“Hmm…”
There were two of Do I-su’s business cards on the desk. One was given to me by his children, the twins, and the other I received directly from him at the black market. The design of the cards and the company name, ‘Umbrella Industry,’ were identical.
But crucially, Do I-su’s mobile phone number was different. Which number should I call? After a moment of thought, I dialed the number from the card I received from the twins.
This call was not as a ‘business partner,’ but as ‘the person who helped his children.’
[Yes. I’ve answered.]
[This is Cheon Hae-seon.]
[Oh…!! Hunter-nim!]
I could hear a pleased voice over the receiver. He probably didn’t expect me to call so soon.
[As a matter of fact, I was just reading an article about you, Hunter-nim.]
[An article about me?]
[Yes, the article about the Gosong District Gate. Your performance was truly outstanding.]
[Ah, that.]
Starting with the train incident, reports about me were spreading like wildfire. A healer beating a 4-star Monster to death with his bare hands, how could that not draw attention? There were so many witnesses on the train that I couldn’t negotiate to have the Blue Sword Guild take credit for it.
But well, it’s not something I could hide forever. In a way, I feel a little relieved. Though the number of people bothering me will surely increase from now on.
[I had a feeling, but… so you really did handle the Poison-type Monsters yourself.]
[I didn’t do it alone.]
[Haha. There’s no need to be so modest with me.]
I’m serious, you old codger. I don’t know about the others, but it was thanks to two helpers that I caught the Giant Treasure.
[Anyway, what can I do for you? Seeing as my personal phone is ringing, I assume this isn’t about business.]
I like that he’s quick on the uptake. Just from the call, he had a good grasp of my intentions. Gathering classified information.
I plan to confirm the details of the ‘Glory Guild research lab explosion.’ Since Glory Guild and even Yoo Ji-won are involved, it’s been nagging at me. Just as the Blue Sword Guild’s representative said, this incident has been thoroughly covered up.
I tried hacking the Association’s database through the V1, but I found nothing of value. Or rather, should I say there was no information to hack in the first place? If it’s information that can’t be confirmed even through the Association’s private network, there’s no point asking other guilds.
But there was just one person. Do I-su, who has turned his back on the Association and is secretly developing monster-related industrial technology, might have a chance.
[I want to know about the Glory Guild research lab explosion.]
[…]
Do I-su, who had always responded instantly, remained silent for the first time.
[…Excuse me, but may I ask why?]
[So you’re saying you do have information.]
[That’s right. To be honest, if I didn’t owe you for what you did for my children, Hunter Cheon Hae-seon, I would have feigned ignorance from the start.]
[Let’s just say I don’t have very good feelings toward Glory Guild and Yoo Ji-won.]
Do I-su must also know that I am a resident of Gaebang District. He didn’t ask questions like ‘Why is your relationship bad?’
[…This is everything we have uncovered.]
[Thank you. This was a great help.]
[Don’t mention it. Please call anytime you need anything.]
Click.
Even though he said that, this would be the last piece of information he’d provide for free. The reason he told me so readily today was likely as a gesture of thanks for helping the twins. From now on, it would be a kind of ‘debt.’
‘Rampage…’
The information that Kim Seung-hwan of the Blue Sword Guild had leaked was true. According to the last data transmitted to the cloud from the Glory Guild research lab, Yoo Ji-won had entered a state of ‘Rampage.’ A stage where the body collapses, unable to withstand the Ether accumulated within.
A Hunter who has entered a state of Rampage is no different from a walking bomb. While randomly emitting Ether energy into the surroundings, they also undergo a process of mental collapse. According to Do I-su, apart from the researchers present at the scene, Yoo Ji-won’s body was not found.
A ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment had vanished without a trace.
‘He was visiting the research lab even after becoming a Hunter…’
He must have been trying to restore his abilities somehow. I recall the face of the Vice Chairman, who looked like he had lost his country when his son was assigned a low tier.
I thought he was a man skilled at controlling his expression, but the face he showed at the Hunter license ceremony was like that of a demon.
Yoo Ji-won’s temperament didn’t seem much different from his father’s. Considering how he bragged in front of reporters inside the examination site, I can guess how resentful he must have been all this time.
