The atmosphere turned icy. Though each felt it differently, most shot me looks that clearly said What nonsense is this
“Your explanation is strange”
I spoke in place of Chatterbox
“Rewards work like this”
Clatter—!
Gold coins I’d pulled from my inventory piled up at my feet. A fair amount. A few pieces of equipment fell and rolled on top. I tapped them lightly with my toe. The coins tinkled.
“Rule 1. If you ‘catch’ Han Yujin you inherit any gold he has plus ownership of Chatterbox’s items. ‘Catch’ here means death. Of course you won’t actually die”
I pulled out a long cord. It slid like a snake, coiling around the coins and gear, lifting them straight up into my inventory. Eyes followed the coin pile up and down.
“Rule 2. Catching any hunter other than Han Yujin won’t let you seize gold”
I walked steadily across the stage.
“Rule 3. Han Yujin may catch other hunters and seize their gold. And any gold Han Yujin seizes can be claimed by whoever catches him”
I stopped by the box on the table.
“To elaborate, it’s far more advantageous to let me gather as much gold as possible before catching me rather than catching me immediately”
If done well, I could seize every hunter’s gold in one go
“Finally, rule 4. Han Yujin’s win condition is catching as many hunters as the number he draws. The number need not be revealed”
The open chat window filled rapidly
└ It’s a pure mind game
└ Too good to catch him now but worse if someone else does
└ If he’s gathering gold he might win
└ Best to form teams, lure SF Saro to kill hunters
└ Han Yujin really needs to hide his number
└ He’s going to blab loads again lolol
The hunters began to glance at one another. Few would rush to kill me outright. Even those willing would likely be stopped by others.
So, by the book, the best play would be to hide the number of hunters I needed to catch, feign cooperation, then achieve my win condition behind their backs
“Then I will draw”
I plunged my hand into the box’s hole and withdrew one slip of paper. Some craned their necks to watch. I unfolded it—9. Smiling at the gathered hunters I said
“Nine”
I flipped the paper around. A brief silence fell, then murmurs.
“What”
“Why’d he do that”
└ Yujin shut up
└ ㅎㅇㅈ□□□□□???
└ Already giving up? Or mind game???
Amid the stunned air I crumpled the paper and tossed it to the floor
“Nine’s too trivial. Let me add an exception”
Grabbing the edge, I tipped the box. The slips spilled out in a heap
“Han Yujin may choose a number higher than his draw”
The larger the number the more disadvantageous
└ Yes it’s a mind game, at least nine
└ But isn’t it riskier? He could stick at nine
└ Better not reveal at all
Of course. I crouched and sifted through the papers, then shrugged and stood
“Maximum”
Silence again. The chat froze. I spread my arms and said
“I will catch all of you”
Clap! I snapped my fingers. The mood flip was palpable
└ Insane?
└ Is that even possible????
└ Wait that benefits him—no one will attack
└ True—better help him kill one by one
Perhaps. It would be easier. But then I couldn’t meet Chatterbox’s conditions
“Then, I look forward to your efforts”
I stepped aside and Chatterbox came forward
“For this final event you must stream your POV. No mosaic blur allowed. You may mute audio or hide skill names from viewers, but combatants will perceive everything normally. If you refuse streaming you must forfeit—with a penalty of losing gold”
Behind him on the screen appeared showcases lined up in rows
“After the finale, you may exchange your gold for items in turn order based on combined gold and performance rankings”
In other words, even if you keep gold, few get much if your rank is low. Chatterbox wore a friendly smile
“Party souvenirs and prizes are ready—enjoy until the end”
Then, with a shifting sensation, the surroundings changed. A forest of unknown location. A map appeared before me:
[Special Perk for Overall First Place]
It displayed real-time positions of each hunter. Dots of various colors spread across a wide area—
One dot right in front of me. As soon as I spotted it, I sprang
Ping!
