Trait Hoarder – Chapter 162

Guro Fortress — Part 1

I stood still, staring straight ahead.

My proud Gangnam building.

A massive and precious 120 billion-won property.

That building, which should have been gleaming in a cool blue hue, had been reduced to nothing but charcoal.

Burned completely black.

From the first floor to the fifteenth.

And the top—ripped off as if some monster had taken a bite out of it.

It was completely torn away.

A surge of blood rushed to my head.

Grit. My teeth clenched.

My tightly balled fists had long since turned pale.

Drops of blood dripped down, yet I felt no pain.

My head burned with rage.

I could barely hear Kim Chulkwon speaking beside me.

“…We’re searching.”

“Who did this?”

I cut him off.

Drip. Drip. A palpable killing intent filled the air.

Kim Chulkwon hesitated before finally answering.

“We traced the tracks to Guro-dong. We’re currently locating their base.”

“So who did it?”

“We’re still investigating, but the Terror Alliance is our prime suspect.”

Terror Alliance!

Those bastards again?

Yeah. I remember now.

Before heading to the Monster Village to hunt the Chameleon, Manager Choi had mentioned it.

[After the collapse of the Terror Alliance, its remnants scattered everywhere. Some of them are hiding in Seoul…]

Guro-dong. So that’s where they are.

This world has poor security in general, but Guro-dong is especially bad.

Right alongside Daerim-dong in Yeongdeungpo District—it’s the worst of the worst.

“Where’s Manager Choi?”

Why hasn’t he shown up?

When I asked, Kim Chulkwon dropped his gaze.

“My apologies. He’s in the ICU.”

“The ICU? Why?”

“He was evacuating people right after the attack and…”

Shouldn’t a high-grade healing potion be enough for most injuries?

Manager Choi should have some, and so should Kim Chulkwon.

Even if his lungs were punctured or his limbs severed, he should have been able to recover.

Following Kim Chulkwon’s lead, I headed to the hospital.

It wasn’t hard to arrange a visit.

As soon as I stepped into the ICU, I found myself at a loss for words.

Manager Choi lay silently on the hospital bed.

At a glance, he looked fine.

But tubes were running into his nose, a tracheostomy tube in his throat, a catheter in his abdomen.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

And that wasn’t all.

Oxygen masks, ECG monitors, oxygen saturation meters, IV drips—he was hooked up to countless medical devices, all keeping him alive by force.

“What happened?”

I asked Kim Chulkwon, but it was the doctor who answered.

“Hypoxic brain damage. The patient stayed in the field for too long. In addition to brain damage, he suffered severe laryngitis, pneumonia, pulmonary edema, and extensive burns across his body.”

He looks fine now.

And he actually is.

My [Bright Eyes] confirmed that his body was perfectly intact—except for one thing.

His brain.

It was blackened.

Mana and blood were flowing through it, but it wasn’t functioning properly.

Not even at half capacity—barely a fraction of what it should be.

This was essentially brain death.

“Hah…”

“We’ve done everything we can. Aside from the brain damage, all his injuries have fully healed. But his brain… He arrived too late.”

I silently gazed down at Manager Choi.

At first, my impression of him wasn’t great.

He was just looking for ways to exploit me.

But after I saved him from the Dagger Gang, he changed.

He devoted himself to me.

Almost like a subordinate.

No—he was my right-hand man in every sense.

On paper, we were just a broker and a superhuman. But in reality, it was different.

Manager Choi served me like a steward.

He took care of all the tedious tasks, handled transportation, gifted me a car, and even managed my political and social affairs.

And now, he had given his life for me.

“Huuh…”

I could only sigh.

A debt of life… A debt of survival… Was it worth this much?

He should have just evacuated people and fled.

It didn’t matter if a few people died—he should have saved himself first.

He wasn’t even my direct subordinate.

Just a manager.

Even though I gave him some shares, it was only 10% at best.

Then, suddenly, an emotion surged in my chest.

A tangled mess of feelings.

A whirlwind of conflicting emotions.

Was it guilt? Gratitude? Or maybe regret?

As I stared at Manager Choi for a long time, the doctor hesitated before speaking.

“You know as well as I do—there’s no cure for brain damage. Even the highest-grade healing potions and holy water can’t regenerate it. We can keep him on life support, but his chances of recovery are practically zero.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Well, the thing is… From what I understand, you’re Manager Choi’s only legal guardian, Black Tiger Swordmaster. Given the situation, wouldn’t it be better to let him go peacefully?”

Let him go peacefully.

In other words, kill him.

Beside me, Kim Chulkwon lowered his head.

He must be blaming himself for this.

But I didn’t blame Kim Chulkwon.

Instead, I clenched my fists and ground my teeth.

I wasn’t going to let him die like this.

Responsibility?

Regret?

Sure, those played a part.

If I traced the chain of causality, this was the result of my stopping the terror attack in Seoul.

But the emotion gripping me now was something entirely different.

Rage. Overwhelming fury.

He was mine.

My Gangnam building.

My Manager Choi.

I had nothing before. Just a cramped 2-pyeong gosiwon.

No, even that wasn’t mine. It belonged to a landlord, and all I had was a deposit of a few hundred thousand won.

