Chapter 1165

<Chapter 1165> Day 15

I approached the old man.

I thought he’d try to run away as I got closer, but the old man didn’t flinch even as I neared him. He just silently stared at me like some kind of creepy statue.

“Hey, boss man. What’s with the attitude?”

I decided to ask first. I was curious why he kept staring.

“……”

The old man remained silent. The scythe in his hand didn’t lower either. I furrowed my brow and asked again.

“Why are you glaring at me like that?”

“……”

“Don’t play games with me.”

“……”

“You think holding a scythe will scare me?”

“……”

“Looks like you’re not planning to talk. Got it. I’ll stop asking for your reasons. But seriously, stop staring. It’s creeping me out.”

“……”

I raised my flashlight and shone it directly into the old man’s face. Unable to withstand the light, he squeezed his eyes shut and lifted the hand gripping the scythe.

SMACK!

I kicked the old man’s leg, sending him tumbling into the field. I kicked the scythe out of his grasp and planted my foot on his head as he writhed around. His movements slowed as I applied pressure.

“…Get off.”

The old man croaked out those words.

“The situation has changed. Why were you watching me? Start explaining.”

“……I was monitoring you.”

“Why?”

“To make sure outsiders don’t cause trouble. And look, you’ve already harmed me. It’s not too late. Remove your foot.”

“What if I don’t?”

“The villagers won’t sit idly by.”

Pretending to move my foot, I instead repeatedly kicked his stomach. PUNCH, PUNCH, PUNCH. Even with controlled strength, the sounds of beating echoed loudly.

“UUURRGH!”

Seeing him gag, I stepped back. No way I’m getting dirty.

The old man wobbled to his feet. His corpse-like eyes brimmed with *killing intent*. Suddenly, he spun around and started running.

“Running away, huh?”

I decided to follow him and extract any suspicious information about this village while keeping him quiet.

But then, the running old man suddenly stopped, bent down, and grabbed the scythe lying in the field. He charged straight at me again—clearly, he never intended to flee.

“DIE!!”

He aimed for my neck without hesitation, going straight for the vital points. A normal person would freeze in terror and get hit instantly… but not me. Calmly observing his attack, I easily dodged.

“Too slow.”

The difference between an old man’s body and a young one is immense. Plus, my body isn’t exactly ordinary. If you saw my upper half, you’d notice well-toned muscles—top-tier physical condition among regular humans. Though, from a Hunter’s perspective, it’s nothing special.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH SWOOSH!

After dodging a few attacks, the old man stumbled and lost balance.

“AAAAAAARGH!!”

Cursing wildly, the old man swung his scythe at me. I casually dodged and tripped his already weakened leg. With one kick earlier, his balance was already compromised, so he collapsed easily. As he fell, he gasped for air and swung the scythe at my legs.

“Not happening.”

I stepped back effortlessly and lightly kicked his head.

The old man stopped moving.

“Hold on!”

Panicking, I rushed to check his pulse.

‘He’s dead.’

His head…


I did strike the old man, but I held back as much strength as possible and barely tapped him. I thought, “There’s no way an old man would die from this.”

“…Guess the old man was in worse condition than I expected. Calculation error. Shit. And without prior intel on the village.”

As I was about to head back to my lodging after leaving the corpse behind, I paused.

“If I leave the body here like this, trouble will arise, huh?”

Even this small village had a police station. If the body is found, the cops will get involved, and there’s a chance they might figure out it was me who killed him.

“If I get arrested, it’ll delay the quest completion. Even if I do get arrested, not right now. Yeah, at least for these next [15 Days], I need to stay free in this world.”

I glanced around. With the flashlight off, it was too dark to see properly. There were no signs of anyone nearby. I hoisted the old man’s corpse over my shoulder rather carelessly and headed toward the mountain, grabbing a shovel near the fields along the way.

“Fuck. Just carrying one human being is exhausting as hell.”

Once in the mountain, I dug a shallow hole—didn’t bother making it deep since it was bothersome and tiring. As long as it remains undiscovered for a while, that’d be enough.

“I’m not staying in this world forever anyway.”

I filled the hole with dirt.

“Hmm… When I return, I’ll just toss the body back where it originally was… Huh?”

I felt someone watching me.

I swiftly turned around, but there was nothing there. Wiping sweat off my wrist, I muttered,

“My perception isn’t great since I’m just an average guy. Was it just my imagination?”

I refocused on finishing the job.

—

While Sung Yoo-jin was busily filling up the ground, a man was hiding behind a tree, silently observing him. Clad in a black cloth covering his entire body, he stared at Sung Yoo-jin’s back, feeling somewhat flustered.

“Never seen this face before, so he must be from outside. Wasn’t there a group of university students who came during the day? Could he be part of them?”

SWISH.

Sung Yoo-jin suddenly turned his head.

The man suppressed even his breathing, completely silencing himself. After wiping his sweat, Sung Yoo-jin returned to his task.

“He’s perceptive…”

And calm.

“This wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment murder, was it? Planned killing? Or maybe… he’s just naturally like this?”

Either way, he wasn’t ordinary.

“I should report this to the Shaman Lady and await orders.”

After Sung Yoo-jin left, the man waited a bit before moving toward the spot where the body was buried.

“…If this guy was experienced in committing murders, why does it look so sloppy?”

It was glaringly obvious how poorly done it was; anyone would notice something amiss once daylight hit. The man hesitated for a moment, then started digging manually. Thanks to Sung Yoo-jin’s hasty effort in packing the soil, the grave gave way easily. Within five minutes, the man uncovered the buried corpse.

