The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood Chapter 344. To Do List (3)

Chapter 344. To Do List (3)

They weren't just random nobodies. Even at a glance, it was clear—this was a group of high-level superhumans.

"What is this?"

We sensed the large number of awakened beings right before us and exchanged glances. At first, a few careless remarks slipped out. But on second thought, this was definitely not normal. Moreover, it was a clear warning that the difficulty of the task had increased far beyond what we had imagined.

"Things just got a bit more troubleso."

With this high-ranking Awakened around... can we really et the PIXY shareholder without incident?

"The obstacles ahead are all too obvious."

I figured the chances were slim. So, as an archmage, I planned to resolve the situation using mysterious powers. But first, I needed to give Kang Changho so instructions.

"I'm a bit disappointed you didn't warn beforehand that the place would be crawling with awakeners."

To be fair, aside from details like that, the information Kang Changho gathered was mostly excellent.

"But I trust, at the very least, that you were right about this bunker having only one entrance."

Just so you know, this place has very few physical passageways. No escape holes, no side paths have been found. According to long-term observations by an Earth-based informant, the targets appear to use only a single entrance that connects the surface to the underground. Given that, there's one thing that must be done first when launching an ambush.

"Block off every possible escape route."

However, what slightly worries ...is the possibility—already ntioned earlier—that the enemy might try to escape using [Teleportation] or [High-Speed Movent] magic.

"Hoho."

Well, even if such a situation were to occur, I actually had a contingency plan. First of all, teleportation magic is extrely rare on Earth. Awakened individuals born with spatial-jumping abilities, like Brooklyn Morgan, appear so infrequently that you could count them on one hand each year. And sorcerers capable of transporting others along with them are even rarer.

Moreover, items imbued with short-distance teleportation magic are said to be nearly as rare as elixirs.

"In other words, I can almost rule out the possibility of teleportation. But even if the enemy tries to use such magic, I already have a plan."

That's why Earthlings tend to rely on high-speed movent when traversing long distances. The most well-known example of an item imbued with high-speed movent magic is the Shroud of the Netherwood.

In other words, unlike teleportation magic, it doesn't allow one to completely ignore the terrain while moving. This is sothing I learned later, but apparently, if you disrupt the ground the shadows are cast on—like flipping it over—you can force people riding the Shroud of the Netherwood to dismount.

"Their movent speed is said to be almost impossible to hit, but the awakened one standing next to isn't so fraud disguised as an S-rank alien—so I should be fine, right?"

Besides, in a system like this, most other high-speed movent items are likely to be neutralized in a similar manner. For now, there's no better way to eliminate physical concerns.

"What? Are you telling to guard the entrance?"

"Yes!"

"And if anyone inside tries to leave, I'm supposed to stop them no matter what?"

Kang Changho was designed to act as the gatekeeper here. It had been part of the plan from the very beginning. All I truly wanted was soone to handle Earth's convoluted administrative matters on our behalf.

I'm no longer an F-grade weakling. Even in my current ragged state, with modifications and treatnts still incomplete, I can easily defeat a hundred superpower people. So, by just bringing in such a primitive sorcerer, how much could our power really have increased in this situation?

"Honestly, that mammal already proved their worth just by arranging the stowaway route and the forged identity--"

A fleeting thought crossed my mind.

"But I'll still need his help when returning to Korea, so it's a bit tricky to just send him back alone at this point."

For reference, I couldn't accompany that mammal inside the building. From here on, I'd need to use all sorts of sorcery to negotiate with PIXY's shareholder—and it'd be quite awkward to reveal all that to a primitive like him.

"In that case, I guess the only option is to assign him a convincing mission and leave him at the entrance."

That's why the request to guard this place naturally ca out of my mouth. Besides—

"Fine. I'll take full responsibility and guard the entrance."

"Yes."

"Honestly, it does seem better for just one of us to move around rather than having both of us barge in."

He must actually welco it—he probably expected to be running around after inside the bunker, handling all the grunt work. But if the forr contractor suddenly tells him to stay put in one spot instead, well, who would complain?

"Anyone would be glad if the actual workload turns out lighter than what they braced themselves for."

