplying people for the chimera experiment.
“I know where they’re hiding. But honestly, I’m not confident about doing it alone.”
“Not confident, huh? Honestly, that’s hard to believe.”
“It’s true! That’s why I’ve been waiting for you to show up.”
The tail fur stretched out her hand with exaggerated gestures.
“Oh~ Romeo. I’ve been waiting for you to arrive. Please help this poor Juliet!”
“…….”
“Ah~ how embarrassing.”
Despite the team leader’s cold gaze, the tail fur chuckled. Her expressions and demeanor shifted quickly, like she was changing masks. Honestly, she seemed a bit insane.
‘I’d rather deal with Hong Yu-ri.’
He knew that mages were generally odd, but this one was especially so. Yet, it was also true that without her, digging into the Plateau would be challenging.
“I believe you’ll keep your role as an information broker.”
“Don’t worry. I said I don’t want to die, right?”
The team leader nodded subtly, and the two grasped each other’s hands.
“By the way, do you plan to change your name? To Romeo?”
“…….”
“I’m just kidding, why are you reacting so much?”
“Huff. Let’s just get to work.”
“Ay~ I’m sorry. I said I was sorry, right?”
***
The dusk settled completely— a piece of the moon rose in the silent darkness.
Just like when he infiltrated the temple, he planned to sneak into the Enchanter’s Forest as well.
‘…This isn’t the key, is it?’
Password and fingerprint recognition. It seemed like unlocking either one would be enough. After a moment of thought, he spotted a gap at the bottom of the door. A narrow opening of less than 1cm.
‘Can I make it?’
It wasn’t a problem if it was just a short while ago, but now, in this enlarged state, could he fit through such a small gap? As he was contemplating trying, footsteps were heard and he quickly hid.
‘……!’
The approaching man stood at the door, and soon after, with a series of clicks, the door opened.
‘411202 and 4.’
Thanks to a hint and weak vision, he successfully read the password.
‘Luck is on my side, I guess.’
If he had opened the door with fingerprint recognition, he would have had to go through that gap.
‘Be careful.’
After confirming that the presence had moved away, he covered the door and gap with his tentacle. After blocking any sound from escaping, he entered the password. Click-click— whoosh.
‘Got it.’
He closed the door and looked inside. The austere interior seemed to reflect the nature of the clan.
‘…Enchanter’s Forest.’
This time, there was no need to find an office. Unlike Gu Ma-jun, whose situation was unknown, he was sure about Lee Baek-seom and knew exactly where to go.
‘Third floor.’
He sensed three presences. A four-story building. The presence from the fourth floor was naturally the clan lord, and the one who had just opened the door was not Lee Baek-seom.
‘So it’s the third floor.’
The reason he could be so certain was that the residence of Lee Baek-seom was within the clan.
‘That’s why it was hard to find.’
In the story, the protagonist hears from Gu Ma-jun that there’s a tail in the clan representing Daejeon. But Gu Ma-jun also didn’t know exactly who that was, and from there, it would require legwork.
‘It was a bit of a struggle.’
Lodging. Did he really think Lee Baek-seom, who lived in the clan, would be the suspect?
‘What if I quietly kill Lee Baek-seom and slip out?’
For now, he needed to confirm whether Lee Baek-seom was indeed the target. He was almost 100% sure, but since he hadn’t confirmed it personally, he needed to be cautious. He made it to the third floor without a hitch and approached the presence at the end of the room to use his detection skill.
‘Is he sleeping?’
He didn’t move from his place. But he could hear some faint noises.
‘Looks like he isn’t actually asleep.’
After a moment’s hesitation, he used detection once more.
‘There are no moving presences on the fourth floor. The person who just entered isn’t there either.’
However, as a hunter, he would wake up even with a slight movement.
‘Is there a good way?’
After thinking for a moment, he spotted the indoor fire hydrant.
‘Ah?’
Suddenly struck by a thought, he firmly pressed the alarm.
In the quiet dawn, the eerie stillness was shattered— ring ring!
‘I can’t let that slide.’
Startled by the blaring alarm, a presence sprang up and rushed out through the door.
[Lee Baek-seom (Human)]
‘Got him.’
With an expression that resembled a glutton, looking both grumpy and flustered, Lee Baek-seom checked the alarm while he slipped into his room to hide.
“Ugh. So loud. What is it?”
“Well, I don’t know. The alarm suddenly went off…”
As another clan member approached from the other side, Lee Baek-seom scratched the back of his head.
“Ah, I must have pressed it by mistake?”
“Oh no. I was in my room when it suddenly went off.”
“How strange. Was it a malfunction? Let’s turn it off… Oh, yes, yes. Both this alarm and the buzzer next to it.”
Soon the alarm stopped, and the two let out deep sighs.
“Phew… I’m wide awake now.”
“Me too.”
“The clan leader must be awake by now…
”
“I’ll tell him that it was a malfunction, so you go in first.”
As the clan member nodded, the sound of Lee Baek-seom climbing the stairs could be heard. What luck. If the hunter’s room had been closer to the alarm, it would have been him, not Lee Baek-seom, who noticed the noise and headed back up.