I heard a whisper of air and a rope wrapped around the nearby tree. Rolling once on the ground, I took cover behind a boulder
“You found me too fast”
Recovering the rope, the hunter regarded me with a slightly troubled look. He drew his pistol but didn’t seem concerned
“Too good to catch immediately”
He seemed relaxed, as if he could block any attack. Instead, he was more alert to other S-rank hunters joining in. No matter how well I did, there were limits. And we were several meters apart—nearly impossible for an F-rank to catch up to an S-rank at that distance
“Don’t think of running”
As I shifted he spoke quietly, then took out his phone to call for backup
“Teamwork would help”
Meanwhile he loaded a small bead into his barrel—an item I’d asked Myeong-woo to craft. It sealed the muzzle and I began to channel mana
The White Lynx gun’s max power is S-rank. But at this range, an S-rank mana shot is hard to dodge. Even a direct hit, with proper defense, won’t be fatal
Watching him plan contact with other S-ranks, I heightened the sensation from my neck down. Chatterbox had told me he’d lend mana-sigil support and given me an item to absorb overload. Not single-use but a set number of charges. Even so, I doubted my body would remain unaffected
‘Myeong-woo will scold me again’
He’d definitely notice. And the old man too. But young Chaos taught me this method. He said it’s early days yet, but
‘Even with low mana and power, you can greatly boost efficiency with proper technique’
I compressed the S-rank mana shot again and again, fitting it through the bead’s tiny hole. Then I surveyed the hunter’s magic aura
‘Magical objects protect themselves. But living beings with flowing mana always have a weak point’
Young Chaos explained in detail. If I mastered the mana-sigil, I could mimic it
Not the head. Not the neck. The usual weak spots are heavily guarded. I felt the wavy mana flow, faint but present. A point of disruption slowly moved—left shoulder, mid-way. As it shifted toward the right shoulder—
Thwack!
I pulled the trigger. A thread-thin mana projectile flew impossibly fast. The hunter sensed something and tried to dodge but I was quicker
“......!”
The shot pierced his right shoulder. His protective aura shattered, and his arm tore off cleanly. He staggered. His entire mana field wavered. Now I could finish him
I kicked off the ground and lunged with renewed mana in the gun. Maybe E-rank overall. But that weak shot—
“Ugh!”
It tore through the S-rank hunter’s throat. His weakened aura left him vulnerable. S-rank bodies are tough but not steel
“Well, an F-rank still can’t manage much”
His body vanished, gold coins clinking as they scattered. I quickly eased off the mana-sigil effect. The world felt suddenly quiet
‘...Can I really keep using this’
At least for an F-rank body it seemed impossible. I felt reckless. I wanted to open the chat but held back and collected the coins. They’d call me amazing but
‘It’s thanks to Chatterbox’
Most of these items were mine, but it was him, not anyone else. I felt uneasy about praise
Checking hunter positions, I took out my phone. I deleted one name from the list and scanned nearby hunters
‘Valerie Russell. This hunter’
I clicked her file. Detailed info on Valerie Russell appeared—data from Sesung plus what Hwangrim supplied. After reviewing I equipped my items: the Lynx set. Then
[White-Tail Delouse (A)]
This time in child form. I’d hidden my skills but how would I appear? Surely not a turtle. I became a small cat and approached Valerie, rustling through bushes before leaping out in front of her
“Uh”
A cat. Exactly the cat she loved. Valerie Russell, animal lover—especially cats. She widened her eyes at me
“...A monster?”
I mimicked cat movements in my head as I circled her feet and flopped onto the ground
Valerie froze. Most animals fear humans, even mid-rank hunters. Even if an S-rank hides their presence, few would approach so warmly on first meeting
She’d sent her five pet cats to her sister’s with tears in her /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ eyes, visiting often but unable to keep them.
“Hi”
Valerie crouched carefully, her large frame gentle
“You’re a cat, monster? I’ve never seen one that looks so much like a cat. But S-ranks hate monsters...”
She sighed that even tamed lower monsters don’t act like pets. I felt a pang of guilt. Some advanced monsters can be surprisingly affectionate. Peace growled at me, though. Slowly she reached out. When I didn’t flee, she beamed
“My angel, good boy. Can I take you? I’ll give you gold instead of items”
As soon as she scooped me up I climbed onto her shoulder. She laughed warmly. Hmm, next time she wants an advanced monster request, I’ll prioritize her. I bit the pill hidden in my mouth—a colorless, odorless SS-rank poison that seeps through skin. With my tongue coated in venom I licked the nape of her neck
“...Huh”
By the time Valerie sensed something was wrong it was too late. Her body froze, paralyzed. She likely had an anti-poison item so she didn’t die, but she couldn’t move. Avoiding her regretful gaze, I hopped down behind her and reverted to human form
‘Whether a cat monster or a fearless bold cat, enjoy your meeting’
Then I fired my gun. Valerie disappeared and a handful of coins remained
“Two down”
Many more to go. But two dots vanished from the map. The hunters would try to get me killed first, but no doubt conflicts would erupt among them
‘Before they kill each other off I must catch them’
I pulled out the items Chatterbox gave me.