The Predator in the Palm of the Hand

‘Is he insane?’

I wondered for a moment if Yu Se-rim had taken a blow to the head from a Wyvern, but I kept my composure and spoke with clear intent to refuse.

“I’m… only a C-Rank. I’ve heard that your party only accepts A-Rank and above…”

[Ping—!]

At that moment, Yu Se-rim’s pet bird, Ping, circled around me once before landing on his shoulder. Yu Se-rim glanced at Ping, then turned back to me, his smile never wavering.

“It’s fine. What I took note of wasn’t your rank, but your skill proficiency, Han Sol-ssi.”

No, dammit. I’m the one who isn’t fine!

But the momentum had already shifted toward me joining the party. I couldn’t think of another excuse to give someone who claimed not even rank mattered to him. Soon, Yu Se-rim grabbed my pale, frozen hand and shook it firmly. A chill raced down my spine.

“Well then, I look forward to working with you.”

“…”

I don’t know what kind of expression I was making at that moment. However, seeing my face caused Yu Se-rim to falter for a second—long enough for that picture-perfect smile to momentarily vanish. In that instant, a sense of danger flared within me.

It’s dangerous to refuse any further here.

In the end, I had no choice but to force my expression to soften. I nodded and replied.

“Thank you. I look forward to working with you as well.”

“…Good.”

Only then did Yu Se-rim return to his bland, polished smile. I watched him, clenching my teeth.

Fine. I wanted to get revenge on this son of a b*tch anyway.

He had toyed with my feelings despite knowing I liked him. He had used one excuse after another to never actually help me find my brother. Every time I looked at that smooth face of his, the memories resurfaced, and my anger simmered.

I can’t just run away.

I would use him the same way he used me. I’d find information about my brother and then discard him. Or, once I was part of the party and he lowered his guard, I could attack him or take him out with a hidden debuff. That didn’t sound like a bad plan at all.

Plus, I have the ring Yu Se-rim gave me now.

It was probably still rolling around the floor of my room back then, but that cursed ring was quite useful. It was an artifact with two skills attached.

Since I originally received it as part of a dungeon loot distribution, it should be fine to wear it now, right?

I stared intently at Yu Se-rim’s retreating back, then lowered my head as I felt the gaze of the other party members. I had to hide my killing intent.

“Take care! Contact me if you can!”

“I will.”

Kim Ji-woo waved energetically, and I nodded back at him. Leaving behind his regretful farewell, I followed behind Yu Se-rim.

Yesterday, using the excuse of packing my things, I bought myself a day of time. I kept the ring but cut the water-soaked party uniform into pieces and burned it. It would have been too suspicious to own his party’s uniform at this point in time. Then, I found the artifact ring that had been rolling on the floor and slid it onto my finger.

[Cursed Ring of Ramon the Shaman] — Skill 1: Binding Curse (Requires target’s hair) — Skill 2: Invisible Pain (Requires caster’s blood)

‘Binding Curse’ was typically used on giant monsters or dungeon bosses that took a long time to defeat; you’d pluck a hair or fiber from the monster’s hide to cast the hex. However, the skill I used more often was the second one, ‘Invisible Pain,’ since one rarely has the luxury of plucking hairs in the heat of battle.

Should I just use Invisible Pain right now?

I toyed with the ring, deep in thought. However, ‘Invisible Pain’ required an amount of blood proportional to the target’s strength. Comparing the gap between myself and Yu Se-rim, I shook my head.

Even if I drained every drop of my blood… killing Yu Se-rim right now is impossible.

As expected, I had to wait for an opening. Come to think of it, I knew everything that would happen over the next year. Perhaps I could play that arrogant Yu Se-rim right in the palm of my hand.

Yes. This is actually an opportunity.

I decided to look on the bright side. I’d take this chance to dispose of Yu Se-rim.

That grand rank of yours? Let’s see if I can’t break it for you.

“Se-rim.”

Kim Jae-ho, an AA-Rank Warrior, called out to Yu Se-rim as he pulled his axe from the last Wyvern’s corpse.

“Yes?”

