Chapter 20

Chapter 20. Gang (1)

“...?”

Reacting to my quiet mutter, the figure looked this way.

“...”

Judging by that, it didn’t seem like a case of merely wearing a similar mask by coincidence.

‘Why is that guy, who should be in Incheon, here?’

Considering there was another terrorist attack just last night, Maegu is definitely in Incheon right now.

There hasn’t been any news that the blockade was breached from the inside.

‘Then there are two Maegus?’

No, that can’t be...

While I dragged out and organized every last bit of information in my head, down to the smallest detail.

―Ding.

With a small chime, a group appeared in the lobby.

“Good evening. First, I would like to thank the hunters who gathered here today in response to our Family’s request.”

An unfamiliar young elf woman in an elegant dress descended.

It was easy to grasp her status from the number of guards lined up around her.

“I am Luciana dello Foresta, boss of the Foresta Family.”

After introducing herself with dignity, she explained the request.

Then gave us the address where the gang was gathered, the destination I already knew.

‘I didn’t expect to go there as a group, though.’

Ma Cheol-sik’s tunnel was hidden behind a double-security passage anyway.

And even if someone reached the door, they couldn’t enter without the key card I had received.

So for now, I could focus solely on defeating the gang.

This was a request that hadn’t existed in the game, so there probably weren’t any traits to obtain from it either.

“―Therefore, one hundred million to every person who survives the subjugation. And to whoever kills the loathsome mages and avenges the blood shed by our brothers and sisters, two billion, along with... treatment as the Family’s eternal Consigliere.”

“Whew!”

“As expected of the Godmother. She sure is generous.”

Whistles sounded here and there at Luciana’s words.

The reward itself was impressive, but.

She was saying that whoever killed the mage would be treated as the No. 3 of the mafia organization that ruled Sector 30.

If that happened, they could retire from hunting after this request and live comfortably for the rest of their life in the lower districts.

‘These people already gathered here without valuing their lives much...’

With a reward like that, they’d become even more like moths flying into the flame.

“Then I hope you will allow me to look forward to the birth of a new Consigliere.”

With those final words, Luciana disappeared into the hotel.

At the same time, the hunters throughout the lobby began to move.

‘If the gang’s mage really is connected to a Foundation...’

That number won’t be nearly enough.

If they value their lives, I can only hope they run away on their own.

“Then―”

“―Immortal. Could we talk for a moment?”

I slung my backpack over my shoulder and stood up.

The elf from the group that had entered the hotel just before the deadline approached and spoke to me.

“...What is it?”

“From the look of things, the three of us seem to be the only ones without teams. How about moving together?”

“Weren’t you already with someone?”

“We only happened to be traveling the same road.”

Saying that.

The elf glanced toward the presumed Maegu leaning against a pillar a short distance away, as though they had already discussed it.

“I’ll hand over all the compensation I receive. I only need revenge for my brothers and sisters.”

“You’re an elf, so I get your reason. But why should I trust that unidentified one?”

“That person says they are pursuing a flame mage for personal reasons. They also agreed to surrender their compensation.”

I let the oddly old-fashioned way of speaking go in one ear and organized the situation.

‘There’s no downside for me.’

My goal is to secure the tunnel and determine the identity of that presumed Maegu anyway.

I was treating the reward as a bonus, but if I can monopolize all of it, then it’s no longer just a bonus.

I won’t have to worry about lacking money for scrap metal for quite a while.

“Fine, let’s do that. If you’re thinking of betraying me, I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth and kill you.”

“Do not worry. Traitors deserve to be punished.”

“...”

When the elf finished speaking and gestured, the presumed Maegu slowly approached us.

“What’s your name? I’m Lee Gang-sik. Call me by my codename or my name, whichever you want.”

“Regina. I’m not a hunter, so I don’t have a codename.”

Then Maegu, who slightly avoided the gaze directed toward them, answered in a voice that made it difficult to guess their gender.

“...Gabi.”

“...Then I guess we’ve roughly introduced ourselves. Let’s get going too.”

And so, one hunter and one elf.

And one unidentified person.

Among all those gathered at this hotel.

A hastily assembled party made up of people who had not gathered for money, each with a different objective...

Headed toward the gang’s base where the mages were supposedly entrenched.

___________

“Ghk... Young Master Yeon, p-please...”

“Talk. I asked who got Hwaryeong.”

A room scorched black in places.

In the middle of it, marked with clear gouges resembling claw marks.

A young man in a pure white robe patterned with peach blossoms held another young man dressed in black up by the collar.

“Th-the Branch Leader repeatedly warned us...”

“You want to die obeying the words of ‘Father,’ who isn’t even here, or do you want to keep this a secret between us and make things easy on yourself?”

“Urgh...!! Young Master Yeon!”

When the young man called Young Master Yeon tightened his grip, the veins in the captive youth’s neck bulged.

Then five-colored mist spread thickly through the room.

