The Genius Assassin Who Takes it All

Kang-hoo picked up the skill book.

[Skill Book – Age of Barbarism]

[Special Note: Berserker Exclusive]

[If the learner’s mana stat is below 50, all skill mana costs are reduced by 50%.]

As he checked the contents, he understood why other hunters had ignored the book.

There were two main reasons.

First, the proportion of Berserker-type hunters was very low, both domestically and internationally.

Second, once hunters surpassed a certain beginner status, their mana stat naturally exceeded 50.

It was not easy for a Berserker to maintain a low mana stat level.

No wonder the book had been neglected, given such challenging prerequisites.

‘But it’s perfect for me?’

However, Kang-hoo was different.

Thanks to his congenital mana hypersensitivity, he had not invested in his mana stat.

Past and present, Kang-hoo consistently kept his mana stat at 20.

While his mana stat might increase someday,

For now, the Age of Barbarism was a highly efficient skill book for him.

With all skill mana costs halved, there was no reason to refuse.

He approached the seller, who appeared to be handling the sale of the skill book.

The seller had over ten piercings in his ears, presenting an unusual appearance, but Kang-hoo only cared about the transaction.

“How much for this?”

“Welcome! Which item are you interested in? Oh, are you looking at this skill book?”

Despite his fierce appearance, the seller responded with a friendly voice.

Appearances can indeed be deceiving.

Kang-hoo had never heard such a friendly voice in a place like this before.

“Yes, I’m interested.”

“You’ve checked the contents, right?”

“Of course.”

“It’s priced at 2 billion won. Honestly, I’d say it’s worth around 3 billion.”

The starting price was preposterous, akin to spouting nonsense while high.

Such people were often skilled in haggling, intentionally setting absurd prices.

Kang-hoo, feeling it wasn’t even worth responding, immediately turned and walked away.

He didn’t hear anything at first, but kept walking.

There was a certain confidence that he wouldn’t regret it even if his bargaining ploy didn’t work.

Then.

Rustle, patter!

The sound of hurried footsteps followed him. The haste was evident, even stumbling mid-way.

“Excuse me, sir!”

“……?”

Kang-hoo looked at the seller with disdain, and the seller’s face naturally darkened.

Kang-hoo knew from the start that the items at his stall weren’t popular.

It seemed like a collection of hard-to-sell goods, poorly assembled.

He could understand the excitement of encountering an interested buyer.

But that didn’t mean he had to overpay out of sympathy or pity.

“I might have confused it with another item! The actual price is 1.5 billion…”

Ignoring him again.

Leaving more decisively than before, the seller finally called out a revised price in resignation.

“1 billion, it’s 1 billion!”

He had cut the price significantly.

It was slightly higher than what Kang-hoo had thought was a fair price.

No matter how inefficient the skill book was, a skill book is still a skill book.

If he pushed the price down further, the seller might give up, perceiving it as a loss.

However, Kang-hoo, with his trademark expressionless face, spoke dryly without even a twitch of his lips.

“500 million.”

A little later.

“This is why I come to the Liberation Zone.”

Kang-hoo, having carefully stored the skill book in his backpack, walked along the street with a satisfied expression.

He felt some stares drilling into the back of his head, but he ignored them as the deal was already done.

He had bought it much cheaper than expected.

In the Liberation Zone, prices are not standard but fluctuate based on the area’s demands.

Like now, there was a possibility to buy far below the original price. The opposite could also be true.

If this skill book had been for sale at a market near Seoul Station, it could have fetched a price of 1 billion won.

He had saved 500 million won through some bold bargaining. It was a profitable transaction.

With that settled,

he needed to use Baltman for a cunning learning process, just as he had with the beheading skill.

Having previously made the acquaintance of the Onnuri Guild, it seemed feasible to negotiate with them again.

As long as he was willing to pay, renting a dungeon exploration license for a short period shouldn’t pose a problem.

Even if this plan didn’t work out, he had other options, which made him comfortable during negotiations.

“Hmm.”

Kang-hoo surveyed the deeper reaches of the Liberation Zone he had entered.

Unlike the bustling and brighter entrance, this area was cloaked in a yellow-tinged sunset, intermingling with elongated shadows.

It was as though the world consisted only of yellow and black, creating an eerily somber tableau.

It wouldn’t have been surprising if someone lurking in the shadows had targeted him.

According to information from Jeon Se-hyeok, Min Su-hyeon’s presence in the Liberation Zone was a voluntary choice, not a result of kidnapping.

Kang-hoo couldn’t understand why he would make such a ‘crazy’ choice.

But looked at from another angle, one could attribute it to curiosity.

The Liberation Zone was indeed distinct from the normal world.

