Chapter 20: I Wish He Were a Villain (2)

As expected, no one paid attention to a mere C-rank porter. Some porters chatted lightly, but most wore expressions of “let’s finish and get out,” working mechanically.

Only the team leader assigning tasks spoke to “Lee Minsu.” No one else cared. The real Lee Minsu had been an excellent spy, unnoticed.

This gave Ion the chance to observe Park Yujik.

Park Yujik. A character whose death holds meaning.

Across novels, webtoons, movies, and dramas, a common trope exists: a character whose death profoundly impacts the story.

In Hunter and Hero, several characters must die.

The Hunter Agency’s Kim Minjun, mentioned once by name, doesn’t significantly affect the narrative with his death.

Hong Insu’s family, merely a stepping stone for Choi Jungho’s death, can be spared.

But Choi Jungho must die, as must Park Yujik, standing before Ion.

According to Teacher, Choi Jungho’s death caused a mass reader exodus. Hunter and Hero wasn’t known for vivid prose or strong writing, but Jin Seongha’s appearance and character deaths were described in striking detail, leading readers to call the author a psychopath.

Unlike Choi Jungho, Park Yujik’s death isn’t meant to evoke sympathy. The novel provides no details about his age, appearance, personality, family, or backstory.

The next day, news broke of Park Yujik’s death. The first S-rank Hunter’s death shocked the world.

Two months later, an ordinary non-awakened woman awakened as S-rank. Her skill: <sanctuary>, Park Yujik’s skill.

Did an S-rank’s death transfer their skill to another?

This speculation threw the world into chaos.

That woman was Wendy Lowell, who later betrays Jin Seongha after a romantic arc.

Park Yujik existed to awaken Wendy as S-rank and reveal that S-rank skills could be inherited.

Killing him now would be a month earlier than the novel, but that wouldn’t disrupt the plot significantly.

Ion circled Park Yujik, waiting for the right moment to strike.

There were plenty of opportunities, but Ion was curious about Park Yujik, a character with no description in the novel.

“Damn, it’s sticky. I hate jungle terrain—what a hassle. They definitely dumped this on me on purpose,” Park Yujik grumbled, tossing off his gloves.

A nearby Hunter caught them and handed him a tumbler of Hunter-grade energy drink.

Gulp, gulp. Quenching his thirst, Park Yujik carelessly tossed the tumbler. Another Hunter caught it, storing it in their inventory.

“Chair.”

“Yes!”

A low-rank Hunter hurriedly set up a folding chair. Park Yujik sat, crossing his legs, then scowled.

“What’re you standing there for? Canopy, footrest, fan—move it!”

“Yes! Sorry!”

Hunters scrambled. They set up a canopy over Park Yujik, placed a clean footrest beneath, and, lacking a fan, one Hunter fanned him manually.

“God, what a jerk. Is this the Middle Ages? A noble’s court? Why are our guild’s S-ranks all personality disasters?” a porter whispered to another, far off.

“Careful, he’ll hear.”

“It’s fine. He’s a defensive S-rank, not a monster like others physically. His water bottle, chair, canopy—all from someone else’s inventory. What a prick. Like experience points aren’t precious.”

Using an inventory consumes small amounts of experience points. Some high-rank Hunters, like Park Yujik, treated low-ranks like personal servants to save theirs.

“Just endure a few days. The next dungeon gets a different collection team.”

“I’m surviving on that thought. Jerk. He wasn’t like this before—guess rank really changes people.”

“How was he before?”

“He ran a zero-waste restaurant, cooking with scraps from nearby places. Who’d go there? It flopped, obviously. But he kept it open, saying someone had to tackle the climate crisis. Thought he was a decent guy back then…”

“He changed too much. You can’t judge someone by one side.”

“Hey! We move in an hour. You’re here to work, not chat. Get to it!”

The porters grumbled and headed to the site.

While others skinned monsters, gathered, or mined byproducts, Park Yujik napped under the canopy.

It didn’t stop there.

“Park Yujik! Shield! Shield!”

“Pfft, falling behind because you’re weak and now begging for my shield? Just get left behind, loser.”

<sanctuary> was a shield skill, creating a white barrier. Park Yujik’s low experience points weakened its power, but it was still the strongest shield on Earth, never breached. Unlike other shield skills, it could be cast multiple times simultaneously, so no other defensive Hunters were needed.

