Chapter 7: The Reason He Talks To Himself (1)
I searched for information about the Sword Star on my smartphone.
—He used to be an elder in a wealthy, prestigious family from Northern Europe.
—His name is Marcus Carlenbery. A renowned family, a myriad of social connections, huge assets… He had everything, but he abandoned all of it to enter the Tower.
—No one really knows exactly what Skills he has.
—He has a habit of occasionally talking to himself.
I clicked my tongue. “This isn’t really helpful.”
I searched up videos of his interviews just in case, but I got nothing. From the looks of it, the Sword Star was the exact opposite of Yoo Soo-Ha, the Fire Emperor. Although Yoo Soo-Ha tended to talk harshly to reporters and anchors, he was still an attention seeker, so he would often expose himself to the media.
On the other hand, the Sword Star remained eternally mysterious, so all of the information circulating online was pretty vague and speculative.
Well. I turned to look at the Sword Star, who was drinking vodka milk at a corner table. It looks like the information about his habit seems to be correct.
The unusually dressed old man was having a unique drink of milk mixed with vodka. Even now, he kept sipping his drink without any snacks while he babbled to himself.
“...Shut up. Be quiet. You’re…”
I couldn’t hear what exactly he was talking about, but the Sword Star kept talking to himself with a deep frown whenever he put down his cup on the table. It was actually a little scary.
Is he mentally ill?
However, he was the number one Hunter in the world, meaning he was a nuke that could go off at any time. It was horrifying.
...Come to think of it, the Fire Emperor was also a psychopath.
Perhaps being mentally ill was the requirement to become the Rank 1 Hunter.
Almost all High Rankers are wackos, I guess. I shook my head as I continued my search.
All the information I could find was still speculative, but one anonymous post caught my eye with its interesting title.
“[Caution] You should never say this in front of the Sword Star!”
“Hmm?”
The post was from an online community that required a Hunter license from the Hunter Management Bureau to join. In other words, only Hunters got to hang out there.
—There is a topic you should never mention in front of the Sword Star. Don’t ever bring it up unless you have a death wish. I witnessed it myself.
└What is it?
—Don’t mention anything about his grandchildren. A couple days ago, some Rankers picked a fight with the Sword Star in the ninth-floor hunting ground. “Judging from you, I can see how messed up your grandchildren outside the Tower are. That’s why you left them, ain’t it?” “After all, they’re your grandchildren, so they must be just as cocky and all.” “How embarrassed would your grandchildren be if they knew you act like a dickhead here?” After that, he killed them.
└what he just killed them?
└Yeah, he really did. The last guy was dead before he could finish speaking. No one saw the Sword Star move.
There were a lot of comments under that post.
—bullshit
—this is just astroturfing from one of the big guilds
—Yeah those guilds always find talented people like the Sword Star an eyesore
Most of the commenters didn’t believe the poster, but the user who wrote the post defended it persistently.
—I don’t care if you believe me or not! I just posted this because I thought you guys should know too. I personally think the Sword Star isn’t at fault here, it’s the guy who brought his family for no good reason, but all the High Rankers are furious for sure. Look at how the media keeps criticizing the Sword Star nowadays. Anyhow, watch your words if you run into the Sword Star. Bye-bye.
That was the last comment the user wrote, as if that was all they had to say.
I put down my smartphone.
The topic I should never mention in front of him… I thought.
I looked at the corner of the pub where the Sword Star was still sitting and talking to himself.
“...You’re too noisy. I’ll take care of it, so leave me alone…”
It really looked like he was mentally ill. Even if he was, it didn’t change the fact that he was the Rank 1 Hunter, so he probably had remarkable Skills. That was enough for me.
Alright. It’s worth testing.
***
“Thanks for the drink,” the Sword Star told the pub owner.
“Ha-have a good night!”
After emptying his cup, the Sword Star left the pub. Immediately after that, the drunkards, who had been keeping as quiet as possible, heaved a sigh of relief.
“He finally left.”
“Is he going senile? Why does he keep talking to himself?”
“Who knows? But it killed my mood tonight for sure...”
It looked like all of the customers in the pub had been waiting for the Sword Star to leave. Although I had been waiting too, my reason was different from theirs.
There was no time to waste. I quickly calculated my tab and handed the money to the pub owner. “Here you go.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you. I hope to see you again!”
“The beer was great. Good night.” I bowed back to the owner.
The pub door’s bell rang as I walked out the door. It was already late in the night, so the street was dark.
Where are you?
I looked around. The street was lined up with pubs and bars, so it was quite crowded. Dozens of people giggled under the night sky, letting out their alcohol-infused laughter.
Where are you, Rank 1 Hunter?
There you are!
Fortunately, it didn’t take long to find the back of the person I was looking for, thanks to his unique fashion style. The Sword Star was the only person who would walk around Babylon in a suit. I quickly quieted my steps and followed him.
