Chapter 16 – Reaction (3)

Chapter 16: Reaction (3)

The motorcycle arrived and Woojin immediately rode it to meet Old Hwang. Hwang handed over the Barrett XM109 rifle when Woojin arrived. As Woojin checked the weapon, Hwang asked, “Don’t you need to zero the scope?”

“Do you have a shooting range?”

“There’s the one I use. Take him there.”

Hwang ordered Darkling and he nodded. Woojin stashed his gun in Darkling’s car and followed on his Ducati to the shooting range.

When Woojin took out the weapon and set it up, Darkling realized that he was already experienced with the weapon. As Woojin began firing the rifle, Darkling became shocked. There was no way to explain the skills that this ‘inexperienced’ Woojin was showing.

“Let’s go back. I need to purchase information from Old Hwang.”

They then packed up and returned. Hwang was reading a newspaper when they got back.

“Hm? Anything wrong with the weapon?”

“No. It’s good. I need information.”

“Information?”

“I need information about Natti.”

Hwang caressed his beard at that.

“Natti? Why?”

“I need to capture one.”

Hwang thought about it and spoke.

“They’re hard to catch and the only thing of value is their leather. Do you know how difficult it is to capture one without damaging the leather?”

“How much is Natti leather?”

“Undamaged, 100 million. But it’s extremely hard to capture without damage it. Will you still go?”

“Yes.”

“If the leather is damaged, the price drops by a huge margin.”

Hunters did not care about the price as having good equipment meant ensuring the safety of their own lives. Woojin knew this, but the reason for him trying to capture a Natti wasn’t because of the leather.

“Then the information won’t be too expensive, I assume.”

“No, unfortunately.”

Hwang replied as he looked at Woojin.

“There are only two Natti that have been found in Korea. I will charge ten million each.”

The price of the information differed depending on the person providing it. Requiring ten million won for the information of one Natti was a favor to Woojin. Woojin knew this and paid the ten million in cash.

“I’ll hear about the one nearby.”

Hwang then sent a text to Woojin’s phone and Woojin left. Hwang then turned to Darkling.

“Was he any good with the rifle?”

Darkling nodded slowly.

“Oh? Did he make good shots?”

Darkling nodded again and Hwang continued, “Well, if he’s not after the leather, he’ll capture it with the Barrett XM109 without any problems. I won’t have to worry.”

Hwang then returned to his newspaper.

The place was in the Gangwondo Mountains. Woojin wanted the closest location and this was already quite far, and it seemed that the other one should be in the farthest corner of the country. Woojin stopped by the hotel to stash his Barrett XM109. When he got to the mountain, the sun was at its zenith above Woojin.

“I need to capture it in two hours if I want to get back before dinner.”

Woojin began hiking up the mountain towards the location. He first followed the hiking trail but soon wandered off so that people wouldn’t see him. There weren’t many people around but it wasn’t a good idea to be seen while wearing a leather jacket-like armor.

After a while, Woojin smiled when he found the dead body of an animal with its head crushed. Natti was a monster that looked like a bear. It wasn’t intelligent, but it knew not to fight humans. It only hunted humans when it ran out of things to eat, but Avatars took care of them when that happened.

There were big footprints next to the dead carcass. Woojin pulled out his Desert Eagle as he tracked the footprints. They headed into a dark, narrow area where people would venture into. It was a good hiding place for Natti.

Woojin looked around and caught the scent a beast in that dark place. It was bright daylight, but that area had dark shadows. And within those shadows were two shining yellow eyes. Woojin aimed his Desert Eagle and pulled the trigger as he remembered the Natti’s attack patterns. The bullet hit the Natti. Its leather was not strong enough to block the bullet, but the Natti’s powerful, taut muscles didn’t allow normal bullets to penetrate either. That’s why the armor-piercing bullets that Woojin prepared were perfect to deal with it.

The Natti charged at Woojin like a vehicle. Woojin holstered his Desert Eagle and drew his Starfish Fang. Killing it with bullets would take too much time. The Starfish Fang, having eaten two bloodstones, allowed Woojin to move quickly without the use of Cocktails. When the Natti was almost over him, Woojin leapt up and stabbed the Starfish Fang into the Natti’s head and flipped over.

When Woojin landed and turned, the Natti had charged into a rock and was fell. He approached it and retrieved his blade, then turned the Natti’s body over. It was so heavy that it took him some time. Then, he cut its chest with the Starfish Fang and pulled out its spiritual stone.

The spiritual stone of a Natti was not valued by hunters. It was useless until the effect of the Starfish Fang was made known. It was hard to capture Avatars that had super strength, but a Natti was easy to capture and the effect it gave was the same.

Woojin fed the Natti stone to the Starfish Fang and said, “Eat well and grow.”