Chapter 3

Chapter 3. An Uninvited Guest in the City (2)

“Gang-sik, just because you’re busy doesn’t mean you should go around starving yourself. No matter what, you’ve got to make sure you eat properly. A man runs on rice.”

Those were the words my grandmother, who raised me alone after I was orphaned as a child, always used to say.

And at some point, they became my personal creed as well.

“I know, Grandma.”

So no matter how hard, exhausting, or tiring the day was.

I always obsessively made sure to eat three meals a day.

Even back when I was studying in a freezing goshiwon.

Even when I was a sergeant nearing the end of my military service.

Even when the company I had just joined made me work overtime for an entire week straight.

“Don’t worry too much. I’m making sure to eat properly.”

That was how much eating a good meal meant to me.

It was one of life’s pleasures and a respite from everyday life.

“...It’s just that the menu is garbage.”

―Crunch!

A sound like chocolate breaking apart.

But what had actually gone into my mouth was a piece of a crude throwing knife.

There was probably a reason Grandma’s words had been coming to mind so often lately.

After all, ever since I fell into this shitty city...

I hadn’t eaten a single proper meal.

―Crunch, crack.

“Tch, as if something like this could possibly taste good.”

It wasn’t like I enjoyed faithfully stuffing lumps of metal into my mouth.

‘If I skip even one meal, I get as hungry as if I haven’t eaten for days.’

If I starve for too long, the Bulgasari’s power weakens or temporarily deactivates.

And anyone who’s ever gone hungry knows, right?

Just how miserable and irritating hunger can make you feel.

And although it was slow, this was also the only way to strengthen my trait.

“Phew...”

I want to eat a proper meal.

“Plain rice and kimchi... Hell, even just some instant noodles.”

Damn it.

I shouldn’t have muttered that out loud. Now I’m even hungrier.

I hurried along while chewing on the pieces of metal.

【Sector 28】

The official name for the Songpa-Jamsil area, one of Neo Seoul’s outer lower districts.

Unlike in reality, however, it was infamous even within Neo Seoul for having especially terrible public safety.

I had no idea what grudge the developers had against this area.

But most of the other Gangnam districts were like that too.

“Thanks to that, there’s more than enough work to go around, so it’s a good place for newbies to grow.”

Territorial conflicts happened constantly, so the roads twisted around like a maze.

And the underground passages stretched so far that even people who had been active here for a long time often got lost.

“But to me, it’s practically my front yard.”

Like I said, this place was good for newbies to grow.

So aside from my first character, which I made when I knew nothing.

‘This was always my starting base.’

Of course, I had only ever seen it from beyond a monitor while playing the game.

But I had traveled this terrain hundreds, even thousands of times, so once I started walking it myself, familiar roads began to appear.

―Splash, splash.

Soon, at the end of the long underground passage.

I saw the bar frequented only by hunters and longtime regulars, as well as my destination.

【Saetani】

An old, flickering neon sign casting a faint glow through the dim underground passage.

“Found it.”

The name written in Korean welcomed me.

_____________

The flickering Korean neon sign shone as though announcing that this was the finish line.

Sector 28, Jamsil Hunter Management Office.

【Saetani】

Seeing in person what I had only ever seen on a game screen filled me with a strange excitement.

‘...Excitement?’

The fact that I could still feel something like that after everything I’d gone through over the past month meant I was pretty strange myself.

“What a goddamn love-hate game.”

I tossed the remaining knife fragments into my mouth and started walking again.

“Hm?”

There was some kind of lump in the middle of the underground passage.

A monster?

The anomalies shouldn’t be able to enter the city yet because of the defensive walls...

“...What the hell, you startled me.”

When I opened my eyes wide and took a closer look, it was just a kid begging.

They were wrapped in something like a blanket, so I mistook them for something else for a moment.

Why are they doing that here, where hardly anyone passes by?

‘They’d be better off on the main road...’

I thought that, then shook my head.

Then again, places like that were probably already claimed by bigger guys.

Even the homeless had territories of their own.

There was no way they’d give a spot to a little kid like that.

“Tch.”

What a goddamn city.

Once again, this city seemed even shittier than before.

So I tried to pass by as quickly as possible.

―Grrrrumble.

The moment I passed beside the kid.

A sound echoed through the underground passage, and I couldn’t tell whether it had come from my stomach or the kid’s.

And anyone who’s ever gone hungry knows, right?

Just how miserable and irritating hunger can make you feel.

“Ah, goddamn it.”

My stupid conscience.

My stupid meddling.

I had sworn I’d throw all of that away.

“Hey, kid.”

“...?”

By the time I came to my senses, I was handing the kid a crumpled bill.

