* * *
Even though I was now an S-Rank with this much bulk, my dad—far smaller than his son—still couldn’t shake his worry.
After finally calming him down and seeing him off, I was left alone in this tiny one-room apartment.
This familiar silence somehow reminded me of the days I lived in that tiny goshiwon room.
It hadn’t even been a full month since I came here, but that time already felt like a distant previous life.
“When is my eyesight coming back, anyway?”
Honestly, it’s been four days.
Shouldn’t it have recovered by now?
No matter how you think about it, using skills on an S-Rank was just horribly inefficient.
There’s too much to lose.
Letting out a sigh, I flopped onto my back and stared blankly at the ceiling with eyes that couldn’t see.
When would I be able to go back to my part-time job?
I needed to get back to work before I started overthinking again.
The breaks were starting to outnumber my workdays.
Lying flat on the floor, my thoughts kept drifting, and my face gradually twisted in irritation—someone had popped into my head.
“…I guess I should give Do Soohyuk a few more bottles, huh?”
He had used some of his medicine to treat me, so it was only right that I repay him.
The guy had even handed over an S-Rank antidote for me—pretending like I owed him nothing just didn’t sit right.
But still, I didn’t really want to meet him again.
Even if he’d mellowed out a bit, just thinking about facing that cold expression of his gave me a headache.
Clicking my tongue, I reached for the shell-shaped snack sitting nearby.
Knock knock knock.
A knock came from the front door.
Who? Delivery, maybe?
I slowly got up and shuffled over to the door.
“Who is it?”
No response.
That probably meant it was a contactless delivery.
I waited a moment for them to leave it at the door, and carefully cracked the door open.
CRACK—!
Suddenly, an arm shot through the gap, and in the next moment, the entire door was ripped clean off its hinges.
My first thought: definitely an Awakened.
Only Awakened could tear a steel door apart like a piece of paper.
Before I could even feel surprised, I instinctively used my evasion skill as a presence closed in rapidly.
A chill swept my neck—I’d nearly been grabbed.
“Fuck, and they said you were half-dead. Does this look half-dead to you?”
A man with a rough, raspy voice swore as soon as he spoke.
Then, another man chimed in from beside him.
“I saw him getting carried out—completely pale, basically half a corpse! He was definitely poisoned.”
“Are your eyes just decoration? Look at him. Pale like a goddamn corpse, you idiot. I was stupid to trust you.”
I wasn’t sure what was going on, but judging from their conversation, they’d definitely come for me.
Staying alert, I shifted slightly—only to suddenly freeze when my leg caught on something.
For a brief moment, my unfocused eyes searched aimlessly.
And as if on cue, both men went completely silent.
The silence was so tense it made my skin crawl.
But it didn’t last long.
“Looks like the bastard’s blind.”
Bang—!
Just as I crouched, a fist flew over my head, missing by mere inches.
I honestly didn’t even know how I dodged it—it felt like my body moved before my brain caught up.
The fist dislodged from the wall, sending clouds of cement dust falling to the floor.
Without time to breathe, a knee came flying toward my stomach—I barely caught it with both hands.
My palms stung sharply, and my face twisted in pain.
Judging by the force, this one was probably high A-Rank.
As for the other one, I still couldn’t get a read on him.
Dodging to the side, I threw a punch toward the man’s general direction.
Thud—!
A loud crash echoed as my fist punched clean through the metal door.
A complete miss.
I quickly pulled my hand back—and once again, the world fell into an eerie silence.
They were probably exchanging glances right now.
Shit.
My jaw tightened, muscles twitching.
The situation was clearly going downhill.
Whoosh—!
Suddenly, something sliced through the air, and my cheek was ripped open in a long gash.
Had I turned my head a moment slower, my cheekbone would’ve caved in.
The sheer force was brutal—but not enough to kill.
Realizing that, a cold sweat trickled down my back.
I now understood one thing: they weren’t here to kill me—they wanted to capture me alive.
“Tch. Even a borderline S-Rank is still S-Rank. Freakishly sharp instincts.”
