NOVEL WEB Chapter 12: Club Hades (1)
Kang-hoo, upon seeing the information about the constellation contracted by Yun Sang-mi, wore a curious expression.
[Gale Sword Emperor]
[A neutral constellation. Supports the utilization of wind power in all sword-based attacks.]
Simply put, a swordsman who creates sword winds.
Not quite to the level of Aura Blades in fantasy novels, but capable of confusing opponents with wind generated alongside sword attacks.
Kang-hoo was curious because the Gale Sword Emperor constellation was not unfamiliar to him.
It was one of the ideas he had briefly considered during his days as the original author, wishing for such a constellation to exist.
Then, it was clear that his subconscious had naturally reflected it somewhere in the world.
As Kang-hoo silently observed the battlefield again, Yun Sang-mi pointed in one direction and said,“The bastard seems to be losing ground.”
“No. The bastard is deliberately giving space to Pyeongjeong. It’s a lure.”
Their assessments of the situation differed.
In truth, regardless of who won, the bad guys would be the victors.
Perhaps that’s why.
The interest that had been burning at the perception of a decisive turn in the tide cooled down.
Yun Sang-mi, seemingly having the same thought, dusted off her pants and stood up, then asked Kang-hoo,
“You look like a handsome vampire from a movie. So pale. Are you sick?”
He always thought he looked pale, probably due to congenital mana hypersensitivity.
“I’m always kind of in pain.”
He didn’t deny it.
Even in the original story, no cure for congenital mana hypersensitivity was found until the end.
Of course, it was resolved in another way.
With Shin Kang-hoo’s death. More of a liberation than a resolution.
“Where to now?”
“Daejeon Station.”
“…Oh! Really? I was about to go there too.”
“Your reaction is a beat late. It doesn’t seem like it was your original destination.”
“No, it’s not like that. It’s close by. I had planned to go. I never expected to find a travel companion so coincidentally!”
She was a unique character.
Hunters usually didn’t act friendly unless there was long-established trust.
In a dangerous world, companionship or co-traveling was naturally avoided. But Yun Sang-mi was different.
‘She must be very confident in her own abilities.’
If one is confident in taking care of themselves, being open-minded isn’t really a problem.
Usually, people trusted others only to be backstabbed, killed, or kidnapped.
But it doesn’t matter if you are powerful.
“Then we’ll take the safety bus. The station area is a concern.”
Kang-hoo pointed to the Pyeongjeong hunters starting to retreat towards Osan Station, caught in the Bastard’s lure.
They seemed to be planning a prolonged fight, using the subway structures as cover.
A safety bus was guarded by armed hunters, including those who handled magic bullets.
The high fare guaranteed safety during travel.
Kang-hoo chose the comfortable option.
Inside the moving bus.
Yun Sang-mi, sitting next to him, fell asleep, hugging her greatsword like a teddy bear.
Her head occasionally rested on Kang-hoo’s shoulder, but he neither paid attention to it nor pushed her away.
The limited leisure was given.
Kang-hoo reviewed the items he had obtained from killing Kim Mok-hyun.
He had put them on but hadn’t checked their compositions.
[Mollis Maniche - Gloves]
[Grade: 5th Grade]
[A one-handed mitt glove that allows you to instantly retrieve any 'recognized weapon' within 5m.]
[Immediately upon wearing, it blends with the color and shape of the hand, making it difficult to discern as a glove from the outside.]
‘Linking it with a dagger would be best.’
It was an item that reduced the burden of throwing daggers.
Instead of physically retrieving daggers that fell or got stuck, it allowed for easy retrieval with a simple hand gesture.
This dramatically reduced the waste of movement in weapon retrieval.
[Asura's Insight - Breastplate]
[Grade: 5th Grade]
[Mana +50]
[However, with the conversion option, it can switch to Health +50. The switching cooldown is 24 hours.]
‘There’s a reliable aspect to this.’
Kang-hoo understood why Kim Mok-hyun was so confident in battle, with a 50-point boost to his mana stats.
If there hadn’t been a conversion option, it wouldn’t have impressed Kang-hoo much since he didn’t have a thirst for mana.
But with the conversion option, the value of Asura’s Insight changed.
It became a top-tier component.
He immediately completed the conversion.
Had he not examined it closely, he would have missed the health boost.
Now, onto the last one.
[Martial God's Play - Ring]
[Grade: 5th Grade]
[Sturdiness +50]
[Can be upgraded one grade higher with the special material, red luminous stone.]
Sturdiness significantly increased defense against physical attacks.
As a ring that could be worn on any of the ten fingers, it was less burdensome.
He decided to sell the other items that increased magic power, as they were redundant and unnecessary for his build.
“……”
After checking everything, Kang-hoo looked around and noticed that several hunters on the bus had also fallen asleep.