Even the kid themselves looked puzzled, apparently never imagining that someone would actually give them alms here.

They had probably come underground just to avoid the rain or cold.

“What are you staring at? When an adult gives you something, you say thank you and take it.”

“Th-thank you...”

It was only a single ten-thousand-won bill.

At the prices around here, it was barely enough to buy one cheap cultured-meat hot dog from a street stall.

If that was enough to get rid of this unpleasant feeling.

‘Still, I’d rather not run into you again.’

With that small bit of selfishness.

I left the kid, who kept bowing their head, behind.

“Let’s see...”

Beneath the flickering sign, I opened the door and stepped inside.

―Creak.

The door was a little stiff, probably because it hadn’t been oiled.

“Wel... come. Please... sit wherever you like.”

The first thing I heard was a clumsy, low voice.

Then, unlike the gloomy exterior, an elegant interior came into view.

“It’s much cleaner inside than I expected.”

Furniture and lighting that would only be found in quite expensive establishments even in modern South Korea.

There wasn’t a speck of dust on any of it.

‘All I did was open one door, and it feels like I stepped into another world.’

A dim underground alley where old, flickering illegal neon signs stood in for sunlight.

Who would believe that this shop was located at the very center of that underground maze, in its deepest part?

‘I guess it suits the personality of an owner famous for being a clean freak.’

I crossed the establishment and sat in front of the long wooden bar.

“Hmm.”

No other customers.

After finishing my survey of the interior, I turned my gaze forward.

“Would you... like to order?”

That clumsy low voice spoke to me again.

It belonged to the bartender, who was so huge that he nearly touched the ceiling and had to hunch over while wiping a glass.

“...”

Dark skin and upward-pointing tusks.

Cloudy eyes with almost no sign of intelligence in them.

At a glance, he resembled an orc, but he was far larger...

A troll, the eternal number-one pick for combat-junkie players who poured everything into strength and vitality.

‘I heard trolls can never find clothes that fit and have to get everything custom-made.’

The bartender uniform that looked ready to burst at any moment was pretty funny even in person.

“Customer...?”

“Ah, sorry. I was thinking about something else for a moment.”

“Then... would you like to order?”

The troll asked me again in his clumsy manner of speaking.

“I want to register as a hunter. And while I’m at it, if there’s a suitable job available, that’d be good too.”

“Hunter...”

The troll’s eyes lit up at the same time.

“Then why don’t you discuss the rest with me?”

―Click, click.

Someone walked out from the back.

A woman wearing a dark crimson suit that practically screamed wealth at a glance.

It might have been the most expensive-looking outfit I had seen since falling into this world.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Maria, the manager of Saetani.”

Transparent green eyes like glass.

Silver hair neatly tied up and pulled back.

Her face looked fairly young, but it was difficult to estimate her age.

“What’s your name, aspiring hunter?”

Maria smiled and offered her hand for a handshake.

A refined perfume scent wafted over, instantly making me forget the harsh smell of acid rain I had been breathing all night.

“...”

Seeing this scene in person, all I could think was that it was impressive.

‘Impressive... and damn vicious.’

Anyone who had never played this game.

No, even nine out of ten people who had played it would probably grab that hand without hesitation.

Because if this were the game, a window like this would be floating in front of me right about now.

[Maria, manager of Saetani, has offered to register you as a hunter.]

[Do you accept?]

[Yes / No]

A window saying exactly that.

That was why I called them vicious.

In this game, even quest text and dialogue provided by the system...

Couldn’t be trusted at face value.

You had to doubt everything endlessly and cross-check the same information two or three times.

In this case, the clue was right in my hand.

“Excuse me?”

Ignoring Maria as she asked again, I pulled a scrap of paper from my pocket.

It was the old business card I had received last night.

“I want to speak with Saetani’s manager.”

“You’re speaking with me right―”

“Not you.”

I tossed the business card in my hand toward the troll who had been quietly wiping a glass.

“The real manager.”

The business card slid across the table and stopped in front of the troll.

“...”

The troll picked it up and spoke in his clumsy voice.

“I don’t... understand what you mean.”

Playing dumb, huh?

“I already know everything, so let’s not pretend otherwise, Mr. Ma Cheol-sik.”

“...!!”

Only when I said his name did the troll’s expression change dramatically.

―Clack.

A dull sound rang out.

“Who are you? Who sent you?”

Glancing to the side, I saw Maria asking in an icy voice.

At some point, both of her arms had transformed. A gun barrel emerged from her right arm, while a retractable nano blade extended from her left, both aimed at me.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen her combat mode.’

Even to someone like me who didn’t know much, those were clearly high-end products in a completely different league from what those orcs had.

