Chapter 41: Park Hyeyeon, Her True Story

“Tell me in detail what you just said.”

Park Hyeyeon spoke to the two homeless men she was conversing with. The men glared at her and responded.

“Such a young kid talking so rudely…!”

However, their expressions soon changed.

“You’re quite pretty, aren’t you? I haven’t seen your face around here before.”

Park Hyeyeon often used the [Stealth] skill or covered her face with a robe to avoid getting involved with people.

But as soon as she heard her father’s name, she rushed toward them.

“Your answer? Tell me again what you were talking about earlier.”

The men looked at Park Hyeyeon.

“If you give us the bread in your hand, I might think about it.”

-Thud

Park Hyeyeon threw the bread.

“Now, tell me.”

One of the men, Chu Dojin, brushed off the bread crumbs and muttered.

“Such a pretty face, but no manners.”

Chu Dojin suddenly looked at Park Hyeyeon’s face and thought.

‘If I play this right, I might have some fun.’

He then spoke arrogantly.

“Kid, I don’t know why you’re so keen on hearing our story, but this information is quite valuable. I think you’ll need to pay the right price.”

“If it’s a price, I already gave you bread. That’s all I have.”

“Heh… not that. You know, don’t you? There are other ways you can pay.”

Chu Dojin signaled the homeless man next to him with a look. As they moved to grab Park Hyeyeon—

[Lightning]

Lightning began to twist in the air, darting toward the men.

-Zzzzzzzzzt!

“Aaaaaaah—!”

In an instant, the men were struck by electricity.

-Twitch

The men’s bodies convulsed as if they were electrocuted. One of them seemed to have already stopped breathing.

Park Hyeyeon was unfazed. She had encountered situations like this more than once while living in this slum.

[Recovery]

She grabbed the remaining man, who was still breathing, and asked,

“What’s your name?”

The man, trembling, replied.

“Ch… Chu Dojin… If I’d known you could use magic, I wouldn’t have acted so rudely… I’m sorry.”

It was only natural. Among the homeless, those who could use magic were extremely rare.

No, practically nonexistent. If they had the means to learn magic in the first place, they wouldn’t be living as homeless people.

And if they could use magic, they would have found a job of some kind.

Park Hyeyeon was an unusual case. Born into a poor family, she learned magic on her own—a genius.

Although she had the disadvantage of low mana, her understanding of magic was unmatched. Just seeing her use the serpentine [Lightning] spell showed how skilled she was.

Park Hyeyeon looked at Chu Dojin with disgust.

“Does having or not having power matter? When you don’t have power, you steal and assault as much as you want, and when you do, you grovel like this?”

“Th-That’s only natural… Th-this place has always been like that…”

She looked around. This was an underground space where homeless people lived, filled with a foul stench like a sewer.

Even though a person was being attacked, no one around paid any attention.

It was as if they were watching just another everyday scene. The people around only scanned the ground, searching for scraps of food, or clutched their empty stomachs in hunger.

Park Hyeyeon imagined.

‘If I hadn’t had power, I would’ve faced a terrible fate.’

‘No one would have helped me.’

Suddenly, a wave of sadness washed over her as she realized the situation she was in.

But she quickly corrected that thought.

‘I don’t even have the right to be sad. I drove my father to his death, and my mother abandoned me. The people who were once on my side… I pushed them away myself.’

She felt a pain in her heart. It wasn’t physical, but an inexplicable ache—what most people would call sadness.

Still, one thought lingered in her mind.

‘To survive, I must become even more ruthless.’

Looking at the two men who had shown malicious intent towards her and the indifferent people who ignored it, Park Hyeyeon steeled her resolve again.

And she got back to her original purpose: getting the answers she came for.

She raised her hand, gathering mana.

“Chu Dojin, answer me. What were you talking about earlier?”

“Well, that is…”

As Park Hyeyeon prepared to cast a spell, Chu Dojin quickly bowed his head and began to speak.

“It’s about the dungeon incident that caused a lot of controversy recently. A middle-aged hunter died during the dungeon exploration. Do you know why it became an issue?”

“Just explain everything from the beginning.”

“Understood. Normally, you never know what might happen in a dungeon. Deaths are always possible. But the problem is that the group that entered wasn’t an ordinary guild.”

Chu Dojin watched her reaction. When Park Hyeyeon gestured for him to continue, he did.

“The guild that entered the dungeon was the high-ranking Baal Guild. Even the guild leader, Choi Seunghyun, went in. The dungeon’s grade was C. As you know, Choi Seunghyun, the leader of the Baal Guild, is considered one of the strongest swordsmen. On top of that, other members of the Baal Guild went in too.”

“In fact, a C-rank dungeon is something the Baal Guild leader could clear alone. But the strange part is that the Baal Guild hired a mercenary hunter. The mercenary’s name was Park Chanseok. The Baal Guild offered a huge reward for someone to enter the dungeon with them.”

“Isn’t that odd? It’s not just that a high-ranking guild gathered for a mere C-rank gate; they even paid a large sum to hire a mercenary hunter.”

“And lately, there have been unsettling rumors. There are whispers of people offering sacrifices to something inside the dungeons.”

Park Hyeyeon suppressed the trembling in her hand as she spoke.

“Explain in detail.”

“I don’t know any more than that. We just made some guesses based on various circumstances. We suspect that the Baal Guild used the hunter they hired as a sacrifice to something. And they might have disguised it as an accident to cover it up.”

“In fact, if that wasn’t the case, there’s no way someone could die in a C-rank dungeon with such high-level guild members present. The mercenary hire also doesn’t make sense unless you think of it that way.”

