Aggro Hunter 49

‘…I should return it.’

Even if his nature was greedy, he knew right from wrong. Moreover, the owner of this object was Noh Pyeonghwa. He didn’t want to covet a child’s belongings as an adult. Dohae pushed aside his regret and tried to remove the ring from his finger.

At that moment, the ring’s size decreased. In the blink of an eye, the ring transformed into a ring that fit perfectly on Dohae’s middle finger.

“What the!”

Dohae exhaled in confusion. He immediately pulled hard, but the ring didn’t budge. It wasn’t that it wouldn’t come off because it was small—it had hardened as if it were part of his body. Even drawing on the power of both Constellations, it was immovable.

“Damn! Was it an item?”

It was definitely an item, but seeing how no information came out when Byun Taehui used the appraisal skill, it could be a dangerous object.

Dohae confirmed there was no one nearby and waved his right hand. Black energy rippled in the air and the dagger ‘Aether’ appeared.

It was a shame to damage this beautiful ring, but there couldn’t be any more variables in his life. Dohae raised Aether high and quickly struck down at the ring.

Swoosh!

“Hyung! I dropped something, did you see it? It’s a purple case!”

“Fuck!”

Thwack!

Startled, Dohae changed the trajectory and stabbed the tip of the dagger into the purple velvet case. Black energy wrapped around the case. In an instant, the case turned to ash and scattered into the air.

Dohae grabbed his pounding heart and looked to the side. Pyeonghwa, who had approached nearby at some point, saw him holding the dagger and shrank back as if frightened.

“No… why are you swinging a weapon in the air? If someone sees, they’ll think you’re crazy and report you! Of course, I won’t report you though… Huh? Hyung, that!”

“This is, ha… I was trying to return…”

“That’s the dagger I saw 3 years ago, right! Wow, it’s still so cool even now. Can I take a look for a bit?”

“…”

This was strange. Pyeonghwa acted as if he couldn’t see the splendid ring on Dohae’s finger. Dohae deliberately switched the dagger to the hand wearing the ring so the ring would be clearly visible and handed it to him. Even though the ring was shining brilliantly, Pyeonghwa’s gaze was fixed only on the pitch-black dagger.

“Information check! Eh, even regular items can be appraised? This dagger’s name is Aether? Holy shit, the options are amazing. They keep going and going with no end. It’s a total cheat item. But hyung, didn’t you have another identical one?”

Using an item appraisal skill without even asking permission was clearly rude, but right now Dohae had committed a far more impolite act. Dohae quietly handed Aether’s twin sword, Skotos, to Pyeonghwa.

“Jackpot! How much do you pay for something like this? Over 100 billion?”

Pyeonghwa asked while holding the daggers in both hands and swinging them around. Asking about someone else’s equipment price and swinging them around playfully like that were also behaviors that had eaten manners with their rice. He was still an ill-mannered brat, but Dohae, who had committed a crime, couldn’t rebuke him at all.

“…It was a quest reward, so I don’t know the price.”

“Lucky you. My Constellation only gives really weird quests… But hyung, didn’t I say I dropped something earlier? Shit, it was important, but I can’t remember. Purple, purple…”

“…”

“It’s purple, and there was something inside… Ah! Is this it? A purple egg!”

Pyeonghwa returned the twin daggers to Dohae and took out a round egg from the front of his chest. The egg appeared as if it had torn through the air and popped out. Dohae noticed he was wearing a transparent bag.

The grapefruit-sized egg had a rough surface, with purple paint plastered all over a black base. Pyeonghwa frowned while examining the egg closely.

“This is strange. It hasn’t even hatched yet, but why does it feel like I’ve seen the contents? It feels like it opened like a lid…”

Pyeonghwa put strength into his hand holding the egg as if opening a case lid. Of course, it didn’t open.

“And it wasn’t this ugly, you know? It was really sparkly and… Ugh!”

Pyeonghwa, who was searching his memory, grabbed his head at the sharp headache. Dohae’s shoulders flinched.

“Noh Pyeonghwa, you…”

“Ah, that’s right! Hyung, this is it. I guess I thought I lost it because it was in the transparent bag.”

Pyeonghwa laughed like an idiot with a hehe. Then, humming cheerfully as if relieved, he put the egg back into the transparent bag.

“…”

Dohae twisted his face while watching Pyeonghwa’s memory being manipulated in real-time. How could an item that was invisible to others’ eyes and even manipulated minds feel like absolutely nothing? And why on earth did Noh Pyeonghwa have such a bizarre item? There were mountains of things he wanted to ask, but Pyeonghwa had already completely forgotten about the ring.

