《The Celestial Returned From Hell》


 Chapter 1

    chapter 1


    the abyss.


    it was a space of infinite chaos where numerous constellations and monsters lurked.


    the constellation, choi yeonseung, sighed as he looked at the fallen monsters.


    ¡°when will i be able to go back to earth...?¡±


    [org, the violent seven-headed dragon]


    [bolgan, the planet-eating bear]


    [adio, dimensional cave¡¯s master spider]


    these brutal and powerful monsters reigned like kings in their own territory in the abyss. even constellations were reluctant to deal with them.


    ¡®the time it took to kill these three... it was around 300 years?¡¯


    it would¡¯ve been easier to deal with them one by one. however, the other two rushed in as he was facing one of them, forcing him to fight all of them simultaneously.


    [you have made an achievement worthy of your name, ¡®incarnation of undefeated battles.¡¯ the world resonates.]


    [your power as a constellation has grown.]


    a message window from the world. this hunt was a success. he succeeded in increasing his power and strengthening his existence as a constellation. however, there were no longer any monsters around him to hunt now, and he had no idea how far he¡¯d have to travel to find his next opponent. the abyss was ignorantly wide.


    to make things worse, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know how to use spatial teleportation magic. all he could do was run and move, which came with various inconveniences, especially in this place. after all, the abyss¡¯ terrain would change whenever he blinked.


    ¡°master, if you get lost again...¡±


    ¡°odaigon. don¡¯t make such a hasty judgment.¡±


    the goblin odaigon looked worried. choi yeonseung was a young and powerful constellation, but he had no sense of direction. he had been lost so many times!


    -um. i think i¡¯ve seen that planet a couple times now.


    -isn¡¯t that because we¡¯ve been wandering around the same place, master?


    ¡°there must be a way back to earth somewhere. we should find it.¡±


    ¡°master. you¡¯re strong enough to set up a new kingdom... or in my kingdom¡ª¡±


    ¡°no. i have to go back to earth.¡±


    choi yeonseung met odaigon, the king of goblins and ruler of the goblin kingdom, while he was wandering through the abyss. choi yeonseung defeated the giant monster that had been threatening the goblin kingdom.


    thrilled, odaigon immediately swore allegiance to this young constellation who was overflowing with ambition. he even left his kingdom to his servant and chased after choi yeonseung alone! in his heart, he wanted to bring choi yeonseung to his kingdom. it didn¡¯t make sense for a great constellation to be wandering around the abyss like this.


    ¡°i respect you, master. you saved our kingdom.¡±


    ¡°it wasn¡¯t a big deal.¡±


    ¡°however, isn¡¯t my kingdom more developed than earth? we seem to serve you better than earth does as well, and yet...¡±


    ¡°who knows? your magic is definitely more advanced, but i¡¯m not sure about anything else.¡±


    choi yeonseung sat down and ripped off the meat of bolgan, the planet-eating bear. its muscles were harder than steel. chewing on them would likely give his teeth cavities.


    odaigon tried to melt the meat with a strong acid spell.


    ¡®meat, meat, meat, meat. the protein is good for my muscles, but i¡¯m a bit tired of eating meat all the time.¡¯


    the abyss didn¡¯t have a wide variety of dishes available. a variety of dishes. monster meat was the only thing he could enjoy endlessly here!l--b1n.


    ¡°master. these are special spices made by the chefs of my kingdom. please use them to season your food.¡±


    ¡°odaigon. i have the honor of a constellation. how can i take away what your servants have made for you?¡±


    ¡°ahh... master...¡±


    odaigon was moved. however, the real reason why choi yeonseung refused was because the goblins¡¯ dishes weren¡¯t delicious. he¡¯d prefer chewing raw meat than eating goblin food!


    ¡°master. if you go back to my kingdom, great chefs...¡± odaigon once again suggested to choi yeonseung.


    ¡°um. remember when i stayed there for around a week after killing the monster?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°that week was the most difficult and awkward week in my entire life.¡±


    ¡°... w-why?!¡±


    ¡°are you seriously asking me that?¡±


    choi yeonseung had spent tens of thousands of years in the abyss, but the goblin kingdom was still one of the most terrible places he had visited. goblin nobles would contact him with trembling hands to offer their sons and daughters. in respect of their sincerity, he managed to refuse them with a smile, albeit barely. otherwise, his fist would¡¯ve blown them away.


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t use dimensional pocket magic so he threw away most of his luggage. however, there were a few things he always carried with him.


    his orichalcum cutlery set(ingredients touched by it regained their freshness).


    an adamantium frying pan and cutting board(any ingredients can be placed on top of it).


    they were a chef¡¯s equipment! choi yeonseung had worked hard to make them, so he really cared about them.


    ¡°let¡¯s eat.¡±


    ¡°yes! thank you for the food!¡±


    delicious! the taste of the meat itself was delicious, but the rich magic power it contained made odaigon happier.


    odaigon was the king of the goblins and the most powerful goblin magician. for such a magician, meat with more magic power than a special magic power potion was a pure blessing.


    [you have eaten the ¡®constellation¡¯s improvised bear meat steak¡¯!]


    [the power of adamantium locks the meat¡¯s magic power inside it, preventing it from leaking out through the meat¡¯s juices.]


    [the butter made by an unidentified constellation has raised the meat to a higher level...]


    [your magic power is greatly restored!]


    ¡°ah... ahh... ahhhh!!¡±


    the goblin odaigon fell into a trance and screamed with joy. as a magician, the taste of this magic power was a pleasure he couldn¡¯t compare to anything else. meanwhile, choi yeonseung slowly backed away from him with a tired expression. as expected, goblins were a bit...


    ¡®i miss earth.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was a constellation. however, he wasn¡¯t born as one. in order to explain how choi yeonseung became a constellation, he had to go quite far back in the past.


    ***


    choi yeonseung had been obsessed with strength since he was young. he didn¡¯t know if it was because he was an orphan. every day, he thought he had to become stronger to defend himself.


    -choi yeonseung. why are you doing bench presses?


    -to become strong!


    -... that isn¡¯t what i am asking... isn¡¯t it korean language time right now?


    one day, as he was training himself through various sports and martial arts, dungeons appeared and a gate connected to the abyss opened on earth. monster cores and byproducts, artifacts from dungeons...


    all of them were priceless treasures.


    countless people entered the hunter profession to earn wealth and fame.


    choi yeonseung had nothing to lose and wouldn¡¯t have any regrets even if he died, so he became one of them. luckily, he was strong enough to become a c-grade hunter. c-grade likely seemed insignificant at first glance, but it was quite the opposite. many hunters had failed to rise from d or e-grade.


    while d or e-grade hunters could only play supporting roles and do chores, c-grade hunters and above could actively participate in monster hunts and dungeon attacks! only those ranked c-grade and above could earn large amounts of money.


    however, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t satisfied. he wanted to reach b-grade someday! only monsters could ascend to b-grade. after all, it was impossible to reach that rank unless they were lucky or gained a special talent. nevertheless, choi yeonseung was determined to reach that rank at all costs.


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t obsessed with money or fame. the only thing he was obsessed with was strength.


    ***


    ¡°yeonseung. let¡¯s take it easy. a dungeon with b-grade monsters is a bit over the top. even c-grade is already cutting it a bit close.¡±


    basically, c-grade hunters would have to form a party to attack a dungeon with c-grade monsters. even then, accidents still happened from time to time. although humans had learned skills, they were still fundamentally weak beings!


    ¡°don¡¯t we need to attack stronger dungeons to become stronger?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true, but... it¡¯s also dangerous. honestly, aren¡¯t we already making good money right now? last time, we reached our first ever monthly income of 100 million. i even got to buy an apartment because of that. isn¡¯t that enough? you also have a girlfriend.¡±


    ¡°we broke up.¡±


    ¡°...s-sorry.¡±


    the clan leader apologized with a bewildered voice. choi yeonseung was in a small but pretty good clan. it was thanks to the clan leader.


    ¡°why did you break up? you¡¯re not the problematic kind.¡±


    ¡°i told her that i had to train during our dates, so she told me to go and date a monster...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the clan leader covered his face. was he even human?! however, choi yeonseung had a clear conscience.


    ¡°i don¡¯t harbor any ill feelings toward her. we broke up nicely.¡±


    ¡°my heart hurts. can we stop talking about this?¡±


    the clan leader waved his hand.

 Chapter 2

    chapter 2


    ¡°while you don¡¯t have a girlfriend anymore, i still do. and i also have a family to feed. honestly, being a hunter probably sounds appealing, but aren¡¯t we really no different from a fly that doesn¡¯t know when it¡¯ll die? i¡¯m worried about who¡¯ll be responsible for my family if i die in a dungeon. we don¡¯t even have insurance.¡±


    the other members nodded in agreement with the clan leader.


    he was right.


    the hunters were seen as brave people that dared risk their lives to attack uncharted dungeons. in truth, however, hunters cared about their lives more than anyone else. no matter how much money and glamor they had, it would all be meaningless if they died.


    ¡°get another girlfriend, yeonseung. don¡¯t just focus on work.¡±


    ¡°i prefer training...¡±


    ¡°hey! listen to your hyung! take him away!¡±


    the clan members grabbed choi yeonseung¡¯s arms and dragged him away.


    choi yeonseung was the one who trained the most within the clan.


    eat, sleep, train, eat, sleep, train!


    while the other hunters played and rested upon getting paid, choi yeonseung was so focused on his training that he became ascetic. thanks to that, he managed to reach c+ grade, but...


    b-grade wasn¡¯t easy to attain. in terms of magic, b-grade would be in the same league as using 5th-circle magic. 5th circle magic and higher had enough power to eliminate monsters over a large area.


    it was like a dream for choi yeonseung, who still had to fight every monster with all his might.


    ***


    constellations were beings with god-like abilities and personalities. they appeared when the gates opened and dungeons were created.


    some lucky hunters had the honor of hearing their voices, receiving their revelations, and contracting with them. there was a rumor that one of the hunters achieved the great feat of meeting a constellation in person, but that hadn¡¯t been confirmed yet.


    aside from their names, which they were famous for, there was no other information about the constellations. the only way to know more about them was to enter a contract with one. however, that was harder than winning the lottery, considering they could only pray for one to speak to them.


    that was why choi yeonseung never thought he¡¯d be able to enter into a contract with a constellation during his days as a hunter. it was better to practice martial arts than to have such fanciful dreams. much to his surprise, however, he one day received a revelation from a constellation in his dream.


    -choi yeonseung-ssi. i am the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead.¡¯


    -!!!!


    -i know you¡¯re surprised, but we don¡¯t have that long. let me be upfront. i want you to enter into a contract with me.


    -okay.


    -that¡¯s a perfectly normal reaction. anyone is bound to have questions during their first encounter with a constellation¡ªwait a minute. did you just agree?


    -yes!


    -no... uh... aren¡¯t you going to ask why?


    -won¡¯t i gain power if i sign a contract with you?


    -t-that is true.


    -then that is all the reason i need.


    the goddess was taken aback. who was this human? the goddess coughed once and began to give an explanation anyway. she had prepared it in advance out of fear he¡¯d question her reasons.


    -you are aware of my title, aren¡¯t you? accordingly, one of my powers is the ability to predict the future.


    -i think i¡¯ve heard of it.


    -in a few years, earth will be in great danger.


    -you mean more monsters and dungeons?


    rather than answering him, the constellation showed a vision¡ªa terrible one.


    monsters they had never seen before poured out from the gate, and the dungeons left uncleared all over earth ripped apart, letting even more monsters leak out from them. among these monsters were household members sent by evil god constellations with wicked intentions.


    the vision essentially showed earth being destroyed.


    -thank you.


    using a powerful magic in exchange for an enormous amount of magic power, the goddess of balance who walks ahead created a gate and sent choi yeonseung to the abyss.


    ¡®i¡¯ve found the right person,¡¯ the goddess of balance thought to herself.


    having heard that most humans on earth were greedy and cunning, she grew worried he¡¯d turn down this offer. however, choi yeonseung accepted it without even thinking about it. he was worthy of becoming her household member! his personality was clearly the reason why the future chose him.


    ¡®pass this ordeal, choi yeonseung, and i will make you my household member.¡¯


    the goddess of balance saw the future through her blindfolded eyes. her power wasn¡¯t flawless, but the fragments of the future she saw everywhere caused her to be revered as a prophet. peeking at the future was something even the constellations of the abyss couldn¡¯t easily do. according to the future she saw, she¡¯d need to train choi yeonseung if she wanted him to thwart the invasion of the evil constellations.


    ¡®if i can make such a strong human being my household member... everything would be perfect.¡¯


    stop the evil constellations and increase her own power.


    the goddess of balance who walks ahead admired her own plan.


    ¡®did she really see the future correctly this time?¡¯ one of the angels next to the goddess wondered.


    ¡®if she makes another mistake...¡¯ another angel thought.


    the other constellations feared the goddess of balance due to her ability to see the future. however, she couldn''t really see it properly. she just saw fragments of the future and predicted the rest! since her predictions were based purely on her skills, the goddess of balance had already made countless mistakes.


    the angels couldn¡¯t help but be anxious.


    ***


    ¡°cough, cough, cough.¡±


    barely regaining his senses, hunter choi yeonseung stood up. the motion sickness from flying from earth to the abyss was no joke.


    ¡°is this the abyss?¡±


    he could deduce from the sensation on his skin that this wasn¡¯t earth. the magic power density in the air was different, and the sky wasn¡¯t blue. it was black and red. it was like being in a dungeon.


    ¡®scientists did say that the dungeons were fragments of the abyss.¡¯


    choi yeonseung looked around but found nothing around him.


    ¡°???¡±


    ¡®uh, is this the training ground?¡¯


    choi yeonseung thought about it for about five minutes, then gave up on looking for his way. he took a stance and started practicing his punching technique.


    if the angels saw him, they would¡¯ve hit their chest and shouted, ¡®no! find the training ground, idiot!¡¯


    choi yeonseung moved rapidly along with the sound of breaking through the air. choi yeonseung¡¯s skill was martial arts. it was an unusual choice, considering most hunters chose magic.


    in fact, there wasn¡¯t much of a reason behind it. he just found a martial art in the dungeon. no one was interested in it, so he obtained it. in addition, martial arts were cheap. hunters who used magic had to put in a lot of effort to learn one spell or get their hands on an artifact that contained new magic.


    the former took a long time to do and was unlikely to yield great results, and the latter was terribly expensive. the prices of 1st to 3rd-circle magic used by d and e-grade hunters already started from hundreds of millions of won, and 4th-circle magic was even more expensive. and the government managed them. in comparison, once he had mastered a martial art, he could continue using it without having to get new artifacts.


    ¡®there is a limit to what i can do, but...¡¯


    while others teleported, created ice storms, or summoned monsters, he fought alone in front of the monsters as a physical tanker. due to its obvious limitations, martial arts weren¡¯t popular.


    however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t care about that at all. it wasn¡¯t that he believed in martial arts. rather, he just wasn¡¯t the type to regret his decisions. in addition, martial arts had one advantage. it was straightforward. the more he trained, the more achievements he got. this was a very good fit for someone like choi yeonseung.


    ¡°huh?¡± choi yeonseung, who had been throwing punches for quite a while now, grew puzzled. he just saw something that looked like a storm descending from the dark red sky.


    what was that?


    ¡®ah. is this a trial prepared by the goddess?¡¯


    choi yeonseung took a stance. it seemed dangerous, but there had to be a reason why it was sent his way. after all, it was prepared by a constellation.


    when the storm swept through his location, the magic power it contained shattered an illusory magic, revealing a white tower approximately 10 meters in height right in front of choi yeonseung. it was the training ground the goddess had prepared. it was complete with food, clothing, shelter, and even toys.


    however, it was useless now. the storm had caused choi yeonseung to disappear without a trace!

 Chapter 3

    chapter 3


    ¡®why isn¡¯t he coming in?¡¯


    the goddess of balance was puzzled. she¡¯d feel choi yeonseung¡¯s presence if he entered the tower, but she couldn''t sense him at all.


    -adaquaniel, can you please go and check on him?


    -yes, master. as you wish.


    adaquaniel, an armed angel with beautiful wings, went to the tower at the command of her master. the goddess had ambitiously prepared the tower to be the perfect training ground, yet no one had entered.


    ¡®human. what are you thinking?¡¯


    the moment adaquaniel arrived, her expression turned cold and was filled with surprise. choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t there.


    -master... the human isn¡¯t here.


    -huh?


    -i will check the surroundings.


    upon examining the area, adaquaniel quickly understood the situation.


    -the abyss¡¯ magical storm seems to have swept the human away.


    the abyss wasn¡¯t like the universe. it was a chaotic dimension made of magic power. giant monsters that could threaten even constellations roamed around this realm, and it had magical storms that would sometimes sweep through its planets.


    -don¡¯t be ridiculous! there¡¯s no way a magical storm just descended into my realm.


    the goddess of balance was astonished. constellations had to maintain and govern their realm with their own power. how could a magical storm invade the land she ruled?


    -but master, traces of the magical storm still remain.


    -find him!


    -...huh?


    -adaquaniel, find that human!


    how could she find a human that had been swept away by a magical storm? the abyss was infinitely vast and had many areas even the constellations weren¡¯t aware of. however, adaquaniel was a loyal angel. she faithfully obeyed her master¡¯s orders.


    -as you wish.


    ***


    choi yeonseung had never been to the deep sea, but he thought this was how entering it would feel. he felt like intense pressure was crushing his entire body!


    ¡®breathe.¡¯


    choi yeonseung just breathed like a fish. that was all he could do in this situation.


    ¡®is this an ordeal?!¡¯


    in his mind, he still thought of this as one of the trials he had to pass to become the household member of a constellation. the magic storm was so strong and ferocious that choi yeonseung felt like it could tear him to death at any moment.


    choi yeonseung just inhaled and exhaled. every time he did, strong magic power would fill and leave his body.


    his origin of the celestial divine arts converted the magic power entering his body changed into internal energy, which then tempered his bones and muscles. just as how iron was tempered by fire, magic power tempered his physique. however, this process was insanely painful.


    [magic power is tempering your body.]


    [the strength of your bones has increased.]


    [your muscle density has increased.]


    [your dantian is expanding!]


    [your internal energy has increased.]


    [......]


    ¡®this is an ordeal, this is an ordeal...¡¯


    it was sheer luck that choi yeonseung didn¡¯t die. while it was certainly fortunate that he was safe, it wouldn¡¯t have been strange either if the storm tore him apart.


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t afraid, however. after all, in his mind, this was just an ordeal prepared by the goddess. thanks to that thought, he was able to relax and go with the flow. he even repeatedly slept and woke up in the storm.


    how many weeks was he trapped in that cycle? he had been in that storm for so long that he no longer even knew what he was doing. when the magical storm finally dissipated, choi yeonseung found himself in one of the abyss¡¯ realms that weren¡¯t ruled by any constellation.


    ***


    a giant, snake-like rock monster overturned the ground and wreaked havoc in all directions. its appearance overwhelmed choi yeonseung, especially since he had never seen it in earth¡¯s dungeons before.


    ¡®isn¡¯t this a-grade or higher?!¡¯


    being up against such a powerful beast, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the goddess had overvalued him. however, the rock snake was the only monster in this area.


    ¡°...sigh. alright, onix. i have time, so let¡¯s give this a try.¡±


    the giant rock snake just kept slithering on the ground, paying choi yeonseung no attention. just as humans how didn¡¯t care about bugs, the snake ignored him. that was only natural, though, considering he couldn¡¯t even scratch it no matter how hard he tried to hit it.


    ¡®then i¡¯ll just have to train until i can break through its scales!¡¯


    choi yeonseung grabbed a rock that had fallen from the rock snake¡¯s body and put it down. he would break this rock with his fist!


    ***


    origin of the celestial divine arts¡ªa d-rank skill.


    this was the name of the martial art that choi yeonseung had learned. contrary to its grandiose name, it really wasn¡¯t that popular. the martial art book had appeared at the auction house several times already, but only a few hunters actually bought it.


    the reason was simple.


    the rate at which it accumulated internal energy was too slow. similar to how magic power was the source of magicians'' strength, internal energy was the source of martial artists'' strength! the more internal energy a martial artist had, the higher their overall capabilities. with more internal energy, the same attack would become faster and stronger.


    however, the origin of the celestial divine arts accumulated internal energy so slowly that it was only natural for it not to be popular. moreover, its skill rank was low. choi yeonseung had several opportunities to change his martial art. with the money he had saved, he could just buy a new martial arts book.


    but he opted not to. choi yeonseung had taken a liking to the origin of the celestial divine arts. it was slow and unattractive, but it had a unique and honest charm. every time he swung his fist or took a step, he could feel his internal energy build up and become purer!


    the origin of the celestial divine arts was largely composed of four techniques.


    origin of the celestial fist, which launched a punch imbued with the internal energy of the origin of the celestial divine arts.


    origin of the celestial kick, which used the origin of the celestial divine arts¡¯ internal energy to extend the practitioner¡¯s kick.


    he learned a new martial art at the same time as he reached the first-class stage. he wouldn¡¯t abandon the origin of the celestial divine arts, but the dark snake fist was a fun martial art in its own right. unique movements that were different from humans!


    just then, he heard something. it had been a hundred years since he last heard it. it was the sound of an incoming magical storm.


    the rock snake twisted its body in fright. it knew that even the sturdiest monsters would die if they were swept away by this magical storm. however, choi yeonseung thought differently. ¡°ah. it is ending this ordeal and sending me to the next one.¡±


    -???


    ¡°let¡¯s go, onix.¡±


    -??????


    ¡°let¡¯s go! quickly!¡±


    -kkiing... kkiiiing...


    the rock snake howled and rushed into the magical storm. it was half desperate.


    ***


    by the time they reached the next realm, the rock snake was trembling from exhaustion.


    ¡°is this how everyone moves around in the abyss? it¡¯s amazing.¡±


    -kkiiiing!


    the magical storm was a disaster, not a means of transportation. the rock snake screamed to knock some sense into this madman. however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t understand it.


    ¡®the magical storm is amazing. once i enter, magic power fills my entire body, eliminating fatigue and tempering my body.¡¯


    now that he had reached first-class, he realized how great the magical storm was as a great recovery device. was this the power of the goddess?!


    ¡®constellations are really amazing... they can even conjure something like this as they please.¡¯


    in truth, the magical storm was just a huge stroke of luck.


    immersed in the magical storm, choi yeonseung¡¯s muscles and bones were tempered above all else. the limit of his dantian, which contained his internal energy, had also been expanded. he was reborn with the most perfect body to learn martial arts! considering he had gone through this twice already, it wouldn''t be an exaggeration to say that choi yeonseung now had the body of a god.


    ¡°is this training in water?¡±


    looking around, he found nothing but water. apart from this small island he landed on, he could only see the sea. naval combat. this would also be good training.


    ¡°onix. stay back.¡±


    -kkiing?


    ¡°you are a stone type, so you must be weak to water.¡±


    -...kkiiing?


    what was this nonsense?


    however, choi yeonseung had already left the giant rock snake behind and jumped into the sea.


    ¡®cough!¡±


    [extremely toxic water has entered your body!]


    [your origin of the celestial divine arts¡¯ internal energy is quickly being consumed!]


    [your life will be in danger if all your internal energy is consumed.]


    [you have been poisoned.]


    [your poison resistance has increased.]


    ¡°gasp, gasp!¡±


    choi yeonseung got out of the water right away. if it wasn¡¯t for his internal energy, he would¡¯ve died immediately.


    ¡°this is the sea of the abyss...!¡±


    he would be gravely injured if he just treated it like earth¡¯s seas.


    ¡®i saw something sparkling down there when i entered. is that the goal the goddess is giving me?¡¯


    it wasn¡¯t.


    ¡®i¡¯m not sure how to break through this poisonous sea, but there has to be a way, considering the goddess of balance sent me here.¡¯


    that wasn¡¯t the case.


    ¡°that¡¯s right. i should build up my internal energy until i can withstand the poison. that¡¯s the only way i can think of.¡±


    this was correct. it took him a very long time, though.


    ***


    it took 200 years.


    choi yeonseung was worried about earth. becoming stronger was great and all, but was it really okay for him to take this long? abyss¡¯ time flowed differently compared to earth¡¯s, but...


    ¡®sigh. this isn¡¯t the time to worry about that.¡¯


    -kkiing kkiing.


    having stayed at the poisonous sea for 200 years, choi yeonseung had developed a new hobby.


    cooking. he tried to catch the monsters he saw in the poisonous sea and bring them out to be cooked. magic power kept him well-fed, but he still wanted to eat something!


    ¡°......¡±


    -......


    however, the fish monsters he caught were extremely poisonous. they melted his metal knife and the cutting board he made out of polished stones.


    ¡°... should i just tear them apart and eat them as sashimi?¡±


    -kkiiiiing!


    he didn¡¯t know why, but the rock snake stopped him. the rock snake wriggled and spat something out of its mouth. it was a deep-colored ore that seemed to absorb light.


    adamantium.

 Chapter 4

    chapter 4


    surprisingly, the adamantium didn¡¯t melt when the poisonous fish were placed on it. it was too small to be used as a cutting board, but...


    ¡°i see! i can collect these things and use them as a cutting board!¡±


    -kkiing! kkiing...?


    the rock snake nodded but soon realized something was wrong. making a cutting board out of adamantium, an ore that all rock monsters treasured?


    -kkiing, kkiing!


    the rock snake shook its head urgently, but choi yeonseung had already decided.


    ¡°okay. i¡¯m going to make a chef¡¯s set while i¡¯m training in the abyss. i can do that.¡±


    he remembered what his clan leader once said.


    -yeonseung, a person must have a hobby, a hobby!


    ¡®that¡¯s right. is this the joy of having a hobby...?¡¯


    it was a bit different from what his clan leader said, though!


    a fresh wind blew in choi yeonseung¡¯s heart, which had previously only been filled with training. however, he was still a novice cook. deciding to learn how to cook wouldn¡¯t suddenly improve his skills.


    ¡°um. there is no way for me to cook it. i¡¯ll just tear it apart and eat it raw.¡±


    -......


    fortunately, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t picky. he endured an ascetic diet even when he was on earth.


    -what are you eating today, yeonseung?


    -i¡¯m having grilled chicken breast, chicken breast slushy made with ground chicken breast, and chicken breast dessert made with ground chicken breast.


    -w-we bought and ate food outside.


    -is that so? then i¡¯ll eat them by myself.


    for choi yeonseung, eating was all about replenishing nutrients and becoming stronger! such a person wouldn¡¯t be picky about the little details!


    [you have ingested poison.]


    [you have succeeded in driving out the poison with the origin of the celestial divine arts¡¯ internal energy.]


    [your internal energy has increased very slightly.]


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised. not only was there a thrilling taste on his tongue, but his internal increased as well. it was a type of poisonous energy. he could change it to internal as long as he wasn¡¯t poisoned.


    ¡®if these fish could be found on earth, they¡¯d all be eaten since they¡¯re a good source of energy.¡¯


    squeeze!


    choi yeonseung clenched his fists.


    he was going to eat all of the monsters here!


    ***


    hundreds of years passed again.


    [the poison of the abyss has spread through your body!]


    [you have succeeded in driving out the poison with the origin of the celestial divine arts¡¯ internal energy.]


    [your poison resistance has reached its limit.]


    [you have reached the stage of ¡®immunity to ten thousand poisons.¡¯]


    [you have gained the a-rank skill ¡®immunity to ten thousand poisons.¡¯]


    [poison no longer affects you.]


    [you can now extract poison from your dantian and use it.]


    [the stage of your origin of the celestial divine arts has risen.]


    [it has reached the peak-class stage.]


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung was in the middle of eating fish when messages about the origin of the celestial divine arts shocked him.


    an a-rank skill, immunity to ten thousand poisons! among the hunters, those with poison resistance or poison healing magic were popular since they could play a great role in poisonous dungeons. even for hunters, poison was scary. however, choi yeonseung¡¯s new skill didn¡¯t just give him resistance to poison. it gave him complete immunity to it!


    ¡®i never thought i would get immunity to ten thousand poisons.¡¯


    it was a ridiculously good a-rank skill. reaching the peak stage made him even happier. this was his lifelong dream. choi yeonseung could now proudly say he was one of the world¡¯s leading a-grade hunters. it was hunters at a level designated and managed by each country as a strategic weapon!


    of course, this was after returning to earth.


    b-grade hunters with first-class martial arts would need to forcibly squeeze out internal energy to use sword energy. however, a-grade hunters¡ªwho had peak-class martial arts¡ªcould freely wield it.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s martial arts had reached peak-class. he could now easily manipulate fist energy.


    choi yeonseung blocked his opponent¡¯s bone sword with a fist imbued with fist energy, then struck him using origin of the celestial kick. choi yeonseung¡¯s kick was so fast that it left behind afterimages.


    a sound similar to a drum bursting echoed, and the kind-looking demon uncle coughed up blood.


    ¡°cough!¡±


    ¡°come on, demons! i¡¯m here to pass the test!¡±


    ¡°what test?¡±


    "kuahaha! yes! this test is necessary to enter master¡¯s eyes! this human is pretty good!¡± one of the demons laughed boisterously. he looked down on the human since he looked weak, but he was actually quite strong. he came to pass the test to enter the eyes of the ruler of blood and brawls!


    ¡°kill him!¡±


    ¡°kuaaaaak! kyaaaack!¡±


    the demons nearby shouted and showed their true nature. the merchant who was setting up a stall threw the stall away and bit the neck of a nearby demon, while the demon hound that the demon uncle was carrying trampled over its owner and let out a long roar.


    a brawl had begun!


    choi yeonseung landed a knifehand strike on an incoming demon¡¯s throat, sending it flying to an approaching group. he then used the origin of the celestial finger to fire internal energy bullets! his fingers unleashed projectiles that pierced through the demons¡¯ knees.


    ¡®this place is way too open!¡¯


    realizing that he was standing in an open area, choi yeonseung ran quickly. he had to narrow the range he had to cover.


    choi yeonseung entered a building, finding a kitchen and dining tables. it seemed even kingdoms of demons had infrastructures.


    ¡®is it a restaurant?¡¯


    in the midst of all this chaos, he wondered if there was something to eat here. he felt as if he had been starving for a long time.


    ¡°welcome, customer!¡± a demon chef greeted him kindly, then threw a pot and a knife. unidentified poison bubbled in the pot.


    ¡°how about a bowl of poisonous soup?!¡±


    ¡°thank you so much!¡±


    choi yeonseung had immunity to ten thousand poisons. hence, despite feeling poison energy from it, he still approached the pot. he swung his hand and sucked in the poison, changing its energy to internal energy in his dantian. only those with immunity to ten thousand poisons could perform such a trick!


    ¡°!!!¡±


    while the demon chef was shocked, choi yeonseung caught the incoming knife and threw it back. he then smashed the chef¡¯s head.


    ¡°here¡¯s a tip!¡±


    the demons belatedly ran in after seeing choi yeonseung enter the restaurant. a scuffle broke out in the small dining area. choi yeonseung kicked up a table to make a wall, then lifted a chair and poured a lot of internal energy into it. the ordinary bone chair glowed white, making it look like a peerless weapon.


    ¡°this human!¡± a demon charged at him and thrust its spear toward him.


    choi yeonseung spun the chair around, deflecting the demon¡¯s spear away. he then rushed in.


    ¡°u-uh...!¡±


    surprisingly, the chair proved to be a perfect weapon for offense and defense. from his opponent¡¯s perspective, it was hard to find an opening they could hit him from. choi yeonseung blocked the spear with the chair again and pushed the demon into a wall. the moment it left an opening, he used the origin of the celestial fist to stop its breathing.


    numerous attacks then came from all sides. choi yeonseung retreated against the wall to minimize the area he had to cover. he then frantically swung the chair to deflect the attacks.


    [by using a chair as a weapon, you have learned the martial art ''chair form first''!]


    chair form fist, a b+ rank skill.


    amid this battle for survival, he achieved enlightenment! despite being in the middle of such a desperate fight, choi yeonseung continued to grow.


    with one hand, he swung the chair to block his opponents¡¯ attacks. with the other, he attacked them ceaselessly using origin of the celestial fist and origin of the celestial finger.


    blood splattered and screams rang out. one by one, the demons fell.


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know how many hours had passed, but he emerged as the last being standing in the restaurant.


    choi yeonseung sighed deeply. how many more times did he have to fight like this?


    ¡°oh? isn¡¯t this adamantium?¡±


    since his senses had become extremely sensitive, choi yeonseung could now sense an adamantium mixed in the pot.


    ¡°ah... no... i could barely get that...¡±


    the demon chef, who had just gotten resurrected, tried to kill choi yeonseung again. even if his body was broken, the ruler of blood and brawls could just bring him back to life. however, it would be impossible to recover the pot with a bit of adamantium if it was taken away!


    ¡°shut up.¡±


    choi yeonseung kicked the chef and took back the pot. as the winner, he naturally had the right to the spoils of war.


    ¡®i¡¯ve made up my mind.¡¯


    choi yeonseung decided, having taken a look around the demon restaurant. he would fight here in the future!

 Chapter 5

    chapter 5


    the demon restaurant could serve as a decent fortress. it had a narrow entrance and a lot of furniture he could use in combat. this was a good place for choi yeonseung. if he fought on a wide plains area, he would have to fight against demons coming from above, below, and all other directions.


    the demons could spit or shoot beams from their eyes and fire concealed steel weapons from their tails. choi yeonseung only had his hands, feet, and body.


    at the very least, he should obtain the geographical advantage!


    ¡°yes. from now on, this is... the demon¡¯s inn.¡±


    choi yeonseung recalled the martial arts novel he had read when he was bored during his hunter days. in the martial arts novel, a retired master bought a guest inn and operated it stylishly.


    ... even if he couldn¡¯t run it nicely, this restaurant¡ªno, this inn was his!


    ¡®hmm. i wonder if the novels i was reading will already be finished by the time i return to earth.¡¯


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t have any hobbies, but he still followed novels, manhwa, and movies. he didn¡¯t know how many years would¡¯ve passed by the time he returned. however, it would probably make him quite happy if he could look at everything he had put off at once, even though it was such a small thing.


    ¡®hrmm. considering how long i''ve been here, lee yeongdo should¡¯ve started his next work, right? how many volumes of legendary moonlight sculptor would¡¯ve been released? i hope it reaches 20 volumes. i can binge it. am i being too greedy?¡¯


    ¡°my... this is my restaurant...¡±


    ¡°yes. get out.¡±


    choi yeonseung kicked out all the demons, including the half-revived ones and those yet to be revived.


    "hrmm..."


    after tidying things up a bit, choi yeonseung glanced around the kitchen. it had unidentified ingredients and tools. nevertheless, a kitchen was a kitchen!


    choi yeonseung once again recalled his clan leader¡¯s words.


    -yeonseung! a person must have a hobby, a hobby!


    ¡°well, there¡¯s that.¡±


    for a while, he had forgotten his determination to cook, but that idea resurfaced when he saw this kitchen. choi yeonseung reached out with the intention of figuring out the ingredients first.


    [poison has been consumed. internal energy...]


    ¡°umm. this is poisonous. what about this...¡±


    [poison has been consumed. internal energy...]


    ¡°... this is...¡±


    [poison has been consumed...]


    ¡°are there only poison here?¡±


    what kind of restaurant was this? however, he realized this was only natural after giving it some thought. humans couldn¡¯t possibly eat the dishes served in a demon¡¯s restaurant.


    choi yeonseung sighed and ate the unidentified red meat, blue mushrooms, green fish, and purple vegetables. since they were all poisonous, his internal energy kept increasing.


    after finishing the ingredient checks, he felt fortunate for having immunity to ten thousand poisons.


    ¡®um... they¡¯re all poisonous.¡¯


    choi yeonseung gave up and was about to eat them raw to increase his internal energy but abruptly stopped. now that he thought about it, he didn¡¯t mind eating poison. if so, wouldn¡¯t that make poison an ingredient as well?


    ¡®i can cook and eat them!¡¯


    it was perfect logic!


    from then on, choi yeonseung fought off the invading demons during the day. he would then study cooking at night to find out what could be eaten in the abyss! at this time, he didn¡¯t know he would stay here for over a thousand years.


    ***


    ¡°give me back my restaurant, human bastard!¡±


    ¡°this is the demon''s inn now. get lost!¡±


    the grudge of the demon chef, who lost his restaurant and pot that had adamantium in it, was terrifying. no matter how many times he was killed, he never gave up. he just kept charging forward. the demon chef attacked choi yeonseung with a knife in each hand. in retaliation, choi yeonseung struck the demon¡¯s chef weapons to deflect them away. he then used origin of the celestial fist.


    ¡°this... this is making me furious! why won¡¯t my kitchen knives reach you?!¡±


    [through numerous battles, the a-rank skill ¡®unity of body and fist¡¯ has been acquired.]


    [you have become more accustomed to the origin of the celestial divine arts.]


    [your internal energy circulation has become faster.]


    [......]


    unity of body and fist, an a-rank skill! it was a skill that perfectly harmonized its practitioner¡¯s mind and body, causing their movements to become tens of times faster! all martial artists coveted this skill.


    ¡®i¡¯ve been wondering how to get it, but it could be learned through training all this time?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was puzzled.


    spin.


    this was the power of covert attack reversal! despite his opponent having turned into a giant, choi yeonseung could still stupidly spin him in the air and throw him away.


    thump!


    the demon¡¯s own strength struck him, and his gigantic body crushed all the remaining demons. upon confirming that the battle was over, he brushed his hands off.


    ¡°i¡¯ll always accept a fight for as long as you bring something like these with you.¡±


    he picked up the adamantium piece and the meat and went inside. the eyes of the fallen demons burned.


    ¡®just you wait, human bastard!¡¯


    ***


    realizing they couldn¡¯t win in a melee battle, the demons changed their methods. the moment choi yeonseung came out, they started casting magic at random. of course, choi yeonseung protected himself with internal energy and moved quickly to attack the demons.


    magic was basically slower than martial arts. they had to be cast, aimed, then fired. with the speed of a martial arts user, it was possible to pierce them in an instant amid such a long preparation.


    [you have succeeded in stopping the attack with the the origin of the celestial divine arts'' internal energy!]


    [having withstood the attack of a demon, your body''s strength has increased further.]


    [you have reached the state of impenetrability. the a-rank skill ''impenetrable skin'' has been acquired..]


    ¡°!¡±


    impenetrable skin!


    this was also one of the skills close-quarters combatants wanted. it made his flesh and muscles harder than steel, blocking all attacks. it didn¡¯t make him invincible, but the level of defense it gave was still a blessing. lots of hunters had died from sudden attacks by monsters.


    ¡°human! please die!¡±


    ¡°you definitely got hit by magic! how are you still standing?¡±


    with his melee combat and evasion already at maximum level, the demons couldn¡¯t help but shed tears when they saw him gain a defense skill as well. they couldn¡¯t win! even after nearly a few hundred years, this guy just kept growing stronger and widening the gap between them.


    ¡°that¡¯s all for today¡¯s fight. go home, everyone.¡±


    choi yeonseung was now fully at ease. the demons¡¯ desperate attacks made choi yeonseung faster and stronger until they no longer stood a chance against him.


    ¡°boo! we haven¡¯t fought yet!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll give you a numbered ticket. if you come tomorrow, i¡¯ll let you fight first.¡±


    ¡°ohh! humans are nice. gar will be the first to fight!¡±


    he was so relaxed that he even became close to the demons!


    ***


    ¡®i just remembered i have my hunter card with me.¡¯


    upon registering with the association, one would receive a hunter card that showed the hunter¡¯s skills of the hunter whenever they injected their power into it. its function was simple, but it was one of the hunters¡¯ favorite items. he had forgotten about it. after so long, he decided to check it out. choi yeonseung took out an old card from his wallet and poured internal energy into it.


    name: choi yeonseung


    hunter rank: c+


    aptitude: martial artist


    stage: peak-class


    skills possessed:


    a-rank origin of the celestial divine arts.


    a-rank immunity to ten thousand poisons.


    a-rank unity of body and fist.


    a-rank covert attack reversal.


    a-rank impenetrable skin.


    a-rank three flowers gathering.


    a-rank heavenly martial physique.


    a-rank state of perfection.


    ?-rank resonance from the world.


    ¡°!!!¡±


    he had more skills than he could¡¯ve ever imagined.

 Chapter 6

    chapter 6


    he couldn¡¯t believe that all of his skills were ranked a or higher. it was an incredible start.


    ¡®why did origin of the celestial divine arts become a-rank?¡¯


    the origin of the celestial divine arts was clearly a d-rank martial arts skill when choi yeonseung learned it. the rank of any skill would increase depending on the user¡¯s proficiency. still, it was the first time he had ever seen a d-rank skill become an a-rank. he had been training for this for so long!


    ¡®i¡¯ve been training a lot, but i didn¡¯t expect this would happen.¡¯


    immunity to ten thousand poisons was a skill that made him resistant to all poisons and allowed him to absorb them.


    unity of body and fist was a skill that made his reaction speed tens of times faster.


    covert attack reversal was a skill that allowed him to receive and return attacks dozens of times stronger.


    impenetrable skin was a skill that maximized his defense.


    except for those, the rest were skills choi yeonseung didn¡¯t even know he had.


    [three flowers gathering]


    [rank: a


    you have extremely pure internal energy. three flowers will appear as an illusion when regulating your flow of energy through breathing.]


    three flowers gathering! he had heard about it on earth. this skill could only be obtained if one had extremely pure internal energy. the user¡¯s amount of magic power and internal energy was also essential, but their purity was far more important. if one¡¯s magic power was turbid or had poor quality, it would lead to the skill failing or losing power.


    ¡®under normal circumstances, only people who have mastered rare magic or martial arts can obtain this skill...¡¯


    the three flowers gathering could only be gained by hunters who had mastered unique a-rank martial arts, such as purple clouds divine arts or supreme divine arts. origin of the celestial divine arts was a supreme martial art in name, but it was only ranked d due to how slow and sluggish it was.


    ¡®so three flowers gathering could be obtained through origin of the celestial divine arts?¡¯


    what choi yeonseung didn''t know was that while origin of the celestial divine arts was slow and sluggish, it built up purer internal energy for him than any other martial arts. and he had been learning and mastering it for nearly a thousand years. none of earth¡¯s martial artists had ever dedicated so much of their time to practicing a martial art.


    choi yeonseung learned only the purest martial arts, made no compromises, and righteously walked the path of martial arts. as a result, he reached a realm that no other martial artists on earth could. choi yeonseung was faithfully realizing the true meaning of martial arts more than anyone else.


    [heavenly martial physique]


    [rank: a


    you have been blessed with a body that''s perfect for learning martial arts.]


    heavenly martial physique. it served as proof that one''s body was blessed, making it one of the skills that martial arts users dreamed of. it couldn¡¯t be earned through effort, however. they were either born with it or they weren¡¯t.


    a body born for martial arts! if two people were to exert the same amount of effort, those with heavenly martial physique would display overwhelmingly better results. that was why martial arts users shouted, ¡®¡¯you truly have a heavenly martial physique!¡¯


    ¡®this is due to the magical storm.¡¯


    choi yeonseung knew his body used to be far from being a blessing. the only reason why his body turned into one was because of the magical storm.


    ¡®the goddess¡¯ preparations are amazing...¡¯


    [state of perfection]


    [rank: a


    [through numerous battles, your realization of martial arts has reached perfection. you can execute martial arts perfectly, even if you''ve only seen it once.]


    on the other hand, state of perfection was a skill he had never seen before, but he knew right away that it was a powerful skill.


    ¡®it¡¯s rare for martial artists to use a variety of martial arts since one is already hard enough to learn. but if i have this skill...¡¯


    it would be possible to use various martial arts according to the situation, just like magicians. the last skill was resonance from the world. this was the first time he had ever heard of such a skill. he couldn¡¯t even fathom what it was.


    ¡®what?¡¯


    [resonance from the world]


    [the world resonates with you as you get closer to the extremes of your existence.]


    ¡°...???¡±


    unlike the others, its description didn¡¯t help him understand what type of skill it was.


    ¡®is the hunter card broken? no, the hunter card¡¯s never made a mistake.¡¯


    the extremes of his existence? the world resonated with him?


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t aware that he had taken his first step toward becoming a constellation. upon reaching their limit and carving their name in history, beings would awaken as a constellation.


    the first human constellation. earth would shake if people knew this.


    nevertheless, choi yeonseung resumed silently practicing his punches again on the outskirts of the abyss.


    ***


    choi yeonseung had a knack for living a regular life. he lived so routinely that others clicked their tongues at him even on earth.


    -c-choi yeonseung-ssi. do you have time today?


    -i¡¯m sorry. i have an appointment today.


    -w-why? did something happen?


    -today... is deadlift day.


    ¡®my growth has stagnated.¡¯


    every time he used origin of the celestial fist before, he felt his internal energy increase a bit. however, that feeling had disappeared since his dantian was already full.


    ¡®am i stuck at the peak-class stage?¡¯


    one¡¯s martial arts would stop growing if they couldn¡¯t get it past its current stage. choi yeonseung was currently at the peak-class stage. among the hunters, nobody had ever managed to go beyond that.


    ¡®when i left, no martial artist has reached a higher stage than my current one yet. in other words... i¡¯ve got no one to refer to.¡¯


    since he lacked any references, choi yeonseung had to break through this wall and grow all by himself.


    ¡®to become stronger, i have to fight a stronger enemy!¡¯


    ¡°is the owner of this place here?¡±


    amid his contemplation, he heard the voice of a demon coming from outside. choi yeonseung opened the door and came out.


    ¡°are you here to eat? that¡¯s great. good meat just came in today. have a seat. i¡¯ll make you a rice bowl... but without the rice.¡±


    ¡°um. let¡¯s eat.¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    choi yeonseung was shocked when the demon entered the inn.


    ¡®strong!¡¯


    when he analyzed his opponent, he felt how powerful the demon was. it was stronger than him! this demon had trained to his limits and had such powerful magic power. it made him feel how great the demon race truly was.


    thump!


    ¡°i heard that the owner here collects rare minerals.¡±


    ¡°oh...!¡±


    the demon brought out a heavy adamantium ingot. its beautiful brilliance amazed choi yeonseung. he had never seen anything so big before!


    ¡°would you like one more bowl?¡±


    it had been so long since he left earth, but choi yeonseung did use to live in a capitalist society! he couldn¡¯t help but be shaken by money.


    ¡°no. one bowl is enough. it was delicious. from what i¡¯ve heard, you¡¯re from the human race. is that true?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°human. i am the glorious barigos, the ruler of blood and brawls¡¯ first household member and wielder of the axe of blood.¡±


    the other party made such a long introduction that choi yeonseung felt he had to say something as well.


    ¡°...i am choi yeonseung of the gyeongju choi family...¡±


    ¡°i came here to tell you about my master¡¯s proposal.¡±


    ¡°proposal?¡±


    ¡°it is a glorious offer to join my master¡¯s household.¡±


    barigos naturally thought that choi yeonseung would accept it. even outsiders wouldn¡¯t be crazy enough to refuse the offer of a constellation. no one, no matter how crazy, would refuse a constellation in the abyss.


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry. i refuse.¡±


    ¡°...!!!!¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s answer left barigos feeling surprised for the first time since he was born. in an instant, the air became heavy due to the sense of intimidation that barigos exuded.


    ¡°you dare reject my master¡¯s offer?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    choi yeonseung awakened the internal energy throughout his entire body. soon, he trembled.


    was it due to fear? apprehension? no, those weren¡¯t the reasons. he was simply far too happy to finally meet an enemy strong enough to make him confidently assume their battle would make him stronger!


    ¡®i want to fight!¡¯


    upon realizing that choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t afraid of him and was ready to fight, barigos asked a question.


    ¡°i don¡¯t understand. your talent is worthy to serve my master. why did you refuse his proposal??¡±


    ¡°i have a prior arrangement.¡±


    ¡°a prior arrangement? do you mean that a constellation has already made you their household member?¡±


    barigos was surprised. he couldn¡¯t feel the energy of a constellation from choi yeonseung.


    ¡°not yet, but a constellation did promise to turn me into a household member if i pass an ordeal.¡±


    ¡°...????¡±


    barigos was puzzled.


    what was this? among the constellations, nobody offered such strange conditions.


    ¡°... have you been deceived?¡±

 Chapter 7

    chapter 7


    choi yeonseung looked displeased.


    ¡°demon. if it¡¯s a fight you want, then come at me. why spout useless nonsense?¡±


    ¡°no... listen carefully. something¡¯s strange with what you just said.¡±


    if a being were turned into a constellation¡¯s household member, that was because the constellation coveted them. in that sense, no constellation would ever make insignificant beings their household members. constellations would have to enter into a contract with such coveted beings immediately. otherwise, others could snatch them away. if they didn¡¯t have a contract, such beings should at the very least be trained within their realm.


    no constellation was crazy enough to train someone they wanted to turn into a household member by sending them to another constellation¡¯s realm. if their prospect got usurped by another, they would be ridiculed in the abyss for their stupidity for around ten thousand years.


    a constellation was a godlike being, but many of them resided in the abyss. they had to immediately turn useful beings into household members before others could take such creatures away.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s expression changed strangely upon hearing barigos¡¯ lecture about the abyss.


    it was burning logic.


    ¡°no! you¡¯re missing one thing, barigos.¡±


    ¡°and what would that be?¡±


    ¡°the constellation i made an agreement with has the ability to see the future. i¡¯m sure she chose this unusual method because of the future she saw.¡±


    ¡°being able to see the future is a special and rare ability in the abyss, but... it can never be flawless, human. it doesn¡¯t guarantee anything. what type of courage does she have to send a potential household member out of her realm?¡±


    barigos was unknowingly treating the goddess of balance who walks ahead as an idiot.


    a stupid constellation that was second to none in the abyss!


    ¡°barigos. my constellation is greater than you think. it¡¯s true that i¡¯m training outside her realm, but this is all a part of her calculations.¡±


    ¡°calculations... all of this? how?¡±


    that could be possible in the constellation¡¯s own realm but in another¡¯s? that was absolutely ridiculous.


    choi yeonseung looked at barigos and confidently told him of the goddess of balance¡¯s greatness


    from the previous ordeal to the next one. he explained how this was all prepared in detail. he even included her incredible ability to manipulate magical storms!


    however, barigos was becoming more and more perplexed. ¡°that... doesn¡¯t make sense...?¡±


    ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°the abyss¡¯ magical storms are uncontrollable. not even constellations can control those dangerous and violent disasters...¡±


    ¡°...maybe a constellation can manipulate it.¡±


    ¡°if they could, they would¡¯ve already been dominating the abyss. you... did you perhaps...?¡±


    barigos had a thought.


    ¡°did you just get caught up in a magical storm and thought your constellation was sending you to places?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ***


    most people cursed when they had nothing to say. choi yeonseung was different. in such situations, he would raise his fists.


    ¡°human. it is never too late...¡±


    ¡°be quiet.¡±


    origin of the celestial divine arts spread out from his dantian and conjured powerful energy. choi yeonseung was feeling very complicated right now. he had been training for thousands of years!


    ¡®sigh...¡¯


    he felt very, very, very bitter. he tried to deny it, but he sensed barigos wasn¡¯t lying. and now that he thought about it, the constellation was too quiet! even if she put him in a training center, it was still only proper for her to contact him every now and then. the most embarrassing thing was that he only realized it thousands of years later.


    on the other hand, martial arts could only draw power from within oneself. due to the limitations such a condition posed, it was rare for races to use martial arts in the abyss but seeing choi yeonseung now, barigos seemed to realize what martial arts were made for.


    barigos remembered the origin of the martial arts that he had heard about somewhere.


    ¡®skills created by slaves who rebelled against the constellations...¡¯


    there once was a rebellion in the territory of a constellation, but it would¡¯ve been suicidal to attack the constellation that ruled the realm with magic. hence, the slaves created martial arts. the ability to draw power from within oneself, not from the outside world!


    if choi yeonseung was a magic user, then he wouldn¡¯t have been able to use magic properly against barigos. after all, this was the ruler of blood and brawls¡¯ realm. he likely wouldn¡¯t even have been able to weave magic power properly. however, despite being alone, choi yeonseung was shining brightly.


    such was the beauty of martial arts. its splendor seemed to swallow the world rather than letting the world swallow it up!


    ¡°it is indeed brilliant. however... i am barigos, the being my master has entrusted the axe of blood with!¡±


    barigos summoned the axe and started to weave magic. it wasn¡¯t the same wide-ranged magic as before.


    ¡®enhancement magic!¡¯


    choi yeonseung realized what barigos was using. he was casting and covering himself up with enhancement magic. it was often thought that magicians only participated in ranged combat, but many magic users actually fought in close-quarters combat.


    the magical world was infinite and had a variety of melee magic. enhancing strength, agility, sharpness, defense, granting attributes, etc. those spells made martial artists complain whenever they came across such a foe!


    -shouldn¡¯t they at least not be able to engage in melee combat? magic can do everything!


    ¡°let us resume our battle, human.¡± barigos spoke in a heavy voice. his entire body was releasing red steam. the amount of magic power surrounding him was so enormous that its rise became visible to the naked eye.


    choi yeonseung raised his fists. barigos was a respectable opponent. ¡°come.¡±


    ***


    barigos was fast and strong. every time he swung his axe, he smashed nearby mountains and overturned the earth. and each time, choi yeonseung would respond by moving in all directions, evading and brushing off the impact. nevertheless, barigos didn¡¯t stop despite his constant misses. he continued to attack without even stopping for a breather. it felt like fighting a giant who was destroying the world.


    all the demons nearby had long since fled. choi yeonseung faced barigos alone in the vast demon wasteland, but...


    he was in his most brilliant state in recent years.


    fighting against a strong enemy! he felt himself becoming stronger every time he endured an attack.


    ¡®the problem is my offensive power.¡¯


    he dodged most of barigos¡¯ attacks and sometimes even used covert attack reversal to return the attacks to him and shock him. however, barigos quickly recovered.


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t win just by dodging. he had to damage his opponent. it was just that his fist energy couldn¡¯t break through the dozens of layers of defensive magic barigos had covered himself with.


    ¡®become stronger!¡¯


    fist energy was the accumulation of internal energy. if it still couldn¡¯t pierce through, then he had to make it stronger. but how?


    ¡¯gathering internal energy to one point creates fist energy. i just need to do the same with fist energy to create even stronger fist energy.¡¯


    fist energy to concentrated fist energy. that was the answer.


    choi yeonseung had been thinking about ways to improve fist energy ever since he learned how to freely handle it. and the answer he came up with was creating concentrated fist energy made by compressing fist energy! earth¡¯s martial artists had theorized about this form of fist energy a few times before.


    -can¡¯t you make concentrated sword energy through sword energy?


    however, the concentrated energy proved unreliable. li yuyuan, earth¡¯s strongest martial artist, could only maintain it for a short period of time. in such a state, using it wasn¡¯t practical. sword energy itself was a skill that could only be used. only through utmost concentration and the maximization of internal energy could sword energy be used.


    that was why martial artists used sword energy sparingly when fighting monsters. using too much of it would exhaust them. they saved their sword energy for critical moments! concentrated sword energy, the stronger version of sword energy, was far beyond their reach.


    ¡®still, i think i can do it.¡¯


    choi yeonseung¡¯s internal energy had long exceeded the limits of other martial artists. he had built up his pure internal energy for over thousands of years! he never even felt he was running out of internal energy despite using so much of it while fighting demons. all that was left to do was condense his internal energy.


    the first time was always the hardest, but it became easier from there. he just had to take the first step.


    choi yeonseung did his best to step into the realm of concentrated fist energy. it didn¡¯t matter if barigos attacked him. right now, choi yeonseung was only facing himself.

 Chapter 8

    chapter 8


    the battle with barigos took more than half a year.


    ***


    at first, choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t use it often due to its extreme internal energy consumption. he moved around to regain his internal energy most of the time, only ever using concentrated fist energy at the right moments. nevertheless, it was intimidating enough.


    ¡°human! what is that light?¡±


    until now, choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t been able to break through barigos¡¯ defense magic. however, this new light ripped his defenses apart like it was a piece of paper.


    [the ¡®blood shield¡¯ magic has been destroyed!]


    [the ¡®master¡¯s protection¡¯ magic has been destroyed!]


    [the ¡®advanced magic shield¡¯ magic has been...]


    [......]


    once used, it broke through the magic layers around barigos. he couldn¡¯t help but be nervous.


    ¡®here he comes!¡¯


    barigos raised his axe and accurately aimed at choi yeonseung¡¯s trajectory. he didn¡¯t know when to dodge it, but he could hit it when it was close to him.


    -master of blood! the strength of your power!


    barigos shouted, and the power bestowed upon him by his master, the constellation, dwelled in the axe. in response, choi yeonseung imbued his hands with concentrated fist energy.


    burning white concentrated energy!


    the air began to rumble as the two huge forces caused their surroundings to vibrate. soon, a roar broke out.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s concentrated fist energy struck the blade of barigos¡¯ axe. the impact nearly caused the axe to pop out, much to barigos¡¯ surprise. in an instant, choi yeonseung dealt a series of hits. he raised his fists, which were filled with concentrated fist energy, and unleashed a barrage of origin of the celestial fist. he lost track of how many times he attacked, but barigos¡¯ axe blade soon bounced away, creating a gap in barigos¡¯ defenses.


    choi yeonseung was supposed to rush in with origin of the celestial step and deliver a critical hit but couldn¡¯t.


    ¡®i¡¯ve consumed too much internal energy!¡¯


    [the concentrated fist energy is consuming your internal energy rapidly.]


    [three flowers gathering restores your internal energy!]


    [heavenly martial physique''s internal energy consumption has been reduced.]


    choi yeonseung used the origin of the celestial step to move backward. as expected, barigos quickly went on the defensive, creating a magic circle around him to block intruders. choi yeonseung would¡¯ve died if he hastily rushed in.


    ¡°human! try and stop this!¡±


    barigos charged in with all his might. choi yeonseung¡¯s concentrated fist energy seemed to have awakened barigos¡¯ competitive spirit. the axe burning with magic power hit the ground and unleashed waves of red magic power toward choi yeonseung.


    getting hit by that would be fatal for choi yeonseung, who had already used up over two-thirds of his internal energy. he could dodge it using origin of the celestial step, which didn¡¯t consume internal energy, but...


    choi yeonseung chose to use origin of the celestial finger instead, unleashing powerful energy through his fingers. each internal energy bullet slowed down the waves of magic power for a moment.


    -master of blood!


    barigos used the power of the constellation again. he didn¡¯t know what choi yeonseung was doing, but barigos could tell that his opponent had overused his strength and was weakening. choi yeonseung¡¯s inability to break through barigos¡¯ defense was painful for him, but it was equally frustrating for barigos, who still hadn¡¯t won despite already having turned the entire area upside down.


    constellations could watch their household members¡¯ every move. in other words, his master, the ¡®ruler of blood and brawls,¡¯ was also watching this boring fight! this situation was bound to cause irritation.


    hence, barigos seized this opportunity. he started to push with all his might. barigos¡¯ entire body started to burn. red magic power burned every time he breathed and exploded every time he took a step. moreover, he appeared to shrink in size.


    choi yeonseung was shocked. it wasn¡¯t an illusion. barigos was actually shrinking.


    [the ¡®ruler of blood and brawls¡¯ has given you the power to win!]


    -thank you, master!


    barigos thanked the constellation.


    ¡®damn!¡¯


    origin of the celestial divine arts meant the universe. it was just a simple name, but choi yeonseung now felt destined for it. internal energy filled his empty dantian like a rising tide. no, this no longer had value. after all, choi yeonseung had realized how to expand himself and swallow the world, allowing him to use martial arts even without internal energy.


    [you have reached the transcendent-class stage.]


    [you have acquired perfect enlightenment on the s-rank skill ¡®concentrated energy arts.¡¯]


    [you can now freely handle concentrated energy!]


    [the s-rank skill ¡®suppress the strong and support the weak¡¯ has been acquired.]


    [the s-rank skill ¡®overcome oneself to become strong¡¯ has been acquired.]


    [¡¯resonance from the world¡¯ is becoming stronger and stronger. the world is waiting for your call.]


    [the constellations of the abyss who are watching your battle shows interest in you!]


    [the ¡¯cat of lava and magma¡¯ is shaking its paws!]


    [the ¡¯horseman of plague and darkness¡¯ promises you a scythe.]


    [the ¡¯red bull that tramples on the world¡¯ is exhaling rapidly from its nose.]


    [the ¡¯ruler of blood and brawls¡¯ is furious!]


    ¡®they were watching our fight?¡¯


    he didn¡¯t expect constellations to be watching their battle. choi yeonseung extended his hand forward. the origin of the celestial concentrated whip tore through the space and pierced barigos¡¯ shoulder.


    ¡°kuooch... not yet... not yet...!¡±


    the origin of the celestial concentrated whip was similar to a whip, but its destructive power was incomparable to any magic. he sliced down from barigos¡¯ shoulder joint to his side, causing blood to splatter.


    barigos let out a mournful scream.


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t stop. beasts tended to become more dangerous when wounded. he had to end it here.


    origin of the celestial finger! the moment he reached the transcendent-class stage, the origin of the celestial finger¡¯s power was beyond imagination. every time he flicked his finger, bead-like internal energy flew out. the concentrated energy bullets, or concentrated spheres, pierced through barigos relentlessly, shattering all of his remaining magic.


    barigos knelt down. ¡°i... accept my defeat, human.¡±


    [you have won the battle against the glorious barigos, the first household member of the ruler of blood and brawls who has received the axe of blood!]


    [you have gained strength from the world through ¡®overcome oneself to become strong.¡¯]


    barigos admitted defeat.


    ¡°human, you are worthy of refusing my master¡¯s offer.¡±


    ¡°thank you, barigos. sincerely,¡± choi yeonseung spoke with sincerity. after all, he wouldn¡¯t have reached a new stage if it wasn¡¯t for barigos.


    ¡°human. i don¡¯t know the identity of the constellation that made a proposal with you, but... there is no need to accept such a proposal.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°become stronger! enough so that no constellation can look down on you. carve your name into the abyss!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°become a constellation, human!¡±


    barigos¡¯ words made choi yeonseung¡¯s heart skip a beat.


    become a constellation? he had never thought about such a concept.


    earth¡¯s hunters dreamed about becoming household members of a constellation, not becoming a constellation themselves. a caterpillar crawling on the ground could think of becoming a butterfly, but it could never dream of becoming an eagle. nevertheless...


    choi yeonseung could feel it now. the idea of him becoming a constellation wasn¡¯t necessarily groundless.


    ¡®me becoming a constellation?¡¯


    just as he did when the goddess of balance who walks ahead made a proposal with him a few thousand years ago, choi yeonseung answered immediately.


    ¡°...yes. those words... i¡¯ll accept them.¡±

 Chapter 9

    chapter 9


    the moment he reached the transcendent-class stage, he saw something he never could when his rank was still below it. he could feel the eyes of the constellations looking at him and the pressure their gazes brought. and he could feel how strong they were.


    ¡®they¡¯re stronger than me.¡¯


    though he had reached the transcendent-class stage, the constellations watching him now were undeniably stronger than him. nevertheless...


    he thought he could reach them. he was convinced that if he became a bit stronger, he would be able to reach that stage. if so, then there was no reason not to give it a try. no, he would surely do it!


    ¡°wonderful... human...¡±


    ¡°my name is choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m looking forward to the day we fight again...!¡±


    barigos collapsed at the end of his words. a wandering human had defeated him, so he likely wouldn''t be in his master''s good graces. even so, choi yeonseung hoped that barigos would return someday.


    ¡®come back, barigos. i have to repay you.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is proposing to meet you.]


    [the ¡®horseman of plague and darkness¡¯ is proposing to meet you.]


    the constellations of the abyss didn¡¯t move. no, they couldn¡¯t move. if the monarch left, then who would protect their kingdom? the abyss'' constellations constantly targeted each other, so their realms would quickly fall the moment they left their territories. therefore, the constellations just sat on thrones and observed their own households, beings worthy of becoming their household member, etc.


    reaching the transcendent-class stage allowed him to feel the constellations¡¯ gazes. he could even feel their anger or admiration. it was like the internet broadcast when he was on earth. however, the constellations¡¯ was much bloodier and more conversation-free!


    ¡®um. wouldn¡¯t such thoughts make the constellations suddenly feel insignificant?¡¯


    such thoughts would only enter a person¡¯s mind when they weren¡¯t afraid of anything. choi yeonseung had now reached that point. he announced that he would become a constellation while other constellations were watching him, so what more could he be afraid of?


    [the ¡®ruler of blood and brawls¡¯ has placed a bounty on your head.]


    [all the beings in this realm have started to target you.]


    [the ¡®horseman of plague and darkness¡¯ is mocking the ¡®ruler of blood and brawls.¡¯]


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is raising its paws and giggling.]


    ¡®this is crazy!¡¯


    the message windows from the world. feeling the gazes and reading the conversations of the constellations now that he had reached a new stage was great and all, but they were annoying. he remembered what a hunter who previously contracted with a constellation said when he appeared on tv.


    -everyone wants and envies a contract with a constellation, but it isn¡¯t all good.


    -it isn¡¯t all good? hey, doesn¡¯t that sound like a worry that is good to have?


    -while it probably sounds like that, other people who have contracted with the constellations will understand me. we are bound to the rules of the constellation... and it isn¡¯t necessarily good to have your every move observed.


    after choi yeonseung watched the broadcast back then, he wondered about the hunter¡¯s words. the other hunters in his guild did as well.


    -that jerk. he has happy worries...


    -this is even more annoying because he¡¯s handsome! why did he appear on air and look like he was having the hardest time in the world? he shouldn¡¯t look like that in good conscience!


    contracting with a constellation was something only 1% of hunters could do. they were saying things like ¡®being in a contract with a constellation is hard,¡¯ which left the other hunters no choice but to grab the back of their necks.


    however, choi yeonseung could now clearly feel what that person was talking about. contracting with a constellation didn¡¯t just mean good things.


    act according to the rules of the constellation.


    act under the eyes of the constellation.


    breaking those meant receiving unimaginable punishment.


    ¡®isn¡¯t it just slavery in the end?¡¯


    everyone envied the constellations¡¯ household members, but they were really just slaves with good chains.


    choi yeonseung once again vowed to become a constellation. now that he thought about it, the reason he wanted to become stronger was that he wanted to dictate his own destiny. considering all that had happened, why would he entrust his destiny to a constellation?


    ***


    choi yeonseung had to get out of the ruler of blood and brawls¡¯ realm. hence, he ran as the nearby constellations watched him.


    while constellations couldn¡¯t come in person despite being really upset, both people and constellations had a tendency to recklessly rush in without thinking about the consequences first.


    demons came rushing at him to block his way, but they were already far lacking to be a match for him.


    ¡°get lost!¡±


    choi yeonseung fired bullets made of concentrated energy one after another from his fingers. the demons hurriedly cast the 5th-circle magic ¡®hell¡¯s magic shield¡¯ and the 6th-circle magic ¡®advanced hell¡¯s magic shield¡¯, but they were powerless against his concentrated energy.


    the light that tore through magic!


    the demons screamed and rolled around.


    [the ¡®horseman of plague and darkness¡¯ admires your martial ability.]


    [the ¡®horseman of plague and darkness¡¯ is attempting to give you the skill ¡®plague cloud eruption.¡¯]


    it wasn¡¯t necessarily bad to have constellations watching. the constellations liked beings who excelled, even if that being wasn¡¯t a part of their household. they didn¡¯t show it with just words. they actively gave gifts and presented their powers. that was why the constellations¡¯ household members accepted such restrictions! they could be strengthened by not just their master but other constellations as well.??v€l?1n.


    ¡°i refuse.¡±


    however, choi yeonseung rejected plague cloud eruption.


    rank: s


    -origin of the celestial fist


    -origin of the celestial kick


    ...


    the various martial art techniques that choi yeonseung had learned were arranged in the origin of the celestial divine arts, and ¡®great completion¡¯ had been attached to its title.


    great completion. he had perfectly mastered the martial art!


    that was right. choi yeonseung reached the transcendent-class stage and understood everything about the origin of the celestial divine arts. having arrived at the realm of flawlessness, he could no longer evolve his origin of the universe divine arts further!


    choi yeonseung could feel it now. he had completed his martial arts. to grow stronger, he now had to raise the power of his existence itself, not his martial arts.


    resonance from the world, undefeated incarnation of training.


    the world resonates with you as you get closer to the extremes of your existence.


    your title is undefeated incarnation of training.


    how could he raise the power of his existence? it couldn¡¯t have answered that in the past, but choi yeonseung came to a realization upon reaching the peak-class stage.


    ¡®living in an endless pursuit of one¡¯s own value.¡¯


    the soul lived according to the values it pursued, causing its power of existence to rise. names such as ¡®horseman of plague and darkness¡¯ represented the values pursued by the constellation. horseman of plague and darkness was a being born of both plague and darkness.


    if so, then what about choi yeonseung? what type of life had choi yeonseung lived and what value was he pursuing? the resonance from the world skill gave him the answer.


    undefeated incarnation of training!


    ¡®i must not lose. i need to keep fighting and winning.¡¯


    that wasn¡¯t any different from what he had been doing thus far, but its weight felt different.


    -i have to keep training and fighting without resting or losing.


    it was ridiculously difficult, but...


    choi yeonseung liked things like this.


    ¡®this is what i¡¯ve always wanted!¡¯


    the more unreasonable challenges choi yeonseung encountered, the more he burned up. moreover, these two values were choi yeonseung himself. there was no reason for him to refuse.


    finally, choi yeonseung confirmed his two newly acquired skills, suppress the strong and support the weak and overcome oneself to become strong.


    [suppress the strong and support the weak]


    [rank: s


    you have suppressed the strong and helped the weak. if you fight against strong existences, the power of your existence will increase.]


    [overcome oneself to become strong]


    [rank: s


    the one who overcomes themself is the strongest. the more you live a life that suits your existence, the more powerful your existence will become.]


    ¡®hah.¡¯


    rather than increasing the reward, the suppress the strong and support the weak skill increased the difficulty level by one more level!


    ¡®i¡¯ve only been in a few fights against strong opponents...¡¯


    he couldn¡¯t lose, but he also had to fight against strong enemies. the difficulty was getting higher and higher.


    overcoming oneself to become strong was a skill that told him him how to live as a constellation.


    constellations were rule makers. however, they were also bound by rules themselves. what if the horseman of plague and darkness used healing magic? it was an act that denied oneself. he wouldn¡¯t do it unless he was crazy, but if he did, the power of his existence would suffer a huge blow. this was what it meant to reach the limit of one¡¯s existence!


    in other words, if choi yeonseung wanted to make good use of the suppress the strong and support the weak and overcoming oneself to become strong skills...


    -i have to train and fight nonstop, and the fights shouldn¡¯t be easy. however, no matter how difficult the battles ahead of me are, i should never lose.


    ¡°... let¡¯s give it a try.¡±


    ***


    in the end, the ruler of blood and brawls failed to grab choi yeonseung¡¯s ankle. that was only natural. choi yeonseung had defeated barigos, his strongest household member, and left the ruler of blood and brawls without any power to stop him. he would have to personally step in, but the other constellations would immediately attack him in that gap.


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t hesitate to head to the neutral zone of the abyss.


    an abandoned territory not controlled by any constellation!


    such locations either were fortunate enough to have no constellations nearby, had no souls to serve the constellation, or had so many strong monsters that the constellations left it alone...


    there were various reasons to abandon areas like this.


    they were known as one of the most dangerous places in the abyss, but...


    for choi yeonseung, locations like this were safer. after all, every time he entered a constellation¡¯s realm, he would receive an ultimatum that went along the lines of, ¡®be mine or die.¡¯


    only a few constellations would react and say things like, ¡®do what you want to do, idiot!¡¯

 Chapter 10

    chapter 10


    ¡°ha!¡±


    origin of the celestial divine arts had reached great completion, and he could use other martial arts perfectly with the state of perfection skill. moreover, he had reached the peak-class stage and the amount of internal energy he possessed had become meaningless.


    choi yeonseung no longer had any reason to train by constantly executing origin of the celestial fist. but he kept doing it anyway.


    he clenched his fists, breathed, then punched. every repetition caused the space to shake and a shock to explode. even though its power was different from when he used to execute it on earth, choi yeonseung¡¯s mindset remained the same as he extended his fist.


    he was sincere and upright. he did his best with a grateful heart! it didn¡¯t matter if this no longer made him stronger. he did it because he wanted to.


    this tenacity was rewarded.


    [you have lived a life worthy of your existence. the power of your existence has risen.]


    ¡°!¡±


    amid his punches, choi yeonseung blinked at the message window that appeared. he didn¡¯t expect it to rise so easily. did he aim for this from the beginning?


    ¡®no. it likely wouldn¡¯t have risen if i had been consciously aiming for it.¡¯


    the end of the path to becoming a constellation couldn¡¯t be reached with shortcuts and shallow intentions. such a thorny road could only be traversed by dedicating himself to it!


    -kuooooh!


    soon, he heard a monster¡¯s roar. choi yeonseung stopped his training and straightened his posture. he had to fight any monster in this realm that dared come at him!


    ***


    adaquaniel, the goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯s angel, left the realm of the goddess and started to wander around the abyss. it was rare for a constellation¡¯s household member to leave their realm! hence, the nearby constellations started to observe her in unison.


    [the ¡¯observer with a hundred faces¡¯ is curious about the household member going out.]


    [the ¡®insidious demon god of fire¡¯ promises a reward if you tell the truth.]


    [the ¡¯expert of twisted hallucinations¡¯ is speculating about the goddess¡¯ intention.]l--b1n.


    however, adaquaniel was a seasoned angel who had been fighting for the goddess¡¯ household for a long time now. she didn¡¯t care about the constellations¡¯ eyes. they couldn¡¯t directly interfere anyway. and even if they could, constellations didn¡¯t waste time on battles they wouldn¡¯t gain anything from.


    at best, they would send a household member or subordinate, but adaquaniel was confident that she wouldn¡¯t lose no matter who it was. moreover, she also had a card up her sleeve¡ªthe ability to prevent the constellations from observing her at key moments.


    [adaquaniel has used the skill ¡®goddess¡¯ veil.¡¯]


    [the eyes of the constellation can no longer enter.]


    adaquaniel used her skill to block the constellations¡¯ eyes, causing those watching her to protest in anger.


    [this shallow skill angers the ¡¯observer with a hundred faces¡¯l!]


    [the ¡¯expert of twisted hallucinations¡¯ is booing at the goddess¡¯ spiteful behavior!]


    since the constellations couldn¡¯t leave their thrones, rendering them immobile, watching these household members was a pleasure. why watch over those who weren¡¯t a part of their own household and even support them every now and then?


    because it was fun!


    of course, they also had the purpose of turning that being into their own household member, but that was a rare occurrence. the joy of bringing vitality to their boring lives in the abyss was far more important. most of the constellations had lived bound by their own rules and principles for hundreds of thousands of years. the races of the abyss looked up to and worshiped the constellations, but the constellations were envious of the races who could roam freely.


    the sparkling life of free spirits! there was nothing more pleasant than that for the constellations. hence, the constellations¡¯ outpouring boos and pretests didn¡¯t come as a surprise when adaquaniel used her skill to keep her actions a secret.


    [the ¡®insidious demon god of fire¡¯ promises you the skill ¡®hellfire'' if you remove the veil!]


    adaquaniel pretended not to hear the constellations¡¯ words despite one of them claiming he would give her an 8th-circle spell.


    [the ¡¯observer with a hundred faces¡¯ promises you important information. he asks only that you let him see through the veil.]


    of course, she acted the same way toward the demands of the other constellations. why did the goddess of balance who walks ahead send adaquaniel? it was because she was the coolest and most thorough among the household members. an angel the temptations of seasoned and cunning constellations couldn¡¯t shake!


    the constellations continued to telepathically express their anger, but adaquaniel ignored them.


    the rock snake paused in a flustered manner. choi yeonseung was also taken aback.


    ¡®come to think of it, this guy is a snake as well.¡¯


    the rock snake paused, revealing a gap, but the hydra didn¡¯t attack right away. it was wary of choi yeonseung, the human who appeared out of nowhere. two of its heads turned quickly and stared at him with a strange glow in their eyes.


    -die, you trivial guy.


    ¡°!¡±


    the hydra seemed to know how to use telepathy. each of the heads¡¯ telepathy painfully stabbed choi yeonseung¡¯s mind. however, choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t care less about its killing intent. he had fought tens of thousands of times in the realm of the demons.


    origin of the celestial step.


    choi yeonseung disappeared and reappeared in front of the hydra¡¯s head.


    origin of the celestial fist!


    the moment the first head¡¯s eyes widened, choi yeonseung¡¯s fist had already hit it. filled with white concentrated fist energy, his fist exuded tremendous power even though it didn¡¯t directly connect to its target. one of the hydra¡¯s heads exploded, causing its neck to bend backward.


    -kkiiing!


    his power startled the giant rock snake. in the past, choi yeonseung¡¯s fist wasn¡¯t this powerful. the human being had changed so much from before!


    ¡°it is annoying because you are so big,¡± choi yeonseung muttered, but he was actually holding his own quite well despite the huge size difference.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s stage meant that size didn¡¯t mean much anymore. its size was that of a building with dozens of floors, but it didn¡¯t matter. its body would be sent flying for as long as he could properly hit it once with concentrated fist energy.


    it was the crystallization of concentrated energy. attacks imbued with concentrated energy dealt damage while ignoring the size difference. moreover, choi yeonseung was awakening into a constellation. when combined with the power of existence, his concentrated fist energy caused even more terrifying damage than normal concentrated fist energy.


    his attack connecting to even such a small part of his opponent was enough to send the hydra¡¯s head flying away with an explosion.


    [the hydra¡¯s head has regenerated thanks to its skill ¡®eternal regeneration.¡¯]


    ever since he started walking the path of a constellation, choi yeonseung had been able to read the world messages better. the world told him that the hydra¡¯s skill was resurrecting one of its heads. one of its strengths was tenacious regeneration, after all! the legend of two heads growing back when one head was cut appeared to be true.


    ¡®eternal regeneration... it is a great skill.¡¯


    the skill¡¯s name alone already told him how fraudulent it was. he had never seen it on earth, but if it had been released, it would¡¯ve hit an all-time high price. the way to keep the nation¡¯s power, the hunters, safe!


    in fact, defense and recovery skills were more expensive than attack skills. even a-grade hunters often died of ridiculous reasons in dungeons. defense and recovery skills were like extra lives!


    ¡®how much did the 3rd-circle ¡®mana armor¡¯ sell for...?¡¯


    3rd-circle magic¡¯s minimum prices started around one billion, so immortal regeneration would probably be...


    no, this skill probably couldn¡¯t even be sold in the auction house. governments would likely step in and take it.


    -are you frightened by my majesty?


    ¡°huh?¡±


    while he was thinking of something else, the hydra finished its regeneration and looked down at choi yeonseung. the hydra laughed slyly, thinking the unmoving choi yeonseung was scared.


    -you will die soon. i¡¯ll praise you for removing one of my heads, but you will have to pay for daring to touch my body.


    ¡°what nonsense is this?¡±


    -you will feel it soon. after all, no hero is powerful in the face of my venom.


    [the skill ¡®immunity to ten thousand poisons¡¯ has absorbed the hydra¡¯s poison.]


    ¡°...um. yes. poison hurts.¡±


    -kyahahahaha! die, you trivial being! you look pretty good, but heroes like you are common all over the abyss!


    choi yeonseung ignored it and resumed his attack. he decided to beat the hydra a few more times while it was off guard.

 Chapter 11

    chapter 11


    roars and explosions echoed as choi yeonseung¡¯s concentrated energy blew up the hydra¡¯s head again.


    -kieeeeek!


    he could sense the hydra was alarmed. it telepathically screamed all around it.


    -h-how can my poison...?


    he attacked instead of answering. this time, three of its heads were blown away. nevertheless, the hydra regenerated quickly.


    -kuaack! how dare this insignificant creature...!


    even if it regenerated, the pain remained. the hydra seemed to have gone crazy due to choi yeonseung¡¯s constant beating. having reigned as the supreme ruler of this region, its pride and arrogance were beyond imagination.


    for this being, choi yeonseung was the first powerful enemy it had met! poison didn¡¯t work on him. he dodged its various breath-like attacks as if he was reading the future. each attack contained a huge amount of magic power compressed to the size of a chestnut, giving it unimaginable destructive power.


    the hydra didn¡¯t die due to its regenerative ability, but this didn¡¯t change the fact that it was being unilaterally beaten. at this point, it was no better than a sandbag!


    choi yeonseung quickly circled around the hydra at high speed using origin of the celestial step and mercilessly unleashed a barrage of origin of the celestial fist toward the hydra¡¯s torso, neck, and head. each brutal attack he executed was filled with concentrated fist energy.


    ¡®the power of existence is incredible. i can see why the constellations reign like kings in the abyss.¡¯


    this was his first serious fight ever since entering the path of becoming a constellation.


    choi yeonseung deeply admired the power of existence!??v€l-b!n.


    all souls had the power of existence, but the only ones who could utilize it were the constellations that had reached the limits of their existence. choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t fully mastered the power of existence, but he was keenly aware of its strength.


    this power was different from the abyss¡¯ skills like martial arts and magic! any attack imbued with the power of existence exerted a completely different strength.


    and the hydra wasn¡¯t an exemption from its effects. even though he struck lightly, seemingly to restrain it, his attack was still so powerful that it still smashed the hydra¡¯s huge body! it was as if it read choi yeonseung¡¯s mind as he thought, ¡®i¡¯m going to blow away the hydra.¡¯


    -i will trample on you!


    ¡®does it have to tell me everything before attacking?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded. since it was born so strong, the hydra was a strong existence that had naturally lived its entire life without rivals. just trusting in its own strength and stamina and charging wildly had been enough for it so far! hence, it didn¡¯t know how to fight, especially not strong and experienced opponents like choi yeonseung.


    ¡®thanks to this, i feel at ease.¡¯


    the hydra raised its head upright and quickly snapped it¡ªthe precursor to a breath. he had dodged its breath several times already, but its power was still beyond his imagination.


    the hydra unleashed whirlwind breath, a mixture of poison and magic power! its attack immediately broke and melted the abyss¡¯ sturdy rocks. however, such an attack had been rendered meaningless now that he already knew about it.


    choi yeonseung predicted the range of the breath, then used origin of the celestial step to move as if he was teleporting from air to air. with his current speed, not even 7th-circle space magic would be able to catch him!


    ¡®i have to focus even more.¡¯


    predicting the attack wasn¡¯t easy. the range of the breath was enormous, leaving only a thread-thin safe zone. choi yeonseung¡¯s inner self was cold and calm, but his body¡¯s senses were as sensitive as a blade. this battle would be over if he made even just one mistake!


    ¡®be faster.¡¯


    the waves of magic power that covered the ground surged and tore apart the space around them. choi yeonseung protected his toes with concentrated energy and ran on the breath.


    ¡®this isn''t the only breath you''ll use!¡¯


    it soon unleashed a flying breath. however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t even need to look at it to read its moves. he disappeared again and reappeared on the other side of the breath¡¯s trajectory.


    if he couldn¡¯t use it on his opponent, then he¡¯d just use it on himself. choi yeonseung added the power of existence to his concentrated energy, imbuing it with his desire to stop his opponent¡¯s regeneration!


    at that moment, choi yeonseung¡¯s concentrated energy turned into a poison that burned away all regenerative power. choi yeonseung pulled his concentrated energy into an elongated line using the concentrated energy arts¡¯ essence, which could grow freely.


    origin of the celestial concentrated whip! the white concentrated energy stretched out like a whip and flew through the air.


    in the blink of an eye, a thick rope of concentrated energy had completely wrapped around the hydra¡¯s neck. irritated, the hydra struggled. even though it would recover from such a ridiculous wound immediately, it still couldn¡¯t help but be bothered by the attack. it was going to tear it apart with force!


    however, the origin of the celestial concentrated whip wasn¡¯t something that could be torn off in such a way. the origin of the celestial concentrated whip¡¯s purest mana crystal slashed through the hydra¡¯s hard scales and muscles like it were cutting tofu. the power of the concentrated energy ignored the hydra¡¯s defenses, which not even earth¡¯s civilized weapons or magic below 7th-circle could penetrate! it was arguably the sharpest spear in the world!


    -kieeeeek!


    the hydra screamed once, then prepared to regenerate. it was painful, but it could just regenerate once more as it did before. however, something unexpected happened. the hydra¡¯s neck, from which its head was cut off, only wriggled. it couldn¡¯t regenerate as quickly as it did before. its eternal regeneration skill had been blocked!


    like a poison, choi yeonseung¡¯s strong attack, which contained the power of existence, stopped the regenerative ability contained in the hydra¡¯s neck. this unknown phenomenon stunned the hydra. choi yeonseung felt confident. the hydra was just a huge sandbag once its regenerative power had been stopped.


    by the time choi yeonseung blew one head off, he had already reached the next head.


    origin of the celestial kick! his kick blew up the hydra¡¯s jaw and sent its head backward. choi yeonseung attacked it again.


    ¡®focus and hit. focus and hit.¡¯


    this was choi yeonseung¡¯s first time using the power of existence. hence, he had to concentrate whenever he used it. still, that was enough. as time passed, the hydra¡¯s heads started to disappear one by one.


    frightened, the remaining heads tried to stop choi yeonseung somehow, but the hydra couldn¡¯t stop him even when all of its heads were still intact. he teleported using origin of the celestial step, entered the hydra¡¯s blind spot, and delivered a blow imbued with concentrated energy.


    he unleashed such a simple attack, but the hydra couldn¡¯t do anything to stop it.


    poison didn¡¯t work on him. the breath didn¡¯t work either.


    -n...no...!


    with only two heads left, the hydra finally seemed to feel scared. it felt fear for the first time in its tens of thousands of years of living! choi yeonseung remained relentless, having gotten a glimpse at victory. he rushed in and aimed for the hydra¡¯s remaining heads.


    ¡®origin of the celestial fist for one head, and origin of the celestial wheel for the other.¡¯


    origin of the celestial wheel¡ªthe skill of making and launching round-shaped concentrated energy! it was another technique created through the application of concentrated energy arts. it shot out concentrated energy like a concealed weapon, so its power was certainly immense. however, he had to make sure he properly imbued the power of existence into it. otherwise, the hydra would be able to regenerate.


    soon, the sound of the hydra¡¯s head being sent flying echoed. the origin of the celestial wheel worked properly. it could no longer regenerate its blown-off head.


    [the ¡®overcome oneself to become strong¡¯ skill has increased the power of your existence!]


    the moment he succeeded in executing origin of the celestial wheel, a high-level technique, overcome oneself to become strong was activated. whenever he lived a life that suited him, it would always activate.


    choi yeonseung smiled bitterly. he tried to practice despite being in the middle of a life-threatening fight. however, it couldn¡¯t be helped. that was just who he was.


    -this is ridiculous! you¡¯re such an insignificant being!


    ¡°farewell, snake. it was a good fight.¡±


    choi yeonseung launched an origin of the celestial fist toward its last, trembling head. the concentrated fist energy pierced the hydra¡¯s head and sent it flying, almost as if it had been erased. the moment all of its heads had been eliminated, the hydra collapsed.


    [the ¡®suppress the strong and support the weak¡¯ has increased the power of your existence.]


    [you are resonating more and more with the world.]


    [you have been covered with enough amount of the hydra''s blood. the a+ rank skill ¡®eternal regeneration¡¯ has been acquired.]

 Chapter 12

    chapter 12


    ¡°!!¡±


    skill acquisitions weren¡¯t uncommon for hunters. they could obtain a skill as a reward for attacking dungeons, learn a spell through a magic book, or gain a secret martial art technique by killing monsters or by completing certain conditions...


    the methods were endless. through such ways, one could obtain magic skills, martial arts skills, or passive skills like choi yeonseung¡¯s impenetrable skin and immunity to ten thousand poisons. the better the skill, the stronger and more valuable the hunter became. even d-grade hunters would be welcome in any party or clan as long as they had unique skills.


    meanwhile, eternal regeneration was an a+ rank skill. he had no idea how much it would be worth.


    [eternal regeneration]


    [you have inherited the hydra''s essence. your immortal body is constantly regenerating.]


    recovery skills were of immense value, no matter how low their rank, simply because of their regenerative capabilities! even d-rank skills, like low-grade regeneration and healing power, were valuable. the skill to heal oneself or others in a dangerous dungeon was worth a fortune.


    ¡®i thought i can''t obtain skills like this because i''m a martial artist.¡¯


    choi yeonseung got a strange feeling after obtaining eternal regeneration. he really didn¡¯t know anything about the world. he thought he would only learn origin of the celestial divine arts in his life. hence, he never expected to acquire so many different skills.


    -kkiing! kkiiing!


    ¡°it has been a while, onix.¡±


    -kkiing!


    the rock snake approached choi yeonseung and shook its body happily.


    ¡°is that your family behind you?¡±


    -kkiing!


    ¡°it is nice to have a family. congratulations.¡±


    choi yeonseung looked fondly at the rock snake. he had spent an unimaginably long time in the abyss, so his memories were blurry, but he was happy that the rock snake had met a mate and given birth to a baby.


    ¡®i wonder if my clanmates are doing well.¡¯


    it wasn¡¯t big or powerful, but it was still a good clan. their clan firmly trusted and cared about each other! in this world where clans were full of conspiracies, schemes, and internal conflict, clans like choi yeonseung¡¯s were rare. that was only natural, however, considering the huge amount of money and interests involved.


    ¡®i hope i¡¯ve only been gone a while by the time i get back to earth...¡¯


    -kkiing?


    ¡°ah. no, it¡¯s nothing. i was just reminiscing for a moment. so, you have a family now. you should give birth to children in moderation. if you use too much strength, you¡¯ll suffer from muscle or internal energy loss... no, it¡¯s probably rock loss in your case. that could happen.¡±


    -???


    the rock snake stared at him, seemingly wondering what he was talking about.


    ¡°anyway, i¡¯m thinking of cutting up this hydra. do you need any of its meat, skin, or bones?¡±


    -kkiiing!


    the rock snake shook its head with a disgusted expression. the hydra¡¯s eerie corpse was visibly dripping with poison! it was dangerous to try touching something like that.


    ¡°it is too big to take with me. i¡¯ll rip off its skin and eat all the meat here...¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    [the artifact ¡®space pocket necklace¡¯ has been obtained.]


    the rock snake threw at choi yeonseung a necklace that seemed to be roughly made of chains. its design was terribly rustic, but...


    it had a very powerful effect.


    a space warehouse! it was one of the artifacts hunters dreamed of.


    ¡°are you... giving this to me?¡±


    -kkiing. kkiing.


    ¡°onix...!¡±


    moved, choi yeonseung hugged the rock snake. it was so big he could only hug the tip of its tail.


    ***??v€l?1n.


    dungeons started to pop up everywhere after gates connected earth to the abyss. scientists said it was a ¡®phenomenon where some of the abyss¡¯ spaces are temporarily connected to earth.¡¯ however, that didn¡¯t matter to the hunters. all they cared about was that they would be transported to a dungeon if they entered any of the dungeon gates all over the world.


    gulp.


    ¡°are you okay?¡±


    ¡ª!


    the rock snake was startled. the moment it ate the meat, a powerful magic power spread throughout its body. the magic power that the hydra had in its body! that was only natural, considering the meat he had just ingested was a part of the hydra. every piece of it was an elixir.


    ¡°is it good? large serpents like this hydra are traditionally believed to be healthy food.¡±


    -???


    that wasn¡¯t the reason why choi yeonseung gave the rock snake some, though. he just fed it because it was his old habit...


    nevertheless, it was a really great elixir!


    -kkiing? kkiing?


    ¡°why isn¡¯t it poisonous? i took care of that. i couldn¡¯t just keep the poison in it since you''re going to eat it.¡±


    -kkiing...!


    the rock snake cried out emotionally. such careful consideration.


    i¡¯m sorry for thinking you were crazy!


    [the giant rock snake and its family now believe in you and worship you.]


    [the number of followers that serve you as a constellation has increased.]


    [your strength and power of existence as a constellation has become stronger.]


    choi yeonseung became thrilled upon feeling the power of existence rising inside him. his strength was boiling!


    choi yeonseung could feel the power that the rock snake family sent him. was this why the constellations chose apostles and made humans worship them? the constellations that appeared after the abyss¡¯ opening had always been mysterious and amazing.


    they were truly like gods!


    starting with the religious groups, everyone began taking an interest in what the constellations were like. why help humans? what was their purpose?


    now, choi yeonseung could fully understand their hearts. being worshiped as a constellation was something they could never abandon. the good constellations gained worshippers through peace, while the evil constellations did so through coercion... no matter the method, their goal was the same.


    the rock snake family''s belief in him already had this much effect. what if he got his hands on earth? this made it obvious why the goddess of balance who walks ahead feared the future where the evil constellations ruled earth.


    ¡®... but when can i return to earth?¡¯¡¯


    he wondered if the goddess had forgotten about him. well, he did get caught up in a magical storm and disappeared, so there probably wasn¡¯t any way to find him.


    ¡®if only we signed a contract in advance... no, i wouldn¡¯t have been able to walk the path of a constellation then. this is fine. i¡¯ll find a way.¡¯


    the abyss was infinitely vast, but if he kept wandering around, he should be able to find a gate connected to earth one day. choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know at this time that he would have to wander for a few thousand more years.


    ***


    choi yeonseung and the rock snakes stayed in the hydra¡¯s realm for over a month to consume the remaining meat.


    upon waking up in the morning, they ate raw hydra for breakfast. for lunch, they had hydra tartar steak (egg and no seasoning), then drank hydra fluid juice for dessert in the evening. the dishes didn¡¯t taste that good, but the rock snake family loved it. it was healthy food!


    ¡°...onix. you look bigger.¡±


    nod nod.


    the giant rock snake nodded. it hadn¡¯t been that long, but the family of rock snakes had grown several times in size!


    choi yeonseung was surprisingly right.


    ¡°why did you become bigger?¡±


    -kkiing.


    the rock snake pointed to the hydra¡¯s meat. filled with an enormous amount of condensed magic power, the meat increased the rock snake¡¯s body size.


    ¡°are you sure that isn¡¯t a strange side effect?¡±


    -kkiing!


    the rock snake made noises that seemed to say he was being ridiculous and how could he spit nonsense about such pure magic power!

 Chapter 13

    chapter 13


    ¡°umm... i think there are certain types of food that shouldn¡¯t be fed when raising animals. i was too complacent.¡±


    chocolate for dogs.


    onions for cats.


    feeding them such food could be bad for their health. was hydra meat like that for the rock snakes?


    -kkiing!


    of course not. the rock snake strongly and firmly protested.


    ¡°i understand. calm down.¡±


    the rock snake neatly devoured the meat out of fear that choi yeonseung would take it away.


    swallow swallow.


    ¡°now that i¡¯m done eating, i have to go, onix.¡±


    -kkiiing.


    the rock snake stretched out its tail and wrapped it around choi yeonseung¡¯s wrist as if telling him not to leave.


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry. i have to.¡±


    it would be fun to stay here for a while and play with the rock snake family. however, choi yeonseung couldn''t go against his purpose.


    constant training. that was the only way to become a constellation. he would never stop until he had achieved that goal! it sounded simple, but the road ahead of him was far from easy.


    how long could a person focus on one thing without wavering?


    10 years?


    20 years?


    even if they could endure for decades, keeping their focus from faltering for hundreds of was an impossible task.


    however, despite wandering the abyss for over a few thousand years now, choi yeonseung¡¯s mindset hadn¡¯t changed at all from when he was on earth. he never wavered, became lazy, or grew arrogant. he faced everything with the same mindset that he had since the beginning.


    that was the reason why the goddess of balance who walks ahead chose choi yeonseung to save the future. this was the type of person she needed! he didn¡¯t have excellent mana talent that could propel him to becoming a great magician or natural martial arts prowess that would ensure he¡¯d reach a high rank.


    he was choi yeonseung. he could walk the path of a constellation without complaints despite not even knowing how long it would take. however, even the goddess herself didn¡¯t know the exact reason he was chosen...


    ***


    papapak!


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung was just about to leave when the rock snake drew a picture on the ground using its tail. it was a picture that was close to randomly drawn characters, but he had a rough idea of what it meant.


    ¡°so... something that looks like that lives in that realm over there?¡±


    -kkiing, kkiing!


    the rock snake seemed to be trying to tell choi yeonseung about where he was going. the abyss was infinitely vast and housed countless dangerous existences. though he was on the path to becoming a constellation, there would always be some beings stronger than him, no matter how strong he was. it would be great to know about them in advance. that way, he could prepare for their meeting.


    ¡°... still, what is this?¡±


    the opponent the rock snake drew looked very... unique. first of all, it had wings and horns. the rock snake also emphasized its evil-looking face.


    ¡°... are you trying to say its face is dangerous?¡±


    -kkiing!


    ¡°is it a demon? what makes its face so dangerous?¡¯¡¯


    choi yeonseung was puzzled.


    horns and wings. a wicked face. abyss demons usually had those characteristics. of course, demons didn¡¯t necessarily look like this. there were all types of demons. after all, demons were just what the evil god constellations¡¯ subordinates were called. even slimes and elves could become demons upon being chosen by a constellation to become their apostle. still, there was no denying that demons with wings on their backs and sharp horns on their heads were common. the demons that appeared in dungeons and made hunters nervous back when choi yeonseung was still on earth also looked like that.


    unlike low-intelligence monsters, demons were cunning and evil. aside from their strength, they were notorious for their aggressiveness. they actively targeted and attacked the hunters that had entered the dungeon they were in. however, that was an old story.


    ¡®i no longer have to be scared of those demons.¡¯


    there was a huge difference between the current choi yeonseung and the demons who appeared on earth at that time. the rank of those demons was between b- and b+. 5th-circle magicians or first-class martial artists teaming up would be enough to kill them.


    ¡®well, that¡¯s not what¡¯s important right now.¡±


    ¡°i also believe that my insignificant ability won¡¯t work on the great constellation.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not a constellation yet.¡±


    ¡°i believe you will soon become one.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    for a moment, choi yeonseung was slightly moved. those were the first kind words he had heard in the abyss! the constellations only kept sending annoying message windows. meanwhile, this incubus, whom he met for the first time, already believed in him so much. it made him tearful. there was still such warm affection and faith in this desolate abyss!


    ¡°what if i refuse?¡±


    ¡°master told me to just let you go if you refuse. however, i can swear on the honor of my master that this meeting won¡¯t be harmful to you, constellation-nim.¡±


    the incubus¡¯ words sounded pretty trustworthy. above all, choi yeonseung liked that he could leave whenever he wanted.


    ¡®what do you want?¡¯


    ¡°okay. i¡¯ll come.¡±


    ¡°thank you! you won¡¯t regret it!¡±


    choi yeonseung followed behind the incubus.


    ¡®ah. come to think of it.¡¯


    ¡°have you ever heard of a place called earth? it is one of the planets outside the abyss.¡±


    ¡°earth... you mean...? ah, i think i¡¯ve heard rumors about it a long time ago... the nearby constellations were arguing over the gate to get there...¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s eyes widened. that was definitely earth.


    ¡°do you know anything else about it?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry. i¡¯ve just heard rumors. other than that... perhaps my master knows about it. are you interested in earth?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve heard there¡¯s a huge number of souls there. if you can get your hands on them, then it will definitely be a great help to you.¡±


    the incubus thought choi yeonseung was trying to get his hands on earth in order to increase his power as a constellation.


    ¡°i have no intention of getting my hands on earth.¡±


    ¡°huh? why are you interested in it, then?¡±


    ¡°i intend to stop the other constellations from trying to take over earth.¡±


    choi yeonseung felt slightly embarrassed after saying those words. how would other races of the abyss take his words? it would probably sound like a ridiculous lie. what constellation in the abyss would do such a good thing?


    ¡°that... is amazing. not only are you strong, constellation-nim, but you are also noble!¡±


    however, the incubus truly believed in choi yeonseung.


    ¡°... what¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°oh? my name is arni.¡±


    ¡°yes. please take good care of me, arni.¡±


    ¡°my name isn¡¯t so valuable that a constellation should memorize it! i am awed.¡±


    awe-stricken, arni didn¡¯t know what to do. the sight of an androgynous incubus being at a loss would fascinate anyone who saw it. such was the racial trait of the nightmare demons! it wasn¡¯t just that they constantly activated skills related to ¡®bewitchment.¡¯ their race itself was adept at winning the favor of others.


    ¡®i see nothing wrong with that, though,¡¯ choi yeonseung thought. what was wrong with being kind and likable to others?


    wasn¡¯t it better than being unlikeable? it didn''t take long for him to realize how wrong he was, though.


    ***


    the realm of the nightmare demons was reminiscent of a shrine or temple. it was serene and quiet, and its infrastructures were rustic, frugal, and lacked decorations.


    ¡®this is different from what i was expecting.¡¯

 Chapter 14

    chapter 14


    the ruler of blood and brawls¡¯ realm was a crowded place that matched its name. it had structures made of bones, flesh, and blood everywhere. moreover, the demons living in it fought at random to catch the attention of their master. the nightmare demons¡¯ master was the manipulator of dreams and desires. if so, shouldn¡¯t this realm be more faithful to desires?


    "what''s wrong?"


    ¡°to be honest, it¡¯s a bit different from what i expected.¡±


    ¡°what were you expecting, constellation-nim?¡±


    ¡°for it to be faithful to desires? i apologize in advance if i was rude.¡±


    ¡°huh? oh, no. it¡¯s nothing!¡±


    arni waved his hands dismissively and continued.


    ¡°you didn¡¯t say anything wrong.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled.


    ¡°we are a race faithful to our desires.¡±


    ¡°hey, what is wrong with that? everyone is pretty much like that.¡±


    choi yeonseung snorted. even humanity was a race faithful to their desires. humans had committed so many mistakes because of that.


    ¡°it embarrasses me to say this, but we... do it a bit too much...¡±


    ¡°really? that¡¯s completely different from what you look like.¡±


    ¡°i am always disciplining myself because i can¡¯t control my desires. these buildings are also a form of discipline.¡±


    just as alcohol lovers completely abstained from alcohol in order to quit drinking, the nightmare demons chose a similar method to control their desires. unless it was necessary, they didn¡¯t create a situation where desire would arise at all. these crude buildings were all a part of a rehab facility!


    ¡°discipline? that sounds good.¡±


    choi yeonseung responded to the word ¡®discipline.¡¯ a trainee who didn¡¯t change even after thousands of years!


    ¡°hmm. can i go in as well?¡±


    ¡°that isn¡¯t possible.¡±


    arni firmly rejected the notion. choi yeonseung became sullen.


    ¡°i see.¡±


    ¡°ah... no... that... i¡¯m sorry. constellation-nim, if you enter, then the other nightmare demons...¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung wondered what arni was talking about.


    bang!


    after a while, something roared and landed in the distance.


    ¡°!¡±


    arni turned pale at the sudden surprise.


    ¡°what are you doing? everyone!¡±


    ¡°i... i¡¯m sorry!¡±


    ¡°stop!¡±


    ¡°kuaaak! no one can stop me!¡±


    urgent cries echoed.


    nightmare demons that weren¡¯t in view before burst out in a hurry from all directions.


    ¡°grrr... i can¡¯t hold it in...! desire! give me your desire!¡±


    ¡°what is that?¡± choi yeonseung pointed forward, seemingly bewildered.


    [a succubus has used ¡®soul bewitchment¡¯!]


    [the origin of the celestial divine arts...]


    [a succubus has used ¡®soul absorption¡¯!]


    [the origin of the celestial divine arts...]


    [a succubus...]


    the succubus in front of him had a beautiful appearance, but her eyes had no reason. they were as fierce as a wild beast! the sight of the succubus dripping with saliva and aiming for choi yeonseung was extremely horrifying.


    choi yeonseung flicked his finger, executing the origin of the celestial finger. the sound of the air being torn reverberated, followed by a hole being blasted into the ground in front of the succubus. that was a clear warning. even if the succubus didn¡¯t feel the difference in strength, she would at least feel the threat to her life. however, the succubus didn¡¯t stop.


    ¡°your desire! give up your desire!¡±


    ¡°my desire?¡±


    ¡°...m-most of them are tied up.¡±


    for some reason, he seemed to keep hearing faint cries.


    ¡®should i have come?¡¯


    choi yeonseung felt a bit uncomfortable. the manipulator of dreams and desires was deeply related to the nightmare demons. what if this constellation was also after his desire? of course, there was no harm to choi yeonseung if that was just its aim.


    according to arni, if a lot of a person¡¯s desire was eaten by a nightmare demon, that person would just feel refreshed. it would almost be as if their desire had been resolved. over time, choi yeonseung would regain the desire to train and return to earth. however, there was a possibility that the constellation would try to absorb other things, so he couldn¡¯t take it lightly.


    ¡®well, if that happens, i¡¯ll just fight.¡¯


    ¡°arni. why are you mumbling from so far away?¡±


    ¡°you told me to stay at least 10 meters away from you, constellation-nim...¡±


    ¡°ah. that was a joke. come over here.¡±


    ¡°constellation-nim!¡± arni approached with an emotional expression. choi yeonseung took a step back.


    ¡°by the way... if you can control yourself, why couldn¡¯t that succubus do the same? she didn¡¯t come across as weak.¡±


    ¡°level and control are different. in order for nightmare demons to govern themselves, they have to practice self-control and abstinence for a long time. without this type of training, they¡¯d have a higher risk of running wild even if their level is high.¡±


    ¡°level?¡±


    ¡°huh? is there something wrong with levels?¡±


    ¡°what is a level?¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    arni looked perplexed.


    ¡°it¡¯s... it¡¯s a skill that measures strength based on level... constellation-nim, don¡¯t you use it?¡±


    there were many ways to measure strength on earth. magicians used circles. martial artists used terms like third-class, second-class, first-class, etc. a hunter¡¯s rank was based on those measurements and the dungeons and monsters that they had cleared!


    ¡°isn¡¯t strength determined by the magic circles or martial arts stage?¡±


    ¡°?!¡±


    arni was astonished. that was such a primitive method. no, that wasn¡¯t even a measurement skill! that was just a guess!


    ¡°there are many skills to measure the strength of an opponent, but... measuring it through magic circles is just too inaccurate. even two 7th-circle magicians can have huge differences. academia traditionally believes that beings should be measured through levels in the abyss.¡±


    ¡°that... i see. how do you do that?¡±


    ¡°through the ¡®level measurement¡¯ magic skill.¡±


    ¡®that wasn¡¯t on earth.¡¯


    earth¡¯s magic either came from dungeons and gates or was given by constellations. it hadn¡¯t been long since the gate was opened, so it wasn¡¯t surprising that there was still a lot of magic that hadn¡¯t been discovered yet.


    ¡®um. it has been a while since i left. perhaps they¡¯ll have it by the time i get back?¡¯


    ¡°i think it is better to show you in person. level measurement.¡±


    arni used magic on himself to show choi yeonseung.


    [arni


    lv: 480


    strength: 490


    agility: 1,100


    physical strength: 620


    magic power: 1,200


    intelligence: 460]


    [the following can¡¯t be checked.]


    as expected, arni¡¯s level was high. he was one of the strongest among mortals! he was clearly talented even among these nightmare demons. in terms of the hunter rating, 1st to 3rd-circle magicians were treated as e or d-grade hunters, 4th-circle magicians were c-grade, 5th-circle magicians were b-grade, and so on.


    they were generally measured that way, though a lower-circle magician could get a higher rating through outstanding performance. according to arni, 1st to 2nd-circle magicians were usually below level 100, 4th-circle magicians were usually between level 100 and 200, and 5th-circle magicians were between 200 and 300.


    arni was in the late 400s...


    ¡®he would be ranked s-grade or higher if he was a hunter!¡¯


    considering s-grade hunters weren¡¯t actually much different from a-grade hunters but rather just received that promotion due to their achievements, it meant arni¡¯s skills overwhelmed s-grade hunters. no matter how high the s-grade hunters were, they would be in the early 400s at most. the fact that there were 6th-circle magicians among s-grade hunters proved that. they didn¡¯t exceed level 400.


    ¡®there are no martial artists...¡¯


    li yuyuan, an a-grade hunter, had the highest level among martial artists, among the high-level martial artists. no one had managed to reach the same rank as him.


    ¡°can i try it?¡± he wondered.


    ¡°huh? it has no meaning for a constellation.¡±

 Chapter 15

    chapter 15


    ¡°it has no meaning?¡±


    ¡°i can¡¯t measure constellations with my skill.¡±


    a being who had started to awaken into a constellation couldn¡¯t be measured at arni¡¯s level. an existence beyond levels!


    ¡°level measurement.¡±


    [choi yeonseung.]


    [can¡¯t be measured.]


    ¡°yes. it is as expected. how dare i measure constellation-nim¡¯s ability at my level?¡±


    ¡°too bad. i wanted to see it.¡±


    ¡°the more proficient one becomes in level measurement magic, the more you¡¯ll be able to figure out. in addition to level and stats, i can check out skills and various other information... i¡¯m sorry that i couldn¡¯t show you everything.¡± arni apologized for showing only a part of his status window, which could be considered suspicious from choi yeonseung¡¯s perspective.


    ¡°no. i¡¯m not shameless enough to pry into everything a being has.¡±


    ¡°constellation-nim...!¡±??v€l-b!n.


    ¡°are you going to be impressed by everything i say?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    anything choi yeonseung said seemed to touch arni. taking that into consideration, the average personality standard in the abyss was very low. of course, he wasn¡¯t too happy.


    ¡°if your level rises, will you still lose your reason if you don¡¯t discipline and restrain yourself regularly? it must be hard to be a nightmare demon.¡±


    ¡°thank you for your sympathy. for nightmare demons like us, those who control their desires like constellation-nim is really... shiny... slurp.¡±


    startled, arni wiped the saliva from the corners of his mouth. choi yeonseung coldly stared at arni.


    ¡°i... i am in complete control of myself! believe me!¡±


    ¡°it is strangely less convincing when you say the same thing twice.¡±


    ¡°sob sob...¡±


    ¡°you don¡¯t have to be so sad, arni. it isn¡¯t like i don¡¯t trust you.¡±


    ¡°constellation-nim!¡±


    ¡°it is just a little bit of a fundamental rejection of the nightmare demon race?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    it backfired!


    arni was worried he had unnecessarily given choi yeonseung prejudice against his race even before meeting his master. in fact, it wasn¡¯t a preconceived notion. it was just the way it was!


    ***


    the manipulator of dreams and desires stayed in a quiet temple in the middle of the realm. arni stopped in front of a building that looked like a greek temple and bowed his head.


    ¡°please head inside¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t you coming?¡±


    arni jumped up and said, ¡°how can an insignificant being like me intervene in the conversation of constellations?¡±


    ¡°you guided me all the way here, so i¡¯m taking you with me. lead the way.¡±


    ¡°......!!!¡±


    arni had tears in his eyes. ¡°you are the first person to think of me like this!¡±


    ¡®i¡¯ll use him as a shield if something happens,¡¯ choi yeonseung thought as he looked at arni.


    choi yeonseung would be at a disadvantage if he faced a constellation. not only would he be in the opponent¡¯s realm, but his opponent would also be better at handling the power of a constellation. in comparison, arni didn¡¯t seem good at hiding his innermost feelings. if choi yeonseung took him in, he could gauge what the other person was saying through arni¡¯s reactions. he could also be used as a shield just in case!


    ¡®even constellations would be afraid to lose a subordinate of this caliber.¡¯


    choi yeonseung received an invitation, but he hadn¡¯t put down his guard. the name undefeated incarnation of training wasn¡¯t given to just anyone. the first thing he felt when stepping into the temple was...


    comfort! his entire being felt so comfortable it was as if he had just finished bathing and was lying lazily on a soft bed. he wanted to stay here and forget all purposes and thoughts! how comfortable would it be to live here? however, choi yeonseung immediately came to his senses. such simple pleasures couldn¡¯t sway the beliefs that had been ingrained in his body for countless years.


    ¡°that is a bit...¡±


    ¡°like a parasite, right?¡±


    ¡°... i was going to say strange.¡±


    ¡°huhu. that is kind of you. still, it can¡¯t be denied that the nightmare demon race itself is parasitic. think about it. would a race that can¡¯t live without other races try to dominate the abyss?¡±


    ¡°can¡¯t you just enslave them and rip their desires from them?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re only saying that because you¡¯re not a nightmare demon. even the hungriest of nightmare demons would hate such low, impure desires quality is the most essential key to a desire¡¯s taste. like your desire for example.¡± the girl¡¯s eyes shone as she looked at choi yeonseung. he soon realized that she was looking at his desire. ¡°your desire truly does drive nightmare demons crazy... if that was someone else¡¯s, it would¡¯ve already been repeatedly fulfilled and disappeared...¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s desire to ¡®become strong¡¯ was as endless as a huge ocean and as pure as orichalcum.


    the best of the best! anyone else would¡¯ve been satisfied and said ¡®this should be enough,¡¯ but choi yeonseung was still starving. he truly did deserve to be the constellation of training!


    ¡°did you just smack your lips together?¡±


    ¡°you probably saw it incorrectly. our conversation had gone off-topic for a bit there. anyway, i wish for you to trust me more, but i won¡¯t force you.¡±


    ¡°no. i think it is plausible. are you trying to unify the weak constellations with no greed?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s correct. you have good senses.¡±


    choi yeonseung noticed the girl¡¯s purpose. it was to make the weak constellations with no greed join hands and oppose greedy constellations! once herbivores flocked together, even predators wouldn''t able to attack them recklessly.


    ¡°haven¡¯t you considered that i might be belligerent and greedy?¡±


    ¡°i thought it was possible, but you are a much easier being to talk to than other constellations.¡±


    the manipulator of dreams and desires didn¡¯t say that she saw and judged choi yeonseung¡¯s desire. if he knew she could do this, he would be wary of her. she didn¡¯t want to make a bad impression on an ally.


    ¡®he is a very rare constellation.¡¯


    the manipulator of dreams and desires sought allies with her ability to distinguish desires. among choi yeonseung¡¯s huge desires, there was not one that revolved around conquest or power. it was hard to find such a reliable being among the combat-type constellations.


    ¡°that is a tempting proposal.¡±


    ¡°!¡± the girl¡¯s face brightened at choi yeonseung¡¯s words.


    ¡°however, i have a few more questions.¡±


    ¡°ask away. i¡¯ll answer everything i can.¡±


    ¡°what do i need to do if i join the alliance? do i have any obligations? i have things to do, so i might not be able to help you if you are planning something.¡±


    the girl laughed. this constellation was incredibly reliable. he didn¡¯t ask what he could get, he asked what he had to do. such a talent was rare in the abyss.


    "nothing. we won¡¯t do anything for as long as other constellations don¡¯t attack our allies. even if you try to force them to do something, the constellations will never do anything detrimental to themselves. you can do whatever you want to do. battles between constellations take tediously long anyway, so you should have ample time to give and receive help.¡±


    the battle between constellations took so long that it was boring even in the abyss, where time passed differently from the outside. there was no such thing as constellations directly fighting each other. no fool would leave their kingdom empty to attack an enemy while other constellations were waiting for opportunities to do the same to theirs. in the end, battles between constellations were fought by their subordinates. the subordinates, supported by the constellations, would fight fiercely over a piece of land.


    ¡®no wonder constellations make contracts to gain subordinates. their subordinates are their power.¡¯


    during his time on earth, there was a hunter who was contacted by several constellations. that showed how outstanding the hunter¡¯s talent was.


    ¡®that means nothing to me, though.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was a novice who had just entered the path of a constellation, and there were countless long-lived constellations in the abyss. it would be reassuring to be in an alliance. it could also help choi yeonseung return to earth...


    ¡°alright. i accept the alliance.¡±


    ¡°you made the right decision!¡± the girl jumped with joy and grabbed choi yeonseung¡¯s hand.


    [you have joined the ¡®alliance of small and medium-sized constellations¡¯ of the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires.¡¯]


    [to the constellations, words are power. failure to keep your promise can deal a blow to your power of existence.]


    ¡®what is with the name of the alliance...?¡¯


    choi yeonseung faltered slightly for the first time. did he just join a strange group?


    ¡°isn¡¯t it a good name?¡±


    ¡°um... y-yes.¡±


    the manipulator of dreams and desires put so much sincerity in her question that choi yeonseung was forced to change his stance. he was finally in a social interaction for the first time in ages!

 Chapter 16

    chapter 16


    now that he thought about it, something similar seemed to have happened on earth.


    -yeonseung. what do you think about the name ¡®the strongest and supreme invincibility¡¯ for our clan?


    -uh, that sounds like trash.


    -...i-is that so? in fact, i thought so as well. i was just joking.


    the clan leader¡¯s eyes filled with tears as he said those words.


    -...come to think of it, it is a fairy-like name...


    -that¡¯s right?! i knew you would like it! these days, even hunters have to promote themselves, right? the clan name should be neat and refreshing. i thought about names like ¡®best sss-grade clan¡¯ or ¡®my clan members are limitless,¡¯ but i liked that one better.


    -wow... too... good...


    put up with it! still, he was usually a really good clan leader! fortunately, the government rejected the clan name under the reason that it was too playful.


    ever since then, choi yeonseung had learned a lesson. if someone named something, just say the name they picked was good no matter what! so what if it was called the alliance of small and medium-sized constellations? it was good enough for as long as it clearly conveyed their alliance''s purpose!


    ¡°is it bad?¡±


    ¡°no. i think it¡¯s a really good name. really.¡±


    the manipulator of dreams and desires laughed at choi yeonseung¡¯s response. he said it was good even though it didn¡¯t seem to suit his taste. he a very rare constellation, considering the basic personality of most constellations revolved around arrogance and rudeness.


    ¡®i chose really well.¡¯


    she was lucky. if choi yeonseung was stronger or didn¡¯t have desires, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to join forces with him.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is welcomingly waving its paws.]


    [the ''cat of lava and magma'' says you would¡¯ve done better by joining its household, but you''re not a stupid constellation for joining the alliance of small and medium-sized constellations.]


    ¡°!¡±


    the cat of lava and magma! he talked to that constellation several times when he was leaving the ruler of blood and brawls¡¯ realm. was it also a member of the alliance of small and medium-sized constellations?


    ¡°since this is an alliance, there¡¯s no way we¡¯re the only ones in it. who are the other constellations?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    [......]


    both constellations avoided answering. choi yeonseung had an unwanted thought.


    ¡°... is it just the two of you?¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is angry. it wonders what''s wrong with that and threatens not to give you the gift it has prepared for you.]


    ¡°no, i¡¯m not particularly disappointed. oh, what gift are you talking about?¡±


    choi yeonseung appeased the cat.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ heard a rumor that you are gathering adamantium and orichalcum. it says that if you want, it can make the item you desire with your adamantium and orichalcum.]??v€l?1n.


    the girl next to him gave an explanation.


    ¡°the cat of lava and magma is a famous blacksmith constellation. it promised to make your weapons as a gift if you join our alliance.¡±


    a rare good being in the abyss... no, they weren¡¯t good, but they were kind-hearted since they were in a reliable alliance of constellations. to be honest, choi yeonseung was a bit moved to be given this as a sign-up gift.


    ¡°i have collected a lot of adamantium, but i don¡¯t have enough orichalcum. i would like to delay the request until i collect more.¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ cocks its head. it is asking if the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ hasn¡¯t given you a gift yet.]


    ¡°i was going to use it to persuade him, but before i could, he has already accepted the offer...¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ laughs while saying that it is a stupid constellation.]


    ¡°... i hope you know that i can leave the alliance.¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is flustered and says it¡¯s a joke!]


    ¡°what gift is it?¡±


    ¡°i thought it would be more difficult to persuade you. as you said, most constellations are arrogant, which is why... i prepared things that you might be interested in.¡±


    in addition to answering choi yeonseung¡¯s questions, the manipulator of dreams and desires had prepared many things. to be honest, she thought he would be pickier!


    ¡°......!¡±


    [the a-rank martial art book ¡®star absorption method¡¯ has been found!]


    martial arts? why would anyone bother learning it?


    ¡°well, i thought it was a martial art valuable enough for a martial artist like you to be interested in... was i mistaken?¡±


    ¡°no... i do want this martial arts book. thank you. i will gratefully accept it.¡±


    choi yeonseung accepted the martial arts book.


    [do you want to learn the ¡®star absorption method¡¯ martial arts?]


    -yes.


    [you have learned the ¡®star absorption method¡¯!]


    [you are currently at the transcendent-class stage.]


    [the skill ¡®state of perfection¡¯...]


    [the skill ¡®three flowers gathering¡¯...]


    [the skill ¡®heavenly martial physique...]


    [the ¡®star absorption method¡¯ has been completely realized.]


    martial arts lost in every aspect against magic, but it was a completely different story when choi yeonseung used it. having attained enlightenment with other martial arts, he could use new martial arts immediately.


    ¡®i see. so this is the star absorption method.¡¯


    he could do something similar to the star absorption method¡¯s effects through the power of existence. however, mastering the star absorption method meant he wouldn¡¯t need to use the power of existence for those reasons anymore. the more he saved the power of existence, the better. it was like a resource that could be used for anything, after all.


    ¡®come to think of it, those constellations... they probably used the power of existence to grant their apostles strength.¡¯


    the orichalcum ingot, the manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ other gift, was an ordinary yet good gift.


    choi yeonseung had enough to make everything that he wanted.


    an adamantium frying pan!


    an adamantium cutting board!


    an orichalcum kitchen knife!


    an orichalcum cutlery set!


    ¡®has it been over 10,000 years? well, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡¯


    it seemed to have been a while since he stopped tracking time. after saving for his goal piece by piece, choi yeonseung finally achieved it. he was satisfied.


    ¡°you seem to like your gift.¡±


    ¡°i do. thank you.¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ excitedly asks what type of battle gear you want to make. with that amount, a great sword and shield...]


    ¡°uh... a frying pan and cutting board.¡±


    [......]


    ¡°i want to make a kitchen knife and cutlery set with the orichalcum...¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ has no answer. it appears to have died.]


    ***


    the constellation tried to persuade him to change his decision all day, but choi yeonseung didn¡¯t budge. in the end, the cat shouted ¡®die hipster!¡¯ and promised to make it. a promise was a promise.


    ¡°now, answer my question. what is awakening?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    choi yeonseung thought of himself as someone who had just entered the path of a constellation, a half-constellation. in that sense, he had to grow one step further to become a constellation. the reason why he thought so was the message window he received from the world when he reached the transcendent-class stage.


    [¡¯resonance from the world¡¯ is becoming stronger and stronger. the world is waiting for your call.]


    waiting for his call. in other words, he needed to evolve one more time. even the demon barigos told him as much.


    -become a constellation, human!


    choi yeonseung truly thought he wasn¡¯t a constellation yet.


    however, the manipulator of dreams and desires waved her hand as if all of those were nonsense. ¡°no, you are a constellation. there is no such thing as a half-constellation or an apprentice. there are just constellations.¡±


    ¡°......??¡±

 Chapter 17

    chapter 17


    unable to understand it, choi yeonseung became puzzled.


    ¡°but... you just said i still haven¡¯t awakened?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not that you aren¡¯t a constellation already, but that you haven¡¯t realized you are. look. you still think you are just halfway there, right? that¡¯s what i mean.¡±??v€l-b!n.


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung suddenly became anxious. he had felt this way before. it was right before hearing ¡®did the goddess deceive you?¡¯ when he was fighting barigos! in other words...


    the anxiety of being mistaken and doing something useless on his own!


    ¡°i see. you are a very unusual being among the constellations.¡±


    ¡°is it because of martial arts?¡±


    ¡°... that¡¯s not it... it is extremely rare for a mortal to become a constellation.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung cocked his head.


    ¡°weren¡¯t you a nightmare demon before becoming a constellation?¡±


    wasn¡¯t she born a nightmare demon but trained extremely hard until she finally became her race¡¯s master?


    the girl smiled bitterly at his words. ¡°no. i was just born as a constellation one day. the nightmare demons¡¯ dreams and desires created me.¡±


    it wasn¡¯t just the soul that exuded power of existence. little by little, every activity of one¡¯s soul created the power of existence.


    the jurisdiction of the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ was, as her name suggested, dreams and desires. the dreams and desires of the nightmare demons were enough to give birth to her, a new constellation that would reign over them. that was the norm.


    ¡°i heard that the ruler of blood and brawls was born a long time ago when the abyss was in the middle of endless blood and brawls. the same is probably true of the cat constellation. on the contrary, it is extremely rare for a mortal to become a constellation. this is my first time seeing it.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded silently at the girl¡¯s words. her informative explanation was easy to accept since the constellations had always felt so distant.


    ¡°we¡¯ve been constellations since we were born, and our enemies had always been those of our kind. but you are different. that¡¯s precisely why you still can¡¯t accept that you are a constellation. accept it, and you will awaken. it isn¡¯t that big of a big deal. it¡¯s simply acknowledging that you are one of us.¡±


    ¡°is it that easy?¡±


    ¡°no... you have already gone through all the difficult roads. becoming a constellation is hard.¡±


    the girl spoke in a dumbfounded manner. she claimed he had walked incredibly difficult paths to become a constellation, but he thought it was easy. was he a pervert who liked difficult things?


    choi yeonseung closed his eyes without even realizing the manipulator of dreams and desires thought of him that way.


    was this constellation¡¯s words true? did he have to just accept it? was it that easy?


    ¡®i am a constellation.¡¯


    [¡¯resonance from the world¡¯ is activated. the world has received your call.]


    [you can use your power as the constellation ¡®undefeated incarnation of training.¡¯]


    ... it was.


    choi yeonseung suddenly felt his presence expand far and wide. he was clearly in the manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ realm, but it felt like he could look and talk to those who were far from him if he wanted.


    everything felt natural¡ªfrom what type of constellation he was to what he could do as a constellation. it was as if he knew them all from the beginning.


    choi yeonseung shifted his perspective and looked at a nightmare demon, who was fighting a monster in a remote area. the nightmare demon was fighting fiercely.


    [the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ has given you a blessing.]


    seemingly bewildered by suddenly being blessed by a constellation, the nightmare demon looked up at the sky and exclaimed.


    -thank you, constellation! i will surely repay your kindness!


    ¡®ah. this is how they do it.¡¯


    he could now tell how the other constellations looked at him and sent him message windows. and he could also give mortals great blessings using a bit of his power of existence.


    ¡°no. i think this is enough. thank you for teaching me.¡±


    choi yeonseung expressed his gratitude, and the girl smiled. she felt more refreshed the more she looked at him. such a constellation now existed in the abyss. she didn¡¯t know what would happen when more time had passed, but she wanted him to remain like this a bit longer.


    ¡°as a constellation, you¡¯ve just taken your first steps. you already seem to be quite the powerful combatant even among our kind, but you should still be careful. battles between constellations aren''t determined by how well we fight.¡±


    ¡°how are they determined, then?¡±


    ¡°no matter how good a ruler is at fighting, they can¡¯t win wars without a country to support them. high-ranking constellations with many household members and overwhelming power of existence ultimately have an advantage. and that only becomes clearer the longer the fight drags out. you¡¯re certainly quite strong, but you¡¯re only among the lower-level constellations when it comes to power of existence.¡±


    ¡°i see. i¡¯ll use that as a reference point.¡±


    the sky beyond the sky. such was the world of constellations. the world that choi yeonseung rose to after so many years of training was just the starting line!


    ¡°ah. do you know anything about earth?¡±


    ¡°earth? i think i¡¯ve heard about it before. isn¡¯t it one of the planets outside the abyss?¡±


    earth, one of the planets inside the universe but outside the abyss. she had heard rumors that it had a huge number of souls and that powerful constellations were looking forward to its gate opening. the greedy constellations weren¡¯t satisfied with the souls in the abyss alone. they also wanted to rule the souls in the universe. for the constellations, the gate connecting the abyss and the universe was a golden opportunity!


    ¡°i¡¯m from that planet,¡± choi yeonseung told her.


    ¡°is that so? has its gate opened?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°i see... that had to have been chaotic.¡±


    ¡°not exactly. fortunately, the constellations noticed each other.¡±


    now he knew why the constellations created household members instead of invading earth when its gate opened. they were keeping each other in check. they would lose if they fought each other, so they came to an agreement instead. before choi yeonseung left, hunters and ordinary people were desiring to catch the constellations¡¯ interest and obtain power...


    their strategy to get more worshippers worked. still, thanks to that, earth got the chance to adapt by raiding the abyss¡¯ dungeons and slaying monsters.


    ¡®then the future that the goddess of balance who walks ahead saw... the future where the evil god constellations near the gate will invade earth is real.¡¯


    evil god constellations like the ruler of blood and brawls didn¡¯t like such lukewarm agreements or concessions. they didn¡¯t need the agreement made by the constellations near the gate! they would subdue earth¡¯s humanity with their own strength and dominate their souls!


    ¡°you were lucky. there were probably relatively good constellations nearby.¡±


    ¡°i think so as well. however, it is too disturbing to just believe in them. manipulator of dreams and desires, my goal is to get back to earth.¡±


    the girl nodded in response. considering he was from that planet, it was understandable that he would be so attached to it. in addition, if the rumors were true, there had to be more than a billion souls on earth. a constellation¡¯s rank would rise tremendously if all the souls there worshipped them.


    ¡°that¡¯s a good goal. if there is anything that i or the cat can do to help, we¡¯ll gladly do so.¡±


    ¡°thank you.¡±


    ¡°can i give you one piece of advice?¡±


    ¡°say it.¡±


    ¡°if the gate on earth has opened and nearby constellations are observing that planet, then you probably shouldn¡¯t reveal that you¡¯re a constellation and return to earth. no matter how good a constellation¡¯s nature is, they will still keep you in check. besides, the power of constellations strong enough to target such a planet isn¡¯t a joke. they will be many times stronger than constellations like us.¡±


    other constellations would be forced to be vigilant toward a constellation that came from earth. no matter how anyone looked at it, choi yeonseung would have the advantage. they would naturally suspect he was trying to monopolize the souls on earth.


    ¡°no matter how good a constellation is, they won¡¯t back down if it involves losing souls... it is better to hide your identity if you don¡¯t want to be kept in check.¡±


    ¡°you want me to hide my identity as a constellation?¡±


    ¡°you can¡¯t use the power of existence. you will get caught the moment you use it.¡±


    ¡°... that¡¯s for certain. once i¡¯ve hidden it, what then?¡±


    ¡°of course, you should be worshiped. if you¡¯ve become matchless on that planet and its inhabitants start to worship you, their souls will naturally belong to you. it will be too late by the time the constellations realize that the souls have been taken away from them.¡±


    the manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ strategy was excellent.


    ¡°earth is so far away, but won¡¯t the constellations near its gate know your identity?¡±


    ¡°the plan for me to secretly go back to earth and win an academy award as an actor to attract the world is definitely a good plan, but...¡±


    ¡°ah, no. i didn¡¯t say that.¡±


    ¡°huh? isn¡¯t that what you meant?¡±

 Chapter 18

    chapter 18


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t really know what it was like to be worshiped. he wasn¡¯t a famous hunter when he was on earth. hence, the only example he could think of was a movie star! of course, it wasn¡¯t a good example. no matter how one looked at it, choi yeonseung was far from being an actor!


    the manipulator of dreams and desires couldn¡¯t understand why a constellation was talking about becoming an actor, which didn¡¯t fit his aptitude. it seemed much better to become a hero admired by the people...


    ¡®honestly, it doesn¡¯t suit him.¡¯


    what type of acting could this honest constellation do?


    ¡°... you don¡¯t have to be an actor to be worshipped. you can just be a hero,¡± she said.


    ¡°a hero...¡±


    ¡°with your planet¡¯s gate open, there¡¯s bound to be chaos. naturally, there will also be heroes.¡±


    ¡°ah. there were famous hunters.¡±


    upon slaying a-grade or higher monsters from dungeons or the gate, hunters would become famous and were treated as s-grade. even if they were just a-grade, they were especially managed and treated as the most important force in the country. s-grade hunters were simply a-grade hunters who had achieved great feats. they were certainly famous. even when choi yeonseung was still around, those hunters had huge reputations.


    ¡°i¡¯m definitely more suited for the hunter profession. if i work hard, then people will trust and like me.¡±


    ¡°... but why a hunter?¡±


    ¡°ah. it¡¯s the only thing i can think of right now. to me, hunters were those who worked with me.¡±


    the manipulator of dreams and desires was about to ask more questions but stopped herself. maybe he just dreamed of becoming an actor.


    ¡°the plan is obviously good, but it has a major flaw, ¡° choi yeonseung added. ¡°one of the constellations on earth knows me.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    the girl¡¯s expression stiffened.


    ¡°which constellation? if so, we might have to win that constellation over.¡±


    ¡°win over?¡±


    ¡°there is no harm in strengthening the alliance of small and medium-sized constellations. for the sake of our plan, it¡¯d be much better to win that constellation over. however, they¡¯d have to be trustworthy. how did you get to know that constellation?¡±


    ¡°... it¡¯s a long story.¡±


    choi yeonseung explained what happened between him and the goddess of balance who walks ahead as simply as possible for both of their honors. nevertheless, the manipulator of dreams and desires was dumbfounded.


    ¡°instead of just entering into a contract with you and granting you strength, she sent you to a training ground instead... and you accepted it?¡±


    ¡°it sounded plausible at the time. it still does.¡±


    choi yeonseung was to be given a nice private place for him to train in. even if the ruler of blood and brawls was the one that offered it, choi yeonseung would¡¯ve still been tempted.


    ¡°i can¡¯t seem to understand both the constellation who suggested it and the human who accepted it... training is indeed part of your name, but what type of stupid constellation would even suggest such a plan? i¡¯d rather not join forces with a constellation i can¡¯t believe in, especially if they¡¯re an idiot...¡±


    ¡°no, she isn¡¯t stupid.¡±


    for some reason, choi yeonseung defended the goddess of balance who walks ahead. the constellation hadn¡¯t done anything wrong to him. rather, didn¡¯t she try to help earth? she seemed to have done a sloppy job at it, but...


    ¡°she is called the goddess of balance who walks ahead. she¡¯s a great constellation who can foresee the future.¡±


    predicting the future was a rare skill even in the abyss. foresight magic was extremely rare, and very few people could use it. even then, its results weren¡¯t accurate. the ability to peek into the future was a huge deal, though!


    ¡°the goddess of balance who walks ahead... i¡¯ve heard that name before.¡±


    the girl spoke in a surprised voice. choi yeonseung was a bit taken aback by her words. this place was so far away from that goddess¡¯ realm, yet the girl knew her name. the goddess of balance who walks ahead could surprisingly be a great constellation. well, few constellations in the abyss could predict the future...


    ¡°i heard she¡¯s a ridiculous constellation that can predict the future but misses every time?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    that review was worse than choi yeonseung expected. he felt a bit sorry for the goddess.


    ¡°the future isn¡¯t something that can be accurately seen.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re right, but doesn¡¯t being able to see the future to some extent yet be unable to save it mean you¡¯ve got a problem with your intelligence? i can¡¯t understand her at all.¡±


    ¡°ah. come to think of it, there is a place where the nightmare demons train if you¡¯re interested.¡±


    ¡°as expected of the chairman. you know very well what the members want. i think you will be a good chairman in the future.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung openly flattered her, causing the manipulator of dreams and desire¡¯s mood to subtly change.


    ¡®he is really bad at flattery!¡¯


    ***


    since these nightmare demons lived in this domain, they knew more than one place they could use for training. unfortunately, most of the locations weren¡¯t meaningful to choi yeonseung. what was the point of a training ground for practicing magic or melee combat?


    there were obvious differences between a constellation and a mortal, and choi yeonseung¡¯s close-quarters combat skills were outstanding even among the constellations. moreover, martial arts was his specialty, not magic. hence, the manipulator of dreams and desires presented a different training place.


    ¡°here it is. it¡¯s called the well of enlightenment.¡±


    ¡°well of enlightenment...¡±


    choi yeonseung looked around. he couldn¡¯t see any nightmare demons. all he could see was a huge well in the distance.


    ¡°where¡¯s everyone?¡±


    he suddenly felt suspicious! the girl replied as if the answer was obvious. ¡°the well of enlightenment is a dangerous place. my subordinates used to frequent it before, but i forbid its use when i was born as a constellation. it simply has too many insane nightmare demons.¡±


    ¡°you want me to do this when it made others insane?¡±


    ¡°they can¡¯t survive that place, but i doubt a constellation like you can¡¯t. even if you fail, you¡¯ve got nothing to worry about since you won¡¯t get hurt that much.¡±


    the girl approached the well and started to pull at the rope, raising the deeply lowered bucket. water sloshed as the bucket surged up. the girl scooped up the water with a pleasant expression. this well had no effect on the manipulator of dreams and desires. what effect could it have on her when she could manipulate desires?


    she asked, ¡°did you see it?¡±


    ¡°...is drinking the water the training?¡±


    ¡°to be exact, it is holding the rope, lifting the bucket, and drinking the water inside it.¡± the girl threw the bucket back inside and continued her explanation. ¡°the water here is special for only one reason.¡±


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°it becomes as heavy as the desire of the person pulling the rope.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    ¡°the stronger the desire, the heavier the water becomes and the harder it is to lift it. it is even more so for a race like the nightmare demons. the only way for nightmare demons to lift it is to rid themselves of their desires. just like the star absorption method, this well of enlightenment is one of the methods nightmare demons could use to control themselves.¡±


    the girl¡¯s words made choi yeonseung see how much the nightmare demon race suffered from their characteristics. in each of these places, the history of attempting to overcome their racial traits could be felt.


    ¡®how much did arni suffer to look like that?¡¯


    choi yeonseung felt sorry for arni. arni drooled when seeing choi yeonseung, but...


    ¡°it looks difficult, but it isn¡¯t dangerous. why forbid it?¡±


    ¡°the water shows an illusion that satisfies one¡¯s desire when they lift it up. the young nightmare demons were bewitched by it.¡±


    the illusion of having their desires satisfied was so charming for the nightmare demons that they clung to it.


    ¡°that¡¯s scary.¡±


    ¡°you don¡¯t have to be afraid.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not. where else can i gain an opportunity like this?¡±


    [the ¡®suppress the strong and support the weak¡¯ skill has been activated. drinking the water from the ¡®well of enlightenment¡¯ will increase your power of existence!]


    [the ¡®overcoming oneself is being strong¡¯ skill has been activated. drinking the water from the ¡®well of enlightenment¡¯ will increase your power of existence!]


    choi yeonseung stood in front of the well without any fear. it felt like it had been so long since he last felt fear while standing in front of a much more powerful opponent. at some point, his heart began pounding whenever he faced such foes. it felt like his heart was telling him that that was exactly what he wanted!


    as choi yeonseung strengthened his determination, the manipulator of dreams and desires saw choi yeonseung¡¯s extremely refined desire shine brightly. that moment made the nightmare demons go craziest! it enchanted them like a lantern to moths.


    ¡°... i shouldn¡¯t let the nightmare demons anywhere near this place.¡± she could already feel the nightmare demons drooling from faraway places.

 Chapter 19

    chapter 19


    upon pulling the rope, choi yeonseung was startled by the bucket¡¯s weight.


    ¡®heavy!¡¯


    he never even felt this much weight during his battle with barigos or the hydra. choi yeonseung¡¯s body overflowed with an infinite amount of internal energy. with that strength, he could face any huge opponent. it had been so long since he felt something so heavy! its weight didn¡¯t even change no matter how much internal energy he used.


    ¡®huhu. he looks really surprised.¡¯


    the manipulator of dreams and desires smiled. everyone who used the well of enlightenment for the first time showed the same expression. they believed in their own power, so its weight inevitably surprised them. it didn¡¯t matter how strong they were. after all, this well was putting themselves against them.


    ¡°?!¡±


    however, the girl¡¯s eyes soon widened. choi yeonseung managed to pull up the bucket.


    ¡°how did you do it?!¡±


    ¡°huh? i just lifted it.¡±


    if it was too heavy to lift, then he just had to apply more force. it was very simple logic.


    ¡®i see! he is a constellation, after all.¡¯


    the manipulator of dreams and desires immediately realized the answer. choi yeonseung was a constellation. a being who transcended the laws of the abyss and created new laws! even if the well of enlightenment was entangled with him, choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t be bound.??v€l-b!n.


    the world changed the moment choi yeonseung decided to ¡®lift¡¯ it.


    even so, such a feat was still amazing. choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t even using his power of existence right now. he was subconsciously using the power of existence! just as the manipulator of dreams and desires could easily use the power related to her name, the undefeated incarnation of training also showed terrible potential in the power related to his name.


    ¡®i see. what is possible for a constellation of training?¡¯


    the manipulator of dreams and desires thought about it. what if choi yeonseung made a household member? since he was a constellation related to training, his household members would also receive enormous benefits from training.


    a power struggle in the abyss was usually fought by the constellations¡¯ household members rather than the constellations themselves. their household members¡¯ strength would determine the outcome of the battle. and the constellation in front of her could just be the best when it came to cultivating household members.


    ¡®i totally missed this aspect of his. i thought he was just a combat-type constellation. if he creates a kingdom in the future, then its power could go beyond our wildest imagination.¡¯


    ¡°do you have any plans to create a household and form a kingdom?¡±


    ¡°what? no.¡±


    choi yeonseung answered while lifting and lowering the bucket.


    ¡°why? as a constellation, you¡¯re going to need subordinates.¡±


    ¡°it is already too much for me to handle everything. what subordinates?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t just think like that. having subordinates can make things easier.¡±


    ¡°manipulator.¡±


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°can you please be quiet? you¡¯re disturbing me.¡±


    ¡°... well, at least think about it. there may be strength in creating and nurturing a household.¡±


    as the manipulator of dreams and desires spoke, she noticed something strange. choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t lifting the bucket all the way up. rather, he just kept lifting it a bit and lowering it again. what was this?


    ¡°why aren¡¯t you pulling it completely up?¡±


    ¡°tsk tsk. you probably don¡¯t know this because you don¡¯t do martial arts, but...¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at the manipulator of dreams and desires with pity, momentarily stunning her. she didn¡¯t know why, but she felt bad!


    ¡°if i lift it all at once, then i¡¯ll get less training. i have to do several reps to stimulate my muscles. have you never done a deadlift?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know what that is.¡±


    she didn¡¯t know what he was talking about, but she did know choi yeonseung was using the well of enlightenment strangely. the well of enlightenment was a place to gain enlightenment by looking at and enduring one¡¯s desires, not exercising one¡¯s muscles with the bucket!


    ¡°... since you keep lifting it, it should be affecting you. don¡¯t you see any illusions?¡±


    ¡°i do, but i¡¯m ignoring them.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    the manipulator of dreams and desires was surprised. he could see the illusions?


    the well of enlightenment tested the person pulling the bucket by continuously showing illusions. he was indeed a constellation, but it would only be normal for even him to show signs of disturbance and shaking.


    ¡°......¡±


    the manipulator of dreams and desires couldn¡¯t deny it. if they saw choi yeonseung, their eyes would roll in, and they¡¯d have to resist attacking him! however, the manipulator of dreams and desires was the ruler of the nightmare demons. she struggled to defend the nightmare demons.


    ¡°s-still, the nightmare demons are popular in the abyss.¡±


    ¡°really? how unusual.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    he found it unusual that such crazy beings were popular! he didn¡¯t bother saying what he was feeling, but she felt like she could hear what was in his heart.


    ¡°w-we are originally a calmer race.¡±


    ¡°i got it already. why do you keep explaining yourself?¡±


    ¡°no... i think you are misunderstanding so i want to explain it.¡±


    ¡°i got it, i got it. bring arni.¡±


    ¡°arni?¡± the girl¡¯s expression changed. the reason why choi yeonseung called arni was that arni was a nightmare demon with good control. however, the manipulator misunderstood his intentions.


    ¡®aha! he prefers an incubus, not a succubus!¡¯


    no wonder he took care of arni last time...


    "i understand. do you need any other nightmare demons?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s fine. i only need one person. one.¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is cocking its head.]


    ***


    deadlifting at the well of enlightenment and wandering around with arni in his spare time. though he was sightseeing, choi yeonseung still didn¡¯t look at where the nightmare demons lived or played. no, he couldn¡¯t do so.


    ¡°that place...¡±


    -kkieeeeeek!


    ¡°this place...¡±


    -kiyoooooh!


    ¡°... let¡¯s just go somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry...¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s fine. it isn¡¯t your fault.¡±


    if he went anywhere near nightmare demons, they would go crazy. hence, he could only go to places they didn¡¯t occupy.


    ¡°i¡¯m bored. do you want to spar, arni?¡±


    ¡°i dare not be your opponent, constellation-nim.¡±


    "it doesn''t matter. i just need a light warm-up so my body doesn¡¯t stiffen up.¡±


    choi yeonseung stretched out his hand, and arni stiffened with tension. even among nightmare demons, arni was powerful. however, in choi yeonseung¡¯s presence, he felt like a bug. choi yeonseung was far too overwhelming!


    ¡®i will have to go all out!¡¯


    arni used magic without hesitation. moderation was nothing in front of a constellation. he would be obliterated if he didn¡¯t do his best.


    -shadenka¡¯s sword of light!


    7th-circle magic! only s-grade hunters could use it on earth! watching arni use such magic so casually let choi yeonseung witness how great arni was. bright lights soon merged in the form of a sword. it then stopped in arni¡¯s hand. choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t a magician, but even he could see how strong that magic was.


    ¡®touching it probably causes a lot of damage.¡¯


    choi yeonseung¡¯s concentrated energy was the pure crystallization of internal energy. it was one of the most powerful skills in the abyss, which had an abundance of all types of vicious magic. it had an unmatched destructive power! though not as much as concentrated energy, arni¡¯s sword of light was emitting a tremendous amount of magic power.


    -advanced agility enhancement, advanced strength enhancement, shadenka¡¯s combat divine realm...


    ¡®this is unexpected. does arni prefer close combat?¡¯


    it was prejudiced to say that magicians unconditionally fought from a distance. after all, there were also many melee types among them. why else would martial artists shed tears while saying, ¡®magicians can do it all!¡¯


    nevertheless, choi yeonseung could now speak with confidence. no matter how he thought about it, martial arts was better for close combat!

 Chapter 20

    chapter 20


    ¡®magic has gaps.¡¯


    magic was a skill that drew in magic power from external sources and twisted it according to the user¡¯s will. however, collecting magic power took time. the better the magician, the less time it took to cast magic. even so, there was a limit.


    on the other hand, martial arts was a skill that drew out internal energy from within. it was much faster than magic. that difference was bound to be felt in a battle between the strong.


    choi yeonseung used concentrated fist energy to deflect arni¡¯s sword. every time it was swung, the sword of light let out sounds of space being torn, but the strength of choi yeonseung¡¯s internal energy remained unshaken.


    ¡®this doesn¡¯t make sense!¡¯


    arni was astonished. he was naturally weaker than choi yeonseung. after all, he was just a mortal while choi yeonseung was a constellation. still, he was surprised! no matter how strong choi yeonseung¡¯s fist concentrated energy was, it should still quiver even just a bit upon colliding with magic. however, it remained still.


    ¡®he¡¯s unleashing his energy in advance!¡¯


    arni was right. choi yeonseung read all of arni¡¯s movements and sent his energy a step ahead. in doing so, he could avoid being hurt even if he was bare-handed.


    this was another advantage that martial arts had over magic in melee combat. martial arts had continuous movements that linked offense and defense. of course, magicians knew how to fight to some extent. some hunters even practiced boxing or mixed martial arts. however, they only did it at a basic level. magicians fundamentally used magic. if they had time, it was better to practice magic instead of combat techniques!


    technical skills that returned the opponent¡¯s power, such as covert attack reversal, were only found in martial arts or were difficult to find the magic counterpart of. it was far more beneficial to strengthen a different spell!


    one step. two steps. three steps.


    choi yeonseung gradually narrowed the distance between him and arni. arni unleashed attack after attack, but he was also the one stepping away. it was an incomprehensible sight!


    ¡®it¡¯s like all i¡¯m hitting is the air! i can¡¯t seem to hit him no matter how hard i strike!¡¯


    in the end, choi yeonseung narrowed the distance, lightly grabbed arni, and subdued him.


    ¡°t-thank you.¡±


    ¡°i had fun. you¡¯re strong, arni... i just think it is better not to rely too much on magic. you should learn how to apply magic.¡±


    ¡°by applying magic... do you mean to improve or mix magic together?¡±


    ¡°no. i literally mean the application of magic itself. you can still wield energy even without doing that sword of light thing before.¡±


    choi yeonseung made a sword with his concentrated energy as he spoke. at his fingertips, tremendous amounts of internal energy gathered and assumed the shape of a sword.


    a sword of concentrated energy, concentrated sword! coating ordinary swords with sword energy alone consumed a huge amount of internal energy. meanwhile, choi yeonseung created a sword-shaped concentrated energy without using any weapon as a base. his internal energy was truly infinite.


    ¡°don¡¯t just swing it. you can attack with unorthodox patterns by deflecting their attacks or bending your sword.¡±


    [you have been taught by the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training.¡¯]


    [you have gained the skill ¡®flexibility controls rigidity.¡¯]


    [the proficiency of your skill ¡®shadenka¡¯s sword of light¡¯ has increased.]


    [the speed of your skill ¡®shadenka¡¯s sword of light¡¯ has increased.]


    [the duration of your skill ¡®shadenka¡¯s sword of light¡¯ has increased.]


    [......]


    a skill that could overpower strength with softness, flexibility controls rigidity! it was weaker than covert attack reversal, but it was a powerful enough combat skill. moreover, arni¡¯s spell also improved.


    ¡°......!!¡±


    learning one spell wasn¡¯t all there was. they had steadily used that spell to improve their proficiency in it little by little as well. even in the case of commonly used 1st-circle magic, magicians highly skilled in it were far stronger than magicians using it for the first time. however, choi yeonseung¡¯s teachings transcended that process and immediately strengthened arni¡¯s magic.


    arni had just received a great lesson!


    ¡®this is the incarnation of training...!¡¯


    choi yeonseung showed tremendous power that befitted his name and jurisdiction.


    ¡°why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    ¡°too... it is too great...!¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded. what was so great about this?


    ¡°well, this technique could be a bit amazing if you¡¯ve only learned magic.¡±


    ¡°it isn¡¯t like that...!¡±


    ***


    ¡°sprinkle it with oil, salt, and pepper. mix onions, garlic, and eggs...¡±


    since they looked similar to earth¡¯s condiments, he decided to call them by similar names. they probably had similar effects as well. the moment the meat¡¯s poison was burned away, it revealed a vivid red color. the manipulator of dreams and desires admired the appearance of the steak that was beautifully placed in a bowl.


    ¡°that¡¯s amazing. i didn¡¯t know you were this serious about cooking. your martial arts are great, and your knife skills are just as amazing.¡±


    ¡°try it first before complimenting it.¡±


    ¡°alright, then...¡±


    the girl ate a piece of meat with a cautious expression.


    delicious!


    the cold meat clung to her with every bite. it had a meaty taste, but the magic power it emanated was no joke. it was certainly a hydra¡¯s meat. still, what was with this magic power?


    ¡®i see! this is what the orichalcum and adamantium are for!¡¯


    the ore that emitted magic power and the ore that absorbed magic power worked in synergy with each other to further evolve the dish!


    ¡°... is it not delicious?¡±


    choi yeonseung asked uneasily. the girl had taken one bite and lowered her head. was it a mistake to use ingredients that looked similar to the ones on earth?


    ¡°no. it¡¯s really delicious!¡±


    ¡°ah. really?¡±


    [the c-rank skill ¡®low-level abyss cooking¡¯ has evolved into the b-rank skill ¡®intermediate abyss cooking.¡¯]


    [you have made a delicious dish using ingredients that are hard to handle! the ¡®overcome oneself to become strong¡¯ skill has increased the power of your existence.]


    ¡°????¡±


    no, what was this?


    ¡®i overcame myself? with this?¡¯


    cooking could indeed be seen as a type of training, but... choi yeonseung was flustered. however, he soon realized it. everything in the world was training!


    ¡®indeed, no matter what it is, it is most powerful to do things while having fun.¡¯


    just as choi yeonseung enjoyed martial arts training on earth, he felt the same toward cooking. it started as a simple hobby, but it was recognized as training because he enjoyed it that much.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is angry that only the wanton woman is eating it!]


    ¡°ah.¡±


    ¡°ah.¡±


    choi yeonseung and the manipulator were taken aback. they were just eating casually...!


    ***


    in the end, choi yeonseung took out the remaining hydra meat and served it to the cat of lava and magma. the cat constellation initially didn¡¯t answer, almost as if it was upset. however, the cat liked the dish so much that it quickly relaxed as soon as it ate.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that it is worthwhile.]


    ¡°by the way, can you use all of it like this? i''m thankful, but...¡± the girl asked. the remaining meat was served to the nightmare demons.


    hydra meat was quite valuable, even among constellations.


    ¡°meat is meant to be eaten, isn¡¯t it? you treated me with hospitality, so i should at least do this much for you.¡±


    doing the same thing over and over was bad for growth. he had to keep trying out new things to improve further. hence, choi yeonseung tried mass cooking and attempted to feed all the nightmare demons in the vicinity.


    the result was a success.


    [you have made a delicious dish that serves many people using ingredients that are hard to handle! the ¡®overcoming oneself is being strong¡¯ skill has increased the power of your existence.]


    ¡°hos... hospitality?¡±


    [hospitality??]


    ¡°... why complain when i¡¯m just being nice to people?¡±


    ¡°i just feel bad.¡±


    all the nightmare demons ever did was drool over choi yeonseung. they were doing that even now. as their master, she was honestly too embarrassed! the manipulator of dreams and desires covered her face with her hands. she was so embarrassed to look at her guests that she couldn¡¯t even raise her head.

 Chapter 21

    chapter 21


    putting all this aside, the nightmare demons were seeing enormous effects. the dishes made with the hydra meat were like a powerful magic potion. it increased the amount of magic power the moment they ate it!


    ¡°everything seems fine, so why are you looking at me while eating?¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s words, all the nightmare demons looked down. they looked at choi yeonseung once, drooled, then took a bite of the dish.


    ¡®what type of stinginess is this?¡¯


    choi yeonseung once again vowed to leave as soon as possible. this place was really too much!


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ asks what type of dish this is.]


    ¡°ahh. it¡¯s ride porridge.¡±


    the second dish he prepared after the tartar steak was gukbap (hot soup with rice) without the rice! it was a good choice for feeding several people with a limited supply of meat.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ asks where the rice is.]


    ¡°... give me a break.¡±


    there was no rice here. choi yeonseung had no choice but to cook and serve the spicy meat soup alone.


    ¡®i wish i could get ingredients other than meat.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that it is still delicious. it is asking if this is the type of food you used to eat in your hometown.]


    ¡°in my hometown, we use food as a currency.¡±


    [just as the constellations use souls as currency? then the food there has got to be really amazing.]


    ¡°no. it¡¯s just a metaphor...¡±


    ¡°kuoooh!¡± beside him, arni drank the soup. soon, he let out a groan.


    ¡°???¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s killing me, constellation-nim!¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t you just sound like an old man?¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that the nightmare demon is old enough to be an old man.]


    ¡®that¡¯s true, but...¡¯


    ¡°kuooh!¡±


    ¡°kuoh!¡±


    ¡°......??¡±


    choi yeonseung flinched when he heard all the nightmare demons ¡®groan¡¯ in the same way.


    ¡®were they korean?¡¯


    [kuoh!]


    ¡°?!¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it copied the nightmare demons because it surprised you. it also says they don¡¯t often eat hot food.]


    ¡®the nightmare demons seem like it since they usually only get to eat slightly cold food and it contains strong magic power.¡¯


    the dishes that choi yeonseung made with sincerity contained powerful magic power. and these abyss dwellers used magic. hence, they couldn¡¯t help but feel intense stimulation. moreover, the nightmare demons were a race that could live without eating anything. all they had to do was eat desires. if they had to eat something, they usually just ate it cold with raw ingredients! the result...


    ¡°constellation-nim! can you give me another bowl?¡±


    ¡°constellation-nim! where is the meal?¡±


    ¡°constellation-nim! constellation-nim!¡±


    ¡°where is this jerk sneakily trying to touch?¡±


    ¡°get lost, you brat! you tried to eat his desire as well!¡±


    ¡°you rude bastard!¡±


    a brawl took place after they crowded around choi yeonseung!


    the manipulator of dreams and desires cried out emotionally. ¡°stop this madness now!"


    ***


    ¡°thank you for your hospitality.¡±


    ¡°... i hope you find what you are looking for. if you find the goddess of balance who walks ahead, please contact me.¡±


    ¡°no. i¡¯m telling your constellation to come. you aren¡¯t a match for me even if you try it.¡±


    [the skill ¡®suppress the strong and support the weak¡¯ has been activated. if you win against the horseman of plague and darkness, then your power of existence will increase!]


    [the skill ¡®overcome oneself to become strong¡¯ has been activated. if you fight against the horseman of plague and darkness, then your power of existence will increase!]


    -it seems you still don¡¯t understand the situation you¡¯re in! no matter how strong you are compared to mortals...


    ¡°aren¡¯t you coming? i¡¯ll make you come here, then.¡±


    choi yeonseung ignored the plague knight and rushed in. frightened, the plague knight raised his slime shield, but...


    choi yeonseung ignored that as well and just fired concentrated energy toward the surrounding buildings.


    ¡°come! horseman of plague and darkness! if you don¡¯t, i¡¯ll assume that you¡¯re scared and have run away. can¡¯t you even defend your realm?¡±


    a clear declaration of war! the moment he said this in the realm of another constellation, he was declaring that he would fight to the end with this constellation.


    the moment the constellation stepped back here, the subordinates of this constellation would no longer trust him. who would trust a ruler who couldn¡¯t even defend his territory?


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ has become flustered and is trying to stop you!]


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is asking what crazy things are you spouting?!]


    perturbed, the two constellations tried to stop choi yeonseung. they knew that choi yeonseung was an experienced warrior, but he was still a low-ranking constellation based on his power of existence. the horseman of plague and darkness was an intermediate constellation with his own kingdom and household members! it was too much of a disadvantageous battle.


    -s-such a reckless rioter...!


    the plague knight rushed to stop choi yeonseung, but the latter easily overpowered him and threw him away. choi yeonseung then resumed destroying his surroundings. according to choi yeonseung¡¯s will, more than a dozen lumps of concentrated energy were created around him.


    a bead made of concentrated energy, concentrated sphere! they were quite large, and they would unleash tremendous destructive force as soon as they were touched. the concentrated sphere flew in all directions, turning the surrounding area upside down.


    [the linked movement ¡®origin of the celestial meteor bombardment¡¯ has been added to the martial art ¡®origin of the celestial divine arts.¡¯]


    there were reasons why choi yeonseung was acting so crazy. it wasn¡¯t just that this constellation tried to fool him.


    ¡®i¡¯ve been acting too cowardly all this time.¡¯


    choi yeonseung had never been a powerhouse in the abyss. he had always done his best to win from the standpoint of the weak. and after becoming a constellation, others seemed to think he had given up just because his opponent was strong.


    however, his opponent wasn¡¯t absolutely stronger than him. the horseman of plague and darkness became a constellation before choi yeonseung and had a realm and more household members, but that didn¡¯t mean his strength was absolute.


    a battle between constellations could be won by any side. there was no reason to avoid it!


    ¡®i would rather give up being a constellation than be a cowardly constellation that¡¯s nothing like me. i¡¯ll do this my way.¡¯


    this time, he purposely visited the horseman of plague and darkness¡¯ realm to reinforce his original intention. he would carve his own path, even if doing so meant putting his line on the line against the horseman of plague and darkness! he wasn¡¯t afraid. he had already fought countless similar battles. becoming a constellation didn¡¯t change that.


    ***


    ¡°this crazy bastard!¡±


    however, that was just choi yeonseung¡¯s position. from the horseman of plague and darkness¡¯ perspective, it was a bolt out of the blue.


    a fight with no benefits at all! even if he beat choi yeonseung, he had no souls or territory for him to take away. and there was too much for him to lose!


    -master. what will you do?


    -he is making a mess!


    the constellation¡¯s household members sent him desperate requests for help. choi yeonseung entered his realm and started destroying everything he laid eyes upon.


    ¡®what is he thinking...?!¡¯


    the horseman of plague and darkness held his head and pondered over it. what was choi yeonseung thinking? wasn¡¯t choi yeonseung¡¯s power of existence lower than his? was choi yeonseung absolutely confident he could win? if he lost, wouldn¡¯t he just perish? wasn¡¯t he scared at all?


    the constellations of the abyss were beings born from nothing. most of them were already constellations and powerful from birth. hence, they never had to participate in unfavorable or unpredictable battles where their victory or defeat couldn¡¯t be determined from the get-go. they would only fight when they had the advantage.


    meanwhile, the constellation of mortal origin was accustomed to fighting regardless of whether he was at an advantage or disadvantage. he was a unique seed who was fundamentally different from other constellations.


    of course, the horseman of plague and darkness had no way to know the difference. he was afraid because he thought choi yeonseung had a reason to be confident.


    ¡®it is plausible that he¡¯s allied with others without my knowledge! but there are no other constellations near my kingdom! what is going on?!¡¯


    -master!


    ¡°... i¡¯m going now! be quiet!¡±


    -yes... i understand.


    eventually, the horseman of plague and darkness stopped managing his realm and formed a body to appear in front of choi yeonseung.


    ¡°incarnation of training. how dare you do this... gasp!¡±


    choi yeonseung came rushing over before he even finished speaking!??v€l?1n.

 Chapter 22

    chapter 22


    ''i¡¯ll do my best.¡¯


    the opponent was a constellation. although choi yeonseung started the conflict, he didn¡¯t look down on his opponent in the slightest. he had to defeat his foe with all his might! after all, the longer the fight lasted, the more choi yeonseung would be at a disadvantage.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s power of existence blended with the origin of the celestial divine arts, explosively increasing his power. just as the horseman of plague and darkness was about to react, choi yeonseung arrived in front of him using the origin of the celestial step.


    he was faster than he could imagine! it was as if time itself had been cut off.


    strengthened by the power of existence, the martial art technique granted him speed even his fellow constellation couldn¡¯t react to.


    this was followed by the dull feeling of hitting something. choi yeonseung imbued his fist with concentrated fist energy and executed with origin of the celestial fist with all his might. it was a strike so simple that it lacked finesse.


    however, even the simplest attacks could sometimes be the most powerful. the origin of the celestial fist, which was filled with the power of existence, hit the horseman of plague and darkness, causing him so much pain it was as if his existence was being torn apart. he felt pain for the first time since he was born as a constellation!


    "kuaaaack!"


    ¡®it worked!¡¯


    realizing that his attack worked, choi yeonseung made sure not to miss this opportunity.


    ¡®burn up, origin of the celestial divine arts!¡¯


    choi yeonseung went beyond his limits and enveloped him with a strong self-defense aura that burned the enemies it touched. choi yeonseung predicted that the horseman of plague and darkness would use magic. hence, he never allowed him to widen the distance between them.


    he forced the horseman of plague and darkness into melee combat! he unleashed a storm of all possible close-range attacks using his shoulders, knees, elbows, and the back of his hands. each of his strikes was fast and contained explosive power.


    ¡°keok, kuek, cough, cough, kek, kuek, keok!¡±


    ¡®is he pretending to be weak? i won¡¯t let my guard down!¡¯


    the fight could¡¯ve gone differently if the horseman of plague and darkness managed to make the first move and cast magic. however, he wasted time wondering what choi yeonseung thought and suspecting what tricks he had. that mistake brought forth this result!


    ¡®ah... no!¡¯


    the horseman of plague and darkness initially tried to hold out somehow and use magic, but he soon realized he was in a far direr situation. he could really die at this rate! since he was born as a constellation, he had never felt fear before. hence, feeling it now made him even more confused. he was so disoriented he couldn¡¯t even defend himself properly and summon his power of existence!


    ¡°surrender... i surrender. i surrender!¡±


    ¡°... you can¡¯t fool me!¡±


    ¡°kuaaak! i¡¯m serious! cough! kuack!¡±


    feeling as if his opponent was playing tricks on him, choi yeonseung beat him up even harder.


    ¡°my realm! kuack! my household members! cough! i will pass them all over to you! kuaaaak! i swear on my true name! kuhak! please stop hitting me!¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that the horseman of plague and darkness'' surrender is true! he can''t swear a lie on his true name!]


    -no. there¡¯s no way a constellation would surrender!


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that even constellations would surrender if beaten hard enough!]


    ¡°really?¡±


    ¡°surrender... i surrender...!¡±


    ¡°alright. i understand.¡±


    [the ¡®horseman of plague and darkness¡¯ swears on his true name that he surrenders to you!]


    [the skill ¡®suppress the strong and support the weak¡¯ has been activated. the power of your existence has greatly increased!]


    [the skill ¡®overcome oneself to become strong¡¯ has been activated. the power of your existence has greatly increased!]


    defeating a constellation stronger than him increased his power of existence. it wasn¡¯t enough for him to become an intermediate constellation, but he still felt his power of existence had become fuller. he had just become a constellation, yet he had already defeated a higher-ranking constellation!


    feeling a sense of achievement, choi yeonseung clenched his fists. ¡®i... i can fight more. i can fight more constellations!¡¯


    his martial arts worked against constellations!


    -excuse me...


    -you jerk! what makes you think you¡¯ll be safe?!


    -i¡¯m different from the other constellations. my household members are hungry to fight. i can stop him alone, but i''m worried about you all since you asked for an alliance so desperately.


    -hum hum. excuse me... i want to say something too...


    -you bastard... have you forgotten that the undefeated incarnation of training is a madman? after he wins, he just leaves his opponent¡¯s kingdom and household members. if he keeps doing that, then i¡¯ll just join him! i¡¯ll surrender to the undefeated incarnation of training and invade your territory!


    -w-what? you wouldn¡¯t dare! do you have no pride as a constellation? if the other constellations of the abyss hear you...


    -sigh. since you both are ignoring me, i¡¯ll just do what i want and deal with you.


    -?


    -??


    -t-the undefeated incarnation of training! undefeated... kuaack! aaaaack!


    choi yeonseung¡¯s victory!


    the abyss now thought of choi yeonseung as no different from a disaster. the other intermediate constellations trembled in fear that choi yeonseung would come to them even though they were ranked higher than him.


    ***


    ¡°hermit who unties the knot. i have come. stand tall and come out,¡± choi yeonseung said. however, nobody answered.


    ¡°???¡±


    some of the constellations had even abandoned their realm and ran away now!


    the constellation ¡®hermit who unties the knot¡¯ had escaped!


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded. to think this constellation would take his household members and run away. considering how much power of existence a constellation had to use to create their own realm, them actually abandoning it and fleeing was something he never even thought could happen.


    ¡°no... what is this... can¡¯t we just fight?¡±


    after one constellation fled, the other constellations started to flee as well. choi yeonseung was met with the same situation in three other constellation realms. there was no one there.


    ¡°hah...¡±


    he never thought he would hinder his own growth like this. choi yeonseung smacked his lips together and changed his strategy. unlike constellations, monsters didn¡¯t run away. he decided to slay monsters that were rumored to be strong in the abyss instead. the abyss had to be riddled with monsters stronger than the hydra!


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is proud of who brought in this constellation.]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ is pleased.]


    they weren¡¯t envious of a well-cultivated battle-type constellation or ten advanced constellations! the members of the alliance of small and medium-sized constellations were very pleased with choi yeonseung¡¯s growth. they did a good job contacting him and signing him when he was still new!


    ***


    choi yeonseung wandered through the abyss for a long time. fighting whoever constellation and killing whatever monsters he found became his daily routine. every time he killed a monster, he¡¯d cook it with the condiments he had collected and eat it. he just kept improving his strength and cooking skills.


    choi yeonseung could now use all types of abyss ingredients for cooking.


    [the b-rank skill ¡®intermediate abyss cooking¡¯ has evolved into the a-rank skill ¡®advanced abyss cuisine.¡¯]


    [the power of your existence has risen!]


    ¡®come to think of it, i think there was a word that expressed this daily life in a novel i read before... ah. yes. days of idyllic slaughter.¡¯


    they really were days of idyllic slaughter. all he ever did was fight and eat.


    just then, the space in front of choi yeonseung distorted and a gate was created. in the magic-filled abyss, natural phenomena that even constellations feared often occurred. one of them was the magical storm. another was the gate. a phenomenon where huge amounts of magic power pierced through space and created a passage that led to the universe outside the abyss!


    ¡®earth?¡¯


    choi yeonseung entered the gate with the hope of returning to earth. he didn¡¯t return to earth, however. choi yeonseung arrived at the planet of goblins.

 Chapter 23

    chapter 23


    ¡°hmm. goblins seemed to have become earth¡¯s most dominant species in the time i was gone.¡±


    in ten years, the mountains and rivers changed! while choi yeonseung was wandering in the abyss, earth¡¯s main race appeared to have changed from humans to goblins.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says no matter how one thinks about it, this isn¡¯t earth. it says this is the planet of goblins.]


    ephes, the planet of goblins. it was outside the abyss, but it wasn¡¯t a planet without any magic power like earth. rather, it was quite rich in magic power, and it was quite close to the abyss as well. hence, even the goblins knew how to use magic. it was a completely different place from earth, which had no magic power and wasn¡¯t even aware of the abyss¡¯ existence before the gate opened!


    naturally, their ability to deal with monsters was much better than earth''s. however, that was only for normal monsters. even the goblins couldn¡¯t deal with monsters with power equal to constellations.


    just like now!


    [the planet-eating wolf ¡®acafenrir¡¯ has been found!]


    [the skill ¡®suppress the strong and support the weak¡¯ has been activated. the power of your existence will increase significantly if you defeat acafenrir.]


    [the skill ¡®overcome oneself to become strong¡¯ has been activated. the power of your existence will increase significantly if you defeat acafenrir.]


    a giant wolf was running wild, seemingly attempting to devastate the planet. goblin magicians unleashed 6th and 7th-circle magic while goblin heroes armed with all sorts of artifacts charged, but...


    they couldn¡¯t even scratch acafenrir¡¯s thick skin.


    -awoooooo!


    all spells were lifted when acafenrir howled. the nearby goblin heroes fell, bleeding.


    ¡°get out of the way, i¡¯ll handle this myself!¡±


    ¡°no, your majesty!¡±


    odaigon, the goblin king, grew furious when his subordinates collapsed. the goblins weren¡¯t stupid either. they knew very well that monsters as powerful as acafenrir couldn¡¯t be caught. hence, they turned the fight into a battle of attrition!


    as soon as countless goblin magicians cast spells to take away the monster¡¯s physical strength, the strongest goblin heroes charged in to deliver critical blows. however, no being would be able to stay calm in this situation. witnessing his beloved subordinates fall and cough up blood enraged king odaigon. he had to bring matters into his own hands even if it meant dying today!


    ¡°get lost! if i, the strongest magician, don¡¯t step up, who will? you can¡¯t even pierce his skin!¡±


    odaigon flew on a wyvern. he was holding the goblin king¡¯s staff in his hand, the kingdom¡¯s treasure that contained 7th-circle magic.


    "your majesty! your majesty!¡±


    odaigon was a good king.


    his subordinates tried to stop odaigon with tears in their eyes. he would surely die if he charged in now.


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°what type of magic is that?¡±


    a white streak of light suddenly flew over acafenrir, causing the goblins to cry out. was there such magic? a sound soon reverberated, one so loud it made the entire kingdom, the sky, and the ground tremble.


    -yip yip!


    for the first time in his life, acafenrir felt pain and cried out.


    ¡®the monsters of the abyss and the constellations are too vulnerable to pain.¡¯


    as strong beings, they had never trained or been properly hit since birth. maybe this was why they were particularly vulnerable to pain, so much so that choi yeonseung found it absurd!


    choi yeonseung stretched out his palm. dozens of concentrated energy spheres appeared in the air.


    origin of the celestial meteor bombardment, the powerful linked movement that rained down dozens of concentrated energy! not even 7th-circle magic could imitate its penetrating and destructive power. the origin of the celestial meteor bombardment penetrated acafenrir¡¯s skin and smashed his muscles.


    -origin of the celestial step, origin of the celestial fist, origin of the celestial kick!


    choi yeonseung disappeared, then a fist containing concentrated fist energy hit acafenrir¡¯s jaw. as it screamed, a kick powerful enough to tear space apart smashed into the back of acafenrir¡¯s head. suffering from such a critical blow prevented acafenrir¡¯s senses from returning. his front paws floundered in an attempt to tear choi yeonseung apart, but choi yeonseung just stepped away, then got even closer.


    one.. two... three times!


    taking advantage of his opponent¡¯s big size, choi yeonseung closed in on him and unleashed a flurry of hits. every time concentrated fist energy hit his body, acafenrir coughed up blood.??v€l?1n.


    ¡°w-who is that hero?!¡±


    ¡®the power of my existence has been honed.¡¯


    power of existence was a force that could do anything in theory, but the same couldn¡¯t be said in practice. even constellations couldn¡¯t handle it properly! after all, even they weren¡¯t completely free and infinite. on the contrary, the stronger a constellation was, the more they were bound by the rules. one¡¯s power of existence could only be used according to their name, and it was this skill that sharpened the power of existence.


    ¡®undefeated incarnation''s realm declaration... it spreads my territory around me. does it mean attracting opponents into my world?¡¯ i¡¯ll try to use it if i get the chance to fight against a constellation one-on-one.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says you did a good job. it is telling you to do the same with earth.]


    ¡®people on earth won¡¯t believe in me just because i beat up a monster.¡¯


    earth was different from this small planet, which only had tens of thousands of goblins.


    what if choi yeonseung killed a monster right now? he would be recognized as a great hunter and gain tremendous popularity. that had been the case even before choi yeonseung left. famous hunters were like superstars!


    however, that was it. they wouldn¡¯t react the same way as the goblin kingdom, which shouted, ¡®wow! let¡¯s worship choi yeonseung!¡¯


    first of all, choi yeonseung was a korean hunter. other countries would somehow criticize him by saying, ¡®hmph, my country¡¯s hunter xx is better.¡¯ since a-grade hunters and above were treated as strategic weapons, governments would try to recruit choi yeonseung or keep him in check.


    the governments wouldn¡¯t take it lightly if they learned that choi yeonseung was trying to become earth¡¯s master. it didn¡¯t matter how many times choi yeonseung shouted, ¡®in order to stop the invasion of the abyss¡¯ evil gods, everyone has to trust me and give me strength!¡¯ nobody would believe him. rather, they would likely join forces instead or use other methods to keep him in check.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is asking what you¡¯re planning to do.]


    -as advised by the manipulator of dreams and desires, i should hide my purpose and gain trust.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is asking if you¡¯re going to pretend to be kind.]


    -no. doing that has limitations. it also doesn¡¯t fit my personality.


    among the hunters, some prioritized helping people over money or fame. if a dangerous dungeon opened and everyone avoided attacking it, they would take the lead in raiding it.


    they also donated monster materials to affected areas. such hunters were bound to be respected regardless of their skills and popularity. hunters would say something like ¡®i acknowledge it if it is xx!¡¯


    however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t aim to be such a hunter.


    ¡®those who act good are bound to get exploited. if i slip up even once, my image will be destroyed.¡¯


    pretending to be good had its limits. others constantly took advantage of such hunters. appealing to their compassion would be enough to manipulate them.


    ¡®one of the canadian clans risked their lives to clear all the b+ grade dungeons in china, but... the chinese government spread false rumors about them in exchange.¡¯


    to save face, they spread bad rumors about the canadian hunter team, stating that they only did that because they were greedy for the dungeons¡¯ rewards, that other chinese teams tried to enter but they entered first, that they ignored the chinese hunters, etc...


    in the end, the canadian hunter team suffered a lot of criticism in china.


    he remembered watching the broadcast at the time and cursing like other hunters, ¡®hey is that really what''s going on?¡¯


    that¡¯s right. if a rumor spread that a person who did a hundred good things did one bad thing, then their image would be shattered.


    ¡®being a good hunter¡¯ was a strategy with too many weaknesses!


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is asking what you¡¯re planning to do.]


    -trust can be earned through my skills.


    regardless of who he was up against, they were bound to eventually kneel if they were in enough trouble.


    if an unsolvable dungeon opened in the middle of their country¡¯s capital, they wouldn¡¯t be saying things like, ¡®this hunter won''t be able to reject our country''s request¡¯ or ¡®this hunter can¡¯t be greedy.¡¯


    if he were strong enough, they would kneel before him and beg earnestly, saying things like, ¡®please help us just this once!¡¯


    in the end, the best way for hunters to build trust was through their skills. how bad their personality or what crime they committed didn¡¯t matter. all that mattered was whether they could kill monsters. he had to make the world think, ¡®in order to clear this dungeon, we have to call choi yeonseung!¡¯


    -if i¡¯m recognized as the strongest hunter on earth, trust will naturally follow.


    it was also known as the ¡®he¡¯s a jerk, but he¡¯s the only one i can trust!¡¯ strategy.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that¡¯s good and all, but it shouldn¡¯t be discovered that you are a constellation.]


    -you don¡¯t have to worry. i¡¯m used to fighting without the power of existence.


    he had spent a longer time fighting without using the power of existence than with it.


    the martial arts that choi yeonseung had perfected wasn¡¯t such a weak weapon that it would lose its shine just because he didn¡¯t imbue it with the power of existence.

 Chapter 24

    chapter 24


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says you should adjust your martial art level to some extent as well.]


    the transcendent-class stage was much higher than choi yeonseung thought. reaching that stage meant one was on the verge of going beyond humanity! if a hunter of such caliber appeared, the constellations would be forced to be vigilant.


    -i¡¯m using martial arts, though. is there a need to do that?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says with your power, your peak-class stage should be enough to deal with mortals.]


    the peak-class stage was equal in rank to an a-grade hunter. the level of concentrated energy he could use would be limited and that amount of internal energy could prove insufficient, but choi yeonseung had the ability to make up for that.


    -that¡¯s true. i understand and will think about it. i¡¯m worried about the state of earth, though. i¡¯ve been in the abyss for too long.


    he couldn¡¯t help but be worried that the evil god constellations had already turned earth into a mess. if this happened, there wouldn¡¯t be anything that choi yeonseung could do. how ridiculous would it be if there were only thousands of people left on earth by the time he returned?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is comforting you and saying that it will be okay.]


    -thank you.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says a race that gave birth to a constellation like you wouldn¡¯t lose so easily.]


    -...why does it feel like you¡¯re insulting me?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that¡¯s just because of your mood.]


    -......


    to implement choi yeonseung¡¯s ¡®he¡¯s a jerk, but he¡¯s the only one i can trust!¡¯ strategy, he had to go back to earth. however, choi yeonseung found himself in the middle of goblins instead.


    ¡°i will take you as my master!¡±


    ¡°you said your name is odaigon, right? i¡¯m sorry, but i am wandering through the abyss. it will be hard for you to follow as a mortal.¡±l--b1n.


    ¡°... i will follow you even in the abyss. i, goblin king odaigon, am not like those dwarven bastards who will break their oath just because it¡¯s hard to keep it!¡±


    ¡°you will regret it...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll regret it even more if i don¡¯t repay you for saving me and my people!¡±


    ¡°uhh...¡± choi yeonseung examined odaigon. he could feel magic power from him. not only was the goblin a magician, but he would be one of the strongest on earth. choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know how to use magic.


    ¡®going around with him would be comfortable in many ways.¡¯


    ¡°please allow me to come with you, master!¡±


    ¡°... alright. don¡¯t regret this later.¡±


    odaigon prostrated himself with joy. ¡°thank you! i will serve you with all my heart. what are you all doing? a god of the abyss has come here himself!¡±


    at odaigon¡¯s words, the nearby goblin nobles flocked.


    ¡°undefeated incarnation of training! thank you for saving us!¡±


    ¡°undefeated incarnation of training! i want to dedicate my daughter to you!¡±


    ¡°there is no need.¡±


    ¡°then i would like to dedicate my son to you!¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t need it. odaigon. if you want to serve me, then order these goblins to back down,¡± choi yeonseung said with disgust.


    ¡°yes, master. get out of the way now!¡± odaigon shouted. the nobles backed off regretfully.


    ¡°at least give us a chance to entertain you, master. we want to repay a bit of your grace for saving us,¡± odaigon spoke earnestly, which troubled choi yeonseung.


    being homeless and wandering through the abyss had made him miss his comfy bed. accepting the goblin kingdom¡¯s hospitality meant he¡¯d be able to rest.


    ¡°then i¡¯ll stay for a bit before i leave.¡±


    ¡°thank you, master!¡± odaigon exclaimed in an emotional voice.


    [the ¡°cat of lava and magma¡¯ is wondering why you agreed to let the goblins entertain you.]


    -...?


    at the time, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t aware that the goblins¡¯ culture was very different yet!


    ***


    back to the present time...


    ¡®i wouldn¡¯t have stayed if i knew the goblins had a custom of treating people like that...¡¯


    he was told to bathe in a bathtub full of thick acid slime, which made him instinctively say, ¡®are you trying to assassinate me?¡¯ considering the bath alone was that bad, he refused to think about anything else.


    determined to die, odaigon decided to attempt riding it!


    however, they didn¡¯t get to do so. the magical storm started to crack, deforming its appearance.


    ¡°... i survived! i thought this was going to be my death!¡±


    ¡°odaigon?¡±


    ¡°ah. that.¡±


    the magical storm that had been gathering in the distance started to grow smaller and smaller. seeing the surrounding space curl up and melt away felt surreal.


    ¡°that...¡±


    ¡°it looks like a dungeon is being created, master!¡±


    the possibilities in the abyss were endless. after all, it was full of magic power. magical storms could suddenly sweep through it, gates connected to worlds beyond the abyss could appear, and entire areas could just be expelled from its infinitely vast expanse.


    lastly, it could create dungeons¡ªa phenomenon where the monsters and spaces in the abyss formed rules and appeared elsewhere!


    ¡°we should leave, master. getting caught up in a dungeon can be a pain.¡±


    it would be troublesome, regardless of whether they flew into or out of the abyss. however, choi yeonseung shook his head.


    ¡°no. this is an opportunity. let¡¯s check where it goes.¡±


    ¡°... i understand. i¡¯ll follow you!¡±


    in preparation for any possible situation, odaigon cast a spell from behind choi yeonseung that solidified their defense. the swirling, terrifying magical storm continued to wriggle and clump together. there could be some vicious spaces or monsters lurking in there!


    soon, the moving magical storm swallowed up choi yeonseung and odaigon and transported them to a different dimension as if they had used spatial teleportation magic.


    ***


    [would you like to enter the ¡®dazzling demon¡¯s mirror¡¯ dungeon?]


    [rewards: ?, ???, ???]


    [admission limit: 10 people.]


    [time remaining: 2 weeks, 11 hours, and 48 minutes.]


    the dazzling demon¡¯s mirror was a dungeon that appeared in the desert of nevada, usa. until one had entered the dungeon, its difficulty would remain hidden. however, one could estimate its to a certain extent based on the dungeon¡¯s gate and the magic power it emitted. usually, the larger the size, the higher the dungeon¡¯s difficulty.


    the gate of the dazzling demon¡¯s mirror wasn¡¯t that big. the usa¡¯s dungeon analysis agency estimated it to be around c-grade! that essentially meant a team of c-grade or higher hunters could clear it. the us government didn¡¯t pay much attention to it since it was a c-grade dungeon and there were only two weeks left before it exploded and the monsters inside came out.


    still, c-grade dungeons were popular. b-grade hunters would often try to clear them before c-grade hunters could due to the huge difference in difficulty between c-grade and b-grade dungeons. a lot of hunter teams applied to attack it, but it was the ¡®ganes¡¯ team that won the right to enter first. their team consisted of eight people and was led by richard parker, a b-grade hunter.


    ¡°the dungeon can accommodate up to 10 people. should we invite more to our team or just raid it with our current members?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve already added one. check it out.¡±


    upon checking the hunter¡¯s id, the public servant from the government became puzzled. while all of the team¡¯s members were c-grade, the new addition was e-grade. the hunter had such a low rating. it was as if they had just awakened!


    ¡°e-grade hunter cleton? isn¡¯t their rank too low for a c-grade dungeon?¡±


    ¡°the rest of my members are c-grade, so i don¡¯t think it matters.¡±


    in principle, raiding a c-grade dungeon with hunters ranked lower than it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for as long as the team had at least one c-grade or higher hunter. still, why bring in an e+ grade hunter? they could only use 1st or 2nd-circle magic, which meant they wouldn¡¯t be able to properly damage the monsters that appeared in a c-grade dungeon.


    ¡®aha. i get it now.¡¯


    the public servant finally understood. there was only one reason to take a lower-grade hunter with them.


    ¡®their role is to be the team¡¯s porter.¡¯


    the moment a team entered a dungeon, they wouldn¡¯t be able to leave until they had cleared it or found an exit.


    until then, hunters could only use the food, clothing, and shelter they brought with them into the dungeon. since they had to carry those items themselves, that meant that the more they brought, the heavier they were. carrying too many supplies would be no different from suicide in dungeons where they needed to keep themselves light and agile!


    however, bringing a porter would allow them to carry more supplies. porters didn¡¯t get involved in combat so they could concentrate on carrying and keeping their luggage safe. if the porter was a hunter, they could theoretically carry more luggage. upon awakening, people fundamentally gained higher physical capabilities than ordinary people. ordinary people fearlessly volunteered to be porters when the gates opened a few decades ago, but that was no longer possible. non-hunters couldn¡¯t enter dungeons anymore.


    ¡®still, don¡¯t you have to give porters loot from the dungeon? team members would likely object to giving such valuable items away just like that...¡¯


    the public servant wasn¡¯t wrong. no hunter would want to hand out dungeon loot worth billions or even hundreds of billions to porters, the only role of whom was to carry supplies. they could live luxuriously in dungeons if there were a lot of supplies, but they¡¯d much rather put up with the alternative than give up on a few hundred million dollars.


    ¡°mr. parker, please take care of me.¡±


    ¡°huhu. yes. just carry our luggage and follow me.¡±


    ¡°of course. i trust you.¡±


    that was right. richard parker hired the hunter to be their porter at his own expense.

 Chapter 25

    chapter 25


    the parker family!


    ever since the gates opened and monsters and magic power started pouring into earth, hundreds of new industries sprung up. a single core of a monster made it possible to generate electricity hundreds or thousands of times more efficiently than before. moreover, monster by-products opened a new horizon of material engineering and biotechnology.


    the parker family was one of the rapidly growing chaebol families at this time. the famous pharmaceutical biotechnology company ¡®kaiza¡¯ and the artifacts company ¡®fable¡¯ were subsidiaries of parker industries, a family-owned company. richard parker was the youngest son of its president. in other words, he was a third-generation chaebol hunter.


    perhaps this was why the porter cleton flattered richard with every word. richard never stopped him, either. instead, he just delightfully listened.


    ¡°what flattery? without the team leader, i would¡¯ve been too scared to come here. how else would have i found the courage to come to a c-grade dungeon?¡±


    ¡°aish. there are other hunters.¡±


    ¡°honestly, the other hunters are a bit... of course, they¡¯re also outstanding, but aren¡¯t they nothing compared to you? they¡¯re ranked lower, after all. the team leader is b-grade, while the others are c-grade. you serve as this team¡¯s core, team leader.¡±


    ¡°well, that¡¯s right.¡±


    the other c-grade hunters frowned at the sight.


    ¡°what¡¯s that guy saying just to stick up to the team leader?¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s so obvious with his flattery.¡±


    "ugh. his temper is good. he is deliberately listening to that pretentious young master.¡±


    the ganes team had terrible teamwork. despite being their leader, richard parker had no leadership skills. every time the young man spoke, he was smug and cocky! no matter how good a hunter was, they still should manage their teammates who shared the same joy and sorrow in the dungeon. however, richard wasn¡¯t even aware he should do that. that was why the other hunters on the team didn¡¯t like the arrogant richard at all.


    ¡°is everyone ready?¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t worry, team leader!¡±


    the moment richard approached and spoke to them, the hunters changed their expressions. it was as if they weren¡¯t just insulting him. richard was conceited, but he was a solid b-grade hunter. above all, he was backed by the parker family. following him came with a lot of great benefits. he even won this highly sought-after dungeon. the benefits they got were enough for them to put up with him even though he was unlucky.


    when richard walked away looking pleased, the hunters started to talk behind his back again.


    ¡°that jerk is probably flattering him because the young master personally paid for and hired him.¡±


    ¡°how much did he pay?¡±


    ¡°probably over $100,000.¡±


    ¡°crazy. $100,000 just to carry some luggage? so that¡¯s why he¡¯s groveling that much.¡±


    no one disputed it, though, since richard paid him from his own pocket to hire him as a personal porter. they stopped grumbling and prepared to enter the dungeon. since they could only bring what they were carrying to the dungeons, they had to fill their luggage as much as possible. hence, their dungeon-tailored backpacks were filled to the brim with small packages of emergency food and various tools.


    ¡°what? you... i think this is my first time seeing that knife.¡±


    ¡°i just bought it. it has the 1st-circle magic, ¡®strengthened cutting power,¡¯ attached to it as a magic enhancement.¡±


    ¡°wow. wasn¡¯t it quite expensive?¡±


    ¡°stop chatting, everyone! we¡¯re entering.¡±


    the hunters touched the door of the dungeon. then a message window popped up asking if they wanted to enter.


    -enter.


    [admission limit: 10 people.]


    [admission limit: 9 people.]


    [admission limit: 8 people.]


    as they headed inside, the admission limit changed. soon, the dungeon¡¯s remaining time stopped.


    [time remaining: 2 weeks, 10 hours, and 32 minutes.]


    for as long as someone was in the dungeon, its countdown would stop. once they were all inside, the public servant nodded and wrote a brief report.


    ¡°hit enter... olay. send... huh? h-huh?¡±


    the public servant dropped the tablet he was holding. he looked perplexed. the door of the dazzling demon¡¯s mirror dungeon suddenly started to grow. having worked in this industry for quite some time now, he gained the ability to measure a dungeon¡¯s rating with his eyes to some extent.


    considering the door¡¯s size...


    it should be a b-grade at least. at worst, it could even be an a-grade!


    ¡°boss! we¡¯ve got a serious problem!¡± panicking, the public servant called his boss. this wasn¡¯t a problem that he could solve.


    ***


    ¡°this seems wide. it looks a bit suspicious.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s fine as long as it isn¡¯t an underground cave. i hate underground caves the most.¡±


    a dungeon¡¯s terrain was completely random. it could be a narrow underground cave or a vast meadow. nobody liked fighting in small places. the dazzling demon¡¯s mirror was like the ruins of a former temple. its vast wasteland was riddled with torn-down temple buildings. there was a high possibility that monsters were hiding in the temple.


    ¡°shall we start looking for the exit?¡±


    there were two ways to escape from a dungeon: get rid of the boss monster that held the dungeon¡¯s core or find an exit connected to the outside world. clearing it required the former, but it was ideal to know where the exit was in case of failure. after all, nobody knew for sure what could happen in realms like this.


    ¡®as expected of master!¡¯


    odaigon didn¡¯t know that choi yeonseung had been tempered in the magical storm.


    ¡°look for the dungeon exit.¡±


    ¡°yes. give me a moment, and i¡¯ll pinpoint its location.¡±


    it didn¡¯t matter whether he had to find the dungeon exit, defeat the boss, or meet special clearance requirements. odaigon was confident. he would show off his power to his master!


    ¡°... this place has a foul smell. ghouls?¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    odaigon cast flying magic and vision enhancement magic at choi yeonseung¡¯s words. thousands of ghouls were tightly surrounding the ruins.


    ¡°you¡¯re right, master! considering the ghouls¡¯ numbers, there¡¯s probably a being here that wields powerful black magic.¡±


    since there weren¡¯t just one or two ghouls but thousands of them, someone had to be controlling them with black magic.


    there were many abyss races and even monsters that could use black magic. nevertheless, odaigon was confident. he had his pride as the goblin king!


    ¡°if you allow me, i¡¯ll wipe them out right away!¡±


    he just needed to cast a 7th-circle wide-area magic to tear all the ghouls apart!


    ¡°i appreciate your enthusiasm, odaigon, but... since the ghouls are surrounding the ruins, doesn¡¯t that mean there¡¯s a possibility that someone¡¯s inside?¡±


    ¡°!!¡±


    odaigon was flustered. he couldn¡¯t believe he didn¡¯t notice something so obvious!


    ¡°as expected, master¡¯s eyes...¡±


    ¡°odaigon. no more flattery.¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s go. don¡¯t use magic.¡±


    ghouls were such weak monsters that there was no need for him to use concentrated energy. choi yeonseung delivered a powerful strike, shoving away the nearby ghouls and sending them flying as if they were caught in a typhoon.


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡°master. what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°master?¡±


    odaigon was startled. choi yeonseung was trembling silently. was there something wrong?


    ¡°look at this, odaigon.¡±


    choi yeonseung picked up the emergency food wrapper that had fallen to the ground and waved it.


    ¡°what is that?¡±


    ¡°this is what humans eat¡±


    ¡°you eat something like this? no matter how i look at it, it doesn¡¯t seem edible...¡±


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    choi yeonseung clenched his fists.


    ¡°what¡¯s important is that those trapped here are humans!¡±


    nearby faint footprints and emergency food wrappers. from what he could deduce, this dungeon¡¯s raiding party seemed to have encountered too many ghouls and was forced to run inside.


    ¡®isn¡¯t this an a-grade dungeon? they¡¯ve got to be one of the best parties if they have the guts to raid this place.¡±


    it was normal for a-grade or above hunters to raid a-grade dungeons, but...


    even a-grade hunters didn¡¯t like a-grade dungeons due to how dangerous they were! clearing b-grade dungeons earned them enough money, so why bother with a-grade dungeons? either their party was full of ambition and confidence or...


    ¡®the dungeon deceived them.¡¯


    the dungeon could¡¯ve been more difficult than they had estimated! such cases were rare, but they did happen. and when they did, the raiding party could as well be considered deceased. it was practically impossible for low-level hunters to clear a high-level dungeon.


    ¡°i need to save them, odaigon.¡±


    ¡°understood!¡± odaigon shouted in an expectant voice. he would show his abilities no matter what he was asked to do!


    ¡°can you transform?¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°if you go there looking like that, there¡¯s a high chance you¡¯ll be mistaken for a monster...¡±


    ¡°......¡±

 Chapter 26

    chapter 26


    among the dungeons that appeared, some of them contained goblins! not all the abyss goblins were as honorable and proud as the goblins of the ephes kingdom. if the surrounded hunters saw odaigon, they wouldn¡¯t exclaim something like, ¡®that goblin is here to save us, unlike the other goblins!¡¯


    rather, they¡¯d likely say, ¡®ugh, i thought it was a mob!¡¯


    ¡°no, who would mistake me for a monster?!¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s just how humans are, so please understand. can you transform?¡±


    ¡°i can... i¡¯ll use polymorph...¡±


    6th-circle magic, polymorph! it was a powerful magic that allowed him to transform into another race.


    sighing, odaigon used polymorph. soon, he turned into a handsome man with a pale face.


    ¡°oh. aren¡¯t you handsome?¡±


    ¡°master. i¡¯m cautious because i am proud, but i¡¯m known among the goblins for being handsome.¡±


    ¡°i-i see. thank you for telling me something that i wasn¡¯t curious about.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded and looked odaigon up and down. he looked like a human being. his outfit made him look like a magician from fantasy novels, but...


    ¡°that should be good enough. let¡¯s go.¡±


    the ghouls kept attacking as he spoke. nevertheless, with just a flick of his fingers, choi yeonseung smashed the ghoul¡¯s head with just his finger strength. it was meaningless no matter how many of them there were.


    ¡°how come they still haven''t killed the humans despite already having them surrounded? what is the boss monster doing? where is it hiding?¡±


    ¡°it probably isn¡¯t like that, master.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°if they were being controlled by an intelligent being, they wouldn¡¯t have just surrounded this area. they would¡¯ve used other methods as well. there have to be unavoidable circumstances that force them to keep charging to this place. you¡¯re probably too strong for it to be worth your time, master, but i¡¯ve heard of something like this before. a monster called tarun, the ghoul king.¡±


    ¡°odaigon. i¡¯ve dealt with it before. i¡¯ve been in the abyss for a few years...¡±


    ¡°i-i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ghoul king tarun! it was a monster that appeared in the form of thousands of ghouls. upon seeing thousands of ghouls, a person would usually think, ¡®someone must be controlling or summoning them.¡¯ however, ghoul king tarun was a monster that exploited this loophole.


    he was a monster made up of thousands of them. a group monster that roamed around in swarms! it was no match for a strong being like choi yeonseung or odaigon, but this enemy would be no different than fear personified for those who couldn¡¯t kill all the ghouls.


    in fact, the ganes team that came in here had been stuck for nearly a month, unable to do anything.


    ***


    the first time they came in here, the hunters just thought, ¡®we have to avoid the ghouls!¡¯ they were worried about what type of monster would come out of the ruins, but they never thought they would be trapped in one for nearly a month.


    ¡°there are no monsters! i¡¯m done checking!¡±


    ¡°what? really?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s fortunate!¡±


    ¡°block the entrance! the entrance! if the ghouls manage to get in, then we¡¯re ¡ö!¡±


    ¡°wait. there¡¯s a basement here!¡±


    ¡°get inside!¡±


    the ganes team hurriedly entered the ruins and were lucky enough to find a basement. even ghouls couldn¡¯t open the basement door and enter! everyone managed to survive and could now take a breather, but...


    they now faced another problem.


    ¡°uh... how do we get out? to leave this dungeon, we have to either kill the boss monster or find the exit...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    it wasn¡¯t long before the hunters realized how dire their situation was. they were trapped here!


    step, step, step¡ª


    grrrrr¡ª


    the sound of the ghouls from above continued. it felt like there were more than dozens of them. if they opened the door and went out, they would be crushed to death by the ghouls¡¯ number. unable to do anything, they just let time pass.


    one day.


    two days.


    three days...


    ¡°what if i set them on fire with fire barrier magic?¡±


    ¡°are you crazy? you won¡¯t be able to kill dozens of them. there are hundreds out there... no, there are thousands. if you use something that bright, you¡¯ll just be calling all of them over.¡±


    ¡°i just gave an opinion, you jerk!¡±


    ¡°no. i have no intention of taking sides. if we fight now and this place collapses, we will all die together.¡±


    ¡°so let¡¯s subdue that jerk and push him out! we have to do something!¡±


    ¡°i would rather bet on the possibility of the rescue team coming here! stop talking nonsense!¡±


    ¡°we don¡¯t need you, canean. back off. we¡¯ll subdue him ourselves. no, let¡¯s tie up canean and throw him away!¡±


    richard took the initiative while they were arguing.


    -ahlos¡¯ high-speed ice bullet!


    ahlos¡¯ high-speed ice bullet, a 5th-circle magic! he learned it from a magic book he was able to obtain with the support of his family. it looked like an ordinary ice arrow, but its strength was in its reaction speed. once he had made it, he could launch it at any time! this advantage was very great in a dungeon where they didn¡¯t know when or where they could be ambushed.


    ¡®i didn¡¯t think i¡¯d be using it in this situation!¡¯


    ¡°i¡¯ll make sure to kill the first three bastards to come at me!¡±


    this was the first time richard had felt like he had nobody on his side. he had grown up with the strength of his family backing him up all his life. he had never been in this situation or made such a decision before. this made him realize how small the world he lived in was! he regretted not living with a bit more thought, but it was already too late.


    richard gritted his teeth as he aimed the three ice bullets. ¡®if i had the chance again, i would never be fooled by these bastards...!¡¯


    richard, whom the hunters thought was an easygoing third-generation chaebol, caught his team members in surprise when he cast 5th-circle magic instead of backing down. his ice arrows would directly hit the first three people to move against him. even if they cast magic, they would be far too slow to counter it!


    ¡®i thought he would listen to us if we threatened him a bit...¡¯


    ¡®that is a 5th-circle magic! i¡¯ll get killed immediately if that hits me!¡¯


    ¡°... c-calm down, young master.¡±


    ¡°one more word and i will shoot you first!¡±


    the anger of a betrayed man was terrifying. the c-grade hunters faltered back.


    the hunters had been divided into two sides. having lost momentum since they couldn¡¯t intimidate richard to leave, the hunters just whispered to each other.


    ¡°now the food left is really...¡±


    ¡°... you, porter. you will only eat one meal every other day.¡±


    ¡°ah... no! i can¡¯t...!¡±


    ¡°i was being considerate to you... eat only one meal every three days. if you don¡¯t like it, go outside.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    richard heard their conversation faintly in the distance and spat on the ground. he wasn¡¯t even disappointed anymore. he was just despondent.


    ¡°canean... no, mr. canean, aren¡¯t you going over to their side?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t think that¡¯s a viable option right now.¡±


    ¡°... why didn¡¯t you tell me anything before?¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°that everyone thought of me like that...¡±


    ¡°would you have listened if i told you? without kicking me out?¡±


    ¡°... fair point.¡±


    richard laughed. he was right. if canean had given him this advice before, he wouldn¡¯t have believed it and would¡¯ve become angry.


    canean spoke again. ¡°still, you are a decent person.¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s no point in flattering me now. we can¡¯t even leave this place.¡±


    ¡°being able to acknowledge and fix your mistakes is a great advantage. not everyone can do that.¡±


    ¡°what... what good does it do us, though? it seems like i¡¯m going to die here with those jerks anyway...¡±


    instead of answering, canean just took out a cigarette and lit it, which he had saved until now. he took a deep puff and handed it over. richard received it with a frown. ¡°don¡¯t give up so easily.¡±


    ¡°... haven¡¯t we been holding on for almost a month now? how is that giving up easily?¡±


    ¡°i managed to survive this long because i didn¡¯t give up until the end. think carefully. wouldn¡¯t it be unfair if the rescue team came the moment after you gave up?¡±


    ¡°kukukuk. you¡¯re better at joking around than you look. if anyone really comes, then even if it is all my assets¡ª¡±


    bang!


    at that moment, the basement door caved in and a muscular man fell from above. it was richard¡¯s first time seeing him.


    ¡°is there anyone here from earth?¡±


    ¡°...???¡±??v€l?1n.

 Chapter 27

    chapter 27


    ¡°why¡¯s no one answering? are you from earth?¡±


    richard blinked, then replied, ¡°t-that¡¯s right.¡±


    it was so unrealistic that he replied casually. he couldn¡¯t even tell if he was dreaming or not.


    ¡°a r-rescue team!¡±


    one of the c-grade hunters screamed. despite having collapsed due to hunger, everyone somehow regained strength and jumped to their feet.


    ¡°a rescue team is here?!¡±


    ¡°no way! really?¡±


    ¡°someone really came to rescue us! sob! we¡¯re saved! damn...!¡±


    some hunters sobbed and others howled. they couldn¡¯t help but react that way. salvation had come just as they thought they were done for! however, there was one person who reacted calmly¡ªcanean.


    ¡°cough, cough... fools, prepare for battle!¡±


    ¡°??!¡±


    ¡°mr. canean. what are you doing? have you gone crazy?¡±


    ¡°you fools! there is only one spot left for this dungeon! how did two people enter?¡±


    ¡°!!!!¡±


    the hunters¡¯ faces paled. some dungeon monsters could show all sorts of illusions. if so, then the two in front of them right now...? the hunters gulped, but they didn¡¯t raise their weapons. they were exhausted and weak.


    ¡°ah. is that so? i apologize for the misunderstanding i¡¯ve caused. i didn¡¯t enter through the dungeon door.¡±


    ¡°n-no?¡±


    ¡°i fell here from the abyss.¡±


    an abyss returnee! occasionally, people would get lost in the abyss upon mistakenly getting caught up in a gate or dungeon. most never came back, but there were lucky ones that managed to return.


    ¡°an abyss returnee?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°why should we believe you...?¡±


    ¡°whether you believe me or not doesn¡¯t matter, but what else can you do if you don¡¯t believe me?¡±


    canean couldn¡¯t help agreeing with choi yeonseung. the fact that he went missing in the abyss and survived guaranteed that he was strong in his own right. and there were two of them! in comparison, the hunters were all on the verge of starvation and lacked teamwork.


    ¡°i... i see.¡±


    ¡°stop suspecting us or you could offend us when we just came to help. you¡¯re from earth, right?¡±


    ¡°right...¡±


    ¡°phew.¡±


    choi yeonseung was so thrilled that he had to hold back his emotional trembling. the moment the guy who was talking closed his eyes and trembled, the hunters were puzzled.


    ¡®is he a drug user?¡¯


    ¡®what¡¯s wrong with him?¡¯


    however, canean noticed it. ¡®an abyss returnee...!¡¯


    the abyss had a different concept of time from earth. spending a few days in the abyss only to find out years had passed on earth was a common story. nevertheless, even that short amount of time was enough to ruin people. those who went missing in the abyss usually returned broken in some way. they would be lucky to have just one of their limbs blown off! only a handful managed to come back intact.


    ¡®he was trying to find a way to return to earth.¡¯??v€l-b!n.


    richard, who had been blankly listening to the conversation, asked a question. ¡°wait. what about the ghouls above?¡±


    ¡°the ghouls? they¡¯re all dead.¡±


    ¡°???!?¡±


    ¡°what? you¡¯re not making any sense...¡±


    ¡°this friend of mine is a great magician.¡± choi yeonseung pointed to odaigon. odaigon waved awkwardly.


    ¡°is he an abyss returnee as well?¡±


    ¡°yes. his story is even sadder. he lost his memories.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    odaigon couldn¡¯t help staring at choi yeonseung.


    master...!!


    ¡°tsk tsk. he lost his memory...¡±


    ¡°i feel bad for your young friend.¡±


    the mutters of the hunters made odaigon feel even sadder. these insignificant people dared pity him!


    ¡®he¡¯s a great magic user!¡¯


    on the other hand, choi yeonseung¡¯s words stunned canean. the two of them wiped out an entire army of ghouls...


    ¡®maybe they¡¯re a-grade hunters!¡¯


    as a b-grade hunter, richard parker often wondered what made a-grade hunters so great. there was only one level difference. however, a-grade and b-grade were in different leagues. canean knew that even better since he had seen an a-grade hunter fight before. that rank was the domain of monsters.


    ¡°then you¡¯re also a magician... right?¡±


    an ordinary person with no abilities wouldn¡¯t be able to survive in the abyss for a long time and wipe out a horde of ghouls.


    ¡°i¡¯m a martial artist.¡±


    ¡®how can i be so disrespectful?!¡¯


    as odaigon shamed himself, the other hunters had strange expressions. odaigon was slightly pale and handsome, while choi yeonseung was like a muscular warrior. no matter how they looked at the two, choi yeonseung seemed like a subordinate. moreover, he was a martial artist, so he should be weaker than magicians. if so, why did odaigon still treat him as a big brother?


    ¡°is it because he lost his memory?¡±


    ¡°hmm. maybe.¡±


    as the hunters contemplated the survivors¡¯ relationship, odaigon lit a fire and choi yeonseung used a kitchen knife to cut a large chunk of meat and put it in the frying pan. choi yeonseung had studied many ingredients in the abyss, but he couldn¡¯t create ingredients that didn¡¯t exist. hence, he could only ever cook meat dishes.


    grilled iron plate steak!


    ¡°there are no bowls. well, now isn¡¯t the time to argue about that.¡±


    bang!


    choi yeonseung smashed a nearby stone with his fist and swept his palm over the top, creating a smooth stone slab.


    ¡°...!!!¡±


    that was the first time they saw that move!


    ¡°t-this...?¡±


    ¡°what? was that your first time seeing that? it seems that martial arts users really are gone.¡±


    choi yeonseung was taken aback. this was something that martial artists often did before he went to the abyss.


    creating instant tools! he scraped the stone¡¯s uneven surface, smoothening it.


    meanwhile, the well-heated frying pan started to cook the meat. along with a sizzling sound, the red meat¡¯s juices dripped, causing the huddled hunters¡¯ eyes to widen as they drooled. they were like hungry beasts.


    ¡°who... who are you going to give it to...?¡±


    choi yeonseung laughed at the question. the hunter who asked the question blushed, seemingly ashamed.


    ¡°did you think i¡¯m only going to feed some of you? just wait calmly. there is plenty of meat.¡±


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t lying. before long, everyone had been served a piece of unidentified meat steak.


    ¡°let¡¯s start eating!¡±


    everyone started eating like crazy. they didn¡¯t even talk.


    ¡®delicious!¡¯


    ¡®this is really delicious!¡¯


    since they hadn¡¯t eaten for a few days, they would¡¯ve likely found anything delicious at this point. however, this steak truly was amazing. they would''ve gladly sold their souls to eat something this delicious! its rich taste, which started from the meat¡¯s juices, was no joke.


    ¡®i wish there was rice,¡¯ choi yeonseung thought as he looked at the hunters eating the meat. the abyss had plenty of meat, but it was hard to obtain rice.


    as the hunters stuffed the meat into their stomachs, they strangely felt their strength recovering. due to their hunger, they thought it was due to the hearty meat. however, they soon realized that wasn¡¯t the case. their depleted magic power was being restored!


    ¡®w-what?¡¯


    ¡®this feeling of strength...?¡¯


    it was similar to the resilience they felt when taking high-quality mana potions! as everyone whispered and looked at each other, choi yeonseung and odaigon looked guilty.


    -did they... did they perhaps notice that i gave them the lowest quality meat?


    -this is why i told you it was better to throw the meat away, master!


    -that would¡¯ve been a waste. i thought they would eat without complaints since they¡¯re hungry.


    he had accumulated meat when wandering around the abyss, leaving only the by-products behind. among them, tough meat with little magic power was a nuisance. it wasn¡¯t like choi yeonseung would die if he didn¡¯t eat, so there was no point in eating something like that. hence, he sneakily cooked it for others instead...


    ¡°ugh!¡±


    ¡°sob!¡±


    ¡°????¡±


    crying?


    did it taste that weird?


    ¡®no. aren¡¯t they eating well?¡¯


    ¡°thank you... thank you so much!¡±


    ¡°i will work hard from now on...!¡±


    the hunters stuffed the meat into their mouths while tears dropped from their eyes. being saved from certain death came as a huge shock to them. from now on, they decided to live their lives to the fullest every day! it wasn¡¯t known how long their dedication to that would last, but they sincerely meant it at that moment.


    canean slowly swallowed the meat and muttered. ¡°hah... this is amazing. such meat... i¡¯m sorry i doubted you.¡±


    ¡°what are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°look. can¡¯t you feel your magic power being restored and increasing? he probably doesn¡¯t have a mountain of rare meat like this, yet he still gave it to us.¡±


    ¡°... he probably just missed company since he¡¯s been wandering around the abyss for so long.¡±


    ¡°even so, that doesn¡¯t change a person¡¯s true nature. giving so generously... i¡¯ve seen this before. he didn¡¯t even become angry when i called him a monster.¡±


    the calmness of the strong! it didn¡¯t matter to choi yeonseung if canean called him a monster or not, so choi yeonseung just remained calm. however, canean perceived his apathy differently. to canean, he was a great person!


    ¡°you have to get to know someone like this, not guys like them.¡±


    ¡°what... i don¡¯t even know who he is.¡±


    ¡°well, do you intend to keep hanging out with the hunters over there?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°absolutely not.¡± richard shook his head.

 Chapter 28

    chapter 28


    now that they were full and had regained their senses, the hunters seemed worried about the future. that was only natural. having lost all hope, they began to think their lives were over. hence, they told richard how they truly felt about him. however, things were different now. they now had to think about what would happen after they cleared the dungeon!


    richard could be an inexperienced and cocky kid, but he came from a strong family. they were nervous about how things would become twisted if they went outside.


    ¡°hey...¡± one of the hunters awkwardly tried to talk to richard, but the latter replied coldly.


    ¡°shut up.¡±


    ¡°n-no. there seems to be a misunderstanding, team leader. i was just doing what that fred guy told me to...¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t i tell you to shut up? go away if you don¡¯t want to be left behind!¡±


    richard¡¯s voice was full of killing intent. the bloodthirsty air around him made the hunter back down.


    ¡°did you fight?¡± choi yeonseung asked.


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°haha, we just have a misunderstanding.¡± the hunters hurriedly waved and denied it. of course, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t believe such an excuse.


    ¡°it sure does look to me like you guys fought, though. what¡¯s the point in hiding it? arguments are only natural when attacking a dungeon. i also used to fight with others a lot.¡±


    the clan that choi yeonseung had joined was a good one, but it wasn¡¯t without arguments. as long as there were people, there would be arguments! people argued over trivial matters, such as which dungeon to attack or which strategy to use. a good clan wisely solved these disputes. choi yeoncheung¡¯s clanmates never held grudges and respected each other even during arguments.


    in comparison...


    ¡®they tried to kill each other here.¡¯


    richard glared at the rest of the hunters as if he was going to kill them, and the rest of the hunters were squirming. he could easily guess what had happened from the way they behaved. perhaps the other hunters tried to attack richard.


    -master. what happened?


    -they were trapped, so they probably had a huge fight with each other. maybe they thought they had too many mouths to eat, so they told him to clear the road. or they just fought because they blamed him...


    -humans are so pathetic.


    -odaigon. your master is also human.


    -ah. m-master, i didn¡¯t mean to insult you...


    ¡°well, i don''t really care whether you fought or not. we should get out of this place first before solving your issues. if you¡¯re done eating, let¡¯s head out and finish the ghouls. i think killing the few i¡¯ve missed will clear the dungeon.¡±


    the hunters nodded at choi yeonseung¡¯s words. although they were worried about the future, they still had to escape from the dungeon. to be honest, they wanted to leave the dungeon and return to earth, even for a moment.


    let¡¯s go back!


    ***


    ¡°you¡¯re called odaigon, right? y-you have such a great name¡ª¡±


    ¡°cleton, you jerk! why are you acting so friendly with mr. odaigon? aren¡¯t you going over the line?¡±


    ¡°you probably had a hard time wiping out the ghouls, mr. odaigon. don¡¯t worry. we¡¯ll take care of the rest!¡±


    ¡°my heart aches so much that you have lost your memory, mr. odaigon! if you don¡¯t mind, i¡¯ll follow you around and help you!¡±l--b1n.


    ¡°????¡±


    odaigon looked at the hunters with disgust. since they stepped outside, he had been wondering if the hunters were crazy. their eyes were flashing with desire! there was no way that odaigon, the wise goblin king, would be oblivious to their intentions.


    ¡®if it wasn¡¯t for master¡¯s orders, i would¡¯ve told them to go away.¡¯


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong with them?¡±choi yeonseung asked richard and canean out of curiosity upon seeing their behavior.


    ¡°it¡¯s hard to find good hunters. this is kind of cute.¡±


    ¡°i know that. by the way, why are you so polite?¡±


    ¡°you saved me, so i have to show respect. i can even get down on my knees. you¡¯re also from 30 years ago, so you¡¯re older than me...¡±


    ¡°uhuh. if you really are grateful, stop saying things like that.¡±


    in reality, he could¡¯ve been a few thousand years old, but choi yeonseung decided to think of himself as 28 years old. his age on earth should be calculated according to earth''s time!


    ¡°i didn''t ask because i can''t determine why they were clinging to a good hunter. i already know that much.¡±


    ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°well, uhh... did new constellations suddenly appear and invaded our world?¡±


    ¡°ah... are you talking about what happened in 2011? it was a real uproar at the time. how did you know about that, though?¡±


    2011. that was two years after choi yeonseung left for the abyss. a huge number of demons and monsters invaded earth, throwing the planet into great turmoil. they simultaneously appeared all over the world! before that, there were only two ways monsters could reach earth.


    the gate connected to the abyss, which opened at the north pole.


    the randomly appearing dungeon doors.


    the gate only allowed monsters to pass through periodically, and the dungeons were safe for as long as the hunters cleared them before their doors opened.


    however, the 2011 catastrophe was different. temporary gates opened everywhere, unleashing violent demons and monsters that were different from those that escaped from dungeons. the monsters that came out of the dungeons just acted on instinct and were easy to deal with. meanwhile, the monsters that invaded in 2011 moved exquisitely according to the demons¡¯ commands.


    and the demons only had one purpose.


    occupation!


    they intended to take over earth and offer its souls to the constellation they worshiped.


    ¡°!!!¡±


    choi yeonseung felt his heart drop at the words. he was too late! he couldn¡¯t believe the evil god constellations invaded two years after he left.


    ¡°what... what happened to earth? did the constellations manage to conquer it?¡±


    ¡°no. how could we be like this if that happened?¡±


    ¡°then?¡±


    ¡°we stopped the invasion.¡±


    ¡°...s-stopped it?¡±


    ¡°yes. it required great sacrifices, but the world¡¯s governments mobilized hunters to stop them.¡±


    ¡°.......¡±


    choi yeonseung became momentarily speechless. if... if they managed to stop it... didn¡¯t that mean he had nothing to do?


    ¡®... what did i wander around the abyss for?¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ doesn¡¯t know how to comfort you!]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ says that something is strange. she says it would¡¯ve been difficult to stop the constellations¡¯ invasion with mortals alone.]


    upon listening to the two constellations¡¯ advice, choi yeonseung returned to his senses.


    ¡°how did they stop the invasion?¡±


    ¡°ah, we didn¡¯t stop them, per se. it was more like we entered a truce. the evil constellations managed to occupy several places, but i heard they didn¡¯t have the confidence to conquer any more territory. the damage they¡¯d suffer would be too great if they kept fighting, so we made a truce.¡±


    ¡°a truce with the constellations? did they keep it?¡±


    ¡°everyone was worried at first, but they¡¯ve been keeping their end of the bargain so far. maybe it''s because the other constellations on earth stepped up and made an oath?¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡®i see. so that¡¯s what happened.¡¯


    choi yeonseung and the other two constellations immediately realized what happened. upon discovering earth, the evil god constellations sent their subordinates to swallow it. however, the humans¡¯ resistance was stronger than they thought. from the perspective of the evil god constellations, who could only send their subordinates since they couldn¡¯t go out in person, they couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous. there were constellations on earth that had already gained humanity¡¯s faith, and there was no way they would just stand idly by.


    in fact, those constellations immediately launched a counterattack.


    -an all-out war will be upon us if this doesn¡¯t stop!


    ¡®if they fought, they would destroy each other. hence, they compromised and vowed to a truce. that¡¯s certainly how constellations would¡¯ve done it.¡¯


    wandering constellations with nothing to lose like choi yeonseung would risk their lives to fight one-on-one battles. however, constellations didn¡¯t fight directly in general. even if they were in a conflict, they¡¯d just send their household members to fight on their behalf. after all, they had a lot to lose!


    that was what happened on earth. the evil god constellations feared defeat or losing their newly occupied lands and subdued humans, while the constellations that arrived on earth before them were afraid of defeat or losing the humans who believed in them.


    as a result, a truce was made!


    ¡®... no, doesn¡¯t this still mean there is nothing for me to do?!¡¯

 Chapter 29

    chapter 29


    now that he knew the constellations kept each other in check and left earth alone...


    choi yeonseung no longer had any reason to suffer since his work had already been completed.


    ¡®was i too late?¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that isn¡¯t the case.]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ says that the work on earth isn¡¯t over yet.]


    ¡®what do you mean?¡¯


    -can you hear me?


    the manipulator of dreams and desires spoke to choi yeonseung.


    -i¡¯m sending the words directly to make it easier to explain. you came a few decades late, but...


    -......


    choi yeonseung became slightly depressed.


    -... i want to tell you that it isn¡¯t meaningless. your work on earth isn¡¯t done yet. think it over. the constellations have made a truce with each other, but what made you think it¡¯ll last forever? all constellations are greedy, especially for a planet with many souls like earth.


    -... you¡¯re right.


    there was no way that the evil god constellations wouldn¡¯t become greedier. there were many ways to increase their strength, ally with other constellations, and break the truce. they had been quiet for nearly 30 years, but that wouldn¡¯t be the case forever.


    -from my perspective, the only thing more dangerous than a truce of constellations breaking is the appearance of a new constellation.


    -a new constellation?


    -look. the evil god constellations who came to earth upon discovering the gate connected to it caused a commotion to steal souls. they¡¯ve made a truce with the constellations that came before them, but that¡¯s probably just to divide earth. it is obvious.


    the evil god constellations kept to the places they now occupied and never touched other territories. that was due to the truce, but they probably had one more motive in mind.


    -let¡¯s prevent more constellations from coming to earth!


    evil god constellations and neutral constellations thought they should only share earth among themselves.


    -if a new constellation comes, will they calmly accept the agreement?


    -they will try to take earth away with all their might.


    -that¡¯s right. i think earth is worth it. even in the abyss, planets with this many souls are rare. no matter how weak the constellation, they¡¯ll reach the advanced level the moment they get their hands on earth. no... they¡¯d likely reach the constellations'' highest rank... there¡¯s no way they can pass over a planet like this. their appearance would cause a conflict and ultimately turn the truce into a piece of paper.


    -dozens of constellations have probably already reached earth. can new constellations really ignore them and just invade earth?


    -no matter how many constellations there are on earth, the new constellations can call as many as they want from the abyss. don¡¯t underestimate the constellations¡¯ greed. unlike you, they¡¯ll spare no effort to get souls.


    dozens of constellations fighting over earth! just thinking about it sent chills down choi seonyeung¡¯s spine. such an event would completely destroy earth.


    -damn... this isn¡¯t the time to act like my work is over.


    -why don¡¯t you do what we originally discussed as soon as possible, then?


    -ah. the ¡®he is a jerk, but he¡¯s the only one i can trust!¡¯ strategy?


    -......?? i-i don''t remember calling our strategy by that name...


    -alright, i¡¯ll do it. still, this is honestly a bit overwhelming. i have to hide the fact that i¡¯m a constellation... and didn¡¯t you tell me to limit my martial arts ability?


    -keep your power of existence as hidden as possible. it¡¯s also best if you keep it a secret that you¡¯ve reached the transcendent-class stage. that much power will make the constellations wary of you.


    -i have to limit my martial arts to peak-class stage. it¡¯ll be terribly uncomfortable.


    -you just have to secure some faith and respect from earth¡¯s people. once you do, then you wouldn¡¯t just fail immediately even if the other constellations notice. so be patient until then. the constellations on earth will likely have extraordinary power...


    trust and follow the constellation or fear and obey them. those gave the constellations some power of existence. the neutral constellations of earth chose the former, while the new evil god constellations that invaded decades ago chose the latter.


    choi yeonseung intended to take the humans as his own without the constellations noticing.


    ... he wasn¡¯t sure which method would be better yet, though!


    ¡®it should work out well.¡¯


    -ah. by the way, won¡¯t the goddess of balance who walks ahead listen if i ask for help?


    -don¡¯t expect too much from something that hasn¡¯t been confirmed yet. i¡¯m a bit against forming an alliance with that goddess. stupid allies are more threatening than capable enemies.


    the manipulator of dreams and desires was cold. her words were so sharp that the goddess would¡¯ve cried if she heard them!


    ¡®she has the great ability to see the future but can¡¯t use it because she¡¯s stupid!¡¯


    -don¡¯t say such things if we form an alliance with her.


    ¡°i am.¡±


    ¡°then you will receive a naturalization invitation.¡±


    this had happened since choi yeonseung was on earth. hunters were basically expensive talents! most countries welcomed hunters from other countries with open arms when they said they would immigrate. of course, the hunter¡¯s country of origin wouldn¡¯t be a fool, either. they¡¯d do everything they could to stop their hunter from leaving.


    ¡°ah... a naturalization invitation. i see. is this dungeon located in the united states?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°we¡¯ll be coming out in the united states when we clear this place, then. the united states, huh...¡±


    he had never been to that country. considering thirty years had passed since he left earth, the country became even vaguer to him. all he remembered were images of hamburgers and superman.


    ¡®hunters say it doesn¡¯t matter where they are as long as they have skills...¡¯


    ¡°are you thinking of naturalizing?¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s see... i don¡¯t know.¡±


    as a korean, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t the patriotic kind. however, he didn¡¯t plan to move to the united states when he didn¡¯t know the exact situation of earth.


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t hunters immediately get permanent residency?¡±


    ¡°you''re right, but wouldn¡¯t it be better to be naturalized if you¡¯re going to work here?¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s see... i¡¯ll just let odaigon do it for now. in any case, odaigon has lost his memory and has to belong somewhere.¡±


    us citizen odaigon! even the us side would tear up in happiness to gain a magic user like odaigon.


    choi yeonseung nodded after roughly checking things. there seemed to be no problem if things continued like this.


    -odaigon. i¡¯m curious about the level of hunters here. can you use level measurement?


    level measurement was a spell that arni and anyone in the abyss could use. unfortunately, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know how to use magic.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is wondering why you¡¯re ordering odaigon to do that.]


    -i can¡¯t use magic... are you trying to make fun of me?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is saying in a flustered manner that that¡¯s not what she meant! it says that the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ is a constellation and can identify the opponent without using magic such as level measurement.]


    ¡®......?¡¯


    could he do that using the power of existence? if so, wouldn¡¯t nearby constellations notice him using it?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that it seems you¡¯re still confused. a constellation can figure out a mortal¡¯s level without using things like the power of existence.]


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung stared intently at richard. choi yeonseung was a martial artist that could only grasp his opponent¡¯s strength with his eyes before. magicians could also distinguish that through their target¡¯s amount of magic power, but a martial artist¡¯s vision was more accurate.


    however, this went deeper!


    [you have seen through the essence of richard parker.]


    [richard parker]


    [level: 205


    strength: 198


    agility: 397


    physical strength: 200


    magic power: 202


    intelligence: 190]


    richard parker¡¯s status window appeared in front of him.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it isn¡¯t that difficult. it¡¯s ultimately just one¡¯s ability to understand their opponent. it says that if you continue training in it, you will see more and more details.]


    ¡®i see.¡¯


    choi yeonseung understood what the cat constellation was trying to say. it wasn¡¯t much different from seeing and measuring people with his eyes.


    however, the constellations were one step higher, so they could see and feel much more! there was no reason to use magic like level measurement when they could just use their eyes.


    ¡®the more i train, the more i can see and hear.¡¯


    [the skill ¡®overcome oneself to become strong¡¯...]


    [the more you sharpen your eyes as a constellation, the stronger your power of existence will be!]


    ¡°!¡±

 Chapter 30

    chapter 30


    this was also training!


    choi yeonseung nodded joyously. he was going to polish it anyway. it wouldn¡¯t hurt if he was given extra power of existence.


    choi yeonseung grasped canean and the hunters in front of him. after figuring them out, he turned to the items they had. in the abyss, the performance of items was judged through item appraisal. like level measurement, it was a popular magic spell!


    choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t been interested in it since it was a spell similar to level measurement. however, since he could see another person¡¯s level without having to use magic, then that should mean he could do the same to items.


    ¡®there aren¡¯t many people with artifacts... did he say his name is richard? his belt is an artifact.¡¯??v€l?1n.


    fortunately, he felt pretty good magic power from it. choi yeonseung¡¯s eyes shone when he used the same skill as before.


    [belt of iderron:


    durability: 40/40 defense: 50


    contains the skill ''iderron''s defense.''


    level restriction: 100.]


    ¡®these are its stats, huh... wait. come to think of it, what about my items?¡¯


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t have much, but there were still items he valued. his adamantium and orichalcum kitchenware set!


    [adamantium frying pan:


    durability: ¡Þ/¡Þ. defense: ¡Þ/¡Þ.


    contains the skills ¡®materials'' magic power condensation¡¯, ¡®materials¡¯ magic power enhancement¡¯, ¡®seasonings transformation, ¡®heat magic power conversion¡¯, ¡®magic power...¡¯


    ¡®......¡¯


    a frying pan with all types of skills related to cooking and magic power! considering its durability, defense, and the number of skills imbued, it could be called one of the best s+ artifacts on earth. the problem was that it was a frying pan!


    ¡®it doesn¡¯t matter.¡¯


    it wasn¡¯t like choi yeonseung was going to use it to fight anyway... for as long as it served its purpose well, the frying pan didn¡¯t need to be reforged to a different item. he always thought the dishes he cooked in that frying pan always tasted so good, and he had just discovered why: it had all types of flavor enhancement skills...


    [the ¡®dazzling demon¡¯s mirror¡¯ dungeon has been cleared!]


    [the dungeon is closing soon.]


    in the meantime, odaigon found and obliterated the last group of ghouls. right after, the dungeon started to shake and collapse starting from its edges.


    dungeon clear!


    "waaaaahhhhh!"


    ¡°we cleared it!¡±


    the hunters clenched their fists and cheered. this was the most thrilling moment of every dungeon raid!


    ¡°make sure to pack everything up before you go outside!¡±


    ¡°there are only ghouls. what is there to pack apart from their cores? do you want to take some ghoul flesh?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve got all the cores... did any items appear?¡±


    ¡°no.¡±


    ¡°damn. why did we have to go through all this trouble?¡±


    a dungeon having high difficulty didn¡¯t necessarily mean it would contain good items. a good dungeon would have low difficulty yet excellent rewards!


    ¡°we still have the clearance reward, though, don¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°that depends on whether the team leader will properly distribute it...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°d-distribution is a legitimate right! we worked hard as well! we have the right to a portion of it!¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re all crazy. if the young master takes issue with what happened in the dungeon, then money will be the least of our problems. he¡¯d likely be able to ban us from working as a hunter.¡±


    ¡°that jerk fred was the problem. he was the first to speak!¡±


    ¡°... how dare you put this on me when we were all in it? do you think i¡¯ll just stay quiet?¡±


    fred¡¯s anger caused the other hunters to flinch. it would be difficult for them to stay safe if he turned into a demon


    ¡°ah... no. it isn¡¯t that everything you did was wrong. you were just too hasty. you could¡¯ve been a little bit more patient.¡±


    ¡°honestly, wouldn¡¯t cleton, that porter, be the worst among us?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right! he¡¯s the reason why we started arguing in the first place.¡±


    the hunters quickly turned their arrows toward cleton.


    ¡°if anyone asks you what happened here, you better give the same answer as us.¡±


    ¡°in any case, i don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to stay on the team for long. we¡¯ll definitely be kicked out...¡±


    fame was also important in the hunter industry. other clans wouldn¡¯t welcome hunters who caused trouble during a dungeon raid. besides, the parker family¡¯s young master was involved in this incident...


    ¡°we have to make sure we tempt odaigon properly.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. he lost his memories...¡±


    the hunters had been talking to odaigon since earlier. since he had lost his memory, going back to earth should be hard. he¡¯d need help after he had been examined. since he saved their lives, they would help him. of course, their words were just loud noises from odaigon¡¯s perspective. the hunters didn¡¯t even grasp the subject and just kept slandering choi yeonseung.


    ¡°you¡¯ll see! you better be careful!¡±


    the reporters hurriedly retreated. choi yeonseung whistled while watching the scene.


    ¡°thank you for your help.¡±


    ¡°... i am just paying back what i received.¡±¡¯


    ¡°so the grace of saving your life is just worth this much?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll keep making it up to you.¡±


    ¡°i was just kidding, but i¡¯d gladly be compensated.¡±


    that was it for their conversation. the surprised public servants were running over.


    ¡°how did you clear it?¡±


    ***


    the hunters were split up into two. the hunters of the ganes team explained the situation.


    -hundreds of ghouls... um. it isn¡¯t an a-grade dungeon, but... i think it should be at least a b-grade.


    -no, there were at least hundreds of ghouls! we almost died!


    -you don¡¯t appear to have defeated them yourselves.


    -...you¡¯re right, but...


    -f-grade monsters like ghouls often weaken over time. i¡¯m sure you¡¯re also well aware that a dungeon¡¯s rank is determined by the strength of the boss monster in it. no matter how many ghouls there are...


    -groan...


    -in any case, you worked hard. congratulations on your safe return.


    meanwhile, choi yeonseung and odaigon were taken for physical examination and testing.


    ¡°you are extremely healthy. this is amazing. i¡¯ve never seen such a perfect physique. it¡¯s as if your body is god-given.¡±


    ¡°all i could do in the abyss was work out.¡±


    ¡°on top of that, you seem to be in your right mind. you¡¯re very lucky.¡±


    choi yeonseung testified that he had endured for decades in the corner of a quiet realm. surprisingly, people didn¡¯t doubt it. the fact that choi yeonseung was alive was proof of it. if he stayed in an area full of strong monsters, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to safely return.


    ¡°well, thirty years have passed here... you¡¯ll likely have some trouble adjusting. if you want to immigrate, then we¡¯ll help you.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll think about it first before deciding.¡±


    ¡°is that so? if so, then...¡±


    the doctor carefully examined choi yeonseung and recorded his testimony. he glanced to the side and saw people from the government clinging to odaigon and making suggestions.


    -it¡¯s unfortunate that you¡¯ve lost your memory, but you can get citizenship from dragon industry...


    -dragon industry is one of the strongest clans in the united states...


    -there will be huge benefits...


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung thought something was strange. why did they keep saying ¡®dragon industry,¡¯ a name he had never heard of before, rather than the us government? looking closely, the government officials were wearing marks that read ¡®dragon industry.¡¯


    ¡°wait. who are they? aren¡¯t they public servants?¡±


    ¡°huh? they are.¡±


    ¡°they said they¡¯re from dragon industry. what is that place?¡±


    ¡°ahh... i¡¯m sorry. i should¡¯ve explained that to you earlier,¡± the public servant said with a smile.


    ¡°this place near l.a. is under the dragon industry''s jurisdiction.¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s why we handle matters like this instead of the government.¡±


    ¡°... why?¡±


    ¡°w-why?¡±


    the public servant looked flustered, perhaps because the answer seemed too obvious to him. however, that only made choi yeonseung find this situation even more absurd. why was a company he had never heard of working in the government¡¯s stead?


    ¡°um. hunter choi yeonseung. didn¡¯t millions of people die in the great invasion? ever since then, the hunter clans have stepped up.¡±


    after the great invasion, the hunters¡¯ power rose enormously, allowing them to start acting as kings around the world. even the relatively intact united states couldn¡¯t escape from it. large-scale us clans extorted enormous power from the government in exchange for risking their lives. they gained the power to act at will in their cities or states and became a type of clan state!


    it wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say that the clans had great power in their region. in fact, in cities like los angeles, new york, and chicago, the clans reigned as kings. they elected public servants, made judgments, passed laws...


    the public servant continued like everything he was saying was nothing out of the ordinary.


    ¡°it is the clans¡¯ hard work that protects us from monsters.¡±


    ¡°... i see.¡±


    choi yeonseung had to admit that the world he knew had changed too much.


    did korean clans also set up states and pretend to be kings?

 Chapter 31

    chapter 31


    the public servant resumed his work after giving choi yeonseung an explanation.


    they made it a principle to attract the hunter first before checking how good the hunter was, so they immediately offered immigration and permanent residency.


    -why are they doing this?


    -earth¡¯s countries don¡¯t like to lose hunters to each other. are your nobles like that as well?n?00v€l--?1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.


    -ah... that is definitely the case.


    the goblin nobles also hated losing their subordinates to other nobles. odaigon was convinced right away!


    ¡°i¡¯ll get a permanent residence visa.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯ve made the right choice. honestly speaking, i don¡¯t think there is a better country for hunters than the united states.¡±


    ¡°i guess i¡¯ll have to see.¡±


    ¡°haha. you¡¯ll see what i mean once you¡¯ve seen what we have to offer. in any case, i¡¯ll issue you two permanent residency cards. choi yeonseung, do you have an existing hunter rating? your hunter card?¡±


    ¡°hunter card...¡±


    choi yeonseung was about to say he had it but stopped himself. his hunter card had too much information on it. in particular, constellation-related skills!


    ¡®i don¡¯t think i should show it to them.¡¯


    ¡°... i lost it.¡±


    ¡°this... still, the fact that you have been issued a hunter card means there you have a record. let me find it right now. the united states is connected to the korean hunter side. wait... wait... ah, there it is. it was last updated 30 years ago. you¡¯re a c+ grade.¡±


    ¡°you don¡¯t use cards these days?¡±


    ¡°no. you can just launch it on your phone or as a hologram like this...¡±


    the man flicked his finger and a small holographic window appeared in front of him. seeing that made choi yeonseung curious. they now had technology he couldn¡¯t even see? had computers become this small?


    ¡°you have an existing hunter rating, so i won¡¯t do a detailed test. let¡¯s do a simple test, then a constellation check. hey, help him.¡±


    ¡°come this way.¡±


    choi yeonseung moved according to the instructions. when they went to the next room, he saw a crystal ball the size of a soccer ball. a magic power meter! it was a traditional tool that had been used since the early raid days. its color changed depending on how much magic power was injected into it. one¡¯s magic power was measured by the color¡¯s intensity.


    choi yeonseung was happy to see the item. however, he soon paused. ¡®... wait, they¡¯re still using this?¡¯


    it had been 30 years. did it not receive any technological advancement?


    ¡°do you measure it with that?¡±


    ¡°yes? is there a problem?¡± the measurer wondered.


    ¡°uh... we had this when i was still on earth.¡±


    ¡°ah. we have been using it for a long time! however, this is the latest model that came out last year. it will be completely different from what hunter choi yeonseung used back then.¡±


    ¡°oh. what features does it have?¡±


    ¡°its magic power limit has increased tremendously... once you put your hands on it and inject magic power, you will hear music that puts you at ease.¡±


    ¡°......?!¡±


    ¡®they don¡¯t know level measurement?¡¯


    choi yeonseung came to a realization. they still hadn¡¯t discovered level measurement magic! it had been around 30 years since he was last here, so he thought they would¡¯ve at least found many new magic spells and created new things. however, they still didn¡¯t have level measurement magic.


    ¡®odaigon will jump up and down and say we¡¯re uncivilized.¡¯


    it was ridiculous, but asking more questions here wouldn¡¯t change anything. choi yeonseung reached out and grabbed the crystal ball.


    ¡°how much do i need to put in? around half the power?¡±


    ¡°you put in as much as you have.¡±


    ¡°should i?¡±


    ¡°huh? of course. you have to inject everything you¡¯ve got into it to measure your magic power accurately.¡±


    ¡®say something that makes sense.¡¯


    the facilitator could only give him such instructions because he didn¡¯t know how powerful choi yeonseung was. if he injected all of his strength into it, he¡¯d blow up this entire building.


    ¡®it doesn¡¯t matter. i¡¯ll just control my strength in moderation...¡¯


    choi yeonseung¡¯s goal was b-grade. it was impossible to reach a-grade without any achievements. they could only measure up to b-grade with this measurement. he could start over as c+, but there was no reason to do that.


    ¡®it doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s b- or b-grade, having that rank will make it easier for me to move around. i¡¯ll just slowly build up my performance from there...¡¯


    light soon flashed, and the crystal ball shattered.


    ¡°?!?!?!¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is panicking!]


    what amateur was he to break the crystal ball? if he couldn¡¯t even hide his strength properly, what was he going to do in the future? even choi yeonseung was taken aback. didn¡¯t he control his strength properly?


    ¡°ah. i¡¯m sorry. this item was slightly broken... i thought it would still be fine, but i didn¡¯t expect it to shatter like this. i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°... i-i see.¡±


    choi yeonseung was relieved. he thought he had made a mistake.


    ¡°here it is.¡±


    the color of the crystal ball darkened.


    choi yeonseung: c+.


    odaigon: b-.


    ¡°...???¡±


    choi yeonseung made an anxious expression. he thought he would get a b-...


    ¡®has the average magic power of hunters increased? no, the measurer was clearly surprised. did the standards change in the meantime?¡¯


    odaigon was a b-. he seemed to have hidden his skills quite a bit. it was obvious since, in terms of skills, even a-grade hunters would be below odaigon.


    ¡°are you finished?¡± several limousines stopped in front of the two of them as they walked out. a hunter with a familiar face stood in front of them. it was richard parker.


    ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°i said i would compensate you some more. you have nowhere to go, right? follow me. i¡¯ll let you stay at my home.¡±


    -master. isn¡¯t this guy acting suspicious?


    -what do you mean?


    -he¡¯s suddenly being all kind.


    -... are you suspicious of him because he¡¯s a human?


    -n-n-no. how could i...


    odaigon hurriedly waved his hand, but his heart had already been revealed. having dealt with various humans the moment he came out of the dungeon, odaigon had already accumulated the greatest level of distrust.


    ¡®the human race is annoying, troublesome, greedy, and has insignificant magic.¡¯


    an uncivilized race that couldn¡¯t even use level measurement and item measurement!


    -it¡¯s fine. he¡¯s treating us like this because we saved his life. and we have nowhere to stay anyway.


    -if he does anything, then i will scold him.


    -yes. i¡¯m looking forward to it.


    choi yeonseung said so and got into the back seat of the limousine.


    ¡°oh. there is a minibar inside. your family seems a bit big.¡±


    ¡°... i don¡¯t know much about it, but the parker family is recognized by the industry.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡± choi yeonseung answered nonchalantly.


    richard frowned. other people were surprised or cautious when they heard the parker family¡¯s name, but choi yeonseung was treating them like stones.


    ¡®maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s been lost in the abyss.¡¯


    ¡°is there only alcohol here? you don¡¯t have cola? cola, not pepsi.¡±


    ¡°... if you want one, then i¡¯ll buy it...¡±


    ¡°no. it¡¯s fine. i¡¯ll just drink water if you don¡¯t have one. come to think of it, i haven¡¯t drunk cola in a long time.¡±


    having returned after so long, he began to crave it, but choi yeonseung originally pursued an ascetic diet.


    -yeonseung. do you want some candy?


    -eating sweets causes muscle loss.


    -yeonseung. do you want to go play?


    -sleeping late will cause muscle loss.


    -yeonseung. i want to introduce you to a really nice person...


    -that will cause muscle loss as well...


    -stop it, you madman!


    of course, now that he had awakened as a constellation, his body wouldn¡¯t get ruined just because he took a sip of cola. nevertheless, one¡¯s mindset was always important.


    choi yeonseung looked at richard and asked, ¡°so, when are you planning to give me all your assets?¡±


    "cough! cough!¡±


    richard coughed as if to clear his throat.


    ¡°i¡¯m just kidding.¡±


    ¡°w-where did you hear that?¡±


    ¡°i think i heard someone say that if someone could save them, they would give that person all their assets... well, i don¡¯t really intend to take it, so don¡¯t worry. i don¡¯t want much.¡±


    ¡°... what do you want?¡±


    ¡°not much, really. let me stay somewhere until i get settled. i¡¯ve been in the abyss for so long that i can''t just immediately get used to this. i don¡¯t know anyone.¡±


    richard nodded at choi yeonseung¡¯s words. he expected things to be like that. choi yeonseung had been wandering in the abyss for thirty years.


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter. you can stay as long as you want.¡±


    ¡°oh. you are generous.¡±


    ¡°... this is the least i can do for the person who saved my life. i am richard parker. don¡¯t look down on me too much.¡±


    -renting a house isn¡¯t that hard, right, master?


    -before i left for the abyss, it was already hard to purchase large houses here on earth. things here work differently from your kingdom, odaigon.

 Chapter 32

    chapter 32


    the car suddenly roared to a halt.


    ¡°you¡¯re really going to do this to your benefactor?¡± choi yeonseung asked with a frown.


    ¡°n-no. what... what is going on?¡±


    richard looked away in surprise.


    ¡°there¡¯s a madman in front of us...¡±


    ¡®an assassination?¡¯¡¯ choi yeonseung thought so at first. the evil god constellations noticed him...


    ¡®no. this doesn¡¯t make sense. why would they have used this method if they knew?¡¯


    no idiot would send a household member to deal with a constellation.


    -master. should i take care of this?


    -no. let¡¯s see who it is.


    choi yeonseung opened the door and went outside. some crazy guy had parked a sports car horizontally and blocked the way. no matter how deserted the road, this didn¡¯t make sense.


    ¡®as expected of america. the level of the crazy people is amazing.¡¯


    the door of the lamborghini opened, and an asian hunter with blond-dyed hair came out. he looked to be in his early 40s, and his tanned skin gave off a healthy energy.


    ¡®where have i seen him before...?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was surprised by how familiar the person seemed. he wandered through the abyss for the past thirty years, so why did the man still look so familiar?


    ¡°d-d-dragon hwang...?¡± richard parked exclaimed in shock, seemingly recognizing the other person¡¯s face right away.


    ¡°dragon hwang?¡±


    ***


    hwang gyeongryong. born in korea, he moved to the united states after the ¡®seoul disaster¡¯ incident and set the most outstanding record among the first generation hunters. his hunter rank was s-grade! he was one of the best hunters on earth, and his name was always mentioned whenever people were asked who the strongest hunter was.


    hwang gyeongryong wasn¡¯t just a strong hunter, either. back then, there were so many monsters that just moving his feet around would be enough to kick them. having hunted them at random, hwang gyeongryong never had a bad financial day. he was once the richest man on earth!


    hwang gyeongryong didn¡¯t stop there. he bought and acquired medical, pharmaceutical, broadcasting, biotechnology, artifact, and magic engineering companies. that was how dragon industry was formed. not only did dragon industry have various corporations and sub-clans, but it was now one of the clan states in the united states.


    one of the best s-grade hunters and head of the best chaebol! that was hwang gyeongryong. and...


    he was one of the stars who most glamorously inflated the image of hunters! when hwang gyeongryong came to the united states, he lived a maddeningly glamorous and dissolute life with the enormous support of the us government. one of his nicknames was the ¡®world¡¯s strongest playboy.¡¯ that should speak for itself.


    ¡°... didn¡¯t you get married last night?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right.¡±


    even though he was already in his late 60s, hwang gyeongryong was getting married for the 19th time. they didn¡¯t pay much attention even though it was someone as famous as hwang gyeongryong.


    the media just said things like, ¡®dragon hwang, new marriage. this marriage is expected to last six months...¡¯ and ¡®what are the terms of dragon hwang¡¯s marriage? it is an estimated payment of $100 million and prohibition to file a lawsuit in case of a divorce..¡¯


    odaigon was impressed when he heard the bodyguards whispering. it was natural for a strong being to want to sow seeds.


    ¡°he is a responsible male. he¡¯s in his late sixties, so he probably can¡¯t keep it hard anymore.¡±


    ¡°no. dragon hwang keeps it hard quite well.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. he has so many children.¡±


    the bodyguards immediately responded. they didn¡¯t know about anything else, but they were at least certain about that! regardless, choi yeonseung looked like he had seen a ghost. the name hwang gyeongryong was very familiar to him.


    ¡°you¡¯re dragon hwang, right?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. who are you, kid?¡±


    ¡°i-i am called richard parker!¡± richard parker replied stiffly to hwang gyeongryong.


    ¡°parker? the parker family¡¯s child?¡±


    despite being called a child to his face, richard parker couldn¡¯t refute it. he nodded and exclaimed, ¡°yes! that¡¯s right!¡±


    ¡°i hear alex has many worries about his son being a hunter.¡±


    ¡°... that has nothing to do with me.¡±


    ¡°hahaha! yes. that¡¯s how it should be. shouldn¡¯t you be allowed to do what you want?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong looked around with a smile. under any other circumstances, the bodyguards would¡¯ve taken out their guns if the car was blocked like this. however, they didn¡¯t dare do so in this situation. they knew that everyone here would die if hwang gyeongryong ever wanted to kill them.


    ¡°well, you must be curious why i¡¯m blocking the road with my car. i would be as well.¡±


    ¡°... w-what reason do you have?¡±


    ¡°it is because of that friend over there behind you.¡± hwang gyeongryong answered while pointing to choi yeonseung. ¡°why is he in your car, kid?¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯m treating him for saving my life...¡±


    ¡°treating him? oh. i thought you were going to drag him back to the parker family and dissect him. that is a commendable reason. i¡¯ll forgive you.¡±


    ¡°you''ve got quite an amazing mansion.¡±


    it was an old-fashioned mansion set on sprawling grounds. it was as if the entire mansion was saying, ¡®i am this rich.¡¯


    richard replied to choi yeonseung with an anxious expression.


    ¡°... that''s the employees'' building. dragon hwang¡¯s mansion only appears when you go further inside.¡±


    it wasn¡¯t just this building. the entire area was the land of hwang gyeongryong! the building he thought was a mansion was just a building installed at the entrance.


    ¡°... it looks a bit unlucky.¡±


    ¡°what did you just say, yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°no. nothing. haha.¡±


    there was a long line in front of the main entrance. he could tell with a glance that most of them were hunters.


    ¡°what are they doing?¡±


    ¡°they''re drawing for a queue number ticket.¡±


    ¡°who are they going to see?¡±


    ¡°who? isn¡¯t it obviously me?¡± hwang gyeongryong said with a smile.


    choi yeonseung felt like running away from home. there was even a simple office at the entrance. the employee sitting in front of the desk was cutting the waiting number ticket with a tired expression.


    choi yeonseung asked, ¡°why do they want to see you, hyung?¡±


    ¡°yeonseung, yeonseung... who am i?¡±


    ¡°... do you already have dementia?¡±


    the bodyguards flinched at choi yeonseung¡¯s words. they couldn¡¯t believe that someone was talking to dragon hwang like this!


    ¡°... hey... sigh. they want me to give them a chance.¡±


    ¡°what type of chance?¡±


    ¡°well. there are many things. i¡¯ll explain everything to you, but let¡¯s go inside for now. thank you for coming all this way. would you like me to give you a guest room?¡±


    richard shook his head at hwang gyeongryong¡¯s question. he didn¡¯t know anything else, but he didn¡¯t want to stay in dragon hwang¡¯s mansion for long. doing so felt like he¡¯d lose his life!


    ¡°then leave quickly. we have a lot to talk about.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    richard and the bodyguards quietly left.


    ¡®he¡¯s so rude...¡¯


    ¡®hold it in. we won''t be able to do anything if that crazy dog bites us.¡¯


    ***


    ¡°what is that black and white animal?¡±


    ¡°panda... do you mean why is it here?¡±


    there was a zoo on the grounds of hwang gyeongryong¡¯s mansion. choi yeonseung was puzzled when he saw a panda, a cute white and black animal, playing in a cage. weren¡¯t pandas endangered animals controlled by the chinese government?


    ¡°i got it from the chinese government.¡±


    ¡°did you steal it?!¡±


    ¡°stole it? the chinese government begged on their knees for me to come, and they gave me that.¡±


    ¡°why did the chinese government fall on its knees?¡±


    ¡°that... ah. you¡¯ve been in the abyss for so long. it¡¯s only natural that you have no idea about what¡¯s happening... just wait.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong flicked his fingers, then the nearby secretaries rushed over.


    ¡°get the best tutors for every subject, including culture and common sense.¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t that too broad? why are you doing this?¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m jackson, your 7th secretary!¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re fired.¡±


    ¡°???!???!¡±


    the remaining secretaries tensed up when one of the secretaries made a mistake and was discharged.


    ¡°i pay you a lot of money to do complicated and demanding jobs, not for you to question me. do you think i¡¯m joking?¡±

 Chapter 33

    chapter 33


    ¡°no, chairman!¡±


    ¡°oh. you¡¯re loud. what number secretary are you?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m the 6th secretary.¡±??v€l-b!n.


    ¡°what are you responsible for?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m in charge of the chairman¡¯s parties, receptions, and guests...¡±


    ¡°ah. i remember. i asked you to bring all the playboy models to the party and you were the idiot who left one out.¡±


    ¡°c-chairman. i called all the models from january to december. the april models were twins, so one was missing...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong raised his hand, signaling the secretary to stop talking.


    ¡°would you rather be the one who makes excuses or the one who gets things done?¡±


    ¡°the one who gets things done!¡±


    ¡°good. then move!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong looked at choi yeonseung after giving the secretary an order.


    ¡°for now, you should listen to what happened in the meantime. wouldn¡¯t that be better?¡±


    ¡°wow. hyung, you¡¯ve really turned into trash.¡±


    ¡°how... how am i trash?¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t you just fire a person for no reason?¡±


    ¡°no... do you know how much i paid him? hey, you. come back.¡±


    jackson, the 7th secretary, came back with a sullen expression as he was preparing to leave.


    ¡°how long have you been working for me?¡±


    ¡°two weeks.¡±


    ¡°how much have you earned so far?¡±


    ¡°around two hundred and thirty thousand dollars...¡±


    ¡°see? i gave that much!¡±


    ¡°what does how much you paid him have to do with firing him?¡±


    ¡°i definitely warned him before hiring him that if they ever make one mistake, then they¡¯ll be fired! they all know that!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong had more than 10 secretaries. there were so many things for him to do... no, it would be more accurate to say that hwang gyeongryong often fired his secretaries. all the secretaries knew this, but they applied regardless because of the huge salary and the expectation that they could rise higher if they endured it. they could get any position they wanted once hwang gyeongryong had organized them.


    ¡°i see. that¡¯s disappointing.¡±


    ¡°n-no, really... aish. i understand. get back to work!¡±


    ¡°t-thank you!¡± the 7th secretary, jackson, bowed excitedly and backed away. he didn¡¯t know who choi yeonseung was, but he was really grateful!


    ¡°did you really have to do that? huh?¡±


    ¡°hyung. as a clan leader, you should set an example for others.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    at the words he was hearing for the first time in 30 years, hwang gyeongryong didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or to cry.


    ***


    ¡°i majored in artifacts and dungeons at stanford university. i was also the manager of two b-grade hunters and one a-grade hunter.¡±


    ¡°hmm. is that so? i once did 500 kilos for the big three workouts.¡±


    he benched, deadlifted, and squatted a total of 500 kilograms! choi yeonseung¡¯s words flustered the person who came as his tutor.


    ¡°i-i see. in any case, let me briefly describe what happened in the 30 years.¡±


    30 minutes had passed since then.


    ¡°china, north korea, europe, and south america have been conquered?¡±


    choi yeonseung was taken aback by the tutor¡¯s words. he was aware that the evil god constellations occupied parts of earth, but this was too much!


    the tutor spoke to him with a puzzled expression. ¡°to be precise, they¡¯ve taken northeast china, the british side of europe, and mexico in south america.¡±


    ¡°and all of north korea?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°the korean people are suffering a lot... no.¡±


    -yes. i promise to work hard at it.


    one week later...


    -yeonseung. do you know why all the new hunters left the clan?


    -let¡¯s see? the clan¡¯s name is tacky...?


    -... hey! it¡¯s because you trained them too hard!


    - i gave them a much lighter training than the one i do


    -...


    -... alright. you¡¯re no longer in charge of training. just focus on the raids!


    the clan leader didn¡¯t argue further because he knew how sincere choi yeonseung was. he naturally didn¡¯t entrust choi yeonseung with training and would often tell new members, ¡®don¡¯t ask him to teach you.¡¯


    the rookie hunters were puzzled, but they soon figured out why the clan leader stopped them.


    -he¡¯s that crazy about training?


    -shh. if you make eye contact with him, he will drag us to do a hundred and seventy hours of training a week.


    -h-how is that possible...?


    -i heard he didn¡¯t even cry when he was born, but he does whenever he suffers muscle or internal energy loss.


    -i¡¯ve even heard rumors that he broke up with his lover because he was afraid of losing muscles and internal energy.


    -i don¡¯t want to train that hard! i became a hunter to make money!


    ¡®umm. now that i think about it, i didn¡¯t help at all.¡¯


    [¡¯cat of lava and magma¡¯ is bursting into tears!]


    ¡®why are you crying?¡¯


    [sob sob sob!]


    ¡®in any case, i have to do it.¡¯


    even if he didn¡¯t want to, he had to do it for his goal. hwang gyeongryong would be more upset anyway if choi yeonseung hid this out of worry. it would be best to tell him!


    ***


    the mansion grounds had all types of facilities.


    choi yeonseung entered one of them¡ªa training ground¡ªand found a huge ring-like space. he could immediately feel the powerful magic power.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is surprised to see ¡®otherworld¡¯ magic!]


    -why are you surprised? is it a difficult magic to use?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that it isn¡¯t that it¡¯s difficult to use. however, it was made by the constellations and is also popular among them. it says it just didn¡¯t expect it to be used here.]


    otherworld magic. some constellations initially made it to train and entertain their subordinates. however, it was so useful that other constellations followed suit. soon, it became a trend. after going inside, they entered a virtual space where they could take damage but remain completely uninjured when they leave!


    -there are many constellations on earth, so maybe they told their household members?


    ¡°did you learn this from a constellation?¡±


    ¡°huh? what are you saying? constellation?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was warming up when choi yeonseung¡¯s question puzzled him.


    ¡°that otherworld magic.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s just common magic, dude, but... the constellations likely passed it on. you don¡¯t know how dark they are inside.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s face showed hostility toward the constellations. he had heard and seen many things about constellations while rising to his current position, leaving him no choice but to distrust them.


    ¡®umm. i am also a constellation.¡¯


    choi yeonseung felt as if he had been stabbed for no reason.


    ¡°you probably don¡¯t know why we use this magic.¡±


    choi yeonseung replied, ¡°why are you treating me like a country bumpkin? aren¡¯t you training your subordinates to prepare for war?¡±


    ¡°... what are you talking about? no! dude, it¡¯s for sports!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong shouted, seemingly dumbfounded.


    ¡°what sport? do you play soccer here?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know why you keep saying such strange things, but no. i¡¯m talking about a hunter sport.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong flicked his fingers, and a hologram unfolded and played a video. in the video, several hunters were fiercely competing against each other.

 Chapter 34

    chapter 34


    ¡®what?¡¯


    he could tell that it was inside the ¡®otherworld¡¯ magic. monsters appeared in a place similar to reality and flocked toward opposing camps. the teams of hunters manned the magic towers to prevent the monsters from entering their camp. they also attacked their opponents every now and then. its mechanics seemed to have a mixture of team combat and actual monster encounters.


    ¡°isn¡¯t it interesting?¡±


    ¡°what is this?¡±


    ¡°six star league. it¡¯s the most popular sport right now.¡±


    six hunters teamed up to compete against each other in a virtual space with various rules! it used to just be a training exercise for hunters, but it was now a sport on an enormous scale. such a minor concept became bigger than its original purpose.


    choi yeonseung looked like he found it absurd. ¡°so... hunters fight among themselves? do people watch this?¡±


    ¡°people don¡¯t just watch it. it¡¯s the best sport in the world. some even say no other sport can compare to it. do you know how much money i made from this?¡±


    ¡°soccer? baseball...¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s ridiculous to compare them.¡±n?00v€l--?1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.


    the sight of hunters entering a dungeon and fighting ferociously brought forth a sense of excitement and realism that no other sport could match. it was a fierce sport reminiscent of ancient gladiator battles!


    ¡°perhaps the only other sport that can compare to it is the ultimate hunter championship...¡±


    ¡°... what¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a one-on-one battle. its main purpose is to identify the strongest hunter. just hearing about it already excites you, doesn''t it?¡±


    the hunters created something similar to how boxing and mixed martial arts determined their champions!


    uhc made the league¡¯s hunters violently fight for their lives. it was more intense than the ssl in some respects.


    ¡°no. not really.¡±


    ¡°is it because you already know i¡¯m the strongest?¡±


    ¡°nah, that¡¯s not it.¡±


    ¡°hey...¡±


    in any case, choi yeonseung understood now. those sports were brilliant ideas that made huge profits. these two events could be seen as earth¡¯s current two biggest sports.


    ¡®what happened to killing monsters...¡¯


    to be honest, choi yeonseung found it a bit absurd. wasn¡¯t it a hunter¡¯s duty to kill monsters? why participate in sports like athletes?


    ¡®... wait. did i become an old man after wandering in the abyss for over ten thousand years?¡¯


    choi yeonseung felt sorry for himself. people should be able to accept change flexibly!


    ¡°well, be it the ssl or uhc, those sports help improve the hunters¡¯ skills. virtual spaces allow us to develop ourselves in a safe environment.¡±


    choi yeonseung tried to find a benefit from them.


    ¡°no. they¡¯re just doing it for the money.¡±


    of course, hwang gyeongryong cut through it with a single knife.


    a capitalist world!


    ¡°do you know that among hunters these days, there are hunters who have never joined a dungeon raid at all?¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ?


    there could be several reasons why hunters raided dungeons, but it was generally so they could gain wealth and fame by clearing them. monster cores were just basic items that could be looted from dungeons. after all, they also contained various valuable items that couldn¡¯t be bought with earth¡¯s money. by clearing dungeons, skills and fame naturally came.


    however, the hunters gave up on raiding dungeons ever since ssl and uhc became popular.


    -we don¡¯t need the dungeon rewards anyway. if we just play ssl or uhc, we¡¯ll be able to earn more than enough money than we can spend during our lifetime!


    -i don¡¯t want to risk my life trying to clear dungeons. my life comes first.


    even after awakening, they only honed their skills to aim for the ssl or uhc, not to enter dungeons. in a way, it was putting the cart before the horse!


    choi yeonseung laughed when he heard it. so much had changed in the thirty years that he was gone. in the past, there was no such thing as a hunter who had never entered a dungeon. those who would retreat out of fear of such things would never really become a hunter in the first place. hunters were those that opened dungeon doors with desire regardless of how afraid they were!


    ¡®they¡¯ve changed so much.¡¯


    ¡°one more thing.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°it is used to resolve conflicts between clans. how much damage would there be if hunters really fought each other?¡±


    in the past, the government stopped hunters whenever they fought amongst themselves, but they no longer had the power to do that now.


    certain regions were now ruled by large clans! who could stop such powerful forces once they had engaged in combat? hence, they came to an agreement. they¡¯d fight with nobility and dignity!


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is fascinated by how humans copy the constellations.]


    ¡®there really do seem to be similarities.¡¯


    clans set up rules and fought in a sport the same way constellations set up rules and fought in constellation battles.


    ¡°do you like any of those sports? if you want, i can put in a recommendation for you so you¡¯d be able to join immediately.¡±


    ¡°hyung?¡±


    -you said you wanted to go to the united states!


    -that was back then! our clan members believed in your judgment and gave their live for the cause. if you leave for the united states now, what will become of them? won¡¯t they be ashamed?


    -it is better than seeing more deaths! i don¡¯t need any of that!


    ¡°changsik hyung isn¡¯t a bad person. can¡¯t you reconcile with him?¡±


    ¡°so i¡¯m a bad person?¡±


    ¡°changsik is a bit better than hyung...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    hwang gyeongryong started to look pouty, so choi yeonseung hurriedly comforted him.


    ¡°no, it isn¡¯t that hyung is bad. that is just how it is.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was the type to hold on to his anger for a very long time whenever he was upset. now that he had become an s-grade hunter, it was clear that his pouting would also be s-grade.


    ¡°sigh. that¡¯s my story. now let me hear yours. what made you want to leave to train in the abyss? were you scammed?¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung flinched.


    scammed...


    hwang gyeongryong wasn¡¯t wrong.


    ¡°... you were scammed?!¡±


    ¡°it is a long story, but...¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is advising you to go into the otherworld and talk. you will be able to use your power of existence to your heart¡¯s content there since constellations can¡¯t see into dungeons or another world.]


    ¡®ah. i should do that.¡¯


    ¡°why don¡¯t we talk inside the otherworld?¡±


    ¡°what? you...¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°you have been curious about many things, right? you jerk.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ***


    [you have entered the ¡®otherworld.¡¯]


    [your strength has to be restrained! otherwise, the otherworld could be destroyed!]


    ¡®?!¡¯


    the message window flustered choi yeonseung. however, he soon realized that only made sense after spending some time thinking about it. considering human magicians cast it, it was basically impossible for it to withstand choi yeonseung¡¯s existence. his power of existence aside, his pure magic power alone was still too overwhelming.


    subtract, subtract, and subtract some more...


    [you have successfully moved into the otherworld.]


    [your strength has been restrained.]


    [your agility has been restrained.]


    [your physical strength...]


    [......]


    [......]


    ¡®wow. crazy.¡¯


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue. it felt like he was wearing lumps of metal all over his body. even though he still had close to the limit of power that could be used in this virtual world, he still found it frustrating.


    ¡®there is no point in complaining.¡¯


    it was better to adjust to it for now. choi yeonseung moved his hands and feet while feeling like he went back in time.


    [the skill ¡®overcome oneself to become strong¡¯ has been activated. limiting your power and fighting in the otherworld will increase your power of existence!]


    ¡°... indeed. this is also training.¡±


    ¡°what are you muttering about?¡±


    ¡°i said seeing hyung succeed makes me happy.¡±


    ¡°... did you curse me?¡±


    ¡°i didn¡¯t do that. what do you take me for?¡±


    ¡°cough. of course you didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°this place has so many restrictions, though. can you increase its limit?¡±


    ¡°i use more cores to increase its limit, but... isn¡¯t the current amount enough?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong realized that something was wrong as he was talking. this otherworld¡¯s limit was based on a-grade hunters, yet choi yeonseung still thought it had too many restrictions?

 Chapter 35

    chapter 35


    it wouldn¡¯t matter much even for a-grade hunters, right?


    ¡°... wait, yeonseung. what¡¯s your hunter rank?¡±


    ¡°c+.¡±


    ¡°did you have it checked when you returned?¡±


    ¡°i did, but they strangely didn¡¯t increase it.¡±


    ¡°are you sure you showed your skills? did they not test it properly because you¡¯re a martial artist?¡±


    unlike magicians, martial artists had complicated testing methods. magicians¡¯ strength could be roughly grasped by the circle of the strongest magic they could use, but martial artists were different. one way was to show their martial arts stage. unlike circles, however, that couldn¡¯t be clearly recognized.


    even first-class stage martial artists had to go through many confirmations. it was obviously poor treatment!


    ¡°i think i definitely filled it to at least b-grade, so it is strange.¡±


    ¡°then why c+? did those kids get bribed?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong murmured.


    ¡°bribed?¡±


    ¡°nothing. i will check that later. let¡¯s talk first. based on the restrictions here, you seem to have become quite stronger.¡±


    ¡°uhh... well, yes.¡±


    ¡°so why did you go to the abyss?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a long story...¡±


    ¡°just tell me!¡±


    as he spoke, hwang gyeongryong thought choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t have that big of a reason. in the past, choi yeonseung had many loose screws. his desire to pursue strength made him do all sorts of weird things.


    ¡°simply put, it was to protect the planet.¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯m sorry. can you tell me in detail?¡±


    ***


    choi yeonseung left the abyss after receiving the constellation¡¯s offer, but hwang gyeongryong¡¯s expression distorted strangely when he heard that choi yeonseung had awakened as a constellation after wandering around and fighting in the abyss for an infinite amount of time. now he returned to protect earth.


    hwang gyeongryong looked like he didn¡¯t know what to say.


    ¡°... so you¡¯re older than me now?¡±


    ¡°is that really important right now?¡±


    ¡°it is, man! wait... wait. honestly, i can¡¯t believe this.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong had a very distrustful expression, which slightly hurt choi yeonseung.


    ¡°honestly, i thought hyung would believe me.¡±


    ¡°... hey! some things are just far too unbelievable! if you were me, would you believe it? do you have any idea how many crazy people have returned from the abyss?¡±


    ¡°will you believe me if i show you what i¡¯m capable of?¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong came to a realization. this guy insisted on entering the otherworld to do this from the beginning! hwang gyeongryong found choi yeonseung¡¯s arrogant words interesting.


    ¡°oho. that¡¯s good!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong snorted, took off his jacket, and threw it away.


    the dignity of a clan leader! his pride as an older brother! the pride of being an s-grade hunter!


    no matter how much choi yeonseung had wandered around the abyss and become stronger, hwang gyeongryong didn¡¯t think he had become stronger than him.


    ¡°yeonseung. do you know how many times i''ve had a strange twist of fate? just as i was about to die, i got the a+ rank skill ¡®level up from death.¡¯¡±


    ¡°hyung¡¯s taste in skill names is too much...¡±


    skills could have the same performance but different names depending on the user. if choi yeonseung had obtained it, then its name would¡¯ve likely been along the lines of, ¡®dying flash.¡¯


    level up from death. how blatant...


    [unity of body and fist...]


    [concentrated energy arts...]


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s astonishment reached its peak when strong self-defense broke the spear of light and even blocked the lava.


    ¡°w-wasn¡¯t that a video manipulated by the chinese?¡±


    ¡°what nonsense are you saying now?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve seen a manipulated video similar to what you¡¯re doing!¡±


    ¡°ah...¡±


    choi yeonseung recalled that there was an incident in china where the world discovered they were manipulating their martial artists¡¯ ranks. choi yeonseung hesitated after easily breaking through the lava and spear of light.


    ¡®i¡¯m lacking inner energy.¡¯


    choi yeonseung¡¯s internal energy was close to infinite, and he could convert all the energy around him into internal energy. however, restrictions were imposed here. he immediately replenished his internal energy due to his martial arts stage, but its total amount was still limited.


    ¡®then...¡¯


    confident he could avoid everything without defense skills, choi yeonseung released his strong self-defense. afterward, he pushed all of the internal energy he was using for strong self-defense outward.


    concentrated sphere bullets! the concentrated sphere formed in the air and shot out quickly toward hwang gyeongryong.


    surprised, hwang gyeongryong tried to dodge by teleporting and using defense magic.


    -short distance tele¡ª


    [powerful internal energy has destroyed your magic!!]


    [¡¯short distance teleport¡¯ will be canceled.]


    [the damage due to the rebound...]


    ¡®!!!¡¯


    hwang gyeongryong was shocked. choi yeonseung tore his magic apart before he could cast it! that wouldn''t have been a surprise if he was using low-tier magic that had a slow casting speed, but his magic took less than a second to cast! yet it was torn apart first?


    hwang gyeongryong enveloped himself with enhancement magic as a last resort. just like martial artists, magicians could also strengthen themselves this way!


    hwang gyeongryong didn¡¯t like melee combat, but...


    ¡°come at me¡ªwoah!¡±


    choi yeonseung grabbed hwang gyeongryong¡¯s wrist, turned it around, and smashed him to the ground. despite being enhanced by magic power, his opponent had so much strength that the impact sent terrible shocks coursing throughout his body.


    ¡°cough, cough...?¡±


    ¡°are you really attempting close-quarters combat against a martial artist? you are so careless.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s been a while since you disappeared, so i made a mistake...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong apologized while feeling a tingling pain all over his body. it had been too long since he had dealt with a martial artist.


    ***


    flop!


    hwang gyeongryong sat down after coming to his senses.


    ¡°so that... what¡¯s your martial arts realm? peak-class? or near it?¡± he asked.


    ¡°i¡¯ve gone past that¡ªit¡¯s at the transcendent-class stage now. going further from there allowed me to transcend mortality altogether.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong scratched his head and stared at choi yeonseung.


    ¡°so you really are a constellation...¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°... do you know how absurd i feel right now?¡±


    ¡°i am devastated to find out that my sincere hyung on earth has become like this.¡±


    ¡°hey! i have achieved great success in life!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve also achieved great success in life.¡±


    ¡°so let¡¯s say that you are a constellation. what do you want from me?¡±

 Chapter 36

    chapter 36


    ¡°i was originally going to ask for your help.¡±


    ¡°help?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    choi yeonseung continued his explanation.


    the situation on earth was surprisingly bad! the constellation had signed a truce, but that was just a temporary measure. it wasn¡¯t known when new constellations would appear from the abyss. however, once they did, another disaster could happen that was similar to the previous great invasion. moreover, the constellations who signed the truce were planning to get as much of earth as possible behind the scenes.


    ¡°the other constellations have already been on earth for a long time and have created several household members and gained strong recognition. in comparison, i have to start from scratch, so i¡¯m at a disadvantage in many ways.¡±


    ¡°wait. what do you mean you just originally meant to ask me? what made you change your mind?¡±


    ¡°hyung wants to enjoy life. i don¡¯t think it¡¯s right to drag you down a difficult path.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s face turned red in embarrassment. his younger clan brother had been wandering around the abyss for more than ten thousand years in order to protect earth, yet here he was making that person worry about him. hwang gyeongryong had made a promise to himself when he left south korea. he would never live like a pushover again.


    however, hearing choi yeonseung¡¯s words made him feel ashamed. he had lived and enjoyed life enough, so shouldn¡¯t he live the rest of his life in a less shameful manner?


    ¡°... hey! who do you think you¡¯re worried about? i should be the one worrying about you, not the other way around. if i don¡¯t help you, who will?¡±


    ¡°you don¡¯t have to help me...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m going to help you! no, aren¡¯t you in a situation where you should accept help?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong cried out. no matter how he thought about it, it seemed like choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know how great he was.


    i want you to know what a really great person you are!


    of course, it would become less convincing the moment he expressed it, so he had to put up with it.


    ¡°is it really okay?¡±


    ¡°it is!¡±


    ¡°umm... well, if so...¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ admired your speaking skills!]


    ¡®no. i meant it from the bottom of my heart.¡¯


    choi yeonseung sincerely tried not to attract hwang gyeongryong. the cat advised him to pull hwang gyeongryong in, but he didn¡¯t want a person living a good life to get involved in a fight between constellations. yet looking at the current hwang gyeongryong, it felt like he would never back down. hwang gyeongryong had always been such a person.


    ¡°then please accept my offer.¡±


    [the constellation ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ wants to accept you as a household member. do you accept?]


    ¡°... uh? will i be working under you?¡±


    ¡°should i, a constellation, be working under hyung?¡±


    ¡°...t-that¡¯s true, but...¡±


    the logic was flawless! hwang gyeongryong grumbled but accepted it anyway.


    ¡®i have dignity as a hyung...¡¯


    [you have become the household member of the constellation ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯.]


    [becoming a constellation''s household member binds your soul to them. breaking their laws will result in punishment.]


    [the power of the constellation ¡®undefeated incarnation of training'' has made you stronger]


    [......]


    [......]


    ¡°i never expected i¡¯d enter into a contract with a constellation in my life...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was a hunter who didn¡¯t believe in constellations. most hunters wanted to sign a contract with a constellation. it didn¡¯t matter what type of constellation it was, considering any contract would give them power beyond what they could obtain in their lifetime.


    however, some wise hunters thought that having a contract with a constellation couldn¡¯t be that easy. constellations weren¡¯t pushovers. there had to be a reason why they gave so much strength. going under a constellation meant selling one¡¯s soul to them. no matter how much power they wanted, no one liked being a slave.


    hwang gyeongryong frowned and was lost in thought. choi yeonseung¡¯s skills were clear. however, showing this to the world was a different thing. how should he engrave this deeply into the world?


    ¡°let me introduce you to a clan first.¡±


    ¡°a clan? what about the old one..¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s been disbanded. how many groups and clans do you think i have?¡±


    clans under companies didn¡¯t run independently. since they belonged to a company, they conducted raids according to their orders. it wouldn¡¯t be that hard to wonder, ¡®isn¡¯t it better to run it by ourselves?¡¯ but that couldn¡¯t be more wrong. under a company, a clan¡¯s profits were beyond imagination.


    first of all, they didn¡¯t have to pay for compensation or commission fees. the company bought all the cores and items from the dungeon at a reasonable price. in addition, the clans received all types of support, bonuses, etc. in return, the company only wanted loyalty. they were to target the dungeons and monsters the company pointed them to and sometimes even more!


    it was like being a private army. some hunters served as bodyguards for the company¡¯s president or board of directors. hunters of that level couldn¡¯t be compared with ordinary bodyguards.


    naturally, hwang gyeongryong also led such clans. dragon industry was one of the clan states.


    ¡°i have more than one or two clans, so i¡¯m thinking about which one to recommend... well, the one that can offer an environment where aces are raised should be fine.¡±


    the clans that hwang gyeongryong had varying purposes. some clans were purely for raiding, some raised 1:1 professional hunters, and some raised professional security hunters... among them was a clan that collected and raised aces.


    aces!


    ordinary hunters preferred to raid dungeons lower than their rating. after all, dungeons that were ranked equal to them could have monsters stronger than them. however, there were some people who risked their lives to clear dungeons higher than their rank...


    these hunters were usually called aces!


    for dungeons that were hard to clear or monsters that were hard to kill, there were no hunters as reliable as aces. each clan had one or two such signature hunters. hwang gyeongryong gathered them together to form a clan.


    choi yeonseung wondered, ¡°why do you want me to join a clan?¡±


    ¡°if you¡¯re going to do a raid, you¡¯ll need a team to support you. moreover, the household you¡¯re going to make should be composed of useful hunters, shouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°can¡¯t i fight alone?¡±


    ¡°hey. how can you be so confident when you can¡¯t even let others know that you are a constellation? you have to hide your strength properly! don¡¯t you know that the protagonist hides his power? eh?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, but you at least have a point.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s words poked at a sore spot. they were like the advice of other constellations. it wasn¡¯t just not using the power of existence. if a person who suddenly returned had more power than an s-grade hunter, then any constellation with brains...


    ¡°i was going to limit my strength to the peak-class stage.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m confused because i¡¯m not a martial artist. how strong would that be?¡±


    ¡°it lacks strength a bit, but i think i can control it well enough to fight against a-grade or s-grade opponents.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words hurt hwang gyeongryong¡¯s pride!


    the latter inwardly grumbled. ¡®look at this guy ignoring people just because he¡¯s become a constellation. bah. i hope you experience being ignored for being a martial artist.¡¯


    ¡°it will definitely be comforting to have support in combat. as for the household... can i easily find someone i trust like hyung?¡±


    ¡°... this guy!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was so moved it was as if his previous complaints had been a lie. choi yeonseung already knew what to expect.


    ¡°well, you¡¯re right. most of a clan¡¯s aces are crazy...¡±


    ¡°that''s only natural.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded. it was already like that before. hunters were still humans. many of them were ordinary and stable, but there were some whose thinking had deviated from common sense. no one in their right mind would risk their life trying to raid dangerous dungeons.


    ¡°but in terms of skills, aces are the best. let¡¯s check if there are any gems.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s not a bad idea.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m going to raise those who aren¡¯t gems as well.¡±


    ¡°i think hyung has a dark heart...¡±


    under what circumstances would the icarus clan, the clan of aces, be ordered to act? they raided dungeons, but they were also deployed to fight other clans.


    ¡°i¡¯m trying to do my best for your household, yet you dare say that?¡±


    ¡°ah, i was joking. don¡¯t be so serious.¡±

 Chapter 37

    chapter 37


    this person didn¡¯t change even after decades! seeing hwang gyeongryong made choi yeonseung suddenly miss his former clan members.


    ¡®i wonder what changsik is doing...?¡¯


    lee changsik could be rigid and strict, but he was a good person. arguing with hwang gyeongryong had to have hurt him.


    ¡°what are you thinking about?¡±


    ¡°hmm. aces are usually prideful, right?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong had gathered hunters treated as aces in other clans and put them in one place¡ªthe icarus clan. considering they were treated as the strongest in their clans, their pride would likely be no joke.


    ¡°but my hunter rank is c+.¡±


    "right?¡±


    ¡°if we gather all the useful ace gemstones all over the world, i think they¡¯ll all be around b-rank.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. their ranks are usually around b- and b+. c-grades aren¡¯t accepted very well.¡±


    more than 90% of hunters retired in d or e-grades without ever stepping foot into c-grade. even a c-grade hunter was an instant power-up for ordinary clans, and those who rose to b-grade became their face and ace. collecting so many people like that...


    ¡°do you have any a-grade hunters?¡±


    ¡°...why would an a-grade hunter work there? those powerful enough to reach that rank become independent.¡±


    an a-grade hunter was a strategic weapon managed by the nation. hence, seeing them in normal dungeons was rare. only a-grade hunters who had made great achievements could receive the title of s-grade as a special honor... taking that into consideration made him realize how amazing it was that hwang gyeongryong was s-grade. less than ten people in the world had been granted that title!


    ¡®he had to have fought a lot.¡¯


    it was clear that while choi yeonseung was wandering the abyss, hwang gyeongryong had been fighting critical battles on earth. he couldn¡¯t have gotten fortune and fame just from fighting one or two battles. their ranks are so high. won¡¯t they hate it when a c+ martial artist like me joins out of nowhere?¡±n?00v€l--?1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.


    ¡°um. they will hate it.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°you can just raise your rank! isn''t that your only option anyway?¡±


    ¡°ah, true.¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s start by doing what we can. pass the uhc qualifiers first.¡±


    ¡°qualifiers?¡±


    ¡°considering the number of hunters that want to join the uhc, do you think they¡¯ll just accept anyone? doing so would tarnish the league''s reputation. you have to win and pass the qualifying rounds to be accepted as a professional in the league.¡±


    the uhc divided hunters into hunter ranks rather than weight classes.


    the a-grade league was for hunters who were a-grade or higher.


    the b-grade league was for b-grade hunters.


    finally, the c-grade league was for c-grade or lower hunters.


    of course, he could only reach those ranks once he had won the regular qualifying rounds.


    ¡°why is the competition so fierce?¡±


    ¡°you have no idea how much money they can make, do you? popular c-grade league hunters can earn over a million dollars per game.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    even though they were just in the c-grade league and their match wasn¡¯t a championship game, their matches were still worth a million dollars.


    ¡®there¡¯s a reason why hunters don¡¯t run raids anymore and just flock here...¡¯


    in order to make a million dollars from one raid, they had to aim for at least a c-grade dungeon. the rare skills gained from a dungeon couldn¡¯t be bought with money, but many hunters were more satisfied with money than risking their lives to acquire these skills. this option didn¡¯t put their lives at risk and came with a large income, so why would they go to raids? they could live a much more comfortable life if they let go of their ambition.


    ¡°your expression already tells me what you¡¯re thinking about. why do hunters do this instead of running raids?¡±


    ¡°no. well, it¡¯s their choice.¡±


    ¡°how boring. in any case, it isn¡¯t bad to sign up for the league now. you can get a b or a-grade rating if you get the chance to show your skills, but it''ll be less troublesome to move up ranks if you clear the preliminaries while you''re still a c-grade.¡±


    ¡°what would happen if my hunter rank increases while i¡¯m in the c-grade league?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯ll go to the b-grade league. that rarely happens, though.¡±


    "why?"


    ¡°think about it properly.¡±


    ¡°... ah. i see.¡±


    choi yeonseung quickly understood. hunters playing the c-grade league rarely participated in raids. the easiest way to raise their hunter rank was to run raids. therefore, the hunters would continue to remain frogs in the c-grade well.


    ... they were rich and happy frogs, though!


    ¡®well, it could be better than forcing themselves to rank up.¡¯


    ¡°how long do we have until the qualifiers...? ah. there¡¯s a week left. this is good. go to the qualifiers in a week. until then, you should use your time to adapt.¡±


    ¡°adapt?¡±


    ¡°do you even know what a smartphone is, yeonseung? tsk tsk.¡±


    ***


    odaigon was enjoying his smartphone. smartphones were a novelty even for the goblin king. the magic engineering developed by goblins was several times more advanced than that of humanity, but they had never thought about this type of application!


    ¡®uwah. this... this is it!¡¯


    ¡°ah... he... sigh.¡± hwang gyeongryong sounded bitter. ¡°he¡¯s the head coach of the korean national team...¡±


    ¡°????¡±


    what national team?


    ¡°what is the korean national team?¡±


    ¡°i told you! hunter sports! the six star league!¡±


    a mock dungeon match where six players teamed up and competed against the opposing team! this league had unrivaled popularity and all types of rules and variables.


    ¡°but why is there a korean national team?¡±


    ¡°you know soccer, right? every country has a league, and it also has a world cup.¡±


    ¡°is that so?¡±


    ¡°soccer and the rest of the sports combined are smaller than ssl. it¡¯s only natural for it to have a world cup.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°i told you. there are two sports that divide the world. you are someone who only knows raids, but... these days, i think hunters become more famous with this.¡±


    ¡°so changsik hyung is arguing with you because he is the director of the national team?¡±


    ¡°... yes.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong said that he fought with lee changsik, but his expression looked very bitter as if he had watched all the matches.


    ¡°it isn¡¯t changsik¡¯s fault! all the korean hunters are lousy!¡±


    ¡°if that¡¯s what you think, shouldn¡¯t you tell him yourself?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t want to. i will never apologize unless he apologizes first.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s stubbornness could never be broken whenever he acted like this. choi yeonseung gave up on persuading him and played the video. there were twelve hunters busy fighting and moving.


    -the ¡®hwayeon¡¯ clan players are gathering in the center! it is a decisive team battle! they are entering a decisive team battle! ah, the opposing players are panicking. if the magic tower in the center collapses, then they will be at a disadvantage! they have to give up and come up!


    ¡®... the world has really changed.¡¯


    he was prepared to see the world in ruins when he returned to earth, but he wasn¡¯t prepared for this.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ admires it.]


    ¡®honestly, it must be fun.¡¯


    complex and diverse strategies, fancy and powerful skills... a confrontation between hunters had a sense of thrill that no other sport could match.


    choi yeonseung gave up watching any further. in any case, the place he was going to now was the uhc, not the ssl.


    ¡®ah. lee yeongdo has a new work released? i have to buy it now.¡¯


    choi yeonseung happily entered the internet bookstore.


    ¡°......??¡±


    ***


    hwang gyeongryong was busy. not because of his usual work, though. rather, it was because of choi yeonseung.


    ¡°you should contact the hunter department right now and ask them to bring the measuring equipment. someone needs to be remeasured.¡±


    ¡°got it.¡±


    ¡°i also need a reliable manager... wait.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong paused.


    ¡°none of you are suitable.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the faces of the secretaries all became sullen. they were talented people who graduated from prestigious ivy league universities!


    ¡°where is my daughter?¡±


    ¡°which daughter are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°uh... 10th... 11th daughter? um...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong rubbed his forehead. he had a lot of children, so he couldn¡¯t remember the order very well.


    ¡°you know, the child with the worst temper.¡±


    ¡°ahh! you mean her!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s secretaries had a knack for understanding him even if he spoke like a dog. this was the basic condition to be a hunter¡¯s manager.


    a hunter¡¯s manager! it was a modern extreme job. a hunter¡¯s agent was an external facilitator that negotiated with clans, corporations, governments, etc., on behalf of the hunter. meanwhile, a hunter¡¯s manager was an internal facilitator that organized a hunter¡¯s schedule, managed their personal life, and accommodated their personal requests. in other words...


    the work was very dirty!


    -oh. isn¡¯t it ariana¡¯s concert tomorrow? it isn¡¯t as good as hunter sports like uhc or ssl, but it will be fun. reserve a front-row seat.


    -do... do you mean tomorrow? there are two hours left...


    -yes... i know the time well so reserve it for me. reserve it.


    -......

 Chapter 38

    chapter 38


    getting a seat in the front row of a superstar¡¯s concert the day before was an easy task.


    -i want to have a party tomorrow but i want justin bieber to be the mc. as for the outfit, wouldn¡¯t a beaver outfit be good? don¡¯t i have good fashion senses?


    -he is holding concerts all week...


    yes. i know. cancel it and make him come. kidnap him if you have to.


    -......


    ¡®this jerk!¡¯


    of course, this was only the case for star hunters a-grade and above.


    hunters without that rating were already satisfied just having a manager. in addition, not all a-grade hunters were jerks. there were also good-natured hunters who got along with their managers and developed together. however, for the suffering managers, such a hunter was as rare as a unicorn!!


    -let¡¯s not give up. maybe there is such a hunter somewhere!


    -most of them already have managers, but...!


    -... bad guy.


    there weren¡¯t just a-grade hunters in the world. there were also a-grade managers who were just as famous in the industry as a-grade hunters. a great manager who systematically managed numerous promising hunters! one of the a-grade managers was aine lawrence, chairman hwang¡¯s daughter.


    ***


    ¡°i can¡¯t do this! damn, i can¡¯t do it!¡±


    the young hunter furiously threw the artifact he was holding to the ground.


    ¡°hold the artifact again. there¡¯s an hour left.¡±


    ¡°is this a joke? i¡¯m a c+ grade hunter! there¡¯s no reason for me to keep repeating this 1st circle magic!¡±


    the young c+ grade hunter, wagen, screamed agitatedly. c-grade likely didn¡¯t seem great at first glance, but it was actually a very great position. a hunter¡¯s brilliant life started at c-grade! from there, they could receive full-scale treatment from the government, receive all types of treatment, and get access to various lucrative jobs.


    why else would tens of thousands of d and e-grade hunters persist and do dangerous raids? it was because they knew they could turn their lives around if they climbed up to the c-grade one day.


    ¡°do you know who i am?¡±


    ¡°wagen terrenz?¡±


    ¡°i was immediately scouted by the ¡®new york fires¡¯ clan!¡±


    scouts from famous large clans would come for hunters once they had reached c-grade onward.


    wagen. he was a great rookie who received a c+ rating in his first hunter rating measurement at the age of 20. he was a talent that any clan would covet! wagen was well aware of that, which was why he was even more arrogant.


    ¡°i know. it was the new york fires clan that asked me to do this in the first place.¡±


    ¡°then why do you keep making me use 1st circle magic?!¡±


    light ball, the 1st-circle magic. it was a very simple spell that created and maintained a shining ball. even a d-grade hunter could use it. that was how simple it was.


    ¡°light ball is one of the best spells for basic training. maintaining its shape, increasing its light intensity, increasing its number, and even moving them. all of those will help you when you use higher circle magic.¡±


    ¡°i can use stronger magic right now. you probably don¡¯t know how much magic power i have, but i am a c+ hunter!¡±


    generally, c-grade hunter could use even 4th-circle magic somehow. 4th-circle magic was significantly more powerful than lower-circle magic. they had the power to stop a monster¡¯s breath at once, unlike 1st to 3rd-circle magic!


    ¡°ah. this is really annoying... then just try it yourself.¡±


    aine threw the sword she was holding. wagen received it, clearly bewildered.


    ¡®an artifact!¡¯


    these rare dungeon items were hard to obtain even with money! it had various types. there were magic books that taught specific spells and weapons and armor with built-in magic...


    in modern society, they were treated as important strategic materials, just like a monster¡¯s core. a-grade artifacts were treated as state secrets. even just verifying their existence was hard. the artifact that wagen received now was a sword with the 3rd-circle magic ¡®wilsgen¡¯s wind arrow¡¯ engraved in it.


    ¡°you think i can¡¯t do it? watch!¡±


    wagen grabbed the sword and infused it with magic power, making him feel the magic sleeping in it. soon after, he opened his eyes and activated the magic. the amount of magic power it required aside, using magic itself was very difficult. it couldn¡¯t just be practiced.


    some hunters even described it as the ¡®feeling of handling a new 3rd or 4th arm!¡¯ if they lacked control, they could still fail even if they met its magic power requirement.


    ¡®she¡¯s making fun of me!¡¯


    ***


    ¡®is this the arena for the qualifiers?¡¯


    a building that looked like a large amphitheater. the area was full of people that looked like hunters. some of them were dressed so shabbily that they could be mistaken for homeless people, while some had plastered themselves with luxury goods and arrived in a sports car.


    choi yeonseung smiled. hunters did the same thing now as they did in the past.


    ¡°it is a c-grade league qualifier, but there are quite a few d and e-grade hunters here.¡±


    the uhc was divided into hunter grades instead of weight classes.


    the a-grade league was for hunters who were a-grade or higher. the b-grade league was for b-grade hunters. and the c-grade league was for c-grade or lower hunters. there were naturally many d and e-grade hunters aiming to make a fortune in the c-grade league qualifiers.


    ¡°a, d, or e-grade hunters can only use magic below the 3rd circle. isn¡¯t this too disadvantageous?¡±


    ¡°surprisingly, even d-grade hunters can sometimes perform well. there are rarely any e-grade hunters. after all, they¡¯re fighting against people, not raiding a dungeon.¡±


    ¡°indeed. i can defeat anyone below c-grade in one shot.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded at the words of hwang gyeongryong¡¯s secretary. during a raid, powerful magic was required to break through a monster¡¯s defense and damage it. meanwhile, weak magic was fine if the opponent was a person. it was because humans weren¡¯t as strong as monsters! if they had magic or skills that were useful in man-to-man combat, then even a d-grade could beat a c-grade. even a c-grade hunter would stumble when hit by 1st or 2nd-circle magic and could even be defeated in one shot.


    ¡°are they going to filter out those guys in the qualifiers here and let the winners become uhc pros? is there anything else i need to know?¡±


    ¡°umm... first of all, you will have to fight quite a lot of matches in a row, so you should be prepared.¡±


    fighting in a virtual space meant their body would remain unscathed, but their mind could still receive damage. if a fireball directly hit a person in the face, they would inevitably tremble.


    choi yeonseung laughed bitterly at the words. coming to earth from the abyss felt like he was playing house. in the abyss, there were many cases where he risked his life and fought for a few decades in a row...


    ¡°thank you. i will keep that in mind.¡±


    ¡°this isn¡¯t the only opportunity, so there¡¯s no need to overdo it. think of it as experience...¡±


    ¡°i understand, i understand.¡±


    how would this secretary react upon witnessing choi yeonseung fight?


    ¡°stop playing that game, odaigon. i¡¯m going now. is gold run that interesting?¡±


    ¡°ah, no.¡±


    odaigon came to his senses and looked up. for some reason, it felt like the area below his eyes was puffy.


    ¡®i think the number of characters has doubled?¡¯


    ***


    ¡°choi yeonseung. oh. c+ grade. i¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±


    upon seeing choi yeonseung¡¯s rating, the examiners¡¯ expressions brightened. since he also had a record of clearing c+ grade dungeons, he was clearly a hunter who had experienced real combat. that made him a talent that was several times better than hunters that came without any experience! his matches were worth looking forward to.


    ¡°he just needs to build up more performances and get a higher rating¡ªah. he¡¯s a martial artist...¡±


    ¡°no way. martial artists still exist?¡±


    there was a stir! based on his rating alone, they thought he would be okay. however, he was a martial artist. they never even thought of it.


    ¡°isn¡¯t this okay?¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°martial artists are very rare. won¡¯t he get some attention when he gets in?¡±


    ¡°how can a martial artist get in? he has to win in order to get in. how disadvantageous do you think his situation would be?¡±


    while other hunters could choose and use dozens of spells, a martial artist believed in and attacked using only one martial art. anyone could tell that the martial artist was at a disadvantage.


    ¡°in addition, you know that the c-grade league qualifiers are very competitive these days. the hunters who came here are prepared to fight people, not monsters.¡±


    ¡°that is true...¡±


    those hunters wanted to enter the uhc and enjoy the riches it could offer rather than risk their lives raiding dungeons! there were more of them now.


    ¡°the times have changed.¡±


    an old examiner shook his head. there were quite a few martial artists in the past, but they had become really rare these days.

 Chapter 39

    chapter 39


    choi yeonseung yawned and looked around. hunters were sitting comfortably in the large space. some people were already talking to each other while others were sitting alone, seemingly not wanting to talk at all. there were also a few who weren¡¯t hunters. magic power couldn¡¯t be felt from ordinary people who hadn¡¯t awakened, after all.


    ¡®reporters, broadcasters... is that a clan scout?¡¯


    agents and clan scouts were known to be persistent and tenacious in the industry. that was only natural, considering they had to deal with obstinate hunters that did as they liked! people sitting in seats were frowning and either tapping on their laptops or on their smartphones.


    ¡°ah, team leader. why are you sending someone a message to say that a great hunter will appear in the qualifiers?¡±


    ¡°you must be having a hard time as well. i will give you a word of advice. if you wait, the participants will be filtered out... hey. this is the first time i¡¯m seeing your face. where did you come from?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m from a clan.¡±


    ¡°ah. a clan scout? that will be tough as well. we just have to pay for an article, but you have to come up with something.¡±


    the man, cuepi, nodded, but he had complicated thoughts.


    ¡®that measurer bastard... he didn¡¯t deceive me, did he?¡¯


    he was a scout for the ambitus clan.


    ***


    a call from the measurer who was bribed!


    -it was really amazing! i¡¯m telling the truth this time! the measuring instrument even got smashed!


    -the measuring instrument got smashed? you don¡¯t mean a measuring instrument that was on the verge of breaking, do you?


    -...n-no.


    an instrument had been destroyed. the level still needed to be measured properly to see if it was accurate, but there were definitely signs of a jackpot.


    ... if only the other person wasn¡¯t a martial artist.


    -an abyss returnee? how many years? 30 years ago? hah. his mind can¡¯t be intact.


    -does it make sense to you that he broke the instrument? did that jerk lie after he got paid?


    -the person looks fine, but i think he¡¯s festering deep down.


    -he passed the test. there was nothing strange.


    -considering he¡¯s from 30 years ago, it¡¯s not surprising that he¡¯s a martial artist.


    -should we send someone to scout him?


    -he is a martial artist... a martial artist. he¡¯s at a disadvantage no matter how we look at it. being a martial artist is like bringing a knife to a gun fight. that is a martial arts user.


    -should we just pass over him then?


    -... no. the measurer has taken the money and probably contacted me because that person is useful. even if he didn¡¯t break the instrument, wouldn¡¯t he still have a lot of magic power? we have to get our money¡¯s worth. go check him out. if his magic power¡¯s amount is adequate, we can encourage him to master magic instead of magic arts...


    -what do you mean?


    -i¡¯ll leave this to you. it doesn¡¯t matter whether you go up to him and beat him up or ask him while buying a drink at a bar. are you receiving a scout¡¯s salary for free?


    ¡®damn...¡¯


    asking such useless questions, cuepi was scolded by their clan leader. fortunately, his luck wasn¡¯t too bad. choi yeonseung was a hunter who registered for the uhc qualifiers.


    ¡®is he thinking of joining the uhc? that¡¯s not bad...¡¯


    new heroes emerged every day in this market, after all. the problem was the hunter¡¯s skills! there were hunters who thought that hunter sports didn¡¯t require risking their lives, but the industry was far colder than raids. in this industry, hunters without skills disappeared.


    ¡®let¡¯s see what he can do with martial arts!¡¯


    ***


    ¡°please enter.¡±


    choi yeonseung moved according to the examiner¡¯s words.


    [you have entered the ¡®otherworld.¡¯]


    [your strength has to be restrained! otherwise, the otherworld could be destroyed!]


    however, this was choi yeonseung¡¯s misunderstanding. in the past, broadcasting companies monopolized broadcasts, which meant broadcasts that didn¡¯t deserve to fit into the tight programming schedule weren¡¯t released. therefore, the hunters aired were usually the aces of the clan who were about b-grade.


    however, the times had changed. in this era, anyone could easily broadcast if they wanted to. moreover, the interest in hunters had become hotter, not cooler. there was nothing wrong with hunters hosting their personal broadcasts.


    -is he yawning right now?


    -it has to be a bluff.


    -still, that bravado is fun. hunters don¡¯t have showmanship these days. they just do the minimum service.


    many people watched the qualifiers with excitement. it didn¡¯t matter that the hunters were low-rated or if it was just the qualifiers. just being a hunter was enough! it was said that low-grade hunters were treated as lowly people, but they were the ones that broke through the slim odds and awakened. hunters were still a symbol of the time. hence, they attracted people¡¯s attention with just their presence.


    -a korean, choi yeonseung? he is an abyss returnee.


    some of the people watching were quick to gather information about the hunters. they were even capable of getting information beyond legally allowed! others cheered at the information released by these big shots.


    -an abyss returnee?


    -wow. he is a frozen human. how long has he been away?


    -maybe that¡¯s why he is a martial artist.


    -martial... a martial arts user?


    -martial arts?


    -wow. we¡¯re actually going to watch a martial artist? isn¡¯t this really amazing? the qualifiers will be worth seeing.


    -a fossil has returned to life!


    ¡®he is a martial artist.¡¯


    oliver stared at choi yeonseung. the way he stood there indifferently was somehow annoying.


    a martial artist! oliver had never dealt with one before, but he knew what martial arts were like. wasn¡¯t it a skill that only specialized in close-range combat?


    body strengthening? even magicians could do that. a hunter¡¯s body could easily go beyond human limitations even without using magic. they just had to infuse themselves with magic power. the only thing that bothered him was that the opponent was a c+ grade. unable to accept the fact that he was only d-grade, oliver couldn¡¯t help feeling inferior.


    ¡®the moment it starts, i¡¯ll widen the distance and use the 2nd-circle magic ¡®levitation¡¯ and ¡®enhanced magic missile.¡¯ after all, he doesn¡¯t know that i have the passive skill ¡®tracking arrow.¡¯¡¯


    hunters never revealed all their abilities. it was inevitable for magic spells to eventually be exposed, but they could hide other skills as a part of one¡¯s strategy. tracking arrow was a passive skill that added the properties of guided missiles to long-range attack magic! it was useless against monsters since its attack power was weak, but the same couldn¡¯t be said against human opponents. the passive skill made it possible to knock down an opponent who had grown careless just because they successfully dodged the attack.


    battles between hunters were definitely different from raids.


    ¡°3. 2. 1. start!¡±


    oliver kicked himself off the ground after hearing the signal. he was quick due to magic power enhancement.


    ¡®i moved first!¡¯


    oliver thought so and was inwardly delighted. by taking the initiative, he had prevented his opponent from closing the distance¡ª


    bam!


    in an instant, oliver flew backward. he had already lost consciousness.


    ¡°w-what?¡±


    the people watching the scene couldn¡¯t help exclaiming. some unknowingly jumped to their feet. they knew that martial artists had faster reflexes than magicians. it was the fundamental difference between magic that drew magic power from external sources and martial artists that used the internal energy within themselves.


    however, there was still a considerable difference between the two of them. even if choi yeonseung had moved first, oliver would¡¯ve been able to respond as long as he wasn¡¯t stupid. nevertheless, oliver flew away without responding. there was such an overwhelming speed difference!


    ¡®did he fake the rating?¡¯


    ¡®even if he did, that would mean nothing in the otherworld. it doesn¡¯t make sense!¡¯


    thump!


    oliver flew away and literally broke through the wall.


    ¡°is it over?¡± choi yeonseung asked with a nonchalant expression.


    ¡°... t-the match is over! hunter choi yeonseung emerges victorious!¡±


    choi yeonseung left without looking back. his back gave off an arrogant feeling. it was an arrogance that only talented people could exude!


    everyone in the room felt it instinctively. a great rookie had appeared!

 Chapter 41

    chapter 41


    ¡°this has happened a few times before. bribing a measurer and trying to snatch newbie hunters into the clan...¡± choi yeonseung said while recalling old memories.


    ¡°measurers are public servants who don¡¯t make much money. hence, for them, getting paid with small bribes in exchange for bringing you hunters is already a jackpot.¡±


    ¡°i... i don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying.¡±


    ¡°it was popular in the past. do you know why they stopped doing it?¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s because the efficiency is lower than expected. it isn¡¯t like they can catch a hunter for sure, no matter how expensive the bribe, just like what¡¯s happening right now.¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s words, cuepi took a step back without realizing it.


    ¡°first of all, the rating is done in front of everyone, making all the talents that stand out too risky to target. the measurer¡¯s own neck will fly away if they hide something like that. hence, they have to find a special hunter that isn¡¯t much in the eyes of others or measure them in a place where no one is looking... this type of situation doesn¡¯t come easily. this has happened a few times in the past, but it wasn¡¯t discovered because the measurer was caught. it was that the clan who gave the bribe was caught threatening the measurer because they were angry at the empty results.¡±


    the measurers received money but didn¡¯t give any recommendations. hence, from the clan¡¯s perspective, it was no different from feeding someone only for them to run away after.


    cuepi could feel his back become damp with sweat.


    ¡°why are you telling me this...?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m just voicing out my thoughts. this situation is a bit suspicious in many ways, you know. i did properly demonstrate my strength when it was being measured, but the results differed. there¡¯s not a single thing that could¡¯ve indicated that i¡¯m good in the clan¡¯s eyes. even so, you contacted me so quickly that i thought about the old days and asked the question.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    a chill went down cuepi¡¯s spine. he disregarded this person, who seemed like a hillbilly hunter, but this man was much more terrifying than he thought.


    he had a lot of insight!


    ¡°if not, i¡¯m sorry. don¡¯t take it to heart.¡±


    ¡°n... no. i¡¯m glad the misunderstanding has been cleared up.¡±


    cuepi was so surprised that he backed off, unable to even threaten this person anymore.


    ¡®i really think these bastards are playing tricks.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was convinced upon seeing cuepi¡¯s behavior. in his old clan, choi yeonseung was treated like a social misfit who only knew training, but...


    he wasn¡¯t that stupid. otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have survived the abyss.


    ¡®... i couldn¡¯t enter the training ground and got lost, but that couldn¡¯t be helped.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was lost in thought. how was he going to handle this? the ambitus clan bribed the measurer and choi yeonseung suffered damage, but he wasn¡¯t angry. it was just a bit ridiculous. just as no one got seriously angry at flies for being a nuisance, it didn¡¯t matter much whether choi yeonseung¡¯s hunter rank was c or b.l--b1n.


    ¡®i¡¯ll just take care of it later. there¡¯s no need to step out now anyway... my rank will go up on its own anyway.¡¯


    hwang gyeongryong was already calling for a new measurer. he just needed to show his skills again so it could be properly measured.


    ¡®their clan leader has to be a bit strange, though. is his money rotting away?¡¯


    the ambitus clan leader never dreamed that he was being cursed in an unknown place for being stupid.


    ¡®well. this could¡¯ve turned out better. let¡¯s think positively.¡¯


    choi yeonseung realized that he had to reduce his strength more than he thought.


    being in the abyss had made his standards a bit strange. breaking the instrument was too much! someone too powerful suddenly appeared. the constellations were bound to suspect him.


    ''once i reach b-grade, i''ll take the opportunity to show them i''m only gradually becoming stronger. that should make me less suspicious.''


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. please get ready for the next match.¡±


    ¡°ah. i¡¯m coming now.¡±


    ***


    it wasn¡¯t very known unless one was a martial artist, but martial arts had many styles. there were martial arts that emphasized power, and there were also those that focused on weight, speed, or change. in terms of style, there was an endless variety of martial arts. and just like magicians, there were martial artists with different styles!


    of course, if this was mentioned to magicians, they would say, ¡®isn¡¯t that what martial arts are?¡¯


    the origin of the celestial divine arts that choi yeonseung mastered was a harmonious martial art that wasn¡¯t particularly focused in one place, but what choi yeonseung pursued in the qualifiers was speed.


    extreme agility!


    in any case, the opponents here weren¡¯t monsters. hitting them lightly would be enough to knock them out, so there was no need to focus on strength.


    ¡®put 90% of my internal energy into speed...¡¯


    it was all-in on speed instead of defense or offense!


    ¡®i¡¯ll reduce the origin of the celestial fist¡¯s connecting movements and make it lighter... i would be beaten to death if i did this in the abyss, but it doesn¡¯t matter here.¡¯


    the world sent a new message window to choi yeonseung as he thought about multiple matters.


    [you have succeeded in creating a new b+ rank martial arts skill!]


    [please name the new martial art.]


    the reformed martial art was so excellent it was registered as a new one.


    ¡®my stats are limited as well.¡¯


    they were restrained according to c-grade league standards!


    ¡°3. 2. 1. start!¡±


    gregory raised his bow in an attempt to keep choi yeonseung in check.


    -fire arrow!


    a flaming arrow formed on the bow. magic was heavily influenced by the user¡¯s mental state. even if people used the same magic, the more they used it with high concentration, the stronger it became! in that respect, weapons like bows were used quite often. it was easy to concentrate mentally when using arrow-type magic.


    choi yeonseung shot off from where he was standing. he exhibited the same speed as his first fight. the sight of the wind rushing from all directions made gregory momentarily unable to come to his senses.


    he couldn¡¯t aim!


    ¡®ugh. it doesn¡¯t matter anyway!¡¯


    the fire arrow that had just formed swiftly disappeared.


    magic cancellation! forcibly canceling a spell that had already been cast would damage the user. however, gregory was fine due to the passive skill ¡®low-grade magic cancellation.¡¯ it prevented him from receiving any damage if a lower-circle magic of his was canceled!


    unaware of this, his opponents would only focus on the fire arrow. that gap would then allow him to hit them.


    -flame-covered body!


    gregory¡¯s body started burning with magical flames.


    ¡®gasp!¡¯


    gregory took a deep breath and infused himself with magic power. it was time to engage in close-quarters combat.


    "kuaaaak!"


    gregory roared and threw a punch. choi yeonseung easily dodged with a nonchalant expression. he came all the way in front of gregory before widening the distance after this one blow. it was an overwhelming speed difference!


    ¡®he can¡¯t attack while i¡¯m protected by fire. he has no weapons...¡¯


    "hmm."


    choi yeonseung stared at gregory. he was hoping to see if there was anything more to it because gregory seemed focused on melee combat, but this seemed to be all he could do.


    ¡®too bad. i should finish this quickly.¡¯


    choi yeonseung disappeared again, and his speed amazed everyone once more.


    ¡°this is real speed...¡±


    ¡°is that the footwork of a martial artist?¡±


    ¡°is it? even if so, he¡¯s still ridiculously fast. it¡¯s rare to see footwork that fast.¡±


    if they were all as fast as choi yeonseung, then the number of martial artists wouldn¡¯t have decreased. speed was a weapon.


    ¡°he still needs to find a way to break through that defense, but martial artists don¡¯t have any means to pierce something like that.¡±


    ¡°he should¡¯ve brought something...¡±


    ¡°a normal weapon would just burn up. it should at least be an artifact. it¡¯s also dangerous to fight at close range with those types of flames... huh??¡±


    bam!


    as people were talking, choi yeonseung was already right in front of gregory. a punch that was like a flash of light struck gregory¡¯s chest directly. by the time the people¡¯s eyes had widened, gregory¡¯s breathing had already stopped and he had been sent flying.


    thump!


    despite the raging flames, choi yeonseung dug in and delivered a decisive blow.


    "waaaaahhhhh!¡±


    it was such a wonderful blow that cheers involuntarily burst out from the people watching.


    ¡®magic power, no... did he protect himself with internal energy? while approaching that fast?¡¯


    the fans exclaimed, ¡°wow! amazing!¡± while the reporters and scouts with discerning eyes were flustered. moving at full speed like that had to be difficult, yet he even protected himself and managed to land an attack.


    ¡®a monster...?¡¯


    ¡®where did this hunter come from?¡¯


    ¡®which clan does he belong to?¡¯


    ¡°isn¡¯t he an abyss returnee?¡±


    ¡°an abyss returnee! i thought he seemed retro, starting from the martial arts... i saw something good. go back and release it!¡±


    the assembled people excitedly started to organize what just happened. it could¡¯ve just been a coincidence if it just happened once, but doing it twice meant he was that skilled.


    a martial artist who suddenly appeared like a comet! this would be a good article.


    the reactions of the people gathered changed in an instant. cuepi held his head. ¡®i have to get him to sign the contract immediately...¡¯

 Chapter 42

    chapter 42


    at this rate, it was almost impossible to get his hands on choi yeonseung. judging from his attitude earlier, it didn¡¯t seem like he would accept, but...


    ¡®damn. what excuse do i have?¡¯


    ¡°in any case, he finishes everything with one blow.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a c-grade qualifier. that¡¯s not that uncommon.¡±


    ¡°still, isn¡¯t it rare to end everything with one blow?¡±


    ¡°isn''t it because he had only fought twice so far? we don¡¯t know if that would still be the case with the rest of the fights.¡±


    the reporters and the people watching had the same thoughts.


    -who is that guy?


    -he¡¯s an abyss returnee.


    -ah. so the martial arts...


    -aren¡¯t martial arts good? why aren¡¯t hunters learning this?


    -crazy guy. what¡¯s so good about martial arts? you¡¯ll see what i mean when you try it.


    -based on the way he dodges all these attacks, it seems much better than magic.


    -can¡¯t magic do the same thing? don¡¯t make it obvious that you don¡¯t know anything.


    -this jerk... what are you? are you even a hunter?


    -will he finish it in one blow again?


    -you probably don¡¯t know this, but it¡¯s impossible for him to do that to everyone. one of the hunters in the qualifiers is eugene ellai, a rookie of the strickland clan. they said they would push him here.


    -ah, strickland? it would be great if they could push it here.


    -what is that? aren¡¯t you going to tell me what you know?


    -you don¡¯t even know strickland? for those who don¡¯t even know the basics, please don¡¯t watch the matches.


    -really? oh my. alright. then how about you, a hunter expert, tell me what that martial art is?


    -......


    -......


    the chat window grew quiet. though they could have heard of martial arts, they didn''t know much about it. the conversation moved on after the momentary silence.


    -eugene ellai is an expert in man-to-man combat. they say he doesn¡¯t run raids and only kills people.


    -is he really fit to be a hunter? he''s getting paid to fight monsters, after all.


    -are you the one paying him? why are you making a fuss?


    -in any case, eugene ellai is in the opposite block, so it¡¯s impossible for him to win.


    -can¡¯t he just settle for second place? that¡¯s good enough to sign with a decent clan. i wish i can see more of him. i won''t be able to find a martial artist anywhere else.


    ***


    it was the qualifiers, but it wasn¡¯t without dark horses. there were a few prospects who were already training with clans. no matter how strong choi yeonseung was, could he really defeat all these people with a single blow despite the restrictions?


    the answer was ¡®yes.¡¯


    the independent d+ grade hunter colby lost.


    the c-grade hunter ralph of the franklin clan lost.l--b1n.


    the c+ grade hunter eugene of the strickland clan lost.


    ¡°!!!!¡±


    ¡°this... this is crazy!¡±


    the incredible results stunned the strickland clan¡¯s hunters. eugene ellai was being pushed by the clan and was a personal combat specialist who could take on b-grade hunters. in addition, the hunters who fought with choi yeonseung now knew how choi yeonseung attacked.


    the moment the match started, he rushed at full speed and punched! it was such a simple attack! if they knew what the other person was about to do, why couldn¡¯t they stop it?


    [the constellation ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ curses and says that he should come to its territory if he¡¯s dissatisfied.]


    a quarrel between constellations! their fight could only be heard in the form of world messages, but the tension was awful.


    the warrior stained with madness and blood was an evil god constellation. strong and aggressive, most countries banned hunters from contracting with him! he had to be an advanced constellation at the very least! in addition, the cat constellation wasn¡¯t part of the earth agreement, so a war could break out at any time. it was something to worry about, but...


    the cat constellation was confident. after all, they were far from each other! the warrior stained with madness and blood wasn¡¯t certain how far away the cat constellation¡¯s realm was.


    [the constellation ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ warns that he won¡¯t forget this incident. he declares that he will wash away the insult with the blood of the household members of the ¡®cat of lava and magma.¡¯]


    [the constellation ¡®monk pursuing glory¡¯ hates the savage declaration.]


    [the constellation ¡®fighter of sweat and flesh¡¯ licks his tongue while coveting the sight of blood.]


    [the constellation ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ snorts.]


    -warrior stained with madness and blood.


    -?


    -i don¡¯t want to have a contract with a guy like you, so get lost.


    -......!!!


    the constellations were like gods. it had been decades since the constellations appeared on earth. the number of constellations snooping around earth was increasing, and so did the amount of discovered information about them... the more this happened, the more people¡¯s awe grew.


    that was only natural. learning that the constellations'' abilities far surpassed what they were aware of left them unable to resist feeling amazed the same went even for the evil god constellations despite most countries banning their contracts. they could refuse or ignore constellations, but no one directly insulted them. it was that terrifying for a constellation to have a grudge against them!


    -do you have any idea what you¡¯re saying, mortal? do you think you¡¯re the only being that¡¯s been undeservedly cocky? there had been arrogant bastards before you, and they all sank into a cursed fate.


    of course, there were fearless individuals among the hunters. very occasionally, a truly fearless hunter would insult a constellation. of course, they were mercilessly punished. constellations didn¡¯t allow mortals to insult them.


    nevertheless, the warrior stained with madness and blood gave choi yeonseung one more chance.


    what an amazing exception! it was because he saw the qualities of a strong warrior in choi yeonseung.


    -you¡¯ve been going on and on about how you''re dissatisfied. are you proud to be a constellation that messes around with other constellations? don¡¯t go bragging all over the place that you''ve caught an ant. do you have no sense of shame?


    -......


    -you came to earth and made a fuss. however, you can¡¯t go on a rampage because the other constellations have noticed you. are you still a warrior stained with madness and blood? it seems to me that you¡¯ve been doing well in anger management. i don¡¯t want to sign a contract with someone like you, so go away.


    -... you will regret this, mortal!


    the evil god constellation growled and whispered fiercely. choi yeonseung¡¯s words hit his sore spot. it was a huge insult for a constellation to not match their title!


    [the constellation ¡®monk pursuing glory¡¯ is amazed by your words!]


    [the constellation ¡®fighter of sweat and flesh¡¯ says it has a good sweaty smell.]


    [the constellation ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is giggling at the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯.]


    [the constellation ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ is challenging the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ to a duel.]


    [the constellation ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ ignores him.]


    ¡®stop teasing him.¡¯


    choi yeonseung just insulted him once, so why was the cat making fun of him like that? no matter how he looked at it, the cat was doing that just for fun.


    the cat constellation aside, choi yeonseung got what he wanted. he could never cooperate with the evil god constellations. they were the reason why choi yeonseung suffered so much in the abyss, after all. there was no need to be polite. other mortals had to be polite because their lives were in danger, but that wasn¡¯t the case for choi yeonseung. they would need to fight one day.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is secretly whispering away from the other constellations not to be too conceited.]


    ¡®i know. we can¡¯t fight each other right now. i¡¯m just going to use it as a stepping stone.¡¯


    if he insulted an evil god constellation, then he would naturally look good to the constellations of the other faction. that wasn¡¯t necessary to sign a contract and receive help from a constellation. however, if he did something that a constellation liked, then he could receive gifts without having to make a contract. the constellations were bored and idle beings, after all!


    [the constellation ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is handing over 10 soul stones.]


    [the other constellations are amazed!]


    [the constellation ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is clearing its throat.]


    ¡ªjust like right now.


    ¡°......¡±

 Chapter 43

    chapter 43


    ¡®what are you doing?¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is secretly whispering away from the other constellations that this is part of a strategy.]


    ¡®... um. certainly...¡¯


    if one constellation suddenly sent a gift, then others were bound to be nervous. it was the so-called cheating strategy.


    [the constellation ¡®monk pursuing glory¡¯ shakes his head, saying he won¡¯t buy people with goods.]


    [the constellation ¡®fighter of sweat and flesh¡¯ says that soul stones are valuable, but what is truly valuable is the sweat shed by a precious soul.]


    [the constellation ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is speechless.]


    however, the cat was up against the wrong opponents since they had both entered the ascetic path.


    [......]


    -it¡¯s hard. your strategy was fine.


    [......]


    constellations also made deals with each other, but they used soul stones¡ªjewels that contained power of existence¡ªas currency. the cat constellation became sullen since no one responded when it bet ten soul stones.


    -... i¡¯ll use the soul stones well.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ has recovered its energy and says it is better to secure the soul stones in advance since you need money to not be ignored among the constellations.]


    -soul stones...


    choi yeonseung had no soul stones. bartering with the goblins or the onix family for currency was impossible, and he had only ever received power of existence from beating up and subduing constellations. he didn¡¯t rip soul stones off them.


    -wait. what about selling the constellations i subdued for soul stones?


    [...the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is shocked by this crazy idea!]


    how could choi yeonseung think of turning the constellations that he had defeated and subdued into soul stones?! what type of crazy constellation was he?


    [there is nothing you can¡¯t do. they are now your followers. however, the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ warns that your power of existence will be greatly reduced if they disappear.]


    despite being a new constellation, choi yeonseung still managed to become an intermediate constellation. some constellations became his fans, while others succumbed and were taken in by him. they served as choi yeonseung¡¯s followers! their disappearance would weaken choi yeonseung. it was like pulling out the bottom stones.


    -i understand. i won¡¯t do it.


    honestly, he didn¡¯t think he would need souls. who knew it could be used for trading purposes?


    -but how can i make deals?


    it was a secret that choi yeonseung was the undefeated incarnation of training. the moment others learned of that, the plan would go awry! however, to naturally mix among the constellations... no, to play the game of stars. what if he got caught?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that the incarnation of training still lacks self-awareness as a constellation. in the game of stars, there is no way for constellations to verify each other¡¯s information.]


    that was right. even if they encountered a message window on earth, the constellations would basically still have no way of knowing where the other person was or what type of constellation they were. if their realms were close to each other in the abyss, then they¡¯d be able to put two and two together and connect which constellation was which. however, if they were far away, then it would be difficult to determine who the constellation was.


    that was evident from the fact that the warrior stained with madness and blood threatened the cat constellation right away. if he had known where the cat constellation was, he never would¡¯ve made such a meaningless threat!


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it is impossible for the other being to find anything if the incarnation of training is determined.]


    moreover, since choi yeonseung was a wandering constellation and had no territory, the constellations wouldn¡¯t be able to identify him from far beyond the abyss. hence, he could join the constellation neighborhood under the name of ¡®undefeated incarnation of training.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ corrects the name to game of stars.]


    -... in any case, thank you, ¡®cat of lava and magma.¡¯ i don¡¯t know what i would¡¯ve done without you.


    choi yeonseung thanked the cat, who had been genuinely helping him. since he was grateful, he thought he should thank the constellation properly.


    [the ¡¯cat of lava and magma¡¯ proudly shakes its paws!]


    ***


    sweating, the director of the measurers sat down. sitting in front of him was an s-grade hunter with a terrible temper!


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry, mr. hwang gyeongryong! i¡¯m really sorry...¡±


    ¡°i want him caught this instant! how dare he take my money and join hands with a different clan?¡±


    ¡°w-we have caught him and are investigating right now.¡±


    the moment hwang gyeongryong made a fuss, the director of the measurers immediately started an investigation and swiftly discovered that one of the measurers had mysteriously and quickly became richer.


    hwang gyeongryong glared at the director, who couldn¡¯t meet his eyes.


    ¡®what did these bastards do...?¡¯??v€l-b!n.


    ¡®in any case, the constellations are showing a bit of interest, so i have to be more careful. there¡¯s no harm in slowly rising up.¡¯


    the constellation either used their own power of existence or borrowed their household members¡¯ eyes. in any case, it was better to keep his behavior under control. he didn¡¯t know when or where they¡¯d be watching him.


    the measurer left, and the calmer hwang gyeongryong spoke. ¡°in any case, you¡¯re ranked b- now. you¡¯ve met the basic requirement.¡±


    ¡°what basic requirement?¡±


    ¡°have you forgotten already? didn¡¯t i tell you that i¡¯m going to put you in the icarus clan?¡±


    ¡°ah. i remember now. a clan of hunters hyung had kidnapped.¡±


    ¡°kidnapped... people will misunderstand if they hear that! i didn¡¯t kidnap them!¡±


    icarus was a clan created to raise young and incomplete aces! hwang gyeongryong seemed to be living a great life, but he was from a generation that had experienced the great invasion firsthand. he was warier of the constellations than any other hunter.


    ¡°if you join that clan with only a c-grade rank, everyone will ignore you. all of its members are b-grade, so you would¡¯ve been the only c-grade.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m a martial artist. i think they¡¯ll still ignore me even if i¡¯m ranked b-grade anyway.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    this was definitely the case!


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter. it''s not like you can''t subdue them anyway?¡±


    ¡°uh... does that mean i''m allowed to beat them up?¡±


    ¡°... don¡¯t beat them too hard...¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words surprised hwang gyeongryong. hwang gyeongryong wasn¡¯t the type to get easily surprised, but choi yeonseung was honestly unpredictable. back when they were still in the same clan, he did the craziest things!


    ¡°you stand out in many ways, so conflicts will likely arise, but... you''re more than capable enough to handle them.¡±


    if he couldn¡¯t subdue those kids even though he had become a constellation, then he wasn¡¯t qualified to be one. hwang gyeongryong spoke with that in mind.


    ¡°well, that makes sense.¡±


    ¡°right! i have a decent weapon in my collection. i''ll give it to you as a gift.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong excitedly started to unpack it. choi yeonseung was bewildered.


    ¡°i don¡¯t use weapons?¡±


    ¡°...r-right... i... i didn¡¯t know that... i was being silly... i¡¯m getting older...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong murmured in a very sad voice.


    ¡°...ah, don¡¯t be so shameful. i can use it, i can use it.¡±


    ¡°is that so? i knew you would say that.¡± hwang gyeongryong said, his expression suddenly changing.


    ¡°why give me a weapon, though?¡±


    ¡°cough. i just thought it looked cool...¡±


    ¡°... hyung. are you afraid i¡¯ll be ignored because i¡¯m a martial artist?¡±


    ¡°n-no.¡±


    choi yeonseung suddenly felt sad. how ignored were martial artists...? would he look more plausible if he had something on his back? that was obviously what hwang gyeongryong thought.


    ¡®i don¡¯t think it will be better than the orichalcum knife that i have.¡¯


    no weapon could be greater than one made of pure orichalcum.


    ¡°here. it¡¯s this one.¡±


    the elongated double-edged sound emitted a flash of light and released blue energy.


    [sword of goujian:


    durability: 450/450 attack power: 400


    contains the skills ¡®endurance of hardships¡¯ and ¡®bitter enemies in the same boat.¡¯


    recovers magic power when killing enemies.


    level restriction: 350.]


    ¡®oh...!¡¯


    it was an a-grade artifact, and it was a much better sword than he expected! this wasn¡¯t an item that money could buy. no country would sell a-grade artifacts. that being said...


    ¡®... wasn¡¯t this an artifact from china?¡¯

 Chapter 44

    chapter 44


    ¡°hyung. you should turn yourself in.¡±


    ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was stunned. he gave a gift only to be told to turn himself in?


    ¡°this is an a-grade artifact from china.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s fine. they gave it to me.¡±


    ¡°sigh... hyung, thieves always say that.¡±


    that was why people sometimes unknowingly bought stolen goods. that bluff would likely work in any other situation, but there was no way it could be used for an a-grade artifact. unless the chinese government was crazy, it was only natural to assume it had been stolen.


    ¡°the chinese government really gave it to me as a gift!¡±


    ¡°is the chinese government crazy? no, honestly, everything''s been a bit suspicious starting from the panda!¡±


    choi yeonseung naturally didn¡¯t believe it. before choi yeonseung left for the abyss, china was one of the leading countries on the planet... when it came to misconduct! asking for help from other countries¡¯ hunters, stealing dungeon clear rewards, slandering hunters who came to help, claiming ownership of monsters in the sea, etc...


    that greedy country gave such an artifact as a gift?


    ¡°no... you¡¯re not aware of this because you¡¯ve been in the abyss, but it was at a time when china was in real danger.¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    ¡°south korea managed to stop it somehow, but china has a large territory. when all hell broke loose, there was nothing they could do. it was also a confusing situation because an evil god constellation took the north...¡±


    the hunters were split up when the evil god constellation attacked them. as a result, the capital was taken, and the dungeons were left uncleared. moreover, many exceptionally strong dungeons popped up in china back then, and a-grade monsters like the bai ze, the monkey king, and the gu huo niao all burst out of them! dealing with one a-grade monster was enough to make any country sweat. hence, it was understandable for the chinese government to panic when three appeared at the same time.


    ¡°i went there to help and got this in return.¡±


    ¡°you helped them, hyung? didn¡¯t you used to say things like ¡®i will never be a pushover and help them!¡¯ in the past?¡±


    wasn¡¯t hwang gyeongryong the type to watch the news and say things like, ¡®wow, these bastards. yeonseung, i will never help those chinese or japanese bastards¡¯?


    hwang gyeongryong blushed.


    ¡°... my factory is there...¡±


    ¡°huh? i didn¡¯t hear you.¡±


    ¡°my company¡¯s factory and land are in china!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    china had low labor costs, making it a good country to run factories. why did he never think of this?


    ¡°in addition, the chinese market is large. nothing good will result in it being destroyed... i had to protect it...¡±


    ¡°... wow... hyung... trash...¡±


    ¡°no...! i saved people! i am a hero!¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re trash for abandoning your beliefs...¡±


    ¡°you should also run a company! see if you can do that when a few trillion flies away!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s company, dragon industry, was a giant corporation that touched everything. they had all types of subsidiaries and naturally had manufacturing plants.


    choi yeonseung nodded. ¡°yes, in any case, i understand.¡±


    ¡°i gave you a present, but you¡¯re saying nonsense instead of thanking me!¡±


    ¡°it is a really good sword.¡±


    ¡°you haven''t even used it yet...¡±


    ¡°no. i don¡¯t need to use it to know.¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was initially puzzled but soon came to a realization.n?00v€l--?1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.


    ¡®is this the power of a constellation?¡¯


    ¡°you can determine that without even using it? that''s amazing!¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a long story, but... in any case, i will use it well.¡±


    ¡°ah, right. you will have to write a pledge if you go abroad with it.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°that you won¡¯t give it to another country or something like that.¡±


    ¡°... can i really carry this around?¡±


    ¡°you can carry it. it¡¯s fine.¡±


    for some reason, he felt like he just gained an additional burden on his shoulders.


    choi yeonseung drew the sword and swung it quickly. state of perfection was a skill that could only be obtained when one has achieved peak enlightenment in martial arts. having gained such a skill, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t find swordsmanship particularly difficult. unarmed martial arts was more than enough for him in combat. nevertheless, he wanted to use a sword just because he could.


    [you have succeeded in creating a new martial art!]


    [please name the new martial art.]


    -origin of the celestial swordsmanship.


    he executed a few strikes containing the essences of origin of the celestial fist and origin of the celestial kick, and a message window popped up saying that he had created a new martial art. it was such an in-depth linked technique.


    ¡®i did well.¡¯


    [the mouth of the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is watering.]


    ¡®uhh... wait a minute. let me cook and offer it to you.¡¯


    choi yeonseung placed the meat on the well-heated grill and cooked it with concentration. he owed the cat of lava and magma, so he thought he should at least do this.


    ¡°it¡¯s done. here.¡±


    choi yeonseung decided to make it an offering, and the cat constellation used its power of existence to take the meat.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ raises its thumb!]


    very satisfied! the magic power contained in the meat was strong, and it was delicately cooked using excellent cooking equipment.


    as expected of a kitchen knife i had created!


    this was probably what the cat constellation was thinking.


    ¡®others might mistake me as the cat of lava and magma¡¯s household member.¡¯


    household members were usually the ones that made offerings. of course, grilled meat wasn¡¯t normally used as an offering!


    ***


    ¡°shall i explain it again?¡±


    ¡°no, i understand.¡± aine nodded with an arrogant expression.


    ¡°are you angry?¡± hwang gyeongryong asked quietly.


    ¡°i¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°is that so? sigh. i knew it.¡±


    she wasn¡¯t particularly angry, but she seemed arrogant. aine frowned like she already knew everything.


    ¡°he¡¯s an abyss returnee. i think he should go through a rehab process rather than immediately join a clan.¡±


    ¡°he already told me he¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°no matter what he says, he should go to rehabilitation.¡±


    ¡°no, he really is fine. have you forgotten that i have discerning eyes?¡±


    aine nodded upon hearing hwang gyeongryong¡¯s words. hwang gyeongryong was weak in front of his children, but he was an s-grade hunter who had experienced many practical battles. if he thought it was okay, then it would be okay.


    ¡°then what i have to do for now is teach him how to deal with magic as a martial artist.¡±


    magic had evolved spectacularly over the course of 30 years. there were many spells that hadn¡¯t existed before and the ways to use these spells had diversified. it would be quite difficult for a martial artist who had just returned to deal with this. moreover, choi yeonseung was a player in the uhc league. he had been promoted to b-grade as soon as he passed the c-grade qualifiers, so he would be joining the b-grade league. he¡¯d likely face the monster hunters in the b-grade league soon.


    ¡°i think he could do that well on his own... no. in any case, teach him well. he¡¯s a bit weird, but he¡¯s easily taught.¡±


    ¡°how is he weird? i don¡¯t like perverts, even if they¡¯re father¡¯s friend.¡±


    ¡°umm... should i say he is a bit eccentric? his common sense is a bit... different. you¡¯ll know when you meet him.¡±


    ***


    ¡®a weird person...¡¯


    aine stepped forward while thinking about what hwang gyeongryong told her. there were a lot of weird guys among the hunters. once someone had gained power, they grew far from ordinary.


    ¡®has he made a contract with an unusual constellation?¡¯


    his behavior would make sense if that were the case. hunters who had contracted with a constellation did really strange things depending on their master. however, aine was confident. she could respond and help him properly no matter how strange he was.


    ¡°ah, odaigon. don¡¯t cook your way!¡±


    ¡°no. hunter choi yeonseung. please give me one chance! just one, please! it¡¯s a really good dish!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll be treated as a crazy person if i give something like that!¡±


    ¡°......???¡±


    two unidentified hunters were having a barbecue party in the courtyard! she could tell it was choi yeonseung and odaigon just by looking.


    ¡°hello?¡±


    ¡°ah. are you hyung¡¯s daughter?¡±


    ¡°yes. that¡¯s right. you are...¡±


    ¡°here.¡±


    ¡°......??¡±


    choi yeonseung held out a plate, and aine took it in surprise.


    ¡°???¡±


    ¡°eat it.¡±


    ¡°... t-thank you?¡±


    he offered the steak so naturally that aine just accepted it.


    ¡°try it. it¡¯s been grilled to perfection.¡±


    ¡°alright...¡±


    ¡®did he sign a contract with the constellation of meat?¡¯ aine thought as she cut the meat into small pieces. she then took a bite.

 Chapter 45

    chapter 45


    ¡°!!!¡±


    delicious!


    there were many meat dishes in the united states. aine¡¯s favorite was texas barbecue, brisket. the heavy meat was marinated with various spices and smoked for a long time, resulting in its exterior becoming so black it would seem burnt. however, cutting into a piece would reveal it to be a glossy mouth-watering barbecue due to its juices. hwang gyeongryong would sometimes call his children and cook for them. surprisingly, he had some excellent dishes. in particular, he would even use magic to cook brisket. that was the secret to its taste!


    in fact, there was something called a magic taste that exceeded sweetness or umami. like umami, magic power was something that actually affected taste. on that note, the marinated ribs given to her by choi yeonseung had more magic power than hwang gyeongryong¡¯s dishes. the meat had a fundamental difference that hwang gyeongryong could never match!


    ¡°...!!!!!!!¡±


    aine stomped her feet as she ate, which startled choi yeonseung. was the meat spoiled?


    ¡®did i lose my sense of taste after being in the abyss for so long?¡¯


    he only treated goblins like people, but they could be a bit far from humans...


    ¡®magic power... its magic power is no joke!¡¯


    aine barely managed to swallow it. magic power was flowing all over her body, just like when she drank a quality mana potion.


    ¡°are you okay? how was its taste?¡±


    ¡°you... you...¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s better for you to be a chef!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    a sudden job change offer!


    ***


    the dish was so surprisingly delicious that she couldn¡¯t stop herself from making such a suggestion. however, aine soon regained her sanity. she couldn¡¯t raise a person who should be a hunter as a chef. nevertheless, she still asked as if she had lingering regrets.


    ¡°do you want to open a restaurant? i¡¯ll invest in you.¡±


    ¡°my menu is too limited to set up a restaurant. it will be hard. most of what i know are korean dishes.¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong with that? korean food is popular these days. in addition, just speak comfortably. you¡¯re my father¡¯s friend, so there¡¯s no reason to use honorifics with me.¡±


    ¡°if that¡¯s okay with you.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded. aine grinned and slapped him on the shoulder.


    ¡°it¡¯s nice and refreshing. i was worried you would be difficult to handle because you had been in the abyss for so long.¡±


    ¡°what about the people who have stayed in the abyss for a long time?¡±


    ¡°um... in many ways... they¡¯re... hard to deal with!¡±


    aine avoided elaborating and instead provided a vague answer. well, it wasn¡¯t normal to fall into the abyss and stay sane.


    ¡°i was worried that you would have a hard time dealing with me. there is a slight age difference.¡±


    to be specific, it was over 10,000 years!


    aine naturally didn¡¯t know this, so she confidently replied, ¡°i don¡¯t care about age.¡±


    ¡°rather than age, what type of person they are is important, right?¡±


    ¡°no. i just live thinking that everyone is below me.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung stared at aine, clearly lost in thought. what type of education did hwang gyeongryong give her?


    ¡°don¡¯t worry. i¡¯ve never failed at my job.¡±


    ¡°i wasn¡¯t worried. that aside, i made some rice just in case. would you like to eat together?¡±??v€l?1n.


    ¡°ah. i don¡¯t eat carbs that often...¡±


    aine hesitated before accepting the bowl. perhaps it was because she was hwang gyeongryong¡¯s daughter, but she used chopsticks skillfully.


    ¡°!!!¡±


    ¡®too... too delicious...!¡¯


    it felt like each grain of rice was beautifully flavored! she could feel strong magic power from the rice as well, which was thanks to choi yeonseung¡¯s simple refining process when soaking the rice in water.


    ¡°ah, really! i don¡¯t eat carbs!¡±


    aine¡¯s staff was probably working hard enough already!


    ¡°i heard from my father that you¡¯re joining the icarus clan. do you know anything about it?¡±


    ¡°all i know is that it¡¯s a clan made up of aces. ah, and that it has many crazy people.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. lots of crazy guys.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t look at me like that. you know that there are many crazy people among the hunters. hasn¡¯t it been that way since your time?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true.¡±


    choi yeonseung was forced to admit it¡ªthere were many crazy hunters! was their inner madness released after awakening or was it due to awakening?


    ¡°it is said that hunters don¡¯t do raids anymore and only play sports. however, thanks to this, hunters who actually fight have become more important.¡±


    just because hunters now jumped into sports instead of raids, where they had to risk their lives, didn¡¯t mean that fewer dungeons appeared. someone had to clear the dungeons, kill the monsters released from them, and stop monsters from pouring out of the gate.


    low-grade dungeons and weak monsters weren¡¯t a big deal. hunters who exclaimed, ¡°i¡¯ll fight!¡± swarmed such dungeons and monsters, which was only natural since it wasn¡¯t dangerous. however, that number would sharply decrease when counting only those who''d voluntarily attack c-grade dungeons. moreover, those that would willingly raid b-grade or higher dungeons could be counted on one hand.


    ¡°my father thinks that we need a team who does ¡®real¡¯ raids, and i agree with him.¡±


    ¡°indeed. is it to protect earth?¡±


    ¡°what? no. of course, it is for profit. it¡¯s dangerous for clans to do actual raids, but they come with enormous profits.¡±


    there was a huge amount of money in sports, but that was it. the rewards that made hunters stronger came from dungeons. that wasn¡¯t all. clans that could attack dungeons had ¡®power.¡¯ it was the power to demand and receive all types of preferential treatment from national governments!


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung made a baffled expression.


    gyeongryong hyung...


    how did he teach his children?


    ¡°i don¡¯t think you¡¯re aware of this yet... do you know how much a good clan gets for a raid?¡±


    ¡°i saw that gyeongryong hyung got a panda.¡±


    ¡°... that¡¯s because he is a strange person. he could¡¯ve obtained some chinese mines instead.¡±


    in the decades when choi yeonseung was gone, the power and status of the clans had risen much higher than he could¡¯ve expected.


