Holy B-Class Life – Chapter 171

#171

Kim Min-ji, having completely lost her composure, began muttering like a madwoman. The black energy rippled and spread around her, as if reflecting her emotional state.

Dan Joo-hyuk suddenly felt like a hostage-taker. Unable to tolerate it anymore, he openly sighed.

“Hoo…”

It was true that he had hidden Heo Sang-yeon in one of his safe houses.

He had no particular intention of detaining him, just wanting him to properly recover from his injuries. Since Heo Sang-yeon had been backstabbed by Lee Tae-jung whom he trusted most, Dan Joo-hyuk found it bothersome to look for trustworthy people around him. Heo Sang-yeon had agreed with Dan Joo-hyuk’s opinion.

Now he realized that there was also a crazy person named Kim Min-ji around Heo Sang-yeon, so it had been the right decision.

It was thoroughly annoying in every way. Still, he needed to deal with Kim Min-ji now so he could go see Yoon Pa-ran.

He was considering whether to strike her with his sword to bring her to her senses when Kim Min-ji, having organized her thoughts, bit her lip and murmured.

“…If you tell me my sister’s location, I’ll withdraw from this matter. Forever.”

“…?”

“I’d like to find out and confirm it myself, but… if I get more injured now, I won’t be able to protect my sister.”

Kim Min-ji’s eyes were already full of the desire to finish him off.

Slowly observing her demeanor, Dan Joo-hyuk narrowed his eyes.

“It’s rich to see you pretending to care for her now, when you were using Heo Sang-yeon like a puppet before.”

“I never intended to use my sister that way! Those bastards broke their promise!”

Kim Min-ji immediately flared up and glared fiercely at Dan Joo-hyuk. Seeing her arrow-like gaze, Dan Joo-hyuk merely snorted.

“Promise?”

“Kuk…”

“What are you all stupidly doing?”

From the atmosphere, it seemed highly likely that Kim Sang-deok, among the remaining S-class hunters, had also participated in this idiotic business. Or perhaps he was being controlled like Heo Sang-yeon.

They were all S-class yet universally pathetic. He had thought Kim Min-ji at least knew how to look after her own interests, but whether being controlled or acting voluntarily, her stupidity was no different.

Kim Min-ji, who had been grinding her teeth again, did something unexpected once more. He had assumed dialogue would only be possible after another round of fighting, but she finally bowed her head.

“…Please.”

She seemed to recognize well that if she fought him further, she wouldn’t return intact.

Rather than insisting on her pride, she seemed genuinely desperate to go protect Heo Sang-yeon.

“…”

This was truly annoying.

Finally, Dan Joo-hyuk let out another faint sigh and spat out the blood that had been welling up inside him.

The aftermath of the explosion created by Kim Min-ji gradually seeped from within. It seemed like poison or the energy of that damn fragment.

It was a truly dirty attack that didn’t end with physical impact. Anyway, after spitting out blood once more, Dan Joo-hyuk stood crookedly and looked at Kim Min-ji.

“Why should I trust you enough to send you to him?”

“I can stop, can’t I?”

Sensing an opening in those words, Kim Min-ji quickly lifted her head.

Soon she grabbed the necklace hanging around her neck with one hand. It was a necklace of the exact same design as the one in the photo Yoon Pa-ran’s sibling had sent.

Despite holding the necklace boldly, Kim Min-ji trembled for a while, her hand shaking. Considering the possibility of another trick, Dan Joo-hyuk prepared to draw his sword at any moment.

“Damn… it…!”

Eventually, Kim Min-ji’s hand violently tore off the necklace. Simultaneously, above her head, black smoke rose with a booming sound.

“Kuhak…”

Kim Min-ji collapsed, bent at the waist, and vomited blood. Very briefly, a ‘mark’ like the one above Dan Joo-hyuk’s head appeared above hers and then disappeared like a mirage.

“Shit… I knew it. Those bastards.”

Though she spewed blood several times, Kim Min-ji soon straightened her back and wiped her mouth as if nothing had happened.

From what she had been saying, it seemed those who had manipulated Heo Sang-yeon had thoroughly prepared in case Kim Min-ji betrayed them. Of course, it appeared Kim Min-ji had also made plans, expecting to betray them at any time. There must have been a penalty, but she seemed to have overcome it with just a few instances of vomiting blood.

Whatever it was, Dan Joo-hyuk didn’t want to know deeply.

Seeing that desperate action, what he wanted to know was actually something else.

“Why go to such lengths?”

“Cough… Do I need to be understood by you?”

A sharp retort came to his impulsive question, just like before.

Dan Joo-hyuk slowly pushed back his hair. The presence of monsters that had been annoyingly surrounding the area was drawing closer.