If I ate those, wouldn’t my proficiency jump straight to E-rank?

Maybe even D-rank?

‘Should I ask her to let me have just one bite...’

I had that thought, then lightly shrugged.

“Didn’t I already say? I came to register as a hunter and take a suitable job if there was one.”

“You expect me to believe that now...!”

Maria snapped at my words.

However.

“Maria, enough.”

The low voice that followed stopped her.

The troll was examining the business card through a pair of small glasses that didn’t suit him at all, apparently having taken them out at some point.

Then he turned his gaze toward me.

“So this truly is the business card I gave that friend of mine. Is he still healthy?”

His voice was now deep and dignified, full of intelligence, the complete opposite of the clumsy voice from before.

“Well, he seemed pretty healthy. Told me to give you his regards. If you’re friends, why do you live without even contacting each other?”

“We’ve both been busy with our own lives. As you say, perhaps I should give him a holo-call for the first time in a while.”

Then he tucked the business card into his clothes.

The true manager of Saetani, Ma Cheol-sik, narrowed his eyes.

“But I doubt that friend would have revealed my identity to you.”

“He didn’t. He just gave me the shop’s business card and told me to come here.”

Given the circumstances, suspicion would be possible.

But normally, I shouldn’t know personal information like his name.

“Then how in the world?”

I had thought up a few excuses.

But maybe I should exercise my right to remain silent here.

That way, he would become even more ‘suspicious’ of me.

“Hmm, let’s just say I have my own secret information network.”

As soon as I finished speaking, his sharp gaze flashed once again.

‘I can practically hear the gears turning in his head.’

A nasty race that loved using prejudice about their appearance against others and setting traps.

That was what trolls were like in R.O.K.A.

In short, unlike orcs, who acted as dumb as they looked.

Despite that enormous body and face, trolls were intelligence builds.

“Hmmm...”

Ma Cheol-sik scanned me with shining eyes for a while before letting out a thoughtful hum.

“You have no cyberware whatsoever, so you’re probably neither corporate nor a native of the city. And I can’t sense any mana from you either, so you’re not from one of the families...”

I stayed silent without responding as Ma Cheol-sik listed them off one by one.

“Judging by the way you carry yourself, you don’t seem to be a wild man from outside the city either, which means you belong nowhere.”

Ma Cheol-sik fell silent as though organizing his thoughts, then grinned.

“So, you’re the rising newcomer who suddenly appeared recently and has been tearing through back alley after back alley?”

There were rumors like that going around?

Looks like those kindhearted thugs were desperate to make more donations.

“All I did was rough up a few back-alley thugs. Is it really worth making such a big deal out of?”

“Normally, no. But if you’ve been taking them down barehanded, without weapons or mana, then isn’t that a different story?”

Ma Cheol-sik then nodded toward Maria.

At that, Maria withdrew the gun barrel and blade she had been pointing at me.

With a series of clicks, Maria’s arms quickly returned to normal.

‘No matter how many times I see it, cyberware really is fascinating.’

More than holographic flyers or flying cars, that was what amazed me the most.

It was the biggest reason this place still didn’t feel real.

Then again, maybe that was only because I had yet to see anomalies or magic with my own eyes.

“You’re also the one who wrecked the Shreki Family a few days ago, aren’t you?”

While I was lost in those thoughts.

Ma Cheol-sik spoke first.

“Shreki... Ah, those orcs?”

They were small fry who only appeared once in the tutorial, so I hadn’t even bothered remembering their name.

“I see.”

Ma Cheol-sik smiled with interest.

“What is your name?”

“Lee Gang-sik.”

“Hmm...”

Ma Cheol-sik closed one eye for a moment, then opened it again and continued.

“As expected, there’s no such name in the hunter database.”

At the same time, Maria held something out to me.

It was a paper document, fairly uncommon around here but extremely familiar to me.

“What’s this?”

“A temporary contract. Didn’t you say you came to register as a hunter?”

“No interview, and you’re putting a leash on me right away?”

“Leash is such an ugly word. Call it a mutual cooperation system based on implicit trust.”

When I tossed out the joke, Ma Cheol-sik laughed loudly.

I took the paper and smiled back at him.

“Well, I am a little surprised to see paperwork in this day and age.”

“There are plenty of old men like me at the upper levels of the Association. We’re more used to analog things.”

“I’m the same way.”

We smiled at each other.

While keeping our true intentions hidden.

That was the first meeting between Ma Cheol-sik and me.

And the legendary arms dealer who...

Was probably the only person in the lower districts who possessed a ‘nuclear warhead.’

A memorable first encounter.

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

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blog.naver.com/dreambookss

Twitter (X) |

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