Right after he said that, the merciless barrage resumed.
I could feel their intention—if they had to chop off my arms and legs to take me, they would.
I managed to dodge most attacks by a hair, but avoiding everything purely by instinct clearly had its limits.
Even as I took blows to my torso, I swung my leg toward my attacker—but once again, my kick sliced through empty air.
I should’ve brought my item pouch.
Never before had I wanted my S-Rank dagger this badly.
And still, the second guy remained completely silent.
Perhaps stealth was his specialty—he didn’t even make a sound.
He was probably observing everything like a hawk, waiting for his chance to step in.
What should I do?
Should I try to run even now?
Facing two A-ranks while blind was insane no matter how I thought about it.
There was a reason why supporters were called supporters.
But no matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t come up with a way to escape.
As my mind was racing, another attack came flying at my side.
In that moment, I managed to grab the guy’s wrist more easily than expected.
But before I knew it, another man appeared behind me, wrapping his arm around my neck to choke me.
Damn it!
I thrust my elbow into his solar plexus, but by then, some unknown powder was already being blown into my face.
Shit!
Covering my mouth and nose with my hand did nothing — my body went limp and collapsed forward.
I tried desperately to resist, but my limbs trembled uncontrollably like aspen leaves, regardless of my will.
Finally, the man who had been silent until now spoke.
“Ugh, fuck, that hurts… I think my ribs are all shattered.”
“Stop whining and get up. We have to leave before anyone shows up.”
“I’m not whining, you bastard! You try taking an elbow from an S-rank. Give me a potion, will you?”
As my consciousness faded, their voices grew more distant.
No… this can’t be happening.
My fingers dug into the concrete floor, leaving dents as I struggled to stay awake, but it was pointless.
“Why…”
It felt like sinking helplessly into a swamp.
In the end, I lost the fight and blacked out completely.
“Ah!”
It was as if someone had poured ice water over me — I snapped awake from the shock.
The pain forced me into consciousness.
…It hurts.
That was my first coherent thought as sensation returned to my body.
I felt something sharp that had been embedded in my abdomen slowly pulling out.
I let out a scream-like groan as unbearable pain shot through me, forcing my eyes open.
After a moment, my vision came into focus, and instead of darkness, I saw someone’s shoes — ordinary brown leather shoes, worn at the toes.
My sight had returned.
As soon as I realized this, I darted my eyes toward the two figures standing nearby.
These bastards.
I recognized them immediately — the ones who had dragged me here.
The man standing above me with a crooked grin had a fairly average build.
The other was a massive wall of muscle.
That one must’ve been the guy who punched me, and the man now holding the knife was the one who strangled me.
I gasped for breath, lowering my gaze to the blood-dripping knife.
Is that my blood?
When I lifted my head to check where the pain was coming from, the clinking sound of chains rang in my ears.
Something was fastened around my neck.
My hands were tied behind my back, and the gray hoodie Dad had bought me was soaked in blood, riddled with multiple stab holes — clearly, they hadn’t stabbed me just once or twice.
Fucking psychos.
The old mattress beneath me felt damp from the blood soaking through.
It was a miracle I was even alive.
Where was I now?
At a glance, it looked like some abandoned warehouse that had been left to rot for years.
From the sunlight still coming through the window, it seemed not too much time had passed yet.
I tried tearing off the cable ties with force, but oddly enough, I couldn’t muster any strength at all.
Now that I thought about it, my whole body had been feeling heavy, like waterlogged cotton, for a while now.
“What…”
At that moment, the man standing with his legs spread directly in front of me spoke lazily.
“Don’t push yourself. It’s pointless with the Numen Stone.”
Numen Stone?
When I stared blankly, not understanding, he sighed exaggeratedly and gestured at my neck with his chin.
“That thing you’ve got around your neck. It’s made of a mineral that blocks magic.”
Ah… I had heard of magic-blocking minerals in movies before.
But I never imagined they’d use one like this.
I’d heard they were rare ores that only came from S-rank dungeons, and their price was measured by the gram.
These guys actually had something that expensive?
* * *
