“Is this… my son?”
With a crazed look on his face, Yoo In-won asks with a trembling voice. On the table lay a few vicious and large teeth. His entire body had been incinerated, leaving nothing but a few teeth.
Gu Geon-yi was in the middle of informing the Vice Chairman of the Association of his son's death.
“That can't be... Are you sure you didn't see wrong? ... How could this be...”
Yoo In-won, who was examining the teeth with a faintly trembling hand, shakes his head vigorously.
“No... This...!! This is not my son!!”
‘I can't blame him.’
It's human nature to want to deny a cruel reality. Besides, the teeth of Yoo Ji-won, who had turned into a Monster, were indeed a different shape than before. If their missing son was finally dead, and only this different form remained, what parent would readily believe it?
But Yoo Ji-won's death was a ‘truth’ he had witnessed with his own eyes. He, the Representative, had come personally to vouch for that truth.
“When last seen, Yoo Ji-won had gone beyond Rampage, his body transformed into a monstrous state. The corpse did not survive the incineration caused by the high fever, but it was definitely Yoo Ji-won's...”
“Bullshit!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Considering their usually warm conversations, this outburst had crossed a line, and then some. But Gu Geon-yi silently watched his desperate cry. Wasn't this the late-born child he had after turning forty?
Considering the effort he'd put into making Yoo Ji-won the next head of the Association, this level of disrespect was something he could overlook.
“Vice Chairman.”
Secretaries from both sides try to calm him down. But Yoo In-won, far from calming down, foamed at the mouth and had a seizure.
“... Then.”
Gu Geon-yi placed a paper document on the table and stood up. Though they had mutated, the teeth contained DNA information that matched Yoo Ji-won's. The Association staff stepped forward and apologized politely to Gu Geon-yi, and he silently got up and went down to the building's basement.
Crunch.
The steering wheel, made of reinforced material, crumpled into a pitiful shape. Normally, he would have controlled his strength, but Gu Geon-yi had no way to soothe his anger. His hardened face was filled with a chilling energy.
Because he couldn't prevent Yoo Ji-won's death? Because of the Vice Chairman's behavior, which threw their long-standing friendship away? It wasn't that those weren't factors, but they weren't the main reason.
What made Gu Geon-yi's heart so miserable now was a feeling he had never experienced in his life.
‘A sense of defeat.’
Ever since that day, Gu Geon-yi had been struggling with that damned feeling. The one he had faced was Yoo Ji-won, not Cheon Hae-seon. But the sense of defeat tormenting Gu Geon-yi was solely because of ‘Cheon Hae-seon’.
Because Cheon Hae-seon had easily crushed the Yoo Ji-won he couldn't subdue.
‘How on earth did he get that kind of power...’
He had heard the news that Cheon Hae-seon was clearing Poison Dungeons. But that didn't prove his combat ability. He had cleared them with a ‘Clan’, not alone, and they were dungeons with a low Difficulty.
Given a healer's traits, it made sense he would be more active in a Poison Dungeon. Gu Geon-yi had vaguely thought so. But during the battle with Yoo Ji-won, the ‘power’ Cheon Hae-seon displayed was so outstanding it was hard to believe his eyes.
The formidable Ether radiating from his hand seemed stronger than that of a decent A-rank Esper.
Since when. How.
How could Cheon Hae-seon, a healer type, have acquired such killing ability? He had managed the Guild and watched countless Hunters over the years, but he had never seen a type like Cheon Hae-seon. There was only one thing Gu Geon-yi could confirm from Cheon Hae-seon's growth.
Only a sense of helpless defeat. Yoo Ji-won had shattered his ‘Wailing Wall’, one of his signature moves, and had cracked his tough body, even poisoning him. Moreover, wasn't Maria, who supported him from the side, an S-ranker just like him?
Yet, Cheon Hae-seon had very easily crushed that monster which had given two S-rankers so much trouble. The state of the Glory Guild, which had prided itself on being the strongest force, had become a joke. The moment his eyes met Maria's when Cheon Hae-seon killed Yoo Ji-won replayed endlessly in his mind.
Maria's face, as she looked at him, was filled with deep emotions that couldn't be put into words. Things she had never once shown him.
‘Damn it...’
He had tried to recruit Cheon Hae-seon. He was confident he could.
‘I will make you Maria's successor’ was by no means an empty promise.
But it didn't contain the meaning, ‘You can become a better Hunter than me.’ Because he thought that was impossible. But Gu Geon-yi was feeling a sense of unease from the very bottom of his heart.
The thought that Cheon Hae-seon might become a superior Hunter to himself. That unease turned into envy and jealousy, making him call off ‘Cheon Hae-seon's recruitment’. Because he felt that if Cheon Hae-seon was equipped with Glory Guild's cutting-edge technology, he would really surpass him.
Vrrr.
Someone sent a message to Gu Geon-yi's personal phone. It was from Yoo In-won. Looks like he's come to his senses after foaming at the mouth.
Gu Geon-yi checked the content of the message.
[Who is the one who did this to Ji-won?]
“...”
Gu Geon-yi had shown him Yoo Ji-won's remains and said another Hunter had taken care of him. At the time, he had lost his mind over the news of his son's death, but now that he had regained his senses, it was natural to want to confirm.
‘How petty.’
Gu Geon-yi thought to himself how petty he was being. Because he knew what would happen as a result of his reply. But, Gu Geon-yi comforted himself, thinking, ‘I'm just telling the truth as it is,’ and sent a reply.
