Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

“How gullible can you be?”

Lee Kang-to chuckled as he strode through the streets. He was beginning to understand why Han Cha-hyun had called Yun Gaho soft. There was no way an A-rank hunter like himself could be tired already, yet Yun Gaho had fallen for his flimsy lie without a shred of doubt.

Honestly, it had been a bit scary in the morning, but it was a hundred times better than coming with Han Cha-hyun. During the last mission, he had been thoroughly reined in for wandering around the temple on his own.

Lee Kang-to shuddered as he fiddled with the thin choker around his neck.

“This is too much, I’m not a dog!”

This item, equipped with a tracking function, couldn’t be removed without Han Cha-hyun’s permission. Lee Kang-to, who had been grumbling about the violation of human dignity, suddenly broke into a bright smile.

“But now it’s all useless! I must savor this freedom!”

He hummed a merry tune as he walked westward.

“I’m not going to that cursed shrine later…”

Tossing and catching a jet-black bead, Lee Kang-to recalled yesterday’s events.

◆◇◆◇◆

Just as Yun Gaho had worried, Lee Kang-to had veered off course from the morning. As soon as they left the tavern, he clenched his fist and made a statement that would have made Yun Gaho faint.

“Lord, please allow me to be a righteous wage thief today as well!”

He had taken quite a liking to this dreary level. Determined to make the most of his day, Lee Kang-to plunged into the marketplace.

However, his busy exploration of the stalls was short-lived. Suddenly, Lee Kang-to’s steps came to a halt.

“Hmm?”

Pricking up his ears, he could faintly hear cheers and the sound of instruments.

It seemed some entertaining event was taking place somewhere. Lee Kang-to wasn’t one to miss out on such things. He quickened his pace towards the source of the sound.

Sure enough, in the marketplace square, a troupe of performers was showing off their skills.

Whether it was due to the lively tune played by the musicians or the entertaining spectacle, the NPCs’ expressions were unusually bright for Sohan. Lee Kang-to grinned as he squeezed into the crowd.

“Bravo! That fellow’s quite the tightrope walker!”

An acrobat was hopping back and forth on a high wire. Even to Lee Kang-to, an awakened one, it was an impressive feat, and he couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.

“Wow, he’s just like a squirrel.”

“Even nimbler than a squirrel! No wonder there are rumors that these folks are raking in all the money in Sohan these days!”

“Are, are they that skilled?”

A man with a bushy beard laughed heartily at Lee Kang-to’s question. Lee Kang-to shrank back, inherently uncomfortable with loud, outgoing people.

The man, undeterred by Lee Kang-to’s reaction, continued to chatter.

“That might be part of it, but it’s not just that.”

It was unknown how this nameless plague spread. There was no consistency in its transmission pattern—a physician caring for the sick would be fine, while a hermit living alone would get infected. It was called a plague simply because new cases tended to appear with high probability in places where deaths had occurred.

This was why the people of Sohan could maintain their daily lives despite the plague. Perhaps as a result, paradoxically, performers were enjoying unprecedented prosperity.

“The living must go on living, so they trudge on, but it’s a hardship for everyone.”

“So, so that’s why there are so many…”

“Among them, those fellows are particularly notable. Well… It looks like they’re starting, so it’d be better for you to see for yourself.”

Lee Kang-to, a question mark floating above his head, turned his attention to the performers. Right on cue, the tightrope walker donned the mask he had been carrying on his head.

The deep red mask had dark splotches painted densely on its cheeks. With the horns on top and the fierce expression, it was clear at a glance that this wasn’t a heroic character.

The jester, who had been chattering incessantly below the rope, called out in an amused voice.

“His Majesty the King arrives!”

The tightrope walker skillfully caught a red fan tossed up by the jester. Then, with an exaggerated flourish, he opened the fan towards the audience, making a loud swooshing sound.

The character for “king” written in gold powder glinted in the sunlight.

The tightrope walker put on airs to a comical degree, then suddenly crouched low on the rope. Women in skirts had appeared.

Among them, one wearing an exceptionally ornate mask climbed onto the opposite end of the rope from the tightrope walker.

“Truly beautiful. I shall take you as mine today.”

The woman wearing a bride mask merely shrugged her shoulders shyly, without opening her mouth. The tightrope walker sang of gold, silver, treasures, and the pleasures of female company as he strode confidently along the rope.

Just as his hand was about to touch the woman’s shoulder, a musician frantically beat a small gong as if sounding an alarm. Simultaneously, the woman gently turned around.

“Would you still take me like this?”

On the back of the woman’s head who had retorted coyly was another mask. Red-painted eyes, a pale cheek embroidered with butterfly patterns, and crucially, a black cloth covering the mouth.

It was the grim reaper who comes to collect souls.

“Be-begone, you wretch!”

As the acrobat playing the grim reaper lifted a foot to approach him, the tightrope walker pretended to be startled and leaped high. Then, as if running for his life, he scurried to the opposite end.

