“I-Impossible. They really are fans?” The Frost Queen’s eyes widened. It appeared that her contractor was correct. She scowled as Seo Jun-Ho gave her a smug look. 

“Huh?”

But something was off. While Seo Jun-Ho was signing the autographs, the men were slowly surrounding him. One quietly unsheathed a dagger at his waist, while another grabbed the handle of his sword. A mage was also starting to create a fireball from behind Seo Jun-Ho. 

“Ahahaha!” She clutched her stomach as she burst into laughter. They weren’t real fans; they were bandits that were pretending to be fans. “What did I say? Hahahaha!”

“Oh…” The way her contractor blushed was almost cute. 

“Die, Seo Jun-Ho!”

A fireball the size of a fist flew toward the back of his head.

***

‘Ah, that’s life.’ 

Seo Jun-Ho let out a heavy sigh. Frankly, he didn’t necessarily like or dislike fanservice. He didn’t mind taking pictures or signing autographs if his fans asked him. But these men had tried to dispose of his kind, innocent heart. One of them had unsheathed his dagger, and the mage had started to cast a spell. 

‘Did they really think that I wouldn’t notice?’

The fact that they did all this while knowing who he was made him extra annoyed, especially because there were only four of them. How weak did they think he was?

“You guys are crazy.” The killing intent rolled off his body. 

They should’ve brought at least forty men if they really wanted to kill him. 

“Die, Seo Jun-Ho!” 

A sword came for his heart, while a dagger aimed for his back, and a fist-sized fireball flew toward his head. Despite this, his eyes were focused on one person. The one who had first claimed to be his fan.

“You first.” His hand shot out as quick as lightning, gripping Muto’s throat. 

“Gak!” Muto gasped from the sudden pain, but Seo Jun-Ho pulled his hand back just as quickly as he lunged at the former’s throat. There was a loud snap, and Muto’s larynx appeared in his palm. 

“...!” Muto’s eyes widened as he tried to scream from the excruciating pain, but no sound came out, other than pathetic rasping. Seo Jun-Ho stared down at him with cold eyes and summoned his magic as Black Armor unfolded across his body. 

Cling! Clang!

Finn and Dell’s attacks skidded off the metal. He could’ve dodged them if he wanted to, but he purposefully didn’t do so.

‘I’ll make sure you’ll have nightmares about me.’

He turned back to the healer and held out his arm, catching the fireball in his hand. 

Bang!

He squeezed his fist, making it explode into sparks. 

“H-he made the fireball explode?! With just his fist? What kind of monster…?”

“He got Muto! Fuck!”

“Dammit! You said he was level 30!” Dumbfounded, Daniel, Finn, and Dell quickly tried to create distance between them and Seo Jun-Ho. The latter glanced at them coldly. 

Crack! 

He bent down to rip the tail of a whip wolf off. 

Swoosh. Swoosh.

He swung the bone whip at Daniel, the mage who was the closest to him.

“Ahh!” 

The bone whip easily ripped through Daniel’s robes and his flesh. His skin started to redden and bleed with scratches, and he looked as if he had been attacked by a wild beast. It didn’t matter even if he tried to run away, because the whip would always find him as if it had eyes. It took less than five seconds for Daniel to be reduced to a bloody mess. 

Crack! Crack!

“Shit!”

“Daniel!” Dell and Finn cursed as they ran to help Daniel, and Dell’s sword aura ignited as he rushed toward Seo Jun-Ho.

‘Not bad, but…’ 

It wasn’t nearly enough to deal with him. 

“Fuck off.” 

Crack!

Seo Jun-Ho kicked Dell in the stomach, and the latter flew into a tree before crumpling to the ground. 

By the time he turned around, Finn had already approached him. 

‘This one isn’t bad for an assassin, but it’s still a hundred years too early for him to be able to assassinate me.’

He ducked to avoid a strike and snatched Finn’s wrist, breaking it in his hand. 

“Ahhhhh!” Finn screamed in pain. 

“Finn!” Panicked, Dell scrambled up and charged at Seo Jun-Ho. He swung up, down, left, and right, trying to overwhelm him with everything he knew. 

“How annoying, your style is surprisingly by the book.”

But what was the point of that if Dell himself wasn’t honorable? Seo Jun-Ho evaded his strikes or blocked them with the back of his hand without taking a single step. 

As he dodged, he started to break Finn’s fingers one by one. 

Crack! Crack!

And each time, the forest would become filled with another scream. 

“Ugh! Ha… Please, just let me go…” 

Finn’s eyes were bloodshot by the time his fingers and wrists were all broken. His voice had gone hoarse, and he couldn’t even scream anymore. 