The guards kept watch outside the window. Several motorcycles with the Bastard insignia swept by.
But knowing they could end up with a bullet in their forehead if they messed with the guards, they veered away from the road.
‘Should I go to Seoul?’
The thought of Seoul suddenly crossed his mind.
Aside from the lure of dungeons or leveling up, there was no place as safe as Seoul.
There, even if you dropped your wallet, no one would touch it.
If they did, it would only be to return it to the owner, or because they were from the Hunter Public Safety Bureau.
The problem was the exorbitant prices, such as paying over 20,000 won for a thin can of cola.
A price for safety.
‘Still, a wild beast’s cub is better than one in a zoo.’
With that thought, Kang-hoo concluded his reflections.
Those who had smelled blood were better at smelling it, and those who had fought were more likely to strike again.
The Thirteen Stars.
To surpass all the cunning minions of the Demon King, even a moment of meaningless peace was too precious to waste.
Boom!
“Huh! Slurp!”
When the bus jolted over a speed bump, Yun Sang-mi, who was deeply asleep, hurriedly wiped below her mouth.
Falling deeply asleep at the slightest assurance of safety…
This was a glimpse into the reality of hunters living in that world.
A world where the value of life had diminished.
Having arrived at Daejeon Station, Kang-hoo had planned to meet Lee Ye-rin with Yun Sang-mi, but it was too late at night, and Lee Ye-rin was busy with external work, so their timing didn’t match.
Thus, the meeting was postponed to the next morning, leaving Kang-hoo with some free time that night.
He stopped by a well-known bar near Daejeon Station, but for some reason, it was closed that day.
“Don’t wander aimlessly, why not change your mood with a cocktail at our Fight Club?”
Consequently, a solicitor nearby successfully enticed Kang-hoo and Yun Sang-mi.
Wanting a drink and confident in his ability to handle himself in an emergency, Kang-hoo headed to a nearby underground Fight Club with Yun Sang-mi.
The club’s name was Hades.
Club Hades, starting from the third basement level, was more crowded than he had expected.
A ‘fight’ between hunters was already underway on the specially constructed stage at the center.
With the fighters’ names displayed on a large monitor and money amounts updating below, it appeared to be a death match.
The stakes placed on the deceased hunter would go to the winning hunter and their bettors.
“Can I dance?”
“Do whatever.”
Kang-hoo gestured indifferently.
They were only companions, not a complete party.
As she moved to the stage and got lost in dancing,
Kang-hoo ordered the cocktail he had wanted since entering the club at the special cocktail bar.
“Solarkium Burst.”
“Oh? You’re drinking this?”
“Isn’t it made to be drunk?”
“Actually, it’s more for show. Solarkium has a bit of a… you know, taste. Heh heh.”
The bartender, with striking smoky makeup and red hair, chuckled and shrugged her shoulders.
The taste of Solarkium was indeed awkward to describe outright—an adults-only kind of flavor.
“It’s fine. I like it.”
Kang-hoo handed over 100,000 won more than the original price.
It was a tip.
In such underground fight clubs, bartenders often had useful information to sell.
But it was hit or miss.
If the bartender knew little, the information might be useless, just trivial details.
So, people often tipped without much expectation, listening to the stories as if scratching a lottery ticket.
She asked,
“We’re strangers, right?”
Nod. A silent answer.
“I’m Benny.”
Benny—a common pseudonym, likely to be forgotten in a few days.
As Benny leaned forward to make the cocktail, following the recipe, her revealing outfit created a rather bold scene.
But Kang-hoo, surprisingly, only looked at Benny’s face, as if he saw no reason to look elsewhere.
Benny let out a slightly incredulous laugh, thinking maybe he was asexual.
Anyway, it was time to earn her tip.
“There’s a rumor about a dungeon entrance on the unpublicized seventh basement floor of the Fight Club. People have gone in, but none have come out.”
The building clearly had only up to six basements, as indicated in the lobby and on elevator buttons.
A dungeon means rights and interests, so it wasn’t a far-fetched story.
Maybe it was a secret ‘open-type dungeon’, kept hidden because it was always accessible.
Being always open, control inside the dungeon was necessary for when access needed to be restricted.
Kang-hoo was about to ask why she told him this but held back.
Bartenders’ tales are often bluffs or rumors. It’s best to filter them.
“And there’s talk that Blue Moon will soon merge with Eclipse. But if that happens…”
Just then.
Crash! Bang!
Sounds of glasses and bottles breaking erupted simultaneously from all around.
Then, a sizable group of men in the crowd of clubbers rolled up their sleeves.
An organization with three diagonal swords as their insignia. Eclipse.
“Hmm.”
He roughly guessed what was happening.
This club, relatively known for moderate forces, was operated by the Blue Moon organization.