His jealousy toward Cheon Hae-seon was too great to mediate between them.
[The Hunter who killed Yoo Ji-won is Cheon Hae-seon.]
“Kiril!!”
That shout became a common thing I said in my sleep after returning to the real world. Looking around, I see familiar scenes again. The things I saw when I drank the Soul Seperating Water and lay on the sofa.
Then and now, the only thing that was the same was Ppori rubbing against my face. -Kku……. As if to help me regain consciousness, Ppori tickles my chin with its small, budding horns. I calmly stroked it and organized my thoughts.
My consciousness was faint, but that was definitely Kiril. I had only seen her for a single day, but her charisma was clearly imprinted on my mind. In fact, even at a glance, her appearance was unusual.
A tall height that seemed over 170cm and a stylish trench coat. The striking bronze skin and the empty, flapping sleeve of one arm. I had shouted out in a hurry, but unfortunately, Kiril didn't seem to notice my existence.
There was no guarantee she would recognize me just because I got close, but I couldn't help but feel a lingering disappointment. The sight of me having become an S-rank Hunter. No, I wanted to show her I've now become a proper Poison-type Hunter.
On the other hand, several questions arise. Why is Kiril in the Spirit Realm and not the real world? Her form wasn't like mine, a spiritual form.
It wasn't a simple experience; her actual physical body was there. What was she talking about with a Crassus Dragon, in a place that wasn't the real world? I couldn't know all of those things, but one thing was certain.
‘Her scale of operations is ridiculously huge.’
Among existing Hunters, there probably isn't anyone with as wide a range of activity as Kiril. It's a little disappointing, but there's nothing I can do about it now. Since we're both alive and well, we'll surely be able to meet again someday.
I stretched, thinking such thoughts. -Kkuwang.
“Hey. I told you not to touch that.”
Ppori, as always, was wandering around with a single shiny petal. It's a petal from the Gold Eternal Flower left over after treating Iron Arm's wife. I had no immediate use for it, so I hid it deep inside the room, but it somehow found it and is now wearing it.
I was worried it might eat the petal like it does the poison in my body, but thankfully, that didn't happen. Despite my warning, Ppori strutted around the living room with the petal draped over its body. With it like that, it looks like it's wearing clothes.
I chuckled and watched its antics for a while.
[That child will become a great power for you in the future.]
That's what Daebeom said while looking at Ppori in the Spirit Realm.
[Well, just by looking at size, it seems like you'd be a much bigger help than Ppori?]
[It's hard to judge ability by appearance alone. Isn't it the same for humans?]
[That's true, but...]
[I can see it. A destructive power is accumulating inside that creature. If it so chooses, it can transform into its adult form at any time and help you.]
[Really? It just stood by when I was about to die in a dungeon.]
[It must not have thought it was a true crisis.]
[Hmm.]
It was a very suspicious conversation.
Hey, Ppori.
Do you really have that kind of ability? Even as I was thinking that, Ppori rolled up the Gold Eternal Flower petal and fell over. -Kkuwang.
Hmm.
It seems Daebeom saw wrong.
Kwaang- For what reason was the Black Ether released in the form of hot ‘Poison Flame’? Looking back at my past battles, it might be that it manifested as a hot property in Resonance with my emotions. If that's the case, what would happen if I kept my heart as cold as ice?
Kwaang. Hmm. No difference.
It seems there's another mechanism at play besides emotions. Then again, even for those who were Espers from birth, the type of Ether they emit is usually just one. They didn't create the classifications of Fire-type and Ice-type for nothing.
For me, who has just awakened ‘Poison Flame’, to immediately learn a different type of property is no different from trying to run as soon as I learn to walk. -Kieeeek! The Crimson Venom Snake is a creature with clear strengths and weaknesses.
In a confrontation of physical strength, it's unparalleled, but if I summon it carelessly, I risk destroying all the surrounding facilities. The saying 'ignorantly strong' must be referring to that thing. I need something to neatly organize the seething Ethers I've absorbed from the Gold Core.
After finishing my training and coming home, messages were piled up on my phone. The Blue Sword Guild had put up a decent smokescreen, but there were still reporters with a good nose for news. If they constructed the event chronologically, things surely wouldn't add up.
I sent my praises to their excellent work ethic and deleted the message. This was a reply to a text I sent earlier. Yoo Ji-won's transformation was truly bizarre and shocking.
To the point where it couldn't be dismissed as a simple ‘Rampage’. I searched the Hunter Association's internal network, but I couldn't find anything significant. In the first place, the report would have been written based on what Gu Geon-yi witnessed, so the information would be no different from what I have.
So, I needed another information network, one different from the Association's. A man whose identity is a Supervisor, but whose ‘true affiliation’ lies elsewhere.
Pyo Hyeok-gyu.
Since it's a group that knows I can absorb a Black Core, they might have information about Yoo Ji-won's transformation. I sent a short reply saying I understood and then opened the last message. I lightly pressed the delete button.
Failing the Hunter Qualification Test's written portion means there's a serious problem with your intelligence. With a score of 15, for the sake of humanity, it would be right to just give up on being a Hunter.
Deleted again.
The calls I'm waiting for don't come, and only things like spam keep arriving. And a moment later.
<1 new message> “Oh!”
Unlike the other messages, a cheer burst from my mouth. Because this notification was sent not to my phone, but to the V1. The successor to the shattered Exa.
Dr. Jin's weapon, made from ‘Pranium’, the hardest substance in the world, was finally complete.