Dell looked at Seo Jun-Ho in amazement as he tried to catch his breath. He had been attacking to kill the entire time, but he hadn’t been able to land a single scratch on the latter so far. 

‘A monster newbie?!’ 

His opponent had already become a monster. The Hunters had become the hunted. Seo Jun-Ho hadn’t even moved an inch during the entire fight. 

“So you’re the last one left?” Seo Jun-Ho looked around. Finn, the assassin, was tossed aside like a broken doll with his fingers and wrists broken. Muto, the healer, kept healing his throat, afraid that he would die from blood loss. As for Daniel the mage, there was nothing else to say. He had passed out after being shredded by the whip. 

“I still can’t believe that you attacked me when you’re only at this level…” Seo Jun-Ho sighed. 

Still, he couldn’t help but think that it was a good thing that he was attacked. If it hadn’t been him, then some Player or Adventurer might’ve been attacked instead. They would have been taken out without even having the time to react if they had been attacked by their group. “It doesn’t seem like this is your first rodeo… How many people have you killed?”

“...Fufu, around fifty.” Dell grinned wickedly. There was no use in hiding it now. 

“Weird thing to brag about.” Seo Jun-Ho started to swing the bone whip once again. 

“Only Daniel would be taken out by something like that!” Dell gnashed his teeth and swung his sword, aiming for the whip, but it curved away and wrapped around his body. “Huh?!”

“Damn… This is a great weapon.” Seo Jun-Ho looked at the bone whip in admiration. Truthfully, he didn’t have much experience with whips because he didn’t particularly care for them. Of course, he didn’t know much about using them either. But now, as he held the bone whip in his hand, his head started to fill with ideas. 

“You… Let me go!” Dell yelled as he pulled against his restraints. 

Seo Jun-Ho looked at him for a moment before speaking, “Fifty people… You’ve killed a lot of people. You’re no different from fiends.” 

He planned on handing them over to the city guards. But before that…

‘I’m gonna give him what he deserves.’ 

He pulled the whip back, making Dell fly through the air.

Crack!

He thrust his elbow into Dell’s face as the latter flew toward him. But it still wasn’t enough.

“Gah!” Jun-Ho hit him with so much force that both his teeth and nose cracked. 

“Sorry, I still haven’t let it all out. Let me hit you one more time.” He grabbed Dell by the back of his collar and punched the back of his skull. His body spasmed as he collapsed. 

“Will it not be a hassle to take them away in such a state?” the Frost Queen commented from beside him.

“So what? They deserved this.” Seo Jun-Ho pondered as he looked at the four unconscious criminals. “I wonder how much Fame I’ll get if I hand them over,” he said lightly.

***

When the four of them came to, Seo Jun-Ho had already restrained them with the whips and dragged them across the ground behind him. People nervously cleared the way. 

“Halt!” The guards at the western gate raised their spears. The sight of a man dragging four bloody people was enough to make anyone suspicious. 

“Identify yourself.”

“Seo Jun-Ho. I’m a Player.” He shrugged as he patted the toothless Dell’s head. “I caught the culprits behind the recent disappearances.”

“...What?” The guard’s eyes widened as he inspected the four hostages. The disappearances had been causing quite the headache for the city guards lately. If this man was telling the truth, then… 

“They tried to kill me while I was hunting. So I captured them.”

“...We’ll take them to the headquarters to confirm this. Are you willing to testify?”

“Of course…” 

The guards flanked him and escorted him into the gates. 

Three hours later, Seo Jun-Ho was shaking hands with the captain of the guard, Max. 

“They confessed. Their statements do line up with the identities of the victims.”

“I’m glad that I was able to be of assistance.” Seo Jun-Ho smiled. 

“You look quite strapping, and I have no doubt of your skill. What do you think of working as a city guard? If you’re a Player, we can get you citizenship right away.”

It was a tempting offer, but Seo Jun-Ho shook his head. If he accepted, he would have to stay in Gilleon for at least another two years. “I respectfully decline…”

“That’s a shame. I’d hate to see your skills go to waste.” The captain thumped his shoulder. “Well, if a problem ever arises while you’re here, come find me. I will help you as far as my power allows me.”

“Thank you.” Seo Jun-Ho bowed, and the captain saluted back. 

After they parted ways, Seo Jun-Ho started to head toward the commercial district. 

“So, how much Fame did you receive?” the Frost Queen asked. Seo Jun-Ho had maintained a composed expression the entire time, but he couldn’t hold it back anymore. 

Seo Jun-Ho grinned brightly and held up five fingers.