[There was information that Yoo Ji-won had been frequenting the research lab even before he became a Hunter. There are also rumors circulating that he used a Gold Core that was being stored by the Association. We are currently gathering these materials with the intention of pressuring the Association in the future.]
Since it was a place he visited even before joining Glory Guild, he must have been coming and going openly after becoming a Hunter. It seems a problem arose during that process. At the mention of the Gold Core, I flinched without realizing it, but it seems he didn’t notice.
I haven’t committed any sin, so why is my body reacting? In any case, most of my questions were answered. Glory Guild had once again shown its rotten side, living up to expectations, and the Association was no different.
Can I continue my life as a Hunter with this kind of distrust? But that doesn’t mean I want to be a hero who solves everything. Becoming the strongest Hunter in the world.
Other than that, I have no room to worry about anything else.
“Let’s see…”
Two objects were once again placed on the desk. One was the Soul Seperating Water I received from Yaksha. And the other was the ‘Gold Core,’ which had just reached 100%.
“Ah, I guess I can’t call it a Gold Core anymore.”
Belying its name ‘Gold,’ there was no longer any trace of a golden hue. The black color that had been faintly encroaching upon it had now completely engulfed the sphere. The only difference, if any, was that it had a bit more of a sheen(?) than other Black Cores.
I wonder if this is what a tiny black pearl would look like if it were magnified hundreds of times.
“What should I do first?”
Should I experience the Spirit Realm first, or should I absorb the Gold Core? After pondering for a moment, I held the Gold Core in both hands. The time I had waited for it was simply too long.
It would be one thing if it wasn’t complete, but now that it had reached a 100% conversion rate, I didn’t want to delay for even a moment. Besides, who knows when my condition will return to normal after drinking the Soul Seperating Water?
“I’m going out for a bit.”
“You’re leaving again as soon as you get in?”
“I’ll be back soon this time. I’m just going to train.”
After giving my pouting sister a look that said ‘please understand,’ I left the house.
“This place is perfect.”
Although Glory Guild had begun disaster recovery work in earnest, this place remained untouched. Gaebang Elementary School, where young students used to commute. Due to the particularly high number of Monsters that appeared here, the decision was made to close it down instead of restoring it.
A new school is being built not far from here, and the Gaebang Elementary School where I stand will probably be the last to be cleaned up.
Ssk.
After carefully placing the Gold Core down, I switched my phone to video recording mode. The grade of the core was one thing, but the thought of pouring Black Ether into my ‘brain’ for the first time made me quite worried.
‘I don’t know how good that core you have is, but if you’re going to use ‘that method,’ don’t do it indoors.’
Dr. Jin’s advice was one of the reasons I came to the school playground. At this point, it would be more disappointing if there wasn’t some special event.
“Let’s do this.”
I’ve never done it before, but I have a rough idea of how. The Ether I had rooted throughout my body to strengthen it, I will now gather it in one place and send it towards my brain. But, just in case, I’ll do it slowly, since I don’t know what will happen.
I sit cross-legged on the playground floor and take a deep breath. Then, I absorbed a very small amount of the Black Core into my body.
Sharrr…
A thrilling sensation, as if I’d been electrocuted, coursed through my entire body. To feel this much when I haven’t even sent the Ether to my head yet. Am I going to pass out from this?
Rrrr…
Something strange happened. My body, which had never been affected by any extreme poison or drug, was now in turmoil. My heart was pounding like thunder, and I couldn’t control my emotions.
I didn’t know what to do with the sense of elation boiling up from the very depths of my being. It was a good thing I was sitting cross-legged; in any other position, I would have bolted somewhere long ago.
“Ugh…”
This won’t do. I need to stop for a moment and slowly try again… -Swoooosh!! There was no trying again.
Once it started to flow in, the Gold Core began to be absorbed into my body at a terrifying pace. The ones that entered my body didn’t even hesitate. Following the pathway(?) opened from the palms of my hands to my head, they began to systematically take root in my brain…!
Pajik.
Is this really a sound that can come from a human brain? An impact beyond pain, a sensation I couldn’t even identify, exploded inside my head.
“Ugh…!!”
It’s hard.
I want to stop right now. But the blackened Gold Core gave me no room to do so.
‘You’ve sullied me like this, so you too shall pay the price.’
It was as if it were saying that.
“Ugh-aaaaah!!”