But now, I had something I could call my own.

Someone I could call a subordinate.

My building, my subordinate—attacked by terrorists and burned to the ground.

Now he lay in a brain-dead state.

And they tell me there’s nothing I can do?

To withdraw life support and let him go peacefully?

Like hell I will!

Thud.

I dropped my golf bag.

The weight-reducing enchantment was disabled, making the several-hundred-kilogram bag crash onto the floor with a heavy thud.

“Uh… Black Tiger Swordmaster?”

The doctor called out to me, but I ignored him.

Instead, I unzipped the golf bag and reached inside.

I pulled out a specially packaged item.

A crystal-clear vial, like a still lake.

Inside, a golden liquid shimmered, as if molten gold had been distilled into medicine.

“Elixir!”

The doctor gasped in shock.

For an ordinary person, even a low-grade healing potion is difficult to obtain.

Even the lowest grade costs hundreds of thousands of won, while a low-grade one reaches into the millions.

And an elixir?

A miraculous medicine that surpasses even the highest-grade potions, capable of resurrection and divine healing?

I’d wager this superhuman doctor had never even touched one before.

Next, I pulled out an automatic injector.

Without a second’s hesitation, I uncapped the elixir.

I filled the injector with every last drop of the golden liquid, and Kim Chulkwon’s hands trembled.

“H-Hyung? Are you really going to use an elixir on Manager Choi?”

Kim Chulkwon, who usually called me “Black Tiger Swordmaster” without fail, had forgotten all honorifics.

He knew I hated being called “Hyung,” yet he let it slip.

“Yes.”

“Hyung…”

What was going through his head?

Kim Chulkwon’s eyes welled with tears.

Holding the injector, I turned to Manager Choi.

He looked as if he were simply asleep.

But the rhythmic beeping of the machines and the tangle of medical devices reminded me of reality.

For a brief moment, my reflection flickered on the monitor.

Cold, burning eyes.

Had I lost control of my mana?

My pupils gleamed with a sharp, blue glow.

Biting my lip, I made a vow.

‘I won’t let this slide.’

I’ll kill them all.

Massacre Empress, the Terror Alliance—every last one of them.

I plunged the injector in.

Injected it all at once.

Thump!

Manager Choi’s body convulsed violently.

His heart, like a massive drum, thundered as he jolted upright.

And that wasn’t all.

Thunk! Crack!

All the medical equipment was flung off.

A golden barrier surged from his heart, repelling everything.

A divine glow enveloped Manager Choi.

Then, slowly, it moved.

Crawling toward his head.

Toward his brain.

“Hoooh…”

The doctor let out an awed breath.

The golden light seeped into Manager Choi.

No further visible changes occurred.

But I could tell—he was recovering.

His dry, cracked skin turned supple.

The hollowed cheek, left sunken after removing the prosthetic, regenerated to its normal state.

It didn’t take long.

Manager Choi’s eyes snapped open.

One was a prosthetic.

The other, his real eye.

The prosthetic whirred as it adjusted, locking onto me.

“Black Tiger Swordmaster…”

He sat up.

Tangled in medical tubes, he ripped them all off and got out of bed.

Then, dropping to his knees, he bowed.

“Thank you, Black Tiger Swordmaster. Truly, thank you. Once again, you’ve saved my life.”

“Were you conscious?”

“Yes. I heard everything. They say hearing is the last sense to go before death—I suppose it’s true.”

I hadn’t expected that.

I thought he was entirely brain-dead.

Still on his knees, Manager Choi looked up at me.

His expression hardened, as if he had made a decision.

Then, he bit his own finger.

What the hell?

Why was he doing that?

Strangely, not a single drop of blood appeared.

Instead, his fingertip broke off.

No, not his fingertip.

A small, white jade fragment, like a piece of chalk.

The moment he snapped it, golden letters materialized in the air.

] [First, Warrior Kim shall be designated as “Party A.”]
] [Second, Choi Sunsoo shall be designated as “Party B.”]
] [Third, Party B shall swear absolute loyalty to Party A.]
] [Fourth, Party A shall hold the power over Party B’s life and death.]

Oh…

I’d seen this before.

When Kim Chulkwon swore his allegiance to me, he had presented the same type of magical contract.

The only difference now was the name under “Party B.”

As I stared blankly at it, Manager Choi lowered his head.

“Black Tiger Swordmaster. I’ve been thinking about this for a while. You’ve given me so much—I couldn’t just stand by idly any longer.”

“You’ve done a lot for me as well, Manager Choi.”

“Even so, a debt of life cannot be repaid. And now, you’ve saved me once more. Even using an elixir, such a precious medicine… That’s a debt I could never repay, no matter how many lifetimes I lived.”

Manager Choi extended his hand.

The glowing contract floated toward me.

It was already signed.

His name, biometric data, and unique mana signature were embedded within it.

If he ever defied my orders or betrayed me, his heart would rupture, and his brain would explode instantly.

Only one space remained.

A place for my signature.

“From today, I wish to formally establish my relationship with you, Black Tiger Swordmaster. That would be the rightful course. Not merely as an external agent who arranges requests and handles minor tasks, but as your subordinate and vassal.”

