The Novel’s Villain

7. The Big Picture of Young Master (1)

Hunting has always been the best when it comes to driving growth. It was right to go hunting if you had abilities to do so since you could instantly acquire a huge amount of experience, and besides that, you could even feel the thrill of the hunt. In that sense, the two guilds faithfully performed their duties.

The Silver Arrow guild, centered on Rachel, drove the prey around the forest. Climbing trees and moving quickly, they looked like elves. Even if their abilities weren’t great, they overcame that through experience and teamwork while their deficiencies were filled with equipment. They drove many monsters toward Jin-woo.

An arrow crossed the air and hit a tree next to Moo-jin. Moo-jin saw it and raised his greatsword.

“Here it comes! Get ready!”

Drrrrrng!

The ground shook. A wave hit the cup in Jin-woo’s hand. It was a specially prepared coffee mix, but it went well with the atmosphere in its way. The scenery that couldn’t be experienced anywhere else on Earth pleased his heart. But the coffee was tasteless aside from the unique sour taste present in all powdered foods. It was made with technology to slow down decomposition, but it was still better than nothing.

“Is this the last coffee?”

“Yes. Shall I bring you more?”

“It’s all right.”

Jin-woo put down his cup. He sat in a comfortable chair under a parasol made of monster skin and looked at the monsters approaching. It was a giant wolf-bear. There were quite a few of them because they lived in groups.

They sprinted through the bushes. The splendid silver fur was as beautiful as it was woven from actual silver. It was a high-quality material with great value as it possessed not only defensive qualities but also immunity to fire. The downside was that it was difficult to process. Their sharp claws were also powerful enough to tear up huge trees like paper.

‘It’s like a movie.’

It was much more exciting than a movie, though, so it was fun to watch. Looking at it in person, he could tell that it was a scene from a fantasy.

“It’s quite a lot. I’ve never seen such a number before. The Silver Arrow’s navigation and herding abilities are outstanding.”

“I think it’s a good result of working half a day.”

“Yes, the absence of people also seems to have played a part. It is said that you have caught a lot if you catch two or three heads a day.”

Yoo-na nodded. As it was a popular hunting ground, it was extremely rare every time wolves appeared. Although they respawned at regular intervals, most of the time, it was wasted because they were quickly caught. There were a lot of casualties, but it wasn’t because of the wolves. It was because the guilds were fighting each other over their prey. The JW Gate didn’t specifically sanction it.

‘Uwaaaawwwrrrrr!”

Moo-jin made an animal-like sound. Then all the wolves turned and began to rush towards him.

‘Is it a technique?’

The aggro technique was excellent. It was quite interesting to see the game-like action in person, mixing to create a strange sense of reality. The moment the wolves rushed toward Moo-jin, the ground went out instantly, and all the wolves fell. They floundered in a deep pit.

“Attack! Aim for the eyes! Minimize the damage to the skin!”

Everyone who was waiting rushed in while those who learned magic techniques chanted spells. The scene of water falling from the air and thick liquid pouring down was quite spectacular. It was the moment when the half-day preparation shed light. The Mercenaries killed the wolves one by one with their skillful movements. They were very careful to minimize the damage to the skin.

Finally, the time had come. Jin-woo stood from his chair and walked towards the pit.

‘This is it!’

A golden current flowed out of the wolves whose lives had been cut off. It was mana mixed with experience points that could only be detected with the Magic Eye of information. It was all because of this that the level rose when catching a monster. Normally, it was absorbed into the body through breathing, and the amount of absorption was different due to the potential correction. However, Jin-woo was able to absorb it completely through the Magic Eye of information.

Jin-woo hired the guilds for this very purpose. The main character crawled on the ground and grabbed them one by one, but there was no need for that at all. Wasn’t it enough to hire the guilds for a fair price and catch all the monsters? The Mercenaries carried out Jin-woo’s orders very faithfully. All their efforts poured into Jin-woo.

‘It’s comfortable.’

Jin-woo made all the experience points into his own through the same method as absorbing mana. With the artifacts he wore, the experience points had doubled.

‘I’m leveling up quickly!’

Looking through the Magic Eye of information, Jin-woo went up ten levels at a time. Unfortunately, he couldn’t freely distribute his stats. This was because the techniques he was learning before using the Magic Eye of information were automatically distributed according to understanding. It was different from the main character, but it was tolerable.