    ¡°you know that dragon industry received this city from the government, right? how can i explain it in a way that would make it easier to understand... hmm... ah, this should work. do you know what the ¡®aiden¡¯ clan asked for after killing an a-grade monster on the african continent eight years ago?¡±


    ¡°what did they ask for?¡±


    ¡°they asked for a country.¡±


    it was a much bigger demand than a city!


    ¡°......??¡±


    ¡°a literal country. be given some land and be entrusted with the authority to govern it... it was a small but decent country, though that was possible because it was a chaotic area.¡±


    ¡°a country... what¡¯s so good about getting a country?¡±


    ¡°ask aiden about it. in any case, the reason why the icarus clan is treated well even though it has many crazy people is that its members are talented. after all, skills are everything in the world of hunters, aren¡¯t they?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°entering that clan means you¡¯ll be in fierce competition. if you lack skills, you¡¯ll be eliminated right away. stop looking like you find it ridiculous. there was a time when a b-grade hunter was eliminated after a week.¡±


    it didn¡¯t matter how crazy a person was, they would be kicked out if they weren¡¯t skilled enough. that was the icarus clan.


    ¡°i see.¡±


    ¡°yes. the clan won¡¯t touch you no matter what you do for as long as you train on a set day in the clan and show that your skills are above standard.¡±


    ¡°scheduled training?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s around three times a week, i think? gather and train on those days. you have to move as a team when attacking a dungeon, after all. they don¡¯t care what you do in your spare time, be it individual training or playing.¡±


    ¡°i like personal training.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re a very unusual person. in any case, that¡¯s all you need to be aware of. ah... right. since it¡¯s composed of many crazy individuals, there could be conflicts within the clan.¡±


    ¡°it wouldn¡¯t be the first time i¡¯ve experienced it.¡±


    choi yeonseung shrugged. it was common for a clan¡¯s hunters to have friction.

 Chapter 40

    chapter 40


    cuepi stared blankly in amazement before coming to his senses. it wasn¡¯t the time to act like this.


    ¡®i... i have to report this!¡¯


    he couldn¡¯t believe that the measurer had really told the truth! he made a call to his superior.


    -the measurer saw it correctly! he is a gem, and he¡¯s completely polished at that! he''ll immediately become a powerhouse.


    if he had experience in combat and was such a strong hunter, it was undoubtedly beneficial to draw him into the clan, be it for raids or hunter sports.


    cuepi was convinced.


    -what? really? you aren¡¯t fooling me for being mean to you before, are you?


    -...no! what do you take me for?


    -hmm... i can¡¯t believe there really is a useful gem among martial artists. this is amazing. i thought it would be hard for them to overcome their limitations. that¡¯s fine. it wouldn¡¯t hurt to have one martial artist in the clan. try scouting him.


    -yes. i understand.


    -you will be responsible if he is a weirdo.


    -... noted...


    the rules of the ambitus clan were very simple. it was thoroughly merit-based! recruits would receive a large bonus if they succeeded, while even the clan¡¯s face would be punished if they failed.


    cuepi recalled what had happened before. when the clan leader himself made a mistake in the past, he hit his head against the floor of the clan building¡¯s lobby and endured it for a whole day! seeing that made the clan members tremble in horror.


    -what kind of a jerk... is this a clan leader?


    you have to perform well if you don¡¯t want to get fired!


    ***


    ¡°ohh.¡±


    choi yeonseung expressed his admiration as he watched other people¡¯s matches. they weren¡¯t particularly high-quality, but it had always been fun to watch a fight. fighting in the mud was fun in its own way!


    -shadow of illusion!


    one of the hunters used cloning magic. their true body then turned back and aimed at the gap that their opponent had shown. however, the level of their cloning magic was too low. the opposing hunter, who was about to attack, noticed this and paused.


    -bah! shockwave emission!


    the hunter quickly swung his spear at his surroundings! magicians didn¡¯t just wield a staff and attack from a distance. many of them fought in close quarters. a shockwave burst out from around him, and the enemy hunter, who was moving behind him, rolled around in fright.


    -there you are!


    the hunter with a spear quickly took a spear-throwing stance. since he was enhanced by magic power, his spear flew with the firepower of a cannon.


    bam!


    ¡®it hit!¡¯


    however, the opponent hit by the spear once again disappeared.


    ¡®a clone!¡¯


    two clones?! the spearman panicked and tried to use the weapon retrieval magic. however, his opponent rushed in, not wanting to miss this opportunity. he had to finish this battle while the spearman was unarmed!


    -lightning hand!


    the 1st-circle magic lightning hand was a weak spell that made lightning gather around the caster¡¯s hand, but this was enough in close combat. even if it was weak, lightning would still twist a person¡¯s movements upon hit. it was magic that had to be obtained no matter what for hunters who were good at close combat!


    bam!


    the hunter gathered lightning around his hand and rushed at the unarmed spearman. he seemed to have learned some martial arts because he threw a one-two punch right after a low kick. in contrast, the spearman didn¡¯t seem prepared after losing his weapon. he was beaten up.


    -kuoock!


    ¡®it¡¯s over.¡¯


    even if he tried to protect himself with magic power, low-grade hunters were too weak. there was no way to fight back once hit like this. the moment his muscles were electrocuted, the spearman stumbled and fell.


    -finish it! finish him off!


    -stop his breathing!


    the people watching the broadcast shouted frantically and excitedly. the reason they watched the uhc was for these moments.


    a battle between hunters fighting fiercely for their lives!


    bam! bam!


    the hunter seized the momentum and finished off his opponent.


    ¡°uwaaaaah!¡±


    the hunter raised his arms vigorously and roared.


    ¡°ohh...¡±


    ¡°excuse me, hunter choi yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°oh... i can¡¯t believe you¡¯re helping hunters who haven¡¯t signed a contract. ambitus is a very kind clan. did you get an award from the united nations?¡±


    ¡°n-no. of course, you have to sign a contract.¡±


    ¡°aish. that is a bit much.¡±


    choi yeonseung put on an expression as if he didn¡¯t like it. cuepi was bewildered and exclaimed, ¡°the ambitus clan is a really good clan!¡±


    ¡°how can i believe that?¡±


    ¡°if you don¡¯t believe me, then you can look it up. do a search right now or ask anyone you know. how many successful raids we do per month and what great professional hunters we have.¡±


    ¡°aish... how am i supposed to know that? a good hunter is bound to succeed in any clan. i don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll be any good to me. what if you treat me badly?¡±


    ¡°i will spell that out in the contract as well. we will guarantee a ratio of at least 1.5 in raids.¡±


    dungeon raids themselves were important, but the same went for dungeon loot distribution. apart from items that were difficult to obtain, the by-products or cores could be converted into cash immediately since everyone wanted it, governments and corporations included.


    the cash would be divided by 1/n among the participating hunters. the way it came out would be x depending on the number of people. basically, an ordinary hunter received a share of 1. hunters who played an important role in the party because they had a high rating, tank magic or skills, or healing magic or skills would receive 2 or 3 as special treatment.


    ¡°a share of 1.5 is too bad.¡±


    ¡®what does this crazy guy want when he is still c-grade...?!¡¯


    ¡°i-it will go up depending on choi yeonseung¡¯s performance. choi yeonseung, look at other things. what is most important to a hunter?¡±


    choi yeonseung pretended not to know.


    ¡°isn¡¯t it money?¡±


    ¡°... isn¡¯t it an environment where you can grow?¡±


    cuepi started to speak eagerly. the conditions he brought up were suitable for a b-grade hunter. hence, they should be enough to tempt a c+ grade hunter! however, he didn¡¯t know what choi yeonseung ate incorrectly.


    ¡®damn. in times like this, it is up to the scout to persuade people.¡¯


    ¡°our ambitus clan is good at raids and nurturing low-level hunters. take a look at this. the higher-ranked hunters will personally look after you and teach you magic.¡±¡¯


    ¡°... but i¡¯m a martial artist?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    cuepi was taken aback.


    whoops...


    now that he had remembered, this jerk was indeed a martial artist.


    ¡°though you¡¯re a martial artist, you can still grow by going around dungeons and gaining skills...¡±


    ¡°haha. i need to find a clan with martial artists.¡±


    ¡°choi yeonseung, i¡¯m not ignoring your potential, but you are still a c-grade hunter. raising your rating isn¡¯t as easy as you think.¡±


    the carrot didn¡¯t work, so cuepi used the whip. sometimes, it was a scout¡¯s job to use threats!


    ¡°then am i going to rot in the c-grade for the rest of my life? aren¡¯t you overstepping your boundaries?¡±


    ¡°n-no. that¡¯s not what i meant... i just mean that getting a rank promotion is difficult. to put it bluntly, this is an offer given from above. if you miss this opportunity, you likely won¡¯t get such a good offer next time.¡±


    ¡°i see...¡±


    ¡°do you want to sign a contract?¡±


    ¡°no.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    dumbfounded, cuepi¡¯s anger flared up. "you will regret it.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s up to me if i regret it or not. can i ask you one more question?¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°the down payment and distribution earlier were too generous...¡±


    ¡®you¡¯re the one who fucking said it was low!¡¯


    ¡°you suggested it after watching the qualifying match once. isn¡¯t the ambitus clan a bit too big?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s why my clan is so strong. we are bold!¡±


    ¡°i think you''re more of a trickster than a bold clan,¡± choi yeonseung declared as he stared at him.


    cuepi was displeased. ¡°what do you mean by trickster?¡±


    ¡°for example... you got my information somewhere in advance.¡±


    ¡°?!?!?!¡±


    cuepi felt his heart sink.


    how was he in any way an ignorant hunter?

 Chapter 46

    chapter 46


    ¡°you have clan experience, right? i heard you were in the same clan as my father. however, the icarus clan is very different from the clan you were in. shouldn¡¯t you be careful?¡±


    ¡°there are things in the world that are bound to happen. such disputes are one of them.¡±


    ¡°bah. you don¡¯t seem to be taking this seriously. you might regret it later,¡± aine said while looking at choi yeonseung.


    he appeared sloppy on the outside, but choi yeonseung seemed to have a strange confidence in him. she would¡¯ve said it was unfounded confidence if it were anyone else, but...


    ¡®there''s something about him...¡¯


    choi yeonseung was a bit different. he seemed arrogant and had a lot of gaps, but he was actually humble and surprisingly firm.


    ¡°if you want, i can train you before you join the clan. i¡¯ll find you a suitable opponent. it wouldn¡¯t be bad to fight them.¡±


    ¡°no... why? i just want to train by myself.¡±


    ¡°... won¡¯t you regret it? i really can''t say you won''t.¡±


    aine looked both worried and dissatisfied.


    choi yeonseung laughed. he could feel that she was worried.


    ¡°thank you for your concern.¡±


    ¡°i wasn¡¯t worried? in any case, this is my number. call me if you need anything.¡±


    ***


    ¡°master.¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯m starting to think it¡¯s impossible for you to fix this.¡±


    ¡°gasp.¡±


    ¡°no, just do whatever you¡¯re comfortable with, odaigon.¡±


    ¡°you really don¡¯t mind?¡±


    ¡°yes. come to think of it, i don¡¯t think you calling me master will be that obvious.¡±


    there were far crazier things among hunters. he wouldn¡¯t appear suspicious just because he had the title of ¡®master.¡¯ of course, he would be treated like a weirdo!


    ¡°master. what did you mean when you said there are a lot of crazy people in the clan?¡±


    ¡°well, it means many things. it¡¯s common for someone to raise his self-esteem by arguing with a newcomer...¡±


    ¡°i''ll immediately beat up anyone who tries to do that..¡±


    ¡°... odaigon. i¡¯m just saying this as a precaution, but you have to ask me first before killing someone, okay?¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t that obvious, master?¡±


    ¡°in any case, there¡¯s no need to respond too harshly. it¡¯s been a while since i¡¯ve been in a clan, though, so i¡¯m a bit nervous.¡±


    a clan wasn¡¯t just a gathering of hunters. they had awakened, but humans were weak and easy to kill compared to monsters. in the end, teamwork was essential for hunters to clear a dungeon. a clan was where this ¡®teamwork¡¯ was created. teams weren¡¯t easily made. after all, it meant having partners they could stand back to back with and entrust their lives to.


    from training and cooperation to matching each other, the process was essential!


    how long had it been since choi yeonseung fought alongside others?


    ¡®at least 10,000 years.¡¯


    considering that much time had passed, he was bound to be nervous.


    ¡®uh... well, i guess i have to recall old memories and do a good job.¡¯


    after finishing the conversation, choi yeonseung sat down. he then closed his eyes and focused on meditation. the reason he meditated now wasn¡¯t to train in martial arts. rather, it was to access the constellations¡¯ game of stars. there were more than a dozen constellations snooping around earth, many of which choi yeonseung wasn''t even aware of. it would be beneficial to spy on them in advance in case he had to deal with them one day.


    [the constellation ¡®one-eyed sage¡¯ is seeking an ally to share his vision on earth.]


    [the constellation ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ scoffs and sneers. he says that it is useless.]


    [the constellation ¡®demon of contract and order¡¯ is boasting about his own household.]??v€l-b!n.


    [the constellation ¡®one who shoots the sun¡¯ is seeking advice on how to get a decent household member. he says he will give a reward.]


    ¡°no. i just want you to know this. i don¡¯t want to hear you ask me later why i didn¡¯t tell you anything.¡±


    ¡°is that so? however, if this isn¡¯t rude, can i see and judge him with my own eyes?¡±


    ¡°do as you please.¡±


    it sounded like ernest didn¡¯t believe him, but hwang gyeongryong didn¡¯t become angry.


    ernest had always been such a person! sheep couldn¡¯t lead a pack of wolves. ernest wasn¡¯t only an a-grade hunter. he was also a lion qualified to lead a pack of wolves. his hard and stubborn personality was a disadvantage, but hwang gyeongryong trusted ernest. they used to do raids together before he retired.


    ¡®i wonder how good he is.¡¯ ernest thought as he read the report about choi yeonseung.


    considering even a hunter like hwang gyeongryong was saying such high praises, there had to be something about him! even though this was a martial artist...


    ¡°ah. there is also one more person.¡±


    -richard parker. b- grade. a magician.


    ¡°the parker family? did you accept the parker family¡¯s hunter?¡±


    ernest looked surprised. the parker family wasn¡¯t a pushover. they were a powerful chaebol family that owned a big company. they were also a clan state that wasn¡¯t inferior to dragon industry. nothing good could come from accepting a hunter from that family.


    giving them special treatment would break the teamwork, but if treated harshly, the parker family could get angry. in addition...


    ¡°i¡¯ve heard rumors that the president of the parker family is dissatisfied with his son being a hunter.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. the rumor is true. he contacted me and made a fuss.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    not everyone envied the hunters. why would a third-generation chaebol, who had everything, risk their life raiding dungeons? no one liked richard parker, the youngest son of the family, playing as a hunter. moreover, his subordinates betrayed him, and he almost didn¡¯t get rescued. the president thought it was a good opportunity to give an order.


    -you idiot. what kind of hunter would get betrayed by his subordinates? stop this madness now.


    -b-but...


    -i¡¯ll cut you from all of the family¡¯s support! if you still want to continue, then go ahead. keep in mind that you didn¡¯t become a hunter because you¡¯re skilled. it was due to our family¡¯s strength.


    -......


    it was impossible to maintain the clan once all types of support were cut off. richard gave in and did as he was told...


    ... absolutely not.


    after thinking about it, he came to hwang gyeongryong, bowed down, and begged.


    -i want to join the clan. give me one chance!


    ¡°did you need to accept him? we have enough people. a b- grade hunter isn¡¯t that coveted. he has little experience and he probably developed through his family¡¯s support, so he isn¡¯t skilled enough...¡±


    ¡°hmm...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong nodded.


    ¡°you are correct.¡±


    ¡°does this man also have some hidden talent?¡±


    ¡°no. it isn¡¯t like that. however, who does that alex parker, that old unlucky guy, think he is to tell me not to accept his son?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was the type to insist on doing things even harder if people told him not to. the president of the parker family, alex parker, contacted him and told him not to accept richard, but it backfired!


    ¡°well, his eyes are quite alive. train him and accept him if he can follow. if he can¡¯t, then kick him out.¡±


    ¡°i understand. i''ll proceed as usual.¡±


    ¡°can you give him special treatment?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong laughed and joked. ernest was such a straightforward person that he wouldn¡¯t be able to give special treatment.


    ¡°um... i think i can make special strength recovery potions.¡±


    ¡°... you¡¯d likely get along with choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°???¡±

 Chapter 47

    chapter 47


    now that hwang gyeongryong had thought about it, ernest seemed like a good match for choi yeonseung since he liked training.


    however, that didn¡¯t mean he liked it as much as choi yeonseung. after all, hwang gyeongryong had never seen someone as crazy about training as that man.


    ***


    ¡°odaigon, repeat what i just said.¡±


    ¡°yes, master. if i want to kill someone, i should stop myself and ask you first. i should ask you as well if i think something¡¯s wrong.¡±


    ¡°yes, yes. we¡¯ll be doing many things apart if we join a clan, so be careful.¡±


    odaigon was a powerful magician strong enough to be left alone. he was a bit nervous, but he was adapting quickly. there shouldn¡¯t be an accident... right?


    ¡°by the way, master. i know you¡¯re joining that clan to build up fame and find useful people, but why do i have to come with you?¡± odaigon suddenly asked.


    ¡°it¡¯s because my stomach will hurt if you play alone while i¡¯m working.¡±


    ¡°i-i see. i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯m joking.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    odaigon became even more puzzled. that was a joke?!


    ¡°sigh. i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°no! it was a really funny joke!¡±


    ¡°that sounds even weirder. where did you hear that... no, forget it.¡± choi yeonseung waved his hand. ¡°it will be more convenient if you have some status as a hunter. it¡¯ll give me more freedom than moving alone.¡±


    ¡°i see!¡±


    aside from using him in a constellation battle, it would be best to have a hunter around that choi yeonseung could trust. bluntly speaking, he couldn¡¯t just send odaigon to clear a dungeon in the country because of his rank. it would be best to make him get an a-grade rating first. after all, having that rank would change one''s authority itself.


    ¡®if others learn i think of a-grade as some type of qualification. they¡¯d treat me as a madman.¡¯


    choi yeonseung smiled.


    the b-grade wall used to seem as tall as the sky for most c-grade hunters. now, that felt like a distant past...


    ¡°is that the clan training center?¡± choi yeonseung asked while pointing to the circular dome in the distance. he was riding in a car driven by one of hwang gyeongryong¡¯s secretaries, the number of whom he had forgotten.


    the united states¡¯ suburbs had a lot of large and empty lands.


    ¡°that¡¯s a nice building. it''s good enough to train in.¡±


    choi yeonseung used to rent a gym to train. it was pretty small, but it didn¡¯t matter. after all, he only needed himself to train.


    ¡°... that¡¯s the security company¡¯s building. you have to go further inside to see the clan facilities.¡±


    ¡°... why are you using so much of the land?¡±


    the clan site¡¯s size alone was easily more than several hundred thousand square meters. choi yeonseung admired the icarus clan¡¯s scale. it was huge, even by hwang gyeongryong¡¯s standards.


    ¡®he found success here in the united states.¡¯


    even with a lot of money, clans in south korea wouldn''t be able to operate like this since its land was small.


    ¡°this looks like a military base.¡±


    there were several layers of barbed wire and guard posts around its perimeter. it also had security guards armed with rifles wandering around. why did they need to monitor a vast site like this?


    ¡°this place holds various secrets, including the items managed within the clan. there are few fields with industrial espionage as fierce as the raid industry.¡±


    without such security measures, others would be able to freely get intel on dungeons, monsters, and invaluable treasures like items and magic.


    ¡°i see. every piece of information is indeed valuable.¡±


    no other industry was close to the raid industry when it came to keeping information a secret. neither dungeon nor monster intel was ever shared, so hunters were forced to risk their lives just to figure things out.


    the secretary listened carefully as he drove. the story of 30 years ago was interesting.


    ¡°i found out the other day that information on famous monsters now circulates the internet. it¡¯s amazing. back in my time, there was nothing like that.¡±


    ¡°was it that bad?¡±??v€l?1n.


    the world had suffered from the great invasion, and thirty years had passed since choi yeonseung went to the abyss. hence, it was only natural for such information to become publicly available. there was so much information on frequently-appearing monsters that even the general public knew about them.


    ¡°there¡¯s still quite a lot of unshared information, though. i¡¯m sure the icarus clan has many secrets.¡±


    ¡°are there a lot of thieves? either way, i don¡¯t think they¡¯d infiltrate a place full of hunters.¡±


    ¡°there are more of them than you probably think.¡±


    wanting to turn their lives around, crazy people would steal or take commissions from corporations.


    ¡°guns are enough to deal with non-hunters, but i doubt they can stop hunters hellbent on stealing from places like this.?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t worry. security companies have quite a few hunters. most of them are e or d-grade, though.¡±


    according to the rules, the icarus clan¡¯s hunters only had to come to scheduled group training, which was held three times a week. they had complete freedom over the rest of their time. moreover, hunters ranked b-grade or higher generally didn¡¯t have any financial shortages. hence, they could play wildly as much as they wanted. even so, some hunters still came here to train. one of them was a tall hunter, who was currently doing bench presses.


    choi yeunseung checked the weight she was benching.


    ¡®five tons.¡¯


    an average person could only bench press a few hundred kilograms, but that wasn¡¯t the case for hunters. depending on how they strengthened themselves with magic power, they could lift far heavier weight. considering the hunter was benching five ton with ease...


    ¡®she¡¯s a strength-type melee combatant. a tanker, maybe?¡¯


    that was the role choi yeonseung used to fill during raids. close-quarters magicians could cast various enhancement spells on themselves and deliver heavy attacks. their strategy was to discard the agility required for dodging and inflict as much damage as possible in a single blow.


    [you have seen through your target''s essence!]


    [honing your vision strengthens your power of existence!]


    [elisabeth gutierrez]


    [level: 235


    strength: 530


    agility: 294


    physical strength: 241


    magic power: 229


    intelligence: 235]


    ¡®she¡¯s got good strength.¡¯


    her strength was more than twice her level. it felt like he knew how much she had been training.


    ¡°who are you?¡±


    ¡°a new hunter.¡±


    ¡°ah. i heard a few new people were entering. are you one of them?¡±


    elisabeth stood up and wiped her sweat with a towel. she was lean, firm, and had clearly defined muscles. though still shorter than choi yeonseung, she was nearly 180 cm tall.


    choi yeonseung instantly liked her. such level of ability couldn¡¯t be achieved in just one or two training sessions. she definitely trained a lot!


    ¡°why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    ¡°i was admiring your training.¡±


    ¡°what? you won¡¯t get anything from flattery.¡±


    elisabeth let out a manly laugh and held out her hand. choi yeonseung grabbed it.


    "hup!¡±


    elisabeth smiled and started to tighten her grip. with her magic power concentrated, her strength surpassed imagination. however, she chose the wrong opponent. without even blinking, choi yeonseung countered her with internal energy.


    ¡°?!?!¡±


    elisabeth was surprised. even in this clan of aces, few hunters could beat her in a battle of strength.


    ¡°this is amazing. i¡¯ve never met anyone equal to me.¡±


    ¡°do you shake hands like this often?¡±


    ¡°i do it once in a while for newcomers. if i¡¯m going to entrust my back to them, i need to know how strong they are first.¡± elisabeth sat back down. ¡°where are you from? china?¡±


    ¡°why china? do you think all asians are from china?¡±


    ¡°n-no. don¡¯t misunderstand. ever since china was occupied, quite a few chinese hunters have immigrated.¡±


    ¡°well, i¡¯ll let it slide.¡±


    ¡°i didn¡¯t mean anything bad. i¡¯m from mexico.¡±


    ¡°ah... i''m sorry.¡±


    similar to china, mexico was one of the countries that lost their territory to the evil god constellations.


    ¡°well, i left when i was younger, so i don¡¯t remember much. are you the same as me?¡± elisabeth asked while straining her arms to build muscle.


    was he a strength-type close-quarters magician?


    ¡°i¡¯m a martial artist.¡±


    ¡°... r-really?¡±


    ¡°why? are you surprised?¡±


    ¡°naturally! it¡¯s nice to see a b-grade martial artist! wow. you really don¡¯t use magic and strengthen your body with just internal energy? can you fight with that?¡±


    choi yeonseung smiled bitterly at the question. "of course."

 Chapter 48

    chapter 48


    ¡°oh... you¡¯re confident. i look forward to sparring with you.¡±


    elisabeth grinned.


    among the new hunters who joined the icarus clan, some lacked confidence. after all, this clan was filled with aces of other clans. hence, there were only two possible endings for them: get recognition for the skills they''d show or be terribly broken and forced to run away in embarrassment!


    ¡°how do we spar? do we just fight each other for real?¡±


    ¡°what are you saying? of course, we do it within the otherworld spell.¡±


    ¡°ah, i see.¡±


    ¡°why don¡¯t you tell me more about martial arts? i¡¯m really curious. how did you learn martial arts?¡±


    ¡°hmm... i¡¯ve returned after thirty years of wandering in the abyss.¡±


    ¡°... you can¡¯t be serious.¡±


    ¡°why would i joke about this?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re an abyss returnee? so that is why you learned martial arts...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    don¡¯t be convinced so easily!


    ¡°i¡¯m curious. i thought it was difficult to use martial arts in real life, but is it really possible?¡±


    ¡°are you interested?¡±


    ¡°i am. i tend to learn anything i can use.¡±


    elisabeth took a stance and threw a fierce punch that tore through the air.


    ¡°boxing?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve learned everything i¡¯d need in a fight, including boxing, jiujitsu, wrestling, and muay thai, since people like me find monsters getting close uncomfortable.¡±


    it didn¡¯t make sense for a melee hunter to be uncomfortable with close-quarters combat, but it wasn¡¯t wrong. her attacks were slow and heavy. hence, she¡¯d be in deep trouble if a small and swift monster could get close to her and dig into her defenses.


    ¡°it must be effective against people as well as monsters.¡±


    ¡°uh. don¡¯t you know me?¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m the powerful 19th placer in the uhc b-grade league. ¡±


    ¡®should a 19th placer really be called powerful?¡¯ choi yeonseung thought. in truth, that rank was already great.


    there were hunters who didn¡¯t participate in the uhc, so a simple comparison couldn¡¯t be done. still...


    she was known as the country¡¯s 19th-strongest b-grade hunter! elisabeth gutierrez was popular due to her hot fighting style. the gaps in her style were big, but she showed an intense game. not only was she ranked 19th in the uhc, she was also one of the ten most popular hunters!


    ¡°alright, why don¡¯t we give it a try?¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°a sparring match. i want to see for myself what¡¯s so good about martial arts. follow me.¡±


    elisabeth grabbed choi yeonseung¡¯s hand and went outside. the otherworld was in a different training ground.


    ***


    when they got to the training ground, someone was already in it. the hunter, who had been excitedly unleashing magic, stepped out of the otherworld. his eyes widened.


    ¡°hmm? i¡¯ve never seen him before.¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s new. a martial artist. amazing, right?¡±


    antony smiled at choi yeonseung. ¡°welcome. i¡¯m antony. i¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of me!¡±


    ¡°...???¡±


    what was with this crazy guy?


    ¡°i haven¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°w-what?¡±


    startled, antony¡¯s eyes filled up with surprise.


    ¡°you don¡¯t? i cleared the akarasha¡¯s settlement dungeon, set a new record for the number of night gate subjugations, and i¡¯m the quickest hunter to reach b-grade...¡±


    ¡°hey. he¡¯s an abyss returnee. whatever you say will just confuse him more.¡±


    elisabeth¡¯s words made antony stop.


    from the abyss? if so, then it was understandable why this person didn¡¯t know him!


    ¡°aha. it can¡¯t be helped, then. i¡¯ll introduce myself, so listen carefully.¡±


    ¡°no, you don¡¯t have to...¡±


    their clash caused a loud noise.


    ¡®an upward strike?¡¯


    rather than from the top, her attack began from the ground. the reason soon became apparent.


    -earth magic absorption and earth magic explosion!


    those spells absorbed and caused magic power to explode! with a loud boom, the greatsword violently surged up from the ground. this attack seemed capable of cutting him in two.


    ¡®one, two, three.¡¯


    however, choi yeonseung, who had dealt with all sorts of attacks in the abyss, wasn¡¯t surprised. it was fast, but it was predictable since its trajectory never changed. for as long as one had quick reaction speed and remained calm, it could be countered.


    ¡®now.¡¯


    choi yeonseung¡¯s origin of the celestial kick hit the side of the flying greatsword. due to the covert attack reversal skill, the weapon then rose straight up. elisabeth spun around, but instead of stopping, she tried to continue her offensive. the power within the greatsword didn¡¯t disappear that easily! however, she had shown too many openings. choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t just let this pass.


    ¡®magicians have too many gaps between their spells, even in melee combat.¡¯


    it likely wouldn¡¯t matter that much if they were up against stupid monsters, but no martial artist would let go of food as mouthwatering as this. that was why magicians went through various combat training and prepared for melee battles. nevertheless...


    that wasn¡¯t enough to stop a martial artist. by the time elisabeth tried to make an ¡®oops¡¯ sound, choi yeonseung had already dug into her defenses. he was so close to her that she could no longer use her long weapon properly!


    elisabeth gritted her teeth, let go of the greatsword, and grabbed choi yeonseung to fight back.


    ¡°gasp!¡± she was prepared to get hit in the torso, but she didn¡¯t expect this much power! elisabeth protected herself with magic, but the hit still made her buckle. her opponent didn¡¯t even do anything that powerful. he just threw a light jab...


    ¡°what i did was hit your insides with pure strength. it''s different from being hit by magically enhanced muscles.¡±


    ¡°ah... i¡¯m not done yet...¡±


    elisabeth grabbed choi yeonseung by the neck and tried to kick him.


    ¡°you have amazing willpower, but that alone isn''t enough. i can just keep hitting your vital points.¡±


    ¡°cough!¡±


    he delivered one more blow. it was a light hit, but it contained the internal heavy strike technique¡¯s essence of striking the opponent¡¯s insides with internal energy. in addition, he aimed for the blood circulation, so the energy and blood in the body had to shake when hit.


    ¡°how is it? what do you think of martial arts?¡± choi yeonseung asked with anticipation. he¡¯d gladly teach her martial arts if she became interested in it. and once they had become closer, he would take that opportunity to attract her into his household!


    ¡®... this somehow feels like an mlm (multi-level marketing).¡¯


    it was for the planet¡¯s sake, so why did he feel so guilty?


    ¡°one... one...¡±


    ¡°one?¡±


    ¡°one more time...!¡±


    ¡°alright, then...¡±


    they sparred again. the result was the same. elisabeth had the worst compatibility with choi yeonseung in the first place. it was easy to mistake their combat style as similar since they were both melee-oriented, but that wasn¡¯t the case at all.


    elisabeth was like a cannon that dealt big blows. it was too easy for choi yeonseung to aim for her openings.


    ¡°kuaaack!¡±


    ¡°is it okay now?¡±


    ¡°one... one...¡±


    ¡°... again?¡±


    ¡°one more time...!¡±


    ¡°... okay.¡±


    she fought unarmed this time, seemingly aware that she couldn¡¯t deliver any skills with her greatsword. she planned to narrow the distance and deliver a low kick. if she found an opening, she¡¯d strike at it!


    ... of course, that worked even less on choi yeonseung. the difference in their experiences was too big. after all, he had been fighting for over 10,000 years!


    choi yeonseung broke through the speed of sound, caught the flying low kick, spun once, and knocked elisabeth off balance. he then used origin of the celestial step and struck down at her.


    ¡°... o-one more time...!¡±


    ¡°are you going to keep fighting until you win?¡±


    ¡°... h-how did you know?¡± did you use mind-reading magic?¡±


    ¡°... not really. in any case, gutierrez. you''re a great fighter.¡±


    ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°i like this type of persistence.¡±


    he liked training that followed the idea of doing it as many times as possible!


    elisabeth flinched when she saw choi yeonseung¡¯s burning eyes.


    ''... s-should i stop?'' she thought.

 Chapter 49

    chapter 49


    ¡°good. stick closer!¡±


    ¡°you should do it this way.¡±


    choi yeonseung beat up elisabeth over and over again until she gave up.


    -wake up! aren¡¯t you going to do it again?


    -you did well! let¡¯s do it one more time!


    ¡®why is he like this?¡¯


    elisabeth had never met anyone more persistent than she was. no matter the type of training, nobody could normally last longer than elisabeth. the same was true for this type of confrontation. hence, it didn¡¯t come as a surprise that the other icarus clan hunters were reluctant to fight her.


    -we are here to kill monsters, not fight people, gutierrez.


    -i dislike your tendency to fight until you win.


    -being hit by your greatsword is way too scary. i hate it.


    however, choi yeonseung was different. this man was crazy about training!


    ¡°come on, get up! again!¡±


    ¡°n... no. can we stop?¡±


    ¡°what are you talking about, gutierrez? stand up! one set¡ªno, you have to do one more session!¡±


    ¡°we have training tomorrow! i¡¯m going to go and rest!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry to hear that. have you become a bit interested in martial arts, at least?¡±


    choi yeonseung asked with anticipation. if she took an interest in martial arts, he could draw her into martial arts. instead of asking, ¡®do you know the dao?¡¯, he could ask, ¡®have you heard of the undefeated incarnation of training?¡¯??v€l?1n.


    ¡°i know you''re strong, but if martial arts is this powerful, where are the other martial artists? shouldn''t there be many like you?¡±


    ¡°... that¡¯s because it takes too long to become strong, and you won¡¯t be able to do anything if you¡¯re weaker than your opponent.¡±


    ¡°... i-i¡¯m sorry i asked.¡±


    magicians could become stronger just by learning new magic, while martial artists had to keep practicing one martial art. in addition, there was little they could do if they were weaker than their opponent whereas magic could create a variety of variables...


    ¡°but once you''ve established your martial arts, it''ll constantly get stronger. it''s a type of skill that''s initially weak but becomes extremely powerful upon development.¡±


    ¡°i-i get it, so stop...¡±


    for some reason, listening to him made her heart ache!


    ¡°would you like to learn martial arts?¡±


    ¡°no,¡± elisabeth immediately responded. ¡°i¡¯ll break your martial arts with my own strength. i¡¯ll come back after some more practice! just wait.¡±


    ¡°... learn martial arts to get rid of your weaknesses...¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t want to. this is a matter of pride.¡±


    ¡°what pride?¡±


    ¡°the pride of not learning from the opponent! from now on, you¡¯re my enemy.¡±


    she¡¯d treat him like an enemy until she won!


    at elisabeth¡¯s words, choi yeonseung felt like he chose the wrong person. didn¡¯t she seem a bit strange?


    ¡°of course, this doesn¡¯t mean i will ignore you completely., i will greet you if i see you passing by, but i won¡¯t help you. understood?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m going!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says you should¡¯ve been more considerate of your opponent.]


    ¡®no, i can¡¯t force myself to lose...¡¯


    was finding a household member supposed to be this hard?


    ***


    the next day, the icarus clan had training. they were training to build a team! choi yeonseung and odaigon had nothing to do, so they came to the training ground early and waited there. as time passed, the others arrived one by one.


    ¡®their personality is no joke.¡¯


    perhaps it was because they were all hunters, but their personalities were insane. some of them didn¡¯t even want to treat others as human!


    ¡°i see everyone arrived on time.¡±


    ernest, a hunter who looked like a soldier, soon arrived and stood in front of them. even the hunters who were sitting comfortably in their respective positions corrected their postures when ernest came out. that alone showed his charisma. one had to be a lion to lead a pack of wolves.


    just then, a sports car stopped in the distance. a hunter rushed out of it. ¡°i¡¯m sorry, i¡¯m late.¡±


    ¡°you don¡¯t have to apologize¡±


    of course, ernest wasn¡¯t such a ruthless hunter that he didn¡¯t care about those without friends. in fact, close friends would naturally stick together if left alone. he couldn¡¯t let this happen. how could one know which hunter they would enter a dungeon with?


    the ball that ernest threw out shot out strings of light and started to tie them in groups of two at random. the one tied with choi yeonseung... was antony.


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung looked very disgusted, but antony appeared confident.


    ¡°are you nervous? you don¡¯t have to worry. i will take care of everything. let me show you my brilliant magic.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m really looking forward to it...¡±


    choi yeonseung answered nonchalantly. antony was very strange, but...


    choi yeonseung first had to see how this training worked and adapt to his surroundings.


    ¡®... do i have to fight these guys?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was a constellation. did he really have to deal with such strange hunters?


    ¡°huhu. you seem to understand. very good.¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that the other person is a bit amazing. it asks if all humans are this optimistic.]


    ¡®no. he¡¯s a bit of a lunatic.¡¯


    the hunters could cut the string of light with magic, but that wouldn¡¯t be training anymore. they were training to respond to various situations while tied to each other!


    -advanced illusion secret arts.


    the moment ernest used magic, the space suddenly started to shake tremendously.


    illusion-type magic!


    this 6th circle illusion magic made anything that could be imagined possible. fierce-looking wyverns appeared behind ernest. he could feel the hunters inadvertently becoming nervous. they had confirmed again and again that it was fake, but there was enough intensity in these illusions that the hunters couldn¡¯t just ignore them. this illusion magic could completely deceive one¡¯s five senses! proper illusion magic did far worse damage than half-hearted attack magic.


    there were only two people here who weren¡¯t nervous. odaigon saw through the illusion since he was a better magician than ernest. be it an illusion or the real thing, seeing wyverns didn¡¯t even make choi yeonseung blink.


    ¡°......!¡±


    the sight surprised ernest.


    ¡®as expected... the chairman didn¡¯t just thoughtlessly recommend him.¡¯


    courage was one of a hunter¡¯s important qualities. ernest continued to the next task.


    ¡°avoid it.¡±


    ¡°!!¡±


    "run!¡±


    the wyverns cocked their heads and made a loud noise. the hunters who had dealt with wyverns before knew what that meant. this unique posture and sound... were signs that the wyverns were preparing to unleash a breath!


    ¡°raise a shield!¡±


    get ready!¡±


    ¡°are you serious?! we don¡¯t have time for that! dodge!¡±


    a hunter tied to someone with shield magic urged him to create a shield, but it wasn¡¯t something that could be cast that quickly. dodging was better!


    ¡°we can¡¯t! we don¡¯t know how far the breath¡¯s range is! use the shield! i¡¯ll cast secondary magic.¡±


    however, the more sudden the situation, the more disagreements there were.


    ernest nodded. an instructor hunter standing beside and assisting him said, ¡°there are still some who don¡¯t get along.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s because they blank out when something unexpected happens. they¡¯ll become more proficient once they¡¯ve gone through this a few times.¡±


    the hunters who had matched with each other a few times already had skillful responses. in contrast, those who were tied together for the first time were flustered. if they thought about it calmly, a wyvern¡¯s breath wasn¡¯t that difficult to deal with. it was a powerful monster that was treated as between c+ to b-, while the hunters here were also b-grade or higher.


    its breath required long and obvious preparations, so they could easily avoid it.


    ¡®hunters shouldn¡¯t just be used to winning. they should be used to losing.¡¯


    that way, they could escape with their lives if they ever found themselves in an emergency.


    ***


    ¡®even if the range of the wyvern breath is wide, my magic is enough to dodge it.¡¯


    antony quickly made a decision. what was the most perfect and coolest choice in this situation?


    -hashansha¡¯s acceleration!


    the 3rd-circle magic, hashansha¡¯s acceleration made the user quickly rush in a straight line. in the current situation, it was a great way to escape. since the man next to him was tied to him, the man was bound to follow along even if he fell.


    ¡®this jerk?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded. looking at the magic, it seemed like antony was planning to drag him...


    could he roll on the ground?

 Chapter 50

    chapter 50


    of course, as long as a hunter strengthened themselves with magic power¡ªor internal energy, in choi yeonseung¡¯s case¡ªthey wouldn¡¯t die. however, doing so had to feel really dirty! choi yeonseung was determined not to have a useless emotional quarrel with antony, but he wasn¡¯t going to be a pushover.


    ¡®i¡¯ve decided not to bring him into my household anyway.¡¯


    he quickly made a decision and sprang into action. one of a martial artist¡¯s skills was the pressure point attack. a powerful combat skill that completely grasped the opponent¡¯s anatomy and attacked their vital points to create various status abnormalities!


    ... it was great, but they had to have a thorough understanding of the type of monster they were up against to use it. it was practically unreasonable to expect anyone to know so much about monsters. there were over a thousand types of known monsters in dungeons, and more were still being discovered...


    however, its versatility completely changed in the hands of a master like choi yeonseung. choi yeonseung quickly hit antony with such light taps that they didn¡¯t even seem like attacks at first.


    thump.


    ¡°???¡±n?00v€l--?1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.


    antony was horrified. he had been paralyzed. he couldn''t even conjure magic power


    choi yeonseung lifted up antony like luggage, then used a light footwork technique to run. as soon as the internal energy that went down his legs spread to his toes, he kicked the ground to launch himself.


    ¡®fast!¡¯


    choi yeonseung¡¯s speed as he passed by the hunters amazed them. ernest, who was watching, had the same reaction.


    ¡°do martial arts really give that much speed?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s certainly better than magic in terms of movement and evasion,¡± ernest answered as he nodded. quite a few hunters used martial arts during his younger days.


    ¡°hah. is that so?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know why it¡¯s so rare these days.¡±


    ¡°its growth is too slow and what it can do is limited. that man has the best footwork i have ever seen.¡±


    ¡°really?¡±


    ¡°even if there were still many martial artists around, you still wouldn''t be able to see that. he truly is an abyss returnee...¡±


    he had obviously been immersed in training for a really long time. no matter how immersed a hunter was in training, no one would spend twenty-four hours on it. the higher one¡¯s status was, the more things one had to do. on the other hand, choi yeonseung went missing in the abyss. it wasn¡¯t known how long he had been there, but he would¡¯ve had to be training for a long time to rise to this level.


    ¡®how great. his power and his skill¡¯s rank aside, such a hunter is bound to be strong in actual combat.¡¯


    ernest nodded. he could see why hwang gyeongryong liked choi yeonseung. a rare hunter in this day and age!


    ernest was an old-timer, so he knew what hwang gyeongryong wanted. he wanted hunters who weren¡¯t just obsessed with fame and money, but someone who seriously focused on raids.


    ernest agreed with him. hunters ranked a-grade or higher couldn¡¯t reach that rating through ordinary processes. it was possible only with natural talent, hard work, and tremendous luck.


    ... ernest wasn¡¯t aware that choi yeonseung had been training for over 10,000 years, not 30 years, though.


    ***


    ¡°@(*&#(*$#!¡±


    ¡®hmm. he seems to be swearing harshly.¡¯


    released from pressure point attack, antony jumped up and down looking all red. of course, choi yeonseung couldn''t care less about his behavior.


    ¡°what are you doing? you didn¡¯t do what i told you to do!¡±


    ¡°you were too slow.¡±


    ¡°what nonsense are you saying? i¡¯m not slow!¡±


    ¡°really? then you should move faster than me next time. don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re not confident you can do that?¡±


    antony looked like he was asking, ¡®huh?¡¯ why did this happen? he was certain he could match this man...


    ¡°you shouldn''t have a problem if you keep this up, but you''re still new here, so you should show respect. my pride can''t allow this!¡±


    ¡°really?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll use magic, and you should move accordingly....¡±


    choi yeonseung smiled and turned away, ignoring antony completely!


    antony was momentarily stunned. ¡°listen to me, newbie! you must listen to me!¡±


    meanwhile, the hunters who couldn¡¯t avoid the wyvern¡¯s breath were filtered out.


    ¡°those who are eliminated, get lost.¡± ernest coldly said.


    ¡°give me one more chance! we were just out of sync!¡±


    ¡°say that after a monster has killed you. get lost.¡±


    a few hunters who were either unlucky or had their hands and feet twisted grumbled as they retreated.


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°if you train in martial arts for a year or so, you¡¯d be able to reach the third-class stage. why? are you interested? do you want me to help you?¡±


    ¡°n-no. that¡¯s a bit...¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t it too slow?¡±


    the hunters disliked it. they looked at choi yeonseung.


    ¡®he has to be insane to learn it.¡¯


    ¡®he¡¯s crazy.¡¯


    ¡®i heard he¡¯s an abyss returnee?¡¯


    ¡®did he go crazy in the abyss?¡¯


    ¡®no. he said he was from a few decades ago.¡¯


    ¡®ah... that explains his martial arts. he only trained in martial arts there.¡¯


    the hunters understandingly nodded.


    ah~ so this is the reason...!


    the hunters of the icarus clan looked at choi yeonseung with warm eyes, which made him feel bad. why were these jerks looking at him in the same way that he looked at gyeongryong hyung?


    ¡°if you have any questions, then feel free to ask, friend. no. i should call you grandfather¡ª¡±


    ¡°i will kill you if you call me grandfather.¡±


    ¡°... friend!¡±


    ¡°ask me if you have any questions.¡±


    unlike other newcomers, choi yeonseung quickly fit in with the clan¡¯s hunters. he wasn¡¯t a cheeky, arrogant, or self-absorbed person just because he scored high.


    in addition, his being a martial artist, which was rare in this day and age, and an old man that had just returned from the abyss made them curious. to top it all off, choi yeonseung was a hunter with a good personality in a place filled with people with bad personalities...


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is surprised that a constellation who was a loner in the abyss is getting along well with others on earth!]


    ¡®be quiet.¡¯


    [be~~ quiet. the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is copying you.]


    ¡®how to cancel the oath...¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ immediately apologizes!]


    training continued after this. it started with the hunters¡¯ grumbling and ended with them cursing ernest¡¯s parents, but ernest didn¡¯t care.


    dodging while being tied up in groups of two, dodging while being tied up in groups of three, dodging while being tied up in groups of four...


    countering when unique magic was cast, subduing a colleague when they were hit by illusion magic...


    choi yeonseung became more favorable toward ernest as the training continued. this person knew things!


    ¡®yes. this is how much training you should do.¡¯


    choi yeonseung could recover quickly even if he used his internal energy. unable to recover their magic power as quickly as choi yeonseung replenished his internal energy, the hunters seemed to be dying. every time they cast magic, they had to check how much magic power they had left. no matter how great a hunter was, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything if they ran out of magic power! this distribution training was also one of ernest¡¯s purposes.


    ¡°it seems the warm-up''s too easy for you all. next up, we¡¯re going to do a dungeon raid,¡± ernest said with a nod.


    ¡°sigh. that man¡¯s insane...¡±


    ¡°die...¡±


    while the other hunters gritted their teeth, choi yeonseung asked curiously, ¡°dungeon? are we really going into a dungeon?¡±


    ¡°oh, grandfather. we have something called the otherworld now¡ª¡±


    choi yeonseung stared at the hunter emotionlessly, yet his eyes seemed to somehow crush the latter¡¯s heart! without realizing he had been overpowered, the hunter quickly rephrased what he was saying.


    ¡°haha. he¡¯s talking about a dungeon in the otherworld, friend!¡±


    ¡°ah, i see. like the hunter sports?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right! you¡¯ve probably seen it at least once since you returned. which team are you a fan of?¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°which team are you a fan of?¡±


    ¡°lg twins?¡±


    ¡°... this is the first time i¡¯ve heard of that team...¡±

 Chapter 51

    chapter 51


    puzzled, the hunter asked, ¡°you¡¯re talking about dungeon run, right?¡±


    dungeon run was the nickname for ssl, the six-man team sport.


    ¡°no. i was talking about baseball.¡±


    ¡°who watches baseball? grandfather...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°... my grandfather loves baseball, friend. haha.¡±


    ¡°i see...¡±


    ¡°in any case, isn¡¯t it a waste not to watch ssl? you should try watching it once or twice, at least. if you don¡¯t have a favorite team yet, can i give you a recommendation? the boston giants are great.¡±


    choi yeonseung thought the hunter¡¯s words sounded familiar. sports fans usually did this when recommending their favorite team. on that note, hwang gyeongryong was a fan of the lotte giants...


    -yeonseung. do you like baseball?


    -i can¡¯t say i do, but i watch it while recovering my muscles after high-intensity exercise.


    -which team do you like?


    -i just watch the lg twins.


    -uhuh! you can¡¯t just like anyone. there is a very good team with history and tradition called lotte...


    -aren¡¯t they at the bottom of the rankings right now?


    -do you want to be kicked out of the clan?


    -?!


    choi yeonseung asked a question upon recalling that memory. ¡°how¡¯s the boston giants¡¯ performance?¡±


    ¡°... why do you ask?¡± the hunter reacted fiercely! ¡°s-sorry, friend. i was agitated for no reason.¡±


    ¡°since you¡¯re in a clan, can¡¯t you play as a player yourself?¡±


    just like the uhc, ssl was played in the otherworld, so there would be restrictions on stats. nevertheless, a b-grade hunter should be more than capable to dominate in it.


    ¡°did you sign a contract with the icarus clan without even reading about the clan¡¯s rules? well, nobody does anyway since they just order their manager to do it for them. that being said, those in the icarus clan aren¡¯t allowed to play dungeon run.¡±


    ¡°really?¡±


    ¡°we can join the uhc, though. ah. it¡¯s a pity. if i had permission, i would¡¯ve already swept them all away.¡±


    the big, black hunter swung his fist. that movement alone made him exude a sense of intimidation.


    ¡®is he also a melee combatant?¡¯


    [you have seen through your target''s essence!]


    [honing your vision strengthens your power of existence!]


    [smallwood highmountain]


    level: 256


    strength: 302


    agility: 315


    physical strength: 331


    magic power: 320


    intelligence: 308]


    ¡®he¡¯s stronger than i expected.¡¯


    in terms of level alone, he was above elisabeth gutierrez! in addition, he was an all-rounder type. rather than specializing in a specific area, he had a balanced build that didn¡¯t have any weaknesses. such hunters were always useful.


    ¡®one really shouldn''t judge a book by its cover.¡¯


    this hunter sat sloppily and was dressed more like a rapper than a hunter, but he was an all-rounder. it was a bit novel.


    ¡®this is bad, though. i can see their stats but not their skills..¡¯


    there were two reasons why choi yeonseung joined the icarus clan: to create a social status and find useful household members! he could roughly tell what type of person they were based on their stats, but that alone wasn¡¯t enough.


    ¡®i need more information. i have to be able to see a bit more deeply.¡¯


    the man was a great b-grade hunter, but for choi yeonseung, that was it.


    if he went to the abyss and joined a constellation battle, he¡¯d melt away in an instant! a hunter having stats or a level a bit higher than those who were far below choi yeonseung meant nothing. he had to look for potential growth.


    smallwood became even more flustered. ¡°you¡¯re a martial artist, but you don¡¯t know hip-hop?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry about that. i was wandering the abyss for a long time.¡±


    ¡°... s-sorry. don¡¯t be so serious, man.¡±


    smallwood started to explain. chinese martial arts movies had long been popular in the black community, from watching martial arts movies to martial arts novels being translated and released abroad! thanks to that, many black rappers became martial art fans.


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know this, but that fan sentiment continued even after the gates had opened, resulting in quite a few early martial artists.


    ¡°don¡¯t you know the wu-tang clan? they¡¯re hip-hop legends!¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°where do you think they got their name?! it comes from the name of a martial arts movie!¡±


    ¡°i-i see.¡±


    choi yeonseung wanted to say, ¡®what about it, bastard?!¡¯ but endured it. it was because he didn¡¯t seem malicious.


    ¡°where did ghostface killah come from?¡±


    ¡°... was it the ghost-faced killer?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right! i knew you would know!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry, but not all martial artists like martial arts movies and martial arts¡ª¡±


    choi yeonseung was about to say something, only to hesitate. now that he had thought about it, martial artists in south korea really liked martial arts movies and novels. there were those who¡¯d giggle and say, ¡°hey, martial arts isn¡¯t used like this~~¡±


    ¡°anyway... so you mean you¡¯ve liked and have been interested in martial arts since you were young?¡±


    ¡°it sounds childish when you say it like that, but that¡¯s right. i was interested.¡±


    ¡°why didn¡¯t you learn it?¡±


    ¡°are you serious? of course, it was because i had no place to learn it from. almost all the first-generation martial artists had retired when my time came. and to join a clan, one had to be a magician. with everyone using magic, who do you think i could learn martial arts from?¡±


    ¡°okay. if you want to learn, then i¡¯ll teach you.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded. he wouldn¡¯t lose anything by teaching this man anyway. on the contrary, if smallwood turned out to have outstanding talent, it would be extremely beneficial for choi yeonseung. he would be able to draw smallwood into his household!


    ¡®i don¡¯t have any grandiose thoughts about resurrecting martial arts, but... it doesn¡¯t make sense for martial arts to be ignored so much.¡¯


    if choi yeonseung showed his skills, then the status of martial arts would naturally rise. however, he was looking at an even bigger picture. what would people do if the status of martial arts increased thanks to choi yeonseung and they began wanting to learn martial arts again?


    just as everyone respected li yuyuan in the past, they would ask choi yeonseung, the martial artist who had reached the highest stage on earth, for guidance! that would allow choi yeonseung to sit down, take care of his power of existence, and get useful household members.


    hiding and not sharing skills was something that only those who had no confidence would do. choi yeonseung had a completely different plan! this was the difference between a constellation and a mortal.


    ¡®kukukuk.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it¡¯s nice to hear your evil laughter!]


    ***


    ¡°gasp. richard parker? are you from the parker family?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s be friends!¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°it is an ironclad rule for me to befriend only people of worth.¡±


    richard parker frowned at the hunter talking to him. many people befriended him only because they learned he was from the parker family. he also almost died because of such people.


    ¡°don¡¯t be wary. give and take is another ironclad rule for me.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t care. don¡¯t talk to me.¡±


    ¡°phew. you¡¯re like antony schneider. do you know him? he only cares about himself.¡±


    the hunter¡¯s chattering made richard even angrier. he just made a series of mistakes in the response training, and now there was a strange guy...


    ¡®son of a bitch. i can¡¯t come this far only to get into the 2nd team.¡¯


    the icarus clan was divided into two teams.


    the 1st team participated in actual combat. the 2nd team gathered candidates who were still considered to be too much of a risk to join the 1st team. they said that the hunters in the 2nd team required more refinement, but richard thought they were simply losers. they came here even though they could be treated like kings if they went elsewhere.


    of course, hwang gyeongryong¡¯s great treatment was one of the reasons, but in the end, their main purpose here was so they could raid high-rated dungeons! they gathered to gain wealth, power, and fame that couldn¡¯t be obtained through ordinary means.


    ¡°don¡¯t talk to me.¡±


    ¡°haha. won¡¯t you regret it?¡±


    ¡°......?¡±

 Chapter 52

    chapter 52


    richard hesitated. he couldn¡¯t figure out what the other person meant.


    ¡°... what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°you know exactly what i mean. you didn¡¯t just thoughtlessly come here, did you? those who joined this clan have only one goal in mind: becoming the best.¡±


    unsatisfied with the great rank of b-grade, ace hunters aimed to reach a-grade! the clan only had a few dozen members, but becoming the best among them was a feat that was on an entirely different league of difficulty.


    ¡°how hard do you think is it to be with these people? you don¡¯t think being in the 2nd team will allow you to reach a-grade, do you? you have to get into the 1st team.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know why you¡¯re telling me things i¡¯m already aware of. stop wasting my time.¡±


    ¡°a bit ignorant, aren¡¯t you? you¡¯re new here and know nothing. how can you compete with the others? they¡¯re better and have more experience than you.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°unlike you, i¡¯ve been in the clan for quite some time. i can sell you what tests or training will be done and what the others¡¯ weaknesses are.¡± the hunter held out his hand along with these words. ¡°come to think of it, i haven¡¯t introduced myself yet. whittaker moneymaker. remember that.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a fitting surname.¡±


    ¡°i hear that often. so, want to join forces?¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯m sorry, but it won¡¯t turn out the way you think.¡±


    ¡°what are you trying to say?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m from the parker family, but becoming a hunter means disobeying orders. you won¡¯t get anything by hanging out with me...¡±


    before he could finish speaking, whittaker stood up and walked away.


    ¡°????¡±


    richard was dumbfounded. he expected a sudden change in attitude once the moment whittaker realized he couldn¡¯t get any help from richard¡¯s family, but how could he be so blatant?


    ***


    whittaker lived by categorizing everything in the world into gains and losses. his personality wasn¡¯t caused by a contract with a constellation. he simply had always been like that. richard was no longer of any worth to him. without the help of the parker family, he had no value as a hunter.


    ¡®i wasted my time. i will have to find someone else.¡¯


    unlike others, whittaker didn¡¯t have the ambition to become a powerful a-grade hunter who could control a country. rather, he aimed to be the one manipulating the a-grade hunters behind the scenes. he wanted to be in a position where he¡¯d have various personal connections with a-grade hunters and manipulate them at will when necessary! and the icarus clan was the best place to build a network. after all, ace hunters crowded to this place.


    ¡®the other choices aren¡¯t bad, but i definitely like the icarus clan better...¡¯


    it wasn¡¯t just because aces gathered to it. few people offered as selfless and full support as hwang gyeongryong. those who had invested a lot of money would usually expect to greatly profit from it.


    ¡°odaigon, right? are you new?¡±


    whittaker approached odaigon, the pale and skinny young man! aside from being a hunter, he looked like he''d be a good fit for photoshoots and modeling. hence, whittaker expected to see him often in future broadcasts.


    ¡®now, how do i approach him?¡¯


    "aack!"


    ¡°???¡±


    whittaker flinched at odaigon¡¯s sudden yell.


    what? was he crazy?


    ¡°i died because of you!¡±


    odaigon held up his smartphone and fiercely glared at whittaker. he died due to poor control, but he didn¡¯t even consider that to be a possibility since he had always been blinded by anger. the goblin king released killing intent, stunning whittaker. the latter had never been confident in one-on-one combat between hunters.


    ¡°n-no. something else likely caused that.¡±


    ¡°get lost! take another step closer and i¡¯ll crush you!¡± odaigon growled and chased him away.


    dumbfounded, whittaker backed off. nothing good would come from messing with an angry person.


    ¡®i¡¯ll just wait for the next opportunity.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was the only one left!


    ¡®i heard he¡¯s a martial artist who had just returned from the abyss.¡¯


    ¡®there¡¯s still a long way to go, though. it¡¯s currently c-ranked. i have to polish it more.¡¯


    ¡°wait, did you just say you¡¯re glad? did we try this without you knowing what could happen?¡±


    ¡°shh. focus. keep moving your magic power.¡±


    ¡°ugh. it consumes too much magic power.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t keep drawing magic power from your mana circle. hold onto the ones you¡¯ve already drawn out and circulate them inside you. you¡¯ll get tired and won¡¯t be able to use martial arts otherwise.¡±


    neither internal energy nor magic power was infinite. magicians borrowed magic power from external sources, while martial artists mastered the technique of maintaining internal energy. to execute skills similar to martial arts using magic power, he had to learn that technique. otherwise, he¡¯d swiftly run out of magic power and collapse!


    ¡°can¡¯t i just build up internal energy from scratch?¡±


    ¡°you want to build up mana circles and internal energy? it would take at least a hundred years to see results. this is the best way for magicians to master martial arts.¡±


    ¡°controlling magic power is too difficult and exhausting.¡±


    every time he drew out magic power, the magic power in his mana circle was drained. unlike choi yeonseung, smallwood couldn¡¯t keep his magic power inside him. it would disappear immediately if he lost even a bit of concentration, and he¡¯d have to draw more from his mana circle again...


    ¡°your main focus is magic anyway, right? not martial arts. you¡¯d only use it when you¡¯re in a pinch.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true, but...¡±


    ¡°then it doesn¡¯t matter if it consumes a bit too much for as long as your attacks hit.¡±


    choi yeonseung had no intention of teaching smallwood everything about martial arts since that was practically impossible and he didn¡¯t have much time to teach... hence, he tried to teach him a fist technique that would allow him to deliver a lightning-like blow against his opponent during melee combat! the martial art could be imperfect and exhausting since it used magic power, but it still had sufficient power.


    ¡°okay. you¡¯re not stupid. you should be able to stretch out your magic power along with your arms.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve never heard you sound so stupid.¡±


    ¡°shut up. if you really plan on practicing martial arts, what type of weapon are you going to use?¡±


    ¡°this!¡±


    smallwood grinned and pulled out some knuckles, which were weapons worn over one¡¯s fists to increase power.


    ¡°not bad. i''ll teach you a fist technique, then. get rid of any unnecessary thoughts and just focus on drawing and circulating magic power through the route i taught you.¡±


    choi yeonseung drew a path through his veins and told smallwood to only let his magic power travel through it.


    the technique truly was meant to execute just one blow!


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t i learn footwork or something?¡±


    ¡°how many hours do you think you¡¯d require just to learn to even use footwork? i wouldn''t put you through that even if i didn''t have a conscience. at your current level, you won''t even be able to use it even if you practice it over and over. it''s better to just remember this single attack. once you think you''re in range, draw your magic power out and throw a punch.¡±


    ¡°got it.¡±


    since smallwood was an experienced hunter, he immediately understood what choi yeonseung meant. a child who had just taken their first step wouldn''t be able to fly yet! he became even more amazed by choi yeonseung for teaching him, a technique.


    smallwood practiced repeatedly until a message popped up saying that he had become used to it and that he had gained a skill.


    [the skill ¡®one hit with magic power¡¯ has been acquired!]


    [one hit with magic power]


    [rank: d


    execute a single attack using magic power instead of internal energy. the higher the user¡¯s understanding, the lower the penalty.]


    ¡®huhu. it''s great that i''ve finally learned it, but its rank is way too low.¡¯


    the lower a skill¡¯s rank, the lower its value. he had to practice it more to raise its rank.


    ¡®well, just because it has a low rank doesn¡¯t mean it can¡¯t be used...¡¯


    a d-rank 5th-circle magic was still more powerful than an a-rank 1st-circle magic.


    smallwood hissed and threw a punch. he felt proud to have obtained something!


    [smallwood highmountain has honored you as a master of martial arts.]


    [being respected has increased the undefeated incarnation of training''s power of existence.]

 Chapter 53

    chapter 53


    choi yeonseung nodded with satisfaction upon being rewarded. he could feel the gazes of the hunters watching from the side.


    -do you really want to learn martial arts?


    -can we learn it now and use it in actual combat?


    -won¡¯t it just get in the way of magic?


    their eyes were full of complicated thoughts!


    ¡®they¡¯re definitely interested.¡¯


    they were anxious since they didn¡¯t know much about it, but they were certainly interested in martial arts. that perception could change if smallwood could properly perform a martial art technique.


    ¡®i just don¡¯t know if that is possible.¡¯


    he had only learned one fist technique, and it wasn¡¯t certain if he¡¯d even get the chance to use it properly. that could change if smallwood could properly perform a martial art technique, though.


    ***


    ¡®the world has really improved.¡¯ choi yeonseung kept that thought to himself out of the fear of sounding like an old man.


    in the past, he had to raid dungeons to improve his skills, putting his life at risk. that was no longer the case these days. all they had to do now was enter the otherworld, which had extremely realistic virtual dungeons and monsters. of course, its dungeons had no rewards, unlike real ones. nevertheless, being able to experience dungeons without risking their lives was great.


    "get ready.¡±


    the icarus clan also frequently trained in virtual dungeons since that was the closest training to actual combat. the abilities shown here were closest to reality!


    ¡°how many people will there be per party?¡±


    ¡°six. that¡¯s the golden ratio, friend.¡±


    a party of six was the most frequently used combination when raiding dungeons. having fewer people made it hard to effectively respond to monster attacks, and having more dragged the monsters¡¯ aggro toward them and made them vulnerable! some dungeons required dozens of hunters, but they were split into several groups during raids.


    ¡°the rules are simple. enter the dungeon and clear it quickly and safely.¡±


    at ernest¡¯s words, the resting hunters¡¯ eyes changed. they were slumping around right now, but they were completely different in actual combat. besides, there was no better opportunity to show their skills than during a virtual dungeon raid. they could reveal their skills much better here than in other complex training.


    ¡®i have to get into the 1st team.¡¯


    ¡®they''ll certainly put me on the 1st team. they better not joke around, or else i won''t forgive them.¡¯


    ¡®ah, i don¡¯t want to raid a dungeon.¡¯


    ¡°everyone¡¯s eyes are burning.¡±


    ¡°of course, friend. in the clan, only the 1st team gets to participate in actual combat. the other training drills are also important, but this one plays the biggest role in determining who goes to which team.¡±


    smallwood shrugged.


    ¡°can¡¯t you make a good living even if you don¡¯t get into the 1st team?¡±


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter how much money we make. this is a matter of pride as a hunter. why would we even be here if we¡¯re just trying to make a bit of money?¡±


    ¡°hmm. are you part of the 1st team?¡±


    ¡°it isn¡¯t fixed. it goes back and forth.¡±


    smallwood wasn¡¯t particularly ashamed to admit that. the hunters in this clan were extremely skilled.


    ¡°it¡¯s okay. there is no shame in being weak.¡±


    ¡°no, friend. i¡¯m not particularly weak, and i¡¯m not ashamed...¡±


    ¡°i get that you¡¯re embarrassed, which is why you¡¯re saying that, but what¡¯s really embarrassing is knowing you¡¯re weak yet doing nothing to fix it. you¡¯re trying to become stronger, so it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not weak, friend. do you want to get hit?¡±


    smallwood was stunned. raiding capability aside, he was confident he could win in single combat against a hunter. who did this person think was a weakling?


    groups of six were being made randomly as they talked. choi yeonseung and smallwood highmountain were fortunate enough to be put on the same team. they were also with richard parker, antony schneider, elisabeth gutierrez, and whittaker moneymaker.


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    elisabeth looked very disgusted.


    ¡°what¡¯s with that expression? i¡¯m hurt.¡±


    ¡°i agree with you, friend. why are you making that face, gutierrez?¡±


    choi yeonseung and smallwood¡¯s words only made elisabeth seem troubled. how were those two people already so close?


    ¡°why did i have to end up in this party?¡±


    ¡°wow, friend. did you hear what she just said? she gets zero points in cooperation.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯ll be difficult to get into the 1st team.¡±


    ¡°shut up, idiots. i was never pushed out of the 1st team.¡± elisabeth said as she stared at them.


    [honing your vision strengthens your power of existence!]


    [antony schneider]


    [level: 288


    strength: 351


    agility: 347


    physical strength: 316


    magic power: 361


    intelligence: 334


    b+ rank skill mental protection.


    b-rank skill self-absorption.


    (can¡¯t see any further).]


    ¡®!¡¯


    antony was certainly great. he was level 288. most a-grade hunters were over level 300, so antony was seriously close to that rank. that was rare among b-grade hunters!


    ¡®i can see skills now?¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that your celestial eyes have grown and that you accurately read your target''s personality.]


    utilizing the power of a constellation was also a type of training. the more he did, the more proficient he became. in addition, the two skills that antony possessed matched his personality so well that it was easy to discover.


    ¡®the skills he possesses are obvious.¡¯


    mental protection and self-absorption. they were more than b-rank. how strong was his mentality?


    ¡®those are also helpful in raids.¡±


    his skills were surprisingly extremely powerful. it was common for a party member or two to have a mental breakdown once inside a dungeon..


    ¡°i already have information on our party members¡¯ combat styles except for yours. can you tell me a little bit about yourself?¡± elisabeth asked richard.


    ¡°... i¡¯m a b-grade hunter, and i used to lead the ganes clan,¡± richard replied, then glanced around wondering if anyone knew about it.


    of course, no one did. richard blushed slightly. he was the king in his old clan, but he was just one of the newcomers here.


    ¡®damn.¡¯


    ¡°ah. i know that clan.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    richard looked up in surprise. it was choi yeonseung who spoke.


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung winked at him.


    -it will be less embarrassing if i do this, right?


    however, that only made richard feel more miserable.


    don¡¯t do this...!


    ¡°really? is it a famous clan, friend?¡± smallwood asked.


    ¡°it is a fairly solid clan with very competitive members.¡±


    ¡°whoa. really? isn¡¯t that amazing? why haven¡¯t i heard of it before?¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯m a long-range damage dealer. i mostly use ice magic.¡±


    ¡°do you know any 5th-circle magic?¡±


    ¡°of course.¡±


    among the hunters who had just made it to b-grade, some hadn¡¯t learned any 5th-circle magic. though only a league apart, 5th-circle magic vastly differed from 4th-circle magic in terms of power. hence, people had to know about it in advance.


    ¡°really? i¡¯m glad. you¡¯re a clan leader, so you likely have a lot of raid experience. think you can sync up with us?¡±


    ¡°o-of course.¡±


    ¡°friend, did you stutter just now?¡±


    ¡°newcomers are always nervous.¡±


    choi yeonseung said to pass by that question. of course, richard wasn¡¯t nervous just because he was new.


    ¡®... c-can i do this right?¡¯


    though the dungeon was low-rated, this was his first time partying up with ace-level hunters.??v€l?1n.

 Chapter 54

    chapter 54


    however, richard didn¡¯t show it. it would be stupid to show his weaknesses in front of other hunters! hunters didn¡¯t respect the weak.


    ¡®look at that. the opportunity came faster than i thought.¡¯ whittaker approached as he rejoiced internally. he had wanted to approach choi yeonseung, and he got the chance to do that sooner than he expected.


    ¡°ah. you¡¯re a martial artist? isn¡¯t that amazing?¡±


    ¡°go away.¡±


    ¡°hey. get lost.¡±


    smallwood and elisabeth sharply reacted when whittaker came over.


    ¡°aren¡¯t you two being too harsh? that hurts, you know. choi yeonseung, right? i¡¯m whittaker. i¡¯m looking to make new friends.¡±


    whittaker held out his hand.


    rather than shaking it, choi yeonseung said, ¡°i¡¯m a bit shy.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s fine! i¡¯m proactive. it won''t be uncomfortable for you if i stick around, will it??¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t even think about trying to stick in a straw here and just leave, friend. i don¡¯t really think of you as a friend, though.¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong with him?¡±choi yeonseung curiously asked as smallwood shook his hands.


    ¡°he only cares about money. he categorizes people based on his standards. he¡¯ll flatter them if he thinks he¡¯ll gain something from it and cut them off if he thinks they¡¯ll bring in losses.¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong with that? everybody does that.¡±


    elisabeth shook her finger. ¡°even if so, they don¡¯t rub it in other people¡¯s faces like he does.¡±


    ¡°hah. don¡¯t listen to these guys, friend.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t copy the way i talk if you don¡¯t want to be injured, friend.¡±


    smallwood warned, but whittaker ignored him and kept talking.


    ¡°these two hunters are acting a bit strange, but i¡¯m not a bad person. my calculations have pinpoint accuracy. you know what give and take means, right? give as much as you take. you can¡¯t just keep being on the receiving end.¡±


    ¡°hmm. that sounds about right.¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s reply made smallwood perk up.


    ¡°don¡¯t be fooled by his nonsense, friend! he¡¯s a real piece of crap!¡±


    ¡°did something happen?¡±


    ¡°he pretended to be so friendly with me while i was on the 1st team. but the moment i went down to the 2nd team, he blocked me on facebook!¡±


    ¡°... are you a teenager?¡±


    the unexpected grudge took choi yeonseung aback.


    ¡°so, moneymaker.¡±


    ¡°how do you know my last name? ah. they probably told you. anyway, what is it?¡±


    ¡°i like give and take, but what do you want and what can you give me in return?¡±


    ¡°phew. you know how to handle things! i like choi yeonseung¡¯s reply.¡± whittaker grinned. ¡°do you know what my role is?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m curious.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m a healer.¡±


    ¡°oh...¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised. this sly-looking guy was a healer? in a raid, being a healer wasn¡¯t a specifically set role. if a hunter had healing-related magic or skills, then they tended to take on the role of healer! healers were so rare that there were quite a few cases of raids without one.


    ¡°i¡¯m whittaker moneymaker, a b- grade hunter. it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡±


    b- was good enough for a healer. even if his level was a bit low, there was no need for him to fight in the front lines.


    ¡°ah. how can he be a healer?¡±


    ¡°the world is going crazy.¡±


    the two hunters grumbled. without paying any attention to them, whittaker continued.


    ¡°if you join forces with me, you¡¯ll get all types of support during practice. don''t you want that?¡±


    a talent optimized to help one become active in practice using healing and buffs! the problem was...


    ¡®i don¡¯t really need it.¡¯


    would he fight better after receiving buff magic from whittaker?


    ¡°i don¡¯t need it,¡± choi yeonseung said with an uncomfortable expression.


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°upon checking, we¡¯ve got two weeks¡¯ worth of food. let¡¯s split it up per person. we¡¯ll share the supplies as well.¡±


    ¡°i have to focus on magic, so such a burden is¡ª¡±


    ¡°if you don¡¯t want your part, then throw it away.¡±


    at elisabeth¡¯s words, antony grumbled and packed his luggage.


    ¡°have you ever stayed here for more than two weeks?¡±


    ¡°it hasn¡¯t happened to me yet, but if you¡¯re unlucky, then you can get stuck here for longer.¡±


    they were in a training dungeon, so nobody had ever had to stay here longer than two weeks. the group checked for food and other supplies. they were given standard hunter equipment, ranging from portable sleeping bags to search drones.


    ¡°i¡¯ll be at the front.¡±


    ¡°what are you saying? we¡¯ve got a narrow path ahead of us. what if we get ambushed and get into a melee?¡±


    ¡°tsk tsk. what made you think i can¡¯t stop that much? you¡¯ve got poor senses, gutierrez. believe in me!¡±


    crossroads trial was a dungeon that circled around along a narrow cave path. it was impossible to know where monsters would come out in labyrinths like this. it had monsters that sneaked under the dark and monsters that hid in the walls, waiting for an ambush.


    melee combat was expected! elisabeth fought best in such situations.


    ¡°i¡¯m a close-quarters combat specialist, so i¡¯ll take the lead.¡±


    ¡°you said you¡¯d listen to my orders!¡± antony complained.


    ¡°i said i will listen if it makes sense.¡±


    hunters¡¯ qualities were far from ¡®yielding¡¯ or selflessness.¡¯ moreover, in this dungeon raid, they didn¡¯t just have to work as a team. they also had to ensure they stood out. of course, antony didn¡¯t have such complicated calculations in his head. it was just his personality!


    ¡°you¡¯re not as good at close combat as i am, schneider.¡±


    ¡°of course not, gutierrez. i¡¯m better. however, you don¡¯t have to feel ashamed. you¡¯re a hunter great enough to be compared to me!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    elisabeth clenched her fists. she wanted to punch him! his sincerity only made her even angrier. however, she couldn¡¯t hit him. if she did, she would be known as the hunter who attacked her colleagues in a dungeon.


    ¡°i¡¯ll take the lead. all of you will support me from behind. that¡¯s the best way to handle this.¡±


    ¡°uh, excuse me.¡±


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°that friend ignored your words and just left.¡±


    ¡°?!?!?!¡±


    seeing choi yeonseung running alone on a narrow path while they were talking surprised the hunters, antony included.


    ¡°w-w-what are you doing?¡±


    even the strongest hunters rarely charged in by themselves in a dungeon since doing so could mean their deaths! no hunter would enter a place alone where they didn¡¯t know where monsters would come out from. even antony didn¡¯t do that. yet...


    -swiiik!


    ¡°a rock chameleon! be careful!¡± elisabeth called out urgently when she heard the wind hissing.


    rock chameleons were c-grade monsters that had claimed the lives of countless hunters. it had two weapons: a poisonous camouflage ability and deadly poison! the rock chameleon¡¯s camouflage surpassed imagination. it didn¡¯t blend with the surroundings by changing colors. rather, it actually melted into its surroundings to hide. if one wanted to aim for it, then they¡¯d have to launch an attack when the rock chameleon emerged...


    however, it also fired off deadly poison as quickly as bullets from the venom glands under its tongue. people wouldn¡¯t be able to survive being hit by it.


    ¡®crazy. c-grade monsters are already appearing. they¡¯re so tricky to deal with...¡¯


    encountering a c-grade monster at the dungeon entrance was unlucky, even more so if it were a tricky monster like the rock chameleon.


    ... well, the monsters were the unlucky ones.


    choi yeonseung suddenly hit the wall amid his run, causing blood to splash as a scream echoed.


    -kuweeek!


    the rock chameleon had weak physical strength and defense for a c-grade monster. if those stats were higher, it would¡¯ve become a b-grade. still, defeating it in one hit?


    ¡°what? isn¡¯t everyone coming?¡± choi yeonseung stopped in the middle of a dark and narrow passage and called out to them. dumbfounded, the other hunters couldn¡¯t answer.


    surprisingly, antony was the first to react.


    ¡°what are you doing, newbie?! you left without me!¡± antony shouted loudly and ran forward. he was robbed of what he was trying to do.


    ... of course, unlike choi yeonseung, antony never intended to run at such a crazy pace.


    ¡°stand back, newbie! i¡¯ll take the lead!¡±


    ¡°i can¡¯t hear you.¡±


    choi yeonseung turned away as if he had gone deaf and charged onward again.


    ¡°i told you to stand back!¡± killing the monsters is my job!¡± antony said as he pitifully pursued choi yeonseung.

 Chapter 55

    chapter 55


    antony wasn¡¯t just a hunter who liked to brag. not everyone could become a fixed member of the icarus clan¡¯s 1st team. he was in the top 1% of talent among hunters! antony decided to not just call out to choi yeonseung. he¡¯d kill a monster and showcase his abilities himself.


    -intermediate health detection!


    a 3rd-circle magic!


    low-grade health detection, a 1st-circle magic, couldn¡¯t accurately pinpoint the rock chameleons. in fact, there were still times when he missed them despite already using intermediate health detection, but it couldn¡¯t be helped. he didn¡¯t have a stronger version of it, and he couldn¡¯t just use magic beyond the 3rd-circle. mana management was essential in dungeon raids.


    -anger and confusion inducement!


    he followed up with a 2nd-circle curse magic that attracted the monster¡¯s aggro and forced them to reveal themselves!


    ¡®found it!¡¯


    fortunately, a rock chameleon was nearby. the intermediate health detection spell made it emit a red light, and the anger and confusion inducement spell caused it to prepare to jump off the wall. antony excitedly prepared hashansha¡¯s acceleration, another 3rd-circle magic! all it did was allow the caster to charge in quickly, but it was enough against a rock chameleon.


    ¡®i¡¯m going to showcase my skills and kill this monster!¡¯


    the newcomer would then be amazed and let him handle the monsters in the future!


    -hashansha¡¯s...


    swish!


    ¡°?¡± antony blinked repeatedly.


    a flash appeared, and the rock chameleon he had found collapsed. choi yeonseung had thrust forward the sword of goujian, which he had received from hwang gyeongryong. sword energy then extended from it and pierced the chameleon¡¯s heart.


    ¡®the sword stretches out well.¡¯


    they could bring their usual weapons with them to the otherworld. he preferred fighting unarmed, but he didn¡¯t mind using weapons in situations where his stats were restrained.


    ¡®this is interesting, and...¡¯l--b1n.


    he would sometimes pick up and use other beings¡¯ weapons in the abyss, but he had never really used them in earnest like this. he held his sword and infused internal energy in it. he then thrust it forward, creating sharp sword energy.


    sword energy was a powerful weapon that only a martial arts master could make. it was weaker than concentrated sword energy, but it was still sharp enough to break through the defenses of various monsters. above all, it consumed less internal energy compared to concentrated sword energy.


    [the skill, ¡®three flowers gathering¡¯...]


    [the skill, ¡®state of perfection¡¯...]


    [the skill, ¡®heavenly martial physique¡¯...]


    [......]


    choi yeonseung had limited his internal energy to the peak-class stage, but his level of enlightenment and his martial arts were still the same. at the current level of choi yeonseung¡¯s martial arts, he could maintain sword energy even while sleeping.


    ¡®i should be able to go faster with this sword.¡¯


    ¡°m-m-m...¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    antony stuttered, puzzling choi yeonseung.


    ¡°that was mine! i was the one who found that monster!¡±


    ¡°haha. thank you.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t want you to thank me! i was the one who should¡¯ve killed it!¡± antony shouted as he stomped around.


    ¡°antony. think carefully.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°dungeons don¡¯t just have a monster or two. depending on the dungeon, there could be dozens or even hundreds of them.¡±


    ¡°... that¡¯s right...¡±


    ¡°you can¡¯t kill that many, can you?¡±


    ¡°umm. that¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t you the ace? shouldn¡¯t you let others kill these weak monsters and fight when the really strong monsters emerge, then?¡±


    ¡°... y-yes?¡±


    that reasoning was perfectly logical! choi yeonseung had persuaded antony. until now, he had always been obsessed with killing monsters. however, now that he had thought about it, killing every single low-level monster wasn¡¯t that great(although the chameleon wasn¡¯t a low-level monster). killing a boss monster or something equally powerful was far more important.


    ¡°will you let me kill any strong monsters that come out, then?¡±


    ¡°yes, but...¡±


    scouting ace hunters wasn¡¯t an easy task. they lived like rulers in their clans, and there were few who would accept being selected, trained, and made to compete with other hunters. the clan¡¯s scouts worked hard to get antony, but it was worth it. he was currently considered the b-grade hunter most likely to reach a-grade.


    ¡°he¡¯s too uncooperative. team play goes out the window every time schneider is involved.¡±


    ¡°putting in a slightly weaker hunter could yield greater results.¡±


    all the analysts had unanimous opinions. antony was clearly an outstanding all-around hunter. however, there was a problem with his self-centered personality. it made him think he was the best! hunters were basically arrogant and confident, but antony¡¯s case was a bit too much. there were times when he had to step back and play as a team, but if he didn¡¯t feel good about it, he would fight against the monsters until the end. this behavior could put the entire team in danger.


    ¡°besides, ernest. schneider has been growing too slowly recently. other hunters are steadily increasing their metrics, while he¡¯s...¡±


    ¡°he clearly doesn¡¯t have the heart to train properly.¡±


    the icarus clan valued both stats and ability, but the same went for potential. there was no reason to bring in talented hunters whose potential was b-grade at best. they made this investment expecting everyone to have the potential to become a-grade! in this clan that gathered only the geniuses among hunters, ambition wasn¡¯t enough to go beyond the b-grade realm.


    they also had to have other factors, such as effort, talent, and luck. no matter how great a b-grade hunter was, they wouldn¡¯t reach a-grade without effort.


    antony schneider was a hunter who lacked that. even in personal training, he¡¯d just cast magic of his liking, then proceed to relax. moreover, he focused only on himself when training with the team. it didn¡¯t come as a surprise that his skills had stopped improving.


    ¡°it won¡¯t hurt to demote him to the 2nd team and give him a shock.¡±


    ¡°no. it will backfire if he gets demoted.¡±


    ernest was cautious. no one was as difficult to deal with as hunters. each person had to be approached differently. antony¡¯s pride would be hurt if he dropped to the 2nd team, and that could result in his growth becoming stunted.


    ¡°but...¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s observe him a bit longer. if things don¡¯t change, i¡¯ll make a decision.¡±


    there wasn¡¯t much they could do about it. unless he asked for help himself, he had to emerge from this on his own. this wasn¡¯t a private school.


    ¡°...???¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s happening?¡±


    ¡°n-no. i think something¡¯s wrong...¡±


    ¡°something¡¯s wrong? which team was wiped out?¡±


    ¡°i think you better see this for yourself.¡±


    ***


    elisabeth preached once again about a hunter¡¯s mindset. a party of six should form a formation, check the front, fight if there was a monster, advance if there weren¡¯t, then check again... that was the classic dungeon raid method!


    during her preaching, antony moved quickly.


    ¡°so we should move together¡ªyou bastard!¡±


    in the next passage, i will definitely go in first and kill monsters!


    antony moved with that thought.


    however, choi yeonseung had already read through him.


    spin.


    ¡°?!¡±


    antony panicked as he was turned gently in reverse. why was he walking this way?


    ¡°i¡¯ll go ahead and drag the monsters¡¯ aggro first.¡±


    choi yeonseung smiled and ran forward. furious, antony chased after him.


    ¡°stop! stop right there! ugh! magic arrow!¡±


    a 2nd-circle magic. antony didn¡¯t immediately fire it. rather, he held onto it and maintained it. it was a feat not everyone could do. an ordinary hunter wouldn¡¯t have been able to keep it around and just fired it right away. he showcased incredible magic power control!


    even so, he couldn¡¯t keep up with choi yeonseung. while antony was casting it, choi yeonseung had already found the rock chameleon and was ready to attack. he just had to extend his sword now, and his sword energy would cut off the monster¡¯s breath!


    ¡°......?¡±


    however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t kill it.


    ¡°??¡±


    ¡°well? aren¡¯t you going to shoot?¡±


    ¡°...!!¡±


    antony was startled. his face lit up and exclaimed, ¡°haha! i¡¯m about to do that! just wait!¡±

 Chapter 56

    chapter 56


    -magic arrow!


    hit by magic arrow, the rock chameleon was flung back. magic arrows differed in strength depending on the hunter. antony¡¯s magic arrow was certainly powerful. it could even kill a rock chameleon in one hit.


    ¡°did you see that? that was my ability!¡± antony smiled.


    ¡°i did.¡±


    ¡°as expected. i knew a hunter like you would recognize my skills. you have good eyes, choi yeonseung. huhu.¡±


    ¡°yes, yes.¡±


    choi yeonseung swung his sword as he spoke, then executed bullet sword energy. the technique fired out sword energy and knocked down two rock chameleons. if martial artists had seen it and realized how great this simple move was, they would¡¯ve shed tears.


    however, the people here didn¡¯t know how famous that technique was. only antony could vaguely guess its strength!


    ¡®... this man is really amazing!¡¯


    putting aside his confidence in himself, antony could also discern how good his opponent was. if it were just a coincidence, it would¡¯ve only happened once or twice. however, this person kept getting ahead of him, which was impossible without skills! however, he had another matter to nitpick over.


    ¡°weren¡¯t you going to let me kill it?!¡±


    ¡°i never said i would.¡±


    ¡°n-no. didn¡¯t you acknowledge my skills and yield the monster to me?¡±


    ¡°i gave way because i felt sorry for you.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    antony blinked, then laughed. ¡°haha. it seems i didn¡¯t hear you correctly. an auditory hallucination...¡±


    ¡°i yielded to you because you cried out so pathetically.¡±


    ¡°when did i do that?¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t you beg me to stop?¡±


    ¡°i never did that!¡±


    smallwood, who arrived a little later, heard antony¡¯s denial and muttered, ¡°you cried out, friend.¡±


    ¡°i didn¡¯t cry out. i would never do that!¡±


    ¡°well, if you say so.¡±


    choi yeonseung waved his hand, seemingly annoyed. this attitude made antony even angrier.


    ¡°choi yeonseung. i admit you¡¯re amazing, but compared to me, you¡¯re still lacking,¡± antony said with a serious expression.


    ¡°you should just watch me for now. it¡¯ll be helpful in honing yourself in the future...¡±


    choi yeonseung ignored him and talked to smallwood.


    ¡°there seem to be only rock chameleons here. should we break through quickly?¡±


    ¡°that wouldn¡¯t be bad, friend. rock chameleons aren¡¯t that tricky as long as you have a way to deal with them. whittaker also has detoxifying magic.¡±


    ¡°he does? he¡¯s surprisingly useful, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°he is, friend.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m speaking here! listen up!¡± antony banged on his chest in anger.


    elisabeth had forgotten she was angry with choi yeonseung and admired him instead.


    ¡®he turned that guy around! amazing!¡¯


    this was the first time she had ever seen a hunter who could handle antony like this. hunters who could deal with antony were divided into two types: those who learned and gave up their positions and those who managed to hold back and deal with him somehow. elisabeth was the latter. she always tried to persuade antony somehow, but that didn¡¯t always work on him.


    however, now antony was at a loss! the sight was enough to make elisabeth feel better.


    ¡°what are you so dissatisfied about? the one who attacks it first gets the kill.¡±


    ¡°then you¡¯ll unconditionally kill them all¡ª¡±


    antony hesitated. that was an admission of defeat!


    ¡°did you just say i¡¯ll kill them all?¡±


    ¡°n-no. doing this means competing against you, so i¡¯ll make concessions instead¡ª¡±


    ¡°haha. i don¡¯t need it.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll give way! take the concession!¡±


    ¡°no. it¡¯s okay.¡±


    antony groaned at choi yeonseung¡¯s attitude.


    ¡°... h-how about a compromise?¡±


    while choi yeonseung kept the monsters occupied, antony was able to unleash even more powerful magic. the difference one person could make was so huge! smallwood, richard, and whittaker, who were in the reserve group, didn¡¯t even have to join the fight.


    ¡®i never imagined a raid could be so stable with this formation!¡¯


    the performance choi yeonseung showed made it seem strange for martial artists to be ignored! even if they couldn¡¯t kill the monsters in a single blow, any skilled hunter would feel they had achieved something here.


    antony smiled as if he felt it too.


    ¡°as expected, choi yeonseung also thought it would be better to leave the middle to me!¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯m glad you¡¯re having an easy time, at least,¡± elisabeth murmured in disbelief. how could he speak like that in this situation?


    the group swept away the monsters, came out of the narrow passage, and entered an empty space.


    ¡°let¡¯s take a break. we need to recover our magic power.¡±


    ¡°okay, friend. whittaker and i will serve as sentries¡ª¡±


    smallwood stopped abruptly when choi yeonseung reached out.


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°there are enemies everywhere! prepare for battle!¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    ¡°nonsense...¡±


    the empty space was connected to several paths, but they were so narrow and dark that it was difficult to see inside them. it wasn¡¯t like dozens of people were walking around and attracting aggro, yet he claimed there were monsters coming from all directions. such a situation was rare.


    what did the monsters see and discover? unable to make sense of what he was saying, everyone hesitated. antony was the first to react.


    ¡°move! the enemies are coming!¡±


    ¡°?!¡±


    the most disobedient person being the first to trust choi yeonseung¡¯s words and move accordingly surprised them.


    no, what is this? he listens to him.


    despite what was happening around him, antony looked at choi yeonseung.


    ¡°look!¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s time i show you my skills!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung was speechless. it was nice not to panic or feel doubts in this situation, but...


    ¡®seriously, what is up with this man?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was at a loss for words, which antony seemingly misunderstood.


    ¡®my superior abilities probably overwhelmed him.¡¯


    ¡°you¡¯re not as amazing as i am, but you¡¯re also great, choi yeonseung¡ªkuaack!¡±


    antony dodged to the side with a groan.


    ¡°!¡±


    a boulder passed by where antony¡¯s head had just been. it packed so much force it was as if it had been hurled by a catapult!


    choi yeonseung was slightly impressed.


    ¡®managing to avoid that is impressive.¡¯


    ¡°what?!¡± elisabeth exclaimed in surprise. monsters hadn¡¯t even appeared yet, so where did that attack come from?


    ¡°this dungeon is a bit tricky.¡±


    choi yeonseung kicked the flying rock with his foot.


    [the skill, ¡®covert attack reversal¡¯...]


    [......]


    the rock that flew with great force changed directions and returned the way it came.


    ¡°do you know where they¡¯re attacking from?!¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at elisabeth as if asking what she was talking about.


    ¡°don¡¯t you know what rock gargoyles are?¡±


    ¡°is there such a thing? wait. let''s talk about this later. countermeasures! give me instructions!¡±


    choi yeonseung, who was about to tell them what happened in the abyss, nodded in response.

 Chapter 57

    chapter 57


    rock gargoyles were winged demons stronger than rock chameleons. it possessed strong pain tolerance, immense offensive power, and a camouflage ability that allowed it to blend into rocks. it didn¡¯t have the rock chameleons¡¯ poison, but its claws could easily cut off limbs.


    moreover, they were extremely sturdy. compared to the rock chameleons, which bullets could pierce, their defense was unparalleled! they had to use magic with great penetrative power to get through it.


    ¡°... that¡¯s about it.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s both amazing and surprising, but can you give us some instructions?! what should we do?¡±


    elisabeth stiffened with tension as she looked around. she had no idea when and where the attacks would come from. she didn¡¯t even know what their opponents were. the other hunters appeared nervous to be up against a monster they had only ever seen now.


    ¡°don¡¯t worry. they¡¯re cowards and are quick to run away. they¡¯ve already left.¡±


    choi yeonseung had kicked the rock to intimidate the gargoyles into retreating. a strong enough attack would frighten them, making them slip back into the rock wall and run away.


    ¡°really?¡±


    ¡°if you don¡¯t believe me, check it with magic.¡±


    ¡°... no. i believe you. we¡¯re on the same team, and i have to save my magic power.¡±


    she¡¯d consume huge amounts of magic power if she had to keep checking their surroundings. elisabeth wasn¡¯t so stupid that she¡¯d doubt her teammates. wasn¡¯t trusting one¡¯s teammates the most basic foundation of all?


    ***


    ¡°what...?¡±


    the analysts watching the situation were all taken aback. antony was the type of person who would rather choose death than cooperate with others during a raid. what he was doing was a bit different from cooperation, but having him play as part of the team was an improvement in itself.


    ¡°that¡¯s amazing. what is up with that man? to be able to deal with schneider...¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s an abyss returnee, isn¡¯t he? is it because of accumulated experience?¡±


    since they knew what antony was like, the analysts couldn¡¯t help but admire choi yeonseung. among the hunters who had done raids with antony so far, some were stronger than antony, while some were weaker. however, choi yeonseung was the first hunter to treat antony like this. ernest didn¡¯t express it out loud, but he was amazed as well.


    ¡®he has the qualities of a leader.¡¯


    being strong alone didn¡¯t mean one was fit to become a team leader. the leader of a raid team had to have multiple abilities. aside from individual strength, they also had to be capable of leading and handling each hunter in the team! like a seasoned hunter skillfully controlling a hound, choi yeonseung treated antony calmly without even blinking.


    ernest began to like choi yeonseung, who was his favorite type of hunter, more and more.


    ¡®the chairman was right...¡¯


    he finally believed what hwang gyeongryong told him in a call. hwang gyeongryong and ernest were old hunters who preferred raiding dungeons over participating in sports. instead of broadcasting, they would manage their schedule and immerse themselves in training for the next dungeon raid!


    however, it was difficult to find similar people these days. hwang gyeongryong was fully aware of that, too. hence, he didn¡¯t bother asking ernest to find like-minded hunters. he had regrets about that decision deep down, though. ernest felt the same.


    in the midst of this, a hunter of that exact type appeared! hwang gyeongryong wasn¡¯t trying to take care of this hunter just because he was old friends with him. rather, hwang gyeongryong was clearly expecting something more from him. hwang gyeongryong was an s-grade hunter, but even he needed companions.


    ¡®his being a martial artist is a pity.¡¯ ernest thought.


    choi yeonseung was obviously a great martial artist. he was one of the best even ernest, who had come across quite a few martial artists, had ever seen. but...


    the limits of martial arts were too clear, and that only became even more obvious the higher they went.??v€l?1n.


    ¡°ernest. antony¡¯s team is quickly moving inward.¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t they too fast?¡±


    if gargoyles popped out from all sides and attacked, at least two or three people would die here! however, what happened next broke their expectations.


    -there are enemies everywhere! prepare for battle!


    ¡°?!?!¡±


    ¡°what???¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s reaction surprised the analysts.


    ¡°how did he know? did he use detection magic?¡±


    ¡°it would be difficult to notice the gargoyles even with intermediate health detection...¡±


    ¡°does he have an artifact?¡±


    ¡°no. the sword is the only thing choi yeonseung has with him. i¡¯ve never heard of it having any detection features.¡±


    ¡°are martial artists capable of such things, ernest?¡±


    ernest shook his head at the question. the sharp senses of a martial artist transcended imagination, but detecting the gargoyles approaching from the rock wall was on a different dimension. the moment choi yeonseung responded to the gargoyles¡¯ attack, the monsters panicked. frightened, they ran away. they immediately escaped the moment their opponent seemed stronger than expected.


    ¡°they... stopped it.¡±


    ¡°my god. they got through that?¡±


    the analysts muttered in surprise.


    ¡°he seems to know what gargoyles are.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t think information about them has leaked out. did he come across them in the abyss?¡±


    ¡°i think so. considering he displayed such a skilled response, he¡¯s likely aware of their existence.¡±


    ¡°i thought it would take him some time to adjust after being in the abyss for so long...¡±


    the public often said mistakes like, ¡®woah, you returned from the abyss alive? aren¡¯t you more amazing than the hunters who do dungeon raids, then?¡¯


    hunters had a hard time holding out for one or two weeks in a dungeon while abyss returnees survived for far longer in the abyss! if so, then abyss returnees had to have really good skills!


    ... but that was an illusion.


    the abyss returnees were only able to survive because they were ¡®lucky.¡¯ they, fortunately, fell into a place with no monsters. they then lived desperately avoiding being discovered by one until they finally returned to earth! there was no case where they beat up everyone they encountered like choi yeonseung. otherwise, they would¡¯ve died a long time ago.


    knowing this, hunters didn¡¯t tell abyss returnees, ¡®wow, you¡¯re really powerful!¡¯ rather, ¡®wow, you¡¯re lucky,¡¯ or ¡®you probably went through so much,¡¯ was their common response! moreover, it was only natural for abyss returnees to have trouble adapting immediately. before they could escape the abyss, they had to keep hiding from dangerous monsters. they were fortunate they didn¡¯t go crazy.


    the analysts thought so as well. however, watching choi yeonseung caused those thoughts to crumble. his combat senses rose with the crisis. though one¡¯s combat senses would become dull if one rested for a few months after a raid, choi yeonseung moved like he never stopped raiding at all. it was as if he had been fighting fiercely until recently. moreover, he seemed like a seasoned veteran in dealing with the rock gargoyles. the only explanation was that he had dealt with them in the abyss.


    ¡®did he spend his time in the abyss fighting monsters? fighting them once or twice wouldn¡¯t be enough to justify that.¡¯


    ¡®this is ridiculous. if you want to survive in the abyss, you have to avoid combat, not participate in one.¡¯


    ¡®still, this is making me think he actually fought in there.¡¯


    there was no other way to explain the current situation!


    the analysts became really curious about what choi yeonseung had been doing in the abyss! what was it...?!

 Chapter 58

    chapter 58


    the unsolved problem kept making their curiosity grow. the analysts continued their heated discussions, forgetting their mission to observe other hunters.


    ¡°how many years has choi yeonseung been missing in the abyss?¡±


    ¡°thirty years.¡±


    ¡°thirty years... that¡¯s long, but time flows differently in the abyss.¡±


    one second or ten thousand years in the abyss could be 30 years on earth. the abyss was a space of chaos in a completely different dimension. in addition, those sucked into it couldn¡¯t exactly remember how long they had been in there. by the time they had spent a few days in the abyss, they¡¯d already lost their sense of time! in many cases, they couldn¡¯t even remember their name.


    ¡°he seems to be in good shape. maybe he¡¯s only been lost in the abyss for a day or two?¡±


    ¡°but hasn¡¯t it been thirty years? isn¡¯t that too big a difference?¡±


    ¡°it isn¡¯t impossible in the abyss. it is true that the shorter they stay in there, the better their condition when they return.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re not wrong. there¡¯s even a returnee who had been missing for twelve years yet thought he had only been in the abyss for four days.¡±


    ¡°ah. there was that case.¡±


    that person hid and cried in the abyss for around four days, then he was swept into a dungeon and returned to earth twelve years later! they couldn¡¯t confirm if he had really only spent four days in the abyss, but it was certainly possible.


    ¡°i think choi yeonseung has been wandering for a year in abyss time. it likely wasn¡¯t too different from earth time.¡±


    ¡°kuhaha! that is a bit too much.¡±


    ¡°if he were in there for that long, he¡¯d be dead by now.¡±


    ¡°he would¡¯ve already gone crazy.¡±


    when their conversation dragged out for quite a while, ernest gave them a reminder.


    ¡°i know you¡¯re curious, but everyone should be focused.¡±


    ¡°yes. i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    the analysts shifted their attention back to the mission.


    ernest was also lost in thought, though. how long had choi yeonseung been in the abyss? he had been in raids before he disappeared into the abyss, which could explain why his combat senses hadn¡¯t dulled up yet. a day or two in the abyss wouldn¡¯t be enough to weaken that.


    however, would such a short period be enough to come across rock gargoyles and figure out how to deal with them? for some reason, it felt like choi yeonseung had been in the abyss for quite a long time.


    ¡®maybe he¡¯s been there for over a year in abyss time.¡¯


    ***


    ¡°i think it was a trap.¡±


    ¡°a trap? don¡¯t tell me...¡±


    smallwood was taken aback. not all monsters were stupid, but few could dig out traps and wait for prey to stumble upon them. most monsters acted according to their primal instincts!


    ¡°they came too soon. they were aiming for this.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true.¡±


    antony agreed from the side. smallwood looked at antony with a strange expression.


    ¡®did he really eat something wrong?¡¯


    didn¡¯t he refuse to cooperate before? now he was agreeing with choi yeonseung...


    maybe antony had been replaced by a monster in disguise?


    slap!


    ¡°... what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°ah. sorry, friend. i thought you were a monster in disguise for a moment.¡± smallwood bowed and apologized after casually slapping antony on the cheek. he truly thought antony had been replaced by a monster.


    antony gasped heavily. ¡°of course it¡¯s a trap. think about it carefully.¡±


    ¡°hmm?¡±


    ¡°how else could they have deceived my eyes and launched a surprise attack?¡±


    ¡°... whoa. you¡¯re right, friend.¡±


    smallwood was almost carried away by antony¡¯s words, which dumbfounded him. he barely caught himself. meanwhile, choi yeonseung was lost in thought.


    ¡®they might attack again.¡¯


    in the abyss, monsters would never return once they had escaped. and choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t have let them escape in the first place. on the other hand, there was nowhere to run inside a dungeon. hence, monsters behaved differently here than in the abyss. they¡¯d attack the intruders to the end even if they were at a disadvantage!


    ¡°i guess not. it works well in other dungeons...¡±


    elisabeth smacked her lips together as if she knew. even with advanced technology, it was still difficult to keep up with magic. monsters capable of traveling through rocks were hard to detect with something like this.


    ¡°it¡¯s better than nothing, though.¡±


    one-touch tents and a drone guard. those were the basics of camping during raids. in addition, most of the raid process was recorded with a small camera. every piece of information was valuable. it was too cutting-edge for choi yeonseung!


    once the preparations were complete, whittaker reached out and cast a spell.


    -ignas¡¯ approach detection magic.


    it was a barrier-type spell that sensed any approaching life energy much more precisely than the drone! though only 2nd-circle, it was rare and very popular due to its overwhelming convenience.


    whittaker shrugged after using the magic. ¡°aren¡¯t i very useful?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re already boasting after using magic once? are you antony?¡±


    ¡°... what do you mean?¡± antony asked with a stiff expression from the side, but elisabeth ignored him.


    whittaker said, ¡°aish. there is no talent like me. how many hunters have magic like mine? think about it carefully. i can heal, buff, and set alarms during camping. in a non-combat situation, i¡¯m unparalleled.¡±


    everyone grumbled at whittaker¡¯s self-praise, but he wasn¡¯t wrong. whittaker was definitely a useful hunter, even if his combat capabilities were a bit low.


    ... his personality was unfortunate like antony, but in a different manner!


    ¡°i¡¯ll still appoint sentries even if you say that, whittaker. the sentries will be the three of you.¡±


    smallwood, whittaker, and richard. these three didn¡¯t use magic during today¡¯s combat situation, allowing them to save up their magic power. during raids, only some of the members used magic at once. if possible, they divided themselves into groups, allowing some to rest while the others used magic.


    for magicians, magic power was like bullets. they had a limited amount of it! they would replenish it if they rested, but this didn¡¯t mean they could recklessly waste it. therefore, it was only natural for the trio with relatively good magic power to stand guard.


    ¡°wow. what do you people see me as? i have no intention of shirking this responsibility.¡±


    ¡°what do we see you as? money-crazed?¡±


    ¡°someone who only cares about money?¡±


    ¡°trash?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re all talking too much! you agree with me, right?¡± whittaker directed his question toward choi yeonseung, puzzling the latter.


    ¡°aren¡¯t you upset?¡±


    ¡°upset? with whom?¡±


    ¡°i thought you were upset because i turned down your offer.¡±


    ¡°no! what do you see me as?¡±


    whittaker jumped up and repeated the same question as before.


    ¡°money-crazed.¡±


    ¡°someone who only cares about money.¡±


    ¡°trash.¡±


    ¡°ignore them. they¡¯re bad people who scold their colleagues.¡±


    whittaker didn¡¯t budge at all. he was mentally strong like antony, though in a different way.


    ¡°do i look like someone who would get upset over something like that?¡±


    ¡°um. yes.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s reply made whittaker speechless for a moment. choi yeonseung, who spoke so calmly to him, was also really amazing. he was quite unique!


    ¡°i... i don¡¯t do that!¡±


    ¡°really?¡±


    ¡°of course! there seems to be a misunderstanding. as a healer in dungeons, i try as hard as possible.¡±


    as whittaker pretended to be close to choi yeonseung, elisabeth asked smallwood a question. ¡°why do you think he¡¯s doing this?¡±


    ¡°maybe he realized the value of that friend during today¡¯s hunt.¡±


    ¡°maybe...¡± elisabeth agreed.


    whittaker was trash who only cared about money, but he definitely had discerning eyes. with his senses, he would¡¯ve been able to determine who played the biggest part in today¡¯s raid. it wasn¡¯t antony, who unleashed flashy and powerful magic, or elisabeth, who deflected the monsters¡¯ attack with a single blow.


    it was choi yeonseung, who led the team from the front lines.

 Chapter 59

    chapter 59


    choi yeonseung perfectly detected the monsters from the front. in combat, he tanked and dragged their enemies¡¯ aggro. moreover, he did all of that alone and without taking shifts. it wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say that he did a few people¡¯s share alone. he would be welcomed by any clan or team despite being a martial artist!


    ¡®even if his firepower is a bit lacking...¡¯


    the higher the rating, the less powerful martial artists were. magic rapidly increased in firepower the higher the magic circle. meanwhile, martial artists could at most cut with sword energy. they¡¯d likely be able to deal with small or medium monsters, but they¡¯d find it extremely difficult to deal with large monsters. they wouldn¡¯t be able to deal with a huge golem if it came toward them, considering cutting off some parts of it wouldn¡¯t be enough to overcome it.


    ¡®... he''s likely a first-class martial artist.¡¯


    however, choi yeonseung was still qualified to join a top team despite lacking firepower. if elisabeth was the team leader, she definitely would¡¯ve scouted a hunter like choi yeonseung and put him on the team. having him made the entire team whole! he didn¡¯t need to have strong skills. other people could do that.


    however, there was something elisabeth didn¡¯t know: martial artists had concentrated energy arts that allowed them to use concentrated energy, which was even stronger than sword energy. moreover, choi yeonseung used to hunt huge monsters in the abyss with his sword energy alone!


    ***


    whittaker was an excellent hunter. he acquired goodwill by finding out what the other person wanted and fulfilling it. smallwood fell for his kindness when whittaker brought him subtitled foreign martial arts movies such as ¡®arahan.¡¯ whittaker then blocked him on facebook, which deeply angered him!


    -knowing your opponent is fundamental when hunting.


    having confirmed that choi yeonseung was a jewel, whittaker asked him a series of questions to figure out what he wanted.


    ¡°tell me what you like.¡±


    ¡°talking about it is a bit embarrassing...¡±


    ¡°hahaha! feel free to tell me anything. it doesn¡¯t matter if it¡¯s a nasty or lewd hobby. i¡¯d understand. well? what do you like?¡±


    ¡°bench presses.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    whittaker was speechless. was this person joking?


    ¡°b-bench presses?¡±


    ¡°yes. huhu. everyone looks at me strangely when i say this. you wouldn¡¯t do that, would you?¡±


    ¡°o-of course not!¡±


    whittaker controlled his expression as best as he could. he had dealt with many hunters so far. he couldn¡¯t be shaken!


    ¡°what else...?¡±


    ¡°hmm... side lateral raises?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡®something like that...¡¯


    whittaker wondered if choi yeonseung was making fun of him, but choi yeonseung looked serious.


    ¡®wow. i heard there are many workaholics among asians, but...¡¯


    whittaker came to a realization. choi yeonseung truly had no greed! there were very few people like him, but there had been hunters who weren¡¯t interested in money or honor. they were just obsessed with killing monsters. like priests and monks, they had no desires!


    whittaker didn¡¯t know how to approach a type he had only heard about.


    ¡®bah. i¡¯ll find a way.¡¯


    if they weren¡¯t greedy, then sympathizing with their hobbies or words should be enough.


    ¡°bench press is a good workout. would you like to join me?¡±


    ¡°what? you refused when i asked you to work out,¡± elisabeth interjected, seemingly dumbfounded. ¡°who was the one who said, ¡®i don¡¯t need it because i won¡¯t fight in front of you?¡¯¡±


    nevertheless, whittaker remained brazen.


    ¡°that¡¯s all in the past. it¡¯s different now.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    whittaker panicked when choi yeonseung suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder. why was he acting like this?


    ¡°well...¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    ¡°well said!¡±


    ¡°h-huh?¡±


    ¡°i want to train with you. training with someone is better than training alone.¡±


    ¡°oh...¡±


    smallwood was flustered. every now and then, there¡¯d be hunters that thought, ¡®i¡¯ll try cooking the dungeon food again!¡¯ of course, it usually had disastrous results! moreover, he couldn¡¯t trust choi yeonseung in this regard at all now that he knew what his taste palate was like.


    ¡°i won¡¯t touch the dungeon food. i¡¯ll cook with what i killed.¡±


    ¡°... with what you killed?¡±


    ¡°the rock chameleons.¡±


    ¡°......?!¡±


    the hunters were astonished. eating monsters? it wasn¡¯t like that had never been tried before.


    among the monsters, there were a few that were famous for being ¡®delicacies.¡¯ one of them was minotaurs. upon encountering one in a dungeon, hunters would even throw away cores just to get its meat. many rich gourmets all over the world wanted to eat it, but they were rare. hence, a gram of its meat would easily exceed thousands of dollars if auctioned off.


    however, that was an exceptional case! most monsters weren¡¯t edible. hunters who occasionally tried some out of curiosity shuddered at the terrible taste. to top it all off, some were even poisoned. hunters only ever ate monsters in dungeons when driven to a corner and when they¡¯d die of starvation if they didn¡¯t eat anything.


    richard parker frowned. he remembered the time when ghouls had trapped him in a basement. back then, he briefly wondered if he should eat ghouls but immediately rejected the idea. he didn¡¯t want to eat undead monsters. now this man planned to eat a monster?


    ¡°i don¡¯t want to!¡±


    ¡°friend, i don¡¯t think this is right.¡±


    ¡°... i don¡¯t agree with this.¡±


    even antony refused!


    choi yeonseung was slightly hurt. ¡°monsters are delicious if cooked properly.¡±


    ¡°friend. i heard those exact words from an english friend, so i entrusted cooking a monster to him. do you know what happened? it became trash!¡±


    smallwood gritted his teeth, which made it seem like he was suffering from severe trauma. choi yeonseung decided to persuade them through actions instead of words.


    ¡°alright. let me show you.¡±


    ¡°no, it¡¯s fine...¡±


    ¡°do you really have to?¡±


    choi yeonseung ignored the words of his teammates and took out his equipment. everyone was dumbfounded when they saw the adamantium frying pan come out of the space pocket necklace.


    ¡°you should put something else in your spatial inventory artifact, friend! why store something like that in there?!¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re wasting space!¡±


    they didn¡¯t know what type of frying pan choi yeonseung had. if they did, they would¡¯ve already fainted!


    the adamantium frying pan transformed into a large chinese pot.


    ¡®hmm. how should i cook the chameleon meat?¡¯


    [you have the ¡®advanced abyss cooking¡¯ skill.]


    [you have identified the monster ingredient¡¯s characteristics.]


    [¡®let¡¯s go for a simple bulgogi flavored with soy sauce...¡¯


    monster meat was tasteless only because they didn¡¯t know how to cook it properly. after killing a monster, they should let its meat age properly, remove the bad smell it had, then skillfully cook it. in doing so, they¡¯d create a tasty dish.


    the most important thing was the seasoning.


    ¡®i brought soy sauce with me, so i don¡¯t have to use the alternative seasonings i made in the abyss.¡¯


    choi yeonseung had to taste all types of ingredients in the abyss to replace earth¡¯s spices and seasonings. he no longer had to do that now that he had returned to earth, though. the first thing he did as soon as he came back was put soy sauce in his space pocket!


    choi yeonseung used a kitchen knife to skin the chameleon, wasting not even a piece of it, and cut its meat. the hunters couldn¡¯t help but be impressed by his skinning skill. his mastery over it showed brilliant results!


    choi yeonseung grabbed the well-trimmed chunk of meat, dipped it in soy sauce seasoning, and aged it with internal energy. under normal circumstances, one would have to soak it a bit and wait until it aged. however, enhancing the process with internal energy hastened it and made it more potent.


    ¡®these ungrateful people don¡¯t deserve the same amount of effort i put into the meat i served to my niece.¡¯


    the dish he served to hwang gyeongryong¡¯s daughter was as perfect as he could make it. he made sure that the seasoning had seeped into every part of it and imbued it with just the right amount of internal energy. he even tasted it several times to ensure that he had reached the perfect balance between earth seasoning and abyss meat.


    with his excellent knife skills and internal energy control, choi yeonseung could execute the so-called ¡®martial arts cooking¡¯ that no one could follow. it was almost like cheating!


    -hmm. this cut of meat is a bit tasteless. i shouldn¡¯t give this failure to aine.


    and aine would¡¯ve immediately shouted at him if she heard this.


    -don¡¯t give me such useless consideration! it¡¯s still insanely delicious even if it¡¯s a failure!


    rainbowturtle''s thoughts


    tl: small change from concentrated breathing arts to concentrated energy arts.

 Chapter 60

    chapter 60


    only choi yeonseung considered the dish a failure. aine would¡¯ve still enjoyed it. his useless consideration made her lose her chance to eat it.


    after aging the meat, choi yeonseung threw it into the chinese pot and started stir-frying it. the trick was to simmer it with a bit of water rather than cook it one by one!


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    much to the hunters¡¯ surprise, the end product looked delicious even though he used an obviously inedible main ingredient.


    ¡®huh? why did it become appetizing?¡¯


    ¡®is it because we¡¯re hungry?¡¯


    ¡°that looks so good...¡±


    ¡°calm down, friend. that¡¯s just on the surface.¡±


    ¡°so you¡¯re not going to eat?¡±


    ¡°well, i didn¡¯t say that.¡±


    smallwood changed opinions. honestly, its scent had half-shaken him. it smelled so appetizing that it stimulated his hunger!


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t done. rummaging around, he took out rice and cooked it. he could finally use earth ingredients again now that he had returned from the abyss!


    ¡°risotto? paella?¡±


    ¡°in asia, rice is a staple food.¡±


    ¡°ah. i think i saw that in a movie. they really enjoyed it.¡±


    gulp.


    the hunters around him swallowed their saliva.


    ¡°when will it be done, friend? honestly, i think the meat dish is enough on its own!¡±


    the pork bulgogi... no, the chameleon bulgogi looked so good it ignited the hunters¡¯ hunger. however, choi yeonseung remained calm.


    ¡°when did i say i would give it to you?¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°you said monsters can¡¯t be eaten. i made this to show you otherwise.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the hunters came to a realization.??v€l-b!n.


    ah...!


    so...!


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t we eat it first to determine if you¡¯re right, friend? you should give it to us in order so we can make a fair evaluation.¡±


    smallwood spoke plausibly, but choi yeonseung was stubborn.


    ¡°no. now that i¡¯ve given it some thought, i don¡¯t want to force-feed those who don¡¯t like it. i¡¯d feel bad if it doesn¡¯t taste that good.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s not what i meant, friend...¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t you say it was trash?¡±


    ¡°i was talking about the british hunter i met in the past, not your cooking!¡±


    antony had been thinking about things after listening to the conversation between them. now he raised his hand.


    ¡°wait!¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°come to think of it, highmountain was the one who said that, not me.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    smallwood was dumbfounded. this bastard!


    ¡°can i eat it, then? i haven¡¯t told you this yet, choi yeonseung, but i really appreciate your talent. you¡¯re not as good as i am, but your talent is comparable to mine. you''re an amazing cook...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the other hunters looked at antony in amazement. how could he suddenly speak so eloquently? it was as if he really wanted to eat the meat dish!


    choi yeonseung nodded. ¡°well, it won¡¯t be a waste to give it to you, then.¡±


    ¡°t-thank you!¡±


    antony hurriedly ran over and accepted the chameleon bulgogi. he hadn¡¯t tried rice before, but he felt it was more mouthwatering than a high-end restaurant¡¯s risotto or paella.


    ¡®huh. he¡¯s got a good appetite.¡¯


    seeing antony put a piece of meat in his mouth and then shove rice in it amazed choi yeonseung. his technique made him seem like he had eaten this dish multiple times! however, this was the first time antony was trying it. he was just moving out of pure instinct. antony was definitely talented... at eating.


    he¡¯d certainly be furious if he heard this, but...


    munch munch. lick lips.


    that was correct! however, the other analysts shook their heads. from their perspective, that was a bit farfetched!


    ¡°in any case, that skill is amazing... no, is it?¡±


    ¡°it can replace food rations, but i don¡¯t think it¡¯s that great.¡±


    the analysts started to think about the benefits of this monster cooking skill. it provided alternative food that gave the hunters some invigoration during the boring raid, but was it really that great?


    ¡®can¡¯t the hunters just bring more food?¡¯


    ¡®i don¡¯t think it¡¯s that useful unless they¡¯re in a really dire situation...¡¯


    the skill seemed useless unless they had lost all their food!


    ¡°everyone, other teams are coming inside.¡±


    the teams that started on the outskirts were slowly gathering in the center. unlike choi yeonseung¡¯s team, who were resting, the other teams had only just arrived in the center!


    ¡°the gargoyles are gathering...¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s see if the hunters can defend against them.¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s team managed to deter the attack. would the other teams be able to do the same?


    ***


    they couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°the sisette team was wiped out!¡±


    ¡°half of the agnes team has also been eliminated. they¡¯re retreating.¡±


    ¡°was it too difficult?¡±


    ernest¡¯s murmuring question prompted the other analysts to reply in unison.


    ¡°yes!¡±


    ¡°this is too much!¡±


    the b-grade hunters were thrown into a difficult dungeon. it was only natural for them to be annihilated. the results could¡¯ve been different if they worked together, but that wasn¡¯t possible since they were put in a competitive situation.


    ¡°i have to do this.¡±


    the analysts ignored ernest¡¯s words and entered a discussion.


    ¡°the other hunters have fallen behind. those that are still inside will suffer.¡±


    ¡°in particular, that team over there...¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s team was camping alone, close to the center. the rock gargoyles had finished knocking down the other teams and were gathering on the rock walls to surround and attack again! this assault would clearly be much more intense than before.


    ***


    richard parker couldn¡¯t stop himself from sighing.


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°?!¡±


    richard was flustered. choi yeonseung, who he thought was sleeping, suddenly spoke to him.


    ¡°w-weren¡¯t you sleeping?¡±


    ¡°with martial arts, naps are enough for me.¡± for choi yeonseung, sleep didn¡¯t mean much. in the first place, there were times when he fought for decades with no sleep in the abyss...


    choi yeonseung wondered, ¡°is there something wrong with standing watch?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s not it. just...¡±


    ¡°you were once treated like a king, but now that you¡¯re surrounded by hunters stronger than you, you feel shabby and intimidated?¡±


    ¡°?!?!?!?¡±


    richard was flustered. how did he know?


    ¡°h-how?¡±


    ¡°what do you mean? you don¡¯t think you¡¯re the only one worried about that, do you? everyone has the same concern.¡±


    it was common for hunters treated as aces to go somewhere else and feel discouraged upon meeting hunters stronger than them. choi yeonseung didn¡¯t particularly worry about this, but there were many hunters who were sensitive to such things.


    ¡°what do you think i should do?¡±


    ¡°stop thinking about these things and train.¡±


    ¡°... other than that.¡±


    ¡°what else is there to do aside from that? do you want to become stronger in an instant? there¡¯s no such method in the world.¡±


    ¡°contracting with a constellation...¡±


    ¡°training is better.¡±


    instead of signing a contract with a constellation, choi yeonseung just trained in the abyss!


    richard shook his head in irritation. ¡°it¡¯s fine. i shouldn¡¯t have asked.¡±


    ¡°if you won¡¯t consider training at all and want to find another way, you won¡¯t get good results.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve been training as well. what made you think i wasn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°you aren¡¯t talking about going out on your day off, firing a few magic spells and saying, ¡®hmm, this is enough,¡¯ are you?¡±


    richard blushed. he felt attacked.

 Chapter 61

    chapter 61


    ¡°you can¡¯t call that training.¡±


    ¡°w-what is training, then?¡±


    choi yeonseung casually replied to richard¡¯s question.


    ¡°training is knowing what you¡¯re lacking and doing everything possible to make up for it. it¡¯s usually a ¡®waste of time¡¯ to just go and fire a few shots without thinking about the magic you use.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know why you came here, but if you want to change, then you shouldn¡¯t do things the way you used to,¡± choi yeonseung said with a yawn.


    it was a casual remark, but richard was shocked. he had never heard anything like this before. richard grew up in a family that called him a genius.


    ¡°well, if you don¡¯t want to live as a hunter, then you don¡¯t have to... wait. wake the kids up.¡±


    choi yeonseung stood up as fast as lightning and drew his sword. richard was shocked. he didn¡¯t sense any monster presence.


    ¡°w-what?¡±


    ¡°ambush! get up!¡± choi yeonseung shouted. with his voice filled with internal energy, his words swiftly hit the hunters¡¯ eardrums!


    the magic-sensitive hunters woke up in fright.


    ¡°what? what is it?¡±


    ¡°how dare you try to ambush me? it won¡¯t work!¡±


    ¡°antony, stop talking nonsense and move!¡± the first one to act was elisabeth. she immediately picked up her weapon and used magic.


    -intermediate combat nerves enhancement.


    it was a must-have magic spell for close-quarters magicians. it sped up one¡¯s reaction speed and reflexes.


    ¡®why are they attacking so often?¡¯


    elisabeth cursed the dungeon¡¯s difficulty. no matter how she looked at it, the monsters¡¯ movements were different from the ones in ordinary dungeons. if they came to attack during breaks like this...


    ¡°i don¡¯t think this wave¡¯s only composed of rock gargoyles.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°a bigger one is coming.¡±


    ***


    ¡°the dungeon¡¯s boss monster is accompanying the rock gargoyles!¡±n?00v€l--?1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.


    the analysts were shocked. they had replayed this dungeon several times, but this was the first time the monsters moved like this. the boss monster normally didn¡¯t move from its territory. nobody knew what the rock gargoyles did, but they were taking the boss monster with them in surrounding choi yeonseung¡¯s team.


    they had never seen this phenomenon before!


    ¡°what is different?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know. why are the rock gargoyles doing this...?¡±


    the rock gargoyles were clever monsters. they realized during their first battle against him against choi yeonseung that beating him would be difficult. they couldn¡¯t kill him with their own power alone! hence, the rock gargoyles responded by waking the boss monster up and bringing it over.


    a rock predator! resembling an earthworm or snake, this large monster roamed through the earth. rocks were its staple diet, but this fierce monster ruthlessly ate hunters as well! in addition, it had a different size and destructive power from the rock gargoyles or rock chameleons. its rock-like skin had a defensive power that blocked a lot of magic...


    ¡®is this as far as they go?¡¯


    ¡®this training is so brutal...¡¯


    the sword energy at the tip of choi yeonseung¡¯s sword stretched out and became as thin as a thread.


    spin.


    choi yeonseung quickly circled the rock predator and fired off a series of sword energy strikes. like ice cracking, red lines started to form on the rock predator¡¯s sturdy body. sword energy tore apart the outer layer of its skin, revealing the red flesh inside.


    how did martial artists deal with an enemy bigger and stronger than him with a sword that didn¡¯t contain magic? they could use sword energy, but in the end, it really just made their sword longer. choi yeonseung displayed the answer to that question: technical skills. a skilled martial artist could stretch, wield, and fire off sword energy with technical skills.


    choi yeonseung hovered near the rock predator and fired a series of sword energy strikes that were as thin and long as possible! the soaring sword energy stretched like a soft whip and wrapped around the rock predator. it was by no means soft, however.


    this weapon had immense destructive power. in an instant, it tore apart the rock predator¡¯s skin and dug in.


    above them, sword energy continuously struck it! there was no need to use concentrated sword energy. the sword energy was like water droplets falling on and ceaselessly piercing the rocks.


    ¡°......!!!!¡±


    ¡°!!!!¡±


    aside from richard, the hunters present were all aces who had been through many raids. however, they had never seen anything like what happened today. the power to cut a boss monster with a sword!


    antony had forgotten he was preparing magic and was now looking at choi yeonseung with his mouth wide open. what he had just witnessed was so amazing he didn¡¯t feel like competing at all.


    elisabeth momentarily let go of her greatsword. that was a rookie mistake, but she couldn''t help it. choi yeonseung¡¯s sword strikes were that eye-catching.


    -kyack, kyack, kyaack!


    every time choi yeonseung ran and moved, the monster let out mournful screams. the rock predator was large enough to fill up the area, yet it couldn¡¯t do anything against him. the sword energy choi yeonseung released flew in every possible direction.


    the rock predator soon fell on its side and bled all over. dust rose up when its huge body crashed on the ground.


    choi yeonseung rushed in to stop it from breathing. powerful sword energy lingered and grew at the end of his sword, which had previously only fired pale and thin sword energy. with a flash of light, choi yeonseung boldly swung his sword and decapitated the rock predator¡¯s head!


    everyone watched as the sword energy became unbelievably long and turned into a gigantic attack. the rock predator¡¯s power to resist had long disappeared. its head rolled to the side.


    ¡°gasp, gasp, gasp...!¡±


    choi yeonseung let out the breaths he had been holding.


    restrained to the peak-class stage, his entire body ached and his breathing quickened. there was a limit to how much he could protect himself with internal energy.


    that battle showcased choi yeonseung¡¯s accumulated experience¡ªhis technical skills in stretching, wielding, twisting, and firing sword energy! having fought for hundreds of thousands of years, he learned how to do such a powerful technique.


    meanwhile, ernest grew speechless. watching all of this shocked him.


    ***


    ¡°......¡±


    in the past, li yuyuan, an a-grade hunter, was considered the best martial artist in the world. he even showed his sword energy, which overlapped with an ordinary sword. he then severed a monster¡¯s famously tough muscles in one blow using it, displaying shocking penetration power that was hard to imitate with any magic! it was later revealed to be a scam made using various spells and editing, but...


    for ernest, that image was still fresh in his mind. now, however...


    what choi yeonseung showed was a few steps above what li yuyuan had faked. he didn¡¯t just stretch out his sword energy and swing. he used all types of tricks to defeat the boss monster alone!


    ¡®chairman! this person is really...¡¯


    ernest realized that he had misunderstood what hwang gyeongryong truly meant. choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t a gemstone full of possibilities. this hunter was already complete! he could become an a-grade hunter. what hwang gyeongryong meant when he sent choi yeonseung over wasn¡¯t, ¡®raise this hunter properly. he reminds me of the old days.¡¯


    rather, he meant, ¡®test him and you''ll see just how strong he is. figure it out quickly and make a team to support him!¡¯


    the icarus clan collected aces and made them stronger. however, with such a powerful hunter in the clan, that was no longer necessary. what they had to do now was create the strongest team possible around choi yeonseung.


    ¡®how did the chairman even get this hunter...?!¡¯

 Chapter 62

    chapter 62


    the few a-grade hunters were like strategic weapons for their country. hence, it gave them all sorts of privileges and special treatment. if they wanted to migrate, the country would literally be turned upside down. they were that country¡¯s last bastion when it came to problems that couldn¡¯t be solved through ordinary means!


    that was an a-grade hunter.


    naturally, they were hard to find. most of the a-grade hunters in the united states had set up their own kingdoms and were living like kings. a-grade hunters had no reason to participate in raids, and the country also didn¡¯t like the idea that much. if one of them got hurt in a raid, there would be irreparable damage.


    nevertheless, hwang gyeongryong still wanted to somehow get a-grade hunters. hence, he gathered the aces and raised them in the icarus clan! it was just that the a-grade rating had extremely high requirements. no hunter had been able to achieve that feat yet. there were only gemstones.


    however, the hunter that hwang gyeongryong had suddenly thrown at him appeared to have strength beyond imagination!


    ernest was both delighted and dumbfounded. managing to get an a-grade hunter like this without any rumors didn¡¯t make sense, no matter how great hwang gyeongryong¡¯s abilities were...


    how did he do it?


    ¡°ernest? the dungeon has been cleared.¡±


    ¡°ah. i¡¯m sorry. i was surprised...¡±


    the dungeon was cleared when the boss monster collapsed. the hunters inside were coming out.


    ¡°isn¡¯t it better to put hunter choi yeonseung on the 1st team, ernest?¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s a martial artist, though...¡±


    ¡°why does it matter if he¡¯s a martial artist? didn¡¯t you just witness him kill the boss monster alone?¡±


    reprimands poured toward the analyst who said something wrong. it was their job to watch hunters. if they didn¡¯t feel anything after watching this, they should retire immediately.


    ¡°isn¡¯t it obvious?¡±


    ¡°ah. yes...¡±


    ¡°what we have to think about now is whether or not to restructure the 1st team around hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    rebuilding a team around one person should only be done for a really exceptional ace hunter. that person had to be overwhelmingly stronger than others to have hunters who could make the most of their abilities put around them. there wasn¡¯t such an individual in the icarus clan, so they had never formed a team that way.


    ¡°i-is he really all that much?¡±


    ernest stared at the analyst who asked the question. intimidated, the analyst flinched.


    ¡°if you have any prejudices, you better get rid of them now. you will be gone if i see it again in the future.¡±


    ernest rose from his seat.


    ¡°where are you going?¡±


    ¡°to see the chairman.¡±


    ***


    ¡°chairman!¡±


    ¡°ah. you came?¡± hwang gyeongryong greeted ernest with a welcoming expression. seeing this rigid man come in looking so agitated made it clear that he had seen choi yeonseung¡¯s skills.


    ¡°so, how was that man?¡±


    ¡°why didn¡¯t you tell me you¡¯ve recruited an a-grade hunter?¡± ernest asked in astonishment. ¡°why waste time by saying things in such a roundabout manner?¡±


    ¡°would you have believed me if i told you?¡±


    ¡°... that¡¯s true.¡±


    ernest wouldn¡¯t have believed it if hwang gyeongryong told him something like, ¡®hey! i¡¯ve found an a-grade hunter! he¡¯s my old friend and has been living in the abyss for a long time. he¡¯s a bit weird, but he¡¯s a good man!¡¯ he would¡¯ve doubted if someone had asked the chairman for a favor!


    ¡°he¡¯s unique in many ways. i thought it would be better to let you see him for yourself than have a long conversation about it.¡±


    it was a common phrase among hunters. showing something was better than explaining it a hundred times.


    ernest nodded. choi yeonseung certainly showed an intense performance.


    a martial artist?


    an abyss returnee?


    the chairman¡¯s special recommendation?


    these things didn¡¯t matter in the face of overwhelming skill. the analysts and ernest felt it instinctively. he had qualities only a-grade hunters could exude!


    ¡°won¡¯t the government complain later? they¡¯ll probably say you didn¡¯t tell them about an a-grade hunter...¡±


    countries put a lot of effort into securing b or higher-rated hunters. if it was revealed that the hunter hwang gyeongryong accepted was an a-grade hunter, the government could complain.


    -no, chairman. if you knew he was such a hunter, why didn¡¯t you tell us? how much effort have we put into recruiting talents...?


    ***


    ¡°i recognized your skills. really.¡±


    choi yeonseung and odaigon dozed off while listening to whittaker excitedly talking. whittaker strangely made people sleepy. he thought he was giving plausible conditions, but his words had no value to choi yeonseung and odaigon.


    ¡°have i told you that president prosdas himself asked me to model once, but i said it was really difficult? i had to do raids, but i couldn¡¯t refuse the request.¡±


    odaigon, who had been dozing off, interrupted him. ¡°hey.¡±


    ¡°hmm?¡±


    ¡°just drive quietly.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    whittaker¡¯s expression distorted.


    ¡®this jerk...¡¯


    he regretted bringing odaigon.


    by the time the dungeon training ended, whittaker had made up his mind.


    choi yeonseung! there had never been a hunter as powerful as him in the icarus clan. whittaker believed in his senses. if he invested properly in choi yeonseung, he¡¯d definitely profit from it later! hence, the moment the training was over, he went to choi yeonseung and used a plausible reason to talk to him.


    -oh. are you here to train?


    -i¡¯m not...


    -you¡¯re right. muscle exercises aren''t training. it¡¯s like playing since it¡¯s so much fun. shall we start with a leg press?


    -no, that¡¯s not what i meant...


    choi yeonseung grabbed whittaker and started doing a one-ton leg press. whittaker hated effort. screeching, he barely managed to do it.


    -no! gasp gasp. this isn¡¯t! gasp gasp. what i mean!


    -what? ah. i understand.


    -yes! so...


    -this guy. you should¡¯ve just told me you wanted to do deadlifts.


    -no!


    whittaker managed to convey his will to choi yeonseung.


    -you¡¯ve just returned from the abyss, so let me introduce you to this city!


    -no. i¡¯m not interested.


    -... give it a chance before you reject it! you could be! please!


    holding on tenaciously, he persuaded choi yeonseung.


    ¡®i do have to do my job as a constellation. i should take a look around.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says you made the right decision. as a constellation, you shouldn¡¯t just do deadlifts in a corner like a hermit. go around, meet people, and form a household.]


    ¡°......¡±


    the harsh words of a constellation! however, the cat constellation was right. numerous constellations were moving secretly on earth, and choi yeonseung knew little about them. he had to go around, broaden his connections, and spy on them.


    ¡°this is a city of hunters. it has everything to do with hunters.¡±


    there were buildings on the side of the road that said, ¡®magic training center for hunters,¡± and holographic billboards that showed hunters killing monsters. some of the people passing by on the road were even carrying hunter equipment. d and e-grade hunters clearly came here in search of their dreams.


    ¡°we¡¯re the aces of the icarus clan. that means we¡¯re welcome anywhere we go.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re going too fast. aren¡¯t you speeding?¡±


    ¡°ah. don¡¯t worry. we won¡¯t get tickets even if we get caught.¡±


    this city belonged to dragon industry. there was no way they¡¯d give hunters speeding tickets.


    ¡°moneymaker?¡±


    ¡°what is it? are you amazed?¡±


    ¡°no. if you don¡¯t want to die, stop spouting nonsense and slow down. you really think you won¡¯t cause an accident?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    whittaker calmly slowed down the car. a chill shot down his spine the moment choi yeonseung spoke so blandly. this was the killing intent he felt when choi yeonseung cut apart the boss monster!

 Chapter 63

    chapter 63


    choi yeonseung spoke in a disapproving manner from the back seat.


    ¡°being a hunter isn¡¯t a privilege.¡±


    ¡°it is. what are you talking about? we¡¯re modern-day nobles.¡±


    ¡°master. can i hit him?¡±


    ¡°leave it. someone will eventually beat him up if he keeps this up.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    whittaker was speechless. they were so blunt...


    ¡®wait. master?¡¯


    he didn¡¯t quite understand why odaigon called choi yeonseung his master. even so, whittaker didn¡¯t bother asking. after all, people had diverse tastes.


    ¡°so, moneymaker. when will we arrive at this exciting place?¡±


    ¡°first... to the club...¡±


    ¡°are you planning on going to the club and telling them you¡¯re a hunter to get special treatment?¡±


    ¡°can¡¯t i do that?¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s do something else.¡±


    ¡°i know a producer. if you want to appear on a show...¡±


    ¡°pass.¡±


    whittaker¡¯s mind spun at choi yeonseung¡¯s attitude, which was becoming increasingly crooked. where should he take a man who was only interested in raids?


    ¡°... ah. how about chinatown?¡±


    ¡°chinatown? what¡¯s in there?¡±


    ¡°a black market.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    the great invasion put the whole world in turmoil, so the evil god constellations invaded the countries that were still standing. in this chaotic time, people rushed off to other countries! under such circumstances, other factions naturally grew¡ªcriminal organizations included.


    from the mafia to other syndicates, the power of those previously powerless enormously developed amid the chaos. they earned huge amounts of money every time they successfully smuggled various items, including dungeon monster materials. dungeons were trees that gave money not only to hunters but to them as well.


    during that process, chinatown¡¯s black market was created by a large number of chinese hunters that came over after the great invasion!


    ¡°the black market¡¯s left alone?¡±


    whittaker grinned at choi yeonseung¡¯s question. he finally got his interest!


    ¡°the government doesn¡¯t mind it as long as it doesn¡¯t leak overseas. all organizations that do business in the black market are law-abiding.¡±


    ¡°doesn¡¯t dragon industry rule this city? can¡¯t they manage this?¡±


    ¡°dragon industry can¡¯t beat everyone just by controlling them. they also operate beyond the city and are very careful.¡±


    despite being handled by a criminal organization, the black market was a legitimate business that had ventured into various raid-related industries on the surface. behind the scenes, they secretly bought dungeon items and conducted shady dealings. they also offered various bribes to politicians, businesses, and other big clans...


    ¡°we benefit from the black market as well since we can easily get suspicious items from it.¡±


    hunters couldn¡¯t take all the items they had brought out of a dungeon. the government had to check them first. if deemed dangerous or suspicious, the item would get banned. however, humanity¡¯s greed knew no bounds! countless people wanted such items.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it will probably be overflowing with evil god constellations¡¯ followers.]


    ¡®i was thinking the same thing.¡¯


    where desires overflowed, there would be evil god constellations. they would drool over such prey!


    ¡®that being said, i¡¯m not sure if buying something here would anger gyeongryong hyung.¡¯


    considering his personality, it didn¡¯t seem like he would like it that much.


    ***


    the black market was surprisingly lively. it had stalls on the roadside and merchants of various nationalities talking with excitement.


    ¡°hey, young man. are you a hunter by any chance? if so, then this product is the best for people like you!¡±


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    looking at choi yeonseung, the old merchant grinned while pointing at a piece of meat.


    ¡°you expect me to give a direct answer to that? don¡¯t be tactless. i guarantee this meat is good for magic power and energy. it starts with ¡®k¡¯ and ends in ¡®ken¡¯.¡±


    ¡°a kraken?¡±??v€l?1n.


    ¡°that¡¯s not the problem here!¡±


    considering how much a b-grade hunter earned, there was no way he couldn¡¯t afford these. the ingredients here were a thousand dollars at most, which was incredibly cheap for dungeon items!


    ¡°if you really want to get to know me, then you should at least do this much.¡±


    ¡°aha. master, it¡¯s a friendship fee.¡±


    ¡°where did you learn that?¡±


    choi yeonseung chatted with odaigon while buying ingredients. whittaker found it unfair, but he silently did as choi yeonseung asked for now. he''d definitely get closer to that man!


    ***


    ¡°is that him?¡± a red-eyed hunter muttered while looking at choi yeonseung.


    the other hunters nodded.


    ¡°how dare that bastard insult our master?¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s wash away the insults with his blood!¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s wash away the insults with his blood!¡±


    these hunters had a contract with the constellation, ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood.¡¯ in most countries, signing a contract with an evil god constellation was a serious crime, but there was still a steady stream of people contracting with them.


    unlike with other constellations, they could easily and quickly gain strength from evil god constellations. such conditions were naturally tempting! being chosen by normal constellations was difficult when living their own lives. that made it hard to resist the evil god constellations¡¯ temptations when it came.


    during the great invasion a few decades ago, the evil god constellations openly fought and forced themselves in.. now, they were working behind the scenes.


    ¡°if i kill this bastard, master will give me power.¡±


    ¡°if i kill this bastard, master will give me power!¡±


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t famous yet. he played in the uhc qualifiers, but that was it. he had also entered the icarus clan and displayed his skills, but the only ones that witnessed them were its members. however, choi yeonseung¡¯s name was famous among the household members of the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood.¡¯ angered by his insults, the ¡°warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ put a bounty on choi yeonseung.


    -i command my household members! bring me that bastard¡¯s life!


    the household members had to obey the constellation¡¯s every order! while determining where choi yeonseung was, choi yeonseung suddenly appeared at the chinatown black market. in response, the constellation¡¯s household members quickly gathered.


    ***


    ¡°have you bought everything you need? can i take you to the place i know now?¡±


    ¡°yes, yes. you¡¯ve worked hard.¡±


    choi yeonseung tightly compressed the ingredients and put them in his space pocket. he then appeased whittaker. this person seemed to be on the verge of pouting. whittaker meandered down the alleyways, entered the basement of an old-fashioned building, and knocked on the door.


    ¡®oh. this magic is no joke.¡¯


    ¡°master. they used formidable magic here,¡± odaigon whispered, seemingly sensing it too. it was likely a defense mechanism against external attacks. it even had an alarm that would go off the moment an intruder entered the shield...


    ¡°uhum. uhum.¡±


    ¡°who is it?¡±


    ¡°whittaker moneymaker.¡±


    whittaker held out a decent-looking gold leaf card. the employee nodded after checking the intricate stamp pattern on it.


    ¡°i¡¯ll show you in. make sure to follow the rules.¡±


    whittaker looked at choi yeonseung and said, ¡°feel free to act as you please inside.¡±


    ¡°what are the rules?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t talk about this place outside, don¡¯t snitch if caught, don¡¯t make a fuss inside... they¡¯re essentially just basic etiquette.¡±


    choi yeonseung found it a bit ridiculous to talk about etiquette in an underground auction house, but he nodded anyway. the basement was surprisingly bright, wide, and designed for customers to enjoy themselves before the auction. it was like a luxurious casino. the three of them put on masks and headed inside. other masked people were having a good time all over the place.


    ¡°it¡¯ll be a while before the auction starts, so why don¡¯t we play some roulette while waiting? as you can probably tell, i¡¯m a roulette master. i¡¯ve never lost.¡±


    ¡®isn¡¯t this place too generous to him?¡¯


    choi yeonseung naturally became suspicious of whittaker¡¯s words, and his suspicion proved true.


    ***


    ¡°the icarus clan hunter is here.¡±


    ¡°treat him with care. don¡¯t cause him trouble for no reason.¡±


    ¡°understood.¡±


    the clan that ran the auction house was a group of hunters who immigrated from china after the great invasion. not all hunters were given preferential treatment. the chinese government demanded absolute loyalty from its hunters. those who were disloyal were harshly suppressed. hence, it wasn¡¯t surprising that the hunters they persecuted left the country amid the great invasion¡¯s chaos. moreover, despite already being in the united states, they remained extremely careful.


    the mount hua sect clan thoroughly observed their surroundings as they conducted their activities. to survive, it was only wise to take such precautions.

 Chapter 64

    chapter 64


    in order to survive in this area, they had to pay close attention to dragon industry, the force dominating it! all the clans operating in and around los angeles were wary of dragon industry. though they were in the black market, nobody would be able to stop the dragon industry if they launched a full-fledged attack.


    whittaker was a member of a clan under dragon industry. giving him money was better than causing problems. they were only giving away pennies compared to the auction house¡¯s income anyway.


    ¡°who¡¯s that hunter next to him?¡±


    ¡°he seems new. i don¡¯t have enough information about him. please wait... there. found him.¡±


    the mount hua sect clan had an incredible intelligence network. it didn¡¯t take them that long to find information about choi yeonseung, who briefly appeared in the uhc¡¯s preliminary round.


    ¡°he¡¯s a b-grade hunter that has recently passed the uhc qualifiers and made his professional debut in the league. it seems he¡¯s also joined the icarus clan.¡±


    ¡°i see. treat him with care.¡±


    ¡°uh...¡±


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s a martial artist.¡±


    ¡°a martial artist?¡±


    mount hua sect¡¯s hunters looked puzzled. before the great invasion, china had the largest number of martial artists. moreover, mount hua sect was a representative clan of martial artists! they were stubbornly persistent in martial arts even as it declined and most people switched to magic.


    -martial arts don''t lose to magic!


    they had faith in it! however, martial artists were becoming increasingly rare. even the mount hua sect¡¯s young hunters were starting to learn magic. hence, they couldn¡¯t help but be surprised when a martial artist suddenly appeared in front of them.


    ¡°should i go up to him and ask what martial art he uses...¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t be insane! what nonsense are you saying?¡±


    martial artists always communicated with each other. unlike magicians, when martial artists met, they would ask about the other¡¯s martial art and exchange enlightenment. walking on the martial art paths gave them a sense of kinship! however, that was back when meeting martial artists were common. hiding their identity wouldn¡¯t be enough to be able to have such conversations in a secret auction house.


    the mount hua sect ran this auction house under complete secrecy.


    ¡°i-i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°... it¡¯s fine. i understand how you feel,¡± the hunter said while shaking his head. to be honest, he also wanted to talk to choi yeonseung.


    what type of martial art had he learned and was it daunting to fight monsters with martial arts?


    ***


    ¡°did you see? huh?¡¯


    ¡°you play games by luck.¡±


    ¡°the game is about luck, master.¡±


    whittaker became angry at choi yeonseung and odaigon¡¯s cold words.


    ¡°you just don¡¯t know this game well! this is a high-level technique...¡±


    ¡°whatever. let¡¯s just wait for the auction. when will it start?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s about to start¡ªoh. there we go.¡±


    the moment a masked person came up to the stage before them, the people wandering around started to sit down in the front.


    ¡®a martial artist?¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is asking if you know this person.]


    -no. just because they use martial arts doesn¡¯t mean i know them.


    even though the number of martial artists had dwindled to the point where it had become impossible to find those above a certain stage, they hadn¡¯t completely disappeared. didn¡¯t choi yeonseung also learn martial arts because it was cheap and easy to learn?


    ¡®still, i¡¯m curious.¡¯


    choi yeonseung looked the other person up and down to determine his level. he could see the person was at the second-class stage even without using his vision as a constellation. a second-class stage martial artist could seem low, but he¡¯d be a c-grade at least in hunter rank. someone with that rank wouldn¡¯t simply get ignored everywhere. such a hunter was the auction house¡¯s host.


    ¡°ah, right. choi yeonseung, make sure you ask me before buying anything here.¡±


    useless monster meat and dungeon items had different prices. whittaker would have to check his bank account balance before purchasing those worth similar to a 5th-circle magic book.


    ¡°you¡¯re useless. i thought you¡¯d at least be of some use to master.¡±


    odaigon criticized whittaker. whittaker appeared to find his claim extremely unfair.


    ¡°they had faith in it! i was just trying to introduce you to this place. you¡¯re also a member of the icarus clan. you can earn a lot of money!¡±


    whittaker never saved money when investing in people, but the choi yeonseung-odaigon duo were really hard to deal with.


    ***


    the auction showed a 2nd-circle magic book and two 1st-circle magic books, which people still bought for quite a lot of money. they also put up the whitron¡¯s spear for auction. it was sold for $50,000 thanks to its aesthetic appearance even though choi yeonseung didn¡¯t find it that great.


    currently, choi yeonseung had reduced his martial art stage to the peak-class level. it would be good to have some items that were useful in non-raid situations!


    ¡°?¡±


    after some time, someone tapped choi yeonseung¡¯s shoulder from behind. a man he had never seen before was glaring at him fiercely from behind a mask.


    ¡°did you think you¡¯ll still be safe after insulting the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯?¡±


    at the same time, killing intent exploded! people looked away in fear when magic power and killing intent poured out.


    ¡°don¡¯t move!¡± the hunters of the auction house tried to come out quickly.


    looking at his opponent, choi yeonseung said, ¡°i think i¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    he was up against a c-grade hunter below level 200. he didn¡¯t even need to use the eyes of a constellation to determine that. they knew choi yeonseung was a b-grade hunter. weren¡¯t they underestimating him too much? he wasn¡¯t just a high-level hunter with no practical experience, too. on the contrary, he was the most experienced among earth¡¯s hunters!


    there was no way this type of attack would work.


    -gift of blood!


    the servant of the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ roared fiercely and cast magic that multiplied his magic power instantly. this man, who didn¡¯t even seem like a c-grade hunter, instantly surpassed a b-grade hunter!


    ¡°ah. you had a plan.¡± choi yeonseung corrected what he had just said. this much was definitely...


    ¡°get him!¡±


    ¡°get him!¡±


    one person shouted, and another responded. it seemed more there wasn¡¯t just one person out to get him.


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ is laughing at you. he mockingly tells you to try and get out alive.]


    the warrior stained with madness and blood, who appeared to be watching, mocked choi yeonseung.


    ¡®this jerk is talking trash while hiding behind his household members.¡¯


    it wasn¡¯t that hard to defeat those gathered here. even if they were both level 300, they were still mortals fighting a constellation. however, there wasn¡¯t much benefit to winning against them. choi yeonseung thought about how to mess with his opponent.


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ asserts that your fate is already over.]


    ¡°warrior stained with madness and blood. in the name of the undefeated incarnation of training, i request a constellation battle with you! i, his household member, shall take care of you.¡±


    a constellation battle!


    choi yeonseung decided to intervene in this battle where constellations competed with their household members by pretending to be his own household member! no other constellation but choi yeonseung could execute such a trick.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ wonders if it was necessary to say you¡¯re a household member!]


    the cat of lava and magma wanted to go a step further. rather than just announcing he was the undefeated incarnation of training¡¯s household member, it wanted him to deceive the other constellations by saying, ¡®i can bring someone like this into my household!¡¯


    ... it was a good method, but choi yeonseung decided to aim for the warrior stained with madness and blood directly. he had to walk big to eat big. to engage in a constellation battle, the name of ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ had to be revealed. no one paid any attention when he requested a constellation battle as the undefeated incarnation of training in the past since he didn¡¯t have anything as the undefeated incarnation of training.


    constellations wouldn¡¯t fight someone they could gain nothing from. however...


    it was a different story if they were provoked like this. due to his pride as a constellation, the warrior stained with madness and blood would have to accept it!


    ¡°why? are you scared?¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it¡¯s a good provocation.]


    ¡®are you scared?¡¯ was a provocation that always worked!


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ ignored the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training,¡¯ whom he has never heard of before.]


    ¡°i guess you are. you can send your household members, but you¡¯re afraid to face me head-on.¡±


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ says that the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ has chosen the wrong household member. due to this, you will be kicked out of the abyss!]


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ says he will accept the constellation battle if you survive!]


    [the constellations watching this are excited!]


    the auction house suddenly went dark. someone had cast magic.


    ¡°this place is sealed.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re trapped, you impertinent being.¡±


    ¡°i will feast on your blood!¡±


    the minions growled.


    choi yeonseung shook his head and declared, ¡°you¡¯re the ones trapped...¡±


    at the same time, he emitted intense pressure.


    ¡°with me.¡±

 Chapter 65

    chapter 65


    choi yeonseung¡¯s arrogance made the constellation¡¯s minions even more furious.


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ is bestowing his power to his minions!]


    [the ¡®power of madness¡¯ has been obtained!]


    [the ¡®power of blood¡¯ has been obtained!]


    it was only a small part of a constellation¡¯s power, but it was too much for the minions. sounds of bones and muscles twisting reverberated. they received so much magic power in an instant that their bodies broke to the point where they wouldn¡¯t return to normal even after the magic power had disappeared.


    ¡°you¡¯ll have to deal with me first,¡± odaigon warned as he pulled out his staff and slammed it against the ground.


    whittaker and other people had long evacuated to the stage. the constellation¡¯s minions didn¡¯t care about them, so they managed to easily escape. however, it was a bit annoying that whittaker ran away as well.


    ¡®well... their auras are too fierce.¡¯


    his opponents weren¡¯t even c-grade, yet their auras were b-grade or higher. this was the power of an evil god constellation! only evil god constellations could extract power like this without caring about their minions¡¯ lives. realizing their opponents were strong, the hunters managing the auction house flinched and couldn¡¯t just attack.


    -master. i¡¯ll handle them.


    -no. it¡¯s fine. save your skills.


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t want to display odaigon¡¯s skills. there could be a constellation battle later, so it was best to keep his abilities a secret for as long as possible! choi yeonseung drew his sword with one hand and pointed a finger at an opponent with the other. he got a lot of experience fighting opponents stronger than him in the abyss. the same went for weak opponents! their combined strength could be higher than choi yeonseung, but they were individually weaker than him.


    a powerful bullet made of internal energy shot out of choi yeonseung¡¯s finger.


    origin of the celestial finger!


    the minions hurriedly set up shields with their magic power in response, blocking his initial attack. however, choi yeonseung was just starting. against a magician, he couldn¡¯t give his opponent any leeway. he pushed forward, preventing his enemy from using magic!


    choi yeonseung kicked off from the ground and instantly disappeared. magicians would find it difficult to much his current speed.


    ¡®!!!!¡¯


    the mount hua sect hunters were stunned. he was using martial arts several times above their stage! every time martial artists bumped into each other, they were supposed to explore each other¡¯s stages. to what extent could they grasp the other¡¯s movements using footwork? could they anticipate where the other person would go?


    this was how they measured each other¡¯s level. as for choi yeonseung...


    they couldn¡¯t follow him!


    ¡°cough!¡±


    choi yeonseung drew his sword and stabbed it like lightning. the linked movement of origin of the celestial swordsmanship unfolded and the sharp sword energy pierced the opponent¡¯s heart.


    ¡°kuhuhu...¡±


    however, the pierced hunter laughed grimly and his eyes turned even redder.


    ¡°i¡¯ll take your blood!¡±


    the power to move even with his heart pierced! it was because his body was strengthened by the magic power bestowed by the constellation. red magic power gushed out of the hunter and wrapped around choi yeonseung¡¯s arm as if it was trying to hack at him.


    ¡°thank you.¡±


    ¡°?!¡±


    even so, choi yeonseung just said thanks without hesitation, frightening the minion. all of the minion¡¯s magic power suddenly started to drain away. it was caused by the star absorption method, the power that choi yeonseung had obtained from the nightmare demons!n?00v€l--?1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.


    it was an evil skill that let the user instantly absorb their opponent¡¯s magic power and internal energy upon touch. it was extremely difficult to control someone else¡¯s magic power or internal energy that wasn¡¯t their own, especially if it was bestowed by an evil god constellation.


    however, choi yeonseung was a martial artist who had already gone beyond the transcendent-class stage. he could control the wild magic power given by other constellations. choi yeonseung extended his other hand. using the magic power the warrior stained with madness and blood had given and he had just absorbed, he created and fired bullets.


    the skill he had just used was still the origin of the celestial finger, but its power was several times stronger than before.


    red bullets tore through the shields and pierced the minions.


    the minion didn¡¯t use magic. rather, it attacked in the simplest and most primitive way: gathering magic power in a single point and firing it all out! a red spear flew toward choi yeonseung with fierce momentum.


    [the skill ''covert attack reversal'' has been activated. you''ve perfectly returned the opponent''s attack!]


    choi yeonseung aimed his sword at the tip of the flying red spear. at first glance, it seemed ridiculous and reckless. the mount hua sect hunters couldn¡¯t help clenching their fists. before they knew it, their hands had become sweaty.


    ¡®please!¡¯


    they earnestly prayed that choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t die even though they didn¡¯t know him. it had been so long since they had last seen a martial arts master. if he died, it would be as heartbreaking as their own master dying.


    ¡°......!¡±


    at that moment, they bore witness to it. the red spear flew as if it was about to tear space itself apart, only for choi yeonseung to catch it with his hand in mid-air. he then flung it back to the opponent!


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ has taken a hit!]


    the red spear pierced the minion, and its magic power disappeared completely. the constellation was hit as well since he was directly controlling the minion. he had been defeated in a battle against a mortal! for constellations, that was a huge disgrace.


    all of his minions were gone, there was nothing else the warrior stained with madness and blood could do.


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ acknowledges your skills.]


    the evil god constellation spoke, but no constellations listened to him. this acknowledgment was just to protect his pride!


    the next words would soon come.


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ challenges the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ to a constellation battle!]


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ points out that choi yeonseung should be the one to participate in it. if he doesn¡¯t appear, the constellation battle is canceled.]


    as expected! the warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯s ulterior motive was clear. he was going to get rid of today¡¯s humiliation in the constellation battle! the warrior stained with madness and blood would certainly send his real household members, not such poor minions. besides, the warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯s pride had been scarred. he definitely wouldn¡¯t want a normal constellation battle. he would want a bloody constellation battle where the lives of their household members were put on the line.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says everything¡¯s going as planned.]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ worries that this is too rushed.]


    unlike the cat constellation, the manipulator constellation was worried. she wanted a more relaxed pacing where choi yeonseung would simply gain people¡¯s trust and raise his status as a constellation before engaging in combat. at the very least, it should be after he became an advanced constellation.


    -it¡¯s fine. i just have to win.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says you can pay it back.]


    however, the two constellations were confident. the manipulator of dreams and desires shook her head.


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ sighs.]


    ***


    the constellation battle was an entirely different matter. right now, he had to deal with the aftermath of the mess he made in front of so many people. fortunately, choi yeonseung had status! no one in the city would be rude to a hunter belonging to dragon industry. moreover, there were no casualties apart from the constellation¡¯s minions.


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry! we didn¡¯t handle things properly, which allowed outsiders to come in...¡±


    the hunters of the auction house stepped forward and presented themselves so lowly their heads were almost touching the ground. this difficult situation was completely unexpected. if things had become bigger and dragon industry intervened...


    ¡°no. it¡¯s fine.¡±


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t care much. they couldn¡¯t have stopped the constellation¡¯s minions in the first place.


    ¡°if you¡¯ve got nothing else to say, can i go now?¡±


    ¡°ah. about that...¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°if you don¡¯t mind, could you spare me a moment?¡±

 Chapter 66

    chapter 66


    ¡°?¡±


    whittaker hurriedly waved next to choi yeonseung, signaling not to accept the suggestion.


    -i don¡¯t know what the people running this place are up to, but don¡¯t accept it!


    hunters could get killed if ambushed at close range. while it likely wouldn¡¯t happen here in the auction house, what if choi yeonseung accepted their proposal and followed them? questionable suggestions had to be rejected.


    choi yeonseung looked at whittaker. ¡°weren¡¯t you hiding while i was fighting earlier?¡±


    ¡°w-what are you trying to say? i tried to help but couldn¡¯t because it was too crazy.¡±


    ¡°master. this bastard should just sew his mouth shut.¡±


    ¡°you didn¡¯t participate either, though?¡±


    ¡°i told him not to join in. anyway, i¡¯ll give them a bit of my time. all of you should stay out of this.¡±


    ¡°n-no... aren¡¯t you suspicious of them?¡±


    the hunters of the auction house glared at whittaker. whittaker¡¯s back was sweating.


    ¡°i mean... haha. don¡¯t misunderstand. you know what i meant, right?¡±


    ¡°you should get out.¡±


    ¡°i will.¡±


    after choi yeonseung and odaigon joined forces and scolded him, whittaker grumbled and went out.


    the hunters bowed.


    ¡°we¡¯ll guide you inside.¡±


    ***n?00v€l--?1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.


    despite the uproar, the auction house was already being cleaned up.


    ¡°it¡¯s rare to see martial artists these days. can i ask how you came to learn martial arts?¡± choi yeonseung asked the hunter next to him.


    ¡°......!¡±


    the mount hua sect hunters flinched.


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry. did i ask a tactless question?¡±


    ¡°n-no.¡±


    the hunters were surprised, but they were soon convinced. choi yeonseung¡¯s martial arts were on an entirely different level. it was easy for a master to recognize those who weren¡¯t skilled. hence, it didn¡¯t come as a surprise that he knew they practiced martial arts.


    ¡°let me answer you in their stead.¡±


    the voice came from the old man in front of them. he had white hair and was missing an arm and a leg.


    ¡®who is he? i feel like i¡¯ve seen him before.¡¯


    ¡°have you ever heard of the mount hua sect?¡±


    ¡°mount hua sect...¡±


    choi yeonseung searched through his memories.


    ¡®wasn¡¯t it one of china¡¯s famous clans thirty years ago?¡¯


    china had the largest number of martial artists. those who practiced martial arts by inheriting the old traditions easily adapted to martial arts after awakening. they created a clan named after the old traditions. clans named after the famous nine sects also came out at this time!


    ¡°ah. li yuyuan belonged to the mount hua sect.¡±


    li yuyuan used to be a famous a-grade mount hua sect hunter. the clan¡¯s signature hunter! it was all in the past now, but...


    ¡°thank you for remembering.¡±


    ¡°wait. perhaps?¡±


    the old man surprised choi yeonseung. he thought he had seen this person somewhere. could it be...?


    ¡°are you li yuyuan?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    for the first time in ages, choi yeonseung was shocked. odaigon stood beside him, puzzled. what made choi yeonseung like him so much?


    ¡°hum hum. please give me an autograph...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    -u-understood!


    ***


    ¡°?¡±


    li yuyuan¡¯s words puzzled choi yeonseung.


    ¡°why ask me?¡±


    the mount hua sect had a history, so it had to have various martial art books. it¡¯d likely also have many hunters who had learned martial arts. those were enough to guide new hunters who wanted to learn!


    ¡°you...¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°you are the strongest martial artist we know.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    those words were hard to refute!


    choi yeonseung felt sad. the only known master to reach the peak-class was a fraud. ever since then, the number of martial artists had significantly decreased. it wasn¡¯t surprising that their eyes widened when they realized that choi yeonseung was at the peak-class stage.


    ¡®sadly, i¡¯m barely at the peak-class.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was currently at the peak-class stage, which was like being in between a b+ and an a-grade hunter in terms of internal energy. he was confident that this alone was enough to subdue others, but it was a very disappointing level for him. yet they were still so in awe...


    ¡°how can i get to that level?¡± one of the mount hua sect¡¯s young hunters asked cautiously.


    ¡°did the constellation called ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ give you that power?¡±


    when one of them asked a question, the others followed suit. there was envy and curiosity in their eyes.


    ¡°silence! what do you think you¡¯re doing? i will tolerate no rudeness toward our guest!¡± li yuyuan yelled, stunning the other hunters and causing them to shut up.


    ¡°no, it¡¯s okay. they¡¯re asking questions that should be answered. how did i get to this point... thanks to my disappearance to the abyss, i had to continue practicing martial arts. i reached the peak-class stage at some point.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡°indeed...!¡±


    the young hunters nodded with bewitched expressions.


    did he develop his strength by fighting in the abyss?


    if someone else said that, they would¡¯ve replied, ¡®don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡¯ however, choi yeonseung was a naturally persuasive speaker.


    ¡°the undefeated incarnation of training isn¡¯t particularly helpful in training martial arts...¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma shouts, ¡°what are you doing?¡±]


    -?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is dumbfounded. it says that even if you''re not really his household member, you should still say things that would draw people in. at your current level, people could easily link you to martial arts.]


    the constellation himself had reached the pinnacle of martial arts. how could he not help in training? that was what the cat constellation claimed.


    ¡®um. that is correct.¡¯


    even if that wasn''t true, he was in a situation where he had to increase his household. he had to speak with confidence.


    ¡°he¡¯s helpful.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    [faith toward the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ has increased!]


    [the power of your existence has risen!]


    choi yeonseung suddenly felt a rapid surge in power, one incomparable to receiving faith from one person! it was only possible to gain such strength because all the hunters in this place had faith in the undefeated incarnation of training.


    ¡®i¡¯ve still a long way to go...¡¯


    other constellations could be gaining this type of power on a scale of tens or hundreds of times worldwide. the thought of having to fight an advanced or highest-grade constellation honestly made him feel overwhelmed.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ comforts you by saying that even traveling for a thousand miles begins with a single step.]


    -thank you. that being said... aren¡¯t you adapting too quickly?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ shrugs. it doesn¡¯t know what you mean.]


    ¡°choi yeonseung. as you can see, i am in no position to teach anyone.¡±


    li yuyuan said while pointing to himself.


    ¡°the other hunters are in a similar situation. my past comrades are now either old or retired. there were quite a few hunters who reached first-class in the past, but they could barely train people to second-class now. we¡¯re desperate.¡±

 Chapter 67

    chapter 67


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry, but there¡¯s no guarantee that you¡¯ll become stronger just because i taught you.¡±??v€l-b!n.


    the cat constellation grabbed the back of its neck and asked, ¡°why are you telling them that?¡±


    however, choi yeonseung was speaking sincerely.


    ¡°the undefeated incarnation of training helped me, but that is only my case. i don¡¯t know if it will apply to others. most of all, i trained in the abyss...¡±


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter. we are naturally prepared for that as well.¡± li yuyuan looked at choi yeonseung with piercing eyes. ¡°as a martial artist, we should feel ashamed if our achievements are low. why would we blame the master who taught us?¡±


    ¡°despite all of that, you still want to learn from me?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡± li yuyuan nodded.


    ¡°i¡¯m not going to just ask you to teach us. we know that nothing in the world is free. in return, we will offer you absolute loyalty.¡±


    ¡°absolute loyalty?¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. he didn¡¯t understand exactly what li yuyuan meant.


    ¡°people to kill, capture, investigate... don¡¯t you need subordinates that can deal with that?¡±


    li yuyuan¡¯s voice was filled with bloodlust. this was a clan that had turned into a criminal organization. indeed, at the same level, martial artists were better in single combat than magicians. rather than using loud magic, a slash of a sword would end it all.


    ¡®i¡¯m saddened that martial arts don¡¯t seem to suit raids!¡¯


    ¡°i¡¯ve never really thought about it.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    li yuyuan¡¯s expression darkened. he seemed to think of choi yeonseung¡¯s reply as a refusal. offering money to a hunter capable of joining the icarus clan would be meaningless. he could just earn as much as he wanted in the future.


    ¡°it isn¡¯t a refusal. it¡¯s just that your proposal is so sudden. do you mind if i think about it before giving you an answer?¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    li yuyuan nodded with a much brighter expression.


    ¡°i¡¯ll be waiting, choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t expect too much. i¡¯m not confident when it comes to teaching others.¡±


    the bitter memories from hwang gyeongryong¡¯s clan a long time ago came pouring in.


    -clan leader! isn¡¯t this man crazy?


    -choi yeonseung is a good hunter, but i don¡¯t want to train with him!


    "i don''t think so. now, take this. i¡¯ll wait while you think about it.¡±


    li yuyuan held out a note. choi yeonseung cocked his head when he received it.


    ¡°is this like a secret code? do i need to use it to come in here?¡±


    ¡°... you¡¯re holding it upside down. it¡¯s my phone number.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the nearby mount hua sect hunters visibly bit their lips to hold back their laughter.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ can¡¯t hold back its laughter!]


    ***


    ¡°will it be okay?¡±


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t the only one taken aback by such a sudden proposal. the other hunters of the mount hua sect were also flustered. did they really have to bend over like this toward such a young man? the reason why there was no dissatisfaction was because of their trust in li yuyuan.


    li yuyuan had been a pillar of the mount hua sect even when they were still in china! he continued to unwaveringly lead the clan when they came to the united states and entered the shadows.


    time passed and young hunters joined, but they still respected li yuyuan. they would follow his decisions! the mount hua sect hunters¡¯ loyalty was beyond imagination.


    ¡°he is worth it.¡±


    ¡°if you say so, then we will follow.¡±


    the hunters bowed.


    the elders of the clan agreed with li yuyuan. the young hunters only felt that choi yeonseung was ¡®fast and strong¡¯, but the elders felt much more than that. he had reached the pinnacle of martial arts!


    ¡°t-then how?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re just the type who reveals all your thoughts.¡±


    ¡°i see...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong coughed in embarrassment.


    ¡°in any case, i¡¯m glad you came. i wanted to borrow some of your strength.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°ah. i should hear about your business first. what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°hmm hyung, do you remember the mount hua sect?¡±


    ¡°mount hua sect? um...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong frowned. it was hard to remember one out of hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of clans.


    ¡°wasn¡¯t that a clan of chinese martial artists a long time ago?¡±


    ¡°oh. you still remember.¡±


    ¡°it was quite famous, and you are a martial artist.¡±


    choi yeonseung was slightly moved. he was a clan leader for a reason. even if hwang gyeongryong was clumsy and made frequent mistakes, his clan members trusted and followed him...


    ¡°yeonseung. you¡¯re usually cursing me inwardly when you look at me like that.¡±


    ¡°haha. you misunderstand. in any case, it¡¯s great that you remember them. that makes things easier.¡±


    ¡°um... what¡¯s going on with them? they were smashed when the great invasion broke out and china was in an uproar, then they were smashed a second time when their clan leader li yuyuan was caught in the rating manipulation...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡®their situation was much direr than i thought.¡¯


    choi yeonseung frowned, and hwang gyeongryong spoke as he recalled those times.


    ¡°a lot of people died during the great invasion. china has a large territory, so it was constantly under attack.¡±


    it was 30 years ago, but for hwang gyeongryong, who experienced it himself and almost died several times, it was as vivid as yesterday. earth could¡¯ve been destroyed back then, so people panicked. many hunters also died in south korea, but the damage was minimal. it would¡¯ve multiplied if the hunters hadn¡¯t taken the initiative at that time, though.


    ¡°did the mount hua sect clan suffer a lot because they were martial artists?¡±


    the martial artists had to fight up close so they suffered whenever things went wrong, especially when they were against a strong monster!


    ¡°that could be a reason, but it was probably because the chinese government sent them to dangerous places. they denied that this wasn¡¯t the case, but everyone knew.¡±


    clans loyal to the government were sent to safe places while clans that rebelled were sent to dangerous places. the chinese government flatly denied it, but no one believed them.


    ¡°they¡¯re such nasty bastards. i can¡¯t help but wonder if the rating manipulation was done because the government ordered it. i doubt normal people could¡¯ve done that on their own.¡±


    during the great invasion, they stood up front as the vanguard. later, the government cut them off when the rating manipulation that they ordered was exposed. it was understandable for the mount hua sect to have a deep grudge that could only be washed away with blood.


    ¡°anyway, why did you ask me about the mount hua sect? are you going to look for li yuyuan? it won¡¯t help much.¡±


    ¡°no. we already met here.¡±


    ¡°what? really?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    choi yeonseung explained what happened. hwang gyeongryong was amazed.


    ¡°huh. i didn¡¯t hear from him, so i thought he was dead or had disbanded the clan. turns out he was here all this time.¡±


    ¡°... hyung. considering that you¡¯re the master of this city, your knowledge is too...¡±


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded. hwang gyeongryong felt it was very unfair.


    ¡°what grade do you think i am? i don¡¯t have time to track such insignificant people.¡±


    no matter how he looked at it, it seemed like choi yeonseung was looking down on him too much!


    ¡°look, yeonseung. this is how many reports i get in a day. i usually get urgent reports from overseas companies, important us political issues, reports on the current state of other super large clans, and urgent matters in the city... hey! listen to me! your hyung is talking!¡±


    ¡°ah. i¡¯m sorry. what you¡¯re saying is too boring.¡±

 Chapter 68

    chapter 68


    hwang gyeongryong gritted his teeth and explained how great he was. in fact, he truly was great. taking over the authority of los angeles from the us government wasn¡¯t something that just about anyone could do. among the raid powerhouses that emerged after the great invasion, hwang gyeongryong was one of the most powerful.


    he was also one of the influential forces that could move the huge country called the united states! even if other gigantic clans were jealous of him and slandered him, no one could deny hwang gyeongryong¡¯s power.


    ¡°this guy. i ate with the president yesterday. i even went to the sauna with him and everything!¡±


    ¡°hyung. i¡¯ll admit that you¡¯re great, so don¡¯t tell such ugly lies.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m telling the truth!¡±


    ¡°this isn¡¯t the president of south korea we¡¯re talking about here. isn¡¯t it crazy for you to go to the sauna with the president of the united states? that simply isn¡¯t possible no matter how popular the hallyu wave was.¡±


    ¡°i asked him to go with me and he agreed! i¡¯m that important of a person!¡±


    it was hard to believe that he took the president of the united states to a korean sauna. it made no sense no matter how choi yeonseung thought about it.


    ¡°in any case, i don¡¯t care about insignificant clans like the mount hua sect. if i knew they were here, there would¡¯ve already been a huge incident.¡±


    large and small groups operating in and near cities moved cautiously and kept an eye on dragon industry. that applied to clans doing legal and illegal businesses. they paid their taxes regularly, avoided touching dragon industry¡¯s employees or hunters, and followed orders from above...


    ¡°huh? they pay taxes?¡±


    taxes on illegal businesses? what was he saying?


    ¡°if you spend a lot of money despite having no income, then it¡¯ll show up on the record. once it does, the dragon industry employees will drag the hunters and deal with them. my company is thorough in that regard.¡±


    the irs was notorious for going to the homes of people who didn¡¯t pay their taxes with guns, but dragon industry took it one step further. they attacked using the company¡¯s hunters! they went so far that even criminals had to falsely report their income and paid taxes. if they properly paid their taxes, dragon industry would overlook it. hence, they had no choice but to cry and pay.


    ¡°that¡¯s very different from south korea, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    this would¡¯ve never happened in south korea!


    ¡°hyung, i can see that you fit perfectly in the united states. anyway, what do you think of the mount hua sect?¡±


    ¡°the mount hua sect? what are you worried about? you just have to accept them. the more subordinates you control, the better.¡±


    ¡°their history is heavy, and they¡¯re a criminal organization. they¡¯re like the mafia.¡±


    ¡°what history... you aren¡¯t their parent, so you don¡¯t have to care about their business, do you? if they want to go to china, then let them go. it isn¡¯t like they¡¯re asking you to go with them.¡± hwang gyeongryong nonchalantly said.


    ¡°don¡¯t worry about that and just focus on your own situation. treat them well if you need them, and kick them out if you don¡¯t. didn¡¯t they make such a request already fully prepared for that? don¡¯t give them unnecessary consideration.¡±


    ¡°...huh. that sounds right.¡±


    choi yeonseung agreed. the mount hua sect hunters weren¡¯t children. all they wanted from choi yeonseung was his guidance. past that point, they were on their own.


    ¡®no matter what he says, he¡¯ll likely intervene later if something happens. that wouldn¡¯t be bad either.¡¯


    hwang gyeongryong would¡¯ve stopped choi yeonseung if he was an ordinary hunter since it could become a nuisance. however, choi yeonseung was a constellation. he had to move with a larger perspective than ordinary hunters¡¯ calculations. if choi yeonseung joined the mount hua sect in their return to china, he could get a bountiful harvest as a constellation.


    ¡°it¡¯s funny that you¡¯re uncomfortable about the fact that they¡¯re like the mafia.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°if you put it that way, then all the other hunter clans are like the mafia as well, aren¡¯t they? it is the same as before...¡±


    ¡°uh... even so, don¡¯t regular clans have some lines they don¡¯t cross?¡±


    ¡°well, no.¡±


    ¡°...no?¡±


    ¡°that isn¡¯t true. don¡¯t compare things with our old clan. we were an unusual case.¡±


    a hunter clan was a group of hunters who liked hanging around each other, but no one was more troublesome than them. they demanded all types of privileges under the pretext of protecting people from monsters and executed various tricks on rival clans. there would be bloodshed if an all-out war broke out between the clans. one huge explosion alone could kill a ridiculous amount of people.


    ¡°should i leave them alone?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s normal for hunters to fight among themselves, but what do you think i should do? i usually leave them alone as long as they don¡¯t hurt the civilian population. however, once their conflict grows bigger, other clans will intervene and stop them. the mount hua sect tend to do business calmly.¡±¡¯


    ¡®the world is going crazy.¡¯


    ¡°... i understand. i¡¯ll give it some serious thought.¡±


    the undefeated incarnation of training was an emerging constellation that had just appeared on earth. did he accept it too hastily? nevertheless, the constellations were curious and expectant about the result. for those who were struggling with boredom, there was nothing they could look forward to more than a constellation battle!


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ has allowed other constellations to watch the constellation battle.]


    [the constellations are cheering!]


    perhaps because he noticed their anticipation, but the warrior stained with madness and blood decided to publicize the constellation battle. choi yeonseung clicked his tongue.


    ¡®this...¡¯


    constellations had the freedom to decide whether to let others witness the constellation battle or not. they often hid it, however. the power of their own household would be revealed otherwise. nevertheless, the warrior stained with madness and blood decided to broadcast the constellation battle. perhaps it was because he wanted to completely trample on choi yeonseung.


    ¡®well, it¡¯s fine. i shouldn¡¯t be too greedy.¡¯


    choi yeonseung had also made up his mind.


    it would be nice if he could easily win the next constellation battle, but he decided not to obsess over it too much. first, he had to focus on the fight in front of him!


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is cheering for you!]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ is cheering for you!]


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it bet a soul stone on you.]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ scolds it for saying such a thing.]


    ¡®......¡¯


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ has bet the ¡®blood fortress¡¯ in the constellation battle.]


    [if you win, you can get the ¡®blood fortress.¡¯]


    at this moment, a realm of the abyss, the ¡®blood fortress¡¯ appeared in front of choi yeonseung. the vast area was covered in red. blood flowed from the walls and the river in front of the fortress. orcs were the realm¡¯s main race.


    -blood for warriors!


    -blood for warriors!


    they either hunted nearby monsters or among themselves to offer blood.


    ¡®wow. i really don¡¯t want to receive this.¡¯


    however, the constellations thought differently.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is admiring that the land price is going to increase.]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ admires the power felt in the realm. only advanced constellations or higher can have it.]


    this had a power of existence that was completely different from the realm of the sub-intermediate constellations that choi yeonseung had defeated. a land teeming with far stronger household members!


    ¡®there isn¡¯t much i can bet.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was a poor constellation. the only thing he had was...


    the other constellations that were subdued in the abyss? it felt like he would have to bet everything to balance it with the blood fortress.


    [the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ bets the constellation ¡®horseman of plague and darkness¡¯ in the constellation battle.]


    [your bet is insufficient. you need to match the price of the ¡®blood fortress.¡¯]


    [betting the ¡®one who reverses the clock''s hands¡¯, ¡®voice calling from the deep sea¡¯, and ¡®rampant truthseeker.¡¯]


    [you have made a reasonable bet. the two constellations have agreed. the contract has been established!]


    [losing the constellation battle will greatly weaken your power of existence!]


    [if your power of existence weakens, you might lose your status as a constellation.]


    the reason why constellation battles were dangerous! if he continued to lose his realm and his power of existence, he could lose his very status as a constellation. one defeat was fatal for a poor constellation that had nothing like choi yeonseung.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says you¡¯re strong enough to win.]


    ¡®thanks for the motivation. i think so as well.¡¯

 Chapter 69

    chapter 69


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ will be sending ¡®akkrata¡¯.]


    ¡®what is he doing?¡¯


    there was no way choi yeonseung would know that household member. after all, this was his first time experiencing a constellation battle on earth. fortunately, there were numerous constellations here, and among them was someone that liked to meddle.


    [the ¡®storyteller who likes gossip and explanations¡¯ will introduce akkrata!]


    ¡®???¡¯


    choi yeonseung was taken aback when a constellation he met for the first time started excitedly explaining. akkrata was an accomplished orc warrior. he was the warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯s ace, and he had won numerous constellation battles. he wielded a pair of axes given to him by his master and excelled in both magic and melee combat.


    however, what made akkrata truly terrifying was his madness and tenacity. anyone would fall apart against an insane opponent with such powerful magic defense and regenerative power. it didn¡¯t matter if it was an individual or team battle. akkrata was the perfect fit.


    -thank you for the introduction.


    [the ¡®storyteller who likes gossip and explanations¡¯ waves his hand and says it isn¡¯t a big deal.]


    [he says he likes the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ and that they should become acquainted.]


    ¡®is he the berserker type? if he has strong defense magic, then he¡¯d likely be able to defend against my sword energy quite well. and if he truly does have strong regenerative power, then he¡¯ll do well in close combat.¡¯


    choi yeonseung planned a strategy. the warrior stained with madness and blood was amazed.


    ¡®this bastard! he¡¯s probably stronger than i thought!¡¯


    the warrior was surprised for one reason. the undefeated incarnation of training seemed insignificant, but he actually had several constellations under his command. of course, they weren¡¯t that strong. it took the combined realms of his four constellations just to match the blood fortress.


    however, the very fact that he had constellations under him meant he was formidable. as a constellation, he had experienced fierce battles somewhere in the abyss!


    ¡®in any case, he¡¯s a lot lower than me. if i step on him in this constellation battle, he won¡¯t be able to recover and will disappear.¡¯


    the undefeated incarnation of training was apparently an intermediate constellation. losing several constellations under his control would be a tremendous blow to his power of existence. there was a chance he wouldn¡¯t even be able to maintain his status as a constellation. the warrior stained with madness and blood didn¡¯t even consider that akkrata would lose.


    ¡®no matter how high his level, he should only be around the early 300s. he can¡¯t beat akkrata no matter how well he fights.¡¯


    the information of other constellations¡¯ household members couldn¡¯t be viewed with level measurement without their master¡¯s permission. however, experienced constellations could tell someone¡¯s level just by observing how they fought. at best, the magic power that choi yeonseung exuded while fighting was around the early 300s.


    in terms of earth¡¯s hunters, he¡¯d be around peak b-grade or a-grade. he was strong among b-grade hunters, but this was insignificant in the abyss, which had numerous beings stronger than choi yeonseung.


    -kill him, akkrata! end his life and trample on his corpse! show all the constellations watching this battle my power and authority!


    ***


    the constellation ¡®horseman of plague and darkness¡¯ lived peacefully outside the abyss, spreading plague and darkness in his own territory. he was devastated when he lost to choi yeonseung, but...


    surprisingly, nothing happened. choi yeonseung didn¡¯t take away his household members, destroy his territory, or do anything unreasonable. this was one of the most generous treatments in the abyss!


    the other constellations agreed.


    -even if the undefeated incarnation of training is fierce and savage, he is generous.


    -after the fight, no orders were given.


    -maybe we misunderstood the undefeated incarnation of training...


    -but where did he go?


    -he headed toward the center of the abyss.


    -he is fearless, perhaps because he¡¯s a young constellation.


    stronger constellations swarmed toward the center of the abyss. intermediate constellations couldn¡¯t even make their appearance around that area. the undefeated incarnation of training was headed to such a place!


    [the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ has bet the constellations ¡®horseman of plague and darkness,¡¯ ¡®one who reverses the clock''s hands,¡¯ ¡®voice calling from the deep sea,¡¯ and ¡®rampant truthseeker¡¯ in a constellation battle.]


    [if the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ is defeated, you will become a follower of the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood.¡¯]


    -......


    -......


    -......


    -that crazy bastard!


    of course, since he was their master, he didn¡¯t have to explain his actions to his household members. they urgently contacted choi yeonseung.


    -m-master. what¡¯s going on? if you were going to fight other constellations, then you should¡¯ve called us. we could¡¯ve lent our households...


    magic power moving fiercely through his body.


    the answer that emerged out of all of this was...


    -movement of red blood!


    a surprise attack! attacking while talking was cowardly, but it was also an effective strategy. the household members participating in a constellation battle for the first time were easily beaten because they didn¡¯t know such tricks. of course, the watching constellations were just amused.


    if you¡¯re not aware of that, then it¡¯s your fault for getting hit!


    in constellation battles, all sorts of strange tricks appeared. akkrata disappeared, appeared next to choi yeonseung, and struck him. he was so fast it was as if he teleported. akkrata¡¯s axe shimmered with red magic power and rushed at choi yeonseung, seemingly trying to tear him apart.


    however, akkrata¡¯s axe stopped. choi yeonseung had already read through him and accurately blocked his attack. his half-drawn sword was releasing sword energy and blocking the axe¡¯s blade.


    [!!!]


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ admires you. that move was pretty good.]


    [......]


    [......]


    the constellations were worried that the fight would end quickly, so they were relieved. this person could at least do the basics! despite having his attack blocked, akkrata wasn¡¯t fazed at all. he swung the axe in his other hand. choi yeonseung leaned back to avoid it.


    a series of attacks then followed! akkrata chased after choi yeonseung while crazily swinging his axes.


    ¡®he isn¡¯t going to let me draw my weapon.¡¯


    masters could discern each other¡¯s thoughts even without exchanging any words. choi yeonseung saw through akkrata¡¯s intentions. no matter the opponent, attacking first and making it impossible for one¡¯s opponent to retaliate was a good strategy.


    in combat, the first attack was important! they could unilaterally launch attacks if they could secure the initiative.


    [origin of the celestial step...]


    [the opponent uses the ¡®mark of madness.¡¯ madness has invaded your mind.]


    [the skill ¡®three flowers gathering¡¯ prevents the mental attack.]


    [the opponent uses ¡®stigma of red blood.¡¯]


    [the skill, ¡®three flowers gathering¡¯...]


    [......]


    the axe wasn¡¯t the only scary thing about akkrata. even if his opponent had dodged his weapons, his passive skills would activate, binding and attacking the opponent. hit with various status abnormality skills, his opponent would be in tatters even if they managed to dodge. his axe would come in to end them the moment they had become dull or slowed down. however...


    choi yeonseung fought fiercer and with more bloodlust than akkrata. akkrata could be one of the most powerful orc warriors, but choi yeonseung had gone through so many battles that he rose from a mortal to a constellation. the skills he possessed were superior to akkrata¡¯s. to put it bluntly, choi yeonseung¡¯s a-grade skill, three flowers gathering, was enough to prevent most status abnormality skills.


    akkrata¡¯s axes cut through the air as red magic power roared like a snake and slithered toward choi yeonseung. however, not a single attack hit. he couldn¡¯t predict the changes in origin of the celestial step, choi yeonseung¡¯s long-mastered footwork.


    choi yeonseung was by no means faster than akkrata, yet akkrata couldn¡¯t hit him at all! despite attacking dozens and hundreds of times, his opponent didn¡¯t waver at all. akkrata panicked. his attacks were still fierce, but there were now slight hesitation and confusion in them. against a master like choi yeonseung, such self-doubt was tantamount to asking to be killed.


    ¡®it¡¯s coming.¡¯


    choi yeonseung, who had been looking for an opportunity, immediately jumped in.


    [the skill, ¡®covert attack reversal¡¯...]


    [akkrata¡¯s magic, ¡®burning evil god¡¯s axe blade,¡¯ has been reflected!]


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t draw his sword. after all, he had been fighting with his bare hands longer than with his sword. he stuck to akkrata, who was approaching, and used akkrata¡¯s own power to strike back! the axe in akkrata¡¯s right hand changed direction and slashed his left shoulder.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ cheers for you!]


    [the constellations are paying tribute to this scene!]


    in a constellation battle, victory was easily determined by who could use stronger magic with stronger magic power. hence, the mastered skill ¡®covert attack reversal¡¯ was a fresh shock. in the eyes of the constellations, it seemed like akkrata had attacked his own shoulders.


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ laughs at your futile efforts.]


    [akkrata has used ¡®red regeneration.¡¯]


    [he is recovering quickly!]


    [akkrata has fallen into the ¡®curse of madness¡¯ due to ¡®red regeneration¡¯.]


    [the ¡¯curse of madness¡¯ has strengthened the ¡®red regeneration¡¯ skill!]


    red regeneration physically healed its user, while curse of madness made the target lose their mind and turned them into a blood-crazed berserker. those two skills worked in synergy to turn akkrata into an undying berserker. the more blood he shed, the crazier and stronger he became!

 Chapter 70

    chapter 70


    from the opponent¡¯s perspective, a sudden rampage would make it easy for them to lose. this was the strength of a household member who had won numerous constellation battles!


    ¡®in hunter ranks, he¡¯s s-grade... however, considering how tricky he is, he could be ranked even higher.¡¯


    he couldn¡¯t see akkrata¡¯s level, but he could roughly guess by watching the fight. mid to late 400s! he was on a level similar to arni, one of the strongest incubi. he had essentially reached the limits of a mortal. in addition, having a high level didn¡¯t necessarily mean unconditional strength.


    if akkrata and arni fought, akkrata would win even if arni¡¯s level was higher. the skill linkage between red regeneration and curse of madness was terrifying.


    ¡®did he get both from his master?¡¯


    he was too fast and powerful to have used just normal magic. besides, based on its activation speed, it was a passive skill. hence, it was more likely that the warrior stained with madness and blood had given akkrata that power!


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!!!!


    akkrata maintained his sense of reason throughout the entire battle. however, he had now completely lost his sanity. his fighting style changed as well. rather than swinging his axes, he put magic power in them and fired it!


    the 6th-circle magic, red slash! waves of blade-like magic power the size of one or two people flew and tore through the ground. a-grade hunters would¡¯ve had to gather all their strength to use that magic. that evidenced how much effort the warrior stained with madness and blood was putting into killing choi yeonseung. he wanted to tear choi yeonseung apart and kill him!


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ is expecting blood!]


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is telling him to shut up!]


    the red wave flew in, but choi yeonseung didn¡¯t panic. huge spells like this was easy to dodge.


    ¡®i thought i¡¯d have to push with force, but this is better.¡¯


    he would¡¯ve had to open up a martial arts stage that he had sealed to fight back if he was at a disadvantage. but now that his opponent had dug a grave like this, it became easier for choi yeonseung to hide his skills. it was hard for choi yeonseung, who was at the peak-class stage, to move faster than akkrata¡¯s magic. however, he didn¡¯t have to move faster than the incoming magic to dodge it. what mattered was how efficiently he moved!


    akkrata and the warrior stained with madness and blood had misjudged choi yeonseung¡¯s skills, and above all, they underestimated his experience too much. the red wave split apart as it flew toward choi yeonseung. if it was dodged, it would just split apart and go after him again.


    choi yeonseung dodged, blocked, and deflected these attacks. he could easily change the direction of the split-up magic power wave just by firing origin of the celestial finger and dropping it to the ground.


    choi yeonseung advanced through the space where the waves of red magic power fell like rain. every time akkrata swung his axes, choi yeonseung¡¯s figure disappeared and reappeared. the distance between them gradually narrowed.


    [the ¡®storyteller who likes gossip and explanations¡¯ shouts that you shouldn¡¯t attack prematurely!]


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ growls at him to shut up.]


    akkrata wasn¡¯t at a disadvantage yet. on the surface, akkrata was overwhelming choi yeonseung! he covered all the surrounding spaces with his magic power and fired magical blades at choi yeonseung at random.


    nevertheless, the warrior stained with madness and blood was nervous. he instinctively felt that the situation was proceeding strangely! a man who should¡¯ve already died and turned into a puddle of blood amid the storm of magic power was approaching with shining eyes.


    ¡®launching a powerful attack would be best, but i want to hide it until the last moment.¡¯??v€l?1n.


    sword energy wouldn¡¯t be able to kill akkrata in a single blow. moreover, he would just use the flowing blood from the wound it would inflict to use red regeneration and curse of madness again. then another boring battle of attrition would happen! how could he kill a berserker with tremendous health and magic power without using a powerful force or drawing blood? it seemed impossible at first glance, but...


    -star absorption method!


    choi yeonseung had a way.


    ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood. you saw me fight, but you were too complacent.¡¯


    he arrogantly thought he¡¯d easily win if he sent out a household member with a higher level, magic power, and skills than choi yeonseung. that could work against the hunters on earth, but choi yeonseung only found it so outrageous that he wanted to snort.


    did he know who his opponent was? choi yeonseung dug in front of akkrata and hit his chest with both hands. at that moment, the immense magic power filling the surroundings started to gather in choi yeonseung¡¯s hands.


    [the skill ¡®star absorption method¡¯ has started to absorb akkrata¡¯s magic power!]


    [the ¡®storyteller who likes gossip and explanations¡¯ says this is too reckless!]


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ is quietly watching.]


    [......]


    the cat constellation sent a separate message to choi yeonseung. why wasn¡¯t he killing akkrata? could it be that choi yeonseung was such a weak-hearted constellation? no, he wasn¡¯t like this when he beat up the other constellations.


    -i¡¯m just saying this to make my opponent angrier.


    !


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words moved the cat constellation. the incarnation of training still managed to think of that even in this situation! the alliance of small and medium-sized constellations¡¯ future was bright!


    ¡°if this guy doesn¡¯t want to do it, his master can say it.¡±


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t stop the absorption but didn¡¯t kill akkrata either. he confidently looked at the constellations. it was a type of pressure! the impatient constellations shouted, ¡®just kill him!¡¯, but most of them seemed impressed by choi yeonseung¡¯s dignified posture.


    there were only a few mortals who could stand tall before a constellation. it was common for them to kneel down or act in a humiliating manner.


    [the ¡®demon of contract and order¡¯ agrees with choi yeonseung. he says that the fight is over.]


    [the ¡®fighter of sweat and flesh¡¯ agrees with that statement. end the duel with honor.]


    [......]


    [......]


    numerous constellations spoke up. the warrior stained with madness and blood gritted his teeth. if he held on here any longer, he would only be humiliated even more! eventually, the warrior stained with madness and blood declared his surrender.


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ has declared his surrender!]


    [the constellation battle is over!]


    the constellations started to cheer the moment the battle ended. they couldn¡¯t be heard, but intense message windows poured out.


    [......]


    [......]


    this was the first time they had seen such an exciting fight in so long. there were many recent cases where constellation battles were canceled the moment one party felt they were at a disadvantage against their opponent. it had been a long time since there was a constellation battle where one side was at a disadvantage but didn¡¯t give up!


    to top it all off, the underdog won, making things even more dramatic.


    [the ¡®storyteller who likes gossip and explanations'' compliments your bravery and has given you a soul stone as a gift.]


    [the ¡®fighter of sweat and flesh¡¯ pays homage to your fight...]


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ suggests that you leave the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ and become his household member.]


    [......]


    this was a constellation battle. the winner received countless honors, while the loser suffered great humiliation.


    choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t even received the rewards from the warrior stained with madness and blood yet, but he could already feel his power of existence rising significantly! this was only the reward for winning the battle against the warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯s household member even though he was at a disadvantage.


    the real rewards were just about to come in.


    [the ¡®blood fortress¡¯ that the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ has bet in the constellation battle will be transferred to your possession.]


    [an abyss realm has come under your control. the power of your existence has risen significantly!]


    [you have participated in your first constellation battle. you are now eligible to join the rankings of the constellations on earth.]


    [your ranking among the constellations on earth has been determined.]


    [your current ranking is 127th.]


    ¡®...??¡¯


    what was this? choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t help but be surprised by the message that mentioned rankings. he hadn¡¯t even thought of that.

 Chapter 71

    chapter 71


    before choi yeonseung could think about the meaning of the message, another message arrived.


    [¡¯goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ is inviting you to her realm.]


    [if you accept, you will be moved to the realm of the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead.¡¯]


    ¡°!¡±


    she was alive! he was puzzled since he couldn¡¯t contact her until now. it was nice to hear from her.


    the goddess of balance who walks ahead. she was the constellation who started all of this. if she hadn¡¯t recommended choi yeonseung to train in the abyss, he wouldn¡¯t have become a constellation! he didn¡¯t know it at the time, but he could now see how strange her proposal was.


    ¡®where in the world is there a constellation that throws you into a training ground without giving you the proper strength and says that if you pass it, you can become their household member?¡¯


    no constellation would give such a detestable reward. constellations had to pay in advance!


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says you should be careful of stupid constellations.]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ agrees with the cat constellation. the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ isn¡¯t that intelligent, no matter how one thinks about it...]


    -i know, but stop treating her harshly.


    choi yeonseung had no particular ill feelings toward the goddess of balance who walks ahead. he couldn¡¯t enter the training ground and had to wander around the abyss for over 10,000 years, but it wasn¡¯t the goddess¡¯ fault. of course, none of this would¡¯ve happened if the goddess had just sent him straight into the training ground, but...


    it wasn¡¯t such a big mistake that they had to treat her harshly. the two constellations kept insulting the goddess every time her name came up, so he somehow kept taking her side.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is disappointed that the incarnation of training is on the side of the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead.¡¯ it grumbles that raising a constellation is useless.]


    -it isn¡¯t like that.


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ once again agrees with the cat constellation. she says she¡¯s sad.]


    -you weren¡¯t that kind of constellation. why are you suddenly acting like this?


    unlike the cat constellation, the manipulator of dreams and desires was a cool constellation!


    -i¡¯ll end the joke here. as i said last time, i am in favor of an alliance with the goddess. you just have to be careful. just because she isn¡¯t malicious doesn¡¯t mean she won¡¯t hurt you.


    the manipulator of dreams and desires spoke directly to choi yeonseung.


    -besides, aren¡¯t you weak toward the goddess?


    -i¡¯m not.


    -you are.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that the incarnation of training is weak against the goddess.]


    the two constellations spoke bluntly. choi yeonseung was more tolerant of the goddess due to his relationship with her when he was still a human. if he was still a mortal, then that would¡¯ve been fine. however, he was a constellation now. beings like him had to be composed. they shouldn¡¯t shed blood or tears.


    -you¡¯re a constellation now, so you shouldn¡¯t give in to personal feelings. promise us before you go. if the goddess of balance who walks ahead seems unreliable or won¡¯t be of any help, don¡¯t join forces with her.


    -but she knows who i am, doesn¡¯t she?


    -i didn¡¯t say don¡¯t ally with her. there are many ways to keep someone¡¯s mouth shut. once allied, you can stab each other in the back.


    it sounded heartless at first glance, but choi yeonseung realized that the manipulator of dreams and desires was just worried about him. the realm of the manipulator of dreams and desires and cat of lava and magma was far away on the outskirts of the abyss. their lives wouldn¡¯t be in danger even if things went wrong on earth.


    however, choi yeonseung was now in the middle of earth. if things went wrong in a constellation battle, then his existence as a constellation and his life would be in danger.??v€l-b!n.


    ¡®she¡¯s right. i should make up my mind.¡¯


    it wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t feel indebted to the goddess, but he had to let go of this feeling. now was the time to focus on the future!


    -by the way, after the first constellation battle ended, my ranking among the earth¡¯s constellations rose. did you know about this?


    [......]


    [......]


    a collective silence! considering how they were acting, it seemed neither of them knew. the two constellations were located on the outskirts of the abyss. hence, they had no knowledge about the constellation battles on earth.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says you should ask the goddess about it.]


    ¡®you just scolded her for being a useless constellation...¡¯


    ***


    upon accepting the goddess¡¯ offer, choi yeonseung was moved to the goddess¡¯ realm in the abyss. the power of existence possessed by constellations was limitless. teleporting a person from earth wasn¡¯t a hard task.


    ¡°?¡±


    the goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯s kingdom was right in front of him. choi yeonseung was flustered. its atmosphere was so...


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung was confused for a moment. then he realized what the goddess was talking about. this goddess...


    she didn¡¯t know he was a constellation!


    ¡®she thinks i¡¯m the household member of the undefeated incarnation of training!¡¯


    he had participated in a constellation battle, so it was actually a reasonable interpretation. when he returned from the abyss, she normally thought, ¡®oh, he signed a contract with another constellation in the abyss and returned,¡¯ instead of, ¡®oh, he came back as a constellation.¡¯ it was too much to expect the latter, no matter how much the goddess knew about choi yeonseung¡¯s identity.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says this is very good! it says to pretend to be a household member!]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ agrees!]


    -be quiet, you guys.


    choi yeonseung made them shut up before speaking. ¡°incarnation-nim is generous and kind. he readily agreed to let me meet you.¡±


    ¡°ah... i see...¡±


    the goddess¡¯ words trailed off as her fingers twitched. deep down, she had expected choi yeonseung to express his dissatisfaction with the incarnation of training.


    it was more painful than she thought to see firsthand a household member she wanted being taken by someone else.


    slap!


    ¡°??¡±


    the goddess suddenly slapped herself, which startled choi yeonseung.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says she is crazy...]


    -block the perspective sharing.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it will be quiet!]


    ¡°goddess. i came here for another reason.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°my master wants to join forces with you.¡±


    ¡°!¡± the goddess was surprised. it was an unexpected suggestion.


    ¡°ah. that¡¯s right. the undefeated incarnation of training is... he¡¯s a new constellation on earth, right? he came from a distant place in the abyss.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°so the suggestion...¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    ¡°... i have to be honest with you. you¡¯ll eventually find out about this anyway,¡± the goddess said while blushing. this wasn¡¯t something she would say to a mere mortal, but she owed choi yeonseung. didn¡¯t she make him suffer in the abyss for nothing? she wanted to be honest with him.


    ¡°um... umm... ummmm...¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯m ruined...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    her unexpected remark rendered choi yeonseung speechless.


    ***


    the goddess of balance who walks ahead was a powerful constellation who went back and forth between the advanced level and the highest-grade level. there were many times when she was wrong, but seeing the future was a powerful ability even in the abyss. other constellations bowed to her when they wanted to know the future.


    of course, looking into the future wasn¡¯t free. every time they needed her power, the constellations had to pay a huge price. her power of existence as a constellation became more powerful every time they paid her!


    ... this was a story of the past, however. now the goddess of balance who walks ahead could barely maintain her power of existence at the level of a low-grade constellation.


    ¡°w-what happened?¡±


    ¡°i kept losing constellation battles...¡±


    it was fortunate that her eyes were covered with a blindfold. she was so embarrassed that she wouldn¡¯t have been able to make eye contact with choi yeonseung if her eyes weren¡¯t covered.


    ¡°......¡±


    [......]


    [......]


    unable to speak, the two constellations remained silent.

 Chapter 72

    chapter 72


    the frightening thing about the constellation battle! even for a powerful constellation, losing a few times would cause their level to drop in an instant. the bigger they bet, the bigger they lost.


    ¡°why?¡±


    ¡°i have no luck...¡±


    that wasn¡¯t it, though. the biggest reason for her losses was that adaquaniel, one of the goddess¡¯ most powerful combat angels, was out searching for choi yeonseung! she thought she could win without adaquaniel, but that was a mistake.


    the goddess lost over and over again. when she did, rather than summoning adaquaniel, she sent even more angels to find him. adaquaniel would return sooner if they could finish the task faster!l--b1n.


    of course, that was a crazy idea. she should¡¯ve avoided a constellation battle somehow. without any useful combat household members, the goddess accumulated multiple defeats. she finally understood her situation and stopped the constellation battles when her power of existence fell below the intermediate level, but it was already too late.


    ¡°uh, i don¡¯t think it¡¯s because you¡¯re unlucky.¡±


    ¡°i have no luck.¡±


    the goddess stubbornly insisted. choi yeonseung tried to say, ¡®i think it¡¯s just because you¡¯re stupid,¡¯ but she already seemed to be having enough difficulties.


    ¡®so that¡¯s why her situation has gone so awry.¡¯


    she had clearly become shabby after losing her realm and followers.


    ¡°but goddess-nim, my master doesn¡¯t decide if someone¡¯s worthy of becoming his ally based on their strength. he¡¯d much rather join hands with a constellation than a strong one.¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ asks why we can¡¯t just look at strength when finding allies. it doesn¡¯t think it¡¯ll be that big of a problem if we don¡¯t form an alliance with the goddess...]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ agrees!]


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words surprised the goddess. requesting an alliance with someone without considering their power was extremely rare in the abyss. the undefeated incarnation of training had just recently appeared and was still making a name for himself, yet he already had such a wide mindset? the goddess was moved. however, at the same time...


    she felt jealous of the constellation who gained the household member she was aiming for!


    ¡°... do you have any complaints about the undefeated incarnation of training? does he have a bad temper, is a bit cold, or has any bad habits...?¡±


    she knew her current behavior was unsightly for a constellation, but she still wanted to find something where she was better. just one...!


    ¡°... not really.¡± choi yeonseung was flustered. why was she asking this?


    ¡®ah. she¡¯s trying to figure me out as an ally.¡¯


    ¡°the undefeated incarnation of training is a perfect constellation. he is generous, merciful to his household, and thorough in combat...¡±


    praising himself was very embarrassing. the cat constellation even giggled!


    however, choi yeonseung held back and praised himself.


    ¡°yes...¡± the goddess became even more sullen.


    ¡°?!¡±


    why?


    ¡°do you not like the alliance offer?¡±


    ¡°n-no. honestly, i appreciate it.¡±


    now the goddess had stopped all constellation battles and was living in seclusion. if she bumped into another constellation and lost, she could lose her status as a constellation! under such circumstances, this alliance was a very welcome suggestion.


    ¡°however, alliances can only be seamlessly formed when all parties involved know exactly what the others want. i don¡¯t know what the undefeated incarnation of training desires. i¡¯m afraid we will be disappointed in each other if we form an alliance. my ability to foresee the future is currently weakened.¡±


    her status as a constellation had gone down, so her power was bound to weaken along with it.


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    ¡°what does the undefeated incarnation of training want, then?¡±


    ¡°your advice.¡±


    ¡°my advice...?¡±


    ¡°my master is a new constellation, so he¡¯s in the dark about the situation of the constellations and constellation battles on earth. he wants advice on that. moreover, even if your power has been weakened, the ability to glimpse into the future is still powerful.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the goddess closed her mouth and was deep in thought.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s proposal was a good one. now wasn¡¯t the time for her to refuse the proposal. a constellation who didn¡¯t participate in constellation battles would have to yield and retreat in all competitions. she had to restore her power of existence at all costs!


    [you have obtained the goddess¡¯ power, ¡®future sight.¡¯]


    [future sight]


    [rank: ?


    a glimpse of an uncertain future will momentarily come to you.]


    future sight was a powerful skill given by a goddess who could see into the future. however...


    ¡°you have to be careful when using that skill.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°the images it¡¯ll show you aren¡¯t always certain...¡± the goddess pointed to herself. choi yeonseung immediately realized what she was implying.


    ¡°you can¡¯t use it as you want and you can¡¯t be sure if the future you see is the right one. so you always have to be careful.¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ grumbles about what type of power this is.]


    it was random, and it could be wrong! hence, it could strangle him if it made a mistake!


    ¡®i was curious about how the goddess saw the future. did she keep making mistakes because of how this works?¡¯


    nevertheless, he couldn¡¯t help feeling grateful for being given a gift.


    ¡°thank you. i will use it well.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m glad. if you have any complaints about the undefeated incarnation of training, please feel free to let me know.¡±


    ¡°no... i don¡¯t think that will happen.¡±


    ***


    -what do you think?


    -i think she¡¯s okay. she seems more reliable than i expected.


    unlike what she said before, the manipulator of dreams and desires surprisingly accepted her quite well.


    -what? that¡¯s a bit different from what you said last time.


    -i was just expecting her to be more dubious.


    the manipulator of dreams and desires had expected the goddess to be a cunning and suspicious plotter. after all, she could just use her power to glimpse into the future for herself! however, the goddess was far from being a plotter. no, her plots were so sloppy that she wouldn¡¯t even be a good fit for the role. the manipulator didn¡¯t know about her other abilities, but they at least didn¡¯t have to suspect betrayal or surprises.


    -she¡¯s so sloppy i doubt she¡¯ll betray or cheat us.


    -...that evaluation is a bit sad. in any case, i¡¯m glad you¡¯re fine with her joining us.


    -she¡¯ll be a good adviser. after all, she has existed since the beginning and has the power to see the future.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that the goddess doesn¡¯t seem to like the incarnation of training very much.]


    -what? really?


    choi yeonseung was flustered. they were allies, but the goddess didn¡¯t seem to like him very much? why? he didn¡¯t do anything wrong.


    -it¡¯s only natural that she does. she lost the person she wanted to turn into her household member to another constellation. even i would¡¯ve hated that.


    -that can¡¯t be helped, though...


    -maybe that¡¯s why she didn¡¯t say much. i wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she¡¯s jealous deep down. in any case, you should be careful. the jealousy of a constellation is more terrifying than you think.


    the jealousy of mortals is also scary, but the jealousy of a constellation was far worse.


    choi yeonseung felt complicated. the goddess was jealous of choi yeonseung the constellation because of choi yeonseung the household member.


    ¡®there¡¯s nothing i can do about this...¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ advises you to talk to the goddess as if you¡¯re being treated badly. she might give you more if you do.]


    -that¡¯s good. beauty is a trick that always works.


    -can you both shut up?


    choi yeonseung frowned at the sight of the two constellations proposing a terrible plan.

 Chapter 73

    chapter 73


    -you didn¡¯t even use the beauty trick yet, but you already got so much information from that conversation.


    was the manipulator of the same thoughts? choi yeonseung had to agree. thanks to the goddess, he managed to confirm the situation on earth.


    -you intend to overthrow earth¡¯s constellations and become the master of earth. now you know how to do it.


    -that¡¯s true.


    rather than vaguely collecting all the faith on earth, it was easier to just use the rankings. wasn¡¯t it just a matter of rising through the ranks by beating all the other constellations?


    -... don¡¯t forget to gather faith and trust. what do you think made it possible for some of the constellations to get high ranks?


    these constellations received the faith of millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of people. it wasn¡¯t hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of people. it was hard to imagine how strong they would be.


    -being confident is great, but you should always be careful. we¡¯re far from where you are, so it¡¯ll be hard for us to help you.


    -what about participating in constellation battles? your nightmare demons should be strong enough...


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ pretends not to hear anything.]


    [even the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ does the same.]


    -......


    unlike choi yeonseungk, the two greedy constellations had no intention of intervening in the fierce battle over earth and fighting using their power of existence. they were going to cheer for choi yeonseung and eat the profits later!


    ¡®they¡¯re on my side, but they¡¯re strangely nasty!¡¯


    ***


    only around a second had passed on earth even though he had finished fighting so fiercely in the abyss and talking to the goddess.


    ¡°you won, right?¡± hwang gyeongryong asked with a nervous expression when choi yeonseung returned.


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°as expected! i knew it! i believed in you.¡±


    ¡°you didn¡¯t look like it at all...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong had always been a worrier. despite acting as if he wasn¡¯t on the surface, he¡¯d be worried deep down. that hadn¡¯t changed even though he had now become a big shot who controlled the united states.


    ¡°sigh. i¡¯m really glad. i kept thinking about what to do if you lost.¡±


    ¡°was that what you were thinking about...?¡±


    choi yeonseung was slightly dumbfounded and explained what happened. hwang gyeongryong laughed at the warrior stained with madness and blood, who had fallen for the trick.


    ¡°he¡¯s such an idiot! he always has been.¡±


    ¡°have you ever run into the warrior stained with madness and blood?¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s no way to directly meet a constellation, but i¡¯ve bumped into his household members or followers a few times. the evil god constellations are like mold. if you don¡¯t stop them, they¡¯ll keep spreading.¡±


    in most countries, believing in an evil god constellation or signing a contract with them was prohibited, but people who followed the evil god constellations continued to appear. after all, they offered a quick and easy way to gain strength! not many people could resist such intense temptations.


    ¡°what happens now?¡±


    ¡°i have to check what i got, gather our strength, and prepare for the next constellation battle. of course, it won¡¯t be anytime soon.¡±


    ¡°ah. i can borrow your strength, then.¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°here¡¯s the thing...¡±


    bang!


    ¡°why aren¡¯t you answering my call?¡±


    ¡°y-you can¡¯t do this, miss lawrence!¡±


    aine lawrence angrily burst through the door. the restless guards tried to stop her. hwang gyeongryong asked in an embarrassed manner. ¡°p-princess. you never called me?¡±


    ¡°not you, dad. the one next to you. my client.¡±


    ¡°uh... me?¡± choi yeonseung pointed at himself. his reaction made aine furious.


    ¡°i have contacted you again and again!¡±


    ¡°is that so?¡±


    ¡°is that so? is that sooooo?! if you don¡¯t want to work with me, then just tell me! i¡¯ll work with someone else. why didn¡¯t pick up my call?¡±


    ¡°um...¡±


    choi yeonseung hesitated to speak. aine paused when she saw this.


    what was the reason?


    ¡°i forgot to charge my smartphone. i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°i haven¡¯t really used it...¡±


    ¡°... i... i see... if that¡¯s the case, then it can¡¯t be helped...¡± aine¡¯s anger quickly dissipated, and a feeling of defeat sank in. she had forgotten that choi yeonseung was an old man. she awkwardly coughed. ¡°well, i contacted you because you¡¯ve been scheduled for a match.¡±


    ¡°a match?¡±


    both hwang gyeongryong and choi yeonseung were surprised. he had just participated in a constellation battle. what did she mean by another match? no, how did aine know about the constellation battle in the first place?


    ¡°as you wish.¡±


    the moment aine spoke, the staff member neatly stepped back and guided them inside. choi yeonseung suddenly felt how rich hwang gyeongryong had become.


    ¡®he¡¯s living a good life.¡¯


    i am the master of la! it touched him more than those words.


    it was hard to believe he was on a cruise ship just for a quiet dinner.


    ¡°sit down. we should talk while eating.¡±


    ¡°do you eat like this often?¡±


    ¡°i usually come here when i have something private to talk about.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    aine didn¡¯t seem to think this was particularly extravagant.


    ¡®they¡¯re living really really well.¡¯


    ¡°this is chef marella of ¡®antipasto.¡¯ she came here tonight to make dinner. perhaps you know her name... no. forget it. in any case, she¡¯s a good cook.¡±


    aine was about to talk about how many michelin stars this person had received and what awards she had won, but she stopped. what was the point? it just had to taste good.


    ¡°it is an honor, miss lawrence. please feel free to let me know if you need anything.¡±


    the chef greeted them politely before stepping away.


    ¡°her abilities are good.¡±


    ¡°ah. have you heard of her?¡± aine asked in a slightly expectant voice. she thought choi yeonseung didn¡¯t really care about this...


    ¡°no. i can tell by her posture and aura.¡±


    ¡°what nonsense... ah. martial arts can do that?¡±


    choi yeonseung shrugged. in fact, it was more like the power of a constellation than martial arts.


    [you have seen through the essence of marella rosa.]


    [you have the ¡®advanced abyss cooking¡¯ skill. you can identify similar skills that the target has.]


    [marella rosa (not awakened)]


    [high-class italian cuisine]


    rank: a-]


    she wasn¡¯t a hunter but her italian cooking skills were a-rank. that showed how much she had honed that skill!


    [you have caught a glimpse of an ordinary person¡¯s skill. your power of existence has risen.]


    [honing your vision strengthens your power of existence!]


    ¡°in any case, i¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±


    dried prosciutto ham, salami, figs, and melons were served as appetizers, followed by herring tartar seasoned with olive oil, along with herring stuffed with apples and onions. then came pasta tossed in a sauce made of the finest eggs, cheese, ham, salt, and pepper sauce. afterward...


    ¡°oh? this is great.


    [you have eaten a dish made using the ¡®high-class italian cuisine¡¯ skill.]


    [you have achieved enlightenment!]


    [more recipes are now available under the ¡®advanced abyss cooking¡¯ skill.]


    [......]


    ¡°!¡±


    most of choi yeonseung¡¯s dishes could be cooked in the wild, such as raw, grilled, or steamed abyss monster meat. his skill made them incredibly delicious, but he had few available recipes! eating unfamiliar dishes had enlightened him, however. inspired, he figured out how to cook them.


    ¡®i see... i see!¡¯


    choi yeonseung ate in an excited manner. on the other hand, aine looked dissatisfied.


    ¡°does it taste bad?¡±


    ¡°no. that¡¯s not it...¡±


    aine looked around. she was worried that the staff members would hear her.


    ¡°... it¡¯s just boring!¡±


    ¡°this is? isn¡¯t it seasoned well?¡±


    ¡°there is no magic power!¡±


    ¡°ah. you mean that.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded. the ingredients from the abyss contained strong magic power. they were intense stimuli for hunters. in comparison, earth¡¯s ingredients had taste but no magic power!


    ¡°if you hadn¡¯t cooked for me like that, i would¡¯ve eaten this with satisfaction! i feel resentful.¡±


    aine grumbled while eating her meal.


    ¡°shall i cook for you next time?¡±


    ¡°r-really? no... that won¡¯t do. i have to maintain a certain line with my client. work is work. if i receive good treatment from a hunter, i will be disqualified as a manager.¡±


    aine shook her head and spoke firmly. of course, she sounded full of regret.

 Chapter 74

    chapter 74


    ¡°what line? i just want to cook for my niece.¡±


    ¡°first of all, i¡¯m not your niece! other people will think it¡¯s strange, so stop saying that!¡±


    aine spoke as if it was ridiculous. externally, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t seem to be that much older than aine. anyone who¡¯d hear him calling her ¡°niece¡± would find it strange!


    ¡°uh, what should i say if someone asks, then?¡±


    ¡°just tell them we¡¯re friends! wait. no. tell them i¡¯m your manager. that¡¯s more professional.¡±


    ¡°i understand. if that¡¯s what you want. anyway, it sucks that i can¡¯t cook for you after you¡¯ve treated me to this. i came up with some new recipes while eating this.¡±


    ¡°n-new recipes?¡±


    aine¡¯s voice trembled slightly.


    ¡°yes. most of the ingredients in the abyss are meat. i realized while eating today¡¯s food that i could make the ingredients of the abyss richer if i used various condiments and ingredients from earth.¡±


    a dish made with both abyss and earth ingredients! choi yeonseung had been sensing new possibilities in cooking ever since he cooked the seasoned ribs the other day.


    ¡®in the future, i¡¯ll try to cook using both earth and abyss ingredients together more frequently.¡¯


    [enlightenment has improved the ¡®advanced abyss cooking¡¯ skill...]


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is puzzled. it asks why you¡¯re gathering enlightenment in cooking rather than participating in constellation battles.]


    [the constellation ¡®endless gourmet seeker¡¯ is trembling at your ability!]


    [the ¡®endless gourmet seeker¡¯ wants to make you one of his household members.]


    ¡°......¡±


    [......]


    choi yeonseung and the cat constellation were dumbfounded by the sudden suggestion of another constellation. the endless gourmet seeker. it was definitely worth coveting choi yeonseung since it wasn¡¯t that common to find a chef like him in the abyss.


    [the ¡®endless gourmet seeker¡¯ offers to introduce endless recipes and chefs if you come under him.]


    -um... i refuse. i already have a master.


    [the ¡®endless gourmet seeker¡¯ is very disappointed. he makes the suggestion again as he shows off his table full of rich dishes.]


    ¡®ignore it.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ agrees!]


    looking in front of him, he noticed aine appeared to be very worried. choi yeonseung ignored her and stood up.


    ¡°can i borrow the kitchen?¡±


    ¡°choi yeonseung, the kitchen is a chef¡¯s pride and sanctuary.¡±


    ¡°ah. i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°no. i¡¯m joking. come this way.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung wanted to hit the back of the person¡¯s head but quietly followed instead.


    ¡°where are you going?¡± aine asked, flustered.


    ¡°my niece, friend¡¯s daughter, friend, manager... i am going to the kitchen to cook you a meal.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ***


    aine was eating ice cream with the happiest expression in the world. choi yeonseung didn¡¯t bother to say that the main ingredient of the ice cream was milk obtained from a cow constellation.


    ¡°there is a good gelato street on 4th street. i think this tastes better than all of its flavors combined.¡±


    aine spoke seriously and earnestly. choi yeonseung happily nodded.


    ¡°i¡¯m glad. eat more. more.¡±


    ¡°thank you... no! you¡¯re doing it again!¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    aine was speechless.


    ¡°anyway, well done! i was feeling troubled because you weren¡¯t greedy. so that¡¯s what you desire, huh? to become a star?¡±


    greedy clients were better than those who weren¡¯t greedy. if she had a lot of tasks, then she would also be more motivated as a manager! aine was already planning in her head how to introduce choi yeonseung to the media.


    ¡°what are you going to do once you¡¯ve become a star? do you want a crazy party or something?¡±


    ¡°i want to create something like a religious organization that worships me.¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯ll pretend i didn¡¯t hear that!¡±


    ***


    maximilian fitzpatrick. he was ranked 21st in the uhc b-grade league. the peculiar thing about him was that he was the household member of the constellation ¡®arrogant life elf.¡¯


    -there are a lot of talks saying that the b-grade league¡¯s waters have recently become murky after accepting all types of people. i don¡¯t think they¡¯re wrong! look! all sorts of people are coming out. he didn¡¯t have the confidence to break through the b-grade league qualifiers, so he rose through the c-grade league¡¯s ranks instead. does this asian bastard have no pride?


    maximilian was talking excitedly in the video. reporters had been called and were excitedly writing down his words in the meeting hall.


    -if the association doesn¡¯t kick that bastard out, then i will. i¡¯ll trample on him and kick him out! are you watching, you cowardly asian bastard? if you aren¡¯t peeing from fear, then you better accept my proposal. if you don¡¯t, you will be known as a coward. of course, it won¡¯t make any difference to me if you accept the proposal or not!


    maximilian cheerfully threw the mic and walked outside. aine looked at choi yeonseung with an anxious look on his face. no matter how good his personality, there was no one who wouldn¡¯t become angry at such humiliation as long as they were a proud hunter...


    ¡°are you okay?¡±


    ¡°huh? ah. i¡¯m amazed by the fact that he¡¯s an elf.¡±


    maximilian¡¯s provocation wasn¡¯t particularly extraordinary. the provocations of the demons in the abyss were far better. maximilian didn¡¯t even mention his parents. wasn¡¯t that pretty gentlemanly of him?


    ¡°are there many elves on earth?¡±


    ¡°there aren¡¯t many of them, but they aren¡¯t so few that it¡¯s rare to come across them either.¡±


    after the gates opened and the constellations appeared, members of other races started to emerge on earth. it was obtained through special skills or items in dungeons or contracting with certain constellations.


    ¡°this moment is really rare for me. this is amazing.¡± choi yeonseung nodded as he felt as if a lot of time had passed.


    ¡°no... are you okay with this?¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°that son of a... i mean, are you okay with him talking about you like that?¡±


    ¡°ah. that? i think he¡¯s pretty cute.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°of course, i¡¯ll beat him up if we meet, so there¡¯s no need to become angry right now.¡±


    ¡°that is a great idea!¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s answer greatly satisfied aine. yes! a bastard who spoke arrogantly like that should be half-killed!


    ¡®she is truly gyeongryong hyung¡¯s daughter...¡¯


    it seemed aine was the one who was angry, not choi yeonseung. he didn¡¯t say that out loud, though, since he thought it would make her even angrier...


    ¡°when¡¯s the match?¡¯


    ¡°if you accept, it will be within two weeks. of course, we have many things to do before that.¡±


    ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°we¡¯ll do what that son of a¡ªwhat that player just did. hold a press conference and say you accept his challenge. that would attract people¡¯s attention. promoting it on sns would also be ideal. use social media and curse the person.¡±


    ¡®what is sns?¡¯


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know what it was, but he didn¡¯t ask. he didn¡¯t want to sound old. he would secretly find out about it later!


    ¡°can i curse at the press conference?¡±


    ¡°to a certain extent. you naturally can¡¯t be too harsh.¡±


    there was bound to be some provocation when hunters fought among themselves. however, if a party were to go too far, they would suffer losses. aine thought choi yeonseung would do well on his own in this regard. he was an experienced hunter and had a cool, calm personality.


    ¡°can i curse his parents?¡±


    ¡°... no. no matter how much you want to, please resist the temptation.¡±

 Chapter 75

    chapter 75


    provocation before a fight was also the role of hunters. however, there was nothing good about coming out too strong. if they went too far, they would be hit back in response.


    ¡°this is difficult.¡±


    ¡°if you really think so, then i can write a script.¡±


    it seemed funny, but this was also the role of a manager. most hunters had bad tempers, so it was safer to have a manager create the provocation than to leave it to the hunters.


    ¡°no. i can do at least this much.¡±


    "are you sure?"


    ¡°i have a few years of experience. i should be able to do an interview like that. you don¡¯t have to worry.¡±


    ¡°i want to worry... but i understand. i¡¯ll sort out that son of a¡ªthat player¡¯s information and send it to you, then.¡±??v€l?1n.


    ¡®she¡¯ll get angry if i say i don¡¯t need it.¡¯


    choi yeonseung had figured out aine¡¯s personality.


    ¡°thank you.¡±


    ¡°that maximilian son of a bi*tch has a high rating, but his weaknesses are obvious. you can win against him.¡±


    she would be worthless as a manager if she sent out a hunter in a match with no chance of winning, especially if it was a match where he could rise up significantly if he won. aine seriously thought that choi yeonseung had a chance against maximilian. this was why she came up with this suggestion!


    ... of course, from choi yeonseung¡¯s perspective, it was absurd that aine was worried about him.


    ¡®she isn¡¯t even bothering to stop herself from saying ¡®son of a b*tch¡¯ anymore.¡¯


    ***


    ¡°master. did you enjoy your meal?¡±


    odaigon greeted choi yeonseung with his eyes fixed on his phone, which impressed choi yeonseung. odaigon seemed to have adapted to earth better than he did!


    ¡°are you still playing that game?¡±


    ¡°huh? no. yes.¡±


    ¡°are you answering my questions half-heartedly because you¡¯re playing it?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    there was no answer, so choi yeonseung snatched the phone from odaigon¡¯s hand.


    ¡°ah, master! you can¡¯t do this!¡±


    ¡°why can¡¯t i? odaigon. i¡¯m glad you¡¯re adapting to and enjoying earth, but i¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll lose yourself because you¡¯re too immersed in it.¡±


    ¡°that is ridiculous, master. i won¡¯t lose myself to the menial entertainment created by humans... gasp. i was losing myself!¡±


    odaigon realized it as he spoke. he was shocked.


    ¡°this... this is such evil magic...¡±


    ¡°it isn¡¯t really magic, but it can be evil. in any case, i just want to tell you to play the game in moderation.¡±


    choi yeonseung glanced at the phone. odaigon¡¯s character had an enormous amount of equipment and a high level. it was clear that he had wasted the money he received upon joining the icarus clan.


    ¡°master! please punish me!¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t intend to do that and don¡¯t say things like that outside. i don¡¯t want to be seen as a weirdo. if you don¡¯t mind, i have a job for you.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll do whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°i got a realm called the blood fortress as a reward for the constellation battle. i think you should take care of it. i can¡¯t manage everything.¡±


    ¡°understood!¡±


    odaigon joyfully replied. he was glad to be given a task by choi yeonseung. managing a realm was something that only trusted household members could do.


    ¡°it was the warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯s realm, so there will be many things to manage. for now, stop the races there from killing each other and offering blood.¡±


    ¡°understood.¡±


    no more barbaric customs! choi yeonseung had become that realm¡¯s master, so the souls residing in it would have to obey his rules.


    ¡°they no longer have to sacrifice each other¡¯s blood to their master to become stronger. let them train constructively. the harder the training, the better.¡±


    reporters tried to get a reaction by using any means to scratch through choi yeonseun! however, the host intervened and stopped them before they could succeed.


    ¡°please ask questions in order according to the numbered ticket you received in advance. player choi yeonseung. please come up.¡±


    maximilian, an elf with an arrogant expression, was already on stage and was waiting with his arms crossed. the flashes once again exploded when choi yeonseung came up to the stage. once he was ready, the reporters started to quickly ask questions like hyenas chasing prey.


    ¡°do you think a martial artist can stay in the b-grade league?¡±


    ¡°you will find out when i do it.¡±


    ¡°maximilian is ranked 21st. do you think you have a chance?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the unexpected answer made the atmosphere cold for a moment. there were also fans in the seats behind the reporters, so boos came out immediately.


    ¡°i-isn¡¯t maximilian ranked 21st while choi yeonseung is outside the top 100?¡±


    ¡°what? does that mean you think maximilian is a despicable hunter who only chooses opponents he¡¯s sure he can defeat?¡±


    ¡°no, that¡¯s not what i meant...¡±


    ¡°you talk too much. no matter when our fight is scheduled to happen, you should be polite. don¡¯t slander people like that.¡±


    the reporter who unintentionally cursed maximilian became frustrated. when did he do that?


    ¡°according to a controversy, you used a trick because you didn¡¯t have the confidence to pass through the b-grade qualifiers. what do you think about that?¡±


    ¡°what controversy?¡±


    ¡°you deliberately got your rating measured below your real rank. you then passed the c-grade league qualifiers and measured your rating again...¡±


    ¡°if that were true, then isn¡¯t that the fault of the person who measured my abilities incorrectly? don¡¯t blame me. go to the guy who measured me.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the reporters were taken aback by choi yeonseung¡¯s unflustered attitude and the way he spoke confidently speaking confidently. they thought there would be an explanation about how it was all a misunderstanding. they didn¡¯t expect him to say, ¡°go argue with the measurer.¡±


    ¡°does anyone else have anything more to say?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve got something to say to you, you shameless bastard. how dare you manipulate the ratings? what do you take the league for?¡±


    as the reporters expected, maximilian stepped up himself when they failed to get anything from choi yeonseung.


    ¡°evidence? there is no way a cunning bastard like you would leave any evidence behind. that¡¯s why i singled you out to punish you myself. it isn¡¯t to give you a chance. do you understand? this isn¡¯t a match. it¡¯s an execution.¡±


    ¡°if you¡¯re so dissatisfied, why not do it right now?¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°if you¡¯re so dissatisfied, why not jump right at me? if i were angry, i would¡¯ve already rushed at you with a weapon. instead, you waited a few weeks and scheduled a match. are you really that angry?¡±


    ¡°what nonsense¡ª¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll give you a chance. let¡¯s not do it in the virtual world. let¡¯s fight here and now.¡±


    buzz buzz.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words caused the surroundings to become noisy. the reporters¡¯ eyes lit up, intrigued by the sudden challenge. the rookie had made an unexpected offer.


    let¡¯s fight in real life, not in a virtual stadium where it doesn¡¯t matter if you die or get hurt!


    he made a suggestion that couldn¡¯t have been done without some bravery.


    ¡°t-that suggestion goes against the rules...¡±


    ¡°ah. so you¡¯re mad, but you still want to follow the rules? i don¡¯t think you¡¯re really angry, then. if i were in your shoes, i would¡¯ve done it regardless of the rules and punishment. you all saw that, didn¡¯t you? i definitely gave him a chance to actually fight me. this guy avoided it because he¡¯s scared.¡±


    maximilian¡¯s face turned bright red at choi yeonseung¡¯s unstoppable words. as a player, there was nothing more disgraceful than being labeled as ¡®scared.¡¯ even so, there was no talk of fighting directly in real life.


    an actual battle between hunters was that dangerous. moreover, maximilian had no practical experience.


    ¡°have you ever cleared dungeons? from what i can see, you haven¡¯t. yet you still want to punish and execute me? you should take a look at yourself first. can a hunter who doesn¡¯t even raid dungeons even be called a hunter? if i were you, i would be so embarrassed that i wouldn¡¯t even show my face.¡±


    before he knew it, the conference hall had grown dead silent. reporters were staring at choi yeonseung with wide eyes out of fear of missing a single word. at first, they thought maximilian was going to crush choi yeonseung disastrously, but the reality turned out to be the exact opposite.

 Chapter 76

    chapter 76


    ¡°his courage is no joke. coming out like that against maximilian.¡±


    ¡°maximilian really doesn¡¯t have any experience in clearing dungeons.¡±


    ¡°clearing dungeons isn¡¯t important. hunters can fight well even if they don¡¯t have experience clearing dungeons.¡±


    ¡°still, hunters have to be strong in actual combat. look. maximilian is speechless.¡±


    the lack of actual experience was a strong weakness for some players, including maximilian. the reason why it didn¡¯t come out was because other players usually had nothing to say in this area as well. if they had a reputation in the league, there was no reason to risk their life in a raid!


    with maximilian speechless, choi yeonseung finished his piece.


    ¡°everyone, listen up. i won¡¯t avoid you or run away. if you have any doubts or complaints about my skills, come at me. i am willing to give you a real battle instead of a fight in the otherworld. don¡¯t run your mouth if you can¡¯t even do that. understood?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    aine, who was watching from a distance, almost dropped the phone she was holding.


    ¡®should he have just cursed his parents?¡¯


    she thought he would do the interview defensively, but choi yeonseung was acting insanely aggressive! it got to the point where even aine couldn¡¯t determine if he was doing well or not. it was unconventional...


    she didn¡¯t know about anything else, but one thing was certain. now that this had happened, choi yeonseung had to win! if he lost after this much provocation, he wouldn¡¯t be able to show his face in front of other hunters.


    ¡®i have to make sure that he wins! by all means!¡¯


    ***


    aine moved quickly.


    the match had already been set. it wasn¡¯t possible to delay or cancel it anymore. maximilian had been extremely shamed, so he¡¯d likely be fiercely preparing for the match. considering what just transpired, maximilian wouldn¡¯t be able to recover his reputation unless he had properly crushed choi yeonseung.


    ¡°find hunters similar to maximilian. we will keep doing practice matches before the actual match.¡±


    ¡°how about jason?¡±


    ¡°are you joking? do you still want to get paid? how is jason similar to maximilian? he is much slower and duller. find someone faster and more agile.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve already recruited sipolla. he¡¯ll be coming over immediately to help.¡±


    ¡°well done. keep in touch.¡±


    aine patted the shoulders of her subordinates and prepared for the match. a match between hunters was spectacular, but behind it were drops of sweat from many people. it started with attracting attention through the media. this training course was also a part of that.n?00v€l--?1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.


    aine planned to edit these practice matches and spread them through the media. if done properly, choi yeonseung¡¯s image would drastically change.


    people inevitably liked watching a hunter practice until he was sweaty. his abilities were a bonus! if he showed that he couldn¡¯t be pushed around even when up against prominent hunters, then the public¡¯s suspicions would subside to some extent. there would always be people who¡¯d doubt choi yeonseung, but he¡¯d shut them up in the actual match...


    ¡°ah. i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    choi yeonseung arrived late and belatedly realized the crazy situation. hence, he spoke with a slightly apologetic expression.


    ¡°i don¡¯t want you to set up practice matches.¡±


    ¡°... why???¡±


    aine, who had been frantically giving instructions, turned her head and fiercely asked. her eyes looked like she was going to kill someone!


    choi yeonseung replied seriously. ¡°practice matches don¡¯t help me much. it will just take up my time.¡±


    ¡°really? you should reconsider. no matter how much experience you have in clearing dungeons, fighting against a hunter is different. they¡¯re nothing like the monsters you¡¯ve faced, considering their patterns and the skills they use are different.¡±


    an individual battle between hunters was nothing like fighting monsters. unlike relatively simple monsters, each hunter was different. no matter how confident a hunter was in his skills, their opponent could easily turn the tables around in single-combat situations with a hidden move.


    ¡°i know. still, it¡¯s fine. please cancel the practice matches.¡±


    ¡°... i understand.¡±


    ¡°thank you. i¡¯m blessed to have met a manager who understands me this well. i¡¯ll be training by myself until the match, so please call me if anything happens.¡±


    choi yeonseung then left. the moment he closed the door behind him, the other staff members spoke up. they were clearly confused.


    ¡°b-boss. shouldn¡¯t we discourage it?¡±


    antony could feel choi yeonseung¡¯s solid momentum even though he didn¡¯t know much about him. he was like a giant monster holding its ground! was this what martial arts were?


    ¡°where are the other hunters in the clan?¡±


    ¡°it isn¡¯t training day, so they¡¯re probably out doing their own thing.¡±


    it was very rare for the clans¡¯ hunters to gather together in one place outside of group training days. they usually did their own work in their spare time.


    ¡°do you ever work together outside of a practice day?¡±


    ¡°not really. we do enough in group training, so there¡¯s not much else we can do.¡±


    ¡°it isn¡¯t just group training. you should spend time with each other and get along.¡±


    ¡°why should we do that? as professionals, we should be able to match the amount of practice done during the set practice time.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true, but there are some things that can¡¯t be achieved mechanically. trust in each other can¡¯t be created by forcing it. antony, do you know what the other hunters like and dislike?¡±


    ¡°no?¡±


    ¡°¡¯why should i care about that?¡¯ is that what you thought?¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡°do you think you¡¯re the center of the world?¡±


    ¡°gasp. how did you know?? do you have a mind-reading skill??¡±


    ¡°antony. let me give you some advice since you¡¯re here to help me... if you only care about yourself, you¡¯ll be met with limitations in raids. raids are done as a team. if you can¡¯t get along with your team, your power will inevitably decrease.¡±


    ¡°we work together.¡±


    ¡°the other people are matching you, but you¡¯re not doing the same for them.¡±


    ¡°why should i match them? i¡¯m better than them.¡±


    ¡°then why don¡¯t you go and do raids alone?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    caught off guard, antony shut up.


    ¡°you should be well aware of why you can¡¯t enter dungeons alone.¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯m thinking about matching them to some extent in the future.¡±


    if other hunters saw this, they would think, ¡®is that antony?? someone probably disguised as him!¡¯


    this was how shocking his reaction was! this arrogant and annoying antony listened to others!


    ¡°however, apart from practice time, why should i get to know those weaklings? the people gathered in the clan are all professionals. we shouldn¡¯t have to do that, right?¡±


    ¡°yes. that is also true.¡±


    ¡°look! i always say the right thing.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    putting aside antony¡¯s reaction, the icarus clan was a fairly functional clan. it attracted potential hunters from all over the world and periodically tested and ranked them. it would then decide whether to send them on raids or not based on their ranking. except during group training, its hunters trained on their own. they were free to eat, play or practice as long as they were confident in their skills. therefore, there weren¡¯t many occasions for them to see each other despite being in the same clan.


    in fact, that didn¡¯t apply to the icarus clan alone. all the big clans functioned like that these days. the small clans in the past, the members of which got along and cooperated well with each other, were now rare. for hunters, raiding was a business! hence, the clans naturally pursued the most efficient method to tackle it. they wanted parties that would run smoothly no matter who was replaced rather than parties that would creak when one member was left out.


    ¡°but there are definitely times when the old ways are better.¡±


    ¡°you sound like my grandfather.¡±


    ¡°antony. do you want to get hit?¡±


    ¡°n-no... i was just saying.¡±


    antony apologized. he was then taken aback.


    why did he apologize?

 Chapter 77

    chapter 77


    antony was angry.


    of course, choi yeonseung beat him during mock practice and performed even better during the dungeon practice. but that was just a coincidence! he recognized choi yeonseung¡¯s skills, but choi yeonseung was still worse than him! besides, even if choi yeonseung was slightly stronger than antony, antony was the icarus clan¡¯s ace hunter. he should be respected as a colleague.


    ¡°choi yeonseung! we¡¯re from the same clan, and i¡¯m the 1st team¡¯s ace. aren¡¯t you going too far?!¡±


    ¡°ah. sorry. i¡¯m sorry i hurt you.¡±


    ¡°good. in the future, be careful with your words.¡±


    antony then paused. wait...


    if someone heard this, they would think he was nitpicking because he was angry!


    ¡°it isn¡¯t that i¡¯m hurt...!¡±


    ¡°in any case, antony. i want to do this the old way.¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°i want to do this the old way. no matter how efficient it is when the icarus clan members act separately, there have to be a few hunters who will follow my method.¡±


    ¡°so you want to find a hunter willing to give up their free time on a holiday to work with you even if they¡¯re not sure whether they¡¯ll be raiding with you or not? choi yeonseung. where would you be able to find such hunters in the clan?¡± antony asked, sounding dumbfounded.


    hunters were basically selfish. who would be stupid enough to give up their time and practice for such vague reasons?


    ¡°... then why are you here?¡±


    ¡°gasp?!¡±


    antony only realized it when choi yeonseung pointed it out. was that it?!


    ¡°i-i just... i wanted to help you out of great generosity...¡±


    ¡°yes. maybe other hunters can do the same.¡±


    speechless, antony altered what he just said.


    ¡°that¡¯s just me. the others will never...¡±


    ¡°choi yeonseung, you came?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    there was a bang as the door to the training ground opened. a slender latina beauty walked inside. it was elisabeth gutierrez.


    ¡°i heard the news and came to help. now, thank me quickly,¡± elisabeth told choi yeonseung and clapped her hands. choi yeonseung pushed her during the dungeon raid, but she had seniority in the uhc. she wasn¡¯t ranked 19th for nothing.


    ¡°uh? why is that over there?¡±??v€l-b!n.


    elisabeth called antony ¡®that¡¯! she was obviously a good person since she didn¡¯t call him ¡®that bastard.¡¯


    ¡°he¡¯s here to help me.¡±


    ¡°what?! really?!¡±


    elisabeth was surprised. antony of all people? really?


    ¡°he¡¯s lying, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°what nonsense are you saying?!¡± antony shouted angrily. he came here to help in good faith only to hear such insults from elisabeth!


    ¡°be careful, choi yeonseung. i don¡¯t participate in the uhc, but gutierrez does. think carefully about what that means.¡±


    ¡°what are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°bah. how do i know you aren¡¯t playing tricks to keep choi yeonseung in check? uhc players are dark-hearted, aren¡¯t they? i wouldn¡¯t be surprised if gutierrez did something like that.¡±


    ¡°... do you mean i¡¯ll provide detrimental help to choi yeonseung so he can¡¯t get stronger?¡±


    antony ignored her and didn¡¯t answer.


    elisabeth responded immediately.


    ¡°... you bastard! i¡¯ll beat you up!¡±


    ¡°bah. you¡¯re only angry because i hit the nail on the head.¡±


    ¡°come at me! i¡¯m going to split your head apart!¡±


    elisabeth was angry enough to pull out her weapon.


    how many hours passed? choi yeonseung finally stopped and took a deep breath. the demon in front of him disappeared as well. his top had been completely ragged, but his body was fine. despite the terrible attacks, he simply let them flow and bounce off him, keeping him unscathed.


    ¡°oh my god, this type of training... gutierrez. why are you so quiet?¡±


    speechless, elisabeth approached with a bewitched expression and nudged choi yeonseung¡¯s upper body.


    ¡°... what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°i-isn¡¯t this amazing?¡±


    ***


    the day of the match quickly arrived.


    ¡°did you have a proper breakfast?¡± aine had been asking choi yeonseung multiple questions seemingly out of worry. ¡°you can¡¯t skip meals just because you can¡¯t digest them. even if you go to the otherworld, your current condition will be maintained.¡±


    ¡°i ate.¡±


    ¡°what did you eat? greasy things aren¡¯t good. if you feel uncomfortable, it is better to drink vegetable juice. right. you like korean food but something like porridge isn¡¯t bad. it can be topped with kimchi or something.¡±


    ¡°just because i¡¯m korean doesn¡¯t mean i like kimchi porridge.¡±


    ¡°so you don¡¯t like kimchi porridge?¡±


    ¡°... i do.¡±


    aine looked at choi yeonseung as if he was pathetic. if he liked it, then why did he have to argue?


    ¡°you¡¯ll have bodyguards, so when you go inside the stadium, ignore the boos.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t need guards.¡±


    ¡°i know. bodyguards are assigned to hunters to protect the general public, not the hunters themselves. hunters can¡¯t just come out and beat them.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    aine spoke like she had experienced it many times already. choi yeonseung soon came to a realization.


    ¡°ah...!


    how many hunters were there who couldn¡¯t control their temper and ran amok?


    ¡°the bodyguards will stop you, so don¡¯t worry and go inside.¡±


    once the cars of aine¡¯s gang¡ªaine¡¯s company came to a halt one after another and opened the door, loud shouts erupted. a stadium with tens of thousands of people! their uproar made choi yeonseung feel how popular the uhc was.


    ¡®this is great.¡¯


    choi yeonseung realized the popularity of this sport. in the past, hunters used to be warriors that fought against the threat of monsters...


    ¡®of course, some were popular back then, but...¡¯


    it felt like the job of a hunter had changed from a warrior to a celebrity. however, there was something that choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know yet. it was that what he was tasting right now was just a fraction of the popularity! the ssl league was watched by more people than the uhc. its raid broadcasts had a life-threatening fierceness...


    numerous hunter-related content was at the top of the rankings. sports, music, entertainment, and everything else that used to exist in the past had hunters.


    -get lost! fraud!


    -why are they still letting this guy fight? he used the c-grade league as a shortcut to rank up!


    -do you think that stepping foot into the b-grade league is everything? a dirty scammer like you should just get out of the league!


    -boooo.


    normal hunters wouldn¡¯t be able to bear the boos coming from thousands of people at once. however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t care. he had been cursed by tens of thousands of demons!


    ¡®he¡¯s calm.¡¯


    choi yeonseung ignored the people, which made them even angrier.


    -y-y-you¡¯ll pay for that soon enough!


    -fight on, choi yeonseung!


    -crush that maximilian bastard!


    -that elf bastard is really annoying!


    ¡°?¡±


    surprisingly, some people were cheering for choi yeonseung.


    ... they seemed to really hate maximilian!

 Chapter 78

    chapter 78


    every player had haters, but maximilian had a lot of them. a handsome elf with an arrogant and obnoxious attitude!


    -this xxx doesn¡¯t deserve to be in the b-grade league! he should get lost.


    -is yyy still showing his face? indeed, he¡¯s an orc, so he¡¯s probably shameless. honestly, shouldn¡¯t the bastard who turned into an orc not be allowed to participate for the sake of the league¡¯s dignity?


    -it is an elf if you twist it...


    even so, maximilian was popular. in the end, hunters were defined by their skills most problems could be covered up as long as one was strong. so far, maximilian had been able to make such remarks because he aimed at opponents weaker than him.


    this time, the nameless hunter who rose from c-grade was one of the opponents. there was a 99% chance this hunter would lose. but...


    -hey! hit him even just once! you¡¯re going to die anyway. so if you get hit, don¡¯t back down. if you¡¯re going to lose, might as well do it fighting!


    -land a blow to maximilian¡¯s face! he keeps bragging about his no-damage matches! it¡¯s annoying!


    ¡®they¡¯re heated up even though they aren¡¯t fighting.¡¯


    choi yeonseung admired the shamelessness of his fans. they had no conscience! instead of fighting, they told him to fight instead and just let him tank all the danger...


    people¡¯s conscience seemed to disappear as decades passed.


    ¡®um?¡¯


    choi yeonseung found some unusual people among the crowd. no matter how he looked at it, they seemed to have mastered martial arts!


    ¡®mount hua sect?¡¯


    he had seen a few of their faces the other day. they were definitely the young members of the mount hua sect! they were mixed among the crowd and cheering for choi yeonseung.


    ¡®i haven¡¯t even accepted their proposal yet...¡¯


    choi yeonseung was slightly moved.


    they came to cheer for me because we¡¯re all martial artists.


    suddenly, he felt a surge of motivation.


    ¡®okay. i¡¯ll show them proper martial arts.¡¯


    today¡¯s match was maximilian¡¯s execution, and...


    at the same time, it was a place to show that martial arts weren''t inferior to magic.


    ***


    the middle of the huge circular arena contained the otherworld. if two players went inside, the image would be magnified so the spectators could watch. it was so vivid it was as if the fight was occurring in front of them! that was the charm of watching it directly at the stadium.


    -greetings to everyone gathered here! i¡¯m really excited to commentate this hot match of maximilian fitzpatrick and choi yeonseung!


    -that¡¯s right. this match can be viewed in many ways.


    the commentator brian cleared his throat. the competition among uhc commentators was also fierce. among them, brian was popular for his detailed and excellent commentary, which he achieved because he was also a hunter! the best rank he got was c-grade, and he had been retired for decades, but being a hunter was a rare strength as a commentator. he also put in a lot of hard work.


    -first of all, i don¡¯t think maximilian needs an explanation. he¡¯s one of the uhc b-grade league¡¯s stars, after all, and he¡¯s been very popular lately. he¡¯s still ranked 21st, but experts are confident that he will soon break into the top 10.


    -that¡¯s right. ah, maximilian¡¯s fans are cheering. haha. i can feel his popularity from here.


    -in comparison, hunter choi yeonseung is a rookie. shortly after passing the c-grade league qualifiers, his hunter rating was readjusted to b-grade. that¡¯s how he moved up to the b-grade right away.


    -wasn¡¯t there a lot of talk about this? brian, what do you think? how often do ratings change in such a short period of time?


    -it definitely isn¡¯t something that happens often.


    -so do you think he faked the rating as well?


    -i don¡¯t think so.


    -oh. is that so?


    the host looked at brian with surprised eyes.


    -it¡¯s because hunter choi yeonseung is an abyss returnee. he has been wandering around that place for thirty years.


    -thirty years! wow, that¡¯s amazing. isn¡¯t that a guinness world record?


    3.


    2.


    1.


    start.


    the moment it started, maximilian cast flying magic and soared up. he then frantically moved backwards. as a long-distance damage dealer, that strategy was fundamental! however, maximilian¡¯s speed was much faster than ordinary hunters. even if two hunters were in the same position, the result still depended on how skilled they could handle it.


    -ah! hunter maximilian moved back and widened the distance! hunter choi yeonseung acted too late! he can¡¯t narrow it!


    the host sighed. several of maximilian¡¯s anti-fans also sighed. they knew how advantageous this distance was for maximilian. in the past, maximilian had often opened up this distance as soon as he started and hit the opponent unilaterally to win. in addition, the map just happened to be collapsed ruins. it had a few suitable obstacles.


    choi yeonseung stood alone among the bleak ruins. to the spectators, it seemed like he had given up.


    -hunter choi yeonseung has to move! he shouldn¡¯t just stay still! hunter maximilian is using the magic spell, elf¡¯s shining bow!


    maximilian immediately used magic the moment he reached a comfortable distance. he received elf¡¯s shining bow from the constellation arrogant light elf. it took some time to cast, but once it was successful, it could shoot powerful arrows of light in succession!


    hence, the fight seemed to be over the moment he got to widen the distance and used that spell. maximilian could now launch his attacks in a way that made it nearly impossible to withstand with defense or evasion.


    ¡°do you feel like surrendering now, you cheeky brat?¡±


    maximilian spoke triumphantly. he sounded quite relaxed.


    ¡°don¡¯t think about being brave just because we¡¯re in the otherworld. i can bully and kill you as much as i want here.¡±


    the otherworld was a virtual space but the pain and fear felt here were real. a player like maximilian had the confidence to play with and harass his opponent to the point of breaking them.


    choi yeonseung stared intently before smiling. ¡°you are a guy with no real experience... anyone who sees your attitude will think you have cleared a hundred dungeons.¡±


    ¡°... do you really want me to kill you, you bastard?!¡±


    maximilian made and fired arrows of light. he first only released four shots, each aiming for choi yeonseung¡¯s arms and legs.


    ¡®it¡¯s fast, has great penetration ability, and even a guidance system? that¡¯s fraudulent.¡¯


    choi yeonseung evaluated the magic. it had to have been given by a constellation. after all, it was too cost-effective for a b-grade hunter! avoiding it would be difficult since it simultaneously and quickly rushed in from all directions. it was also hard to block due to its good penetration ability.


    ... of course, that was only according to the standards of b-grade hunters. although choi yeonseung was only a b-grade hunter or in the first-class stage in the otherworld, he could enter the peak-class stage by a narrow margin. that risked tearing apart the otherworld, though.


    but it didn¡¯t matter. even if he were just in the second-class stage, not the first-class stage...


    he could deflect all of maximillian¡¯s attacks.


    [the skill ¡®covert attack reversal¡¯ has been activated! you have successfully deflected the arrows of the elf¡¯s shining bow.]


    [your actions have displeased the constellation ¡®arrogant light elf.¡¯]


    the arrogant light elf expressed displeasure at choi yeonseung¡¯s behavior. he dared block an attack from his household member, and a skill he personally gave no less!


    ¡®you shouldn¡¯t be offended just yet.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was worried about arrogant light elf. if he was already offended, then what he was about to do would be even more shocking.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ shouts that you should utterly humiliate that long-eared bastard!]


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ is secretly cheering for you.]


    ¡°you dare!¡±


    maximilian created and fired eight more arrows. however, it didn¡¯t matter how many shots flew in. choi yeonseung deflected them all with the back of his hand, returned them with his elbow, or hit them with his toes. his actions broke some of the arrows and caused the others to hit the ground. they then all disappeared.


    -......


    -......


    the host and commentator were rendered speechless. it was as if he had blocked all his opponent¡¯s magic without using any skills.


    was what they were seeing now real?


    ¡°continue. i¡¯ll wait.¡±


    choi yeonseung said while looking at maximilian. his voice was full of arrogance.

 Chapter 79

    chapter 79


    everyone in the stadium clearly heard what he had just said.


    -waaaaaaaaaaaah!


    the people¡¯s roars soon shook the stadium. choi yeonseung¡¯s spirit was so great that even some of maximilian¡¯s fans and choi yeonseung¡¯s doubters couldn¡¯t help but shout!


    such ambition in the uhc was rare. stopping in the middle of a fight and conceding the first attack!


    uhc fans were simple. they loved flashy and hot players. even if they had just been cursing at someone, their behaviors would instantly change if that hunter displayed a great performance.


    to them, choi yeonseung was a breath of fresh air. in the b-grade league, every match was almost like a fight where they risked their lives, so every moment was calculated. the moment a person stopped, the opponent should charge in immediately and beat them. they shouldn¡¯t be so relaxed.


    -isn¡¯t this crazy? this asian!


    -punch maximilian¡¯s face! create a wind!


    -choi yeonseung! choi yeonseung! choi yeonseung!


    -he¡¯s a 1st generation hunter, so he¡¯s definitely different! isn¡¯t this match fun?


    -it¡¯s refreshing to see martial artists.


    -give it your all.


    some haters of maximilian were furious that choi yeonseung had blown his chance, but the majority of people admired and cheered for choi yeonseung. it was a completely different match from the usual ones! that made it exciting to see how this would go.


    would this old hunter be able to keep up with his martial arts?


    ***


    -uh... hunter choi yeonseung isn¡¯t attacking! rather, he chose to be provocative... what do you think, mr. brian? why isn¡¯t he moving?


    the host was confused.


    -perhaps he can¡¯t move while defending, or maybe he¡¯s run out of magic power. there¡¯s also a chance he can¡¯t move due to the side effect of a special skill.


    even so, choi yeonseung¡¯s behavior was truly amazing. once the ranged combatant¡¯s attacks had stopped, their opponent should dig in as much as they could to defeat the ranged combatant. what was choi yeonseung doing?


    -no. it would be obvious if it was due to the side effect of a skill or a lack of magic power. look how relaxed he is.


    -... why isn¡¯t he moving, then?


    -i really think, umm... there is a high possibility that he¡¯s just slacking off.


    -s-slacking off? in this match??


    the host sounded astonished.


    the b-grade league was full of monsters. a match between a-grade hunters was a big world-shaking event that didn¡¯t happen regularly, while the matches between c-grade hunters were somewhat lacking in quality. on the other hand, the b-grade league frequently had high-quality matches. thanks to this, the competition was fierce!


    slacking off on this bloody battlefield!


    -i... i see. mr. brian. let¡¯s take a look at what hunter choi yeonseung¡¯s relaxation will lead to. i can¡¯t wait to see how hunter maximilian reacts!


    ***


    ¡°you... ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!¡±


    maximilian lost his composure and cursed. it was an embarrassing change from an outsider¡¯s point of view. so far, maximilian hadn¡¯t been attacked. on the contrary, he seemed to have the advantage.


    -he¡¯s too agitated!??v€l-b!n.


    -what¡¯s wrong with maximilian?


    -calm down, maximilian! stay calm!


    maximilian¡¯s assistant, manager, and staff shouted, but their words couldn¡¯t reach maximilian in the otherworld. maximilian¡¯s shock was greater than expected.


    ¡®he is more of a newbie than i thought.¡¯


    choi yeonseung looked at maximilian with pity. for a hunter, the skills they were confident in were more valuable than pride. hence, if those skills were broken before they could even hurt the person they were completely belittling, they¡¯d suffer extraordinary mental damage.


    if they were a 1st generation hunter¡ªno, if they had real experience in combat, they wouldn¡¯t be as affected. if a skill didn¡¯t work against a monster, it was normal to sober up and take out another skill.


    however, maximilian had only ever dealt with other hunters in the uhc. he never imagined that his skills could be blocked so easily by another hunter.


    ¡°i won¡¯t let you have a beautiful end!¡±


    "don''t worry. i intend to do the same.¡±


    -stop being so relaxed and hit maximilian already!


    after round 1, the atmosphere was completely different than before the match. the cheers were full of anticipation! eyes full of anticipation for what choi yeonseung would show.


    maximilian¡¯s fans cheered as if fighting back, but their voices were weak. they felt as if they were at a disadvantage.


    -!!


    -m-maximilian is running away!


    the moment round 2 began, maximilian started running back. he didn¡¯t use flying magic so he could conserve magic power. moreover, he only used 1st and 2nd circle magic like ¡®low-grade acceleration.¡¯ he wasn¡¯t trying to widen the distance to launch an attack. all he was doing was running away.


    -boooo! maximilian! what are you doing?


    -have you thrown away your pride?


    players who bought time by running away like this received a lot of swear words. nobody liked to watch boring matches.


    ¡°you¡¯re so unsightly that it¡¯s depressing, maximillian. i¡¯ll end you quickly,¡± choi yeonseung said.


    maximilian inwardly cursed upon hearing those words.


    ¡®follow me if you can!¡¯


    maximilian had a head start, and it had been quite some time since he started widening the distance. choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t be able to chase even if he tried. he wouldn¡¯t respond to the provocation. rather, he¡¯d just take this time to recover!


    choi yeonseung raised his leg. afterward, he took a step. as soon as he did, choi yeonseung disappeared. no, it seemed like he disappeared in everyone¡¯s eyes. the next moment, choi yeonseung was already behind maximilian.


    ¡°keeoook!¡±


    maximilian freaked out and swerved. his mana circle tingled due to the additional magic. however, choi yeonseung was already in front of him.


    ¡°????¡±


    -footwork! that¡¯s footwork, one of the movement skills of martial arts!


    -i-is it usually that fast?


    -no. i¡¯ve never seen anyone with that much speed!


    maximilian gritted his teeth and tried to use magic to attack. however, choi yeonseung had used origin of the celestial finger to paralyze both of maximillian¡¯s arms. he then struck maximillian¡¯s chin with origin of the celestial kick.


    thump!


    this was the end. maximilian had been completely overpowered and had fallen to the ground.


    ¡°what did you say? you won¡¯t let me have a beautiful end?¡±


    ¡°!!¡±


    maximilian looked up at choi yeonseung in horror. for maximilian, who had never been in such a situation before, that moment was nothing short of terrifying.


    ¡®shout to surrender! shout to surrender!¡¯


    maximilian inwardly shouted toward his assistant, who was outside. his assistant could declare surrender in his stead. however, perhaps it was because his assistant had some lingering regrets, but he couldn¡¯t bring himself to surrender.


    ¡®xxxx! i want you to declare surrender!¡¯


    maximilian¡¯s pants were wet.


    ¡°don¡¯t worry. i don¡¯t intend to play with you,¡± choi yeonseung said while looking down at maximilian.


    ¡°......?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t have the hobby of playing with insignificant people who can¡¯t even compete against me.¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words trampled on maximilian more intensely than any insult.


    maximilian felt a burning sense of humiliation even as he shivered. the last thing he saw was choi yeonseung firing the origin of the celestial finger.


    bam!


    -hunter choi yeonseung has finished off hunter maximilian in round 2! who would¡¯ve known? maximilian was actually beaten by a newcomer who had just entered the league!!


    the host shouted. he knew how much of a hot topic the match in front of him would become.


    -this is the uhc! the other hunters in the top 10 should be worried now. a new challenger has come!


    -his martial arts are really great. it¡¯s so excellent i can¡¯t even understand anymore why martial arts have become so rare these days.

 Chapter 80

    chapter 80


    brian¡¯s voice trembled with excitement as he spoke.


    -no, it isn¡¯t just that. in the future, we might even see more martial artists in the uhc.


    -is it to that extent, mr brian?


    -don¡¯t the trends of the uhc change quickly? it wouldn¡¯t be strange if forgotten martial arts reappear.


    the host laughed at brian¡¯s words. brian felt unusually excited.


    -you seem happy that hunter choi yeonseung won?


    -cough... honestly, i don¡¯t feel bad about it. he¡¯s a 1st generation hunter.


    -by the way, mr brian. hasn¡¯t it been a long time since martial artists have been seen among hunters? can it really be resurrected that fast?


    the trends of the uhc changed in a flash. when melee combatants were popular, the right magic to face them was found. the same happened when tanks were popular. this was possible because most hunters used magic. meanwhile, the number of martial artists was significantly lower. its immediate resurrection was questionable.


    -i think it¡¯s possible. we had much less information and support back in the day, yet excellent hunters still managed to learn and master magic on their own. martial arts hasn¡¯t completely disappeared, so it isn¡¯t impossible to resurrect. if it doesn¡¯t work, they can just learn from hunter choi yeonseung over there.


    -you¡¯re certainly right. now, hunter choi yeonseung is coming out for the winner¡¯s interview.


    cheers poured out the moment choi yeonseung came out of the otherworld. the fans cheering for maximilian earlier were cheering as if they were fans of choi yeonseung from the beginning.


    this was the uhc. they would become a hero after winning once. they would be treated as trash if they ever lost!


    several of maximilian¡¯s loyal fans still cheered for him, but they couldn¡¯t be heard.


    -will hunter maximilian come out for an interview? he probably won''t, right?


    even the host laughed at maximilian. it was the uhc¡¯s rule to laugh at losers. that was especially the case for a hunter like maximilian, who had accumulated karma by mouthing off before matches!


    -hunter maximilian, ah... he went out the back. it can¡¯t be helped. let¡¯s understand him!


    -that¡¯s a pity. i wanted to hear what he had to say.


    -it¡¯s a bit rude to laugh at the hunters who don¡¯t do the loser¡¯s interview, but let¡¯s understand!


    laughter burst out at the host¡¯s words.


    ¡®this place has a different sense of brutality,¡¯ choi yeonseung thought.


    30 years ago, choi yeonseung¡¯s world was simple. they fought if monsters came out, they entered if dungeons opened, and they trained in their spare time. during training, they didn¡¯t have to worry about anything else. it was peaceful. things were completely different now. the end of the world, an industry where tens of billions of dollars were just rolling around, hunters who cared about popularity over monsters...


    this place was fierce in its own way.


    ¡®but i won¡¯t waver.¡¯ choi yeonseung vowed. no matter the temptations or changes he¡¯d face, he wouldn¡¯t lose his real purpose here.


    ¡°now! i¡¯m here with the winner, hunter choi yeonseung. hunter choi yeonseung. that was a perfect match. two rounds without a valid hit! how do you feel?¡±


    ¡°just so-so.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s answer made the host speechless. it was the same for the spectators around them! usually, the winner would say things like ¡®i¡¯m happy¡¯ or ¡®i¡¯m excited.¡¯ if they went a bit further, they would say things like ¡®the opponent was weak¡¯...


    yet there wasn¡¯t a single emotion like excitement or joy on choi yeonseung¡¯s face.


    ¡®is it because he¡¯s asian?¡¯


    the host was amazed. maximilian wasn¡¯t an easy opponent. how could he be so aloof after beating an opponent like that?


    the host was experienced. words immediately jumped out even if he was feeling embarrassed. ¡°i¡¯m curious. why do you feel that way?¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t it obvious? my opponent was too weak.¡±


    -waaaaaaaah!


    -choi yeonseung! the best!


    the winner could be arrogant. looking at what he showed today, choi yeonseung deserved to say that. the roars of the crowd proved this. no one called choi yeonseung cocky.


    the host smiled at the enthusiasm. choi yeonseung had talent. the talent to become a star! there were hunters who didn¡¯t gain fans even if they won because they couldn¡¯t entertain. there were also hunters who had bad win rates but had fans due to their hot matches or words. choi yeonseung was the latter.


    ¡®i¡¯m certain, considering his character.¡¯


    a character like his would be popular enough.


    ¡°is that so? can you tell me how weak he was?¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s see... he¡¯s like below a goblin or an orc.¡±


    each of the seated hunters stared at choi yeonseung with displeasure, interest, or coldness. of course, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t shaken by such gazes. he answered nonchalantly.


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter who it is.¡±


    [you have lived a life worthy of your existence. the power of your existence has risen.]


    [the skill ¡®overcome oneself to become strong¡¯ has been activated. the power of your existence has risen!]


    [millions of people know your name and are cheering for you! the power of your existence has risen!]


    the rising power of existence. at this moment, he could feel the enthusiasm that countless people on earth were sending to him.


    ¡®i see. is this the way to gain popularity?¡¯


    [the ¡¯fighter of sweat and flesh¡¯ favors you! you have received a soul stone.]


    [the ¡®monk pursuing glory¡¯ is sending you a serious proposal.]


    [......]


    [the skill ¡®future sight¡¯ has been activated!]


    ¡°???¡±


    the skill that he had received from the goddess had just been activated even though he had never used it before.


    the future sight skill! foreseeing the future was difficult even for the goddess, so it wasn¡¯t something she could use at will. he couldn¡¯t believe it triggered like this.


    ¡®what?¡¯


    in front of choi yeonseung¡¯s eyes, a wide desert and a splendid city appeared.


    las vegas!


    a giant monster crashed into it. it was a rock drake, a monster that looked like a dinosaur. the monster was at least a b-grade!


    people screamed and buildings collapsed.


    there was only one reason why monsters would invade cities like this. a dungeon wasn¡¯t cleared within the time limit, allowing it to release the monsters within.


    ***


    -korean hunter choi yeonseung, returned from the abyss!


    -a spectacular return in the uhc... how are the people missing in the abyss doing?


    -1st generation korean hunter, choi yeonseung. after returning from the abyss, he debuted in the uhc. it seems like he got help from other korean hunters...


    the uhc was a league that not only the united states, but the world was paying attention to. if countries put their pride on the team-combat-focused ssl, then the best place to see the individual performances of hunters was the uhc. he played in the b-grade league, which had the most amount of attention, so it was only natural for articles to appear.


    korean fans were intrigued by the name choi yeonseung.


    -a 1st generation hunter? wow, 30 years ago? how did he return?


    -he had to have been very lucky in the abyss. how many months was he in the abyss?


    -they say he uses martial arts!


    -korea used to have many martial artists.


    -i know all the names of 1st generation hunters, but this is my first time hearing his name. he doesn¡¯t seem to be very famous.


    -but isn¡¯t he really good in combat? look. he has everything.


    -that maximilian was a bastard, so it worked out well.


    -oh my. another hunter has been lost. what is the government doing?


    -he fell out in the united states. wouldn¡¯t the united states be crazy to give him up? i wouldn¡¯t give him back either.


    -the united states provides better treatment than south korea. honestly, their level of support is too different.


    -hey. isn¡¯t it very interesting that he is a martial artist?


    the news also reached lee changsik¡¯s ears. he was the vice clan leader of the clan hwang gyeongryong and choi yeonseung were in thirty years ago!


    ¡°yeon... yeonseung has returned?¡±


    ¡°huh? do you know him?¡±


    lee changsik was called cold-blooded because he always had a calm and cold expression, yet he was amazingly so surprised!

 Chapter 81

    chapter 81


    the hunters around lee changsik looked surprised.


    ¡°director-nim, are you okay?¡±


    ¡°director-nim! do you know him?¡±


    ¡°... they used to be my clanmates in the past,¡± lee changsik said after quickly controlling his expression. his words amazed the hunters.


    ¡°wow. there was a hunter like that.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t think there is much of an age difference between him and us.¡±


    ¡°is it because he came back from the abyss?¡±


    ¡°... shut up. focus on training.¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    -is director lee changsik¡¯s leadership really enough?


    -officials have revealed that an outstanding hunter can¡¯t be a good director.


    they were criticized for not performing well outside, but most of the hunters who trained under lee changsik trusted him. his personality was cold, but they were certain about his skills and sense of responsibility. lee changsik went to the rear of the training ground, then called a number that he hadn¡¯t contacted in a long time.


    -cough, cough. is this mr. hwang¡¯s number?


    ***


    ¡°uhahahat! uhahahahat!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong laughed while rolling backward and sideways.


    ¡°kikikiki!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s secretaries exchanged looks with each other as they waited outside the door.


    -should i go in?


    -do you want to be fired? just pretend you didn¡¯t hear anything.


    ¡°ah. it¡¯s been so long since i¡¯ve had so much fun.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong wiped away his tears. it had been a long time since he laughed so hard that he almost cried. the higher the status, the more work that had to be done and the more his responsibilities increased. he had to make sure that the numerous affiliates of his company were running well, that he was ready to react if anything happened in the world, and that he¡¯d manage the affairs of the city that he received from the government...


    others envied him for being an s-grade hunter, but this position was lonely.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s return was so welcome that tears came out. this guy had always been different! it was the same with the match against maximilian this time. it broke the expectations of many people and completely smashed their noses.


    ¡°ah. i want to talk to someone about this. should i call someone?¡± hwang gyeongryong wondered which company¡¯s president he should call to talk to.


    before that, the secretary¡¯s report came in. ¡°chairman. you have received a personal call.¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    out of the several mobile phones used by hwang gyeongryong, there was a number that was only known by family members such as his ex-wife, ex-wife... or ex-wife.


    ¡°who is it? didn¡¯t i tell you not to ask me if they¡¯re just asking for pocket money?¡±


    ¡°about that... it¡¯s hunter lee changsik...¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was surprised. lee changsik contacted him first!


    -you said you wanted to go to the united states!


    -that was back then! our clan members believed in your judgment and gave their lives for the cause. if you leave for the united states now, what will become of them? won¡¯t they be ashamed?


    -that¡¯s better than seeing more deaths! i don¡¯t need any of that!


    how long had it been since they had an argument and lost contact? they were so upset with each other that they turned their heads and didn¡¯t talk to each other when meeting in an official setting.


    ¡®ohu. he saw yeonseung.¡¯


    hwang gyeongryong answered the phone with an evil smile.


    -ah. who is this? i think it¡¯s someone i don¡¯t know.


    -...are you mr. hwang?


    -ah, that¡¯s right. why did you call me? i don¡¯t know who you are.


    -... don''t make useless jokes. it¡¯s lee changsik. i saw yeonseung playing a match! you already knew, right?


    -of course, i knew. i took care of him as soon as we got in touch. there¡¯s nothing to worry about. i¡¯m taking care of him much better than the government.


    -why didn¡¯t you tell me?


    -were we that close to each other? bah.??v€l-b!n.


    -......


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s pettiness made lee changsik speechless. this person hadn¡¯t changed even though he became the chairman of one of the world¡¯s leading groups?


    -forget it, put yeonseung on.


    -if you want to contact yeonseung, then you can call him directly. he isn¡¯t even next to me.


    -i know you can get him if you wanted!


    -but i don¡¯t want to. call him on your own, dude. be thankful that i¡¯m not stopping it. i could cut off all contact between you two if i wanted.


    -what¡¯s wrong with you? what do you want?


    "please accept me as your disciple!"


    ¡°......!¡±


    ***


    choi yeonseung¡¯s match seemed to have given a huge shock to the young hunters of the mount hua sect. martial arts could overwhelm magic! choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t confirmed that he would accept the mount hua sect yet, but the young hunters couldn¡¯t wait.


    -let¡¯s go kneel down!


    -just wait for him to accept us!


    ¡°wait. didn¡¯t you say that you weren¡¯t very interested in martial arts?¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. the elders of the clan obviously said things like ¡®young people these days don¡¯t care much about martial arts anymore,¡¯ ¡®everyone is trying to switch to magic,¡¯ ¡®we are doomed,¡¯ and ¡®oh, our ancestors are angry...¡¯


    looking at the scene now, they seemed very passionate about martial arts. did the match change their minds?


    ¡°um... in fact, we...¡±


    ¡°that...¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    the hunters hesitated but finally made up their minds. ¡°it isn¡¯t that we¡¯re not interested in martial arts.¡±


    ¡°then?¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re interested in martial arts, but the elders... are just a bit... stubborn...¡±


    choi yeonseung cocked his head because he couldn¡¯t understand it. aine whispered from beside him. ¡°i think they meant their elders are being pigheaded.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s like being too fussy.¡±


    ¡°aha.¡± choi yeonseung finally understood. indeed, the elders of the mount hua sect had been honing their martial arts for a long time and awakened after the gates opened. they didn¡¯t abandon the traditions they had cultivated just because they awakened as a hunter.


    learn the traditions and move forward!


    ...the problem was that these things were hard to accept for young hunters.


    -from the front posture to the backward posture! jump backward, step in the air, turn around and settle in place. that is the white wheel footwork. you all have to work hard to master this technique.


    -i see. change the posture and jump backward...


    -j-jump! how can you use a word like jump when learning martial arts? you guys have no respect! [1]


    -n-no. the white wheel footwork skill...


    -uhuh! don¡¯t call it a skill! it¡¯s a footwork technique! ¡®footwork technique¡¯ is such a good name!


    -......


    while practicing martial arts, they couldn¡¯t use words like ¡®skills¡¯ and ¡®jump¡¯...


    there were many things that couldn¡¯t be done in the mount hua sect.


    ¡®i have to fix this first.¡¯


    choi yeonseung vowed.


    what type of rules should there be?


    ¡°why wouldn¡¯t we want to learn martial arts? we want to practice it!¡±


    ¡°please teach us!¡±


    ¡°okay.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    the members of the mount hua sect were stunned when choi yeonseung easily agreed. a hunter like choi yeonseung was really going to teach them!


    ¡°i was going to visit the mount hua sect and tell you anyway. go back and tell them this. i am the household member of the constellation known as the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training.¡¯ i will teach any clan member who¡¯ll become a follower of the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training.¡¯¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    it was the first time they were hearing of a constellation called ¡®undefeated incarnation of training,¡¯ but the clan members weren¡¯t surprised. a new constellation appearing on earth wasn¡¯t new. the world of tens or hundreds of constellations was difficult for humans to understand. only the chosen ones could have a glimpse of that world.


    ¡°... i will follow him.¡±


    ¡°hey?!¡± aren¡¯t you even going to think about it first?!¡±


    ¡°why should i care about such details when he¡¯s going to teach us martial arts? i¡¯d gladly sell my soul if it means learning more about martial arts.¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯ll learn too!¡±


    the young hunters of the mount hua sect rushed forward. choi yeonseung nodded in satisfaction.


    [the number of your followers has increased. the power of your existence has risen!]


    ***


    ¡®i wonder if odaigon is doing well.¡¯


    choi yeonseung moved to his newly acquired realm in the abyss, the blood fortress. he had won this territory from the warrior stained with madness and blood! it was also the first realm of choi yeonseung, a battle-type constellation who wandered around without having a base.


    he was busy with earth¡¯s affairs, so he left it to odaigon. however, he now wondered how odaigon was doing. was he doing well?


    ¡°no! you stupid bastards! why can¡¯t you learn this simple magic! die!¡±


    ¡°... it isn¡¯t going well.¡±


    choi yeonseung sighed when he heard odaigon¡¯s voice in the distance.


    1. elders use the korean word for ¡®jump¡¯, while the younger hunters use the korean loan word that comes from english i.e. ¡®jumpu.¡¯ that¡¯s why the elders are telling them off. ?

 Chapter 82

    chapter 82


    ¡°odaigon.¡±


    ¡°ah. master has come!¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s presence amazed odaigon. in the abyss and in his own realm, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t have to suppress and hide his power as he did on earth. hence, choi yeonseung appeared as a constellation! overwhelming power of existence flowed out of him even if he just stood still. like a well-forged sword, the power of his existence, which had been perfected, was dazzlingly beautiful.


    ¡°being in the abyss is definitely comfortable.¡±


    earth was his hometown, but he was more comfortable in the abyss. it couldn¡¯t be helped, though. after all, he was a constellation. on earth, he had to hide his power of existence and the true stage of his martial arts due to the eyes of other constellations.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that¡¯s only natural for a constellation.]


    ¡®i still think of myself as a human being...¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ laughs.]


    ¡®this is no laughing matter.¡¯


    choi yeonseung looked around. the blood fortress used to be evil and grotesque, much like its previous master. it had a river of blood, and an aura of madness lingered over it, driving those who lived here crazy about fighting! hence, the orcs here were understandably running amok and hungered for blood. even peace-loving people would change if they lived in a place like this.


    ¡°what are you doing, odaigon?¡±


    ¡°i was teaching magic to make the orcs here normal.¡±


    the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ bestowed evil skills to his minions. ¡®blood burst¡¯, ¡®vision of madness¡¯, ¡®power of boiling blood¡¯...


    the skills were powerful, but they had severe side effects. they drank blood, lost their sanity, and became infected with madness.


    odaigon was trying to discourage these skills and teach the orcs the traditional, fundamental, and purely authentic goblin magic!


    ¡°now, orcs. copy me. summon magic power...¡±


    ¡°how do you summon magic power?¡±


    ¡°what is magic power?¡±


    ¡°what does it mean to summon?¡±


    ¡°... how have you been using your skills so far, you bastards?"


    odaigon was angry. they were pretending not to know anything!


    ¡°master gave me strength for as long as i believed in him.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯s minions didn¡¯t learn magic. they just believed and fought hard, so they became stronger and stronger.


    ¡°isn¡¯t that goblin bastard¡¯s temper too violent?¡±


    ¡°he has no culture whatsoever. he¡¯s really vulgar.¡±


    the orcs whispered and cursed at odaigon. odaigon trembled.


    ¡°it¡¯s fine, odaigon. from what i can see, teaching them magic won¡¯t do much good. i¡¯ll just teach them martial arts.¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at the orcs. there were many of them.


    ¡°do you like axes?¡±


    ¡°it is familiar so we use it often.¡±


    ¡°okay. i¡¯ll teach you how to use an axe, then.¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s martial arts were at the stage where he could create a new martial art by closing his eyes and taking a breath. the problem was the type of martial art he should make.


    ¡®they won¡¯t be able to follow if i teach them complicated martial arts.¡¯


    orcs couldn¡¯t learn any martial art that was too difficult. the forms had to be simple, easy to learn, and contain the secrets of ¡®strength¡¯ and ¡®force¡¯ to match the power of the orcs...


    [you have succeeded in making the c+ rank martial arts skill ¡®green dragon axe technique!]


    [the power of your existence has risen.]


    it shouldn¡¯t be underestimated just because it was a c+ rank skill. choi yeonseung made it simple for the orcs, but its rank could rise depending on how this skill was studied and developed. even the origin of the celestial divine arts, which wasn¡¯t anything special in the beginning, eventually reached s-rank as choi yeonseung wandered through the abyss.


    ¡°this should be easy to learn, right?¡±


    [you have failed to teach the ¡®green dragon axe techniqueskill.]


    [the orcs don¡¯t understand it!]


    ¡°......¡±


    garagoncha didn¡¯t know whether to be happy that he was praised by the great constellation or to be glad that he could stop now. in any case, he was so happy that he was about to cry!


    ¡°kuock. garagoncha. this jerk...¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s dirty, but...¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t you have even the slightest sense of loyalty as an orc?¡±


    ¡°master!¡±


    the orcs spoke in harmony, puzzling choi yeonseung.


    ¡°what is it? don¡¯t tell me to stop or else i¡¯ll double the intensity.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s not it. wouldn¡¯t garagoncha feel lonely since he¡¯s the only one that¡¯s not training? i¡¯m sorry to ask this of master when we can¡¯t even thank you enough for what you¡¯re giving us, but...¡±


    "that''s right! we¡¯re from the same tribe. we can¡¯t let garagoncha be alone!¡±


    odaigon was impressed as he watched from the side. the orcs weren¡¯t stupid. if necessary, their intelligence would develop.


    ¡°okay. garagoncha. i will make the green dragon axe technique a bit more complicated.¡±


    bam bam bam bam!


    ¡°cough... these sons of...¡±


    garagoncha resented the other orcs as he was beaten again. once he finished this training, he would destroy the other orcs with his new skill!


    ***


    -you¡¯re a very rare constellation.


    -i¡¯m getting tired of hearing that so much... what is it this time?


    -nothing. there are just no constellations who¡¯d teach their minions as you do.


    the manipulator of dreams and desires truly admired choi yeonseung¡¯s behavior. the mortal constellation, choi yeonseung, was different from other constellations. it felt like she could learn a lot from watching him.


    this was the point! the other constellations didn¡¯t train their minions this hard. they forcibly dominated thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of beings before selecting useful ones from among them. they didn¡¯t even put that much effort into the household members.


    the constellations were transcendent beings born of nothing. they were instinctively arrogant and berserk. for most constellations, their minions were like ants! they saw their household members as those who kneeled down and served them, not beings they should take care of.


    however, choi yeonseung took care of and trained each and every one of his minions. upon seeing this, the manipulator of dreams and desires thought, ¡®why didn¡¯t i do this?¡¯


    -umm. it isn¡¯t going well.


    choi yeonseung groaned. what he was doing wasn¡¯t going well. right now, choi yeonseung was trying to use his power of existence to change the blood fortress into something new.


    [you¡¯re using your power of existence to plow the ground!]


    choi yeonseung strongly imagined covering up the river of blood and returning the sinister and madness-infested red land to its original state. it worked to some extent. the ominous river of blood disappeared, and the land returned to normal.


    what happened next was the problem. choi yeonseung wanted to fill the area with some cool buildings like the goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯s realm. the manipulator of dreams and desires also had a beautiful realm. a well-decorated realm gave strength to the constellation. it wasn¡¯t something to look down on. however...


    ¡°i failed again.¡±


    -what are you trying to make?


    -a training ground.


    -...why not make the training ground a bit smaller?


    choi yeonseung tried to tear off all the materials of the fortress to make a new training ground¡ªa huge colosseum-style one! however, in the manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ eyes, he was like a child trying to fly even though he couldn¡¯t even walk yet. it was too large and complicated for choi yeonseung, who had little experience using his power of existence to create buildings. moreover, his constellation name had little to do with architecture.


    -but if i make it smaller, it will be less effective.


    -... that¡¯s true, but i don¡¯t think it will be that easy for you. why don¡¯t you bring in races that excel in architecture? dwarves and elves have a talent for architecture.


    -not orcs?


    -um the orcs... they can¡¯t build according to the type of architecture you have in mind.


    -damn. do i have to walk around and do constellation battles to bring other races here?


    -that probably won¡¯t work. this place is full of constellations.


    this area was different from the outskirts of the abyss where choi yeonseung had been roaming. it wasn¡¯t merely close to earth. it was also a hot spot full of constellations! the other constellations would¡¯ve already taken the useful constellations.


    -if you don¡¯t like it, why don¡¯t you use the constellation store?


    -......!


    the manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ advice shocked choi yeonseung.


    that was right! there was a store!

 Chapter 83

    chapter 83


    the constellations used soul stones, which could be created by collecting souls under them, as a type of currency. there were numerous constellations gathered around earth, making various treasures and goods available for purchase using soul stones.


    choi yeonseung accessed the constellations¡¯ game of stars. numerous constellations were talking through message windows.


    [the ¡®storyteller who likes gossip and explanations¡¯ is selling new information.]


    [the ¡®endless gourmet seeker¡¯ is seeking gourmet ingredients.]


    [......]


    there were so many products that it was hard to read them all. fortunately, he got used to it after watching it to some extent. as expected, the popular constellations had been on earth for a long time and were ranked advanced or higher! they had a lot of treasures, information, power, and minions.


    the newcomers below the intermediate rank tried to obtain soul stones by doing those constellations¡¯ requests or demands. if they failed to increase their household members or minions, they could increase their strength by earning soul stones.


    ¡®there isn¡¯t much of a difference between constellations and humans...¡¯


    were the rules of all worlds the same?


    choi yeonseung looked for a constellation selling items or buildings.


    [the ¡®snake of alcohol and dancing¡¯ says she sells beautiful architecture.]


    -can i see the architecture?


    [the ¡®snake of alcohol and dancing¡¯ welcomes you.]


    the snake of alcohol and dancing lined up the buildings she was selling.


    white serpent tower: 100,000p.


    serpent¡¯s pit: 85,000p.


    pond of recovery wine...


    ......


    ¡®gasp.¡¯


    choi yeonseung groaned at the prices. the soul stones were only as valuable as the souls they contained. they were calculated and converted accordingly. choi yeonseung¡¯s current points were...


    ¡®1800p.¡¯


    he thought he had received a lot, but it was a small amount according to the constellations¡¯ standards.


    ¡®this...¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it¡¯s ashamed. it apologizes for not being able to give more.]


    ¡®no. it isn¡¯t your fault.¡¯


    -i¡¯m sorry. there is nothing you can buy.


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t feel embarrassed because he had no money. he had starved many times before he became a hunter. his mental state had been sufficiently disciplined thanks to those moments. sometimes he had money, and sometimes he didn¡¯t.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says not to try winning in terms of mental state. instead, think about deceiving the constellations and getting soul stones.]


    ¡®what can i do here?¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that the incarnation of training still has some shame. humans on earth seem to get paid through all types of methods...]


    visiting earth appeared to have had a bad effect on the cat of lava and magma. it was too provocative!


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says to take off your shirt to fight it.]


    ¡®... i¡¯ll take that into consideration...¡¯


    [the ¡®snake of alcohol and dancing¡¯ asks if you dislike the items.]


    -no. i just don¡¯t have the soul stones.


    [the ¡®snake of alcohol and dancing¡¯ is requesting a conversation.]


    -what? i accept.


    -haaahh... thiiis.. type of thing? i¡¯m alsooo...


    -......


    choi yeonseung was surprised. the constellation sounded extremely drunk! hwang gyeongryong made similar tongue-twisting sounds when he was dumped by his girlfriend in the past! he had wondered what type of constellation the ¡®snake of alcohol and dancing¡¯ was, only to find out she seemed to be literally drunk.


    -i madeee.... those things... i thought you didn¡¯t like it very muuuuch...


    -i really like the pond of recovery wine. if you don¡¯t mind, can you wait for me to collect enough points for it?


    in fact, the buildings the ¡®snake of alcohol and dancing¡¯ sold were a bit aesthetically strange. they were bent, twisted, and dizzying! it was as if they were drunk as well! the constellations were arrogant and noble. they never bought anything that didn¡¯t suit their tastes.


    however, choi yeonseung was different. he had zero aesthetic sense! choi yeonseung only looked at their performances.


    ¡®the pond of recovery wine is excellent for training. i can just throw the orcs into it... it would be even better if i could take some back to earth.¡¯the roots of this story extend from novell bi?n origin.


    the ¡®snake of alcohol and dancing¡¯ seemed very satisfied with choi yeonseung¡¯s words.


    [the ¡®wandering merchant who sells destiny¡¯ tells you not to worry. he says he has everything that everyone, from the highest-grade constellations to low-grade constellations, could need.]


    -ohhhh!


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ feels a bit suspicious.]


    the wandering merchant who sells destiny showed choi yeonseung his wares.


    building box (low-grade, chaos): 1,000p.


    building box (low-grade, chaos): 1,000p.


    building box (low-grade, chaos): 1,000p.


    ......


    -......


    choi yeonseung looked serious. no, this bastard?


    -are you looking for someone at the store to sell these things at 1000p each for? if these things you¡¯re selling are just garbage in a box, i¡¯m going to start a constellation battle!


    [the ¡®wandering merchant who sells destiny¡¯ protests that that isn¡¯t the case. he vows on his name and honor that he will never deceive you.]


    [building box (low-grade, chaos):


    primordial chaos is swirling inside. if you open this box, opening this box will cause one of the various structures a constellation realm requires to appear.]


    the wanderer¡¯s words were real. choi yeonseung was surprised. there was actually a constellation who did this type of business! the wandering merchant who sells destiny was a low to an intermediate-rank constellation. in terms of his power of existence alone, he was weaker than choi yeonseung. nevertheless, he had a reason to stay on the fierce battlefield called earth. he wasn¡¯t here for earth itself. he was here to do business with the constellations who came to this planet!


    ¡®i see. so this is also possible.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it feels friendly!]


    somehow, the merchant¡¯s way of thinking was similar to the alliance of small and medium-sized constellations. his objective wasn¡¯t to become the best. rather, it was to profit from the side as others fought!


    [the ¡®wandering merchant who sells destiny¡¯ recommends buying the more expensive boxes if you want something better.]


    -will you give me a discount if i buy two?


    [... the ¡®wandering merchant who sells destiny¡¯ says he will give you a 200p discount if you buy two. this is your first transaction with him, so he¡¯s willing to give you that service.]


    choi yeonseung¡¯s negotiation tactics seemed to have amazed the wandering merchant who sells destiny. why did this constellation, who seemed to be powerful, make deals?


    -i¡¯ll put them to good use.


    [the ¡®wandering merchant who sells destiny¡¯ says to keep using it in the future if you like it.]


    ***


    [the building box has been opened!]


    [chaos flows, and destiny is decided!]


    [old and worn warrior¡¯s sanctuary (30 days):


    once installed, your minions will gain the skill ¡®power of the ancient warrior.¡¯ it is old and worn out, so it will collapse after 30 days.]


    ¡®not bad. i should save it for when i actually need it instead of using it now.¡¯


    choi yeonseung opened the second box.


    [the building box has been opened!]


    [chaos flows, and destiny is decided!]


    [the power of destiny has grown stronger! a higher destiny will be determined.]


    ¡®huh?¡¯


    [temple of the shining elves:


    allows you to learn the skill ¡®elf¡¯s shining bow¡¯ upon installation.]


    ¡°......¡±


    [......]


    choi yeonseung and the constellations became silent. wasn¡¯t...


    wasn¡¯t this the arrogant light elf¡¯s building?


    ¡®the arrogant light elf gifted elf¡¯s shining bow to his household members...¡¯


    something like that actually came out. it seemed that chaos was living up to its name. if this became known, then the arrogant light elf could be very displeased. it was as if another constellation had stolen his skill. no constellation would like it...


    -install.


    [the installation is complete!]


    of course, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t care in the slightest. if things became twisted, then he¡¯d just result in a constellation battle!

 Chapter 84

    chapter 84


    there was no way to know that such a temple had been installed in choi yeonseung¡¯s realm anyway. it could be noticed later when choi yeonseung¡¯s household members or minions used the elf''s shining bow, but...


    choi yeonseung was thinking of feigning innocence.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says you¡¯ve got a big problem.]


    ¡®what is it? everything should be fine.¡¯


    [it says that none of the incarnation of training¡¯s minions can learn ¡®elf''s shining bow.¡¯]


    ¡®......¡¯


    that¡¯s right.


    elf''s shining bow was a 4th-circle magic spell. since its creator was a constellation, who intended to give it to his household members, it was ranked a-. high-ranking skills were usually rare and powerful but difficult to learn. among choi yeonseung¡¯s current subordinates, odaigon was the only one who could learn it.the roots of this story extend from novell bi?n origin.


    the orcs? it wasn¡¯t even certain if they even knew how to use magic.


    the mount hua sect? they didn¡¯t seem very good at magic either...


    ¡®well... i¡¯ll have someone use it later.¡¯


    choi yeonseung passed over it. there was nothing to lose since it had already been installed!


    ***


    the blood fortress now looked much better. the bloody and ugly river was gone, and the crazy huge fortress had disappeared. its ground was barren and its surroundings were still empty, but the development had given him hope. he also created a temple building. when choi yeonseung plowed the ground and created a new decent-looking area.


    ¡°what comes into mind when you see this vast land?¡± choi yeonseung asked the orcs.


    ¡°l-let¡¯s see...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not sure...¡±


    the orcs were puzzled. the constellation asked them what they thought upon seeing this vast land. it was their first time experiencing this.


    ¡®shouldn¡¯t we answer with anything?¡¯


    ¡®yes.¡¯


    the orcs put their heads together and pondered over it. what answer did their new master want?


    garagoncha, the first one to learn the green dragon axe technique, slapped his knees. ¡°i understand, master! this vast land must be filled with slaves!¡±


    ¡°hey. you¡¯re pretty smart!¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s always been that way!¡±


    the orcs praised their companion for giving such a good opinion. the constellation would be very satisfied.


    ¡°... what made you think of such an ugly and bloody idea? what i was expecting to hear was farming.¡±


    ¡°... farming?¡±


    the orcs were once again shocked. their race wasn¡¯t built for farming. that¡¯s why they ate other people''s things or wild animals. telling them to farm flustered them. they couldn¡¯t figure out what he meant.


    ¡°what does master mean?¡±


    ¡°l-let¡¯s see. what does this mean? perhaps he¡¯s trying to determine which of us is the stronger and more tenacious warrior...¡±


    ¡°hey. you¡¯re too smart!¡±


    other orcs marveled at garagoncha¡¯s terrifying intelligence. how could he be so smart?


    ¡°so farming is a way to pick out warriors?¡±


    the only way that the orcs knew to pick out warriors was to cut, stab and hit each other. but farming?!


    ¡°we¡¯ll be cutting and plowing that big piece of land. isn¡¯t that no different from fighting the earth itself?¡±


    ¡°ohh...¡±


    ¡°garagoncha...!¡±


    choi yeonseung curiously listened to their conversation. even if he talked like a dog, they still understood him perfectly!


    ¡®i just told them to farm since this place has nothing.¡¯


    this realm would remain useless if they left it as it was, so choi yeonseung planned to produce and sell products here. he couldn¡¯t keep ripping off soul stones from other constellations! moreover, if they harvested something great, choi yeonseung could use it for cooking...


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ admires you. it says it really can¡¯t keep up with your ideas.]


    he didn¡¯t have anything to sell, so he decided to start farming. it was a really amazing idea. a constellation of the common people!


    [it says you¡¯ll do well in politics...]


    ¡®i think you should stop observing earth.¡¯


    choi yeonseung opened the space pocket necklace and rummaged inside. most of its contents were precious monster meat. the orcs flinched as the smell of meat wafted out.


    ¡°that smells delicious...¡±


    ¡®i¡¯ve got plants in it, but i can¡¯t grow any of them.¡¯


    the abyss had no seasonings, so he had many plants that could be used as substitutes. he couldn¡¯t use poisonous mushrooms. farming required seeds, not these mushrooms.


    ¡°let¡¯s do this for now.¡±


    ¡°ah, right. i got a call from changsik.¡±


    ¡°changsik hyung?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong pouted when choi yeonseung seemed surprised.


    ¡°hey. who do you think has been feeding, helping, empowering, and supporting you this whole time?¡±


    ¡°i didn¡¯t even say anything. why are you so narrow-minded?¡±


    ¡°n-no. it isn¡¯t that i¡¯m narrow-minded. i¡¯m telling you not to play with him because he¡¯s cheap.¡±


    the childishness of this man, who was over 50 years old, impressed choi yeonseung. this person was really consistent!


    ¡°changsik doesn¡¯t have much. he has a lot of money, but the korean association bullies him, and he has little influence among the hunter clan.¡±


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t you help him, then?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    whoops!


    hwang gyeongryong realized that he had used the wrong approach. choi yeonseung was the type to help if he heard something like this. he couldn¡¯t just leave it alone.


    ¡°... o-of course, he¡¯s doing well as a director right now, so you don¡¯t have to worry.¡±


    ¡°i saw an article about him the other day. he seems to be getting criticized a lot...¡±


    ¡°hey! he¡¯s an a-grade hunter! why are you worrying about him?¡±


    that was true. an a-grade hunter would always be rich enough to be a quasi-tycoon. if they put their mind to it, they could make as much money as they wanted.


    ¡°you came over as soon as the match was over. you can have fun or rest a bit. the icarus clan training is going to be tough... ah. no.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was about to speak, but he hesitated. even if the icarus clan had stricter training and rules compared to other clans, it meant nothing to choi yeonseung, a training-crazed bastard!


    ... wasn¡¯t that choi yeonseung¡¯s nickname 30 years ago? the icarus clan¡¯s training would be like a sweet drink to choi yeonseung.


    ¡°i didn¡¯t come here right away. i went to the abyss and did some training.¡±


    ¡°oh. really? i want to see it as well.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll take you there later.¡±


    ¡°ohh... can you protect me?¡±¡¯


    hwang gyeongryong was delighted. he would be able to see the abyss thanks to his younger brother. people couldn¡¯t easily step foot in the abyss unless they were a madman or had a death wish. many people had jumped into the gate enthusiastically to explore the abyss, only to go missing without even breaking through the first floor. the best they could do was become a constellation¡¯s household member and see parts of it. he hadn¡¯t expected this opportunity!


    ¡°i came here for a different reason...¡±


    choi yeonseung talked about the future he saw. hwang gyeongryong grew serious upon hearing about it. just like any 1st generation hunter, he was sensitive to things like monsters jumping out and harming people.


    ¡°... in las vegas?¡±


    ¡°yes. please give me support. i¡¯ll go and stop it myself.¡±


    according to the future, it was obvious that the dungeon clear had failed. choi yeonseung had to go and finish the job. it was an opportunity to gain fame, wealth, items, faith... above all, choi yeonseung was a 1st generation hunter. he wouldn¡¯t stand idly by as monsters emerged nearby.


    ¡°... hey. i can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°?!¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised.


    ¡°what¡¯s going on, hyung? monsters are coming out, but you¡¯re refusing? you¡¯re not going to wait to gain more profits, are you?¡±


    if he waited until the dungeon had cracked open and destroyed the monster after the uproar and commotion, he would get more fame and attention. however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t want to do that.


    the pride of a constellation¡ªno, his own pride!


    ¡°what do you see me as? that didn¡¯t even cross my mind!¡±


    ¡°then why?¡±


    ¡°las vegas isn¡¯t under my jurisdiction...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was a powerful hunter and the chairman of an enormous group. he had also been entrusted with the authority over la by the government. other clans had also been entrusted by the government, albeit not on a similar scale. in return for stopping monsters from appearing in the city and managing safety and security, they would be granted enormous rights in that location!


    las vegas was being managed by a different clan. if a hunter belonging to hwang gyeongryong¡¯s clan entered it and said, ¡®i¡¯ll kill some monsters¡¯, a fight would immediately break out.


    ¡°no... if it boils down to a battle over jurisdiction...¡± choi yeonseung muttered, troubled. it wasn¡¯t on this scale, but even 30 years ago, there were quite a few fights and competitions between hunters.


    we will enter this dungeon first. there is a limit on the number of people, so you should come after we¡¯re done. we will deal with the monsters released here...


    however, it was even worse in the united states compared to the cases in south korea¡¯s small territory.


    ¡°all i can do now is to go over there, explain the situation, and convince them...¡±


    the question was how to convince them that their clan hunters were so weak that they wouldn¡¯t be able to kill the monsters.


    ¡°hyung, you said you went to the sauna with the president. can¡¯t you persuade them?¡±


    ¡°...hey. you know how eccentric hunters are! even those incapable of stopping the future you mentioned won¡¯t listen to dirty words.¡±


    1. once again, a korean english loanword is used in place of the korean word, so ¡®ko-re-a¡¯ rather than ¡®hanguk¡¯ ?

 Chapter 85

    chapter 85


    hwang gyeongryong was right. hunters...


    many of them were crazy. he didn¡¯t know if becoming a hunter made them crazy or if they were already that way long before, but it was a definite fact. among those hunters were people who got drunk on their own abilities and those who fought regardless of what happened.


    hwang gyeongryong was one of the world¡¯s leading hunters and one of the most powerful men in the united states, but that didn¡¯t mean he could do everything at will. on the contrary, there was a high possibility that the other clan would make a fuss and say something like, ¡®hwang gyeongryong is trying to devour our clan! that greedy chairman!¡¯


    ¡°if hyung had been nicer, the other party would¡¯ve likely accepted your request if you put in one...¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at hwang gyeongryong with sadness in his eyes. it had been a while since he had come to earth. in that time span, he had figured out how to search for things on his phone. he searched for what image hwang gyeongryong had among the people.


    -hwang gyeongryong, a greedy and heartless capitalist. building a giant corporate group...


    -from the best hunter to the richest man. how did hwang gyeongryong acquire the companies?


    -hwang gyeongryong divorced again... how much alimony will it be?


    his character could be roughly summed up as an extremely powerful hunter and incredibly greedy chairman who had remarried an unbelievable amount of times! hence, even if hwang gyeongryong just spoke, the opposing clan would shout ¡®uwaaaaah!¡¯


    ¡°you should try running a business so you¡¯ll understand how hard it is!¡±


    ¡°why should i? that¡¯s nonsensical.¡±


    choi yeonseung laughed and hwang gyeongryong inwardly decided.


    ¡®this jerk... i should entrust an affiliate of the group to him. i¡¯ll make sure he has a difficult time as a president.¡¯


    hwang gyeongryong was already making vague plans for the future. choi yeonseung was a b-grade hunter right now, but if he kept being active and slaying monsters, it would only be a matter of time before he became an a-grade hunter. the moment he did, choi yeonseung would be treated as a strategic weapon and one of the most important people in existence. he¡¯d be seen as the country¡¯s strategic asset, an irreplaceable talent, and a key person who could never be let go!


    that was what an a-grade hunter was. upon reaching that rank, the country and media would start supporting him intensely to ensure he wouldn¡¯t go to another country. people who had never experienced it wouldn¡¯t know, but the praise a-rankers received was on a genuinely different level! it was divine!


    -during his childhood, a-rank hunter kim xx was already intelligent. he had also already helped all the townspeople...


    -kim xx didn¡¯t leave any teammates alone during the raid...


    -why is the world horrified by hunter kim xx? it should be stunned by his skills!


    the a-grade hunters used this reputation to do whatever they wanted to do. hwang gyeongryong entered the raid industry and created an enormous group. on the other hand, lee changsik took an advisory role in nurturing and coaching young korean hunters. some became movie stars or researched magic...


    people didn¡¯t care what the hunters did. on the contrary, they cheered for the hunters. they could do anything if they were an a-grade hunter! such qualification and status came with that rank. that was why hwang gyeongryong was waiting for choi yeonseung to reach it


    ¡®the moment he becomes an a-grade hunter, he¡¯s finished!¡¯


    if he threw a company to choi yeonseung now and made him the president, there would be an uproar in the other group affiliates.


    what are you thinking? entrusting the position of president to someone who hadn¡¯t been on earth for so long? are you running the group based on friendship...?


    the media, shareholders, company members, and more would bite at him! of course, hwang gyeongryong didn¡¯t care about that at all. however, he didn¡¯t want to put such a bad image on choi yeonseung. choi yeonseung had to be a hero that was unlike hwang gyeongryong!


    ¡®if he becomes an a-grade hunter, no one will say anything if i appoint him as the president.¡¯


    -he¡¯s an a-grade hunter, so it can¡¯t be helped. he¡¯ll bring in enough talent.


    -he got parachuted in, but what about it? he¡¯s an a-grade hunter. his being part of the company makes sense.


    everyone would be convinced if he had such a high rank. that showed how valuable it was!


    ¡®kukukuk... stupid guy. you just have to rise to be an a-grade hunter, and i will¡ª¡¯


    ¡°hyung. why are you smiling so wickedly?¡±the roots of this story extend from novell bi?n origin.


    ¡°i-i¡¯m not? when did i?¡± hwang gyeongryong quickly denied it.


    ¡°in any case, we can¡¯t just leave this be. you have to go and convince them.¡±


    ¡°um... it¡¯ll probably be better for you to go instead,¡± hwang gyeongryong said after momentarily hesitating.


    ¡°why?¡±


    ¡°well... if i go, my intentions will be questioned.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    he made a fair point. hwang gyeongryong¡¯s status was so high that the moment he went, the clan over there would become suspicious.


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue. ¡°i understand. should i handle this instead, then?¡±


    ¡°that would give us a better chance at succeeding. you are a rookie hunter who had just joined the icarus clan. they will be less suspicious of you.¡±


    ¡°choi yeonseung... huh? choi yeonseung??¡± the hunter asked, surprised.


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung was even more puzzled. he didn¡¯t know the noisy hunter in front of him. why was this person pretending to know him?


    ¡°choi yeonseung, the one who faced maximilian in the uhc? wow, ¡ö¡ö! it is you, right?! i¡¯m sorry about this. asian people are hard to tell apart.¡±


    ¡°i also find it hard to tell white people apart, so it doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    carlton laughed. it didn¡¯t matter if choi yeonseung seemed rude. he had every right to be.


    ¡°your match was the best. i didn¡¯t go to the stadium because maximilian is such a boring guy, but i regretted it. i should¡¯ve seen it in person!¡±


    ¡°mr. carlton, are you okay?¡±


    ¡°of course i¡¯m fine! even if i wasn¡¯t, none of you would¡¯ve stood a chance against this guy if he decided to attack us!¡±


    carlton¡¯s words made the guards look perplexed. why did he do this to them? they were just doing their jobs...


    ¡°don¡¯t bother the guards.¡±


    ¡°oh... so cool. the weight contained in your words isn¡¯t a joke. does learning martial arts give you this type of presence?¡±


    ¡°no. it isn¡¯t martial arts. it¡¯s simply a difference in mindset.¡±


    ¡°watching that match made me want to practice martial arts. a few people in our clan said the same thing.¡±


    choi yeonseung was honestly surprised. it was only one match, and it was honestly more like an execution. nevertheless, it had such a great impact. he realized how great of a market the uhc was.


    ¡°so, is the clan leader inside?¡±


    ¡°haha... i¡¯m sorry. she is. please understand. so many bastards visit her that she gets angry when dealing with them one by one.¡±


    hunters were visited by all types of people. the higher their rank, the more visitors they had. hence, they naturally blocked out unimportant guests. carlton pulled out his phone and sent a message. after a while, he nodded. ¡°you can come in. let¡¯s go. wait. i have to check my clothes.¡±


    carlton looked in the mirror next to him and checked his hair and clothes. there was no significant difference in his appearance in choi yeonseung¡¯s eyes, but...


    ¡°how about it? do i look okay?¡±


    ¡°much better than before.¡±


    "kuhaha! really? thank you. as expected, you have good eyes!¡±


    ***


    ¡°you ¡ö¡ö. what the ¡ö¡ö¡ö is that?¡±


    ¡°i-i¡¯m sorry!¡±


    carlton froze and lowered his head.


    ¡°do you think you¡¯re great just because you¡¯re a hunter? are you out of your ¡ö¡ö mind? will you be able to pay for it if your appearance offends the customers and make them leave, you bastard?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry! i thought it would be okay since i¡¯m inside!¡±


    roxanne, clan leader of black cactus, often mixed in curse words when she spoke.


    ¡®level 288! she¡¯s useful.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was impressed by her level. it was worthy of her reputation as a b+ grade hunter.


    roxanne glanced at choi yeonseung. she had curly hair and dark smokey makeup, and her looking at someone was enough to immensely pressure them.


    ¡°i¡¯m curious. what brought someone from the icarus clan here?¡±


    ¡°um...¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s okay, feel free to speak your mind and just get straight down to business.¡±


    ¡°alright. i don¡¯t think your clan will be able to kill a monster, so i came to help.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    thud.


    carlton¡¯s sunglasses fell off. he stared at choi yeonseung with terrified eyes.


    this man was crazy!

 Chapter 86

    chapter 86


    roxanne¡¯s bad temper was famous within the clan. carlton was a rough person in his own right, but even he was terrified enough to dress neatly in front of roxanne.


    how dare this person say such a thing in front of roxanne?


    ¡®¡ö¡ö, is he trying to drag me to death with him?¡¯


    carlton trembled, afraid that he would die with this person. he was the one who let choi yeonseung in, after all. however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t even blink. rather, his composure actually calmed roxanne.


    roxanne broke the pen in her hand and threw it aside. this person was from dragon hwang¡¯s icarus clan, but...


    choi yeonseung¡¯s confidence made her endure it. she thought that with this much courage, he likely had something to believe in. hunters were still humans. some of them had courage, some didn¡¯t. roxanne preferred the former. ¡°tell me what you mean. you think we can¡¯t kill it?¡±


    ¡°i hope you aren¡¯t too offended.¡± choi yeonseung pulled out a chair and sat down. carlton thought from behind him, ¡®he¡¯s insane! he dared say that and tell us not to take offense...¡¯


    right now, black cactus was in charge of las vegas¡¯ monsters and dungeons. coming to such a clan and saying, ¡®i¡¯m here to help you because you can¡¯t kill the monsters¡¯ was no different from starting a fight!


    ¡°it¡¯s a long story, but... have you recently discovered a dungeon above b-grade?¡±


    ¡°why should i answer you?¡±


    ¡°i guess you really don¡¯t have to. a dungeon that¡¯s rated b at the very least in this area will soon explode.¡±


    failure to clear a dungeon on earth within its time limit would cause whatever it hosted within to spill out to earth. that phenomenon was called a dungeon explosion. it didn¡¯t explode with a bang like a bomb. however, considering the monsters inside, it was far worse. the creatures it would release were natural disasters in themselves.


    ¡°have you found a dungeon we don¡¯t know about?¡±


    ¡°yes. i used dragon industry¡¯s latest magic.¡±


    choi yeonseung confidently lied. they wouldn¡¯t believe it if he said he saw it using future sight, and there was no reason for him to tell them either. hwang gyeongryong¡¯s giant corporate group, dragon industry, was at the forefront of the raid era. this included magic engineering, monster biotechnology, and the engineering of new monster materials. he had over a dozen research institutes that conducted all types of raid-related research, so it wouldn¡¯t be surprising for him to have dozens of mysterious magic, skills, and artifacts that others didn¡¯t know about.


    ¡°......¡±


    roxanne remained silent. it seemed choi yeonseung¡¯s lie had worked. detecting a dungeon in someone else¡¯s territory was truly terrifying technology.


    ¡®fuck... i can¡¯t believe there is such a difference in magic.¡¯


    roxanne inwardly cursed. if roxanne compared her forces with hwang gyeongryong¡¯s, it would be like comparing ants to dinosaurs. no matter how well roxanne led her hunters in combat, she wouldn¡¯t be able to defeat hwang gyeongryong, who had a huge capital and corporation. however, that didn¡¯t mean she could back down.


    ¡°so the icarus clan is going to ignore our clan¡¯s rights and clear the dungeon?¡± roxanne¡¯s voice was full of killing intent. even a weak beast fought to protect its territory when another beast entered it. it was the same for hunters. no matter how good hwang gyeongryong was, she didn¡¯t intend to let him do as he wanted.


    ¡°no. i have no intention of that.¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    roxanne cocked her head at choi yeonseung¡¯s words. helping out was just an excuse to eat all of the dungeon¡¯s profits, but he suddenly claimed to have different intents in mind.


    ¡°the dungeon¡¯s in your area, so i don¡¯t plan on getting to it ahead of you all. i will completely follow your decision.¡±


    ¡°......??¡±


    roxanne became even more confused.


    ¡°however, i want you to let me watch you clear the dungeon from the outside. that way, i can step in immediately if you fail to clear the dungeon or the dungeon explodes.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s condition was so modest that it was unbelievable!


    ¡®what? is the icarus clan planning on playing tricks while watching us clear the dungeon? no. a faction like theirs has no reason to do that. if they¡¯re better at raiding dungeons than my clan, it would be better for them to do so... they wouldn¡¯t get that much information from watching it from the outside either...¡¯


    roxanne frowned. no matter how she looked at it, the icarus clan had nothing to gain from this. there was no reason for them to spy on her since they wouldn¡¯t get anything from it. could it be that he really just came to provide genuine help? did that make sense?


    waiting, choi yeonseung yawned as if he was bored. ¡®she¡¯s taking her time thinking about it.¡¯


    roxanne was confident. hwang gyeongryong ignored black cactus because he could mobilize a-grade hunters, but she was also confident in herself.


    ¡°that¡¯s good, then.¡±


    ¡°... fine. i¡¯ll trust you, but keep this in mind. i never forgive bastards who deceive me. if you do...¡± roxanne pressed her cigarette against the table, causing crackling sounds. soon, the table was engulfed in fire. ¡°... you¡¯ll suffer the same fate. no matter which clan you belong to, we will definitely hunt you down. understood?¡±


    ¡°yes. i understand.¡± choi yeonseung hit the table as he spoke. the flames that covered it were sucked into his hand. it was the principle of absorption. in an instant, the flames entered his hand and disappeared. carlton¡¯s mouth dropped open.


    ¡°uh... how did you do that?¡±


    ¡°internal energy... no, i spread mana around and absorbed it.¡±


    ¡°... how do you do that?¡±


    ¡°... what?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    carlton looked at him with curiosity.


    how did that work? no magic or skills were used...


    ***


    ¡°the others from the icarus clan aren¡¯t coming?¡±


    ¡°our clan members act separately apart from regular training.¡±


    most clans were highly individualistic. however, it was particularly severe with the icarus clan. it wasn¡¯t created to make money in the first place. it was created to raise aces. it had conducted way more practices or training than actual dungeon raids. thanks to this, the hunters belonging to the icarus clan had plenty of free time.


    ¡°wow... i¡¯m really envious.¡±


    carlton looked at choi yeonseung with envy.


    the hunters of black cactus were pretty busy. check if dungeons came out, prepare to clear dungeons if they did, patrol around the city when not working, and go and flatter the big shots that came to las vegas... even so, they received much less than the base salary of the icarus clan¡¯s hunters.


    after all, hunters were a type of freelancer. they had to do a lot of raids to make a lot of money.


    ¡°did you want to meet them?¡±


    ¡°they are hunters of a higher rank than me. isn¡¯t there something to learn?¡±


    contrary to his rough attitude, carlton was surprisingly sincere. to survive as a hunter for a long time, he had to keep improving.


    ¡°i also want to go to the icarus clan when my rating goes up. the icarus clan hunters¡¯ are really flashy, aren¡¯t they? partying with millions of dollars every day, drinking, taking pills...¡±


    ¡®i work out, work out, and work out.¡¯


    ¡°your clan leader would love to hear that.¡±


    ¡°ah... no. please don¡¯t tell her. i¡¯m begging you.¡±


    carlton panicked out of sheer fear.


    ¡°how do you carry out raids when a dungeon appears here?¡± choi yeonseung asked.


    ¡°we first measure its rating, then pick hunters according to that information. afterward, the clan leader will resolve any disagreements.¡±


    the black cactus clan was now searching for the dungeon after listening to choi yeonseung¡¯s words. there was at least a b-grade dungeon somewhere! there was a high possibility that it was in a complex underground area or somewhere enclosed.


    ¡°if it really is a b-grade dungeon, then its boss monster would have the same rating. i guess the clan leader will join this one. is your clan leader good?¡±


    ¡°of course,¡± carlton immediately answered. the way he spoke showed he had confidence in their clan leader.


    ¡®she¡¯s a good leader.¡¯

 Chapter 87

    chapter 87


    good clan leaders were trusted by their clan members. if their own members couldn¡¯t trust them, it would result in the clan members arguing with each other. they wouldn¡¯t last long. hwang gyeongryong made many mistakes and seemed a bit unreliable thirty years ago, but he was a good clan leader. his members believed in and followed him.


    roxanne was a fierce and short-tempered clan leader, but she still earned the trust of her subordinates. it was an outstanding ability.


    ¡°my older sister... ah.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°hey. pretend you didn¡¯t hear what i just said. i¡¯ll die if that gets leaked.¡±


    ¡°what? that you¡¯re her younger brother?¡±


    they didn¡¯t look alike!


    seemingly aware of that as well, carlton said, ¡°i know we don¡¯t look alike. if you go around and tell others, then i probably will actually die.¡±


    ¡°i understand. stop worrying and just guide me.¡±


    ¡°where do you want me to guide you? the casino?¡±


    carlton looked enthusiastic. they worked in las vegas, the pinnacle of extravagance, but the black cactus hunters couldn¡¯t even go into the casinos. roxanne had strictly forbidden it.


    -anyone who gets caught playing cards or roulette will have a card or the ball shoved down their throats.


    but if he was guiding choi yeonseung, a visiting hunter, wouldn¡¯t it be possible to have a bit of fun at the casino?


    ¡°no. why would i go to a place that isn¡¯t fun?¡±


    ¡°i-isn¡¯t fun? watch your words. casinos are the most fun and enjoyable place in the world.¡±


    ¡°i was talking about the training grounds.¡±


    carlton frowned. this person wanted to go to the most boring place in the world?


    ¡°what are you planning to do there?¡±


    a clan¡¯s training ground was highly secured. it contained their training techniques and information, which were considered their property! however, choi yeonseung was a hunter from the icarus clan. he probably used state-of-the-art technology and curriculum in his training. there was no reason for him to watch.


    ¡°outsiders aren¡¯t allowed in many parts of it.¡±


    ¡°the public areas are fine.¡±


    choi yeonseung had two reasons to visit the training center. one reason was to determine how the black cactus hunters fought. taking a look at the training would allow him to get a sense of that. other people could be surprised by it, but that was possible for choi yeonseung.


    the second reason was...


    it was his hobby.


    ¡®i¡¯m curious about the other clans¡¯ training grounds. i have to take a look around.¡¯


    ***


    the 1st training center was where outsiders and reporters usually showed up. on a large screen hanging on the wall played videos of the dungeons that the black cactus hunters had cleared. meanwhile, the holograms showcased their history and achievements.


    ¡°the black cactus¡¯ main tactic seems to be widening the distance between them and the opponent and using long-ranged magic.¡±


    ¡°how did you know? did you use martial arts?¡±


    ¡°... it is shown in the videos.¡±


    ¡°ah.¡± carlton nodded.


    the clan had many long-range damage dealers like roxanne. their main strategy was to increase the distance somehow or bind the monsters¡¯ feet before melting them down with blasts.


    ¡°you¡¯ve got serious firepower.¡±


    ¡°of course we do.¡±


    carlton looked proud. no hunter would dislike hearing compliments about their clan.


    ¡®they¡¯d be in danger if the attack was blocked or the enemies narrowed the distance,¡¯ choi yeonseung thought.


    he had gone through all sorts of hardships and fought countless battles in the abyss. hence, watching the videos was enough for him to immediately identify the black cactus clan¡¯s weakness. they only had ranged combatants. if their attacks failed to kill the monster and allowed it to approach them, their formation would be broken. they¡¯d then be forced to enter a melee battle...


    at that moment, if the monsters showed unexpected patterns or skills, they¡¯d immediately suffer casualties.


    ¡®how should i advise them on this?¡¯


    it was useless to go to someone else¡¯s clan and say, ''you only have long-range fighters. that¡¯s dangerous.¡¯


    such acts often garnered reactions along the lines of, ¡®what do you know, you bastard?¡¯


    advice should only be given to those who were ready to listen.


    -a dungeon has been located! i repeat, a dungeon has been located! all clan members, assemble!


    ¡°!!!¡±


    the sudden alert surprised carlton. there really was a dungeon!


    ¡°hey! we actually did find a dungeon?!¡±


    ¡°so you didn¡¯t believe me?¡±


    ¡°... honestly, i thought you just had some problems in your head due to your time in the abyss...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung was shocked. did these crazy bastards stop their cars on the side of the road to watch the monsters coming out of the dungeon instead of running away?


    ¡®am i really on earth?¡¯


    choi yeonseung faltered. it wasn¡¯t just this couple. he saw several people stopping their cars, taking out their phones, and getting ready to film the monsters about to pop out in the distance! some of them were even talking excitedly.


    -yo! are you watching, friends? this is a real situation. a dungeon is really exploding! it will explode in a few hours!


    as he wandered the abyss and searched for earth, choi yeonseung became determined.


    i¡¯ll return and save the planet.


    however, seeing this made his resolve shake a bit. should he save these people? wouldn¡¯t the average human intelligence rise a bit if he let these people die?


    ''whoops. what am i thinking?¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is shouting to abandon these bastards!]


    ¡®no.¡¯


    choi yeonseung regained his resolve. no matter how stupid they were, he couldn¡¯t just let them die.


    ¡°get lost.¡±


    ¡°this is a free country. you...¡±


    bang!


    ¡°get lost.¡±


    ¡°yes! we will be going!¡±


    the moment choi yeonseung blew away the rebar with his hand, the couple started driving away, frightened.


    "you ¡ö¡ö¡ös! if you don¡¯t get out of here, i¡¯ll kill you before the monsters! aren¡¯t you going to move? if there are any bastards who insist on filming, i will ¡ö¡ö until you ¡ö¡ö!¡±


    choi yeonseung could hear roxanne¡¯s voice in the distance. she was having a hard time too! roxanne was brandishing a pistol and ordering an evacuation.


    ¡°... does this always happen?¡±


    ¡°what are you talking about? ah. the people watching over there? there are a lot of them. monster hunting is exciting, after all.¡±


    carlton spoke as if he wasn¡¯t surprised. 30 years later, the people had become too familiar with dungeons and monsters. they knew it was dangerous, but...


    the hunters will kill everything in their path anyway. why shouldn¡¯t we take a closer look??


    ¡°i think the world has already perished...¡±


    carlton smiled when he heard choi yeonseung¡¯s groan. ¡°what¡¯s wrong with this? it isn¡¯t a big deal. there are many worse things.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    he didn¡¯t even want to ask what the hell they were doing.


    ***


    vibrations had begun to course from underground to the road¡¯s surface! the dungeon had exploded!


    ¡°turn the screen! launch the drones and identify the monsters! don¡¯t miss them!¡±


    ¡°the heat detection system is up! we¡¯re looking into them!¡±


    ¡°turn on all detection magic artifacts!¡±


    ¡®ohh...¡¯


    choi yeonseung felt his heart pounding as he watched cutting-edge technology being applied to a high-tech raid. this was the evolution of technology. technology had advanced and magic had evolved so much in the past thirty years...


    ¡°we¡¯ve detected five red venomous raptors coming out!¡±


    ¡°spread out magic! fuck, have you found the boss monster? prioritize it!¡±


    finding the boss¡ªthe strongest dungeon monster¡ªwas a fixed rule.


    letting it slip by would be catastrophic.


    -kuoooooooooooh...


    ¡°?¡±


    a bloody cry echoed from the distance. soon, their surroundings started to change. a message window appeared in front of choi yeonseung, who could see the messages of the world.


    [the lizardman magician has used the ¡®invasive jungle¡¯ artifact.]


    [you can¡¯t leave this ¡®invasive jungle¡¯ until you kill the lizardman magician.]


    a monster that could create a pseudo-dungeon! choi yeonseung was stunned. it could be an artifact, but he never thought it would use this type of barrier magic. the other hunters belatedly grasped the situation.


    -what? why can¡¯t the car go in?


    -a barrier? was it done by a monster?


    the people who stayed to watch were even more shocked than the hunters. they had been trapped inside.


    ¡°e-excuse me. i can¡¯t get out...¡±


    ¡°these ¡ö¡ö¡ös! i told you to get lost, didn¡¯t i?!¡±

 Chapter 88

    chapter 88


    as the jungle rose up all over the city and the cries of monsters echoed, the people who chose to stay and watch rather than escape came to a realization.


    something¡¯s wrong!


    normally, hunters would swiftly kill the monsters that came out of a dungeon explosion. why was there a jungle all over the city?


    ¡°what should we do, clan leader?¡±


    ¡°what happens to those people is up to themselves.¡±


    roxanne looked at the people coldly.


    ¡°whether you live or die is in your hands now. if you want to live, find a place to hide and hope you¡¯ll survive.¡±


    ¡°n-no... please! save us!¡±


    ¡°h-hey. i¡¯ll pay you!¡±


    ¡°money is ¡ö¡ö. we can¡¯t do it not because we can¡¯t afford it. i simply have no intention of fighting while trying to protect you.¡±


    due to the barrier, the black cactus clan also only had a few hunters available. considering their numbers, they would have to go around the perimeter of the barrier to kill the monsters. it was impossible to protect people at the same time. the onlookers cried and pleaded, but roxanne and the hunters didn¡¯t even blink.


    the scene puzzled choi yeonseung. ¡°can you do that?¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°i wonder if you will be held accountable for letting citizens get caught up like this.¡±


    ¡°we told them to leave. it¡¯s their fault that they didn¡¯t,¡± carlton explained as if it wasn¡¯t a big deal.


    this wasn¡¯t the first time in the past 30 years that this had happened to people who stayed and watched. those bastards would shamelessly ask the hunters to save them once things had gone wrong and their lives were in danger. after several trials, the public reached a conclusion.


    -you don¡¯t have to save the ones who didn¡¯t run away when ordered to evacuate. hunters aren¡¯t responsible.


    -hunters have the right to control the scene when monsters come out.


    ¡°right to control the scene?¡±


    ¡°huh? if they keep interrupting us, then we can shoot them.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    as expected of the united states!


    choi yeonseung was speechless. somehow, there was a reason why these people protested so calmly. he had been wondering why the security guards and staff members the clan had employed, excluding the hunters, were equipped with automatic rifles...


    ¡®it¡¯s to deal with people, not monsters.¡¯


    ¡°don¡¯t you lack hunters due to the barrier?¡± choi yeonseung asked roxanne.


    ¡°it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    roxanne said while exhaling smoke from her cigarette. fortunately, there were several c-grade hunters and higher. otherwise, it would¡¯ve been really dangerous. they had to strike and get out of this situation now. the barrier prevented them from running away even if monsters had surrounded them. hence, they had to move quickly while fighting.


    ¡°do you need my help?¡±


    ¡°no... i didn¡¯t get to ask the icarus clan for your help beforehand,¡± roxanne replied regretfully. fighting with hunters from other clans wasn¡¯t something that could be done just because she wanted to. she had to contact the other clan, get permission, write a contract, prepare for legal disputes...the roots of this story extend from novell bi?n origin.


    that was only natural, though, considering each and every hunter was a valuable asset. she was taking someone else¡¯s clan property and using it, so it would be big trouble if she just used the hunter without asking.


    ¡®¡ö¡ö, if i had known this would happen, i would¡¯ve gotten permission in advance.¡¯


    roxanne regretted it. she didn¡¯t make any mistakes. one would normally only contact the other party, get permission, and write a contract when help was actually required. nobody could¡¯ve known things would become so twisted. she couldn¡¯t even have expected the monsters from the dungeon would even create a barrier.


    ¡°why do you need to ask?¡± choi yeonseung asked, seemingly finding it absurd. ¡°i¡¯m going to fight.¡±


    ¡°then what if it goes to trial later? i refuse. just stay in a safe place.¡± carlton regretfully replied beside him.


    ¡°it is regretful. i wanted to see martial arts.¡±


    ¡°sigh. i really can¡¯t get used to this...¡±


    staying in the safest place under the black cactus hunters¡¯ protection? from choi yeonseung¡¯s perspective, it was too awkward to adjust to.


    ¡°hey, if you don¡¯t like it, why don¡¯t you protect us?¡±


    ¡°that... that¡¯s right. i¡¯ll pay you.¡±


    the people watching from behind sneaked up to him. roxanne blinked. the staff members loaded their guns.


    "hik! hiik!¡±


    ¡°ah! i was wrong!¡±


    ¡°clan leader! the monsters are coming this way!¡±


    ¡°shit. they¡¯ve probably smelled us. prepare for battle.¡±


    at roxanne¡¯s words, the hunters immediately pulled out artifacts and started casting magic.


    choi yeonseung held the sword of goujian. it used to be a treasure of china, but it was his magic power recovery item now!


    [the sword of goujian restores your magic power whenever it kills an enemy.]


    ¡®if this were a dungeon, i wouldn¡¯t have had to worry about the constellations¡¯ eyes.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was concerned about the abyss constellations, who would be watching him from afar. he was currently known to be at the peak-class stage. if he wildly fired concentrated sword energy here and killed whatever came his way...


    ¡®i won¡¯t be able to deceive the constellations in the future!¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is amazed by your thoroughness!]


    the people behind him were unaware that choi yeonseung was coming up with such a plan in this urgent situation.


    ¡®peak-class strength is enough.¡¯


    he was still an a-grade hunter even at the peak-class stage. what was there to be afraid of when he could freely use sword energy? choi yeonseung disappeared and reappeared next to a piogasaurus. sword energy then flashed and cut the monster¡¯s leg.


    -kuooooh!


    the thick-skinned monster fell and rolled on its side. its balance had collapsed. rather than killing it, choi yeonseung stepped on it and climbed up, aiming for the next bastard¡¯s leg. once one fell down, it bumped into another monster running from behind and crashed.


    in an instant, six of them were all tangled up on the street. choi yeonseung didn¡¯t use any powerful magic. he just unleashed a few cuts.


    ¡°... so cool!¡± carlton murmured.


    the other hunters next to him couldn¡¯t help but agree. was that martial arts?


    one by one, choi yeonseung easily killed the piogasauruses that had collapsed and lost consciousness by unleashing sword energy and stabbing their vital points. in a way, a monster that only relied on its big size and tough skin was easy prey for choi yeonseung. he had all sorts of counters, starting from the covert attack reversal skill. the ones who ran around and hid were the tricky ones...


    [you have slain an enemy. your magic power has been restored.]


    [there is no consumed magic power to recover.]


    he possessed the three flowers gathering and heavenly martial physique skills, so his internal energy consumption was close to 0 even when he used sword energy.


    ¡°u... uwaaaaaaaah! waaaaaaah!¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    ¡°thank you! for us...!¡±


    sob sob sob!


    ¡°from now on, if you ask me to run away, i¡¯ll follow your instructions!¡±


    the onlookers who got trapped here started sobbing.


    choi yeonseung dodged them with footwork. ¡°no. this isn¡¯t for you guys...¡±


    ¡°hero! that hunter is a true hero!¡±


    ¡°thank you for saving my life! thank you very much!¡±


    ¡°hey. don¡¯t stick to me.¡±


    when people clung to him, choi yeonseung kicked and pushed them away. even so, people cried as if they liked it. they had questionable tastes!


    ¡°i really can¡¯t adapt to this place...¡±


    ¡°w... w-what have you done? what were you thinking?¡± roxanne shouted. she had finally recollected hers. she lost her mind because the way he dealt with the monsters was like a picture.


    ¡°t-this will cause legal problems. why are you doing something so crazy?!¡±


    "don''t worry.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s attitude made roxanne hesitate. he spoke too confidently. did he write a contract before he came? or had this been discussed in advance?


    ¡°i¡¯ll explain this to them myself when i get back.¡±


    ¡°saying that now... do you think the icarus clan is full of fools? they won¡¯t just let this go because you said so!¡±


    the icarus clan¡¯s legal team would excitedly shout, ¡®hey! awesome! let¡¯s sue!¡¯ there was no way they would agree with him.


    ¡°they¡¯ll let it slide.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°they will. trust me.¡±


    choi yeonseung had a strange persuasive power. roxanne was instantly tempted. would... would they really just let this go?


    ¡®based on his skill level, he¡¯s certainly one of the icarus clan¡¯s best no matter how many aces they have. if he explains this situation, they might just really let it slide...¡¯


    ¡°r-really?¡±


    ¡°of course.¡±


    ¡°... if so, thank you. i formally thank you.¡±

 Chapter 89

    chapter 89


    ¡°c-clan leader. do you believe him?¡±


    ¡°i have to. i don¡¯t have a choice.¡±


    roxanne¡¯s words made her clan members speechless. she was right! moreover, getting help from choi yeonseung in this critical situation was a very alluring option. besides, he said he would take care of it...


    if this was true, thanking him over and over again wouldn¡¯t be enough.


    ***


    among korean hunters, there was a slang term called ¡®riding the bus.¡¯ they used it when they were lucky enough to do a raid with a top-tier hunter! even if there was only one top-tier hunter, the raid became incredibly easy.


    the black cactus hunters were currently experiencing what it meant to ¡®ride the bus.¡¯


    ¡°ohhhhh! choi yeonseung!¡±


    ¡°korea¡¯s fist hero! korea¡¯s fist hero!¡±


    ¡°but isn¡¯t he using a sword?¡±


    ¡°... sword saint! sword saint!¡±


    it wasn¡¯t the general public who was cheering now. it was the clan hunters. roxanne looked dumbfounded.


    ¡®are they crazy?¡¯


    however, she couldn¡¯t say anything. the atmosphere of the raid was too good right now. a sudden barrier, insufficient supplies, and a lack of personnel...


    rather than getting angry, she should be thankful that things were going well even in this situation. if she broke this atmosphere, then she would be disqualified as a clan leader. this was all thanks to choi yeonseung, the hunter wielding a sword in front of her.


    ¡®the icarus clan... what crazy bastards. how did they create such a monster?¡¯


    he wasn¡¯t created by the icarus clan, but it was still surprising to roxanne. was this the power of capital??


    ¡°there is a monster hiding on the left side of the intersection ahead. prepare your magic.¡±


    choi yeonseung was the perfect bus driver. he accurately noticed hidden monsters that were difficult to detect even with detection magic or various drones.


    ¡°if i throw a rock now, it will jump out in surprise. aim for its back. that¡¯s its weak point.¡±


    ¡°how do you even know its back is its weakness...?¡±


    ¡°hey! if the fist hero says its back is the monster¡¯s weakness, then that is its weakness. you¡¯re talking too much, bastard!¡±


    ¡°are you a b-grade hunter?? want me to beat you up, you jerk?¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s from the icarus clan. he can conduct his own investigation!¡±


    the hunter who asked the question out of curiosity was so heavily criticized he became depressed. the other clan members were simply worried that he would offend choi yeonseung.


    ¡°don¡¯t be like that. if you have any questions during the raid, then feel free to ask.¡±


    ¡°ohhh...¡±


    ¡°choi yeonseung! choi yeonseung! choi yeonseung!¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s role didn¡¯t end with the search. his true value appeared when the monsters came out and a fight broke out.


    ¡°the magic missed! prepare defense magic! tankers, come forward!¡±


    ¡°no. there is no need.¡±


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t fall back as the monster rushed over. rather, he stood still. he seemed crazy at first, but the moment the monster attacked, choi yeonseung disappeared. by the next moment, he was already on top of the monster. there was no need to inflict a critical hit. martial artists held the ground closest to the enemy and drew aggro!


    furious, the monster turned around to aim for choi yeonseung. things became surprisingly easier with only him in the front. to the long-ranged combatants behind him, choi yeonseung felt like a strong wall.


    this was a real tanker! ordinary tankers stood in front with defensive shield-like magic. on the other hand, choi yeonseung moved in all directions and tricked his enemies. whenever they would attack, he would then shift, deflect, and counter to interfere. he could do the part of two or three tankers by himself.


    the black cactus hunters quickly broke through the streets. they were in a deadly situation against a rock drake, and a lizardman magician was supporting it from behind. nevertheless...


    choi yeonseung climbed the wall of the building, went around the rear, and took off the lizardman magician¡¯s head. left alone and confused, the rock drake soon collapsed.


    [the lizardman magician has fallen! the ¡®invasive jungle¡¯ artifact has been destroyed.]


    [the ¡¯invasive jungle¡¯ has been nullified!]


    the moment the barrier was released, the people waiting outside started to rush in. some of them were civilians who couldn¡¯t enter to watch and media outlets and reporters who came upon hearing the news. it didn¡¯t matter how long it had been since a gate had opened. once a dungeon had exploded in the middle of a city and monsters had swarmed out, it would be seen as a major event.


    ¡°it broke! the barrier broke!¡±


    ¡°hello. pay attention, viewers! i am currently in front of the cosmopolitan hotel. not only did the dungeon explode, but we couldn¡¯t enter due to a barrier... until now! let¡¯s go in and check the situation out! ah. the hunters are coming out!¡±


    the reporter beckoned to the staff member to prepare for the interview. nothing caught people¡¯s attention more than the interviews of hunters who had just come out of a hard raid. to top it all off, this raid was one of the most notable incidents in recent years.


    -thousands of people at the scene are cheering because they are so touched!


    their mouths were already watering when they imagined the content of the interview.


    ¡®hunter choi yeonseung, wait!¡¯


    ¡®i have to get the interview first!¡¯


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung turned his head when he felt killing intent. a group of reporters was running toward him like ferocious beasts.


    ¡°it wasn¡¯t a monster.¡±


    the reporters didn¡¯t hear the words that choi yeonseung murmured to himself. they shoved microphones toward him.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung! i heard about your noble sacrifice. you didn¡¯t abandon the people who were caught in the barrier and saved them!¡±


    ¡°why did you do that? tell us what you think!¡±


    ¡®are they crazy?¡¯


    choi yeonseung thought he had been hit with mental magic for a moment. there were people asking him why he saved others!


    ¡°that...¡±


    gulp.


    choi yeonseung opened his mouth, and the reporters all around him fell silent in unison. it was to pick up every word. even the hunters of black cactus fell silent. to be honest, he was curious about what choi yeonseung would say.


    ¡°i wasn¡¯t trying to save them.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the reporters were stunned by the words that poured cold water on them. no, he couldn¡¯t do this!


    ¡®this reporter doesn¡¯t know how to broadcast.¡¯


    ¡®he can¡¯t seem to match the mood.¡¯


    right now, reporters were all preparing to make choi yeonseung a good hero. however, once the other person said this, the atmosphere was ruined.


    ¡°aha! i understand, hunter choi yeonseung. you didn¡¯t mean to save them because that is the most basic thing you have to do as a person! that is what you want to say, right?¡±


    other people admired the reporter¡¯s skillful remarks.


    hey, you are good!


    however, choi yeonseung once again threw cold water on it.


    ¡°no. i wasn¡¯t trying to save them. they ignored the evacuation order. they are responsible for their own lives.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    this time, the people in the back also flinched. if he said it like this...!


    ¡°b-but the people over there claimed hunter choi yeonseung saved their lives...!¡±


    one of the reporters raised his voice. choi yeonseung¡¯s attitude was that embarrassing.


    ¡°i killed the monsters before they killed people, so it likely seemed as if i saved them.¡±¡¯


    ¡°ah! then you did save them...¡±


    bam!


    ¡°cough!¡±


    ¡°no.¡±


    choi yeonseung lightly struck the reporter¡¯s neck. the reporter choked and was rendered unable to speak. the other reporters were horrified. of course, there were quite a few hunters who punched or attacked reporters. however, that was usually when they were attacked by reporters.


    -xx hunter! is it true that you hit and killed several people while drunk driving?


    -i heard the dungeon you went into was actually a lie! isn¡¯t this a scam to manipulate your ratings?


    if they exploded at such a time, then they would punch the reporter! however, choi yeonseung just struck first.


    no...!

 Chapter 90

    chapter 90


    why?! if a polite and cautious hunter did a good job, everyone would cheer them on and they¡¯d provide a great interview. this made sense.


    if a cheap, dirty hunter did bad things, they¡¯d get booed on by everyone and go on a rampage. that also made sense. but a hunter who was praised for doing a good job and could give a good interview while being cheered on by everyone? why was he going on a rampage?


    ¡°no! hunter choi yeonseung. why are you doing this?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re noisy as well.¡±


    choi yeonseung flicked his finger and fired his finger bullet. unlike magicians, martial artists had a great advantage in this type of quiet fight. magicians had to use magic to defeat one person, but choi yeonseung just had to fire internal energy from his finger.


    ...of course, he didn¡¯t learn martial arts to do this!


    bam!


    ¡°cough cough cough!¡±


    pressure point attack! it was one of the skills of martial arts. it caused various effects by blocking a person¡¯s blood flow with internal energy. choi yeonseung was aiming for the voice acupuncture point. once it was hit, the person¡¯s voice would be temporarily gone!


    ¡®it can¡¯t be used well against monsters, but it is very convenient to use on people.¡¯


    ¡°(my... my voice isn¡¯t coming out!)¡±


    choi yeonseung looked around. ¡°is there anyone else who would like to talk nonsense?¡±


    the law was far away, while his fist was very close. flustered, the reporters were rendered speechless. the bravest one among them raised his hand.


    ¡°we... we didn¡¯t say anything wrong, did we?¡±


    ¡°i said i killed a monster. when did i ever say that i saved people? don¡¯t say weird nonsense.¡±


    ¡°no! that person saved us!¡±


    choi yeonseung once again fired a finger bullet. hit with pressure point attack, one of the scumbags that had been trapped in the barrier for trying to watch the situation coughed.