South Korea's third S-rank calmly folded the sunglasses they'd been wearing and tucked them neatly into their pocket. With a smiling face and unhurried movents, they looked almost cheerful as they adjusted their accessory.

"Hunter Kim Giryeo."

Of course, even though the task had beco easier, he wasn't excited enough to overlook the important question.

"But seeing you're trying to find Andy alone in this vast bunker, I guess you also have so [Searcher] skills?"

Imdiately after, a question popped out from the side.

"No."

But I simply answered flatly.

"It's not exactly that. I just felt like once I got this far, I'd be able to find the rest by instinct."

"Oho."

"He inherited a lot, has more money than he knows what to do with, and spends all year holed up in a shady bunker like this... Honestly, if soone's selfish enough to prey on foreigners for profit, where else would a guy like that choose to live?"

"Well, I don't know."

By the way, I'd always prepared [Strength Enhancent Magic] to allow to move quickly. As soon as I finished this story, if Kang Changho opened the door, I planned to imdiately begin tracking him.

"If I were that petty, I'd never leave the side of the strongest employee in this bunker—not even for a day."

"That makes sense."

A plan to track the strongest-looking esper in a specific location in hopes of reaching the actual target—what a clever reversal. At first glance, it sounded like a perfectly reasonable explanation.

But in truth, that was a lie. Of course, I was just going to use [Searcher] to track them down.

"That primitive magic—no matter how unfamiliar it was in Alphauri—was easy enough to learn once I put my mind to it... and now, I even have a fairly accurate profile of the unawakened target I need to find."

Turns out, Earth's [Searcher] skill shared a similar structure with Alphauri's archaic sorcery for "locating familiar objects."

Just as I thought—this body had already been equipped with the ability to track that primitive human. There was no real need to bring Seonwoo Yeon along. But since I couldn't exactly flaunt my status as an archmage, I started with a half-hearted excuse.

"Deduction, my ass. How the hell was I supposed to know who this Andy or whatever would be standing next to?"

That should an Kang Changho was successfully fooled.

"If sothing unbearable happens, I'll return to the entrance."

From now on, it's ti to really get down to business.

"They're not stupid either. They'll probably detect any intruders right away, but..."

"Probably."

"If too many guards start gathering near the entrance, Hunter Kang Changho, don't try to hold out too long—make sure you escape too."

For reference, Kang Changho had always been good at one particular thing: breaking promises and putting his own safety first. However, in this bunker, if that mammal were to abandon his mission and flee, it would actually present an opportunity—for the alien.

"With that guy out of the way, I can use any kind of sorcery without having to worry about being watched."

I carefully hid my true intentions and simply made the suggestion. Of course, Kang Changho didn't even pretend to hesitate—he imdiately nodded and accepted the offer. With that, the agreent between us was officially settled.

"Good. In that case, I'll conserve my magic for now—just in case I really do need to use actual [Teleportation] when it cos down to it..."

The mont the conversation ended, we exchanged a brief signal and began our operation.

"What the—I expected guards posted at the door, but there's no one at the entrance instead."

Kang Changho used brute strength to break through the locked door.

I instantly expanded my senses and pinpointed the culprit's location.

"About... basent level 2?"

What followed was a display of physical prowess truly worthy of an S-rank mage. The days of limping around felt like a distant mory. I dashed through the bunker at a speed far beyond anything a normal human could ever hope to match.

"If I apply high-level stealth to my body, [Dragon's Eye] might sense sothing's off."

And originally, if I happened to run into anyone in here, I was planning to just take them out.

"In that case, I'll just proceed by attacking the approaching Earthlings instead!"

Every ti I live through this life, I'm reminded again—things never go the way you expect them to.

Thump.

I had been running for quite a while when I ca to a sudden stop. By all instincts, the target seed to be directly below where I stood—but the problem was, I had no idea how to get down there.

"Earthlings, is there no elevator here? An elevator?"

I didn't have a floor plan of the building, so there was no way I could search for sothing like an elevator one by one. So, I decided to just pierce through the floor and head down using magic. And while I was standing still, preparing to do just that—an incident occurred.

"...I"

"...II"

A human appeared around the corner. A foreigner with a small head and a relatively large build—I had finally encountered my first intruder.