Perhaps because the stats were being distributed, his physical information hadn’t yet been confirmed with the Magic Eye of the information. Only information that was being adjusted was emerging.

‘Well, it seems that my physical ability has improved…’

Jin-woo lifted a stone off the ground. When he put strength into it, it cracked and broke. It was a huge growth compared to what he had just before, which was at the limit of human power. Yoo-na tilted her head and began to stare at Jin-woo.

“What?”

“Somehow, your skin seems to be glowing.”

“Huh?”

She tilted her head and took a deep breath.

“My apologies. It’s nothing.”

Yoo-na shook her head and laughed, wondering if the words she had spit out were ridiculous. Her face became expressionless again.

“Be careful. Get them out!”

“Cover the pit right away! We must not leave a trace!”

Everyone seemed busy except for Jin-woo. Jin-woo was the only one who was playing quietly without doing anything.

‘Uh, that’s great!’

Anyone who had experienced this pleasure would know. Playing while others were working was the most rewarding and fun thing in the world. The guild members removed all the wolf bodies from the huge pit. There were exactly thirty-eight of them, including the alpha wolf. Except for the meat, there was nothing to throw away. It was simply a lump of gold.

“Oh, ooh!”

“Awesome!”

“That’s crazy. How much is all this?”

“Look at the gloss on the fur. It’s top-notch!”

They cheered as they saw the fallen wolves. Moo-jin pretended not to care, but his face was bright red, and Rachel wiggled her fingers. All of them looked disappointed, but there was no choice but to do so. They were receiving a request from Jin-woo, so all of those things belonged to Jin-woo.

Jin-woo wasn’t particularly impressed. In wolf skins and by-products, the warehouse was already full and overflowing after collecting their share. Even though they had a surplus, they weren’t selling it all because of price control. Thus, only the warehouse continued to expand.

Rachel approached Jin-woo with a cautious look. Her original personality was quite bright and optimistic, so it was quite weird. Jin-woo looked at her, her expression relaxing slightly when she made eye contact with Jin-woo.

For a moment, silence fell between them. When Yoo-na, who was next to her, coughed, she grew nervous again.

“Ah! I’m reporting. There…are thirty-eight of them in total.”

“I see. It’s more than I thought.”

“Uh, how do we handle this? I think it’s going to take some time to trim and dismantle the leather…well…w-we’re good at this kind of thing. Ha, haha!”

At Rachel’s words, everyone looked at Jin-woo. Jin-woo wasn’t thinking too much about it.

‘Umm…’

It was a little burdensome because everyone’s attention was drawn to him, though. As mentioned before, these were unnecessary things for Jin-woo. He glanced behind him. There were tents, tables, and parasols made of luxurious materials. They were completely useless loads of luxurious luggage. Jin-woo barely managed to stop the General Manager from bringing the palanquin as well.

When Jin-woo said that he would walk himself, the General Manager was moved by Jin-woo’s kindness and trembled even more.

‘It’s a bit too much for them to carry me in a palanquin…’

In addition to the Mercenaries, those assigned by the General Manager carried Jin-woo’s luggage and took care of his various conveniences. It was a unit made up of women in maid clothing. They were high-level competent people with the ability to handle space, with skills that were several levels higher than that of Moo-jin and Rachel. It was said that Yoo-na directly led them when she was under Chairman Lee Hee-jin. It was a piece of her past that wasn’t mentioned in the original story.

They were very competent people who didn’t fit into society and had a very violent tendency. General Manager took them out from the prison dedicated to competent people and trained them, but it didn’t seem normal. Because of the danger, the government was reluctant to accept it, so it was a risk element released under the pretext of exile at the JW Gate.

‘…It’s so brutal.’

Their eyes were terrifying. It seemed that it was difficult to expect anything like loyalty because their eyes were empty, like looking at a doll. It wouldn’t be strange to call each one of them an atrocious terrorist. There was even a maid who was frozen in America’s deepest dungeon. The authorities were on alert because she showed signs of waking up, and the General Manager was asked to fly there and catch her.

‘Hehehehe, it was so romantic back then. It was the day I first got complimented by Master…’

The General Manager who told such stories as if recalling fond memories was certainly a dangerous man. Jin-woo looked towards the maids. The way they stroked their blades was very creepy.