    ¡°i said that i killed the monsters and didn¡¯t save anyone. don¡¯t turn me into a hero for such a strange reason. i hate that type of thing.¡±


    ¡°... i-i see. i understand. hunter choi yeonseung only killed monsters!¡±


    ¡°h-hey. what is wrong with you?¡± carlton asked, dumbfounded, upon witnessing this absurd scene.


    the reporters didn¡¯t come here to curse him. they came to make choi yeonseung a hero. if it were carlton, he would¡¯ve been excited and made up and fleshed out a fake story.


    ¡°do you know what¡¯s so bad about being a hero?¡±


    ¡°is there any? ah. i understand. is it tiring because you have to take care of your image?¡±


    ¡°something like that.¡± choi yeonseung nodded.


    the reason why he was reluctant about the reporters making him a hero was due to future work. if choi yeonseung became a good hero who saved citizens, he would have to step up whenever anything happened in the future. what if he failed or didn¡¯t step up?


    -choi yeonseung actually has a double personality... shocking!


    -the fall of the hunter who was considered to be the light itself!


    -we were actually being deceived!


    everyone would chew at him, starting with the media. public opinion was something else. if someone who did something good all the time made a mistake just once, the public would bite at them like crazy. after that...


    [the number of people who believe in you has decreased. your power of existence has weakened.]


    [you...]


    that would eventually happen! hence choi yeonseung had already decided never to play the role of a good hero even before he returned to earth. he had to get rid of an image that could be ruined so easily.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ admires you and says this is the perfect way to do it!]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ is troubled. she doesn¡¯t know if this is the right way.]


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ is timidly saying that choi yeonseung¡¯s constellation isn¡¯t helping much.]


    among the other constellations, the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ timidly scolded choi yeonseung¡¯s constellation. it needed to help him more!


    ... she didn¡¯t know choi yeonseung¡¯s constellation was choi yeonseung himself, though.


    ¡°no matter how hard it could be, causing big trouble like this...¡±


    carlton pondered on it before continuing.


    eh? choi yeonseung¡¯s actions seemed better than carlton thought. after all, choi yeonseung was a good hunter and a good uhc player. money would pour in like crazy. people would curse at him, but that didn¡¯t have much of an impact...


    ¡°wow, isn¡¯t this really cool?¡± carlton clapped. ¡°i should do that as well!¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t talk nonsense, you ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!¡±


    roxanne hit the back of carlton¡¯s head.


    don¡¯t bite off more than you can chew.


    what nonsense was this guy saying when he wasn¡¯t as skilled as choi yeonseung?


    ¡°uh... why? it¡¯s cool!¡±


    ¡°that could only work for him.¡±


    carlton was forced to admit it. choi yeonseung was one of the icarus clan¡¯s best hunters! there were many monsters in the icarus clan, but roxanne could intuitively feel it. none of them were like choi yeonseung. she wasn¡¯t just talking about his skills, either. choi yeonseung was unique as a hunter itself. his rarity for being a martial artist, the strength of his cultivation, his seasoned experience that came from fighting dozens of times...


    the finished reporters spat and left.


    let¡¯s never see him again!


    ¡°that...¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung turned his head. the detestable people, or citizens trapped in the barrier, came forward and looked at choi yeonseung.


    "what is it?"


    ¡°t-thank you!¡±


    ¡°hmm. how can you say that even after seeing that...?¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words made them gulp. nevertheless, they felt as if they had to do this.


    ¡°i-i still want to thank you! i really thought i was going to die.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. i thought i wouldn¡¯t get to see my family ever again...¡±


    ¡°i will never disobey an evacuation order again! i will never mess around to watch!¡±


    people bowed their heads and shouted. this experience had been quite enlightening for them. they could¡¯ve really died!


    choi yeonseung smiled. ¡°if you¡¯ve learned your lesson, then everything¡¯s fine.¡±


    he then turned around and walked away.


    ¡°... huh?¡±


    ¡°y-you won¡¯t hit us?¡±


    the citizens were flustered. they thought they¡¯d get hit.


    choi yeonseung just left.


    ¡°r-really cool...!¡±


    ¡°look at that! i told you he isn¡¯t a bad person!¡± one of the young couple, the male, shouted.


    ¡°did you see that?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m going to be his fan from now on.¡±


    ¡°... wait, you¡¯re not in love with him, are you?¡±


    ¡°what are you accusing me of?¡±


    ***


    [many people have started to believe in you.]


    [the power of your existence has risen!]


    ¡®eh? it¡¯s already going up?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was flustered. he made such a fuss in front of reporters, so he thought people wouldn¡¯t believe in him. he thought it would only be after doing around 10 more raids and killing an a-grade monster that people would say, ¡®kuek, that guy is annoying, but i have to admit...¡¯


    yet some were already starting to believe in him. it was so strange.


    ¡°kuahahaha! hahahaha!¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s so funny?¡±


    ¡°reporter... reporters... kuhahahaha!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was rolling around and laughing. he barely managed to hold back his laughter to speak.


    ¡°hyung, you were never a fan of reporters, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°i didn¡¯t beat them in as unique a manner as you. have you seen the reaction on the internet?¡±


    ¡°i haven¡¯t, and i don¡¯t have to.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong pursed his lips at choi yeonseung¡¯s reaction, which didn¡¯t make it fun to tease him.


    aish!


    ¡°i received gratitude from the black cactus. they will give you proper rewards for this raid.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t really care.¡±


    ¡°... hey, you can¡¯t do that. we¡¯re talking about tens of billions of dollars here. don¡¯t you care about it? you have to save money if you want to run a company.¡±


    ¡°why would i want to run a company...?¡±


    ¡®whoops.¡¯


    hwang gyeongryong hurriedly changed his words.


    ¡°what you¡¯re doing is similar to running a company, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    as a constellation, he ran a kingdom. in a way, it could be seen as a company.


    choi yeonseung nodded.

 Chapter 91

    chapter 91


    ¡®heh. this fool.¡¯


    hwang gyeongryong laughed internally while looking at choi yeonseung. if choi yeonseung knew his plan, he would jump up in surprise.


    ¡®he will be in charge of the company the moment he becomes a-grade.¡¯


    ¡®i think he¡¯s plotting something very strange.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was hwang gyeongryong¡¯s master. a constellation-household member relationship! of course, hwang gyeongryong had always been the type to show it even if he was hiding something. his expression just now was a trivial one, just like when he secretly tried to feed choi yeonseung mint chocolate ice cream in the past.


    ¡®i¡¯ll let it slide.¡¯


    choi yeonseung spared hwang gyeongryong. hwang gyeongryong had many bad quirks, but he had one good trait. he was a good person! he could spend his later years comfortably, so choi yeonseung was very grateful when he tried to help after seeing that choi yeonseung had become a constellation.


    ¡°well, why not accept the money i can get? i¡¯ll take it well if black cactus sends it.¡±


    ¡°you would¡¯ve gotten the rewards if you had cleared the dungeon. it¡¯s a pity.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s fine. i¡¯m more concerned about my rating than the rewards.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong nodded at choi yeonseung¡¯s words. choi yeonseung and hwang gyeongryong agreed. their primary goal was for choi yeonseung to be an a-grade hunter! being an a-grade hunter was comfortable in many ways. choi yeonseung¡¯s authority would increase dozens of times.


    if choi yeonseung said, ¡®everyone, the current us president is actually an alien,¡¯ then most people wouldn¡¯t believe it.


    however, if he were an a-grade hunter, people would be swayed and say, ¡®wouldn¡¯t an a-grade hunter have some basis for saying that?¡¯


    that rank carried that much authority.


    ¡°will my rating go up?¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s see... honestly, it¡¯s hard to determine when it comes to ranks above b-grade.¡±


    up to b-grade, the screening was a bit loose.


    even if they lacked performance, inexperienced hunters could still receive a rating if they showed magic, skill, or talent. this was how the manipulation scandal broke out! however, the standards were very strict from b-grade onward. if a b-grade or higher hunter made a mistake, then the damage they¡¯d incur would be ridiculously large.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s current rating was b-. he managed to reach that rank because he had quite a lot of dungeon-clearing experience from 30 years ago, but strict judges selected from each country wouldn¡¯t raise that rating further if they didn¡¯t have anything to use as a basis.


    performance! in the end, performance was the answer. just as how there were idiots who couldn¡¯t kill a monster even with good magic spells, there were hunters who could clear dungeons even with garbage skills. the hunters that people needed were the latter.


    ¡°i have to clear dungeons and kill monsters, after all.¡±


    "indeed."


    choi yeonseung nodded. this hadn¡¯t changed from 30 years ago. if he wanted to prove his skills, then clear a dungeon!


    ¡°still, i think it will rise from b- to b...¡±


    a b- rating was still in the b-grade, but it was given to ambiguous hunters whose skills were still a mystery. choi yeonseung had just returned after 30 years in the abyss, so his skills hadn¡¯t been tested until now. having proven himself, there was now nothing wrong with him rising to b-grade.


    ¡°the rating is none of my business, so i¡¯ll do my own thing.¡±


    ¡°your own thing... as in deadlifts?¡±


    ¡°how did you know?¡±


    ¡°... really?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong asked, bewildered. he said that as a joke...


    it was funny and amazing to see that choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t lost his original determination and was doing this even though he had become a constellation...


    ¡°it¡¯s a joke. deadlifts are great, but i have people to teach.¡±


    ¡°ah...! you¡¯re trying to raise the hunters of the icarus clan. this guy!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was moved. dungeons and monsters would continue to emerge in the future, and some of them could be dangerously difficult. choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t fight them all alone, and he shouldn¡¯t have to do so. he required reliable hunters. hence, he decided to train the icarus clan members!


    ¡°thanks to this news and your last match, interest in martial arts probably tremendously increased. no matter how idiotic the hunters are, this has to be enough to get their interest, right?¡±


    ¡°... hyung.¡±


    ¡°... why are you calling me hyung?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong suddenly felt nervous. choi yeonseung usually only called him ¡®hyung¡¯ when he did something wrong...


    ¡°i was talking about the mount hua sect¡¯s hunters...¡±


    ¡°hey! isn¡¯t that too much?!¡±


    ¡°not at all. i¡¯ll help the icarus clan hunters if they¡¯re interested in martial arts. however, the mount hua sect hunters are also very interested in martial arts, so...¡±


    ¡°forget it! dude!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was very upset. choi yeonseung had to work hard to appease him. nevertheless, hwang gyeongryong still lent a facility. besides those in the icarus clan, he had dozens of training facilities.


    ¡°but we¡¯re here to learn from you...¡±


    ¡°you can think of it as comrades walking on the same path of martial arts, okay?¡±


    ¡°but you¡¯re thirty years older than us...¡±


    ¡°do you want to get lost?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°hum hum. in any case, speaking casually will help you learn.¡±


    ¡°then uh... i have something to ask...¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°can we train using this state-of-the-art facility?¡±


    ¡°hey, why are you asking that question?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. it¡¯s tacky.¡±


    the hunter who brought up the question was criticized. why ask something like that only to be told, ¡®no, martial arts is something done best with nothing!¡¯


    ¡°why can¡¯t you use it?¡±


    ¡°t-thank you!¡±


    ¡°i-i¡¯m excited!¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. why were they acting like this?


    ¡®ah. do they like to train?¡¯


    choi yeonseung slightly brightened. there was no one he felt more friendly toward than those who liked to train. however, choi yeonseung¡¯s training had always been lonely.


    -wouldn¡¯t i become stronger if i train for 25 hours a day?


    -what? dating you? you¡¯ll be the reason why i¡¯ll miss out on training.


    -crying after breaking up? don¡¯t cry. you¡¯ll experience muscle loss. you¡¯ll also lose internal energy. endure it.


    ¡®still, it is good to be motivated.¡¯


    ¡°h-hello. p-please look after me.¡± one of the hunters came out and bowed. she was on the short side, but she had extraordinary muscles. her good physique made her curves clearly visible.


    ¡®a mixed race?¡¯


    there were a lot of mixed-race people among the young hunters of the mount hua sect. they were chinese-americans born in the united states. the hunter in front of him had golden hair that was braided and tied back.


    ¡°i... i am the representative of the mount hua sect¡¯s young hunters. ah. you told us to speak comfortably. it... it¡¯s a pleasure.¡±


    ¡°... really?¡±


    choi yeonseung was embarrassed. no matter how he looked at it, the other person seemed weak and timid. her constant stuttering and inability to make eye contact didn¡¯t indicate a strong personality. of course, she could be a hunter with a timid and weak personality, but it would be difficult to lead these hunters.


    ¡°she is indeed our representative.¡±


    ¡°iris li is the most skilled among us young hunters.¡±


    ¡°are you from li yuyuan¡¯s family?¡±


    ¡°ah. how did you know? i¡¯m his daughter.¡±


    ¡°... by any chance, are you thirsty?¡±


    suddenly, choi yeonseung¡¯s voice became very kind. he couldn¡¯t help it. after all, he was a fan of li yuyuan!


    ***


    iris stared at choi yeonseung with a pounding heart. she had always had a nervous and anxious personality, but it was especially bad today. iris had heard so much about choi yeonseung.


    -he is the only one who can resurrect our clan.


    -he¡¯s clearly continuing the noble spirit of martial arts, which has now disappeared. hey! you! why are you using cheeky english with martial arts?


    -have you seen the news? wow, i¡¯ve seen hunter choi yeonseung fight, but he truly is the real deal. his fight at the uhc wasn¡¯t a coincidence.


    she couldn¡¯t help but feel nervous due to all sorts of inflated expectations and anticipation. in addition, she felt pressured not to make mistakes! the idea that choi yeonseung could mercilessly drive them away if they did something wrong ran through her mind.


    ¡°... by any chance, are you thirsty?¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±

 Chapter 92

    chapter 92


    iris¡¯ face turned red. her surprise made her tone rise and her words come out strangely.


    ¡°ah. i¡¯m sorry. i didn¡¯t mean to embarrass you.¡±


    ¡°n... no.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve always been a fan of hunter li yuyuan, so suddenly meeting his daughter is making me nervous. have you ever participated in a raid with your father?¡±


    ¡°yes... i-i have.¡±


    ¡°i want to hear about it. can you tell me about it?¡±


    ¡°s-sure.¡±


    iris stammered, but she soon started speaking slowly and clearly. it could be different for other topics, but it was quite easy to talk about her father.


    the scene amazed the mount hua sect hunters.


    ¡°iris is having a long conversation with someone she¡¯s never met before?¡±


    ¡°doesn¡¯t she usually only communicate with her fists?¡±


    iris looked beautiful and youthful, but she didn¡¯t have many close friends due to her personality. she¡¯d prefer to engage bare-fisted in vicious battles with monsters than chat with a stranger for a long time. hence, seeing her talk to someone she had only met for so long was hard to believe.


    ***


    ¡°come to think of it, hunter li yuyuan once went to l.a....¡±


    ¡°e-excuse me... shouldn¡¯t we train?¡±


    ¡°ah.¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s focus returned. it was so fun listening to stories others weren¡¯t aware of that he got distracted


    ¡°you¡¯re right. we¡¯re here to train. now, hunters. come.¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s call, the mount hua sect hunters gathered with expressions full of anticipation.


    ¡°i examined the martial arts skills of the mount hua sect.¡±


    choi yeonseung listed it off with a flick of his fingers. first of all, the mount hua sect focused on sword skills. it had a long history, however, so the skills they possessed were quite diverse. falling flower swordsmanship, lethal chain sword, plum blossom swordsmanship...


    they also had fist techniques and palm techniques, namely the breaking jade fist, subduing tiger palm, and plum blossom palm. moreover, they also had the plum blossom heart technique, which was the core technique that developed their dantian and allowed the use of these skills.


    ¡°didn¡¯t the mount hua sect have the s-rank skill purple clouds divine arts?¡±


    ¡°none of us could learn it. we all failed,¡± the hunters explained with embarrassed expressions.


    no matter how much they were taught about it, they wouldn¡¯t be able to execute difficult martial arts unless they had talent. they¡¯d have to raise their martial arts to first-class stage at the very least if they wanted to learn such techniques. by hunter standards, they had to be as good as a b-grade hunter in martial arts. it was worth trying using magic, but they felt lost whenever they thought about qualifying for that rank using martial arts.


    most martial artists ended up in the lower ratings. would they be able to overcome it?


    ¡°choi yeonseung! tell us. which martial arts skill should we focus on among these?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll be sure to study the martial arts you point out!¡±


    ¡°huh?¡± the hunters¡¯ words puzzled choi yeonseung. ¡°you can just learn whatever you want, right?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s response dumbfounded everyone.


    n-no...


    shouldn¡¯t there be a specific skill that would raise their martial arts stage?


    ¡°uh... aren¡¯t there any good ones among them?¡±


    ¡°well, they have differences right now, but...¡±


    naturally, the skills¡¯ ranks differed. choi yeonseung was at the peak of martial arts, and he could see their differences using his fraudulent constellation powers. however, he didn¡¯t use shortcuts when learning martial arts.


    ¡°i assure you. the gaps between them don¡¯t mean much.¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    ¡°as the stage of your martial arts increases, the rank of your martial arts skill will also rise.¡±


    martial arts grew with the person practicing them. just as choi yeonseung¡¯s origin of the celestial divine arts became an s-rank skill, so could others¡¯ martial arts. rather than choosing the best one right now, it was better to pick the martial art they wanted and liked.


    ¡°is... is that really true?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    the hunters grew noisy. they had faith in choi yeonseung and his words, but could they really choose their preferred martial arts?


    ¡°then i¡¯ll use the falling flower swordsmanship...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m going with the lethal chain sword.¡±


    ¡°uwaaaaaah.¡±


    ¡°kuooooooh.¡±


    the hunters rolled around. they felt as if all their muscles were trembling. they did insanely difficult muscle exercises for hours. they didn¡¯t even have an ounce of energy in them anymore!


    ¡°okay. warm-up is over.¡±


    ¡°... huh?¡±


    ¡°wait, what??¡±


    if they had swords in their hands, they might¡¯ve swung them at choi yeonseung. the hunters stared at choi yeonseung, stunned. everything they just did was just warm-up?


    ¡°don¡¯t worry. we¡¯re going to the otherworld next.¡±


    choi yeonseung tapped the otherworld device behind him. once inside it, they would be able to move no matter their current physical condition. they¡¯d still suffer from mental fatigue, but...


    ¡°i¡¯ll head in.¡±


    ¡°so that¡¯s the otherworld device. it¡¯s amazing.¡±


    ¡°i think its output is several times stronger than the one i previously entered.¡±


    the hunters murmured before going inside. as expected of hwang gyeongryong¡¯s facility, its otherworld¡¯s output limit was extremely high. he was obviously using an expensive monster core.


    [¡¯endless heavy swamp¡¯ has been implemented.]


    choi yeonseung had seen tens of thousands of terrains in the abyss. he just had to pick a few good terrains to make an excellent training ground. endless heavy swamp was quite literally a swamp, but it had a unique trait. its water was hundreds of times heavier than normal. the moment they dipped their feet in it, they would feel as if they had weights all over their body!


    fighting here would feel like their internal energy was constantly running out. to escape, they had to learn to control their strength, remove the force tensing them up, and delicately use internal energy to move around!


    ¡®it¡¯s a great place for improving their martial arts.¡¯


    if they lived here for a few decades, everyone would be able to rise to the first-class stage. that wasn¡¯t possible, however, so they had to work harder here.


    ¡°i... i can¡¯t move!¡±


    ¡°w-why is this so heavy?¡±


    the panicking hunters looked ahead. something was walking ahead of them in the swamp. it was a doll that appeared to be carved out of wood!


    ¡®isn¡¯t there something similar in our dojo?¡¯


    ¡®i think so.¡¯


    the elongated doll, roughly carved from wood, looked weak and stupid.


    bam!


    ¡°cough!¡±


    however, that was just on the surface. choi yeonseung made it himself. it was a first-class stage master.


    ¡°it¡¯s pretty good.¡±


    choi yeonseung happily nodded. he should use this wooden doll more often!


    ¡°w-what is this?¡±


    ¡°catch it! hold it and keep it motionless!¡±


    the wooden doll jumped over the swamp and taunted the hunters. the hunters moved slowly through the swamp like slugs. meanwhile, the wooden doll moved lightly, preventing them from catching it.


    ¡°ugh, urgh!¡±


    bam bam bam! bam bam bam!


    the wooden doll hit the hunters¡¯ heads with a stick and ran away.


    ¡°that cheeky bastard!¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t you coming here?¡±


    ¡°everyone¡¯s working hard. good. this is your challenge. starting today, you¡¯ll do muscle training out in the real world, then deal with this wooden doll inside the overworld.¡±


    ¡°i-is that it?¡±


    ¡°i can¡¯t give you the next task until you catch it, can i?¡±


    the hunters lowered their heads in shame. he was right. they couldn¡¯t even catch a doll that looked like this! this wasn¡¯t even that hard of a task.


    ¡°tell me if someone succeeds. i¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    the hunters desperately attacked the doll as per choi yeonseung¡¯s instructions. however, on the first day, they suffered complete defeat. the wooden doll knocked them all out before they could even touch it.


    ¡°i¡¯ll kill you, wooden doll!¡±


    ¡°why did you draw ^_^ on it?¡±


    ¡°that just makes this even more humiliating!¡±

 Chapter 93

    chapter 93


    however, nothing changed no matter how much they cursed at the wooden doll. the hunters had to desperately use their minds and think about how to beat it.


    ¡®i don¡¯t know when they¡¯ll realize the trick to it.¡¯


    choi yeonseung thought to himself.


    they had to learn the right way to deal with the wooden doll. if they tried to win using their strength alone, they¡¯d never catch it and would only keep getting abused until they realized otherwise!


    ¡®they have to do this much to make a living as a martial artist.¡¯


    ¡°kuaaack... that hunter choi yeonseung... no, mr...!¡±


    ¡°that bastard choi yeonseung...!¡±witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through n?o?v€l--b1n.


    the hunters cursed at choi yeonseung while struggling. respect vanished and evil took over in an instant.


    what a devilish man!


    ***


    ¡°i saw the match. it was amazing.¡±


    ¡°it wasn¡¯t a big deal.¡±


    ¡°you did great in your recent battle.¡±


    ¡°thank you.¡±


    ¡°i saw you hitting reporters! they definitely deserve it!¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    the people choi yeonseung met in the icarus clan pretended to know him. the uhc match and las vegas raid left a deep impression on them. hence, the staff members and private mercenaries standing guard pretended as if they had a close relationship with him. however, several hunters didn¡¯t greet choi yeonseung. instead, they just stared coldly and walked by.


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t care about it too much,¡± elisabeth spoke behind him. ¡°they¡¯re acting like that because they think you¡¯re going to be joining the 1st team.¡±


    the icarus clan raised aces. thanks to hwang gyeongryong¡¯s massive support, the hunters here had no trouble eating and playing. that didn¡¯t mean there was no competition, however. the clan was divided into the 1st and 2nd teams.


    the 1st team was composed of hunters representing the clan. they were essentially ready for combat at any given time. the 2nd team had many candidates who were still unpolished and could still improve in many areas. it was rare to find icarus hunters that had said, ¡®i don¡¯t have a dream. i want to play and eat.¡¯


    most of them had enormous ambitions and goals. and they naturally aimed for the 1st team. they could only get exposure to the media, receive the attention of cameras, and earn huge additional profits if they were on the 1st team! hence, they inevitably became worried when they witnessed choi yeonseung, a new recruit, performing so spectacularly. no matter how they looked at it, they thought he was going to be on the 1st team.


    ¡°bah. people who aren¡¯t confident in their skills will do things like that,¡± antony added.


    he saw choi yeonseung coming and immediately ran over from a distance.


    ¡°the uhc match was pretty good, choi yeonseung. it wasn¡¯t as good as mine, but it was a perfect match.¡±


    ¡°... what nonsense are you saying? not as good as yours? if it were you, could you even have won?¡± elisabeth sounded dumbfounded.


    she also watched choi yeonseung¡¯s match. as someone who was also in the b-grade league, she honestly got chills from his performance. considering how perfect he was in close combat, other hunters that specialized in close combat like elisabeth wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything to him. she feared they¡¯d get blocked no matter what type of attack they launched and that they¡¯d be unable to defend against his attacks!


    ¡°... i didn¡¯t necessarily say that.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s exactly what you just said!¡±


    ¡°sigh. choi yeonseung, did you see what gutierrez just did? that is why she can¡¯t be a good hunter. she hangs onto things that i didn¡¯t even say.¡±


    antony shrugged. elisabeth looked like she genuinely wanted to fight him in single combat. she really wanted to step on this bastard!


    ¡°schneider. you can pass through the uhc qualifiers, right? right?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t want to. i don¡¯t participate in such barbaric and vulgar matches that involve no tactics and balance...¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s why it¡¯s a battle of skills! it¡¯s much easier to understand than six people running around in a dungeon and arguing!¡±


    the uhc was a one-on-one match where the combatants fought each other without restrictions. the ssl was a six-against-six battle with rules and balances. the fans of the two fiercely argued with each other.


    -uhc requires real skills! you can easily enter ssl with just two or three skills and fumble around?


    -hunters should clear dungeons. what¡¯s the point of single-combat skills? is it more important to beat people than monsters? this is why the uhc players¡¯ personalities are like that.


    -don¡¯t ssl players make a mess?


    choi yeonseung yawned as he listened from the side.


    ¡°me too!¡±


    the two of them hurriedly countered.


    ¡°do you really think i can learn martial arts?¡± elisabeth asked earnestly.


    choi yeonseung had asked last time if she was interested in martial arts. she refused because she would¡¯ve had to learn from scratch again. elisabeth had done so many things to become a b-grade hunter, and she¡¯d only been training in magic since she was a child. now, she had to start over and learn martial arts. she had no choice but to be afraid of building it up from scratch.


    ¡°you¡¯ll inevitably have some differences from people who¡¯s been studying martial arts from the beginning. however, i¡¯m not telling you to stop using magic and focus on martial arts alone.¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words surprised the two. they didn¡¯t think devoting themselves to martial arts was enough, but his reaction was more lukewarm than they expected.


    ¡°you can do both.¡±


    ¡°......?!¡±


    ¡°d-does that make sense to you?¡±


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t sound like it does, but smallwood succeeded in using a martial art skill using magic power he¡¯d normally use for magic. it was weak and easy to use, but it¡¯s proof that such a feat isn¡¯t impossible.¡±


    choi yeonseung created the mana control method skill when he taught smallwood.


    [mana control method]


    [rank: c


    allows the user to execute martial arts using magic power instead of internal energy. the higher the user¡¯s understanding, the lower the penalty.]


    it was simple, but this skill was the key in allowing magicians to use martial arts!


    ¡°what if you could use a few martial art movements in a situation where you only have a few seconds to cast magic?¡±


    ¡°i-i think that would be amazing...!¡±


    elisabeth quickly nodded.


    ¡°you naturally won¡¯t be as good as a martial artist who only studies martial arts, but being able to use both has its own advantages.¡±


    ¡°okay, choi yeonseung. if you teach me, then i¡¯ll teach you as well.¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    choi yeonseung cocked his head.


    elisabeth teaching him? elisabeth was certainly an accomplished hunter. b-grade hunters who could act as a tanker in close combat was rare. but teaching choi yeonseung... did she even have anything to offer?


    spanish?


    ¡°what are you going to teach me?¡±


    ¡°magic. what did you think it would be?¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung looked as if he found it absurd. did he still have to learn magic now that he was a constellation?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says this is a good idea!]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ agrees!]


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ is also encouraging you to learn it carefully.]


    ¡°no...¡±


    the three constellations supporting choi yeonseung finally agreed on something.


    choi yeonseung... only knew martial arts. of course, he was really strong. however, fists alone couldn¡¯t solve everything in the abyss.


    choi yeonseung wandered around because he couldn¡¯t handle his own power and manage his realm at the same time. that was ultimately caused by his inability to use anything other than martial arts. he would be able to do more things if he learned different types of magic. in addition, fighting constellations from the abyss in the future meant getting their realms, minions, and even powers and skills as loot.


    it was too wasteful not to use magic.


    learn!


    he had learn and share it with others!

 Chapter 94

    chapter 94


    ¡®magic...¡¯


    hearing the constellations¡¯ advice got choi yeonseung lost in thought. he had tried to learn magic in the past. he was still an f-grade hunter then! at the time, it seemed like he would be able to rise to d or c-grade if he learned just one magic spell.


    however, the price of the items that taught magic was beyond imagination. choi yeonseung simply couldn¡¯t afford them. in the end, he got the origin of the celestial divine arts. of course, he didn¡¯t have much dissatisfaction with it. witnessing his martial arts get stronger every time he swung his fist was fun.


    even while others were saying, ¡®oh, that¡¯s such a trash martial art,¡¯ choi yeonseung thought, ¡®wow, this martial art is the best. i should do a thousand more punches.¡¯ however, now that he had heard the constellations¡¯ opinions, learning magic didn¡¯t seem too bad.


    ¡®there is certainly no harm in being able to do it.¡¯


    ¡°wait. choi yeonseung, i heard you¡¯re quite close to dragon hwang. you¡¯ve been friends with him for 30 years,¡± antony spoke as if he just remembered.


    ¡°a-are you close to dragon hwang?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was an s-grade hunter that every hunter in the icarus clan should know. he was like a legend of a bygone era.


    ¡°couldn¡¯t he teach you better skills than gutierrez?¡±


    ¡°this jerk...¡±


    antony¡¯s words made elisabeth angry, but she had to admit it. there was just too huge of a level difference between her and hwang gyeongryong.


    ¡°no. dragon hwang can¡¯t do it.¡±


    ¡°ah. is he too busy?¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s too much of a big shot to take on a teaching role.¡±


    the two people were convinced. of course, that wasn¡¯t the real reason...


    ¡®gyeongryong hyung is really bad at teaching.¡¯


    hwang gyeongryong was the epitome of relying on one¡¯s senses.


    -magic power goes swoosh! afterward, you¡¯ll catch that passing feeling and hook! from there, turn it. do you understand how this skill feels now?


    -......


    -......


    -i don¡¯t...


    their previous clan¡¯s vice leader, lee changsik, was great at teaching since he was good at theory. however, lee changsik was currently a coach in south korea. choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t ask him for help...


    ¡°i can just learn from gutierrez. a b-grade hunter should be good enough.¡±


    ¡°right?!¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s praise delighted elisabeth.


    however, antony interjected. ¡°i¡¯m much better than gutierrez. gutierrez is a tank, while i¡¯m an all-rounder, choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°... do you think this bastard would be able to teach you properly, choi yeonseung?¡±


    both were correct! elisabeth learned tank-oriented magic while antony...


    ¡®does he even have the ability to teach?¡¯


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t you hear what i want to learn first?¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s reply rendered the two speechless. he was right!


    ¡°what do you want to learn? it¡¯s magic for tankers, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°no. he¡¯s a martial artist, so he lacks ranged attacks. it has to be long-distance magic.¡±


    ¡°what i want to learn is healing magic.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung had all the skills for offense, defense, and evasion. if he had to learn magic, then it had to be healing magic! recovery or buff magic had always been useful. there was just one problem. healing skills were difficult to master. there was a reason why healers received got special treatment and were few in number. few magic books related to healing could be found in dungeons, and they were difficult to learn as well.


    elisabeth didn¡¯t have any healing skills. antony only had the 1st-circle magic ¡®low-grade wound healing.¡¯


    ¡°you don¡¯t have any?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°why would you have to learn that? leave healing skills to a healer. as a damage dealer, you should focus on dealing damage!¡±


    seemingly quite indignant, antony started to argue.


    ***


    ¡°everyone¡¯s here,¡± ernest said while looking at the icarus hunters. it was currently time for regular training. the icarus clan wasn¡¯t stupid. there was a reason it paid so much money to support the hunters.


    ¡°hey! i¡¯m a healer! i¡¯m at a disadvantage here!¡±


    ¡°healers get special treatment anyway. don¡¯t whine about getting a bad record!¡±


    the hunters whispered and chattered.


    both elisabeth and antony¡¯s expressions were quite serious. as hunters, they started to think about how to attack the dungeon.


    ***


    while everyone was thinking about the tower, choi yeonseung was thinking about magic.


    -even if i get help from other hunters, i think it¡¯s better for me to start from the basics to some extent. can any of the constellations help me?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ shows disapproval. it says it doesn¡¯t even know what the first letter of heal is.]


    the cat of lava and magma was the master of blacksmithing. healing was of little use to it.


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ is also troubled. she says she mainly uses magic to charm enemies or disrupt their minds.]


    ¡°......¡±


    what a bunch of useless constellations! choi yeonseung contacted the goddess just in case.


    -do you have time?


    it was very arrogant and cocky to speak directly to a constellation like this, even for favored household members. usually, when talking to a constellation, people were normally polite, did what a constellation would like, bowed very respectfully, and prayed...


    yet even though he wasn¡¯t a household member or her minion, choi yeonseung casually spoke to the goddess. if the goddess¡¯ angels had seen this, they would¡¯ve angrily said, ¡®that arrogant human bastard!!¡¯


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ urgently replies that she does!]


    ... however, the goddess of balance who walks ahead was a bit different from ordinary constellations.


    -i want to learn healing magic, but there aren¡¯t good teachers around me. i was wondering if you could help.


    -i see... as expected, the undefeated incarnation of training can¡¯t help you in that area, can he?


    the goddess secretly insulted the undefeated incarnation of training. wouldn¡¯t it be better to follow the constellation with the great power to look into the future than the constellation that couldn¡¯t even teach magic?


    ... of course, it didn¡¯t mean anything to choi yeonseung.


    -the incarnation mainly deals in martial arts, so it can¡¯t be helped.


    -... i see...


    -can you help me?


    -of course.


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ is giving you the 5th-circle magic ¡®goddess¡¯ medical treatment¡¯.]


    [goddess¡¯ medical treatment]


    [rank: a-


    named after the goddess of balance who walks ahead. it creates a healing aura.]


    a 5th-circle spell ranked a-. it was the goddess¡¯ power, after all.


    [the ¡®goddess¡¯ medical treatment¡¯ is currently unavailable. it has failed.]


    [the ¡®goddess¡¯ medical treatment¡¯ is currently unavailable. it has failed.]


    ¡®it isn¡¯t working.¡¯


    that result was obvious, considering such a difficult skill was given to someone who had never used magic before. embarrassed, the goddess couldn¡¯t speak.


    -huh? why can¡¯t you use it? it¡¯s a simple skill...


    ¡®isn¡¯t it only natural that i can¡¯t use it?¡¯


    choi yeonseung suddenly realized that the goddess of balance who walks ahead didn¡¯t know much about training. that was how she came up with the idea of picking up a mortal and throwing him into a tower in the first place! however, choi yeonseung was a constellation.


    he had fought against magic for over 10,000 years and had understood enough of its principles and logic. his body remembered even if he didn¡¯t think about it.


    ¡®magic is ultimately executed by binding external magic power to my will.¡¯


    internal energy and magic power were the same. choi yeonseung took out internal energy from his dantian and cast goddess¡¯ medical treatment. he failed a few times, but he slowly got the hang of it.


    [¡¯goddess¡¯ medical treatment¡¯ is used.]


    [using your own internal energy has amplified the power of ¡®goddess¡¯ medical treatment.¡¯]


    [you¡¯ve made a mistake while using magic. you have taken damage from the recoil.]


    ¡®kuek.¡¯


    choi yeonseung groaned due to the shock. being able to use magic was great and all, but what was the point of it if he¡¯d take damage every time he did?

 Chapter 95

    chapter 95


    ¡®what?¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that magic is difficult to use. even the slightest mistake will cause the magic to attack the user.]


    ¡®but i successfully casted it, didn¡¯t i?¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ pretends it didn¡¯t hear you.]


    ¡®......¡¯


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ says that¡¯s probably because you used your internal energy to execute it.]


    rather than using external magic power, choi yeonseung brought up his internal energy, the power inside him, to use magic. the external magic power wasn¡¯t his own, so even the slightest loss of control could lead to a dangerous rampage. this wasn¡¯t the case with his internal energy. it didn¡¯t matter if the user failed to control it properly. the caster¡¯s power would still ignorantly activate it!


    right now, choi yeonseung activated magic through force.


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ says it¡¯s amazing that you managed to activate magic even though it failed. only an archmage can do that.]


    in fact, there were skills that could do that. skills such as ¡®advanced combat magic¡¯ and ¡®forced mana activation¡¯ were very popular among magicians since they helped activate magic even if they had failed during its incantation or something got in the way of casting!


    in other words, choi yeonseung possessed such a skill. the recoil from casting a spell damaged him, though.


    ¡®taking damage every time i use magic is too annoying.¡¯


    he wasn¡¯t an undead monster that should take damage when using healing magic, so why should he accept getting damaged by it?


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ says that the answer is to get used to it. she says you won¡¯t take any damage if you do.]


    the manipulator of dreams and desires was right. thinking about it now, he suffered simply because he failed. if he skillfully succeeded, then he wouldn¡¯t sustain any damage.


    ¡®... but in your opinion, do you think i have a talent for magic?¡¯


    [......]


    [......]


    the two constellations grew silent. choi yeonseung had good battle senses and sharp instincts. but magic...


    ... they didn¡¯t know!


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t show any magical talent. an excellent magician should be able to draw the magic power flowing in the world and handle it delicately. however, choi yeonseung tried to change the world with his own power instead. he was so simple, honest, and upright that it was too much.


    to be honest, it was amazing that he had triggered magic. the idea of doing that through force was ridiculous under normal circumstances.


    ¡®they¡¯re not answering. i probably have no talent, then.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ tells you not to be discouraged. it says that the incarnation has martial arts.]


    ¡®i¡¯m not discouraged. it doesn¡¯t matter if i don¡¯t have any talent. i can just train.¡¯


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t care at all. no matter whether he had talent or not, what choi yeonseung had to do wouldn¡¯t change. he had been learning martial arts for over 10,000 years. he could do at least that much for magic as well.


    [......]


    [......]


    the two constellations were shocked.


    such an ignorant person¡ªconstellation!


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ asks how you¡¯re going to use magic in the meantime.]


    ¡®hmm. come to think of it, i have the eternal regeneration skill.¡¯


    [eternal regeneration]


    [rank: a+


    [you have inherited the hydra''s essence. your immortal body is constantly regenerating.]


    eternal regeneration was a fraudulent skill that used internal energy to immediately heal him! as long as he had it, it didn¡¯t matter if he got hurt a bit while using magic.


    ¡®i just have to get hurt and cast it until i¡¯m used to it.¡¯


    the two constellations were once again shocked.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s idea was no different from ignorance itself. risking getting hurt and forcibly using magic was an idea that no magician would ever execute.


    ***


    -do you have any other skills?


    choi yeonseung spoke to the goddess upon suddenly remembering something.


    -that¡¯s difficult to answer.


    the goddess replied melancholically.


    -ah. i¡¯m sorry. i¡¯ve already received one. i shouldn¡¯t ask too much of you!


    ¡°n-no. no... don¡¯t trust gutierrez! she could have an ulterior motive!¡±


    ¡°tell that bastard to get lost, choi yeonseung,¡± elisabeth said while pointing at antony.


    antony sounded incredibly sincere yet resentful.


    ¡°why aren¡¯t you giving me the same offer?¡± i¡¯m several times better than gutierrez.¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t it because you¡¯re a foolish bastard?¡±


    choi yeonseung stopped elisabeth. elisabeth was so excited that she was teasing antony too much.


    ¡°didn¡¯t you say you didn¡¯t want to be in a team?¡±


    ¡°i said the other hunters won¡¯t accept such offers, didn¡¯t i? i, antony, am different!¡±


    ¡°do you want to join us, then?¡±


    ¡°i will!¡±


    ¡°if that¡¯s what you want, then okay.¡±


    choi yeonseung decided to accept antony since he wanted to join so much. antony clenched his fists and rejoiced after receiving permission. then he became flustered.


    ... i received a request, sure, but why did i bet to join?


    ¡°n-no. why should i...?¡±


    ¡°choi yeonseung. i think that jerk wants to leave.¡±


    ¡°really?¡±


    ¡°no!¡±


    ***


    ¡°i think there are some faces here that i¡¯ve never seen before.¡±


    choi yeonseung was looking around for any useful people among the hunters. he didn¡¯t have a long list of desired conditions. first of all, they should be willing to move as a team, have talent, and shouldn''t be too trashy...


    ¡®meeting all those requirements could be a bit difficult.¡¯


    hunters all had trash personalities, so...


    ¡°icarus often changes its members.¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t you guys still here?¡±


    ¡°... my skills have been clearly recognized in the icarus clan,¡± elisabeth spoke as if she dared anyone to compare to her.


    elisabeth and antony seemed to talk a lot, but they had maintained a top rank in the icarus clan and were consistently in the 1st team. however, not everyone was the same. hunters who scored low on tests and couldn¡¯t offer anything were immediately kicked out. in addition, they were collecting talent from all over the world, so there were bound to be quite a few new people coming in and leaving.


    ¡°you called them in, then kicked them out? that¡¯s way too cold.¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t you hear how things work around here when you got recruited? they¡¯re also given a signing bonus and the rest of their salary, so they¡¯ll walk away with a few million dollars anyway. there¡¯s a reason people want to join this clan.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the conditions, which were more generous than expected, surprised choi yeonseung.


    ¡®hyung... you are very money ¡ö...¡¯


    so that was why there were no complaints!


    however, no matter how generous the clan was, hunters were inherently proud. even though they could receive the best treatment everywhere else, they chose to come here¡ªa place where they could get kicked out if they couldn¡¯t meet the clan¡¯s standards.


    getting kicked out was a complete disgrace. that was why the competition within icarus was fierce. that was also why they worked alone instead of teaming up.


    ¡°they can¡¯t keep doing that. i¡¯ll try to persuade them.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯ll probably be a waste of effort,¡± elisabeth murmured.


    even so, choi yeonseung grabbed a nearby hunter he hadn¡¯t seen before and asked, ¡°are you interested in the dao of martial arts?¡±


    ¡°what? am i interested in the dao?¡±


    ¡°... it sounds strange when you say it like that. are you interested in martial arts?¡±


    "no. get lost.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t you know martial arts?¡±


    ¡°i know what it is. it is nonsense that an old-fashioned bastard like you uses!¡±


    bam bam bam!


    choi yeonseung immediately hit the hunter¡¯s abdomen, chest, and jaw with origin of the celestial fist. he held back most of its power, but it was still strong enough to knock down the hunter, who couldn¡¯t properly defend. unconscious, the hunter foamed around the mouth and trembled.


    ¡°... i thought you were going to persuade them?¡± elisabeth murmured from behind, sounding bewildered.

 Chapter 101

    chapter 101


    it was obviously hwang gyeongryong¡¯s account. he was so popular that he had over tens of millions of followers! the moment hwang gyeongryong spoke, many people responded with things like, ¡®ambitus is good, but it isn¡¯t the best,¡¯ and ¡®isn¡¯t he too cocky?¡¯ he could understand why hwang gyeongryong was doing this.


    ¡®the ambitus bastards bribed the measurer to try to steal me.¡¯


    from hwang gyeongryong¡¯s point of view, that was several times more offensive! nevertheless, it was hard to believe he was picking a fight like this.


    was this okay?


    smallwood murmured in admiration, ¡°as expected of dragon hwang. he is the best in social media usage.¡±


    ¡°... this is the best?¡±


    ¡°why not? it draws a lot of attention. think of how many hunters will gather to clear the dungeon. you have to do this much to stand out among them, friend.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong could shake the world just by appearing on social media once. he had the reputation of an s-grade hunter. hence, every last one of his words was hot. there was a reason why so many people were excited! he also had a huge chaebol group. moreover, many hunters didn¡¯t dare fight him.


    in fact, the ambitus clan and their hunters kept their mouths shut even though hwang gyeongryong tried to argue with them. if they argued back, things would only become bigger!


    ¡°uhhh... hey... there¡¯s one stupid bastard.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°must be a newcomer. the insult to ambitus made him mad.¡±


    @ambi_forever


    -is it right for a ¡öing s-grade hunter to pick a fight like this? the name of an s-grade hunter has become worthless. if you haven¡¯t attacked dungeons in years, then shouldn¡¯t you retire? what a waste of taxes. i don¡¯t even know if you can still fight because you are so old.


    it hadn¡¯t been long since this person joined the ambitus clan, so he didn¡¯t know the rules! it was already over the moment he reacted to hwang gyeongryong.


    @dragon_hwang


    -you dare disrespect me and say i don¡¯t qualify for s-grade?


    @ambi_forever


    -......


    the other person fell silent out of embarrassment. he didn¡¯t expect that a famous hunter like hwang gyeongryong would speak to him directly. thinking hwang gyeongryong wouldn¡¯t deal with him himself considering the former¡¯s reputation, he pretended to be strong...


    @dragon_hwang


    -are you a member of the ambitus clan? why don¡¯t you fight me? i¡¯ll show you if i can still fight. grab your weapon and come out.


    countless people cheered for hwang gyeongryong.


    -disrespecting dragon hwang? that young hunter must be crazy.


    -if it wasn¡¯t for dragon hwang, monsters would¡¯ve already killed your parents in the past.


    -do you know how many monsters dragon hwang has killed? what type of bastard did the ambitus clan recruit?


    hwang gyeongryong was an s-grade hunter with numerous achievements in the united states. no matter how crazy hwang gyeongryong was, there was a reason why he was loved. in the end, his opponent apologized.


    @ambi_forever


    -...i was wrong.


    after winning, hwang gyeongryong leisurely left a message.


    @dragon_hwang


    -the icarus clan that i raised is going to clear the dungeon that the airst clan failed to clear.


    -icarus? that¡¯s a clan of aces. they don¡¯t accept anyone below b-grade.


    -that¡¯s different from all the clans with inflated numbers, isn¡¯t it?


    -out of the icarus clan¡¯s hunters, pay special attention to choi yeonseung. he was amazing in the uhc, but he will be even better in the dungeon.


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung was shocked. what was that man doing?


    the other hunters looked at choi yeonseung with envy.


    ¡°wow, dragon hwang is promoting you. i¡¯m really envious.¡±


    ¡°i wish he would talk about me like that.¡±


    ¡°...i think i¡¯m the only sane person on this plane.¡±


    ¡°i looked up a few videos. the old martial artists used to exercise rigorously while thoroughly managing their diet, right?¡±


    elisabeth also underwent physical training as a close-range combatant, but her training¡¯s intensity was different from that of martial artists. martial artists almost tortured themselves! to develop their martial arts, they would cover themselves in hot sand, whip their skin, and drink nothing but dew for a month...


    ¡°not really, but i did use to feel that way. in the past, i used to enjoy grilled chicken breast, chicken breast slushy made with ground chicken breast, and chicken breast dessert made with ground chicken breast.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the hunters around him were stunned. wasn¡¯t this crazy?


    ¡°uh, but you cooked such a delicious dish in the mock dungeon last time, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°yes. that was just in the past. i¡¯ve changed.¡±


    now that he was a constellation, there was no point in eating just the chicken breast set. rather, it was better for his training to find a way to become stronger through new recipes.


    ¡°why don¡¯t you drink, then?¡±


    ¡°in case of muscle loss.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m kidding. i just don¡¯t want to stimulate my appetite.¡±


    ¡°ah. come to think of it, wasn¡¯t there a hunter george restaurant in new york?¡± antony replied as if he remembered something.


    the other hunters cheered in response.


    ¡°that place is good!¡±


    ¡°please make a reservation!¡±


    ¡°book the whole place so there won¡¯t be anyone else in it!¡±


    a clan employee nodded and checked. ¡°i understand.¡±


    it was the employee¡¯s job to do this. booking a first-class restaurant was a very easy task.


    ¡°hunter george restaurant?¡±


    it¡¯s one of the most popular restaurants in new york right now. its owner and chef is a former hunter.¡± some hunters changed their jobs to chefs. they brought a new revolution to the restaurant industry with their magic cooking, which combined magic and cooking.


    elisabeth also nodded in anticipation. she smacked her fist into the palm of her hand while saying. ¡°i stopped by there before. it was really good. choi yeonseung, you¡¯ll probably fall in love with its food¡¯s taste.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m looking forward to it.¡±


    he was looking forward to learning how to cook rather than the taste. besides, as a hunter, cooking with magic...


    wouldn¡¯t it be quite helpful for someone like choi yeonseung, who started cooking in the abyss?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ asks for a bite as well.]


    ¡®... alright.¡¯


    illeya, who was next to him, tilted her head and softly whispered to choi yeonseung, ¡°these people don¡¯t plan... to fight together?¡±


    she was just a rookie when she entered this clan, so she didn¡¯t have anything to talk about. therefore, she just kept her mouth shut and listened.


    ¡°i know.¡±


    he stayed quiet out of fear he would be treated as an old man if he said anything, but to be honest, it was a bit of a shock to choi yeonseung. shouldn¡¯t they talk about their mission and try to figure out a plan before entering a dungeon? believing only in their skills, the hunter didn¡¯t care about teamwork. choi yeonseung, who came from a small and friendly clan, found their behavior extremely shocking.


    was this okay? things would work out to some extent despite the lack of teamwork for as long as they had skills, but...


    illeya spoke in a low, awkward tone. her accent sounded unusual and slow because she was unfamiliar with korean. ¡°being harsh and scolding... what do you think?¡±


    ¡°why should i scold them?¡±


    ¡°they¡¯re too rude!¡±


    ¡°...learning korean from dramas has this side effect,¡± choi yeonseung muttered before coming to a sudden realization.


    come to think of it, illeya contracted with an unknown constellation.


    ... could it be an evil god constellation?


    ¡®i¡¯m sure they checked it when she was scouted for the clan, but...¡¯


    there was nothing absolute in the world. choi yeonseung thought he should be careful.

 Chapter 96

    chapter 96


    ¡°... my persuasion failed,¡± choi yeonseung muttered as if he was sorry. if anyone had heard him, they would¡¯ve likely thought someone else had interfered.


    ¡°didn¡¯t you beat him up...?¡±


    ¡°it was an inevitable disagreement. it is regrettable.¡±


    unfortunately, the hunter in front of him seemed to lack knowledge about martial arts. 1st generation hunters knew a lot about it.


    -don¡¯t cause trouble when martial artists are nearby.


    if they¡¯re close enough to reach you, always keep in mind that martial arts are faster than magic!


    that person acted up in front of choi yeonseung without knowing that, so choi yeonseung punched him.


    ¡°let¡¯s try persuading the next person.¡±


    ¡°there might not be any hunters left in the clan if you keep ¡®persuading¡¯ them like that.¡±


    ***


    ¡°are you going to raid the dungeon as a team?¡±


    ¡®oh. will this person listen?¡¯


    it was a different reaction from before. choi yeonseung was delighted by the response of the hunter opposite him. this person seemed to be listening to him more than the previous ones.


    ¡°i¡¯ll teach you martial arts.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯ll even teach me martial arts?¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    ¡°... that¡¯s too suspicious. what do you want?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded. why couldn¡¯t young people trust others these days?


    ¡°nothing really. it would be my pleasure if all the clan¡¯s hunters become stronger.¡±


    ¡°that makes it even more suspicious...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung clenched his fists, but elisabeth hurriedly grabbed him.


    ¡°put up with it!¡±


    meanwhile, the other hunter just left.


    choi yeonseung sighed deeply.


    ¡°this is worse than i thought.¡±


    ¡°... uhhh, it¡¯s not that you¡¯re a bad person. rather, your kindness might just be too much for the hunters here.¡±


    basically, all but a few hunters here were each other¡¯s competition. besides, hunters normally didn¡¯t help each other. those who would offer help, like choi yeonseung, to their fellow hunters were extremely exceptional! hence, hunters like him were usually seen as scammers or suspicious people who had signed a contract with an evil god constellation.


    ¡°didn¡¯t smallwood come to learn from me?¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s an unusual case.¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t you come too?¡±


    ¡°i-i just thought of you as a sparring opponent. i didn¡¯t intend to learn martial arts.¡±


    ¡°what? you don¡¯t want to learn, then?¡±


    ¡°no. it isn¡¯t that i don¡¯t want to learn... in any case, i¡¯m sure most people will be wary.¡±


    ¡°tsk.¡± choi yeonseung clicked his tongue.


    he showed martial arts during practice, and a martial arts raid video was even released. the hunters were surprised and interested, so he thought he could easily spread it... it was harder than he thought.


    ¡®i¡¯m willing to teach them. i just don¡¯t know what the fuss is about.¡¯


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t give up. instead, he tried a few more times. however, most of the hunters either refused and didn¡¯t believe him or wanted to learn martial arts but refused to join his team.


    -you just intend to keep me in check, don¡¯t you?


    -martial arts is interesting, but it¡¯s a bit hard to learn something new now... my magic is enough.


    -martial arts? teach me? really? okay. but i refuse to join your team. just teach me martial arts. wait. why are you clenching your fists? u-u-uh...


    choi yeonseung sighed deeply.


    elisabeth, who was watching from the side, spoke up. ¡°why don¡¯t you team up with hunters you¡¯re close enough with to listen to you?¡±


    ¡°like smallwood or whittaker?¡±


    ¡°wow. why did you get close to those two?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    you¡¯re the one who said so...!


    however, antony shook his head.


    ¡°whittaker won¡¯t join in. he¡¯s a healer, so he won¡¯t lose anything even if he doesn¡¯t raid the dungeon.¡±


    healers had always been scarce. that was why whittaker wasn¡¯t pushed out of the 1st team despite his nasty personality.


    ¡°i have to ask anyway.¡±


    ¡°i asked. he refused.¡±


    ¡°... you asked?!¡± elisabeth was shocked. the ignorant and unlucky antony asked others to help out?


    ¡°can¡¯t you stop talking for a second?¡±


    antony felt something strange and asked, but elisabeth ignored him.


    ¡°well, it isn¡¯t like we need to fill up six positions to raid it...¡±


    six was the golden number of members in raids, but this was training in the otherworld, not actual combat.


    there was no need to get six people.


    ¡°what? you understood her? was it korean?¡±


    ¡°she doesn¡¯t sound korean, though.¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    choi yeonseung was embarrassed. obviously, the other person had said, ¡®hello.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is dumbfounded. it says you can understand her because you¡¯re a constellation.]


    ¡®ah...¡¯


    since becoming a constellation, he could perfectly understand the messages of the world. considering the scope of that feat, another language would be easy.


    ¡®i see. i feel as if i¡¯m in tune with the other person...¡¯


    choi yeonseung spoke using the language he heard for the first time.


    ¡°did they use that language thirty years ago?¡±


    ¡°have you not been hit enough?¡±


    choi yeonseung spoke while ignoring the chatter on the side.


    ¡°it¡¯s nice to meet you. i¡¯m choi yeonseung. do you speak english?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t. anyway... how are you so fluent in my language?¡±


    illeya was using the language of a russian minority, the words of which were so difficult to understand that only those who spoke a bit of russian could barely understand them!


    ¡°i have a skill.¡±


    ¡°ah. a skill.¡±


    illeya nodded, seemingly convinced. there were so many different skills in the world that it wasn¡¯t strange one of them revolved around interpreting languages.


    ¡°you have quite a unique skill. have you been practicing hard in languages?¡±


    ¡°you can say that. isn¡¯t being unable to speak english uncomfortable for you? especially in school...¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡®oh.¡¯


    choi yeonseung admired the girl¡¯s guts.


    i don¡¯t need friends. i will walk my own path!


    was it that type of confidence?


    ¡°it¡¯s better not to have a conversation than having to learn english.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    hey...!


    choi yeonseung also suffered while learning english in south korea, so he understood the feeling. even so, he couldn¡¯t believe she was just going to live with it.


    ¡°do you know how to speak any other language, at least?¡±


    ¡°i speak russian. i can also speak a bit of korean.¡±


    ¡°... korean? why?¡±


    ¡°i like kpop and trot. confucian culture is the best.¡±


    ¡°... what?¡±


    choi yeonseung doubted his ears for a moment.


    what?


    ¡®is gyeongryong hyung fooling around?¡¯


    however, illeya was very serious.


    ¡°which country are you from, hunter choi yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°... south korea.¡±


    illeya¡¯s eyes lit up.


    ***


    illeya excitedly asked questions. on the sidelines, antony and elisabeth admired the scene.


    ¡°i thought choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t sociable, but he¡¯s surprisingly great. i can¡¯t believe he¡¯s having such a long conversation with a hunter he has never met before.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know what they¡¯re talking about, but they seem pretty excited. i think he asked her to join in a proper manner?¡±


    this wasn¡¯t the case.


    illeya was the only one talking excitedly. all choi yeonseung did was listen to her.


    ¡°do you still do ¡®please kill me~¡¯ these days?¡±


    ¡°... wait. wait a minute.¡±


    choi yeonseung hurriedly spoke to change the subject.


    ¡°if you know how to speak russian, then can¡¯t you speak in russian? the interpreter will be able to detect that language.¡±


    ¡°i can¡¯t speak russian. i signed a contract with a constellation.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    was she a constellation¡¯s household member? she was clearly an outstanding elite, considering she got scouted by a school despite being from such a faraway place. hence, there was nothing strange about her signing a contract with a constellation.


    however, from choi yeonseung¡¯s perspective, it was disappointing. he helped the icarus clan members improve partly to increase the number of companions who could help him, but it was also to grow his household.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ advises you to take her away.]


    ¡®no. that¡¯s a bit much.¡¯


    [it says that you have already taken one away from the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ anyway!]


    ¡®......¡¯


    stop harassing the goddess!

 Chapter 97

    chapter 97


    ¡®but taking her away isn¡¯t a bad choice either.¡¯


    considering she was a constellation¡¯s household member, her talent had clearly been proven. in addition, based on her words, the constellation¡¯s hobby seemed to be quite nasty. banning a language as a penalty. illeya was forbidden to speak russian.


    suddenly curious, choi yeonseung used his constellation power to check illeya¡¯s status window.


    [you have seen through the essence of illeya.]


    [the target is currently a household member of the constellation ¡ö, preventing you from seeing her essence.]


    [you have gained a small understanding of illeya. you have succeeded in identifying a part of her essence.]


    [the power of your existence...]


    [illeya vsevolodovna]


    level: ?


    a- rank skill ¡®perun¡¯s magic axe technique.¡¯


    b+ rank skill ¡®dazhbog¡¯s protection.¡¯


    b rank skill ¡®svarozhich''s endless power.¡¯]


    ¡®huh...?¡¯ choi yeonseung was shocked. he could only see some skills, but it was a gorgeous lineup.


    ¡®is perun¡¯s magic axe technique melee magic? since it¡¯s an a- rank, it¡¯s probably a really rare skill. the b+ skill is as well...¡¯


    he didn¡¯t know which constellation she belonged to, but that constellation had to have really high expectations for her.


    ¡°can i ask which constellation you belong to?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry,¡± illeya said with an apologetic expression. some constellations hated the mere mention of their names, wanting to keep it secret. illeya¡¯s constellation was one of them.


    ¡°don¡¯t worry. it can¡¯t be helped. you¡¯re in a contract with that constellation, after all.¡±


    ¡°that aside, what are you doing now?¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re gathering a team to clear the endless tower dungeon.¡±


    ¡°... am i allowed to join you?¡± illeya asked. she sounded worried. the icarus clan gathered precious gems in the united states. she had been scouted here, so her ears hurt from hearing how great this clan was. however, as a newcomer, she naturally wondered if they really wanted to add her to the team. the competition was fierce, and she didn¡¯t think there would be a place for her left in it.


    ¡°well?¡± elisabeth asked, having gotten bored of waiting.


    ¡°she seems worried about whether she can join our team or not.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°heh. that makes sense. it is only natural for a new recruit to be nervous when trying to join a team with a hunter like me.¡±


    elisabeth nodded, ignoring antony.


    ¡°ah. so that¡¯s it. can¡¯t we just say that there¡¯s no need to worry?¡±


    ¡°um...¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll look too pretentious...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the two stared at choi yeonseung blankly.


    ¡°are you ashamed of us?¡±witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through n?o?v€l--b1n.


    ¡°anyone who doesn¡¯t want to join our team is basically kicking away their luck!¡±


    ¡°i know. i know. don¡¯t be angry.¡±


    choi yeonseung told illeya the truth, just as his other teammates said. ¡°in fact, the team is huge, so it¡¯s fine if you want to join.¡±


    ¡°huh? really?¡±


    ¡°the hunters here all prefer working alone, so they don¡¯t want to team up in a practice exercise.¡±


    ¡°i want to work with a team. i¡¯ve also watched a great video of you fighting, hunter choi yeonseung. i would like to fight by your side if you don''t mind.¡±


    ¡°me fighting? where?¡±


    ¡°las vegas. you rescuing people is admirable.¡±


    ¡°ah.¡±


    what happened in las vegas was a hot topic. a dungeon exploded, yet there were strangely only a few victims by the time it had been dealt with. in addition, the fact that choi yeonseung was involved also contributed to the topic. he was a hunter from 30 years ago and a martial artist, so his existence was certainly unique. people were bound to be interested. there were also reporters and fans...


    ¡°i wasn¡¯t trying to save them...¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re quite humble. is this also part of korean culture?¡±


    ¡°however, the chairman said it wasn¡¯t necessary.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡°you know that hunters are proud, narrow-minded people who think they¡¯re the best in the world, right?¡±


    everyone laughed awkwardly in response. more than half of the icarus clan¡¯s analysts were hunters. some of them were arrogant during their active years, so they knew well how hunters¡¯ minds worked. chosen among the many people and having to risk their lives clearing dungeons to accumulate money, they were bound to become proud and arrogant.


    i was chosen! i am the best!


    they spent hundreds of thousands of dollars a day like it was water, went to every party, and made a fuss with celebrities...


    few people lived as glamorous and intense as hunters.


    ¡°they aren¡¯t convinced, so forcibly giving them orders will only cause friction.¡±


    ¡°ah... that¡¯s definitely possible.¡±


    ¡°fair point.¡±


    ¡°the chairman said that if he¡¯s qualified to lead hunters, he¡¯ll be able to lead them properly on his own. we¡¯ll see soon enough, but only time will tell.¡±


    the analysts agreed. even if they were given no help, leaders were bound to emerge. that had been the case even back when they were still active. a good hunter stood out even in a low position.


    the analysts looked at ernest with a mixture of respect and trust.


    ¡®as expected of ernest!¡¯


    ¡®not everyone can become an a-grade hunter!¡¯


    of course, the conversation between ernest and hwang gyeongryong had been a bit different.


    -chairman. shouldn¡¯t we give him permission to help him?


    -what? he¡¯ll do well on his own, so you can just leave him alone. he¡¯ll probably do weird things otherwise.


    -weird things?


    -yeah, like training twenty-six hours a day. he used to do that in my clan.


    -......


    -don¡¯t force authority. he can turn himself into a leader, and he has to learn how to lead people. this way, he can do business later... cough.


    -you mean to lead a company?


    -you heard nothing.


    -yes. i understand.


    geniuses could sometimes fail as leaders. they couldn¡¯t understand why others couldn¡¯t do things they could. if choi yeonseung was that type, then he had to learn how to deal with people. besides, being a 1st generation hunter...


    ***


    ¡°richard parker says he has a situation, so he can¡¯t participate.¡±


    ¡°what situation?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a family matter. hmm... i¡¯ll have to call odaigon, then.¡±


    ¡°that handsome guy?¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t he a bit too unnaturally handsome?¡±


    choi yeonseung flinched at elisabeth¡¯s sharp words. did she know it was polymorph?


    antony snorted. ¡°your aesthetic standards are a mess. odaigon has to be that handsome to even be anywhere near my beauty.¡±


    ¡°... how can you say something like that so confidently and without stopping?¡±


    elisabeth was stunned.


    ¡°a shame... shameless person, is that right?¡± illeya asked.


    ¡°no. he¡¯s a madman, so don¡¯t mind him. in any case, call odaigon.¡±


    it felt a bit like a foul. odaigon had the skill level of an s-grade hunter. their team was composed of a restrained constellation, an s-grade hunter, and four b-grade hunters! it was almost the most fraudulent party on earth. in addition, odaigon¡¯s magic tremendously varied in range. he had a crazy talent for dealing damage, tanking, and healing.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that the goblin king is more useful than you if you restrict his power to around level 300.]


    ¡®......¡¯


    the cat constellation¡¯s words stabbed choi yeonseung, causing him to make a serious expression.


    ¡®i¡¯m to go somewhere and warn him to control his strength so that weird rumors don¡¯t spread.¡¯


    if odaigon didn¡¯t match his skills with theirs, the other hunters could faint from shock.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ wonders if you¡¯re jealous...]


    ¡®do you want to be blocked?¡¯


    [......]

 Chapter 98

    chapter 98


    odaigon, who was teaching and training the orcs in the blood fortress, shed tears of joy when he received choi yeonseung¡¯s call. this goblin king finally had a chance to play a role!


    ¡°master has summoned me at last! orcs, listen up! there¡¯s probably a great crisis on that planet!¡±


    -uh, i have a question, your majesty.


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    -what does a constellation like master need your majesty¡¯s help with?


    ¡°......¡±


    odaigon grew speechless and hesitated.


    a genuine question from the orc warrior, garagoncha!


    the other orcs were impressed.


    -garagoncha is really smart.


    -how can he even think of something like that?


    ¡°not... not all problems can be solved through force alone! he likely requires this king¡¯s wisdom!¡±


    -so your majesty is smarter than master?


    it was very rude and arrogant to claim that a household member was smarter than the constellation they served. garagoncha spoke without much thought, but odaigon started sweating.


    these... these orcs...!


    ¡°s-shut up! until i return, pull out all the weeds in this field and fill all the nearby buckets!¡±


    -wouldn¡¯t garagoncha be better than his majesty?


    -i think we should talk to the master.


    whisper whisper.


    the orcs¡¯ intelligence was increasing extremely rapidly after escaping from the warrior stained with madness and blood. in fact, it now threatened odaigon¡¯s position!


    ***


    ¡°so, uh... a fake dungeon...¡±


    ¡°not a fake dungeon. it¡¯s a training dungeon.¡±


    ¡°you need me... in attacking a training dungeon...?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    odaigon looked sullen. he had imagined choi yeonseung shouting, ¡®i¡¯ll leave my back to you, odaigon!¡¯ while dealing with a-grade monsters or above. however, in truth, he had to run around a dungeon in a virtual world that humans created as a toy.


    ¡®sigh. i swore allegiance to master, so i¡¯ll do my best.¡¯


    ¡°are you sure he¡¯s skilled enough?¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s probably just a handsome face. sigh. people should have both good looks and skills like me...¡±


    illeya gradually widened the distance from antony and moved closer to choi yeonseung. the hunters here were all a bit strange.


    ¡°cheeky bastards... you¡¯re all weaker than me!¡±


    odaigon was angry. he could forgive choi yeonseung, but he couldn¡¯t do the same for the other insignificant humans. these humans dared act like this toward goblins!


    ¡°what did you do during our last training session? did you just get eliminated?¡±


    ¡°why are you showing off when i¡¯ve never heard of you before?¡±


    ¡°... come. i¡¯ll show you my skills.¡±


    odaigon gritted his teeth, only for choi yeonseung to hit him in the back of the head.


    ¡°don¡¯t fight. i vouch for odaigon¡¯s skills. he¡¯s good enough to play whittaker¡¯s role.¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s a healer?¡±


    ¡°if he is...¡±


    the other hunters¡¯ reactions became better. if he was a healer, then he passed. he¡¯d be taking care of their lives the most in dungeons, after all. hence, they¡¯d even tolerate it if he was rude, had a dirty personality, or was lazy.


    ¡°... am i a healer?!¡±


    ¡°can¡¯t you use healing magic?¡±


    ¡°i can, but it¡¯s not my main expertise...¡±


    ¡®i should go to the tower and try it out.¡¯


    ¡®the monsters will be coming after us nonstop, so i¡¯ll have plenty of chances to test it out!¡¯


    however, no such opportunity came to them. choi yeonseung and odaigon were far more monstrous than they thought.


    ***


    ¡°monster incoming. i¡¯ll draw its attention and keep it occupied. odaigon, buff us, set up a barrier, and prepare for treatment.¡±


    ¡°understood.¡±


    choi yeonseung shot forward like a bullet. having learned real martial arts, his footwork was on a different level. the monster in front of him panicked and tried to stop him, but he instantly circled around and attacked.


    bam bam bam bam bam!


    although he was only attacking the monster to keep it in check, each of his attack was fast and sharp.


    thump!


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°huh. it died...¡± choi yeonseung murmured, seemingly slightly embarrassed. he killed it out of habit! nevertheless, the others clapped and praised him.


    ¡°that¡¯s amazing. he¡¯s incredibly skilled.¡±


    ¡°he isn¡¯t as good as i am, but he certainly is great.¡±


    they¡¯d come across more monsters anyway. they didn¡¯t have to curse at choi yeonseung, who was working hard on the front.


    ¡°the 1st floor seems to have been cleared. let¡¯s go to the 2nd floor.¡±


    the 2nd floor. the moment they went up, a group of monsters welcomed them. elisabeth and illeya immediately ran out and prepared to stop the monsters.


    -great deception illusion!


    odaigon immediately cast an illusion spell to distract the monsters. at the same time, choi yeonseung jumped out. the monsters were out of their minds, making them very easy to deal with by cutting their heads off one by one with a sword.


    flash, flash, flash¡ª


    with each flash of light, a monster collapsed.


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°... friend! let me use martial arts too! don¡¯t hog all the monsters to yourself!¡±


    the hunters exploded.


    so what if they were strong?


    ***


    it wasn¡¯t until choi yeonseung and odaigon restrained themselves that the other hunters had the opportunity to use the skills they learned. as soon as they did, everyone became surprised.


    ¡®amazing...!¡¯


    ¡®this is so useful!¡¯


    they didn¡¯t have big expectations since what they learned was just the basics of martial arts, not the ones with difficult movements and complex changes. they practiced simple cuts, stabs, or evasion tactics. hence, they didn¡¯t expect it would have this much of an effect when mixed with magic.


    the thorn blade boar charged. instead of using magic to defend herself, elisabeth used the beginner¡¯s swordsmanship and briefly inflicted damage. it was a simple attack, but she had to hit the monster immediately since it charged forward.


    bam!


    as the boar faltered, elisabeth attacked a few more times before stepping back. wary of elisabeth, the wild boar slowed down when it returned to its senses.


    meanwhile, elisabeth had finished casting magic. preparing it took longer than martial arts, but magic had destructive power.


    boooom!


    the injured thorn blade boar had been killed. martial arts filled in the gap between magic spells, especially during long casting! such simple martial arts being so strong was unbelievable.


    ''i see. my attacks can become so diverse just by learning martial arts!¡¯


    ¡®... amazing, choi yeonseung! really!¡¯


    [the martial arts you taught the hunters have moved them. the power of your existence has risen!]


    [the hunters express extreme appreciation for the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training.¡¯ the power of your existence has risen!]


    behind them, choi yeonseung looked happy. making and spreading his own martial arts proved worth it.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ suggests posting a video about how to learn martial arts for beginners on youtube.]

 Chapter 99

    chapter 99


    ¡®what nonsense is it saying?¡¯


    the cat constellation¡¯s words dumbfounded choi yeonseung.


    hunter skills like magic and martial arts were secrets of great value. many hunters entered dungeons just to obtain a magic or martial art book. yet it suggested spreading information like that on the internet?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ finds it unfair because there are already quite a few videos like that. it says you¡¯re not aware, so why are you criticizing it?]


    ¡®......?¡¯


    choi yeonseung looked as if he found it difficult to believe.


    ¡°gutierrez.¡±


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°are there videos on how to learn magic on youtube? there isn¡¯t, right?¡±


    ¡°there is, though?¡±


    ¡°...?!?!?!¡±


    choi yeonseung was shocked. there was?


    ¡°none are about rare magic, of course. even videos about 3rd-circle magic are already hard to find, but the ones about 1st and 2nd-circle magic that are common because they¡¯re released a lot.¡±


    that was right. the times had changed from when choi yeonseung was still active. back then, there were only a few spells available, a few hunters, and no individual broadcasts...


    he was now in a completely different era. the awakened hunters no longer had to focus on risking their lives inside dungeons. as long as they awakened, they could achieve success in many different ways. they could join raid sports, broadcasting, or go into business...the roots of this story extend from novell bi?n origin.


    choi yeonseung watched the videos elisabeth showed him with a look of shock and dismay.


    [actual story of a 6-year-old hunter¡¯s raid.]


    [billions of dollars in one month? an intensive analysis of a hunter¡¯s life!]


    [an f-grade hunter¡¯s secret to making 100 million in three months!]


    [korean national team¡¯s coach, lee changsik. is this okay? receiving special treatment just for being an a-grade hunter...]


    [hunter-turned-chef¡¯s super simple steak recipe!]


    it was amazing how many videos there were! even back when choi yeonseung was still active, many people envied and were interested in hunters. once it became possible for individuals to easily broadcast and upload videos, that interest exploded.


    ¡°don¡¯t just search with the terms ¡®hunter¡¯ or ¡®raid.¡¯ try searching for ¡®magic arrow¡¯.¡±


    he followed elisabeth¡¯s advice, and other videos came out.


    [a must-see video for those who don¡¯t have any skills to use! the easiest way to get the 1st-circle magic, magic arrow!]


    [easily target e-grade dungeons with one magic arrow! follow along and learn how to cast magic arrow!]


    [goodbye, ordinary magic arrow! subscribe right now to get a high-ranking magic arrow!]


    ¡°...?!?!¡±


    choi yeonseung was shocked. what was all this? there were many ways to acquire magic spells. they could learn using items like magic books obtained while going around dungeons or from someone who had a skill they wanted. the latter was a much more difficult method.


    if a hunter was qualified, then they could immediately learn it from a magic book. on the other hand, they¡¯d have to keep practicing the skill until they had perfected it if they learned it from others. they could also get seriously hurt if they made a mistake. it was difficult to listen to others and copy magic in the first place.


    of course, magic arrow was just 1st-circle magic, so it was really easy to learn...


    still, should it be released in a free video?


    ¡°there is nothing to be surprised about.¡±


    elisabeth thought it was a bit funny.


    choi yeonseung, who was usually always calm and unaffected by anything, actually seemed shocked!


    ¡°1st-circle magic spells that have been released a lot like magic arrow have often had hunters figured out how they work. isn¡¯t it less than $1 anyway? publishing videos like this will make money pour in through advertisements.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t really need money.¡±


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t short on money. he didn¡¯t have a lot either, but hwang gyeongryong was one of the richest people in the world. that man would pay as much money as needed for work!


    ¡°really? well, if i have to, i can use supreme king¡¯s swordsmanship as a cover.¡±


    cool!


    elisabeth hesitated. come to think of it, what she learned was called beginner''s swordsmanship. it would give her a stomach ache if hunters went around saying that they had learned the supreme king¡¯s swordsmanship.


    ¡°no. come to think of it, shouldn¡¯t super simple beginner¡¯s swordsmanship be good enough?¡±


    ***


    the idea for the video was good, but they had to finish training first.


    a place where monsters became stronger every time they went up a floor. on the 4th floor, a b-grade monster, the ice wyvern, spawned. it was a bit embarrassing, but the hunters killed it easily. with choi yeonseung at the front and odaigon in charge of the buffs and heals, the rest of the hunters could comfortably run around. in fact, the two filled more than half the roles!


    ¡°wait. if b-grade monsters are already appearing on the 4th floor, then what about the 5th floor?¡±


    ¡°the 5th floor will also be filled with b-grade. it honestly wouldn¡¯t be strange for the same monsters to emerge.¡±


    even hunters belonging to the same grade had differences in power. the same was true for monsters. it started at b- and ended at b+. even within the same grade, the hunters were divided between strong and weak. the hunters currently predicted that this dungeon would be around 10-15 floors. after all, its original version had more than ten floors. taking that into consideration, the 5th floor would likely be filled with only b-grade monsters, perhaps even the slightly weaker b-grade monsters.


    [you have entered the 5th floor.]


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!!


    a horrifying shout echoed, and the hunters stiffened.


    a monster¡¯s unique roar! the screams that a monster emitted with its magic power dealt high damage, much like area-of-effect skills. however, the hunters here were all b-grade hunters with a level of 200 or higher. in addition, they had cast defensive magic before entering. what type of monster would immediately try to damage them?


    ¡®banshee!¡¯


    opaque and looking like evil spirits, the banshee screamed and released magic power from all over her body. it was also a powerful ghost-type monster that ignored most attacks. hence, it was rated a-grade! the hunters cursed ernest for putting an a-grade monster on the 5th floor instead of settling for b, b+, or even a-.


    ¡®he¡¯s crazy!¡¯


    ¡®aren¡¯t they overreacting?¡¯


    as everyone was cursing ernest, choi yeonseung alone felt admiration.


    ¡®this is only proper. after all, this is how a real dungeon functions.¡¯


    hunters couldn¡¯t know what would come out of dungeons. what they knew in advance and what they could actually face were different! this was a great way to train them to avoid panicking inside a real dungeon.


    -wise healing waves!


    choi yeonseung and odaigon didn¡¯t take much damage from the banshee¡¯s screams. choi yeonseung protected himself with internal energy, and odaigon countered the monster¡¯s attack by releasing strong magic power from his body. as odaigon freed the hunters, choi yeonseung charged at the banshee to buy time. the moment he used origin of the celestial step, he disappeared as if he teleported.


    extreme speed!


    unable to aim at choi yeonseung, the banshee became flustered and hesitated. meanwhile, choi yeonseung was already behind the banshee. sword energy flashed and split the banshee apart.


    [the banshee has protected herself with the power of evil darkness!]


    [it has absorbed most of the sword energy!]


    ¡°!¡±


    -¡ö¡ö!


    the banshee screamed and shook off choi yeonseung. she didn¡¯t have a physical body, and she protected herself with dark magic. hence, despite being directly hit, she was still quite unharmed. he had to attack with more magic power or stronger sword energy!


    ¡®isn¡¯t this too much?¡¯


    choi yeonseung smacked his lips together with regret. he took the initiative and landed an accurate attack, but he failed to kill her. hence, he adjusted his skill level from the top of first class to the beginning of peak class. his level went up to the low 300s, and his hunter rank reached a- from b+. that much improvement shouldn¡¯t raise suspicion from the other constellations.


    however, this situation disappointed him. apart from concentrated sword energy, he now had to use sword energy sparingly.


    ¡®it isn¡¯t like there isn¡¯t a way, though.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was far too experienced to let being unable to use concentrated sword energy stop him from killing monsters. in addition, odaigon, choi yeonseung¡¯s household member, was here!


    ¡°odaigon. i need your help...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m coming!¡±


    ¡°hey! why did you stop using recovery magic?!¡±


    the hunters were shocked to see odaigon just throwing away everything and going straight to choi yeonseung. that showed his true personality!

 Chapter 100

    chapter 100


    ¡°you are filthy, noisy bastards!¡±


    odaigon cast magic on the complaining hunters. he didn¡¯t just throw them away and run. he continued to use healing magic as he moved. the hunters were surprised to see him use high-level healing magic while moving and talking.


    this was an s-grade healer!


    ¡®he¡¯s really incredible!¡¯


    ¡®he¡¯s a bit weird, but his skills are amazing! isn¡¯t he better than whittaker?¡¯


    ¡®his personality is better as well!¡¯


    whittaker annoyed people by always tapping on calculators, but he was still treated well in the clan since his skills as a healer were certain! however, odaigon¡¯s skills were better than whittaker¡¯s. even whittaker wouldn¡¯t be able to do what odaigon was doing. he was a bit unusual, but...


    didn¡¯t he seem like a fairy compared to whittaker?


    ¡®isn¡¯t he better than whittaker?¡¯


    ¡®he¡¯s definitely better than whittaker.¡¯


    the look in the hunters¡¯ eyes softened as they watched odaigon.


    let¡¯s be friends!


    ***


    ¡°cast some enhancement magic. that should be enough to do damage the banshee.¡±


    ¡°understood!¡±witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through n?o?v€l--b1n.


    odaigon felt excited now that the time to assist his constellation had come! hence, he prepared magic with all his might.


    -odaigon¡¯s magic light sword, odaigon¡¯s illusion clone, odaigon¡¯s spirit blow, odaigon¡¯s damage amplification!


    6th-circle buff magic swiftly flew over.


    odaigon was an archmage who could create his own magic. on earth, dozens of researchers would have to put their heads together and study for several years to create low-circle magic. however, odaigon could make new 6th-circle magic by himself. his power was truly terrifying.


    odaigon¡¯s magic light sword enveloped choi yeonseung¡¯s sword, causing its blade to glow. he also applied odaigon¡¯s spirit blow to its blade, making it capable of damaging a spirit. meanwhile, odaigon¡¯s damage amplification amplified the power of all spells.


    the sword flashed once more. the banshee instinctively tried to avoid it, but she wasn¡¯t used to choi yeonseung¡¯s swordsmanship yet, which was so profound nobody could get used to it after just one attack from it! even though she tried to dodge, the sword¡¯s trajectory bizarrely twisted and cut the banshee.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    her scream was many times louder than before.


    [odaigon¡¯s magic light sword...]


    [odaigon¡¯s spirit blow...]


    [......]


    ¡®no. isn¡¯t this more amazing than i thought?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was more surprised than the banshee he had cut. odaigon¡¯s magic was better than he thought. during his time in the abyss, he had never required his household member¡¯s support since he could use his power as a constellation to his heart¡¯s content and could use his martial arts to the fullest. at choi yeonseung¡¯s peak, odaigon¡¯s magic was more of a hindrance.


    however, with his martial arts stage restricted here on earth, he realized how helpful odaigon¡¯s magic was. the magic amplified the sword energy he unleashed, making it several times stronger.


    ¡®at this level, i won¡¯t have to struggle in combat despite the stage restrictions...¡¯


    one of choi yeonseung¡¯s biggest concerns was having to hide his power. if he showed too much power, the constellations would become suspicious! the constellations would doubt it if he suddenly boosted the power he was gradually showing. the problem was that his opponents didn¡¯t fight with that in mind.


    choi yeonseung had to deal with strong opponents in the cusp between the first-class and the peak-class stages. hence, even he, who had fought in millions of battles, found some situations difficult. however, odaigon¡¯s magic greatly reduced such difficulties. choi yeonseung¡¯s status was still the same, but he became several times stronger with his household member¡¯s magic.


    ¡°odaigon. your magic is amazing!¡±


    ¡°!!!¡±


    praised by choi yeonseung, odaigon trembled with emotion. it was the first time choi yeonseung had ever praised his magic!


    ¡°i¡¯ll use more!¡±


    ¡°no, you don¡¯t have to.¡±


    ¡°okay...¡±


    ¡°in any case, your magic is really great. hmm... i want to learn that as well.¡±


    it would be much easier if choi yeonseung could directly cast enhancement magic on his sword. that would open up more ways for him to fight despite being in the same martial arts stage.


    ¡°it would be my honor! i¡¯ll teach you! magic isn¡¯t hard! it¡¯s really easy and fun!¡±


    ¡°i-i see.¡±


    odaigon was so happy choi yeonseung was interested in magic that he shouted like a 1st dan goblin instructor. as choi yeonseung listened, he suddenly grew curious about something.


    ¡°is it really easy? how long will it take to learn the magic you just used?¡±


    ¡°100...¡±


    -yes. they don¡¯t know anything.


    hwang gyeongryong had told him not to forcibly push choi yeonseung up, but to let him rise in the clan by himself. however, that didn¡¯t seem necessary. he was already pulling around selfish people like this...


    ¡°don¡¯t you think ernest is looking at us strangely?¡±


    ¡°must just be your imagination.¡±


    ernest¡¯s fond gaze gave the hunters an ominous feeling.


    why was he doing this?


    ernest looked around, then spoke. ¡°prepare yourselves, everyone. we have a flight to catch.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re going to a dungeon.¡±


    ***


    the clan in charge of the area a dungeon was found in had the right to raid it first. however, if their raid failed, other clans could have a go at it. this wasn¡¯t often the case. from the clan¡¯s point of view, not being able to clear the dungeon in their own area was a big loss. the rewards from the dungeon and the monster cores would all fly away from their grasp. above all, their reputation as a clan would be ruined.


    however, there was nothing they could do about dungeons that they couldn¡¯t clear. the hunters of the icarus clan were flying in a private plane to clear a dungeon.


    yawning, choi yeonseung looked around. everyone was full of anticipation, even antony.


    ¡°did everyone eat the wrong food today? the atmosphere is strange.¡±


    ¡°friend, honestly, aren¡¯t you looking forward to it?¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°aish, you know.¡±


    ¡°......??¡±


    unlike the 1st generation that choi yeonseung was a part of, the number of hunters in this age had increased exponentially. in other words...


    it wasn¡¯t easy to gain fame. they had to somehow emerge from the crowd of hunters! despite doing their own personal broadcasting, being active on social media, or joining hunter sports, many were still buried! self-promotion was now an essential skill for a hunter.


    ¡°that¡¯s why you posted on social media, ¡®a hunter¡¯s life is a life of endless combat... no matter how many of them you defeat, monsters continue to appear endlessly... you have to endure it to rise to the top...¡¯ didn¡¯t you write something like that?¡±


    ¡°...i-i was hacked. i didn¡¯t write that.¡± smallwood excused himself. he had drunk some alcohol when he wrote that, but he didn¡¯t know he would be teased like this!


    ¡°so what does self-promotion have to do with this dungeon?¡±


    ¡°a dungeon that has failed to be cleared by the clan in charge of its location will get a lot of attention.¡±


    there were countless hunters and just as many dungeons. low-level dungeons being cleared didn¡¯t even appear in the news. however, there were several incidents that were on different dimensions.


    a monster wave, where monsters exploded out of the abyss gate.


    a hunter terror, where hunters seduced and corrupted by evil god constellations ran wild.


    a red dungeon, where all the hunters who entered were wiped out!


    it wasn¡¯t an official name but dungeons that had wiped out several teams had become collectively called red dungeons. the clan in charge would¡¯ve tried more than once and not given up on the target, so the dungeon they were currently headed to was most likely a red dungeon.


    ¡°look. there is already an uproar.¡±


    -is it true that there is a red dungeon in long beach? did the airst clan fail?


    ?it¡¯s true. i looked at the hunters¡¯ social media, and many people have already gathered.


    ??izidor is there as well.


    ???really? i¡¯ll go take a look.


    ¡°...can they post things like this?¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled by the phenomenon of hunters posting information such as ¡®i¡¯m going to attack this dungeon¡¯ or ¡®i failed this dungeon¡¯ on social media. it was a phenomenon that was hard to accept even though he understood it! how could they sell valuable information like that?


    ¡°following hunters¡¯ social media is great. they offer a lot of good information, friend.¡±


    smallwood showed the accounts of other clans.


    @clan_ambi


    -the ambitus clan will attack the dungeon this clan failed to clear. stay tuned for the performance of america¡¯s top clan, the ambitus clan!


    @dragon_hwang


    -do you think you¡¯re the only one that¡¯s going to raid it? how can you call yourself the best?


    ¡®hyung...¡¯


    choi yeonseung covered his face.


    what was he doing on sns?

 Chapter 102

    chapter 102


    ¡°illeya. would you like to move with me?¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    illeya stared at choi yeonseung in surprise.


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ laments! she says even those who aren¡¯t suspicious will become suspicious due to your approach!]


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says to trick her as skillfully as you tricked the goddess!]


    the two constellations were certainly correct. even those who weren¡¯t suspicious would be when hearing this. if she had really signed a contract with an evil god constellation, he should approach her with much more caution.


    ¡®... i get it, so stop bringing the goddess into this.¡¯


    illeya nodded with a bright expression. among the hunters who only cared about themselves, choi yeonseung was the only one who tried to take care of others. as a newcomer, she welcomed working together.


    ¡°that would be great.¡±


    ¡°really?¡±


    illeya surprisingly didn¡¯t suspect anything. choi yeonseung was relieved.


    -look. she didn¡¯t doubt it.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says the seeds of doubt could already have been planted...]


    slightly excited, illeya spoke quickly in a familiar language. ¡°speaking of which, i watched a korean drama yesterday...¡±


    ¡°ah. look at the clouds.¡±


    he didn¡¯t hate illeya, but she was honestly a bit annoying. she spoke too much. choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t even interested in the topic!


    ¡°it was about a korean royal princess and a hunter falling in love. hunter choi yeonseung, have you ever seen a korean princess?¡±


    ¡°south korea... doesn¡¯t have a royal family...¡±


    ¡°really?!¡±


    ***


    ¡°the icarus clan!¡±


    the atmosphere changed the moment the famous clan appeared. hunters contemplating whether or not to enter, hunters preparing to enter, reporters and people who came to cover it... countless people looked over upon recognizing the icarus clan. the hunters of the icarus clan walked slowly and enjoyed the eyes.


    ¡®are these guys walking in slow motion on purpose?¡¯


    choi yeonseung thought to himself. no matter how he thought about it, they were walking too slowly.


    ¡°gutierrez. is there any reason to walk so slowly?¡±


    ¡°...t-this type of service is also important to hunters,¡± elisabeth stuttered, seemingly embarrassed when this was pointed out. slow-motion walking before entering a dungeon was an unwritten rule!


    meanwhile, the clan¡¯s employees made all the preparations. dungeon supplies that could be used during their stay inside, drones related to various measurements, navigation items... most importantly, the hunters¡¯ equipment!


    ¡°can¡¯t i just buy the shining traveler¡¯s longsword? i¡¯m willing to pay for it anyway. it¡¯s a bit strange that i have to ask for it every time i do a raid.¡±


    ¡°speak directly to the chairman.¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯ll just ask for it every time.¡±


    ¡°the death corps¡¯ shield... i haven¡¯t seen it in a while. kuhahat.¡±


    the hunters were happily taking out the artifacts provided by the icarus clan. rare artifacts could sometimes be more expensive than the hunters themselves. the variety of powerful artifacts they had was where the power of the clan came from!


    in that regard, the icarus clan was overwhelming. it wasn¡¯t just a clan. it had a large group behind it that made that possible! they could buy artifacts, collect them during dungeon raids, and even create them through research and development...


    hence, they could use all the artifacts they wanted.


    ¡°you really don¡¯t need any other equipment?¡±


    ¡°this sword alone is enough.¡±


    the employee was taken aback. he heard from the top to ¡®let hunter choi yeonseung do what he wants,¡¯ but wasn¡¯t this too much? considering he didn¡¯t even wear armor, shouldn¡¯t he at least have a defensive enchanted necklace or bracelet? however, choi yeonseung was saying that his sword was enough.


    ¡®i don¡¯t have anything to use anyway. it would be better to give really good items to someone else.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was already satisfied with the sword of goujian. hwang gyeongryong ripped off china... no, he received the a-grade artifact from china. it recovered magic power when killing enemies, making it the perfect weapon for someone whose martial arts stage was limited like choi yeonseung. lowering his martial arts stage didn¡¯t take away his experience or proficiency, but it did result into a lack of internal energy. he required a way to recover his internal energy.


    ¡°are you sure?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡®they¡¯ve definitely collected a lot of expensive items, though.¡¯


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t an expert, but even he could see that there were plenty of flashy effects. they couldn¡¯t have collected all of these in just a year or two. the clan had accumulated this power over a long period of time!


    analog, not digital! he became a hunter before the era of drones and smartphones. afterward, he killed monsters alone in the abyss.


    ¡®i don¡¯t really need anything.¡¯


    honestly, choi yeonseung thought he could clear it even if he went in alone. it would be a bit hard if all the monsters attacked at once, but if he hit them one by one as he did in the abyss, he could clear it by himself.


    ¡°this should be enough.¡±


    ¡°a-are you sure? if you really require anything, feel free to tell me.¡±


    the employee couldn¡¯t understand. why did this person want to take so little?


    ***


    [would you like to enter the ¡®sanctuary of defeat and sloth¡¯ dungeon?]


    [rewards: ?, ???]


    [admission limit: 261 people.]


    [time remaining: 2 months, 27 days...]


    the surroundings started to stir when the icarus clan entered. they went in after all!


    ¡°ah... won¡¯t the dungeon be taken away now that they¡¯ve gone in?¡±


    ¡°icarus isn¡¯t the only clan here, is it? even if they join, we can clear it ahead of them!¡±


    ¡°other clans have entered and will keep each other in check. we still have a chance.¡±


    from the perspective of those aiming to clear the dungeon, a famous clan like the icarus clan was a fierce competitor. even the clans who hadn¡¯t entered yet had complicated expressions.


    ¡°if we go in late, it will be taken away. we¡¯ll go in in an hour! have the preparations complete by then!¡±


    ¡°i understand.¡±


    in the meantime, the icarus clan, led by choi yeonseung, entered the dungeon.


    [the ¡®sanctuary of defeat and sloth¡¯ will test its challengers.]


    [powerful wind of chaos will blow to separate the challengers!]


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung was shocked. a dungeon with a special effect upon entry! moreover, it was close to the worst effect. this dungeon forcibly scattered the hunters who should be fighting together.


    ¡®this is a huge problem!¡¯


    it wasn¡¯t just because they would be fighting alone. they also had to consider the distribution of supplies, such as food and equipment. hunters who had entered a dungeon would normally have to defeat the monsters inside. however, that also meant they could be destroyed by those monsters!


    ¡°uh... uh...¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung was checking the surroundings when a groan entered his ears.


    ¡°water... please give me water...¡±


    near him was a hunter who had entered the dungeon ahead of them. he looked as if he hadn¡¯t eaten or drunk anything in a while.


    ¡°drink slowly. if you rush it, you could choke.¡±


    ¡°cough, cough!¡±


    the hunter hurriedly drank the water that choi yeonseung offered.


    gulp, gulp.


    ¡°what clan are you from?¡±


    ¡°new york... new york fires.¡±


    ¡°ah. new york fires.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded, but soon regretted asking.


    ¡®i wouldn¡¯t know them anyway. i shouldn¡¯t have asked.¡¯


    having answered his question, the hunter seemingly expected choi yeonseung to know about them.


    ¡°my clan... have you seen my clanmates?¡±


    ¡°um. i¡¯m sorry, but this is the first time i¡¯ve heard of the new york fires.¡±


    ¡°... d-don¡¯t joke around.¡±

 Chapter 103

    chapter 103


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry. i don¡¯t know anything about that clan.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s ridiculous! unless you¡¯ve lived in the abyss... gasp. you¡¯re that korean hunter, aren¡¯t you? the martial artist!¡±


    the hunter slapped his knee upon seeing choi yeonseung¡¯s face. he thought he recognized this person from somewhere. it was the hunter who dealt with the breach in las vegas. his performance was amazing, but using martial arts in this era was just as noteworthy. thus, the memory of him remained strong in the hunter¡¯s mind.


    ¡°why did you learn martial arts?¡±


    ¡°... think carefully about who gave you water before you start this.¡±


    ¡°ah. no. i¡¯m sorry... i didn¡¯t mean anything bad. i¡¯m just curious...¡±


    the new york fires hunters had discussed it while watching the video. if he had such abilities, why did he learn martial arts instead of magic?


    ¡°this isn¡¯t the time to talk about that. what happened?¡±


    ¡°what happened? can¡¯t you roughly guess?¡±


    the new york fires hunter coughed several times before providing an explanation. they got dispersed the moment they entered, and while looking for his companions, a monster attacked him! he lost his weapon and even broke his leg as a result. hence, he could only lie there in agony. he was hoping other hunters would help him.


    ¡°this is the first time i¡¯ve ever seen such a monster. it had two heads, looked like a dog, and suddenly disappeared and appeared.¡±


    ¡°ah. that¡¯s the two-headed chaos dog. it has the ability to teleport backward, so it¡¯s annoying when first meeting it. they like shiny things, which is why they aim for your equipment first.¡±


    ¡°...???? the icarus clan knows about such a monster?¡±


    the hunter was surprised. information about monsters and dungeons was one of a clan¡¯s weapons. although the icarus clan was an ace clan supported by dragon hwang, the new york fires was also a large clan supported by several powerful companies. icarus knew a monster that the new york fires had never seen before?


    ¡°oops. the new york fires lacks information.¡±


    choi yeonseung had been wandering around the abyss for over 10,000 years. naturally, he had already seen it before. however, choi yeonseung was shameless.


    you don¡¯t even know that?


    ¡°ah... no. our clan isn¡¯t lacking in intelligence.¡±


    ¡°if you don¡¯t know what it was, then you¡¯re simply not good enough.¡±


    flustered, the hunter changed the subject. this wasn¡¯t important right now. ¡°did you see the new york fires preparing to send a rescue team outside?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°shit...!¡± the hunter cursed. he had expected it, but it was now clear that those outside didn¡¯t fully understand the situation. once inside the dungeon, there was no way to know what was going on outside. his clanmates that had entered the dungeon had either collapsed from injuries like him or couldn¡¯t afford to help. there was nothing he could do unless additional rescuers came from outside.


    ¡°hmm. it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    the hunter flinched as choi yeonseung moved closer to him.


    ¡°d...don¡¯t tell me...!¡±


    ¡°?¡± choi yeonseung was puzzled. ¡°what are you saying?¡±


    ¡°you want to kill me and take what i have...!¡±


    ¡°... that¡¯s quite the delusion.¡±


    ¡°what else are you trying to do, then?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m trying to heal your wounds.¡±


    ¡°stop talking nonsense!¡±


    the hunter exclaimed, seemingly finding the situation absurd. no idiot would heal hunters from other clans in a dungeon. even if they had the capacity to do so, it was better to save their magic power and use it on a hunter of their own clan. if another clan¡¯s hunter was injured and collapsed in the dungeon, everyone would just leave them behind. no one would curse them for that.


    choi yeonseung was the first person he had met who tried to heal a hunter from another clan. it was too suspicious!


    ¡°think about it carefully! i don¡¯t have any equipment right now! a monster had taken it away!¡±


    ¡°no, you bastard.¡± angered, choi yeonseung hit the hunter on the back of the head.


    bam!


    "eek?!¡±


    the hunter blinked at the movement of choi yeonseung¡¯s speed made the hunter blink. the latter seemed to have approached instantly.


    w-what?! was that martial arts?


    ¡°why are you freaking out even though i¡¯m trying to heal you? i¡¯ll hit you every time you say something, so shut up.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    he didn¡¯t know about anything else, but choi yeonseung was good at threatening others. the overwhelmed hunter kept his mouth shut and trembled.


    scary...!


    ¡°it was like this in south korea. if we see a fallen hunter in a dungeon, we treat them. americans are so heartless.¡±


    ... this was the first time he had heard of that.


    ***


    choi yeonseung decided to take arenas with him for now. too many hunters crowding in one place would cause the monsters to attack them. there were just two of them, though, so they should be fine. moreover, he¡¯d also be getting intel from his new companion.


    ¡°first of all, this sanctuary of defeat and sloth is extremely wide.¡±


    the dungeon was in the form of a field surrounded by several forests. monster-infested forests dotted all over the place on a field so wide that the end couldn¡¯t be seen!


    ¡°considering there were no special clearance conditions when entering, we just have to kill the boss monster.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t talk as if you know everything.¡±


    ¡°... however, upon keen observation, i kept seeing magic being used over there.¡±


    arenas pointed in a direction. if they were currently in the outskirts, which had relatively fewer forests, the place he pointed to was the center since it had more forests! while arenas was lying down, he witnessed magic erupting from within it over and over again. the surviving hunters were clearly fighting on that side.


    ¡°wouldn¡¯t the hunters have gone over there?¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    arenas¡¯ claim made sense. choi yeonseung decided to move in that direction. there were only two of them, but they were strong enough to deal with the monsters.


    ¡®ah. now that i remember it, i can talk to odaigon.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was a constellation, and odaigon was his household member. constellations couldn¡¯t see into a dungeon, but they could if they entered it as well. constellations normally didn¡¯t enter dungeons, though.


    -odaigon.


    -master!


    -are you okay?


    -yes! i¡¯ve found all the hunters!


    -what? already?


    choi yeonseung was shocked. he knew that odaigon was a master of goblin magic. nevertheless, it was hard to believe that he had already found all the icarus clan hunters. was that possible?


    -i didn¡¯t trust them, so i secretly engraved mark magic on the luggage they were carrying.


    -odaigon...


    odaigon engraved a mark on their luggage to suppress them if they tried to betray choi yeonseung! the marks were magic mines that could explode instantly. following the magic power that the marks exuded allowed him to locate them immediately.


    -you didn¡¯t engrave one on me?


    -i didn¡¯t, master! i¡¯m sorry!


    -no. don¡¯t apologize. i understand.


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t want to use his power of existence or make a loud noise with martial arts to indicate his location. there was supposed to be a hunter who had signed with an evil god constellation among them. attracting the attention of a lot of monsters wasn¡¯t the brightest idea right now. communicating in this way should be enough to regroup anyway.


    -i am moving inside the forest now. if everything¡¯s going well, bring the kids over. don¡¯t argue.


    -yes! i won¡¯t argue with them!


    odaigon finished speaking and looked around.


    ... what if they had already argued?


    ***


    -why are you alone? where is choi yeonseung?


    -is that my fault?


    -why are you alone? where is choi yeonseung?


    -you... isn¡¯t this too much, friend?


    -why are you alone...


    -shut up. be quiet.


    finding each other was great and all, but every time they found someone, odaigon would say, ¡®why are you alone? where is choi yeonseung?¡¯ this caused the hunters to glare at odaigon.


    odaigon coughed once. these people were uncivilized, but he had to obey his master¡¯s command.


    ¡°...let¡¯s reconcile,¡± he said.


    the reactions were intense.


    ¡°get lost.¡±


    ¡°you ask for that now?¡±


    ¡°if only choi yeonseung was here.¡±


    thanks to odaigon, the stock price of choi yeonseung went up.

 Chapter 104

    chapter 104


    elisabeth crossed her arms, seemingly asking for his reasoning.


    ¡°you were making a fuss before. why are you trying to reconcile now?¡±


    ¡°... now that i thought about it, choi yeonseung told me not to fight with you.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    his reason was so unexpected it rendered the hunters speechless. he wasn¡¯t a kid getting scolded by his parents...


    elisabeth¡¯s anger lowered. now that he had come out like this, her anger disappeared. ¡°i understand. i won¡¯t say anything else, so let¡¯s move.¡±


    ¡°are you just going to let that slide?¡±


    ¡°schneider. you were worse than that.¡±


    antony grew furious. ¡°when was i ever worse than that guy?!¡±


    ¡°um. antony was indeed worse.¡±


    smallwood nodded, convinced. odaigon was annoying, but he was quite good-natured compared to antony.


    ¡°that isn¡¯t important right now! follow me. we have to move!¡±


    ¡°why do we have to follow you?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right, friend. why should we believe you?¡±


    ¡°it would be different if you were hunter choi yeonseung, but i can¡¯t trust you.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    odaigon was speechless.


    what in the world was wrong with these human beings?


    ¡®master, how did you get these people to follow you?¡¯


    ***


    bam!


    ¡°you are the two-headed chaos dog.¡±


    choi yeonseung heard a growl, then a distinct sound. he didn¡¯t even need to look up to know the monster¡¯s identity. the more he trained in his martial arts, the more sensitive his senses became. if a magician had detection magic, then a martial artist had intuition.


    however, it was a phenomenon that was surprising to arenas. there was nothing around them, but he claimed that a monster had appeared! no hunter in the clan had ever performed such a feat.


    ¡®is this martial arts?¡¯


    considering choi yeonseung¡¯s performance so far, martial arts seemed strangely good. in fact, wasn¡¯t martial arts undervalued?


    ¡®no. even the clan¡¯s other hunters said martial arts isn¡¯t good.¡¯


    arenas grabbed onto a string of reason. the current situation was just an illusion! just because choi yeonseung used it well didn¡¯t mean that martial arts were necessarily good.


    ¡°behind.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°behind you.¡± choi yeonseung grabbed arenas by the collar, pulled him forward, and threw him. arenas was a tanker that specialized in close combat. right now, he had imbued himself with defense magic and weight-increase magic! nevertheless, choi yeonseung easily flung him away.


    ¡°!!!¡±


    thrown forward, arenas around. however, he had no time to be angry. he was far too shocked.


    a two-headed hound had suddenly appeared where he had just been. it was the two-headed chaos dog. it approached him using short-distance teleportation!


    ¡®it¡¯s around level 150, huh?¡¯


    choi yeonseung used his constellation abilities to grasp the monster¡¯s level.


    level 150 was around c-grade. arenas could kill it, but its skill, which allowed it to teleport backward, was extremely tricky. his opponent¡¯s unpredictability and the fact that it was his first time encountering it left him no other choice but to suffer! however, after fighting it once, it would no longer be as difficult to face.


    choi yeonseung snapped his fingers, and the origin of the celestial finger shot out. it was a lower-level attack than when using concentrated energy, but it was enough.


    bam! bam!


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    the two-headed chaos dog received the attack in its torso and screamed, rolling around. he struck precisely. once its movement was stopped, choi yeonseung¡¯s sword flashed. he quickly approached and cut off both heads.


    arenas¡¯ jaw dropped open. ¡°you... you weren¡¯t joking...?!¡±


    this person didn¡¯t even use powerful magic, yet he killed a monster with a few moves of his hand and a few strikes of his sword. he shockingly so easily killed a monster that made arenas suffer.


    ¡°it isn¡¯t that difficult once you know their tricks. if you detect it first, avoid the attack from behind, and counterattack, it won¡¯t be able to fight properly because of its weak defenses.¡±


    ¡°aha. you two fought monsters together, then?¡±


    ¡°no... i was injured and had collapsed, but he saved me.¡±


    ¡°... ah. so you two know each other, then? you two are probably close.¡±


    ¡°no... today is our first time meeting each other.¡±


    ¡°... why did he save you, then?¡±


    ¡°i... i don¡¯t know?¡±


    arenas couldn¡¯t help but wonder himself. why did this person help him?


    ¡°are you complaining that i helped you?¡± choi yeonseung asked indifferently.


    the american hunters here were too shocked and freaked out that he saved someone. of course, choi yeonseung was doing good to be worshiped and raise his power of existence, but...


    couldn¡¯t they just say ¡®thank you?¡¯


    ¡°ah... no. thank you. i thank you in the name of the new york fires, choi yeonseung.¡± izidor spoke with sincerity. hunters were all selfish. they wouldn¡¯t even help their clanmates most of the time. however, hunters who showed good intentions deserved to be thanked. izidor wasn¡¯t crooked enough not to do so.


    ¡°where are you from?¡±


    ¡°icarus.¡±


    ¡°icarus?! is the icarus clan here?¡±


    izidor was surprised in many ways. it was already surprising that choi yeonseung belonged to icarus, yet he even generously helped arenas despite the icarus clan being scattered. wasn¡¯t he more like a saint than a hunter?


    ¡®ah. choi yeonseung...¡¯


    izidor came to a realization upon remembering the video he had seen that was taken in las vegas. choi yeonseung was a 1st-generation hunter and an abyss returnee!


    ¡®is that why?¡¯


    he could hear other clan hunters whispering next to him.


    ¡°treatment? that man probably just killed a monster and helped the new york fires hunter up. he¡¯s exaggerating.¡±


    ¡°who would heal a hunter from a different clan?¡±


    arenas was furious grew furious upon hearing that. he thought choi yeonseung was trying to rob him at first, but that didn¡¯t mean he could stand others saying that.


    ¡°don¡¯t talk nonsense when you have no idea what happened! hunter choi yeonseung even used healing magic to help me!¡±


    ¡°h¡ªhealing magic?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s nonsense...!¡±


    the other hunters were stunned once more. all of this...


    it really didn¡¯t make sense!


    arenas stomped around. as he started explaining, spit came flying out.


    -i was on the verge of dying when a hunter named choi yeonseung showed up and said, ¡®you¡¯re not dying on me! i will definitely save you!¡¯ after he said that...


    ... arenas¡¯ version of the story was so severely dramatized that anyone who heard it would think, is that hunter a saint?¡¯


    ¡®this guy is so shameless. even i can¡¯t bring myself to believe him,¡¯ choi yeonseung thought.


    arenas probably did it because of his conscience, but wasn¡¯t he lying too much?


    ¡°stop talking nonsense. everybody finds it strange.¡±


    ¡°what... so he¡¯s lying?¡±


    the hunters were relieved. they had hoped this was the case.


    having been labeled a liar, arenas replied in resentment, ¡°nonsense? you used healing magic!¡±


    ¡°i did.¡±


    ¡°you also killed the monster and saved me!¡±


    ¡°i saved you, but it wasn¡¯t out of such good intentions. i just happened to see the monster...¡±


    ¡°????¡±


    the hunters around them cocked their heads. so he did use healing magic and save this person...


    if so, then arenas uttered no lies.


    [being worshiped has increased the power of your existence!]


    ¡°......?¡±


    why did it increase?

 Chapter 105

    chapter 105


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded. there was no reason for them to show him respect now, was there? however, most of the hunters around choi yeonseung looked at him with respect in their eyes. all the hunters here were selfish, ignorant, and capitalistic bastards, but...


    as long as they were human, they would respect anyone who had healed a hunter from a different clan. hence, they couldn¡¯t help being amazed!


    with everyone in deep silence, arenas spoke triumphantly. ¡°do you believe me now? hunter choi yeonseung healed me, a hunter from a clan that has nothing to do with him!¡±


    not wanting to listen to this, choi yeonseung interrupted, ¡°stop it.¡±


    he only treated arenas because he came across him, yet the bastard was making a big deal out of it. arenas was the type to make a fuss and say something like, ¡®you are a saint who has devoted your whole life to the weak¡¯ if he were to see someone pick up an old lady¡¯s luggage on the street.


    ¡°stay still! i think this needs to be properly addressed. they don¡¯t believe me!¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t care. stop it.¡±


    ¡°do you see now? this is humility. even though you¡¯re all selfish bastards who only think about yourselves, there is still a ray of hope in this desolate world¡ª¡±


    ¡°this bastard really doesn¡¯t listen.¡±


    the ray of hope¡ªno, choi yeonseung immediately punched arenas. the unexpected attack knocked the latter down.


    bam!


    ¡°didn¡¯t i tell you to stop? if your lifesaver tells you to stop, you should listen.¡±


    choi yeonseung kicked arenas with every word.


    bam! bam! bam!


    arenas curled up in a ball and fended off the attacks.


    ¡°no, i meant it in a good way...¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re still repeating the same nonsense as last time, you bastard. nobody cares about what you meant. listen to others. understood?¡±


    ¡°i-i do.¡±


    ¡°if you go around speaking nonsense one more time, i will re-inflict the wounds i healed.¡±


    choi yeonseung raised his hands. despite all the blows, arenas didn¡¯t suffer any injuries. such was a martial artist¡¯s self-control!


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the jaws of the hunters around them dropped open, this time for a completely different reason. no...


    what was this...?


    ¡®did he really just hit a hunter of another clan with so many people watching? is he crazy?¡¯


    hitting someone in front of so many prying eyes?


    this situation could escalate if the other clan made a fuss. however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t care. he just kept excitedly hitting him.


    one of the hunters clapped as if he understood, having seen the video from las vegas. ¡°ah. that hunter is choi yeonseung. i saw the video of him behaving the same way in las vegas.¡±


    ¡°he healed and hit other hunters there as well?¡±


    ¡°no... it isn¡¯t like that. a reporter praised him for saving the citizens, so he punched the reporter.¡±


    ¡°anyone can punch reporters. even you can do that.¡±


    ¡°is that important right now? the main point here is the reason why he punched the reporter when they praised him.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know. maybe it¡¯s because koreans are humble.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve met korean hunters before. they don¡¯t do that.¡±


    the hunters got into thinking again. what type of person was choi yeonseung?


    these hunters weren¡¯t volunteers. they hunted monsters to try and get rewards. the boss monster was every dungeon¡¯s main attraction since they gave the greatest rewards. the hunters couldn¡¯t let others kill that type of creature. they had to be the ones to slay it. hence, they planned to attack it before anyone else could the moment it came out! that was why they had gathered like this.


    they were initially worried that a large group of monsters would attack them. however, that worry disappeared to some extent upon realizing the attacks weren¡¯t as severe.


    ¡®hmm. should i just wait here?¡¯


    now that he had thought about it, odaigon was bringing the other icarus clan hunters anyway. with his household member among them, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t have to worry about them getting hurt. he would rather stay here until the boss monster appeared...


    ¡®ah. wait.¡¯


    choi yeonseung came to a realization. wasn¡¯t it likely that the hunter who signed with the evil god constellation was also here?


    ¡®i see. they would¡¯ve received a special skill if they signed with an evil god constellation. they probably wouldn¡¯t have died if they were sent somewhere alone.¡¯


    choi yeonseung looked around. hunters gathered in twos or threes. on the surface, nothing seemed strange.


    ¡®i can¡¯t even find them using my constellation eyes...¡¯


    choi yeonseung examined the hunters with his constellation eyes. aside from their current level and stats, nothing else appeared. the evil god constellations were good at concealing their household members¡¯ identities. unlike other constellations¡¯ household members, those found to be in a contract with an evil god constellation were immediately taken to prison. hence, evil god constellations played tricks to keep their followers from being caught once the contract had been signed.


    ¡®... well, they¡¯ll reveal themselves sooner or later.¡¯


    choi yeonseung leisurely concluded. if the other constellations saw his current behavior, they would¡¯ve thought he was too complacent, but...


    choi yeonseung was confident he would win even if his opponent made the first move! even if the enemy proudly used the power of an evil god constellation, they wouldn¡¯t know a constellation was right here in this dungeon.


    ***


    traitor with a poisoned dagger was the name of the evil god constellation jules, an ambitus clan hunter, had contracted with. the traitor constellation wasn¡¯t that strong, but despite how weak it was, the opportunity it presented was still huge for a hunter. after all, even the weakest constellation was extremely strong compared to mortals. in addition, it was difficult for jules to know how weak or strong his master was.


    he knew that the constellations famous among the people were great, but there were just as many constellations in the abyss who weren¡¯t famous. due to that, jules mistakenly thought that his master was one of the strongest in the abyss.


    ¡®i will definitely catch a constellation¡¯s attention.¡¯


    his personality matched well with the constellation as well. he was narrow-minded, filled with envy, and willing to rise to the top even if it meant stepping on others! hence, he caught the eye of the traitor with a poisoned dagger.


    -jules. jules.


    -yes, master!


    -the sanctuary of defeat and sloth will appear soon. once inside, kill as many of the people present as possible!


    -how?


    traitor with a poisoned dagger smiled with satisfaction when jules asked ¡®how?¡¯ instead of ¡®why?¡¯


    -i will give you a weapon containing my power. with it, you can easily deal with the other hunters and the monsters inside.


    -thank you! thank you!


    -your power will grow depending on how many you kill. if your power satisfies me once you¡¯ve left the dungeon, i will grant you even more strength.


    -t-thank you! i will do my best!


    the evil god constellations were enthusiastic. they gave great rewards to attract household members and believers. jules was a c+ grade hunter, but he was confident he could deal with b-grade hunters with the help of traitor with a poisoned dagger. if he did well in this dungeon, he could even become a b-grade hunter.


    ¡®once this hourglass timer runs out, a monster will appear. that would be my chance.¡¯


    all eyes would be on the monster that would appear. that was his chance. jules made a step-by-step plan to decide whom to attack first.


    fortunately, while jules knew most of the hunters here, they didn¡¯t know jules¡¯ abilities that well. they were all famous in their own right! many strong hunters were in this area. half of them were even b-grade hunters. considering everyone reached this place despite being scattered, they had to be strong.


    ¡®that martial artist, though... he makes me feel uncomfortable for some reason.¡¯


    jules stared at choi yeonseung. among those present, choi yeonseung was quite different. he was the 1st-generation hunter who had been the talk of the town lately. above all else, he was strangely irritating. jules didn¡¯t know the reason, but his instincts were warning him.


    -don¡¯t touch this person!


    ... however, jules was so blinded by greed that he ignored the warning signals his instincts were sending him.

 Chapter 106

    chapter 106


    ¡®bah. it doesn¡¯t matter how strong that guy is. i have the dagger given to me by my constellation.¡¯


    jules fiddled with his weapon, a dagger that had been injected with a constellation¡¯s power. its terrible poison could kill anyone with a small scratch! jules decided to attack choi yeonseung first, but not because choi yeonseung looked the strongest. rather, it was because jules didn¡¯t know his abilities that well. in addition, martial artists were famous for close combat...


    ¡®... what is he doing anyway?¡¯


    ***


    izidor of the new york fires was quite kind to choi yeonseung. they were competitors now that they were in here, but...


    choi yeonseung helped izidor¡¯s clanmate. treating their benefactor coldly didn¡¯t suit his personality.


    ¡°wouldn¡¯t it be better to stick together until you meet your clan¡¯s hunters? wandering around alone in a dungeon is suicidal.¡±


    no matter how strong a hunter was, they still had to sleep and rest. dungeons were dangerous alone. even in this glade, the clans gathered in groups of twos and threes. if a monster appeared, they wouldn¡¯t step up unless their clanmates were being attacked.


    ¡°isn¡¯t it okay to be alone?¡±


    however, choi yeonseung had spent over ten thousand years wandering around the abyss¡ªa place where he would¡¯ve died if his senses weren¡¯t strong enough to wake up and react as soon as the enemy approached! choi yeonseung calmly told him how he truly felt, but...


    it sounded different to izidor.


    -as an icarus clan hunter, i don¡¯t want to owe another clan anything!


    ¡®he is very thorough. the icarus clan¡¯s rules are probably strict. it is dragon hwang¡¯s clan, after all.¡¯


    according to the public interest, the news, and articles, dragon hwang was a pleasant playboy who enjoyed life, but...


    hunters with a bit of brain never thought that way. no one was as terrifying as hwang gyeongryong. a person couldn¡¯t reach the b-grade world unless they were a genius. moreover, only chosen monsters could climb even higher and get into the a-grade world. to top it all off, a-grade hunters could only get the title of s-grade after making outstanding achievements.


    an s-grade hunter could never be weak.


    ... of course, that would only make choi yeonseung think, ¡®aren¡¯t the rules too lax?¡¯ witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through n?o?v€l--b1n.


    ¡°you have confidence. however, i¡¯m worried. you did arenas a favor, so i hope you accept my help in return.¡±


    ¡°i see... i will accept it, then.¡± choi yeonseung shrugged.


    he didn¡¯t intend to refuse this person¡¯s request to repay him. izidor looked choi yeonseung up and down. from what he could see, this hunter likely lost his luggage when he came in.


    ¡°you¡¯ve lost all your supplies.¡±


    ¡°huh? ah. my smartphone and... another smartphone.... and things like the smartphone?¡±


    choi yeonseung still wasn¡¯t used to advanced electronics. among the various dungeon exploration equipment, he only knew the name of the smartphone! izidor was slightly taken aback.


    ¡°...t-that¡¯s not what i meant. anyway, i¡¯m thirsty. take a seat. i¡¯ll brew you some coffee.¡±


    izidor meant food and drinks by ¡®lost supplies.¡¯ one of the most important things in a raid was food. most people took their food supplies for granted until they either lost or depleted them. in fact, most of the hunters here were slightly dirty and thin. everyone had lost a lot of supplies, so they consumed things sparingly. the clans that had brought a bit of food with them were fortunate, while those without any had to endure by drinking water.


    ¡°you must be hungry. take some of this as well.¡±


    izidor took out a packaged dungeon food and held it out. it contained crackers, pickled meat, candy, chocolate, and more. people normally wouldn¡¯t eat these packs outside dungeons, but... they were worth a thousand gold here. in fact, the other hunters were surprised to see him give one away.


    was he a pushover?


    ¡°i-izidor. the food...¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s fine. i¡¯ll just take this from my share.¡±


    ¡°sob!¡±


    arenas turned red with regret. izidor gave away valuable clan food because of him.


    ¡°let me be the one to starve!¡±


    ¡°no. it hasn¡¯t been long since you¡¯ve recovered, so you have to eat. the situation isn¡¯t so bad that you have to starve. don¡¯t worry.¡±


    the new york fires hunters nodded in agreement. some of the hunters had slightly dissatisfied and regretful expressions. they had been rationing their food so much already. however, they respected izidor¡¯s instructions.


    ... after all, they owed choi yeonseung, who used healing magic on their colleague without hesitation.


    he hated the thought of eating that stinking bastard.


    ¡°no. i don¡¯t like its meat that much. i hate the aftertaste.¡±


    ¡°i see. i¡¯m glad¡ªwhat?¡±


    ¡°you make it sound as if you¡¯ve eaten it before.¡±


    ¡°their eggs are useful ingredients.¡±


    ¡°t-their eggs are useful?¡±


    the hunters¡¯ bewildered reaction dumbfounded choi yeonseung.


    ¡°you don¡¯t know about that? what have you been doing with your hunter life so far?¡±


    the other hunters became flustered when choi yeonseung suddenly criticized them.


    did... did we do something wrong?


    i don¡¯t think we did anything wrong...?


    some dungeon monsters and plants were treated as delicacies by gourmets, but those were very rare cases. after killing a monster, they usually dismantled its corpse to study it, not to find out how to make a delicious meal out of it. hence, most people naturally didn¡¯t know how to eat them. however, choi yeonseung had been studying abyss recipes for over 10,000 years in the abyss. he had experience cooking a bit of everything.


    ¡°just wait. i¡¯ll get it.¡±


    ¡°wait...!¡±


    approximately an hour passed. choi yeonseung brought back big eggs with a satisfied expression.


    the new york fires hunters looked tired.


    ¡°i-izidor. should we eat that?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    izidor looked stunned. even an experienced and seasoned hunter like him didn¡¯t know what to say.


    meanwhile, choi yeonseung immediately started preparing a dish. he lit a fire, cut the meat with the orichalcum knife, took out seasoning from the subspace necklace, and kneaded the seasoned meat so the seasoning would soak properly into the meat.


    right now, choi yeonseung¡¯s subspace necklace contained rare meats from the abyss and spices and simple ingredients available on earth. he planned to save the former, but he could use a lot of the latter since he could easily go out and buy them.


    ¡°......?! wait...?¡±


    izidor looked at choi yeonseung with a shocked expression.


    ¡°is that a subspace artifact?¡±


    artifacts that provided subspace storage. it was rare, but it wasn¡¯t surprising. in fact, izidor had a small subspace golden bracelet that provided a space the size of a large backpack. however, he filled it with potions to prepare for any situation.


    ... on the contrary, choi yeonseung was taking out various seasonings such as salt, pepper, and sugar from it. were his eyes deceiving him?


    ¡°what? is this the first time you¡¯ve seen a subspace artifact?¡±


    ¡°n-no, it isn¡¯t. i just thought i was mistaken because you took out seasonings from it.¡±


    ¡°you weren¡¯t. i can gather ingredients in dungeons, but i can¡¯t get seasonings.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    he had a point, but...


    izidor couldn¡¯t close his mouth as he watched choi yeonseung generously pour a combination of seasonings, including salt, sugar, and pepper, over the meat.


    ¡®it would be nice if it had a slightly spicy taste, so i¡¯ll add some cheongyang peppers as well. with this much preparation, they won¡¯t say they can¡¯t eat it anymore, will they?¡¯


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t just marinate the meat in seasoning. he also softened the meat by releasing internal energy from his fingertips. this process was essential to eat the abyss¡¯ monsters. otherwise, many of their parts would be too hard or tough to eat. choi yeonseung called this ¡®internal energy ripening.¡¯


    ¡®...i-is he really using his skills for cooking??¡¯


    the strong power coming from choi yeonseung¡¯s fingertips made izidor shudder. this human...


    how serious was he about cooking?

 Chapter 107

    chapter 107


    magic power management was essential for hunters raiding dungeons. if they wasted their magic power and couldn¡¯t use it when needed, they would die. there was a reason why the other clans¡¯ hunters saved their healing magic, regardless of whether they realized it or not.


    ... however, the hunter in front of them seemed to be using magic power to cook.


    ¡®shouldn¡¯t we stop him?¡¯


    ¡®he isn¡¯t from our clan, so what can we say?¡¯


    ¡®that¡¯s true, but...¡¯


    as everyone was frozen in shock, choi yeonseung finished the preparations.


    ¡®next is smoke.¡¯


    he wanted to infuse smoke into the meat to give it a distinctive flavor. he could just cook it, but choi yeonseung decided to respect the people here. they were roughly all americans, so...


    ¡®they would like it with bacon.¡¯


    choi yeonseung thought of bacon and fried eggs, which was an appropriately nutritious meal. it was such a ridiculous prejudice that if the hunters here heard it, they would¡¯ve been dumbfounded and said, ¡®no, it doesn¡¯t have to be bacon...¡¯


    ¡°don¡¯t tell me... are you trying to smoke it?¡± one of the dazed hunters spoke.


    ¡°oh. you¡¯re familiar with it?¡±


    the hunter couldn¡¯t believe what he was seeing. this person cut down a nearby tree, stacked it up, and hung the meat over it.


    ¡°you¡¯re going to do it here?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°uh... shouldn¡¯t you use a special scented wood to smoke it?¡± the hunter asked. he had experience with the barbecuing process as well. wasn¡¯t choi yeonseung just using a random tree?


    ¡°scented woods are nice, but they unfortunately can¡¯t be found in dungeons. i¡¯ll just use a special flame instead.¡±


    no one on earth could match choi yeonseung when it came to processing the meat of abyss monsters. choi yeonseung suffered from eating all types of meat by itself since he didn¡¯t have any ingredients to cook with it. having ingredients were great, but he could still cook even if he didn¡¯t have any.


    choi yeonseung used the samadhi true fire, which caused blue flames that bloomed with pure internal energy to rise from his hands. a martial artist who had reached a particular stage could do this with internal energy.


    unaware of that, the hunters were startled. the flames filled with pure magic power amazed them.


    ¡®isn¡¯t choi yeonseung a martial artist?¡¯


    ¡®isn¡¯t that fire magic?¡¯


    ¡®why is he using it for cooking?¡¯


    ¡®... i have no idea.¡¯


    pure internal energy flames burned the wood. smoke soon enveloped the meat. choi yeonseung released internal energy from his hands and gathered the wind around him into one place. smoke then quickly gathered and permeated into the meat.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. should you really be wasting magic power like this?¡±


    ¡°what? don¡¯t you want to eat it?¡±


    ¡°no... that¡¯s not it. well, i certainly don¡¯t want to, but i¡¯m more concerned about your magic power.¡±


    ¡°i have enough magic power left to fight, so you don¡¯t have to worry.¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words agitated the hunters. if he were telling the truth, then he was simply confident he still had a lot of magic power even after wasting some!


    ¡®does he really have that much?¡¯


    ¡®isn¡¯t he just bluffing?¡¯


    meanwhile, choi yeonseung had finished cooking. once all the work was done, he cut through the thick meat with a knife. gloss flowed down the soft, greasy cross-section. the hunters involuntarily gulped. they knew it was monster meat, but they started drooling anyway!


    choi yeonseung cracked the eggs and poured them into the adamantium frying pan, creating sizzling sounds. soon, the fried turtle eggs were ready.


    ¡°arenas. come here.¡±


    ¡°uh... okay.¡±


    arenas stood up as if possessed. arenas initially thought, ¡®choi yeonseung did save me, but i have to refuse that somehow.¡¯ however, as soon as the mouth-watering smell entered his nostrils, his body stopped listening to his head.


    ¡°here¡¯s your plate.¡±


    ¡°what is this rock plate?¡±


    ¡°i sculpted it out of a nearby rock.¡±


    ¡°?!?!¡±


    ¡°try it.¡±


    a few, thick greasy slices of bacon and fried turtle eggs. arenas unknowingly pulled out a fork, used it to pick a piece up, and ate it.


    gulp.


    ¡°why are you so good to us... ack! aack! w-wait! is it okay for a hunter from another clan to do this?!¡±


    ¡°your clan¡¯s hunters don¡¯t seem to be thinking too much about it.¡±


    the person looked to the side only to find his colleagues quietly grabbing plates to get meat.


    ¡°...i-i¡¯ll just shut up and gratefully accept your offer.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re finally making some sense.¡±


    all the hunters ate together. everyone had different thoughts, but they all had similar feelings.


    gratitude for choi yeonseung! they hadn¡¯t expected to taste this type of warm, delicious, and greasy kindness in a cold and heartless dungeon.


    [you have succeeded in cooking a wonderful dish inside a dungeon and with limited resources using your own power! the power of your existence has risen!]


    [your advanced abyss cooking skill has grown stronger!]


    [being worshiped has increased the power of your existence!]


    ¡®feeding them increases the power of my existence. this is really funny,¡¯ choi yeonseung thought as he looked at the hunters.


    cooking in a dungeon was a really cost-effective way to attract hunters. outside dungeons, doing this to be worshipped would be extremely difficult. if this were done on earth, the hunters would¡¯ve said, ¡®who are you to interfere with me?¡¯ no matter what he did.


    ***


    after frantically eating, izidor felt slightly embarrassed. he was the person in charge of the clan, but he got so distracted that he ate too much.


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry, choi yeonseung. you didn¡¯t even get to eat. hurry and grab some.¡±


    ¡°ah. i¡¯m going to eat something a bit different.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung took out the rice he had cooked and fried it in the remaining bacon oil. he also added turtle eggs to it, giving the rice a nice yellowish finish. by the time he had finished cooking, the dish was already emitting a mouthwatering scent.


    despite having already eaten so much, izidor suddenly wanted to eat again when he saw the fried rice.


    gulp.


    ¡°w-what is that?¡±


    ¡°ah. you don¡¯t know what it is because you¡¯re american. this is called rice...¡±


    ¡°... there are many korean restaurants in new york.¡±


    izidor was serious. it wasn¡¯t like he was a hillbilly who didn¡¯t know what it was! there were many famous korean restaurants in new york. quite a few countries other than south korea also ate rice as a staple part of their diet.


    ¡°what? why did you ask me if you knew, then? are you picking a fight?¡±


    ¡°n-no. i¡¯m not. it¡¯s not that i don¡¯t know what rice is. i was just surprised because it was too sudden...¡±


    ¡®did he have that stored in his subspace necklace?¡¯


    it didn¡¯t seem like he was carrying rice, after all.


    izidor¡¯s guess was correct.


    choi yeonseung struggled because he couldn¡¯t get rice in the abyss, so he stored rice and various seasonings in his subspace necklace when he got back. after living in the abyss for over 10,000 years, people were bound to develop an obsession with earth-grown ingredients.


    ¡°i was going to eat those viands with rice. since you seem familiar with korean food, i¡¯ll give you some of this as well. i thought you wouldn¡¯t know about it.¡±


    izidor almost said something harsh like, ¡®shouldn¡¯t you have asked?¡¯ but fortunately came to his senses before he could. he shouldn¡¯t use such abusive language on someone who saved a clan colleague and even provided him with such a magical dish.


    ¡®i¡¯m ashamed of myself!¡¯


    however, choi yeonseung¡¯s cooking could make people lose their sense of reason. if someone had tried to take his plate while he was eating the bacon earlier, izidor would¡¯ve seriously attacked them. izidor kept looking at him while making a gulping sound, making choi yeonseung curious.


    ¡®is he still hungry?¡¯


    ¡°do you want some?¡±


    ¡°i-is it alright?¡±


    ¡°... is it not supposed to be?¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at izidor as if he found him pathetic.


    ¡°i¡¯ll just eat a little bit, then. a little bit.¡± izidor coughed in embarrassment. as he accepted a plate, he suddenly felt momentarily strange.


    their surroundings had become too quiet.


    ¡°......?!¡±


    only then did izidor notice the hunters around them staring at his plate with shining eyes.


    ¡°......!!!¡±

 Chapter 108

    chapter 108


    ¡°was it around eight years ago?¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    lane, a hunter of the schreiber clan, suddenly spoke. he was usually arrogant and had a dirty temper, causing all types of incidents whenever he collided with another clan.


    ¡°i was walking through the east village in manhattan. as you know, there aren¡¯t many good restaurants there. i think that was when i first encountered korean food.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°...???¡±


    the hunters in the room cocked their heads, not understanding why lane was doing this. however, several of them looked startled as if they had realized lane¡¯s intentions. was he talking like this now to get some rice?


    ¡°i still remember the first meal i had there. japchae and silken tofu stew. from then on, i fell in love with korean food...¡±


    ¡°... are you asking for food?¡±


    choi yeonseung asked incredulously. he knew there were many crazy young hunters these days, but he didn¡¯t expect some would reminisce eight years into the past just to ask for food. however, lane confidently nodded. shamelessness was one of a hunter¡¯s abilities, and he was very good at it.


    ¡°in any case, those present here don¡¯t know the taste of korean food. doesn¡¯t that make me more qualified?¡±


    lane¡¯s words angered the hunters around him.


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve been eating bibimbap ever since i was in my ¡öing mother¡¯s belly! you dare look down on me when you laughed at an article introducing the famous restaurants of new york?!¡±


    ¡®does this situation really call for a fight?¡¯


    the evil god constellation¡¯s household member likely hadn¡¯t even done something. the hunters here were just fighting because they wanted to eat fried rice.


    ¡°... don¡¯t fight. i¡¯ll share it with everyone who wants some.¡±


    ¡°ah. really?¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s no reason to fight, then.¡±


    the hunters calmed down frighteningly quickly.


    [being worshiped has increased the power of your existence!]


    ¡®... are these humans that greedy?¡¯


    even choi yeonseung, who was doing well in terms of increasing his power of existence, found it absurd!


    ***


    after eating their fill, the hunters once again split up into groups by clan. however, the atmosphere was now much softer and more relaxed. the hunters who previously didn¡¯t exchange looks with each other unknowingly became quite tolerant of the other¡¯s presence.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. how about staying here until the other icarus clan hunters come? the new york fires kids over there don¡¯t have any healers.¡±


    ¡°we have healers! how dare you tell such a lie?¡±


    ¡°i saw the ambitus clan over there failing the raid. if you stay with them, you could get caught up in it.¡±


    ¡°do you want to die? how about i kill you guys before killing the monsters?¡±


    ... although the atmosphere had become a bit more bearable, the words exchanged were brutal. it even became more intense because of choi yeonseung. all the hunters in the area had the same thought.


    -we have to keep choi yeonseung!


    they thought he was a strange and rare hunter from the past at first, but he now looked like a five-star chef.


    jules, who signed with the evil god constellation, became a bit nervous. ¡°we don¡¯t have to keep hunter choi yeonseung with us, right?¡±


    ¡°what are you saying? aren¡¯t you the one who ate the most fried rice earlier?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the other ambitus clan hunters rendered jules speechless and embarrassed. he knew the other person was an enemy, but the dish was really delicious. it was a shame he had to kill choi yeonseung!


    ¡®the atmosphere suddenly became weird because of him.¡¯


    everyone was tired, exhausted, and nervous just a while ago, but they all looked happy and brimming with energy now that they were full. their magic power had even been replenished! it was easier for jules to execute his task when they were wary of each other. hence, this situation made him a bit nervous.


    ¡°i don¡¯t know how long we have to stay in this dungeon, but we should stop at nothing to keep him with us.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. aren¡¯t we better than the new york fires? considering he¡¯s in the icarus clan, scouting him will be difficult.¡±


    ¡°our scouts should bring in hunters like him. why do they only select the common ones?¡±


    -you have been chosen.


    ¡°wait! wa¡ª¡±


    the knight swung its sword before he could finish talking. lane was teleported before the knight.


    ¡®forced teleportation?!¡¯


    the hunters froze. no hunter could use magic that forced others to teleport. the skill of this monster clearly exceeded b-grade.


    -are you ready? i will begin.


    as soon as the knight aimed its sword, lane collapsed.


    ¡°?!?!¡±


    -he has failed the test. i will test the next challenger.


    the knight summoned the schreiber clan¡¯s hunters one by one until all of them had fallen.


    -who is the next challenger?


    ¡°u-ugh.¡±


    lane came to his senses and stood up. the other hunters urgently questioned him. they thought he was dead at first. fortunately, he was fine.


    ¡°what happened? what did that bastard do?¡±


    ¡°i-i don¡¯t know. it aimed its sword at me, and i suddenly felt weak and unable to move.¡±


    ¡®the power of defeat and sloth!¡¯


    the realms of a constellation were tailored according to that constellation¡¯s name. there was probably a power skill associated with defeat and sloth.


    ¡°what should we do? try an attack?¡±


    ¡°if we attack, we will be forced to take the test.¡±


    ¡°the level of this monster is much higher than i thought. i would rather find an exit...¡±


    the hunters around the knight whispered among themselves. in the meantime, choi yeonseung stepped forward.


    ¡°i will challenge it.¡±¡¯


    ¡°!¡±


    the hunters were stunned. didn¡¯t he see what happened to those who challenged it? he was either brainless or fearless.


    ¡°choi yeonseung, stop! it¡¯s dangerous! the schreiber hunters were lucky to survive, but you could die!¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. i don¡¯t care if schreiber collapses, but i don¡¯t want to see you die!¡±


    ¡®these ¡ö¡ö bastards...¡¯


    the schreiber clan¡¯s hunters became furious. being a hunter was a cold and heartless job that made them ignore members of a different clan dying before their eyes, but it was still annoying to hear it openly. nevertheless, they understood these actions toward choi yeonseung. to be honest, they also would¡¯ve stopped choi yeonseung from stepping forward. it didn¡¯t matter if another clan collapsed or not...


    however, the test had already begun. the knight pointed its sword at him.


    -okay. are you ready?


    ¡°yes.¡±


    -i will start.


    [the knight of defeat and sloth has used ¡®bondage of sloth¡¯.]


    for a moment, he felt like his will had slipped out of his body. his will to move, fight, win...


    they all disappeared and were replaced with the desire to be lazy. however, choi yeonseung was a constellation¡ªthe undefeated incarnation of training.


    ¡®come to think of it, we have opposing attributes.¡¯


    he had no intention of risking his pride as a constellation and losing to an opponent like this. above all, this bondage of sloth wasn¡¯t a skill that could be resolved using magic power or internal energy. it was a skill that could only be resolved with strong willpower!


    choi yeonseung took a step forward. it was just an ordinary step on the surface, but it contained the commitment he had never lost even while wandering in the abyss for over 10,000 years.


    i want to be strong.


    i want to be stronger!


    at that moment, he was released from the ¡®bondage of sloth.¡¯

 Chapter 109

    chapter 109


    -you have passed the test.


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡°w-what?¡±


    ¡°what is going on?¡±


    the hunters in the area were surprised. since the schreiber clan¡¯s hunters collapsed without being able to do anything, the others became nervous. they thought the opponent was a strong a or even s-grade monster...


    yet choi yeonseung just casually won.


    ¡°are those schreiber guys completely out of their minds?¡±


    ¡°no, it isn¡¯t schreiber¡¯s fault. choi yeonseung is simply amazing,¡± izidor briefly replied to his subordinate.


    to their side, several quick-witted hunters from other clans were whispering among themselves in surprise. the rock knight that appeared before them was by no means weak. it motionlessly canceled a spell. that would be enough for keen hunters to grasp their opponent¡¯s level.


    the schreiber clan¡¯s hunters weren¡¯t weak. the knight was just fraudulently strong! however, choi yeonseung casually accepted the test.


    ¡®does he have a special skill?¡¯


    ¡®is it thanks to martial arts?¡¯


    ¡®in any case, this is great. i can attack it now.¡¯


    meanwhile, choi yeonseung looked at the knight with a bitter expression and asked it a question. he was a bit flustered.


    ¡°is this what the test was all about?¡±


    -that¡¯s right! laziness couldn¡¯t be easily escaped. the test determined whether you have enough willpower to overcome it.


    the words were the test. choi yeonseung knew how ridiculous this was. considering it even affected a constellation¡¯s will, ordinary mortal hunters would never be able to pass it with their willpower.


    ¡®without me, all the hunters here could have been wiped out.¡¯


    he didn¡¯t know which constellation made this test, but he wanted to take a look at her face. what type of test was this? now that he had thought about it, the goddess of balance who walks ahead created a slightly weirder test than this...


    ¡°so what happens when the test is over? is this the end?¡±


    -that¡¯s right. i will let you meet my master.


    the knight raised its sword to the sky. a huge amount of magic power shot out from it and penetrated the space beyond the dungeon.


    [the power maintaining the ¡®sanctuary of defeat and sloth¡¯ is gone.]


    [the dungeon will soon disappear!]witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through n?o?v€l--b1n.


    with its purpose now finished, the knight depleted the magic power maintaining the dungeon.


    -once you get out of here, you will meet my master.


    choi yeonseung wondered if he had actually cleared the dungeon that easily, but he soon hesitated. he felt an explosion of killing intent pouring from all sides. the storm of killing intent came from all directions instead of just one place! the only way to explain it was that all the monsters in the area were swarming toward their location.


    ¡°... i thought the test is over and the dungeon has been cleared? why are monsters making their way to this place?¡±


    -you noticed the monsters? you have good senses.


    the knight was amazed. it was faster for choi yeonseung to detect killing intent than the magic power the monsters emitted. for the knight who didn¡¯t know martial arts, it was a curious ability.


    -all the monsters in this dungeon covet my master¡¯s power, which has been hidden to prevent insignificant beings from reaching it. now that it has been revealed, these bastards will keep attacking until they get it.


    ¡°... didn¡¯t you just say you would let me meet your master now that i¡¯ve completed your test? are these monsters also included in that test?¡±


    the knight answered, seemingly puzzled.


    ¡®i can only think of one answer.¡¯


    he had to pull all the aggro! choi yeonseung started running like crazy, causing him to seemingly disappear. he only seemed to be running in a straight line, but there was something strange and profound lurking in it. his movements made it hard to aim for him even if others tried.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö?!


    upon spotting choi yeonseung, the monsters that were gathering up tried to attack him. however, they soon flinched back. they couldn¡¯t hit him. choi yeonseung snapped his fingers and used the origin of the celestial finger, causing bullet-like energies to fly out. the bullets pierced the monsters¡¯ skin and shells, mortally wounding them.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    the two-headed chaos dogs howled. although his destructive power was lacking because he had to restrict his martial arts, choi yeonseung was up against monsters he had fought so many times in the abyss that he had grown sick of them. even if his destructive power was weak, he just had to aim for their vital points...


    ¡®whoops. now isn¡¯t the time to take a breather.¡¯


    abandoning his obsession with killing every monster, choi yeonseung quickly proceeded with his plan. from north to east, east to south, south to west...


    every time he moved, five to six monsters joined the group chasing after him, causing it to gradually grow so much that the monsters were beginning to fight each other! the hunters watching him were so shocked their jaws dropped.


    ¡®w-what is this?¡¯


    ¡®i¡¯ve never seen a raid like this in my life!¡¯


    ¡°what are you doing, you bastards?! help!¡± the schreiber clan¡¯s lane cursed and shouted.


    choi yeonseung was dragging the aggro while risking his life to help the hunters here, but these people were just standing with their mouths open like idiots. it was ridiculous!


    ¡°t-that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°rain down magic upon them! they¡¯re clumped up, so use wide-area ones!¡±


    the hunters gathered magic power and cast various spells. flames raged and lightning stormed. the ground turned upside down as pure magic power split the monsters¡¯ skins and bones.


    ¡°choi yeonseung! be careful! it is a deiakaus!


    deiakaus. it was a huge b+-grade monster that had strong vitality and seemed to be a mixture of various monsters. the different attacks it used made it a tricky opponent. now, that monster had appeared and was standing in choi yeonseung¡¯s way.


    thump!


    the deiakaus swung and slammed its fist-like arm down on where choi yeonseung had been standing, causing the ground to explode. the air sounded as if it was being torn.


    -?!


    however, choi yeonseung was already behind the deiakaus. monsters who ignorantly fought with power alone could never win against choi yeonseung. choi yeonseung¡¯s sword of goujian flashed with light as it released pure white sword energy. soon after, the heads of two monsters in the vicinity were cut off.


    [the sword of goujian has absorbed magic power!]


    as the item restored choi yeonseung¡¯s internal energy, he amplified his sword energy with internal energy.


    -¡ö?!?!


    as a result, the blow accurately severed the tendons of the deiakaus¡¯ legs. in this situation where all the monsters were chasing choi yeonseung, the hunters couldn¡¯t stop their jaws from falling again. he broke through the monsters, cut off two enemies¡¯ heads, and sliced the back of the deiakaus¡¯ legs.


    did he have no fear? no matter how good a magician was in close-quarters combat, they couldn¡¯t have done such a thing. their magic shield being broken or hit in the wrong place would have gotten them trapped and killed. on the other hand, choi yeonseung jumped among the monsters and performed such stunts! choi yeonseung continued to taunt the deiakaus and drag other monsters to him. his expression hadn¡¯t changed.


    the hunters gritted their teeth and poured out magic. everything about this raid was far from ordinary.


    who would have known they would join forces with bastards from other clans to fight monsters? however, they now felt passionate. they had to help choi yeonseung!


    ¡°you aren¡¯t using magic properly, you bastard!¡±


    ¡°do your job properly! if you don¡¯t have the confidence to use attack magic, then cast buffs instead!¡±


    ¡°ah! you trash! look ahead! if you have time to chat, focus on your magic!¡±


    the hunters swore at each other despite the urgent situation. hence, choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t help but think, ¡®i¡¯m not overestimating them, am i...?¡¯

 Chapter 110

    chapter 110


    fortunately, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t overestimating them. even if they cursed at each other, most of the hunters here had reliable skills. they couldn¡¯t have gotten here if they were incompetent!


    ¡®i will kill them before that bastard can!¡¯


    ¡®just look at that face. i can¡¯t stand seeing him look so smug after he¡¯s done eating.¡¯


    the hunters started to use their stored-up magic power and spells to kill the monsters. as a result, the number of monsters following choi yeonseung quickly dwindled. rather than attacking and defending at the same time, the hunters could currently focus on offense! if their opponents tried to shift their attention even a little bit, choi yeonseung would unleash the origin of the celestial finger and get the aggro back to him.


    ¡®... this is comfortable!¡¯


    they didn¡¯t expect to do this in an emergency that was comparable to a monster wave. if others heard it, they would ask if the hunters here were crazy, but... they honestly thought they were having the easiest time of their lives. monsters never came their way, so they could concentrate on attacking. if this wasn¡¯t comfortable, then what was?


    ¡®martial artists... are much better than i thought?¡¯


    ¡®do the clan scouts have bad eyes? why haven¡¯t they brought in any martial artists?¡¯


    ¡®is it hard to show that type of strength if their martial arts stage is low?¡¯


    ¡®maybe it¡¯s because they aren¡¯t as selfless as choi yeonseung?¡¯


    ¡®shut up and focus!¡¯


    when the number of monsters had been visibly reduced, choi yeonseung immediately turned around and went on the offensive.


    "aaaaack! what are you doing?!¡± one of the hunters screamed as choi yeonseung jumped where he was about to shoot magic. a magic arrow was fired right in front of choi yeonseung.


    ¡°you murderous bastard!¡±


    ¡°the icarus clan¡¯s legal team should sue you so you¡¯d come to your senses!¡±


    ¡°never forgive this man, choi yeonseung!¡±


    the others hurled insults and boos at the hunter for trying to attack another hunter in a dungeon! however, choi yeonseung casually shouted, ¡°just keep firing! i can avoid it!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    he sounded far too courageous, which stunned everyone.


    ¡®is he really sacrificing himself?¡¯


    ¡®has he lived for so long that he doesn¡¯t want to live anymore?¡¯


    ¡®is dying in a dungeon a custom in south korea?¡¯


    several hunters cautiously cast their spells. without looking back, choi yeonseung used origin of the celestial step to avoid the incoming magic spells.


    ¡°?!¡±


    it wasn¡¯t just once. after he did it a few more times, the hunters came to a realization. choi yeonseung could really dodge it!


    ¡°he can really avoid our attacks?!¡±


    ¡°is this okay? no matter how i think about it, this doesn¡¯t feel right!¡±


    ¡°nonsense! this is how martial artists fight, you stupid people!¡± choi yeonseung shouted, seemingly dumbfounded. learning martial arts had given martial artists keen senses. while fighting monsters, they had to dodge the spells flying from behind for it to truly be party play. it was just absurd from the hunters¡¯ point of view.the roots of this story extend from novell bi?n origin.


    who would fight so ignorantly? hunters should defend themselves whenever a monster attacked. the others would then attack the monster, allowing their party member that was engaged in combat to retreat. that was the basics!


    choi yeonseung became annoyed and started to scold the hunters who didn¡¯t cast magic.


    ¡°i dragged the monsters¡¯ aggro, but you can¡¯t even use magic properly...¡±


    the hunters looked apologetic at first since choi yeonseung risked his life so they wouldn¡¯t sustain damage.


    ¡°where are the magic spells? i told you to keep firing, didn¡¯t i? why did you stop instead? i¡¯m not in a dire situation, so stop acting crazy. what if it had been urgent? are you actually even hunters?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    now, they looked puzzled. he still had a knack for dodging both the monster attacks and the magic spells while scolding party members!


    ***


    in the end, all that was left was the deiakaus.


    the actual boss monster!


    ¡°only the deiakaus remains! help choi yeonseung!¡¯


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter who your master is. can they help you now?¡±


    ¡°this isn¡¯t over yet, you old bastard. you should have died a long time ago.¡±


    ¡®this idiot...¡¯


    choi yeonseung felt slightly mad. he didn¡¯t know about anything else, but being called old was a bit painful.


    "kuaaaaak! choi yeonseung attacked me!¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    jules decided to frame him. there were no hunters from choi yeonseung¡¯s clan, and the other hunters were focused on the deiakaus. if the two of them fought, the one with the loudest voice would win.


    ¡®i¡¯ve already checked the location of the other clans¡¯ filming equipment. this is not in the view of any cameras!¡¯


    there was no evidence and no witnesses. his fellow hunters in ambitus would side with him...


    ¡°what? what¡¯s going on?¡±


    having finished killing the wounded deiakaus, the hunters looked back in surprise. a fight had broken out between hunters!


    ¡°who attacked whom?¡±


    ¡°this crazy bastard! he attacked me! look at this dagger!¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s the one that attacked me. the dagger is stuck in his arm because i fought back.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re lying! if i tried to attack you from behind, how could he have fought back?!¡±


    buzz buzz.


    choi yeonseung was slightly impressed by jules¡¯ excuses. he thought this person was a fool of a household member, but this situation showed he wasn¡¯t without talent. he even had tears in his eyes. it was obvious he had a knack for this!


    [your understanding of jules has improved. you can now see more information about him with your constellation eyes.]


    ¡®i don¡¯t want to improve my understanding of this bastard...¡¯


    what was the point of knowing more about a loser?


    ¡°you film videos when doing raids! bring them here.¡±


    ¡°they weren¡¯t in the view. they¡¯re not in the video.¡±


    the other hunters murmured among each other as jules quickly spoke to the ambitus clan¡¯s hunters.


    ¡°that bastard attacked me! help me!¡±


    ¡°um...¡±


    ¡°... i told you to help me! we are from the same clan!¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true, but... i don¡¯t believe choi yeonseung is that type of person.¡±


    ¡°... are you crazy?! we¡¯re from the same clan! don¡¯t you know the clan rules¡ª¡±


    ¡°ah. i ¡ö know, you bastard. i¡¯m extremely familiar with it. rules are important, but you have to take the situation into consideration.¡±


    the ambitus hunters looked at jules with suspicion. hunters of the same clan helped each other due to the rules, not because of a strong sense of friendship or camaraderie. every man for himself. that was the world of hunters. therefore, they didn¡¯t want to get caught up in a losing situation. if the other person was any other hunter from a different clan, they would have sided with jules and said, ¡®we trust you.¡¯


    ¡®i doubt choi yeonseung is that type of person.¡¯


    ¡®this bastard has been an asshole since the beginning, hasn¡¯t he? maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s jealous of choi yeonseung.¡¯


    however, the person in question here was choi yeonseung. a situation that jules never imagined unfolded. his colleagues sided with choi yeonseung!


    ¡°you believe that asian bastard just because he fed you some meat?¡±


    ¡°like i said earlier, you ate the most meat, you bastard.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true. honestly, you¡¯re a bit of a jerk.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°it also isn¡¯t just some ¡®meat.¡¯ it was far from run-of-the-mill. a hunter giving something like that to someone else is rare.¡±


    the hunters from the other clans treated him even worse than the ambitus clan hunters. they were already whispering about jules being the culprit.


    ¡°that bastard probably struck first.¡±


    ¡°once we leave the dungeon, he will probably sue and cause trouble. should we just kill him here and claim self-defense later?¡±

 Chapter 111

    chapter 111


    people often referred to hunters as ¡®lawless professionals.¡¯ of course, it wasn¡¯t because they were good enough to live a life without laws. rather, the hunters got that nickname for constantly breaking them! their manner of thinking was controversial. even though they hadn¡¯t signed a contract with an evil god constellation, their first thought was, ¡®he¡¯s annoying. i should kill him.¡¯


    ¡®these people are crazy.¡¯


    their conversation made even choi yeonseung flustered. choi yeonseung didn¡¯t expect all the hunters here to side with him. honestly, he was touched! he was so proud of their responses that it made him think feeding them was worth it. however, he didn¡¯t expect the reaction that followed.


    let¡¯s kill him because he¡¯s annoying...!


    ¡°that doesn¡¯t seem right.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung was delighted when a hunter spoke up. fortunately, one of them seemed normal.


    ¡°why?¡±


    ¡°the ambitus people will stop it.¡±


    ¡°everyone here hates that guy except for the ambitus members. why don¡¯t we talk to them before killing him?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true. they¡¯ll get out of the way if they don¡¯t want to get involved.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung had to work hard to keep his composure. these bastards were crazy...


    however, they had a point. if they went outside like this, jules would say, ¡®i was attacked! that choi yeonseung bastard attacked me!¡¯ that would cause things to become annoying. the hunters who were with him would also be dragged into it and cursed at...


    at worst, it could lead to a court dispute. of course, jules wouldn¡¯t win, but rumors would spread among the media and the people.


    -he had to have been attacked, considering he¡¯s actually suing!


    ... that could be considered a success for jules.


    if he didn¡¯t want to go through such bother, it would be best to just kill him here. if all the hunters joined forces and killed him inside this dungeon, they could claim it was self-defense. the ambitus clan would go on a rampage, but many big clans were here...


    ¡°hey, ambitus. no matter how you look at it, he¡¯s the culprit. get out of the way. if you don¡¯t, we¡¯ll consider you as accomplices.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s... then it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    when the ambitus clan members stepped aside, the hunters of other clans nodded with satisfaction. they understood things!


    ¡°you¡¯re all ¡ö¡öing dogs!¡±


    enraged, jules drew the dagger from his arm and yelled ferociously. in this situation where everyone had stopped fighting each other, they all joined forces to try and kill him. it rendered him speechless and almost devastated. now that it had come to this, he had to fight with all his strength.


    -poisonous fog secretion!


    jules used the constellation¡¯s skill. the dagger bewitchingly glowed as it gave jules more strength.


    ¡°look at him!¡±


    ¡°i told you he was the culprit! what did i say?¡±


    the hunters were more delighted than surprised. they were glad this guy was the culprit! however, unaware that he had been strengthened by an evil god constellation, they underestimated jules¡¯ skills.


    ¡°move back!¡±


    choi yeonseung caught the hunters close to him and threw them back. they shouted as if they didn¡¯t understand it.


    ¡°what are you doing, choi yeonseung?!¡±


    ¡°jules is a c-grade at best! he¡¯s no match for me!¡±


    ¡°he made a contract with an evil god constellation. don¡¯t look down on him!¡±


    the hunters looked at jules with shocked expressions. contracted with an evil god constellation?


    ¡°you¡¯re right, but it¡¯s too late! i will kill you first!¡± jules pointed his dagger at choi yeonseung and used magic.


    -fangs of a slithering venomous snake!


    fangs of a slithering venomous snake, a 4th-circle spell, was a skill given to jules by the traitor with a poisoned dagger. a poisonous whip appeared and slithered toward choi yeonseung like a snake from all sides, cutting off all of his escape routes!


    [the skill ¡®immunity to ten thousand poisons¡¯ has been activated.]


    [the poison¡¯s damage has been nullified.]


    however, choi yeonseung had the immunity to ten thousand poisons skill, which made him resistant enough to survive even a hydra¡¯s poison. hence, jules¡¯ poison magic had no effect on choi yeonseung. choi yeonseung grabbed the flying whip with his hand, cut it off, and burned it with his internal energy.


    ¡°!!??!?!?¡±


    ¡°why is that c-grade bastard being so arrogant?!¡±


    even so, jules was hit so hard that he was on the verge of dying. although confused, jules made a last-ditch effort.


    -poison... poisonous cloud of health conversion...!


    he would take as many hunters as he could with him! choi yeonseung immediately reacted when jules aimed at the hunters on the other side instead of choi yeonseung.


    ¡®this bastard, even until the end...!¡¯


    but there was no need for it. the odaigon-led icarus clan hunters arrived.


    ¡°i¡¯m here, choi yeonseung! i¡¯m sorry for being late! i¡¯ll sweep them all away!¡± odaigon shouted, looking gaunt.


    however, all the monsters had already been eliminated.


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    realizing that, odaigon appeared to be extremely embarrassed.


    i... am i too late?


    -...conversion!


    ¡°what? great detoxification raindrops!¡±


    odaigon immediately countered jules¡¯ poisonous clouds. the powerful detoxifying magic spread and instantly neutralized the poisonous cloud.


    the hunters stared at him in admiration.


    ¡°the icarus clan has such a great healer?¡±


    ¡°where did they get a healer like that?¡±


    ***


    ¡°you¡¯ve worked hard. the dungeon has been cleared.¡±


    the monsters had been wiped out, and the evil god constellation¡¯s undercover minion had also been killed. this was a great success. it was a miracle that no one died! the hunters whispered among themselves with those thoughts in mind.


    ¡°odaigon, i think you came a bit late. did you come across a lot of monsters?¡±


    ¡°not exactly...¡± odaigon complained with tears in his eyes. when choi yeonseung disappeared, odaigon had a truly crazy experience trying to lead the other hunters.


    -now. follow me.


    -why should we believe in you?


    -why should i, antony, trust and follow an abyss returnee who has no experience and has lost his memory? do i look stupid to you?


    -i was taught at school not to believe anything said by other hunters.


    -it isn¡¯t that i don¡¯t trust you, friend. but if you insist on going somewhere, i would like you to have a basis for it.


    -......


    none of the hunters listened to odaigon. odaigon was different from choi yeonseung. choi yeonseung had built up trust with them, while odaigon was just a good healer. they respected healers, but they didn¡¯t support him as a leader.


    -follow me! this is the path!


    -it is even harder to believe you, seeing how emotional you are. now that it has come to this, i, antony, have no choice but to take over as the leader.


    -... i would rather be the leader.


    -maybe gutierrez should be the leader, friend.


    -to be honest, i don¡¯t trust anyone here...


    -what does this russian girl keep muttering? are you singing a hymn to stalin? speak english!


    -... i don¡¯t know about anything else, but i really hate this schneider guy.


    to bring those with no teamwork to this location, odaigon had to squeeze out every last bit of his wisdom as the goblin king. he couldn¡¯t let those who didn¡¯t like him die, so if a fight broke out, he put buffs and shields on them... that way, little by little, they got to their destination!


    ¡°... you¡¯ve worked hard, odaigon.¡±


    ¡°sob sob sob! please don¡¯t leave me alone with those bastards ever again!¡± as odaigon cried, the dungeon started to be swallowed up by the space in the distance.


    [the dungeon has been cleared!]


    [you¡¯re being returned to your original location.]


    [you will be rewarded for passing the test of the sanctuary.]

 Chapter 112

    chapter 112


    dungeon rewards weren¡¯t just those given to the ones that survived in a dungeon until it was cleared. there were also rewards that were given to those who had successfully cleared the conditions it presented! the condition could sometimes be a boss monster, sometimes a special mission. in this case, the condition was to pass the rock knight¡¯s test.


    choi yeonseung was the only one who passed the test. likewise, he was the only one rewarded.


    [you have been chosen as the successor of the ¡®goddess of defeat and sloth.¡¯]


    [you will now inherit her strength.]


    ¡°...what?¡±


    ***


    -it¡¯s been so long since i¡¯ve last woken up, my successor. don¡¯t be flustered. i will teach you what you have to do to become a constellation.


    the goddess of defeat and sloth had awakened from a really long slumber to teach her successor how to become a constellation. of course, being chosen as a successor didn¡¯t mean a mortal could immediately use constellation powers. they would have to train for a very long time and learn slowly. however...


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry, i¡¯m already a constellation.¡±


    -what? i must have misheard you.


    the goddess doubted her ears.


    didn¡¯t she hide the sanctuary inside a dungeon so that only mortals could enter? his claim was absolutely impossible unless a constellation shamelessly pretended to be a mortal to clear a dungeon. could a constellation do that?


    -that¡¯s just impossible...


    ¡°that isn¡¯t true.¡±


    -......


    the goddess looked at choi yeonseung as if finding it absurd. why would he do that?


    -how awful! how could you do such a thing?


    the goddess looked at choi yeonseung with surprise. she was one of the first to be born among the constellations of the abyss. in all her years, she had never met a constellation like choi yeonseung. which constellation in the world would walk around pretending to be a mortal?


    ¡°... to deceive the other constellations.¡±


    -you have a lot of ambition. however, considering the situation, aren¡¯t you doing something really strange?


    ¡°i also find this strange. do the constellations usually find a successor in this way to pass on their power?¡±


    constellations were eternal rulers. as immortal and ageless beings, they would never need a successor. choi yeonseung had never heard of a constellation looking for a successor, much less in this way.


    -this is a rare case. there are very deep circumstances here.


    ¡°can you tell me?¡±


    -of course.


    the goddess¡¯ explanation started a long, long time ago when she still had a kingdom so vast and powerful that it was considered one of the strongest in the abyss...


    ¡®she seems stronger than i thought.¡¯


    the strength of a constellation wasn¡¯t necessarily proportional to age. however, those born first were often stronger. after all, they had more time to build up strength. taking that into consideration, the goddess of defeat and sloth was clearly a strong constellation. such a constellation lost her strength and was sealed in the sanctuary.


    what in the world happened?


    -one day, i got tired of everything and sealed myself.


    ¡°... wait. i must have misheard you.¡±


    choi yeonseung denied what he just heard, but it was true. the stronger her kingdom grew, the more the goddess found herself in an ironic situation. she wanted to experience defeat, but her kingdom triumphed over and over again. she wanted to be lazy, but she had more work to do. any victory or power gained tired her out.


    eventually, the goddess gave up on her kingdom and sealed herself. the ultimate defeat and sloth where she didn¡¯t have to win over anyone or do anything!


    ¡°... what type of crazy nonsense is this?¡±


    choi yeonseung found it so absurd that he couldn¡¯t speak properly. this constellation sealed herself because she found life a nuisance. did that make sense?


    -i want you to keep in mind that from my perspective, a constellation who pretends to be a mortal and intervenes with my plan is quite unusual.


    the goddess nodded, seemingly pleased to see the young constellation learning.


    -in the future, it is better for you to accept things broadly instead of binding yourself with your own thoughts. can i go now?


    ¡°hmm. since i am the successor to your power, can i keep calling you?¡±


    -... of course, you can. however, you are so good that you won¡¯t need to, right?


    ¡°no. i¡¯ll call you if i have to.¡±


    -......


    the goddess realized that something had gone wrong.


    a mortal would¡¯ve said, ¡®thank you for choosing me, constellation!¡¯ however, choi yeonseung acted differently. rather, he acted more like, ¡®can¡¯t you sleep when you die? don¡¯t rest inside the seal. answer me when i call. i have a lot to ask.¡¯


    he seemed very troublesome!


    ***


    choi yeonseung grabbed the goddess and started to ask multiple questions. after all, as a young constellation, there was a lot he didn¡¯t know.


    questions about whether the goddess knew any constellations who were strong in the past, who had a bad personality enough to covet earth among those constellations, if she had any hidden slush funds or artifacts, what she could do to help him in combat, if she had any useful skills among the ones she originally had, and even guidance so he could acquire those...


    the goddess of defeat and sloth tried to cover her ears while crouching in the sanctuary. however, her successor just ignored her and kept speaking.


    answer me!


    -... successor. why don¡¯t we make a compromise? how about calling me just once a day?


    ¡°why should i do that?¡±


    -successor. even though you have inherited all my powers, i want you to keep in mind that i can still refuse to answer!


    the goddess warned that she could go on strike.


    choi yeonseung stung the goddess¡¯ ears with a storm of ruthless questions, but the goddess could hold on without answering if she was determined.


    ¡°... okay. i¡¯ll make sure not to call you too many times in one day.¡±


    -if possible, i would like it to be yearly.


    ¡°that is impossible. there is no other constellation as strong as you around.¡±


    they were, fortunately, talking in the goddess¡¯ sanctuary. if they were outside, the other constellations would¡¯ve been enraged.


    who do you think you are?


    -i wish you could call me a little bit less...


    ¡°i know, i know.¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s heart weakened slightly when he heard the goddess¡¯ weak voice. in fact, he had already received enough from the goddess. he gained almost no power of existence, but he got the ability to develop new skills in defeat and sloth. above all, the stereotype of how to be strong as a constellation was shattered. he should be free rather than obsessed!


    ¡®yes. i was already doing it.¡¯


    the choi yeonseung of the past would¡¯ve devoted himself to martial arts with little time to breathe. however, choi yeonseung was trying several things that he would¡¯ve never touched before, like cooking and magic.


    he was feeling it instinctively. training wasn¡¯t such a narrow field! all things experienced in daily life could become training according to his enlightenment.


    ¡®be freer. more infinite.¡¯


    choi yeonseung clenched his fists. he could still become stronger.


    [your meeting with the ¡®goddess of defeat and sloth¡¯ has ended.]


    [you are now leaving the sanctuary and will return to earth.]


    -don¡¯t call me when you go back. understood?


    ¡°that depends on the situation.¡±


    -......

 Chapter 113

    chapter 113


    a dazzling flash of light appeared as choi yeonseung returned from the dungeon. his vision hadn¡¯t returned yet when he heard the loud roars of people.


    ¡®it is the same as before.¡¯


    they were the shouts of those waiting near the gate after the dungeon disappeared. it wasn¡¯t that much different now from 30 years ago.


    for hunters, it was a moment of pride. they protected earth a little bit!


    ¡°everyone, did you see the dungeon door disappear? it was more spectacular than usual, wasn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s interview the hunters coming out now!¡±


    ¡°...??¡±


    however, not all things were the same.


    ¡®aren¡¯t there too many reporters?¡¯


    perhaps it was because the dungeon opened near a crowded beach, but there were still too many reporters and cameras. in truth, there were simply too many people doing something. there weren¡¯t just reporters from broadcasting stations. some of the people here came to this place for personal broadcasts! people used to be scared of coming near dungeon gates thirty years ago.


    ¡°my name is hawker, and i run a dungeon chaser account! can i ask you something?¡±


    ¡°let me ask you just one question!¡±


    ¡°ah. really. get rid of the amateurs! don¡¯t let them in.¡±


    the reporters were annoyed. people who hosted online personal broadcasts rushed over when such a topic popped up even though it put their lives at risk. with a good video, they could get an enormous amount of views. formal interviews from the stations came out late due to deliberations, but this wasn¡¯t the case with private broadcasts. from the reporters¡¯ perspective, the private broadcasters were like hyenas eating their food first.


    ¡°get lost! nobody come closer!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll kill you if you come near me!¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    the people who were about to rush forward paused, flustered by the murderous threat. the hunters who had exited the dungeon raised their weapons and shouted for people not to approach.


    ¡°a traitor appeared in the ambitus clan! don¡¯t move!¡±


    ¡°!!!!!¡±


    the surrounding atmosphere became cold. the reporters were also terrified.


    a traitor. someone who betrayed humanity. in other words, a person who had signed a contract with an evil god constellation.


    decades after the gate opened, humanity had become somewhat familiar with monsters and dungeons. however, the evil god constellations still caused fear. after all, they only saw opportunities for invasion! those who contracted with evil god constellations carried out all types of heinous actions, such as terrorizing and killing innocent people in the city center.


    people were bound to be more afraid of them than dungeons and monsters. those otherwise fine hunters exploded like ticking time bombs.


    lane of the schreiber clan shouted, ¡°i will consider anyone who moves as the one who joined with an evil god constellation! if you don¡¯t want to be killed in self-defense, stay still!¡±


    there could be a spy among the crowd gathered here. it was no wonder the hunters reacted sensitively.


    ¡°hurry up and call someone to arrest and inspect the ambitus clan hunters! i don¡¯t know how many of you have joined the evil god constellation!¡±


    ¡°hey. you¡¯re going too far! we fought together!¡±


    ¡°how can i believe you? you bastards are from the same clan!¡±


    ¡®interesting.¡¯witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through n?o?v€l--b1n.


    seeing the hunters exchanging sharp conversations amazed choi yeonseung. this never happened prior to the great invasion of the evil god constellations. the hunters who usually looked so dim were now staring nervously around them. he could feel how menacing an evil god constellation was.


    ¡°choi yeonseung! come this way!¡±


    ¡°?¡± choi yeonseung was surprised by lane¡¯s call. ¡°why?¡±


    ¡°you shouldn¡¯t be so close to the ambitus people! they could try to kill you!¡±


    ¡°these sons of a bitches...!¡±


    ¡°do you want to go to court?¡±


    the ambitus clan hunters were furious. of course, it was shocking that there was a traitor among them, but didn¡¯t they fight really hard as well?


    ¡°hey. stop fighting. there are people around.¡±


    in the distance, heavily armed special forces were rushing in with nervous expressions. investigators from the government¡¯s hunter bureau were in charge of them. even if bullets didn¡¯t work against monsters, they were pretty effective weapons against hunters. moreover, the special forces were heavily armed with corporate-developed anti-hunter equipment. they would be able to break ordinary magic.


    ¡°hah... i see...¡±


    tucker started to take notes for a report to be sent to the leaders above.


    -choi yeonseung seems to have good cooking skills and is altruistic, righteous, kind, good-natured, and a pushover? he appears to be a rare hunter. maybe it¡¯s because he is a 1st generation hunter, though it could be the aftereffect of his stay in the abyss.


    if choi yeonseung had seen the report, he would¡¯ve grabbed this person by the collar right away. fortunately, no one was watching. tucker listened to the hunters¡¯ final testimonies.


    ¡°no matter how i think about it, this seems to be the fault of the ambitus guys. can¡¯t we just put them all in prison and put an end to this?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s probably the fault of those ambitus bastards. shouldn¡¯t they be disbanded?¡±


    ¡°if you ¡öing blame choi yeonseung for this, you will see me in court. it¡¯s those ambitus guys!¡±


    ¡°choi yeonseung didn¡¯t do anything wrong!¡±


    odaigon, an icarus clan member, was the last to be interviewed. in any case, the hunters who participated in the raid all said the same thing.


    -there are no victims in this raid thanks to choi yeonseung!


    hunters were selfish bastards. once the raid was over, they would try to inflate their achievements even more. hence, hunters often fought after the raid. however, in this raid, everyone agreed to a curious degree. it was clear that choi yeonseung was so great that no one could refute it.


    ¡®this is really fascinating.¡¯


    he couldn¡¯t get such an evaluation simply by being strong. if a hunter was strong, then jealousy would naturally follow. the person had to be strong and capable of winning people¡¯s hearts at the same time... hunters like him were really rare.


    ¡°it seems to have been roughly sorted out. you¡¯ve worked hard during the raid. please get some rest¡ª¡±


    before tucker could finish his words, the hunters got up and stormed out. tucker cursed inwardly. ¡®can¡¯t they wait a bit before leaving? i haven¡¯t finished talking.¡¯


    ¡°?¡± tucker was surprised to see there was one person left. choi yeonseung was still sitting there. ¡°aren¡¯t you leaving, hunter choi yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°huh? oh, i was waiting because you weren¡¯t done talking. do you have anything else to say?¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    tucker almost burst into tears at that moment. he didn¡¯t know there was such a nice hunter in the world!


    ***


    ¡°thank you for saving me!¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung! thank you!¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    choi yeonseung was flustered when the citizens recognized his face and thanked him as soon as he stepped out. they had been investigated right after the raid. how did the information spread?


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°how do people know what i did in the raid?¡±


    ¡°ah... that?¡± smallwood looked at choi yeonseung as if he was asking about something obvious. ¡°the hunters outside are writing about it on social media right now...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung seemed to find it absurd. already? it hadn¡¯t even been 30 seconds since they had gone out.


    ¡°i¡¯m sure they had already posted some stuff while we were inside.¡±


    ¡°or maybe they prepared it in advance and posted it as soon as we got out.¡±


    ¡°... is there any reason to post it in such a hurry? their lives aren¡¯t at risk, so can¡¯t they just post about it later?¡±choi yeonseung asked.


    smallwood and elisabeth looked at choi yeonseung as if they didn¡¯t know what he was talking about.


    ¡°if they post it late, then they won¡¯t get attention, friend.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. you have to be the first one to post things like this. we did the raid. why should the others get the attention?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    modern hunters weren¡¯t just about raids. it was now a hunter¡¯s job to attract fans after a raid!


    ¡®... can i really adapt to this?¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ cheers for the incarnation.]

 Chapter 114

    chapter 114


    @schreiber_lane


    -this raid was really the worst. i think clans like the ambitus clan should be shut down. how can they send a party that has a traitor in it into a dungeon? i was lucky enough to survive, but i almost lost everything.


    ?i can¡¯t believe there was a traitor. what is ambitus doing?


    ??as expected of lane. if it wasn¡¯t for you, the other hunters would¡¯ve died.


    @clan_ambi


    -the ambitus clan did their best in the sanctuary of defeat and sloth raid. to say we intentionally obstructed it is a misunderstanding. the ambitus clan clearly played a role in the raid. without us, it would have failed.


    @schreiber_lane


    -don¡¯t you have a conscience, you ¡öing bastards?? you played a role? choi yeonseung did everything!


    @newyork_arenas


    -i almost died in the dungeon because of you guys. don¡¯t shamelessly take others¡¯ credit. if it wasn¡¯t for hunter choi yeonseung, all of you would have been caught and locked up right now.


    the ambitus clan discreetly tried to fill social media with ¡®didn¡¯t we all do well?¡¯ only to be scolded by the hunters who participated in the raid. while one or two people would disagree, all the other hunters except for the ambitus clan were all saying the same thing: the ambitus clan didn¡¯t do anything; it was all choi yeonseung!


    -choi yeonseung?


    -you know, that martial artist. he played a major role in las vegas.


    -ah. the 1st-generation hunter?


    -the 1st-generation hunters are still active? isn¡¯t that abuse of the elderly?


    the general public, which was interested in hunters, naturally took great interest in the information related to this raid, which was coming up one after another. under normal circumstances, it was rare for only one hunter to stand out in a raid. since several people belonging to the same clan raided the dungeon, they normally stood out as a team.


    however, this raid was all about choi yeonseung, no matter from which clan the other hunters belonged. even the ambitus clan hunters praised choi yeonseung. such feedback was impossible unless he showed really great performance!


    ¡°these bastards... at least they have a conscience.¡± smallwood nodded with a satisfied expression. the other clans¡¯ hunters weren¡¯t all greedy after all. to be fair, however, if they kept their mouths shut after receiving so much from choi yeonseung, then they wouldn¡¯t be human.


    ¡°... no! t-these cheap and mean bastards...! friend! we¡¯ve got a big problem!¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°these bastards posted a video!¡±witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through n?o?v€l--b1n.


    smallwood pointed to the account in anger. one of the hunters posted a video of what happened in the dungeon.


    [how to create a delicious meal out of an inedible monster.]


    -how can we eat this monster??


    -oh my god! if you eat something like this, you will get poisoned right away!


    watching choi yeonseung cook the meat of the two-headed chaos dog and the eggs of a red-horned turtle shocked the public. only a small fraction of monsters could be used as gourmet ingredients, and those had to be carefully prepared by very good chefs. hence, it was hard to believe that someone could cook such ingredients with no equipment!


    however, to their surprise, choi yeonseung soon finished cooking a mouthwatering dish. once the bacon and fried eggs were put on a plate, the people reacted explosively. the video had over millions of views.


    ¡°uh... why are you angry?¡± choi yeonseung was confused because smallwood was genuinely furious.


    ¡°friend! you should¡¯ve been the one to upload this and get its views!¡±


    ¡°... i-i see.¡±


    they weren¡¯t joking. the other icarus clan hunters were genuinely furious.


    even antony!


    ¡°choi yeonseung. let¡¯s upload a video right now!¡±


    ¡°i didn¡¯t film any.¡±


    ¡°we can just create a new one! you have to let them know you are the real one!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll take care of posting the video, so can you stop?¡±


    not only did he have to think about the evil god constellations, but he had to compete with other hunters for views now. choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t aware of it, but hwang gyeongryong was already posting on social media like a storm the moment he heard the news.


    @dragon_hwang


    the constellations were bound to take notice. fortunately, none of the constellations suspected that choi yeonseung was a constellation pretending to be a human wandering around earth...


    nevertheless, he had to be careful.


    -be cautious.


    -you certainly should, but i don¡¯t think it would hurt to put in more effort in getting your name out there.


    -?


    -before you fight, shout, ¡®for the honor of the undefeated incarnation of training!¡¯ or ¡®don¡¯t mess with the undefeated incarnation of training!¡¯


    -... why would i do that?


    it felt strange just thinking about it.


    -that would avoid making other constellations suspicious of your identity while also teaching earth¡¯s inhabitants about your constellation name.


    -... i see.


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t refute it. the hunters who were talking about social media earlier and these constellations were telling him the same thing. if he wanted to become a successful constellation, he had to promote his name to the world!


    -... sigh. i have to create a social media account first...


    -ah. that sounds like a good plan as well.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says to use a cat as your profile picture.]


    ***


    with the dungeon raid over, they wanted to fly back to the west right away, but...


    the icarus clan decided to have a clan dinner to commemorate their successful raid first. they headed to hunter george¡¯s restaurant!


    ¡°when in new york, you have to eat at hunter george. this place is great, friend. it¡¯s amazing.¡±


    smallwood couldn¡¯t hide his excitement. it wasn¡¯t just him. the other hunters were the same. they were in the most popular restaurant in new york. its owner, george, was a hunter-turned-chef who revolutionized the restaurant industry with ¡®magic cuisine.¡¯


    ¡°choi yeonseung. you said you¡¯ve never been here before, right? the food here is great. i¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love it.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded. he had experienced clan dinners before. as a researcher of abyss cooking, he found a chef who did ¡®magic cuisine¡¯ an object of curiosity.


    ¡°choi yeonseung. these jerks... no, why should i have a meal with these humans?¡±


    odaigon looked at his fellow clanmates with a very sick and tired expression. choi yeonseung patted him on the shoulder as if he understood.


    ¡°i won¡¯t leave you with them next time.¡±


    unaware of how odaigon truly felt, antony spoke from the side. ¡°choi yeonseung. i protected hunter odaigon while you were gone. you don¡¯t have to thank me, but i thought you should know.¡±


    ¡°such a conscienceless dog...¡±


    choi yeonseung stopped odaigon before he could grab antony by the collar.


    ¡°hey. don¡¯t fight.¡±


    in the meantime, a clan employee suddenly became flustered and apologized.


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry. i made a reservation, but it seems i failed to book it all.¡±


    ¡°it can¡¯t be helped. hunter george would¡¯ve been fully booked.¡±


    the hunters were surprisingly easily convinced. the hunter george restaurant wasn¡¯t very spacious and didn¡¯t accept many customers at once because of the stubbornness of george, the chef, to focus on each customer!


    -uh... it doesn¡¯t taste right. is something missing?


    -i¡¯m sorry, guest. i will keep cooking until you are satisfied. how do you want it?


    -it should be a bit oilier so it would come out when you eat it...


    ¡°who is that madman? why is he complaining?¡±


    ¡°they¡¯re in hunter george, not just any other establishment. what are they doing?¡±


    the icarus clan hunters cocked their heads and immediately recognized them. they were the schreiber clan hunters who had participated in the raid. it seemed they had come here first.


    -no... this isn¡¯t it either...

 Chapter 115

    chapter 115


    elisabeth was the first to speak since she was acquainted with one of the schreiber clan¡¯s hunters.


    ¡°if you have a complaint, why don¡¯t you go somewhere else?¡±


    ¡°oh. gutierrez. so the icarus clan is the other team that¡¯s made a reservation.¡±


    the schreiber clan was pleased to see the icarus clan hunters. no, they were glad to see choi yeonseung. they got up, stood in front of choi yeonseung, and started shaking his hand one by one.


    ¡®...what is this? a fan meeting?¡¯ elisabeth thought to herself, watching from the side.


    ¡°thank you so much for last time.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s no big deal.¡±


    they should have gone back to their seats after shaking hands, but the hunters hesitated.


    ¡°... the food you prepared was really good.¡±


    "i¡¯m glad to hear that.¡±


    ¡°can you tell me how it was cooked? it didn¡¯t taste the same when i tried it...¡±


    ¡°what are you doing?¡± elisabeth exclaimed, dumbfounded. what were they doing in the middle of someone else¡¯s restaurant? although there were only two teams here, they were still being a nuisance. the schreiber clan members coughed and backed off, seemingly embarrassed.


    ¡°these people, rude? ru..de people? right?¡± illeya asked choi yeonseung as if she was curious.


    ¡°i¡¯m not sure, but you might be right.¡±


    hearing the conversation between the two, the schreiber clan hunters hurriedly came up with an excuse.


    ¡°that isn¡¯t it. don¡¯t get us wrong, choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°but didn¡¯t you just complain to hunter george?¡±


    ¡°th-that¡¯s...¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    ¡°... i was asking them to replicate the taste of the food choi yeonseung had given me.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    for a moment, the surroundings became quiet. the icarus clan hunters stared as if they were dumbfounded. no matter how great choi yeonseung¡¯s cooking was, it couldn¡¯t be greater than the cooking of the chefs here. the food in the virtual dungeon was really good, but...


    ¡®eh?¡¯


    ¡®wait. come to think of it, i think his cooking tasted better?¡¯


    ¡®what?¡¯


    the hunters were taken aback, having concluded that choi yeonseung¡¯s cooking tasted better after carefully thinking about it and comparing the taste. in the meantime, george manuel, owner and chef of hunter george, came out to the dining area. they had an open kitchen, so he could hear all the conversations.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°yes?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m really sorry for asking this favor from a customer, but... can you teach me?¡±


    ¡°... huh??¡±


    he was here to learn?


    ***


    ¡®what am i doing?¡¯


    choi yeonseung looked around with a puzzled expression. he was supposed to be sitting in the dining area, but he was standing behind a counter instead. next to him were amazing chefs staring at his every action with shining eyes!


    ¡°no... i¡¯m not a chef.¡±


    the schreiber clan hunters were the ones to respond to choi yeonseung¡¯s words first.


    ¡°no! choi yeonseung. be confident!¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re already more than good enough to be one!¡±


    the icarus clan hunters were stunned. these guys were crazy as a group!


    ¡°are you acting that way because you¡¯re afraid i won¡¯t cook?¡± choi yeonseung asked just in case.


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the hunters shut up the moment he hit the nail right on its head. they were indeed afraid that choi yeonseung would leave.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. please.¡±


    george, who was next to him, looked at choi yeonseung with a pleading expression.


    ¡®i never thought an opportunity like this would come.¡¯


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t aware of it, but george had seen choi yeonseung cooking monster meat in a video related to the recent raid.


    -how did he do it? and without any equipment, too...


    ¡°no!


    ¡°no! this is great!¡±


    the schreiber clan hunters started to applaud. choi yeonseung stared at them as if they were acting crazy.


    ¡°they¡¯re right. this is amazing.¡±


    even the chef next to him spoke seriously.


    ¡°don¡¯t you know this much?¡±


    ¡°knowing about it is different from seeing it for myself.¡±


    ¡°ah. that is true.¡±


    choi yeonseung, a martial artist, immediately understood what george meant. it took more effort to learn what he already knew in theory. it was the state of embodiment that came out naturally after the knowledge was absorbed into the body.


    ¡°i learned a lot. thank you.¡±


    [george manuel is deeply impressed by your cooking skills and has started to admire you. the power your of existence has risen!]


    [the other chefs...]


    [the hunters...]


    [your advanced abyss cooking skill has grown stronger!]


    choi yeonseung¡¯s cooking impressed everyone present. meanwhile, lane of the schreiber clan tried to take the grilled steak in front of him.


    ¡°this bastard is trying to eat the dish!¡±


    ¡°this bastard!¡±


    it wasn¡¯t just the icarus clan. the hunters from his own clan started to curse him.


    ¡°... i¡¯ll cook more, so don¡¯t be rude.¡±


    choi yeonseung turned the hunters into gentle sheep and made them sit down again.


    ¡°ah. if that is the case, then....¡±


    ¡°sigh. blood suddenly rushed to my head and blinded me.¡±


    ¡°i almost unleashed magic.¡±


    once everyone had been served steaks, choi yeonseung came out of the kitchen.


    george spoke to him with an apologetic expression. ¡°i¡¯m sorry. you came as a guest, but i made you cook. i don¡¯t know how to repay this favor...¡±


    ¡°you just have to repay me in the same way.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m here to eat your dishes. won¡¯t you treat me?¡±


    george¡¯s face brightened. ¡°... i will reward you with the best dishes!¡±


    the hunters here had rarely eaten abyss dishes, so they coveted choi yeonseung¡¯s dishes like they were beggars. however, it was nothing new to choi yeonseung. he was more interested in the different ways george cooked dishes.


    ¡°wow. did you put fruit sauce on top of this trout? that¡¯s interesting.¡±


    ¡°yes. if you puree the fruit and make it foam...¡±


    ¡°can you tell me how?¡±


    ¡°of course.¡±


    choi yeonseung tasted dishes that seemed interesting and asked for recipes.


    [your ¡®advanced abyss cooking¡¯ skill now has more recipes available!]


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says to cook a dish for it when you go back.]


    ***


    ¡°that¡¯s the gist of it.¡±


    ¡°... r-right. that aside, yeonseung, i asked about what happened in the dungeon.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong looked at choi yeonseung, bewildered. when choi yeonseung returned, hwang gyeongryong called him to hear about what happened directly from him, but all he heard was a mouthwatering story. it was a very interesting story, at least. he knew that choi yeonseung was a constellation, but to think even the great chef geoge manuel actually wanted to learn from choi yeonseung?


    ¡®didn¡¯t he used to eat chicken breast slush with grilled chicken breast...?¡¯


    hwang gyeonryong couldn¡¯t believe it!


    ¡®but he has been wandering around the abyss alone for so long, so it is only natural for his cooking skills to improve.¡¯


    it made his heart ache when that thought came to mind.


    ¡°nothing happened in the dungeon. i fought an evil god constellation¡¯s minion, but he wasn¡¯t that strong....¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    don¡¯t summarize it in three lines, dude!

 Chapter 116

    chapter 116


    apart from summarizing what he did in three sentences, choi yeonseung did a really good job. he was the real victor of this raid! the hunters who participated in the raid were all spreading choi yeonseung¡¯s name, focusing the people¡¯s attention on him. the raiding industry had become such a competitive world that it would be difficult to get a reputation just by doing one raid alone, yet choi yeonseung managed to do that with ease.


    it was really amazing...


    ¡®no. he¡¯s a constellation. shouldn¡¯t this be natural?¡¯


    ¡°why are you making that face?¡±


    ¡°w-what face?¡±


    ¡°you were smiling, then suddenly looked serious....¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words made hwang gyeongryong turn his head with a serious expression.


    ¡°anyway, i called you because i wanted to hear about what happened in the dungeon directly from you. however, i also thought this was a good opportunity.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong intended to use this opportunity to introduce his huge corporate group, dragon industry. if he was any other hunter, then he just had to know how to conduct raids. however, a hunter aiming for a-grade or higher had to know some of the business and how the world worked. they had to have connections with politicians or with the bosses of corporations...


    a-grade hunters were a walking strategic weapon. if they couldn¡¯t fend for themselves, then they would be forced to dance on someone else¡¯s palm. hwang gyeongryong originally planned to introduce choi yeonseung later. he was the chairman, so he had to be careful when pushing choi yeonseung into the company. it wouldn¡¯t matter if choi yeonseung was a famous hunter, but he was just a hunter who returned from the abyss.


    hwang gyeongyryong refrained from introducing him out of fear that it would backfire, but...


    this raid and the las vegas raid produced amazing results. he thought it should be fine with choi yeonseung¡¯s current level of fame. choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t be treated as if he just parachuted in if he was introduced to the company now.


    ¡°come in.¡±


    at hwang gyeongryong¡¯s words, the door opened and a middle-aged asian man entered.


    ¡°this is nguyen bao, the president of dragon artifact. say hello to each other.¡±


    ¡°hello.¡± choi yeonseung stood up and bowed politely.


    hwang gyeongryong cocked his head. ¡°yeonseung. you¡¯re older. why did you bother standing up?¡±


    ¡°... do you feel better about pointing that out?¡±


    ¡°yes. i feel a bit relieved deep down. in fact, i hated you pretending to be young when you¡¯re with me.¡±


    choi yeonseung felt slightly stabbed. how did he know?


    nguyen looked surprised by their casual conversation. ¡®they are really close.¡¯


    hwang gyeongryong wasn¡¯t only an s-grade hunter. he also led a giant corporation and was charismatic. the articles treated hwang gyeongryong like a playboy, but the executives working within the group knew how terrifying he was.


    nguyen was friends with hwang gyeongryong, but he never dreamed of having a conversation with him like what choi yeonseung was having now. nguyen¡¯s attitude became even more polite.


    ¡°do you know what dragon artifact is?¡±


    ¡°ah, that¡¯s...¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words made hwang gyeongryong look at him with an expression that seemed to say, ¡®oh.¡¯ hwang gyeongryong thought choi yeonseung was only interested in training, but he seemed to have become interested in other things since he had returned!


    ¡®did he change after becoming a constellation?¡¯


    ¡°... i don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t needlessly make a big deal out of it, then...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong sighed and began to explain. the monsters that appeared on earth were a crisis, but they also proved to be an opportunity. their cores turned out to be such a huge and efficient source of energy that not even conventional oil and nuclear power could match it! hence, numerous companies jumped into this core energy industry and fought fiercely for it!


    ¡°among the dragon industry subsidiaries, there is a company that processes these cores... hey. are you sleepy?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not sleepy. keep talking.¡±


    ¡°... in any case, in addition to this energy industry, there are several other industries. one of them is artificial artifacts.¡±


    artifacts referred to items with various skills¡ªrare treasures that could only be obtained by clearing dungeons or killing monsters! however, what if they could artificially make them? if they could create artifacts containing healing or defensive magic, the value of those items would be astronomical.


    ¡°the company in charge of that is dragon industry. i¡¯m not saying this to brag, but it is one of the best companies in the industry. hum hum.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°it is all thanks to this man.¡±


    ¡°it isn''t because of me. the researchers who work for the company are the ones to thank.¡±


    ¡°you are humble,¡± hwang gyeongryong said while waving his hands.


    all types of elites gathered in hwang gyeongryong¡¯s company. even his secretaries were from the ivy league. among them, nguyen was one of the greatest geniuses. it took a large number of brains and extensive research to understand magic and participate in the development of artifacts without being a hunter.


    ¡°why are you introducing me to the boss of such a company?¡± choi yeonseung cocked his head.


    ¡°get acquainted. from a hunter¡¯s perspective, there is nothing wrong with that.¡±


    nguyen respected hwang gyeongryong as a human being. hwang gyeongryong was a hunter, but he also had a human heart. nguyen smiled. choi yeonseung also seemed to be such a person.


    ¡°this is a joke we often tell ourselves. do you know what the difference is between a hunter and a monster?¡±


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°one kills people at will while the other comes from the abyss.¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ laughs loudly!]


    -honestly, it is kind of funny.


    as choi yeonseung and the cat constellation were secretly chatting, nguyen was a bit taken aback. he made a joke, but choi yeonseung didn¡¯t answer.


    ¡®d-did i make a mistake?¡¯


    now that nguyen had thought about it, a joke that seemed to be making fun of hunters likely sounded bad from choi yeonseung¡¯s perspective.


    ¡°i-i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°huh? what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°my frivolous joke...¡±


    ¡°no. it was really funny. i¡¯ll have to tell gyeongryong hyung about it later. does he know this joke?¡±


    ¡°he probably does, but...¡±


    nguyen was relieved by choi yeonseung¡¯s reaction. he didn¡¯t seem to be angry.


    ¡°anyway, what happened?¡±


    ronald totten was an excellent artifact researcher and recently succeeded in developing an artificial artifact with built-in 3rd-circle magic, apraia¡¯s double shield. dragon artifact was going to contact ronald and bring him to the company after signing a contract, but...


    ¡°we lost contact.¡±


    ¡°are you sure he was really going to sign the contract?¡±


    ¡°yes. we¡¯ve already talked about it. maybe another clan or company took him.¡±


    according to nguyen¡¯s investigation, the artifact development company ¡®pable¡¯ was the likely culprit.


    ¡°what is pable?¡±


    ¡°ah, that¡¯s...¡±


    nguyen was embarrassed. he didn¡¯t expect choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t even know about pable.


    ¡°it is one of the parker family¡¯s companies. they have a lot of experience in artifact development.¡±


    the parker family was a conglomerate, and one of their businesses was pable.


    ¡°ah. the parker family! i remember. the icarus clan has a hunter from them.¡±


    ¡°huh? really?¡±


    nguyen was even more perplexed. there was no way the parker family would send one of their hunters to the icarus clan unless they were crazy.


    ¡°the parker family didn¡¯t just let it happen, did they...?¡±


    ¡°well, they would¡¯ve been ignored even if they protested because of gyeongryong hyung¡¯s personality.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    it was plausible! nguyen inadvertently agreed with choi yeonseung¡¯s words.


    ¡°then my mission is to go to pable, find a researcher named ronald, and bring him out?¡±


    ¡°for now, yes.¡±


    ¡°that doesn¡¯t seem very difficult. i¡¯ll go now.¡±


    ¡°y-you¡¯re not planning on going alone, right?¡± nguyen asked, wondering if it was possible.


    aish...


    it couldn¡¯t be...


    ¡®i was going to.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was about to move according to the habits he had back in the abyss, but he hesitated upon hearing nguyen¡¯s question. since he had to bring someone out, it would be nice to have a couple of extra hands.


    ¡®should i call the icarus clan hunters? this isn¡¯t something that can be made public.¡¯


    at that moment, someone contacted choi yeonseung. the mount hua sect hunters were calling.

 Chapter 117

    chapter 117


    ¡®ah. the mount hua sect.¡¯


    the mount hua sect hunters had sworn allegiance to choi yeonseung in exchange for his teachings. fortunately, they were martial artists. in choi yeonseung¡¯s view, martial arts were better than magic when it came to things like this. they were quiet, agile, and could easily neutralize people... above all, even if their opponents were prepared, wouldn¡¯t they have only prepared countermeasures against magicians?


    martial arts could poke into that loophole.


    ¡°of course, i was going to go with people.¡±


    ¡°phew. i¡¯m glad.¡±


    nguyen was relieved, having remembered what hwang gyeongryong had told him.


    -he can be a bit reckless at times, so please stop him whenever that happens.


    -what exactly does that mean?


    -you¡¯ll know once you start dealing with him.


    ... looking at it now, hwang gyeongryong had to have been joking. choi yeonseung had a lot of common sense.


    ¡®the chairman really... likes to joke around.¡¯


    ***


    ¡°congratulations!¡±


    ¡°congratulations!¡±


    on a street where many people passed by, hunters in suits stood in a line with their heads bowed. people started whispering.


    -who is that person?


    -shh. they must be bad hunters. don¡¯t make eye contact.


    ¡°... if you don¡¯t stand up straight now, i¡¯ll give you ten training sessions with ten times the intensity of the previous one.¡± choi yeonseung¡¯s voice was mixed with killing intent.


    the mount hua sect¡¯s young hunters stood up out of sheer fear. they were very chagrined. while watching choi yeonseung¡¯s performance, they were like, ¡®wow, that¡¯s amazing! how can he be so powerful even though he¡¯s a martial artist? i¡¯ll make sure to congratulate him when he comes back.¡¯


    ¡°you look like crazy people. what are you doing on the streets? are you asking for the police to arrest you?¡±


    ¡°the police don¡¯t arrest hunters...¡± one of the hunters grumbled.


    ¡°follow me in a mounted position. don¡¯t use your skills,¡± choi yeonseung calmly replied.


    ¡°......!¡±


    the young hunters bravely shut their mouths upon witnessing their colleague groan in pain.


    ¡°why are you congratulating me so loudly...?¡±


    ¡°b-because you¡¯re really amazing,¡± the hunter following him in a mounted position said with a groan.


    for ordinary people and other hunters, choi yeonseung was just a rising, young star hunter. however, that wasn¡¯t the case for martial artists. for martial artists, choi yeonseung was the personification of dreams and hope. after all, he was the most powerful martial artist on active duty right now.


    among the magicians were several outstanding a-grade and s-grade hunters. on the other hand, there was no such hunter among martial artists. the a-grade hunter li yuyuan was involved in a rating manipulation case and fell miserably.


    in fact, choi yeonseung was the only martial artist who could potentially become an a-grade hunter right now. therefore, the mount hua sect hunters were bound to be enthusiastic about choi yeonseung¡¯s performance.


    ¡°i don¡¯t care about my performance. tell me about yours.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°the endless heavy swamp ordeal. what happened? did you pass?¡±


    the endless heavy swamp ordeal pitted the hunters against an agile doll in a swamp with water so heavy that they were rendered incapable of moving as soon as they fell in. choi yeonseung created that training ground in the otherworld. it was the perfect place for martial artists to learn how to withdraw their strength and use their internal energy to harness the power of their surroundings.


    the mount hua sect hunters smiled.


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°we all passed.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung was shocked. all of them had passed?


    -i should check their progress.


    choi yeonseung examined the hunters with his constellation eyes.


    [louis wang]


    [level: 107


    strength: 101


    agility: 188


    physical strength: 187


    magic power: 98


    intelligence: 94


    [external softness and internal hardness]


    the hunters were taken aback.


    jajangmyeon?


    choi yeonseung mentioned this because he thought it was chinese food. however, just because they were from china didn¡¯t mean they knew about jajangmyeon. in fact, a lot more people didn¡¯t know about it.


    ¡°is that korean food?¡±


    ¡°hey. hurry and find a store in koreatown.¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t it too simple?¡±


    ¡°if that¡¯s what choi yeonseung wants to eat, then it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    ***


    ¡®i keep witnessing the strangest things in the world.¡¯


    kim sangdeok, who ran a korean-style chinese restaurant in koreatown, looked dumbfounded. well-dressed hunters were sitting and eating jajangmyeon as a group. wondering if they were broadcasting, he checked for cameras.


    ¡®aren¡¯t they chinese? why don¡¯t they eat chinese food...?¡¯


    most of them were chinese, so he was worried that they would think, ¡®you call this chinese food?¡¯


    kim sangdeok had no choice but to believe in his 20-year career.


    ¡°this korean dish is delicious. what is this called? i¡¯ll have to return and order this again next time.¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t it chinese food?¡±


    ¡°how come i¡¯ve never heard of it? it has to be korean food. this is a store in koreatown, after all.¡±


    ¡°the guys at the other table said it was chinese food...¡±


    ¡°be quiet.¡±


    choi yeonseung shut the hunters up and got down to business. taking back a researcher called ronald was a dangerous act against pable.


    ¡°you¡¯ve all sworn your loyalty to me, but i don¡¯t really want you to sacrifice your lives for me. don¡¯t accept just because i¡¯m asking you.¡±


    choi yeonseung was a very realistic person. he taught the young hunters in exchange for their loyalty, but weren¡¯t they people as well? it would only be natural for them to put up a bit of resistance should they be asked to recklessly lay down their lives.


    ¡°it really doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t participate. if you aren¡¯t confident, you can give up and step down now. that being said... is there anyone who can help me with the task?¡±


    all the mount hua sect hunters raised their hands at the same time. no matter how indifferent, choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t help being slightly moved by their behavior.


    [the loyalty of the ¡®mount hua sect¡¯ hunters has increased the power of your existence!]


    ***


    pable had a research complex in mabrook, not far from la. nguyen guessed that ronald would¡¯ve been taken there if he was taken away.


    ¡°what are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°we can just walk through the front door and bring him out, but...¡±


    to put it bluntly, choi yeonseung was confident he could take down other hunters even with his prowess limited to peak-class. hunters weren¡¯t monsters. a single attack could fatally wound them. in some ways, they were much easier to deal with than monsters.


    ¡°it is hard to handle the aftermath, so we¡¯ll have to sneak in, figure out the situation, and quietly bring him out. raise your hand if you are confident in your speed.¡±


    the hunters who trusted their speed-style martial arts raised their hands.


    ¡°among those who raised their hands, keep your hand up if you¡¯ve got confidence in your stealth skills.¡±


    there were only two people left. choi yeonseung spoke while looking at the two of them.


    ¡°the two of you can follow me. the rest will remain on standby.¡±


    the hunters of the mount hua sect murmured when choi yeonseung took the two hunters to the barbed wire near the huge research complex.


    ¡°isn¡¯t the security of pable¡¯s research complex amazing?¡±


    ¡°there will probably be dozens of layers of it. how is he going to pierce through those?¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re talking about choi yeonseung here. i¡¯m sure he has some ideas. he probably even has special equipment to neutralize security.¡±


    ¡°indeed... he belongs to icarus...¡±


    they had infinite faith in choi yeonseung. however, choi yeonseung was completely unarmed. martial artists usually didn¡¯t carry such special equipment. all he needed was himself and his training.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ praises you for being reliable.]


    -thank you, cat constellation.


    beeeeeeeeep!


    beeeeeeeeep!


    ¡°......?!¡±


    choi yeonseung turned his head in surprise. the alarm system blared. he hadn¡¯t even approached yet. what...?


    ¡°i-it looks like it¡¯s coming from the other side.¡±¡¯


    ¡°something must¡¯ve happened there!¡±


    someone on the other side had triggered the alarm.

 Chapter 118

    chapter 118


    ¡°what should we do?¡± the mount hua sect hunters asked while looking at choi yeonseung. right now, the leader was choi yeonseung. they had to obey his judgment.


    ¡®what type of crazy person...?¡¯


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t expect such a situation. who set off the alarm? choi yeonseung focused his internal energy on his hearing to hear the commotion on other side better.


    -constellation! he has signed with a constellation!


    -he¡¯s a minion of the expert of twisted hallucinations!


    ¡°......!¡±


    he paused for a moment because he thought they were talking about him, a constellation, but soon found out that wasn¡¯t the case. a minion of the expert of twisted hallucinations!


    ¡®expert of twisted hallucinations...¡¯


    it was one of the evil god constellations that choi yeonseung had heard of. the powerful evil god constellation who took over mexico!


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ asks whether that villain would be in the top 20 of the rankings, considering he occupies a part of earth¡¯s territory.]


    choi yeonseung was ranked 127th. if this constellation was in the top 20...


    ¡®it will be tough to deal with.¡¯


    if choi yeonseung had one advantage, it was that his opponent didn¡¯t know anything about him while he already knew about his opponent. such a famous evil god constellation would have a lot of information available about him. furthermore, the opponent was just a household member or a minion. in comparison, choi yeonseung was a constellation himself. there was no need to be frightened.


    ¡®right, i can ask the goddess as well.¡¯


    -goddess. goddess.


    -...didn¡¯t you say you would only call me once in a thousand years?


    the goddess of defeat and sloth sounded very annoyed and unwilling to answer.


    -i never said that. i said i would try to minimize it as much as possible.


    did she just increase the time span?


    -why did you call me? ah. you want to know about the power of defeat and sloth. it isn¡¯t that hard. just lose and live idly and you will feel it.


    it sounded terrible to choi yeonseung. what was she saying...?


    -we can talk about the power of defeat and sloth later... what i¡¯m curious about is if you know anything about the expert of twisted hallucinations.


    -ah. that newbie.


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised. the evil god constellations, commonly referred to as evil gods or demon gods, were strong and terrifying beings, yet the goddess of defeat and sloth was treating one as a kid.


    -when i was active, he was a bat-like kid hanging around the other constellations.


    -oh... who did he usually cling to?


    -the master of slowness and silence.


    the master of slowness and silence, an evil god constellation with little noticeable activity. even if so, he was one of the most famous evil god constellations on earth. after all, he was the constellation that occupied northern china and revealed his mighty power during the great invasion!


    the chinese government gritted its teeth and tried to retake its territory, but it failed due to the power of the master of slowness and silence. the constellations who participated in the rankings speculated that he could be in second place and was closest to first place.


    -the expert of twisted hallucinations has to be an incredibly strong constellation, yet he¡¯s just the master of slowness and silence¡¯s subordinate...


    -of course, it could be different now than it was back then. a lot of time has passed, after all.


    -do you happen to know the master of slowness and silence?


    -yes. he was a strong constellation back then. we should focus on the expert of twisted hallucinations right now, though.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s mind returned at the goddess¡¯ advice. he had to concentrate on the constellation in front of him instead of thinking about other constellations. as expected, age wasn¡¯t something to be ignored.


    -thank you.


    -can i go now?


    -no. i¡¯ll keep calling you until the fight is over. it would be better for you to just stay up.


    -......


    the goddess, who was about to go back to sleep, cursed choi yeonseung. she had to have chosen the wrong successor!


    ***


    ¡®wait...¡¯


    choi yeonseung realized something strange. he thought the evil god constellation¡¯s minion would have pushed their way inside with ease. however, he only heard sounds of combat from the outside.


    ¡°... hey, i think they¡¯re actually defending the place quite well?¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡°the hunters hired by pable are pretty strong! maybe that¡¯s how they are blocking it!¡±


    ¡°ahh. amazing.¡±


    choi yeonseung was impressed. honestly, he had been looking down on them. however, pable was also a giant corporation that had more than a dozen hunter clans attached to it. as such, they weren¡¯t immediately pushed back when the evil god constellation¡¯s minion invaded.


    ¡°this is good. we can proceed with the mission as planned, then.¡±


    ¡°you want to take advantage of the chaos pable is in?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    strength: 93


    agility: 91


    physical strength: 98


    magic power: 171


    intelligence: 125


    [chameleon¡¯s face]


    [rank: d+.


    improves disguise magic effects.]


    [blurred shadow]


    [rank: c+


    improves stealth magic effects.]


    ¡°......?¡±


    ¡®isn¡¯t he a hunter?¡¯


    he was quite suspicious, too, because of the skills he had. no matter how choi yeonseung looked at it, these were intelligence-gathering skills.


    ¡°a researcher? he isn¡¯t a hunter?


    ¡°he¡¯s a researcher.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    choi yeonseung approached kim chanseong and pointed the sword at his throat.


    ¡°i know you¡¯re a hunter. if you don¡¯t tell me what you¡¯re here for three seconds, i¡¯ll stab you in the neck. 3, 2...¡±


    ¡°i-i¡¯m here for a similar purpose!¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°i was going to take ronald...¡±


    a disguised corporate spy and hunter from the korean clan ¡®golden blood fish,¡¯ kim chanseong planned to get to know ronald and take him out when he saw the opportunity!


    ***


    ¡°... a korean clan? that¡¯s amazing.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°i didn¡¯t expect a korean clan would do this.¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised. korean clans were international pushovers 30 years ago, yet now they were sending people to the united states to steal talent. it was touching in its own way.


    ¡®is he really from a korean clan?¡¯


    ¡°you... aren¡¯t you from dragon artifact? i don¡¯t want to fight dragon artifact. just take him with you.¡±


    he was already cautious with pable. he didn¡¯t want to get involved with dragon artifact. pable had stolen ronald from dragon artifact, the original contracted party, anyway! he had no other choice but to be more tactful.


    ¡°ch-chanseong! was the friendship we built a lie?!¡±


    ¡°n-no. it isn¡¯t. i was going to ask you to come and work in south korea after we¡¯ve become friends. i didn¡¯t plan to do anything through force.¡±


    ¡°both of you are noisy. in any case, this seems to have been settled, so it¡¯s time we leave¡ª¡±


    before he could finish speaking, a roar echoed from outside.


    ¡°...???¡±


    ¡°what??¡±


    two buildings in the research complex had been blown away, and a strange-looking existence had appeared in their place. a shining octahedron was floating in the air, each of its sides emitting light of a different color.


    -that¡¯s the expert of twisted hallucinations¡¯ power! be careful!


    the goddess of defeat and sloth warned. she sounded startled. their opponent had to be a fairly powerful household member, considering they got the lazy goddess acting so frantically.


    -did the expert of twisted hallucinations summon that household member after falling into a disadvantage?


    amid its rampage, the octahedron hit the building they were in and suddenly attacked choi yeonseung.


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue and immediately launched a counterattack. he unleashed storm-like palm energy, deflecting the incoming attack, then landed right in the middle of the collapsed building with his group!


    ... due to the loud noise, the hunters of pable saw their group.


    ¡°you... who are you?¡±


    the pable hunters shouted in astonishment at the people they had never seen before.


    ¡®damn. i thought we could just leave in silence...¡¯


    ¡®it looks like i have to fight.¡¯


    the mount hua sect hunters prepared for combat.


    ¡°... i¡¯m here to get rid of the expert of twisted hallucinations¡¯ minions.¡±


    ¡°......?!¡±

 Chapter 119

    chapter 119


    ¡°huh?¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words puzzled the mount hua sect. they were told to speak to him casually, so they did. however, when he displayed transcendent martial arts, they unknowingly started using respectful words when talking to him. that wasn¡¯t important right now, though.


    ¡®we came here to defeat the expert of twisted hallucinations¡¯ minions?¡¯


    choi yeonseung spoke so confidently that even the mount hua sect hunters thought, ¡®is that really why we¡¯re here?¡¯ for a while.


    ¡°if you knew the expert of twisted hallucinations was raiding this place, you should¡¯ve told us earlier!¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s likely a spy within your ranks. wouldn¡¯t it be a mistake to tell you?¡± choi yeonseung replied coldly.


    the hunters paused. he had a point. the assault of the evil god constellation¡¯s minion turned the surrounding area chaotic and noisy. taking advantage of the atmosphere, choi yeonseung kept pushing.


    ¡°what¡¯s the current situation? what did you do that warranted summoning a creature like that here?¡±


    ¡°we don¡¯t know! we were doing great defending against their advances until they performed a strange summoning ceremony!¡±


    the pable hunters had really great defense. running impatient, the expert of twisted hallucination¡¯s minions prayed to the constellation and summoned a household member.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says if the household member was summoned, then it won¡¯t last long.]


    ¡®i guess so.¡¯


    the power of a constellation was transcendent, but it wasn¡¯t omnipotent. the expert of twisted hallucinations used his power of existence to summon his household member to this location, but it wouldn¡¯t last long. after a certain period of time, the household member would return to his territory!


    ¡®the question is how long it will take...¡¯


    choi yeonseung had no intention of risking his life to fight that octahedron. even though it was the one who attacked first, choi yeonseung had fought too many times to hold a grudge over that. this was just one enemy.


    ¡®if it isn¡¯t very long, why don¡¯t i just stall for time?¡¯


    however, the octahedron had a different plan. just as it did before, it attacked choi yeonseung.


    -why is this bastard doing this?


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded. he had never cursed at the expert of twisted hallucinations, so why bother?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it probably feels threatened by your name!]


    ¡®!¡¯


    the cat constellation was right. choi yeonseung had received a lot of attention recently. even though they didn¡¯t have any grudges against each other, constellations¡¯ household members would feel threatened by choi yeonseung.


    ¡°so... shall we fight?¡±


    [the ¡®shining hallucinatory octahedron¡¯ declares that it wants to see choi yeonseung¡¯s skills.]


    [if your abilities are worthy, it will speak to its constellation and guarantee you a place in the household.]


    ¡°... you have a knack for making the person you are scouting feel bad.¡± leaving ronald to the two hunters with him, choi yeonseung rushed in alone and launched an attack.


    he!


    however, instead of dealing with choi yeonseung, the octahedron fired purple beams at the other hunters, which caused them to shake their heads.


    -goddess! goddess!


    -ah, seriously!


    -tell me what skill that is!


    -th-that¡¯s... probably... the power to cause temporary betrayal, i think!


    the expert of twisted hallucinations was a master of illusion and hallucinatory magic. hence, his household member was able to use similar powers. the eyes of several pable hunters turned purple and started to point their artifacts toward their allies.


    ¡°stop them! send a signal to all mount hua sect members to enter!¡±


    ¡°roger that!¡±


    he was already busy dealing with one octahedron, yet he now had to protect ronald and the other hunters at the same time. his blood was boiling, and his mind was on fire.


    ¡°cut them down. show no mercy.¡±


    arriving a bit late, the other mount hua sect hunters quickly set up a formation and launched an attack as the other hunters¡¯ eyes widened. a few people shouted, having regained their senses.


    ¡°martial arts!¡±


    ¡°is that choi yeonseung of the icarus clan?!¡±


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue when they guessed his identity correctly just because they saw martial arts. he had become much more famous than he thought.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that¡¯s because of what happened recently.]


    ¡®i guess so. there won¡¯t be many people who use martial arts, so i likely left a deeper impression.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ asks if it is good to be famous.]


    as his name spread and became known, his power as a constellation became stronger. wasn¡¯t this what choi yeonseung wanted?


    ¡®but it makes it easier for others to suspect me if i do something like this again.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says you shouldn¡¯t think of such a stupid thing.]


    the expert of twisted hallucinations¡¯ minions weren¡¯t that strong. signing a contract with a constellation didn¡¯t make a person stronger. moreover, evil god constellations didn¡¯t reward their minions unless they had done something.. only one or two of them had cheap artifacts. the rest had pistols and rifles.


    tatatang!


    ¡°keep in formation behind me.¡±


    ¡°copy!¡±


    in preparation for the fight, choi yeonseung taught the mount hua sect hunters a simple formation that didn¡¯t have any special effect but allowed them to work together without blocking each other¡¯s paths.


    [the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ has trained and led mortals. he has obtained a new skill.]


    [the skill ¡®six channels sword display¡¯ has been discovered.]


    ¡°!¡±


    materializing the infinite power within oneself was the constellations¡¯ power. his new power was similar to ¡®future sight,¡¯ which the goddess of balance who walks ahead had given him.


    [six channels sword display]


    [rank: a-


    creates a method to gather the power of mortals in the name of the undefeated incarnation of training.]


    ¡®ha. so that is its effect.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was stunned. he discovered a new power when teaching others rather than himself.


    [these are people who believe in the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training.¡¯ the effects of your skill ¡®six channels sword display¡¯ has improved.]


    the mount hua sect hunters were sending their faith to the undefeated incarnation of training, whom they believed to be choi yeonseung¡¯s master. as a result, using his new power would now grant them more strength.


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡°!!¡±


    a strong intangible force surrounded the mount hua sect, surprising them. it felt as if they were wearing a huge piece of armor. once they went on the offensive, the power went wild, granting even a third-rate hunter the ability to split apart iron and defensive magic!


    the mount hua sect hunters looked incredulous. even though they weren¡¯t using sword energy, they still became so much more powerful!


    ¡°kill them all!¡±


    once the remaining hunters came to their senses and joined in, the expert of twisted hallucinations¡¯ minions were miserably annihilated. they tried to keep fighting until their bitter end, but the hunters calmly struck them down. afterward, kreger finally managed to take a breather. enviously looking at choi yeonseung, he asked, ¡°the icarus clan is amazing. are you here to help richard parker, your fellow clan member?¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    choi yeonseung wondered what he was talking about until he finally realized it.


    ah...! now that he had remembered it, there was a kid from the parker family in the icarus clan.

 Chapter 120

    chapter 120


    ¡®i completely forgot.¡¯


    ¡°clans with full support like the icarus clan are different. they don¡¯t care who¡¯s behind us.¡±


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t say a word, but kreger, who misunderstood, was convinced.


    ¡°by the way... was that martial arts?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    before choi yeonseung could answer, the mount hua sect hunters spoke with proud faces. they felt a sense of pride in martial arts that they hadn¡¯t felt before. after all, every hunter around them admired it. the shining hallucinatory octahedron¡¯s magic was really powerful. without outside help, half of the hunters here would¡¯ve likely attacked and killed each other.


    ¡°how many casualties did we suffer?¡± kreger asked his subordinate. they fought well in the beginning, but the situation turned into a mess when their enemies summoned the octahedron. hypnotized, they attacked their allies, forcing choi yeonseung to fight back. even if they didn¡¯t know much about martial arts, they could roughly guess the power of choi yeonseung¡¯s techniques. hunters fell every time he moved, so his skill likely had more destructive power than a high-caliber bullet.


    ¡°no one died.¡±


    ¡°... what? check again.¡±


    ¡°nobody was killed. they¡¯re unconscious, but they are all alive.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    kreger was shocked by his subordinate¡¯s report.


    ¡®that¡¯s insane...!¡±


    choi yeonseung, who was still holding his sword, suddenly looked a lot more towering than before. subduing a hunter was several times more difficult than killing them. what made it even more impressive was that choi yeonseung did it with the octahedron running wild in front of him.


    as a b-rank hunter with experience in combat, he knew that this person''s value had recently risen sharply. however, this was a whole different realm. killing monsters and dealing with hunters were two different things.


    ¡®i heard he was a professional from the uhc, but could he actually be an anti-hunter specialist than an anti-monster...?¡¯


    he definitely felt like he had heard this before. martial arts were trash, but they were useful against hunters.


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°ah, nothing.¡±


    if he said that martial arts were trash in front of a hunter who used martial arts, a fight would break out no matter how good-natured the hunter was. choi yeonseung was just standing at ease and didn¡¯t even have a single defensive spell activated, yet his posture still gave off a sharp destructive power that made kreger afraid.


    ¡°uh... oh, richard is coming.¡±


    richard approached from where he had been fighting with other hunters and soon looked dumbfounded upon seeing choi yeonseung.


    ¡°... huh???¡±


    ¡°you have a good colleague. he came to help after receiving information that this place was being attacked.¡±


    ¡°the icarus clan?¡± richard asked as if he didn¡¯t understand. it didn¡¯t make sense no matter how he thought about it.


    ***


    ¡°are you really here to help me? the icarus clan?¡± richard asked choi yeonseung and the mount hua sect hunters. they were now sitting in a cafe near the research park. the research complex behind them was busy dealing with the aftermath and restoration efforts.


    ¡°no,¡± choi yeonseung answered briefly.


    ¡°ah. then... did you come by yourself?¡±


    richard was convinced. although the icarus clan raised aces, it couldn¡¯t have had this many people on standby just to protect one hunter who left against their will. moreover, richard was a member of the parker family. the clan had no reason to worry about him. if so, then there was only one possible conclusion. choi yeonseung came alone.


    ¡®this jerk...!¡¯


    richard looked down, not knowing how to express the complex emotions he was feeling. he found it both touching and incomprehensible. to be honest, he had never met a hunter like choi yeonseung.


    ¡°no. i came here to steal a researcher trapped in your family¡¯s research complex, but an evil god constellation¡¯s household member appeared. i fought it.¡±


    ¡°......!!!¡±


    richard stared at choi yeonseung as his mouth dropped open. he didn¡¯t pay attention to it earlier due to the confusing situation, but one of the people among the hunters did look like a researcher.


    ¡°w-what are you doing? are you crazy?¡±


    ¡°what? pable was the one who kidnapped him first.¡± choi yeonseung was very confident. the researcher, ronald, wanted to sign a contract with dragon artifact. pable intervened and kidnapped him before he could.


    ¡°if this becomes known now...¡±


    ¡°what do you think will happen if word gets out?¡±


    choi yeonseung snorted. he didn¡¯t know much about the company, but he was well aware of how these things worked.


    ¡°there isn¡¯t enough justification, so they won¡¯t start a fight unless they¡¯re crazy. at most, they would end this by scolding the guards.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re afraid that your name will be omitted from the will later.¡±


    ¡°ahhh...!¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s definitely a plausible reason!¡±


    the mount hua sect hunters agreed in unison. it made sense if that was his reason!


    ¡°that isn¡¯t the reason!¡±


    ¡°what? it isn¡¯t? then why?¡±


    ¡°... in any case, it isn¡¯t that!¡±


    ¡°richard. we¡¯re in the same clan, so let me give you one last piece of advice. if you don¡¯t stand on your own, there will always be a limit to how strong you can be,¡± choi yeonseung said while pointing to richard¡¯s toes. he didn¡¯t explain it in detail, but it was what he meant was already clear.


    ¡°if you cut ties with your family and stay in the icarus clan, gyeongryong hyung will help you. think about it.¡±


    ¡°that doesn¡¯t make sense...¡±


    ¡°no. i¡¯m telling you how it is. he¡¯s the type that would be more inclined to do something the more others told him not to.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°think about it carefully. we will be going back now. is everyone ready?¡±


    ¡°yes. the car has already been prepared.¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s go.¡±


    choi yeonseung got into the car with the mount hua sect hunters. richard watched this scene with a complicated expression.


    ***


    ¡°will that hunter cut ties with his family?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s ridiculous. the parker family is one of the most famous conglomerate families. how many millions of dollars would he be throwing away?¡±


    choi yeonseung shrugged in response to the mount hua sect hunters.


    ¡°i don¡¯t know. by the way, didn¡¯t i already tell you to speak casually? why are you still keeping up with the formalities?¡±


    ¡°ah...¡±


    ¡°that...¡±


    the mount hua sect hunters couldn¡¯t help it. every time choi yeonseung performed his martial arts, respect rose from the bottom of their hearts. the mount hua sect¡¯s rules were fierce and strict. they had to obey their superiors almost absolutely. coming from such a group made it impossible for them to talk to choi yeonseung casually.


    ¡®why does he want us to talk to him casually anyway?¡¯


    ¡®is it because he doesn¡¯t want to appear old?¡¯


    ¡®when learning martial arts, we should probably learn in a more informal atmosphere.¡¯


    ¡°well, in any case... you all did a good job. i was worried you would say things like, ¡®everything¡¯s ruined,¡¯ but you displayed great skills.¡±


    choi yeonseung played the biggest role, but the mount hua sect hunters also did quite well. they protected ronald while brilliantly taking down the minions of the enemy constellation. with their current level, it seemed choi yeonseung no longer had to worry about their clan being ruined.


    ¡°that¡¯s not it.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°we improved because of what choi yeonseung taught us,¡± louis earnestly said. the other hunters nodded in agreement.


    ¡°how long has it been since i last taught you something?¡±


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded, but the mount hua sect hunters meant it. they didn¡¯t think they had learned much, but their performance in today¡¯s fight told them otherwise. their confidence in martial arts, which they lost for quite some time, started to boil in them again.


    ¡°li yuyuan once said that even a very short and simple realization can quickly strengthen a person.¡±


    met with a high wall, they couldn¡¯t help but feel freed upon climbing over it. everyone felt as if they managed to do that thanks to choi yeonseung.


    [the power of your existence has increased due to strong faith!]


    ¡°i¡¯m glad you think that way. i¡¯ll prepare harder training once i¡¯ve returned.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the touching atmosphere instantly turned cold.

 Chapter 121

    chapter 121


    ¡°n-no...¡±


    choi yeonseung ignored the hunters attempting to stop him and looked away.


    ¡°so, are you an industrial spy?¡±


    ¡°p-please call me an unofficial scout, not an industrial spy, hunter choi yeonseung,¡± kim chanseong, who was caught trying to take ronald away, replied while wiping the sweat on his forehead. kim chanseong wasn¡¯t that strong, but he had seen several strong hunters due to the nature of his work. in the hunter industry, where only people with broken personalities gathered, strong hunters were like walking time bombs.


    ¡®this hunter is really strong!¡¯


    despite choi yeonseung¡¯s hunter rank and raid achievements, kim chanseong instinctively felt it. if he got on the wrong side of this person, not even his bones would survive.


    ¡°w-we are both koreans.¡±


    the mount hua sect hunters booed kim chanseong.


    ¡°boo. what nonsense is that?¡±


    ¡°once you¡¯ve left your hometown, then you shouldn¡¯t use it anymore!¡±


    ¡°why are you clinging to that?!¡±


    choi yeonseung raised a hand as if telling them to be quiet.


    ¡°if you are an industrial spy, then you probably know a lot.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know much.¡±


    ¡°really?¡± choi yeonseung looked at kim chanseong. ¡°kids, the industrial spy here says he doesn¡¯t know much. please make him think otherwise.¡±


    ¡°that is our specialty, choi yeonseung!¡±


    ¡°no! no! ask me anything you want!¡±


    ¡°there is nothing to be nervous about. i don¡¯t intend to ask you about anything big.¡±


    choi yeonseung really didn¡¯t intend to ask about anything big. how much did an industrial spy, or a scout, know in the first place? he just thought of asking random questions.


    ¡°what type of clan is the golden blood fish?¡±


    ¡°our clan has an a-grade hunter! ¡®blue dragon sword¡¯ hunter jeong wonuk leads us!¡± kim chanseong mentioned their clan leader with all his might.


    he wanted choi yeonseung to respond like, ¡®your clan leader is an a-grade hunter? that¡¯s amazing. i should be more respectful.¡¯


    ¡°what? jeong wonuk?¡± choi yeonseung was shocked.


    ¡°yes! jeong wonuk!¡±


    ¡°jeong wonuk, the former member of the beggar gods clan?¡±


    ¡°yes! you know him!¡±


    ¡°the jeong wonuk who peed out of fear in a d-grade dungeon?¡±


    ¡°... huh? i¡¯ve never heard that before...¡±


    kim chanseong hesitated. their clan leader, who exuded a storm of charisma and seemed to be the epitome of strictness and discipline, actually peed in a dungeon?


    ¡°no? hmm. i didn¡¯t think such a guy would make it all the way to the rank of a grade...¡±


    choi yeonseung was amazed. he met jeong wonuk in the past while clearing dungeons with hwang gyeongryong.


    as a rookie, jeong wonuk got rated d during his measurement during a time when even d-grade was considered quite high. however, he made a mistake that almost got him killed due to his lack of experience in a dungeon. fortunately, choi yeonseung¡¯s party saved him.


    -is he really that rookie? isn¡¯t he too sloppy?


    -he¡¯s also timid. his personality doesn¡¯t seem suited to this profession.


    -i think so as well. i bet he¡¯ll retire early.


    ... such a hunter making it to grade a was amazing.


    ¡°in any case, since your clan leader is an a-grade hunter, then it has to be one of the best clans in south korea.¡±


    each country only had around ten a-grade hunters. the clan they led was bound to be huge!


    ¡°yes!¡±


    ¡°so you did a big thing and came all the way to the united states for industrial espionage?¡±


    ¡°... t-the us does it as well. i¡¯m here on a formal visit.¡±


    ¡°why did you have to disguise yourself, then? in any case, i understand. i¡¯ll send you back safely, so don¡¯t forget my grace.¡±


    ¡°thank you!¡±


    he was currently staying in the us because of hwang gyeongryong, but he would have to return to south korea one day. it wasn¡¯t just because he was korean. choi yeonseung, who had to gather faith on earth, couldn¡¯t leave any country alone. taking that into consideration, he thought there was no harm in showing grace to the golden blood fish clan.


    -i don¡¯t know about that. no matter the constellation, they¡¯re bound to get angry.


    as the two conversed, kim chanseong continued. ¡°in any case, northern china is more peaceful than you think under the master of slowness and silence¡¯s rule. every now and then, videos would appear about that place only having two rules.¡±


    ¡°what are they?¡±


    ¡°no more than 20 km/hr. no louder than 70 db of sound.¡±


    ¡°... wow. that¡¯s really simple.¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised. it wasn¡¯t as bad as he thought. everything was fine for as long as they lived slowly and quietly. it was surprisingly okay.


    ¡°what about the factories in northern china, then?¡±


    ¡°they have all been closed, as far as i know.¡±


    ¡°what do people eat?¡±


    ¡°they say that the constellation uses magic to make his citizens incapable of feeling hungry.¡±


    ¡®... isn¡¯t that better than before?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was surprised. in the past, people had to work hard for 12 hours to eat one meal a day. now they just had to be slow and quiet and the constellation would feed them.


    ... wasn¡¯t it really nice?


    ¡°what about north korea? is the constellation that rules north korea as peaceful and quiet?¡±


    ¡°not really, but... the constellation that rules north korea is more neutral than an evil god constellation.¡±


    the snake of alcohol and dancing ruled north korea. according to the testimonies of several good god constellations, the snake of alcohol and dancing was more neutral than evil. it was just that the people of earth labeled her as an evil god because she occupied north korea. in any case, as a neutral constellation, the snake of alcohol and dancing didn¡¯t commit any destruction or atrocities.


    ¡®isn¡¯t the snake of alcohol and dancing that constellation?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was surprised. it was the constellation who gave him a drink as a gift when he was thinking about how to improve his abyss territory! that constellation was the one who occupied north korea?


    ¡®i never would have imagined it.¡¯


    ¡°then what is the state of north korea? do they drink and dance every day?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re right on the mark.¡±


    ¡°... really?¡±


    ¡°yes, really...?¡±


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded to find out he was right. north korea had turned all their factories and facilities into breweries. 90% of the country¡¯s industries made alcohol!


    ¡°... i can¡¯t adapt to earth.¡±


    choi yeonseung muttered over and over again.


    ***


    after listening to kim chanseong¡¯s explanation, choi yeonseung sneakily brought up lee changsik. lee changsik was the vice clan leader and was a pillar of the clan. whenever lee changsik was brought up, hwang gyeongryong would sulk and say, ¡®don¡¯t talk about that cheeky bastard,¡¯ but choi yeonseung didn¡¯t pay any attention to him. choi yeonseung had heard that he was criticized for taking over the director position of the national team...


    ¡°i heard that lee changsik is leading the national team these days?¡±


    ¡°ah. you mean the ssl?¡±


    kim chanseong wasn¡¯t too surprised by choi yeonseung¡¯s question. ssl was one of the best sports in the world. even those who had spent the last 30 years in the abyss could quickly become fans of that game!


    ¡°... do you think he is doing well?¡±


    ¡°aish. he¡¯s in the worst situation.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung clenched his fists. kim chanseong wasn¡¯t aware of it, but the mount hua sect hunters held their breath. was he going to blow this bastard¡¯s head off? they were martial artists, so clenched fists looked like tank shells to them.


    ¡°the korean players aren¡¯t very good.¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s fists opened up. his expression also slightly softened.


    ¡°really? isn¡¯t it the director¡¯s fault?¡±


    ¡°why would it be the director¡¯s fault? the players are the ones who are lacking. only those who don¡¯t understand that curse at him.¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s fists had completely opened up.


    ¡°nobody should curse at him either way. if only they knew what hunter lee changsik has done for south korea. bluntly put, a lot of people would¡¯ve died if hunter lee changsik decided to leave south korea. even in such a difficult situation, he persevered and kept hunting down monsters...¡±


    ¡°... right! you¡¯re truly knowledgable and wise.¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    choi yeonseung suddenly felt better. meanwhile, kim chanseong was flustered. what was wrong with this person?

 Chapter 122

    chapter 122


    ¡°aren¡¯t they losing because all the young hunters are terrible?¡±


    ¡°n-no. i didn¡¯t say that...?¡±


    kim chanseong hesitated. the ssl players selected to represent south korea were usually high-grade hunters. it was hard to insult such hunters.


    ¡°then is it hunter lee changsik¡¯s fault?¡±


    ¡°n-no.¡±


    the moment choi yeonseung glared at him, kim chanseong froze. he then cleared his throat and continued.


    ¡°the problem is that korean players lack skills and teamwork, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°so there¡¯s nothing wrong with hunter lee changsik?¡±


    ¡°there could be a bit... no! nothing! there seems to be absolutely nothing wrong with him!¡±


    ¡°yes. now i like you a bit better.¡±


    kim chanseong inwardly cursed choi yeonseung.


    ***


    ¡°i was worried!¡±


    ¡°why?¡±


    ¡°... because the expert of twisted hallucinations¡¯ minions appeared in the research complex?¡±


    nguyen looked at choi yeonseung as if he was stating the obvious. even if pable controlled the media, there was such a big explosion that rumors would still likely spread. in addition, there were informants planted within them.


    ¡°are you okay? i was going to ask for immediate support if the situation wasn¡¯t resolved...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m fine. i took enough people with me.¡±


    ¡°we will pay those who helped you appropriately.¡±


    ¡°they didn¡¯t come for that...¡±


    ¡°if i don¡¯t pay someone after using them, the chairman will reprimand me.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    the mount hua sect hunters didn¡¯t participate for money, but there was nothing bad about getting paid.


    ¡°if you were hurt or injured during the fight, you have to tell me now. we have the best medical staff and can treat you immediately.¡±


    ¡°i wasn¡¯t, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡±


    he didn¡¯t get hurt because he didn¡¯t get into an intense battle with the expert of twisted hallucinations¡¯ household member. however, he did receive the strange power red hallucination, which was a problem.


    -he¡¯s probably trying to tempt you. it isn¡¯t easy for a mortal to forget the power of a constellation once they have gotten a taste of it.


    the power of a constellation was like a drug. if an ordinary person caught the eye of a constellation, they would instantly gain a power equivalent to a b-grade hunter. they couldn¡¯t go back easily after tasting such power. the problem was...


    -i don¡¯t intend to use this power.


    -i think so as well. honestly, the expert of twisted hallucinations¡¯ powers is a bit of a mixed bag.


    the problem was that choi yeonseung was already a constellation. he had little intention of using his opponent¡¯s power.


    ¡°can i go now? i want to relax and train a bit.¡±


    ¡°ah. please wait a moment.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°it has to be fate that you¡¯ve come here. why don¡¯t you take a look at our company?¡±


    ¡°why should i do that?¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. dragon artifact was a research company that developed artifacts, while choi yeonseung was a hunter. it didn¡¯t mean much for choi yeonseung to see it.


    ¡°you¡¯ve come this far! i¡¯m sure you¡¯re curious!¡±


    ¡®i am...?¡¯


    the reason why nguyen did this was simple.


    -nguyen. i¡¯m about to tell you a secret that you must keep to yourself. i''m going to put choi yeonseung on the board when he is somewhat ready.


    -ah. i understand.


    -yes. if i do that at the right time and he performs well, he will be able to solidify his position in the group.


    hwang gyeongryong had told him that! hwang gyeongryong led dragon industry with absolute charisma, but that didn¡¯t mean he did everything on his own. rather, when it came to group management, he listened carefully to the presidents and directors of various companies before making decisions.


    -so i want you to look after him and judge him. find a field where he can do well.


    ¡°hunters?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    although the competition had grown more intense, being a hunter was still a popular and highly coveted job. those who were chosen to become a symbol were always an object of envy. they worked at dragon artifact, a big company that was envied in the industry and that only hired geniuses among geniuses. even so, they still envied hunters. while hunters constantly played around and posted lavish parties on social media, they spent their time stuck in the laboratory.


    ¡°i¡¯ll tell the team leader to be careful with his attitude.¡±


    ¡°no. don¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°they can be envious.¡±


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t care much, thinking it was only normal for young people to act that way. he didn¡¯t care if other people disliked him or not anyway for as long as they didn¡¯t spit on his face.


    ¡°is... is it really okay?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s fine.¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it isn¡¯t!]


    -what is wrong with you all of a sudden?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says to show an example to those soulless, cold scarecrow bastards. it says that would help the cat feel better.]


    -...???


    choi yeonseung was momentarily puzzled. he didn¡¯t know what the cat constellation was talking about. did it want him to go in there and make an artifact?


    -hah...


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that if you refuse, it will really, really sulk.]


    -... i understand.


    choi yeonseung decided to grant the cat constellation¡¯s request. it wasn¡¯t that difficult anyway. this was the least he could do considering what the cat constellation had contributed so far.


    ¡°nguyen. can i go in and make something?¡±


    ¡°huh? n-no. that¡¯s a bit...¡±


    nguyen was worried. making an artifact by hammering abyss metal wasn¡¯t something that just anyone could do. he was afraid that the researchers would ridicule him.


    ¡°i want to give it a try. i won¡¯t be angry even if i get embarrassed, so i hope you¡¯ll allow it.¡±


    ¡°... i understand. i¡¯ll let them know.¡±


    ***


    frank, the leader and chief designer of dragon artifact¡¯s team 2, looked at choi yeonseung with displeasure. he couldn¡¯t say anything because hunters were known to be bad-tempered, but he was filled with dissatisfaction deep down.


    ¡®does he think making artifacts is a joke?¡¯


    hunters could assume it was easy because they just picked up artifacts in dungeons, but the developers risked their lives creating each artifact. what materials they should use, how they should design it, and what magic power they add to should it... even a small difference could change the artifact¡¯s effect. moreover, artifacts required extreme precision. it couldn¡¯t be done by a hunter who didn¡¯t know anything about it.


    ¡°??!!¡±


    however, the researchers were soon shocked. when choi yeonseung entered the room, he ignored all equipment and just started pounding on the metal with his fists.


    ¡°w-w-w-what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t worry.¡±¡¯


    ¡°......?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll bite you if you mess it up.¡±


    ¡°no, that¡¯s not what i meant...!¡±


    despite their protests, choi yeonseung just kept slamming his fists into the metal. as a result, the solid lump of metal changed shape like soft clay every time choi yeonseung struck it. fists filled with internal energy molded the metal much more easily than the robotic arms with powerful pumps.


    ¡®martial arts!¡¯


    ¡®oh my god, what a method!¡¯


    the watching researchers couldn¡¯t shut their mouths. it was really unthinkable.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ admires martial arts for being surprisingly useful!]


    -what? surprisingly?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ makes an excuse, saying that it was just a slip of the tongue.]


    choi yeonseung entered the room to produce an artifact at the request of a cat constellation, but he soon found a big problem. he had no equipment! no matter how much the cat constellation tried to guide him, he couldn¡¯t do anything without equipment.


    choi yeonseung was worried about it, but he suddenly realized that he actually did have equipment he could use.


    his fists.

 Chapter 123

    chapter 123


    imbued with internal energy, choi yeonseung¡¯s fists were more powerful than any other equipment. he could easily treat a solid lump of metal like mud, and that was only one of the most basic things he could do. to top it all off, choi yeonseung had completely mastered control over his body.


    after sending internal energy to his fingertips, he kneaded the metal, read its movements, then shaped it again. he had never done this before, but he shaped it as skillfully as someone who had been doing this for thousands of years. having been trained in different ways, he molded the metal with craftsmanship so great it was akin to that of a master¡¯s. the dantian releasing endless internal energy also helped smelt the metal.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ admires your talent, which it has underestimated.]


    the cat constellation was very satisfied with choi yeonseung¡¯s talent. now that he had thought about it, choi yeonseung had to do a good job since he was using his fists for this.


    -it seems i¡¯ve more or less shaped it. can i stop here?


    he kneaded, folded, and hammered the metal into the form of a short sword. he was a bit cautious when it came to self-evaluation, but he felt that he had made something decent.


    ¡®this isn¡¯t so bad for someone doing this for the first time, right?¡¯


    -examine.


    choi yeonseung checked the unfinished artifact¡¯s attributes with his constellation eyes.


    [blue short sword:


    durability: 90/90 attack power: 80


    contains the skill ¡®blessing of the cold.¡¯


    level requirement: 65.]


    it has a level requirement of 65, but its attack power was higher than that. it seemed to be quite durable as well. choi yeonseung asked the cat constellation with pride.


    -now i can just stick the hilt here and finish it off, right?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says absolutely not with a serious face.]


    -......?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says to hammer and fold it a thousand more times!]


    -no... do i really have to do that?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says not to take it lightly.]


    -... i understand. you are absolutely right.


    choi yeonseung reflected on himself after listening to the cat constellation. just as choi yeonseung didn¡¯t take every punch and posture lightly, the cat constellation felt the same way toward blacksmithing.


    -i should take it seriously just like my trainings.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is touched now that you understand its feelings.]


    [the ¡®overcome oneself to become strong¡¯ skill has been activated. creating a great masterpiece will increase your power of existence!]


    having found a new path of training, choi yeonseung¡¯s power of existence started to expand.


    ttang, ttang, ttang, ttang¡ª


    ¡°... h-how long does he plan on doing this?¡±


    ¡°should we stop him?¡±


    the bewildered researchers stared at choi yeonseung. watching him knead and shape the metal with his bare hands already surprised them, yet they were met with another surprise. choi yeonseung was silently repeating the same process over and over again.


    ¡°did he notice it and got mad?¡±


    ¡°w-what? he couldn¡¯t have.¡±


    ¡°what? what did he notice?¡±


    ¡°this bastard glared at him earlier.¡±


    ¡°anyone who still does that despite knowing the fuss hunters can make when they¡¯re angry is immature...¡±


    ¡°y-you¡¯re wrong.¡±


    ¡°if he¡¯s angry right now, i think we should go and stop him.¡±


    however, choi yeonseung looked very peaceful. he wasn¡¯t even listening to the researchers, but the cat constellation was still talking to him.


    [hit once, take a short rest, hit twice, and immerse your body in the rhythm...]


    -......


    choi yeonseung wanted to tell it to be quiet, but he held it in.


    first of all, the cat constellation was hundreds of times better as a blacksmith than choi yeonseung. it was also rare to see it so excited...


    ¡®i¡¯ve received a lot from the cat, so this is the least i can do for it.¡¯


    [the cat constellation says that if you hammer the top of the sword guard 180 times and twist it slightly, its durability will increase.]


    [the cat constellation says that if you hammer the blue iron stone and release strong cold air, the sword¡¯s skill will become stronger.]


    the cat constellation gave him all types of advice, showcasing its excellence as a blacksmith. it was like a shortcut to creating artifacts.


    -wait. how do i release cold air?


    ¡°maybe he¡¯s just biased toward that hunter.¡±


    ¡°everyone, be quiet.¡± frank, their team leader and chief designer, quieted all the researchers. ¡°we have to measure it and check the results before we can talk about it. let¡¯s begin!¡±


    ¡°g-got it.¡±


    frank looked puzzled as he looked at the backs of the researchers rushing to measure it. if the artifact created by that hunter really performed better...


    what should they do?


    ***


    ¡°ah. hello, chairman. we¡¯re on a tour right now. do you have other plans in mind?¡±


    puzzled, nguyen handed a smartphone to choi yeonseung.


    -yeonseung.


    -yes, hyung.


    -isn¡¯t it fun and exciting to see the way a huge company runs and makes money?


    -uh, i don¡¯t really care. why did you call?


    -... it isn¡¯t fun?


    -it was, but...


    he could hear hwang gyeongryong stomping his feet with joy over the phone.


    ¡®?¡¯


    -i called you because an invitation has arrived. i think you should come and see this yourself.


    ***


    hwang gyeongryong was sitting with a serious expression on his face.


    ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°alex has invited you.¡±


    ¡°who?¡±


    ¡°... at least try to remember names. the head of the parker family, which owns that company you recently screwed over.¡±


    alex parker, chairman of the parker family, a conglomerate group that was as powerful as hwang gyeongryong.


    ¡°he invited me?¡±


    ¡°yes. i don¡¯t know what he¡¯s up to.¡±


    ¡°hmm...¡±


    choi yeonseung pulled out a chair, sat down, and thought about it. he had probably heard that it was choi yeonseung who stole ronald. choi yeonseung had taken him out very confidently.


    ¡°he isn¡¯t trying to get revenge, is he? he has no justification, and he wouldn¡¯t just attack openly.¡±


    ¡°i think so as well, but that doesn¡¯t change the fact that he¡¯s our enemy. honestly, what if he has gone crazy and dug a trap? that bastard alex is an evil old man with no blood or tears.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong cursed alex nonstop. they had bumped into each other a few times while leading their groups, so they had developed a bad relationship. for hwang gyeongryong, there weren¡¯t enough bad words in the world to describe alex.


    ¡°but a trap isn¡¯t that much of a problem for me, is it?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    hwang gyeongryong felt unknowingly convinced. after all, choi yeonseung was a constellation.


    ¡°n-no. you could get caught.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t think they can drive me to the point where i¡¯ll get caught. even if so, i can always just use a bit of strength when i¡¯m in trouble.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°they¡¯ll just think my master has given me strength.¡±


    if choi yeonseung¡¯s internal energy suddenly increased, the constellations wouldn¡¯t say, ¡®that guy is a constellation pretending to be a mortal all along?!¡¯


    rather, they would think choi yeonseung¡¯s master had lent him some strength.


    ¡°... that¡¯s actually plausible.¡±


    ¡°right?¡±


    ¡°then while you¡¯re there, why don¡¯t you break down their mansion and double the number of bones in his body?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m just kidding, dude...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong hurriedly tried to retract his statement, but choi yeonseung thought he was half serious, especially when he saw hwang gyeongrong smacking his lips.


    ¡®i think he would¡¯ve liked it better if i was an evil god constellation.¡¯

 Chapter 124

    chapter 124


    ¡°right. you better go with aine.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°you could make a mistake if you do it alone.¡±


    ¡°what? what do you see me as? i probably have more hands-on experience than you, hyung.¡±


    choi yeonseung snorted. he respected hwang gyeongryong as an older brother, but choi yeonseung was proud of his skills. he couldn¡¯t be called a constellation if he didn¡¯t have pride in what he had built up.


    ¡°... hearing you say that just worries me even more.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was dumbfounded. they weren¡¯t talking about combat here, after all. they could find themselves in battle if the worst-case scenario occurred, but what they were invited to was more of a party than a fight. all sorts of political and business figures related to the parker family would be there. other skills were needed in such events, not brute strength. one had to have the social skills to get along with people they were meeting for the first time!


    ... in hwang gyeongryong¡¯s eyes, choi yeonseung¡¯s social skills were close to zero. he seemed to have converted all his social ability into combat power...


    ¡°yeonseung, yeonseung. what would you do if a beautiful woman you see for the first time at the dinner shows interest in you and gives you a key to a hotel room?¡±


    the hunter profession was bound to be filled with numerous temptations. the higher the position, the more temptations there were. in hwang gyeongryong¡¯s view, choi yeonseung was in the perfect position to be taken advantage of. he wasn¡¯t an a-grade hunter yet, but he had the potential for it. he had also been attracting a lot of attention lately and had a decent network of connections. it would be beneficial for anyone if they could use him...


    ¡°do you even need to ask that?¡±


    ¡°answer me.¡±


    ¡°it has to be a trap, so i¡¯ll subdue her with martial arts.¡±


    ¡°... n-no. that¡¯s going way too far.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was flustered. his train of thought wasn¡¯t wrong, but his solution was too extreme. what if the person who spoke to choi yeonseung was a pure fan? many fans actually approached famous hunters in that way.


    ¡°hyung. i didn¡¯t say i was going to kill her.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s not what i meant!¡±


    ¡°what? what else can i do aside from subduing her?¡±


    ¡°maybe she just really likes you!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong somehow ended up defending a fictional woman. it was initially supposed to be a trap. how did it end up like this?


    choi yeonseung smiled. ¡°hyung. it¡¯s been thirty years, yet you still have such a pure heart. however, there are so many young and handsome hunters out there. why would they approach me or hyung?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    hwang gyeongryong wanted to hit him but held it in. he would¡¯ve already punched him if only he wasn¡¯t a constellation!


    ¡°while i was in the abyss, i regretted not speaking up about your relationships, hyung. i couldn¡¯t say anything because changsik hyung stopped me, but...¡±


    ¡°... what? what did that bastard stop you from doing?¡±


    ¡°no matter how much i thought about it, your girlfriends just weren¡¯t a match for you, hyung. you were obviously just pushing yourself to date. however, i couldn¡¯t speak up because changsik hyung told me not to tell you.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    discovering the truth from 30 years ago far too late made hwang gyeongryong tremble.


    ¡°that bastard changsik...!¡±


    ¡°it isn¡¯t changsik hyung¡¯s fault, though...?¡±


    ¡°it is!¡± hwang gyeongryong angrily cried out before he could recompose himself and get back to the topic at hand.


    ¡°keep in mind that those who¡¯ll be with you in that room are all humans, so you have to show your good side.¡±


    ¡°image management is truly important for a constellation, huh.¡±


    ¡°yes. the same goes for humans.¡±


    if he overpowered a fan who flirted with him with martial arts, he would likely be in a front-page article.


    ¡°i asked you to double the number of that old bastard¡¯s bones but forget about it. don¡¯t use your fists if possible, even if you don¡¯t like them or if they¡¯re acting a bastard¡ª¡±


    ¡°i understand. i understand.¡±


    ¡°just listen to my daughter.¡±


    ¡°yes, yes.¡±


    ***


    ¡°it suits you well.¡±


    ¡°someone i dislike.¡±


    before she could finish speaking, the other person walked toward them. their noisy surrounding instantly became quiet. the other person was so gorgeous she attracted the attention of those in her vicinity.


    ¡°that¡¯s gloria, the second child of the parker family. she is a very unlucky person.¡±


    ¡®wouldn¡¯t people say something similar about gyeongryong hyung¡¯s daughter...?¡¯


    ¡°hasn¡¯t it been a while?¡± gloria looked at aina arrogantly.


    ¡°i don¡¯t think it has been that long.¡±


    ¡°is that so? i apologize. i just can¡¯t remember worthless people.¡± gloria shrugged.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says the score is 1-0.]


    the cat constellation appreciated the other person¡¯s provocation. in fact, aine seemed a bit upset.


    ¡®she tells me not to get agitated, yet she¡¯s doing just that...¡¯


    ¡°you just failed to remember because of your poor memory. wouldn¡¯t it be better to sharpen it?¡±


    ¡°failed? the hunter you took with you back then didn¡¯t perform well. aren¡¯t you the one who failed here?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s because he¡¯s still growing. in any case, the hunter chose my company, not yours. that¡¯s your failure.¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it¡¯s 1-1 now.]


    apparently, the two had bumped into each other a few times over business before. gloria was talking when she suddenly shifted her gaze to choi yeonseung.


    ¡°are you choi yeonseung? i enjoy watching your performance. your martial arts are amazing.¡±


    ¡°huh? ah. thank you.¡±


    when gloria spoke casually, choi yeonseung copied her, making gloria look surprised. she thought choi yeonseung would speak politely.


    ¡°i don¡¯t think she told you who i am, but...¡±


    ¡°she did.¡±


    ¡°ah. is that so?¡±


    gloria looked slightly embarrassed.


    ¡®he¡¯s quite unique. he¡¯s not even being polite toward me at all.¡¯


    ¡®she seems a bit strange. i better not get close to her.¡¯


    in choi yeonseung¡¯s eyes, the parker family members all seemed to be missing a screw. they didn¡¯t look good at all!


    soon, a butler approached them. ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. my master wants to see you.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded in response. now that he had come this far, he should at least meet the chairman. some of the people around them looked at choi yeonseung with jealousy.


    ¡®they get jealous about everything.¡¯


    ***


    ¡®how many hunters are in here?¡¯


    choi yeonseung inwardly laughed because he was so dumbfounded. although it was understandable that he cared about his safety, wasn¡¯t this too much? there were roughly a dozen hunters on this floor alone, and none of them were weak. they were prepared to stop anyone crazy enough to attack the chairman.


    ¡°come in.¡±


    alex parker was an old man full of wrinkles. no matter how much magic power he borrowed, there were limits. however, each of his movements was full of vitality, and his eyes were brimming with power. it wasn¡¯t easy for a human without magic power to create such an atmosphere.


    ¡®how many artifacts does he have?¡¯


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue upon noticing the person before him was wearing defense artifacts even though he didn¡¯t know how to use magic. did one have to do this to be the chairman of a large company? inside, another person who had come in before he did was just finishing up their conversation.


    ¡°then i¡¯ll trust you, elder.¡±


    ¡°get out.¡±


    ¡°yes! thank you!¡± he bowed and exited.


    aine whispered to him. ¡°that¡¯s the president of pask food.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know what that is, but okay.¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised, but not because a boss bowed to someone else. rather, it was because the boss was in a contract with an evil god constellation.

 Chapter 125

    chapter 125


    rather than just one, he had a contract with two constellations!


    ¡®this shouldn¡¯t come from a constellation pretending to be a mortal, but isn¡¯t he a really strange yet amazing person?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was amazed. no law forbade mortals from trusting and following more than one constellation. if a person was good enough, they could believe and be strengthened by multiple constellations.


    -since god and buddha are both good gods, won¡¯t believing in both double your strength?


    ?constellations are so narrow-minded that doing that will split you in half.


    ... the problem was that the constellations didn¡¯t tolerate it.


    the constellations wanted the souls of their household members and minions to belong exclusively to them. an insignificant, ant-like mortal alternating between them and another constellation was unforgivable. hence, it was rare for people to believe in two constellations at once, especially if those were violent evil god constellations!


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is amazed because the human isn¡¯t scared.]


    [jerry kuber (unawakened)]


    [strengthening the contract]


    [rank: c+


    bestowed by the demon of contract and order, this power will strengthen the powers obtained through a contract.]


    [mask of a traitor]


    [rank: d+.


    hides your true feelings using the traitor with a poisoned dagger¡¯s power.]


    despite not being a hunter, an unawakened person had signed a contract with the demon of contract and order and the traitor with a poisoned dagger! looking at his skills made it clear he hadn¡¯t only signed a contract with the demon of contract and order. rather, he was also hiding his inner feelings with the skill he received from traitor with a poisoned dagger.


    the traitor constellation probably didn¡¯t know either that his minion would deceive him and make a deal with another evil god constellation. human greed sometimes surprised even the evil god constellation.


    ¡®wait. how did i see through it?¡¯


    choi yeonseung¡¯s ¡®constellation eyes¡¯ wasn¡¯t that powerful. examining a hunter only allowed him to grasp a few superficial stats or skills. it was impossible to see anything deeper than that, yet he could now somehow see through someone hiding such skills.


    -that is my strength.


    ¡°!¡±


    the goddess of defeat and sloth suddenly spoke.


    -that mortal is exhausted from many recent defeats, and he has lost the diligence he had and become lazy.


    -it doesn¡¯t look like that to me.


    -that¡¯s because you haven¡¯t opened your eyes to the power of defeat and sloth yet. try harder to lose.


    -... don¡¯t say something so horrible.


    regardless, her power allowed him to see through his current opponent. the more someone indulged in defeat and sloth, the harder it was to hide their identity from choi yeonseung, who had inherited the power of the goddess.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says in admiration that it is a good power to use against people whose lives have been ruined!]


    -it is a bit strange to say it like that.


    ¡°aine. has that person ruined anything lately?¡±


    ¡°well, have you heard that pask food has been shaky lately? their performance has been poor, and they keep getting incidents...¡±


    ¡®is that why he gave into the evil god constellations¡¯ temptations?¡¯


    once a person had become weak, the evil god constellations would dig into their cracks. from what he had heard, alex parker was a cold-blooded, heartless human. the bosses working under him probably felt as if their blood was drying up.


    ¡°well? sit down.¡±


    ¡°thank you.¡±


    choi yeonseung casually pulled out a chair and sat down. his cocky attitude made the subordinates around him frown.


    ¡°aine. you sit down as well.¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯d feel uncomfortable doing so, so i¡¯ll remain standing.¡±


    aine stood behind choi yeonseung. she was composed, but she didn¡¯t want to sit in front of the parker family¡¯s chairman when everyone else in this large room was staring at them.


    -you got that artifact from alex parker? does that make sense to you?


    ... similar doubts would rise.


    alex parker was trying to drive a wedge using that artifact. he could boldly use artifacts worth tens of millions of dollars if he could get the talent he was aiming for.


    ¡®i¡¯ve already won him over.¡¯ alex parker inwardly laughed in triumph.


    he had long ruled the political and business world, but there had never been a happier time than when he used the power of money to get his hands on an arrogant hunter who thought he was the best! nothing was more pleasurable than this moment.


    ¡°thank you for giving this to me.¡±


    ¡®it¡¯s over.¡¯


    ¡®no!¡¯


    choi yeonseung accepted it, paying no heed to what others were thinking. once he had received it, he could sell it at the auction house or give it to anyone...


    the people here were under one illusion. choi yeonseung and hwang gyeongryong¡¯s relationship differed slightly from what they thought. choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t under hwang gyeongryong. he was hwang gyeongryong¡¯s master!


    what did it matter what they saw, though? all he did was accept it.


    ¡°is that all? you¡¯re giving me just this one?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    alex parker¡¯s eyes shook when choi yeonseung asked for more. when receiving something like this, people would usually act shy and say something like, ¡®i can¡¯t accept this,¡¯ or bow a bit and flatter him...


    choi yeonseung behaved differently from everyone. alex parker¡¯s long experience warned him. the person in front of him was a bit different!


    ¡°now that i have given you a present, i would like to give you a piece of advice to match it.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t use it in front of the chinese? don¡¯t worry. i will never tell them where i got it from if ever anyone asks.¡±


    of course, he was going to answer immediately if asked.


    ¡°... dragon hwang is deceiving you.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung pretended to be surprised.


    aine was angry but held back. intervening here wasn¡¯t ideal.


    ¡°think about it carefully. i won¡¯t deny that dragon hwang is an outstanding person. few people can rise from being a hunter to running a company like that. however, when it comes to your future, you have to put aside your past acquaintances and relationships and think about it from a more sober perspective.¡±


    ¡°is that so?¡±


    ¡°of course. now, look.¡±


    alex parker pulled out a core¡ªa crystal that came out from monsters. with a bit of refinement, it could become a powerful energy source that exceeded existing energy sources tenfold. the core that alex parker took out now was already refined. it was well-polished and clear in color.


    ¡°we used an innovative refinement technology that came out around 20 years ago on this. its purity is 88%. the company that invented this technology had record sales that year.¡±


    the higher the purity of the core¡¯s refinement, the more energy-efficient it was. even if they could raise the purity by just 1% or even 0.1%, the profit they could get from it exceeded imagination. that was why hunters always complained, ¡®hunters do the hard work and companies get the profits.¡¯


    ¡°the company had several acquisition offers. however, the company refused and decided to go its own way. what do you think happened to them?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°89% pure refinement technology came out the next year, 90% the next month, and 91% the month after that. the company went bankrupt in an instant.¡±


    every day was new in this industry so many companies were jumping in and struggling. the new technology that came out today would be outdated tomorrow.


    ¡°you are this core right now. everyone is looking at you now, but you don¡¯t know what will happen tomorrow.¡±


    nobody practiced martial arts now and most martial artists had retired. choi yeonseung, a martial artist who appeared out of nowhere, was a refreshing shock. it didn¡¯t matter how useful martial arts would be or if it could really surpass magic. what was important was that countless people started to take interest in martial arts again.


    fortunately, choi yeonseung resurfaced in this period wherein hunter services were extremely expensive!


    ¡°you never know when other martial artists will threaten your place, so you have to put a high price on yourself right now!¡±


    ¡°hmm. dragon hwang certainly likes saving money.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong would¡¯ve shed tears if he heard those words because of how unfair they were. he didn¡¯t give choi yeonseung any money, but he had given him a black card that he could use as much as he wanted!


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words were so different from what really happened!

 Chapter 126

    chapter 126


    alex parker¡¯s smile widened when he heard that hwang gyeongryong liked to save money. he stretched out his hand.


    ¡°do you understand what i mean?¡±


    ¡°do you promise me five times more?¡±


    ¡°you have good eyes. that¡¯s just where it starts.¡±


    ¡°hah. five times.¡±


    choi yeonseung was reacting like this out of fear of embarrassing alex, but he suddenly became curious. hwang gyeongryong would¡¯ve taken good care of choi yeonseung even if he didn¡¯t have any skills when he returned from the abyss. that was hwang gyeongryong.


    so why was this greedy old man trying to buy choi yeonseung at such a high price? of course, choi yeonseung was a b-rank hunter and he was drawing a lot of attention right now, but...


    it was just a momentary flash. hundreds of hunters around the world had a reputation similar to choi yeonseung.


    ¡°by the way, what would you have me do if you get to hire me? raids?¡±


    ¡°raids? the only people obsessed with raids are old-time hunters or hunters who are ignorant of the world.¡± alex parker snorted, irritating choi yeonseung slightly. hunters should do raids. what else should they do? ¡°dungeons are always filled with danger. no matter how low-grade the dungeon, people can still die. what if a precious talent goes in and gets killed?¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t that what hunters are prepared for?¡±


    ¡°tsk tsk. talent has to be managed efficiently.¡±


    ¡®every word he says is terrible.¡¯


    choi yeonseung had returned to earth from the abyss to protect humanity. alex parker promised to add one more zero to the back of his bank account, regardless of whether humanity fell or not. they had such different mentalities that no matter what they said, they wouldn¡¯t be able to understand each other.


    ¡°if i hire you, the first thing i¡¯ll do is have you train martial artists. martial arts are being pushed by magic because of its slow growth rate and limited utilities that make it difficult to play an active role in raids. however, it can be used in many other areas aside from raids.¡±


    alex parker was an older man who remembered the time when quite a few martial artists were on active duty. martial arts were more useful when used against people than in raids! he coveted it even more after witnessing the raid on the research complex.


    ¡®he has a shocking understanding of it.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was slightly surprised. alex parker, who had no interest in raids because he was only interested in money, had an astonishing grasp of the situation. martial arts were certainly of great use in that aspect. the problem was that it took quite a long time for martial arts to become strong. even choi yeonseung took a hundred years to reach first class. his martial arts was a special case, but...


    ¡°what if my teachings don¡¯t produce any good hunters?¡±


    ¡°we¡¯ll just have to wait and see. that level of investment is nothing.¡±


    at the corporate level, the money spent on one hunter was nothing, no matter how much it was.


    ¡°in addition, c-grade hunters should be capable enough to reach second-class martial arts. after all, the skills of those under an outstanding hunter are bound to quickly improve.¡±


    alex parker wasn¡¯t holding the position of chairman out of luck. his eyes had become discerning after being in a raid-related business for many years. just as hunters¡¯ magic developed faster under an a-grade hunter¡¯s leadership, he was convinced that it would be the same with martial arts!


    ¡°chairman. it¡¯s time.¡±


    ¡°ah. already? that¡¯s a pity. in any case, think it over. it isn¡¯t a loss to you at all.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±


    ***


    ¡°are you really going to join him? i¡¯m not necessarily on my father¡¯s side, but this person is known for seducing people with sweet talks, then throwing them away.¡±


    choi yeonseung smiled at aine, who was still innocent compared to humans like alex parker.


    ¡°i don¡¯t want to join him.¡±


    ¡°huh? but earlier, you¡ª¡±


    ¡°if i refuse outright, then i can¡¯t bargain. i have to show the right amount of space so that he remains interested.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    aine was surprised upon realizing what choi yeonseung meant.


    ¡°you¡¯re going to walk a tightrope against that person?¡±


    ¡°can¡¯t i?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t do it. no matter how i look at it, you¡¯re at a disadvantage.¡±


    there was nothing good about choi yeonseung, a hunter, walking a tightrope against a bigshot like alex parker. he would end up easily fooled.


    choi yeonseung spoke in a different tone. ¡°i won¡¯t know until i try it. anyway, what is he doing now?¡±


    amid the party, alex entered the room with his servants. everyone inside stood up and greeted him politely, a testament to his authority. of course, that alone wouldn¡¯t have been enough to surprise choi yeonseung. however, it exceeded his imagination.


    ¡°jacob!¡±


    ¡°y-yes, chairman!¡±


    ¡°how do i prove it?¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t it easy? you just have to beat one of my children.¡±


    ¡°richard parker...¡±


    ¡°... except for him, of course. he¡¯s a failure.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    he couldn¡¯t fight richard parker? choi yeonseung felt regretful.


    ¡°you don¡¯t have any other child that¡¯s a hunter, though?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re right, but what i mean is to win in business.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m a hunter, though.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s your problem. that¡¯s why you should be careful when you speak. even those without any skills can bark.¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ tells you to crush this unlucky mortal.]


    -successor. you better give this naughty, young mortal a taste of defeat.


    ¡®what are they saying?¡¯


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t intend to play with madmen just because they barked nonsense, so he just gave a rough answer.


    ¡°i understand. from now on, i¡¯ll make sure to show it with my actions.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s a good attitude, but that¡¯s not possible.¡±


    alex parker had turned around as if he was done talking when choi yeonseung suddenly remembered something and called out to him.


    ¡°wait.¡±


    ¡°are you going to accept the offer i made earlier? the sooner, the better.¡±


    ¡°no. i¡¯ll think about that a bit more. isn¡¯t there someone called jerry kuber under you?¡±


    ¡°i think we do have a lousy bastard with that name...¡±


    ¡°you better reconsider his proposal.¡±


    ¡°... on what basis?¡±


    ¡°once you reach my martial arts stage, you gain the ability to read their physiognomy. it¡¯s one of the asian mysterious techniques.¡±


    aine, who was listening from the side, was startled. was there such a thing?


    ¡°... i¡¯ll give it some thought.¡±


    ***


    ¡°there isn¡¯t??¡±


    ¡°no. if there was such a thing, i would¡¯ve shown it to gyeongryong hyung first.¡±


    ¡°you surprised me! so why did you say that? to cause an estrangement?¡±


    ¡°i have my reasons.¡±


    alex parker was wicked, but jerry kuber had signed with two evil god constellations. if he were to deceive them and the parker group fell into the hands of the evil god constellations... it was better to prevent those beings from dragging alex down, even if he was a hateful or wicked person. it was unlikely, but he should always be careful.


    ¡°if he doesn¡¯t lose money due to you telling him, dad will be a bit disappointed.¡±


    ¡°... n-no. he won¡¯t be.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong would also understand the situation.


    ... probably!


    ¡®i think he¡¯s going to be disappointed...¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says you need to prepare for a constellation battle!]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ says you need to prepare for a constellation battle!]


    [the ¡®traitor with a poisoned dagger¡¯ challenges the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ to a constellation battle!]


    ¡°!¡±


    in the car on the way back, a constellation battle challenge suddenly came. the opponent was the traitor with a poisoned dagger.


    choi yeonseung clenched his fists. his next opponent had come faster than expected.

 Chapter 127

    chapter 127


    ¡®why now?¡¯


    choi yeonseung wondered why his opponent applied for a constellation battle. of course, there didn¡¯t need to be a reason for constellations to fight among themselves. they could start a fight from just bumping shoulders, making eye contact, having overlapping territories, having someone they desired to turn into a household member taken away from them...


    however, choi yeonseung was a really young constellation, and not much was known about him apart from his recent fight with the warrior stained with madness and blood. he wasn¡¯t known even among the humans on earth. if this constellation wanted to fight, shouldn¡¯t he aim for someone he could gain more from?


    ¡®did jerry kuber notice something?¡¯


    -that can¡¯t be, successor. he couldn¡¯t have even realized that you noticed.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ agrees. it says it¡¯s honestly surprising that you even noticed the guy who signed a contract with the traitor constellation.]


    choi yeonseung saw what normally would¡¯ve been impossible to see thanks to the power of the goddess of defeat and sloth. hence, jerry kuber probably wasn¡¯t aware he had been caught.


    ¡®then why...?¡¯


    -it¡¯s probably out of grudge. didn¡¯t you smash his contractor?


    ¡®something like that did happen.¡¯


    choi yeonseung stopped jules, who had contracted with the traitor constellation, in a dungeon. the hunters who attacked the dungeon praised choi yeonseung, so the traitor constellation would¡¯ve seen and heard about it for as long as he had eyes and ears. since the constellations thought that choi yeonseung was a household member of the undefeated incarnation of training...


    ¡®come to think of it, goddess. do you know the traitor with a poisoned dagger?¡¯


    the goddess of defeat and sloth knew the constellations best among the constellations around him. she was the oldest constellation, and the other two constellations were in the abyss.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ protests that this is too harsh.]


    -i don¡¯t know such a minor constellation.


    ¡®... i-i see.¡¯


    the goddess easily summed up the traitor with a poisoned dagger. he was ranked low as a constellation, had weak combat power, and wasn¡¯t an old constellation... choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t arrogant, but he was confident in his fighting ability. he was a combat-type constellation, which was rare even in the abyss! if their power of existence was similar, he was confident that he could fight and defeat his opponent.


    nevertheless, the constellation challenged him. why did he think he had a chance?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that constellations don¡¯t think and make judgments as thoroughly as you do. they don¡¯t think much...]


    unlike the mortal constellation, choi yeonseung, almost all constellations were born as constellations. they were already rulers of a kingdom since birth, so they didn¡¯t have as much urgency or sense of purpose as choi yeonseung. they fundamentally didn¡¯t have to feel as if they were running out of time.


    -successor, i think it would be nice if you were a bit lazier.


    ¡®don¡¯t say something so terrible.¡¯


    ***


    [the events of a constellation battle must be fair. this is guaranteed by all the constellations on earth.]


    [the ¡®traitor with a poisoned dagger¡¯ suggests traitor-making as the challenge.]


    ¡°......?¡±


    the traitor constellation knew that the undefeated incarnation of training was a formidable combat-type constellation. he could feel it just from his name! moreover, that unknown constellation¡¯s household member had won against the warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯s household member, a feat not everyone could do. naturally, the traitor constellation didn¡¯t propose events like single combat.


    traitor-making. to become the victor of that challenge, the participants would have to find a pushover that had signed with the opposing constellation, make them betray their master, and join their side. of course, it was an overwhelmingly advantageous event for the traitor constellation.


    [the ¡®monk pursuing glory¡¯ clicks his tongue in disapproval!]


    [the ¡®storyteller who likes gossip and explanations¡¯ mocks the traitor.]


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ threatens the incarnation not to be stupid enough to accept such an offer.]


    all types of constellations came to watch constellation battles held amid their boring daily lives. the constellations mocked the traitor constellation, who didn¡¯t have a conscience, for putting up an event that was overwhelmingly advantageous for him.


    ¡®... why is the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ here?¡¯


    choi yeonseung felt dumbfounded when the warrior constellation threatened him.


    you¡¯re my enemy, dude...!


    [the ¡®traitor with a poisoned dagger¡¯ protests that this is a fair match.]


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ says that won¡¯t even pass as an excuse. you are a dirty, lousy rat who doesn¡¯t even qualify to be a constellation...]


    [the ¡®storyteller who likes gossip and explanations¡¯ declares that he will create and spread a story ridiculing the traitor.]


    -how dare you insult me?


    -huhuhu. you are already dancing on the palm of my hand. i am already ready to persuade your contractor. you better be prepared to defend them.


    the traitor constellation no longer spoke to him after that.


    ¡®i have to get started now.¡¯


    choi yeonseung decided to act immediately after ending the conversation. it wasn¡¯t good to drag out events like this.


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ screams and questions how you could be stupid enough to accept such a constellation battle!]


    ¡®... why is that madman freaking out?¡¯


    the warrior constellation sent choi yeonseung a message after the conversation, which bewildered choi yeonseung.


    ***


    ¡°aine. can i ask you for a favor?¡±


    aine¡¯s face brightened the moment choi yeonseung spoke to her from inside the limousine.


    ¡°are you serious?¡±


    ¡°... n-no. did i say something to please you just now? why do you look so happy?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s because you don¡¯t ask for much. few hunters who have signed with my company have no greed like you.¡±


    of course, he was much better than the hunter bastard who called at 4 a.m. and told her to buy pizza from a pizza store that was closed. however, as a manager, she wanted to show off her abilities. in particular, she wanted to show off her abilities even more for hunters who weren¡¯t greedy, like choi yeonseung!


    ¡°what is it? i¡¯ll make a guess. is it the uhc match next week? it is a bit silly, but the super bowl? no. you probably feel lonely. do you want me to introduce someone to you?¡±


    ¡°i want to kidnap someone.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    aine was momentarily rendered speechless.


    ¡°is it hard? i can do it myself...¡± choi yeonseung asked apologetically.


    ¡°...what nonsense are you talking about?!¡±


    aine became furious.


    ¡°you¡¯re not aware of this, but kidnapping is my specialty.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°... wait. that probably sounded a bit weird. what i mean is i¡¯m good at kidnapping... aish. let¡¯s just say i can accomplish that. understood?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t, but okay.¡±


    ¡°who do you want to kidnap and why? you wouldn¡¯t do this for no reason, but i will stop you if it is too absurd.¡±


    ¡°the president of one of the parker family¡¯s companies.¡±


    ¡°ah. really? i¡¯ll help you.¡±


    ¡®... she¡¯s gyeongryong hyung¡¯s daughter alright,¡¯ choi yeonseung thought when he saw aine casually making the ¡®ok¡¯ gesture.


    ***


    ¡°thank you for your hard work.¡±


    ¡°uh... i don¡¯t know when that old man will overturn me.¡±


    jerry kuber slumped against the back seat with a groan. everyone who worked under alex parker was afraid of him. after all, he was a terrible tyrant who could make them fall to the bottom if they made one mistake! he was invited to dinner, but he couldn¡¯t eat at all. his stomach would be upset if he ate even a little bit.


    ¡°hey, step on it more.¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re driving at the maximum speed already¡ª¡±


    ¡°so what? make it go faster.¡±


    ¡°o-okay.¡±


    after looking at jerry, the driver tried to step on the accelerator. however, he noticed something in front of him.

 Chapter 128

    chapter 128


    ¡°sir, we¡¯ll have to go through a brief inspection.¡±


    the driver pulled over looking annoyed when a police car pulled alongside him. jerry kuber would obviously go crazy.


    ¡°what? do you know who this person is?¡±


    ¡®oh. this is no different from south korea.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was impressed. what else did the us and south korea have in common?


    ¡°please get out of the car.¡±


    ¡°tell me why you stopped me! officer, what are your name and affiliation?!¡±the driver shouted.


    choi yeonseung, who was dressed as a police officer, coldly said, ¡°you were speeding.¡±


    ¡°you pulled us over just because i sped up a little bit?! you¡¯ll regret this! tell me your name and affiliation!¡±


    choi yeonseung was slightly embarrassed. the driver was too confident. when caught speeding, didn¡¯t people normally pretend to be a bit sorry or smile, say ¡®oh, i am this type of person~¡¯, and try to bribe the police officer? however, this person¡¯s brain structure seemed to be different, seeing as how he became angry instead. regardless of how strong his backer was, this was a bit too much...


    choi yeonseung drew his sword and aimed it at the driver¡¯s neck. the driver instantly turned pale. ¡°w-w-what...?¡±


    ¡°if you don¡¯t want to get off, then don¡¯t get off.¡±


    ¡°damn you!¡±


    startled, the man next to him tried to draw his pistol. the magic power he emitted made it clear that he was a hunter. a hunter armed with modern technology and magic was a powerful bodyguard. jerry kuber was a president, so it was only natural for him to have a hunter as an escort.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s other hand moved quickly. a wind bullet made of internal energy flew from his fingertip.


    finger wind! it was weaker than a bullet made of concentrated energy, but it was strong enough to penetrate the human body.


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t just shoot out a finger wind, either. he precisely targeted the opponent¡¯s pressure point with pressure point attack. poking it accurately could create all types of effects with minimal force. as a result, the hunter passed out.


    choi yeonseung opened the car door and got in. jerry kuber was stunned. ¡°y-y-you... you will regret this! don¡¯t you know who i am?¡±


    ¡°i know that much.¡±


    ¡°... i-is it money? is that what you want? if it is, then i can pay you. just stay calm. if i die, there will be hunters going after you...¡±


    ¡°oh, you¡¯re too loud.¡±


    choi yeonseung tapped jerry kuber¡¯s neck as if he was annoyed.


    jerry kuber choked and was rendered speechless.


    ¡°let¡¯s go, mr. driver.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°i said go. do you want me to pierce a hole in your body?¡±


    ¡°n-no! i¡¯m going!¡±


    the momentum choi yeonseung released was like a blade, completely overwhelming the ordinary driver and forcing him to obey.


    ***


    ¡®i better finish this quickly before i get caught.¡¯


    constellations didn¡¯t always monitor their household members or minions. powerful constellations had several kingdoms, and their minions numbered in the thousands or tens of thousands. it was impossible to observe their every single action. instead, the constellations terrorized their minions and instilled fear that their master could be watching at any time. few people could commit a betrayal when feeling such fear.


    ¡®this guy has the courage to betray them.¡¯


    choi yeonseung looked at jerry with curiosity.


    a fat white man who was just starting to bald. except for the fact that the clothes he was wearing were expensive luxury brands, he looked so ordinary that people would likely pass by him without even glancing at him. where was his courage?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it has used the power of existence to block the traitor constellation¡¯s vision. it says you have to finish this quickly while he still hasn¡¯t noticed.]


    -thank you, cat constellation.


    constellations could use their power of existence to block other constellations¡¯ vision. if the traitor constellation tried to look at his minion, jerry, he would be unable to see anything since the sight had been covered up. however, that also meant he would immediately realize something was wrong and send other minions. therefore, choi yeonseung had to act quickly.


    ¡°jerry kuber. hmm... did your name come from tom and jerry?¡±


    ¡°...huh?¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says if so, then he is a piece of trash.]


    -why do you hate tom and jerry... ah. is it because the cat keeps losing?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ nods.]


    ¡°t-that isn¡¯t the case.¡±


    ¡°no? how disappointing. anyway, why did you do that?¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    hey. stop here,¡± choi yeonseung told the driver, who then pulled straight into the parking lot.


    jerry kuber¡¯s sudden proactiveness made choi yeonseung uncomfortable. why was this guy so aggressive? was it a trap?


    [¡¯jerry kuber¡¯ has started to believe in the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training.¡¯]


    [the power of your existence has increased!]


    ***


    before clearing the veil and declaring victory, choi yeonseung asked jerry kuber a question. to be honest, he was curious how jerry kuber could be so brave that he could walk a tightrope between two evil god constellations.


    ¡°about that... i didn¡¯t do it because i wanted to...¡±


    jerry kuber coughed. he wanted to look good in front of the new constellation.


    ¡°when i was younger and in university, i got drunk and made a contract with the traitor constellation. this traitor constellation gave me a lot of orders without ¡öing doing anything for me. as a result, my company started performing poorly...¡±


    ¡®is it really the traitor constellation¡¯s fault that the company didn¡¯t perform well?¡¯ choi yeonseung wondered.


    wasn¡¯t it just jerry kuber¡¯s lack of ability?


    ¡°... alex parker, that ¡ö¡ö bastard, tried to destroy me, so i was forced to make a contract with the demon of contract and order. however, this bastard didn¡¯t lend me power either...¡±


    the goddess of defeat and sloth clicked her tongue.


    -that poor human misunderstood the demon of contract and order.


    -do you know that constellation?


    -that demon is quite an old constellation. he would be better suited for someone like you, successor.


    the demon of contract and order was an evil god constellation that was morbidly fond of contracts and order. it was rumored that in his kingdom, they had to write hundreds of papers just to drink a glass of water. there was no way that such a constellation would just give anyone strength. it was only after passing all sorts of subtle and complicated contracts that he would give his power.


    -what makes you think he¡¯s suitable for me?


    -you¡¯re a simple man, so he won¡¯t make complicated contracts at all.


    -... i will wake you up every 10 minutes.


    -no!!! i helped you!!


    as the two of them were talking, jerry kuber finished his story.


    ¡°please forgive me. i¡¯m the only one my wife and daughter have! if something goes wrong, my wife will no longer be able to enjoy horseback riding and yachting and my daughter will have to leave her private school!¡±


    ¡°you have a knack for making earnest pleas terrible,¡± choi yeonseung said with a bitter expression.


    ¡°since we have the same constellation, i will keep it a secret. i won¡¯t expose you to the constellations you served either.¡±


    evil god constellations would kill traitorous minions or believers, but they would never publicize it. after all, doing so would damage their pride and reputation.


    ¡°t-thank you.¡±


    ¡°but an assassin might come for you.¡±¡¯


    despite being a traitor, for as long as he wasn¡¯t masterless, they wouldn¡¯t bother touching him even if he just changed masters. if they didn¡¯t want to fight, they would respect each other¡¯s territory. but that was always an if.


    ¡°i¡¯ll assign an escort to you for a bit.¡±


    ¡°this...!¡±


    jerry kuber was impressed. he would be given an escort? this was proof that the constellation, the incarnation of training, was expecting a lot of him. his abilities were seen!


    ¡°i will definitely show it to you.¡±


    ¡°... what do you mean?¡±


    ***


    after persuading and scouting jerry kuber, choi yeonseung happily removed the veil of the power of existence. all that was left now was to declare victory.


    ¡°?¡±


    at that moment, choi yeonseung received a call.


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    -choi yeonseung-ssi... don¡¯t you want to take everything that dragon hwang has?


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung wondered what the caller was saying for a moment.


    ¡®ah...!¡¯


    that traitor constellation bastard... wasn¡¯t even aware that gyeongryong hyung was choi yeonseung¡¯s household member!


    -think about it. the enormous power that dragon hwang possesses...


    ¡°hey. my master told me that the constellation battle is over.¡±


    -...???

 Chapter 129

    chapter 129


    the caller didn¡¯t immediately understand choi yeonseung.


    -... huhu. choi yeonseung-ssi. don¡¯t bluff. did your master tell you to say that? think about it carefully. your master¡ª


    ignoring him, choi yeonseung made a declaration.


    [the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ shouts his victory!]


    [according to the rules of the constellation battle that all constellations involved agreed on, the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ has won!]


    [the constellation battle is over!]


    -?!?!?!


    shocked, the caller couldn¡¯t speak properly.


    -no, what the ¡öck is this?!


    [the ¡®storyteller who likes gossip and explanations¡¯ asks if you can tell them more about this victory.]


    [the ¡®endless gourmet seeker¡¯ says that being a combat constellation is nice, but you should think about taking the path of a true gourmet.]


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ says you are lucky enough to win this time but snorts at you and tells you not to become too cocky.]


    several constellations flocked at the declaration of victory. they couldn¡¯t watch the constellation battle, so they were even more curious. didn¡¯t this constellation battle end much faster than expected? the constellations wanted to know more about their fight. of course, both choi yeonseung and the traitor constellation had no intention of telling them.


    [the ¡®vault of faded relics¡¯ that the ¡®traitor with a poisoned dagger¡¯ bet in the constellation battle will be transferred to your possession.]


    [your ranking among earth¡¯s constellations has increased.]


    [your current ranking is 125th.]


    ¡®... he¡¯s so lousy.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was angry. he only rose two places? of course, he benefited from the constellation battle, but his opponent was weaker than he expected.


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ is upset because you didn¡¯t tell her about the constellation battle.]


    ¡®ah.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is flustered!]


    the two constellations were flustered. now that he thought about it, he forgot to tell the goddess of balance. he didn¡¯t have anything to ask her, so...


    -successor. who is this constellation?


    -um. so...


    choi yeonseung briefly explained the situation to the goddess of sloth. the goddess of balance who walks ahead was a very nice constellation, but she was a bit sloppy...


    -oh my god! how can there be such a stupid constellation?


    -... n-no. she isn¡¯t stupid. she did it with good intentions. she wanted to prevent earth from being taken over by evil constellations.


    -that¡¯s an entirely different matter. being stupid is being stupid.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says the goddess of balance is indeed stupid.]


    ¡®... this is why i haven¡¯t introduced the goddess of balance to you all.¡¯


    if the goddess of balance was included in the conversations of the alliance of small and medium-sized constellations, she would cry in less than five minutes. in any case, choi yeonseung tried to appease the goddess.


    -no, this wasn¡¯t a very difficult constellation. my master told me not to worry you.


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ is depressed because the incarnation of training seems to hate her.]


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ asks you to convey her goodwill. she has no intention of stealing you as a household member...]


    ¡®no...!¡¯


    he didn¡¯t hate her! choi yeonseung thought about it hard, but he found no way to clear up the misunderstanding with the goddess of balance.


    [the ''cat of lava and magma¡¯ says this is good since it will make her keep her distance.]


    -you don¡¯t have to get close to a constellation like her, successor. you have to make the right friends.


    ¡®you guys are cold.¡¯


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°i dare ask this at the risk of my life and honor! i want to raise beasts!¡±


    ¡°garagoncha...!¡±


    ¡°what a fearsome being!¡±


    the orcs were appalled. how could he dare come up with such a crazy idea?


    ¡°you mean monsters like the hydra? i haven¡¯t caught any of those yet. if i catch one, i¡¯ll leave it to you.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s not it! i heard from the goblin king that goblins raise and eat animals. i want to try it!¡±


    ¡°ah, so you want to raise chickens and cows...?¡±


    choi yeonseung was flustered, but he quickly accepted it. this was a good sign. the orcs, who knew nothing but combat, gained an interest in farming and were now interested in livestock.


    ¡°okay. i¡¯ll get some and bring them to you.¡±


    ¡°master¡¯s grace has pierced the sky and overturned the earth. i don¡¯t know what to say anymore! loyalty, loyalty, loyalty!¡±


    ¡®... i¡¯m just bringing some chickens and cows. their reaction embarrasses me.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was very embarrassed. however, the goddess of sloth and the cat constellation acted as if the orcs¡¯ behavior was only natural.


    -that orc is polite when talking with a constellation.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ advises that the orc¡¯s head should be lowered a bit more.]


    mortals should prostrate themselves and act carefully when in the presence of constellations. that was the rule.


    the incarnation was just too generous!


    ***


    [the ¡®vault of faded relics¡¯ has been unsealed.]


    [the holy relic of the ¡®arrogant light elf¡¯ has revealed itself.]


    -a holy relic!


    the goddess of sloth was surprised. holy relics were artifacts with the power of a constellation. a constellation could handle the nigh-omnipotent power of existence, but it wasn¡¯t without challenges. just as it was difficult for choi yeonseung, the embodiment of training, to create powers related to love, the other constellations all had their own limits.


    giving powers to beloved household members also came with its own set of problems.


    first of all, the household member had to be capable of handling and withstanding said power. giving them strength could kill them if they couldn¡¯t handle it. hence, the constellations used holy relics. a powerful artifact created using some of their power of existence!


    ¡°in that sense... is it some sort of alter ego?¡±


    -you could say that.


    ¡°... why did the traitor constellation have this, then?¡±


    -i don¡¯t really know...


    choi yeonseung found it absurd. the arrogant light elf was a strong constellation famous on earth and had entered the two-digit rankings. the traitor possessed the holy relic of such a constellation. choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t help but wonder how he stole it. it had to have taken a lot of guts.


    -successor. constellations don¡¯t think as much as you probably expect.


    ¡°......?¡±


    -he likely just thought everything would be fine for as long as he didn¡¯t get caught.


    unlike choi yeonseung, who used to be a mortal, most of the constellations had no sense of crisis. they had been rulers since birth, and there was nothing for them to be scared of. hence, they lacked caution. that was why they didn¡¯t hesitate to steal other constellations¡¯ holy relics!


    ¡°i still have a temple of the arrogant light elf in my territory...¡±


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue. although he did defeat a hunter who had signed a contract with the arrogant light elf at the uhc, he didn¡¯t have much emotion toward that constellation. there were so many evil god constellations to fight, so he had no reason to fight the elf constellation, a good god constellation.


    -if you¡¯re so reluctant to accept it, why don¡¯t you just give it back?


    ¡°what nonsense are you saying? are you the goddess of pushovers?¡±


    -......


    the goddess of sloth inwardly cursed at her successor.

 Chapter 130

    chapter 130


    their fight had already ended. he didn¡¯t intend to give back what was already in his hands.


    -examine.


    [holy necklace imbued with the power of light]


    durability: ?/?


    skills: ?


    a holy relic containing the power of existence of the constellation ¡®arrogant light elf.¡¯ using it will be difficult until you get the permission or power of the master.]


    ¡®as expected.¡¯


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t surprised. it would¡¯ve been more surprising if anyone could use a holy relic containing a constellation¡¯s power of existence. it had to only be available to those who had inherited some of the constellation¡¯s power or was their household member.


    -isn¡¯t this holy relic really great? albeit to a limited extent, it allows mortals to use the power of existence, which is quite hard to imagine.


    -that¡¯s right, but it¡¯s like cutting off your own blood and flesh, so you have to be careful, got it?


    -yes, in fantasy novels, the one who makes a strangely strong ring never gets a good ending.


    -?


    convinced, choi yeonseung moved on.


    ¡®i¡¯ll keep the necklace and manage the area a bit more.¡¯


    to be honest, he was happier that the orcs had realized the fun of farming on their own and had started to move forward than when he beat the traitor constellation and rose a little bit in the ranks. was this the joy constellations felt when watching mortals?


    -that isn¡¯t it.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ shakes its head.]


    -shut up.


    what cold-hearted constellations.


    ¡®i¡¯ll bring the livestock for the orcs to raise from earth...¡¯


    this was the first time orcs were raising livestock, so he was planning to start from relatively simple ones and increase the difficulty from there. chickens seemed like a good starter animal. above all, bringing livestock from earth could save him soul stones. he would still have money no matter how much he spent(since it was hwang gyeongryong¡¯s money), but this wasn¡¯t the case with soul stones.


    ¡®i want to get something that can help the orcs a bit more.¡¯


    choi yeonseung checked his soul stones. he had used it all up last time, so it shouldn¡¯t be much.


    current soul stones: 8200p


    ¡°?!¡±


    choi yeonseung was shocked. what?


    ¡®did the traitor constellation also bet soul stones? no?¡¯


    [the ¡®storyteller who likes gossip and explanations¡¯ has sent soul stones to celebrate your victory.]


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ pretends not to know anything and sends soul stones...]


    [the ¡®snake of alcohol and dancing¡¯ has given away soul stones to celebrate...]


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ has sent you some soul stones to become acquainted.]


    ¡°......!¡±


    several constellations that were against the unlikable traitor constellation sent him congratulatory gifts for his victory! the goddess of balance¡¯s gift served more like a friendship fee, but...


    -i see you¡¯ve used her affection to extort soul stones from her, successor. that¡¯s a really great trick. i¡¯ve never seen anything like that being done to a constellation.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is amazed!]


    -i will send back what the goddess sent me.


    the goddess of balance sent quite a lot of soul stones, which showed how bad she thought the situation had become. choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t hard-hearted enough to accept it.


    current soul stones: 7700p


    ¡®hm... it¡¯s more than last time, but it isn¡¯t much.¡¯


    the buildings made and sold by the constellations were usually around 100,000 points. there was a limit to what he could buy with less than 10,000 points.


    ¡®i want to put buildings in the realm...¡¯


    choi yeonseung looked for structures that would help the orcs.


    [the ¡®wandering merchant who sells destiny¡¯ asks if you are looking for something.]


    -......


    choi yeonseung was startled. the one who talked to him like a wandering medicine seller seemed suspicious.


    [the strange rock golem, pagoda-bearing god, is touched by the name given by its master!]


    for the golem, being given a name by a constellation was a tremendous honor. the golem would¡¯ve been grateful even if it was named stone stone.


    -what talent do you have?


    [the strange rock golem humbly says that it has some talent in handling stones.]


    -a knack for handling stones!


    choi yeonseung was impressed. it was better than he thought.


    -isn¡¯t that a really useful ability?


    excited by choi yeonseung¡¯s praise, the strange rock golem shrugged and spoke using body language.


    [the strange rock golem faithfully beats its chest and says to entrust it with any task.]


    -can you teach the orcs how to construct buildings with stones?


    [... the strange rock golem is flustered because it thinks it heard the wrong race name.]


    ***


    ¡°are you sure this was properly resolved?¡± aine asked, in doubt. she was already prepared to bury jerry kuber.


    ¡°um. i spoke with sincerity, and we came to understand each other. he said he would help me as much as he could using his work in the future.¡±


    ¡°...?!?!¡±


    choi yeonseung had assigned odaigon to jerry kuber as an escort rather than surveillance. he doubted assassins would be sent to kill jerry kuber, but he wasn¡¯t certain about what could happen in the world.


    -i will do my best. i will do anything.


    -well, i have some work for you to do.


    -what is it? i¡¯ll poison the old chairman¡¯s cup!


    -first of all, make sure the company you are in charge of gets good results.


    -......!!


    other than recruiting jerry kruber to win, choi yeonseung had no intention of doing anything with him. he was the president of his own company and a member of the parker group, but he was useless without any plans. however, jerry kuber seemed to have misunderstood what he meant. ¡°let me do it! i¡¯ll do my best!¡±


    it was as if he thought he was scouted because the constellation had very high expectations of him. telling him the truth that ¡®i didn¡¯t recruit you specifically because of your abilities¡¯ could make things crooked. as a constellation, looking into the hearts of the people below you was essential. that was why choi yeonseung just told him to be faithful to the business he was in charge of. he was sure jerry would do a good job!


    ¡°can i ask how you did it?¡±


    ¡°he has so many weaknesses, so i threatened to reveal them.¡±


    ¡°... amazing!¡± aine looked impressed.


    she didn¡¯t expect the always easygoing choi yeonseung could show off such resourcefulness. it wasn¡¯t an easy task to find the weaknesses of a boss like jerry kuber.


    ¡°you¡¯re close to my dad, so i thought you would be clumsy doing that type of thing.¡±


    ¡®isn¡¯t she looking down on gyeongryong hyung too much?¡¯


    still admiring him, aine answered a call. soon after, her expression grew serious.


    ¡°got it.¡± she hung up.


    ¡°congratulations. i got a call saying that you¡¯ve been promoted to b-grade.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t surprised. it was a bit late compared to his recent achievements. being a martial artist who disappeared for a while was obviously giving the judges headaches.


    ¡°... isn¡¯t your reaction too dull?¡± aine asked, bewildered. she didn¡¯t expect choi yeonseung to jump up and rejoice, but she thought he would at least smile.


    ¡°once you¡¯ve gotten older, ranking up no will no longer excite you.¡±


    ¡°please don¡¯t act like an old man. you look quite young on the surface, you know. one more thing. you received a match request.¡±


    ¡°what match?¡±


    ¡°what do you think? is there anything you are doing right now other than the uhc?¡±


    ¡°ah. can i fight a champion?¡±


    ¡°... how many times have you fought in the b-grade league?¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s shamelessness dumbfounded aine. it was the champion¡¯s right to choose the opponent. considering not even those in the single-digit rankings were frequently chosen, how could he have the guts to say that? no, how could he even have the confidence to think he could win against the current champion in the first place?


    ¡°but i think you can refuse this request.¡±


    ¡°why?¡±


    ¡°this obviously stems from a grudge. you¡¯re being challenged most likely because of your victory over maximilian, considering the challenger is a hunter who has signed with the arrogant light elf.¡±

 Chapter 131

    chapter 131


    ¡°ah. that weak guy.¡±


    ¡°he wasn¡¯t weak.¡±


    aine corrected him.


    maximilian wasn¡¯t a weak hunter. stepping into the b rank itself meant he was one of the chosen ones among the hunters. although he had no real combat experience, maximilian had fraudulent power skills and the magic power he had received from the constellation. this was enough to cover his lack of practical experience.


    in fact, many experts didn¡¯t expect maximilian¡¯s performance.


    ¡°his skills and magic power certainly make him seem strong, but strength isn¡¯t determined by those things.¡±


    ¡°what decides it, then?¡± aine asked with interest, curious about choi yeonseung¡¯s thoughts. he was a first-generation hunter and a martial artist, which was rare to find now. what kind of mindset did he have?


    ¡°it depends on how well you understand and use your skills. there is a saying along the lines of, ¡®don¡¯t fear those who have learned a thousand skills, fear those who have mastered one skill.¡¯¡±


    ¡°wow... that¡¯s a great saying,¡± aine admired. it was absolutely right. hunters who did nothing but learn everything they could learn were bound to get a big nose injury later.


    real fights weren¡¯t that easy. in an urgent situation where a single mistake could cost their lives, it took a lot of training to calmly use magic. they should fully understand the skills they had and let their muscles memorize how to use them.


    aine agreed.


    ¡°did that saying circulate among martial artists in the past?¡±


    ¡°no. i read it in a martial arts novel.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    aine wanted to swear.


    ¡®come to think of it, why did arrogant light elf take maximilian as a household member?¡¯


    choi yeonseung suddenly became curious. among the minions of the constellation, only the most talented could become a household member. a constellation¡¯s henchman, right arm, and sword were all household members. however, from choi yeonseung¡¯s perspective, maximilian wasn¡¯t a very good hunter. he was arrogant and didn¡¯t properly practice his skills. moreover, he was careless...


    choi yeonseung wondered if he was born with magical talents or special skills, but seeing him fight confirmed that wasn¡¯t the case. how did he become a household member?


    -that¡¯s simple. it is due to the way that the arrogant light elf looks for talent.


    -how does he look for them?


    -he only looks at their face.


    -... really?


    -yes.


    choi yeonseung was shocked. there was such a constellation? in the eyes of other constellations, however, the elf constellation¡¯s behavior wasn¡¯t unusual. constellations were rulers, and household members were their attendants. regardless of ability, they had to suit the taste of the constellation.


    on the contrary, constellations like choi yeonseung, who worried about conditions and conducted an interview regardless of his own taste, were the peculiar ones.


    -that¡¯s a pretty mortal choice.


    -you must be pretty proud to be born as a constellation.


    in any case, the explanation gave some sense to how maximillian was picked. he could understand maximillian becoming a household member through looks alone.


    ¡°so who¡¯s my opponent this time?¡±


    ¡°christopher winter. he¡¯s a b- hunter signed to the arrogant light elf. he doesn¡¯t have any ranking yet since he reached the b-grade league through the qualifiers.¡±


    ¡°... isn¡¯t that too blatant?¡±


    ¡°it is.¡±


    a hunter who wasn¡¯t even in the uhc appeared with only one purpose: to get revenge on choi yeonseung! as household members of the same constellation, it was only natural for him to seek revenge for his colleague. he could be considered some form of an alumnus.


    ¡°what is that maxi guy up to these days?¡±


    ¡°his pride must¡¯ve been hurt a lot, considering he has withdrawn from all social media.¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s a bit mentally weak.¡±


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter if you refuse because he just started a fight out of nowhere even though he doesn¡¯t have any ranking yet.¡±


    ¡°what about the hunters of the icarus clan?¡±


    ¡°they aren¡¯t bad. will they help you?¡±


    ¡°i haven¡¯t asked.¡±


    ¡°... you should ask first.¡±


    aine found it ridiculous. hunters only cared about themselves. they didn¡¯t help even those in the same clan with practice matches.


    ¡®he probably won¡¯t find anyone.¡¯


    aine knew the icarus clan all too well. after all, it was hwang gyeongryong¡¯s. it only gathered aces and those with the potential to be one, which was why there were an unusually high number of bastards among them. it was unlikely that such people would listen to choi yeonseung¡¯s words with great enthusiasm.


    ¡°i understand. i¡¯ll try to get hunters myself. don¡¯t expect too much.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s okay to fail, so don¡¯t overdo it.¡±


    ¡®he has a knack for speaking beautifully,¡¯ aine thought.


    choi yeonseung was a hunter who made her want to help him. there were hunters who made her want to slap them on the back of the head for saying the same thing, but there were also hunters who made her want to do the opposite.


    choi yeonseung was the latter.


    -why am i even paying you when you can¡¯t even get me a partner despite all the money you¡¯ve spent? why don¡¯t you just get out of here? your corpse would probably do a better job than you.


    that was how the average hunter would react and behave.


    compared to that, choi yeonseung, who told her not to overdo it, was a lot better. promoting his secrets before he fought... it sounded a bit like self-destruction, but aine was going to do her best to help.


    ***


    -i don¡¯t have that number...


    ¡°don¡¯t waste my time and give it to me now.¡±


    -miss lawrence... this won¡¯t make a difference. i know what you¡¯re trying to do.


    ¡°?¡±


    aine was puzzled by the words of the person on the other end of the call. he already knew why she called? had rumors already spread?


    -i heard you signed a contract with that martial arts hunter. no matter how hard you ask, i refuse to fight that hunter. you better give up.


    cantu was a famous manager in the uhc league. he was familiar with the uhc and was good at various tactical strategies. that was why hunters aiming for the uhc wanted to sign with him.


    ¡°do you think i¡¯m doing this to get a match?¡±


    -don¡¯t deceive me, miss lawrence. i won¡¯t be fooled.


    ¡°i¡¯m disappointed, cantu. we already have a match scheduled. i have no intention of fighting the players under you.¡±


    -... really?


    aine was surprised by the relieved cantu. he was warier of choi yeonseung than she expected. it was understandable, though. choi yeonseung got a landslide victory over maximilian when everyone thought he would lose, and there were also his recent performances. for the other hunters in the top ranks, choi yeonseung was like an unidentified opponent they were reluctant to face.


    it was stupid to face an opponent like that. it would be better to wait for choi yeonseung to fight someone else. the more he fought, the more information and countermeasures would accumulate and appear. such was the mindset of a seasoned manager.


    -why did you call, then?


    ¡°i was going to ask if you have any players available to participate in a practice match with hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    -i accept! i welcome practice matches!


    cantu exclaimed urgently. this was an opportunity he had to grab even if he had to pay extra money. when else would they get another opportunity to gain experience in fighting martial arts? not even money could easily get them such a rare chance.


    ¡°didn¡¯t you say you didn¡¯t want to?¡±


    -i-i didn¡¯t. miss lawrence. don¡¯t do this. we¡¯re friends, aren¡¯t we?


    cantu quickly changed his attitude and began sounding desperate.


    aine felt a pleasant sense of victory. with a good player, she could keep her shoulders up even in situations like this.

 Chapter 132

    chapter 132


    -please. it¡¯s really hard to come across a martial artist.


    hunters in the uhc were more sensitive to changes than raid hunters. raid hunters put their lives on the line, so they couldn¡¯t easily use new skills. in comparison, the uhc was just a game. no matter how fierce a match became, it would never put them in danger. hence, hunters used their newly learned skills without hesitation. that was why the trends changed quickly. there were already some uhc players working on using martial arts.


    however, few martial artists were around, and most of them were only e or d-grade. thanks to this, hunters who wanted to study martial arts had to find and bring in first-generation hunters who had already retired. that was why choi yeonseung was a very coveted sparring opponent. he was considered a man who used to be frozen in the past until he reappeared, and he was a first-generation hunter.


    -i¡¯ll send you a list of players, so please tell me who you think fits best. by all means.


    ¡°i understand. i¡¯ll think about it,¡± aine answered and waited for cantu to send the list.


    how many would he allow to go?


    ¡®i want around five people. this way, i can choose.¡¯


    aine was surprised when she checked the list. all the players who had signed with cantu had applied.


    ¡°......?!¡±


    ***


    ¡°practice? of course, i¡¯ll help you.¡±


    elisabeth readily accepted.


    ¡°it isn¡¯t just any practice. i am going to film it and use it for publicity.¡±


    ¡°... i know that. i am higher-ranked than you, you bastard,¡± elisabeth told choi yeonseung, dumbfounded. elisabeth had recently ranked up even further, reaching 16th place.


    choi yeonseung was 21st. there were five ranks between them. in addition, in terms of matches fought, choi yeonseung was a rookie, and elisabeth was a veteran. she knew very well how the industry worked.


    ¡°i will teach you how to do it. first, film a gorgeous and eye-catching video. it can be one where you¡¯re dealing with monsters or hunters.¡±


    a video showing off skills was essential for a hunter. it didn¡¯t matter if they were up against monsters or hunters. all they had to do was show off.


    ¡°hmm. what next?¡±


    ¡°next, post it on social media.¡±


    ¡°... i-i see.¡±


    ¡°film another video afterward, and post it on social media again. then pick a fight with an opponent or a hunter you are close to, post another video...¡±


    ¡°does it have to be so much of a hassle?¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re in the age of mass media. i haven¡¯t even started yet. you need to call a reporter or commentator and shoot an interview.¡±


    ¡°will they come?¡±


    ¡°if you give them an envelope of money, they definitely will,¡± elisabeth said calmly.


    hunters made an astronomical amount of money from one match, so an envelope of it was nothing. this was how everything worked!


    ¡°before that, let¡¯s try fighting.¡±


    ¡°uh... are you sure?¡± choi yeonseung asked as if he was worried. they had already fought, but she did keep fighting in hopes of winning back then.


    ¡°... no. i wasn¡¯t that clingy, was i?¡±


    ¡°you were clingy. really clingy.¡±


    ¡°i wasn''t!¡±


    elisabeth vigorously entered the virtual space. she didn¡¯t know anything about martial arts back then, so she got badly beaten. it was different now. she had learned about martial arts from choi yeonseung and had studied a lot about it by herself.


    knowledge was power. just knowing and preparing for the opponent could turn an unfavorable fight with 9:1 odds into a fight with equal odds!


    ¡®having the knowledge doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll be able to easily prepare.¡¯


    having fought in the abyss for over 10,000 years, he now could tell what his opponent was thinking just from their preparatory stance. her body weight rested on her back foot, and her often-used greatsword was aimed at an angle forward. it was a defensive posture.


    ¡®she has learned very well that she will be beaten up like a dog if she gets too close to a martial artist.¡¯


    martial artists couldn¡¯t use magic, but they had martial arts¡ªclose-range skills that gave them extreme control of the battle! it was the worst match-up for magicians, especially close-range magic damage dealers. as soon as magicians closed in on them and launched an attack, the martial artist could just deflect it, block it, send it back, etc.


    in the end, close-range damage dealers were left with only one method to fight martial artists. maintain a defensive stance, keep the martial artist away, and finish them off with powerful magic when the opportunity arose.


    ¡°aren¡¯t you coming?¡±


    ¡°you come first!¡±


    ¡°fine. alright.¡±


    choi yeonseung stomped on the ground, and he instantly disappeared. he was limiting his strength to b-grade, but his movements were still in an entirely different level. she missed him even though she had strengthened herself with ¡®enhanced reflexes speed¡¯ and ¡®battle protection.¡¯


    elisabeth gritted her teeth as she retaliated.


    -akan¡¯s reinforced blade!


    she used a wide-area attack. in an instant, blades made of magic power appeared around her and blocked off access.


    ¡®oh.¡¯


    choi yeonseung stepped back with a satisfied expression. he could feel that elisabeth¡¯s reaction made him feel that had done some research. battles were only fun if the participants were equal. a bastard like maximillian, who only believed in one skill, wasn¡¯t fun to deal with at all.


    ¡®yes. a fight should be this fun.¡¯


    ¡°!¡±


    the f-rank martial art had gone up to b-.


    did she just eat and train in martial arts?


    [your constellation eyes have improved, having pierced deeply into your target.]


    [you have gained a deep understanding of your opponent.]


    -interesting.


    -oh. you were awake?


    -maybe it¡¯s because you used to be human, but you understand humans very quickly.


    -quickly?


    -yes. seeing through people is a type of skill.


    not all constellations could easily see through mortals. they could easily see through those who were close and similar to them, but only if they had a lot of experience and skill. from that perspective, choi yeonseung¡¯s eyes were growing rapidly among the constellations. was it because he used to be a mortal?


    -by the way, there are other constellations here. why didn¡¯t you teach me this?


    [......]


    [......]


    the two constellations would still have nothing to say even if they had ten mouths instead of one. compared to the goddess of defeat and sloth, they were at the level of children.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ tries to make an excuse, saying there are no other races in its realm, so it didn¡¯t have to use its eyes...]


    "kuook... kuaaaack...! kyaaaack...!¡±


    -isn¡¯t that mortal¡¯s spirit a bit unstable?


    ¡®no. she¡¯s just a bit competitive.¡¯


    ¡°i thought i could win...!¡±


    elisabeth gritted her teeth with resentment.


    ¡°was eating and training in martial arts all you ever did?¡±


    ¡°ah. how did you know? can you see that?¡± elisabeth asked with a bit of excitement. in fact, she had been practicing martial arts like crazy during the break. could martial artists see that?


    ¡®i can through my constellation eyes.¡¯


    ¡°something like that.¡±


    [choi yeonseung has earned respect from his opponent.]


    [she attempts to hide her respect out of pride.]


    ¡®......!¡¯


    was this possible? was this what ¡®deep understanding¡¯ meant?


    [she has unfounded illusions about the constellation that choi yeonseung believes in.]


    [the power of your existence has increased due to faith.]


    ¡®... it is an unfounded illusion.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was furious at what the world was saying.


    tak.


    ¡°are you choi yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    just then, someone opened the door and walked in.


    it was the first time choi yeonseung met the hunter, so he was curious, especially since the hunter wasn¡¯t a member of the icarus clan.


    ¡®an elf?¡¯


    -it¡¯s probably a mortal who has signed a contract with the arrogant light elf.


    an elf who had signed a contract with the elf constellation had come here...


    it had to be christopher, choi yeonseung¡¯s next opponent.


    ¡°it is nice to meet you, choi yeonseung. let me start by introducing myself. i am ch¡ª¡±


    ¡°intruder!¡±


    bam bam bam bam!


    ¡°well done, choi yeonseung!¡±


    the two icarus hunters overpowered the intruder and knocked the elf down.


    who dared?

 Chapter 133

    chapter 133


    they were in the united states, a country where people would open fire as soon as an outsider entered their house. it was even worse now since hunters refused to follow laws. there was nothing strange about entering a person¡¯s private property and leaving it as a corpse.


    ¡®w-what?!¡¯


    christopher was shocked. although he was caught off guard, he couldn¡¯t understand how he got overpowered so easily. if the opponent had used magic, he would¡¯ve noticed it in advance and somehow prepared for it. however, choi yeonseung moved like lightning.


    in the blink of an eye, choi yeonseung was already in front of him and had struck him before he could even cast magic. since then, he had been unable to speak or move no matter what he did.


    ¡®is this a martial arts technique?¡¯


    ¡°wait, choi yeonseung.¡± elisabeth tried to stop choi yeonseung, making christopher feel slightly relieved. there was a person here with a conscience.


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°if you¡¯re going to kill him, don¡¯t do it here. it¡¯s unhygienic. the clan has experts who handle such things. let¡¯s call them and have them take care of this properly.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    christopher inwardly cursed elisabeth.


    ¡®you crazy american bastards!¡¯


    it was really rude to try and kill people this way.


    ¡°no. i have no intention of killing him.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡°really? even though he barged in like this?¡±


    ¡°something probably happened.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re quite merciful. alright, you take care of this then.¡±


    elisabeth plopped down in the chair next to her.


    choi yeonseung freed one of christopher¡¯s pressure points, allowing him to speak again.


    ¡°what are you doing? i will formally protest!¡±


    ¡°this is the icarus clan¡¯s private property. who gave you permission to enter? i don¡¯t think you even got one.¡±


    ¡°hah... i didn¡¯t get permission, but as fellow hunters, i think we can pass over this.¡±


    christopher was a hunter from england.


    fortunately for him, american hunters didn¡¯t actually always kill and bury people who entered private land. they could do it if the trespasser was just a commoner, but what if the trespasser was of high status and belonged to a clan? if they did as they pleased, things could become bigger.


    ¡°what nonsense is this? this is the problem with hunters. the law is meant to be followed, so why don¡¯t you think about obeying it? are you the type to get drunk and drive anyway just because you¡¯re a hunter?¡± choi yeonseung asked with killing intent in his heart.


    christopher shook his head, flustered. ¡°no! i would never do such a thing. i am a decent nobleman!¡±


    ¡°did you just call yourself a nobleman? to think i considered you a nice enough person.¡± choi yeonseung frowned.


    there were many hunters who thought of themselves as something. some of them blatantly used words like new humans and nobility to praise themselves. however, those were all very tasteless and useless from choi yeonseung¡¯s perspective.


    ¡°choi yeonseung. you look like a real nobleman to me.¡±


    ¡°what are you saying? there are no nobles in the united states.¡±


    ¡°i think he¡¯s british...¡± elisabeth thought upon hearing christopher¡¯s accent.


    ¡°gutierrez. do you think all british people are nobles? i¡¯m korean. does that make me a yangban?¡± [1]


    ¡°i am a british nobleman! i have the title of earl!¡± christopher sighed. he normally strove to maintain courtesy, dignity, and pride, but within 30 minutes of coming here, his patience was already running out.


    ¡°does england buy and sell titles?¡±


    ¡°w-what insult... it is a real title! it has been handed down for hundreds of years!¡±


    ¡°ah. i¡¯m sorry. so why is a british hunter in america?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    elisabeth and christopher looked at choi yeonseung as if they found him strange.


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°are you really not aware, choi yeonseung? england is one of the places that has been taken over by an evil god constellation.¡±


    ¡°is that so?¡±


    ¡°how can you not know that?¡±


    ¡°westerners don¡¯t always know if i¡¯m from south korea or north korea when i say i¡¯m korean. do i need to know? am i british?¡±


    -it isn¡¯t a bad suggestion. constellations are fickle by nature. they will give something if they like you, even if it harms them.


    choi yeonseung would never do something like that because he was a constellation who earned a living every day, but other constellations were different.


    just as a person walking down the street threw a piece of sugar in amazement at the sight of an ant singing and dancing, so did a constellation.


    -he clearly really likes your skills, successor.


    -will i get caught?


    -you won¡¯t. he can¡¯t eavesdrop on our conversation or conversations with other constellations just because you are his household member.


    -... will accepting his help yield me anything good, though?


    choi yeonseung asked with pure doubt.


    the goddess spoke as if she was dumbfounded.


    -no matter what power a constellation has, there is nothing useless about receiving it. the arrogant light elf sometimes acts foolishly due to his obsession with beauty, but he is by no means weak. he has strong powers.


    -hmm...


    having gotten rid of his worries, choi yeonseung looked at christopher.


    ¡°okay. i¡¯ll think about it in good light.¡±


    beside him, elisabeth was in admiration. was there anyone in the world who would answer a constellation¡¯s proposal in such a rude manner?


    ¡°ah. you can¡¯t accept it yet.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°you have to fight beautifully against me in the upcoming match first. prove that your latest beautiful appearance was no mere coincidence, master will accept you.¡±


    ¡°... what does being beautiful mean?¡± elisabeth whispered. all she remembered from that time was choi yeonseung playing with maximilian before ending it. it wasn¡¯t uncommon to see such a one-sided fight during a uhc match.


    ah, was that beauty?


    ¡°i don¡¯t know exactly what he¡¯s talking about. does he mean i should beat him the same way i beat my last opponent?¡±


    ¡°that seems like it.¡±


    seeing the two hunters whispering among themselves, christopher said, ¡°i think the misunderstanding has been cleared up now. release me. i am going back.¡±


    ¡°ah. christopher. since you¡¯re here already, i need some help filming a video.¡±


    ¡°... why should i help you?¡±


    ¡°hmm... that¡¯s true. i¡¯ll give you a choice. you can either make a video with me before going home or home or you can get buried in the desert out there now.¡±


    ¡°... we could end up serving the same master anyway, so i¡¯ll help you with this project of yours.¡±


    ***


    the legendary korean hunter legend turned off the screen with a pained sound.


    the players were a complete mess.


    the one in charge of the top lane got distracted, crashed into someone, and died, while the one in charge of the middle lane gave clumsy commands and missed the monsters. meanwhile, the player assigned to the bottom lane went out and died because his hands and feet weren¡¯t coordinated...


    could this be called a team?


    honestly, wouldn¡¯t they still fail to work together even if earth was about to be destroyed?


    ¡°representative-nim.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t call me representative.¡±


    ¡°director-nim.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t call me that as either.¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s hurry past this, changsik.¡±


    ¡°... what¡¯s going on?¡±


    lee changsik turned his head. no matter how much the internet wanted lee changsik to get fired, nobody would say such things right in his face. he was an a-grade hunter, after all. it was kim jungyu who talked to him, a hunter who used to be in the same clan as hwang gyeongryong, choi yeonseung, etc! he was a c-grade before he retired long ago, and he lacked skills, but...


    lee changsik trusted his analytical skills and experience. that was why he called him for help.


    ¡°i saw something interesting. let¡¯s watch it together.¡±


    ¡°if it¡¯s ¡®korea''s defense has no answers¡¯ like last time, i will kill you.¡±


    ¡°no. it¡¯s a video uploaded by yeonseung. it¡¯s a trending topic right now.¡±


    ¡°... what?¡±


    1. the traditional ruling class or gentry of the joseon dynasty. ?

 Chapter 134

    chapter 134


    lee changsik wondered what he was talking about. he knew that choi yeonseung had returned after going missing in the abyss. didn¡¯t he start with the las vegas raid, then cleared the red dungeon in new york?


    ¡°i¡¯m relieved he seems to be doing well. his rank also went up to b. i don¡¯t know how he¡¯s doing that at his age.¡±


    b-grade hunters could easily attract media attention due to their nature. a-grade hunters didn¡¯t bother clearing dungeons anymore unless they were really needed, and there was a limit to the dungeons that c-grade hunters and below could enter. hence, standing out among b-grade hunters wasn¡¯t something that just anyone could do.


    ¡°is it the power of self-care?¡±


    "don''t spout nonsense. what do you mean yeonseung posted a video?¡± lee changsik asked, seemingly unable to understand. choi yeonseung was currently under hwang gyeongryong, who would surely take care of him. why was he suddenly posting a video? was it for publicity?


    ¡°he posted it saying he would give a basic martial arts lecture. take a look.¡±


    kim jungyu played the video. the two sat down in a very serious and solemn posture and watched it.


    -for those who are interested in martial arts, i would like to take this opportunity to teach them what martial arts are and how to learn them. christopher from europe is here to fight with me.


    -i said i was from england, not europe...witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through n?o?v€l--b1n.


    -be quiet. there are many martial arts in the world, and each one has its own characteristics. i will be demonstrating one of the most basic martial arts today¡ªthe first step divine arts.


    ¡°no... he¡¯s really just going to teach that? what is the clan leader doing?¡±


    lee changsik was shocked. he knew that there had been a sudden increase in interest in martial arts lately. korean hunters had been asking things like ¡®hey, is it true that martial arts are resurfacing these days?¡¯ and ¡®is it useful?¡¯ while rummaging through the martial arts that they had practiced in the past.


    once a trend started, it would blow all over the world. even lee changsik had no idea how this trend would turn out. would martial arts become a new trend, or would it just shine momentarily and then disappear? however, he knew one thing. now that it had become a trend, choi yeonseung should get a proper share of the benefits.


    wouldn¡¯t he be coveted by all types of clans right now?


    ¡°gyeongryong isn¡¯t the clan leader anymore.¡±


    ¡°shut up!¡±


    ¡°why are you taking your frustration out on me?¡±


    ¡°bah.¡±


    kim jungyu grumbled from the side. he vividly remembered being stuck between hwang gyeongryong and lee changsik all the time.


    ¡°considering yeonseung¡¯s personality, he probably just revealed this selflessly. the martial arts trend has made low-ranking hunters recklessly learn martial arts and fearlessly enter dungeons.¡±


    to use a sports analogy, b-grade hunters were key players of any clan in the world. c-grade hunters weren¡¯t as good as them, but depending on the clan, they could play as a starting or reserve player. these days, there were thousands or tens of thousands of times more low-ranking hunters in the world than b or c-rank hunters. and those hunters fearlessly entered dungeons even though they just had one skill.


    fortunately, things kept ending positively. however, no matter how low-rated a dungeon was, it could still kill or injure them. it was even more dangerous if they were unfamiliar with martial arts!


    ¡°even if yeonseung is selfless, the clan leader should¡¯ve stopped him!¡±


    ¡°why are you telling me that? no, more importantly, are you really in a position to say that, changsik? when you were asked to go to the united states, you stayed in south korea and fought...¡±


    lee changsik turned red after being stabbed in his sore spot. he certainly wasn¡¯t in a position to ask choi yeonseung to live selfishly.


    ¡°... this and that are different matters!¡±


    ¡°you have become a bit more shameless now that you¡¯ve grown older.¡±


    ***


    ¡°no matter how much i think about it, martial arts for beginners doesn¡¯t sound good.¡±


    ¡°beginner, first step... hmm. i can change the name to first step. it should sound somewhat more alluring if i add divine arts to it. now that i¡¯ve thought about it, westerners don¡¯t know chinese characters, so they won¡¯t know anyway even if i don¡¯t think about it too much.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the westerners around choi yeonseung looked at him with very complex and subtle emotions. he was right, though!


    ¡°basically, the video i¡¯m going to post is about what martial arts are, how you can train in them, and how to use them. that¡¯s about it. during the application part, i¡¯ll divide it into fighting against hunters and against monsters.¡±


    ¡°... you¡¯re going to explain all of that?¡±


    elisabeth was shocked. of course, there were quite a few hunters who revealed magic or skills on their accounts. however, all they showed were already known magic and skills. no hunter would ever disclose rare spells or skills if they had one, considering they¡¯d lose more than they¡¯d gain in doing so.


    ¡°well, i did name it first step divine arts. this is much easier and simpler than the beginner¡¯s martial arts i taught you last time.¡±


    -first-generation hunters have a different mindset than the selfish hunters of today.


    -stop talking nonsense. first-generation hunters are the same.


    -i can¡¯t hear you~ release one spell before you spout nonsense~


    -isn¡¯t it disgusting when top-ranked hunters post videos of themselves using magic missile, which everyone already knows?


    -by the way, isn¡¯t the person helping him christopher winter? i heard he is choi yeonseung¡¯s next opponent. why is he with him?


    -really? there¡¯s no reason for him to help at all, right?


    ¡°......!¡±


    the responses surprised hwang gyeongryong. they were much better than expected.


    aine continued.


    -we are doing a prematch interview right now. if you¡¯re interested, take a look.


    ¡°uh... i understand. anyway, why was christopher in the video?¡±


    ***


    originally, prematch interviews often involved ignoring, provoking, and swearing at each other. hunters generally had dirty tempers, and that was how they could attract attention. but this interview was a bit different.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, you posted a detailed video before the match about what type of martial arts you use. is this out of confidence that you can win?¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, hunter christopher was, surprisingly, with you in that video. do the two of you know each other?¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    the atmosphere itself was different from the last interview. back then, they were trying to sell the story of choi yeonseung ¡®shamelessly manipulating the ratings to get benefits,¡¯ but the reporters were now very favorable toward him. the uhc reporters were basically generous and kind to rising stars, and the public liked to be on the side of such stars, so they didn¡¯t attack them either. although they were friendly toward choi yeonseung, malicious questions flocked toward christopher.


    ¡°many people say that it is arrogant of you to compete with someone who¡¯s already within the top twenty as soon as you passed the qualifiers, hunter christopher. do you agree with them?¡±


    ¡°there are rumors that you are of british descent, and that you¡¯re disrespecting the united states because you have aristocratic blood. is this true?¡±


    ¡°there is a rumor that you ignored the tradition of the uhc and cursed at most of the b-grade hunters as bastards with no combat experience. did you really do that?¡±


    ¡°n-no...¡±


    christopher was flustered. the reporters¡¯ behavior portrayed choi yeonseung as a champion and christopher as a cheap and arrogant challenger. unfortunately, christopher¡¯s mentality wasn¡¯t as solid as choi yeonseung¡¯s. his face turned red, and he stammered.


    ¡°are you really ignoring others because you are the household member of a constellation?¡±


    ¡°what do you think about the inclusion of the word ¡®arrogant¡¯ in the name arrogant light elf?¡±


    the brave reporters were fearless. they even bit at a constellation.


    ¡°there is a rumor that you almost died after being caught trespassing on the grounds of a hunter clan. is this true?¡±


    surprisingly, some of the questions unexpectedly hit the mark. choi yeonseung raised a hand and stopped them.


    ¡°there seem to be many misunderstandings. christopher isn¡¯t arrogant, rude, or treats passersby like ants.¡±


    ¡°ah, really?¡±


    it was rare for someone to protect their opponent like this, so the reporters were surprised.


    ¡°yes. he even came over to help me shoot a video.¡±


    ¡°aha. as expected...!¡±


    ¡°what about the rumor that he was caught trespassing, got beaten up, and then forced to film?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s not true.¡±


    ¡°this is...¡±


    the reporters became sad. of course, they didn¡¯t seriously believe it either, but...


    it would¡¯ve been fun if choi yeonseung said, ¡®it is true!¡¯

 Chapter 135

    chapter 135


    christopher thanked choi yeonseung with a glance. unlike maximilian, he wasn¡¯t used to this type of sleazy media, but he didn¡¯t think choi yeonseung would help him either.


    ¡®he at least has some decency.¡¯


    this person dared catch him and forced him to cooperate, which was disgusting, but he seemed to have basic decency, at least.


    ¡°why did you pick hunter choi yeonseung among so many hunters? as a rookie, don¡¯t you think there are more suitable opponents for you?¡±


    one of the reporters asked a pointed question. without a grudge or desire for revenge, newcomer christopher would have no reason to apply for a match with choi yeonseung.


    whisper whisper.


    ¡°that¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°no matter how i think about it, isn¡¯t it revenge for maximilian?¡±


    ¡°if so, then why did choi yeonseung protect him?¡±


    ¡°did he get paid?¡±witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through n?o?v€l--b1n.


    choi yeonseung clapped, imbuing his hands with internal energy to make the impact even more intense. as a result, a strong wind burst out with a ¡®bang!¡¯ shocked, the reporters shut up. ¡°the answer is simple. he wants to learn something.¡±


    ¡°......??¡±


    christopher looked at choi yeonseung, seemingly finding what he just said absurd.


    ¡®no, my master wanted to test you!¡¯


    christopher wasn¡¯t trying to learn from him¡ªthe elf constellation was just testing choi yeonseung. when did christopher say he wanted to learn from choi yeonseung?


    ¡°is that true, hunter christopher?¡±


    ¡°please answer! hunter christopher!¡±


    the reporters prodded excitedly. the reason for the match was completely different from what they had expected, but it was really interesting.


    -christopher winter reveals that he ¡®wants to learn something...¡¯


    -shocked by the defeat of a fellow household member! the arrogant light elf constellation is worse than expected!


    -christopher winter reveals that he has nothing to learn from the arrogant light elf...


    provocative headlines had already surfaced.


    ¡°... maybe you can say that... i don¡¯t know...¡±


    christopher grunted his acceptance. as a household member, the orders given by their constellation couldn¡¯t be made public to others. for now, he had to do what it took to fight choi yeonseung. he was grateful for what choi yeonseung did, but that had already completely disappeared.


    ¡°?¡±


    christopher¡¯s glare puzzled choi yeonseung, but he nodded as if he understood.


    ¡®you don¡¯t have to thank me. i can do this for you.¡¯


    choi yeonseung waved calmly as if it was okay. hence, christopher couldn¡¯t calmly get over it.


    ***


    ¡°aren¡¯t too many people considering it done in a hurry?¡±


    ¡°you should be satisfied. that¡¯s proof that you¡¯re doing well.¡±


    aine patted choi yeonseung¡¯s back with a bit of happiness on her face. the number of people gathered in the huge amphitheater prior to a match indicated a hunter¡¯s popularity. the people came here entirely because of choi yeonseung¡¯s strength. the recent events did help him, though. a few raids and the freshness of being a martial artist had to have quite an impact. that mattered to him a lot since, if he could keep his image this strong or make it even stronger, they would eventually become choi yeonseung¡¯s fans.


    [there is a great stirring of faith!]


    [winning with ease will grant you that faith!]


    choi yeonseung nodded at the message windows. this was what gave choi yeonseung an advantage over other constellations¡ªhe could extort faith while pretending to be a normal mortal!


    -successor. i¡¯ve lived as a constellation for a long time, but i have never seen anything like this before.


    it was such an amazing method that the goddess of sloth admired it.


    ¡°don¡¯t be too nervous and relax. that person is no match for you anyway,¡± aine said. she didn¡¯t even look anxious.


    the preparations for the match went fairly smoothly. the match against maximilian had a much fiercer atmosphere than this one. they cursed at each other, had their companions fighting for them, and even swore on the internet... in comparison, this match didn¡¯t have as much action. christopher only got ignored and insulted.


    [he has inherited his constellation¡¯s power!]


    [he can now use the power of existence with certain limitations!]


    ¡°beautiful mortal. pass the test.¡±


    before choi yeonseung knew it, christopher¡¯s tone had changed. the power bestowed upon christopher by a constellation had taken over half of his current personality.


    -great baptism of light.


    christopher waved his hand. without having to chant incantations, light surrounded him and struck his opponent like a ferocious storm of bullets! however, choi yeonseung was already gone. by the time christopher had raised his hand, choi yeonseung had already anticipated what would happen. hence, he widened the distance.


    ¡®it¡¯s been a while.¡¯


    choi yeonseung had only ever fought at a disadvantage in terms of stats in the abyss. christopher was also restricted since they were fighting in the otherworld, but he circumvented those restrictions using the power of existence, which he partly received from the constellation. as a result, despite his stats remaining the same, his power was multiplied several times.


    ¡®now!¡¯


    choi yeonseung rushed frantically when christopher momentarily stopped attacking him. he was so fast that people couldn¡¯t see him move. however, christopher was already gone.


    ¡®he went into the light!¡¯


    choi yeonseung was shocked to see christopher disappear, having melted into the streams of light flying around him. it was a feat beyond the level a hunter could do.


    ¡®power of existence...!¡¯


    choi yeonseung was honestly surprised. he didn¡¯t expect christopher would show this much ability. he already knew that even ordinary hunters could become dozens of times stronger with special skills or constellation contracts, but...


    he didn¡¯t expect it to be this much.


    ¡®no, isn¡¯t the arrogant light elf giving too much?¡¯


    lending a part of himself to a household member. choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know the fact that it was because choi yeonseung drew this much curiosity from the constellation. there was no reason to give christopher this much power unless it was to test choi yeonseung.


    ***


    it had already been a few minutes, but neither of them had hit the other. no one got bored, however.


    the fight was so thrilling. christopher fired bullets and spears of light nonstop, pushing choi yeonseung back. choi yeonseung somehow widened the distance and avoided them, however. he then tried to find gaps but christopher turned into light and disappeared again.


    ¡®i was curious about the elf constellation¡¯s powers, but they seem better than the warrior stained with madness and blood.¡¯


    the warrior stained with madness and blood was a powerful and violent constellation, but his power was actually simple. he pursued straightforward power rather than complicated ones. that wasn¡¯t necessarily a bad thing, but encountering someone who had gained absolute control, like choi yeonseung, would bring him ridicule. after all, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything.


    in comparison, the power of the elf constellation was complex and had various applications. christopher collected the light that shone around him and fired them out as spears and bullets. he then went inside it and walked around. his application of power was definitely annoying. if choi yeonseung could use his power of existence, he could catch and smash the guy hidden in the light. however, choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t use it right now.


    ¡®then...¡¯


    choi yeonseung decided to test his idea. he dodged the attacks and smashed as many rocks as he could, then started to fling the debris into the air.


    large shadows appeared on the ground.


    ¡°!¡±


    the bullets and spears of light that entered the shadows instantly lost power. choi yeonseung was correct.


    ¡®as i expected, it¡¯s a skill made out of power of existence, not magic.¡¯


    he used the power of existence to change the light around him and turned it into a weapon, but that had clear limitations. compared to a constellation using it themselves, there were bound to be far more weaknesses.


    christopher paused when choi yeonseung responded by creating shadows around them.


    ¡®whoops. did i respond incorrectly?¡¯


    now that he had thought about it, his opponent liked beautiful fights. he just wasn¡¯t sure what beautiful meant in that context. this might not be beautiful.


    ¡°your cleverness allows you to respond quickly to urgent situations, i see. that¡¯s beautiful!¡±


    ¡°uh... thank you?¡±


    rather than using useless long-range attacks, christopher gathered light in his hand and created a sword. the sword glowed and exuded strong power.


    ¡°try and pass this last ordeal beautifully as well.¡±


    ¡°can you stop talking like that?¡±


    christopher, who held a sword of light, and choi yeonseung, who held a fist glowing with internal energy, clashed.

 Chapter 136

    chapter 136


    ¡®strong!¡¯ choi yeonseung inwardly exclaimed, but he wasn¡¯t thinking about christopher. he was referring to the sword of light that christopher was holding. the power it contained couild overwhelm even the sword light created by the power of existence that it was giving off. regardless of how weak, the power of one¡¯s existence could still be so powerful.


    ¡®i can handle it, though.¡¯


    he didn¡¯t know about constellations, who were born strong from birth, but choi yeonseung had lived a long time as an underdog. if he had only ever known how to fight as a powerful being, he wouldn¡¯t have survived the abyss. with a loud roar, christopher swung his sword of light, but choi yeonseung narrowly dodged it and swerved into the gap. christopher tried to retract his weapon, but choi yeonseung hit him hard on the arm, breaking the trajectory.


    if choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t touch the sword of light, then he would just stop its wielder instead! he performed close-quarters combat as close as possible! choi yeonseung was so close he could feel christopher breathing, panicking, and trying to distance himself.


    ¡®grab and hit him!¡¯


    choi yeonseung grabbed christopher and pulled him, causing the latter to lose balance and falter. it was easy for him to break his opponent¡¯s balance using their own strength. after all, he had the covert attack reversal skill.


    bam!


    choi yeonseung¡¯s elbow hit christopher¡¯s torso. fists and swords weren¡¯t his only weapons. he delivered fierce, internal-energy-imbued closer-ranged attacks than those, such as elbows, shoulders, and knees. every hit shattered his opponent¡¯s bones, its impact piercing all the way through.


    christopher quickly tried to regenerate using the power of light, but choi yeonseung¡¯s attacks were faster.


    the sword of light he was so proud of got completely blocked.


    ¡°this is amazing. i never thought you would be able to win like this. beautiful!¡±


    ¡°thank you!¡±


    choi yeonseung hit even harder.


    christopher, no, the power of the constellation within christopher spoke, bewildered.


    ¡°you may stop! i have already acknowledged you. you are beautiful!¡±


    instead of answering, choi yeonseung continued to strike until his opponent could no longer fight back. after all, that proclamation could be a trap. what he had learned from the abyss was that he should always be wary. he couldn¡¯t lower his guard until he had confirmed that his opponent was dead.


    christopher had to be beaten until his power of existence was exhausted.


    ¡°stop¡ªkuack¡ªi said¡ªkuk¡ªit¡¯s over¡ªkuek!¡±


    ***


    the commentator, brian, stared at the match in silence. he was at a loss for words. it was almost taboo for a commentator to stop talking, but he couldn¡¯t help it. this match was too shocking.


    -in any case, i hunter choi yeonseung will probably have the upper hand in this match.


    -haha. hunter christopher did say that he wants to learn. isn¡¯t that fairly rare in interviews?


    -hunter choi yeonseung clearly proved himself in his last match, so this match is an opportunity for hunter christopher to prove himself.


    -wasn¡¯t hunter christopher criticized a lot? he¡¯s just a newcomer, after all, yet he suddenly requested a match with a hunter with a high ranking. many people claimed he was just doing this to gain popularity.


    the host sugarcoated everything. in truth, christopher received far harsher insults, such as, ¡®the british have no conscience,¡¯ ¡®this is why their country got conquered,¡¯ ¡®go back to england,¡¯ and so on.


    -that certainly seems to be the case, but i think hunter choi yeonseung accepted it anyway because they¡¯re friends. of course, he has to prove it with his skills.


    -i¡¯m really looking forward to it. hunter christopher has raid experience, but not much has been revealed about him apart from the fact that he is the household member of a constellation. he isn¡¯t that famous, is he?


    the host was joking, but it was a question that struck the main point. it was rare for a skilled hunter to not be famous. even if they tried to hide it from the country or from their clan, they would have to eventually reveal their skills.


    despite their conversation, however, the actual match was so fierce even top-rankers found it hard to follow the combatants¡¯ movements. fights like this only ever happened when the b-grade champion or 1st-ranked hunter was involved.


    christopher¡¯s ability to turn the field upside down with a baptism of light shocked everyone.


    ¡°w-what is that? mr. brian! what is that?¡± the host asked brian excitedly. no matter how he thought about it, this was too powerful.


    ¡°he seems to have borrowed the power of a constellation.¡±


    ¡°ahh...!¡±


    the host finally understood everything now. matches like this were rare. after all, one of the combatants was borrowing the power of a constellation to push back their opponent! it might seem unfair from their opponent¡¯s perspective, but this was also a skill.


    ¡®it isn¡¯t easy to borrow power from a constellation. how did he do it? is it really for revenge?¡¯ brian wondered. if it was revenge for maximilian, then it was certainly possible to accomplish that. however, if so, why did he help choi yeonseung with the video?


    -forget compliments like that. it¡¯s rare for us to even think of talking to anyone. aren¡¯t i really tolerant?


    -then talk to me directly and teach me.


    -... you win.


    [the ¡®arrogant light elf¡¯ presents ¡®dignity of light.¡¯]


    [dignity of light]


    [rank: a


    the more you maintain beauty and dignity, the stronger the power of your light.]


    ¡°......!¡±


    choi yeonseung was worried because the elf constellation was acting strange, but the skill he gave him was very powerful. he got great rewards out of this! the fact that it was ranked a evidenced the skill¡¯s value. moreover, he liked that it wasn¡¯t magic. choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t have been able to use it yet if the constellation had given him magic. he wasn¡¯t sure what its description meant, though...


    -what does he mean by beauty and dignity?


    -that¡¯s based on the elf constellation¡¯s standards, so i wouldn¡¯t know even if you ask me.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ guesses it means to live in a cool way.]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ speculates that the virtue of restraining one¡¯s desires is beauty.]


    ¡®... none of those really help.¡¯


    -successor. it isn¡¯t good to scold the constellations who are just trying to help you.


    -shh. i am listening.


    choi yeonseung walked out into the stadium to an outpouring of cheers. the praises and shouts from the excited audience were enough to make people excited, but it was even more special to the constellation choi yeonseung. he could feel himself getting stronger with every cheer.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung has once again proven his worth today! he is the hottest recent newcomer! the higher-ranked hunters will find it hard to escape his grasp!¡±


    ¡®being called a newcomer feels weird since i¡¯m over 10,000 years old.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that experienced rookies are trending on earth.]


    -do you really only watch tv in your spare time?


    ***


    ¡°you came.¡± hwang gyeongryong sat down with a worried expression on his face. he thought it would come soon, but now that it had, he had mixed feelings about it.


    ¡°why did you call for me?¡±


    ¡°i wanted to praise you for doing so well these days.¡±


    ¡°do it by text. don¡¯t call me for something so useless. it¡¯s a waste of time.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong cried at aine¡¯s cold words. he couldn¡¯t say anything, though, because he was the one who taught her everything...


    ¡°i got a call from south korea.¡±


    ¡°what was it about? did the south korean government send you a request to return choi yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°no, that isn¡¯t it.¡±


    asking to return a hunter who had been missing for the last thirty years was useless at this point. moreover, they wouldn¡¯t demand the return of a hunter who had gone elsewhere unless they were desperate.


    ¡°we have received the application for the exchange exhibition.¡±


    the exchange exhibition. they were in the era of globalization, and it was the same for hunters. rather than constantly competing and keeping each other in check, it was more efficient to work hand in hand in some areas. the us and south korea were close to each other, so they had frequent exchanges among the clans.


    hwang gyeongryong had more than a dozen clans under his command. hence, he naturally got many similar requests. there was no reason for hwang gyeongryong to bother with it, but...


    ¡°did they ask for hunter choi yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±

 Chapter 137

    chapter 137


    ¡°can¡¯t you refuse?¡±


    aine didn¡¯t understand. the exchange exhibition wasn¡¯t mandatory. it was just done for clans to share information and know-how with each other, thus building relations. participation wasn¡¯t compulsory, so only those interested joined. why was his father so bothered?


