Return of the Irregular Appraiser
Chapter 4

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – ChiSync]

Chapter 4: Rescue

I didn’t know the details of how the monsters attacked at that time.

I was too busy catching the monster corpses and cutting them up, so I didn’t have the time or opportunity to see anything else.

‘I was just focused on escaping at that time.’

There was no plan in place. The sudden attack by the monsters. For those who were not hunters, facing the monsters head-on could only lead to panic.

I was no different. When I saw the giant monster with its mouth wide open and screaming right in front of me, I felt as if my heart would stop, it was so dizzying.

I don’t even remember who rescued me. All I knew was that someone, a hunter, had grabbed me and put me on a dumping truck that was rushing away.

Even as I arrived, my body trembled as if I were praying for my life.

‘This time will be different.’

I hadn’t come here out of pity or a sense of justice. Just basic decency. Wouldn’t it be better to prevent accidents if possible?

‘The reason so many people died in the past was because monsters attacked.’

Hunter Kim Junghyun was here. The reason many people survived despite the ambush last time was due to Hunter Kim Junghyun’s actions.

‘I thought just warning about the ambush would be enough, but it even sees through stealth.’

The ability of insight is beyond imagination. Even Kim Junghyun doesn’t seem to notice the presence of the monsters lurking right in front of him.

‘How should I inform him?’

Should I lie and say I have the ability to see through stealth? Or should I just casually mention it as intuition?

“Ahem.”

“What’s wrong? Mr. Woogil?”

“Um, I suddenly feel a bit unwell.”

Sweeping my arms down and shaking my body slightly, I coughed, causing the nearby employees to take a step back hesitantly.

Even the other office workers who rode in the same dumping truck looked around cautiously and distanced themselves.

“I can handle it alone over there since I can move it myself.”

I pointed over there, in front of the seven pillars, where laid the carcass of a small monster.

“It’s probably best to do that. Just in case.”

“Yes. Cough! I’ll go take a look.”

I made sure to keep my distance from the others while maintaining the act. Fortunately, the monsters seemed to have no intention of moving.

Was Kim Junghyun being cautious? But why would they want to attack here again?

First, let’s inform Kim Junghyun about this situation.

“Hello again. Nice to see you.” Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ ɴøᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“Oh! You’re the collector from earlier. What brings you here…?”

“Well, cough! I’m not feeling well, so I came over here to avoid being near people.”

“I see. Take care then.”

Kim Junghyun smiled brightly. Even his smile was handsome. Combined with his shining personality, he was the epitome of a perfect human being, with skills, looks, and character, all in one.

“What do we have here?”

“Oh… nothing. Just came to take a look around.”

“Sorry if I disturbed you.”

“No, not at all.”

Feeling that it wouldn’t be wise to linger here any longer, I withdrew once again. Then, I drew a knife from my bosom and stabbed the sprawled corpse of the monster on the ground.

‘Judging by his reaction, I think he sensed something. Didn’t he?’

He couldn’t be certain that someone was hiding here, but he definitely felt something strange.

So why would someone linger around here among many other places?

‘I rather like it.’

I changed my plan and continued to jab the knife into the corpse while trembling and coughing, trying to attract Kim Junghyun’s attention.

“Ah, my body isn’t listening to me.”

Muttering to myself, I glanced back briefly.

Kim Junghyun seemed uninterested, still lingering near the pillars.

“Argh! Why are these muscles so tough… huh? My knife!”

I shouted loudly to make sure Kim Junghyun heard, then threw the knife high behind him.

The spinning blade flew accurately towards the top of the pillar. Simultaneously, Kim Junghyun, who seemed to rise from the ground as if floating, effortlessly caught the knife thrown by me.

‘Oh no…! What if he catches it! I was trying to provoke a reaction from that monster by hitting it with the knife…’

In that moment of confusion and panic.

Whoo― Scream!!

Kim Junghyun, floating near the top of the pillar, swiftly turned and used the knife he caught to slice the neck of the monster that had been hiding on top of the pillar.

