Chapter 330 – Part 2 – Assassination Preparation

‘To think Yang Jo-young also had an S-rank trait!’

Choi Seong-min looked at the information window that appeared once more.

[Trait – Mighty Strength]

-Grade: S

-Description: Strength increases by 2x.

The description was simple but definitely S-rank.

‘Strength increases by 2x. What a brutish trait.’

No wonder Yang Jo-young’s grip felt incredibly strong when he grabbed his nape… there was this reason behind it.

‘Status window.’

Looking at his stats, his strength which had been in the 700s had risen to over 1,500.

It had surpassed his agility which was in the 1,400s.

‘For a secondary stat to surpass the main stat… I wonder if I should switch from assassin to warrior.’

Well, having high strength wasn’t a bad thing.

It was the second most important stat for assassins after all.

‘It would have been better if agility had increased, but I shouldn’t complain. It’s like getting hundreds of runes for free.’

Probably thanks to the increased strength, his invisible combat power had risen by tens of thousands.

His current displayed combat power was around 100,000.

‘To think an unexpected S-rank would come out. My luck is good too.’

He wanted to hunt as soon as possible to test his strength.

He wanted to unleash his power without restraint and reflect his hidden combat power.

Such thoughts filled his head, but that wasn’t what was important.

‘I don’t have time to leisurely hunt. Combat power update day isn’t far away.’

He only had 12 days left.

After 12 days, combat power would be updated and Yang Baek-du’s death would be revealed through the rankings.

‘Once Yang Baek-du’s death is known, Kwak Min-cheol will move. Song Chi-hyeon will try to erase his subordinates’ memories before that.’

Choi Seong-min was no exception.

Since he was deeply involved in the operation, he would be included in the memory deletion targets.

‘I already knew that among Song Chi-hyeon’s acquaintances there was a hunter who could erase memories, but…’

He never thought he’d meet them this quickly.

‘If that person sees my memories, it’ll be the end that very day.’

Being able to erase memories meant being able to see memories too.

If that person saw Choi Seong-min’s memories, the assassination, traits, everything would be exposed.

‘So I have to assassinate Song Chi-hyeon before my memories are read.’

If he assassinated Song Chi-hyeon, there would be no need to show his memories.

‘I was planning to assassinate him when I became B-rank anyway, so proceeding as planned should be fine.’

However, to carry out the assassination, he needed to prepare certain things.

‘First, I need to enter Ghost City and defeat the named boss to obtain items. And I also need to learn poison skills to poison Song Chi-hyeon in advance…’

No matter how much he was considered the lowest among the Great Heroes, Song Chi-hyeon’s combat power was 600,000.

He was definitely not an easy opponent.

Thorough preparation was needed before the assassination.

‘Even using Yang Baek-du’s 10-minute invincibility trait, I can’t guarantee I can win.’

That’s why he had planned to become as strong as possible while enjoying benefits under Song Chi-hyeon before assassinating him.

‘But now I have to assassinate him within 12 days?’

This was why time was insufficient.

He had to complete assassination preparations before being subjected to memory deletion.

‘There isn’t much time left. I need to finish all preparations as quickly as possible. I don’t know when Song Chi-hyeon will call his friend.’

It could be as early as tomorrow or as late as ten days from now.

Either way, it was certain he would call his memory deletion friend within 12 days.

The situation was urgent.

‘I have to finish assassination preparations for Song Chi-hyeon before then.’

Choi Seong-min’s eyes gleamed intensely.

* * *

The next day.

When the sun rose to its zenith, Choi Seong-min opened his eyes.

It was sleeping in late, but it was fine since it was the weekend.

It wasn’t a work day.

‘Still, it’s been a while since I slept this late.’

Even on weekends, Choi Seong-min was busy hunting.

Especially since it was the day Song Chi-hyeon permitted soloing.

‘But not today.’

He had told Song Chi-hyeon he would rest from hunting just for today.

It wasn’t because he was tired.

‘Because I have things to do today.’

After washing and eating lunch, Choi Seong-min put on his coat and went outside.

He drove to none other than the hunter wholesale market.

He had come to find poison skill books.

‘While I’m at it, I’ll also look for an A-rank necklace to use with the Maintaining Dignity trait.’