    ¡°... it¡¯s a great opportunity.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong could live without caring about south korea, but choi yeonseung was different. from choi yeonseung¡¯s perspective, who had to gain earth¡¯s faith, korea couldn¡¯t be abandoned. being from that country was a tremendous advantage. he would be able to win its support just by being there for a bit. choi yeonseung had been in the us since he returned from the abyss, but south korea¡¯s public opinion of him wasn¡¯t so bad.


    first of all, returning from the abyss was an extenuating circumstance. so many hunters moved to other countries that it wasn¡¯t much of a flaw. hence, participating in an exchange exhibition in south korea could attract the attention of koreans.


    ¡°you can accept it, then? it¡¯s literally just a social event.¡±


    they would have a lot to gain and nothing to lose. couldn¡¯t he just go talk and laugh with the korean hunters, then come back?


    ¡°ugh...¡±


    however, hwang gyeongryong just groaned. the reason was...witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through n?o?v€l--b1n.


    the reason was...!


    ¡°... he might become friends with them if he goes.¡±


    ¡°...dad... what...? are you a teenager?¡±


    aine was shocked. was he some type of teenager who said things like, ¡®he¡¯s my friend. don¡¯t play with him!¡¯


    however, hwang gyeongryong was serious. choi yeonseung hunted for south korea 30 years ago, which was when their clan was still around. if he met their old clanmates again, old feelings could spring up and his forgotten patriotism could be revived.


    choi yeonseung had a good personality and took care of the people around him. if lee changsik held his hand and said something like, ¡®yeonseung! korea... it needs you!¡¯ he could be shaken.


    after hearing hwang gyeongryong¡¯s detailed explanation, aine nodded as if she understood.


    ¡°ah. that can be a concern. hunter choi yeonseung¡¯s current nationality is also korean, right? if he meets his old friends, then he might just stay in south korea for good.¡±


    ¡°is this the time to talk as if this doesn¡¯t affect us?¡±


    ¡°why would it matter to me? i can still work for hunter choi yeonseung even if he goes to south korea.¡±


    aine shrugged. it didn¡¯t matter if the client was from the united states or south korea. from choi yeonseung¡¯s perspective, it could be better to return to his homeland. wouldn¡¯t there be more people he knew?


    annoyed, aine jokingly said, ¡°if you¡¯re that anxious, tell the hunters going with him to disturb them.¡±


    ¡°... that¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ***


    ¡®gyeongryong hyung worries a bit too much.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded. he had just heard about the exchange exhibition from the icarus clan.


    -don¡¯t fall for their wicked whispers! understood?!


    hwang gyeongryong seemed worried that choi yeonseung would stay in south korea, which was understandable. choi yeonseung had few acquaintances, but most of them were korean. it was also his country. however, he had no intention of staying in south korea. rather than having feelings for south korea, the united states was the best place right now for achieving his goals.


    after all, it was currently the most powerful country! he could get help from hwang gyeongryong, there were many raid opportunities, and the number of hunters was overwhelming. if it was 30 years ago, he never would have imagined that hunter spots like the uhc and ssl would become popular.


    this was america¡ªliterally the land of opportunities.


    ¡®come to think of it, south korea¡¯s location was hell. for real.¡¯


    china argued over a monster they had caught, north korea didn¡¯t have the ability to kill monsters, so hunters had to go to the armistice line while cursing, and japan did suspicious magic experiments that infected the sea and caused damage to south korea...


    it was a really crazy location now that he thought about it. it wasn¡¯t something anyone would purposely pick!


    ¡®maybe it¡¯s due to this dog-like location that korean hunters were popular.¡¯


    even 30 years ago, korean hunters constantly received a lot of overseas scouting offers. their location wasn¡¯t good, but they worked hard regardless. as a result, they developed excellent skills and experience.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ asks why you would go to a place that¡¯s similar to the abyss.]


    -i can¡¯t just leave it alone. i have some friends over there.


    even if he didn¡¯t plan on staying in south korea, he had some people he knew in that country. he wanted to see them again after so long.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is worried that this is the beginning of you becoming a pushover, which was what the energetic person was worried about.]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ says that helping the country you came from isn¡¯t a bad choice when considering the future. she recommends it as a strategic.]


    ¡®i didn¡¯t think about it strategically, but i am grateful you assessed it this way.¡¯


    ¡°i¡¯ll only take antony with me, then.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    ¡°friend. if you take antony, go to a food stall and feed him a live octopus.¡±


    ¡°what is a live octopus?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s something that boosts a hunter¡¯s magic, friend.¡±


    choi yeonseung shrugged, ignoring the two. well, he could just take antony. in fact, there was no reason to take antony with him. but...


    choi yeonseung was going to drag him around a bit as punishment for his foul words.


    ***


    ¡®i forgot about illeya.¡¯


    just as he was about to take antony with him, illeya rushed over.


    -me! i will go. leave that bad person behind and take me with you!


    -what?


    -i want to go with you.


    -wasn¡¯t your sentence too long for such a simple request?


    in fact, it wasn¡¯t a big deal to take illeya with him. the problem was...


    ¡°the korean language... i¡¯ve mastered it. how about that?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s a bit awkward, but it isn¡¯t bad.¡±


    ¡°if you¡¯re going to a country, then you should learn its language,¡± illeya spoke clearly, her eyes shining.


    the sight made antony feel as if he was sitting on a thorny cushion.


    ¡®i don¡¯t speak any korean...¡¯


    ¡°did you just open a korean learning app?¡±


    ¡°t-there is no need. why should i try to cram now when there are interpreters?¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at antony with pity and looked away.


    ¡®i¡¯m worried. illeya seems to be looking forward to this too much.¡¯


    the higher the expectations, the bigger the disappointment. in choi yeonseung¡¯s opinion, south korea wasn¡¯t a particularly good country for sightseeing. there was a high probability that she would be disappointed. he couldn¡¯t fault her for not liking it, though...


    ¡°we¡¯re almost there. get ready to disembark. antony. you don¡¯t have to cram in korean, so stop trying to learn it.¡±


    ¡°i wasn¡¯t!¡±


    they were currently on the clan¡¯s private plane. the exchange was taking place at jeju island, which had fresh water and air. however, choi yeonseung was planning to land in seoul first. there was a place he had to drop by.


    ¡°a national cemetery?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    the cemetery had an atmosphere so solemn that even antony and illeya behaved cautiously. choi yeonseung stood in front of the grave of a former clanmate who died in battle.


    ¡°......¡±


    even if choi yeonseung stayed on earth, his clanmate likely still couldn¡¯t have been saved. back then, choi yeonseung¡¯s skills weren¡¯t enough to handle even one opponent. that didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t feel regret, though.


    choi yeonseung remained silent for quite some time before raising his head. he was going to leave some flowers, but it already had some.


    ¡®... who left the flowers?¡¯


    it was still fresh, so it probably hadn¡¯t been too long ago.


    ¡°huh? iron-blooded ice emperor?¡± antony murmured in surprise. south korea¡¯s a-grade hunter was behind him. no matter how arrogant antony was, he couldn¡¯t help but humble down in the presence of a first-generation a-grade hunter.


    ¡°iron-blooded ice emperor? who would have such a grandiose title... huh? hyung?¡±


    choi yeonseung was also surprised. it wasn¡¯t because lee changsik was right there with them. rather, it was because his title was grander than he thought.


    ¡°... it isn¡¯t a title i gave myself.¡±


    lee changsik¡¯s first words to choi yeonseung during their first meeting after so long were an excuse.

 Chapter 138

    chapter 138


    ¡°it¡¯s fine. i¡¯m also being called strange titles like fist hero.¡±


    ¡°yeonseung. it has been a long time since we met. i don¡¯t want to talk about titles first.¡±


    ¡®that¡¯s true.¡¯


    it took more than 30 years (+10,000 years) for them to be reunited. they didn¡¯t have time to start coming up with excuses for the other person¡¯s title.


    ***


    ¡°iron-blooded ice emperor. you killed the demon puodrenger in the past when it came out of a gate...¡±


    ¡°yes. i ended his life.¡±


    ¡°it was the most beautiful attack in hunter history!¡±


    ¡°thank you... can i talk to my little brother now? i haven¡¯t seen him in a long time.¡±


    lee changsik¡¯s words made antony sulk and step back. antony didn¡¯t admit it much to others, but he had a lot of respect for lee changsik.


    after the meeting, lee changsik wanted to ask a lot of questions and make him recognize his skills if possible...


    ¡°ah.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    illeya¡¯s jaw dropped as if she remembered something. choi yeonseung looked at her out of curiosity.


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m... i¡¯m in big trouble.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°dragon hwang came and asked me a while ago to interfere if you ever have any conversations with the iron-blooded ice emperor...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    illeya¡¯s hesitant words seemed to have dumbfounded choi yeonseung.


    no, hyung was really too much...


    ¡°i didn¡¯t expect you two to actually meet. what should i do?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s fine. don¡¯t pay attention to something so senseless. just ignore him.¡±


    ¡°really? i¡¯ll do that, then,¡± illeya innocently replied, then laughed. her personality was by no means ordinary. ordinary people couldn¡¯t reach rank b in the first place.


    ¡°can i ask what you were talking about?¡±


    ¡°gyeongryong hyung told me not to interact with you.¡±


    ¡°is that so?¡± lee changsik smiled bitterly, seemingly understanding hwang gyeongryong¡¯s intentions.


    ¡°were you waiting here?¡±


    ¡°no. this was a coincidence. i didn¡¯t even know you were coming. the clan leader had to have thoroughly controlled the information.¡±


    ¡°he isn¡¯t the clan leader anymore.¡±


    ¡°once a habit is established, it¡¯s hard to get rid of it,¡± lee changsik said and silently walked forward. antony admired it.


    lee changsik created a movie-star-like effect behind him even if he just stood still. how could he be so profoundly cool?


    ¡®is it a skill? if it is, i want it.¡¯


    ¡°the clan leader probably said that because he¡¯s worried about you.¡±


    ¡°probably.¡±


    ¡°are you thinking of coming back to korea?¡±


    ¡°who knows? i haven¡¯t thought much about it.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t come back.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised. ¡°did i do anything to upset you?¡±


    ¡°what are you saying? of course not.¡±


    lee changsik¡¯s icy expression slightly collapsed. choi yeonseung always did baffle clan leaders like hwang gyeongryong and lee changsik. it seemed that still hadn¡¯t changed.


    ¡°what i meant is if you¡¯re doing fine over there, then you don¡¯t have to come to south korea. besides, with the clan leader¡¯s strength, you will be much more comfortable with him than in south korea.¡±


    to be honest, choi yeonseung was impressed. he didn¡¯t think someone as patriotic as lee changsik would say something like that. he truly did really care about choi yeonseung.


    ¡°but hyung, if you need me, i will come and help you.¡±


    lee changsik smiled, finding choi yeonseung funny.


    ¡°if you need me, i will also go and help you.¡±


    ¡°an a-grade hunter being helped by a b-grade hunter? it doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±


    ¡°i heard that the national team¡¯s director has been showing poor performance.¡±


    ¡°... you know about that? it isn¡¯t something you should care about. i am just giving my all in doing what i can.¡±


    ¡®hyung is really good at setting the mood.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ asks you to give it food from that snack stall later.]


    ¡®alright, alright.¡¯


    choi yeonseung accompanied illeya with her sightseeing until she was satisfied. when they got on the plane, he realized something.


    ¡®whoops. i should¡¯ve fed antony a live octopus.¡¯


    ***


    several hunters who came to participate in this exchange were already on jeju island. most of them were korean, but there were also some from china or japan. a few hunters were from outside asia, including choi yeonseung¡¯s group. what surprised choi yeonseung was seeing a few martial artists.


    ¡°by the way, this exchange... um, what do we do here?¡± choi yeonseung asked.


    ¡°what? have you never participated in an exchange?¡± antony smirked.


    ¡°he didn¡¯t ask you.¡±


    ¡°i didn¡¯t ask you.¡±


    ¡°... don¡¯t you two have too little respect for me?¡± antony was stunned.


    he wasn¡¯t the type to let others treat him like this. moreover, he participated in this exchange because of choi yeonseung¡¯s request.


    ¡°i understand. please explain.¡±


    ¡°i permit you to do that.


    ¡°... each participating hunter or clan usually brings and shares raid videos and other materials. we will look at those and learn how to conduct raids from each other. revealing skills are up to us. oh, they usually say a few things as well.¡±


    hunters had no reason to reveal their skills, but those who participated in exchanges often shared a few that would be less damaging when revealed. other hunters would then look for ways to acquire those skills using the disclosed information.


    ¡°of course, they don¡¯t hide much when it comes to basic or widely known skills, but they often hide more than they openly reveal. anyway, after that, we¡¯ll be making deals.¡±


    ¡°deals?¡±


    ¡°yes. exchanging things like money, artifacts, skills, or the information you have.¡±


    ¡°ah. so...¡±


    choi yeonseung recalled hwang gyeongryong shoving a few cards into his pocket before going to the exchange. he was wondering why hwang gyeongryong gave even more despite having already given him the black card...


    ¡®if i want something, i should just buy it.¡¯


    hunters were people as well. no matter how rare their skill was, they would sell information about it given the right price.


    ¡°exchange exhibitions is a place for friendship on the surface, but it is actually full of fierce hidden fights and battles of pride.¡±


    ¡°antony. honestly, i admire your explanation. i didn¡¯t know you could explain things so well.¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯ve been suspicious of it for some time now, but haven¡¯t you been ignoring me?¡±


    ¡°what do you mean? i trust you the most in the icarus clan.¡±


    ¡°... you know what you¡¯re talking about. you¡¯re right. anyone who has eyes certainly can¡¯t doubt me...¡±


    choi yeonseung looked away, ignoring antony¡¯s words. were there any more martial artists?


    ¡°i think a lot of hunters looking at us.¡±


    ¡°maybe they¡¯re looking at you because of your recent raid?¡±


    ¡°probably.¡±


    that was certainly one of the reasons. however, it was more about choi yeonseung¡¯s recent match and the video he posted. his bout against christopher brought forth a different reaction compared to his battle against maximilian. the new hunter who was suspected of rating manipulation beating maximilian was certainly great. after all, maximilian suffered utter defeat despite his vigorous provocations, and choi yeonseung rose above him.


    however, choi yeonseung¡¯s match against christopher was far better. borrowing the power of a constellation, christopher pushed beyond the abilities of a b-grade hunter. nevertheless, choi yeonseung pierced through christopher¡¯s attacks and retaliated without hesitation. the match was so amazing that it surprised everyone. nobody expected to see such a fight.


    by the end of the match, the number of viewers watching the match had already increased by more than fivefold. it was a truly excellent bout. moreover, the fact that he released information about martial arts was also bound to draw quite a lot of attention...


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, right?¡± a hunter spoke to choi yeonseung. he was as handsome as a movie star yet gave off cold energy.


    ¡°?¡±


    he politely bowed to choi yeonseung and greeted him. ¡°hello. my name is lee changuk.¡±


    ¡°... what¡¯s your relationship with hunter lee changsik?¡±


    ¡°he is my father.¡±


    ¡°ahhh...!¡±


    ¡°ahhhhhh!¡±


    the group was immediately convinced. no wonder! he had a background effect behind him!


    ¡°??¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s nothing. i¡¯m just sad that changsik hyung didn¡¯t tell me.¡±


    ¡°my father doesn¡¯t like me borrowing his name. of course, i feel the same way.¡±


    ¡°hyung is a bit strict. still, few people can take care of others as well as he does.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    a slight smile flashed across lee changuk¡¯s expressionless face, which hid how nice he felt.


    ¡®he¡¯s just like changsik.¡¯


    1. traditional korean house ?

 Chapter 139

    chapter 139


    ¡°did changsik hyung tell you anything about his old clan?¡± choi yeonseung asked out of curiosity.


    whenever hwang gyeongryong was bored, he would grab his children and talk about his old clan days, saying things like, ¡®come sit here, daughter. i¡¯ll tell you a crazy story.¡¯


    he talked about them so much that aine even knew the name of the girlfriend of the clerk who worked for the old clan. on the other hand, lee changsik was quiet and reticent. choi yeonseung doubted he had told his child much about the past.


    ¡°he did.¡±


    ¡°what? really?¡±witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through n?o?v€l--b1n.


    ¡°yes. he talked a lot about dragon hwang and hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°he did? that¡¯s amazing. did he badmouth gyeongryong hyung?¡±


    ¡°he didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°what? gyeongryong hyung would¡¯ve badmouthed changsik hyung.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    lee changuk grew up listening to lee changsik about the first-generation hunters and clanmates who worked with him. some of the stories were outrageous, some inspiring.


    ¡°i respect all hunters who used to be in the same clan as my father. they are heroes.¡±


    ¡°what? no. we were just trying to make a living,¡± choi yeonseung replied, seemingly dumbfounded. hunters joined clans to make money and to eat and live properly. what was he talking about?


    lee changuk shook his head. ¡°no. i don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°thank you for the compliment, but i¡¯m telling you the truth... anyway, what clan do you belong to?¡±


    ¡°the bulgae clan.¡±


    bulgae was one of the largest clans in south korea. it boasted a long history and tradition. after leaving the clan, lee changsik never joined another. hence, it was only natural that lee changuk joined such a large clan.


    ¡°my father told me not to do anything useless, but i wanted to say hello to hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    he didn¡¯t say it, but to lee changuk, choi yeonseung was like an uncle. he felt the same way toward hwang gyeongryong and his father¡¯s old clanmates.


    ¡°thank you for acquainting with me. let me know if you need anything.¡±


    ¡°no. we¡¯re in south korea. if hunter choi yeonseung needs anything, please let me know.¡±


    ¡®so this is why people are saying that changsik hyung¡¯s son isn¡¯t his own.¡¯


    ¡°i¡¯ll get going.¡±


    ¡°ah. wait a minute, changuk.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°have you eaten?¡±


    ¡°i haven¡¯t...?¡±


    ¡°what is this? follow me.¡±


    ***


    kim gwisik had been running a restaurant for 18 years on jeju island.


    ¡®i knew there were many weirdos among the hunters, but they are really weird,¡¯ he thought.


    hunters often came to jeju island, but this was the first time he had seen hunters slam a bundle of cash down and shout, ¡°master, let me rent the kitchen!¡± it felt good to receive a few hundred for renting his kitchen, but it was strange. what were they doing?


    thump!


    after renting a kitchen, choi yeonseung cooked rice first. it wasn¡¯t just any rice. it was the abyss rice the orcs had grown in choi yeonseung¡¯s territory! he had tried eating this grown rice raw a few times, but it was just well-grown rice with no poison.


    choi yeonseung changed the adamantium to a cauldron and started cooking rice. the kitchen was well-equipped and had many ingredients, making cooking easy. besides, he also learned how to cook from a master of korean cuisine during his trip to seoul.


    ¡®is this a momguk restaurant?¡¯


    momguk, the pork and seaweed soup unique to jeju island. noticing it, an idea came to choi yeonseung.


    he boiled the bones and lean meat of the abyss monsters he had previously slain, creating a broth. he then added seaweed, green onions, and kimchi and boiled it again. to complete it, he seasoned the dish with salt, garlic, and soy sauce.


    it wasn¡¯t that difficult. gukbap was actually food made with persistence and care, not fancy techniques. that was why choi yeonseung cooked gukbap in the abyss. however, this was a treat for his nephew. choi yeonseung was more focused than ever.


    ¡®just as master lee chunok said...¡¯


    the broth usually had to be boiled for a long time to get the flavor, but martial arts could defy the laws of time using internal energy. flames rose, and the broth became thicker.


    ¡°are you sure this is okay?¡± kim gwisik asked, flustered. no matter how he thought about it, this kitchen wouldn¡¯t normally be able to create this much firepower.


    ¡°it¡¯s fine,¡± choi yeonseung said.


    ¡°hah. you seem to know how to cook, young friend.¡± kim gwisik was impressed. he wondered why some crazy hunter was carrying a cauldron, but he seemed to be quite good at what he was doing. his dish even had a fragrant smell!


    ¡°thank you.¡±


    ***


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised.


    antony showed more sincerity toward lee changsik than he expected. was he a big fan?


    ¡®well, i used to keep li yuyuan¡¯s autograph.¡¯


    ***


    ¡°that¡¯s the golden blood fish clan.¡±


    ¡°pass.¡±


    ¡°the bulgae clan¡ª¡±


    ¡°pass. how many times do i have to tell you? you only have to inform me of the icarus clan¡¯s arrival.¡±


    ¡°but will they really come? most of the participants in this exchange are from korean clans. the icarus clan...¡±


    ¡°i got information that they are coming.¡±


    sitting on a bench by the entrance of the hotel, hunter marek of the six-eyed turtle clan waiting. several hunters had already entered, but marek was only aiming for one.


    ¡°they¡¯re here!¡±


    ¡°i knew it. look.¡±


    marek immediately got up and approached his target. then he exclaimed in astonishment.


    ¡°oh my god! i didn¡¯t expect to meet icarus clan hunters here! what an honor! i feel as if i have just spent all the luck in my life here!¡±


    antony nodded contentedly when marek made a fuss.


    ¡°he is a well-mannered friend.¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t he more suspicious than well-mannered?¡±


    ¡°i was thinking the same thing.¡±


    choi yeonseung and illeya whispered to each other. the man greeted them in a very friendly manner, but his actions had a slight awkwardness that couldn¡¯t be hidden. had he been waiting for them?


    ¡®there¡¯s certainly no harm in approaching a member of the icarus clan.¡¯


    the purpose of the exchange exhibition was to obtain information. not only were the icarus clan hunters very strong, but the support they had was also of the highest level. if they could get close to them and learn a few things, they would be getting extra bonuses.


    ¡°he reminds me of whittaker.¡±


    ¡°that person came up to me as well.¡±


    ¡°what did he say to you?¡±


    ¡°he asked if i like stalin?¡±


    ¡°... that bastard definitely doesn¡¯t have scouting talent.¡±


    marek eagerly praised antony, and antony condescendingly accepted it. choi yeonseung didn¡¯t think it meant much, so he just cut off the conversation between the two.


    ¡°let¡¯s stop with the niceties. was that all you had to say?¡±


    ¡°ah. about th-that... i¡¯m really sorry to ask you this, but... if you don¡¯t mind, do you want to cooperate with me in an upcoming friendly match?¡±


    they didn¡¯t just watch videos and talk to each other in exchange exhibitions. whenever hunters gathered, showing off their strength was a natural course of action. hence, there were always a few friendly matches.


    ¡°why¡ª¡±


    ¡°of course, i refuse.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised when antony immediately rejected the offer.


    ¡°w-why? did i say something wrong?¡±


    ¡°no. you have good eyes, but i don¡¯t fight with people weaker than me.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    marek was at a loss for words. he had heard that antony of the icarus clan was arrogant, but he didn¡¯t expect it to be this much!


    ¡°i-i might be lacking in some ways, but the other hunters in my clan...¡±


    ¡°they are all weaker than me.¡±


    antony even disregarded the entire six-eyed turtle, which was a large clan! what was wrong with him?


    ¡°it¡¯s a pity, but strive to rise up first. of course, i will also be developing while you are,¡± antony said, then headed inside.


    marek blinked in bewilderment before looking at choi yeonseung. ¡°um... what is up with him?¡±


    ¡°... i apologize for everything. please just forget about this.¡± choi yeonseung patted marek on the shoulder to comfort him, then walked in.


    the exchange exhibition hadn¡¯t even started yet, but he already felt as if many of the people in attendance were strange. the people that choi yeonseung brought were also quite strange, though...


    ¡°!¡±


    at that moment, choi yeonseung¡¯s future sight was activated.

 Chapter 140

    chapter 140


    argo. the sea dragons. also known as imugi or sea serpent, this large monster was particularly famous in east asia. it broke through a dungeon under the sea and dealt a heavy blow to the coasts of east asia, including china, japan, and south korea. it was so fierce and destructive that its rating started at b+ regardless of how small it was, and the argo in choi yeonseung¡¯s vision seemed to be grade a or a-.


    -this is an emergency! a sea dragon is heading toward jeju international airport! summon the hunters!


    -it¡¯s hard to do that! that bastard is changing the weather around it!


    -dammit! why didn¡¯t anyone notice such a huge bastard coming from the bottom of the sea?


    the argo violently tore the ground and engulfed concrete while sending winds and rainstorms around it. it was a terribly destructive force.


    ¡°... what crime did jeju island commit to make these monsters frequently come here?¡± choi yeonseung murmured when his vision ended, sounding troubled.


    jeju island had traditionally been topographically damage-prone. the monsters that couldn¡¯t be taken down in shanghai, china, and nagasaki, japan all came to jeju island. was there honey here?


    -it is pretty strong, but it seems nothing compared to constellations.


    -have you forgotten that i can¡¯t use the power of my existence or my concentrated energy right now? either way, huge beasts like that cause a lot of trouble for those around them.


    inside a dungeon, he could avoid its attacks as much as he wanted. however, in the outside world, avoiding attacks meant letting them hit buildings and civilians.


    -since you are now known as a household member, why don¡¯t you pretend to borrow the power of your constellation?


    -that¡¯s not a bad idea, but it will still be difficult to stop it from going on a rampage. ah, seriously...


    unbelievably enough, despite having received powers from many constellations like goddess¡¯ medical treatment, future sight, red illusion, dignity of light, and others, none of them were useful for this situation.


    ¡®no... wait.¡¯


    choi yeonseung thought about the power skills he had and remembered the one he got when he became an intermediate-ranked constellation.


    [undefeated incarnation''s realm declaration]


    it was a strong power skill that drew opponents into his territory. he only ever used it to challenge a constellation in single combat, but now that he had thought about it, it was very useful for the current situation.


    ¡®isn¡¯t it better to trust in myself than other constellations?¡¯


    -successor, you have too few power skills. don¡¯t rely on force alone. hone your power of existence and create more power skills.


    -i will keep that in mind.


    as the goddess had said, choi yeonseung was certainly too indifferent to his power as a constellation. he spent years focusing solely on combat! it wasn¡¯t wrong, but it would be nice to have multiple abilities so he¡¯d be prepared for more diverse situations.


    -what power skills do you think i could create?


    -maybe a cooking-related one.


    -don¡¯t joke around.


    -i¡¯m not, though?


    -... really?


    -you¡¯ve worked so hard on it that it has become highly likely. you might also create a training-related one.


    -training...


    choi yeonseung thought about it.


    a training room made out of his power of existence. it would be filled with all types of training equipment, and monsters would pop out according to the user¡¯s imagination. the flow of time would also be incredibly slow...


    [enlightenment comes from experience.]


    [the power skill ¡®open training space¡¯ has been created.]


    [immerse yourself until you attain complete enlightenment.]


    ¡°!¡±


    as the goddess said, a power skill was quickly created due to the experience he had accumulated.


    -that¡¯s not bad, but... why didn¡¯t the cat constellation or manipulator constellation tell me about this?


    -... isn¡¯t it because it¡¯s such a basic concept that they thought you would already know about it?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ dumbfoundedly asks if it has to tell you how to breathe!]


    he already had a plan anyway, so he felt much more at ease. choi yeonseung took out his smartphone and texted gyeongryong.


    ¡®i¡¯ll make preparations just in case.¡¯


    -hyung. i think an argo will appear here at jeju island. i don¡¯t know the people here, so don¡¯t scare them and just prepare quietly.


    -... don¡¯t send out important details so lightly, you madman! my heart almost dropped!


    ¡°hmm... is there something wrong with the way i texted him?¡±


    ¡°do you know how many successful raids our raid team had completed this month? a whopping fifteen. that¡¯s like completing one raid every two days.¡±


    ¡°hah... bragging with numbers... aren¡¯t you embarrassed? e and d-grade dungeons can honestly be cleared in a few hours. meanwhile, we successfully cleared a b+ grade dungeon.¡±


    ¡°an a-grade hunter was in your raid team!¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong with that?¡±


    ¡®nothing has changed.¡¯


    the first thing hunters from other countries did when they got together was show off. how many monsters they had killed, the rating of a dungeon they had cleared... it seemed funny at first glance, but this was a really important battle of egos. if not, when else would they try to beat their opponent?


    however, lee changuk just sat silently with his mouth shut. considering his personality, he obviously wasn¡¯t good at boasting.


    ¡°i¡¯ve been beating b-grade hunters lately.¡±


    ¡°what nonsense are you saying... gasp.¡±


    china¡¯s c+ grade hunter, wang yalong, flinched when he saw choi yeonseung. choi yeonseung had become so famous recently that wang yalong immediately recognized him. that was partly due to choi yeonseung¡¯s uhc matches, but the biggest reason was the martial arts video he uploaded.


    there were still many martial artists in china and south korea. hence, the impact of choi yeonseung was bound to be greater there. moreover, he was the closest to becoming an a-grade among the current martial artists.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung?¡±


    as expected, it was the same b-grade hunters who could stand up against b-grade hunters. the b-grade hunter, chen yuwei, stepped up and extended his hand to choi yeonseung. chen yuwei was one head taller than other hunters, and his muscles were so developed that they pressed against his suit.


    ¡®is he a close-quarters combatant?¡¯


    as choi yeonseung had guessed, chen yuwei was confident in his strength. he didn¡¯t intend to lose even if the other person was a martial artist who recently gained fame.


    tighten grip.


    ¡®how¡¯s my strength?¡¯


    ¡®is this guy crazy?¡¯


    from choi yeonseung¡¯s perspective, chen yuwei was just being ridiculous. there were probably quite a few retired martial artists in china, but he couldn¡¯t believe they were doing ridiculous things like this. when choi yeonseung tightened his grip, chen yuwei¡¯s expression distorted. hence, clicking his tongue, choi yeonseung let go of chen yuwei¡¯s hand.


    ¡°your strength is okay.¡±


    ¡°i-is that so?¡±


    chen yuwei¡¯s expression brightened when choi yeonseung acted considerate, allowing him to avoid embarrassment.


    ¡°didn¡¯t you just frown?¡±


    ¡°i didn¡¯t frown, you bastard.¡±


    after looking at the grumbling hunters of two different countries, choi yeonseung sat down.


    ¡°why aren¡¯t you bragging?¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯m not good at it.¡±


    ¡°it can¡¯t be helped, then. by the way, do you know what the friendly match is?¡±


    ¡°how would i know that?¡± lee changuk asked, puzzled. friendly matches were a secret that would only be divulged once the hosting clan leader had announced it.


    the conversation between the two was quite interesting, so the chattering hunters from other countries also joined in.


    ¡°it will probably be single combat.¡±


    ¡°i doubt. that would cause a lot of drama.¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re in south korea, so it¡¯s probably archery.¡±


    the conversation led to different assumptions. curious about choi yeonseung¡¯s opinion, chun yuwei asked, ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. you are the oldest and most experienced hunter here¡ª¡±


    ¡°are you saying that i am old now?¡±


    ¡°n-no. no!¡±


    the other hunters were surprised when chen yuwei, who had a bad personality, backed down. the pressure exuded by choi yeonseung was qualitatively different from other hunters. such a level of pressure weighed on their hearts.


    ¡°you¡¯re not starting an argument?¡±


    ¡°i was just asking because i¡¯m curious about what you think.¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re probably going hiking.¡±


    ¡°... pfft!¡±


    ¡°pfft!¡±


    the ridiculous conjecture caused bursts of laughter. even lee changuk stared at choi yeonseung with a perplexed expression.

 Chapter 141

    chapter 141


    ¡°did i say something strange?¡±


    ¡°kukuk... you did. hiking? that¡¯s ridiculous,¡± chen yuwei said with a laugh.


    ¡°i don¡¯t know what friendly matches were like in the past, but a lot of thought is put into deciding them these days.¡±


    friendly matches shouldn¡¯t give the hunters a chance to hurt each other¡¯s feelings, but at the same time, they should still let the hunters showcase their abilities. that was why tennis and baseball were chosen¡ªthey were friendly events. hiking was too slow.


    ¡°if tomorrow¡¯s friendly event is hiking, then i¡¯ll go up naked,¡± the hunters who were slightly drunk spoke in unison.


    ¡°hahaha! we will do the same.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ wonders if they are perverts.]


    -no. they¡¯re not perverts. hunters just do a lot of strange things.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ wonders why that isn¡¯t called perversion.]


    ¡®... if that¡¯s what you think, then i have nothing to say.¡¯


    in any case, the hunters said they would run naked. choi yeonseung had no intention of stopping them.


    ¡°don¡¯t copy them, changuk.¡±


    ¡°... i wasn¡¯t planning to.¡±


    the atmosphere became lively due to choi yeonseung¡¯s nonsense. as they were talking about what the friendly match would be, the japanese hunters started to pull out large glasses.


    lee changuk frowned when he saw it. ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°i think they¡¯re trying to have a drinking contest.¡±


    ¡°ahh. they¡¯re still doing that, huh? that happened a lot in the past, and the japanese kids liked it.¡±


    hunters would compare everything they could and brag to each other. it was the same in any country, but japanese hunters especially did it a lot. even hwang gyeongryong and lee changsik fought the others fiercely when they were young. such was the story of everyone¡¯s youth.


    one of the japanese hunters laughed as he frantically piled soju bottles on the table.


    ¡°south korea is amazing. soju is so cheap here.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good thing, but either way... don¡¯t drink, changuk.¡±


    choi yeonseung was considerate of his nephew. although changuk had awakened, which meant mana strengthened his physique, he would still be affected if he drank alcohol like that. this competition was all about drinking like crazy tonight and waking up fine tomorrow.


    ¡°no. i¡¯ll drink as well.¡±


    ¡°why take responsibility when you don¡¯t have to? it¡¯s fine. well, moving with a hungover is certainly also an experience,¡± choi yeonseung said, then moved his hand.


    using ¡®speed¡¯ and ¡®diffusion¡¯ martial art techniques, choi yeonseung blew off the lids of the bottles with lightning-like speed. he then filled every glass on the table with alcohol, the sight making hunters of the two countries cheer.


    what a waste of talent!


    "beautiful!"


    ¡°we haven¡¯t even started yet. now, drink!¡±


    the hunters started to gulp the drinks down with great fervor. perhaps it was because they were hunters, but they emptied the large glasses in an instant. however, choi yeonseung swiftly filled the glasses back up again.


    ¡°n-no. let¡¯s take a break...¡±


    ¡°what? already?¡±


    ¡°... no. try to keep up!¡±


    ***


    ¡°the weather is nice today.¡±


    the next morning, choi yeonseung woke up cheerfully. like the warm sunshine, he was in perfect condition.


    ¡°uhh... ugh... ughhhh...¡±


    ¡°keeeek... keeeeeek...¡±


    on the other hand, the people in the lounge were suffering so much that they couldn¡¯t even control their movements. they had drunk too much.


    ¡°what are they doing?¡±


    ¡°they learned a lesson from drinking.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s idiotic.¡± antony laughed at the suffering hunters.


    ¡°don¡¯t american hunters do that during meetings?¡±


    ¡°some of us certainly like to do such vulgar things, but i prefer more dignified confrontations.¡±


    ¡°for example?¡±


    ¡°poker.¡±


    ¡°... isn¡¯t that just a game of luck?¡±


    ¡°no! what stupid¡ªpoker is a high-stakes psychological and intelligence game!¡±


    ¡°is that so?¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at jeong wonuk.


    ¡®... is he the jeong wonuk i met before?¡¯


    he was pretty sure it was the same person who peed in the dungeon...


    ¡°hunter jeong wonuk. i enjoyed watching the movie you starred in last time. i heard you filmed it yourself without any special effects?¡±


    ¡°um. i¡¯m embarrassed. at this age...¡±


    ¡°no! if the world learns how much the first-generation hunters have sacrificed, won¡¯t they have more respect for other hunters?¡±


    ¡°thank you. do you really think so¡ª?!¡±


    ¡°wh-what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    jeong wonuk suddenly bit his lip, having noticed choi yeonseung at a distant table.


    ¡°... th-that guy is here too?¡¯


    he knew that choi yeonseung¡¯s value was rising, but jeong wonuk didn¡¯t expect him to join the exchange. when their eyes met, choi yeonseung waved happily. jeong wonuk greeted him as sweat dripped down his back.


    ¡°who¡¯s that hunter next to the blue dragon sword? she looks pretty strong.¡±


    ¡°you... i know you¡¯re an abyss returnee, but shouldn¡¯t you at least learn about a-grade hunters? there are only so few per country. anyway, that¡¯s han seha, an a-grade hunter.¡±


    the a-grade hunter was calm and quiet-looking. to step into the realm of a-grade hunters before reaching thirty years old was something that could only be achieved with a tremendous number of feats. after all, one of the most important things to do during a hunter¡¯s teenage years was stand out and be the best among their peers.


    ¡°how great. i think i¡¯ve seen her somewhere before, though.¡±


    ¡°she has a twin. her younger sibling plays in the uhc b-grade league, so the one you probably saw was han sehui.¡±


    her younger sibling, han sehui, was ranked 8th in the b-grade league. both of the twins had terrific talents.


    ¡°no... that¡¯s not what i meant.¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    ¡°forget it. i can¡¯t explain it.¡±


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t figure it out. he seriously thought he had seen her somewhere before...


    at that moment, a chinese hunter started chatting with his colleagues.


    ¡°choi yeonseung is attracting attention as a martial artist, but he¡¯s honestly just doing noise marketing with the video. china is the root of martial arts. at this age, he should just retire. does it make sense for him to keep working as a hunter after returning from the abyss?¡±


    ¡®i¡¯ll have to beat that person up later.¡±


    he was far away, but choi yeonseung clearly heard the chinese hunter¡¯s remarks. however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t even get the chance to act.


    han seha had punched him.


    bam!


    ¡°kek! kek!¡±


    ¡°who do you think you¡¯re mocking, you bastard? do you want to be ¡öing beaten?¡±


    ¡°h-hey! hunter han seha. calm down!¡±


    flustered, jeong wonuk tried to stop it, but han seha ignored him and just kept throwing punches.


    ¡°who do you think you are to mock hunter choi yeonseung, huh?! you better watch yourself at night, bastard! if a magic spear flies from behind and pierces your heart, know that i was the one who shot you! no! why don¡¯t i just finish you now!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    cocking her head, illeya asked, ¡°do you know that woman?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t. i¡¯m honestly also a bit puzzled.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s probably because you are both korean. as expected of an a-grade.¡± antony nodded in admiration.


    ¡°... is that really it?¡±


    ¡°her hot-blooded personality is probably the effect of her contract with the constellation ¡®hound of instinct and liberation.¡¯¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ gossips that it doesn¡¯t seem like a good constellation.]


    -is it because it¡¯s a dog?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ grows silent.]


    han seha turned the chinese hunter into porridge, but no one said anything¡ªnot even the colleagues who came with him.


    the strong would always be right. such was the majesty of an a-grade hunter¡¯s pride! to top it all off, considering her personality, han seha would likely attack them as well if they spoke up...


    to change the atmosphere, jeong wonuk coughed and said, ¡°today is such a fine day. it makes me happy to see hunters from different countries gathered here.¡±


    jeong wonuk then pointed out the window, bringing everyone¡¯s attention to the beautiful view of hallasan.


    ¡°the name of that mountain is hallasan.¡±


    ¡°... n-no. don¡¯t tell me...¡± someone forebodingly stuttered.

 Chapter 142

    chapter 142


    hallasan. the nation¡¯s spiritual mountain. despite its height and beautiful scenery, many tourists used to enjoy hiking to its peak because of its gentle slope.


    however, that was a story before the gates came. ever since the gates appeared, jeju island had turned into a battleground riddled with all sorts of fierce raids. the aftermath reached hallasan, turning it into a strange place. paths would disappear as they climbed up, seas would pop out in the middle of the mountain, and they would sometimes feel as if something was weighing down on them. it had become similar to the abyss, a space of lawless chaos.


    jeong wonuk loved hiking, and he thought the hallasan¡¯s traits were good enough to test the hunters.


    ¡°mountains always train people. i want to set hiking as the first round of this exchange,¡± jeong wonuk said with a nice smile on his face.


    the young hunters¡¯ hearts naturally grew heavy.


    ¡®that crazy bastard...¡¯


    ¡®i can¡¯t even swear because he¡¯s an a-grade hunter...¡¯


    the hunters from china and japan cursed inwardly. why did they have to be in the hands of a crazy korean and suffer from this situation? even the korean hunters had similar thoughts.


    ¡®who left that man in charge?¡¯


    ¡®this ¡öing guy.¡¯


    they did agree that hallasan could test the hunters, though. after all, its environment was similar to the abyss. it was less dangerous since it had no evil spirits and only a few monsters, but it was good enough.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s thoughts differed, though. while most hunters were strong but were more interested in becoming rich, choi yeonseung thought, ¡®it¡¯s good for training? i have to go, then!¡¯


    the hunters here did their best slaying monsters and conducting raids to get to their current position, but that didn¡¯t mean they wanted to train hard during the exchange match.


    ¡°what do you all think?¡±


    ¡°wow... that¡¯s a great idea.¡±


    ¡°as expected of hunter jeong wonuk!¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s a reason the blue dragon sword¡¯s fame stretches all the way to japan!¡±


    the hunters hid their rotten truths and threw out praise.


    ¡°i thought people would swear a lot. this is unexpected,¡± han seha said.


    ¡°i told you. you will like hiking.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    as the hunters inwardly cursed, choi yeonseung suddenly remembered something.


    ¡°ah. that¡¯s right. didn¡¯t you guys decide to go up naked?¡±


    the chinese and japanese hunters averted their eyes.


    ***


    ¡°didn¡¯t you guys decide to go up naked?¡±


    ¡®you sounded quite serious.¡¯


    ¡®shh. that person¡¯s temper seems quite bad, so don¡¯t provoke him.¡¯


    chen yuwei gratefully bowed his head in response to choi yeonseung¡¯s generous attitude.


    ¡°thank you. i¡¯m going first.¡±


    no matter how eccentric the exchange exhibition, hiking naked was crossing the line. he didn¡¯t want to be known as an exhibitionist.


    ¡°i won¡¯t forget this grace.¡±


    ¡°is that true? if it is, i¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±


    ¡°... n-no.¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s serious reaction frightened chen yuwei. what was he trying to do?


    ¡°we¡¯re going now. any further delay will put us at a disadvantage.¡±


    chen yuwei and the other hunters gathered up and prepared for the hike.


    ¡°speaking of which, what is the name of your clan?¡±


    ¡°... you don¡¯t know my clan¡¯s name?¡±


    ¡°i have been missing for thirty years. sometimes i can¡¯t even remember my own name,¡± choi yeonseung said, rendering chen yuwei speechless. what could he say to that?


    ¡°our clan is tangmen.¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    jeong wonuk and han seha.


    ¡°ah. did you come to say hello?¡± choi yeonseung happily waved his hand toward jeong wonuk.


    ¡°i-i don¡¯t know who you are. do you know me?¡±


    ¡°huh? aren¡¯t you jeong wonuk? we met before in the field of green serpents.¡±


    ¡°i-i don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. i just came here because han seha said she has something to tell you.¡±


    jeong wonuk tried to pretend he didn¡¯t know choi yeonseung. he could perfectly control his facial expressions with his a-grade physical abilities, but...


    ¡®he¡¯s lying.¡¯


    -he¡¯s lying.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says he¡¯s lying.]


    han seha tilted her head. ¡°didn¡¯t you tell me before that you cleared the dungeon field of green snakes...?¡±


    ¡°w-what are you saying? no way.¡±


    ¡°well, it doesn¡¯t matter. i have something to talk to him about, so get out of the way.¡±


    jeong wonuk nodded and stepped back, looking relieved. han seha stared straight at choi yeonseung. there was a slight hint of anticipation in her eyes.


    ¡°do you know me?¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    for the first time in ages, choi yeonseung was flustered. who was this?


    ¡°... you don¡¯t?¡± han seha asked.


    illeya and antony instinctively put their hands on their weapons, remembering her beating up one of the hunters. however, han seha wasn¡¯t particularly angry. rather, she just seemed disappointed.


    ¡°you really don¡¯t know me?¡±


    the moment han seung repeated it a third time, choi yeonseung immediately recalled a very old memory. it couldn¡¯t be...


    perhaps...?


    ¡®what¡¯s wrong with choi yeonseung?¡¯


    antony became nervous. choi yeonseung¡¯s expression was distorted with astonishment. it was hard to believe that this powerful man, someone who never wavered no matter how strong the monsters he had to face were, was reacting like this. did han sera already attack him?


    ¡°is your mother¡¯s name perhaps...¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. jeong yeonju.¡±


    ¡°w-wait. how old are you...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not even thirty yet.¡±


    choi yeonseung sighed with relief. at the very least, she wasn¡¯t his child.


    jeong yeonju was choi yeonseung¡¯s ex-girlfriend. he had been in a few relationships, but most of them ended with her partners saying things like, ¡®yeonseung, i know i confessed first, but i really don¡¯t think it¡¯s right to mix chicken breast with another chicken breast and drink it. you¡¯re crazy.¡¯


    among them, his longest relationship was with jeong yeonju. they were both hunters. jeong yeonju wasn¡¯t as strong as choi yeonseung, but she was thirsty for strength. however, when they reached rank c and became busy, their encounters decreased. as a result, the distance between them grew, ultimately making them more neglectful and, eventually, break up.


    ¡°are you the one who left flowers on the grave?¡±


    ¡°what...? ah, did you visit her? that¡¯s right. i was the one who left it.¡±


    ¡°jeonju...¡±


    ¡°she died while i was young.¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°it''s fine. i¡¯m not sad about it anymore.¡±


    han seha really didn¡¯t mind.


    ¡°i was curious about you because i heard a lot about you from my mother. i didn¡¯t expect you wouldn¡¯t know at all.¡±


    ¡®damn. gyeongryong hyung...!¡¯


    although hwang gyeongryong forgot to tell him about this, it wasn¡¯t really his fault.


    ¡°please take good care of me as a fellow hunter in the future. i¡¯m going now.¡±


    han seha bowed her head and turned away to leave.


    watching her walk away, antony slowly said, ¡°... i¡¯m not sure i get the situation, but i think you did something wrong.¡±

 Chapter 143

    chapter 143


    ¡°it¡¯s complicated, but i didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°she isn¡¯t your daughter, is she?¡±


    ¡°no, you bastard.¡±


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue.


    ¡®i don¡¯t know what yeonju said or how she said it.¡¯¡¯


    jeong yeonju hwang gyeongryong¡¯s clans were quite close. they had even done raids together a few times. it was through this connection that she met choi yeonseung. hence, it was only natural for jeong yeonju to talk a lot about hwang gyeongryong. the question was what jeong yeonju said about choi yeonseung...


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ says she probably put you in a good light. i guess your relationship was quite hot.]


    [the ¡¯cat of lava and magma¡¯ shakes its paws!]


    -... are you excited?


    choi yeonseung realized that the cat constellation and manipulator constellation had been stirred up. for constellations, who lived such boring lives, sweet and bloody stories like this were very rousing.


    ¡®i don¡¯t think this is helpful...¡¯


    -that young mortal isn¡¯t angry at you. she is sad.


    -... i guess so.


    the goddess of sloth, the oldest one here, was right. perhaps han seha wanted to talk about jeong yeonju with choi yeonseung. choi yeonseung had to know some things about jeong yeonju.


    ¡®i panicked and made a mistake. the next time we meet, i¡¯ll try to talk a bit more calmly.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is excitedly asking for more love stories.]


    ¡®if you give me soul stones, i¡¯ll tell you more stories.¡¯


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ seriously asks if you¡¯re telling the truth.]


    ¡®......¡¯


    ***


    ¡°are you really going to go hiking?¡±


    ¡°if it¡¯s too difficult, you can refuse to do it and just rest.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the two people showed consideration, which was painful.


    ¡°i¡¯m completely fine.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s the spirit. this type of exercise is helpful when you have complicated thoughts.¡±


    antony was very serious. many hunters had complicated family problems. those who gained wealth and power at a young age naturally lived a dissolute life, which often resulted in two or three children. this ultimately got them sued...


    antony didn¡¯t want choi yeonseung, whom he acknowledged, to get ruined because of such scandals. it was up to his trusty clanmates to help out in times like these.


    ¡®heh. i can¡¯t believe i am doing something so out of place.¡¯


    ¡®this bastard looks like he¡¯s thinking about something useless.¡¯


    choi yeonseung considered hitting antony, but he doubted it would change the situation.


    ¡°stay focused. this mountain won¡¯t be easy.¡±


    -this place smells like the abyss.


    it was as the goddess said. the foot of hallasan was reminiscent of the abyss. unlike the orderly earth, it was riddled with all forms of chaos. it still had more order than the abyss, though.


    ¡°choi yeonseung. the gwaneumsa temple course is probably easier than the seongpanak trail. did i say that correctly? gwaneumsa temple? anyway, i think it¡¯s better to take that path.¡±


    a foreigner asking questions while reading a hiking trail guide was a surreal sight. choi yeonseung nodded without being flustered. the seongpanak trail started with the now-closed seongpanak rest stop and ended at the top. it was a bit long, but the slope was gentle and easy. in comparison, the gwaneumsa temple course started from gwaneumsa temple. it was a bit steeper and rougher, but it was shorter as well.


    greedy hunters would naturally choose the gwaneumsa temple course.


    ¡°i think it¡¯s better as well.¡±


    ¡°by the way, is that a plant that grows in south korea?¡± antony asked. in the distance, they could see a mistletoe on the side of the road hissing and attacking its surroundings.


    was there such a plant in south korea?


    ¡°no. that is a mana-contaminated plant.¡±


    ¡°was he serious when he asked that?¡±


    ¡°well, antony doesn¡¯t have much understanding of south korea...¡±


    ¡°you are going to feed him live octopus after hiking, right?¡±


    ¡°of course.¡±


    ¡°you aren¡¯t talking about me, are you?¡± antony asked anxiously as illeya and choi yeonseung chattered.


    ¡°... maybe i pushed too hard and made him dislike me.¡±


    the bad-tempered han seha was already scary. however, she was twice that when sad. jeong wonuk desperately soothed her.


    ¡°n-no! how can that be? hunter choi yeonseung was probably just confused because he just returned from the abyss.¡±


    ¡°really? well, i guess so. it did seem like he was confused because of the sudden revelation.¡±


    ¡°yes, that¡¯s it! the next time you go and talk to him, you two will surely understand each other.¡±


    ¡°please come with me when that time comes, hunter jeong wonuk.¡±


    ¡°... why???¡±


    jeong wonuk raised his tone. why did he get bad luck after all this effort?


    ¡°well... i¡¯m embarrassed.¡±


    jeong wonuk¡¯s goosebumps doubled when han seha lowered her voice as if she was ashamed.


    ¡®is this really happening?¡¯


    ¡°since you already know him, please sit down and talk to him. compliment me during your conversation.¡±


    ¡°no...¡±


    ¡°i came all the way to jeju island to help with the exchange when the golden blood fish asked for me, yet you¡¯re refusing my request?¡± han seha¡¯s voice returned to normal, lowering coldly.


    ¡°... i¡¯ll come with you.¡±


    ¡°thank you!¡±


    jeong wonuk thought about getting choi yeonseung¡¯s phone number. he had to text choi yeonseung and control his mouth first! he didn¡¯t know about choi yeonseung, but han seha would definitely make fun of him if she found out.


    ***


    ¡°hey, that person is flying!¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s flying magic.¡±


    choi yeonseung shrugged when he saw some people flying toward the mountain.


    ¡°i don¡¯t think that¡¯s a very good idea.¡±


    flying magic was one of the low-circle spells, but it was tremendously difficult to use. while flying up was easy, balancing oneself in midair and flying to any direction was extremely hard. in short, that magic spell was easy to use but difficult to master! nevertheless, they chose to use it in this unstable location. it wasn¡¯t a very good idea.


    before he could finish speaking, a magical wind had blown and anomalies had begun to appear. the air shook constantly, making the hunters in the air plummet to the ground.


    "aaaaaaack!"


    ¡°tsk tsk.¡±


    antony clicked his tongue. it was such an ugly sight.


    ¡°what country did those hunters come from?¡±


    ¡°they seem to be chinese.¡±


    ¡°then let them be.¡±


    ¡°ah. no. are they korean?¡±


    ¡°antony, you bastard. what¡¯s wrong with your eyes?¡±


    ¡°w-what did i do wrong...?!¡±


    ignoring antony, choi yeonseung ran out. among martial arts, some were known as light martial arts. they could lighten one¡¯s body, allowing them to run faster. increasing one¡¯s light martial arts level would give them the flying on grass, a state where they could step and run on blades of grass, or flying on water, a state that allowed them to run on water.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s state was the void flying path, which gave him infinite internal energy to roam freely through space. he couldn¡¯t use it now due to the restrictions on his internal energy, but with his training experience, he found a replacement for it.


    choi yeonseung kicked up a rock and sliced it into dozens of thin pieces with his sword. the pieces soon scattered. he used the pieces as stepping stones to soar up.


    ¡°a-air steps! those are air steps!¡±¡¯ chen yuwei exclaimed with surprise as he watched from a distance. it wasn¡¯t as great as the void flying path, but the air steps skill, which enabled its user to walk in the sky, was one of the peak-class martial arts.


    choi yeonseung could do that? choi yeonseung was technically stepping on rock pieces, but it didn¡¯t matter to the surprised chen yuwei.


    ¡°t-thank you!¡±


    ¡°no matter how competitive you¡¯re feeling, using flying magic in a place like this is crazy.¡±


    choi yeonseung grabbed the hunters one by one in the air and lightly landed. as a result, the hunters were more curious about the skill choi yeonseung showed than shocked at almost being seriously injured.


    ¡°is that... air steps or something? someone was shouting it earlier...¡±


    ¡°no. it¡¯s different from air steps. don¡¯t go around saying strange things.¡±


    the korean hunters nodded in response. however, it didn¡¯t mean much because, in the distance, chen yuwei talked to hunters from other countries.


    ¡°don¡¯t you know how great air steps is? you idiots. that martial art is said to be at least peak-class...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not interested. get out of the way, chen yuwei. i¡¯m going up.¡±

 Chapter 144

    chapter 144


    unlike chen yuwei and some other chinese hunters, koyama had little interest in martial arts. all he was interested in was planting a flag on top of this dog-like mountain. a crazy guy sent them to go hiking, but he had no intention of backing down. although this exchange match was done with good intentions, winners and losers would always be clearly divided.


    the conversation koyama had with his clan leader before he came here replayed in his mind.


    -you failed to raid a dungeon again, koyama. that¡¯s a total of four consecutive failures...


    -i-i¡¯m sorry, clan leader. it won¡¯t happen again.


    -i don¡¯t think you have it in you to clear c-grade dungeons...


    he couldn¡¯t help but remember his clan leader¡¯s gaze back then. it was as cold as the raid industry. even if they paid a large sum of money to get a c+ grade hunter, clan leaders would still immediately treat the hunter coldly if they continuously failed raids. clans didn¡¯t do business that wouldn¡¯t bring them profit.


    -the clan pays you a lot of money since you¡¯re a c+ grade hunter, but you¡¯ll be in trouble if you keep failing.


    -n-no! i was just unlucky!


    koyama wasn¡¯t in the uhc or ssl, and he didn¡¯t gain international popularity for his outstanding appearance and eloquence. compared to the past, there were a lot more hunters now. hence, the time when hunters could get attention just by appearing on air was now long gone. they couldn¡¯t even do that now if they were lacking in skills or talent.


    -you better achieve something outstanding in the upcoming exchange exhibition so reporters will at least have something to write articles about.


    beating hunters from other countries had always been a popular subject, especially when they were from south korea or china. it didn¡¯t matter if it was a friendly match. all that mattered was that they won. after all, victories could be exaggerated and promoted multiple times.


    -... i understand. i will do my best.


    ¡°get out of the way. i¡¯m going up,¡± koyama said.


    however, the chinese hunters didn¡¯t budge.


    ¡°......?¡±


    when the chinese hunters grinned, koyama realized something.


    perhaps...!


    ¡°are you really going to do this, you bastards?!¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s too late!¡± chen yuwei swung a long, wooden stick. the enchanted wooden stick couldn¡¯t kill, but it could certainly break bones.


    bam!


    frightened, koyama dodged backward, but the shockwave still shook him. the other japanese hunters urgently pulled out their weapons when they saw the scene.


    ¡°wh-what are you doing? i will formally protest!¡±


    ¡°go on, then. protest if you want.¡± the chinese hunters scoffed.


    only those who knew nothing would say that exchange exhibitions between clans transcended countries. all that mattered was winning and raising their reputation! quite a few attacks transpired even during friendly events like baseball and tennis. no law forbade the same from happening while hiking. hence, those who didn¡¯t expect this much violence were the ones at fault if ever they fell prey to such assaults.


    ¡°don¡¯t worry. i don¡¯t intend to kill you.¡±


    no matter how blatantly the chinese government ignored the protests of the clans, things would dramatically escalate if a hunter were to die. hence, the chinese hunters had no intention to kill. their goal was to hurt others until they could no longer hike up the mountain. naturally, from the japanese hunters¡¯ perspective, it was absurd.


    ¡°you bastards...!¡±


    ¡°have you sold your conscience?¡±


    ¡°you are so shameless! you¡¯re definitely from china!¡±


    among earth¡¯s countries, china had an exceptionally thick face. no matter what protest they were faced with, they just ignored them, saying, ¡®lalala~ i can¡¯t hear you~¡¯ hence, the clans under them could act much more freely. the chinese hunters didn¡¯t care about the japanese hunters¡¯ insults and curses.


    ¡°what? when have you not been shameless?¡±


    ¡°who do you think entered the gate that opened on diaoyudao islands a while back?¡±


    ¡°regardless, you japanese bastards have always been greedy.¡±


    east asian countries had always been on bad terms with each other. one of their most famous disputes was the conflict over the diaoyudao islands or the senkaku islands, which sat right in the middle of the sea.


    arguing with each other over it, the japanese and chinese hunters raced to the gate when it opened. the chinese hunters¡¯ words made the japanese hunters so angry that they were speechless. the japanese government wasn¡¯t so perfect that they had never caused an accident, but...


    they couldn¡¯t stand listening to the chinese¡¯s greedy and vicious words. at the very least, they shouldn¡¯t allow this!


    ¡°trample them!¡±


    ¡°hah. i will show you the power of martial arts!¡±


    ***


    ¡°ugh...¡±


    ¡°you better rest,¡± choi yeonseung said. when the korean hunters stared at the top of the mountain with regret, he shook his head. ¡°giving up is also courage. what could be more meaningless than getting hurt while overdoing things in a friendly match like this?¡±


    it seemed they suffered a magic power backlash when they used flying magic, making them tremble and impairing their vision. nothing good could come from moving too much in this situation.


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong with you? that has already happened a few times in other exchanges.¡±


    ¡°the world has to be ending. things weren¡¯t this extreme back in my days.¡±


    wasn¡¯t it too much to gather for friendship purposes but end up breaking each other¡¯s bones and making them drop out?


    ¡°let¡¯s pick up the pace and take out the other competitors. isn¡¯t your martial arts the best when it comes to hurting others without killing them, choi yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t talk about my martial arts as if it¡¯s something strange. anyway, these guys... i¡¯m wondering if i should leave them alone.¡±


    ¡°they were defeated because they couldn¡¯t take care of themselves, so they should at least handle this themselves.¡±


    antony was cold, and illeya agreed with him. hunters were responsible for their own lives. that was what they learned at school.


    ¡°no. i should at least do the bare minimum.¡±


    ¡°hey... why...?¡± antony grumbled, but he didn¡¯t argue further.


    ¡°do you know how to use healing magic?¡±


    ¡°no.¡±


    he had the power skill he received from the goddess, but he didn¡¯t want to use it just for a few broken bones. that would be like killing a chicken with a cow knife, wouldn¡¯t it? choi yeonseung took a more traditional approach. he hit one of the fallen japanese hunters¡¯ broken bones.


    ¡°kuaaack!¡± the japanese hunter jolted awake.


    ¡°are you okay?¡±


    ¡°¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö! ¡ö¡ö¡ö!¡±


    ¡°hmm. i guess that means thank you in japanese.¡±


    choi yeonseung understood what the hunter was saying since he was a constellation, but he pretended otherwise.


    ¡°your leg is broken.¡±


    ¡°¡ö¡ö...!¡±


    pop!


    ¡°cheer up. we hunters have strong physiques, and our bones are tough as well. i adjusted your leg to ensure you recover quickly.¡±


    the hunter didn¡¯t answer, however. he was foaming at the mouth, and only the whites of his eyes could be seen.


    ¡°now. the other one...¡±


    choi yeonseung shifted his gaze and locked eyes with another japanese hunter, who in turn answered in very fluent korean, ¡°i-i am okay! i¡¯m not in pain!¡±


    ¡°your arm is bent the other way around. come on, give it to me.¡±


    "aaaaack!"


    martial arts masters had a very high understanding of the human body¡¯s structure. in fact, choi yeonseung could even perform complex surgical procedures with his eyes clothes. recovery was a little slower compared to magic, but it at least started as soon as he disinfected the injury, made the bones fit right back together, bandaged it, and gave them more energy using a bit of internal energy. the process was naturally very painful, though.


    after the procedure, antony asked the hunters, ¡°he helped you so much. shouldn¡¯t you express your gratitude?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the japanese hunters glared at antony with complex and subtle emotions. saving them even though they weren¡¯t from the same clan was really kind and touching of choi yeonseung. hence, they were grateful, and they knew they should certainly express their thanks, but... the rising pain made them angry.


    it hurt so much.


    antony glared at the hunters. ¡°you seem to be ignorant about how to repay grace!¡±


    ¡°t-that isn¡¯t the case. thank you, hunter choi yeonseung, from the bottom of my heart.¡±


    ¡°i didn¡¯t expect to receive such kindness.¡±


    ¡°i think you could¡¯ve made it hurt a bit less, but...¡±


    ¡°if you plan to keep going, keep an eye out for the chinese hunters. they were the ones who attacked us.¡±


    ¡°it would be bad if they attack you as well.¡±


    choi yeonseung thought deeply. he would have too much of an advantage if they fought in close quarters while ensuring nobody died. the opponent wouldn¡¯t be able to use dangerous magic spells while he excitedly beat them up.


    [the skill ¡®suppress the strong and support the weak¡¯ has been activated. the power of your existence has increased!]


    [the power of your existence has increased due to complex belief!}


    ¡®... i didn¡¯t expect it to rise.¡¯


    what was a complex belief?

 Chapter 145

    chapter 145


    -there isn¡¯t only one type of belief. there are beliefs mixed with fear, beliefs that are complex, subtle, forced on someone, and more. no matter what type it is, it strengthens a constellation.


    ¡®i see... i appreciate it for as long as they believe in me.¡¯


    in fact, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t save them because he wanted to get their faith. it would simply be embarrassing if they died because he left them alone. if he really wanted their faith, he would¡¯ve healed them to perfect condition using goddess¡¯ medical treatment instead. there was no reason to give them such painful first aid.


    ¡®getting their faith this way makes me feel bad. should i have made it hurt less?¡¯ choi yeonseung thought. even if he didn¡¯t use goddess¡¯ medical treatment, it would¡¯ve been fine if he made them not feel pain using pressure point attack.


    ¡°what are you thinking about?¡±


    ¡°ah. i should¡¯ve stopped them from feeling any pain before treating them.¡±


    ¡°... we should just go.¡±


    ***


    ¡°why are these crazy people fighting on a sacred mountain?¡± choi yeonseung clicked his tongue as he walked.


    there were more fights than he thought. he came across fallen hunters again! this time, it was the chinese. he already saved the japanese anyway, so why shouldn¡¯t he save the chinese? choi yeonseung set their broken bones straight.


    -aaaack!


    [the power of your existence has increased due to complex belief!}


    ¡°why didn¡¯t you use pressure point attack on them?¡±


    ¡°it wouldn¡¯t have been fair.¡±


    ¡°i see,¡± illeya replied, convinced. choi yeonseung didn¡¯t use it with the hunters earlier, so it wouldn¡¯t have been right to suddenly use it with this group.


    ¡®???¡¯


    antony questioned it, but he didn¡¯t say anything. it didn¡¯t really matter to him if these chinese bastards were treated or not.


    ¡°everyone who took the gwaneumsa temple course seems to have a dirty personality.¡±


    ¡°we took the gwaneumsa temple course as well.¡±


    ¡°be quiet.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    going deeper into the mountain, the terrain turned bizarre, and the flowing magic power became stronger. there were no monsters, but it would be best to stay vigilant.


    ¡°wait. what¡¯s with the land¡¯s color? isn¡¯t it strange?¡± antony looked at the red land in surprise.


    ¡°that¡¯s the red soil seen in the abyss. its color has changed because of the magic power it has absorbed, but you can still walk on it since it isn¡¯t particularly dangerous,¡± choi yeonseung answered calmly.


    ¡°was there such information in the clan? did dragon hwang secretly raid a gate to the abyss?¡±


    antony was shocked. currently, earth¡¯s hunters only had two ways to get information about the abyss: get it from a constellation or enter a gate connected to the abyss. compared to the former, the latter was extremely dangerous. a steady stream of raid parties constantly challenged the abyss gates, but none of them had ever succeeded. nevertheless, they continued to challenge it because of the abyss¡¯ charm.


    just as the constellations of the abyss coveted the souls of earth, the humans of earth coveted the infinite treasures of the abyss.


    ¡°no. i heard it from a constellation.¡±


    ¡°ah. i see.¡±


    dragon hwang wouldn¡¯t do something so reckless. no matter how much they coveted it, going into the abyss was stupid.


    crossing the path, choi yeonseung looked at the mountain¡¯s peak. ¡°i can run straight up there from here.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    illeya and antony wondered what choi yeonseung meant.


    ¡°... run straight up there? isn¡¯t that a cliff over there?¡±


    ¡°i can hold one of you in each hand.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the unexpected, novel idea rendered antony speechless. if they were on a normal mountain, it would have been worth trying. however, they were on a strangely twisted hiking trail. how would he run straight to the top without knowing what was in this thick forest?


    ¡°very few monsters are around anyway, and i can deal with the twisted terrain. the two of you can use magic too.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true, but...¡±


    ¡°are you scared?¡± choi yeonseung asked, shocking antony.


    ¡°how dare you ask if i¡¯m scared.¡±


    ¡°so you aren¡¯t? good. let¡¯s go.¡±


    right from the get-go, choi yeonseung already planned to run straight to the top as soon as they had narrowed the distance to a certain point. if they had a shortcut, why should they waste time taking the long way?


    ¡®it would be nice if changuk gets there first, but i¡¯ll take that spot if he can¡¯t.¡¯


    ¡°i heard that the baengnokdam lake is often dry.¡±


    ¡°maybe this is the influence of magic power?¡±


    in the past, the baengnokdam lake was often dry. even if it was filled up, it wouldn¡¯t have much depth. however, it was currently full of water. if magic power had changed it, then perhaps...


    ¡°!¡±


    at that moment, choi yeonseung¡¯s senses warned him that something in the lake was holding its breath.


    ¡°get ready for battle!¡±


    antony and illeya were both b-grade hunters, had received all types of training, and were prepared for special situations. without any questions or arguments, the two immediately raised their weapons and conjured magic power.


    ¡®why, though?¡¯ antony wondered to himself. he couldn¡¯t see any monsters around...


    he got his answer not long after.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    an argo, a giant serpent, jumped out of the lake with a howl. powerful fear-containing magic power struck the nearby hunters¡¯ eardrums.


    ¡°¡ö!¡±


    choi yeonseung roared back at it in response, the internal energy his roar contained binding the argo¡¯s fear back to it.


    ¡°that¡¯s an a-grade monster, choi yeonseung! we have to escape!¡±


    antony immediately realized the argo¡¯s identity. he had seen this multiple times already. fighting against an a-grade monster wasn¡¯t courage. it was recklessness. it would be best for them to escape for now and get reinforcements.


    ¡°retreat!¡± illeya shouted at choi yeonseung, likely sharing the same thought as antony. despite their warnings, though, choi yeonseung mentally cohered the situation.


    ¡®it emerged here.¡¯


    now that he had thought about it, south korea had its own detection system, which made him wonder how huge monsters like this could appear without them noticing. if it emerged from this place and headed down, then it would¡¯ve at least made sense. despite being taken aback, however, everything worked out well for him.


    if he finished it here, it wouldn¡¯t be able to go down and wreak havoc anymore.


    ¡°i¡¯ll kill it here.¡±


    ¡°are you crazy? there are only the three of us!¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t worry. i will use the power of my constellation.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    antony stopped.


    a constellation¡¯s power. it was an absolute force that gave even weak hunters strength beyond common sense. choi yeonseung was currently b-grade, but he might just be able to kill an a-grade monster with the power of a constellation.


    however, even with that taken into consideration, their victory still wouldn¡¯t be certain. they weren¡¯t prepared, and they didn¡¯t have enough people. should they really stay and fight? they wouldn¡¯t be cursed at if they were to retreat out of this situation. even so, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t want to.


    in the end, antony made a decision that went against the principles he had followed all his life.


    ¡°... okay. i¡¯ll fight with you!¡±


    ¡°uhh... you can retreat, though?¡±


    ¡°... i will try my best to help you!¡±


    ¡°ah. i got it, dude. why are you yelling?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll stay and help you as well,¡± illeya joined in.


    ¡°thank you.¡±


    ¡®that bastard choi yeonseung only seems rude toward me...¡¯ antony grumbled while preparing magic.


    it would be hard to inflict significant damage to a-grade monsters with the magic he possessed. hence, he instead chose to focus on obstruction magic and tying up the argo¡¯s movements as best as he could. it was as if he was supporting choi yeonseung!


    antony wasn¡¯t aware of it, but he was becoming quite used to working with a team. it was the complete opposite of who he used to be in the past¡ªa bastard who only acknowledged himself.


    ¡°here i go! darkened vision, mist of ohodor, low-grade chains of extinction!¡±


    antony used three 3rd-circle curse magic consecutively. having a wide array of magic, antony was praised as a balanced all-rounder. despite the criticisms he received, he did become a member of icarus¡¯ 1st team for a bit.


    antony squeezed out magic power, then shifted his gaze to choi yeonseung. ¡®now, choi yeonseung! show me the power of the constellation you believe in!¡¯


    what type of power would choi yeonseung¡¯s constellation show?


    bang!


    choi yeonseung disappeared and reappeared in front of the argo, striking it hard on the chin. the argo screamed as its head tilted back.


    ¡°......¡±


    bewildered, all antony could do was stare at choi yeonseung. it was amazing, but...


    wasn¡¯t it a bit too modest for a constellation¡¯s power?

 Chapter 146

    chapter 146


    it was only natural for antony to react like this. most times, the powers constellations bestowed were gorgeous. it had to be majestic enough to represent their pride and name, so they paid attention to what they gave their minions!


    ... in comparison, the power that choi yeonseung showed was modest. however, from the perspective of those with discerning eyes, something had definitely changed.


    ¡°magic power...!¡± illeya exclaimed, sounding completely astonished. antony used detection magic as soon as he heard her. the flames of magic power enveloping choi yeonseung became clearly visible to him.


    ¡°!¡±


    despite seeing how strong it was for himself, he found it hard to believe. the magic power was so intense that it could be considered one of the best among a-grade hunters.


    ¡°i see! in exchange for looking plain and simple, it buffs up the amount of your magic power!¡±


    if so, then antony could understand the reasoning behind it. a buff that increased magic power was one of the strongest powers that a constellation could bestow.


    it seemed simple at first glance, but increasing one¡¯s magic power was difficult. after all, it didn¡¯t just give them more of it. rather, the power also had to strengthen the user physically to withstand the increase and mentally to ensure they would be able to control it.


    from a constellation¡¯s perspective, humans were no different from mere ants. they had to handle and strengthen the humans very carefully so that the humans wouldn¡¯t explode. that was why they didn¡¯t care about human lives. the constellations just gave them skills and used them as they saw fit, much like what the warrior stained with madness and blood did.


    considering choi yeonseung¡¯s constellation increased choi yeonseung¡¯s magic power like this without making him suffer any penalty, it was understandable that choi yeonseung believed in him. so what if it was a bit plain? the power was still amazing!


    ¡®... is this okay?¡¯ choi yeonseung wondered. while fighting, he used his five senses to observe the situation around him.


    was this too plain? hearing someone say it was plain bothered him a bit.


    since he had to get more business¡ªno, faith in the future... should he think more about its appearance? letting out steam, shooting beams out of his eyes...


    -don¡¯t think about nonsense!


    ¡®don¡¯t worry, i am concentrating.¡¯


    the combat experience choi yeonseung had accumulated over 10,000 years had been tempered to the point where he could create a course menu for what to eat tonight while fighting to the death. his calm mind no longer lost composure regardless of the circumstances. it was one of choi yeonseung¡¯s weapons.


    ¡®it¡¯s tougher than i thought.¡¯


    compared to the hydra, which couldn¡¯t even lift its head up in comparison, the argo was definitely a strong monster. it was called a sea dragon for a reason.


    the argo had a large body covered in scales dozens of times harder than steel, absorbing and dispersing the impact that it received. it even ignored all magic that hit it. due to its immense defensive capabilities, it was treated as an a-grade monster.


    ¡®but it¡¯s not like i can¡¯t kill it.¡¯


    there were martial art techniques that could damage monsters with high defense. the internal heavy strike technique was one such technique. it destroyed what was inside of any surface it struck. it was a very advanced technique, but choi yeonseung had to learn it as soon as he fell into the abyss. he couldn¡¯t have defeated the bastards that had great defenses there without using internal energy to destroy them from within.


    other martial artists would still have to concentrate even in a restricted environment to perfectly activate the internal heavy strike technique.


    bam!


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    however, choi yeonseung just moved quickly from side to side as he struck the argo¡¯s torso with his fists. the enormous energy each hit contained dug into argo, causing a huge ripple. the two looked like david and goliath, but it was david who was overpowering goliath.


    ¡®ah. even though i just raised my power to peak class, this is far more comfortable.¡±


    choi yeonseung conserved his sword energy since still had to minimize his internal energy consumption. he had just barely reached the peak-class level again, after all. nevertheless, raising his level from 300 to 380 was insanely comfortable.


    concentrated energy? there was no need to force it. he could just keep hitting and running instead of using a strong technique, which would require a lot of internal energy, to cut through his opponent in one blow.


    choi yeonseung planned this to be a long battle from the beginning anyway. like an out-boxer tying up his opponent¡¯s feet and swerving around to unleash attacks, choi yeonseung intended to make argo sustain accumulating damage.


    having raised his level, he currently had plenty more internal energy to use for dodges and attacks.


    bam bam bam!


    he repeatedly appeared, attacked, and disappeared. antony and illeya couldn¡¯t help admiring choi yeonseung during the battle. from the perspective of choi yeonseung¡¯s opponent, he was probably like an annoying dog!


    -¡ö... ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    beaten over and over, the argo came to a realization. this little mortal was toying with it! finding choi yeonseung unbelievable, the argo roared with anger and tried to shake him off.


    [the argo is calling out ¡®storm of awls.¡¯]


    ¡®please...! choi yeonseung! just buy us some time! i¡¯ll save you!¡¯ jeong wonuk gritted his teeth.


    ¡®he can¡¯t die...¡¯ han seha thought.


    ¡°?¡±


    they became flustered as they rushed over. the dark clouds and storm forming on top of hallasan disappeared. what?


    ¡°......!!¡±


    upon reaching the top, they saw an even more amazing sight. choi yeonseung and the icarus hunters were standing on argo¡¯s corpse.


    ¡°that¡¯s such a bad angle. the photos are.. not that good.¡±


    ¡°can¡¯t we stick with just one photo?¡± choi yeonseung asked.


    illeya shook her head. lee changuk, who arrived late, also shook his head and chimed in.


    ¡°photography is really important.¡±


    ¡°... fine. i understand. take as many photos as you want.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    jeong wonuk and han seha stared at the scene with open mouths. the hunters here had already finished their hunt and were taking verification shots.


    what the hell happened?


    ***


    ¡°chairman-nim.¡±


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t have any complaints about your orders, and i don¡¯t intend to disobey them either, but...¡±


    ¡°yet what you¡¯re saying shows that there are some doubts lurking in your head,¡± hwang gyeongryong said as he turned around, causing the hunter to lower his head.


    hwang gyeongryong had suddenly sent a text message to available hunters saying, ¡®i¡¯m going on vacation.¡¯


    as a result, the hunters entered a state of emergency.


    -what is this?


    -what does he mean?


    how could they understand the meaning behind hwang gyeongryong¡¯s deep words? the hunters had no choice but to cry and follow along.


    currently, they were on one of the most elite us military aircraft carriers of the 7th fleet, which was in charge of the western pacific region. at hwang gyeongryong¡¯s request, it headed to jeju island.


    ¡°is he trying to attack south korea?¡±


    ¡°possibly. he used to hate south korea.¡±


    ¡°maybe he wants to occupy jeju island and declare it as an independent country...¡±


    it sounded crazy, but the hunters took it seriously, considering hwang gyeongryong¡¯s influence and power, it was certainly doable.


    hwang gyeongryong took out his smartphone. it was a text from choi yeonseung.


    -hyung. i already defeated the monster. i don¡¯t think i need your help anymore.


    ¡°......¡±


    the hunters around him thought they saw moisture gather in the corners of hwang gyeongryong¡¯s eyes.


    ... was it due to the atmosphere?

 Chapter 147

    chapter 147


    ¡°let¡¯s disband and head back.¡±


    ¡°... d-did we do something wrong?¡± one of the hunters mustered up the courage to ask, but hwang gyeongryong just waved them away instead of answering.


    ¡°it has been a while since i¡¯ve come to jeju island. i need to go and eat something,¡± he then told his secretary, who was next to him.


    ¡°would you like to call a pilot?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s fine.¡± hwang gyeongryong launched himself off the ground with a kick.


    bang!


    with the same speed as a fighter jet taking off, hwang gyeongryong rose high into the sky. at the same time, several layers of wings made of magic power spread on hwang gyeongryong¡¯s back. magic was activated even though hwang gyeongryong didn¡¯t use any!


    ¡®an artifact!¡¯


    ¡®as expected, dragon industries is...!¡¯


    all the hunters present looked at him with admiration, feeling his greatness as an s-grade hunter. tricky flying magic was installed into an artifact, making them realize the power of the huge group he led as well! during times like this, they always felt a sense of pride as hunters working under him.


    leaving the gazes of the people aboard the ship behind, hwang gyeongryong quickly flew to jeju island.


    ¡®jeju island is still here.¡¯


    considering there were still vehicles and people rushing all over the place, it seemed that choi yeonseung really had killed the monster.


    there was a joke between the first-generation hunters.


    -if people run toward where the monsters come out, the subjugation has succeeded. if they run away from it, the subjugation has failed.


    ¡®that jerk, seriously...¡¯


    of course, hwang gyeongryong knew why choi yeonseung contacted him in advance. choi yeonseung was still just one person, and he was restricting his constellation powers. failing to slay the monster could have led to a major disaster. it was far better for hwang gyeongryong to needlessly suffer than for people to die. nevertheless, the nasty feeling didn¡¯t go away.


    ¡®i want a bowl of gukbap.¡®


    he couldn¡¯t eat comfortably after rising to a higher rank. in the united states, the moment hwang gyeongryong went to a restaurant, the paparazzi would immediately take photos of him and write articles about it.


    -dragon hwang ate pasta... he likely plans to cooperate with the italian government to hunt monsters...


    -dragon hwang ate mapo tofu... is this a sign that he¡¯s increasing the factory facilities on the chinese side?


    ¡®crazy bastards.¡¯


    hwang gyeongryong opened the door of the restaurant while cursing reporters. he didn¡¯t expect he¡¯d be coming to south korea today, but since he was here already, he decided to at least eat a bowl of gukbap in comfort!


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    hwang gyeongryong opened the door and entered, only to freeze. the iron-blooded ice emperor, lee changsik, was moving his spoon in a corner with a lonely expression.


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry but you have to go out. thank you for your understanding,¡± the korean hunters escorting lee changsik said, failing to recognize hwang gyeongryong. a-grade hunters were strategic assets of the country, so agents of other countries and the evil god constellations often targeted them. the escorts acted according to the principle of preparing for any situation.


    ... it naturally didn¡¯t sound fair to hwang gyeongryong, though.


    ¡°don¡¯t touch me. if you do, i¡¯ll crush your head down into your body,¡± hwang gyeongryong said, his voice filled with killing intent.


    ¡°......!¡±


    ¡°!!¡±


    the hunters were surprised. threats like that normally wouldn¡¯t even make them blink, but the killing intent hwang gyeongryong¡¯s words contained made them tremble. at that moment, they realized who they were up against.


    ¡°hunter hwang gyeongryong?!¡±


    ¡°w-what brings someone as amazing as hunter hwang gyeongryong to this humble place?¡±


    ¡°gasp...!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong clicked his tongue when the hunters panicked. ¡°does the korean government kick out good citizens and ban them from entering establishments just because a-grade hunters are inside? anyway...¡±


    ¡°i-i¡¯m sorry, hunter hwang gyeongryong, but that¡¯s what we have been instructed to do...¡±


    ¡®america does the same thing...!¡¯


    the hunters found it unfair, but they couldn¡¯t do anything about it. they were up against an s-grade hunter, so they had to keep their mouths shut.


    ¡°you promised. you will sit down and talk to him with me so that i don¡¯t feel awkward,¡± han seha said as if he should already know what she was talking about.


    ¡°no... isn¡¯t it too much to do that now?¡± jeong wonuk looked very troubled. although the monster had been killed, the area was still in chaos because of the evacuation and reinforcement orders. he would only have free time after he had cleaned up everything. in addition, honestly, jeong wonuk didn¡¯t want to be caught between the two of them.


    ¡®i don¡¯t know if i can keep making excuses and getting out of this until the end of the exchange.¡¯


    ¡°when will you be free?¡±


    ¡°this case has to be closed first.¡±


    ¡°will you help me once you¡¯re done?¡±


    ¡°... of course.¡±


    ¡°if you don¡¯t help me, i will go to the artifact warehouse of golden blood fish and turn everything into powder.¡±


    ¡°......¡± jeong wonuk started sweating.


    ¡°what are those two talking about?¡±


    ¡°who knows? they¡¯re a-grade hunters. they are probably thinking about how to deal with the current situation.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s cool.¡±


    the hunters at the top of the mountain admired the serious conversation between the two. the hunters didn¡¯t know what they were talking about, but they thought the two a-grade hunters were still cool anyway.


    ***


    before going down, choi yeonseung checked the argo¡¯s body one last time.


    ¡°the staff... won¡¯t they come up and handle it?¡± illeya cocked her head.


    ¡°that is true.¡±


    monster dismantlement. it was easy to forget because of the fancy raid overshadowing it, but it was also an important task. cutting the bones and skins of monsters with unique structures, separating the useful parts from the useless ones...


    the icarus clan and other large clans all had their own dismantlement experts. even if choi yeonseung didn¡¯t do it, they would come and start dismantling it. but choi yeonseung was a first-generation hunter. he was the type to dismantle the monster he had slain with a saw or an axe! the old clans didn¡¯t have money to hire specialists, and even if they did, there were only a few of such people.


    above all, choi yeonseung himself was the greatest of all the dismantlement experts. didn¡¯t he dismantle all types of monsters in the abyss for over 10,000 years?


    ¡°what is he doing?¡±


    ¡°is he dismantling it... himself?¡±


    ¡°what is wrong with him?¡±


    the hunters at the top of the mountain stared at choi yeonseung¡¯s strange behavior. d-grade and e-grade hunters acting like that could be understandable, but b-grade hunters no longer had to attend to such chores themselves. however, the look in their eyes soon changed.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s skills were so...


    amazing.


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung raised his sword and started to dismantle the argo without hesitation. its hard, iron-like scales and skin came apart with ease. usually, dismantling monsters this large was a major task that required all types of equipment and heavy machinery...


    even so, he did it alone and with just one sword. he never stopped or made any mistakes. as if they were possessed, the hunters instinctively took out their smartphones and started filming him.


    [the skill ¡®path of relying on the heavens¡¯ of the ¡®heaven reliant sword¡¯ has restored magic power.]


    the heaven reliant sword, which was gifted to him, restored his magic power if it was used according to its will. choi yeonseung¡¯s swordsmanship was close to perfection, and the heaven reliant sword was very satisfied with it.


    ... however, it was currently being used to dismantle a body. the heaven reliant sword turned red and cried out.


    the cat constellation, an accomplished blacksmith, interpreted it.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it seems very dissatisfied that you are making it do this.]


    ¡®gyeongryong hyung will be upset if i use the sword of goujian.¡¯


    he already felt bad for making hwang gyeongryong come here for no reason. hence, he had no choice but to use the relatively formidable heaven reliant sword.


    ¡°?¡±


    as choi yeonseung dismantled it without hesitation, he found something in the argo¡¯s head.


    ¡®... isn¡¯t this a soul stone?¡¯

 Chapter 148

    chapter 148


    a soul stone.


    the souls of mortals that the constellations used. the argo was an a-grade monster, but there was no reason for it to have a soul stone.


    -don¡¯t tell me...


    -a constellation probably put it there.


    -for what purpose?


    -isn¡¯t that obvious?


    the evil god constellations¡¯ goals were simple: recruit talented people and eliminate those who would refuse. the problem was that the outstanding talents weren¡¯t willing to go under the evil god constellations.


    of course, there would always be crooked and greedy people, but bluntly put, talented and promising hunters had no reason to make a deal with the evil god constellations. on the contrary, doing so could sentence them to life imprisonment if discovered.


    hence, the evil god constellations often created a lot of disturbances.witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through n?o?v€l--b1n.


    if i can¡¯t have them, then no one can.


    this exchange exhibition gathered hunters from various countries, which meant one accident could result in mass casualties. the participating countries fighting each other during the event was a bonus for the evil god constellations.


    -so this monster was manipulated?


    -it isn¡¯t easy to control abyss monsters, and it only gets harder the stronger they are. maybe the evil god constellation just strengthened it and threw it there.


    -if they did that and left it alone, the monster would have gone on a rampage.


    -putting a soul stone in a monster¡¯s head to make it stronger is a pretty difficult trick. weak constellations wouldn¡¯t be able to do it.


    -the master of slowness and silence? the snake of alcohol and dancing?


    one of those constellations occupied northern china, and the other occupied north korea. any constellation that could conquer a country was bound to be strong. they were nearby as well.


    -those two don¡¯t seem like constellations who would do something like this.


    the goddess cocked her head.


    -maybe their behavior changed while you haven¡¯t seen them.


    -... constellations don¡¯t change as easily as mortals, successor.


    -i should think of this as the work of a different constellation, then.


    choi yeonseung put away the soul stone, thinking it could be a clue.


    ¡®i have to wrap things up.¡¯


    choi yeonseung finished dismantling it using his sword so beautifully that there was no meat left on the bones. he took the monster core, folded the skin and scales separately to keep them in good condition, and classified the lean meat according to their cuts...


    ¡®this monster has the sirloin, ribs, tenderloin, and short loin.¡¯


    choi yeonseung separated some of the meat. he planned to help the several suffering hunters rejuvenate. the hunters watching him were just puzzled, though.


    ¡®why is he taking that?¡¯


    ¡®ah. i understand. he¡¯s trying to practice martial arts. he will dip his hands in there and suck up the monster¡¯s energy.¡¯


    ¡®oh... such a practice exists in martial arts?¡¯


    ¡®don¡¯t they do that in movies?¡¯


    when choi yeonseung finished the work, message windows burst out as if they had been waiting.


    [you have dismantled the monster while preserving beauty and dignity. the dignity of light skill has improved.]


    ¡®......?¡¯


    [the ¡®endless gourmet seeker¡¯ has given you a soul stone.]


    [the ¡®monk pursuing glory¡¯ has given you a soul stone.]


    [the ¡®fighter of sweat and flesh¡¯ has given you a soul stone.]


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ has given you a soul stone.]


    ¡®... i¡¯m thankful, but why did they give me soul stones after a dismantlement show? they were quiet throughout my battle with this monster.¡¯


    -they were probably waiting for you to finish your work before giving you gifts. i don¡¯t think they gave it specifically due to the dismantlement show.


    [the ¡®endless gourmet seeker¡¯ says he sincerely wants to properly witness your skills one day.]


    -... one of them did, i guess.


    -that constellation seems to be interested in me, which is quite bothersome. what type of constellation is it?


    excessive interest in choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t good. it forced him to hide while climbing up one step at a time.


    -endless gourmet seeker? ah. that constellation... he isn¡¯t a bad constellation.


    ¡°????¡±


    flustered, antony and illeya looked at choi yeonseung. they couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it had always been like this.


    ¡°indeed. if you are a hunter, you should protect your country at the risk of your life,¡± the chinese hunter next to them said in admiration.


    ¡°as a hunter, shouldn¡¯t you give your soul for the party and the country?¡±


    ¡°no. that isn¡¯t it, you crazy people.¡±


    ¡°what are you saying...?¡±


    the chinese hunters¡¯ reactions took the korean hunters aback. choi yeonseung stared at the reporters with a lukewarm expression.


    ¡°i just happened to come across a monster during the exchange, so i killed it. i didn¡¯t do it with great intention...¡±


    ¡°as expected! despite encountering it by chance, you fought with your life on the line because you couldn¡¯t stand seeing the good citizens of jeju island get hurt!¡±


    ¡°i heard that the battle was so fierce that you even had to borrow the power of your constellation during the fight! does that show how much you love south korea?¡±


    ¡°... did the press get any instructions in my absence?¡± choi yeonseung wondered, bewildered.


    the reporters...


    they were too friendly. they weren¡¯t like this before, were they? didn¡¯t they usually pick a fight and poke at people to create a situation that the public would be more interested in? in the past, the common questions were, ¡®do you feel any responsibility for greatly damaging baengnokdam?¡¯ or ¡®why did you fight there instead of going down first?¡¯


    ¡°about that... we have a few laws that regulate this, so unlike before, reporters rarely argue with hunters now,¡± lee changuk, who was next to him, carefully replied.


    ¡°huh? really?¡± choi yeonseung was surprised.


    there were laws like this in south korea now?


    ¡°that¡¯s not all. reporters have always acted like this toward hunters who have gone abroad.¡±


    that was right. reporters liked to bite at people that lived in south korea, but they were strangely kind to koreans who had gone abroad. likewise, they thought it would be better to write about choi yeonseung¡¯s patriotism rather than slander him.


    ¡°i heard you saved the injured hunters during the exchange match?¡±


    ¡°it was just simple first aid.¡±


    the reporters ignored choi yeonseung and just wrote down what they wanted to hear.


    -with a humble attitude, hunter choi yeonseung replied, ¡°i just did what i had to do...¡±


    -he is based in the us now due to circumstances, but he has never forgotten his country. he learned never to leave a fallen person behind while he was still south korea¡¯s hunter.


    ¡°.. i don¡¯t think i said that many things, so why are they typing so much?¡± choi yeonseung asked, realizing something was wrong.


    ***


    if choi yeonseung knew what the reporters were writing in their articles before they could post them, he would¡¯ve already hit the reporters the same way he hit the us reporters. however, even he couldn¡¯t figure out what they were writing down.


    after cleaning up the situation, the hunters gathered in small groups and dispersed. unexpected things had happened, but the exchange was still underway. naturally, some of the hunters¡¯ glares at each other became more severe.


    ¡°what are you staring at? want your leg broken again?¡±


    ¡°you better watch your back, you son of a bitch.¡±


    the relationship between countries, which was already bad in the first place, exploded due to the friction that took place in the exchange. realizing it, the quick-witted hunters immediately warned their colleagues.


    ¡°be careful. fights are bound to break out, so don¡¯t go around bumping into others unless necessary.¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°if you have anything to ask, just take it to the officials directly.¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°... where are they going, though?¡±


    ¡°you don¡¯t know?¡±


    they soon got their answer: the hunters were going to the rooftop.


    ¡°why?¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung is grilling meat.¡±


    ¡°... what?¡±


    many of the hunters were bastards that liked to engage in many activities. throwing a crazy party in a hotel room, driving a sports car into a pool, trying to fly right into their room on the first floor with flying magic... compared to that, grilling meat was a very safe and good hobby. hence, they were flustered.


    why would anyone grill meat?


    ¡°do they not like the hotel food... ah. i see why he¡¯s grilling meat now.¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t it like a picnic? grilled meat is good for that.¡±


    ¡°why is everyone going up, then?¡±


    choi yeonseung was grilling meat, but that didn¡¯t answer why hunters from other countries were going up. they definitely didn¡¯t come here for the meat...

 Chapter 149

    chapter 149


    ... but their guess was correct.


    ¡°is that the monster dish that the icarus clan showed last time?¡±


    ¡°he can do this without any preparations. it¡¯s amazing¡±


    ¡°did you see chef george manuel¡¯s post? i heard that hunter choi yeonseung is really talented. it seems he has a skill.¡±


    monster dishes were delicacies that only a few rich people could enjoy. known edible materials were limited, making them astronomically expensive. moreover, few chefs could handle them right. it was hard to believe that he was cooking a monster dish with no other equipment than a fire and a knife, but it was happening right before their very eyes.


    how was he doing this?


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t argo meat be fish-like, though?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know, why ask me?¡± illeya cocked her head. no matter how she looked at it, the argo¡¯s meat was closer to that of a wild beast.


    the large pieces of red meat were emitting faint magic power. choi yeonseung marinated a piece of it and grilled it. he then cut another piece into thin slices and lightly seared its surface. unlike the usual yukhoe, this one was cut into thin slices from a whole piece of meat!


    ¡°hmm. alright. try it.¡±


    antony and illeya, who had already eaten his dishes a few times, rushed in as if they had been waiting. everyone in the icarus clan now knew choi yeonseung¡¯s skills. the thinly sliced yukhoe was great on its own, but the marinated imugi ribs made them crave for something.


    ¡°there¡¯s no bread?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re in south kore. eat rice.¡±


    ¡°no, something other than rice...¡±


    ¡°come eat.¡±


    ¡°... understood.¡±


    choi yeonseung drove in the nail, making antony quietly accept the rice. he was worried that he would lose the meat if he acted stubbornly.


    ¡®wait. isn¡¯t this better than i thought?¡¯


    unlike the rice he ate in the us, the one he was eating now was quite delicious. did the rice taste different because it was native?


    ¡°is it special rice? did the chef of this hotel make it?¡±


    ¡°no. cooking it would be bothersome, so i just used instant rice.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    antony looked at choi yeonseung with a sense of betrayal. to think he was so impressed...!


    ¡°it would¡¯ve been annoying to cook anything else, so i made sure all i had to do was cook the meat. eat it.¡±


    antony focused on his meal again. for as long as the meat was delicious, the rest would certainly be unconditionally delicious as well. with every bite, they could feel their strength and energy soar!


    ¡°don¡¯t just watch. come and eat. i made a lot,¡± choi yeonseung told the hunters from korea and other countries.


    ¡°c-can we really have some as well?¡± they asked in surprise.


    ¡°why discriminate against people over food? come and eat.¡±


    ¡°can i really eat¡ªack!¡±


    choi yeonseung grabbed the rice spatula next to him and threw it. he imbued it with martial art techniques, so the hunter couldn¡¯t avoid it. it hit him in the forehead.


    ¡°except for that guy, the rest of you can come and eat.¡±


    ¡°n-no. thank you! just¡ª¡±


    ¡°dage! sob.¡±


    ¡°what is dage?¡± illeya asked while cocking her head.


    ¡°i guess it means hyung.¡±


    ¡°are you saying he¡¯s old?¡±


    the chinese hunters hurriedly made excuses.


    ¡°that¡¯s not what i meant!¡±


    he didn¡¯t know anything else, but he did notice that choi yeonseung didn¡¯t like his age being mentioned.


    ***


    ¡°hah...¡±


    jeong wonuk admired the unexpectedly peaceful situation. everyone, regardless of nationality, was sitting on the rooftop and eating meat. he couldn¡¯t imagine this type of thing happening during the exchange. under normal circumstances, everyone would already be cursing each other out...


    ¡®i have to record this.¡¯


    the sight seemed as if it would make for a very good photo. they could use it later as an advertisement when announcing the exchange hosted by golden blood fish.


    the strength of martial arts was ultimately determined by how consistently one worked.


    those with outstanding talent would naturally grow rapidly with brilliant enlightenment. however, among the many linked movements in martial arts, the ones that could be relied on during chaotic, real-life situations... were those that they had practiced for a long time.


    when learning martial arts, practitioners would inevitably learn that there was no shortcut to it.


    ¡°hey,¡± chen yuwei, a chinese hunter, called.


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°what is it? are you trying a surprise attack?¡±


    ¡°surprise attack?¡±


    ¡°the japanese hunters have been cursing you and your friends for quite some time now.¡±


    ¡°those are just baseless accusations from those japanese bastards. you know how good they are at creating and manipulating rumors.¡±


    ¡®wow, how shameless.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was impressed. witnessing chinese hunters reacting in such a way left him with no other option but to admire their behavior. where did they get trained as a group?


    ¡°well, let¡¯s just say there was a misunderstanding.¡±


    it didn¡¯t affect choi yeonseung anyway. he would¡¯ve turned them into bone powder if they touched hunters like lee changuk, but they just attacked japanese hunters...


    couldn¡¯t they do well on their own?


    chen yuwei looked around, lowered his voice, and said, ¡°there are quite a few chinese martial artists who have reached the b-grade.¡±


    ¡°......?!¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised. b-grade martial artists could decently fill in the role of clan ace. there was no way choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t be aware that there were so many martial artists in china.


    ¡°what? are you hiding them?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°why?¡±


    some hunters didn¡¯t like disclosing their identities to the outside world. hunters were national powers, so letting others know about them would actually prove detrimental to them. hence, in some coercive countries like china, quite a few unofficial hunters were nurtured in secrecy.


    ... but that had clear limits.


    the moment those hunters took on an active role, their identities would immediately be revealed. in addition, the stronger the hunter became, the more likely they were to refuse orders from the party and the country. carrots were just as essential as whips.


    ¡®b-grade hunters are hard to control, aren¡¯t they?¡¯


    ¡°about that... they aren¡¯t actually b-grade hunters.¡±


    ¡°ah... manipulation?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s not it. cough. just a bit of support... something like that.¡±


    hunter rank manipulation had been around for a long time now. manipulating the ranks so a hunter would reach a-grade was practically impossible, but they could at least reach b-grade by being given achievements.


    ¡°why do something so useless?¡±


    ¡°it is one of the plans the party conceived.¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    the world sometimes didn¡¯t run rationally. when martial arts collapsed and everyone started learning magic, one of the officials of the chinese communist party created a strong argument.


    -throwing away martial arts is ridiculous! rather, we should push martial arts more aggressively when other countries withdraw!


    -what nonsense is that...


    -is your son a martial artist?


    -our china has the largest number of martial artists in the world! how can we throw away this advantage?


    as a result, attempts to foster martial artists in china continued behind the scenes. they gathered young and talented people from all over the country and taught them martial arts! however, since there were limits to what they could teach, the results naturally also had a limit as well. most of them could only reach c-grade.


    ¡°really?¡±


    ¡°cough. some of the executives care about their public image, so a bit of manipulation was done...¡±


    ¡°... you¡¯re still doing this?¡±


    ¡°still?! what nonsense are you saying?¡±


    ¡°you used to manipulate ratings...¡±


    ¡°that is just a rumor spread by other countries!¡±


    ¡°... i understand. keep talking.¡±

 Chapter 150

    chapter 150


    ¡°anyway, i was waiting for those talented and promising martial artists to play an active role while training at the party¡¯s facilities...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    it was a lot of strange rhetoric, but choi yeonseung just listened calmly. chen yuwei could be saying this not because he liked it. if his family was in china, then he probably had no other choice!


    ¡®i have to understand what he¡¯s trying to tell me.¡¯


    to summarize, the party invested in creating a facility for fostering martial artists, then worked hard to raise them. however, they didn¡¯t get the results that they wanted. hence, by somehow manipulating the martial artists¡¯ ranks, they gained several b-grades. however, the moment those people went public, the party¡¯s crime would be discovered, which was why they just left it on the books.


    that was the obvious solution. this was usually the case with chinese businesses.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it doesn¡¯t understand why they did something so inefficient.]


    ¡®that¡¯s just how the human world is.¡¯


    ¡°... your recent performances have reached the ears of the party officials.¡±


    ¡°is that so?¡±


    b-grade hunters weren¡¯t relevant enough for their achievements to spread all over the world, but several factors overlapped when it came to choi yeonseung¡¯s case. he was a first-generation hunter, an abyss returnee, and one of the few remaining martial artists. they were bound to notice him. among those factors, martial arts drew the most attention.


    ¡°as a result, some people started saying that we should look at the martial artists trained by the party.¡±


    ¡°anyway, mani¡ª¡±


    ¡°it isn¡¯t manipulation. it is unpreparedness!¡±


    ¡°yes. you aren¡¯t prepared.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve heard that several people involved are nervous about it.¡±


    the political battle within the chinese party was a war without guns. it was a bloody death match where they would literally lose everything the moment they lost! no one would admit their mistake in such a situation.


    ¡°are they going to kill all the people involved?¡± choi yeonseung asked with a shocked expression.


    ¡°... what nonsense is that?¡± chen yuwei was startled.


    ¡°you look so serious that i started expecting something that severe.¡±


    ¡°what do you take china for...¡±


    regardless, that wouldn¡¯t happen.


    ¡°how would they even get rid of so many people? even if they somehow succeeded, the records would still be around.¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ wonders if there is something strange about what he is pointing out.]


    ¡°what they are trying to do right now is somehow create a performance.¡±


    ¡°performance?¡±


    ¡°yes. they can save face if they have at least a few decent martial artists to show for.¡±


    during the raiding era, all countries conducted hunter-development projects. it didn¡¯t matter if they spent a few trillion won. they would profit for as long as they could get one a-grade hunter from it. if some of the hunters turned out to be actual b-grade ones, then they could insist that those hunters were successors who could reach a-grade!


    ¡°so they¡¯re training hard using the video you posted...¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°why are you surprised? the video you posted is being used as a textbook at the training center.¡±


    ¡°... th-that can¡¯t be.¡± choi yeonseung was astonished.


    what government training course would use a video meant for novice hunters who knew nothing?


    ¡°... i heard it is quite fruitful even though it doesn¡¯t produce results that fast.¡±


    ¡°it would be difficult to reach higher levels with a video alone.¡±


    ¡°i know. that¡¯s why i¡¯m telling you this.¡±


    chen yuwei looked serious. he was currently b-. the moment he set foot into the b ranks, he gained some power as a hunter. that was how he knew about what was going on with china and its party.


    ¡°maybe one of the officials with a weaker position in the party will contact you.¡±


    ¡°they would dare kidnap my family and intimidate me?¡±


    ¡°... no! not like that!¡±


    ¡°what? no? wasn¡¯t that how they used to do it?¡±


    before the great invasion of the evil god constellations, they kidnapped family members and threatened hunters to recruit them...


    chen yuwei was startled. was that the case before?


    ¡°it isn¡¯t like that. they will scout you and contact you to make some proposals.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    chen yuwei gulped and looked around, then said, ¡°... i¡¯m here to tell you that it would be best for you to say no.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    go jangmyeong coughed and, with some humility, said, ¡°i was just lucky.¡±


    ¡°i see. anyway, what brings you here?¡±


    ¡°i want to clear up a misunderstanding.¡±


    ¡°huh? a misunderstanding?¡±


    ¡°i know you hate south korea, hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    hwang gyeonryong was always the first to be mentioned when talking about hunters who immigrated to another country because the one they were currently in wasn¡¯t treating them well.


    a-grade hunters doing that already caused heartbreak, but he was an s-grade! this always came up whenever americans and koreans fought on the internet.


    -does it make sense that this match is in south korea¡¯s favor?


    -why did they hand over dragon hwang to the us if they know so much?


    -... why don¡¯t you get lost?


    extremely embarrassed by that incident, the koreans changed the laws relevant to it. there was a steady stream of dissent from the national assembly, but it was usually resolved by saying, ¡®do you want to see another hwang gyeongryong go overseas?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was from hwang gyeongryong¡¯s clan, and he also joined hwang gyeongryong¡¯s new clan when he returned from the abyss. go jangmyeong was convinced that choi yeonseung was firmly disappointed by the deaths of his former clan members.


    ¡°the government has no excuse for what happened in the past, but things are different now! south korea has changed a lot, and it is completely different from before¡ª¡±


    ¡°uhh... i¡¯m sorry, but i don¡¯t have a grudge.¡±


    ¡°... huh?¡±


    ¡°i really don¡¯t hate anyone. it is saddening that my fellow clanmates died, but i¡¯m not holding a grudge against south korea because of that. i wasn¡¯t even in south korea when that happened, was i?¡±


    ¡°uh... why are you with hunter hwang gyeongryong, then...?¡±


    ¡°when i returned, i fell in the united states. that¡¯s where we reunited. we¡¯re close, so i decided to join him.¡±


    ¡°ah...¡±


    go jangmyeong finally understood what happened. his subordinate, who was next to him, looked as if he found it absurd.


    -i heard you were going to relieve choi yeonseung¡¯s grudge...


    -no... that...


    they originally planned to show sincerity so they could clear up misunderstandings and draw a picture of the future. however, he couldn¡¯t say anything because choi yeonseung didn¡¯t hold grudges in the first place.


    ¡°i wish you well in your endeavors, then.¡±


    ¡°thank you. it¡¯s been a pleasure. have you said all that you have to say?¡±


    ¡°uh... yes.¡±


    choi yeonseung stood up, shook hands with him, and walked out.


    ¡®he seems a bit strange. how did he reach that position?¡¯


    ***


    ¡°you¡¯ve worked hard. how was south korea?¡±


    ¡°it was good in many ways. some things have changed, but some things are still the same...¡±


    ¡°what hasn¡¯t changed?¡± hwang gyeongryong curiously asked.


    the view of the seas or mountains? no, that changed quite a bit too...


    ¡°they now create a lot of fake news.¡±


    ¡°... i-i see.¡±


    ¡°there is also fake news about you meeting changsik hyung. shouldn¡¯t you sue them hard?¡±


    ¡°i-i¡¯m too busy to care about such articles.¡±


    ¡°you wouldn¡¯t be doing it yourself. anyway...¡±


    choi yeonseung gave a brief summary of what happened.


    ¡°that monster was sent by a constellation?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s highly possible.¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s expression stiffened.


    choi yeonseung was relatively less afraid because he was a constellation, but for most people, evil god constellations were no different from natural disasters. their existence caused many deaths!


    ¡°i¡¯m going to do as much research as i can.¡±


    ¡°i understand. tell me if you need anything. ah, right. someone wants to meet you.¡±


    ¡°?¡±

 Chapter 151

    chapter 151


    mackenzie junior. a b+ hunter from the uk and ranked 4th in the b-grade uhc league. he was a young but already undisputed ace hunter. being rated b+ as a hunter meant he had the potential to become an a-grade, and it was proof that people had high expectations of him. moreover, ranking 4th in the uhc evidenced that among the many hunters, he had outstanding single-combat skills. he wasn¡¯t weak.


    ¡°never heard of him.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s only natural that you haven¡¯t heard about some people. anyway, he¡¯s a good person. he comes over to learn from me every now and then.¡±


    ¡°... you¡¯re not just making me meet someone who respects and constantly compliments you, are you?¡±


    ¡°no, no. dude.¡±


    ¡°why does he want to meet me, then?¡±


    ¡°he didn¡¯t tell me, but isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± hwang gyeongryong shrugged.


    choi yeonseung killed the argo, an a-grade monster, by himself. he borrowed the power of a constellation, which wasn¡¯t ideal, but killing an a-grade monster could never be overlooked. he would clearly receive a notice about his rank going up to b+ within one to two weeks. considering how fast he ranked up since he returned from the abyss...


    ¡®i have good momentum right now.¡¯


    a-grade hunters were often called monsters, not humans. perhaps that was why none of the a-grade hunters climbed up the ladder slowly. most of them rose quickly and exploded at some point. they either gained enlightenment, special skills or made a contract with a constellation...


    no matter the reason why it happened, it was good. in any case, this momentum was important.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s current growth was enough to make him an a-grade candidate. the gambling sites already had choi yeonseung¡¯s name for the bet, ¡®who will be the next a-grade?¡¯


    ¡°mackenzie is seriously aiming for a-grade, which is probably why he wants to meet and talk to you.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s prediction was soon proven wrong.


    ***


    ¡°hello. i am called mackenzie junior. it is a pleasure.¡±


    a man dressed in a suit had come inside. he had his hair neatly combed back. mackenzie greeted hwang gyeongryong first, then choi yeonseung.


    ¡°can we talk in private?¡±


    ¡°sure. i¡¯ll give way.¡± hwang gyeongryong walked out.


    with a serious expression, mackenzie said, ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. i have been watching your recent performances very well.¡±


    ¡°thank you.¡±


    mackenzie placed a fancy, gold-plated ticket on the table.


    ¡°do you know what this is?¡±


    ¡°uh... are you asking me to go to a game with you?¡±


    he knew that when hunters got to know each other, they would play poker, go to games together, or have crazy parties, but seeing it happen in person was a bit embarrassing. it had been less than a minute since they met each other.


    ¡°this is the right to challenge the b-grade league champion.¡±


    ¡°are you trying to brag about it?¡±


    ¡°no! please listen.¡±


    the current champion of the b-grade league was glenn douglas. whenever americans voted for their favorite hunter, he would always be at the top of the rankings.


    a b+ hunter being voted above the a-grade and s-grade ones showed how great glenn¡¯s popularity was. he was young, handsome, had a good personality, and was good at fan service... the most american of all hunters! as the current champion, the burden on challengers to challenge him increased.


    uhc matches had to be mutually agreed upon. everyone ranked below him wanted a chance to fight the champion, but for that to happen, the champion had to pick them.


    ¡°i used constant persuasion, media mobilization, and constant requests to gain the right to challenge the champion.¡±


    ¡®he sounds like he¡¯s bragging...¡¯


    ¡°i will give you this right.¡±


    ¡°?!¡±


    choi yeonseung was shocked. choi yeonseung was ranked 20th. he was frustrated because he still couldn¡¯t fight someone in the single digits, but now that he had the chance to fight the champion, he found it ridiculous.


    ¡°aren¡¯t you also aiming for a-grade, hunter choi yeonseung? it would be a great help to that goal if you can get the champion¡¯s throne.¡±


    to reach the a-grade position, killing one a-grade monster wasn¡¯t enough. the standards had become very strict due to several cases of rating manipulation. hence, they now had to kill four or five a-grade monsters. defeating glenn, one of the hunters closest to a-grade, would greatly help him during the evaluation.


    ¡°i know you respect hunter hwang gyeongryong, but isn¡¯t this too much?¡±


    ¡°naturally, i have conditions.¡±


    ¡°i see. i thought so.¡±


    ¡°please join me in a constellation battle.¡±


    ¡°...??????¡±


    ¡®......??¡¯


    choi yeonseung was taken aback by the proposal.


    [the ¡®fighter of sweat and flesh¡¯ is asking what you think.]


    ¡®a race...¡¯


    the rules were simple. two household members would race to the finish line. the first to get there would win.


    ... but in truth, it wouldn¡¯t be that simple. running through the abyss was difficult, and they could also attack their opponents.


    ¡®won¡¯t they try to kill each other as soon as it starts?¡¯


    [the ¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says that direct attacks against each other are prohibited.]


    ¡®......!¡¯


    attacks were prohibited?


    ¡®what? what is he thinking? goddess constellation. do you know anything?¡¯


    -i don¡¯t know much about endless linked explosions. that constellation isn¡¯t old. maybe he recently got a really useful mount in the abyss.


    the constellations also had childish sides. if they got a useful mount, they would want to use it. this constellation was no different.


    [the ¡®fighter of sweat and flesh¡¯ says that he is confident. he asks about your opinion.]


    -successor, you don¡¯t have a mount, do you?


    choi yeonseung was currently struggling with realm management, so he had no time to get an abyss mount.


    -no. i¡¯ll just run on foot.


    -... huh?


    the goddess was taken aback, finding his decision unexpected.


    -no... races usually involve riding something.


    -it isn¡¯t like i can¡¯t run.


    -that¡¯s true, but...


    the goddess didn¡¯t know what to say. he was right, but...


    this... this was...


    ¡®this race¡¯s track is quite long. isn¡¯t it worth trying?¡¯


    none of the constellations here had stepped directly on the land of the abyss for thousands of years. on the other hand, choi yeonseung had been chased and had chased others on it. hence, he was unlikely to lose in such a battle. there was a chance he would lose to some power or skill if the racetrack was short, but since it was long...


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that even if you lose, only the fighter of sweat and flesh will suffer losses.]


    ¡®that¡¯s right.¡¯


    choi yeonseung accepted the proposal.


    [the ¡¯fighter of sweat and flesh¡¯ has accepted the challenge!]


    [you have both made a reasonable bet. the four constellations have agreed. the contract has been established!]


    [losing the constellation battle won¡¯t decrease your power of existence!]


    ***


    -......


    -......


    ¡°......¡±


    the three household members looked at choi yeonseung, seemingly finding him absurd.


    ¡°didn¡¯t your master give you anything?¡± mackenzie whispered to choi yeonseung with a bewildered expression.


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s... uh... well, let¡¯s do our best, hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    the three household members all shared the same thought.


    why wasn¡¯t this guy riding anything?

 Chapter 152

    chapter 152


    ¡°by the way, mackenzie.¡±


    ¡°yes?¡±


    ¡°your master doesn¡¯t hate you, does he?¡±


    ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°nothing...¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at what mackenzie was riding with a strange expression. no matter how he looked at it, mackenzie was riding... a giant pig. the giant pig grunted and stomped on the ground.


    ¡®what is the fighter of sweat and flesh doing? why did he give mackenzie something like that?¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says one of the contestants doesn¡¯t even have a mount.]


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t care much about appearance, but this seemed a bit disadvantageous. one was riding a giant pig, and the other had no mount. in comparison, the opponent was riding...


    ¡®an ice dragon!¡¯


    a beautiful dragon with a body made out of ice silently flapped its wings as it looked down at choi yeonseung. ice dragons were rare monsters in the abyss. they were strong, and they were popular because of their beautiful appearance and loyalty to those they recognized as their master. ice dragons could only be found in certain abyss realms. quite a few people wanted to get their eggs and offer them to their constellation.


    ¡®that mount has to be from the observer who returned from a cold place.¡¯n?00v€l--?1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.


    the being riding and patting the dragon looked like an ice elemental. after all, he released cold, white air every time he breathed.


    meanwhile, the endless linked explosions showed a different form of intensity. a mechanical being, perhaps a cyborg, sat on the mount. even the slightest movements reverberated faint sounds of steel colliding and lubricant oil pouring. the artificial life form had oil flowing within it instead of blood!


    ¡®abyss realms that are more technologically advanced than earth are rare.¡¯


    earth was behind in magic, but it had considerably advanced technology. the abyss was a space full of magic power. in most areas, magic and technology developed together. a place where technology developed without any magic like earth was quite unusual. thanks to this, technology had advanced a lot, but...


    earth had never created artificial life forms.


    -weak flesh, bones, and fatigue can¡¯t defeat me, human.


    the emotionless and inorganic mechanical man dryly spoke to choi yeonseung. he was riding a bipedal mechanical dinosaur made of steel, brass, and springs.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ thinks the endless linked explosions is quite the engineer.]


    ¡®i was thinking that too.¡¯


    -this match is just entertainment for my master, but i do not intend to lose.


    this constellation battle wasn¡¯t a serious fight for the life and territory of the constellations involved. it was more like a game to soothe their boredom. if it were a proper fight, it would¡¯ve taken a lot more preparation, and the atmosphere now would¡¯ve been different. nevertheless, the stakes and the seriousness of the household members¡ªincluding the constellation pretending to be one¡ªparticipating in it was real.


    ¡®i¡¯ll be fine, but i don¡¯t know if mackenzie will be okay.¡¯


    however, contrary to choi yeonseung¡¯s expectations, mackenzie and the pig took the lead as soon as they started.


    ***


    ¡°!!¡±


    the pig¡¯s leaping power surpassed choi yeonseung¡¯s imagination. it shot forward, having launched itself off the ground with a kick from its thick legs.


    ¡®no?!¡¯


    unlike choi yeonseung, their enemies weren¡¯t surprised. they calmly chased after mackenzie using the ice dragon and mechanical dinosaur. one of them left a trail of ice, and the other a trail of fire. it wasn¡¯t as explosive as the pig, but they showed formidable paces.


    ¡®this is just a three-person match,¡¯ the mechanical human calmly judged.


    he didn¡¯t know what the undefeated incarnation of training was thinking, but letting his household member participate without any mount was a mistake. choi yeonseung had to have disgraced the household. if not, then the undefeated incarnation of training likely had a problem with the fighter of sweat and flesh.


    ¡®i will do my best.¡¯ the mechanical man erased the human who had already fallen behind from his mind and focused on the task ahead.


    this wasn¡¯t just a race on a mount. it was about how well they could hold on in a randomly selected realm of the abyss. this difference would determine the winner of the match. not even the household members participating in the race knew what lay ahead of them.


    ¡®rock showers!¡¯


    rocks suddenly started to rain down on the empty wasteland. rock showers were a specialty of the abyss. losing strength, the rock clouds from other areas fell down like raindrops.


    ¡°ohhhh!¡± mackenzie screamed as he held onto the pig tightly. in this situation, all he could rely on was the mount his master had given him.


    -listen, mackenzie. this pig is wiser than any sage. trust in it and stand on it. it will bring you victory.


    -thank you! i will do my best!


    ¡®a swamp!¡¯


    ¡°you idiot. you didn¡¯t even notice the swamp?¡±


    the terrain of the abyss was so terrible that stepping on it could turn it into a swamp. the mechanical dinosaur monotonously protested.


    -insufficient functionality. blaming me is unreasonable.


    -booster rush! accelerate explosion!


    at the mechanical man¡¯s command, the mechanical dinosaur struggled to get out of the swamp.


    clicking his tongue, choi yeonseung jumped off the mechanical dinosaur. his feet had submerged into the swamp, which attempted to pull him down, but he just struck the swamp with internal energy. using light footwork, he then made himself as light as he could and began to run ahead.


    tak, tak, tak, tak.


    as he charged forth, he released internal energy. he then retrieved it to preserve as much internal energy as possible. choi yeonseung had mastered the tricks required for a being made of flesh to run for a long time.


    the moment the distance widened, the mechanical man looked at choi yeonseung incredulously.


    -that¡¯s impossible. how can he do that with such fragile flesh and bones?


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t use any magic, but he could keep running like this without getting tired.


    [the ¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ acknowledges your ability!]


    ***


    as mackenzie was going around, the ice dragon broke through the fog and flew as fast as it could. choi yeonseung was putting a limit on himself to maintain his internal energy, but he also paid keen attention to the momentum of the ice dragon following closely behind him. if it caught up and reversed the situation...


    ¡®i¡¯d have to speed up even if it means running out of internal energy.¡¯


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know what the ice dragon had up its sleeves, but he didn¡¯t intend to lose.


    [the ¡¯observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ gives you a proposal.]


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. he had just received a message from a constellation out of nowhere.


    ¡®...what?¡¯


    [the ¡¯observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ says that considering the current situation, one of you is bound to win.]


    [if you accept his offer, he promises to let you win.]


    ¡®... what is he up to?¡¯


    this constellation gave him an offer despite being allied with the explosives constellation.


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. was this psychological warfare?


    ¡®wouldn¡¯t it be bad to ally with a constellation, then betray them?¡¯


    -you would be treated like a complete dog.


    ¡®is that so?¡¯


    there were also rules between constellations. if a constellation joined a two-on-two battle only to stab their ally from the back, nobody would trust them anymore. nevertheless, the constellation choi yeonseung was up against just offered to betray his ally.


    ¡®goddess. what do you think of this?¡¯


    -i think you should be the one to decide on this, successor. i don¡¯t understand what he¡¯s trying to do either.


    even the goddess couldn¡¯t fathom the meaning behind this proposal.


    what was he thinking?


    the worried choi yeonseung made a decision.


    -... i refuse.


    [the ¡¯observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ is disappointed.]


    [he says that his household member isn¡¯t slow.]


    -i know, but i¡¯m confident that i will win.


    choi yeonseung raised his head and looked straight ahead.


    a magical storm was gathering in front of him.

 Chapter 153

    chapter 153


    [?]


    [?]


    [?]


    bewildered, the three constellations looked at choi yeonseung. even the fighter of sweat and flesh, who was on his side, did the same. what was this bullshit?


    [the ¡®fighter of sweat and flesh¡¯ is becoming angry!]


    [he says letting a household member die like this is too much!]


    ¡®he¡¯s quite nice, isn¡¯t he?¡¯ choi yeonseung thought. he didn¡¯t expect the fighter of sweat and flesh to respond in such a way. to a constellation, members of their household were no different from useful chess pieces. it was rare for a constellation to show such affection for a household member.


    a roar echoed as the magical storm swept up choi yeonseung. the magical storm was such a powerful force that even the constellations were afraid of it, but choi yeonseung just relaxed and gave in to its flow. when he got used to it, he then turned and changed directions as if he was swimming.


    ¡®i can keep moving like this.¡¯


    the constellations were now more curious about choi yeonseung¡¯s survival than the results of the race. the incarnation of training wouldn¡¯t have thrown away his household member without thinking.


    [the ¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ is interested to see how you will pass through the storm of the abyss.]


    [the ¡¯observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ says that no matter how he thinks about it, this is too much.]


    no matter how good the plan was, there was no guarantee that it would work, especially when it involved jumping into a magical storm. hence, the constellations felt truly surprised when someone emerged from the magical storm.


    [the ¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ is very surprised!]


    [the ¡®fighter of sweat and flesh¡¯ is very surprised!]


    [the ¡¯observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ is very surprised!]


    choi yeonseung broke through and appeared on the path on the other side with more magic power than when he entered the magical storm.


    bang!


    choi yeonseung shot forward like a bullet, reaching speeds that surprised those going around the magical storm and chasing after him.


    [the ¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ asks why you climbed onto someone else¡¯s mount when you could¡¯ve just done that.]


    ¡®... i¡¯m sorry about that.¡¯


    choi yeonseung had nothing to say about this. unlike the mechanical dinosaur, choi yeonseung had limited internal energy, so he tried to pace himself! those who had fallen behind tried to catch up to choi yeonseung by using hidden skills, but the magical storm created so much distance between them that it couldn¡¯t be easily narrowed.


    eventually, choi yeonseung crossed the finish line first.


    [the constellation battle is over!]


    [the ¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ acknowledges you.]


    [he suggests joining the terrorism done on earth.]


    ¡®isn¡¯t this bastard crazy?¡¯


    [the ¡¯observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ tells you not to forget his offer.]


    [he will be waiting if you ever change your mind.]


    ¡®... what?¡¯


    choi yeonseung refused the offer from the observer constellation out of reluctance. it was suspicious for a stranger to suddenly present such an offer. yet despite being rejected, the observer constellation just made the offer again.


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t figure out what this being was thinking.


    ¡®when a constellation is rejected... they usually wouldn¡¯t make the same offer again, would they?¡¯


    -that¡¯s correct.


    no matter how weak, constellations were extremely prideful. it was hard to believe one such being would offer something they had already been rejected for.


    -however, not all constellations insist on pride, successor. just take that push¡ªthe goddess who can see the future, for example.


    -were you just about to say pushover?


    -no. anyway, isn¡¯t that goddess crawling around shamelessly and without pride?


    -......


    the goddess¡¯ words were so harsh that it would¡¯ve been better to just call her a pushover. constellations who had lived for a long time no longer cared about what they said.


    -the goddess constellation is a special case, though. unlike her, there is no reason for the observer constellation to favor me.


    the fighter of sweat and flesh had a longstanding bad relationship with the collector constellation. one who liked living and breathing beings, and one who liked such beings neatly caged and confined in his kingdom. having gone against each other several times, their relationship was now in a terrible state.


    -i thought i should tell you this before your fight. you should be careful! he is evil and powerful!


    -... thank you for letting me know.


    ***


    ¡°hmm.¡±


    choi yeonseung was in such a bad mood when he returned from the constellation battle that he didn¡¯t feel like using the soul stones to buy what his realm needed. he planned to fight glen douglass as soon as he could so he could win the championship and say things like, ¡®fear martial arts, everyone!¡¯


    however, douglas signing a contract with an evil god constellation was by no means an ordinary matter. competing with the household member of the elf constellation showed him how fraudulent the power of a constellation was. in a fight within the confines of b-grade¡¯s limitations, it was like cheating.


    ¡®maybe he hasn¡¯t lost yet because of the evil god constellation¡¯s power.¡¯


    choi yeonseung immediately asked hwang gyeongryong for advice since he had the most familiarity with matters like this.


    ¡°what? that guy?! i knew it! he seemed unpleasantly nice and clean for an american!¡±


    ¡°... no, hyung.¡±


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded. that was his reason?


    hwang gyeongryong was serious, though.


    ¡°douglas has always been overly polite and gentle. in a raid, he would say things like, ¡®i didn¡¯t do much.¡¯ whenever his opponents in uhc matches provoked him, he would just say, ¡®i¡¯ll do my best,¡¯ instead of becoming angry. people like him are the ones who usually go crazy and go on a shooting spree.¡±


    sometimes, people with no dirt on them could seem suspicious. that was how hwang gyeongryong felt about douglas. thinking hard about it, hwang gyeongryong suggested, ¡°why don¡¯t you postpone the match?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°you currently have great momentum, so you might just reach a-grade if you kill three or four more a-grade monsters. you¡¯re progressing several times faster than i expected.¡±


    ¡°that is true.¡±


    from c+ to b-, then b- to b. right now, it was pretty much confirmed that he¡¯d be promoted to b+. he could definitely aim for grade a if he built up a few more major achievements. the uhc match was an opportunity to show and imprint choi yeonseung¡¯s power on many people, but it also posed a formidable risk.


    ¡°you¡¯re ranked twenty right now. if you beat him, it¡¯ll just be another special case, but if you lose, you¡¯ll definitely be cursed at.¡±


    the champion had such privileges. people wanted the champion¡¯s challenger to have a legitimate claim rather than just popping out of nowhere.


    ¡°do you think i will lose?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know. however, all sorts of strange people pop up out of nowhere in the uhc.¡±


    in this industry, the hunters struggling in the bad alleys could suddenly go crazy after meeting a constellation.


    this was the uhc.


    ¡°even if you think it¡¯s unfair, you¡¯re not allowed to say anything if a bastard who has signed a contract with a constellation defeats you. besides, the fact that douglas hasn¡¯t been detected so far means he is extremely good.¡±


    considering the many people watching him still hadn¡¯t noticed he had signed with an evil god constellation, he had to have been using his powers skillfully. in truth, he was a monster in the b-grade league.


    [the skill ¡®overcome oneself to become strong¡¯ has been activated. fighting douglas will increase the power of your existence.]


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter. we are going to fight anyway.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    if choi yeonseung was just a regular hunter, he would have likely avoided this. however, choi yeonseung was a constellation. he wouldn¡¯t be worthy of being a constellation if he was so scared of his opponent that he avoided fighting them. if the opponent used the power of the constellation to cheat, then choi yeonseung intended to overwhelm them with powerful combat abilities that would be pushing near his limits.


    he would give it a try!


    ¡°... yes! if you want to, then i will believe in you! if i don¡¯t, then who will?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong cheered him on, having given up on stopping him. now that choi yeonseung had come to a decision, pouring cold water on him wasn¡¯t hwang gyeongryong¡¯s job as an older brother.


    ¡°by the way, hyung. i didn¡¯t get to ask you about this last time, but do you remember jeong yeonju?¡±


    ¡°who¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°my ex. i dated her for quite some time.¡±


    ¡°huh? there was a girl who stuck with you for that long?¡±


    ¡°we did a raid together.¡±


    ¡°... oh, that jeong yeonju? no, wait a minute. you were dating her?!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong looked at choi yeonseung with a shocked expression. he had only learned about it thirty years later!

 Chapter 154

    chapter 154


    ¡°... you didn¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°no, i didn¡¯t...¡± hwang gyeongryong admitted.


    ¡°both of you were hunters who liked to train, so i thought you just got along well because you both trained hard.¡±


    ¡°wait. haven¡¯t you seen her come out of my house before?¡±


    ¡°i thought you were just sweating hard because you have just finished training.¡±


    ¡°uh...¡±


    choi yeonseung realized why hwang gyeongryong got divorced so much!


    ¡°hah... how strange. the two of you were dating?¡±


    ¡°yes, and han seha and han sehui are yeonju¡¯s daughters.¡±


    ¡°what? really?¡± hwang gyeongryong was once again surprised. ¡°it¡¯s a relief that she married into a nice family.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°han seha and han sehui are the daughters of a famous chaebol group in south korea.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung was the one surprised this time. their mother¡¯s early death making them suffer made choi yeonseung extremely sad. however, now that he had thought about it, that wouldn¡¯t necessarily be the case. they had other family members. to top it all off, they were related to one of the most prominent chaebol groups in south korea!


    having been divorced dozens of times, hwang gyeongryong coolly said, ¡°this is good for you as well, dude. how hard would it have been for jeong yeonju if she married you?¡±


    ¡°hyung. you know i can beat you up, right?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m just giving you advice as someone who has been in a lot of marriages. do you want your old love to suffer for thirty years because of you? did you want to live happily ever after with her?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s not the point. from what i¡¯ve heard, a monster killed the couple.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s expression immediately darkened. ¡°... is that so? that¡¯s a shame.¡±


    even though hunters had dramatically increased in numbers and had become stronger on average, there were still deaths caused by monsters. however, the death toll was far higher ten or twenty years ago. in fact, many of hwang gyeongryong¡¯s acquaintances were killed before he left korea.


    ¡°i¡¯m surprised hyung doesn¡¯t know about yeonju. considering she married to a chaebol group, you should know more about her.¡±


    ¡°before i left, i put my entire focus on our clan members. afterward, i tried not to pay any attention to south korea. i¡¯m not in a position where i would know the third generation of korean chaebols...¡±


    ¡°hyung, you are so annoying.¡±


    ¡°still, i¡¯m telling you the truth. things could¡¯ve gone differently if she had come up to me and said hello. speaking of which, didn¡¯t han seha participate in the exchange? it had to have been awkward. i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°what are you sorry for?¡±


    ¡°as far as i know, han seha is...¡±


    ¡°think carefully about your next words.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung suddenly spoke seriously and formally, flustering hwang gyeonryong.


    ¡°no, she isn¡¯t your child...¡±


    ¡°she¡¯s yeonju¡¯s child.¡±


    ¡®i am really dumbfounded.¡¯


    ¡°yes. everything¡¯s fine for as long as it wasn¡¯t awkward. anyway, if you¡¯re going to fight douglas, then i have to help you.¡±


    ¡°huh? can you manipulate the match?¡±


    ¡°what nonsense... not like that, dude! i meant helping you off stage.¡±


    many people would dislike the fact that the 20th place choi yeonseung would be fighting the champion. however, no matter how disgruntled, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything about it. fortunately, hwang gyeongryong was powerful. starting with various broadcasts and reporters, he could make it appear as favorable as possible! he didn¡¯t like this type of work so he didn¡¯t do it often, but this case was different.


    ¡°ah. president nguyen also asked to see you.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°you seem to have made something great. did you use your constellation powers?¡±


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it was made with its power!]


    nguyen talked nonstop, seemingly expecting that choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t be easily convinced.


    ¡°look at the roads and the city outside that window.¡±


    ¡°okay.¡±


    ¡°two-thirds of the city¡¯s power probably comes from monster cores. see those electric cars passing by? where do you think they get their energy? that¡¯s right¡ªmonster cores. being a hunter is a great profession that protects our civilization and our people. it is a rewarding and proud career. however, it is technicians like us who keep that civilization running!¡±


    ¡°no...¡±


    [the ¡¯cat of lava and magma¡¯ is so moved that it is shedding tears.]


    nguyen¡¯s words of pride as a technician moved the cat constellation. this was the true essence of technical skills!


    ¡°i¡¯ve been interested in processing cores and creating artifacts since i was young. i¡¯ll put my whole life on the line to tell you this. hunter choi yeonseung! you must keep producing artifacts. this is for the sake of humanity!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry, but i don¡¯t intend to quit being a hunter.¡±


    despite how desperate nguyen was, it didn¡¯t affect choi yeonseung in the slightest. if he was the type to fall for tears, he would¡¯ve fallen behind in the abyss. nguyen¡¯s shoulders slumped. he became sullen.


    ¡°i see... i already thought convincing you otherwise is impossible. the chairman told me as much. after all, hunter choi yeonseung has spent more time working as a hunter than i have in my entire professional career.¡±


    ¡°are you saying i¡¯m old?¡±


    ¡°n-no. that¡¯s not what i meant... anyway, if that¡¯s your decision, then it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll help you whenever i can, at least.¡±


    ¡°huh? really?!¡±


    ¡°yes. it isn¡¯t that difficult.¡±


    the clothes that choi yeonseung was wearing, the weights he lifted, and the chicken breasts he ate whenever he was bored were all bought with hwang gyeongryong¡¯s money. what was so difficult about taking care of his household member¡¯s business?


    nguyen looked thrilled.


    ¡°thank you! i didn¡¯t expect you to help me. the chairman is very mischievous.¡±


    ¡°why?¡±


    ¡°the chairman wanted to handle this in a completely different manner. as it turns out, being sincere worked was all i had to.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong planned to appeal to choi yeonseung¡¯s emotions by preparing and funding a bunch of new projects revolving around choi yeonseung¡¯s ability and then say, ¡®oh, choi yeonseung refused. this will result in the company¡¯s sales plummeting.¡¯


    ¡°... what nonsense is that?¡±


    choi yeonseung found it absurd. no wonder hwang gyeongryong smiled insidiously whenever he was bored. was this what he meant?


    ¡°right? i also thought i should just be sincere about it.¡±


    ¡°that isn¡¯t really the answer either.¡±


    ¡°are you going to refuse?!¡±


    ¡°no. i already accepted.¡±


    nguyen sighed with relief. in all honesty, hwang gyeongryong was right. the old choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t have done such a thing. however, he had since changed, and his view had broadened.


    ¡®there is a limit to killing monsters.¡¯


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s strength was his power as an s-grade hunter, but beyond that, it was the vast group he had. one would require more than just brute force to fight the president of the united states.


    ¡®one would need the power of capital.¡¯


    there used to be a joke along the lines of, ¡®hunters have the talent, but the companies are the ones who earn.¡¯


    hunters did make a lot of money, but the real winners were corporations. they generated astronomical profits by processing cores and by-products from monsters the hunters killed, thereby creating new businesses. fortunately, even hunters could wield the power of having a company freely! putting in extra effort would allow him to use that power.


    ¡°now. please accept this.¡±


    ¡°what is this?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a business card. please use this whenever you go anywhere! i prepared it in advance!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung suddenly remembered hwang gyeongryong¡¯s words.


    -nguyen looks like a nice, polite guy, but when he wants something, he will do whatever it takes to achieve it. he pulled in all the researchers down there.

 Chapter 155

    chapter 155


    ¡°... thank you. i will use it if i have to show off my business card somewhere.¡±


    choi yeonseung accepted the business card.


    ¡°wait. that¡¯s weird.¡±


    ¡°huh? is there a spelling mistake?¡±


    ¡°no, but... why am i the ceo?¡±


    ¡°haha. that isn¡¯t it.¡±


    ¡°ah. is it an error?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a joint ceo position,¡± nguyen proudly said, rendering choi yeonseung speechless. being parachuted into the company like this... wasn¡¯t this too much?


    ¡°i don¡¯t really care about other people, but isn¡¯t this a bit too much?¡±


    cursing choi yeonseung aside, their hardworking people could lose motivation if they saw this.


    nguyen shook his head. ¡°no one will be dissatisfied with this. this industry is all about skills in the first place.¡±


    the raid industry had such fierce scouts that a company could find its talent going to its competitor in the blink of an eye. everything was allowed for as long as they were capable. in addition, the researchers saw and were convinced firsthand what choi yeonseung could create, so they certainly wouldn¡¯t complain.


    ¡°the company always gives hunters preferential treatment to a certain extent. after all, if they¡¯re offered a low position, they wouldn¡¯t even consider joining.¡±


    hunters invited to join the company had to be offered a director or manager-level position, at the very least. that was how valuable a hunter¡¯s abilities were.


    ¡®they don¡¯t just want me to slay monsters... no. i shouldn¡¯t think like this.¡¯


    choi yeonseung reflected on his own thoughts. a hunter¡¯s job wasn¡¯t just doing raids. fighting other hunters, throwing crazy parties, going on tv, and doing business could also be parts of a hunter¡¯s job.


    -you don¡¯t seem to think so at all, successor, so don¡¯t overdo it.


    no matter how hard choi yeonseung tried, it was surprisingly hard to change his mind. values were hard to change!


    ¡°ceo... what does a ceo do?¡±


    ¡°we produce results. i know you¡¯re busy, however, so i¡¯ll take care of the complicated paperwork. you just have to do one thing: develop useful artifacts. however, ¡®useful¡¯ doesn¡¯t just mean performance. it also means sellability on the market.¡±


    artificial artifacts had a highly competitive market. after all, it wasn¡¯t just about items. this important industry was connected to the country¡¯s national strength! all countries naturally wanted their companies to bring great performance, but the market was cold due to the fierce competition.


    out of the countless artificial artifacts that appeared in a year, only three or four survived. hunters were very composed.


    -if you are a chinese hunter, then buy hu feng artifacts! chinese people! use hu feng artifacts out of patriotism!


    -do you want us to die in dungeon raids?


    -the ¡öing developer of this item should show themselves! its magic isn¡¯t working!


    even china with its strong control couldn¡¯t force its hunters to use their local artificial artifacts. it was really hard to deal with the hunters once they exploded with anger.


    ¡°what are the conditions an item has to meet to bring in good sales?¡±


    ¡°it should be durable, imbued with versatile skills, have great damage, is generally usable, and have a great and cool design.¡±


    ¡°the design as well?¡±


    ¡°yes, that¡¯s also a very important factor.¡±


    ¡°... continue.¡±


    ¡°price, among other things, is also important.¡±


    ¡®i¡¯m already losing confidence.¡¯


    choi yeonseung started to worry that the cat constellation¡¯s guidance made others¡¯ expectations of him too high. he never thought he would end up working as a corporate executive in his entire life...


    nguyen laughed as if he noticed choi yeonseung¡¯s worries. ¡°you don¡¯t have to worry too much. the short sword you made last time? we think that alone already has a significant competitive advantage.¡±


    ¡°really?¡±


    ¡°yes. however, the design of its hilt.... feels a bit childish, so there is a discussion about working on that part.¡±


    ¡°principles are indeed important.¡±


    as a constellation, choi yeonseung agreed, but for a different reason. those who denied their own principles wouldn¡¯t grow any further. the most important thing was to stay true to themselves.


    with utter sincerity, nguyen said, ¡°i¡¯ve always done my best so i won¡¯t have any regrets if ever i have to step down.¡±


    ¡®this is a big deal. he is crazier than i thought.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was stunned. to put someone he just met in the ceo position... what type of person was nguyen?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says you just have to do it.]


    -... yes, thank you.


    the cat constellation was right. for the sake of this madman¡¯s ceo position, choi yeonseung had to perform, even if just a little.


    ¡®the goal is mediocrity. i¡¯ll just produce average results.¡¯


    choi yeonseung¡¯s objective was very conservative. he didn¡¯t want to create an innovative model or a revolution in artificial artifacts. he just wanted to make sure that they would get sales as usual! at the very least, that would prevent this crazy guy from getting fired.


    ***


    there were many ways to make artificial artifacts, but one of the most prominent methods was to process abyss materials. the materials from the abyss were extremely susceptible to change. their attributes would change depending on how many times they were hammered and how much pressure or heat was applied to them. using various theories and statistics, the researchers tried to find optimal results.


    what skills would an item have if made using a certain process? what would its durability and damage be? through endless trial and error, they had to find a formula that would make it easy to mass-produce an artifact. such discoveries were called golden formulas.


    ... the frozen blue long sword made by choi yeonseung had a level of completion so close to perfection that it no longer required further processes! that was only natural, though, since the cat constellation had taught him the process itself.


    -hmm. by the way, cat constellation. can¡¯t the people here just copy what i did?


    choi yeonseung was a beginner in production, but he was a master of making full use of his body. people couldn¡¯t knead steel and hit it with their internal energy like he did.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it won¡¯t be as perfect as when the incarnation made it, but it isn¡¯t impossible.]


    they could do it with the powerful hydraulic press if they wanted to apply the same force choi yeonseung exerted whenever he hit the material with internal energy, and artificially lowering the temperature could replicate his release of cold air.


    the technological prowess of humans surprised even the cat constellation. they could even reproduce the techniques without a single spell.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it is too awkward to use machines instead of a craftsman to mass-produce it, however.]


    -sorry. you have to put up with it.


    choi yeonseung told the cat constellation. he had to bring results to this business, so he had no choice. how could hwang gyeongryong swear at china despite having so many factories in its territory? craftsmen who created masterpiece after masterpiece would go down in history, but companies that produced hundreds of thousands of industrial products ruled the world!


    -this reminds me of the old days.


    -uh. did you have a knack for blacksmithing as well?


    choi yeonseung¡¯s eyes shone, making him look as if he would grab her by the collar and make her work immediately. it genuinely scared the goddess of sloth. at times like this, there was no successor!


    -... no, i meant it reminded me of an old story about my household member.


    the goddess of defeat and sloth¡¯s household member, a very outstanding warlock, had this idea one day.


    ¡®why get sentient workers? they have to be paid and fed, among other things. they¡¯re extremely annoying. can¡¯t we just let the undead do chores?¡¯


    -isn¡¯t that a crazy idea?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is dumbfounded, finding the idea insane!]


    most undead were incapable of doing intricate work. they could even barely follow dull and simple commands. a strong undead could handle it, but it was crazy to have such an undead do chores...


    -no. that household member succeeded. he ended up creating a spell.


    -... what? really?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is shocked!]


    magic to make the undead work. it was unbelievable. to think there was such a great magician...


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ begs to have the secret revealed!]


    even the manipulator of dreams and desires, who normally just quietly listened, couldn¡¯t stand it.


    there was really such magic!

 Chapter 156

    chapter 156


    -is it enough for the manipulator constellation to come out?


    choi yeonseung was amazed. it was understandable for the cat constellation to watch choi yeonseung all the time since it only rolled around in the warm lava area. in comparison, the manipulator constellation was someone who ran her own kingdom. he never thought that the usually unobtrusive constellation would say something like this.


    -you are saying this because you don¡¯t know how great this magic is. think carefully. the sight of many undead making items at the same time. if they make tens or hundreds of thousands of them, one of them will be a masterpiece.


    choi yeonseung imagined it without realizing it. a huge factory with all types of facilities. skeletons and ghouls working 24 hours a day in that factory. was this the automation of the raid era?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ asks what ¡®manipulator constellation¡¯ means.]


    -don¡¯t worry about it. it doesn¡¯t mean much. it was true. it was the first time he knew that an undead could do such a thing.


    after receiving the expectations of three constellations, the goddess of sloth opened her mouth with a very burdened expression.


    -i had nowhere to use it so i put it away...


    -......


    -......


    [......]


    the three constellations glared at her and the goddess continued speaking in a hurry.


    -i can find it. find it!


    -hurry up and find it.


    -successor, you are too harsh on me.


    the household members of the goddess of sloth had retired after a certain period of time. like their master, they all wanted to play and eat. the goddess understood this feeling so she was considerate.


    -so what is the problem?


    -it will take some time to find and wake up the household member who knows the secret.


    the goddess had a long history and she had many household members. finding them, waking them up and asking for the secret was a hassle.


    -don¡¯t play tricks and find it quickly. if you can¡¯t find it, you will train with me for 25 hours a day.


    choi yeonseung threatened in a sincere manner. the goddess started sweating at the first threat. it was unbelievable pressure from a young constellation!


    -i... i will find it. i will find it.


    ***


    douglas, the champion of the b-grade league, was always surrounded by people.


    ¡°glenn. this drama was also incredible. people just drop dead when you come out!¡±


    ¡°where are you going to next?¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s see. i don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°how about trying a raid after a long time? the ripple effect will be great if you enter the dungeon!¡±


    the moment douglas walked out after filming, douglas¡¯ people gathered around him and chatted one by one. starting with the secretary, agent and manager, the composition was diverse.


    douglas was smiling but his inner thoughts were cold.


    ¡®insignificant bastards.¡¯


    they were people helping douglas but in douglas¡¯ eyes, they were just insignificant.


    [¡¯noble crown collector¡¯ is pleased with your attitude.]


    the collector constellation was pleased with douglas¡¯ actions. what the collector constellation wanted was a lineage with a long history.


    everything else was just petty dust.


    ¡°hunter douglas! i¡¯m a fan!¡±


    a little boy passing by shouted while holding out an autograph paper. douglas¡¯ escorts and manager tried to stop him but douglas stopped them.


    ¡°come here. i¡¯ll sign it for you.¡±


    the people who saw this scene exclaimed. as expected, douglas had a different personality! he was the champion of the b-grade league, the one who was closest to a-grade. it was hard to believe he didn¡¯t lose his humility despite being in such a high position and still treated his fans like this.


    ¡°thank you!¡±


    douglas sent the boy away and inwardly cursed.


    ¡®what a nuisance.¡¯


    [¡¯noble crown collector¡¯ is more satisfied with your attitude.]


    in the eyes of the collector constellation, douglas was a very likable household member. in the first place, there were no constellations who selected a household member they didn¡¯t like, but douglas was outstanding among them. he had an arrogant personality that fit the constellation very well!


    the agent approached douglas and said. ¡°douglas. do you remember the challenge that you gave mackenzie junior?¡±


    ¡°what are you guys doing over there?¡±


    ¡°uh? nothing. uh. i was looking at the weather for today.¡±


    ¡°you can see it is sunny just by looking at the sky right now. but you said you are looking at the weather separately?¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at smallwood like he was strange. did he have any future foresight skill?


    ¡°n-no. friend. there is a saying that goes ¡®check the weather in advance when the sun is shining¡¯.¡±


    ¡°is there such a saying? it is weird.¡±


    choi yeonseung shrugged and walked away. the road to the stadium was already full of people. once choi yeonseung entered, there was an explosion of boos.


    -cowardly bastard!


    -fight fair and square!


    -what is this old man?


    it was such severe booing that a normal person would¡¯ve trembled and passed by quickly. however, choi yeonseung¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t change.


    ¡®keep making noise.¡¯


    after living in the abyss for over 10,000 years, such jeers sounded like sweet desserts. when running an inn in the realm of demons, the cursing he heard was 100 times worse than that.


    ¡°spit!


    someone close by spat at choi yeonseung. choi yeonseung avoided it, grabbed the person by the collar and pressed against both cheeks.


    slap slap slap slap slap!


    ¡°ack! ack! kuack!¡±


    ¡°this dirty bastard.¡±


    once someone threw a raw egg from a distance, choi yeonseung skillfully caught it and threw it back.


    pak!


    -boooooo!


    -what are you doing?


    as the booing grew, choi yeonseung responded.


    "shut up!"


    the shout filled with internal energy silenced the voices of the people gathered here and overwhelmed them. once the surroundings became quiet, choi yeonseung nodded in satisfaction.


    ¡°it is a bit better now. keep quiet until i go in.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    it was only after choi yeonseung went in that the crowd was able to open their mouths.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö! ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    seeing the curses pouring out like crazy, the icarus clan hunters looked tired. this...


    it was a total villain position! it wasn¡¯t at the level of dropping oil in the fire. it was completely pouring it on!


    ¡®isn¡¯t choi yeonseung enjoying himself?¡¯


    ¡®what is he going to do?¡¯


    ***


    everyone was silent at the end of the match. it was one of the greatest matches they had seen in recent years. the match was so perfect that the spectators were overwhelmed by what they saw! the match was so fierce and at a high level that even those who were cursing kept their mouths shut. finally, the winner was choi yeonseung.


    ¡®it isn¡¯t a joke.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was frankly impressed. he knew that douglas had signed a contract with an evil god constellation but he hadn¡¯t expected it to be to this extent. at this moment, the future appeared in front of choi yeonseung¡¯s eyes.


    [¡¯future sight¡¯ has been triggered.]


    ¡°......¡±


    then choi yeonseung was astonished.


    douglas...


    suddenly, he went crazy and went on a rampage, killing the people around him.


    ¡°?????¡±


    were his skills broken?

 Chapter 157

    chapter 157


    future sight wasn¡¯t perfect. wasn¡¯t the goddess the perfect evidence of that? if it was perfect, the goddess wouldn¡¯t be crouching in the corner of a room right now. the future was fickle. not even the constellations of the abyss could completely predict it.


    ¡®still, it isn¡¯t without any basis.¡¯


    though not completely the same, this future could still happen. choi yeonseung judged as he reasoned out how to use the future sight skill.


    -you seem to use it better than the original owner.


    -what a joke... wait, was that not a joke?


    choi yeonseung was bewildered. although he lost the match, douglas was still a popular hunter. many fans would support him even more. in their eyes, choi yeonseung likely looked like a villain who stole douglas¡¯ crown. why would douglas do something crazy when he still had so much? no matter how much power a hunter had, killing people in public would be crossing a line that should never be crossed. the damage it would do was irreparable.


    ¡®no. i shouldn¡¯t worry about why he¡¯d do it.¡¯


    choi yeonseung realized he didn¡¯t have to think about douglas¡¯ reasoning. all he had to do was stop him if he pushed through with it and leave if he didn¡¯t. moreover, if the future he saw was accurate, then time was running out.


    ¡®i¡¯ll have to use the power of the icarus clan¡¯s hunters. fortunately, the mount hua sect is here as well.¡¯


    choi yeonseung contacted the icarus clan hunters who came to the stadium, then contacted the hunters of the mount hua sect.


    -congratulations on your victory!


    -uh, thanks. anyway, be prepared to fight. do you still remember the method i taught you last time? get ready to use it to stop someone.


    -understood.


    the mount hua sect hunters who came to cheer for him were taken aback by the sudden order. however, they showed no hesitation. they were used to doing dirty work in the underworld, after all. once orders were given from above, they follow without questions!


    ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°who knows... is he trying to attack someone?¡±


    it was surprisingly common for hunters to fight each other, even more so when the hunters in question belonged to the uhc. they were powerful and prideful. once they had received all types of insults and curses, they would be left with no other choice but to explode. this often led the idiots among them to gather fellow hunters and openly attack others.


    ¡°but he won.¡±


    ¡°... really? ah. maybe his opponent is the one about to attack. we have to be careful.¡±


    choi yeonseung had just shown one of the greatest matches in uhc history. it even made the mount hua sect hunters¡¯ hearts pound. the least they could do was escort him properly after such a match. it would be a shame if the enemies attacked while they were protecting him. they could be a bit lacking in terms of rank, but they were proud of their pvp combat ability. moreover, they recently made remarkable achievements thanks to choi yeonseung.


    this was their time to show off!


    ***


    ¡°the match was beautiful,¡± brian said, feeling moved.


    brian was an experienced commentator, but this bout rendered him speechless multiple times.


    that was how perfect it was! to use an analogy, it could be called a match between a spear and a shield.


    as the champion, douglas faced choi yeonseung with near-perfect magic linkage. as soon as the match started, he activated and covered himself with all types of defensive magic. afterward, he cast mid-range magic to prevent choi yeonseung from approaching.


    despite having a wide range of magic spells, which douglas showed in this bout, he still managed to use all the appropriate ones for the situation. when he realized choi yeonseung was significantly faster than other hunters, douglas used it to his advantage by using wide-range or homing magic.


    within the first minute, choi yeonseung was put on the defensive and already looked as if he could be taken out at any moment. in fact, even the host thought that would be the end of choi yeonseung.


    however, choi yeonseung turned the tables around little by little. although the terrain around him getting smashed and the ice spears chasing after him could¡¯ve depleted his patience, choi yeonseung remained calm and collected.


    -no, master. please give me one more chance! just one! he had a lot of information about me, and i didn¡¯t know anything about him. don¡¯t abandon me, master! it will be hard to find a talent like me!


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ is ignoring you.]


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ says that someone as unworthy as you should at least please your master by acting like a clown.]


    -what does that mean...?


    the focus in douglas¡¯ eyes disappeared. douglas jumped up and looked at the staff gathered around him.


    ¡°you trash.¡±


    ¡°d-douglas, what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°it is because of trash like you that i lost. there wouldn¡¯t have been any other reason for me to lose,¡± douglas said, shocking the staff.


    ¡°douglas. i know you lost, but calm down. i¡¯ll let this slide, so get some rest. we¡¯ll talk after.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right, douglas. we¡¯re here to support you.¡±


    ¡°shut up.¡± douglas drew his sword.


    a b+ hunter had physical strength beyond imagination. the staff died before they could even use any magic.


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ is rejoicing!]


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ says he is not satisfied yet. he orders you to go outside and claim more victims.]


    signing a contract with an evil god constellation never ended well. at first, they seemed kind and empowering, but they could discard their household members at any given moment. the collector constellation was very amused by the fall of the noble champion.


    outside his holding room were tens of thousands of people who had come to watch his match. how would the humans react when he shot them with magic?


    ***


    ¡®is he crazy?¡¯ choi yeonseung was astonished. sensing douglas¡¯ aura, he judged that his recent opponent had started ramping inside the waiting room.


    ¡°give the order to evacuate! icarus clan hunters, head inside!¡±


    ¡°w-what¡¯s happening?¡±


    the staff members working at the stadium were taken aback when choi yeonseung suddenly ran out. he had already won, so what was he doing? choi yeonseung grabbed the person in charge by the collar and glared straight into his eyes, his strong presence overwhelming the man¡¯s spirit.


    ¡°evacuate the people.¡±


    ¡°c-copy!!¡±


    the man obeyed, but before he could issue the evacuation order, douglas stormed out of the waiting room and smashed the entrance. he was holding the corpse of a staff member in one hand.


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    as many of the onlookers tried to make sense of what they were seeing, douglas unleashed magic toward the stands!


    ¡°stop it, antony! i will kill you if you fail!¡±


    ¡®this crazy guy!¡¯ antony cursed at choi yeonseung. this person had a talent for making his cheer words to others very novel.

 Chapter 158

    chapter 158


    ¡°why should i stop this?!¡± antony shouted while casting a spell.


    in the past, one couldn¡¯t be a hunter unless they were selfless. in situations like this where magic was flying toward the public, they shouldn¡¯t care about their own life. antony thought it was crazy. still, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to leave.


    choi yeonseung was already occupied. if antony left now... he would feel uncomfortable.


    ¡°kuock!¡±


    a shining, hexagonal magic barrier appeared in front of antony. douglas was stronger, however, and antony knew that. uhc hunters were skilled in single-combat matches, and douglas was the champion of the uhc¡¯s b-grade league, which was filled with nothing but monsters. nevertheless, if antony couldn¡¯t even block one attack, then he didn¡¯t deserve to be a hunter!


    -magic stacking, hexagonal magic barrier, hexagonal magic barrier!


    antony squeezed out his magic power and stacked his magic spells to create a thick shield, which he positioned at an angle.


    ¡®magic isn¡¯t all about power!¡¯


    control.


    learning martial arts as choi yeonseung beat antony to a pulp gave him enlightenment. martial arts weren¡¯t just about throwing punches. when punching, one had to thrust his fist forward in a straight line, make complicated changes, and even add tricks...


    although he hadn¡¯t completely grasped all the complex principles, he could use and apply some of them in magic.


    douglas¡¯ magic scraped over the top of the shield with a tearing sound.


    bang!


    rather than penetrating the shield, the slanted angle directed it upward, causing it to blow off the ceiling.


    ¡°gasp, gasp...¡±


    ¡°t-thank you.¡±


    ¡°shit! why do i have to save you guys? why are you sitting in the stands in the first place?¡±


    having used his magic power in vain and feeling himself tingling from the shock, antony grew angry. the verbal abuse surprised the people.


    we¡¯re sitting down because we¡¯re here to watch the match...!


    ¡°i¡¯m here to watch¡ª¡±


    ¡°shut up! hurry up and get out of here!¡±


    the people who fell around him stood up in a panic. they didn¡¯t know if they should thank or curse him.


    ***


    the hunters of the icarus clan blocked douglas¡¯ magical rampage, which was so powerful that smallwood and elisabeth felt their fingers turn numb.


    ¡°this bastard... what¡¯s with his magic power...?¡±


    ¡°this is insane! gutierrez, what is wrong with him?!¡±


    ¡°how should i know?! evacuate the people! where are the people in charge?¡±


    at the very least, elisabeth didn¡¯t swear at people like antony did despite the situation. her spirit of providing fan service as a uhc player remained alive and true.


    looking around, smallwood felt surprised. ¡°... the people in charge have fled?¡±


    ¡°what?!¡±


    the security officials who were supposed to control the situation and issue orders were all gone. they fled the moment they saw douglas casting magic. only the lower-end security guards were in the area, looking around with bewildered expressions.


    bang!


    with the sound of a stomp, choi yeonseung appeared right next to smallwood.


    ¡°what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°friend! all the security guys have fled!¡±


    choi yeonseung immediately got a grasp of the situation. there were tens of thousands of people in the stadium right now. it didn¡¯t matter how hard they tried to get out due to the limited number of exits. without anyone controlling the situation, the people would most likely shove each other, trip, and die amid the stampede before douglas could kill them.


    ¡°w-what should we do?¡± the security officers asked while pulling out their pistols. douglas was still a champion, making them wonder if they could shoot douglas.


    choi yeonseung shook his head. ¡°just keep yourself safe and guide people to evacuate.¡±


    ¡°but that is our job...¡±


    choi yeonseung grabbed them by the shoulders.


    the mount hua sect hunters immediately grabbed the man¡¯s collar and pulled him out. they then beat him up and stepped on him.


    ¡°kuack! kuaaack! kuck!¡±


    one of the basic skills martial artists learned was how to hit someone without damaging their bones or muscles. the others didn¡¯t know that, however. watching the hunters trample on the man as if they were going to kill him frightened the people. if they cut in line, they would definitely be left behind! even with douglas running wild behind them, the trembling people kept moving in an orderly fashion.


    ¡°anyone who tries to cut in line will die! don¡¯t even dare take out a gun! swords are faster than your guns!¡±


    ¡°threaten anyone, and we¡¯ll lop your head off!¡±


    thanks to the mount hua sect hunters, the people quickly exited without pushing or falling over each other. seeing the sight, the icarus hunters thought such methods were efficient!


    ¡°if we don¡¯t want to fall behind...¡±


    ¡°shit! pick up the fucking pace, why don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°friend. if you don¡¯t shut up right now, i¡¯ll break your jaw!¡±


    ***


    ¡®... did i say too much?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was momentarily flustered, but at the very least, the hunters had handled the situation. many people had already left.


    ¡°out of strength already?¡±


    ¡°no,¡± choi yeonseung briefly replied to douglas¡¯ sarcastic remark before drawing his sword. white flames engulfed it.


    complete sword energy! such beautiful, pure sword energy could only be conjured by those who had reached the peak-class stage. the mount hua sect hunters¡¯ jaws dropped when they saw it. before their very eyes was the dream of every martial artist.


    ¡°??¡±


    douglas seemed like he didn¡¯t have any idea about the full power of the complete sword energy yet. as soon as choi yeonseung approached douglas, the sword energy flashed and drew a gentle line through the space. as soon as it touched douglas, it cut off the enormous magic power protecting him.


    ¡°kuaack!¡±


    made of compressed internal energy, the sword energy emitted a sharp destructive power. douglas jumped back and flew away.


    -how great!


    douglas sounded as if he wasn¡¯t the one speaking. choi yeonseung instinctively knew who it was: douglas¡¯ master, the noble crown collector.


    -humans are so interesting! i can¡¯t believe your skills are improving this fast. is it because you¡¯re an abyss returnee? is it because of a contract with a constellation? although i do know that humans burn fiercely among the races of the abyss, this is still surprisingly amazing. did i misjudge your bloodline?


    ignoring him, choi yeonseung swung his sword, but douglas just disappeared and reappeared behind him.


    ¡®this bastard is using the power of existence.¡¯


    it was annoying, but choi yeonseung didn¡¯t stop attacking.


    -how dare you cut me off while i¡¯m talking? that¡¯s rude.


    a space opened up in front of douglas, and a summoning began.


    ¡®household members!¡¯


    the collector constellation was summoning his household here. choi yeonseung was dumbfounded.


    -no... is the collector constellation crazy? what is so great about douglas that he¡¯s pouring everything he¡¯s got here?


    the constellations of the abyss normally didn¡¯t interfere with earth. that was what their household members and minions were for. he would have to use a lot of his power of existence to summon his household members from the abyss...


    this wasn¡¯t about occupying territory right now. wasn¡¯t he just terrorizing the stadium and releasing his anger?


    -this looks interesting, successor.


    -... constellations are really annoying.


    -you¡¯re also a constellation...


    -time to get serious.


    while choi yeonseung used his power of existence sparingly, these famous constellations wasted theirs for their own amusement. putting aside his anger, his current situation was very tricky.


    the collector constellation spoke to him again.


    -i wasn¡¯t very interested in you before, but i am now. martial arts is a unique skill that has risen sharply lately. however, it is wasted with your bloodline. are you of noble or royal birth? i heard you¡¯re from the gyeongju choi clan. is there anyone famous in that lineage?


    ¡°......¡±


    ignoring the constellation, choi yeonseung rushed in. his sword energy exploded, stretching and curving as it split apart one of the summoned household members.

 Chapter 159

    chapter 159


    -how amazing!


    the collector constellation felt admiration despite his summoned household member being instantly killed in one blow and sent back to the abyss. even in the vast expanse of the abyss, choi yeonseung¡¯s martial arts were unique.


    spin.


    choi yeonseung split another enemy with the exploding sword energy, then spun around and aimed at his next opponent. the collector constellation had summoned several household members. he had to reduce their numbers quickly. since they belonged to an evil god constellation, he had no idea what they would do if he left them alone.


    he didn¡¯t know if it was fortunate or not, but right now, the constellation was too absorbed in admiring choi yeonseung¡¯s martial arts. it wouldn¡¯t be strange if the collector constellation destroyed the surrounding area and turned it into hell, so choi yeonseung had to take advantage of this situation now to deal with him!


    bang!


    unlike before, his fist reacted immediately. he wouldn¡¯t be attacked in the same manner twice.


    -do you know the family of the one you dealt with earlier? he is the heir to a lineage of the british royal family.


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung was shocked. now that he had thought about it, all the household members summoned here were human. the collector constellation had taken over the united kingdom, so there was nothing strange about him picking out people and recruiting them into his household.


    -how do you feel? huh?


    the collector constellation stared at choi yeonseung with expectations. there were quite a few hunters in this stadium, but among them, choi yeonseung was the only one who stepped up to save the citizens. the more righteous and good a human was, the more entertaining it was to play with them. the collector constellation expected choi yeonseung¡¯s face to be distorted with pain and despair.


    ¡°well... people can die any time.¡±


    -?!


    choi yeonseung was calmer than expected. he wasn¡¯t as good and upright as the collector constellation thought. it wasn¡¯t choi yeonseung¡¯s fault that he couldn¡¯t save his opponent. it was the fault of the collector constellation, who turned normal people into household members.


    -aha. i understand now. you¡¯re from asia, so you don¡¯t care much about european royalty. then how about this? the enemy you are dealing with right now has the blood of the japanese royal family flowing in his veins! can you still cut this man down?


    ¡°... ah. yes.¡±


    ¡®did the constellations not do even the slightest bit of research before invading earth?¡¯


    -well, constellations have always been like this.


    since south korea and japan were close, this constellation seemed to think that they were friendly with each other. he probably thought he could just grab the japanese prime minister and say, ¡®surrender if you want to save this man¡¯s life!¡¯


    bang!


    hence, the collector constellation was really surprised when choi yeonseung¡¯s sword energy exploded once more and tore magic apart. the collector constellation thought this human was a kindhearted hero, but he didn¡¯t show the slightest hesitation.


    did he have no remorse? the descendant of the japanese royal family seemed to specialize in close-quarters combat. he cast various buff spells on him, then attacked choi yeonseung with a katana.


    due to the power of the collector constellation, the man became as fast and his sword as destructive as choi yeonseung and his sword energy. as many martial artists had complained about, almost anything was possible with magic. however, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t flustered. even if his opponent had gained an explosive increase in power, he didn¡¯t have a deep sense of martial arts.


    choi yeonseung used the origin of the celestial step with even more strength. despite using the same footwork technique, its execution varied depending on the situation. when defending against an opponent¡¯s attack like he was right now...


    ¡®turn gently to the side and nullify the attack before it hits.¡¯


    -!!


    choi yeonseung disappeared like a shadow, causing the enemy to panic. after the japanese man¡¯s series of attacks, choi yeonseung started counterattacking from the side. the same footwork technique that he used to gently dodge earlier now became as violent as a storm.


    fighting fiercely, choi yeonseung charged toward the opponent and attacked his throat. his sword energy struck like an explosion. the opponent gritted his teeth as he tried to fight back, but choi yeonseung¡¯s movements changed again. his erratic patterns were fitting for melee combat. unlike his enemy¡¯s attacks, which couldn¡¯t reach him, choi yeonseung¡¯s attacks struck his enemy¡¯s vital points several times in a row.


    -that¡¯s amazing! how did you do that?


    the collector constellation admired choi yeonseung once more, finding his martial arts skills very interesting. choi yeonseung showed movements that could be found in any combat sport. he used footwork that was used in magic combat, magic swordsmanship, and even earth boxing.


    offensive footwork, evasive steps...


    but the depth of his movements differed so much that even if others copied him, they wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up. instead of answering, choi yeonseung used his sword energy to end the rest of the enemy household members.


    [the skill ¡®suppress the strong and support the weak¡¯ has been activated. the power of your existence has risen!]


    [the ¡®overcome oneself to become strong¡¯ skill has been activated. the power of your existence has risen!]


    a constellation wasn¡¯t used to being ignored. hence, the collector constellation started becoming furious. no arrogant constellation could stand being taken lightly by an ant.


    ¡°......¡±


    the hanging staff members looked very confused. choi yeonseung found the icarus and the mount hua sect hunters standing by among the crowd after evacuating the people.


    ¡°i¡¯ve pulled him out! give the order to attack!¡±


    despite the noise, everyone clearly heard choi yeonseung. it was as if he was speaking right next to their ears. however, they would¡¯ve begun their offense even if choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t ordered them to.


    ... douglas¡¯ figure was breathtakingly threatening.


    ¡°g-giant! it¡¯s a giant!¡±


    ¡°is that douglas?¡±


    douglas was growing bigger and bigger amid the rubble of the ruined stadium. the huge figure shimmered with an ominous light, seemingly made of dark shadows. a shining crown rested on his head.


    -today, my name will shake the continent.


    the collector constellation smiled cheerfully and looked down at the people who had gathered. he was trying to gauge how many he could kill before douglas died.


    the self-propelled artillery started bombarding him. enchanted shells passed through the magically processed gun barrel and struck douglas in the torso, but douglas defended himself by wrapping his arms around himself.


    the people gathered groaned. he was barely damaged.


    ¡°hey. did you really fight one-on-one with that guy?¡± max, another b+ hunter, asked in disbelief as he looked at choi yeonseung.


    ranked 13th in the uhc league, he knew how strong douglas was. he was already strong back then. now that he had turned into a giant with this much magic power, however, he was suffocating. only an a-grade hunter could possibly deal with douglas now. no, it was doubtful even those hunters could. taking that into consideration, it was unbelievable that choi yeonseung managed to leave the stadium after fighting douglas.


    ¡°uh... who are you?¡±


    ¡°... don¡¯t you know your fellow uhc players?! i am max. at least remember my face.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry. i don¡¯t remember anyone ranked lower than me.¡±


    ¡°since when have you been ranked higher than me...? ah.¡±


    max was about to be furious but soon realized something. choi yeonseung was now the champion.


    ¡°he¡¯s making a move! hunters, stop him!¡± the terrified soldiers shouted the moment the giant, still defending himself, started approaching slowly.


    hunters were the only ones who could stall for time when an attack wasn¡¯t working. however, those at the scene just looked at each other instead of stepping up. they could feel it instinctively. the first person to go out there now had the highest chance of dying!


    ¡°if we don¡¯t stop him now, this area will be devastated!¡± an officer cried out eagerly. however, the hunters didn¡¯t move.


    ¡°can¡¯t the us issue an order at times like this?¡±


    "what are you talking about? of course not.¡±


    ¡°hah. really? south korea just issues orders.¡±


    choi yeonseung was impressed. so this was the country of freedom.


    ¡°mount hua sect hunters. i am going to make a request, not an order. you can say no if you want.¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    ¡°will you fight that man with me?¡±


    ¡°of course. we¡¯ve been waiting!¡±


    ¡°thank you.¡±


    antony, who was listening to the conversation, suddenly wondered, ¡°aren¡¯t we needed?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re supposed to follow. let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°... isn¡¯t that too mean?¡± as antony complained, elisabeth and smallwood looked at each other in surprise.


    had antony finally realized his problem?


    as the ominous giant slowly kept moving forward, tearing up the road and destroying cars, choi yeonseung¡¯s group boldly charged in, leaving a deep impression on the people in the area.

 Chapter 160

    chapter 160


    ¡®can these hunters help at all?¡¯ elisabeth suddenly wondered as she ran.


    douglas used to be a b+ grade hunter and the closest to a-grade. having been given the power of a constellation, he had to be an a-grade now.


    the icarus clan hunters were at least b-grade, which meant they had at least one or two spells they could use against a-grade monsters. in comparison, all the other hunters seemed to be below c-grade...


    wouldn¡¯t it be dangerous? choi yeonseung knew that as well.


    ¡°use that sword technique. i will be with you.¡±


    ¡°... copy that!¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words fired up the mount hua sect hunters. the martial artists aligned their locations and directions for their current strategy, which involved using the formation that the mount hua sect practiced the most lately. unlike magicians who could respond flexibly, martial artists could do almost nothing if their rating was different. however, this formation changed that by amplifying the power of the weak many times over so they could face the strong!


    choi yeonseung was also part of it, which was so reassuring for them that it didn¡¯t even matter anymore that their enemy was a giant spreading ominous energy.


    ¡°execute the clear jade sword formation.¡±


    ¡°we haven¡¯t been able to perfect it yet...¡±


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter. i¡¯m here.¡±


    the clear jade sword formation was a new formation that choi yeonseung had created after the six channels sword display. the mount hua sect hunters couldn¡¯t properly implement it due to its high difficulty level. fortunately, it just didn¡¯t matter if choi yeonseung was with them.


    [the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ is leading his men to their deaths!]


    [the formation ¡®clear jade sword formationis activated!]


    choi yeonseung¡¯s strong power forced the formation to activate. the hunters felt a tremendous power enveloping them.


    -what is clear jade? it¡¯s such a great name!


    -... uh, did the mount hua sect always have a sword technique like that?


    -no?


    -i¡¯m sure there¡¯s already a martial art called that... no. forget it.


    choi yeonseung learned chinese through martial arts, so the reality was a bit different. regardless, the name didn¡¯t matter much. only one thing mattered right now!


    -¡ö?


    bewildered, the giant looked at the unpleasant and sticky energy that swept over him.


    -¡ö!


    bang! bang! bang!


    the giant swung his shadow fist as if wielding a hammer, each strike destroying the road and scattering asphalt debris. however, the mount hua sect hunters dodged back surprisingly quickly, the formation increasing their speed to insane lengths.


    at that moment, choi yeonseung accepted the formation¡¯s power and flew toward the giant¡¯s blind spot.


    glowing brightly, the white sword energy accurately cut the giant¡¯s ankle.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    the giant fell down to one knee.


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ is enraged by his household member¡¯s foolishness!]


    douglas¡¯ stupidity outraged the collector constellation. how could he be deceived and fooled by this formation? however, it couldn¡¯t be helped. douglas had lost all reason, and it was difficult to break through using instinct alone. whenever the giant moved in one direction, the wide encirclement moved in the other, applying immense pressure.


    the moment douglas let down his guard even a bit, choi yeonseung would come up using the power of their formation and split him apart with sword energy. as a result, the giant¡¯s movements dulled.


    ¡°attack!"


    the icarus hunters started to release the spells that they had prepared. the most powerful 5th-circle magic they could use! the soldiers bombarded the giant with artillery fire, having finally snapped back to reality. their concentrated attack was so much stronger than the one before that the giant started to howl and roll around.


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ is ordering you to move and do something!]


    ¡°don¡¯t listen to the collector bastard, douglas! the more you play into that bastard¡¯s hands, the more miserable you will be!¡±


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ asks if you are going to disobey your master¡¯s orders.]


    the collector constellation snorted at choi yeonseung¡¯s cry. douglas was a greedy and arrogant human being. moreover, his soul was already bound by the contract. there was no way he would listen to the words of an insignificant mortal. however, choi yeonseung appealed to douglas¡¯ selfishness, not his conscience.


    ¡°douglas, think about it. what is the collector doing right now? he isn¡¯t doing anything. a proper master should¡¯ve given more support!¡±


    ¡°lower your eyes if you don¡¯t want to be beaten,¡± choi yeonseung coldly replied.


    ¡°......¡±


    max did as instructed. actually facing choi yeonseung was scary. moreover, when he thought about it, choi yeonseung might look weak, but he had just won a one-on-one match against douglas. afterward, he overpowered douglas again even though the latter was running wild due to the power of his constellation imbued into him. he was only a b-grade, but it was safe to say he was already an a-grade hunter!


    people burst out cheering when max showed fear. however, choi yeonseung waved his hand to stop them. ¡°this m... oh, i strangely don¡¯t remember your name. this macsomething is rude and selfish, which is just like any other hunter, but being scared for his life isn¡¯t a bad reason not to join a fight. i hope you understand.¡±


    in the past, hunters had often fled whenever things worsened. hunters were also humans. putting their lives on the line was bound to be frightening. choi yeonseung understood how they felt.


    however, his words naturally fired up max. ¡°i wasn¡¯t scared. i made a calm judgment!¡±


    ¡°ah. shut up.¡± choi yeonseung reached out his hand and jabbed max with it, causing the latter to collapse.


    the soldier next to choi yeonseung was surprised. ¡°d-did you kill him?¡±


    ¡°... do i look like someone who would do that? he just fainted. shut up.¡±


    the people clapped again as if they understood what choi yeonseung meant.


    -that''s right. anyone should be allowed to run away when they¡¯re scared.


    -doesn¡¯t hunter max usually talk about being fearless, though?


    -those were all probably just bluffs. he was probably scared.


    -aha. he was scared a lot.


    ¡°... you¡¯re not clapping because you think i killed him, don¡¯t you?¡±


    choi yeonseung was slightly embarrassed for the first time.


    ***


    ¡°yeonseung. have you seen the article?¡±


    ¡°huh? ah. let me see it.¡±


    choi yeonseung had already returned to the headquarters. he checked out the articles as he honed his martial arts at the training ground.


    [dragon damage control successfully repaired the damages the evil god constellation has caused... what is the secret?]


    [how to join dragon damage control? preferential treatment for awakeners, extra points for possession of earth-based magic...]


    ¡°???¡±


    ¡°no. not that...!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was embarrassed. the articles advertising the restoration of the damages came out bigger than expected. did he give too much money?


    [champion glenn douglas¡¯ dark side: a contract with the noble crown collector...]


    [how did glenn douglas deceive people?]


    [the hideous champion! authorities should tighten security so this doesn¡¯t happen again...]


    [hunters contracted with constellations are a type of drug user! get out of the league!]


    ¡°hyung. i get that you hate douglas, but coming here so early in the morning to show me this...¡±


    ¡°not that, dude! why do you keep picking and looking at strange articles? page 1! look at page 1!¡±


    [a new hero appears. 1st-generation hunter, choi yeonseung stops the california hunter arena terrorist attack...]


    [a citizen¡¯s interview: ¡®when other hunters ran away, he alone...¡¯]


    [the hero who saved countless citizens...]


    [an a-grade promotion is practically definite. a new a-grade hunter is about to be born...]


    [the foresight of icarus, dragon hwang¡¯s clan. is it finally coming to light?]


    ¡°you told them to write the last article, didn¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°... yes....¡±


    how did he know?

 Chapter 161

    chapter 161


    ¡°won¡¯t you get scolded for writing such blatant articles?¡±


    ¡°everyone is doing this. why would i be the only one getting scolded?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong thought it was unfair. even small and medium-sized clans paid writers to create articles about them. it was unfair that he alone was criticized.


    ¡°when you were younger, things like this angered you so much you would even call them cowardly bastards...¡±


    "hey. hey. congratulations on becoming an a-grade!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong quickly changed the subject when the topic turned against him. there was a reason he served as a chairman.


    ¡°what are you doing? come inside and celebrate!¡±


    the moment hwang gyeongryong shouted toward the outside of the training room, the suit-clad attendants waiting outside rushed in. watching elite workers in stiff suits coming in with bouquets of flowers in their hands and surrounding choi yeonseung while shouting, ¡°congratulations!¡± was more terrible than choi yeonseung thought.


    ¡°congratulations! congratulations!¡±


    ¡°congratulations on your promotion, hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    ¡®can this be considered a mental attack?¡¯


    all the attendants here had to be from the ivy league. they were the elites of the elites...


    ¡°thank you. now, i would like everyone to leave,¡± choi yeonseung said, and the attendants immediately rushed out looking relieved.


    ¡°didn¡¯t i get promoted too quickly? i thought i would have to kill a few more monsters.¡±


    ¡°that used to be the plan, but this incident was too shocking. things could have turned into a huge disaster if it wasn¡¯t for you.¡±


    there were over tens of thousands of people in the stadium. chills went down hwang gyeongryong¡¯s spine at the thought that all those people could have died.


    ¡°there were so many witnesses, too.¡±


    there were videos not only of the fight outside the stadium but also of his fierce battle against douglas inside. the video was taken by the staff member who had such a strong professional spirit that he kept working. more than any other testimonies or explanations, that one video clearly showed choi yeonseung being driven to the point of desperation and unlocking sword energy to split apart douglas!


    everyone seemed to have believed that he had awakened the moment he was cornered.


    ¡°the video was really good. thanks to it, you can avoid unnecessary doubts. i should send a reward to the person who took it.¡±


    anyone who had seen the video wouldn¡¯t suspect that choi yeonseung had been hiding his martial arts stage all this time.


    ¡°honestly, i thought hyung would be suspected.¡±


    "why me?"


    ¡°you have so much power that you could be suspected of using it to speed up the a-grade promotion.¡±


    ¡°no... hey. although i can go to the sauna with the president, i can¡¯t touch the a-grade promotion.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was telling the truth. after several rating manipulation incidents, the a-grade rank received so much scrutiny that it had now become impossible to cheat. right now, the organization known as the un hunter watch had dedicated themselves to monitoring that rank.


    ¡°can¡¯t you bribe them?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s impossible. they all belong to the six-winged angel who hunts dragons.¡±


    the six-winged angel who hunts dragons was one of the most famous constellations on earth. a good god constellation who appeared around the same time the gates did, then proceeded to help humans! some christians even interpreted the angel constellation as one sent by god. taking that into consideration, the angel constellation was definitely helping the humans on earth...


    -do humans like the angel constellation?


    -very much so. angels often appear in movies and dramas, and many people believe in them. that¡¯s why many hunters are trying to become household members.


    -that constellation has a very tough personality, which makes it amazing.


    the goddess of sloth was amazed.


    the angel constellation wasn¡¯t a bad constellation. in the abyss, which was rampant with confusion and trickery, it was rare for constellations to keep good faith and promises. however...


    -both the good and evil factions find that constellation tiring to deal with.


    the angel constellation was strict not only with themselves but also with others. one of the typical traits that was attributed to strictness was a dislike of lying. hence, the household members and minions contracted with the angel constellation couldn¡¯t lie.


    ¡°i won¡¯t misunderstand, so just tell me.¡±


    ¡°if you want to leave the clan you are currently in, we will do everything to support you.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    ¡°legal issues, down payments... it doesn¡¯t matter what you need.¡±


    even though they were talking about hwang gyeongryong¡¯s faction here, the official from the government didn¡¯t blink an eye. he had already done this a few times. a-grade hunters being tied down was a loss for the country. becoming an a-grade hunter didn¡¯t mean that the relationships and legal obligations they had prior would just suddenly disappear.


    hence, clans that had tied a-grade hunters to them using a huge contract made huge profits. after all, the a-grade hunter could only work for the clan. to prevent that, the government fully supported a-grade hunters. they would do anything to help if the hunter wanted to leave a clan. they even drafted new legislation.


    most a-grade hunters preferred to leave, not wanting to be tied down to a clan.


    ¡°no. i won¡¯t leave.¡±


    ¡°please tell me if dragon hwang threatened you and we will convince dragon hwang. we won¡¯t just take you away, of course. we will give him enough interest first.¡±


    ¡°i understand, but i like the clan i¡¯m in right now. i don¡¯t want to leave.¡±


    ¡°is that so? i understand. then call me when you need it.¡±


    the official gracefully stepped back instead of insisting further. it was their role to do anything the a-grade hunter wanted.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. please continue to dedicate yourself to humanity and civilization,¡± the official said with a set tone, but it had a slightly different meaning to choi yeonseung. he nodded.


    ¡°i¡¯ll do my best.¡±


    ***


    hwang gyeongryong openly snorted at the official who was leaving. the official was dumbfounded, but he persevered. after all, hwang gyeonryong could kill him with one finger if he wanted.


    ¡®no, is it okay for an s-grade hunter to be so childish?¡¯


    ¡®why is he leaving out the chairman?¡¯


    ¡°yeonseung, do you know what the two dreams of the current generation of hunters are?¡± hwang gyeongryong asked with a satisfied expression.


    ¡°wealth and power?¡±


    ¡°... n-no. they do want those, but those aren¡¯t the answer.¡±


    ¡°is there anything else?¡±


    ¡°a-grade hunters can¡¯t go on air saying things like, ¡®wealth and power are my dreams.¡¯¡± hwang gyeongryong shook his head. ¡°anyway, one is the restoration of their homeland.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    shortly after choi yeonseung disappeared into the abyss, the evil god constellations invaded earth. numerous household members of the evil god constellations directly invaded earth, attacking and occupying fertile land! even now, despite a truce being signed by the constellations, such incidents still happened. for hunters who had lost their homes, this was something they wouldn¡¯t forget even decades later.


    ¡°even if the evil god constellations can¡¯t directly intervene, it will be crowded with the household members they send. is it possible to fight head-on and recover the land?¡±


    "i don''t know. it hasn¡¯t happened recently.¡±


    there had been several reckless attempts since the ceasefire. supported by the constellations, hunters and an army of soldiers mobilized and deployed. however, the evil god constellations proved formidable. they had already built solid defenses in the country they had seized and killed those who entered. it caused so much damage that no such attempt had been made again recently.


    ¡°i think it¡¯s possible, though.¡±


    ¡°has a country prepared an army?¡±


    ¡°no. i¡¯m not talking about an all-out war. i¡¯m talking about the constellations.¡±


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t the only one participating in constellation battles. other constellations also fought each other. the good god constellations, the ones who arrived on earth first, probably didn¡¯t like watching the evil god constellations messing around. hence, they tried to reclaim the territory held by the evil god constellations through constellation battles.


    ¡®isn¡¯t that a great idea?¡¯ choi yeonseung admired.


    the lands occupied by evil god constellations were like gold mines, but there was nothing in the world that couldn¡¯t be traded. it had a far more plausible chance of success than an all-out war.


    ¡°i don¡¯t know much about it since i have never signed a contract until you came, but they had probably done it a few times. i¡¯ve heard vague rumors about it.¡±


    among the a-grade or higher hunters, there were rumors about hunters following their masters and joining constellation battles. unfortunately, considering the usurped countries were still under the evil god constellations¡¯ rule, they had clearly been defeated.

 Chapter 162

    chapter 162


    ¡°by the way... even if a good god constellation wins, that doesn¡¯t make humanity the owner of the land, does it?¡±


    the good god constellations had no intention of occupying lands through force, but they weren¡¯t pushovers. they shed blood in constellation battles to win earth¡¯s land. would they really just obediently give it back? no constellation would do that.


    ¡°right? i was also curious about that.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong shared the same thoughts. hunters who had fallen deeply for the constellations would say, ¡®are you going to ignore our master¡¯s good intentions?¡¯ however, hwang gyeongryong didn¡¯t believe in the constellations.


    ¡°it isn¡¯t just me. quite a few people in other governments wonder about the same thing as well.¡±


    ¡°why don¡¯t you stop them, then?¡±


    ¡°what force do i have to stop them? and for what reason? i¡¯d just be scolded if i¡¯m wrong.¡±


    for most people, the good god constellations had good images. the ones who stopped the great invasion and the hunters working under them seemed to be transcendent beings who had come to help humanity. from a politician¡¯s point of view, there was no reason to object to them. people would say, ¡®he is greedy and doubting the constellation!¡¯ and grab his handle. some national assembly members were even kicked out for saying the wrong thing about constellations...


    ¡°frankly, it is still better than having the evil god constellation ruling.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true.¡±


    no matter how insidious a good god constellation was, they were still better than being ruled by an evil god constellation. this was especially true when considering what the collector constellation had done. evil god constellations were capable of committing any type of terror for their own pleasure and amusement!


    ¡®this isn¡¯t a good situation for me, though.¡¯


    choi yeonseung became nervous. the good god constellations were by no means weak compared to the evil god constellations. if the evil god constellations were increasing their strength by spreading fear in people, the good god constellations were increasing their strength in the opposite way.


    ¡°in any case, you will receive very serious proposals now that you are an a-grade hunter. those include all-out wars and constellation battles. refuse both,¡± hwang gyeongryong said.


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled.


    ¡°just refuse?¡±


    ¡°well... there could be a useful proposal among them, but most of them are rubbish. during your absence, the number of crazy people has grown.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong pulled up an organization¡¯s website on his smartphone.


    -knights of the holy temple.


    ¡°what¡¯s this? the knights templar? didn¡¯t they get ruined a long time ago?¡±


    ¡°no, this one¡¯s the knights of the holy temple.¡±


    the knights of the holy temple was an organization led by the royal families and hunters that were exiled from britain when the evil god constellation conquered it. their goal was to retake the uk. hearing about it made choi yeonseung happy.


    ¡°they seem like a good group.¡±


    ¡°no. they¡¯re crazy.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    they had to be really crazy, considering it was hwang gyeongryong who said that.


    ¡°those bastards don¡¯t care about the means and methods they use to achieve their purpose. since you are an a-grade hunter, they will somehow try to get you to join them.¡±


    ¡°what do you mean they don¡¯t care about the means and methods?¡±


    ¡°um. they tried to kidnap the president of the united states and launch nuclear weapons at britain.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung was shocked. they were insane!


    ¡°there are many other crazy people aside from them. they didn¡¯t come for you when you are a b-grade, but they will now, so be careful.¡±


    ¡°got it.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was certainly persuasive. right now, most a-grade hunters didn¡¯t actively do raids. they were too valuable, and there was no reason for them to do so. having reached such a high rank, they didn¡¯t have much reason to risk their lives. hence, only those who were desperate ever tried to recruit an a-grade hunter.


    ¡°watch out for russian spies as well.¡±


    ¡°ah, okay. anyway, what¡¯s the hunters¡¯ second dream?¡±


    if the first was the restoration of their homeland, what could the other be?


    ¡°attacking the abyss gate.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s eyes widened.


    the abyss gate was the first gate that appeared on earth. it connected their world to the abyss. the reason so many dungeons were still appearing on earth was because of that connection. humanity had always jumped into unexplored lands. attempts to enter it and conquer the abyss realms one by one had been going on for decades.


    ***


    [the hunters showed such ugly performances at the hunter arena in california... max revealed, ¡®i was scared as a hunter. i¡¯m a coward...¡¯]


    ¡°isn¡¯t this strange? max definitely isn¡¯t the type of hunter to say that, is he?¡±


    elisabeth was puzzled. it didn¡¯t fit max¡¯s cocky and arrogant personality no matter how much she thought about it.


    ¡°friend. does that matter now?¡±


    ¡°this is amazing. aren¡¯t there more hunters than usual...?¡±


    the icarus clan hunters usually acted on their own, so they seldom gathered in one place. yet today, she saw a strange number of hunters. it felt as if they were waiting for someone.


    ¡°it¡¯s only proper for us to wait for choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°is that so?¡±


    an a-grade hunter was different. moreover, choi yeonseung was from their clan. no matter how indifferent they were to others, for as long as they were hunters, they couldn¡¯t help being interested in a-grade hunters. they had gathered here for different purposes. some wanted to say hello, some to be taught, and others wanted to be friendly for some other reason...


    ¡°ah. damn. if i had known this would happen, i would¡¯ve established closer ties with him!¡±


    "that man is really consistent, isn¡¯t he?" smallwood marveled while looking at whittaker. few people like him could build relationships while openly calculating about it. after choi yeonseung hit him with a heavy blow once, he began to avoid choi yeonseung. however, he now reappeared.


    ¡°bah. you only make friends for profit.¡±


    ¡°w-what? we¡¯ve always been friends! friends! hey, say something!¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s hard to refute that, but...¡± elisabeth trailed off. on the surface, didn¡¯t they really just become friends for profit?


    antony was furious.


    ¡°i don¡¯t know about the others, but i¡¯m not of the same mind. choi yeonseung and i are competing in good faith...¡±


    ¡°reach a-grade first before you talk.¡±


    ¡°... do you want to die??¡±


    antony and whittaker growled at each other.


    ¡°choi yeonseung is an a-grade hunter now, so doesn¡¯t that mean the b-grade champion seat is empty?¡± smallwood asked elisabeth.


    ¡°that¡¯s right. everyone is drooling because of it."


    creak.


    several limousines pulled up, and government-sent bodyguards exited the vehicles. their objective was to follow the a-grade hunter they were assigned to wherever the hunter went.


    ¡°he¡¯s here!¡±


    ¡°wait... isn¡¯t he inside?¡±


    however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t get out of any of the limousines.


    ¡°what¡¯s everyone doing here?¡±


    rather, choi yeonseung was behind them. riding a bicycle, he matched the speed of the limousines on the road.


    ¡°... why a bike?¡±


    ¡°i was feeling a bit lazy, so i decided to train.¡±


    the bodyguards who got off the limousines looked at choi yeonseung with complicated and subtle expressions. they wanted to tell him to get in the car, but there was no way an a-grade hunter would listen...


    ¡°congratulations on your promotion to a-grade, hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    ¡°oh. it¡¯s nice to see you. by the way, weren¡¯t you the one who spat on me the other day when i asked if you were interested in martial arts?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung! i would never do that!¡±


    ¡°i know you anonymously cursed me on the internet. didn¡¯t you say that i should go to a nursing home and move around in a wheelchair?¡±


    ¡°h-how did you...?¡±


    the hunters were terrified. how did he do that?


    ¡°well, it¡¯s fine. i should accept your congratulations. thank you, everyone. why isn¡¯t anyone clapping?¡±


    clap, clap clap, clap clap clap¡ª


    applause ensued in the very awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere.

 Chapter 163

    chapter 163


    ¡°they¡¯re bowing down, but i don¡¯t feel bad.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded as he looked around. the hunters here were all over level 200 and ranked b-grade or above. moreover, these talented people came from all over the world, not just the united states. nevertheless, choi yeonseung thought it was a pity.


    ¡®i wish there were two or three more a-grades.¡¯


    they could certainly raid dungeons with their current power. however, what choi yeonseung wanted was a constellation battle and a raid on the abyss gate.


    ¡®some strategies require many talented people at my disposal before i can use them.¡¯


    when he reached a-grade, choi yeonseung felt his power of existence increase so much that he became an intermediate constellation. having successfully done several raids and advanced to a-grade, he attracted the faith of a formidable number of people.


    a protruding nail was bound to be hit by a hammer. he had a bad relationship with several evil god constellations, so he didn¡¯t know when a battle would come.


    ¡®as evidenced by the goddess of balance, it takes only a moment to fall down.¡¯


    even the best constellation could be crushed in an instant if they lost several times in a row in a constellation battle. he was doing well right now, but he still had to be more careful.


    -by the way, don¡¯t you think the goddess has been extremely ruined?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ agrees. it is rare for them to fall so quickly...]


    -everybody, shut up.


    choi yeonseung was lost in thought. right now, choi yeonseung was gathering faith quite cautiously. as a hunter, he gathered people¡¯s faith through countless good deeds. when sending out invitations, choi yeonseung made direct contact and would use his constellation name. it was a very cautious and quiet method compared to other constellations¡¯.


    ¡®i¡¯m playing tricks.¡¯


    what choi yeonseung was doing right now was foul. hence, it was only natural to act cautiously when giving recommendations.


    ¡®nevertheless, the interest of hunters is gradually increasing.¡¯


    several of the hunters wouldn¡¯t hesitate to sign a contract with an evil god constellation to become strong. hence, they had every reason to be interested in the constellation of a hunter who appeared and was promoted to a-grade like a comet.


    lots of speculations about him could be seen on the internet right now.


    -the constellation seems a bit odd, considering their name. won¡¯t you have to change your life if you sign a contract?


    -will the constellation even offer you a contract? how funny.


    -shut up. i¡¯ve been scouted a few times already.


    -if so, then you wouldn¡¯t be writing here. tell me the name of the constellations you received invitations from. aren¡¯t they all evil god constellations? i¡¯ll have to report it to the fbi!


    -i think this is more of a constellation on the martial arts side. isn¡¯t hunter choi yeonseung also a martial artist?


    -the day has come when a martial artist has reached a-grade. back then...


    -why are retired people coming to this forum?


    -do i have to learn martial arts to be chosen by that constellation?


    decades had passed since the constellations had appeared, and the people of earth had accumulated quite a lot of know-how about how to live so that a constellation would choose them. in comparison, there wasn¡¯t much information on the incarnation of training. hence, there was a lot of speculation.


    ¡®this level of interest is insignificant compared to what other constellations get, so i don¡¯t have to worry about being kept in check yet. the problem is something else.¡¯


    what choi yeonseung was worried about was something else. as a constellation, how could he satisfy his household members?


    -it isn¡¯t that hard, is it?


    -no. it¡¯s difficult. i need to have something to give.


    choi yeonseung was a constellation with overwhelming individual combat abilities, but he didn¡¯t have many abilities that could help others. he could give a lot of advice on martial arts, but...


    -i can¡¯t keep accepting just martial artists, can i?


    -that¡¯s true.


    -fortunately, i have a number of constellations to help me.


    -... why me... what constellation entrusts its household members to other constellations?


    -on earth, we help each other during hard times. tell me if someone from your household wants to learn martial arts later on. i''ll help you.


    -all my household members want to rest. there is no way i¡¯ll find a household member like that.


    -aside from what ability to give them, i have to make them useful first.


    choi yeonseung began, ¡°becoming an a-grade hunter has made me feel as if i¡¯ve been given a huge responsibility. i will try to make the clan¡¯s other hunters stronger.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    morales admired choi yeonseung for being genuinely crazy about training. it was evident how he could become stronger and reach a-grade.


    ¡°the only thing i have to drink is plain water.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s okay. i came to you so suddenly. water is enough.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m glad to hear that... so, what brings you here?¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at morales with slightly expectant eyes. did he come here because he was interested in the undefeated incarnation of training?


    morales took a sip of water, then said, ¡°i came here because i wanted to cooperate.¡±


    ¡°on a raid?¡±


    ¡°a raid... that¡¯s right, but what i have in mind is a bit different.¡±


    a-grade hunters joining forces meant that an a-grade monster had appeared. after all, even they would be reluctant to kill such monsters alone. even if they were strong, one mistake could cost them their life. in addition, the monster could have a skill they had no information on. hence, it was reassuring in many ways to have a colleague of the same rating.


    ¡°i saw that you have become the ceo of dragon artifact.¡±


    ¡°......?!¡±


    choi yeonseung was taken aback. why did morales suddenly open this up?


    ¡°ultimately, it isn¡¯t hunters who have power, but companies. isn¡¯t that what hunter choi yeonseung thinks?¡±


    ¡°uh... is that what i am thinking?¡±


    "yes. so i am trying to have that power as well.¡±


    ¡°are you going to kill hwang gyeongryong and take over dragon industry?¡±


    morales was flustered. there was bewilderment on his rock-like face that normally never shook.


    "what do you mean by that?"


    ¡°that isn¡¯t it? go on, then.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m working with the parker family.¡±


    that was a familiar name to choi yeonseung. any raid hunter had to know the parker family! he met the chairman the other day...


    ¡°the parker family... isn¡¯t the chairman over there a bit unreliable?¡±


    "yes. but that isn¡¯t what¡¯s important.¡±


    the benefits they would get from working together, not the personality of the chairman, was what was important.


    ¡°it is. there is nothing more troubling than the person you are working with not being reliable.¡±


    ¡°in any case, i don¡¯t believe in them.¡±


    morales was working with jacob parker, the oldest son of the parker family. jacob parker was the president of parker energy. in the raid industry, energy meant the core of monsters. as such, outstanding hunters who could supply the monster cores were valuable talents. it was natural for a company to bend down if the other person was one of the best a-grade hunters in the country.


    however, bending down didn¡¯t necessarily mean giving things.


    ¡°i¡¯ve been promised a share in the company, but they are using all types of excuses not to give it to me. perhaps hunter choi yeonseung is receiving the same treatment.¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    choi yeonseung was flustered.


    ¡®that isn¡¯t the case?¡¯


    morales seemed to be mistaken about something. big businesses were shrewd enough to trick hunters, but...


    hwang gyeongryong and choi yeonseung were a bit different.


    -yeonseung. i picked this up on the way. take this.


    -what is it?


    -bah. i¡¯m not giving it to you because you are pretty.


    -i don¡¯t need something like this.


    -...i paid all the gift taxes, so just take it, you bastard.

 Chapter 164

    chapter 164


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s group was surprisingly unlisted on the stock market! for ordinary companies, it was only natural to put their name on the stock market and sell stocks to attract external capital. what type of company only grew big on its own? external investments were almost essential for growth.


    however, hwang gyeongryong chose to make money by killing more monsters and taking more cores instead. as a result, his group became one of the largest in the world despite remaining unlisted. without a listing, it was difficult to get investments, but there were also advantages.


    for one, the chairman¡¯s power was absolute. public companies had to look at shareholders and were subjected to various audits when running their companies. however, a privately held company could do whatever the chairman wanted. it was as if there were no shareholders.


    in fact, the shares of hwang gyeongryong¡¯s group were mostly held by hwang gyeongryong. what hwang gyeongryong gifted to choi yeonseung were shares in dragon artifact.


    the company¡¯s shares represented rights in the company itself. even if he only had a few percent, he could participate in the management of the company. if he exceeded 30-40%, then he could control the management of the company. dismissing a ceo or director and hiring new ones, splitting off or merging companies, starting a new business, etc.


    strictly speaking, choi yeonseung was close to a salaryman hired as the ceo of dragon artifact. however, dragon artifact literally became choi yeonseung¡¯s company since he received the shares. only hwang gyeongryong was above him, but he wouldn¡¯t interfere with what choi yeonseung was doing. that showed his intention to leave it to choi yeonseung so he would be pushing him even more firmly!


    -no. is it okay to give this to me? won¡¯t the people in the group feel deprived when they see this?


    -nobody will know if you don¡¯t spread the word that you received shares. honestly, it doesn¡¯t matter even if they know. nobody in my company will feel deprived because of this.


    people didn¡¯t just give away shares. after all, they were the life of the company. they could give rewards with money. why hand over shares that were like blood? however, hwang gyeongryong thought differently.


    ¡®if you want the employee to have a sense of ownership, then shouldn¡¯t they just really become the owner?¡¯


    he had surprisingly given shares to those who had achieved results over and over again.


    ... of course, choi yeonseung got a different amount of shares. no company owner in the world would hand over more than a few tenths of a percent at a time. hwang gyeongryong didn¡¯t even hand over shares to his own children like that!


    ¡°... um. i¡¯ve already received the promised shares.¡±


    ¡°!!¡±


    morales was shocked. he had received it?


    ¡°that¡¯s... really?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t see any reason why i should lie about this.¡±


    ¡°amazing... i didn¡¯t know a company that would really give it actually existed...¡±


    a-grade hunters were terrifying, but the greed of corporations was even worse. those who ran them would willingly risk a few lives for profit!


    ¡°jacob, the president of parker energy, promised me shares and is trying to appease me with a few hundred million dollars.¡±


    ¡°... uh, i see.¡±


    the astronomical amount of money morales suddenly mentioned baffled choi yeonseung. choi yeonseung used to earn millions of won thirty years ago. after spending more than ten thousand years in the abyss, his sense of currency was completely paralyzed. borrowing hwang gyeongryong¡¯s bankbook as if it was his own didn¡¯t help either.


    ¡®isn¡¯t a few hundred million dollars enough?¡¯


    of course, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t express this.


    morales seemed quite angry. ¡°i was planning to fight hand in hand with hunter choi yeonseung, but since you are being treated properly... i think i misjudged. although dragon hwang always says a lot, he truly does show faith.¡±


    ¡°i... see?¡± choi yeonseung was puzzled, but he seemed to know why morales came. it was clear that he wanted to join forces with choi yeonseung to rip off shares from their respective companies. due to their strength, a-grade hunters were like strategic weapons. if they joined forces, their power would be nearly similar to natural disasters. ¡°morales. i don¡¯t have to overthrow dragon industry with your help, but there is no reason we can¡¯t cooperate.¡±


    ¡°......!¡± morales¡¯ eyes lit up. choi yeonseung gave a much more favorable response than expected.


    ¡°so...?¡±


    ¡°there are many other reasons in the world for us to join forces.¡±


    ¡°i think i get what you¡¯re saying.¡±


    morales nodded.


    they both spoke at the same time.


    ¡°let¡¯s work together in a raid...¡±


    ¡°you want to divide the shares that i will get from parker energy in half?¡±


    morales wanted to ask, ¡®how do you know the security is tight?¡¯ but he held back.


    ¡°i can make a deal with him.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded with satisfaction when morales pulled out an analog map even though they were in this modern era that was filled with state-of-the-art technology.


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°nothing. keep going.¡±


    ¡°do you know what this is?¡±


    ¡°is it a dungeon?¡±


    ¡°yes. a white one.¡±


    a white dungeon.


    red dungeons were dungeons that had killed multiple raid parties. on the other hand, white dungeons were safe and had no time limit. without any time limit, it was virtually unable to explode. back when humanity still had no experience, they attacked these dungeons mercilessly. however, as time passed, people realized something.


    -if it doesn''t explode, can¡¯t we just leave it alone and farm its monsters for materials?


    monster cores couldn¡¯t be produced from mining or digging. they had to keep looking for dungeons and monsters. on the other hand, they could farm cores from untouched dungeons. that shift in perception was almost revolutionary in the raid industry.


    ¡®no matter how many times i hear about it, i still find it crazy.¡¯


    as a hunter from an older generation, choi yeonseung was a bit reluctant to leave even white dungeons alone to use them as a core mine. it had no time limit, but there was nothing more foolish than believing in things from the abyss. the abyss could stab them in the back at any moment. what if the dungeon suddenly exploded?


    ¡°surprisingly, the gate of this white dungeon is over a closet. if we move the closet...¡±


    ¡°will the gate move?¡±


    morales nodded. choi yeonseung was amazed. dungeon gates¡¯ spawn locations were completely random, so this happened from time to time. it could open on top of animals and plants or on movable objects.


    ¡°this dungeon is ranked b-grade.¡±


    ¡°a spring that rarely dries up, huh.¡±


    the b-grade cores alone made it worthy of keeping open. the world inside it produced tens of millions of dollars at a time. they couldn¡¯t kill the boss monster since it would clear the dungeon, but the benefits of killing all the other monsters were enormous.


    ¡°parker energy has secured this dungeon and has expanded its factory facilities accordingly. they won¡¯t give up on this.¡±


    parker energy had high hopes for this white dungeon. they called in morales, an a-grade hunter, to fully explore the dungeon. moreover, they have also increased their number of facilities to deal with the cores they would produce from it.


    ¡°the plan is very detailed... considering you can¡¯t do it alone, is a hunter guarding it?¡±


    ¡°yes. an a-grade.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded. it would¡¯ve certainly been funny if they left such a dungeon alone. tight security aside, it should be guarded by a powerful hunter.


    ¡°how many?¡±


    ¡°just one.¡±


    ¡°this would be easy, then.¡±


    one of them would stop the a-grade hunter, and the other would subdue the surrounding troops. it wouldn¡¯t even take long¡ªa few minutes should be enough. they could even escape before reinforcements could come from the nearby areas.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s confidence made morales smile with satisfaction. ¡°i heard that martial artists are specialists in single combat. i¡¯m looking forward to seeing your fight.¡±


    ¡°it isn¡¯t to that extent, but let¡¯s try our best. by the way, who is the other a-grade hunter?¡±


    ¡°she¡¯s a korean hunter, so you probably know her. hunter han seha?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s expression turned serious.

 Chapter 165

    chapter 165


    ¡°w-what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°han seha is my friend¡¯s daughter.¡±


    ¡°... ah, i see...¡±


    the unexpected obstacle flustered morales.


    ¡°i can¡¯t interfere with the work of my friend¡¯s daughter.¡±


    ¡°w-wait. give more thought to this. parker energy is a conglomerate with billions of dollars in sales every year. are you really willing to throw away the opportunity to get your hands on such a company simply because of your friend¡¯s daughter?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t want to ruin her career just for tens of billions of profit. i¡¯m sorry. i have to decline. no. come to think of it, you won¡¯t stay still even if i give up. i have to subdue you here.¡±


    having to suddenly fight choi yeonseung, morales desperately came up with a plan.


    ¡°wait!¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t play tricks. you¡¯re in my territory.¡±


    choi yeonseung spoke as if telling him to give up.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s mad confidence momentarily convinced morales that, considering the distance between them and the fact that they were both in the same rank, it would be difficult for morales, a magician, to react immediately unless he had prepared in advance.


    ¡°listen to me.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°why don¡¯t we let han seha join us and split the shares among the three of us?¡±


    ¡°... are you sure?¡±


    choi yeonseung was slightly impressed by morales¡¯ offer. to think there was such a way...


    ¡°are you okay with that?¡±


    ¡°there isn¡¯t much of a difference between half and one-third. even if i don¡¯t get all of the promised shares, i¡¯d still have the majority of it, which is huge.¡±


    anyone who owned more than 50% of a company¡¯s shares could easily use management rights. they could appoint or dismiss ceos or directors and control the company as they pleased. however, in reality, they could participate in management with a much smaller percentage. they were treated as a major shareholder even if they only owned 1% of the shares.


    owning all shares like hwang gyeongryong did was unusual. other companies usually listed and sold their stocks to outsiders, circulating them in the market to some extent. it was common for the owner of the company to only own around 10% of the shares.


    morales had worked with the parker family while studying and researching profusely. based on his calculations, even 10% was enough to get involved in management. from that point on, he could just persuade and attract other shareholders to his side!


    ¡°wouldn¡¯t you rather cooperate with me than the parker family?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true, but don¡¯t expect too much. there is nothing i can do if hunter han seha refuses. do you understand?¡±


    ¡°i understand. however, hunter han seha won¡¯t refuse.¡±


    morales was certain of it.


    ¡ªand it was true.


    ***


    ¡°i want to! i will do whatever it takes.¡±


    han seha agreed before choi yeonseung could even say anything.


    ¡°i want you to hear all of the details first...¡± han seha pulled out a chair and sat down, then gave him a very attentive look.


    looking slightly burdened, choi yeonseung explained everything.


    ¡°... that¡¯s the plan.¡±


    ¡°i think that¡¯s a really good plan.¡±


    ¡°what did i tell you?¡± morales commented proudly.


    ¡°what are you showing off about?¡± han seha growled.


    ¡°calm down, hunter han seha. the plan is mine.¡±


    ¡°now that you¡¯ve mentioned that, i no longer trust it. how can i believe that you¡¯re not fooling hunter choi yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°i wrote a business plan. read it. it is written so carefully that i still can¡¯t deceive you even if i tried.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    han seha glared at morales with a very suspicious look in her eyes before scanning the plan. it didn¡¯t seem to have anything particularly suspicious.


    ¡°does she not believe me because i¡¯m not korean?¡± morales asked choi yeonseung as if it was unfair.


    ¡°no... that¡¯s not why she¡¯s treating me kindly.¡±


    ¡°ah, then it must be because she¡¯s your friend¡¯s daughter.¡± morales nodded in understanding.


    "i''m sorry i suggested this,¡± choi yeonseung said, sounding apologetic.


    ¡°this is a 10% stake in parker energy. it¡¯s worth billions of dollars. why are you sorry?¡±


    ¡°... forget i said anything, then.¡±


    choi yeonseung found it strange. considering people killed for money, betraying others for it didn¡¯t sound that bad.


    han seha tapped on her smartphone.


    ¡°what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°i sent a message to the parker family to tell them i¡¯m no longer working for them.¡±


    ¡°where is lockstein?¡±


    morales sought out lockstein, the general manager of the factory and the one in charge of managing the white dungeon.


    ¡°he is talking to the ceo.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    morales¡¯ expression stiffened.


    ¡°you don¡¯t even know their schedule? are you crazy?¡± han seha asked, seemingly dumbfounded. ¡°if you¡¯re going to fall, then fall alone. why bring hunter choi yeonseung down with you? are you a chinese spy?¡±


    ¡°ah, no.¡±


    moisture formed in morales¡¯ eyes as he was driven to a corner. it was as if this one mistake would cost him his life.


    ¡°didn¡¯t you say that the ceo is jacob the eldest son of the parker family?¡±


    ¡°yes. we are out of luck. we didn¡¯t account for his presence today¡ª¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re here to take everything away from him,¡± han seha said with a shrug, ¡°so why not just subdue him? it doesn¡¯t matter if jacob is here or not.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s not a bad suggestion. we could raise suspicion if we leave now, anyway. is that plan alright with you, hunter choi yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°what will happen if i subdue jacob?¡±


    ¡°not much. at most, they will post malicious comments about choi yeonseung. of course, they could go for a trial or send an assassin, but if they do, i¡¯ll go and kill them.¡±


    ¡°no... it¡¯s okay.¡±


    choi yeonseung stopped han seha.


    ¡®i shouldn¡¯t have brought her here.¡¯


    it seemed he didn¡¯t have much to worry about when it came to overpowering jacob. the white dungeon being taken away would already make people angry, and there was a high possibility that they wouldn¡¯t send an assassin. regardless of the odds, trying to assassinate an a-grade was insane. to top it all off, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t really care even if they did send some.


    ¡°can¡¯t i just kill them?¡± han seha wondered.


    ¡°i can kill them too, so you don¡¯t have to.¡±


    ¡°won¡¯t i be able to kill them better?¡±


    ¡°that isn¡¯t something to brag about.¡±


    the trio arrived at their destination amid their conversation. the hunters outside the door held out their hands. hired as bodyguards, they exuded magic power.


    ¡°he said not to disturb him during the meeting.¡±


    thump.


    ¡°let¡¯s go in.¡±


    han seha immediately kicked the door open and headed inside.


    ¡°......???¡±


    however, the scene they stumbled upon was far from their expectations. lockstein and jacob were tied up and groaning on the ground, and hunters they were seeing for the first time were staring at them with surprised eyes.


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°a russian spy??¡±


    ¡°a chinese spy???¡±


    choi yeonseung and han seha couldn¡¯t help looking at each other.


    ¡°they are white, so perhaps they are russian spies...?¡± han seha corrected her opinion.


    ¡°that isn¡¯t the point now!¡± morales exclaimed while raising his fists and slamming them toward the ground.


    in an instant, powerful magic surged out, and a barrier was formed. the bullets fired by their opponents melted away.


    ¡®they aren¡¯t ordinary bullets.¡¯


    the enemy hunters were using magic bullets. they were so expensive that a lone hunter wouldn¡¯t be able to buy even one.


    ¡°defend the dungeon!¡±


    ¡°escape!¡±


    it seemed their opponents tried to steal the dungeon for themselves.


    laughing, han seha snapped her fingers. a powerful lightning bolt flew and struck the hunter¡¯s torso.


    ¡°where are you going?¡±


    ¡°... an a-grade hunter?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. now that you know, get on your knees before i kill you all,¡± han seha growled, her voice filled with killing intent.


    ¡°don¡¯t move!¡± one of the hunters cried out.


    ¡°you dare threaten me, you crazy bastards? killing the old people here won¡¯t even make me blink.¡±


    ¡°if you move, i¡¯ll destroy the dungeon!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the threat worked.


    the two people on the ground, who had suddenly become less valuable than the dungeon, groaned.

 Chapter 166

    chapter 166


    ¡°hey. calm down, russian spies.¡±


    even choi yeonseung hesitated. he couldn¡¯t act recklessly. he could still sleep soundly at night if the two people on the ground were killed, but he would suffer all night long if the white dungeon their opponents were holding exploded. they hadn¡¯t analyzed many parts of the dungeon yet. they didn¡¯t even know how a dungeon door attached to an object would react against impacts. in the worst-case scenario, the dungeon would be forcibly opened, and the monsters inside would pour out.


    ¡°we aren¡¯t russian spies!¡±


    ¡°chinese spies, then?¡±


    ¡°shut up!¡±


    ¡°they¡¯re already a mess even though all we did was ask them if they¡¯re spies.¡± choi yeonseung clicked his tongue, dumbfounded.


    meanwhile, the hunters inside started to realize the situation. han seha wasn¡¯t the only a-grade hunter. the two also were. one was wes morales, an american a-grade hunter who was already sufficiently famous. the other was choi yeonseung, the newest a-grade hunter and the most famous in recent times. one a-grade hunter was enough to take out all the hunters here, but there were three.


    they felt as if they would suffocate out of fear.


    ¡®those crazy parker bastards!¡¯


    the hunters couldn¡¯t believe the parket family would spend so much money just to hire three a-grade hunters to dig traps.


    gordon, their leader, was sweating. the plan had been going so smoothly. they had made sure that no a-grade hunters would be on-duty and jacob of the parkey family would be in the factory by the time they had come in. it didn¡¯t matter how many guards were present if they accurately aimed for the gap. their strategy, which was to wait in the room and strike like a bolt of lightning, was successful. all that was left was to disguise themselves and leave...


    that was how things should have gone.


    ¡°get on your knees! if you don¡¯t, we will destroy this dungeon!¡±


    ¡°you must be insane. go ahead, smash it! who do you think you¡¯re asking to kneel? the moment you smash it, i will take out everything in your stomach with my hands and shove them down your throats!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    han seha¡¯s reaction threatened the hunters so much they froze. anyone would be intimidated by the combination of an a-grade hunter¡¯s killing intent and magic power.


    ¡®s-shit...¡¯


    right now, the a-grade hunters were hesitating out of fear of the dungeon breaking, but this didn¡¯t mean they were at a disadvantage. they wouldn¡¯t give their lives to such people. if it broke, then they would just say, ¡®ugh, what a waste. i¡¯ll go profit out of something else!¡¯


    -who are these guys?


    -this seems to be industrial espionage.


    it didn¡¯t seem like china or russia had privately hired them. rather, they acted more as if they wanted to steal the dungeon themselves and find someone to sell it to.


    not all hunters could live in prosperity. hunters could enter dungeons to make money. unfortunately, risking their lives wasn¡¯t something that just anyone could do. moreover, although there were several ways to make money without entering a dungeon, all of them required talent.


    hence, it was common for hunters to fall into crime. after all, they could commit the perfect crime even if they could only properly use one spell.


    ¡°o-okay. you don¡¯t have to kneel. you can have those two. we¡¯ll keep this dungeon.¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s with that deal, you crazy bastards?! i don¡¯t care if the old people here die or not!¡± han seha immediately clarified.


    the two people on the floor sent her pleading looks as if to say, ¡®our lives are far more important. let them go and just reclaim the dungeon after.¡¯


    bewildered, the thieves replied, ¡°don¡¯t you know who these two are? the parker family¡ª¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t care.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t you know how much they are worth? you won¡¯t get a reward!¡±


    ¡°do you think we came here for money? you guys won¡¯t be leaving this place.¡±


    as han seha faced off against the other hunters, choi yeonseung started to see an opportunity. the advantage of martial arts was its high speed at close range. once he got a chance, he could snatch the dungeon out of the opponent¡¯s hand.


    ¡®now.¡¯


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung instantly disappeared. a martial artist¡¯s short-range footwork, which perfectly showed the peak-class stage, was too fast for hunters who had no proper experience in combat. by the time they had realized something was wrong, choi yeonseung had already twisted the hunter¡¯s wrist and stole the dungeon.


    morales clenched his fists. ¡°well done, hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    it was worth joining hands with him. their opponents seemed prepared for magic, but not martial arts.


    ¡°mmmpphhh!¡± jacob cried out, still on the ground. he seemed to be saying, ¡°well done!¡±


    he still seemed to misunderstand the purpose of the three a-grade hunters¡¯ visit.


    bang!


    at the same time, an explosion occurred in the factory outside the room.


    ¡°... did you plant a bomb?¡±


    ¡°no! no!¡±


    ¡°we were planning to leave quietly, so why would we?!¡±


    the hunters shook their heads in fright.


    han seha immediately summoned wolves and attempted to damage the slime, but the magical wolves just shattered the moment they hit it.


    ¡°......?!¡±


    han seha was flustered. that attack didn¡¯t contain all her strength, but she didn¡¯t expect she wouldn¡¯t even be able to damage the monster.


    ¡°this normally doesn¡¯t happen. what¡¯s wrong with me?¡±


    [the ¡®hound of instinct and liberation¡¯ is barking at you!]


    ¡°what are you doing?!¡±


    choi yeonseung grabbed han seha and pulled her back, startling her. the slime stretched over and slammed down. if he had been a little late, it would have melted half of her body.


    ¡°focus!¡±


    ¡°ah, y-yes!¡±


    if it were anyone else, she would¡¯ve cursed and told them, ¡°who do you think you are?!¡± but han seha just sheepishly nodded.


    ¡®what is that monster? i have never seen one in the abyss.¡±


    slime-type monsters usually had a nucleus in their body that could be destroyed to kill them. moreover, they weren¡¯t as soft and free.


    -successor, whenever you find a monster you¡¯ve never seen before, you should suspect that a constellation has directly used their power to summon it.


    -... good point.


    if anything strange happened on earth, then they should suspect the constellations. this was a definite saying.


    ¡®it¡¯s swallowing cores to become even stronger!¡¯


    choi yeonseung finally realized why the monster was exuding so much magic power. it had swallowed up the nearby core storage as if it was a huge magic power potion.


    ¡°evacuate the employees first. let¡¯s go!¡±


    choi yeonseung started to pick up speed. he grabbed the employee lying on their stomachs and trembling. he then took them outside like lightning. the slime was big and had unlimited regenerative power, but it was far too slow to catch choi yeonseung.


    ¡®one in the left corner and two on the second floor.¡¯


    despite the chaos brought forth by the factory¡¯s facilities exploding and the slime growing behind them, choi yeonseung showed no errors. he completely read the surrounding atmosphere with the unique senses of a martial artist.


    ¡°t-thank you! i thought i was going to die!¡±


    ¡°you thought you were going to die. i don¡¯t think the factory welfare here is very good.¡±


    after taking out the last factory employee, choi yeonseung took a short breather. han seha looked at choi yeonseung with regret. she couldn¡¯t understand why choi yeonseung was going through such a hard time. before he could explain it, choi yeonseung¡¯s smartphone started ringing relentlessly.


    ¡°... hunter choi yeonseung. i think something big happened,¡± morales explained with a look of astonishment.


    the slime wasn¡¯t the only one that appeared. slimes were appearing in core factories around the world.


    ¡®they were summoned to factories, ate cores, and quickly grew stronger. what a clever strategy... no, has the constellation adapted to earth?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was honestly impressed. constellations were much more ignorant than humans thought. to be precise, they had little interest in humans. hence they made ridiculous mistakes or demands when dealing with humans. however, some constellations enjoyed observing and gaining a deep understanding of earth.


    summoning slimes at earth¡¯s core factories was a clever plan that required studying earth to a certain extent before it could be implemented. having been summoned to core storages, they were taking away humanity¡¯s cores and growing rapidly!


    ¡°... i can¡¯t just leave them alone. let¡¯s go in and get this over with.¡±


    having heard about the situation, choi yeonseung thought he couldn¡¯t waste too much time on this giant slime. he had no idea how strong it would become.


    ¡°do you have any offensive skills that can damage it?¡±


    ¡°of course.¡± choi yeonseung nodded, much to morales¡¯ relief.


    ¡°i¡¯ll support you. let¡¯s go! what skills will you be using, though?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll keep just cutting it until it dies.¡±


    ¡°are you joking?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    morales looked at choi yeonseung with a stunned expression. how could he be so crazy?


    ***


    ¡°reinforcements have arrived!¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re late. i¡¯ve taken care of everything.¡±


    ¡°are you serious?¡±


    ¡°the others seem to be having a hard time dealing with it, though,¡± choi yeonseung said.


    the others just nodded in response. contrary to its harmless appearance, the giant slime was causing enormous damage.

 Chapter 167

    chapter 167


    -the core purification factory exploded, and monsters are coming out! requesting support...


    -the garyville core refinement factory is now closed. citizens, head outside...


    large factories not only in the united states but all over the world were exploding.


    -the ulsan core refinery...


    -the core refinery in shandong is...


    decades since the gate opened, the core energy monsters released became the largest source of humanity¡¯s energy, surpassing even nuclear and oil. the nigh-perfect energy was environment-friendly and provided them with unlimited power.


    however, cores couldn¡¯t be immediately converted into energy. they first had to loot, process, and refine it before they could turn it into energy. the core refineries were in charge of achieving 99.999% energy efficiency from a core, which was humanity¡¯s goal.


    ... however, all the core refineries around the world had just been sent into an uproar.


    hwang gyeongryong screamed.


    ¡°the stocks are going down!¡±


    if monsters ran amok all over the world, hunters could just say, ¡°go kill them.¡±


    however, administrators couldn¡¯t do the same. even if they were to kill all the monsters, stock prices wouldn¡¯t just shoot back up after they had fallen. moreover, their facilities could be destroyed as well.


    -us stock market panic... the nasdaq crashed...


    -the circuit breaker has been activated... is black monday coming?


    ¡°this is insane. call the people in charge! i¡¯ll head out myself.¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    the secretaries didn¡¯t stop him this time even though they usually told him to let other hunters do it whenever he tried to step out himself. after all, too many monsters had appeared at the same time.


    ***


    the three a-grade hunters contacted their respective acquaintances to gather information about what was happening. they were receiving all forms of news, but the information they needed the most right now was detailed ones about the monsters.


    choi yeonseung suddenly became curious. if he got his intel from dragon hwang¡¯s group, where did the other two a-grade hunters get theirs from?


    ¡°who are you two asking for information?¡±


    ¡°the us department of homeland security.¡±


    ¡°the korean government¡¯s hunter management department.¡±


    ¡°... i-i see. make sure to gather all the intel that you can.¡±


    now that he had thought about it, officials visited him and gave him their contact information when he was promoted to a-grade. they said it was so he could contact them whenever he needed their help or if he was ever approached by anyone suspected of being a spy from another country!


    -uh, yeonseung. did you contact me about the monsters? i¡¯m fighting one right now, but what monster is this? i¡¯ve never seen anything like it before!


    -... hyung doesn¡¯t know about them either?


    considering even hwang gyeongryong didn¡¯t know anything about their opponent, choi yeonseung became even more certain that a constellation was playing a trick on them.


    -you don¡¯t know about them either? why?!


    -this is my first time seeing it as well. a constellation is probably toying with us.


    -that¡¯s just despicable!


    hwang gyeongryong sounded extremely angry as he vented out his frustration. he knew that the evil god constellations could do all types of cruel things, but he didn¡¯t think they would adapt to the capitalist society and do something so dirty.


    -i¡¯m forcefully incinerating it right now. if i burn it all, it shouldn¡¯t be able to regenerate anymore. have you dealt with the one on your end?


    -yes.


    how did you kill it?


    hwang gyeongryong was puzzled. choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t use wide-range magic like hwang gyeongryong. he shouldn¡¯t be able to kill it with sword energy, either.


    -i just kept cutting at it until it couldn¡¯t move anymore.


    -......


    hwang gyeongryong was speechless.


    ¡®such an ignorant method...¡¯


    -anyway, please send me any information on them as soon as you get them.


    -got it... anyway, where are you right now? nobody told me you were at our group¡¯s facility.


    -i¡¯ll call you again.


    -hey! don¡¯t tell me¡ª!


    beep¡ª


    choi yeonseung hung up. talking on the phone for a long time wasn¡¯t ideal.


    ¡°i just did what i had to do.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m really sorry that what i promised last time has been delayed. the company is in a complicated situation right now, which is why it keeps getting pushed back. still, i promise you something. i will convince the other board members to give you the shares i promised.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    morales¡¯ eyes trembled slightly. his idea about stealing the white dungeon and demonstrating his skills had been shaken.


    ¡®he¡¯s lying.¡¯


    -he¡¯s lying.


    [lies!]


    however, the three experienced constellations immediately noticed that jacob didn¡¯t mean any of the sweet words he had just said.


    ¡°you know that is nonsense, right? there is no sincerity in it,¡± choi yeonseung softly told morales.


    ¡°... is that true?¡±


    ¡°yes. once martial artists have reached the peak-class stage, we unlock the ability to read other people¡¯s minds. it is an asian mystery.¡±


    ¡°really?¡±


    morales seemed as if he truly believed it, making choi yeonseung look at him with pity. was this guy truly an a-grade hunter? however, morales couldn¡¯t help it. martial arts masters were extremely rare. moreover, choi yeonseung had a very strong presence. even if choi yeonseung had said, ¡®in fact, martial artists can only eat kimchi for breakfast, lunch, and dinner,¡¯ morales would¡¯ve seriously believed him.


    rather than reading minds, martial artists could more acutely sense every change in their opponent¡¯s muscles, behavior, and eye movements. choi yeonseung had reached the pinnacle of martial arts and had even become a constellation, so it was easy for him to tell if someone was being sincere or not.


    ¡®this guy is amazing too.¡¯


    jacob was grateful for his life being saved, but he still had the audacity to break his promise of giving morales company shares! was having such little conscience required to become the president of a company?


    ¡®i¡¯m glad to hear that.¡¯


    fortunately, jacob¡¯s behavior made it easy for choi yeonseung to act without feeling any guilt!


    ¡°oh, yeah. i just remembered. i think i pulled out some stuff and used it when fighting inside the factory. is that okay?¡±


    ¡°of course. you killed the monster, after all,¡± the executive director immediately replied.


    the one who killed the monster that appeared in the factory was an a-grade hunter. if lockstein said, ¡®no, your battle destroyed the factory¡¯s facilities!¡¯ it could result in him getting buried in this industry. a-grade hunters could just as easily bury him six feet underground too. he had to take the other person¡¯s status into consideration.


    ¡°you can take whatever is in the factory.,¡± jacob said, ¡°you worked for our sakes, so i think it¡¯s only fair for you to be rewarded that much.¡±


    ¡°ah, really? thank you.¡±


    ¡°we are the ones who should be grateful.¡±


    ¡°no. we should be grateful.¡±


    ¡°no. we¡ªeek.¡±


    choi yeonseung turned around. it was a simple move, but he did it with the brilliant martial art technique of kicking a lump of soil into jacob¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°let¡¯s go, morales.¡±


    it wasn¡¯t until the two hunters coolly walked away to the car that jacob and lockstein realized they were still tied up.


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°mmmmph! mmmph!¡±


    ***


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is shouting that the constellations are currently in an uproar!]


    -what? i didn¡¯t even do anything yet.


    the very sensitive choi yeonseung reacted immediately. however, he wasn¡¯t the problem.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that a constellation broke the agreement between constellations and went wild on earth.]


    the raid on the core purification factories wasn¡¯t carried out by one of the constellations who signed the agreement. surprisingly, there were rules even among the constellations of earth.


    humans often thought, ¡®these evil god constellations really just do whatever they want on earth!¡¯ however, they actually followed rules now due to the ceasefire agreement signed after the great invasion. not all constellations signed that agreement, though. the number of constellations on earth was increasing. among them, one dared to ignore those who came first.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that some constellations have put a bounty on this constellation.]


    ¡®oh...¡¯


    choi yeonseung was amazed. in fact, choi yeonseung had already thought about it.


    how cool would it be if he were to proudly reveal his identity and say, ¡®all constellations, come at me if you think you have what it takes to defeat me in combat!¡¯


    however, the constellations on earth were strong, and choi yeonseung was still a long way from becoming a supreme constellation. he was forced to gather his strength and wait. now, this guy showed up. through this great opportunity, he could observe how the constellations normally responded to such situations.


    -wait. can i get the constellation¡¯s bounty?


    -successor... don¡¯t be too obsessed with that...


    the goddess of sloth looked at choi yeonseung as if she felt sorry for him. it was heartbreaking to see her successor, who had been ambitiously planning to deal with the constellations, covet a bounty.

 Chapter 168

    chapter 168


    -no. bounties are important. i can¡¯t be the only one interested in it. aren¡¯t other constellations aiming for it as well?


    -i¡¯m certain there are some among the small and medium-sized constellations going after it, but i wouldn¡¯t be so sure...


    -regardless, i don¡¯t want to miss the opportunity to get soul stones. by the way, goddess. how do you think the constellations will punish that one? what happens when one gets caught by the constellations? will they get kicked out of the constellations¡¯ chat group?


    -how did you know?


    -... what? seriously?


    -i¡¯m joking. in fact, it is surprisingly difficult to catch a wandering constellation who has nothing to lose.


    for constellations with kingdoms, their kingdoms were attacked first. the ruination of their kingdom would result in the fall of the constellation worshipped by many souls. at that point, they would normally lose their status as a constellation or cease to exist completely.


    however, some constellations didn¡¯t have a kingdom or just treated a small field on the outskirts of the abyss as one. those constellations were difficult to attack even if others wanted to.


    -isn¡¯t that too advantageous?


    -not really. a constellation without a kingdom is like a constellation without any backups.


    constellations that owned several territories and realms could withstand several defeats because they had enough power of existence. in comparison, one defeat would already prove fatal for constellations with no or few kingdoms. it was like a so-called spare life.


    -there will always be such constellations, even in the future. they usually go to another constellation¡¯s kingdom and pick a fight, but they often meet a bad ending since they¡¯re entering their enemy¡¯s territory and fighting from a disadvantageous position.


    ¡®... come to think of it, i was really fearless.¡¯


    choi yeonseung recalled his past, causing a chill to run down his spine. he really did fight for his life.


    -such constellations don¡¯t last long. they are stupid.


    -... they must¡¯ve had a plan in mind.


    -you mean stupid ones?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is telling the incarnation to stop cursing! it says it just made the wrong choice.]


    -...don¡¯t tell me...?


    -that isn¡¯t important right now, so let¡¯s get back to the point. is there absolutely no way to punish the wandering constellation unless they invade your territory and try to capture it?


    -not really. this situation is quite special.


    currently, the constellations were gathered near earth, not in the abyss. moreover, some of them were not only powerful but had also taken an oath made by various constellations. considering it was difficult for even a powerful constellation to bypass it, doing so was naturally impossible for a wandering constellation.


    -since the constellations of earth have gathered and sworn a vow, a constellation battle could be demanded.


    if a legitimate constellation battle was repeatedly refused, the constellation who rejected it would no longer be able to stay near earth. once they had withdrawn, they would lose all the fear that they had built up and instantly fall. by then, all they would be able to do was wander in solitude around the outskirts of the abyss and then disappear.


    -that¡¯s not an all-out war.


    -an all-out war is a rare occurrence in the abyss, considering rulers don¡¯t fight each other. why would a constellation risk everything to wage wars?


    ¡®......¡¯


    it was a bit embarrassing for choi yeonseung, who had been fighting a lot of all-out battles.


    ***


    [the ¡®storyteller who likes gossip and explanations¡¯ is spreading rumors!]


    [the ¡®storyteller who likes gossip and explanations¡¯ is spreading rumors!]


    [the ¡®storyteller who likes gossip and explanations...]


    in the network of constellations, the storyteller constellation was eagerly spreading information. the name of the constellation who caused the incident this time was ¡®one who understands and penetrates through indeterminate forms.¡¯ most of them had never heard of the constellation¡ªa newcomer from the outskirts of the abyss.


    -it is quite a violent and powerful constellation, and it seems to be a monster.


    -!


    -adaquaniel. i want you to participate in this constellation battle.


    -i certainly will.


    adaquaniel spoke in a blunt, emotionless tone. the goddess showed complete trust in her whenever she looked at her. adaquaniel was also called the sharp-eyed angel because of her outstanding command. that was also the reason why she had never lost any of the constellation battles she had participated in. she specialized in a 6v6 household member battle. in such a situation, adaquaniel showed absolute power.


    -however, do it with the household member of the undefeated incarnation of training.


    -i¡¯ll do that, master. by the way...


    adaquaniel rarely had something to say, so the goddess was puzzled.


    -what is it?


    -i think you should abandon your lingering feelings about that household member, master.


    -... w-w-what are you talking about? i don¡¯t have any lingering feelings, do i?


    -well...


    adaquaniel was about to say something, but her loyalty to the goddess was so great that she didn¡¯t dare offend her master.


    ***


    -how great!


    the goddess of sloth admired adaquaniel upon seeing her. few household members could grow to such an extent. there was a limit to how much a household member could improve their abilities since doing so required their master to support them extensively from a constellation¡¯s perspective, there was no reason to nurture and feed their household members, who were no more than ants. in addition, unlike ants, a household member could betray them if they grew too powerful, so there would be no point in helping them become stronger.


    nevertheless, adaquaniel showed immense power. the goddess of balance clearly gave her impressive strength.


    -at that level, she can probably try aiming to become a constellation herself.


    -being able to become a constellation isn¡¯t a matter of strength but of one¡¯s own awareness. those who aren¡¯t qualified can¡¯t rise up.


    choi yeonseung politely greeted the goddess of balance. the goddess was wrapped in powerful holy objects, and she exuded an immense power of existence. she made anyone feel awed!


    ¡°it is an honor to see you again like this.¡±


    -successor. should i teach you compliments that work on constellations?


    ¡®is there such a thing?¡¯


    -that¡¯s right.


    choi yeonseung agreed. in terms of experience, he was a much younger constellation than the goddess of sloth. following the goddess of sloth¡¯s instructions, choi yeonseung said, ¡°you are so dazzling that i can¡¯t dare look at you!¡±


    -... i-is that so?


    ¡°yes. the arrogant light elf deals with light, but i find that a mistake! the true master of light has to be you, goddess! you even have a halo behind you...¡±


    choi yeonseung paused. he couldn¡¯t help but feel as if what he was saying was strange.


    -... is this really okay?


    -aren¡¯t you following me because you trust me, successor? are you doubting me?


    -n-no. i believe you. i believe.


    this was the first time in ages that the goddess of sloth looked serious, so choi yeonseung backed down. he usually received a lot of help from her anyway.


    ¡°... your eyes are like breaking jade, and your laugh is like the cry of a phoenix!¡±


    -... keep talking.


    the goddess of balance had a slightly conceited expression as she sat with her legs arrogantly crossed. before they knew it, a chair had been created into existence using the power of existence.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ wonders if this is an incubus¡¯ trick.]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ tells the cat constellation to be quiet.]

 Chapter 169

    chapter 169


    -huhuhu... is that enough for today? if i listen to such phrases too much, it would seem like flattery, so let¡¯s move on now.


    the goddess of balance seemed satisfied. didn¡¯t she listen for over an hour?¡¯ choi yeonseung thought but didn¡¯t bother to say it.


    -do you know why i called over my household members?


    ¡°is it perhaps because of the ¡®one who understands and penetrates through indeterminate forms?¡¯¡±


    -good guess.


    just like many other constellations, the goddess of balance was also aiming for the constellation of understanding.


    adaquaniel was back, so it was time to regain what she had lost.


    -many constellations are aiming for that constellation right now, but surprisingly few are attempting a constellation battle.


    most constellations could just deal with the constellation of understanding themselves instead of putting a bounty. after all, constellations that could set a bounty likely already had several household members they could brag about. so why didn¡¯t they just handle the issue themselves?


    ¡®are they scared because they have no information on their opponent?¡¯


    -that¡¯s right.


    the goddess of sloth nodded. the constellations of the abyss were arrogant and violent, but they were also cunning. being the first to attack the constellation of understanding, whom they had little information about because the constellation appeared out of nowhere, could bring them great losses.


    -still, they¡¯ve placed bounties on the invader. it would be beneficial to you for as long as you win.


    ¡°you¡¯re right.¡±


    -that¡¯s why i want to get permission from the undefeated incarnation of training for you to participate in a constellation battle with my household members. of course, you will have to ask for permission first. ah. i¡¯m not up to anything. really. there are no traps.


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung was speechless. this was suspicious! of course, he didn¡¯t think that the goddess had set a trap. she wasn¡¯t that type of constellation. from the goddess¡¯ perspective, she clearly spoke at length to avoid the undefeated incarnation of training¡¯s suspicion. considering a 1v1 constellation battle already had multiple traps and tricks at play, he couldn¡¯t grasp what type of traps there could be in a battle with allies on his side. in the worst-case scenario, the goddess could betray choi yeonseung.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says this is a trap.]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ says it would be better if the goddess had the ability to set a trap.]


    as the atmosphere became subtle, adaquaniel next to the goddess quietly made a remark.


    -master. if you talk too much, you could be misunderstood.


    -oh... was that too much?


    ¡°i think it was just right.¡±


    -look. he said it was alright.


    adaquaniel stared at choi yeonseung with an emotionless gaze. her expressionless face made it hard to decipher what she was thinking.


    ¡®... what? why is she staring at me?¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it could be because from a household member¡¯s perspective, you could be seen as seducing their master.]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ says that is definitely plausible. more household members fight over their master¡¯s favor than you probably expect.]


    ¡®all of you, be quiet now.¡¯


    ***


    choi yeonseung accepted the goddess¡¯ offer in the end since he had a lot to gain from it.


    -the constellation of understanding has accepted the household competition.


    ¡°a household competition... does that mean it¡¯s a six-on-six battle like what humans do?¡±


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ says that the constellations don¡¯t copy humans. rather, humans are the ones who copy the constellations.]


    although it was a common misunderstanding that humans knew nothing about the constellations of the abyss, information about the abyss surprisingly often trickled into humans thanks to those who had contracted with a constellation.


    they would sometimes participate in their master¡¯s tests or get sent to combat. because of them, it became six-on-six battles in the virtual world of the abyss became a trend on earth. if it wasn¡¯t for the constellations, it would¡¯ve taken earth¡¯s humanity a lot of trial and error to build such things one by one.


    ¡®i already know that, but i still find it amazing every time i hear about it.¡¯


    -oh, you¡¯re aware of it?


    ¡°uh... i¡¯ve seen a little of it.¡±


    the only game choi yeonseung had seen was the one where the korean national team got beaten like crazy. his heart hurt while watching it, so he turned it off instead of watching it until the end.


    ¡°well... this is complicated. can someone as oblivious as me join such a constellation battle?¡±


    -i am glad to have met a household member who appreciates the master¡¯s greatness. household member choi yeonseung. i look forward to working with you.


    ¡°well... alright. i¡¯m also looking forward to it.¡±


    choi yeonseung was worried. if all of the goddess¡¯ household members were like this, he could suffocate from frustration before they could even prepare for the household competition.


    ***


    ...fortunately, that didn¡¯t happen.


    the other angels had very objective and sane thoughts.


    -i¡¯m loyal to my master, but i think she makes too many mistakes.


    -i wish adaquaniel would give her some advice, but she would never do that due to her personality.


    -i don¡¯t know if we can fix master¡¯s personality with advice, though.


    ¡®... isn¡¯t this too harsh?¡¯


    he thought their allegiance was too shallow, but upon closer inspection, he realized that the angels only complained a lot. they didn¡¯t seem to have the slightest intention of betraying the goddess. it was because they believed in the goddess that they could speak freely like this. if the constellation didn¡¯t have faith in their household members, they wouldn¡¯t dare utter such insolence.


    -in any case, household member choi yeonseung. please look after me. i heard that you are very skilled.


    -i wish we could be in the same household. you would have been master¡¯s first human household member. we are all angels over here.


    -drink some of this. don¡¯t work too hard.


    ¡°ah. thank you.¡±


    the atmosphere was completely different from the realm of the evil god constellations. the goddess of balance¡¯s subordinates were kind and warm-hearted.


    -in the household competition, six people will have to fight together, so we have to be in harmony to some extent.


    but you don¡¯t have to worry too much. although this is your first time, we have adaquaniel on our side.


    -we actually don¡¯t study that much either. we just follow adaquaniel¡¯s instructions.


    choi yeonseung aside, the other angels surprisingly didn¡¯t know much about strategy either. they left everything to adaquaniel¡¯s instructions.


    -as you can see, there are three main lanes: the top, middle, and bottom. buildings that contain the power of a constellation are also all over the map. breaking them is beneficial, but don¡¯t overdo it because it could kill you. most of your power will be tied up in the beginning, so you have to be extra careful.


    -we¡¯re using locations in the abyss that are full of monsters. we can become stronger quickly by killing them.


    -destroying the constellation¡¯s sanctuary in the enemy camp ends the battle. easy, right?


    ¡®isn¡¯t this a lot harder than the uhc?¡¯


    choi yeonseung looked troubled. the uhc also started with a certain amount of magic power to make it a fair fight for all parties involved. however, household competitions were even worse. they were all weakened in the beginning. to regain their strength, they would have to kill their opponent or the monsters. even if it was for the sake of fairness...


    -you can¡¯t use all your skills either. you can only bring a few with you.


    ¡°can¡¯t we just have an all-out war?¡±


    -all-out wars are far too serious. only the household members can die in household battles. in all-out wars, everyone can die.


    the goddess¡¯ angels didn¡¯t find what they just said strange at all. choi yeonseung had never participated in this type of constellation battle before, but he quickly got the hang of it.


    -let¡¯s have a practice match, shall we?


    ***


    -doesn¡¯t adaquaniel seem to be in a good mood today?


    -right? she looks really good.


    ¡°???¡±


    choi yeonseung was taken aback. wasn¡¯t she expressionless?


    ¡®do the angels see something i don¡¯t?¡¯


    the angels spoke to choi yeonseung.


    -this is just practice, so take it easy. just follow adaquaniel¡¯s instructions.


    the angels weren¡¯t expecting much from choi yeonseung. they knew he was good in single combat, but he was human. in addition, he said he had never participated in a household competition before. it was too much to expect a lot from him. the goddess could be looking forward to it, but...


    -?!?


    however, the angels¡¯ opinions immediately changed when the game began.

 Chapter 170

    chapter 170


    before the match started, choi yeonseung made up his mind.


    ¡®there are many rules, but can¡¯t they all be easily summarized?¡¯


    complicated things should be simplified as much as possible. his long experience in the abyss hadn¡¯t gone anywhere. choi yeonseung decided to keep it as simple as possible. kill as many monsters as quickly as he could and win against any opponents he would come across. wasn¡¯t that all he had to do?


    ¡®the skills... it would be crazy to bring advanced abyss cooking.¡¯


    he certainly couldn¡¯t bring that with him. choi yeonseung had gained various skills while training in the abyss and fighting other constellations. hence, picking was a bit of a struggle!


    ¡®i need the origin of the celestial step. should i bring concentrated energy arts as well?¡¯


    if asked to choose between various linked martial arts movements and footwork, choi yeonseung would always choose footwork. its versatility was too good. the linked martial arts movements¡¯ utility depended on the situation, while the footwork technique was always useful.


    on another note, concentrated energy arts were the flower of martial arts. even if he couldn¡¯t immediately use it due to his lack of internal energy, he could use it once he had killed enough monsters and grown stronger. bringing it was the right choice.


    ¡®i should also pick the star absorption method.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was quite fond of the star absorption method, which he had obtained from the nightmare demons. thanks to his extreme mastery of martial arts, he could create any type of martial arts he required if he set his mind to it. didn¡¯t he just make some martial arts that dealt with cold energy the other day?


    the star absorption method was difficult to recreate for choi yeonseung, however, since he wasn¡¯t a nightmare demon. unique to nightmare demons, it was completely different from existing martial arts. it was particularly powerful as well, and it was hard to deal with using martial arts.


    ¡®eternal regeneration, origin of the celestial step, origin of the celestial finger, star absorption method and concentrated energy arts.¡¯


    choi yeonseung had finalized his choices. the origin of the celestial divine arts that choi yeonseung had been honing for a long time was a perfectly balanced and complete martial art. it wasn¡¯t crazy fast or breathtakingly heavy, but it could be used freely depending on the user.


    ¡®if i need it later, i can just make a new martial art and bring it with me.¡¯


    he didn¡¯t know it but if speed was important in this household competition, he was going to create a new martial art centered on speed.


    [your internal energy is greatly reduced.]


    [due to insufficient experience, the effectiveness of the skill ¡®eternal regeneration¡¯ is greatly reduced!]


    [the skill ¡®star absorption method¡¯ can¡¯t be used due to insufficient internal energy.]


    [......]


    [......]


    ¡®... this is really unexpected.¡¯


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue. while fighting one-on-one battles in the c and b-grade leagues on earth, he had wondered, ¡®do i have to limit my strength this much?¡¯ now it was many times worse than that. he felt as if he was an e-grade hunter who was just starting to learn martial arts again.


    a sense of emptiness enveloped him when all his usual internal energy disappeared. choi yeonseung found it easy to adapt because he had spent a long time being this weak, unlike the angels of the abyss, who were born strong. he wondered how they could adapt to this sense of weakness.


    ¡®is this the strength of angels?¡¯


    -ughhhh.


    -groan.


    ¡°......¡±


    contrary to choi yeonseung¡¯s expectations, the angels trudged along while making very disgusted noises. for abyss races who were born strong, the sensation of being weakened was extremely unbearable. they had to participate due to the order of their constellation, so they endured it. however, given the choice, they never would have done this!


    ¡®i was mistaken.¡¯


    ***


    -household member choi yeonseung, i think you can go to the top lane.


    -copy.


    listening to adaquaniel¡¯s instructions, choi yeonseung headed up. along the way, a tower symbolizing the goddess of balance lit up.


    ¡®oh.¡¯


    as it shone, one of the ghouls approaching it burned up.


    ¡®so that¡¯s how it helps me.¡¯


    choi yeonseung raised his fist. the loss of his internal energy and his skills didn¡¯t mean that the experience imprinted in his body disappeared. he stepped forward.


    bam!


    with a dull sound, the ghoul¡¯s head fell off. it was a simple technique, but it was destructive enough.


    ¡®save as much internal energy as possible...¡¯


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t even use any footwork. he just waited for his opponent to strike first.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö...


    bam!


    the angel staggered.


    ¡®if i lack strength, then i¡¯ll make up for it in precision.¡¯


    choi yeonseung quickly attacked and pushed the angel back. aiming for his opponent¡¯s vital points, he delivered each blow with immense precision. the angel was no match for choi yeonseung when it came to controlling melee combat. he was quite good at magic combat, but he didn¡¯t have all his magic power right now.


    the angel had no experience in hand-to-hand combat that relied purely on control and without magic power. choi yeonseung pushed at him like crazy, giving him no chance to unleash magic!


    bam bam bam bam!


    [you have defeated an angel!]


    [your internal energy has increased!]


    [you can now use the skill ¡®origin of the celestial finger.¡¯]


    ¡®ohh.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was delighted. the constellation tower attacked choi yeonseung again. he wanted to destroy it, but it seemed it would be too much right now, so he just jumped back. he had become faster thanks to the rise in his internal energy.


    ¡®isn¡¯t it dangerous if i don¡¯t kill the monsters?¡¯


    he only felt it now, but defeating the opponent¡¯s household member in such a way didn¡¯t seem normal. choi yeonseung had jumped in with extreme movements and forced a melee battle, but...


    ¡®i don¡¯t think magicians can do what i did.¡¯


    considering they used magic, it was unlikely that they would use the same trick as choi yeonseung, who had fought with nothing but himself for over ten thousand years. all they could do was kill monsters and become stronger first. even if they couldn¡¯t defeat their opponent, they would still become stronger if they quickly killed a lot of monsters.


    -household member choi yeonseung. i¡¯m just contacting you to see how you¡¯re doing. are you okay?


    -ah. yes. i have defeated one of the enemy angels. i¡¯m killing the ghouls right now.


    -... huh?


    adaquaniel was shocked, which was a first.


    what?


    -i¡¯m killing the ghouls right now. aren¡¯t we supposed to be killing ghouls? there are a lot of them, so i think i should kill them.


    -that¡¯s not what i meant. you have defeated an enemy angel?


    -yes.


    -...????


    adaquaniel was at a loss for words. adaquaniel sent choi yeonseung to the top lane because he thought it would suit choi yeonseung the best. the top lane was the furthest place from the camp. hence, those deployed to it had a tendency to fight alone instead of relying on the help of their other colleagues. the middle and bottom lanes were complicatedly intertwined with each other due to the terrain, which meant they had to respond to multiple situations and factors. meanwhile, the upper lane just had to focus on their own thing.


    this was why she sent choi yeonseung, who was the best in single combat...


    ¡®still, he can defeat an enemy without recovering his strength first?¡¯


    the other angels were dumbfounded. he hadn¡¯t restored his internal energy yet, and there was no way he could use many skills, yet he jumped in and took down the enemy anyway. it was impossible without him doing something crazy.


    -can i just keep killing the ghouls? i¡¯m recovering my internal energy.


    -yes, keep doing that.


    -can i fight the other angel again if he resurrects and returns?


    -of course, you can¡¯t...!


    listening in, another angel panicked and tried to stop him. defeating the enemy angel was good and all, but trying to do it over and over again would be crazy. the angel didn¡¯t think the opponent could be taken down twice.


    however, adaquaniel agreed.


    -go for it. do whatever you want.


    -understood.


    the angels next to her looked very frustrated. even if this was practice, this was a bit...!


    ***


    -irkooel, what do you think you¡¯re doing? aren¡¯t you an angel?


    -what is wrong with you? what are you doing?


    -you underestimated the opponent because he is a human, leading to your defeat. is that it?


    -no...!


    even if he had ten mouths, the angel choi yeonseung defeated still would¡¯ve had nothing to say. the angel shut his mouth and headed up the road again.

 Chapter 171

    chapter 171


    -seal of deceleration.


    irkooel set up trap magic on the ground. he wasn¡¯t as experienced as adaquaniel, but irkooel was also a seasoned combatant. choi yeonseung was just such a ridiculous opponent that the human brought him down. even then, he still couldn¡¯t figure out his opponent¡¯s style.


    ¡®he is an absolute master of melee combat, which is rare even in the abyss.¡¯


    he had seen choi yeonseung fight a few times on earth, but he didn¡¯t expect him to fare this well. even in the abyss, which housed all types of races and households, it was rare to find people who had only practiced melee combat. naturally, some excelled in close-quarters combat. however, those people had developed their magic power to master melee magic. they didn¡¯t polish their fine control.


    compared to the power of overturning the ground and tearing up the sky, reducing and returning the power of the enemy¡¯s attack felt too insignificant. it was much better to learn magic using the time it took to practice those movements.


    ... or so he thought, but now that he had actually met someone who had honed such ineffective skills to the absolute limit, he found it very difficult to deal with. moreover, their powers were sealed in this household competition.


    ¡®i will get beaten up if i end up in a melee fight again.¡¯


    irkooel quickly prepared a strategy. the most important thing when dealing with choi yeonseung was to prevent him from approaching. hell would break out the moment choi yeonseung managed to reach him. although they both launched attacks, only choi yeonseung¡¯s blows hit.


    the seal of deceleration was a powerful magic that bound the opponent¡¯s feet as soon as they stepped on it. he brought it with him because he thought it would be useful magic in the household competition, but he didn¡¯t expect to use it like this.


    ¡°ah. you¡¯re back.¡±


    -......


    irkooel sent him a cautious look. choi yeonseung was still a long distance away, but watching him ignorantly rush forward made it hard for irkooel to feel relieved.


    ¡®he¡¯s coming!¡¯


    irkooel was amazed. this human had too much guts. he wouldn¡¯t actually die when killed, but he could still feel all the pain. in fact, some hunters on earth even retired due to the trauma it caused. nevertheless, choi yeonseung rushed with the intention of defeating the opponent in front of him, regardless of whether he was hurt or not.


    ¡®he will step on it!¡¯


    the angel was relieved to see choi yeonseung about to step on the magic circle. the moment he did, he could never get out of it no matter how hard he tried...


    snap¡ª


    -?


    choi yeonseung stopped, snapped his fingers, and started firing origin of the celestial finger. a bullet-like sharp wind shot out and pierced the surroundings.


    bam!


    the wind struck down a passing ghoul.


    -why did you stop?


    ¡°as expected, you¡¯re up to something.¡±


    -......


    irkooel was at a loss for words.


    did he notice?


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t really know the true identity of the magic circle. the abyss had all types of magic swirling all over it, so even a magic circle on the ground was hard to notice. however, choi yeonseung still sensed with his keen feelings and instincts that the angel was waiting for something.


    choi yeonseung had been hit by magic many times while wandering the abyss. martial arts were more limited in what they could do than magic, so he had to be creative when using it.


    -hurry up and come here, human!


    ¡°umm. no. that just makes things even more suspicious.¡±


    choi yeonseung decided to just focus on killing ghouls and regaining his internal energy. fortunately, he had the origin of the celestial finger. among his martial arts skills, the origin of the celestial finger required little internal energy, making it a good skill for killing monsters from a distance. he had to hit his targets¡¯ vital points, but this wasn¡¯t a problem for choi yeonseung.


    he had been using it for over ten thousand years. at this point, he could hit his opponent with his eyes closed. watching the ghouls fall dumbfounded irkooel and rendered him speechless.


    ¡®is this really his first time participating in a household competition...?!¡¯


    ***


    -how is everything going, irkooel? are you doing well?


    -... this is messed up. just focus on yourself.


    -... what? what are you saying? should i go help?


    the other angels seemed bewildered. in this situation where adaquaniel was doing everything in her power to stop the angels from giving instructions, they couldn¡¯t help but feel really flustered when irkooel said something outrageous out of the blue. in addition to ghouls, various other monsters also appeared in the household competition. they gave multiple rewards when killed.


    one of the often-used strategies was to prevent others from killing those monsters and making sure to get to them first. as such, trying to help irkooel could result in losses. if they were missing one person, they would have a numerical disadvantage against their opponents. however, if choi yeonseung kept pushing his way forward, they would be forced to help and just take such losses into account...


    -you don¡¯t have to come help...


    -???


    the talking angel raised his head. choi yeonseung was coming down from the top lane.


    ¡®... it¡¯s so hard to read the angels¡¯ faces.¡¯


    no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn¡¯t help but feel that they should do something together tactically. however, adaquaniel told him to just do whatever he wanted until the end. choi yeonseung didn¡¯t really know what to say to that.


    hence, he just acted as he pleased!


    ***


    after the training, the angels under the goddess became very confident. adaquaniel had returned, and the new human household member was very capable. they judged that they could win this constellation battle.


    -let the miscreants of the abyss learn of the goddess¡¯ name once more!


    [the ¡¯one who understands and penetrates through indeterminate forms¡¯ has surrendered.]


    [the constellation battle has been won!]


    [the ¡¯one who understands and penetrates through indeterminate forms¡¯ is asking for a meeting.]


    -......


    ¡°......¡±


    the angels were speechless.


    ... what??


    ¡®what is going on?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was also puzzled. they could surrender during a constellation battle?


    ¡°does this happen often?¡±


    -it¡¯s a rare occurrence, but... the goddess must¡¯ve used some type of trick.


    adaquaniel remained expressionless as she replied. her tone was so serious that choi yeonseung nodded in pure belief.


    ¡®yes, there are variables when directly entering a constellation battle, so she probably made a move in advance. the goddess is pretty good.¡¯


    all the constellations around choi yeonseung looked down on her, but the goddess of balance was quite famous in the abyss. it was clear that she had taken advantage of the opponent¡¯s unfavorable situation to force it to surrender. this was one of the abyss¡¯ strategies.


    however, the goddess soon spoke to them.


    -... w-why surrender? adaquaniel. is this your doing?


    ¡°......¡±


    -......


    choi yeonseung stared at adaquaniel. she averted her gaze and pretended she didn¡¯t see it.


    -i¡¯m sorry, master. i don¡¯t know what the opponent is doing.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it understands the reasons behind the constellation of understanding¡¯s actions.]


    [the constellation of understanding is clearly very aware of its current situation. since it¡¯s being threatened, it¡¯s now trying to request a meeting from the constellations concerned to resolve this situation.]


    [the incarnation constellation just recently appeared, so it seems there is a lot it wants to learn.]


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised.


    he thought it was just a thoughtless, fearless constellation who was going to disappear soon...


    but it had a much better grasp of the current situation than expected.


    ¡®is it asking for cooperation instead of surrendering?¡¯


    the unexpected proposal boggled choi yeonseung¡¯s mind. the goddess of sloth gave him advice.


    -isn¡¯t it better to go there first? in any case, the opponent knelt down first. our side has nothing to lose. even if you refuse, it has already surrendered.


    the goddess of sloth was still composed. as a constellation who had lived in the abyss for a long time, she didn¡¯t show mercy even though the opponent had knelt down.


    ¡®but she is right.¡¯


    it had surrendered before they could speak, so there was no reason to care about it. the abyss¡¯ rules were cold.


    -by the way, cat constellation. how did you know what the opponent was trying to do?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that it just went and asked what the opponent was thinking.]


    -... ah. i see.

 Chapter 172

    chapter 172


    [the ¡¯one who understands and penetrates through indeterminate forms¡¯ welcomes the two constellations.]


    the three constellations secretly faced each other. the constellations of the abyss normally didn¡¯t share their true selves when facing each other even during just a normal conversation, let alone a secret conversation.


    -i¡¯m sorry, but i don¡¯t intend to cooperate unconditionally just because you surrendered. do you know how many constellations are targeting you?


    the constellation of understanding shrugged at choi yeonseung¡¯s words.


    [the ¡®one who understands and penetrates through indeterminate forms¡¯ says that dealing with the constellation occupying earth was inevitable.]


    ¡®that¡¯s a ridiculous excuse,¡¯ choi yeonseung thought.


    no matter how unavoidable, this constellation had summoned monsters all over earth and caused a disturbance. well, he had known for a long time that most constellations treated humans like pawns.


    -not me.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that¡¯s not it either.]


    ¡®...i know, so be quiet.¡¯


    [the ¡®one who understands and penetrates through indeterminate forms¡¯ says it wasn¡¯t alone when it attacked.]


    -is that true?


    the goddess was surprised. in comparison, choi yeonseung¡¯s reaction was bland.


    ¡®so we were right all along, huh?¡¯


    it was a very clever strategy for a new constellation from the abyss. they had already speculated that someone had given it advice, but they turned out to be correct.


    -if you want to negotiate, then tell me your accomplice¡¯s identity first.


    [the ¡®one who understands and penetrates through indeterminate forms¡¯ says that the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ gave it advice.]


    the constellation of understanding didn¡¯t hide much. in the first place, it would have been very frustrating that the collector gave advice, then withdrew. although the constellation of understanding was currently under intense fire from other constellations, the collector constellation was nowhere to be found. the constellation of understanding wanted to somehow bring out the collector constellation.


    -you have been deceived by the collector constellation. he is trying to use you to shake the other constellations.


    [the ¡®one who understands and penetrates through indeterminate forms¡¯ is angry!]


    -maybe it¡¯s because the constellation of understanding used to be a monster, but it seems to have short patience and a quick temper.


    the goddess of sloth¡¯s assessment was sharp. befitting one who had become a constellation from monster origins, the constellation of understanding lacked patience. it caused an incident the moment it came to earth and danced on the palm of the collector constellation.


    [the ¡®one who understands and penetrates through indeterminate forms¡¯ says the other constellations aren¡¯t listening to it at all. it is asking for help.]


    constellations were generally narrow-minded. they weren¡¯t generous enough to listen to a constellation who had caused an incident. hence, they blocked all conversations. all they talked about was attacking the constellation of understanding!


    -okay. i¡¯ll help you.


    [!]


    the constellations observing their conversation were amazed. they didn¡¯t expect choi yeonseung to help the constellation. the goddess of balance asked in surprise.


    -do you really intend to help? well, i¡¯m not against it. i¡¯m grateful you allowed me to borrow your household members, but i¡¯m not sure if we even have to get along with it...


    -... listen carefully.


    choi yeonseung started to convince the goddess of balance.


    ... the collector constellation had been quite naughty lately, so he wanted to fight it somehow and cause some damage!


    -in short, you want to make trouble?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that your explanation is too vague. it wonders how you plan to fight the collector constellation head-on.]


    there was no way the collector constellation would readily admit to his fault unless he was an idiot. he would naturally deny it and try to fight the constellation who dared accuse it of such atrocities.


    -we obviously can¡¯t talk about it openly. i¡¯m planning on spreading rumors.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ asks how you¡¯re going to do that.]


    -you have to play an active role in this.


    [......]


    ***


    [your current ranking is 98th.]


    ¡®i barely made it to the double digits, huh?¡¯


    ¡°please look at our meager achievements!¡±


    the orcs had bright smiles as they carried sacks of rice on their shoulders.


    ¡°well done. by the way, the cows... why are you raising them like that?¡±


    ¡°if we are going to raise animals, shouldn¡¯t we raise them to be strong?¡±


    no orcs dared to eat the animals that choi yeonseung had brought. instead, they took care of them as if they were their own children. as a result, they had created formidable beasts. the power of existence flowing through choi yeonseung¡¯s realm, the energy of the abyss, and the strong livestock who accepted the orcs¡¯ teachings!


    ¡°we have also dug through the ground and built a well. we can now increase the number of paddy fields even without odaigon!¡±


    ¡°i realized that using cows makes it easier to plow the ground!¡±


    in the absence of choi yeonseung, the orcs were moving forward with their own enlightenment, not just in building but also in farming. choi yeonseung had nothing more to say, so he just nodded.


    ¡°well done. keep going!¡±


    ¡°master...!¡±


    ¡°thank you!¡±


    the orcs shouted with joy when choi yeonseung acknowledged them. right now, they were holding hand plows and shovels rather than knives and shields.


    ¡®they have done a truly great job.¡¯


    he found it unexpected that the cows and chickens that they had been given to eat were being raised for combat purposes, but everything else was amazing. this land didn¡¯t feel like his when he received it, but it wouldn¡¯t be strange to say that it was choi yeonseung¡¯s realm now.


    ¡°um. i was planning to raise the chickens and cows here and feed them to you since you have been suffering. but seeing you pour so much affection into raising them, i¡¯d feel sorry to butcher them now. i¡¯ll just do something else¡ª¡±


    ¡°huh? no! we can butcher it!¡±


    ¡°but you poured all your affection...¡±


    ¡°catch it! hey! catch it!¡±


    ¡°what?! we can eat it?!¡±


    surprised, the orcs excitedly chased after the livestock. they caught chickens in an instant. not long after, they started salivating.


    ¡°i definitely want to eat it!¡±


    ¡°thank you for allowing it!¡±


    choi yeonseung felt sorry because he seemed to have made them work for nothing when they could have been eating meat already.


    ¡°from now on, feel free to eat them for as long as their population is regulated.¡±


    ¡°are... are you sure? it would be an honor!¡±


    ¡°before i eat, i will always offer a sacrifice to master!¡±


    ¡°there is no need... anyway, bring me some meat.¡± choi yeonseung beckoned, and the strange golem stood next to him and started preparing a stone slab for cooking meat.


    ¡®i wonder if the cows and chickens they¡¯ve raised will taste good.¡¯


    the rice was fine. on the contrary, it boasted an excellent taste that only plants grown in the abyss could produce. but the cows and chickens...


    ¡®will it be okay?¡¯


    he had never seen such cows or chickens on earth. the chickens were so big that just one could fill up the stomachs of five to six orcs. at this point, they were more like abyss monsters than chickens...


    nevertheless, choi yeonseung¡¯s hands didn¡¯t stop. just as how he had dismantled many monsters, he quickly butchered the cows and chickens and divided them into parts.


    ¡°ah. you don¡¯t know how to cook rice...¡± choi yeonseung paused. he was about to teach the orcs how to cook rice, but the orcs had already placed a cauldron on top of a stone fire pit and were adding rice to it.


    ¡°huh?¡¯


    ¡°... it¡¯s nothing.¡±


    the changes in the orcs surprised not only choi yeonseung, who had been in the abyss for a long time, but the other constellations as well. maybe this would eventually create an orc chef.


    ***


    the orcs were so full that they couldn¡¯t get up.


    they didn¡¯t dare leave behind the food prepared by the constellation, so they scraped it down and ate it. above all, the food tasted fantastic. choi yeonseung prepared ginseng chicken soup by boiling chicken and white rice. when they had gotten to the cooked beef, the orcs could no longer stop themselves from eating.


    having only eaten raw meat or drank the blood of their enemies all their lives, the orcs found the dishes¡¯ taste shocking!


    ¡®wait. did they grow in size?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was taken aback. could the orcs really become bigger just by eating?

 Chapter 173

    chapter 173


    -don¡¯t you know that orcs become stronger when they fight and win?


    humans had a set limit on how much they could grow physically, but orcs were different. as one of the best combat races in the abyss, the more they fought and won, the bigger and stronger they became!


    -i know, but we aren¡¯t fighting now.


    -maybe their temperament changed because they¡¯re your subordinates now, successor. a constellation¡¯s power changed their household members without being aware of it. look at my household members. they¡¯re all lazy.


    -... i-i see.


    choi yeonseung was at a loss for words, so he just nodded. choi yeonseung¡¯s power as a constellation turned the orcs into this...


    ¡®for them to have a temperament for farming, raising livestock, and eating well...¡¯


    choi yeonseung was troubled. wasn¡¯t that just the temperament of a farmhand? didn¡¯t it seem a bit far from the incarnation of training?


    ***


    [the ¡®wandering merchant who sells destiny¡¯ welcomes you!]


    [the ¡®wandering merchant who sells destiny¡¯ congratulates you on your victory in the constellation battle.]


    [several constellations say they admire you.]


    the constellation of understanding surrendered before the battle even began, but there was no way other constellations would know about it. in their eyes, it would appear that the goddess of balance and the incarnation of training quickly destroyed the constellation of understanding.


    [the ¡®wandering merchant who sells destiny¡¯ recommends buying something expensive this time.]


    the merchant constellation threw him an expectant look. considering how he won, it was only right for him to buy something expensive.


    current soul stones: 98,000p


    ¡®i have over ten times my previous balance.¡¯


    they took a gamble with the constellation battle, but it had certainly paid off. he didn¡¯t just win. he also received the bounty the other constellations had put on the constellation of understanding. as a result, his soul stones balance exploded.


    ¡®but shouldn¡¯t i save? i don¡¯t want to waste it.¡¯


    -......


    the goddess of sloth was at a loss for words. what a trivial thing to say as a constellation...!


    -saving is good and all, but it would be better to erect more buildings in the area.


    -aren¡¯t the orcs already doing that?


    -special buildings, not ordinary ones. i¡¯m talking about those that are difficult to build even for a constellation.


    the orcs were working hard to build infrastructures, but they were all just normal buildings that could be found on earth. special buildings brought forth great power just by being installed!


    -the abyss isn¡¯t safe. the orcs aren¡¯t weak, but the more special buildings you have in your realm that can defend and give your household members power, the better.


    -if a monster appears, can¡¯t i just come and kill it?


    -... constellations normally don¡¯t make a move just because a monster appeared in the area.


    constellations were dignified beings. they wouldn¡¯t act directly just because a monster appeared on the outskirts of their kingdom. if they did, what need would they have for minions and household members?


    ¡®it would certainly be a problem if something like that happens while i¡¯m busy on earth.¡¯


    the golem and orcs were strong, but it would be better to buy what they needed while he still could.


    ¡°i only have 90,000p so give me a discount,¡± choi yeonseung said as he looked at the wandering merchant.


    [the ¡®wandering merchant who sells destiny¡¯ is bewildered. he wonders if you¡¯re a robber.]


    ¡°i won¡¯t buy anything if you don¡¯t give me a discount.¡±


    [......]


    the wandering merchant was dumbfounded, but it was still overwhelmingly beneficial for him if someone were to buy from him. after some back and forth, the wandering merchant finally gave up the box.


    [construction box (advanced, chaos):


    100,000p.


    primordial chaos is swirling inside. if you open this box, you will get one of the various structures needed in a constellation realm.]


    unusual energy came from the box since it had reached the advanced rating. just as magic power surged from a powerful artifact or magic book, an indescribable power of existence rose from the box. choi yeonseung¡¯s fingers trembled. although he remained fearless when fighting monsters that made even the abyss tremble, he couldn¡¯t help but be shaken when buying expensive items.


    ¡®should i buy it? should i?¡¯


    -please don¡¯t do that.


    despite the goddess¡¯ scolding, he still couldn¡¯t help it. he thought he would probably be depressed for a few days if he opened it and he got something useless like a cat statue. besides, what if he suddenly needed soul stones?


    -there¡¯s a good solution to situations like that.


    -?


    ¡°no. that isn¡¯t it... it¡¯s proven to be of some use to me, so i¡¯m using it for now.¡±


    the cat constellation was currently eagerly spreading rumors. the constellation of understanding was working hard as well regardless of whether others listened to it or not, so the rumors were bound to spread. no matter how hard it was denied, once rumors arose, there were bound to be suspicions. the collector constellation had to be pretty perplexed right now.


    ¡°i want those two to join hands and disappear far into the abyss.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t think that will happen...¡±


    nevertheless, choi yeonseung felt relieved. considering how hwang gyeongryong was behaving, the public disturbance seemed to have been contained to some extent.


    ¡®we have definitely become stronger.¡¯


    in the past, whenever monsters appeared all over the world, everyone would panic and run around. now, humanity moved systematically to deal with similar situations. the core factories had been blown up, the stock prices had been ruined, and the core prices were soaring, but this was still okay.


    -breaking news.


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°ignore it. it¡¯s probably useless anyway,¡± hwang gyeongryong said with a discouraged expression, having lost some money on stocks. ¡°they¡¯ll probably just say things like we have to secure more cores, we are running low on energy and require the hunters¡¯ dedication, let¡¯s save money, this is all a russian conspiracy...¡±


    ¡°how can those be breaking news?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    hwang gyeongryong suddenly stood up. choi yeonseung had a point.


    -the a-grade hunter, joseph grant, has just announced his intention to attack the abyss gate.


    ¡°!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong perked up. who was attacking the abyss gate?


    ¡°what? who would be insane enough to do that?¡±


    on the screen, a cold-looking hunter in a suit walked into view and stood in front of the reporters. it was joseph grant, an a-grade hunter from england.


    -the constellations of the abyss have been controlling humanity for far too long, and monsters have been ceaselessly attacking us as well.¡±


    ¡°such comedic nonsense. how can he say that even though he¡¯s a constellation¡¯s household member?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong grumbled. as a hunter from the generation before joseph grant, he was dissatisfied to see a young fellow who had signed a contract with a constellation talking smack after sucking up all the benefits.


    -the source of all of this is the abyss gate. together with my colleagues, i plan to attack the abyss gate to expand the realm of humanity. anyone who wants to join me, please apply.


    at the end of his speech, the reporters clapped, overwhelmed with emotions. it had been so long since the last time the abyss gate was raided, so the people had explosive reactions.


    -raiding the gate? is that something you can raid?


    -all the hunters who tried to raid it before failed.


    -but our level has gone up dozens of times now compared to back then, hasn¡¯t it?


    -fair point. they said that there is a huge difference between now and the past in terms of technique and magic. will they succeed this time, though?


    -what happens if they do?


    -we will get a realm in the abyss.


    as people¡¯s dissatisfaction grew because the core factories across the world exploded, someone gracefully stepped up. hence, the public inevitably cheered.


    -if you¡¯re a hunter, then shouldn¡¯t you participate? a lot of our tax money is spent on hunters, but they don¡¯t even step up during times like this.


    -are you crazy? you go then.


    -where do you live? you better be careful.


    some people who seemed to be hunters threatened them, but the public remained undaunted and sarcastic.


    ¡°wow. that man called joseph... is really passionate, isn¡¯t he?¡±


    ¡°what passion? he¡¯s clearly being manipulated. he isn¡¯t the type to step up to the plate like this. he¡¯s not like you.¡± hwang gyeongryong¡¯s expression turned serious. ¡°for him to take the lead like this, he has to have the confidence that he can succeed...¡±


    ¡°only a constellation can convince him to do this, right?¡±


    ¡°yeah.¡±


    ¡°considering how disciplined and profit-conscious he is, he wouldn¡¯t have acted this way unless he¡¯s been subjected to intense persuasion.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong started typing on his phone.


    ¡°what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°i congratulated and supported joseph grant on his endeavor and told him to prepare a presentation under the company¡¯s name.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung could only admire hwang gyeongryong¡¯s thoroughness in investing in a project before he could even confirm its authenticity.

 Chapter 174

    chapter 174


    people were in a frenzy as more detailed plans were announced. this time, the announcement wasn¡¯t aimed at the general public but at hunters and raid officials.


    ¡°... is it so novel?¡±


    ¡°hey. didn¡¯t i say not to give compliments? my stomach hurts.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong grumbled at choi yeonseung¡¯s praise. companies around the world were fighting fiercely to be on top of the raid industry. most of these attempts would fail, but if they succeeded, everything could change. hwang gyeongryong¡¯s inability to take the initiative made him feel sick to his stomach.


    ¡°but it is indeed novel.¡±


    there was a reason choi yeonseung was impressed. hunters who challenged the abyss gate were the real deal. they were the elite minority. if more than a certain number of hunters entered the dungeon, they would needlessly attract the monsters¡¯ aggro and make it more difficult to clear.


    although the abyss gate could be a dungeon, its scale was different from other dungeons. it was a kingdom of a constellation, so it was naturally spacious. this expedition revolved around the idea of launching a large-scale offensive than an attack composed of a small number of elites!


    the idea was to cross the gate, build a base near the entrance, and gradually expand the range. it was like an expedition to explore unknown areas like antarctica and mars. the difference was that there were enemies actively targeting the expedition. hence, they recruited a large number of hunters.


    -anyone who wants to join, please apply.


    he was serious. the expedition team was planning to increase their numbers by letting d and e-grade hunters join as well. no matter how weak a hunter was, they had awakened and were more helpful than soldiers. they needed people to build and defend the base.


    ¡°isn¡¯t it really interesting?¡±


    groan.


    choi yeonseung continued to admire the idea, causing hwang gyeongryong to let out sounds of suffering.


    ¡°stop sulking and read this. what do you think are the chances?¡±


    ¡°honestly, it isn¡¯t like i haven¡¯t thought of this plan.¡±


    ¡°aish... it is too late for you to say that now.¡±


    ¡°dude, i¡¯m serious! i didn¡¯t do it because it seemed like too risky a gamble!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was upset. rather than entering and clearing the dungeon with a small number of elites, they would send in numerous hunters to build a base and push the enemies little by little before eventually getting rid of the boss.


    hwang gyeongryong had already thought of that approach, but there was one reason why he didn¡¯t try it. money aside, too many people would die if he failed.


    ¡°besides hunters, how many civilian engineers would have to participate in this? who will care about those people¡¯s lives? they will obviously turn toward the hunters in dangerous situations. that¡¯s why i didn¡¯t want to push with this.¡±


    ¡°wow...¡±


    ¡°why are you looking at me like that?¡±


    ¡°nothing. i¡¯m just a bit impressed, hyung.¡±


    ¡°is that so?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong felt better after hearing a few words of praise.


    ¡°but considering the atmosphere right now, they¡¯ll probably get quite a few participants.¡±


    ¡°so what?! joseph is an annoying bastard anyway!¡±


    ¡°you have been saying that for a while now. do you two have a bad relationship?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve bumped into him a few times. he¡¯s the type of person who treats people¡¯s lives like flies. what do you think would happen if that man leads the expedition?¡±


    ¡°ahhh...¡±


    choi yeonseung immediately understood what he meant. hunters were selfish, but some stood out among them. those people thought everything else aside from their own lives was insignificant, so they took advantage of it!


    -e-grade hunters will learn a lot from this raid.??v€l?1n.


    ¡°if you find something useful in the abyss...¡±


    ¡°i swear on the name of my master that i will tell you without any deceit.¡±


    ¡°haha. that¡¯s right. that¡¯s right.¡±


    alex parker laughed like a child. the chairman¡¯s eyes had a strange gleam of greed.


    in the past, rich people on earth used to waste money because they didn¡¯t know where to spend it. however, these days, all the rich people poured their finances into magic and the abyss. magic to keep them young, magic that extended their life, magic that allowed them to have eternal life...


    the interest that the rich showed in dungeons and the abyss was beyond imagination. alex parker was one of those people.


    ¡°by the way, isn¡¯t it strange? is it okay for a constellation to teach how to target the territory of another constellation?¡±


    joseph¡¯s expedition and alex parker¡¯s investment were guaranteed by a constellation. joseph¡¯s master had shown him how to raid it.


    ¡°evil god constellations and good god constellations don¡¯t get along well. there¡¯s even a chance of members of the same disposition not getting along well. my master worked very hard to find that realm¡¯s weaknesses.¡±


    ¡°i see. that¡¯s great. then.¡±


    alex parker looked at his oldest son, jacob, who was standing nervously next to him.


    ¡°you should take charge of this expedition and support it. don¡¯t think of it as just a raid. when this raid succeeds, all of that territory will belong to humanity. from that point on, we¡¯ll find ourselves in intense combat.¡±


    despite his seemingly composed appearance, alex parker was the most excited and the one who looked forward to this occasion the most. successfully capturing the first area of the abyss gate would go down in history. that aside, he also had to think about the future. greedy countries and corporations would rush at each other and try to plant a flag on the new territory somehow. they had to prepare as much as possible to get ahead of the others.


    ¡°are you listening?¡±


    ¡°yes!¡± jacob answered with a nervous expression.


    alex parker was a bit puzzled because his son¡¯s expression seemed different from usual, but he didn¡¯t care about it and just moved on. there was too much happening right now to care about this.


    ***


    ¡°we will build a base here and put up barbed wire barriers at regular intervals.¡±


    ¡°can that do anything against monsters?¡± choi yeonseung asked, puzzled after listening to the technicians from dragon industry.


    ¡°ah... this is for humans. many people are participating in the expedition, but they are all of different nationalities. we don¡¯t know what will happen...¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded. they were definitely right. considering their numbers had increased, they would probably have to worry more about people than monsters.


    ¡°there could also be russian spies.¡±


    ¡°chinese spies are probably more dangerous these days. here is a list of those who have declared their participation in the expedition. the ones checked in blue are those you can cooperate with, and the ones in red are those who are impossible to work with.¡±


    ¡°those people will be acting solo.¡±


    it was difficult to cooperate with expeditions supported by the chinese government or other companies. they had separate goals and, above all, it was difficult to guess what they would do.


    ¡°ah. korea has also launched their own expedition.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m a bit worried.¡±


    ¡°why?¡±


    ¡°there was a bit of chatter last time about the construction company joining the korean expedition...¡±


    hunters could easily enter the abyss gate even if they just had a small group of elites, but this wasn¡¯t the case for large-scale campaigns. hunters, civilian engineers, support companies, and other participants had to work together like cogs in a wheel. if the participating construction companies lacked competence, they couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine what problems could arise.


    ¡°... haha. you are talking nonsense. south korea hasn¡¯t reached the point where a company with such problems would participate in a dangerous expedition...¡± choi yeonseung stopped. ¡°no. it¡¯s actually possible.¡±

 Chapter 175

    chapter 175


    ¡°no... it¡¯s possible?¡±


    ¡°ah. what are you doing? don¡¯t pretend you don¡¯t know,¡± choi yeonseung said, seemingly dumbfounded. the people here weren¡¯t innocent children, so why should they act as if they didn¡¯t know?


    ¡°as far as i¡¯m aware, south korea is very sensitive to corruption. it has a reputation for strict administrative measures that don¡¯t allow second chances once caught.¡±


    ¡°... is there more than just the south korea that i know about?¡±


    choi yeonseung was flustered for a moment. had another south korea been created somewhere else in the past 30 years? however, it wasn¡¯t just one technician. the others nodded their heads in agreement.


    ¡°south korea is pretty clean in that regard.¡±


    "that''s right. haven¡¯t you seen america? the last time there was an accident, the ceo just paid a large bribe and got away with it.¡±


    ¡°umm. our opinions differ because we all live in different countries.¡±


    choi yeonseung thought as much. the flaws of one¡¯s own country were relatively more visible to them than other countries, making other countries look better.


    ¡°no, objectively speaking, south korea is a corrupt-free country...¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t talk nonsense.¡±


    ¡®we¡¯re just stating facts...¡¯


    ¡®isn¡¯t hunter choi yeonseung being too strict with his own country?¡¯


    the technicians mumbled to themselves, unconvinced.


    ¡°then tell me. if south korea is such a fair country, how can a company that has caused an accident even participate in a project like this?¡± choi yeonseung asked.


    ¡°every country has good and bad people. what¡¯s important is that the system punishes the unjust. that company can join in because it hasn¡¯t been detected yet, but once it has, it will be handled properly.¡±


    ¡°... there is truth to your words, but you make it sound so cheap.¡±


    the technicians were more difficult to convince than he expected.


    ¡°don¡¯t you feel bad about complimenting south korea?¡±


    ¡°no. my daughter is a k-pop fan...¡±


    ¡°... it wasn¡¯t an objective assessment, then?¡±


    choi yeonseung knew they were painting south korea in too good of a light. like illeya, their opinion of south korea had always been good! no wonder why they said nice things!


    ¡°considering even foreigners think of south korea that way, i certainly can¡¯t stay still.¡±


    choi yeonseung took out his smartphone and contacted someone.


    if he accused a company of something like this back when he was still a c-grade hunter, the other clans with high-grade hunters would pressure him. he would wake up to broken windows and even get a call telling him to be careful at night...


    however, choi yeonseung and the people around him were now dozens of times stronger than before both socially and physically!


    ***


    kim daejeong, the president of daejeong construction, sat down with a satisfied expression. this wasn¡¯t just a big project, it was a mega project. it was a mega project that would allow him to stop doing anything else and just focus on this for ten years! that alone made this project worth doing.


    they were now in charge of the facilities for the expedition into the abyss gate. the huge amount of government support and the huge investment of other companies meant the hunters who participated in it would have a lot of money. a smile formed on his lips at the thought of the profits they would be getting. of course, daejeong construction didn¡¯t monopolize this. other large construction companies were also involved


    ¡®but this is enough.¡¯


    all he had to do was not touch other people¡¯s territory and do well in his own territory. the other companies also had weaknesses, so he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to step up and get more work. he was sure they would get along well with each other.


    ¡°congratulations, president-nim!¡±


    ¡°congratulations, president-nim!¡±


    ¡°thank you. do you know how much effort i put into winning this job?¡±


    in truth, only 10% of it was skill, and 90% were bribes. regardless, it was still hard work.


    ¡°president-nim, someone is looking for you.¡±


    ¡°what? who?¡±


    ¡°an official from the hunter management department...¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    kim daejeong was surprised. public officials had different powers and influence depending on the department. the hunter management department managed hunters and dungeons, so it was one of the most prominent departments. the president of a raid-related construction company like kim daejeong had to be very careful with them!


    ¡°i-i also know some hunters. if that¡¯s your plan, then i¡¯ll¡ª¡±


    the president tried to argue, but the lawyer just left, absolute confidence exuding from his back.


    ***


    -president kim daejeong of daejeong construction resigns. he revealed that ¡®he will take responsibility for the miscarriage of justice and step down¡¯...


    ¡°look at this.¡±


    finding the technician, who was smiling, choi yeonseung dumbfoundedly said, ¡°he stepped down when i threatened him. otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have stepped down.¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t hunter choi yeonseung part of the korean system as well?¡±


    choi yeonseung honestly admired the technician¡¯s guts.


    ¡®i think he is better at speaking than any techniques.¡¯


    ¡°this isn¡¯t over yet.¡±


    ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°the bastards who took bribes from that company will be holding on for dear life. i will have to identify them and fight them too. unless you are from that country, you¡¯re bound to be unaware of some things.¡±


    -all the officials involved in this criminal bribery case of daejeong construction have been caught. the prosecution has called them...


    the technician looked at choi yeonseung with a triumphant expression. meanwhile, choi yeonseung just watched the news as if he had just seen a ghost.


    ¡°... no way...¡±


    what was going on?


    ¡°now isn¡¯t the time to be doing this.¡±


    ¡°ah. sorry.¡±


    choi yeonseung headed outside. the chaotic sky of the abyss, not the familiar landscape of earth, welcomed the hunters. hunters familiar with dungeons were walking around without much thought, but the ordinary people were trembling so much they didn¡¯t even dare look outside. the expedition team had arrived at the first abyss kingdom on the other side of the abyss gate.


    [do you want to enter the ¡®first abyss kingdom¡¯ dungeon?]


    [rewards: kingdom of ???]


    [admission restrictions: none]


    [time remaining: none]


    this particular dungeon hadn¡¯t been challenged in over a decade, but there was still quite a lot of information about it. expeditions from all over the world tried to build a base as far as possible from the gate entrance. of course, building it near the gate entrance would be ideal when taking evacuation into consideration. however, it was for that very reason that no one would build the base nearby. their base should be built in the best location for invading the abyss.


    ¡°i shouldn¡¯t say this since i¡¯m the one who brought you here, but... is it really okay for you to come here?¡± choi yeonseung asked while looking at the hunters of the mount hua sect.


    this expedition, supported by dragon industry and led by choi yeonseung, didn¡¯t recruit a lot of hunters.


    joseph grant and other hunters thought, ¡®if i have high numbers, then i¡¯ll always have people i can use to do whatever i want,¡¯ so they gathered as many low-level hunters as possible. however, choi yeonseung had no intention of using other hunters as bait. instead, the team he created was made up of elites he knew were clearly capable of pulling their own weight.


    ¡°our clan is doing well right now.¡±


    the mount hua sect hunters didn¡¯t do raids themselves before since they weren¡¯t strong enough. however, their skills had improved so much that they had even played an active role in containing glenn douglas, who had gone out of control the other day. hence, there was no reason for them to avoid raids. going into a dungeon and procuring items themselves was much more lucrative than trading cores or items on the black market.


    ¡°above all, considering you¡¯re leading us, hunter choi yeonseung, aren¡¯t we bound to hit a jackpot?¡±


    ¡°a lot of people have joined this campaign, so it¡¯s probably better to throw away the idea of hitting a jackpot,¡± choi yeonseung said, but most of the mount hua sect hunters thought otherwise.


    -there is no way an expedition with so many hunters will fail!


    this raid was on a different level from humanity¡¯s earlier attempts, which were all just small-scale raids. moreover, a-grade hunters were leading this raid. numerous countries had joined in on this campaign, launching their own expeditions, so no one thought they would fail.


    -there are so many people here. i doubt i¡¯ll even get hurt.


    -even if the raid fails, we can just easily and safely return. we¡¯re near the gate, after all.


    ¡°well, jackpot or not, i¡¯ll still take care of you all.¡±


    ¡°what are you going to build here?¡±


    ¡°a training room. tell all the mount hua sect hunters to stop looking at the abyss and come in.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡®i shouldn¡¯t have asked...¡¯

 Chapter 176

    chapter 176


    being able to set up a separate training room in their abyss base to train hunters was a great luxury. it was only possible because choi yeonseung was supported and given full authority by the giant company called dragon industry.


    the other expeditions couldn¡¯t even dream of it. even if there was one, only a few senior hunters would benefit from it.


    it took a huge amount of money to build something that could withstand the harsh environment of the abyss...


    ***


    ¡°joseph. the hunters are asking me when the raid is starting.¡±


    ¡°tell them to wait.¡±


    ¡°what? we have to keep waiting? being in a dungeon for prolonged periods isn¡¯t ideal.¡±


    ¡°even so, we still have to. look,¡± joseph said with a sigh.


    although he was an a-grade hunter, he couldn¡¯t treat b-grade hunters badly. he had to handle them with a certain degree of politeness. otherwise, they would openly express their dissatisfaction.


    ¡°the number of expeditions here is higher than we expected. a lot of people out there aren¡¯t under my control.¡±


    the hunters serving as joseph¡¯s subordinates immediately expressed their displeasure.


    ¡°they have no conscience. weren¡¯t we the first to announce our intention to raid the abyss gate?¡±


    ¡°it can¡¯t be helped with other countries, but shouldn¡¯t the us expedition give us authority?¡±


    while some expeditions were supported by countries, there were also those that were supported by companies, like choi yeonseung¡¯s. hence, they naturally didn¡¯t listen to joseph¡¯s orders at all.


    -joseph was the first to plan the abyss gate raid. he¡¯s been preparing for this for a long time. for that reason, even if just nominally, he is still the commander-in-chief...


    -what? i can¡¯t hear you. i¡¯m sorry about this. as i got older, i developed a disease that prevents me from hearing nonsense!


    this wasn¡¯t unexpected, but joseph still found it amazing that an s-grade hunter and the chairman of a large company could be so immature.


    ¡°these guys have to go first. that is what my master said.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    joseph served the iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield. he was one of earth¡¯s most famous constellations because he bestowed pretty powerful combat skills. however, the household members and minions knew that serving the general constellation was a daunting task.


    it had a thorough performance-based system. if they failed to produce any outstanding results, the general constellation would mercilessly kick them out. hence, his subordinates had to do their best to get his attention! he was a good god constellation, but he was as cold as an evil god!


    ... joseph had the same personality as the general constellation, however. no, he was probably chosen in the first place because their personalities matched.


    ¡°we have to let them go first?¡±


    ¡°yes. we¡¯ll get the chance to take the initiative once they¡¯ve cleared up all the monsters here. trust me.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the other hunters just nodded. they were dissatisfied, but they couldn¡¯t do anything. after all, those were the orders of a constellation.


    ***


    ¡°we have to be the first to get results. understood?¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    while some hunters had a wait-and-see mentality, some actively tried to get ahead of others. the hunters from china were one of them.


    ¡°the party wants us to get results! we¡¯ll launch an attack today!¡±


    the hunters of other expeditions watched with half expectation and half worry to see what would happen. surprisingly, the chinese hunters achieved great results.


    ¡°the fortress has been successfully captured!¡±


    ¡°the chinese expedition succeeded in capturing a fortress...¡±


    they had destroyed a nearby orc fortress. considering some who had entered the abyss dungeon couldn¡¯t do the same feat, they showed an amazing performance!


    ¡°choi yeonseung, shouldn¡¯t we go out too?¡±elisabeth asked, sounding quite serious.


    some of the icarus clan hunters also volunteered to join the expedition, including those who were close to choi yeonseung. even whittaker joined in!


    -whittaker, why are you coming with us?


    -... isn¡¯t it too much to do this to me right now? don¡¯t you have any idea how expensive a good hunter can be?


    ¡°do we really have to fight?¡±


    the hunters looked back with bewildered expressions. even if they had combat experience, they had only ever killed two or three monsters at a time whenever they entered dungeons. they had never faced orcs so many that they blocked out the horizon. how many hunters had experienced this?


    ¡°prepare defense magic first. if they manage to force their way in, the base will be destroyed.¡±


    ¡°defense magic! use all your defense magic!¡±


    fortunately, the senior hunters were more composed than the low-ranked hunters. they were already anticipating this situation even before they entered. the problem was that the number was higher than expected!


    ¡°use defense magic to block the frontlines. mount hua sect hunters, remain in line. there are a lot of them, but not that many will be able to push through.¡± choi yeonseung landed in front of the base.


    the other hunters cheered in amazement.


    ¡°what are you doing?! head back inside and fight with us!¡±


    hunters with the role of tanks often headed to the front, but that was different from choi yeonseung doing the same right now. wasn¡¯t he basically asking them to kill him? however, choi yeonseung remained composed.


    ¡°focus on magic.¡±


    there was a reason why a-grade hunters could do whatever they wanted. those inside were taken aback, but they just followed instructions for now.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    having seen nothing but the naive orcs serving as his subordinates, choi yeonseung found it refreshing to see red-eyed orcs with red energy enveloping them. standing in front of the base as if he was nailed to it, choi yeonseung used origin of the celestial finger. each time he did, orcs fell down.


    -¡ö!


    however, the number of orcs was still too great. they flocked and tried to surround choi yeonseung, the red energy of a constellation rising from their weapons and brutally squeezing at him. choi yeonseung released his sword energy and split apart the surroundings. although he was still limiting himself to the peak-class stage, he was feeling much more comfortable right now.


    he could attack freely without worrying about his internal energy. otherwise, he would¡¯ve had to use footwork to dodge and knock down his opponents one by one.


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ admires your skills.]


    ¡®he¡¯s watching me?¡¯


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue in amazement.


    strangely, the warrior constellation was showing a lot of interest in choi yeonseung. he probably resented choi yeonseung quite a lot since he lost against him in a constellation battle, but his showing interest in him was just as much of a burden...


    -as i thought, this is definitely the realm of the warrior stained with madness and blood.


    -i thought so as well.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    as the orcs got drunk in combat and slowly went insane, he felt them becoming stronger.


    ¡®i don¡¯t want to drag this out. i should end them quickly.¡±


    flash!


    choi yeonseung ran forward and maximized the output of his origin of the celestial step. even though all the orcs looked the same, one was exceptionally larger and stronger. it had to be the boss. killing it would cause the rest of their enemies to quickly fall.


    ¡®the orcs really can¡¯t break through at all!¡¯


    antony paused while casting magic.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s martial arts were that phenomenal. he had heard a lot of people say that one good tank in raids could make all the other hunters¡¯ jobs easier, but he never thought he would understand what they meant at that moment.


    the formation of all the orcs in their territory had collapsed. now, they were chasing after choi yeonseung. as a result, the base sustained no damage, and the hunters behind choi yeonseung could cast their magic without worry. he felt so comfortable in the rear that he couldn¡¯t help but be surprised.


    elisabeth nodded from next to him. she seemed to feel the same way.


    ¡°you¡¯re thinking of the same thing, aren¡¯t you?¡± antony asked.


    ¡°huh? you were also thinking about what type of magic would let you do that?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    antony looked at elisabeth with a frightened expression.


    she was such a lunatic...! how could she think about how she could follow choi yeonseung? it was amazing, but even he didn¡¯t think he could follow choi yeonseung¡¯s ways.


    with a flash of sword energy, an orc warrior¡¯s head was blown away.


    choi yeonseung had decisively put an end to the battle.

 Chapter 177

    chapter 177


    ¡°where are you going, friend?¡± smallwood cried out, bewildered.


    swept away, the orcs started fleeing. however, choi yeonseung seemed to be heading somewhere else. hunters had finite stamina. even a-grade hunters needed a break after fighting so intensely.


    ¡°i¡¯ll just check korea¡¯s base. i¡¯ll be back.¡±


    ¡°the koreans can take care of themselves! come back, choi yeonseung!¡± whittaker exclaimed nonsense in response. ¡°it would be dangerous even for you if you overdo it! i have prepared recovery magic, so let me treat you now! i don¡¯t want you to get hurt!¡±


    ¡°are you worried about choi yeonseung?¡± elisabeth asked, seemingly curious. it was strange for someone like whittaker to be concerned about another.


    ¡°we¡¯ll be the ones in danger if an a-grade hunter gets hurt or dies in this place, you stupid bastards! let¡¯s join him!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the icarus clan hunters couldn¡¯t refute what he said. no wonder this bastard was worried! he was absolutely right. various artifacts and security measures protected their base, but they never knew what would happen in the abyss. they should never lose an a-grade hunter in here!


    ¡°still, choi yeonseung has already made up his mind. besides, he will be fine on his own.¡±


    ¡°this area has been cleared up anyway. i¡¯m sure he can handle himself.¡±


    however, the hunters of the icarus clan were much more composed than expected. they had faith in choi yeonseung¡¯s ability. more importantly...


    ¡°so what if you don¡¯t like it? choi yeonseung is our leader.¡±


    ¡°why don¡¯t you reach a-grade and become our leader instead?¡±


    ¡®these bastards...¡¯


    at that moment, whittaker realized something. the hunters of the icarus clan weren¡¯t always like this. ever since choi yeonseung joined, they seemed to have become exceptionally close. normally, they would¡¯ve worked together to stop him...


    ¡°i have a good idea, friends.¡±


    ¡°oh. smallwood! you agree with me, don¡¯t you? we should work together to stop choi yeonseung...¡±


    ¡°i think you should go and help him, friend.¡±


    ¡°ah. that¡¯s a good idea. i see no fault in that.¡±


    ¡°... ah... no. wait.¡±


    it didn¡¯t matter to the other hunters if whittaker was flustered or not. they still called out to choi yeonseung.


    ¡°choi yeonseung! take whittaker with you just in case!¡±


    ¡°a useful healer can help in a pinch!¡±


    ***


    south korea had three a-grade hunters on active duty, not including lee changsik, the iron-blooded ice emperor. lee changsik was half-retired due to injuries and poor physical strength, but he was still an a-grade hunter and was still immensely powerful. considering many countries didn¡¯t have a-grade hunters, south korea was definitely a highly competitive country in the hunter sector.


    perhaps it was the hell-like environment of the country that made it so. their hellish geographical location forced them to deal with all the monsters coming from china, north korea, and japan! the hunter leading the korean expedition for this abyss gate raid was kwon yeongseung, an a-grade hunter.


    if jeong wonuk was the hunter with the most experience and han seha was the most explosive hunter in recent times, then kwon yeongseung was the most popular hunter in south korea. a young, handsome, and good-natured hunter would inevitably be loved by people. he was even active in show business.


    kwon yeongseung created a memorable image among people through his appearances in various movies and dramas, making him the most popular hunter in south korea.


    -chained dimension cuts!


    powerful magic that cut space itself swept through the orcs. among all the magics, space-based magic was one of the most difficult ones to wield. nevertheless, kwon yeongseung used it without hesitation, showing just why he was an a-grade hunter. the problem was that the current situation was too much for him to handle alone.


    ¡°the orcs have circled around us! they are about to break into the rear of the base!¡±


    ¡°the hunters over there have to stop them. how am i supposed to move there now?¡±


    sweating, the hunters shouted at each other. they were already having so much trouble protecting their respective areas. how were they supposed to move to other places and help?


    choi yeonseung was adept at grabbing the attention of the enemies. he would dig into his opponents¡¯ ranks using intricate footwork, unleash palm and finger techniques at random, and attract his opponents¡¯ attention, protecting the base behind him.


    of course, that was only possible because he was confident that he could dodge and hold on even if the orcs surrounded and attacked him. that wasn¡¯t possible for the average magician.


    ¡°the orcs are destroying the facility!¡±


    ¡°the facility can be fixed later. just hold on!¡±


    at that moment, choi yeonseung and whittaker appeared in the distance.


    ¡°......?¡±


    the korean hunter who was the first to spot the two of them blinked. choi yeonseung was holding whittaker in his arms.


    ¡®are my eyes going crazy?¡¯


    two hunters emerged from the rear as blood-crazed orcs unleashed battle cries and various skills. what made it even odder was that one of them was being held in a hug. it was so unreal that he couldn¡¯t believe his eyes.


    ¡°i have no intention to do that. if there are no more enemies around, i¡¯ll head back.¡±


    the gathered hunters were genuinely impressed by choi yeonseung¡¯s words. being so selfless was difficult. if some other hunter from a foreign country had come to help, that hunter would¡¯ve tried to rip them off using all sorts of excuses.


    -i helped you like this. you should at least make some concessions...


    -did we ask you for help, you crazy bastard?


    -does south korea have no conscience??


    -you are the one without a conscience...!


    ¡°w-we have a serious problem.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    a technician came running from the base with a pale face.


    ¡°are there any orcs left inside?¡±


    ¡°n-no. that¡¯s not it...¡±


    the news the technician brought was even more shocking than that.


    ***


    ¡°the abyss gate is blocked?¡±


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. they could conduct such a large-scale raid because this dungeon had a doorway right behind it. with that as reassurance, they brought in huge amounts of supplies and built a base...


    ¡°as the orcs were attacking the base, the orc shamans cast magic on the gate.¡±


    ¡®a diversion!¡¯


    the way the orcs attacked was certainly strange, but the hunters now knew their true motive: it was to avoid the shamans from being interrupted while they were casting magic on the abyss gate.


    -can the entrance to the dungeon be blocked with magic?


    -it¡¯s possible. they can¡¯t block it permanently, but it can be closed for quite a while depending on the magic.


    -what if i pierce through with force?


    -you never know what will happen if you force it. your best course of action would be to find the magic caster and kill them. more importantly, this magic is...


    -was it given by a constellation?


    -that¡¯s right.


    ¡®this is a big problem.¡¯


    spreading out the troops and blocking the gate to cut off supplies. it was a much sharper strategy than expected. choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t help but admire the warrior stained with madness and blood a little. he thought the constellation was just ignorant...


    -......


    [......]


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t we be rationing the supplies?¡±


    ¡°we should, but i¡¯m worried about the others.¡±


    ¡°the others?¡±


    ¡°all the other expeditions.¡±


    the hunters around choi yeonseung cocked their heads. they didn¡¯t immediately understand what he was saying. however, this incident caused a bigger uproar than expected.


    ***


    the more people that the expedition team brought in, the harder their situation became.


    ¡°we should ration the supplies.¡±


    ¡°there will be a lot of dissatisfaction if we do that...¡±


    ¡°press them hard. we have no choice.¡±


    the expedition teams didn¡¯t expect they would be suffering from a lack of food or drinkable water. all they could do was tighten their belts. even choi yeonseung¡¯s expedition team was in the same situation.


    anxious, the technicians smoked cigarettes as they conversed.


    ¡°aren¡¯t we a bit better off? our group is fairly small.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true, but... what is he doing?¡±


    the technicians looked outside with bewildered expressions. hunters were killing monsters and dismantling them in front of the base.

 Chapter 178

    chapter 178


    ¡°i didn¡¯t expect the supplies i brought for my hobby to help us this way.¡±


    choi yeonseung prepared abundant food ingredients while he was preparing for the expedition. their team was small, so they were only meant for his hobby. he trained in martial arts every day, but in his spare time, he practiced cooking the korean dishes he learned from ms. lee chunok.


    however, due to the current situation, they swiftly turned from practice ingredients to the lifeline of the expedition. of course, that alone didn¡¯t reassure him.


    ¡°it¡¯s not like i can¡¯t eat orc meat, but it¡¯s a bit...¡±


    ¡°are you reluctant because it could contain poisons and curses?¡±


    ¡°huh? no. its texture and flavor just aren¡¯t that good.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    elisabeth was shocked. was this really the time to care about such factors?


    ¡°but just in case, i¡¯ll still store them.¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s attention was drawn to the mounts that the orc warriors had ridden. wolves roaming the abyss were classified based on the color of their fur. the black-furred wolves that the orcs rode were treated as e-grade. the bigger ones that could be considered bosses reached up to d-grade, but they weren¡¯t the type of monsters normally coveted by high-level hunters. their leather and fur weren¡¯t good materials, so the hunters usually just took their cores and threw the rest away...


    ¡°on the other hand, these wolves¡¯ meat is pretty good.¡±


    ¡°t-that¡¯s right, friend.¡±


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t you let someone else dismantle them?¡±


    ¡°no. ordinary technicians are weak and unskilled. it will take a long time for them to dismantle these monsters. you guys have to do it.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    once a hunter had reached the b-grade rank, monster dismantlement would usually be done by the hunters or porters under them. however, because of choi yeonseung, everyone had to dismantle the wolves together.


    ¡°can¡¯t we volunteer to help?¡±


    the technicians felt uncomfortable. it was as if they were sitting on a thorny cushion. they wouldn¡¯t feel this way if they were working as well, but while the hunters were working, they were just standing around...


    ¡°have you repaired all of the base¡¯s facilities?¡±


    ¡°yes. nearly everything was untouched in the first place...¡±


    ¡°then head inside and rest. you should save your strength for when you need it later.¡±


    ¡°why don¡¯t we use the heavy machinery over there...?¡± whittaker suggested softly, a dagger in hand.


    ¡°if you can still talk, then you still have plenty of room to relax. focus on your task.¡±


    ¡®this bastard.¡¯


    while others would have given hunters favorable treatment and pushed ordinary people, choi yeonseung was the opposite.


    ¡®in situations like this, ordinary technicians are bound to easily get tired.¡¯


    thanks to choi yeonseung¡¯s charisma, nobody complained. putting his rank aside, hunters who could risk their lives and jump in the middle of a monster horde were respected. unlike the first generation, raid methods had now improved considerably. those who fought recklessly, like choi yeonseung, were extremely rare.


    ¡°we¡¯re finally done!¡±


    "thank you for your hard work, everyone. i¡¯ll prepare something to eat, so get some rest for now and eat lots later.¡±


    "ohhhhh!¡±


    dismantling one monster was doable, but dismantling dozens of monsters with accuracy and precision was close to heavy labor. with their fatigue built up and their magic power exhausted, the hunters stumbled. fortunately, the food being prepared was enough to melt their hearts.


    gulp, gulp.


    ¡°did hunter choi yeonseung really make this dish?¡±


    ¡°this is my first time trying this, but i can already say this is seriously delicious.¡±


    ¡°i think his skills have improved since last time!¡±


    over an open flame, choi yeonseung grilled juicy steaks seasoned with various spices. of course, not all of the dishes were choi yeonseung¡¯s cooking. the rest were made from ingredients brought by the chefs participating in the expedition.


    a balanced and excellent diet in front of the hunters, from soft mashed potatoes, thick, fragrant, freshly baked breads, salads made with all types of vegetables and sauces... nevertheless, the steaks were the first to go. even the chefs aimed for the steaks first.


    elisabeth moved quicker than the others, so she managed to get another piece of steak. amid it all, she suddenly thought, ¡®doesn¡¯t this look like we are being raised?¡¯


    work hard and give them delicious food, make them work hard and give them delicious food...


    living like this felt strangely simple.


    was this okay?


    ¡°gutierrez. i grilled another piece of meat. want it?¡±


    ¡°even their prime minister was caught taking bribes, but they just let it go...!¡±


    ¡°stop it, everyone. now is not the time to fight.¡±


    an older hunter stepped up to stop them. they had to focus on finding a solution.


    ¡°uh, i got a message from the icarus clan.¡±


    ¡°what did they say?¡±


    ¡°they asked if we were okay and said they¡¯re willing to help if we need anything.¡±


    ¡°... did they send that by mistake? it doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±


    although they were from the same country, wasn¡¯t this too generous? even brothers probably wouldn¡¯t help each other in this way.


    ¡°there is no reason to refuse their help, though, is there?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true, but... their kindness is kind of scary.¡±


    ¡°won¡¯t they ask us to pay them back once we¡¯ve returned home?¡±


    ¡°if they are going to help, then it¡¯s only natural for us to pay the bill. it¡¯s way better than dying.¡±


    after taking the hunters¡¯ opinions into consideration, kwon yeongseung reached a decision.


    ¡°i¡¯ll accept it. we will be grateful for any help.¡±


    ***


    the hunters who planned to rent extra buildings or stack containers in any spare spaces were surprised. this was more... friendly than they thought.


    ¡°uh. hunters from south korea? you should head over there and stay. this is the common room, so you can come to play. over there? don¡¯t go over there. why? just don¡¯t go there.¡±


    ¡°is there kimchi fried rice among the dungeon food you brought? no? that product has been discontinued?? south korea is ruined.¡±


    the hunters overflowed with relaxation because they weren¡¯t in a tight situation. in fact, they had plenty of supplies.


    ¡®how are they coping...?¡¯


    kwon yeongseung couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. everyone had their differences, but all the expedition teams had to ration their supplies and endure. unlike them, however, the icarus clan was just waiting comfortably as if they were still on earth.


    ¡°ah, welcome.¡±


    ¡°hello... thank you.¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re helping you because we can afford it, so there is no need to feel too much pressure,¡± choi yeonseung said as if reading kwon yeongseung¡¯s heart. kwon yeongseung bowed in gratitude.


    ¡°by the way, everyone told me not to go over there. what are you doing there?¡±


    ¡°the training room. who told you not to go there? describe them to me.¡±


    choi yeonseung undoubtedly got down a solid record.


    ¡°you can use it whenever you want.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m fine.¡±


    ¡°have you fought already?¡±


    ¡°ah. i don¡¯t really do any training, so...¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at kwon yeongseung with a shocked expression. what was that nonsense just now?


    -he is a man of spirit. i feel the energy of sloth.


    -don¡¯t talk nonsense.


    ¡°why... don¡¯t you?¡± choi yeonseung asked as if he didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°because i don¡¯t have to? it has been that way for a long time.¡±


    some people with overflowing talent didn¡¯t require training. kwon yeongseung was one of them. he was so talented he quickly mastered every spell he obtained and use it accurately in actual combat! that was what turned him into an a-grade.


    ¡°however, wouldn¡¯t you become stronger if you added training to it?¡±


    ¡°i won¡¯t necessarily become stronger just by doing that. the right way is more important to me.¡±


    ¡®isn¡¯t that why he lost?¡¯


    choi yeonseung looked at kwon yeongseung with a doubtful expression. lee changsik was taking on all sorts of criticisms as the coach of the korean national team. choi yeonseung was starting to suspect that one of the reasons behind that was this person.

 Chapter 179

    chapter 179


    [you have seen through the essence of kwon yeongseung.]


    [kwon yeongseung]


    level: 324


    strength: 366


    agility: 411


    physical strength: 398


    magic power: 408


    intelligence: 401


    a-rank skill ¡®understanding advanced magic.¡¯


    b+ rank skill ¡®magic power recovery.¡¯


    b+ rank skill ¡®repeated casting.¡¯


    ......


    ¡®that¡¯s amazing.¡¯


    considering his skills were this good despite not signing a contract with a constellation, he seemed to be born with talent. he even reached the a-grade rank without training. but that was it...


    ¡®if this bastard had worked harder, changsik hyung wouldn¡¯t have been sworn at.¡¯


    choi yeonseung stared at kwon yeongseung. in fact, the grudge he felt wasn¡¯t fair at all. kwon yeongseung wasn¡¯t the only one to be blamed for the defeat. people had many expectations of kwon yeongseung because he was an a-grade hunter, but ssl had limitations to what a single hunter could do. in addition, being an a-grade hunter didn¡¯t necessarily mean he could make full use of his abilities.


    ¡°why... are you looking at me?¡± kwon yeongseung took a step back. he was certainly an a-grade hunter, considering he instinctively realized that something was strange.


    ¡°i¡¯m bored. come train with me.¡±


    ¡°uh... aren¡¯t there other hunters?¡±


    ¡°none of them are a-grade.¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words were hard to refute. however, kwon yeongseung didn¡¯t back down so easily either.


    ¡°i¡¯m a bit tired because i used a lot of magic power. training in this condition could backfire.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    of course, it didn¡¯t work on choi yeonseung at all.


    ¡®he is in very good condition.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was a master of martial arts and also had constellation eyes. such a lie would never work on him.


    ¡°do you know the best thing to do in this situation?¡±


    ¡°i should rest, right? at least until my magic power is restored...¡±


    ¡°no. that will make you weaker. i have perfected a special training that restores magic power and makes the body stronger.¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯ll just rest.¡±


    kwon yeongseung firmly drew a line. he knew he couldn¡¯t beat choi yeonseung with words.


    ¡°where are you right now?¡±


    ¡°what do you mean? aren¡¯t we in the base of dragon industry?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. remind me, who¡¯s the leader around here?¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. train. now.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    kwon yeongseung¡¯s jaw dropped open. so right now...


    was choi yeonseung saying that if he didn¡¯t train, he would be kicked out? he was so dumbfounded that he couldn¡¯t speak.


    kwon yeongseung wouldn¡¯t be kicked out because he refused to pay a large sum of money once they had gotten back or because he refused to give up loot from this dungeon raid. rather, it would be because he refused to train with choi yeonseung.


    ¡°they said they are the best and the most experienced, so it is only right for them to lead.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the hunters were dumbfounded. they were already expecting the chinese to refuse, but their reason was so bizarre.


    ¡°did they really say that? are they crazy?!¡±


    ¡°leave them alone. they¡¯ve always been this way.¡±


    the chinese hunters always acted based on their pride, even if they had to starve to death tomorrow. they probably behaved differently when working as individuals, but since they were here under the leadership of the party, they naturally acted like this.


    ¡°in any case, everything is ready. gather all the hunters! we will launch an attack!¡±


    ***


    ¡°......¡±


    kwon yeongseung lay on his stomach and gave a sideways glance. his eyes were almost closed.


    ¡°you aren¡¯t pretending to faint, are you?¡±


    ¡°... of course not.¡±


    hesitantly, kwon yeongseung stood up. the sparring in the training room had devastating results.


    defeat!


    choi yeonseung specialized in single combat and was undefeated in the uhc, but kwon yeongseung didn¡¯t expect to lose this badly. using the hard-to-master space magic as his main skill, he tried to keep choi yeonseung in check by teleporting away to widen the distance and by manipulating several terrain features.


    however, choi yeonseung avoided his attacks as soon as he felt the magic. every time kwon yeongseung¡¯s offensive failed, choi yeonseung took it as an opportunity to counterattack. it was now widely known not to engage in combat with martial artists of the same level.


    kwon yeongseung tried to block choi yeonseung¡¯s advances with magic somehow, but choi yeonseung still dug in despite having no magic. from that point on, he couldn¡¯t help but feel as if choi yeonseung was just toying with him. choi yeonseung would pick him up whenever he got knocked down, shake him whenever he tried to use magic, and knock him down again whenever he tried to escape...


    ¡°i feel like you have very little experience fighting against people why don¡¯t you use some low-level magic? don¡¯t use high-level magic just because you have a lot of magic power.¡±


    choi yeonseung had instantly seen through kwon yeongseung¡¯s weakness. he was confident in powerful magic, so he only used high-circle magic spells. as a result, he had many gaps in between. a seasoned hunter should be able to keep their opponent in check by using weak but fast-casting and cost-effective magic in between. however, kwon yeongseung lacked that. it was because other hunters filled in that part for him.


    ¡®it isn¡¯t just about kwon yeongseung.¡¯


    basically, raids had to be efficient. the role of a-grade hunters like kwon yeongseung would be to use powerful magic to break the monsters¡¯ defenses and deal a fatal blow. they didn¡¯t have to prepare magic to keep the opponents in check. these days, hunters were much more thorough when it came to the division of labor.


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t care about that, though.


    ¡®your life is at stake, so shouldn¡¯t you be prepared for every situation?¡¯


    ¡°uh... i will think about it.¡±


    ¡°yes. i¡¯ll go on the offensive, so start practicing.¡±


    ¡°huh? no, i can practice on my own...¡±


    ¡°no. didn¡¯t you say that doing things right is more important? you said you learn by doing, so you should learn by doing.¡±


    ¡°i didn¡¯t say i was going to learn by doing! ack! hey, you son of a¡ªaaack!¡±


    ***


    when the two a-grade hunters exited the training room, the people at the base looked at them with respect. they found it so amazing to see two a-grade hunters working so hard. after all, one alone would¡¯ve already been dazzling.


    ¡®as expected, a-grade hunters are built differently. they train so intensely.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was supporting kwon yeongseung, who couldn¡¯t even hold himself up properly. some of the hunters who were relatively friendly with kwon yeongseung were puzzled.


    ¡®isn¡¯t this strange? yeongseung isn¡¯t the type to train.¡±


    ¡®was he threatened?¡¯


    ¡®don¡¯t be ridiculous... he probably thought this was a good opportunity since they are both a-grade.¡¯


    how many chances were there for a-grade hunters to meet and get along like this? kwon yeongseung, who was usually interested in other things, was clearly feeling passionate right now. in contrast, the hunters of the icarus clan looked at kwon yeongseung as if he was very pitiful.


    ¡°tsk tsk...¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t the korean hunters too much? they¡¯re not doing anything even though their colleague is getting bullied.¡±


    ¡°looking at his face. he looks like he got beat up good.¡±


    today, they realized for the first time that they could feel sorry for an a-grade hunter.

 Chapter 180

    chapter 180


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter what happened. should you really leave your colleague like that?¡± antony asked the korean hunters seriously. antony wasn¡¯t the type to show so much consideration for another. normally, he only ever cared about himself. however, he knew how hard choi yeonseung bullied people.


    ¡°huh? no, he¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°you are too worried.¡±


    ¡°!!¡±


    antony was shocked by the korean hunters¡¯ reaction.


    ¡®they¡¯re insane!¡¯


    how could they say such a thing when their colleague was suffering so much? they heard that the korean hunters trained hard, but they didn¡¯t expect it to be to this extent. as antony¡¯s words spread, the icarus clan¡¯s hunters started to look at the korean hunters with different eyes.


    -have humans always been so poisonous?


    -yes. come to think of it, hunter choi yeonseung is also from south korea. his personality could be a characteristic of their country.


    -i don¡¯t think so... i¡¯ve met a few korean hunters.


    choi yeonseung sat next to kwon yeongseung. ¡°you should eat after training.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t feel like eating. can¡¯t i just go to sleep? i want to eat some sweet ice cream and go to rest...¡±


    ¡°what nonsense are you saying? whenever you overwork yourself and exhaust your magic power, you have to eat something to help you recover. now, eat the meat first.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t feel like meat¡ªmmpphh.¡±


    ***


    even though they were eating, sleeping, and training well in the abyss, the hunters still participated in the all-out attacks of other expeditions. they turned down the ridiculous request to comply with joseph¡¯s orders, though...


    -why should i listen to the orders of someone who isn¡¯t even paying me? is he crazy? is he the president of the united states?


    -he isn¡¯t even american...


    -that¡¯s right. anyway, tell him that unless he¡¯s the president of the united states, he shouldn¡¯t try ordering me around.


    ¡°seeing this massive movement, it seems he has made up his mind.¡±


    now that they had all gathered, it became clear that joseph, who started this entire campaign, was trying to use this opportunity to finish it. choi yeonseung¡¯s plan was to benefit as well, so he had no choice but to participate.


    ¡®they don¡¯t look good.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was starting to worry. except for kwon yeongseung, all the hunters at the base led by choi yeonseung were in good spirits because they had been getting proper meals and rest. above all, choi yeonseung stood guard for the longest time. no matter how hard the orcs tried to cause havoc on their nerves through hit-and-run tactics, they failed to do any damage.


    however, this wasn¡¯t the case with the other expeditions. they had to eat sparingly on tight supplies and periodically patrol and stand guard in case of orc raids. in addition, low-level hunters handled most of those responsibilities. nearly all the hunters of the other expeditions were dissatisfied and fatigued.


    ¡°what are you thinking about?¡± illeya asked curiously. illeya participated as a hunter on icarus¡¯ side, but she was also quite close to the other korean hunters. perhaps this was why she was full of interest and anticipation rather than tension even though they were in the midst of an all-out attack.


    ¡°aren¡¯t you worried?¡±


    ¡°we¡¯ve prepared a lot... and i¡¯m confident in myself,¡± illeya said. she spoke a bit slow, but she showed no signs of wavering.


    ¡®as a hunter, she can definitely fight for prolonged periods of time.¡¯


    unlike in the past, magic was now studied a lot, and the number of household members of constellations had increased. it was quite common for hunters with no practical experience to receive a high rating. likewise, it was quite common for high-grade hunters to get scared or tremble before fighting. they either had little experience fighting monsters or fought only in favorable conditions. hunters who didn¡¯t fall into a panic at times like this would reach far into their careers.


    ¡®she is young and inexperienced, but there is a reason why she was selected by the clan.¡¯


    ¡°yes. at the very least, i can take care of the hunters here,¡± choi yeonseung said, making illeya smile brightly.


    ¡°the on the other side has started!¡±


    ¡°what? i don¡¯t think they¡¯ve all gathered yet?¡±


    choi yeonseung moved forward as if it was absurd. it was true. the hunters present were already approaching the fortress and casting magic.


    ¡®they don¡¯t look that strong...¡¯


    the berserker constellation liked the way he fought without any tricks. it was shameful that he was beaten, but he also liked the constellation quite a bit. it was a complicated feeling. that constellation¡¯s household member led the hunters to the center, making him inevitably curious.


    [attack him!]


    the berserker constellation gave another revelation to the orcs. the orcs in the distance nodded in excitement when they heard it.


    ***


    ¡°how come the orcs foil the expedition¡¯s plans every time?¡± choi yeonseung asked, seemingly dumbfounded. the hunters just nodded, seemingly having nothing to say. the gate got blocked, and the encirclement didn¡¯t work out properly...


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. i have a question.¡±


    ¡°go on,¡± choi yeonseung replied to kwon yeongseung.


    ¡°the orcs are coming. shouldn¡¯t we retreat?¡±


    rather than waiting inside the fortress, the orcs had been hiding outside from the beginning. as humans moved from the side to ambush them, they started rushing in from behind. fortunately, choi yeonseung and his group of hunters were in the rear because they didn¡¯t listen to joseph¡¯s orders. they could escape if they wanted to.


    ¡°i feel like retreating, but we will be in a lot of trouble if all the other hunters here die.¡±


    no matter how great choi yeonseung was, he couldn¡¯t hold on while taking care of the rest of the hunters here. if all the orcs in this area flocked together, they could all fall in combat except for choi yeonseung. however, he couldn¡¯t just watch all the expedition hunters die.


    ¡°but against enemies this many...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve been thinking about something. follow me. move!¡±


    choi yeonseung charged forward. the other hunters followed choi yeonseung as soon as he moved even though orcs were flocking from all sides.


    ¡®no. wait. why am i following him?¡¯


    ¡®shouldn¡¯t we get out of here? ah, but everyone else is following him...¡¯


    ¡®still, choi yeonseung has an idea, doesn¡¯t he?¡¯


    ¡°the hunters of icarus!¡±


    ¡°are the korean hunters coming this way?!¡±


    choi yeonseung and his hunters charging were eye-opening for the hunters who were already giving their all on the battlefield.


    ¡°choi yeonseung! over here! come this way and fight with us!¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re getting tired! join us!¡±


    the fighting hunters anxiously raised their voices and called for choi yeonseung. they could use all the hunters they could get now that the orcs were attacking from all sides.


    ... however, choi yeonseung completely ignored them.


    ¡°uh, are you sure we can just ignore them?¡±


    ¡°why should i listen to them when i don¡¯t even know them?¡±


    choi yeonseung just continued rushing forward. choi yeonseung was aiming for the orcs¡¯ fortress itself.


    ¡°??!¡±


    ¡°you still haven¡¯t broken the fortress?¡±


    the hunters who initially acted as decoys were flustered when choi yeonseung suddenly came running.


    ¡°yes, we smashed it as much as we could, but we can¡¯t break its defense magic. we somehow broke the walls and doors, at least...¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    choi yeonseung ran and, with a swing of his sword, unleashed a flash and a loud noise. the sword energy cut through the shield and pierced through the powerful defensive magic.


    ¡°now! get inside now!¡±


    ¡°......!¡±

 Chapter 181

    chapter 181


    ¡®amazing!¡¯


    was this the power of an a-grade hunter? even dozens of magic from countless hunters couldn¡¯t bring down the fortress¡¯ shield, yet choi yeonseung easily pierced through it with a single strike of sword energy.


    martial artists often said things like, ¡®oh, if only i could use sword energy, i would be able to ignore all magicians!¡¯


    martial arts at a low level simply raised their physical ability. however, once they had reached a high enough level, they would be able to start performing all sorts of tricks by handling the accumulated internal energy as if it was their own limbs.


    among them, sword energy was the most destructive one. it was like the crystallization of pure internal energy.


    ¡°uh... w-wait.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°why are you entering the fortress?¡± the hunters asked, finding his plan strange. right now, hunters from each expedition were engaging in a fierce battle. shouldn¡¯t they help the hunters?


    ¡°you¡¯re here to conquer this fortress, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true, but the other hunters...¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t worry. they¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    choi yeonseung just kept moving onward. if they were bad enough to send other people out as bait, then they should be able to handle being the bait themselves!


    ***


    -the fortress has fallen!


    -the humans have taken over the fortress!


    amid the battle, the orcs looked up at the sudden news, clearly taken aback. all the flags bearing the emblem of the constellation were lowered, and a human being they had never seen before stood on top of the fortress.


    -never mind that! didn¡¯t i say that the master has given a revelation? kill everyone here, then we¡¯ll get the fortress back!


    -but what being deprived of the fortress now is a mistake? master will be disappointed in us!


    -was it the master¡¯s will to have the fortress taken away?


    the orcs¡¯ burning passion cooled down. the orcs, who had been pushing fiercely, were frightened when they saw that the fortress had fallen. and their hesitation made the hunters dealing with them feel relieved.


    ¡°gather over here! get into formation again!¡±


    ¡°hunters who are b-grade or higher, go deeper inside! don¡¯t think about running away! we have to fight together!¡±


    ¡°you are talking nonsense. you set aside people without telling us! you tried to use us as decoys!¡±


    some of the hunters angrily complained, upon belatedly realizing the truth. they normally would¡¯ve been suppressed with force already, but this wasn¡¯t possible since they were surrounded by orcs on all sides.


    ¡°it¡¯s all a misunderstanding. i couldn¡¯t disclose it because it was confidential.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t be fooled, everyone! grant belongs to the household of the iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield! you know how ruthless the household members of that constellation are!¡±


    certainly, in situations like this, the name of the constellation he followed also had a great influence. most of the hunters knew what type of constellation the general constellation was, so they started to cast suspicious glances over.


    -will he use us as cannon fodder next time?


    -this bastard. i already found it suspicious that he kept saying he would give orders...


    -damn. this wouldn¡¯t have happened if our chinese expedition team had taken the lead!


    as the turmoil spread throughout the expedition, joseph realized things could get dangerous if he didn¡¯t suppress this with force. if he didn¡¯t calm things down by threatening them here, the hunters who stood on his side could break away.


    ¡°what nonsense are you talking about?¡±


    the moment joseph revealed his killing intent, the hunters questioning him backed away out of fear. a-grade hunters could exude extraordinary killing intent.


    ¡°stop right there, joseph,¡± yugen nacht said.


    ¡°......!¡±??v€l?1n.


    a b+ hunter from germany, yugen nacht was almost the size of an orc glared at joseph. joseph was an a-grade hunter, so he normally couldn¡¯t be intimidated by such threats, but the current situation dictated otherwise. yugen nacht¡¯s older brother, ben nacht, was standing with him. he was the a-grade hunter leading the german hunters!


    several other a-grade hunters also glared at him as if they didn¡¯t want to watch joseph go on a rampage, so joseph had no choice but to back off. he couldn¡¯t fight against all the a and b-grade hunters here.


    in situations like this, priority was normally given to the first hunters to occupy a building. even if they had raided the fortress together, the right to it belonged to choi yeonseung¡¯s expedition team since they were the ones to capture it.


    ¡°still, he won¡¯t ask us for too much. brother, can¡¯t you see many people are here?¡±


    ¡°things in the world don¡¯t work logically,¡± ben admonished his brother.


    there were many hunters still outside. thinking about what would happen later, nothing good could come from being too fierce here. however, that was what ordinary, low-level hunters thought. those who had reached a-grade or higher had nothing to regret in the world. they could spit in front of the prime minister of another country and safely return to their own country.


    the people and hunters of that country would curse them, but so what? they could just do raids with the few hunters on their side anyway. in other words...


    since the fortress had been occupied first, it meant the opponent¡¯s right to be arrogant had already been booked. it could be different if it was a low-grade hunter, but choi yeonseung was an a-grade hunter...


    ¡°is everyone inside?¡±


    ¡°yes. you occupied the fortress while we were fighting,¡± yugen said with hostility.


    before choi yeonseung could even answer, antony snorted, ¡°if you find it so unfair, then why didn¡¯t you take it first? those who lack skills are still alive and whining!¡±


    ¡°schneider, you bastard...¡±


    yugen turned red, seemingly well aware of antony¡¯s personality. antony was a huge bastard, so it was really bad to meet him in such a situation.


    ¡°blaming someone for your stupid plans is so disgusting¡ª¡±


    ¡°stop it,¡± choi yeonseung interrupted antony. if left alone, he would pull all the aggro himself.


    ben stopped his brother as well. there was no need to get so worked up. after all, choi yeonseung was the one in a position of power. rather, they should negotiate with choi yeonseung to put themselves in a good position as well.


    ¡°so what should we do, choi yeonseung? we will cooperate.¡±


    ¡°ah... do i have to give you an order? i¡¯ll assign you an area of the fortress. just go and guard it.¡±


    ¡°... is that all?¡±


    ben was slightly taken aback. it was much simpler than he thought.


    ¡°what else do you want me to say?¡±


    whittaker whispered from next to him, ¡°i think it would be good to recruit healers and tankers from each expedition and place more on our side.¡±


    ¡°are you saying to let them fend for themselves?¡±


    ¡°no... that¡¯s not... i¡¯m just saying they can survive with their skills.¡±


    choi yeonseung made whittaker shut up, then continued, ¡°just take care of your designated area. don¡¯t touch the rest.¡±


    ¡°......!!¡±


    the hunters murmured among themselves. choi yeonseung was more generous than they expected. at the very least, they thought he would transfer over healers or tankers or ask for supplies.


    ¡°is that really all?¡± sophie lambert, a b+ hunter from france, asked in disbelief. on the contrary, it was hard to believe that he was giving safety away so freely.


    however, choi yeonseung just nodded and replied, ¡°yes. it doesn¡¯t really matter anyway.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°look outside. the orcs are all coming here.¡±


    ¡°......!!¡±


    it was only then that hunters snapped back to reality and climbed onto the walls of the fortress to check. orcs were covering the horizon of the abyss and rushing their way. they seemed to be full of fighting spirit, almost as if they had recovered from the chaos earlier.


    ¡°how... could they have so many?¡±


    they didn¡¯t seem to be just taking a fortress back. it seemed all the orcs in this realm were coming.


    ¡°let''s fight together to survive. ah, right. don¡¯t put low-level hunters in front just because you are in a hurry. if i ever catch you doing that, i will throw you all out of the fortress.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s manner of speaking didn¡¯t change, but he sounded serious.


    the hunters, who had been standing still, couldn¡¯t help but gulp.

 Chapter 182

    chapter 182


    thinking about it, there was no reason to be afraid of choi yeonseung. he was certainly an a-grade hunter, but there were several other a-grade hunters here as well. if choi yeonseung acted too fiercely, he would likely face the same situation as joseph grant did.


    nevertheless, they felt strangely overwhelmed. they had this ominous feeling that they would lose if they all attacked him.


    ¡°putting the low-level hunters in front. i think there is a misunderstanding. i had no intention of doing such a thing,¡± joseph said, causing the other hunters to look at him in bewilderment. even the hunters who claimed to be joseph¡¯s subordinates looked embarrassed.


    ¡®isn¡¯t he going too far?¡¯


    ¡®you have to lie in moderation...¡¯


    choi yeonseung also found it ridiculous, but he didn¡¯t bother to argue.


    ¡°t-that¡¯s right. i must¡¯ve misunderstood you. you put the low-grade hunters in front of you and had them charge at the fortress, but was that just a coincidence?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t go overboard! why are you acting so brazen when you left us to act as bait?¡±


    the hunters who had been in the vanguard vigorously stepped forward. they weren¡¯t aware of it when they were in the vanguard, but they eventually figured it out when they heard about the situation after the fight. they had almost died. if choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t led the hunters and provided support, it wouldn¡¯t have been strange if the front of this fortress became their tomb.


    ¡°these jerks have to be driven out of the fortress!¡±


    ¡®these damn bastards...¡¯


    joseph and the other hunters glared and frowned. it wasn¡¯t fair to see the low-level hunters, who originally wouldn¡¯t have spoken, shouting and hiding behind choi yeonseung.


    ¡°you accepted everything when we explained it. why are you complaining now?¡±


    ¡°w-what?¡±


    ¡°you definitely signed a contract when you joined the expedition.¡±


    ¡°nonsense! when did we agree to be cannon fodder...?¡±


    ¡°you said you would follow orders. i don¡¯t understand why you are doing this,¡± joseph threatened.


    the low-level hunters flinched at his attitude. they looked around, but the other expeditions that didn¡¯t get along with joseph didn¡¯t come forward. their contract was their own responsibility. no one would stand up for low-level hunters unless these hunters were their own subordinates.


    ¡°stop threatening people. get out of here and do your job in your own area,¡± choi yeonseung solemnly said, causing all the other hunters to look at him with surprise. they didn¡¯t expect choi yeonseung to join such an argument.


    ¡°do you know each other? i didn¡¯t expect you to help,¡± ben asked curiously.


    ¡°do i know who? go to your area already. don¡¯t let them break through.¡±


    choi yeonseung chased them away, looking annoyed. he was up against a fellow a-grade hunter, but he had no intention of getting close or showing any favor here.


    ¡®quickly handle your area and return.¡¯


    there were so many hunters present that it was difficult to care about all of them. of course, if other hunters had heard choi yeonseung¡¯s thoughts, then they would definitely react with dismay. why did he care about the lives of other hunters? they couldn¡¯t even care about their own lives in this situation.


    ¡°brother. isn¡¯t that man a bit strange?¡±


    ¡°i agree.¡±


    ¡°what is wrong with him? is he restrained by the constellation he contracted with?¡±


    ¡°perhaps he¡¯s just good-natured.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s ridiculous. brother, no such hunter exists.¡±


    ¡°... that¡¯s true. maybe he really is under restrictions.¡±


    the two brothers chatted as they moved.


    ben thought to himself.


    ¡®it can¡¯t be... there can¡¯t be a hunter like that.¡¯


    ***


    ¡°the orcs aren¡¯t attacking as hard as i thought they would.¡±


    ¡°they¡¯ve learned as well,¡± choi yeonseung said firmly. choi yeonseung had fought against the orc tribes of the abyss quite a lot while wandering around the abyss.


    -kuock. you win.


    -yes. don¡¯t bother me now.


    -i¡¯ll bring in other tribes to fight. let¡¯s have a rematch!


    -... don¡¯t you think i will blow your head off if you say such things to my face?


    the orcs didn¡¯t use their brains in other areas, but they were quite smart when it came to combat. that was why they had figured something out after fighting against the expedition teams once. this wouldn¡¯t be as easy as they thought!


    ¡°why are you asking?¡±


    ¡°... because i was afraid you would fall behind while fighting due to lack of magic power.¡±


    ¡°what are you going to do if we say we don¡¯t have any?¡±


    ¡°give you what i had left.¡±


    ¡°... don¡¯t lie! what type of trick... kuaaack! ah! my arm!¡±


    choi yeonseung grabbed the hunter who was close to him and twisted his arm. he went straight to melee combat without giving him time to use magic. the hunter was one-sidedly beaten even though he was a b-grade hunter.


    ¡°if you don¡¯t like it, then just say no. why keep talking nonsense?¡±


    ¡°i-i will be grateful if you give me water.¡±


    ¡°kuaack! stupid bastards! he won¡¯t just give things like that away for free! if he does, then i¡¯ll do a striptease in front of the times square in new york!¡±


    choi yeonseung made the hunter shut up, asked for the necessary supplies, and handed them over.


    ¡°t-thank you very much.¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re here to fight together, so i¡¯m willing to do this for you.¡±


    [you have received the trust of the hunters, greatly increasing your power of existence!]


    they were allowed into the fortress without demanding anything from them. now they were provided with supplies, so even the selfish and suspicious hunters couldn¡¯t help being shaken.


    ¡®maybe he is being threatened by his constellation? will he be killed if he doesn¡¯t do anything good?¡¯


    ¡®i think he¡¯s just a really good guy.¡¯


    the hunters who participated in the expedition were sincerely grateful to choi yeonseung. to be honest, it didn¡¯t matter if the constellation or someone else ordered it.


    all that mattered were results.


    none of the a-grade hunters here cared for them as much as choi yeonseung.


    ¡°honestly, isn¡¯t it good for us even if he is being threatened by a constellation? isn¡¯t it something to be thankful for?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°i can understand why he took care of us. it is a korean custom.¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯ve met korean hunters before. what nonsense are you saying?¡±


    of course, giving out this help wasn¡¯t always easy. sometimes, they even refused the help.


    ¡°we don¡¯t have a shortage of supplies at all, hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°... aren¡¯t the guys behind you collapsing from hunger right now?¡±


    ¡°you are mistaken. go back.¡±


    the chinese hunters glared very fiercely at the party official who came with them. they couldn¡¯t understand why he would refuse help when they were starving to death.


    ¡°let¡¯s just take it! i asked hunters from other countries and they said he gave supplies to them for nothing. when else will we get an offer like this?¡±


    ¡°why refuse when he says he is just giving it to us?¡±


    ¡°shut up! don¡¯t you know it is prohibited to bring in goods without the permission of the party? if you talk one more time, i will punish you... cough!¡±


    choi yeonseung, who was slowly getting annoyed, knocked down the official with pressure point attack.


    the chinese hunters blinked and stared at choi yeonseung. what was that?


    ¡°he probably collapsed from hunger.¡±


    ¡°... t-that¡¯s right! he collapsed from hunger!¡±


    ¡°bring him inside! don¡¯t let him get up!¡±


    their families would be blown away if they touched this official, but it didn¡¯t matter if choi yeonseung was the one who did it. a-grade hunters from other countries couldn¡¯t be touched.


    ¡°seriously, thank you so much...! sob sob sob!¡±


    ¡°i can¡¯t count how many people died because of that bastard anymore!¡±


    ¡°... why don¡¯t you just seek asylum?¡± choi yeonseung asked with a tired expression. somehow, it seemed worse than it had been 30 years ago. he had wandered around the abyss for a long time and wanted some things not to change over time, but...


    ¡®i don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but the things i don¡¯t like haven¡¯t changed.¡¯

 Chapter 183

    chapter 183


    ¡°can you really just leave him alone?¡±


    ¡°if killed everyone i wanted to kill, the icarus clan¡¯s number would have already been halved.¡±


    ¡°... am i one of those people?¡± antony asked, sounding slightly anxious for some reason.


    ¡°i didn¡¯t want you dead, at least. not that much.¡±


    ¡°i knew it... wait. by not that much, you mean...¡±


    choi yeonseung walked away, ignoring him.


    ¡°now that you¡¯ve persuaded the chinese, the rest will be easier.¡±


    he stopped by the chinese expedition team first since they were the most difficult ones to persuade. the others weren¡¯t easy either, but they weren¡¯t that difficult compared to the chinese hunters.