Though the knife used for dissecting corpses wasn’t particularly long, when infused with Kim Junghyun’s magic, the blade extended significantly, easily slicing through the monster’s neck in one stroke.

Keiiiiik!!

Kraaaaaaa!!

Simultaneously, a deafening roar echoes from the seven pillars.

A feeling of pressure that seemed to be weighing down the space enveloped me. My body didn’t move. I thought since my mana had awakened, I would be a little less scared now, but that wasn’t the case.

‘On the contrary, awakening my mana makes everything feel even clearer.’

It’s remarkable how powerful those monsters are. And Kim Junghyun, who swiftly took down such monsters, is also an incredibly skilled hunter.

Graaaaaaah!!

At that moment, my gaze met the blue eyes of the monster at the end of the pillar. I felt as if an unknown force was binding me.

For an instant, my body stiffened, and my mind went blank.

Kim Junghyun, who had just defeated the monster, seemed to be running towards him. The handsome face he knew suddenly contorted oddly, and a strange hostility towards him engulfed his mind.

‘An enemy….’

[Insight Eyes activated.]

The crimson intangible mana flowing from the monster’s body fluctuated, connecting me and the blue-eyed monster.

‘Huh.’

The complex flows of mana contained within it were clear to him.

‘Here…’

As if mesmerized by something, the blue energy I sent out pierced a point, and the black-red energy streams turned into powder and scattered away.

[Resisting.]

“Huff… Huff…!”

Forcing out a breath, I felt something tightening around my body. The uncomfortable sensation of being constricted made me exhale heavily.

“Haa….”

“Are you okay?”

Kim Junghyun, who had approached me, inquired while examining his complexion.

“Uh, yes.”

For a moment, my mouth felt parched.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Kim Junghyun grabbed my waist and pulled me close to his side.

Kwaaaaah!!

As he leaped, a huge crater appeared on the ground. The thick-skinned monster had attacked the spot where Kim Junghyun had been standing.

‘Insane… Is this really Sector E?’

It was weird. There were monsters with stealth abilities in Sector E that even Kim Junghyun couldn’t detect. And the fact that Kim Junghyun is present here of all places adds to the peculiarity.

“Please stay here for a moment.”

Kim Junghyun lifted me onto the dumping truck about to depart. Somehow, the sensation and the situation felt familiar.

‘Did Hunter Kim Junghyun save me back then?’

The feeling of the hand wrapping around my waist was similar to that time.

“Everyone, run away!”

“It’s a raid! Everyone, get on the dumping truck!”

Bang! Bang!

“Go! Go! Go!”

A man from another small office jumped onto the cargo bed of the adjacent truck and banged on the rear window of the driver’s seat.

“What are you doing? Everyone hasn’t boarded yet!”

“Shut up! Is that important right now? We’ll be swept up by them if we stay here!”

A man with a long scar on his cheek and short hair frowned deeply and jumped out of the cargo bed, then flung open the driver’s side door.

“Get down you bastard!”

“What do you think you’re doing!”

The man forcibly pulled the panicked driver out.

“Hey, what the fuck are you doing……!”

“You asshole, you can go fuck yourself.”

He pushed the driver to the ground and climbed into the driver’s seat.

Vroom! Vroom!

The loud engine roared to life with a quick start.

‘No matter how much I want to live, it’s still like that.’

I looked at the adjacent truck as I waited for the people positioned on this side of the dumping truck to climb aboard.

Thanks to Kim Junghyun quickly spotting the monsters and taking the initiative, the hunters were able to respond promptly.

As a result, there was enough time for the members of the excavation team to escape.

However, even though half of the people hadn’t boarded yet, the man started the engine and took off.

“Stop! There are still people who haven’t boarded yet—”

At that moment, a member of the excavation team spread his arms and stood in front of the vehicle.

Boom!

Thud!

However, the dumping truck, seemingly oblivious to the presence of the person in front, continued forward, hitting and passing by the man.

“You crazy bastard!”

“What’s wrong with that guy…?”

The man, who had been flung over the truck’s front windshield, tumbled through the air before crashing onto the ground.