While B-rank and above equipment was hard to find on the market, sometimes stock was released.

‘Among them, A-rank equipment is as hard to find as a needle in a desert.’

He’d have to search everywhere, but there was no choice.

This was the only way to obtain equipment privately.

‘First, there should be the skill book I want.’

Like equipment, B-rank and above skill books were rarely seen.

But they weren’t completely absent, so if he searched persistently, he might find some.

Ding-

“Welcome, customer.”

“I’m looking for B-rank skill books.”

“We only have up to C-rank. Sorry.”

He tried other stores, but the situation was the same.

“Oh my, what should I do? All the B-rank skill books were sold out last week…”

Still, among five places, one store sold skill books.

“You’re looking for B-rank skill books? Come this way.”

The place the owner guided him to had five skill books, but none of them were what he wanted.

“Don’t you have anything other than these?”

“Yes. These are all the B-rank skill books we sell.”

Disappointed, Choi Seong-min left and persistently searched around.

He was prepared to enter every single store.

Eventually, he went to a secluded area in the outskirts.

He saw a familiar shop.

‘Isn’t this the shop I first visited to buy equipment?’

He had visited not long after the dungeons opened.

‘Back then I haggled and bought E-rank equipment for 60% of the price.’

He thought it would close soon due to lack of customers, but it seemed to still be operating.

‘It’s only been two months, so maybe it’s too early to close?’

Without much expectation, Choi Seong-min entered and asked the familiar merchant.

“I’m looking for B-rank skill books. Do you happen to have any?”

“Ah! If it’s B-rank skill books, we have them here.”

Perhaps because his attire had changed, the merchant didn’t seem to remember Choi Seong-min, but that was fine.

As long as he had B-rank skill books.

“From here to here are B-rank skill books.”

Choi Seong-min was inwardly surprised at the merchant’s words.

‘There are quite a lot!’

By rough estimate, there were over twenty.

It seemed stock had accumulated due to lack of customers.

Choi Seong-min searched one by one to see if there was a skill he wanted, and his eyes lit up.

‘Found it!’

[Skill – Poison Crafting]

-Grade: B

-Effect: Creates poison.

-Cooldown: None

-Usage Restriction: B-rank or higher

-Description: A skill for crafting poison. Various poisons can be made depending on materials.

“I’ll buy this one. How much is it?”

“20 million won, customer.”

Choi Seong-min gladly paid the money.

It was cheap for a B-rank skill book.

‘Next time I need something, I should come here first.’

Choi Seong-min grinned as he left the store.

* * *

After spending half a day going around stores, he couldn’t obtain an A-rank necklace.

‘But I did get the skill book I wanted.’

Choi Seong-min, who had one more slot than others thanks to the Transcendence trait, learned the Poison Crafting skill.

‘I’ll just learn it for now and craft later.’

He had the materials but didn’t have time to make anything right away.

He had to move to the mansion due to Song Chi-hyeon’s summons.

‘Why did he suddenly call me? Surely he’s not calling me to erase my memory?’

Not even a day had passed, so he couldn’t have called that person already.

He had said he’d wait for a while.

‘If he’s trying to erase my memory, that would be troublesome.’

He hadn’t even entered Ghost City, the hidden dungeon, to obtain items yet.

‘I absolutely need that item before the assassination…’

Hoping his ominous premonition was wrong, he arrived at Song Chi-hyeon’s mansion.

He parked his sports car and headed to the front door, where butler Hwang Seok-gyu, whom he had seen before, came out.

“I was waiting for you, Mr. Choi Seong-min. I’ll guide you to the Great Hero. Please follow me.”

Following the butler, he arrived in front of the office.

Before entering, he controlled his mind and prayed inwardly.

That his ominous premonition would be wrong.

“Oh, you’re here?”

As soon as he saw Song Chi-hyeon, he bowed his head respectfully.

“I greet the Great Hero.”

“Be comfortable, be comfortable. It’s about time we relaxed, isn’t it?”

“No. Showing such behavior in front of the Great Hero would be nothing short of disrespectful.”

“You really only pick answers that please me, don’t you?”

Song Chi-hyeon, who seemed satisfied with the lip service, suddenly gestured.

“Come closer.”