    ***


    ¡°i heard you¡¯re helping everyone. thank you so much.¡±


    the japanese expedition team¡¯s reaction was more favorable than expected.


    choi yeonseung was relieved.


    ¡®this will end sooner than i expected.¡¯


    ¡°sure, sure. if you¡¯re really thankful, then let¡¯s get this over with quickly. let¡¯s begin by organizing the supplies¡ª¡±


    ¡°ah. wait a moment.¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    choi yeonseung had an ominous feeling when someone who clearly didn¡¯t look like a hunter stepped up next to the japanese hunters.


    ¡°who are you?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m an official from the ministry of defense...¡±


    while south korea and the us created new government departments to coincide with the raid era, japan added a hunter-related division to its ministry of defense. in other words, this official was in charge of hunters and raids.


    ¡°hello, hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°nice to meet you. what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°i am very grateful to hear that hunter choi yeonseung is supporting us with supplies, but there are a few things we have to deal with before that.¡±


    the official pulled out paper after paper.


    astonished, the icarus clan hunters next to them murmured.


    -even irs officials don¡¯t do this.


    -this guy has to be crazy.


    ¡°now! please take this.¡±


    choi yeonseung received the thick bundle of documents and used all his strength to manage his expression. ¡°what is this?¡±


    ¡°documents for you to sign, hunter choi yeonseung, just in case something goes wrong later after we accept the supplies...¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong with what we are giving you?¡±


    choi yeonseung stayed still, but the other hunters had grown furious. few hunters could stand being treated in such a way, especially considering they came to help with good intentions.


    ¡°the documents are in japanese.¡±


    ¡°ah... i¡¯m sorry. i don¡¯t have any other papers. please use a translator.¡±


    as choi yeonseung contemplated whether to throw a punch or the papers away, another official came running from behind.


    the sight made the hunters feel slightly relieved. someone was still in their right mind!


    ¡°wait! wait a minute!¡±


    ¡°huh? section chief, i am acting in accordance with the established procedures.¡±


    ¡°no. i looked up the regulations again. we can¡¯t accept the supplies. according to the regulations, materials provided by other countries can¡¯t be accepted until they have undergone the relevant inspections.¡±


    ¡°is a test needed?¡±


    [i will give you two treasures: the cloak of the elf slayer and poison of existence.]


    [clear the first area and break the power of the berserker constellation.]


    after thinking about it for a long time, joseph¡¯s master, the iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield, thought that assassinating the boss monster was their best solution. the arrogant berserker constellation wouldn¡¯t expect it. although the general constellation was caught off-guard by the orcs¡¯ sudden attack, his plan was still usable.


    ¡°that orc is the boss monster of this realm?¡±


    the hunters who came with them were somewhat convinced. igorka¡¯s presence was unusual.


    ¡°yes.¡±


    a-grade hunters like ben nacht and adelin bonaveluzza normally would have had no intention of joining joseph. since they all were leading their own expeditions, it would have been better for them to take down the boss monster first than share the results with joseph. however, joseph¡¯s proposal turned out to be more appealing than expected.


    -i have a way to defeat the orcs right here, right now. my constellation¡¯s the one who came up with it. if you join me, i will share the results with you both.


    -......


    -......


    even sworn enemies joined hands when profits were at stake. ben nacht of germany and adelin bonaveluzza of france were no different. wouldn¡¯t it be better for them all to profit than starve?


    ¡®this artifact is way more powerful than i expected...!¡¯


    the cloak of the elf slayer that joseph had was much more powerful than they thought. deceiving everyone in the area, nobody noticed them even as they reached the chieftain. a constellation giving this to him directly had to have been true. if the cloak had this much power, then the other item...


    the two a-grade hunters¡¯ eyes widened upon seeing the terrible magic power that radiated from joseph¡¯s one-handed sword. what type of magic did it contain?


    ¡°you only have to create one chance. that¡¯ll be enough for me to take his life.¡±


    ¡°... okay. let¡¯s try it.¡±


    ben prepared to use magic along with the hunters who followed him. they only had three a-grade hunters and a little over ten b-grade hunters, while the enemies had many orcs surrounding them. they would only be able to buy a short amount of time at best.


    ¡°bonaveluzza. as soon as i use a skill, follow my lead and launch attacks.¡±


    ¡°okay. get ready.¡±


    with a roar, the nearby orcs were sent flying as the tents around them were torn apart. it was due to the powerful magic of the hunters. taking advantage of the opportunity opened by the hunters¡¯ powerful magic, joseph accurately stabbed the great chieftain in the back. the poison of existence that the constellation had given him dug deep and melted the chieftain.


    ... or at least it should have.


    ¡°......?!¡±


    -ku... kuooo... kuoooh...


    the chieftain, igorka, looked down at joseph with burning eyes. he obviously wouldn¡¯t die any time soon.


    [the ¡®iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield¡¯ says he was wrong.]


    upon receiving the general constellation¡¯s message, joseph felt his heart sinking in his chest.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    the poison made igorka suffer, but he didn¡¯t collapse. rather, he was so tough that he just endured it. at the same time, his madness exploded to greater heights.


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ is happy!]


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ gives igorka more strength!]


    [......]


    [......]


    the unexpected situation made the stunned berserker constellation burst out laughing.


    ¡®these stupid bastards! you underestimated igorka¡¯s vitality!¡¯


    with their assassination attempt failing...


    ¡°retreat! it failed!¡±


    ¡°hey, you crazy bastard!¡±


    ¡°are you really an a-grade?¡±


    dumbfounded, the hunters present hurled insults at joseph. they didn¡¯t expect someone so confident to fail. igorka quickly tore up the surroundings and blew away even his fellow orcs. the hunters couldn¡¯t escape even if they wanted to. due to the noise, the orcs had gathered and surrounded them.


    not long after, however, a deep white light flashed, and igorka¡¯s head flew away.

 Chapter 184

    chapter 184


    ¡®it went in.¡¯


    with conviction, choi yeonseung cut igorka¡¯s throat.


    concentrated energy arts, the peak of martial arts. in terms of pure energy, concentrated sword energy boasted a power that no magic could match. the orc chieftain couldn¡¯t even properly react to the sudden attack. in fact, even choi yeonseung was surprised when he discovered that other hunters had come first.


    -were they thinking the same thing?


    now that he had thought about it, joseph¡¯s constellation had given joseph a plan of attack. hence, it wasn¡¯t really that surprising to witness him executing an assassination. he thought he would have no choice but to watch the others attack, but an unexpected situation occurred. something seemed to have gone wrong, seeing as how the orc chieftain survived the ambush. the item the constellation had given likely had a weaker effect than expected...


    ¡®i can do things my way now, then.¡¯


    since the other group had failed, it no longer mattered if choi yeonseung took the kill for himself. all the orcs¡¯ attention had shifted away from his direction because the hunters had attracted a lot of aggro.


    [the orc chieftain, igorka, has fallen!]


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ has lost.]


    [the ¡®first abyss kingdom¡¯ has become earth¡¯s realm.]


    [the power of your existence has increased!]


    [......]


    [......]


    [......]


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ is screaming in anguish!]


    the moment the boss monster collapsed, the orcs around him started to be expelled en masse. since they were minions of the warrior stained with madness and blood, they were banished from the realm. furious, ketala glared at joseph.


    -you cowards! how dare you ambush us? i swear by my name and the name of the great chieftain that i will kill you!


    ketala was kicked out as soon as he finished making that promise, so he wasn¡¯t a threat for now. nevertheless, he had released terrible killing intent. joseph frowned, feeling disappointed because not only did he miss the opportunity to kill the boss monster but he had also been cursed by an orc bastard. the orc seemed to think everything went according to joseph¡¯s plan.


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ vows revenge on the ¡®iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield.¡¯]


    [the ¡®iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield¡¯ laughs at the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood.¡¯]


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ scoffs, thinking they are both bluffing losers.]


    ¡°the orcs have disappeared!¡±


    the hunters in the fortress slumped down when the orcs disappeared like fog dissipating. all the enemies who had been pushing the hunters so dreadfully were now gone. the ones with a lot of experience in dungeons immediately knew that the dungeon had been cleared!


    ¡°how did you do it? did you use a power you received from your constellation?¡±


    ben looked at choi yeonseung in disbelief. putting aside the blow he just landed, it was hard to believe he could even trick the eyes of so many orc warriors and shamans and get this far. was choi yeonseung given a constellation power just like joseph was?


    ¡°no. i just used martial arts.¡±


    ¡°does martial arts have a stealth-type skill?!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung felt a little frustrated. most magicians naturally didn¡¯t know what martial arts could do and the techniques it had. he even often took advantage of that stupidity. even so, he thought it was a bit unfair for them to be this surprised.


    ¡°i think martial arts have better stealth skills than magic.¡±


    while wandering the abyss, he excelled the most in stealth, not in attacking, defending, or dodging. he became so adept at it that he could avoid his pursuers despite being tired and injured. having to survive in such a harsh environment, his hiding ability became unrivaled.


    ¡®fortunately, now that i¡¯ve become an a-grade hunter, i can use my abilities more freely.¡¯


    since most of the constellations thought choi yeonseung was a member of a constellation¡¯s household already, it didn¡¯t matter if choi yeonseung showed some power now. they could likely be easily deceived since they would immediately think, ¡®did the constellation give him some power?¡¯


    unlike how he struggled when he had just returned to earth, he now felt quite comfortable.


    ¡®she isn¡¯t denying it.¡¯


    ¡°he can¡¯t touch every article out there. most of them were written by others.¡±


    ¡°is that so? there were so many compliments that i thought gyeongryong hyung had a hand in it.¡±


    when choi yeonseung turned on the tv and read the articles, all he found were praises. hence, he naturally misunderstood. this was the first time they succeeded in raiding an abyss gate, but it was still too much. hence, he suspected that hwang gyeongryong had written the articles himself.


    -who said that the 1st generation should retire? what did i say? martial arts aren¡¯t lacking compared to magic.


    -isn¡¯t it just choi yeonseung who is strong, not martial arts? all the other martial artists are struggling.


    -the person above seems to be a martial artist.


    -honestly, if choi yeonseung had learned magic, he would¡¯ve reached s-grade by now and cleared two or three more abyss gates. look at dragon hwang right now. he reached s-grade with magic.


    even people who were quite used to raids had a fierce reaction to the abyss gate raid. completely different from the raids so far, earth had taken its first step into the abyss. the evaluation of choi yeonseung was bound to rise like crazy since he played a big role as a vanguard and showed an overwhelming performance even with other a-grade hunters present. he did so well that all concerns about him being a martial artist were blown away.


    -hunter choi yeonseung is really amazing. i¡¯m glad to have a hunter like him in the united states.


    -isn¡¯t choi yeonseung korean? he is just working in the united states right now.


    -regardless, all that¡¯s important is that he is in the united states.


    -that¡¯s right. dragon hwang was like that before. he came to the united states from south korea and became an american.


    -he isn¡¯t an american yet. don¡¯t be fooled.


    -why are people doing this?


    -they are probably koreans.


    -i¡¯m not korean??


    -sure. pretend you aren¡¯t korean. the us is the best country for hunters to live. choi yeonseung will make an announcement soon. you better accept it already.


    -these bastards are annoying!


    aine shook her head when she saw choi yeonseung checking all the reactions on the forum.


    ¡°you can look at the news and articles, but there is no need to read the reactions and comments as well. it isn¡¯t good for a hunter.¡±


    for as long as they were still human, hunters were bound to be affected by such malicious comments. unless they were an idiot like hwang gyeongryong, who would wait for such comments just so he could track down the commenter¡¯s ip and deal with them himself, most people had no way to respond to these comments.


    if they failed one raid, they would hear noises about retirement. if they failed two raids, they would hear noises about retirement... the best thing they could do was not to look at all.


    ¡°i don¡¯t really care, so it¡¯s fine. rather, i find it strange that these reactions aren¡¯t really manipulated.¡±


    choi yeonseung posted something.


    -isn¡¯t the praise for hunter choi yeonseung too much? all the other hunters had a hard time. it isn¡¯t good to just highlight choi yeonseung...


    -what are you saying?


    -why didn¡¯t you kill the boss monster instead? you don¡¯t even have any skills, yet you¡¯re here barking.


    -as a hunter, i¡¯m very ashamed to know someone like you exists.


    -if you don¡¯t have skills, you should at least have a good personality.


    ¡°... are they really not fake?¡±


    no matter how hard he thought about it, didn¡¯t they seem like employees hired by hwang gyeongryong?


    ¡°no... my father doesn¡¯t spend money on things like this.¡±


    ¡®he probably spent a lot of money on other things.¡¯

 Chapter 185

    chapter 185


    no matter how much choi yeonseung doubted it, he couldn¡¯t change the fact that the reactions were real. considering he had just successfully raided an abyss gate when others had failed, the reactions were actually rather calm. after all, the people were more focused on the abyss.


    [parker industries planning to build a large-scale city in the abyss? huge investments predicted to be made...]


    [the chinese government strongly claims sovereignty... a perimeter and hard labor are expected. the us president says ¡®we will respond resolutely¡¯...]


    now that all of earth¡¯s lands had been explored, the lands of the abyss were humanity¡¯s new frontier.


    many countries and companies were trying to figure out what they could do with this new land. considering even hwang gyeongryong shyly claimed that he once wrote down a bucket list of what he would do upon stepping on one of abyss¡¯ lands around ten years ago, others didn¡¯t have to explain their excitement anymore.


    ¡°how was the abyss? i was worried.¡±


    ¡°the abyss is fine for as long as you have a brain. not all hunters are idiots.¡±


    the dungeon was only extremely dangerous when the constellation was still in control. now that the constellation had withdrawn, the first abyss kingdom was just an ordinary wasteland. of course, it still had monsters. after all, it was in the abyss.


    however, that much could be prevented by the hunters currently on it. how many were over there right now?


    aine pulled out the apple she had brought with her, skillfully peeled it with magic, and took a bite.


    ¡°do you like apples?¡±


    ¡°huh? yes. is there anyone who doesn¡¯t like it?¡± aine asked.


    ¡®should i grow apples in my territory?¡¯ choi yeonseung thought.


    -successor, i think farmer will be added to your name.


    the undefeated farmer of training.


    ... it was pretty good.


    ¡®doesn¡¯t that make me seem quite strong?¡¯


    -i was being sarcastic...


    the goddess¡¯ remarks aside, choi yeonseung was honestly having fun developing his territory. the orcs who followed the ¡®teach one thing, learn two in return¡¯ principle were pretty good students. creating paddy fields, constructing buildings, raising livestock, putting up defenses...


    ¡®¡¯i¡¯ll try to grow some fruits. let¡¯s start with apple trees.¡¯


    a self-help book that hwang gyeongryong had read in the past had a quote that was along the lines of...


    [even if the earth perishes tomorrow, i will still plant an apple tree today.]


    wasn¡¯t it because apple trees could withstand harsh environments?


    -??


    ¡°i will grow delicious apples and give them to you as a present.¡±


    ¡°no... it¡¯s okay... i can buy apples. i have more money than you... no, not anymore.¡±


    aine hesitated. hunters spent money as quickly as they earned it.


    while everyone envied b-grade hunters, those hunters envied a-grade hunters.


    choi yeonseung had become an a-grade hunter and defeated the boss monster of the first abyss kingdom. the rewards from that alone would already be around hundreds of millions of dollars.


    ¡°that aside, i can¡¯t believe you¡¯re thinking of growing apples. is farming your hobby?¡± aine asked.


    people gained hobbies they didn¡¯t have before as they grew older. hwang gyeongryong bought a few uninhabited islands and flew to them every now and then just to watch ¡®i am a natural person¡¯ from beginning to end again. he enjoyed spending time alone to heal himself. with that in mind, choi yeonseung developing a farming hobby wasn¡¯t strange at all.


    hunters usually had many unusual hobbies anyway. it had become so common for them to spend on alcohol or gamble enough money to buy a building in one night that it was no longer covered by the media.


    ¡°i know an a-grade hunter whose hobby is knitting. i don¡¯t think farming is bad. causing so much destruction can make you want to produce things.¡±


    ¡°my hobby is cooking,¡± choi yeonseung said.


    aine only gulped in response.


    ¡°do you want to eat? did you visit me because you¡¯re hungry?¡±


    ¡°... no. i¡¯m not here for food.¡±


    ¡°what is it, then?¡±


    ¡°i want to invite you to dinner.¡±


    aine motioned for choi yeonseung to get up. choi yeonseung stopped training and did as requested.


    ¡°what type of meal? why should i attend?¡±


    ¡°um... well, you¡¯re now one of the most important figures in the group.¡±


    ¡°are those crazy people coming again?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°they¡¯re seriously too much.¡±


    ¡°so what if they are? considering how much they pay us, it¡¯s only proper that we work hard,¡± the head chef said while looking at the other chefs.


    the chefs were paid a huge amount of money to prepare this dinner course, but the chefs never liked this kind of event because their clients didn¡¯t really come here to eat. watching the dishes they worked so hard to prepare come back cold broke the chefs¡¯ hearts.


    ¡°we are getting ready to cook! you can¡¯t be here.¡±


    ¡°i just want to learn how to cook.¡±


    ¡°this place isn¡¯t a culinary school. it¡¯s a kitchen. we prepare food here, not teach people how to¡ª¡± the chef who was about to send the person out abruptly stopped, clearly dumbfounded. come to think of it, the only people invited to this villa were employees or guests, and the person in front of them didn¡¯t look like an employee...


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right.¡±


    the chef, letitia, was bewildered. why did a hunter come here?


    ¡°no...¡±


    no matter how proud the chef was, they couldn¡¯t ask an a-grade hunter to leave. after all, no one could attach their head back to their body if it was blown away.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung!¡± one of the chefs yelled. letitia panicked and tried to stop them, but...


    ¡°please sign this!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°thank you!¡±


    letitia sighed.


    ¡°do as you please.¡±


    having received permission, choi yeonseung happily nodded. chef letitia had been exploring french cuisine for over sixty years now. she was a master among masters. choi yeonseung admired her skills.


    ¡®there are no frills in her movements.¡¯


    watching her cook, choi yeonseung was puzzled.


    the dishes that the chefs made...


    ¡®aren¡¯t they making korean cuisine?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was taken aback when he saw the soup made of chestnuts and sweet pumpkin and the lightly fried rice cakes sprinkled with peanuts or sesame seeds.


    ¡°you¡¯re not cooking authentic french cuisine?¡±


    ¡°dragon hwang likes korean food.¡±


    meeting a customer¡¯s needs was a professional¡¯s job.


    choi yeonseung, who had been watching intently, grew bored and asked, ¡°can i make something?¡±


    ¡°... do whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°i can help you!¡±


    the young chefs excitedly rushed to choi yeonseung. when would they have another opportunity to cook with an a-grade hunter?


    ¡°here¡¯s a knife... no, can i take a photo first? i want to upload it to sns... thank you!¡±


    ¡°please ask me if you need anything or have any questions.¡±


    ¡°stop chatting around and focus on cooking!¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    the cooks went back to their positions after being scolded. at the same time, they glanced at choi yeonseung. they would help if he made a mistake.


    ¡®still, according to rumors, isn¡¯t hunter choi yeonseung great at cooking? i heard from the hunters the other day that he cooked quite a bit during the raid.¡¯


    ¡®those were probably just camping dishes.¡¯


    ¡®if he makes a mistake, i can stick to his side again under the excuse that i¡¯m just helping him.¡¯


    however, choi yeonseung made no mistakes.


    ¡°...!!!¡±

 Chapter 186

    chapter 186


    ¡®amazing!¡¯


    choi yeonseung¡¯s smooth, flowing movements caught the experienced chefs by surprise. he was quick as well, stopping not even for a moment.


    ¡°!¡±


    letitia was amazed by choi yeonseung¡¯s skill. having heard that an a-grade hunter had come here to cook, she thought, ¡®are the hunters doing weird things again?¡¯


    however, choi yeonseung¡¯s skills evidenced that he hadn¡¯t just done this once or twice.


    ¡°wow. that¡¯s really amazing. if you are an a-grade hunter, does that make you an a-grade chef as well?¡±


    ¡°the hunters weren¡¯t lying when they said there is nothing more delicious than the food that hunter choi yeonseung made on the raid. i thought they just said that because they were starving.¡±


    ¡°i thought i told you not to talk!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry!¡±


    when letitia became angry, the chefs came to their senses. they normally would¡¯ve been focused on cooking, but choi yeonseung was so amazing. how could a hunter be so good at cooking?


    ¡®what is he cooking?¡¯


    ¡®seems like korean soup to me.¡¯


    chef letitia was a master of nouvelle cuisine and inherited the lineage of french formal cuisine. despite dealing with authentic french cuisine, she had the ingenuity of adding cuisines from other countries without hesitation.


    ... however, that was it. she didn¡¯t do korean food in earnest like choi yeonseung was making now.


    ¡°uh... what are you making?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m making spicy beef soup.¡±


    choi yeonseung took out a knife and cut the vegetables into appropriate sizes. the blade of the orichalcum cleaver boasted an amazing effect. even normal food ingredients were infused with magic power every time the blade touched them, making them several times fresher. the all-purpose adamantium pot further bettered it.


    oil was poured into the adamantium pot, which had been transformed into a large chinese wok, and the fried green onions quickly changed color. everything proceeded smoothly and swiftly. he added the high-quality cut monster meat, sprinkled it with red pepper flakes, stir-fried it again, added water, and boiled it...


    ¡°tastes good,¡± choi yeonseung said upon tasting the soup.


    some of the people here probably didn¡¯t like spicy food, so he added just a bit of kick to it. it tasted just right.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is looking forward to it.]


    ¡®don¡¯t worry, i¡¯ll give you a bowl later.¡¯


    ¡°woah. isn¡¯t this really good? i think this is perfect for a hangover.¡±


    ¡°what part of the beef did you use? it tastes really good, and it¡¯s refreshing.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a bit spicy, so how come it makes me feel relaxed? is it because of my mood?¡±


    the chefs chattered excitedly as they gathered in front of the pot of spicy beef soup. when else would they get the chance to eat the food that an a-grade hunter had prepared?


    ¡®that being said... aren¡¯t we serving fusion courses?¡¯ the new chef who had the lowest rank suddenly wondered.


    would it suit the dinner?


    ***


    the ceo of dragon solutions, a trendsetter company and an industry leader in the development of advanced magic materials using monster materials and minerals found in the abyss.


    the ceo of dragon battery, known as the gangster of the market for rapidly occupying the mana battery market, the demand within each had rapidly increased due to the energy evolution brought forth by monster cores.


    the ceo of dragon medicine, a company rumored to be able to ¡®revive the dead.¡¯ it challenged various incurable diseases through reinvented methods like gene therapy and stem cell therapy with newfound magic.


    the ceo of dragon motors, a company that led the artifact-type car market with various improved car systems and artificial intelligence.


    all of them were powerful figures in the business world and were the faces of big corporations. they had different nationalities, ages, and genders. people like them normally wouldn¡¯t show their faces except for us hearings. the very fact hwang gyeongryong could gather them in one place served as proof of his ability!


    there was a reason why he was one of the richest people in the world!


    everyone nodded in agreement.


    if hwang gyeongryong had said, ¡®everyone should take a few percent of the sales from your respective companies so that the a-grade hunter can waste his time in casinos,¡¯ the ceos would¡¯ve understood and just thought, ¡®hmm, i don¡¯t like this, but it can¡¯t be helped. he¡¯s an a-grade hunter, after all.¡¯


    getting an a-grade hunter with that amount of money was already a bargain. however, letting an a-grade hunter join the management of a company was an entirely different story.


    ¡°chairman, we don¡¯t just develop ordinary artifacts over at dragon artifact. it also develops special artifacts that other companies need. it is hard to entrust a hunter to be the ceo of such an important place...¡±


    ¡°if dragon artifact stumbles, the other companies will be affected as well.¡±


    ¡°ceo nguyen bao didn¡¯t do anything wrong, so why are you doing this?¡±


    the ceos spoke nonstop. hwang gyeongryong flinched. they were so good at talking that he couldn¡¯t beat them with words.


    ¡®why isn¡¯t that jerk here?¡¯


    choi yeonseung should come here and have some conversations with the ceos, trying to persuade them that he wasn¡¯t like other hunters...


    ¡°he will be here soon, so see for yourself and think about it.¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s not here yet? chairman, he is a hunter. it¡¯s rare for people like him to succeed in management.¡±


    ¡°i succeeded.¡±


    ¡°chairman, you are an exception. hunters usually find it difficult. if he does things with a sense of superiority, there will be problems.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not denying the value of an a-grade hunter. we can compensate him in other ways.¡±


    ¡°wasn¡¯t there a famous incident recently? an investment company set up by a b+ grade hunter made a big mistake with a ponzi scheme and got away with it.¡±


    ¡°half of the hunters take drugs on their days off and the other half take drugs on their work days. how can they work properly in management?¡±


    ¡°it isn¡¯t that bad! he¡¯s diligent, and he¡¯s just like me!¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    the ceos were a bit taken aback. they were similar, but he was diligent?


    ¡®what does he mean? is he serious or not?¡¯


    ¡®messy relations can pose problems with management.¡¯


    ¡°... why is everyone rolling their eyes?¡± hwang gyeongryong¡¯s voice sank.


    everyone quickly replied, ¡°no reason.¡±


    ¡°there seems to be a misunderstanding.¡±


    they had upright and straightforward personalities, but even they weren¡¯t rude enough to talk about hwang gyeongryong¡¯s sad marriages.


    ¡°he isn¡¯t the debauched man that you are imagining. so just meet him, talk to him, and think about it.¡±


    ¡°what does hunter choi yeonseung want? if his goal isn¡¯t to have fun, then what is it?¡±


    ¡°what is his purpose?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°uh... world peace, i suppose.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the ceos had a hunch. they didn¡¯t know what type of person hunter choi yeonseung was, but hwang gyeongryong was a seriously eccentric man.


    ¡®this is serious. he could be crazier than i initially thought.¡¯

 Chapter 187

    chapter 187


    even the crazy ones among the hunters had ranks. dissolute hunters who spent money like it was water were actually the easiest to deal with. making them feel good was easy for as long as they had money. they were naturally quite expensive to maintain, but companies were good at making a profit out of hunters.


    companies were confident that they could earn more than what they were spending on the hunters. however, not all hunters wanted money.


    -there¡¯s this hamburger that i ate eighteen years ago. it was really delicious. unfortunately, the store went out of business a year since i first ate there. find the chef who made the hamburgers there. what? it¡¯s impossible to cook that again because the ingredients are different from that time? find all the ingredients, then.


    -i don¡¯t like the xx station channel. can¡¯t we legally ban it? isn¡¯t it a completely nasty piece of garbage?


    -i signed a contract with a constellation who wants me to dedicate my life to eliminating all wars in the world. i ask for your cooperation.


    -i heard japan has a king. reading mangas has made me interested in their culture. can we have a meal together? please ask the japanese government to take care of it. i want to eat a plate of sushi.


    ... things like that were impossible to solve with money.


    nevertheless, world peace was a bit...


    ¡°what do you mean by world peace?¡±


    ¡°does that mean he wants to destroy other countries?¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t that too much?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s dangerous. haven¡¯t we already seen that done once or twice by hunters who have contracted with constellations? constellations shouldn¡¯t be judged using our common sense.¡±


    ¡°i heard he is really stoic even among the first-generation hunters.¡±


    ¡°that just makes him more terrifying. it would have been better if he just wanted money. don¡¯t people like him go insane and do crazy things?¡±


    the businessmen here liked people who were easy to understand¡ªindividuals who only wanted money, fame, development, etc.


    hunters whose goal was world peace were really... scary.


    what kind of hunter could he be?


    ***


    ¡°ah. time to eat.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re thinking about eating now?¡±


    ¡°of course not. i was just saying.¡±


    ¡°i feel so sorry for the chefs who work here. they work hard, but their food never gets touched.¡±


    the ceos shook their heads when they saw the dishes prepared by the chefs. it wasn¡¯t that the food was tasteless. all the dishes were made by the most skilled chefs and with the highest quality ingredients. it was bound to be delicious.


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°is that an employee?¡±


    one of the ceos pointed to choi yeonseung out of curiosity. not only was he dressed differently from everyone else, but he also had unusually well-developed muscles that showed through his clothes. no matter how they looked at him, he was far from the average person. wasn¡¯t he a hunter?


    ¡°... what are you doing over there?¡± hwang gyeongryong asked choi yeonseung, clearly bewildered. he had been wondering where this madman was. it turned out he had been cooking in the kitchen all this time!


    ¡°the kitchen had great facilities and ingredients, so i decided to cook.¡±


    ¡°i told you to come and meet the ceos. when did i tell you to cook?!¡± hwang gyeongryong growled in the lowest possible voice to protect his dignity and reputation.


    while the other ceos were worried about the hunter who was going to take over as the new ceo, choi yeonseung was doing something strange.


    ¡°then don¡¯t eat, hyung. i¡¯ll just give this to my niece.¡±


    ¡°no, that¡¯s not what i meant... haven¡¯t you noticed all the eyes on you?¡±


    choi yeonseung looked around. people were staring at him with eyes that asked, ¡®what are you doing?¡¯


    ¡°hmm. it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you all.¡±


    choi yeonseung happily greeted and shook hands with them.


    ¡°... i-it is a pleasure.¡±


    ¡°the pleasure is mine.¡±


    ¡°by the way, why did you cook?¡±


    ¡°cooking is my hobby.¡±


    ¡°of course, i know what everyone is worried about.¡±


    choi yeonseung looked around as he laughed. the other hunters, who were trying to send texts, flinched. did he catch onto them?


    ¡°you¡¯re probably worried because i, a hunter who has never run a business, suddenly wants to run a company.¡±


    "that isn¡¯t necessarily the case.¡±


    ¡°right. as a hunter, your magical abilities are a huge asset to the company.¡±


    ¡°... hunter choi yeonseung is a martial artist...¡±


    ¡°ah, right.¡±


    choi yeonseung continued, ¡°it isn¡¯t that i don¡¯t understand your concern. first of all, the chairman is responsible for this. he basically forced me to do this.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡®hey, you son of a...!¡¯


    the ceos glared at hwang gyeongryong, their eyes seemingly shooting out lasers. they seemed to be asking how this happened.


    ¡°if things don¡¯t work out, i won¡¯t hesitate to step down as ceo. in fact, as a hunter, fighting in the field suits my personality more.¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words made the ceos sigh with relief. they thought he was a madman due to how powerful his presence was, but after talking to him, they learned he was actually surprisingly rational. they could easily communicate with him. this incident obviously stemmed from dragon hwang¡¯s eccentricity.


    ¡®that¡¯s right. he probably got caught up in something strange again.¡¯


    ¡®he feels so bad whenever he fails.¡¯


    hwang gyeongryong had many successes, but he also had many failures. he had made spur-of-the-moment decisions that brought them the jackpot, but he couldn¡¯t always avoid failure.


    ¡®this hunter doesn¡¯t seem like the type to change everything or do strange things.¡¯


    ¡®he will probably step down if the artifact he releases fails.¡¯


    with everyone seemingly satisfied, choi yeonseung said, ¡°now that we seemed to have come to an understanding, let¡¯s eat.¡±


    choi yeonseung scooped up rice and some spicy beef soup. on the other hand, none of the ceos moved.


    ¡°why aren¡¯t any of you eating?¡±


    ¡°ah. i don¡¯t have an appetite.¡±


    ¡°oh, have you already eaten?¡±


    ducoms, the ceo of dragon battery, was flustered. he was known for his dirty temper and arrogance, but he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to show that in front of an a-grade hunter. the average person would just grab him by the collar, but that alone could lead to his neck breaking if done by an a-grade hunter.


    ¡°no. i didn¡¯t eat before coming here.¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong, then? why don¡¯t you have an appetite? wait, let me check your pulse.¡±


    choi yeonseung grabbed ducoms by the wrist and released internal energy. doing this with magic was difficult, but it was easy to do with internal energy. choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t just completely control internal energy. he could also freely transform its nature.


    ¡°i think you¡¯ve only slept for three or four hours. you have insomnia.¡±


    ¡°how do you know that?¡±


    ¡°there is a cloud of energy around your head, so you probably have a headache as well.¡±


    ¡°how...?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯ve been taking a lot of medicine, but that¡¯s just making your condition worse.¡±


    ¡°no, how do you know all that?!¡±


    ducoms was shocked. even hunters who had medical backgrounds couldn¡¯t figure out what was wrong with his health that quickly and easily. not even hwang gyeongryong could do such a feat.


    ¡°i... what should i do?¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s eat first.¡±¡¯


    ¡°no... forget eating. what should i do about this insomnia...?¡±


    ¡°if you really want to know, then eat first. do you want me to force-feed you?¡±

 Chapter 188

    chapter 188


    ¡°no, what...¡±


    ducoms had a dirty temper but not when up against someone truly powerful, like monsters who, rather than using any special skills, just overwhelmed and subdued people with their sheer presence. having reached the peak of martial arts and becoming a constellation by surpassing his own existence, he had a stronger presence than monsters.


    ¡°i... i¡¯ll eat.¡±


    ducoms averted his gaze and reached out his hand. he didn¡¯t have much of an appetite because he was in the middle of an argument, but with a knife pressed against his neck, he was forced to eat.


    ducoms picked up escargot with his hand and ate it. escargot had always been his favorite dish, but this one was especially delicious. it was made with the finest snails cooked with unsalted butter, parsley, and top-notch wine, so it couldn¡¯t be tasteless. nevertheless, he felt as if he was chewing sand due to fatigue and lack of appetite.


    ¡°i... i ate.¡±


    ¡°barely.¡±


    dumbfounded, choi yeonseung looked at ducoms. ducoms found it absurd.


    ¡°didn¡¯t i say that i don¡¯t have an appetite?¡±


    ¡°hmm. the snail dish isn¡¯t bad, but i think it is a bit greasy. you should have some soup.¡±


    ¡°i-i don¡¯t really like korean food...¡± ducoms squirmed. hwang gyeongryong had fed him spicy kimchi in the past. ducoms misunderstood it as hwang gyeongryong¡¯s revenge for his bad personality.


    ¡°raw kimchi is too spicy.¡±


    ¡°what madman only eats kimchi? did you go to some weird korean restaurant?¡± choi yeonseung asked.


    ducoms involuntarily turned his head. hwang gyeongryong pretended not to notice it and avoided looking at him.


    ¡°now, have a sip.¡±


    choi yeonseung held out a bowl of spicy beef soup, which ducoms accepted. he tried to refuse, but it seemed so good that he involuntarily stretched out his hand.


    ¡®what...?¡¯


    the spicy smell tickled ducoms¡¯ nose. his stomach, which had hardened like lead, suddenly started to growl.


    gulp!


    ducombs unknowingly took a sip. as the hot soup ran down his throat, he felt himself relax. ducoms wasn¡¯t a hunter, so he wasn¡¯t aware of it, but the spicy beef soup choi yeonseung had made contained various special effects. it was cooked using equipment made with orichalcum and adamantium, and it also had ingredients that originated from monsters. it was also made with choi yeonseung¡¯s skills. hence, it was impossible for it to not have magic power.


    ¡®it¡¯s meant to be eaten with rice. why is he just drinking it?¡¯


    ducoms downed it in one go, which puzzled choi yeonseung. he also ate kimchi without pairing it with anything, making him seem weird.


    ***


    alex parker, the chairman of the parker family, wasn¡¯t in a good mood. hence, the people around him were forced to nervously wait.


    ¡°it¡¯s unexpected, but joseph grant failed.¡±


    ¡°th-that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°no one thought hunter grant would make such a mistake.¡±


    the parker group had heavily invested in joseph grant in anticipation of his success. however, choi yeonseung was the one who killed the boss monster and became the top contributor, giving only dragon industry an advantage. hence, they couldn¡¯t help but feel uncomfortable.


    ¡°no one? isn¡¯t that what i¡¯m paying you for?¡± alex said coldly.


    "i-i''m really sorry."


    those present in the room lowered their heads. it was completely different from hwang gyeongryong¡¯s dinner. in this high-stakes meal, one mistake could lead to all types of humiliation and expulsion.


    ¡°let¡¯s change the topic. i want to hear something good.¡±


    ¡°yes, sir! i have great news.¡±


    "i see. anyway, i was very worried, but judging from the look on your face, it seems you did surprisingly well. were you exaggerating before?¡±


    jerry kuber hesitated to answer odaigon¡¯s question. ¡°about that...¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°i tampered with the ledger.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    odaigon was shocked. despite how timid jerry looked, he was actually far crazier than odaigon thought.


    ***


    ¡°meals truly have the power to bring people together. i¡¯m glad you became closer to them through your cooking. that¡¯s really just like you.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong nodded with satisfaction after his guests left.


    ¡°i just did it because it looked delicious,¡± choi yeonseung said, seemingly wondering what hwang gyeongryong meant.


    ¡°... ah, i thought so too!¡±


    the moment ducombs started to eat the spicy beef soup as if he was possessed, hunger spread to the others as well. he looked so satisfied as he ate that they couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. these people, who normally couldn¡¯t go for a few minutes without arguing, shutting up and eating white rice with red soup was such a surreal sight to see. as a result, some of the ceos thanked choi yeonseung for helping them eat to their heart¡¯s content before leaving.


    ducoms had even seriously asked, ¡°why don¡¯t you just go into the restaurant business instead of artifacts?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t think about artifact development too much. everyone is a bit worried, but failing a few times isn¡¯t enough to ruin everything.¡±


    ¡°... you¡¯re the one who looks a bit worried, though?¡±


    ¡°n-no. i¡¯m not worried.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong pretended to be calm, but deep down, he couldn¡¯t help feeling anxious. even the products created by the most talented individual could face fierce competition in a market where anything could succeed or fail. no matter how great his ability, choi yeonseung might not be able to sell a product he created.


    ¡°you don¡¯t have to worry too much.¡±


    ¡°yes, thank¡ªno, why would i be worried? you should be the one worrying about it. ¡±


    thinking about it, hwang gyeongryong was dumbfounded. the new ceo said it was okay to fail, while hwang gyeongryong grew anxious.


    ¡°that aside, i heard a lot of hunters are on their way to the abyss.¡±


    ¡°yes. hunters probably see this as an opportunity.¡±


    all hunters wanted to be stronger. dungeons were great, but they never knew when they would be able to return. moreover, if they entered the wrong dungeon, they could even lose their lives. in comparison, hunters could move and fight monsters as they pleased in humanity¡¯s first abyss realm. if they were lucky, they would quickly get noticed by others. if they were even luckier, they could catch a constellation¡¯s attention.


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t we stop them? the abyss is dangerous.¡±


    it wasn¡¯t a closed place like dungeons, but the abyss was just as dangerous. although it no longer had a master, monsters would continue to come to the abyss realm they had conquered. the hunters making a single mistake could cost them their lives.


    ¡°yeonseung. think about it. have you ever listened to a hunter in your life?¡±


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know what to say. after all, gyeongryong had a point.


    ¡°if we stop them, they¡¯ll just curse us for hogging all the benefits.¡±


    ¡°do you have any artifacts left? there must be quite a few that haven¡¯t been used or have been damaged in experiments.¡±


    ¡°there should be. why?¡±


    ¡°we should polish them and lend them to the hunters who want to fight in the abyss.¡±


    ¡°as expected! since we are occupying and leading in the first abyss realm, you want to take advantage of this opportunity to change the perception of the hunters.¡±


    ¡°... uh, sure, but i was hoping to lend them the artifacts to prevent them from getting into trouble.¡±

 Chapter 189

    chapter 189


    hwang gyeongryong blushed a little. every now and then, he would feel ashamed of himself amid a conversation with choi yeonseung.


    ¡°o-of course, that¡¯s one of the reasons.¡±


    ¡°i believe in hyung.¡±


    ¡°are you doing this on purpose...?¡±


    ¡°i didn¡¯t think hyung turn out to be like the people you used to swear at all the time. haha.¡±


    ¡°i would rather you just curse me.¡± hwang gyeongryong grumbled, thinking that would be far better.


    hwang gyeongryong would build factories in china even if it meant abandoning his past values for as long as they could make him profits. however, he wasn¡¯t without a conscience at all. hwang gyeongryong was very human compared to other corporate chairmen.


    ... however, he couldn¡¯t brag about it. if he said that himself, choi yeonseung would look at him as if finding him pathetic and say, ¡®do you want to win by comparing yourself to people like that?¡¯


    ¡°anyway, i plan to send our hunters there as well. it¡¯s the best place to get actual combat experience right now.¡±


    killing monsters in the abyss was far better than killing monsters a hundred times in the training center.


    ¡°you¡¯re right. only in combat can they further improve their level and skills,¡± choi yeonseung agreed. the hunters who only ever participated in the uhc and ssl grew far slower than the rest. the more hunters fought monsters and risked their life in combat, the faster they grew.


    ¡°i plan to send the hunters of icarus and others to prepare them. why don¡¯t you go as well?¡±


    from the perspective of the icarus clan and other hunters, nothing was more reliable than an a-grade hunter. a-grade hunters could solve situations that arose during monster raids, and there was a lot to learn from them. choi yeonseung, specifically, had many other abilities.


    ¡°i¡¯ll go, but i have something to do prior to that.¡±


    ¡°aha. you want to focus on making the artifact as perfect as possible before releasing it.¡±


    ¡°huh? no.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ***


    earth conquering the first abyss kingdom shocked the people, but the constellations were even more surprised. they made a vow when they opened it, but they didn¡¯t really expect the day would come when they would have to uphold that vow.


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ complains that this is all because of the constellations who taught humans magic and gave them skills.]


    [the ¡®arrogant light elf¡¯ laughs at the berserker constellation for having his kingdom taken away by humans!]


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ warns that it will soon be his turn.]


    ¡®there are times when the constellations don¡¯t seem that different from humans.¡¯


    -in some aspects, that isn¡¯t entirely true.


    the constellations vigorously buzzed in the game of stars. a kingdom being conquered was shocking news. the kingdom of an evil god constellation being handed over to humans was a win for the good god constellations, but... it wasn¡¯t without disadvantages.


    among the kingdoms connected to the abyss gate were the kingdoms of the good god constellations. they gave humans skills and powers so they could gather faith and keep the evil god constellations in check, but those could now be used to damage their own kingdoms. the evil god constellations were threatening the good god constellations and warning them of such a future.


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ ignores the words of the evil god constellations.]


    [the ¡®hound of instinct and liberation¡¯ doesn¡¯t even pretend to listen.]


    ¡®... it¡¯s really fortunate that they aren¡¯t on good terms.¡¯


    they didn¡¯t listen no matter how much the evil god constellations warned them. even if humans of earth progressed more and more into the abyss, they were cute compared to the evil god constellations. moreover, there was one thing far greater than this kingdom event.


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ asks the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ about the truth of the incident.]


    ¡°a lot of people are going to die.¡±


    the icarus clan hunters nodded.


    ¡®i¡¯m glad i didn¡¯t bring the mount hua sect hunters.¡¯


    the young hunters of the mount hua sect had been put in charge of the newly acquired territory in the abyss. it was a very good opportunity to develop their inadequate skills. it wasn¡¯t just the icarus clan. other american clans had now arrived in france as well. after all, this was an opportunity to show off, kill monsters, and receive rewards many times over. the problem was...


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung! i didn¡¯t expect an a-grade hunter to come here in person. after all, once you¡¯ve reached the rank of a-grade, you no longer have any reason to join operations like this.¡±


    lane, a hunter from the large american clan schreiber, happily waved when he saw choi yeonseung. from lane¡¯s point of view, he couldn¡¯t help but be glad to see choi yeonseung. he had almost died in a dungeon in the east recently. if it hadn¡¯t been for choi yeonseung, he and several of the hunters currently with them would have been killed there. hence, it was only natural for him to be happy.


    ¡°is this hunter choi yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°yes! everyone, come here and say hello.¡±


    ¡°the koreans greet each other by kneeling down and bowing, right?¡±


    ¡°yes. that is exactly what you do.¡±


    ¡°... no, it isn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°no?¡±


    lane was flustered. the hunters who were about to kneel stopped.


    ¡°we shake hands in south korea. don¡¯t bring up something you¡¯ve only seen in some weird movie.¡±


    ¡°yes! i understand.¡±


    ¡°please look after us!¡±


    the young hunters of the schreiber clan were very happy to see choi yeonseung. meeting an a-grade hunter was rare since they usually didn¡¯t go to field operations unless they could gain immense profits from it. nevertheless, choi yeonseung still came here with the icarus clan hunters.


    ¡°please look after us!¡±


    ¡°please look after us!!¡±


    ¡°... wait.¡±


    choi yeonseung felt something strange as they greeted him.


    ¡°why do hunters gulp every time they see me?¡±


    ¡°... haha. you¡¯re mistaken.¡±


    ¡°are you ignoring the senses of a martial artist?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s... no... um...¡± lane stammered, embarrassed. lane told his colleagues how choi yeonseung helped him in a dungeon with too much detail, having fleshed the entire story out. according to his story, around 80% of choi yeonseung¡¯s help revolved around cooking delicious meals. hence, his colleagues¡¯ thoughts went from, ¡®wow, a-grades are certainly powerful,¡¯ to, ¡®wow, the food was that delicious?¡¯


    what would be the taste of a meal that even not even five-star restaurants could recreate, a meal so heavenly that it melted the tongue and paralyzed the brain?


    ¡°what are you talking about?¡±


    choi yeonseung found it absurd. of course, choi yeonseung was confident in his martial arts and cooking skills. he had trained in them like crazy in the abyss, but not to this extent.


    ¡®people might start thinking that i put drugs in my cooking!¡¯


    ¡°it isn¡¯t my fault that they misinterpreted what i told them,¡± lane said, then hurriedly changed the subject. ¡°so, hunter choi yeonseung. why don¡¯t we go for a drink? you helped me last time, so i¡¯m paying this time.¡±


    ¡°......? aren¡¯t we here to kill monsters?¡±

 Chapter 190

    chapter 190


    the question naturally puzzled choi yeonseung. considering the situation here was already dire and they were heftily paid to go here, shouldn¡¯t killing monsters be the first thing in their mind?


    yet lane thought choi yeonseung was the one being absurd.


    ¡°we won¡¯t kill monsters. why should hunters like us step up now?¡±


    monsters were now more frequent than fish on the northern coast of france, and that was only a little exaggerated. due to the large number of monsters, hunters quickly grew tired. at times like this, fighting nonstop was something only a beginner would do. the veterans in the field would first sit back and wait, heading out only when a good monster had appeared.


    even if they belonged to the same rank, monsters had different values. some monsters were easier to kill than others yet also offered better rewards.


    ¡°we¡¯re here to help france even though we¡¯re not french, so it¡¯s only natural for the french to do the hard work.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true, but won¡¯t you get hit in the back of the head when frenchpeople pass by behind you for saying something like that?¡±


    ¡°hah. a successful hunter is bound to be an object of envy. if someone is envious of you, then that just means you¡¯re good.¡±


    lane wasn¡¯t wrong. in fact, even the hunters from other countries weren¡¯t actively participating.


    ¡®he has a knack for saying the right things.¡¯


    most hunters, not just lane, had that talent. that was why hunters were often cursed at and in the middle of controversies.


    ¡°that sounds about right.¡±


    ¡°what? are you just getting the hang of this?¡±


    richard parker shook his head in embarrassment. ¡°that¡¯s not what i meant...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m joking. relax.¡±


    richard was also participating in this expedition. he couldn¡¯t join the abyss gate raid due to the parker family, but...


    ''things will be different this time.¡¯


    watching choi yeonseung return from the abyss as a c-grade hunter and rise to the rank of a-grade so unprecedentedly, richard became determined to rise to a position where he could no longer be ignored as a hunter!


    ¡°by the way, i heard that your family has been making a fuss. will you be alright?¡±


    ¡°yes. i¡¯ve already prepared for them to react that way.¡±


    ¡°no. i was asking if this will hurt other people.¡±


    ¡°......¡± choi yeonseung¡¯s words saddened richard.


    ¡°i was joking.¡±


    ¡°can you stop that already?¡±


    ¡°i just act like this toward hunters who i don¡¯t usually work with. speaking of which, who did you pair up with in icarus?¡±


    choi yeonseung was a powerful tanker who could pull everyone forward by the collar and bring success to raids. he was a martial artist who had gone past the peak-class level, a powerful combatant capable of both offense and defense. hence, to him, cooperation was meaningless.


    choi yeonseung could work with anyone. on the other hand, richard was a ranged damage dealer who relied on quick movements and attacks, so cooperation was quite important.


    ¡°uh....¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    coming to that realization, choi yeonseung looked at richard with pity.


    ¡°you don''t have any friends.¡±


    ¡°no... no, wait.¡±


    ¡°i shouldn¡¯t have asked. i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°why are you apologizing?! i said that¡¯s not true!¡± richard gritted his teeth. he didn¡¯t want anyone to sympathize with him. ¡°i¡¯ve cooperated with whittaker a few times.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung shook his head.


    ¡®whittaker most likely pretended to be his friend because of his family background.¡¯


    if richard wasn¡¯t close to any hunter apart from whittaker, then he virtually had no friends.


    ¡°you have to work with other hunters. hmm...¡±


    choi yeonseung called over a hunter who was new to icarus.


    ¡°do you want to join...¡±


    ¡°it is an honor to work with you, hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    the dark sky started to brighten. it was as if daytime had come. shocked, the parisians looked up.


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ is giving an order.]


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ is giving an order.]


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ is giving an order.]


    the collector constellation¡¯s household members had received a message from their master!


    ¡°w-what?¡±


    ¡°emergency! emergency! we¡¯re under attack!¡±


    -it has been a while, humans.


    a demon with a crown on his head appeared. he had a sword in one hand and a staff in the other. even among the various races of the abyss, the demon race was famous for being powerful and evil. the demon who had just appeared only had one purpose on earth.


    -my master should be ruling this land, but... since that¡¯s no longer possible, it¡¯s time to get to work.


    [the ¡¯master of the crown,¡¯ marcaidel, has used his power.]


    [ ¡¯the second coming of the crowned ones¡¯ has begun.]


    right in front of the hunters, marcaidel activated his power and summoned the dead through space. among them were deceased hunters.


    ¡°call for reinforcements! a demon is attacking the elysee palace! a demon is attacking elysee palace!¡±


    ***


    ''worthless humans.¡¯


    the noble crown collector left his kingdom in the abyss alone and focused on earth for the first time in a long time. one of his targets was england, where the fight against the six-winged angel who hunts dragons was already underway. his other target was france, which was why he had sent one of his household members to it. fighting the clans under the angel constellation, the collector constellation came to a realization.


    ¡®the human bastards are helping each other!¡¯


    the hunters who believed in and followed the angel constellation would rest in france, which was nearby, and return to the battlefield in england afterward. the collector constellation found it ridiculous. instead of thanking him for leaving them alone, they sullied his grace! quite some time had passed since the gates first opened, so the evil god constellations knew how humans worked now.


    taking away their boss would stop them for a while.


    ¡®kidnap their leader.¡¯


    -leave it to me.


    every time marcaidel waved his staff, more of undead woke up.


    a demon who knew how to use necromancy.


    the hunters gritted their teeth and cast magic at him, but he just easily blocked their attacks, making their spells seem worthless. the hunters¡¯ formation collapsed, and the entrance was destroyed.


    ***


    ¡°we have an emergency! all the hunters in the area are to gather immediately!¡±


    ¡°another emergency? how many emergencies do you guys get in a day?¡±


    ¡°these frenchmen... i want to make this clear, so i¡¯ll repeat myself. c-grade monsters aren¡¯t an emergency! only monsters weak enough to be killed by normal humans fall into the c-grade rank ! if you keep calling a c-grade monster an emergency, you might learn a curse word instead! it starts with c, and i learned it from a korean hunter!¡±


    the hunters hurled insults at the poor french officials. attempting to send them to the field again and again using different reasons was unforgivable.


    ¡°the president has been kidnapped by a constellation.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°... i offer my condolences.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s too bad. does that mean we will be banned from returning home? if so, then we¡¯ll be going after you people first before we search for monsters.¡±


    the official cursed in his mind. even if their own country was the one that required their help, hunters would still tap away at the calculator first. it was especially difficult to make them obey orders from a different country.


    ¡°i¡¯d like to hear more.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    choi yeonseung had arrived. befitting an a-grade hunter, he exuded an aura of leadership. hunters from several other clans were following him.


    the official looked at him, his expectations overflowing.


    however, the american hunters coldly reacted.


    ¡°why are you staring at hunter choi yeonseung like a puppy in the rain? don¡¯t look at him like that.¡±


    ¡°as a fellow american, i refuse to accept unfair requests for help.¡±


    ¡®they truly are bastards.¡¯

 Chapter 191

    chapter 191


    ¡°but i¡¯m korean,¡± choi yeonseung said.


    the american hunters next to him looked embarrassed.


    ¡°nationality doesn¡¯t matter.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. shouldn¡¯t the whole world join hands in a crisis?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯ll help, then?¡± the official asked in response, looking hopeful.


    ¡°no.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the french officials¡¯ expressions distorted when the hunters answered without even thinking about it for a second. however, the hunters¡¯ reaction was understandable.


    ¡°a constellation has kidnapped him, then you should call an a-grade¡ªno, an s-grade hunter. why call us? it¡¯s not like we can do anything about it.¡±


    ¡°we came here to kill monsters, not fight constellations.¡±


    ¡°the constellation didn¡¯t appear in person! the household member¡ª¡±


    ¡°that doesn¡¯t really change anything. it¡¯s still a constellation¡¯s plan. to be honest, i don¡¯t want to be involved in anything like this.¡±


    a lot of time had passed since the great incident thirty years ago, but the hunters still carried fear deeply within them. the household members who led the evil god constellation¡¯s invasion on earth were as powerful or even more powerful than s-grade monsters. the hunters were prideful, but even they didn¡¯t want to fight those beings.


    ¡®uh... i want to fight,¡¯ choi yeonseung thought.


    if he said that out loud, the others would have told him, ¡®wake up, choi yeonseung! the french are deceiving you!¡¯


    that was why he didn¡¯t verbally express it, but from his standpoint, it was better to fight. it was rare for an evil god constellation¡¯s household member to come to earth. the more power of existence the constellation had invested in their household member, the stronger the latter becomes.


    choi yeonseung would gain an enormous amount of power of existence in a single battle if he could defeat such a being. moreover, he would also gather more faithful followers.


    ¡®i can¡¯t bring that up in this atmosphere, though.¡¯


    he knew how the minds of hunters worked. they came here to make money, not risk their lives for someone else¡¯s country. he was certain they would never step up...


    ¡°come forward and fight, humans.¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    the hunters turned their heads in surprise. following the source of the voice, they found an angel behind them.


    ¡®adaquaniel?¡¯


    choi yeonseung initially thought it was the goddess of balance¡¯s household member, but he soon realized the angel looked nothing like adaquaniel. he was androgynous and beautiful, but his eyes were cold and aggressive. sensing that they were in the presence of a powerful being, the hunters unknowingly shrank back.


    ¡°perhaps... do you serve the six-winged angel who hunts dragons?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. for a human, you have good eyes.¡± the angel responded positively, but the hunters looked agitated.


    choi yeonseung was the strongest of all the hunters that had gathered here. ignoring him meant ignoring them all. however, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t really affected.


    ¡®this personality is already above average in the abyss.¡¯


    he had met all types of races in the abyss, so he didn¡¯t find the angel¡¯s words offensive at all.


    ¡°what brings the angel constellation¡¯s household member to earth? you want us to fight? who gave you the right to order us around?¡± one of the hunters sharply pointed out.


    constellations were like heaven for those who believed in them. however, those who didn¡¯t weren¡¯t as compliant, especially not toward just one of their household members. it didn¡¯t matter how strong the angel was. they were on earth.


    ¡°......¡± instead of saying anything, the angel simply waved his hand.


    dozens of swords, shields, spears, bows, and other various weapons fell from the air.


    ¡°my master has given these weapons to you humans. if you join the fight, you will have the honor of having them.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    the hunters¡¯ expressions changed. they couldn¡¯t recognize the exact power of these weapons like choi yeonseung, but the hunters here were experienced in their own right. they could discern just how strong the weapons were.


    ¡®this...!¡¯


    ¡®extraordinary magic power is coming from them. where did these items come from?¡¯


    -well... there has to be something useful for me to take. i don¡¯t see any that would be of use to me.


    -look for an item that contains the power of that constellation. there has to be some among those weapons.


    -the way you are glaring at me now makes me think you will get mad if i talk to you again.


    -since when did you care about that?


    ***


    the battle between hunters over items ended with choi yeonseung¡¯s intervention. the consensus was that it would be better to pick by drawing lots than one by one.


    ¡°isn¡¯t this entire situation already over, though? the opposing household member has already appeared and taken over their target location.¡±


    ¡°household members from the abyss has just as much trouble leaving earth as we do descending,¡± the angel calmly answered.


    marcaidel currently occupied an area near the elysee palace. he had spread out a curtain of darkness and turned the land inside it into a different world. under normal circumstances, he could just kidnap the president and other government officials of a country and bring them directly to his constellation¡¯s realm. however, it wasn¡¯t that easy to go back and forth from earth.


    ¡°he¡¯s buying time to cast a powerful magic. once he¡¯s done, magic power will gather.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    some magic required time to cast due to how powerful they were. marcaidel was trying to use one of them right now.


    ¡°don¡¯t france have a-grade hunters? where are they now?¡±


    ¡°one of them was forced to withdraw after being injured during the fight with the enemy¡¯s household member. the other two can¡¯t be contacted.¡±


    ¡®those cowardly bastards.¡¯


    choi yeonseung immediately realized what happened. the moment they learned about their fellow a-grade hunter getting injured, the other two a-grade hunters lowered their tails and hid. a country¡¯s a-grade hunters had a lot of responsibility. in exchange for enjoying various privileges and preferential treatment, they had to be on the front lines during emergencies.


    however, a-grade hunters were better than others when it came to judging situations. the household member of the opposing constellation had already kidnapped the president, set up a barrier, and taken down an a-grade hunter, it didn¡¯t come as a surprise that the other two didn¡¯t want to step up anymore. if they couldn¡¯t be contacted because they had gone into hiding, they would be cursed at for a while. however, they wouldn¡¯t lose their status as an a-grade hunter.


    insults were just momentary. power was eternal.


    ¡°isn¡¯t that too much? go find them¡ª¡±


    ¡°a-grade hunters determined to hide are hard to find. let the french curse at them. we should focus on the raid.¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s reply decreased the hunters¡¯ complaints. the angel looked at choi yeonseung, seemingly acknowledging his skills. after all, the latter easily dominated the hunters of various clans. a hunter who could skillfully control people in this way was rare.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung,¡± lane meekly called.


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s retreat as soon as we find a reason to. you shouldn¡¯t risk your life for the people in this place.¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t you take some of the items the angel offered?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a waste, but we can tell him to just take them back. i refuse to risk our lives for this.¡±


    unlike the many hunters who put their lives at risk in dungeons just for one artifact, lane remained reluctant. he didn¡¯t want to be reckless and foolish like the others.


    ¡°even france¡¯s a-grade hunters ran away. i hate that you have to take the lead because of their incompetence.¡±


    ¡°incoming!¡±


    choi yeonseung threw lane back and fired energy forward. a huge, storm-like force smashed the monster approaching them from the darkness.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    witnessing monsters roar and appear from the darkness flustered the hunters.


    ¡°we haven¡¯t even entered yet, so why are monsters coming after us already?!¡± a hunter asked.


    ¡°it seems his subordinates have come out of the barrier. just ignore them and focus on the path ahead,¡± the angel coldly replied, intending not to waste strength on small fries. he had to enter the barrier as soon as possible and fight the household member. nothing would change even if people died here.


    ¡°i guess i have to deal with these monsters if i don¡¯t want to see people dying. split into three teams and advance.¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t you hear me just now?¡±


    ¡°although we¡¯re raiding together, that doesn¡¯t mean i¡¯ve given up my right to act however i want,¡± choi yeonseung replied while looking around.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung is right. you can¡¯t order us around.¡±


    the hunters from the united states immediately sided with choi yeonseung. the angel clenched his fists and trembled, not expecting that the humans would argue against him and insist on doing things their way.

 Chapter 192

    chapter 192


    ¡°you have accepted my master¡¯s weapons. follow my orders!¡±


    ¡°this is probably your first time on earth, seeing as how you don¡¯t know much about our culture. in america, we have something called a free market economy.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m grateful for the item, but i¡¯m not going to do something that isn¡¯t part of the contract.¡±


    the hunters followed the a-grade hunter in front of them instead of the angel who came from the abyss. after all, they knew nothing about the latter. moreover, unlike other a-grade hunters, choi yeonseung was popular. some of the hunters acting as team leaders right now were indebted to choi yeonseung, while others were indebted to him because their colleagues joined the abyss gate raid. they had no choice but to fulfill all of choi yeonseung¡¯s requests.


    ¡°didn¡¯t you swear to attack the enemy household member?¡±


    ¡°i never said i won¡¯t do that. i¡¯m just going to kill monsters as well. now, move. i¡¯ll head forward and pull the aggro, so concentrate on casting magic.¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    not waiting any longer, choi yeonseung began issuing orders. as instructed, the hunters began to scatter.


    ¡®a ghoul werewolf?¡¯


    reeking of rot, the ghoul werewolf commanded undead wolves. the monster wasn¡¯t even a c-grade monster, but due to its tendency to swarm its targets, getting spotted meant having to deal with dozens of them.


    ¡°casting magic!¡±


    ¡°deploying a detoxification spell!¡±


    ¡°if you are going to put up a shield, use fire.¡±


    ¡°i know. why are you talking to me like i¡¯m an amateur?¡±


    the hunters immediately responded. the ghoul werewolf was a well-known monster on earth, so they already had countermeasures prepared against it. avoid their venomous claws and fangs and fight them with fire and divine attribute magic. hunters equipped with weapons that had those attributes made up the vanguard, and the ranged combatants stood behind them. as soon as they were ready, they began to unleash hell.


    cut cut cut cut!


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    however, they didn¡¯t have to fight. choi yeonseung jumped in between them and tore up the werewolves with his sword and fists. he didn¡¯t even move much. each time he unleashed sword energy, a vital point of the werewolves would be stabbed, knocking them down. he fought them while having all the aggro on him, so the other hunters didn¡¯t have to step in and help.


    ¡®is this what it means to be an a-grade hunter?¡¯


    other a-grade hunters usually showed their superior strength through powerful offenses or great defenses, but choi yeonseung was a martial artist. he displayed pure control at its maximum potential. every time a werewolf attacked him, he would dodge, draw the monster in, stop its movements, and strike its vital point. he was like flowing water.


    despite taking down all the monsters by himself, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t even sweat.


    ¡°all done. let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°ah, alright!¡±


    ¡®are we not needed?¡¯


    of course not.


    choi yeonseung could handle all the monsters released in this area alone.


    ***


    -all citizens. monsters are currently in the city...


    -please avoid moving around and stay inside your house...


    paris was in so much of an uproar that it was as if a war had broken out. that was only natural, however, considering the palace where the president stayed had been taken over and monsters had surrounded it.


    ¡°i¡¯m glad the president was kidnapped,¡± choi yeonseung said as he wiped the blood off his sword.


    ¡°... what¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± richard parker asked in disbelief.


    ¡°the president getting kidnaped has to be breaking news. won¡¯t that make people stay inside?¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    the hunters who were drinking potions in the rear cocked their heads.


    ¡°uh... hunter choi yeonseung. i respect your abilities, but... i don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case,¡± one of the experienced hunters said.


    ¡°you doubt the people of paris will do that...?¡± choi yeonseung was taken aback.


    ¡°isn¡¯t it only natural for them to stay inside their houses if monsters appear in the city? ah. do they have to evacuate?¡±


    in the early days of the raids, all sorts of chaos transpired whenever people tried to evacuate from the city upon seeing monsters. however, it didn¡¯t take long for people to find out that it was more dangerous to evacuate since the roads were blocked, which meant getting stuck in the middle of traffic. if monsters appeared in the city, staying inside until the hunters arrived was far wiser than wandering around for no reason.


    ¡°no, they aren¡¯t coming out to evacuate.¡±


    ¡°why, then?¡±


    ¡°um...¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s...¡±


    the hunters became strangely tongue-tied. if they were talking to any other hunter, they would¡¯ve spoken comfortably. however, it was weird to say this in front of choi yeonseung.


    ¡°isn¡¯t it better for them to get hit by me and be thrown inside it than allowing them to mess around and eventually attract monsters?¡±


    ¡°oh...!¡±


    ¡°i see!¡±


    the logic behind choi yeonseung¡¯s words completely convinced the hunters. now that they had thought about it, choi yeonseung did say that he would save the citizens. he didn¡¯t say he would put up with their stupidity. they could do this!


    ¡°there are monsters ahead. let¡¯s kill them.¡±


    ¡°copy!¡±


    ¡°i see people drinking on the terrace over there.¡±


    ¡°can i go and hit them?¡±


    ¡°is... is this really okay?¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s warm justice impressed the hunters more and more. it was said that if one were to live their days properly, they would feel proud even in their sleep. was this how that felt like?


    ***


    -adelin bonaveluzza is injured.


    -what?! really?


    -it has to be a lie. there is no way hunter adelin can get hurt!


    -it¡¯s on the news.


    -oh. paris is done for.


    -done for? how many hunters do you think we have? another a-grade hunter will come soon enough.


    -they both can¡¯t be contacted.


    -what?! what are you talking about? didn¡¯t the government spend our taxes on them? there is no way they ran away!


    -that wasn¡¯t on the news.


    -if that¡¯s true, then paris will most likely burn down.


    while some people ran wild on rooftops to watch monsters being slain, others had a more sober view of the situation. the advent of it technology meant that information spread much faster. in the past, news about an a-grade hunter being injured or going into hiding was strictly controlled. doing that was practically impossible these days. all it took to spread information now was for a single piece of intel to leak out from the field.


    -shouldn¡¯t... shouldn¡¯t we escape?


    -i don¡¯t want to be the idiot who dies in the middle of an evacuation! save me!


    -no, we have to look at this as an opportunity. i know a store that has been left unattended. who wants to rob it with me?


    in areas that were relatively secure, some people watched monsters while partying on terraces. however, in more disorganized areas, thefts and arson started to occur. the dissatisfaction that the people had accumulated strongly broke out during times like this.


    ¡°m-monsters! no! you¡¯re no monsters! we¡¯re being robbed!¡±


    ¡°i will disarm them. 2nd-circle magic¡ª¡±


    ¡°2nd-circle magic is too strong. 1st-circle...¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s fine.¡±


    choi yeonseung ran over and took down the robbers as fast as he could by breaking their bones and using pressure point attack. his method secured arrest far more than handcuffs did.


    ¡°t-thank you!¡±


    ¡°instead of thanking me, head inside. don¡¯t even think about watching the monsters.¡±


    ¡°who wants to see something like that?!¡±


    ¡°others do.¡±


    choi yeonseung quickly restored security to the area by dispersing hunters. those who tried to steal or set buildings on fire were all taken out and had their bones broken.


    ¡°it¡¯s relatively quiet here.¡±


    ¡°this is a rich community, so they have probably hired their own hunters.¡±


    even in this situation, people still weren¡¯t equal. the rich could get various artifacts and hire hunters, while the poor were in constant danger.


    ¡°what took you so long?! did you go to the other areas first?! you¡¯re already too late!¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. can i hit this man?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t think so. it¡¯s a bit of a stretch.¡±


    ¡°no, no. it¡¯s totally fine.¡±


    ¡°oh, you¡¯re right. it works!¡±


    the hunter behind him punched the rich man in the face.

 Chapter 193

    chapter 193


    ¡°cough!¡±


    no matter how much they controlled their strength, hunters still easily surpassed ordinary people in physical ability.


    ¡°you... you dare hit me?!¡± the bewildered rich man, who had never even been hit in his entire life, shouted. choi yeonseung clicked his tongue.


    ¡°you should knock him out in one hit, not just hit him.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry. it¡¯s hard to control my strength...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll teach you how to do it later. learning martial arts will give you an advantage in this area.¡±


    ¡°really?¡±


    ¡°hey! what are you doing? i will officially protest to the us government!¡± the rich man exploded when the rude hunters paid him no attention. such a threat could frighten a low-grade hunter, but there were only b-grade hunters here. the stars among the hunters weren¡¯t affected by such threats.


    ¡°are you serious? do you think the us government will listen to you?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s weird saying this myself, but in my opinion, the us government is a bit of a gangster. it nonchalantly ignores protests from other countries, so you¡¯ll only embarrass yourself.¡±


    the us government was notorious for making its hunters¡¯ protection its top priority. while the american hunters were thankful for such treatment, having them protected despite the trouble they caused naturally angered other countries.


    -you are supposed to be the world¡¯s policemen! repatriate those criminals!


    -hunters are talents that benefit the united states. we can¡¯t send them to other countries.


    -no, give us that criminal! why are you behaving like china?!


    -isn¡¯t that too harsh? are you a russian spy?


    ¡°are you just going to stand around?¡± the rich man shouted at his bodyguards behind him when his threat didn¡¯t work.


    ¡°... what can we do against a-grade and b-grade hunters?¡±


    his bodyguards were much more rational than him. even if they all attacked the hunters at the same time, they could all be torn apart.


    ¡°knock them out quickly and get moving. we don¡¯t have time for this.¡± choi yeonseung sounded annoyed.


    ¡°no, this is¡ªcough!¡±


    ¡°move! everybody, get inside! if i see you on the streets acting silly, don''t expect me to save you!¡± choi yeonseung shouted as he moved.


    frightened, those who came out to watch rushed back inside.


    ¡°hey! name your price! i¡¯ll pay you to protect me even for just a few ho¡ªkuaack! why did you hit me? i didn¡¯t come out!¡± a rich man¡¯s son asked.


    choi yeonseung answered, ¡°i hate people who only think about themselves.¡±


    ¡°... you je¡ªkuack!¡±


    before choi yeonseung could even speak, the hunter behind him had already punched the man.


    ¡°d-did i make a mistake?¡± the hunter asked, embarrassed.


    ¡°no. well done. let¡¯s go!¡±


    ***


    -the a-grade hunter, choi yeonseung has arrived in paris. he is doing a raid with other hunters.


    -paris¡¯ 10th and 15th districts have been secured. we officially declare the monsters to have been wiped out.


    -isn¡¯t that fake news?


    -don¡¯t believe the news of broadcasters. trust social media.


    -wow. you really are a genius! i think so as well.


    -i saw it myself. the hunters are cleaning up the monsters. that a-grade hunter is extraordinary.


    videos were already rapidly circulating on french social media. the moment the hunters stepped up, rumors naturally spread. nevertheless, people didn¡¯t believe them.


    -isn¡¯t this a manipulated video?


    -maybe it¡¯s a video from last year.


    -the 10th district being secured first doesn¡¯t make sense. that neighborhood is for beggars.


    -aren¡¯t there a lot of koreans in the 15th district? if there are, then i would understand why they prioritized it.


    -where can you even find a person who would save their countrymen first? he should prioritize protecting the areas where rich people live.


    paris was divided into twenty rich and not-so-rich districts. the wealthy districts could secure themselves since they could handle monsters on their own, so choi yeonseung focused on the districts that couldn¡¯t instead. the people couldn¡¯t believe he would do that, though.


    -look at the video here, you blind bastards! what do you even have eyes for?


    ¡°i am illaphael, human.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    ¡°and your name is...?¡± illaphael asked.


    ¡°we have already talked a few times, yet you still don¡¯t know my name. that¡¯s kind of a problem.¡±


    illaphael was furious. what an annoying human being!


    ***


    the moment they entered, pitch-black darkness immediately enveloped their surroundings. created with magic power and power of existence, the darkness around them far differed from the darkness of night.


    [you have discovered the ¡®veil of ominous night,¡¯ the power of the ¡®noble crown collector.¡¯]


    [the power uses magic power to...]


    [......]


    [......]


    the barrier marcaidel had opened was almost like a dungeon. through the power of the collector constellation, the space was filled with rules that differed from reality.


    -it¡¯s a fairly complicated magic.


    -can you decipher it?


    -successor, if you want to open it through force, then you will have to use quite a lot of your power of existence.


    -my powers are too blatant. i don¡¯t have any excuse that can help me get away with using them.


    -no. it might be okay in here.


    -?


    -like a dungeon, this place blocks the eyes of constellations.


    the collector constellation used a powerful household member to ensure their operation would be successful. moreover, to prevent any possible disturbances, he also created a barrier that constellations couldn¡¯t see through. although not even the collector constellation could see past it, he had no reason to worry since his household member was inside it.


    -... so i can use my powers as i please?


    -you should block the eyes of the angel next to you first.


    choi yeonseung immediately extended his index and middle fingers, making the goddess cry out in a hurry.


    -i didn¡¯t mean for you to poke out his eyes!


    -is that too much? it can¡¯t be helped, then.


    ¡°damn. as expected, there are a lot of undead here.¡±


    ¡°so the rumors were right. he¡¯s adept in using black magic.¡±


    the hunters raised their equipment and sighed. some dungeon monsters were easier to deal with than their rating, while others were harder. black magic was often the latter. after all, it could summon more monsters with just a bit of time, turn fallen hunters into allies, and mess with dungeon raids using various unique skills. although they were already informed beforehand that they were up against a black magician, it was still unpleasant to face one in person.


    illaphael stood still and observed as the hunters dealt with the undead. the hunters were far too strong for ordinary undead to defeat. after all, they had a lot of experience, good equipment, and divine protection. in addition, they had become used to cooperating with each other to some extent while traveling around the city with choi yeonseung. with a solid composition, they unleashed unbelievable prowess and firepower, annihilating the approaching undead.


    ¡®they fight better than i expected.¡¯


    illaphael¡¯s raised his faith in humans a little bit. the evaluation standard of the abyss meant that even a-grade hunters would hear something like, ¡®at least you know how to fight.¡¯ in that regard, illaphael¡¯s assessment was quite highly rated.


    ¡°are you not going to fight?¡± confused, illaphael asked choi yeonseung, who was just standing around. the human dragged all the aggro like a madman earlier, making the angel think of him as the fairly aggressive type of combatant. now, however, he stood still in a very calm manner.


    ¡°i¡¯m waiting for the household member to make his appearance so i can deal with him.¡±


    ¡°... bah.¡±


    choi yeonseung had the same idea as illaphael, which displeased the latter. for some reason, he felt as if he lost.


    ¡°wait. illaphael, stop,¡± choi yeonseung said while pointing behind illaphael. something was strange.


    ¡°are you kidding me?¡± illaphael asked incredulously. he didn¡¯t sense anything, yet the human seemingly did. it would be nonsense if choi yeonseung had sharper senses than illaphael. he had to be joking...


    ¡°stop for a bit.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not human like you, hunter choi yeonseung. i won¡¯t forgive such trivial¡ªugh!¡± before illaphael could finish, a black shadow protruded from the ground and grabbed him.


    choi yeonseung saw it and shouted like it was absurd.


    ¡°what are you doing?¡± choi yeonseung asked when he saw what happened. he looked as if he found the situation absurd.


    ¡°......¡±


    illaphael¡¯s face turned red.

 Chapter 194

    chapter 194


    ¡°i failed to notice something even a human could sense?¡±


    although a shadow had caught illaphael, he found it more shocking that his response was slower than choi yeonseung¡¯s.


    ¡°how did you notice it?¡±


    ¡°this isn¡¯t the time to ask that, is it?¡± choi yeonseung was dumbfounded. illaphael should focus on getting rid of the black shadow holding onto him before asking questions. no matter how strong illaphael was, he was insignificant compared to choi yeonseung. choi yeonseung had more combat experience, more skills, and, above all... he was a constellation.


    ¡°these attacks don¡¯t affect me.¡±


    ¡°if you¡¯re going to say that, you should¡¯ve just avoided it...¡±


    ignoring choi yeonseung, illaphael spread his wings open. a powerful wave of magic attempted to tear apart the black shadow.


    thump!


    ... however, the black shadow only shook. the unexpected result made illaphael¡¯s eyes tremble.


    ¡°......?¡±


    choi yeonseung initially didn¡¯t understand what was wrong. he thought illaphael was simply preparing his magic. however, when nothing changed, he finally realized that illaphael had failed.


    ¡°you failed?¡±


    ¡°no.¡± illaphael spread his wings open again.


    thump!


    ... the black shadow remained.


    ¡°i don¡¯t think you can cut it with magic. should i help?¡±


    instead of answering, illaphael drew his sword in hopes of cutting it using a different method. with a roar, the sword enveloped in divine flames collided with the shadow. however, it didn¡¯t cut through.


    choi yeonseung shook his head. ¡°make way. i¡¯ll cut it off.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    illaphael nodded, finally realizing that he could no longer be stubborn. however, at that moment, an ambush dropped down on them.


    bang!


    choi yeonseung swung his sword upward, then threw a punch with his other hand, unleashing unimaginable destructive power with a single peak-class blow. choi yeonseung was currently under the protection of the angel constellation.


    ¡®he¡¯s not just any normal hunter!¡¯


    marcaidel stopped the attack he had launched with his staff, the shock causing him to tremble. he heard this human was a close-range specialist who used a special skill called martial arts, but he didn¡¯t expect him to be this strong.


    [marcaidel has used the ¡®crown collector¡¯s shadow.¡¯]


    ¡°!¡±


    the world sent a warning message as a black tentacle-like shadow emerged from marcaidel¡¯s sword. seeing illaphael get captured and do something stupid, choi yeonseung just couldn¡¯t take it anymore.


    boom!


    he extended his finger and fired a powerful internal energy bullet at marcaidel to keep him in check, not kill him. thinking he didn¡¯t have to change stances just to block it, marcaidel stood still and simply took it head-on. taking advantage of that little gap, choi yeonseung immediately rushed in and unsheathed his sword. if marcaidel¡¯s sword was imbued with evil magic, then choi yeonseung could just grab the wrist holding it than the sword itself.


    witnessing magic containing constellation powers stunned marcaidel. the melee combat masters in the abyss were armed with powerful and fraudulent skills. they were so powerful that they had become arrogant.


    choi yeonseung was fundamentally different from them. he started as an underdog, so he was good at these types of techniques.


    choi yeonseung fired a concentrated fist energy through the gap that marcaidel had shown. the concentrated energy arts technique that choi yeonseung executed was so powerful that marcaidel vomited blood.


    -... nice move!


    being hit with the concentrated fist energy made marcaidel immediately realize that choi yeonseung was far stronger than he thought. hence, he changed tactics. marcaidel quickly slipped into the shadows of his dungeon and moved away.


    ¡®tsk.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was disappointed. if he had locked the opponent down a bit longer, he could have already killed him...


    choi yeonseung closed his eyes and sharpened his senses. the dungeon they were in was swirling with great magic power. martial artists could absorb and turn it into internal energy. he normally would¡¯ve taken his time settling it down, but...


    choi yeonseung absorbed the magic power, immediately turned it into internal energy, and sent it into illaphael.


    ¡°aaaaaaack!¡±


    ¡°h-hunter choi yeonseung. wouldn¡¯t it be better to just kill him? no matter how cheeky and arrogant he is, torturing an angel to death is a bit...¡±


    flustered, the hunters watching from behind tried to stop choi yeonseung. illaphael¡¯s scream was filled with so much pain. even his expression, which had been coldly emotionless, distorted with sweat. no matter how unavoidable the situation, this was still the household member of a constellation. he should be granted a swift death. torturing him like this...


    ¡°aaack! aaaack!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry. you would have been in far more comfort if i did this with my internal energy, but i have to save it for the fight.¡±


    he was fighting against the constraints in this realm, so he had to pay attention to his internal energy. in this situation, he couldn¡¯t run himself dry. however, all illaphael felt was genuine killing intent. it would have been better not to say that, so why did he?


    ¡®i can¡¯t believe there is a guy like this!¡¯


    marcaidel admired choi yeonseung. it was quite dissatisfying to miss a fish as big as illaphael. however, he really coveted choi yeonseung¡¯s ability. he now understood why the collector constellation made the suggestion!


    ¡®i¡¯m sorry, master, but i must have that mortal!¡¯


    marcaidel would study and master martial arts through choi yeonseung, then pass it on to his subordinates. the thought of arming his death knight army with martial arts delighted him.


    ***


    ¡°... first of all, i want to express my gratitude, human.¡±


    ¡°for the pain?¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at the angel with a shocked expression. the races of the abyss lived for so long that many of them developed twisted tastes. the succubi even had to confine themselves because of their uncontrollable desires. the angels could be just like them.


    ¡°no, i¡¯m grateful that you saved me.¡±


    ¡°ah. that¡¯s good to know.¡±


    the hunters were very surprised when illaphael was freed from the black shadow. it was unbelievable, but he survived!


    ¡°i¡¯m glad you have been freed, angel.¡±


    ¡°i knew all along that you would survive.¡±


    ¡°... i¡¯m going to kill you if you don¡¯t get out of my sight.¡±


    after being told that he was cheeky and arrogant, the comfort of the hunters was like pouring oil on the fire.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. i think the angel is angry.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s okay. i¡¯ll stop him if he does anything.¡±


    ¡°human. what do you think we should do?¡± illaphael asked choi yeonseung now that he had regained his magic power.


    ¡°all that matters is we rescue the kidnapped president, right? if so, then we just have to reach the center without falling for worthless tricks.¡±


    -listen carefully, humans.


    marcaidel spoke again.


    -do you want to save the king of france?


    ¡°he¡¯s the president, not the king. our opponent doesn¡¯t even seem to know the difference...¡±


    -if you do, then there¡¯s only one way you¡¯ll save him. dedicate that human to me. if you do, i swear on my master that i will return the king to you.


    marcaidel was talking about choi yeonseung. from the hunters¡¯ perspective, it should have been bound to sound tempting. they only had to sacrifice one person to save the king of a kingdom, which was a great feat!


    ¡®come on, fight each other, mortals!¡¯


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry, but the president of france isn¡¯t that important.¡±


    ¡°honestly, if we can¡¯t get him back, then it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    -......??

 Chapter 195

    chapter 195


    contrary to marcaidel¡¯s thoughts, the 21st century was far from a despotic monarchy. even if the one kidnapped was the president of their homeland, they would just say, ¡®i didn¡¯t vote for that person, so do whatever you want.¡¯


    betray choi yeonseung for the president of another country? this was the first time they had received such an unappealing deal.


    -humans. don¡¯t hide how you truly feel. i, marcaidel, know what you are thinking.


    ¡°we don¡¯t intend to sacrifice hunter choi yeonseung to save the president of france. i don¡¯t even know his name.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. aren¡¯t they all old and on the verge of dying? even if we save him, he¡¯ll die of old age soon anyway.¡±


    the french government would have grabbed the back of the hunters¡¯ necks if they had been around. the hunters weren¡¯t fazed at all, which shocked marcaidel.


    ¡®it didn¡¯t work?¡¯


    ¡°okay. i will comply,¡± one of the hunters said.


    ¡°...!¡±


    ¡°bastard! who do you think you are?!¡±


    the hunters turned their heads. they didn¡¯t know who the bastard was, but he clearly couldn¡¯t read the room. who would dare say that in this situation? they would have to post him on social media...


    ¡°......?¡±


    to their surprise, it was choi yeonseung.


    ¡°if i offer myself, do you swear in your master¡¯s name that you will return him?¡±


    -of course! you are very smart! yes, you can¡¯t just abandon the king of a country!


    marcaidel sounded delighted. he thought his scheme had been rendered useless, but the person he coveted the most just rolled right into his palm.


    ¡°that¡¯s just not possible! are you crazy?!¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung! the french president is so old he¡¯ll die soon enough! you don¡¯t have to sacrifice yourself to save him!¡±


    the hunters were so united that it was hard to believe they were from different clans. their reaction wasn¡¯t based on pros and cons. rather, it was almost instinctive. while hunting the monsters in paris, they eventually developed a liking for choi yeonseung.


    ¡°stop talking nonsense!¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    the hunters were taken aback when someone spoke up from behind them.


    ¡°you¡¯ll fall for the enemy¡¯s ploy? are you an actual idiot? absolutely not!¡± illaphael shouted sharply.


    ¡°no... angel, we can stop him on our own.¡±


    ¡°what is that angel doing?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    illaphael blushed. now that he had thought about it, what he just did was embarrassing. although he normally didn¡¯t care about human affairs, he unwittingly intervened.


    ¡®there was no reason to stop him...!¡¯


    although choi yeonseung was popular among the hunters, he was just a mortal according to the abyss¡¯ standards. a chess piece capable of sacrificing everything for the will of its master. even he couldn¡¯t bring himself to believe that he stepped up to stop the human.


    was it because of the help he received earlier? illaphael shut up as the other hunters kept trying to persuade choi yeonseung.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. do you know how barbaric the french are? they think the world revolves around them even though they¡¯re stuck in a corner of europe! they also think you¡¯re chinese!¡±


    ¡°hey. isn¡¯t that rebuke a little too weak? think of something else!¡±


    ¡°get out of the way. i¡¯m from the ivy league.¡±


    the others looked forward to what the most educated one among them had to say.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. did you know that a hundred years ago, the french attacked the korean royal family and looted your country¡¯s treasures? they still haven¡¯t returned the items.¡±


    the hunters felt admiration. it was an effective way to make people unfamiliar with history think, ¡®wow, why don¡¯t we just help?¡¯


    however, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t shaken.


    ¡°that¡¯s an entirely different matter.¡±


    marcaidel struggled to hold onto his drifting spirit.


    a single blow. everything he had prepared after being summoned here, from the summoning to the magic circle, was blown away in a single blow. where was he hiding such an attack?


    ¡®how can a human be so powerful... cough.¡¯


    choi yeonseung leaped toward marcaidel and fired the origin of the celestial fist.


    perhaps because marcaidel was imbued with the power of a constellation, he didn¡¯t die immediately. frightened, he tried to escape. he dove into the shadows on the wall and tried to leave the place.


    bang!


    however, choi yeonseung was faster. a beam of concentrated fist energy blew off one of marcaidel¡¯s arms. marcaidel still tried to run away, but choi yeonseung was already chasing after him. now that everything marcaidel had prepared had been blown away, finding him in this dungeon was easy.


    ¡°stop running, marcaidel. your master must be ashamed of you!¡± choi yeonseung exclaimed, making his opponent tremble with anger. this human being dared insult a demon. despite how arrogant earth¡¯s hunters were, few were crazy enough to insult a named demon. after all, people like them usually met with a very terrible fate.


    -!


    in the midst of this fierce game of tag, marcaidel realized he still had a card up his sleeve.


    ¡°...?¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. his opponent suddenly stopped.


    ¡®that mistake could kill him.¡¯


    choi yeonseung used origin of the celestial step to reach marcaidel and kill him in an instant.


    ¡°the demon has appeared! be careful!¡±


    ¡°get away from him!¡±


    to his surprise, marcaidel had jumped in among the hunters.


    ¡®is he planning on taking hostages?¡¯


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t understand what the demon was trying to do. he wasn¡¯t foolish enough to fall for a hostage situation and, besides, all the hunters were on high alert. on top of that, marcaidel had been beaten so badly that he was currently half-dead. the hunters could easily subdue him.


    what shocked choi yeonseung even further was that marcaidel targeted illaphael, the strongest among the group.


    ¡°you dare, demon?¡±


    -you¡¯re quite the idiot, angel. you are already in my grasp!


    marcaidel turned into black mist and stuck to illaphael.


    ¡°...!¡±


    -my master has already turned you into a puppet when i caught you!


    illaphael was stunned. he knew that the noble crown collector was strong, but he didn¡¯t expect the constellation to develop such an evil power. getting captured by the shadows just once was enough to easily corrode him at any time.


    -what are you going to do now, choi yeonseung?! if you kill me, this angel will die with me.


    ¡°kill me, human! quickly! i¡¯m ready!¡± illaphael sharply yelled at choi yeonseung.


    dumbfounded, choi yeonseung asked, ¡°how come all you¡¯ve said today is ¡®kill me¡¯?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    -......


    the angel and the demon paused, bewildered by choi yeonseung¡¯s casual reaction. in that momentary hesitation, choi yeonseung charged toward the demon, his hand seemingly aiming to pierce and kill him.


    ¡®i was certain he would stop!¡¯ marcaidel was shocked. however, since he would die anyway if he left the angel¡¯s body, he thought it was much better to take the angel down with him!


    as marcaidel expected, choi yeonseung¡¯s attack stopped right in front of illaphael.


    marcaidel laughed.


    -whahahaha! i told you! the angel will die with me! humans are too weak to let that happen!


    ¡°what is wrong with you?! i told you to kill me, human! ¡±


    ¡°shut up, both of you.¡±


    [the ¡®star absorption method¡¯ has been activated!]

 Chapter 196

    chapter 196


    -?


    when choi yeonseung started using the star absorption method, marcaidel didn¡¯t understand what was going on at first. there was too much information missing about martial arts.


    ¡®energy drain?!¡¯


    like water flowing from high to low, the magic power was flowing toward choi yeonseung.


    marcaidel scoffed.


    -do you think that absorbing some magic power will solve anything?


    among the many spells in the abyss, magic that absorbed the opponent¡¯s magic power was dangerous and volatile. putting the opponent¡¯s magic power into one''s body was a very dangerous thing. magic power was a force that wasn¡¯t easy to control even when it belonged to oneself. then, what if it was someone else¡¯s magic power?


    it was hard to absorb even a little bit, but right now, choi yeonseung was trying to absorb all of marcaidel¡¯s magic power.


    -this is the power bestowed upon me by my master. you had better stop if you don¡¯t want your body to be torn apart.


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t reply. he silently used the star absorption method and sucked out as much of the magic power inside illaphael as possible.


    -...stop if you don¡¯t want to die!


    ¡°thank you for your concern, but it¡¯s fine, demon.¡±


    marcaidel started to become anxious when choi yeonseung¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change even though more than half the magic power had been absorbed. how strong was the body of this human to hold on like this?


    -stop... stop it. if you stop now...


    ¡°would you like to come out?¡±


    -...hmph, try me!


    a demon didn¡¯t surrender even if it meant dying, and marcaidel held out until the end. at this moment, the power that marcaidel had received from his constellation was completely extracted.


    [the power ¡®shadow crown¡¯ has been absorbed!]


    -this can¡¯t be!


    ¡°...?¡±


    marcaidel lost his composure and shouted when he realized that the power he had received from his constellation was gone. it wasn¡¯t the same as losing a battle or failing to fulfill an order. someone else actually took away the power of existence that his constellation had bestowed upon him by using their own power of existence.


    it was an unforgivable mistake!


    [shadow crown]


    [rank: s


    corrupts the opponent with the power of shadows. the corrupted opponents will become your puppets.]


    ¡°what is this?¡±


    -this guy!


    marcaidel couldn¡¯t hold on any longer and slipped out of illaphael¡¯s body. he couldn¡¯t just stand by and do nothing while own power was stolen. he was still alive, but he had been severely beaten by choi yeonseung before. now his whole body was in tatters and there was no way that marcaidel could win.


    the moment marcaidel came out, choi yeonseung immediately dropped his hands and took a combat stance. there was the sound of a shell popping and origin of the celestial fist struck marcaidel. the momentum was so strong that the hunters in the back were pushed back.


    -final... command...! get that human!


    marcaidel used up his remaining life force and magic power and gave orders to his remaining subordinates. the shadow warriors set out to attack choi yeonseung with shining eyes.........and they stopped.


    ¡°?¡±


    -give them an order! now you are their master!


    the goddess of sloth realized the situation and urgently gave choi yeonseung some advice. since marcaidel¡¯s power had been taken away, the master of the summoned shadow warriors was now choi yeonseung.


    choi yeonseung immediately picked up on it as well and shouted, "attack marcaidel!¡±


    just then, the shadow warriors let out a piercing roar and rushed at marcaidel.


    -keeok!


    marcaidel was pushed to the limit, and suddenly, he froze. above him, a white light shone.


    it was choi yeonseung¡¯s origin of the celestial fist.


    [the ¡®veil of ominous night¡¯ has disappeared!]


    [......]


    [......]


    [......]


    [the power of existence...]


    the dungeon that had been built over the palace started to disappear after this attack. outside, dawn was breaking.


    ***


    -ah... i am the one getting the job done on the field. don¡¯t ask me to do something weird when you are just watching from the temple.


    the goddess of sloth had nothing to say at choi yeonseung¡¯s heavy words that struck a nerve.it was because she was the one who was most comfortable, as she was spectating from the temple.


    -still... huh...?


    -...tsk. i understand.


    -kukukuk. it is easy.


    -i will take it back.


    -no! i was wrong!


    the goddess of sloth cried out again. choi yeonseung clicked his tongue and thought about it.


    ¡®why does she want me to give illaphael an order?¡¯


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know what the goddess of sloth was thinking, but he had no intention of fighting illaphael. of course, the angel was arrogant and cocky, but choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t immature enough to act petty just because of the angel''s personality.


    cooperate if necessary and don¡¯t cooperate if not necessary. the important thing was practicality, not useless emotional fights. this was why he needed an order that wasn¡¯t insulting to the angel...


    ¡°illaphael?¡±


    ¡°why are you calling me, human?¡±


    illaphael ignored the calls of other hunters but he didn¡¯t ignore the call of choi yeonseung. he was still arrogant and ignored humans, but he had no choice but to acknowledge choi yeonseung.


    ¡°i¡¯m thirsty. can you go outside the palace and get me something to drink?¡±choi yeonseung said while putting a bill in illaphael¡¯s hands.


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the hunters froze when they heard this.


    ¡®is it a challenge to a duel?¡¯


    ¡®should i side with hunter choi yeonseung?¡¯


    no matter how much they fought together, the races of the abyss were unable to joke with each other. if the angel took choi yeonseungs¡¯ words as an insult and took out his sword...


    ¡°human. are you insulting me? no matter how inefficient i was in this fight...¡±illaphael said...and then took the bill anyway. then he turned around and walked out.


    ¡°...????¡±


    ¡°?????????¡±


    ***


    -to summarize it briefly, ownership has been transferred.


    the goddess was a long-lived constellation and was knowledgeable about the principles of magic and power. shadow crown was powerful black magic created by the collector constellation. illaphael was overcome by this power that turned the target into a puppet, and choi yeonseung absorbed that power. it was for this reason that illaphael couldn¡¯t refuse the order of choi yeonseung.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is shouting that you did well! humiliate him!]


    the cat constellation was really excited when it heard that illaphael, who had been annoying, had to listen to choi yeonseung¡¯s orders.


    -no. i can¡¯t. that constellation is still alive and well. i don¡¯t want to fight...


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says to let him relax a bit and have him eat something like fried chicken noodles before posting it on youtube.]


    the cat constellation had quickly adapted to earth and came up with innovative suggestions to humiliate people. it was honestly a bit tempting, but choi yeonseung shook his head. in the meantime, illaphael came back with a drink. his face was flushed with shame, humiliation and embarrassment.


    ¡°this... how did this happen?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry. i didn¡¯t mean for it to happen.¡±


    illaphael also realized what had happened.


    earlier, choi yeonseung had absorbed the power of marcaidel and inherited the power to manipulate illaphael. it was amazing how choi yeonseung had absorbed it, but that wasn¡¯t the point right now.


    ¡°i¡¯ll pay you whatever you want if you let me go!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry. i didn¡¯t do it on purpose... i also don¡¯t know how to undo it. i think marcaidel would know.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    illaphael flopped down. he covered his face with his hands and wings in a frustrated manner, looking quite pitiful.


    ¡°i won¡¯t give you orders, so calm down.¡±


    ¡°you just gave me an order!¡±


    ¡°ah. i guess that was an order.¡±


    illaphael was forced to calm down and tried to distance himself from choi yeonseung. he said with a red face, ¡°human. i promise you a reward for your work both in my name and in the name of my master.¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t you leaving too soon? just a bit more...¡±


    ¡°i told you not to give me orders!¡±


    illaphael spread out his wings and soared up rapidly. the hunters were amazed seeing the angel flying away as if to escape. to think that they had lived to see an angel in this posture...

 Chapter 197

    chapter 197


    ¡°so where¡¯s the president?¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s question caused the hunters to regain focus. come to think of it, the most important thing at the moment was the president¡¯s life.


    ¡°here he is!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung was taken aback when he saw the president lying by himself in the corridor.


    ¡°has no one taken care of you?¡±


    marcaidel returned the president in accordance with the deal made with choi yeonseung. choi yeonseung naturally assumed that the hunters were taking care of the president, so he was shocked by the state the french president was in.


    ¡®we¡¯re not going to be prosecuted by the french government, are we?¡¯


    of course, the french government wasn¡¯t crazy enough to take legal action against the hunters who entered the palace and saved the president when everyone else was fleeing. if they did that, they would be called the china of europe, not france. however, it was a bit embarrassing to have the president of a country tossed like a corpse into the hallway.


    ¡°that... we hadn¡¯t cleared the dungeon yet. our lives were more important.¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung was taken away so we couldn¡¯t move with such an old man.¡±


    to be honest, choi yeonseung was impressed. it was quite unusual for hunters from all over the world to come together like this.


    ¡°but we have to take care of him... bring him here. let¡¯s get the healers together.¡±


    among the b-grade hunters, those who were healers had the ability to revive the dead.


    ¡°he fainted but he¡¯s fine. his pulse is a bit weak though...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll cast some recovery magic just in case.¡±


    seeing that he was recovering smoothly, choi yeonseung nodded and said, ¡°i¡¯m glad.¡±


    ¡°yes, the french people might have some complaints about us, but what can we do?¡±


    ¡°honestly, we¡¯ve saved quite a few parisians, so they shouldn¡¯t be dissatisfied.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    choi yeonseung was confused as he listened to the hunters. ¡°what are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°ah. you don¡¯t know? people curse this guy quite a lot.¡±


    the current president of france, georges montand, was a man with many enemies. of course, every politician was hated by some people, but this president in particular was on a whole new level. it was to the extent that even hunters from other countries knew about it.


    -i express my regret for the citizens who have been harmed by monsters. now that this has happened, wouldn¡¯t it be nice to think of it as camping?


    -i don¡¯t understand why young people find it difficult to get a job. aren¡¯t jobs available all over?


    -i¡¯m happy to take this commemorative photo with the prime minister of japan. i¡¯ve been to beijing, japan before. it used to be a filthy place, but now it¡¯s a bit different, isn¡¯t it?


    ...and so on. he was famous for making absurd, controversial remarks.


    ¡°how did such a person become president?¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t the french a bit crazy from the get-go?¡±


    ¡°...in any case, we can¡¯t let him die, so take good care of him. who would like to volunteer?¡± choi yeonseung spoke to the hunters who were checking the president¡¯s condition.??v€l-b!n.


    ¡°uhhhhh...¡±


    at the same time that a hunter raised his hand, georges¡ªwho had been unconscious¡ªcame to his senses and groaned while also raising his hand.


    ¡°......?¡±


    ¡°can i put it down?¡±


    ¡°uh. you can put it down.¡±


    along with the hunter, georges also lowered his hand.


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s face turned slightly pale. the other hunters had no idea what happened but...


    ¡®no... wait.¡¯


    marcaidel had corrupted not only illaphael, but also the president...?


    -that is plausible. it would be strange if that isn¡¯t the case.


    -there is no way they would kidnap the president and leave him alone.


    the reason why marcaidel sent the president back under the terms of the deal with choi yeonseung was that he was confident that the president could become his puppet again at any time.


    ¡®isn¡¯t this an international issue?¡¯


    the headlines of articles passed through choi yeonseung¡¯s mind in an instant.


    ¡®isn¡¯t my power of existence growing faster than i thought?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. of course, it was natural for his power of existence to increase after killing the opponent¡¯s household member and taking away his power. even so, this was too fast.


    -aren¡¯t the citizens of this city sending you their faith?


    -people aren¡¯t stupid. they won¡¯t send me their faith just because of one or two rescue operations.


    there was still a fierce battle occuring on the british side between the two constellations and their household members, but according to the news he received, the angel constellation had a considerable advantage. a household member like marcaidel was lost. regardless of the collector constellation¡¯s strength, there was no way he would be undamaged. as a result, the number of monsters swarming france had decreased even more.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. are you going to do a raid?¡±


    ¡°no. aren¡¯t you tired yet?¡±


    ¡°if you go, then we should go together. simple as that.¡±


    the hunters that were taking a break were happy to see choi yeonseung. originally, it was the norm to rest after successfully completing a raid like this. however, the hunters were ready to go to any dungeon together as long as they had choi yeonseung.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. are you going to train? then...¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, hunter choi yeonseung...¡±


    every hunter he met talked to him.


    richard parker couldn¡¯t understand it and asked, ¡°why do they keep talking like that when it doesn''t do them any good?¡±


    ¡°a strong hunter is bound to be popular.¡±


    lane of the schreiber clan was next to him. he replied while sipping on his glass, ¡°even those with awful personalities who only care about themselves are popular just because they are a-grade hunters. so why not choi yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    richard parker stared at lane. lane was also a hunter who was pretty famous for his vile character.


    ¡°what? why are you looking at me?¡±


    ¡°if i remember correctly, the incidents you¡¯ve caused...¡±


    richard folded his fingers as he checked off incidents one by one. fights with fellow hunters, magically lifting a car and leaving it upside down on the side of the road because it was in front of him... the list went on and on.


    of course, all b-grade hunters would cause some trouble here and there, but lane was something else in that regard.


    ¡°did i say that i didn¡¯t cause accidents? i said that choi yeonseung has a good personality, right? are you a member of the parker family? you are mistaken if you think i will treat you better just because you are from that family. i don¡¯t have any misgivings about them at all.¡±


    at lane¡¯s words, richard looked slightly pleased. it was an expression that quickly disappeared, but lane picked up on it. ¡®is he a pervert?¡¯


    lane took a step back with a disgusted expression.


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°n... no. it¡¯s fine. i¡¯ll be on my way.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t do that and let¡¯s talk some more. we are from the same country... we also did a raid together.¡±


    richard remembered the advice of choi yeonseung. to be honest, it was a bit humiliating to be asked if he had any friends in the icarus clan.


    ¡°find someone else.¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong with you? what did i do wrong?


    ¡°uhuh. can you let go? do you want me to call for help?¡±


    choi yeonseung saw the two of them arguing as he was passing and got curious.


    ¡®are the two of them close?¡¯


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. if you don¡¯t mind, would you like to play 6:6?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not difficult.¡±


    choi yeonseung was about to respond to a hunter¡¯s invitation for the first time. however, another hunter hurriedly stopped him.


    ¡°are you crazy?! absolutely not.¡±


    ¡°why are you reacting like this?¡±


    ¡°no way! take that back, hunter choi yeonseung! i¡¯m sorry. this bastard didn¡¯t even know that we already had the maximum number of players...¡±


    choi yeonseung was slightly disappointed when he saw the hunters quickly backing away from him.


    ¡®did they just reject me on purpose?¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says you should¡¯ve held back a bit in the practice match.]


    ¡®didn¡¯t i do it with moderation?¡¯


    [?]


    in the meantime, a person from the french government came to visit. it was to inform them of the schedule of the decoration ceremony.

 Chapter 198

    chapter 198


    ¡°what decoration?¡±


    ¡°legion... legion something. french is difficult. damn. why don¡¯t the french speak english?¡±


    ¡°maybe it¡¯s because they¡¯re stupid.¡±


    the hunters nonchalantly uttered words that would¡¯ve angered the french had they heard them.


    regardless of whether they had a high or low rating, hunters were basically people with terrible personalities. however, the higher the rating, the more aggressively rude they were.it was somewhat understandable, since they risked their lives to save the citizens of paris.


    ¡°what is the point of having that decoration? will the french government give us money every month?¡±


    ¡°i think it¡¯s gonna be a small amount anyway.¡±


    the person in charge heard this and coughed.


    ¡°...it isn¡¯t a material reward but a medal of honor. you can be buried in the national cemetery of france...¡±


    ¡°are you crazy? why would we want to be buried on french soil?¡±


    ¡°are these french people crazy? hey, don¡¯t you know that our corpses are worth a lot of money? i¡¯ve already signed an expensive contract.¡±


    a hunter¡¯s corpse was unlike the corpse of a normal person. it was very expensive and had all types of magic powers. thus, some hunters would sign contracts to donate their bodies after they died. in any case, it was all after death. wasn¡¯t money more important when one was still alive?


    ¡°you¡¯re not trying to cheat us out of the rewards we would get by using this, are you? if you try to screw us by offering us some random decoration, we¡¯ll be really pissed off.¡±


    ¡°how can that be?¡±


    the person in charge inwardly cursed the hunters.


    he was grateful to them for saving the people of paris, but his gratitude had disappeared after a few days of having to put up with them. however, that wasn¡¯t the case with choi yeonseung. the a-grade hunter choi yeonseung was humbly staying silent while the other hunters were gloating... ¡°aren¡¯t they a bit too much?¡±??v€l-b!n.


    ¡°be patient. things aren¡¯t organized right now. it¡¯s gonna be troublesome if they get pissed off.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t understand how they can be so obnoxious when their leader, choi yeonseung, is being humble and respectful. the other day, someone called me at 4 a.m. and made a fuss about bringing him american beer. he said french liquor is tasteless...¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s what hunters are like. we should consider ourselves lucky.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°this time, someone like choi yeonseung came, so everything turned out pretty well, all things considered. imagine if another a-grade hunter had come instead. would it have ended like this?¡±


    the boss¡¯ words sent shivers down the spines of the other french people. some a-grade hunters with well known personalities passed through their minds.


    ¡°i hope the hunters will be satisfied with this decoration ceremony.¡±


    ¡°you think they will? they¡¯re greedy people.¡±


    ¡°they are greedy but there is no one who doesn¡¯t like being praised.¡±


    the boss knew it because he had dealt with several hunters.


    of course, money was important, but the desire for fame was something else entirely. hunters who were initially asking for money would get drunk on the sweetness of being praised in front of numerous celebrities and public figures.it was clear that the decoration ceremony was held with that intention as well.


    -my country thinks of you this way, so please calm down and stop causing trouble!


    ...of course, it was also meant to express gratitude toward the hunters. if they didn¡¯t do so, the citizens of paris would curse at them right away.


    no matter how much the government said, ¡®in fact, the hunters here have a terrible personality and harassed the officials,¡¯ it was clear that the citizens wouldn¡¯t accept it and would just say, ¡®the government is messing around again and doesn¡¯t want to give them money!¡¯


    the image was terrifying. as far as hunters were concerned, once they did something heroic, the people would have unconditional faith in them.


    ¡°once they get a decoration, they¡¯ll be happy and calm down.¡±


    ¡°i hope so.¡±


    ***


    ¡°mr president, do you understand what i mean?¡±


    ¡°ah, i know. i just have to be polite, right?¡±


    president georges was annoyed. his words stressed out the aide. people unfamiliar with the work inside the palace respected and envied the aide¡¯s job, but it was actually an extremely difficult job.


    ¡°ah, yes, sir. i heard it.¡±


    ¡°uhahahaha! yes! i am indeed fairly popular, if i may say so myself.¡±


    president georges seemed to be in a very good mood.


    ¡°not only did you save me, but you also saved the people of paris. i used to think that hunters were just bastards who didn¡¯t pay taxes, but it seems that not all hunters are like that!¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    choi yeonseung cocked his head at the president¡¯s words.


    ¡®is this guy crazy?¡¯


    how could he say that when there were so many people present? there would be articles in the media with words like ¡®the president said that hunters are trash¡¯...


    ¡®the french are incredibly lenient.¡¯


    if this was done in south korea, the president¡¯s position would be blown away, but france seemed a bit more tolerant.


    ¡°can you give me something to drink?¡±


    choi yeonseung spoke to a staff member who was passing by.president georges lifted the glass himself and handed it over.


    ¡°...?¡±


    president georges looked at his own hand in puzzlement.


    ¡®this damn thing.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was embarrassed. he had simply asked for a drink, with no other intentions in mind, but that power had still come into effect. choi yeonseung tried to leave, but president georges was still in a good mood and held onto him.


    ¡°by the way, hunter choi yeonseung, i have a plan in mind.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m trying to build a very large base in the abyss, but i can¡¯t rely on french hunters.¡±


    ¡°uh... i don¡¯t think the french hunters are that bad.¡±


    choi yeonseung tried to make excuses by saying that he was no different¡ªhe was also a hunter, after all.


    however, president georges exclaimed angrily, ¡°no! you may not know, but they are shameless thieves! didn¡¯t you see it this time? two out of the three a-grade hunters couldn¡¯t be contacted!¡±


    ¡®it¡¯s enough for one person to come...¡¯ thought choi yeonseung, but he didn¡¯t say anything.


    honestly, the a-grade hunters were too much this time. it was hard to believe that they lost contact with two out of three a-grade hunters. it was too much of a slap in the face.it had clearly happened because they were confident in their positions, but things had turned out like this and people¡¯s reactions were cold.


    president georges read these changes in public opinion very attentively and responded in kind.


    ¡°i will take this opportunity to condemn those thieves and teach them a lesson! for the great france!¡±


    ¡°uh... well, cheers to that.¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t you leading several clans? you are a lot more reliable than those thieves.¡±


    choi yeonseung was starting to wonder whether he should accept the offer. if he was the one to build a city in the abyss, and not the french hunters, the money would just come rolling in. the problem was...


    ¡®am i really allowed to accept such an offer?¡¯


    a hunter''s country of origin was a crucial factor when working with hunters for monster raids and other such actions. the loot from hunter work meant an astronomical sum of money would be coming and going, so it was up to the hunters to obtain as much as possible for their own countries.


    if the korean government had a hard time hunting monsters and asked for support from japan or china...


    ¡®we would be held accountable by those above and have to take off our clothes one by one.¡¯


    however, at the same time, something strange was taking place that made choi yeonseung wonder if he could accept it.


    ***


    [the french government is planning to build a large base in the abyss... the overseas clan of hunters led by a-grade hunter choi yeonseung will be the administrative leaders?]


    [the french clans¡¯ fierce resistance... ¡®this is a disgrace to france!¡¯...]


    ¡°pfft!¡± hwang gyeongryong spat out his barley tea when he read the news.

 Chapter 199

    chapter 199


    ¡®no... what is that guy doing over there?¡¯


    it wasn¡¯t surprising that choi yeonseung led the hunters and killed monsters while the french hunters pulled out. that¡¯s just how he was. however, it was just hard to believe that the french government would entrust the abyss base construction project to him just because of the successful raid. was the french government crazy?


    he called his secretaries who were waiting.


    ¡°isn¡¯t president georges an impulsive and moody man?¡±


    ¡°but this is too much even for him.¡±


    the monster raids led to a huge new market, but they also became more competitive. many new industries were created and markets exploded, but in the end, there were winners and losers.


    one of the most important aspects of this competition was a country¡¯s thirst for power. a country had to have its hunters kill monsters!


    if the hunter of country a killed a monster, then all the loot they gathered from it would essentially become the property of country a. of course, it was technically the property of the hunter, but they would sell the loot and spend the money in country a. thus, killing monsters would indirectly empower one¡¯s country.


    countries invested heavily in the development of hunters, partly to deal with monsters, but also to avoid being left behind in this competition. the abyss base was very important in this regard. without their own base there, the french would be at a disadvantage in all areas, starting with exploration, hunting, gathering resources, and so on.


    they would have no choice but to stand and watch enviously as other countries would enjoy the benefits of going out into the abyss!


    entrusting the construction of such an important base to a hunter from another country was a difficult thing to do even for the president. first of all, wouldn¡¯t the french hunters be outraged? hunters were extremely defensive when it came to their own interests.


    hunters from other countries took over their duties and would grab a hefty share of the rewards...


    ¡°won¡¯t there be an assassination?¡±


    ¡°would they go that far?¡±


    of course, they wouldn¡¯t go as far as assassinating someone, but having to see all hunters roll their eyes when they saw you was quite annoying.


    ¡°then should i call them and tell them to decline?¡±


    ¡°no! why?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong couldn¡¯t believe what this person was saying. even if a revolution broke out in france, he had no intention of giving away the profit that rolled in.


    ¡°that is that and this is this.¡±


    ¡°i knew you would be like this.¡±


    ¡°... that¡¯s not very nice... you know what, just get out.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the secretary was kicked out for saying the wrong things and angrily left the room.


    ¡°i didn¡¯t think he would get along with president georges... it¡¯s a strange thing. ah, right. tell him to bring back some treasures from france.¡±


    it wasn''t uncommon for hunters who were active in other countries to bring back some nice gifts. something of great significance! that was how hwang gyeongryong got to raise his own panda. he got it as a gift from the chinese government.


    ***


    ¡°whoa. it¡¯s amazing!¡±


    the ceo of dragon batter, ducoms was watching the news with a look of surprise on his face. he too was watching the news about choi yeonseung.


    ¡°i was worried he would be a pushover after hearing that he saved the citizens of paris, but he is much more cunning than i thought!¡±


    ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°look. choi yeonseung saved people by walking around paris while other hunters were stuck in hotels playing poker. how unprofitable is that?¡±


    ¡°it certainly is.¡±


    ¡°but because of that, our reputation has improved greatly in the eyes of the french. if we had stayed inside, we would¡¯ve been sworn at as well. however, since a hunter from overseas came to save the day, the french hunters have no choice but to endure the swearing.¡±


    ducoms continued with an expression of admiration.


    ¡°because we built a good reputation for ourselves, we were able to step into a project that naturally should have been reserved for the french hunters, like the abyss base. look! no one is swearing.¡±


    ducoms opened a website to check the public opinion on the side of the french. naturally, having to ask foreign hunters for help because the hunters of your own country lack the skill to slay monsters would result in harsh criticism. however, the current situation was something else entirely.


    -i¡¯d rather put my faith in hunter choi yeonseung than the french hunters who ran away instead of helping us. he didn¡¯t run away, did he?


    -we should take this opportunity to get rid of the hunters who never showed their faces. they always say that they¡¯re the only ones who can stop the monsters. yet in the end, who was the one who actually dealt with the monsters?


    the citizens went from cursing both their government and the french hunters to expressing their support for the opposite side. they couldn¡¯t help feeling admiration.


    ¡°he saved the people of paris in a selfless act of heroism. very admirable! he is completely different from the hunters who only care about themselves.¡±


    as the gates opened and magic power started spreading across earth, there were cases where old treasures were transformed into powerful artifacts.


    ¡°i didn¡¯t ask you to bring it because it¡¯s an artifact. i asked you to bring it because it¡¯s a historical treasure.¡±


    treasures that were stolen by the french. these treasures should have been returned sooner, but...


    ¡°do you know what they shamelessly said when i tried to negotiate and get it back last time? they said they wouldn¡¯t give it to a person who lacks the ability to manage the treasures of humanity. i wanted to kill them on the spot but i controlled myself.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong gritted his teeth. it was infuriating to hear something like that, given how many museums he owned. even thinking about it now made him feel angry.


    ¡°despite this, why didn¡¯t you object to sending hunters to france?¡±


    ¡°...it¡¯s profitable.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡®as expected of the one who built factories in china.¡¯


    ¡°don¡¯t look at me so judgmentally!¡±


    ¡°so are you going to give it back to the south korean government? they would appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°uh...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s words trailed off.


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°this artifact... i can use it...¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not a very good artifact so you may as well give it away.¡±


    ¡°maybe there are hidden powers...¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s no such thing. i¡¯ve already checked.¡±


    ¡°...why should i give it back to the korean government?!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong revealed his true feelings. even the biggest mountains could be altered in ten years or so, yet his grudge still persisted after thirty years. all the public officials who used to bully hwang gyeongryong had clearly retired, but even so...


    ¡°don¡¯t return it because it¡¯s the property of the korean government, but because it¡¯s the property of south korea. it will also help changsik hyung.¡±


    choi yeonseung intended to return this treasure to lee changsik. recently, whenever he went on the internet, he kept seeing articles like ¡®when will director lee changsik be fired?¡¯ and it broke his heart. wouldn¡¯t the criticism subside if he returned an artifact like this?


    ¡°......¡±


    however, hwang gyeongryong was sullen. he turned his head without answering.


    ¡°no, hyung. you¡¯re a grown-up, so why are you acting like this?¡±


    ¡°forget it. i¡¯m sure you prefer changsik better.¡±


    ¡° hey, who¡¯s the one that obtained the french abyss base business this time? how much money is that...? isn¡¯t it enough to support some of the companies on dragon industry¡¯s side?¡±


    ¡°since when are you so interested in management...?¡± hwang gyeongryong grumbled but he still looked quite relaxed. it was too much money to keep sulking.


    ¡°so the base on dragon industry¡¯s side is doing well?¡±


    ¡°we¡¯ve had some problems, but we¡¯re doing pretty well. it wouldn¡¯t hurt for you to go there once. it would be quite helpful to the hunters there.¡±


    ¡°hmm...¡±


    choi yeonseung was lost in thought. the constellations were now focused on the angel going against the collector, so this might be a good chance. he should check out the base and figure out a way to attack the next abyss kingdom.


    ¡®i wish the constellations were a bit more distracted...¡¯


    ***


    when entering the gate, the temporary base installed in the front greeted the guests. here, they could pay a high price to use teleport magic in order to move to the bases of each country. it was quite dangerous to just run down the road in the abyss.


    ¡®this much...


    it isn¡¯t a base, it is a city.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is amazed by the technological advancement of humans!]


    it wasn¡¯t that long ago, but before they knew it, a city was taking shape. it was the result of a combination of magic and the technological prowess of humanity, which was one of the best in the abyss. seeing this, choi yeonseung had a strange premonition. wasn¡¯t it possible that humanity would one day conquer the abyss?


    -isn¡¯t that just ridiculous?


    -indeed... we still have a long way to go.

 Chapter 200

    chapter 200


    humanity was still behind when it came to magic. when looking at odaigon and his goblin kingdom, it was clear that there was still a long way to go.


    ¡®but the technological skills...¡¯


    the kingdoms of the abyss could easily use magic, while humanity on earth had to rely entirely on technological advancement. technology had advanced to the point where odaigon admired it. earth was a peculiar place for those in the abyss.


    ¡°is this a magic shield?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    a huge, translucent curtain covered the city. it was a curtain made of magic. this could never be maintained with the power of a few hunters.


    ¡°we maintain it using large mana batteries and artifacts,¡± the staff member of dragon industry shouted with great pride.


    this in itself was cutting-edge technology. even on earth, magic that covered an entire city was rarely used unless it was an emergency. the magic power consumption was enormous. it was incredible to think that they could constantly maintain this.


    -our dragon industry is capable of this!


    people were boasting like that.


    of course, those weren¡¯t just empty words. their boasting proved that the curtain could keep the city safe. which city would people turn to when coming to the abyss to seek opportunities? they had no choice but to head to the safest city.


    ¡°wait. aren¡¯t those chinese hunters? why are the chinese hunters here?¡± choi yeonseung wondered as he looked at the chinese hunters passing by.


    china was one of the first countries to set up a base.


    during the abyss raid, they failed to deal the final blow, as choi yeonseung was the one to do it, and they failed to obtain any special achievements, so they weren¡¯t able to gain an advantage in the positioning. still, they moved quite aggressively, got into a good position and quickly built a city.


    -china¡¯s technology that will surprise the world... build a city in the abyss!


    -long¡¯an new district, the city of dreams built in the abyss!


    of course, the hunters didn¡¯t believe all of it.


    -if we go over there, won¡¯t we end up locked in a basement with all of our artifacts taken away?


    -aish... no matter how bad the chinese government is, they wouldn¡¯t do such a thing, would they?


    -more importantly, i wonder if they can even manage the city properly. they were really careless when they raided the abyss last time.


    -i saw it. their only tactic was to push. the low-grade hunters were dying and yet they received no help. they just kept forcefully attacking and occupying key points.


    in any case, the chinese hunters had a city for them to go to.


    ¡°are you sure you¡¯re not mistaken? it¡¯s hard for chinese hunters to come to this city because they¡¯ll be seen.¡±


    ¡°they¡¯ll be seen?¡±


    ¡°of course, by the chinese communist party. that¡¯s how strict their surveillance is.¡±


    choi yeonseung had been on earth more than 30 years ago, so he knew how much control the chinese government had over its people. however, the hunters there were a bit of an exception. they were given a certain amount of freedom as they were valuable for the country. they also had to risk their lives fighting monsters.


    ¡°i know that, but i thought they would cut their hunters some slack.¡±


    ¡°huh? uh... i don¡¯t know if i would call it ¡®cutting some slack¡¯...


    the staff member was puzzled. unbeknownst to choi yeonseung, the chinese officials became even more controlling and terrible as technology advanced.


    ¡°by using artificial intelligence, they collect and manage human data, then record people¡¯s general behavior and give them a score based on that.¡±


    ¡°...i-isn¡¯t that like science-fiction?¡±


    for a moment, choi yeonseung thought that the staff was telling him a science-fiction story. however, it wasn¡¯t fiction. it was simply how powerful technology had become.


    ¡°yeah, anybody would be shocked by that. rumor has it that china¡¯s technology is even greater than that of the united states.¡±


    ¡°...really, it seems like they only make significant advancements for nefarious things.¡±


    the chinese government¡¯s surveillance system surprised even the constellations. collecting information from the numerous surveillance cameras spread throughout china and having ai score loyalty and evaluate hunters.


    -is that possible without magic?


    the goddess of sloth was also surprised. not even the powerful constellations were at this level.


    ¡°in any case, shouldn¡¯t they stick to their own cities if they¡¯re under such strict surveillance? why are they here?¡±


    ¡°...who knows? could they be spies?¡±


    choi yeonseung shrugged.


    his curiosity prompted him to see whether they were spies.


    ¡°hey!¡±no?vel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.


    ¡®i thought that the world improved because north korea collapsed and china got weaker, but it doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s gotten any better.¡¯


    choi yeonseung thought to himself while grabbing a bowl. the mount hua sect hunters looked at choi yeonseung with expectations. a very good chef was hired in order to serve choi yeonseung.


    slurp.


    choi yeonseung took a big bite of the jajangmyeon while using his chopsticks.


    ¡°...!¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised. it was more delicious than expected. he thought it was because he ate in the abyss, but first of all, the ingredients and skills weren¡¯t ordinary.


    ¡®the smoky taste and umami flavor are intense!¡¯


    in every bite, the rich taste of the black bean paste harmonized well with the secondary ingredients such as the well-fried onions and pork.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is drooling.]


    even the cat constellation wondered how delicious it was.


    choi yeonseung spoke with a look of admiration. ¡°it¡¯s my first time eating such delicious jajangmyeon. i wonder if it¡¯s different because it¡¯s the real thing...¡±


    did chinese cuisine taste differently when done by a chinese chef? choi yeonseung thought so and admired it.


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the mount hua sect hunters exchanged confused looks with each other.


    ¡®wasn¡¯t it a korean chef from koreatown who cooked this?¡¯


    ¡®shh. he likes it now so let¡¯s not ruin his mood for no reason. it might taste differently if he knows it was cooked by a korean.¡¯


    in fact, they still had no idea what jajangmyeon was.


    choi yeonseung wondered, ¡®why don¡¯t you know jajangmyeon when you are chinese?¡¯ but what could they do if they really didn¡¯t know?


    they even asked the high-ranking masters in the clan but nobody had a clue.


    ...in the end, they had to go to koreatown and find out by asking, ¡®who is the best chef of jajangmyeon here?¡¯


    ¡°wow. i want to learn from the chef how to cook this.¡±


    ¡°i-i¡¯m sorry. the master is very reluctant to meet other people and teach...¡±


    ¡°ah. really? indeed. it makes sense.¡±


    choi yeonseung understood perfectly. it was unusual for a master to reveal their culinary secrets.


    ¡°anyways, you guys are trying to reach b-grade, right? is it going well?¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    originally, most hunters of the mount hua sect were c-grade or lower.


    it was necessary to have at least a b-grade hunter in order for the clan to be able to function, but since all of them were like this, it was only natural that the clan would struggle. however, everything changed once choi yeonseung appeared.


    choi yeonseung was a master among masters and could guide them on the path of martial arts. it wasn¡¯t just the mount hua sect. the martial artists around the world were growing rapidly. his influence was so significant that there were actually a few martial artists who reached b-grade.


    ¡°is that so?¡±


    "didn''t you know?"


    ¡°i can¡¯t check every b-grade person...¡±


    ¡°they also did an interview to thank you.¡±


    ¡°me? what did i do?¡±


    ¡°you posted a video.¡±


    ¡°ah. that... if they managed to achieve b-rank, it wasn¡¯t because of some video.¡± choi yeonseung said so, but it was true that his standards were too much. who on earth would try to reach b-grade if they knew it could take 100 years?


    it was a great thing that he could drastically shorten the necessary time to achieve that.


    ¡°are there any problems besides that?¡±


    ¡°actually, i have something to tell you.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°did you know that individuals from abyssal races are visiting these days?¡±

 Chapter 201

    chapter 201


    ¡°it¡¯s not impossible to find.¡±


    after the gate opened, monsters started appearing on earth. naturally, the alien races living in the abyss could also appear on earth. of course, it wasn¡¯t easy. they needed the power of a constellation in order to go from the abyss to earth. a mortal could never do it by themselves.


    however, it was a different story if the city was built in the abyss, not earth. it was accessible to all abyssal races.


    ¡®indeed, i didn¡¯t think of this.¡¯


    he only thought about how he could secure a territory from a constellation. he didn¡¯t consider what would happen after that.


    ¡°did they cause a problem?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know if i would call it a problem... it¡¯s just stuff that¡¯s bound to happen in large cities.¡±


    the new cities built by humans were quite large in the abyss. the human population and their technological prowess were quite peculiar for those in the abyss. various individuals from abyssal races took an interest in the newly created human realm and decided to visit it.


    there were various kinds of races, such as those that taught a new kind of magic that humans knew nothing about, those that collected treasures and exchanged them for other things, or those that would offer valuable information, such as the location of dungeons, for a price. of course, there was no guarantee that they were telling the truth. even so, scammers weren¡¯t the biggest issue. some abyssal races tried to sneak into the city to loot and steal.


    ¡°...it¡¯s going to be a headache.¡±


    ¡°right?¡±


    the mount hua sect hunters were happy that choi yeonseung acknowledged their hardships. they thought they would just have to deal with monsters when going to the new city in the abyss. they didn¡¯t think they would have to deal with so many abyssal races. they would¡¯ve liked to ban access to all of them, but they couldn¡¯t do that.


    the races of the abyss knew so much more than humans. they knew the land well, and also where monsters came from. deals that promised useful information also couldn¡¯t be neglected, especially since other competitors would be eager to get their hands on any kind of valuable information.


    ¡°however, it wouldn¡¯t be fair if others received the location of a dungeon first and got to it before us.¡±


    ¡°yes, it wouldn¡¯t. that¡¯s why we¡¯ll treat the abyssal races that visit us with hospitality, but it¡¯s going to be difficult due to the large number of thieves and scammers.¡±


    -younger races are always easily deceived.


    the goddess of sloth said with pity.


    the races living in the remote places of the abyss had to face many hardships as they grew up and advanced little by little. they were often deceived and manipulated by the much more knowledgeable and experienced races. humans were in the same boat. earth had built up a large civilization, but they were like newborn babies in the abyss.


    -humans are not easily deceived by others.


    choi yeonseung trembled. he just had to look at china right now to convince himself. didn¡¯t they build a system so powerful that even the constellations admired it? humans were not foolish. it¡¯s just that they weren¡¯t used to the new environment! once they got used to it, the abyssal races wouldn¡¯t be able to deceive them.


    -successor, you might have been human yourself, but aren¡¯t you thinking too highly of them?


    -no, i¡¯m not.


    it seemed that the goddess of sloth hadn¡¯t yet grasped the potential of humanity.


    -well... since you¡¯ve evolved from a human to a powerful constellation, there must be other humans with great potential...


    -... i don¡¯t think you get it, but in any case, i have to call odaigon.


    choi yeonseung decided to call odaigon, the goblin king. he was currently escorting jerry kuber, but regardless of that, it was a good time to call him.


    ***


    ¡°there has to be a way to make up for the company¡¯s losses and get back in the black.¡±


    ¡°i think it¡¯s best to just change your identity and go into hiding,¡± odaigon said with a dumbfounded expression. while escorting jerry kuber, odaigon became fully aware of the whole situation. he didn¡¯t know much about the human world, but one thing was clear.


    ¡®this guy would¡¯ve had his head blown off several times if he had been caught.¡¯


    the audacity to commit a series of financial crimes such as embezzlement, fraudulent accounts and misappropriation of investment funds... he felt sorry for the head of the parker family who trusted jerry kuber and elected him as representative.


    why did he elect such a crazy guy?


    ¡°no! it¡¯s not over yet. if my investment is a big hit, then i can bounce back!¡±


    ¡°it sounds crazy no matter how you think about it... ah. just a second.¡±


    odaigon stopped talking and pulled out his smartphone.


    ¡°yes. yes. huh? is that true? no! of course, it¡¯s good! i¡¯ll be right there!¡±


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    if he had done such a thing in choi yeonseung¡¯s company or hwang gyeongryong¡¯s company, they would¡¯ve torn him limb from limb. however, jerry kuber was in the parker group. even if he ends up completely ruining the company, it wasn¡¯t something for choi yeonseung to be angry about.


    ¡®i planned to plant a spy in the enemy camp, not a bomb...¡¯


    choi yeonseung had recruited jerry kuber in order to gain an advantage in the battle against the other constellation and to keep that constellation in check. jerry kuber was also supposed to spy inside the enemy camp, namely the parker group, but instead of spying, he actually self-destructed inside it.


    ¡°in any case, odaigon. it¡¯s good that you came.¡±


    ¡°yes! what should i do?¡±


    odaigon, who had been waiting for a long time, looked at choi yeonseung with excitement. finally, it was time for him to demonstrate his abilities.


    ¡°can you get rid of the random merchants?¡±


    ¡°...huh?¡±


    ***


    ¡°so, human. the high purity fire stone buried here is insanely valuable. aren¡¯t you curious about the location? sell me that machine of yours and i¡¯ll tell you where it is.¡±


    ¡°... why should i believe anything that comes from a monster¡¯s mouth? get lost if you don¡¯t want to get hurt.¡±


    ¡°this really is a dungeon that no one knows about...¡±


    ¡°from the way you¡¯re speaking, it¡¯s clear that you¡¯re trying to get us to clear the dungeon that your tribe couldn¡¯t. get lost!¡±


    odaigon chased away the guests with an annoyed voice. he couldn¡¯t help getting annoyed because he kept seeing all sorts of abyssal races trying to scam him, such as dark elves, beasts, demons, and so on.


    ¡®i want to fight. i want to fight.¡¯


    odaigon didn¡¯t have a violent personality, but after having to put up with all the scammers for so long, he was eager to get into a fight and prove his abilities.


    ¡°this is a great opportunity...¡±


    bam!


    without warning, odaigon swung his staff at a person wearing a suit, who looked like he just came to talk. it looked like a normal swing, but it was actually a powerful swing filled with five spells! he thought his opponent could use magic, but the man in the suit just took the hit and fell to the ground.


    ¡°cough!¡±


    ¡°w...what are you doing? i¡¯m going to protest to the us government!¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    odaigon had several spells he could use to detect lies, so he would strike his opponents whenever they lied to him. however, the man before him didn¡¯t lie when he said he would protest to the us government.


    ¡°are you human?¡±


    ¡°of course, i am human! what did you think i was?¡±


    ¡°ah. i¡¯m sorry. i thought you were just disguised as a human.¡±


    after speaking to the man, odaigon suddenly started to worry. choi yeonseung entrusted him with this task, but he made a big mistake. would his master be disappointed? odaigon thought so and he called choi yeonseung to apologize profusely.


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry, master. i¡¯ve made a mistake.¡±


    ¡°there is nothing to be sorry about. he¡¯s a hunter from china and is therefore suspicious. you can punch him.¡±


    ¡°indeed...¡±


    odaigon nodded and thought, ¡®it looks like i can punch chinese hunters first.¡¯


    when choi yeonseung appeared, the chinese hunters straightened their backs with a nervous look on their faces.


    ¡°do you have a proposal for me?¡±


    ¡°yes! i¡¯m sure the honorable a-grade hunter, choi yeonseung, will be pleased with the offer!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at the hunters with an uneasy expression.


    ¡®what kind of proposal could it be if they¡¯re so confident?¡¯

 Chapter 202

    chapter 202


    if there was a decent dungeon abroad, a modern hunter would fly there to clear it and raid the monsters. however, there were exceptions. this was a proposal from china.


    -a request for a raid came from the chinese side? reject it. are you crazy? do you want to have your passport taken away and to be kidnapped?


    -can that actually happen in this day and age?


    -yeah, those guys still do it.


    -if they want me to go to china, they¡¯re gonna have to pay me three times as much, and in advance.


    -you¡¯ll go if they pay you three times as much? i wouldn¡¯t go even if they paid me ten times as much.


    -actually, i wouldn¡¯t go either. i would just take the money and run away.


    usually, foreign hunters were given preferential treatment in any country. even if the hunters caused trouble, the government just had to put up with it. otherwise, if something went wrong later, they wouldn¡¯t get any help from the foreign hunters.


    didn¡¯t france evacuate an entire village for the american hunters and treat them with great hospitality during the last raid? in this kind of sense, china was playing with fire.


    false information regarding dungeons!


    stolen raid loot!


    unilateral contract termination, last minute changes in payment and more!


    if such things happened in any other country, people would say things like, "wow, those people must be insane. has the government gone crazy?" as far as the chinese were concerned, they were committing acts of injustice as if they were collecting trophies.


    choi yeonseung wondered if things had changed for the better since his return to earth, so he asked hwang gyeongryong. hwang gyeongryong just shook his head desperately.


    -hey. nothing has changed. those guys are the same. they are the kind of people to hit you in the back of the head out of boredom... i will never send my clan hunters to them.


    they were quite notorious, yet they suddenly came to him and made a proposal very confidently.


    ¡°do you think i will believe your proposal?¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. i see that you¡¯ve misunderstood our intentions. you have misconceptions regarding us because of the constant brainwashing and propaganda of the evil americans.¡±


    ¡°...i had a lot of contact with the chinese government since i am from south korea. don¡¯t you remember the incident from over 30 years ago? a monster called tenghuang that appeared off the coast of incheon. i came because you guys said you couldn¡¯t handle it, but you shamelessly claimed to know nothing about it...¡±


    ¡°it was a misunderstanding! we would never do that!¡±


    ¡°in any case, it¡¯s a shame that you¡¯ve misunderstood us. hunter choi yeonseung, please, let¡¯s clear up this misunderstanding. shouldn¡¯t us east asian hunters team up?¡±


    ¡°...with japanese hunters?¡±


    sometimes when going abroad, one could discover some ridiculous misconceptions.


    -wow, south korea, china and japan are three east asian countries so they must be very close, right?


    -in that case, since you are french, you must¡¯ve allied with germany in world war 2, right?


    -...i¡¯m sorry.


    ¡°stop talking nonsense and get to the point.¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    no matter how arrogantly choi yeonseung spoke to the chinese hunters, their facial expressions remained the same. as long as he was an a-grade hunter, he had the right to speak like that. if anything, there were people a lot worse than him in this regard.


    -where did you crawl in from? get down on your knees and speak with your head in your hands!


    -i-i will do it?


    -then you should be the damn party president now.


    -...t-that, please...!


    the proposal brought by the chinese hunters was more normal than expected. one of the elf tribes from afar told them the location of a dungeon. the chinese hunters proposed to attack the dungeon together and share the rewards. upon hearing the news, a representative from dragon industry rushed over to look at the contract. then he said, ¡°it is fine. i don¡¯t see any bad clauses.¡±


    ¡°even if the contract¡¯s fine, can¡¯t they still trick me?¡±


    ¡°yes. it¡¯s possible, but only if they try it on chinese soil. the chinese government doesn¡¯t do such crazy things outside.¡±


    the chinese government might treat others like dogs but they weren¡¯t stupid. when it came to doing something unjust, they only did it if they knew they could get away with it. for example, if a foreign hunter was in their own country, they could play dirty. however, in the abyss, they couldn¡¯t really do anything to hunters from other countries.


    the us government wasn¡¯t a pushover either.


    ¡°that¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°that dungeon is supposed to be b-grade, so i think it¡¯s pretty good. the location is also great.¡±


    ¡°uhuh. then let¡¯s have the hunters of the mount hua sect to attack it.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a bit hard to do it only with martial artists... wouldn¡¯t it be dangerous?¡± the representative said carefully. he knew that the mount hua sect hunters brought by choi yeonseung were doing an excellent job, but he was a bit worried about going out on a raid with only martial artists.


    that...


    they used magic and claimed that it was martial arts.


    -...didn¡¯t you use speed acceleration magic?


    -it¡¯s footwork! here... take this and go somewhere nice.


    -hmm. i see. looking at it again, it really is footwork!


    in contrast, the mount hua sect were those who had mastered authentic martial arts. therefore, they were bound to be full of pride.


    ¡°bah. rather, it became medicine for us. most of our clan¡¯s hunters are learning both martial arts and magic.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    the mount hua sect hunters were shocked. learning both martial arts and magic at the same time?


    ¡°what if you fall behind because you¡¯re trying to learn both at the same time?¡±


    choi yeonseung listened from next to them and asked with a dumbfounded expression.


    ¡°isn¡¯t it great to learn both magic and martial arts?¡±


    ¡°both must be properly mastered or there will be gaps. besides, how did you even manage to learn martial arts...¡±


    -successor, you have shared your techniques of learning martial arts with the entire world.


    ¡°... these shaolin temple hunters might have learnt martial arts in a short period of time, but they¡¯re not as proficient as you guys.¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t you just say that martial arts have to be mastered properly?¡±


    ¡°you misunderstand.¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words were sincere.


    just because choi yeonseung showed a method to quickly become stronger didn¡¯t mean that one could easily become proficient. when it came to martial arts, it was important to build up internal energy and learn linked movements, but experience was equally important.


    choi yeonseung would often gather the mount hua sect hunters to beat them out of boredom... no, rather they would train together, so naturally they had gained more valuable experience than the shaolin temple hunters, who had trained on their own.


    ¡°i... i want to say something.¡±


    iris said while raising her hand and choi yeonseung nodded.


    ¡°what do you want to say?¡±


    ¡°p...parents...¡±


    ¡°...let¡¯s not say it.¡±


    choi yeonseung was frightened at the sight of iris trying to curse their parents. it wasn¡¯t the time for the two sides to have a fight with each other.


    ***


    ¡°but recently there have been many questionable proposals from different abyssal races. how exactly did the chinese clans check them?¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re using all types of high-tech equipment and artifacts. of course, it¡¯s not perfect.¡±


    the one who answered choi yeonseung¡¯s question was a b-grade hunter from shaolin temple, pan wugang. it was said that he was treated as an elite even by the communist party. perhaps that was why he gave off the impression of being exceptionally intelligent and cool-headed.


    ¡°are you certain this time?¡±


    ¡°yes. of course. otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t recruit a-grade hunters from other countries.¡±


    ¡°how can you be sure?¡±


    ¡°the race that made the proposal this time are the elves.¡±


    ¡°...so?¡±


    choi yeonseung was skeptical. so what if it was the elves?


    however, pan wugang looked at choi yeonseung as if he had nothing more to say.


    ¡°elves don¡¯t lie, right?¡±


    ¡°...you are a very capable person.¡±


    ¡°thank you.¡±


    the goddess of sloth said with a sigh.


    -it¡¯s like a rite of passage that young people always have to go through once.


    -...it hurts a bit to see a fellow human get scammed like this.

 Chapter 203

    chapter 203


    despite pan wugang¡¯s confident words, the elves were actually good at lying.


    choi yeonseung had once bumped into the elves while wandering around the abyss. most of them weren¡¯t that dangerous, but occasionally when he got stuck with them, the elves could be very... they could be very annoying.


    ¡®just thinking about it makes me angry.¡¯


    basically, the elves loved their race a lot. normally, that would be a good thing. the problem was that they loved their own race so much that they ignored the others.


    -didn¡¯t you promise to show me the way out of this area if i got rid of the monsters occupying that forest? i¡¯ve dealt with the monsters. now show me the way.


    -we don¡¯t know the way. we¡¯ve been in this forest for so long that we¡¯ve forgotten our ancestors¡¯ names.


    -but you said you would show me the way...


    -i¡¯ll give you something better instead. it¡¯s the opportunity to serve our glorious elf race. isn¡¯t it a glorious opportunity for an insignificant being like you who comes from an unknown place?


    -...if you don¡¯t find the way right now, i¡¯ll decapitate all of you!


    -hey, savage bastard!


    just like that, they would never hesitate to lie to other races. they didn¡¯t even think they were doing something wrong. choi yeonseung had to swing his fists a bunch of times to make them reflect on it.


    ¡®i mean, how many elves could they possibly have encountered on earth?¡¯


    they could¡¯ve met only a small number of elves working in the household of a constellation, so it wasn¡¯t surprising that they had some misconceptions about the elves.


    -elves don¡¯t lie.


    -elves are the most honorable race in the abyss. how common is a race that is both beautiful and noble?


    ...if such things were said on earth, humans were bound to have the wrong idea about elves.


    -still, you can¡¯t be sure that they¡¯re trying to deceive you, can you?


    -yes, it¡¯s not like they lie all the time... some of them tell the truth.


    ***


    ¡°everyone... i¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡±


    an elderly elf was waiting for the hunters along with a few other elves in attendance.


    the elf elder looked thrilled and said, ¡°i had no idea that the human race was so brave and honorable.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t worry. not all humans are brave and honorable. you had better only trust those who belong to the people¡¯s republic of china. humans from anywhere else are like wild dogs,¡± pan wugang spoke kindly to the elf elder.


    the companies and nations exploring the abyss were desperate to discover new areas and get acquainted with abyssal races. the chinese government was no different.


    ¡®the elf tribe led by this old man could be very useful.¡¯


    the elf elder, grenno, knew everything from the surrounding terrain to monsters. as far as the other members of the tribe were concerned, they had a knack for crafting all types of rare items with magic and skills that didn¡¯t exist on earth. what if china had the ability to monopolize this?


    ¡°will you keep your promise?¡±


    ¡°of course! if you kill the monster, brave and honorable human kingdom... was it the chinese kingdom? i¡¯m confused about the name...¡±


    ¡°it is the people¡¯s republic of china. not a kingdom.¡±


    ¡°but from what you said, it sounds like a kingdom.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not a kingdom!¡±


    ¡®humans are so weird.¡¯


    grenno thought that the human in front of him was quite peculiar. he¡¯d heard that the country was ruled by a human at the top. wasn¡¯t that a kingdom? it was clear that they didn¡¯t know what a kingdom was because they were stupid and ignorant.


    ¡®but it doesn¡¯t matter.¡¯


    ¡°in any case, as long as you deal with that monster, i will become an eternal ally of the chinese kingdom.¡±


    ¡°you must keep that promise.¡±


    pan wugang nodded with satisfaction.


    choi yeonseung was listening attentively to the conversation from a distance.


    ¡°no...¡±


    ¡®they are good at making excuses.¡¯


    they said they didn¡¯t believe in the constellation, so choi yeonseung didn¡¯t pry. he left without asking any more questions.


    ***


    ¡°sir grenno. how was it?¡±


    ¡°it went very well. those stupid human bastards don¡¯t even know that they¡¯re being deceived,¡± grenno said with satisfaction. ¡°but i have to change the plan a bit.¡±


    ¡°how?¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s a very good warrior among the humans. we might be able to use him to kill the monster. let¡¯s use the chinese hunters as bait and make things happen.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s a good idea!¡±


    the chinese hunters would¡¯ve drawn their swords in anger if they had heard this, but the elves had already made up their minds. since choi yeonseung seemed to be able to kill the monsters, the chinese hunters who came first would be nothing but bait.


    ***


    ¡°wait. why are you taking the lead?¡± choi yeonseung asked in a puzzled manner.


    the chinese hunters were moving too far ahead.


    usually, when a large group of people did a raid, the members of the group would try to synchronize their movements with each other as much as possible. if someone went too far ahead by themselves, they risked getting ambushed by monsters. despite that, the chinese hunters were strangely advancing far ahead on their own, as if they had eaten something rotten and weren¡¯t in their right minds.


    "is there a problem?"


    ¡°didn¡¯t you hear me? why are you going forward like this?¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re taking responsibility for everyone here, so we need to be ahead.¡±


    the words of pan wugang shocked the hunters of the mount hua sect.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. something is suspicious. i think they¡¯re up to something.¡±


    ¡°maybe they¡¯re trying to join forces with another group of hunters and ambush us!¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a wild guess.¡±


    of course, that wasn¡¯t possible. the dungeon they were entering now was a plain-shaped dungeon with a straight road. there was no place for hunters to hide, and more than that, it was difficult for someone to avoid being sensed by choi yeonseung.


    ¡®what are they thinking? are they worried i¡¯m going to take the loot?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. of course, it was entirely possible that the chinese hunters were worried about that. they stabbed a lot of people in the back, and now they were scared of being at the other end of the knife. however, choi yeonseung had no intention of doing so. he was a constellation. he couldn¡¯t be bothered to seal some loot from the chinese hunters.


    -i suspect that the elves are playing some kind of trick.


    -what kind of trickery?


    -clever monsters tend to avoid strong warriors. among the cold-blooded races, they sometimes use the weaker members of their group as bait to bring out the monster.


    -......!


    choi yeonseung realized what the words meant. so the elves actually wanted to clear out the dungeon?


    ¡®wow. it¡¯s amazing!¡¯


    the battle of trickery between two scumbags! a spectator couldn¡¯t help but feel admiration.


    ¡°i¡¯ll be in charge now. stop moving. we have to coordinate our movements.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    the chinese hunters were flustered by choi yeonseung¡¯s words. even if they raided together, he didn¡¯t have the authority to give orders to hunters from another team. it didn¡¯t matter how high his rank was.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. you don¡¯t have the authority to order us, do you?¡±


    ¡°um... that is true.¡±


    choi yeonseung seemed resigned and pan wugang nodded with a look of satisfaction on his face. however, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t going to back down.


    ¡°then i¡¯ll give you orders without the authority. if you don¡¯t want to get hurt, stop right away and come this way.¡±


    ¡°......!!!¡±


    everybody was shocked by choi yeonseung¡¯s words.

 Chapter 204

    chapter 204


    ¡°what the hell are you talking about? i¡¯ll protest to the us government!¡±


    ¡°feel free to do so.¡±


    pan wugang¡¯s face turned red at choi yeonseung¡¯s words.


    to be honest, pan wugang realized it too. when a hunter reached the position of a-grade hunter, protesting against their orders to their government was pointless. it might have been different if choi yeonseung had been from a small african country that owed a lot to china, but he was a hunter who worked in the united states.


    even if china protested vehemently, the us government would just say, ¡®whatever, protest all you want¡¯, and there wasn¡¯t much that china could do. the united states had many ways of dealing a heavy blow to china, while the latter couldn¡¯t really do the same.


    ¡°just ignore it...¡±


    ¡°pan wugang, we could get in a lot of trouble if we ignore his order.¡±


    ¡°would hunter choi yeonseung really use force?¡±


    ¡°you don¡¯t know that, do you?¡±


    pan wugang decided to disobey the order and move ahead, but the other chinese hunters didn¡¯t follow suit. ignoring an a-grade hunter¡¯s order was absolutely terrifying.


    ¡°it¡¯s an order. get moving!¡±


    swish!


    it was choi yeonseung who moved instead of talking. the moment choi yeonseung moved his hand, pan wugang jumped with fright and threw himself out of the way.


    bam!


    ¡°oh.¡±


    choi yeonseung stared at him in surprise. he didn¡¯t expect pan wugan to react that fast.


    ¡®he must¡¯ve trained quite a lot to be able to react to that.¡¯


    the skills used by famous hunters were bound to be widely known and analyzed. this was especially true in the modern era, where technology had evolved tremendously. no matter the place or the technique, everything was caught on video. given the unprecedented way in which he had made his first public appearance, choi yeonseung¡¯s martial arts skills had been observed and analyzed quite a lot.


    ¡®that is finger energy!¡¯


    pan wugang stood up while feeling his entire body shaking. the jewelry on his ankle had lost its shine and its power. it was an artifact with gaia''s curtain, the fourth circle defense magic, built in it! the fact that all its power was depleted after only one shot was ridiculous.


    ¡°i see you have good reflexes. keep dodging it.¡±


    choi yeonseung kept snapping his fingers without moving his body. every time he did so, a terrifying finger energy flew out towards pan wugang¡¯s body.


    ¡°kuack!¡±


    pan wugang was able to block the next few shots by casting magic, but his limitations soon became apparent. the defense magic disappeared and origin of the celestial finger dealt a heavy blow. the chinese hunters were terrified when they saw pan wugang rolling around. they really hadn¡¯t expected choi yeonseung to use force like that.


    ¡®do i have to fight an a-grade hunter here?¡¯


    ¡®dammit...¡¯


    ¡°as expected of hunter choi yeonseung! i¡¯ve always believed in you!¡±


    ¡°this is why you accepted their proposal!¡±


    the mount hua sect hunters shouted with great joy. they had wondered why he accepted the proposal of the chinese government. it was actually to take them to a remote place like this and kill them all! after all, he was a korean hunter and he was very good at fighting chinese hunters.


    ¡°... that¡¯s not the case.¡±


    choi yeonseung was taken aback by the reaction of the mount hua sect hunters.


    ¡°huh? that¡¯s not the case?¡±


    ¡°if i was going to kill them, i would¡¯ve done it sooner. why kill them in such a complicated manner?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the chinese hunters listening from the front had a hint of confusion on their faces. weren¡¯t they supposed to be glad that he wasn¡¯t trying to kill them?


    ¡°t-then what is it?¡±


    ¡°...as i said before, stop and come this way.¡±


    ¡°is that the reason why you¡¯ve made such a big fuss?¡±


    ¡°yes. i¡¯ve caused this uproar because of one thing. do you want me to continue?¡±


    ¡°...?!¡±


    once choi yeonseung came, the chinese hunters who were fighting were actually more surprised than the man-eating tree itself.


    ¡®why is he here?¡¯


    ¡®is he crazy?¡¯


    of course, they didn¡¯t express their astonishment because he was too busy fighting the man-eating tree, but their facial expressions were saying enough.


    ¡®hmm. they make me not want to save them.¡¯


    of course, it made sense for them to be surprised like this. the chinese hunters wouldn¡¯t have come to help if choi yeonseung had been in such danger. they would have made excuses like ¡®hunters die all the time...¡¯ or ¡®we shouldn¡¯t put our lives in danger just to try to save other hunters.¡¯


    but that was it...


    choi yeonseung smashed the ground with origin of the celestial fist. with a deafening boom, the solid ground of the abyss started to crumble to pieces. the hunters screamed in fear and tried to flee from the center of destruction. the man-eating tree was even more shocked. it was moving using the thick and hard ground as a shield, but a shockwave came right through it. the man-eating tree staggered out, unable to extend its tentacles.


    the hideously twisted figure of a giant tree loomed before the hunters.


    ¡°attack!¡±


    the mount hua sect hunters charged even faster than choi yeonseung. when hiding underground, the man-eating tree was as scary as an a-grade monster. however, there was nothing to fear once it came out to the surface. a massive torso and slow movements. the hunters were no longer that scared of the dozens of tentacles that stretched out because they could now predict their movements.


    ¡°spread the formation!¡±


    iris shouted sharply. it was wise to start with the formation first instead of jumping right in. they took position and initiated the formation. this led to the mount hua sect hunters to have an even more powerful momentum.


    ¡°......!¡±


    the fallen chinese hunters were dumbfounded by the power shown by their former colleagues. choi yeonseung was an a-grade hunter, so it wouldn¡¯t be surprising for him to exert such power, but they hadn¡¯t expected it from the mount hua sect hunters at all.


    ¡°step aside! don¡¯t get in the way!¡±


    one of the mount hua sect hunters kicked a fallen chinese hunter. he flew far away and rolled over due to the internal energy that was in the kick.


    ¡°this is crazy...¡±


    ¡°who told you to get in the way? get lost!¡±


    ¡°you son of a aaaack!¡±


    there were few things as infuriating for the chinese hunters as being disregarded like that by those they were trying to disregard. the mount hua sect hunters quickly attacked and accumulated damage.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    the man-eating tree came to its senses and desperately tried to escape, but the mount hua sect had already formed a solid siege. if it moved to one side, they would swiftly surround it and attack again. they continued to strike the hard trunk with palm energy and fist energy. eventually, it cracked and blood started to flow.


    ¡°it¡¯s going on a rampage. be careful!¡±


    there were no monsters that just died peacefully. the man-eating tree realized that it was at a disadvantage and went berserk. dozens of tree branches under the monster started to shake and they were about to shoot out in all directions.


    ¡®how are they going to avoid it?¡¯


    choi yeonseung looked at the hunters nervously. he would have just hit or dodged all the branches, but it was unlikely that the mount hua sect hunters could do that. even if they somehow managed to survive, they would probably get injured severely.


    the answer came immediately.


    the mount hua sect hunters used their footwork and suddenly gained distance.


    ¡°......???¡±


    then the man-eating tree immediately switched targets. it finally came to its senses and targeted the chinese hunters who were recovering.


    ¡°this bullsh...¡±


    bang bang bang bang bang!


    before they could swear, the man-eating tree attacked in a frenzied manner. the chinese hunters tried to squeeze out magic power they didn¡¯t have and barely managed to raise their defenses.


    ¡°how wonderful! i believed in you!¡¯


    the mount hua sect hunters rejoiced, but choi yeonseung was dumbfounded. they avoided the attacks like that because they didn¡¯t care if people were behind them or not. the chinese hunters also knew this and cursed them. of course, none of the mount hua sect hunters cared.


    ¡°amazing! did you prepare it in advance?¡±


    ¡°i learned it from watching hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    ¡°...no. when did i ever fight like that??¡±


    choi yeonseung suddenly felt it was unfair. had he ever fought like that?

 Chapter 205

    chapter 205


    however, the mount hua sect hunters were all innocent-looking. they really had learned from watching choi yeonseung fight.


    ¡°...take care of it. finish off the enemy!¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    now that the chinese hunters had the aggro, the mount hua sect hunters could rush ahead.


    the formation deployed by the hunters was one that allowed them to gather more magic power and amplify their abilities the more they fought. as a result, the mount hua sect hunters managed to use sword energy despite the fact that they were originally unable to do so. it was weak and unstable but it was definitely sword energy.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    they continuously attacked the man-eating tree until it stumbled and fell to the ground. there was a roar and the hunters surrounding the monster dispersed.


    ¡°t-this...!¡±


    the chinese hunters finally started to understand what was going on. they did virtually nothing while all the hunters brought by choi yeonseung had taken care of everything.


    ¡°we¡¯re going to be in so much trouble!¡±


    it was a job entrusted to them by the chinese government and their performance had been terrible. they wouldn¡¯t usually get punished for something like this if there were no hunters from other countries to take the spotlight. the chinese hunters exchanged worried looks.


    ¡°what should we do?¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re going to have to explain this. at the very least, we need an excuse.¡±


    ¡°...can¡¯t we just put the blame on pan wugang?¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    the chinese hunters thought that this hastily done plan could work. pan wugang¡¯s commands led to disaster (although it was because the elves tricked him), and he fainted along the way, thus becoming a burden. blaming him was the right call!


    ¡°is this okay?¡±


    choi yeonseung shook his head as he watched the murmuring chinese hunters.


    ¡°that friend of yours will be in trouble when he goes back.¡±


    ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°nothing. did you get all the loot?¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    ¡°good. let¡¯s go out and meet the elves.¡±


    the chinese hunters were confused because they didn¡¯t know what was going on, but choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t trusted the elves in the first place. he pretended to fall for the elves¡¯ scheme, and now it was time to confront them about it.


    ***


    ¡°the heroes are back! it¡¯s amazing!¡±


    grenno cheerfully greeted choi yeonseung when he saw the hunters returning. the other elves also greeted the hunters with tears of joy. their attitude seemed so genuine the chinese hunters suppressed their anger.


    ¡°was there a misunderstanding?¡±


    ¡°maybe the elves didn¡¯t know there was a man-eating tree...¡±


    the appearance of the elves could make even the most experienced hunters lower their guards. the moment the hunters saw the beautiful elves welcome them with tears in their eyes, they gave up on questioning them.


    ¡°let¡¯s talk for a moment.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°come here.¡±


    regardless of the others, choi yeonseung moved to the side with grenno. it was so that the chinese hunters couldn¡¯t see them. the mount hua sect hunters surrounded grenno.


    ¡°????¡±


    ¡°you sent us there knowing there was a man-eating tree. how dare you try to use us as bait?¡±


    ¡°huh? t-there is a misunderstanding! there is no way!¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words startled the mount hua sect hunters, but they immediately sided with him. there was no way choi yeonseung would lie. even if he lied, they had to support him and make the others believe him.


    ¡°how dare you bastard?!¡±


    ¡°should i pull your teeth out first?¡±


    the mount hua sect hunters immediately drew their swords.


    grenno was paralyzed by their unexpected killing intent.


    ¡°i... i think there¡¯s a misunderstanding. call the people of that country called china! they will explain it for me!¡±


    ¡°forget it. are you going to admit what you did or not?¡±


    choi yeonseung put pressure on grenno by releasing aura upon him.


    if the mount hua sect hunter¡¯s killing intent was like a razor, then choi yeonseung¡¯s powerful aura was like a big boulder. the aura was pressing on grenno so hard he felt his body was going to explode! his heart could¡¯ve stopped at any moment given how scared he was.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is scoffing at the constellations who can¡¯t manage their household members, saying they don¡¯t deserve to be constellations.]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ agrees.]


    ¡®look at them saying this when they don¡¯t even have strong household members.¡¯


    neither of them cultivated a strong household. it wasn¡¯t because they didn¡¯t trust believers, but because they weren¡¯t that strong to begin with. in comparison, the goddess of balance had a lot of faith in her household members despite being a push... no, she was a good constellation.


    ¡®i think it¡¯s stupid to make someone a household member if you don¡¯t trust them in the first place...¡¯


    -not everything in the abyss is that easy. naturally, a trustworthy household member has their own merits. look at it now. the power shown by your believers.


    the relationship bound by trust was more powerful than he thought.


    choi yeonseung nodded.


    ¡°i think everybody understands it well.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s because hunter choi yeonseung taught me well!¡±


    ¡°good. then let¡¯s all practice with this elf.¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    ¡°...huh???¡±


    grenno was terrified as he listened to them.


    these crazy human bastards!


    ***


    ¡°i see. so that¡¯s why you joined forces with the chinese hunters.¡±


    ¡°yes...¡±


    ¡°the chinese hunters have an even worse temper than us. how were you going to deal with the aftermath after deceiving them?¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t there a hundred of them at most? i thought we could stop them...¡± grenno spoke with a weary voice.


    it wasn¡¯t that the elves were weak and couldn¡¯t deal with the man-eating tree. they just didn¡¯t want to use their own kind as bait. with the magic of their village, but also with the advantage given by the terrain of the abyss, they thought they could stop the hundred chinese hunters if they came.


    after hearing grenno¡¯s words, choi yeonseung and the mount hua sect hunters looked at each other with shocked expressions.


    ¡°do the elves know how many people there are in china?¡±


    ¡°do they think china is a tribe of a thousand people?¡±


    the number of chinese hunters was staggering. even if only 0.1% of the population of one billion rallied against them, that was still one million hunters knocking at their door. even if it was the abyss, the chinese government could send as many hunters as needed.


    even if they were weak hunters, as long as they fought together and used modern weapons...


    ¡°if provoked, they could easily send in tens of thousands of hunters.¡±


    grenno couldn¡¯t take their words seriously and started laughing.


    ¡°you¡¯re being ridiculous.¡±


    ¡°...practice the separating muscle reforming bones skill again!¡±


    ¡°i believe you! i believe you! i believe you!¡±


    after a moment of persuasion, grenno realized that choi yeonseung was telling the truth. he thought the chinese were pushovers, but now he realized that they were an enormous number of pushovers. even races such as orcs or goblins, known for their large numbers, couldn¡¯t match china¡¯s population.


    ¡°w... what kind of skills do they have that makes their numbers so big?¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s see... i don¡¯t know about that. at any rate, that¡¯s not the important thing right now. it¡¯s those chinese hunters.¡±


    ¡°......!!¡±


    grenno panicked. if such hunters came in tens of thousands, the elves would have a hard time fighting back. how could there be so many of them? were they only concerned with making babies?


    ¡°should i help?¡±


    the mount hua sect hunters didn¡¯t like choi yeonseung¡¯s question.


    ¡°why would you help him? he could betray you at any time!¡±


    ¡°my grandmother said not to trust someone with a smooth face!¡±


    ¡°no... i¡¯ll help him in exchange for some of their possessions. wouldn¡¯t that be a good deal?¡±


    hearing choi yeonseung¡¯s explanation, the mount hua sect hunters nodded in understanding.


    ¡°aha. now i understand.¡±


    ¡°right?¡±


    ¡°yes! instead of letting the elves off the hook, you will take all the valuable things from their village and force them to move.¡±


    ¡°... let¡¯s try this again.¡±

 Chapter 206

    chapter 206


    the mount hua sect hunters¡¯ way of thinking was a bit twisted. after all, they were active in china before defecting to the united states and becoming a criminal organization. if anything, it was more appropriate to call them the mount hua bandits. however, choi yeonseung had to show them the right path. they were his believers after all!


    ¡°it would be too harsh to do that.¡±


    ¡°uh... the elves tried to trick us into becoming their long-term pawns. don¡¯t they deserve it?¡±


    ¡®i guess they have a point.¡¯


    this was definitely the case.


    ¡°that is true, but we also need to think about the future. the abyss is infinitely large and new races will pop up everywhere in the future. if we gain a bad reputation here, we¡¯ll have a hard time dealing with them.¡±


    just as humans on earth were quickly adapting to the abyss, the races of the abyss would also adapt to humans. they had only been in the abyss for a short period of time, and those like grenno were under the illusion that there were only around a thousand humans on earth. however, after a bit of time, that illusion would disappear.


    ¡°in addition, we can still make a profit without making them leave the village and steal everything they¡¯ve got.¡±


    there was a reason why so many nations and companies wanted to meet and befriend the abyssal races. by doing so, they could explore parts of the abyss that were unknown to them, and also gain new skills and items. right now, the elves had items that only they could make. even if the item itself was insignificant, the fact that it was made in the abyss would increase its value on earth by quite a lot.


    ¡°indeed...!¡±


    ¡°then it would be beneficial to keep the others away and have the elves only trade with you.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. are you getting it now?¡±


    ¡°yes! then after we get to know the elves a bit more, we should select those that could be of use to us.¡±


    ¡°oh. why is that?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t we need some of them to go to other races to tell them how great you are and how you always keep your promises? to start off, we should sort out the elves¡¯ personal information and rate their loyalty according to their actions. then we find those who can be useful...¡±


    ¡°can you please erase the stuff that happened in china from your head?¡±


    ***


    pan wugang came to his senses and was perplexed by the reports from the chinese hunters.


    ¡°we tried our best but to no avail. the situation was so difficult...¡±


    ¡°wasn¡¯t it still a success since there were no victims?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    pan wugang wanted to yell ¡®you incompetent bastards,¡¯ but he couldn¡¯t do so.


    thinking about it now, pan wugang was the first to faint, so he was even more responsible for the failure. it was also a miracle that he survived. there were many people who got injured, but to survive after fainting on the battlefield...


    ¡°as expected, it was a good thing that i brought choi yeonseung with us.¡±


    it was unpleasant to be called out for his failure, but pan wugang just said this for now. it was him who brought choi yeonseung, who was in the abyss, to work with them. wasn¡¯t the whole operation his achievement?


    ¡°that¡¯s right. as expected from pan wugang!¡±


    ¡°it would¡¯ve been difficult in so many ways if it hadn¡¯t been for pan wugang¡¯s sound judgment.¡±


    the hunters exchanged looks as they said so.


    ¡®let¡¯s betray pan wugang if we get scolded later.¡¯


    ¡®let¡¯s do that.¡¯


    if they wanted to survive as hunters in china, they couldn¡¯t rely solely on brute force for much longer.


    political power! they had to be cunning if they wanted to survive the party¡¯s political battles!


    take a look at li yuyuan, who was once the representative of the mount hua sect, the only martial artist and an a-grade hunter. wasn¡¯t he caught by the government because he expressed his opinion? after the ranking manipulation incident happened, he was no longer supported and his clan was obliterated.


    in that regard, the shaolin temple hunters were just as successful in political battles as they were in their careers. they were the kind of people to sell anyone and anything, including pan wugang, if that meant being safe.


    ...pan wugang was also well aware of that.


    ¡®something¡¯s off with these bastards.¡¯


    they were rolling their eyes in a very suspicious way.


    pan wugang was deceived and made a fool by the elves because of their beautiful appearance and because he lacked information regarding them. however, he had a lot of experience in dealing with chinese hunters.


    something wasn¡¯t right!


    ¡°i understand. everyone get some rest.¡±


    pan wugang sent the shaolin temple hunters back and checked the recorder he always carried with him and the eavesdropping device that he had attached to the hunters. he was shocked by what he discovered.


    ¡°this... you despicable bastards...!¡±


    ***


    ¡°that¡¯s right, hunter choi yeonseung! you would do it for justice and for the greater good!¡±


    -these humans seem a bit crazy.


    it was such an absurd fight that even the goddess of sloth was surprised.


    a battle full of wounds!


    ¡®aren¡¯t all of them in the wrong?¡¯


    it seemed that choi yeonseung and the mount hua sect had an advantage over both sides without doing anything in particular...


    pan wugang lowered his voice.¡°hunter choi yeonseung. if you help me this time, i promise i will repay you. i have connections with the party central committee.¡±


    china was a big country, so there were many organizations and people. all the hunters basically belonged to the party central hunter committee, a powerful organization that could mobilize the military. above them was the party central committee, a core organization of the communist party...


    choi yeonseung was getting bored listening to them.


    ¡°aren¡¯t your connections quite impressive?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true, but why are you saying it like tha...¡±


    ¡°hmm.¡±


    choi yeonseung corrected his posture and looked like he was going to listen. pan wugang rejoiced at that.


    ¡°how far have you investigated?¡±


    ¡°...huh?¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t you going to repay me?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ***


    ¡°in my view, neither of them are at fault. they were both trying to work hard.¡±


    -indeed...


    there were few people who wouldn¡¯t listen when an a-grade hunter assessed the situation.


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s words, the chinese official looked impressed.


    -hunter choi yeonseung. i¡¯ve always wanted to meet you, but seeing you like this, you are much more amazing than i expected. if you have any thoughts, please come to china. i will treat you with great hospitality.


    ¡°i will consider the offer carefully.¡±


    ¡®am i crazy?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was disgusted with himself. he didn¡¯t deny the offer right away because he couldn¡¯t spit a smiling face, but...


    there were so many deeply rooted memories.


    -successor, aren¡¯t you capable of leaving any country?


    -that is true.


    come to think of it, it was difficult for china to act against choi yeonseung, an a-grade hunter. the moment they did this, various countries would immediately put pressure on them, starting from the united states...


    in the end, one could abuse their power only against the weak.


    -how were the hunters of the shaolin temple? of course, they¡¯re not as good as you, but they have pretty great martial arts, right? they are the proud members of our party.


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung had a peculiar and subtle expression on his face. to be honest, the hunters of shaolin temple weren¡¯t very good at martial arts. it was an advantage to use magic and martial arts together, but when it came to martial arts alone, they weren¡¯t good enough. however, if he actually said that, the hunters of shaolin temple would be dragged away by the police, wouldn¡¯t they?


    ¡°they were outstanding.¡±


    -indeed!


    choi yeonseung ended his conversation with the official whose name he couldn¡¯t remember.


    ¡°i did as i promised. now it is your turn to keep your promise, right?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the chinese hunters really didn¡¯t want to keep it, but they nodded because they knew very well that they would get their asses kicked if they didn¡¯t. pan wugang and the hunters of the shaolin temple had said to choi yeonseung, ¡®if you do me this favor then i will do anything!¡¯...


    choi yeonseung had replied, ¡®okay, i¡¯ll do you both a favor if you both listen to me!¡¯


    of course, it was ridiculous from the perspective of the chinese hunters, but it was impossible to argue right now.


    ¡®choi yeonseung won¡¯t make us do anything weird, right?¡¯

 Chapter 207

    chapter 207


    ¡°first of all, members of the shaolin temple should shave their heads, right?¡± the mount hua sect hunters spoke eagerly.


    for a long time, they had been very dissatisfied with the fact that the clan was called ¡®shaolin temple,¡¯ but none of its members shaved their heads. now that the shaolin temple hunters owed them one, it was the perfect opportunity to make them embrace their identity!


    the shaolin temple hunters grew pale as they listened to the mount hua sect hunters. it wasn¡¯t that big of a deal, but it was humiliating.


    ¡°i¡¯m not going to bully them like we¡¯re all a bunch of kids,¡± choi yeonseung spoke like he was dumbfounded by what the mount hua sect hunters were suggesting.


    the shaolin temple hunters were deeply moved.


    ¡®thank you...!¡¯


    it had been a long time since they met, but the hunters of the shaolin temple felt a genuine surge of loyalty for choi yeonseung. the chinese leaders would¡¯ve been shocked if they had known that their hunters felt this way to a foreign hunter.


    [the power of existence has increased due to faith!]


    ¡°......?¡±


    choi yeonseung was perplexed by the sudden rise in the power of existence. why was it increasing now?


    ¡°yes, there¡¯s no reason to bother with such a trivial thing. how about a forced labor camp?¡±


    ¡°we don¡¯t have one, do we?¡±


    ¡°if we don¡¯t have one then we can make it.¡±


    ¡°...that¡¯s enough. i have a better plan,¡± choi yeonseung said while looking at pan wugang and the shaolin temple hunters. ¡°right now, the new cities in the abyss lack hunters in many departments. i was hoping you could help me with the workload.¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    ¡°uh, that¡¯s all?¡± one of the hunters from the shaolin temple said out loud without realizing.


    hearing this, a hunter from the mount hua sect said angrily, ¡°look at that! you ungrateful bastard! you don¡¯t deserve our good treatment!¡±


    ¡°n-no. it¡¯s not like that! it¡¯s a misunderstanding!¡±


    ¡°what misunderstanding! look at those eyes! i see betrayal in his eyes!¡±


    ¡°stop it,¡± choi yeonseung said.


    iris, the only rational one, spoke in a puzzled manner, ¡°i... i think we¡¯re being too easy on them...¡±


    ¡°of course.¡±


    the shaolin temple hunters also wondered, ¡®is this really enough?¡¯ choi yeonseung¡¯s conditions were quite lenient.


    ¡°try to look at it from the other side. would they comply if i gave them harsh conditions?¡±


    ¡°they... they don¡¯t have a conscience so i don¡¯t think they would comply.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right.¡±


    the mount hua sect hunters growled in anger as they heard this. how could the temple shaolin hunters have the audacity to refuse their conditions?


    ¡°well if they don¡¯t listen, why don¡¯t we make them?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s something we can do later. now¡¯s the time to take it slowly.¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    ¡°wait and see. you will realize it later,¡± said choi yeonseung.


    mount hua sect hunters stopped arguing. they would listen to choi yeonseung. in fact, they were able to argue in the first place because choi yeonseung freed the mount hua sect and gave them the power to express themselves. originally, the mount hua sect hunters wouldn¡¯t be able to say such things.


    -j... jump! how dare you use the words of those western bastards when practicing martial arts?


    -but everyone outside speaks english. why do you prohibit english only when we learn martial arts, elder?


    -you dare to go against the soul of the mount hua sect? oh my! oh my!


    -if you told young hunters in this day and age that they had to learn martial arts in chinese rather than english, do you think anybody would want to learn it? even if you explain it really well, it would take too long!


    getting ordered around and scolded by older hunters was the norm for the young mount hua sect hunters.


    in that regard, choi yeonseung was a very permissive person, especially when considering his level of martial arts. however, that didn¡¯t mean that the mount hua sect hunters had less respect for choi yeonseung. rather, they respected him more for that.


    ¡®if the shaolin temple hunters come here for work, let¡¯s tell them to cut their hair for hygiene purposes.¡¯


    ¡®that¡¯s a very good idea.¡¯


    ***


    han seha took out her smartphone and looked at it. then she apologized after hearing these words. it was too boring.


    ¡°there is no hunter that would contact you, is there now? why are you looking at your phone like that all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s sehui.¡±


    ¡°han sehui rarely contacts you.¡±


    ¡°you got me. i was watching a video of the abyss.¡±


    at han seha¡¯s words, jeong wonuk looked slightly impressed. han seha said many things, but she was a responsible person as an a-grade hunter. jeong wonuk would often lose his cool when dealing with han seha, but he never wished she would be swapped with an a-grade hunter from another country. he was convinced that she was a hunter who would surely make south korea even greater.


    ¡°yes. we too must participate when attacking the second abyss kingdom.¡±


    the two of them hadn¡¯t participated in the first abyss raid against the abyss kingdom. the south korean government absolutely refused to put them at risk.


    -south korea will be ruined if three a-grade hunters die in the abyss!


    ... jeong wonuk didn¡¯t think they would die, but the government¡¯s worries were to be expected.


    in fact, there were several dangerous situations during the abyss raid. despite that, the abyss attracted the attention of all the hunters, so much so that now many were paying money to visit the newly created cities. the fact that it was an unexplored land was just as appealing. there was so much information pouring in just from the first kingdom and its surrounding areas. what kind of information would the second kingdom have to offer?


    he couldn¡¯t sleep at night thinking about it. he wanted to be the one to plant the korean flag there more than anyone else.


    ¡°what are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°weren¡¯t you looking for information about the second kingdom...?¡±


    ¡°no? i was watching a video about hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°...he¡¯s the one who succeeded in the first raid. you want to study and learn his techniques, right?¡±


    ¡°no? i¡¯m just watching it because i like it.¡±


    ¡°forget it.¡±


    jeong wonuk gave up on the conversation. the more he talked, the more it felt like he was going to explode.


    ¡°you two. thank you very much for coming.¡±


    the director of the hanseong group came and greeted them in person. if it was an a-grade hunter, then it wouldn¡¯t be strange if the president himself came and slammed his forehead against the table. a hunter¡¯s rank was above the age and position of the person they were talking to. of course, jeong wonuk was a very rational and calm person, and han seha had a deep relationship with the hanseong group, so there was no need for them to display their superiority.


    ¡°as i said before, today i want you to tell me which of these artifacts is the best.¡±


    an artifact test! it was one of the ways famous hunters could make a lot of money without entering the dungeon. unless it had a special ability, the artifact had to be held and used by a hunter in order to find out its ability.


    what skills were in the area, what they could be used for and how good they were... hundreds, or even thousands of tests were required to get that kind of information. even so, the skills hidden in the artifact were sometimes discovered later. this was why testing was important.


    for the hanseong group, this test had a different meaning.


    ¡°this is the parker group¡¯s new artifact and this one is from china¡¯s yin nie company. this is from japan¡¯s tatsui company. this...¡±


    the artifacts grew one by one.


    before the raid era, various affiliates of the hanseong group were ordinary companies. they dealt with finance, construction and the service industry...


    a group like that was famous within the country, but insignificant from an international standpoint. however, following the raid era, the hanseong group became one of the world¡¯s leading companies. it was thanks to hanseong energy. it hit the jackpot with a technology that refined a monster¡¯s core to the maximum potential. thanks to that, many companies that used the core expressed their utmost admiration to the hanseong group.


    ¡°i want you to pick the one you think is the best.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    han seha didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°why are you asking me to pick the best?¡±


    ¡°they are probably trying to sign an exclusive contract.¡±


    jeong wonuk immediately realized what was going on. it was obvious that these artifact companies had made some proposals.


    -don¡¯t trade with other companies! trade exclusively with our artifact company!


    they were fiercely competing with each other in the market so it was no wonder that such a proposal came. if so, the hanseong group had to make a cautious judgment. if they chose one side, then the other would find another company...


    they had to pick the side they thought was the best.


    ¡°speaking of which, isn¡¯t choi yeonseung the ceo of dragon artifact?¡±


    ¡°what? really? then i¡¯ll choose the one from dragon artifact.¡±


    ¡°...you can¡¯t do that!¡±

 Chapter 208

    chapter 208


    ¡°are you trying to stick it to hunter choi yeonseung because he found out about your shameful past? that¡¯s not ok.¡±


    at han seha¡¯s words, jeong wonuk couldn¡¯t help looking around. fortunately, no one was listening.??v€l-b!n.


    ¡°what shameful past?!¡±


    ¡°then what¡¯s the problem with picking the artifact from his company?¡±


    ¡°obviously, we have to fairly assess all of them. do i really have to explain this to you?¡±


    ¡°there is no such thing as a fair assessment in this world. no hunter would give a fair assessment.¡±


    han seha¡¯s words had sharp edges.


    each hunter had a different style and different way of fighting. there was no such thing as a perfectly objective assessment. besides, there were some hunters who were more than happy to take bribes. it was a known fact that some hunters were getting paid to promote the artifacts of certain companies.


    ¡°that¡¯s true, but shouldn¡¯t you try to be as objective as possible in order to receive money from hunters all over the world? more than anything else...¡± jeong wonuk spoke in a dumbfounded manner.


    even so, hanseong group was han seha¡¯s company, not his. if the company lost money, it wasn¡¯t his loss.


    ¡°even if i step forward and do my best, it won¡¯t be enough...¡±


    ¡°i made it clear that i had no intention of doing the test, but the group left it up to me anyways,¡± han seha spoke in a very imposing manner.


    just because she was an a-grade hunter didn¡¯t mean she had a comprehensive understanding of artifacts. she might¡¯ve been able to use skills that others couldn¡¯t, but that wasn¡¯t the only important factor in determining whether an artifact was good or not.


    a good artifact had to be just right.


    a-grade hunters had a large amount of magic power at their disposal, but lower-grade hunters had to use their magic power sparingly when they cast spells. having powerful skills wasn¡¯t necessarily always a good thing. it was better to have a skill that was decently powerful, that had good usability, that didn¡¯t consume too much magic power, and that could be used in any situation...


    ¡°if i don¡¯t make a good decision, the blame will fall on those who recommended me for this test.¡±


    ¡®the group directors would grab the back of their necks and scream if they heard this.¡¯


    however, it was also true. han seha wasn¡¯t necessarily the best person for this task, yet they wanted her to do the test regardless. in that case, wouldn¡¯t the person who recommended her be held accountable in case of failure?


    ¡°then do as you please. i¡¯ll test it and decide.¡±


    jeong wonuk stood up.


    no matter what han seha did, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal because she was the granddaughter of the chairman of the hanseong group. meanwhile, jeong wonuk was an outsider. he might¡¯ve been an a-grade hunter, but there would be a lot of resentment if he made the wrong call.


    hunter clans and big companies had a mutually beneficial relationship. jeong wonuk had to give a trustworthy assessment of the artifacts in order to justify the money he received, but also for the sake of his overall future.


    ¡°why don¡¯t you just pick dragon artifact?¡±


    ¡°i told you to go away.¡±


    ¡°do you know what a great company dragon artifact is?¡± they¡¯ve recently announced the new double skill casting.¡±


    ¡°i know that you just looked it up¡±


    jeong wonuk ignored han seha and started using the artifacts one by one.


    ¡®is tatsui¡¯s artifact using water magic? so they¡¯re still trying to push the water attribute. it¡¯s been a while since water magic stopped being popular...¡¯


    jeong wonuk clicked his tongue.


    tatsui was one of the most successful companies in the early days of the raid era. their knowledge and their technology were among the best in the world. however, the artifact market was so volatile that trends would change at the blink of an eye. people couldn¡¯t survive by being stubborn. tatsui continued to push the water attribute because he had once hit the jackpot with it, but in jeong wonuk¡¯s eyes, the water attribute artifact wasn¡¯t that great.


    ¡®the damage is weak when dealing with monsters. if you¡¯re going to put up a shield, you can use a completely different defense magic. they promote it as being versatile, but in reality it¡¯s inadequate.¡¯


    the shortcomings of manipulating water into weapons and shields were way too obvious. jeong wonuk moved onto the next artifact.


    ¡°no... why do they keep giving yin nie artifacts? i told them last time...¡±


    ¡°i-i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°forget it. it¡¯s their job, so it can¡¯t be helped¡±


    yin nie was an artifact company from china. jeong wonuk frowned when he looked at their artifact. he didn¡¯t have very good memories with them.


    first of all, yin nie had sent industrial spies to competitors and had done many controversial things that made other people resent them, such as stealing technology and poaching valuable employees from other companies, just to name a few. in addition, the artifacts released by yin nie came with various issues, such as explosions due to core overheating, specifications that were lower than those they would advertise, etc.


    there was a time when young hunters from jeong wonuk¡¯s clan bought some artificial artifacts from yin nie because they were cheap, only to get severely injured. using unreliable equipment during a risky raid was like asking to get killed. thus, jeong wonuk immediately prohibited the clan members from buying from yin nie.


    ¡°great! let¡¯s pick this one.¡±


    ¡°wait. i need to consider the one from parker group as well.¡±


    ¡°hey! you¡¯re korean, so you should support dragon artifact!¡±


    ¡°why does that matter?¡±


    however, after some consideration, jeong wonuk finally chose dragon artifact¡¯s new product. it was a subtle difference, but he felt that dragon artifact¡¯s new product was better.


    ¡®ah... we¡¯re going to look so bad if the artifact from parker group does well.¡¯


    -an a-grade hunter¡¯s mistake inflicts tremendous damage on hanseong group in an unprecedented manner...


    he could already imagine the terrible title of the article.


    ***


    ¡°it¡¯s not just hunter han seha, but hunter jeong wonuk as well?! has dragon artifact really hit the jackpot this time?¡±


    ¡°it seems so.¡±


    ¡°well, at least it¡¯s not a weird artifact this time. if they hadn¡¯t only released stuff like that, they could¡¯ve made it a long time ago...¡±


    director an yeonggu had a look of disbelief. due to his long experience in the industry and the rumors he had heard, he thought that the artifact from parker group would be selected.


    ¡°but i¡¯ve heard that the people at parker group were really confident when releasing this new artifact... wouldn¡¯t it be better to have insurance?¡±


    ¡°then we might get cursed at by both sides. we have no choice but to pick a side. i believe in hunter jeong wonuk¡¯s judgment.¡±


    ¡°what about hunter han seha?¡±


    ¡°...i only partially believe in her judgment.¡±


    an yeonggu was the executive director of the company and a talented individual in general. naturally, even the senior members of the company had a lot of faith in him. he had a strong backbone when it came to their field, and despite not being a hunter, he had the sound judgment of one.


    ¡°still, it¡¯s a relief.¡±


    ¡°why?¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung is from south korea, so it¡¯s going to be easier to communicate with him, right?¡±


    it was much easier to talk to people from the same country than people of different nationalities or races.


    an yeonggu shook his head. ¡°it¡¯s more difficult to deal with people who go to other countries because they don¡¯t like their own country than to deal with people with different nationalities. don¡¯t you remember chairman hwang gyeongryong?¡±


    ¡°ah...¡±


    the secretary¡¯s complexion darkened as he remembered the crime that hwang gyeongryong had committed. it was the notorious incident where south korea invited him to give him an award because he had been doing really well overseas, but he came and revealed all the grudges he had accumulated up until that point!


    hwang gyeongryong had an amazing memory. he even remembered the name of the official who embezzled a core during the great invasion of the evil god constellations. he pointed them out one by one during the live broadcast. because of that, even the high-ranking government officials who retired and received pensions were dragged out and annihilated by the media.


    since then, no government group dared to call hwang gyeongryong.


    ¡°you can go in.¡±


    the two of them were led inside by a staff member. they came to have a meeting with dragon artifact.


    where was hunter choi yeonseung?


    ¡°why is it so noisy?¡±


    ¡°a machine is probably running.¡±


    ¡°in the ceo¡¯s office?¡±


    ¡°......?!¡±


    an yeonggu thought it was strange. the loud noise they were hearing inside the room was supposed to be heard only inside the factory.


    ¡°ah. you came.¡±


    choi yeonseung was hitting the ore with his bare hands and stopped when he saw a guest coming.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says you need to focus!]


    -i have a guest.

 Chapter 209

    chapter 209


    in fact, choi yeonseung wondered what the point of his making the artifact was. the cat of lava and magma was more troublesome than he expected.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ points out that the last motion was a lazy one!]


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says there was some killing intent in that motion!]


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that having a pure heart devoid of temptation is the only way to become a true craftsman...]


    choi yeonseung¡¯s body had reached a perfect state, but the cat of lava and magma still wasn¡¯t satisfied. a true blacksmith had to be able to handle souls as well. to be honest, it didn¡¯t make much of a difference to choi yeonseung, but he was the student here. he had to keep his mouth shut and do what he was told.


    ¡®my time would be better spent on training my believers and preparing for a battle with another constellation...¡¯ of course, given that the cat constellation was a constellation that could really sulk, he didn¡¯t say that out loud.


    ¡°hello! hunter choi yeonseung! it is an honor to meet you like this!¡±


    director an yeonggu greeted him politely after entering. the person in front of him was an a-grade hunter. moreover, he was an a-grade hunter that was very dissatisfied with south korea. of course, choi yeonseung was working with hwang gyeongryong. an yenoggu had to be careful when dealing with such an individual. fortunately, an yeonggu had a lot of experience dealing with hunters.


    -hey, this is just plain bottled water, not evian! how dare you look down on me!


    -did you just give me coca cola because i like cola? i only drink pepsi.


    -is that guy¡¯s seat higher than mine? unacceptable! i¡¯m out of here!


    ...the higher the rank, the more terrible a hunter¡¯s personality was...


    a hunter¡¯s seemingly good nature that regular people saw? it was all a fac?ade. the media was bound to portray hunters in a good light, so unless an incident broke out, they would always say nice things about high-ranking hunters. people would¡¯ve been surprised if they''d found out how terrible their ¡®heroes¡¯ actually were.


    ¡®choi yeonseung is an a-grade hunter, doesn¡¯t like south korea, and is close to hwang gyeongryong... i don¡¯t know how difficult he will be.¡¯


    still, what could he do? he had to put up with it because he came to make a deal.


    ¡°you look pretty tired. perhaps it¡¯s because you¡¯ve come a long way?¡±


    ¡°haha. it¡¯s not the case.¡±


    ¡°drink this.¡±l--b1n.


    choi yeonseung lifted the kettle and poured some tea into the cup placed in front of an yeonggu, who was taken aback by the abrupt tea service.


    ¡®what? did he poison it?¡¯


    of course, it clearly couldn¡¯t have been poison. even if it had been, it wouldn¡¯t have killed him. maybe laxative?


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°barley tea. i made it myself.¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    the tea was made by roasting and then boiling the barley that the orcs had worked hard to grow in their territory. apart from the light, savory taste, it had the power to restore physical strength and heal the body. of course, an yeonggu didn¡¯t know about those properties. however, he didn¡¯t want to make choi yeonseung feel bad, so he gave it a try.


    ¡°......!¡±


    an yeonggu drank the hot barley tea all at once. the secretary sitting next to him was confused.


    ¡®but i offered him water before coming in...¡¯


    he drank it extremely fast...


    ¡°you¡¯re a good drinker. would you like another cup?¡±


    ¡°if i may...¡±


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t hesitate to pour the barley tea. director an yeonggu had another cup.


    ¡°do you want one more?¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    ¡°d-director-nim...¡±


    the secretary tried to stop him, but an yeonggu drank the barley tea once more.


    ¡°do you like barley tea that much? should i pack some so you can take it back with you?¡±


    ¡°... eh, it¡¯s not to that extent...¡±


    it wasn¡¯t until choi yeonseung emptied the kettle that an yeonggu¡¯s mind returned. come to think of it, he drank too much.


    with every sip, he felt a surge of energy in his body and his fatigue gradually disappeared. it was difficult to stop halfway.


    ¡°it would be great, but it¡¯s not something that will happen just because you want it. there is nothing good about being greedy. in addition, it hasn¡¯t been long since dragon artifact appointed choi yeonseung as its new ceo. if the company gets decent results after changing its ceo, it¡¯s good enough.¡±


    given that choi yeonseung had just become ceo and probably hadn¡¯t gotten fully used to it yet, good results would be necessary to prove his ability to manage a company. they would guarantee that choi yeonseung¡¯s position would last for quite a while.


    ¡°do you want to do business with hunter choi yeonseung for a long time?¡±


    ¡°i was flustered at first, but now that i think about it, he¡¯s much better than others.¡±


    there were very few hunters who were kind to others. an yeonggu hoped that hunter choi yeonseung would keep his position for a long time. that way, he would be able to work more comfortably.


    ¡®i don¡¯t want a jackpot. a big hit would be more than enough.¡¯


    however, director an yeonggu¡¯s expectations weren¡¯t met. they were exceeded. dragon artifact was much more successful than everyone had expected.


    ***


    [dragon artifact¡¯s new artifact, record sales...]


    [sold out in just one day! the stocks have skyrocketed...]


    ¡°that¡¯s absurd! surely there can¡¯t be such a gap, can there?¡±


    ¡°did dragon artifact buy the press?! go check!¡±


    the officials of the parker group were stunned and tried to make sense of the situation. the momentum of dragon artifact was greater than they expected.


    no matter the company, any artifact would have its pros and cons exposed on the market, so there were never any sides that won by a landslide. at the moment, the artifacts produced by chinese companies were still favored by chinese hunters and there were hunters who bought them at low prices...


    normally, even if the sales were strong, there was never a side that had an outstanding amount of sales. despite that, the product created by dragon artifact was a record-breaking success, ignoring the way the artifact market had always functioned.


    at this rate, those in charge of parker artifact faced the risk of having to resign. no matter how much they tried to come up with an excuse, they couldn¡¯t ignore or hide the facts. the reviews were decisive even among the hunters.


    -when i went to the abyss, they rented it out for free. i tried it and it worked great!


    -you rented an artifact for free? that doesn¡¯t make any sense.


    -doesn¡¯t it? they must¡¯ve lent it to you because they were sure you would give it back. if you steal it from them, they¡¯ll just chase you to the ends of the earth, right?


    -that¡¯s terrifying.


    -no. hunter choi yeonseung didn¡¯t lend it to me for that purpose. he said he lent it to low-grade hunters because he was afraid they would get seriously hurt.


    -is this guy an employee of dragon industry?


    of course, it wasn¡¯t just anonymous hunters who praised it.


    @schreiber_lane


    -the newly released artifact from dragon artifact is amazing. where else can i get such a powerful artifact for this price? i¡¯m going to recommend it to other hunters in the clan.


    @newyork_arenas


    -parker artifact isn¡¯t bad either but i want to go with dragon artifact this time.


    good performance was incontestable, but there were several hunters who owed choi yeonseung. originally, these guys wouldn¡¯t have said it even if they had been paid a few million dollars. however, despite no one asking them, now they voluntarily stepped up and helped promote the artifact.


    the officials of the parker group weren¡¯t aware of that, and thus were quite shocked.


    ¡®we''ve lost big time!¡¯


    ¡®i can¡¯t believe there¡¯s such a gap in sales!¡¯


    ¡®i didn¡¯t think to promote the artifact by lending it to hunters for free. inviting so many other hunters and making it explode in popularity all at once... it¡¯s a good strategy.¡¯


    at first, the effectiveness of the artifact wasn¡¯t confirmed when it hit the markets, but thanks to the fervent endorsement of hunters, dragon artifact was selling at an outstanding pace.


    the officials from parker group recognized their defeat. they had taken it too lightly. they never thought a hunter would have such an outstanding business strategy.


    ***


    [your power of existence has increased greatly!]


    choi yeonseung shuddered at the enormous increase in power of existence. his ranking in the abyss had risen even further and he was already ranked 89th. it was more surprising that he had achieved that by simply doing business, not by winning a constellation battle.


    ¡®i gained more power of existence from this than from killing a-grade monsters?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was naturally surprised. apparently it was more important to make a name for himself in the world of business than to fight in person!


    ¡®i should¡¯ve become a movie star instead of a hunter.¡¯


    -......

 Chapter 210

    chapter 210


    the goddess of sloth was troubled because she didn¡¯t know what to say. of course, she knew that. sometimes a bard was more effective than a good warrior.


    ...even so, in the eyes of the goddess of sloth, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t suited to be an actor. no matter how she thought about it, he was a natural warrior. the only role he could¡¯ve pulled off as an actor was that of a muscular villain.


    -successor, i don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible.


    -...i was just kidding, but isn¡¯t it too harsh to say that?


    choi yeonseung was slightly hurt, although he didn¡¯t really want to be a movie star. this time, he dealt with this company-related product because it was hwang gyeongryong¡¯s job. above all, it was mainly about production. he thought it was an excellent opportunity to learn from the cat constellation and evolve!


    -i was joking about being an actor, but... it¡¯s also pretty satisfying to know that you can gain this much power of existence through this business.


    -sometimes, a merchant is a warrior.


    the goddess of sloth nodded in agreement. such things would also happen in the abyss from time to time. a constellation with a great treasure would use it to exchange things with other constellations. it wasn¡¯t a common occurrence, but it certainly happened.


    ¡®yes, as far as the general public goes, a company¡¯s name must¡¯ve attracted more attention than a hunter¡¯s name.¡¯


    it was said that in modern society, there was no job as glamorous and as sought after as that of a hunter... thinking about it, a hunter¡¯s name either became famous or fell into obscurity at the end of a big raid. however, choi yeonseung would only hear the names of hunters when strong monsters appeared in the city center or when dungeons with a difficult rating appeared in key areas, which wasn¡¯t as often as one would¡¯ve expected. the famous hunters were the ones who were active in other fields besides raids.


    -then how about a household member with good fertility? we could use a household member like that.


    -do you want me to get married and then get divorced within three months?


    choi yeonseung said that with disgust. hwang gyeongryong would¡¯ve been hurt if he had heard that, but choi yeonseung really didn¡¯t want to get married.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it is enough right now.]


    the cat constellation cheered for choi yeonseung.


    -right?


    -well, that¡¯s not wrong either.


    to some extent, the goddess of sloth felt reassured. this time, it was quite admirable that her successor managed to do business on earth. he wasn¡¯t only a craftsman that made good items, but one that could make people buy them using his connections! the wandering merchant constellation would¡¯ve been impressed with choi yeonseung¡¯s business abilities if he¡¯d seen all of that.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says you will become the best craftsperson on earth if you continue like this. it is excited for you to make an even better item next time!]


    -no... people usually take a year off after releasing a new product.


    he felt sorry for the cat constellation, but usually when a new product came out, it would keep being produced and sold for around a year. the item released this time was especially successful, so it would be more than just one year.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is shocked.]


    the cat constellation was surprised by the way humans worked. it was hard to believe they kept making the same thing without thinking about making a new item. this wasn¡¯t blacksmith work... it was business, right?


    [¡ö¡ö¡ö! ¡ö¡ö¡ö! ¡ö¡ö¡ö!]


    the cat constellation started to cry with loud cat sounds instead of speech. choi yeonseung pretended not to hear.


    ¡°master!¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung was stunned when odaigon rushed over.


    ¡°did something happen?¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    when seeing odaigon shout like that, many possibilities passed through choi yeonseung¡¯s mind. a factory bombing, a defect found somewhere, an accident resulting in casualties...


    choi yeonseung¡¯s expression suddenly turned grim.


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°i... i have greatly increased my fortune!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    for a moment, choi yeonseung wondered if odaigon had gone crazy.


    ***


    ¡°d... don¡¯t tell me. no... are you sure you¡¯re not mistaken?¡±


    ¡°i checked and it¡¯s correct.¡±


    ¡°...wait. wait.¡±


    aine kept blinking in order to calm down. that was too much information to handle at once. she was getting dizzy.


    ¡°if you really have around 15%... can¡¯t you just take the entire company?¡±


    ¡°with 15%?¡±


    ¡°what am i going to do with a company like that? if i had to take a company, i would like the one that created this mobile game.¡±


    aine ignored odaigon¡¯s words and explained it to choi yeonseung.


    ¡°15% is a lot. i don¡¯t think there are any shareholders at pask food that have over 15%.¡±


    pask food was different from companies like the one owned by hwang gyeongryong. such companies received no outside investments and didn¡¯t go public. they used the money they earned and weren¡¯t subject to attacks from the outside.


    however, companies that went public and sold their shares could lose control of their management if others started buying the shares. alex parker never would¡¯ve expected jerry kuber to hand over the shares like blood to another hunter just because he was broke.


    ¡°still, i think odaigon has a surprisingly good point. what is he going to do with that company? how is he going to manage it?¡±


    ¡°what do you mean? you should take the company if you have the chance to do so!¡±


    aine couldn¡¯t believe them.


    ¡°why do you want to be stronger?¡±


    ¡°why do i want to be stronger... i¡¯m just trying to be strong.¡±


    ¡°yes! that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    ¡°there will be benefits to having a company like that. you can sell the shares at a high price or sell the company¡¯s property. and even if it doesn¡¯t work out, i think it would be pretty amusing to just go to parker group and make fun of them.¡±


    ¡®she really is gyeongryong¡¯s daughter.¡¯


    ¡°the last one was a joke.¡±


    perhaps she got the message from choi yeonseung¡¯s gaze, but aine quickly tried to brush it off as a joke. of course, it didn¡¯t really sound like a joke. there was a good chance that she actually meant it.


    ***


    ¡°put it here.¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ducoms, the ceo of dragon battery, stopped the car in front of the dragon artifact building. he was already quite famous, so the guards in front of him immediately recognized him and bowed their heads. the staff members working inside the building did the same.


    of course, ducoms didn¡¯t mind their reaction in the slightest, but he came there for one reason only.


    ¡°did you say that hunter choi yeonseung is inside?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ducoms coughed and adjusted his clothes. usually, ducoms would be indifferent toward other ceos. however, strangely enough, it was hard to do that when facing choi yeonseung. it wasn¡¯t that he was scared of a-grade hunters. ducoms would be indifferent even towards hunters.


    ¡®does the chairman really know how to look at the future?¡¯


    he thought he understood now. in ducoms mind, he instinctively acknowledged choi yeonseung¡¯s ability.


    ¡®heh. i¡¯m also very...¡¯


    ¡°that¡¯s why i¡¯ve prepared a large amount of monster meat...¡±


    ¡°...you. maybe it¡¯s better to just sell the stocks and make a profit.¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    there was an unexpected conversation going on inside. what was this conversation about?

 Chapter 211

    chapter 211


    ducoms hesitated because a part of him didn¡¯t want to go in, but aine noticed him first.


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°what is it? am i not allowed to come here?¡±


    both of them had such nasty personalities that no matter the place, neither of them would let others push them around. ducoms and aine glared at each other and the atmosphere quickly turned sour. choi yeonseung nodded in understanding.


    ¡°you must be tired from working a lot with each other.¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    ¡°have some tea. it¡¯ll make you feel better.¡±


    ¡°no... why are you... i only drink coffee.¡±


    ¡°thank you for the tea.¡±


    unlike ducoms, aine accepted it meekly. she knew there was no need to refuse the food or drinks offered by choi yeonseung.


    ¡°what does ducoms know about tea, one of the most important cultural aspects of the east?¡±


    ¡®is that actually the case?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. was barley tea actually important for eastern culture? he didn¡¯t think anything of it other than ¡®boil it and drink it.¡¯


    ¡°hmm.¡±


    aine closed her eyes and nodded. the dark circles under her eyes made choi yeonseung feel sympathetic.


    ¡®gyeongryong hyung lets his children work like that...¡¯


    ¡°this taste...¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s barley tea.¡±


    ¡°...it¡¯s barley.¡±


    aine looked surprised. she honestly thought it was some kind of fancy tea. in the past, she had been treated with high-quality tea that ordinary people couldn¡¯t get. such tea was the ming qian longjing tea that she received for doing a favor for the chinese government. that was why she thought...


    ¡°barley tea? is it the barley that i know? or does it mean something else?¡±


    ducoms was confused because he didn¡¯t know if the tea was made by roasting barley or if it was named like that for some other reason. surely there was no reason for choi yeonseung, who could afford anything, to roast barley himself and serve it to other people.


    aine ignored him.


    ¡°um. it¡¯s wonderful, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    it was indeed barley tea, but every time she drank it, she felt her magic power being restored and her fatigue relieved.


    ¡°you like it? i¡¯ll pack some for you. take it back with you and drink it whenever you feel tired.¡±


    ¡°...thank you.¡±


    seeing the two of them, ducoms couldn¡¯t help feeling tempted.


    ¡°i... i would like to have a cup as well.¡±0v3l.bin.


    ¡°go and get a coffee.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not talking to you.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t be like that. a grudge will last for a long time if it forms when eating or drinking.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ducoms had a peculiar look on his face and was suddenly very eager to try the tea. it wasn¡¯t like he didn''t have the money to buy barley...


    ¡°here you go.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    ducoms was shocked. a refreshing effect that was much more stimulating than coffee and sugar! he hadn¡¯t experienced something like that before, so he was being overstimulated by the potent magic power.


    ¡°t... this...¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°i would like to invest in this, so how about releasing it as a product??¡±


    in response to ducom¡¯s sincere and enthusiastic proposal, choi yeonseung shook his head.


    ¡°they said to be careful, but hunters treat the monster wave as a great opportunity.¡±


    the other hunters of the icarus clan nodded at antony¡¯s words.


    at the news of the monster wave, the hunters who had gone to the abyss returned en masse, leaving behind only the minimum number of people.


    back in the day, when the first generation of hunters were fighting, a monster wave was something terrifying. now, people weren¡¯t that scared anymore. hunters had increased in numbers and they had a lot more information regarding monster waves. they had found many ways to deal with them.


    if anything, a monster wave was more like a festival for hunters.


    ¡°it¡¯s a place where even a-grade hunters can display their abilities, and it¡¯s also a good opportunity for lesser-known hunters to gain some popularity. in addition, if there is someone you don¡¯t like, then you can compete with them.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡± choi yeonseung nodded. he had wondered why they looked so excited, but now he understood how things were.


    ¡°i hope it appears in a good place...¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. location is everything.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯ll be hard if the location is wrong.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    elisabeth explained from beside him.


    ¡°has it been 12 years? the monster wave that occurred at that time was close to the northern side of china, so it was difficult in many ways. the chinese government asked us to participate, but they had caused a few incidents at that time...¡±


    leading and supporting hunters from other countries was now considered a form of diplomacy. if one country committed inhumane crimes or caused problems related to dictatorship, other countries would usually impose sanctions on their hunters. before the raid era, countries used to say, ¡®if you want to impose sanctions, go ahead and do it. we don¡¯t care,¡¯ but now they couldn¡¯t really risk having their hunters sanctioned. it would be detrimental.


    ¡°what happened back then?¡±


    ¡°in the end, the chinese government begged the clans to participate. at that time, the chinese hunters couldn¡¯t deal with it by themselves.¡±


    ¡°as far as i know, some of the people involved were dismissed because of it.¡±


    as the hunters were talking, an employee of the icarus clan walked over.


    ¡°the results of the analysis have arrived. it¡¯s not certain, but the probability is over 90%.¡±


    ¡°where is it?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s the west coast of south korea. they said there¡¯s a good chance it¡¯ll come from the sea.¡±


    ¡°good! we can stay clear of china!¡±


    bam!


    the moment he finished speaking, the hunter was slapped in the back of the head by choi yeonseung.


    ¡°w-why?¡±


    ¡°what are you cheering for? how can you be happy knowing that monsters will show up and threaten the lives of civilians? it¡¯s because of bastards like you that people say hunters have terrible personalities.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the atmosphere among the icarus hunters quickly grew cold.


    ¡°a monster wave will appear in south korea. it¡¯s really unfortunate.¡±


    ¡°if only it were to appear further west, in china...¡±


    the hunters coughed and looked at choi yeonseung. the employee was surprised by the sight. choi yeonseung was an a-grade hunter and it was only natural that he had more authority than other hunters within the clan.


    even so, the icarus clan brought in people who were treated as aces in other clans. they were all b-grade or higher... how could they act so cowardly, like some mice? that couldn¡¯t have been explained simply by choi yeonseung¡¯s display of force


    ¡°i... i didn¡¯t say it was good that it appeared in south korea. i just meant that it¡¯s best to avoid china...¡±


    ¡°yes... sorry, i think i was out of line...¡±


    choi yeonseung lifted the fallen hunter back on his feet. in the meantime, the employee was taken aback by the new information they just received.


    ¡°huh? is that so?¡±


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°there is new information. this time, the magic power has fluctuated a lot, so the location might be slightly different. worst case, it might even appear in the chinese east sea...¡±


    the hunters¡¯ expressions immediately turned sullen. all of them would rather have fought for south korea than for china.


    ¡®wait... so why did i get hit?¡¯


    the hunter was frustrated by the blow he took to the back of the head, but he couldn¡¯t complain about it.

 Chapter 212

    chapter 212


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter where it appears. the important thing is to deal with the monsters.¡±


    ¡®i think he¡¯s feeling better...¡¯


    the news that the monster wave could emerge in china seemed to improve choi yeonseung¡¯s mood, but the hunters couldn¡¯t really point that out. they felt that if they did that, they would get scolded again.


    ***


    ¡°they¡¯ve already gathered like that?¡±


    ¡°people never listen, so something like this is to be expected.¡±


    on the west coast, people were already gathering like clouds. they weren¡¯t hunters, just regular people who gathered to watch the hunters. it was a world in which information spread in the blink of an eye. the news regarding the monster wave quickly became known to the public.


    -a monster wave will erupt in the west of south korea?


    -i envy the koreans. it¡¯s going to be one hell of a festival.


    -no. i¡¯ve heard that it could happen close to china.


    -i envy the chinese. it¡¯s going to be one hell of a festival.


    -what do crazy people know about the monster wave?


    -isn¡¯t it a festival to watch hunters kill monsters?


    -i hope it appears in china.


    -why? do you want to see the chinese s-grade hunters?


    -no. i just wish it would appear in china.


    -isn¡¯t the south korean government quite capable? look at the hunter clans they''ve mobilized this time.


    -that¡¯s just the bare minimum. what country can¡¯t mobilize this many hunters these days?


    -i see you¡¯re nervous, so i think your country isn¡¯t actually capable of mobilizing this many.


    if anything, south korea had relatively good relations with other countries. if a monster wave broke out, hunters from other countries would come to offer support. thus, even hunters that normally didn¡¯t make many appearances were expected to participate in this. it was no wonder there were so many people. it was to the extent that koreans seemed to be in the minority because of how many foreigners came in advance to get settled before the monster wave occurred.


    ¡°i have to pay $1,000 a night? what type of five-star hotel is this??¡±


    ¡°ah. go somewhere else if you don¡¯t like it.¡±0v3l.bin.


    ¡°i have to pay just to sit here on the beach?¡±


    ¡°ah. of course. i guess you don¡¯t know since you¡¯re from overseas, but you¡¯re supposed to pay in south korea. it seems you don¡¯t know much about asian culture...¡±


    in response, koreans were unwelcoming, to say the least, toward the unscrupulous foreigners jumping to celebrate this type of festival. at the end of the day, it was korean government officials and hunters that were dying! hunters from other countries only had to deal with monsters, whereas korean hunters also had to manage the area.


    ¡°you can¡¯t do business here!¡±


    ¡°you can¡¯t wander around here! it¡¯s dangerous! move up!¡±


    the official kwon ohchan was running left and right trying to preserve order.


    ¡®it was announced that a monster wave is going to break out in south korea...!¡¯


    ¡°no, foreign bastards came to watch a war break out in other countries. you can¡¯t do this, right? let¡¯s be patriotic!¡±


    ¡°why are the koreans infringing on our freedom? it¡¯s within my human rights to be here!¡±


    koreans were clashing with foreigners in many different ways. it wasn¡¯t for nothing that a senior warned, ¡®if a monster wave breaks out, one in five people will back out due to anger and frustration.¡¯


    ¡°a hunter! a hunter has come!¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t koreans being too violent? i will protest!¡±


    still, when a hunter appeared, unreasonable people calmed down a bit. after all, unlike government officials, hunters wouldn¡¯t just tell civilians to leave. they would throw punches if necessary.


    ¡°thank you for your hard work.¡±


    ¡°oh my... thank you for coming here.¡±


    the six-eyed turtle was one of south korea¡¯s biggest clans, and when min hyeonjae, a member of the clan, showed up, the officials sighed with relief.


    ¡°even if i tell people to step back because it¡¯s dangerous, they won¡¯t listen! if there¡¯s a problem later, they will blame us again!¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s understandable.¡±


    ¡°the foreigners are even worse! they should stay in their own countries instead of coming here to witness what they think is a spectacle!¡±


    ¡°i understand... by the way, who is that official over there?¡±


    while the other hunters were acting like rabid dogs, as if competing to see who is the craziest, choi yeonseung stood out as the most normal person in the country by volunteering to help and leading the icarus clan.


    [shocking! a-grade hunter choi yeonseung didn¡¯t attend the hunters¡¯ party...]


    [absolutely shocking... a-grade hunter choi yeonseung came out of the hotel and did ¡®this¡¯?]


    even those who had gotten used to the absurdity of the media were dumbfounded by the sheer ridiculousness of those headlines.


    -is it that shocking to not attend the party?


    -didn¡¯t he miss it because he drank too much the day before?


    -he was probably just attending another party.


    however, those who actually read the articles couldn¡¯t help feeling horrified.


    -instead of going to the party he went to the coast to assist with security??


    -why? is he crazy? was he cursed by a constellation?


    -why would he volunteer like that? had he been shot in the head???


    it was more shocking than the incident of those hunters who got drunk together and fought over an artifact that was at the level of a national treasure. it didn¡¯t make any sense.


    -the south korean government must¡¯ve paid him.


    -...they paid an a-grade hunter to clean up the crazy guys who gathered on the shore??


    -wow. the korean government has a lot of money. if they use a-grade hunters like this, they will likely become number one in gdp.


    -wasn¡¯t he just selflessly volunteering to help?


    -what type of nonsensical bullshit is that?


    -that¡¯s right. no matter how anonymous this place is, we have to follow the bare minimum rules.


    -n-no... one of my relatives is a hunter and he said that choi yeonseung helped him during the last abyss raid without getting paid.


    -didn¡¯t he do the same in paris? he seemed to mobilize the hunters and save the civilians..


    -where is that?


    -have you been living under a rock? does this bastard even watch the news?


    -are you saying that people were moved and obeyed the evacuation order?


    -it¡¯s true. i saw it myself.


    -......


    -......


    -hey. who wants to take bets on where the next monster wave will appear?


    people who had nothing to say changed the subject.


    however, some were starting to wonder... maybe choi yeunseung was actually a good person?


    ***


    the six-eyed turtle clan had the largest number of hunters in south korea. it had a system that could manage virtually all hunters from a-grade to e-grade. because the clan could properly manage all ranks, it attracted a large number of hunters, so much so that south koreans started calling the clan the ''six-eyed turtle empire.¡¯


    ¡°hunter kwon yeongseung. there are many things to be done in regards to this monster wave.¡±


    ¡°i know.¡±


    kwon yeongseung bowed in front of the clan leader.


    ¡°maybe it¡¯s because it has been quiet for a while, but many clans are determined to take this opportunity. if you do poorly, we might face issues and lose the achievement to someone else.¡±


    a monster wave was also a competition in which many clans took part. they couldn¡¯t stand out with a mediocre performance. at least the monster wave was close to south korea. if they dealt with the hardships and another clan took the profit, they would definitely be angry.


    ¡°it¡¯s complicated for many different reasons, but there¡¯s one factor that gives us an advantage, and that is hunter choi yeonseung. i thought hunter choi yeonseung hated south korea a lot, but after hearing many stories, it seems that it¡¯s not the case.¡±


    ¡°uh... he¡¯s a good person.¡±


    kwon yeongseung couldn¡¯t help trembling. he didn¡¯t mean to say that choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t a good person, but he didn¡¯t want to see him again. he still felt pain in his entire body as he thought about the training he did during his spare time in the abyss. choi yeonseung was a good person, but he was partly crazy. moreover, he was so insanely strong that he was like a walking natural disaster.


    ¡°well done. did the two of you become close during the last raid? in any case, you should go and ask hunter choi yeonseung to cooperate with you.¡±


    ¡°...w-wait a moment.¡±


    for the first time in a long time, kwon yeongseung expressed his disagreement with the clan leader.

 Chapter 213

    chapter 213


    ¡°father. that¡¯s a bit...¡±


    ¡°this conversation is within the clan, mind you.¡±


    ¡°c-clan leader-nim.¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    kwon yeonghyeong, the leader of the six-eyed turtle clan, was kwon yeongseung¡¯s father.


    usually, when a hunter reached a-grade, they would leave the clan and work independently. however, kwon yeongseung remained in the clan even after reaching a-grade because his father was the clan leader. however, that didn¡¯t mean that the clan leader would give kwon yeongseung special treatment.


    ¡°is there something wrong?¡±


    ¡°yes... i don¡¯t get along with choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°what is this nonsense that you are saying?¡±


    the clan leader looked at kwon yeongseung in amazement.


    out of the three south korean a-grade hunters, kwon yeongseung was the most popular.


    han seha was like a rabid dog, whereas jeong wonuk was older and the leader of a clan, which meant he rarely showed his face in public due to his social position. on the other hand, kwon yeongseung was the hunter most familiar to the public, having participated in various broadcasting activities. his skills definitely played an important role, but his popularity was largely due to his unique personality.


    to think that he, out of all people, didn¡¯t get along with somebody...


    ¡°i don¡¯t think hunter choi yeonseung is a difficult person, is he?¡±


    the clan leader didn¡¯t understand.


    of course, the rumors about the hunters were astonishing. nobody could tell what a hunter, whom the public regarded as a hero, was doing behind the scenes. however, the clan leader was a generation older than kwon yeongseung, so he knew a lot about first-generation hunters.


    when choi yeonseung quickly set a record after returning to the abyss and reaching a-grade, he gathered information from the first-generation korean hunters.


    -hunter choi yeonseung? ahh... that guy? i remember. i think he¡¯s crazy...


    -he¡¯s an outstanding martial artist among hunters. he was the most fearless among those who learned martial arts.


    -he¡¯s quite an ascetic individual. to think you¡¯d find someone like that these days.... aren¡¯t they all dead?


    he didn¡¯t need to hear more to know what choi yeonseung was like. he was an insanely disciplined man who only pursued strength. quite the rarity for those days. such hunters usually died when encountering a problem during raids, but they normally got along with other hunters just fine.


    ¡°that... i wouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s a problem, but his personality is a bit... it¡¯s not like something happened...¡±


    ¡°stop beating around the bush, hunter kwon yeongseung,¡± said the clan leader in a stern voice as he realized that his son wasn¡¯t telling him the truth.


    ¡°i don¡¯t think his training policy suits me.¡±l--b1n.


    ¡°so you don¡¯t want to work with him because of the intense training?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a valid reason.¡±


    the clan leader sighed.


    the report from the last abyss raid said things like ¡®hunter choi yeonseung is friendly with hunter kwon yeongseung. they have been training together...¡¯ so he wondered if that was the reason. rather, he thought this was better. kwon yeongseung was a natural talent, but that also made him lazy. no matter the words, persuading him was nearly impossible, but it was nevertheless a good opportunity to do something about his laziness.


    ¡°take the hunters and ask them to cooperate. i won¡¯t listen to your nonsense anymore.¡±


    ¡°...i understand.¡±


    kwon yeongseung nodded at the clan leader¡¯s words. if he had continued to argue, all hell would¡¯ve broken loose.


    ***


    lee changsik, the iron-blooded ice emperor, was surprised when the leader of the six-eyed turtle clan contacted him out of the blue. due to the location, they had each other¡¯s contact information, but they weren¡¯t that close.


    -iron-blooded ice emperor-nim. it¡¯s been a while since i¡¯ve contacted you like this.


    -...you can just call me by my name.


    -ah. i¡¯m sorry. hunter lee changsik, i wanted to contact you this time to...


    -......??


    he wanted lee changsik to tell hunter choi yeonseung that he was free to do whatever he wanted with hunter kwon yeongseung. it didn¡¯t sound like some kind of trap or joke, but lee changsik was nonetheless confused.


    ¡°it¡¯s nice to see you again like this... by the way, what¡¯s with the reporters behind you?¡±


    lee changsik frowned. ever since he became the coach of the national team, he had no memory of any good interactions with reporters.


    as if trying to shake off boredom, reporters would follow him and ask stuff like ¡®how did the national team become so weak?¡¯ he felt it was unfair to be criticized like that since the national team was a mess even before he was put in charge. nevertheless, as the coach, he had no choice but to suck it up and accept the responsibility.


    if hwang gyeongryong had been in that situation, he would¡¯ve arrested all the pesky reporters and hanged them in front of the office building.


    ¡°i don¡¯t know where the reporters come from.¡±


    ¡°?!¡±


    choi yeonseung was stunned to see lee changsik¡¯s condition suddenly improve. lee changsik hadn¡¯t even taken the supplements yet. he gained skills and became stronger thanks to his own faith.


    -how strange. it¡¯s rare to find a believer with such strong faith.


    -hyung likes me a lot.


    -so the fit human doesn''t really like you?


    -...he actually likes me but he won¡¯t show it because he¡¯s a bit weird.


    choi yeonseung ended up unwittingly defending hwang gyeongryong. he wasn¡¯t a bad person! he was just... different...


    ¡°woah, i already feel like i have more energy!¡±


    ¡°haha... i¡¯m glad. in any case, make sure you take your medicine.¡±


    ¡°yes, of course. in any case, you are the one who needs to be prepared for the monster wave.¡±


    the fact that choi yeonseung would cooperate with korean hunters during the monster wave made lee changsik very happy. just having an a-grade hunter like choi yeonseung made him feel like he had a thousand troops.


    ¡°i¡¯m sure you¡¯ve dealt with more monster waves than me. do you have any advice?¡±


    in fact, choi yeonseung had never really experienced a monster wave. of course, he had participated once in the past, but only to fill in the numbers as a low-level hunter. most importantly, the atmosphere itself was different this time. when he participated in that monster wave as a low-level hunter, people lacked knowledge and were unprepared, so everybody panicked and thought that the world was about to end.


    he never dreamed he would see something like this now. it was really strange to see onlookers from all over the world sit on the beach with excited expressions, saying things like, ¡®who do you think would win between this monster and this hunter?¡¯


    ¡°umm. it¡¯s weird to have so many people gathered here.¡±


    ¡°yeah.¡±


    ¡°if things go south, we have to deal with the spectators first...¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded in understanding. of course, lee changsik was the kind of person to prioritize the safety of civilians in case of an emergency. the hunters could take care of themselves, and the citizens behind them would be relatively fine because they would be far away.


    ¡°...throw them away.¡±


    ¡°?!¡±


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t believe what he just heard.


    ¡°throw them away?¡±


    ¡°yes. throw them away. those guys ignored the evacuation order just to come here and watch the hunters fight like it¡¯s some kind of show meant for their amusement. they¡¯re worthless bastards.¡±


    ¡°no...?¡±


    at this moment, choi yeonseung was confused. were hwang gyeongryong and lee changsik playing a prank on him after exchanging bodies???


    -this human has a point.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ agrees and feels refreshed!]


    -...what is wrong with all of you?


    choi yeonseung silenced the two constellations and asked lee changsik a question.


    ¡°hyung, what happened? you weren¡¯t like this before.¡±


    ¡°people change. just take care of the hunters and forget about those bastards, whether they live or die. if they¡¯re dumb enough to come here when there¡¯s a monster wave, we should just let natural selection do its thing.¡±


    ¡°huh...¡±


    ¡®judging from what he¡¯s saying, i think he¡¯ll get along with gyeongryong hyung if they meet again.¡¯


    ¡°do you think i¡¯m being too cold?¡±


    choi yeonseung shrugged at lee changsik¡¯s question.


    ¡°i suppose it¡¯s only natural to prioritize the hunters because they are an important asset.¡±


    ¡°yes. i''m afraid you''ll get hurt if you try to pointlessly save people like that.¡±


    choi yeonseung was saddened by lee changsik¡¯s words. he had made so many sacrifices for him, and to see him turn out like this...


    ¡®it breaks my heart.¡¯


    choi yeonseung wanted to somehow tell lee changsik that neither him nor hwang gyeongryong made any mistakes. however, it wasn¡¯t something he could express with just a few words.


    ¡°ah, right. the six-eyed turtle clan leader asked you to give hunter kwon yeongseung a rough time. what happened?¡±


    ¡°did he say that? kwon yeongseung must¡¯ve liked the training then.¡±


    ¡°ah. you trained with him, didn¡¯t you? he avoided talking about it when i asked.¡±


    ¡°he must¡¯ve been embarrassed. if hunter kwon yeongseung becomes stronger, then it will help hyung as well.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m already semi-retired, but...¡±

 Chapter 214

    chapter 214


    ¡°what are you saying...? why do you think you¡¯d lose against other a-grade hunters? you¡¯re not inferior in anything, whether it¡¯s stats, skills, experience or age.¡±


    ¡°... uhm, the age isn¡¯t exactly working in my favor.¡±


    ¡°in any case, i understand that hunter kwon yeongseung said he wants to become stronger. i¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±


    ¡°actually, it¡¯s what the leader of the six-eyed turtle clan said, not kwon yeongseung...¡±


    ¡°what difference does it make?¡±


    ¡°well, it¡¯s not that important.¡±


    lee changsik knew what kind of relationship hunter kwon yeongseung and the leader of the six-eyed turtle clan had, so he passed on the message without thinking much of it. if kwon yeongseung had heard this, he would¡¯ve said, ¡®it is important!¡¯


    ¡°other than that... there¡¯s going to be a conflict.¡±


    lee changsik recalled something and decided to warn choi yeonseung.


    ¡°are you talking about a fight?¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t there only one thing that hunters do when they get together?¡±


    regardless of their rank, hunters always did the same thing when they gathered together, and that was fighting with each other and having a wild party. a-grade hunters were no exception in that regard.


    ¡°just because they are a-grade hunters doesn¡¯t mean they can act like that. their image is too important for stuff like that...¡±


    it didn¡¯t matter where the low-grade hunters went, but a-grade hunters were the pride of the country. there were few things more embarrassing than defeat.


    ¡°hyung. you don¡¯t have to worry. are you forgetting who i am?¡±


    ¡°indeed, you¡¯ve always been good at beating people.¡±


    ¡°it sounds a bit strange when you say it like that, but i¡¯ll take it as a compliment.¡±


    lee changsik nodded with relief. he too was aware that martial artists were always quite powerful in pvp battles.


    ***


    ¡°i heard you are an a-grade hunter. your skills one time... cough! w-why??¡±l--b1n.


    one of the chinese hunters tried to speak to choi yeonseung, but he was immediately subdued with pressure point attack.


    ¡°ah. i¡¯m sorry. was it just a harmless question?¡±


    ¡°cough... cough cough.¡±


    the paralyzed hunter struggled on the ground and barely managed to get up. the atmosphere around him became tense.


    ¡®who¡¯s the bastard that said hunter choi yeonseung has a good personality?¡¯


    ¡®he is completely crazy...¡¯


    unlike other a-grade hunters, these hunters approached him with a slightly condescending attitude because he was rumored to have a good personality. however, seeing the way he acted, they became frightened and backed away.


    a-grade hunters often felt like they were on a pedestal that others didn¡¯t dare touch, but the hunters¡¯ sensibilities were a bit different from those of ordinary people.


    among the b-grade hunters, there were quite a few who were confident that they could also become a-grade if they were lucky enough to get some impressive achievements like a-grade hunters. it was a no-brainer, given that b-grade was just below a-grade.


    that was why they were going to ask choi yeonseung questions that were partly out of curiosity, and partly filled with belligerent intent.


    ¡°now, get up. what are you curious about?¡±


    ¡°i... i¡¯m also a martial artist... i want to be taught once...¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s not difficult.¡±


    ¡°?!¡±


    when hunters from other countries asked for lessons, the person teaching usually didn¡¯t do a good job. if anything, it was more or less the same even if a hunter asked someone from their country for lessons. a hunter¡¯s experience was an expensive asset in itself.


    ¡®will he really teach?¡¯


    ¡®i don¡¯t believe it...!¡¯


    several hunters murmured while watching the two of them. the prospect of receiving lessons from choi yeonseung was unbelievable!


    ¡°do you want to go to the otherworld?¡±


    ¡°no. the otherworld isn¡¯t bad, but it¡¯s better to learn in real life than in virtual reality.¡±


    ¡°...won¡¯t i get hurt in real life?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s okay. you are less likely to get hurt with martial arts than with magic.¡±


    ¡°n-no. wait...¡±


    ¡°are you backing out now?¡±


    there weren¡¯t many people who could endure the stare of an a-grade hunter. the martial artist was dragged to the side in tears. the hunters who saw it realized.


    ¡®is he trying to use this as an excuse to kill him!¡¯


    ¡®best case scenario, he¡¯s going to be paralyzed from the waist down.¡¯


    choi yeonseung had been distracted by various events and reflected a bit on what ma jun just said.


    -there are bound to be many constellations involved in this type of thing.


    -which constellation has the strongest household?


    one couldn¡¯t really compare households that way unless they fought them directly. at any rate, some constellations were already preparing.


    -i understand why they would interfere, but why are they keeping me in check?


    -your ranking is still low, but you¡¯ve gained a lot of momentum recently. isn¡¯t it because of that?


    choi yeonseung¡¯s performance stood out among a-grade hunters. a household member who succeeded in humanity¡¯s first abyss gate raid and also defeated the collector constellation¡¯s household member in the paris raid. for that reason, other constellations no longer looked down on him.


    -i think that¡¯s probably why you haven¡¯t received any requests for constellation battles recently.


    -so they¡¯re keeping me in check?


    -it¡¯s more of an experiment. if they find a weakness, there¡¯s a high possibility that they will bite without mercy.


    -weakness... could it be the number of household members?


    -it¡¯s hard to find that kind of weakness. what constellation would think you have so few household members? moreover, it would be hard for them to capitalize on that kind of weakness..


    -then?


    -maybe they¡¯re targeting weaknesses that are really apparent when contrasted to a constellation¡¯s attributes? like intelligence...


    -...are you saying i would lose against them when it comes to intelligence?


    -i didn¡¯t mean that.


    the goddess of sloth spoke as if to soothe choi yeonseung.


    -successor, among the games played by humans... are you good at things like chess or go?


    -no. i¡¯ve never been interested in such things.


    -there are many constellations that are good at such games which focus on intelligence.


    -...can¡¯t i compete with them in games like rock paper scissors?


    -they wouldn¡¯t accept something like that.


    choi yeonseung would certainly have to decline the challenge if it was some game for intellectuals.


    ¡®ah, then it¡¯s doomed.¡¯


    -everyone wants a fight in which they have the upper hand... in any case, i think it¡¯s better to forget about the constellation battle and focus on the monster wave.


    the words of the goddess of sloth soon came true. the constellations began making declarations.


    [the ¡®storyteller who likes gossip and explanations¡¯ is looking for constellations to participate in a monster wave bet.]


    [the ¡®monk pursuing glory¡¯ believes in his household members and will participate in the bet!]


    [the ¡®arrogant light elf¡¯...]


    [the ¡®hound of instinct and liberation¡¯...]


    [the ¡®iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield¡¯...]


    several constellations, some of which he knew, some of which he¡¯d never heard of, started to participate in the bet. the constellations gambled their power of existence by betting on their household members!


    ¡®can i bet on the household member of another constellation?¡¯


    -...don¡¯t do it. it would be really embarrassing...


    choi yeonseung wondered why no one else would do such a thing, but in fact, it was natural.


    a constellation wasn¡¯t just an ordinary existence, but a ruler of the abyss. no matter how small their power was, they were still rulers. placing bets on another household member would be detrimental to their pride.


    [the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ believes in his household members and will participate in the bet!]


    without any further worries, choi yeonseung expressed his intention to participate. he was confident he would win, no matter what obstacles would appear in his way.


    the other members of the household inherited the power of a constellation, but choi yeonseung was a constellation himself!


    ***


    ¡°hunter kwon yeongseung! i¡¯m a fan!¡± please sign this!¡±


    ¡°hunter kwon yeongseung! please look this way!¡±


    ¡°hunter kwon yeongseung! hunter kwon yeongseung!¡±


    every time a star hunter went out in public, all eyes were set on them.


    kwon yeongseung had been a star for a long time, therefore he knew how to control the crowds with the right fan service and reactions.


    ¡°hunter kwon yeongseung!¡±


    ¡°......?!¡±


    the voice that came from among the people gave kwon yeongseung goosebumps. why did he get goosebumps when he heard this familiar voice?

 Chapter 215

    chapter 215


    ¡°i heard you¡¯re going to lead the korean hunters and work with me during the monster wave.¡±


    ¡°no. i didn¡¯t necessarily say that...¡±


    kwon yeongseung¡¯s voice trailed off when he laid eyes on choi yeonseung.


    when dealing with a large-scale offensive like the monster wave, it was better for hunters to stick together when moving around. however, there were exceptions for everything, and one for the current situation would¡¯ve been more than welcome...


    ¡°that¡ª hunter choi yeonseung. in fact, korean hunters don¡¯t stick together that much.¡±


    ¡°every country deals with monster waves roughly the same way.¡±


    the government urged hunters to forget about their clans during the monster wave and cooperate with each other, but it was hard for hunters to do that. not long ago, hunters fiercely competed with each other for glory while representing their own clans, each of them boasting about how many monsters they took down and ridiculing those who fell behind.


    the rivalry between the current hunters was much more intense than between those from the first generation. at this point, various clans had history with each other, some relationships between them being almost at the level of enemies. it was to the extent that some clans would punish their members if they caught them hanging out with hunters from rival clans.


    as such, it was unusual for choi yeonseung to save the hunters of other clans during the jeju island exchange exhibition battle.


    ¡°i think it¡¯s virtually impossible to unite the hunters.¡±


    ¡°hmm.¡±


    ¡°of course, it¡¯s good that you¡¯ll join, but wouldn¡¯t it be better for each clan to just move individually like they¡¯re used to?¡±


    ¡°but when i asked, they said it was okay.¡±


    ¡°...huh??¡±


    kwon yeongseung found that hard to believe, but it was true. the leader of the golden blood fish clan was jeong wonuk. additionally, the bulgae clan had a deep connection with lee changsik. if kwon yeongseung¡¯s six-eyed turtle clan joined them, that would be the three biggest clans in south korea working together.


    of course, there were several other hunter clans, but they weren¡¯t big enough or powerful enough to go against the norm. if the three biggest clans decided to work together, they had no choice but to follow suit.


    ¡°hunter han seha is cooperating, so it should be fine.¡±


    at this point, choi yeonseung had received promises of cooperation from several korean a-grade hunters and large clans. kwon yeongseung felt his mind wander. how did this person, who had been in the united states all the time, manage to bring these large clans together?


    ¡®it... it¡¯s ridiculous. putting aside the golden blood fish clan, the bulgae clan has a lot of pride. they will never agree to work together with other clans...¡¯


    the relationship between the six-eyed turtle clan, which tried to recruit all hunters in south korea, and bulgae, which only went after a small number of elite hunters despite being a large clan, wasn¡¯t good at all.


    bulgae had been likely to ignore the government¡¯s request to cooperate with the six-eyed turtle clan, but they actually agreed in the end?


    the most surprising one was han seha. both kwon yeongseung and han seha were young a-grade hunters, but they didn¡¯t really get along. the former was a celebrity hero who appeared in all kinds of television shows and movies, while the latter was a controversial hero with a difficult personality who never appeared on tv and threw fists whenever someone angered her.


    han seha hated kwon yeongseung and called him a parasitic man with a beautiful appearance. kwon yeongseung shared the same feelings and called her a rabid dog. to think that han seha agreed to cooperate... had she lost her mind?


    ¡°did hunter han seha really say that she would cooperate? you might¡¯ve misunderstood.¡±


    ¡°really?¡±no?vel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.


    ¡°well, considering her personality...¡±


    ¡°hunter han seha is a nice person.¡±


    ¡°...!??!?¡±


    kwon yeongseung started to worry. had choi yeonseung misunderstood what she had said or had he been deceived by her? or perhaps the south korean government had somehow tricked him in order to attract another a-grade hunter...


    ¡®i wonder if han seha will get angry and leave if she finds out she was used to trick choi yeonseung.¡¯


    ***


    ¡°it¡¯s been a while. this time, i¡¯ve taken a really good look at the new dragon artifact product, and i have to say... i¡¯m really impressed by its quality. no wonder it broke the market.¡±


    ¡°...thank you?¡±


    han seha waited with a somewhat hesitant expression, but she said what she had planned to say as soon as she saw choi yeonseung. then, she looked at kwon yeongseung and asked with a smile, ¡°what are you?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    kwon yeongseung regretted not having started the argument first. as it stood, the one who started it had an advantage.


    ¡°b... bah. you are still childish.¡±


    ¡°childish is the one who can¡¯t speak in front of people and insults them in interviews.¡±


    ¡°i wasn¡¯t insulting you. i just compared us to lighten up the mood...¡±


    ¡°so you¡¯re going to twist the facts and deny having done anything wrong? wow. isn¡¯t this amazing? you should try getting into politics.¡±


    ¡°t... this really...¡±


    kwon yeongseung¡¯s face turned slightly pale.


    ***


    in reality, just because choi yeonseung gathered a large group of hunters didn¡¯t mean he had prepared incredibly complex coordination tactics. it would¡¯ve been hard to properly employ them.


    collect tankers, ranged damage dealers and healers. that formation was enough to be able to move quickly. some might¡¯ve thought that there wasn¡¯t any need to practice such a simple formation, but that wasn¡¯t true. if chaos erupted and tens, or even hundreds, of people panicked, all with different abilities, it would be difficult for anyone to grasp the situation.


    there was a reason why hunters, regardless of the country, didn¡¯t operate like this... it was because hunters were used to only relying on themselves!


    ¡°healers, gather in the rear!¡±


    ¡°tankers, to the front! cast the skill!¡±


    ¡°is that the icarus clan?¡±


    ¡°wow. look at their equipment. it has a different color than our equipment.¡±


    ¡°is it a good artifact if it has a good color?¡±


    ¡°but when it comes to icarus, they¡¯re going to use their artifacts and items as much as they want, right? we have insurance even for potions.¡±


    even among b-grade hunters, reputation varied greatly. icarus was a famous clan in the united states that received a lot of support. thus, naturally, hunters from small clans were captivated by the icarus hunters, even though they were also b-grade. some were seriously trying to reach a-grade, while others were considering retirement while calculating the pension ensured by their b-grade.


    ¡°i want to ask them what skills they use. can i talk to them?¡±


    ¡°hey. you know how bad those guys are, especially since they¡¯re from abroad.¡±


    ¡°but we¡¯re training together, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s because an a-grade hunter told them to do it, so they had no choice. we shouldn¡¯t bother them. it¡¯ll be a nuisance if we get into a fight for nothing.¡±


    however, it was a hunter from icarus who talked to them first. smallwood sneaked over and said, ¡°friends. do you know anything about martial arts?¡±


    ¡°......???¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°is my korean bad? uh. do u noe...¡±


    ¡°no, your korean isn¡¯t bad. i understand it. but martial arts?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t korean hunters learn a lot of martial arts?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the korean hunters were stunned.


    ¡°we¡¯ve learnt magic as well...¡±


    ¡°what martial arts? it¡¯s true that it has recently resurged a bit, but how long has it been since it stopped being popular?¡±


    ¡°ah. then these friends don¡¯t care much about tradition among koreans?¡±


    ¡°...doesn¡¯t he sound a bit crazy?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    the korean hunters murmured as they stared at smallwood. something seemed a bit weird...


    ***


    it was said that b-grade hunters only needed to practice positioning, but a-grade hunters were different. their numbers were so small that they had no issues in coordinating their skills with each other.


    ¡°i will immobilize the monster in front and the two of you will deal damage. get to know each other¡¯s skills and don¡¯t disrupt each other.¡±


    ¡°can¡¯t hunter kwon yeongseung immobilize the monster and you deal the damage?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not a tanker...!¡±


    ¡°really? i didn¡¯t know.¡±


    choi yeonseung was listening to the two hunters arguing when he suddenly felt a skill awakening. it was future sight, the skill given by the goddess..


    ¡®what?¡¯


    he was wondering if the monster wave was going to happen at a later time, but that wasn¡¯t the case. according to the vision, the monster wave was indeed happening in the present. however, there was one difference...


    ¡®...i don¡¯t think this is south korea...¡¯

 Chapter 216

    chapter 216


    that in itself wasn¡¯t strange. it was actually quite rare to perfectly predict where a monster wave would appear. the predictions were bound to be inaccurate to some extent...


    ¡®something is strange.¡¯


    the initial vision disappeared, and another one appeared. once again, it was a vision of the monster wave, but yet again, it wasn¡¯t in south korea.


    -will it occur in two places?


    -two places?


    -after being linked by the gate, the earth and the abyss have been getting closer and closer to each other. unsurprisingly, earth will be more affected the closer it gets to the abyss. if the monster wave happens simultaneously in two places not far from each other...


    -......!


    choi yeonseung suppressed a shudder at the goddess¡¯ words. come to think of it, it was actually plausible. if a monster wave occurred in two places, it was natural to have inaccurate predictions. those making the predictions would naturally assume that it would happen in one place.


    ¡®where are they coming from? we have to be prepared to prevent damage.¡¯


    however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t have to worry about it because the report came in right away.


    ¡°monsters came out?¡±


    ¡°what? where? is it quiet? is it a small wave?¡±


    ¡°no. it¡¯s not even here. it¡¯s in china.¡±


    ¡°ah...¡±


    sighs erupted among the hunters. of course, it was best if monsters didn¡¯t appear at all. however, if monsters were going to emerge, then it was best if they were nearby. if the monster wave had been in south korea, then it would¡¯ve been easier to split the rewards, whether it was cores or items. naturally, everything would¡¯ve been easier, since it was their country.


    however, since it was confirmed that the monster wave had appeared in china, they had to enter the country, move to where the wave was, and kill monsters while talking to chinese officials who couldn¡¯t speak a word of korean...


    ¡°will those bastards give us proper compensation?¡±


    ¡°i''ve heard they were fair during the last monster wave.¡±


    ¡°how can you believe that? it¡¯s most likely a fake rumor they made up.¡±


    as the hunters were talking, waves started soaring frantically from the distant sea. all hunters could feel a wave of magic power on their skin.


    ¡°monsters! prepare for battle!¡±


    the first monster emerged from the bottom of the sea, creating huge waves.


    ***


    the tortoise head mountain was an a-grade monster. both south korea and china had encountered this monster multiple times, and ironically enough, neither of them had managed to eradicate it. after fierce fighting, it would always flee to the sea when it was at a disadvantage. in the end, it was the household members of the evil god constellations occupying china and north korea that managed to defeat it.


    the atmosphere changed instantly when the monster reappeared.


    ¡°is that the tortoise head mountain?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s so huge...¡±


    the tortoise head mountain was an extremely large turtle. it wasn¡¯t particularly fast or cunning, but its sheer size alone raised its rank to a-grade. this monster appeared from the sea with a huge island on its back. to make matters worse, that island was full of other monsters raised by the tortoise head mountain.


    ¡°what about the people on the boat?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s what they get for acting all smug on their boats.¡±


    the hunters murmured when they saw the slowly approaching tortoise head mountain in the distance. those waiting on the shore didn¡¯t care, but those who rented huge cruise ships and were in the sea were shocked by the sudden situation.


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t it have been more noisy if a monster wave appeared here?! how come it appeared so quietly?¡±


    ¡°the monster wave appeared in china, not here!¡±


    ¡°then what¡¯s up with that monster? did it come all the way here from china?¡±


    ¡°perhaps so...¡±


    ¡°stop chattering and get ready to fight!¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t talk nonsense! that monster is immune to most attacks!¡±


    some of the hunters were familiar with the tortoise head mountain and weren¡¯t happy at all that they had to deal with it.


    ¡°first of all, why isn¡¯t the tortoise head mountain considered s-grade? did people deem it as an a-grade monster just because it hasn¡¯t killed that many people?!¡±


    he hadn¡¯t known choi yeonseung would help him like this. the other hunters in the sea waved their hands in dismay.


    ¡°no! i think i¡¯ll be fine!¡±


    ¡°why are you still doing this here?¡±


    choi yeonseung once again grabbed a hunter and threw him. the man-eating birds were still targeting them so he had to throw them as fast as possible. of course, it wasn¡¯t the most comfortable thing for the hunters, but they had to suck it up. choi yeonseung picked up the drowning hunters one by one while simultaneously shooting the man-eating birds the instant he saw them. he then looked away.


    ¡®it¡¯s really big.¡¯


    he had dealt with big monsters like that in the abyss many times, but he had never seen one this big on earth.


    ¡°let¡¯s start the attack! go all out!¡± shouted one of the overseas hunters. however, as soon as he uttered his sentence, han seha quickly grabbed him by the collar.


    ¡°can¡¯t you see there¡¯s a person over there?!?¡±


    ¡°n-no. i said that because hunter choi yeonseung is an a-grade hunter, so he could instantly move out of the way if we attacked! don¡¯t misunderstand!¡±


    ¡°what is there to misunderstand? do you wanna be thrown all over the place like those hunters were?¡±


    ¡°hunter han seha, stop!¡±


    several overseas hunters tried to intervene, but it wasn¡¯t easy to stop an a-grade hunter. fortunately for them, choi yeonseung had finished rescuing the hunters and had just returned from the sea. there were many hunters present, so there was no need for him to go all out against the tortoise head mountain.


    ¡°he got out! attack!¡±


    the hunters positioned on the shoreline launched their attacks. their rating varied greatly, but given the sheer number of hunters, the combined attacks became a powerful force. a tremendous magical storm cut through the air and poured down on the tortoise head mountain.


    baaaaaaang!


    ¡®it¡¯s a spectacular sight.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was honestly impressed. the hunters had definitely improved, both individually and as a generation. throughout the years, hunters had become more skilled in magic and in using artifacts, and they had found new ways to become stronger overall.


    ¡®everything has improved except the use of martial arts.¡¯


    it was a bit ridiculous that only martial arts were excluded, but it didn¡¯t matter. at the very least, more people were interested in martial arts as of late. he was glad that, lately, more and more people came to him to receive lessons in martial arts.


    -but isn¡¯t their level still low?


    choi yeonseung ignored the goddess¡¯ words.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    the tortoise head mountain had received quite the beating and cried out as it twisted its body. the individual attacks weren¡¯t particularly strong, but as long as all of them hit at once, it clearly had to be painful. the high-ranking hunters who had been waiting began moving slowly in order to close the distance.


    -we ought to focus on the attack rather than how to divide the profit later.


    -i know!


    the profit one would gain from a-grade monsters like the tortoise head mountain was astronomical. for that reason, people said that this monster should be classified as an s-grade monster... when it came to dividing up the loot from such a monster, the hunter who inflicted the most damage had the most say in it.


    ¡°uh, shouldn¡¯t we move as well? i think we need to get a bit closer...¡±


    ¡°hmm... no. let¡¯s wait a bit longer.¡±


    ¡°huh? are you serious?¡± kwon yeongseung asked in a bewildered voice. based on choi yeonseung¡¯s personality, he thought he would charge in at once.


    han seha reacted fiercely.


    ¡°hey. he told us to wait.¡±


    ¡°i was just asking...!¡±


    ¡°i think it¡¯s not dead yet, so i¡¯m not sure we need to approach it now. if we do approach it and it goes on a rampage, we¡¯ll have to retreat.¡±


    choi yeonseung read the situation clearly. even though the monster had received a lot of damage, it was still alive. as some of the hunters tried to approach it, the tortoise head mountain started to create waves again.


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the hunters¡¯ formation collapsed in an instant and the magic they had prepared when moving on the sea was also broken. choi yeonseung clicked his tongue when he saw that the hunters were drowning once again.


    ¡°i have to throw them again.¡±


    ¡°you should charge them a fee after this is over!¡±

 Chapter 217

    chapter 217


    it wasn¡¯t until choi yeonseung saved the hunters a second time by flinging them away that they became more cautious. the hunters realized that the tortoise head mountain was still dangerous, even on the brink of death. it might¡¯ve gotten slow and tired, but it was nonetheless difficult to handle!


    ¡°i think we should attack with caution.¡±


    ¡°yeah, it might get ugly if we rush in like that.¡±


    even the top hunters were reluctant to charge at the monster. it was quite discouraging to coordinate an effective attack only to collapse because of the waves caused by the tortoise head mountain. it was enough to just keep launching attacks from a safe distance, even if it took a day or two. all they had to do was be persistent.


    at that moment, choi yeonseung stepped forward.


    ***


    ¡°groan...¡±


    kwon yeongseung looked as if he wasn¡¯t sure whether he was making the right decisions in this operation, even though he was sticking close to choi yeonseung.


    ¡®isn¡¯t this reckless?¡¯


    he heard that a-grade hunters from other countries had also given up on approaching the monster and were only attacking from a distance. after all, the defense and physical strength of the tortoise head mountain were tremendous. however, choi yeonseung managed to persuade kwon yeongseung to approach it right now.


    -i think i can kill it. let¡¯s go in.


    -...huh? can you actually do it?


    -i¡¯ve never spoken nonsense, right? it was the same during the abyss gate raid.


    choi yeonseung casually brought up that incident where he saved the day. if he thought this was the right call, kwon yeongseung had nothing else to say. unlike kwon yeongseung, han seha was dying to go.


    -i want to go!


    -no. it¡¯s a dangerous place.


    -...????


    -i¡¯m joking, so don¡¯t look at me like that. i said that because i think your skills are more suitable than han seha¡¯s.


    -kuoooh...!!!


    han seha stared at kwon yeongseung as if to kill him, but in fact, kwon yeongseung thought it was unfair of choi yeonseung to not let her join. he should¡¯ve let her go if she wanted to...


    ¡°you fly well.¡±


    ¡°thank you.¡±


    kwon yeongseung was embarrassed by choi yeonseung¡¯s praise. he had been complimented before by many people, but after all, the impact of compliments varied based on who said them. it was rare to receive a compliment from a fellow a-grade hunter. whenever a-grade hunters crossed paths with each other, it was usually as competitors.


    ¡°the clan has a flying magic artifact called the flying car, which is a bit expensive. initially, flight magic wasn''t popular, but the story of the dungeon where this item came from is amazing. what happened was...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry but i don¡¯t really care about that.¡±


    ¡°yep...¡±


    ¡°it¡¯ll be hard to use space magic against the tortoise head mountain, right?¡±


    ¡°i guess, since it¡¯s so big...¡±


    kwon yeongseung¡¯s a-grade rank was recognized for his ability to handle very difficult space magic. that kind of magic was definitely powerful, and it involved skills such as teleportation and space cutting. however, it wasn¡¯t that effective against huge monsters like the tortoise head mountain.


    no matter how much damage output space magic had, it would¡¯ve been hard for him to injure the monster. in that situation, elemental magic, such as fire, ice, or lightning, was a better choice.


    ¡°don¡¯t worry. i wasn¡¯t asking you to kill it... all you have to do is aim at its vital point and confuse it.¡±


    ¡°does the tortoise head mountain have a vital point?¡±


    ¡°there is a nucleus at the bottom of the island that the monster carries. the area around it is the vital point. of course, if you only hit it a few times, it won¡¯t die, but it¡¯s going to be really pissed off.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    kwon yeongseung was surprised by choi yeonseung''s strategy. before this, they hadn¡¯t had much information about this monster because they had never managed to kill it. to think that choi yeonseung managed to discover its weakness after only seeing it for a few times...


    ¡®is this the power of martial arts??¡¯


    ¡°how did south korea produce such a hunter?¡±


    the chinese hunters murmured with shocked expressions.


    the overseas hunters and the chinese hunters reacted differently. the overseas hunters were surprised and said things like ¡®wow, korean hunters are amazing and have such powerful abilities...¡¯ meanwhile, the chinese hunters indignantly said, ¡®that¡¯s ridiculous! how could this happen?!¡¯ they were almost in a state of shock.


    to put it simply, hunters from south korea, china, and japan, were quite proud.


    -still, our hunters are better than hunters from other countries!


    the chinese hunters always boasted about the sheer number of hunters that china had, thinking that no other countries would dare challenge them.


    the japanese hunters always boasted about their rich history and the way they organized their clans, thinking that they were above other countries.


    as far as the korean hunters were concerned, they thought they had significantly more experience in killing monsters than any other countries, thus making them better.


    in any case, choi yeonseung¡¯s attack hurt the chinese hunters¡¯ pride. it had already been shocking for them when they found out that a martial artist from another country reached a-grade, but never in a million years would they have thought that choi yeonseung would be this powerful.


    all a-grade hunters were more or less unique, so they constantly compared their skills and competed with each other. however, with that much power, it was certain that choi yeonseung would never fall behind. it wouldn¡¯t have been surprising if he was in the top ranks thanks to that power.


    ¡°didn¡¯t people say that martial arts are very limited in terms of power?¡±


    ¡°maybe those who have learnt martial arts did something wrong?¡±


    there were many chinese hunters who had learned martial arts or who were at least interested in them. what they witnessed here was a violation of what they considered to be common sense. it was certainly a tough pill to swallow. if that was the true potential of martial arts, they would¡¯ve kept learning them instead of switching to magic.


    ¡°ma jun. monsters are rapidly emerging in china and we¡¯re receiving requests to return.¡±


    ¡°wait a minute. it¡¯s hard to move right now because of the tortoise head mountain.¡±


    ¡°those at the top are clamoring for us to immediately return home by any means necessary... it¡¯s a direct order from the committee.¡±


    the party central hunter committee managed the hunters. they were a source of heart-wrenching fear even for the greatest a-grade hunters, but ma jun shook his head nonetheless.


    ¡°tell them we can¡¯t return now.¡±


    ¡°...i understand!¡±


    he said it was difficult to move due to the tortoise head mountain, but in fact, it would¡¯ve been possible for an a-grade hunter to find a way to return in that situation. there were multiple things they could¡¯ve done, such as mobilizing planes right away.


    however, ma jun just wanted to see it. how far could this guy have gotten with martial arts? this monster wave somehow became a demonstration of how powerful martial arts actually were.


    ***


    choi yeonseung¡¯s strategy was simple. the tortoise head mountain became much weaker when it was out of the water. its regeneration, defense, and physical strength were significantly weaker outside of water. thus, if he beat up the monster and forced it to go on shore, the thousands of hunters waiting there would be able to attack in an instant and destroy it.


    he held his stance, gathered his internal energy, and struck.


    origin of the universe fist!


    if the power created by internal energy compressed to the limit was like a spear that pierced through everything, then viciously striking with the power of internal energy was like a hammer that could shatter anything. with just a single hit, choi yeonseung could knock back opponents thousands of times heavier than him.


    if he hadn¡¯t been able to use his power of existence and his internal energy hadn¡¯t been infinite, it would¡¯ve been quite difficult even for him to defeat a monster like that.


    ¡®my body is approaching its limit.¡¯


    if it hadn¡¯t been for the overpowered skills that preserved his body, he might not have been able to keep up the powerful continuous strikes.


    thump!


    as the tortoise head mountain crawled up to the shore, choi yeonseung shouted loudly, "it¡¯s done. finish it!¡±


    ¡°...h-hunter choi yeonseung. i think it¡¯s already dead, but...¡± the nearest hunter spoke cautiously. he had just witnessed choi yeonseung¡¯s impressive display of power, so there was no way he would speak arrogantly to him


    he joined his palms together and bowed in front of him. it was indeed very polite for a hunter!


    [the power of existence has increased!]


    [thanks to the strong faith in martial arts, faith in you has increased!]


    [you have obtained the domain of martial arts!]

 Chapter 218

    chapter 218


    [domain of martial arts]


    [rank: ?]


    [there is a domain of martial arts. faith in martial arts becomes your strength.]


    ¡®!¡¯


    choi yeonseung realized what kind of power he had just received. it was quite simple. just as the goddess of sloth had the domain of sloth, choi yeonseung had gained the newly created domain of martial arts. a domain was a constellation¡¯s source of power. the larger the domain, the stronger the constellation became.


    ¡®by the way... why exactly did i get the domain of martial arts?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. of course, given his proficiency in martial arts, receiving the domain wasn¡¯t surprising. even when choi yeonseung had just become a constellation, he had defeated many many constellations in hand-to-hand combat just by relying on his martial arts techniques.


    however, if skill was the condition of receiving the domain, shouldn¡¯t he have gained the domain of martial arts right after he became a constellation?


    -successor, the mere act of mastering martial arts was meaningless when it came to this domain.


    -what do you mean?


    -this is something that most constellations are mistaken about as well... constellations can¡¯t exist without mortals. they are born because mortals exist.


    the manipulator of dreams and desires, the constellation of the nightmare demons, was created through the power and faith sent by the nightmare demons. the goddess of defeat and sloth was created by the defeat and laziness experienced by many mortals in the abyss.


    -martial arts are... they are what they are...


    -...can you just tell me the truth?


    -it seems that there was so little attention paid to martial arts that they were never made into a domain...


    the goddess¡¯ words made choi yeonseung¡¯s heart ache, precisely because they were true.


    he had been wandering around the abyss for so long, yet he had never encountered enemies that used martial arts. it was to the point where he wondered, ¡®why did someone even bother writing books about martial arts if there is no one using the skill?¡¯


    in the abyss, martial arts were an unpopular skill.


    -successor, there is no need to feel bad. if martial arts had been popular in the abyss, it would¡¯ve been difficult for you to gain a domain.


    -it saddens me, but at the same time i can¡¯t deny what you¡¯re saying.


    because martial arts were unpopular in the abyss, choi yeonseung managed to monopolize the area alone. it was a bittersweet achievement.


    ¡®was this fight that impressive?¡¯


    no matter how much the hunters on the shore were impressed, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t think he would get a domain. however, he failed to take into consideration one thing, and that was technology. the difference between modern-day technology and that from 30 years ago was enormous. this difference was further highlighted by the fact that the entire fight was being broadcasted on live television.


    broadcasting the fight all around the world wasn¡¯t even that impressive. even the hunters and random onlookers were broadcasting the whole thing using their own personal accounts. even though raids were quite common, and for many people not that interesting, monster waves were special events. even those who weren¡¯t interested in hunter-related things would watch the monster waves attentively.


    towards the end of the fight, the spectators were shocked by choi yeonseung¡¯s monstrous display of power as he forcefully pushed the monster towards the shore. with this fight, people got to see the true potential of martial arts!


    [the ¡®monk pursuing glory¡¯ is amazed by your ability and power.]


    [the ¡®arrogant light elf¡¯ says it wasn¡¯t aesthetically perfect, but it was overall pretty good.]


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ is praising you. he is looking forward to seeing your performance when dealing with the evil god constellations in the future.]


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ is praising you while gritting her teeth.]


    ¡®what is my rank now?¡¯


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t help being surprised after checking his ranking. he was currently ranked 61st. choi yeonseung, who wasn¡¯t even among the constellations aiming to take over earth, rose close to the top 60.


    after gaining the domain of martial arts, his power of existence had reached a level that couldn¡¯t be ignored. he was still an intermediate constellation, but he had gotten powerful enough that nobody could disregard him anymore. any constellation of his caliber had some kind of secret weapon, one that could severely injure any opponent. a single constellation battle could result in one of them getting seriously injured, so they couldn¡¯t lower their guard.


    -successor, i¡¯m worried that you have become stronger too quickly.


    the goddess of sloth spoke in a worried voice.


    the abyss was a dangerous and unpredictable place, but there were some rules. one of them dictated that all the good guys joined forces and fought together. of course, choi yeonseung¡¯s ranking wasn¡¯t threatening yet. it was just that he had improved too fast. even some constellations would have thought that he had evolved way too fast for how long he had been on earth. if that happened, many constellations would try to keep him in check...


    -in any case, i¡¯m prepared.


    choi yeonseung answered firmly.he couldn¡¯t achieve his goal if he acted cautiously out of fear of being kept in check by other constellations. just as others were leading the way for him, he had to move forward, even if it meant taking risks!


    kwon yeongseung¡¯s expression became stern.


    ¡°it¡¯s not a threat. that¡¯s how desperate we are.¡±


    despite the fact that kwon yeongseung looked like he wanted to kill them, the chinese hunters stood their ground. no matter how terrifying an a-grade hunter was, they weren¡¯t as terrifying as the party central hunter committee. they could even find the second cousin of someone¡¯s in-law parents and make them disappear. the chinese hunters had to carry out their orders if they didn¡¯t want to see their family members disappear...


    ¡°i won¡¯t sacrifice my clanmates, even if my own life is at stake.¡±


    ¡°what does that even mean? it¡¯s not dangerous this time...¡±


    ¡°why are you so nervous?¡±


    choi yeonseung checked the tortoise head mountain¡¯s corpse and gave some instructions. then, he approached the chinese hunters when he saw them argue with kwon yeongseung. having to face one a-grade hunter was already nerve-racking, but now that choi yeonseung joined them as well, the chinese hunters turned pale.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. this is an official request.¡±


    ¡°just because you use the word ¡®official¡¯ doesn¡¯t mean your bullshit request is acceptable. can i attack you if i do it ¡®officially¡¯?¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s words, the hunters flinched and backed away. kwon yeongseung was flustered and stopped him.


    ¡°you can¡¯t use force here!!¡±


    it was said that hunters lived as they pleased, without thinking, but at one point, there had to be a line. they couldn¡¯t make a scene when so many eyes were set on them. it would¡¯ve become a nuisance later on.


    ¡°why did you think i was going to punch them? i didn¡¯t intend to do that at all...¡±


    ¡°ah... is that so?¡±


    kwon yeongseung became slightly embarrassed. he was sure that choi yeonseung was going to fight the chinese hunters.


    ¡°hunter kwon yeongseung doesn¡¯t want to go, so stop insisting and leave.¡±


    ¡°our request is for hunter kwon yeongseung. unless you want to volunteer to take his place...¡±


    ¡°yes. i¡¯ll go instead.¡±


    ¡°...huh???¡±


    the chinese hunter who was explaining the situation was shocked by the unexpected answer.


    unlike kwon yeongseung, who was an a-grade hunter but worked in south korea and had many weaknesses to exploit, choi yeonseung was active in the united states and had few weaknesses. he wasn¡¯t easily flattered because he didn¡¯t work in the entertainment industry and didn¡¯t make movies. moreover, he ran a business in the united states...


    because of that, they didn¡¯t even bother to ask him in the first place, but surprisingly, he volunteered.


    ¡°a-are you serious?¡±


    the chinese hunters spoke in voices mixed with anticipation, shock, and excitement.


    kwon yeongseung whispered in an embarrassed manner, ¡°h-hunter choi yeonseung. you know it¡¯s dangerous to go to china under these circumstances!¡±


    ¡°i know, calm down.¡±


    choi yeonseung reassured kwon yeongseung. there was a certain saying among the hunters.


    -don¡¯t go to china.


    -even if it¡¯s normal, don¡¯t go to china in dangerous situations.


    -in any case, don¡¯t go, just don¡¯t go!


    when the situation wasn¡¯t urgent, the chinese government handled things while paying attention to other countries, but when it was urgent, they couldn¡¯t afford to do that. they could abuse their power in every conceivable way.


    ¡°then why...?¡±


    ¡°ah. i¡¯ve learnt something from gyeongryong hyung and i think i can use it as a bargaining chip.¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    choi yeonseung approached the chinese hunters, took out a map, pointed his finger and said, ¡°ask the people in power if i can get this part, from here to here.¡±


    ¡°no... hunter choi yeonseung...¡±


    the chinese hunters looked at choi yeonseung like he was a madman.

 Chapter 219

    chapter 219


    ¡°so i can¡¯t have it?¡±


    ¡°of course not!¡±


    the chinese hunters seemed bewildered by choi yeonseung¡¯s request. conceding chinese land to a foreign hunter... what nonsense was this? if they reported such a thing to their superiors, they would be told something like ¡®do you have a death wish?¡¯


    ¡°really? i thought it would be a reasonable amount of land. aren¡¯t there many foreign companies doing business in china?¡±


    so far, dragon industry and other foreign companies had come to china and rented land to build factories, and the chinese government was more than happy with that. the country was overflowing with people, and foreign companies meant that more chinese people could find a job.


    ¡°that¡¯s not on the same scale as your request!¡±


    what choi yeonseung wanted was very different from purchasing land for factories. first of all, it was too big. the piece of land he was asking for was almost as big as a small island. nobody had the slightest idea why he wanted to acquire that much land.


    ¡°if you want to build a factory, you have to buy land that is suitable for that. you can¡¯t just sweep an entire area of land and build it like that. what about the people living there?¡±


    ¡°oh, you guys actually care about them? i thought the party would just kick them out.¡±


    ¡°of course, we can kick them out if needed...¡±


    the chinese hunter was elbowed by his colleague and changed what he was saying.


    ¡°...there is no such thing. we wouldn¡¯t do something as stupid as that.¡±


    ¡°i see. i also wouldn¡¯t kick them out.¡±


    ¡°...huh? if you want to acquire the land and use it, don¡¯t you have to expel those living there?¡±


    ¡°no. what i mean is that if you just give me the authority, i¡¯ll manage the place instead of the chinese government.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    hearing that, the chinese hunters got so dizzy for a moment that they almost fell backwards. this made even less sense than before. it was utterly crazy. in africa and south america, there were a few new republics established by hunter clans that had acquired land there, but they never thought that someone would try to do that with china!


    ¡°i¡¯m afraid that¡¯s not possible!¡±


    ¡°really? then it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    choi yeonseung shrugged regretfully and left together with kwon yeongseung. it took a few moments for the chinese hunters to realize what had happened as the negotiations broke up and the korean hunters calmly left the scene.


    ¡°......?!¡±


    ***


    ¡°aha. so that¡¯s what it was.¡±


    kwon yeongseung nodded in understanding. in negotiations, even the most persistent person would give up on their demands if the conditions were utterly absurd.


    ¡°i¡¯m sure that if you offer conditions like that, even the most stubborn hunters will give up. i was wondering why you would make such a request to them.¡±


    ¡°huh? i was being serious with that request.¡±0v3l.bin.


    ¡°...huh?¡±


    kwon yeongseung looked baffled when he heard choi yeonseung¡¯s words.


    ¡°what would you have used the land for if you had actually received it?¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t i mention that? i was going to build a factory.¡±


    ¡°in that case, why don¡¯t you just buy the land? you can still do that...¡±


    ¡°if i buy the land, the chinese government will interfere, and i don¡¯t like that. that¡¯s why i demanded the land like that.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    it was hard to believe that he issued such ridiculous conditions because of that.


    no...


    ¡®is it because he had nothing to lose?¡¯


    when thinking about it, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t have anything to lose when it came to the negotiations. even now, he wasn¡¯t fazed at all by the fact that the deal didn¡¯t go through. moreover, when the chinese hunters denied his conditions, he didn¡¯t seem upset in the slightest. his reaction was totally nonchalant.


    kwon yeongseung suddenly became curious and asked, ¡°by the way, what type of factory were you going to build?¡±


    ¡°umm. i don¡¯t have any concrete plans yet. i was just thinking about creating a factory operated by the undead.¡±


    hunters from different countries pointlessly argued about how their countries would have handled the situation. one of them was irritated by the conversation and angrily interrupted, ¡°what does that matter now? tell me what the situation is in japan!¡±


    ¡°how can i tell you if i don¡¯t know?¡±


    ¡°four a-grade monsters... honestly, i think four is just ridiculous. i would¡¯ve considered going there if there were three, but four...¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s with that bullshit? you wouldn¡¯t have gone even if only one a-grade monster had appeared.¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t this monster wave too dangerous? china also said that the situation is abnormal.¡±


    information was somehow leaking from japan, but china was actively blocking it. after all, they were known for their ability to control information. as such, the overseas hunters couldn¡¯t help feeling anxious. how many monsters actually were in china?


    ¡°the monster wave was divided, right? if there are four a-grade monsters on the japanese side, doesn¡¯t that mean that there are none on the chinese side?¡±


    ¡°no. in these exceptional circumstances, we have to prepare for the worst. let¡¯s assume there are one or two in china as well.¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t that crazy? wouldn¡¯t that mean there are five or six a-grade monsters in east asia?¡±


    ¡°huh, so i suppose it¡¯s the end of the world.¡±


    hunters were murmuring everywhere. the atmosphere was beyond chaotic. some of the quick-witted hunters tried to fly home as quickly as possible after the monster wave. once everything became chaotic like this, the most important thing was to get out.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, i request a request from the south korean government. if possible, please don¡¯t leave south korea...¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t worry, i¡¯m not going back to the united states under these circumstances.¡±


    the people around him were seemingly relieved as they heard his response. they would¡¯ve been significantly less powerful without him. moreover, besides the fact that choi yeonseung was an a-grade hunter, he had also brought several hunters with him. if he left, those hunters would probably leave with him.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    as they were talking about which place to defend in south korea, a hunter he had never seen before called out to him.


    ¡°i have something to tell you. can we talk privately?¡±


    ¡°wait. who is that...¡±


    ¡°no. it¡¯s fine.¡±


    choi yeonseung stopped the hunters and followed the mysterious hunter.


    ¡°now, speak.¡±


    there was only one reason why choi yeonseung followed him. it was because the unknown hunter belonged to the household of the warrior stained with madness and blood.


    ¡®is he bold?¡¯


    there were thousands of hunters who would¡¯ve rushed to kill him had they known he was the household member of an evil god. however, he revealed himself so confidently that choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t help feeling puzzled. indeed, one might be tempted to commit suicide if they lived in the household of an evil god.


    ¡°my name is hong gildong.¡±


    ¡°that pseudonym is just... is this a joke?¡± choi yeonseung asked in a dumbfounded manner.


    ¡°i-isn¡¯t it a good name? i¡¯ve heard it¡¯s the most commonly used name in south korea...¡± the other person replied in a confused voice.


    ¡°...forget it. just say what you wanted to say. what do you want?¡±


    ¡°i was sent by the warrior stained with madness and blood.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    choi yeonseung was even more flustered when the mysterious hunter just blatantly revealed his identity. wasn¡¯t assassination his goal?


    ¡°did you come here because you wanted to fight me one on one?¡±


    ¡°no! what are you saying... it¡¯s quite the opposite actually. my master wants to form a temporary alliance with the undefeated incarnation of training.¡±


    hong gildong¡¯s words completely took choi yeonseung by surprise.


    there was a reason why evil god constellations only played with evil god constellations and good god constellations only played with good god constellations. it was because they hated each other and didn¡¯t trust each other. therefore, the berserker constellation was supposed to hate choi yeonseung and not trust him.


    ¡®he lost a lot because of the constellation battle and the abyss raid, and he wants to unite? isn¡¯t he being too obvious with this trap?¡¯


    ¡°i understand your confusion. our masters are very different. but after careful consideration, my master has concluded that your master is someone he can cooperate with.¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    choi yeonseung suddenly felt bad. was that an insult?

 Chapter 220

    chapter 220


    even though choi yeonseung looked displeased, hong gildong was looking at him with a proud expression. he seemed to think that this alliance would make choi yeonseung very happy.


    -you can¡¯t lose!


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is telling you to be patient!]


    -i have no intention of losing.


    choi yeonseung found the whole thing ridiculous. he even wondered what the two constellations thought of him. of course, the situation was uncomfortable, but if he were to punch the hunter in front of him for what he said, hundreds of hunters would¡¯ve immediately intervened.


    ¡®it¡¯s an unpleasant offer, but also tempting.¡¯


    right now, choi yeonseung needed someone to team up with. because his power of existence had rapidly risen, even the good god constellations were likely to be apprehensive about choi yeonseung. it wasn¡¯t a permanent alliance like the alliance of small and medium-sized constellations, but he still needed someone to join forces with, at least temporarily.


    if cooperation was actually possible, the berserker constellation had the potential to be a surprisingly good partner.


    ¡®it¡¯s because no one would expect it.¡¯


    the berserker constellation was supposed to be the one to hate choi yeonseung the most, therefore no constellation would¡¯ve expected an alliance between the two of them. the problem was...


    ¡®can i trust it?¡¯


    -i don¡¯t think it¡¯s a lie. if he were to set up a trap, he wouldn¡¯t have done it so carelessly.


    -considering the goddess of balance, isn¡¯t it possible that even constellations can be amateurish and mess up big time?


    -that¡¯s an exception, so forget about it.


    the words of the goddess of sloth were firm.


    the goddess of balance was too... she was one of the clumsier constellations. normally, such a clumsy constellation would¡¯ve disappeared a long time ago. however, given that the goddess of balance was still holding out on earth, it seemed that her power and household were quite great.


    ¡®she¡¯s too clumsy.¡¯


    those harsh words would¡¯ve made the goddess of balance cry if she had heard them. however, they weren¡¯t wrong. in the eyes of the goddess of sloth, who retired after going through numerous battles in the abyss, the goddess of balance was too...


    she was too clumsy.


    -still, don¡¯t say that in front of the goddess of balance.


    within the alliance of small and medium-sized constellations, choi yeonseung was the only one who took care of the goddess of balance and thought about her.


    -do you like the goddess?


    -why is the conversation going there?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it is exciting!]


    -...don¡¯t forget that i can leave the alliance.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ apologizes profusely!]


    -at any rate, if you don¡¯t trust the constellation, then make him swear by his name. that should be enough.


    -will he make that oath?


    choi yeonseung was skeptical, but to his surprise, hong gildong spoke first.


    ¡°when i think back to what happened between our masters, i can understand why you¡¯re worried. however, you may rest assured. my master swore by his name. he most certainly won¡¯t betray you if we cooperate this time!¡±


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ swears by this true name!]


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t believe the other constellation was bending over like this. he was surprised.


    ¡®is he in trouble?¡¯


    -that could certainly be a possibility... moreover, the berserker constellation seems to have taken a liking to you.


    -why would he like me? unless he¡¯s a pervert who wants to get robbed...


    -...that¡¯s not what i meant. it¡¯s because you, successor, have been fighting like a madman.


    -ah. you meant that.


    choi yeonseung was now convinced. it actually made sense that other constellations would be interested in working with him after seeing him fight.


    hunters usually fought strategically, with damage dealers hitting and running, and tanks buying time, ultimately aiming for the monster¡¯s weak points.


    on the other hand, choi yeonseung employed an intense hand-to-hand combat style in which he attacked while also defending himself. it wasn¡¯t for nothing that, every time he was bored, the berserker constellation sent him messages in which he praised him for being exceptional.


    ¡°...yes. think what you will.¡±


    ¡°i must say that that¡¯s a truly crazy act, hunter choi yeonseung. my master has many worries these days.¡±


    ¡°is it because his territory is being taken away?¡±


    ¡°...that¡¯s also a reason for his worries, indeed.¡±


    hong gildong seemed shocked by choi yeonseung¡¯s words. after all, choi yeonseung was the reason the berserker constellation had lost two territories.


    ¡°however, the main problem has to deal with the humans on earth.¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    hong gildong piqued choi yeonseung¡¯s interest and proceeded to explain the situation thoroughly. originally, people who placed their fate in the berserker constellation were those very similar to him.


    fanatics, terrorists, serial killers...


    quite literally, only those who immersed themselves in madness and blood worshiped the berserker constellation. at first, the berserker constellation consumed the faith sent by those people because it was good, but there had been some problems recently.


    the quality of their faith had severely deteriorated.


    various governments imposed all kinds of restrictions, starting with a strict ban on the evil god constellations and their minions. after that, only desperate hunters tried to serve the berserker constellation.


    the situation wouldn¡¯t have been that bad if, among those who still served him, there had been anyone useful. however, a talented individual wouldn¡¯t have any reason to sign such a contract with the berserker constellation because many other constellations would accept them, or at the very least the government would offer them a lot of support.


    if he tried to empower those who lacked talent just because they were religious, those people would¡¯ve taken the first opportunity to betray them. those kinds of people usually betrayed their masters either out of boredom, or if their masters made a mistake. thus, the berserker constellation couldn¡¯t easily offer strength to such people.


    choi yeonseung looked bitter as he listened to hong gildong talk about the explicit hardships and the evil god constellations.


    ¡®what is he thinking about?¡¯


    it was ridiculous that the berserker constellation only chose crazy people and then worried that those crazy people might do crazy things.


    ¡°but, as expected from someone with such a glorious reputation, my master has come up with a solution to this problem.¡±


    ¡°oh. what is it?¡±


    could the solution have been to do less crazy stuff?


    ¡°why do other evil god constellations have a lot more household members and minions than my master?¡±


    ¡°...could it be because the realm of madness and blood isn¡¯t exactly great?¡±


    ¡°no way! no, hunter choi yeonseung. how could it be bad? this is the most primal feeling!¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    choi yeonseung was left speechless, but hong gildong continued to speak, thinking that choi yeonseung was convinced of his argument.


    ¡°it¡¯s actually because the other evil god constellations have taken over countries on earth and aren¡¯t backing down.¡±


    ¡°...that¡¯s quite the explanation...¡±


    ¡°when i heard about that, i figured it all out. the other evil god constellations are cowardly trying to subdue my master.¡±


    the evil god constellations who first arrived on earth launched a great invasion and conquered several countries on earth. it wouldn¡¯t have been wrong to call them the most prominent evil god constellations. given that whole countries were occupied, the amount of faith they received was enormous.


    as for the berserker constellation, he couldn¡¯t help being envious of them. thus, in accordance with his personality, his logic was replaced by madness. it could¡¯ve been because he had recently suffered a lot because he was being subdued by the other evil god constellations.


    ¡°that¡¯s actually plausible,¡± responded choi yeonseung with a monotone voice. he was starting to get tired.


    once again failing to read choi yeonseung¡¯s reactions properly, hong gildong nodded with a happy expression and said, ¡°i¡¯m glad you understand. even during this monster wave, the evil god constellations sent their household members to get involved. what do you think that means?¡±


    ¡®i guess they¡¯re trying to gain more power of existence by participating in the bet.¡¯


    ¡°isn¡¯t it possible that the good god constellations are keeping your master in check?¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, you are missing one thing.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°master has always been paying close attention to the good god constellations, so there¡¯s no way he¡¯s being subdued by them. he must¡¯ve been stabbed in the back by the evil god constellations.¡±


    choi yeonseung was overwhelmed by the logic of the berserker constellation. how could one think that maybe, just maybe, he made some mistakes? no, that was absurd. it was everyone else¡¯s fault! he hadn¡¯t thought that the berserker constellation was going to be such a rational constellation.


    -successor, not all abyss constellations are as rational and sincere as you.


    -...i think he¡¯s just not in his right mind.


    come to think of it, the berserker constellation was crazy from the get-go.

 Chapter 221

    chapter 221


    ¡°yes. now that i think about it, he must¡¯ve been stabbed in the back by the evil god constellations.¡±


    ¡°i knew you would agree.¡±


    the best way to deal with madmen was to give them a satisfactory response. hong gildong was in a very good mood thanks to choi yeonseung¡¯s positive responses.


    ¡°master will see you now.¡±


    ***


    very few mortals were able to come face-to-face with a constellation.no?vel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.


    of course, choi yeonseung had spoken to the goddess of balance face-to-face before, but she was a rather uncomplicated and humble constellation. allowing a mortal to see them face-to-face would normally hurt a constellation¡¯s pride. as great rulers of the abyss, they couldn¡¯t just casually interact with mortals like that.


    that was why choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t too surprised by the fact that the berserker constellation didn¡¯t actually show up in person. a roar could be heard in front of him. as if shrouded in mist, a dark red figure was swaying on the throne of the castle.


    any mortal would be scared to death, or even lose their mind, if they saw such an apparition. however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t even flinch.


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood'' thinks highly of you.]


    -ex¡öllent... ¡ö¡ö...


    the words of the berserker constellation were far from clear. every time he spoke, his voice reverberated throughout the city, and many of the words came out disjointed.


    -i have a tense relationship with your m¡öter, but i am willing to co¡öperate...


    ¡°how?¡± choi yeonseung asked what he was most curious about first. how did the berserker constellation actually plan to cooperate with his master?


    -that is a go¡öd question...


    the berserker constellation waved his hand. then a vision appeared in front of him with a red light.


    ¡°...?¡±


    it was a dense jungle. there were trees that had grown as tall as the mountains and bushes that could easily cover dozens of people. on top of that, there were huge monsters roaming around. choi yeonseung could tell that it was quite a dangerous place within the abyss.


    -th¡ö s is the realm of the ¡®demon of contract and order¡¯...


    the demon of contract and order was one of the famous evil god constellations that had invaded earth. this powerful constellation was occupying a part of africa!


    ¡®this isn¡¯t really the image that i expected.¡¯


    choi yeonseung had pictured the demon of contract and order to be similar to the number devil from the fairy tale. the devil had horns, was cold-hearted, wore a suit and glasses, and always held a contract in his hand.


    -oh. it¡¯s actually similar.


    -what? really?


    -earth might¡¯ve been indirectly affected by the abyss even before the two got linked by the gate...


    the reason why humans¡¯ depictions of angels and demons weren¡¯t much different from those that existed in the abyss was because they had been influenced by the abyss. despite learning what was essentially one of the biggest revelations about the religion of humans, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t too phased. he¡¯d come to a point where nothing surprised him.


    -in the case of the demon of contract and order, even if he gets a realm, its appearance won¡¯t change much.


    -so this is just the realm of the abyss itself?


    -of course not. it might look untouched at first glance, but it will still be affected by the rules of the constellation.


    in the vision, a monster looking like a dinosaur with a long neck approached the shore of a lake. before the monster drank the water, it pulled out a contract and barely managed to sign it with its front paws.


    ¡°......¡±


    -......


    both choi yeonseung and the goddess were left speechless by the scene. the monsters of the abyss were bound together by contract and order. they had to sign a contract in order to take a sip of water!


    ¡®is this the second area?¡¯


    the first area seemed better.


    -you s¡öw it... this is the ¡ö area.


    ¡°i really don¡¯t want to go in.¡±


    ¡°this bastard has the most terrible misunderstanding.¡±


    whenever choi yeonseung went abroad, he always heard terrible questions like ¡®korea? north? south?¡¯ now someone from the abyss was saying the same things...


    ¡°i see. then as far as my origin goes... how about a north korean defector?¡±


    ¡°...why don¡¯t you just say you are from south korea?¡±


    ¡°but i¡¯ve already prepared a story based on a north korean city.¡±


    ¡°fine, you¡¯re a north korean defector.¡±


    choi yeonseung was exasperated with the whole thing and gave up on it. he honestly didn¡¯t even think that hong gildong would get caught because of that.


    ¡°by the way, what race are you?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m a giant. my real name is surtgal.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re a giant?¡±


    ¡®he¡¯s able to have a surprisingly good conversation for a giant...¡¯


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. the giants of the abyss were known for their physical prowess and powerful combat abilities, but certainly not for their intelligence. if that was the case, how could this hong gildong, or rather, surtgal, talk like this?


    ¡°i won¡¯t take those guys with me. i can deal with the household members of the evil god constellations by myself.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s some mad confidence. very good!¡±


    ¡®i hate the way this bastard speaks...¡¯


    ¡°taking advantage of the monster wave to take them all out... the other constellations could never even dream of such an evil conspiracy.¡±


    the berserker constellation seized the opportunity to stab his enemies in the back. in return, choi yeonseung would receive help when attacking the second abyss area. it was a mutually beneficial deal as long as it worked out.


    ...of course, from the perspective of the evil god constellations, it would feel like being struck by a thunderbolt from a clear sky.


    ***


    one of the most surprising names choi yeonseung heard from the berserker constellation was huang guangao, an a-grade hunter from china.


    an a-grade hunter had a contract with an evil god constellation! that was even more astonishing when taking into account the fact that china¡¯s surveillance system was one of the best in the world. it was a system that distributed a large amount of cctv cameras throughout the country in order to control people using massive data and artificial intelligence. it was a system that made even the constellations marvel.


    it was hard to believe that he managed to sign a contract with the expert of twisted hallucinations, an evil god constellation, with such strict surveillance...


    ¡®it¡¯s amazing that he managed to go through with it, but what could he possibly be lacking?¡¯


    many people were under the impression that the power of a constellation alone was enough to make someone an a-grade hunter, but in reality, that was extremely rare.


    firstly, constellations didn¡¯t care about mortals who lacked skill. one had to have something, either great abilities or at least potential, in order to gain the attention of a constellation. however, in a paradoxical way, those who were talented weren¡¯t willing to sign a contract with evil god constellations. that was because, like choi yeonseung said, there was nothing they were lacking!


    ¡°considering your abilities, you can call out this huang guangao and kill him, right?¡±


    ¡°no... why are you interpreting it like that?¡±


    choi yeonseung found surtgal¡¯s expectations ridiculous. even though the former was an a-grade hunter, it would be a huge problem if he attacked an a-grade hunter from another country unprovoked. more than that, if that a-grade hunter was from china...


    ¡®i can do a good deed and still be grabbed by the collar for no reason.¡¯


    ¡°to top it all off, huang guangao is back in china now. it¡¯s a mess over there.¡±


    ¡°but if we leave him alone and he defeats a lot of monsters...!¡±


    ¡°that would definitely be a problem.¡±


    as they were talking, a few hunters approached them from behind. they were of different countries and genders, but they all had a similar vibe. there was a cold, sharp, blade-like atmosphere among them!


    ¡®they are the household members of the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ constellation.¡¯


    choi yeonseung recognized the other side¡¯s identity even without using the eyes of a constellation. surtgal also seemingly recognized it with a look of disgust on his face.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, you have to be careful.¡±


    ¡°you are the one who should be careful. i¡¯m a normal person,¡± choi yeonseung replied instantly.


    one member of the group had a very familiar face. it was han seha¡¯s twin sister, han sehui.

 Chapter 222

    chapter 222


    ¡®is she a household member of the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ constellation?¡¯


    choi yeonseung had forgotten that han seha was a household member of the hound of instinct and liberation, but after all, if they were b-grade or higher, it wasn¡¯t surprising that they were a household member of a constellation. a b-grade rank basically meant that the hunter was among the most talented hunters on earth.


    -it¡¯s a bit unfair to see that the constellations who came first made their household.


    choi yeonseung felt bitter. it didn¡¯t really matter if random people belonged to a household, but it was a different story when the people around him became household members of a constellation. of course, becoming a household member was such a rare opportunity that people considered it to be like winning the lottery. however, by becoming the household member of a constellation, one also became its pawn. moreover, if a constellation was cunning and malicious, its household members were bound to have a hard time.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ shouts vehemently that all the constellations of the abyss must be expelled from earth!]


    -uh... i wasn¡¯t thinking that, but it¡¯s actually not a bad idea.


    the goddess observed the conversation between the two constellations and thought of them as pitiful.


    ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, i have something to tell you.¡±


    ¡°yeah, i figured that¡¯s why you came here.¡±


    choi yeonseung sighed and pointed toward the table. the hunters of the angel household sat at the table one by one.


    ¡°tea? coffee?¡±


    ¡°coffee please.¡±no?vel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry. there¡¯s no coffee.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the hunters from each country drank the barley tea offered by choi yeonseung with very perplexed expressions.


    ¡®it¡¯s actually delicious?!¡¯


    they were quite surprised.


    slurp.


    for a moment, all that could be heard was the sound of the hunters drinking the tea intently. choi yeonseung asked with a yawn, ¡°when you come like this to see someone, shouldn¡¯t you begin by stating what your business is?¡±


    ¡°...i-i¡¯m sorry,¡± said smolchenkov, a russian hunter, clearing his throat slightly. he couldn¡¯t believe he forgot about his mission due to some tea. ¡°i¡¯ve heard some things about you from illaphael.¡±


    ¡°illaphael... ah.¡±


    illaphael. he was one of the most famous household members of the six-winged angel constellation. thanks to his vicious fighting abilities, he was highly respected among the angel¡¯s household members. he crossed paths with choi yeonseung during the paris raid and...


    ¡°i¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard some bad things. i will tell you in advance that illaphael¡¯s words are very exaggerated. there was a misunderstanding.¡±


    choi yeonseung tried to defend himself from the start. illaphael was too stern and arrogant to get along with choi yeonseung, so the latter led the hunters around him and conducted the raid in his own way. choi yeonseung saved his life, but angels have always been...


    -they have no shame.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ agrees that they have no conscience.]


    -...i wouldn¡¯t be that harsh, but i suppose that¡¯s more or less true.


    choi yeonseung was defending himself mainly because of han sehui. he didn¡¯t want his niece to think that he was a bad person.


    -by the way, if she¡¯s the household of a constellation, then it won¡¯t really matter what you say, right?


    -that damn angel... how dare he...?


    -no, don¡¯t get angry just yet...


    the goddess of sloth was taken aback by choi yeonseung¡¯s rare display of anger. wasn¡¯t it natural that people who worshiped a constellation didn¡¯t listen to outsiders?


    ¡°huh? illaphael praised you.¡±


    ¡°really?¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised. that proud angel praised choi yeonseung? what was the meaning behind that? was it a trap?


    -you shouldn¡¯t assume that everything you don¡¯t understand is a trap...


    ¡°how did he compliment me?¡±


    ¡°he said that you serve a different constellation, but you are nevertheless a spirit that pursues justice. he also said we can trust you when fighting together.¡±


    ¡°...could it be that another enemy disguised themselves as illaphael?¡±


    ¡°no!¡±


    the hunters had a tense look as they heard choi yeonseung¡¯s reply. there was no way that illaphael would fall for such a trick.


    ¡°i understand. well, did you come all the way here just to tell me that he complimented me?¡±


    ¡°ah... of course, we didn¡¯t come here because of that. we wanted to ask you if you would move with us?¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    some of the hunters cursed under their breath and retreated when they saw the hunters from the icarus clan step up and cast their magic. however, not all hunters were like that.


    ¡°don¡¯t let those icarus bastards take the kills. actively push them! rush in and take away their monsters.¡±


    ¡°won¡¯t we get in trouble?¡±


    ¡°this is south korea. no matter how much courage the icarus bastards have, they won¡¯t be able to make a case here.¡±


    the western shields.


    it was one of the largest clans in the united states, and was a clan close to the parker family. given that it was a large clan, they obviously had an a-grade hunter.


    gilbert gerrity.


    what was most surprising about him was the fact that he became an a-grade hunter as a healer. his overall style was to empower his allied hunters as much as he could rather than fight himself. with this style, gerrity was essentially using the proud hunters like they were his own hands and legs.


    ¡°there are a lot of complaints about the backlog of artifacts from the parker family this time. during times like this, they¡¯ll be thankful if we do something for them.¡±


    gerrity spoke coarsely, and overall he looked more like a street thug than a healer.


    ¡°go in.¡±


    ¡°roger!¡±


    as long as it was gerrity¡¯s order, the hunters obeyed unhesitantly, even though the opponents were formidable. all hunters of the western shields landed together on the island on which the hunters from icarus had landed first.


    ***


    ¡°is there something you want to say?¡±


    shake shake.


    ¡°......¡±


    even though he had never actually had a conversation with han seha, choi yeonseung had always assumed that han sehui would have a personality just like her. they were twins after all. however, han sehui¡¯s personality was the exact opposite of han seha¡¯s.


    ¡®it¡¯s crazy that she doesn¡¯t speak!¡¯


    ¡°do you want to join the raid now?¡±


    shake shake.


    ¡°do any of the hunters over there have any items that you want?¡±


    shake shake shake shake.


    han sehui continued to shake her head with a blank face. he could tell that she definitely didn¡¯t like the idea of getting involved.


    ¡°you have to participate in battles so you can collect achievements. are you only going to fight when a stronger enemy appears?¡±


    nod nod.


    han sehui nodded. choi yeonseung also nodded in understanding and walked away.


    ¡°hunters, gather around for a moment.¡±


    the moment choi yeonseung called them, the hunters from the icarus clan gathered to see what was going on.


    ¡°i need the talented people among you.¡±


    ¡°......!¡±


    everyone was surprised by choi yeonseung¡¯s words. at best, only d or c- grade monsters appeared around here. were there any other monsters that were found?


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. give me a chance! i¡¯ll show you something!¡±


    ¡°that was what i was going to say! pick me!¡±


    ¡°wait. we need to know what kind of skills you¡¯re after. we have to know whether you need a tanker or a damage dealer!¡±


    the hunters calmed down and straightened their postures. they listened in anticipation to what choi yeonseung was about to say.


    ¡°thank you. are there any hunters here with the ability to befriend people who don¡¯t talk??¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the icarus clan hunters were visibly disappointed by what choi yeonseung just said. few hunters who were present were sociable individuals.


    ¡°everyone has poor communication skills.¡±


    ¡®why does he need that?¡¯


    ¡®we just have to be good at killing monsters...¡¯


    the hunters inwardly complained about choi yeonseung¡¯s request. it was a seemingly pointless ability.


    ¡°i will add communication training when we go back. for now, i will choose.¡±


    ¡°......?!¡±

 Chapter 223

    chapter 223


    the brave hunters discreetly tried to avoid making eye contact with choi yeonseung. they were comfortable with other things, such as training or fighting monsters, but when it came to socializing, they didn¡¯t have any confidence.


    ¡®these guys... aren¡¯t they lacking too much when it comes to social skills...?¡¯


    choi yeonseung let out a deep sigh.


    ¡°for now, smallwood.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s true that smallwood is overly friendly.¡±


    ¡°a hunter from another clan, whom i know on social media, told me he was getting annoyed because smallwood kept talking to him.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    smallwood glared at the other hunters with a serious face. how dare these social misfits...!


    ¡°in addition, illeya.¡±


    ¡°...me?¡±


    illeya cocked her head in confusion. overall, she wasn¡¯t good at speaking, so she wasn¡¯t the right person when it came to selecting someone with good social skills. illeya asked in a slow, clumsy tone, ¡°you didn¡¯t choose me just because i can speak korean, right?¡±


    ¡°...of course not.¡±


    ¡®it¡¯s the right call.¡¯


    ¡®it seems right.¡¯


    ***


    contrary to choi yeonseung¡¯s expectations, selecting these two people didn¡¯t really improve the situation. smallwood talked by himself while staring at choi yeonseung with the eyes of an abandoned puppy. he was asking for help with that look.


    -a monster has been found.


    hearing the report, illeya was the first to take out an artifact. she was apparently ready to use any excuse to get out of that unpleasant situation.


    ¡°m-me too...!¡± smallwood hesitantly spoke out, but it was first-come, first-served.


    illeya spoke in quick and clear korean, ¡°i¡¯m going!¡±


    bang!


    as a melee damage dealer, illeya handled the two axes wonderfully. she pushed back the monsters by wielding axes and casting various spells. additionally, she was also using martial arts, which, combined with the usage of the already enchanted axes, doubled her power.


    ¡°isn¡¯t it amazing?¡± smallwood muttered, forgetting about his own predicament.


    among the icarus clan hunters, there were quite a few who had learned martial arts. given that choi yeonseung was with them, the hunters had the rare opportunity of showing off their martial arts skills. it was an opportunity that not many would miss.


    these hunters learned martial arts at a fast pace, given that all of them were considered geniuses. as for smallwood, he was confident that he wouldn¡¯t lose against a clumsy martial artist. however, he was baffled by illeya¡¯s progress.


    ¡®is this the power of her constellation?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was also surprised. she had improved much faster than he had anticipated. one¡¯s ability in martial arts could be judged based on the amount of internal energy they had, their proficiency in utilizing the internal energy, and how good their linked movements were. to his surprise, illeya was seemingly close to a first-stage level.


    there were several martial artists who had reached b-grade ever since choi yeonseung had reached a-grade, but they had been studying martial arts for at least a decade. those people were quick learners who always accepted choi yeonseung¡¯s teachings.


    as far as illeya was concerned, she had only learnt magic all her life. nevertheless, it now became evident that she had improved in martial arts very fast.


    -i¡¯m really curious which constellation she belongs to.


    -that constellation is concealed, so i can¡¯t see them with my eyes.


    -umm, successor, if your eyes are strong, you should be able to see them even if they¡¯re concealed, but...


    -i¡¯m sorry that i neglected my training.


    -there is nothing to be sorry about.


    the goddess of sloth was no longer easily swayed by choi yeonseung¡¯s words. she could tell that that was a speech technique that didn¡¯t so much serve as an apology as a way of making fun of her.


    -but i don¡¯t think she¡¯s the household member of an evil god constellation.


    -what makes you say that?


    -intuition?


    -intuition... so you¡¯re just guessing?


    -successor, don¡¯t you know that intuition is something that can hardly be ignored?


    the words of the goddess of sloth made sense. choi yeonseung had fought for a long time in the abyss and knew how important his gut feeling proved to be numerous times. sometimes, intuition was more important than logic and rational judgment.


    ¡®yeah, illeya is weird but she hasn¡¯t done anything evil.¡¯


    evil hunters usually couldn¡¯t hide their true colors no matter how hard they tried. those hunters always pretended to be nice, but as far as illeya was concerned, her personality was a bit... it was unique.


    ¡®foreigners who are into korean culture stand out too much.¡¯


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°we got here first.¡±


    ¡°are you trying to drive us out ?¡±


    ¡°no, you are trying to drive us out.¡±


    the western shields hunters seemed to know what they were doing, suggesting that they had done that a few times before. whenever the other party didn¡¯t have real evidence for their claims, the western shields hunters forced their way in, pushed the other party out, and then presented their own evidence.


    of course, the conflict would be left unresolved if they couldn¡¯t prove their claims, but if they insisted with this tactic, even large clans would be forced to drop out.


    naturally, insignificant clans could get destroyed for doing this, but the western shields was one of the largest clans in the united states. they could do that because they had something to believe in.


    ¡°do you have any evidence that you¡¯ve arrived here first?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°then, hunter choi yeonseung, let¡¯s compete with our skills, like hunters do. then, the losers won¡¯t disturb the winners.¡±


    ¡°you got it.¡±


    the hunter who issued the challenge became even more flustered when choi yeonseung agreed nonchalantly.


    choi yeonseung moved right away.


    bam!


    these hunters had a lot of buffs cast on them, their reflexes and movements being enhanced, but despite that, no one managed to react in time when choi yeonseung took a stride and dug into them. one of the hunters took the hit and flew back, hitting the ground and losing consciousness.


    ¡°are you declaring war now?¡±


    ¡°what do you mean? i didn¡¯t hit you, did i?¡±


    ¡°...what nonsense are you talking about, you crazy bastard?¡±


    the western shields hunters were left dumbfounded by choi yeonseung¡¯s brash attitude.


    in situations like this, most hunters would stand their ground and argue even without having evidence, but choi yeonseung just started swinging in front of them.


    ¡°i saw it! how dare you speak nonse...¡±


    ¡°really?¡±


    bam!


    another hunter flew away.


    ¡°you probably don¡¯t see it now, right?¡±


    gerrity stepped up once the situation turned out differently than expected. he smiled in an astonished manner and looked at choi yeonseung. he said, ¡°you are a lot crazier than i thought.¡±


    choi yeonseung wondered, ¡°who are you?"


    ¡°i am the boss of these hunters,¡± said gerrity, who then went on to criticize him. ¡°i¡¯ve been wondering what kind of a-grade hunter you are, and it¡¯s simpler than i thought. you reacted like this just because someone confronted you. there is no evidence that your clan came out first, but there is evidence that you attacked first. who do you think will get in trouble if people find out about this?¡±


    ¡°you will be the one in trouble because you will be smashed.¡±


    ¡°hah, aren¡¯t you awfully confident? what are you going to do if, let¡¯s say, another clan, or worse, the government, confronts you about this? are you going to start swinging like you just did now?¡±


    despite his appearance, gerrity was a ruthless and intelligent hunter. every single one of his moves were calculated and had a purpose.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s response to gerrity¡¯s tactics was quite poor.


    ¡°they¡¯ll understand if i tell them that you signed a contract with an evil god constellation.¡±


    ¡°...????¡±


    gerrity was baffled by his ridiculous response.


    ¡°what kind of bullshit is that?? who will believe that?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s true.¡±


    along with these words, choi yeonseung drew his sword at lighting speed and rushed in.


    the moment the sword filled with sword energy flew out, one of gerrity¡¯s subordinates cursed and used the power of an evil god constellation.


    -shield of glorious greed!


    the hunter realized his mistake and gritted his teeth as he stared at choi yeonseung. he should¡¯ve just tanked the hit, but choi yeonseung¡¯s killing intent was so evident that he reacted instinctively.


    ¡°how...?!¡±


    ¡°the icarus clan knows everything.¡±


    ¡°...what is this fu¡ö¡öi??¡±


    gerrity blinked in disbelief at what was happening in front of him.

 Chapter 224

    chapter 224


    it was said that the icarus clan was well-funded and received a lot of support, but this was ridiculous. how could they know stuff about his subordinate that gerrity was unaware of? perhaps the hunters had a microphone attached to them...


    ¡°captain! what are your orders?¡±


    ¡°...ah?¡±


    gerrity was confused and made a mistake that no a-grade hunter should¡¯ve made. he was caught off guard by the presence of a hunter who had made a pact with an evil god constellation.


    -ilhongsa¡¯s poisonous tooth!


    ¡°is this bastard crazy?¡±


    once his seemingly obedient subordinate had his eyes turn red and lunged at him with lethal magic, even someone like gerrity couldn¡¯t react in time. even though he was wearing a lot of artifacts, a strong poison surged over them.


    [the poisonous snake¡¯s kiss is a terrible poison...]


    choi yeonseung frowned when he saw the magic used by the hunter who had made a contract with an evil god constellation. the poison was so potent that it melted the ground and the surrounding rocks.


    ¡®but why is he attacking his boss instead of me?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. did he resent his boss?


    ¡°you must''ve abused your power quite a lot, right?¡±


    ¡°what... nonsense!¡±


    gerrity gritted his teeth as he heard the critique. he was busy trying to use magic in order to prevent the poison from getting into his body.


    ¡°i guess it¡¯s because he knows my... strength!¡±


    he was right.


    sutherlich, the one who signed the contract with the evil god constellation, had been helping gerrity for a long time. he knew it would be dangerous to give gerrity any more time.


    ¡°sutherlich, answer me, you bastard! was there anything i didn¡¯t do for you?¡±


    ¡°just don¡¯t talk too much before i dispose of you, gilbert! i¡¯m done putting up with your nonsense.¡±


    ¡°again, you must¡¯ve abused your power within the clan quite a lot.¡±


    ¡°shut up!¡± gerrity replied in a furious manner.


    ¡®whoops!¡¯


    he instantly regretted replying to choi yeonseung.


    sutherlich was originally much weaker than gerrity, but considering the contract he¡¯d made with the evil god constellation, they had no idea what he was capable of. despite that, gerrity made such a mistake by not being careful enough...!


    instead of magic, sutherlich pulled out of thin air an artifact that looked like a longsword. the blade dispersed dark energy and contaminated the surroundings.


    -a demon sword!


    demon sword of the fallen avenger:


    ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö


    ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö


    ...


    [it can¡¯t be seen due to the power of a constellation.]


    the evil god constellations were good at hiding their own identity. that was especially true when it came to making a contract with human hunters. however, that didn¡¯t matter in this situation. choi yeonseung had already received important intel from the berserker constellation.


    ¡°that hunter signed a contract with the ¡®greedy owner of the treasure house¡¯. be careful!¡±


    the greedy owner of the treasure house.


    he didn¡¯t occupy any territories, but he was one of the most famous evil god constellations. his nickname was the capitalist constellation!


    this constellation was obsessed with wealth and possessions, so he wasn¡¯t as bloodthirsty as other evil god constellations, nor was he inherently strong. humans were the sole reason why such a constellation was able to become stronger. ever since earth was connected to the abyss through the gate, he had gained a tremendous amount of power of existence.


    for this constellation, which was the owner of a treasure house that gained power from greed, a place like earth, where an enormous number of souls developed capitalism to the limit, was like heaven.


    -this constellation is the owner of that treasure house... if i remember correctly, he was a really insignificant constellation in the abyss, right?


    it was hard to believe that hunters rated a-b were just standing by, watching the hunters of other clans die. wasn¡¯t it a bit weird?


    ¡°i have to help.¡±


    ¡°yes, friend. after the fight, i¡¯m going to shave my head and go to the temple over there to try to be a monk for a day. training in a temple will help me with my martial arts and magic.¡±


    ¡°what nonsense are you saying?¡±


    smallwood seemingly found choi yeonseung¡¯s response unfair and asked, ¡°wasn¡¯t it the time for jokes? i just thought that...¡±


    ¡°...i really am going to help.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s korean irony, right?¡± illeya questioned choi yeonseung as well.


    was it something she didn¡¯t know about korean culture?


    ¡°...just watch.¡±


    ***


    sutherlich¡¯s assessment of things was precise. given that he had been serving gerrity for a long time, he knew exactly what his weakness was. once he poisoned him with his items, the other hunters immediately got weaker. because he was casting buffs on everyone like crazy, gerrity was the most vital member of the team.


    -sealing cobwebs!


    a hunter risked his life to tie up sutherlich¡¯s sword. the latter snorted and said. ¡°did you think it would work if you ensnared my sword? you absolute clowns!¡±


    sutherlich pulled out a new sword, and the other hunters were filled with despair.


    ¡°no way...! why does the constellation believe in a scumbag like you and keep giving you such items?¡±


    ¡°watch your words. gerrity. the constellation has great confidence in me. for this monster wave, he lent me this item at a very low price.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    gerrity looked fatigued. he had heard rumors that the capitalist constellation had such control over money that he even offered private loans to his own household members, but he hadn¡¯t expected it to be true.


    ¡°you idiot! get yourself together! i¡¯ve never seen anyone who made a deal with the capital constellation end up well!¡±


    ¡°you should worry more about yourself, jerk.¡±


    sutherlich pointed his new weapon at him, but before he could say anything else, his head was cut off. choi yeonseung appeared behind him seemingly out of thin air, just like a ghost.


    ¡°i don¡¯t think there is an item that gives you multiple lives.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°......!!!¡±


    the hunters of the western shields were horrified when they realized what was happening. they hadn¡¯t expected choi yeonseung to help!


    of course, when a person who made a contract with an evil god constellation appeared, the unwritten rule was to forget about animosities and cooperate with each other to kill the one with the contract. however, in reality, how many hunters actually followed the rules?


    if a traitor was discovered in an enemy clan, the hunters from the other clan would watch the whole thing while eating popcorn and placing bets on who would die first. the western shields hunters would¡¯ve done the same if there was a traitor in the icarus clan. despite that, choi yeonseung helped them without hesitation.


    ¡®...damn, it¡¯s embarrassing!¡¯


    ¡®this bastard makes us look like awful people.¡¯


    in fact, choi yeonseung has also been watching from the side, and waited quite some time before he decided to help. at any rate, the western wings hunters were too busy fighting in order to pick up on that. to them, choi yeonseung looked like their savior.


    they had to acknowledge his integrity no matter how proud they were, or rather, it was because they were so proud that they couldn¡¯t help but feel the difference between him and them. even gerrity was at a loss for words.


    ¡°hey. thank y...¡±


    splash!


    gerrity held out his hand with difficulty as if to thank him, only to fall into the sea. choi yeonseung had pushed him with his foot.


    ¡°ah. sorry. i thought you were going to attack.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°there was already one person who made a contract with an evil god constellation. it wouldn¡¯t be strange if another one appeared, right?¡±

 Chapter 225

    chapter 225


    the hunters of the western shields were temporarily shocked by what choi yeonseung had just said, but then they soon snapped out of it and became furious.


    ¡°gerrity would never do that!¡±


    ¡°he can¡¯t even manage his own subordinates, so i think it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if he betrays you. make your choice. is he an idiot who didn¡¯t notice that his subordinate, who had worked beside him for years, made a contract with an evil god constellation, or is he a traitor who turned a blind eye to it because he also made a contract with an evil god constellation?¡±


    ¡°...a-a fool?¡±


    ¡°you crazy bastard, why did you say that?¡±


    the others stopped when they heard that answer from their fellow hunter. if gerrity had heard something like that, considering his temper, he wouldn¡¯t have let that slide. fortunately for them, gerrity was now struggling in the water.


    ¡°yeah, let¡¯s go with idiot.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not an idiot...!¡± gerrity cried out. ¡°sa... ve! save me, you stupid bastards! cough!¡±


    splash splash.


    gerrity shouted from behind while choking on water, and the hunters turned their heads in surprise. they never thought that a hunter of gerrity¡¯s caliber couldn¡¯t get out of the water by himself.


    choi yeonseung asked incredulously, ¡°can you not swim?¡±


    ¡°what the hell is this?! i can¡¯t believe that gerrity can¡¯t swim!¡±


    ¡°save... me! you assholes! cough cough cough!¡±


    ¡°he really can¡¯t swim?¡±


    the problem wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t swim, but rather that the previous fight had taken a toll on his body.


    ¡°i¡¯m coming now!¡±


    splash!


    hunters rushed in and rescued gerrity. the moment he was out of the water, he cursed at his subordinates.


    ¡°this ¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö ¡ö ¡ö ¡ö¡ö¡ö??¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    his subordinates had nothing to say and lowered their heads. to think that an a-grade hunter like gerrity was one step away from drowning in the sea...


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue and said, ¡°you know, that guy signed a contract with an evil god constellation because you treat your subordinates so harshly.¡±


    ¡°you je...¡±


    gerrity stopped before saying what he planned to say as he realized that the situation wasn¡¯t good. his physical condition was not at its best, which meant that he couldn¡¯t properly buff the other hunters in the clan. his clan would be at an overwhelming disadvantage if a fight broke out, which at this point wasn¡¯t that unlikely.


    getting rid of the other hunters in the clan just because there was a bastard who made a contract with an evil god constellation was something that only violent hunters would do.


    ¡°...you¡¯re right. i¡¯ll reflect on myself.¡±


    ¡°gerrity?!¡±


    his subordinates were even more confused. gerrity, who had been stiff-necked even in front of the president, suddenly became humble. it was so unusual that the hunters were more worried than touched.


    ¡°it seems that gerrity has taken some much damage during the fight that he¡¯s lost his mind. take out the potions!¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    ¡°seeing that he can¡¯t even swim, he might not even be able to think rationally... cough!¡±


    bam!


    ¡°these jerks...¡±


    ¡°uhm, i think he¡¯s sane...¡±


    the hunters panicked when gerrity hit one of them. his nasty temper suggested that he came to his senses.


    gerrity gritted his teeth at the sight of his tactless subordinates. since they were so weak, they at least should¡¯ve had an understanding of the situation, and yet they were being so ignorant... he couldn¡¯t even point that out to them, given that the other clan would hear him.


    ¡°you guys... if you consider yourselves proud hunters of the western shields, you must learn to express your gratitude when necessary.¡±


    in the end, gerrity had no choice but to say something he didn¡¯t mean. right now, he was at a disadvantage, and choi yeonseung was already worked up. his subordinates nodded with touched expressions, completely unaware of how gerrity actually felt about them.


    ¡°in any case, there are many people in the country. even if the suzhou citizens die, nothing will change.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°none of the people who say that life is precious actually knows the meaning. isn¡¯t a state-of-the-art laboratory more valuable than one person¡¯s life?¡± diao zijian said so while checking the three-dimensional map.


    at that moment, the monster wave was causing an uproar in china. japan was also in a similar situation.


    ¡®there are rumors that there are four a grade-monsters...¡¯


    fortunately, because they had concealed information, the rumors didn¡¯t spread. there were two or three rumors at best. however, the high-ranking officials knew the truth. there were two a-grade monsters, but...


    an s-grade monster had appeared as well.


    the torch dragon!


    dragon-type monsters were usually known to be quite powerful, but among them, the torch dragons were considered the strongest.


    it had appeared in china once before, and the area surrounding the monster had been devastated. therefore, it was natural to consider the current situation an emergency. however, diao was thinking of making the most of this situation.


    ¡°there¡¯s no need for an evacuation order. making a fuss won¡¯t do us any good. the hunters?¡±


    ¡°i am summoning all of them right now, but that won¡¯t be enough to deal with the torch dragon...¡±


    ¡°mr. diao zijian. we really need to evacuate suzhou.¡±


    diao zijian frowned, but the other party member didn¡¯t back down. the latter wasn¡¯t arguing for the evacuation order for the sake of the people, but because he was worried about the damage to the party.


    many foreign companies had invested in suzhou, and many special new forces had been established in the city. it was to the extent that it seemed like the city of another country. if the factories and the special zones were destroyed because of the monster wave, the companies would have huge complaints.


    in the past, the chinese could rely on their market and abuse their power. however, the world became more resilient after taking a few beatings. if a disaster like that happened, the companies would immediately retaliate.


    ¡°mr. diao zijian, how about this? tell the companies what¡¯s really going on and ask for their help.¡±


    ¡°asking another country for help?!¡± diao zijian shouted in disbelief, but the other party member had already closed his eyes.


    ¡°if we don¡¯t stop this, the damage will be enormous! mr. diao zijian, you can¡¯t duck your responsibilities either. however, if we manage to stop the s-grade monster, then it will be your achievement! considering that, this much is...¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    diao zijian glared fiercely at the party member but nodded. certainly, he couldn¡¯t really be obstinate during a situation like this. if the torch dragon went further south and blew up suzhou, the damage would be truly astronomical.


    ¡°fine, send a request! if i end up getting criticized later, it is what it is. in addition, send a request to the south korean government.¡±


    ¡°the south korean government... will they comply with the request??¡±


    the party members around diao zijian looked at him in bewilderment.


    it was clear that the korean government wasn¡¯t a pushover. monsters ranking a-grade and higher were wreaking havoc in china, so there was no need for south korea to send their most valuable hunters.


    ¡°there is no harm in asking for more as long as you throw away your pride. tell the south korean government that the torch dragon, an s-grade hunter, has appeared. tell them that it could reach south korea if we don¡¯t stop it in suzhou!¡±


    ¡°......!!¡±


    at diao zijian¡¯s words, the party members looked puzzled for a moment before acquiescing. they weren¡¯t too happy to request help from a country they usually disregarded, but in that situation, there was literally nothing else they could do.


    ***


    reporters were already crowding the shore. choi yeonseung put his arm on gerrity¡¯s shoulder and waved his hand.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung! is it true that you saved hunter gilbert gerrity¡¯s life?¡±


    ¡°i saved him just in time.¡±


    ¡°amazing!¡±


    ¡°i can¡¯t believe you saved hunter gerrity despite not being in the same clan!¡±


    such a heartfelt story was fresh prey for the reporters who were looking for ideas for articles. it wasn¡¯t just the korean reporters. there were also the foreign reporters who came over to cover the monster wave.


    ¡°why aren¡¯t you smiling? smile.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    gerrity gritted his teeth.

 Chapter 226

    chapter 226


    at the end of the world¡¯s most awkward photo session, gerrity stepped back, wiped his hands and shoulders with hand sanitizer, and walked away. regardless of that, the korean reporters gathered around choi yeonseung and desperately tried to get one more interesting storyline.


    ¡°so hunter gerrity asked for help when he was on the verge of death?¡±


    ¡°he didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°but he must¡¯ve asked for help with his look, right?¡±


    ¡°how could i tell...?¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s write it like that, hunter choi yeonseung! that¡¯s cooler!¡±


    ¡°hunter gerrity asked you for help with tearful eyes. you were moved even though he is a hunter from a rival clan.¡±


    ¡°ahh. wow, that¡¯s nice! i¡¯d better go with that story.¡±


    ¡°...???¡±


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded as he listened to them. were they reporters or novelists?


    despite the absurdity of their headlines, the reporters did a good job of creating a compelling story. with a rich imagination, they freely made up stories and characters that didn¡¯t exist so that they could get a dramatic ending. in any case, gerrity was american, which meant he wouldn¡¯t read every article that came from south korea. for that reason, the reporters had the confidence to act like this.


    -gerrity, an a-grade hunter of the western shields, tearfully begged choi yeonseung for help when his life was in danger due to his injuries. normally, rival clans do not help each other, but...


    ¡°however, one of hunter gerrity¡¯s subordinates was a traitor. you managed to omit that.¡±


    ¡°there was no need to say it because he was so remorseful.¡±


    ¡°oh... that¡¯s good. he listened to hunter choi yeonseung and reflected on himself.¡±


    the korean reporters excitedly wrote stories, and the foreign reporters were tempted to do the same. it seemed like they picked up a lot of things when chatting with choi yeonseung...


    ¡°hey. go over there and find out what that¡¯s about. it doesn¡¯t hurt to cooperate with other reporters. gerrity and all the other hunters are gone, so we have to gather information from the korean reporters over there.¡±


    ¡°i know.¡±


    ever since gerrity lost his temper and left, choi yeonseung was the only person for the overseas reporters to interview.


    it was just that hunters usually had nasty tempers. the reporters from choi yeonseung¡¯s country had already interviewed him once, and if they tried to do it again, nothing good would happen. it was better to write something similar to the content of the korean reporters.


    ¡°oh... is this true?¡±


    ¡°yes. i¡¯ve heard a lot of bad rumors about hunter gerrity, but this is way different from what i thought.¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t it a bit strange...?¡±


    ¡°no. are you trying to say that i¡¯m lying?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not like that...¡±


    ***


    ¡°a dragon has appeared in china?¡±


    ¡°shh. you need to lower your voice.¡±


    ¡°who could be listening here...?¡±


    choi yeonseung looked dumbfounded by the reaction of the government officials. he was currently traveling in secrecy in a car sent by the government. it looked like all a-grade hunters in south korea were called.


    ¡®indeed, the current situation warrants that.¡¯


    the appearance of an s-grade monster in china was an extremely dangerous situation for south korea. if the monster devastated china and then crossed the sea...


    ¡°it¡¯s better to kill it in china, right?¡±


    ¡°...do you really intend to do that??¡±


    the official in the front seat turned his head in surprise.


    ¡°if it crosses the sea and we fight it off the coast, the damage would be too great for south korea.¡±


    ¡°that... that¡¯s true.¡±


    the official had a hard time adapting to choi yeonseung. in a situation like this, most a-grade hunters would say something like ¡®do you want me to go to china? are you a chinese spy?¡¯ there was no reason for an a-grade hunter, who knew how incredibly valuable they were, to go to china in the current situation.


    ¡°why? you can¡¯t get used to it because you don¡¯t have to force me?¡±


    ¡°no!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m just joking. calm down.¡±


    instead of arguing with the officials, choi yeonseung was actually doing them a favor. the driver also glanced back with a look of concern.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, hunter jeong wonuk is a person who flatters others for power, so don¡¯t trust him,¡± han seha whispered quietly. of course, the other hunters could easily hear her.


    jeong wonuk said in an irritated manner, ¡°flattery for the sake of power...¡±


    ¡°are the two of you close or not?¡±


    ¡°w-we are close, but...¡±


    ¡°have you eaten together in the last month or not?¡±


    ¡°we have, but...¡±


    ¡°there you go.¡±


    han seha shrugged as if she had known it. even kwon yeongseung looked surprised.


    ¡°ahjussi, were you that close?¡±


    ¡°...since you guys neglected your duties as a-grade hunters, i came forward to meet him in person!¡±


    jeong wonuk was furious. one of them lived as she pleased, and the other never showed up because he was filming movies or dramas. thus, it was natural that the minister would ask for jeong wonuk.


    ¡°why are you playing the victim? every time you were asked to do something, the government gave you a lot of money.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s words, jeong wonuk fell silent. it was true. no matter how close he was to the minister, he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to work for free.


    ¡°i can¡¯t believe the chinese government asked for help. when we get off the plane, will the army be there to arrest us?¡±


    ¡°four a-grade hunters...?¡±


    to be exact, there were three a-grade hunters and one constellation, but there wasn¡¯t much of a difference. they were all equally reckless.


    ¡°of course, the chinese government is like a gangster who never apologizes to others, but they¡¯re not stupid.


    ¡°that¡¯s true.¡±


    jeong wonuk also agreed with choi yeonseung. no matter how arrogant the government was, they had to request help from others if an s-grade monster appeared. from what they heard, it seemed that all the foreign companies that entered the factory district had received requests for help.


    the bill would be very high once this was over, but...


    if they could stop the whole ordeal, they would end up on the cheap side.


    ¡°will china¡¯s s-grade hunter step up? i would like to see him in action once.¡±


    ¡°that... i think it¡¯s going to be difficult.¡±


    ¡°if possible, i would also like to see him.¡±


    han seha and kwon yeongseung were very eager to see china¡¯s s-grade hunter. choi yeonseung was surprised to hear that.


    ¡°who¡¯s china¡¯s current s-grade hunter?¡±


    ¡°same as before. it¡¯s chen xiezhi.¡±


    ¡°...he¡¯s still an s-grade hunter?!¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised to hear that that old man was still an s-grade hunter. wasn¡¯t he the oldest one among the first generation hunters?


    ¡°can he still do his job at his age? do the chinese think they¡¯re immortal?¡±


    ¡°some people do think that. to be honest, it¡¯s hard to say that it¡¯s entirely impossible.¡±


    s-grade hunters wouldn¡¯t step out unless it was necessary, but chen xiezhi¡¯s case was exaggerated. he hadn¡¯t shown his face in an official position for over a decade. at this time, even chinese hunters wondered whether he was still alive.


    if the chinese government doesn¡¯t want to give up the honor of having one of the world¡¯s best s-grade hunters...


    ¡°it¡¯s a bit like a big brother... wasn¡¯t chen xiezhi¡¯s nickname ¡®big brother¡¯? it¡¯s ironic.¡±


    jeong wonuk smiled slightly at choi yeonseung¡¯s words. unlike han seha and kwon yeongseung, they had shared memories as first generation hunters.


    ¡°chen xiezhi was truly a great man.¡±


    ¡°why are you talking about things that only you know about?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    jeong wonuk was slightly sulky at han seha¡¯s words.


    choi yeonseung calmly responded, ¡°he was really amazing back then.¡±


    ¡°really??! how amazing?¡±

 Chapter 227

    chapter 227


    jeong wonuk was so dumbfounded that saliva dripped from his mouth.


    ¡°what did he do to make you respond like that?¡± jeong wonuk asked softly. he felt that spending millions of dollars wouldn¡¯t be a waste as long as he could find out the secret to appeasing han seha, who had a terrible personality.


    ¡°i also want to know...¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s his personality.¡±


    han seha¡¯s answer puzzled both choi yeonseung and jeong wonuk.


    ¡°per...


    ¡°...sonality?¡±


    ¡®do i have a good personality?¡¯


    -i don¡¯t know if you necessarily have a good personality, but from a moral standpoint, you are one of the best among the hunters and constellations.


    -is that true?


    choi yeonseung was surprised by the unexpected evaluation. up to this moment, he had heard many people call him things like ¡®nuts¡¯, ¡®crazy about training¡¯ and ¡®insane bastard who only knows training¡¯. he didn¡¯t remember hearing people say that he has a good personality.


    -successor, rather than your personality being particularly good, the moral sense of hunters and constellations has declined tremendously. don¡¯t you think your moral compass is quite high compared to them?


    -...that¡¯s plausible.


    choi yeonseung was convinced. personality was like a flower. it needed petals to be more valuable. even the ordinary choi yeonseung was bound to feel like he had an outstanding personality when compared to other hunters and constellations!


    ¡°haven¡¯t you saved hunters from other clans, or citizens from other cities? only people with great personalities do such great things without expecting anything in return.¡±


    ¡°can you stop?¡±


    ¡°yep.¡±


    han seha immediately shut her mouth at choi yeonseung¡¯s words.


    ¡°in any case, back to the story of chen xiezhi. chen xiezhi was a legendary hunter back in our time.¡±


    ¡°legendary? isn¡¯t he a chinese hunter?¡± han seha questioned it.


    among the chinese hunters who had a high rank, very few of them weren¡¯t bastards. because of that, han seha tried to come up with a formula that stated that the ratings of chinese hunters and their personalities are inversely proportional. however, the south korean government stopped her from actually publishing it.


    ¡°the chinese used to be... less bad. it¡¯s not like they didn¡¯t cause problems, but they were a bit less ferocious. most importantly, it wasn¡¯t that long after the gates opened and the cooperation between all of humanity was very strong.¡±


    ¡°even then, the chinese government deceived others.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right, but it wasn¡¯t as bad as it is now.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true...¡±


    ¡°it was chen xiezhi who represented that era. he had a good character, and if he were a martial artist, he would be my idol instead of li yuyuan.¡±


    chen xiezhi was an old man of the first generation and a hunter with both skills and a good personality. after chen xiezhi disappeared, it was rumored that the chinese government assassinated him because they were afraid he would state his opinions publicly...


    ¡°that¡¯s why i¡¯m going to make a firm request to the chinese government.¡±


    ¡°?!¡±


    jeong wonuk was surprised by choi yeonseung¡¯s words.


    ¡°would they listen...?¡±


    ¡°they are the ones in a tragic situation. if their s-grade hunter can¡¯t come forward, they should at least reveal the reason. aren¡¯t you curious?¡±


    come to think of it, the chinese government wasn¡¯t the only one in a bad situation. it was also the foreign companies (including hwang gyeongryong). well, choi yeonseung was alright...


    ¡°sounds like a good plan.¡±


    ¡°good? why are you so reticent with your words? shouldn¡¯t you at least start with ¡®great¡¯?¡±


    jeong wonuk made up his mind to ask for a separate plane for each a-grade hunter next time.


    ***


    the suzhou overseas business zone was a new city in china. dozens of companies came here to set up factories, accommodations, convenience facilities, and educational facilities for employees. thus, it wasn¡¯t much different from overseas cities.


    the atmosphere in the special zone was terrible due to an official letter from the chinese government.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    a factory manager of dragon industry saw choi yeonseung and rushed over with a happy expression.


    there were over a dozen hunters belonging to the company here, but it was hard to believe that they could hold their own against an s-grade hunter.


    ¡°did you get any instructions from above?¡±


    ¡°they told me to obey your orders.¡±


    ¡°you can¡¯t come any closer!¡±


    the chinese hunters escorting chen xiezhi¡¯s vehicle struggled to block access. most of them were c-grade hunters at best. trying to stop a crowd of b-grade or a-grade hunters would¡¯ve been utter hell.


    ¡°if you keep doing this, i will arrest all of you!¡± said one of the chinese hunters angrily.


    hunters were normally in a privileged position, and in china, their power was even greater. thus, they were bound to feel uncomfortable and angry when foreign hunters ignored their requests and just rushed over wildly. however, they made a mistake by having such a hostile attitude.


    ¡°you bastard, how dare you threaten me? do you want to die?¡±


    ¡°open the door before i rip your head off and use it as a garden ornament over there!¡±


    ¡°you look like you¡¯re not even d-grade... do you think we can¡¯t kill you just because we¡¯re in china? what do you think the chinese government can say to us if we kill you? open the door!¡±


    the faces of the chinese hunters turned blue because of the unexpected verbal abuse. there were hunters from all over the world, and each of them had strong personalities. above all, they had the upper hand in this situation, so they would show no hesitation.


    ¡°everyone, calm down!¡±


    ¡°what are you... no. hunter choi yeonseung? thank you for what you did in paris.¡±


    ¡°i also want to see the face of hunter chen xiezhi, so please step back. what are you going to do if i go back before you even open the door?¡±


    a few hunters stepped up to organize the traffic, so there was barely room to open the door. everyone was silently anticipating the appearance of the s-grade hunter.


    what would chen xiezhi look like?


    ¡°......!¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s eyes widened.


    ¡®it seems that he looks almost the same...?¡¯


    chen xiezhi looked like a monk or a daoist. his hair and his beard were completely white, and every step he took felt natural. it was as if the years had slipped away from him. he was an old man 30 years ago and he was still the same now.


    ¡°hunter chen xiezhi! you are hunter chen xiezhi, right?¡±


    ¡°it seems right! look at that magic power!¡±


    ¡°he really is still alive...! i thought the chinese government had assassinated him!¡±


    the hunters whispered with shocked expressions.


    one of the hunters stepped forward and shouted.


    ¡°hunter chen xiezhi! do you remember me? you saved me when i was a child!¡±


    ¡°you...¡±


    chen xiezhi stared deeply at the hunter. the hunter nodded tearfully.


    ¡°yes! my name is dawan!¡±


    ¡°...who are you?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the hunter who came to talk to him was flustered, as were the nearby hunters, but they soon accepted it.


    ¡°it was a long time ago and there must¡¯ve been more than one or two people saved by hunter chen xiezhi.¡±


    ¡°no wonder he doesn¡¯t remember.¡±


    ¡°......?¡±


    however, choi yeonseung cocked his head. something was wrong with chen xiezhi¡¯s reaction.


    ¡°yes, my name is dawan.¡±


    ¡°i see... who are you?¡±


    ¡°huh...?¡±


    ¡°who am i?¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    ¡°where is this?¡±


    a somber atmosphere started to spread through the area. there was also a hint of fear within the group of hunters. the chinese were in tears and were sending messages somewhere.


    -didn¡¯t you say that he¡¯s regained his sanity?


    -well, it comes back occasionally, so we never know when he gets weird...


    -you should¡¯ve said it earlier!


    everyone picked up on why chen xiezhi hadn¡¯t made an official appearance in a while.


    he must¡¯ve lost his memory due to old age...!

 Chapter 228

    chapter 228


    ¡®hah.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was also flustered. he had seen all kinds of nasty things while wandering in the abyss, but chen xiezhi had lost his mind due to old age. it was truly unimaginable.


    ¡°this is suzhou, mr. chen xiezhi.¡±


    the chinese hunters next to him whispered in tears. they tried to trick the foreign hunters, but they hadn¡¯t expected to be exposed right off the bat. chen xiezhi¡¯s situation was bound to be discovered no matter how much they tried to hide it.


    the current situation was an emergency due to the monster wave occurring all over china. they had no choice but to do this...


    ¡°ah... suzhou. why am i here?¡±


    ¡°you are here to fight monsters.¡±


    ¡°really? ah, it seems so. by the way, who is the king now? wasn¡¯t it chiang kaishek?¡±


    ¡°elder...! it¡¯s not a king, it¡¯s a leader, and it¡¯s not chiang kaishek!¡±


    the chinese hunters were shocked by his bringing up the taiwanese leader¡¯s name nonchalantly, despite seemingly having lost his memories.


    ¡°i¡¯ve told you many times! it¡¯s the people¡¯s republic of china, the communist party of china!¡±


    ¡°what? those guys still haven¡¯t been destroyed??¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    the hunters, who were saddened at first, were now biting their lips and holding back their laughter. it was an utterly ridiculous situation.


    ben nacht coughed and said, ¡°i can see why hunter chen xiezhi hasn¡¯t shown up in a while. but now we have to deal with an s-grade monster. wouldn¡¯t it be more dangerous to have a hunter who isn¡¯t in a normal state participate in the fight?¡±


    ben nacht didn¡¯t want to see a former master like chen xiezhi die. he preferred to exclude him from the fight, but...


    ¡°are you saying i¡¯m not normal now??¡± chen xiezhi said indignantly.


    ben nacht was taken aback and tried to reply, ¡°i didn¡¯t mean it like that...¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s exactly what you meant! sob... this guy is disregarding me like this! what¡¯s the meaning of this? i¡¯m being dismissed like this!¡±


    chen xiezhi started hitting the palm of his hand with his fist and the chinese hunters next to him were at a loss.


    ¡°go and do something!¡±


    ¡°uh... uh...¡±


    ¡°aish... forget it!¡±


    with these words, chen xiezhi waved his hand.


    bang!n??v€l-b1n was the first platform to present this chapter.


    after being hit, the chinese hunter flew away while puking blood.


    ¡®this is...¡¯


    choi yeonseung saw it clearly. chen xiezhi instantly combined three or four high-level spells and then sent the chinese hunter flying! hunters with no memories couldn¡¯t do something like that so easily and naturally.


    ¡°i don¡¯t like you either!¡±


    ¡°w-wait...¡±


    bam!


    another chinese hunter flew away.


    they didn¡¯t dare launch a proper attack on chen xiezhi, china¡¯s national treasure. even if they tried to attack, the c-d hunters had no chance to subdue chen xiezhi.


    ¡°elder!! please wake up!¡±


    ¡°elder! please let go of your anger!¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t want to hear it!¡±


    one of the hunters murmured with a tone of desperation, ¡°i thought i had to deal with an s-grade monster, not an s-grade hunter...¡±


    ¡°please help me!¡±


    the chinese hunters eventually asked the foreign hunters for help. they had to step up and stop chen xiezhi, who was screaming and running wildly.


    ¡°um...¡±


    ¡°cough...¡±


    ¡°!!¡±


    despite the situation, none of the hunters actually wanted to intervene. firstly, it was china¡¯s problem. secondly, chen xiezhi¡¯s attacks had just confirmed that he was still at an s-grade level, despite being old.


    they would get enough rewards to live comfortably for the rest of their lives if they got hurt while fighting an s-grade monster, but they wouldn¡¯t get any rewards for fighting an s-grade hunter, especially if that s-grade hunter had actually lost his mind.


    in the end, the only person who stepped out in this situation was the one with the most upright personality among the hunters.


    ¡°keep him from going anywhere else. i will stop him.¡±


    ¡°wouldn¡¯t it be better to go in after all the chinese hunters die?¡±


    the hunters from abroad swarmed and chen xiezhi seemed interested in choi yeonseung¡¯s words.


    ¡°if you continue to act crazy, it will be difficult for us to help you. i¡¯ll get rid of all these suspicious people, so please calm down.¡±


    ¡°really? if you say you¡¯ll get rid of them but then bring them back with you...¡±


    ¡°no, nothing like that. hey, get rid of them.¡±


    the hunters from overseas were momentarily taken aback by choi yeonseung¡¯s words. the chinese hunters were even more perplexed.


    should they listen to choi yeonseung or listen to the chinese hunters, who had complete authority in china?


    ¡°i¡¯ll clean them up.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not that difficult. get out of here.¡±


    ¡°t... this madman!¡±


    ***


    chen xiezhi calmed down much easier than expected. he sat with a calm expression as he listened to choi yeonseung¡¯s explanation.


    ¡°right now, the torch dragon, an s-grade monster, is threatening this land. these hunters have come here to stop it.¡±


    ¡°i see. did you come up with an excuse to sneak me out?¡±


    ¡°...uh...¡±


    han seha nodded coldly beside him.


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°thank you.¡±


    ¡°of course, it¡¯s just common courtesy from a young person.¡±


    han seha could be as kind as necessary in order to achieve what she wanted. jeong wonuk rubbed his eyes in disbelief.


    ¡°to do that, we have to kill the torch dragon!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m glad you understand.


    the torch dragon wasn¡¯t as big as the tortoise head mountain they recently fought, but it was still quite huge. what made it more terrible than the tortoise head mountain was its ability to fly around.


    countries around the world used to preventively develop plans to deal with monsters once they appeared. the plan against the torch dragon was basically...


    ¡°we have to start by tearing down the barriers around the monster.¡±


    the other hunters nodded at ben nacht¡¯s words. the torch dragon had dozens of magic barriers to protect itself. in order to damage the torch dragon itself, they had to start by destroying its shields.


    ¡°fortunately, there is no shortage of hunters that we can mobilize.¡±


    ¡°we can also make use of the chinese army¡¯s firepower...¡±


    ¡°can you trust the firepower of the chinese army?¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s instantly retreat in case it doesn¡¯t work.¡±


    some hunters murmured, but overall everyone was on board so far.


    ¡°i heard that the torch dragon¡¯s weakness is here on the nape of the neck. even if we tear the barriers apart, we have to get close to here...¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s best to get on top. above its head or its nape. it won¡¯t die just from touching the reverse scale.¡±


    the planning went well despite the hunters being of different nationalities. firstly, given that they were facing an s-grade monster, their roles were already established. an a-grade hunter would most likely be the main raider while the rest would split up with secondary roles!


    ¡°starting from this area, we have to drive the torch dragon toward the east. it would be good to fight there since it¡¯s the least populated area.¡±


    ¡°who will give the orders to do it? if you tell us to do it, we¡¯ll focus on killing the monster. the factories, the world economy, and everything else will go down the drain.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t worry. the chinese hunters will be in charge of that.¡±


    the chinese government didn¡¯t want to make the foreign hunters do anything unnecessary because they knew how terrible they would be.


    choi yeonseung watched the chinese hunters and troops deployed in each region and suddenly remembered something.


    ¡®wait... isn¡¯t huang guangao the one who signed a contract with an evil god constellation?¡¯


    china¡¯s a-grade hunter, huang guangao.


    according to rumors, several a-grade hunters in china were seriously injured because of the torch dragon, but he managed to walk away unscathed. it was because there was guidance from someone.


    -what are you going to do?


    -umm. it would be convenient if i could just go and kill him, but...


    they were in china, which meant that laying his hands on an a-grade hunter would be doubly dangerous. it would be like poking the hive.


    -how about quietly stabbing him in the back while pretending to assess the situation?


    -that doesn¡¯t sound like a bad plan.


    the goddess said it as a joke, but choi yeonseung took it seriously. there was bound to be chaos everywhere, so wouldn¡¯t there be plenty of opportunities? besides, his victim wouldn¡¯t expect something like that.

 Chapter 229

    chapter 229


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung.¡±??v€l?1n.


    ¡°...?¡±


    choi yeonseung turned his head when he heard a voice calling out to him from behind. the hunters serving the six-winged angel who hunts dragons were behind him.


    ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°our master told us to help you.¡±


    ¡°...what?¡±


    for the first time in years, choi yeonseung was at a loss. of course, receiving help from other hunters was great. after all, the hunters of the angel constellation were some of the most earnest and skilled household members out there. even choi yeonseung could use their help.


    the only problem was...


    ¡®i was going to assassinate a hunter.¡¯


    choi yeonseung had a nervous look on his face. given that he was thinking about his assassination plan, he couldn¡¯t help feeling embarrassed at the thought that other hunters would follow him.


    ¡°is there a problem?¡± asked kwon yeongseung, not understanding what was going on.


    it wasn¡¯t often that the household members of the angel constellations come together to offer support like this. wasn¡¯t the angel constellation known for being capricious and proud?


    choi yeonseung had apparently received the attention of this constellation through his recent raids. taking this opportunity to attract even more positive attention might¡¯ve been a good idea.


    ¡®what a clueless bastard.¡¯


    choi yeonseung looked at kwon yeongseung with pity. the latter flinched at the seemingly reproachful look he was given. had he done something wrong?


    ¡°yes. i¡¯m grateful for your help.¡±


    ¡°i want to keep sehui in a safe place,¡± han seha quietly told choi yeonseung. han sehui was one of the household members of the angel constellation.


    ¡°can¡¯t you tell her that?¡±


    ¡°she would get angry and ignore me.¡±


    despite her appearance, han sehui had a very big ego. despite having a lower rating than han seha, she wasn¡¯t one to submissively back down when she was told to.


    ¡°with that expression? i can¡¯t imagine it.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s even scarier because she has that expression even when she gets angry,¡± said han seha with a serious tone. she seemed to be seriously afraid of han sehui, who stood still as if frozen, with an expressionless face.


    ¡®isn¡¯t han seha the older sister? she is...¡¯


    relationships within the family had nothing to do with actual strength. for example, a-grade hunters couldn¡¯t oppose their parents despite their strength.


    ¡°...wait, if she¡¯s going to get angry if she hears it from you, won¡¯t it be worse if i¡¯m the one to tell her?¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung... i think she¡¯ll listen to you,¡± said han seha while tilting her head.


    choi yeonseung sighed at her unjustified confidence. ¡°would it make sense for me to tell her?¡±


    ¡°i think it makes sense...¡± han seha couldn¡¯t speak firmly whenever choi yeonseung reacted like that. she was hesitant and her voice trailed off.


    ¡°should i make hunter kwon yeongseung do it?¡±


    ¡°can you?¡±


    ¡°... the two of you are the worst!¡± exclaimed kwon yeongseung, his handsome face contorting into a weeping expression. these two were probably the only ones to irritate one of south korea¡¯s a-grade hunters in such a fashion.


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry. we¡¯re so comfortable with each other that i accidentally crossed the line with this joke. i sincerely apologize.¡±


    ¡°n-no. i¡¯m not actually mad. i just...¡±


    kwon yeongseung felt embarrassed, and han seha proceeded to criticize him, ¡°why are you pouting and making hunter choi yeonseung feel bad?¡±


    ¡°you really have no conscience...¡± said kwon yeongseung while looking at han seha in disbelief.


    ¡°ok, i¡¯ll tell her first,¡± said choi yeonseung while approaching han sehui. he explained the situation to her cautiously.


    both han seha and choi yeonseung were nervous. was she thinking of fighting in the rear?


    the answer was simple.


    shake shake shake shake.


    ¡°is there a special meaning in south korea if you shake your head horizontally four times?¡±


    ¡°it means ¡®absolutely not¡¯.¡±


    choi yeonseung gave up trying to convince han sehui.


    ¡®if something happens, i¡¯ll be there to help her... han seha will also be there.¡¯


    han seha was already talking to the household members of the angel constellation with fierce eyes. she was almost saying that there would be a constellation battle if her little sister got even a small scratch.


    it was a scheme in which he gave his own body to an s-grade monster, and it would be countered because the intention behind it was too obvious.


    ¡®that¡¯s true. the chinese hunters might be a bit crazy, but they¡¯re not that crazy.¡¯


    ¡°the second attack team, please go in!¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s go.¡±


    the combat helicopters took off after those words. even though they were called helicopters, they were more like flying fortresses. after customizing a military helicopter and making it a base, the engineers reinforced it with special materials they got from monsters and from the abyss. to top it all off, they covered the helicopter with artifacts.


    it was a masterpiece that combined earth¡¯s mechanical engineering with the magic of the abyss!


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is earnestly asking you to bring one of these helicopters to it later.]


    ¡®this must¡¯ve been something made by the chinese government after they scraped out everything... i understand.¡¯


    -activate stealth magic!


    -yes!


    the pilots, all of them with stern expressions, activated the stealth magic and approached the torch dragon.


    the torch dragon was still flying through the sky indifferently, despite its defensive barriers having been destroyed.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö...


    ¡°it¡¯s casting magic. be prepared!¡±


    despite the big distance between them and the dragon, and the fact that the helicopter was flying fast, choi yeonseung was the first to notice it.


    the torch dragon was taking a deep breath.


    ¡°it¡¯s an ice breath!¡±


    there was a loud noise and a pillar of ice materialized in the sky. it soon shattered and numerous ice fragments fell from the sky.


    ¡®it would¡¯ve been over if that had hit us.¡¯


    ¡°no matter how i look at it, the first team didn¡¯t really have the skills to kill the dragon anyways. even so, how the hell did they manage to get caught?¡±


    ¡°did they purposely let themselves get caught because they didn¡¯t want to attack the dragon?¡±


    the hunters were murmuring with suspicion when the torch dragon opened its giant mouth. the chinese hunters were trapped inside.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...uh...¡±


    the hunters were at a loss for words. it was an extraordinary sight.


