Villain Hides His True Colors

A week ago.

Between the information from the Challenge and Elizabeth’s interrogation, I was able to find a clue relating to Eighth Layer Hell.

However, I couldn’t pursue it right away…

“Haha, good morning again today, Mr. Noah.”

“Oh, my~ Would you look at this? You remind me of my nephew.”

This was because after wiping out the villains at Ilsan Park, the number of employees I had never seen before at school had suddenly increased.

At first, I had thought they were just new employees, but after a direct conversation, I had noticed that they were hiding their strength.

Whether or not they were aware that I knew, but just looking at the aura they had hidden, I had sensed that they were superhumans incomparable to the trainees here.

And in particular, they were more friendly to me than the trainees…

Were they a new batch of villains?

I naturally had no choice but to think they were villains related to Eighth Layer Hell who had invaded the school.

So in the middle of the night while Camouflaged, I kidnapped a man to interrogate with Love Whip.

But…

“Th-that’s all I know…P-please spare my life.”

“Hmm…”

Contrary to my expectations, they were heroes sent by the Hero Association to monitor me.

It seemed the case wasn’t completely resolved by handing over the problem to Samaria.

…I would have screwed up the matter if I had gone to Hong Kong like this.

Fortunately, Red Velvet Curse hadn’t found the guy suspicious, so my identity wasn’t revealed.

I threw the guy who had fainted roughly near the school, and then returned to my accommodation in a dilemma.

It was unexpected the Hero Association would monitor me so thoroughly…

I recalled what they had said. I was told to stay on standby because I might be summoned as a witness.

However, I never could have imagined they would be watching me as they wasted their manpower.

If I tried to leave for Hong Kong in this situation, it was obvious that they would restrict the use of the portal. 

Hmm…was there anything I could do?

With my rewards settled so far, I began to think of ways to move to Hong Kong.

Maybe a solution will come out from one of the boxes.

While opening the boxes, I also took the time to use my 3 Fragments of Growth and the Mandragora elixir.

Body: 5.05 -> 5.18 (+0.13)

Dexterity: 4.28 -> 5.01 (+0.73) 3 pieces

Mana: 5.08 -> 5.29 (+0.21) 

Spirit: 5.06 -> 5.21 (+0.15)

*0 Fragments of Growth

Thanks to my luck, all of my stats have now exceeded 5.0.

And as a result, my body’s constitution had reached another level.

All right, now all I needed was to get one useful skill from one of the boxes.

But…

2x.

F-Grade – Mortal skill.

E-Grade – Accessories.

“…”

The results were very poor.

In fact, it wasn’t so bad under normal circumstances, but there were only things that couldn’t help me solve my problem right now.

“Hmm…what should I do?”

Should I really wait here?

The period for the Challenge was naturally unlimited, but it would be too frustrating to wait at the institute.

I would be wasting my time in my accommodation since there were no classes.

Should I just pretend I didn’t know and go to the portal?

As I was agonizing over it, a solution appeared in a completely unexpected place.

“Noah! I can help you with that.”

When Elizabeth had heard the problem that was troubling me, she shouted loudly saying to leave it to her.

“…”

Frankly, it was hard to trust her in the first round because I didn’t know what she was thinking, while in the second round, I couldn’t trust her abilities because she looked too incompetent.

But there was no proper way right now…

Since I had nothing to lose, maybe I could try to trust her?

I eventually decided to accept her proposal after a moment of consideration.

If there was a problem with this, I could say I was kidnapped and it would work itself out somehow…

That was how I had gambled on believing in Elizabeth. And as a result…

* * * * * * * * * *

I didn’t expect to arrive safe and sound like this.

Looking at Elizabeth, I smiled vainly.

She grinned and pricked her ears among the dead bodies I had cut down. The appearance looked like a dog seeking praise.

I never could have imagined she would be able to use this much of her ability already.

With Choi Bokhui’s private lessons, I thought it would take at least a few more years before she would show any results.

However, she was growing into a proper witch much sooner than I had expected.

She didn’t even have a status window like me, but she seemed to have already reached the peak of B-Rank.

To be honest, I was worried that the Elizabeth in the second round wouldn’t be as good as the one in the first round. Naturally, I was certain she was at least talented in some areas, but these days, it looked like she was showing quite the past talent.

In any case, I don’t have to use portals from now and can just move comfortably by sending Elizabeth first.

At least…she was fairly useful now?