‘I’m glad they’re here.’

Maybe them being sealed at the JW Gate was the right thing to do for a healthy society. It was ridiculous that the things not mentioned in the original were supplemented in this way. Anyway, his luggage was already full. He thought it would be better to let them take care of the wolves rather than bury them. After Jin-woo said so…

“Kyaaah!”

“Ugh?!”

Rachel screamed, and Moo-jin gasped. Rachel barely calmed her trembling chin.

“T-thank you. I love you! I-I love you! Kyaaaaa!”

She shouted and jumped into the wolf furs. There was a tremendous cheer going up that was incomparable to before. Yoo-na nodded.

“It’s a bit expensive, but nothing beats loyalty. Then, I’ll prepare a meal.”

Yoo-na looked at the people who were working on dismantling while making a lot of noise, then she nodded once more and headed towards the maids.

‘Come to think of it, Yoo-na was also an assassin.’

Yoo-na had no sense of incongruity even among those brutal maids. Rather, something felt overwhelming in the atmosphere.

‘None of them are normal.’

Jin-woo nodded and thought so. Come to think of it, neither was he. Maybe he was the most abnormal one. The dismantling didn’t take long. They quickly separated leather from the by-products with skillful workmanship. Jin-woo glanced at Rachel as she worked. It was quite impressive to see the meat and bones being removed without hesitation. Blood was all over her body, but the smile never left her mouth.

“Teeheehee…so pretty…beautiful…and glossy…”

The way she smiled while removing the bones seemed eerily terrifying. All the lean meat was being thrown away. It looked appetizing at first glance, but it couldn’t be eaten because it had a deadly poison.

‘Powdered food, huh…’

Powdered food was simply the worst. It just tasted salty and sour. It was bearable, but it was bleak considering the rest of the journey. Besides that, it occupied the largest volume of luggage, and it was difficult to handle when the decomposition began. People may think it was small because it was a powder, but the volume and weight were considerable due to the devices. No matter how large the quantity, the preservation period was fixed.

Jin-woo looked at the lean meat.

[F+] Silver Wolf’s Meat (Ingredient)

Silver Wolf’s lean meat is delicious even when grilled or eaten raw. It has a great flavor that pushes one to the verge of ecstasy. It has a very good texture and is delicious no matter how you eat it, but it has a deadly poison thanks to the owner of the Gate.

The lean meat of the Silver Wolf, which has been imbued with mana, remains fresh for more than a month, even in the worst conditions.

* Poison, Addiction

* Fascination

* Taste increased by three times

* Gate Cooking is a mysterious realm where no other competent people have succeeded. You can get a lot of experience points while cooking.

‘The owner of the Gate?’

It was poisonous thanks to the owner of the Gate. The owner of the Gate was probably the Emperor of Greed. No one came to mind except the Emperor of Greed.

‘Honestly, it wasn’t at a level that the main character could win.’

On his first appearance, he erased Anyang City altogether with the Gate. The main character achieved an instant, tremendous level-up with the experience points from killing the Emperor of Greed. To be honest, he had no choice but to describe it as the main character’s plot armor and luck.

‘Um, what a waste…’

The lean meat piled up in large quantities was a waste. Moreover, it was quite a great ingredient to maintain freshness in the worst conditions. Above all, if he used it, he didn’t have to eat powdered food.

‘If it were like the old days, I would have just eaten powdered food…’

He would just eat it even if it didn’t taste good. After all, he had to survive. But now that he was Lee Jin-woo, the ordinary taste became intolerable. He couldn’t help it because he only ate good things.

‘Ah! Right.’

There was a way to get rid of the poison. Among the artifacts that Jin-woo absorbed, there were poison-related ones. It would take some time, but it seemed to be absorbed cleanly. And also, he knew Gate Cooking. Various recipes came to his mind, and his fingers twitched.

As Jin-woo approached the pile of meat, Rachel and Moo-jin stopped what they were doing and looked at Jin-woo. He nodded.

Did he need to look around the yard where the Emperor of Greed was waiting? He didn’t have to think deeply. Just being able to get a lot of experience was worth a try. What was the point of having fun? He had to level up.

herbs and spices growing like weeds. They had an unimaginably rich flavor, but like everything else, they were poisonous.