That Earthling's misunderstanding had been identified. And as if to further support the alien creature's speculation, the kidnapper's side brought up the related topic first.
"By the way, I'm surprised."
Kang Changho began explaining, drawing from his own experience.
"The ones I've seen so far... you guys? Hm, yeah. So, what I an is, you usually don't act like that. You're always too busy trying to kill any human you see."
First of all, judging by how he carelessly refers to them as "you guys," it seems he hasn't even bothered to co up with a proper na for those creatures in his mind.
"So you released all those monsters into the world, and now you're acting like you're here to save lives...?"
As the conversation progressed, the truth beca clear. Kang Changho had been repeatedly voicing his complaints about the Gate from earlier--so given the context, wasn't it obvious? He had mistaken for the creator of that cosmic straw.
"Oh my."
Additionally, it's highly likely that Kang Changho encountered the Gisimche during their [Possession] phase and realized their existence. After all, if he had t them in their default or descended states, there's no way he would still be alive.
"The Gisimche settled in human minds try to kill nearby planetary natives at every chance, so if Kang Changho really had t the Possession forms directly, it makes sense why he'd want to recklessly reject those alien bugs."
My body was starting to go numb, so I shifted my hips slightly. But at that mont, because of that small movent, the ribbon-like magical tool reacted and completely sealed the gap between the chair and the lower half of my body. Thanks to that, my posture beca even more uncomfortable.
But Kang Changho's words were not finished yet. Therefore...
"That act of giving up escape and repeatedly pressing the doorbell was interesting, but sorry, just that alone isn't enough to clear Kim Giryeo's charges."
Putting aside my discomfort with the posture, I focused on listening carefully for a mont.
"There are too many suspicious points besides that."
There are so many similarities between Gisimche and that we could easily be mistaken for one another.
"Hmm."
Honestly, it's a topic I've never once considered from my side, but as I quietly listened to Kang Changho's continuing argunt, sohow it started to sound quite plausible.
① Almost absolute immunity to ntal magic. (Unable to attack unless it's magic at the Alphauri level.)
First, since I belong to a species that hijacks others' bodies, I possessed an exceptional ability to preserve my own consciousness.
② Extrely sensitive to detecting the flow of magical power.
In this world, it is true that the stronger the hunter, the more this ability tends to increase, but it's strange that only one person consistently detects various elents unnoticed by others.
So, Kang Changho said it would be easier to interpret these phenona as various side effects caused by so monster with such outstanding magical abilities that it could create gates.
Gisimche. They were sowhat less advanced than modern Alphauri, but overall, their species' evolutionary status was unquestionably higher than that of humans.
"Their adaptation to mana and their ability to control it are incomparable to the mammals here."
Thus, the Gisimche did indeed have a few distinctive advantages, just as Kang Changho had described. Unfortunately, many of those traits happened to closely resemble those of an archmage spirit possessing the body of so broke guy living in a one-room apartnt--and that's exactly where things started to go wrong.
"From his perspective, I guess it does make sense to think that way."
Gisimche. Gisimche, of all things. To think that soone like would one day be mistaken for those bug-like creatures. An overwhelming sense of disgust surged up--like a modern human being told they resemble a zoo ape.
But I held it in and focused on gathering information. The kidnapper still wasn't finished talking.
"And for the record, the reason I chose a Gate as a surprise gift was to test the limits of your perception when it cos to mana."
"..."
"But the results were far beyond what I expected. I an, co on--even before the dungeon crack had properly opened, you jumped up in your room and sensed it... isn't that a bit much?"
To put it simply, soone's excessive competence ended up being the root of the problem.
"You have talent that is literally beyond human understanding. Hmm. I envy you."
Kang Changho shifted his posture slightly as he uttered that ambiguous complint. Now, with the thumb of one hand tucked into his pants pocket, he continued the conversation.
"Besides, I've even obtained separate testimony related to this matter..."
But I never expected such a bombshell declaration to co from that calm tone.
"Wait a minute. Testimony?"
Cough.
A dry cough suddenly escaped . Fortunately, since I had already spat out the hardened phlegm stuck in my throat once before, no more fluids ca out this ti.
"Yeah. Testimony."
The words that followed were equally shocking.
"I actually t the mother of our Hunter Kim Giryeo not long ago."
"Cough."
"And the lady I t back then said sothing like this. Her son recently started speaking in a completely unfamiliar way, as if he had beco a different person... or at least that's what she said."
The sudden intrusion of Lee Hwayoung. In the midst of this whirlpool of misfortune, the original family of the body's owner--whom I had forgotten--appeared. After that, Kang Changho honestly rambled on a bit more, saying where else could there be such credible evidence? But I was too distracted to pay full attention and let half of it slip by.
"Surely a parent wouldn't fail to notice if their child had changed, would they?"
No, damn it. Last ti, she didn't recognize at all... Suddenly, I felt a bit wronged. How could I have gotten cornered again by the body owner's family I kept trying to forget?
"So, that person... gave you such testimony...?"
I asked, feeling dumbfounded.
"Oh dear, even if she's not your real mother, if you're using Kim Giryeo's identity, you should be careful about how you address this lady."
Kang Changho lightly scolded for referring to Kim Giryeo's family as "that person," but it didn't seem like he ant it seriously. Soon after, his expression softened, as if it didn't really matter.
"Anyway, to answer your question first--let repeat--I received testimony from that person myself, and I even made a clear recording of the situation at the ti."
The following explanation was brief enough to summarize quickly. That genetic carrier nad Lee Hwayoung had ultimately ignored the aliens' final warning. She tried to reach out to the dia for money, and in the process, it seems she even t Kang Changho.