“I know you always choose the ‘good’ path, Se-rim, but…”

“…”

“Honestly, isn’t a C-Rank pushing it too far?”

Yu Se-rim didn’t answer Jae-ho; he simply offered a smile. Knowing that no words would get through when Yu Se-rim made that face, Kim Jae-ho let out a sigh and shifted his tone to a formal one.

“Well, I trust you’ll handle it appropriately, Mr. Yu Se-rim. In a ‘good’ way.”

“Yes.”

Yu Se-rim replied with a smile.

“Then, I’ll go finish the cleanup.”

“Yes. Please work a bit harder.”

Kim Jae-ho left with a dissatisfied look. Yu Se-rim looked down at the Wyvern corpse, lost in thought. He understood Jae-ho’s concern.

I only went there because I felt the pulse of a significant artifact nearby, but I found something unexpected.

At the time, Yu Se-rim had followed the powerful wave emitted by an artifact. Unfortunately, when he arrived, he found the artifact had already chosen a master. Although the object was hidden, his tracker was pointing directly at one man.

I don’t know exactly what kind of artifact it is… but it clearly possesses formidable power.

Yet, for some reason, the artifact’s owner was looking at him with extreme wariness. It made sense, as some artifact hunters would kill owners to steal their gear.

He seemed to have a sensitive personality, too.

That much was understandable, but there was another issue that was harder to grasp. Despite being a C-Rank, the artifact owner had effortlessly charmed a Wyvern, forcing it to land on the ground.

A mere C-Rank. He showed a level of veteran experience rarely seen in an Awakened living in such a low-tier village. So he had struck up a conversation, only to find out the man was ‘that’ Han Seong-hun’s brother.

I’m becoming more and more curious about his background…

Was that veteran skill provided by the artifact? Or was it a case of ‘a dragon begets a dragon,’ even if his rank was low? However, the power of his actual monster-slaying skills was pathetic. While the artifact was his initial goal, Yu Se-rim found himself unable to look away from the man’s jarring imbalances.

‘Ah, Han Seong-hun-ssi… I received a great deal of help from Seong-hun-ssi as well.’ ‘It must be hard to search on your own. How about looking for him with us?’

So, he had proposed the party invite. With the intention of keeping him close to observe.

‘…What?’

And in that moment, Yu Se-rim saw it clearly. A man he had presumably never met before was projecting pure, negative emotion toward him.

I’m certain this is our first meeting.

This only piqued his interest further. Realizing that this stranger knew him—and didn’t particularly like him—Yu Se-rim deliberately offered an even deeper smile. He even took the man’s hand and shook it, contrary to his usual behavior. Purely to pressure him. To keep him within his grasp and watch.

Bang, bang, bang!

As dawn broke, I was still awake, obsessing over how to kill Yu Se-rim, when someone began pounding on my door. No, it was more like they were trying to kick it down.

“What is it?”

I opened the door irritably. Pyo Yu-jeong stood there, glaring at me with a cold face. In her arms, she held what looked like the party uniform Yu Se-rim had assigned to me.

Thud!

Pyo Yu-jeong threw the uniform at me with a fierce expression, and I barely caught it.

This part is exactly the same as before.

In the past, Pyo Yu-jeong had been on edge and hated me from day one. Some people just clash at first sight, and that was exactly the case for us. If I had one regret, it was that I had been so submissive to her back then.

Whenever she acted out, I would freeze up because of the rank difference, suffering in silence while nursing my wounded feelings. Even when I finally gathered the courage to speak up, she would crush me with a single line: ‘And what exactly have you contributed to this party?’

But not now.

I didn’t join this party because I wanted to, and since I was already planning to kill Yu Se-rim, I had no intention of bending over backward to stay on Pyo Yu-jeong’s good side.

So, as she threw the uniform, glared at me, and turned to walk away, I called out to her.

“Hey.”

“What? …Hey? Did you just call me ‘hey’?”

“If you don’t like it, tell me your name.”

“Why should I?”

Pyo Yu-jeong stopped in her tracks and spun around fiercely, looking like she was ready to strike me at any second.