With a puzzled face, he walked over, and Song Chi-hyeon also stood up and approached.

At a distance where they could reach each other by extending their arms, Song Chi-hyeon spoke solemnly.

“By the authority of a Great Hero, I declare: As of this moment, B-rank Hunter Choi Seong-min is elevated to military status and appointed as leader of Team Covert Group B.”

He who had been merchant status and Group C leader became military status and Group B leader.

“Congratulations on your elevated status, Choi Seong-min.”

So saying, Song Chi-hyeon personally pinned a badge to his chest.

It was a sword-shaped badge proving military status.

“Th-thank you, Great Hero.”

“I trust you’ll do well as Group B leader from now on.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do my best in my assigned role.”

“Oh, and this.”

Song Chi-hyeon held out some kind of card.

“It’s an ID card that allows access to the mansion’s armory. You can take everything you need, so use it freely.”

Choi Seong-min’s eyes widened.

“C-can I really receive something like this…”

“It’s a small reward for saving me, so don’t make a fuss and take it.”

“Th-thank you, Great Hero.”

“Oh, by the way, this isn’t the reward I mentioned.”

“What? This wasn’t the end?”

“I said I’d give you a big reward. This is just a small, insignificant reward. So keep looking forward to it.”

Choi Seong-min opened his mouth and bowed his head as if deeply grateful.

“Well, go now. You need to go shopping.”

“Ah… thank you, truly thank you.”

Choi Seong-min, who kept bowing his head, left the office.

Grin-

He erased his servile appearance and smiled.

‘This worked out well. I needed an A-rank necklace.’

Thinking he was lucky, he headed straight to the armory.

Since he’d been there once, it was easy to find.

Beep- Click- Grrrrrr-

When he held the ID card to the armory, the shutter opened.

Countless items revealed themselves.

‘To think all these items are mine…’

Slowly browsing like shopping, Choi Seong-min saw a familiar skill book.

It was the Poison Crafting skill book he had obtained a few hours ago.

‘To think what I couldn’t find after searching every store was here…’

He felt somewhat deflated, but it wasn’t a wasted effort.

‘Anyway, it’s like a picture of rice cake since they’re monitoring with CCTV. If I took the Poison Crafting skill book, it would only raise unnecessary suspicion.’

Since he could be suspected of preparing for assassination, buying the skill book separately was the right thing to do.

‘He said I could take everything I needed, but there’s only one thing I need right now.’

Choi Seong-min passed the skill book corner and looked around where accessories were gathered.

‘Let me see if there’s a good A-rank necklace.’

Soon, Choi Seong-min spotted a useful necklace.

[Storm Necklace]

-Category: Necklace

-Grade: A

-Effect: Agility +210, if total agility exceeds 1,500, additionally +30% attack speed and movement speed

-Durability: 20,000/20,000

-Usage Restriction: A-rank or higher

-Description: A necklace containing the power of storms. Only those with high agility can fully master it.

‘This is it!’

Not only was the base agility high, but if conditions were met, he could additionally gain attack speed and movement speed.

‘This would more than replace the set effect.’

Until now, he had been forced to use a D-rank necklace because of the set effect.

‘Now it’s time to switch to an A-rank necklace.’

He removed his existing necklace and wore the new one.

Although it was A-rank, there was no problem wearing it thanks to the Maintaining Dignity trait.

-Strength: 1,637, Health: 814

-Agility: 1,501, Magic Power: 2

When he wore the necklace, his agility exceeded 1,500.

He barely met the condition and could gain attack speed and movement speed bonuses.

‘The CCTV must have caught me taking the necklace, right?’

It might look strange for a B-rank hunter to take A-rank equipment.

‘But now isn’t the time to be picky…’

He had to finish assassination preparations as quickly as possible, so there was no time to worry about appearances.

‘I learned the Poison Crafting skill and got an A-rank necklace. Now what’s left is…’

Going to Ghost City, a B-rank hidden dungeon, to obtain necessary items.

‘Today’s the day, right? When the full moon rises.’

Since he could only enter the dungeon when the full moon rose, today was perfect.

Feeling satisfied that things were proceeding smoothly, he was smiling when.

Buzz- Buzz-

Choi Seong-min’s phone vibrated.

It was an unknown number.