Buildings marred by rain and smeared with blood exuded a peculiar odor, stirring a mix of fear and curiosity about death.

Shadows that obscured the view always seemed poised to disclose either death or corpses.

Perhaps he was drawn to that thrill, to the world where death was an everyday reality – the Liberation Zone.

Min Su-hyeon might have ventured too deeply and become ensnared by some complication.

For example, he might have purloined something significant or stumbled into a secret facility at the core of the Liberation Zone.

There were organized ‘management bodies’ within the Liberation Zone tasked with preserving order.

They usually monopolized the profits from the core dungeons and magic stone mines at the center of the Liberation Zone.

“It’s possible I inadvertently triggered a taboo of one of these management bodies.”

A few places came to mind.

Many episodes of the original work were set in various Liberation Zones.

Kang-hoo had potential hotspots in mind.

But relying solely on that knowledge to venture in was risky due to the uncertainties of the Liberation Zone.

If things went wrong, he might have to urgently consider escaping instead of rescuing Min Su-hyeon.

Just then,

“A coin… Please, help me.”

A begging voice came from a gloomy alleyway, where there had been no sound until now.

Probably a beggar who had occupied a spot there, starting to beg upon noticing someone’s approach.

‘A hunter.’

He was pretending to be a beggar but couldn’t hide his mana. He was a hunter disguised as a beggar.

Kang-hoo didn’t know why he was in disguise.

Looking at the well-decorated area around him, he seemed to have been there for a while.

Approaching the beggar, he took out ten 50,000-won notes and began to speak.

“Have you seen a female hunter who is lost and wandering, or perhaps being pursued by someone?”

Kang-hoo showed the beggar a photo of Min Su-hyeon that he had received from Jeon Se-hyuk.

Her face was pixelated, but her distinctive pink hair was unmistakable.

If someone had seen such a unique hair color even once, they would recognize it immediately.

“It feels like I might remember.”

The beggar hesitated.

Kang-hoo offered another ten 50,000-won notes.

“Does this jog your memory?”

“I’ve seen someone staggering around somewhere. Where was it again…”

This time, he held out twenty notes.

The beggar continued without hesitation.

“There’s a motel not far from here. It’s in a relatively well-lit and safe area.”

“Please lead the way.”

If he just mentioned ‘motel,’ there would be too many potential buildings to pinpoint.

In the liberation area, there were too many abandoned motels, making the beggar’s information vague.

The beggar stood up.

Kang-hoo offered more money.

It was his way of ensuring thorough guidance.

“If my memory serves right, it’s that way.”

Unfortunately, the direction the beggar pointed was not promising.

Through his enhanced vision aided by the aiming skill, he saw the end of the alley, marked with bloodstains.

‘Right. I tried to take the easy route. That was my mistake. It’s better to search on my own.’

He accepted the situation with a bitter smile.

It was a trap. These people preyed on passersby. Worse, they might even kill them.

Kang-hoo replied calmly, observing the beggar leading him into danger.

“Right. If you guide me to the exact location, I’ll reward you handsomely. Really handsomely.”

Five minutes later.

“There’s always a reason why someone can’t live according to their fate.”

Kang-hoo checked the 300 million won worth of items he had carefully packed in his backpack and left the scene.

Of course, the items had belonged to the beggar and his group who had tried to ambush Kang-hoo.

They appeared to have been targeting passersby or launching surprise attacks like this.

Without constellations or adequate skills, the hunters were quickly overpowered.

It’s debatable whether a hunter’s life should be so fragile.

In the hunter’s world, where the logic of power is applied most brutally and precisely, this was not surprising.

Before he died, the beggar mentioned that he had seen Min Su-hyun.

But the location was much deeper than Kang-hoo had anticipated. It was right towards the heart of the liberation area.

The center of the liberation area was also the most dangerous.

Moreover, the entire liberation area was designed to disable smartphones by jamming the signals.

So, Min Su-hyun might have been hiding somewhere in the center, effectively trapped there by choice.

Swoosh.

Kang-hoo vanished.

His natural stealth, perfected through years of practice, was seamless.

Anyone unauthorized in the center faced mortal danger just by approaching.

Thus, Kang-hoo planned to move as invisibly and quietly as possible.

He had already donned his mask.

It covered everything but his eyes, ensuring he would avoid later identification.

An hour passed.

He found himself in a dangerous and precarious position deep within the liberation area’s center.

“There she is! Catch her!”

“We finally found her!”

Was it a stroke of divine intervention or a harbinger of trouble?

He caught sight of someone with pink hair, frantically weaving through old buildings on the verge of collapse.

‘I found her.’

Pink hair.

The rescue target, Min Su-hyun.

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