Dark Fantasy Genius Demon Hunter - Chapter 6

The Broker Ren

In fact, Gaon wasn’t completely unfamiliar with the term or the profession of a Mazus Hunter.

After all, Gaon had the memories of Bone.

Even so, he couldn’t immediately recall Mazus Hunter because he had experienced so many things in just a single day.

He had to think about far too many things.

It was natural to wrack his brain to its limits, drawing on all the worries he had.

There was also the fact that Gaon hadn’t thought Bone’s life, which was that of a beggar, could be of any help in determining the direction of his actions.

In the end, when looking at the results, Bone’s memories and experiences didn’t provide much help with Gaon’s confusion.

Not only did he not know about the physiology of Mazus Hunters, but he also didn’t know how to actually become one.

“Mazus Hunter.”

Perhaps because his thoughts had deepened, Gaon muttered the words Mazus Hunter to himself.

The sound was small, but in a quiet restaurant where there were no other customers besides Gaon, it was enough for the server, who was observing him from a distance, to hear.

The words Gaon spoke were enough to pique the interest of the chatty server.

“Are you interested in becoming a Mazus Hunter, sir?”

Gaon stopped his thoughts and looked at the server.

“Well, you… you said Mazus Hunter earlier. You don’t look like a Mazus Hunter…”

Perhaps because Gaon had been staring at him silently, the server seemed slightly nervous and stammered as he spoke.

“I was just surprised since our shop’s owner also deals with Mazus byproducts and is involved in a brokerage business…”

At that moment, Gaon’s eyes lit up.

Knife had once said that if he had the ability, he would have become a Mazus Hunter, speaking of it with admiration.

The innkeeper had also mentioned that the money he had gathered was barely enough for a low-ranking Mazus Hunter.

A profession requiring skill, admired by others, and even a low-ranking member could expect high earnings.

Given that Gaon had immediately been thrust into a life-and-death struggle with a Mazus, it was no surprise that this thought naturally occurred to him.

“I see.”

Realizing his mistake, Gaon immediately stood up and asked without further delay.

“Where is it?”

For Gaon, in his current urgency, it was a natural question, but it seemed to make the server feel like he was being rushed, causing him to stammer.

“If I came across as rude, I apologize… Uh, I mean…”

“The place where they do the brokerage?”

“Oh! That’s… if you go outside…”

At that, Gaon realized his mistake, but there was no time to clarify the misunderstanding.

The most urgent task was to recover the discarded Mazus carcass.

Gaon paid for his meal and rushed toward the location.

His pace quickened, almost turning into a jog, and eventually, he was sprinting.

“Ugh, ugh…”

The distance was quite far, and his breath grew heavy.

Fortunately, the Mazus carcass was still there.

The street was foul with refuse and a strong stench, an area so remote that only beggars ventured there, making it a place no one else would frequent.

The beggars who survived the Mazus’s attack had likely spread word about the creature’s appearance overnight, and since the beggars had no means to hunt Mazus, they would have had no choice but to wait for the creature to finish eating and leave.

It’s also possible that they followed the beam of light from the goddess in the early dawn toward the plaza in front of the temple.

It didn’t matter what had happened.

“What matters is that the Mazus corpse is still here.”

Standing in front of the carcass, Gaon took a deep breath and began to calm himself.

His remarkable recovery abilities allowed him to shake off the fatigue in his body with just a few deep breaths.

“Physical training is my top priority.”

Gaon muttered as he stretched out his hand, gazing at the corpse.

The sight of the emaciated bones filled his vision.

The talent that had been granted to him had allowed this frail body to cut off the Mazus’s breath, but he couldn’t be satisfied with just that.

After all, Gaon had made a decision for the ending, and with this level of ability, it was impossible to achieve.

“Moreover, my talent is more accurately called ‘potential’. It’ll grow in a better direction. There’s plenty of room for development.”

Clenching his fist tightly, Gaon set his immediate goal.

“That’s all well and good, but the real problem is… how do I move this thing?”

Gaon scratched his temple in frustration.

But there was no real solution.

He would have to move it himself.

Still, it wasn’t as large as he had initially thought. Maybe at most the size of a large dog? It wasn’t as big as he had imagined.

‘It seemed much larger when I first encountered it.’

Since it had all happened so quickly and so many other beggars had fallen, it was likely that the image of the Mazus was distorted in his mind.

In any case, the Mazus had been dead for quite some time, and rigor mortis had set in, making it even more daunting to move.

Gaon grabbed the front leg of the creature.

The stiffness was immediately apparent.

He had expected it to be tough, but it was even worse than he had imagined.

Swallow.

Gaon’s throat moved as he swallowed dryly.

Gaon let out a long sigh and mustered his strength to begin dragging the Mazus carcass.

Drag, drag.

The carcass of the Mazus started to move.

Sweat soon beaded on Gaon’s forehead.

Though he had remarkable potential, it was clear that his current abilities were still weak.

People’s gazes began to gather around him.

Murmurs, murmurs.

The commotion grew.

Though many people had headed to the plaza following the news from the temple, there were always those who didn’t.

However, Gaon paid no attention to the gazes and focused only on his breathing and pulling the Mazus corpse.

Thud.

Finally, Gaon dropped the corpse where he had arrived, as if throwing it down carelessly.

His entire body was drenched in sweat.

His hands and calves screamed in pain.

Huff, huff.

He was on the verge of exhaustion.

But Gaon tried to hide it, taking deep breaths while doing his best not to let the exhaustion show on his face.

Of course, some people would probably judge his abilities based on the state of his sweat-drenched body, but Gaon accepted that there was nothing to be done about it.