“Ha…”

This is irritating.

The urgent matter wasn’t Kim Min-ji’s circumstances. Eventually, Dan Joo-hyuk took out his phone and contacted Heo Sang-yeon.

He was already annoyed by the nonsense about going out to stop the gate in that condition, and now he told Heo Sang-yeon to take care of the troublesome Kim Min-ji himself.

Coincidentally, after that contact, the phone became completely unresponsive.

“I’ve contacted him. Now get out.”

He tersely gave Kim Min-ji an address. Only then did her face brighten as she carefully backed away.

As if she had some way to avoid being attacked, she headed unhesitatingly toward where the monsters were. Still, perhaps the effects of betrayal weren’t entirely absent, as there was less strength in her steps than usual.

Pausing briefly, Kim Min-ji locked eyes with him and threw out one sentence.

“…Be careful. Those guys said they’ll definitely kill you with this gate.”

“Get lost. I’ll interrogate you later.”

Kim Min-ji disappeared quickly without responding.

“Ha…”

He had wasted time unnecessarily when every moment was crucial.

In the meantime, the presence of monsters had approached right before him. Moreover, perhaps triggered by Kim Min-ji’s escape, the monsters’ presence became even more ominous.

In that state, Dan Joo-hyuk ran toward the center.

“…”

Safety zone statues seemed to be scattered here and there, but they weren’t functioning. Strange trees increased as he approached the center.

And monsters as well.

“Kuk…”

Gradually, monsters began to appear in numbers that were burdensome even for Dan Joo-hyuk. When he had first fallen, his goal had been to escape, so he had easily eluded them, but now the situation was different.

Monsters continued to fall from the massive gate visible in the distance. The structure was such that as he headed toward that source, he inevitably encountered more and more monsters.

This made Dan Joo-hyuk increasingly anxious. He felt Yoon Pa-ran shouldn’t go there.

Besides, was it right for him to go to the center while leading the monsters pursuing this mark?

[Trial of the Practitioner]

Reunite with the Disciple of the Sacred God before the mark’s energy penetrates your mind.

Reward for success: Survival

Penalty for failure: ■eath

>>Current [Sacred Energy S] absorption rate_____0.5%

As if reading Dan Joo-hyuk’s thoughts, the status window appeared again. It seemed to be warning that he had to go to Yoon Pa-ran to survive.

Ridiculously, unlike usual, it was kindly showing units less than 1%. Looking at this helpful information, Dan Joo-hyuk instead hardened his resolve.

That he shouldn’t go to Yoon Pa-ran like this.

“…”

That decision occurred unconsciously in Dan Joo-hyuk’s mind.

Swinging his sword in a trance-like state, Dan Joo-hyuk belatedly discovered the reason. Seeing Kim Min-ji had given him a strange premonition. There was no guarantee that this trial was showing him a way to survive. Rather, it could be a trick to trap Yoon Pa-ran.

Because he had realized that the increasingly numerous monsters were too many for Yoon Pa-ran to survive, even with his skill.

“…”

The moment he made up his mind, Dan Joo-hyuk turned around.

It was the opposite direction from where he had been struggling to break through. Considering the monsters pursuing from behind, it was also a shortcut to being surrounded.

Knowing this, Dan Joo-hyuk moved recklessly.

As he gradually retreated, he felt his limbs growing heavier. Strangely, his surroundings appeared darker, as if losing sunlight.

It was a clear phenomenon. The ominous black crescent floating above his head was clearly felt to be up to some trick.

Kim Min-ji’s final attack also contributed. The corrosion spreading from within seemed like a kind of poison that broke through even S-class resistance.

His vision repeatedly darkened and returned. Each time, another wound appeared on Dan Joo-hyuk’s body.

As the wounds increased, even his sense of direction and hearing grew faint. Despite not being major injuries, he felt something penetrating through the gaps in his skin.

His mind, which had remained clear even during the gate anomaly, kept becoming hazy. With just a little carelessness, his body kept heading toward the center. More precisely, it wanted to go where Yoon Pa-ran was.

That’s why Dan Joo-hyuk chose to move even further from Yoon Pa-ran. If this was a trick of that ‘trial,’ he absolutely shouldn’t go near.

What if he were to be controlled like Park Jung-hoon when he reached Yoon Pa-ran?

“Hoo…”

Exhaling, Dan Joo-hyuk tried his best to distance himself from where Yoon Pa-ran might be.

The energy faintly invading his mind closely resembled death.

A thought hazier than a mirage crossed his mind. That perhaps he had sensed this from the moment the mark was embedded above his head.

Author: Hyacinthus B

Hyacinthus