"So if you, Kim Giryeo, take even one step out of here, I can imdiately release related articles including the audio recordings, so don't do anything reckless..."
Just as the kidnapper in front of started to threaten, as if waiting for the perfect mont, my mind imdiately drifted to sothing else.
'I reflected the body owner's wishes and gave her a chance!'
Why is it that whenever I show rcy, nine out of ten tis I get betrayed?
'How dare you.'
Anger surged upon hearing that soone had broken their promise. In my mind, only the thought kept circling that Hwayoung had crossed the line. As ti passed, the feeling gradually faded, but by then, a different kind of motivation began to well up inside .
'Damn it.'
Kidnapped without any proper counterasures prepared, my chances of survival were basically at rock bottom. But even so, I started fiercely plotting my escape again. Now that the guy who ignored the Archmage's warning was still alive, I couldn't afford to go down in vain--even my pride wouldn't allow it.
The plan changed. Originally, I intended to end it all by taking my own life to crush my opponent's ambition. But now, I thought that I had to sohow survive and return, if only to keep the promise I had firmly made to Lee Hwayoung.
"These inferior, primitive bastards... Anyway, I will definitely get my revenge on all of them sohow."
As long as I get to Seoul one way or another, that's all that matters. Whether it's ambition or revenge, as long as it drives forward in life, that's enough.
"How do I stop that crazy kidnapper's actions?"
I silently spun my head around rapidly.
And as a result, he started saying this.
"Wait a minute..."
Judging quickly within a short ti, the first thing I had to do right here was to prove that I wasn't a Gisimche.
This is an urgent matter. Despite how he seems, Kang Changho doesn't really travel abroad much and is actually a patriot who actively runs the underground market within South Korea. No matter if he's an alien, I know that by now. The reason that primitive sorcerer's specializing in enhancent are seriously opposing is probably more because of the possession theory by the Gisimche than the ten-year contract scam.
"Wait a minute... Hunter Kang."
He started explaining.
"I, I want to explain sothing to you...."
"You're speaking formally."
"The hunter is currently having a very big... misunderstanding...."
"With that nail stuck in your throat, even breathing must be difficult--why not just keep it short? Back at the beach, you were plenty good at speaking informally on your own."
Sigh. That bastard deserves to be torn limb from limb. Honestly, he should've just let it go quietly when the Archmage humbled himself first.
"Krrk... cough. Th, that ti... I must've just been out of my mind or sothing."
I suppressed the rising urge to curse and asserted myself as calmly and neatly as possible.
"I truly don't know what state of mind I was in... when I said sothing like that."
"You don't know?"
"But please, just hear out on this one thing... I swear it's not true! I have absolutely nothing to do with that gate or anything like it... not at all."
Every ti my vocal cords vibrated, it felt as though the nail lodged in my neck burrowed in deeper--but even so, I didn't hesitate to finish my sentence.
"I know what those things 'you're talking about are, Hunter Kang!"
If even Justitia would instantly register a verdict of truth for this explanation, then maybe--just maybe--this Earthling could be convinced.
"What?"
"Sothing that seed to be targeting human bodies... and possibly creating gates... I've encountered sothing like that too, once."
My vocal cords, cracked and split, produced a tallic rasp. With that half-distorted voice, I stated nothing but the truth.
"But to say that I am the sa as them... our actions are completely different, aren't they?"
I was appealing my innocence by pointing out the biggest trait of the possessed Gisimche.
"They... speak awkwardly, don't they? Even if they manage their bodies sohow, communicating--at least in Korean, vocal communication--is really difficult."
At this, Kang Changho reacted. The S-rank hunter, who was about to turn his back and move away, stopped and fixed his gaze on again. When our eyes t once more, there was a hint of surprise in his expression. Then, rolling his dragon-like eyes into the air, he said this:
"Definitely."
He also found that strange.
"Because in all the cases I've seen so far, they couldn't properly utter even a single word in Korean, let alone speak the language."
"...I"
"Besides, unlike soone else, they moved so oddly that it was hard to imagine them still in a human body."
"Aah! As expected, you knew all along...?"
But the joy was brief. Just as I spoke in a bright tone, Kang Changho imdiately rebutted.
"But even so, I'm not sure if my past experiences prove that you're innocent."
There were too many unresolved issues to just let it slide like this.
"Kim Giryeo, how do you explain invalidating the top-tier contract item?"
Finally, that question ca out. Anyway, this is why it's exhausting when soone is too capable. What the hell is all this hardship about just because of that one trait?
"That's..."
I closed my eyes and took a mont to choose my words carefully. If soone well-versed in the concept of magic had consistently observed the actions of a certain archmage, they would have easily grasped the intentions hidden in that person's past.
Actually, I had been subtly laying the groundwork for this all along.
'During the Dragon Raid, I even showed sowhat excessive power, enough to bind multiple Japanese S-rank hunters at once. Besides, since that magic was frequently used even in the previous life, it's overwhelmingly useful as a mana attribute anyway...'
Kim Giryeo's primary talent lies in 'Psychokinesis.' I just think of how much effort I've put in all this ti to make that claim.
But the problem is always the order of things. Right now, my immunity to the contract's effects has already been exposed.
'There's nothing to be gained by making a simple claim like a telekinesis mage.'
From now on, I had to throw out my old plans and find a way to convince the other party. And based on this reasoning, a new excuse soon ca to mind.
"...That's probably my awakening attribute!"
I decided to use an elent I hadn't revealed before. Only now, in this mont, would I finally confirm Kim Giryeo's public abilities.
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