How long had that gone on?

“H-Hunter Lee Gang-sik!”

Having reached the limits of his flesh, the young man in black shouted with his face turned blue.

At the same time, the hand gripping him released, and he collapsed to the floor.

“Cough! Cough...!”

“See? Wouldn’t it have been better if you’d just spoken properly from the start? Making me waste strength for no reason. Lowborn trash.”

As if something filthy had gotten on him.

Yeon brushed off his hands and headed outside.

The young man in black desperately shouted after him.

“Y-you can’t, Young Master! If the Branch Leader finds out, it won’t end with just disciplinary action―”

Before the young man in black could finish speaking.

―THUD!

His head disappeared without a trace.

“I spared you once, so you should’ve just shut your mouth. Why does lowborn trash like you keep telling me what to do?”

Young Master Yeon lightly snorted at the headless body collapsing to the ground―

No, the centurion of the Dohwa Foundation’s Gangnam Branch.

Third Senior Rank Hwayeon.

He stepped outside the Foundation.

And into the forest of buildings below.

“Hunter Lee Gang-sik... So that’s the name of the bastard who broke my toy.”

Only Hwayeon’s laughter, twisted with madness, echoed quietly.

______________

“You don’t have any cyberware, not even a personal link or a deck?”

“So?”

After arriving at the combined building occupied by the gang.

While the Foresta Family’s private soldiers drew attention from the front...

We ended up talking about that while discussing how to enter.

“So that’s why you’re using such an outdated phone... Isn’t it inconvenient? There must be plenty of times you wish you had one while working as a hunter.”

“Inconvenient? Why would it be?”

“If you need to hack doors or safes like this―”

Ignoring Regina’s words, I put strength into both arms gripping the door...

―Creeeeak.

With a strange sound, the hinges on both sides were crushed and the thick steel door opened.

“Phew... Hm? What were you saying about hacking?”

“...Nothing.”

I loosened my shoulders and turned around.

Regina shook her head with a dumbfounded expression.

“Are you sure you truly have no cyberware? That isn’t a Gorilla Arm, but your natural body?”

“I told you already. Why do you keep asking? You scanned me, so you should know.”

“No, common sense says how could―”

―BANG! Ratatatata!

At that moment.

Gunfire rang out from a short distance away.

“Looks like the others have already started. Can you search the building interior?”

“Hmm... At close range.”

“Then cover the rear. Just tell me whether whoever we encounter is an enemy or not.”

“Very well.”

Then I turned my gaze toward Maegu, who had introduced themselves as ‘Gabi.’

“Regina will handle support and searching. I’ll intercept from the front. What’s your specialty?”

“...Sword dancing.”

Saying that, they drew two swords from their waist.

The smooth blades were densely engraved with constellation patterns resembling the Big Dipper.

‘In this era, actual swords carried at the waist instead of retractable nano blades?’

Even to me, who had been an ordinary modern person, they looked old-fashioned.

The swords themselves were truly relics of an older era too.

Not laser blades or nano blades...

Just two crude one-handed swords that still seemed to carry the breath of a blacksmith.

Putting aside my concern over whether those swords could cut through the gang members’ cyberware.

Their specialty was close combat, specifically dual-wielding swords.

If this one really was Maegu, then they should definitely be a high-ranking flame mage.

“Fine. Just don’t accidentally cut me.”

“...Understood.”

I’ll find out if I keep watching.

They can’t hide their strength forever.

So Gabi and I took the lead.

With Regina supporting and covering the rear, we tore through the building.

―BANG, BOOM!!

“Ghk?!”

“Big guy down!”

“Okay!”

Whenever we encountered gang members, I first smashed the biggest target.

Then Gabi slipped through the opening with lightning-fast movement and literally performed a sword dance.

―Slash! Slaaash!

Movements so fast even my senses enhanced by Bulgasari could barely keep up.

As if truly dancing.

They wove freely through the gang members, disabling cyberware and weapons.

‘They’re somehow slicing alloy cyberware with those swords like tofu.’

But apparently there were some things even those swords couldn’t cut.

They smartly passed those tougher ones over to me.

Then I dealt the finishing blow.

―Ratatatat!

And Regina provided suppressing fire and cleanup from behind.

‘For a hastily assembled party, our teamwork is pretty good. Is it because none of our roles overlap?’

It was exactly the role distribution I had thought would be ideal if I ever formed a team.

One frontline damage tank, one sub-damage dealer focused entirely on firepower, and one ranged support hacker.

It’s a classic reliable combination.

If there are more people, coordinating party synergy becomes a pain.

‘This is like a group project where everyone perfectly does their own part.’

That really is nothing short of a miracle.

I smirked and kicked off the ground again.

And then.

―BOOOOM!!

A massive explosion rang out.

Close.

Is it the floor directly above?

‘I was just starting to get hungry.’

It’d be awkward to start ripping cyberware apart and eating it in front of people I met for the first time today.