    ¡°why... isn¡¯t it going to swallow them?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t think that¡¯s the question we should ask right now.¡±


    ¡°perhaps it¡¯s trying to absorb all the magic power from them. you know, like eating candy...?¡±


    ¡°crazy...¡±


    there were many things they didn¡¯t know about the torch dragon, but no one expected it to gently roll the hunters around in its mouth like that.


    -please help the captured hunters!


    everyone snorted at the voice coming from the radio.


    ¡°the chinese are quite the comedians.¡±


    ¡°honestly, i would¡¯ve had a laugh if it weren¡¯t for this situation.¡±


    ¡°they didn¡¯t ask us to save them, but to help. if we attack now, won¡¯t the torch dragon be startled and swallow them? i think it would be better.¡±


    as everyone was laughing, choi yeonseung asked the pilot, ¡°can you get closer?¡±


    ¡°y-yes!¡±


    chen xiezhi, who had been dozing off beside him, looked up and asked, ¡°is it time to fight?¡±


    ¡°yes. as i mentioned before, you just have to do what i told you.¡±


    ¡°yes. i understand. i¡¯ll do what you want.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    choi yeonseung was taken aback by chen xiezhi¡¯s loud and clear voice. it was quite different compared to when he was screaming and on a rampage.


    ¡°have you regained your sanity?¡±


    ¡°what do you mean? i¡¯ve always been sane, haven¡¯t i?¡±


    ¡°...?¡±

 Chapter 230

    chapter 230


    choi yeonseung wondered if chen xiezhi was acting because he wanted to leave china that badly.


    ¡®no. i don¡¯t think so.¡¯


    firstly, the strength he showed while going berserk was real, and above all, an s-grade hunter like chen xiezhi could easily defect to another country. of course, the chinese government would give him trouble, but they couldn¡¯t assassinate an s-grade hunter. all they could do was put pressure on the country who took him in. however, if chen xiezhi was to seek asylum, it would be in the united states or russia...


    ¡°by the way, this is the first time i¡¯m seeing your face.¡±


    ¡°i am the a-grade hunter, choi yeonseung. we have all gathered here in order to defeat the torch dragon.¡±


    ¡°i see. give me instructions.¡±


    chen xiezhi had a professional attitude that one would have expected from his long years of experience. despite having the s-grade rank, he was willing to let another hunter with more intel be in charge.


    ¡°by the way, it seems that there are many hunters here. are hunters from other countries here?¡±


    ¡°they came at the request of the chinese government.¡±


    ¡°what? damn?!¡±


    chen xiezhi was shocked. it was hard to believe that the chinese government had asked other countries for help. was china on the verge of collapsing?


    ¡°ah! perhaps it¡¯s already been ruined and another party...?¡±


    ¡°no.¡±


    ¡°i didn¡¯t mean it like that. i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    chen xiezhi hesitated and looked embarrassed. he wondered if there had been a revolution and the government party changed because of that.


    ¡°i see. it¡¯s hard for you to lead so many overseas hunters. however, please endure a bit more for the good people of this country.¡±


    ¡°...? i¡¯m not from this country.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re not?! then why are you trying to help them??¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ***


    ¡®i¡¯m in a lot of trouble...!¡¯


    contrary to choi yeonseung¡¯s suspicions, huang guangao, the one who had signed a contract with the expert of twisted hallucinations, did not intentionally allow himself to get caught by the dragon. the power of the torch dragon exceeded the expectations of the constellation.


    -expert of twisted hallucinations. please help me!


    huang guangao earnestly requested help from the constellation.


    household members were able to receive help or strength from a constellation through sincere prayer. initially, there were many eyes on him, so he couldn¡¯t start praying right away. however, huang guangao was now in a dangerous situation.


    he was trapped in the mouth of the torch dragon! even though the dragon could kill them whenever it wanted, it was currently only absorbing their magic power as if playing with them.


    ¡°magic... i can¡¯t use it! huang guangao! please help.¡±


    ¡°all the items...!¡±


    if choi yeonseung had been in such a situation, he would¡¯ve been able to deduce what type of power the torch dragon was using.


    [the ¡®world of the torch dragon¡¯ is absorbing magic power.]


    [the ¡®world of the torch dragon¡¯ is absorbing magic power.]


    the inside of the torch dragon¡¯s body was perfect to subdue its prey. the inner space of the torch dragon¡¯s body was like a kingdom created by a constellation! consequently, the hunters couldn¡¯t do anything because the rules of the torch dragon took precedence. starting with their artifacts, all their magic power vanished in an instant and they turned into helpless, ordinary people.


    the expert of twisted hallucinations was the only one huang guangao could rely on...


    however, huang guangao became frustrated. ¡®what? has he abandoned me?¡¯


    prior to this monster wave, huang guangao had received an order from the hallucinations constellation to get an outstanding achievement during the wave. however, it had been hard to focus because of the torch dragon¡¯s appearance and because of the overall chaotic situation in china, but the fact that the constellation gave him an order meant that it was giving him some attention.


    now there was no answer...


    of course, the power of the torch dragon was blocking even the interference of other constellations, but huang guangao didn¡¯t think about it that far.


    ¡®son of a bitch. just as i thought, you can¡¯t trust an evil god constellation. i should¡¯ve had faith in a different constellation...!¡¯


    bang!


    there was a roar from outside and the torch dragon shook violently.


    bang, bang, bang!


    ¡°is it an artillery bombardment?¡±


    ¡°...????¡±


    choi yeonseung was flustered by the unexpected response.


    ¡°your master must be watching you, right?¡±


    ¡°he didn¡¯t save me, so i¡¯m going to abandon him!¡± exclaimed huang guangao, still angry with his master.


    normally, because he got caught serving an evil god constellation, he should¡¯ve been executed or imprisoned. regular hunters would¡¯ve denied the accusation or they would¡¯ve pretended to not believe in the evil god constellation by insulting it and leaving. most evil god constellations were tolerant enough to allow that.


    however, huang guangao seemed to not care about any of that and vehemently cursed his master. doing such a thing meant that he was serious about abandoning the constellation.


    ¡°...i know i shouldn¡¯t be saying this, but... aren¡¯t you abandoning your constellation too easily?¡±


    ¡°even though i¡¯ve evolved to this point, he didn¡¯t bother to save me! i was such a fool to serve him... choi yeonseung, you are serving the undefeated incarnation of training, right? say something good about me to your master. if he allows it, i will serve him!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung had a puzzled expression at the unexpected situation.


    -why? he¡¯s an a-grade hunter, so he shouldn¡¯t have to worry about his rank, right?


    -this guy... should i really accept him as my follower...?


    -you don¡¯t have to be picky when choosing a household, right? a great mountain shouldn¡¯t refuse a handful of soil, and a sea shouldn¡¯t refuse a small stream or river...


    -goddess of sloth, i like all hunters, but don¡¯t use earth proverbs in front of me...


    the goddess of sloth pouted. she tried to use some of the nice words that she had learnt after a long time. she couldn¡¯t believe he was giving her such a hard time.


    ¡®do i have to accept a guy who switches sides in the blink of an eye?¡¯


    choi yeonseung pondered on it for a moment. come to think of it, there were already guys like jerry kuber. it didn¡¯t seem like much would change if there were two people like that. it seemed like an a-grade hunter from china could be of use to him...


    as choi yeonseung was dwelling on it, there were a dozen things going through huang guangao¡¯s head.


    ¡®this could be my chance!¡¯


    at first, huang guangao completely panicked when choi yeonseung found out his secret, but then he figured it would be better for him to switch sides and serve the other constellation. if both of them served the same constellation, choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t try to ruin him by exposing his secret.


    above all, wouldn¡¯t choi yeonseung¡¯s constellation care about his followers more than the hallucinations constellation? after all, how was choi yeonseung able to reach a-grade so quickly while he had been struggling to get c-grade?


    it wasn¡¯t just huang guangao who thought about that. many people speculated that choi yeonseung was able to get that strong thanks to the constellation he served. the reality was that even a d-grade hunter could become strong in an instant if they received good support from a constellation.


    choi yeonseung finally told him, ¡°he said he will accept you.¡±


    ¡°thank you!¡±


    ¡°however, you will be below me.¡±


    ¡°...understood.¡±


    ¡°he said that you must listen to every one of my orders.¡±


    ¡°i understand.¡±


    ¡°start by telling me your personal details. tell me about your position in the organization, the secrets you know about the chinese government, the list of chinese hunters, and so on.¡±


    ¡°you must be joking, right? isn¡¯t this a bit too harsh?¡±


    [the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ is furious at your distrust!]


    ¡°n-no! i¡¯m sorry!¡±


    huang guangao hurriedly apologized after being scolded by the constellation. since he switched sides, he had to be more careful and show loyalty from the very beginning.


    [the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ has declared that you must decide whether to believe in him or in the chinese government party.]


    ¡°that... of course, i will serve the constellation. however, opposing the party will endanger me in many ways...¡±


    [the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ is furious at your distrust!]


    ¡°...i¡¯m sorry!¡±


    huang guangao suddenly became a bit anxious. he switched sides because he no longer trusted the hallucinations constellation... he tried to get away from a fox, but perhaps he came across a tiger.


    ¡®what... there¡¯s no way... this is how hunter choi yeonseung managed to climb up the ranks. the constellation can¡¯t use a hunter like me in such a trivial manner.¡¯


    [the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ is furious at your arrogance!]


    ¡°i... i¡¯m sorry!¡±


    ¡®hey. this is kind of interesting,¡¯ choi yeonseung thought.

 Chapter 231

    chapter 231


    up until this point, choi yeonseung had lived without using his power as a constellation that much. very few people knew about choi yeonseung¡¯s identity, and there was no need for him to issue orders as a constellation. but now that he did just that, honestly...


    it was fun.


    ¡®is this what power feels like?¡¯


    not even the most powerful a-grade hunters could disregard the constellations of the abyss.


    -... successor, don¡¯t get excited about weird things.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ also wants you to stop!]


    the constellations seemed worried by choi yeonseung¡¯s attitude, so they tried to step in and stop him. once one became drunk on power, there was no going back.


    -don¡¯t worry. i haven¡¯t lost my mind or anything.


    huang guangao told him, ¡°i¡¯ll work hard.¡±


    ¡°yes, work hard. the constellation will be watching you.¡±


    huang guangao choked. they were both a-grade hunters, but there was nothing he could do about the constellation. sometimes, a constellation would favor a c-grade hunter who had nothing.


    ¡®just watch, you jerk. i will gain achievements and rise above you.¡¯


    huang guangao made up his mind. he would definitely stand out by accomplishing a lot and would eventually climb up the ranks. choi yeonseung might¡¯ve been favored by the constellation, but huang guangao was an a-grade hunter who had never lost in a competition like this.


    ¡°what are you two talking about?¡± kwon yeongseung asked curiously. what could choi yeonseung have had to say to this chinese a-grade hunter?


    ¡°he¡¯s thanking me for saving him.¡±


    ¡°huh?! do chinese hunters know how to express gratitude?!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    hearing this, huang guangao got angry. of course he knew how to be grateful. who didn¡¯t know that? what was even more upsetting was the fact that kwon yeongseung wasn¡¯t even trying to tease him. he was actually serious. kwon yeongseung wasn¡¯t someone to say something in a roundabout way...


    ¡°even chinese hunters are grateful sometimes,¡± explained han seha. ¡°it¡¯s when they want something. they should never be trusted.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the chinese hunters who got rescued listened to these words with perplexed expressions.


    huang guangao was afraid that choi yeonseung would misunderstand and say something bad about him to the constellation, so he hurriedly cried out, ¡°that¡¯s nonsense!¡±


    ¡°are you saying that hunter han seha is talking nonsense? you rude bastard.¡±


    ¡°...when will the torch dragon attack again?!¡±n??v€l-b1n was the first platform to present this chapter.


    huang guangao hurriedly changed the subject. he realized that the more he talked in this combat helicopter, the worse it got for him.


    ¡°the torch dragon is falling!¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    recruiting a large number of hunters turned out to be rewarding for the chinese government. there had been some incidents so far, but the torch dragon could no longer withstand the attacks coming from the numerous hunters, and consequently fell.


    ¡°go down! we have to finish it before it recovers!¡±


    ***


    thump¡ª


    the moment the torch dragon hit the ground with its giant body, a small earthquake occurred around it. the hunters didn¡¯t hesitate at all because they had already led it to an isolated area with no civilians or buildings.


    ¡°start the attack. we¡¯ll kill it first!¡±


    the russian hunters, who were last in the raid order, quickly came out. they were naturally reluctant to deal with an s-grade monster, but they had been promised huge rewards if they managed to kill it.


    the core of an s-grade monster had enough energy for numerous energy companies to use without having to get new cores for several years. a core was the primary reward. if it dropped items, several governments would compete fiercely for them. thus, how could the hunters get more rewards for themselves in such a competition?


    they needed to have the upper hand. one extra blow could make the difference.


    ¡°the other hunters haven¡¯t landed yet...¡±


    ¡°you dumbass! for how many years have you been a hunter? don¡¯t you know what happens if we don¡¯t strike now?!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry!¡±


    ¡°move! go forward!¡±


    the russian hunters moved fast thanks to buff magic like ¡®advanced reflexes speed¡¯, ¡®iron armored skin¡¯, ¡®intermediate forcefield shield¡¯ and ¡®intuition enhancement.¡¯


    many people, especially hunters from different countries, said that russian hunters were more like soldiers. they were heavily controlled by the government and subjected to military-style training. thus, during this monster wave, they were faster than hunters from other countries and had good teamwork.


    hunters equipped with the same artifacts approached in unison and unleashed exploding magic on the torch dragon with the tip of their spears. they looked like primitive hunters hunting a huge beast.


    -this time, we will be hunting the torch dragon as master ordered. we could fight it with master¡¯s power.


    the six-winged angel who hunts dragons. true to its name, the constellation had a number of powerful skills that were perfect for hunting dragons.


    -um... this... no... forget it.


    -tell me anything. i will follow your words.


    -no. forget it.


    -...please say it.


    amelia spoke in a slightly irritated voice. she respected the angels who served her master, but sometimes, from a human¡¯s perspective, they were quite annoying. why couldn¡¯t he just speak his mind?


    -i don¡¯t know if i can really say it.


    -please say it!


    -...are you angry at me??


    illaphael looked at amelia with a shocked expression.


    -no, of course not.


    -i want you to cooperate with hunter choi yeonseung when hunting the torch dragon.


    -huh???


    amelia was quite surprised. she had never imagined that illaphael would say something like this while blushing.


    -is it ridiculous? forget it. forget it. just go and hunt it.


    -ah. no. it¡¯s not that difficult... do you really want us to hunt together? do you want me to backstab him? attacking from behind is a bit...


    -what do you mean by backstabbing! i told you to cooperate, not betray him! help!


    -ah... you mean to help him.


    -...it¡¯s cooperation, not help. cooperation.


    -......


    -what does that expression mean?


    -i have always admired you.


    -hmm. thank you.


    if illaphael had been more aware of how things worked on earth, he would¡¯ve noticed that amelia was teasing him. however, he didn¡¯t.


    ***


    ¡®he must have something if illaphael is saying so. i¡¯ll have faith in him and wait.¡¯


    amelia made up her mind to follow choi yeonseung. meanwhile, the barriers around the torch dragon were destroyed again. there was a big wave of attacks that overwhelmed the monster thanks to the sheer number of hunters. however, the moment the barriers got shattered and the hunters rushed in screaming, the torch dragon opened its eyes and magic power exploded all around his body.


    ¡°...?!?!?!?!¡±


    all the nearby hunters got caught up in the explosion and disappeared. the extraordinary sight left even choi yeonseung speechless.


    ¡°... is it even possible to use it over such a large area??¡±


    kwon yeongseung shook his head in astonishment, given that he too was a space magic user.


    ¡°that isn¡¯t something that can be used over a wide area...!¡±


    ¡°we must retreat!¡±


    chen xiezhi was the first to react. even though he was suggesting they retreat and leave everyone behind, he was extremely calm.


    the majority of the hunters here were gone. up until that point, they had been able to suppress the torch dragon because of their big numbers. now that almost everybody had disappeared, they had to retreat immediately. they would die as well if they stubbornly decided to keep fighting.


    ¡°we have to retreat... wait, where did he go??¡±


    chen xiezhi was taken aback, for he could no longer see choi yeonseung. was he also caught by the magic?


    that wasn¡¯t the case, for choi yeonseung was already in front of him. the moment the blow filled with internal energy struck, a light flashed, and the torch dragon was knocked to the side.


    ¡°start attacking!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    chen xiezhi was astonished. he never imagined this person would be so reckless.


    ¡®did raid tactics change that much after i retired???¡¯

 Chapter 232

    chapter 232


    judging from the reactions of the other hunters, it seemed like methods to conduct raids hadn¡¯t changed that much. most of the hunters were shocked.


    ¡°what are you doing? aren¡¯t you helping? you bastards behind me, remove the accessories around your neck if you don¡¯t help!¡±


    han seha rushed in quickly while urging the other hunters to follow suit. the hunters regained their focus and nodded. no matter the situation, whenever hunter choi yeonseung did something unexpected, they had to adapt to his strategy.


    ¡®was illaphael mistaken about him?¡¯


    amelia followed while having irreverent thoughts about the angel. no matter how much she tried, she found it hard to believe in choi yeonseung. in this situation, it seemed like retreating was the correct...


    ¡°!!!¡±


    despite the worries of all the high-level hunters, choi yeonseung immediately finished off the torch dragon.n??v€l-b1n was the first platform to present this chapter.


    bam!


    concentrated energy flashed from choi yeonseung¡¯s fingers as he approached using origin of the celestial step. upon landing his hit on the torch dragon¡¯s reverse scale, blood started gushing from it.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    ¡°uhhhhh...?!¡±


    ¡°the... the last hit?¡±


    the bewildered hunters stared at each other in a shocked manner. they had prepared for a fierce fight with the s-grade monster and were determined to kill it, but...


    no one expected such an anticlimactic end to the fight.


    ***


    -the torch dragon has been slain!! reporting again. it has been confirmed that the torch dragon is dead!


    ¡°it¡¯s amazing!¡±


    diao zijian, who had been listening nervously from a distance, unintentionally let out a cheer. he was usually a calm individual, but this raid was bound to make him anxious, given that the stakes were high for the chinese government. they had to bow their heads to various countries and overseas companies, request help from foreign a-grade hunters, and put up with all the problems that occurred in the meantime.


    -are you actually calling foreign hunters? why would you do that? chinese hunters are the best in the world. diao zijian, have you grown senile?


    -maybe he took bribes from the foreign companies. who knows what¡¯s behind it?


    ¡®those brainless scumbags with no conscience!¡¯


    diao zijian wasn¡¯t so weak as to be affected by what other people said. however, the critique of those who had risen to the top ranks of the party was absolutely ridiculous. they really believed they needed no help.


    ¡®the young members of the party are terrible.¡¯


    in a way, it was reassuring for him. when young party members entered, their identities were evaluated and they had to go through various tests of loyalty. however, even after they passed, they would be considered dangerous if they were seemingly smarter than the party members. therefore, the party kicked out any ¡®dangerous¡¯ individuals.


    the only young people who rose to the highest ranks within the party were those with a good status and zero brains. they truly believed that chinese hunters were the best in the world and hated diao zijian for requesting help from overseas hunters.


    ¡®but i don¡¯t care.¡¯


    if his plan failed, he would get attacked by his political enemies. however, if he succeeded, no one would dare criticize diao zijian¡¯s decision.


    ¡°report the damage.¡±


    -eight of the combat helicopters wz-20 have been seriously damaged...


    ¡°um. it¡¯s possible.¡±


    each of them was an expensive weapon, but diao zijian wasn¡¯t one to get angry just because a few combat helicopters were damaged while fighting an s-grade monster.


    -the heavy weapons and drones at the scene were damaged when the torch dragon crashed.


    ¡°i don¡¯t need you to tell me about such trivial things. the hunters? how many chinese hunters have been hurt?¡±


    diao zijian urged the other person to tell him the most important details. as a member of the party central hunter committee, the most important thing to him was the hunters. they were the ones who supported his power and might!


    -......


    ¡°why aren¡¯t you answering?¡±


    however, the person on the other end of the radio was hesitant for some reason. diao zijian had a bad feeling about this.


    ¡®what?¡¯


    ¡°why are you silent? answer me!¡±


    -i-i¡¯m sorry... i-it seems that the torch dragon used a rare wide-range skill before it died.


    diao zijian sighed heavily. it seemed that because of the torch dragon¡¯s wide-range skill, the hunters either got severely injured or killed.


    ¡°...¡±


    no matter how he thought about it, choi yeonseung thought he was being made fun of.


    ¡®is he trying to ridicule me in a subtle way?¡¯


    -i don¡¯t think so.


    ¡®i feel bad because it must be a backhanded compliment.¡¯


    ¡°the damage might¡¯ve been great, but we¡¯ve managed to kill an s-grade hunter. i think it¡¯s fine if we rest and rejoice for today. don¡¯t push yourself too hard. i think you should take a break.¡±


    choi yeonseung had a puzzled expression while holding a flashing blade.


    ¡®does it seem like i¡¯m overdoing it?¡¯


    -it seems like you overdid it...


    ¡°that¡¯s right. you¡¯d better go and rest. it¡¯s just a matter of setting up a sentry in case of an unexpected situation.¡±


    it wasn¡¯t just han seha. the other hunters of the icarus clan also stepped up.


    choi yeonseung looked fine, but it was quite unnatural to dismantle the monster right after the raid instead of resting.


    chen xiezhi nodded from the side and said, ¡°yes, as you get older, you have to be more careful about your health!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung was taken aback for a moment. so right now... was he being placed in the same generation as chen xiezhi? so if there were categories of elderly, middle-aged, and young hunters, was he now considered an elderly hunter?


    ¡®...i shouldn¡¯t think too much about it.¡¯


    ¡°yes. i¡¯ll just check the items and then take a break.¡±


    the dragon had scattered many items befitting of its rank. there were magic books and equipment with all types of skills attached to them. when multiple clans and groups teamed up in a raid like this, keeping track of these things was most important.


    several hunters had already taken out their smartphones and were filming.


    ¡®it¡¯s much better than i thought.¡¯


    choi yeonseung used the eyes of a constellation and quickly started analyzing the rewards. in order to come out on top when sharing the rewards later, he had to understand their value in advance. in a way, it could get more difficult to fight for the rewards than to fight an s-grade monster.


    ¡°...!¡±


    [precious orb with the power of a scaled dragon: you can acquire the skill ¡®scaled dragon¡¯s power¡¯ when using it.]


    as he was scanning the rewards, choi yeonseung was surprised to see a heavy white bead. it was a simple yet overpowered ability. he absolutely needed to get that item, even if he was to give it to a household member.


    ¡®i have to manage my facial expression.¡¯


    when sharing such powerful rewards, it was essential that he maintained a poker face. an experienced hunter could recognize what rewards other hunters wanted just by looking at their faces.


    this battle for rewards was more intense than a regular auction!


    ¡°hey.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung was startled when someone called out to him from behind. even though he was a constellation, he was bound to be surprised.


    ¡°why did you take that meat?¡±


    it was chen xiezhi who spoke to him. he was puzzled by the fact that choi yeonseung took some meat from the torch dragon. choi yeonseung cut off only the good parts in order to feed the hunters who had suffered.


    ¡°i¡¯ve taken it in order to eat it.¡±


    ¡°you can eat that?¡±


    ¡°i can eat it if i cook it well.¡±


    ¡°can i try it?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s fine, but... many chinese hunters have disappeared... is it okay to do this?¡±


    ¡°what about the chinese hunters?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung realized that chen xiezhi was acting strange, and his eyes suddenly became cloudy.


    ¡®is this guy sane only when he fights...?¡¯

 Chapter 233

    chapter 233


    ¡°don¡¯t follow them!¡±


    even in the midst of a serious situation, the chinese hunters rushed forward in a panic. they didn¡¯t know what problems would arise if chen xiezhi, who had lost his memory, followed the overseas hunters. given his s-grade rank, he wasn¡¯t just a fighting force, but also an idol and a symbol for the chinese hunters.


    what if the overseas hunters had evil intentions and manipulated chen xiezhi to say false things in interviews?


    -chen xiezhi is outraged by china¡¯s human rights abuses... he fiercely criticized it!


    -shocking. chen xiezhi reveals how china¡¯s hunters are mistreated.


    -china¡¯s guanhuan daily criticized it fiercely: chen xiezhi isn¡¯t actually chinese...


    ...no matter what happened, it was clear that many of the hunters under chen xiezhi would die.


    ¡°let go of me, you bastards! what¡¯s wrong with you?¡±


    ¡°mr. chen xiezhi! you can¡¯t do this! come here!¡±


    ¡°sob sob sob! you¡¯re not letting a poor old man eat some meat!¡±


    chen xiezhi started to tear up seeing how the chinese hunters were trying to control him. of course, it wasn¡¯t all talk. every time he swung his fists, the chinese hunters coughed up blood and rolled around.


    ¡°cough!¡±


    ¡°ugh!¡±


    ¡°what are you guys doing? are you just going to stand by and watch as i¡¯m getting dragged away?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°no...¡±


    the korean hunters and icarus clan members looked embarrassed as chen xiezhi criticized them. they felt bad, even though they didn¡¯t do anything wrong.


    ¡®did we do something wrong?¡¯


    ¡®in east asian tradition, we¡¯re supposed to treat the elderly with respect.¡¯


    a chinese representative became angry and hurriedly gave an order.


    ¡°what? stop! reporters are coming this way soon! there are also foreign reporters. are you going to let them see this mess?¡±


    ¡°b-but... how are we going to stop chen xiezhi now?¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s an old man who¡¯s lost his memories!¡±


    ¡°you don¡¯t know what he¡¯s capable of because you¡¯re not a hunter! he¡¯s an s-grade hunter, which means his raw strength is off the charts!¡±


    ¡°shut up. stand in front of him and stop him with your body!¡±


    no matter how angry the person in charge was, nobody was able to do anything. given how chen xiezhi was screaming and swinging his fists, none of the chinese hunters dared to approach him. his fists, which had more than three or four high-level enhancements, were like heavy maces.


    ¡°reporters are coming! try to stop him!¡±


    headlines like ¡®chen xiezhi is going on a rampage? the chinese government doesn¡¯t even give him a proper meal¡¯ flashed through the head of the person in charge.


    someone finally stepped up. ¡°m... mr. chen xiezhi! you can eat! you can eat!¡±


    chen xiezhi stopped destroying his surroundings and turned his head. ¡°really?¡±


    ¡°yes! go and eat to your heart¡¯s content!¡±


    one of the overseas hunters watching the scene asked in a dumbfounded manner, ¡°these chinese bastards are leaving him to hunter choi yeonseung instead of handling him themselves?¡±


    ¡®shut up...¡¯


    the chinese hunters gritted their teeth when they heard this. they were already pissed off, and the foreign hunters were just adding fuel to the fire.


    ¡°you should¡¯ve done this sooner. i thought you were trying to starve this old man to death!¡±


    ¡°yes! yes!¡±


    ¡°yes. let¡¯s go!¡±


    chen xiezhi smiled and followed after choi yeonseung. the latter was contemplating the situation.


    ¡®can i take this person with me?¡¯


    if this guy ruined the atmosphere while he fed his nieces...


    chen xiezhi seemed to notice choi yeonseung¡¯s gaze and urgently said, ¡°if you give me something to eat, you won¡¯t even notice my presence! please don¡¯t abandon me!¡±


    no matter how long choi yeonseung had wandered around the abyss, he was basically a constellation from south korea. he couldn¡¯t abandon an old man who was just begging for some food.


    ¡°pff... ok, follow me.¡±


    jeong wonuk marveled at the scene.


    ¡®he¡¯s embarrassed.¡¯


    some righteous people sometimes found it embarrassing when other people praised their good deeds.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. you don¡¯t have to be embarrassed when doing something good.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a great thing to serve a meal to everyone present, so take some pride in it.¡±


    ¡°...why are you spouting nonsense when you¡¯re having such an expensive meal? do you want me to kick you out?¡±


    ¡°n-no... that¡¯s not what i...¡±


    ¡°shut up and eat.¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s cold reaction, amelia became sullen and sat down again. after taking a few bites, she suddenly remembered something. ¡°ah. i have something to say.¡±


    ¡°alright, speak,¡± said choi yeonseung while staring at the door leading outside. he was going to kick her out if she said the wrong things.


    amelia was taken aback by his reaction. no one, not even fellow a-grade hunters, had ever looked down on her, an a-grade hunter who had come from the british royal family.


    ¡°...i wanted to convey my master¡¯s message.¡±


    ¡°ah, is that so? speak.¡± choi yeonseung quickly changed his attitude.


    amelia became a bit sad, as she didn¡¯t think that what she said earlier was such a bad thing...


    ¡°he said it¡¯s likely that the missing hunters have been taken to the realm of the demon of contract and order.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised.


    ¡°how does he know this?¡±


    ¡°there are some household members among the hunters who were taken. through them, we found out where the hunters were taken.¡±


    ¡°...ah.¡±


    choi yeonseung picked up on it. come to think of it, he would also be able to find out where they were taken through huang guangao.


    -as a constellation, you should have more awareness...


    -goddess, you didn¡¯t even tell me about this. why are you only now saying this?


    -i didn¡¯t think i would have to specifically tell you this.


    ¡°i see. thank you for letting me know.¡±


    ¡°the moment the monster wave ends, a rescue party will probably be organized. we can¡¯t just abandon them.¡±


    it had caused great chaos and resulted in many victims, but the monster wave in china was finally coming to an end. everything would return to normal. of course, the chinese government would take some small measures, but that wasn¡¯t any of choi yeonseung¡¯s business...


    -wait, a rescue squad? don¡¯t tell me they¡¯re going there by themselves.


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t believe it. only a madman would enter the abyss and infiltrate the realm of a constellation.


    -humans wouldn¡¯t do something so reckless.


    -then?


    -maybe they will negotiate with the demon of contract and order? there could be a constellation battle.


    -ah... that¡¯s a possibility.


    the demon of contract and order would also be more interested in gaining something as opposed to just keeping the hunters there.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung! i have good news.¡±


    ¡°ah, what is it? has the chinese government taken responsibility for this and handed over all the loot?¡±


    ¡°they¡¯ll do that when hell freezes over. the news is that the monster wave in japan is almost over as well. there is only one monster left and it''s completely surrounded right now.¡±


    ¡°...!¡± choi yeonseung was shocked. ¡°but i heard that there were several a-grade monsters in japan...¡±


    in china, one s-grade monster had run wild. meanwhile, in japan, there had been strong rumors that several a-grade monsters had appeared. in a way, the situation in japan was trickier to deal with. thus, the overseas hunters were reluctant to go there, and yet the japanese hunters had somehow managed to kill them? had they used a nuke?


    ¡°the rumors must have been exaggerated. there were three of them, and the hunters split them apart and defeated them individually.¡±


    ¡°that makes sense, but it¡¯s still kind of strange. the rumors were way off.¡±


    ¡°they are almost never correct.¡±


    ¡°indeed, that¡¯s true. there¡¯s no way they¡¯d say they killed the monsters when they didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°hahaha. no way.¡±

 Chapter 234

    chapter 234


    lying about killing a monster was one of the most unacceptable things for a hunter. that used to happen often in the early days of raids, as hunters who were greedy for fame would falsely declare that they had killed a monster. the government would also lie about that in order to improve public opinion.


    however, that was a thing of the past, as very few people still did that in the present. even when choi yeonseung had been active 30 years prior, it was rare for someone to lie about killing a monster. after all, the moment a government did something like that, the whole world would treat them as a dictatorship whose credibility was nonexistent...


    ¡®the monster wave is coming to an end.¡¯


    it wasn¡¯t known just how much the japanese had done, but no one could have contributed more than choi yeonseung, who had dealt with an s-grade monster. it was safe to say that he was the overall winner of this monster wave.


    ¡®how big will the reward be?¡¯ how much did the other constellations bet? will there be anyone who bets a lot?¡¯


    -successor, you¡¯re burning with greed.


    -i¡¯m extremely composed.


    after the conversation, choi yeonseung looked around at the other hunters enjoying their meals. he was the host of the meal and had to treat the guests properly, so he asked them, ¡°can i get you some more?¡±


    ¡°ah. it¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°i see. i¡¯ve prepared raw meat because i thought the meal was a bit greasy.¡±


    choi yeonseung dismissed the hunter who said they were done and put the meat in front of han sehui. the marinade was made of ordinary sugar and soy sauce, but the raw meat was special. it was the torch dragon¡¯s meat.


    ¡°come on, eat a lot.¡±


    ¡°...yes, i¡¯ll make sure to eat it,¡± said han sehui, barely opening her mouth.


    han seha was surprised by the extremely rare instance of her sister talking.


    ¡°did she talk because you offered her food?¡±


    ¡°probably.¡±


    ¡°whenever i took her to a restaurant, she wouldn¡¯t say a word...¡±


    ¡°probably because the food wasn¡¯t tasty.¡±


    ¡°yes, of course! it didn¡¯t taste good!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    han sehui slightly raised an eyebrow at the insensitive conversation between choi yeonseung and han seha.


    ***


    [you have won the monster wave bet!]


    [soul stones...]


    [soul stones...]


    [the power of existence has increased!]


    [the power of your realm has become even greater.]


    [...]


    [...]


    choi yeonseung realized he was a constellation every time he came to the blood fortress, which was his realm. even with his eyes closed, he could see what was happening there. if he used his power of existence, he could turn the ground upside down and split the skies.


    there was a reason why the abyssal races worshiped constellations.


    ¡°the orcs... they¡¯re really great in a peculiar way.¡±


    -i admire them everytime i see them.


    the two constellations admired the orcs tending to the realm. in fact, choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t invested much in this area, as he was busy on earth and trying to raise his power of existence. all he did in his realm was to build a barrier and teach the orcs martial arts. despite doing so little, the orcs had astonishingly achieved a lot.


    the paddy fields, which initially were the size of a garden, had been turned into large-scale farms. on top of that, the orcs were also herding cattle and grazing livestock. who would look at such a picturesque landscape and think that it was done by the orcs?


    -but when a kingdom is prosperous, there will be trials.


    -i know.


    choi yeonseung was also aware of that. the more successful an abyssal realm was, the more enemies it would attract. the enemies could range from minions and other constellations, to abyssal monsters or completely different third parties.


    it was essential to prepare in advance for that!


    ¡®i currently have one hundred and seventy thousand soul stones.¡¯


    given that he had won a lot in the previous monster wave, he currently had a large number of soul stones, as opposed to his early days when he was struggling with just a few tens of thousands.


    ¡®i want to buy some things from the merchant constellation to spruce up the realm...¡¯


    ¡°master, you¡¯ve come!!!¡±


    the orcs welcomed choi yeonseung with loud voices. it was a great honor for abyssal races to stand face-to-face like that with a constellation. the other constellations didn¡¯t show up, as they remained in their places and wriggled their fingers. meanwhile, choi yeonseung appeared in person and gave the orcs strength and wisdom.


    where else could they find such a kind and righteous constellation? the orcs considered themselves blessed.


    ¡°yes, you¡¯re doing well.¡±


    [the ¡®wandering merchant who sells destiny¡¯ is jumping around with excitement!]


    -......


    ¡®have i made a mistake?¡¯


    the opponent was so ecstatic that choi yeonseung felt a bit of regret. for some reason, he felt like he picked the wrong one...


    [the everything box (advanced, chaos): 100,000 p. primordial chaos is swirling inside. if you open this box, you will get something that a constellation needs.]


    [the ¡®wandering merchant who sells destiny¡¯ recommends the everything box. it contains everything, from buildings, to treasures and even household members.]


    -um. how much of a discount will you give?


    [the ¡®wandering merchant who sells destiny¡¯ sternly says that there is no discount this time.]


    normally there would have been a discount, but the merchant constellation was aware that choi yeonseung had won a lot during the monster wave. there was no way he was going to offer him any discounts.


    choi yeonseung regretted buying the box. apart from this one advanced box, the rest that he bought were intermediate.


    ¡®let¡¯s start opening with the intermediate ones...¡¯


    [opening the box!]


    [chaos flows and destiny is decided!]


    [the ¡®great elemental¡¯s fountain¡¯ is coming out!]


    [opening the box!]


    [chaos flows and destiny is decided!]


    [the ¡®magic power well¡¯ is coming out!]


    ¡°...?¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised by what he received from the intermediate boxes. of course, it wasn¡¯t a bad outcome. the great elemental¡¯s fountain was literally a fountain where elementals dwelled. they would come to the realm and he could borrow their power. the magic power well had water containing magic power...


    strangely enough, he felt like they were all meant for farming.


    ¡®it¡¯s not that i hate farming, but isn¡¯t it weird that i only got things meant for farming?¡¯


    it wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing if choi yeonseung could live peacefully and farm in a remote area of the abyss, but he was destined to keep fighting. he also needed some useful things for combat...


    [the ¡®pot of abundance¡¯ is coming out!]


    [the ¡®all purpose vinegar¡¯ is coming out!}


    [...]


    ¡°ohhhh!¡±


    choi yeonseung was worried. was he actually destined to teach martial arts and fight hard?


    ¡®i should¡¯ve asked the goddess of balance who walks ahead what type of box would be good...¡¯


    -if the goddess were that brilliant, she wouldn¡¯t have fallen so far.


    -that¡¯s true.


    in any case, thanks to the boxes, choi yeonseung¡¯s realm was becoming surprisingly abundant. from the perspective of the goddess, there were very few areas in the abyss that specialized in farming to that extent. it was certainly quite difficult to find a place like that.


    -people will think it¡¯s the realm of the incarnation of farming...


    ¡°open the advanced box.¡±


    choi yeonseung ignored her and told her to open the box. the intermediate level was decent, but the advanced level was on another level. the reward would certainly be...


    certainly...


    ¡®if i don¡¯t get a reward, i don¡¯t know if i should take it out on the merchant constellation or on a random evil god constellation.¡¯


    [opening the box!]


    [chaos flows and destiny is decided!]


    [the doppelganger king is coming!]


    ¡°...???¡±


    -it¡¯s worthless.


    the goddess of sloth sighed. she should¡¯ve stopped him! doppelgangers weren¡¯t a species useful enough to be household members.


    ¡°no... not yet.¡±


    -don¡¯t be in denial.


    ¡°no. i¡¯m not in denial. i¡¯m serious.¡±


    choi yeonseung once again read the explanation for the doppelganger king. contrary to the goddess of sloth, choi yeonseung felt that this doppelganger king had a surprising amount of potential.

 Chapter 235

    chapter 235


    -doppelgangers aren¡¯t that powerful of an abyssal race...


    the goddess of sloth was an experienced goddess who could determine the usefulness of abyssal races. a primitive race that didn¡¯t know how to use magic like humans do was considered useless. the doppelgangers were hardly any different.


    first of all, their characteristics were... ambiguous.


    they could transform into something else, but that was pretty much it. they were quite unintelligent, and even though they could become the mirror image of something else, they couldn¡¯t use magic. they were essentially empty shells.


    even though the doppelganger king found himself in front of a constellation, he merely tilted his head rather than prostrating himself or kneeling. he looked like a big slime.


    seeing his behavior, the orcs began to shout angrily.


    ¡°what a rude bastard...!¡±


    ¡°do you want a taste of my axe?¡±


    the doppelganger king wasn¡¯t phased by their yelling. he didn¡¯t seem to care about the fact that the orcs were almost ready to kill him.


    ¡°can you mimic my appearance?¡±


    the doppelganger king nodded and transformed into the mirror image of choi yeonseung. some of the orcs were absolutely shocked by the king¡¯s shameless action. he dared to...!


    -it¡¯s an interesting ability, but i don¡¯t think it¡¯s useful. wouldn¡¯t it be better to have a magician who can polymorph, even if it wouldn¡¯t be exactly identical?


    magic that could transform the caster into another person was usually used by those who wanted to play wicked pranks on others. most of them weren¡¯t very effective, but in rare instances, they managed to cause a mess in the abyss. as far as the doppelganger was concerned, it couldn¡¯t really follow complex orders due to its low intellect.


    ¡°now, copy what i¡¯m doing.¡±


    nod nod.


    choi yeonseung used foot and fist techniques, and the doppelganger king followed suit. it was awkward at first, but it quickly managed to learn the movements and properly imitate them. it managed to do that thanks to imitating choi yeonseung¡¯s body, which had been trained to an extreme degree in order to master martial arts!


    the doppelganger king was too simple-minded to master complicated martial arts techniques, but that didn¡¯t matter. given the complexity of martial arts, there were also powerful techniques that were simple to learn.


    ¡®at the end of the day, you just need to hit fast and hard.¡¯


    choi yeonseung nodded with satisfaction at the doppelganger king.


    ¡°ditto... no, that¡¯s a bad name. choi yeonseung number two... i¡¯ll just take out my name and call you number two.¡±


    the orcs, who had been anxious about the doppelganger receiving the name for a constellation, let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°that¡¯s a good call.¡±


    -i don¡¯t think it¡¯s very good...


    ¡°i don¡¯t know about anything else, but i want you guys to take care of this doppelganger.¡±


    ¡°ugh... if it''s the master''s order, i will obey it without question!¡±


    ¡°i hate looking at this guy, but...!¡±


    ¡°are you cursing at someone who looks exactly like your master?¡± said choi yeonseung while tapping number two.


    ¡°...!¡±


    ¡°stay in your usual form when you¡¯re not fighting.¡±


    number two became mushy and returned to his slime-like form. the orcs were relieved and ready to curse at him again.


    ***


    choi yeonseung was about to finish teaching the doppelganger the basics and making the territory more fertile and rich when he received an unexpected call.


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ is requesting a meeting!]


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ says she saw a vision in which the realm of the incarnation is under attack!]


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised. a vision in which his realm was under attack?


    -the time to defend the realm has come.


    -umm...


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue. certainly, he had been doing too well recently. first the victory in the constellation battle, then the monster wave... the nail that stuck out was bound to be hit. choi yeonseung had expected others to try to keep him in check.


    ¡®i thought it was going to be a constellation battle, but are they really going to launch an all-out attack on my realm?¡¯


    attacking a constellation¡¯s territory was essentially a declaration of war. constellations disliked such risky fights because, even if they won, their entire realm could end up in ruins.


    -but there are some shortcuts to obtaining a realm.


    one of the main ways was to deceive the owner of the realm and pick a fight. there were restrictions, but it was enough to keep a new constellation in check.


    -picking a fight with me without revealing their identity... how cowardly.


    -...???


    [???]


    -what? why?


    -it¡¯s nothing.


    ***


    ¡°support?¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised by the unexpected news.


    -it¡¯s a beautiful world.


    [similarly to humans, the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is gulping due to nervousness...]


    -everybody, shut up.


    choi yeonseung had met adaquaniel and the armed angels in the previous constellation battle.


    the angels were amazed by the peaceful atmosphere of this realm.


    -the orcs are farming, right...?


    -isn¡¯t it a camouflage tactic?


    -why would they use such a tactic?


    -trying to bait attackers with a peaceful appearance... no, i think they¡¯re actually serious about farming. what¡¯s wrong with this area?


    adaquaniel ignored the noise behind her and spoke to choi yeonseung.


    -i will greet you on behalf of them. we came here for support.


    ¡°please take care of us.¡±


    choi yeonseung reached out to adaquaniel. the latter tilted her head with a puzzled expression before nodding in understanding.


    -a handshake. it¡¯s a traditional greeting on earth. please take care of us.


    the two of them shook hands.


    ¡®it¡¯s reassuring.¡¯


    choi yeonseung had a pretty high opinion of adaquaniel. she was very powerful in combat and had good judgment. she would be quite helpful in a battle that was about defending a territory.


    -do you need potions?


    ¡°potions? if you offer, i¡¯d be grateful to receive them...¡±


    -i brought some here.


    ¡°...!¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised, as he could see it with the eyes of a constellation. those potions had an outstanding level of purity that couldn¡¯t be achieved with earth¡¯s technology.


    ¡®wow, how amazing...!¡¯


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t proficient at all in alchemy, so he couldn¡¯t help being completely amazed by these potions. he found it hard to believe that they made them and then brought them to him.


    choi yeonseung was even more grateful to adaquaniel.


    ¡°thank you.¡±


    -no need. of course, i have to give it to you.


    adaquaniel meant that her master made her bring him the potions, but choi yeonseung understood something else. to him, she seemed very humble.


    ¡°adaquaniel, you¡¯re an angel i really like. it¡¯s rare to find such kind individuals, whether it¡¯s on earth or in the abyss.


    -umm...?


    the goddess of sloth tilted her head. she knew some alchemy, and to her, the potion looked like it had been created by a constellation, not a mortal.


    ¡°i¡¯ll have to share it with my nieces when i go back to earth.¡±


    -ummm...?


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong? do you have something to say?¡±


    -no. it¡¯s nothing.


    ***


    -it¡¯s just an area with orcs.


    the lich, an evil undead magician riding on top of a skeleton chariot, led his army forward. through the darkness of the abyss, he could see a bright area in the distance.


    a realm dominated by a constellation. there was the fortress of the orcs that they were aiming for.


    -the power of orcs is intimidating, but that¡¯s it. they¡¯re not smart. quickly burn down the whole place and proudly return home!


    bam!


    starting with the horses, the death knights around the lich fell one by one.


    the orcs, who had been waiting in ambush, ferociously rushed in with their weapons.


    -how dare you disregard our intelligence?!


    -these bastards... they¡¯ve never even plowed the ground...!

 Chapter 236

    chapter 236


    the lich remained calm despite being ambushed by the orcs. it was a sudden attack, but the lich wasn¡¯t one to lose his cool because of an ambush.


    -huh, these orcs are actually using their brains! however, they only know one thing and nothing else. have you any idea who you¡¯re attacking?!


    along with those words, the lich made a gesture, and darkness surrounded him, slithering around the orcs¡¯ ankles. at the same time, the flow of magic power circulating through the air shot to one direction and headed for the lich.


    highly powerful magicians had the ability to gain control of the magic power around them. this kind of ability was fearsome in the sense that it could completely suppress unskilled opponents. no matter their numbers, they couldn¡¯t cast magic if they had no magic power to draw.


    as expected, the orcs hesitated and could no longer cast magic.


    -take care of all of them!


    -yes!


    bam!


    however, it was the death knights who were pushed back, not the orcs. despite casting various kinds of magic, they were unable to defeat even a single orc warrior. for the first time in his life, the lich was shocked.


    -what are you doing?


    he had personally summoned these death knights and cast enhancement magic on them, and yet, they couldn¡¯t even defeat some orcs who had most of their magic power stolen.


    -these bastards are using magic!


    -it¡¯s not magic. this is the power that master has given us!


    an orc warrior wielded his axe while riding his horse. refined internal energy rose from the axe and split apart the death knight¡¯s sword.


    ¡®martial arts!¡¯


    the lich was stunned, as he knew almost nothing about martial arts. he had merely heard about the skill because the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ had recently become famous. compared to magic, it was a peculiar way of storing energy in one¡¯s body...


    -don¡¯t back down! martial arts might be unusual, but their skills are limited. attack with magic!


    despite the lich¡¯s command, the death knights were being pushed back even further. it wasn¡¯t like the death knights were low-level fighters or their magic was weak. the problem was that they were especially unskilled in close combat.


    as the orcs wielded their axes with brilliant technique, they were able to parry the death knight¡¯s sword attacks. on top of that, the orcs were able to push aside the death knights¡¯ shields and subsequently inflict damage on their armor, and whenever the death knights tried to counterattack with magic, the orcs swiftly evaded using their footwork. this kind of evasive technique was one of the main ways in which martial artists frustrated magic users.


    the lich was taken aback by the orcs¡¯ skillful move.


    ¡®i doubt that the constellation himself taught them this move. how did they manage to pull it off?¡¯


    the lich couldn¡¯t believe that the orcs had learned so quickly. he realized he had to step in and cast offensive magic. he was going to unleash it directly on the orcs.


    -spreading waves of light.


    -spreading waves of light!


    unbeknownst to the lich, the orcs weren¡¯t actually his only enemies. the angels, who had been waiting in ambush, rushed in from all directions, and the lich, who was only a skeleton, started trembling.


    -why are the angels here...?!


    -there¡¯s a lich! kill him first!


    -don¡¯t miss the lich!


    the angels sent by the goddess, who were highly skilled in combat, were aware how important this was. liches were wealthy, so they couldn¡¯t let this one go.


    -block the front! secure my retreat!


    the lich hurriedly summoned the death knights to form a wall. even though the angels knew a lot of spells that were powerful against the undead, it would still be difficult for them to break through the death knights and reach the lich.


    ¡°i will pierce through myself.¡±


    -then i¡¯ll help you.


    choi yeonseung nodded and charged with adaquaniel. the angel cast various kinds of enhancement magic while keeping up with choi yeonseung. the latter had fought while being enhanced by magic many times, but this was different. adaquaniel¡¯s magic was incredibly powerful. she was leagues above the hunters on earth.


    ¡®wow. this is no joke.¡¯


    normally, in order to release concentrated energy to the maximum potential, he had to focus and squeeze out as much internal energy as possible. however, he could now use concentrated energy without much effort. considering how important concentrated energy was for martial artists, this was an insanely powerful buff.


    -where did this human come from... kuack!


    choi yeonseung drew his sword and rushed in, slicing apart the death knights almost instantly. they had cast some defensive magic, but it didn¡¯t stand a chance against his concentrated energy.


    they fell one after another.


    the lich, who was retreating in the rear, became even more distressed upon seeing his death knights get obliterated in one hit.


    ¡®were the rumors wrong...?¡¯


    -that''s right. it¡¯s highly effective against the undead, so many angels have learnt it.


    ¡°oh... i want to teach other hunters that i know.¡±


    -it¡¯s hard to teach someone this kind of magic. however, you are special, so i will try to teach you.


    thump!


    choi yeonseung¡¯s heart started to race. she was so nice...!


    -in order to learn this spell, you must first understand the power of light. do you have any magic for handling light?


    ¡°i have the power called ¡®dignity of light¡¯.¡±


    -that must be the power of another constellation... no. i¡¯m sorry. i shouldn¡¯t have asked that.


    adaquaniel was serious about teaching choi yeonseung magic. of course, he had barely learnt any magic up until this point, so he had a harder time learning.


    -umm!


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry to ask this of you.¡±


    -no, it¡¯s fine. here, please take this magic book.


    adaquaniel offered choi yeonseung a book about magic which contained spreading waves of light. considering that books made for learning skills were insanely expensive, one couldn¡¯t easily obtain them.


    ¡°no... i can¡¯t accept this.¡±


    -please, i insist.


    adaquaniel did this for only one reason in particular. her master had told her to take care of him.


    ¡®such a kind angel!¡¯


    -... didn¡¯t her master tell her to do it?


    -goddess of sloth, don¡¯t insult adaquaniel¡¯s good intentions like that.


    -no... open your eyes! since she¡¯s a household member, there¡¯s no way she can just give people precious things like that!


    the goddess of sloth was dumbfounded, but choi yeonseung had come up with an explanation.


    -if the goddess of balance had actually ordered it, she would¡¯ve given it to me directly. and why would she give it to me, a household member? wouldn¡¯t it be customary to give it directly to my master?


    -... that¡¯s true, but...


    choi yeonseung had a point, so the goddess of sloth had nothing else to say, even though she still wasn¡¯t convinced.


    the angels, who were recovering from the battle, were embarrassed to see adaquaniel and choi yeonseung stick together and keep talking.


    -... should we stop it?


    -who¡¯s going to talk to adaquaniel?


    -... ummm!


    none of the angels were brave enough to speak directly to adaquaniel. however, no matter how they looked at it, something didn¡¯t seem right.


    ¡®if master sees this...¡¯


    ¡®she will definitely sulk.¡¯


    ¡®sulking is fine, but i¡¯m afraid she¡¯s going to cry.¡¯


    ***


    -you might¡¯ve caught me, but i¡¯m not telling you anything.


    the lich¡¯s words were firm. given how long the life of an abyssal creature was, being caught like this wasn¡¯t that big of a deal. it was bad that he got caught, but that didn¡¯t mean he could reveal who gave him the order.


    ¡°fine. if you don¡¯t want to tell me, then don¡¯t,¡± replied choi yeonseung without much thought. it wasn¡¯t like there was only one constellation aiming for him. he couldn¡¯t waste his time with someone who wouldn¡¯t talk.


    -what should we do?


    ¡°i can¡¯t let him go, so you guys have to take care of him.¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s words, the orcs were contemplating it.


    -can we use him as a scarecrow in the paddy field?


    ¡°...uh... sure, if you guys think you can handle him.¡±


    -thank you!

 Chapter 237

    chapter 237


    the lich was utterly bewildered when the orcs tried to tie him up and drag him into the paddy field.


    -wait! wait...! i am the destroyer and corruptor of kingdoms, the nightmare of many heroes and the master of the immortal army. you dare treat me like this?!


    ¡°will you tell us who sent you?¡±


    -that¡¯s not...


    ¡°then you¡¯re just a nuisance. make him a scarecrow.¡±


    the orcs diligently followed choi yeonseung¡¯s words as they stuck the immobilized lich into the ground of the paddy field.


    -orcs, listen to me. the destroyer of kingdoms...


    -hey, this might work better than expected.


    -since he¡¯s an undead monster, he¡¯ll definitely scare away other monsters.


    the orcs looked at the lich with satisfaction. even though he was tied up, he still had his distinctive ominous aura. for that reason, the lich was the perfect scarecrow. no monster would dare approach him!


    it would work even better because it seemed that he couldn¡¯t stop yelling.


    -you orc bastards, listen to me!


    the lich could shout all he wanted, but the orcs weren¡¯t going to listen to him. they were completely loyal to their constellation, so to them, the lich¡¯s words were just background noise.


    -the undead are gone, so we have to fill our quota today.


    the orcs picked up the farm tools and began plowing the ground with enthusiasm. their cries seemed like they wouldn¡¯t stop any time soon, which made the lich wish he had been in an isolated prison rather than that paddy field.


    ***


    they had killed an s-grade monster, and once the loot issue was resolved, there would be no reason for the hunters to stick around. every country that helped china by sending valuable hunters would be making all kinds of demands, but that was the problem of the chinese...


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t we declare dead the hunters who are still missing?¡±


    ¡°you guys really have no conscience. they came here to help you!¡±


    ¡°hunters who are still missing will have legal representatives to participate in their place!¡±


    a fierce quarrel broke out because a lot of hunters were still missing. if they did in fact die, the compensation would be drastically reduced. however, they were still missing in action, so they still had the right to take their share of the loot.


    ¡°it¡¯s a nasty conflict.¡±


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue and stepped forward. fortunately, he wasn¡¯t really involved in this conflict, as his achievements were indisputable.


    when it came to fighting for loot, the fiercest contests were among those who had had similar contributions in the raid. if one hunter had achieved more than the others by a large margin, then they wouldn¡¯t be disputed.


    naturally, choi yeonseung¡¯s first priority was the torch dragon¡¯s core, as the core of an s-grade hunter was extremely valuable. the next item was...


    ¡°ugh.¡±


    ¡°kuaack.¡±


    ¡°kiiiik...¡±


    several grunts could be heard coming from officials and hunters.


    it was the magic book with the sixth circle magic ¡®garunga¡¯s frost¡¯! it was one of the items dropped by the torch dragon, and everybody wanted to get it. sixth circle magic was so powerful that a-grade hunters could use it as their main power source. it was no exaggeration to say that this item was literally priceless.


    ¡°i¡¯ll take this as well.¡±


    ¡°ugh!¡±


    everyone sighed when choi yeonseung eventually took garunga¡¯s frost. they had a faint hope that because he was a martial artist, he would choose something else. they had hoped in vain.


    ¡®i guess it was to be expected.¡¯


    ¡®i¡¯d rather choi yeonseung take it. if anything, it would be easier to negotiate with him. i¡¯m just glad it¡¯s not in the hands of the chinese government.¡¯


    ¡®if the chinese had gotten it, they would¡¯ve prohibited anyone from taking it outside the country...¡¯


    unlike other countries, china had restrictions that prohibited its hunters from taking items outside the country. from that point of view, it was quite fortunate that choi yeonseung managed to get it.


    ¡®the next item is...¡¯


    ¡®is it the torch dragon¡¯s bracelet?¡¯


    the people in the room looked at each other with a mix of anticipation and intrigue. the next highly sought after item was the torch dragon¡¯s bracelet. the hunters didn¡¯t exactly know its effect, but they had keen senses and could sense the magic power emanating from it. the great amount of magic power was enough to captivate anyone!


    however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t pay much attention to the torch dragon¡¯s bracelet.


    [torch dragon¡¯s bracelet:


    durability: 400/400


    magic defense: 150


    the skill ¡®space movement defense¡¯ is always active.


    level restriction: 300.]


    ¡®i don¡¯t like the effects.¡¯


    ¡°is that so? it¡¯s a pity.¡±


    despite amelia''s statement, choi yeonseung was still very confident. anyone who saw it would think he was a chinese hunter.


    ¡°... what do you mean by ¡®don¡¯t choose the bracelet¡¯?¡±


    ¡°are you my niece?¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    ¡°she¡¯s my niece.¡±


    ¡°nie...ce?¡±


    amelia got embarrassed and her stern expression quickly relaxed. she didn¡¯t expect that.


    ¡°so why are you asking me?¡±


    ¡°...hunter han sehui, can you ask him about the bracelet for me?¡±


    amelia didn¡¯t give up. she grabbed han sehui and held her in front of choi yeonseung, who looked disapproving and said, ¡°i don¡¯t like the bracelet, but if you don¡¯t believe me, then you don¡¯t have to follow my words.¡±


    choi yeonseung turned his attention to han sehui and spoke to her with a friendly voice.


    ¡°make sure not to pick that bracelet. let the others have it... i think the gray ring over there is better. it would be a good fit for you.¡±


    ¡°... did i do something wrong?¡± amelia asked with a voice full of indignation.


    she was an a-grade hunter from a royal family, and thus, she was supposed to be treated well by everybody. whenever she participated in raids, she was always treated with respect by foreign hunters.


    ¡°what? no, nothing like that. ¡±


    ¡°then why are you treating me like this?!¡±


    ¡°well, isn¡¯t it worse to pry like you just did?¡±


    ¡°then why are you being so kind to hunter han sehui?¡±


    ¡°she¡¯s like a niece to me.¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at amelia with baffled eyes. the other household members around them sensed the tension and grabbed amelia, pulling her away from him.


    ¡°amelia, please calm down. there are a lot of people here.¡±


    ¡°in addition, hunter choi yeonseung isn¡¯t wrong...¡±


    ¡°this is unacceptable!¡± cried amelia before being dragged away.


    the allocation of items, which had been suspended for a while due to the commotion, was resumed.


    ¡®why aren¡¯t they choosing?¡¯


    ¡®it makes me worry for no reason.¡¯


    choi yeonseung¡¯s choice made people anxious about the next round, and their worries intensified when hunters like han seha, jeong wonuk, and kwon yeongseung, all passed the bracelet over. it would¡¯ve been better if they had just picked it!


    ¡®damn. let¡¯s pick it and see.¡¯


    despite the fact that the high-ranking hunters didn¡¯t pick the bracelet, some people couldn¡¯t pass it over. as soon as the next turn came, a hunter, who had been waiting for this opportunity, picked up the bracelet.


    voices filled with regret could be heard from all directions. who would¡¯ve thought that a guy of that level would get it!


    ***


    ¡°mr. chen xiezhi. if you remain calm, i¡¯ll give you something delicious.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t want to! i don¡¯t want to!¡±


    ¡°...mr. chen xiezhi! please!¡±


    the chinese hunters in charge of chen xiezhi were on the verge of collapsing. the chinese representative naturally took over the distribution of loot. now that the event was over, they could finally sleep quietly while the foreign hunters returned to their countries...


    chen xiezhi wasn¡¯t that stubborn by nature, but perhaps the raid had made him more greedy.


    ¡°i understand. then bring me something delicious. if you do, i¡¯ll stay put!¡±


    ¡°!!¡±


    ¡°thank you! what do you want to eat?¡±


    ¡°jajangmyeon!¡±


    ¡°... what¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°how can you not know what jajangmyeon is when you¡¯re chinese?!! it¡¯s chinese food! are you trying to mock me?!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry! i¡¯ll go get it! i¡¯ll go get it!¡±


    chen xiezhi looked around as the hunters rushed out in fear.


    bam!


    chen xiezhi knocked out the guards and disappeared, his shadow crossing the high wall of the base in an instant.

 Chapter 238

    chapter 238


    as chen xiezhi rushed out of the base, the korean hunters were getting ready to board a private plane to return home.


    ¡°are you going straight back to the united states?¡±


    ¡°no. i have to get off in south korea so i can say ¡®hi¡¯ to changsik hyung. i¡¯ll bring him some stuff that¡¯s going to be good for his body.¡±


    ¡°hahaha...¡±


    the other korean hunters thought that choi yeonseung was joking, but he was actually serious.


    from the meat of the torch dragon to the ingredients grown by the orcs in his realm, he had acquired many new recipes. even though things like the torch dragon¡¯s meat were valuable ingredients, they weren¡¯t really sought after when it came to loot. this material was rarely analyzed in laboratories, and there were a lot of items more precious than this. because of that, but also because of his outstanding achievements, choi yeonseung could easily take plenty of meat.


    ¡°are you going anywhere else?¡±


    ¡°i have to meet and thank mrs. lee chunok.¡±


    ¡°um, who¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°a korean chef.¡±


    ¡°... ah, yes.¡±


    ¡°why are you asking all these questions? what do you really want?¡± asked choi yeonseung with curiosity. he keenly sensed that kwon yeongseung was after something.


    ¡°if it¡¯s okay... i was wondering if you¡¯d like to come to our six-eyed turtle clan once.¡±


    ¡°the six-eyed turtle? i¡¯ll do it.¡±


    kwon yeongseung was surprised by how easily choi yeonseung accepted his invitation. normally, a-grade hunters requested money in order to go somewhere. inviting independent a-grade hunters to visit a clan required astronomical amounts of money or other incentives. it was the same with hunters from different clans.


    why did choi yeonseung accept so easily?


    ¡°is it really okay? i haven¡¯t even made an offer yet.¡±


    ¡°as far as the offer goes... since we¡¯ve been together on raids several times, i can do this much for you. are there any martial artists in the six-eyed turtle clan?¡±


    ¡°yes. there are quite a few.¡±


    ¡°then it¡¯s fine. i¡¯ll take this opportunity to teach them.¡±


    ¡°... is it really okay?¡±


    ¡°do you want me to charge you one million dollars for each lesson?¡± asked choi yeonseung with a hint of annoyance, wondering why kwon yeongseung kept bothering him.


    han seha nodded in agreement at choi yeonseung¡¯s words.


    ¡°it sounds like a good idea. why don¡¯t you add another zero?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t be like this.¡±


    ¡°no. you shouldn¡¯t do good things for free. besides, the six-eyed turtle clan has a lot of money. they make money in all sorts of ways over there...¡±


    kwon yeongseung was angry.


    ¡°what did we do?¡±


    ¡°this year, haven¡¯t you started a bunch of new variety shows featuring hunters? one show featuring hunters raising children, one with hunters that sing, one with hunters that exercise, and one with hunters that have virtual relationships. isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    kwon yeongseung¡¯s face turned red at han seha¡¯s sharp words, while choi yeonseung was impressed by what he heard.


    ¡°wow, the six-eyed turtle clan is amazing.¡±


    ¡°ah... what¡¯s wrong with it?¡±


    kwon yeongseung, who was a movie star himself, protested in tears.


    ¡°not all hunters have to risk their lives in raids. some hunters have a knack for broadcasting, and some are talented at games...¡±


    ¡°no one said anything. why are you angry?¡±


    ¡°stop playing around.¡±


    choi yeonseung stopped han seha and tried to calm down kwon yeongseung.


    ¡°i¡¯m not saying it¡¯s wrong. it¡¯s actually amazing.


    ¡°it wasn¡¯t to this extent before.¡±


    ¡°what was it like before?¡±


    ¡°it used to be quite special. only a few really famous hunters came out and showed themselves on television.¡±


    compared to that, the number of hunters had increased recently and a variety of content had come out. it meant it had become harder for hunters to make a living, but...


    ¡°that¡¯s right. hunters are human beings, and i understand that they should enjoy their lives, but as long as they¡¯re hunters, they must not completely forget about their duty to fight monsters. if a dungeon explodes right in front of them and monsters emerge, they¡¯re the ones who can fight the monsters, not ordinary people. they have such obligations as hunters.¡±


    everyone was slightly impressed and nodded at the logical explanation, but choi yeonseung felt that something was off as he listened to the speech.


    ¡°...wait. who said that just now?¡±


    it sounded like it came from someone a bit older. however, it didn¡¯t really sound like jeong wonuk...


    ¡°i said it.¡±


    the chinese hunters, who had been waiting in formation, bowed their heads and rejoiced after hearing diao zijian¡¯s words. there was no hunter who dared to be arrogant in front of diao zijian, who had the power to make birds fall from the sky.


    ¡°in addition to the loot, the hunters who have made achievements during this battle will be rewarded in the name of the party...¡±


    ¡°mr. diao zijian!¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    the hunters watched curiously as diao zijian¡¯s secretary came over in a rush. what was going on?


    ¡°...¡±


    diao zijian¡¯s face hardened after hearing what the secretary had to say.


    chun zhiyuan, an a-grade hunter of china, watched the situation and thought to himself, ¡®this is an opportunity.¡¯


    during this monster wave, several chinese a-grade hunters got seriously injured or disappeared. the remaining a-grade hunters felt a heavier burden because of this, but at the same time, it could be seen as if their status had increased.


    chun zhiyuan had always wanted to move up within the party. of course, given that he was an a-grade hunter, he was already admired by everyone, but that wasn¡¯t enough for him. he wanted to be a member of the party who could control hundreds of millions of people with one snap of his fingers!


    ¡°mr. diao zijian. leave it to me. i¡¯ll quickly solve the problem and come back.¡±


    ¡°... will you do that?¡± asked diao zijian, feeling a bit reassured.


    it might¡¯ve been different if someone else had offered to solve the problem, but an a-grade hunter like chun zhiyuan was bound to get it done.


    ¡®it¡¯s pretty good.¡¯


    besides, chun zhiyuan was convinced he figured out the situation without even hearing it. he seemed smarter than those ignorant hunters.


    diao zijian would have to get rid of the a-grade hunter if his status got too high, but at this moment, he could still use him.


    ¡°okay. i¡¯ll leave this to you.¡±


    ¡°thank you,¡± said chun zhiyuan, careful to manage his expression.


    it didn¡¯t matter what it was...


    ¡°...¡±


    he thought he heard it wrong. who ran away to where?!


    ***


    ¡°where have all the icarus clan hunters gone?¡±


    ¡°they ran away.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung had a stern expression as he listened to illeya¡¯s words.


    -well, they fought hard, so it¡¯s natural that they want to take a break.


    -how can you become stronger if you rest like this?


    -... wow. successor, i¡¯m glad i¡¯m not under your leadership!


    ¡°okay, i¡¯ll let it slide. they¡¯ll be able to work harder if they rest for a bit.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re not going to do anything?¡± asked illeya with a hint of regret in her voice. she would¡¯ve loved to see choi yeonseung catch the icarus hunters like they were some rats. it would''ve been a magnificent scene!


    ¡°i have been invited by the six-eyed turtle clan, so i have to go there. illeya, you can rest. don¡¯t you want to go sightseeing in south korea?¡±


    honestly, as a korean, choi yeonseung felt bad every time illeya asked him things like ¡¯do you know this trot singer?¡¯ how could choi yeonseung know people like that?


    ¡°we are clan members. we should work together.¡±


    ¡°thank you. yes, let¡¯s go together. i¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like the six-eyed turtle clan.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a good thing,¡± added chen xiezhi from behind them.


    upon hearing the news after the hunters disembarked at the airport, the korean government panicked and called its officials. after thinking about what had to be done, chen xiezhi started whining that he would go with choi yeonseung. having an s-grade hunter make a fuss was a pretty bad situation.


    the public officials were worried and didn¡¯t know what to do, but choi yeonseung eventually decided to take responsibility for chen xiezhi.


    ¡°elder, how about some acupuncture?¡±


    ¡°really? thank you. i don¡¯t know how long it¡¯s been since i¡¯ve received acupuncture.¡±


    chen xiezhi grinned and stretched out his arm, and choi yeonseung quickly used pressure point attack. he hit that pressure point so that chen xiezhi wouldn¡¯t be able to go on a rampage again!


    ¡°umm... i don¡¯t feel anything.¡±


    ¡°it will take a while to feel the effects.¡±


    illeya was intrigued by choi yeonseung¡¯s technique.


    ¡°can i also receive it?¡±


    ¡°... absolutely not.¡±


    illeya looked sulky hearing those words.

 Chapter 239

    chapter 239


    ¡®it isn¡¯t good.¡¯


    every time choi yeonseung felt unwell and tried acupuncture, there was no effect. he wanted to explain that people didn¡¯t actually benefit from acupuncture and that he had hit chen xiezhi with pressure point attack as a way of subduing him, but... he decided to put up with it because things would be more complicated if chen xiezhi heard this.


    choi yeonseung and illeya got out of the car, and chen xiezhi followed them. the member of the six-eyed turtle clan waiting in front of the tall building rushed over to greet them.


    honesty was the most important thing when it came to welcoming an a-grade hunter, and the angle at which one bowed reflected the level of honesty. the closer it got to 90 degrees, the higher the honesty was.


    ¡°hunter choi...¡±


    ¡°save it.¡±n??v€l-b1n was the first platform to present this chapter.


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°if you¡¯re going to say things like ¡®it¡¯s an honor to meet you like this. you were really amazing during this monster wave, and your dedication to the eternal glory of our country and people is unparalleled,¡¯ please calm down. i¡¯ve heard things like that countless times.¡±


    ¡°......¡±


    how did he know? the embarrassed employee immediately straightened his waist.


    ¡®seha was right.¡¯


    in fact, jeong wonuk had mentioned it to him as well, but choi yeonseung only remembered what han seha had told him.


    -what is the six-eyed turtle clan like?


    -it¡¯s a super large clan, both in a good and in a bad way.


    jeong wonuk didn¡¯t dislike the six-eyed turtle clan. regardless of everything, it was one of the three largest clans in south korea. additionally, it was the clan that supported the country the most, given that it had the largest number of hunters.


    jeong wonuk led the golden blood fish, another one of the three largest clans, so he cooperated with the six-eyed turtle clan quite often.


    -there¡¯s a saying that numbers are power, but the six-eyed turtle clan is really fixated on that...


    -they¡¯re so blinded by money that they¡¯ll accept anyone. then, they abandon the ones who don¡¯t show results.


    -... no. i didn¡¯t say that.


    jeong wonuk was flustered by han seha¡¯s words. he didn¡¯t want to insult the six-eyed turtle clan.


    -no matter the clan, hunters who don¡¯t show results or don¡¯t have skills are bound to receive less support.


    -in the clan i was in, the options were either to retire or to somehow find a way to get stronger.


    choi yeonseung explained how things worked in his clan.


    -... that was over 30 years ago.


    jeong wonuk still tried to explain how things worked in the present, but han seha kept her cold attitude.


    -don¡¯t be fooled. hunter jeong wonuk is also the clan leader of the golden blood fish clan. as the leader of a large clan, he can¡¯t say bad things about other large clans. he¡¯s been corrupted by money.


    -you¡¯re the heir to the hanseong group...!


    jeong wonuk wasn¡¯t one to easily lose his cool, but he couldn¡¯t keep his composure against han seha¡¯s rebuke. he was just shocked that han seha, who was rumored to be the successor of the hanseong group, criticized him like that.


    choi yeonseung intervened again. -well, if you¡¯re the head of a large clan, obviously your words won¡¯t be the most convincing.


    -... ask other people! if you ask the korean officials, they¡¯ll say the same thing as i did.


    -can officials speak badly about a large clan?


    -that¡¯s right.


    -... let¡¯s just not talk about this.


    -why are you getting pissed again?


    -you should speak the truth no matter how many people criticize you. what¡¯s wrong with you?


    -......


    in any case, choi yeonseung had a rough idea of what kind of clan the six-eyed turtle was. they had a large number of hunters, and the clan leaders had to have a lot of expertise to be able to manage all of them. it took a lot of effort to keep hunters in check, given that they were rebellious and full of complaints. moreover, each of them had unique personalities.


    icarus currently didn¡¯t have a high number of hunters, but they still had accidents every now and then. in that regard, the six-eyed turtle clan was great.


    ¡°and who might this person be?¡± asked the employee while looking at chen xiezhi with curious eyes. it had been arranged for two people to come, but there were three.


    ¡°he¡¯s an s-grade hunter.¡±


    ¡°hahahaha! what a joke!¡±


    the employee burst out laughing as if he hadn¡¯t expected someone like choi yeonseung to make a joke in a situation like this.


    ¡°let¡¯s talk more inside. come in.¡±


    ***


    ¡°t... this is ridiculous...¡±


    amelia was completely shocked, and her expression was of utter disbelief. she had clearly had more achievements than other hunters when fighting the torch dragon. there was no way choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t noticed it. it was ridiculous!


    ¡°i need to call him myself.¡±


    ¡°wouldn¡¯t that be out of place?¡±


    amelia ignored han seha and took out her smartphone.


    -hello?


    -hunter choi yeonseung, i¡¯m amelia. i was with you during the fight with the torch dragon...


    -is this about the potion?


    -the potion isn¡¯t important. i¡¯m saying this because i think i must be missing something. i¡¯m certain that...


    -i just didn¡¯t want to give you the potion.


    -... why?


    beep¡ª


    choi yeonseung was annoyed and hung up on her. amelia looked devastated and tried to call again, but... this time, she didn¡¯t get through at all.


    ¡°... uhm, i think he blocked you, amelia,¡± said a hunter from behind with a highly reluctant expression.


    it was such a pitiful scene that not even han seha could make fun of her.


    ***


    ¡°who were you talking to?¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s a hunter i worked with during the raid and she keeps calling me. she¡¯s weird.¡±


    ¡°ah. that happens a lot.¡±


    the employee of the six-eyed turtle nodded as if he knew what that was about. in the world of hunters, connections were very important. even d-grade or e-grade hunters could grow quickly if they participated in raids with a-grade hunters. not only was it one of the main ways to become the household member of a constellation, but they could also get carried by the a-grade hunters.


    consequently, several low-rank hunters would cling to hunters with higher ranks than them after a raid. even b and c-grade hunters would get all kinds of requests, so one couldn¡¯t imagine how bad it was for a-grade hunters.


    ¡°if you¡¯re uncomfortable, tell our clan. we have a separate department that deals with stuff like that.¡±


    ¡°really?¡±


    ¡°yes. other clans throw all the work at one hunter manager, but our clan breaks down the needs of hunters and has experts in each field.¡±


    ¡°i see. it¡¯s amazing.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know who your manager is, but they shouldn¡¯t neglect you like this...¡±


    ¡°are you implying that my niece isn¡¯t good at her job?¡±


    the moment choi yeonseung said that, the employee immediately changed his words.


    ¡°... no way! it¡¯s because a hunter¡¯s job differs depending on the hunter!¡±


    chen xiezhi, who was behind them, was impressed.


    ¡°well, aren¡¯t you a smooth talker?¡±


    ***


    choi yeonseung wanted to see the training facilities of the six-eyed turtle clan before meeting the clan leader or other top hunters.


    who would refuse this?


    the employee of the six-eyed turtle calmly guided choi yeonseung. he honestly wanted him to see their training facilities, as they weren¡¯t inferior to those of other clans in south korea. he couldn¡¯t wait to see choi yeonseung, an a-grade hunter, admire their facilities!


    ¡°right now, this... seeing that they¡¯re practicing 6:6, is it for the ssl?¡±


    ¡°yes. that¡¯s right. it¡¯s one of the areas that the hunters of the six-eyed turtle aim for the most.¡±


    some time ago, choi yeonseung would¡¯ve said, ¡®isn¡¯t it better to just do raids?¡¯ now, he was more open-minded. it was also important to be good at sports. the constellations themselves held sporting events with each other in order to win territory...


    ¡°... well, based on what i¡¯m seeing, i don¡¯t think they¡¯re very good at it.¡±


    ¡°ahem. ahem.¡± the six-eyed turtle employee coughed out of awkwardness.


    illeya, who was next to them, also added to choi yeonseung¡¯s assertion.


    ¡°awful... don¡¯t they seem awful at this?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not so much that they¡¯re awful... we¡¯re humans, so isn¡¯t it natural to have some ups and downs when it comes to our skills?¡± explained the employee.


    ¡®this isn¡¯t about ups and downs. they look like a ragtag group,¡¯ thought choi yeonseung as he looked down.

 Chapter 240

    chapter 240


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t an expert in the ssl, given that he had only fought alongside the angels in preparation for the constellation battle. however, he was still able to assess how well those hunters were fighting.


    the six-eyed turtle hunters weren¡¯t fighting well. more exactly, they looked like they were playing separately, not as a team. the hunter in the top lane, the one in the middle lane, the one in the bottom lane, and even the free-roaming hunter, were all fighting on their own to kill monsters.


    the angels serving the goddess of balance were different. they moved as one despite being so far apart from each other. choi yeonseung admired the way in which the angels moved in perfect order under adaquaniel¡¯s commands.


    thanks to their coordination, choi yeonseung was able to stay composed and effortlessly defeat any enemies that got in his way. he killed the monsters when they emerged and smashed the opponent¡¯s turret...


    ¡®is it okay for them to fight like this?¡¯


    ¡°do you really think they don¡¯t suck??¡± asked illeya once again. she really seemed to think that their fighting was terrible.


    ¡°it¡¯s because the six-eyed turtle clan doesn¡¯t participate in the ssl directly,¡± explained kwon yeongseung from behind them.


    kwon yeongseung came straight down when he heard that choi yeonseung, who had just arrived, hadn¡¯t met the clan leader yet and was touring the training facility.


    ¡°you don¡¯t participate in the competition directly? then why train for it?¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re training the hunters that have potential for it and then we sell them to other clans.¡±


    ¡°... you mean trafficking? are you a slave trader?¡± asked illeya with a look of disbelief.


    kwon yeongseung shook his head in an embarrassed manner. ¡°what... no!¡±


    ¡°i guess he¡¯s a slave trader,¡± illeya whispered in choi yeonseung¡¯s ear.


    choi yeonseung nodded with a serious expression.


    ¡°... are you making fun of me right now?¡± kwon yeongseun wondered.


    ¡°you¡¯re quick-witted.¡±


    not all the clans competed, as the ssl was a sport where failure meant many losses. the six-eyed turtle clan had participated in the ssl in the early days, but they had the bitter experience of setting one of the worst records among the korean clans, which had already been evaluated as weak. afterwards, the clan leader made a decision.


    -let¡¯s stay away from this competition. we will only raise hunters who want to play and sell them to other clans!


    the six-eyed turtle clan had a large number of hunters, given that they were considered a super-large clan, and some of them stood out.


    having a transfer fee when handing over the talented hunters to another clan was indeed good business.


    ¡°how bad were your results?¡±


    ¡°well, it¡¯s been ten years since...¡±


    ¡°so what if you haven¡¯t won the championship in ten years? there are teams that have been playing for thirty years and still haven¡¯t won it.¡±


    even in the case of hwang gyeongryong, wasn¡¯t he still cheering for the giants?


    ¡°... we were last place.¡±??v€l?1n.


    ¡°okay, i think disbanding the team is the right call,¡± said choi yeonseung, changing his mind about the team.


    at this point, it was rather strange. since the clan was quite large, they definitely didn¡¯t lack money like other clans. how did they manage to get such bad results despite having the resources?


    ¡®the team is hopeless. there must be many reasons behind it.¡¯


    it was possible that the opposing clans had been stronger, or that the hunters had been fighting among themselves, or the coach had been incompetent...


    in any case, even though they didn¡¯t participate in competitions themselves, the six-eyed turtle clan was still a fairly attractive place.


    for low-level hunters, it didn¡¯t matter if they joined and participated in the ssl or anything else. other clans could easily find and recruit various talents.


    ¡°by the way, why is everyone saying that the korean team is so weak when you have developed so many talents?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    kwon yeongseung was one of those talents who didn¡¯t perform well when playing for the national team, so he absolutely couldn¡¯t say anything in regards to that. perhaps if he had done a better job, director lee changsik wouldn¡¯t have been criticized so much.


    the staff member next to him made excuses for him. ¡°well, the reasons are complicated.¡±


    ¡°can you give me a summary then?¡±


    ***


    the hunters of the six-eyed turtle were staring at chen xiezhi with admiration. at first, they thought he was just a crazy old man, but they found out he was amazing when he actually started fighting.


    ¡°what are you doing here?¡± asked chen xiezhi, not sure why those hunters were staring at him.


    ¡°i never thought you would fight so well.¡±


    choi yeonseung answered for him, ¡°he¡¯s an s-grade hunter.¡±


    ¡°hahaha. what a ridiculous joke...¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, you were also really amazing.¡±


    the hunters thought he was joking and started laughing. chen xiezhi had been great, but choi yeonseung had been even more amazing. even though they fought in the otherworld, which restricted one¡¯s power, choi yeonseung still managed to endure a 1:3 fight. it was an incredible feat of strength.


    when they tried to cast magic from a distance, he dodged as if he had eyes in the back of his head. fighting him from a close distance wasn¡¯t much better either, as he managed to hold his own by deflecting all the attacks, and on top of that, he could have counterattacked right away if he had wanted to...


    choi yeonseung revealed his true strength the more he persisted and the more he hunted monsters. once he had gained enough strength and his magic power had been restored, he crushed the other hunters.


    ¡°i think that hunter choi yeonseung should be the one to go to the ssl competition, not us.¡±


    ¡°what are you talking about...? i don¡¯t even know the rules.¡± choi yeonseung disregarded the idea that he thought was ridiculous. he did a great job when he fought with the angels because of how excellent adaquaniel¡¯s ability was. however, there was no way he would do well in a competition. he was well aware of how complicated the ssl had become.


    ¡°of course, you might be unfamiliar with the rules, but your ability to fight is the most important, right? in all honesty, your skills are more than enough.¡±


    the six-eyed turtle clan hunters didn¡¯t back down and tried to persuade him. after all, choi yeonseung had fought amazingly well.


    ¡°stop talking nonsense. get ready to learn martial arts.¡±


    ¡°thank you!¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s words, the six-eyed turtle clan members shouted emotionally. an opportunity to receive lessons from a martial artist, especially an a-grade hunter, didn¡¯t come often.


    moreover, it was entirely free!


    no hunter had ever shared the secrets of their skills like that.


    [strong faith is gathering in this spot.]


    [the power of existence has risen!]


    choi yeonseung evaluated the skills of the martial artists, evaluated their postures, and taught them simple ways to practice. the instructions of the master, who had undergone the same kind of training, were surprisingly effective.


    these martial artists, who had always felt held back because of what they chose to learn, felt enlightened every time they heard an answer to their question.


    ¡°hey, you!¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°i want to bring you to our ambitus clan. how much money will it cost? i¡¯ll give you whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°will you give me all the shares in the ambitus clan?¡±


    ¡°... that must be a joke. what nonsense... wait.¡±


    the dumbfounded scout was taken aback when he recognized choi yeonseung¡¯s voice.


    ¡°ah... no. what?¡±


    choi yeonseung asked, ¡°so why did you call me? are you looking for a fight?¡±


    ¡°n-no. that¡¯s not it... why are you here?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m teaching some martial artists.¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words surprised the scout even more. why was an a-grade hunter giving lessons to these d and e-grade hunters? did he have that much free time?


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re being deceived by the six-eyed turtle clan!¡±


    ¡°i see...!¡± said illeya, who was next to them, in an admiring voice.


    no wonder!

 Chapter 241

    chapter 241


    ¡°i¡¯m not being deceived.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t you think you¡¯re being out of line?¡± the six-eyed turtle employee looked serious as he scolded the scout after hearing choi yeonseung¡¯s words. the scout might have been an outsider, but there were limits to what he was allowed to say.


    ¡°n-no... that¡¯s...¡±


    it was only at this time that the scout realized he had made a mistake. those words just slipped out when he saw the a-grade hunter wasting his time like that with those hunters. it wasn¡¯t something that one could just say in someone else¡¯s clan building.


    ¡®come to think of it, why is hunter choi yeonseung even here? is it because of a friendship? unless he¡¯s a pushover, an a-grade hunter wouldn¡¯t come to another clan just because of some friendship...¡¯


    the ambitus scout was distressed, and he didn¡¯t know that he had actually guessed the reason why choi yeonseung had come here.


    in the meantime, the scouts realized that the old hunter behind choi yeonseung also had a familiar face.


    ... it was chen xiezhi!


    ¡°h-hunter chen xiezhi?¡±


    ¡°what is it?¡± asked chen xiezhi, not knowing why this person called his name.


    the scout was speechless. he really was chen xiezhi!


    ¡®is the korean government crazy? abducting an s-grade hunter from another country...?¡¯


    ¡®no... if they blatantly took an s-grade hunter to another country, it means they don¡¯t care if they get caught. they would only do something like that if they had a plan that they¡¯re convinced would work.¡¯


    ¡®are they serious about this? if so, it¡¯s even crazier!¡¯


    no matter how much they thought about it, it was hard to figure out why chen xiezhi was there. because of that, the scouts began whispering among themselves.


    -the korean government seems a lot more like a mafia gang than i thought. isn¡¯t this something that only china would do? bringing a hunter from another country so confidently...


    -umm. they are neighboring countries, so it would be strange for them to stay still without doing anything. the chinese government must be very angry.


    -regardless of anything, i never thought south korea would provoke them like this...


    the scouts were stunned by the bravery of the south korean government.


    china was certainly different from the old days, but they were still a big country that operated like gangsters. it was completely unexpected for south korea to provoke china in such a fashion.


    ¡°if you have nothing else to say, could you please leave?¡± said the six-eyed turtle clan in a sullen voice. he seemed quite offended by what the scouts had said.


    the scouts were surprised by the way the employee was treating them, but they soon realized why he was acting like that.


    ¡®damn it.¡¯


    kwon yeongseung, the a-grade hunter who was more or less the face of the six-eyed turtle clan, was also there. his presence meant that even the leader of the ambitus clan had to be careful. they could get locked up in the basement of the training facility if they messed around with an employee of the clan.


    even so, the scouts couldn¡¯t back down.


    ¡°... we haven¡¯t seen all the players yet, so we¡¯ll have to look around some more.¡±


    choi yeonseung became curious and asked the ambitus scouts, ¡°seeing that you came all this way to look at the korean hunters, they must be doing well, right?¡±


    ¡°yes, they fight well.¡±


    ¡°above all, korean hunters who want to participate in the competition prefer overseas clans to korean clans...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung paused at the last answer, which was unexpectedly sad.


    ¡®how bad are the korean teams?¡¯


    one of the scouts seemed to notice choi yeonseung¡¯s reaction and poked his companion in the side.


    ¡°hey, be careful what you say!¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung is korean. what person likes it when their own country is insulted?¡±


    ¡°ah...!¡±


    for a moment, the scout thought he was speaking to dragon hwang, but on a closer look, the a-grade hunter in front of him seemed to be from south korea. he had mistakenly thought that choi yeonseung was american!


    ¡°haha, korean hunters are great at fighting. heh...¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, if you know any good hunters, then please recommend them.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong looked intrigued for a moment.


    as a constellation, raising a clan wasn¡¯t a bad choice either. many ordinary people were currently more interested in fights between clans than raids. as far as dungeon raids were concerned, the general public wasn¡¯t really interested in them unless it was a really dangerous dungeon. a clan-to-clan competition was far more exciting than that.


    however, there was a reason why hwang gyeongryong hadn¡¯t bothered to recommend it.


    first of all, it wasn¡¯t common to train a clan. the reason he had sent choi yeonseung to the icarus clan was because the icarus hunters were talented people who were considered aces in their own way. at the very least, he had been certain that they wouldn¡¯t hold choi yeonseung back. however, if he left a clan that was currently doing well to choi yeonseung...


    ¡°it won¡¯t work. i¡¯m sorry. there are clans that are already doing well. if i just simply add you to the clan, they will argue with everyone, starting from the hunters there to the director. i can¡¯t break their trust.¡±


    the clans that hwang gyeongryong had under him could be regarded as first-class clans. those clans were among the best in the united states, and were always at the top of the league. no matter how great choi yeonseung was, hwang gyeongryong couldn¡¯t simply add him to the team. on the contrary, the clans would be shaken if he changed them as he wanted.


    hwang gyeongryong continued to discuss with choi yeonseung, ¡°is this really necessary for you? if that¡¯s the case, i¡¯ll do it even if i get criticized...¡±


    ¡°no, forget it. it doesn¡¯t matter what their results are. i just need a clan where i can train some hunters.¡±


    ¡°if that¡¯s the case, why don¡¯t you just create a new clan and take over the facility? it¡¯s not that difficult.¡±


    ¡°in addition, if possible, i would like it to be a korean clan.¡±


    ¡°...ugh, why?¡± asked hwang gyeongryong with a slightly dissatisfied voice. ¡°wouldn¡¯t an american clan be better? why would you go there?¡±


    ¡°that... don¡¯t you feel sorry for changsik hyung?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong couldn¡¯t refuse it.


    that was true...!


    ***


    ¡°you¡¯re actually buying it? why?¡±


    ¡°are you asking me not to buy it?¡±


    ¡°n-no. it¡¯s not like that.¡±


    it was really easy to take over a clan facility in south korea or in the united states. throughout the years, hunter clans had always appeared and disappeared. in the past, hunters would leave because of injuries. nowadays, hunters left either because they were scouted somewhere else or because they didn¡¯t get along with each other.


    ¡°by the way,¡± illeya asked curiously, ¡°are you good at ssl? it is to the point where you can be the director?¡±


    choi yeonseung shook his head. ¡°i can¡¯t say it¡¯s like that.¡±


    there were many decent hunters out there that were blatantly ignored by others. this was why choi yeonseung did this. however, he wasn¡¯t particularly confident about the whole thing.


    ¡°then?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m going to call someone who¡¯s good at it.¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    illeya cocked her head. was there someone who would be a good director?


    someone knocked on the door before they could finish talking.


    ¡°why did you want to meet in a place like this?¡± asked lee changsik as he walked in. they met at a closed clan facility out of all places.


    ¡°the iron-blooded ice emperor!¡±


    ¡°... nice to meet you.¡±


    lee changsik looked slightly embarrassed as he replied to illeya.


    choi yeonseung looked at lee changsik and asked, ¡°hyung, i heard that you will step down as the head coach of the national team next month.¡±


    ¡°how do you know that...?¡±


    ¡°i asked a government official, the six-eyed turtle clan, and the leader of the golden blood fish clan. they all pretty much said the same thing.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    lee changsik was surprised that this younger brother had developed wider connections than him during the time they hadn¡¯t met.


    choi yeonseung curiously asked, ¡°what are you going to do when stepping down as director?¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s see... i don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°if you don¡¯t have anything in mind, do you want to help me with my work?¡±


    ¡°your work? haha... okay. i¡¯ll help you with anything as long as i don¡¯t have to be the director.¡±

 Chapter 242

    chapter 242


    lee changsik had said that as a joke, but choi yeonseung felt awkward.


    ¡°uh, so you can¡¯t do it?¡±


    ¡°... don¡¯t tell me you actually want me to be a director...¡±


    ¡°well, that¡¯s exactly what i want.¡±


    ¡°... why???¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s nothing to lose from having a good clan in the ssl, right?¡±


    nowadays, hunters were more interested in sports rather than doing raids, and the ssl was a sport with extremely high stakes. thus, it wasn¡¯t surprising to see so many clans betting the rights to their ownership on this competition.


    moreover, choi yeonseung had another goal in mind. as a constellation, he wanted to gain more faith and prepare for the constellation battles.


    ¡®i have to make a household in advance.¡¯


    even though choi yeonseung was among the most inexperienced constellations, he had nevertheless gained a decent understanding of how constellations operated.


    household members didn¡¯t just come into existence by making them. signing a contract with another being didn¡¯t mean that there was trust between the two parties. they had to be together for a long time in order to truly trust each other!


    of course, the constellation could threaten to undo the contract and destroy the household member¡¯s soul if they weren¡¯t loyal. that was usually how evil god constellations operated. however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t think that that approach was good, as hunters seemed to betray their evil god constellations the first chance they got. unlike abyssal races, humans were good at stabbing someone in the back and betraying the evil god constellations.


    -certainly, humans are not as afraid of constellations as abyssal races are.


    for the races born and raised in the abyss, constellations were like gods, but for the humans on earth, constellations were just some kind of powerful aliens. humans would bow down when threatened with force, but they wouldn¡¯t submit in their hearts.


    consequently, choi yeonseung had to work hard to establish his household. he had to take advantage of the momentum he had gained during the monster wave!


    ¡®i have to act now while i¡¯m still really popular.¡¯


    ¡°what do you mean by nothing to lose...? i don¡¯t want you to...¡± said lee changsik in a worried voice.


    choi yeonseung was slightly surprised by his attitude.


    "is there a problem?"


    ¡°a problem? not necessarily. it¡¯s just that the director is more likely to get criticized.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung had nothing to say against that. he felt the disheartening sincerity of lee changsik, who was reviled more than anyone else.


    ¡°it¡¯s so pitiful,¡± said illeya in a regretful voice from next to choi yeonseung.


    ¡°well, it¡¯s natural to get cursed at if you don¡¯t get good results, but with those good players...¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t mind being cursed at.¡±


    ¡°yes, you never really cared about it before,¡± replied lee changsik while recalling old memories.n??v€l-b1n was the first platform to present this chapter.


    some hunters cared a lot about what other people thought about them, and some didn¡¯t. overall, there were more hunters that cared about public opinion, as it was hard to completely disregard it, given that they were still humans. after all, hunters only cared about themselves, so why else would they do volunteer work and save people from time to time?


    however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t really care about that. he had followed his instinct no matter what the reporters had written about him.


    ¡°well, it¡¯s actually amazing. i thought you might¡¯ve changed a bit since you started doing interviews and writing articles.¡±


    ¡°ah. there¡¯s a reason for that,¡± replied choi yeonseung. he then asked illeya, ¡°can you leave us for a moment? i need to talk to him.¡±


    illeya wasn¡¯t happy with that, but she nevertheless left.


    lee changsik had grown curious about it. what could choi yeonseung have to say to him in private?


    ¡°is this about gyeongryong hyung? did he say something to you?¡± asked lee changsik.


    ¡°he didn¡¯t do anything.¡±


    ¡°ah. i see. then you...¡±


    if hwang gyeongryong had heard this, he would¡¯ve said, ¡®what nonsense are you saying? i don¡¯t care about you!¡¯ unfortunately, hwang gyeongryong wasn¡¯t there.


    choi yeonseung had borrowed the power of a constellation to prevent others from seeing or hearing them. it was necessary for what he was about to say.


    ¡°hyung, the truth is... when i was missing in the abyss, i became a constellation.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    lee changsik looked around. he wondered if hwang gyeongryong was waiting somewhere nearby in hiding.


    if the clan leader had connections, there would be some investments. if there weren''t any, they created a new clan and tested a bunch of hunters that were available. if they had the proper skills, they would be recruited, and if not, they would be rejected...


    that way, a clan could more or less be established. they would be able to gradually increase the number of hunters and increase their strength.


    it didn¡¯t take long for the hunters to start asking questions.¡°so how much money will you offer?¡±


    ¡°we don¡¯t have to participate in the competition to get paid, do we? i should get paid even if i don¡¯t play, right?¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t you establishing this clan in order to participate in raids? my living expenses are high, so i have to take part in raids, and even if i don¡¯t, shouldn¡¯t i receive a share of the raid rewards as long as i¡¯m a member of this clan? if i ever find out that you¡¯re hiding rewards, i¡¯ll kill you. don¡¯t underestimate me just because i¡¯m only e-grade. in a one on one fight, i...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    there was yet another problem. these hunters were much worse than expected. lee changsik started sweating as he heard the hunters saying one terrible thing after another.


    ¡°my judgment was wrong.¡±


    ¡°at this rate, i think they¡¯re really going to fight each other regardless of the competition.¡±


    ¡°umm.¡±


    they were worse than expected, so lee changsik immediately came up with another plan.


    ¡°in fact, there¡¯s a good way to go about this...¡±


    ¡°oh. what is it?"


    ¡°acquire a good clan.¡±


    ¡°aish...¡±


    choi yeonseung looked disappointed. hwang gyeongryong had already suggested that to him, but there were quite a few problems with that method.


    first of all, if the clan was really good, then it was almost always impossible to buy them. as long as the clan leader wasn¡¯t a pushover, they would never just hand over the clan. even if due to some unique circumstances the clan leader was forced to sell the clan, the cost would be astronomical. no matter how much money choi yeonseung and hwang gyeongryong said they had, they didn¡¯t want to waste it like that.


    at any rate, if the clan was weak, purchasing it wasn¡¯t going to be any different than creating a new one...


    ¡°i know about that method, but isn¡¯t it practically impossible?¡±


    ¡°um. it¡¯s actually possible. i know a clan.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    ***


    demon.


    it was a fairly old clan from south korea. while choi yeonseung was active, the clan had already been established, so it was no exaggeration to say that it was a first-generation clan. they had many fans who supported them because they had achieved a lot and had been involved in many things, but everything was bound to decline.


    during the raid, several of their main hunters got seriously injured. as a result, they were defeated in the ssl because they didn¡¯t have enough power. the clan was running out of funds and their hunters were leaving because of the dreadful atmosphere.


    their situation kept getting worse, like a snowball that kept rolling and growing bigger.


    ¡°there are quite a few hunters left, but they¡¯ve experienced too many defeats recently. investors who have made bets on them want to give up and leave. we could get our hands on them if you want.¡±


    lee changsik managed to intrigue choi yeonseung with his explanation. how could they get a clan like demon so easily?


    of course, they had to buy the shares, but that didn¡¯t cost that much money... it would¡¯ve been almost impossible to do something like that in the past.


    ¡°i can¡¯t believe i only have to pay this much to buy a clan like demon.¡±


    ¡°yeah, that¡¯s what i also thought at first, but things have changed, yeonseung. a clan is like a business. it operates with money. there have been countless cases where clans have been disbanded and sold after mismanaging their money. you¡¯d better be careful about that. there¡¯s a reason why it¡¯s said that some companies are above the hunter clans.¡±


    lee changsik had participated in the management of a clan before and knew exactly how scary money could be. even the most proud hunters could be humbled by the power of money.


    ¡°ah. then... there¡¯s another reason why i didn¡¯t tell you about the demon clan at first.¡±


    ¡°what is it? are they in a lot of debt?¡±


    ¡°no. the fans... they¡¯re a bit...


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°they¡¯re over the top.¡±


    ¡°even if they¡¯re excessive...¡±


    ¡°they¡¯re going to be ten times worse than what you¡¯re imagining now.¡±


    ¡°...¡±

 Chapter 243

    chapter 243


    in an era where monsters rushed out from the gate and went on rampages, hunters were the shields, the only source of light for the people. at least that¡¯s what they thought.


    the clans that had such hunters were more likely to receive support from the common people. the ardent support seemed to rise from various fields, such as religion, sports, and the military! some of the larger clans enjoyed such overwhelming support that even the politicians took notice.


    -this time, civilians were injured during the six-eyed turtle¡¯s operation of hunting monsters from a dungeon. mr. a, who was working in a nearby building, said he wouldn¡¯t be hurt if the hunters of the ¡®six-eyed turtle¡¯ clan had responded quicker. he was scared to death because it took them too long to arrive. the clan hunters expressed their apologies.


    -i¡¯m a hunter from the six-eyed turtle clan. i apologize for not arriving fast enough. i will be more careful in the future...


    -it can happen to everyone.


    ?i appreciate it.


    -that¡¯s right. hunters are also people. it¡¯s not like they can never arrive late, right?


    ?thank you.


    -even if some people end up dead, so what? don¡¯t those bastards know about showing gratitude? how many people have the six-eyed turtle saved so far? how many buildings have they protected? south korea would¡¯ve collapsed without the six-eyed turtle clan!


    -sir, please don¡¯t do this.


    just like that, there were people who supported the clan even if people were killed. it was to the extent that they were no longer just fans.


    ¡®they¡¯re like the followers of a constellation, aren¡¯t they?¡¯


    -during tough times, everyone needs someone to trust and rely on.


    ¡°the demon clan used to be quite active. last time when a-grade monsters appeared in busan...¡±


    ¡°yeah, they really were great back then.¡±


    ¡°in any case, given that we¡¯re acquiring such an old clan, i think we¡¯re bound to face some difficulties.¡±


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t really care about it, as he wasn¡¯t the type to get dejected when others cursed at him from a distance. if people actually came at him, well... it was their funeral.


    ¡°i¡¯m worried.¡±


    ¡°aish. you worry too much.¡±


    ¡°well, this is actually something you should be worried about. why are you being so calm?¡±


    lee changsik stared at choi yeonseung with a look of worry on his face. was this really okay?


    ¡®maybe we should stop now...¡¯


    ***


    ¡°hey, shouldn¡¯t we just leave the clan?¡±


    ¡°jaewung is already gone.¡±


    ¡°what about collins? where is he?¡±


    ¡°collins terminated his contract last week and left.¡±


    ¡°wow...¡±


    the atmosphere in the demon clan was terrible. it was said that a house in ruins had no room for good vibes, but hunter clans had particularly severe ups and downs. after all, hunters didn¡¯t have ordinary jobs, as they had to put their lives on the line when fighting monsters. thus, each clan had a distinctive atmosphere.


    in that regard, the demon clan was in a lot of trouble, as many of the companies that had invested in them had disappeared, and the hunters with good reputations immediately canceled their contracts and left. the overseas hunters followed suit.


    it was terrifying news for the remaining hunters.


    ¡°aren¡¯t you leaving?¡±


    ¡°i received a down payment... and even if i left, where could i go?¡±


    ¡°damn. you¡¯re right.¡±


    a hunter¡¯s job definitely looked glamorous on the outside, but if they couldn¡¯t climb up the ranks, it was a job as difficult as any. the hunters who had not accumulated experience in raids and only played in the ssl would have nothing if they were kicked out of the clan.


    ¡°should we try raids?¡±


    ¡°i heard that my friend went to a dungeon the other day and got his arm cut off. would you actually risk your life? you¡¯re e-grade, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°you jerk. what does the rating matter in the ssl?¡±


    raids were done by hunters who had high ratings and had enough confidence in themselves to risk their lives. meanwhile, low-grade hunters didn¡¯t participate in raids because of how dangerous they were.


    ¡°is that go junwon? why hasn¡¯t he left?¡±


    ¡°why would he leave? he¡¯s like the king here.¡±


    the hunter walking with his group in the distance was go junwon. given how many talents had left the clan, go junwon was essentially the ace of the demon clan. he had the skills and the looks, so naturally the fans supported him. of course, that wasn¡¯t the case for the other hunters in the clan.


    ¡°ah, the ones i actually wanted to stay have left. why haven¡¯t these guys left?¡±


    go junwon definitely seemed like a good guy on the outside, but the clan hunters who had worked with him had an entirely different opinion about him. that was because he had his own inner circle and took care of the hunters who were in it while repressing those who weren¡¯t. on top of that, he also played politics with the investors and the executives at the top. all of this was bound to make other hunters hate him.


    ¡°go junwon is the king here. if he leaves and goes to another clan, he will have to start from scratch. are you going to stay here?¡±


    ¡°ugh...¡±


    as the hunters were talking loudly among themselves, a bombshell landed on the training ground.


    ¡°hey! the clan has been taken over!!!¡±


    ¡°what???¡±


    ¡°what kind of lunatic would take over a clan like this???¡±


    [rank: c


    this person is lazy by nature. penalties are applied to various skills and stats growth.]


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°nothing. it¡¯s nothing.¡±


    a level below one hundred meant that the hunter was d-grade or lower. even so, choi yeonseung was dumbfounded by the skills that were even more ridiculous than he had expected.


    come to think of it, he had only seen and dealt with powerful individuals ever since he had returned to earth. after seeing how fiercely hunters around the world fought, it was almost nauseating to look at these half-baked hunters.


    choi yeonseung moved on to the next hunter.


    ¡®what the hell are these skills?!¡¯


    son minji:


    level: 88


    strength: 84


    agility: 162


    physical strength: 140


    magic power: 82


    intelligence: 81


    [sensitive intuition]


    [rank: c


    you can instinctively judge a situation. there is a high probability that the judgment will be correct.]


    ¡®oh!¡¯


    [timid heart]


    [rank: d


    you are easily frightened. the fear will increase the chance of failure when using skills.]


    ¡®oh...¡¯


    choi yeonseung shook his head with a desperate look on his face.


    ¡®at this point, i should just participate myself.¡¯


    initially, if there had been some good candidates, he would have picked them, supported them, and ultimately gained their faith. however, as he looked at those clowns, choi yeonseung seriously thought he should step up. even though he didn¡¯t know the rules, it was still likely that he would be better than them.


    ¡°hyung. do you have any thoughts of returning to active duty...?¡±


    ¡°i can coach again, but i don¡¯t want to fight with other hunters at this age, yeonseung...¡±


    ¡°i understand.¡±


    lee changsik¡¯s cold voice was unexpectedly sad, which prevented choi yeonseung from saying anything else.


    ¡°me. i want to participate.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    choi yeonseung was delighted with illeya¡¯s words. he should¡¯ve asked her first, since she was a talented hunter with great skills chosen by icarus.


    hunters who were good at raids usually didn¡¯t want to participate in the ssl. realistically, they were so strong that others couldn¡¯t even make eye contact with them. therefore, such hunters would become livid if they lost in the competition against players with lower ranks than them.


    ¡°illeya, have you ever played in the ssl?¡±


    ¡°no? i haven¡¯t tried it yet.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    lee changsik covered his face with both hands and lowered his head. he normally didn¡¯t show much emotion, but he showed plenty in front of choi yeonseung.


    ***


    ¡°who are those assholes that are walking without a care in the world?¡±


    choi yeonseung thought that all the hunters had come in, but he eventually noticed a group of hunters that came in late, leisurely wandering around.


    since they were late, they should have at least pretended to hurry. instead, they were laughing and casually walking around, which further infuriated choi yeonseung.


    ¡°well, it¡¯s not the first time you see hunters that are assholes, is it?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve seen a lot of people with nasty personalities, but those people usually have something they believe in.¡±


    hunters with bad personalities usually had something to compensate with. whether they faced countless monsters in a dungeon or bumped into a random person on the street, such hunters would turn into fierce beasts.


    given that the clan had been taken over by someone else, the remaining hunters were supposed to be cautious. how dare they act like that?


    ¡°even if the owner of the clan changes, they usually don¡¯t let go of all the hunters. the fact that the owner has changed means there¡¯s interest and they need hunters to participate in the main competition...¡± explained lee changsik.


    ¡°okay, i''ll teach them how to run fast.¡±


    ¡°!¡±

 Chapter 244

    chapter 244


    lee changsik had a bad feeling after hearing choi yeonseung¡¯s words. they reminded him of the old days.


    during the time when hwang gyeongryong and lee changsik were in the same clan, choi yeonseung became the one they needed to be the most wary of within the clan.


    -did you hear? a hunter wants to join our clan! it¡¯s a d-grade hunter! he has an incredibly promising future!


    -really?! that¡¯s great! hurry up and sign the contract so he can¡¯t escape! what is he like... if he¡¯s the kind of guy to goof around...


    -no. he said he wants to train to become stronger.


    -... make sure he doesn¡¯t meet yeonseung!


    choi yeonseung, who did nothing aside from eating and training, was the main reason why new hunters ran away from the clan.


    before joining the clan, hunters would say, ¡®i have undergone all sorts of harsh training¡¯ or ¡®i¡¯ve spent years on jiri mountain just learning magic!¡¯ then, after training with choi yeonseung, they would run away saying, ¡®i¡¯m sorry, i came to the wrong clan.¡¯


    later, the clan officials prevented choi yeonseung from interacting with the newcomers.


    -the newcomer is so arrogant and annoying. he completely spoils the atmosphere.


    -shouldn¡¯t we just kick him out?


    -even if we try to do that, i don¡¯t think he¡¯ll leave just like that.


    -um. then how about making him train with yeonseung?


    -isn¡¯t that too cruel?


    ... it was to the point that such conversations had occurred.


    of course, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know that the clan officials had been talking about him like that, and lee changsik had no intention of mentioning it now either.


    ¡°yeonseung. i am telling you this just in case you don¡¯t know. times have changed. you should keep that in mind.¡±


    in the past, the internet hadn¡¯t been that developed and there hadn¡¯t been any smartphones. however, now they lived in an era where information spread at the blink of an eye whenever something happened.


    because of that, they had to be cautious when dealing with clan hunters.


    the current hunters were much smarter than they used to be. if someone made a mistake, false rumors would spread, and consequently there would be a lot of criticism.


    ¡°times are different than they used to be... i see. are you saying that we need to make them train harder since the hunters of this generation have gotten stronger overall?¡±


    illeya had an expression of admiration at choi yeonseung¡¯s words, whereas lee changsik responded in a bewildered voice, ¡°that¡¯s not what i...¡±


    however, the work started before he could finish his words.


    choi yeonseung took out a handful of coins and took aim.


    ***


    go junwon walked in while laughing with his colleagues. his late arrival wasn¡¯t meant to trouble the new clan owner.


    go junwon was doing well in the clan, but in south korea alone, there were several hunters who had higher ratings and were more popular than him. therefore, he wasn¡¯t going to openly play tricks with the new owner of the clan.


    he came in late because... it had become a habit. it had always been that way. he always arrived late.


    bam!


    ¡°what, this fucker?!¡±


    there was a violent sound and a huge hole appeared in front of go junwon¡¯s feet.


    these hunters had never participated in raids, but they had played dozens of life-threatening matches in the otherworld. they could see how threatening this attack was. its strength easily surpassed a large-caliber bullet. wasn¡¯t that powerful enough to knock down a hunter if it hit them?


    ¡°who¡¯s the asshole that did this?? are you crazy???¡±


    however, instead of an answer, he received another attack. the hunters screamed and moved as something came flying toward them with a murderous sound.


    however, the onslaught didn¡¯t stop. the hunters ran in all directions. if they were even a second slow to react, they would be hit by the coin, which would leave a hole in them.


    the attacks were deadly! within seconds, the hunters actually felt like their lives were in danger.


    ¡°an attack! an attack!! it¡¯s an attack!!¡±


    ¡°what are you doing? call someone!¡±


    the hunters rolled over and shouted at their colleagues who had come here before them. however, instead of helping, their colleagues just stared at each other in bewilderment.


    what was wrong with them all of a sudden?


    ¡°there isn¡¯t... there¡¯s no attack...¡±


    ¡°have they switched from alcohol to drugs?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s about time.¡±


    the hunters whispered to each other. in their eyes, it looked like these hunters were just running here and there...


    the moment he ran out of coins and the hunters who came in late started to scurry around, choi yeonseung stopped attacking.


    go junwon and his group of hunters gasped and cursed.


    ¡°what type of fucking prank...?¡±


    ¡°this isn¡¯t funny at all! come out now!¡±


    they were indeed curious since they had never met an a-grade hunter before.


    ¡°players need to be conscious of others, whereas a-grade hunters don¡¯t. because of that, they¡¯re much more shameless and basically have no conscience.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°... t-that¡¯s nonsense!¡±


    the hunters refused to accept that, partly because the korean a-grade hunters were exceptionally calm people.


    jeong wonuk was an earnest individual, and as for kwon yeongseung, he was a likable celebrity, so he worked very hard to maintain his image. han seha was the only one who caused incidents, but they weren¡¯t that serious.


    if they looked at hunters from abroad, there were many ssl hunters that were more impudent and caused incidents much worse than that.


    however, that was as far as it went for korean hunters.


    in south korea, han seha stood out as the hunter with the most vulgar manner of speaking, but nobody would¡¯ve noticed her abroad.


    ¡°believe it or not, it¡¯s true. a-grade hunters don¡¯t really pay attention to others. if a story puts them in a bad light, they¡¯ll just beat up the reporter behind it. if the police comes to them, they will fight them as well.¡±


    ¡°in what kind of messed up country do things like that happen?!¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s how things are in the united states.¡± choi yeonseung was being honest, but none of the hunters were convinced by his words.


    no matter how much they heard about foreign hunters in the news, few people believed all of it.


    ¡°in any case, i¡¯m from the american side, so i¡¯m going to handle things the american way. you should be careful in the future.¡±


    ¡°but aren¡¯t you korean... eek!¡±


    before he could finish speaking, one of the hunters fell forward after being poked by choi yeonseung¡¯s stick.


    ¡°what did you say?¡±


    ¡°... nothing...¡±


    ¡°now, iron-blooded ice emperor lee changsik, the great a-grade hunter born in south korea, has also come here to help us. come out.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    lee changsik came out while inwardly grumbling about choi yeonseung. why did he have to make such a spectacle out of it? he could¡¯ve just told him to come out.


    ¡°?!?!?¡±


    ¡°w... why is the iron-blooded ice emperor...?¡±


    ¡°you don¡¯t have to call me that,¡± said lee changsik to the hunters.


    however, choi yeonseung was adamant about it.


    ¡°i believe no one here is rude enough to call you by your name.¡±


    ¡°iron-blooded ice emperor! it is an honor to meet you!¡±


    ¡°i didn¡¯t expect to see you like this...!¡±


    the hunters rushed forward. until now, they had been confused and dissatisfied, but lee changsik¡¯s arrival changed the atmosphere.


    even though choi yeonseung was an a-grade hunter, the others didn¡¯t know what he was doing. in comparison, lee changsik was a hero known by all koreans.


    to think that such a person would be looking after them...


    ¡®isn¡¯t this a great opportunity...?¡¯


    ***


    ¡°isn¡¯t that jerk crazy? so what if he¡¯s an a-grade hunter?!¡±


    ¡°well... he¡¯s an a-grade hunter after all...¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. where else can we see an a-grade hunter?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    putting aside their pride, there could¡¯ve been many complaints, given that choi yeonseung just showed up in front of the hunters and beat them up at random. but surprisingly, there weren¡¯t many complaints.


    their opponent was too great.


    on one side there was an a-grade hunter who had recently stolen the show in the monster wave and whose stock was going up like crazy. on the other side was a retired a-grade hunter that any korean would have to cheer for...


    there was a chance that those two would leave if any complaints were addressed.


    go junwon was speechless at his companions¡¯ reactions.


    if he wanted to express his dissatisfaction, he needed the others to back him up. why was this happening?


    ¡°you¡¯re saying this even after being hit like that?¡±


    ¡°come to think of it, ¡®hit¡¯ isn¡¯t the right word. wasn¡¯t it more like a kind of teaching? isn¡¯t it like that?¡±


    ¡°you son of a bitch...!¡±


    go junwon realized that the companion who was eating with him had definitely switched sides.


    ¡°ah, why? what did i do wrong?¡±

 Chapter 245

    chapter 245


    as the clan hunters were trying to adapt to their new leader, choi yeonseung and lee changsik were also trying to adapt to the new clan.


    ¡°see which hunters are still here, pick out the ones who are useful, scout those who can be recruited, and train them to some extent to get a structure. then we¡¯ll at least have some semblance of a clan.¡±


    choi yeonseung was relieved by lee changsik¡¯s words.


    ¡®i was really worried, but he seems to be okay.¡¯


    choi yeonseung had been worried and frustrated because the hunters didn¡¯t seem normal, but lee changsik¡¯s expression remained the same.


    in fact, choi yeonseung¡¯s standards were too high. normally, the average hunter was just as skilled as those here, so there was no reason for lee changsik to despair when he saw something like this.


    ¡®as expected, his expertise as the coach of the national team hasn¡¯t disappeared.¡¯


    lee changsik warned, ¡°but it¡¯s going to take at least a few months.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s nothing... tell me if there are any cocky bastards.¡±


    looking at the two people who were about to end the conversation on a good note, the clan employee spoke in a puzzled voice. ¡°that... you two. don¡¯t you want to check anything else?¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    choi yeonseung and lee changsik looked at the employee with a puzzled look. was there anything else to check?


    ¡°we¡¯ve looked at the clan finances, the number of hunters, the training facilities, the artifacts you have... is there anything else you need us to check?¡±


    the employee reluctantly replied, ¡°we have a match tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s expression was filled with astonishment. the employee kept his head down in embarrassment, even though it wasn¡¯t his fault.


    ¡°what kind of nonsense is that?¡±


    ¡°no... that...


    ¡°... i¡¯m sorry.¡± lee changsik finally realized it and apologized. normally, clans of certain sizes had to periodically compete with other clans. the matches themselves were casual and friendly, and were meant for practice, but those didn¡¯t matter. the main competition was important.


    clans that fought each other would bet a reasonable amount and the winner would take all of it! at first, they used to bet for fun, as a joke. however, this practice had become a huge pillar of the clan¡¯s annual revenue.


    choi yeonseung heard the explanation and found it absurd. ¡®it¡¯s outrageous...¡¯


    -successor.


    -no. how could i not be mad about this?


    he could honestly understand them not improving because they didn¡¯t kill monsters, but it was ridiculous that the clans were earning money with this. it was apparently something that was happening worldwide. this was the reason why they hadn¡¯t been able to break through the first realm before...


    -it¡¯s the first time that the hunters who hunt monsters are in a better light. you said that the constellations are responsible for this ssl trend?


    it was even more ridiculous for choi yeonseung, who knew that the matches in the otherworld between these hunters originated from the constellation battles.


    -wait, did the constellations spread this game on purpose?


    -what do you mean by that?


    -if the hunters continue to focus on the dungeon and try to attack the abyss, they¡¯ll gradually become stronger.


    chills went down choi yeonseung¡¯s spine at the thought that this might be some kind of scheme.


    constellations often seemed clumsy, but there were several elders who had lived much longer than choi yeonseung. those elders would sometimes carry out schemes that no human would ever think about.


    -but if they stop paying attention to dungeons and only participate in matches, the growth of hunters will drastically reduce...


    -um. successor, i can¡¯t completely deny your theory. it sounds plausible.


    -i¡¯m getting goosebumps. those old constellation bastards.


    -... successor, you¡¯re not talking about me right now, are you?? you wouldn¡¯t do that to me, would you??


    the goddess of sloth was flustered by choi yeonseung¡¯s reaction of distancing himself from her. while the other old constellations were invading earth, she had sealed herself and remained silent in the corners of the abyss. she had had nothing to do with this ploy!


    -i believe you. of course, i believe you. however, do you mind if i turn off our shared view for a while?


    -......


    -i¡¯m sorry. i was just joking.


    -one more joke and i¡¯ll never answer your call again, successor.


    -i¡¯m sorry... so do you think my suspicions are right?


    -like i said, i think it¡¯s definitely plausible. there is always a reason for the actions of the constellation. by the way...


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ agrees!]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ says that other races that are obsessed with nightmare demons usually do this.]


    -you keep bringing this up. how many times do i have to say that it¡¯s not like that?


    -it¡¯s true that successor is too soft to do such a thing.


    -in any case, i understand. the next time the goddess of balance contacts me, i¡¯ll ignore her.


    the goddess of sloth shook her head at choi yeonseung¡¯s terrible words.


    -no, don¡¯t do that. if you have any doubts, then you should be even more friendly toward her. isn¡¯t it fortunate that the goddess of balance is currently favoring you, successor? i don¡¯t know if it''s genuine, but...


    -why do you keep saying unnecessary things?


    -you have to take advantage of it.


    -haven¡¯t i used her enough?


    choi yeonseung spoke calmly. everyone disregarded the goddess of balance, but choi yeonseung had received quite a bit of help from her. he had participated in a constellation battle with the angels...


    the goddess of sloth snorted.


    -that¡¯s not ¡®using her.¡¯


    -then what?


    -do it more blatantly. attempt to cling to the goddess of balance and seduce her.


    -goddess of sloth, perhaps you... have you lost your mind after living isolated in the corners of the abyss for so long?


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded. why did he have to try to seduce her?


    however, the goddess of sloth was serious.


    -i¡¯m being serious. you have to seize the opportunity and cling to her somehow. that¡¯s how you can find out what her intentions are.


    -forget it. i need to take care of the hunters now.


    -successor! don¡¯t forget my advice! the manipulator of dreams and desires is much better in this area, so get some help from her...


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ says she can help.]


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t answer.


    ***


    ¡°why do you look like that?¡±


    ¡°i just had a pointless conversation... so what¡¯s the situation now?¡±


    chu wonseung, the head of the power analysis team of the demon clan, started trembling when choi yeonseung asked him the question.


    ¡°there is a match scheduled for tomorrow against the red-haired spirit clan. the items that have been bet are around 30 high-grade refined cores...¡±


    ¡°well, it¡¯s not like i can¡¯t afford it, but it¡¯s still a bit ridiculous.¡±


    lee changsik lowered his head as if he couldn¡¯t look at choi yeonseung.


    ¡°i should¡¯ve looked at the dates for the matches, not just the clan¡¯s debt. i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s fine, hyung. it¡¯s not your fault.¡±


    chu wonseung was stunned by the conversation between the a-grade hunters.


    if it wasn¡¯t lee changsik¡¯s fault, then whose was it...?


    if an a-grade hunter went on a rampage in anger, it would be difficult for the clan members to survive even if they had ten extra people on their side.


    the employee hurriedly said, ¡°i-i¡¯m sorry! i... i should¡¯ve explained it properly...¡±


    ¡°forget it. it¡¯s not the responsibility of the employees below us who are working for a salary.¡±


    choi yeonseung was unexpectedly kind.


    chu wonseung raised his head, unsure if he had survived.


    choi yeonseung had pulled out his phone and was trying to contact someone, which made lee changsik quite curious.


    ¡°who are you calling?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll call the investors who sold their stocks in the clan. if they don¡¯t give me proper compensation for this, from now on they''ll have to sleep with one eye open.¡±


    ¡°what did you learn from gyeongryong hyung...?¡± asked lee changsik with a stunned expression.

 Chapter 246

    chapter 246


    ¡°ah. shouldn¡¯t there be a proper investigation first?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the difference between hwang gyeongryong and lee changsik was apparent when it came to such problems.


    lee changsik, who had stayed in south korea, was an a-grade hunter, but he was nonetheless guided by common sense. even if the lawmakers or companies he dealt with abused their power, he held onto his strings of reason and tried to persuade them rather than pull out a sword.


    on the other hand, after hwang gyeongryong left south korea, it was as if he had completely gotten over any lingering attachment to the country. if there was a dispute, he would personally go to that person¡¯s house. even a stubborn senator would become more understandable and willing to reconcile when the other person came to their own home to talk face-to-face.


    ¡°it¡¯s fine. they admitted they did something wrong.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded with a satisfied expression and ended the call. he had spoken firmly, and the other side acknowledged the problem.


    ¡®isn¡¯t this out of line?¡¯


    lee changsik wondered whether he should stop choi yeonseung. if they had been somewhere overseas, he would¡¯ve told choi yeonseung to do whatever he wanted. however, this was south korea...


    before lee changsik could finish worrying about it, choi yeonseung moved on to the next course of action.


    ¡°team leader chu wonseung. we can¡¯t cancel the match. what about the next scheduled match?¡±


    ¡°we only have the match scheduled for tomorrow against the red-haired spirit clan.¡±


    ¡°what can we do? we have to send them out even if they¡¯re a mess. anyhow, you¡¯re the demon clan, so you must still have something up your sleeve, right?¡±


    choi yeonseung believed in the name of the demon clan. it was a long-established clan that had existed in south korea since the first generation. it was said that the main hunters had left, but there had to be some power left in this clan.


    ¡°there¡¯s nothing...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    chu wonseung felt sweat dripping down his back. it wasn¡¯t his fault that the hunters had left, but everyone would be nervous if an a-grade hunter took over the clan and openly asked them this.


    ¡°that... the power... it¡¯s not enough...¡±


    ¡°the red-haired spirit clan is a strong clan in its own right.¡±


    lee changsik couldn¡¯t just watch, so he stepped up and explained the situation.


    ¡°i¡¯ve never heard of them. is it a new clan?¡±


    ¡°i wouldn¡¯t necessarily call it new. it¡¯s a large clan in incheon that has been established by the new generation of hunters. their hunters are quite rough and aggressive, so we ought to be careful.¡±


    although the ssl was indeed a sport, it was nonetheless one of the most dangerous and brutal sports out there. the hunters were fighting in the otherworld, but they could still feel everything. in this sport, the hunters cast magic and used weapons capable of fatally injuring someone, so there were quite a few hunters who had retired due to mental reasons.


    vicious hunters stood out in this sport.


    ¡°those who play in the ssl usually aren¡¯t high-ranked hunters, right?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°so they¡¯re rough and aggressive even though they don¡¯t have high ranks?¡±


    ¡°i guess it¡¯s because their opponents aren¡¯t a-grade hunters.¡±


    choi yeonseung was convinced by lee changsik¡¯s words.


    he was right!


    choi yeonseung suggested, ¡°well, if that¡¯s the case, it would be better for me to fill one slot in the team. should we do that?¡±


    ¡°still... will that work?¡± lee changsik was surprised.


    ¡°any reason why it wouldn¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°how about your reputation as an a-grade hunter?¡±


    ¡°losing one match doesn¡¯t affect my reputation.¡±


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t one to lose his reputation just because he had participated in a match like this before and lost. he was a hunter who killed monsters in raids, not a player in some competition! if anyone mocked him for his loss, it was enough to just show them how many monsters he had killed in real life.


    he wondered, ¡°so it would be a bad idea for me to participate?¡±


    ¡°no. i don¡¯t think so,¡± replied lee changsik instantly.


    looking at the hunters, it was going to be one hundred percent beneficial for them to have choi yeonseung with them.


    choi yeonseung was confused by lee changsik¡¯s instant response.


    ¡®how much of a mess are those hunters that he answered straight away?¡¯


    ***


    ¡°you bastards. tomorrow you have a match against another clan, and yet you¡¯re spending your time like this??¡±


    ¡°ah. it¡¯s okay. after all, they don¡¯t stand a chance!¡±


    the hunters of the red-haired spirit clan snorted while disregarding the executive¡¯s words. they normally had to warm up with some light training the day before a match, but this time, their opponent was too weak for them to bother. after all, hadn¡¯t the demon clan lost all its famous hunters?


    the clan executive was aware of that, so he didn¡¯t say anything more despite having a disapproving look on his face.


    ***


    ¡°please give me your autograph!¡±


    ¡°... get in line.¡±


    the fierce hunters of the red-haired spirit clan turned into gentle puppies as they lined up in front of lee changsik. some of the hunters also stood shyly in front of choi yeonseung.


    ¡°can i get your autograph? i was really impressed by your performance in the monster wave.¡±


    ¡°is learning martial arts the secret to anti-aging? i¡¯m considering it right now...¡±


    the hunters¡¯ reaction was much milder than expected, so choi yeonseung looked at lee changsik as if he didn¡¯t understand it.


    ¡°they are fierce, foul-tempered, and aggressive?¡±


    ¡°umm.¡±


    lee changsik pretended not to hear and avoided his gaze. choi yeonseung grumbled, ¡°you always do that when you¡¯re in the wrong.¡±


    ¡°ummm.¡±


    the current situation was quite clear. there seemed to be quite a few fans of lee changsik among the red-haired spirit clan. there were even fans of choi yeonseung. indeed, it would¡¯ve been strange if someone wasn¡¯t impressed with choi yeonseong¡¯s raid performances.


    ¡°by the way, hunter choi yeonseung. why did you take over a place like the demon clan? you should¡¯ve taken our clan!¡±


    ¡°can i report that to your clan leader?¡±


    ¡°n-no. it¡¯s not like i¡¯m unhappy with the clan leader... hey! the clan leader¡¯s position should be given to the clan leader! i meant that you should buy the stocks in our clan!¡±


    choi yeonseung was thinking of an answer.


    if he had said, ¡®out of all the big clans, the demon clan is the only one who was in a bad enough condition,¡¯ the demon clan hunters next to him might¡¯ve gotten hurt...


    ¡°i bought it because of its history and tradition.¡±


    ¡°...uhahahaha!¡¯


    ¡°ahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°puhaha... ahahah.¡±


    ¡°hey. you¡¯re putting your lives in danger by laughing like that in front of me.¡±


    the moment choi yeonseung grabbed the hunter by the collar, he started choking and gasping for air. the other hunters panicked and grabbed his arm, trying to pull him off, but he wouldn¡¯t budge. this was the physical strength of an a-grade hunter who was a martial artist!


    the red-haired spirit hunters were even more surprised because they had never lost in a strength contest with other hunters.


    ¡®his strength is no joke!¡¯


    ¡®so this is the strength of a hunter who participates in raids?¡¯


    ¡°cough... i wasn¡¯t trying to make fun of you.¡±


    they normally would¡¯ve given an arrogant response, but the red-haired spirit hunter was overwhelmed by choi yeonseung and obediently apologized.


    ¡°i just don¡¯t understand why you would buy the clan just for its history and tradition... that...¡±


    ¡°history and tradition are important values,¡± added lee changsik in order to help choi yeonseung.


    lee changsik¡¯s unique and impactful presence had the effect of making things seem plausible and carry weight no matter what he said. the moment lee changsik said this, the hunters of the red-haired spirit clan were even more surprised.


    no...


    were history and tradition that important?


    ¡®did we really lose this opportunity to the demon clan because of history and tradition?¡¯


    ¡®what¡¯s so great about them?¡¯


    they also wanted to be taken over or managed by an a-grade hunter, so they were quite flustered when they heard this. however, their confusion was just beginning.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung here will also be taking part in the match, so please take care of him.¡±


    hearing lee changsik¡¯s words, the red-haired spirit hunters went from being surprised to being utterly shocked.


    ¡°????¡±


    ¡°why??¡±


    ¡°an a-grade hunter... why would you do this?¡±


    choi yeonseung replied, ¡°hey. are you telling me what i¡¯m allowed to do?¡±


    ¡°no. it just slipped out. so, it¡¯s like this... it¡¯s a fun and great game... that... aish. in any case, there is no reason for you to participate, right?¡±


    choi yeonseung had nothing to say to the red-haired spirit hunters. it wasn¡¯t like he could just tell them, ¡°i¡¯m participating because i¡¯m a constellation.¡±


    ¡°... it¡¯s to preserve history and tradition.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±

 Chapter 247

    chapter 247


    they had no idea what the hell the history and the traditions of the demon clan were, but the red-haired spirit hunters were shaken when the a-grade hunters kept talking about it over and over again.


    were history and tradition really that important?


    ¡°hey. is there something hidden within the demon clan?¡±


    ¡°are there any secret items buried by a constellation??¡±


    ¡°why would there be such a thing in the clan?¡±


    the whole situation was confusing, but nevertheless, the match had to start.


    the hunters of the red-haired spirit clan were ready. they would¡¯ve initially looked down on their opponents because they were from the demon clan, but this was no longer the case.


    ¡°there¡¯s an a-grade hunter, so we can¡¯t afford to underestimate them.¡±


    ¡°by the way, does hunter choi yeonseung have any experience in the ssl?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know, but he must be confident if he¡¯s participating. if not, why would an a-grade hunter risk ruining their reputation?¡±


    ¡°yes, indeed.¡±


    the red-haired spirit hunters murmured and made up their minds.


    many people called them hot-tempered and aggressive, but the red-haired spirit hunters were undoubtedly talented. they had a lot of experience, they understood strategy and tactics, and they worked well together. they were considered strong for a reason, and they were ready to face choi yeonseung.


    in comparison...


    ¡°do we have anything?¡±


    ¡°of course not. it¡¯s only been a day,¡± lee changsik answered choi yeonseung¡¯s question with a slightly apologetic expression. in this situation, they had no tactics or strategies.


    ¡°first of all, we¡¯ve built it based on the original lineup.¡±


    ¡°yeah.¡± choi yeonseung glanced at the hunters he was going to fight alongside with. their stats were underwhelming, but that didn¡¯t matter, as skills were the most important thing.


    ¡®i wasn¡¯t looking for any outstanding skills, but isn¡¯t this just ridiculous?¡¯


    he sighed when he saw things like ¡®lazy habits¡¯, ¡®arrogant mind¡¯ or ¡®careless ego¡¯ in their sets of skills. if they were weak, they should at least be diligent. why were they like this?


    ¡°... i¡¯ll be the one in charge,¡± said one of the hunters.


    "is that so? sure.¡±


    the ace of the demon clan was the one who wanted to be in charge. choi yeonseung just shrugged, seemingly allowing him to do whatever he wanted. to him, it didn¡¯t really matter who was in charge. however, it was important for go junwon. an a-grade hunter was following his orders!


    ¡°did you see?¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°even hunter choi yeonseung follows my lead.¡±


    ¡°it didn¡¯t seem like he really cared about it...¡±n??v€l-b1n was the first platform to present this chapter.


    ¡°...¡±


    it was shocking to see those who had used to obey him unconditionally act like this, but even go junwon could see that the atmosphere of the clan had changed.


    choi yeonseung was lingering behind the hunters, so go junwon couldn¡¯t argue with them here... he instead said, ¡°keep acting like this.¡±


    ¡°ah. what is it now?¡±


    ¡°i guess you think you can act like this now, but you¡¯re mistaken. who did lee changsik pick?¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°he picked me. on top of that, hunter choi yeonseung entrusted me with being in charge. what do you think this means?¡±


    at first, the hunters had sour looks as they listened to go junwon¡¯s words, but they eventually became somewhat convinced.


    he certainly had a point. go junwon had a dirty personality and had made his own inner circle, spoiling the atmosphere, but he was popular with the fans and was also quite skilled. even the new owner and manager seemed like they would use go junwon, and when it came to evaluating players, wouldn¡¯t they listen to him to some extent?


    ¡°do you understand now?¡±


    ¡°hahaha. junwon hyung-nim, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. we love you so much.¡±


    the hunters, who were sullen just a second ago, quickly changed their attitudes.


    go junwon suppressed his disappointment. he himself was aware that he had a nasty character, but the people next to him seemed worse.


    ***


    choi yeonseung stated, ¡°i¡¯ve only ever played in the top lane, so i¡¯ll go up.¡±


    ¡°ah, yes. you do that.¡±


    go junwon wasn¡¯t surprised because he knew that choi yeonseung would go to the top lane anyway.


    -low-grade telepathy.


    go junwon had cast low level telepathic magic on the players. this magic was essential for a commander. thanks to this, the low-grade telepathy had a high price on the market despite only being 2nd circle magic...


    go junwon never regretted buying this magic, which showed how important it really was.


    ¡°the two of you go to the bottom lane. you will follow me... you know what type of bastards those red-haired spirit guys are, right?¡±


    ¡°yes, of course, hyung.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t let him run away!¡±


    -summon miniature swamp!


    this skill was normally used to prevent monsters from coming out or to avoid being tracked. this time, they used it to restrict choi yeonseung¡¯s movement.


    a swamp was formed on the ground, which made it harder to move around.


    ¡°...?¡±


    however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t seem to panic or to want to run away.


    rather...


    ¡°????¡±


    he was getting ready to fight.


    ¡°d-do you really want to fight?¡±


    choi yeonseung wondered, ¡°am i not allowed to?¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, you normally try to flee from fights that are two versus one.¡±


    the fact that the red-haired spirit hunters were giving choi yeonseung advice on how to play was absurd.


    was it his first time in the ssl?


    ¡°umm, but what can i do? let¡¯s fight.¡±


    ¡°... alright.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s nice to meet you...?¡±


    ¡°why are you greeting me?¡±


    ¡°uhm... i felt like i had to say something...¡±


    the red-haired spirit hunters finished with their greetings and proceeded to attack.


    ***


    -hey. i caught the two demon clan members in the middle lane. i also confused the two on the bottom lane and killed them.


    -we killed four people in the beginning, so the match is over.


    the red-haired spirit hunters had an encouraging telepathic conversation. the hunters from the demon clan could resurrect themselves and come back, but taking such a beating so early into the game meant losing all their momentum.


    they just wanted to finish the match and go home. the pain and horrors of the match in the otherworld were all real for the hunters. even if they endured it for a long time, they would only end up in a bad situation.


    -what¡¯s happening in the top lane? why aren¡¯t you saying anything?


    -... i was hit...


    -what???


    -how many times have i told you not to let your guard down? he¡¯s an a-grade hunter!


    -calm down. anyone can lose a one-on-one fight if they screw up somehow.


    -... we lost two against one.


    -ah. two versus one? he must¡¯ve had a teammate with him. it¡¯s okay. they have an overwhelming number of hunters.


    -no. we were two...


    -... what the hell are you guys doing???


    the other red-haired spirit hunters yelled in disbelief. how were they supposed to react to one enemy beating two of their teammates by himself?


    -he kept evading our magic, so i tried to finish him in close combat. then suddenly.. that... i got close to him, but i don¡¯t remember what happened after that.


    -i was about to shoot magic, but he suddenly held up my teammate and used him as a shield...


    -... in any case, i got it. just defend! hold on using defenses. don¡¯t do anything risky!


    -i got it.


    -but we were already playing defensively...


    the red-haired spirit hunters were bewildered, but they soon accepted the situation. after all, wasn¡¯t a dungeon a place where many absurd things happened?


    ¡°it can¡¯t be helped. let¡¯s bring hunter choi yeonseung here. this time, don¡¯t block their telepathic magic and just attack. then we¡¯ll join forces in the middle lane.¡±


    ¡°the hunter in the middle lane might try to resist on his own and not call for help.¡±


    ¡°since he¡¯s already died once, he¡¯ll absolutely call for reinforcements. he knows himself.¡±


    the red-haired spirit hunters spoke confidently and once again aimed for go junwon.


    they could see go junwon stepping back and calling for other hunters.


    -now, come!


    ¡°... he¡¯s not coming??¡±


    ¡°what? he has to.¡±


    ¡°no... he¡¯s actually not.¡±


    ¡°...¡±

 Chapter 248

    chapter 248


    other enemy hunters, who weren¡¯t really needed there, came for support, but choi yeonseung didn¡¯t bother to show up. this caused the red-haired spirit hunters to momentarily be confused. there was no reason for him not to come.


    what was going on?


    ¡°didn¡¯t he notice?¡±


    ¡°how can that be?¡±


    ¡°since he¡¯s an a-grade hunter, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if he had the ability to eavesdrop on our telepathic conversation.¡±


    a-grade hunters were monsters, not humans. thus, it was no wonder that these hunters didn¡¯t know what was going on. moreover, choi yeonseung was a martial artist.


    ¡°a martial artist could have such a skill...¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. from now on, be careful when using telepathy.¡±


    meanwhile, the hunters of the demon clan that had gathered here were preparing to fight.


    -we need to undo the damage we received earlier. attack!


    -but is it okay to advance so aggressively?


    -the situation is different from before. we¡¯re ready and we have more numbers! we have to kill at least one of them!


    ¡°they¡¯re underestimating us so much that it pisses me off.¡±


    ¡°do they really think they¡¯re going to catch us off guard?¡±


    the red-haired spirit hunters were dumbfounded and burst out laughing.


    it was hard to believe that the hunters from the demon clan were hiding like that and thinking that they caught their enemies off guard.


    ***


    ¡°hey.¡±


    ¡°yes??¡±


    kim wuseong, a red-haired spirit hunter, was hidden behind the tower with a wary expression.


    he was originally a brilliant swordsman who wielded double swords at a high speed and mercilessly used melee magic against his opponents... however, after taking a beating from choi yeonseung, he no longer dared to do so.


    it wasn¡¯t even because of the difference in stats or power. he was psychologically overwhelmed.


    some inexperienced hunters would get intimidated by monsters weaker than them and run away before even trying to fight. kim wuseong was now in the same situation.


    however, he wasn¡¯t a beginner when it came to this competition, so it was ridiculous for him to be in such a state...


    ¡®only those that also went through that can understand...!¡¯


    kim wuseong thought so and cast an extremely wary look toward the opponent.


    -na euna! come quickly!


    -i¡¯m on my way!


    ¡°i¡¯m curious. do you not talk to each other like this when playing?¡± asked choi yeonseung out of curiosity.


    none of his teammates had contacted him, but that wasn¡¯t surprising. since choi yeonseung had never died, there was no reason for him to return to the main camp. choi yeonseung just kept killing monsters in the top lane by himself, and whenever he saw an enemy hunter, he approached them and killed them. that was all he did!


    at first, he was just holding on while doing his own thing. then, as he silently beat his opponents, he began wondering about something.


    weren¡¯t they communicating too little? they could at least communicate with telepathic magic or something similar...


    the enemy hunter replied, ¡°well, aren¡¯t the other hunters currently busy fighting?¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    ¡°in addition, magic like telepathy can be blocked. that is part of the strategy...¡±


    ¡°ah...¡±


    ¡°if you don¡¯t mind, why don¡¯t you go back to the main camp for once and reorganize? surely you must be running low on stamina since you¡¯ve most likely used quite a lot of magic power.¡±


    ¡°nah, i can keep fighting if i¡¯m careful about how much magic power i use.¡±


    ¡®aish, this monstrous bastard!¡¯


    choi yeonseung¡¯s incredible tenacity frustrated kim wuseong.


    after fighting back and forth with monsters and hunters like this, choi yeonseung should¡¯ve gone back to his base and recovered, but surprisingly, he was still going.


    was he even human?


    kim wuseong kept trying to persuade him.


    ¡°why don¡¯t you go back to your camp and change your equipment?¡±


    ¡°hmm?¡±


    choi yeonseung was the first to notice it. he could feel the magic power rushing at him from the wide forest road next to him.


    given that he couldn¡¯t see the enemy hunters, it looked like they had cast an invisibility spell. however, this kind of surprise attack didn¡¯t work well against martial artists. if they wanted to catch him off guard, they had to trick all five of his senses.


    choi yeonseung cast origin of the celestial finger with a deafening noise coming from his fingers. like a machine gun firing bullets, the energy cut through the air and tore apart the curtain of magic power.


    ¡°kuk!¡±


    ¡°ugh!¡±


    the red-haired spirit hunters, who had been creeping forward, groaned at the sharp shock. even though it exploded over a shield, it was still a mess. if they had gotten hit by that...


    ¡°why are there so many people here?¡± wondered choi yeonseung.


    a red-haired spirit hunter gritted his teeth and exclaimed, ¡°are you seriously asking that?!¡±


    ¡°i really don¡¯t get it,¡± replied choi yeonseung.


    ¡°you don¡¯t have to understand. you just have to die once! if you have the tiniest shred of empathy, then die at least once!¡±


    they initiated their attack with those words.


    kim wuseong and na euna, who had been hiding until now, pulled out their weapons and tried to fight choi yeonseung with melee attacks. their level was very low compared to the other red-haired spirit hunters, but they could still distract their opponent.


    two of their teammates rushed from behind them. they were typical medium-range damage dealers who swung their spears and launched shock waves.


    two of them were already attacking, and when another two hunters jumped in, things became confusing. because this still wasn¡¯t enough, the last remaining two hunters pulled out their artifacts and cast spells. they used everything they had in order to instantly finish choi yeonseung before he could react.


    ¡°use your strongest skill so we can finish him at once!¡±


    everybody cast 5th circle magic, and magic power was swirling around them. 5th circle magic was high-level magic that one could use to blow up buildings and shatter the ground.


    as the four infuriated red-haired spirit hunters scrambled to use 5th circle magic, choi yeonseung became curious about something, and it wasn¡¯t the reason why the red-haired spirit hunters seemed to hate him so much...


    ¡®what did the other guys do to make these four so strong?¡¯


    choi yeonseung had defeated the hunters on this lane and killed the monsters, but it seemed that his teammates had been struggling a lot.


    ¡®am i playing inefficiently? i¡¯ll have to ask hyung when i get back.¡¯


    choi yeonseung jumped into the group of enemy hunters at lightning speed, grabbed kim wuseong, knocked him out, and pulled him upwards.


    a human shield!


    -curse that stops the heart!


    ¡°hey... it¡¯s me... kuek...¡±


    "i-i¡¯m sorry!¡± the red-haired spirit hunters instantly felt sorry and staggered when kim wuseong was the one who got cursed.


    nevertheless, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t stop. the most important thing in a fight like this was to reduce the numbers. he had to take them out one by one!


    choi yeonseung came in much faster and stronger than expected, which caused the red-haired spirit hunters to become discouraged. his power was too much to handle. the attack came like a cannonball, and nobody managed to dodge it.


    the red-haired spirit hunters were shocked when two of them were killed in an instant.


    ¡°don¡¯t panic! he must¡¯ve used up his remaining magic power with that last attack...¡±


    -star absorption method!


    the movements of the red-haired spirit hunters were too predictable. perhaps it was because they had no experience dealing with martial arts. in comparison, choi yeonseung had fought so many hunters that used magic that this fight just bored him. he grabbed the two enemies closest to him and absorbed their magic power.


    ¡°what...¡±


    ¡°this...¡±


    the overflowing magic power turned into internal energy. then, sword energy came over and overwhelmed the surroundings. the remaining red-haired spirit hunters realized how bad their situation had gotten!


    ¡°well... you don¡¯t seem to know how to deal with martial artists.¡±


    oh kwanggyu responded with a firm expression, ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, there¡¯s still something you don¡¯t know about us.¡±


    ¡°oh? what is it?¡±


    choi yeonseung wondered if the red-haired spirit hunters had something up their sleeve to make them so confident.


    if this had been a real fight to the death, he would¡¯ve killed them before they could use their supposed trump card. however, in this situation, he was curious enough to watch it. did they have a really strong skill?


    ¡°... everyone, scatter and run!¡±


    bam!


    the red-haired spirit hunters fled with incredible speed.


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung was genuinely impressed.

 Chapter 249

    chapter 249


    fighting against other hunters and killing monsters was important, but being able to flee from a disadvantageous situation was just as important. the red-haired spirit hunters used smoke screens and flashing lights, cast illusions, cast short-range teleportation and cleverly got away from choi yeonseung. he couldn¡¯t help admiring it.


    had they only practiced how to run away?


    ¡®well, raid hunters aren¡¯t good at that...¡¯


    when it came to raids, retreating didn¡¯t really mean much.


    of course, retreating efficiently was a good skill to have even in raids. however, when raid hunters were attacked by a monster and had to retreat, they usually couldn¡¯t afford to do so. hunters usually prepared in advance when entering a dungeon, and they unconditionally had to attack first. if a monster initiated the attack on them, the whole raid became messy.


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t try to catch all the red-haired spirit hunters who were fleeing. in a dungeon like this, it was impossible to catch all of them even if they were wounded.


    ¡®i should target only one enemy and not be greedy.¡¯


    choi yeonseung aimed at the hunter from whom he had absorbed the most amount of magic power earlier.


    ¡°help! i¡¯ve used up all my magic power!¡±


    ¡°ah, why is this guy so persistent?¡±


    the red-haired spirit hunters stepped up to help their comrade. they cast a restraining spell on choi yeonseung and tried to divert his attention from their teammate, but...


    choi yeonseung dodged and blocked their attacks, and ultimately ignored them. he just grabbed one person among them. his fierce combat power was amazing, but the hunters were even more surprised by his composure, as he was completely unphased by them.


    normally, even the most experienced hunters were bound to get excited and make mistakes once the match started. this battle was fought with weapons and magic, and because they were humans, they would inevitably become emotional.


    however, choi yeonseung¡¯s expression had been the same throughout the entire match. he just casually did his job and returned to the top lane.


    ¡°huh, so an a-grade hunter really is no joke.


    ¡°it¡¯s weird though... i¡¯ve seen hunter kwon yeongseung fight and he wasn¡¯t as impressive.¡±


    ¡°really? was hunter kwon yeongseung more sloppy?¡±


    ***


    ...nevertheless, the demon clan didn¡¯t win.


    except for choi yeonseung, everyone else died one after another. the demon clan managed to drag the match into the second half, but ultimately suffered a crushing defeat.


    ¡°how did we lose?¡± asked choi yeonseung with an expression of disbelief.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the clan hunters had nothing to say, even if they grew an extra ten mouths.


    choi yeonseung, who had established himself as the slayer of the top lane, advanced using the power he had acquired and destroyed the towers one by one. the towers got progressively more powerful as he approached the enemy base, so it took a lot of time even for him.


    as for the red-haired spirit hunters, attacking choi yeonseung again...


    they didn¡¯t even bother. they just pushed the other lanes knowing that choi yeonseung was pushing the top lane. however, all six of them pushed one lane! the problem was that since choi yeonseung killed a few of them, the other demon clan hunters could¡¯ve recovered to some extent in the meantime.


    of course, nothing like that actually happened. the match was pretty much over when choi yeonseung continued to push the top lane.


    ¡°yeah, well... everybody can lose... i guess i shouldn¡¯t have said that,¡± said choi yeonseung after realizing his mistake.


    the demon clan hunters felt even more humiliated.


    they were actually furious when the game ended and choi yeonseung said, ¡®why is it over? what did you do?¡¯ if he hadn¡¯t been an a-grade hunter, they would¡¯ve replied with something like ¡®what do you know?¡¯


    they had that attitude because they didn¡¯t see choi yeonseung fight, so they thought that he had also been beaten up constantly by the red-haired spirit hunters in the top lane.


    ...however, they changed their minds after watching the video of the match.


    ¡°???!¡±


    ¡°!!!?!¡±


    after seeing a bunch of super players, which was quite a rare sight even if playing matches all year round, the hunters of the demon clan couldn¡¯t close their mouths. how was that possible?


    a hunter asked, ¡°hyung. did you know this?¡±


    ¡°how could i have known this?!¡± exclaimed go junwon.


    ¡°well, if he fought so well, he should¡¯ve come down and helped us at least once. it wasn¡¯t fair...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    go junwon had nothing to say. since he was the one in command, it was his responsibility to somehow convey messages and communicate.


    ¡°how can a person fight like that? are these martial arts?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve seen a few martial artists, but they never fought like this... why else are martial arts considered bad? magic is better.¡±


    ¡°but he managed to do it!¡±


    as the shocked and frightened demon clan hunters were talking and arguing, the red-haired spirit hunters were creeping closer to choi yeonseung, their eyes full of respect and admiration. they didn¡¯t seem to be arrogant as any winner would¡¯ve been after the game.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, do you have a second?¡±


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue. given his personality, choi yeonseung had never been able to refuse hunters who told him that they wanted to become stronger. if they wanted to be stronger, he felt that he had to help them become stronger!


    [you have received strong faith and your power of existence has increased!]


    [...]


    [...]


    ¡°...?¡±


    choi yeonseung was taken aback by the faith that the clan hunters had sent him for teaching them. realistically, he just answered some questions about the match, so he hadn¡¯t expected to receive so much faith for that.


    ¡®isn¡¯t this too easy?¡¯


    -mortals are easy beings to begin with. they¡¯re deeply moved by the small favors of a great being.


    -i came from a mortal background, so it sounds nasty.


    -......


    the goddess of sloth pouted. he had already thought of that, and she just answered him...


    still, the goddess of sloth didn¡¯t dare say anything else. there was something more urgent now.


    -successor. why did i speak to you just now?


    -who knows? hmm. do you want to sleep for a while?


    -...that¡¯s not a bad idea, but think about it a bit more. what are you going through right now?


    -what have i been through? something absurd?


    -it was just a little while ago.


    -defeat?


    -yes. successor, you have finally experienced defeat for the first time since taking over my power!


    -no... how is this a failure?


    choi yeonseung refused to admit it. he honestly didn¡¯t think of it as defeat at all. if that was the case, wasn¡¯t it a defeat for choi yeonseung having to hide his identity to avoid being noticed by the other constellations?


    -it is defeat!


    -why is this a defeat? i lost because of my teammates.


    the red-haired spirit hunters would¡¯ve been impressed if they had heard this. hunter choi yeonseung already had the spirit of blaming others that every ssl hunter was supposed to have!


    -it¡¯s a defeat!


    -i don¡¯t think it¡¯s a defeat.


    -but it is!


    the goddess of sloth couldn¡¯t convince him, so she started to bombard him. she kept whining until choi yeonseung admitted it. choi yeonseung was dumbfounded and had to nod.


    -yes. if you say so, let¡¯s call it a defeat.


    -hu... huhu. you finally admitted it.


    the goddess spoke in a triumphant voice.


    choi yeonseung heard this and hesitated.


    ...was this a trap?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is shouting that it is suspicious! be careful...]


    -don¡¯t tell me... did you want me to admit defeat in order to absorb my strength?


    -...what nonsense are you talking about???


    the goddess sounded serious. she was trying hard to persuade him so that he would acquire more power, but these two suspicious constellations were talking nonsense.


    it was such nonsense that her desire to teach him disappeared!


    -...goddess. in fact, i didn''t have any doubts. but the cat constellation mentioned it, so i had to ask.


    actually, choi yeonseung was the one to utter it first, but he put the blame on the cat constellation.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ feels it is unfair since you said it first...]


    -now, goddess. what do you have to tell me?


    choi yeonseung blocked the words of the cat constellation and spoke to the goddess of sloth.


    the goddess replied in a slightly sulking voice.


    -why are you asking? isn¡¯t it just a scheme to absorb your power, successor?


    -...i¡¯m sorry.

 Chapter 250

    chapter 250


    the goddess of sloth sulked for a bit before speaking. she had reigned in the abyss for a long time, so her mindset was incomparably broader than that of other young constellations. choi yeonseung, the cat, and the manipulator constellation were like children compared to her!


    [you have experienced defeat for the first time.]


    [the realm of the ¡®goddess of defeat and sloth¡¯ is opened.]


    [defeat makes you stronger. you have received the power of the goddess!]


    it was thanks to her deceitful power that the goddess of defeat and sloth was about to reign as a loser in the abyss while the other constellations expanded their territory through scheming and warfare.


    if she stayed lazy, she would become stronger.


    if she lost, she would become stronger.


    it was a frightening power for other constellations!


    during the prime of the goddess of defeat and sloth, the realms and powers of numerous constellations were displayed like spoils of war. after sealing herself, all of that disappeared into the vast abyss, but... she thought that the successor who would take over her power would be able to bring out the powers that were in the realm of defeat one by one.


    -successor, do you understand now?


    the goddess of sloth spoke to choi yeonseung in a soft but powerful voice. for some reason, he felt that her tone had become a bit arrogant. after all, she was a constellation, so it was natural that she was arrogant.


    -i understand... wait a minute. come to think of it, goddess, if you had just taken good care of yourself instead of sealing yourself, couldn¡¯t you have easily given me all those powers?


    -shut up and accept the power.


    the goddess of sloth became angry when choi yeonseung hit a nerve. all this incessant talking had made her want to blow up everything that she had collected! choi yeonseung concentrated and accepted the power of the goddess rising from within him.


    [you have gained the power of the goddess.]


    [you have obtained the ¡®declaration of the realm of silence¡¯.]


    [declaration of the realm of silence]


    [rank: s


    declare a realm of power. there will be absolute silence within the realm.]


    ¡°...?¡±


    choi yeonseung was a bit surprised, not because of the power itself, but rather...


    he was perplexed by the nature of the power. this...


    ¡®isn¡¯t this the power of the master of slowness and silence?¡¯


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know much about constellations, but he nonetheless knew a few names. one of them was the master of slowness and silence. he was one of the world¡¯s most famous evil god constellations and he occupied northern china.


    since that region had the largest land mass and the highest population, the master of slowness and silence was bound to be suspicious of constellations around the world, especially of good god constellations.


    apart from that, the slowness constellation was very quiet. he had been quietly settling in his own realm while the other evil god constellations were causing trouble on earth.


    -that¡¯s right. the master of slowness and silence is quite a reserved constellation.


    the goddess of sloth didn¡¯t hate the slowness constellation that much.


    among the evil god constellations, he was a constellation that one could actually communicate with. the other constellations were noisy and ambitious, while the slowness constellation just wanted things to be quiet and slow.


    given his nature, he was bound to have some degree of compatibility with the goddess of defeat and sloth.


    -i understand that. but goddess, how do you have the power of that constellation?


    -i think we fought a few times?


    the goddess of sloth didn¡¯t seem to remember, but she wasn¡¯t surprised about this.


    it was rare for constellations who had been in the abyss for a long time to never fight. no matter how well they understood each other, the slowness constellation and the goddess of sloth had been bound to collide.


    -the power is good, but i don¡¯t want to use someone else¡¯s power and then have them resent me for no reason.


    choi yeonseung already had a lot of enemies. in addition, the other constellations still didn¡¯t know that he was a constellation. they only knew that one mortal was active and defeating various constellations. because of that, there had to be a lot of resentment against him.


    the goddess replied.-ah. you don¡¯t have to worry about that. there is no constellation that would retaliate for something like that.


    -really?


    -that guy is lazy, so he wouldn¡¯t bother with that.


    -......


    choi yeonseung trembled.


    wasn¡¯t he supposed to be slow, not lazy?


    ***


    initially, choi yeonseung was supposed to grab the hunters like they were a bunch of rats and give them hell with lee changsik, but he couldn¡¯t do so.


    adaquaniel, the leading household member of the goddess of balance who walks ahead, and the angel with keen insight, came to visit him.


    ¡°it¡¯s a pleasure.¡±


    -no... um...


    the goddess of sloth stammered because she was speechless.


    choi yeonseung had a point, so why was she being so anxious?


    ¡°by the way, what brings you here?¡±-ah. yes. i¡¯m sorry. i forgot to tell you the main point while receiving your hospitality...


    adaquaniel cleared her throat, seemingly ashamed, and explained the reason for her visit.


    -my master asked if you would like to join forces and participate in a constellation battle.


    ¡°a constellation battle? doesn¡¯t sound like a bad idea.¡±


    for a constellation like choi yeonseung that was obsessed with gaining more strength, a constellation battle was always a tempting idea. the goddess of balance had also lost a lot, which meant that a constellation battle was necessary for her to recover everything


    however, adaquaniel¡¯s expression was serious. she raised a finger to her lip and spoke.


    -i don¡¯t think you should take this lightly. first of all, the opponent is the noble crown collector...


    the crown collector constellation.


    he was an arrogant evil god constellation who had clashed with choi yeonseung a few times. his power was acknowledged by everyone since he had occupied england, but he had recently suffered a few setbacks due to several mistakes and defeats.


    ¡®it¡¯s good that it¡¯s the collector constellation.¡¯


    choi yeonseung also wanted to defeat the collector constellation. this could be considered as taking advantage of someone¡¯s misfortune, but if he hated that someone, he had to attack while his house was on fire.


    it was a great opportunity to attack since the collector constellation was being distracted.


    -...what we¡¯re aiming for is british land.


    ¡°?!?¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised.


    british land??


    for the evil god constellations, earth represented a golden land with an enormous amount of souls and faith. they wouldn¡¯t bet it in a constellation battle under any circumstances.


    in addition, there was also another problem.


    ¡°...it¡¯s not that beneficial for the goddess to take british land, is it?¡±


    even if they managed to take it back from the evil god constellation, it would only benefit the british government and the royal family. it wasn¡¯t that choi yeonseung particularly disliked the british. it was just that based on what he had experienced in france, the average british person wasn¡¯t particularly pleasant.


    ¡®wouldn¡¯t we just give them something for free after saving them?¡¯


    -i think you¡¯re misunderstanding something.


    ¡°...?¡±


    -if she gets it this time, the goddess will rule the land herself. of course, she would do it with the undefeated incarnation of training.


    ¡°...!¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised by adaquaniel¡¯s words. wasn¡¯t it because the good god constellations weren¡¯t threatening that they were able to receive support from all countries and be worshiped? but breaking that principle and forcefully taking over the land?


    the goddess of sloth spoke up from where she was listening.


    -i¡¯ve listened to all of it, and now i understand.


    -are you revealing your true colors as a constellation now?


    -...n-no. why are you angry with me...?


    -i¡¯m sorry. tell me.


    -humans must be frustrating for good god constellations.


    humans could learn magic that didn¡¯t exist in the abyss, they could fight hard, grow well, and also devise plans to drive out the evil god constellations.


    besides that, the people of earth were more adaptable than the constellations expected. regardless of which land was occupied by the evil god constellations, they could just enjoy life in their own countries. therefore, it had to be frustrating for the constellations.


    -so she is going to act herself?


    -it¡¯s not weird. didn¡¯t you say that the six-winged angel who hunts dragons is also attacking the british side? isn¡¯t that constellation aiming for the same thing? it¡¯s a warlike constellation after all...


    ¡®...let¡¯s forget about ruling for a moment.¡¯


    choi yeonseung hesitated.


    putting aside what happened once she obtained it...


    even though he had been suffering losses recently, the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ was still one of the strongest evil god constellations that had come on earth. the fiercest and most combative one among the good god constellations was the six-winged angel who hunts dragons.


    did the goddess of balance want to step in and obtain the british land while those two were fighting fiercely?


    ¡®is the goddess of balance really capable of that?¡¯


    choi yeonseung suddenly felt uneasy.

 Chapter 251

    chapter 251


    ¡®no. i can¡¯t start with this mindset.¡¯n??v€l--?1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.


    choi yeonseung changed his mind. it was true that the goddess of balance had recently lost many things due to various mistakes, and consequently her ranking had plummeted, but she was nonetheless still doing well.


    not falling behind the prominent constellations that were the first ones to come to earth wasn¡¯t something that everyone could do. moreover, her power of seeing into the future was so strong that not even the constellations of the abyss could imitate it.


    ¡°is that so? the goddess must have a brilliant plan if she said this.¡±


    -yes. i helped her make the plans.


    ¡°oh...¡±


    choi yeonseung suddenly felt relieved.


    -i¡¯ll be relieved if the angel helps.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is relieved!]


    choi yeonseung thought it was fortunate that the goddess of balance couldn¡¯t listen to the conversation. if she had been listening, she might¡¯ve actually become an evil god constellation.


    ¡®i have to trust her.¡¯


    -you have to make cool-headed judgments as a constellation. this type of warmth...


    ¡®why don¡¯t you stop it?¡¯


    ***


    each constellation had their own preferences in terms of constellation battles.


    the berserker constellation preferred one-on-one duels in which the household members fought to the death, while the goddess of balance preferred battles that were six versus six.


    of course, constellations couldn¡¯t just simply fight the type of battles that they preferred. however, if a constellation picked a battle mode that the enemy was also comfortable with, the enemy was likely to accept.


    it was simply a matter of pride for the constellation, regardless of victory or defeat.


    -the noble crown collector¡¯s preferred constellation battle is a treasure hunt.


    ¡°...?¡±


    choi yeonseung was flustered for a moment when he heard the name of that constellation battle. it sounded like an innocent game for children. what was that?


    -it¡¯s a bit different from what you¡¯re thinking.


    the goddess of sloth explained the ¡®treasure hunt¡¯ to choi yeonseung. although there was ¡®treasure¡¯ in the name, the rules were much more brutal than that. the battle consisted of entering the realm of the enemy constellation and trying to find their holy relic.


    -the holy relic... it should be considered part of the constellation.


    a constellation had to rule over a vast kingdom and never had enough eyes and hands for that. it was impossible to monitor everything at once, so the constellations used holy relics. a holy relic was a treasure created using the constellation¡¯s power of existence. planting such a treasure in the ground made it easier for a constellation to govern their land. one could consider it being their alter ego planted in the ground.


    -indeed. something similar had happened on earth.


    in the past, there was a time when the evil constellation secretly buried holy relics in the ground and it subsequently became a controversial topic.


    -what happened?


    the goddess of sloth was curious about the story.


    usually, mortals who picked up the holy relic of a constellation suffered either a fate of greatness or one of destruction. under the influence of the holy relic, they either became heroes or slayers of the kingdom.


    -some of them reported it to the government, received compensation, and turned their life around.


    -......


    the goddess of sloth was at a loss for words.


    -in any case, you have to go to someone else¡¯s territory to find the holy relic. i think the conditions are too unfavorable.


    -but there are also some rules for the owner of the realm.


    the constellation who owned the realm couldn¡¯t intervene directly, nor could they even watch. being able to help their household members was a significant advantage for constellations, so this rule was a clear penalty.


    -even so, many insist that the one looking for the household relic is at a disadvantage. that¡¯s why there are many constellations who don¡¯t accept this type of battle.


    indeed, the side with the territory seemed to have the advantage, despite the penalty on their part.


    ¡®but the constellation won¡¯t refuse because of this.¡¯


    choi yeonseung realized what the goddess of balance was thinking. the collector constellation would be absolutely confident in the treasure hunt because of the rules, so much so that he wasn¡¯t going to refuse anyone who proposed it. if they could find a clear way to win and then propose the battle... they would be able to perfectly pierce that arrogance.


    ¡°then how can we win?¡±


    -that¡¯s something you will have to think about from now on.


    @schreiber_lane


    -yesterday, our clan killed one b-grade monster and twelve c-grade monsters. i thought the british wouldn¡¯t sell anything, but they¡¯re selling coffee. ah, right. the food is either disgusting or tasteless.


    @schreiber_lane


    -the food here doesn¡¯t seem to have changed despite the country being ruled by a constellation. right now i remember the dungeon cooking that hunter choi yeonseung used to make for us during raids. it was amazingly delicious. it¡¯s exactly like this... (photo attached).


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded. ¡°do i need to look at all of this?¡±


    ¡°no. you don¡¯t need to look at everything.¡± elisabeth thought so and turned off her phone. ¡°in any case, you now understand how things are, right?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    the clans, who hesitated at first because it seemed dangerous, slowly became more greedy and sneaked into the united kingdom one by one. the collector constellation would¡¯ve been angry if he had known about this, but...


    ***


    ¡°we were already preparing because of what ernest has said.¡±


    the clan employees couldn¡¯t stay still because rumors had spread just like that. in addition to various preparations, they were looking for a good place for the hunters to stay in the united kingdom.


    choi yeonseung asked, ¡°why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡±


    ¡°you want to go as well??¡±


    the clan¡¯s staff member stared in bewilderment.


    ¡°aren¡¯t you overdoing it? an a-grade hunter...¡±


    ¡°...the south korean government gave me the green light.¡±


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t you get permission from the us government?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know why i would have to get permission from the us government, but they¡¯re okay with it.¡±


    choi yeonseung shamelessly lied.


    ¡®there is no reason why i should ask for permission.¡¯


    the staff member seemed relieved after he heard this. ¡°i¡¯m glad. these days, all governments are paying close attention to managing a-grade hunters.¡±


    there weren¡¯t many a-grade hunters out there, and the low-ranking hunters were evolving at a rather slow pace. therefore, it would be problematic for the government if the number of a-grade hunters decreased.


    moreover, given the newly opened abyss gate, the government wanted their hunters to stay quietly at home unless they were absolutely needed somewhere. of course, the hunters weren¡¯t the type of people to listen to the government.


    ¡®i¡¯m sorry.¡¯


    of course, choi yeonseung also had a purpose to act, but...


    he also felt genuinely sorry for the headaches that the civil servants that both countries would have.


    ***


    in order for adaquaniel to accompany choi yeonseung with the other hunters, they needed to hide her real identity. choi yeonseung decided to do that because it wouldn¡¯t be good for her if people found out that she was an angel.


    ¡°by the way, who¡¯s that hunter?¡±


    ¡°she¡¯s a hunter i met in south korea. i brought her with me in order to see what she¡¯s capable of.¡±


    ¡°ohh...¡±


    the icarus clan hunters were surprised when they heard that choi yeonseung had brought her from south korea.


    was she that talented?


    ¡°...wait, i don¡¯t think she is korean?¡±


    antony was puzzled.


    next to him, smallwood shook his head and said, ¡°what do you mean, schneider? she can¡¯t be korean just because she¡¯s white?¡±


    ¡°no...¡±


    ¡°how disappointing, schneider.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve always known he¡¯s terrible. he seems like a racist guy.¡±


    the other hunters, who usually disliked antony, muttered to each other. antony was unaffected by the other rude remarks, but he couldn¡¯t help feeling upset because of the word ¡®racist.¡¯


    ¡°choi yeonseung, don¡¯t get me wrong! i¡¯m not a racist!¡±


    ¡°this... will you please stay away from me?¡±


    ¡°h...hey!¡±

 Chapter 252

    chapter 252


    choi yeonseung ignored antony, who was protesting from the side, and spoke again.


    ¡°so there isn¡¯t anything to be careful about when walking around in the united kingdom?¡±


    ¡°no, there isn¡¯t.¡±


    the clan employee¡¯s words were surprising, but nonetheless true. the first clans that had entered the united kingdom proved his assertion. people who didn¡¯t know much about constellations often thought that a country ruled by one would have a hellish landscape with sulfur and lava everywhere. however, just like the videos on youtube showed, countries ruled by constellations tended to run surprisingly well on the outside.


    it was easy for south korean hunters to imagine something like this. they just had to think of a dictatorship like north korea. it was just that a constellation had taken the place of a dictator! of course, the state of a country was different based on the ruling constellation.


    in the northern part of china, where the master of slowness and silence was currently ruling, all the noisy factories had been shut down and people had to move around using bicycles.


    in the case of north korea, which was ruled by the snake of alcohol and dancing, the various factories and concentration camp facilities had been cleared out. only breweries producing alcohol lined up endlessly...


    at first, choi yeonseung was a bit surprised by this, but now he understood. why did the constellations rule like that?


    ¡®i guess constellations also care about managing their image.¡¯


    -you¡¯re right.


    if the constellation ruled the country with an iron fist, many people would flee, and few newcomers would come. furthermore, given how many souls there were on earth, not receiving refugees was considered a great loss.


    that was why the evil god constellations didn¡¯t drastically change the country they occupied. it was because humans were likely to reject it. it was the kind of dictatorship where the constellations managed everything within reasonable limits. that was generally how the countries that were currently occupied functioned.


    ¡°in any case, it¡¯s a bit surprising that they don¡¯t have any precautions. i suppose they don¡¯t care that much?¡±


    ¡°as of now, there are more than fifteen confirmed clans. the hunters and staff who have arrived in the united kingdom are active, but the constellation still hasn¡¯t responded to that. of course, they can¡¯t attract too much attention, but...


    ¡°hah... it¡¯s lucky.¡±


    adaquaniel, who was beside choi yeonseung, said softly, ¡°it seems that the household members of the collector constellation are busy.¡±


    ¡°seems that way.¡±


    ¡®what are the household members of the collector constellation doing?¡¯


    ***


    the household members of the six-winged angel who hunts dragons stayed around the strait of dover, which connected england and france. the hunters watched in awe as the number of angels continued to grow.


    ¡°as expected of master! loyalty, loyalty, loyalty!¡±


    ¡°hooray for the six-winged angel!¡±


    -stop with the flattery. master hates flattery.


    ¡°...¡±


    the hunters, who were relatively new subordinates, were shouting in order to get their master¡¯s attention, but they all fell silent at the angel¡¯s words.


    their shallow intentions had been discovered immediately.


    [¡¯dragon-slaying warrior¡¯s wings¡¯ have been acquired.]


    [¡¯dragon-slaying warrior¡¯s wings¡¯ have been acquired.]


    [...]


    the angels immediately bestowed a new power on the hunters who had gathered there. it was a powerful flying skill. considering that the original flying magic required the caster to constantly focus and control it, this ability to move easily with just willpower was a very powerful skill.


    the hunters were excited upon receiving such a power.


    ¡°hey, you better calm down.¡±


    the more experienced hunters tried to calm down the newcomers, as it was easy to make mistakes when excited. however, the hunters were too excited because they had just been chosen by the constellation. they couldn¡¯t listen to anything from their seniors.


    ¡°what? are you afraid that i might surpass you this time and move up the ranks?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re quite the comedian, aren¡¯t you? whatever, do as you please.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll do whatever i want!¡±


    everybody was talking with each other.


    amelia looked at them and clicked her tongue. ¡°fools. being brave is a good thing, but being conceited isn¡¯t.¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s question, several icarus clan hunters raised their hands.


    seeing this, choi yeonseung spoke firmly, ¡°you¡¯ll have to put up with nasty and uncomfortable things.¡±


    they quickly put their hands down.


    ¡°why put up with those sorry bastards?¡±


    ¡°i was going to attack if they tried to fight...¡±


    ¡®no matter how you look at it, you should at least give a personality test when scouting for talented hunters for the clan,¡¯ thought choi yeonseung while inwardly cursing hwang gyeongryong¡¯s recruitment policy.


    if he only brought people in based on their skills and talents, wouldn¡¯t their clan consist only of hunters with no patience?


    ¡°i can take it!¡±


    ¡°ohh, illeya.¡±


    another person said, ¡°i think a hunter like me is more suited for a place like that.¡±


    ¡°...why you?¡± choi yeonseung asked in disbelief when whittaker stepped out. whittaker believed in his privilege as a healer when he trained or went away to play. he was someone who didn¡¯t even bother to step out unless it was for his own benefit.


    ¡°i want to make a contribution as a hunter of the clan...¡± whittaker replied.


    ¡°if you don¡¯t actually mean it, then i won¡¯t take you with me. keep in mind that it won¡¯t make a difference whether you¡¯re present or not.¡±


    whittaker inwardly cursed choi yeonseung.


    before choi yeonseung came to the clan, he had been able to eat and live comfortably by taking advantage of the relaxed atmosphere. however, after choi yeonseung came, the atmosphere of the clan became too much for him. if whittaker tried to gain some easy profit, choi yeonseung would stop him right away...


    ¡°...sigh, okay. keep this to yourself. the united kingdom has been blocked off for decades, right?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°in the meantime, the prices of british treasures and artifacts have skyrocketed. the prices of the goods that are smuggled periodically are also astronomical. so, how many treasures will someone who lives here like a noble have? something like that...¡±


    ¡°so you want to steal it?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not stealing. it¡¯s transferring ownership.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re out. just stay here. hey. don¡¯t let this bastard leave.¡±


    ¡°w-wait. think about it carefully, choi yeonseung! those british bastards have stolen all those treasures from all over the world. why shouldn¡¯t i steal one or two?¡±


    the hunters around whittaker were instantly convinced. of course, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t let it go. ¡°if you wanted to do that, you should¡¯ve come here by yourself to do it.¡±


    ¡°i won¡¯t make a move without your permission. really!¡±


    ¡°really?¡±


    ¡°i swear on my honor...¡±


    ¡°your honor is of little value. if you make a move without permission, i will cut off both of your arms.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    whittaker felt a chill. he felt that choi yeonseung was absolutely serious about that.


    ¡®crazy bastard...!¡¯


    ***


    the family of count steva was an english aristocratic family with a rich history, dating back to the 15th century. they paid a large amount of money, so the collector constellation gave the family quite a bit of power after the united kingdom fell under his occupation. this allowed them to live richer and happier lives after the collector constellation took over.


    ¡°those guys who came here in secrecy are doing something shameless... tell them to go away!¡± complained edward to his butler.


    he had heard that overseas hunters took advantage of the current chaos in order to hang around, but he hadn¡¯t expected them to come all the way here. for edward, who reigned like a noble in this town, such a visit was extremely pleasant.


    bang!


    there was the sound of the door breaking open followed by hunters rushing in with grim expressions. choi yeonseung was at the forefront and said in a fierce voice, ¡°does your rejection of our offer mean that you are on the side of the constellation, rather than that of humans?¡±


    the unexpected, sudden intrusion caused edward to blink frantically out of fright.


    adaquaniel asked softly, ¡°can we really do something like this...?¡±

 Chapter 253

    chapter 253


    the governments in exile would say, ¡®our good citizens are being tormented by the evil god constellations!¡¯ however, the people in the occupied areas lived surprisingly well on their own.


    china and north korea are prime examples of that.


    videos with people saying things like ¡®huh? aren¡¯t we eating and living better since the constellation took over? the only issue is that the smell of alcohol has become worse,¡¯ were posted. it got to the point that the governments of other countries banned the videos.


    thus, it became apparent that the countries occupied by constellations were also places where people could actually live. of course, there were people who wanted to live an easy life by attaching themselves to constellations.


    edward was a perfect example of such people. he was a british nobleman with a bloodline that the collector constellation appreciated! such nobles had gained the constellation¡¯s favor and established a court to replace the exiled government. a privilege like this was something that the nobles of former times used to enjoy, as it normally never would¡¯ve stood in modern times.


    of course, the situation was quite infuriating for the british people, but... there was no one brave enough to disobey the laws created by a constellation.


    however, the nobles also had enemies, namely those who defected overseas! to the british people who had gone into exile abroad, these nobles were seen as traitors who had sided with the evil god constellation.


    some of them even sent death threats. fortunately, the nobles didn¡¯t have to leave british soil, so they weren¡¯t too worried...


    at the moment, edward couldn¡¯t help being reminded of this fact when he saw the hunters busting through his door.


    ¡°knights... are you from the knights of the holy temple?¡±


    edward questioned the hunters, and choi yeonseung was puzzled. what was with this long name? was it a clan?


    ¡°who are they?¡±


    ¡°they¡¯re crazy brits,¡± replied whittaker, wondering why choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t known about this.


    choi yeonseung tilted his head. ¡°are you saying that all british people are crazy? well... it makes sense, but...¡±


    ¡°what... what are you talking about? that¡¯s not what i meant!¡± whittaker got fired up. above all, it wasn¡¯t good to badmouth british people when they were surrounded by them.


    illeya whispered with a shocked expression, ¡°he discriminates against the british?¡±


    ¡°yeah. well, it¡¯s whittaker, so what do you expect?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    whittaker vowed that he would never accompany these two people again.


    ¡°ah. i remember. it was those bastards.¡±


    ¡°bastards...?¡±


    ¡°that... they kidnapped the president of the united states and tried to bomb the united kingdom, right?¡±


    ¡°yes. i learned about it from a textbook.¡± illeya nodded and agreed.


    the knights of the holy temple was a radical group formed by exiled royal forces and hunters during the british occupation. they only cared about restoring the united kingdom, and they would do whatever it took to achieve this goal. the worst thing they had done was to kidnap the president of the united states and send a nuclear weapon to the united kingdom!


    ¡°are you saying i look like such people?¡± choi yeonseung asked in a dumbfounded tone.


    edward replied cautiously, ¡°n... no?¡±


    ¡°then what nonsense are you saying? we¡¯re just a bunch of good hunters.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    edward¡¯s expression contorted as he finally realized who choi yeonseung and the other hunters were. they were the bastards that had been recently loitering around!


    ¡°you call yourselves good hunters...?! get lost! what kind of good hunters would barge in someone else¡¯s mansion like that? don¡¯t think you¡¯re going to get away with entering the country in secrecy! you rat bastards! get lost before i denounce you to the collector constellation!¡± edward spat out.


    the other people next to him nodded and glared.


    ¡°you jerks...¡±


    whittaker became furious once again. people criticized him a lot, calling him a ¡®selfish bastard¡¯, but it was hard to hear such accusations from a bunch of assholes who depended on a constellation. weren¡¯t they living comfortably under the constellation while the clan hunters were fighting monsters and protecting the citizens?


    ¡°damn. let¡¯s go.¡±


    despite his anger, whittaker put up with it.


    this was the united kingdom, and these people were the constellation¡¯s favorites in their own way. if he accidentally touched the wrong person and a household member came here, things would get nasty.


    ¡°why?¡± asked choi yeonseung in response to whittaker¡¯s words.


    ¡°...uhm, they¡¯ll report us if we don¡¯t leave, right??¡±


    whittaker looked at choi yeonseung with a confused expression because, to him, it seemed like his suggestion to leave was self-explanatory.


    ¡°whittaker, you¡¯re not getting it. why leave just because they told us to? we have to persuade them.¡±


    ¡°you think we can persuade them? they¡¯ve been affiliated with the constellation for decades...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    edward realized that things were getting serious. did he really have to go all the way to london with these crazy hunters?? at this rate, wouldn¡¯t they all die?


    edward made one last attempt to reason with them. ¡°monsters... didn¡¯t you come to kill them??¡±


    ¡°i will kill monsters, but i have to check various things while here.¡±


    whittaker, who was next to him, asked as if he didn¡¯t understand, ¡°isn¡¯t london too dangerous? no matter what, there¡¯s no need to go there...¡±


    ¡°tsk tsk.¡± choi yeonseung clicked his tongue at whittaker''s ignorance. ¡°whittaker. you really are clueless. do you know what i heard before i came here?¡±


    ¡°what did you hear?¡±


    ¡°that there¡¯s a mountain of artifacts in london that¡¯s been piled up by the collector constellation.¡±


    ¡°...!!!!!!¡±


    whittaker¡¯s eyes widened to the point where they couldn¡¯t get any bigger.


    ¡°do you think i came here just to kill some monsters?¡±


    ¡°w-was it something like that...?¡±


    whittaker trembled with apprehension. he hadn¡¯t understood why an a-grade hunter came all the way to the united kingdom while taking care of all the clan hunters. however, there was a reason. such a purpose convinced him of the decision to go to london.


    ¡°y-you¡¯ll let me join, right?¡± whittaker wondered.


    ¡°you¡¯re a bit...¡±¡¯


    ¡°i¡¯m a healer! you¡¯ll need a skilled healer like me, right?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re irritating.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    whittaker was momentarily left speechless by choi yeonseung¡¯s transparency, but what was there that he could do? he was arguing with an a-grade hunter...


    ¡°i¡¯ll obey your orders unconditionally, so please...¡±


    ¡°hmm. okay.¡±


    bang!


    as he was speaking, they suddenly heard the sound of the front door being smashed open. choi yeonseung turned his head with a quizzical look.the door had already been broken, so who could¡¯ve done that?


    ¡®what? is a household member here?¡¯


    that wasn¡¯t the case. heavily armed hunters stood at the main entrance. they were armed with various equipment and heavy weapons. it was easy to mistake them for mercenaries, but choi yeonseung could feel a high amount of magic power radiating from them. the power seemed to range from c to b-grade! they could take out an entire military unit with that amount of power.


    ¡®they¡¯re not the icarus clan hunters?¡¯


    ¡°the bastard edward! traitor of england! you shall face judgment from your country!¡±


    ¡°uh... aaaaack!¡± it¡¯s the knights of the holy temple!!!!¡±


    edward now trembled with even more fear than when he had previously been threatened by choi yeonseung. he knew that choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t just kill him like that. meanwhile, the knight of the holy temple were completely out of control and they had no qualms about killing him!


    they were fear incarnated!


    ¡°go and grab him! this bastard¡¯s end shall be known to the public. we¡¯ll let people know what happens to traitors... wait. aren¡¯t you hunters?¡±


    the knights of the holy temple stopped when they saw that other hunters were already inside. they were so famous that one could recognize them just by seeing their faces. they belonged to the icarus clan! things weren¡¯t going as they expected, so their knightly minds were quite perplexed.


    edward exclaimed urgently, ¡°i think you¡¯ve got the wrong idea! i¡¯ve joined forces with these hunters! we¡¯ve actually been cooperating for a long time! i¡¯m a patriot!¡±


    ¡°...??¡±


    choi yeonseung stared at edward with a look of disbelief. edward gave him a desperate look. despite not saying anything verbally or through telepathy, edward managed to get his message across.


    -please speak for me...!


    ¡°...well, yes. he has indeed been working with us for a long time.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯ve been collaborating with the icarus clan?¡±


    the knights of the holy temple relaxed their glare. then, one of them spoke in a much softer voice, ¡°i¡¯m sorry about that. i think we misunderstood the situation. we didn¡¯t know what was going on, so we held a grudge against you. hey, put your tools away.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at the tools that the knights were putting away and was stunned.


    what were those jagged, bloody instruments of torture??

 Chapter 254

    chapter 254


    ¡®they¡¯re a lot crazier than i thought.¡¯


    it was understandable why the arrogant english noble was shaking in his boots and begged choi yeonseung to spare him. if he got caught by them, he would suffer a fate worse than death. these knights were even good at magic...


    -c-choi yeonseung. shouldn¡¯t you report it immediately?


    whittaker quickly texted choi yeonseung.


    the knights of the holy temple was a disbanded order of knights from the united states. some executives of the group were considered so dangerous that huge bounties had been placed on them.


    they had caused such an incident that it felt natural to call them terrorists!


    -now?


    -......


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s short answer, whittaker quickly regained focus. come to think of it, this wasn¡¯t the time nor the place to report them. american hunters and special forces couldn¡¯t be dispatched to the distant british lands...


    most of all, choi yeonseung and the rest of the hunters currently had a lot of work to do, so it was unwise to clash with these knight fanatics.


    -come to think of it, i don¡¯t think we need to report it. it¡¯s the job of the us government, not a hunter¡¯s.


    illeya marveled at whittaker¡¯s answer. ¡°your shamelessness has no limits.¡±


    ¡°he definitely doesn¡¯t feel any shame. by the way... what are they doing here? i feel uncomfortable for some reason.¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at the hunters of the knights of the holy temple with a grim expression. he was going to sneak in while the constellation was distracted, find the location of the holy relic, and then get out. now his calculations have been disrupted by the appearance of the knights.


    the constellation probably wouldn¡¯t be interested, but it was impossible to guess what these guys would do. these were the people who tried to launch the united state¡¯s nuclear weapon...


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    surprisingly, it was a knight who spoke first. with a soft voice, he said, ¡°i¡¯m glad to meet you like this. ever since i heard about you, i¡¯ve had nothing but respect for you.¡±


    ¡°...me?¡±


    it wasn¡¯t the first time choi yeonseung heard someone express their admiration for him, but it was the first time he thought of it as something not exactly positive. if anything, it was actually unpleasant!


    ¡®why do these nutjobs respect me?¡¯


    the hunter continued, ¡°of course, i have to respect you. how many a-grade hunters were fighting monsters right now? once they reach a-grade, they all become stuck like they have oil in their stomachs. they always try to calculate everything and never come out to fight unless there¡¯s something in it for them.¡±


    the knight uttered these words in an utterly contemptuous tone.


    it was true that hunters became less active as their rating increased. it was exactly what each country wanted.


    on this note, choi yeonseung was quite an unusual case, since, even after he reached a-grade, he had always been active without taking any breaks. moreover, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t cooperate with any particular country, but moved flexibly as needed. there was also the recent big clash with the collector constellation.


    the knights were bound to like all these things about him.


    ¡°you might not know it, but our people call you an ¡®honorary englishman¡¯.¡±


    ¡°wow... i really don¡¯t like that.¡±


    choi yeonseung wanted to curse because it didn¡¯t really feel like a compliment.


    the knight explained in a confused manner, ¡°you misunderstand us! only worthy people can get the title of ¡®honorary englishman¡¯, even if they¡¯re not british...¡±


    ¡°hey! don¡¯t talk nonsense. this country has been in shambles for a long time, and yet you say stuff like that. your passport is worth less than ten dollars!¡±


    whittaker blew up as he couldn¡¯t listen to them anymore. no matter how terrifying of a leader choi yeonseung was, these knights¡¯ nonsense was just too much.


    the expressions of the knights stiffened as they looked at whittaker.


    ¡°and he is?¡±


    another knight answered, ¡°whittaker moneymaker. he¡¯s a b-grade hunter from the icarus clan. he takes pleasure in luxury and the nightlife. he¡¯s recently lost a lot of money playing poker and owes 1.88 million dollars.¡±


    ¡°is that so?¡±


    ¡°really?¡±


    choi yeonseung and illeya stared at him in amazement , and whittaker¡¯s face turned bright red.


    ¡±i lost it to manage my personal connections!¡±


    the knights ignored whittaker¡¯ words and warned him.


    ¡°be careful, moneymaker. we don¡¯t tolerate insults. you...¡±


    ¡°i was going to say the same thing he did. are you threatening a hunter of my clan?¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s presence suddenly became twice as intimidating. tremendous power and pressure emanated from his body as he took full advantage of his peak-class status. this caused the knights to feel oppressed. it was hard to believe that choi yeonseung could control his opponents like this without using any magic.


    ¡°...i apologize. it was just a slip of the tongue.¡±


    in the end, the knights were the ones who backed down.


    ***


    ¡°wouldn¡¯t it be better to postpone your plan?¡±


    ¡°is it really the right move to go to london right now?¡±


    ¡°if i hear your voice one more time, i¡¯ll put you in the trunk.¡±


    the group was now in the car and driving down the road. edward¡¯s limousine was luxurious and extravagant. it looked like edward had bought it in order to show off the wealth he had accumulated. the moment whittaker found an expensive wristwatch in the car, he picked it up and put it on his wrist.


    edward gave him a death stare, but he wasn¡¯t in a position to complain. after meeting the hunters of the knights of the holy temple, he finally understood how serious the situation was.


    ¡®the united kingdom might actually fall!¡¯


    it had been decades since the collector constellation had taken over, and presently, nobody felt uncomfortable about the united kingdom being ruled by a constellation. the class system suddenly reappeared, but people adapted surprisingly easily. if the united kingdom fell, what would become of the nobles who had been relying on the power of the constellation?


    ¡®should i run away? n-no. the knights will come after me. ugh... do i really have to cooperate with these american bastards?¡±


    grrr...


    as they drove down the highway and approached london, the abyss minions who were under the collector constellation appeared gradually. there was no way that a constellation would trust an army made up entirely of humans. naturally, the constellation had sent his minions everywhere.


    ¡®is it a silver werewolf?¡¯


    the werewolves were slender and had beautiful silver furs. such minions were suited to the taste of the collector constellation. of course, similarly to the collector constellation, these werewolves didn¡¯t have noble personalities. they were wild and fierce creatures.


    -human noble. what brings you here?


    ¡°i-i came to see master!¡±


    -master is busy. you will have to wait a long time.


    the werewolf spoke in a low voice. their master was currently busy fighting the angel constellation. even if the humans that the collector constellation cherished came to visit, there was no time for hospitality.


    ¡°it can¡¯t wait!¡±


    -really? then do as you wish. enter.


    the werewolf gestured for them to continue, and the group sighed with relief after passing through the checkpoint. they had passed one stage.


    ¡°...what is that??¡±


    whittaker pointed out the window.


    a dragon of the abyss, which was radiating evil energy, was falling in the sea after being attacked by angels and hunters.


    ¡®the constellations are fighting among themselves!¡¯


    choi yeonseung intuitively realized what was going on. based on its scale, it was clear that it was a battle between the household members of the constellations.


    ¡®...wait. it¡¯s han sehui!¡¯


    choi yeonseung spotted his niece in the distance and was shocked. his niece was also fighting. amelia was next to her, but it didn¡¯t really matter.


    -adaquaniel, is there any way to lend them support in that fight? it¡¯s important.


    -it¡¯s important? um...


    despite having an important task at hand, adaquaniel didn¡¯t turn down choi yeonseung¡¯s request.


    she pondered on it and gave him a reply


    -it¡¯s dangerous for us to get involved directly. i¡¯ll ask master to support them, although i don¡¯t know if she¡¯ll listen. i¡¯m sorry. it requires a lot of strength...


    adaquaniel was worried.


    there was absolutely no reason for a constellation to give blessings or buffs to household members of other constellations. that was why she apologized to choi yeonseung before contacting her master.


    -please ask her.


    -i understand. wait a minute...


    adaquaniel closed her eyes and sent a message to her master. the answer came back one second later. the reply came quicker than expected, and it turned out to be a positive answer, which was why adaquaniel spoke in a happy voice.


    -she said she¡¯ll do it!


    ¡°thank you!¡±


    choi yeonseung was unusually happy and held adaquaniel¡¯s hands tightly.


    adaquaniel didn¡¯t avoid it. she held his hands back and shook them up and down.


    -uh... successor. i think it¡¯s better to let go...


    the goddess of sloth sounded a bit anxious.


    given how fast the goddess of sloth reacted, it seemed like the goddess of balance had been watching the whole time...??

 Chapter 255

    chapter 255


    as the two people were holding each other¡¯s hands, a great change was taking place within the household members of the angel constellation who were fighting in the sky.


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ has blessed you!]


    [the power to foresee the future guides you!]


    ¡°...?!!¡±


    the household members who were currently fighting were astonished. they had received a buff, but more than that, they were surprised by the sudden appearance of another party.


    why...?


    why did the goddess of balance who walks ahead get involved?


    ¡°illaphael, what happened?¡±


    ¡°i also don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s none of our business! focus on the fight at hand!¡±


    ¡°yes! i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    the angel illaphael didn¡¯t understand it.


    the goddess of balance who walks ahead had been on earth since the early days of the gate, but her presence wasn¡¯t that impactful as she didn¡¯t have many household members or subordinates. moreover, she maintained a neutral and defensive attitude.


    her presence was bound to be overshadowed by other active constellations.


    didn¡¯t the six-winged angel who hunts dragons, whom they served, accept numerous hunters as subordinates to fight against the evil god constellations?


    in comparison, the goddess of balance had kept pretty quiet in that regard. considering all of that, why did such a constellation suddenly come forward and bless them?


    there had been times when a constellation gave blessings to the household members of other constellations on a whim, but this was a bit unexpected.the goddess of balance wasn¡¯t that type of constellation...


    ¡®it has to be that. i¡¯m impressed with the goddess¡¯ decision.¡¯


    illaphael came up with his own explanation and was convinced.


    the six-winged angel who hunts dragons set out to liberate greedy and ignorant humans. it was clear that the goddess of balance sympathized with their master¡¯s holy intentions. she was afraid to openly express her support, so she helped them like this.


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ is puzzled.]


    -master, that constellation must¡¯ve been influenced by your will!


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ says it would be nice if that were the case, but it is hard to believe because he has never talked to the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead.¡¯]


    -why is that important? in any case, we¡¯ve already been empowered and it¡¯s our strength. i¡¯ll take down our enemies!


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ is pleased with your will. he is giving you permission to fight!]


    the angel constellation wasn¡¯t an evil god constellation, but he was nonetheless fierce and aggressive. the household members rampaged even more ferociously after they received the blessing from the goddess of balance.


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡°this...!¡±


    those who received the blessing could immediately tell what kind of power it was. they could predict the future, their foresight ranging from one to five seconds. even six seconds were possible.


    the powerful beings from the abyss could roughly predict what would happen based on their accumulated experience, but... this blessing allowed them to predict the future with more accuracy and clarity.


    it was truly an unimaginable power. the household members never imagined that the power of the goddess of balance was of this magnitude.


    ¡®was it this great?¡¯


    ¡®why weren¡¯t there any rumors about a constellation with this type of power? are the constellations that eccentric?¡¯


    ¡®if the constellation doesn¡¯t want many household members, then of course rumors won¡¯t spread.¡¯


    ¡®but it¡¯s an amazing ability.¡¯


    after receiving the blessing, both the household members and the subordinates of the angel constellation suppressed their enemies. the subordinates of the collector constellation were confused by the sudden increase in the power of their enemies.


    -magic sword continuous hellfire, wing incision curse!


    amelia drew her sword, cut the dragon¡¯s throat with great precision, and cast a spell to burn its body.


    she wasn¡¯t a martial artist, but as an a-grade hunter, she possessed tremendous power even when it came to close combat. she had cast various spells on herself and her weapons and slashed her enemies one by one.


    right then, one of the monsters that was about to attack han sehui crashed down. han sehui nodded in gratitude, and amelia responded with a short nod.


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°is there something down below?¡±


    shake shake.


    han sehui shook her head. she thought she saw some familiar faces below. however, she thought about it and realized it was impossible for them to be here.


    ***


    ¡°the goddess is very generous.¡±


    ¡°of course. it¡¯s just one of her many virtues.¡±


    choi yeonseung and adaquaniel were having a heartfelt conversation.


    whittaker was puzzled by how intimate and warm the atmosphere was between the two of them.


    ¡®is she choi yeonseung¡¯s lover?¡¯


    come to think of it, there would¡¯ve been nothing strange about them being in a romantic relationship, since he brought her from south korea. furthermore, she didn¡¯t have a human-like appearance. it seemed plausible that choi yeonseung would fall in love with her.


    ¡®oh my...¡¯


    choi yeonseung had always kept to himself and learned martial arts while other hunters drank, did drugs, and called models for crazy parties. this made whittaker wonder if choi yeonseung actually had any human needs, but that would¡¯ve made him more friendly if it had been the case.


    ¡°if you are going to find a treasure, i¡¯ll join you...¡± said whittaker.


    ¡°don¡¯t worry, i¡¯ll call you when i find it.¡±


    choi yeonseung said that only to appease whittaker.


    whittaker never would¡¯ve thought that choi yeonseung had come looking for a holy relic. now that whittaker had entered london with such difficulty, he would surely get his hands on the treasures of the constellation!


    ¡°hey, edward. be honest. how could you not know about any treasures? doesn¡¯t really add up, does it?¡±


    ¡°i-i really don¡¯t know. first of all, i¡¯m not even a hunter...¡±


    ¡°do you want to see your family die? eh?¡±


    ¡°you madman...¡±


    illeya, who had been listening from the sidelines, stopped whittaker.


    ¡°stop it.¡±


    ¡°p-please take this guy with you,¡± begged edward


    illeya reassured him, ¡°don¡¯t worry. i¡¯m the good cop.¡±


    ¡°i... i see.¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s the bad cop.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right...?¡±


    ¡°so tell me the truth.¡±


    ¡°????¡±


    at this point, edward realized that things were gradually getting stranger. the a-grade hunter wasn¡¯t the only crazy person here?


    ¡°what nonsense... i really don¡¯t know! and also, what kind of cops blatantly say which one is good and which one is bad?!¡±


    it was quite common to interrogate someone using the carrot and the stick. one person was in charge of being the good cop, and the other was in charge of being the bad cop, but...


    what was the point of doing it if they revealed their strategy to edward?


    illeya had a stern expression after hearing these words that didn¡¯t make sense to her.


    ¡°if you keep doing this, you¡¯ll leave me with no choice but to use a method that i¡¯ve seen in korean movies.¡±


    ¡°w... w... what are you going to do??¡±


    he didn¡¯t know what movie she had seen, but edward was instinctively enveloped by fear.


    ***


    ¡®the energy of the holy relic...¡¯


    unlike other household members, choi yeonseung possessed a very special ability.


    the reason... it was that choi yeonseung was a constellation. he had awakened the power of existence and knew how to use it! thanks to that, he could sense the power of existence from a holy relic and subsequently discover its location.


    ¡®it¡¯s not here either... um.¡¯


    choi yeonseung sensed the faint aura of the power of existence and gradually moved towards it.


    adaquaniel, who was next to him, said with a respectful look, ¡°i can¡¯t believe you can find the holy relics that the collector constellation worked so hard to hide. you really are amazing.¡±


    ¡°no, you deserve all the credit because you came up with such a plan.¡±


    -why don¡¯t the two of you just stick together?


    the goddess of sloth interjected.


    they didn¡¯t come here to date, but they were so warm with each other that they almost caught fire. she wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if they started rolling around naked with each other.


    adaquaniel suddenly exclaimed, ¡°ah.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°it looks like my master will borrow my body for a while and descend.¡±


    ¡°...huh?¡±


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ has appeared after borrowing adaquaniel¡¯s body!]


    the color of adaquaniel¡¯s eyes changed before choi yeonseung could get an answer. it was amazing how she felt like a different being despite everything else remaining the same. her body radiated greater strength than before. no matter how hard the goddess tried to hide it, the subtle power of existence made the difference in strength apparent.


    ¡®isn¡¯t she bad at hiding things?¡¯


    she seemed a bit clumsy in the eyes of choi yeonseung, who still hadn¡¯t been caught as a constellation.


    either way, the goddess shook her head and said gracefully, ¡°i assume that the search for the holy relic isn¡¯t going that well? i¡¯m here to help, hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°uh...¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s voice trailed off. perhaps it was because she had just been helping in the sky above london, but the goddess of balance didn¡¯t seem to know what he and adaquaniel had been doing.


    adaquaniel spoke to the goddess in a soft voice.


    -master. in fact, hunter choi yeonseung is smoothly locating the holy relics with his tracking skills.


    ¡°...¡±


    the goddess¡¯ face was tinged with embarrassment.


    she had naturally assumed that they wouldn¡¯t be able to find the power of existence, so she descended with great force...

 Chapter 256

    chapter 256


    ¡°but still... you must¡¯ve had some problems or difficulties finding it, right?¡±


    -no?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it¡¯s not the case.]


    the other constellations were cold, but choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t have such an attitude toward the goddess of balance.


    due to embarrassment and awkwardness, she didn¡¯t know where to place her hands and kept squirming. perhaps it was uncomfortable for her to appear in a human form after so long, but she couldn¡¯t even make proper eye contact with choi yeonseung.


    ¡°...indeed. i¡¯m not used to using this power, so i felt like i needed help.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    the goddess¡¯ face brightened. she said in a cheerful voice, ¡°is that the case? you actually need help?¡±


    ¡°yes...¡±


    adaquaniel, who had lent her body to her master, smiled happily on the inside. indeed, hunter choi yeonseung knew quite well how to worship the goddess.


    ***


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    there was an awkward silence between the two people, or rather, the two constellations, who were walking down the path searching for traces of the holy relic.


    -......


    [...]


    even the constellations who were observing couldn¡¯t think of any advice to give in this situation. they honestly didn¡¯t want to get involved in this. it was a horribly awkward silence! the goddess was around eighty percent responsible for this silence.


    -come to think of it, you had a lover, right? luckily, it¡¯s only been thirty years on earth. your lover must¡¯ve been waiting for you, right?


    -um, we broke up before i left and she died in an accident.


    -......


    it was a wonderful way of speaking that made the atmosphere surprisingly chilly every time she chose a topic. after bravely trying to speak a few more times, the goddess became sullen and looked down at the ground, seemingly too afraid to open her mouth.


    -master, it¡¯s okay. there is nothing to be afraid of.


    -...just switch back, adaquaniel.


    adaquaniel cheered for her from within, but the goddess was already completely dead. no matter how much adaquaniel supported her, the goddess just wanted to run away.


    -no way, master. i will support you. you must not back down.


    -but...


    -you can¡¯t!


    -umm...


    adaquaniel, who usually listened to the goddess obediently, came out so firmly that not even the goddess could run away from this situation.n??v€l-b1n was the first platform to present this chapter.


    ¡°that way.¡±


    centered around buckingham palace, there was a large number of the collector constellation¡¯s household members gathered in a nearby park. not only were there dragons flying through the sky, but there were also vampire necromancers who raised undead armies. the appearance of the abyssal races filling the space where citizens should¡¯ve normally wandered was quite alien. it was as if this place had become the abyss itself.


    ¡°i need to get closer in order to find the exact location...¡±


    they were looking at the palace and the park surrounding it. the land across the uk was narrow, but this area was still very wide. choi yeonseung had to look at it with his own two eyes to be certain. it was just that no matter what permission he had, he was bound to arouse the suspicion of the collector constellation and household members if he got close. ordinary humans had no reason to come this far!


    ¡®umm. should i hide my identity and fight?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was slightly worried. fortunately, the household members of the angel constellation were now fighting in the distant sky. if choi yeonseung hid his identity and messed around...


    -successor, you¡¯re a martial artist.


    -...um. i will stay put and let the goddess fight.


    come to think of it, choi yeonseung was more likely to be caught if he fought. if they were going to fight, it seemed better for the goddess to do it.


    ¡°there is nothing to be afraid of, hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    the goddess puffed up her chest and spoke in a confident manner. she looked so proud that it was hard to believe that she was the same constellation who had been hesitantly looking in his direction because she had had nothing to say until now.


    ¡°i will use my power to get rid of the household members around here and clear the way.¡±


    ¡°oh...! as expected! amazing!¡±


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ is giving the shadow sword to his household members...]


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ is giving death...]


    [...]


    [...]


    the collector constellation gave powerful buffs to his household members. those humans were rampaging, but they weren¡¯t that strong. these buffs had to be enough to subdue them. right now, the most important thing was dealing with the angel constellation!


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ is requesting a constellation battle!]


    -...how dare you! how dare you look down on me?!?!


    the challenge issued by the goddess of balance made the collector constellation lose any remaining patience. the goddess of balance had been present since the early days of earth, but she was nevertheless an insignificant constellation compared to him.


    how dare such a being challenge him to a fight? it was unforgivable!


    ***


    ¡°it¡¯s a nerve-wracking situation for the collector constellation, so he won¡¯t accept it easily.¡±


    ¡°it seems so.¡±


    ¡°maybe he¡¯ll have doubts. he might be trying to figure out what¡¯s going on. above all, he won¡¯t easily give up the british land that he has acquired.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded at the goddess¡¯ words. no matter how arrogant the collector constellation was, he was bound to be suspicious of this sudden challenge. however, the goddess of balance was full of confidence.


    ¡°but with my power to see into the future, i will dispel the doubts of the collector constellation and make him accept this constellation battle. hunter choi yeonseung, take a look.¡±


    ¡°yes. i know.¡±


    after finding where the holy relic was buried, the goddess immediately issued a challenge to a constellation battle. no matter what tricky responses the collector constellation was going to give her, the goddess planned to skillfully persuade and provoke him into accepting the constellation battle.


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ accepts the constellation battle!]


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ threatens to take the last remaining realm of the goddess and burn it with a fire that won¡¯t go out!]


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ mocks the foolishness of daring to attack him when the goddess is as insignificant as a rat!]


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯...]


    ¡®...¡¯


    choi yeonseung was speechless.


    there were so many surprises. first of all, it was surprising that the opponent accepted it in just one second. he had to have been so angry that he didn¡¯t suspect a thing. in addition, the fact that he was so angry was due to...


    -the goddess of balance is really... i think he is looking down on her?


    -......


    it meant the collector constellation completely disregarded the goddess.


    he might¡¯ve been skeptical if the proposal had come from someone he was suspicious or wary of. however, if he thought that the one who challenged him was an insignificant being, he was bound to be angry rather than suspicious.


    ¡°...¡±


    the goddess realized why he had instantly agreed to the battle and tears were just about to trickle down from underneath the blindfold covering her eyes. she intended to shrewdly get him to accept the constellation battle, but she hadn¡¯t expected to be humiliated like this.


    worst of all, she was treated like this in front of choi yeonseung. the pain of being humiliated in such a fashion in front of a mortal she was supposed to impress with her greatness wouldn¡¯t go away easily.


    ¡°it¡¯s wonderful.¡±


    the goddess hastily adjusted the blindfold with her fingers in order to hide her tears.


    ¡°...what?¡±


    ¡°goddess, you¡¯ve completely deceived him. would he have accepted it so easily if your performance hadn¡¯t been so perfect? no. your acting was perfect, and that¡¯s why he accepted it!¡±


    ¡°it wasn¡¯t acting...¡±


    the goddess tried to tell him the truth in a slightly embarrassed voice, but adaquaniel advised her against it.


    choi yeonseung continued, ¡°i¡¯m impressed by your power! you effortlessly dragged that sly and suspicious constellation into a constellation battle. it¡¯s something that no other constellation can ever achieve!¡±


    ¡°...once again.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°say it to me once again.¡±


    ¡°your power is...¡±


    the goddess of sloth was dumbfounded by the fact that choi yeonseung was repeating the words. however, the goddess of balance nodded like a puppy and rejoiced. it was almost like they could hear the sound of her self-esteem rising.

 Chapter 257

    chapter 257


    ¡°i would like to talk more, but the constellation battle is about to start.¡±


    the moment the constellation battle began, neither the goddess of balance nor the collector constellation would be able to intervene. knowing this, the goddess of balance didn¡¯t leave at once. she remained in her spot and hesitated because she wanted to talk to choi yeonseung a bit more.


    ¡°it¡¯s time to start the constellation battle. why don¡¯t you call adaquaniel back?¡±


    the goddess suggested, ¡°shouldn¡¯t we talk some more?¡±


    ¡°no... i need to start the battle...¡±


    ***


    vampires were one of the abyssal races. they weren¡¯t very large in numbers, but they were feared due to their powerful and unique traits. similarly to the undead, vampires had a near-infinite lifespan. thus, there were several heroes among them who were so powerful that rumors spread about them in the abyss.n??v€l--?1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.


    vampire king garhansha was one of those heroes. the vampire king led one of the many vampire families in the abyss. he was an old king who had participated in many battles and defeated many household members.


    given how amazing garhansha¡¯s abilities were, the noble crown collector worked hard to recruit him and his vampire clan.


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ is furious and is giving you an order.]


    [he is commanding his subordinates in london to prevent any enemies from entering.]


    [he firmly orders the vampires to stop them, even if it means risking their lives!]


    -i understand.


    garhansha nodded his assent.


    the collector constellation was doing everything in his power to stop the angel constellation from crossing the sea into the united kingdom. as long as the angel constellation was utilizing his power of existence to support his subordinates, the collector constellation had to concentrate on him.


    therefore, it was the vampires¡¯ job to protect london.


    -garhansha, some crazy human bastards are causing trouble.


    -it might be a trap, so be careful. stay vigilant and slowly narrow the encirclement. in any case, this is an advantageous place for us.


    no matter how much of a fuss the humans caused, the subordinates and monsters stationed throughout london were followers of the collector constellation. there was no way they would be shaken just because a bunch of humans had caused a commotion.


    -your majesty, isn¡¯t the constellation treating us too poorly?


    -shh. be quiet.


    at the words of the vampire warrior, who was at the relatively young age of one thousand two hundred years old, garhansha gave a warning. the constellation couldn¡¯t interfere during a constellation battle, but things could get dangerous if the word leaked out.


    despite that, he also understood the frustrations of the young vampires. the abilities that the noble crown collector had recently displayed turned out to be quite disappointing.


    ¡®have i chosen the wrong constellation?¡¯


    just as a constellation chose household members that would make them overall stronger, the household members also secretly evaluated the constellations. if there were household members who displayed unwavering loyalty like adaquaniel, there were also those constantly thinking about who they should follow.


    the reason why garhansha had chosen to serve the collector constellation was because of his noble dignity and powerful abilities.


    from garhansha¡¯s perspective, it had seemed that the collector constellation¡¯s being among the top twenty strongest constellations on earth would be enough of a reason to entrust the fate of the vampire clan to him. however...


    with the few recent failures, the collector constellation was clearly showing his shortcomings. he adopted a noble and dignified attitude whenever he won, but he revealed his violent and arrogant side whenever he lost.


    this was the case with marcaidel, the household member of the collector constellation. marcaidel suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of human hunters, but it was only due to the intervention of the angel constellation. it wasn¡¯t marcaidel¡¯s fault.


    however, the collector constellation rebuked marcaidel and erased his name completely, which naturally caused a stir within the rest of the household members. seeing marcaidel getting treated like that, the other household members were bound to feel uneasy.


    ¡®but... i must fulfill my oath.¡¯


    garhansha shook his head and straightened his shaky heart. the collector constellation was currently in a precarious state, but he would undoubtedly get back on track soon. since he had risked his honor and his vampire clan to become a member of the household, he wouldn¡¯t betray the collector constellation even if he felt a bit doubtful.


    -...?


    garhansha looked up as he suddenly felt someone¡¯s presence. he could see in front of him an angel and a human approaching.


    ***


    ¡°adaquaniel. i will take the vanguard.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll leave it to you then.¡± adaquaniel nodded, her eyes full of trust.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s melee combat ability had already been established. it was a mysterious ability that allowed him to toy with enemies several times stronger than him as long as he got close to them! this transcendent ability proved that choi yeonseung had honed his technique to the maximum potential.


    choi yeonseung, who was fighting in the midst of enemies at the time, couldn¡¯t stand it. he immediately fired origin of the celestial finger at the vampires, moved forward using origin of the celestial step and blew up the surroundings with origin of the celestial fist.


    ever since he had reached the peak-class stage, choi yeonseung had rarely experienced a disadvantage when fighting. of course, simply looking at level and magic power, there were many entities in the abyss that were stronger than choi yeonseung.


    however, choi yeonseung was better at fighting than them.


    if the opponent was strong at close range combat, he widened the distance and engaged in long range combat. if the opponent was proficient in long distance combat, he kept close to the enemy and went for melee hits. if the opponent had weak endurance, he dragged out the battle. if they had a lot of stamina, he made sure the battle was quick...


    if there was a weakness, choi yeonseung aimed for that weakness while using his strength. the vampire swordsmen were masters of magic that were confident when it came to swordsmanship, but they fell down instantly because they had never fought an opponent like choi yeonseung.


    ¡°hey. tell me again to be a slave offering blood.¡±


    -kuek...


    ***


    unexpectedly, they met again here.


    adaquaniel knew that choi yeonseung had wandered the abyss due to unavoidable bad luck, but in reality it was because of the mistake of the goddess.


    she nodded. ¡°i see... i didn¡¯t expect the two of you to have a fiery grudge. don¡¯t worry, hunter choi yeonseung. no matter what grudge they have toward you, i will fight by your side.¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s not really any grudge though...¡±


    ¡°of course, you didn¡¯t hold a grudge because you won. but the other side...¡±


    -we don¡¯t have a grudge either?


    garhansha looked at adaquaniel, wondering what she was talking about.


    -adaquaniel, i think you¡¯ve got something wrong... he didn¡¯t kill the vampires. he just asked for directions and let them go.


    ¡°to be precise, i took their luggage before going.¡±


    -they lost a life-threatening battle, so there¡¯s no need to mention that.


    it had been a fortunate situation for the vampire swordsmen.


    at that time, choi yeonseung was lost and wandering around. he spared the vampires in return for helping him find a way out of the remote area.


    garhansha bowed politely.


    -before fighting, i will thank you for your mercy.


    ¡°can you get out of the way then?¡±


    choi yeonseung was eager to get something out of this without doing anything.


    of course, the vampire king wasn¡¯t going to just comply like that.


    -i can¡¯t do that. as long as my master has given me a command, i can¡¯t allow any intruders in this city.


    red blood boiled in garhansha¡¯s hands and took the form of a weapon.


    choi yeonseung quickly realized what it was. the red aura emanating potent magic power was an evil artifact that could take any form.


    ¡®so it¡¯s not going to be that easy, huh.¡¯


    -today, i will avenge the defeat of the young vampires of my clan.


    ¡°huh... you should say that after winning, you know.¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s words, garhansha laughed cheerfully. the bloodthirsty spirit of the young mortal made him feel good.


    -after living in the abyss for a long time, it¡¯s nice to see a young race with hot blood like you. let¡¯s do it properly...


    before the vampire finished his words, there was a loud sound from the lake around buckingham palace and a water column rose to the skies.


    ¡°???¡±


    -???


    [the ¡®one who understands and penetrates through indeterminate forms¡¯ has opened the dimensional door and revealed itself!}


    i... i have arrived!


    ¡®why has this bastard shown up...?¡¯

 Chapter 258

    chapter 258


    choi yeonseung looked over in a bewildered manner.


    the one who understands and penetrates through indeterminate forms. it was a case where a monster wandering around outside the abyss had gained an enormous amount of power and had become a constellation.


    however, those constellations usually didn¡¯t last long.


    in many cases, they couldn¡¯t objectively evaluate their own strength. they often went on a rampage due to a sense of achievement from having just become a constellation, only to be defeated by a much stronger constellation.


    choi yeonseung was quite a rare case, as he was a constellation of human origin who had lived cautiously. furthermore, he hadn¡¯t even known that he had become a constellation.


    normally, newborn constellations went on a rampage according to instinct.


    the one who understands and penetrates through indeterminate forms was also like this. it had emerged and spread terror everywhere the moment it had discovered earth!


    by doing so, it incurred the wrath of the constellation who had first come to earth. this newborn constellation attracted aggro to the point where other constellations put a bounty on it. this should¡¯ve been the end of this constellation.


    however, it persisted. with choi yeonseung¡¯s help, he now had the means to take revenge on the collector constellation for inciting his impulse.


    then right now¡ª


    the constellation of understanding revealed itself.


    crown collector! come out! come out and face me!!


    the monster, which looked like a giant slime, screamed as it came out of the lake.


    ¡®was it a slime?¡¯


    the constellation of understanding possessed the power of existence, but it was merely at the level of a low-grade constellation. it was even weaker than choi yeonseung¡¯s.


    in the eyes of higher ranking constellations, such as the collector constellation, the constellation of understanding was less than an insignificant opponent...


    however, it was poor timing for the collector constellation, as he was facing the angel constellation, and he was also involved in a constellation battle. this made it hard for him to properly fight the new enemy that had just emerged, even if it was no more than a fledgling.


    you are afraid, you coward! uhahahahaha!


    ¡®isn¡¯t it quite amazing?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was genuinely impressed, for he realized what the constellation of understanding had planned. he had been wondering who supported the knights of the holy temple, and now it became clear that it was the constellation of understanding. by controlling and comforting those crazy people, the constellation of understanding had succeeded in creating a path for itself to come out directly.


    choi yeonseung had wondered why the knights of the holy temple were causing trouble here with only a handful of people...


    -no matter what, this is too much damage.


    the goddess of sloth clicked her tongue as she witnessed the rampage of the young constellation. of course, it was doing this because it had nothing to lose, but it was highly disadvantageous for a constellation to make a direct appearance like this.


    the only thing left after using up such a huge amount of the power of existence would be the pleasure gained from exacting its revenge. no other constellation would¡¯ve done something like this.


    ¡®it must be very angry.¡¯


    the constellation of understanding had been deceived by the collector constellation, and now it was properly avenging itself.


    the collector constellation, who couldn¡¯t be here because of the constellation battle, was now on the verge of losing his mind due to anger.


    -stop, constellation! i won¡¯t allow any further disturbances.


    garhansha spoke in a cold tone.


    the huge slime, which was about to blow up its surroundings, slowly turned its body at the vampire¡¯s words.


    are you talking to me now?


    -yes. my master has ordered me to defend this city. it¡¯s hard to believe that a constellation has secretly plotted this and emerged in a place full of citizens. don¡¯t you know shame?


    no, i don¡¯t...?


    -what...?


    garhansha was appalled by the opponent¡¯s lack of decency. it normally would¡¯ve been advantageous to have such a conversation with a brazen opponent. to garhansha, who had been a vampire noble for a long time, the constellation that had awakened after living as a slime for most of its life just seemed like a violent and powerful beast.


    your incessant talking is just like the buzzing of a weak mosquito! if you want to stop me, then go ahead and try. you¡¯re just running your mouth... are you scared? are you a coward?


    -fine. let¡¯s fight!


    garhansha furiously drew his weapon.


    [garhansha has used ¡®protection of true blood¡¯.]


    the red energy floating around garhansha enveloped and turned him into red mist. the mist then instantly expanded and engulfed the constellation of understanding.


    garhansha was attempting to suck the blood of the constellation!


    [corrupts the opponent with the power of shadows. the corrupted opponents will become your puppets.]


    choi yeonseung knew how to use the power of existence, which meant that the constellation powers used by him were on a different level from those used by household members.


    a shadow instantly enveloped the hunters, completely engulfing them. there was a sense of collision between two minds, as the will of the collector constellation first tried to interfere with choi yeonseung¡¯s will...


    however, choi yeonseung was a constellation. the will implanted by the collector constellation in the hunters couldn¡¯t stop him. in an instant, the shadow army crossed over to choi yeonseung¡¯s side.


    -w-what¡¯s going on??


    -we... how?


    ¡°who was the guy who cursed at me earlier for being asian?¡±


    -i-it wasn¡¯t our will, it was the evil constellation...


    ¡°i don¡¯t think the constellation taught you how to swear. your inner thoughts popped out, didn¡¯t they? you must¡¯ve been thinking that on your own, right?¡±


    -that¡¯s not what¡¯s important right now! london is in danger!


    ¡®they¡¯re good at changing the topic.¡¯


    despite choi yeonseung¡¯s anger, the hunters were right. the enraged slime was growing bigger and bigger and threatening to blow up the city.


    ¡°i have to get a holy relic first. do you know where i can find one?¡±


    -holy relic? if you¡¯re talking about that stuff that the evil constellation is hiding, it¡¯s not this way. it¡¯s in the tomb of westminster abbey.


    westminster abbey. it was one of the most famous cathedrals of england and had been the burial place of many royals and heroes. since the collector constellation liked things with historical value, it was almost compulsory for him to choose this place for hiding the holy relic.


    ...of course, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t particularly interested in it.


    ¡°the collector constellation played a petty trick. why would he put them there? no matter. the explanation is over. tell me where it is.¡±


    -don¡¯t you know westminster abbey? no matter how much of a hillbilly you are...


    bam!


    ¡°the next guy.¡±


    -...over there! i¡¯ll guide you!


    ***


    as the disturbance grew, the londoners got restless and went outside. no matter how strict the orders of a constellation were, it was impossible not to come outside when there was a fight that threatened to collapse the sky.


    ¡°is... is that a constellation?¡±


    ¡°will we be released if the constellation wins?¡±


    people whispered among themselves with confused expressions. they knew they were under the control of the collector constellation, but they also didn¡¯t know who the new slime monster was.


    bang!


    suddenly, garhansha flew backwards and coughed up blood from the impact. he then cried out.


    -constellation, what are you doing? are you going to kill the mortals here?!


    garhansha fought against the constellation in a way that wouldn¡¯t damage their surroundings. after all, each of these souls belonged to his master. however, there was no reason for the constellation of understanding to care about such things. it spoke to garhansha in a mocking tone.


    what do you know?


    -really...!


    garhansha was outraged by how undignified this constellation was. the collector constellation was arrogant and childish, but not to the extent of this slime constellation. garhansha was going to stop the monster even if it cost his life!


    ¡°hey. let¡¯s fight together.¡±


    garhansha was surprised to hear this proposal coming from choi yeonseung.


    -you actually mean that?


    ¡°if we don¡¯t join forces, everyone here will die.¡±


    garhansha was deeply moved by choi yeonseung¡¯s words. to think that the enemy fighting in the constellation battle would participate in the fight for this honor.


    ¡®this is truly amazing!¡¯


    of course, garhansha didn¡¯t think that choi yeonseung had already come out with the holy relic.


    -good! let¡¯s fight together, honorable human!

 Chapter 259

    chapter 259


    what are you doing? why are you helping that insignificant mosquito bastard?


    the constellation of understanding found it absurd.


    choi yeonseung was the household member of the incarnation of training.


    the constellation of understanding was under the impression that it had joined forces with the incarnation of training. therefore, it couldn¡¯t help being dumbfounded that this household member stood in its way.


    ¡°hey. you said you were going to kill everyone here. did you think i would stay still?¡±


    aren¡¯t you your master¡¯s servant?


    contrary to its title, the constellation of understanding couldn¡¯t understand choi yeonseung¡¯s intentions. there was no reason to save these people, since they didn¡¯t serve his constellation.


    at these words, some vampires also became suspicious. they looked at choi yeonseung with puzzled expressions.


    -yes, why are you helping us, human?


    ¡°i don¡¯t know about you barbarians who play around in the abyss, but the humans on our planet usually go out of their way to stop anyone who threatens to kill millions of civilians,¡± replied choi yeonseung, his voice full of contempt.


    most abyssal races were like barbarians with highly developed magical skills, but otherwise less developed than the humans on earth. that was especially the case when it came to concepts such as democracy.


    long ago, on earth, a king had met his end by being beheaded at the guillotine. meanwhile, most abyssal races were still stuck in a despotic monarchy. many of them didn¡¯t even understand what a president or the congress was. they mistook the president for a tribe chief or a king.


    -but didn¡¯t you kill your own people without hesitation?


    one of the vampires asked that question when he suddenly remembered how choi yeonseung had slaughtered several british hunters just a few minutes ago.


    ¡°it was an unavoidable sacrifice.¡±


    -...???


    the vampires couldn¡¯t wrap their heads around it. it was rather apparent that choi yeonseung didn¡¯t really like these british people, and yet he was helping the british citizens in the city.


    garhansha opened his mouth after having listened in silence.


    -young vampires. that¡¯s true honor.


    -...!


    -anyone can go out of their way to stand up for what they care about and love, but it¡¯s when you take pity on what you dislike, or hate, that honor truly comes out.


    at garhansha¡¯s words, the vampires looked at choi yeonseung with impressed expressions. choi yeonseung was slightly stung by those words.


    ¡®...i¡¯m doing this because i¡¯ve won the constellation battle.¡¯


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t so evil that he would just watch millions of people die, but he also wasn¡¯t so kind as to do good deeds without any greed involved. the holy relic was already in his possession. he just had to declare victory and the constellation battle would be concluded!


    ...however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t do so.


    ¡°why didn¡¯t you declare victory?¡± asked adaquaniel in a low voice.


    ¡°i won¡¯t be able to help them if the battle is over,¡± replied choi yeonseung while pointing at garhansha and the other vampires.


    given the violent nature of the giant slime constellation, it was likely that it would continue rampaging even after the constellation battle ended. the giant slime was likely planning to burn london to the ground just to vent its anger.


    therefore, they had to do their best to prevent it.


    given the strength of garhansha and his vampire clan, choi yeonseung absolutely had to borrow their power.


    ¡®we won¡¯t be able to do anything if the constellation gets past the blockade that resulted from the constellation battle and just starts destroying the city.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was a master of attacking while simultaneously dodging and deflecting the opponent¡¯s attacks, but he couldn¡¯t prevent the opponent from using wide-area attacks in all directions. at the very least, they needed someone to keep the constellation of understanding here.


    adaquaniel nodded. ¡°indeed... you won¡¯t hesitate to use despicable methods. it¡¯s wonderful.¡±


    ¡°...n-no. doesn¡¯t it sound too dirty when you say it like that...?¡±


    choi yeonseung was slightly taken aback when he heard these words from adaquaniel. of course, adaquaniel had said them as a compliment, but they certainly didn¡¯t seem like one to choi yeonseung.


    fine. after all, it¡¯s a constellation¡¯s duty to wake up the mind of a mortal!


    ¡®if anyone else was to look at it, they would think it¡¯s been ten thousand years since this slime became a constellation.¡¯


    choi yeonseung disapproved of this constellation. he felt somewhat bad seeing this constellation be so arrogant despite having only a few years of experience.


    -where the hell did such an irritating constellation come from?


    garhansha shouted in a voice filled with determination.


    -my clan members! establish formation! we must stop that constellation! put the honor of the clan on the line and protect master¡¯s followers in the city!


    i will destroy each and every one of you and then burn this city to ashes. both the noble crown collector, who dared to deceive me, and the undefeated incarnation of training, who arrogantly dared to attack me, will come to their senses when they see this!!


    ***


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°hey.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll get in touch with him! i¡¯ll get in touch with him!¡±


    ¡°alright.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded.


    in times like this, violence was the easiest way of getting things done.


    ¡°tell the chief that if he doesn¡¯t do his job properly, he will have to confront me one-on-one. do you see what the current situation is? if you make a fuss because of the constellation, you¡¯ll be the first one to die. do you understand?¡±


    ¡°y-yes!¡±


    ***


    garhansha felt more and more exhausted.


    no matter how he looked at it in the first place, it made no sense for a mortal to confront a constellation. in addition, the constellation of understanding was getting more and more accustomed to using its power of existence in combat.


    ¡®it¡¯s a big problem...!¡¯


    suddenly, the red mist disappeared and got sealed away.


    [the ¡®one who understands and penetrates through indeterminate forms¡¯ is using its power!]


    you mosquito! try and stop this...


    bang!


    it was choi yeonseung who saved garhansha. he launched a strong attack where he covered his body with concentrated energy and shot out like a bullet, blowing away the slime¡¯s large body! once again, the constellation of understanding cried out.


    you are really annoying!


    ¡°it would be more convenient if we both retreated and left the city behind.¡±


    do you think i am going to just be insulted like this?


    ¡®i don¡¯t know how many more hits i have to deal.¡¯


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue. the constellation of understanding was now furious, but once it calmed down and started thinking rationally again, it was bound to withdraw. there was no point if they fought here.


    now the question was: when was the giant slime going to come back to its senses?


    fight!


    ¡°...?!¡±


    choi yeonseung wondered what the constellation of understanding was about to summon. he soon found out. the hunters of the knight of the holy temple, who had been hiding somewhere, suddenly emerged.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    the hunters called him out with firm expressions, and choi yeonseung, dumbfounded by their appearance, asked, ¡°are you serious? this constellation is trying to blow away london, and you¡¯re cooperating with it?!¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a necessary sacrifice in order to drive out the evil god constellation.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    ¡®there¡¯s no point in talking to lunatics¡¯


    choi yeonseung pointed behind them.


    ¡°but what¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    the moment the hunters of the knight of the holy temple looked back, choi yeonseung fired at them bullets of concentrated energy that traveled at lighting speed. like soldiers standing in front of a machine gun, the hunters of the knights collapsed without being able to do anything.


    you stupid humans!


    ¡°constellation, what is it that you want? what do you gain from wreaking havoc here?¡± adaquaniel intervened.


    the two constellations were at a tense stalemate. the constellation of understanding wanted to somehow break through the siege and obliterate london, but whenever it tried to do that, choi yeonseung launched an attack that bound its movements.


    choi yeonseung wanted to defeat this slime, but it was a constellation after all. given that it used the power of existence, its regenerative and defensive powers were unimaginable.


    the constellation felt it as well.


    i have the chance to take everything the collector constellation has and destroy it! no matter how hard you try to protect it, i will inevitably exact my revenge! so get out of my way!


    ¡°that has nothing to do with the collector constellation.¡±


    adaquaniel exchanged looks with choi yeonseung. they now felt they could talk to the constellation.


    adaquaniel explained, ¡°once this constellation battle is over, this land and its minions will be ruled by my master and the incarnation of training.¡±


    what do you mean?


    -what are you talking about?


    garhansha asked that in a sober tone as he was gasping with exhaustion next to them.

 Chapter 260

    chapter 260


    adaquaniel ignored garhansha¡¯s words and continued speaking.


    ¡°so please calm down your anger. i¡¯ll make sure to get revenge on the collector constellation.¡±


    umm...


    the opponent seemed at a loss, so choi yeonseung also intervened.


    ¡°i will also speak to the constellations and have some of the british people here serve the ¡®one who understands and penetrates through indeterminate forms¡¯.¡±


    the goddess of sloth asked in surprise.-is that true?


    -are you crazy? of course not.


    the goddess of sloth admired choi yeonseung¡¯s ability to lie so convincingly.


    the one who understands and penetrates through indeterminate forms had just become a good lesson, one that the constellation itself could learn from, since it was deceived. in the abyss, where battles between constellations occurred constantly, one couldn¡¯t easily trust anybody.


    okay. i¡¯ll step back.


    -how dare you just do what you want?


    garhansha cried out in anger. however, there wasn¡¯t much that a mortal could do once the constellations had decided among themselves.


    choi yeonseung pulled out the holy relic.


    crown of an unknown kingdom. it was the treasure of the collector constellation, who had captured and occupied a kingdom in the abyss.


    -here it is!


    [the constellation battle has been won!]


    just then, the power of the collector constellation, which covered all of the united kingdom, was gradually lifted.


    there was also a pained, piercing scream, reverberating all the way from the abyss to earth.


    ***


    ¡°they¡¯re retreating!¡±


    -follow me. i¡¯ll take the lead! surround the enemies!


    in the midst of the household members of the angel constellation, illaphael valiantly shouted commands. the household members of the collector constellation had started to retreat, which meant that illaphael and the others had to take the opportunity to encircle them and inflict even greater damage.


    the charging household members of the angel constellation were flustered when the power of the collector constellation, which had been covering all of the united kingdom, started to vanish.


    what was going on?


    ¡°what happened, illaphael?¡±


    -i see! it¡¯s clear that master has dealt a blow to the collector constellation and made them run away!


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ says that isn¡¯t the case.]


    -...he says he didn¡¯t!


    ¡°is that so?¡±


    ¡°then what happened...¡±


    the household members soon understood what had happened.


    surprisingly, the goddess of balance who walks ahead had won the constellation battle against the noble crown collector!


    ¡°no way!¡±


    ¡°what the hell? how...?¡±


    the hunters who had been fighting looked confused as they couldn¡¯t believe the news. no matter how much they thought about it, they found it ridiculous that the goddess of balance had won over the collector constellation.


    to these hunters, it was like an ant had defeated an elephant. it was said that the goddess had been present since the earliest days, but the fact that she had only rarely made appearances meant that she was weaker than the collector constellation.


    ¡°now that this has happened, let¡¯s fight the goddess of balance who walks ahead!¡±


    ¡°we can handle this no-name constellation!¡±


    some of the hunters shouted in angry voices. normally, it was taboo to insult a constellation. however, if it wasn¡¯t the constellation they followed, it didn¡¯t really matter. there was nothing more frightening than having a stronger constellation as the opponent.


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ orders everyone to calm down.]


    rather than being as angry as the hunters, the angel constellation ordered them to calm down. he also needed time to assess the situation.


    ¡°no! she¡¯ll get even more arrogant if we leave her alone like this. if we attack like we¡¯ve done so far, the goddess will run away in a flash! please give me permission!¡± shouted one of the hunters firmly.


    some of them had taken part in this simply because their master had ordered them, but some of them were also driven by greed, and had a secret agenda. those hunters seriously coveted england. if the angel constellation was to retake the united kingdom, who was going to rule it? the angels of the abyss?


    no, that wasn¡¯t going to happen. the angels of the abyss had little interest in this kind of realm, and they also didn¡¯t understand the system by which humans governed. to them, human governments and organizations seemed unnecessarily complicated, with too many details.


    naturally, the only ones capable of ruling a country on earth were the hunters who served the angel constellation. they had the chance to govern the united kingdom as they pleased. it was a huge luxury that no rich person could afford.


    for hunters who had dreamed of such an opportunity, the current situation was bound to be infuriating!


    -i¡¯m sorry. these angels are a bit pampered.


    ¡°well... it¡¯s good to have a close relationship with your household.¡±


    choi yeonseung was lost in thought as he looked at the cities being restored.


    ¡®we did win, but now i¡¯m even more worried.¡¯


    it felt ironic that he had to take care of the aftermath of the fight rather than simply fight, but it was a natural thing for constellations.


    the first thing to think about was how the collector constellation and the angel constellation would react.


    the collector constellation, who had been defeated by an insignificant opponent, would try to get back the uk and take revenge. as for the angel constellation, it wasn¡¯t known how he would react after having fought for so long.


    they had fought in the name of the goddess, but as an ally, choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t just leave it alone.


    -throwing it away is also a strategy...


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says to sneak away...]


    -everybody, shut up.


    the second matter was the management of the united kingdom.


    he didn¡¯t know exactly how the collector constellation ruled the country, but he could tell that the country had been ruled according to the constellation¡¯s tastes. he had placed his subordinates all over the place, arrested anyone who criticized him, put people who suited his taste in important positions, prevented people from going to other countries, prevented people from other countries from entering...


    ¡®...isn¡¯t it strangely familiar??¡¯


    choi yeonseung realized that this system was strangely familiar. it was like north korea or china...


    ¡®umm. i shouldn¡¯t think too much about this.¡¯


    ¡°i want to ask you something, adaquaniel.¡±


    ¡°sure, ask me anything.¡±


    ¡°what is the goddess going to do after taking over england?¡±


    choi yeonseung was looking forward to the goddess¡¯ plan. since she had prepared for the constellation battle, surely she had also prepared for the aftermath. she had to have devised a thorough plan.


    ¡°she said that she will first receive faith.¡±


    ¡°i guess so.¡±


    the first facilities to be suppressed in countries occupied by constellations were the religious ones. going to a church or a cathedral to pray was considered one of the most serious acts of rebellion. instead, humans had to go to the place designated by the constellation and offer sincere prayers to that constellation. their faith became the strength and existence of the constellation. if they didn¡¯t offer a proper prayer, the constellation would make them do it...


    ¡°of course, you don¡¯t have to worry. your master will definitely be included in it.¡±


    ¡°thank you. what next?¡±


    ¡°she told me to ask you...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung fell silent at the sudden remark. no, it couldn¡¯t be what he thought...?


    choi yeonseung wondered, ¡°uh... is there anything else?¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t humans good at governing human tribes? i think you¡¯re the most suitable person for that.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not a tribe... it¡¯s highly developed...¡±


    ¡°????¡±


    adaquaniel usually showed off her competency, but hearing choi yeonseung¡¯s words, her face was filled with utter confusion. she spoke with a very apologetic expression. ¡°i¡¯m sorry, hunter choi yeonseung. i don''t know.¡±


    ¡°what do you not understand?¡±


    ¡°so when electing someone as the prime minister, aren¡¯t you meant to select the person with the strongest ability?¡±


    ¡°uh... we vote for them.¡±


    ¡°who votes for them? the strong household members?¡±


    ¡°...many people who live in the united kingdom. they¡¯re the ones that vote...?¡±


    ¡°aha. the strong one gets a hundred votes, the weak one gets only one vote, and so on.¡±


    ¡°n-no... the number of votes is the same.¡±


    ¡°huh? why do it like that?¡±


    adaquaniel was asking him all of this because she genuinely couldn¡¯t understand.


    choi yeonseung sighed deeply. even if he was a constellation, there were still some things that he couldn¡¯t do.


    the goddess of sloth intervened.


    -i am curious as well. why does it work like that? can you explain?


    -i won¡¯t make things complicated for you...


    choi yeonseung thought he had to call in for reinforcements. it was absolutely impossible for him to govern the united kingdom by himself.

 Chapter 261

    chapter 261


    [the noble crown collector lost! the united kingdom is liberated!]


    [will the fall of the evil god constellations begin?]


    [we must rid the earth of all the evil god constellations! all countries should stop fighting with each other and join forces...]


    [stocks related to the goddess of balance who walks ahead have surged. some claims made by large european clans that they are the household members of the constellation have been proven to be false...]


    one constellation had once said:


    -there is no kingdom in the abyss as chaotic and complex as the humans on earth.


    billions of souls were stuck on one planet with a highly developed civilization and no magic. earth was difficult to comprehend even for the constellations who had lived in the abyss for countless years.n??v€l--?1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.


    one thing that constellations struggled to understand was the psychology of human beings.


    [the ¡®monk pursuing glory¡¯ is persuading you to take advantage of this opportunity to drive out the evil god constellations.]


    [the ¡®arrogant light elf¡¯ is ordering you to expel all the evil god constellations.]


    ¡°but master, it won¡¯t happen just because i want it.¡±


    ¡°i lead quite a big clan, but on a national scale, i¡¯m not really influential. no matter how much i try to persuade them, the other hunters won¡¯t listen. truth to be told, most hunters aren¡¯t that passionate about fighting the evil god constellations.¡±


    [...]


    [...]


    this was one of the things that the good god constellations were most surprised about. it was that the powerful humans on earth wouldn¡¯t risk their lives to fight the evil god constellations. of course, it was strictly banned to worship an evil god constellation, and those who did it were arrested.


    ...but that was it.


    humans were rather passive when it came to fighting for the countries occupied by evil god constellations. their behavior was incomprehensible to the constellations.


    why were they like that?


    it was frustrating to see another country being taken over by the evil god constellations, and instead of getting stronger by doing raids, the hunters were wasting their time with games like the ssl. this phenomenon occurred even after the shocking events that had taken place in london.


    ¡°the leader of the united kingdom has changed??¡±


    ¡°how will the european stock market be affected?¡±


    ¡°it won¡¯t make much of a difference, right?¡±


    ¡°the goddess of balance who walks ahead is a good god constellation, which means that things will be better. she won¡¯t make the atmosphere worse. at the very least, she won¡¯t threaten us like the evil god constellations.


    the countries occupied by the evil god constellations were as dangerous as those ruled by a crazy dictator. thus, the disappearance of the collector constellation was definitely good news. the only problem was...


    ¡°the united kingdom belongs to the six-winged angel who hunts dragons! the despicable goddess stepped in and tried to steal it for herself!¡±


    it started with the hunters who had uploaded their outburst of anger on youtube.


    ¡°the good god constellations must return the united kingdom to the british government! allow the exiled royal family and government to return to the country!¡±


    there was also the old british government, the lawmakers and their followers, who had long since run away and had aged or died. those people were also making a fuss.


    ¡°goddess of balance who walks ahead! we believe in you! please accept us as your people or your servants!¡±


    ¡°i will be loyal!¡±


    there were even hunters eager to swear an oath of allegiance to the powerful, newly emerged constellation in order to gain strength.


    the chaos had only just begun.


    ***


    ¡°...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s daughter, aine lawrence, got off the private jet with wide eyes. she had never thought she would set foot in london¡¯s airport in her life.


    ¡°ugh. jet... jet lag...¡±


    someone told her, ¡°you don¡¯t look good.¡±


    ¡°do i look that bad?¡± wondered aine.


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°...bring me something to cover my face.¡±


    the secretaries were surprised by aine¡¯s words as she normally didn¡¯t really care about her appearance. she was so beautiful that she didn¡¯t have to worry about this, but more than that, it was due to her personality.


    aine was so focused on her work that she didn¡¯t spend much time on trivial things.


    ¡°grandmother... no... the hunter i¡¯m about to meet is a nuisance in that regard.¡±


    ¡°did you just say grandmother...?¡±


    ¡°be quiet.¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    the secretaries ceased talking because they didn¡¯t want to upset aine¡¯s for nothing. aine checked her appearance in the mirror. the puffiness under her eyes seemed to be somewhat concealed.


    ¡®if i look bad, he¡¯s going to be so concerned that i won¡¯t hear the end of it.¡¯


    as the hunters were chatting, aine arrived and greeted choi yeonseung.


    ¡°i was really surprised to hear the news. ¡°i didn¡¯t expect this to happen,¡± said aine.


    ¡°i was surprised as well. what¡¯s wrong with your face? you look like a skeleton.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    aine was speechless.


    ¡°no... i¡¯m fine...¡±


    ¡°take a break,¡± said choi yeonseung.


    ¡°i don¡¯t need sleep...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll give you iv drip therapy, so go and get some sleep. we can talk after that.¡±


    the iv therapy had the effect of putting people to sleep. no matter how much aine tried to stay awake, she fell asleep as soon as she received the iv drip. choi yeonseung felt sad as she watched aine instantly fall asleep.


    ¡°why is she working so hard?¡±


    ¡°it... it¡¯s not our fault. we¡¯re her subordinates...¡±


    the secretaries hurriedly made excuses out of fear that choi yeonseung would chastise them, but he merely shrugged.


    ¡°since she¡¯s your boss, there¡¯s nothing you can do. sit down. i initially prepared food to serve aine after she arrived, but now she¡¯s asleep, and it would be a waste to throw it away...¡±


    ¡°ah. thank you.¡±


    the secretaries sat down. in fact, they had come a long way, and given that this was england, they hadn¡¯t much of an appetite, but...


    one of the household members of the constellation occupied this place. anyone who refused to listen to this a-grade hunter was crazy.


    ¡°...!!!¡±


    ¡°!!!¡±


    ***


    aine woke up after sleeping for 48 hours and was dumbfounded to see that the secretaries had gained two or three kilograms.


    this thing...


    ¡°ah, miss lawrence. you¡¯re awake!¡±


    aine wondered, ¡°did you explain it properly while i was sleeping?¡±


    ¡°uh, that...¡±


    the secretary looked away. the dishes prepared by choi yeonseung had reinvigorated the secretaries, who had been immersed in life and work after having left their prestigious universities. those magical dishes had revived their childhood dreams!


    the scenery of london, which they had never experienced before, now had a special charm to it. therefore, the secretaries felt like they were on vacation.


    the secretaries experienced such pleasure after constantly working twenty-five hours a day for aine that they wondered if this was what life offered.


    the humid and foggy weather of london was also dazzling.


    -you don¡¯t necessarily need a multimillion dollar salary in life, do you?


    -that¡¯s right, friend. i¡¯ve realized that living in the moment is far more important than money.


    aine asked in disbelief, ¡°...did you all do drugs while i was away?¡±


    were they crazy...?


    ¡°i-i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°forget it. get ready.¡±


    aine pulled out the materials she had prepared.


    [how did the ¡®aiden¡¯ clan establish and rule a republic?]


    ¡°what¡¯s with this aiden clan?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a clan that has defeated some monsters in africa and received a country.¡±


    ¡°how are they doing?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a bit complicated. they get cursed at a lot, but the hunters are doing well.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    it didn¡¯t bode well just listening to these words. choi yeonseung shook his head.


    did hunters have the ability to rule a country?


    -hmm. goddess of sloth. given that you are the most experienced entity, what would you do?


    -i would first pick the strongest one and place them in the position of chief or king...


    -forget it. i shouldn¡¯t have asked you.


    -why do you have this attitude when you¡¯re the one that asked me in the first place??

 Chapter 262

    chapter 262


    choi yeonseung gave up on asking the other constellations for advice. while the other constellations were familiar with ruling or invading kingdoms in the abyss, they knew virtually nothing about earth.


    ¡°aine, can you explain it to me?¡±


    ¡°yes. i was already going to do that. as we all know, there was once a time when it was popular for hunter clans to control countries.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled.


    ¡°was there such a trend?¡±


    ¡°it happened when you weren¡¯t here...¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. including the aiden clan, there have been many instances of hunters ruling countries.¡±


    in the early days when the gate opened, humans were rather powerless. back then, they lacked information regarding magic, monsters, and the abyss...


    in the meantime, monsters constantly emerged from dungeons, making it seem like the world was really about to end. however, humans were adaptable beings. after withstanding such a crisis brought on by the great invasion, hunters grew stronger and gradually gained more experience.


    the era of clearing dungeons for profit, not for survival, had come.


    having survived the initial crisis, hunters used the abilities they had improved, accumulated wealth, and established connections with politicians. they also caused problems here and there, the developed countries, or those faced with political instability, being among their targets.


    hunters either overthrew the governments of their own countries, or they went to different countries and established themselves as the new leaders. such things had happened so frequently that they were now listed as examples.


    choi yeonseung listened attentively to aine¡¯s explanation, seemingly captivated. he asked, ¡°so what happened? are there any countries where things went well?¡±


    ¡°um... most of them were ruined.¡±


    aine¡¯s secretary, who was next to her, cautiously opened her mouth.


    the hunter clans were just like every dictator that quickly got ousted because they had no clue as to what they were doing.


    at first, they suppressed the citizens with powerful magic that couldn¡¯t be matched by modern weapons. however, they soon lost their advantage as people quickly became unafraid of magic and realized that hunters were still human.


    hunters could easily block the projectiles of tanks when they were on the defensive, but when they were left defenseless, a single pistol bullet was enough to knock them down.


    the foreign hunters arbitrarily oppressed the citizens using force and failed to govern the country properly. naturally, the people of that country had no reason to tolerate such treatment. there were rebellions and revolutions!


    ¡°the clan that established the ¡®hunter african republic¡¯ was decimated, with only one person making it out alive. the clan that settled in the yemen republic fled because military groups joined forces and rebelled... also...¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s not a single case where things went well?¡±


    choi yeonseung was slightly sullen. it was rather unpleasant to find out that the hunters on earth had just been messing around during his absence.


    aine comforted him. ¡°hunters are so greedy... how could they possibly run a country well?¡±


    those hunters had worked hard to get into a position of power, but made a fuss in order to get their money¡¯s worth. then they ended up ruining it.


    ¡°it¡¯s not very comforting... don¡¯t you have something more positive to tell me?¡±


    ¡°um... following the revolutions and whatnot, hunter clans gave up on the idea of unnecessarily occupying a country, so they started running corporations.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°i-isn¡¯t that better?¡±


    aine was really flustered by choi yeonseung¡¯s sullen reaction and tried to cheer him up somehow. she had never seen him like this before.


    ¡°it saddens me to hear that they have become experts in having fun and living comfortably, rather than engaging in raids like clans should do...¡± said choi yeonseung.


    ¡°the ssl is also popular.¡± the secretary tried to help, but only managed to annoy aine.


    ¡°why are you talking?¡±


    ¡°i-i¡¯m sorry...¡±


    choi yeonseung sighed and shrugged. ¡°it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    ¡°right?¡± said aine, seemingly relieved by choi yeonseung¡¯s response. she continued trying to cheer up choi yeonseung. ¡°learn from the mistakes of those hunter clans and do better.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re right.¡±


    ¡°in addition, aren¡¯t there clans that are doing alright?¡±


    aine showed him the data she had brought with her. the data was about the aiden clan¡¯s rulership of the republic. even though other hunter clans had failed and had been driven out, the aiden clan were holding their own!


    the secrets of their success could be summarized in a few main points:


    1. good relations with neighboring countries.


    whether it was an artifact or a simple treasure, they were all valuable, and it was a good idea to obtain them.


    ¡°hmm. how about setting up an artifact development factory in the united kingdom?¡±


    ¡°doesn¡¯t seem like a bad idea.¡±


    ¡°what about establishing a research institute that researches, develops, and synthesizes materials from the abyss?¡±


    ¡°i like that.¡±


    ¡°what about a factory that can make food from ingredients from the abyss?¡±


    ¡°...do you really need that?¡±


    ***


    it was nice thinking about what to do with the new acquisition, but the good always came with the bad.


    the atmosphere in the abyss had suddenly shifted as many entities wanted to keep in check the newly rising constellation.


    of course, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t care about this. his new ranking was in front of him.


    ¡®is it the twenty-ninth place?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was thrilled by the enormous power flowing through him.


    his current amount of power of existence was on a completely different level compared to when his ranking was in the three digits. he felt like if he put his mind to it, he could make any being strong!


    -...while it¡¯s good to do that, try using your power of existence a bit more flexibly. i know it is difficult, but your current abilities are too focused on combat.


    the words spoken by the goddess of sloth hit the nail on the head. despite acquiring various powers and getting stronger, choi yeonseung always...


    he always only used physical strength.


    -ugh. that¡¯s true.


    -indeed. i¡¯m always right.


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ is congratulating you for the shared victory.]


    [she proudly says that she is ranked seventy-seventh.]


    ¡°...?¡±


    choi yeonseung was flustered for a moment. given that the previous victory had raised his rank to twenty-nine, he had assumed that the goddess of balance would at least land in the top thirty. had she suffered that much damage?


    ¡®still, isn¡¯t it strange?¡¯


    -perhaps... i think it¡¯s likely because the humans in the united kingdom are sending their faith to someone else.


    -what does that mean?


    -think about the fight that just took place. if you were british, who would you find more reliable?


    the goddess of balance and her household members hadn¡¯t appeared during the battle. on the other hand, despite being in the middle of a fight, choi yeonseung had beaten up the police officers in order to evacuate the citizens.


    moreover, there had been rumors that he had wiped out all the nobles who lived by relying on the collector constellation. the moment the british people heard these rumors, they looked forward to the reign of this new constellation. after all, wasn¡¯t it going to be better than the rulership of the collector constellation?


    -...it¡¯s troublesome.


    choi yeonseung was quite embarrassed.


    the victory that the goddess planned and achieved hadn¡¯t been split evenly. he was the one who had gotten all the credit. no matter how generous the goddess was, this was something she had to be angry about. a constellation was bound to be furious about something like this!


    ¡°goddess, i¡¯m sorry. i went overboard, so you didn¡¯t gain enough...¡±


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ is shaking her hand in surprise and saying that this isn¡¯t the case!]


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ declares that she¡¯s not a constellation who holds grudges over such things!]


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ declares that she is so broad-minded that no other constellation can match it.]


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ says that if you really feel sorry about this incident, it isn¡¯t a bad idea to tell your master to help with the work more. of course, she isn¡¯t forcing it. it is just a minor adjustment to the work...]


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung was left speechless by the unnecessarily long speech of the goddess of balance, which was delivered in a rather shy tone.


    meanwhile, the goddess of sloth was deep in thought.


    was the goddess of balance that sloppy? could she really fake something like that through acting?

 Chapter 263

    chapter 263


    the moment it seemed like things were going in a strange direction, choi yeonseung coughed and returned the conversation to its original topic.


    ¡°goddess, my master is curious about what messages the constellation of the abyss have sent you.¡±


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ says they are just threats.]


    ¡®um... i don¡¯t think it¡¯s just that.¡¯


    choi yeonseung grew worried as he looked at the list that the goddess was talking about. first of all, the noble crown collector was threatening them with death.


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ vows to spare you if you return the united kingdom right now.]


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ says that if you ignore this suggestion, he will make sure all of you get destroyed...]


    [the ¡®noble crown collector¡¯ urges you not to ignore his warning!]


    the reaction of the collector constellation was only natural and it wasn¡¯t a big deal. since he had lost the united kingdom, his power had decreased exponentially, and consequently, his kingdoms in the abyss were also on the verge of collapsing. rather than taking revenge, the collector constellation had to take care of himself.


    the problem was elsewhere.


    [the ¡®expert of twisted hallucinations¡¯ genuinely admires the goddess¡¯ scheme.]


    [the ¡®expert of twisted hallucinations¡¯ is warning her to be careful.]


    [the ¡®demon of contract and order¡¯ is admiring this side of the goddess that he has never known before.]


    [the ¡®demon of contract and order¡¯ is suggesting to compete with each other for contracts in the future.]


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ is praising the goddess this time.]


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ is jealous of the goddess.]


    [the ¡®observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ is very interested.]


    [...]


    they had properly attracted the attention of the evil god constellations. the evil god constellations were allied with each other, even though it was a very loose alliance. despite the fact that they hated and loathed each other, they had to stay united in order to stand up to the good god constellations.


    however, since one of the representative evil god constellations had been defeated by a good god constellation, it was natural that the evil god constellations would pay attention to it.


    ¡®this... i¡¯m a bit worried.¡¯


    one couldn¡¯t do anything when they were clearly outnumbered. if the goddess was attacked from various sides, starting with the constellation battles...


    -if that happens, you¡¯ll discover the true identity of the goddess.


    -...isn¡¯t that too cruel?


    -that¡¯s how things work in the abyss.


    the goddess of sloth thought that if the goddess of balance was attacked, her true colors would be revealed. if the goddess of balance was among the constellations who had made a secret alliance and opened the gate...


    wouldn¡¯t she show her true colors when backed into a corner?


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ is telling you not to worry. she says she didn¡¯t give in at all, even though there were comments from other constellations.]


    ¡°...???¡±


    was there something else besides the threats from the evil god constellations?


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ says he will keep an eye on how the united kingdom is governed.]


    [the ¡®monk pursuing glory¡¯ declares that since you have taken over the united kingdom instead of the angel constellation, he won¡¯t remain silent if you fail to govern it well]


    [...]


    [...]


    the angel constellation was highly regarded among the good god constellations because of how active he was. it was to the extent that there were several constellations who were indebted to the angel constellation.


    the other good god constellations were displeased with the fact that the goddess had taken over the united kingdom instead of the angel constellation. no matter how they thought about it, the goddess didn¡¯t seem like she could rule better than the angel constellation.


    this situation attracted the attention of all constellations, both evil and good. the only ones who could currently take the goddess¡¯ side were...


    ¡®is it the berserker constellation or the constellation of understanding?¡¯


    it was between an evil god constellation and a scumbag that had just become a constellation. choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t help being nervous. however, unlike him, the goddess didn¡¯t lose her confidence.


    -maybe... i think she¡¯s just trying to act tough in front of you... at this point, i think it¡¯s rather pathetic...


    -be quiet.


    ¡°...?¡±


    nightmare demons in the united kingdom?


    ***


    the humans of earth lived a normal life and never crossed paths with abyssal races.


    abyssal races would sometimes come to earth using the power of a constellation or emerge from dungeons. in addition, the humans of earth would sometimes change their race using the power of the constellation.


    however, it wasn¡¯t particularly hard to find those individuals if one looked for them. they were usually found in countries occupied by evil god constellations. there were quite a few cases where the household members and clans sent by the evil god constellations roamed the country.


    ¡°didn¡¯t the collector constellation send abyssal races to the united kingdom?¡±


    ¡°no. there were vampires, but they didn¡¯t live in the united kingdom. they only came here whenever there was a problem and had to watch over the people and rule them.


    the races belonging to the collector constellation hated living in the united kingdom. most of them were decent and noble, so they didn¡¯t want to live on earth, a place with dirty air that they didn¡¯t know much about.


    they only went there if the constellation ordered them to do so.


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ says that earth is attractive enough for the nightmare demons.]


    the nightmare demons were a race that sought desires. to them, races like humans that were full of desire were alluring prey. to think that there was a country full of such creatures... they would certainly put up with any bad conditions.


    ¡°hmm... yes. it shouldn''t be a big deal. it wouldn¡¯t be a bad idea to bring the abyssal races here,¡± said choi yeonseung while thinking about the orcs.


    the orcs had turned out to be much more diligent and effective than he had thought. if he brought them to the united kingdom, allocate the remaining land to them, and have them increase production...


    ¡®wouldn¡¯t that be okay?¡¯


    he hadn¡¯t decided on how to govern the united kingdom yet, but it seemed like a good idea to call the abyssal races.


    ***


    ¡°oh my god... what race is that?¡±


    ¡°are they angels? it can¡¯t be. how can they be so beautiful...?¡±


    the londoners were astonished to see the nightmare demons passing by on the road. they were just as beautiful as the angels and the elves! of course, people thought this way because they didn¡¯t know the inner thoughts of the nightmare demons.


    ¡°i looked into it. the incarnation of training has been regarded quite well recently. he¡¯s active in asia.¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t he better than the collector guy? he just needs to be better than him.¡±


    there weren¡¯t many british people who were fond of the collector constellation. the nobles evidently liked him because he had allowed them to live luxuriously, but the remaining people had no reason to like him.


    in contrast, the incarnation of training had a much better image than expected. news regarding his recent achievements had been secretly spreading.


    more than anything, choi yeonseung¡¯s appearance during the constellation battle had proved to be quite impactful. it was rare for a hunter to risk their lives in the middle of a constellation battle to save the citizens.


    ¡°...aaaaack! orcs! orcs!¡±


    ¡°call the hunters! the hunters!¡±


    the citizens, who had been watching quietly, ran away screaming once they saw the orcs passing through the streets. the orcs were puzzled as they watched the people fleeing.


    -why are they running away?


    -it must be hard for them to bear our dignity.


    -is that so?


    normally, one could encounter orcs on earth only when dungeons were destroyed. thus, it was natural for people to panic and run away. however, instead of going on a rampage, the orcs diligently carried out choi yeonseung¡¯s orders.


    -you need to prepare to establish a magic barrier here.


    -these buildings are in the way. may i destroy them?


    -no. you have to obtain permission from the owner for that.


    -i see. then i have to call the owner.


    the orcs worked hard with the help of odaigon and the strange golem, the pagoda bearing god.


    -this plot of land is empty. can i plant trees here?


    -it probably has an owner.


    -i will call the owner and persuade them!


    -yes, it¡¯s fine if you can convince them.


    the orcs rushed out excitedly the moment odaigon gave them permission.

 Chapter 264

    chapter 264


    every time new abyssal races came on earth, took over a city, and acted as they pleased, there were bound to be people who disapproved of it.


    the british hunters were one of them.


    they had received special treatment from the collector constellation. hunters with a noble background were especially privileged and favored.


    in other countries, it was often said that hunters were nobles, but only in a sarcastic way. the hunters weren¡¯t real noblemen, which meant they still faced punishment if they committed major crimes, and they also paid taxes on the income they earned from raids.


    meanwhile, with the support of the collector constellation, the british hunters were literally treated as nobles. therefore, it was inevitable that those hunters wouldn¡¯t be pleased with the situation that had changed overnight.


    ¡°i¡¯ll go and speak to him.¡±


    clive was considered to be one of the best british hunters. if he hadn¡¯t been stuck in the closed-off england, he most likely would¡¯ve earned the a-grade rank. he was quite a vocal person in the united kingdom, so it was natural for him to step forward in this situation.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    the clan hunters lying down in the courtyard garden of buckingham palace frowned at the sight of the guests. they had been enjoying themselves...


    ¡®they¡¯re a bunch of cheeky outsiders.¡¯


    naturally, the british hunters were also displeased with the outsiders.


    the collector constellation had been ruling for decades, and even the most disloyal hunters had become used to his rulership. furthermore, the british hunters had been living a comfortable life, so they were bound to feel even more reluctant toward the outsiders.


    ¡°what? are they british hunters?¡±


    ¡°are they here to seek asylum? if that¡¯s the case, they can contact the us government.¡±


    the clan hunters from the united states spoke kindly.


    of course, the british hunters here had no intention of doing such a thing. they had been eating and living well here. why would they defect to the united states?


    ¡°i¡¯m here to see hunter choi yeonseung,¡± said clive


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung? he¡¯s busy...¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s very important!¡±


    ¡°i understand. calm down. i will pass it on.¡±


    the british hunters decided to wait and see.


    it was a bit strange, but these us hunters were still listening.


    ¡®wait... did those bastards take the treasures of the united kingdom from the british museum?¡¯


    ¡®no way. it can¡¯t be.¡¯


    it wasn¡¯t long before choi yeonseung appeared. with one hand, he was holding the head of the charging nightmare demon and pressed down to restrain it. he gestured with his other hand as he gave instructions to the orcs. he then asked, ¡°i¡¯ve heard you have something important to tell me?¡±


    ¡°t...that¡¯s correct.¡±


    now that they faced choi yeonseung, the british hunters were a bit reluctant to talk.


    ''what?''


    clive was also embarrassed.


    obviously, when he had heard about choi yeonseung, he hadn¡¯t thought that there was that big of a difference between their abilities. choi yeonseung was in fact an a-grade hunter, but clive, despite not having a rating, had also been told that he was as strong as a-grade hunters.


    even so, now...


    choi yeonseung, who was facing him, gave off such an intense aura that clive instinctively flinched. had the undefeated incarnation of training bestowed his power upon his followers?


    in fact, clive¡¯s idea was only half wrong.


    this wasn¡¯t the power that the undefeated incarnation of training had bestowed on his household members. clive could feel that power because choi yeonseung himself was a constellation.


    this happened because choi yeonseung¡¯s power as a constellation had increased significantly. he couldn¡¯t conceal this kind of aura even if he wanted to. on top of that, choi yeonseung now ruled over the united kingdom, so it was natural that his power seemed amplified.


    ¡°i... i¡¯m here to congratulate you on your victory.¡±


    clive couldn¡¯t help stammering slightly, and his attitude was rather polite.


    choi yeonseung nodded. ¡°i appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, since you¡¯re not british, you probably don¡¯t know much about the united kingdom. i¡¯m here to offer you advice on how to govern our country.¡±


    ¡°oh. advice?¡±


    choi yeonseung was delighted. right now, he welcomed anyone¡¯s advice.


    the angel constellation had said ridiculous things like ¡®let us arm all the british people and fight the evil god constellation!¡¯ therefore, choi yeonseung needed some reliable advice.


    -why don¡¯t you send all the bastards who colluded with the collector constellation to the abyss to live on the farm?


    -odaigon. that¡¯s a bit... i can¡¯t do that, okay?


    -huh? but i thought this would be quite lenient...?


    did those bastards even have a conscience?


    ¡°will the new constellation be able to rule the united kingdom well?¡±


    ¡°won¡¯t it be better than the collector constellation?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong had faith in choi yeonseung. constellations of human origin basically had an advantage over the constellations that weren¡¯t interested in humans.


    of course, hwang gyeongryong hadn¡¯t heard about the arrival of the orcs and nightmare demons yet.


    ring¡ª!


    ¡°...!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s expression stiffened. hunters in the us who were rated a-grade and above had been given a telephone line to speak directly to the president. hwang gyeongryong was once a-grade, so he naturally had it as well.


    now that phone was ringing.


    ¡®don¡¯t tell me that these bastards leveraged the president...?¡¯


    even if they did, hwang gyeongryong had no intention of giving in. the days of hunters having to submit to those in positions of power had long been gone. now those at the top had to pay attention to hunters. there were many clans and companies supported by hunters, and many hunters supported each other...


    the president and the senators couldn¡¯t act badly with s-grade hunters like hwang gyeongryong unless they wanted to make all the large clans from the us their enemies.


    ***


    initially, choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t wanted to make many changes right from the get-go. however, he couldn¡¯t stand the fact that the british hunters came and provoked him. before he knew it, he had already made lots of changes!


    still, choi yeonseung tried to avoid causing trouble as much as possible.


    ¡®the good news is that there are a lot of dungeons.¡¯


    this was what he discovered when looking around to see what was available in the united kingdom. there were in fact many dungeons that hadn¡¯t been explored.


    the collector constellation hadn¡¯t forced his subordinates to raid dungeons. they would only kill the monsters that sometimes appeared. thanks to this, the dungeons that had several years left before exploding were still intact, and the greedy hunters were naturally excited to raid them. normally, it would¡¯ve been possible to negotiate with the governments and gain benefits from this, but...


    ¡°an s-grade dungeon appeared in the middle of america?¡±


    ¡°shh. be quiet. the stocks will go down.¡±


    choi yeonseung was forced to return home in a hurry.


    hwang gyeongryong asked him for help in a serious voice.


    an s-grade dungeon. it was definitely a topic that had to be discussed quietly.


    choi yeonseung wondered, ¡°it hasn¡¯t been announced yet?¡±


    ¡°everyone will panic the moment it gets announced. it only has half a year left, and george wants to deal with it as quietly as possible before announcing it.¡±


    ¡°who¡¯s george?¡±


    ¡°ah. the president. we¡¯re rather close.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at hwang gyeongryong with a hint of annoyance. hwang gyeongryong picked up on it and got irritated.


    ¡°hey, we really are close... do you know how much i supported george to become president?¡±


    ¡°yeah, i don¡¯t really care. tell me more about the dungeon.¡±


    an s-grade dungeon.


    strictly speaking, s-grade dungeons didn¡¯t have a set standard.


    just as those who made remarkable achievements among the a-grade hunters were promoted to s-grade, threatening dungeons that emitted magic power ten times more powerful than other a-grade dungeons were considered s-grade.


    so even if it was the same s-grade monster, the level of danger was bound to be different.


    hwang gyeongryong replied, ¡°nothing.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s nothing. all the teams that went in didn¡¯t come back.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the hunters who went into dungeons in order to gather information were at least b-grade and they specialized in exploration and evasion...


    ¡°so are they going to leave it until it explodes?¡±


    ¡°at this rate, that¡¯s probably what¡¯s going to happen. a-grade hunters probably won¡¯t want to go in there.¡±


    choi yeonseung activated ¡®future sight¡¯. as opposed from before, he could now see more clearly and farther into the future. he had certainly improved on this skill.


    the vision showed america being on fire.


    ¡°...?????¡±


    for the first time in ages, choi yeonseung was shaken by an unbelievable vision.

 Chapter 265

    chapter 265


    ¡®this doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡¯


    both before and after the emergence of the gate, the united states had been considered the most powerful nation, given the number of skilled hunters they had, and also the artifacts in their possession. however, choi yeonseung saw in the vision riots and chaos all over the united states, like there was some kind of war...


    ¡°...this is a bit more serious than i thought.¡±


    ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    choi yeonseung explained what he had seen in the vision.


    if this had been another hunter, hwang gyeongryong would¡¯ve said, ¡®what are you talking about?¡¯ however, choi yeonseung¡¯s words carried significantly more weight. moreover, wasn¡¯t he a constellation, a being that could see things in the abyss that mortals couldn¡¯t?


    hwang gyeongryong frowned upon hearing the foreboding explanation.


    ¡°for a monster to inflict this amount of damage... i think it¡¯s an army-type.¡±


    ¡°right?¡±


    not all monsters were the same. each of them had unique characteristics and a specific way in which they behaved. because of this, even if multiple monsters were all a-grade, the danger level varied.


    there were bound to be different risks between a-grade monsters that only stayed in their territory and attacked intruders and a-grade monsters that wandered around and destroyed whatever they came across.


    how fierce and violent was it? how cunning was it? what skills did it have? and...


    did it roam alone or lead a group?


    ordinary hunters tended to pay attention to other factors, but whether the monsters moved alone or in a group was surprisingly important. it was absolutely disastrous if high-ranking monsters moved in groups. those were the ones that usually caused the most amount of destruction!


    ¡°the torch dragon might be an s-grade monster, but it doesn¡¯t want blood, nor does it lead groups, which makes it much easier to deal with it. monsters that lead groups around are a real nuisance.¡±


    if a relatively less fierce monster like the torch dragon appeared, the government would declare a state of emergency and the people would be evacuated. however, if it was a fierce and violent monster with a lot of numbers...


    if that kind of monster appeared, the chaotic scene that choi yeonseung saw in his vision made sense.


    nowadays, it was often said in the news that hunters were struggling to make a living because there were more hunters than dungeons, but that wasn¡¯t the case. hwang gyeongryong knew this very well.


    ¡®to be honest, the top hunters are still inadequate.¡¯


    most of the dungeons that appeared were low-grade dungeons, but if more high-grade dungeons started to appear, humanity would quickly fall into chaos just like it had during the early days of the gate.


    choi yeonseung asked, ¡°so what¡¯s the strategy?¡±


    ¡°we are going to mobilize as many hunters as possible to create a siege. that way, we could wipe out whatever monsters come out.¡±


    that was the usual way of dealing with a dungeon that seemed difficult to clear. the way to do it was to organize a siege around the dungeon and wipe out the monsters with firepower as soon as they came out.


    it was such an orthodox strategy that there wasn¡¯t much to be said about it...


    ¡°but given that i saw that bleak future, doesn¡¯t it mean that this strategy will fail?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. in addition to myself, there are probably several a-grade hunters that can be mobilized, but... won¡¯t we still miss some monsters?¡±


    even if they built a siege, there were times when the monsters escaped by using abilities that the hunters didn¡¯t expect.


    ¡°how many a-grade hunters do you have?¡±


    ¡°hmm... maybe three?¡±


    ¡°...aren¡¯t there around fifteen active a-grade hunters in the us right now?¡± chou yeonseung was confused.


    ¡°hey. if there¡¯s one s-grade hunter and three a-grade ones, the government has done enough...¡±


    in reality, the only reason they were able to have hwang gyeongryong participate in this was because of his close relationship with the president. most hunters who had many assets, like hwang gyeongryong, and had become the chairman of a company no longer wanted to engage in actual combat. currently, among the active a-grade hunters in the united states, there were several who hadn¡¯t fought for over a year.


    ¡®i have a headache every time i hear it.¡¯


    it was true that hunters were playing sports and not growing, but a-grade hunters weren¡¯t even trying to do raids...


    hwang gyeongryong told him, ¡°first of all, i¡¯ll do my best based on the information i have received.¡±


    ¡°umm...¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s with that expression of disbelief?¡±


    ¡°no, it¡¯s not that i doubt your abilities. it¡¯s just that i don¡¯t trust a-grade hunters.¡±


    ***


    even before choi yeonseung could confirm hwang gyeongryong¡¯s assurances, things started to move in a different direction.


    -a dungeon has been discovered in rutherford, the united states. based on the result of the magic power measurement, it has surpassed existing a-grade dungeons...


    aine wondered how to express it so that choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t get hurt. it would¡¯ve been too much to say, ¡°you¡¯re sort of being a pushover¡±...


    she replied, ¡°you¡¯re a responsible hunter, right?¡±


    ¡°why do i think there is a hidden meaning in your words?¡±


    ¡°no. it¡¯s just really rare for an a-grade hunter to travel around and fight like you.¡±


    aine was being honest. usually, a-grade hunters lived comfortably under government protection. they rarely risked their lives fighting on the front lines like choi yeonseung. he had gone around france, china and the united kingdom, and had done unconventional raids.


    seeing this type of hunter, the governments of other countries couldn¡¯t help thinking.


    -won¡¯t this hunter come to help if we make a request?¡¯


    money or compensation wasn¡¯t the issue. a-grade hunters didn¡¯t just simply travel to other countries, no matter how big of a reward was offered. in that sense, every country was interested in a hunter like choi yeonseung.


    ¡°...do i look like a pushover?¡±


    ¡°n-no. you don¡¯t look like a pushover. honestly, hunters like you are rare these days. there are very few people who are as responsible and as righteous as you.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    aine had tried her best to make it sound nice, but choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t help feeling uncomfortable. it wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t get anything out of this. by stepping forward whenever there was trouble, he had been able to gain a lot of power of existence, whereas other hunters just stagnated.


    he wouldn¡¯t even have made it to a-grade if he had hesitated like other hunters, let alone make his name known and build his reputation. but seeing how people reacted, it was a bit...


    -successor, you have to step up anyway, right?


    -..that¡¯s true.


    what was even more disturbing was that putting aside this response, choi yeonseung intended to unconditionally participate in the s-grade dungeon raid anyway.


    hwang gyeongryong was stepping up, so how could choi yeonseung not help him? obviously, governments from other countries would certainly regard him as a pushover, but he would still do the same thing.


    ¡°is hunter choi yeonseung here?¡±


    just then, wes morales, an american hunter, came to visit. he had joined forces with choi yeonseung before to take the parker energy dungeon by force.


    choi yeonseung was puzzled by the sudden appearance of the guest.


    ¡°what¡¯s going on? ah. i get it.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re going to steal another treasure from parker energy. it¡¯s a good idea.¡±


    ¡°...no!¡±


    morales was frightened by his assumption and vehemently denied it. he thought that choi yeonseung was mistaking him for a thief.


    ¡°ah, you won¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°h-hunter choi yeonseung. i hope you don¡¯t think of me as a thief.¡±


    he had in fact robbed parker energy, but that was only because he hadn¡¯t received what he had been promised.


    morales had never stolen anything from an innocent opponent.


    ¡°no... i don¡¯t think of you as a thief. still, it¡¯s a shame.¡± choi yeonseung clicked his tongue. he had received quite a lot of profit from parker energy. honestly, rather than working hard to release new artifacts or develop new technologies, it was much more profitable to go to someone else¡¯s company and steal their cores and dungeons...


    -indeed. successor, you finally understand how the abyss works.


    the goddess of sloth nodded.


    human beings tended to have overly complicated systems and structures. sometimes it was best to keep things simple.


    -i was joking.


    -no, why? it sounds really good!


    ¡°so what brings you here?¡± choi yeonseung asked.


    ¡°i am indebted to you, so i came to help you with this s-grade dungeon attack.¡±


    ¡°...i haven¡¯t even announced my participation yet?¡±


    ¡°ah. but aren¡¯t you going to do it?¡±


    ¡°...well, yeah, but...¡±


    choi yeonseung felt upset for some reason.

 Chapter 266

    chapter 266


    it was actually great that an a-grade hunter had offered to help in such a selfless manner. usually, a-grade hunters could stand their ground and refuse to help even if the government put pressure on them.


    it was even more amazing when considering that during the situation in paris, the a-grade hunters had delayed their responses despite the chaos.


    however, all choi yeonseung did was help people. that was it. for some reason, he felt resentful about people¡¯s assumptions.


    morales was unaware of the inner workings of choi yeonseung and said with a smile, ¡°i knew it. i knew a hunter like you wouldn¡¯t cowardly back down like other people.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s expression twisted subtly, and aine whispered from next to him, ¡°what is it? do you have any problems with hunter wes morales?¡±


    ¡°he knew i would participate unconditionally.¡±


    ¡°...well, isn¡¯t that right?¡±


    ¡°regardless of whether it¡¯s the right thing or not, i feel bad. do i really seem like that?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    it wasn¡¯t that aine didn¡¯t understand what choi yeonseung was saying. she knew exactly what he meant. wasn¡¯t he essentially saying that he didn¡¯t want others to treat him like some sort of saint? however...


    ¡®i think it¡¯s too late for that...¡¯


    in aine¡¯s eyes, it was already too late for choi yeonseung to change his image. he was just acting based on his instinct and common sense.


    first of all, the large majority of hunters were just terrible. just like petals enhanced the beauty of a flower, the other hunters made choi yeonseung seem like a saint with their terrible personalities.


    in fact, looking at the actions of other a-grade hunters, choi yeonseung was quite strange.


    [gilbert gerrity, the a-grade hunter from the western shields, participated in the charity event. gilbert gerrity said, ¡®i¡¯m delighted to participate in this charity event. as a hunter, it¡¯s an honor to be able to bring some happiness to other people.¡¯]


    -you piece of trash, what the hell are you talking about?


    -hey, isn¡¯t he the one who put pressure on the authorities to free the western shields hunters who were caught distributing drugs as a group?


    -oh, he¡¯s the guy who fought with another clan and destroyed a street because he didn¡¯t like the outcome, right? son of a bitch!


    -this guy should be taken to mexico.


    -what did the mexicans do wrong? send him to china!


    -hah. everyone is so talkative. how can you say something like that about an a-grade hunter? you¡¯ll only realize your mistake when you get in trouble later because there won¡¯t be any a-grade hunters.


    -there are fourteen other a-grade hunters aside from this guy. even if he disappears, the us will be the same.


    -but looking at it from this perspective, doesn¡¯t it mean that there are only a few a-grade hunters left?


    basically, all a-grade hunters had stained their reputation with crimes like assault, selling and doing drugs, gambling, theft, vandalism, and so on. because of that, people were afraid of a-grade hunters and kept quiet in front of them, and they certainly felt no gratitude toward them.


    smart people knew that a-grade hunters only stepped up when there was something in it for them. on the other hand, choi yeonseung...


    [choi yeonseung, the a-grade hunter from the icarus clan, has acquired the demon clan from south korea. when a reporter asked him the reason for that, choi yeonseung responded, ¡®if it doesn¡¯t work out, i¡¯ll use them as sparring partners¡¯...]


    -you know, reporters in our country are a bit over the top. do they have to go all the way to south korea for an interview? no wonder why hunters are so sensitive.


    -oh my god. what could they possibly have to ask that they go all the way there?


    -but i think that hunter choi yeonseung uses too much violence.


    -what are you saying? the words ¡®too much¡¯ should be used for the guy who burned down the streets. do you think he¡¯s using too much violence when he¡¯s trying to save the citizens who don¡¯t listen?


    -maybe that guy is a chinese spy. i saw on the news that chinese people often spread such rumors.


    -what? isn¡¯t he a russian spy?


    -yes. they do such despicable things because they¡¯re close to south korea!


    -god, how could you do that?


    -no... i¡¯m not chinese.


    -so you¡¯re trained as a chinese spy?


    other hunters caused incidents during their breaks, but choi yeonseung did no such things. to be precise, he was so busy that he didn¡¯t have time to cause trouble. on top of that, other a-grade hunters participated in raids once a year in order to keep themselves in shape, but they weren¡¯t ready to take initiative and save citizens.


    from aine¡¯s perspective, choi yeonseung had to do something like a mass shooting to ruin his image. the scary thing was that if he actually did that, some people would take his side.


    ¡®it¡¯s fascinating.¡¯


    ¡°of course, i have to bet money. those damn hunters!¡±


    carter stomped his feet in anger at morales¡¯ question. under the vip seats, hunters were fighting against each other.


    carter was watching the ssl.


    ¡°why can¡¯t they push the lane? it¡¯s not that difficult! just group up, kill them, and charge forward!¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know and i¡¯m not interested. rather, i brought a distinguished guest here,¡± said morales.


    ¡°?¡± carter turned his head towards the so-called guest. ¡°hunter choi yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s nice to meet you!¡± carter ran over quickly and shook choi yeonseung¡¯s hand.


    choi yeonseung was puzzled by the unexpectedly lively reception.


    ¡®what?¡¯


    a-grade hunters rarely greeted each other like this when they met for the first time. they usually had to be vigilant in case the other person had some hidden intentions...


    morales also seemed puzzled, and asked, ¡°you¡¯re much happier than i expected. were you waiting?¡±


    "of course. i already knew it. hunter choi yeonseung is the same kind of person as me.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung was slightly impressed by his words. it became clear to him that nicholas carter also liked training more than the average hunter. of course, such a melee speed-type hunter was bound to be obsessed with training, given that one wrong movement could be the end of him.


    ¡°you know things.¡±


    ¡°right? you said it as well. now, which team are you betting on??¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    ¡°the match! the match! which clan are you going to bet on?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    hunter choi yeonseung realized that something was strange. what was going on with this bastard? ¡°...were you referring to the ssl when saying that we¡¯re the same kind of people?¡±


    ¡°of course. what else could i have referred to?¡± carter looked at choi yeonseung as if wondering why he was asking something so obvious. ¡°i knew it when i saw that you went all the way to south korea and took over a clan. i thought to myself, ¡®ah, this hunter is the real deal.¡¯ the moment you could afford it, you took the money and went to buy a clan. i can understand that very well.¡±


    ¡°you can¡¯t beat up an a-grade hunter!¡± aine whispered urgently. if such rumors spread, it was likely that other hunters would refuse to meet with choi yeonseung.


    ¡°no, aine. what do you take me for?¡±


    ¡°s-sorry. i was worried for some reason because of the chairman.¡±


    ¡®gyeongryong hyung...¡¯


    based on what aine said, it was clear that hwang gyeongryong had used his fists instead of the law quite a few times. in any case, it didn¡¯t matter if this guy was a gambling addict or not. all carter had to do was take care of one side of the siege.


    choi yeonseung got straight to the point,


    ¡°would you like to participate in the rutherford s-grade dungeon raid?¡±


    ¡°is that why you¡¯re here?¡± carter asked with a surprised expression.


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded.


    ¡°then why did you think i came here?¡±


    ¡°i thought you were here to talk about the ssl...¡±


    ¡®ah, this son of a bitch.¡¯


    choi yeonseung had to endure it.


    carter asked, ¡°are you planning on participating in the raid?¡±


    ¡°yes. i¡¯m going to participate.¡±


    ¡°...have you sworn to the constellation that you would live a good and righteous life, sacrificing yourself for others? i¡¯ve suspected this for a long time.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the most absurd thing about this was that carter was being dead serious. he wasn¡¯t joking.

 Chapter 267

    chapter 267


    choi yeonseung asked carter, ¡°why does it matter?¡±


    ¡°indeed, i guess it doesn¡¯t. sorry, i shouldn¡¯t have asked.¡±


    ¡°...i made no such vow.¡±


    ¡°you didn¡¯t?!¡±


    carter was even more surprised. in that case, why was choi yeonseung acting so righteous?


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung is doing good deeds purely out of his own volition.¡±


    ¡°it can¡¯t be...!¡±


    ¡®i want to beat both of them up.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was annoyed by the chatter of the two a-grade hunters and asked in a low voice, ¡°so are you going to participate or not?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯ve come this far, so how could i refuse? of course, i will participate.¡±


    carter¡¯s words made choi yeonseung feel a bit better. listening to their nonsense had turned out to be worth it.


    ¡°instead, i have one favor to ask...¡±


    ¡°what is it?¡± aine had a wary look. what price did they have to pay for an a-grade hunter to help them in a raid? it was clear to everyone that it wouldn¡¯t be an ordinary price.


    ¡°can you teach martial arts to some of the hunters i know?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    aine was dumbfounded by the seemingly insignificant request.


    ¡®no... it¡¯s not insignificant...¡¯


    come to think of it, wasn¡¯t it great for an a-grade hunter to teach others? unlike magic, where there was a ton of information readily available and many people to teach it, there was no one to teach martial arts. carter¡¯s request was actually quite favorable. it was just that aine hadn¡¯t expected such a request.


    ¡°...what is there to think about?¡± aine asked choi yeonseung in a confused voice.


    ¡°i¡¯m not sure about it because i don¡¯t want to hang out with him.¡±


    ¡°i understand, but it¡¯s an easy request for you...¡±


    ¡°i know.¡± choi yeonseung clicked his tongue once and nodded.


    while carter was rather unpleasant, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t dislike teaching martial arts to other people. if the hunters on earth got overall stronger, people were less likely to get hurt or killed. for that, choi yeonseung could teach martial arts as much as people wanted.


    -successor, spreading martial arts will increase your power, so it¡¯s an obvious choice.


    -ah. there¡¯s also that.


    -...successor, you¡¯re a constellation! you have to keep that in mind...


    the nagging voice of the goddess of sloth flowed into choi yeonseung¡¯s ears. in the eyes of the goddess of sloth, who had once ruled the abyss, choi yeonseung was too human-like for a constellation.


    ¡°i¡¯ll teach them martial arts. who are the hunters? it would be nice if they¡¯re the kind of hunters who do raids often.¡±


    ¡°uh... they¡¯re clan hunters who play in the ssl.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung frowned.


    ***


    surprisingly, it was in the united states where martial arts had developed the most.


    -hunters who want to make progress in martial arts, enroll in hunter paul¡¯s school!


    -the ravens clan is recruiting hunters with martial arts skills. this clan succeeded in seventeen raids last year...


    if a hunter had a great performance with a certain new skill, everybody around the world would analyze that skill. there was no way something like this wouldn¡¯t happen after choi yeonseung¡¯s performances.


    they had brought in retired martial artists, retrieved martial arts information that remained in the data, pulled out martial arts books and martial arts-related items stored in the clan warehouse...


    consequently, the prices of martial arts-related items had skyrocketed in auctions.


    ¡°¡®an a-grade hunter is currently active in the united states. hunters from all over the world should come to the united states if they want to learn martial arts...¡¯ wait, who the hell wrote this?¡±


    choi yeonseung found it absurd. next to him, morales asked curiously, ¡°what¡¯s wrong with it?¡±


    ¡°if they cut up things and stick together random pieces, is it not wrong? would it also be okay if i broke a reporter¡¯s arm and put it back together?¡±


    ¡°i-i don¡¯t think it¡¯s the same thing...¡±


    in any case, martial arts were becoming more and more popular, and the hunter clans in the united states were making all kinds of bizarre attempts at making it more mainstream.


    -fusing invisibility magic and dagger skills!


    for the constellations, the humans on earth were a race with a unique lifestyle that was uncommon in the abyss. considering that, it wasn¡¯t surprising that bored constellations were curious enough to talk to humans and make proposals to them.


    in fact, hadn¡¯t choi yeonseung received the attention of many constellations during the early days of his return to earth?


    -so it¡¯s just because they¡¯re bored?


    -laziness is a disease that¡¯s harder to endure than you might think, successor.


    -...even if you try to justify it, isn¡¯t it just boredom? to be honest, it sounds like you¡¯re just complaining.


    the goddess of sloth explained in a sulky voice that this wasn¡¯t the case.


    laziness was truly an unbearable poison for a constellation who, unless defeated, had an eternal life. overcoming laziness was a lifelong struggle for a constellation.


    ¡®it just sounds like complaining to me.¡¯


    choi yeonseung disregarded the goddess of sloth¡¯s explanation. he didn¡¯t care about the story of a constellation who complained despite being born with eternal life and power. he was a high-spirited individual who constantly did his best for the sake of humanity, so such ¡°problems¡± seemed ridiculous to him.


    -no, that¡¯s not...


    -in any case, you think this constellation is innocent?


    -given that those hunters are still fine, it sure seems to be the case. but if the constellation gets tired of this, it might disappear soon. if that happens, those humans will be in a bit of trouble.


    it wouldn¡¯t have been strange if at some point, the constellation thought, ¡®i¡¯m getting tired of this game,¡¯ and disappeared. the proposal had come from a constellation after all.


    if the constellation actually left, the hunters of the black steelers were bound to have some problems as they must¡¯ve gotten used to making easy money.


    -that¡¯s on them.


    -that¡¯s true.


    ¡°so you want to learn martial arts because you want to win against the household members of that constellation?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. in addition, that constellation will be very, very intrigued by a good display of martial arts. constellations don¡¯t know much about martial arts.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung vowed to put up with all of this for the sake of the rutherford raid. after all, wasn¡¯t it necessary to learn martial arts in order to kill monsters? in addition, if those hunters learned martial arts, they could end up saving people in the future...


    -successor, sometimes i¡¯m tempted to suggest that you give up on humans and leave for the abyss...


    the goddess of sloth spoke to choi yeonseung in a depressed tone. it would¡¯ve been easier to just give up on earth...


    ¡°i¡¯m curious about the name of the constellation. who is it?¡±


    carter told them, ¡°you can¡¯t mention it anywhere else.¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t you say it wasn¡¯t illegal?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not that. i¡¯m saying this because there can¡¯t be any competition. what if other clans make more appealing proposals to the constellation?¡±


    ¡°...alright, i get it. now tell me the name.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s the observer who returned from a cold place. that¡¯s the name of the constellation.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    it was a familiar name.


    choi yeonseung was bound to remember the observer who returned from a cold place because, in the past, they had competed against each other in a constellation battle.


    choi yeonseung remembered the name of the enemy constellation from the constellation battle he had personally participated in, along with the household member of the fighter of sweat and flesh constellation!


    that constellation had fought against choi yeonseung on the side of endless linked explosions, so he couldn¡¯t forget it even if he wanted to. in addition...


    -wasn¡¯t she the constellation who made that dubious offer?


    -yes. there was that.


    the observer constellation had unexpectedly betrayed her ally and let choi yeonseung win in order to tempt him to cooperate with her. not even the goddess of sloth had seen such a constellation before, which was why it remained deeply ingrained in choi yeonseung¡¯s memory.


    -i didn¡¯t expect to cross paths with this constellation like this...


    -i think this turned out well.


    choi yeonseung was puzzled by the words of the goddess of sloth.


    -it turned out well?


    -i don¡¯t know what the observer constellation¡¯s proposal was, but wasn''t it beneficial for you?


    -so?


    -the constellation will try to get you to cooperate with her, just like with the goddess of balance. successor, you have too few allies...


    -...that¡¯s so ridiculous that i don¡¯t even know where to start refuting it from.

 Chapter 268

    chapter 268


    the goddess of sloth seemed to have a bit of a misunderstanding about choi yeonseung.


    for one thing, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t have the ability to seduce a constellation. he didn¡¯t deny that the goddess of balance cared for him, but that was because of their complicated relationship that went way back.


    -no. from my perspective, you have the ability to seduce constellations, successor.


    -......


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ agrees.]


    choi yeonseung ignored the constellations and focused on what was going on in reality.


    ¡°i see. so they play a match against the minions sent by that constellation?¡±


    ¡°yes. i¡¯ve watched it a few times. the matches are ten times more exciting than the fights between hunters.¡±


    the human hunters actually felt pain, so they had to fight while caring for their lives. in comparison, the creatures from the abyss were utterly mad, and they made for a thrilling match by fighting without any concern for their lives.


    given the intensity of the matches, the observer who returned from a cold place gave out rewards, but so did other constellations...


    ¡°wait. other constellations as well?¡±


    ¡°it seems that there are other constellations that often come to watch the matches. i mean i get it. it¡¯s really fun to watch,¡± said carter while nodding.


    carter really enjoyed the games that hunters played, but putting that aside, the matches were fun to watch from an objective perspective. sometimes, when hunters pulled off an amazing feat, the constellation gave out rewards. this made the hunters want an even bigger challenge.


    ¡®it feels very off-putting.¡¯


    choi yeonseung found himself shaking. of course, the hunters received huge compensation and had no complaints whatsoever, but it still seemed wrong to choi yeonseung. after all, the constellations of the abyss were conceited beings.


    -......


    [...]


    [...]


    -what? why? it¡¯s it a fair deal?


    choi yeonseung could never get used to the arrogant attitude of constellations as they looked down on humans and played with them like toys.


    ¡®they¡¯ll soon see.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was determined to make such constellations pay for their arrogance!


    ***


    ¡°choi... hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    the hunters of the black steelers clan were surprised by choi yeonseung¡¯s unexpected appearance. at most, they had expected hunters ranked between c and b-grade, or even retired hunters, to meet them. they had never expected an active a-grade hunter to come and talk to them.


    nicholas carter had a big smile on his face as he was happy to see the hunters surprised. ¡°what did i tell you?¡±


    ¡°a... amazing, mr. carter!¡±


    ¡°you actually managed to cast an a-grade hunter.¡±


    ¡°i can do anything to see you guys win.¡±


    on the surface, these words seemed rather heartwarming. however, given what was actually going on, this whole conversation was tainted with greed. the black steelers hunters wanted to somehow gain even more from the constellations, and carter had made a bet on the hunters¡¯ match with the intention of hitting the jackpot!


    choi yeonseung asked them, ¡°yes... so you¡¯re interested in martial arts?¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    the black steelers hunters naturally had a polite attitude, given that they had the unique opportunity to learn from the only martial artist that was an a-grade hunter. only a lunatic would be arrogant with him.


    one hunter named gabermore adjusted his clothes with an excited expression. ¡®what should i ask first? what martial arts skill should i acquire first? i also want to ask if i should change my martial arts skill or not...¡¯


    ¡®most of them are second or third-rate,¡¯ thought choi yeonseung as he looked around and grasped the situation. most of these hunters were d-grade, only a handful of them being c-grade. even though they had also learnt magic on top of martial arts, it didn¡¯t seem to make much of a difference. nevertheless, there was no reason to focus too much on their ratings since they didn¡¯t specialize in raids.


    ¡°alright, ask me anything you¡¯re curious about.¡±


    ¡°what is the best training method to quickly raise my level?¡±


    ¡°well, the secret is to participate in real fights, right? i recommend entering dungeons and killing monsters.¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t there another way?¡±


    ¡°hmm. beating up people is another way of going about it. you could catch criminals. isn¡¯t there a steady stream of hunters causing accidents? it¡¯s not that difficult.¡±


    ¡°...is there any method that isn¡¯t life-threatening?¡±


    ¡°i... don¡¯t think so?¡±


    regardless of the hot weather in the desert, the hunters were getting tired unexpectedly fast.


    the iron scorpion, a monster that moved around while digging shallowly into the sand, approached them with a hissing sound. the monster was big and powerful, but it was really noisy and easy to spot. thus, it didn¡¯t pose much of a threat to the hunters, but...


    given that everyone was exhausted after constantly fighting, this newly emerged monster felt so threatening that they looked at it with wide eyes.


    ¡°stop its movements using martial arts. don¡¯t try to kill it through force alone. move as little as possible.¡±


    choi yeonseung gave them advice while watching from the sidelines. martial arts was a skill that allowed them to move extremely efficiently. with magic, they had to use big skills every time, while martial arts allowed them to use their internal energy efficiently.


    ¡°don¡¯t drag out the fight. just buy some time so your magic power can regenerate.¡±


    ¡°gasp, gasp, gasp...¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. you¡¯ve learnt movement skills, so use them to dodge attacks. the movements of monsters are often simpler than you think...¡±


    the hunters regretted following choi yeonseung. they just needed to live happily. why did they have to suffer like this in order to become stronger?


    in fact, they had planned to ask choi yeonseung to help them after they collapsed, but he just gave them advice without moving.


    ¡°i can¡¯t use it any longer...¡±


    ¡°no. you have internal energy left. now move and block it. take a step, turn to the right, and hit its joints.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ***


    ¡®huh, it¡¯s better than i thought.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was amazed when he saw the levels of the hunters through his constellation eyes. perhaps it was because they hadn¡¯t been going into dungeons, but their levels raised quite a bit just from this low-level dungeon.


    ¡®clan hunters should just go to dungeons.¡¯


    choi yeonseung made up his mind.


    what did it matter if it was a match or something else? many problems would be solved as long as the hunters were strong. choi yeonseung quickly dismantled the dead iron scorpion. the purified internal energy radiated a white light as it cut through the hard shell.


    carter was puzzled when he saw it. ¡°why are you keeping that?¡±


    ¡°they¡¯ve had a hard time, so i should at least cook this and take care of them.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    carter was dumbfounded.


    ¡®crazy bastard...!¡¯


    choi yeonseung worked the hunters to the point of exhaustion and now he wanted to feed them the corpse of a monster? his cruelty was unbelievable...


    ¡®but i¡¯m not the one who has to eat it.¡¯


    carter apologized to the clan hunters from the bottom of his heart. this whole thing was for their sake. if they went through these trials and tribulations and won the match, they would receive rewards and carter would also win money.


    then choi yeonseung told him, ¡°now, here.¡±


    ¡°...???¡±


    ¡°are you rejecting my gesture of goodwill?¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s voice lowered. it was choi yeonseung who wanted carter to participate in an s-grade raid, but that didn¡¯t matter right now.


    carter could feel an overwhelming presence! it came from choi yeonseung, whose power of existence had skyrocketed ever since he had occupied the united kingdom as a constellation. not even an a-grade hunter could withstand this pressure.


    ¡°n... n... no...¡±


    without realizing it, carter took the bowl offered by choi yeonseung and prepared to eat it.


    ¡°...it¡¯s edible, right?¡±


    ¡°you think it won¡¯t taste good?¡±


    ¡°n-no. i¡¯m sorry. i didn¡¯t mean that.¡±


    carter was surprised when he tasted the dish. it tasted way better than he had expected. in fact, it tasted delicious. it was like cajun cuisine. in the past, he had eaten seafood soup with various spices at a restaurant. however, the soup that choi yeonseung had cooked seemed to surpass the one from the restaurant.


    ...had he used magic?


    carter finished the bowl in an instant and asked choi yeonseung, ¡°could i have another bowl? there¡¯s something i¡¯d like to check.¡±


    ¡°ah. i¡¯m sorry. there¡¯s not enough of it. let the other hunters eat. you didn¡¯t even fight.¡±


    ¡°...¡±

 Chapter 269

    chapter 269


    carter had never thought he would feel this sense of loss after becoming an a-grade hunter. he currently led a life of debauchery because of his addiction to games and gambling, but in the past, he had been desperately doing raids in order to become a-rank.


    carter wasn¡¯t very talented to begin with, so before he awakened, he couldn¡¯t even dream of starting at c-grade. he climbed his way from the lowest rank by constantly killing monsters. even now, he felt bitter when thinking of all those sorrowful experiences he had gone through. so...


    ¡°no. you can¡¯t have more.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    regardless of carter¡¯s sob story, choi yeonseung flat out refused. despite its size, the iron scorpion didn¡¯t actually have much meat. a large portion of its body consisted of a metal shell which barely contained any meat.


    it was only thanks to choi yeonseung¡¯s culinary skills that they could eat such a thing. choi yeonseung had extracted the lean mean with an ability that couldn¡¯t be matched in the abyss, and he cooked it with ingredients from his own territory.


    afterwards, he put the meat in boiling water along with the marinade and additional ingredients such as scallions, onions, peppers, and radishes. however...


    the plants grown in the realm of a constellation inherited their power and had a strong flavor, and the hunters who were sensitive to magic were especially prone to feeling the rich taste of magic power.


    choi yeonseung wondered, ¡°didn¡¯t you tell me to make those hunters stronger?¡±


    ¡°yeah, but... still...¡±


    while carter was at a loss for words, the hunters, who had worked hard to clear the dungeon, completely devoured their meals, leaving no trace of food in their bowls.


    ¡°do you want to do one more dungeon?¡±


    choi yeonseung shook his head at carter¡¯s hopeful question.


    ¡°fatigue can lead to injuries. we have to take a break.¡±


    ¡°...since when do you care so much?!¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    ***


    the household member that the observer who returned from a cold place had sent as an errand boy was a cold spirit. the clan members fell flat to the ground when they saw the spirit floating in the air, spraying out cold, chilling energy.


    ¡°welcome!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve been waiting!¡±


    ¡°...do they have to go that far?¡±


    choi yeonseung was speechless at the reaction of the clan members, thinking that they were being overly servile.


    ¡°please understand. this spirit is sort of... it¡¯s the financier.¡±


    the reason why the black steelers clan managed to survive was because of the rewards given by the constellation. the household member of such a constellation had to feel like the executive of a large company.


    -...?


    the cold spirit paused when it saw choi yeonseung and morales. it seemed surprised by the presence of the two hunters it had never seen before. moreover, they were both a-grade hunters...


    ¡°oh, these two are here to help with the upcoming match. they¡¯re famous hunters here on earth. of course, you probably haven¡¯t heard of them, but...¡±


    the cold spirit shook its head, signifying that it wasn¡¯t the case.


    ¡°oh, you do know them?¡±


    the clan employee was surprised. of course, a-grade hunters were famous around the world, but who would¡¯ve thought that a cold spirit from the abyss would also know about them?


    ¡°since you know about them, the conversation will proceed quickly. the reason why we invited these two people here is because we want to do our best to satisfy the constellation...¡±


    the cold spirit remained silent, which caused the clan people to panic a bit. had they done something wrong?


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°is it furious that we brought in a-grade hunters without telling the constellation?¡±


    ¡°no... it¡¯s absurd to get upset just because we did that...¡±


    [the ¡®observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ is happy to see you here!]


    they received a reply from the constellation, not from the cold spirit.


    ¡°gasp...!¡±


    ¡°the observer!¡±


    the people of the clan quickly bowed down.


    this was enough for morales to finally speak. ¡°...nicholas. is this really okay?¡±


    ¡°well, what do you think? everyone on earth is a bit of a slave in this day and age.¡±


    ¡°...¡± morales gazed at the clan hunters with a perplexed expression.


    it was often said that humans had their souls taken away by constellations. they either offered their faith to the constellation or were dominated by the fear of that constellation...


    -i told you. it looks like the other party is interested in you.


    -...alright, let¡¯s pretend for a second that this makes sense. in that case, how should i seduce her?


    -successor, i think you know that well.


    -......


    choi yeonseung thought about it with a bitter look on his face.


    in terms of power, the observer who returned from a cold place was like a huge frost giant or an elemental queen. she was essentially a huge natural disaster; the cold she emanated wrapped around her, making her a walking blizzard. to seduce such a being...


    ...maybe he could offer her ice cream?


    ¡°okay. i will accept.¡±


    choi yeonseung was still a bit skeptical, but he couldn¡¯t refuse an alliance that seemed objectively beneficial. he ultimately decided to lead the black steelers hunters and fight against the opponents brought by the observer constellation.


    [the ¡®observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ is very happy!]


    [the ¡®observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ feels remorseful about your colleagues and says it would be better if they were more skilled.]


    ¡°...?¡±


    at the words of the constellation, choi yeonseung looked back at the hunters of the black steelers clan. come to think of it, the alliance was only possible if he could lead these people to victory one time.


    ¡°well... you¡¯ve done it many times, so you must be confident, right?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the hunters of black steelers averted their gazes, and they looked like a huge burden had just been placed on their shoulders.


    ***


    ¡°we have a twenty-five percent chance of winning.¡±


    ¡°oh... isn¡¯t that decent?¡±


    choi yeonseung was impressed. according to those odds, they could win one game out of four, which was pretty good. it meant it wasn¡¯t impossible for choi yeonseung to fight and win...


    ¡°but lately, it¡¯s been almost zero percent...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung had a look of shock on his face.


    ¡°why?¡±


    ¡°the recent opponents brought in by the constellation are stronger, so...¡±


    there was no way that this constellation, who was trying to get rid of boredom, would keep bringing the same opponents. the more matches the hunters won, and the more they improved, the stronger their next opponents became.


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue as he heard how dire the situation was.


    a hunter asked choi yeonseung, ¡°how much experience do you have in playing the game?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t expect much from me. i only know how to deal with those in front of me.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the hunters groaned at choi yeonseung¡¯s words.


    this was typical of high-ranking hunters, who only occasionally played a game for an event. evidently, such hunters were usually annoyed by the rules of the game because they were different from real life situations.


    the hunters were worried that hunter choi yeonseung would be the same.


    "don''t worry.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung evidently noticed their apprehensions. ¡°i¡¯ll do whatever you tell me to do. feel free to give instructions.¡±


    ¡°can... can i really do that?¡±


    ¡°yes. we can¡¯t afford to lose this thing.¡±


    of course, it would be very disappointing if they lost, and he didn¡¯t know what he would do to the hunters here, but choi yeonseung didn¡¯t say this.


    ¡°then... i¡¯ll do my best! which position do you prefer, hunter choi yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve only ever played in the top lane.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s with that expression?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s nothing!¡±

 Chapter 270

    chapter 270


    the constellation battle, or rather, the ssl, was a game where six hunters entered a virtual dungeon. the dungeon changed with each game, but there were always three lanes leading to the other side¡¯s camps.


    the fact that choi yeonseung had only fought in the top lane was a bit foreboding.


    sometimes, the hunters had to take control of the lane, keep the enemies in check, and protect the magic tower. other times, they had to leave the lane and wander around the dungeon to kill special monsters.


    ¡°ummm...¡±


    ¡°kuoooh...¡±


    the black steelers hunters were distressed, but this didn¡¯t change the reality they had to face.


    "understood! i¡¯ll do my best to direct you.¡±


    ¡°yes. please do so.¡±


    choi yeonseung walked forward after saying this. then, the hunters murmured anxiously.


    ¡°will it be okay?¡±


    ¡°hey. it¡¯s not about winning or losing this time. let¡¯s not piss him off for nothing,¡± said rebecca, one of the clan hunters, as she shook her head. she had already partly given up on the game. ¡°we can get some rewards even if we lose.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true, but...¡±


    ¡°our lives will become a lot harder if we anger an a-grade hunter for no reason. do you understand? don¡¯t swear like you usually do.¡±


    rebecca was well aware that if an a-grade hunter put their mind to it, they could make anyone¡¯s life a living hell. if the hunters acted like their usual selves and infuriated the a-grade hunter because of that, their lives would become harder in the future.


    ¡°think of him as an investor. got it?¡±


    ¡°we said such things earlier. i don''t think he¡¯ll change his mind.¡±


    ¡°nonsense. what person would be happy to hear insults...?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true.¡±


    the hunters of the black steelers decided to be careful with their language during the match, regardless of whether they were going to win or not. if they used vulgar language like they usually did...


    ¡®i have to be careful!¡¯


    ***


    [the ¡®observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ is interested. she is asking if you can explain the martial arts skill you used this time.]


    ¡°...it¡¯s a martial art that uses extreme yang energy.¡±


    origin of the celestial divine arts was a martial art that literally controlled every type of energy, so there was no shortage of it. the downside was that the growth rate was incredibly slow, but choi yeonseung had overcome this by training in the abyss.


    however, in this type of constellation battle, it was better to use one martial art that specialized in one area, even if it had some shortcomings, rather than such a perfect martial art.


    thus, for this occasion, choi yeonseung had come up with a new skill that was different from origin of the celestial step and origin of the celestial finger. if he had to name it, it would be something like ¡®flame god divine arts.¡¯ this martial art focused on extreme yang energy.


    even though there weren¡¯t as many types of internal energy as there were of magic, martial arts could still divide it into a few different types.


    yang energy was bright, hot, and had a strong affinity with the fire attribute. choi yeonseung had prepared this because the household members brought by the constellation were likely to use the power of cold.


    [the ¡®hound of instinct and liberation¡¯ is impressed with your strategy.]


    [he is offering you an artifact as a gift.]


    ¡°...?¡±


    even though this constellation was praising him and offering him an item, choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t help feeling perplexed as he saw the name of this constellation, which he had seen a lot.


    ¡®what...? was this guy watching as well?¡¯


    [the ¡®arrogant light elf¡¯ is advising you not to reveal your clumsy side.]


    ¡°...¡±


    as more familiar names popped up, choi yeonseung gradually became more baffled. what were they all doing here?


    -neutral constellations love this kind of entertainment.


    -...i see. although i wasn¡¯t really curious...


    -successor, i know you don¡¯t really like constellations, but shouldn''t you find a way to exploit their habits in order to win?


    -you¡¯re right.


    choi yeonseung took the advice of the goddess of sloth seriously.


    even though these constellations were annoying alien beings...


    -...


    [...]


    ...he couldn¡¯t overcome their power without making some kind of compromise. it wouldn¡¯t be bad if he found some way to manipulate the constellations, and one of the ways to go about it was to play a game, just like the observer who returned from a cold place.


    ¡®what do i have?¡¯


    gary had met a superior cold spirit in the bottom lane and he felt completely powerless against it. the spirit had quickly sucked up the cold around it, instantly growing in size. it had also unleashed a spell that prevented gary from even coming its way.


    there was very little gary could do! no matter how much the constellation wanted to entertain a-grade hunters, she should at least let the fight take place first before entertaining him.


    [the ¡®hound of instinct and liberation¡¯ feels that your fight is pathetic.]


    [the ¡®arrogant light elf¡¯ looks down on you as insignificant.]


    ¡®ughhh...!¡¯


    gary looked straight ahead with teary eyes. he had been taught martial arts and even cleared a dungeon, so he had thought he was pretty strong...


    ***


    unlike the hunters who were in charge of the lanes, the ones who freely roamed around the dungeon and hunted monsters outside lanes had it a bit better. they could go around looking for monsters throughout the dungeon without meeting opponents.


    thump!


    rebecca fired the fist technique choi yeonseung had taught her at the monster.


    ¡®amazing!¡¯


    rebecca was amazed by her power. she could definitely tell that she had gotten overall stronger and that her martial arts power to hit the opponent¡¯s vital points had improved.


    -hey. you¡¯re on your way, right? i swear, if you don¡¯t come to help me after you said you would...


    -uh. yeah, i¡¯m on my way


    rebecca obliterated the monster and hurried to the top lane.


    it didn¡¯t matter whether they won or not. the most important thing was to not upset the a-grade hunter. if she didn¡¯t want to see the a-grade hunter swing a weapon at them after the match, she had to make sure that he would be in a good mood.


    ¡°i¡¯m here!¡±


    ¡°ah, you came? turns out you didn¡¯t need to.¡±


    rebecca laughed inwardly upon hearing choi yeonseung¡¯s words. hunters always said the same things during matches. since they cared a lot about their reputation, they always said things like ¡®oh, you really didn¡¯t need to come... now that you¡¯re here, there¡¯s nothing i can do about it!¡¯


    ¡°where is the opponent?¡±


    ¡°i just killed it.¡±


    ¡°i see... huh? really?¡±


    ¡°why would i lie?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    rebecca was bewildered. of course, hunters often bumped into each other and defeated the opponent. however, their opponents for this match were the household members sent by a constellation.


    now that the constellation was sending out increasingly stronger opponents, it was hard to believe that choi yeonseung, who didn¡¯t know how to properly play in the ssl, had defeated the opponent by himself.


    ¡®he really isn¡¯t lying...?¡¯


    even so, it seemed unlikely that an a-grade hunter like choi yeonseung would lie to her.


    -cough... cough! help me! please!


    -you owe me twenty thousand dollars and you do this? really?! you¡¯re a monster if you don¡¯t come down this time.


    there were urgent rescue calls from the middle and bottom lanes.


    rebecca replied in a dumbfounded manner.


    -hey. stop making a fuss!


    -we¡¯re not making a fuss!! we really are going to die! change the position! you take care of this place! the constellation brought crazy bastards this time.


    -hunter choi yeonseung has dealt with the top lane by himself. what are you...


    -...what? really?


    -yes! a player with virtually no experience can manage his lane by himself, so how the hell are you guys struggling so much?


    -n-no...


    choi yeonseung called out to rebecca as he was destroying the remaining monsters. ¡°you still look very weak... why don¡¯t you kill the rest of the ones here?¡±


    ¡°ah, no need. it¡¯s okay!¡±


    one had to kill monsters if they wanted to rapidly gain more strength.


    they were colleagues, but if she killed a monster that another person was trying to kill, she risked getting backstabbed by that person.


    ¡°no, you should kill it. there is a slight difference between me and my opponent anyway...¡±


    ¡°t-thank you.¡±


    rebecca easily defeated the monsters that had already been overpowered by choi yeonseung and gained experience. afterwards, she tilted her head. she was thankful but...


    was it okay for her to do this??

 Chapter 271

    chapter 271


    rebecca had planned from the get-go to treat choi yeonseung well, but wasn¡¯t he favoring her now? if other hunters had seen it, they would¡¯ve reprimanded and asked her, ¡°what exactly are you doing?¡±


    ¡°wait. you shouldn¡¯t telegraph your punches like that. you have to read the opponent¡¯s movements and punch according to that.¡±


    ¡°why are you using footwork so much? this skill consumes internal energy. it might use less internal energy than magic, but that doesn¡¯t mean you should use it for no reason. you should only use it when necessary. watch your opponent¡¯s movements carefully. if you manage to read their movements, you can defeat them with minimal effort.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t just keep your opponent in check. it¡¯s a waste of internal energy. use tricks. you can fool your opponent by just pretending.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung delivered a full-on lecture on martial arts. as a master of martial arts, he could immediately point out what rebecca needed to work on.


    with every correction, rebecca realized how inefficiently she had been using her martial arts. it was a great opportunity... could she really do this?


    ¡°i-i came here to help rather than killing the monsters in other places. i should go.¡±


    ¡°really? you still look so weak.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    rebecca felt humiliated, but she couldn¡¯t respond. she thought she had increased her strength by quickly killing the monsters around her, but it still felt insufficient compared to choi yeonseung.


    choi yeonseung had killed monsters while also fighting his opponent!


    ¡®it¡¯s still early in the match... how did he manage to grow so much?¡¯


    ¡°uh... it¡¯s actually normal for this stage of the match.¡±


    ¡°ah. is that so?¡±


    since choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know much about the game, he nodded at rebecca¡¯s words.


    come to think of it, there were still a lot of things he didn¡¯t know about the ssl. sure, he had participated in the constellation battle in the united kingdom, but all he had really done was following adaquaniel¡¯s instructions...


    as for the demon clan, they had been such a mess that choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t known how to save them from defeat.


    ¡®now i¡¯m actually worried whether this match is going well.¡¯


    as he remembered his experience with the demon clan, choi yeonseung asked rebecca, ¡°are the others doing well right now?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    rebecca¡¯s heart sank at this question


    ¡®w...what does he mean? what should i do?¡¯


    before the match had started, she had firmly made up her mind not to upset choi yeonseung. she just hadn¡¯t expected this situation...


    choi yeonseung was playing by himself in the top lane while everyone else was falling behind. she had thought that they would have to help choi yeonseung, not the other way around...


    if choi yeonseung found out what the situation was, wouldn¡¯t he become furious and try to kill them instead of the monsters?


    choi yeonseung gave her a quizzical look and asked, ¡°...what are you hiding? speak now.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung had been in the abyss for too long not to notice that rebecca was hiding something. his voice was stern, which caused rebecca to shudder. she hesitantly said, ¡°well... they¡¯re... it¡¯s possible that they¡¯re struggling just a bit...?¡±


    ¡°things like that can happen. why were you scared of telling me that?¡±


    ¡®is he reacting like this because he doesn¡¯t know the details...?¡¯


    rebecca would¡¯ve been extremely furious if she had been doing well in the top lane by herself, only for the other lanes to drag her down. other hunters would¡¯ve felt the same way.


    choi yeonseung thought about it while dealing with a monster, then he suggested, ¡°are there other areas where the situation is bad?¡±


    ¡°well, you could call it bad, but it¡¯s not that bad. it really isn¡¯t... uhm... it¡¯s just inherently complicated and there are many factors. i don¡¯t know when we can turn things around...¡±


    ¡°just get to the point.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry. i think we¡¯re getting pushed back.¡±


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t i go and help them?¡±


    choi yeonseung remembered how poor the combat skills of the demon clan were. he had fought alone in that match, and by the time he realized what the situation was, the match had already ended because their main camp had been destroyed.


    this was a constellation battle where several people fought together. he had to offer some kind of support.


    rebecca wondered, ¡°you¡¯re going to move to help...?¡±


    ¡°yeah. why?¡±


    ¡°uh...¡±


    for a moment, rebecca wondered if this was some sort of trick. normally, hunters didn¡¯t like moving more than it was necessary, especially if they were doing well in their own lane. the moment they moved from their lane to help one of their teammates, the enemy they had been fighting in the lane would gain an advantage over them...


    he moved so fast and wildly that bruce lost sight of him for a moment.


    kuaaack?


    the ice troll seemed startled by choi yeonseung¡¯s sudden appearance behind him. it quickly swung a pillar of ice, trying to knock choi yeonseung down. it was easy to be fooled by a troll¡¯s size and assume it was slow. however, trolls were actually surprisingly fast.


    the huge troll was quite muscular and its body radiated an insane amount of magic power. on top of that, the cold air from this area made the troll several times stronger.


    bruce couldn¡¯t help closing his eyes.


    ¡®we¡¯re done for...!¡¯


    choi yeonseung had underestimated the opponent and recklessly rushed in.


    a high-ranking hunter had made a mistake just like that. in the ssl, there had been a surprising number of cases of hunters getting defeated because they rushed at their enemies without realizing how weak they were.


    kuaaack!


    however, the scream came from the troll, not from choi yeonseung. the troll screamed and took a step back. the ice pillar it wielded was stuck in the cold spirit. the cold spirit made a noise expressing its annoyance and reprimanded the troll.


    the situation was clear. the troll panicked and tried to say it wasn¡¯t intentional, but choi yeonseung had just begun his attack.


    choi yeonseung had changed the trajectory of the troll¡¯s flying attack and redirected it to the cold spirit. he then immediately delivered a sharp blow to one of the troll¡¯s legs. the ice troll had terrifyingly great regeneration powers, but choi yeonseung¡¯s internal energy attack bypassed those regeneration powers and inflicted damage on the troll.


    the troll cried again in pain and fell to its knees. the more powerful a household member was, the more vulnerable they were to this kind of pain they had never felt before.


    [the cold spirit is compressing magic power in an explosive manner!]


    the cold spirit pulled out the ice pillar and moved to help the troll. realizing that choi yeonseung was a threat, it tried casting powerful magic. choi yeonseung fired energy without looking back. the palm energy scorched the surroundings as it shot towards the cold spirit. upon being hit by the palm energy, the cold spirit staggered and was unable to concentrate on casting magic.


    ¡°what? why aren¡¯t you moving?¡±


    ¡°...ah. yes! i¡¯m going now!¡±


    bruce came to his senses and raised his spear. he had been previously distracted by choi yeonseung¡¯s impressive feat of overpowering two enemies by himself.


    ¡®what am i doing?¡¯


    bruce reproached himself while casting magic and using martial arts. the two opponents were distracted by choi yeonseung, so they had no way of blocking bruce¡¯s attacks. the magic-infused spear released an explosion, inflicting damage on the cold spirit.


    the cold spirit was visibly infuriated by the attack.


    kuaaack...


    this weak hunter...


    ¡°!!¡±


    the troll seemed to realize that it had to deal with the weak one first.


    bruce freaked out when the eyes of the cold spirit fell on him.


    ¡°run back!¡±


    choi yeonseung immediately grabbed bruce by the arm and threw him back. the attacks of the two enemies violently landed right where bruce had just been a second ago.


    kuoock!


    the cold spirit and the troll glared fiercely at choi yeonseung after he helped bruce evade their attacks.


    ***


    once he gained the upper hand, choi yeonseung never let go. this time as well, he fought until the end, knocking down his two opponents and ending up as the clear winner.


    ¡°thank you!¡± bruce exclaimed in a heartfelt voice. he was deeply impressed by the fight that had just transpired before his own eyes.


    ¡°is this enough?¡±


    ¡°yes! i¡¯ve grown a lot thanks to you...¡±


    -if you have time, come to the bottom lane!


    -the bottom lane isn¡¯t the problem! those bastards are coming this way! i think they¡¯re going to group up!


    ¡°...i¡¯m sorry, but could you come with me?¡±


    ¡°why are you speaking so politely all of a sudden? it¡¯s not that difficult for me to help, so you don¡¯t need to speak like that.¡±


    ¡°i understand. at any rate, i think right now there¡¯s a fight in the bottom lane...¡±


    ¡°if i stop it once, you all can take care of the rest, right?¡±


    ¡°...perhaps... i think so?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung was suddenly getting nervous. did he have to keep doing this?

 Chapter 272

    chapter 272


    the moment choi yeonseung and bruce joined them, the two clan hunters who had been struggling so far let out a cheer of joy.


    ¡°quickly! come quickly! i¡¯m on the verge of dying. what the hell took you so long?!¡±


    ¡°watch what you¡¯re saying, you fool! hunter choi yeonseung is here as well!¡±


    ¡°gasp..! i¡¯m sorry!¡±


    the hunters who had been getting their asses kicked quickly came to their senses after hearing that choi yeonseung was also here and hastily apologized. even though the enemies in front of them used terrifyingly powerful skills, they were still more afraid of this a-grade hunter.


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded by the sight.¡°you don¡¯t have to apologize, so focus on the front... wait. there are only two enemies?¡±


    there were clearly only two opponents. since the fight was two against two, the hunters weren¡¯t outnumbered, and yet they were begging for help...?


    ¡°no! there were three!¡±


    ¡°ah. did one of them go somewhere else?¡± choi yeonseung looked around for the third enemy, but he couldn¡¯t see anyone else. perhaps the third enemy had retreated far away or had used skills that choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know about.


    ¡®i have to be careful.¡¯


    ¡°no, there were three on our side!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    burce covered his face in embarrassment.


    ¡®these pathetic bastards...!¡¯


    there was no shame in looking weak in front of an a-grade hunter, but even so, weren¡¯t they being absolutely pathetic? they had lost three versus two... one of them had even managed to die...


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, it didn¡¯t use to be like this, but the opponents the constellation has brought today are stronger than any of us have expected. their skills are also strange, so we couldn¡¯t predict it...¡±


    bruce let out a steady stream of excuses without realizing it. even he was surprised. ¡®was i this good at making excuses?¡¯


    choi yeonseung interrupted him, ¡°i didn¡¯t ask. get ready to fight.¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    choi yeonseung sighed once and quickly moved to take the opponent¡¯s rear. there was no way they were going to lose four against two, so he wanted to block the opponent¡¯s escape path.


    ¡°wait...! we have to move together!¡±


    the other hunters were surprised by choi yeonseung¡¯s approach. no matter how many people their side had, choi yeonseung had moved forward too boldly. the cold spirit seemed to think so as well as it snorted when it saw choi yeonseung.


    kuoooh!


    [the ¡®arrogant light elf¡¯ scolds the cold spirit, telling it not to look down on the a-grade hunter.]


    a constellation unexpectedly scolded the cold spirit. choi yeonseung initiated his attack before the cold spirit could even be baffled by the scolding.


    ¡°!¡±


    he moved quickly, creating shadows and completely taking control of the surroundings. each one had a hot energy, so the cold spirit couldn¡¯t properly avoid them.


    the ice drake rushed in to help its teammate, but choi yeonseung blocked it using his other hand. he extended his finger and shot a bullet of internal energy. the power itself wasn¡¯t that strong, but the attack was directed at the legs of the ice drake with terrifying precision, intimidating the ice drake and causing it to halt its movements. that was enough for choi yeonseung to manage to kill the cold spirit by ripping open its chest.


    ¡®amazing...!¡¯


    ¡®is he even playing the same game as us?¡¯


    choi yeonseung¡¯s attack had definitely been amazing, but it was something else that impressed the hunters. choi yeonseung was playing the same game as them and growing at the same speed, but he was the only one going on a rampage by himself. it was like he hadn¡¯t received any restrictions.


    anyone looking at him would¡¯ve thought that he had started the game with his original strength.


    ¡°hey.¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    the hunters came to their senses and looked up when choi yeonseung called them. they had completely forgotten about their silly plan of taking care of choi yeonseung so he wouldn¡¯t complain. what instructions was choi yeonseung about to give?


    ¡®i¡¯m sure he¡¯s about to tell us about the weaknesses of the enemy.¡¯


    ¡®certainly... their skills are overpowered, but surely they must have some weaknesses.¡¯


    ¡®maybe he¡¯s going to tell us how to position ourselves? the enemy has pushed this lane quite a lot. if we give up on this one and leave for another lane...¡¯


    however, choi yeonseung¡¯s words went against the hunters¡¯ expectations.


    ¡°...aren¡¯t you going to help?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry!¡±


    [the ¡®hound of instinct and liberation¡¯ constellation feels sorry for you.]


    ***


    why was she...?


    choi yeonseung was flustered seeing that the observer constellation showed a strange interest in him. of course, it wasn¡¯t strange for a constellation to be interested in a human. it was even more unsurprising if that constellation was generally interested in human society like the observer constellation. however...


    ¡®it¡¯s strangely suspicious.¡¯


    in any case, he didn¡¯t really have any issues with stating his plans. most of them were probably already known.


    ¡°there will soon be a raid on an s-grade dungeon. i have to be there to clear it.¡±


    [the ¡®observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ says she will support you, so she advises you to treat her household member well.]


    ¡°household? who is your household member?¡±


    ***


    surprisingly, the household member of the constellation was someone who choi yeonseung already knew.it was illeya vsevolodovna of the icarus clan.


    choi yeonseung was surprised.¡°were you a spy?!¡±


    ¡°...i think your words are too harsh...¡± said illeya with a hurt expression.


    what did he mean by ¡®spy¡¯?


    ¡°ah, i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°legally, i¡¯m allowed to follow this constellation.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    the observer who returned from a cold place was a neutral constellation, not an evil god constellation.


    illeya continued, ¡°it¡¯s banned in russia, but...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°hey, many things are banned in russia, so it doesn¡¯t mean anything!¡±


    ¡°is that so? i thought russia was more broad-minded when it came to banning things.¡±


    choi yeonseung searched through his memories.


    dictatorships like china or russia had been making a lot of dangerous experiments with magic. choi yeonseung remembered several controversial topics, such as ¡®the research scandal regarding the use of lethal magic on the human body¡¯, ¡®testing magic drugs on minorities¡¯, and ¡®the legalization of banned magic¡¯, and so on.


    ¡°however, many things are banned, such as low-potency vodka or democracy...¡±


    ¡°...stop making such jokes that are hard to respond to. of course, the icarus clan hunters will be mobilized, but they probably won¡¯t be in the frontlines, right?¡±


    choi yeonseung and hwang gyeongryong weren¡¯t some kind of evil leaders. they wouldn¡¯t put the icarus clan, which mainly consisted of b-grade hunters, in the front lines. they were going to assign the icarus hunters to stay in the back to provide support and pick off any straggling monsters.


    illeya¡¯s talent was highly regarded, but she was still only b-grade.


    [the ¡®observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ says not to worry. she says that illeya is a vessel through which her power will descend.]


    ¡°...!¡±


    a descent. just as the goddess of balance had descended by borrowing adaquaniel¡¯s body, a constellation could borrow the bodies of their household members in order to make an appearance on earth. these household members were usually...


    ¡®i guess she has a higher position than i thought.¡¯


    ...they were the ones that the constellation really trusted. otherwise, it would be uncomfortable in many ways when the constellation descended.


    ¡®i didn¡¯t pay much attention to her because she¡¯s only b-grade and she¡¯s not that famous. i¡¯ll have to be careful with her in the future.¡¯


    in fact, within the clan, illeya was still easy to deal with as a hunter. she wasn¡¯t crazy about money and wasn¡¯t selfish, so she naturally wasn¡¯t troublesome at all. the only peculiar thing about her was the fact that she liked korean culture, but that wasn¡¯t a problem.


    however, the fact that she was the household member of a different constellation changed things.


    illeya asked, ¡°...why are you suddenly backing away?¡±


    ¡°what? i¡¯m not backing away. you¡¯re just imagining it.¡±


    [the ¡®observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ says not to treat her household member poorly.]


    ¡°i have a slight cold, so i¡¯m trying to protect your household member.¡±


    [the ¡®observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ sternly demands that you reduce the distance between you and her household member before she makes a formal complaint to your constellation.]


    ***


    ¡°ohh...! thank you for supporting us like this...¡±


    the us deputy minister of homeland security sighed with relief at hwang gyeongryong¡¯s response. fortunately, the lunatic chairman seemed to be satisfied.


    ¡°...are you really trying to piss me off right now??? if you don¡¯t call the minister right away, i¡¯ll cut off your head and hang it as a trophy on the first floor of my company building!!¡±


    ¡°i-i¡¯m really sorry!¡±

 Chapter 273

    chapter 273


    instead of creating a separate department for raid-related matters, the us had established several new bureaus and agencies under the department of homeland security.


    there had been various reports in relation to hunters: dungeons ranked a-grade and higher had been discovered; a former hunter was on the run after committing serial murder; a clan had been researching suspicious magic, which had eventually led to a disaster, destroying a large area...


    from the perspective of those from the department of homeland security, who already had to take care of a vast area, it was understandable that they urgently wanted to take care of all the hunter-related cases that had accumulated since the emergence of the gate.


    but this had nothing to do with those cases.


    hwang gyeongryong had come forward to take care of an s-grade dungeon, but the minister hadn¡¯t even bothered to show up himself and instead sent a vice minister to do the work. hwang gyeongryong was seething.


    ¡°dragon hwang! let go of his hand!¡¯


    ¡°...deputy minister. are these guys new?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was dumbfounded by the way the bodyguards of the deputy minister addressed him. from the looks of it, they were c-grade or b-grade hunters at most. they also knew very well that hwang gyeongryong was an s-grade hunter. perhaps that was the reason why they looked so nervous.


    ¡°i guess you believe in your artifacts. kids, is it a taser gun with magic interference?¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    the bodyguards were baffled by how quickly hwang gyeongryong figured out what artifacts they used. the equipment used by the employees of the department of homeland security were state-of-the-art magic engineering equipment developed in a secret government laboratory. it was only natural to use such equipment because they did a lot of hunter-related work.


    nevertheless, hwang gyeongryong had figured it out without even a glance. he clicked his tongue, thinking they were pathetic. ¡°so stupid... do you think only government laboratories study such things? i guess you¡¯re unaware that corporate laboratories are ten years ahead of the times.¡±


    raid-related companies had grown to a tremendous level. in addition to the technology they put on the market, they were also researching other technologies in secrecy.


    they were researching new various kinds of magic and artifacts, which were mainly given to the top hunters in the clan and to a few wealthy people who had invested large sums of money.


    ¡°that kind of technology came out a few years ago. if you want to shoot, then shoot. it won¡¯t work.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°so you won¡¯t shoot? well, you made the right call. how much money do they give you? two million dollars? three million? no matter what your salary is, i don¡¯t think it¡¯s ever going to surpass that. if you aim those taser guns at the deputy minister right now, i¡¯ll give you double that and scout you.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°make that triple!¡±


    hearing that, the bodyguards instantly shifted their guns and aimed them at the deputy minister. hwang gyeongryong was already holding the deputy by the collar, choking him. now that the bodyguards also turned against the deputy by pointing their guns at him, he couldn¡¯t help but whimper.


    hwang gyeongryong sneered.


    ¡°d-dragon hwang.¡±


    ¡°hey. give me a taser.¡±


    ¡°p-please!¡±


    ¡°it was a joke. lower your guns. what¡¯s wrong with you?¡±


    the deputy minister was the most influential person, in charge of a department that was at the top of the country¡¯s executive branch. he had nothing to fear except the minister. furthermore, that organization wasn¡¯t full of clueless people. he was the deputy minister of the department of homeland security, an organization with actual power and influence. but rather than explaining how great of a person he was, the deputy minister simply tried to gain hwang gyeongryong¡¯s sympathy by shedding tears.


    ¡°cough, cough...¡± thank you.¡±


    ¡°call the minister. if you don¡¯t call him, i¡¯ll slam you through one of the floors of this building.¡±


    ¡°t-the minister is currently attending a meeting hosted by the president.¡±


    ¡°bring him here when it¡¯s over. you also have to explain why you¡¯re only allocating this much money for the s-grade dungeon raid.¡±


    ¡°dragon hwang, you know the reason! you don¡¯t know how important public opinion is these days... w-we can¡¯t allocate more money than the standard.¡±


    taking care of dungeons had always been an unprofitable business. if they sealed it off well, they were criticized for spending an exorbitant amount of money. if they didn¡¯t properly seal it, they were criticized for not doing it right.


    however, it was foolish not to properly prepare for this dungeon because of such worries. moreover, hadn¡¯t choi yeonseung told hwang gyeongryong about his foreboding vision?


    hwang gyeongryong told the deputy minister, ¡°you have to invest three times as much. we need to estimate the damage being double the usual and evacuate everyone.¡±


    ¡°they¡¯re going to curse us into oblivion if we do that! you know that the elections are right around the corner. the congress will never allow it. p-please...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong frowned. both the democrat-republican party, which was now in power, and the liberal federalist party, the opposing party seeking to take control, had very good relations with hwang gyeongryong. no person that did business in the united states was foolish enough to side with only one political party.


    however, hwang gyeongryong preferred the democrat-republican party that was now in power. given that he was close with george, the current president, it was convenient in many ways.


    ¡®should i back off?¡¯


    the budget itself wasn¡¯t small. however, in order to make the whole operation safer, he wanted to widen the evacuation area and further reinforce the encirclement. if they started the operation with the current allocated budget, any monster that unexpectedly broke through the siege would cause a catastrophic number of civilian casualties.


    rutherford, where the dungeon was located, was relatively close to new york and washington...


    however, seeing the deputy minister talk like this, hwang gyeongryong clicked his tongue as he realized it couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡°okay. i¡¯ll take a step back.¡±


    ¡°thank you!¡±


    ***


    ¡°...so you didn¡¯t get the required budget?¡± said choi yeonseung with a contemptuous look.


    hwang gyeongryong was quite embarrassed.


    ¡°t-this... it¡¯s not like i can threaten them with violence. it has to be passed by congress...¡±


    ¡°so?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m saying that they only like rich people. why should they take care of the people who live here? they won¡¯t even be able to see it.¡±


    the moment choi yeonseung and hwang gyeongryong walked in with several escort hunters, the people hanging around the town cast them looks of disdain. the only difference between korean gangsters and us gangsters was that the latter would take out their guns and pull the trigger.


    however, the people who came here weren¡¯t ordinary people either.


    ¡°lower your eyes. if you don¡¯t, i¡¯ll rip your head off and stick it up your butt.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    perhaps they felt hwang gyeongryong¡¯s blatant killing intent, but the gangsters wandering around avoided their gazes.


    choi yeonseung said with a weary expression, ¡°isn¡¯t it a bit weird to say that?¡±


    ¡°why? it worked out well.¡±


    ¡°those words would¡¯ve worked in south korea thirty years ago...¡±


    choi yeonseung decided to stop talking and get to work. he went to the nearest house and knocked on the door. the house looked dilapidated, but there were signs of life inside.


    ¡°who is it?¡±


    ¡°in case you don¡¯t know, an s-grade dungeon has been discovered and there¡¯s an evacuation order...¡±


    spit!


    the old man on the other side spat. it was quite a stubborn attitude.


    ¡°bah. i¡¯ll start here.¡±


    choi yeonseung flicked his fingers. then the bodyguards behind him pulled out their bags.


    the old man was frightened and flinched.


    ¡®don¡¯t... don¡¯t tell me... are they going to kill me?¡¯


    however, the hunters took out something unexpected from the bags. it was a bundle of money.choi yeonseung placed the bundle of money into the man¡¯s hand.


    ¡°are you going to follow the evacuation order now?¡±


    ¡°...right. if the government tells us to evacuate then i shall comply. i¡¯m a patriot!¡±


    "that¡¯s what i thought. hey, i¡¯ll help you pack your things.¡±


    the power of money was great. even these people, who grumbled at the sight of hunters, became patriots when they received stacks of cash.


    ¡°is this really money? there¡¯s no way the government would give us money to evacuate!¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s why i¡¯m the one giving you the money.¡±


    ¡°...are you crazy?!¡±


    ¡°will you shut up and take the money, or do you want this ¡®crazy¡¯ guy to knock you out and take the money away?¡±


    ¡°n-no. i¡¯m going. i¡¯m going.¡±


    older people were relatively easy to persuade, but the youth were money-hungry bastards.


    "get lost,¡± spat a gangster-looking guy as he declined the money.


    ¡°don¡¯t you want the money?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sure it¡¯s counterfeit.¡±


    ¡°you can check it.¡±


    ¡°nonsense. i won¡¯t know even if i check it. get lost. there must be some shady plot going on. remove those people and get the hell out of here.¡±


    bam.


    choi yeonseung knocked him out cold with a punch.


    ¡°hey, drag him out of here and put a bundle of money in his pocket.¡±


    ¡°why give them money if you were just going to do this?¡±


    ¡°he would¡¯ve received the money had he played nice.¡±


    choi yeonseung walked around the village, pulled people out of their houses, and beat them up. in less than an hour, he had caught and evicted everyone. the gangsters, who had been knocked out and tied with ropes, were shocked when they woke up.


    what was this guy doing??


    ¡°i-isn¡¯t that an a-grade hunter?¡±


    ¡°what are you saying? what could an a-grade hunter be doing here?¡±


    ¡°the one next to him looks like an s-grade hunter...¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re out of your mind... what, are you going to tell me next that there¡¯s a constellation among them?¡±

 Chapter 274

    chapter 274


    it was obvious that hunters who would come to a village like this to deal with civilians weren¡¯t that highly regarded.


    they were d-grade, no, even d-grade hunters wouldn¡¯t do this either. so it must be lower than that?


    did it make sense for an a-grade hunter to come to a place like this, scatter money and issue an evacuation order?


    ¡°...that¡¯s right, you son of a bitch!¡±


    ¡°?!?!¡±


    but no matter how absurd it was, it took less than 30 minutes for the truth to be revealed.


    how could the identities of a-grade hunters not be found?


    they did a search on their phones and the same face immediately came up.


    originally, they would¡¯ve been shocked that they had been attacked by an a-grade hunter, but the situation was so absurd that they weren¡¯t afraid.


    ¡°why are you doing this to us?¡±


    ¡°what are you up to? where are you going to take us? are you going to do human experiments?¡±


    the gangsters strongly argued since they were going to die anyway.


    hwang gyeongryong¡¯s subordinate hunter spoke like he was dumbfounded, ¡°we said that we are evacuating you because there is an s-grade dungeon.¡±


    ¡°hey! don¡¯t talk nonsense! what crazy guy would give us money to evacuate?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the hunters were at a loss for words.


    it was hard to refute logically.


    honestly, even they thought it was overly suspicious and weird.


    it would be better for hunters to come and say...


    -hey, a dungeon is opening nearby. get lost. we have to hunt. rewards? there is no such thing. if you don¡¯t want to be beaten, get out of town. don¡¯t forget that you have to leave beyond half a day¡¯s distance because it will disturb us. i¡¯m saying this in case you don¡¯t know, but if you tell the press and bother us, you will all be buried in the same cemetery. do you understand?


    ...if that was the case, the villagers would say, ¡®ah, these are hunters!¡¯ and believed it.


    however, if an a-grade hunter came to them and gave them money to evacuate, they would be so suspicious that they couldn¡¯t help getting goosebumps.


    what evil purpose did he have for doing this???


    ***


    ¡°...???¡±


    ¡°?????¡±


    the people who were guided to a hotel run by a dragon industry business looked around in amazement.


    ¡°aha. i understand! you bastards. the plan is to lock us up in this hotel and not let us out!¡±


    ¡°...you are free to come and go as you please.¡±


    the hunter in charge of the management said patiently.


    ¡°don¡¯t talk nonsense! it is clear that you are going to kill us if we leave after you say so!¡±


    ¡°ah. you bastards are really... get lost!¡±


    the hunters ran out of patience, so they grabbed the gangsters by the collar and threw them outside.


    if they went outside for a few hours, they would believe it even if they didn¡¯t like it.


    ¡°...?!?!¡±


    the people were forced to admit it only after checking that the bills they received weren¡¯t counterfeit, they didn¡¯t have tracking devices on their bodies and that they weren¡¯t monitored.


    this was really just an evacuation order.


    ¡°t... this is ridiculous...!¡±


    ***


    ¡°evacuate...¡±


    ¡°are you really giving us money?¡±


    ¡°hey.¡±


    choi yeonseung signaled behind him. just like he had done again and again, a bundle of money came out.


    the old man exclaimed, ¡°so the rumors were true! you are really giving us compensation in order to evacuate!¡±


    ¡°what? were there rumors circulating?¡±


    this might be the fourth time, but choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t expected rumors to circulate already. he was puzzled.


    hwang gyeongryong sighed from next to him. ¡°yeonseung, these days, information is spread through social media every time you do something...¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t treat me like an old person even though you are older than me.¡±


    ¡°you son of a bitch... wait. speaking of which, aren¡¯t you older than me...?¡±


    choi yeonseung changed the subject. ¡°now, evacuate this way.¡±


    "i really thank you, hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    the man thanked him with tears in his eyes.


    it was surprising that clan hunters came and gave an evacuation order that wasn¡¯t issued by the government, but it was really unheard of for a hunter to pay for it with their own money.


    it was to the point where some people checked it over and over again, asking, ¡®do we have to repay this with interest?¡¯


    however, the shock was only great in the beginning. as they traveled around several times and more people evacuated, people slowly started to accept it.


    he didn¡¯t want to make the chinese people collapse while holding the back of their necks from shock.