Yet, he ignored a guildmate’s desperate plea and didn’t cast it. The guildmate survived but was badly injured.

“What? Got a problem? Why the glare?”

His response to the Hunter reaching for a return stone was utterly devoid of humanity.

“Park Yujik, this is blatant negligence! I’m reporting this to the guild!”

“Go ahead, B-rank. I’m S-rank. Who’re they gonna fire? Good luck, idiot.”

He even poked the injured Hunter’s head.

No one dared criticize him, fearing he’d withhold shields from them too.

Scornful and fearful gazes poured in, but Park Yujik didn’t care. He yelled at the Hunters to hurry up.

Ion, silently loading byproducts onto a cart, watched.

Perfect villain.

Hunter and Hero had few villains, but Park Yujik was one.

No description, so I didn’t know.

Confirming that the character who had to die was a villain eased Ion’s mind.

D-NATE’s third week in the A-rank dungeon creaked along amid Park Yujik’s nastiness. Complaints echoed, tempers flared, and no one engaged in casual chatter.

The grim atmosphere, unlike Horizon’s test dungeon, persisted as they reached the gate stone.

It was late, so they set up camp for the night. Except for the watch, everyone slept to prepare for tomorrow’s battle.

Ziiip. Park Yujik finished relieving himself behind the camp, zipping up. A portable toilet existed, but would an S-rank Hunter share it with low-ranks? He chose the bushes.

Click. He lit a cigarette. After a few puffs, only the butt remained.

“They need to make Hunter-grade cigarettes already,” he muttered, complaining about Korea’s outdated drug bans.

He stubbed the cigarette on nearby tree bark.

“Hello, Park Yujik Hunter,” a voice said.

“Gah!” Startled, he spun around. He hadn’t sensed anyone, but he hid his surprise.

“Who’re you? A porter?”

“Yes, a porter.”

A man stepped forward. Under moonlight, he looked utterly ordinary—except for the potted plant he held.

“Did you just stub your cigarette on the bark?”

“Bark?”

“The tree’s bark.”

“Pfft. Bark, leaves, what’s the problem? Stop being a pest and get lost.”

“I was worried since your personality wasn’t described, but I’m relieved you’re a villain. I don’t enjoy killing.”

“What?”

Park Yujik narrowed his eyes at the nonsense.

The man, Ion disguised as Lee Minsu, held his Sansevieria in one arm and summoned a flaming sword with his left hand. The blazing blade made Park Yujik’s eyes widen.

“You… what are you? What’s this about?”

Ion approached silently; Park Yujik backed away.

“Spy? Who sent you? Udinbara? Horizon?”

“Why would a dying man need to know?”

“Hey! Everyone, wake up! Watch, get up—”

“No matter how loud you scream, they won’t hear. The plants around the camp are absorbing sound.”

“…I’m S-rank, even if defensive. You’re just a porter.”

Park Yujik pulled a pistol.

Bang, bang! Two shots, but the bullets lodged in thick vines that sprouted instantly.

Ion, not wasting time, lunged. Slash! His dagger cut the pistol—and Park Yujik’s hand—in half.

“Aaagh!”

Blood spurted from the severed wrist.

Ion aimed for his abdomen, but clang! the blade was deflected.

Not <sanctuary>.

“Huff, huff,” Park Yujik gasped, clutching his bleeding hand, collapsing.

A man holding a blue star-shaped shield stood before him.

Over 2 meters tall, C-rank Hunter Kim Junil, a nondescript porter who joined D-NATE earlier this year.

Kim Junil glanced at Park Yujik, then spoke to Ion.

“You’re not Lee Minsu Hunter.”

“Nor are you.”

Meaning: You’re not a C-rank porter either.

Nodding in acknowledgment, Kim Junil asked, “Why are you trying to kill Park Yujik?”

“Why are you protecting him?”

“…This man doesn’t need to die.”

Doesn’t need to die?

Ion recalled a similar phrase.

“A Hunter in a tailored suit and Hahoe mask saved my parents, all cool, saying, ‘You don’t need to die,’ then vanished.”

Yes, the Hahoe mask Hunter who saved Hong Insu’s parents said that.