My heart pounded.
The Fire Emperor had a Class EX Skill that allowed him to go back to the past. The Sword Star has been a renowned Hunter even before the Fire Emperor, so what Skills could he have? It must be even better than the regression Skill, right?
That Skill was going to be mine if my luck allowed.
***
After following him for who knew how long, the Sword Star and I were out of the downtown and headed to a remote alley. When we went a little further, we weren’t even in an alley. The Sword Star kept striding forward until he reached a very remote, barren field with no buildings.
“Hmm, this place looks good.” The Sword Star turned around, his figure illuminated by the dim starlight. “Come out, young man. No one will know what happens here.”
The Sword Star was looking right at the tree I was hiding behind.
I sighed. Of course he got me.
Well, it was far-fetched to think that to think that the Rank 1 Hunter wouldn’t notice me following him. I readily accepted my incompetence and walked out from behind the tree.
“Please excuse my rudeness, Mr. Sword Star. I have a favor I would like to ask from you.”
Although I tried to sound as polite as possible, the Sword Star simply scoffed for some reason.
“Ha. Weren’t you being clumsy on purpose so I would notice you? I’m just an old man, so I don’t get what kind of ’favor’ makes a scary man like you come for me.”
Huh? I didn’t understand why, but he seemed to believe that I had made sounds on purpose.
Although I wasn’t doing anything, the Sword Star grabbed his sword. He looked ready to fight.
What is up with him?
This was good for me since my goal was to get killed by the Sword Star, but I didn’t do anything else except follow him…
My obvious confusion only deepened the Sword Star’s frown. His eyes oozed murder.
“...You’re quite the actor; as expected from an elite assassin.”
“What?”
“Don’t feign ignorance. You may have been able to fool other Hunters, but it won’t work on me. I know you’re one of the Black Dragon Guild’s elite assassins.”
Umm… The Sword Star seemed to be having a grave misunderstanding.
I don’t know if I like it or not.
Anyhow, it worked out for me. It looked like he was going to kill me even if I didn’t mention his grandchildren, but I really had no idea how he mistook a Class F Hunter for an elite assassin.
“Ha! How despicable. You just won’t drop the act, will you?” The Sword Star sneered at me, carefully watching my reaction. “I already said you can’t fool my eyes!”
I highly doubted that I had the face of an assassin, but his contempt for me looked sincere.
At this point, I had to ask.
“Umm, sir. This is a genuine question… Why do you think I’m an elite assassin? I think I look pretty ordinary.”
“Shut up.” The Sword Star drew his sword. “I have many Skills, but one in particular got me through many crises. It tells me how many humans my opponent has killed. “
What? It took me a few extra seconds to understand him. Ah, I killed Yoo Soo-Ha.
Yes, I had hunted Yoo Soo-Ha today. Although I had done it because I knew what kind of monster he would turn out to be, people in this generation didn’t know that, so I was just a killer to them.
Murder was a lot more common inside the Tower than it was in the outside world…but it was still a crime. In other words, the number 1 must be floating above my head in the Sword Star’s eyes, signifying Yoo Soo-Ha’s death. It was understandable that the Sword Star was vigilant of me.
“I understand, Mr. Sword Star.”
“Hmmm.”
“Your vigilance is completely valid, but please hear my excuse first. Although I can’t tell you everything, I swear to God that I did it for a very important reason.”
I meant my every word, but it seemed to send the Sword Star in an odd direction. My sincere explanation made the Sword Star’s face contort.
“You devil.”
“Say what?”
“Your nonsense disgusts me. I can’t say my hands are spotless…but I never slaughtered so many people as you!”
The increasingly chaotic situation left me bewildered.
“Wait a minute, sir. What do you mean by slaughter? I killed only one person in my entire life.”
“You just don’t know what shame is, do you?” The Sword Star pointed his sword at me. “I can see the number 4091 above your head!”
My head was going blank. “What are you…”
I stopped—my tongue froze mid-sentence when I realized where the number 4091 came from.
Ah.
One of them was because I had killed Yoo Soo-Ha, and the rest was…
…it’s the number of times I killed myself.
“Brace yourself, devil! I don’t know if the Black Dragon Witch sent you or someone else, but I will not hold back anything!”
In the Sword’s Star’s eyes, I was the killer of the century, the murderer of 4091 people.
No, this isn’t a matter of whether or not I can copy the Sword Star’s Skill anymore!
A shiver ran down my spine as I realized that the problem was a lot bigger than I had thought.
The Sword Star is going to kill me whenever he sees me!
Right—to him, I was a despicable human butcherer, and a virus like me should be eliminated as soon as possible.
“Wa-wait!” I extended my arm. “Please, hold on…!”
The Sword Star swung his sword at me.
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