Far from stopping the absorption, the core’s energy endlessly surged in like a raging tide. My entire body felt as hot as a furnace, and an indescribable ‘pajik’ sound continuously echoed inside my head. I never had such thoughts even when I was fighting the Giant Treasure, but I might actually die.
Under that tremendous shock, I eventually fell backward. Even as I fell, all sorts of thoughts raced through my mind. The days I had suffered from addiction for over ten years.
My sister, forcing a smile with tears welling in her eyes. The moments of fury when I discovered Poison-type Monsters. And finally, what appeared when my sister was on the verge of death.
The Crimson Venom Snake. -Kiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!! Is this what they call a flashback? The Crimson Venom Snake I saw that day appeared clearly in my mind.
Scales like steel, dyed in blood. A hideous head resembling a king cobra, with fangs reminiscent of a grim reaper’s scythe. It had a presence that seemed capable of splattering the entire pitch-black night sky with blood.
Right.
I had summoned that thing that day. I don’t know how I did it, but… -Kiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak! Ugh, so loud.
I didn’t notice it back then because of the chaos, but its roar was loud enough to burst my eardrums. It was about to wake up all the residents in the middle of the night…….
Wait.
Isn’t this inside my memory?
Shwoong.
The Crimson Venom Snake moved its body here and there as if stretching.
“No way…”
It wasn’t a memory. The ‘thing’ standing majestically against the night sky was real. Right here, next to where I was lying.
In the midst of that hellish struggle, had I summoned this thing? The moment the Crimson Venom Snake appeared, the absorption of the Gold Core ended. Now, there was nothing left in my hands.
My head and chest felt queasy at the same time. So much had truly changed compared to before. The night sky became as bright as a galaxy made of CG, and the earthy smell of the playground rose up thickly.
My body’s five senses had developed to an unbelievable degree. So that’s why that thing’s cry was so much louder? -Sss. As if reading my thoughts, the Crimson Venom Snake prepared to inhale.
You crazy bastard, stop it.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” -???
If it roared one more time, Hunters might be dispatched. I instinctively raised both hands to stop it, and surprisingly, the creature stopped its movement. A massive monster, so tall I had to crane my neck just to meet its eyes, was listening to me.
This is truly funny.
Shwoong.
The Crimson Venom Snake lowered its head and approached me. Its pupils, larger than both my hands spread out, stared me down. -Krrr… I guarantee that any ordinary Hunter would wet their pants at this sight.
I too was frozen like a statue, but I maintained my sanity with the single thought that ‘I summoned this thing.’
“You can’t be loud here.”
Like a warning to a dog that barks too often inside the house, I cautioned the creature. -Krrr… Did it actually understand what I said? While I was pondering this, the Crimson Venom Snake suddenly lifted its head high.
That movement alone stirred a great wind, making my hair fly. What’s with this thing now? Then, it shook its raised head up and down once.
Shwoong.
It didn’t look that way because of its immense size, but the meaning of that brutal movement was…
“You… nodded?”
The Crimson Venom Snake moved its head vigorously once more. Anyone else would have misunderstood it as smashing something with its head.
“Haha…”
It’s strange and amusing. It looks ferocious, but its behavior is like that of a servant. The Crimson Venom Snake, which hadn’t appeared no matter how much I called(?) for it since the day I Awakened, had finally shown itself again.
Its overwhelming physical power that crushed a large Poison-type Monster without a trace. I suddenly wanted to confirm that physical power once more.
“And there just happens to be a target for demolition right in front of me…”
The elementary school building, destined to be torn down someday, came into view. Without any specific command, I just gestured towards the school building with my eyes. As if it had been waiting, the Crimson Venom Snake shot a glare and charged at the building.
Could it exert the same amount of physical force as it did back then?
Kwaaang!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My words telling the Crimson Venom Snake to be quiet were rendered meaningless as a huge roar echoed throughout the area. It wasn't just the roar; the ground shook from the recent attack. An explosion and an earthquake.
Anyone would think a war had broken out.
“Good job. You can come back in now.”
The Crimson Venom Snake obediently transformed into Ether and entered my body. Its massive body vanished without a trace, leaving only the completely shattered debris of the building in the desolate landscape. And then, Good news, the likes of which I had never heard before, arrived.