“Mr. Ji-ro…”

A diligent and capable worker had met his end.

“The Shaman Lady will grieve upon hearing this news.”

—

Back at the inn, the Circle members were gathered, partying. Empty beer cans rolled across the floor. Guys were hitting on girls, who awkwardly laughed and played along.

“Seong! Over here!”

Wada Kyoushiro called out to me. I sat beside him, grabbing a beer can. Next to Wada Kyoushiro sat Hagawa Ryoko, sitting demurely in her white dress, looking every bit the picture of innocence.

“Why are you so late? Dinner time is already over.”

“On my way here, I got lost. And I’m not really hungry anyway.”

“Ah, Seong. This is Hagawa Ryoko. She’s my childhood friend and also a first-year student like us.”

“Hagawa Ryoko. I’m Sung Yoo-jin, the Korean exchange student. Nice to meet you.”

“You don’t have to use honorifics since we’re both first-years. Let’s talk casually.”

“Got it. I’ll speak casually then.”

We chatted for a bit. Hagawa Ryoko seemed unexpectedly assertive.

“Hagawa!”

A blonde delinquent swaggered over. Tanaka Hiroshi flexed the tattoo on his arm proudly.

“Want to come to the convenience store with me?”

“Tanaka-senpai… Sorry, but I need to prepare for bed soon.”

“It won’t take long. If you need anything, I can buy it for you.”

“I’m fine. I’ve already brought all necessary items, so I don’t need anything.”

Hagawa Ryoko firmly declined, but Tanaka Hiroshi didn’t seem ready to give up…


It looked like there was no intention of backing down. The atmosphere grew increasingly tense, and Tanaka Hiroshi was blatantly pushing a beer towards Ha Gawo Ryoko.

“Didn’t I see you sipping some drinks earlier? Let me teach you how to properly enjoy alcohol. You gotta chug it all at once to get the real taste!”

“…Tanaka-senpai, I’m not very good with alcohol.”

“I said I’ll teach you.”

“Senpai, please stop.”

Wada Kyoshirou stepped in. Rising from his seat, he blocked Tanaka Hiroshi’s path. Tanaka’s face twisted into an ugly grimace.

“Wada, can’t you see I’m talking to Ha here?”

“Ha doesn’t drink alcohol. Stop it.”

“You insolent brat…”

Tanaka raised his fist, but it never swung. Mori Masahiro had silently approached and now firmly grasped Tanaka’s wrist with a large hand.

“Tanaka, don’t cause unnecessary trouble. Leave it be.”

Tanaka’s lips quivered, but under Mori Masahiro’s stern gaze, he backed down.

“…Understood, senpai. Can you let go of my wrist now… tch. You’ve ruined my buzz.”

Grumbling, Tanaka left with two other guys, heading towards the convenience store.

“Hmph. Thanks, Mori-senpai.”

“It’s nothing. Everyone listen! This drinking session ends here! Don’t forget we have a festival tomorrow evening that everyone must attend!”

Mori Masahiro efficiently wrapped up the gathering.

I slowly helped clean up while sneaking glances at the girls’ dormitory.

Earlier, when Tanaka Hiroshi was messing around, I could’ve stepped in before Wada Kyoshirou did. It would’ve been a chance to score points with Ha Gawo Ryoko. But I stayed put. I wasn’t planning on slowly courting any women in this world; I simply didn’t have the time.

‘Japan does have its tradition of ‘yobai,’ right?’

The custom where men sneak into women’s rooms at night and commit acts of sexual violence.

What an absolutely fantastic tradition.

…

Clatter clatter.

The window rattled.

Lying in bed, I slowly opened my eyes and sat up, checking the time: 2:17 AM.

Perfect timing. If I snuck over to the girls’ dormitory now, I could perform yobai on Ha Gawo Ryoko.

Clatter crash!

The window shook violently. Rainwater poured in torrents. This wasn’t just rain—it was like the sky itself was hammering the ground. My expression hardened as I approached the window. Below, Wada Kyoshirou slept soundly under his blanket. Outside, the scene was dire—trees bent dangerously in the wind, and the rain fell in sheets.

‘A typhoon. And it came so suddenly?’

It felt strange.

If anyone had known about this typhoon beforehand while planning the schedule, they would’ve surely canceled everything.

‘There’s no way a typhoon could’ve appeared out of nowhere. Checking the weather forecast should clarify things.’

I picked up my smartphone and checked.

Turns out, the typhoon originally heading towards Korea took a sudden sharp turn and made landfall in Japan instead. Its speed slowed significantly, and it seemed we’d be dealing with its effects for at least three to four days.

‘A typhoon isn’t going to stop me. I’m still doing yobai.’

Crash bang!

Something flew and shattered the window. A broken tree branch lay on the floor.

“What, what is this?!”

Wada Kyoshirou bolted upright, staring at the broken window. Realizing the situation, his face immediately tensed.

“This isn’t just a heavy rainstorm… it’s a typhoon. Hmph. I need to keep the tatami mats from getting wet.”

Wada looked incredibly composed. He glanced around, grabbed a blanket, and used it to temporarily cover the window.

“Gender Not Specified Sir, since the window is already broken, it might be better to completely remove it and secure it with wooden planks or something. Have you seen any planks lying around?”

“Nope, haven’t seen any.”

“I saw a shed next to the kitchen earlier tonight. Though I didn’t go inside, there might be some planks in there. Gender Not Specified Sir, can you hold the blanket while I check it out?”

“Nah. I’ll go.”

I didn’t want to stand there holding the blanket like some useless bystander.