Hammurabi Style - Chapter 13

Kimin glanced around after organizing his new skills.

By the looks of the people looking at the auction goods and the auctioneer, everyone was absorbed in the auction.

‘Hm?’

Two of the three seats Sera Lee’s group was sitting on were empty.

‘Both seats beside me are all empty. Am I going to attract attention when I get up?’

‘They might’ve gone to the restroom. Well, it’s not my business. I should leave.’

Kimin didn’t think much of them.

Anyways, he didn’t know their faces and names. They only met for a moment. He just felt that they seemed like good people.

The moment Kimin tried to get up, “Ha-cha.”

Somebody forcefully pressed down Kimin’s shoulders while sitting down on the empty seat next to him.

“?”

Kimin sat down awkwardly and turned his head.

“Hey, smile. Don’t fuck up the mood.”

“!”

Someone sat down on the other side next to Kimin.

It was a gold mask.

There were certain people who could wear gold masks at the Dark auction.

‘Enforcer…!’

People around saw the enforcer started to stir up.

The gold mask beckoned with his hand to Kimin.

Kimin shrunk his shoulders with his hands up to ask them why they were doing that to him.

Then, the jellyfish mask tapped Kimin.

When Kimin saw him, he pointed at Kimin and then crossed his fingers to make an X.

After that, he drew a line across his neck with his thumb.

The jellyfish’s smile in his eyes sunk deeper under his mask.

“If you don’t die here, let’s go. Don’t disturb the auction and just die quietly.”

The gold mask whispered to Kimin.

“Cut the bullshit. Are you treating me like a normal person? Do you have evidence?”

The jellyfish held a mirror up to Kimin silently when Kimin tried to complain.

After a moment, a jewel that was set above the mirror glowed with blue color.

“It’s a detection artifact. If you were a skill user, it would light with red. Do you have anything more to say?”

The noise got louder when the people saw the blue light from the mirror.

Eventually, the auction stopped at that moment.

An unpleasant silence circled around Kimin.

Kimin had to choose.

‘Kill them? Or just obey?’

However, he had been holding back too long and…

‘I’m wearing the mask type artifact and also another fox mask on top. Isn’t it… going to be ok here?’

…He felt like he didn’t have to swallow here.

Kimin just let the emotions that were whispering to him lead him.

“Fuck you. Assholes.”

“Huh, what?”

“Why are you guys making excuses? Isn’t it because you guys are fucking insufficient? Shut up and set up the zone if you are an enforcer. Have you already done it?”

The gold mask giggled.

‘An empty boast? Is he trying to endure because he thinks we can’t disturb the auction?’

“Hey. Just make him unconscious and take him outside.”

“Yes, sir.”

Smash!!

The jellyfish mask struck the back of Kimin’s neck.

“Ouch.”

[ Carletto’s mind barrier is operating. ]

However, Kimin was immune to losing consciousness.

“Wait… How?”

“You fucking idiot.”

The gold mask blamed his subordinate’s incompetence and snapped at Kimin’s neck again.

Bang.

The sound was horrible, but Kimin just swayed once and that was all.

Kimin growled.

“Fuck. That hurts.”

None of the three smiled anymore.

Kimin could handle the strike from the jellyfish mask, but it wasn’t casual to handle the enforcer’s.

The gold mask had an air of uncertainty and asked Kimin again.

“… Are you really a skill user?”

“You are going to fucking die today. Why does it matter?”

“Ha. What a freak.”

It was not his first time doing enforcer work, but it was his first time seeing someone who sprang at him like a crazy dog.

He even lighted the jewel on the mirror with blue.

The gold mask was sure.

‘Bullshit. How the hell is he still playing around?’

‘Ok, I will play with you.’

‘The auction had already stopped at the moment… Let’s just finish this quickly.’

The gold mask clicked his tongue and took out a marble from his pocket.

“Ok, sure sure.”

As soon as he dropped the marble on the floor, a red area appeared.

The area was called ‘punishment zone,’ the right only enforcers had.

The dispute at the Dark auction could occur within the punishment zone.

Also, the punishment was one of the best spectacles at the Dark auction.

When the punishment zone appeared, the auction stopped completely.

The bidders voluntarily emptied the red area and surrounded them from a distance. For the time being, their interests would stay on someone’s ‘death,’ not the auction anymore.

The gold mask and the jellyfish mask stood up and moved away from Kimin.

They were ready for an execution. 

“What is your will?”

“Three.”

“You have three wills?… Ok, keep going.”

“Two.”

“Motherfucker.”

BAM-!!

The jellyfish mask shot Kimin with his gun before the gold mask performed his skill while he thought Kimin fooled him.

“Why use a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken? It’s a waste of your skill to kill this bitch who doesn’t even have a projectile-defense skill.”

“Well, look at this man.”

The gold mask cleared the light around his hand away and giggled.

However, the laugh soon turned into astonishment.

“…One.”

 

Someone who was not supposed to be fine was still standing and glaring at them.

“Shit…!”

Shoo!!

The gold mask felt some weird anxiety so prepared his skill again while launching himself. However, only his action, ‘launching himself’ was available.

Flump.

As soon as the gold mask threw his body, it got stiff and fell on the floor. The jellyfish mask with a triumphant face was completely stiff.

It was all thanks to slots 1 and 2 on the bookmark Kimin saved in advance.

He didn’t have to count three when he used the bookmark, but he counted to three on purpose.

He tried to make people perceive that he needed ‘3 seconds.’

Noise-

– The enforcer? Did the enforcer get attacked?

– What the hell just happened?

Kimin spoke with a mad voice amidst the noise that was a lot louder than before.

He wanted everyone to hear him.