A subordinate. A vassal.

The second, after Kim Chulkwon.

Kim Chulkwon, standing beside me, watched with a face full of emotion.

I closed my eyes briefly.

The answer had been decided from the start.

No, it had already been set in stone the moment I saved Manager Choi from the Dagger Gang.

Back then, both he and I had been too inexperienced, too overwhelmed, to put a proper name to our relationship.

“Alright. I accept.”

I dropped the formalities in my speech.

Manager Choi—Choi Sunsoo’s face lit up with joy.

The golden letters instantly ignited.

Fusing together, forming a magic circle.

The magic circle split in two, embedding itself into both my heart and Choi Sunsoo’s.

And with that, our souls were bound together.

“Welcome aboard, Manager.”

“Hey, just call me Sunsoo.”

“Heh, should I?”

There was a considerable age gap between them.

But it seemed they intended to be friends, ignoring such trivialities.

“Uh… My lord.”

“That sounds cringeworthy. Just speak normally.”

“Yes, Black Tiger Swordmaster. Actually, I wasn’t completely defenseless. During the attack, I managed to get my blood on them.”

“Your blood? Why?”

“Damn, that’s sharp, Sunsoo. Hyung—I mean, Black Tiger Swordmaster. I performed a procedure on this guy. Implanted nanomachines in his blood. They’re for tracking. Completely undetectable by magic scans. Unless they put him through a precision measuring device, they won’t even know it’s there.”

“Oh? Nice work.”

So my investment in the Geonwoobong facility was paying off like this.

I immediately arranged for his discharge.

Since I had injected the elixir right in front of the doctor, there was no need for any medical checks.

The results would all come out normal anyway.

We got in the car and headed straight for Guro-dong.

Choi Sunsoo was manipulating his prosthetic eye.

It was linked to the nanomachines in his blood.

Wherever they were, he could track them.

“It’s here.”

“Hah… Of all places.”

The outskirts of Guro-dong.

Right at the border with Daerim-dong.

The worst crime-ridden area in all of Seoul—where the three of us now stood.

High-rise buildings were packed tightly together.

The gaps between them were almost nonexistent.

At a glance, it looked like a fortress, or perhaps a citadel.

A cluster of buildings reminiscent of the old Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong.

Maybe I should call it the Guro Fortress.

Every building, every floor was littered with signs that overwhelmed the eyes.

The decayed exteriors looked like murals of mold.

The air reeked of filth, and shirtless, tattooed thugs wandered around, glaring as they passed.

And this wasn’t just one or two buildings.

There were dozens.

Lined up like an actual fortress.

Compared to this, the walled hideout of the Dagger Gang was nothing more than child’s play.

Now I understood why the nanomachine signal had led us here.

“The signal was lost here.”

“How did they cut it off?”

“Purification magic or an EMP spell could wipe out the nanomachines. They’re more thorough than I expected.”

“They must be hiding inside, then?”

“That’s my guess.”

Charging in blindly would be foolish.

We had no idea what lay inside.

Kim Chulkwon flexed his steel prosthetic arm, the mechanical joints whirring.

“Let’s just wipe it all out.”

“Wipe it out?”

“Yes. The people living here are all vagrants, junkies, gangsters, criminals—the absolute dregs of society. No one would complain if we drove them out and demolished the place. They should be grateful we’re letting them live at all.”

In a way, he wasn’t wrong.

Trying to root out the remnants of the Terror Alliance while leaving this fortress intact was absurd.

Investing time, manpower, and resources only to let them escape would be a waste.

The people living here?

Not my concern.

The Terror Alliance was my enemy.

If I didn’t deal with them properly, they would come back to haunt me.

‘No.’

But I rejected Kim Chulkwon’s suggestion.

Destruction wasn’t always the answer.

What if—just what if—this was exactly what the Terror Alliance wanted?

Sure, Choi Sunsoo had cleverly left his blood on them, and Kim Chulkwon had tracked their trail here.

But what if this was all a trap?

The Terror Alliance’s original name was the Rights Alliance.

According to its ideology, the group was formed to fight for the rights of the outcasts and the marginalized.

That’s why Grizzly Bear found the Chameleon’s mutant rhetoric so compelling.

If I simply leveled Guro Fortress, what would happen?

The Terror Alliance would gain immediate support.

At the very least, the people I drove out would flock to them.

Maybe even join them outright.

‘That won’t do.’

I couldn’t let that happen.

So then…

If I really wanted to screw over the Terror Alliance…

“We’re tearing it down.”

“Yes! I’ll contact the demolition and explosives companies right away.”

“No. We’re starting with a briefing.”

“…What?”

What kind of nonsense is that?

Choi Sunsoo and Kim Chulkwon gave me questioning looks.

Instead of answering right away, I took in the sight of Guro Fortress.

A filth-ridden, stacked-up slum that looked like it was built from garbage.

If I was going to demolish it, I had to do it my way.

“We’re redeveloping this area.”

“…What?”

“We’re going to redevelop it.”

And once it was redeveloped, I would own it.

That was my plan.

–TL Notes–
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