‘Now’s my chance.’
He glanced around, but Lee Baek-seom’s room was quite bare.
Aside from a desk, a chair, and a bed, there were hardly any clothes. An artifact hung on one wall, but there wasn’t a single weapon in the room, which was unusual for a hunter.
‘As long as it doesn’t raise a fuss.’
There shouldn’t be anything that seems suspicious. It needed to be inconspicuous enough for Lee Baek-seom to accept it. It would also have to lead him outside.
‘…Was this the noise?’
He noticed a phone lying on the bed. It had a lock on it, so he couldn’t access it, but since it was left on standby, it seemed like it had been in use recently.
’00:44. Battery at 28%.’
He detected that Lee Baek-seom had arrived at the clan leader’s room. He was likely reporting the cause of the commotion.
‘With this.’
He took the charger and slipped out of the room. Maintaining his stealth, he waited, and soon Lee Baek-seom returned.
‘If he comes out, I’ll follow. If not…’
When he was confident that Lee Baek-seom was asleep, he would go in and eliminate him. Since Lee Baek-seom hadn’t noticed his stealth, it should be possible if he entered cautiously.
About 30 minutes passed. The presence inside shifted subtly.
‘…….’
Holding his breath, he waited as Lee Baek-seom stepped outside.
‘Alright.’
As he made his way down the stairs, there was no one on the third floor, so he could be reasonably sure that Lee Baek-seom had a business outside the clan.
‘Probably to the convenience store.’
It seemed he was going to buy a charger.
He could have borrowed one, but considering it was already past 1 AM, he likely thought it would be an inconvenience.
‘Just a bit further away.’
Finally, he carefully tailed Lee Baek-seom outside the clan building. He noticed Lee Baek-seom making a phone call, but
“Ah, damn it.”
Seemingly out of battery, Lee Baek-seom muttered a curse and stuffed the phone into his pocket.
‘Guess this is a good spot.’
When he looked back, they were quite far from the clan. It was a five-minute walk away. Naturally, if he used magic, he might get detected, but he just needed to finish up and escape then.
‘Try to remain undetected.’
Using his tentacle, hardened and infused with magic power, he pierced Lee Baek-seom.
‘A bit disappointing.’
He had intended to kill him in one go, but Lee Baek-seom, who was called Tail, reacted just in time at the last second. He had meant to pierce his heart but instead ended up hitting his shoulder instead.
“……!”
Lee Baek-seom’s gaze turned towards him, their eyes met.
‘What just happened?’
The confusion in his eyes was evident, yet it wasn’t overwhelming, more like he had expected this to happen…
“I didn’t think it would…”
‘Did he notice the stealth?’
Or had he expected him? No, upon reflection, it did seem rather deliberate.
‘If it was just the alarm, that wouldn’t have been enough reason to suspect.’
He would have felt some sense of the discord.
He must have taken that into consideration. Lee Baek-seom pulled out a dagger from his sleeve, and in that moment, his tentacle was severed. As he retreated, his form was highlighted beneath the streetlight.
“What? A monster?”
Lee Baek-seom couldn’t hide his bewilderment. Yet, he soon regained his composure.
‘Impressive.’
It was a sight that would be surprising to anyone, yet he managed to mask his shock almost instantly.
Even though he couldn’t take the artifact from the room, he must have brought a dagger at least. He recalled the status he checked earlier in front of the fire hydrant.
[Lee Baek-seom (Human)]
[Height: 169.4cm] [Weight: 66.1kg]
[Strength: 341] [Agility: 386] [Stamina: 374] [Magic Power: 319]
[Skills]
[Super Strength (D)] [Acceleration (D)] [Weak Vision (E)]
‘Right. He had Super Strength.’
The tentacle had been cut, but he had seriously mutilated Lee Baek-seom’s left shoulder, so it would be impossible for him to use it now. As he lunged for Lee Baek-seom, he readied himself to evade.
‘Is he retreating?’
Suddenly, his movements increased. The only reason he had been able to twist his body during the surprise attack was likely due to his Acceleration.
‘I need to finish this quickly.’
He must have somewhat anticipated his approach. But if he came out, that was a trap.
“Ugh…”
With anxious eyes, Lee Baek-seom scanned the surroundings. It was as if he was buying time while waiting for something. It felt a bit too calculated, but it must have been one of the reasons the delinquent had remained hidden until now.
‘Thorough as always.’
He didn’t let a single possibility slip by, prepared for every contingency—this was also a trap. He couldn’t help but admire the meticulousness.
He pulled something from his cloak and threw it on the ground, and with that, smoke began to rise.
‘Is he a ninja?’
It was so absurd it made him snicker. But if he were to ask if that was of any use…
‘Will it work?’
The smoky haze obscured his sight and smell, yet his detection still tracked Lee Baek-seom’s location. He was fleeing without glancing back.
‘But didn’t he lure me here?’