    ¡°now, dragon hwang. can i ask you a few questions?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    they had just walked in when a reporter approached hwang gyeongryong with a lot of enthusiasm and asked a question.


    the nearby hunters were frightened and tried to get the reporter to back off.


    they knew very well that hwang gyeongryong hated questions from reporters.


    it wasn¡¯t just one or two occasions when he blew up at reporters who touched his temper...


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    however, hwang gyeongryong allowed it surprisingly easily. all the hunters around him were surprised.


    would hwang gyeongryong allow such a request?


    ¡°i heard that choi yeonseung evacuated a wider range than the evacuation zone set by the government. what do you think about this?¡±


    ¡°what do i think, you idiot...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong paused while speaking.


    choi yeonseung had built up a good image by doing good deeds. he couldn¡¯t ruin it.


    ¡°...he did that because he was a bit anxious.¡±


    ¡°so he couldn¡¯t believe the government¡¯s announcement?¡±


    ¡°hey. throw this bastard out.¡±


    the moment hwang gyeongryong¡¯s impatient words came out, the hunters rushed in and dragged the reporter away.


    the reporter screamed in surprise and asked for help from his surroundings, but the other reporters averted their gazes.


    compared to hwang gyeongryong, choi yeonseung was at the level of an angel.


    he answered the question while cursing at them but he didn¡¯t kill them.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung! i heard that you used private money to evacuate people in the evacuation area. it is very touching. these days, most hunters we hear about are selfish and greedy. a hunter like choi yeonseung is...¡±


    bam!


    ¡°all those who aren¡¯t going to ask about the raid should get lost.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    perhaps it was because they belonged to the same company but hwang gyeongryong and choi yeonseung had similar dirty personalities.


    the reporters exchanged looks with each other while looking fed up.


    ***


    gilbert gerrity, the a-grade hunter of the weston shields, crossed his arms and glared in the direction of dragon industry.


    joseph grant, an a-grade hunter from england, checked the artifacts and asked, ¡°do you have some bad feelings toward them?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve been hit by that guy once.¡±


    gerrity gritted his teeth.


    he was closely related to the parker family so he couldn¡¯t get along with choi yeonseung, who was on dragon industry¡¯s side.


    it wasn¡¯t just that.


    last time when he went to deal with the monster that broke out on the korean side, he developed a bad relationship with choi yeonseung.


    he thought he gained the upper hand by stealing prey from choi yeonseung and the korean hunters. then he was humiliated when it was found that one of gerrity¡¯s men had signed with an evil god constellation.


    it was humiliating for the prideful gerrity.


    ¡°...?¡±


    joseph was puzzled by this.


    ¡®isn¡¯t this something to be thankful for?¡¯


    he would be grateful if he found out that one of his subordinates had signed a contract with an evil god constellation...


    ¡°grant. you must have a grudge as well.¡±


    ¡°ahh.¡±


    joseph nodded.


    in fact, it wasn¡¯t even a grudge.


    it was during the 1st abyss gate raid.


    joseph relentlessly sacrificed manpower in order to get the credit for clearing the territory.


    then things took an unexpected turn and it was choi yeonseung who earned that honor.


    his master, the iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield, strongly reprimanded him and joseph reflected on it.


    gerrity continued, ¡°besides, he is ruling the united kingdom with the power of his constellation! doesn¡¯t that make you angry as an englishman?¡±


    ¡®it doesn¡¯t really matter...¡¯


    joseph wasn¡¯t a patriot obsessed with england. he just wanted power.


    but joseph just nodded. he had to keep pace with gerrity first.

 Chapter 275

    chapter 275


    ¡°it seems like you¡¯re getting more and more angry.¡±


    ¡°i guess so, grant. i have no choice but to be angry.¡±


    ¡°well, since you want to get revenge so badly, you must¡¯ve already found his weaknesses, right?¡±


    the iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield valued tactics and strategy. the household members of this constellation had to think strategically and come up with tactics according to the personality of their master.


    ¡°it¡¯s hardly a weakness. he¡¯s got such a soft spot for this that it''s rather hard to believe,¡± replied gerrity while patting his chest. ¡°i don¡¯t know if it¡¯s hypocrisy or weakness... you saw it this time, right? evacuating people.¡±


    ¡°yeah, i saw it.¡±


    ¡°what a funny guy! it doesn¡¯t matter what it is. hypocrisy or sincerity, it¡¯s still a weakness.¡±


    gerrity thought that choi yeonseung was an old man who was behind the times. choi yeonseung was a first-generation hunter, so it was natural that he worried about civilian casualties and tried to take safety measures before the raids.


    ¡°he doesn¡¯t care about civilians just because he¡¯s a first-generation hunter. that¡¯s just a common misconception.¡±


    ¡°who asked?¡±


    ¡°sorry... i just pointed it out.¡±


    gerrity was annoyed by joseph¡¯s remark. it wasn¡¯t like he said he wanted to know the truth about first-generation hunters. joseph just opened his mouth without being asked...


    ¡°so how are you going to target that weakness?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s easy. if we tamper with the civilians, he won¡¯t be able to focus on the raid because he¡¯ll be too busy helping them.¡±


    in any case, gerrity was an experienced a-grade hunter, so he managed to come up with an efficient strategy to disrupt choi yeonseung.


    despite the fact that choi yeonseung and the employees of dragon industry had ordered an evacuation and sent people out, there were still many civilians around the dungeon site. even excluding the reporters who had come to cover the raid, there were still too many people.


    people had gathered to see the monsters that would come out of the s-grade dungeon!


    citizens were generally excited for monsters ranked e or d-grade, so there was no way people were going to miss a raid on an s-grade dungeon.


    -whoa.i hope these ones are stronger than the torch dragon from china.


    -that¡¯s too dangerous...i hope it¡¯s a torch dragon.when will i see something like that again in my life?hey, come over here.this spot offers a great view on the dungeon.


    in addition to these people, there were many individuals who didn¡¯t have the slightest sense of danger and fear. those people would run toward the dungeon the first chance they had.


    gerrity declared, ¡°this raid will be my stage, not theirs.¡±


    ¡°yes, and i¡¯ll help you.¡±


    in addition to repaying the investment he had received from the parker family, joseph planned to help gerrity with this raid. however...


    ¡®i doubt it will really work.¡¯


    from joseph¡¯s perspective, choi yeonseung was a great strategist. he wasn¡¯t just a righteous and soft individual.


    ¡®the abyss raid proves that.¡¯


    [the ¡®iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield¡¯ is warning you to beware of that mortal.]


    in fact, his constellation was saying the same thing.


    the strategy choi yeonseung had used to win the abyss gate raid last time was terrifying. as other hunters had been moving in a hurry, choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t hesitated to help injured and exhausted hunters. he had brought in hunters who had lost their bases or supplies and helped them for free.


    at first, joseph had thought, ¡®what the hell is this guy doing? is he for real?¡¯


    in the abyss, one had to watch out only for themselves, not help others. moreover, it was standard to sacrifice a hunter¡¯s life in order to gain control of an untouched frontier.


    ...however, choi yeonseung¡¯s eccentric actions had later been revealed.


    once they had lost contact due to an unexpected accident and the hunters had reached exhaustion, the seeds sown by choi yeonseung had borne fruit. even those who normally would never have done anything for other hunters had been moved by choi yeonseung¡¯s words.


    the other a-grade hunters could¡¯ve sabotaged choi yeonseung, but they hadn¡¯t done so.


    it wasn¡¯t until joseph had been hit that he understood. that had been choi yeonseung¡¯s deliberate strategy.


    ''it was a really chilling experience.''


    he had created a strong image of righteousness for himself, then used it to his advantage..


    that wasn¡¯t something that anyone could have done. that became evident when looking at how other hunters, who were considered good people by their fellow hunters, were treated.


    however, choi yeonseung surprisingly managed to control others with his good deeds. it was a terrifying trick that not even joseph had ever thought of! it seemed unlikely that such a shrewd tactician would be outsmarted by gerrity¡¯s scheming.


    wouldn¡¯t gerrity use any excuse to give up on civilians and focus on the raid?


    ¡®but he won¡¯t listen if i tell him this.¡¯


    [the dungeon has collapsed and the world inside has escaped!]


    [the world is eroded!]


    sometimes, when a dungeon collapsed, it wasn¡¯t only the monsters from within, but also the terrain itself that was released upon the world.


    that was the case right now.


    the hunters became extremely nervous as grass and flowers instantly grew on the surrounding barren land. the calm atmosphere also stiffened.


    ¡®the range is wider than i thought!¡¯


    ¡°initiate the attack!¡±


    one by one, without a specific order, the hunters attacked the dungeon with the magic they had prepared. the a-grade hunters, who were considered the nuclear missiles of the squad, unleashed magic attacks with all their might.


    it was a spectacle that could only be described by one word.


    majestic.


    ¡°ohhhh!¡±


    ¡°this...!¡±


    the reporters watching from a distance marveled at the hundreds of colorful spells overlapped with each other in an marvelous manner. even those who frequently spectated raids were bewitched by this spectacle.


    with this impressive firepower, would any monsters even come out of the dungeon?


    the answer was ¡®yes.¡¯


    ¡°monsters came out!¡±


    the moment the dungeon exploded, monsters swarmed from the dungeon in random directions. they were ambushed by the hunters, but these monsters were especially fast. they avoided getting hit by the magic bombardment through various evasion skills or with their defensive skills that made them almost invincible.


    ¡°chimera! chimeras have been detected!¡±


    a chimera¡¯s rating ranged from c to a. this monster was a fusion of several monsters and had a different rating depending on what monster parts it had.


    given the incredible magic power they were exuding, it was fair to say that these chimeras were a-grade.


    ¡°quickly gather information on the monsters and send it to the hunters on the field!¡±


    the us government officials were flying drones and analyzing the situation from behind. everyone was busy trying their best to gather intel on the monsters from the dungeon and send the information to the hunters.


    if the field was the territory of the hunters, then the rear was the territory of the analysts!


    ¡°the a-grade exagosaurus has been discovered! it¡¯s leading an army of piogasaurus! they¡¯re coming from the east and the west, so watch out!¡±


    ¡°the a-grade demiurgos has been discovered! prepare for mental magic! hunters with artifacts that can defend against mental magic should push first!¡±


    the radio incessantly transmitted shouts and screaming. even from where choi yeonseung was standing, they could clearly see the army of monsters.


    ¡°wait.¡± hwang gyeongryong stopped choi yeonseung, looking like he wanted to step forward. ¡°it¡¯s been a while since i¡¯ve shown off my cool side.¡±


    ¡°you don¡¯t have to say stuff like that...¡±


    before choi yeonseung could finish speaking, hwang gyeongryong soared into the air.


    dozens of artifacts were attached to his body, and as they activated, they glowed and cast magic. a distinct type of magic surged from each artifact, combining with each other and resulting in a large quantity of potent magic.


    -amazing!he stuck artifacts to his own body and linked them that way.what an amazing trick!


    even the goddess of sloth was amazed.


    humans, whose scientific and technological prowess had advanced to extreme levels, displayed a very unique way of embracing magic.


    abyssal races that could mass-produce artifacts in such a fashion were extremely rare.


    hwang gyeongryong wiped out the incoming monsters.


    a hunter would normally get tired after several bombardments in a row, but hwang gyeongryong replenished his stamina with a special potion from dragon industry. he seemed to be in peak condition.


    ¡°look, look.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°i told you they would betray us!¡± chen xiezhi angrily pointed to the other side.


    for a moment, choi yeonseung thought that chen xiezhi had lost his mind again, but that wasn¡¯t it.


    ¡°...???¡±


    gilbert gerrity, the a-grade hunter, was attacking other hunters.

 Chapter 276

    chapter 276


    ¡°gerrity, are you crazy?!¡±


    joseph urgently yelled at gerrity, trying to stop him, but he didn¡¯t listen. true to his moniker, the ¡®puppeteer,¡¯ gerrity seized control of the hunters around him, dragging them into battle.


    the hunters of the western shields, just like gerrity, suddenly turned around and attacked other hunters.


    -enhancing strength, hardening skin, mid-ranged magic shield, agile step, keen senses!


    gerrity¡¯s special ability was to make hunters several times more powerful by quickly overlapping enhancement magic under three circles. as an enemy, he was surprisingly cunning and fierce.


    the hunters didn¡¯t get stronger only by a bit. their attacks were now ten times stronger.


    ¡°i can¡¯t take this any longer. we have to deal with them!¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    joseph¡¯s subordinates immediately took out their artifacts at their captain¡¯s command.


    the only hunters under joseph were individuals who swung their weapons at others without hesitation. they were cold-blooded people willing to do anything in order to accomplish their goals!


    the moment the order came out, the hunters under joseph attacked without mercy.


    sparks flew off the blades of the hunters as they clashed, as if magic spells were exploding between them.


    ¡®what are they doing?¡¯


    ¡°have they been affected by mental magic?¡±


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter any more. we have to kill them now!¡± joseph spoke firmly.


    they didn¡¯t know what kind of magic was causing this, but the most urgent problem was that an a-grade hunter had been hit by it.


    if gerrity had fallen victim to the magic of a weak monster, he didn¡¯t deserve to live anyways... it was even more of a problem if he had been affected by a strong monster.


    he had to quickly get rid of this troublesome gerrity in order to deal with that monster. if they didn¡¯t do anything about this, the number of enemy puppets would only increase.


    ***


    ¡®did he make a contract with an evil god constellation?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was taken aback by the scene.


    a fight had suddenly broken out between the hunters on the other side! given the situation, nobody was responding. to be more precise, nobody could respond. two a-grade hunters were leading their subordinates to fight to the death, and there weren¡¯t many people who could step in.


    -he didn¡¯t make a contract with an evil god constellation.


    -that¡¯s right.it was the same the last time i saw him.


    if there had been any household members of an evil god constellation here, the situation would¡¯ve been catastrophic. the moment such household members interfered, many of the a-grade hunters gathered here would get injured or killed.


    both the government officials and choi yeonseung had been aware of this possible scenario, so they had done a thorough background check on everyone beforehand. on top of that, they had also conducted a bunch of tests. besides, wasn¡¯t gerrity an a-grade hunter? he had no reason to make a contract with an evil god constellation.


    ¡°i don¡¯t think anyone will step up. let¡¯s go and kill them!¡± hwang gyeongryong urged firmly.


    hearing this, chen xiezhi replied with great satisfaction, ¡°it¡¯s a very good idea, young man!¡±


    ¡°y-young... my age...¡±


    ¡°huh? why are you acting like this when you¡¯re just a young man?¡±


    this conversation worried choi yeonseung. he obviously couldn¡¯t let this rampage continue. at this rate, not only would one side of the siege collapse, but many hunters would also get injured or killed.


    they had to put an end to it! the problem was...


    ¡®there''s something weird.''


    choi yeonseung¡¯s gut feeling was telling him to not rush in.


    choi yeonseung had become a constellation after hunting many monsters in the abyss, so he knew how difficult it was to deal with monsters.


    all the monsters from the abyss had a variety of unique characteristics. even choi yeonseung could get seriously hurt if he rushed in without knowing what kind of monster he was dealing with.


    ¡®if this isn¡¯t the doing of an evil god constellation, it must be a monster that¡¯s caused this. what type of monster could do this?¡¯


    -the alganto?


    the alganto was a monster that looked like a cephalopod and was considered a-grade on earth. it wasn¡¯t its size and physical strength that made it dangerous, but its skills.


    the monster could control its opponents through the mental waves it emitted.


    hunters unaware of this skill would stab and kill each other in the alganto¡¯s dungeon, leading to a catastrophic amount of damage on the hunters¡¯ side.


    -no.it¡¯s not an alganto¡¯s doing.


    even though the alganto was known for its mental magic, gerrity could¡¯ve definitely blocked it. after all, he had artifacts all over his body...


    -besides, the alganto doesn¡¯t have the ability to hide.


    demiargas was known as ¡®the spirit king.¡¯ it was rare for a monster to receive a moniker with ¡®king¡¯ in it. demiargas hadn¡¯t received this moniker because of his strength or his level, but because of how much damage he had inflicted on the kingdoms of other constellations.


    -he has killed and injured many household members with his skills.he has also inflicted tremendous damage on the kingdoms of many constellations...


    -is he that strong?


    -yes.he doesn¡¯t have the power to directly fight constellations, but he¡¯s strong enough to lay waste to their kingdoms.


    to sum up demaargas¡¯ skills, he was essentially the absolute master of mental skills. the physical strength of an alganto was relatively weak, but it was still considered an a-grade monster due to the one mental magic skill it used.


    in comparison, demiagras could use a dozen more mental magic skills in a much stronger form.


    it didn¡¯t matter if demiagras¡¯ victim was a household member, a subordinate, or anything else. once they fell under his spell, the victim forgot all about their original master and did whatever the spirit king told them to, completely mesmerized by him.


    -the enraged constellations formed an alliance and went as far as to execute him directly.how the hell is he alive?


    -i guess they failed.


    ¡°he¡¯s demiargas. do you know about him?¡±


    choi yeonseung replied, ¡°yeah, i just heard about him.¡±


    ¡°huh... your master didn¡¯t seem like an old constellation though...¡±


    choi yeonseung tried to keep a composed expression as the observer constellation cast him a suspicious glance.


    he couldn¡¯t reveal too much information about him. he knew that the observer constellation was interested in him, but that was precisely why he had to be more careful.


    ¡°that¡¯s not important right now. ¡±


    ¡°do you know his weaknesses?¡±


    -he has a spirit body.


    ¡°he has a spirit body.¡±


    demiargas had a ghost-like translucent body made up of negative energy.


    it was tricky, but choi yeonseung could still land hits on him. he just had to use his concentrated fist energy or the power of existence. since there were several constellations here, he had many excuses to use his power of existence.


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter. i can still knock him down.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not a matter of knocking him down. the problem is that he has the possession skill. if you give him any bit of time, he¡¯ll jump into someone else¡¯s body in no time.¡±


    in fact, after gerrity had fallen, the other hunters had also gone berserk, displaying their fierce powers.


    demiargas had changed bodies.


    ¡®he knows how to control minds, and once he¡¯s at a disadvantage, he changes his body... it¡¯s like an epidemic.¡¯


    one could call this a mental plague. if left unchecked, he would quickly infect the surrounding area and cause a disaster. the hunters gathered here went crazy one after the other...


    bang!


    choi yeonseung launched an attack. the moment he vanished and charged forward, the observer constellation shouted from behind him, ¡°he won¡¯t come out unless you knock them all down at once! before dealing with him, everyone around here...¡±


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t say anything back, but he thought he understood what the observer constellation meant.


    in other words, she suggested getting rid of all the surrounding hunters before they got possessed.


    ¡®what crazy nonsense...¡¯


    naturally, choi yeonseung had no intention of doing something like that.


    ¡®i¡¯ll quickly subdue the nearby people and pull him out before he can switch bodies!¡¯


    choi yeonseung flew in quickly and blew away the hunters around him. those hunters had several enhancement spells on them, but even so, they didn¡¯t stand a chance in a hand-to-hand fight with choi yeonseung.


    despite having enhanced physical strength, magic, and agility, they all still got blown away.


    i want you! i want you! come to me!


    demiargas saw choi yeonseung¡¯s body and instantly became obsessed with it. as he urged choi yeonseung to approach, he released a tremendous amount of magic power. he instantly seized control of all the nearby hunters, making them lunge at choi yeonseung.


    ¡®so he¡¯s been holding back this entire time...!¡¯


    choi yeonseung was shocked.


    he thought the situation was under control because the other hunters were still fighting, but the monster had preserved his strength up until now.


    now that the situation escalated like this, he had to deal with all the hunters in one blow...!


    -shadow crown!


    there were times when a disciplined body reacted faster than the mind.


    that was the case right now.


    the power of the noble crown collector quickly emerged from choi yeonseung¡¯s body and penetrated the surrounding hunters.

 Chapter 277

    chapter 277


    the hunters gasped upon getting hit by the thorns of the shadow crown. one entity dominated their minds, while the other suppressed their power.


    the overwhelming pain caused all the hunters to scream in agony.


    ¡°ghaaaaaa!!¡±


    ¡°arrghhhh!!¡±


    "suck it up. it¡¯s better than being that guy¡¯s puppet.¡±


    ¡°what have... you done... to me... choi yeonseung, you lunatic...!¡±


    as everybody was slowly coming back to their senses because of the ongoing fight with the monster, gerrity screamed and cursed at choi yeonseung.


    he didn¡¯t understand what was going on. he knew that the monster had taken over his mind, but what was choi yeonseung doing...?


    ¡®there¡¯s actually a power like this?¡¯


    at any rate, it wasn¡¯t the time to worry about such things. the full-on confrontation between the monster and choi yeonseung had just started!


    ¡®this ain¡¯t easy!¡¯


    choi yeonseung furrowed his brow as he concentrated his strength.


    if he had used martial arts, he would¡¯ve reflected the opponent¡¯s power over and over again until he exhausted him. there was no one in the abyss that could match choi yeonseung when it came to martial arts.


    however, the shadow crown was the power of another constellation, one that choi yeonseung hadn''t really used. now that he was finally using the power in actual combat, he felt awkward using it, not confident in the slightest.


    -this is why you should regularly practice using other powers!


    -i¡¯m sorry, but is this really the time to lecture me?


    choi yeonseung tried not to lose his focus while listening to the goddess of sloth.


    this fight was similar to a tug of war, one that was about controlling the hunters! on one side was demiargas, and on the other side was choi yeonseung.


    ¡®stay calm. you need to understand this new power.¡¯


    choi yeonseung closed his eyes, focusing more intensely. thinking about it, perhaps choi yeonseung was having too hard a time accepting this power. he recalled his experience of using the power of another constellation.


    how had he done it back then?


    [dignity of light]


    [rank: a


    the more you maintain your beauty and dignity, the stronger your power of light becomes.]


    this was the power that the arrogant light elf had given choi yeonseung after acknowledging him.


    choi yeonseung used this power as if it were martial arts. he treated the power of light like internal energy or concentrated energy. creating a sword from light was one of the ways he had used this power. in that case...


    [you have deepened your understanding of ¡®shadow crown.¡¯]


    [the strength of this power has increased!]


    there was nothing that prevented him from using shadow crown as a martial art. the world of martial arts was surprisingly vast and diverse.


    besides, choi yeonseung had come up with the star absorption method. among the martial arts he had learnt, this was the one that was most similar to shadow crown. thus, there was no reason why he couldn''t use shadow crown in a similar manner.


    ¡®like martial arts...¡¯


    ¡°...?!¡±


    demiargas seemed surprised when choi yeonseung suddenly became stronger.


    from the looks of it, demiargas had been looking down on choi yeonseung because he wasn¡¯t good at mental magic. however, choi yeonseung had suddenly tipped the scale in his favor.


    you aren¡¯t straining that sweet body of yours, are you?a precious body like that should never be hurt!


    ¡°...it¡¯s been a long time since i met a lunatic like him.¡±


    it was obvious that demiargas wanted choi yeonseung¡¯s body for himself. even as they fought, he seemed worried that choi yeonseung was pushing himself too much, damaging his body in the process.


    his worries were only natural, given that there were some types of magic that took a heavy toll on the caster in exchange for great power.


    bang!


    ¡°!¡±


    demiargas changed his strategy. he gave up on the hunters that had been subdued by choi yeonseung and proceeded to manipulate others.


    [shadow crown has corrupted the opponent.]


    [the corrupted opponent has become your puppet!]


    ¡°eeek...!¡± gerrity could finally think somewhat clearly, but even so, he couldn¡¯t move his body.


    ¡°???¡±


    ¡°gerrity, stop them!¡± shouted choi yeonseung.


    ¡°how dare you give me an order...?!¡±


    ¡°c-choi yeonseung. i¡¯m an a-grade hunter! you can¡¯t... you can¡¯t do this to me!¡±


    ¡°shut the hell up before i rip you into as many pieces as people have died because of you!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    gerrity was overwhelmed by the solid beating and went silent.


    ***


    -can i really come into the encirclement and interview people?


    -if you don¡¯t like it, you can just leave.


    -haha!no, gerrity!what are you talking about?we will do our best to celebrate your accomplishments.


    -alright, but be careful.you don¡¯t want to ruin your job by attracting a monster¡¯s aggro, right?


    -why are you even telling me this...it¡¯s not like this is my first time doing this. you really think i¡¯d make such a mistake?


    it was quite easy to get people to act rashly.


    with the slightest encouragement, the greedy people tried to somehow get into the encirclement. they were completely oblivious of how dangerous it could get if the monsters, which were at least a-grade, went berserk. they weren¡¯t scared at all.


    -how could this be dangerous with so many hunters?


    all these people cared about was getting a much bigger scoop than anyone else. they were also the perfect targets for demiargas.


    ¡°i¡¯m going to lose my mind.¡±


    choi yeonseung sighed as reporters went on a rampage using cameras as weapons.


    he now understood how this monster managed to exhaust other constellations. regardless of his strength, he was tenacious enough to increase his numbers the moment his enemies let their guard down!


    the more i expand, the stronger i become.the stronger i become, the more i multiply.once i have enough strength, i will come back and take your body.until then, make sure to take great care of it!


    ¡°...¡±


    -it looks like he really wants you.


    usually, spirit-type monsters weren¡¯t that attached to a physical body, but this monster seemed obsessed with choi yeonseung¡¯s body.


    demiargas wanted to control his body like that...


    ¡°observer constellation, do you have any ideas?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s similar to what i just did. clean up the surroundings and freeze them hard. i need time, so don¡¯t disturb me.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded and moved, and this time, gerrity and the rest of the hunters affected by shadow crown also moved.


    ¡°don¡¯t let him make contact with other people. i don¡¯t know what his range is, but it can¡¯t be that long. evacuate more people! if anyone comes inside, i¡¯ll blow off your heads!¡±


    even when he wasn¡¯t possessing hunters, demiargas was quite tricky to deal with.


    after beating up and subduing the reporters wielding cameras, choi yeonseung checked the situation in the surrounding area.


    ¡®the number of monsters in the vicinity has decreased a lot. we need to seal it off one more time and deal with the remaining monsters...¡¯


    give me my clone!


    ¡°h... hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    the moment demiargas tried to possess them again, gerrity¡¯s subordinates got scared and shouted choi yeonseung¡¯s name. he was currently the only one they could count on.


    ¡°just kill them!¡± the observer constellation shouted coldly. there was no reason to keep the hunters alive and let them fall under demiargas¡¯ control.


    however, instead of killing them, choi yeonseung increased the strength of shadow crown and seized control of them one by one.


    this time, demiargas responded fiercely, not yielding in the slightest.


    "aarghhh!"


    ¡°ghaaaaa!¡±


    joseph belatedly came to his senses, his mouth hanging open at the bizarre phenomenon unfolding in front of him.


    all the hunters around him were screaming and grabbing their heads.


    [the ¡®iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield¡¯ strongly orders you to help that hunter!]


    -i understand.what should i do?


    joseph was ready to obey his master¡¯s orders.


    no matter the danger, as long as he had signed a contract with a constellation, his only duty was to calmly and efficiently slaughter his enemies.


    [the ¡®iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield¡¯ orders you to throw all the artifacts you have at him. after that, fall back and wait!]


    -......


    for the first time ever, joseph had almost unwittingly disobeyed his master¡¯s order.


    did his master want him to just grab some popcorn and watch the fight...?

 Chapter 278

    chapter 278


    [the ¡®iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield warns that it is dangerous if you enter hastily and end up possessed.]


    ¡°that... it makes sense.¡±


    even though he was really disappointed, joseph decided to stay put like his master had ordered him. he realized it was the best course of action.


    seeing the way in which an a-grade hunter like gerrity was getting beaten, joseph realized that those involved in this fight were insanely powerful, far above his previous expectations.


    ¡°choi yeonseung, take this!¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    choi yeonseung, who was competing against demiargas for the control of the humans, was taken aback when joseph suddenly threw his artifacts at him.


    what was he doing? had he lost his mind?


    ¡°they¡¯ll come in handy!¡±


    ¡°suddenly throwing them like this...¡±


    however, despite his complaining, choi yeonseung acted right away, almost instinctively. he asked the hunters taken over by the shadow crown to pick up the artifacts from the iron-blooded constellation one by one.


    ¡°d... do i also have to listen?¡±


    a reporter with a camera was flustered and looked around while also holding a dagger.


    choi yeonseung had taken control of the hunters, but now he was doing the same thing with the civilians.


    [the ¡®iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield¡¯ grants strength!]


    ¡°!?!¡±


    even ordinary people who couldn¡¯t awaken were bound to display power that surpassed most hunters if a constellation gave them strength.


    exasperated, gerrity exclaimed, ¡°just give me the order to kill!¡±


    gerrity and his subordinates were now being controlled by choi yeonseung¡¯s skills. obviously, choi yeonseung had to control them so they wouldn¡¯t get possessed by demiargas again, but...


    they couldn¡¯t help being frustrated.


    gerrity thought that the best way to deal with this arrogant monster called ¡®demiargas¡¯ was to make sacrifices. if they annihilated everyone around here, demiargas would have nobody to possess and no way to escape.


    however, choi yeonseung was going to subdue the reporters, knock them out, and use shadow crown again. this was only going to slow down demiargas, not kill him.


    how could choi yeonseung know what demiargas was going to do in the meantime?


    ¡°what? are you asking me to kill you?¡± asked choi yeonseung with an incredulous tone.


    was gerrity asking choi yeonseung to kill him?


    of course, killing him would definitely make things easier. if he did that, choi yeonseung could retrieve the shadow crown ability he had used on gerrity and his subordinates. any advantage like that would be helpful in this fierce confrontation with demiargas!


    he just hadn¡¯t expected a selfish bastard like gerrity to sacrifice himself.


    ¡°i... i wasn¡¯t talking about myself! what the hell are you talking about?¡± gerrity exclaimed with a red face.


    choi yeonseung belatedly realized what gerrity had actually meant.


    ¡®this crazy bastard...!¡¯


    how could choi yeonseung make the decision to kill an a-grade hunter in this situation? there were so many other humans who needed to die first!


    ¡°kill those reporters!¡±


    ¡°g-gerrity?¡±


    the reporters who heard gerrity¡¯s words were horrified upon learning what his true colors were. of course, they already knew that gerrity was a son of a bitch, but they were still shocked by his blatant disregard for their lives.


    ¡°what the hell are you saying? you would actually kill them, wouldn¡¯t you? just... shut up!¡±


    ¡°ooof...?!¡±


    gerrity shut his mouth at choi yeonseung¡¯s powerful command. the shadow crown draped over his head compelled him to obey.


    ¡®this is actually pretty good.¡¯


    choi yeonseung took a liking to the power of shadow crown. was this the fun of magic?


    he had only been using martial arts all his life and had never been interested in magic. however, now that he was using magic, it seemed quite appealing.


    -is this the appeal of magic...? it doesn¡¯t look like it...


    [the ¡®iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield¡¯ grants strength!]


    [the ¡®observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ grants strength.]


    [...]


    so far, choi yeonseung had been struggling against demiargas, but now the constellations offered him their support. he was surprised by this unexpected gesture.


    ¡®huh, i didn¡¯t expect them to step up like this.¡¯


    ¡°we got him!¡± exclaimed the observer constellation, her voice filled with relief.


    it was amazing. if this mortal hadn¡¯t stepped forward, demiargas might¡¯ve managed to drastically increase his numbers once again.


    ¡°and now... how do we get rid of him?¡± choi yeonseung asked.


    ¡°uh...¡±


    ¡°...??¡±


    choi yeonseung was taken aback by the reaction of the observer constellation.


    ¡°why aren¡¯t you saying anything?¡±


    ¡°...you have to destroy the body that contains him.¡±


    ¡°...no. that won¡¯t work. i just have to use the power of a constellation to get rid of what¡¯s inside.¡±


    the power of existence was an almighty power, so there was no way it couldn¡¯t remove this one entity that had invaded hwang gyeongryong¡¯s body.


    what the observer constellation was suggesting... she was asking him to kill hwang gyeongryong.


    ¡°would demiargas have done so much damage if he could be destroyed by using such a power? he only managed to inflict so much destruction because such methods didn¡¯t work.¡±


    the iron-blooded constellation also agreed with the observer constellation¡¯s words.


    [the ¡®iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield¡¯ says that in war, one has to make sacrifices. he firmly urges you to destroy the body.]


    ¡°you shut up.¡±


    [the ¡®iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield¡¯ is angry at the insult...]


    hwang gyeongryong was stunned as he realized what situation he was in.


    ¡°don¡¯t... don¡¯t tell me there¡¯s no other way...?¡±


    ¡°why the hell did you use yourself as bait!¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know, you bastard! i didn¡¯t want to do it either! i did it because you¡¯ve influenced me!¡± hwang gyeongryong choked up.


    he had led a selfish and comfortable life, but then choi yeonseung appeared in the picture.


    his younger brother moved around the abyss to protect humanity, doing good deeds everywhere he went. meanwhile, hwang gyeongryong was stuck in his corner for rich people. even though he was alive, he had felt for a long time that his soul had died.


    the observation constellation came up with an alternative.


    ¡°if you can¡¯t kill him, then seal him in the realm of a constellation. that would be better.¡±


    ¡°seal?¡±


    ¡°i have frozen demiargas with my power, so he can never come out on his own. if you keep him away from others and continue to use your power on him, won¡¯t he fall one day?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    -i think that¡¯s actually possible.


    choi yeonseung nodded while pondering on it.


    instead of killing hwang gyeongryong, it was a hundred times better to leave him in his realm and attempt to slowly remove demiargas from him.


    hwang gyeongryong tried to comfort choi yeonseung. he could imagine how painful this was for him.


    ¡°hey, it¡¯s fine. it doesn¡¯t make a difference where i am anyway. i¡¯ll just take a look at the abyss this time.¡±


    ¡®there is nothing but orcs...¡¯


    choi yeonseung suddenly felt terrible. hwang gyeongryong seemed to be looking forward to the abyss, but the only ones to talk to in his realm were the orcs and the goblin king.


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry. i¡¯ll get demiargas out of your body as soon as possible.¡±


    choi yeonseung was visibly sorry for hwang gyeongryong, which made for a good disguise for his real identity. after all, what constellation apologized to their own household member like this?


    ¡°uh... wait a minute.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    hwang gyeongryong hesitated.


    ¡°given my... cough... injuries, i can¡¯t really fulfill my official duties. ¡±


    ¡°i see. given how large of a company dragon industry is, we need to be careful. should i call the ceos and give them your instructions or something?¡±


    ¡°no... i want you to take care of it for me.¡±


    ¡°...huh?¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s with the huh? who else am i going to trust to do this??¡±


    hwang gyeongryong looked at choi yeonseung in disbelief.


    -is it okay for a constellation to do such insignificant tasks for his household member?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it isn¡¯t an insignificant task. it¡¯s a very important job on earth.]

 Chapter 279

    chapter 279


    ¡®it isn¡¯t wrong.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was forced to admit that hwang gyeongryong was right.


    it was hard to realize since he usually lived frugally, but choi yeonseung received a lot of benefits from hwang gyeongryong¡¯s overflowing wealth.


    it wasn¡¯t just about the money he could spend when he wanted to buy something.


    if that was the case, choi yeonseung also had money he accumulated through the raids so far and he could earn more if he wanted.


    just as wealth became power when it exceeded a certain number, hwang gyeongryong had the power to create a huge corporate group called dragon industry.


    since he made a large donation to the us president, they went to the sauna together. since he built several factories in china, he threatened the chinese government by saying, ¡®if you keep acting like this, i will take away my investment¡¯...


    this wasn¡¯t the power of a single hunter who made a jackpot and built a fortune in raids.


    it was a power that had been honed over a long period of time by steadily sowing money and cultivating human resources.


    it was a level that hunters who were drunk on their own fame and had drug parties using the money they earned could never reach!


    ¡®i will have a lot of headaches without this power...¡¯


    it started with government pressure during raids to mobilizing hunters like right now.


    someone had to take care of it.


    now there was no one to entrust this power to except for him.


    hwang gyeongryong was well aware of choi yeonseung¡¯s circumstances because he was choi yeonseung¡¯s household member, but other people didn¡¯t know it.


    hwang gyeongryong said, ¡°the ceos i have chosen aren¡¯t lacking in terms of ability, but they are selfish bastards compared to you...¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t that a bit harsh?¡±


    ¡°uh? yes. i understand. i¡¯ll reword it. they are good people in terms of ability but they are selfish compared to you...¡±


    ¡°no. that isn¡¯t what i mean... forget it. keep talking.¡±


    ¡°...there is a good chance they won¡¯t understand what you are doing. you have to take care of it.¡±


    the ceos in charge of the companies under hwang gyeongryong were those who ran the companies to extract the best profit.


    if he said to such people, ¡®there is a dungeon over there, give us some money to evacuate the people,¡¯ it was natural to get a response like ¡®why us?¡¯


    ¡°the last time i met them, everyone was stubborn. will they listen to me?¡±


    ¡°make them listen. this is something you will have to figure out... fighting. i¡¯m going to go and see the abyss. if you have any problems, contact me.¡±


    ¡°hmm. hyung, you won¡¯t get mad if i ruin the business, right? on a grand scale, earths¡¯ companies are very insignificant...¡±


    ¡°...never ruin it...!¡±


    hwang gyeongryong said while glaring with blazing eyes.


    ***


    the first thing choi yeonseung did after sending hwang gyeongryong away was to beat up gerrity like he was a dog.


    ¡°you come here.¡±


    ¡°ah...¡±


    the advantage of mastering martial arts was that choi yeonseung could dominate melee combat almost absolutely.


    it wasn¡¯t just at the level of winning a fight. he was able to perfectly control how much pain he inflicted on the opponent and how to hurt them.


    choi yeonseung used his honed abilities to beat gerrity like a real loser.


    bam bam bam bam!


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the reporters were distracted by the bloody beating that seemed like it was going to kill gerrity and blinked.


    should they stop it? they thought about it but no reporter was brave enough to get involved in a scuffle between a-grade hunters.


    besides, the people here had heard what gerrity had said earlier.


    -kill those reporters!


    he coaxed them to come in and then said to kill them. since the reporters were human beings, they couldn¡¯t help getting angry.


    ¡°what...! what are you doing?! you bastards!¡±


    gerrity opened his mouth without knowing their thoughts.


    his pride meant he tried not to give in even though he was beaten up, but it was too painful to do that.


    moreover, he couldn¡¯t resist because of the skill used by choi yeonseung earlier.


    he couldn¡¯t resist an a-grade hunter, so he was going crazy.


    ¡®what skill did he use?¡¯


    if there was a weakness about choi yeonseung, it was people¡¯s eyes.


    he had already figured out that choi yeonseung had a pushover-like side who cared about public opinion.


    gerrity urgently called the reporters. ¡°stop him!¡±


    -attention is being paid on to whether the rating of the a-grade hunter who led the raid, hunter choi yeonseung, will once again rise. it hasn¡¯t been long since he rose to a-grade, but experts say there is a possibility of an s-grade promotion when looking at his achievements...


    -due to the news of dragon hwang¡¯s injury, a memorial process is taking place. there are voices of concern that dragon industry, which has lost its leader, might collapse...


    ¡°turn off the news.¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s words, the secretary turned off the tv in a hurry.


    it felt different when choi yeonseung sat in the place where hwang gyeongryong was supposed to sit.


    what type of person would the new boss be?


    the secretary had heard a lot about it from rumors but...


    ¡®he will be a lot easier to deal with than the chairman.¡¯


    hwang gyeongryong was a good employer who paid them a lot of money, but he wasn¡¯t a good boss.


    he was a bit... eccentric.


    -did you come to work?


    -yes. did you come first?


    -yes. today is april fool¡¯s day, so i came first to play tricks on people. what do you think about trying to lie to monali gupta, who is in charge of dragon solutions, that there is a ¡®wastewater discharge incident at the dragon solutions factory?¡¯


    -...wouldn¡¯t it be better not to do that?


    -...yes. apparently, i don¡¯t have a sense of humor.


    -n-no. it isn¡¯t like that, chairman.


    -forget it. why talk to someone who doesn¡¯t have a sense of humor? don¡¯t laugh when i talk to you from now on.


    -no... no...


    compared to that, choi yeonseung was a better boss in many ways.


    moreover, he was much different from the rumors.


    -praise is pouring in from all over the place for the a-grade hunter who used his own money to evacuate the civilians in this rutherford raid, hunter choi yeonseung. reporters at the scene said in unison, ¡®if it wasn¡¯t for hunter choi yeonseung, we would all be dead.¡¯


    just in terms of saving the general public at raids, his personality ranked in the top 1% of hunters.


    thump¡ª


    the door opened and aine stepped inside in a slightly more stiff manner than usual.


    choi yeonseung asked in a worried voice, ¡°are you feeling okay?¡±


    ¡°ah... don¡¯t worry. my insomnia has become worse. it isn¡¯t because of the news, so there is no need for you to comfort me.¡±


    aine didn¡¯t waver despite hwang gyeongryong being injured to the point of not being able to perform official activities.


    she was a former hunter so she was prepared for this day to possibly come.


    rather, aine was worried about other things. ¡°by the way, is it really okay?


    no matter how much my father... no, even if the chairman asked it, this task won¡¯t be easy.¡±


    ¡°is there anyone who can replace me?¡±


    ¡°there is no one who can replace you but you don¡¯t have to step forward. even if it collapses, it won¡¯t be ruined.¡±


    aine was worried that choi yeonseung, an a-grade hunter, was wasting time for nothing.


    not all the top-rated hunters participated in business. there were a lot of them who were just enjoying life.


    ¡°no. i owe him, so i have to do this.¡±


    ¡°...yes.¡±


    aine was a bit moved.


    there were many people who talked about friendship, but it was rare for them to actually show friendship when faced with a real situation.


    ¡°what does gyeongryong hyung do?¡±


    ¡°um... would you like to turn on your computer?¡±


    at the secretary¡¯s words, choi yeonseung pressed the button. a hologram floated over the huge desk.


    what type of state-of-the-art computer did hwang gyeongryong use?


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. ¡°...what are these videos?¡±


    ¡°these are the new korean dramas that came out this quarter.¡±


    ¡°...is there... a secret here?¡±


    did korean dramas contain a secret that could save the word?¡±


    ¡°no... he has been hooked on that drama and has been watching it for a while.¡±


    ¡°...before that?¡±


    ¡°he watched korean variety shows...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    surprisingly, choi yeonseung thought that the job of chairman might be easier than expected.

 Chapter 280

    chapter 280


    seeing choi yeonseung¡¯s distorted expression, the secretary hurriedly said, ¡°of course, he didn¡¯t just play around.¡±


    choi yeonseung wondered, ¡°was he watching these dramas and variety shows as a way to study korean entertainment business?¡±


    ¡°n-no. that¡¯s not it... this is just something that dragon hwang normally does, so it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong was well aware of his abilities. he was an excellent hunter and had a knack for killing monsters, but he couldn¡¯t develop his own products and understand the market trends. therefore, hwang gyeongryong bought any company he could find, sought out useful and talented people, and appointed them as ceos. those people could take care of the practical work without hwang gyeongryong ever needing to get involved.


    hearing this, choi yeonseung tilted his head and asked, ¡°so he doesn¡¯t have anything to do after all, right?¡±


    ¡°n-no, it¡¯s not like that. the work dragon hwang does might not stand out that much, but it is nevertheless of great importance.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡®is he saying this just because he has a high salary?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was slightly worried because it seemed like hwang gyeongryong had been intimidating this secretary. even if this secretary swore in front of him, choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t tell hwang gyeongryong, so wasn¡¯t it better to just tell the secretary to speak comfortably?


    ...however, the secretary was telling the truth.


    ¡°setting the general flow of the group, dealing with major problems, and mediating conflicts or disagreements between ceos are things that only dragon hwang can do.¡±


    at the secretary¡¯s words, choi yeonseung seemed more at ease. it was certainly plausible.


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know what the ceos he had met last time were capable of, but in terms of personality, they were definitely terrible.


    ¡°those assholes are worse than dogs.¡±


    ¡°i...i didn¡¯t mean it like that¡±


    ¡°i read between the lines.¡±


    from going to the sauna with the president to keep other clans or companies in check to going to the lawmakers and intimidating them in order to have them on their side, ceos did all kinds of sketchy things.


    ¡°...the more i listen to it, the less confident i become...¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at aine with an embarrassed expression. if he had to go to a politician because of the trickery of other clans...


    -indeed.there is something like that.this time, they¡¯re going to enact a special law to divide the rights to the artifacts obtained from overseas raids!what a bunch of shameless people!


    -you¡¯re right.


    -by the way, how much do you plan to donate?


    -...isn¡¯t sparing their lives a more than generous donation?


    -guards!guards!


    ¡°...i think it¡¯s going to end up like that.¡±


    aine wasn¡¯t very surprised by choi yeonseung¡¯s comment. after all, he wasn¡¯t the only person who resorted to fists before words. of course, there were very few hunters who were fearless enough to punch a senator, but...


    ¡°the chairman wasn¡¯t much different. don¡¯t worry. any incident can be taken care of as long as you have your reputation and the financial power of your company. evidently, they also like money, so...¡±


    ¡°so i can really do anything?¡±


    ¡°...just in case, you can consult with me before you do anything, okay?¡± added aine after suddenly becoming anxious.


    ***


    monali gupta, the ceo of dragon solutions, which developed cutting-edge materials in the raid era from monster materials to abyss ores, spoke with a determined expression as soon as he arrived, ¡°i¡¯m sorry to hear the news about the chairman, but truth to be told, i find it difficult to completely trust hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°i figured.¡±


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t surprised. at the end of the day, a hunter close to hwang gyeongryong had suddenly taken over his position. he would have questioned the intelligence of the ceos if they had merely said, ¡®oh! welcome!¡¯


    ¡°no, that¡¯s disrespectful... are you disregarding the decision of the chairman who isn¡¯t here right now? monali gupta, do you even have a conscience? have you forgotten who saved you from being buried in the industry after you blew the whistle on your previous company?!¡±


    ¡°!?¡±


    monali gupta frowned when ducoms, the ceo of dragon battery, which intensively developed ultra-high capacity mana batteries, stepped in. they had never gotten along, but monali gupta hadn¡¯t expected ducoms to involve himself in this.


    ¡®this son of a bitch...?¡¯


    monali gupta was dumbfounded. now that hwang gyeongryong was gone, it was a serious situation where they needed to worry about the group¡¯s future. meanwhile, this guy was solving a personal grudge.


    ¡°i¡¯m not talking about that now. i¡¯m just worried about the future of this company...¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung has already proven his abilities by successfully taking over dragon artifact! didn¡¯t you see the income statement this time?¡¯ i didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be so narrow-minded!¡±


    after saying that, ducoms winked at choi yeonseung.


    -we¡¯re on the same side!


    ...at least it looked like he was saying that, but of course, choi yeonseung merely thought to himself, ¡®what is he doing?¡¯


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°say something!¡±


    ¡°how can i increase the budget when it has never been increased before?¡±


    dragon industry was basically a country in itself. it was a powerful company that could be supported by hwang gyeongryong¡¯s enormous assets without any external investment. however, this didn¡¯t mean that they could make anything out of nothing.


    ¡°allocate the budget of that annoying monali gupta to me...¡±


    ¡°no, this can¡¯t be. next.¡±


    ¡°what... no! you¡¯re being unreasonable!¡±


    ducoms kept complaining, but choi yeonseung didn¡¯t yield.


    after that, the ceos came in one after another and discussed various matters with choi yeonseung. surprisingly, there were no major problems.


    ¡°chairman choi yeonseung. in fact, there is this big project that i am planning on.¡±


    ¡°oh. what is it?¡±


    zhang xiaobo, the head of the pharmaceutical company dragon biopharm, spoke determinedly, ¡°it¡¯s a state-of-the-art artificial farm project. the project is about growing herbs on earth that normally only grow in the abyss. if successful, it has the potential to completely revolutionize the pharmaceutical market.¡±


    ¡°ohh... wait. why didn¡¯t you talk about such a project when chairman hwang gyeongryong was here?¡±


    ¡°um. that... it has very mild side effects...¡±


    ¡°like what?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s just that... uhm, the ground will get severely contaminated.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung had a stern look on his face. was this guy out of his mind?


    as if realizing what choi yeonseung was thinking, zhang xiaobo hurriedly said, ¡°of course, i have prepared countermeasures.¡±


    ¡°really? what is it?¡±


    ¡°rent land from the chinese government and grow it there.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°even if they find out about it, we can easily take care of it. we can just bribe some civil servants and party officials, and move to a different location right away...¡±


    aine whispered to choi yeonseung.


    -he¡¯s the kind of guy who always comes up with insane ideas, so be careful.


    -...why is a bastard like him ceo?


    -his abilities are undeniable.he¡¯s from taiwan, so he has a harsh attitude toward china. please understand.


    ¡°um... let me think about it.¡±


    ¡°thank you! you won¡¯t regret it.¡±


    at this time, the ceos took out projects that had been rejected or came up with new projects. some of them seemed decent to choi yeonseung, while others were weird and bizarre.


    -i¡¯m not sure when looking at it.


    -that¡¯s what business is like.


    choi yeonseung thought of the past. hunters ranked c-grade or lower would always think about how to spend the money they earned from raids.


    -we need money to run the clan and support the clan members.yeonseung, do you have any good investment items?


    -speaking of which, i saw bitcoin on the message boards...


    -hey.who would pay for a toy like that?


    -someone said you could buy pizza with 10,000 bitcoin.


    -sigh.what lunatic would pay that much?the world is so...anyway, it¡¯s good to have investment items that we can use.


    of course, hwang gyeongryong had failed with all of it. that was how hard business was.


    -why don¡¯t you ask the goddess of balance?


    -...the goddess?!


    -successor, are you disregarding the goddess¡¯ intelligence right now?it definitely seems like that, doesn¡¯t it?


    -n-no.


    choi yeonseung stuttered for the first time in a long time.

 Chapter 281

    chapter 281


    -i¡¯m not saying to leave it to the goddess¡¯ intelligence, but to leave it to her power.she¡¯s the only one with the power to see into the future.


    -indeed, that¡¯s true.


    this was something choi yeonseung felt every time he talked to constellations. they... they really didn¡¯t know anything about earth and humans.


    just like choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know anything about an ant¡¯s lifestyle, desires, feelings, and so on, the constellations didn¡¯t know anything about humans.


    thus, there was nothing more absurd than asking constellations about business tactics. in fact, there had been several cases of businesses going down in flames because of constellations.


    -oscar carter, a b+ hunter, reportedly filed for bankruptcy in court recently, leaving people in shock.he had gained a huge fortune after twenty-six successful raids, but lost everything after investing heavily in a business by order of the six-winged angel who hunts dragons...


    the constellations heard about various things from their household members. for example, they heard that capitalism was great and tried their hand at business...


    however, the results were rarely good.


    -in addition, the goddess of balance is now in control of england. it wouldn¡¯t hurt to discuss it together.


    -umm.yeah, you¡¯re right, but...


    choi yeonseung was hesitant.


    -isn¡¯t this matter too trivial to call her?she might get annoyed if i contact her for something like this.


    -ah, you have a point.


    the goddess of sloth understood what choi yeonseung was apprehensive about. constellations were majestic rulers, and nobody ever called them for trivial matters. if one prayed to a constellation for toilet paper because they had run out, they would be instantly struck by lightning.


    -why don¡¯t you try to make it seem not trivial?


    -alright, i¡¯ll try that.


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ accepts the suggestion!]


    [she urges you to quickly show her what the issue is.]


    [she says she is going to send adaquaniel.]


    -...


    -...


    ***


    ¡°father, this is an opportunity. please give me permission!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    jacob parker, the eldest son of the parker family, spoke firmly, but alex parker was silent.


    ever since the gate had opened, the american companies had been fighting fiercely to become the leaders of the new industry. for the parker family, dragon industry was a rival more oppressive than the chinese or european companies. the latter could be due to a difference in technological advancement, but the parker family was suppressed even by dragon industry.


    however, in such a situation, dragon hwang had become a hermit due to his injuries, and those from the parker family couldn¡¯t have received better news. despite that, alex parker didn¡¯t act rashly.


    ¡°there has been a lot of damage recently. starting from the development of artifacts to the raids, we¡¯ve been dropping the ball in all departments. do you know how much money we had to spend in order to fix gerrity¡¯s blunder this time?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    gilbert gerrity, the a-grade hunter of the western shields, was basically a hunter of the parker family. a-grade hunters were so valuable that they couldn¡¯t easily be discarded. because of that, the parker family had to rectify gerrity¡¯s mistake by offering a large compensation.


    ¡°in addition, the damage is even greater because back then, you boasted that the situation was over when a hunter who didn¡¯t know anything became the ceo of dragon artifact.¡±


    ¡°i-i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    jacob lowered his head. after all, it was him who had said such words when parker artifact had been preparing their new product. however, it wasn¡¯t just jacob. several other executives had said the same thing.


    -dragon hwang messed up!


    -i knew that dragon hwang is capricious and can¡¯t control his emotions, but he actually put a hunter who doesn''t know anything about business in the ceo position just because they¡¯re close.


    back then, they thought dragon hwang was self-destructing... however, much to everyone¡¯s surprise, the artificial artifact released by dragon artifact had been well received and sold like hot cake.


    presently, parker artifact was fighting for market share with the chinese artifact company, yin nie, which was quite shameful for them.


    shame was one thing, but they had to quickly get back on their feet. they now had to make money from other profitable businesses in order to repair the damage.


    ¡°but if we miss the chance now...¡±


    ¡°if you fail, do you plan to hang yourself?¡±


    ¡°...okay. let me hear your plan.¡±


    ¡°yes!¡± said jacob with a glint in his eyes.


    the parker family also had a company in the food industry, namely pask food, the president of which being jerry kuber.


    ¡°no matter how well dragon industry¡¯s companies operate without outside funding, they¡¯ll face significant losses if they attempt something like this and fail. the damage will be even greater if we mobilize the lawmakers and reporters with whom we have ties to go after them when their project fails. in the end, we¡¯ll expose their weaknesses and whatever loopholes they try to use when they look for outside funding! that¡¯s when we¡¯ll hit them the hardest.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°chairman?¡±


    ¡°alright, give it a try.¡±


    ultimately, alex parker gave his permission. however, jacob felt strangely uneasy, but he couldn¡¯t put his finger on why.


    ***


    zhang xiaobo, the ceo of dragon biopharm, spoke with a thrilled expression, ¡°as expected, you thought my proposal was good. i was sure you would agree, chairman. you have discerning eyes, so you have to admit that the plan is solid. now, here is the land in china that i¡¯ve been looking at. if you bribe some of the government officials...¡±


    ¡°no. i won¡¯t do it in china.¡±


    zhang xiaobo flinched at choi yeonseung¡¯s words. why would he refuse?!


    ¡°where else would you do it except china? anywhere else, you¡¯d have to bribe even more people.¡±


    ¡°the united kingdom.¡±


    ¡°ahh....!¡±


    zhang xiaobo nodded with an enlightened expression.


    come to think of it, wasn¡¯t choi yeonseung the household member of one of the constellations that occupied the united kingdom? it made sense for choi yeonseung to have this much privilege there.


    ¡°i see! well, i don¡¯t care if we contaminate british soil,¡± said zhang xiaobo with an indifferent voice. this would¡¯ve certainly infuriated any british person.


    ¡°no. i don¡¯t intend to ruin their soil. i¡¯m thinking of a more careful approach to this.¡±


    ¡°...?!¡±


    surprisingly, the goddess of balance chose zhang xiaobo¡¯s plan, which stunned everyone in the room. adaquaniel knew earth well, and even she was worried.


    -the kings and nobles of the united kingdom might get angry and harass you.


    -they aren¡¯t kings and nobles...ah...forget it.


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ protests that she merely peeked into the future.]


    the goddess had done her best to help, so she turned sullen at everyone¡¯s reaction.


    choi yeonseung was troubled by the response. what did that future entail?


    the goddess of sloth began speculating. -isn¡¯t it possible that she saw the wrong future?


    -no.the goddess of balance wouldn¡¯t make such a mistake.


    -you are too soft toward the goddess of balance.


    after thinking about it some more, choi yeonseung had an epiphany. come to think of it, he currently had strong warriors under his command.


    ¡®the orcs of my domain!¡¯


    the orcs were expelling capitalists from the united kingdom, demolishing buildings, and securing land to expand the farmland.


    if he put the orcs in charge of their project, he could perhaps grow not only abyssal plants, but also raise monsters there.


    ¡°but hunter choi yeonseung, unlike the well-improved plants of earth, the plants of the abyss will require a lot of work,¡± adaquaniel advised carefully. she knew this because she had planted a flower bed for the goddess. ¡°the orcs are resilient and strong, but you should be careful not to overwork them. i¡¯m sorry for being presumptuous in advising you, but...¡±


    ¡°no. you helped me a lot.¡¯


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ advises you to stop chatting and move quickly.]


    -wait.


    choi yeonseung suddenly recalled something.


    -goddess of sloth...didn¡¯t you say you would find a way to turn the undead into workers?


    -...i-i¡¯m working on it. really...

 Chapter 282

    chapter 282


    -...


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t totally convinced, but he nodded for now.


    the goddess of sloth was actually working hard on various things, so he couldn¡¯t get angry if she missed something once in a while.


    -thank you for your understanding.


    -no.i¡¯m not understanding.work quickly.don¡¯t be lazy.


    -...n??v€l-b1n was the first platform to present this chapter.


    the goddess of sloth became sullen at choi yeonseung¡¯s harsh words.


    ***


    jerry kuber, the president of pask food, was having a peaceful time.


    he had used to live an anxious life because he hadn¡¯t known when he would be arrested due to embezzling money and contracting with an evil god constellation. however, when looking back on it now, those were all good memories.


    ¡®yes. i have won the gamble of my life.¡¯


    ¡°is kuber there?¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    jerry kuber was leisurely enjoying a cup of tea from pask food, but the peaceful atmosphere was shattered by a sudden visitor.


    ¡®jacob? why is this guy...?¡¯


    given how many bad things he had done, jerry kuber was reluctant to meet the members of the parker family. it wasn¡¯t just alex parker. jerry was equally reluctant about alex¡¯s son, jacob.


    ¡°hello.¡±


    ¡°hello. have you been well?¡±


    jacob casually sat down in front of jerry kuber and put his feet on the desk. jerry kuber was the president of the company here, but jacob relied on his family name and acted in a high-handed manner.


    ¡®agh, don¡¯t get angry. i have to suck it up.¡¯


    jerry kuber was certainly furious, but he still maintained a smile on his face as he spoke.


    ¡°what brings you here?¡±


    ¡°i came here because of something very good.¡±


    ¡°no, no way! it¡¯s absolutely impossible to arbitrarily withdraw company funds in the name of investment. i¡¯ll be the one who has to take responsibility if the shareholders go crazy!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    jacob¡¯s expression distorted. he hadn¡¯t come here for that.


    ¡°what do you take me for?¡±


    ¡°ah, it¡¯s not that?¡±


    ¡°...i¡¯ve already told you. the reason i borrowed money the other day was to further increase parker energy, not for personal gain...¡±


    ¡®this bastard is full of shit.¡¯


    jerry kuber inwardly called him names.


    the companies under the parker name couldn¡¯t go against the parker family. not only did the family have a lot of authority based on their shares in the company, but they also inflicted bloody retribution on those who disobeyed by sending hunters to punish them with force.


    seeing a company being terrorized just because a whistleblower had come forward was horrifying. therefore, even if jacob leeched off the company funds in the name of investment and used it on gambling, jerry kuber couldn¡¯t stop him.


    ¡°in any case, i¡¯m here today because i have a great opportunity. you¡¯ve heard that the head of dragon industry has fallen, right?¡±


    ¡°yes, i¡¯m aware of that.¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, the one who has taken dragon hwang¡¯s place, is about to do something crazy this time.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    jerry kuber immediately became anxious. in his own way, he was a subordinate of the undefeated incarnation of training, so wasn¡¯t he in the same boat as choi yeonseung? it wasn¡¯t good for jerry kuber if choi yeonseung did crazy things.


    ¡®no... surely he¡¯s mistaken. choi yeonseung isn¡¯t that stupid.¡¯


    jerry kuber was hoping that jacob had got it wrong. after all, such misconceptions were common in business. perhaps he had overinterpreted the opinions of the other people at the meeting?


    ¡°he set up a project to raise abyssal monsters and plants on earth.¡±


    ¡°is he crazy?!¡± shouted jerry kuber unwittingly.


    ¡®whoops.¡¯


    jacob was taken aback by the shout, but he also seemed rather pleased with jerry¡¯s response.


    ¡°right? he must be crazy.¡±


    ¡°no... well, this...¡±


    jerry kuber was so embarrassed that he couldn¡¯t continue speaking.


    a few companies had already tried that, and they had ultimately suffered huge losses and declared bankruptcy. why would one bother trying that again? it was safer and more profitable to go into the abyss and kill monsters.


    ¡°my purpose is to capitalize on the mistake of this dumbass hunter and deal him a critical blow. it will crack that hard shell for sure.¡±


    ¡°i... i see. what should i do?¡±


    the orcs were impressed by the plant that choi yeonseung took out. the latter was slightly moved by the sight.


    ¡®these guys...¡¯


    when he had first met the orcs, choi yeonseung was sure that they were utterly mad. it was very touching to see how they¡¯ve evolved to the skilled farmers that they now were.


    ¡°it¡¯s great that you found this.¡±


    -yes!isn¡¯t it radish?


    ¡°...no, it¡¯s not a radish. it¡¯s gorn¡¯s life plant.¡±


    -...it wasn¡¯t a radish?


    seeing the disappointed orcs, choi yeonseung was seriously considering stopping the orcs from overindulging in farming.


    ***


    before working on the new project, choi yeonseung returned to his realm and prepared to use the soul stones.


    [plant box (intermediate, chaos): 10,000p.


    primordial chaos is swirling inside. if you open this box, one of the various plants needed in the constellation realm will come out.]


    ¡®i never thought i would pay for something like this.¡¯


    if nothing else, he was upset about having to pay soul stones to buy plants.


    the merchant constellation didn¡¯t know this and welcomed him excitedly.


    [the ¡®wandering merchant who sells destiny¡¯ welcomes you with great, great warmth!]


    -by the way, isn¡¯t it possible to buy directly what you need from other constellations without having to buy it from this shady guy?


    the goddess of sloth wondered about other options.


    it wasn¡¯t just the wandering merchant. other constellations were also selling their treasures. in fact, choi yeonseung had received soul stones not just from the s-grade raid, but also from other constellations during the constellation battle hosted by the observer who returned from a cold place.


    this was enough to consider buying it directly from constellations.


    -...i think this is a bit cheaper?


    -...


    choi yeonseung¡¯s answer was surprisingly sad, which caused the goddess of sloth to tear up. if her kingdom had still been intact, she could¡¯ve given him enough soul stones so that he didn¡¯t have to worry about prices.


    [the plant box is opened!]


    [chaos flows and destiny is decided!]


    [gorn¡¯s life plant has come out!]


    ¡®not bad.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was relieved to see the name of the plant that was famous even on earth. as long as he took good care of the plants, he was going to be successful in his project.


    ¡®by the way, i don¡¯t know how hyung is doing.¡¯


    choi yeonseung moved to meet hwang gyeongryong, who was in the depths of his realm. was he doing okay?


    ***


    ¡°oh... as expected. this is the secret...¡±


    ¡°goblin magic is one of the best in the abyss.¡±


    ¡°aish. that¡¯s a bit... isn¡¯t it the elves?¡±


    ¡°well... what?? are you saying you don¡¯t believe me right now?¡±


    ¡°no. i¡¯m not saying i don¡¯t believe you... i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°bah. don¡¯t believe in the lies of the elves. telling flashy lies is all they know.¡±


    -you¡¯re both wrong.true magic belongs only to us liches.


    ¡°the captured one should shut up.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right, you skeleton bastard. shut your mouth.¡±


    -y... you dare speak that way to me?human, who was the one who kindly answered the magic question you asked???


    ¡°i don¡¯t remember.¡±


    -you...!


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung blinked at the absurd sight.


    hwang gyeongryong, odaigon, and the unnamed lich were gathered in one place and were discussing magic.


    ¡°ah, yeonseung, you¡¯re here?¡±


    ¡°human! what authority do you have to call your master so cheekily?¡±


    ¡°ah. i¡¯m going to the sauna with that constellation. if you think it¡¯s unfair, why don¡¯t you guys become close to someone before they become a constellation?¡±


    -this human bastard will pay the price for his arrogance.

 Chapter 283

    chapter 283


    ¡°who are you to act so arrogantly?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. you are the lowliest bastard here, so why are you interrupting us?¡±


    -...


    the nameless lich became furious upon being disregarded by the humans in such a fashion. how dare these insignificant beings treat him like this?


    -how dare you who asked me about magic speak to me in such a tone?


    ¡°did i do that? i don¡¯t remember doing that.¡±


    ¡°neither do i.¡±


    odaigon nodded as he agreed with hwang gyeongryong. making a fool of someone was as easy as flipping over a palm.


    the lich had grandiose titles like ¡®destroyer,¡¯ ¡®corruptor of kingdoms,¡¯ ¡®the nightmare of many heroes¡¯ and ¡®the master of the immortal legion,¡¯ but in his current situation, he was completely powerless.


    -you despicable scumbags!you have less honor than skeletons!you are worse than maggots!


    ¡°ah, he seems like a noisy guy.¡±


    odaigon grabbed the scarecrow that the lich was bound to and slammed it upside down into the ground.


    ¡°reflect on yourself.¡±


    -oooooof!oof!


    the lich groaned. being stuck in the ground like this and only being able to listen to the orcs rambling on was truly a terrible punishment.


    -i was wrong!i¡¯ll apologize for saying you have no honor, so get me out!


    ¡°what is he saying?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know, so let¡¯s wait a bit longer before releasing him.¡±


    odaigon and hwang gyeongryong were unforgiving toward the lich. after all, their circumstances were different from those of the lich. the two of them were household members, whereas the lich, in his current state, was more like a warrior turned into a slave after losing a fight.


    choi yeonseung said, ¡°...i¡¯m glad you¡¯re doing well.¡±


    ¡°i always do well.¡±


    choi yeonseung looked surprised upon seeing how well hwang gyeongryong had adapted. he had been worried about what would happen if hwang gyeongryong couldn¡¯t adapt to the abyss, but he was adjusting unexpectedly well.


    ¡°hey. honestly, abyss magic is amazing. it¡¯s on a different level than the magic from earth,¡± said hwang gyeongryong with an expression of admiration.


    given that he was entrapped in ice, he wasn¡¯t in the best condition, but he was nonetheless serious about abyssal magic.


    the history of earth¡¯s magic was like a baby compared to the abyss. even so, it was actually amazing that earth¡¯s magic had even managed to rise to that level in such a short period of time.


    hwang gyeongryong had managed to learn a lot of valuable information about various kinds of magic from odaigon and the lich.


    the world was so vast, and there were so many kinds of magic!


    -you admitted that you learned magic from me!then get me out quickly!get me out!


    ¡°why is the lich yelling, odaigon?¡±


    ¡°i left him with the orcs in the farming area. it was so painful for him that he quickly became obedient, master.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded hearing that the lich, who had shouted that he would never give in to any type of torture, had become so compliant after casually being thrown somewhere without much thought.


    he had expected the lich to be more resilient.


    ¡°take him out. i¡¯m curious about something.¡±


    odaigon walked back and pulled out the lich in one go, and choi yeonseung proceeded to question the lich.


    ¡°are you ready to tell us everything you know?¡±


    -bah.don¡¯t underestimate me.i...


    ¡°alright, stick him into the ground again.¡±


    -wait!wait!give me some time to think about it!in a quiet and secluded place!i can¡¯t make a decision with these orcs making noise...


    it occurred to choi yeonseung that making the lich cave would be surprisingly easy.


    ***


    hwang gyeongryong asked, ¡°so is earth running well?¡±


    ¡°there was a procession to commemorate hyung.¡±


    ¡°oh...¡±


    hwang gyeongryong seemed moved. he never disregarded such things as he always cared about them and enjoyed them.


    after all, the first thing he would do when going to work was to search for his name on websites. he had started with american sites, then went on south korean sites and even had a translator search the sites in southeast asia. it was admirable.


    ¡°heh, people still know what to do.¡±


    hwang gyeongryong watched the screen from his ice prison, his eyes glinting with satisfaction. his voice was playful, but tears were welling up in his eyes.


    what did a hunter gain from fighting? some people would say money, but in hwang gyeongryong¡¯s opinion, it was respect.


    ¡°did south korea do anything?¡±


    -think about it carefully.my abilities are never lacking.the goblin and the human actually learned my magic!


    ¡°i didn¡¯t learn it from you...?¡±


    ¡°what did i learn? do you want me to put you upside down again?¡±


    -...no matter what, if you treat me fairly, i promise to repay you accordingly!don¡¯t you want to get your hands on the most evil magic in the abyss?


    the lich was trying to tempt them, but choi yeonseung answered in a disinterested manner, ¡°not really.¡±


    ¡°how dare you brazenly say that you will teach master? i can¡¯t forgive you!¡± odaigon cried out in anger.


    the lich hurriedly made an excuse.


    -i didn¡¯t mean to teach him, i mean to teach the orcs!i¡¯m teaching the orcs!how can i teach a constellation?


    constellations didn¡¯t master all kinds of magic. they only learned magic that they were interested in.


    however, it was clear that the lich was under the illusion that since choi yeonseung was a constellation, there was no need for him to learn his magic.


    ¡®...he must be aware that i don¡¯t know much magic.¡¯


    ¡°now, do you have anything to say before you go deep into the ground?¡±


    -stop!stop it!kuock...!what the hell do you want from me?my magic is great!


    ¡°i don¡¯t want anything from the undead!¡±


    -i understand!i¡¯ll give you the name of my master.


    ¡°no... i¡¯m not interested.¡±


    -in addition to the name of my master, i will tell you his weakness!it¡¯s a really great weakness.aiming at this weakness will benefit your realm!really!!!


    the lich was shouting desperately as he was about to be stuck into the ground again.


    choi yeonseung was amazed by the sight.


    ¡®how noisy were the orcs during farming for the lich to end up like this?¡¯


    ¡°weakness?¡±


    -that¡¯s right.i¡¯m sure you won¡¯t regret it!


    ¡°okay. i¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°just know that if your words are worthless, you will go back into the ground!¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. in addition, show respect to yeonseung! why are you speaking informally like that?¡±


    -...


    the lich hated these two household members more than the constellation.


    ***


    it was revealed that the lich¡¯s name was ganonvial and that he had made a contract with the demon of contract and order.


    at first, the lich had lived arrogantly and hadn¡¯t served anyone. however, after being brutally defeated by the evil god constellation, ganonvial had become the constellation¡¯s dog.


    the lich had been loyal to the constellation only because of how powerful and fearsome his master was. naturally, ganonvial had harbored feelings of resentment and had been desperately trying to find the weaknesses of the demon of contract and order.


    -i¡¯m saying that i will give you that information now.


    ¡°so what? are you the only one who struggled? i was the leader of a goblin kingdom for a thousand years, but i left to serve master.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. i used to be the owner of one of the largest companies on the planet, but i left all of that behind and came here. will you stop showing off your pride?¡±


    -...can you please tell them to be quiet?


    lich ganonvial spoke those words in a pitiful voice.


    choi yeonseung nodded in understanding.


    ¡®the demon of contract and order... he¡¯s a surprisingly strong opponent.¡¯


    the demon of contract and order. this evil god constellation currently occupied part of the african continent and controlled the next realm of the abyss gate raid. contrary to his name, he was rather reserved, but by no means was he a weak constellation.


    -the fact that he isn¡¯t a warlike constellation is surprising.


    the goddess of sloth was also puzzled.


    not all evil god constellations were necessarily warlike. the demon of contract and order was a prime example of that.


    -what is he like?


    -he enjoys binding souls with intricate and detailed contracts.he¡¯s similar to the classic demons imagined by the humans on earth hundreds of years ago.


    the goddess had wandered around earth so she drew an image that was easy to understand. the demon of contract and order had the appearance of a demon with red skin and two horns.


    -he¡¯s so famous that there¡¯s even a book about it.the name given to him on earth...was it der zahlenteufel, the number demon?devil?


    -...no.that¡¯s a demon. it¡¯s a bit different...in any case, i know what you mean.


    the fact that the constellation wasn¡¯t bloodthirsty made all of this even more strange.


    why did he target choi yeonseung?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it¡¯s because the incarnation is attracting aggro like crazy...?]

 Chapter 284

    chapter 284


    -...that would make sense, but there seems to be some other reason.


    choi yeonseung pondered on it. what reason did a constellation have to do something against their inclinations?


    ¡®an alliance!¡¯


    at that moment, a thought passed through choi yeonseung¡¯s mind.


    just as working hard went against the nature of the goddess of sloth, the allied constellations were sometimes forced to do things they didn¡¯t want to do.


    -why bring me up...


    -doesn¡¯t it sound reasonable?


    -it certainly makes sense. it¡¯s possible that a constellation allied with the demon of contract and order requested him to target you.


    the goddess of sloth agreed.


    moreover, there was an advantage in asking another constellation to do this. it was easy for the constellation that made the request to remain undetected!


    -by the way... the demon of contract and order doesn¡¯t have any constellations he¡¯s allied with, right?the evil god constellations were friendly with each other, but not to the point where you could call it an alliance.n??v€l-b1n was the first platform to present this chapter.


    -it¡¯s also common to form secret alliances in the abyss...


    -that¡¯s true.


    if the demon of contract and order had secretly formed an alliance with other constellations, there was almost no way for choi yeonseung to find out who the allies were.


    ¡°so? lich, didn¡¯t you say you would reveal your master¡¯s weakness on top of his identity?¡±


    -ah.yes. there is a treasure that the demon of contract and order holds very dear.


    ¡°!¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s expression changed upon hearing something surprisingly enticing. odaigon, who was listening next to choi yeonseung, was also intrigued.


    ¡®ohu...¡¯


    if a constellation treasured that item, then it had to be something special. at the very least, it had to be a holy relic that contained the existence of a constellation. it was hard to say how valuable it would turn out to be!


    ¡°what kind of treasure is it?¡±


    -it¡¯s a contract book containing the record of contracts written by the demon of contract and order.


    ¡°...¡±


    disappointment washed over choi yeonseung¡¯s expression. it wasn¡¯t as great as he had imagined.


    ¡°how can i use that?¡±


    -n-no...think carefully!it might be useless to you, but the demon of contract and order values that treasure just as much as he values his life.really!


    ¡®he isn¡¯t lying, is he?¡¯


    choi yeonseung had a hard time believing it. how could a constellation cherish a contract book so much?


    -no.it doesn¡¯t make any sense, but there might be constellations like that.


    -really?


    -wasn¡¯t there a constellation that made a holy relic with his own power of existence?you can look at the contract book as something similar.


    the goddess of sloth mentioned something that had happened before.


    there was a blacksmith constellation, and it was said that he had created such an amazing sword that he treasured it tremendously. he had taken his own power of existence, made it into a holy relic, and kept it by his side, never separating himself from it.


    of course, it hadn¡¯t ended up well for the blacksmith constellation. other constellations had found out about his weakness and persistently targeted his sword.


    -you could deal a really heavy blow to him if you actually manage to get your hands on that contract book.


    -if that¡¯s true, it could work.


    it was easy to think of constellations as almighty beings due to the rumors about them, but they weren¡¯t invincible. just as choi yeonseung had the power of existence but rarely used magic, constellations couldn¡¯t learn or employ things that didn¡¯t suit them well.


    therefore, this aspect made constellations rather vulnerable. they were susceptible to growing a deep attachment to these kinds of treasures!


    -i¡¯ve been searching for a long time for that contract book.i¡¯ll tell you where it¡¯s located if you make a promise to me.


    ¡°what promise?¡¯


    -you have to accept me as your household member.


    ganonvial¡¯s words were firm.


    the moment he revealed his master¡¯s identity and the location of the book, ganonvial would become the enemy of the demon of contract and order. a lich was generally not afraid of anything, but nothing good would come out of incurring the wrath of a constellation. it was best to serve another constellation in order to avoid the resentment of his original master.


    hwang gyeongryong said angrily, ¡°what type of clan does this cheeky undead guy belong to?¡±


    ¡°well said, human! we don¡¯t need an undead in our household! start as a minion, or even a slave!¡±


    -...


    ganonvial regretted his decision for a moment. would he really be able to get along with such exasperating individuals?


    odaigon and choi yeonseung instantly cut off the centaur¡¯s words. they didn¡¯t know about anything else, but they could guess that the centaur was trying to run away without paying for his impudence. it was absolutely unacceptable!


    ¡°now, describe the area. i need to get used to it before i obtain the treasure.¡±


    the centaur was taken aback by the orc¡¯s confident words. it was rather amusing that this orc was putting the cart before the horse.


    -no...the treasures here aren¡¯t in some kind of treasure chest, so they aren¡¯t that easy to obtain.


    ¡°then how do you obtain them?¡±


    ¡®he has such a nasty temper for an orc.¡¯


    the centaur inwardly cursed at choi yeonseung. it hadn¡¯t been long since choi yeonseung subdued the centaur, and he was already pushing his patience to the limit.


    -you have to meet with the person who has the treasure and negotiate a contract with them.that¡¯s the rule.


    ¡°i have to go through all that?¡±


    -isn¡¯t it a given?


    the centaur had come to this forest filled with harsh order before, which meant that he was comfortable navigating through it.


    ¡°now that i know this, tell me something else. what¡¯s up with the elf pushing the boulder up the slope over there?¡± asked choi yeonseung while pointing toward a forest slope.


    the centaur saw it and proceeded to explain with a pitying voice.


    -he seems to have gone against the wishes of the demon of contract and order and is being punished severely.


    ¡°is that a punishment?¡±


    -yes.


    ¡®it doesn¡¯t really look like punishment...¡¯


    in choi yeonseung¡¯s opinion, pushing the boulder up the slope seemed like good training. that kind of training honed the foundation of martial arts!


    of course, that was just choi yeonseung¡¯s opinion. if anyone else saw that, they would think something like ¡®you shouldn¡¯t have disobeyed the constellation.¡¯


    ¡°what is that deer waiting in the spring? is a constellation raising that deer?¡±


    -that poor deer has sworn to the demon of contract and order that it would only drink water with a funnel.i don¡¯t know how long it¡¯s been doing this.


    ¡®...isn¡¯t that guy insane?¡¯


    at most, he was just tormenting a poor deer.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s evaluation of the demon of contract and order went down one level. what kind of a fool would lay out such a trap in a contract?


    since then, bizarre things kept happening.


    quite befittingly for the name of the demon of contract and order, many minions in his realm had contracts with him. choi yeonseung was dumbfounded every time he saw such bizarre contracts.


    this constellation was basically doing nothing!


    ¡®why is he wasting his time like this?¡¯


    -i agree.


    ¡®...in any case, the location that ganonvial gave us is much deeper into the forest, right?¡¯


    choi yeonseung had roughly circled around the outskirts of the forest and was now thinking about entering the forest. according to the lich, the treasure was located in the heart of the forest.


    the centaur hesitated as he looked at choi yeonseung.


    -i think i¡¯ve explained everything to you. can i go now, great orc warrior?


    ¡°uhh, not a chance. guide me inside as well.¡±


    -...


    the centaur looked utterly dejected. still, he had no choice but to comply.


    ¡®rather than going around with orcs and goblins, it¡¯s better to have a skilled centaur from here to avoid raising suspicion.¡¯


    if there were just choi yeonseung and odaigon, they would easily attract attention, but what if there was also a centaur with them? they would clearly have a better disguise that way.


    ¡®ugh, these two crazy bastards...,¡¯ the centaur complained to himself. he didn¡¯t know from which realm they had come from, but they were awfully arrogant for an orc and a goblin. he would never forgive them!


    ¡°what? why are all the paths blocked here?¡±


    -the forest filled with harsh order is a place where the demon constellation sets the rules.you have to follow the rules if you want to go through this path and get inside.it¡¯s a riddle that blocks this path.


    the centaur sneered along with those words. the orc warrior was strong and powerful, but there was no way he was smart enough to solve this riddle.


    ¡°i solved it. not a big deal. isn¡¯t the path open now?¡±


    -?!?!?!


    ¡°is this path really managed by the demon constellation?¡±


    at the sight of the orc warrior, or rather, choi yeonseung, solving the puzzle instantly and moving forward, the centaur was speechless and could only blink in astonishment.


    was he really an orc???

 Chapter 285

    chapter 285


    when wandering around the abyss, one could come across all kinds of terrain. one example was a maze-like terrain that one couldn¡¯t make their way through by force.


    -it seems like you¡¯ve learnt the ropes by breaking through the previous maze terrains.


    the goddess of sloth nodded in approval.


    even though it was said that constellations essentially lived for an infinite amount of time, it didn¡¯t mean that their intelligence was proportional to that time. some were smart, and some were stupid, regardless of how long they had lived for.


    constellations were arrogant, and no matter what kind of areas they lacked in, they never tried to improve on that. if they did that, it meant admitting that they had a weakness.


    in comparison, choi yeonseung was different.


    perhaps it was because he had been a mortal before he had become a constellation, but he didn¡¯t hesitate to use the power of other constellations. if he had any shortcomings, he tried his best to correct them.


    perhaps he had an epiphany while trying to break through the maze.


    -no,i had no idea how to do it. i just kept trying to break through.


    -...wasn¡¯t that only at the beginning?


    -from then on, i pretty much figured out where to go based on my intuition.


    -...


    he was being much more ignorant and stubborn than she had expected. the goddess of sloth took back what she had thought about choi yeonseung.


    ***


    ¡°this place...?¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised by the peculiar scenery that unfolded before his eyes.


    the forest filled with harsh order was a forest that had grown so lushly and densely that the sky wasn¡¯t even visible. it was reminiscent of the ancient times.


    since it was a forest, choi yeonseung had assumed that the nature would be wild, with huge and fierce monsters guarding the treasure of the demon of contract and order!


    however...?


    ¡°???¡±


    in front of choi yeonseung was a high-rise building that seemed to pierce the sky. the dreary, gray building was in stark contrast with the green forest that surrounded it. it also had no windows, and gray was its only color. it towered endlessly toward the sky.


    -this is where you can find the treasure.


    the centaur¡¯s tone was polite. as a matter of fact, he had so far only heard rumors about it. this was the first time he came this far.


    to get there, one had to go through many mazes and trials. only a handful of mortals could reach this place within the forest filled with harsh order!


    ¡°...no. what is this place?¡±


    -haha.since you¡¯re an orc, it seems like it¡¯s your first time visiting a place like this.


    ¡®this annoying bastard.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was annoyed by how the centaur was looking down on orcs. it wasn¡¯t surprising that within the abyss, some races were being disparaged, but being the one subjected to such treatment was certainly infuriating.


    honestly, in the eyes of humans, all other races were...


    -this is where the household members of the demon of contract and order work.no matter what land or kingdom they come from, his household members work in this tower.


    just as the household members of the warrior stained with madness and blood lived in a land surrounded by fire and brimstone, with rivers of blood flowing endlessly, the household members of the demon of contract and order lived in a place that suited the taste of the constellation.


    they worked in a skyscraper.


    ¡®speaking of towers, it looks like one of those buildings that big companies own.¡¯


    -hello?


    ¡°...!¡±


    choi yeonseung turned his attention to the voice calling him from behind.


    a well-groomed demon dressed in a suit appeared at the entrance of the building with a very gentle smile.


    -welcome!i am demon no. 437982 who serves the demon of contract and order.once you finish your contract today, please give me a good evaluation when evaluating the service.


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung was utterly confused.


    ***


    it was just like the goddess of sloth had said. the demon of contract and order wasn¡¯t a warlike constellation. the demon constellation found pleasure in binding mortals to intricate and bizarre contracts. violence wasn¡¯t necessary for that as the demon constellation could just stay put and let the mortals destroy themselves with their own desires.


    -demon no. 7725643, please move to the seventeenth floor.the contractor has requested a summons with the magic circle.proceed to the seventeenth floor right now.if you are late, you will be punished according to the contract.


    -contract no. 198384322 is officially unable to be fulfilled due to the contractor¡¯s condition.i¡¯ll say it again.1983...


    bang!


    there was a loud sound as the doors of the four elevators on both sides of the room opened. demon household members rushed in and subdued the centaur before he could even react.


    -aghh!wait...


    -go underground.


    -please go underground.


    -wait!wait a minute!i was wrong!


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung and odaigon were shocked by how powerful these household members were. given that it was the realm of the demon constellation, it made sense for his household members to be more powerful here, but...


    weren¡¯t they overpowered?


    ¡®it¡¯s close to level five hundred.¡¯


    earth¡¯s s-grade hunters barely exceeded level four hundred, so being close to level five hundred meant that these household members crossed the threshold of mortal strength.


    even with all the buffs they received from being in this realm, was that kind of strength even possible?


    odaigon also looked startled because he could feel that they were stronger than him.


    -it¡¯s the power of contracts.


    -the power of contracts?


    -yes, it¡¯s the power of the contract created by the demon of contract and order.


    -i already knew that.doesn¡¯t every contract become the power of the constellation?however, no matter how strong the constellation is, it should be impossible to give this much power to so many...


    -it¡¯s not just that. it¡¯s the contract itself that makes them stronger.maybe these demons have signed contracts stating that they can only use this kind of power in certain situations or that they can only fight once a year?


    -...!


    choi yeonseung was shocked to learn this.


    he genuinely hadn¡¯t thought that the power of the demon of contract and order was that great. after hearing the explanation of the goddess of sloth, he realized that the demon constellation¡¯s power could be used this way.


    the demons made contracts with themselves in order to gain their master¡¯s power!


    choi yeonseung felt that the powers of the constellation were really overpowered when used in certain ways.


    ¡®hearing things like this, my training power seems a bit... i think it feels weak.¡¯


    -but you have my power of defeat, don¡¯t you?such a great power is rare even in the abyss.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says there is also the power given by the goddess of balance...]


    ¡®it¡¯s not very comforting.¡¯


    -now!please sit here!


    during the conversation, demon no. 437982 finished his preparations and sat down.


    -ah, right.do you want me to change the background of the room?


    ¡°no, it¡¯s not necessary.¡±


    -i see.then...what do you want?tell me what you want.i will give you a quota.


    the demon seemed like an experienced banker as he took out his papers and his pen.


    the demon of contract and order had all types of contracts, but the basic framework was similar for all of them. the contractor would state what they wanted, and the demon would offer the best possible terms. the contractor usually had to give up money, a part of their body, or their very soul.


    of course, the more valuable the contractor was, the better were the terms they received...


    -you have the magic power of a great hero among mortals!in addition, you get extra points for finding your way through all the mazes.you will be able to easily obtain some treasures.


    ¡°...is it possible to get something like a constellation item? for example, the book containing the contracts of the demon constellation.¡±


    choi yeonseung was ready to fight as he spoke. he was ready to immediately counter a possible attack from the demon and wreck this whole place. they were in dangerous territory, but he was ready to fight fiercely in order to get his hands on the treasure!


    ...however, the demon¡¯s reply was quite casual.


    -ah, so you want master¡¯s book of contracts?i¡¯ll search for it now.


    ¡°...not that it¡¯s any of my business, but are you allowed to give away your master¡¯s things like that?¡±


    -i¡¯m just doing my job.master won¡¯t mind either.i¡¯m acting according to the rules.


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung wanted to ask if he could also obtain the constellation himself but held back.

 Chapter 286

    chapter 286


    the demon nodded as he finished searching for the treasure.


    -this is the book of great contracts.is this the treasure that you desire?


    ¡°...uh, yeah, that¡¯s it,¡± replied choi yeonseung with a stunned expression. was he really about to obtain the treasure like this, without any fighting or deception?


    -now, it¡¯s about time you told us what your price will be, mortal.how long have you been looking at it?


    ¡°huh?¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s response, the demon looked at him with a hint of incredulity.


    -of course, you have to tell us what you¡¯re offering for this treasure.it doesn¡¯t matter what the price is.it doesn¡¯t matter if what you offer is from the past, present, or the future. it just needs to be the right value.now, what can you offer?beginners who don¡¯t know much about these kinds of procedures usually offer their soul.


    ¡°soul?¡±


    -yes.they agree that their soul will belong to master once their life ends.this kind of contract is popular because they can receive a pretty valuable treasure depending on how valuable their soul is.as far as your own soul goes, i deem it incredibly valuable.rest assured, you can trust my eyes.


    ¡°...¡¯


    evidently, choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t bet his soul. after all, he had come there to take advantage of the weakness of the demon constellation, not to sacrifice his soul.


    ¡°what else can i offer besides my soul?¡±


    -anything else is fine.like i said, everything is possible.recently, a mortal elf took a treasure by swearing he would sacrifice ten thousand souls to his master within ten years.however, you must be careful.if you don¡¯t fulfill your end of the bargain, you will most certainly be punished.


    ¡®this is harder than i thought!¡¯


    choi yeonseung was flustered. he had intended to steal the contract book by resorting to force and trickery. he hadn¡¯t expected this kind of negotiation.


    ¡®well, i can¡¯t offer my soul, and it¡¯s going to be even worse if i agree to offer him the souls of others...¡¯


    how much was that contract book worth?


    -first of all, you have your powers.


    ¡°!¡±


    the goddess of sloth was right. n??v€l-b1n was the first platform to present this chapter.


    choi yeonseung had disguised himself as a mortal, so he had attained the powers of various constellations. the powers of the evil god constellations like blood madness and red hallucination were only used by hunters who were desperate for power. they were of little use to choi yeonseung, given that he had already reached the peak of martial arts.


    he could just give them away.


    ¡®i need to keep the shadow crown.¡¯


    choi yeonseung decided to keep the shadow crown, since it had been surprisingly helpful during the last raid. he had initially struggled to use it because it was the power of another constellation, but he had ultimately managed to use it with ease after thinking of it as a martial art.


    ¡°i will use the powers i have received from constellations.¡±


    -oh, you have something like that?


    the demon tapped the calculator with great delight, calculating the value of the powers presented by choi yeonseung.


    -well, they are indeed valuable, but...i apologize.i¡¯m afraid this won¡¯t suffice.


    ¡°what... do you know which constellations gave me these precious powers?!¡± retorted choi yeonseung. he was disappointed by the demon¡¯s response and tried to push his offer.


    the goddess of sloth was dumbfounded as she watched from the side.


    ¡®successor, you... you¡¯ve never used them...¡¯


    choi yeonseung had neglected those powers because he considered them useless. despite that, he was currently arguing that they were precious powers...


    however, despite choi yeonseung¡¯s arguing, the demon didn¡¯t yield, his expression unchanged.


    -i¡¯m sorry.i¡¯m just calculating how valuable the treasure you desire is compared to the price you presented. i don¡¯t exactly know what the price of this treasure is.


    ¡°...¡±


    chou yeonseung listened to the demon and thought it was plausible.


    from the constellation¡¯s perspective, it would be a concern if the demon found out the specific details of a treasure or its correct price.


    some constellations, like choi yeonseung and the goddess of balance, had a lot of faith in their household members. however, with bigger households, it wasn¡¯t surprising for there to be a traitor.


    if a constellation cared deeply for a particular treasure, it was natural that their household members didn¡¯t know how valuable the treasure was nor what the right price for it was.


    ¡®in any case, this isn¡¯t going to work.¡¯


    if he couldn¡¯t make a deal with the powers...


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ suggests your treasure.]


    -mortal?


    ¡°...?¡±


    choi yeonseung was a bit nervous when the demon called out to him. had he realized how valuable the treasure he had given away really was?


    -please leave a good review when evaluating our service.


    ¡°...of course. don¡¯t worry, i¡¯ll give you a perfect score.¡±


    choi yeonseung shook hands with the demon and left the building.


    ***


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ criticizes the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons.¡¯ he says he can¡¯t stand the impudence of touching his household member.]


    [the ¡®hound of instinct and liberation¡¯ defends the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons.¡¯ he insists that getting rid of a company you don¡¯t like deserves praise.]


    the demon of contract and order watched the conversation between constellations with great interest.


    -hmm... hmm...


    the demons below him were doing their best to sort through the thick stacks of documents.


    earth was such an interesting place. other constellations were so idiotic that they only saw value in the number of souls.


    the lieutenant demons couldn¡¯t even nod. they were too busy for that. the demon constellation knew that too, so he didn¡¯t bother speaking any further.


    in his view, the most precious treasure that the humans of earth had was their work system. they had built this system without any magic! he could get so much inspiration from that!


    ¡®those bastards.¡¯


    ¡®if i see any human bastards, i¡¯ll eat them.¡¯


    the demon household members gnashed their teeth and cursed the humans of earth. what the hell kind of life did those humans lead that the demon constellation got inspired every time he look at earth?


    the work of demons hadn¡¯t always been that terrible.


    in a vast and peaceful realm, the demons had used to leisurely roam around and rest. if someone wanted a contract, an appropriate demon would visit them and negotiate.


    however, after the gates had opened and the demon constellation observed earth, their work system had changed drastically. they had to mimic the extreme efficiency of the workers on earth!


    this new system seemed to squeeze out all of the demon¡¯s energy from the moment they woke up to the moment they lay down.


    the demons couldn¡¯t believe the humans of earth. how could they live like that?!


    ¡®if i find the soul of the human bastard who came up with the idea of checking how much time the employees spend in the bathroom and penalize them for it in the work evaluation, i will obliterate it...¡¯


    ¡®i hate the guy who created the system where mortals are evaluated based on the satisfaction of the customer. if we get a low score, we¡¯re sent underground! what the hell is up with this bullshit?!¡¯


    the chairmen with companies on earth would never imagine that they had become role models for the demons in the abyss.


    the demon constellation nodded and spoke once again. his main interest was currently the way banks operated on earth. he thought that the way this bank lent money and took away goods was very attractive... his contracts would become even more efficient once he wrapped his head around that system.


    ¡®please.¡¯


    ¡®it don¡¯t know what it is, but you damn humans! stop being excessive!¡¯


    the demons prayed. they didn¡¯t know how the human banks did contracts, but it certainly seemed foreboding for them.


    ¡®let¡¯s stop studying for today.¡¯ it was hard to observe the humans because of how boisterous the other constellations were. what a bunch of violent beings...


    the demon constellation summoned his contract book to finish off the day.


    ...it didn¡¯t come out


    ?????


    the demon constellation tried once again to summon it.


    of course, this didn¡¯t mean there were no contracts.


    the demon constellation asked for the head of the contract management department and the head of the treasure identification department, but the demon he was speaking to was confused.


    -huh?


    -you still can¡¯t remember these titles?call demon no. 138 and demon no. 84!


    -ah.i¡¯m sorry!


    the demon was upset by the rebuking. he would¡¯ve understood right away if the constellation had called those demons in the traditional way, by numbers. however, since the demons were now called by strange titles taken from earth, he couldn¡¯t understand right away.


    ¡®it¡¯s all because of the humans of earth. the culture of demons has been ruined by them!¡¯

 Chapter 287

    chapter 287


    -no. 138 has responded to the demon call.


    -no. 84 has responded to the demon call.


    i appreciate your coming despite being busy.there is no time, so i¡¯ll get to the point.where did my contract book go?


    -the contract book?


    demon no. 84 sounded like he didn¡¯t know what his master was talking about.


    the demon constellation realized that he had phrased it the wrong way. his household members weren¡¯t aware of how valuable the treasures were. even if he called the book by its name, they still wouldn¡¯t understand.


    tell me the whereabouts of treasure no. 1.


    -a contractor has taken treasure no. 1.


    ......


    the demon constellation couldn¡¯t believe it. he must have misheard it.


    what?it was taken by a contractor?


    -yes.


    what type of nonsense is that, you...no.there¡¯s no point in being angry with you guys.you were just doing your jobs.


    the demon constellation was different from other evil god constellations. in a situation like that, other constellations would¡¯ve torn apart their household members just to vent their anger. however, just like his name suggested, the demon of contract and order refrained from unnecessary anger. after all, his household members had merely been faithful to the contract.


    who took it?


    as the demon constellation asked about the contractor, the figures of the orc and the goblin materialized in the air, and he looked incredulously at both of their faces. putting aside the goblin, he hadn¡¯t expected an orc, out of all races, to find his way through the forest maze.


    the surprise didn¡¯t end there.


    no matter the cost, it should be impossible for a mortal to take my contract book.what type of contract did you make?


    -in exchange for a secret of his...uhm, he said that if he can¡¯t pay it back in ten thousand years, he will let us in on his secret.


    ?????


    the demon constellation was even more bewildered. he would¡¯ve been befuddled even if it had been a fair exchange, but since the demon had made such an unprofitable contract, the demon constellation was at a loss for words.


    was there something wrong with the constellation¡¯s contract?


    [the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ is asking for a conversation.]


    i think i know who it is.


    the demon constellation muttered that he had an idea as to who the culprit was. on second thoughts, he had heard rumors that the incarnation of training was leading the orcs. he had also heard some ridiculous rumors that the orcs were surprisingly clever...


    ¡®what exactly are you planning, undefeated incarnation of training? you want to go against me?¡¯


    even though the demon of contract and order had chosen to become an evil god constellation, he wasn¡¯t as violent as other evil god constellations. he wasn¡¯t really interested in driving out the good god constellations and taking over earth.


    in fact, it didn¡¯t matter to him who the master of earth was. the demon of contract and order was satisfied by just extorting mortals through contracts like he was currently doing.


    if he wished for something, it was for earth to run smoothly without being destroyed, since he still had a lot to learn from the systems created by humans.


    however, to be provoked by the incarnation of training... the demon constellation wasn¡¯t aggressive, but that didn¡¯t mean he would just stand by and not answer the provocation.


    ***


    ¡®i¡¯m glad it worked out better than i expected.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was currently in his realm, holding the book of great contracts in one hand as he waited for an answer from the demon constellation.


    -it¡¯s an offer i never thought of.


    the goddess of sloth praised choi yeonseung. the secret that he had offered for the book... only choi yeonseung could tell that secret. it was the secret that he was a constellation.


    the secret was related to a constellation¡¯s identity, thus setting it apart from the secrets of mortals. naturally, the value of such a secret was immeasurable.


    the demon constellation could never even imagine what choi yeonseung¡¯s real identity was! after all, who could predict that a constellation would pretend to be a mortal, sneak into a realm, and steal a holy relic?


    such scheming went beyond the imagination of a constellation.


    -well...there will be a solution within ten thousand years.


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t think that the fight over the rulership of earth would last for ten thousand years. the fighting between constellations had gradually become fiercer. with each passing day, all kinds of changes occurred.


    the master of earth would be decided before ten thousand years passed.


    [the ¡®demon of contract and order¡¯ has responded to the conversation.]


    [he praises the orcs of the constellation for being unexpectedly shrewd.]


    ¡®huh?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was puzzled, but quickly understood the meaning of the message. the demon constellation seemed to think that the orc who had come to his realm was an actual orc from a tribe, not choi yeonseung.


    -it¡¯s too late, demon constellation.your reaction says everything.tell me who belongs to the alliance.if you do so, i¡¯ll give you back the book.


    there was nothing but silence and a sense of bewilderment. the demon constellation was really flustered for the first time in a really long time. he had been robbed of his holy relic, and his secret had been revealed by a fledgling constellation that he had completely looked down on.


    [the ¡®demon of contract and order¡¯ acknowledges your skills.]


    [however, he says he has sworn an oath and can¡¯t reveal anything about their identity.]


    ¡®it¡¯s really tricky.¡¯


    choi yeonseung had once again hit a brick wall. he was trying to figure out a loophole for that oath.


    -then tell me everything you¡¯re allowed to say.i¡¯ll be satisfied with that.


    [...]


    the demon of contract and order thought about it for a moment before speaking.


    [several constellations coveted earth and gathered their strength.]


    [i was one of them.]


    [using the power of several constellations wasn¡¯t enough, so i created a way using the power of contracts.]


    [in return, earth¡¯s humans were given the right to advance into the realms of the abyss.]


    ¡°...!¡±


    choi yeonseung had sort of guessed about this when talking to the goddess of sloth, but it was shocking to actually hear it in person.


    the gate hadn¡¯t appeared naturally; rather, it had been created under the leadership of several constellations.


    ¡®in short, if it wasn¡¯t for the constellations, the monsters wouldn¡¯t have appeared, right?¡¯


    -yeah, the constellations are terrible.


    ¡®don¡¯t pretend you¡¯re not a constellation yourself.¡¯


    -by that logic, you¡¯re also a constellation, successor.


    choi yeonseung ignored her and asked again.


    -are those allies still working together on a sinister plot?


    [the ¡®demon of contract and order¡¯ says no. he says that such cooperation can¡¯t last long when they compete among themselves.]


    ¡°...¡±


    it was a relief. it would¡¯ve been a headache if the constellations had still been working together on a plot.


    [the ¡®demon of contract and order¡¯ asks if that is all.]


    -yeah, i guess so.


    [the ¡®demon of contract and order¡¯ says that if the alliance and information is worth the value of the book of great contracts, the contract will automatically be finalized.]


    [will you accept the contract?]


    choi yeonseung was about to accept, but decided to ask one final question.


    -one last thing. if we have an alliance, doesn¡¯t that mean that i also have to help you?what happens in that case?


    [the ¡®demon of contract and order¡¯ says you are too arrogant.]


    [if a situation like that ever occurs, he will calculate the value of your help and repay you accordingly.]


    the demon constellation was dumbfounded by choi yeonseung¡¯s words. in an alliance between a strong and a weak constellation, it was natural for the strong constellation to help the weak constellation.


    the incarnation of training helping the demon constellation? it was ridiculous.


    he probably said this due to his pride as a constellation, but it was extremely unlikely that the demon constellation would ever need help from the incarnation of training.


    -i understand.i¡¯ll keep that in mind.


    [the ¡®demon of contract and order says that your household member is in charge of the company this time. you¡¯d better advise him well so that he doesn¡¯t ruin it.]


    ¡®...¡¯


    it was also a problem when a constellation adapted too well to earth. choi yeonseung was dumbfounded by the fact that the demon constellation was worrying about the company¡¯s operations.


    ***


    -by the way, would you actually be able to help the demon constellation in any way?


    -i didn¡¯t say it seriously.i was just curious.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that with your brilliant intelligence, you can deal a blow to the demon constellation.]


    ¡°...is that really the case?¡±

 Chapter 288

    chapter 288


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t think there was much he could help the demon constellation with. first of all, choi yeonseung had more enemies than him at the moment.


    despite being an evil god constellation, the demon constellation had no enemies. on the other hand, choi yeonseung had many enemies despite being on the side of the good god constellations. it wouldn''t be surprising for him to get involved in another constellation battle in the near future.


    in addition, it seemed that the demon constellation wanted some insight into the lifestyle of humans, but it didn¡¯t seem like choi yeonseung himself could offer him any enlightening knowledge when it came to that.


    [the household of the ¡®demon of contract and order¡¯ has come to you.]


    ¡®eh?¡¯n??v€l-b1n was the first platform to present this chapter.


    choi yeonseung was startled by the sudden message window.


    since they had formed an alliance, it was normal for the demon of contract and order to send his subordinates to choi yeonseung. moreover, the demon constellation was now pressured to fulfill his end of the bargain as soon as possible, given that he had made a deal with choi yeonseung to get his contract book back.


    it was only natural for his household members to come to choi yeonseung.


    ¡®...but it¡¯s so embarrassing...¡¯


    compared to the abyss, it was far more awkward to meet abyssal races on earth. that was especially the case if those creatures were the household members of an evil god constellation.


    ¡°i look forward to cooperating with you, hunter choi yeonseung. i am demon no. 139. feel free to call me no. 139.¡±


    ¡°...yes. it¡¯s a pleasure, no. 139. however, if you go somewhere else, don¡¯t say out loud that you¡¯re a demon.¡±


    they were on british soil, and no matter what choi yeonseung said out loud, it was extremely unlikely for anyone to leak information to others. the only ones here were the household members sent by the goddess of balance and the orcs and nightmare demons brought by choi yeonseung.


    however, it would be troublesome in many ways for this demon to go to other countries and reveal his true nature.


    ¡°oh my... yes, that goes without saying. don¡¯t worry, hunter choi yeonseung. i will obey orders no matter what. hehe.¡±


    ¡®i guess i don¡¯t have to worry about him getting caught.¡¯


    choi yeonseung scanned the demon from head to toe. he was much more adept at disguising himself than odaigon. the demon was dressed in a slightly worn, checkered suit, and wore large, thick glasses. he stood awkwardly and was reminiscent of a weak-minded tax accountant or lawyer.


    choi yeonseung instinctively gauged the abilities of no. 139 with his constellation eyes. after all, it was important to know if the demon was too weak.


    if he got into a fight with other monsters or hunters...


    [demon no. 139]


    [level: 498


    strength: 728


    agility: 830


    physical strength: 840


    magic power: 980


    intelligence: 890]


    [bondage of the black contract]


    rank: ?


    ?????


    [seven hearts]


    rank: ?


    ?????


    ...]


    ¡®...that¡¯s insane.¡¯


    for the first time in ages, choi yeonseung was completely shocked. the demon¡¯s stats were simply too amazing. moreover, it was difficult to check all the skills the demon had. even if choi yeonseung looked at them roughly, his abilities were...


    it was likely that this demon was pretty strong even when compared to demons choi yeonseung had faced in the past, like baringos.


    one couldn¡¯t reach the status of a constellation just by rising to a high level, but even so, looking at the demon¡¯s level alone, he was essentially one step away from surpassing the strength of mortals!


    ¡°can i ask you what role you play among the household members of the demon constellation?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m ashamed to say it, but i¡¯m in charge of fighting.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡®i need to tell the orcs to watch out for demon no. 139...¡¯


    once again, choi yeonseung realized that he shouldn¡¯t judge the abyss based on appearances!


    ***


    ¡°oh... indeed...¡±


    no. 139 was listening with great interest when an idea suddenly came to him.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, could i apply your strategy to my master¡¯s contracts?¡±


    ¡°...huh?¡±


    ¡°apparently, mortals don¡¯t trust demons and are afraid of them, which is detrimental for making contracts. however, if we make our image more friendly, i think mortals will have the courage to make contracts with us.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    [new advice has been delivered to the ¡®demon of contract and order.¡¯]


    [if this advice is effective, it will be recorded as assistance under the contract.]


    -what are you doing?!


    the goddess of sloth let out a cry of shock. even if no. 139 was the household member of the demon constellation, how could choi yeonseung let him use his strategy for such a malevolent purpose?


    ***


    adaquaniel regularly reported to the goddess of balance who walks ahead. she reported on the status of the realm, the movements of the surrounding constellations, or any peculiarities that were worth mentioning. since taking over the united kingdom, she also reported on the british officials.


    -master, some of the humans dared to claim your land as their own and extort money from others.


    -so what did you do?


    -just as hunter choi yeonseung had advised me, i let orcs purify their minds and bodies through labor.this type of human behavior has disappeared, so it seems to be effective.


    -i see.


    the goddess of balance nodded in satisfaction. adaquaniel had certainly done a good job. however, a thought flashed through her mind...


    ¡®...aren¡¯t the two of them too close...?¡¯


    generally speaking, it was easy for two household members to get along with each other because they were both mortals. on the other hand, a relationship between a constellation and a mortal was bound to have some walls, no matter how friendly one side was.


    the goddess of balance suddenly became nervous as she thought about this. however, she couldn¡¯t tell adaquaniel, a loyal angel, to stop interacting with choi yeonseung.


    -master, this time, the demon of contract and order sent a household member.the demon marveled at the business you taught him.all of this is your glory...


    -wait, the demon constellation sent a household member?


    adaquaniel nodded, thinking that something like that was bound to happen. after forming an alliance, it wasn¡¯t unusual for one side to send over a household member in order to prepare for any possible attacks on their ally.


    in addition, demon no. 139 was so powerful that even adaquaniel couldn¡¯t easily see through him. in the event of a constellation battle, he would certainly be very helpful.


    -...adaquaniel, when you return to earth, can you ask hunter choi yeonseung if he needs the help of a constellation?


    -i shall do that, but master,hunter choi yeonseung already has a constellation that can help him. why go out of your way to...?


    -just do it.


    -yes.i understand.


    the loyal adaquaniel wouldn¡¯t disobey her master¡¯s orders. the goddess of balance became a bit more harsh because adaquaniel questioned her decision.


    -adaquaniel, i think it would be a good idea to mention some nice things about me when you go and speak to him.


    -that goes without saying, master.i won¡¯t forget to tell him.


    -don¡¯t do it blatantly. do it naturally. understood?


    -yes.of course.


    -...when you go and tell him about this, ask him what he thinks of me.


    -yes.of course.


    -he might take part in another constellation battle soon, but make sure to tell him that my power will be helpful, just like last time. in addition, ask him if he wants to receive an even stronger power.


    the other angels suddenly felt sorry for adaquaniel. why did their master, who was relatively fine in other areas, act like this when it came to choi yeonseung...?


    the power of a constellation wasn¡¯t meant to be used to lure others. it was a reward that had to be bestowed in a more honorable manner. it was as if the goddess was saying, ¡®why don¡¯t you come to my house? i¡¯ll make sure to give you something nice if you do...¡¯


    -master.


    -?


    adaquaniel called out to her master earnestly, and the goddess of balance looked at her with a hint of wariness.


    -i will risk my life to bring hunter choi yeonseung to you, if that is your order. so, master, when i bring him here, why don¡¯t you just do what you wanted all this time...?


    -...


    the goddess of balance came to her senses, and then reflected on it.

 Chapter 289

    chapter 289


    no matter how loyal a household member was, their loyalty would disappear if they had to carry out all the trivial tasks.


    as a matter of fact, the angels under the goddess of balance had used to give her advice like ¡®aren¡¯t you putting too much pressure on adaquaniel?¡¯


    -yes, i understand.adaquaniel,i¡¯ll take care of it.


    -huh?master, i don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea!


    -......


    the goddess was about to ask adaquaniel what she meant, but she felt that any answer would ruin her disposition.


    -it¡¯s fine, you can leave it to me,adaquaniel.i already have something to talk about with him.


    -......


    this time, adaquaniel was silent and she was seriously thinking about the situation.


    ¡®is she making the right call?¡¯


    she didn¡¯t have a perfect grasp of earth, but adaquaniel had studied it very attentively in a short period of time.


    most of the arrogant household members of other constellations looked down on earth. its inhabitants were uncivilized people who hadn¡¯t even known what magic was until a few decades prior, so it was no wonder that they were considered ¡®a primitive race with an incredibly large population.¡¯


    however, adaquaniel didn¡¯t have such thoughts and had done her best to familiarize herself with earth. her willingness to do that served to her advantage, as it set her apart from the other household members.


    thanks to that, adaquaniel had a rudimentary understanding of how earth worked. there were dozens of nations with different tribes, highly advanced systems, they had developed technology that replaced magic...


    while studying those things, she felt that earth¡¯s culture was very complex and diverse. in other words...


    ¡®if master makes an uneducated choice, she might make things awkward for no reason...¡¯


    adaquaniel fervently prayed that her master wouldn¡¯t make a mistake.


    ***


    choi yeonseung guided the orcs to continue farming in a militant manner. they were becoming increasingly great farmers under choi yeonseung¡¯s influence, their master.


    it was a routine that recognized farming as training. it implied raising their levels by farming, and then farming again using that increased level!


    not even choi yeonseung had expected to create such an efficient and thorough training routine. the moment the orcs, who were already great farmers, joined him, their efficiency skyrocketed!


    [the strength of the orcs is amplified under the influence of the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯!]


    [the level of the orcs has gone up!]


    ¡°...!¡±


    choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t used his power of existence to buff them, so he was really surprised to see the orcs plowing at the ground like bulldozers that had been buffed by magic.


    -how is this possible?


    -it¡¯s the power of a constellation.


    the goddess of sloth sounded like a veteran with decades of experience.


    -even if you¡¯re not aware of it, a constellation naturally exerts their influence over their household and minions.


    -there must be quite a few people on earth who believe in the undefeated incarnation of training. are they seeing this effect too?


    -it would be very hard for them to feel this kind of effect.the orcs here are the ones who have been in very close contact with you.


    choi yeonseung had trained all of these orcs individually, from martial arts to farming.


    since it was farming, the task itself wasn¡¯t taxing, but being taught directly by the constellation was a tremendous opportunity.


    ¡®huh, so i could also do this with the hunters on earth?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was lost in thought. the hunters he had trained so far... couldn¡¯t they achieve something similar to these orcs?


    ¡®i¡¯ll have to teach them more intensively in the future.¡¯


    he didn¡¯t know when and how something like that could happen, but if he focused on training the hunters, a phenomenon like that with the orcs could occur much faster and more intensely.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that it thinks most hunters don¡¯t want that type of training.]


    -of course, it¡¯s only natural that they think that way.


    choi yeonseung understood what the cat constellation was saying. in the eyes of constellations, hunters preferred other activities to raids. they only wandered from time to time, ¡®huh, i guess it¡¯d be nice to get stronger.¡¯


    however, that didn¡¯t matter to choi yeonseung.


    corporations and clans had so far made the biggest investments into the development of the abyss cities. no matter how much support the government provided, only companies and clans could invest that much money on such large-scale development.


    the most important thing for them was that the cities built in the abyss would make them steady profits without getting destroyed by monsters.


    for that, they willingly served evil god constellations.


    -isn¡¯t it a crime if you get caught on earth?


    -you don¡¯t really get caught, and even if you do, you just have to bribe the right people...honestly, there were many people who seemed to believe in the evil god constellations.


    it wasn¡¯t confirmed, but it would¡¯ve been awfully strange if none of the world¡¯s famous millionaires had fallen to the temptation of an evil god constellation. by merely believing in an evil god constellation, those people could receive various powers and other amazing rewards. who wouldn¡¯t go for that?


    moreover, unlike ordinary people, the rich could always get out of a jam with money.


    ¡®still, it¡¯s good that such corruption exists.¡¯


    those who served a constellation with a righteous heart were hard to persuade, but those who were blinded by profit were easy to persuade. if he undermined the other constellations and told those people to serve him, they would certainly come to his side.


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ says she thought you would be satisfied.]


    ¡°by the way, did adaquaniel come up with this plan?¡±


    [...]


    ***


    on earth, there was still some turmoil because of the s-grade raid, but the abyss was rather quiet. even if an s-grade monster was to emerge in china and destroy several cities, everyday life continued as usual in countries on the other side of the world. it was the same for the cities in the abyss.


    ¡°it¡¯s good that earth is in turmoil.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re right.¡±


    there were a lot of french people in monterre, a new city in the abyss. it was only natural, since alland, a major french company, had invested heavily in the city¡¯s development, and a large number of french hunter clans had also participated in this.


    ¡°if we attract unnecessary attention, we¡¯re going to get cursed at. if someone writes an article about us, the media will tell us not to touch the abyssal races.¡±


    gaston, who worked as alland¡¯s general director, frowned.


    why had they spent so much money to build a city in the abyss?


    the reason for that was to bring people and exploit the abundant resources of the abyss. to do that, they naturally had to drive out the abyssal races first. it didn¡¯t matter if they pushed out the creatures or killed them. however, the more eyes there were on them, the more restrictions they had on their actions.


    ¡°you¡¯re right. i saw an artifact that the dwarf tribe was armed with during the last conflict, and it was incredible. the hunters didn¡¯t dare to confront them and backed away.¡±


    ¡°yes! the people who have never been to the abyss are just talking nonsense. if we leave the creatures alone, won¡¯t they come and wipe us out? it¡¯s the same with president georges. he lost his mind after he almost got eaten by a monster. what, should we just leave the french base to the american hunters?¡±


    the french people still hadn¡¯t recovered from the shock of the paris invasion. back then, the french hunters had been the first ones to flee while the foreign hunters stepped in and rescued their president. after that, georges wanted to hire american hunters to build a new base in france.


    from the looks of it, he planned to leave the city in the hands of americans the moment it was built.


    -i can¡¯t accept it!i¡¯m going to invest in new things!


    the alland company had teamed up with several investors and hunter clans in france to announce a new city. it was a blatant disregard of president georges'' decision, but they didn¡¯t care. they put their interests above the president¡¯s reputation.


    if american hunters managed the city, the french had to be cautious and follow the rules no matter what.


    ¡°he¡¯s going to be kicked out soon anyway.¡±


    ¡°yeah. the ugly side has been exposed, so he¡¯ll never be re-elected.¡±


    president georges had been popular at first for his rude way of speaking and his overall unconventional behavior, but all his shortcomings had gradually come to light.


    in addition to the new city project, there were bumps and failures on all fronts, which meant that his reputation was plummeting, with fewer and fewer people approving of his decisions.


    for alland, it was better for a crazy and unpredictable individual like george to disappear quickly.


    ¡°france is almost ruined. how the hell did a guy like that become president?!¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s a traitor. didn¡¯t he give away the treasures of france the other day?¡±


    in reality, france had returned the korean treasures they had stolen in the past, but it didn¡¯t matter to these french people here. no matter the circumstances, once a treasure fell in the hands of france, it was the treasure of france.


    ¡°mr. gaston. a guest has come.¡±


    ¡°what? was there an appointment?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s the a-grade hunter, hunter choi yeonseung...¡±


    ¡°!!!¡±


    gaston, who was sitting on a chair, spilled his coffee in surprise. one of the people he just cursed at was visiting him out of nowhere!

 Chapter 290

    chapter 290


    ¡°what nonsense are you saying?!¡±


    gaston was furious.


    the secretary who had delivered the news was so flustered that she couldn¡¯t raise her head. the head of the department who was next to her couldn¡¯t just watch, so he stepped in to help.


    ¡°now now, don¡¯t take it out on her.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re talking nonsense, aren¡¯t you?! why is that a-grade hunter here when he should be on earth?¡±


    gaston had a point.


    people would joke about a-grade hunters, saying things like ¡®a-grade hunters pay close attention even to falling leaves.¡¯


    it wasn¡¯t that a-grade hunters were weak, but they only cared about themselves. only those who had climbed the ladder while collecting all sorts of achievements through raids could reach a-grade.


    once they reached that position, they had to pay attention to the smallest changes or events, regardless of whether they were intentional or not. those hunters usually lived comfortably, but when there was a real crisis for humanity, everybody wanted them to step up.


    ¡°how long has it been since the s-grade raid occurred in the united states? besides, dragon hwang has fallen.¡±


    ¡°yes...¡±


    ¡®why is this son of a ¡ö¡ö¡ö treating me like this...¡¯


    the secretary inwardly cursed gaston. in any case, choi yeonseung had actually come there. what could she do about that? it wasn¡¯t like she couldn¡¯t just tell him to leave.


    ¡°please calm down. he must be up to something.¡±


    ¡°...yes, certainly.¡±


    ¡°think carefully about hunter choi yeonseung¡¯s situation, mr. gaston. due to the fall of dragon hwang, he was put in charge of dragon industry, a highly prominent company.¡±


    hearing this, gaston finally got a sense of what was going on. hunters who only knew how to kill monsters and clear dungeons had to be incapable of doing business. how many high-grade hunters had started their own business only to end up ruined?


    choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t be much different. he possessed a variety of abilities, but this was something that dragon hwang had forced on him.


    a person who had nothing to do with the world of business was suddenly in charge of dragon industry. choi yeonseung was clearly prideful, so he needed to achieve some results in order to silence the opposition within the company. however, could he actually come up with a good method?


    ¡°i see. is this about his performance? ah, right... he¡¯s doing something that doesn¡¯t fit him.¡±


    ¡°did you see the high-tech farm project he announced the other day? he was talking nonsense about growing abyssal plants on earth.¡±


    ¡°hah! he¡¯s absolutely crazy.¡±


    ¡°yeah. who knows, maybe he realized in hindsight that it''s impossible.¡±


    ¡°he must¡¯ve scurried away...¡±


    gaston clenched his jaw, looking really satisfied. generally speaking, the best partner in business was an unhappy one.


    he didn¡¯t know what choi yeonseung came there to say, but there was no reason not to hear him out. if it wasn¡¯t a favorable offer, gaston would unconditionally refuse!


    ¡®now¡¯s my chance to vent all the anger that has accumulated because of that dumbass president.¡¯


    gaston rubbed his palms together and stood up. it wasn¡¯t often that one got to dominate an a-grade hunter. perhaps hunters thought they were nobles, but the real nobles were those like gaston who were running a company.


    ***


    ¡°???¡±


    choi yeonseung was a bit taken aback by gaston¡¯s attitude.


    ¡®what? is he crazy?¡¯


    first of all, his posture was a bit... it was very stiff and arrogant.


    gaston sat with his legs crossed on the table and leaned back, as if declaring with all his might that he didn¡¯t give a damn about choi yeonseung.


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t understand, so he asked aine in a low voice, ¡°did i do something wrong?¡±


    ¡°...no. i think he¡¯s just out of his mind.¡±


    choi yeonseung saw that aine¡¯s fingernails were digging deeply into her palm. she was fuming.


    ¡®are these pieces of ¡ö¡ö crazy as a group...?¡¯


    aine barely stopped herself from lunging at them. she didn¡¯t know what was in the heads of those at alland that made them so arrogant. were they really saying that hwang gyeongryong had fallen?


    even if hwang gyeongryong collapsed, dragon industry was still on its feet. alland couldn¡¯t collide with them even if they wanted to.


    their disrespectful attitude was unbelievable. it was so absurd that aine couldn¡¯t even guess why they acted like that.


    ¡®there are people in corporate business that act like this?¡¯


    aine had spoken to choi yeonseung before arriving in the city.


    -alland is a big company from france.


    -what kind of company is it?


    -those people do a lot of dirty things and make a lot of money. last time, they were caught dumping pollutants in africa and it made the news.


    ¡°the korean government? well... go ahead. i think the south korean government will be a bit embarrassed.¡±


    there was a chance that the korean officials would find it absurd, but at the end of the day, there would be little to no impact on south korea if france turned this into a scandal.


    gaston was well aware of that. he was burning with resentment and he gritted his teeth. he felt like his anger wouldn¡¯t go away if he didn¡¯t somehow deal a blow to choi yeonseung.


    ¡°you¡¯ll be the one to regret it! i know you have to gain some achievements. if you don¡¯t achieve anything, do you think the other ceos will just stay still?¡±


    ¡°what the hell are you talking about?¡±


    choi yeonseung was slightly embarrassed for the first time in a while. it was so nonsensical that he didn¡¯t even know where to start.


    however, perhaps gaston had meant something else.


    the frenchman exclaimed triumphantly, ¡°it¡¯s too late for regrets! now that it¡¯s come to this, there will be no cooperation! make sure to try your best to establish yourself in that company of yours!¡±


    ¡°i can¡¯t deal with him. aine, let¡¯s go. he has to be crazy...¡±


    choi yeonseung shook his head in disbelief and headed toward the door.


    the hunters who were standing there awkwardly exchanged looks as if asking each other, ¡®should we stop him or not?¡¯


    ¡°get out of the way.¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s words, the hunters instantly parted to either side. gaston became even more angry seeing that choi yeonseung and aine were leaving in such a carefree manner.


    ¡°you idiots! what were you doing?!¡±


    ¡°if we¡¯d provoked an a-grade hunter and a fight broke out, the two of you could¡¯ve been caught up in it...¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re just making excuses! you worthless asshole!¡±


    ***


    -i heard that those who have a lot of money and power are respected on earth, but i don¡¯t understand it.


    the goddess of sloth spoke like she, too, didn¡¯t understand what had just transpired.


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ urgently says that this plan didn¡¯t fail.]


    ¡°oh, yeah. i don¡¯t think it failed either. goddess, we just have to get another partner. that guy is not our only option.¡±


    choi yeonseung quickly calmed down the goddess of balance when she became flustered and tried to come up with an excuse.


    this sight saddened the goddess of sloth quite a lot.


    -being swayed like this by one mortal...emotions are very...


    -i¡¯m not a mortal. i¡¯m a constellation.


    in any case, there was no reason to deal with nut jobs like gaston. choi yeonseung would try to find someone else to cooperate with.


    "wait a minute!"


    ¡°?¡±


    some hunters came running from behind, and some of them were familiar. they were clearly the hunters from france.


    ¡°do you remember me?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry. who are you?¡±


    ¡°you saved my life in paris back then...¡±


    ¡°i saved the lives of many people, so i don¡¯t remember.¡±


    the hunters exclaimed in admiration at choi yeonseung¡¯s words.


    ¡°...i was joking.¡±


    ¡°no, i really respect you!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry, hunter choi yeonseung. we were told that you were treated badly by alland.¡±


    ¡°there is no reason for you to apologize. it¡¯s not your responsibility...¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s words, the french hunters looked around before whispering quietly, ¡°will there really be a raid?¡±


    ¡°why do you ask that?¡±


    ¡°i have some guesses... alland¡¯s methods are quite dirty.¡±


    ¡°how dirty are we talking about?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s no different from china!¡±


    ¡®whoa, he¡¯s so good at explaining.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was impressed by the explanation of the other hunter. the comparison was enough for him to completely understand the situation.

 Chapter 291

    chapter 291


    ¡®isn¡¯t it really bad if it¡¯s on the same level as china?¡¯


    originally, even injustices had to be done with a certain degree of ingenuity.


    ever since the gate had opened and humans had awakened, the chinese government had become increasingly more creative and ingenious when it came to committing outrageous actions.


    given that choi yeonseung was from a neighboring country, he would always hear rumors about the reprehensible things china did, and he had even experienced some of them firsthand.


    if a monster that didn¡¯t hold valuable treasures emerged, china would send it to other countries instead of killing it. if a dungeon with abundant treasures appeared, the chinese would make an agreement only to occupy it first and steal the rewards. they would mistreat the hunters who had helped them and steal from them.


    ...surprisingly enough, such misdeeds were actually rather tame when it came to china. choi yeonseung had suffered things like that in the past. presently, countries like vietnam, india, africa, and so on, faced even more injustice from china.


    the chinese would send hunters to kill monsters that were virtually unkillable and forcibly sign agreements to train the hunters. they would also send regular people to monopolize profits during the training process, bribe dictators to secure various interests, force them to pay for the training of the hunters, etc.


    ever since hunters and dungeons had come into play, china had been committing every transgression known to man. was it even possible to be on the same level of wickedness as them?


    ¡°alland does very despicable things. they coax the abyssal races, who are unfamiliar with how contracts work on earth, into signing contracts with them. then they force those creatures to build buildings and roads to pay them back. obviously, they couldn¡¯t pay it back. this means they have to pay it back with artifacts and cores, but the value of those items is rather insignificant for paying back their debt...¡±


    ¡°what... are they actually doing that?!¡± asked choi yeonseung incredulously.


    they were actually on the same level as china!


    aine, who was listening from beside him, spoke in a confused manner, ¡°when it comes to offering support, wasn¡¯t france worse than china?¡±


    ¡°is that so? i didn¡¯t know that.¡±


    ¡°the french maintain a righteous image but are very corrupt behind the scenes.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the french hunters lowered their heads as they listened to choi yeonseung and aine¡¯s conversation. it wasn¡¯t their fault, but they still flushed with embarrassment.


    ¡°no, why are you embarrassed? you guys weren¡¯t the ones to do such things. if anything, i¡¯m really proud that you stepped up and informed us of what alland is doing.¡±


    ¡°tha-thank you... in any case, the way they treat abyssal races is too much. if they keep acting like this, will any abyssal races trust us? it¡¯s understandable that they are disgruntled and want to retaliate.¡±


    if the abyssal races protested, they would be pushed away by an overwhelming number of humans. thus, it was natural that the nearby tribes were dissatisfied.


    the evil god constellations would take advantage of the frustration of the abyssal races.


    ¡°if the information i got is true, then this is probably the case.¡±


    ¡°this... what should we do?¡±


    ¡°is there anything we can do?¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. even though there were hunters with incredible abilities, there wasn¡¯t much they could do in this situation.


    wasn¡¯t alland an organization that also hired hunters?


    moreover, even if those hunters opposed the goals of the company, they would just get fired and sent back to earth.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, what is your plan?¡±


    ¡°my plan? i was initially going to negotiate with alland and stop them from what they were doing. after that, i was going to increase the strength of the hunters to prepare for an attack. i didn¡¯t expect them to be so dismissive.¡±


    ¡°there is a way!¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. was there actually a way to sort this mess out?


    ¡°are you going to call the executives of alland to assassinate them or hold them captive and threaten them?¡± asked choi yeonseung.


    ¡°huh? no... we didn¡¯t even think of that!!¡±


    ¡°ah, i¡¯m sorry. that¡¯s all i could come up with...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the french hunters were baffled by choi yeonseung¡¯s words. he had the best reputation among the a-grade hunters, but he was still a bit crazy.


    ¡°one of the hunters here is an a-grade hunter. he¡¯s easy to talk to! he¡¯ll understand if you use the right words.¡±


    there was a reason why alland was so bold. even if it came to a confrontation, they were confident that they could fight back as long as they had hunters up to a-grade.


    ¡°there are very few a-grade hunters who are easy to talk to...¡±


    choi yeonseung was unexpectedly pessimistic, for he knew that very few of the a-grade hunters he had dealt with so far had been reasonable.


    he would try to start a discussion again, but if that hunter ridiculed him like gaston had previously done, it was likely that he wouldn¡¯t be able to control himself and fists would be thrown.


    ¡°please trust me and meet him!¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s a trustworthy man!¡±


    ¡°i got it, i got it. i¡¯ll see him just once, but don¡¯t expect too much. most a-grade hunters are selfish.¡±


    ***


    ¡°if you say so, i will wholeheartedly cooperate.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue.


    ¡°then take the hunters and properly prepare to evacuate people. if something goes wrong, you have to evacuate in order to reduce the damage.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll give it a try.¡±


    ***


    ¡°it failed.¡±


    kevin came back with a gloomy expression.


    the executives, including gaston, had refused, telling him, ¡°what the hell are you talking about?¡¯


    choi yeonseung, who had been waiting for him, shook his head.


    ¡°well, i guess it can¡¯t be helped. you did everything you could. i¡¯ll take care of the rest.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve talked to the hunters and they¡¯re ready to evacuate.¡±


    ¡°alright, please proceed with the evacuation.¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, what are you going to do now?¡±


    ¡°i guess i should go find someone else to try to reason with. i just wasted my time here.¡±


    ¡°no, you haven¡¯t wasted it! in case of an emergency, people will be safe thanks to you. i¡¯ll come forward and speak.¡±


    ¡°forget it. it¡¯s futile.¡±


    choi yeonseung waved his hand.


    in any case, he hadn¡¯t accomplished anything there. he was going to find someone else to talk to.


    ¡®but this is how things are, aren¡¯t they? i don¡¯t think the others will be more cooperative than the others...¡¯


    corporate selfishness was much more terrifying than choi yeonseung had thought. those corporate bastards never yielded, no matter how many human lives were at risk!


    bang!


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    the two hunters turned their heads at the booming sound that came from behind them. an explosion just occurred at the city¡¯s skyscraper, which was owned by alland company.


    ¡°is that because of poor construction?¡±


    ¡°no!¡±


    before they could finish speaking, monsters appeared out of thin air!


    choi yeonseung was impressed as he saw the monsters breaking through the defense of the city.


    ¡®what type of constellation has this power?¡¯


    ¡°emergency! emergency!!!¡± shouted kevin in a terrified voice. he was summoning the hunters. fortunately, they had just finished training, so they were already nearby and ready for action.


    ¡°monsters! monsters have appeared in the city!¡±


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ warns that this is a trick! she warns that they are clearly trying to cause trouble with the monsters to capture the leader, just like what happened in paris.]


    ¡®those executives?¡¯


    choi yeonseung suddenly stopped as he was about to run. if those executives were taken hostage... it wasn¡¯t too bad.


    ¡®isn¡¯t this karma?¡¯


    -there¡¯s a raid on the central building of the city!there¡¯s an attack on the city¡¯s central building!hunters, gather in the center!


    kevin looked perplexed at the news that came from the radio. there were monsters everywhere, and he couldn¡¯t just ignore them.


    choi yeonseung noticed his hesitation and kindly advised him, ¡°you can ignore it.¡±


    ¡°...?!¡±


    kevin was appalled by choi yeonseung¡¯s advice.


    ignore it...?


    ¡°if i ignore it, the consequences...¡±


    ¡°why? you can just say you didn¡¯t hear it. the monsters interfered with the radio.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    kevin was impressed.


    ¡°you¡¯re wicked!¡±


    ¡°...are you cursing me now?¡±


    ¡°n-no. in a good way! i mean it in a good way!¡±


    kevin decided to listen to choi yeonseung. there were other hunters in this city. they could certainly take care of it!

 Chapter 292

    chapter 292


    ¡°it¡¯s quite exciting.¡±


    demon no. 139, who had been quietly following choi yeonseung, opened his mouth.


    ¡°do humans usually argue and fight with each other like this?¡±


    ¡°we tend to argue and fight a lot more than this. it¡¯s good to be curious, but do you really have to ask that now? since you¡¯ve signed a contract and have been dispatched to help me, we should fight together.¡±


    ¡°ah, yes. i¡¯m sorry! it¡¯s just that they¡¯re such weak monsters that i didn¡¯t think i would have to step forward.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the other hunters seemed baffled by demon no. 139¡¯s words.


    monsters were swarming the entire area. what was going on?


    ¡°what¡¯s up with that guy?¡±


    ¡°he might be a bit crazy, but his abilities are great. calm down.¡±


    choi yeonseung stepped up and stopped the hunters when it seemed like they were going to kill demon no. 139 before killing the monsters.


    the hunters glared at no. 139, but they couldn¡¯t say anything because choi yeonseung was in front of them.


    [demon. no 139 has used the contract.]


    [the beings who have signed the contract have been called out!]


    demon no. 139 specialized in summoning. as soon as he waved his hand, armies of monsters emerged from all directions along with the summoning circle


    the hunters were stunned by the group of monsters that were at least b-grade.


    ¡®there¡¯s no way he¡¯s human!¡¯


    they had never seen a hunter with this kind of ability. however, he wasn¡¯t a hunter. he was a household member of a constellation from the abyss!


    the hunters realized that the mysterious being over there was a household member from the abyss.


    ¡°you¡¯re not human? are you the household member of the undefeated incarnation of training?¡±


    ¡°damn. i glared at him for no reason!¡±


    the hunters momentarily forgot about the crisis at hand as they suddenly got frustrated because of no. 139.


    it was bad that the monsters were burning down the city, but nothing good would come out of fighting alongside a household member of a constellation.


    ¡°don¡¯t worry. i¡¯m not that narrow-minded to retaliate because of something like this. there¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡±


    despite being a demon, no. 139 had a very polite and gentleman-like attitude. no matter what these human hunters said, he wasn¡¯t the type to take it to heart.


    no. 139 added, ¡°i¡¯m not listening to anything you say anyway!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the hunters once again forgot about the urgent situation and found themselves lost for words. this household member had a knack for expressing himself in a rather irritating manner.


    ¡°uh, i need to give him lessons on how to converse with humans¡±


    choi yeonseung realized that no. 139 had to be careful with what he said if he was going to walk around with him. the abyssal races naturally didn¡¯t have the same standards for politeness as humans.


    ¡®i miss adaquaniel...¡¯


    ***


    ¡°evacuate this way!¡±


    ¡°thank you! thank you!¡±


    ¡°if there¡¯s anyone inside, make some noise! i¡¯ll hear it and move from here!¡±


    ¡°over here, help me!¡±


    choi yeonseung and kevin led the hunters to intercept the monsters that had appeared in the city. the people in the city also heard the commotion and evacuated according to the rules. they managed to quickly flee the area.


    choi yeonseung was a bit taken aback by the sight.


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong? is there a problem?!¡± kevin asked urgently.


    ¡°no... it¡¯s just that... i thought that some people would be stubborn and insist on watching us fight monsters.¡±


    ¡°...not all french people are like that!¡± shouted kevin, trying to hold back his embarrassment. he wanted to protest, but the guilt of not having participated in the battle of paris prevented him from doing so.


    the people of paris had been safe for a long time, which caused them to have a screw loose. however, no one was stupid enough to ignore an evacuation order in a city in the abyss. evacuating was more important than spectating.


    aine held a magic artifact and said, ¡°i think this side is all sorted out.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry to trouble you for nothing.¡±


    ¡°what are you talking about...? it¡¯s a tense situation. this is what i should do. if anything, i would¡¯ve been angry if you hadn¡¯t called me.¡±


    aine wasn¡¯t such a heartless hunter to not fight when people were dying.


    ¡°i don¡¯t really understand.¡±


    similarly, no. 139 led the army of summoned monsters and cleared the surroundings. he then returned and asked, ¡°didn¡¯t these people reject choi yeonseung¡¯s offer? shouldn¡¯t we just wait for this place to be devastated?¡±


    aine paused at the words of demon no. 139. he definitely had a point.


    ¡°no! no! he¡¯s in the safe room!¡±


    ¡°...???¡±


    ¡°????¡±


    the dwarves were surprised by how easily the human sold out his chief. was is that easy?


    ¡°are you lying to us?¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s not my chief! i don¡¯t care about him!¡±


    ¡°...i don¡¯t really get it, but it works just fine! lead me to him!¡±


    the angry dwarves stormed toward the safe room. it was reinforced with various metals and artifacts that made use of all of earth¡¯s technology, but...


    -advanced magic power amplification, advanced magic power amplification, advanced magic power amplification...


    ¡°there isn¡¯t enough magic power. use more artifacts!¡±


    the dwarves used whatever artifacts they had, amplifying their magic power to the point where it sent ripples through the air around it.


    -arkal¡¯s space cut!


    the door to the safe room was cut apart, and the artifacts and metals were completely destroyed.


    ¡°there he is!¡±


    ¡°come out, you bastard! i swear by my beard that you guys won¡¯t get away!¡±


    ¡°please calm down! we have to grab them first!¡±


    the angry dwarves stormed in and dragged out the humans. among those humans were a few hunters, but they were so terrified they couldn¡¯t do anything. after all, there were too many well-armed dwarves for the few b and c-grade hunters to fight back.


    ¡°gather all the captives in one place! in addition, bring the lowest-ranking person. if the chief doesn¡¯t listen, execute that person!¡± the dwarf chieftain shouted fiercely.


    a chief¡¯s honor relied on his responsibility of taking care of the lowest-ranking people. if someone below him died, it was more painful than having his own arm cut off.


    ¡°????¡±


    ¡°??????¡±


    however, the assembled employees were just dumbfounded.


    ¡°w-why would you do that? i¡¯ve been with the company for less than six months! i¡¯m not responsible for anything!¡±


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re responsible or not. this is about making your chief suffer.¡±


    ¡°suffer? no! he won¡¯t give a damn if i die!¡±


    gaston knew that giving the dwarves information was pointless at this point. he shouted in a bewildered manner, ¡°stop talking about me!¡±


    ¡°no, you shut up, you damn chief!¡±


    bam!


    the dwarves silenced gaston. they then remarked with intrigue, ¡°it seems that you¡¯re not from the same tribe.¡±


    ¡°yes! that¡¯s right! we really don¡¯t care about him. it¡¯s just a business relationship! if you spare me, i can cooperate as much as i want!¡±


    ***


    the hunters surrounding the building looked at each other.


    ¡°do you want to go in?¡±


    ¡°do we really have to?¡±


    ¡°the staff members are in trouble, but...¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t only one-third of them in trouble?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s even less than that to be honest.¡±


    it quickly became clear what had happened. some of the abyss races with a grudge used the power of a constellation to summon monsters and storm the central building.


    normally, the hunters should¡¯ve entered immediately in order to save the executives who were suffering...


    ¡°do you actually want to hurry?¡±


    ¡°nah, not really. what good will come out of that?¡±


    ¡°right? let¡¯s use the excuse of recovering magic power.¡±


    the two a-grade hunters took their time. after all, rushing wouldn¡¯t make a difference.


    ¡°reporters are coming.¡±


    ¡°this... i guess they don¡¯t feel in danger anymore. i thought they would¡¯ve evacuated.¡±


    normally, the reporters would¡¯ve gathered much later, but thanks to the city¡¯s security being restored, the reporters could currently move around.


    the reporters rushed in wildly when they saw choi yeonseung and kevin. everyone already knew that these two were the most important people involved in the crisis.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung! i¡¯m from le canaro! are you participating in this defensive operation because of your relationship with alland??¡±


    ¡°no, alland actually ignored my offer.¡±


    ¡°huh? is that the case?¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s answer was unlike what the reporter had expected. because of that, the reporter¡¯s eyes gleamed with excitement.

 Chapter 293

    chapter 293


    ¡°hey, don¡¯t ask that question. we have to avoid it.¡±


    reporters from french news agencies were taken aback and tried to stop the reporter who was talking to choi yeonseung.


    the french media had to pay attention to alland, since it was a company from their country. if the reporters screwed up with alland, the best case scenario was getting away with a warning, but they could also face firings, lawsuits, and even personal sanctions.


    of course, reporters from other countries couldn¡¯t care less about that.


    ¡°aren¡¯t we french??¡±


    ¡°hey, i¡¯m german.¡±


    even though it was a city founded by a french company, reporters from other countries had also arrived at the scene. unlike the french reporters, they were actually excited about the question received by choi yeonseung.


    ¡°very exciting! would you please go into more detail?¡±


    ¡°no... hey... stop it! mr. armon. please stop them!¡±


    the french reporters were frightened and called out to kevin. he was a fellow frenchman and was working with alland, so they thought he would put alland in a better light.


    ¡°what hunter choi yeonseung said...¡±


    the reporters sighed in relief when kevin started speaking. he would definitely smoothen things out!


    ¡°...he was actually downplaying the situation. in reality, it was actually worse!¡±


    ¡°no!¡±


    the french reporters felt their hearts sink. they had called him to improve the situation, but he ended up pouring oil on the fire.


    -is he crazy?what is this?


    -stop it!


    they shouted to him, but kevin pretended he couldn¡¯t hear them.


    ¡°at first, hunter choi yeonseung went ahead and made a proposal for the safety of the city, but alland blatantly ignored it. i was embarrassed when i saw it. no matter how much alland tries to hide it, this type of behavior is unacceptable, especially when it comes to the safety of the city!¡±


    unlike the french reporters, the reporters from other countries looked very impressed as they clapped. it was always interesting to see controversial incidents occur in other countries.


    it was rare for someone as high-ranking as an a-grade hunter to blow the whistle like this.


    ¡°this is too much, even if it¡¯s alland.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s what companies do. however, they crossed the line this time. spitting in the face of an a-grade hunter like that. how could they blatantly disregard his offer like that?¡±


    ¡°in addition, hunter choi yeonseung has ties to france. tsk tsk.¡±


    the reporters were already sending the videos they recorded. they couldn¡¯t get any more satisfied than that. all the broadcasting companies on earth would quickly air those videos, eager to get those ratings.


    ¡®there will be an uproar in france.¡¯


    ¡®what if alland complains?¡¯


    ¡®we can just ignore them. what can they do at this point?¡¯


    ***


    some of the executives would¡¯ve jumped off the building if they had known what was happening outside, but now they didn¡¯t have the guts to do so.


    the angry dwarves had captured them and were growling at them.


    ¡°so you are asking us to leave a recording on this magic crystal to make our demands known?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not a magic crystal, it¡¯s a camera. if you broadcast it live to the world, you can accuse them of what they¡¯ve done. if it blows up then no company will be able to ignore it, no matter how big it is!¡±


    the employees whose lives were being threatened by the dwarves were desperately trying to come up with something to get out of that situation. given how the internet functioned in the present era, alland had no way of stopping the scandal if all of this was broadcasted live in the entire world.


    of course, to the dwarves, what the employees suggested sounded like gibberish.


    ¡°do you expect us to believe this? what a bunch of nonsense! you snake-tongued bastards!¡±


    ¡°n-no! it¡¯s going to work, really!¡±


    ¡°shut them up! we¡¯re doing it our way!¡±


    the dwarves raised their axes in a threatening manner, which caused the employees to tremble in fear as they could make an educated guess about what the dwarves planned to do with the axes.


    bang!


    suddenly, there was a loud bang and a dwarf warrior standing guard flew in from the corridor and rolled over.


    ¡°????¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s going on?!¡±


    realizing that there was an intruder, the dwarves looked around in a panic. even though they had placed a spell on the building meant to prevent humans from easily breaking into the building, someone had still managed to enter without anyone noticing.


    ¡°there¡¯s an intruder! those humans are unexpectedly capable, so be careful!¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    as the dwarves inside were talking to each other, choi yeonseung came out of hiding and revealed himself. the dwarves had used great magic, but it didn¡¯t matter much to choi yeonseung. he had easily nullified the alarm magic and entered the building.


    ¡°let¡¯s talk!¡±


    ¡°dwarves look! i have nothing to do with this person!¡±


    choi yeonseung broke off an iron bar from the staircase railing and proceeded to relentlessly swing it at the executive, producing a loud, dull sound. it got to the point where even the dwarves who were watching it couldn¡¯t help but frown.


    ¡°look! are you watching?!¡± yelled choi yeonseung.


    ¡°stop! stop beating him! isn¡¯t it cruel to beat someone who¡¯s already down?¡± shouted a dwarf warrior who was absolutely appalled by the relentless violence. humans were truly greedy and terrible beings, devoid of honor.


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°stop beating him! i believe you!¡±


    ¡°no, i should give him a few more hits so that you¡¯re absolutely convinced!¡±


    ¡°i believe you! i believe that you hate the tribe members here! now stop it!¡±


    it was only after the dwarves pleaded with him that choi yeonseung stopped hitting the executive.


    ¡°can i come in?¡±


    ¡°...come in, but don¡¯t try anything! if you try to pull off something, we¡¯re also ready to kill somebody.¡±


    the moment choi yeonseung entered the room, the captured people looked like they saw an angel in the fiery pits of hell. that was how happy they looked.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung...!¡±


    ¡°ohh! thank you for coming...! i thought you wouldn¡¯t come! these bastards are being absurd!¡±


    ¡®what the hell happened here before i came?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was puzzled. of course, the executive outside said things like ¡®leave the employees and save us first,¡¯ but the employees were too quick to get rid of their current bosses and get used to the new management.


    the other executives wanted to protest, but they couldn¡¯t talk because they were silenced by the dwarves.


    ¡°how¡¯s the situation outside?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s stable.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m glad...!¡±


    ¡°...???¡±


    the captured executives felt something was off. if the situation outside was stable, why hadn¡¯t they sent help faster? did those bastards...?


    ¡°i saw how you swung that iron bar at that guy... is he dead by any chance?¡±


    ¡°no. learning martial arts increases your control over your own body, but also over the body of your adversary.¡±


    ¡°ah...!¡±


    the employees were both impressed and slightly disappointed.


    ¡°then you just made loud noises and didn¡¯t actually hit him...¡±


    ¡°what? no. i did in fact hit him.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡¯


    choi yeonseung explained, ¡°i just didn¡¯t let him die.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the executives felt a chill running down their spine. choi yeonseung had explained that in a calm manner, which made it even more terrifying.


    choi yeonseung shifted his attention to the dwarves.


    ¡°dwarves, i¡¯ll tell you why i¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°i came here to convey your proposal to the other members of the tribe and persuade them. note down your requirements here. anything is good.¡±


    ¡°...?!?!?¡±


    the captured executives looked at choi yeonseung with wide eyes. they hadn¡¯t expected him to say something as insane as that.


    ¡®what is he doing?¡¯


    ¡°why are you looking at me like that? you didn¡¯t think i would save your lives after you ignored me like that, did you?¡±


    some of the executives averted their eyes as they heard that.


    in reality, these people had formed their expectations of choi yeonseung based on his public image. however, seeing him like this, they could tell... the image portrayed by the media was completely fake!


    ¡®what kind of person spreads false rumors that they¡¯re a hero...?¡¯


    the dwarves asked as though they didn¡¯t understand, ¡°and what are you getting out of this?¡±


    ¡°i want to get to know you. aren¡¯t i much more trustworthy than them?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the dwarves exchanged looks with each other. choi yeonseung seemed more reliable, but he was also way scarier.

 Chapter 294

    chapter 294


    ¡°you... don¡¯t want anything? we find that hard to believe,¡± said a dwarf cautiously. all of them were wary of choi yeonseung because of his previous display of brute force.


    ¡°it¡¯s understandable. after all, you dwarves aren¡¯t familiar with earth. now, look.¡±


    choi yeonseung pulled out the map he had prepared, and the dwarves stared at it with bewildered eyes.


    ¡°here, this is the country that these bastards are from.


    ¡°i... i see. i think we¡¯ve seen it.¡±


    ¡°meanwhile, this is my tribe¡¯s country.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a long way off.¡±


    ¡°yes. exactly. there are also several tribes in this country. they don¡¯t get along.¡±


    ¡°sounds plausible.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m from a tribe that doesn¡¯t get along with these guys. why do you think i don¡¯t get along with them?¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s question, the dwarves thought about it for a bit and replied, ¡°because they¡¯re greedy liars who don¡¯t know honor?¡±


    ¡°...it¡¯s more because they insulted and ignored me, but that¡¯s also probably one of the reasons. in any case, do you understand that we don¡¯t get along?¡±


    ¡°i think we understand.¡± the dwarves nodded. they didn¡¯t understand perfectly because it was difficult to explain, but choi yeonseung¡¯s words had a certain degree of honesty that convinced them. on top of that, he was scary.


    ¡°...so the enemy of our enemy is our friend.¡±


    ¡°you also don¡¯t seem to get along with them, so can¡¯t we cooperate for now?¡± suggested choi yeonseung.


    the dwarves finally made a decision after thinking about it for a bit.


    ¡°okay, we accept your offer, but we¡¯ll keep the leaders of the hostages! we¡¯ll never return them!¡±


    ¡°ah, these guys? i don¡¯t care whether you kill them or not.¡±


    ¡°n-no... we¡¯re not going to kill them! do you really think we have no honor?¡±


    ¡°really? you¡¯re not going to?¡±


    the dwarves were horrified by choi yeonseung¡¯s response. he was much scarier than the rest of the humans.


    ***


    ¡°so they said they would provide construction equipment for free. then later, it was found that there was an arbitrary contract written in it. that is how the dwarves got into debt.¡±l--b1n.


    ¡°i see.¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t that quite clever?¡±


    ¡°haha...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the dwarves looked bewildered as they heard the conversation between choi yeonseung and the employees. they didn¡¯t understand what these humans were doing.


    ¡°why is that human confiding in the boss¡¯ subordinates?¡±


    ¡°they¡¯re not from the same tribe. they¡¯re like mercenaries.¡±


    ¡°oh, yeah. they must be mercenaries!¡±


    ¡°even though they¡¯re mercenaries, they didn¡¯t receive proper payment and were betrayed.¡±


    ¡°this...!¡±


    the dwarves were convinced. if that was the case, it was natural for these humans to turn on their leaders. the employees who worked for alland exposed the company¡¯s wrongdoings one by one out of fear that they would be considered accomplices.


    ¡°the prices of the artifacts were unilaterally discounted and the dwarves didn¡¯t know about it?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. i love this type of accusation. i¡¯ll give you a reward.¡±


    ¡°the dwarves didn¡¯t give them the mining rights, so those at alland added it to the contract and forced them...¡±


    ¡°great. they did something like that too. let¡¯s add this as well.¡±


    the dwarf tribe, namely the skyhammer tribe, wasn¡¯t familiar with how humans did contracts, so they were the perfect prey for companies like alland.


    the dwarves had been fascinated by the equipment of the strange humans and had offered extremely valuable cores and artifacts at bargain prices. then they had been tricked into signing confusing contracts and led into debt.


    during the siege of paris, choi yeonseung and the hunters led by him helped hundreds of citizens. thus, the french people wholeheartedly supported him. it was quite unusual for a hunter to have so many supporters from a different country!


    -president georges has announced an emergency speech!


    -i guess he wants to show something!


    -i heard he swore at alland?he¡¯d wondered why he couldn¡¯t do his job and it turned out that the alland guys were holding him back.how greedy those corporate bastards are!


    -isn¡¯t it too much to say something like that?but i think he told the people who lost their homes from the dungeon exploding the other day to think of it as camping.


    -wasn¡¯t that a false rumor?who would actually say something like that??


    ***


    ¡°mr. president, this is an opportunity,¡± said one of the president¡¯s staff members firmly.


    president georges¡¯ popularity was declining by the day. originally, georges montand had become popular and gained many supporters thanks to his controversial remarks and bluster.


    recently, he had been involved in many scandals, and there were many negative rumors and gossip about him, so it was only natural for his popularity to decrease.


    however, the current situation was different. this was an opportunity to turn things around by using alland as a springboard.


    ...but that didn¡¯t mean he could be overly arrogant.


    ¡°yes! i know that. those bastards at alland... how dare they ignore me like that?¡±


    georges huffed and cursed. he was still as hot-headed as ever. if people didn¡¯t listen to him, he usually lost his cool, forgetting about his status and his reputation.


    when he came up with the idea of creating a french city with foreign hunters, including choi yeonseung, he had expected everyone to instantly be on board with him. however, alland called him crazy and insisted that they would manage the city themselves. therefore, president georges couldn¡¯t help holding a grudge.


    now that such outrageous remarks about alland had been made public, georges was ready to run straight to alland and spit on them.


    however, it was better for him to not do that.


    ¡°mr. president, i understand that you are upset.¡±


    ¡°what do you mean, you understand? were you criticized? i was the only one who got criticized! you didn¡¯t have to listen to the swearing. don¡¯t pretend like you understand!¡±


    ¡°i-i¡¯m sorry, but please listen. don¡¯t attack alland too much.¡±


    ¡°what type of crazy nonsense are you saying? are you crazy? were you bribed?¡±


    ¡°no, that¡¯s not it!¡±


    the staff member had a reason for trying to stop president georges from attacking alland. there were other french companies besides alland that had entered the abyss. those companies were also committing various illegal and exploitative acts, so if the president attacked alland too badly, he would unwittingly target the other companies as well.


    big companies had a lot of power when it came to politics. if georges formed bad relationships with such companies, they would immediately use the media to tear him apart...


    ¡°i see...¡±


    ¡°do you understand? tell the public that you are deeply saddened by the actions of alland and act as cautiously as possible. that would be enough! people will sympathize with you and support you.


    ¡°yes, yes. i understand.¡±


    georges made a firm promise before going to the speech hall. upon arriving there, he shouted at the top of his lungs, ¡°my fellow citizens! those alland bastards are the traitors who are destroying france!¡±


    ¡°!??!?¡±


    ¡°mr. president!¡±


    the staff members, who were spectating, panicked and tried to step back. what was the president planning?


    ¡°it¡¯s my fault that i didn¡¯t wipe them all out! my fellow citizens, i want to hire reliable hunters to ensure your safety. why does nationality matter? it doesn¡¯t matter as long as they¡¯re reliable! but those alland bastards are disturbing all of us! my fellow citizens! let¡¯s all take action together! let¡¯s run to alland and show them how strong our resolve is!¡±


    ***


    after watching the show, choi yeonseung curiously asked aine, ¡°have the qualifications of the french president changed so much while i was away?¡±


    ¡°...he truly is one of a kind...!¡±


    in aine¡¯s eyes, the current actions of president georges were verging on madness. wasn¡¯t he trying to get the people to destroy alland through his speech?


    ¡°i myself wanted to deal a blow to alland, but i didn¡¯t expect this...¡± aine murmured. georges¡¯ behavior was so unusual that she couldn¡¯t guess how things would turn out.


    aine checked the live broadcast on the french side.


    -revenge for hunter choi yeonseung!


    -let¡¯s get revenge on the enemies of hunter choi yeonseung!


    a video of angry citizens entering alland¡¯s building while holding signs with choi yeonseung¡¯s face caught their eye.


    ¡®...what revenge do they want? i¡¯m still alive...¡¯

 Chapter 295

    chapter 295


    ¡°what? what¡¯s going on? what are they trying to do?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    upon hearing choi yeonseung¡¯s question, aine automatically closed the live broadcast video lest he got upset by seeing how messy the situation was.


    choi yeonseung had done his best to save people, and yet, the french president, the french companies, and the french citizens were currently causing chaos.


    seeing this, wouldn¡¯t even the most good-natured person lose their motivation and say, "just die, all of you!"?


    ¡°what? show me.¡±


    ¡°okay, but don¡¯t let it get to you...¡±


    ¡°are they making a doll of me and holding a burning ceremony?¡±


    choi yeonseung checked the live footage, and upon doing so, he was left speechless.


    ¡°...why are they my enemies?¡±


    ¡°the explanation is very long...¡±


    the outraged president had given a passionate speech, saying things like "fellow citizens! those evil businessmen in collusion with alland are plotting to corrupt and dominate our france! the people must act!" the fact that supporters were stimulated by it, gathered together and started a riot felt absurd even as aine explained it.


    choi yeonseung also felt that the situation was absurd and said ¡°...i guess this feels odd to me because i don¡¯t know france well.¡±


    ¡°no, it¡¯s not that. i know france well and even i don¡¯t understand this. ¡±


    ¡°will the situation be resolved?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sure it will. soon, police and military personnel will be mobilized.¡±


    the biggest victims of the turmoil were alland and the companies they worked with.


    normally, the people would call the president crazy for inciting them to riot, but despite the alarming situation, public opinion was overwhelmingly in favor of president georges. in fact, his approval ratings were rapidly rising back up.


    aine couldn¡¯t believe it.


    ¡®the dragon industry strategy office said that president georges could never be re-elected.¡¯


    president georges was known for making a lot of mistakes in his public speeches, so the general consensus had already been that he wouldn¡¯t get elected a second time. however, now that the situation had turned around, one couldn¡¯t tell if georges would really be re-elected or not.


    ¡®won¡¯t france be ruined...?¡¯


    choi yeonseung wondered, ¡°will this interfere in any way with what i¡¯m doing?¡±


    aine shook her head at choi yeonseung¡¯s question.


    ¡°no. if anything, it¡¯s actually helpful for your task.¡±


    in fact, alland was in such a bad light that the chairman himself held a press conference and apologized profusely.


    normally, the company would¡¯ve used the power of the media to say things like ¡®it isn¡¯t our fault,¡¯ ¡®foreigners are polluting france¡¯ or ¡®the abyssal races are really violent.¡¯ however, they found themselves in a really dangerous situation this time.


    the public opinion was heavily against alland! everybody rebuked them, even the president!


    in such a situation, there was no way they would have the power to go against choi yeonseung. thus, it was clear that alland would try to reconcile with him.


    ¡°also, president georges praised you when he was criticizing alland. he called you an ¡®honorary frenchman.¡¯¡±


    ¡°wow... uh, even though he meant it as a compliment, i¡¯m not really happy with it,¡± responded choi yeonseung with a shocked expression on his face.


    did the french people really think that saying something like ¡®honorary frenchman¡¯ would move choi yeonseung to tears?


    ¡°of course, i know you¡¯re shy, but there¡¯s nothing wrong with receiving praise. if you speak up, people have no choice but to listen.¡±


    president georges gave choi yeonseung too much credit in order to deal a blow to alland. if this continued, public opinion would inevitably be swayed no matter what choi yeonseung said.


    ¡°did he do it intentionally?¡±


    ¡°no, he probably didn¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°but it doesn¡¯t make any sense, right?¡±


    ¡°president georges is rather... i mean, you¡¯ve met him, right?¡±


    ¡®yeah, that¡¯s true.¡¯


    choi yeonseung recalled his meeting with georges and how crazy he seemed back then.


    -our france has had a deep connection with south korea since ancient times!didn¡¯t france go on an expedition to south korea in the 19th century?


    -p-president.i don¡¯t think you should mention that...


    it was clear that the president wasn¡¯t necessarily smart given how he casually mentioned how the french invaded south korea during the joseon dynasty, plundered cultural assets and fled with them.


    ¡°excuse me, hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    -this is the guy who went into hiding without helping me last time!that traitor!as expected, i can¡¯t trust those who weren¡¯t born on french soil!


    -hey, it¡¯s dangerous to say things like that!


    -who are you to talk about danger?speaking of which, where were you when i was on the verge of dying?weren¡¯t you outside of paris?


    -t-that...


    -as expected, there is no one here i can trust!


    president georges was an eccentric character. at one point, he had been kidnapped by the household member of a constellation, so it was only natural that his personality had become even worse.


    alland had also heard rumors that he fired his subordinates when he grew bored of them and constantly hired new people.


    it was absurd that in the meantime president georges had gained faith in foreign hunters, but what could serge do?


    ¡°if i can¡¯t convince him, are you going to use that as an excuse to break the contract?¡±


    ¡°indeed... hunter choi yeonseung, that¡¯s the way alland operates,¡± replied kevin.


    ¡®what¡¯s wrong with this bastard?¡¯


    serge was puzzled by kevin¡¯s words. alland had paid a lot of money to hire him, but he kept taking choi yeonseung¡¯s side. had he lost his mind??


    of course, serge couldn¡¯t say something like that out loud.


    ¡°no! as long as hunter choi yeonseung tries to persuade him, we will keep our promise no matter the outcome.¡±


    ¡°alright, i understand. if you say so...¡± choi yeonseung nodded.


    just as aine advised, this was a satisfactory result for both sides. well, not necessarily for both sides...


    in any case, choi yeonseung would be able to receive faith from this new city and interact with the nearby tribes. with that in mind, he could at least try to talk with the president.


    ¡°thank you! from now on, i¡¯ll never disregard your advice while running the city. i am most grateful for your advice!¡±


    ¡°hah, you don¡¯t really mean that. you¡¯d hate it if i intervened in matters regarding the city.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    serge looked like choi yeonseung had read his mind. in reality, from a company¡¯s perspective, it was unpleasant when hunters told them what to do.


    ...however, serge was unaware...


    this was just the beginning.


    ***


    ¡°ohh. hunter choi yeonseung! it¡¯s so good to see you again! it seems that the only patriots in the entirety of france are you and me!¡± exclaimed president georges.


    ¡°...r-really?¡±


    ¡°in fact, i¡¯ve studied a lot about korean society since our last meeting. koreans are hardworking, sincere, don¡¯t betray others, and overcome crises by sticking together! i know that you¡¯re an incredible hero!¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t believe his ears.


    ¡®what the hell did he study?¡¯


    serge, who followed choi yeonseung to assist, looked anxious. he was afraid that president georges would say something wrong.


    ¡®please don¡¯t say anything messed up!¡¯


    it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if president georges mistook china for south korea or claimed that south korea was some kind of third world country.


    however, georges displayed a surprising amount of knowledge about south korea. it was clear that he had actually done his homework.


    ¡®it¡¯s a good thing, but...¡¯


    of course, choi yeonseung found it absurd. he felt like his mind was being attacked by mental magic when he heard about how the eastern secrets hidden in bibimbap increased a hunter¡¯s magic power.


    ¡°ah, right. hunter choi yeonseung, i have a suggestion.¡±


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°right now, some unbelievable traitors are in charge of the city!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    serge inwardly cursed. no matter how crazy a person was, who would just say something like that out loud?


    ¡°i¡¯ve made a decision. the safety of our city and its citizens should be entrusted to someone who¡¯s trustworthy.¡±


    ¡°is that so?


    ¡°yes. hunter choi yeonseung, please take this job!¡±


    ¡°cough!¡±


    serge was drinking wine, and when he heard president georges¡¯ decision, he coughed, spewing his wine.

 Chapter 296

    chapter 296


    despite initially not planning to intervene, serge couldn¡¯t help shouting out, ¡°what do you mean, mr. president?! our company has built and invested in the city of monterre! you can¡¯t appoint a hunter clan to manage it!¡±


    ¡°well, you should¡¯ve done a better job at managing it! the citizens almost died, and yet you still only care about yourself! you traitor!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    serge felt his blood boiling upon hearing such sharp words from president georges. the man who had flattered the people at alland when accepting their bribes and favors was currently pretending to be righteous!


    did he have no conscience?


    ¡°the company won¡¯t allow it. both the board of directors and the investors will object to this!¡±


    in the era of raids, it was a privilege to be in charge of a city. the hunters in charge of a city boasted a higher degree of authority than the police or even the army. not only could they monopolize rewards from monsters and dungeons, but they could also do all sorts of things by creating strong alliances with the companies running cities.


    the reason alland had been able to wreak havoc in the abyss was because they had been manipulating the hunters they hired, using them like pawns.


    however, they would be in a lot of trouble when choi yeonseung and his subordinates from overseas took over the reigns. alland would certainly not be able to manipulate, or even reason with them.


    ¡®i can¡¯t give it up!¡¯


    fortunately, not even the president could do whatever he wanted when it came to the internal affairs of a company.


    however, president georges was much crazier than serge thought.


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter if the company doesn¡¯t allow it! i¡¯ll appeal to congress and ask them to enact a legislation!¡±


    ¡®this crazy bastard...!¡¯


    when serge thought that nothing else would surprise him, he was confronted with yet another layer of absurdity. president georges¡¯ grudge against alland was so deep that he was trying to do anything in his power to screw them over.


    could the president of a country really go that far?


    if a new bill regarding alland was enacted, those at the company could only watch as their nose was cut off. they would lose their legal possessions!


    ¡°the lawmakers will never agree!¡±


    ¡°bah! i¡¯ll make them agree!¡±


    choi yeonseung spectated the quarrel between the two men with an enthusiastic expression.


    ¡®french politics is more exciting than i expected.¡¯


    was france always dealing with highly intricate politics?


    ¡°in any case, just know this, hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    ¡°ah, yes. if you want me to take charge of the city of monterre, i¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°!!¡±


    serge looked betrayed as he cast choi yeonseung a shocked, pained look. seeing him like that, choi yeonseung merely said with a smile, ¡°it¡¯s embarrassing for you to look at me like that when we¡¯re not even close. i can¡¯t turn down the task of ensuring the safety of the citizens, now can i?¡±


    in reality, choi yeonseung had merely promised serge that he would try to persuade the president. he had no reason to turn down such a great opportunity.


    ¡°...mr. president, i¡¯m not going to just back down.¡±


    ¡°are you still defying me? i will also transfer the authority that alland has of all the french cities to...¡±


    ¡°no! fine, i was wrong!¡±


    serge ultimately caved as he realized he didn¡¯t stand a chance against this madman who was in a position of power.


    ***


    the dwarfs of the skyhammer tribe looked at the incoming goods in amazement. they hadn¡¯t expected the humans to actually keep their promises.


    ¡°unbelievable! i never thought you would keep your promise!¡±


    ¡°well, generally any human will keep their promise if you grab them by the collar and threaten them, maybe even rough them up a bit.¡±


    the dwarfs burst into laughter at choi yeonseung¡¯s words.


    ¡®i didn¡¯t intend to make them laugh...¡¯


    when they stopped laughing, the dwarfs said, ¡°we heard that you serve the undefeated incarnation of training. we¡¯re seriously considering believing in him...¡±


    ¡°oh, i¡¯d be delighted by that.¡±


    choi yeonseung was quite happy to hear that.


    their population was very small compared to the humans living in these cities, but the abyssal races possessed abilities that humans didn¡¯t.


    a dwarf asked, ¡°would it be rude to ask a few questions?¡±


    ¡°no, feel free.¡±


    ¡°alright.¡±


    the dwarf elders sat down in front of choi yeonseung, took out paper and quill pens, and prepared to take notes.


    ***


    it was great news that the skyhammer tribe decided to devote their faith to the incarnation of training and become partners with choi yeonseung in the future. there was just one problem that remained.


    ¡°by the way, who¡¯s the constellation that helped you?¡±


    ¡°umm...¡±


    ¡°have you sworn an oath that prevents you from revealing their name?¡±


    ¡°no, nothing like that. there¡¯s nothing to hide, so i¡¯ll just reveal it.¡±


    the constellation that approached the disgruntled dwarf tribe was endless linked explosions, a famous constellation on earth!


    this constellation didn¡¯t occupy any countries, but he was notorious for reaching out and helping rebels, terrorists, criminals, and other kinds of wicked individuals around the world.


    demon no. 139 frowned upon hearing these words.


    ¡°endless linked explosions only causes problems.¡±


    ¡°uh... isn¡¯t he a fellow evil god constellation?¡±


    ¡°what do you mean by ¡®a fellow evil god constellation?¡¯ don¡¯t treat us like we¡¯re the same,¡± retorted no. 139.


    humans treated all the evil demon constellations like they were the same, but it was very unpleasant for the demon constellation.


    the demon of contract and order didn¡¯t think he was evil. he always made fair contracts and fulfilled them. as a matter of fact, he was a beacon of order and stability in this chaotic world.


    ...on the other hand, endless linked explosions was a troublemaker who caused fights and discord every chance he got. he instigated disgruntled people to cause chaos.


    his behavior was absolutely unacceptable...


    ¡°i understand. it just means that you don¡¯t get along.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not that we don¡¯t get along. there is a more fundamental difference...¡±


    demon no. 139 explained fervently, but choi yeonseung didn¡¯t really care, so everything went in one ear and out the other.


    ¡°if you don¡¯t get along that well, we can have a constellation battle with endless linked explosions. have you ever done that?¡±


    ¡°the explosion constellation isn¡¯t weak, and my master doesn¡¯t like meaningless fights.¡±


    there was the demon constellation, who occupied a part of africa, and the explosion constellation, who was ardently worshiped by rebels and terrorists around the world.


    they were more or less equally powerful, so a fight between them wouldn¡¯t end up well.


    ¡°but now it¡¯s different.¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled by the unexpected words. what was no. 139 talking about?


    ¡°my master is very pleased with the plans i¡¯m reporting. in fact, he said that his power of existence has increased significantly. he might actually be able to fight the explosion constellation.¡±


    ¡°...what?¡±


    choi yeonseung was flustered for the first time in a while.


    the only thing that demon no. 139 could see and study was what choi yeonseung was currently doing. what exactly had he learnt that increased the power of the demon constellation?


    ¡°we tricked the other party into signing a contract with conditions they won¡¯t be able to repay and used that as an excuse to extort more in return. since mortals become suspicious when they learn that we are demons, we hired other races to put on a good appearance. we also recruited the powerful and wealthy people in the region and used the media to advertise good contract conditions... i learned strategies like these.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung inwardly cursed at alland and france. demons had actually learnt from them!


    ¡°i learned a lot, but... the debts of the demon constellation have been rising, so he ordered us to clear them,¡± said demon no. 139 without knowing what choi yeonseung was thinking.


    the fact that the demon constellation had been accumulating debts was definitely beneficial for choi yeonseung. however, he still felt uncomfortable.


    was it okay for demons to learn from humanity like this? wouldn¡¯t there be consequences?


    -even if you don¡¯t teach them yourself, won¡¯t the ways of the humans spread to the abyss over time anyway?


    -...thank you for your words, goddess of sloth.


    ***


    three constellations were currently joining forces.


    there was no reason to be intimidated by the explosion constellation, so choi yeonseung made a proud declaration to him.


    -leave the skyhammer tribe alone!


    from the side, demon no. 139 nodded and said, ¡°you¡¯d better crawl into some dark corner of the abyss instead of spreading disorder for no reason!¡±


    [the ¡®endless linked explosions¡¯ is interested to see the two of you.]


    instead of being angry, the explosion constellation was intrigued by the seemingly incompatible match between choi yeonseung and the demon.

 Chapter 297

    chapter 297


    ¡°just leave us alone! get lost!¡±


    demon no. 139 seemed to despise the explosion constellation. upon seeing the other party show interest in the explosion constellation, he reacted with hostility.


    all the demons under the demon constellation that choi yeonseung had met were composed individuals. no. 139 was also like that normally, so his current attitude was quite unexpected...


    -well, there are some constellations that do not synergize at all.


    ¡®just like the two of them.¡¯


    -indeed. they can¡¯t get along.


    of course, the explosion constellation didn¡¯t really care about no. 139¡¯s reaction. as long as two constellations had a long-standing conflict with each other, they couldn¡¯t care less about some nonsense coming from a household member.


    the explosion constellation disregarded no. 139 and asked a question.


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ asks if you have allied with the ¡®demon of contract and order.¡¯]


    ¡°you don¡¯t have to answer, hunter choi yeonseung. you can ignore that constellation¡¯s question!¡±


    ¡°...don¡¯t you think that saying this out loud pretty much answers his question?¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at demon no. 139 with a dumbfounded expression. wasn¡¯t the fact that the two of them were together an answer in itself?


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says he asked because he already knew.]


    demon no. 139 flushed with embarrassment.


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says it is a fascinating alliance.]


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says he has been monitoring your actions lately.]


    ¡°...?¡±


    of course, the incarnation of training had suddenly become highly prominent and choi yeonseung was also famous on earth. thus, it was only natural that other constellations would be intrigued by that.


    however, the words of the explosion constellation seemed to have a different meaning.


    it sounded like the explosion constellation had taken a liking to choi yeonseung!


    -do you feel like that¡¯s the case?


    -yes. i always pick up on stuff like that.


    -...you figured it out because the goddess of balance sent you a message, right?


    choi yeonseung refused to answer in order to protect the honor of the goddess of balance!


    ¡®anyway, why would this constellation take a liking to me?¡¯


    there was no reason for the explosion constellation and choi yeonseung to get along.


    first of all, they had a history of going against each other. more than that, they were naturally incompatible because they embodied the conflict of good against evil!


    no matter how outstanding and talented choi yeonseung was, constellations almost never accepted other constellations if they didn¡¯t suit their taste.


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says that the recent riots in france have been quite satisfying.]


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung was embarrassed. why did he have to mention it here?


    ¡°what nonsense... it has nothing to do with me.¡±


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says that your name and face keep coming out during the riots.]


    ¡°...¡±


    -......


    there was no denying this. it was true that choi yeonseung¡¯s name and face kept appearing during the riots caused by president georges this time!


    ¡°let¡¯s avenge choi yeonseung!¡± was the strange chant that the rioters shouted over and over again. seeing that, the explosion constellation had become quite fond of choi yeonseung. he had managed to create a decent commotion.


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says he will continue to ask for such disorder in the future.]


    ¡°...i think you¡¯ve got it wrong. this was just a coincidence. i normally don¡¯t cause turmoil like that.¡±


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says you seem to have a talent for creating disorder.]


    ¡°enough! stop approaching us!¡± demon no. 139 interjected firmly. he was worried that choi yeonseung would fall for the words of the explosion constellation.


    of course, choi yeonseung was a constellation and couldn¡¯t do that, but demon no. 139 couldn¡¯t possibly know that.


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says he has no intention of approaching the dwarfs any further.]


    ¡°will dragon industry present their artificial farm? surely they''ll present many other things other than that, right?¡±


    "there¡¯s no doubt about it, since they¡¯ve already announced it. won¡¯t it be noticeable if they leave it out? they¡¯ll show it even if they have to manipulate the results.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    jacob clenched his fists.


    this presentation would not only show off the technology made by parker group, but also break the wings of dragon industry!


    ¡°okay. be prepared! we need to see through any kind of deception they attempt!¡±


    ¡°yes! i will do my best!¡±


    ***


    ¡°gyeongryong hyung really went to all types of events,¡± said choi yeonseung


    nguyen bao, the ceo of dragon artifact, nodded and replied, ¡°indeed, he was that responsible.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡®i thought he just had a lot of free time...¡¯


    choi yeonseung was about to say that but stopped himself as he didn¡¯t want to break bao¡¯s illusion... but frankly, hwang gyeongryong participated in too many useless events.


    choi yeonseung had agreed to take over hwang gyeongryong¡¯s role, but to him, it really seemed like he would only need to participate in one-tenth of the events.


    ¡°what is dragon industry going to present this time?¡±


    ¡°well, the frozen blue short sword, of course. didn¡¯t we develop it together?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s embarrassing to say that i developed it...¡±


    choi yeonseung had merely followed the instructions of the cat constellation. he hadn¡¯t done anything else. thus, he felt bad as he saw bao look at him with such respect. bao had studied artifacts all his life, and yet he looked at choi yeonseung as though he were looking at a god.


    well, choi yeonseung was indeed a god-like being, but...


    ¡°the frozen blue short sword is already being sold, so can we make another announcement about it?¡±


    ¡°yes. i¡¯m going to give a presentation on the advanced combat techniques related to this artifact. the hunters at the company helped a lot.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    choi yeonseung and bao got off the private plane. the vast area was already crowded with thousands of people. judging from the overflowing magic power, it seemed like hunters accounted for almost half of the crowd.


    ¡®aine said she would come here first and wait for me.¡¯


    ¡°uh, are people from south korea also coming?¡±


    ¡°yes. it may be an american event, but it¡¯s so famous that companies from all over the world pay separately to participate.¡±


    it was such an influential event that companies from all over the world participated. among those, there were korean clans and companies that knew choi yeonseung¡¯s name.


    ¡°are you kidding me? this is obviously the position we were assigned.¡±


    ¡°i-i understand your frustration but i¡¯m afraid i can¡¯t help you. i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung heard an argument and curiously looked over.


    bao spoke knowingly, ¡°looks like there¡¯s a problem. it¡¯s one of those things that happens every time. the spectating area is quite large, but there are some spots that are more popular. therefore, many spectators strive to get the best positions.¡±


    ¡°if that¡¯s the case, they should¡¯ve made a reservation, right? what happened?¡±


    the person was complaining unjustly, but perhaps because they were from south korea, the people in charge of the presentation apologized profusely while stubbornly telling them that they couldn¡¯t do anything.


    ¡°companies and clans from abroad are at a disadvantage. it¡¯s an american presentation, so it¡¯s likely that the american companies and clans have priority when it comes to seating. that person¡¯s position was probably changed at the request of an american clan.¡±


    ¡°can they do that?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t think it¡¯s right. treating guests from other countries like that is shameful. i think it¡¯s a korean company. hunter choi yeonseung, why don''t you say something? if you talk to them it¡¯s likely that...¡±


    ¡°no, it¡¯s fine. i don¡¯t want to get into a fight.¡±


    ¡°is that so?¡±


    choi yeonseung decided to look at the company name before turning away. it was hanseong group.


    ¡°...wait. i have to tell them something.¡±


    ¡°i knew you would,¡± bao replied as though he had been sure he would change his mind.


    choi yeonseung responded with a hint of indignation, ¡°i¡¯m not taking action just because we¡¯re from the same country.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s fine, you can be honest with me...¡±

 Chapter 298

    chapter 298


    bao smiled gently in understanding, which somehow made choi yeonseung feel worse.


    ¡°i think loving your country is something to be proud of. you¡¯re actually...¡±


    ¡°uh, no.¡±


    choi yeonseung shut bao up. he wasn¡¯t trying to help hanseong group because it was a korean company. his nieces, han seha and han sehui, although they weren¡¯t literally his nieces, were from hanseong group.


    ¡°ah...!¡±


    hearing the explanation, bao smiled gently once again as he got the full picture.


    ¡°i see. are the two of them actually related to you?¡±


    ¡°...what kind of nonsense is that?¡±


    ¡°huh? that¡¯s not the case?¡±


    after hearing the explanation, bao had thought that han seha and han sehui were choi yeonseung¡¯s children.


    ***


    ¡°i will make a formal complaint!¡±


    ¡°we are deeply sorry, but there¡¯s nothing we can do.¡±


    the person in charge apologized politely but didn¡¯t yield at all. his attitude further angered the employee from hanseong group. they could¡¯ve made a fuss if the organizer had behaved arrogantly. they hadn¡¯t expected him to handle the situation flawlessly like this.


    the people in charge of this event had dealt with all types of clans and companies, so they were incredibly clever when it came to such situations.


    ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    kim junghyeong, the manager of hanseong¡¯s energy department, was surprised by the figure that suddenly appeared behind him.


    that person...


    he was incredibly famous.


    ¡®hunter choi yeonseung!¡¯


    in terms of popularity, hunters were rather similar to celebrities, but there was one difference. hunters received much more attention from the public. even if one didn¡¯t know any famous actors in their own country, they had to know the a-grade hunters from their country.


    on that note, choi yeonseung was one of the most famous hunters these days.


    ¡®before i came on a business trip, my son said he wanted to be like hunter choi yeonseung. what could this mean?¡¯


    ¡°ah, hunter choi yeonseung...¡±


    the person in charge of the event also flinched when he recognized choi yeonseung. it wasn¡¯t just because he was an a-grade hunter. he was also the chairman of dragon industry.


    considering how much money dragon industry had invested in various events, the organizer felt compelled to bow deeply before choi yeonseung.


    choi yeonseung asked, ¡°who¡¯s the other party?¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°seeing you do this, someone must¡¯ve requested the change. tell me.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s union klein,¡± the organizer responded immediately.


    kim junghyeong was baffled by the organizer¡¯s reaction. when he protested, the organizer just told him apologetically, ¡°i don¡¯t know. i¡¯m sorry, perhaps there was some kind of mix-up?¡± now that choi yeonseung inquired about the situation, he answered immediately.


    no matter how big the difference in power was between kim junghyeong and choi yeonseung , wasn¡¯t this just outrageous?


    this world was truly all about survival of the fittest!


    ¡°put union klein in the far corner.¡±


    ¡°yes. i will do so.¡±


    the organizer complied with choi yeonseung¡¯s request without complaining. kim junghyeong was once again baffled by what was going on. this was true power!


    ¡®...no. wait. why is hunter choi yeonseung helping us?¡¯


    the other employees who came with him also looked flustered.


    ¡°why did he help us?¡±


    ¡°yes...?¡±


    ¡°there can only be one reason.¡±


    kim junghyeong nodded as though he understood perfectly. at their boss¡¯ reaction, the subordinates looked over expectantly.


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°is there any other reason besides that he¡¯s from south korea?¡±


    ¡°uh...¡±


    ¡°that...?¡±


    aine looked satisfied.


    choi yeonseung had been forced to take charge of the company, so it was aine¡¯s role to help him understand the power that he possessed so that he could properly wield it.


    dragon industry had built up its power in the united states for a long time. besides the world of business, its power extended in the political world as well.


    there was currently no member of the senate or house of representatives who hadn¡¯t been lobbied by dragon industry. in the case of los angeles, dragon industry had gained so much power that they essentially owned the city.


    with this much influence, dragon industry could shake the united states, and even the whole world, by creating new laws whenever they wanted.


    ...of course, hwang gyeongryong¡¯s goal was to maintain the status quo because he had already lived his life and wasn¡¯t particularly ambitious. however, choi yeonseung¡¯s goal could be different.


    aine wanted to help with that as choi yeonseung was the kind of person that anybody would want to help.


    ¡°the important thing right now is gorn¡¯s life plant. to be honest, i¡¯m still a bit worried. are you sure it¡¯s okay?¡± asked aine.


    ¡°i¡¯ve heard that rumors will spread if we don¡¯t present it?¡±


    ¡°if rumors spread, you can sue some reporters and shut down a few media outlets... it¡¯s just going to cost a bit of money.¡±


    those were frightening words, but choi yeonseung pretended not to hear them and moved on.


    ¡°now all the preparations are complete. i¡¯ve also told the orcs about this and brought the best ones here.¡±


    inside the state-of-the-art container currently behind him were the abyssal plants grown by the orcs, gorn¡¯s life plant.


    thanks to the orcs¡¯ efforts under choi yeonseung¡¯s guidance, the plants had grown almost to perfection even though earth¡¯s environment was nowhere near optimal for them. nobody at this event would be able to deny their results.


    aine¡¯s face brightened at choi yeonseung¡¯s confident words.


    ¡°i¡¯m glad.¡±


    ¡°did you not believe in me?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not that i didn¡¯t believe in you. fath... no, the chairman made a lot of mistakes.¡±


    ¡®gyeongryong hyung...¡¯


    choi yeonseung remembered some things in the past about hwang gyeongryong and couldn¡¯t help nodding. hwang gyeongryong wasn¡¯t incompetent, but he was weirdly prone to making blunders. thus, it was understandable that aine had been worried about this project.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, someone from the parker family wishes to see you.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    a person who appeared to be a bodyguard approached him. choi yeonseung asked back in a puzzled manner, ¡°if they want to meet me, they should come and see me, right?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m just conveying the message.¡±


    ¡°then convey my response. if they keep talking nonsense and picking fights, i¡¯ll smash the parker group or whatever.¡±


    choi yeonseung was taken aback by this unexpected dispute that occurred in the middle of his preparations.


    the bodyguard was a bit embarrassed, but he nodded without changing his expression.


    ¡°i will pass on the message.¡±


    five minutes passed.


    ¡°i think there was a misunderstanding between us.¡±


    gloria parker, the second child of the parker family, made an appearance. upon seeing her, aine scowled, making it obvious that she disliked her.


    ¡°i thought it was jacob parker. why did you come?¡±


    ¡°what, am i not allowed?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re pathetic. you ingratiate yourself with hunters by seducing them using game tickets and throwing parties. so yeah, you have no business coming here. what are you going to announce? how to flirt with hunters?¡±


    upon hearing such sharp remarks, gloria gritted her teeth and said, ¡°i have some information that might help hunter choi yeonseung, but judging from your reaction, i guess he doesn¡¯t need it!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    at those words, the arrogance completely vanished from aine¡¯s face and was replaced by disbelief. if gloria really had information that was helpful to choi yeonseung, aine screwed up big time.


    perhaps because she noticed the change in aine¡¯s expression, gloria¡¯s demeanor became even worse.


    ¡°but lucky for you, i¡¯m quite the generous person. if you apologize, i¡¯ll forgive you. apologize for insulting and disregarding me.¡±


    ¡°...gloria parker... what i just said...¡±


    choi yeonseung suddenly cut in, ¡°forget it, niece. stop.¡± he seemed disgusted by this.


    ¡°but she has some information that might help...¡± insisted aine with a panicked expression.


    ¡°it won¡¯t kill me or ruin dragon industry if i don¡¯t have it. even if that were the case, it¡¯s still not worth it to humiliate yourself in front of her. hey you, i don¡¯t need your information, so get lost already!¡±


    choi yeonseung waved his hand in irritation.


    gloria stiffened as she couldn¡¯t believe that she was being treated like this. she just stood there in a daze, not saying a single word.


    seeing her like that, choi yeonseung was a bit embarrassed and asked aine, ¡°what? is she going to make a scene?¡±


    ¡°no. she¡¯s shocked because nobody has ever treated her like this. she¡¯ll snap out of it soon enough.¡±


    ¡®wow, isn¡¯t she too thin-skinned?¡¯

 Chapter 299

    chapter 299


    fortunately, gloria soon came to her senses.


    ¡°how dare you say that to me...¡±


    ¡°um. i don¡¯t think you understand. now, listen carefully. i...¡±


    ¡°wait, wait.¡±


    aine realized what choi yeonseung was trying to say and hurriedly stopped him.


    gloria was on the verge of letting out a sound she had never made in her entire life.


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong? i thought she wasn''t on good terms with you. don¡¯t worry. she froze after what i said earlier. if she hears what i¡¯m about to say now, she¡¯ll never bother you for the rest of her life!¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s no need to go that far!¡±


    aine was stunned by her own attempts to make excuses for gloria.


    ¡®why am i helping her?¡¯


    still, it couldn¡¯t be helped.


    ¡°i don¡¯t get along with her, but that doesn¡¯t mean i¡¯m going to lash out at her.¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t you curse at her last time?¡±


    ¡°...she can handle my insults, but she¡¯ll crumble if you rip into her.¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    ¡°so... think of the iron-blooded ice emperor and father.¡±


    ¡°ah.¡±


    choi yeonseung immediately understood.


    every time hwang gyeongryong and lee changsik met separately, they cursed at each other, calling one another names like ¡°lunatic¡± or ¡°crazy monkey bastard that only cares about himself.¡± despite that, they were in fact more worried about each other than anyone else.


    ¡°i see. do you actually like her?¡±


    ¡°...let¡¯s not go that far, please. in addition, there¡¯s nothing good about being overly confrontational with parker group.¡±


    in the business world, there was no such thing as permanent friends or permanent enemies. parker group and dragon industry fought fiercely to take over each other¡¯s territory, but they cooperated whenever they needed to.


    ¡°that sounds absurd. in what world would we actually team up with them?¡±


    ¡°how about when a chinese company enters the us market? we¡¯d cooperate with them in such a situation¡±


    ¡°ah, you¡¯re right.¡±


    choi yeonseung was convinced. she certainly had a point...


    upon finishing up with this topic, choi yeonseung returned to the initial issue.


    ¡°alright, let¡¯s hear it.¡±


    ¡°i knew you would,¡± said gloria with a slightly relieved expression. she had been worried that choi yeonseung would actually kick her out while calling her names. she did business with hunters, so she was well aware of how crazy they were, the a-grade ones being on top of the pyramid.


    no matter how good choi yeonseung was among the a-grade hunters and how many people considered him a hero, nobody could know about the insidious things he had to be doing behind the scenes.


    choi yeonseung wondered, ¡°were you cursing at me in your head? i¡¯m getting a bad vibe from you¡±


    ¡°n-no?¡±


    ***


    gloria parker¡¯s reason for coming was simple.


    ¡°jacob is plotting something sinister.¡±


    ¡°who¡¯s jacob?¡±


    ¡°the eldest son of the parker family.¡±


    ¡°ah. thank you.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    gloria was puzzled by choi yeonseung¡¯s words. did... did choi yeonseung really not know who jacob parker was?


    ¡°richard parker is working for your clan...?!¡±


    ¡°so what? does that mean i have to memorize all the family members of every hunter? just get to the point!¡± snapped choi yeonseung.


    gloria was upset with the aggressive response, but she put up with it.


    ¡°okay. i¡¯ll meet them.¡±


    ¡°!!¡±


    gloria¡¯s eyes widened. she thought it would take a lot longer to convince choi yeonseung, but he agreed to it surprisingly fast.


    ¡°thank you...! i knew i came to the right person!¡± exclaimed gloria as she reached out.


    choi yeonseung disregarded her emotional response and asked, ¡°so, what¡¯s this ¡®sinister¡¯ plot?¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t you guys from dragon industry announce an abyss crop cultivation project with a smart farm this time? of course, i know it¡¯s not yet completed, so you¡¯re going to talk about it as superficially as possible when you present it.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    choi yeonseung and aine wondered what she was talking about. they had already done all the work and finished harvesting the plants.


    ¡®what is she talking about?¡¯


    ¡®maybe... does she think we failed?¡¯


    in fact, gloria didn¡¯t necessarily think they had failed. she just thought no one would be able to achieve results in such a short period of time.


    it wasn¡¯t just gloria. the other experts had the same assumption.


    -abyss-related agriculture is the graveyard of companies.even dragon industry will struggle tremendously with this.


    -something like that is completely unachievable with the current high-tech farms.maybe dragon industry has developed a few new spells, but that wouldn¡¯t be enough for a project like this.they¡¯ll pull the plug on it soon.


    naturally, nobody expected them to announce actual results.


    -maybe they¡¯ll announce their plans?


    -if it¡¯s a quick presentation, they might announce the spells and predictions involved.


    gloria crossed her legs in a haughty manner as she continued speaking.


    ¡°jacob is now using all his connections to spread word that dragon industry is going to present something. he¡¯s telling people that this is just an attempt to inflate expectations and somehow create problems.¡±


    regarding this presentation, the atmosphere itself was also one of the important factors. many clans and companies were participating in this, so the standards were way above the usual company presentations. nobody could pull off any tricks here. even dragon industry would get embarrassed if false rumors spread.


    in addition, if the media that was on parker group¡¯s side got involved, people would start saying things like ¡°did dragon industry fail?¡±


    ...however, choi yeonseung and aine seemed unfazed, which shocked gloria. how could they react in such a carefree manner when she told them such an important piece of information and gave them a chance to react?


    ¡°nothing? hey, i¡¯ve just told you something of great importance!¡±


    ¡°ah, i¡¯m sorry...¡±


    ¡°what, are you going to break your promise now?¡±


    gloria had been rather friendly at first, but as she continued to converse with choi yeonseung and aine, her real character came to the surface.


    ¡°i have no intention of breaking the promise. i¡¯m just saying to wait until the presentation before talking.¡±


    ¡°...ah, yes. you¡¯re probably very busy.¡±


    gloria was convinced and stood up. she also had a lot of work to do.


    ¡°...but you can¡¯t just do nothing with the piece of information i¡¯ve just given you. you better keep that in mind!¡±


    ¡°i got it.¡±


    aine was wondering... what face would gloria make when they made their presentation that day?


    ***


    ¡°please observe the chill of this short sword. as far as fire-based monsters go, this artifact allows you to fight monsters one grade higher than you. it even stacks up! by stacking up the power of this short sword, we even managed to defeat the flame spirit in one go!¡±


    ¡°waaaaaaaaah!¡±


    ¡°dragon artifact is the best!¡±


    this artifact was the biggest hit of the year, so dragon artifact¡¯s presentation was met with enthusiastic cheers. there were quite a few hunters who had the short sword, so the response from the clans was overwhelmingly positive.


    however, the expressions of the ceos of other companies that dealt with artificial artifacts turned sour.


    ¡®shit... because of that...¡¯


    ¡®how did they make it? did a constellation directly teach them how to craft it? n-no... there¡¯s no way a constellation would get involved in something so trivial. maybe they got the recipe from a dungeon?¡¯


    ¡®they¡¯re lucky to hit the jackpot.¡¯


    ¡®if they succeed in the high-tech farm this time, it¡¯s going to be really...¡¯


    ¡®but even with dragon industry, is such a thing possible? isn¡¯t that just a rumor?¡¯

 Chapter 300

    chapter 300


    ¡°yin nie is up next.¡±


    ¡°yie nie is setting the mood this time...¡±


    ¡°no wonder articles like ¡®dragon artifact is running away¡¯ keep popping up.¡±


    ¡°did yie nie really come up with something?¡±


    ¡°who knows...? yie nie is a really dirty company.¡±


    yie nie was one of largest artifact companies in china. in addition to being a large company, those guys also involved themselves in raid-related matters and received tremendous support from the government. their power was no joke.


    yie nie had also released several hits, but they were currently in america, so the response they received was rather lukewarm.


    ¡°who would bother buying yie nie¡¯s artifacts unless they¡¯re broke...?¡±


    ¡°the artifact is unstable....¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know if they¡¯ve solved the overheating problem.¡±


    ¡°no... isn¡¯t that too harsh?¡±


    the chinese clan hunters were agitated by the disparaging comments. they had come here to support yie nie, so they naturally became angry upon hearing the negative gossip of other people.


    it would¡¯ve been unimaginable if the event had been held in china.


    ¡°what are you saying?¡±


    ¡°hey, have you forgotten what country you¡¯re in? if you want to throw a tantrum, go back to china.¡±


    originally, this was a presentation intended for companies to make up for their own shortcomings by freely saying what couldn¡¯t be said normally. this wasn¡¯t the place nor the time to speak delicately in regards to the feelings of other companies!


    of course, this didn¡¯t mean the chinese hunters could adapt to it.


    ¡°did you bastards take bribes?¡±


    ¡°they must¡¯ve taken bribes. how much did yie nie give you?¡±


    ¡°you dare...!¡±


    as the hunters continued to squabble and make noise, an organizer came to them and whispered, ¡°if you don¡¯t shut up, i¡¯ll call the a-grade hunters here.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    hearing the reproach, the hunters fell silent. after all, this venue was filled with many people stronger than them.


    ¡°let¡¯s see what they came up with.¡±


    ¡°you¡¯ll be extremely shocked when you see it.¡±


    the bickering hunters growled at each other, suggesting that there still was some resentment left.


    ¡°here is an item that will open up a new future for artificial artifacts. it¡¯s the cold blue short sword!¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    the spectators blinked in disbelief. the short sword that yie nie brought out was too... it was too similar to the previous one.


    ¡°n-no... did they actually bring a replica?¡±


    ¡°they¡¯re such unscrupulous bastards¡±


    ¡°no! the designs might look a bit similar, but they¡¯re undeniably different. this frost skill...¡±


    ¡°hey, you pieces of shit!¡±


    ¡°get lost!¡±


    there was one thing yie nie hadn¡¯t expected. one-third of the spectators were hunters. the company employees and the announcers kept quiet, but the hunters didn¡¯t hold back from expressing their dissatisfaction.


    ¡°booo!!!¡±


    ¡°get lost! where did such a dirty thing come from?¡±


    in situations like this, ordinary people would throw rotten eggs and tomatoes, but currently the stronger hunters threw chairs and various other objects.


    as chairs and other objects flew toward the stage, the people from yie nie ran away screaming.


    ¡°get rid of these filthy crooks!¡±


    ¡°get lost! get lost!¡±


    ¡°everyone, calm... you have to calm down!¡±


    no matter how hard the organizers tried to de-escalate the situation, the hunters were too fired up to stop. it got to the point where the hunters actually started destroying property. only when the policemen and government hunters rushed in did they quiet down.


    choi yeonseung watched the whole mess and asked with a weary expression, ¡°is it like this every time?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s actually quieter than usual this time.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung was shocked.no?vel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.


    ¡°???¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    everyone was lost for words, and they could only blink in disbelief as they gazed at the case full of gorn¡¯s life plant. they had thought he would bring a sample of sprouts at most to make a fuss, but this...?


    ¡°they¡¯re all grown?!¡±


    choi yeonseung replied, ¡°they¡¯re fully grown, so i brought them with me. what nonsense are you saying?¡±


    ¡°are you sure they¡¯re grown? h-how could you do it so quickly...?¡±


    ¡°i want to give it a try!¡±


    ¡°sure.¡± choi yeonseung took out a gorn¡¯s life plant without hesitation and threw it.


    the hunter freaked out and threw himself forward at the sight of a treasure more precious than any cheap artifact being thrown like it were a mere stone.


    ¡°how can you just throw it like that?!¡±


    ¡°you asked for it and i gave it to you. what¡¯s the issue?¡±


    ¡°still, no matter what...¡±


    the hunter grumbled and carefully held the gorn¡¯s life plant. he then used the skill.


    -intermediate plant absorption!


    this hunter¡¯s name was dorian, and he was a famous hunter in his own right. his rating was c+, but his role in the party was that of a healer. he had a rather unique way of healing because he didn¡¯t use healing magic. instead, he used skills like plant absorption to absorb the plants of the abyss and create potions on the spot.


    that was why he was known as the alchemist!


    ¡°t... this?!¡±


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    ¡°tell me! you bastard!¡±


    dorian was the only one testing the plant, and seeing how dumbfounded he was, the curious hunters quickly became agitated.


    ¡°isn¡¯t he exaggerating?¡±


    ¡°i think there¡¯s something wrong based on this reaction.¡±


    ¡°after it came out, the condition...¡±


    ¡°t-this is amazing! i think this is the best gorn¡¯s life plant i¡¯ve laid hands on... even a-grade is an understatement? did you really grow this?¡±


    ¡°!!!¡±


    the hunters present were surprised. nobody had expected choi yeonseung to receive that much praise.


    the plants were homegrown, so it would be a massive success even if the quality were somewhat inferior to what came out in dungeons. however, it turned out even better...?


    ¡°c-can i check it?¡±


    ¡°sure, you can try it.¡±


    ¡°me too! give me a chance!¡±


    all the curious hunters, including the high-ranking ones, rushed in to try the plants. they lined up and pushed each other as though they were at the supermarket trying to get free samples. it was very peculiar to see them waiting obediently, as if they had turned into sheep, and gratefully accepting the life plant when it was given to them.


    ¡°is it real? hey. how did you grow that?¡±


    ¡°is it possible that they¡¯ve bought this? but you can¡¯t buy something of this quality, right?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know what dragon industry did. did they change the technicians?¡±


    the sight of the hunters frowning and eating the bitter life plant greedily was somewhat odd. upon seeing this, aine was convinced.


    this was a great success!


    who could doubt their results when looking at this scene? these people were so impressed that it seemed like they could even be convinced to buy some weeds pulled from the side of the road.


    ***


    ¡°this is more tiring than i thought.¡±


    ¡°thank you for your hard work!¡±


    after finishing the presentation, choi yeonseung tilted his head back as he slumped back in the chair. he wasn¡¯t physically tired, but it had been more mentally exhausting than expected to answer all the questions of the hunters, who had rushed in like a pack of wolves.


    -how did you grow this...?


    -do you really think he¡¯ll answer that question? hunter choi yeonseung, be honest! i don¡¯t think there are many people here other than us who believed in you! can you give our clan some supplies first...?


    -has this bastard lost his mind?what trick are you trying to pull here?are you blind?


    -get lost!what are these inept people trying to do?


    -everyone, calm down...you need to calm down!


    not even choi yeonseung could¡¯ve predicted that they would fight among themselves to get the supplies first. what kind of presentation caused so many fights?


    ¡°excuse me...¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung looked up and he spotted some employees that were familiar. they were the employees from hanseong energy.

 Chapter 301

    chapter 301


    ¡°where did he go?¡± asked choi yeonseung curiously. he was certain there was one more person, the manager of hanseong energy.


    ¡°well, since you seem to dislike him, we came instead of him.¡±


    ¡°ah. it¡¯s not that i don¡¯t like him. it¡¯s just that he has some strange misconceptions about people.¡±


    department manager kim junghyeong wasn¡¯t a bad person, but he was indeed rather tactless. after all, he had said in front of choi yeonseung, ¡°it¡¯s because of patriotism! as expected of hunter choi yeonseung! patriotism!¡±


    ¡°what brings you here?¡± asked choi yeonseung.


    ¡°we¡¯re here to see if we can buy some life plants.¡±


    this event wasn¡¯t just an opportunity for clans and companies to show off. it was easy to have a false impression given how the media only showed the fights and misdeeds of hunters, but underneath all that, fierce scheming took place.


    companies would always do things like this:


    if a small or medium-sized clan presented a useful magic skill, everyone who participated looked at it indifferently.


    -isn¡¯t this type of magic lacking practicality?


    -that¡¯s right.you¡¯ll just die while you cast it.


    -he¡¯s like a kid with no experience in the real world...


    the presenter would feel bitter and leave the stage in tears at such a cold response, but then the corporate people would quickly sneak up to them.


    -pss, how much do you want?


    -huh?


    -how much do you want in order to teach us that magic?you know what kind of clan we have, so i¡¯m sure you¡¯ll make the right call.i¡¯ll definitely give you twice as much as the other clans, so just us...


    -hey! don¡¯t hand it over to those people who booed you so rudely earlier. we will take it!


    ...as such, this event brimmed with sly people who resorted to any kind of trickery in order to get their hands on any good technology at all costs.


    it was natural that the gorn¡¯s life plant announced by dragon industry had attracted a lot of attention. it was a top quality life plant that had exceeded everyone¡¯s expectations!


    at this point, it was more important to secure the plant itself rather than its growing method or its particular details.


    ¡®i¡¯d prefer to find out how to grow it, but such information won¡¯t be disclosed unless the people at dragon industry are shot in the head.¡¯


    ¡®i thought it would never be possible with just a few spells... how did they build the high-tech farm? did they do it with the power of a constellation?¡¯


    ¡®constellations don¡¯t care about such skills...¡¯


    ¡®regardless, we must secure the life plant. we have to be the first ones to get it, no matter what.¡¯


    few items from the abyss were useless. some of them weren¡¯t particularly useful, just rare and valuable. nevertheless, the gorn¡¯s life plant had to be secured no matter what.


    the plant could be given to hunters who were actually fighting, used for development at a pharmaceutical company, or if that didn¡¯t work, they could send it to a chairman¡¯s house for a holiday gift to bring a smile to their face.


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry, but we can¡¯t really promise you the plants first.¡±


    an employee of dragon industry went out of their way to refuse. there was no need for choi yeonseung to answer such a trivial question. after all, this was a matter that his subordinates had to deal with!


    the people from hanseong energy were disappointed by the response. they had expected it, but still...


    ¡®indeed, the value will be higher if it¡¯s auctioned in public.¡¯


    ¡®if people are going to fight for it with money, isn¡¯t it almost impossible for us to secure it?¡¯


    ¡°wait,¡± choi yeonseung added suddenly.


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°sit down.¡±


    hearing that, the people from hanseong energy sat down looking slightly flustered. it felt overwhelming for them to be suddenly told by an a-grade hunter to sit down.


    what was going on?


    ¡®did we say something rude?¡¯


    ¡®who knows? did we come off as brazen?¡¯


    ¡®were we impolite with our suggestion?¡¯


    ¡®ah. the manager said he would come himself. why did he send us...?¡¯


    the employees sat there shaking in their boots.


    choi yeonseung kindly offered them something to drink.


    ¡°now, drink.¡±


    ¡°this... what is it?¡±


    he offered them some warm tea that exuded a fragrant aroma. it was clearly different from black tea or coffee in the sense that the aroma strangely seemed to restore their energy.


    ¡°it¡¯s herbal tea.¡±


    ¡°aha. thank you. what type of herb is it? licorice? i had it once when i went to a country house...¡±


    ¡°hunter han seha is a bit immature,¡± added aine.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t look at me like that...¡±


    seeing choi yeonseung look at her with an unusually stern expression, she spoke in a somewhat hesitant tone, ¡°first of all, one has to prepare in advance if they want to participate in this type of management. even if she starts as department head, director, or any other high position, she won¡¯t be able to do anything later on unless she gets her own people she can trust. but she doesn¡¯t seem to care about that...¡±


    ¡°i see. i also need to take care of it.¡±


    ¡°...huh? do you really have to do that? can¡¯t you just let her live on her own?¡±


    ¡°how could you say that??¡±


    ¡°...i¡¯m sorry. i¡¯m sorry. do whatever you want. ¡° aine gave up on trying to persuade him after hearing his response. come to think of it, if she liked the fact that choi yeonseung looked after her, it was rather shameless of her to ask him not to look after others as well.


    ¡°which faction is director kim junghyeong part of?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t think he belongs to a faction.¡±


    ¡°i see. how many life plants do you need?¡±


    ¡°huh? you¡¯re actually giving it to us??¡±


    ¡°yeah. since you¡¯ve come this far, i can¡¯t send you back without giving you a gift. tell them you owe me one.¡±


    ¡°thank you! thank you!!¡±


    the employee texted kim junghyeong right away.


    -department manager.a miracle has happened!he says he¡¯ll give us the life plant!


    -what did i say?he reacted that way because he was embarrassed, but it must be patriotism!


    ¡®...i¡¯m not telling him that...¡¯


    the employee hid the reply as he felt that it would anger choi yeonseung. moreover, it really didn¡¯t seem like he had agreed to give them the plant because of patriotism...


    ***


    ¡°parker group¡¯s stock prices are going down a bit.¡±


    ¡°is there a reason for that?¡±


    ¡°ah... i suppose... they thought you would fail, so they acquired the related companies in advance and waited. they¡¯re facing backlash now.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry for that.¡±


    ¡°really?¡±


    ¡°no. i just said it out of courtesy.¡±


    choi yeonseung went with aine to where gloria was. the latter had a serious expression.


    ¡°did something happen?¡±


    ¡°i think the stocks she owns are going down.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    gloria didn¡¯t answer, so it seemed that aine hit the nail on the head. still, she couldn¡¯t sit still when guests came. gloria sighed as she stood up.


    ¡°nice to see you. i was waiting for you... the information i told you was helpful, right?¡±


    ¡°how can you say that? it wasn¡¯t helpful at all.¡±


    aine instantly contradicted her, which caused gloria to cast her a murderous glance. aine immediately stopped her from passing over the situation.


    choi yeonseung also asked in a dumbfounded manner, ¡°you don¡¯t intend to deceive people with such tricks, do you?¡±


    ¡°...it¡¯s a misunderstanding. the parker family would never do something so stupid. ¡±


    gloria changed her words as though she had given up. the stock price had dropped and there was no means of negotiation. therefore, unlike her usual politeness, she was currently very blatant.


    ¡°yes. i admit that the information i gave you this time was wrong. is there anything else you want? if so, just tell me what it is. but if it¡¯s something completely unreasonable...¡±


    ¡°nah, it doesn¡¯t matter if i¡¯m just teaching martial arts. bring the person here.¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    gloria couldn¡¯t believe her ears. she thought it was a trick, but aine was poking choi yeonseung¡¯s side like crazy.


    ¡°just like that?!?¡±


    ¡°just like that.¡±


    ¡°...are you actually a pusho... no. nothing.¡±


    ¡°did you mean to call me a pushover just now?¡±


    ¡°nope. no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    before he knew it, gloria¡¯s attitude changed.

 Chapter 302

    chapter 302


    on his way to meet the hunter that gloria wanted to introduce him to, choi yeonseung asked aine, ¡°since this person has signed a contract with her, i shouldn¡¯t hope for them to be a decent person, right?¡±


    ¡°yeah, she¡¯s that kind of person after all...¡±


    gloria would¡¯ve been furious if she had heard such harsh words. however choi yeonseung and aine talked about her like that in the most carefree manner.


    ¡°are there any precautions for dealing with such hunters?¡±


    choi yeonseung had infinitely more experience than aine on the field, but it was likely that she had more experience than him when it came to dealing with hunters. after all, wasn¡¯t managing hunters her job? she could certainly give him some advice in that regard.


    ¡°precautions... things to keep in mind... i think you just have to be yourself.¡±


    ¡°what? is that enough?¡±


    choi yeonseung was flustered. come to think of it, what was his normal behavior?


    ¡®i don¡¯t think that would help.¡¯


    if the other person wanted to rest, he pushed them until they fell down. if they talked nonsense, he would swing a punch...


    could he act like that with those hunters?


    ¡°there¡¯s a good chance that they¡¯ll be ruder and meaner than you. if they talk nonsense, then just use your strength to show who¡¯s superior. after all, you¡¯re in the position where you¡¯re giving something. if they act arrogantly, just step on them.¡±


    ¡°great advice.¡± choi yeonseung nodded.


    certainly, aine¡¯s words were compelling.


    given his position, he had no reason to put up with some arrogant asshole. he would show them what it meant to be an a-grade hunter!


    ***


    ¡°i can¡¯t believe i get to meet you! it is truly an honor!!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°why are you both looking at me like that?¡± asked gloria incredulously.


    both choi yeonseung and aine looked embarrassed.


    ¡°i thought he would be a rude person.¡±


    ¡°what kind of person did you think i was going to bring...?!¡±


    ¡°well, you said it yourself that you don¡¯t care about a hunter¡¯s personality, only about their reputation!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    gloria was baffled and went quiet. she normally would¡¯ve argued fiercely, but she couldn¡¯t do so against choi yeonseung¡¯s argument.


    upon listening to their conversation, the hunter said firmly, ¡°i may have signed a contract with ms. parker, but i am different.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    despite gloria looking at him in disbelief, the hunter didn¡¯t change his attitude. there was an a-grade hunter in front of him, so he naturally had to make a good impression. there was no reason to worry about the agent he had signed with.


    ¡®this bastard...?¡¯


    ¡°alright, so you¡¯re a martial artist?¡±


    ¡°yes! i¡¯ve been learning martial arts since i was in university.¡±


    training as a hunter in university sounded strange at first, but those days, it was actually pretty common. unlike the early days of raids, there were presently several educational institutions that trained young, gifted children to become hunters.


    the ivy league had changed from the prestigious universities of the past to schools that trained hunters. those were the most sought after educational institutions.


    nathan dab, who was currently in front of choi yeonseung, was also a promising hunter from a school like that.


    the talents from such schools had many skills at their disposal and received vigorous training, but because they lacked any significant results, they were forced to sign contracts for cheap. this made them mouthwatering customers for all types of clans, companies, agents, etc.


    ¡°how interesting. is it because of this kind of education that there are so many hunters these days?¡±


    ¡°there is research showing that nowadays there are more awakened people than in the past. it might be a result of the education.¡±


    ¡°but don¡¯t half of them end up going on a different path instead of doing raids?¡±


    ¡°...there¡¯s also that.¡±


    aine couldn¡¯t deny that. in fact, as the hunter profession became more popular, there were more and more hunters who didn¡¯t do raids and aimed for something else.


    choi yeonseung said, ¡°anyway, enough with the useless chatter. so you said you wanted to learn martial arts?¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    nathan looked like a football player. thanks to his training in martial arts, he had discipline and a naturally muscular build.


    ¡®he¡¯ll be a pretty sturdy tanker.¡¯


    ¡°are you listening?¡±


    ¡°yes...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m listening...¡±


    ¡°i want to repay the country by making you stronger hunters. of course, this will be an arduous and painful journey...¡±


    ¡®ah, he¡¯s crazy.¡¯


    ¡®it would be better if he just appeared in the media.¡¯


    the moment the hunters who admired lee changsik heard that he would be directing, they thought, ¡®did i win the lottery?¡¯ however, all of them soon realized what would await them.


    lee changsik was actually a very different person from what they had assumed. the hunters only saw his cold and distant appearance in the media, but once they actually met him as a director, he proved to be more difficult than they had expected...


    he was an exhausting person.


    -that method isn¡¯t right.think for yourself and try again.


    -ah.i understand.


    -still not good enough.try again.


    -...yes.


    -no, you¡¯re not doing it correctly!again...


    -......


    starting with asking them to do the same thing over and over again to calling out hunters who seemed bored and teaching them personally...


    if it had been any other director, they would''ve tried to beat him, but evidently they couldn¡¯t hit lee changsik.


    ¡®there¡¯s a big difference in level.¡¯


    the hunters assessed lee changsik¡¯s level, but so did he with all the hunters in the clan.


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s request, lee changsik had taken charge of the clan, and he had no intention of taking his task lightly. however, what could he do to rebuild a clan that was on the verge of collapsing?


    ¡®you first open the wound and drain the pus. then it will recover.¡¯


    he kept the hunters who still had motivation while kicking out those who didn¡¯t have any.


    after pondering on it for a while, lee changsik had realized that the main issue was the motivation of the hunters, not their talent. he didn¡¯t want to bother teaching hunters who asked things like ¡°why do i have to do this?¡± when training to become strong.


    however, there was a problem...


    ¡®we need to recruit more hunters. i should call yeonseung.¡¯


    he hadn¡¯t planned to recruit hunters for a while because the clan was in such a terrible state. however, it seemed like he had to release some hunters and recruit some new ones. he had to get rid of the useless hunters in order to let in those who were capable and willing to learn. by doing so, the clan could gain some vitality.


    ¡®...should i just recruit them with my own money?¡¯


    lee changsik was slightly worried. from a director¡¯s perspective, he couldn¡¯t say to the clan owner, ¡°we haven¡¯t won a game in a while, so can you give me some money to recruit hunters?¡±


    no matter how close he was to choi yeonseung, it was a matter of reputation and pride. he had to get some results before calling choi yeonseung...!


    ¡°is anyone here?¡±


    ¡°come in.¡±


    lee changsik opened the door, puzzled as to who it could be. he saw a familiar hunter.


    ¡®hunter han seha?¡¯


    well-dressed employees with gloomy expressions stood behind hunter han seha.


    ¡°i heard you¡¯re here, so i came.¡±


    ¡°ah. come in.¡±


    ¡®what¡¯s this about?¡¯


    lee changsik was curious about the reason why han seha had come to visit.


    of course, it was plausible for a current a-grade hunter to visit a former a-grade hunter for advice. however, things like that didn¡¯t really happen. unless they were invited to a public event, they rarely met.


    ¡°hunters...¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m here to give you hunters.¡±


    ¡°...?!??¡±


    lee changsik looked at han seha with a baffled expression.


    what was she going to provide him? and more importantly, how would she do that?

 Chapter 303

    chapter 303


    ¡°you¡¯re here to provide me with hunters? i¡¯m not sure i follow... can you elaborate on that?¡±


    there was no way she would bring hunters from hanseong group to the clan, right?


    even though hunters from companies had extensive experience and certain skills, there was no guarantee that they would do well in the competition... above all, wasn¡¯t it crazy to take out a large number of veteran hunters who were responsible for the company¡¯s affairs and use them for the competition?


    it was just like in baseball. no matter how bad a pitcher threw, they didn¡¯t bring in the manager to replace them. it was the same in the hunter industry.


    ¡°the hunters from the hanseong group...¡±


    ¡°cough!¡±


    ¡°...i can¡¯t give them to you...¡±


    ¡°phew.¡±


    ¡°...did you really think i was going to hand you over hunters from hanseong group?¡±


    han seha looked at lee changsik in a dumbfounded manner. it didn¡¯t make much sense. how could someone as experienced as lee changsik have such delusions?


    ¡°of course not. ahem.¡±


    ¡°of course, i can¡¯t give them to you, but i can give you the nomination rights that hanseong group has.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    the nomination rights meant many things depending on the field, but in the hunter world, they only meant one thing: the privilege of big companies to recruit hunters ahead of everyone else!


    even though south korea didn¡¯t have large-scale educational cities like other overseas countries, they still nurtured talented hunters in high schools and universities, and it was the korean companies that sponsored those institutions.


    in return for sponsoring the institutions with huge amounts of money, companies could approach promising hunters and make offers before regular clans.


    as far as hanseong group was concerned, they clearly had invested tremendous amounts of money in those schools, which meant they could easily reach out to any talents from said schools.


    ¡°i appreciate the suggestion, but why are you doing this?¡±


    ¡°some idiots were stupid enough to take something they shouldn¡¯t have.¡±


    ¡°??¡±no?vel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.


    lee changsik didn¡¯t know what han seha meant, but since she had come with this offer, he decided to accept for now. after all, wasn¡¯t it a guaranteed profit for him?


    ¡°i understand. thank you. i¡¯ll take a look around with hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°uh...¡±


    han seha had a very complicated expression, which puzzled lee changsik.


    ¡°what¡¯s wrong? if it¡¯s uncomfortable for you to meet him, i can just meet him by myself.¡±


    ¡°ugh...¡±


    hearing that, han seha¡¯s expression became sad, which further confused lee changsik.


    ¡®should i call him?¡¯ he wondered.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll just call him.¡± lee changsik made a firm decision.


    han seha was rather amazed by this. as expected, not everyone could become an a-grade hunter!


    ***


    ¡°pick hunters and bring them into the clan...¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a very interesting proposition.¡±


    demon no. 139 was intrigued. aside from supporting choi yeonseung, his goal was also to learn more about earth¡¯s culture. after all, acquiring knowledge about earth enriched the demon of contract and order.


    no. 139 really had many things to study on earth, such as systematic work processing, efficient calculations, and of course, working without breaks.


    the arrogant beings of the abyss bragged that they had nothing to learn from the uncivilized humans of earth, but no. 139 didn¡¯t think so.


    demon no. 139 muttered, ¡°the nomination right is also very interesting.¡±


    ¡°really? isn¡¯t it something ordinary?¡±


    ¡°yes! you just have to pay a small amount of money to acquire future talents. i really want to learn from this.¡±


    ¡°...n-no. the method isn¡¯t that wicked... right?¡±


    when it came to the nomination rights, the companies always gave notice in advance, so it was a win-win for both parties. however, choi yeonseung had mixed feelings after listening to no. 139.


    if a demon admired the nomination right, there had to be something sinister about it.


    ¡°umm.¡±


    ¡°no, hunter choi yeonseung. it¡¯s a good method. in fact, the constellations of the abyss are now seriously considering getting their hands on humanity.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡°no. you¡¯ll know when you see it.¡±


    lee changsik was right. there were quite a few people on campus who covered their faces just like them.


    ¡°it¡¯s going to be troublesome if rumors spread that someone¡¯s aiming for a particular student. in addition, there might be scouts from overseas.¡±


    ¡°those people don¡¯t have the nomination rights. can they do this?¡±


    ¡°they do it in secrecy. even if they get criticized, they still make a lot of profit by recruiting talented people.¡±


    the students would also receive all kinds of criticism if they went overseas after receiving so much support from south korea. however, some people were willing to endure that much if they could make a lot of money as a hunter.


    ¡°it reminds me of gyeongryong hyung,¡± said choi yeonseung.


    ¡°no, this is definitely different from gyeongryong hyung! gyeongryong hyung had never signed any contracts beforehand or received any support! he acted purely out of patriotism. what are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°...i just said it reminded me of him. i didn¡¯t swear at him, did i?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    lee changsik had his true thoughts revealed and cleared his throat in embarrassment. choi yeonseung smiled.


    ¡°hyung, if you want to make up with him, just...¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know what you are talking about.¡±


    ¡°you got mad when you thought i talked badly of gyeongryong hyung earlier...¡±


    ¡°n-no, it¡¯s not that. i got mad because this high school is named after him...¡±


    ¡°??¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled by lee changsik¡¯s words and thought again about the name of the high school.


    ¡®is the name hwangryong really...¡¯


    did hwang gyeongryong himself know about this?


    ***


    ¡°what do you think?¡±


    ¡°not bad. honestly, i think this person is the best one in this high school.¡±


    people from various companies were watching the hunters with expressions of excitement. one of them was from namhyeong group, a korean group that was as huge as hanseong group!


    given how many corporate people were here, a staggering amount of hunters would be recruited!


    ¡°don¡¯t be vague. speak clearly.¡±


    ¡°no, i thought i made it clear...¡±


    kim chandong, a hunter from one of south korea¡¯s three major clans, the golden blood fish clan, was dumbfounded. he would¡¯ve been angry if he had been on active duty. however, he was currently a scout, not an active hunter, and the person talking to him was an executive of namhyeong group.


    however, that person wasn¡¯t just a regular executive, but a direct executive on the chairman¡¯s side!


    when it came to large groups, even hunters had to bow their heads.


    ¡°do you understand? i don¡¯t need second place. all i want is number one.¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°say it again. does that hunter look like number one?¡±


    ¡°as far as i¡¯m concerned, he is number one.¡±


    ¡°okay. i¡¯ll take note of that.¡±


    the other person nodded in satisfaction and left for a moment.


    kim chandong sighed. he was sweating from the pressure that this young man put on him.


    ¡®are they from overseas or from a private clan?¡¯


    a few people wearing masks sat down next to him, but kim chandong didn¡¯t pay much attention to them.


    the students would soon graduate, which meant that various suspicious people would enter the school at around this time.


    ¡°what do you think?¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s not good. he looks fine on the outside but is rotten inside. in addition, you want to avoid the ones with a bad personality, right?¡±


    ¡°is it that bad? alright, i understand.¡±


    ¡°...!??¡±


    kim chandong couldn¡¯t believe the conversation he heard next to him.


    the hunter they were talking about, who was now warming up on the field in front of him, was unanimously considered the most talented student at hwangryong high school.


    ¡°you over there. why would you say that? are you sure you didn¡¯t get it wrong?¡± said kim chandong without even realizing it.

 Chapter 304

    chapter 304


    ¡°??¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled.


    -what is this?do humans always start up conversations with each other like this?


    -no.normally that doesn¡¯t happen.


    this was a place where, unless some people knew each other, everybody minded their own business. however, since the other person started talking to him, he had to answer.


    however, someone interjected, ¡°we¡¯re just making an assessment. why do you find it ridiculous?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    upon hearing that, choi yeonseung instinctively turned his head. it was han seha who had spoken those words firmly.


    ¡®seha...¡¯


    ¡°ah... no. i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    kim chandong backed down when the other person responded in such an assertive manner. many people with a high status had come here, so when he saw the other person speak to him like that, he wondered, ¡®does she have something?¡¯


    in addition, kim chandong was the one who spoke first...


    ¡°i was just trying to help because i thought you misunderstood something. this friend is considered to be the best talent that can be recruited from hwangryong high school right now.¡±


    go cheonsik was truly talented as he had received a d+ rating before even graduating.


    of course, there were some people who had reached c-grade with just their talent, without any practical experience, but those were the cases of geniuses. moreover, such people usually received training throughout university.


    thus, a d+ rating was rather impressive for a high school student, but...


    [go cheonsik]


    level: 97


    strength: 194


    agility: 93


    physical strength: 88 (-5)


    magic power: 100


    intelligence: 66


    c rank skill: physical strength enhancement.


    b+ rank skill: physical strength cohesion.


    ...


    choi yeonseung could see more information than usual because his constellation powers had evolved.


    -he has an arrogant personality.there is a high chance that he will belittle the people around him and cause discord.


    -he is currently using medication, which leads to a high probability of a decrease in physical strength.


    ...


    go cheonsik¡¯s stats indicated that he would be an ordinary strength-oriented, close-range hunter. however, the extra information was like a bombshell. if he had an arrogant personality and was on drugs, there was a very high possibility that he would get into trouble in the future.


    many hunters would do anything to improve their abilities, like mixing all kinds of illegal substances to create drugs. taking those drugs didn¡¯t just put a strain on the body. in the worst case scenario...


    ¡®the problem is that he would be easily swayed by the evil god constellations.¡¯


    once he succumbed to temptation, he would only grow weaker and weaker.


    choi yeonseung planned to contact the korean government as soon as this meeting was over and tell them to put go cheonsik in a rehabilitation facility.


    ¡°for your information, this is who i am.¡±


    kim chandong handed him his business card to show that he wasn¡¯t some shady individual. choi yeonseung nodded when he saw that he belonged to the golden blood fish clan.


    ¡°ah. are you jeong wonuk¡¯s subordinate?¡±


    ¡°you... you know the clan leader?¡±


    ¡°yeah, i know him.¡±


    choi yeonseung lifted his sunglasses and slightly lowered his mask.


    kim chandong was shocked to see a familiar face.


    ¡°choi... choi yeon...¡±


    ¡°can you be quiet?¡±


    ¡°i-i¡¯m sorry! it¡¯s just that i¡¯ve met such an amazing person without knowing! i¡¯ve heard that you saved my younger brother. i want to thank you again!¡±


    ¡°your younger brother?¡±


    ¡°hunter kim chanseong...¡±


    ¡°ah.¡±


    choi yeonseing was confused because there were so many people he had saved. still, the name kim chanseong rang a bell. it was the industrial spy who had tried to secretly steal the researchers from an american company under the orders of the golden blood fish clan!


    ¡°that spy?¡±


    ¡°p-please, your voice is a bit...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re the one who spoke loudly first.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°so, is the golden blood fish clan looking for new people or what?¡±


    ¡°ah. thank you.¡±


    four people took a seat at wi seongu¡¯s words. he then asked them with a very burdened expression, ¡°if there is a specific hunter you¡¯re interested in, shall i call them over?¡±


    ¡°no need. we¡¯re here to see you.¡±


    wi seongu was very surprised by lee changsik¡¯s words.


    ¡°for me?!¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°a-are you not mistaken...?¡±


    wi seongu had a reason for doubting him.


    -seongu.um...why don¡¯t you try and find something else to do?


    -you¡¯re a damage dealer, but you have the worst results in the strength test. your magic power isn¡¯t much better either.if you do this, you can attack from a distance...


    wi seongu was training as a close-range damage dealer, but the evaluators had told him that his offensive power was too weak. now some scouts he didn¡¯t know were staring at him, so he couldn¡¯t help feeling dispirited.


    ¡®...gasp. are they chinese scouts?¡¯


    wi seongu remembered what he had learned in school.


    -now, the most important thing to watch out for while training here is outsiders.be especially wary of chinese scouts.first of all, there are many cases where they tempt people with sweet words and then throw them away.


    -yes!


    if they showed interest in him, then were they really...


    as wi seongu was fretting about it, choi yeonseung spoke to him instead of lee changsik, ¡°do you want to enter dungeons?¡±


    ¡°!!¡±


    it was such a suspicious question! could it be that they really were chinese scouts?


    ¡°i... i do, but not with you!¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung was a bit embarrassed. did wi seongu know who he was?


    ¡°do you know who i am?¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t you a scout from china?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    lee changsik removed his sunglasses and mask, causing wi seongu to literally collapse to the ground.


    ¡°...did he faint?¡±


    ¡°possibly...¡±


    [wi seongu]


    level: 85


    strength: 81


    agility: 82


    physical strength: 225


    magic power: 91


    intelligence: 90


    d+ rank skill: steel skin.


    c rank skill: thorn fist.


    ...


    -he is the type to challenge himself without complaining about any trials in order to be strong.


    -as a hunter, he has doubts about prioritizing competitions instead of killing monsters.


    -he is very skeptical about his own abilities.he is thinking about retiring.


    ¡®he¡¯s a natural tanker.¡¯


    it was understandable why he had been deemed a poor damage dealer. all his other stats were a bit weak, and he had no supporting skills...


    however, all those things would be irrelevant if he just switched to being a tanker. if his physical strength stat was over two hundred when he was only level eighty-five, it meant he was a natural tanker.


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t necessarily impressed with his stats, but he was delighted with his personality. it seemed that he would get along with wi seongu much better than with arrogant hunters with great skills. he was also pleased with his answer when he had asked him whether he wanted to enter dungeons.


    lee changsik muttered, ¡°i think he¡¯s just average...¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s how i see him as well.¡± choi yeonseung continued to explain, ¡°he just needs to develop his abilities. he¡¯s fit and has a good character, so i¡¯m quite satisfied with him.¡±


    lee changsik wasn¡¯t completely convinced but he decided to trust choi yeonseung¡¯s intuition. the constellations that had appeared after the gates had opened always displayed abilities beyond comprehension.


    if choi yeonseung deemed this prospective hunter worthy, it was clear that he had potential.


    choi yeonseung had to have a way to get that potential to blossom.


    ¡°how are you going to make him stronger?¡±


    ¡°ah. there are many dungeons in the united kingdom, so i¡¯m thinking of making an expedition with the orcs.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    lee changsik, who was walking in front of choi yeonseung, couldn¡¯t believe his ears.

 Chapter 305

    chapter 305


    ¡®...um. he¡¯s also a constellation...¡¯ thought lee changsik as he tried to wrap his head around it.


    ¡°welcome. i was expecting you.¡±


    the chairman of hwangryong high school came to greet the group personally. he couldn¡¯t sit still when he heard that people from hanseong group were coming.


    the school was meant to train hunters, but in the end, what mattered the most was how much investment they received. thus, top investment groups like hanseong group were valuable guests that the school couldn¡¯t afford to neglect.


    ¡°how much did hanseong group pay?¡±


    ¡°i think it was the biggest or the second biggest investment...?¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    hearing that, choi yeonseung understood why the chairman bowed at a 90-degree angle.


    ¡°okay, let¡¯s go inside.¡±


    the chairman wondered, ¡°by the way, are you perhaps new?¡± he had been in contact with a lot of hunters, so he could instinctively feel that these weren¡¯t the usual people from hanseong group.


    ¡®they¡¯re not ordinary people.¡¯


    ¡°indeed.¡±


    han seha lowered her mask, and the chairman was stunned to see the familiar face.


    ¡°hunter han seha!¡±


    ¡°this isn¡¯t the only surprise.¡±


    the other two people next to her also revealed their faces, causing the chairman to almost faint.


    ¡°w-why are these shabby people in such a precious place...?¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t you mean to say the opposite?¡±


    the chairman picked up a cup with trembling hands. he didn¡¯t even seem to notice that he had mixed up his words.


    ¡°i see...! i understand!¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°are you here because of go cheonsik? is his potential that great?¡±


    ¡°uh, no. that¡¯s not it.¡±


    ¡°!?¡±


    what had they come here for if not for go cheonsik?


    ¡°ah, right. go cheonsik is currently on drugs. make sure to look into him carefully and quietly. who knows what he might do?¡±


    ¡°huh?!¡±


    ¡°i want to recruit a certain hunter using the nomination right of hanseong group...¡±


    before choi yeonseung could finish speaking, he was interrupted by someone knocking at the door and then entering the chairman¡¯s office.


    ¡°this is rather unpleasant, chairman. i¡¯m not one to be petty about the order, but how much did namhyeong group invest in you? why should i take the backseat?¡±


    nam hakgi ignored choi yeonseung and the others and only looked at the chairman. even though this seemed petty, it was within his right. it was only fair that the one who had invested the most should have priority when it came to discussing and recruiting a prospective hunter.


    that was how capitalism worked.


    despite all that, he had found out that someone else had a meeting with the chairman before him. he couldn¡¯t accept something like that.


    ¡°actually, hanseong group doubled your investment amount,¡± explained the chairman. initially, namhyeong group had been the top investor, but then han seha had invested her own money before coming to the high school.


    -this is enough to be first, right?i¡¯m bringing a guest with me, so if you embarrass me, hwangryong high school is done for.get the right amount of money!


    -u-understood!


    ¡°...¡±


    nam hakgi looked very embarrassed. who could¡¯ve predicted this?


    namhyeong group had invested quite a lot, so he had never expected that someone would double their sum in such a short amount of time!


    ¡®why did hanseong group double it? is go cheonsik that valuable?¡¯


    ¡°...no?!¡±


    he only realized what was going on when he saw han seha sneer at him.


    ¡®hunter han seha...!¡¯


    she had doubled the investment to humiliate him. han seha was an a-grade hunter with tons of money, so she had the means to do something like that. she was so eccentric that she couldn¡¯t even be considered an a-grade hunter. she only cared about herself!


    ¡°that¡¯s so pathetic. you wasted your money like that just to keep me in check.¡±


    ¡°...what the hell are you saying, you asshole?! this has nothing to do with you!¡±


    ¡°sure thing. you expect me to believe that?¡±


    ¡°you... do you want there to be a post all over social media about the successor of namhyeong group bungee jumping naked from the rooftop of hwangryong high school?!¡± growled han seha, threatening him as though she were about to kill him.


    she really said that...?


    in any case, the prospective hunters who had grown up with excessive expectations never wanted to do hard work. choi yeonseung didn¡¯t mean to criticize those kinds of hunters, but they weren¡¯t what he and lee changsik were looking for.


    what they both wanted was a hunter who was hungry for strength like the clan members they were used to!


    in any case, it was more difficult to find talents than they had expected.


    ¡°anyway, you can look forward to the next place,¡± said lee changsik confidently.


    they were going to a stadium.


    schools that specialized in hunters didn¡¯t train the students quietly. they consistently sent them to competitions in order to gain results, train them, and advertise them to the outside world.


    the iron-blooded national high school hunter competition was one of those competitions. countless young hopefuls competed fiercely in this competition for an entire day! because of that, the general public was highly interested in this competition, and many scouts gathered here.


    ¡°by the way, why is the name ¡®iron-blooded¡¯? shouldn¡¯t it be something like ¡®the presidential¡¯ or ¡®national competition¡¯?¡±


    ¡°...ah, you think so?¡±


    lee changsik ducked the question, but han seha went out of her way to reply, ¡°it was probably named after the iron-blooded ice emperor.¡±


    ¡°oh.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    lee changsik cast a resentful look at han seha, but she wasn¡¯t the type of person to care about things like that.


    ***


    ¡°shit...¡±


    yang haifeng, a chinese hunter of the shaolin temple clan, let out a disgruntled sound. those that had come with yang haifeng realized he was in a bad mood and avoided looking at him.


    ¡°no matter how unreasonable the party is, they should say something that at least makes some sense. if you were korean, would you come to china? the party would take everything away from them and then throw them away!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    there was a reason why yang haifeng was stressed out. they had received an order from the chinese communist party.


    -go to south korea and scout for prospective hunters.


    ...if the party acted, then the clans below them had to act as well.


    yang haifeng worked as a scout within the clan and had no choice but to follow the order. the problem was that the task was virtually impossible.


    twenty or thirty years prior, he might¡¯ve been able to lure people with things like ¡°it¡¯s a land of opportunity! come to china! it¡¯s a vast land that welcomes you!¡± in fact, many korean hunters went to china during that time, as the chinese would lure them with huge rewards and promises of good treatment. however, the results weren¡¯t exactly good.


    whenever the hunters risked their lives in a raid, the chinese government would use all sorts of excuses to reduce the compensation. moreover, they would also postpone the promised rewards by sharing it in small portions, and if there was a dangerous area, they would send the hunters first.


    evidently, rumors had spread to south korea, deterring hunters from going to china. they preferred other countries.


    ¡°we need to manage our image. why don¡¯t the party executives use their brains like i do?¡±


    ¡°a-aren¡¯t you looking forward to this competition?¡±


    this year¡¯s iron-blooded competition didn¡¯t only feature korean hunters. prospective hunters from china had also been invited to participate.


    they were still young, but they were talented and extremely popular! if they managed to secure a win, it was obvious that the chinese media would talk about it for a long time.


    -as expected, small countries can¡¯t beat a big country...


    -the power of the chinese...


    ¡°i¡¯m looking forward to it, but if i can¡¯t get the job done, they¡¯ll rip into me. how can i focus on the competition?¡±


    ¡°where is gu guowu?¡±


    his subordinate changed the topic. he realized that continuing to talk about the competition would only cause yang haifeng to swear at him.


    ¡°i don¡¯t know. he stayed in his room the whole time, and i honestly don''t care. all the better if he doesn¡¯t come out!¡±


    gu guowu was the party official supposed to deliver a congratulatory speech as a guest invited to this competition. however, he hadn¡¯t yet left his room, which bothered yang haifeng. he should¡¯ve come out to talk to them or give them some kind of help...


    ¡°t-the competition is starting.¡±


    ¡°yes. let¡¯s watch the competition. we better win.¡±


    yang haifeng sighed as he looked away from his subordinate. he could see the young hunters enter the large stadium and greet each other. he was honestly not that interested in the competition itself. he only wanted their hunters to win in order to avoid trouble.


    ¡®well, we¡¯ll win as long as nothing weird happens.¡¯


    the korean hopefuls might think of this as just a competition, but china¡¯s team had gone through a grueling training session before arriving at the stadium. they were ten times more prepared.


    no one could beat them unless something out of the ordinary happened.


    ¡°why are there other people in the vip seats? don¡¯t you know that i¡¯ve paid a lot of money for these seats?¡±


    ¡°i-i¡¯m sorry. it was supposed to be a private seat, but an unexpected vip came...¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    hearing that, yang haifeng turned his head.


    what was this ominous feeling?

 Chapter 306

    chapter 306


    ¡®what the...?!¡¯


    yang haifeng felt his blood freeze as he saw the korean a-grade hunters sit down one after another.


    ¡®why are they here...?¡¯


    yang haifeng suddenly felt it was unfair. if he had been born a few decades earlier, he wouldn¡¯t have had to worry about this. he felt it was truly unbelievable as he remembered what the party officials had said about the past.


    -the world crawled at our feet!when china coughed, many countries in the world fell to their knees...


    -south korea?japan?they couldn¡¯t even look at our shadows!


    -ah, those americans too! they¡¯re scared to death of us.really!don¡¯t you believe me?


    back then, listening to what the party executives said, he felt that china was the most powerful country in the world. of course, they must¡¯ve exaggerated, but it was still clear that china had been quite prosperous at one point.


    however, china wasn¡¯t doing that well in the present.


    the north was occupied by some crazy constellation, and a vast mass of land had become contaminated after the raid era had begun. no matter how many hunters there were, it was impossible to protect such a large area. the necessary facilities were destroyed every time.


    divisions within china were also a serious problem.


    in the past, those who opposed the party and the government were simply labeled as revolutionaries and crushed with force. they couldn¡¯t fight back at all. however, these days , those kinds of people fought back by making contracts with evil god constellations or mastering evil magic.


    that was one of china¡¯s vexing problems as they couldn¡¯t really do much about it due to the limitations of the existing technology.


    china was big, but it was festering on the inside. that was the current situation.


    ¡®i can¡¯t deal with a korean a-grade hunter...¡¯


    looking at the current situation, south korea was a tough opponent. moreover, one couldn¡¯t disregard a-grade hunters no matter how small their country was.


    ...but he couldn¡¯t show that he felt intimidated!


    when on the verge of being ruined, a prosperous family was especially proud. the same was true of china. after all, the party had one golden rule: never bow down to outsiders!


    ¡°i was invited here,¡± said yang haifeng.


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°and who¡¯s asking?¡± continued yang haifeng.


    han seha as she looked at yang haifeng like he was a madman. choi yeonseung tried to stop her from ripping him apart.


    ¡°seha, we don¡¯t know who this is, so watch your tone.¡±


    ¡°yeah, right. hey, why are you interrupting us when nobody asked you a damn thing? do you have a loose screw...?¡±


    ¡°forget it. i¡¯ll speak myself,¡± choi yeonseung cut in.


    yang haifeng sighed with relief. it seemed like he could actually talk to this person.


    ¡°you said you received an invitation. were you invited by the organizers?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right.¡±


    choi yeonseung curiously asked lee changsik, ¡°chinese people were invited here?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s because they¡¯re from a neighboring country,¡± replied lee changsik with a nod.


    ¡°uhh, aren¡¯t they spies?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    yang haifeng was shocked by this but he endured it. after all, he was talking to an a-grade hunter.


    ¡°i¡¯m not a spy... we were invited.¡±


    as neighboring countries, there were bound to be exchanges with each other. south korea had also received an invitation to a competition in china before.


    ¡°oh... can they go and scout for talent?¡±


    ¡°on paper, they shouldn¡¯t be able to do that. however, they can sign the contracts in secrecy and steal the hunters¡±


    yang haifeng couldn¡¯t stand to listen, so he cleared his throat and changed the subject.


    ¡°anyhow, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡±


    ¡°well, for us it¡¯s not a pleasure. drop the friendly facade.¡±


    at han seha¡¯s words, yang haifeng¡¯s expression contorted once again.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°well, since this is the case, let¡¯s watch the competition on our own.¡±


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t apologize on behalf of han seha... he merely completed her sentence.


    yang haifeng cursed at them inwardly. he was too scared to do it out loud.


    ***


    the talents from china¡¯s beijing 31st high school were truly amazing. seeing their outstanding performance, yang haifeng could finally let out a sigh of relief, feeling much better. even if he had no impact on the competition itself, it felt good seeing the people from his country win.


    ¡°they¡¯re pretty amazing, eh?¡± yang haifeng spoke casually to choi yeonseung.


    ¡®whoops.¡¯


    he then instantly regretted it. he got so excited for a moment that he spoke without realizing.


    ¡°yup, they¡¯re pretty good.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡®...don¡¯t tell me. no... it can¡¯t be.¡¯


    ***


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t have much time, so i¡¯ll quickly get to the point.¡±


    after stopping the hunters and director from trying to make a fuss, choi yeonseung got to the point.


    ¡°i¡¯m here because i want to give you some simple advice. is that okay?¡±


    ¡°oh, it would be an honor!¡±


    the director was more pleased about the opportunity to learn from an a-grade hunter than he was obsessed with his authority. what advice would an a-grade hunter give them?


    ¡®maybe he¡¯s going to talk about the order of our skills? i used a weird order earlier.¡¯


    ¡®i think he¡¯ll say that we¡¯re not aggressive enough...¡¯


    ¡°you¡¯re in charge of the top lane, aren¡¯t you? and you. you¡¯re in charge of the bottom lane, correct?¡±


    ¡°yes...¡±


    ¡°you two should swap lanes.¡±


    ¡°huh?!¡±


    ¡°i saw you talking before and you didn¡¯t seem confident that you¡¯d win.¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s words, the hunters of the gyeonggi hunter high school blushed.


    ¡°that isn¡¯t necessarily what we meant...¡±


    ¡°if you lose, you can just say that i made you do this.¡±


    ¡°n-no. we can¡¯t do that. we can¡¯t throw you under the bus!¡±


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter. i really don¡¯t care about that. in any case, change the top and bottom lanes...¡±


    ¡°b-but hunter choi yeonseung...!¡± the hunter in charge of the top lane yelled in a tearful voice, ¡°i don¡¯t have the confidence to deal with zhang wei at all.¡±


    aside from never having played in the bottom lane, he would have to face zhang wei, who was proficient in blocking his opponents from doing anything.


    ¡°you don¡¯t have to fight him. just stall.¡±


    ¡°huh??? n-no. if there¡¯s a large level difference, how can i stop him later on?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s okay. there won¡¯t be that much of a difference. in addition, the opponent in charge of the top lane over there...¡±


    ¡°mao tong?¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s a martial artist. he uses the metal boxing technique. it might be confusing because of his erratic movement, but just go around him. his technique is weak when it comes to backward movements.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    the young hunter that choi yeonseung wanted to place in the top lane was perplexed.


    ¡®can i actually do it...??¡¯


    regardless of whether choi yeonseung¡¯s strategy would really work, he was worried about whether he could actually carry it out. he couldn¡¯t help thinking that his opponent was objectively stronger than him.


    ¡°just try it first. if you keep playing like you have, you¡¯ll be at a disadvantage.¡±


    ¡°...i understand, hunter choi yeonseung. we won¡¯t blame you even if we lose! we¡¯ve made our choice!¡±


    their reaction was so strange that choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°is your school running out of funding?¡±


    ***


    lee changsik saw choi yeonseung return and asked him in a puzzled manner, ¡°did you make them change the top with the bottom lane?¡±


    ¡°there wasn¡¯t a lot of time and i couldn¡¯t say many things.¡±


    ¡°umm...¡±


    lee changsik didn¡¯t quite understand it. of course, in this type of six versus six mock battle, changing the position was also an important strategy. however, would there be a meaningful effect just by changing the position of the prospective hunters in the match?


    ¡°...?!?¡±


    however, he witnessed something amazing.


    the korean hunters were holding their own against the chinese hunters!


    ¡°...h-how??¡±


    lee changsik was surprised, but yang haifeng was downright shocked. the chinese team, which was supposed to at least reach the finals, was now being held back by such a weak team?!


    ¡®what the hell is going on?¡¯


    beijing 31st high school had originally gone with the strategy of playing around their ace, zhang wei, before decimating the enemy hunters.


    however, much to everyone¡¯s surprise, zhang wei could no longer push aggressively. if the opponent ran away, he should chase after the opponent and crush him with confidence. despite that, zhang wei hesitated. if he didn¡¯t capitalize on opportunities, he was bound to fall off.


    no matter how hard he had trained, they were all teenagers at the end of the day. moreover, he was under ten times more pressure than his opponent.


    the chinese team made mistakes one after another on different lanes.


    yang haifeng couldn¡¯t help screaming in exasperation when he saw mao tong, who was famous as a martial arts student, miss his opponent in a head-on fight and got counterattacked.


    ¡°what are they doing? what are they doing?!¡±


    ¡°hey, you think you¡¯re sitting alone in these vip seats? i¡¯m trying to watch a competition here. why don¡¯t you shut up?¡±


    ¡°...¡±

 Chapter 307

    chapter 307


    yang haifeng came to his senses after hearing han seha¡¯s sharp words. after all, why would he risk his life for a competition like that? only idiots would do that.


    ¡®...¡¯


    despite that, he couldn¡¯t help feeling frustrated by how the chinese talents were currently playing!


    ¡®what the hell are they doing, really...?! did the director take bribes?¡¯


    it was only natural that he grew suspicious. otherwise, why would a good team suddenly struggle against a significantly weaker team?


    ¡°wow. i didn¡¯t expect the change to be that effective.¡± choi yeonseung was impressed.


    lee changsik, who was listening from the sidelines, asked a question, ¡°this... did you predict all of this?¡±


    ¡°i didn¡¯t really do much. i think it¡¯s just luck.¡±


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t trying to be humble. he genuinely hadn¡¯t expected this improvement in the korean team. everything was so difficult in this world that just a few words of advice weren¡¯t supposed to have that much of an effect.


    this game, which simulated a constellation battle, had all types of variables, from the monsters to the terrain itself. no matter how strong the hunters were, a few mistakes were enough to completely change the flow of the game.


    it was so absurd that even if choi yeonseung himself played, he could lose if his teammates were weak. thus, he hadn¡¯t been that naive to think that a few words of advice would get the korean team to win.


    however, he wanted to support them because they had worked very hard. that was why choi yeonseung had come up to them to give the best advice he could.


    ...it turned out that his advice had been incredibly effective.


    yang haifeng didn¡¯t really understand what was going on, so in his eyes, it looked like choi yeonseung had magically made the korean team win with just a few words.


    ¡®this is bullshit! he must¡¯ve taught them martial arts during the break! no, there can¡¯t be such thing, no matter how good he is at martial arts! is it the power given by the undefeated incarnation of training? is it one of his powers? or is it just because of their training?¡¯


    yang haifeng¡¯s thoughts were all muddled, his imagination running wild. at any rate, he couldn¡¯t come up with a reason as to why the chinese team was losing.


    ¡°they just need to stay calm, regroup, and get back into the fight.¡±


    ¡°they¡¯re all panicking, which makes it difficult for them to communicate with each other.¡±


    han seha and lee changsik¡¯s discussion didn¡¯t even reach yang haifeng¡¯s ears.


    ¡°if they¡¯re struggling, they can just go to another lane and fight together.¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t think they¡¯re trained for that. as a young hunter, it¡¯s difficult to do something you haven¡¯t trained for.¡±


    the two teams fought fiercely.


    gyeonggi hunter high school was fortunate. they managed to group up all at once and decimate their opponents with a storm of attacks.


    ¡°!!¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s over. they can¡¯t turn this around.¡±


    seeing that, yang haifeng came to his senses and checked the chinese broadcasting site.


    -beijing 31st high school, i hope you all die!


    -beijing 31st high school, i hope you all die!


    -those from beijing 31st high school are actually koreans...


    ¡°...¡±


    yang haifeng sighed deeply. he forgot all about scouting talents and pondered on the results of this competition. of course, he had thought they would win the championship. worst case scenario, he had thought they¡¯d get second place. however, they got eliminated before they even made it to the semi-finals...


    ¡®what the hell is gu guowu doing?¡¯


    yang haifeng suddenly got angry. after all, he was just a hunter, whereas gu guowu was the person in charge. he should be the one sitting here and worrying about the competition...!


    bang!


    han seha sneered the moment yang haifeng banged open the door and walked out.


    ¡°he lost. doesn¡¯t he look even more pathetic by acting like that?¡±


    ¡°seha, be more considerate...¡±


    ***


    ¡°gu guowu, why are you staying inside?! if you didn¡¯t want to come, then you shouldn¡¯t have come!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°answer me!¡±


    annoyed, yang haifeng flung the door wide open.


    ¡°...?!?¡±


    however, he was shocked to see some kind of dark and evil magic power was coming from inside.


    ¡°n... no... what are you doing? are you practicing black magic?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    gu guowu didn¡¯t answer. he sat cross-legged with his back to yang haifeng, which made the whole scene even more creepy.


    ¡®it can¡¯t be... he¡¯s not even a hunter, right?¡¯


    for a few moments yang haifeng just stood there in disbelief, worried, which was a terrible mistake.


    as his name suggested, his defining trait was his mastery of black magic. because of that, most people were wary of innocent practitioners of black magic.


    even so, the black magician constellation was the least active evil god constellation. he gained a certain amount of power of existence just from the fact that earth¡¯s hunters were learning black magic, so he didn¡¯t feel like he needed to do anything.


    however, the black magician constellation had just taken action because he had received help from endless linked explosions!


    [¡¯black magician who shares everything¡¯ says that even if such trouble occurs, it is meaningless if the two kingdoms resolve their differences.]


    the explosion constellation¡¯s advice was simple. he had suggested manipulating gu guowu and causing terror in the middle of south korea! after that, the relationship between the two countries would worsen to the extreme!


    ...however, the black magician constellation wasn¡¯t convinced. if the two kingdoms reasoned with each other and discussed the situation, the conflict wouldn¡¯t be that bad.


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says not to worry. looking at the conflict between the two countries, he guarantees that it will never end.]


    [the ¡®black magician who shares everything¡¯ says okay.]


    the reason why the dormant black magician constellation had sprung into action was simple. there was an underlying sense of crisis as more and more new constellations emerged on earth. they caused incidents, spread fear, and ultimately made a name for themselves. that was how the evil god constellations grew.


    the black magician constellation didn¡¯t quite understand it, but he decided to trust the advice of the explosion constellation for the time being...


    ***


    ¡°is he furious? he still hasn¡¯t come back.¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t it nice that he¡¯s gone?¡± said han seha coldly. she hoped that yang haifeng would never come back.


    ¡°maybe the guy in charge is scolding him.¡±


    ¡°what does losing the match have to do with getting scolded?¡±


    ¡°well, not everything in this world is reasonable.¡±


    choi yeonseung felt very sorry for yang haifeng.


    in the meantime, people were getting ready for the award ceremony down below. the team who performed the best in that day¡¯s competition was about to be awarded.


    ¡°ah, there he is.¡±


    ¡°yeah, over there.¡±


    the three of them nodded at the sight of yang haifeng coming out with gu guowu. based on his pale face, he must¡¯ve been heavily berated.


    ¡°h-hunter choi yeonseung?¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    suddenly, the person in charge of this competition came over and cautiously asked him, ¡°can you come down?¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°the hunters of gyeonggi hunter high school want to thank you for helping them win the match... of course, you don¡¯t have to do this if you¡¯re uncomfortable with it, but if you don¡¯t mind, could you come down and say a few words?¡±


    there was nothing more heartwarming than an a-grade hunter congratulating and offering some words of encouragement to their juniors.


    however, han seha thought this person was out of their mind.


    ¡°what¡¯s with this nonsense? you want to use the image of an a-grade hunter without offering any money...?!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll do it,¡± choi yeonseung cut in.


    ¡°...alright, i¡¯ll let it slide just because hunter choi yeonseung wants to do so. you should be eternally grateful for this!¡±


    ¡°yes. thank you!!¡±


    ***


    ¡°??¡±


    choi yeonseung came down and immediately realized why he felt uncomfortable. he was so confused at first that he wondered if there was a misunderstanding.


    gu guowu had bound yang haifeng and was controlling him with black magic.


    he wondered, ¡°...is this how you guys punish people in china for losing a match?¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    yang haifeng met choi yeonseung¡¯s eyes and gave him an imploring, sad look.


    ¡®please save me!¡¯


    ¡°ah, right. i¡¯m sorry. i didn¡¯t think that it would turn out like this.¡±


    choi yeonseung waved his hand in an apologetic gesture.


    yang haifeng was on the verge of dying.


    ¡®you crazy bastard! save me if you noticed!¡¯


    ¡°...shit. why is there an a-grade hunter here?!¡±


    gu guowu was the first to act. the moment he saw choi yeonseung exchanging glances with yang haifeng, gu guowu wrongly assumed that his plan had been uncovered.


    -wave of darkness!


    choi yeonseung asked, ¡°...wait, were you forcibly captured?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    yang haifeng was too exhausted to further argue. he could only hope that choi yeonseung would get him out of this mess.

 Chapter 308

    chapter 308


    ¡°die!¡±


    [the ¡®black magician who shares everything¡¯ gives you strength.]


    [your magic power is amplified!]


    the household members of constellations had always been a threat.


    no matter how strong choi yeonseung was, he couldn¡¯t use his power of existence on earth. moreover, given that household members could technically receive an almost infinite amount of power from their constellation, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know what they were capable of.


    even if choi yeonseung himself didn¡¯t die, it wouldn¡¯t matter as long as hundreds of other people were slaughtered. dominating his opponent in combat would be meaningless if there were countless casualties in his rear.


    thus, choi yeonseung got serious and focused his attention on gu guowu after he revealed his true intentions.


    ¡®how is he going to move?¡¯


    in order to properly deal with gu guowu, choi yeonseung had to figure out his movements faster than gu guowu could figure out his. however, choi yeonseung had so little information about him that it felt almost impossible...


    however, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t think at all about the difficulty of the situation.


    ¡®in any case, i must''ve dealt with something like this in the abyss more than ten thousand times.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was facing this enemy for the first time and had to correctly assess his abilities and deal with him based on instinct alone. he had been in situations like this countless times in the abyss, to the point where he had grown tired of it.


    in order to get to where he was now, he had overcome such life-or-death situations tens of thousands of times.


    ¡®seeing that he¡¯s using black magic, he must be a ranged type... curses? summonings? direct hits? he¡¯ll most likely target me directly...¡¯


    however, gu guowu¡¯s attack completely subverted all of choi yeonseung¡¯s predictions. gu guowu wasn¡¯t aware of it, but he had just accomplished something very impressive that not even all abyssal beings could.


    ...gu guowu targeted the young prospective hunters of beijing 31st high school who had come with choi yeonseung.


    ¡°!??!?¡±


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded.


    ¡®this guy is insane!¡¯


    no matter how crazy an enemy was, they usually targeted the most powerful opponent or the one they hated the most. why did this guy target the harmless students?!


    ¡°a-aaaahhhh! elemental water shield!¡±


    ¡°burning steel barrier!¡±


    the young hunters hurriedly cast defensive magic, but the shields were quickly melted or shattered. the difference in magic power was too great.


    [the ¡®black magician who shares everything¡¯ is giving you more power.]


    [the power of burning darkness is amplified!]


    gu guowu attacked with raw force rather than using flashy magic spells. his constellation was supporting him, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about a backlash.


    he received tremendous strength and unknown powers!


    the flaming black magic energy took the shape of a black serpent and charged ferociously at the young hunters. the fact that the magic power was so distinctly visible showed just how potent and powerful it was.


    condensing internal energy and turning it into concentrated energy was one of the tricks of martial arts, so choi yeonseung knew very well how hard it was.


    ¡®he¡¯s too cocky to be a magician!¡¯


    a magician was supposed to have discipline, a lot of experience, and an excellent battle sense. however, his opponent just concentrated an insane amount of magic power and released it like a maniac. his fighting style was flawed in many ways, but as long as he received an endless amount of magic power from his master, it didn¡¯t matter.


    in the end, it was a success for gu guowu!


    ¡°director! please help!¡±


    ¡°director!¡±


    the young hunters called for their reliable director.


    ¡°everyone, evacuate calmly!¡± replied the director.


    ¡°wha...?¡±


    ¡°no! help us!¡±


    how could he tell them to stay calm and evacuate when there was a magic black serpent trying to bite them?


    ¡®i¡¯m sorry!¡¯


    the director fled without looking back. since he was a former hunter, he could grasp the situation well. at this rate, he would just end up getting killed along with the students if he tried to help...


    ¡®there¡¯s no point in all of us dying!¡¯


    ¡®shit!¡¯


    choi yeonseung rushed in, bewildered by what was happening.


    bang!


    he shot white concentrated energy from the tip of his finger, tearing through the neck of the black serpent.


    gu guowu had an almost endless amount of magic power, but the way he concentrated it was clumsy at best.


    in comparison, choi yeonseung¡¯s concentrated energy was a weapon that incorporated his lifelong enlightenment as a warrior who had evolved into a constellation through martial arts.


    both of them had the same amount of energy, but the difference in essence was astronomical.


    ¡°what is that asshole doing?!¡± spat choi yeonseung. he didn¡¯t forget to curse the director as he was tearing through the black magic energy. he had initially planned to analyze the situation a bit more and grasp gu guowu¡¯s abilities. however, since the director ran away without helping, choi yeonseung had no choice but to rush in.


    ***


    ¡°i knew you were a formidable opponent,¡± said gu guowu while looking at choi yeonseung. ¡°you ruined my perfect plan...¡±


    ¡°...???¡±


    choi yeonseung thought it didn¡¯t make any sense.


    ¡®his perfect plan is to kill the talents he brought with him?¡¯


    ¡°i¡¯m glad you¡¯ve noticed my plan of starting a fight between china and south korea.¡±


    ¡°ah...¡±


    that was when choi yeonseung realized it.


    ¡®this crazy bastard...¡¯


    so his plan was to kill off the chinese talents here to instigate hatred toward south korea within the people of china.


    even so, his plan...


    ¡®...it makes sense.¡¯


    -!?


    the goddess of sloth was bewildered. how did this make any sense?


    -how many people are watching this? how does that make sense?


    -that¡¯s just how things work on earth.this is something that china would do...


    there were two things that china could do after one of their party members went crazy, blew up the stadium, and caused multiple casualties.


    the first option was to apologize in a sincere and respectful manner, resolve any misunderstandings, and strive to prevent any hatred from accumulating between the people of the two countries.


    the second option was to completely throw the blame on south korea and twist the facts in order for the people of china to hate south korea.


    ¡®...yeah, it¡¯s number two for sure!¡¯


    as expected of a former party official, he had come up with a messed up plan. what made this even more appalling was the fact that it was rare even for constellations to come up with a plan to drive such a wedge between countries.


    ¡®this... this isn¡¯t the kind of plan that evil god constellations come up with.¡¯


    the evil god constellations had also been adapting and evolving. choi yeonseung had heard that a lot, but it was unpleasant to actually experience it for himself.


    it was just that the ability to carry out the evil things...


    ¡°don¡¯t move, gu guowu! if you move, i¡¯ll kill this chinese person!¡± han seha shouted as she put a knife to the director¡¯s throat.


    gu guowu snorted at the sight. this stupid a-grade hunter seemed to think that he was still human.


    ¡°do what you want!¡±


    ¡°...huh, so it won¡¯t work.¡±


    bam!


    ¡°ghaaahhh!¡±


    along with those words, gu guowu felt a sharp pain from his side. surprisingly, he hadn¡¯t noticed at all when lee changsik approached.


    ¡®tsk. no way...!¡¯


    seeing the spear infused with cold energy that stabbed him, gu guowu remembered the famous korean artifact.


    ¡®the dokkaebi horsehair cap?!¡¯


    it was an a-grade artifact that was considered a national treasure in south korea and that could make the user invisible.


    there was no mistake about it. the person who had it was...


    ¡°the iron-blooded ice emperor!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    lee changsik¡¯s expression contorted slightly when he heard the humiliating nickname.


    ¡°hyung! don¡¯t be embarrassed!¡±


    ¡®tsk. i¡¯m more embarrassed because of you!¡¯


    lee changsik¡¯s face twitched in annoyance at choi yeonseung¡¯s support. it was a relief that no one could see him because of the artifact.


    ¡®ugh, i¡¯m already done after that one attack.¡¯


    lee changsik checked his remaining magic power. just like the dokkaebi horsehair cap, the spells that he used consumed quite a lot of magic power. even in his prime, lee changsik had always had a low amount of magic power, and now that he was retired, it was even worse.


    once he attacked, he had to retreat and recover...


    [the power of the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ has made you grow.]


    [your body is strengthened to its limits!]


    [the skill ¡®ice emperor¡¯s dignity¡¯ has been obtained!]


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡®it¡¯s a good spell, but why did you have to name it like this, yeonseung?¡¯

 Chapter 309

    chapter 309


    in any case, the name of the skill wasn¡¯t important at that moment.


    ¡®my magic power... it has increased?¡¯


    lee changsik was really surprised. it was said that people gained superhuman abilities after awakening, but in reality, a hunter¡¯s abilities were actually quite limited.


    hunters aged at a slower rate, but they still grew old eventually. lee changsik himself had retired because his aging had caused a decline in his magic power. he had always had a rather low amount of magic power, and it declined even more as he grew older...


    however, at that moment... even though he had been retired for a while, lee changsik felt the same level of magic power as during his prime. actually, it seemed even higher than that, although by a slight margin.


    ¡®is this the power of a constellation?¡¯


    sometimes, hunters evolved unexpectedly thanks to rare and special skills. hadn¡¯t hwang gyeongryong gained a rare skill on the brink of death and turned his life around?


    however, the constellations from the abyss possessed most of those special skills.


    when he had heard the constellation name of the undefeated incarnation of training, lee changsik had thought, ¡®yeonseung truly obtained the right name as a constellation.¡¯ however, now that he actually felt choi yeonseung¡¯s power, he was thrilled.


    choi yeonseung had the ability to make trained mortals stronger. at first glance, it didn¡¯t seem like anything special, but it was by no means an ordinary ability. it was hard to believe that it actually empowered lee changsik¡¯s abilities, which had been steadily declining no matter what he did.


    ...moreover, choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t even done this on purpose. he would¡¯ve mentioned it...


    as a constellation with god-like abilities, choi yeonseung passively affected his surroundings.


    ¡°hyung, did you stop because you got embarrassed by your nickname?¡±


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded, currently waiting. he hadn¡¯t been confident about fighting gu guowu head on because his magic power was off the charts. however, once they actually fought, choi yeonseung realized that he could actually deal with him.


    even in the abyss, choi yeonseung had fought countless opponents who tried to overpower him with raw power. even if they had an infinite amount of magic power at their disposal, a weapon was only as strong as its wielder.


    trivial tricks like releasing magic power in the form of a dragon, creating a swamp of magic power, or scattering the power like tentacles didn¡¯t mean much. what mattered was how used they were to the power itself.


    ¡®the problem is that this is earth.¡¯


    choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t had to care about the surrounding area in previous battles, but he had to think about it this time. if this were china, he wouldn¡¯t give a damn about destroying the surrounding buildings, but this was south korea.


    he had to absorb the opponent¡¯s attack and fire it back at him, but in that case, the stadium would be reduced to rubbles and the surrounding roads would split apart.


    choi yeonseung had to finish off his opponent with one blow!


    ¡®at times like this, i actually miss the abyss.¡¯


    -successor, if you decide to abandon earth and return to the abyss, i won¡¯t stop you.


    -no.i can¡¯t do that.


    choi yeonseung brushed off the words of the goddess of sloth. even if things were troublesome and he sometimes wondered whether it was worth the trouble to keep these humans alive, choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t abandon earth and humanity.


    ¡°i¡¯m here!¡±


    ¡°no. 139!¡± exclaimed choi yeonseung with delight. he was glad to see demon no. 139, even though he was late. in a situation like this, a subordinate like no. 139, who was at an a-grade level or higher, would certainly come in handy...


    [the ¡®black magician who shares everything¡¯ presents the swamp of darkness.]


    [your magic power is amplified!]


    suddenly, the sky grew dark and black magic power flooded the stadium in waves, swallowing the demons summoned by no. 139.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°did you just summon them randomly without properly positioning them?¡± asked choi yeonseung as he looked at no. 139 in a dumbfounded manner.


    of course, when forming a team, one had to find an efficient balance between all positions: the close and long-range positions, the tanker, damage dealer, and healer positions, and lastly, the ground and aerial positions.


    ¡°uhh... t-this... this is how we normally do it...¡± no. 139 made excuses without realizing it.


    when demons summoned an army, they usually focused on style and dignity, not balance.


    ¡®this bastard is useless.¡¯


    [the ¡®demon of contract and order¡¯ is apologizing.]


    the demon constellation was also watching the situation using the eyes of no. 139 and apologized on no. 139¡¯s behalf. he had sent a competent demon to choi yeonseung in order to pay off his debt, but all he did was hinder choi yeoneung.


    [the ¡®black magician who shares everything¡¯ warns you to step back. he warns that ¡®endless linked explosions¡¯ will fight alongside him.]


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says it is not like that.]


    ¡°no! we lost the competition, so i went to report it! we lost the competition!¡±


    ¡°ah, yeah. that¡¯s true. you didn¡¯t sign a contract with the evil god constellation.¡±


    hearing that, the korean hunters took a step back. they all belonged to different clans and had different ranks, but their expressions all indicated respect for choi yeonseung.


    ¡®he¡¯s truly amazing.¡¯


    ¡®there were no civilian casualties even though the stadium was destroyed like this...¡¯


    ¡®honestly, if it was me, i would¡¯ve escaped first...¡¯


    if monsters suddenly emerged in such a crowded area, it was normal to evacuate before fighting. even a hunter would die if they were stabbed or cut. it was better to figure out what kind of opponent they were dealing with first rather than to attack hastily and die.


    ...however, it was moving to see choi yeonseung fighting alone against such odds while also evacuating civilians.


    ¡°look over there. there¡¯s also the iron-blooded ice emperor.¡±


    ¡°i truly stand with the iron-blooded ice emperor...¡±


    there was something heartwarming about seeing iron-blooded ice emperor lee changsik, a hero of the previous era, standing together with choi yeonseung, the hero of the current era.


    was this the pride of being korean?


    ¡°by the way, isn¡¯t hunter choi yeonseung only a few years younger than the iron-blooded ice emperor?¡±


    ¡°shh. be quiet. appearances are important, you bastard.¡±


    ***


    -today at around 5 p.m., a person who signed a contract with an evil god constellation staged a terrorist attack at the seoul hunter stadium.twenty-three civilians were injured but were fortunately evacuated...


    -the government is strongly protesting about this incident.the ministry of foreign affairs...


    -chinese foreign minister hu fangyu declared, ¡°this is an unfortunate incident, but there is no conclusive evidence that gu guowu signed a contract with an evil god constellation. the accident was prevented thanks to the chinese hunters.¡±


    ¡®this is insane...¡¯


    yang haifeng was dumbfounded as he listened to the news with hunter handcuffs on his hands.


    that guy was crazy!


    ¡®no matter what, this is terrible...!¡¯


    he didn¡¯t say this because of the complaints and criticisms of foreign countries.


    to be honest, yang haifeng also wondered if the relationship between the two countries would get worse following the incident. even if the foreign minister took a dump at the un general assembly, it seemed that there was no way his reputation could become any worse.


    yang haifeng was thinking about this because of the internal reaction in china. at the moment, the dissatisfaction of the people of china was so high that one could sense it just by walking around a bit.


    -hunters are the ones who take the most bribes, then politicians and public officials.


    -hunters are the most disgusting bastards.maggots who cling to the party and enjoy favors!


    the people complained about the hunters first because they indulged in extravagant luxuries instead of fighting to save people¡¯s lives.


    the hunters could avoid some of the criticism if they properly dealt with monsters, but recently, public opinion was at an all-time worst because of the disaster caused by s-grade monsters.


    the party was so surprised that it actually publicly rebuked some of the clans, using them as an example of punishing bribery.


    -punish the following clans to eradicate corruption within the party!


    ?as expected from the general secretary!


    ?why do you pretend like you didn¡¯t know about it when you¡¯ve received all the money?do you have no conscience or no brains?isn¡¯t the person in the photo with the hunters the general secretary?


    ?these bastards must think we¡¯re blind!


    ...of course, it didn¡¯t really work.


    in the midst of all this discontent, the civilians saw all the chinese hunters abandon the young prospects and run away.... on top of that, they had even said that the chinese hunters were the best during the announcement??


    ¡®...they''ll get cursed into oblivion...¡¯


    things turned out a bit worse than yang haifeng¡¯s grim predictions.


    riots broke out everywhere.


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ is laughing loudly!]

 Chapter 310

    chapter 310


    [the ¡¯expert of twisted hallucinations¡¯ warns you to act.]


    [the ¡¯snake of alcohol and dancing¡¯ tells you to do as much as you can.]


    [the ¡¯demon of contract and order¡¯ despises it as needlessly barbaric.]


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ is praising you.]


    [the ¡®greedy owner of the treasure house¡¯ is extremely furious that the stock price went down! he declares that he will tear your kingdom to shreds!]


    [...]


    the plot of the explosion constellation elicited a response from the other evil god constellations. not all of them liked chaos and destruction. they only liked themselves.


    moreover, the treasure constellation fed on the greed of human beings for wealth. thus, he got extremely angry when the stock prices were driven into the ground by the riots in china that had resulted from the explosion constellation¡¯s plan.


    [the ¡®black magician who shares everything¡¯ is sending you a message.]


    [he is requesting a face-to-face meeting!]


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled by what the black magician constellation proposed. normally, they wouldn¡¯t have gotten involved with each other.


    -what?


    -i¡¯m also confused, but since you¡¯ve become stronger in your own way, receiving various offers wouldn¡¯t be surprising.


    choi yeonseung heard the goddess¡¯ words and checked his ranking. he was ranked twenty-sixth.


    ¡®did i go up three rankings after the last constellation battle in the united kingdom?¡¯


    now that all the constellations were competing fiercely with each other, it was hard for all of them to maintain their rating. therefore, moving up three ranks was great.


    even at that moment, unknown constellations were flocking to earth in order to climb up the ranks. a constellation that was ranked twenty-sixth was powerful enough to put even the most advanced constellations on guard.


    in addition to his impressive rank, choi yeonseung was the most active constellation, and what made him even more fearsome was the fact that he actively allied with others to bring down the constellations above him.


    ¡®is this why the black magician who shares everything wants to see me?¡¯


    no constellation ever revealed how powerful it was, but no matter how much it tried to hide its true power, others could guess to some extent.


    -isn¡¯t the black magician constellation in the top thirty or twenty?


    -i was thinking that too.


    the black magician constellation hadn¡¯t taken over any areas on earth. moreover, he wasn¡¯t particularly famous as only the few hunters who practiced black magic knew about him...


    even if he was popular in the abyss, he was bound to have limitations on earth.


    -i¡¯m curious about his intentions.


    ***


    [the ¡®black magician who shares everything¡¯ apologizes for what happened last time.]


    [he says that there was a conflict between each other¡¯s household members.]


    ¡®such an annoying bastard...¡¯


    the tone of the black magician constellation offended choi yeonseung. of course, he naturally spoke like that because he didn¡¯t know that choi yeonseung was of human descent. in the eyes of the constellations of the abyss, the humans of earth were nothing more than chess pieces.


    ¡°get to the point.¡±


    [he says that he thinks he was deceived by ¡®endless linked explosions.¡¯]


    ¡®i guess so.¡¯


    of course, the black magician constellation had gained some notoriety, but it was the explosion constellation that had benefited the most from the incident. because of that, choi yeonseung, too, was wary of the explosion constellation.


    ¡®he¡¯s occupied no land and his followers are so obscure that people look down on him. it wasn¡¯t as easy as he had thought.¡¯


    above all, the explosion constellation had a good understanding of earth. he had been aware that if all the chinese talents were killed in south korea, both countries would essentially go to war with each other!


    while choi yeonseung could see through and comprehend such schemes, other constellations couldn¡¯t.


    ¡°so? what do you want me to do?¡±


    [¡¯black magician who shares everything¡¯ proposes working together this one time in order to retaliate against ¡®endless linked explosions.¡¯]


    ¡°...?¡±


    was he talking about a constellation battle?


    regardless if it would be a constellation battle or an all-out war in the abyss, choi yeonseung had no intention of getting involved. he had already beaten the explosion constellation once, although it had been just a casual game in which they didn¡¯t go all out against each other.


    if they were to go all out against each other, it would be difficult to predict what type of constellation battle he would have to fight.


    ¡®i¡¯d have to play a match that i¡¯m guaranteed to win.¡¯


    that was the most important tactic, even though it sounded dirty.


    [the ¡®black magician who shares everything¡¯ says that ¡®endless linked explosions¡¯ will soon get the second realm.]


    [he says there will be an attack right away.]


    ¡°...???¡±


    choi yeonseung doubted his ears.


    yang haifeng sympathized with the director because he felt that his own situation was overall better. if the director returned to china, he might not die, but he would have to take responsibility for all this mess and lose his position. no matter how many connections he had in the party, the international humiliation along with the large number of chinese talents feeling the country meant that he would never be safe.


    no matter how many connections he had in the party, the international embarrassment + the mass exodus of the prospects exploding at the same time meant he could never be safe.


    ¡°m-mr. yang haifeng, please help me.¡±


    ¡°stay strong! recently, there are a lot of monsters in the remote areas of the guizhou province. if you¡¯re lucky, maybe they¡¯ll just send you there to keep an eye on the monsters...¡±


    ¡°no, not that type of help!¡±


    the director turned pale when he heard about being sent to a remote area.


    in any case, it was still too early for yang haifeng to feel relieved.


    -he served as chairman of the people¡¯s political consultative conference, china¡¯s largest political event, for two seasons...


    -he responded resolutely to the recent turmoil and swore to wipe out all the spies of the evil god constellations...


    -let¡¯s all unite...


    ¡®he¡¯s not saying much.¡¯


    -there have been a lot of riots these days. if you participate in such things, you¡¯re a bad citizen. everyone should work together to make sure we all eat and live well...


    then the most shocking words came next.


    -...china has declared that in the first half of this year, they will be the first to conquer the next realm in the abyss.no matter the cost...


    ¡°...??????¡±


    yang haifeng¡¯s jaw hit the floor.


    compared to other countries, china really deserved to be criticized.


    if an s-grade monster emerged and unleashed destruction, the standard procedure in every other country was for the hunters to retreat at first. however, in that situation, china would order all the hunters to find the monster and try to kill it.


    how many hunters had been injured or killed when they had tried to capture the first realm in the abyss? of course, that was undisclosed information, so other countries had no idea about that. however, the chinese hunters knew damn well. they had suffered ten times more casualties than any other country!


    thus, the hunters who had participated in the first realm operation shuddered at the mere mention of the abyss. despite that, china had just officially announced that they would attempt to capture the second realm.


    then all the chinese hunters over there now...


    ¡°...i-it¡¯s just a bluff to get rid of the political turmoil, right?¡±


    ¡°have strength, yang haifeng.¡±


    before he knew it, the director had regained his composure and gave yang haifeng a look of pity. it would certainly be better to stay in a remote area and keep an eye out for monsters. he certainly didn¡¯t want to risk his life charging into an unknown land teeming with monsters.


    ¡°i seek asylum! i¡¯m going to apply for asylum!¡±


    ¡°n-no, you can¡¯t do that. what are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°why?! why?!!!¡±


    -the prisoner is going on a rampage!


    -i knew that guy had something to do with the evil god constellation! he¡¯s rotten on the inside!


    ***


    ¡°something serious, you say?¡± choi yeonseung was puzzled when lee changsik came to him and told him they had to talk about something important.


    what could it be?


    ¡°hyung, if you need money, i¡¯m more than happy to lend you some. in any case, it¡¯s gyeongryong hyung¡¯s money. i can give you as much as you want.¡±


    ¡°...no!¡±


    ¡°oh, that¡¯s not what you wanted to ask?¡±


    lee changsik stared at choi yeonseung in disbelief.


    ¡°i¡¯m going to announce my return.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised. it was rather unusual for a hunter to come out of retirement. they usually retired because of a decline in their abilities, which was why they stayed retired.


    ¡°aren¡¯t you overdoing it? i don¡¯t want you to get yourself hurt for nothing.¡±


    ¡°...i¡¯m doing it because of you.¡±


    ¡°did i put that much pressure on you? i can handle things by myself.¡±


    ¡°no. i mean, i¡¯m not doing it for you. it¡¯s literally because of you,¡± explained lee changsik, releasing magic power along with his words.


    choi yeonseung was taken aback by the magic power he exuded. it was surprisingly powerful.


    ¡°...don¡¯t tell me...¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    ¡°have you been doping?¡±


    ¡°...it¡¯s a power i¡¯ve obtained as a household member!!¡±


    ¡°ah...!¡±


    choi yeonseung was impressed by lee changsik¡¯s explanation. then, upon thinking about it, he was even more surprised.


    ¡®do i have that power?¡¯

 Chapter 311

    chapter 311


    lee changsik was naturally astonished by choi yeonseung¡¯s surprised reaction.


    ¡°huh? why are you surprised?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m still not entirely sure what i¡¯m capable of...¡±


    many constellation powers were awoken unconsciously, so choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t been aware of this new power.


    ¡®it¡¯s amazing.¡¯


    in any case, lee changsik¡¯s powers were returning back to normal thanks to the power of a constellation. it was quite a happy story.


    ¡°then can¡¯t you announce your return?¡±


    ¡°uh... it¡¯s not that simple...¡± said lee changsik with a look of worry. he then went on the internet and showed something to choi yeonseung.


    ¡°there¡¯s this article from some time ago about a rumor that i might return.¡±


    [is the iron-blooded ice emperor lee changsik coming out of retirement?]


    -how old is he? is the iron-blooded ice emperor still active? what the hell? isn¡¯t this elder abuse? can¡¯t they get sued for this?


    -they should raise new a-grade hunters instead of bringing back some old guy.


    -honestly, three a-grade hunters is a lot.how can we raise more here?if we want to raise more here, we need to kidnap b-grade hunters from other countries.


    -isn¡¯t the iron-blooded ice emperor better off as a director?


    ¡°...ah. still, there are people who trust you to be the director.¡±


    ¡°...this article was from before my losing streak.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry,¡± said choi yeonseung, trying to comfort him. however, lee changsik only felt more bitter.


    ¡°in any case, this is how it is.¡±


    lee changsik wasn¡¯t just worried about his reputation. he was retired, but he was still a former a-grade hunter. that was a position that represented his country, a badge of honor, and he took it more seriously than anyone else.


    if he came out of retirement and made a fool of himself, he would face the ridicule of everyone.


    ¡°hyung.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t worry too much about that. what matters most is what you can do and what you want to do, right? the way that people look at you will change every time.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°hyung, isn''t your desire to protect people the reason you want to return as an a-grade hunter?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°then public opinion is just...¡±


    ¡°...right. i just have to suck it up and do what i think is right!¡±


    ¡°uh... no...? i was going to tell you to buy the reporters.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    lee changsik looked at choi yeonseung in disbelief. hwang gyeongryong actively bribed the media, but lee changsik wasn¡¯t that kind of person.


    ¡°no, i¡¯m good.


    ¡°it¡¯s okay. i¡¯ll bribe them with my own money.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    lee changsik vowed that when he met hwang gyeongryong again, he would grab him by the collar and yell into his face, ¡°it¡¯s your damn fault that he¡¯s become like this!¡±


    ¡°hyung, you can do as you want. that¡¯s just how gyeongryong hyung does it.¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t use him as an example,¡± said lee changsik with a firm expression.


    he would never live like that!


    ***


    as lee changsik was preparing to announce his return, choi yeonseung headed to the demon clan. he had left the clan to lee changsik, but he would be busy because of his return, so choi yeonseung wanted to lift some of the burden off his shoulders.


    ¡®i¡¯m going to filter them out, check the rest, and make them stronger.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was curious about the special effect that lee changsik had talked about. he didn¡¯t have to bestow the power on others for it to still have an effect.


    ¡®well, the hunters i¡¯ve trained myself have certainly grown.¡¯


    the young hunters of the mount hua sect in the abyss and the orcs in his realm had shown impressive results. at first, he had thought they were talented in martial arts. however, choi yeonseung realized he might¡¯ve just inadvertently influenced them with his power.


    but on a different topic...


    ¡°...he wants to... join?¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at aine with a confused expression.


    ¡°ah, that... it isn¡¯t that i don¡¯t care... if anything, i¡¯m actually grateful.¡±


    the current situation with the second realm was so all over the place that choi yeonseung was concerned. the owner of the realm had suddenly changed, and the chinese government had declared they would conquer it...


    of course, the worst case scenario was china taking over the second realm by itself, but that seemed quite unlikely.


    a constellation¡¯s realm was too formidable.


    ¡®they¡¯ll probably only manage to weaken the explosion constellation.¡¯


    choi yeonseung would be grateful if he could at least get some information from the chinese hunters after they raided the second realm. until then, he would just do what he could.


    ¡°indeed. that¡¯s also why the demand for artifacts has skyrocketed.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°what... shouldn¡¯t we be thankful for that? the chinese will buy artifacts en masse.¡±


    if hunters were mobilized on a large scale, then the price of artifacts would naturally increase. artifacts would be consumed or broken, so they had to secure as many as they could. at a time like this, the artificial artifact companies were obviously overjoyed.


    ¡°that¡¯s right. we should be glad.¡±


    ¡°besides that, there¡¯s a chance that the chinese government will ask for the artifacts in secrecy. if that happens, they¡¯d pay a boatload of money.¡±


    ¡°what...?¡± choi yeonseung laughed. ¡°the chinese are too proud to do something like that.¡±


    "you think so?¡± asked aine as she cocked her head. she found it hard to argue with him on this because of how convinced he seemed. of course, since he was from south korea, he probably knew more about the chinese government than her.


    ¡°even if they risk dying, they¡¯ll still use their own artifacts,¡± added choi yeonseung. ¡°why would they ask us for artifacts?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re right.¡±


    ***


    ¡°i will comply with any conditions, so please give me some artifacts...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at the person sitting in front of him with a bewildered expression. he wasn¡¯t talking to a party official, but to someone from yie nie, the chinese artifact company.


    no matter how oblivious choi yeonseung was when it came to business, he could still tell that it was very peculiar for this person to come to an artifact company from another country because their own company was short on artifacts.


    ¡°how can there be a shortage of production when you have so many factories in china?¡± asked choi yeonseung incredulously. ¡°aren¡¯t you being too greedy?¡±


    in the artificial artifact market, china had relatively low prices. if they pushed using their advantage in the labor force, there weren¡¯t many opponents who could keep up with them.


    ¡°...to tell you the truth, when it comes to performance, our artifacts can¡¯t seem to keep up with the latest artifacts developed by dragon industry. we need even better artifacts to appease the hunters¡¯ frustrations.¡±


    like all regular people, chinese hunters also had complaints. it was already a dreadful situation that they had to charge into the second realm. if they had to use subpar artifacts on top of that, they might as well raid the mansion of a party official before going on the raid.


    ¡°that¡¯s right. fighting! you can¡¯t ask for artifacts like this if you want to maintain your reputation.¡±


    ¡°please! i¡¯m begging you!¡±


    choi yeonseung wondered, ¡°what¡¯s your position? i know you¡¯re desperate, but do you have permission to do this? go and get permission first. then we¡¯ll talk.¡±


    ¡°...i¡¯m the chairman.¡±


    ¡°...oh... really?¡±


    choi yeonseung felt bad when the other person looked at him with an embarrassed expression.


    ¡°didn¡¯t i tell you my name in the beginning?¡±


    ¡°...sorry.¡±


    he was a middle-aged man in a nice suit and wearing an expensive watch, but choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t expected the chairman himself to come visit. of course, yie nie¡¯s chairman, kang luomin, had mentioned his name. he just hadn¡¯t expected choi yeonseung to not pay attention to that.


    ¡°if you really are sorry, we¡¯d accept your apology if you gave us a lot of artifacts...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not that sorry.¡±


    ¡°i see...¡±


    kang luomin was disappointed that choi yeonseung didn¡¯t fall for it.


    ¡°is there anything for an ordinary chairman to be disappointed about? do you have any debts?¡± asked choi yeonseung out of curiosity.


    ¡°there¡¯s something scarier than debts.¡±


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°the orders from above... um. i¡¯ve said enough. hunter choi yeonseung, i didn¡¯t actually expect you to accept it from the start, so i¡¯ve prepared an offer.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    kang luomin took out papers from the suitcase he had brought with him and laid them out in front of choi yeonseung. familiar artifacts were drawn on the papers. more specifically, they were korean treasures and artifacts.


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded.


    ¡°if you¡¯re coming up with an offer to return stolen korean artifacts and treasures in return for our artifacts, you should at least include all of them.¡±


    ¡°n-no... no!¡±

 Chapter 312

    chapter 312


    after the gate opened, people awakened with special abilities. however, in those early raid days, those abilities were very weak. it was a blank state, for nobody knew how to use their newfound powers or how to fight monsters!


    in that situation, they couldn¡¯t just fight bare-handed. at the very least, they needed artifacts to help them. however, in order to get those artifacts, they had to go around dungeons and kill monsters. it was rather paradoxical: they had to fight monsters to acquire the means to fight monsters.


    regardless, it was humanity¡¯s treasures that had become a ray of light for humans. the magic power that poured from the gate turned the historical treasures into artifacts.


    of course, there were some ridiculous situations like the time when a bell hanging in the bosingak pavilion had been turned into an artifact, which obviously couldn¡¯t be used. there were also cases of treasures turning into artifacts with useless abilities, only to be exhibited in a museum.


    despite that, for the first generation of hunters, the transformation of those treasures into artifacts had been like unexpected rain in a long drought. since the government gave the artifacts to the hunters, they managed to properly fight monsters and raid dungeons.


    ...however, things weren¡¯t that easy.


    in the early raid days, a lot of destruction and chaos resulted from the fights with monsters, which meant that stealing and smuggling were widespread. under such circumstances, the value of useful artifacts skyrocketed, some of them disappearing as people took advantage of the chaos amidst monster fights to steal them.


    even in the present, government officials would publicly state, ¡°if you have a soul, please return the stolen treasures. we assure you that if you return them, there will be no repercussions,¡± in order to find the missing treasures.


    in response to that, the thieves from unscrupulous and shameless nations (in fact, most countries were like that), would make an excuse like ¡°oh, it was stolen? i didn¡¯t know that. i can¡¯t return it because i didn¡¯t know it was stolen when i got it.¡±


    therefore, choi yeonseung had no choice but to act quickly. however, wasn¡¯t negotiating with stolen goods something that only scumbags did? of course, the person before him was a bit of a scumbag...


    ¡°as you and other hunters are aware, the chinese government has been monitoring and tracking the treasures that were scattered in the past. it¡¯s china¡¯s natural duty as their rightful owner.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    he didn¡¯t know...?


    choi yeonseung was stunned by his impudence, but he kept his mouth shut and waited. he wondered what kang luomin was talking about.


    ¡°in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, foreign powers, the westerners included, plundered the countries of east asia and stole countless treasures. you, too, should know about this since you¡¯re korean.¡±


    kang luomin brought up history in order to somehow identify and empathize with choi yeonseung: two comrades who had been looted!


    ...of course, this didn¡¯t make much sense to choi yeonseung. some of the worst things choi yeonseung had experienced during his lifetime had been in connection to china.


    ¡°if those treasures had been in china, you wouldn¡¯t have lost land to that constellation in such a shameful manner,¡± replied choi yeonseung firmly. ¡°and as far as i know, most of your treasures were taken to taiwan during the civil war. weren¡¯t the rest destroyed by your own hands during the cultural revolution? i know that the westerners stole a lot of things, but the rest is your own fault...¡±


    kang luomin pretended not to hear it. it was an unfavorable story for him.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung! think back to the past! the german guy oppert! he tried to rob the tomb of the korean imperial family!¡±


    ¡°well, throughout history, the germans have done some despicable things.¡± choi yeonseung nodded. however, in spite of kang luomin¡¯s attempt to appeal to choi yeonseung¡¯s patriotism, he didn¡¯t really care. those days, very few koreans still had loyalty for the long-lost imperial family.


    no matter how much kang luomin tried to inflame him, choi yeonseung just thought to himself, ¡®oh, yeah... that happened i guess.¡¯


    ¡°anyway, will you get to the point already? i¡¯m bored.¡±


    ¡°ah, right. in any case, the government is working to find the treasures that were looted by foreigners in the past and return them to their original owners.¡±


    ¡°huh? i¡¯ve heard of no such thing. have they been doing it in secrecy? what?¡± asked choi yeonseung incredulously.


    kang luomin looked slightly embarrassed when he replied, ¡°well, in the cases where we couldn¡¯t negotiate... ahem.¡±


    ¡°...so you stole it?¡±


    ¡°no, not stole... we just... used some non-negotiating means.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung was impressed by china. of course, the other countries had stolen those treasures first, but china ignored international law and stole them back. only countries that didn¡¯t care about criticism could pull off something like that.


    ¡°in any case, i discovered some korean treasures in the process.¡±


    ¡°oh...¡±


    ¡°we can find them and negotiate using the power of the chinese government if you want.¡±


    ¡°no, it¡¯s fine. if i know where they are, i can get them on my own.¡±


    ¡°even so, finding them by yourself would be difficult...¡±


    choi yeonseung was an a-grade hunter and had a huge company, but there was still a limit to what he could do by himself. in comparison, china was an entire nation. if they put their minds to it, they could really shake everything out.


    ¡°i heard that this is an exhibition for the citizens who got injured in the alland riots, right?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a great exhibition, and the artifacts themselves would be pleased to be part of something so meaningful. in fact, i misunderstood a bit. i was uneasy about the president¡¯s arbitrary return of the relic last time.¡±


    the staff member had no idea that the president was trying to trick them into giving away the artifacts. they never would¡¯ve imagined that the president would use such a dirty strategy.


    ¡°but they used to be korean treasures, right?¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, cultural assets don¡¯t belong to any country. cultural heritage belongs to all of humanity.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    for a moment, choi yeonseung felt like he was getting a headache. what was this person saying?


    ¡°no. if it¡¯s a korean cultural asset, it should be in south korea. what¡¯s with this ¡®humanity¡¯ nonsense? won¡¯t all of humanity be able to see it even if it¡¯s in south korea?¡±


    ¡°i mean that these cultural treasures should be owned by a country that has the ability to manage them...¡±


    ¡°hey! shut up! are you nuts?!¡±


    another staff member, who had some sense, hurriedly poked him in the side. he didn¡¯t want to see whether the a-grade hunter would blow away the curator¡¯s head for basically saying, ¡°we don¡¯t trust your country.¡±


    ¡°why? i¡¯m just telling the truth. hunter choi yeonseung will understand because he¡¯s not blinded by perverse patriotism.¡±


    ¡°shut up...! you know what, just dig your own grave!¡±


    choi yeonseung kept himself from killing this asshole. he wouldn¡¯t find the treasures if he did so.


    creak.


    ¡°here it is.¡±


    ¡®that¡¯s the heavenly goryeo crown.¡¯


    choi yeonseung nodded when he spotted the artifact. it was a crown that shone due to its magic power.


    besides the heavenly goryeo crown, there was also an authentic replica of the daehwaeom, the inlaid flower pattern gate jar, and so on. the treasures lined up one after the other. choi yeonseung put them into his space necklace as it was safer than other storage areas.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung. i know how you feel, but you have to fill out the paperwork... i heard that the period is one week, is that correct?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t think so.¡±


    ¡°it isn¡¯t one week? is it two weeks?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t know what the president said about this. he just told me to take the treasures for the exhibition. i¡¯ll check with him and get back to you.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the people at the scene turned pale.


    ¡°thief! thief! hey! stop him!¡¯


    at the employee¡¯s scream, two hunters waiting in the next area rushed over. after all, this was a museum with extremely valuable treasures, so the security was obviously extremely tight. not only were hunters guarding the treasures, but there were also all types of defensive magic.


    ¡®what kind of lunatic would try something like this?¡¯


    ¡°there¡¯s a big thief who actually made it all the way here?¡± who is it...?¡±


    the french hunters who rushed over made eye contact with choi yeonseung. then they blinked in disbelief.


    ¡°...hunter choi yeonseung, are you perhaps here to catch the thief?¡±


    ¡°what are you talking about? catch hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    at the curator¡¯s call, the hunters glared at the curator in dismay.


    had he lost his mind?

 Chapter 313

    chapter 313


    ¡°there¡¯s no way hunter choi yeonseung would commit such a theft, right?¡± one of the french hunters said tentatively.


    the other hunters nodded in agreement with him. choi yeonseung had saved some of these hunters back in the battle of paris.


    these hunters didn¡¯t even know what countries bordered south korea. some of them might even say absurd things like ¡°huh, china and south korea are fighting? aren¡¯t they like the same country or something?¡± however, despite their ignorance, these people still knew choi yeonseung¡¯s name.


    ...but all of a sudden, the curator had called him a thief.


    ¡°even an a-grade hunter can do bad things! catch him!¡±


    the staff member was furious. these treasures, which were more precious than a person¡¯s life, were about to be stolen by an outsider. as a frenchman who loved cultural assets, the curator found this unacceptable.


    the curator¡¯s earnestness slightly swayed the hunters. certainly, just because someone was an a-grade hunter didn¡¯t mean that they couldn¡¯t commit crimes. if anything, there had been cases of a-grade hunters doing utterly despicable things.


    however, these hunters still didn¡¯t think a noble person like choi yeonseung would do something so terrible... they thought that maybe, just maybe, it was fine for him to take the artifacts.


    ¡°describe the situation in detail. we need to know what¡¯s going on.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. what did he steal? if it¡¯s a treasure here in the museum... perhaps the crown of louis xi? that crown?!¡±


    ¡°no! i can¡¯t list off all of them, but he stole a lot of treasures, like the heavenly goryeo crown and the inlaid flower pattern gate jar.


    ¡°...uh... wait,¡± said one of the hunters in a bewildered manner. ¡°given its name, i don¡¯t think the heavenly goryeo crown is a french treasure...? isn¡¯t it from south korea?¡±


    ¡°no matter how you look at it, it seems like an asian treasure...¡±


    the hunters murmured among themselves in confusion, but the curator didn¡¯t care at all about their arguments and shouted, ¡°what could you possibly mean by that? cultural heritage belongs to all of humanity! what does it matter what country it¡¯s from?!¡±


    ¡°h-hey, how can you say something like that? shouldn¡¯t south korea have this?¡±


    the hunters didn¡¯t really know about the value of being a noble guardian of cultural heritage. instead, they just used common sense. if it was another country¡¯s cultural property, shouldn¡¯t that country have it?


    ¡°the country that¡¯s most capable of protecting that cultural heritage should have it! we have to pass it on to future generations!¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s an a-grade hunter, so i¡¯m sure the artifact will be in good hands...¡±


    ¡°the museum of dragon industry is better than this museum.¡±


    the staff member didn¡¯t pay attention to the hunters¡¯ words.


    ¡°no!¡±


    ¡°uhm, i think you should just keep quiet.¡±


    ¡°did you get permission from the government?¡± asked one of the hunters.


    choi yeonseung nodded.


    ¡°yes, i¡¯ve received permission. you think i¡¯d just barge in here and take the treasures without telling anyone?¡±


    ¡°then you can just go.¡±


    ¡°we¡¯ll take care of these guys.¡±


    ¡°hey, you traitors! you are giving away french cultural assets!¡±


    ¡°oh, shut up already. i¡¯m so embarrassed.¡±


    the french hunters blushed slightly and made the staff member shut up.


    choi yeonseung headed outside and was seen off by the hunters.


    demon no. 139 asked curiously, ¡°is everyone like this?¡±


    ¡°france is unusual... actually... i think it¡¯s like this everywhere i go.¡±


    ***


    ¡°there was a request from the demon clan? what are they thinking?¡± asked the staff member of the tiger crest bird clan. he sounded bewildered.


    the tiger crest bird was a medium-sized clan in south korea. while it was small compared to the larger clans, its reputation and popularity weren¡¯t inferior.


    the key to their success was their win rate in clan competitions. if they won a competition, they received a boatload of cash. by using that money, they could grow their clan even more, which in turn would get them even more money...


    they didn¡¯t have to do raids like other hunters. they just had to fight other clans and farm the rewards.


    seeing that the demon clan had requested a competition with them, those from the tiger crest bird were quite embarrassed. after all, the demon clan had one foot in the grave...


    the hunters from the tiger crest bird felt like it was just the day before that they heard some rumors about the demon clan getting acquired or disbanded...


    ¡°team leader-nim, why don¡¯t you just accept it?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. won¡¯t we gain something out of it even if that clan is on the verge of ruin?¡±


    the staff member liked the idea. sometimes, new clans would join the competitions with an overconfident attitude.


    go junwon tapped his foot with a dissatisfied expression.


    recently, the atmosphere in the clan had changed remarkably. to be precise, the clan had thinned out. no matter how much value and prestige there was to lee changsik and choi yeonseung¡¯s names, hunters had left in a hurry after being forced to train hard for no apparent reason in a clan that was half-ruined.


    -i guess he just acquired the clan out of boredom?


    -hey. there¡¯s no answer. let¡¯s go. come to think of it, lee changsik hasn¡¯t achieved any results as a director despite how much of a hero he is.


    ...even though hunters had left one after the other, go junwon had persisted. he had done that because of his debt.


    ¡®damn... i didn¡¯t expect to be hit here.¡¯


    hunters always looked for something to stimulate them. around one-third of hunters were addicted to gambling, and go junwon was one of them.


    he had tried to hit the jackpot before leaving the clan, only to end up in significantly more debt, which meant that he couldn¡¯t leave the clan no matter how frustrated he was.


    ¡®it¡¯s strange. why didn¡¯t he leave?¡¯


    kim yeongchan, one of the original clan members, was also surprised. he couldn¡¯t believe that go junwon hadn¡¯t left. because of their personalities, all of his subordinates had left. it would¡¯ve been normal for go junwon to leave with them.


    ¡®maybe he has some love for the clan after all?¡¯


    kim yeongchan patted go junwon on the shoulder.


    ¡°...?¡±


    ¡°i think i was wrong about you.¡±


    ¡®what¡¯s with this asshole?¡¯


    go junwon was dumbfounded. what was this guy saying all of a sudden? he didn¡¯t understand, but it was praise after all, so he just nodded.


    go junwon didn¡¯t know the reason, but it seemed like this guy finally realized how great he was.


    ¡°yes. i¡¯m glad i know it now. let¡¯s work hard together. we¡¯re the ones who should be the hunters here, not the newcomers.¡±


    ¡°uh, that¡¯s not what i meant...¡±


    just then, a staff member rushed over from above in order to talk to the hunters who were about to play.


    go junwon straightened his posture. he basically got an allowance when participating in a game, and if he won, he would get a victory bonus. however, he couldn¡¯t really hope for a victory...


    ¡°hunter go junwon, you can rest this time.¡±


    ¡°...huh? n-no. why?!¡±


    ¡°you said you were tired last time, right?¡±


    ¡°n-no... no!¡±


    ***


    in fact, the money choi yeonseung had wagered in the clan competition with the tiger crest bird was just a small sum of money for him.


    no matter how much money the clan competitions made, there was a world beyond it that many couldn¡¯t comprehend.


    not only was choi yeonseung a-grade and participated in raids, but he also had funds from dragon industry. thus, he could do this however many times he wanted.


    this time, he wanted to assess the demon clan.


    ¡®i need to check how strong they¡¯ve become.¡¯


    in the case of nathan dab and wi seongu, choi yeonseung had trained them separately. then, after hearing lee changsik¡¯s words, he became a bit curious.


    how strong could they have become in a short period of time?


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, it¡¯s an honor to meet you.¡±


    ahn jeonghak, the director of the tiger crest bird clan, came first and extended his hand.


    normally, the director was the head coach of the clan and was also a hunter. choi yeonseung could feel his magic power.


    ¡°since you wanted a match with us, we¡¯ve come to give it to you. i''m terribly sorry that we have to meet like this, haha.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled seeing the director act strangely friendly. why did he speak like that?


    ¡®ah. does he think i am going to lose?¡¯


    choi yeonseung realized how the director felt about this. he must¡¯ve thought that this was just some new hobby for choi yeonseung and that he didn¡¯t care about the outcome.


    ¡®jeez... how much of a mess was the demon clan...?¡¯


    choi yeonseung felt a bit bitter even though the demon clan wasn¡¯t his own clan.


    this guy underestimated him like this...

 Chapter 314

    chapter 314


    regardless of choi yeonseung being pissed that the director disregarded him, the match began.


    it was nathan who gained the momentum early on. he was talented and had even learned martial arts from choi yeonseung. he went to the top lane and pushed aggressively, causing his opponent from the tiger crest bird clan to fall back in a panic.


    ¡°uh... uhh.¡±


    the opposing director was taken aback by this.


    ¡°d-did he learn martial arts?¡±


    choi yeonseung answered, ¡°he wanted to learn, so i taught him.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve never seen that hunter. is his name nathan dab?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right.¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s response, the director took out his phone and searched him up. he was shocked by what he found.


    ¡®no...?!¡¯


    if he was a promising prospect from the united states, he should¡¯ve just stayed in the united states. why the hell had he come to south korea? was he crazy?


    ***


    boom!


    kang yuna of the tiger crest bird clan backed down once again against nathan. she bit her lip in frustration.


    -i think i need some help here.


    -what? this is the demon clan... how come you need support?


    -yeah, well... this guy is formidable.he uses really tricky martial arts.


    kang yuna was a tanker hunter who had a reputation for being quite tough. her playstyle revolved around fighting the opponent right off the bat to secure an early advantage. by doing that, she would grow quickly and snowball her advantage with overpowered defensive skills.


    however, nathan fought kang yuna right from the start, pushing her back.


    ¡®i still have a long way to go before i can use iron dragon¡¯s protection...¡¯


    -alright, i¡¯ll come and help you.


    the best clans were basically those with great teamwork. after receiving kang yuna¡¯s request for help, another hunter from the tiger crest bird clan killed a monster outside the lanes and quickly ran over to the top lane.


    ...however, nathan had predicted this much.


    ¡°um...¡±


    ¡°sh-should i really be here?¡± asked wi seongu, a prospect from hwangryong high school, in an uncertain voice.


    in fact, when the demon clan had been recruiting hunters, wi seongu had been the most surprised when he had been picked. nathan was a promising prospect that any clan would want, while zhang wei had received a commendation from the chinese government.


    ...in comparison, wi seongu wasn¡¯t even highly regarded in his local highschool...


    -mother!father!a clan has recruited me!


    -...what?is that true?


    -yes!


    -you fool. they¡¯re just trying to trick you!


    -......


    -oh my... i¡¯ve known this ever since you awakened... this guy... one should know their place. i haven¡¯t told you this before because i didn¡¯t want to hurt you, but i¡¯ll say it now. you need to give up on this hunter stuff! being a hunter might look glamorous, but if you¡¯re not at the top, you¡¯ll just get killed!


    -please stop.we thought you¡¯d quit after realizing that this isn¡¯t for you...


    -b-but i really got chosen.


    -by which clan?


    -uh...by the demon clan.


    -the demon clan?isn¡¯t that a good and prestigious clan?


    -that was ten years ago! now they¡¯re on the verge of ruin! why would you join them?


    -i got the down payment...


    -just give it back and don¡¯t go! you¡¯re being deceived! it¡¯s even more suspicious that they¡¯re giving you so much money!


    wi seongu had been even more confused after listening to his parents. at this point, he also thought this was suspicious. could it be...? could it be that choi yeonseung needed him for some evil plot?


    famous prospects would attract attention from others, but no one would care if the clan recruited wi seongu. however, ever since he had joined the clan, there hadn¡¯t been any suspicious activities or deceptive contracts. on the contrary, choi yeonseung had personally taught him martial arts.


    -now this is the three movements martial art.let¡¯s call it the three iron fist technique.


    -...uh, you didn¡¯t name it just now...right?


    -...no.it¡¯s an excellent martial art i picked up in the abyss.


    -t-thank you!by the way, can you teach me such martial arts?


    -yup. after all, i have to get you guys to be stronger.


    -i knew it..!some reporters have said bad things about you, but i truly believe that you¡¯re a patriotic hunter!hey, why are you hitting me?


    rather than learning a martial art to achieve physical durability and defensive stats, it was better to just learn defensive magic and buff magic.


    ¡®the efficiency of it is on another level.¡¯


    it wasn¡¯t wi seongu¡¯s ability that choi yeonseung admired. he was impressed by how efficient the martial art seemed to be.


    wi seongu was under the influence of his constellation, choi yeonseung!


    ...of course, apart from that, wi seongu was actually fighting well. given how the enemy cast magic at him, it wouldn¡¯t have been surprising for him to chicken out and run away. however, he held on.


    on the other hand, the opponent got tired before him, gasping for air as he stepped back.


    seeing this, nathan attacked and took the lead once again.


    ¡®no...!¡¯


    the director was appalled. even on the bottom lane, zhang wei was holding on. they had a slight advantage in the middle lane, but the hunter of the tiger crest bird clan couldn¡¯t push forward.


    in any case, if the top lane crumbled like this...


    the director looked at choi yeonseung, who was standing still, his expression now blank. the director was suddenly afraid of him.


    ¡®he¡¯s a terrifying guy.¡¯


    at first, he had thought choi yeonseung was just an a-grade hunter who had joined this competition out of boredom, but it turned out that he had targeted their clan.


    ¡®could it be that he took over the demon clan to bring korean talents to the united states? dragon industry needs a lot of hunters...!¡¯


    the director let his imagination run wild. at this point, choi yeonseung¡¯s request to compete against the tiger crest bird clan felt suspicious.


    ¡®is he going to take over the tiger crest bird?¡¯


    after the match, the demon clan could request a rematch to acquire the clan''s assets and pressure them to sell...


    thinking about this really scared him. they would have no way to stop it.


    ¡°ah. we won. it was lucky.¡± choi yeonseung nodded in admiration. he looked to the side and saw that the director had turned ghostly pale.


    ¡°don¡¯t despair. you win some, you lose some. maybe you¡¯ll win the next one.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°come to think of it, the money i¡¯m supposed to receive after winning... can i take something else instead?¡± asked choi yeonseung as an idea suddenly flashed through his mind.


    the director jumped up in surprise.


    ¡°i... i... i will never give you the right to run the clan!¡±


    ¡°what? what are you on about?¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at the director like he didn¡¯t understand. perhaps his expression got the director to return to his senses.


    the director cleared his throat and said, ¡°ah. i¡¯m sorry. i was thinking about something else. what do you need?¡±


    ¡°are there any hunters in the tiger crest bird clan who are interested in martial arts? if there are, i¡¯d like to give them some lessons.¡±


    ¡°...huh???¡±


    the director doubted his ears. that... weren¡¯t they supposed to give him money?


    ***


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ praises your noble actions.]


    ¡°?!¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised by the sudden message from the constellation. he had just left after giving lessons to the hunters of the tiger crest bird clan who were interested in martial arts.


    -let... let me give you an artifact.


    -no.there¡¯s no need.i¡¯m just teaching you.


    -then a salary...


    -...i¡¯m just here to teach?


    it had been a bit of an absurd conversation, but in any case, the outcome had been beneficial for both sides. the hunters interested in martial arts admired choi yeonseung¡¯s ability to determine what they lacked and help them improve in that.


    choi yeonseung once again felt the power of martial arts as he taught them. there was currently nothing left to do, but this widespread respect for martial arts would soon turn into faith, and ultimately into power of existence.


    ...then, he was caught off guard by the message of the six-winged angel who hunts dragons.


    ¡°what''s going on?"


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ says he has been watching you since the battle of london.]


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung flinched slightly. there was nothing good about getting so much attention from a constellation. more than that, what choi yeonseung had done after that battle... last time, he had taken the artifacts from france by force, hadn¡¯t he?


    the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ was known as the most righteous and radical constellation among the good god constellations. given that he absolutely despised evil, he was naturally enemies with some of the evil god constellations.


    in the eyes of such a constellation, what choi yeonseung had done was a bit... it was too much...


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ says that your actions were extremely righteous with no hint of injustice.]


    ¡°...?¡±

 Chapter 315

    chapter 315


    was that the case?


    choi yeonseung looked back on his actions.


    ¡®isn¡¯t this weird?¡¯


    he didn¡¯t think his actions had been particularly noble...


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ says you helped the people in the united kingdom, and when monsters appeared in the united states, the first thing you did was to help the civilians. even in the abyss, you didn¡¯t act greedily and helped the dwarves.]


    ¡®...!¡¯


    choi yeonseung was surprised. he felt a strange sense of righteousness as he listened to the angel constellation.


    ¡®what? am i being deceived?¡¯


    -well... the standard is a bit...


    many hunters on earth were wicked individuals, so it was natural for choi yeonseung to feel that he was an upright person.


    ¡®it¡¯s strange. even if i do bad things, i¡¯m still seen as righteous because of how other people act.¡¯


    -no. if we¡¯re talking about good and bad, you are definitely good, successor.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ agrees.]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ agrees.]


    ¡®is that so?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was even more puzzled when the other constellations, who had been watching this whole time, agreed.


    was it really like that? he didn¡¯t think he lived a particularly righteous life...


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ says he doesn¡¯t regret handing over the kingdom of earth to the undefeated incarnation of training. he says that he can deduce the constellation¡¯s character just by looking at his household member.]


    ¡°thank you.¡± choi yeonseung expressed his gratitude for the praise of the angel constellation. there was no reason to refuse such praise. if anything, he thought he needed some constellations with whom he could get along with...


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ says that on the other hand, he isn¡¯t so sure about the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead.¡¯]


    ¡°...well, maybe.¡±


    naturally, like most constellations, the goddess of balance didn¡¯t know much about earth. she wasn¡¯t particularly knowledgeable about the united kingdom, and that was the same for the angels below her.


    -hunter choi yeonseung... what are stocks?


    -uh...it would take a long time to explain...


    -indeed, but uh... it seems like a lot of people have lost money because of stocks. shouldn¡¯t it be banned?


    -it wouldn¡¯t be good to ban them...


    -hunter choi yeonseung,i¡¯m curious about what this is...


    -hunter choi yeonseung, hunter choi yeonseung...


    as such, the goddess of balance basically neglected the united kingdom and only cared about gaining faith.


    of course, choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t done anything particularly remarkable other than bringing the orcs and the nightmare demons with him.


    all he had done was to gather the british nobles and hunters who believed in the collector constellation and send them out to farms. however, compared to the goddess of balance, who had done pretty much nothing, choi yeonseung¡¯s deeds seemed great.


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ says that your ability to quickly strengthen the weak mortals is great. he asks that you use it on his household members as well.]


    ¡°...what nonsense...¡±


    choi yeonseung listened carefully and was taken aback by the request of the angel constellation. the two of them weren¡¯t particularly close. of course, choi yeonseung had talked to him a few times and had contact with his angel subordinates, but saying that they were close would be a stretch.


    he was a bit worried because han sehui had signed a contract with the angel constellation, but he couldn¡¯t do this just because of her.


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ promises to offer whatever you want in exchange for your power.]


    ¡°...really?¡±


    choi yeonseung suddenly straightened his posture. he was now more receptive to the offer.


    -...successor...


    ¡®well, this can¡¯t be helped. this is the pitiful nature of humans,¡¯ choi yeonseung answered firmly. even after becoming a constellation, there were some things he couldn¡¯t change about himself. one of those traits was being more cordial to customers who offered a lot of money!


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons declares firmly that he doesn¡¯t intend to trivialize an ability like yours.]


    [he says that if the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ allows it, he will even take you into his household.]


    -save some face for yourself, please.


    ¡°i see.¡±


    choi yeonseung complied with the request of the goddess of sloth. he listened with a stern look on his face without changing his posture.


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ promises to help the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ if you fight against the evil god constellations.]


    [he says that your commitment to justice is worth it.]


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...wait, what do you mean by rules? have you already checked them?¡±


    ¡°yes, we have. hasn¡¯t the undefeated incarnation of training checked them? he should¡¯ve informed you about that.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung was silent.


    normally, the constellation was supposed to gather and provide information like that. however, choi yeonseung was the constellation in this case, so if he didn¡¯t do anything, there was nobody else to give him information.


    there was a lot of work to do in regards to the second realm, and when he had heard that the chinese planned to conquer the realm, he had thought, ¡®well, when they fail, they¡¯ll release that information on their own, right?¡¯


    ¡°of course, many chinese hunters have prepared to attack the realm, and since we serve the six-winged angel who hunts dragons, we can¡¯t just stand by and do nothing.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right. in addition, the chinese hunters are likely to fail a bunch of times and unreasonably keep forcing the raid. they¡¯d end up with many casualties, and we can¡¯t just let that happen.¡±


    perhaps it was because they served the angel constellation, but these hunters spoke in a very righteous manner. it seemed like their master¡¯s personality had influenced them.


    this whole conversation pricked choi yeonseung¡¯s pride. ¡°...i haven¡¯t heard anything about it yet.¡±


    ¡°ah, is that so? well, i¡¯m sure there¡¯s a reason why your constellation hasn¡¯t told you anything yet!¡±


    the hunters consoled choi yeonseung. they were certain there was a reason behind that!


    ***


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says he placed a holy relic deep underground.]


    [he declares that if you want it, try to take as much as you want!]


    the realm the explosion constellation had recently prepared had the shape of an upside-down pyramid.


    the hunters who entered the first floor were flustered.


    what was that?


    ¡®is this really the best he could come up with?¡¯


    ¡®doesn¡¯t this seem too... ordinary?¡¯


    if anything, this realm looked way easier to deal with than the first realm. besides, the hunters hadn¡¯t expected the explosion constellation to just blatantly reveal the location of the holy relic.


    they didn¡¯t understand what was going on.


    of course, this didn¡¯t mean there were no obstacles.


    the hunters split up, each of them taking a different position.


    it was bewildering, but everyone could be selected as a starter in their team.


    after they found and killed a monster, they would find the entrance to go down another floor.


    ¡°is this really it?¡± asked choi yeonseung curiously. they hadn¡¯t been attacked by any evil monsters, nor had they come across any dangerous traps...


    the hunters had scattered at the start, but this just seemed too easy.


    ¡°it¡¯s not just this. the constellation promised that if anyone was on the brink of death, he would save them using the power of his domain.¡±


    ¡°...???¡±


    choi yeonseung was baffled by that. saving those who tried to conquer his realm? if the explosion constellation did that, hunters would just keep flocking to his realm, trying to overtake it.


    what was the explosion constellation planning?


    ¡°my master was puzzled at first, but... he soon figured out the reason. do you know what you need to do to get your hands on the underground holy relic?¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s see... i don¡¯t know. isn¡¯t it enough to defeat the monsters and break through to get it?¡±


    ¡°in order to get your hands on the holy relic, you need to have one hundred souls there.¡±


    ¡°...huh?¡±


    ¡°in other words, you need one hundred hunters to get there.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s a bit tricky, but with enough time, it will eventually...¡± choi yeonseung stopped mid-sentence as he realized what the plan of the explosion constellation was all about.


    ¡®ah. i see.¡¯


    it would take quite a bit of time for a hundred hunters to gather in the deepest parts of the realm. in addition to that, would hunters from different countries even try to cooperate in that situation? rather, it was more likely that they would fight among each other to increase the number of hunters from their own country or clan.


    ¡®huh, this guy is pretty clever, isn¡¯t he?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was stunned as he realized the true intentions of the explosion constellation. in short, he had created a territory in which hunters would inevitably end up fighting each other.


    at this point, choi yeonseung had no choice but to admire his ingenuity.


    ¡°wait. aren¡¯t the chinese hunters trying to conquer the realm as we speak? if they manage to do it together...¡±


    ¡°no.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve heard that they¡¯re already fighting among themselves.¡±


    ¡°...what? why?¡±

 Chapter 316

    chapter 316


    this was the huge underground area in the second realm created by endless linked explosions. the first chinese hunters to enter were supposed to share information with each other and work together to find a way down...


    evidently, that didn¡¯t happen.


    ¡°dungeons are hard, you know. the deeper you go, the harder it is to turn back.¡±


    hunters who had conquered dungeons before knew how it was. the trickier and deeper the structure, the harder it was to turn around halfway through.


    getting out was difficult, and going back in after escaping was twice as hard.


    at that point, no matter how low on supplies they were or how dire the situation was, many people just endured it.


    ¡°is this place similar to a dungeon?¡±


    ¡°yes. it has a very deep and complex structure... besides, there are the orders from the chinese leaders.¡±


    the first, second, and third underground floor... if they got stuck while going down, they would have to give up and turn back, but even if they did that multiple times, they could still find answers. they could retread and return with other hunters, learn new skills, or find a different solution.


    however, this time, the chinese government had taken the lead and given them a clear order.


    -you¡¯re not allowed to retread.go in there and obtain the holy relic at all costs!


    ...because of that, all hunters got stuck and couldn¡¯t descend further than the floor they were on. they also couldn¡¯t go back up, so they moved to different locations on the same floor and tried this and that, but to no avail.


    if anything, conflicts became more frequent as more hunters gathered.


    ¡°is it because of the factions?¡±


    ¡°yes. you know about this?¡±


    ¡°if they¡¯re stuck with each other for long enough, all hunters, regardless of the clan, will end up fighting among each other.¡±


    choi yeonseung knew it well. after all, it was difficult for hunters to maintain their composure when clearing a dungeon in a hurry. moreover, what if they took a break along the way or got stuck? when that happened, hunters would lose sight of the objective and start thinking about other things...


    -wait... if i clear this, won¡¯t i have to share the rewards with these assholes?


    -these bastards pissed me off during the clan battle the other day...


    the clans fought for profit, but as far as the chinese factions went, it was more or less survival of the fittest. if a faction was pushed out, they would have to go somewhere else...


    because of that, the dungeon in the second realm had become a ruthless place with all sorts of fighting and scheming.


    ¡°master was deeply saddened to see the humans of earth getting preoccupied with trivial matters instead of doing raids.¡±


    ¡°yeah, i get that.¡±


    it was understandable. choi yeonseung, too, got frustrated whenever he saw hunters participate in clan battles instead of doing raids.


    the angel constellation would¡¯ve been furious if his hunters had started fighting among themselves in the dungeon instead of figuring out how to deal with the evil god constellation.


    ¡®is that why he¡¯s trying to sober them up?¡¯


    ¡°by the way... if i get the chance to attack, i won¡¯t hold back.¡±


    ¡°of course. master knew that when he decided to bring you here.¡±


    the angel constellation had been aware of that possibility when he had invited choi yeonseung to participate in this raid. it was understandable if choi yeonseung managed to clear the realm instead of him!


    ¡®...no. i¡¯m worried because i think he values me too much.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was a bit nervous. given how highly the angel constellation thought of him, wouldn¡¯t it be shocking if he fell short of expectations?


    thinking so highly of him at a time like this...


    ¡°how long are you going to talk about this? if you brought in the household member of another constellation, you should focus on learning things from him instead of engaging in useless chatter,¡± illaphael retorted from behind, criticizing the hunter after sneaking up on them.


    ¡°ah. i¡¯m sorry, illaphael... but we were having a really important conversation...¡±


    ¡°oh, well if it¡¯s important, let¡¯s continue the discussion,¡± continued illaphael. he tried to find a subtle way to join their conversation. that was what he had aimed for in the first place.


    choi yeonseung shook his head. ¡°nah, i¡¯ve heard everything i wanted. there¡¯s no point in continuing this conversation. let¡¯s just go straight in.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung was considerate of illaphael. given that he had the nasty temper of an angel, it was best that he didn¡¯t stay with the household member of another constellation!


    ¡°illaphael seems to be in a terrible mood.¡±


    ¡°you guys must¡¯ve had a hard time serving an angel.¡±


    ¡°haha...¡±


    ***


    ¡®a hundred people...¡¯


    around one-fifth of the household members of the angel constellation were interested in martial arts. choi yeonseung looked at the martial arts they were learning and kindly taught them how to improve.


    if the hunters had any shortcomings in their martial arts, choi yeonseung fixed them or taught them new stances. similarly, if someone was trying to learn a martial art that didn¡¯t fit their style, choi yeonseung would recommend something more appropriate.


    most of those hunters ranged from c to b-grade.


    [the power of martial arts possessed by the household members of the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ has grown stronger.]


    constellations with a long history had many treasures and showed off their strength by giving them away as rewards, but choi yeonseung didn¡¯t have many artifacts.


    of course, there were many artifacts stored in the safes of dragon industry, but those artifacts were good only by human standards. choi yeonseung needed to surpass that limit and acquire some artifacts that were good by the standards of a constellation.


    [the everything box (high-grade, chaos):


    1,000,000p.


    primordial chaos is swirling inside. if you open this box, something that a constellation needs will come out.]


    ¡®...a household member who can create artifacts or a building that can create it... or a skill that lets me create them.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ strongly suggests that you learn blacksmith skills.]


    -...that would take too long.


    last time, choi yeonseung had received help in making the artifacts. however, it would take too long to become a good blacksmith by the standards of the cat constellation, and choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t in a situation where he could focus solely on that...


    ¡®so if i buy this, i¡¯ll have two thousand three hundred points left, huh?¡¯


    [the ¡®wandering merchant who sells destiny¡¯ says it has been a long time since he last sold this box.]


    [he says he will give you a present since you bought this box!]


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t see the face of the wandering constellation, but he could feel that he was jumping up and down with joy.


    the wandering constellation hadn''t expected to sell the high-grade box. he was so glad that he even gave choi yeonseung three advanced boxes as a gift.


    that was his gratitude for the consistent support!


    ¡®...ah, now i suddenly regret this...¡¯ choi yeonseung clicked his tongue.


    of course, receiving three boxes as a gift was great, but humans were complicated. he suddenly felt downcast after he received them.


    -let¡¯s open the advanced box first.


    choi yeonseung nodded and opened the box.


    [opening the box!]


    [chaos flows and destiny is decided!]


    ¡®most of the things in my realm now are specialized in farming. it isn¡¯t bad but i need to get artifact crafting.¡¯


    [¡¯soul-infused smithy¡¯ has come out!]


    ¡°...!¡±


    this was the first box, and yet he already got something for crafting...? at least that was what he initially thought, but something was strange.


    ¡®wait. it¡¯s not a dwarf. it¡¯s a smithy.¡¯


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it is good! let¡¯s take this opportunity to make things together!]


    ¡®...¡¯


    choi yeonseung frowned. still, there were two left...


    [opening the box!]


    [chaos flows and destiny is decided!]


    [the ¡®sacred sanctuary of asceticism¡¯ has come out!]


    -ah.this one is really good.


    the goddess of sloth was glad to see the sanctuary, which was familiar to her.


    the sanctuary had been built by a constellation during an abyss war in the past. even if someone was suffering from all types of curses and temptations, they could overcome all of it by entering the sanctuary and passing through the trials.


    -...no.what i need now are methods to create artifacts.


    -well, since you¡¯ve received the smithy, don¡¯t you already have what you want, successor...?


    -......


    choi yeonseung got a chill. how did that make any sense?


    he opened the last advanced box with determination.


    [opening the box!]


    [chaos flows and destiny is decided!]


    [the ¡®necklace to tempt constellations¡¯ has come out!]


    the goddess of sloth exclaimed. she couldn¡¯t believe she was seeing this dangerous treasure again!


    -oh my god!i can¡¯t believe i¡¯m seeing it here!


    -...please tell me it¡¯s not what i think it is.


    -it¡¯s most likely that.


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ says she can help with this.]

 Chapter 317

    chapter 317


    -this...how do you use it?


    -once upon a time, there was an arrogant and cocky hero among the mortals of the abyss...


    the goddess of sloth kindly explained the story of the necklace to tempt constellations.


    the favor of a constellation had always been important to mortals. therefore, a talented mortal had once come up with something.


    ¡®why don¡¯t i make a necklace that can seduce constellations?¡¯


    constellations were arrogant and demanding beings, but they could also be extremely generous if they were in a good mood. thus, if this mortal could just seduce those constellations, he would be able to reign as the king of the abyss!


    -so? did he succeed?


    -it worked to an extent.


    -really?to think that such an item has an effect on constellations...


    -well, it¡¯s not like the item will make a constellation instantly fall in love.it just makes the wearer look a bit better in the eyes of the constellation.


    the item just got the constellation to like the wearer a bit more. however, that small bit always mattered. in fact, the hero had succeeded in winning the favor of various constellations by wearing the necklace and acting shrewdly.


    -of course, it was later discovered and destroyed.


    -......


    -now that i think about it, successor, you¡¯re doing something similar to that mortal, aren¡¯t you...?


    -be quiet.


    choi yeonseung silenced the goddess of sloth.


    in any case, he could see that it was a great treasure, but surely it wouldn¡¯t be useful to him, would it? he needed a treasure that would help him craft artifacts...


    -this is probably more suitable for what you¡¯re doing...


    -i told you to be quiet.


    the goddess of sloth pouted.


    choi yeonseung sighed and opened the high-grade box.


    he had spent all the soul stones he had accumulated thus far on this box. however, now he felt a sense of foreboding. he wished he had bought ten advanced boxes instead of this one...


    [opening the box!]


    [chaos reigns and destiny is decided!]


    [the ¡®seed of the realm¡¯ has been acquired.]


    [seed of the realm]


    rank: ?


    it generates a new area to be governed by a constellation.]


    ¡°...?¡±


    -...?


    [...?]


    what was this item?


    ***


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ whispers that metallurgy isn¡¯t that difficult.]


    -i know.


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue after replying. just as the cat constellation had previously said, the only solution was for choi yeonseung to learn how to craft artifacts himself.


    how could he open four boxes and not get anything useful?


    the seed of the realm was truly an unexpected skill. its function was to expand a constellation¡¯s realm. it was an amazing skill, and the goddess of sloth was also shocked by it.


    -it¡¯s not that easy to expand a realm...


    a constellation¡¯s realm contained a part of that constellation¡¯s essence. as an example, no matter how many people told the goddess of sloth things like ¡°hey! make a realm of diligence and live diligently there!¡± it would be literally impossible for her to do that because of her nature.


    after all, it was extremely unlikely for the goddess of sloth, or any constellation for that matter, to receive an additional realm like choi yeonseung...


    ¡®it¡¯s not a bad skill, but it¡¯s useless to me for the time being.¡¯


    what choi yeonseung currently needed was a combat ability that would allow him to decimate other constellations in combat. meanwhile, the seed of the realm would only prove useful in the long run.


    choi yeonseung stood in front of the soul-infused smithy. the cat constellation had said that the smithy would prove useful, but he was still worried whether it would actually help him.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says not to be nervous.]


    [you are also a constellation, so you will most certainly learn quickly.]


    based on its voice, it seemed like the cat constellation was jumping up and down in excitement.


    hearing this, choi yeonseung suddenly remembered the old days.


    -hyung, how about some extra training today?


    -uh, no... i don¡¯t know... i mean,i said i would... but i didn¡¯t confirm it.


    -well, since you already said you would, doesn¡¯t that mean that your heart is inclined toward training?


    -it¡¯s just that you have this scary look on your face when you talk about training...it¡¯s actually terrifying.


    -take me there.


    -thank you!thank you!


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is speechless.]


    ***


    ¡°the plan is simple.¡±


    clearing the dungeon in the second realm wasn¡¯t too difficult. top hunters like choi yeonseung would go in first and find the best path. they would start from the first underground floor and gradually make their way to the third floor...


    of course, finding a path like that wouldn¡¯t be a walk in the park, but if they managed to do it, everyone would have a shortcut.


    ¡°the problem is the fights between hunters.¡±


    ¡°yes, be ready to fight just in case.¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at the young hunters of the mount hua sect. surprisingly, there were currently five b-grade hunters in the mount hua sect. hunters like iris and louis had scored a b- in the last evaluation.


    choi yeonseung had once thought, ¡®given how talented they are, won¡¯t they reach b-grade someday?¡¯ but he hadn¡¯t expected them to evolve so quickly.


    it was clear that the martial arts that choi yeonseung had directly taught them and their experience in fighting in the abyss had led to a kind of synergy which in turn had caused them to evolve unexpectedly fast.


    ¡®i don¡¯t know if there will be any a-grade hunters in the next ten years.¡¯


    then, a household member of the six-winged angel who hunts dragons asked with a slightly worried expression, ¡°by the way, hunter choi yeonseung, aren¡¯t they chinese?¡±


    ¡°yes, they are.¡±


    ¡°most of the hunters in the dungeon are chinese. isn¡¯t this a bit cruel...?¡±


    ¡°ah.¡±


    choi yeonseung shook his head. the moment the topic of the dungeon had come out, the first ones to express their desire to participate had been the hunters from the mount hua sect.


    the hunters in china were the ones who had suppressed the mount hua sect hunters the most after they had been exiled from china.


    choi yeonseung recalled the conversation.


    -i¡¯m the one who brought it up, but i feel a bit sorry for you guys...


    -please let us go and kill them!


    -no, there¡¯s no need for killing...


    -then i¡¯ll stab them gently to make sure they don¡¯t die!


    -......


    when they found out that some clan hunters they knew were participating, the mount hua sect hunters erupted with excitement.


    ¡°it can¡¯t be helped.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    the other hunter was stunned.


    ¡®there¡¯s nobody more cruel than him...!¡¯


    as expected of an a-grade hunter... no matter how much good he did or how kind he seemed on the surface, he had to have a cold, heartless composure that allowed him to make any sacrifice in order to win.


    that was also why the six-winged angel who hunts dragons had chosen him!


    ¡°shall we go? i¡¯m going to start from the first underground floor and secure a decent area.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll go with you and help,¡± added illaphael as he stepped forward.


    in response to that, all the other hunters rushed to stop him.


    ¡°no, illaphael. we can go instead!¡±


    ¡°i can help even if i don¡¯t have enough skills!¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung will be more comfortable with us...¡±


    ¡°...shut up! didn¡¯t i say i would go?!¡±


    ¡°gasp!¡±


    illaphael eventually lost his temper. these human bastards were so oblivious!


    his anger caused the hunters to murmur among themselves.


    ¡®i think illaphael really doesn¡¯t like having to work with hunter choi yeonseung.¡¯


    ¡®master must¡¯ve ordered it.¡¯


    ¡®does he have to go that far? i think master has made a mistake...¡¯


    choi yeonseung was also watching the whole ordeal, frowning.


    ¡®if you really hate this so much, why bother coming with me? the angel constellation was too harsh to give him such an order.¡¯


    ¡°n-noo... it¡¯s a misunderstanding. listen to me for a moment, human,¡± pleaded illaphael as he belatedly noticed choi yeonseung¡¯s gaze.


    however, it was already too late.


    ¡°the angel constellation shouldn¡¯t have ordered you to come with me. in any case, let¡¯s not interfere with each other and do a good job.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ is bewildered and asks illaphael what he is doing now.]


    -...i¡¯m sorry...

 Chapter 318

    chapter 318


    there was a reason why the angel constellation was perplexed. he had actually asked illaphael about this before he had invited choi yeonseung to participate.


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ says that if you dislike it, he will send someone else on the mission.]


    the angel constellation had heard many things from other hunters, so he had no intention of forcing illaphael. no matter how strong the two of them were, making two people who didn¡¯t get along work together would be counterproductive.


    -...no, master.


    however, illaphael had insisted on going. firstly, it would¡¯ve been shameful to refuse to carry out his master¡¯s order for such a trivial reason...


    secondly, illaphael couldn¡¯t bring himself to dislike choi yeonseung. of course, if choi yeonseung had screwed up during the battle of paris and illaphael had saved the day, he would¡¯ve certainly said, ¡°hah! you lowly human trash!¡± however, even then, he wouldn¡¯t have had a reason to dislike choi yeonseung.


    however, during that battle, illaphael was actually attacked by the crown constellation¡¯s household member, became a puppet, and almost compromised the mission.


    then, choi yeonseung stepped in and saved his life. no matter how much angels looked down on humans, he couldn¡¯t have said, ¡°i still don¡¯t like you!¡±


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ asks if you are okay with it.]


    -there is nothing to worry about.if i put my mind to it, i can instantly get along with a human.we¡¯ll make peace and make sure that the mission goes smoothly.


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ says he will believe in you.]


    ...however, the result was the opposite of what he had expected.


    the angel constellation seriously wondered if he should summon a household member to replace illaphael. however, it was clear as day that illaphael would get hurt by this...


    ***


    [entering the second abyss kingdom.]


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ supports your struggle!]


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ promises immortality within this realm.]


    ¡®what an annoying guy.¡¯


    choi yeonseung entered while lightly insulting the constellation in his head.


    the first underground floor was a dungeon that looked like a cave. the ceiling was relatively low and the path was winding.


    -did everyone come in?


    -yes.


    -we¡¯re in.


    each hunter entered with an artifact containing telepathic magic. it was expensive, but it was nonetheless essential for the raid.


    -let¡¯s gather up first.scan your surrounding area and share the data...wait. how did he use this drone?


    choi yeonseung pressed the button. the drone whirred and took flight.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says it is the other button.]


    ¡®ah. thank you.¡¯


    -...successor...


    the goddess of sloth was dumbfounded. how could a former human be less knowledgeable in regards to technology than another constellation?


    -hey,i¡¯ve been wandering around the abyss for ten thousand years.i can¡¯t adapt to every single technological advancement.


    choi yeonseung operated the drone and turned on all the high-tech equipment he had brought with him. the drone would follow him and record the surrounding area and signal if there were any hunters around.


    contrary to the first generation of hunters, nobody in this day and age entered a dungeon naked, without any equipment or information. in this era, hunters had a more scientific approach to raiding dungeons.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    ¡°oh, i¡¯m lucky.¡±


    beep beep-


    choi yeonseung caught the signal. in front of him, louis wang from the mount hua sect rushed over while waving his hand.


    fortunately, they had landed in the same place.


    ¡°ugh, it¡¯s such an annoying dungeon. this place is like a maze. i heard that there are traps in some places...¡±


    ¡°yeah, the constellation went above and beyond with this dungeon.¡±


    choi yeonseung tapped lightly on the cave wall. however, it wasn¡¯t just tapping; it was filled with internal energy.


    just like he infused his internal energy into the opponent when he struck them, choi yeonseung released it into the wall and made it flow through it. as long as he had the ability to control his internal energy like that, he could scan the other side of the wall or any areas connected to it!


    ¡°amazing!¡±


    louis gazed in admiration. as a fellow martial artist, he could tell that choi yeonseung¡¯s technique was incredible. instead of using magic, he just used his internal energy to reveal the area beyond the wall!


    louis couldn¡¯t help admiring it when he saw something like this.


    ¡°so it¡¯s blocked over here, but it¡¯s open over there.¡±


    ¡°amazing!¡±


    -...excuse me, hunter choi yeonseung?you¡¯re using the drone, right?if you don¡¯t want to find the way, you can send the drone to scan it...


    a hunter from the household of the angel constellation spoke telepathically to choi yeonseung in a bewildered manner.


    finding his way through the dungeon and making a map was a tedious task that required the most effort. surely he wasn¡¯t just exploring the dungeon in a carefree manner, right?


    even though he was an a-grade hunter, he was still human. he had to preserve as much power as possible to prepare for future battles or surprise attacks.


    there was no way that the stone door would withstand such an attack, even if a constellation had made it.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    a huge rock stood behind the shattered stone gate. it looked like it was a precautionary measure in case anybody managed to pass through the gate by brute force.


    perhaps because his ego was slightly bruised, illaphael released even more magic power.


    ¡°illaphael, let¡¯s just find another way...¡±


    bang!


    ***


    [offer the blood of three people (0/1)]


    ¡°this is great!¡±


    ¡°...what? the conditions are messed up! why would you think it¡¯s great?¡±


    choi yeonseung was taken aback by louis¡¯ reaction. had he started worshiping a blood constellation?


    ¡°ah, it¡¯s not like that. it¡¯s just that there are chinese hunters all over the place. we could just catch any one of them and sacrifice them...¡±


    ¡°...that¡¯s an awful thing to say. get out of the way!¡±


    choi yeonseung walked up to the door and placed his hand on it. everything was silent for a while, but suddenly, the stone door started to melt away.


    ¡®poison!¡¯


    louis was surprised.


    there were few people who learned martial arts, and among those, there were even fewer people who learned techniques that dealt with poison.


    of course, some people used poison magic, but it wasn¡¯t common at all for martial artists to store poison energy in their bodies. there was a huge drawback to it compared to other martial arts, and it wasn¡¯t even that useful to begin with...


    however, louis changed his mind as he witnessed the poisonous attack used by choi yeonseung. on second thoughts, wasn¡¯t it worth it to learn a poison technique?


    ¡°alright, it¡¯s melted, but wait a bit. the poison is strong.¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    choi yeonseung recovered the poisonous energy. the mist dissipated, revealing the hunters waiting in front of it.


    ¡°i¡¯ll deal with you!¡±


    louis drew his sword. most of the hunters in here were chinese.


    it looked like they could communicate telepathically with each other, so it was clear that the hunter in front of him was the enemy... no, it wasn¡¯t clear yet, but it was safer to assume that they were enemies.


    ¡°reveal who you belong to!¡±


    ¡°sh-shaolin temple...¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    louis¡¯ eyes widened.


    among the chinese hunter clans, the shaolin temple clan was the puppet of the government! they were also the ones who had trampled on the mount hua sect!


    ¡®oh, please come at me!¡¯


    louis looked at the opponent excitedly. if this person attacked, he would show the opponent the ferocity of martial arts.


    ¡°p-please.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°please give me something to eat...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung and louis looked at each other in bewilderment.