After a few moments, as Gaon’s breathing returned closer to normal, a clunking sound echoed and the door to a building opened, revealing a man.

The man glanced at Gaon once, at the Mazus carcass he had brought once, back at Gaon, and then once more at the carcass.

A monocle perched on one of his eyes.

He had clearly taken good care of his stylish mustache.

While his attire wasn’t a modern suit, it was neat and sharp, making him look quite striking.

With just a fedora on his head, one might think he was a private investigator.

“Did you bring this to sell?”

The man spoke.

Gaon shook off his thoughts and nodded.

“That’s right.”

“You dragged this thing from the contaminated zone all the way here? I guess you’re stronger than you look.”

“Contaminated zone? No.”

Seeing Gaon’s sweat-soaked clothes sticking to his body, the man couldn’t help but exclaim slightly, but Gaon shook his head.

“It’s one I caught not too far from here.”

“Inside the outskirts?”

“Yeah.”

Gaon nodded.

“Hm, well, when purification magic acts up, Mazus from the contaminated zones sometimes make it into the city.”

The man nodded in understanding and shifted his gaze back to the Mazus corpse.

“It’s impressive that you managed to drag this thing all the way here by yourself, but unfortunately, the Shark-Tooth Wolf only deals in the teeth.”

“Just the teeth?”

“Yeah. The rest of the body has no value.”

“…Really?”

Gaon couldn’t help but feel a sense of frustration at the man’s words.

He had subconsciously thought of the Mazus as something of great value, much like the prized cattle the innkeeper had mentioned.

“You seem pretty disappointed. Looks like you don’t know much about Mazus, huh…”

For a brief moment, the man’s expression sharpened, then softened.

“Well, it’s none of my business. Anyway, will you come inside?”

Muttering under his breath in a barely audible tone, the man added, “There’s no doubt now that you dragged it here by yourself,” before nodding toward the inside, signaling Gaon to follow.

Gaon stepped inside, scanning the interior of the building, and the first thing he felt was how small it was.

Given the size of the building from the outside, the interior felt much more cramped than expected.

‘There’s likely more space beyond that wall.’

It had a structure similar to a modern pawn shop.

Unlike pawn shops protected by bars or reinforced glass, this one had an open desk layout, which was a notable difference.

Mazus byproducts were highly valuable.

It was hard to imagine that no one would be trying to take advantage of them.

The fact that this open space was still being used meant that the man had accounted for all possible scenarios.

‘As expected.’

Gaon glanced at the guards scattered around the area and quietly nodded to himself.

“The Shark-Tooth Wolf’s teeth, when mixed in at a certain ratio during the smelting process, don’t increase strength by much, but they do enhance the overall durability to some extent. However,”

“The other parts are useless, right?”

“Exactly.”

At Gaon’s reply, the broker nodded and continued his explanation about the disposal of carcasses.

Sometimes, Mazus require delicate handling. A tiny scratch can cause their value to plummet.

The broker explained that such Mazus are carefully disassembled by specialists after being brought in whole.

“So, calling them now means…”

“It would be more trouble than it’s worth.”

Gaon, lost in thought for a moment on what to do, stopped speaking.

The broker smiled softly as he watched Gaon’s contemplative expression.

“You look a bit lost.”

“If I weren’t, I’d be lying.”

“Don’t worry too much. This time, we’ll take care of it.”

“That’s a good offer, but…”

The broker raised a hand, cutting off Gaon’s words, and continued.

“Ah, you were about to ask why we’re offering this service, right? Well, extracting the Shark-Tooth Wolf’s teeth isn’t difficult. The rest of the body has to be discarded in the contaminated zone, which is a bit of a hassle, but it’s not that big of a deal.”

The broker spoke casually, as if it were no trouble at all.

Gaon couldn’t help but admire the broker’s business acumen, impressed by how he subtly encouraged goodwill with minimal effort.

“You’re agreeing to have us handle it, right?”

“I’d appreciate that.”

“Good.”

The broker nodded enthusiastically. At that moment, one of the guards who had been standing still moved away.

Following the guard’s movement, Gaon suddenly saw an arm appear.

“It’s Ren.”

“Gaon.”

Gaon shook Ren’s hand and responded.

Ren smiled and waved his arm.

“Gaon? I’ll remember that.”

After selling the Shark-Tooth Wolf’s byproducts, Gaon returned to the inn, Where the Wind Stayed.

Though it was located within the city boundaries, the area classified as the “outskirts” was a dangerous place, not unlike a lawless zone.

It was home to beggars, and the kind of inns where someone might stick a knife in a guest’s back at any moment—both existed in the outskirts.

Moreover, it was directly adjacent to the contaminated zone, where Mazus roamed. As Gaon had experienced, it wouldn’t be surprising if Mazus suddenly entered the city.

In that sense, Where the Wind Stayed was actually quite a decent inn.

It was run by the broker, Ren.

Most of the guests were Mazus hunters, and since it was the broker’s business, it could be trusted.

A broker’s survival depended on trust, after all.

Though the comfort wasn’t quite up to modern standards, the bed was still comfortable enough to rest on.

There was a small window that let in sunlight and provided ventilation, and though the bedding didn’t smell, it was clear that it had been consistently laundered and cared for.

Compared to the cheap inns that might rob a guest, this place was quite good, and it provided a satisfactory environment.

Thanks to this, Gaon felt the tension that had been with him since he first opened his eyes in this world gradually melt away.

“Yawn.”

His eyelids grew heavier naturally.

While his physical fatigue had already been recovered and gone, the mental fatigue still lingered.

Unknowingly, Gaon pulled back the blanket and buried himself under it.

Dark Fantasy: The Genius Mazus Hunter