Park Hyeyeon summarized Chu Dojin’s words.

‘So my father could have been used as a sacrifice…?’

“Where is the headquarters of the Baal Guild?”

She asked him.

“A-Are you planning to go there? Why…?”

When Park Hyeyeon shot him a cold glare, Chu Dojin trembled and hastily continued.

“W-Well, since this information isn’t certain, if you do go there, please leave out my name. If they find out I talked, I won’t make it out alive…”

Park Hyeyeon looked at Chu Dojin and thought.

Because they have no power, because they possess nothing, they beg for their lives so pathetically and filthily. Lacking ability, they bow their heads endlessly, even when treated unfairly.

‘Pathetic, pitiful, dirty, and despicable.’

At the same time, a deep sense of anger surged within her towards the Baal Guild.

‘Since I haven’t confirmed anything for sure yet, I should go there first.’

Following Chu Dojin’s guidance, she entered the Baal Guild’s headquarters and shouted.

“Let me see the guild leader of Baal.”

“What?”

One of the Baal Guild’s swordsmen looked at the girl in disbelief.

“Hey, kid, this isn’t a playground. Get lost.”

At that moment, a faint conversation could be heard from afar. Park Hyeyeon quietly cast a spell.

[Hearing Enhancement]

“Guild leader, there have been strange rumors going around lately. It seems that the incident with that hunter is spreading among people.”

“Ah, f*ck, all this fuss over one dead hunter. People can die when they enter dungeons, right? Why are they making such a big deal when they usually don’t care even if dozens die?”

“Well, it seems most people think that there’s no way an accident could have happened in a C-rank dungeon when we were present. And they’re questioning why we even needed to hire a mercenary hunter…”

“Pfft… These bastards, they’re annoyingly quick to notice things. But even if they do, what can they do about it? Doesn’t matter, just ignore them.”

“Yes.”

The girl instinctively knew. The man inside, spouting curses, was the Baal Guild leader. And the hunter they were talking about was referring to her father.

-Fwoosh

[Lightning]

-Zap, crackle

With bloodshot eyes, Park Hyeyeon cast a spell at Choi Seunghyun.

-Whoosh

However, the spell vanished instantly as Choi Seunghyun swung his sword once.

-Thud!

When Choi Seunghyun counterattacked, Park Hyeyeon was thrown back in an instant.

“What the f*ck is this brat?”

[Ice Spear]

-Clang

She cast several more spells, but Choi Seunghyun effortlessly extinguished them as if swatting away a bothersome insect.

-Fwoosh

In an instant, Choi Seunghyun’s form swiftly charged towards Park Hyeyeon. Reaching her in a flash, he whispered into her ear.

“Hey, kid. I don’t know why you’re causing trouble here all of a sudden, and I don’t really care. Judging by the way you’re crying, I guess you’ve got some grudge against me. Doesn’t matter to me, but if you pull this again, you’re dead. I’m not just talking; I’ll actually kill you. If you’re weak and powerless, just stay in your place. I’m not the kind of person who gives a second chance.”

-Thud!

When Choi Seunghyun struck the back of Park Hyeyeon’s neck, she lost consciousness.

He waved his hand dismissively as if annoyed and spoke.

“F*ck, get rid of that kid. What a bother.”

-Thud

Park Hyeyeon regained consciousness next to a pile of trash.

-Drip

“Ugh….”

Tears welled up in her eyes.

Because she was powerless, because she had nothing, she couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t even launch a proper attack against the man who might have killed her father.

What was more infuriating was the despair she felt, knowing that no matter how many times she tried, she wouldn’t be able to defeat him.

‘An overwhelming difference in power.’

She instantly realized that there was an insurmountable gap between them.

“Ugh….”

The girl cried. She wept endlessly, feeling powerless against the man who had caused her father’s death.

-Crunch

She gritted her teeth hard enough to shatter them.

‘It’s unfair, but he’s someone I can’t defeat with my own strength… I need help… I must seek help.’

Park Hyeyeon sought help from those around her.

She spoke to people passing by, homeless individuals, and even went directly to government agencies.

She especially pleaded multiple times with the agencies most likely to assist, insisting that the guild leader of Baal had killed a hunter and needed to be punished.

She passionately repeated her claims again and again. But the response was always the same.

“There’s no evidence, is there? We need evidence to start an investigation.”

It was nothing but a pretense. Even though the homeless knew something was strange, the government agencies showed no interest in investigating, let alone launching an inquiry.

She soon realized that they simply didn’t want to provoke the Baal Guild leader. The death of one middle-aged hunter wasn’t enough to stir them into action.

Her father, who meant everything to her, was forgotten among the people just like that.

Inside the dungeon.

-Crunch…

‘I need power… quickly… the power to get revenge on that person….’

Park Hyeyeon repeated in her mind.

She desired revenge. The sole reason she continued living was for revenge.

To her, there was no other act that could give meaning to her life besides revenge.

Having witnessed too many despicable, disgusting people, she felt that the act of helping others was meaningless.

Her emotions had been completely shattered over the years by the numerous injustices and absurdities she had encountered.

Park Hyeyeon looked at the Helmunt Academy students staring at her from afar. Then, she turned to her companions and spoke.

“Everyone, let’s go. Let’s clear this place quickly and move on to the next training.”

Park Hyeyeon moved deeper into the dungeon with her fellow disciples.

“Let’s go too….”

Kim Siyeon, Baek Hyunseo, Lee Haru, and other beginners from Helmunt Academy followed behind her.