“Detection? Fucking bitches. You are not on my level, but you are talking about detection? Ordinary? Am I? Do I look like an ordinary man? Now, do I look like a skill user?”

Kimin approached the jellyfish mask and took off the mask on him.

The guy had a tattoo that was a trifurcate claw scar under his eye.

People talked in whispers about which group he was from and who his boss was, however, it couldn’t affect Kimin at all at that moment.

Pow! Pow!

He held the guy’s neck from falling and kept punching his face.

“You had the resolve, right? When you tried to kill me, you guys were ready to die as well.”

As Kimin put down his fist while breathing hard, his third bookmark opened.

It was a slot that recorded his gunshot from the jellyfish mask.

The guy’s chest started to be dyed with a dark red color.

Krk, Kruk.

He stared at Kimin with his eyes that were out of focus while bleeding from his mouth and then dropped his head.

Kimin let go of his neck and kicked his body away like he was throwing away trash.

It became silent after the body was thrown on the floor.

 

There was only one left.

Kimin kept sucking on his finger that had a lot of orange powder on it.

 

[ The abnormal status will be recorded on slot 1 in the bookmark. ]

[ The abnormal status will be recorded on slot 2 in the bookmark. ]

 

Step. Step.

Kimin swallowed the deadly poison that he gathered from the deepest parts of the jungle and moved closer towards the enforcer.

At that moment.

The gold mask suddenly floated up into the air and flew away.

“Stop it right there.”

Somebody was talking to Kimin.

Kimin just laughed.

 

[ Slot 1 in the bookmark was used. ]

 

There was nothing he was going to do other than this one.

“Urg, Krk!”

The flying gold mask convulsed and then blood gushed everywhere.

The color of his blood gushing was dark green.

“It’s poisoned blood!! Run away!!!”

As the dark green blood gushed out of the enforcer, people who were in the way turned pale from astonishment.

They scattered quickly.

When the gold mask reached someone’s feet, he wasn’t alive anymore.

“…”

The noise got extremely louder.

– Transfering injury skill and poisoning skill… incredible.

– I think he has a paralysis skill too.

– He didn’t use a catalyst or casting ingredients… The skill wasn’t ‘no count,’ right?

– It seemed like he was counting three seconds.

– Three seconds is outstanding.

– It’s a shame that we didn’t get to see the enforcer’s skills. It looks like the enforcers are not as good as we think.

Gnash.

The glitter of someone’s eyes razed with intensity.

The psychokinesis skill user, who used his skill on the gold mask as instructed, read someone’s countenance and stepped back.

Step. Step.

That ‘someone’ walked out of those scattering people.

It was another gold mask.

He pressed the red marble quietly, removed the punishment zone, and put it in his pocket.

The punishment zone was gone. The dispute was over.

However, he wasn’t going back.

“Why did you do that?”

“What?”

“If you were a skill user, you could’ve shown them your skills without killing them.”

Kimin forced a laugh.

“Why are you teasing me when they’re the ones that didn’t see my skills and attacked me?”

“It seems like your skill has a concealment attribute. Then isn’t it too cruel for them since they couldn’t see your skills? They couldn’t help but mistake you as a normal person.”

“If they didn’t know, they shouldn’t have attacked me. I am sorry if you mean I just should’ve died after getting shot.”

“We are not speaking the same language.”

“The important things are the rules. So, tell me if I broke any of the Dark auction rules.”

After a skill user had been doubted as an ordinary person, he fought rightfully within the punishment zone. He killed the people who attacked him to prove his innocence.

Were there any other proper rules better than this?

“…No. You followed the rules well.”

“Then? Are you going to discuss ethics? At the Dark auction?”

“…”

‘I think he just said a swear word.’

There was one logic that worked in every discussion.

A person who swore first always lost first.

“Let’s see… Oh, here you go.”

Kimin went through the jellyfish mask’s dead body, put the guy’s subspace in his pocket, and got ready to leave.

Kimin smiled and stood up.

The gold mask kept saying something behind him, but Kimin didn’t answer anymore.

He really meant to go back at the moment.

When Kimin stepped forward, people who circled around him and whispered to each other split on both sides.

He walked through the hallway that looked like the crossing of the Red Sea.

The noise got louder when he started walking through the people.

– Come to this chat room if you would like to work with us.

People handed out their business cards with their chat room addresses, however, Kimin didn’t even glance at them.

– Arrogant bitch.

– You are not going to live long enough with your impertinence.

Useless criticism whispered in Kimin’s ears and disappeared.

While getting out, Kimin saw the familiar masks.

They looked at Kimin as well.

There was silence for a second.

“I told you I’m a skill user. Do you believe me now?”

Kimin smiled and talked to the pink fox mask.

Of course, they couldn’t see his smile under his mask.

“…”

“…”

They did not answer.

Ha.

Kimin let out a sigh and passed by them quietly.

Still, many eyes were piercing his back.

He walked for a long time.

At that moment, when he turned his body to the exit of the Dark auction, someone interrupted him.

“Huk, huk. I barely made it. Excuse me.”

It was an eagle mask.

Kimin didn’t care and just walked his way.

However, the eagle mask was persistent.

He whispered, “I was convinced when I saw you beating the enforcer. You are the curse magician who stopped by the Skyclo Monster Shop, right?”

 

–

Translator’s note

Hi, everyone. I have been having serious back pain for more than two weeks. 

I’m very sorry but I’m going to have to rest next week and get some treatment at a hospital. 

I can’t even sit down for an hour… 🙁 

While resting, I will fix the previous chapters to make them flow better.

In the next chapter, Kimin finally starts his revenge! I’m so proud of him 🙂

Thank you for reading and I will update my plan for the next chapter on my twitter!

My twitter: AmyShin39