The Genius Assassin Who Takes it All

Park Sang-oh.

A hunter who became a named character in the original work as a wandering mercenary, he used an outboxer style as a swordsman.

The reason Kang-hoo recognized Park Sang-oh was that he had dedicated significant effort to this character during the serialization of the original work, even including illustrations.

Since he looked exactly like he did in the illustrations, there was no reason to think of anyone else.

Park Sang-oh was not active domestically but primarily in Japan as a hunter.

He, too, disliked the Jeonghwa Guild, so he had declined their recruitment offer and gone to Japan instead.

‘Anyway, if things go as in the original, there’s no risk of dying right now. It’s like a guaranteed winning lottery ticket.’

He unexpectedly found an opportunity to make money in an unforeseen place.

His meeting with Emilia and coming to the Hongcheon Liberation Area felt like multiple turning points.

In the death match, the only official information disclosed to the betting participants is one thing:

The level information of the participating hunters.

Since it’s verified through a level scan, the information isn’t distorted.

Other than that, hunters who primarily seek out such death matches privately sell information.

The reliability varies greatly; there are cases of false information being sold, as well as true.

Ultimately, it’s up to the discernment of the buying hunter to differentiate.

Naturally, among the information sellers, there are named individuals whose information sells at a higher price.

People usually don’t buy from sellers they’re seeing for the first time or from those with no past sales history.

‘Park Sang-oh has the lowest level.’

Looking at the information displayed on the scoreboard, Park Sang-oh’s level was over 50 lower than that of the other participants.

In such matches, the level difference is crucial.

It reflected the difference in stats and skills directly.

Judging from the situation, Park Sang-oh seemed to have participated before he got serious about this line of work.

During his domestic activities, Park Sang-oh earned a considerable amount of money by participating in death matches.

However, even with the information mentioned by the sellers, there was hardly any content about Park Sang-oh.

That meant he was an unknown participant to the sellers too. They couldn’t sell information they didn’t have.

The arena broadcast began.

-The main event of the day, the death match, will take place at the special arena soon.

Under the management of Kenax, the death match has established itself as a sport with a 0% accident rate.

The handling of bets, commissions, and distributions is officially approved by the Hunter Public Safety Bureau.

Bet with confidence. The dream of a quick fortune isn’t as far away as you think.

Now, we will reveal each matchup and the betting odds. Please pay attention!

As the broadcast ended, the scoreboard displayed each matchup and the real-time odds.

[Jeon Guk-seon 1.2 vs. Park Sang-oh 3.0]

“Wow! A sweet matchup! Isn’t this match definitely in Jeon Guk-seon’s favor? He’s been on a great run recently, right?”

“Jeon Guk-seon, that guy! Didn’t he easily defeat someone 35 levels higher than him in the last match?”

“It’s not just that; he’s totally crazy. That guy only goes for death matches!”

All the hunters’ attention focused on the matchup between Park Sang-oh and another hunter.

Reflecting the expected win rate, the odds were drastically different. Naturally, everyone was interested in Jeon Guk-seon’s odds.

“It’s a guaranteed 20% gain; how can we give this up?”

“If we pass up a matchup that’s a certain 20% return in 30 minutes, that’s just foolish.”

“Hey, let’s bet before the odds drop further. This is a matchup we can’t miss.”

“But who is Park Sang-oh?”

“Who cares? Probably just some desperate fool who can’t avoid death.”

“His level is 50 lower than Jeon Guk-seon’s. He must have come just to die.”

“Aren’t Kenax guys trying to rig the match? They might lose a lot of money if they don’t adjust the odds quickly.”

The hunters rushed to the betting tables set up in front of the special arena.

As the arena broadcast stated, there was a slight waiting period due to the approval process of the Hunter Public Safety Bureau.

Since the security of the bet money was guaranteed, everyone could place large bets without any burden.

‘It feels like this to bet with knowledge of the future,’ Kang-hoo thought, smiling inwardly.

Of course, there was a very low probability that the future he had calculated could change, resulting in Park Sang-oh’s death. That would mean the original story would go off track.

But that didn’t matter to him.

If he had to pay 6 billion won as a tuition fee for such enlightenment, it didn’t seem too regrettable.

The key was to not repeat the same mistake in the future. After all, money can always be earned through hard work.

Kang-hoo made a completely different choice at the betting table compared to other hunters.

“I’ll bet 6 billion on Park Sang-oh. Please give me the dedicated account.”

“Eh? Look, there’s one guy throwing away his money.”

When Kang-hoo bet on Park Sang-oh, the hunters looked at him with pity. Ignoring Jeon Guk-seon, who was recently on an unstoppable rise, and betting on the opposite seemed reckless.

They understood the desire for a windfall, but this level of recklessness was beyond comprehension.

However, Kang-hoo, undisturbed, silently bet more than 90% of his entire fortune on Park Sang-oh.

“Jeon Guk-seon! Quick! Hey, gather your money! Just bury it! If you bury it, you’re guaranteed a 20% return!”

“Why bet on Park Sang-oh? Got too much money? Hurry, just go for the sure thing! Quickly!”

The betting heavily favored Jeon Guk-seon, causing his odds to drop continuously as the hunters grew more frantic.

Out of curiosity, some hunters tried betting on Park Sang-oh as a long shot.