As I thought as such, she asked me.

“Noah! I did a good job, right?”

“Ah. Well done.”

“Hehe… Th-then, do you want to go shopping later…”

“…”

No. As expected, when I looked at her again, she still had the same dubious appearance.

Tsk…sure enough.

I clicked my tongue at her.

It was too much work to carry this kind of luggage.

I waved at her and spoke.

“I don’t need you anymore, so hurry up and leave.”

“H-huh?”

She hesitated and remained motionless. Her long ears drooped as she spoke.

“C-can I tag along…? I-I’m pretty good at handling shadows now…It would be helpful.”

“No, it’s really all right, so just go.”

“B-but…Then, the other woman…”

She said in a dry faltering voice.

“Hmm?”

She had been acting strange today. Normally, she would just answer nicely and move on.

Now that she had gained some strength, did she want to use it?

I understand it was tempting to want to play, but I couldn’t tolerate anyone interfering with my reward.

Frowning, I continued.

“What’s wrong with you today? I’m getting annoyed, so don’t bother me too much and leave quickly.”

She hesitated a few more times before bowing her head and replying.

“…Okay. Take care and come back quickly.”

Then, she trudged away.

After looking at her back for a second, I turned my head toward the walls with colorful graffiti.

Commonly referred to as the ‘wailing wall,’ these high walls were what separated Kowloon from the city.

It was also the destination of the Challenge.

“Hmm…shall I go now?”

I gathered mana in my feet and jumped. Then, I ran up the wall at a high speed as if I was defying gravity.

And at last, a new message came to mind.

[ Challenge updated. ]

“Great!”

As expected, the Challenge was updated after I had crossed the walls here.

Now I just had to follow this chain quest and I would be able to catch Eighth Layer Hell.

But… 

I had no choice but to feel a throbbing sensation in my head as if another headache was coming as soon as I saw the content of the Challenge.

[Challenge – Eighth Layer Hell (1)] 

Condition: Find Jane.

Time: Unlimited.

Reward: 1x Random Box (High).

“…Is that all?”

The content reminded me of what I used to find in magazine articles. The most common name for a woman, Jane.

And now I had to find this Jane without any other information?

It was like asking me to find Kim in Pyongyang.

“Haa…”

I had no choice but to sigh deeply.

* * * * * * * * * *

The world was very unreasonable and unfair. That was what Jane thought each day when she opened her eyes in the morning.

At the precious age of 18, she would have been enjoying her pink youth if she had been born in an ordinary city, but the life given to her was only full of gray.

“Keuk, keuk, n-noona…Are you leaving again today?”

Her 10 year old little brother approached her while coughing.

A thin body with traces of needles everywhere.

Because of an unidentified and rare disease since childhood, he was unable to live a normal life unless medicine was taken on time.

Each time she saw him, she would choke up as a burning emotion came up from inside.

It was the same feeling she felt each time, but rather than fading away, it only ate at her mind more and more as the days went by.

Damn it!

She held back her tears from her brother by biting her tongue.

Her brother’s life depended on the money she earned.

“N-noona, can you not go today…? I have a bad feeling…”

He grabbed the hem of her pants with tears in his eyes. She looked at him as if she was losing her patience.

“And then? What if I don’t make money? How am I going to buy your medicine? Who will give it to me for free?”

However, her words didn’t match her expression.

“Th-that’s…I’m sorry, noona…It’s because of me. I’m really sorry…”

Looking at her brother who was on the verge of crying, she seemed to be heartbroken, but soon she shot back with a much colder expression.

“That’s why! If you know you’re sorry, don’t keep saying that! Do I have to feel guilty when I work too?”

“Heuk…I-I’m sorry, noon…I’m sorry.”

Her brother finally burst into tears. A daily scene that occurred once a week.

She left him alone and turned her back.

“Watch the door!”

Bang–!

The sound behind the door dug into her chest like a sharp awl.

She bit her lips and continued with steady steps.

There was no time for her to be absorbed in her thoughts.

Her brother’s medicine will run out in a few days, but she hasn’t gotten a penny in the last week.

If she didn’t get a good result today, she felt as if something inside her, which she had endured for a long time, would collapse.

I…Am I being stubborn?

All women in Kowloon become prostitutes.

It wasn’t that someone forced them but that it was the only job women could do here.

However, unlike other women of her age, she has remained pure until now.

It wasn’t because of a sense of virtue.