Was the trap set somewhere else? It was puzzling, but he decided to chase him anyway. Though Lee Baek-seom’s agility was close to 400, with his Acceleration skill, catching a determined runner seemed challenging.
‘Faster than I expected.’
After almost 20 seconds, they ran and chased until they both ended up inside a building, where Lee Baek-seom’s face contorted into a twisted smile.
“I didn’t think you’d chase me this far.”
Lee Baek-seom’s confidence radiated, as if he believed that within this place, he wouldn’t be caught.
‘Is this the hideout?’
“You dumb monster…?”
But soon, Lee Baek-seom’s eyes widened in surprise. He felt the same astonishment too.
‘What gives him the confidence?’
Lee Baek-seom seemed to feel that he had prepared something. All his reactions indicated that he knew the situation he was in.
‘Honestly, I came in expecting a challenge.’
If Lee Baek-seom was at this level, then he didn’t feel concerned about a few subordinates.
However, when he reached the location where Lee Baek-seom intended to lure him, he found that there were no sensations emanating from it either, and there didn’t appear to be anything here at all.
‘What the hell is he doing here?’
As he was left wondering, Lee Baek-seom awkwardly pulled out his phone.
“Shit. This can’t be happening?!”
As if realizing something had gone wrong, he mumbled under his breath, trying to operate his phone.
‘Hey. Your battery is dead.’
Realization washed over Lee Baek-seom when he barely escaped the tentacle. He panicked and dropped his phone, which he couldn’t hold on to anymore.
‘Phew. This is what they call a tail…’
Meticulous? What a joke. Gu Ma-jun seemed infinitely better. The tension I felt was all a ruse.
“Grrr—!”
Lee Baek-seom threw the dagger he had. It was a move typically reserved for the final moments, throwing away his only weapon. He consumed the thrown dagger with a gluttonous bite. Meanwhile, Lee Baek-seom was using magic to sprint up the stairs.
‘…….’
Chasing him down the stairs would be fine, but because of his size, the space was a bit tight. Instead, he kept sensing where Lee Baek-seom was and forcefully pried open the elevator doors. No, he tore them apart. In seconds, he ripped the entire structure away—
“Grrr!”
With a powerful leap, he sprang over meters, using his tentacles to cling to the wall and similarly tore open the door to the sixth floor. Just at that moment, he saw Lee Baek-seom climbing the stairs.
“You’re crazy!”
In just about 10 seconds, he had jumped to this point. It was indeed impressive. As Lee Baek-seom hurriedly turned his body upon catching sight of him, the sharp tentacles caused him to fall.
“Gah!”
Holding back a groan, Lee Baek-seom twisted the tentacle. His eyes were bloodshot and carrying a fierce hue. Despite the D-rank power of Super Strength, Lee Baek-seom’s arm muscles bulged, and he succeeded in tearing away the hardened tentacle.
‘Impressive.’
With strength 341 compounded with Super Strength, he took the chance and scrambled up to his feet.
Yet, overlapping Super Strength with Agility— he was the one who had hunted the cave prey with agility of 420.
[Perception (E) Lv.7 has reached maximum proficiency. Perception (E) Lv.7 -> Perception (E) Lv.8]
He turned his head to avoid Lee Baek-seom’s punch and instead crashed down with his forepaw.
“……!”
THUD! Lee Baek-seom’s back slammed into the floor, smashing the landing between the stairs and falling to the next floor.
By that point, he was barely clinging to life, but it was only a matter of time before he met his end.
“Cough, shit… what the hell. Where did those fools go?”
He must have had something planned, but it had all gone awry. He snuck a peek outside and noticed that the surrounding buildings had their lights on.
‘This is too noisy.’
He had smashed the stair railing and engaged in a night chase. He needed to escape quickly.
‘And I can’t even eat.’
In a sealed room where smoke hadn’t cleared, he incinerated Lee Baek-seom’s corpse into ashes.
‘That should do it.’
He had severed the tail. No matter how carefully he had acted, at this point, the delinquents would have noticed that someone was interfering. For the time being, it was wise to retreat.
‘I’ve caused enough trouble.’
There were still several years left until the cataclysm. He needed to grow substantially before the moment the story began. Much more than he was now. At the very least, he had to be as strong as Kang Tae-ho.
‘……’
Ever since he learned to distinguish day from night, he felt he had grown quite quickly. Probably taking less than two months.
‘Just under 2 years to go.’
After this, his schedule would inevitably get busier.
‘Let’s head to the Academy.’
Imagining the protagonist, who would be thriving on the opportunities he provided and in turn, prevent the cataclysm, brought a smile to his face.
‘I won’t be the only one struggling.’
If he could manage it well and play a supportive role, he would gladly push all the hard work onto others. While thinking about this, he reached the first floor.
‘…For now, I need to bolt.’
No presence was detected yet, but the Clan Leader of the Enchanter’s Forest must have sensed something. They might even be chasing after him.
Just as he was about to exit the building, something caught his eye, making him pause.
‘Huh?’
Lee Baek-seom’s dropped phone… This could be useful, right?
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