And we haven’t even met the boss yet, so I don’t want to take out the chunks of metal stored in my stomach either.

For the moment, I grabbed a handful of bolts and nuts I’d kept in my pocket as emergency rations.

And poured them into my mouth.

[You have consumed crude material.]

[This material can no longer strengthen your body.]

[You can no longer gain proficiency from this material.]

[Your hunger has decreased slightly.]

Leaving behind the voice only I could hear, I headed upstairs.

―FWOOOOSH!

The moment we entered the floor, flames burst toward us.

And something charred black rolled to a stop in front of me.

“Ugh... A Lycan. Looks like it was hit by flames.”

Listening to Regina say that after quickly scanning the lump of charcoal.

I stepped into the wide hallway.

“Ghhh!! My arm...!”

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!!”

“That wasn’t some low-level mage!”

“The mana scanner definitely says first tier, so what the hell is with this firepower?!”

Looks like another team had already been fighting, because injured hunters were sprawled around.

The ones who could still scream like that were the lucky ones.

The unlucky ones had probably already ended up like that chunk of charcoal.

‘Judging by what they’re saying, these guys seem to have some experience fighting mages.’

Looks like they installed mana scanners in their eyes too.

Did that confidence make them charge in?

If the odds looked bad, you should’ve backed off, idiots.

“Graaaah!!”

Up ahead, a troll with both arms transformed into hammer-like shapes...

Was fighting someone with half of his upper body blackened by soot.

―Fwoosh!

His opponent was a man dressed like a gang member with flames wrapped around both hands.

There were five of them.

‘All five are flame mages?’

And the density of their mana auras was nearly identical.

Almost as though they had been mass-produced.

The quality of awakened mana differed drastically from one Awakened to another.

There were many elemental school mages because that school was comparatively easy to learn.

But even within it, elemental affinity naturally varied.

Yet it was strange enough that some unknown gang in the lower districts had five mages.

And all of them were identical-tier flame mages, as though stamped out from the same mold?

“...Someone artificially interfered.”

If they were Foundation mages, even low-level nobodies who hadn’t been granted a surname would still wear hanbok robes.

Then there was only one possibility.

“Heaven’s Door?”

Looks like I need to have a very thorough conversation with this so-called gang boss.

After organizing my thoughts that far, I loosened my shoulders and took a deep breath.

Just as I was about to properly jump into the fight.

“Wait. Lee Gang-sik, what are you planning to do?”

Regina stopped me.

“What else? The targets are right in front of us. They don’t seem to be the boss, but if we crush them, he’ll crawl out on his own.”

“That isn’t what I mean... If we fight alongside those people here, we’ll have to split the compensation. I’m asking whether you’re fine with that.”

“What kind of nonsense is―”

I turned my head as I replied.

Regina’s face was utterly serious.

‘Ah, right. This is what average people in this world are like.’

I really do love this damned world.

And at the same time.

I hate it so deeply, so horribly.

The longer I stay here...

I’m afraid every standard in my head will break down.

Afraid I’ll even forget the taste of food that used to melt away my exhausted body.

“Yeah. If we just watch from here, the competition will disappear.”

“Then...”

“But those bastards are still alive.”

I clenched my fist and turned my gaze forward again.

“I’m not so far gone that I’d let people who are still alive right in front of me die.”

With those words.

Without even waiting for Regina’s answer, I kicked off the ground.

“I’m joining in, troll! Move aside!”

“Ugh, Immortal?!”

The troll reacted to my voice and barely twisted his body.

I rushed through the opening.

Charging straight through the raging flames until I was right in front of the mage.

“What―”

“What the hell are you grinning about like something’s funny, you fucking bastard!”

―THUD!!

For an instant, I wrapped my right hand in metalization.

Then drove it straight up into the mage’s jaw.

His head was crushed like a soft tomato before he could even react.

“Fuck, Ruder’s down!”

“!! Immortal! That bastard is Immortal!”

“Tell the boss! Immortal is here!”

The mages immediately exchanged urgent words the moment they saw me.

‘They know about me.’

And there was even a hint that they had been waiting for me to appear.

So Inrang really did have a hand in this.

If that’s the case, then there’s even less chance I’m letting them get away.

“You gang bastards, let’s have a deep, meaningful interview!”

Shouting that, I charged fearlessly into the flames.

I Became an Immortal Who Chews on Steel

Author |

Mwiu

Publisher |

Samyang C&C Co., Ltd.

Managing Editor |

Editorial Department

Published by |

Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. - Dream Books

Address |

Rooms 806-810, Kolon Science Valley I, 187-10 Guro-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul

ISBN |

G720:N+A063-20261006118

Blog |

blog.naver.com/dreambookss

Twitter (X) |

@dreambookss

Submissions |

fansycnc@samyangcnc.com

No part of this book may be used in any form or by any means without the written permission of Samyang C&C Co., Ltd. - Dream Books.