However, they typically wagered only a few million won—ten million at the absolute most.

Amidst this frenzy, Kang-hoo placed an astonishing 6 billion won on Park Sang-oh… Everyone couldn’t help but see it as a fool’s errand.

“Hmph.”

Unperturbed, Kang-hoo simply crossed his arms and waited for the death match to start.

One hour later.

“Wow… That guy, his 60 billion turned into 180 billion. And then it shot up to 360 billion?”

“He bet on Park Sang-oh twice in succession?”

“Uh… And not just a few million, but a straight 60 billion followed by 180 billion.”

“An all-in, twice?”

“Exactly. I can’t tell if he’s just rolling in cash or if he has some sort of insight. The man’s insane.”

“Hey, what made you go all-in on Park Sang-oh? Are you related to him or something? What’s your angle?”

“Trade secret. Thanks for your concern.”

After verifying the amount deposited in his bank account, Kang-hoo left the premises.

His balance had swelled to 366 billion won.

With its conclusion, today’s death match had significantly boosted Park Sang-oh’s worth with two consecutive victories.

It was unlikely that opportunities like today, with Park Sang-oh at triple or double odds, would come again.

Instead, he was now likely to face low odds similar to those of Jeon Guk-seon.

As a wandering mercenary, he had strung together a series of victories in death matches.

It had been a one-off, but nonetheless significant.

Kang-hoo had quickly amassed a fortune. It was the easiest money he had ever made.

Sometimes, the thrill of easy money was the most satisfying.

He had spent 100 billion won.

But in an instant, he had earned 300 billion won, and he walked away, his steps lighter than ever.

Entering Meokjagolmok, the renowned food alley in the Hongcheon Liberation Area, Kang-hoo was greeted by an array of enticing aromas.

Just as he was about to pick up his chopsticks after ordering a generous serving of his favorite combination, tteokbokki and sundae, his phone rang.

It was Lee Ye-rin.

“Yes, Ye-rin.”

- Is it okay to talk?

“It’s fine, I’ve just ordered.”

- You asked for information about a hunter named Park Min-seong? A hunter who went missing in Korea.

“Right.”

- It seems we’ve found his family, but the personal details are a bit unusual. They’re different from what you might expect.

“What are they?”

- He was adopted in England when he was young. So, his parents are currently British.

“Isn’t adoption itself not particularly special?”

- But both parents are well-known hunters in England. He was reported missing there.

“So, you mean he came to Korea without his parents knowing and then went missing?”

- That seems to be the case, yes.

“Please send me the information about the parents, and it would be great if you could also contact them. They should come and identify the body as soon as possible.”

- Understood. I’ll make contact right away.

“I’ll pay you a generous fee.”

- I told you before, this time I’m doing it entirely as a favor. That’s it. Anyway, I’m hanging up now!

With that, the call ended.

Initially, he had just intended to help find the family of a hunter who had come to Ground Zero and tragically lost his life.

He never thought that this would lead to England, and to well-known hunters at that.

Was his unconditional kindness being repaid with good fortune?

Fortunately, due to the special environment of Ground Zero, the body’s decay would be slower than expected.

Still, he hoped the parents would come as quickly as possible.

Just then.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A vibration strong enough to shake the plastic chair Kang-hoo was sitting on, as well as all the nearby structures, was felt.

It wasn’t a minor collision, but a vibration you’d feel during a significant explosion.

“What’s that?”

“Did something explode?”

Kang-hoo wasn’t the only one who felt the vibration; everyone stood up.

As hunters, they were familiar with several incidents and accidents that could cause such tremors.

In that moment,

Kaboom!

A series of explosions occurred, sending a massive shockwave along with a deafening boom, violently enveloping everything in its path.

Had Kang-hoo not instinctively erected a protective barrier, he would have been helplessly swept away by the powerful shockwave.

‘A dungeon explosion.’

Kang-hoo hadn’t seen the site, yet he recognized the intensity and pattern of the shockwave and immediately grasped the situation.

A dungeon explosion.

The causes varied, but it typically happened when a dungeon was left uncleared for too long.

To simplify,

It was akin to putting a pot on high heat, sealing it tightly, and then having the stew overflow.

Dungeons needed periodic clearing to release their built-up energy.

Otherwise, the accumulated energy would start to spill outside, resulting in a dungeon explosion.

Typically, dungeons were one-way, preventing monsters from escaping.

However, during an explosion, the structure became two-way, allowing monsters to spill out.

Dungeons managed by the Hunter Public Safety Bureau were systematically monitored, making such incidents uncommon.

Yet, dungeons outside their control were managed by their respective owners.

Unfortunately, it appeared that there were shortcomings in Kenax’s dungeon management within the Hongcheon Liberation Area.

‘It’s a nightmare from a damage control standpoint. But for me, could it be an opportunity?’

Having endured the shockwave, Kang-hoo, clutching his Blood Dew, readied himself to head toward the explosion’s origin.

For Kenax, responsible for managing the chaos, it was a situation fraught with the risk of losing power.

But for Kang-hoo, a visitor in the Hongcheon Liberation Area, all the rampaging monsters represented a bounty of experience points.

Monsters that emerged, filled with dungeon energy, offered much better rewards than ordinary monsters.

Just like the monsters he had faced in the Limitless Mana Dungeon before.

Indeed, a crisis was an opportunity.

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