"Oh no, I've been caught. Alright. In that case, imdiately, sleeping magic—!"

But the conversation that followed next took a turn that not even the great archmage of Alphauri could have predicted.

Bright!

The person, presud to be a staff mber here, disappeared right after exchanging a half-hearted greeting the mont their eyes t with the intruder.

"Huh. What the—? They're just leaving like that?"

I can't believe this. What is with this absurdly lax atmosphere inside the bunker? People just give a half-hearted greeting and walk past soone they don't even recognize—without the slightest bit of suspicion or caution. Faced with this situation, one particular word flashed through my mind.

Insensitivity to safety.

"This might end easier than expected, right?"

But fortunately, this kind of problem only benefits the intruder.

***

A minute had passed.

"Hmm."

If an S-rank awakened being was moving at trendous speed, by now they would have already covered an entire floor of the building and more. At this mont, Kang Changho stood near the entrance, beside a suitable pillar.

Crack.

He had just smashed through the door monts ago, so hiding like this wouldn't make much of a difference anyway.

"Still, at the very least, I should avoid running into anyone wandering around..."

He stayed in position, following soone's request to make sure no one left the bunker. Although he'd voiced his own concerns, it was true that spatial movent ability users were rare. The idea of having one person guard the entrance was a simple tactic—but one that could actually work.

"It's almost ti for security to arrive."

But then again—why didn't this bunker assign personnel to guard the entrance? Was it out of confidence that the location would never be discovered by outsiders? Or perhaps they had enough forces inside that they didn't need to deal with intruders at the entry point in the first place?

"Or maybe the timing just worked out well. Anyway, today isn't a supply delivery day."

Kang Chang-ho absentmindedly checked the hangnail on his fingertip as various thoughts ran through his head. The disguise item called [Vampire's Mirror] was great in many ways, but this part was definitely its flaw. The appearance it projected differed from the person inside, so the illusion quickly broke down under physical touch. To the eye, the skin looked rough and peeling—but the mont he touched it with his other hand, an entirely different texture was felt on his skin.

"Hmm."

For this reason, the [Vampire's Mirror] also had an impact during combat. If a towering figure of around 192 cm cloaked themselves in the illusion of a much shorter person, there would inevitably be a disconnect when extending their arms. Whether this would work to his advantage or beco a hindrance remained to be seen.

Kang Changho was already finding the upcoming fight a nuisance.

"If too many guards crowd the entrance, Hunter Kang Changho, don't hold out too long; just escape."

Moreover, if he recalled what that Hunter had said, wouldn't it be fine to just turn around and leave right now? South Korea's third S-rank Hunter mulled over the words his fellow countryman had spoken. The suggestion that he could guard the entrance, but if things seed too dangerous, he was free to escape on his own.

Even if they later used sothing like [Knight's Oath] or [Fairy's Pact] to verify the truth, the agreent hadn't specified exactly how many people crowding the entrance would warrant an escape—so there was plenty of room to exploit a loophole. Even if just two or three guards showed up, he could simply claim that was already too many for him to handle. But Kang Changho had no intention of deliberately exploiting the ambiguity in that statent.

"It's the last one anyway."

Right. It's the last one anyway. Besides, the opponent seems to get a bit rough sotis when facing death.

A nasty look. Terrible luck. And on top of that, as a hunter, he didn't have anything to show for it—even after going up against supernaturals with abilities so extraordinary, they were practically unprecedented.

Therefore, in order to at least end things on a decent note, Kang Changho decided that this ti, he would do his best to see his mission through to the end.

"Hmm?"

But exactly 30 seconds after that thought...

Dududududu.

The sound of people running began to echo faintly from sowhere, enough to make this vast bunker subtly reverberate. In response, Kang Changho instinctively turned his [Dragon's Eye].

This is what the scene before his eyes looked like, fully exposed without the special custom-made sunglasses. Even before the entrance had been breached, he could already sense it—nurous awakened individuals were converging on this location.

"?"

The troops weren't concentrating on Kim Giryeo, who had gone inside, but rather on him, who had been standing still at the entrance.

Kang Changho stood frozen in place, dumbfounded by the unbelievable phenonon unfolding before him. A mont later, he even raised one eyebrow on the disguised face he was wearing.