Dohae thrust the finger wearing the ring right in front of Pyeonghwa’s eyes with the desperation of grasping at straws.

“You really can’t see this?”

“I can see it.”

“You can?”

“It’s a middle finger.”

The hand wearing the ring happened to be his middle finger. Pyeonghwa pursed his lips, thinking Dohae had given him the finger.

—♬♪♩♬♩♪

“Whoa, the train’s here! I’ll be going!”

An announcement sound indicating the train was arriving rang out. Startled, Pyeonghwa tried to run into the station, but his body tilted to the side. Pyeonghwa, who fell flat on the ground, looked down at the scraped wound on his palm in confusion.

“Huh… why is this happening…?”

His head felt foggy and his body had no strength. Pyeonghwa thought fatigue must have accumulated from broadcasting until dawn every day. Moreover, today he came to school with barely any sleep, so it was natural to be tired. Pyeonghwa slowly blinked, thinking he should raise his stamina more with Aggro Points.

At that moment, Dohae slipped his arm under Pyeonghwa’s waist.

“Uh, uhuh?”

“Don’t struggle.”

Pyeonghwa’s body was lifted up. When Pyeonghwa unconsciously flailed his limbs, Dohae warned in a deadly voice. Frightened, Pyeonghwa immediately drooped like laundry hanging on a clothesline.

“Am I going to die now…?”

“Home.”

“Gasp, you’re going to kill me at home? Can’t you give me a year? Please please please.”

“I’m taking you there. Myeonmok-dong xx-x.”

“How do you know my home address?”

“Earlier, the leave of absence application…”

“Wow! Fuck, I knew it! You’ve been monitoring me continuously since 3 years ago? You fucking vicious bastard… Aaack!”

Thwack! Dohae gave a knuckle knock to Pyeonghwa’s head as he noisily yammered on. Now that he was an Awakened, there was no need to hold back, and that one thing was satisfying. Pyeonghwa covered the back of his head and glared at Dohae resentfully.

“Don’t tell the person in the car that we met 3 years ago.”

“…I’m going to say you’re a fucking psycho who beat me up on first meeting.”

“Go ahead.”

Dohae opened the back door of the car and put Pyeonghwa down as if throwing him. Byun Taehui, who was sitting in the passenger seat, widened his eyes and turned around.

Byun Taehui put back on the sunglasses he’d taken off and gave Dohae, who climbed into the driver’s seat, a look requesting an explanation. Then Dohae suddenly raised his middle finger.

“Oh my, what’s with the middle finger?”

“Fuck off.”

“Why are you giving that friend a ride? That’s the kid who told us to have a beautiful love earlier, right?”

“Ring.”

“Ring?”

“The case you picked up.”

“Huh?”

“If you don’t know, forget it.”

Even Byun Taehui, an A-rank Hunter, couldn’t overcome the ring’s mental manipulation. The ring felt increasingly ominous. Dohae let out a small sigh and started the engine.

He needed time to organize his complicated mind. Dohae hoped that at least while taking Pyeonghwa home, he’d shut up and sleep. But that expectation was mercilessly shattered as soon as they departed. Pyeonghwa chattered incessantly as if a motor was attached to his mouth, and even touched and pressed various things as he pleased.

“Wooow, this is the first time I’ve ridden in such a nice car! It’s not even an electric car, but why is there so little noise? What’s this button? Can I press it?”

“Don’t press it.”

“Oh, the seat reclines. The footrest comes up too. It’s fucking comfortable.”

“Shit, just stay still.”

“Yes… Gulp, gulp!”

“What are you eating!”

“Orange juice. I got it from the vending machine at the train station, ah! I spilled it. Hyung, do you have wet wipes?”

“Ha, fuck…!”

Blue veins stood out on the white back of the hand gripping the steering wheel. Dohae always drove himself because he didn’t trust anyone, and hand-washed his car every week without leaving it to a company. Even today, he had taken the shuttle bus to Jangmak University because he was worried the car might get damaged on the unpaved mountain road. For such a Dohae, this was a moment like a disaster.

‘Should I just kill him.’

Murderous intent boiled up, but shame stopped Dohae’s impulse. To steal someone’s belongings and then want to kill them because they’re a little annoying. This would only amount to destroying evidence.

Dohae looked at the ring settled on the middle finger of his left hand. The ring gave him a strange sense of fulfillment, to him who had no choice but to be modest because he was conscious of others’ gazes. Not only that, it suited him strangely well. As if it had been his from the beginning…

Dohae bit his lower lip hard. He had to return the ring to Pyeonghwa. That was the only way to escape from this thick sense of humiliation at having succumbed to greed.