A trifling thing like purity, she thought she could sell herself as much as she could if it meant having another meal.

Nevertheless, she didn’t become a prostitute…

No, it was all because of her older brother that she couldn’t become a prostitute.

[Jane, John…I’ll protect you both no matter what.]

Her brother wasn’t suited for Kowloon.

He preferred peace to fighting and was a man who never uttered a word of abuse since childhood.

However, such a brother had become a member of a cartel. It was also the role of ‘fixer’  that handled only the dirtiest of jobs.

After the death of their parents, to feed Jane and John, he had no choice.

[For you guys…I’ll let you live like normal people. Jane will meet a nice guy and marry him, and John will get strong quickly and go to school.]

But…

The brother who had said that no longer existed in this world.

Last year, her brother had died in a struggle between cartels.

Not only that, his body was horribly mutilated as it hung in the plaza of Kowloon.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”

She cursed as she recalled old memories that disturbed her mind.

It was the body her brother had protected through such hard work, so she couldn’t bring herself to do such a thing.

In the end, it was a shackle. The painful curse her brother had left behind before his death.

And she knew better than anyone else. This curse will follow her for the rest of her life.

“Shit! This rotten world!” 

She spat, looking up at the high walls.

From birth, her life had been blocked by such walls.

If they had been born into an ordinary family, her brother wouldn’t have had to die, and John would have been well treated at a hospital by now.

This ordinary wall that she had been in and out of so many times was the single difference.

An impossible wall to overcome.

I’ll make a lot of money and destroy it someday…

She kicked hard at the wall and crawled out through an opening.

Then, she shook off the dust and headed for the city with her head down.

I really need to find some money today…

After her brother’s death, she began to steal other people’s things for her brother’s medicine and living expenses.

In a world full of abilities and all kinds of securities, stealing was never an easy task.

It was especially impossible for a girl who had no experience.

But for her, since she was a child, she had a special ability that was different from others…

She had the ability to make her existence disappear from this world.

Oohh…good! I’m lucky today.

***

[ Translator – Yasi ]

[ Proofreader – Karane ]

On the way to the city, she had found a woman trudging along at a slow pace.

Glossy, black hair, and an old-fashioned, elegant dress.

In addition to that, even her aura somehow felt like that of a noble. She was a woman who, by all accounts, didn’t fit in such a place.

She must be a tourist who came here out of curiosity…

Seeing the woman’s weak steps, perhaps she had already come all the way to Kowloon and had been greatly humiliated by the thugs nearby.

However, she wasn’t going to spare her just because of that.

I should steal that brooch on her chest.

She confirmed the target before taking a deep breath at a reasonable distance.

Then, she counted slowly to 10 in her mind.

One, two, three…Ten.

Soon, the surrounding landscape began to change strangely.

The hard ground melted like butter, and dozens of moons appeared around the sun as it floated in the sky. The colors from her clothes leaked out and dyed her surrounding, and when she looked down, her left and right hand had shifted.

A colorful landscape that made her consciousness waver. It was enough to captivate her if she let her guard down even a little.

No! I need to get a hold of myself!

She bit her tongue so as not to be taken away by the scenery.

Along with the metallic taste of blood, her goal came to mind again.

The woman from a moment ago was still walking slowly.

Fortunately, she thought she could steal the woman’s brooch before she let out her breath.

All right, let’s quickly steal it and go home.

She walked toward the woman without hesitation.

But at that moment, she felt as if the woman’s bright red eyes had glanced at her.

Maybe just my imagination?

It was impossible for anyone outside to notice her existence while she was in this strange world.

So the woman couldn’t have looked at her.

But why did she feel so uneasy? Ignoring the ominous intuition that rang in her head, she approached the woman.

And then she stretched out her hand to quickly grab the brooch.

Pak–!

The woman caught her hand.

?!

Her arm was immediately pulled and her body was lifted out of the strange world.

“Koheuk! Kek! Kek! Uwak!”

She felt a sharp gut-wrenching pain after being forced back into the world.

And because she couldn’t help feeling nauseous, she coughed up blood.

Tears welled up, and blood dripped down her nose.

Soon, she heard a beautiful woman’s voice in her ears.

“Who are you?”

She managed to raise her head to look at the woman’s face.

And the moment she encountered the cold red eyes, she had no choice but to recall her brother’s remark from this morning.

N-no…

Eventually she vomited another handful of blood before losing consciousness on the spot.