The spectators held their sides laughing at the sight of him tottering as he fled, abandoning all dignity. Using the laughter as a rhythm, the grim reaper swayed gently and delivered the next line in a clear voice.

“Do you think your name will disappear from the book of the dead just because you run?”

“How insolent! I am of the bloodline blessed by the Sangje himself. How dare a mere messenger…”

“Ah, such foolishness. The flowers of plague have long since bloomed across your face.”

The tightrope walker, hastily touching his face, jumped down from the rope. As he danced, ordering the city gates to be closed to keep the plague out, the tightrope performance naturally transitioned into a mask dance.

A bright blue mask with “Nameless” written on the forehead suddenly popped out and chased after the one wearing the king’s mask. Lee Kang-to asked as he watched the king getting his bottom bitten by the messenger.

“What, what is all this about?”

“What else could it be? It’s a play mocking the king.”

“Eek, won’t they get arrested for putting on such a performance?”

“With even the officials coming to watch, who’s going to arrest them?”

The bearded man nodded towards a corner of the crowd.

“Our king doesn’t care a whit about what happens outside the palace. As long as he gets what he wants when he wants it, he wouldn’t bat an eye even if all his subjects were to die like dogs.”

“Come on, surely it’s not that bad.”

“That’s because you don’t know the half of it, young man. He’s so indifferent that, look, rumors of his illness have even led to the creation of this play.”

Lee Kang-to’s green eyes gleamed strangely as he heard the man’s complaints.

While it’s unclear how much of it is true, sometimes the rumors from the lower ranks are the most honest. No matter how much the high and mighty try to hide things.

“I really am lucky, aren’t I!”

With that, Lee Kang-to immediately scaled the walls of Yeongwol Palace. Already nimble by nature, and with the added camouflage mask he had prepared, no one noticed his intrusion.

However, there was one problem.

“Wh-why is this place so huge?”

The grounds, visibly vast, were too extensive for one person to explore thoroughly. He had thought it would be about the size of Deoksugung Palace, as it was originally a temporary palace, but that was a gross miscalculation.

But Lee Kang-to wasn’t one to give up so easily. He rummaged through his inventory and pulled out a navy blue paper folded vertically several times.

“Humans learn from failure! Hah, this time I came prepared!”

[Adventurer’s Friend (B)

: Creates a map based on the bearer’s footsteps.

※ To start map creation, please shout ‘Let’s go on a mysterious adventure!’]

Lee Kang-to had been frustrated at not being able to find the spiral staircase at the last site. Determined not to repeat such an incident, he had raided the auction house, and now this purchase was already proving useful.

After sufficiently praising his own foresight, Lee Kang-to spread out the paper and shouted:

“Let’s go on a mysterious adventure!”

[Map creation starting. Have a pleasant adventure!]

Along with the cheerful message, a silver dot appeared in the center of the paper. The dot soon became a line, rapidly sketching out the terrain around Lee Kang-to. It was a sight that would have amazed even the goblin.

“For now, let’s move with the goal of completing the map.”

The map records the terrain and features within a 10-meter radius of the bearer’s feet. While there wasn’t enough time to thoroughly explore everything, there was more than enough to complete the map by moving quickly.

“Heh, who do you think I am?”

A proper exploration could be done later at night without being late. There was no chance of being caught sneaking out by the C-rank Yun Gaho either. A smile played on Lee Kang-to’s lips as he darted around the palace grounds.

“Hmm, a pleasant evening stroll~”

As befitting a hunter ranked in the top three for physical abilities in White Night, it didn’t take long for him to achieve his goal. He circled along the palace walls once, then drew increasingly smaller circles to fill in the interior gaps, leaving no spot uncovered.

“I thought there’d be tons of people in a palace… How fortunate that it’s so quiet.”

Lee Kang-to let out a sigh of relief as he checked the completed map.

From the roof of the pavilion where he now sat, he had a clear view of the entire palace, but even from here, hardly anyone could be seen moving outside the buildings.

Had they reduced staff to match the current situation? He speculated wildly.

“The atmosphere is completely off too.”

It didn’t feel like the residence of a king said to hoard all sorts of treasures and entertainments. As this worked in his favor, Lee Kang-to didn’t dwell on it too much.

His indifferent gaze sweeping the ground soon turned to the mountain range surrounding the palace.

“Should I go there? Or not?”

Midway up the mountain, something like dancheong peeked through the bare branches. Though the colors had faded to a grayish hue from apparent lack of maintenance, it stood out starkly against the winter mountain.

“Why does it have to be up a mountain? I absolutely hate hiking!”

As he was weighing his curiosity against his reluctance, his Hunter Watch rang. Lee Kang-to, who had been pouting at the interruption of his thoughts, instantly changed his expression upon checking the sender.

“Y-you? Why are you calling?”