Those who witnessed the scene widened their eyes and covered their mouths in shock.

“Where did that murderer come from?”

“That’s why we shouldn’t just accept anyone!”

Salvation affiliated excavation team members undergo rigorous training before being allowed to come here.

The war zone is a hazardous area where unexpected situations can occur at any time.

Therefore, employees are thoroughly trained and deployed for operations.

Despite such efforts, incidents like this still happen occasionally, but there has never been anyone as reckless as this.

Part of the reason why it’s difficult for small offices to participate in war zones beyond sector E is because of incidents like these.

Perhaps this incident would result in the small office receiving a lifetime license suspension and collapsing entirely. The CEO might never be able to set foot in this area again.

“Shit! Hurry up and get in here!”

“They’re over there too, so let’s split up! Quickly!”

They looked at the truck driving away with disgusted expressions and then turned their gaze this way.

I felt uncomfortable, as if sitting on a thorn cushion. Although they weren’t from the same office, they were still both external office employees.

I understood. This incident would undoubtedly tarnish the image of external office employees among cooperative partners. They would be criticized as incompetent individuals who didn’t learn properly.

And hardworking external office employees like me would unfairly suffer a decrease in workload.

‘That damn guy ruined our image.’

“Everyone’s on board! Let’s go! Let’s go!”

Once everyone had boarded our truck also took off. Fortunately, the damage to the excavation team members was minimal, thanks to Kim Junghyun spotting the danger early on and the hunters quickly intervening to block the monsters.

However, the hunters themselves suffered significant losses. On the monster’s side, there was a named monster that was rarely seen in Sector E.

“Are you okay? You seemed to have locked eyes with the monster earlier.”

My office colleague, Park Junpyo, approached me, expressing concern.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“You were lucky. Whew. That’s a relief.”

Despite being in his late thirties, Park Junpyo was a man who maintained his livelihood by working in the excavation team.

He was the most trusted and relied-upon figure in my office.

“Are you okay, sir?”

“I’m fine!”

I stick my chest out as if I’m fine.

“But why are your legs shaking like that?”

“Oh, really? Haha… Maybe I’m getting old?”

Despite the chaos, moving to the stronghold in Sector E brought a sense of stability to everyone.

It was quite different from the complete chaos of the past.

As I was resting in the base area, I heard an annoying voice from somewhere.

“Hey! Kim Woogil? Where the hell is that bastard?”

I turned my head toward the source of the sound, and there was a dog barking, looking for me.

“Woogil, be careful. You know the boss, if he’s in that state, he could go crazy.”

“I’m fine. I didn’t do anything wrong. If he goes crazy, I’ll go crazy with him, right?”

“Huh…?”

Seeing Park Junpyo’s surprised face, I shrugged and walked over to the guy shouting.

The guy, upon spotting me, grabbed me by the collar with a contorted face.

“Hey, come with me.”

“Can we talk here?”

“Bastard… Are you out of your mind?”

“I’m afraid if I follow the boss like this, it’ll be a big problem. Please calm down.”

Seeing my remarkably calm demeanor, even the agitated guy who grabbed me seemed to calm down a bit as he released my collar.

Though the intensity in his eyes remained unchanged.

“You knew there was going to be an ambush, didn’t you?”

“How would I know that?”

“That’s it! You… You knew. I know? Huh?”

Though he seemed to be shouting his lungs out, surprisingly, the guy lowered his voice and threatened without being heard by others.

“Wait… Does that make sense? How would I know about the ambush?”

“Here you are. I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

Kim Junghyun suddenly approached from behind with a friendly smile.

‘When did he arrive?’

“H-Hunter Kim Junghyun?”

The guy also looked at him with astonishment.

“Oh, I came to thank him. Thanks to him, I survived.”

“Huh? You… you survived because of Woogil?”

The guy asked in bewilderment.

“Yes. But what’s going on here…?”

Kim Junghyun’s question left the guy looking flustered.

[Translator – Angel Dust]

[Proofreader – ChiSync]

Sᴇarch the NʘvᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.