    ***


    gulp gulp.


    choi yeonseung took out the ingredients he brought with him and cooked with all his heart... actually, he didn¡¯t do that. he just took out the dungeon rations, which were just canned food.


    the chinese hunter hurriedly opened the can and stuffed himself with meat. he didn¡¯t even know what kind of meat it was, and frankly, he didn¡¯t care.


    normally, he would¡¯ve eaten something like this with rice or bread, but he was so famished that he ate it plainly.


    he still wasn''t full, so he put potatoes on top of biscuits and sprinkled peanut butter on them. it didn¡¯t even matter to him how it tasted. it was obvious that he just wanted to fill his belly as quickly as possible.


    ¡°is this how chinese people usually eat?¡±


    ¡°...no! we usually eat very well!¡± retorted louis with a stunned expression. he wouldn¡¯t have minded other insults, but he couldn¡¯t stand hearing that chinese food wasn¡¯t tasty.


    ¡°it¡¯s because you didn¡¯t come to the right place. our local cuisine...¡±


    ¡°ah, you¡¯re right. the jajangmyeon was really delicious.¡±


    ¡°...that¡¯s not chinese cuisine, but...¡±


    ¡°what did you say?¡±


    ¡°nothing!¡±

 Chapter 319

    chapter 319


    the other party seemed to come back to their senses after filling up their bellies.


    ¡°...oohh, thank you for helping us.¡±


    ¡°what the hell are you saying, you bastards? you ate like beggars...¡± said louis incredulously.


    if one was in the position to beg for food, they would naturally be angry if someone else rubbed it in their face. of course, that was what happened with the hunters from the shaolin temple.


    "what the...? you! give me your name and your clan! i¡¯m going to make a formal complaint!¡±


    ¡°your mother...¡±


    choi yeonseung stopped louis before he could swear at them. he would¡¯ve liked to see them bicker, but he had to hear the other person¡¯s story first.


    ¡°you¡¯ve eaten quite a bit of food, so you should repay us for that. you can start by telling us who you are and what you¡¯re doing here.¡±


    ¡°...we¡¯ll pay for it when we get back.¡±


    ¡°what nonsense are you saying? you know that one meal inside the dungeon isn¡¯t the same as a meal outside the dungeon.¡±


    hearing this, the other hunter looked like he had just been stabbed.


    within a dungeon, the value of materials was unimaginable. a cigarette could sell for tens of thousands of dollars, and emergency food could sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.


    however, this hunter from the shaolin temple clan didn¡¯t want to admit that. the moment he did, his weakness would be exposed. in this situation, he had to act brazenly. he said, ¡°well, i didn¡¯t hear anything about that before you gave us the food, so we can only pay you the standard price.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    louis was impressed by how effortlessly this hunter could anger them.


    perhaps the shaolin temple hunter sensed choi yeonseung and louis¡¯ anger, or even their killing intent, so he tried to re-negotiate their deal in an attempt to appease them.


    ¡°o-of course, i¡¯m not saying we¡¯ll only pay you the standard price. once we get back, we¡¯ll give you additional compensation...¡±


    ¡°louis, go ahead and crush them. this guy doesn¡¯t deserve to speak.¡±


    ¡°yes! i¡¯ve been waiting for this!¡±


    ¡°wha...?!¡±??v€l?1n.


    the shaolin temple hunter got scared and tried to draw this weapon, but louis was always faster at such close range. in addition, this hunter had just finished eating, so he hadn¡¯t been alert at all. meanwhile, louis had his fists clenched all this time, ready to attack at any moment.


    bam!


    louis delivered a powerful punch to his adversary.


    ¡°you¡¯ve finally reached the first-class level.¡±


    ¡°thank you!¡±


    bam bam bam!


    ¡°who am i... cough!¡±


    louis delivered his punches gracefully and with precision. he shouted each time he connected his punches, effortlessly infusing his internal energy into his opponent.


    ¡®he¡¯s mastered attacking his opponents with internal energy and dealing damage to them from within.¡¯


    choi yeonseung nodded in satisfaction. it was gratifying for him to see his apprentice evolve like this.


    ¡°cough... i was wrong...¡±


    ¡°did he say it was your fault just now?¡±


    ¡°no, you misheard it. chinese words can have different meanings based on the intonation, so that¡¯s probably why you misunderstood.¡±


    ¡°...well, let¡¯s beat him up properly.¡±


    choi yeonseung just sat there and watched the whole thing. there wouldn¡¯t be any harm in smacking this hunter some more. wouldn¡¯t he learn his lesson this way?


    one should never disrespect the person who saved them from starvation!


    ***


    ¡°zhu wijen of the shaolin temple clan? what rating are you?¡±


    ¡°c... grade.¡±


    zhu wijen was completely dejected. he realized it after receiving a few more hits.


    these two hunters definitely had higher ratings than him, and on top of that, the reputation of their clan didn¡¯t do anything for them in this situation...


    zhu wijen didn¡¯t know whether these two hunters were crazy or just very confident. he had to survive in order to find out.


    ¡°c-grade.¡±


    ¡°nonsense!¡±


    the two hunters were shocked.


    zhu wijen felt indignant at their loud protest and said, ¡°here¡¯s my rating card.¡±


    however, choi yeonseung and louis were unyielding.


    ¡°this has to be fake, right? maybe the chinese government falsified his rating card for external use...¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s possible that they did something like that... actually, it¡¯s very likely.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°sit down for now, the two of you. restore your magic power first.¡±


    ¡°i... i¡¯m fine... really¡±


    illaphael kept staggering, barely able to move. if he ran out of magic power and couldn¡¯t even walk to the other hunters, this would be his new personal record in terms of embarrassment.


    he needed to move!


    ¡°i told you to sit down.¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s words, illaphael involuntarily sat down.


    ¡®why... why me?¡¯


    amelia was stunned. she hadn¡¯t expected illaphael to actually listen. she wondered, ¡°what did you do?¡±


    ¡°i guess he¡¯s just that hungry,¡± replied choi yeonseung.


    ¡°what...? that is ridiculous...¡±


    choi yeonseung ignored them and began the preparations. he had prepared the space necklace before coming here. in fact, he cared more about empowering the hunters than the supplies.


    he wasn¡¯t going down alone. he had to send one hundred hunters down as well, so he needed to strengthen their overall power.


    he tried to use everything he could.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    amelia was even more perplexed when choi yeonseung took out a jar of seasoning, lit a campfire, and pulled out a frying pan and a kitchen knife.


    ...what was he doing now...?


    ¡°ah. i remember hearing this story. he cooked monsters in the dungeon.¡±


    amelia remembered what some hunters in the us had talked about.


    -sigh.have you ever eaten monsters, children?we¡¯ve eaten monsters before.not the monsters known to be edible, but real monsters.


    -you¡¯re not making any sense.


    -how much have you had to drink?


    -it¡¯s true, children!now, here¡¯s a photo.look.


    -i guessed you just cooked it and took a picture?


    -i don¡¯t care if you don¡¯t believe me!but if you ask the other hunters who participated, you¡¯ll believe me.he really cooked it and ate it.it¡¯s unlike any other kind of cuisine.


    -that¡¯s right.i¡¯m so jealous that you guys can be satisfied with this kind of food.we can no longer be satisfied with it.


    -......


    at first, amelia hadn¡¯t given it much thought, but now that she thought about it, she remembered that it was choi yeonseung who had become a hot topic for his unconventional cooking.


    ...but why was he cooking now?


    ¡°uh, do you really have to cook now? i¡¯m not hungry...¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t you concerned about illaphael?¡±


    choi yeonseung harshly criticized amelia, which frustrated her.


    ¡°...i don¡¯t think illaphael is hungry either...¡±


    regardless, choi yeonseung continued to cook. in order to save time, choi yeonseung had separated the ingredients into small portions for each dish and placed them in the space storage before coming to this dungeon.


    the food he was making right now...


    ¡®army stew.¡¯


    choi yeonseung paused. come to think of it, did angels eat spicy soup?


    ¡®...i won¡¯t force him if he doesn¡¯t want it.¡¯


    this was the silver lining of his poor relationship with illaphael. no matter what he did, it wouldn¡¯t get any worse!


    ***


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung has joined hunter amelia, and illaphael is also there.¡±


    the hunters of the angel constellation¡¯s household were relieved after receiving the report through telepathic magic. now that the strongest people had gathered, they had officially made the first step in this raid.


    ¡°we just need to gather there.¡±


    ¡°we¡¯re pretty lucky. based on the description of the terrain they¡¯ve given us, it doesn¡¯t seem that they¡¯re too far away. if we go this way, we should get there in about thirty minutes.¡±


    the hunters moved quickly, determined to join the group as soon as possible!


    they were especially concerned about illaphael. he had a difficult personality, so it could be troublesome in many ways if the people around him didn¡¯t wait for him.


    ¡°that way! there¡¯s some noise coming from there!¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung! hunter amelia! we are here!¡±


    the hunters paused when they arrived. they saw something very unexpected.


    ¡°...what are you doing?¡±


    ¡°e... eating.¡±

 Chapter 320

    chapter 320


    illaphael wasn¡¯t used to feeling embarrassed as he didn¡¯t have much to be embarrassed of in his life. after all, angels were dignified beings, and the ones serving the six-winged angel who hunts dragons were brave and fearless.


    illaphael was especially favored in the household of the angel constellation and had even less to be ashamed of than the others.


    however, he had recently felt quite a bit of embarrassment, and the current situation was no different. this moment...


    it was definitely embarrassing.


    ¡°wha... he¡¯s eating...?¡±


    ¡°what is this? it¡¯s red. isn¡¯t it spicy?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a spicy korean stew,¡± explained one of the korean hunters.


    ¡°i think there¡¯s something in there that looks like canned meat...?¡± another hunter said in a puzzled manner.


    ¡°yeah, it contains minced meat.¡±


    ¡°i-is this what illaphael is eating?? shouldn¡¯t we stop him??¡±


    not even the finest cuisine on earth could satisfy illaphael¡¯s taste buds, so to see him eat some red soupy dish with some weird minced meat in it... the hunters under the angel constellation were terrified.


    ¡°illaphael! you don¡¯t have to eat that! we can eat it instead!¡±


    ¡°choi yeonseung, let us eat that instead of him! i¡¯m sorry, but illaphael can¡¯t eat this!¡±


    ¡°...i-is that so?¡±


    choi yeonseung stopped at the desperate cries of the hunters.


    amelia also stopped eating and wondered, ¡®why are they acting like this? i thought it was a good meal.¡¯


    ***


    choi yeonseung had been very generous while preparing the dish.


    [org, the seven-headed violent dragon]


    that monster had dominated a realm and was almost as powerful as a constellation.


    the scales were a bit tough, but the meat was tender and juicy, which made it edible. choi yeonseung chopped the meat well. he used a portion of it to make minced meat, and the other to make sausages. then...


    -???


    [???]


    ¡°what? what is it?¡±


    -no...nothing.


    [that... no...]


    next, choi yeonseung mixed the marinade in with water. the marinade wasn¡¯t ordinary either. the orcs had made it by using ingredients grown naturally in his realm. it contained chili powder, garlic, soy sauce, sugar, and various other ingredients.


    the orcs, who were able to control even the british hunters, had improved even more in farming.


    -...wait.did i teach them how to make kimchi and place it in a crock pot?


    -the household member over there taught them.


    being trapped in choi yeonseung¡¯s realm, hwang gyeongryong was naturally bored, so he had called the orcs and shown them how to make kimchi.


    at this point, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t sure whether his realm was an abyssal kingdom or just a korean farm...


    in any case, he marinated the dragon meat, boiled the water, cut up the kimchi, then added the sausage and the minced meat. next up, he added some onions and scallions and boiled the stew.


    amelia felt doubtful about the dish and couldn¡¯t stop staring at it. she was somewhat tired after coming this far, but despite that, she was very excited by the mouth-watering smell.


    -dig in!


    -t-thank you...hunter choi yeonseung, if illaphael doesn¡¯t want to eat it...


    amelia tried to take away the bowl from illaphael. the angel had been expressionless for quite some time, so amelia was worried about him. she wondered if he would throw a fit and yell something like ¡°how dare you feed me such worthless food?!¡±


    tak.


    -??


    however, illaphael slapped her hand back, his expression still blank.


    -do you... not want me to take it away?


    nod.


    -...ah, okay. then enjoy...


    the two of them sat down and dug into their food. louis also gratefully accepted a bowl.


    ¡°take this rice as well.¡±


    choi yeonseung pressed down the steaming rice and served it. the rice grown by the orcs was particularly good for relieving physical fatigue.


    zhu wijen glanced at choi yeonseung with a pitiful expression.


    -can... can i have some as well?


    ***


    -i don¡¯t think so. those hunters are from china, out of all countries. there¡¯s no way they¡¯ll listen to me.


    one could recruit hunters from other countries by offering them money or other kinds of rewards, but it was difficult to do that with chinese hunters.


    ¡®right?¡¯


    choi yeonseung stared at zhu wijen. come to think of it, he had also been uncooperative at first. who would¡¯ve known that after taking a few punches he would cooperate and be more friendly?


    if he could beat up all the hunters who were currently fighting with each other and control them through force...


    ¡®huh. it might actually work.¡¯


    choi yeonseung took up the goddess of sloth¡¯s advice. it certainly wouldn¡¯t hurt to try.


    ***


    ¡°long live gong shai, the greatest and wisest!¡±


    ¡°long live gong shai, the greatest and wisest!¡±


    the cold room was one of the rooms on the second underground floor. the freezing cold was troublesome, but aside from that, it was one of the safest rooms on this floor.


    as long as they endured the cold, everyone was completely safe in this room. in addition, the passage from the first underground floor was periodically opened here.


    gong shai, a b-grade hunter from china, occupied the cold room as the leader.


    ¡°hooray, gong shai!¡±


    ¡°hooray, gong shai!¡±


    ¡®piece of shit....¡¯


    the low-grade chinese hunters inwardly cursed at her while kneeling down and bowing. it was said that people revealed their true colors when they obtained power, and the current situation proved that.


    at first, gong shai had wanted to occupy this room to wait for orders from above. however, things had gone wrong, and neither orders nor supplies had come. thus, the hunters here couldn¡¯t do what they were supposed to. they just frowned in frustration...


    as the situation devolved, gong shai couldn¡¯t stand it any longer and showed her true colors.


    -only those who work get to eat, you bastards!


    -aagh!


    -from now on, i will be the leader of this room. i¡¯ll also be the one to distribute the supplies! if anybody has a problem with that, you can just get the hell out!


    -g-gong shai, if you do this...ghah!


    -what?


    -yes, you should do this!


    -that¡¯s right!you, gong shai, should naturally have more privileges than us!


    the hunters quickly gave in. above all, they had to survive this mess.


    thump¡ª


    ¡°!¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s a passage!¡±


    everyone was stunned by the sudden activation of the magic passage.


    ¡°i-is it the supplies? is it time for supplies?¡±


    gulp!


    the hungry hunters swallowed. they would rejoice if they really were receiving supplies. of course, gong shai would take most of it, but the scraps she would give them would still be good...


    ¡°no. i¡¯d rather have another b-grade hunter come...¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right! i really don¡¯t want to see gong shai in charge any longer!¡±


    ...however, much to everyone¡¯s disappointment, it was choi yeonseung, louis, and zhu wijen who had come through the magic passage.


    choi yeonseung looked around curiously. the room was roughly the size of a playground, and a constant chill flowed through it. there didn¡¯t seem to be any monsters...


    there were also some disheveled hunters lying around. perhaps it was because of their pitiful appearance that one female hunter stood out among them. it was gong shai.


    ¡°where are you from?¡± gong shai asked politely. given that she didn¡¯t know them, it was best to tread carefully.


    ¡°i¡¯m choi yeonseung and i came from above.¡±


    ¡°...the korean a-grade hunter?!¡±


    gong shai panicked and made the first move. however, louis struck first as if he had predicted her intention.


    ¡°where are you going?!¡±


    ¡°surren...¡±


    bam!


    with a heavy blow, louis sent gong shai flying.


    ¡°wasn¡¯t she about to surrender?¡± asked choi yeonseung in a puzzled manner.


    ¡°...oh... oops.¡±

 Chapter 321

    chapter 321


    ¡°why are you sorry? everyone makes mistakes in life. it¡¯s understandable,¡± said choi yeonseung.


    ¡°thank you!¡± exclaimed louis.


    gong shai fell after being hit and was shocked by their conversation. she was the one who should¡¯ve said ¡°everyone makes mistakes,¡± not the people who hit her.


    gong shai staggered to her feet. she locked eyes with choi yeonseung and exclaimed, ¡°the korean government...!¡±


    ¡°huh? what about it?¡±


    ¡°...i¡¯ve always been grateful to them.¡±


    ¡°...riight. i don¡¯t know why a foreigner appreciates the south korean government, but in any case, i understand.¡±


    the other hunters admired her attitude. even after taking a huge hit, she still clung to her strings of reason. in order to survive the power struggles within the party, chinese hunters had to be at this level of shrewdness.


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry to interrupt your display of appreciation, but can i ask you for a favor?¡±


    ¡°sure, hehe. i¡¯ll do whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°i want to take over this place.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words were so brazen that the hunters in the room couldn¡¯t believe their ears. sure, gong shai was a terrible person, but... wasn¡¯t he even worse?


    ¡°w-what do you mean by that...? you know that if there is a clash in a dungeon, the person who comes first has priority.¡±


    at the beginning of the raid era, there had been numerous clashes between hunters during dungeon raids. as a response to that, various countries had come up with international laws meant to prevent those conflicts.


    of course, those laws weren¡¯t very effective. after all, hunters generally didn¡¯t respect any laws. however, in the case of high-profile raids, hunters had to have a really good reason to do anything shady. in situations like that, hunters usually respected the rules.


    one of the common rules was to give as much priority as possible to the person who occupied an area first in order to not provoke a fight in the dungeon raid.


    ¡°yeah, i know about that.¡±


    choi yeonseung naturally knew about this.


    gong shai was relieved by his reaction.


    ¡°phew, alright. so you won¡¯t...¡±


    ¡°no, i¡¯ll just do it regardless of the rule.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°if you feel it¡¯s unfair, come at me. i won¡¯t back down,¡± choi yeonseung said firmly.


    once an a-grade hunter issued a provocation so blatantly, there wasn¡¯t much that anyone else could do. they could either fight, and obviously get beaten up, or surrender.


    the chinese hunters were forced to reflect on what they had done.


    but what was this hunter doing?! it was a terrible thing to silence other people through force... what a barbaric thing to do!


    bam!


    choi yeonseung punched a nearby hunter in the face. even though it had been a light punch, the hunter flew to the side and coughed up blood.


    choi yeonseung¡¯s strength was truly terrifying.


    ¡°w-why? why?!¡±


    ¡°aren¡¯t you fighting?¡±


    ¡°no! i surrender! i was about to surrender!¡±


    ¡°ah, okay. thank you.¡±


    ***


    the chinese hunters who had come first were kind enough to explain the layout of the second floor... surprisingly, there was a boss monster on this floor.


    ¡°there¡¯s a boss monster on the second underground floor?!¡± exclaimed louis in astonishment. he was shocked by this.


    choi yeonseung wondered why he was so surprised and said, ¡°it¡¯s not that unusual for there to be a boss on the second floor. it¡¯s meant to be a surprise for anyone who raids the dungeon.¡±


    there were all types of dungeons in the abyss. among them, there were many types where the boss monster waited at the entrance.


    for choi yeonseung, this aspect of the dungeon didn¡¯t come as much of a surprise.


    ¡°w-wha... is that so? shouldn¡¯t the boss be in the deeper parts of the dungeon? if it¡¯s at the entrance... i don¡¯t think this is going to work...¡± muttered louis. he felt like this made absolutely no sense.


    ¡°on this note, the boss monster isn¡¯t the master of this dungeon.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s probably the case. after all, you can¡¯t clear this dungeon by just killing that boss.¡±


    the selling point of this dungeon was to have hunters come to its deepest parts. there was almost no point in killing monsters, which was why not even the chinese hunters had tried to kill that boss.


    the general goal was to actually avoid that monster and go further down into the dungeon.


    ¡°so this floor is circular? the boss monster is in the center of this circle, and there are a bunch of rooms surrounding that circle.¡±


    the rooms of this floor were set up in a circle, and in the center there was the boss monster. this was the layout of the second underground floor.


    the hunters wanted to avoid this boss monster, so they avoided the center of the floor. they just moved around the rooms.


    ¡°then it should be easy to get through. why are you still in this room?¡± asked louis.


    choi yeonseung had a pretty good guess why the chinese hunters hadn¡¯t advanced through the rooms.


    ¡®i guess they¡¯re not ordinary rooms.¡¯


    ¡°the rooms... they¡¯re tricky...¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t that still better than having to fight monsters?¡± insisted louis.


    the rock giant chuckled at choi yeonseung¡¯s question. he seemed to like this question quite a bit.


    -of course!it¡¯s rather arrogant for a human to fight a rock giant by himself.


    ¡°i see.¡±


    choi yeonseung turned on the telepathic artifact and asked the other hunters where they were.


    -where did you all come down?


    -i came down to the second underground floor and was caught in a place called the hunger room. this room is very tricky, so i think it might take a while until i manage to escape from it...


    -alright, if you manage to escape, come to the center. i¡¯m dealing with the boss monster.


    -huh?hunter choi yeonseung!together..


    bam!


    at that moment, choi yeonseung suddenly disappeared.


    the hunters behind him were bewildered. they hadn¡¯t expected him to suddenly attack without saying a word.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    they tried to get his attention, but their yelling was drowned out. the rock giant had launched a counterattack.


    bang!


    the rock giant swung his fists incredibly fast for his massive size. on top of that, the explosion constellation had bestowed one of his powers on him.


    [the power given by ¡®endless linked explosions¡¯ is activated.]


    [the body of the rock giant has exploded!]


    ¡°!¡±


    one of the rocks that made up the giant¡¯s body exploded. however, choi yeonseung used his footwork skill to dodge backwards.


    ¡®why is he fighting like that?¡¯


    choi yeonseung had met all types of enemies in the abyss, but monsters that fought by destroying their own bodies were quite the rarity.


    choi yeonseung asked incredulously, ¡°won¡¯t it be hard for him to recover from that explosion?¡±


    -it doesn¡¯t matter! there¡¯s no need to worry about the enemy.


    the rock giant¡¯s plan was simple. he would wait for the right moment and detonate a part of himself!


    of course, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t stupid enough to fall for such attacks. he had fought many opponents that were trickier than this rock giant.


    choi yeonseung disappeared again and re-appeared in various parts of the area, one split second at a time, as if he were teleporting.


    as choi yeonseung pushed his footwork to the limit and tremendously increased his speed, the rock giant could no longer keep up with his movements.


    -!


    ¡°now, how will you respond to my speed?¡±


    -be quiet!


    the rock giant shouted at choi yeonseung, perhaps because his pride had been hurt.


    mastering martial arts meant that one could move more efficiently than their opponent even if they were physically weaker.


    if choi yeonseung could deceive his opponent¡¯s senses and prevent them from predicting any of his movements, he then could dominate the battlefield with slower movements.


    he had fought like this countless times in the abyss before awakening as a constellation, so choi yeonseung had effortlessly bewildered the rock giant.


    -ghaa!


    the rock giant swung his fist, but choi yeonseung caught it and flung it to the side, throwing the rock giant off balance and sending him flying.


    bang!


    the rock giant rolled over and ultimately slammed into the wall. his facial expression wasn¡¯t visible, but for some reason, choi yeonseung felt like he was blushing with embarrassment.


    -wait.this technique is...


    ¡°?¡±


    -i¡¯ve heard about it from a snake.isn¡¯t it a martial art?


    ¡°...i think you misheard.¡±


    choi yeonseung instinctively denied it, but the rock giant wasn''t convinced.


    -it really seems like it¡¯s a martial art...


    ¡°no, it¡¯s not. it¡¯s magic.¡±


    -no, this is a martial art.are you the household member of the undefeated incarnation of training?i heard that the rock snakes worship the incarnation...


    choi yeonseung was slightly relieved by those words. fortunately, he hadn¡¯t blown his cover.


    -successor, if you were in anyone else¡¯s shoes, would you actually suspect that you are a constellation?


    the goddess of sloth reassured choi yeonseung that he had nothing to worry about. no one in the abyss would think that constellation would be roaming on earth under the disguise of a servant!


    in fact, just by thinking about choi yeonseung¡¯s situation, the goddess of sloth found it absurd.


    -you would also find it absurd...you would think that nobody would do something like that.


    -i¡¯ll check what you were about to say later.


    choi yeonseung once again turned to the rock giant. the expression of the rock giant softened slightly.


    -i met a friend of the snakes here.i¡¯m glad we¡¯ve crossed paths.i shall formally greet you.


    ¡°i-i see.¡±

 Chapter 322

    chapter 322


    -i heard that the household members of the undefeated incarnation of training are good friends with the rock snakes.


    ¡°...i don¡¯t think that the household members see it that way.¡±


    after a polite greeting, the rock giant addressed choi yeonseung once again.


    -then we must continue the fight.


    ¡°no...¡±


    choi yeonseung was taken aback. weren¡¯t they about to make peace?


    -i am grateful that you are kind to the rock snakes, but i made a promise to my master.i have to keep it.


    bang!


    the rock giant was right. his master¡¯s orders had nothing to do with the snakes. it would be shameful to disobey the orders of the explosive constellation for something so trivial.


    bang, bang, bang!


    ¡°but isn¡¯t the battle pretty much over? you can¡¯t even lay a finger on me, can you?¡± asked choi yeonseung as he dodged another attack. he thought well of his opponent, so he wanted to pursue him to stop the fight rather than knock him down.


    this household member of the explosion constellation certainly knew a lot about this dungeon, so it was better to reason with him in order to get information.


    -it¡¯s not over yet!it¡¯s not over until i am completely broken!


    swish!


    choi yeonseung knocked the giant off balance and threw him to the side.


    ¡°ugh!¡±


    the chinese hunters, who had been watching the fight with fascination, ran away with fright as the rock giant suddenly flew toward them.


    ¡°oh, i¡¯m sorry. i forgot about you.¡±


    ¡°n-no, it¡¯s okay. don¡¯t worry about us!¡±


    of course, the hunters inwardly swore at choi yeonseung, but they couldn¡¯t say it out loud here. they merely smiled and suppressed their anger.


    ¡°do you still want to fight?¡±


    -yes!


    the rock giant charged at choi yeonseung again. there were a few explosions and the floor shattered, but choi yeonseung dodged everything with ease. once again, he knocked the rock giant off balance and flung him away.


    ¡°now? are you still going to fight?¡±


    -yes!!


    ¡°...geez, just surrender and stop overdoing it.¡±


    before choi yeonseung could finish speaking, another group of hunters appeared behind him. they were the hunters led by illaphael.


    ***


    ¡°i¡¯ll help!¡± shouted illaphael the moment he saw what was going on. it seemed that the hunters in the rear didn¡¯t participate in the fight because their levels were low and they lacked skills.


    given that they were facing the rock giant, it would be difficult for those chinese hunters to deal any damage to him due to his unique defense.


    a large spear appeared in illaphael¡¯s hand. since it was created by magic power, the spear wriggled like a snake.


    ¡°no... it¡¯s okay.¡±


    -i don¡¯t care! bring it!


    the rock giant urged them to join the fight. no matter how many adversaries came at him, his pride wouldn¡¯t allow him to back down.


    bang!


    illaphael flew in and kicked the rock giant, knocking him away. the rock giant screamed in pain.


    -six thousand flights!


    illaphael¡¯s attack was quite powerful. once magic reached a certain level, it became so powerful that it was difficult for martial arts to keep up with it.


    he concentrated his magic power and released it in an explosive way, causing a devastating attack.


    ¡°how is it? was it helpful?¡±


    choi yeonseung answered, ¡°i was trying to persuade him to stop fighting...¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    beside him, louis cautiously added, ¡°he¡¯s familiar with a household member, so hunter choi yeonseung was trying to persuade him.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    illaphael¡¯s expression completely changed after hearing that. he quickly tried to come up with an excuse.


    ¡°ah... well, the rock giant is arrogant and demanding, so it¡¯s almost impossible to reason with him... you don¡¯t know this. in addition, he¡¯s the household member of another constellation! he probably won¡¯t listen to you!¡±


    ¡°i think we were actually about to convince him...¡±


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says he can tell you countless other evil deeds committed by the chinese.]


    when it came to china, the explosion constellation had ten times more intel than choi yeonseung.


    unlike choi yeonseung, who had just recently started to expand his influence, the explosion constellation had household members scattered everywhere. thus, he had found out things that choi yeonseung had no idea about.


    ¡°this is definitely... wasn¡¯t the chinese media making a scandal about south korea dumping toxic waste?¡± asked choi yeonseung incredulously. he hadn¡¯t expected those bastards to lie in such a filthy manner...


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says there is no need to betray your master.]


    [¡®endless linked explosions¡¯ is just telling you to vent your anger that you have bottled up. he says that he will help!]


    [¡®endless linked explosions¡¯ whispers that the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ wants strength, and if you kill those hunters and become stronger, your master will certainly be satisfied.]


    ¡®...shit, it actually sounded convincing for a moment. i almost agreed with him...¡¯


    choi yeonseung came to his senses, and the goddess of sloth chastised him.


    -why would you even think about that?!


    -i¡¯m sorry, goddess, but i didn¡¯t just come into being from nothing.


    no matter how long choi yeonseung had wandered in the abyss, his roots hadn¡¯t changed. above all, he was a korean human. no matter how much he tried to detach himself from his identity, if two hunters, one from south korea and one from another country, were both equally criticized, he would still feel worse about the hunter from south korea.


    nevertheless, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t too troubled about this flaw of his.


    ¡®i made my peace with this a long time ago.¡¯


    ¡°you do have a point,¡± said choi yeonseung.


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ welcomes it!]


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says that if you want, he will give you a chance to blow up not only china, but also other countries.]


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung?!¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t do this! we didn¡¯t do anything!¡± shouted the chinese hunters when they sensed that the atmosphere had taken a turn for the worse.


    they thought everyone was going to work together to kill the boss monster on the second underground floor and go down, but now they felt that something was wrong.


    the explosion constellation himself came out and tried to get the a-grade hunter to take revenge against them. moreover, the constellation managed to sound very tempting.


    it seemed like he would actually convince choi yeonseung!


    ¡°the other guys are the ones who did it! taking it out on us wouldn¡¯t change anything!¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re better than this! don¡¯t be swayed by the likes of him!¡±


    seeing how the hunters desperately tried to plead with choi yeonseung, the explosion constellation laughed mockingly. this kind of reaction from humans was always amusing.


    of course, the situation was urgent, but the right response was an apology. the chinese hunters should bow down and beg for forgiveness for their wrongdoings.


    this wasn¡¯t a matter of right or wrong, but of emotion. constellations and mortals couldn¡¯t be rational.


    ¡°uhh, this actually makes a bit of sense...¡±


    illaphael looked a bit shaken. in any case, the household members of the angel constellation had decided to cooperate with choi yeonseung to clear the dungeon together. thus, it wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing for choi yeonseung to gain more power.


    of course, dozens of human hunters would die, but that wouldn¡¯t be that big of a deal. after all, one could always find a way to clear their conscience...


    ¡°...but i refuse your proposal. it¡¯s ridiculous to think that you could tempt me into doing something like that.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    illaphael was embarrassed and lost for words. choi yeonseung had firmly rejected the offer of the constellation, whereas he...


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ is infuriated!]


    [he asks why you are turning down the offer!]


    ¡°they said it earlier.¡±


    [...?]


    ¡°they¡¯re not the ones who did those awful things.¡±


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ is dumbfounded and asks if you actually believe that.]


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ is convinced that these hunters approved of those wrongdoings...]


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t matter if i believe it or not. if some chinese hunters committed terrible crimes, i can find them and make them pay for it. i won¡¯t feel better if i beat up some innocent hunters that are weaker than me.


    choi yeonseung was a human and a korean. that couldn¡¯t be changed. however, ever since he had pledged to become the master of earth as a constellation, choi yeonseung was determined to have a more broad-minded mentality.


    of course, every time he heard china blaming south korea for something they did, he genuinely wanted to beat up some people, but...


    he wouldn¡¯t let himself be swayed by emotions and become the puppet of another constellation!


    [¡¯seed of the realm¡¯ is vibrating.]


    [¡¯nobility¡¯ is engraved on the seed!]


    ¡°...¡±


    -...uhm, this doesn¡¯t bode well...

 Chapter 323

    chapter 323


    the goddess of sloth had said that for a reason.


    in the abyss, realms were important territories that were connected to the power of the constellation. the most powerful realms were those that were intuitive, straightforward, and absolute.


    an example of that was the realm of war.


    war had been going on since the beginnings of the abyss, and as such, it was a very powerful realm, divided among various constellations.


    another example was the realm of hatred.


    similarly to war, this realm had a long-standing tradition within the abyss. there were very few abyssal beings that had no hatred in their hearts.


    just like that, the power of a realm depended on how strong and simplistic its fundamental principle was.


    however, the realm didn¡¯t have to be evil: there were also the realms of justice and training.


    -...and sloth.


    there were also powerful realms that were good or neutral. since that was the case, then what about the realm of nobility...?


    -i¡¯ve never heard of this realm in the abyss...


    the goddess of sloth had said that in a nervous voice, which meant that it was probably an insignificant realm. nobility was really hard to find in the abyss. some of the noble beings of the abyss had disappeared after being caught up in evil plots and schemes


    -maybe i should¡¯ve lived more like a scoundrel.


    -n-no, that¡¯s a bit...


    the goddess of sloth was slightly upset by choi yeonseung¡¯s words. as a constellation, nobility was a badge of honor. the more dishonorable and wicked a constellation was, the more evident would the nobility of another constellation be. it would be like a morning star at dawn.


    it was lamentable that such a virtuous trait was looked down upon simply because of how hard it was to maintain it.


    -well, it doesn¡¯t really matter.


    -?!


    -why are you surprised?


    -uh, n-nothing... it¡¯s just that i thought you would despair over the fact that such a commendable trait like nobility can¡¯t help you.


    -what? aren¡¯t you reading too many novels?


    choi yeonseung found it absurd. he wouldn¡¯t lose his way just because the realm of nobility was useless. humans weren¡¯t so easily corrupted.


    -of course, nobility is a weak realm, but i¡¯ve earned it nonetheless.


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t care how strong the realm of nobility was.


    -when i first learned martial arts, i was so weak that i couldn¡¯t even defeat a single monster.now, my martial arts are powerful enough to shake other realms.who knows, maybe this realm of nobility will also become like that in time.


    -wonderful, successor!


    the goddess of sloth admired choi yeonseung¡¯s words. she hadn¡¯t expected to be touched by the words of a fledgling constellation who was much younger than her.


    choi yeonseung was right. there was no reason to despair over the fact that the realm of nobility was weak. he could just make it more powerful in time.


    ¡°what do you want? get lost.¡±


    choi yeonseung kicked off the chinese hunters who had been clinging to him for a long time. he had decided by himself not to fall for the temptation of the explosion constellation. it felt uncomfortable to have these hunters cling onto him.


    they should stay in their place!


    -...successor,you¡¯re not doing this to acquire something like the realm of violence, right?


    -o-of course not...


    ***


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ acknowledges you.]


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says that he desires you even more, precisely because you didn¡¯t give into temptation.]


    a constellation¡¯s interest was often a bit overwhelming. this was the case with the goddess of balance, the berserker constellation, and the explosion constellation.


    ¡®he¡¯s not some kind of pervert. why does he like me even though i refused to side with him?¡¯


    -in the abyss, those who are loyal to their master are usually more sought after than those who easily switch sides.


    hearing the explanation of the goddess of sloth, choi yeonseung immediately understood. earth was similar to the abyss in that regard. those who easily betrayed others weren¡¯t very popular. on the other hand, everybody wanted to associate themselves with people with unwavering loyalty.


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ boasts that he will show his strength, his power, and his realm.]


    [you will give in to his absolute power.]


    ¡®...?¡¯


    choi yeonseung looked dazed. so the explosion constellation was going to show off his power?


    ¡®who would fall for something like that?¡¯


    bam!


    -it¡¯s the power of the master of slowness and silence!


    the goddess of sloth was horrified. there was only one constellation in the abyss that used the unique power of silence: it was the master of slowness and silence.


    it was a huge, whale-like constellation that quietly lived secluded in its own base, absent from abyssal affairs. however, when it awoke, its power was off the charts.


    why would this quiet constellation join forces with endless linked explosions, the most bizarre and loud constellation?


    -it doesn¡¯t make any sense...


    before the goddess of sloth could finish her sentence, the explosion constellation launched a devastating attack.


    the demon constellation, whose powers had all been erased by the silence power, couldn¡¯t react fast enough to the attack.


    bam!


    you looked down on me, didn¡¯t you?


    ......


    you must¡¯ve thought you learned a lot by observing humans, but the knowledge you¡¯ve accumulated is insignificant compared to mine.


    ...cough.


    all arrogant evil god constellations should feel fear and despair. witness my unparalleled power!


    the explosion constellation issued a fearsome declaration, leaving his foe with no choice but to acknowledge his superiority.


    even though the explosion constellation was an advanced constellation, nobody had even assumed that he could be such a cunning strategist. everybody had known him as a belligerent constellation that caused trouble and reveled in chaos.


    that was the reputation of the explosion constellation.


    with his last ounce of strength, the demon constellation cried out, i will divide everything in my realm according to the contract!


    what are you doing?


    scatter the demons.crumble the buildings.fulfill the contracts.


    at the words of the demon constellation, his realm, or what was left of it, started to collapse. everything that required a new master disappeared into the distant outskirts of the abyss.


    the explosion constellation was left speechless by the final move of the demon constellation.


    as expected of an evil god constellation: he had made a contract with everyone in case he lost his power.


    -master, we won¡¯t forget what happened today!


    -we will gain more power and get revenge on him!


    the demons flew away from the realm, scattering throughout the abyss, while weeping in anguish.


    [the area of the realm you control has increased!]


    [the demons who have lost their master have come to serve you.]


    ¡°??¡±


    choi yeonseung, who had been watching the fight attentively, was taken aback by the sudden message. what was this??


    -it¡¯s because you also had a contract...


    the goddess of sloth was right. choi yeonseung had made a contract with the demon constellation and helped him. however, the demon constellation failed to repay his debt and lost his power. thus, his subordinate demons


    -demons...will they be of any help to me?


    choi yeonseung was puzzled by this. those demons had once tried to help him, but they had been rather useless.


    those demons worked in a skyscraper building and their job was to trick all sorts of fools and pushovers into signing contracts in order to extort some power of existence out of them. it was unlikely that they would be a good fit for choi yeonseung.


    -the demons have already joined, so what can you do?if you don¡¯t like it, you can change it as you see fit.


    -even if i were to change it, i wouldn¡¯t know how...


    the demons of the abyss were those who signed contracts and received payment from mortals. their race was similar to the nightmare demons, who extorted desires from their victims.


    -...i¡¯ll just leave it as it is.


    -i think so as well.


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ asks what you are thinking about?]


    the end of the battle had been a bit sloppy, but nevertheless, the explosion constellation was the victor. his voice was full of arrogance and triumph.


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ asks if you still want to defy him even after seeing this power.]


    ¡°my answer remains the same.¡±


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says that he likes your sharpness.]


    -...this bastard... he¡¯s so god damn annoying.


    -you need to be patient, especially until you manage to figure out what his hidden abilities are.

 Chapter 324

    chapter 324


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ tells you to do well.]


    [but he warns you that this realm will be challenging.]


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ states that one day, even mortals will succumb to the temptation of killing others...]


    the explosion constellation babbled on until he vanished.


    even though the boss monster that guarded the second underground floor was gone, the atmosphere was grim.


    illaphael was particularly shaken because he had witnessed the frightening abilities of the explosion constellation firsthand right next to choi yeonseung.


    the explosion constellation had defeated the demon constellation, one of the most famous constellations in the abyss, with a single blow.


    this shocking news would soon plunge the abyss into chaos.


    ¡°we¡¯ll have to be prepared for him.¡±


    ¡°i guess so.¡±


    ¡°together...¡± murmured illaphael.


    such a power-hungry constellation wouldn¡¯t stay idle, so it was better for the two households to join forces...


    ¡°do what you need to do now. the boss monster on the second underground floor is gone, so i¡¯ll occupy this place and make a base here.¡±


    ¡°understood!¡± the hunters who followed choi yeonseung nodded in response.


    ¡°...¡±


    illaphael was silent.


    choi yeonseung looked at him and asked curiously, ¡°do you have any suggestions?¡±


    ¡°...no.¡±


    ¡°i see. well, these things probably seem a bit inadequate in the eyes of an angel.¡±


    ¡°n-no... i didn¡¯t say that...¡±


    ¡°now, let¡¯s get to work! we should hurry so that illaphael doesn¡¯t have to wait here!¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    ¡°listen to me...¡±


    given how large this dungeon was, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t intend to go through all the other floors in one go. he would do it gradually, step by step, as if climbing a huge mountain.


    the standard way was always the best way.


    ¡°then maybe we could share part of the base... ack! okay, fine!¡±


    seeing that the chinese hunters were trying to include themselves into his plans, choi yeonseung kicked a shattered rock toward them. the kick itself was harmless, but at the same time, it was a blatant threat.


    the chinese hunters thought that he was being absurd. they were just asking, so why did he...?


    ¡®hey, suck it up. he said he won¡¯t kill us.¡¯


    ¡®yeah, thank god for that... wait... doesn¡¯t it feel weird to be grateful that he doesn¡¯t kill us?¡¯


    ¡®...why don¡¯t you tell him about that and find out if it¡¯s weird or not?¡±


    ¡®...yeah, i¡¯ll just be grateful and keep my mouth shut.¡¯


    all the other hunters had heard the explosion constellation talking earlier. they found his intentions appalling. on that note, this whole underground dungeon was a huge trap meant to induce hunters from various countries to kill each other.


    choi yeonseung might throw fists and kick pebbles at them, but he had nonetheless declined the awful offer of the explosion constellation, so he was a good person at the end of the day. other a-grade hunters might¡¯ve responded differently to that offer.


    the chinese hunters were really lucky.


    ¡°now that i think about it, you should replenish your energy after the previous fight. you¡¯d better eat something.¡±


    ¡°we still have some rations, so we can just eat th...¡±


    ¡°what? why? are you saying that you don¡¯t want to eat the food i cook for you?¡±


    ¡°n-no, it¡¯s not like that!¡±


    even if choi yeonseung boiled a bunch of rocks in a pot, they had to eat it.


    the chinese hunters became uneasy. why was he so adamant about giving them food?


    ¡®is he trying to control us by feeding us a new microchip developed by south korea or something?¡¯


    ¡®what are you saying...?¡¯


    ¡®instead of that, i think it would be more plausible that he wants to poison us with something that doesn¡¯t have an antidote.¡¯


    ¡®that¡¯s more plausible...¡¯


    the hunters were scared because they didn¡¯t know what kind of bizarre dish choi yeonseung would give them. however, they gazed in astonishment as they watched choi yeonseung cook.


    ...was this a restaurant!?


    ***


    the first underground floor was a maze. the second underground floor took the form of a huge, circular hall. as for the third underground floor, it was almost the size of a small kingdom. there could be all kinds of abyssal races roaming around.


    ¡°hey. i need bread, water, and a healing potion.¡±


    ¡°i need thirty parts.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the hunters watching from behind were horrified.


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ had appeared. he would like to share news from above.]


    [the household members of the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ and ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ have occupied the second underground floor.]


    ¡°...!¡±


    the hunters were in shock. something had happened above and other hunters had taken over?


    ¡°is that why we¡¯re not getting supplies?!¡±


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t we go up and give them hell?¡±


    ¡°hey. the second underground floor... i don¡¯t want to go back up there.¡±


    the hunters who still had energy were furious, and the others were visibly upset as well. they had to somehow get through those terrible rooms on the second underground floor once again. just by thinking back on them, the chinese hunters got goosebumps.


    ¡°...i¡¯ll go and talk to them myself,¡± wei chang declared.


    ¡°is that a good idea?¡±


    ¡°tell luo guanglong to come as well.¡±


    luo guanglong was an a-grade hunter who had also come to the third floor. currently, he was looking around for food with other hungry hunters.


    in wei chang¡¯s eyes, it was a pitiful sight...


    what could they possibly find to eat when there were only robots around here?


    ***


    ¡°...haven¡¯t they gained some weight?¡±


    choi yeonseung helped the hunters break through the passage from the first underground floor to the second one.


    the hunters came down one by one and were initially surprised to see the chinese hunters at the base. they were also surprised to see that they were unexpectedly chubby.


    ...had they come here to have fun?


    ¡°you can¡¯t starve yourself while working. anyway, how are things?¡±


    ¡°it was an amazing maze. thanks to your help, we managed to get down here with ease. so, when are we going further down?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m going to gather more people and then we¡¯ll all go down together. i¡¯ve asked around and the third floor is supposed to be more spacious. it¡¯s a large area, but apparently there¡¯s nothing to eat..¡±


    after listening to the explanation, the hunters imagined a landscape similar to that of mars. a wide and barren landscape, completely devoid of life...


    bang!


    a room opened and hunters rushed out of it. they looked bewildered and like they were starving.


    ¡°...i¡¯m here to formally protest!¡± growled the hunter leading the others.


    ¡°what, are you here to complain about the noise?¡± asked choi yeonseung curiously


    ¡°wha... you son of a bitch! you think you¡¯re funny?!¡±


    -it seems that the other person is very hungry and furious.


    -that¡¯s what happens when people starve for a long time.


    ¡°i was told that you¡¯re occupying the second underground floor and that supplies aren¡¯t coming. stop keeping the supplies here and send them our way, now!¡±


    ¡°what? why would we steal your supplies?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t lie to me. if you didn¡¯t steal them, how come you¡¯re so comfortable here?¡±


    ¡°hey, wei chang. we actually didn¡¯t steal anything. the supplies haven¡¯t reached the second floor either. they¡¯re not coming down at all.¡±


    ¡°what are you...? no, wait. what are you guys doing here?¡±


    the chinese hunters were surprised to find their companions. they had thought their companions had been lost on the second underground floor.


    however, they were here, and they seemed to be doing great!


    ¡°...i-i¡¯m a prisoner.¡±


    ¡°what kind of prisoner lives comfortably like this?¡±


    they were so comfortable that they had thrown their artifacts on the ground and lay down at an angle. they hurriedly got back up.


    the chinese hunters glared at each other. it seemed like they were about to kill each other. it was understandable. when starving, people didn¡¯t think rationally, and the first instinct was to blame someone else.


    bang!


    at that moment, the door of another room was flung open and more hunters jumped out. the chinese hunters looked at them with wide eyes.


    ¡®is it the supplies?¡¯


    ¡°uhm... what? are we fighting?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    they were foreign hunters...

 Chapter 325

    chapter 325


    ¡®interesting.¡¯


    choi yeonseung looked at the hunters from other countries in wonder. it looked like they were americans, and they seemed to be in great condition.


    so far, choi yeonseung had navigated with ease through this dungeon, so it was easy for him to forget, but in reality, this dungeon was extremely dangerous, and, starting from the very first floor, it depleted the hunters of their strength.


    this complex dungeon had various tasks that caused conflicts within the hunter groups. because of that, the hunters constantly fought amongst themselves, and as a result, most of them were exhausted.


    after going through all those hardships and finally reaching the second underground floor, it was natural that every hunter collapsed out of exhaustion.


    ¡°can i ask you a question?¡±


    ¡°ah, hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    the american hunters were very pleased, not because they were huge fans of choi yeonseung, but because they saw the chinese hunters.


    there were two sides: the chinese hunters and the american hunters. it was evident which side choi yeonseung would take...


    ¡°it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you! i was using an artifact from dragon artifact the other day. all i could think about was how wonderful your design was!¡±


    as expected of hunters who had survived in a ruthless capitalist society, they were experts at flattery.


    the hunters from the mount hua sect were impressed by how effortlessly they flattered choi yeonseung by praising the products of his company.


    when they thought about it, flattery was indeed most effective when praising someone indirectly, like these hunters were doing with the artifact, and then slowly becoming more direct with the compliments.


    these american hunters clearly knew what they were doing.


    ¡°what are you talking about? i¡¯m not the one who came up with the design.¡±


    ¡°but you¡¯re the ceo! other employees might¡¯ve helped with the production, but honestly, you deserve all the credit. what do the technicians there know? after all, only a hunter can correctly assess an artifact and launch it on the market...¡±


    the chinese hunters, who had been watching this exchange with blank expressions, finally realized what was going on. these american bastards were openly trying to win choi yeonseung over.


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t we stop them?¡± asked one of the chinese hunters.


    in response, wei chang stared at him in disbelief and asked, ¡°...stop them and say what??¡±


    ¡°...it¡¯ll be a disaster for us if hunters from other countries join forces with him. there might be only one party now, but if more groups side with choi yeonseung...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    wei chang flinched. what this hunter said was true.


    so far, it had only been them and choi yeonseung¡¯s squad, and yet there had been many conflicts. thus, how bad would it get if other foreign hunters entered the scene one after another?


    if that happened, it would be them against the world!


    they had to stop this!


    ¡°...hey, choi yeonseung, let¡¯s cooperate.¡±


    ¡°have you forgotten who i am? what are you talking about?¡±


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded by wei chang¡¯s proposal. it was ridiculous for this crazy asshole to propose an alliance minutes after he had barged in here and yelled, ¡°give us back the supplies you stole from us!¡±


    had the explosion constellation already ruined his brains?


    wei chang shouted, ¡°look at the situation! what if more foreign hunters come down to the second floor? it would be utter chaos and everything would be ten times worse! it¡¯s better to join forces, at least while we¡¯re on this floor...¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t wanna...¡±


    ¡°...ugh, why can¡¯t you understand?!¡±


    ¡°i said no. stop whining about it. i¡¯m not interested at all.¡¯


    ¡°...¡±


    wei chang realized why his perfect persuasion method didn¡¯t work: choi yeonseung might not be completely sane. persuasion wouldn¡¯t work on dumb and irrational people!


    ¡°wei chang, just get out of the way already. freaking idiot...¡± said luo guanglong, the other a-grade hunter who had come with wei chang. he found this whole negotiation absurd.


    luo guanglong was rumored to have a bad personality, but he was better than wei chang.


    in his opinion, wei chang¡¯s persuasive skills were lackluster. he had stormed in here and furiously shouted at choi yeonseung to return the so-called ¡°stolen¡± supplies. even if choi yeonseung had in fact stolen their supplies, that hadn¡¯t been the right course of action.


    even if they were two a-grade hunters, choi yeonseung was in a completely different league. moreover, given that most of the chinese hunters were exhausted, it was evident that instead of an aggressive approach, a more calm, calculated one was needed.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°i believe you¡¯re smart enough not to be deceived by the blatant flattery of the american hunters over there.¡±


    ¡°what? i enjoy their praise. are you saying that dragon artifact doesn¡¯t deserve any praise?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    luo guanglong was slightly taken aback. his opponent was greater than he had expected. however, an a-grade hunter was an a-grade hunter at the end of the day.


    luo guanglong maintained his composure and tried a different approach.


    ¡°i¡¯m not saying it doesn¡¯t deserve praise. i¡¯m merely suggesting that they¡¯re praising the company with a hidden agenda, hunter choi yeonseung. think carefully. american hunters often appear good on the outside, but they¡¯re rotten on the inside.¡±


    ¡°w-wha... you bastard!¡±


    -the power of the explosion constellation will only grow.


    ¡°...wait.¡±


    choi yeonseung suddenly had an idea.


    ¡°can¡¯t we just block off this place and stop other hunters from entering?¡±


    -??


    ¡°???¡±


    the mount hua sect hunters next to him were flustered.


    ¡°n-no... we can¡¯t do that, can we? didn¡¯t you want to attack the dungeon?¡±


    ¡°i did.¡± choi yeonseung nodded. however, now that he thought about it, he didn¡¯t really need to attack this second realm right away.


    choi yeonseung could do it ten or twenty years later, but what about the explosion constellation? no matter how much power of existence he would pour into the dungeon, it was meaningless to remodel the dungeon to play with humans if no humans entered.


    -you¡¯ve worked so hard to start your game!


    -but we won¡¯t play it!


    ¡°we can attack some other time. as of now, i think it¡¯s better to just shut it down.¡±


    ¡°will the other hunters agree?¡±


    ¡°um... that¡¯s a good point actually.¡± choi yeonseung nodded. his plan was good, but the real question was whether the greedy hunters would go along with it.


    ¡°isn¡¯t that impossible?¡±


    ¡°no. we just have to do it on our own.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°aish. everyone, listen to me. i was the first one to come to this floor, so i have the authority. you can only pass through this place with my permission. if i don¡¯t give you permission, you¡¯re not allowed to pass.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s declaration stunned everyone in the room. it was absurd...


    ¡°this authority...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m the one who set up camp here, so i¡¯m in charge.


    ¡°...aren¡¯t you afraid of possible repercussions...?¡±


    ¡°repercussions, you say? if you have a problem, come at me! if you live your life without caring about the law, i will also handle you without caring about the law.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the american hunters thought hard before saying anything.


    ¡°can we just go up? we don¡¯t want to upset you...¡±


    ¡°what did you say? just go up and leave. i¡¯ll praise you.¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s no need for that. we¡¯ll just be on our way.¡±


    the american hunters quickly gave up. they hadn¡¯t invested much into this operation, so they could just back out.


    choi yeonseung shifted his gaze toward the chinese hunters. he told them to shut up and go up as well.


    however, they refused.


    ¡°we... we can¡¯t back down!¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded. ¡°alright. then i won¡¯t stop you guys.¡±


    ¡°...?!¡±


    the chinese hunters were stunned by choi yeonseung¡¯s calm answer.


    what the hell was this?


    ¡°feel free to go further down and try your hardest. but don¡¯t even think about getting supplies.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the chinese hunters gritted their teeth at the blatant and despicable threat, which was worse than blackmail.


    this bastard...!


    ***


    in less than a month, all the hunters retreated from the dungeon like an ebbing tide.


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ is shocked!]


    it was only natural that the explosion constellation was flabbergasted. the dungeon that he had painstakingly created using a large amount of power of existence was now deserted.

 Chapter 326

    chapter 326


    no matter how absurdly powerful a constellation was, there wasn¡¯t much that could be done in this situation.


    how could the explosion constellation tempt the hunters to fight each other in the dungeon when they were blocked access?


    there were several people within the reach of the explosion constellation, but there was nothing they could do at the moment.


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ asks what you are doing.]


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says to challenge the dungeon like a human.]


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ is trying to convince you that this realm isn¡¯t a waste.]


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯...]


    [...]


    normally, constellations didn¡¯t send that many messages to mortals. in fact, a large majority of mortals didn¡¯t receive any messages whatsoever.


    however, the explosion constellation sent out one message after another.


    ¡®he must be desperate.¡¯


    -most constellations can¡¯t deal with unexpected events like this.


    the demon constellation was the same, but basically, constellations in general had a hard time adapting to unforeseen circumstances. after all, in their long lives, there hadn¡¯t really been any instances in which things didn¡¯t go their way.


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry, but i don¡¯t want to go in. if you want people to challenge it, change the dungeon and play fair and square.¡±


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ shouts that a dungeon is supposed to be like this!]


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ is making a prediction. he says that humans will soon fall back into greed and take on the challenge.]


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ urges you to stop being deceitful.]


    the angel constellation, who had been watching, interjected instead.


    the explosion constellation became quite indignant and vanished.


    ¡°...by the way, is it really okay to do this?¡± asked amelia in a flustered manner.


    originally, the angel constellation had planned to break through this dungeon, not to seal it off and prevent everyone from entering.


    if they went through with this new plan, the angel constellation would be disappointed...


    ¡°no. block it and gain the advantage in the negotiations with the explosive bastard.¡±


    ¡°do you really think he¡¯s going to negotiate?¡±


    ¡°even if it doesn¡¯t work out, i don¡¯t want people to mess around in that ridiculous dungeon.¡±


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ praises your choice.]


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ says there is no need to play any longer.]


    illaphael, who was standing next to them, thought this was an opportunity and spoke up.


    ¡°master, i will guard this place with other household members so that greedy humans don¡¯t sneak in.¡±


    amelia was surprised by illaphael¡¯s words. she found it hard to believe that illaphael would step up for the bothersome task of just standing guard.


    illaphael thought to himself, ¡®this is an opportunity.¡¯


    unfortunately, due to the unusual structure of the dungeon, illaphael had no opportunities to play an active role and shine. thus, if he went out of his way to take up such a terrible task, that of guarding the entrance, choi yeonseung would change his mind about him.


    he would be impressed, right?


    ¡°no, forget it. sealing it off was my decision, and i don¡¯t want to make the household members of other constellations suffer so much. i¡¯ll get someone i know to guard the dungeon.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    hearing that, illaphael¡¯s expression contorted slightly, making it indecipherable.


    seeing that, choi yeonseung asked amelia, ¡°what¡¯s wrong with him?¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s in a good mood, but maybe he¡¯s trying not to make it obvious.¡±


    ¡°aha. it¡¯s because i did a good job.¡± choi yeonseung nodded.


    he was going to ask adaquaniel to guard the entrance. he felt like it was overkill to choose her for such a trivial task, but it was important. he had to seal off the dungeon and also have everyone think that it would be impossible to enter.


    illaphael muttered, ¡°...but i¡¯ll be waiting here just in case.¡±


    ¡°you don¡¯t have to.¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll be waiting!¡±


    choi yeonseung was surprised when illaphael lost his temper.


    amelia said, ¡°it¡¯s clear that he doesn¡¯t want to wait here.¡±


    ¡°then he can just leave. why is he yelling instead of leaving?¡±


    ¡°perhaps his master is watching.¡±


    ¡°having an angel like you is also a huge blessing for the goddess of balance who walks ahead...¡±


    ¡°can you two be quiet???¡± illaphael barked in an irritated tone.


    the party was now at the entrance of the second realm.


    they had set up a blockade just in case!


    generally speaking, hunters were lawbreakers, so if the group guarding the entrance looked even the slightest bit easy to deal with, many hunters would try to enter the dungeon by force and think about the clean-up work later.


    this was why they had been maintaining their power, but...


    ¡®it¡¯s so annoying.¡¯


    illaphael had basically been learning emotions throughout this entire mission. he felt more emotions in the last few months than he had ever felt in his entire life!


    before, he wouldn¡¯t understand why hunters said things like ¡°oh, i¡¯m so pissed off,¡± but now he understood exactly how they felt.


    illaphael had grasped the feeling of annoyance!


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    ¡°wait!¡±


    when another person approached him, choi yeonseung stretched out his hand and spoke first.


    ¡°are you from a clan or corporation?¡±


    ¡°...yes,¡± said the other person in a hesitant tone.


    ¡°let me guess. you want to give your hunters a chance to raid the dungeon, and you¡¯ll pay any price for that?¡±


    ¡°c-can you read minds?¡±


    ¡°dozens of people have come before you. go back.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the other person looked taken aback. he hadn¡¯t expected so many people to come with the same intention.


    ¡°perhaps... even if it just a suggestion...¡±


    ¡°piss off!¡±


    ¡°eek!¡±


    illaphael flapped his wings in a rage, causing the other person to run away.


    putting aside their beautiful appearance, the angels of the abyss were fearsome creatures. in fact, almost all abyssal races could pose a threat to humans.


    ¡°oh, good job. you have a talent for chasing people away.¡±


    ¡°clearly, angels are good at intimidation.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    hearing the conversation between choi yeonseung and adaquaniel, illaphael got even more upset.


    ¡®these ¡ö¡ö bastards...¡¯


    illaphael quickly learned how humans swore!


    as the angel practiced swearing in his mind, choi yeonseung got lost in thought.


    ¡®these hunter clans are so unscrupulous. it¡¯s worse than i expected.¡¯


    regardless of which country they were from, people from companies and clans came to choi yeonseung with all sorts of proposals.


    -let us go into the dungeon alone...hey, there are no hunters in there anyway, so there won¡¯t be any infighting, right?we understand your noble intentions, but isn¡¯t this a win-win situation?


    -hunter choi yeonseung,if you join hands with the chinese government now, you can become one of the most important people in east asia...we can achieve greatness together...


    -we don¡¯t plan to attack the dungeon. we just want to go inside to look into what can make money before coming out.we will give you priority and also offer you some equipment for investigating the dungeon yourself.


    -hunter choi yeonseung, aren¡¯t we both koreans?i know a clan. please let me in!i¡¯ll make sure to actually clear the dungeon this time and make a name for myse...cough. no, for south korea. i will promote south korea to the world...


    hunter clans tried to convince him with all sorts of reasons!


    choi yeonseung regretted how he had handled this whole thing. he should¡¯ve just lied that there was a terrible boss monster in the dungeon.


    wasn¡¯t it like this because the dungeon seemed very easy to clear from the outside?


    ¡®well, many other hunters were in the dungeon, so i couldn¡¯t lie about what was in there...¡¯


    given that hunters were greedy, the fact that entering the dungeon had been prohibited spurred them even more to try and enter.


    choi yeonseung was afraid that they would come up with new methods to somehow infiltrate the dungeon, something he couldn¡¯t even imagine...


    [...¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ asks what you want.]


    ¡°!¡±


    as such, the declaration of surrender from the explosion constellation was naturally well received.

 Chapter 327

    chapter 327


    choi yeonseung controlled his expression as much as he could.


    negotiating with a constellation was like walking on a very thin tightrope. at the slightest mistake on choi yeonseung¡¯s part, the explosion constellation could go back on his word.


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t let his guard down.


    ¡°if you have sworn an oath, you should play a fair game according to that oath. it¡¯s not fair the way you¡¯re playing now.¡±


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ protests that he kept his oath. if he had broken any rules, the oath would¡¯ve been triggered...]


    ¡°that¡¯s just a matter of semantics.¡±


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ agrees.]


    [the ¡®arrogant light elf¡¯ agrees.]


    [the ¡®monk pursuing glory¡¯ agrees.]


    [the ¡®greedy owner of the treasure house¡¯ agrees.]


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ agrees...]


    [...]


    all the other constellations reacted instantly to the assertion of the explosion constellation, startling him. it wasn¡¯t common for so many constellations to intervene.


    those guys... the explosion constellation gritted his teeth. it made sense for good god constellations to intervene, since they had always been hostile to him. however, it was very frustrating that the evil god constellations were also opposing him.


    the evil god constellations were rather hypocritical: they didn¡¯t actually think that what he had done was wrong, but they wanted to keep him in check because of how much attention he had gained lately.


    of course, the explosion constellation would always attack his adversaries when they least expected it, but now that he was the victim, he was terribly infuriated and offended.


    ¡®...i didn¡¯t expect the other constellations to help me, but i¡¯m grateful that they did.¡¯


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know what the constellations were currently interested in. he was grateful for their help, but it was also a bit absurd.


    adaquaniel whispered from the side, ¡°as expected, you¡¯re amazing. i can¡¯t believe you anticipated that the other constellations would help you.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not a big deal.¡±


    ¡°you say that, but it definitely is a big deal...¡±


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says that if this is the case, what type of test should he prepare? he declares to the constellations that humans are all selfish and that he wants a test tailored to them.]


    illaphael was rather grateful that the explosion constellation had interrupted the conversation between choi yeonseung and adaquaniel. he really didn¡¯t want to listen to that.


    ¡®how is he going to answer? constellations aren¡¯t easy to persuade,¡¯ illaphael anxiously thought to himself. even if they negotiated, would the explosion constellation just comply with whatever terms they decided on?


    after all, hadn¡¯t the explosion constellation gained a tremendous amount of power of existence after defeating the demon constellation?


    however, choi yeonseung was already prepared.


    ¡°take the test prepared by the warrior stained with madness and blood. this test is fair. in the vast space, the household members of the constellation and humans will clash in a battle of strength versus strength! what can be more fair than that?¡±


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ is embarrassed.]


    despite being rather abashed at the sudden praise, the berserker constellation was actually pleased with choi yeonseung¡¯s words.


    of course, from the perspective of the explosion constellation, this was utter nonsense.


    the berserker constellation had designed such an idiotic test... it was certainly disadvantageous to the explosion constellation.


    the berserker constellation had chosen such a method because he normally didn¡¯t do a lot of thinking. all he cared for was blood and fighting.


    however, when looking at his test in practice... hadn''t humans once exploited his weaknesses?


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says he can¡¯t accept this type of constellation battle.]


    ¡®as expected, it didn¡¯t work.¡¯


    choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t had much hope for this idea.


    unlike the berserker constellation, the explosion constellation was quite cunning and always used his brain. after all, hadn¡¯t he designed the second realm dungeon in a way to spread as much discord among humans as possible?


    ¡°then how about a one-on-one duel where the household members fight against each other without any artifacts...?¡±


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ shouts that such ridiculous and unfavorable rules can¡¯t be tolerated!]


    everyone else agreed with the berserker constellation. that kind of test seemed too advantageous for the explosion constellation.


    ¡®...alright, nevermind... these constellations aren¡¯t actually helpful.¡¯


    choi yeonseung felt bitter. he thought about accepting a battle that seemed unfavorable for him and then still finding a way to win, even if it meant raising suspicions in regard to his abilities.


    however, given how the other constellations reacted, choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t insist on it. he would look way too suspicious...


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ suggests selecting a few countries to let them in...]


    ¡°alright, let¡¯s think beyond the dungeons. how about searching for a holy relic...?¡±


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ refuses.]


    the two parties were at a stalemate as neither of them were satisfied with the other¡¯s proposal. the constellations who were watching were also intrigued and recommended their preferred method for the constellation battle.


    they suggested pretty much everything: dueling, chess, tossing coins, stealing household members, and so on.


    -the kospi index is rising.this is based on the expectation that items such as monster cores will be smoothly supplied thanks to this raid. companies will make a leap forward...


    the explosion constellation thought this was the key to interfere with choi yeonseung¡¯s preparation for the clan battle: south korea!


    if a large number of monsters appeared in south korea, korean hunters like choi yeonseung would be stranded.


    ¡®even so, things will be different in south korea.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was heading to south korea, but he wasn¡¯t too worried. south korea was well prepared for dungeons and monster attacks. after all, hadn¡¯t they withstood the last monster wave with minimum damage?


    -won¡¯t there be a shortage of hunters?


    -they¡¯re easy to call.


    -??


    perhaps the constellations thought south korea would be in trouble because they didn¡¯t know much about it, but choi yeonseung was different.


    choi yeonseung asked aine to publish some articles.


    aine immediately put pressure on the media to publish articles and spread the news.


    -among the monsters that have appeared in large numbers in south korea, a very rare monster called the twin-legged white lizard has been discovered. this has surprised most monster enthusiasts.


    -if i calculate the core of the monsters this time, roughly...


    whenever high-profile monsters appeared, all hunters and clans were eager to get their hands on the valuable treasures... and sure enough, after seeing the articles, clans lined up to provide humanitarian aid in no time.


    the korean government wasn¡¯t going to steal the cores. if they went and killed the monsters, they would make a profit.


    ¡®the urgent fire has been put out for now.¡¯


    even though choi yeonseung had blocked the monster wave, the way the explosion constellation was going about this battle was quite nasty.


    choi yeonseung immediately prepared to fight back.


    ***


    ¡°welcome, demons!¡±


    -???


    -???


    the demons were trembling with nervousness and fear as they entered their new realm. however, they were taken aback by choi yeonseong¡¯s welcome.


    they hadn¡¯t expected him to welcome them so warmly.


    -we¡¯ve heard that around eighty percent of us will get fired. is that true, master?


    ¡°what? no. that¡¯s ridiculous.¡±


    -looking at the companies of earth, we¡¯ve learnt that they usually restructure after a merger. we¡¯re afraid that you will do the same thing...


    ¡°...i don¡¯t know what you¡¯ve observed on earth, but i don¡¯t intend to do that. i intend to fight the explosion constellation with you.¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s words, the demons nodded with a hint of frustration. the most humiliating thing for the mortals of the abyss was failing to protect their master.


    when the explosion constellation invaded their realm, they failed to protect their master and were forced to flee.


    they were ashamed of their failure.


    ¡°yes. you guys...¡±


    choi yeonseung looked behind the demons.


    their area consisted of huge skyscrapers reminiscent of a city center.


    ¡®...i really can¡¯t get used to it.¡¯


    looking at this area, he couldn¡¯t help feeling he was on earth!


    ¡°...so what can you do?¡±


    -we have the ability to recognize the desires of mortals and manipulate them into signing contracts, master.


    -the best of us can even steal souls.if you give me the chance, i would like to dedicate my soul to you!


    in the midst of this, one of the demons raised his hand.


    -master.i have a question.


    ¡°what is it?¡±


    -why are you in human form...?


    ¡°i disguise myself as a human whenever necessary.¡±


    -......


    -.....


    choi yeonseung¡¯s words shocked and horrified the demons, leaving them speechless.


    what did he mean by that??

 Chapter 328

    chapter 328


    -that...do you have to go that far?


    one of the demons had asked that in a shaky voice.


    each demon under the demon of contract and order was essentially assigned to different realms.


    for example, if a black magician drew a summoning circle in a certain kingdom of the abyss and called them, the demon in charge of that side would fly over. if someone pulled out a magic sword buried upright in a certain graveyard, the demon in charge of that side would fly over...


    the demons didn¡¯t create and fulfill contracts by just sitting at a desk. some of them took care of the paperwork and the legalities, while others ran around the field.


    as such, the demons were accustomed to conforming to the customs of each kingdom or area. if a black magician summoned them, they would assume an evil-looking, terrifying form before flying over; when summoned by a magic sword, they assumed a spirit form to make it seem like the sword itself were talking to the one who pulled it.


    however, they had never heard of the demon constellation disguising himself as a human. that would be too...


    ¡®it doesn¡¯t make sense...¡¯


    ¡®why go that far?¡¯


    the demons were completely lost for words. the idea of disguising oneself as a human completely defied common sense and shook the concept of good and evil!


    ¡°...did i say something i shouldn¡¯t have?¡±


    choi yeonseung was even more embarrassed. the demons looked like they had been hit in the head.


    -something like this is too shocking for the mortals of the abyss.


    the goddess of sloth wasn¡¯t surprised by this. no matter how necessary choi yeonseung¡¯s disguise was, the mortals of the abyss couldn¡¯t comprehend something like that.


    it was only after taking some deep breaths, meditating, and reading books with various evil anecdotes that the demons came to their senses.


    -we apologize, master. we¡¯ve shown you an unsightly appearance.


    -rest assured our ugliness does not reflect our abilities, master. please believe us.


    the demons apologized firmly.


    choi yeonseung was a bit impressed by their professional conduct.


    ¡®ugh, i keep comparing them to the orcs even though i shouldn¡¯t...¡¯


    when he had come across them, the orcs had essentially been a blank canvas, so choi yeonseung had to teach them everything from scratch. as he did so, the orcs had evolved into great farmers that used environmentally friendly farming techniques in the abyss.


    in comparison, demons were all excellent mortals who had lived in the abyss for a long time. all of them were high-level and they had many skills and talents.


    they had an air of trustworthiness about them.


    ¡°alright, the reason i called you is because i have an order for you. for the time being, i¡¯m going to put the ongoing contracts in the abyss on hold and focus on dealing with endless linked explosions. we¡¯ll go after the mortals in his realm.¡±


    -!


    the demons were surprised by choi yeonseung¡¯s words. the explosion constellation was their enemy, so they also wanted to get revenge as soon as possible, but...


    -butmaster, the realm of the explosion constellation is formidable.


    -that¡¯s right.his servants aren¡¯t susceptible to deception.


    ¡°don¡¯t worry. i¡¯ll be with you.¡±


    -!


    the demons were thrilled to hear that their new master would join them in disguise. they had never thought he would offer them this much support.


    -you are truly wicked!with your presence, no mortal will be able to defeat us.


    ¡®their praise doesn¡¯t feel that good...¡¯


    ***


    ¡°this place is called the iron cart, and it''s one of the abyssal realms owned by endless linked explosions,¡± explained one of the demons.


    the one doing the explaining was demon no. 77. based on what choi yeonseung heard, no. 77 seemed to be a great demon who had landed several high-profile contracts.


    he had proven his abilities and all the other demons trusted him.


    ¡®it looks like a primitive factory.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was surprised by the scenery around him.


    thick smoke covered the sky, and mortals trudged toward the factory with expressionless faces. it wasn¡¯t clear what the mortals were doing in that factory, but explosions were constantly heard from them.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ is angry that there is no skill or passion in this type of production.]


    -it looks like they¡¯re trying to constantly make explosions to satisfy the constellation.


    this place was basically a workshop in which the mortals kept dedicating explosions to their master. it didn¡¯t matter whether they used magic or explosives, or any other method for that matter; they just continued making them.


    ¡®...is this some kind of ruse? just thinking about all the trouble i went through because of that explosive bastard makes me want to set it on fire.¡¯


    choi yeonseung clenched his fists for a few moments. as a human, he was naturally furious at what the explosion constellations had done.


    he just wanted to destroy everything in that factory!


    ¡°what are the main races here like?¡±


    ¡°there are mostly robots here, but recently, there have been quite a few humans.¡±


    choi yeonseung thought about it for a while. it would certainly be a good thing to find out more about gary, especially since he was struggling under an evil god constellation.


    of course, that didn¡¯t mean that choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t anxious about this. after all, gary had sided with an evil god constellation and tried to commit acts of terrorism!


    ¡®i don¡¯t think i can figure him out.¡¯


    still, he had to try it. choi yeonseung took the demons to gary nelson.


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°hello, i¡¯m here to tell you something nice.¡±


    ¡°you again? i already told you! i won¡¯t sign any more contracts! in addition, where did you learn to say such ¡ö¡ö¡ö things?!¡±


    ¡°what do you mean? we¡¯ve heard from humans that this is a great way to greet them.¡±


    ¡°no!¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t deny it.¡±


    ¡°it really isn¡¯t the case, you stupid demon bastards!¡±


    no matter how angry gary nelson became, the demons ignored him. the insults of a mere mortal wouldn¡¯t affect them.


    of course, it was ridiculous from choi yeonseung¡¯s perspective, who was watching from the side.


    ¡®they¡¯re handling it so terribly.¡¯


    even though they lacked knowledge about humans, they still shouldn¡¯t have approached gary like that.


    choi yeonseung came forward. he was disguised as a demon, so gary nelson didn¡¯t recognize him.


    ¡°is there anything you desire?¡± asked choi yeonseung.


    ¡°...what?¡±


    ¡°i know you very well. you signed a contract with the evil god constellation to overthrow the us government. you must¡¯ve been very dissatisfied.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    gary nelson trembled slightly.


    confused, another demon asked, ¡°hey, why are you listening to him and not to me?¡±


    ¡°he¡¯s actually speaking normally, you demon bastard! get lost!¡± gary yelled. he was furious, so he lashed out at the demon. he then looked again at choi yeonseung.


    ¡°but i think i can actually talk with you. i¡¯ve never seen a demon who can communicate with me.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung had only said a few words... the fact that gary nelson acted like this meant that he really didn¡¯t have anyone to talk to here.


    ¡®ugh, i don¡¯t know if i can do this.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was a bit worried. his talent wasn¡¯t to persuade others with words, but with his fists. could he really talk to this ill-tempered a-grade hunter?


    ¡°what happened...?¡±


    ¡°in order to tell you what happened, i have to go all the way back! i¡¯m talking about that damn alex parker!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    it seemed that choi yeonseung didn¡¯t have to try hard to get gary to talk to him. after all, he usually had nobody to talk to here, and now that he did, gary was excited to share his story.


    ¡®ah, i get how he feels.¡¯


    at times, even choi yeonseung had felt lonely while wandering in the abyss. fortunately, he had only felt that way occasionally. it wasn¡¯t unusual for people to lose their minds due to loneliness.


    gary nelson was doing forced labor in the abyss and was surrounded by nothing but robots. it was only natural that he felt lonely.


    ¡°wait. parker? the chairman of parker group?¡±


    ¡°yes! i¡¯m the one who¡¯s made him all the money he has.¡±


    gary¡¯s story sounded like a great tv drama.


    gary nelson, a hunter, and alex parker, an entrepreneur, had joined forces at the beginning of the raid era...


    once things started going well, alex parker immediately stabbed gary nelson in the back with various contracts and took away gary¡¯s shares in the company.


    when alex caught him off guard and stole his assets, gary furiously shouted, ¡°how dare you put your hands on an a-grade hunter?!¡±


    gary was understandably enraged and tried to resolve the matter through force, but alex parker had been prepared. he had bribed the government and recruited other a-grade hunters to back him up.


    what could gary have done against that?


    ¡°man... i can¡¯t believe you attacked him so ignorantly. you should always determine how prepared your opponent is before you attack...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    as the demon bastard lectured him, gary nelson choked up in frustration.


    it was rather humiliating. he couldn¡¯t believe he was being lectured by a demon... however, he put up with it.


    after all, he had no one else to talk to.

 Chapter 329

    chapter 329


    ¡°so you signed a contract with the explosion constellation?¡±


    ¡°no, i signed a contract with another constellation. i decided to become a subordinate of that constellation and then got teleported to the abyss.¡±


    ¡°...?¡±


    as far as choi yeonseung knew, gary nelson had orchestrated a terrorist attack after he had signed a contract with an evil god constellation.


    ¡®ah. the story must¡¯ve been altered after the incident. i haven¡¯t met chairman parker many times, but i could tell what kind of person he is with one glance.¡¯


    alex parker was a ruthless snake. generally speaking, all chairmen who led large corporations were deceitful, sly bastards. no sane person would do what alex parker had done.


    -uh, successor, that energetic human who is your subordinate is also a chairman...


    -shh, be quiet.


    choi yeonseung changed the topic when he was at a disadvantage.


    in any case, history was written by the winners. given that alex parker had outsmarted gary nelson, it made sense that he had buried information about gary and made up stories about him


    after gary had been teleported to the abyss, there hadn¡¯t been anyone to stop alex parker...


    ¡®hunters usually need friends.¡¯


    top hunters had terrible personalities and reveled in debauchery, so most of them didn¡¯t have any friends. that meant that gary nelson didn¡¯t have anyone to step up and defend him when the incident broke out...


    ¡°by the way, why are you working here, in the realm of the explosion constellation, if you didn¡¯t sign a contract with him?¡±


    ¡°my previous master gave me away as a reward in a constellation battle. he lost the constellation battle, so he handed me over to the explosion constellation...¡± gary grumbled.


    no a-grade hunter had ever suffered like gary did. he had been wandering and struggling in the abyss for over a decade.


    ¡®...he¡¯s very lucky,¡¯ thought choi yeonseung after hearing gary¡¯s story.


    if gary nelson had been teleported to the outskirts of the abyss, he could¡¯ve closed his eyes and opened them hundreds of years later. frankly, from choi yeonseung¡¯s perspective, gary nelson had it pretty well because he was in the safe realm of a constellation.


    choi yeonseung had been forced to wander around the abyss for around ten thousand years before he could finally say, ¡°oh, so this is what the abyss is like...¡±


    -don¡¯t say anything crazy...


    ¡°are you unhappy with your current situation?¡±


    ¡°of course!¡±


    ¡°do you want power?¡±


    ¡°i want it... wait...¡± gary nelson was nodding excitedly but suddenly paused. ¡°what type of power is it?¡±


    as expected of an a-grade hunter, gary didn¡¯t hastily accept it.


    any low-grade hunter would¡¯ve jumped without hesitation at the opportunity to gather more power, even if they didn¡¯t know what kind of power it was.


    meanwhile, hunters that reached a-grade had already accumulated many things: their own unique skills, their unique fighting style, etc. they wouldn¡¯t just accept any power.


    ¡°that...¡± choi yeonseung paused and looked at the demons.


    -wait.what type of power do you usually give?


    -...???


    the demons were flustered by choi yeonseung¡¯s words. the constellation was usually the one who dealt with such things. they were the one who determined what the mortal would get out of their contract.


    it could be a specific skill, an item, or a power that contained the power of existence.


    -we pay according to the rules, which is based on what the other party gives. sometimes we bestowed on the contractee magic that we knew, but sometimes, the demon constellation, our former master, gave them the power directly.


    ¡®...¡¯


    choi yeonseung paused.


    what could choi yeonseung offer gary?


    ¡®i can¡¯t think of anything else besides vegetables and meat.¡¯


    the orcs¡¯ latest harvest was especially fresh, but of course, the mortals of the abyss would immediately frown upon receiving something like this.


    -even if you don¡¯t do it, the magic that demons know are on a different level from that of humans. there¡¯s no need to worry.


    as the goddess of sloth pointed out, there actually wasn¡¯t a problem. the abyssal races knew far more magic than the humans. choi yeonseung could probably negotiate with gary by making use of the demons¡¯ extensive knowledge of magic.


    ¡°tell us what kind of magic you desire.¡±


    ¡°regardless of the kind of magic you ask about, we¡¯ll know about it.¡±


    choi yeonseung let the demons take the wheel.


    ¡®ugh, i got worried for nothing.¡¯


    he reflected on himself as a constellation.


    a constellation was actually more like a king than a general. they spent more time ruling their subordinates than leading them out and fighting.


    in comparison, as a constellation, choi yeonseung went all in on combat skills.


    ¡®still, i can create as many martial arts as i want. i can also use my power of existence to create training-related skills.¡¯


    ¡°are there any martial arts?¡±


    ¡°?!?¡±


    choi yeonseung turned his head in surprise. he initially thought he misheard it, but gary nelson had indeed said that.


    ¡°i¡¯ve received an official invitation, so i¡¯ve come to help.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the other hunters at the scene looked at choi yeonseung in bewilderment.


    when overseas hunters arrived in south korea, the korean hunters would usually get to the airport and greet them. they did that as a precaution, because if hunters went on a rampage, only other hunters could stop them.


    of course, even if the government ordered them to cooperate with each other, many hunters would still refuse to join the operation.


    -ugh.my stomach suddenly hurts...


    -i have to go to the dentist tomorrow...


    -i used too much magic yesterday. i need to rest today.


    when the officials heard excuses like that, they automatically cursed the hunters. still, it couldn¡¯t be helped. they couldn¡¯t bother the hunters unless there was a serious situation.


    that was the general rule.


    generally speaking, it was hard to get large clans and high-rated hunters to take action. unfortunately, only smaller clans stepped up.


    hunters were also treated differently depending on how big and famous their clan was.


    the small and medium-sized clans had to participate in operations because they couldn¡¯t afford to get the officials to dislike them.


    ...despite that, there was an a-grade hunter. the other hunters were so dumbfounded they couldn¡¯t even speak.


    ¡°uhm... i don¡¯t think the official letter really summoned hunter choi yeonseung, did it?¡±


    ¡°if i flew here, then they called me. what nonsense are you saying?¡±


    hearing that, choi yeonseung let go of the hunter he had been holding by the collar.


    after getting his ass kicked for saying the wrong things, the hunter staggered to his feet.


    ¡°ah, i have to release the pressure point attack.¡±


    choi yeonseung had skillfully used pressure point attack so that the other hunter couldn¡¯t resist. this confused his opponent.


    "are you okay?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m... i¡¯m okay.¡±


    even though choi yeonseung had beaten the hell out of him, this poor hunter couldn¡¯t say anything. arguing with an a-grade hunter was a terrible idea. moreover, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t just strong as a hunter. he also had a huge amount of wealth to back him.


    ¡°i was wrong! thank you for hitting me! i learned a lot! i also love kimchi!¡±


    ¡°i wasn¡¯t expecting this type of reaction, but i¡¯m glad. yes, be careful in the future.¡±


    the conclusion of their conflict was so heartwarming that the korean hunters found it even more absurd.


    how come it ended on such a positive note?


    ¡°i¡¯m here.¡±


    ¡°ah. you came?¡±


    han seha yawned as she arrived at the airport. she then looked around.


    ¡°doesn¡¯t it look like a small number?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°list.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡±


    ¡°give me the list of people.¡±


    ¡°ah, i-i¡¯m sorry. here it is.¡±


    the official hurriedly came over with a list of people. han seha squinted at the names on the list.


    ¡°i will check attendance. answer when i call your name.¡±


    ¡°...ah, forget it. hurry up and call it!¡±


    ¡°who the hell checks attendance...?!¡±


    the hunters couldn¡¯t help remembering their hazy school days and freaked out.


    -come to the airport, you crazy bastard!hurry if you don¡¯t want to die!


    -what are you doing?run!hurry up and run!


    han seha carefully checked the names of those absent.


    ¡°there are some people who aren¡¯t here... i see... huh. alright. i understand. yes.¡±


    han seha didn¡¯t get angry. she just muttered and wrote down names. this made it even scarier.


    the overseas hunters, who kept arriving at the airport, were perplexed by the strange situation.


    ¡°wow, this is amazing...¡±


    ¡°is this south korean culture?¡±


    it wasn¡¯t common to see hunters slamming their heads against the ground. it was quite the novelty!

 Chapter 330

    chapter 330


    ¡°how does south korea manage hunters like this?¡±


    ¡°this is the mystery of the east!¡±


    the overseas hunters were astonished by the policy of the korean officials. they still hadn¡¯t come to terms with what was happening.


    if a person said, ¡°i¡¯m an official of the hunter management department,¡± the general public would be very envious. those officials had an enormous budget and a lot of authority. after all, that department had to be the most powerful one within the government of south korea.


    however, it was nothing more than a glamorous facade. in reality, the department wasn¡¯t as powerful as it seemed.


    what they usually did was coax, or rather, beg the reckless hunters to stop causing incidents!


    that was precisely why it was so refreshing to see two a-grade hunters teaching the latecomers a lesson.


    ¡°sh-should we stop it?¡± kang sangho asked as he watched the whole thing.


    ¡°...how could we stop a-grade hunters?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re right...¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s wait and see what happens.¡±


    his subordinates agreed with him. if anything, deep inside, they were condoning this.


    ¡®i hope they beat up some other assholes!¡¯


    ***


    ¡°i¡¯m sorry about this,¡± choi yeonseung told kang sangho as he finished punishing the hunters.


    kang sangho hadn¡¯t expected an a-grade hunter to speak to him like this, so he froze.


    ¡°n-n-no...¡±


    ¡°hunter han seha may have gone overboard with her fists, but deep down, she¡¯s a good hunter. don¡¯t get her wrong.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    the hunters lying face down behind him would¡¯ve flinched if they could. what kind of nonsense was that...?


    ¡°so what¡¯s next?¡±


    ¡°huh? nothing!¡± exclaimed kang sangho, surprised.


    of course, there were some other things that hunters had to take care of whenever dungeons exploded, but nobody had the courage to ask an a-grade hunter to do those things.


    they weren¡¯t crazy!


    ¡°is there something else to do or not?¡±


    ¡°there is, but... it¡¯s not your task...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ve done it before,¡± replied choi yeonseung indifferently.


    so far, hunters from all over the world had come to south korea, and the defense systems had been thoroughly reinforced. thanks to that, people didn¡¯t freak out and run in all directions, so they naturally had a bit of free time.


    in the past, it was utter hell whenever dungeons exploded.


    back then, hunters were rather weak and there were no defense systems, so every country had a hard time protecting itself. of course, that meant that no country received external support.


    all hunters were struggling to protect their own country against enemies, so they couldn¡¯t go overseas and offer support.


    choi yeonseung and hwang gyeongryong had a low rating at that time, so even they had a lot of trouble dealing with monsters.


    standard procedure when a dungeon exploded was for each hunter to take charge of an area and eliminate the monsters before they escaped. if the monsters went underground, the hunters had to track them down.


    if monsters escaped into the basement of a building or a sewer, the hunters would have to take at least two baths after chasing them through all that filth.


    as such, hunter clans often refused to do something like that, but the few outstanding hunters, like choi yeonseung and hwang gyeongryong, would rush in while saying something like ¡°we have to be the ones to kill them in order to make more money than the others!¡±


    ¡°now, which areas don¡¯t have any hunters?¡±


    ¡°huh? hunters have been dispatched everywhere. we are fully prepared.¡±


    ¡°...huh? aren¡¯t there any places where no hunters want to go?¡± choi yeonseung asked incredulously.


    ¡°naturally, everything has already been determined. everyone knows what they have to do once the alarm goes off. places where people don¡¯t want to go to... what areas are you talking about exactly?¡±


    ¡°like sewers or something like that...¡±


    ¡°ah, those kinds of places... you see, there are devices installed in those places that emit a scent that monsters hate, thus preventing them from entering. you don¡¯t have to worry about those places.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung looked dazed. he hadn¡¯t been aware that his hometown had become so modernized.


    ¡®wait... this is weird.¡¯


    choi yeonseung thought that not even the united states or france were so modern...


    ¡°is it supposed to be like this?¡±


    ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°i think that not even the united states had such a smooth operation for a dungeon...¡±


    ¡°well, isn¡¯t it because south korea is much smaller and has been heavily automated?¡± proposed han seha. her argument was solid, and choi yeonseung had to admit it.


    times had changed!


    ¡®still, i wonder if i¡¯m taking it too easy...¡¯


    of course, things had gone in the right direction, but for some reason, he felt it was unfair.


    han seha seemed to read choi yeonseung¡¯s mind and whispered to him, ¡°if you think hunter raids are too easy these days, should i go and turn off the alarm system?¡±


    to be frank, out of everyone, lee changsik was the most surprised that go junwon hadn¡¯t left the clan. based on his personality, he had expected him to leave right away...


    ¡®is he in debt?¡¯


    ¡°then please look after me.¡±


    nathan bumped fists with wi seongu. both of them were martial artists, and they were both tankers. they had the most dangerous positions and the most amount of responsibility!


    wi seongu froze for a second, but he nodded along with nathan''s encouragement.


    seeing this, go junwon became anxious.


    ¡°excuse me, iron-blooded ice emperor.¡±


    ¡°there¡¯s no need to call me by my title.¡±


    ¡°but that would be disrespectful... in any case, iron-blooded ice emperor, seongu over there looks inexperienced. why don¡¯t you let me take his place?¡±


    ¡°he¡¯ll do well on his own.¡±


    ¡®tsk, he really is heartless...¡¯ go junwon looked at lee changsik and inwardly cursed at him.


    there was a reason why so many people gossiped that lee changsik was cold-blooded and that he shed no tears.


    nathan didn¡¯t know it, but if wi seongu found himself in danger, go junwon would go and save him. go junwon took his short sword in his hand and prepared magic.


    however...


    thump!


    ¡°?!¡±


    ¡°whoa. you¡¯re pretty good,¡± said zhang wei. he was impressed.


    nathan and wi seongu blocked the attacks from the blue orcs that broke through the trees and rocks around them.


    ¡°waah! waaah! huaaahh!¡±


    ¡°why is he shouting like that? is he more efficient if he yells like that?¡±


    nathan was puzzled by wi seongu¡¯s screaming as he swung his fists. it was a good way to knock back the monsters, but it was also strange.


    lee changsik watched from behind and thought, ¡®they are growing faster than i thought.¡¯


    of course, choi yeonseung had personally observed their martial arts and taught them what to do, but even so, people didn¡¯t usually improve in martial arts that fast.


    magic was one thing, but one couldn¡¯t just skip levels in martial arts. but despite that, these two were unexpectedly good at blocking the monsters. this wasn¡¯t the result of talent, but of something else...


    it was thanks to the blessing of the constellation!


    ¡®won¡¯t they get stronger with yeonseung next to them?¡¯


    it was an irreverent idea to dare to think of using a constellation as a cheerleader, but lee changsik couldn¡¯t help entertaining the thought.


    a constellation¡¯s power, whether they were aware of it or not, influenced their surroundings. thus, it wasn¡¯t an exaggeration to say that the more choi yeonseung became aware of his power, the stronger it became.


    -yes,yeonseung, i¡¯m checking this place.no...wait...


    wi seongu threw himself back and rolled backwards, dodging the orcs¡¯ attacks!


    the form wasn¡¯t perfect, but wi seongu had nonetheless used the correct dodging method in this case.


    nathan recognized the technique and admired it.


    ¡®a perfect roll!¡¯


    however, go junwon wasn¡¯t familiar with martial arts, so he thought that something went wrong.


    ¡°pff, i knew it would get to this! here i come!¡±


    go junwon cast shielding magic and ran forward. even though close combat wasn¡¯t his strong suit, he still managed to knock back a few monsters.


    bang!


    ¡°get back!¡±


    ¡°huh? why are you here?¡±


    ¡°?!¡±


    go junwon was shocked. wi seongu, whom he thought had fallen, was punching the orcs again from the side.


    ¡°what?¡±


    ¡°look ahead! in front of you!¡±


    bang!


    the shield cracked and shattered.


    go junwon usually wouldn¡¯t get hit like this, which meant he had made a mistake in his calculations.


    -shield of alden!shield of alden!


    go junwon hurriedly shielded himself again. the orcs seemed to think that go junwon was a particularly easy target and continued to swing their axes at him.


    ¡°iron-blooded ice emperor! please help me! help me!¡±


    however, instead of helping him, lee changsik admired how skilled he was at shielding himself against the attacks. perhaps it was thanks to his survival instincts.


    ¡°hah. you¡¯re pretty good at that, aren¡¯t you? keep trying.¡±


    ¡°...no, help me!¡± help me!¡±


    -what¡¯s going on?


    -it¡¯s not a big deal.in any case, i¡¯ll be doing raids around here. call me if you need me.

 Chapter 331

    chapter 331


    ¡®has he always been like this?¡¯


    lee changsik was puzzled as he watched go junwon cast the shields. the young hunter was clearly casting them much faster and with more accuracy than during the practice sessions.


    of course, his survival instinct played a role in this. if someone felt their life was in danger, they would squeeze out every bit of their strength in order to survive.


    however, even considering the survival instinct, it seemed that go junwon had improved unnaturally fast. what if this wasn¡¯t the survival instinct, but something else...?


    ¡®a skill? it¡¯s not martial arts.¡¯??v€l?1n.


    lee changsik considered the possibility of go junwon having been influenced by choi yeonseung¡¯s power, but he had thought that it was limited to martial arts...


    was that not the case?


    ***


    rumors spread quickly that two a-grade hunters were having coffee at a cafe on the first floor of the government building, talking leisurely about how there wasn¡¯t anything going on that day.


    ¡°what type of nonsense is that? first of all, why would han seha... actually, han seha is rather eccentric, so her being there isn¡¯t implausible. however, hunter choi yeonseung must be busy running a business in the united states. why would he go out of his way to come to south korea just because there are more monsters here?¡±


    the member of the national assembly was dumbfounded by the report he had received from his aide. after expressing his astonishment, he walked away.


    of course, it was best for the top hunters to be on standby when there was a sudden increase in monsters. however, if hunters actually adhered to those principles, nobody would be saying harsh things like ¡°hunters are bastards who can live without caring about the law!¡±


    it wasn¡¯t just a-grade hunters; even b-grade hunters ignored the standby orders and did their own things. therefore, hearing that two a-grade hunters were having coffee and were on standby for any possible emergencies was surreal.


    han seha was eccentric and unpredictable, but choi yeonseung had inherited dragon industry, which was a huge company. thus, why had he come to south korea when he had such important duties in the us?


    ¡°but it¡¯s true.¡±


    ¡°haven¡¯t you seen the movie? did iron man call out for reinforcements? was there such a scene in the movie?¡±


    ¡°no?¡±


    ¡°yes, exactly! you know how things are, so why are you saying such nonsense...?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the aide felt overwhelmed because their boss¡¯ nonsense sounded plausible...


    ¡°still, it¡¯s true...¡±


    ¡°and if it¡¯s not, will you work overtime without additional pay?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m already working without overtime pay...¡±


    the congressman grumbled and got out of the car. he didn¡¯t have time for such nonsense. he had to quickly go to where monsters had appeared, take some photos with the hunters, do some volunteer work in the areas where the buildings got destroyed...


    ¡°!¡±


    the congressman was suddenly astonished. he looked at a certain cafe and saw some faces he had seen many times at the nation assembly.


    ¡®is it true?!?¡¯


    ***


    golden blood fish, bulgae, and the six-eyed turtle were the three largest clans in south korea, which naturally meant that the hunters from those clans had a lot of authority within the country. as the names of those clans carried weight, so did the names of those hunters.


    those who had reached this level could respond to government requests with an arrogant attitude, saying things like ¡°sorry, i¡¯m too busy not giving a damn about your request.¡±


    that was usually how things went. yet on this day, the hunters from those three major clans sat awkwardly in their chairs, visibly uncomfortable.


    ¡®i want to go home...¡¯


    ¡®put up with it. you idiot.¡¯


    ¡°oh... uhm, so everyone is... present?¡± asked an official incredulously. they were flustered because they had expected the room to be empty...


    ¡°then in that case, i will proceed with the training,¡± started choi yeonseung. ¡°today¡¯s lesson focuses on things hunters shouldn¡¯t do when a dungeon appears...¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung! hunter park ilseon is on his phone!¡±


    ¡°you... you asshole?! what¡¯s wrong with you?!¡± yelled the hunter who got caught with his phone.


    ¡°people like you who disregard the education funded by the people¡¯s tax money are the problem!¡±


    ¡°you really have a screw loose...¡±


    ¡°hey, shut your mouth and get out!¡±


    han seha picked up a pencil and threw it at the cheeky hunter before he could say anything. she threw it so hard that the pencil flew like a bullet and got stuck in the wall.


    ¡°seha, don¡¯t damage things.¡±


    ¡°...fix it and then get out!¡±


    ¡°...yes...¡±


    the hunter caught with the phone looked very ashamed and distressed. he pulled out the pencil from the wall and cast magic to repair the damage.


    seeing this, several other hunters placed their phones deep in their pockets.


    even so, this was a bit...


    ¡°so we¡¯re here to keep the overseas hunters in check, not the korean ones?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    korean hunters were cautious when conducting raids in their own country. if they caused any incidents, the south korean government wouldn¡¯t let it slide because they were korean.


    in comparison, foreign hunters had more freedom. even if they made a mess, they could just quickly flee back to their country, and their own government wouldn¡¯t punish them because they were too valuable.


    in fact, the popularity of the golden pig was higher overseas...


    ¡°if you could prevent any fights from taking place, i would be extremely grateful!¡± requested the official as he bowed deeply.


    however, using an a-grade hunter for something like this felt like using a sword to cut an onion. the effect would be obvious...


    ¡°alright, if anyone starts fighting, i¡¯ll make sure to stop them.¡±


    ¡°thank you!¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t worry, if anyone feels like fighting, i¡¯ll crack open their head,¡± han seha added confidently.


    after han seha walked away, the official asked choi yeonseung in an earnest voice,¡°hunter choi yeonseung, please...¡±


    ¡°i understand. don¡¯t worry. i¡¯ll make sure that no one dies.¡±


    ¡°oh, you¡¯re so kind!!!¡±


    the official was so touched that they teared up.


    choi yeonseung was the first hunter to be so considerate to a public official.


    ***


    ¡°aren¡¯t those korean guys using some weird skills?¡±


    the hunters of the bloody white clan of the united states were swearing. they found it ridiculous that everywhere they went, the korean hunters would rush in to claim the treasures right from under their noses.


    the koreans had killed all the profitable monsters first, so only the cheaper ones remained...


    ¡°i¡¯ve heard that the south korean government has given them the locations of the high-profile monsters.¡±


    ¡°what?! are they actually being that cheap and unfair?!¡±


    ¡®why is it unfair?¡¯ one of the listening hunters was confused. he thought it was only natural for the government to share information with the hunters of that country first...


    ¡°even if they have intel, how can it be so accurate? have they spotted the hunters on the map or something?¡±


    ¡°even if they know where the monsters are, how can they move so quickly? how many hunters are there? isn¡¯t there a mix-up?¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t it ignorant of those korean hunters to give out their private information to the government?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t talk nonsense, friend. would korean hunters accept that?¡±


    the hunters grumbled as they moved.


    some clans had special contracts with companies. for example, there could be contracts that assigned a specific monster, if it appeared, to a specific company. a clan would take care of that monster and receive a large amount of money from that company.


    ¡°ah... i think i¡¯ve been walking around for around what... fifteen hours now, because of that one pig monster.¡±


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t we just give up?¡±


    ¡°no. the news has already spread. if we don¡¯t catch it, we won¡¯t receive any more support in the next quarter.¡±


    ¡°...then let¡¯s steal it.¡±


    ¡°what crazy nonsense...¡±


    ¡°wait, it¡¯s not a bad idea actually.¡±


    ¡°hey, what are you trying to say...?¡±


    the exhausted hunters came up with devious ideas. by this point, there had to be a few korean clans that had caught golden pigs.


    trying to start a fight with those clans would be suicide, but what if they stole the monster in secrecy...?


    ¡°with the skill of this good friend over here, we can actually steal it. after all, we only have to quietly take it away and replace it with a fake, right?¡±


    ¡°what if there¡¯s a problem and the buyer asks about it?¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t worry, team leader! saishin is the buyer, right? it¡¯s a chinese company. they won¡¯t care about legal disputes.¡±


    ¡°hey, this could actually work.¡±


    instead of dissuading the team leader from allowing them to go through with this wrongful plan, his subordinate actually persuaded him to go with it. certainly, chinese companies were likely to agree to buy it even if there were some legal problems.


    ¡°okay. let¡¯s steal it as quietly as possible. rumor has it that there¡¯s an a-grade hunter here.¡±


    ¡°team leader... if you don¡¯t want to do it, just say so. an a-grade hunter? haha, that¡¯s ridiculous!¡±


    the other hunters burst into laughter at their leader¡¯s words. they knew he didn¡¯t have a sense of humor, but they hadn¡¯t thought he would say something so ridiculous...

 Chapter 332

    chapter 332


    as the hunters of the bloody white clan were scheming in a hidden place in the mountains, choi yeonseung was dealing with some other hunters.


    ¡°are you blind?! i hit it first! here, the side! look at the side! don¡¯t you see the burn marks?¡±


    ¡°u-uh... this bastard is going to trick people! does a monster die just from being hit with fire? it was my attack that hit it in the head! i¡¯m the one who saved your life, so be grateful!¡±


    ¡®ugh, isn¡¯t this embarrassing for our country...?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was amazed by the civilized way in which these korean hunters were arguing with each other.


    of course, the overseas hunters behind him didn¡¯t raise their eyebrows at all.


    ¡°they¡¯re fighting fiercely for their rights.¡±


    ¡°ah, i¡¯m so jealous! if i¡¯d come a bit earlier, i could¡¯ve hit one of the monsters and asked for a share.¡±


    ¡°woah, so they¡¯re not trying to shoot each other? it¡¯s amazing! don¡¯t people usually shoot someone when fighting like this?¡±


    ¡°in south korea, they don¡¯t shoot each other. instead, they call the public officials and make an agreement with each other.¡±


    ¡°what?!¡±


    ¡®why aren¡¯t these bastards helping?¡¯


    the official from the hunter bureau was furious at these hunters and cursed at them in his mind. there were many people present, but none of them tried to help.


    ¡°well, in principle, the one who hit the monster first has claim over the rewards. if you look at the video, it seems that the fire attack hit the monster first...¡±


    ¡°what?! a civil servant is plotting against me! i can¡¯t take this anymore!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    of course, the hunters didn¡¯t agree even when the official presented them with video evidence.


    choi yeonseung, who was watching this circus from the side, finally intervened, ¡°i think this person hit it first.¡±


    ¡°what? you bribed other hunters...?!¡±


    before he could finish speaking, han seha brought her sword to the belligerent hunter¡¯s throat. the hunter was just about to shout when he saw choi yeonseung. he then looked back at han seha and finally realized the situation he was in.


    ¡°yeah, on second thoughts, i think he hit it first!¡±


    ¡°thank you for your understanding!¡±


    ¡°no need!¡±


    choi yeonseung and han seha swiftly ended the conflict, which moved the official to tears.


    ¡°thank you!


    normally, it would¡¯ve taken several hours to settle a dispute like this, and even then, the hunters would still come back later to demand the truth, or what they believed to be the truth. thus, the fact that choi yeonseung and han seha had calmed them down so fast was nothing short of a miracle.


    only a-grade hunters could do such wonders!


    ¡°let¡¯s go somewhere else,¡± said choi yeonseung.


    ¡°huh?! are you going to do it again?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s what i¡¯m here for, right?¡±


    ¡°...uh, d-do you have any intention of becoming a member of the national assembly...?¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    choi yeonseung looked at the official as if wondering what nonsense he was saying.


    the official whispered so that no one else could hear it, ¡°if you run for it, i will tell everyone around me to vote for you.¡±


    ¡°no, there¡¯s no need...¡±


    ***


    the golden pig had a transformation skill, but it wasn¡¯t anything spectacular. if it transformed, a golden pig could fool people from a distance, but if someone looked at it for some time or they got closer, they could tell that it was actually a golden pig.


    these types of monsters gradually became easier to deal with as people accumulated more information about them. in fact, several golden pigs had already appeared, and the hunters had easily dealt with them.


    instead, something else happened that distressed the hunters.


    ¡°don¡¯t come this way!¡±


    ¡°you can¡¯t come this way!¡±


    the moment some hunters saw han seha, they were frightened and tried to stop her from coming closer.


    seeing this, han seha nodded kindly and drew her weapon...


    however, choi yeonseung stopped her and spoke to the hunters, ¡°why are you doing this? of course, i know that it¡¯s first come, first served, but to completely deny any kind of access to the monsters...?¡±


    ¡°uhm... it¡¯s because hunter han seha is a member of hanseong group,¡± a hunter said hesitantly. he normally wouldn¡¯t have explained himself, but he was scared. han seha was giving him a murder stare from the side...


    ¡°why does it matter if she belongs to hanseong group?¡±


    ¡°hanseong group has also put a bounty on this golden pig, and... we were commissioned by namhyeong group...¡±


    ¡®ah. i see.¡¯ choi yeonseung understood what the hunter meant.


    usually, companies issued quite a lot of requests to catch certain monsters. whether they were researching that monster or just making soup out of it, companies were concerned with making profit from new inventions.


    from that perspective, hunters couldn¡¯t help flinching whenever they saw someone like han seha, who was a direct descendant of hanseong group. besides, she was an a-grade hunter, so even if she barged in and tried to take something for herself unfairly, the other hunters couldn¡¯t do anything to stop it.


    ¡°...shut up. have you been guarding the golden pig?¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    the hunters had already managed to capture one of the golden pigs. it was several times more difficult to capture a monster as opposed to just killing it, but it wasn¡¯t impossible.


    there were also several sleep-related and stun-related artifacts, which had made it pretty easy for the hunters to capture the golden pig.


    ¡°what? did it wake up and transform? hasn¡¯t it transformed into another monster?¡± asked one of the hunters, looking puzzled. he looked at the golden pig in the special case, but it looked like another monster.


    the golden pig could shapeshift, but it couldn¡¯t do so when it was unconscious.


    ¡°it can transform.¡±


    ¡°then it must¡¯ve woken up... but it didn¡¯t move, did it?¡±


    ¡°i guess it was quietly waiting for an opportunity to transform. anyway, there¡¯s no reason to worry. it¡¯s going to jump out if you open the door.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true, but...¡±


    the hunter wondered if something was wrong, but his companions persuaded him to let it go.


    after all, what could a captured monster do?


    ***


    ¡®is it future sight?¡¯


    a vision suddenly appeared before choi yeonseung¡¯s eyes. he had experienced it many times before, so he was no longer surprised by it.


    the goddess of balance had bestowed this power on him. it was a rare power from the abyss that allowed its user to glimpse into the future!


    ¡°...???¡±


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t believe his eyes.


    he tried to compose himself, but the vision was so terrible that he couldn¡¯t do so.


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    choi yeonseung could see a golden pig in a special cage, and it suddenly transformed. at first, he thought it was just using its transformation skill, but it soon became apparent that it wasn¡¯t the trivial skill used by every other golden pig.


    with a deafening roar, the creature burst out of the cage!


    everyone at the scene, which looked like a laboratory, ran away screaming.


    -you said you properly anesthetized it!


    -it¡¯s not a golden pig!it¡¯s not a golden pig!


    -activate the alarm!emergency!emergency!the monster has escaped!


    it wasn¡¯t a golden pig that had transformed into another monster, but the reverse. another monster had transformed into a golden pig!


    choi yeonseung was shocked.


    ¡®it¡¯s not a normal monster!¡¯


    he couldn¡¯t recognize it because it kept changing its appearance, but the monsters able to do something like that were usually strong in the abyss.


    it wasn¡¯t uncommon for some monsters to be so cunning and malicious that they hid themselves by assuming another form.


    ¡®is the explosion constellation involved in this?¡¯


    choi yeonseung frowned as he quickly tried to come up with possible explanations for this. in order to prepare for this, he needed to know where this monster appeared and how.


    he had to know as much as possible...


    ¡°???¡±


    choi yeonseung suddenly paused.


    ¡®i don¡¯t think it¡¯s in south korea...?¡¯


    the moment the monster came out, the signs that it passed by were in chinese, not korean. what was going on...?


    ¡®did the golden pig appear in china?¡¯


    rather, it seemed more likely that overseas hunters took the golden pig to china. the chances of a monster which hadn¡¯t appeared in over twenty years to suddenly appear in two countries were rather slim.


    the vision disappeared and choi yeonseung sighed.


    ¡®no...¡¯


    he wasn¡¯t shocked that some hunters had brought a monster to another country. after all, every country had hunters who did things like that. however, why would they take a mysterious monster disguised as a golden pig instead of an actual golden pig?


    ¡®ah... this...¡¯


    choi yeonseung clicked his tongue. no matter how he thought about it, this was a tricky situation.


    ¡°can you go ahead and send an official notice to all the hunters who have come to south korea?¡±


    ¡°yes, of course! what message do you want the letter to contain?¡± the person in charge responded immediately.


    considering how much choi yeonseung had helped them so far, the person in charge would¡¯ve complied even if choi yeonseung had asked them to steal the personal information of overseas hunters.


    ¡°the message should be that if any overseas hunters are sneaking out golden pigs, i won¡¯t punish them if they come forward and admit it.¡±


    ¡°...i-i can send it, but...¡±


    the person in charge hesitated because he couldn¡¯t bear to tell choi yeonseung the truth: that those bastards would certainly disregard his warning...

 Chapter 333

    chapter 333


    ¡°...i know, but i still have to tell them.¡±


    choi yeonseung regretted a bit what he had said.


    normally, one would expect the hunters who had come to south korea to read choi yeonseung¡¯s official letter and abide by his instructions, realizing that he was actually worried about them.


    however, it was more likely that they would brush off his letter, saying things like ¡°what¡¯s with this nonsense?¡±


    choi yeonseung knew better than anyone that hunters didn¡¯t listen...


    ¡°tell them that there might be a dangerous monster lurking among the other monsters. also tell them that they might get hurt if they try to steal it.¡±


    ***


    ¡°what¡¯s with this nonsense?¡±


    ¡°does he think we¡¯ll just believe anything that an a-grade hunter says?¡±


    the hunters snorted at the letter. nobody took it seriously, not even the hunters who had no intention of smuggling monsters.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung is so naive. does he think a letter will fix anything?¡±


    ¡°hey, be quiet. what if you piss him off and he does something crazy? he can grab all of us, line us up, and inspect us.¡±


    ¡°he can¡¯t do that...¡±


    ¡°don¡¯t talk about things that you don¡¯t know. the south korean government records all the hunters¡¯ personal information in their database.¡±


    ¡°what? and the korean hunters don¡¯t protest about that?¡±


    ¡°what are those koreans...?¡±


    the hunters from abroad whispered to each other. for some of them, the letter had struck a nerve, so they exchanged nervous looks.


    ¡®you took care of it, right?¡¯


    ¡®don¡¯t worry. haven¡¯t we already done this a bunch of times?¡¯


    not even a-grade hunters could catch them smuggling monsters. after all, they weren¡¯t gods.


    if they locked the stolen monster in a special cage, moved it to the pre-ordered cargo, and processed it to prevent magic power from leaking, it was virtually impossible to find it through an inspection.


    unless the culprit was apprehended and interrogated, it was impossible to determine from where the monster had been smuggled.


    ¡°but what if it¡¯s a really dangerous monster?¡±


    ¡°what? you idiot... you actually believe that?¡±


    ¡°b-but hunter choi yeonseung isn¡¯t a liar. he¡¯s helped my grandfather...¡± said a hunter from the bloody white clan timidly. he was talking about the s-grade monster raid that had taken place in the united states: the rutherford raid.


    during that raid, choi yeonseung had been the only one who bothered to evacuate the citizens. the others hadn¡¯t cared about one or two dying citizens; they had only cared about killing monsters and accumulating more profits for themselves.


    seeing that his subordinate was defending choi yeonseung, the team leader clicked his tongue, thinking he was being pathetic.


    ¡°he did that just for show. you were deceived. i mean... imagine that you became an a-grade hunter, right? would you use your powers for something as trivial as saving people?¡±


    ¡°i personally wouldn¡¯t do it, but why is it so implausible for choi yeonseung to do it?¡±


    ¡°tsk tsk... you need a few good smacks to the back of your head to come back to your senses. don¡¯t worry. there will be a few articles about hunter choi yeonseung in the future. let¡¯s hope that he''ll get hit by a car while on drugs and buried with magic. not even a-grade hunters could recover after such a scandal.¡±


    the hunter was stunned by the team leader¡¯s words. the latter seemed to suddenly feel sorry for what he had just said and tapped his subordinate on the shoulder.


    ¡°hey, i¡¯m sorry. in fact, i, too, might¡¯ve felt grateful for him if he¡¯d saved one of my family members. just send him a thank you card later.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°and also, what does it matter if it¡¯s a dangerous monster? we¡¯re sending it to a chinese company. if things go south, they¡¯ll go south in china. in a way, we¡¯re actually being patriotic.¡±


    ¡°that makes me feel a bit better.¡±


    ¡°right?¡±


    the bloody white hunters felt better and flew out of the country.


    there were hundreds of hunters going through the airport every day, so nobody cared if some no-name clan hunters left the country.


    ***


    guangzhou.


    this city had been the center of trading and politics for a very long time. it prospered even more since the capital had been taken over by the master of slowness and silence.


    the chinese government was humiliated by the evil god constellation and invested heavily in various clans and companies, also creating a special zone for them.


    saishin, the chinese company that commissioned the bloody white clan to catch the golden pig, was also located in this city.


    ¡°...¡±


    anyone with a brain would know why he had called out of nowhere.


    the saishin employee tried his best to compose himself before replying.


    ¡°ah! hunter choi yeonseung! it¡¯s a pleasure to speak to you! my name is guan dao and i work at saishin. thank you for your cooperation in the raid the other day. thanks to you, many hunters managed to return home instead of wasting their time in that place.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    at first, choi yeonseung was confused and wondered what guan dao was talking about, but then he realized that he was talking about the second realm the explosion constellation had prepared.


    ¡°you sent your hunters in that dungeon in such an ignorant manner.¡±


    ¡°uh... well, everybody does things differently, heh...¡±


    ¡°yes, there are many ways to do it, but jumping off a cliff isn¡¯t one of them. that¡¯s just suicide, okay?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s harsh critique, guan dao hurriedly changed the subject.


    ¡°so why did you contact us? if you wish for us to cooperate with you in some endeavor, we always welcome it,¡± said guan dao in a soft voice.


    choi yeonseung was a cheeky a-grade hunter from another country, but given how much authority he had at dragon industry, it was extremely tempting to work with him. making a few profitable contracts with him would be enough for saishin to reach the sales quota for an entire year.


    ¡°give me the golden pig.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    guan dao almost dropped his phone. he had suspected that choi yeonseung might¡¯ve called in regards to that, but he hadn¡¯t expected him to say it so bluntly.


    ¡°what do you mean...?¡±


    ¡°let¡¯s not beat around the bush. i don¡¯t want to waste my time with this,¡± choi yeonseung warned sincerely.


    guan dao could feel how serious choi yeonseung was and broke out in a sweat. an a-grade hunter¡¯s threat would inevitably cause people to shake in their boots, whether the threat was genuine or not.


    however, guan dao didn¡¯t back down. if he returned the golden pig because he got scared, then the subsequent board meeting would be ten times more terrifying than an a-grade hunter tearing him apart.


    they would take away his house, his car, even his underwear...


    ¡°i¡¯m afraid i don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°even though i asked you nicely, you still won¡¯t budge, huh?¡±


    guan dao gulped anxiously and tried to persuade him.


    ¡°of course, i know you can do a lot of things. you can have the media slander saishin or pressure other countries to condemn us.¡±


    ¡®huh? i didn¡¯t think that far ahead though...?¡¯


    ¡°but that won¡¯t work, hunter choi yeonseung.¡±


    ¡°and why is that?¡±


    ¡°we won¡¯t give in to some insults from other countries.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung found it ridiculous. what was this bastard bragging about...?


    any reasonable person would care about their reputation. even choi yeonseung, who didn¡¯t know much about running a company, knew that international reputation was quite important. so why was guan dao saying all that nonsense so confidently?


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung, this is just one monster... if you let this go, you might just be rewarded later,¡± guan dao spoke softly.


    choi yeonseung sighed before replying, ¡°i have no intention of doing that. and just so you know, i¡¯m warning you guys for your sake, not mine.¡±


    ¡°huh?¡± guan dao asked with a sneer. ¡°what do you mean?¡±


    ¡°one of the golden pigs is stronger than you think. you guys might get harmed badly if you mess around with the monster and research it. mobilize the hunters and deal with it now!¡±


    ¡°haha. you don¡¯t have to worry, hunter choi yeonseung. there are dozens of clans around here. we can mobilize as many hunters as necessary. dozens of hunters are protecting the building... we can deal with any problem...¡±


    bang!!


    no sooner had guan dao finished his sentence than a deafening roar was heard from his side.


    a sound like that wasn¡¯t normal.


    choi yeonseung said wryly, ¡°well, i think a relevant problem has just occurred.¡±


    ¡°no... no, it¡¯s nothing, really...¡±


    ¡°hey, i¡¯m trying to give you advice on how to save your life...¡±


    after that, contact was lost, and choi yeonseung shook his head in dismay.

 Chapter 334

    chapter 334


    ¡®why don¡¯t people listen to me no matter how nicely i talk to them?¡¯


    -if you ever lose your affection for humanity and want to give up on it, please let me know at any time.


    ¡®...no, it¡¯s not like that.¡¯


    choi yeonseung came to his senses after hearing the goddess of sloth¡¯s words. he felt really frustrated with humans at the moment, but nothing really changed. after all, hadn¡¯t he always known how humans could be? he had always been prepared to deal with something like this.


    of course, it was still quite infuriating that this incident, which could¡¯ve easily been prevented if the chinese had cooperated, had escalated so much due to greed, but...


    ¡°i¡¯ll have to get in touch with them.¡±


    choi yeonseung sighed as he got ready to contact the chinese side.


    he was an a-grade hunter and the chairman of dragon industry, so he could make an appointment even with the president of the united states to go to the sauna together.


    ¡®but the problem is whether they¡¯ll listen...¡¯


    it was likely that the current us president would listen to choi yeonseung, but it was unlikely that the chinese embassy would take him seriously.


    ¡°it seems that there¡¯s a problem with the monster acquired by saishin, a company located in guangzhou...¡±


    ¡°thank you for your concern, hunter choi yeonseung. however, guangzhou has dozens of hunter clans, and some of the most elite military units in china are stationed in the southern area. you don¡¯t have to worry.¡±


    in short, they told him not to worry as they would take care of it on their own...


    ¡°...no, don¡¯t say that. aren¡¯t you going to look into it and increase your security?¡±??v€l?1n.


    despite being a constellation, choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t help being angry. he couldn¡¯t sway the chinese ambassador even though he was being firm with his warning.


    since it was the raid era, diplomats were forced to become thick-skinned and more tenacious. that was especially the case with china.


    if problems arose between countries, the diplomat was the first person to be called, and in the raid era, international problems arose on a daily basis.


    -now your country¡¯s hunter has entered the dungeon on his own...


    -we¡¯re sorry.


    -smuggling artifacts is unforgivable!then...


    -we¡¯re really sorry.


    -this time, there is evidence that your company violated human rights and conducted forced labor!


    -we¡¯re really, really sorry...


    -don¡¯t just apologize!


    ...the diplomat of a country that had conflicts with pretty much everyone on the globe had to at least be tougher than titanium mentally.


    bang!


    choi yeonseung threw his phone against the wall but instantly regretted it.


    ¡®i¡¯m not gyeongryong hyung... why am i wasting money?¡¯


    -you¡¯re a constellation, so you can afford to waste that much...


    the goddess of sloth said that because she felt sorry for choi yeonseung.


    other constellations, no matter how weak, were essentially the rulers of their own kingdoms. meanwhile, choi yeonseung felt sorry for destroying a machine while dealing with humans who didn¡¯t listen to him.


    it was heartbreaking even for the goddess of sloth.


    in the meantime, aine received a call from choi yeonseung from another number.


    -why weren¡¯t you answering me?


    -the other phone is broken...


    -did you smash it?it¡¯s okay.that is how you get rid of stress.it¡¯s ten times better than killing people.


    -......


    choi yeonseung was taken aback by the very low standards for destressing.


    -in any case, i called you to see how things are moving along. i assume it''s not great, right?


    -yup.


    in fact, neither of them had expected the chinese side to listen to them. if they had warned another country about a situation like this, the response would¡¯ve been something like ¡°thank you for the report! we will increase our security accordingly and do our best to avert the crisis!¡±


    -it¡¯s such a shame.


    -that¡¯s right.so...


    -the stock price will definitely go down. we need to be prepared.


    -...i was going to say that people are going to get hurt.


    -...that¡¯s right!i forgot about that!


    aine quickly changed her response when she realized that choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t worried about the stock price. she felt like a psychopath who had suddenly gone mad from capitalism.


    -the us government acted first, followed by south korea.we should imitate the united states.


    -the korean government explained that it received a tip and evacuated the korean residents...


    -why did the south korean government evacuate the korean people so fast?along with the protests on the chinese side, the economic damage...


    -the chinese government¡¯s lockdown.


    ¡°i¡¯m going to have to ignore articles from now on.¡±


    choi yeonseung composed himself as he read the terrible headlines.


    the current situation...


    the problem had devolved into a crisis, and on top of that, the chinese government controlled information, and foreigners were being evacuated...


    ¡°...it looks like they¡¯re ruined.¡±


    -i think so too.


    ***


    once articles like that came out, every other country in the world would realize that the situation was severe.


    of course, the chinese government tried to reassure everyone that they had it under control, but nobody believed them.


    -clans, move to guangzhou right now!protect the people and evacuate!


    -all hunters!we need your help!your fellow people who are now trapped in guangzhou...


    immediately, the governments of various countries desperately sent requests to the clans. the situation was similar to the last monster wave, but this time it was much worse.


    during the last monster wave, the s-grade monster crossed the continent and destroyed everything in its path. that had been more of a natural disaster, but at least it had been relatively easy to gain information from the outside.


    back then, the hunters knew what was going on and could evacuate people if they were in the monster¡¯s path.


    however, in the guangzhou incident, the chinese government had issued a lockdown order and controlled the information from inside.


    the situation was frightening for all countries!


    they had to send their hunters blind and somehow rescue their own people...


    with this in mind, the responses from hunter clans around the world were not exactly enthusiastic...


    -i can¡¯t, i¡¯m coming down with a cold...


    -i broke my leg...


    -i ate korean food in south korea, but it didn¡¯t suit my taste. i had a hard time getting used to it...


    -i¡¯m still jet lagged...


    -you selfish bastards!


    -hey, right now i¡¯m abroad. you wanna see how i¡¯m gonna move to another country?


    it was utter chaos, and everybody was afraid.


    choi yeonseung thought it was a good idea to evacuate people in advance, even if it meant losing some money. how much more trouble would there be if he tried to convince the hunters to go to guangzhou?


    ¡°choi yeonseung, i received a call from china. it¡¯s from the central hunter committee...¡±


    a great power of the chinese communist party.


    the central hunter committee, a new organization created after the raid era, was the highest organization directly linked to the politburo and the secretariat.


    it had the authority to mobilize the military and directly influence the supreme party members above them. it was also the paradise of all chinese hunters who wanted to get into politics.


    the central hunter committee was so powerful that not even choi yeonseung could disregard it...


    ¡°say no.¡±


    ¡°understood.¡±


    choi yeonseung answered calmly to the call. in some matters, he would¡¯ve forgotten about any grudges and cooperated with them. however, it was really bad this time...


    ¡°the person on the phone is angry and says that it¡¯s urgent...¡±


    ¡°keep saying no.¡±


    ¡°alright.¡±


    after refusing three times, the person on the phone calmed down.


    ¡°he said, ¡®we¡¯re sorry for what happened. we didn¡¯t listen to hunter choi yeonseung¡¯s precious advice and we will punish everyone involved now. so please talk to us...¡¯¡±


    ¡°i see. refuse again.¡±


    ¡°yes.¡±


    the secretary of dragon industry, who helped choi yeonseung with his work, was intrigued by this call.


    to what extent could they humiliate the guy on the phone? it was a serious situation, so he shouldn¡¯t be thinking about such trivial things, but he couldn¡¯t help being curious.


    ¡®as expected...?¡¯

 Chapter 335

    chapter 335


    the secretary was surprised by how the person on the phone responded.


    ¡®he¡¯s more patient than i thought?¡¯


    -...tell hunter choi yeonseung that i¡¯ll be waiting for him to contact me.


    -yes, i understand.


    in this situation, other people would¡¯ve responded with something like ¡°hunter choi yeonseung is taking advantage of the united states to unreasonably bully good countries! such hegemony is unforgivable!¡±


    however, the conclusion of this call was amazing!


    ¡°don¡¯t be too anxious. they¡¯re just being petty,¡± said aine, offering careful advice.


    it might¡¯ve been different for other countries, but the chinese government would hold onto grudges for an absurd amount of time.


    normally, if other countries got scolded because an internal situation, like a monster invasion, was getting out of hand, the government would just suck it up, even though it was unpleasant, if the critique was valid.


    however, china would just get defensive in a situation like that, replying with hostility, ¡°how dare you interfere in the matters of our country? we will retaliate by any means possible!¡± then, they would unreasonably punish the people who called them out.


    in the current situation, the chinese officials felt regretful, so they swallowed their pride, bowed their heads to choi yeonseung, and called him for help... although, there was still a chance that later on they would forget about this and try to retaliate.


    ¡°i swear, if they try to get revenge on me...¡± choi yeonseung murmured.


    ¡°the easiest thing would be to target dragon industry.¡±


    banning the sales of dragon industry-related goods, blocking the export of various raw materials, causing a disturbance in front of the factories in china...


    ¡°but wouldn¡¯t that blow up in their face?¡±


    when going after a specific target, one naturally had to be prepared to get hit back. dragon industry was an american company, and the us government would most certainly not stand by and watch as one of their companies was being attacked by china.


    ¡°well, china doesn¡¯t care about diplomacy in the first place and just acts...¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true.¡±


    choi yeonseung was convinced about china¡¯s policies!


    ¡°putting that aside, it¡¯s still weird... why are they contacting me like this? it¡¯s not like there¡¯s a shortage of a-grade hunters,¡± choi yeonseung wondered.


    ¡°don¡¯t they think you know something about the situation?¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    aine¡¯s words caused choi yeonseung to have a lightbulb moment. come to think of it, it wouldn¡¯t be strange for the chinese government to misunderstand that choi yeonseung knew what the situation was in guangzhou.


    after all, he had warned the other hunters not to steal or smuggle monsters because of how dangerous things could get...


    ¡®if you can assume that, you should¡¯ve listened to me, you bastards.¡¯


    choi yeonseung found it very insulting that they were asking him for help after essentially throwing his sincere advice in the trash.


    and apart from that...


    ¡®i don¡¯t know that much either...?¡¯


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know much about the current situation. of course, the future sight vision had shown him a monster unleashing destruction, but other than that, it had been rather vague.


    ¡°i don¡¯t know anything besides that... that¡¯s a big problem.¡±


    aine suggested, ¡°since they¡¯ve got the wrong idea, can¡¯t we use that to our advantage and squeeze information out of them? wait, would that be too devious?¡±


    once again, aine had spoken without thinking it through. when she realized how her suggestion sounded, she immediately tried to back down on it.


    ¡°what nonsense are you saying? of course, we should do that! call them again! let¡¯s do it!¡±


    ¡°i guess? i was thinking that too.¡±


    choi yeonseung nodded.


    -if you tell me about the current situation in guangzhou, i¡¯ll consider helping you guys.


    in fact, choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t expecting much. perhaps it was taking so long because a unique monster appeared and took over an important area, making it impossible to do a raid without collateral damage.


    ...however, the answer that came back from the contact person was beyond choi yeonseung¡¯s imagination.


    ***


    china¡¯s c-grade hunter, xia ling, was an ordinary hunter belonging to the five dragons clan.


    generally speaking, there were two types of c-grade hunters.


    there were the c-grade hunters who burned with ambition to gain a higher rank and rejoice in wealth and fame. the majority of hunters retired or relocated after they reached e or d-grade, so c-grade was definitely a coveted position...


    however, in order to live the life of glamor of debauchery like those hunters portrayed in the media, one had to be close to b-grade at the very least.


    ...but not all hunters were like this.


    quite a few c-grade hunters gave up their greed and chose to simply be grateful that they had been lucky enough to make it that far. they had been on the verge of dying against monsters many times along the way. how could they keep fighting to get to b-grade?


    -i just need to save up my fortune and retire.if i invest smartly, i won¡¯t have to be jealous of other rich people ever again.


    -i¡¯m going to appear on a show.


    -i was invited by a company this time. i¡¯ll enter the world of corporations.


    xia ling was the typical case of a hunter who just wanted to live his life comfortably. thus, he was quite irritated by this guangzhou incident.


    -what kind of lunatic smuggled monsters?!


    -shh, be quiet.there¡¯s nothing good about public peace.the government probably let this happen.


    wei chang¡¯s face turned red when he heard the other hunters shouting behind him.


    unfortunately, due to the hunters¡¯ terrible performance in the dungeon prepared by the explosion constellation, even the chinese people were saying, ¡°what the hell are the a-grade hunters doing that they can¡¯t even clear a dungeon when they¡¯re supposed to?¡±


    ¡°...i¡¯ll do it right away!¡± wei chang exclaimed fiercely as he unleashed more magic power. he was going all out...


    ¡°...?!¡±


    before he managed to do anything, wei chang was baffled by a red energy wrapping around his body.


    [almagoria¡¯s blood has absorbed your magic power!]


    [all the opponent¡¯s skills are blocked!]


    [almagoria¡¯s blood forces the opponent to follow your order!]


    xia ling was baffled by how much power he gained.


    ¡°ahahahahaha! ahahahahaha!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the moment xia ling knocked down and subdued wei chang, an a-grade hunter trusted by everyone, all the other hunters fell silent. they felt as if the world was about to end.


    ¡°address me with ¡®your majesty,¡¯ your bastards!¡±


    ¡°gh... ghaah. go die! where did this c-grade hunter...¡±


    ¡°bah!¡±


    ¡°ghaah!¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not addressing you with ¡®majesty¡¯!¡±


    ¡°aaghh! ghaah! your... your majesty!¡±


    ¡°yes! now, what are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°...y-your majesty!¡±


    ¡°your majesty...!¡±


    just like that, xia ling subdued all the clans in the city, one by one.


    the moment several top hunters were contaminated by some peculiar blood and succumbed to it, the hunters below them were unable to escape or fight back.


    the chinese government was busy controlling information and realized what was happening too late.


    -...why are all the clans gathered in one place when each of them should occupy the areas designated to them? find out what¡¯s going on!


    -i am the king!get lost!tell the party that this is my kingdom now! i want them to officially recognize my kingdom and send diplomats!i will tear down this whole area if anybody does anything wrong!


    -what... what are you talking about?


    frightened, the government officials mobilized the military and the hunters outside guangzhou, but xia ling was formidable. he summoned the vampires and commanded the hunters he had captured to fend off the attacks from the military and outside hunters.


    just like that, guangzhou had become a semi-independent country.


    ***


    ¡°...it¡¯s creative.¡±


    choi yeonseung was impressed.


    every time he looked at hunters, they would always come up with something creative, like renting a hotel and seeing who would destroy it faster with magic, finding a way to combine drugs with psychedelic magic to have the most amount of fun, driving a car over 186 miles per hour in the city center, etc.


    however, this incident was especially creative. china was still intact, but a hunter occupied a city and declared that it was his kingdom.


    -successor, can we also do this?


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung considered it for a moment but quickly came to his senses.


    ¡®whops, i was thinking about something crazy.¡¯


    that hunter had declared that guangzhou would be an independent country, but there was no chance the chinese government would recognize it. not even the countries that hated china would acknowledge it.


    because of that, the so-called kingdom wouldn¡¯t last long...


    ¡°hunter clans have actually established countries in regions with unstable security, such as south america and africa... there¡¯s also a country in eastern europe where a hunter became a dictator. but i didn¡¯t expect this guy to do something like this so confidently...¡±


    aine also hadn¡¯t expected this. she had just thought that a monster problem had broken out. she hadn¡¯t expected a crazy hunter to claim a city as his own country.


    ¡°but isn¡¯t it good that it¡¯s a human and not a monster? if negotiations go well, we can rescue the people trapped in the city.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s true, but...¡±


    the secretary, who was listening to the conversation between the two of them, carefully said, ¡°china is still waiting for an answer. what should i tell the person?¡±


    the contact person had endured all kinds of humiliations, but despite that, he had still given choi yeonseung valuable information. thus, they had to show him some compassion.


    they had to give them advice on how to handle the situation!


    ¡°tell them to do their best and work hard.¡±


    ¡°...uh, should i really tell them that?¡±


    ¡°yes, tell them.¡±


    for the first time, aine felt sorry for the other person.

 Chapter 336

    chapter 336


    ¡®they¡¯ll curse at us a bit...¡¯


    no matter how terrible the position of the chinese contact person was, he would most certainly curse at them.


    ¡°so if it¡¯s a person, not a monster, causing the disturbance... i think it¡¯s better to negotiate with that lunatic hunter to evacuate the people from the city instead of using force.¡±


    ¡°i think so too.¡±


    the korean residents and the employees of dragon industry had already been evacuated, but in situations like this, there would always be people who didn¡¯t listen.


    there were many people, including employees of other companies in the united states, who remained in guangzhou. choi yeonseung¡¯s main area of activity was the united states, so he couldn¡¯t just leave the americans there.


    in fact, he was still getting calls from us officials.


    -hunter choi yeonseung, the good american people are suffering.


    -i¡¯m from south korea...


    -yes, but aren¡¯t you an american at heart?


    -what...?


    -if you step up to help them, the other a-grade hunters might follow your example.


    -so you¡¯ve called me first because you think i¡¯m the easiest to persuade?


    -...tha-that¡¯s not true! if you¡¯re feeling unwell, i¡¯ll call some other time.


    of course, the chinese government was affected the most by this crisis, but... since the city was so big, other countries had no choice but to mobilize hunters and send them to rescue their citizens who were trapped there.


    naturally, governments contacted a-grade hunters as well, and realistically, they had no other choice but to contact choi yeonseung first.


    ¡®well... i also would¡¯ve contacted me first...¡¯


    has the hunter been active recently? (o).


    have they killed civilians, used banned drugs, or committed any other kinds of criminal behavior? (x).


    are they a money-crazed asshole ? (x).


    ...no matter how the us government officials thought about it, it was clear to them that choi yeonseung was much more reliable than other a-grade hunters.


    even though he wasn¡¯t american, he was their best option!


    at choi yeonseung¡¯s words, aine, visibly embarrassed, said, ¡°i¡¯m so embarrassed. honestly, i wish we could just ignore this whole mess. they¡¯ve disregarded you all this time and now they¡¯re asking you to step up and help...¡±


    aine bit her lip.


    honestly, it was better for choi yeonseung to just take care of his own people. if the employees of other companies died, the stock prices of those companies would plummet, causing them to stagnate. meanwhile, choi yeonseung and dragon industry wouldn¡¯t be affected at all.


    in fact, one of the secretaries expressed this exact opinion.


    -do we really need to let them know?


    -...are you a psychopath?


    -n-no...no...


    -i wouldn¡¯t want others to treat me like that either, so shut up.


    as aine thought about it, she realized that she had never done such a good deed in her entire life. wouldn¡¯t this be enough for santa claus to come and give her a present?


    ...but the rest of the american companies really didn¡¯t listen to choi yeonseung¡¯s warning.


    -what evacuation...?if we evacuate, who¡¯s going to fulfill the quota?


    -isn¡¯t dragon industry doing this to keep us in check?


    -how many hunters did you evacuate?we can¡¯t make profit if you¡¯re so obsessed with evacuation!


    fortunately, hunters had managed to evacuate the people on dragon industry¡¯s side after they threatened that they would leave them behind. those employees had been pressured by other people close to them, but many other americans stayed behind. witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through n?o?v€l--b1n.


    the hunters wondered what was the matter with these people. the problem was that their bosses had ordered them to say.


    ¡°all the koreans have evacuated in an orderly manner. what the hell is wrong with americans?!¡± complained aine.


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung was silent.


    seeing his reaction, aine asked cautiously, ¡°...so not all koreans got out?¡±


    ¡°indeed, there are still a few left.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    all people were the same after all.


    -it¡¯s fine.we won¡¯t die.


    -but if hunter choi yeonseung said it¡¯s dangerous...


    -don¡¯t you think your position is in more danger?the monster might make it all the way here, but if you leave this place, it¡¯s absolutely guaranteed that you¡¯ll lose your position.


    there were quite a few koreans who had also stayed behind because of pressure from above.


    ¡°however, there are only a few koreans who chose to stay behind.¡±


    ¡°so there¡¯s a difference between koreans and americans after all...¡±


    ¡°no, that¡¯s not it. seha threatened them.¡±


    -everyone, shut up.


    choi yeonseung silenced the other constellations and then proceeded to contact the goddess of balance.


    -goddess, do you have any vampires among your household members or minions?


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ wakes up in a hurry!]


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ says to wait a moment!]


    [she earnestly asks you to wait while she asks other constellations.]


    -...i-it¡¯s okay... take your time...


    the goddess of sloth listened to their conversation with great interest. it was a unique situation in which it wasn¡¯t clear which of the two constellations was using the honey-trap stratagem.


    not even the goddess of sloth, a constellation who had been around since the beginning of the abyss, couldn¡¯t tell if the goddess of balance was trying to deceive choi yeonseong or if she was being sincere.


    after a while...


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ says in a gloomy voice that there are no vampires among her household members or servants.]


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ is sorry that she couldn¡¯t help you.]


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ says that if you need anything else, don¡¯t hesitate to ask her....]


    -...yes.i understand.


    choi yeonseung thought it was best for him to not contact the goddess of balance for a while.


    ***


    surprisingly, there was one vampire that choi yeonseung knew about, and he wasn¡¯t just any vampire. he was the head of a family, the vampire king!


    however, there was one problem.


    -isn¡¯t he the household member of the noble crown collector?


    -yep. that¡¯s a problem.


    the collector constellation was one of the evil god constellations choi yeonseung hated the most.


    it must¡¯ve been utterly shocking for the collector constellation to lose the united kingdom, one of his sources of power.


    even though he was an evil god constellation and he had recently been attacked and stripped of his power, there had been no news about him recently. it was clear that he had gone into hiding to recover from the tremendous defeat.


    -i don¡¯t know how he¡¯s going to react if i send someone to his kingdom to request a meeting with the vampire.


    -you have nothing to lose, so you might as well give it a try.


    the words of the goddess of sloth made sense.


    choi yeonseung gave orders to a newly acquired demon who was in the collector constellation¡¯s kingdom.


    he wanted to meet garhansha, the vampire king.


    -master,i will tell him, but... the realms of the explosion constellation and the collector constellation are a bit different. they won¡¯t budge.


    even the experienced demons were skeptical. it seemed likely that they would either ignore their request and even retaliate.


    ...yet surprisingly, garhansha accepted choi yeonseung¡¯s request.


    ***


    ¡°i didn¡¯t think you¡¯d agree to meet me,¡± said choi yeonseung.


    ¡°well, you were not wrong to assume that,¡± replied garhansha. it was only natural for choi yeonseung to assume that, since abyssal creatures would usually decline invitations from a hostile constellation.


    however, garhansha hadn¡¯t done that.


    ¡°nevertheless, i accepted your invitation, honorable man. do you know why?¡¯


    ¡°is it because you¡¯re dissatisfied with the collector constellation?¡±


    ¡°...no... it is because i respect your honor,¡± garhansha answered as though he found it absurd. it would¡¯ve been ridiculous to decline choi yeonseung¡¯s invitation for something like that...


    ¡°ah, my honor?¡± choi yeonseung wondered.


    ¡°yes, it¡¯s because of your honor.¡±


    back when they fought a constellation battle in the uk, choi yeonseung¡¯s performance had been impressive. he had made sacrifices for the underdogs he didn¡¯t even like!


    choi yeonseung could¡¯ve just focused on bringing victory to his constellation. however, he hadn¡¯t done so.


    seeing that, garhansha had realized that choi yeonseung was as honorable as him.


    ¡®...did this guy forget that he was deceived in the constellation battle?¡¯ choi yeonseung thought.


    -he probably thinks it wasn¡¯t you who did it, right?


    -in any case, i¡¯m just grateful that his misunderstanding works to our advantage.


    choi yeonseung took out a chair and poured the vampire something to drink.


    garhansha received the cup gracefully. the bright red color of the drink and the magic power emanating from it delighted him.


    ¡°mmm... most delicious. have you perhaps prepared blood for me?¡±


    not everybody could prepare so meticulously for such an honorable meeting. as expected, this human knew how important honor was...


    ¡°ah, i¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s just tomato juice. did you prefer blood?¡±


    ¡°...it¡¯s okay. i don¡¯t really need blood...¡±

 Chapter 337

    chapter 337


    garhansha picked up the cup with a slightly sullen expression. he then suddenly remembered an old story of a vampire wandering in the abyss.


    -a vampire wandered aimlessly through the abyss and ended up staying the night in a cave. as he went to sleep, he realized he was thirsty, so he tried finding something to drink. he quickly found a corpse which still had fresh blood. the vampire thanked his luck and quenched his thirst with the fresh blood; it was unbelievably delicious. however, at dawn, the vampire realized that he hadn¡¯t drunk blood from a corpse, but water from a wooden bucket!


    ¡®indeed, everything depends on the mindset. i shall drink in gratitude of the wishes of the honorable one.¡¯


    garhansha respected choi yeonseung, so he couldn¡¯t ignore his gesture of goodwill.


    the vampire gulped down the tomato juice.


    ¡°...!¡±


    he was impressed by the taste


    ¡®how?!¡¯


    garhansha had lived in the abyss for a long time and enjoyed all types of luxuries, but this was the first time he drank something like this. n??v€lrapture marked the initial hosting of this chapter on n?o?v€l??n.


    was this how it felt to wander through the desert for three days and three nights, tormented by an agonizing thirst, not finding a single drop of water, only to finally gulp down the cold spring water?


    was this what icy fruit juice tasted like after finally escaping a searing prison cell constantly heated by fire?


    the tomato juice slightly touched garhansha¡¯s tongue, then it glided seamlessly down his esophagus, the exquisite taste leaving the vampire mesmerized.


    ¡®delicious...!¡¯


    garhansha quivered. this tomato juice contained a surprising amount of potent magic power.


    not all magic power was the same; this one encapsulated the majestic vitality of the earth...


    ¡°is it that bad? you don¡¯t have to drink it.¡±


    choi yeonseung took the cup away as he got a bit worried. he regretted having given garhansha tomato juice made from the tomatoes grown by the orcs instead of blood.


    this wasn¡¯t the fox and crane. giving tomato juice to a vampire was probably a bad idea...


    ¡°no! this tomato juice is exquisite! only a constellation could¡¯ve made something so pristine!¡±


    ¡°...?!¡±


    how did garhansha know?


    ¡°thank you so much, human. i never thought someone would treat me with such gracious hospitality.¡±


    garhansha seemed even more impressed.


    ¡°why did you call me, garhansha? i shall do whatever i can to help you as long as it doesn¡¯t taint my honor.¡±


    choi yeonseung opened up about almagoria, the vampire who had appeared in guangzhou.


    garhansha listened attentively and nodded in understanding.


    ¡°of course i know him. almagoria... he is an old vampire. most mortals in the abyss probably don¡¯t know about him. he is the one who lost a civil war among the vampires a long time ago.¡±


    vampires took bloodlines very seriously. the families that shared the same blood were united with a tight bond. once outsiders, enemies, came in, those families fought fiercely to defend their lineage; they would never surrender.


    almagoria was the head and chief vampire of one of those vampire clans.


    ¡°in a way, you could say almagoria was like me. however, he was ruthless and had no honor. he killed his own people over and over again and drained their blood.¡±


    ¡°i see...¡±


    ¡°many clans were outraged by his atrocities and decided to take him down. almagoria managed to escape but lost most of his power. no matter how much the other vampires searched for almagoria, they couldn¡¯t find a single trace of him. i wondered what happened, but it turns out that he was hiding, disguising himself as a different creature.¡±


    ¡°what is he like? does he have any weaknesses? what does he like?¡±


    ¡°almagoria is a vampire as strong as me. he might actually be stronger than me if he¡¯s regained his full strength. as for things he likes... he¡¯s obsessed with titles. his pursuit of titles betrays his unparalleled vanity. call him a king and he¡¯ll love it,¡± garhansha said contemptuously.


    ¡®he¡¯s already claiming to be a king...¡¯ choi yeonseung thought to himself as he remembered the specific details of the guangzhou incident.


    ¡°do you think sending another vampire will help with the negotiations?¡± choi yeonseung wondered.


    ¡°no. given how conceited he is, it¡¯s better for another abyssal race to go. once you meet him, compliment him on everything: the way he speaks, the way he fights, the way he handles his subordinates... everything.¡±


    ¡®this sounds somewhat familiar.¡¯


    choi yeonseung suddenly had a sense of de?ja? vu. why did he feel this?


    ¡®...ah, it was the same dealing with the goddess of balance...¡¯


    -......


    ***


    -it would be suicide to go to guangzhou right now.there¡¯s a huge barrier in place.they¡¯ll detect you the moment you step foot into the city.


    -their defenses are no joke.not only have they stolen military equipment, but they¡¯ve also gathered new monsters.they even have the captive hunters!


    -it¡¯s virtually impossible to overpower them...


    -shut up!


    the government officials responded fiercely to reports from the clans stuck in guangzhou.


    caring for each individual clan and hunter wasn¡¯t the style of the chinese government. they preferred quantity over quality.


    -hunter choi yeonseung warned them eleven times. didn¡¯t they ignore it?are they stupid or deaf? or both??


    the public opinion was so hostile that the executives of the companies immediately held a meeting to deal with it. of course, a meeting for countermeasures didn¡¯t always yield useful results...


    ¡°...let¡¯s apologize to hunter choi yeonseung and beg him to help us.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the south korean companies waved the white flag.


    -we¡¯ll never ignore your warnings ever again, so please give us another chance...


    the moment the american companies saw this, they had an epiphany. it was better to apologize than to end up buried in controversy...!


    -we were wrong. we apologize!


    -......


    the executives of the korean companies were furious when they heard that the us companies sent someone to apologize.


    -they¡¯re only doing this because we got into trouble first...!


    ***


    ¡°long live his majesty, the great ruler of guangzhou, emperor xia ling!¡±


    ¡°long live his majesty, the great ruler of guangzhou, emperor xia ling!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    loud voices were heard as soon as he arrived at the airport. it was the airport staff shouting in unison.


    choi yeonseung glanced suspiciously at them.


    -we¡¯re doing this because we want to.we¡¯re doing this to survive.


    -understandable.


    at the airport, there was already a pamphlet that had ¡®the governing philosophy of the xia ling empire¡¯ written on it.


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t necessarily curious, but he read it regardless.


    -the xia ling empire is an absolute monarchy.


    -the sovereignty of the xia ling empire resides within xia ling. all power comes from xia ling.


    -the territory of the xia ling empire...


    -......


    -the xia ling empire doesn¡¯t have the freedom of blood.blood every week...


    -......


    ¡°i think it¡¯s even worse than a constellation...¡±


    garhansha had said that almagoria had originally been an efficient dictator and that he had done more things for his kingdom than other ruling constellations.


    weirdly enough, it didn¡¯t feel that odd when looking at the streets from outside the airport. it looked like any other dictatorship.


    ¡°welcome!¡±


    xia ling had already built a decent palace.


    the moment choi yeonseung arrived there, the hunters next to him instructed him on how to behave.


    ¡°lay down and bow.¡±


    ¡°...i¡¯m from a democratic country. i don¡¯t bow to rulers. it¡¯s been a long time since my country had a king.¡±


    xia ling became furious. ¡°how dare you disrespect me like that...?¡±


    ¡°oh, i mean no disrespect. if i didn¡¯t acknowledge your majesty, would i even be here?¡± choi yeonseung said quickly before xia ling got even more angry.


    xia ling nodded in agreement when he heard ¡°your majesty.¡±


    ¡°fine, i allow you to speak. what have you come here to say?¡±


    ¡°i acknowledge your majesty¡¯s kingdom, no, empire. however, other powers in the world don¡¯t recognize your empire and are interfering with it.¡±


    ¡°umm... that seems to be the case. after all, the americans...¡±


    ¡°no, your majesty. it¡¯s the chinese who are standing in your way!¡±


    ¡°what? i thought they were americans...¡±


    ¡°your majesty, think carefully. can the united states act without china¡¯s surveillance? they¡¯re being pressured by china to act like this. haven¡¯t you learnt to do this too, your majesty?¡±


    ¡°indeed, i have.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung was speechless. was it working?


    ¡®what kind of education did he get?¡¯

 Chapter 338

    chapter 338


    in any case, xia ling seemed to be in a good mood, so choi yeonseung decided to say what he had come here to say.


    ¡°your majesty, it¡¯s the evil chinese government that doesn¡¯t acknowledge and disrupts your mighty empire. so please, your majesty, let the people from other countries go. if you do that, i shall be eternally grateful to you.¡±


    as he was pleading with xia ling, choi yeonseung remembered the old days. he hadn¡¯t always fought while wandering around the abyss.


    he would sometimes sit down and have conversations.


    -ugh, you¡¯re not too shabby, but you can¡¯t hurt me.if you want to hurt me, you should bring me a well-done red drake sirloin.


    -ugh.you brought me the red drake sirloin, but there¡¯s still a long way to go.if you really want to defeat me, you need to bring the spirit water from the depths of the valley here...


    -oh!you brought the spirit water to me, but...


    -...this guy is just playing with us!


    -you asshole!


    of course, such conversations would still end up with fights. there were several races in the abyss who had never seen humans before. thus, choi yeonseung had taken advantage of that and managed to fool many abyssal creatures despite his almost nonexistent eloquence.


    however, he had received advice from garhansha on how to deal with this particular situation.


    ¡®if i appeal to his vanity and stroke his ego, i might be able to evacuate those people without resorting to violence.¡¯


    after a few seconds, xia ling said tentatively, ¡°hhm, if it¡¯s to show my majesty...¡±


    ¡°wait! why are you listening to him and not us?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung turned his head and saw some unfamiliar faces.


    ¡®diplomats?¡¯


    those officials in suits hadn¡¯t awakened yet and had no discipline at all. there were also some hunters, who looked embarrassed, escorting them.


    normally, the only people who could come here in a situation like this were diplomats from other countries.


    -successor, why are people from other clans here?


    -they probably came here for the same reason i did.


    after all, no country could stay idle if its citizens were detained in another country, in a dangerous location, no less. it was only natural to officially deploy hunters to go there, or to secretly send diplomats to negotiate.


    however...


    ¡°why are they doing that over there?¡± choi yeonseung asked in a puzzled manner.


    the group of diplomats had been tied up with red thorns and were rolling around in the corner.


    xia ling said in a dissatisfied tone, ¡°these people didn¡¯t acknowledge almagoria¡¯s empire and acted arrogantly. as expected, westerners are always disrespectful.¡±


    ¡®...?¡¯


    choi yeonseung noticed something strange in xia ling¡¯s words.


    ¡®i thought he had completely lost control to almagoria, but apparently i was wrong.¡¯


    xia ling had been possessed by a powerful vampire, but his influence as the original owner of that body was still strong.


    had the two of them fused together?


    -it¡¯s possible if the vampire lost his body and wandered for a long time.he wouldn¡¯t be able to completely suppress the will of his victim.


    -...i don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good or a bad thing.


    if it was just almagoria, his behavior would be predictable to some extent, but the fact that xia ling was still in there made him, or them, unpredictable.


    since it was a chinese hunter besides almagoria...


    ¡®um... all i know for sure is that he hates the west and that he¡¯s belligerent.¡¯


    -isn¡¯t that too little information?


    -goddess of sloth, you should put yourself in my shoes.it¡¯s not like we text each other every day...


    ¡°in the name of the french government, i protest vehemently against this atrocity. untie me right this second!¡±


    ¡°shut them up.¡± xia ling waved his hand, clearly irritated.


    the chinese hunters walked over and gagged the diplomats one by one.


    ¡®this is wild...¡¯


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t know what to say in this chaotic situation.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung! hunter choi yeonseung, you... oof... nngg!¡±


    one person in the group cried out anxiously after recognizing choi yeonseung¡¯s face, but he was gagged before he could finish his sentence.


    puzzled, xia ling asked , ¡°do you know each other?¡±


    ¡°as we go through life, we bump shoulders with all sorts of people. i guess he must¡¯ve heard my name somewhere, but we don¡¯t know each other personally.¡±


    choi yeonseung immediately denied knowing that person. having to save the koreans and the americans was already stressful and frustrating, so he didn¡¯t want to take responsibility for the french as well.


    ¡°he¡¯s here to save us!¡±


    ¡°over here! over here!¡±


    ¡°everyone, calm down. i¡¯m getting you guys out of here, so stay calm and be patient for a bit!¡±


    choi yeonseung pulled out a list and checked the names with the people. he was just about to take them out of the building when he heard noises coming from another building.


    ¡°save us, hunter choi yeonseung!¡±


    ¡°are you going to abandon us?¡±


    it wasn¡¯t clear what country they were from, but they seemed to be pinning their hopes on the news that choi yeonseung had come. if it were another hunter, they wouldn¡¯t have dared to shout for help. however, it was choi yeonseung, the hunter with the best reputation...!


    one of the chinese hunters, who followed choi yeonseung, said with a sinister smile, ¡°the deal was that you can only rescue the people from these specific buildings. you¡¯re not allowed to take people from those other countries, hehehe.¡±


    not all the chinese hunters in this newly founded kingdom were despondent over the fact that they had betrayed their country by serving a vampire.


    rather, quite a few hunters were intrigued and said things like ¡°oh, i can become a vampire¡¯s servant and live my life without having to give a damn about the government? really? is this true?¡±


    they were enticed by the prospect of serving the vampire. moreover, almagoria even promised to give power to those who made significant contributions to his kingdom.


    did they reward people for their work?


    the party: (x)


    almagoria: (o)


    did they usually monitor the hunters?


    the party: (o)


    almagoria: (o)


    if the hunters did something wrong, would they be sent to labor camps along with their families?


    the party: (o)


    almagoria: (x)


    ...almagoria was a significantly better boss than the chinese government.


    from the perspective of the low-level hunters who were suffering under the party and clan executives, this was a golden opportunity for them to turn their lives around.


    thus, it made sense for them to antagonize choi yeonseung in order to be loyal to almagoria.


    ¡°i¡¯m sure you¡¯re upset because of this, but if you pay a price...¡±


    ¡°no, i¡¯m not interested,¡± choi yeonseung firmly refused.


    ¡°...don¡¯t lie. don¡¯t you feel heartbroken that you have to leave those poor people behind?¡±


    ¡°...what? no. are you crazy? i¡¯m taking the korean and american people with me. why should i feel guilty?¡±


    choi yeonseung found it ridiculous.


    it seemed that both the foreigners screaming in those buildings over there and the chinese hunter next to him misunderstood something.


    choi yeonseung wasn¡¯t that soft mentally. if he only managed to save ninety citizens out of a hundred, he would say, ¡°well, it couldn¡¯t be helped,¡± not ¡°i¡¯m trash for not being able to save all of them!¡±


    ¡°...is that so...?¡±


    the chinese hunter escorted choi yeonseung away with a nervous expression. this wasn¡¯t the choi yeonseung he had heard about and seen on the news...!


    ***


    all that was left to do was for choi yeonseung to take everyone to the airport. however, problems always occurred at the last moment.


    choi yeonseung sighed when there was an explosion and a fight broke out at the airport.


    ¡°sigh... if they want to fight, they should do it somewhere else. why the airport...?¡±


    -what happened?


    -i don¡¯t know.it¡¯s not strange for other countries to send troops and hunters.


    ¡°there¡¯s a fight!¡± shouted aine, who had been waiting for choi yeonseung.


    ¡°seems so.¡± choi yeonseung nodded.


    ¡°who initiated the attack? did the chinese government send in their special forces?¡±


    ¡°they tried that seventeen hours ago and were wiped out. it¡¯s charles o¡¯connor.¡±


    charles o¡¯connor was an a-grade hunter from the united states.


    since the united states boasted the largest number of a-grade hunters in the world, choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t remember all of them. there were more than ten american a-grade hunters out there.


    ¡°is he perhaps...¡±


    ¡°yes, he¡¯s the hunter who¡¯s most similar to you.¡±


    ¡°...didn¡¯t he have the nickname ¡®pushover¡¯?¡¯¡±


    ¡°...i-i didn¡¯t mean that.¡±

 Chapter 339

    chapter 339


    it was quite difficult to gain the nickname of ¡®pushover¡¯ as an a-grade hunter. however, charles o''connor was the kind of hunter who always did the hard work. he never turned down any requests.


    -an a-grade monster has appeared. three clans have retreated after getting almost completely wiped out.


    -aren¡¯t... aren¡¯t there other hunters?it¡¯s been less than a week since i finished my last raid...


    -there are no other a-grade hunters as trustworthy as you, hunter charles o''connor. if you don¡¯t go there, the damage...


    -...i-i understand.


    there were a few other examples.


    -oh my!o¡¯connor!a monster has appeared at our factory and is going on a rampage!if you don¡¯t take care of it, our stock prices will tank, good investors will jump from the top of the building, and my children might have to leave their private school and walk around without a private driver!


    -...i-i understand.


    most hunters were selfish, but there were a few anomalies who had no backbone. that was charles o¡¯connor.


    ¡°what i mean by being similar to you is...¡±


    aine was very frustrated. she had never thought of choi yeonseung as a pushover. on the contrary, she respected him...


    choi yeonseung told her, ¡°i never thought you looked at me that way. there is no need for you to explain yourself. but didn¡¯t you say that hunter o¡¯connor was on the sidelines because of an injury?¡±


    during the last rutherford raid, there had been several a-grade hunters available in the united states. naturally, the us government had also wanted to recruit o¡¯connor, the pushover, but they couldn¡¯t do so.


    his injuries were too terrible.


    hunters had superhuman strength and abilities, and a-grade hunters were among the most powerful, but they weren¡¯t invincible. if anything, they actually had a higher risk of injury as they usually faced more dangerous monsters.


    on that note, choi yeonseung had heard that o¡¯connor had to rest due to his injuries.


    ¡°it looks like he¡¯s fully recovered. the company probably gave him some kind of item to help with the recovery process.¡±


    not even a-grade hunters could get their hands on rare items released on the market. those were usually secured by large companies first.


    the hunters within the government would often get angry and protest, saying things like ¡°hunters should benefit from treatment items, but the chairmen of companies are sweeping them all up for their own use!¡±


    ¡°wait, wasn¡¯t the plan that i would rescue the american hunters? why would they send another person?¡±


    ¡°maybe it was a company from another country that sent him here?¡±


    ¡°...what? he accepts requests from foreign companies as well?¡±


    choi yeonseung was stunned. it seemed that o''connor had earned his nickname...!


    bang!


    there was another loud explosion and o¡¯connor flew backwards. a huge aircraft at the airport had been hit and smashed to pieces.


    o¡¯connor rolled around before standing up, steam coming off of him. just by looking at the magic shields that glowed all over him, it was obvious what type of hunter he was.


    ¡°aren¡¯t you hunter choi yeonseung?!¡±


    ¡®whoops.¡¯


    the moment o''connor jumped up and called his name, choi yeonseung felt like he screwed up. he should¡¯ve gone somewhere else or pretended not to know anything...!


    ¡°i don¡¯t know you.¡±


    ¡°maybe, but i know you, hunter choi yeonseung! i saw you on the news and thought you were a wonderful man. i was so impressed that there is someone else out there doing good deeds... thanks to you, i have been contacted a lot less.¡±


    ¡°i think there¡¯s a misunderstanding. i¡¯m not particularly interested in doing anything good.¡±


    ¡°hah, you¡¯re just being humble...¡±


    bang!


    before he could even finish his sentence, a vampire popped up and hit o¡¯connor.


    ¡®they¡¯re different from garhansha¡¯s subordinates.¡¯


    the vampires summoned by almagoria were different. garhansha¡¯s vampires looked like dignified nobles, but the vampires summoned by almagoria were more like monsters or beasts.


    the vampire that had just attacked was a four-legged, muscular monster...


    -human, do you know this person?


    ¡°no, we don¡¯t know each other. does calling each other by our names imply that we know each other personally?


    -umm...


    the vampire took a step back, feeling overwhelmed by choi yeonseung¡¯s firm assertion. he was definitely right. in addition, the human he had just sent flying was a formidable opponent, and there was no reason to fight both these humans at the same time.


    ¡°please answer for me instead. i can¡¯t argue with this logic.¡±


    ¡°just attack! why don¡¯t you just attack?¡±


    ¡°how could i do something like that?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the diplomats were troubled by o¡¯connor¡¯s response. if they had managed to bring him here by appealing to his good nature, the vampire king could do the same thing to bring him to his side.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung...¡±


    ¡°if you call me one more time, i¡¯ll sew your mouths shut. i have to fly out of this place but i¡¯m waiting here because of you guys. stop bothering me,¡± warned choi yeonseung as he got more irritated by them.


    to be honest, attacking o¡¯connor right then and there would make it easier for choi yeonseung to leave. however, he didn¡¯t want to stop o¡¯connor from saving people from other countries, so he just waited.


    the hearts of the diplomats sank at choi yeonseung¡¯s warning, and they turned to o¡¯connor again.


    ¡°o¡¯connor, don¡¯t be fooled by the vampire¡¯s wicked words!¡±


    ¡°hehehe, i guess you can¡¯t refute my words now, hunter. become my subordinate! i can offer you things that are infinitely more valuable than what these pieces of trash can give you!¡±


    o¡¯connor gave up on persuading the vampire and ended on trying to persuade the diplomats who had come with him here.


    ¡°can¡¯t we just acknowledge him and rescue those people?¡±


    ¡°w-what are you talking about...? that would lead to diplomatic problems! the chinese government wouldn¡¯t let something like that fly!¡±


    a crazy vampire had trespassed into their country, wreaked havoc, and declared that guangzhou was his kingdom. there was no way china would stay still; they would obviously retaliate in every way they could, which would be devastating.


    ¡°shouldn¡¯t you take that into consideration in order to save the citizens?¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re right! you¡¯re a genius!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the diplomats regretted bringing o¡¯connor with them... they should¡¯ve just reached out to hunter choi yeonseung!


    ¡®wait, how did hunter choi yeonseung rescue people in the first place?¡¯


    there was no way that the south korean government had officially recognized the vampire¡¯s kingdom... so how had he managed to pull it off?


    the diplomats couldn¡¯t come up with any logical explanations; they would never guess that choi yeonseung had rescued the hostages by bringing some tomato juice to the vampire and flattering him, and slandering the chinese government!


    choi yeonseung finally said, ¡°this is your fight. i think you¡¯ve got it under control anyway, so i¡¯ll just take my leave...¡±


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ praises almagoria¡¯s ability!]


    ¡°...!¡±


    choi yeonseung was astonished.


    the explosion constellation contacted the vampire.


    ¡®this...!¡¯


    come to think of it, this whole situation with guangzhou was something that would please the explosion constellation. after all, he was known for unconditionally supporting troublemakers, such as rebels and terrorists...


    ¡°my name is xia ling, not almagoria!¡±


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ apologizes. he commends xia ling¡¯s ability!]


    ¡°don¡¯t call me xia ling! call me almagoria!¡±


    [...]


    xia ling had a tendency to go back and forth between the two names because both the chinese hunter and the vampire had merged into one being.


    of course, an arrogant constellation wouldn¡¯t put up with such impudence. the explosion constellation seemed very furious.


    you dare...!


    [...¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says he can give you strength.]


    ¡°strength?¡±


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says it is like this! he says there is no way the greedy chinese will leave it here. he says they will soon come to invade and trample on you. the same goes for the westerners. he says they will try to blackmail you with cunning schemes.]


    the explosion constellation was trying to manipulate the vampire and give him a sense of crisis in order to get him under his control.


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t let this happen, so he immediately intervened, ¡°don¡¯t let him deceive you, xia ling!¡±


    ¡°!¡±

 Chapter 340

    chapter 340


    it was fairly difficult for choi yeonseung to make others believe in himself, but it was quite easy to make them not believe in certain constellations. in addition, the explosion constellation had plenty of weaknesses one could exploit.


    ¡°the explosion constellation has a lot of notoriety in the abyss.¡±


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ snorts. he laughs and questions if a human being who is a household member of the ¡®undefeated incarnation of training¡¯ would tell the truth.]


    naturally, the explosion constellation didn¡¯t back down either. since he was known to serve another constellation, choi yeonseung¡¯s words weren¡¯t that trustworthy and persuasive either.


    ¡°hmmm.¡±


    xia ling looked troubled as he listened to both constellations.


    ¡°the power of the explosion is definitely a bit loud. there¡¯s nothing subtle or dignified about it.¡±


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says it is ridiculous since your power isn¡¯t that noble either!]


    the explosion constellation was hot-tempered.


    almagoria¡¯ vampire magic wasn¡¯t very that elegant either. his fighting style of transforming one¡¯s body and exchanging blood seemed like he was just transforming others into monsters.


    at first glance, it looked like the fighting style of a monster!


    ¡°are you disregarding my power?!¡± snapped xia ling with a furious expression.


    the explosion constellation attempted to persuade him again.


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ says there is a misunderstanding. he proposes that you and him respect each other¡¯s powers.]


    ¡°xia ling, this is what the explosion constellation is like. in addition, he¡¯s been involved in all kinds of terrible things on earth. making a contract with him will be detrimental to your reputation.¡±


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ is baffled!]


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ declares that the countries of earth are plotting all sorts of dirty things and they shouldn¡¯t criticize him.]


    the explosion constellation found it unfair because many other countries committed wicked acts just as he had. after all, was there a perfectly moral country on earth?


    however...


    [¡¯the warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ says that ¡®endless linked explosions¡¯ is a bit vulgar and suspicious.]


    [the ¡®greedy owner of the treasure house¡¯ says that the greed of ¡®endless linked explosions¡¯ is ruining earth.]


    [the ¡®black magician who shares everything¡¯ also...]


    [the ¡®observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ also...]


    [...]


    [...]


    in situations like this, the loudest one would always win. the explosion constellation wasn¡¯t very popular among his peers.


    ¡®there¡¯s a reason i surround myself with allies and take my reputation seriously, explosion constellation.¡¯


    choi yeonseung shook his head. how easy would it be if he could just stop caring about his reputation and just rely on his own strength and go on a rampage...?


    however, nobody could really do something like that in the abyss. it was even more so for the constellation who participated in this competition to gain control of earth. witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through n?o?v€l--b1n.


    this time, all the hostility that the explosion constellation had exhibited recently just backfired; it was karma.


    ¡°how... how can a constellation have such a terrible reputation?¡± almagoria muttered in astonishment. he had lived in the abyss for a long time as a mortal, but this was the first time he saw a constellation being criticized by everybody.


    ¡°i don¡¯t want to make a deal with such a notorious constellation. let¡¯s just pretend we didn¡¯t have this conversation.¡±


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ is becoming angry.]


    [he says he will never let this insult go.]


    the explosion constellation issued a grim warning which made for a somber atmosphere. constellations were generally arrogant and fierce, and the evil god constellations never forgave anybody for being disrespectful to them.


    after being humiliated like this by some mere mortal, it was only natural for the explosion constellation to become enraged and exhibit a murderous aura.


    ¡°hah! i don¡¯t fear a constellation. if you want to fight, i¡¯m right here!¡±


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ is laughing!]


    [the ¡®greedy owner of the treasure house¡¯ is laughing!]


    [the ¡®observer who returned from a cold place¡¯ is laughing...]


    ¡®why do i only see the evil god constellations?¡¯


    the evil god constellations seemed more pleased about the embarrassment of endless linked explosions than the good god constellations. it was understandable, as the explosion constellation had gained too much momentum lately...


    fine!i¡¯ll show you!


    ¡°!¡±


    you have to take responsibility for your words.i will show you what i am capable of!


    ¡®oh... they provoked him too much.¡¯


    the explosion constellation became enraged and used his power of existence. it was a waste to use his power like that just because his pride had taken a hit, but there were times when pride was more important than logic.


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ is watching with interest.]


    ¡°uh, we should be angry about this, right?¡±


    "tha-that¡¯s right... in any case, we have to take action immediately,¡± said choi yeonseung. he shifted his attention to his group and continued, ¡°i don¡¯t know what their goal is, but we can¡¯t just stand still and do nothing. first, we need to save those foreigners who are trapped in those buildings.¡±


    nobody could predict how devastating this bombing would be, so choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t afford to leave those people in those buildings.


    they had to save those people.


    ¡°but will the vampire let us rescue them?¡±


    bang!baaaaang!bang!


    ¡°just do whatever you need to! can¡¯t you see how chaotic the situation is?!¡± snapped xia ling. he was frantically summoning minions to fend off the bombardment.


    ¡°i will do it. let¡¯s go!¡±


    ¡°no, i¡¯ll go rescue them. hunter choi yeonseung, please stay here and defend against the attacks!¡±


    o¡¯connor volunteered to do the unpleasant work himself.


    ¡®in such a situation, the safety of civilians comes first. hunter choi yeonseung is exactly like the rumors portray him to be!¡¯


    ¡®now i see why people call him the pushover...¡¯


    the two a-grade hunters met eyes and nodded at each other even though they were thinking different things.


    trying to lessen the tension, aine added, ¡°the bombardment probably won¡¯t be that bad. the chinese government doesn¡¯t want to kill all of its own citizens. they¡¯ll just break the shield and the minions of the vampire.¡±


    ¡°the problem is that even if they don¡¯t have bad intentions, it¡¯s going to be a disaster if one missile falls in the wrong place. didn¡¯t they borrow the power of the explosion constellation? he¡¯ll most likely make a move as well.¡±


    choi yeonseung had an almost perfect understanding of how constellations acted. they were like loan sharks; they never gave their power away for free.


    even if the chinese enjoyed his powers for the time being, they would inevitably pay the price!


    the chinese army had borrowed the constellation¡¯s power to break the city¡¯s defenses, but no one knew if he would stop there.


    -i need everyone to lend me some strength.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ uses the power of existence!]


    [the ¡®manipulator of dreams and desires¡¯ uses the power of existence!]


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t use his power of existence directly because there were many constellations watching, so he borrowed the power of existence of the two other constellations!


    ¡®but i can¡¯t expect much.¡¯


    the power of the two constellations wasn¡¯t that strong, so choi yeonseung¡¯s ability to fight was limited. what was the most efficient way to use the limited power?


    ¡°master!¡±


    odaigon, who had been watching over the orcs in the realm, suddenly showed up with a staff in his hand. he was dazed for a second after teleporting so suddenly, but he grasped the situation incredibly fast.


    ¡°protect the people here along with this human!¡±


    ¡°i understand!¡±


    o¡¯connor was taken aback by the hunter he was seeing for the first time. he was surprisingly handsome, but o¡¯connor didn¡¯t remember seeing him before.


    ¡°hey, follow me!¡±


    ¡°i understand.¡±


    ¡°oh...?¡±


    odaigon looked at o¡¯connor, baffled; not many humans were this polite. people usually replied to him with things like ¡°who are you?¡±, ¡°do you know who i am?¡± or ¡°do you want to die?¡±, so it was natural for him to have such a reaction.


    ¡®there is still hope for humans!¡¯


    odaigon and o¡¯connor were ready to put up shields. meanwhile, choi yeonseung quickly went to the top of the tallest building in the vicinity.


    ¡®it¡¯s a spectacular sight.¡¯


    vampire summons and planes collided in the air.


    -breached!the shield has been breached!


    -almagoria!the shield has been breached!


    -aghh!hang in there!i¡¯ll be there soon!


    choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t see their faces, but he could feel the sense of triumph of the pilots as they shouted in their planes.


    they finally breached the city¡¯s solid defenses.


    [¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ shows kindness.]


    suddenly, a missile was fired and flew through a hole in the shield


    -!!!!!


    -what are you doing?


    -i-i didn¡¯t mean to fire it...!


    ¡°i knew this would happen.¡±

 Chapter 341

    chapter 341


    the ones currently fighting the summoned minions in the sky were china¡¯s esteemed fighter jets, the j-32. these high-tech fighter jets were equipped with air-to-air missiles, glide bombs, and guided bombs with which they could pinpoint and attack precise locations!


    in the era where magic was essential, the fighter jets were naturally also equipped with various magic artifacts, including invisibility magic.


    as could be seen from these fighter jets, the chinese military had some kind of plan. the people in the city had said things like ¡°are you initiating a bombardment now? are you insane?!¡± however, the chinese military wouldn¡¯t just bomb an area full of civilians unless they were crazy.


    -can we really just destroy the shield?


    -don¡¯t worry.if we use the power of the artillery brigade and the power of a constellation, we¡¯ll be able to break through the defense.from now on, we are going to burn the vampire with a precise bombardment!


    -there are complaints from the hunter clans gathered at the scene right now.no matter how many self-propelled guns and howitzers we use, it won¡¯t help. i¡¯d rather ask the hunters to support us with their magic power...


    -isn¡¯t it the same with hunters? they can¡¯t break the shield!almost all of them are arrogant and get all sorts of special treatment!didn¡¯t they whine for military support during the last monster wave when they thought they were at a disadvantage?


    in any country, the hunters and the army didn¡¯t get along very well.


    the hunters looked down on the military and claimed that they never helped during monster waves. meanwhile, the military hated hunters because they always ended up asking for their help when they found themselves in trouble, and then they still sucked up all the rewards.


    that was especially true in china, where people in power had rigid mentalities and internal conflicts were widespread.


    -if you can¡¯t pierce or break the shield itself, the clan leaders will be humiliated.


    -don¡¯t worry.we¡¯re using new shells this time.


    -...is it a newly developed shell from the research institute?


    the reason the officer had asked that question so anxiously wasn¡¯t because he was worried about the power; it was because he wasn¡¯t confident at all in their internal production of weaponry.


    -no, we¡¯re using ammunition imported from the united states.


    -ah, then it should be fine.


    -there is also the power of the constellation!


    after carefully planning the operation, the military units gathered near the city initiated the artillery fire. at the same time, the fighter jets also entered the battle and prepared to coordinate.


    -what?isn¡¯t it more powerful?


    -it doesn¡¯t make sense... but it¡¯s actually more powerful! the amount of magic power has increased significantly!


    -what?have they developed a new weapon?


    -but the academy of military sciences isn¡¯t even that good...?


    the chinese hunters in the city watched the bombardment with shocked expressions. unfortunately, the chinese military and the chinese research institutes weren¡¯t very trustworthy when it came to raids.


    distrust had been building up ever since the abyss gate had opened. after all, it was to be expected, given how many times the party lied about weapons, claiming that they could wipe out a-grade monsters when in reality they barely functioned.


    -by the way, this power really is no joke.


    -did they make a contract with an evil god constellation?


    -how can you say something like that?they must¡¯ve really developed a new weapon.


    -wow...the academy of military sciences is finally showing some results for all those tax money...?


    -i hope they¡¯ll provide support for raids in the future.


    the hunters kept debating on how the military had managed to come up with such powerful weapons, but they were suddenly stopped by something above them.


    a fighter jet had just fired a missile through a hole in the shield.


    -ohhhhhh!


    -isn¡¯t this amazing?!


    even the hunters who hated the military couldn¡¯t help being impressed by their coordinated attacks! they had weakened the shield with artillery fire, made a hole in it, then fired a smart missile through it with precision to snipe the boss monster!


    this was the pinnacle of human science and technology. of course, there was also magic involved, but when witnessing such innovation and tactical prowess, one couldn¡¯t help feeling a sense of pride in the achievements of humanity...


    -...wait. uuhh... where is it going??


    -hey!why is that thing going down?


    the delighted hunters were suddenly startled and pointed toward the missile, which, instead of detonating mid-air, was heading toward them.


    -what the hell is this?! hey!stop it!


    -i... i can¡¯t stop it now.


    the hunters at the scene tried to grab the officer by the collar, but it didn¡¯t make a difference. everyone present had a terrible premonition.


    ¡®it¡¯s ¡ö¡ö¡öing over¡¯


    then, with a dazzling white light, the missile disappeared.


    ***


    ¡°i don¡¯t know why they accepted the offer of an evil god constellation,¡± choi yeonseung grumbled as he used air steps.


    there was a misconception that people couldn¡¯t fly without using magic, but choi yeonseung¡¯s movements had become limitless after mastering martial arts. after all, would he have defeated countless enemies if he could only move around on the ground?


    choi yeonseung jumped through the air in quick succession and caught up with the flying missile.


    ¡®if i touch it the wrong way, it will instantly explode.¡¯


    after realizing that something was wrong, they turned their cameras to where the hunters were looking. a fighter jet launched missiles at them...?


    ¡°nothing is going on! hey! stop filming!¡±


    the soldiers rushed over to control the situation. no one could¡¯ve imagined that this would happen.


    ¡°why aren¡¯t you helping? please help!¡± the soldiers shouted at the hunters. no matter how pissed off the hunters were, they were still chinese, so they should help.


    ¡°...would you cooperate if you were me, you crazy bastard?!¡±


    ¡°you¡¯re taking us for idiots...!¡±


    of course, the only thing the soldiers received from the hunters were heavy punches. they tried to withstand the attacks, but they were soon overwhelmed.


    bam!


    ¡°cough...!¡±


    ¡°if you can¡¯t manage to stop your shitty missiles from blowing us into pieces, you should help us with everything you can! you always take the cores and everything else after raids, but now you¡¯re doing something like this?! take care of this mess! i¡¯ll kill you if you mess with my clan!¡±


    ¡°just go in there and die!¡±


    the reporters filmed with excitement the rare scene of chinese hunters and soldiers fighting with each other.


    it was a real scoop!


    ¡°...haven¡¯t you seen enough? why the hell are you still recording?!¡±


    ¡°u-uh... i was taking photos up there. shouldn¡¯t i get that?¡±


    at the reporter¡¯s words, the hunter who scolded him looked up. the missiles were melting away one by one.


    ***


    ¡®i got all of them.¡¯


    choi yeonseung landed on the rooftop of a nearby building, his countenance riddled with exhaustion. he wasn¡¯t tired because he had used too much internal energy or anything like that; he could just replenish his internal energy whenever he wanted.


    rather, he was mentally exhausted because of the pressure; if he had missed one missile, the entire city would¡¯ve been destroyed. he didn¡¯t have to care about destroying the surroundings or causing casualties when he fought in the abyss. he could just go ham...


    [you have obtained a lot of respect.]


    [the power of existence has risen.]


    [the power of a constellation...]


    [the realm of martial arts has grown stronger!]


    ¡°?¡±


    choi yeonseung was puzzled by the sudden world messages.


    ¡®what did i do just now?


    you...you crossed the line.


    ¡°let¡¯s stop here,¡± replied choi yeonseung, irritated. he had already repelled everything the explosion constellation had thrown at him.


    the fighter jets had disappeared as well. it seemed that the chaotic bombing had scared off the chinese high command, causing them to order the jets to retreat.


    do you think i have no other way to destroy this city?


    ¡°do you?¡±


    don¡¯t underestimate the power of a constellation, you arrogant mortal!i can do anything i set my mind to!


    ¡°...!¡±


    choi yeonseung suddenly felt a large amount of power of existence coming from the explosion constellation.


    ¡®that crazy bastard?!¡¯


    a constellation could crush mortals whenever they wanted, and the explosion constellation could do that if he unleashed all the power of existence he had.


    the difference in power was so great that if a constellation and a mortal fought, the mortal would stand no chance.


    ...they would lose everything!


    ¡®is he really going to do this?¡¯


    -we¡¯ve provoked him too much...!


    the moment the goddess of sloth gave a warning, the other constellations, who had been spectating, proceeded to lend choi yeonseung their powers.


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ is warning you of danger! he grants you the ¡®power of existence wings¡¯!]


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ screams that it is dangerous! she is concentrating on ¡®future sight¡¯!]


    [...]


    ¡°...!¡±


    choi yeonseung was genuinely moved by how quickly the other constellations jumped to his aid. he generally thought of them as a nuisance, but at such moments of crisis, they could be good allies!


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ sends you his blessings!]


    ¡®...why is he sending it?¡¯

 Chapter 342

    chapter 342


    it was embarrassing, but power was power. the berserker constellation had suffered a humiliating defeat in many ways and had become a laughing stock in the abyss, but it was by no means a weak constellation.


    madness, blood, and warrior. these three realms had to be strong!


    [the more blood flows, the stronger your power becomes.]


    [the more you accept madness, the more your...]


    [the longer you fight, the more your...]


    even though choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t use it, madness was still a powerful blessing.


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ wonders what he is doing.]


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ agrees.]


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ flushes with anger.]


    ¡®...don¡¯t fight among yourselves...¡¯


    choi yeonseung had to face the explosion constellation, so the constellations were supposed to help him, not bicker with one another.


    fortunately, they quickly stopped arguing with each other as they were also well aware of how dangerous choi yeonseung¡¯s enemy was.


    [a dimensional portal has opened!]


    [the power of existence has taken shape and changed.]


    [a clone of the ¡¯endless linked explosions¡¯ has descended!]


    ¡°...!¡±


    -are you serious...?!


    the goddess of sloth was astonished for a reason.


    constellations were prideful, so when they tried to punish arrogant mortals, they usually sent one of their household members, not a clone of themselves.


    wasn¡¯t this the same as if the explosion constellation had descended himself?


    if one used a sword designed to slay dragons in order to catch a chicken, they would naturally come off as an idiot. despite that, the explosion constellation was currently releasing a lot of power of existence to summon clones of himself.


    it would certainly be a huge loss and a terrible humiliation for the explosion constellation if he failed even with this excessive display of power.


    there was something else going on... this wasn¡¯t just about pride.


    -the explosion constellation... it seems like he sensed something...?


    the explosion constellation clearly had a premonition, a gut feeling. he felt that if he didn¡¯t get rid of choi yeonseung then and there, he would keep being a nuisance in the future.


    in a way, choi yeonseung felt honored, but...


    ¡®it¡¯s ridiculous. why is he doing this?¡¯


    -successor, you¡¯re a constellation disguised as a human...


    -be quiet.


    choi yeonseung quietly gazed at the figure of endless linked explosions as it took shape. at first, it was a misty apparition, materializing from nothing, but then it gradually took a darker, more ominous form.


    bang!


    choi yeonseung rushed forward while amplifying origin of the celestial divine arts to its limits. he then launched origin of the celestial meteor drop.


    the concentrated energy took the form of a meteor as it struck the clone with formidable force.


    bang! bang! bang!


    [the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ is flustered by the sudden surprise attack.]


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ compliments you for doing a good job.]


    you mortal bastard! you really...!


    the clone of the explosion constellation gritted his teeth as he straightened up. as arrogant as he was, he hadn¡¯t expected such a surprise attack.


    it was common courtesy for mortals to watch the constellation as they fully descended, have a polite conversation with them, and only then to attack...


    bang!bang!bang!


    hey, stop it!


    bang!bang!bang!bang!


    regardless of how frustrated the explosion constellation was, choi yeonseung kept attacking without giving him a second to breathe.


    choi yeonseung used movement transposition to move around freely and extremely fast. before the clone of the explosion constellation could determine his location, choi yeonseung had already moved somewhere else and launched another attack!


    moreover, his attacks weren¡¯t light either. every attack was extremely powerful as it was infused with a huge amount of concentrated energy that seemed to explode upon impact.


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ is amazed that a mortal can exhibit such outstanding strength. he wonders if it is the power of the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead.¡¯]


    [the ¡®goddess of balance who walks ahead¡¯ is flustered.]


    the other constellations were aware that martial arts were strange and unique, but at the moment, choi yeonseung was actually overpowering the clone of the explosion constellation. even though he ambushed the clone, nobody had expected a mortal to fight so well against a constellation.


    this power seemed to be a huge step up from what choi yeonseung had displayed thus far. the constellations wondered if their blessings had led to such powerful attacks.


    ¡°...uhm... is it okay to stay like this?¡±


    it wasn¡¯t just the constellations who were watching this fight.


    ***


    the hunters who had been fighting with the soldiers on the other side sighed with relief when they saw that the bombing was finally over.


    i know your weaknesses.


    the explosion constellation was quite cunning; he realized why choi yeonseung had been attacking the way he had.


    ¡®do i really have to throw them away?¡¯


    you are still thinking about those worthless and insignificant souls!what a funny mortal.


    choi yeonseung ignored the taunts of the explosion constellation. some abyssal beings drew great pleasure from having their foes respond to their provocations and mockery, and the explosion constellation was certainly one of them.


    unlike other constellations, i know what the humans of earth desire.i also know whenever humans are on good terms or on bad terms with each other.be honest and admit it!no matter how much you help them here, the government won¡¯t acknowledge your work.rather, they will bury it and distort it!


    ¡®i have to sew that bastard¡¯s mouth shut.¡¯


    it would¡¯ve been better for choi yeonseung if he had faced some constellation who was clueless about earth and humans. the constellations who knew humans well were many times more annoying.


    choi yeonseung acknowledged that the explosion constellation had a point. nevertheless, the reason he ignored him and kept fighting was because he believed in the noble cause of saving everyone...


    ...or at least that should¡¯ve been the reason.


    ¡®if i give up here... i¡¯ll embarrass myself in front of everyone.¡¯


    choi yeonseung recalled the people he knew, whether they were perfectly fine, injured, or even dead. he felt like, to some degree, he had a duty to all of them. he had stood by those people for a long time, and he had to maintain his dignity and do the right thing for them.


    ¡®that¡¯s it. i¡¯ll use the power of existence!¡¯


    choi yeonseung made up his mind. he would use his power of existence to block that explosive bastard¡¯s attack even if it made him suspicious!


    as he prepared to counterattack, choi yeonseung suddenly saw a vision of the future. he could see himself unfold a realm of silence. the clone of the explosion constellation attacked ferociously, but he ultimately died without making a sound.


    the moment choi yeonseung saw the vision, he knew what he had to do.


    ¡°thank you, goddess of balance!¡±


    -i will declare a realm of silence!


    choi yeonseung rushed over after thanking the goddess of balance.


    declaration of the realm of silence was one of the powers that the goddess of sloth possessed.


    when it came to the most powerful constellations on earth, most people would first think of the master of slowness and silence.


    [a realm of silence has unfolded.]


    [this is a realm you don¡¯t fully understand. the world refuses to change.]


    [the realm is shaking.]


    this realm was a skill that transformed the world according to the caster¡¯s essence.


    if the world didn¡¯t suit the others, they would inevitably struggle. thus, choi yeonseung concentrated while ignoring the burning sensation in his brain.


    back when the demon constellation had been defeated by the explosion constellation... the power that the explosion constellation had borrowed back then...


    ¡®remember that power!¡¯


    [the ¡®master of slowness and silence ¡® quietly whispers to you.]


    [i will guide your path.]


    choi yeonseung could see a huge whale guiding him through a vast ocean before disappearing. once the vision ended, a realm of silence expanded around him.


    how can you do that?! the explosion constellation shouted in disbelief. as expected, the explosion constellation had secretly been working with the master of slowness and silence.


    -the master of slowness and silence.if you lend me your power, in return i will kill the other constellations that cause trouble in your realm.


    -......


    he had the opposite realm as the slowness constellation, but the explosion constellation clearly exploited the desires of the slowness constellation. the secret alliance had indeed been effective; the demon constellation had collapsed without being able to fight back.


    master of slowness and silence!give me your power! demanded the explosion constellation. he didn¡¯t know if the mortal stole the power with that trick of his, but once the master of slowness and silence stepped in, that power would quickly disappear.


    however, the explosion constellation¡¯s call for help remained unanswered.


    master of slowness and silence!


    in the meantime, choi yeonseung prepared an attack within the expanded realm.


    ¡°be silent.¡±


    the clone froze as it tried to fire an explosion.


    ¡°keep silent!¡±


    as the power from various constellations merged together on choi yeonseung with a dazzling brilliance, the explosion constellation became furious.


    master of slowness and silence!!!what are you doing?!


    the explosion constellation dropped the politeness as he shouted angrily at his ally.


    [the ¡®master of slowness and silence¡¯ says that... you... are too... noisy.]


    ......


    it was only then that the explosion constellation realized what his ally was actually like. the explosion constellation had always thought that the master of slowness and silence was a powerful but slow and lazy idiot...


    however, unbeknownst to the explosion constellation, his ¡®ally¡¯ had planned to get rid of him.


    [a stronger ¡®dignity of light¡¯ dwells in your power.]


    [the blessing given by the ¡®warrior stained with madness and blood¡¯ is...]


    [...]


    the clone of endless linked explosions was pierced and obliterated by concentrated energy that radiated a dazzling white light.

 Chapter 344

    chapter 344


    ¡°did you mean to say that you want to learn about the arena? or do you want to work on your fighting power? oh, or did you say ¡®bullfighting¡¯?¡±


    ¡°no, i said i want you to teach me how to invest...¡±


    ¡°oh...¡±


    choi yeonseung sighed as he realized that he had heard it correctly the first time. why would a noble angel like adaquaniel stoop to earth¡¯s filthy gambling schemes...? had the goddess of balance ordered her to do so?


    ¡®isn¡¯t the goddess of balance too much?¡¯


    -i actually think that you¡¯re too much, successor.


    the goddess of sloth muttered that choi yeonseung was making too much of a fuss. the goddess of balance would¡¯ve cried if she had heard this conversation. in all honesty, given how the mortal she cared about was talking behind her back like this with her subordinate, not caring about her at all, it would be justified for her to tear them both apart...


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says that it understands.¡¯]


    the cat constellation nodded. even though the constellations on earth coveted humanity¡¯s souls, they didn¡¯t even try to understand humanity because they were too arrogant and haughty.


    however, the attempts of the explosion constellation, but of others as well, to understand humanity had shown significant results, which proved that it was essential to understand humanity in order to properly deal with it.


    the concept of capital was the key to understanding the highly complex human society. the cat constellation didn¡¯t fully understand it, but the powerful heroes of earth basically risked their lives for pieces of paper, so this capital thing had to be important.


    as such, it was clear that the goddess of balance was also trying to increase her power.


    ¡°that¡¯s right. my master said that a different type of power is needed in order to overpower the other constellations.¡±


    other constellations used the wealthy members of their household when necessary, but they didn¡¯t try to raise money themselves. they were underestimating the power of money.


    meanwhile, the goddess of balance was different. she was going to get her hands on money and control humans!


    ¡°indeed... did you come up with this plan, adaquaniel?¡±


    ¡°no, master thought of it.¡±


    ¡°...but i¡¯m sure you¡¯ve contributed a lot with your input.¡±


    ¡°no...¡±


    -yes, you are definitely too much, successor.


    the goddess of sloth was convinced.


    ***


    ¡°aine lawrence, you are the goddess of investment!¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not a big deal. i was just lucky.¡±


    ¡°please give me guidance from now on!¡±


    following the guangzhou incident, aine had received a lot of calls from investors bursting into tears as they expressed their gratitude to her. they had also listened to her advice and prepared for the aftermath of the crisis.


    investors who worked for the affiliates of dragon industry were astonished and asked her, ¡°how did you know?¡¯


    the companies also apologized for ignoring aine¡¯s advice and leaving their employees trapped in guangzhou.


    ¡°we¡¯re really sorry. please don¡¯t tell the media...¡±


    ¡°i want to move on as well, but hunter choi yeonseung is extremely angry right now. the atmosphere is so tense that no one dares to go into his office.¡±


    ¡°please...! aine, you can persuade him!¡±


    even though choi yeonseung had managed to escort the hostages, the fallout had just begun. evidently, those who had been forced to stay in guangzhou wouldn¡¯t let this go.


    -there was an evacuation order but those above told us not to evacuate!


    -the branch manager told me to not move from there under any circumstances...


    -we all could¡¯ve died if it hadn¡¯t been for hunter choi yeonseung!


    [us senate to announce a bill that will punish those who deliberately give advantages to the enemy?]


    [companies in a precarious situation... how far does their responsibility go?]


    [on-site employees, corporate complaints...]


    naturally, those companies were trying their best to salvage their reputations and escape the controversy.


    the companies whose employees were angry and sued them had already been deemed guilty. however, the companies that hadn¡¯t been sued yet but had stabbed themselves in the foot by being money-hungry were the issue.


    those companies were still off the radar, but if choi yeonseung publicly stated they had ignored his evacuation order, those companies could end up buried in controversy and lawsuits.


    naturally, they tried to contact choi yeonseung to make sure he kept his mouth shut, but it was aine who was in charge of it.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung is really really angry. he feels betrayed and wonders how people who do international business could do something like this...¡±


    ¡°the people working in the field acted on their own! please believe me!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the moment choi yeonseung and adaquaniel¡¯s expressions darkened, aine quickly rephrased her explanation.


    ¡°it might sound difficult, but it''s all about the basics. think of it in a more simplistic way. if you buy for a low price and sell for a high price, there will be a profit, right? if there¡¯s a company with good technology that is struggling with money because it isn¡¯t famous yet, investing in it in advance will be of great benefit in the future.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    ¡°makes sense.¡±


    ¡°now, let me explain by using the guangzhou incident as an example. what did i do after hearing about guangzhou from you?¡±


    aine pointed things out one by one.


    ¡°places like guangzhou have a very developed raid industry. there are a lot of clans and companies in places like that. more importantly, there are many factories that extract energy from monster cores...¡±


    monster cores.


    for humanity, monsters had been an unprecedented disaster, but at the same time, they were also an opportunity for success.


    at some point, it was discovered that monster cores, which contained a large amount of concentrated magic power, could be used to produce large amounts of energy. it was unlike anyone had ever seen before.


    this method of producing energy was so efficient that people no longer cared about conventional oil and nuclear power!


    however, a monster core couldn¡¯t power up things like an ordinary power generator. it had to be extracted at a specialized factory, and depending on how the extraction was conducted, the energy efficiency percentage varied.


    the hunters didn¡¯t know it, but companies risked their lives to improve the efficiency percentage even by a few decimals.


    ¡°if guangzhou is shut down, energy won¡¯t be extracted, right? then there will be an energy shortage and an upheaval. therefore, some companies that have factories over there have quickly sold their stocks, planning to buy them back later for dirt cheap.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    ¡°i get it.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not just about energy. in china, labor costs are cheaper, so there are many factories there. the same goes for electronics... if you anticipate all of this and cash it out, you can avoid stock crashes in situations like this.¡±


    aine showed them a picture of a graph that curved downward. even those who didn¡¯t know much about this field would get chills!


    ¡°so people are not exaggerating when saying that one raid gone wrong can bury investors.¡±


    adaquaniel listened attentively while taking notes.


    aine suddenly stopped explaining and looked at choi yeonseung with a worried look. she whispered, ¡°by the way, is this okay?¡±


    ¡°why are you asking this all of a sudden?¡±


    ¡°well... when i invest, i¡¯m not doing it directly by myself. experts are sharing and handling various things together. but isn¡¯t that angel trying to do it all by herself? i think it¡¯s risky.¡±


    ¡°won¡¯t it be okay?¡±


    choi yeonseung didn¡¯t worry too much. he would¡¯ve stopped adaquaniel if she had been an ordinary mortal or an orc. however, she was an angel, and more than that, she was the household member of the constellation who possessed one of the most unique powers in the abyss: the power to see into the future.


    adaquaniel was deep in thought as she was looking at her notes. then her eyes suddenly widened and she said, ¡°i¡¯ve decided on the stock i want to buy first.¡±


    ¡°ah... what is it?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m thinking of buying shares of hanseong electronics.¡±


    ¡°???¡±


    aine was taken aback by the angel¡¯s words and made sure that she hadn¡¯t misheard it. hanseong group was one of south korea¡¯s chaebol groups!


    hanseong group was among the most powerful groups in south korea, but hanseong electronics wasn¡¯t a particularly competitive company on an international scale. in order to survive in the global market, where many companies strove to achieve the most impressive technological breakthroughs, hanseong electronics needed really powerful technology.


    ¡°it doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s worth investing in the long term, and it also doesn¡¯t look like there¡¯s going to be a price surge in their stocks... can i ask why you want to invest in them?¡±


    ¡°yes, i have based my judgment on the following facts...¡±


    adaquaniel explained her reasoning with determination. her attitude was so solemn that it seemed like she managed to slightly convince aine of her idea.


    ¡°first of all, there¡¯s the issue of hunter choi yeonseung¡¯s s-grade promotion.¡±


    ¡°i... i see...?¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung is close to hunter han seha.¡±


    ¡°i see...?¡±


    ¡°hunter han seha is from hanseong group, so there is a possibility that the value of the hanseong electronics will rise temporarily due to their connection.¡±


    choi yeonseung listened to this and found it absurd.


    ¡°...adaquaniel, i respect your wishes, but...¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s plausible...!¡±


    ¡°what? is it plausible?¡±

 Chapter 345

    chapter 345


    choi yeonseung was taken aback by aine¡¯s words. it was hard to believe that adaquaniel¡¯s idea could actually work.


    was the stock market the den of lunatics?


    however, aine was serious. she seemed to have noticed that choi yeonseung looked at her as though she were crazy, so she quickly explained, ¡°in fact, there are theme stocks in the stock market.¡±


    as the name suggested, theme stocks were stocks grouped under a particular theme. for example, if the prices for grains rose globally due to climate change, demand for fertilizers and farm machinery would increase and subsequently drive up the prices of the stocks related to that field.


    ¡°it¡¯s all connected this way, so the stock market can fluctuate at the slightest change.¡±


    ¡°...i understand, but what does that have to do with the s-grade promotion and hanseong group¡¯s stock price?¡±


    ¡°o-of course, it¡¯s a bit absurd, but markets don¡¯t always make sense. you¡¯ve seen a lot of people behaving unreasonably, right?¡±


    ¡°yeah, you¡¯re right.¡±


    at aine¡¯s argument, choi yeonseung remembered how the people of paris had come out of their houses to watch the monsters during the raid. they had said all sorts of absurd things like ¡°you¡¯re violating the legitimate rights of the citizens of france by forcing us to evacuate. this is completely unacceptable in a democratic socie... cough... why are you hitting me?!¡±


    the world was full of irrational people.


    ¡®...no, i don¡¯t think this is really the case.¡¯


    -successor, it¡¯s not your money, so leave it alone. even if adaquaniel loses the money, it wouldn¡¯t be that big of a loss for a constellation. the goddess of balance could quickly recover her wealth if she put her mind to it.


    -how can you be so cold, goddess of sloth? do you even have a heart?


    -......


    if this had been any other constellation, such as the cat constellation, choi yeonseung would¡¯ve said, ¡°alright, good luck,¡± and yet he acted like this with adaquaniel. the goddess of sloth found it absurd.


    wasn¡¯t he giving her too much special treatment?


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says you learn by losing. besides, it is just a penny for a constellation.]


    -but adaquaniel would be disappointed.


    [the ¡®cat of lava and magma¡¯ says to stop it.]


    however, even if he thought it was a bad idea, choi yeonseung didn¡¯t try to persuade them any further. after all, it was adaquaniel¡¯s choice that mattered the most. besides, since she was so determined...


    ¡°how about this? this is the korean clan sondol. it¡¯s located in the same area where choi yeonseung was active when he used to live in south korea.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s not bad.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    however, no matter how hard he tried to let this go, choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t help being worried. was it really okay to do this?


    ***


    ¡°i think there are two hunters missing? why are there only fifteen people when there were seventeen on the list?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the team leaders of the clan started sweating as they listened to han seha¡¯s reproachful words.


    hunters had been summoned to defeat the monsters that had escaped to a nearby mountain. at first, it had been declared to be an emergency, but the hunters weren¡¯t too alarmed because they found out that the monster was some kind of wild boar, which was only e-grade.


    naturally, the hunters who had been summoned to deal with it took their sweet time to get there, saying things like ¡°why all this fuss for this lame ass monster...?¡±


    meanwhile, han seha had gotten to the scene first.


    ¡°can anyone explain why there are only fifteen people here when i need to confirm seventeen? did they get killed by monsters? should we search again to find them?¡±


    ¡°that... hunter han seha... uhm... one member of the clan... he¡¯s feeling sick, so...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll go look for him in the hospital, so don¡¯t bullshit me!¡±


    ¡°...i¡¯m sorry. he didn¡¯t think it was important, so he just skipped this mission...¡±


    ¡°and you¡¯re only saying this now? hunter choi yeonseung went to china to save people, and that bastard can¡¯t even bother to show up for a simple mission?! are you all scumbags?!¡±


    ¡®it has nothing to do with that...!¡¯


    the hunters felt indignant as they were being criticized for something that had nothing to do with them. however, they were all members of the same clan, so it was natural for them to take responsibility for their colleague. they vowed to grab him by the collar and kick his ass after they were done with this mission.


    nevertheless, han seha didn¡¯t hit the hunters because they weren¡¯t the ones neglecting their responsibilities.


    the hunters were relieved.


    ¡°then we¡¯ll see you next time, hunter han seha.¡±


    ¡°where are you going? i¡¯m not done talking!¡±


    [the ¡®hound of instinct and liberation¡¯ is disappointed.]


    -no!


    ¡°even if you say that, i¡¯ve already contacted the media and published a lot of articles,¡± replied han seonggu as he nodded with a satisfied expression.


    it was actually quite easy to remedy someone¡¯s reputation, especially if that person was an a-grade hunter.


    han seha was hot-headed and belligerent, but if they spread a few good stories in a dangerous situation and the media reported on it, her image would change in an instant.


    -she might be foul-mouthed, but deep down, she¡¯s actually a really nice person...!


    -yes, other hunters were caught running people over with their cars and trying to bury their bodies with magic, but hunter han seha hasn¡¯t killed anyone.


    ¡°...¡±


    han seha regretted that she didn¡¯t pay attention to the media on a regular basis.


    ¡°seha, the reason i called you...¡±


    ¡°i¡¯ll leave if you keep saying weird things. i¡¯m not going to take care of anything. i don¡¯t film corporate commercials. if a monster appears in the factory, hire hunters to kill them. stop taking shortcuts.¡±


    ¡°...i haven¡¯t even said anything yet, seha. i called you here to tell you to get involved in management...¡±


    hearing that, han seha covered her ears with both hands, but han seonggu ignored her and continued, ¡°i¡¯ve seen many hunters in the past, and those who relied solely on their own strength always ended up destroyed by the world. the real strong hunters are those willing to bow down in order to get stronger. those kinds of hunters might¡¯ve been laughed at in the past, but look at them now. who does the world remember now?¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t care if what you say makes sense. i won¡¯t listen.¡±


    ¡°really? let me give you an example. you¡¯ve been hanging out with hunter choi yeonseung lately, right? let¡¯s say that hunter choi yeonseung was falsely accused of some crime during a raid and was criticized in south korea.¡±


    ¡°what type of nonsense... hunter choi yeonseung also has a company, right? isn¡¯t it bigger than your group, grandfather?¡±


    han seha¡¯s words stung a bit, but han seonggu didn¡¯t show it.


    ¡°indeed. of course, it won¡¯t hurt hunter choi yeonseung. after all, who¡¯s going to mess with an a-grade hunter? in that case, they can just go to another country. in his case, the us government would certainly not punish him.¡±


    ¡°that''s right.¡± han seha nodded with a proud expression.


    ¡°but you know that there¡¯s a difference between that and public opinion in south korea, right? if people with influence put their minds to it, they can bury even a-grade hunters in the eyes of the public. what if, let¡¯s say, the media, politicians, and companies all worked together to bury a single person?¡±


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung can also mobilize the media...¡±


    han seonggu shook his head slowly.


    ¡°he might be able to mobilize one or two reporters. however, in south korea, media outlets collaborate with companies, and so do politicians. choi yeonseung might be korean, but he¡¯s practically a foreigner, given his sphere of activity. on this note, you know how all countries are eager to criticize injustice when it comes from another country, so choi yeonseung realistically wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against the korean media.¡±


    ¡°those pieces of shit... give me their names and i¡¯ll kill them! let¡¯s see what they¡¯ll cover on the news if their boss plunges ten stories to his death!¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t think hunter choi yeonseung would allow that, would he?¡±


    ¡°if i just break their backs without killing them, he¡¯ll allow... actually, no... fine, then i¡¯ll just rip off their fingernails...¡±


    han seonggu saw his granddaughter muttering in a more faint voice, so he tried to rephrase his explanation.


    ¡°what i want to say is that at the end of the day, there are areas where not even hunter choi yeonseung can do anything. he might be able to beat up the son of a politician abroad, but what do you think would happen to him if he did that here, in south korea?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°to counter that, we need to have other powers than just pure strength! seha, you happen to have that opportunity!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    han seha looked dumbfounded, but at the same time, she couldn¡¯t deny what her grandfather was saying.


    certainly, companies in south korea had a lot of influence over many areas, the media included. it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if they slandered outsiders like choi yeonseung just because they wanted to. of course, in response to something like that, he would go to those companies and beat up the chairmen, but it wasn¡¯t certain if he could actually do something like that; it could backfire really badly.


    above all, such a benevolent person like choi yeonseung would be devastated if the public suddenly turned on him.


    [the ¡®hound of instinct and liberation¡¯ cocks its head because this seems unlikely...]


    -shut up.what do you know?


    [¡¯the hound of instinct and liberation¡¯ whines and lowers its tail.]


    ¡®this absolutely cannot be allowed to happen.¡¯


    after all, the ones that could operate most effectively in south korea were the large korean companies, not the foreign ones.


    han seha made up her mind. even if she had a bad temper, she would take responsibility and protect the good people of this world! perhaps she had been born to do that.


    ¡°okay. i¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°wise decision.¡±


    however, seeing her grandfather smile with satisfaction, han seha still felt like she needed to punch someone in the face.

 Chapter 346

    chapter 346


    ¡°which subsidiaries do you want to manage?¡±


    ¡°something that¡¯s big and doing well. i need something to match my power.¡±


    ¡°alright, but hanseong electronics and hanseong energy are off the table.¡±


    "what? you said you¡¯d leave those to me!¡±


    han seha was dumbfounded. it wasn¡¯t like anyone else was trying to gain control of those companies. she was the only one interested in managing them...


    ¡°you are my grandchild, so think about it carefully and try to understand. companies such as hanseong electronics and hanseong energy are very profitable, so the group relies on them quite a lot for sale. all the executives in charge are great people who have done great things that can¡¯t be ignored. granddaughter, you might be an a-grade hunter, but won¡¯t there be a great deal of discord if i just hand you this powerful position on a silver platter?¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s the big deal... in the global market, they¡¯re just reaping the benefits...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    han seha¡¯s words cut through han seonggu¡¯s chest deeper than any sword. she had a knack for striking nerves. nevertheless, han seonggu pretended not to hear it and continued, ¡°if you have a hard time choosing, i can recommend a place.¡±


    ¡°just say that you¡¯ve thought about this from the beginning.¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s this place.¡±


    ¡°...??¡±


    han seha cocked her head at the name of the company, which she had never heard before.


    was there such a company in the group?


    ***


    ¡°you... you¡¯re the god of investing...!¡± mumbled aine, barely able to contain her admiration. it was definitely odd to praise adaquaniel like this, but she actually deserved it.


    ¡®she¡¯s not human! wait... she actually isn¡¯t... she¡¯s an angel.¡¯


    ¡°are all angels like this??¡± asked aine, unable to contain her excitement.


    ¡°no, adaquaniel is a bit special,¡± replied choi yeonseung with pride.


    astonished, aine asked, ¡°have you two slept together? what¡¯s with the cheesy talk?¡±


    ¡°w-that...?! it¡¯s simply a matter of respecting her amazing skills!¡±


    ¡°i don¡¯t think you¡¯ve ever praised other skilled people like this...¡±


    aine was puzzled by choi yeonseung¡¯s attitude towards the angel, but she let it go and continued, ¡°...anyway, this is amazing! starting with hanseong electronics, we¡¯re now making extremely aggressive investments, and it¡¯s an absolute success. there are no losses. honestly, i want to scout her...¡±l--b1n.


    adaquaniel, who was watching the eight monitors intently, said politely, ¡°miss lawrence, if you require my help here, i would be more than happy to oblige.¡±


    ¡°ah, thank you!¡± replied aine instantly.


    slightly embarrassed, choi yeonseung said from next to her, ¡°you said i¡¯m acting weird toward her, but look at you...¡±


    ¡°...it¡¯s because i¡¯ve never met such a polite angel...!¡±


    aine had seen a few videos of angels, but she had never met such a polite angel as adaquaniel before.


    after they reviewed their investments, they took a short break.


    as she was drinking the barley tea made by choi yeonseung, adaquaniel said, ¡°i¡¯ve greatly increased the capital that master gave me, so i¡¯m going to start thinking about long-term investment. buying and selling quickly can be risky even if the profit is great.¡±


    choi yeonseung replied, ¡°yes, i understand.¡±


    aine asked quietly from the side, ¡°you didn¡¯t understand, did you?¡±


    ¡°of course i did!¡±


    buying and selling stocks according to how the prices changed was a quick and easy way to make money, but it was also very risky due to sporadic changes. thus, what if they owned stocks of a reliable company for a long time?


    when it came to valuable companies, even if their stocks fell temporarily, they would inevitably rise back up.


    ¡°as expected... it¡¯s something like that. can¡¯t i recommend the stocks of dragon industry?¡±


    ¡°all companies of dragon industry are unlisted, so outsiders can¡¯t buy it.¡±


    ¡°i think it¡¯s a great idea,¡± added adaquaniel. she had studied economics quite a lot behind the scenes.


    ¡°there are advantages to putting stocks on the market, but the management is bound to interfere. hunters like choi yeonseung who sacrifice themselves for the sake of humanity need a company that they can run on their own terms.¡±


    ¡°adaquaniel, i appreciate your kind words, but dragon industry wasn''t founded by me, but by hunter hwang gyeongryong.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    adaquaniel was silent for a few moments before casually changing the subject.


    ¡°...so i was thinking about the next company to invest in. would you like to take a look?¡±


    ¡°of course, i¡¯d be honored to look at your investment list, adaquaniel.¡±


    aine gladly accepted to check adaquaniel¡¯s list, but she was flustered when she saw the first name.


    ¡°...you want to buy hanseong bio?¡±


    ¡°yes. is there a problem?¡±


    ¡°ummmm...¡± aine let out a pained groan. of course, she had told adaquaniel that her idea could work because she had argued that the value of hanseong electronics would go up because of choi yeonseung¡¯s relation with han seha... but hanseong bio was a bit... there was no way...


    ¡°oh, for god¡¯s sake... it¡¯s fine! nobody cares about that dump anyway.¡±


    ¡®i don¡¯t think this is okay...¡¯


    aine, who was sitting next to them, looked at han seha with a dumbfounded expression. ¡°have you considered that perhaps your grandfather has given you this company as a test?¡±


    ¡°a test? if that¡¯s the case, i¡¯m not interested...¡±


    at han seha¡¯s words, choi yeonseung firmly shook his head.


    ¡°that¡¯s wrong.¡±


    ¡°uh... really?¡±


    ¡°yeah. seha, if you have the opportunity to improve the world and take care of it, you shouldn¡¯t throw it away.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    han seha was touched by choi yeonseung¡¯s earnest spirit.


    was that really the case...?


    ¡°but my grandfather didn¡¯t promise me anything, and there are many other people...¡±


    ¡°what do you know? you just have to rise up and win. are you scared?¡±


    ¡°w-what... why would i be scared?!¡±


    choi yeonseung¡¯s persuasion was working, as han seha was getting worked up.


    ¡°you have to run the company well and set an example.¡±


    ¡®can¡¯t i just hand over the stocks...?¡¯ han seha thought to herself as she looked at choi yeonseung. she didn¡¯t say it out loud because she felt that he would be disappointed in her.


    ¡°alright, i¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°great, i knew you... wait. didn¡¯t adaquaniel buy the stocks of this company?¡± asked choi yeonseung as he suddenly remembered about adaquaniel¡¯s plans.


    aine nodded at choi yeonseung¡¯s question.


    ¡®did she predict this?¡¯


    a price surge caused by han seha...


    ¡®...wait. i think it might actually go down. i¡¯m worried whether seha will manage the company well.¡¯


    han seha was similar to choi yeonseung. they were both better at slaying monsters than managing companies.


    instead of reasoning with the executives, it was more likely that han seha would beat them up...


    aine looked at choi yeonseung and said, ¡°if you¡¯re so worried, why don¡¯t you help her?¡±


    ¡°me?¡±


    ¡°i¡¯m not asking you to help her with management, but you can help with other things. you¡¯re both a-grade hunters, so your abilities are unmatched.¡±


    ¡°are you telling me to do this because you¡¯re investing in the company?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°uhm... fine, i¡¯ll try to help her.¡± choi yeonseung decided to think about how he could help han seha.


    ¡°everyone!¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    adaquaniel called out urgently, at which choi yeonseung was puzzled. it was rare for adaquaniel to be so alarmed.


    ¡°have you seen the news?¡±


    ¡°uh, no, not yet...¡±


    -a large chinese clan, the kunlun clan, has declared independence...shocking!


    -the city of chengdu has been occupied and is in a state of unrest...


    -the chinese government criticized the ¡®absolutely unacceptable act of treason.¡¯ what are the intentions of the kunlun clan??


    ¡°no!¡± aine screamed. the global market was already in a bad state because of guangzhou, and now there were more incidents going on in china?


    as for choi yeonseung and han seha, they were amazed as hunters.


    ¡°how can a large clan do something so reckless?¡±


    ¡°yeah, i don¡¯t get it...¡±


    hunters were strong, but they were nonetheless human.


    hundreds of thousands of military units would come to suppress them, and there were also hunters with government positions. wasn¡¯t it suicide to take over an entire city and declare that they would do whatever they wanted with it?


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ is calling you.]


    [he says that the ¡®master of slowness and silence¡¯ is currently making contracts with many humans.]


    ¡°!¡±

 Chapter 347

    chapter 347


    ¡®the master of slowness and silence?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was surprised. despite its power, the master of slowness and silence didn¡¯t attract many household members because of its personality.


    of course, being an evil god constellation played a role in that, but there were also many hunters in the world who would serve an evil god constellation or do anything as long as they received more power.


    however, the reason not many hunters wanted to serve the slowness constellation was its reserved and lazy nature. thus, it was hard to believe that many hunters were suddenly making contracts with this constellation.


    just like choi yeonseung, the goddess of sloth was also perplexed.


    -isn¡¯t this strange...?


    -right?


    -for a constellation as lazy as this one, you¡¯d think that it wouldn¡¯t want to let mortals into its household...maybe it had a change of heart.


    in comparison to the abyssal races, humans had short life spans and were impulsive, traits which weren¡¯t a good fit for the master of slowness and silence. instead, some abyssal races that were more laid-back, like vampires, who often hibernated, would be more suitable for the slowness constellation.


    ¡°six-winged angel who hunts dragons, may i ask where you received this information from?¡± choi yeonseung asked cautiously.


    asking a prideful constellation for the source of their information was definitely risky. however, the six-winged angel who hunts dragons answered in a calm manner.


    [the ¡®six-winged angel who hunts dragons¡¯ says that it was his household member, illaphael, who obtained this piece of information.]


    ¡®umm...¡¯ choi yeonseung frowned. if an angel found out about this, then it was certainly possible.


    -what if the angel is wrong?


    -what are you saying, goddess of sloth?an angel wouldn¡¯t make such a mistake.


    -no...


    choi yeonseung accepted that the master of slowness and silence was making a move. otherwise, a large clan in china wouldn¡¯t have declared independence like that.


    the constellation had to have promised something to the clans!


    ¡°...by the way, was it always like this in china?¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    videos were quickly popping up all over the internet, and aine felt something was wrong as she was watching them. no matter how diverse china was in terms of landscape, something was off.


    there were huge trees and strange rocks in places where there were supposed to be dozens of tall buildings... on top of that, there were only dirt roads where overpasses and highways were supposed to be.


    looking at the videos, aine couldn¡¯t even see any cars. instead, she saw carriages that looked straight out of old historical dramas.


    ¡°i-is this a new tourism policy the chinese government has come up with?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s absurd... it¡¯s erosion!¡±


    sometimes, when dungeons exploded, the environment inside the dungeon seeped out and replaced the one in the outside world.


    it was already troublesome when monsters escaped from the dungeon, but it was ten times more problematic if the outside world changed to be exactly like inside the dungeon. fortunately, the environment would go back to normal after all the monsters were defeated...


    ¡®this isn¡¯t the size of a dungeon though...?¡¯


    on a closer look, the current appearance of chengdu, as it was shown by the kunlun clan, wasn¡¯t an erosion caused by a dungeon. it was clear that the hunters had borrowed the power of a constellation.


    ¡°what do you think?¡±


    ¡°i think it¡¯s an environment that neutralizes modern weapons.¡±


    ¡°certainly...¡± aine nodded. she didn¡¯t know what this environment was exactly, but they wouldn¡¯t have changed it like this without some sort of plan.


    she was certain that the clan had come up with a way to respond to a possible retaliation of the chinese government.


    ¡°still, it¡¯s a fantastic view.¡±


    ¡°yeah. you don¡¯t see something like this in the stark big cities.¡±


    choi yeonseung and aine watched the video and admired the scenery. it was certainly intriguing to see that the skyscrapers had been replaced by traditional houses and the cars had been replaced by carriages pulled by horses.


    it was as if a big city had gone back in time!


    ¡°...uh, then what should we do?¡± han seha asked cautiously. she knew that choi yeonseung wouldn¡¯t stand idle, so she wanted to help as well...


    ¡°what do you mean? i¡¯m going to help your company,¡± choi yeonseung replied.


    ¡°huh? aren¡¯t you going there?¡±


    ¡°huh? why me?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    han seha was lost for words.


    ¡®this...?¡¯


    the most natural thing was to assume that choi yeonseung would rush to chengdu. after all, he had provided a lot of humanitarian aid recently...


    ¡°don¡¯t go to china.¡±


    ¡°oh, really?¡±


    ¡°secondly, if you do, be suspicious of absolutely everything except for your comrades.¡±


    ¡°i understand.¡±


    ¡°the third thing. if you kill a monster, make sure you have solid evidence that it was you who killed it. if you don¡¯t, they¡¯ll deny that it was you who killed it...¡±


    both of them spoke with solemn expressions. after a few more minutes, lee changsik finished more or less what he had to say. then he suddenly became curious and asked, ¡°by the way, why did they make the request to bulgae?¡±


    the bulgae clan was one of the three largest clans in south korea, but compared to the other two clans, they had a relatively small number of hunters. thus, that kind of request was more suitable for the golden blood fish clan or the six-eyed turtle clan.


    ¡°this is top secret information... has an erosion occurred anywhere?¡± asked lee changuk while pointing to the map.


    videos from china had surged all over the internet, but then they suddenly stopped. it was clear that the party had taken them down and stopped the flow of information.


    however, the bulgae clan had managed to get something from the chinese government.


    ¡°apparently, this area is growing bigger and bigger.¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s not surprising.¡±


    ¡°and... it¡¯s said that in this area, the power of martial arts becomes much stronger.¡±


    ¡°...?!¡±


    at that, lee changsik¡¯s eyes widened, and he wasn¡¯t sure he had heard that right. as far as dungeons went, particular types of magic were either stronger or weaker depending on the type of dungeon. for example, if a dungeon had a strong fire affinity, fire magic was naturally stronger in it, while frost magic was less effective.


    thus, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible for there to be an area where martial arts were stronger; it would just be unprecedented and amazing.


    ¡®what is this?¡¯


    ¡°didn¡¯t hunter choi yeonseung get a request?¡±


    ¡°it seems the chinese government didn¡¯t want to contact him.¡±


    ¡°i see.¡±


    no matter how much control the party had, the public still had eyes.


    choi yeonseung had averted a crisis committed by the government and the military in guangzhou with just his powers. everyone who had a conscience would be grateful.


    the chinese clans and hunters who were present witnessed it and spread the word, so everybody knew about those events, even if they didn¡¯t talk about it in public.


    thus, what if choi yeonseung came once again to china and helped more than the chinese hunters or military? if that happened, many clans would be dissatisfied and flee abroad, or even worse...


    ¡®i have to tell him about this!¡¯


    lee changsik was convinced. he didn¡¯t know if choi yeonseung wanted to go, but it was an opportunity that choi yeonseung couldn¡¯t miss as a constellation.


    ¡°i¡¯ll go and convince choi yeonseung, but can he move with the bulgae clan?¡±


    ¡°...of course. the chinese won¡¯t notice anything.¡±


    lee changuk was puzzled, but he nodded without making any further comments.


    ***


    -there¡¯s really nothing useful.even running this company with my feet would be better.can¡¯t i just give it plants from the abyss?


    -successor, it¡¯s impossible unless you take care of it with your own power.


    -that¡¯s true.


    the orcs were doing a great job farming, but that was mostly thanks to choi yeonseung¡¯s power, so it was impossible for ordinary companies to grow abyssal plants without his powers.


    even if they succeeded once, the companies that bought the seeds would inevitably fail...


    ¡®in the end, i have to research it and create a new seed or find a kind of seed that works without magic¡¯


    choi yeonseung pondered on it. ever since the abyssal gate had opened, earth¡¯s vegetation had changed in many ways due to magic power, and as such, a staggering amount of new seeds had been discovered.


    large countries like the united states, china, russia, and india had an advantage in this regard. since their land was so vast, they could find more seeds and had a higher chance of finding useful ones.


    ¡°ah, i should¡¯ve looked for some seeds to bring back when i went to guangzhou last time... the owner would¡¯ve disappeared anyway.¡±


    ¡°can¡¯t we just go there, break down their doors, and take what we need?¡±


    ¡°really? is that okay? um...¡±


    ¡°what...? that¡¯s insane...¡±


    ¡°i guess it wouldn''t work.¡±


    in the meantime, choi yeonseung received a call from lee changsik.


    ¡®he¡¯s not going to say that he won¡¯t manage the demon clan anymore, right...?¡¯ choi yeonseung thought to himself before picking up.

 Chapter 348

    chapter 348


    however, what lee changsik said was completely unexpected.


    ¡°hah.¡±


    ¡®i have to go.¡¯


    how could choi yeonseung let go of an opportunity to expand his power as a constellation?


    choi yeonseung told han seha, ¡°something came up, so i think i will be joining them over there...¡±


    ¡°i thought you would,¡± replied han seha, casting him a look that said, ¡®i knew it.¡¯


    even though choi yeonseung had said that he wouldn¡¯t go because he had other things to do, he was still worried about the people over there and ultimately decided to go help!


    choi yeonseung was frustrated by han seha¡¯s misunderstanding and explained, ¡°it¡¯s not because i¡¯m worried about the people over there. it¡¯s because the bulgae clan requested it...¡±


    ¡°if you say so... anyway, let¡¯s go.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung felt it was unfair but he couldn¡¯t help it. he had to go.


    han seha looked at aine and asked, ¡°can i accompany you?¡±


    ¡°certainly. there might be several rare seeds in the area where the erosion has occurred. there are also many untouched alpine areas over there...¡±


    aine admired han seha¡¯s plan. of course, the chinese government would denounce her as a thief, but who cared? if the chinese could steal stuff from their own country, the korean side could do that as well.


    ¡®i just said i would accompany them, but i should keep my mouth shut,¡¯ han seha thought to herself.


    ***


    the atmosphere within the bulgae clan was pleasant. everyone had known each other for a long time, so it was only natural that they got along well.


    ¡®i like it.¡¯


    it was hard to find an american clan with such a positive atmosphere. in the us, clans were established for the purpose of making money, and the hunters joining them had the same goal, so everybody was rather distant and kept to themselves, not interfering with each other.


    results brought them rewards and power, but the lack of results caused them to be immediately expelled. as such, it was understandable for the hunters to focus on themselves, but at the same time, such a cold atmosphere made it hard for the clan members to evolve.


    it wasn¡¯t for nothing that hwang gyeongryong had created and managed several clans in an unusual way.


    in that regard, bulgae was a warm, friendly clan. the sight of a d-grade hunter casually chatting with a b-grade hunter without hesitation was a rare sight even in south korea.


    ¡°speaking of which, who¡¯s the leader of bulgae?¡± asked choi yeonseung.


    ¡°don¡¯t you know? it¡¯s ahn seongwu.¡±


    ¡°...wait.¡±


    choi yeonseung frowned upon hearing a familiar name. from what he remembered, that person wasn¡¯t a hunter...


    ¡®who was that...?¡¯


    lee changuk explained, ¡°ahn seongwu is an analyst who has been active since the first generation. i¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard about him before.¡±


    ¡°ah... wait, wasn¡¯t ahn seongwu criticized a lot?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the hunters of bulgae looked at each other with strained expressions, as though it was difficult for them to reply to that. indeed, they couldn¡¯t just openly criticize the clan leader...


    ¡°uh... uhm... well, we¡¯ve heard some allegations about him in the past...¡±


    ¡°i see... so it¡¯s that ahn seongwu.¡±


    after the abyssal gate opened and the first generation of hunters was formed, regular people didn¡¯t just sit still. humanity¡¯s brightest minds, starting with scientists, proceeded to analyze this new phenomenon and come up with methods of dealing with it.


    as a result, all sorts of theories appeared and disappeared overnight.


    -in order for hunters to become stronger, they must repeatedly go through life-and-death situations!


    -what crazy nonsense is that? that would just get our few hunters to die!


    -we need to collect more and more artifacts and arm them...


    -we have to receive the power of a constellation.why not have the whole country worship a constellation?


    -it¡¯s insane to sacrifice our country to a crazy alien being!what if the alien tells us to change the laws?what type of country would that be?!


    -i¡¯m the son of a constellation! blessed be those who believe and follow me. now that the end i have spoken of is upon us, i... aaaack! ugh! you monster!


    ***


    ¡°yo, check out my martial arts. know what this is? it¡¯s the wind king fist method.¡±


    ¡°wind king...?! what¡¯s wind king?¡±


    ¡°eh, isn¡¯t it just alright? look at this instead. this is extraordinary, right?¡±


    choi yeonseung moved to the area where hunters were staying only to be greeted by a bizarre sight he had never seen before.


    ¡®what? did i come to another world?¡¯


    no matter how he looked at it, he really was seeing hunters from all over the world seriously showing off their martial arts and bragging about who was stronger.


    just then, a well-dressed chinese employee ran up to them and greeted them warmly, ¡°welcome! you must be the new hunters!¡±


    ¡°isn¡¯t it amazing that they have learned martial arts so quickly and to this level? what do you think the secret is?¡±


    ¡°...i don¡¯t know. what?¡±


    choi yeonseung guessed that it was probably due to a realm. people hadn¡¯t noticed it, but the power of martial arts had naturally increased due to the influence of the realm.


    thanks to this, even the hunters who were learning and using martial arts for the first time in their lives were surprised by how powerful they were.


    ¡®by the way, what¡¯s up with this guy? he looks like a public official...?¡¯


    only government officials or party members would come to an area full of overseas hunters.


    choi yeonseung was puzzled by this person. why had they come here and asked questions like this?


    ¡°it¡¯s all thanks to the mysterious martial arts that came out of china.¡±


    ¡°...?!¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t you know? martial arts were originally used by chinese cultivators. as such, it can be said that the martial arts coming from china encapsulate the mysteries and wonders of our country from over three thousand years ago.¡±


    ¡®is he crazy?¡¯


    choi yeonseung was dumbfounded. martial arts and magic spells were influenced by people¡¯s perceptions, and as such, the names and descriptions would inevitably vary. an example for this was the magic that gathered powerful energy and fired it after turning it into a sphere.


    goblins called it ¡®balkaceres¡¯, but the people of earth usually perceived it as a fireball.


    similarly, the perception of martial arts was heavily influenced by their depictions in novels; many martial art names came from such novels.


    ¡°recently, it has been revealed how great martial arts are. the reason choi yeonseung is so strong is his martial arts. rumor has it that he got a powerful secret item from somewhere in china.¡±


    ¡°oh, really? that¡¯s new!¡±


    ¡°in fact, there is an opportunity to get these martial arts for cheap. there¡¯s a black market around here. if you leave it to me, i will bring you some secret techniques for martial arts that you can never get overseas!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    the hunters were stunned. the chinese official was so verbose that they wondered what he was trying to say...


    it turned out that he was a black market vendor!


    ¡®what...?¡¯


    choi yeonseung felt like a fool for actually listening to this crap.


    -humans are really amazing.


    -yeah, they¡¯re something else...


    they were trying to take advantage of this situation to make money from overseas hunters. they couldn¡¯t miss this opportunity to make an extra buck.


    choi yeonseung got up from his seat, to which the official was surprised and asked, ¡°why are you getting up?¡±


    ¡°in the future, you should remember people¡¯s faces when trying to commit fraud. what¡¯s with this sloppy scam tactic?¡±


    choi yeonseung walked out into the square and shouted so that all the hunters around him could hear, ¡°listen up! if there is anyone who wants to learn the secrets of true martial arts, please come out!¡±


    ¡°some crazy guy is making a scene... gasp.¡±


    ¡°...ch-choi yeonseung!¡±


    ¡°choi yeonseung is going to teach us?!¡±


    han seha cocked her head. ¡®was there a secret...?¡¯


    hadn¡¯t choi yeonseung said that the only secret was to train very hard...?

 Chapter 349

    chapter 349


    people flocked like birds; the crowd had gotten so large that choi yeonseung wondered just how many hunters were around this area.


    it was understandable. after all, there wasn¡¯t a hunter who wasn¡¯t tempted by the story of martial arts. it had been proven that martial arts could be quite powerful when used in combat, which impressed people even if they weren¡¯t necessarily interested in learning them.


    ¡°so what exactly are the rules here?¡± han seha asked the vendor, or rather, the official...


    ¡°ah, yes. first of all, if you move from your designated place, you have to report it.¡±


    ¡®i shouldn¡¯t listen to this clown.¡¯


    the moment han seha heard this rule, she thought about disobeying it. after all, didn¡¯t chinese hunters always come to south korea, move without reporting their locations, cause trouble, and then come up with excuses like ¡°oh, i didn¡¯t know... what should i do?¡±


    she would just balance things out.


    the official continued, ¡°currently, there are many abnormalities occurring around us, and the number of unusual monsters is increasing. we need the power of a lot of hunters. i¡¯m just grateful to all the hunters who have come this far.¡±


    ¡°and you¡¯re expressing your gratitude by scamming them...?¡±


    ¡°s-scamming? i came here to find items to sell to hunters!¡± the official exclaimed with utmost sincerity. of course, it could be interpreted as a scam, so the official was keeping it secret from the party. there were many high-ranking party officials who wouldn¡¯t understand the patriotism behind his actions.


    he was earning foreign money by selling items on the black market at high prices. if this wasn¡¯t patriotism, then what was?


    in addition, the hunters were satisfied, which further proved that this wasn¡¯t a scam. it was just a mutually beneficial deal.


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung! i wonder what type of martial arts is right for me?¡±


    ¡°that¡¯s right! how do i find it?¡±


    the hunters gathered like clouds and asked choi yeonseung questions like a bunch of kids looking up to their professor.


    ¡®it¡¯d be great if everybody showed half of their interest on a regular basis.¡¯


    choi yeonseung was a bit irritated by this.


    the image of martial arts had improved a lot, and the number of hunters who reached the higher ranks in martial arts had increased significantly, but there were still many hunters who weren¡¯t interested in martial arts.


    -martial arts?i tried to learn it once, but it took too long compared to magic.


    -if you learn martial arts, you¡¯ll always have to fight at close-range.i want to fight from a distance.don¡¯t you know how high the death rate for close-range tankers is?


    however, the power of martial arts increased significantly in this area. even those who hadn¡¯t been interested in it before were now expressing their interest. it wasn¡¯t a bad thing, but it was a bit...


    ¡®still, i can¡¯t miss this opportunity.¡¯


    ¡°can you evaluate the martial art i¡¯ve bought?¡±


    ¡°i bought it because its name seems legit, but i wonder if this is really a proper martial art!¡±


    ¡®hehe. hunter choi yeonseung, no matter what you do, you won¡¯t be able to get these people to turn away,¡¯ the official thought to himself.


    of course, it was embarrassing to see choi yeonseung show up like this, but hunters were generally ill-tempered and didn¡¯t listen to anybody. thus, choi yeonseung could say all he wanted that the martial arts at this black market were nonsense!


    at most, some hunters might become skeptical, but after some time, they would flock back to the market.


    -i don¡¯t think this is trash though?


    -hunter choi yeonseung might¡¯ve tricked us.


    -maybe he gave us false information to keep us in check...


    -... it worked well when i used it!he lied to me!


    people believed what they wanted to believe. they had experienced the effects for themselves, so it was hard for them to think that the martial arts they had bought were bad...


    ¡°the martial arts here are definitely decent, but you know what? dragon industry has been collecting martial arts and developing new ones. that¡¯s why the number of b-grade martial artists has been increasing.¡±


    ¡°!!!¡±


    ¡°such a secret...!¡±


    ¡°ch-choi yeonseung! how can i get that martial art? can i only get it by joining dragon industry?¡±


    ¡°uh, i¡¯ll be honest with you. the rarest, most excellent martial arts aren¡¯t disclosed to anyone, and we won¡¯t change that any time soon.¡±


    the hunters weren¡¯t surprised by choi yeonseung¡¯s words, so they nodded as if they had expected him to say that.


    ¡°yeah, i didn¡¯t think they¡¯d release new skills that they invested so much money into.¡±


    ¡°maybe they¡¯re preparing it to recruit a-grade hunters?¡±


    ¡°didn¡¯t a chinese clan try to recruit b+ hunters using spell books last time?¡±


    clans would do this all the time. trading with magic or skills was a natural thing among hunters!


    ¡°but i¡¯m willing to release a martial art that is a bit less powerful than those secret ones.¡±


    of course, choi yeonseung had always played an active role in china, but he hadn¡¯t expected such a strong reaction this suddenly...


    ¡°what do you want?¡± the official asked very politely.


    it turned out that the vendor was a high-ranking official in charge of the area. in south korea, this man would be a fifth-level public official or higher, but in china, where the population was much higher, he had a heavier burden on his shoulders


    ¡®wait, is this how you do business?¡¯


    the chief, gong tao, was very confident. ¡°shouldn¡¯t i earn my share and retire? if i don¡¯t take care of myself at times like this, no one will.¡±


    ¡°you have very capitalist and enterprising ideas... so what¡¯s the current situation?¡± choi yeonseung asked.


    choi yeonseung remembered what aine had said before. it was surprisingly easy to gather information in china. it seemed that there were many people who would share it for the right price...


    -doesn¡¯t that apply to every country?


    -no.you¡¯ll know when you go there.those types of people are way more active.


    ¡®yeah, alright. it¡¯s definitely different here.¡¯


    choi yeonseung hadn¡¯t expected government officials, out of all people, to actively do business like this.


    ¡°in fact, the party currently doesn¡¯t seem to have any plans to subdue the opponent.¡±


    ¡°what nonsense... why?¡±


    ¡°it¡¯s because of the rumors that this whole situation has been caused by the master of slowness and silence.¡±


    ¡°!¡±


    the chinese government would be quite distressed if this situation had indeed been caused by a constellation. they had already lost the northern part of the country to that constellation in a shameful manner, so they would do their best to avoid having that nightmare happen again.


    ¡°so the government is gathering all the hunters in the north?¡±


    ¡°i think that should be the case? i¡¯ve heard that a-grade hunters are also on emergency alert.¡±


    ¡°what¡¯s the situation here?¡±


    ¡°it seems that they¡¯re trying to stop it by bringing in hunters from overseas. as you know...¡±


    gong tao made a circle with his fingers.


    choi yeonseung also knew that the chinese government was spending a huge amount of money to stop this incident.


    ¡®maybe this really is their intention.¡¯


    ¡°but will this actually work? they¡¯ll need a few more a-grade hunters to do something, and i don¡¯t think there will be any other hunters coming in from abroad.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    gong tao looked at choi yeonseung with a bewildered expression. weren¡¯t choi yeonseung and han seha also a-grade hunters?


    there was an uproar on the chinese side when they belatedly found that a-grade hunters had come here...


    -two a-grade hunters from the bulgae clan have come to china!it seems they will provide support!


    -what are they up to?send them back!


    -we can¡¯t!the situation is dire, so we need all the help we can get. if we send away the a-grade hunters...


    -but we don¡¯t know what they¡¯re up to!


    -for now, we have to keep them on our side and watch their movements!


    after a bitter meeting where several executives fought each other, choi yeonseung and han seha received permission to participate in the raid.


    ¡°i¡¯m here because i want to help people, but the other a-grade hunters won¡¯t come here even if you pay them. they¡¯ll only come at gunpoint.¡±


    ¡°is hunter choi yeonseung there?¡±


    just then, someone knocked at the door after asking about choi yeonseung.


    this person gave off a cold and heartless impression, and choi yeonseung had never seen him before.


    it was joseph grant, an a-grade hunter who served the iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield.


    ¡°i¡¯ve been brought up to date on the way here. you¡¯re taking control of the hunters present. as expected, only a hunter like you can do it.¡±


    ¡°what non...¡±


    ¡°wait... wait. let me guess. there¡¯s no way you would do this for no reason... are you going to unite the hunters here to blackmail the chinese government? that¡¯s the only possibility.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung wanted to explain, but he didn''t have the energy to do it. therefore, he just nodded and lamely said, ¡°think what you want...¡±

 Chapter 350

    chapter 350


    ¡°i knew it! that¡¯s why you¡¯re here.¡±


    joseph grant was satisfied with choi yeonseung¡¯s answer and nodded.


    the media and other hunters often portrayed choi yeonseung as a hero, the last man of this era who still had a conscience, but joseph wasn¡¯t deceived. in his opinion, choi yeonseung was a cold-blooded wolf whose ambitions had no limits.


    otherwise, it would make no sense for his master, the iron-blooded general who shakes the battlefield, to hold choi yeonseung in such high regards.


    treating people well was most likely a strategy to help him achieve his selfish goals. other hunters didn¡¯t do things like that due to their personalities, but joseph could see how terrible choi yeonseung was for building up such a facade.


    ¡°why are you here?¡± choi yeonseung asked.


    ¡°there are two reasons, one of which is money,¡± joseph replied confidently. it was said that hunters made a lot of money, but the higher-ranked hunters also spent a lot of money.


    in joseph¡¯s case, he often had to mobilize hunters under him instead of roaming alone. thus, a cold-blooded man like him needed money to have people follow him.


    the chinese government had promised joseph a generous reward in exchange for participating in this raid.


    ¡°the other is my master¡¯s command.¡±


    ¡°?¡±


    ¡°you don¡¯t know? the constellations are sending their household members. it¡¯s not just me. many more hunters are coming.¡±


    ¡°...!¡±


    choi yeonseung realized what was going on. with the kunlun clan having declared its independence, there had been suspicions that constellations were involved.


    if the master of slowness and silence provided support to them, the constellation would be able to increase its power enormously, and since it was one of the most powerful constellations on earth, the other constellations wouldn¡¯t just stay put and concede to it.


    if the master of slowness and silence achieved its goal first in the long battle between constellations and won...


    at any rate, even if it wasn¡¯t the slowness constellation, gaining so much power so fast was unacceptable for the others. no matter the constellation, the others would try to keep it in check in a situation like this!


    ¡®there are times when the constellations seem a bit clumsy.¡¯


    -i definitely can¡¯t deny it.


    ¡°that¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°everyone will fight fiercely for their master¡¯s favor. however, if you¡¯re trying to unite these constellations to gain more profit from the chinese government... it would be a very good strategy.¡±


    choi yeonseung turned around because he couldn¡¯t be bothered to continue this absurd conversation.


    at this, joseph got slightly flustered and said, ¡°don¡¯t panic about getting caught. i have no intention of interfering with your plan! hey!¡±


    ¡®there are too many crazy people.¡¯


    ***


    ¡°we will also start moving from today.¡±


    ¡°oh, that¡¯s great. i was going to move slowly anyway.¡±


    choi yeonseung was happy to hear that the bulgae clan hunters were moving. in addition, wasn¡¯t it said that there were several martial artists in the clan?


    ¡°you said you use the four prisons fist technique, right? the last time i saw it, i thought it was a good martial art. try using it against monsters.¡±


    ¡°yes!¡±


    the hunter seemed motivated by choi yeonseung¡¯s encouragement.


    ¡®step forward to close the distance, then thrust a punch to prevent the opponent from getting closer. if they try to widen the distance, stay on top of them and keep the distance short. if they try to counterattack, knock them away and hit them repeatedly...¡¯


    the hunter reflected on the advice he had received and prepared to unleash his martial art skill. the four prisoners fist technique entailed a quick series of blows delivered at close or mid-range. correspondingly, the hunter¡¯s stats were focused on dexterity.


    hunters usually developed skills that fit their strong points and overall style.


    ¡®i¡¯m happy when i see things like this.¡¯


    the city was tightly packed with buildings, leaving no room to move, but when they stepped outside, they found empty fields, forests, mountains and rivers.


    in these places, it was hard to die straight away even if monsters appeared.


    ¡°there are jiangshi, but they don¡¯t seem special or anything. are they e-grade?¡±


    jiangshi were monsters that walked around while releasing a cold, evil energy. their overall presence was rather menacing, but their movements were slow and stiff. therefore, the experienced hunters weren¡¯t scared at all.


    none of the bulgae hunters were scared of these monsters.


    lee changuk warned them lightly, ¡°there¡¯s a lot of them, so be careful.¡±


    ¡°yes!¡± a hunter replied with determination before he rushed forward. perhaps due to the power of this realm, the martial art movement seemed better than usual.


    the four prisoners fist technique shot forward accurately to the jiangshi. the fist was as fast as a bullet and powerful enough to shatter rocks with ease.


    ¡®it¡¯s over.¡¯


    to the hunter¡¯s surprise, the jiangshi suddenly stepped forward and punched him.


    ¡°?!?¡±


    ¡°what?!¡±


    the punch wasn¡¯t strong enough to kill the hunter, but it was shocking nonetheless. did the jiangshi just use martial arts?


    -¡ö¡ö, ¡ö¡ö!


    -¡ö¡ö¡ö!


    a lot more monkey monsters rushed at them from the mountains, causing the hunters¡¯ expressions to contort in shock.


    ¡°look from above, fly, and ask for support. use all your artifacts¡¯ skills.¡±


    ¡°can i use a potion?¡±


    ¡°use it. do you want to die here? everyone gather! fire your magic! shah rukh, are you okay?! can you move?¡±


    they were a group of b and c-grade hunters, so their response was quite fast. they instantly prepared their wide-range spells. they would suffer too much damage if they fought one-on-one against those monsters, so it was best to finish them off from a distance with their superior firepower.


    -¡ö¡ö ¡ö¡ö...


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    there was a sudden shift in the air. the magic power around them became so dense that they could feel it on their skin. with that, the hunters spotted a giant monkey emerging from the mountains, which reminded them of one of the catastrophes that had struck china in the past.


    ¡°monkey king...?!¡±


    ¡°an a-grade monster appeared! an a-grade monster appeared! it¡¯s an emergency! an a-grade monster...¡±


    ¡°retreat! retreat!¡±


    the lesser monkeys were dangerous enough already, so none of these hunters were crazy enough to fight an a-grade monster when they were only b-grade.


    ¡°please ask for support from the a-grade hunters at the scene!¡±


    ***


    ¡°umm. i¡¯m worried.¡±


    joseph grant was troubled by an urgent call. generally speaking, it was better for a-grade hunters to not rush over right away when receiving such a call. if they waited for a bit, the people who needed help would end up giving the a-grade hunter more favors.


    however, the current situation was a bit different. joseph had already received a lot, and he thought that it would be overall better to go and help right away because the hunters in need of help were from overseas.


    he wouldn¡¯t have cared if there had been chinese hunters at the scene, but it would be dangerous to create hostility between him and hunters from other countries.


    ¡®i wonder how hunter choi yeonseung will act.¡¯


    joseph had already asked an official this question.


    ¡®he will probably be the first to rush over. after all, he needs to maintain his image!¡¯


    ¡°hunter choi yeonseung has yet to go to the scene.¡±


    ¡°...?!¡±


    joseph was shocked. choi yeonseung still hadn¡¯t left to help the hunters?


    ¡°what? choi yeonseung, you risk ruining your image! hunters are ungrateful, and they¡¯ll certainly blame the a-grade hunters for not helping!¡±


    ***


    ¡°can i really take this?¡± choi yeonseung asked while pulling out the plants around him one by one.


    gong tao nodded firmly. ¡°it¡¯s okay!¡±


    ¡°does that mean it¡¯s legal for me to take them, or do you just think i won¡¯t get caught?¡±


    ¡°uh, well, who¡¯s going to find out? just take them! the situation is so chaotic that nobody will care about some plants!¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    choi yeonseung was impressed. the power of money was truly amazing!


    ¡°alright, then i¡¯ll help myself.¡±


    while the hunters of the bulgae clan were doing hard work, choi yeonseung went around and looked for useful things using his constellation eyes.


    he was looking for plants that changed under the influence of magic in particular.


    ¡®um. this is enough to grow. i¡¯ll take it.¡¯


    han seha cocked her head as she watched from the side. she didn¡¯t have the eyes of a constellation, so to her, it looked like choi yeonseung was just picking up random plants.


    ¡°you... you don¡¯t have to get so many.¡±


    ¡°no, i have to take this.¡±


    like a hiker on a spring hike who was gathering herbs at will, choi yeonseung swept up everything around him.


    han seha was about to say something but stopped.


    ¡®nevermind, he seems to be enjoying himself. i should just be grateful.¡¯


    han seha made up her mind to calmly and gratefully accept the herbs that the elder of the family collected, even if they weren¡¯t tasty. they didn¡¯t seem to be very useful either, but...


    [the ¡®hound of instinct and liberation¡¯ is disappointed.]


    -shut up.be quiet.

 Chapter 351

    Chapter 351


    Strangely, there are a lot of herbs here, Choi Yeonseung thought to himself as he picked up the surrounding herbs one by one.


    He had heard that this area had been changed by magic power, but it was still a strange phenomenon.


    Am I seeing this right?


    [Chinese Knotweed Filled with Magic Power:


    It is Chinese knotweed that has an enhanced health recovery effect due to magic power.]


    [Ganoderma Lucidum Filled with Magic Power:


    It is a ganoderma lucidum that has a strong detoxification effect due to magic power.]


    -Is it possible that the realm where martial arts becomes stronger also has an increased amount of medicinal herbs?


    -Um, it sounds plausible.


    The city had essentially gone back in time, so it actually made sense for there to be more medicinal herbs around. Choi Yeonseung didnt understand why such a realm was created, but


    This constellations taste is really weird.


    Choi Yeonseung hadnt really seen any martial arts while wandering around in the Abyss. The skill had been fairly unpopular, and yet it had expanded in this enormous area.


    Choi Yeonseung knew that constellations ran a kingdom according to their own preferences, but this was a bit absurd.


    Alright. First, I have to pick up everything I need...


    [Giant Angelica Filled With Magic Power:


    It is a giant angelica with an enhanced hair regeneration effect due to magic power.]


    Okay, thats all.


    Of course, there were also many useless herbs, but Choi Yeonseung still took everything he could find. He didnt know much about company management or the weird fluctuation of the stock market, but there were still a few things he had learnt about business.


    For example, he knew that developing one new product and making a hit required hundreds of attempts. Dragon Artifact had produced and released a decent artifact. Wasnt the performance impressive?


    If one or two herbs out of a hundred are good, itll be a big hit.


    -Isnt it better to get rid of the hair growth effect and look for increased health or magic power recovery?


    -I will take it all with me.Also, I have to mix in one or two useless things to make it look better.


    -Successor, you seem to have the qualities of a good merchant.


    ***


    Choi Yeonseung was about to return after finishing his task when he noticed a small house on the ridge in the distance.


    ...?


    At first, he thought it was a farmers hut or a rest stop for hikers. However, its appearance was too peculiar for that. It was like...


    It looks like the inn I once ran among the demons!


    -Can your actions really be considered running an inn...?


    The goddess of sloth cocked her head. If that was management, couldnt robberies also be considered a type of transportation business?


    I have to check it.


    How can a house be so blatantly suspicious? Han Seha muttered in amazement as she followed Choi Yeonseung.


    Knock knock knock.


    Choi Yeonseung knocked on the door, to which the person inside shouted, Yes! Im coming now!


    ...???


    The Bulgae hunters were startled when they recognized the faces of the hunters inside. Surprisingly, they were hunters from the Kunlun clan.


    The Chinese government even put a bounty on the hunters of the Kunlun clan, the order being to exterminate those rebels.


    Why had these hunters, who should be worrying about things in the city, come all the way here to this remote mountain to run an inn?


    Theyre even cosplaying?


    The Kunlun hunters were wearing robes and martial arts uniforms similar to those seen in martial arts movies. The fluttering and cumbersome attires seemed quite uncomfortable.


    Welcome. The menu is...


    Hey, you fool. You cant just stay here and tell us about some menu. What, are you about to tell us about the pasta youre selling?


    T-thats right. Then what do you want to eat... Aish, theres nothing anyway. We only have bamboo leaves and noodles for food.


    After hearing the words of the Kunlun hunters, Han Seha asked politely, Excuse me, are you out of your mind?


    ...


    ...Witness the debut of this chapter, unveiled through N?o?v€l--B1n.


    We arent doing this because we like it! exclaimed one of the Kunlun hunters in an emotional tone.


    Were doing this because this is what Master wants us to do. Do you think we want to dress up in these weird clothes and do such strange things?


    Be quiet! Youre ruining the mood!


    Surprisingly, the Kunlun hunters hadnt lost their minds. It was actually the constellation who had ordered them to act like martial artists from movies!


    ***


    Illaphael stared into the distance with the most embarrassed expression in the world. Seeing him like this, the other household members serving the angel constellation nodded to each other.


    Illaphael isnt in a good mood today. Lets all be careful.


    Yes.


    I should go back to the Abyss.


    Illaphael was seriously contemplating whether he should return all his titles to the angel constellation and return to the Abyss to start his training from scratch. He had never thought he would get the name of a constellation wrong


    Where is the Monkey King now?


    Hes around eleven kilometers ahead. It looks like hes on a mountain.


    A-grade monsters had such a strong presence that unless it was a special case, it was quite easy to track them. Unlike in the past, where hunters would just chase the monster, the hunters of this generation monitored the movements of monsters by using various high-tech equipment.


    Despite the emergence of an A-grade monster, the hunters in the room werent very nervous.


    These hunters were from all over the world: Armas Garcia, an A-grade hunter from Cuba, Rosemary McClure, an A-grade hunter from Canada, Daniel Foretti, a B+ grade hunter from Argentina, Mona Tharwat, a B+ grade hunter from Egypt, Milena Berriu, a B+ grade hunter from Italy, and others.


    There were many hunters graded A and B+ in this room. This impressive gathering was all thanks to the money of the Chinese government!


    The people at the Ministry of Finance were probably shedding tears of blood by now as they looked at how much money they had spent.


    One of the hunters asked curiously, Wheres Hunter Choi Yeonseung? I wanted to see him at least once.


    Few hunters were as interested in each other as A-grade hunters. There were quite a few of them in the world, but among them, Choi Yeonseungs reputation was unique.


    Ive heard hes hanging out with lower-grade hunters right now.


    Huh, hes an odd one, isnt he?


    Hey, watch what youre saying!


    What? Hes not even here


    Choi Yeonseung has saved one of my relatives. People who havent done anything should keep their mouths shut.


    Wow, well arent you snappy? You think you can speak to me like that just because youre an A-grade hunter?


    Tensions ran high within the large group of high-ranking hunters. Since they usually fought when they gathered together, they had never had the time to just talk to each other in one place.


    Please calm down. Hunter Choi Yeonseung will be here as soon as we can contact him!


    Everyone, calm down!


    The Chinese officials desperately tried to stop them.


    Top-ranking hunters were extremely difficult to deal with all throughout. Since they didnt like staying together, the officials had to prepare separate ultra-luxury hotels on the outskirts of the city. In addition, they had to meet all the hunters requests.


    -Bring me ten cigars right away.They must be made in Cuba.


    -I need honey and milk for my skincare.If its not the quality stuff, Ill return it right away. So take care of it.


    -I need to pray but there are too many Chinese people. Its noisy.Get rid of the house.If you dont, Ill demolish it myself.


    The officials who managed hunters of lower ratings had it better.


    At any rate, having to deal with so many hunters meant a generous extra income, which was good


    Bang!


    A hunter slammed the door open. All the other hunters turned toward the door, expecting to see Choi Yeonseung, but much to their disappointment, it was Joseph Grant.


    What? Ugh, its this bastard.


    Hey! Get lost!


    Heh, the pathetic losers are already barking, Joseph snorted as he stepped inside.


    Armas replied angrily, Youre the one to talk! Youre so pathetic that the Chinese government didnt even bother to give you a luxury hotel. Instead, they gave you a regular one.


    Stupid... This is why youre a loser.


    What?


    I talked to regular hunters here and made connections with them. Who do you think those hunters will support in the future? You short-sighted people would never understand that.


    ...


    ...


    Mona Tarwat was suddenly curious, so she took out her phone and looked on the internet to see what the public opinion of the Chinese hunters was like.


    Most posts consisted of praise for Choi Yeonseung, but there were some about Joseph as well, just not of praise


    @John_Doe


    -Joseph Grant is an annoying bastard.


    -Is this guy running for president of the United States?Why is he campaigning?


    -Oh, I wish all A-grade hunters would just gather in one room and off themselves. Why bother us?


    Um.


    Mona Tarwat nodded and closed her phone.

 Chapter 352

    Chapter 352


    Even if multiple people did the exact same thing, some of them would be praised for it, while the others would be criticized.


    They were treated differently because they usually acted differently!


    As far as Joseph was concerned, he usually said things like Hunters who participate in raids together? Those hunters are just my chess pieces. Whether they die or not is none of my business.


    Therefore, there was no way he would get a positive reaction after barging in and saying, Are you eating? Lets have a meal together. Arent we all hunters after all?


    -Has he finally lost his mind?


    -I think he has an ulterior motive for doing this.


    ...There were bound to be such misunderstandings.


    Joseph wasnt yet aware of the situation, so he continued confidently, Other hunters will support me even more thanks to my participation in this A-grade monster raid.


    You want to run for president?


    This guy doesnt even have a country. Why is he holding a presidential election...?


    The other high-ranking hunters whispered to each other, but Joseph didnt catch what they were saying.


    After becoming an A-grade hunter, Joseph had gained a tremendous amount of confidence that few hunters could match. It was the confidence to casually ignore other people whispering about him.


    I cant believe you didnt participate in the A-grade monster raid right away. Choi Yeonseung, you made a mistake.


    Joseph acknowledged Choi Yeonseung, which was precisely why he wanted so badly to surpass him.


    The world of A-grade hunters was also a world of fierce competition. Only A-grade hunters who had built up a strong reputation and achievements could gain more power and have a voice. Joseph intended to use the lessons he had learnt from his enemies to climb up the ladder.


    Hes always been annoying, but dont you think hes even more annoying now?


    I agree.


    ***


    Many household members and high-ranking hunters, as well as additional Chinese military units had gathered together.


    No matter how special their opponent was, there was no way they would lose with this much power. The original plan was to start the operation by striking the surrounding area with military artillery or bombing it


    Oh, get lost. If I see the Chinese army, I will just withdraw.


    Arent they actual murderers? How can I trust those bastards to not hit me in the back with a missile while Im fighting?


    ...


    The Chinese officials looked troubled, but the hunters were stubborn. These kinds of hunters had nothing to lose, so it wasnt completely unlikely for them to leave.


    -Please retreat.The hunters are anxious...


    -Are you joking?They straight up dont trust us!


    -Please!


    The military officers were fuming, but there was nothing they could do. They couldnt do anything if the hunters didnt back down.


    Ill be the first to attack.


    Illaphael!


    The top-ranking hunters watched with anticipation and curiosity when they heard that the household member of the Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons would get directly involved.


    They knew that the constellations were divine beings, but the Abyssal races that served them were different, so they couldnt help but wonder


    How different were they from human hunters?


    I wonder how strong hell be.


    Bah! Even if he is an angel, isnt he ultimately on the same level as us?


    The hunters here were very confident in their own strength. There were several B+ grade hunters at the scene who considered themselves to be as strong as A-grade hunters. They were so prideful that it was only natural for them to look at the angel with a sense of arrogance.


    -Feast of Dragon Hunting!


    Illaphael ignored the hunters gazes and used his skill. At this moment, the constellations watching the surroundings could see the message window delivered by the world.


    [Illaphael, the household member of the Six-Winged Angel Who Hunts Dragons, has used Feast of Dragon Hunting.]


    [The world shakes and the dimensional door opens!]


    Illaphael tore open a portal in the air, revealing a giant dragon bound with chains. This was the fierce dragon of the Abyss captured by the angels of the constellation!


    The dragon opened its maw and released a storm of condensed energy.


    A Breath!


    The eyes of the hunters widened as they saw the dragons Breath, something they had only seen in the past during the great invasion of the evil god constellation.


    It was unusual even for A-grade hunters to see rare and strong Abyssal monsters, such as dragons, in person.


    The storm released by the dragon was destructive; its tremendous strength hit and ripped apart the mountain peak.


    Illaphael grabbed the end of the chain and firmly controlled the dragon. He was doing it more so with his power of existence than with force.


    [The Monk Pursuing Glory admires the feat and sends a gift!]


    Despite being bound by various skills, the Monkey King charged forward, ready to attack the hunters. Rosemary got in the way to try to prevent Monkey King from breaking through.


    !?


    The Monkey King grabbed Rosemary and pushed her aside with its massive strength. He then tore a tree from its roots and swung it at the hunters.


    The hunters, who were preparing to defend against the magic cast by the Monkey King, looked perplexed.


    What is he planning?!


    Dont panic! His attacks have a pattern!


    The hunters had figured out the patterns for the Monkey Kings melee attacks well before they had come here to fight him. The monster was strong and fast, but hunters also had superhuman traits. They could avoid his attacks by picking up on his patterns


    Cough!


    Ghah!


    The Monkey King overpowered the hunters in an instant. He tied them up with his tail and lifted them in the air.


    What is he doing?!


    The other hunters were stunned by what was happening to those hunters. They shouldve figured out the pattern of his attacks, so why had they ended up like this?


    Its a weird attack! Be careful! one of the hunters cried out in horror as he was watching the monster from the rear.


    Hes using martial arts!


    What nonsense Agh!


    -!


    Two hunters, who looked down on the tree wielded by the Monkey King, were suddenly knocked back by the monster. The brutal attack completely shattered the shields of the two B+ hunters, seemingly thanks to the internal energy of the tree.


    Ummmm...!


    Armas was troubled. It was difficult to counterattack because of the captured hunters. If they made a mistake and hurt a comrade, there would be liability issues...


    Never mind the captured hunters and attack! Joseph gave instructions on Armas behalf after noticing that everyone was hesitant to attack.


    I dont want to!


    Yes! For the sake of... What?


    Are you crazy?


    Listen to me! Its an order!


    Of course, nobody listened to Joseph, which caused him to feel betrayed. This was what happened when he didnt rule with a whip!


    ***


    Is the A-grade monster raid over? Choi Yeonseung asked casually as he returned home with a bag full of herbs. After he heard about the lineup in advance, he thought the hunters would decimate the monster.


    The raid failed and the hunters retreated.


    I see... What!?


    Choi Yeonseung doubted his ears.


    The raid failed?!


    Did they get the location wrong? Did they retreat because they didnt find the monster?


    No.


    ...Thats not it?


    There are reports that a number of hunters, including A-grade hunters, have been captured by the monster.


    ...


    This absurd news left Choi Yeonseung speechless. What was going on?


    Since its an emergency, I thought you should attend the meeting... said Gong Tao as he looked at him. He felt bad asking him to participate in the meeting after receiving large amounts of money from him.


    What if Choi Yeonseung got angry or asked for his money back?


    I understand. Ill keep that in mind.


    ?!


    Gong Tao genuinely admired Choi Yeonseungs willingness to participate in the meeting. He hadnt expected him to agree to participate without complaining or asking for something in return.


    It wouldnt have been strange for Choi Yeonseung to negotiate all kinds of conditions for participating in the meeting, given that his price had gone up


    However, Choi Yeonseung didnt complain or ask for anything in return because it was to save people. Gong Tao stopped looking at him in awe and suddenly felt ashamed.


    Choi Yeonseung, a foreign hunter, was doing everything in his power to save people, whereas Gong Tao was just taking money from him.


    When did I become like this?


    Gong Tao made up his mind and said, Hunter Choi Yeonseung, please accept this money.


    What? Did you get caught by the party?


    ...N-no Its not like that!

 Chapter 353

    Chapter 353


    Gong Tao tried to express the shame and remorse he felt, but this was even more embarrassing.


    ...Just take it!


    Oh, the party mustve caught you. Alright, Ill take the money back, said Han Seha from beside Choi Yeonseung. There was no reason to refuse if someone offered money.


    Party members could go to jail if they were caught taking bribes. On the other hand, the Chinese government couldnt do anything to overseas hunters even if they took some bribes. Therefore, this exchange was beneficial for both sides.


    Yeah, Ill take it back.


    Hunter Choi Yeonseung


    Huh?


    ...Have strength!


    Whats up with this guy?


    ***


    The good news is that Joseph is missing.


    ...


    It was just a joke Was it not funny?


    Several hunters bit their lips tightly at Armas words. An A-grade hunter could tell such a joke, but the hunters under him couldnt laugh even though they actually found it funny.


    However, the current situation was no laughing matter. Many hunters, including Joseph Grant and Rosemary McClure, who were A-grade, had gone missing. They hadnt been confirmed dead, so they were missing in action for the time being, but it was a huge disaster nonetheless.


    Naturally, this dire situation deeply worried the Chinese government, which was why they started controlling information the second they heard the news.


    They were already spending a lot of money to convince hunters to come to China. If news got out that several A-grade hunters had gone missing, the hunters who were still on their way to China would instantly turn back.


    -Please make sure to rescue them!Do whatever it takes!


    -Any support will be available.You must save them!


    Of course, the hunters also wanted to rescue them, but it wasnt just because they were comrades who fought together. If this operation failed, their careers would take a big hit. Armas and the other B-grade hunters would be particularly responsible for any failures.


    The more we wait, the more their chances of survival will drop. Lets go right away


    ...?!


    ??!


    The hunters were stunned by Choi Yeonseungs words as he entered the room out of nowhere.


    Armas spoke in a bewildered voice, H-hey, did you hear the report just now?


    The hunters couldnt overlook the fact that the Monkey King possessed unusual abilities. It was also clear that those peculiar abilities were somehow connected to the abnormal phenomenon occurring in the area.


    If they tried to attack again without understanding it properly, they would likely fail just like before.


    Yeah, Ive listened to the report, which is why Im telling you to take action immediately.


    Choi Yeonseung wasnt very surprised.


    Apparently, the reason the Monkey King was so strong was the fact that he fought in the area where the power of martial arts was heightened.


    This monster already possessed formidable physical and magical abilities, and he had been reborn into a nearly perfect form when he had also gained the power of martial arts.


    However, this wasnt much of a problem for Choi Yeonseung.


    Im actually glad that Ill get to fight someone who has just learnt martial arts.


    From Choi Yeonseungs perspective, this upcoming battle with the Monkey King was something to be thankful for. He wouldve been apprehensive to fight a monster with different abilities, but to fight one that used martial arts


    It would be a piece of cake for him.


    What if I refuse to participate? said Armas as if looking down on Choi Yeonseung. He was known for his careful planning, so even if a monster appeared in front of him, he wouldnt fight it before he made a proper plan.


    Therefore, given the critical situation, Armas didnt want to rush into a raid that could fail.


    If you dont want to participate, then dont, Choi Yeonseung replied with an indifferent expression, as though he could see right through Armas.


    What? But youll definitely need my support...


    Huh? Get lost already! You said you wont participate. Why are you being so annoying?


    Han Seha was quick to disparage Armas, causing him to be speechless.


    Armas had heard from a lot of people that Han Seha had a terrible personality, but he hadnt expected her to be so blatantly disrespectful to him.


    What...


    We came here with noble intentions, trying to rescue those hunters, and youre over here complaining like an asshole. Youre so infuriating. And why are you still here? Get lost already! Ill have a few words to say about you in the post-raid interviews.


    Even though Han Seha was clearly out of line, nobody stopped her because they sympathized with Choi Yeonseung.


    We have mobilized additional hunters who were on standby. They said they would help us, Choi Yeonseung said.


    They agreed to participate knowing how bad the situation is?! Armas exclaimed in disbelief. This shocking news prevented him from getting angry over what Han Seha had told him.


    The raid had been a disaster, and several A-grade hunters had gone missing, and yet more hunters wanted to participate?


    It didnt make any sense


    Choi Yeonseung also got fed up with Armas attitude, so he ignored him and continued, There are quite a few martial artists, so it should help. They should be able to stop the monsters under the Monkey King. In the meantime, Han Seha and I will go straight for the Monkey King.


    The Monkey King was elated from the previous victory, and he rushed over the moment the hunters came around.


    AAAA! I shouldnt have come!


    I was ing crazy to believe in Choi Yeonseung!


    The morale of the hunters had been quite high before charging into battle, but now that they saw the Monkey King rushing at them, they were terrified.


    The magic power released by the Monkey King intimidated the hunters a lot. The monster seemed so unbelievably powerful that the hunters instincts were telling them to turn back immediately!


    Choi Yeonseung, you bas...


    Bang!


    With a loud bang, the Monkey King was sent flying back; Choi Yeonseung appeared in the blink of an eye.


    Are you okay?


    Yes!


    Lee Changuk immediately reported the situation before retreating with his colleagues. They did that so they wouldnt interfere with Choi Yeonseungs fight.


    Didnt you just curse at him?


    Sh-shut up...


    Choi Yeonseung ignored the hunters behind him and focused ahead. The Monkey King was staring at him with a puzzled expression, as if to ask him how he was using martial arts.


    Where are the hunters youve captured?


    -?


    The Monkey King shrugged dismissively and sneered. At that, Choi Yeonseung instantly disappeared.


    Origin of the Celestial Step! Origin of the Celestial Fist!


    With a sharp woosh, Choi Yeonseung struck the Monkey King fiercely, sending him flying and causing him to cough up blood.


    The monsters defense had become stronger thanks to his mastery of the Diamond Fist Attack Technique inherited from the constellation, but that wasnt enough to stop Choi Yeonseungs attacks.


    Following the tremendous impact of the attack, Choi Yeonseungs internal energy flowed into the Monkey King, causing him to convulse.


    -? ??


    Ill give you a chance. Taste my martial arts!


    -!


    The Monkey King charged at Choi Yeonseung with an angry look on his face. Perhaps because of his pride, the monster rushed forward using his newly acquired martial arts skill instead of using magic or other skills.


    The technique itself didnt have a name, but it involved a large variation of attacks. The Monkey King punched and kicked in all kinds of strange motions, trying to crush Choi Yeonseung.


    However, with an indifferent expression, Choi Yeonseung parried every single punch and kick and counterattacked with another brutal strike.


    The Monkey King was completely overwhelmed.


    I see...! Its the difference in mastery!


    Illaphael had been taken aback by the clear power gap between Choi Yeonseung and the Monkey King. However, he quickly realized why the fight was so one-sided.


    The Monkey King had learnt those martial arts only recently, whereas Choi Yeonseung had been learning and mastering martial arts for as long as he could remember. Therefore, the Monkey King was losing so badly because he was only an apprentice, whereas Choi Yeonseung was a master.


    It wasnt clear how the fight would go if the Monkey King changed his fighting style by widening the distance and using magic. However, it seemed like the monsters pride was hurt, which was why he was still only using martial arts.


    At this rate, no matter how great his physical prowess was, the Monkey King was at Choi Yeonseungs mercy.


    However, the area was suddenly cut off from the rest of the world.


    [The Angel of Martial Arts from the Future declares a realm.]


    [The world is divided.]


    ...?!


    [The Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead says to be careful!]


    A huge amount of the power of existence was consumed and the world changed.


    The Monkey King, who had been in front of Choi Yeonseung, disappeared and a green meadow materialized in his place.


    The scenery seemed tranquil, but all the constellations who were watching were nervous.


    There was an angel standing in front of them.


    A constellation.


    The small angels face was concealed by a blurred mask. Everyone realized that it was the Angel of Martial Arts from the Future who had caused all of this.


    This angel had shaken Western China and now isolated this area from the rest of the world. It was clear that this constellation possessed tremendous power.


    The constellation looked straight at Choi Yeonseung and exclaimed, Father!


    ...?!?


    [The Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead is dumbfounded...]


    Mother!


    [...???????]

 Chapter 354

    Chapter 354


    All the constellations present were confused, and the goddess of sloth was the first one to snap out of the state of chaos.


    Her kingdom had once flourished and she had risen to the top of the rankings in the Abyss; no one had more experience than her.


    -Successor, dont be deceived!How can you believe such absurd words?


    !


    [The Manipulator of Dreams and Desires calls for the Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead to come to her senses!]


    The manipulator constellation shouted at the goddess because she couldnt just stand by and watch. She couldve just said something like What constellation would buy into something like that? but at this moment, there were two constellations who were likely to fall for such trickery.


    If one was Choi Yeonseung, the other was the Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead.


    Thinking about the twisted and perverse desires that the Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead has for the incarnation of training, she might actually be deceived by this!


    As expected of the manipulator constellation, she assessed the situation calmly and rationally.


    [The Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead realizes this and becomes angry!]


    [She is making an appearance!]


    Goddess...?!


    The goddess of balance took action before Choi Yeonseung could stop her.


    Given that sending down a clone consumed an enormous amount of power of existence, it was evident how serious this situation was.


    But to come forward like this...


    Shes really angry!


    The goddess of balance had to be livid because of this constellation who claimed to be her child. This absurd claim stained her reputation as a constellation!


    -Its a bit different from that, but I dont have time to explain it right now. Focus, Successor!


    The goddess of sloth cried out urgently to Choi Yeonseung, urging him to stay focused. The opponent was also a constellation, one that had mindlessly abused their power of existence. This made the opponent rather dangerous, for even constellations feared those who only lived in the moment and didnt care about their future.


    Such an adversary would inflict the most amount of damage on a constellation.


    Finally, the goddess of balance, whom Choi Yeonseung hadnt seen in a long time, appeared. Her expression couldnt be seen clearly because she was blindfolded, but her intense presence attested to her anger.


    Mo...


    -Shut up!


    The goddess of balance suddenly vanished and appeared behind the opponent. She had a scale in one hand and a sword in the other. She swung her sword, which was infused with her power of existence, at the angel of martial arts, tearing through space.


    ...Why dont you listen to me?! Im being serious!


    ...


    [...]


    -...


    The constellations were astonished. The angel of martial arts overwhelmed the goddess of balance with a single blow! More than that, they had done it with the exact same move!


    The angel of martial arts had disappeared and reappeared behind the goddess of balance, and after subduing her, they shouted, Listen to me! Theres no time!


    The goddess of balance looked like she had completely lost her mind. The attack itself was simple, but it was impressive when taking into consideration that the goddess of balance could see the future.


    It was truly unimaginable that someone could get around that power and completely overpower the goddess of balance.


    I also have the power to see the future. Mother, how can you attack me? Stop it! Father doesnt like when you act rashly like this!


    ...


    [...]


    -...Is she dead?


    The goddess of balance had already lost her mind once, and it seemed like it happened once again.


    Now!


    Choi Yeonseung finally made a move. This skill was different from the teleportation of the goddess of balance; it was a much more dazzling and unpredictable move... But to his surprise, the angel of martial arts moved in exactly the same way.


    Even the attack itself was the same!


    Origin of the Celestial Fist?!


    Choi Yeonseung was stunned by the fact that his opponent mimicked his Origin of the Celestial Fist. This wasnt a matter of strength, but a matter of training. How could someone train and use the Origin of the Celestial Fist like this?


    Isnt this enough? Father, listen to me! Mother is hopeless right now!


    I dont have a child... I think.


    Of course! Im from the future! shouted the angel of martial arts in the voice of a little girl. Despite her childish appearance, she possessed formidable power. She had even managed to restrain the goddess of balance.


    Choi Yeonseung decided to compromise.


    Alright, my daughter... Uh, or son? Maybe you dont have a gender? In any case, can you let go of your mother now? Shes actually a good person.


    Wasnt it great for their country to accommodate their tourists like that?


    [The Monkey King wants to be your household member!]


    The household member left behind by the angel of martial arts bowed his head the moment he saw Choi Yeonseung.


    I guess Ill have to send him back to the realm first.


    Choi Yeonseung paused as he watched the monster disappear. Come to think of it, Hwang Gyeongryong would probably get scared if he saw a first-generation monster like the Monkey King


    ***


    He stopped it!


    As the news of the victory spread, the hunters participating couldnt help rejoicing. It had been a dangerous raid in which nobody couldve let their guards down for even a second.


    It was surprising that Choi Yeonseung had made short work of the Monkey King, but the intervention of the constellation had been the most shocking part.


    The hunters had been worried that something might go wrong or that Choi Yeonseung might go missing, but fortunately, he had returned safely.


    Hey! Why do you look so gloomy? Are you really doing this for money?


    The hunters shouted at the Chinese officials standing by next to them. In response, the Chinese officials silently pointed at the city.


    Seeing this, the hunters cleared their throats.


    Umm Hmm


    Cough. Ummm


    The hunters apologized once, but then they started acting shamelessly.


    Hey, its not our fault. We did our best.


    Thats right. There were no deaths, right?


    They couldnt have made it this far as hunters if they had enough of a conscience to feel sorry about things like this. If anything, they actually became angry.


    Hunter Choi Yeonseung has risked his life to prevent damage, and yet youre staring at the sky all dejected and stuff without thanking him... Are you even human?


    Do the Chinese not know what gratitude is?


    ...Its not that were not grateful. Its just that the state of the city is...


    These days, you cant live an eco-friendly green life even if you have money. This is a great thing! Be grateful!


    The hunters at the scene became angry and pressured the officials to accept the situation. They were afraid that the Chinese government would blame the hunters led by Choi Yeonseung, so they decided to strike first.


    However, they were overthinking the whole situation. Given the current circumstances, the Chinese government wouldnt be able to blame the hunters. There were too many people involved.


    They came all the way to another country and participated in an A-grade monster raid despite the chaotic situation. Thus, rebuking the hunters was tantamount to committing suicide in the international scene.


    It doesnt make sense... muttered Armas as he scanned his surroundings. It was amazing that they had escaped from the clutches of a constellation, but he still couldnt believe that Choi Yeonseung had defeated such a powerful monster so easily.


    Its because of martial arts, which are stronger in this area...


    Yeah, thats the case.


    Armas was seriously troubled. He wondered if he should start learning martial arts. He had thought that it was ridiculous for an A-grade hunter to bother with such a weak skill, but his impression had changed after seeing the low-rated hunters using martial arts.


    If he learned at least a few martial arts skills, wouldnt he be able to use them in combination with his magic?


    Its not a bad idea. Besides, I heard that Dragon Industry is distributing martial arts books.


    Perhaps due to his compassionate heart as the pioneer of martial arts, Choi Yeonseung was surprisingly willing to reveal a lot of information about martial arts.


    During the first generation of raids, nobody was willing to share information about magic, which meant that evolving as a magic user was terribly slow.


    On that note, present-day martial artists were blessed.


    Armas, were having a meeting.


    Ah. Of course, I should go.


    One might expect that hunters would collapse after a raid and that they would want to rest right away, but that was rarely the case. The post-raid rewards were so precious that hunters would jump straight into the meetings.


    Even if they were on the verge of passing out due to exhaustion, the hunters held on to the end and made sure to get the rewards before collapsing.


    Why is that guy coming?


    He didnt participate, right?


    On the way, Armas saw hunters whispering and staring at him, but he ignored them. Critique was temporary, but money was eternal.


    Since Armas had participated in the first raid and was part of the offensive, he was entitled to a part of the rewards. Of course, his rewards would be insignificant compared to what Choi Yeonseung would receive. After all, he was the one who had contributed the most in the raid.


    Even so, the Monkey King was a ridiculously valuable monster, which meant that even a small part of the rewards would be very profitable.


    Besides, hes a unique monster. There might be some cores on top of the rewards...!


    Theres no Monkey King though? His body is gone.


    ...Dont lie! Armas shouted angrily.

 Chapter 355

    Chapter 355


    Armas didn''t usually get angry, but it was a different story when it came to money.


    What are you saying, you bastard? Are you suggesting that Im lying?


    Armas was in trouble because his adversary was tough. None of the hunters in the room were meek enough to back down because he was angry.


    The room was full of A-grade hunters and top B-grade hunters, so Armas couldnt just intimidate them. Furthermore, his reputation wasnt exactly the best.


    Why are you running your mouth when you werent even present at the initiation of the raid? You shameless bastard. Did we not see you because youd cast a defensive spell on your face?


    I dont care about his rank or how valuable he is. Lets beat him up and bring him to the Chinese government. Who the hell does he think he is?


    ...


    Armas was speechless at the unexpectedly hostile responses. He had no reason to be afraid of the Chinese government, but he had to be a bit wary about the reaction of the hunters on active duty. In addition, these werent some no-name hunters, but A-grade hunters.


    Dont... Dont get me wrong. Theres no way I would doubt the hunters who have fought by my side.


    . Get lost.


    Seha, watch the language! There are other people here.


    I see... Excuse me, would you please consider getting out of my sight?


    Armas was an A-grade hunter for a reason, so even in such a tense situation, he cleverly shifted the blame to save himself.


    I wasnt doubting the hunters, but the Chinese government. Do you know how many Chinese soldiers are around here? They mightve hidden the corpse of the Monkey King!


    ...!??


    The Chinese person in charge waved his hands in surprise. They had stolen monster rewards a few times in the past, but it really wasnt the case this time.


    They could pull off such tricks with D or C-grade monsters, but if they tried to tamper with the rewards from an A-grade monster, every country in the world would bury them.


    No!


    From what I heard, it would make sense...


    Hunter Choi Yeonseung, were there any Chinese people around you?


    Armas sighed as the target of blame was shifted once again.


    Damn, this atmosphere is terrifying.


    Hunters werent usually united, but for some reason, they were acting as one on this occasion. Armas had acted as usual without thinking and almost got seriously hurt.


    Ah, right. Grant, Im glad you got back safely. About the reward this time... Armas said to Joseph.


    Armas thought that this conversation would go well because just like him, Joseph had also only participated in the first raid.


    Joseph replied with a cold expression, I heard that you said to not save me. I heard it from Choi Yeonseung.


    ...


    Armas was taken aback by how quickly Choi Yeonseung had reported on him. Contrary to his seemingly kind appearance, he had handled everything flawlessly.


    I had the wrong idea about him!


    Joseph, who had finally returned safely, ignored Armas and continued, Speaking of splitting the rewards...


    The Monkey Kings corpse is nowhere to be seen. If you keep talking, Ill tie you up again and throw you away!


    Listen to me! Since the corpse is gone, shouldnt we get compensation from the Chinese government?


    The hunters, who had been disregarding Josephs words, suddenly paused, realizing that his idea was actually good.


    Certainly, this...


    Lets all join forces.


    Yeah. Were comrades who fought the monster together!


    ...


    At this moment, the Chinese officials in the room cursed their superiors who had recruited these overseas hunters.


    ***


    There had been an unexpected set of circumstances and other ferocious monsters were wreaking havoc. Despite those terrible conditions, the story of Choi Yeonseung defeating the Monkey King by mobilizing hunters without backing down spread quickly.


    @Armas_Garcia


    -We were able to finish the raid thanks to Choi Yeonseung, who boldly led the hunters despite the failure of the first attempt.It was a good raid for everyone.


    The hunters at the scene said that you didnt participate in the second raid. Is this true?


    -That is the Chinese governments slander.As you know, the Chinese government spreads rumors to keep overseas hunters in check.Its a shame if you believe such baseless accusations.


    @Mona_Tharwat


    -I am seriously thinking of learning martial arts.The power of martial arts is much greater than I thought.I heard that Choi Yeonseung can also cook. I wanted to check it out, but unfortunately, I couldnt.


    The problem was right in front of them!


    -Any constellation would be affected by such a traumatic experience, and a fragile constellation like the goddess of balance would be even more affected by something like that.


    [The Manipulator of Dreams and Desires slightly regrets saying that the Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead has a perverse and twisted desire.]


    -...You actually said that to her?! Thats just too much!


    Choi Yeonseung was dumbfounded. What the manipulator constellation had said was really out of line!


    -But it is a twisted and perverse desire...Is it normal to covet a mortal, whos also someone elses household member, like that?


    [The Manipulator of Dreams and Desires says that the incarnation of training is kind. If the incarnation of trainings personality were a bit more evil, the goddess of balance would be the laughing stock of the Abyss right now.]


    ...


    Choi Yeonseung suddenly felt sorry for the goddess of balance. He couldnt believe that the constellations were taking sides like this


    I have to listen.


    [The Manipulator of Dreams and Desires says that seducing others by looking pitiful is something that a moral would do, not a constellation.]


    -Certainly, the strategy of the goddess of balance is unique and not something that ordinary constellations can imitate.


    -Everyone, shut up.


    Choi Yeonseung silenced the constellations.


    It was understandable that the goddess of balance was shocked. He was shocked as well. However, since there was a lot of work to do, he decided not to dwell on her condition for the time being and focus on the most pressing matters.


    There were still many questions.


    Why and how did they have a child? Why had that child come from the future? Why was the child so talented in martial arts? What had she tried to tell them?


    [The Cat of Lava and Magma says it can tell you how a child is conceived.]


    [The Manipulator of Dreams and Desires says she can tell you as well.]


    -Ah, shut up.


    However, both Choi Yeonseung and the goddess were constellations. No matter how embarrassed or confused they were, they couldnt waver.


    As rulers of a realm, they had to stand firm. It was their duty as masters in whom their subjects had faith.


    Adaquaniel, please send me to your kingdom. Ill convince her myself.


    Hunter Choi Yeonseung...! But youre the household member of the Undefeated Incarnation of Training. Im worried I might make a mistake by sending you there or that Master would misunderstand my intentions!


    Its okay. Just send me there.


    Adaquaniel was deeply moved by Choi Yeonseungs resolve. He wanted to go there to help her master without caring about his own safety.


    Was there anyone else in the Abyss who was so noble and loyal?


    Alright, and if the goddess gets angry, Ill take full responsibility


    Adaquaniel...!


    Hunter Choi Yeonseung...!


    -Successor, I think it would be best if you hurry there.


    [The Manipulator of Dreams and Desires strongly warns you not to do anything like this when entering the kingdom.]


    ***


    Master, please tell us.


    Thats right. Shouldnt you talk to us so we can share some of the burden?


    The loyal angels of the goddess knocked anxiously on the door of the tower. In spite of everything, their loyalty was still unwavering. The goddess of balance was a good master, which was rare in the Abyss.


    ...I will ask you a question.


    Yes! What is it? Please tell us!


    Lets say there is a child born between a constellation and a mortal.How would they be born?


    Um...


    Umm...?


    The angels pondered on it before coming up with a general answer.


    Perhaps the constellation subdued the mortal by force or tricked them with some evil scheme?


    I think so as well. The difference in status is so big that its probably the result of strength rather than love.


    The angels exchanged looks, thinking they had answered well.


    Waaaaaah!


    ...But what came from inside was the goddess wail.

 Chapter 356

    Chapter 356


    The angels panicked and called out the goddess name, but she didnt answer.


    Let me in.


    !


    The angels were surprised by Choi Yeonseungs sudden appearance. They had worked together a few times, but the angels hadnt expected him to come directly to the goddess realm like this.


    Choi Yeonseung, no matter what, you cant do this!


    Thats right. Master is very depressed right now. We cant soothe her. If you go in for no reason, you can get seriously hurt.


    Adaquaniel appeared behind Choi Yeonseung and said, I will take responsibility in my name.


    If you say so...


    It cant be helped.


    The angels immediately stepped aside. Seeing how easily the angels let him in, Choi Yeonseung thought for a moment that the goddess words didnt hold much weight.


    ...Can you please back off so I can talk to her?


    Ah, of course.


    We just wanted to take a look...


    The angels watched curiously before flapping their wings and moving back. What did Choi Yeonseung intend to say to her?


    ...Could it be that Master forced that human...?


    What nonsense are you saying? No matter how kind Master is to us, there are some things that we absolutely cant say!


    B-but what Master said earlier was so questionable


    Some of the angels looked baffled after they listened to the goddess of balance. To make it more suspicious, Choi Yeonseung was the only mortal the goddess of balance had been interested in lately.


    That was probably about something else! Everyone, watch your mouths! I wont forgive you for saying that about our master!


    I... Im sorry. You are right.


    The angels reflected on their impudence. There was no way their master wouldve done something like that.


    ***


    ...


    Choi Yeonseung already felt uncomfortable as he heard the crying coming from the goddess room.


    Goddess, can I come in?


    ...What?! the goddess yelled in surprise and stopped crying. The angels shouldve prevented anyone from coming in, but Choi Yeonseung had suddenly come in front of her room. Did no one stop you?!


    I asked them to let me in, so they did.


    ...They let you in because Adaquaniel told them, right?


    ...Yes.


    The goddess wasnt a complete fool. She obviously knew that only Adaquaniel couldve made the angels step aside. Without her, Choi Yeonseung wouldnt have been able to come in so easily.


    Thats right.Everyone trusts and follows Adaquaniel.You also trust and follow Adaquaniel...Im an ugly constellation who is pushed aside even by her own subordinates...


    No, why would you say that?


    You would be better off with Adaquaniel.You are both mortals.


    The goddess voice became lower and lower.


    Goddess, it would be better for us to talk in person. There seems to be a misunderstanding.


    We cant meet in person.


    What do you mean?


    I might hurt you because of my perverse and twisted desire.


    ...No, thats certainly not the case


    [The Manipulator of Dreams and Desires sincerely apologizes. She says she said that in the heat of the moment.]


    Goddess, please listen to me. Its understandable that you feel confused because of that constellation from the future. However, she only defeated you because she had a powerful ability and because she knew about you. Theres no shame in losing to someone like that.


    ...??


    [???]


    -???


    ...Wasnt it because of that?


    Choi Yeonseung was flustered when all the listening constellations acted surprised. He thought that the goddess of balance was depressed over the humiliation of being defeated by the constellation from the future


    -Are you crazy?


    [The Manipulator of Dreams and Desires cannot believe you are saying this. Your child came from the future and you are thinking about losing a fight?]


    Of course, that part was shocking as well, but since its the most shocking thing, shouldnt we first talk about the fight, which is less shocking, and then move on to the most pressing matter and resolve the misunderstanding?


    -......


    If anything, it wouldve been strange if she had responded positively.


    Ah, yes...Nice to meet you...


    Shes not happy at all.


    In any case, Choi Yeonseung managed to resolve the situation by dropping this bombshell; the goddess was so shocked that she had forgotten to cry. Of course, after Choi Yeonseung left, she might remember what he had said and throw another fit, kicking the blankets and yelling, but the overall issue wouldve been sorted by then.


    I look forward to your kind cooperation in the future, Goddess.


    Choi Yeonseung extended his hand. The goddess hesitated before smiling gently and shaking Choi Yeonseungs hand.


    She was still confused and all over the place, but the moment Choi Yeonseung held out his hand, she instantly wanted to hold it.


    [The Manipulator of Dreams and Desires says it is too easy...]


    [The Goddess of Defeat and Sloth says that they can still hear you]


    [...She praises that generosity is the charm of the goddess of balance.]


    At the end of the conversation, Choi Yeonseung sighed with relief. Having this conversation had been so difficult that he felt it wouldve been easier to fight a constellation.


    He was glad that it was somehow finally over!


    -Its a shame that you have revealed your secret, but you can definitely trust the goddess of balance if you look at the constellation who appeared from the future.


    -I told you we can trust her.


    -Yes, I got it.Also, dont forget to make a child.


    -...Wait.Do I have to make it now?


    -I dont know that...My realm isnt seeing the future.


    ***


    Stankey, the chairman and current CEO of Western Systems, was a man full of arrogance. He used to say this all the time


    -Even if companies who make high-tech artifacts look fancy, theyre still nothing without our company.


    In a way, it was true.


    The companies that made products by combining technology with state-of-the-art artifacts didnt do all the production themselves. The really valuable components would be handled by reliable companies, and those that didnt require much technology would be handled by lesser companies with lower labor costs


    Of course, the one who requested the components was the main party, which had the most amount of authority in the exchange, but sometimes, this relationship was reversed.


    If the company hired by the main party was so technologically skilled that it was irreplaceable, it would actually have more authority than the main party!


    Western Systems was just like that. Their technology to manufacture core stabilizers, which was often used in products containing artifacts, was excellent.


    The cores from monsters werent used just for generating energy. By processing the core, it could also be used as fuel to directly activate magic artifacts. Of course, that was several times more difficult than just using it as an energy source, but the speed of human development was unimaginable.


    At the moment, there were various magic artifacts being released. However, the core was essentially an unstable material, and several safety devices were needed to avoid accidents when using it.


    The core stabilizer was one of those devices. It was an intermediate component that couldnt be omitted when it came to artifact-related products!


    Chairman, Hunter Choi Yeonseung said he is coming in person.


    What??


    Stankey frowned at the unexpected news.


    There were many people in the business world who didnt like hunters who had become entrepreneurs. Traditional entrepreneurs saw hunters who had become entrepreneurs as cocky bastards who would inevitably screw up and lose everything.


    In fact, such entrepreneurs had been involved in many scandals and accidents.


    -CEO John Fields, a former hunter, is accused of a Ponzi scheme...


    -Immense damage...


    -The recently acclaimed electronic money turned out to be a scam.There are a lot of victims...


    Given this image, Stankey naturally didnt like Choi Yeonseung.


    Hwang Gyeongryong had a long track record. Even if Stankey disliked him, he had to acknowledge his achievements. However, Choi Yeonseung had just popped out of nowhere.


    Chairman, hes an A-grade hunter and is currently in charge of Dragon Industry.


    I know that. You think Id frown in front of him? Watch your mouth.


    I-Im sorry.


    Why do you think he''s coming? Its probably because of the Chinese factories, right?


    I think so.


    If those crazy hunters had done their job properly, it probably wouldnt have happened...


    Stankey cursed with a dissatisfied expression. Whenever hunters gained fame and fortune through raids, entrepreneurs often wanted to gouge their eyes out at the dropping stock prices.


    That was one of the reasons Stankey had a bad feeling about this.


    If the hunters hadnt stopped it, the area wouldve been devastated...


    Follow me. I have to persuade him myself.


    You mean right now?


    Yes. In any case, its difficult for his company to find anyone other than us. Hes like a child, so hes easily coaxed.

 Chapter 357

    Chapter 357


    Its not wrong though


    That was the reputation of the entrepreneurs with a hunter background. They were emotional, unfamiliar with business, and flashy. They only cared about appearances and their overall image.


    Therefore, the traditional entrepreneurs, who had been in the world of business for a long time, thought that those hunters-turned-entrepreneurs were easy to deal with. With enough praise and some vaguely plausible words, one could coax those entrepreneurs into doing anything!


    So why am I so nervous about this?


    Stankeys subordinate was agonizing over this meeting with Choi Yeonseung, but he soon understood why he was so anxious.


    Choi Yeonseung was a bit different from the other hunters they had dealt with. Unlike the other hunters who were obsessed with wealth and fame, Choi Yeonseung was constantly saving people and preventing disasters through raids.


    Excuse me, Chairman, but Hunter Choi Yeonseung might be different from other hunters...


    What nonsense are you talking about? All hunters are the same.


    ...


    Stankeys subordinate was anxious, but he couldnt do anything about it. He had to follow his superiors orders.


    ***


    Hunter Choi Yeonseung! Or should I call you Chairman of Dragon Industry?


    Stankey welcomed Choi Yeonseung with a friendly and hospitable attitude that belied his intention to curse at him.


    Youre leading Dragon Industry on behalf of someone as great as Dragon Hwang. Youre truly incredible.


    You dont have to call me Chairman. Id rather you called me Hunter, responded Choi Yeonseung as he took a seat. He wasnt particularly ambitious about Dragon Industry. He was in charge of it on behalf of Hwang Gyeongryong, since he was still in the Abyss, but he didnt want anything more than that.


    Stankey was a bit annoyed by Choi Yeonseungs attitude. He wasnt trying to achieve anything and he had gotten his position by pure luck, and yet he was arrogant like this.


    Nevertheless, Stankey didnt betray his irritation. No matter how confident he was, he didnt forget that Dragon Industry was a formidable company. There was no reason to cause trouble.


    I have to play with him here.


    It was easy to be mistaken about Choi Yeonseungs age due to his youthful appearance, but he was actually older than Stankey. Unaware of this, Stankey started running his mouth carelessly.


    I think I know why youre here. Its because all the factories in China have stopped, right? said Stankey with a solemn expression.


    Of course, China had always been a mess, but this time, it was worse than usual. In Guangzhou, a crazy vampire had shown up out of nowhere and declared, This is my kingdom now! After that, hunters rebelled in the west and the entire landscape changed.


    As a result, everything from production facilities to logistic lines and power supplies was a mess.


    Its understandable, Hunter Choi Yeonseung. Of course, Im not responsible for this regrettable situation... Only a poor person would make excuses. Stankey paused before continuing in a grim voice, I wont blame you if you break the contract with us and look elsewhere!


    !


    Stankeys subordinate, who was listening from behind, was taken aback by his words.


    What?!


    Dragon Industry was a huge client that made up more than ten percent of Western Systems revenue. Therefore, telling Choi Yeonseung that he could break the contract was pure insanity.


    This was such a bad move that Stankeys subordinate felt like they should grab Choi Yeonseungs ankles and beg him to not listen to Stankey.


    However, Stankey wasnt an ordinary man either.


    He figured that if he came into this meeting in a low-key manner, Choi Yeonseung would hit him with a bunch of reparation requests and changes in conditions. Thus, he had to come off strong in this negotiation.


    -We cant afford those things right now, so you should think twice before you make any requests like that. It might backfire badly!


    Of course, if an incompetent person said something like this, they would be the one taking the hit. However, Stankey had something to rely on.


    Western Systems is one of the leading manufacturers of core stabilizers. There arent many places that can supply the same volume to Dragon Industry. They wouldnt find a better unit price overseas either...


    Stankey didnt think that Choi Yeonseung would actually want to change the contract!


    Uhm, is that really okay? Choi Yeonseung asked with a slightly embarrassed expression.


    Stankey suppressed his smile and replied casually, Yes, you may in fact do so.


    Hehe, now hurry up and bow down. Time to drop the hunter act!


    Well, Im grateful for your kindness, but Im also sorry at the same time. Please dont take it personally. My main duty is to lead Dragon Industry well.


    ...?!??!


    Stankey was stunned by Choi Yeonseungs reaction.


    ***


    Choi Yeonseung had managed to appease the goddess of balance and deal with Stankey, but there was still a lot of work waiting for him. Even if Aine and the talented secretaries helped him, it was Choi Yeonseungs job to make the final decisions.


    Ive arranged the high-priority ones in order. You have to assess them and make a call... By the way, Adaquaniel, do you have any intention of working for my fund?


    Im sorry, but now I have to help Hunter Choi Yeonseung... Adaquaniel replied reluctantly with an apologetic expression. She was making money on Earth for the goddess sake, and she herself wasnt particularly greedy.


    Aine felt this was a shame; this angel had the potential of becoming a living legend in the stock industry!


    Shes incredible.


    -Is Torigava struggling with production?


    -For the core stabilizers?Its the cost of making them thats the problem. The technology itself isnt that difficult.


    -Western Systems has a reputation for being able to produce large quantities at low prices.


    Other companies couldnt keep up with Western Systems.


    After hearing the explanation, Choi Yeonseung nodded.


    We have no reason to accept this proposal.


    Dragon Industrys current supplier for core stabilizers was doing well at the moment, while Torigavawas asking for more money.


    There was no reason to raise the cost.


    Im sorry, but it wont work. We already have a contract...


    I know. With Western Systems, right? But they had a lot of factory lines in China, so it will be hard for them to respond immediately. Torigava is different!


    Doesnt it cost more? asked Choi Yeonseung.


    I thought you would say that, Koyle said with a wide grin. We will supply you the core stabilizers for ten percent cheaper than Western Systems.


    ...How is that possible?


    Choi Yeonseung didnt understand. It wasnt like Torigava had recently received technology from a constellation, so how could they reduce the cost so much?


    Its because of the governments support, Koyle replied in a hushed voice so nobody else could hear them.


    ...


    Choi Yeonseung was lost for words. So in other words, President Georges had taken a liking to this company and supported it with tax money Then, he had sent over his right-hand man to negotiate a contract with Dragon Industry


    Is France doomed?


    Choi Yeonseung couldnt believe what he had just heard. Adaquaniel spoke to him telepathically from the side.


    -Hunter Choi Yeonseung, this is just my opinion, but I dont think its a bad idea to sign with Torigava.


    -Really?I havent even met with the CEO and Im already suspicious.


    So birds of a feather really did flock together It made sense for an entrepreneur who was close to President Georges to have a screw loose.


    ***


    ...Despite his misgivings, Choi Yeonseung complied with Adaquaniels suggestion to meet with Torigavas CEO once.


    I-its a pleasure!


    Surprisingly, the CEO of Torigava seemed to be a sincere person. He came out with the product himself and explained how it was made and how it worked. This made their offer more trustworthy.


    Choi Yeonseung was rather perplexed by his earnest behavior and asked, Are you related to President Georges?


    Huh? No!


    Then how did you get close to him?


    Uh... I think its because I donated a lot. I donated a lot of money because I was scared, but I think he appreciated it It was an honest gesture of goodwill


    -If you pay a lot, I will take care of you!


    Aine carefully examined the paperwork and nodded. If the French government offered support, there was no reason to refuse.


    At the moment, Western Systems couldnt provide Dragon Industry the amount of core stabilizers they needed, so it wasnt a bad idea to sign a contract with a different company.


    Alright, well take a good look at the contract.


    Thank you! I will do my best! the CEO of Torigava exclaimed enthusiastically. He didnt want to miss this opportunity to sign with Dragon Industry!


    Ill eat Korean food every day and play K-pop at the factory!


    ...Say that one more time and Ill throw the contract in the bin


    ***


    -I still have to meet Western Systems and ask them about it.Maybe they can find a way to somehow provide us with the necessary quantity.


    -Its a good idea.Theyre trading partners, so it would be nice to talk things through amicably.I think youve become pretty used to things, right?


    Choi Yeonseung tried to explain the situation to the chairman of Western Systems as politely as possible. If they managed to come up with an ingenious method to meet the demands of Dragon Industry, they could keep working together.


    I wont blame you if you break the contract with us and look elsewhere!


    What?


    Choi Yeonseung hadnt expected this reaction from Stankey. Did he actually hate the contract with Dragon Industry?

 Chapter 358

    Chapter 358


    In any case, this is good.


    Choi Yeonseung said lightheartedly, I appreciate it, even though its a regrettable situation. Please dont take it personally. I have a responsibility to lead Dragon Industry well.


    ...?!?


    The employees of Western Systems were stunned by the sight of Choi Yeonseung shaking hands with Stankey and walking away leisurely after patting him on the shoulder. What just happened?


    S-stay calm. It must be a bluff, said Stankey in a shaky voice. However, his fingers were trembling.


    Is... Is it a bluff?


    It has to be. The advisors at Dragon Industry mustve given him some advice. Theyre trying to pressure us.


    Stankey was convinced. Ever since the Abyssal gate had opened on Earth, dozens of big insurance companies around the world had gone bankrupt.


    Unexpected incidents occurred everyday. A giant trading ship had gone missing in a monster raid, a well-known manufacturing company had lost its factory line in a dungeon explosion


    Given that the number of such incidents had increased over the years, companies had developed various measures to deal with them, thus having some semblance of order. In the past, it had been truly chaotic.


    There were rules and procedures to determine who was to be held accountable when an incident broke out. But more importantly than that...


    -Why is this our responsibility?The government of Country A is at fault for failing to kill the monster properly!


    -Why is our country at fault?Country B is to blame for not sending enough hunters to protect their factories!


    ...The most important thing was to be louder than the others!


    It sounded ridiculous, but it was actually true. In a world in which the strong trampled on the weak, everybody had to come off as strong, and in the end, the unfortunate side had to bend over.


    Dont worry. There wont be many companies that can supply Dragon Industry with what they need right away. If we dont budge, hell come back to us.


    [President Georges is about to deliver a speech in front of his supporters... Supporters should get excited!]


    [The president declares that he will make France even greater... President Georges declares that the upcoming era will be the era of France...]


    -Everyone!I made France even greater!I built a French city in the Abyss and beat up those disobedient hunters and corporate bastards!


    -Waaaahhhh!Long live the president!Long live France!


    The French are crazy.


    The very fact that they elected a president like that proves that France is doomed. This would never happen in our great America.The birth of this content finds its genesis in N?v€l??n¡ï


    Stankey watched the news while smoking a cigarette, ridiculing the pitiful state of France. That country had pretty much become the laughing stock of the world; people of all ranks and professions were mocking France.


    It was rather amusing. They had elected a man for president who had no experience whatsoever in politics. More absurd was the fact that his popularity was actually growing even though he kept verbally abusing people and mistreating them.


    In response to the positive crowd, President Georges shouted even more fervently.


    -Look at South Korea in the East! Why was that nation able to become strong? Ill tell you why! Its because Koreans know how important it is to sacrifice yourself for your country! Sacrifice yourselves for France!


    -Waaaahhhh!Long live the president!


    If any Koreans had been present at Georges passionate speech, they wouldve been baffled and said, What sacrifice are you talking about? Unfortunately, there were no Koreans there, so the French public cheered and applauded President Georges speech.


    -Here is CEO Belseriff!Hes the leader of a proud French company!Applaud this guy who flattened the nose of an American company and landed an amazing contract this time!


    -Waaah!Belseriff!Belseriff!


    ...?


    As he sat there and listened to the speech, Stankey suddenly got goosebumps.


    Belseriff Wasnt he the CEO of Torigava, one of the competitor companies?


    Che Check it! Check it right now!


    ***


    Belseriff hugged the staff members upon his return.


    Thank you everyone for your help! If we hadnt worked hard together, we wouldnt have been able to sign such a good contract!


    No, its all thanks to your support, Mr. Belseriff!


    By the way, is President Georges really okay? He seems like hes got a few screws loose...


    ...Eh, thats just how he is. Lets just handle our own business.


    Belseriff knew what his subordinates were worried about. At the moment, President Georges was taking care of Torigava while shouting, We are French! I take care of French companies! However, nobody could tell when he would snap and go on a rampage.


    I heard that you met Hunter Choi Yeonseung?


    What kind of person is he?


    The staff members at the table were eager to learn about Choi Yeonseung. Generally, France didnt care much about overseas hunters. It was part of their national pride.


    No matter what the A-grade hunters in the United States did, the French reported on the performances of the French hunters first, and the French public was only interested in them.


    Nevertheless, French people were interested in foreign hunters once in a blue moon. This was the case with Choi Yeonseung.


    My younger brother was in Paris during that siege. Choi Yeonseung saved his life, the only injury being a broken arm.


    Really? Im glad some people got away safely from that chaos. How did he break his arm though?


    The researchers started trembling. They detected magic power several times more potent than normal in a common type of mushroom.


    Isnt it really good for detoxification? I think the results came out wrong...


    No way?!


    Bring the next one!


    The researchers proceeded to check the other plants one by one, still confused. It was as if Han Seha had brought only the best out of the hundreds of plants in the field. Every single one of them had yielded amazing results.


    ...


    ...


    The researchers looked at each other dumbfounded. What What was going on?


    ***


    I managed to get it under control.


    Choi Yeonseung threw the papers aside with a troubled look on his face.


    Of course, Torigava was running back and forth trying to provide Dragon Industry with the supplies of core stabilizers that they were missing because of the situation in China.


    Choi Yeonseung wasnt even in charge of all the work. The CEOs of the group took care of their own tasks, but this was still troublesome for him.


    Once again, I admire Gyeongryong hyung.


    Had Hwang Gyeongryong really been doing such a hard job? On the surface, it had seemed like he was just riding yachts, partying, getting married, getting divorced, and crying...


    Ill apologize to him next time I go to my realm.


    Choi Yeonseung?


    One of the secretaries cautiously knocked on the door and entered his office. Seeing this, Choi Yeonseung suppressed a sigh. He would happily accept training someone in martial arts all day long, but he was instinctively afraid of having to deal with paperwork.


    It looks like one of the hunters in the group will be promoted to A-grade.


    !


    Choi Yeonseung instantly stood up at the familiar topic. Anything hunter-related would be better than going through a stack of documents.


    Wait. If its A-grade...


    Yes. Im sure that hunter will be leaving, so I wanted to report it to you.


    Umm.


    As a company got bigger, it gradually stopped relying on just one top hunter. Instead, it brought in more reliable low-grade hunters.


    Those hunters would stop stray monsters from ravaging through their production facilities, gather materials that were only found in dungeons or in the Abyss, develop news spells or artifacts, and so on.


    Naturally, Dragon Industry had a large number of hunter clans and was even partners with some of the largest clans.


    If a company grew like this, the hunters would naturally evolve in their ratings.


    If its A-grade, theyll probably leave, right?


    In In my honest opinion, I think the hunter will leave.


    I see. I guess so.


    Choi Yeonseung knew how this went.


    Working for a company provided a stable income and good treatment, but after reaching A-grade, the hunter was essentially a national treasure, which meant they no longer needed to care about money and treatment from companies.


    Perhaps they just wanted to live their lives carefree and enjoy themselves.


    Alright. I have to meet the hunter. Ill go and see for myself.


    ***


    Antony sat down, drunk.


    He had finally reached A-grade. He had never doubted himself, but he still couldnt believe that he had finally done it.


    -Wont that bastard get in trouble for being drunk?


    -Shh.Let him enjoy himself today.


    To Antony, the jealous whispering of the other clan hunters was just background noise, just some birds chirping.


    Hunter Choi Yeonseung is here.


    !


    Antonys eyes widened when he heard that Choi Yeonseung had arrived. They were teammates of the same clan, but Choi Yeonseungs social status was too high to consider him a friend.


    However, Antony didnt care. Hadnt he finally been promoted to A-grade? He was already anticipating Choi Yeonseung telling him something like I acknowledge you, Antony. As expected, you are the only one who can lead the poor bastards of Icarus!


    So, Schneider. When are you going to leave the clan?


    ...


    Antonys face turned grim at Choi Yeonseungs words.

 Chapter 359

    Chapter 359


    What?


    Choi Yeonseung was puzzled by Antonys reaction.


    Bang!


    Antony banged his fist hard on the table and shouted, This is too much! Youre not even thinking about keeping me here! Youre openly trying to get rid of me!


    Oh, you were thinking of staying? asked Choi Yeonseung, embarrassed.


    At his response, Antony paused. He hadnt actually thought about what he would do. He was going to think about it after being acknowledged and satisfying his pride...


    I... have.


    What? Really?


    Choi Yeonseung was surprised. He had heard that hunters rarely stayed in a clan or a company after reaching A-grade. In any case, who wouldve expected someone as arrogant and annoying as Antony to stay in the clan?


    Then please. It would be great to have an A-grade hunter left in the clan.


    T-thats right. Thanks, thats reassuring


    Alright, I have a schedule, so Ill be going now. There are so many problems and incidents these days that I feel like Im going crazy.


    Y-yes.


    Before Antony could do anything, Choi Yeonseung got up and walked away.


    Other hunters in the Icarus clan saw Antony coming out and questioned him.


    Hey, Schneider. When are you leaving?


    I bet youll leave in a week. Gutierrez bet against it. Please leave in one week.


    Stop being mean, guys... I think that even if Schneider leaves, hell only do it after a week. Lets all bet fairly and not play tricks.


    ...


    Antony was furious at how happy his colleagues looked, thinking that he would leave the clan.


    Im not leaving!


    What?! Why?


    Hey! Since youve become A-grade, you should also become independent! How long are you going to be a slave of the clan? asked Ernest, the leader of Icarus, with a dumbfounded expression.


    ...Is that what you think of our clan?


    N-no, Ernest. Thats not it...


    Shut up and come forward.


    ***


    By the way, I havent heard how Schneider got promoted to A-grade.


    Choi Yeonseung was puzzled when he came out of the clans base.


    A-grade and B-grade were one step apart, but making that step was never easy.


    Hunter Antony Schneider has been the most accomplished member of the clan lately. The same goes for other hunters. In fact, according to our analysis of the clan members, there are at least two or three more hunters who can reach A-grade.


    !


    Choi Yeonseung was surprised by this.


    Was Antony that good?


    In fact, Choi Yeonseung was convinced of Antonys abilities when he saw a video of him. Aside from his magic, Antonys martial arts ability had increased drastically.


    Attacking with magic from a distance and using martial arts to widen the distance back if the opponent got too closeit sounded simple enough, but it actually took a lot of skill and talent to be able to combine magic and martial arts efficiently.


    Not only did Antony have to learn magic and martial arts together, but he also had to be prepared to use the two skills in a flawless combo. Learning both magic and martial arts at the same time posed the risk of being second-rate in both of them, but it was great that Antony had managed to pull it off.


    But Hunter Antony Schneider doesnt get much recognition from other hunters, so its a bit...


    Um


    Choi Yeonseung nodded at the secretarys words. Certainly, Antony was the kind of hunter that didnt get recognition, even though he deserved it, because he kept running his mouth.


    Not all A-grade hunters were good leaders or had good personalities.


    Indeed, I dont think its possible for Antony to lead other hunters in raids.


    The secretary looked at Choi Yeonseung and said, Well, its great to have a new A-grade hunter in the clan. Dragon Hwang would be very pleased if he heard it.


    Youre right. He kept complaining that there was a ton of money being poured into the clan every year only to get no results. Im sure hell be happy.


    If they were to target one of the many factories on Dragon Industrys side, Choi Yeonseung would get really mad...


    I warn you. Next time, Senator Nelson will die.


    ...??


    Choi Yeonseung was flustered upon hearing the unexpected name. Then the secretary, whom Choi Yeonseung was carrying with one hand, said with a shaky voice, ...Cho-Choi Yeonseung! Senator Nelson is one of the biggest names in American politics, and he thinks well of our Dragon Industry!


    ...Does that mean that hes the one whom weve bribed?


    N-no Its legitimate lobbying! Its legal!


    Surprisingly, it wasnt illegal in the United States for businessmen to give money to politicians. It had gotten to the point that being a lobbyist was an actual job. These people went to politicians and gave them money in exchange for certain things.


    In addition, this is what Dragon Hwang did!


    I see. Gyeongryong hyung didnt do such things when he was in South Korea. America really corrupted him.


    Hwang Gyeongryong used to say that all politicians should die when living in South Korea, but after he became chairman, he gave plenty of money to politicians.


    No... Its not illegal...


    Choi Yeonseung and the American secretary had different views on this. In any case, their conversation baffled the hunters sent by the explosion constellation.


    Arent you afraid that Nelson will die?


    What... Ill protect him, okay?


    ...


    The hunters were even more baffled by how disinterested Choi Yeonseung seemed when he said that he would protect the senator.


    Youll never be able to stop us. If one of us fails, well send two. If two fail, well send four!


    Dont be a fool! You think Choi Yeonseung only has one politician under his thumb? You have to kill more than half the members of the Congress! shouted the secretary.


    ...I appreciate you being angry for my sake, but please dont shout something like that. Im embarrassed.


    Choi Yeonseung covered the secretarys mouth. He shouldnt brag about such things!


    But why would the explosion constellation target Senator Nelson out of all people?


    If Choi Yeonseung were the explosion constellation, he wouldve targeted his old colleagues or facilities in South Korea, or the facilities of Dragon Industry, not a senator.


    -Perhaps from the explosion constellations perspective, a senator is much greater.


    The goddess of sloth wasnt very surprised. Human relationships and responsibilities made no sense to constellations. Rather, a senator who could quickly pass a new bill if contacted felt like a much more important person.


    Hearing the explanation annoys me even more.


    Surrender now...


    Bam!


    Choi Yeonseung didnt want to hear it any longer and blew away the hunter.


    Call uh That senator!


    Y-Yes!


    ***


    Senator Nelson was puzzled by the sudden call.


    Choi Yeonseung? Ahh! Hunter Choi Yeonseung! Its surprising for him to contact me directly like this, Nelson said warmly. Considering the money he had received so far from Dragon Industry, he was naturally pleased to hear from Choi Yeonseung.


    Why is he contacting me? Does he want to have a meal with me?


    A meal with a rich friend was always a pleasant one. Nelson had an expectant look on his face as he asked the secretary who answered the phone.


    The secretary replied reluctantly, He said that you might die...?


    ...


    Nelsons expression stiffened. If this was a joke, it was in poor taste.


    Please ask what hes talking about...


    Shatter!


    ...Aaahh! I cant believe that what Hunter Choi Yeonseung said is true! The windows of the car shattered and Nelson screamed as people suddenly flew in.


    No, Senator! Were here to protect you!


    ...Couldnt you just contact me beforehand and get in the car normally?!


    The hunters pretended not to hear it. They couldnt say that Choi Yeonseung had told them to make such an entrance.

 Chapter 360

    Chapter 360


    In any case, Im glad that Hunter Choi Yeonseung sent you.


    Nelson felt relieved as he listened to the message from the secretary. There would most likely be an increase in terrorism because of the evil god constellation, so he would have to take care of himself for a while, not meet suspicious people, and take less bribes


    ...Wait. If its this bad, Hunter Choi Yeonseung should come in person!


    Senator Nelson was stunned. An evil god constellation targeting US politicians was a very serious problem.


    The evil god constellations had been threatening humanity since the beginning of the gate, but it was hard to believe that such a being was specifically targeting politicians. Wasnt this a direct provocation of the United States, a declaration of war against the liberal democratic world?


    Would that be enough?


    I dont think so.


    The hunters sent by Choi Yeonseung were whispering among themselves. They didnt think that the death of a senator would cause the collapse of the United States and of democracy.


    I cant believe Hunter Choi Yeonseung hasnt come himself!


    Senator, Hunter Choi Yeonseung is very busy at the moment. It cant be helped, right?


    T-thats true, but


    Hunter Choi Yeonseung has probably sent his best elites, argued the secretary.


    Is that so? Hey, what are your hunter ranks?


    I am B-grade and this guy is C+.


    The hunters from the Mount Hua Sect were honest. Choi Yeonseung had entrusted this mission to them, so no matter how arrogant and annoying this politician was, they intended to carry out their task faithfully.


    In any case, no US politician would be worse than the cruel party executives of China. It felt rather endearing that US politicians made their feelings clear.


    Louis looked at Nelson with a happy expression, but this only managed to make the senator uncomfortable.


    W-what?


    The senator came to his senses and was angry again.


    He shouldve at least sent A or B-grade hunters to protect me!


    Were sorry, Senator, but you yourself know how difficult it is to mobilize A-grade hunters.


    Many of the young hunters of the Mount Hua Sect had grown up in the United States. They had been trained in a capitalist society, so they werent fazed by angry politicians. They ran a black market, so they were several times more patient than others.


    Hunter Choi Yeonseung has sent us here because he has faith in us, so please, Senator, have faith as well. Rest assured were the best hunters out there to protect you.


    Umm. If you say so...


    These hunters, who had mastered martial arts, let off an unusual energy. They seemed so confident and reassuring that Nelson ended up acknowledging them.


    Indeed, since youre from the same country as Choi Yeonseung, I guess I should trust you.


    Uh, were not from South Korea.


    ...Oh, are you from Japan then?


    Uh...


    Louis nudged his colleague. Come to think of it, saying that they were from China would aggravate Nelson even more. No matter how well they explained it, the senator would certainly flip out.


    Were from Japan!


    Yes! Were from Japan.


    Oh... Japan...


    The senators response was better than expected, so the hunters got overzealous and added a few more remarks to convince Nelson.


    Yes! Japan is a beautiful country!


    My great-grandfather was killed by Japanese soldiers in World War II.


    With that, the atmosphere turned grim. The Mount Hua Sect hunters regretted saying that.


    Damn. We shouldve just told him that were from South Korea.


    Escorting a person in power proved to be much more difficult than they had expected.


    ***


    Yes. Im sorry. Its been a long time since I retired, so I think it would be quite dangerous. No. No matter how much you increase the price...


    Ernest, the leader of the Icarus clan, was puzzled by the sudden call. Starting with senators, various people had urgently requested escorts.


    Something happened. Was there a terror attack?


    Rumors have spread that an evil god constellation is targeting American politicians.


    They didnt know what the evil god constellation was thinking by doing this, but it was a chance for the hunters to take the spotlight and make a difference!


    The way this congressman talks is so annoying


    Shh. Be quiet. People are listening.


    Are those guys hunters? How can they hear us?


    The hunters yawned and leaned against the wall of the building. They were excited because the politicians asked for escorts, but the task itself was surprisingly boring.


    Most of the work was waiting.


    These hunters were genuinely pretty confident.


    -Hunters as big as our clan are waiting like this, but there are more people coming?


    Hunters couldnt help feeling a sense of pride regardless of whether their rating was high or low. After all, they were at a superhuman level, so those who had been trained with guns in the past would stand no chance against them.


    Given their level, hunters were bound to be proud.


    Hey. Stand up straight.


    Fine, geez You sure are nagging me a lot.


    Once another bodyguard called them out, the hunters started having an attitude. It was extremely tiring to keep standing and maintaining their posture while waiting for the congressman to come out.


    The higher-ups are telling us to build up achievements, but I dont know what to do. Do they want us to act out a self-directed play?


    Thats what Im saying.


    The hunters grumbled. Those above them had ordered them, Dont you dare lose to another clan! If you want to have a say, you have to win the favor of the members of Congress! But what if the enemy didnt come?


    They just had to wait like this.


    Uh, are those people from the New York Giants?


    Seeing Mark, thats probably the case.


    The New York Giants was a large clan from the east of the United States. The large clans in the United States had grown to a tremendous scale, having ten times more hunters than the large clans in South Korea.


    Thats great. Lets try to butter them up.


    What are you talking about?


    Ive heard that Dragon Industry has sent quite a few hunters. We have to keep them in check.


    If large companies fought among themselves, the clans beneath them also fought. Moreover, the recent performance of Dragon Industry had been impressive to say the least.


    The hunters had succeeded in highly difficult raids again and again while the company had developed new products Therefore, it was only natural that Parker Group wanted to somehow keep them in check.


    Im sure the New York Giants will agree with us. Is there anything good about Dragon Industry being so successful?


    The plan sounded plausible enough, so the Albuquerque hunters quietly went up to the New York Giants hunters.


    Hey.


    ?


    It looks like youre here for security reasons. Why dont we join forces and keep those guys in check?


    The Albuquerque hunters pointed at the hunters from Dragon Industry.


    The hunters of the New York Giants nodded and replied bluntly, Not interested.


    Yes, I knew you would say that... What?!


    Why should we interfere with the hunters from Dragon Industry?


    You idiots! Dont you know how successful Dragon Industry is right now?


    I guess its because the new leader, a hunter, is a good person. Ive seen Hunter Choi Yeonseung in China. Hes a really nice guy.


    ...


    The hunters from the Albuquerque clan felt like they were losing their minds. Why would these hunters say something like that at a time like this?


    What are these bastards doing?


    Are they being affected by magic?


    No hunter in their right mind wouldve said something like that in this situation. Someone mustve altered their minds or something


    The congressman is gone!


    ...!!!


    The hunters faces turned pale at the scream.

 Chapter 361

    Chapter 361


    Congressman!


    I-Im fine.


    Congressman!!


    Im also fine...


    The nearby hunters first checked on the politicians they were in charge of. The most important thing was to make sure that the people they had to protect were fine!


    Whoever was gone, they werent responsible for them.


    Senator McGlas, who was supposed to be protected by the Albuquerque clan, has been kidnapped!


    Hooray! Oh, no. Its not hooray! You despicable bastards!


    The hunters tried their best to act distressed and rushed to speak to the politicians they were in charge of.


    Congressman, you have to leave.N?v¦ÅlB?n: Transforming Moments into Memories.


    But another member of the Congress has been kidnapped...


    Thats not your problem! We need to protect you.


    Yes, youre right! Lets depart!


    Most politicians were ready to leave, but


    Senator McGlas has to be saved! Ill be fine. Just go and save him!


    I understand!


    What are you doing... Oof Nnngg!


    Lets go!


    Some politicians urged the hunters to go and save Senator McGlas, but the hunters quickly shut them up and left with them. They did this simply because they didnt want to get involved with a clan that had failed to do its job.


    Hey! Together...


    ...


    The hunters of the Albuquerque clan were speechless as they saw all the hunters leave in less than a minute. Of course, they also wouldve run away if they had the chance, but


    You bastards!


    At times like this, the Albuquerque hunters understood why some politicians insisted that special laws were needed for hunters. Wasnt it because hunters only cared about themselves that the country was in this state?


    ***


    What do you think is the first thing you should do?


    ...Magic?


    Adaquaniel shook her head at Choi Yeonseungs response. Of course, it would be great if Choi Yeonseung knew how to use magic.


    However, it wasnt just about fighting; it was about responding to all kinds of situations. In Adaquaniels eyes, Choi Yeonseung didnt have an inclination toward magic, so it was better for him to avoid using it. He shouldnt waste time learning magic that didnt suit him.


    You have to strengthen your powers.


    A constellations power.


    As a constellation, Choi Yeonseung had been collecting various powers from his enemies or as rewards for his contributions. Adaquaniel was advising him to hone those powers.


    Indeed...


    Choi Yeonseung recalled the Shadow Crown skill that he had obtained from the Noble Crown Collector. Even he, an outsider to magic, could see that Shadow Crown was a good skill.


    In fact, hadnt the collector constellations household member used that power to defeat angels like Illaphael?


    The first one is...


    Adaquaniel interrupted, First of all, I need you to improve your Future Sight.


    ...


    Oh, sorry, were you trying to say something?


    Adaquaniel cocked her head because it seemed like Choi Yeonseung had been trying to say something.


    Choi Yeonseung quickly changed his words and said, Ah, I was also about to say Future Sight.


    Oh, really? Im glad were on the same page then, replied Adaquaniel with a refreshing smile.


    Choi Yeonseung felt a slight twinge of conscience.


    In my opinion, its important to uncover the conspiracies of the constellations and recapture the territory of the Abyss, but I think its equally important to maintain peace on Earth.


    It had been a while since she started learning stocks from Aine, so Adaquaniel already had a decent understanding as to how things worked on Earth.


    Advancing into the Abyss territory was the offense, and protecting Earth was the defense. More often than not, the defense was more important than the offense.


    Since they worked in the same industry, he could immediately recognize all the hunters even though they wore suits.


    The clan leader of Amikiri...! In addition, isnt that the Black Sword Sect?


    They were all great clans.


    The Japanese clan Amikiri was one of the best clans in Shikoku. It was clear they had come this time to land a good contract with Dragon Industry.


    The Black Sword Sect, a clan from China, was also a formidable opponent. They had such strong hunters that they were constantly in the top ten clans in Shanghai. Rumor had it that the Chinese government was also giving the Black Sword Sect full support.


    Arent you from Myodusa?


    Ah... Thats right.


    The moment the clan leader of Amikiri, Hamada, reached out, Myodusas clan leader shook hands with him.


    I guess you came after hearing about Dragon Industry.


    Thats right.


    It must be hard.


    A slight smile appeared on Hamadas face, but it was a condescending, wry smile.


    Myodusa''s leader was fuming but kept his composure. He couldnt start a fight in someone elses company building.


    Someone interrupted them, You''re trying in vain. Im sorry. Dont waste your time and just go home.


    ...


    ...


    Hamada had been the first one to have a condescending attitude, but he hadnt expected that someone else would ridicule others so blatantly.


    The clan leader of the Black Sword Sect, Wei Chenggang, looked down at the other hunters, his eyes full of arrogance.


    Do you have something that backs up your arrogance? Hamada asked, flustered. In reality, Myodusa was a small clan that could be ignored, but the Amikiri clan wasnt to be disregarded.


    Amikiri most likely had more hunters that were C-grade and above than the Black Sword Sect.


    How much are you thinking for the basic salary? It probably starts at ten thousand dollars. We start at five thousand.


    ...?!?


    Hamada was taken aback by Wei Chenggangs words. How could he disregard the market price like that?


    What hunter would accept such a terrible offer?!


    It doesnt make sense... Theres no way the hunters would accept that!


    We have something that you Japanese hunters dont have.


    ??


    Its patriotism.


    ...


    Hamada and the Myodusa clan leader realized what was actually going on. It was clear that the Chinese government ordered the clans to pay their hunters less.


    Something like that was only possible in China.


    This type of dirty...


    Hamada didnt give up.


    Dragon Industry wont pick based on labor costs alone. They will consider the performance.


    Haha, youre being so funny. Do you know of any A-grade monster raids that are currently going on? Security-related work is all about labor costs.


    The two clan leaders glared at each other; the atmosphere was very intense.


    That was when Choi Yeonseung came down and said, Thank you for coming. We have decided to make this deal with the Myodusa clan.


    ...!!


    ...Un... Unacceptable! This is preferential treatment!


    Hamada was speechless, whereas Wei Chenggang erupted in anger.


    I cant believe youre making such a ridiculous decision as the chairman of a company! Im sure you picked them because theyre Korean!


    ...Then what are you going to do? asked Choi Yeonseung, dumbfounded. It wasnt like he had contacted the Black Sword Sect to offer them a position. They had come to him and asked to consider them.


    This was their reaction for not picking them?


    ...Youre being unfair!


    Fine, Im a dishonest person, so get out of here already. Does anybody else have any complaints?


    I have no complaints, said Hamada, quickly changing his attitude. He didnt want to be scolded for being arrogant like the leader of the Black Sword Sect.


    Wei Chenggang looked at Hamada with an expression of betrayal. He had thought Hamada would take his side.

 Chapter 362

    Chapter 362


    See? No one else is complaining. You should leave.


    No, this...


    The clan leader of the Black Sword Sect backed down with a look of betrayal. He didnt seem to be able to argue with an A-grade hunter.


    At this moment, Choi Yeonseungs Future Sight skill was activated.


    !


    ...It was a future in which the leader of the Black Sword Sect said nasty things about Choi Yeonseung in the Chinese hunter community and quietly tried to ruin his image.


    ...Eh, thats not a big issue.


    Choi Yeonseung quickly calmed down after seeing the vision. He had initially thought that he would see a bleak future, but it was just a trivial detail.


    -Maybe this is what it means to see the future.


    The goddess of sloth made a suggestion about the ability.


    Choi Yeonseung couldnt cherry pick the visions. Just like the goddess of balance, he would get all sorts of visions, some more useful than others.


    Future Sight was a strong power that could shake even the mind of a constellation. Thus, it was impressive that the goddess of balance could use this power while also preserving her sanity.


    -Didnt you say that she looked like a pushover?


    -What do you mean?Dont say something that will make the constellation misunderstand.


    The goddess of sloth passed over this matter as if she had done it countless times before.


    Once the situation was settled, the clan leader of Myodusa, still bewildered, asked, Hunter Choi Yeonseung. Theres no way you picked us because were a Korean clan... May I ask the reason?


    Youll find out one day.


    Choi Yeonseung refused to explain. He couldnt tell the clan leader that he had used Future Sight to make the decision.


    ...!


    The leader of the Myodusa clan looked baffled. Was the clan valuable in a way that he didnt know about? Did Hunter Choi Yeonseung see something special in Myodusa?


    I should work hard.


    The Myodusa clan leader vowed to do his best along with the clan hunters.


    ***


    What? Senator McGlas has been kidnapped?


    Choi Yeonseung was stunned. He had tried so hard to protect the politicians from the forces of the explosion constellation, but he still failed in the end.


    Should I have protected him myself? No. Even if I had stepped up, the constellation wouldve just targeted someone else.


    Choi Yeonseung decided not to blame himself as he was at a huge disadvantage anyway. His side had many vulnerabilities, and the explosion constellation only had to target one of them.


    He asked, How badly were the hunters hurt?


    No hunters were injured.


    I see. Im glad. Tell them not to feel bad because it isnt their fault. If the constellation had stepped in directly, it wouldve been difficult even for an A-grade hunter to deal with the situation.


    ...Uh, Choi Yeonseung, Senator McGlas isnt our senator. The Albuquerque hunters were supposed to look after him, not us.


    ...!


    Choi Yeonseung paused. No wonder the secretary informed him about the incident so calmly. Choi Yeonseung had actually wondered why the secretary was so nonchalant about the incident, but he figured that it wasnt any of his business.


    Thats good.


    Things didnt go well...?


    Its fine, its none of my business. In any case, I understand. Im curious about the situation on site.


    Choi Yeonseung decided to stop worrying. Instead, he would just stay on top of this situation indifferently. He had to wait and see what the evil god constellation was actually up to.


    -The Brucol Building has been plunged into chaos.The evil god constellation who has kidnapped the senator hasnt made any demands so far.


    -Some hunters have tried to approach the constellation, but they all failed!The evil god constellation warns that the hostage might lose his life if people keep trying to approach him!


    This was an unprecedented situation: a building in the downtown area of a large city was being occupied and a senator was being held hostage in it.


    Only an evil god constellation could pull off something like this.


    The goddess of sloth listened to the urgent live broadcast and tried to come up with an explanation.


    -Maybe hes trying to regain his strength.


    -To what extent will he recover?


    -I cant say exactly because Im not an evil god constellation, but...This stunt wont help the explosion constellation that much.Successor, you know this as well, right?Its unexpectedly hard to capture souls.


    If this were a peaceful era without terrorism, the explosion constellation would be able to terrorize people and take their souls with a single act of terror.


    However, the world was full of violence and terrorism. Unlike the early days of the Abyss gate, people were no longer distressed by news of monsters wreaking havoc. There was so much violence and chaos that people had become desensitized to it. Thus, they werent fazed at all by some minions of an evil god constellation committing acts of terrorism.


    As such, the explosion constellation couldnt really terrorize people.


    Fighting for our lives one-on-one? Has the explosion constellation lost his mind?


    The hunters snorted at this ridiculous condition. Hunters fought as a team even against monsters of their rank, so risking their lives in a one-on-one duel was out of the question. These hunters wouldnt do it even if the explosion constellation threatened to destroy Earth, let alone to save a senator.


    Hunter Grant, perhaps...


    Im sorry, but my abilities arent suited for one-on-one fights


    Hunter Garcia?


    Ugh, I actually sustained quite a few injuries in China They havent healed yet because of interference from the Chinese side.


    ...


    The senators aide realized that there was something wrong with the hunters present.


    These bastards have no intention of helping!


    The aide wanted to curse them into oblivion, but he exercised restraint with a patience of steel. Fighting with these hunters wouldnt make things better anyway.


    Cant we just ignore his conditions and attack?


    But then wed have to take responsibility for anything bad that happens...


    Hunter Choi Yeonseung is here!


    !


    He really came??


    The crowd of hunters was abuzz at the news that Choi Yeonseung was here. If any other hunter had come, they others wouldve said something like I guess theyre just here to show off. However, Choi Yeonseung was a bit different.


    Maybe Maybe he was here to actually help?


    Perhaps he was supposed to marry Senator McGlas daughter?


    It sounds plausible...


    P-plausible Are you guys nuts? The senator doesnt have a daughter.


    ***


    The aides of the politicians were the countrys brightest minds.


    The US senators were so authoritative that each of them could realistically be a candidate for president. Therefore, their aides werent considered secondary senators for nothing. They were outstanding people who had experience in all fields and were able to make the best decisions in all sorts of situations.


    Among them, the senior adviser Mark was the leader, and he had made the best decision in this situation.


    He had immediately gone to Choi Yeonseung.


    Hunter Choi Yeonseung, youre the only one who can do this!


    Hunter Choi Yeonseung, please!


    Mark hadnt come alone; he had also brought Derek with him, another senator from the same party.


    Senator Derek was a close friend of McGlas, who was being held hostage. He pleaded, Hunter Choi Yeonseung. If you save Senator McGlas, I will forever be indebted to you! Please!


    -I think you had better help, Hunter Choi Yeonseung.


    Adaquaniel advised Choi Yeonseung from next to him, and the latter nodded.


    -I figured youd say this, Adaquaniel.You mustve been touched by his efforts to save his friend...


    -Huh?No.Senator Derek is a leading figure in the Liberal Federalist Party. If you save his friend, hell owe you. Then youll be able to get him to pass any bill you want.


    -......


    Adaquaniel left Choi Yeonseung speechless, but she was right!


    Im worried that Adaquaniel is adapting too quickly to Earth.


    -I think that angel was always like that...


    Choi Yeonseung ignored the goddess of sloth and focused on the situation at hand. He did so to see into the future.


    It wasnt that he wasnt confident about winning, but he just wanted to confirm it.


    What were the real intentions of the explosion constellation?


    Ugh!


    He felt his brain becoming twisted, as if he were trying to force himself to perform a difficult and esoteric martial art.


    Dozens, or rather, hundreds of images flooded his mind; some of them were outrageous.


    He could see himself teaching martial arts to the Abyssal races, humanity building factories in the Abyss and asking other races to work, the goddess of balance being happy as she hugged a small angel...


    At any rate, one specific image convinced Choi Yeonseung of everything.


    [The Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead asks if you are okay.]


    Choi Yeonseung nodded.


    What he saw in the future was a clear victory.

 Chapter 363

    Chapter 363


    But Isnt this more based on feeling?


    The more Choi Yeonseung used Future Sight, the more confused he became. Was there any difference between this and relying on his intuition?


    [The Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead argues in a weak voice that even though it might seem like this, the power requires good judgment.]


    -Ah...Yeah, I think so too. Its a good power.


    [The Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead is smiling brightly.]


    ...


    -If you regret calling the goddess of balance, blink twice.


    -Be quiet


    ***


    The hunters in front of the Brucol Building were thrilled to see that Choi Yeonseung had actually shown up.


    Isnt a duel too risky?


    Hunter Choi Yeonseung, a duel is too dangerous even for you. Its also not in the Otherworld. Is it worth it to risk your life for a senator?


    Yeah, hes just a senator. He seems to have only ten years left at best, so if he dies now, its still a natural death.


    Shh, you dumbass! There are many ears listening.


    The hunters gathered at the scene tried to somehow persuade Choi Yeonseung not to participate in the duel. It was truly rare for a hunter to go out of their way to do something that didnt benefit themselves, but another clan. However, this was exactly what Choi Yeonseungs reputation was all about.


    By the time hunters reached A-grade, they had already become very jealous and greedy and had built up many grudges during raids. There was also business on top of that, which doubled their notoriety.


    Nevertheless, these hunters hadnt realized just how popular and influential Choi Yeonseung really was. He was truly a one in a million case!


    I appreciate your concern, but Ive already made up my mind. Get out of the way.


    Choi Yeonseung...!


    The hunters of the Albuquerque clan were tearing up before they knew it. It was truly surprising for such cold-blooded hunters, who didnt even cry when the stocks they had invested all their money into crashed, to cry for a hunter from a different clan.


    I cant believe hes helping us like this!


    What made this even more surprising was the fact that the Albuquerque clan had nothing to do with Choi Yeonseung. In fact, the clans under Parker Group had an almost hostile relationship with Choi Yeonseung.


    These hunters had even been ordered to keep Hunter Choi Yeonseung in check this time, which explained why they were so moved by his heroic gesture.


    Who are you?


    Choi Yeonseung was puzzled when he suddenly saw the hunters in front of him in tears.


    ...


    ...


    We Were from the Albuquerque clan.


    Im sorry, but have we met before?


    No, but...


    The Albuquerque clan hunters were trying to remind Choi Yeonseung of their clan because they had a reputation, but they thought it would make them look bad so they gave up on it.


    ...Please, Hunter Choi Yeonseung!


    Please make up for our mistake...


    Ah. Were you the hunters that were supposed to look after Senator McGlas? How incompetent were you guys to let him get kidnapped?


    ...


    The hunters decided that it was better for them to keep their mouths shut.


    ***


    Most spectators wouldve said something like Are you really going in? but Choi Yeonseung didnt give them the chance to do so as he immediately went inside the building. He could hear the loud voices from the shocked people behind him, but they quickly faded away.


    [You have entered the realm of Endless Linked Explosions.]


    The building was filled by an acrid smell resulting from numerous explosions. The building itself had been transformed into the realm of the explosion constellation, just like the realm that had unfolded when Noble Crown Collector had descended.


    Of course, this one is much smaller than the one from back then...


    The collector constellation had been in his prime back then, whereas the explosion constellation was currently in a weakened state. Therefore, it made sense for this realm to be smaller.


    You finally came.


    Indeed, here I am.


    The shamelessness of Choi Yeonseungs allies angered the explosion constellation even more. However, he didnt have time to be angry.


    Bang!


    Once again, the explosion constellation was knocked back into the air.


    Choi Yeonseung hadnt merely been talking to the explosion constellation; he had been taunting him to make sure he wouldnt be able to react to his next attack.


    Fighting in the Abyss was more about ambushing your opponent than having a fair duel. Choi Yeonseung had been through so many fights that he was tired of them.


    [Dignity of Light has strengthened your martial arts.]


    [Realm of Nobility has strengthened your martial arts.]


    [Origin of the Celestial Meteor Bombardment is tearing apart the opponents existence!]


    The essence of internal energy, concentrated energy, decimated the explosion constellation.


    The explosion constellation tried to defend himself and restore his body using the power of existence, but the Origin of the Celestial Meteor Bombardment boasted a deadly power. Moreover, the explosion constellation wasnt specialized in defense or recovery, which put him at an even bigger disadvantage.


    I looked down on him...!


    In the midst of his pain and dismay, the explosion constellation realized he had made a mistake. He couldnt believe there was an even more horrible, despicable, and filthy being among the constellations.


    Choi Yeonseung, or rather, the Undefeated Incarnation of Training was an ambitious constellation who had been hiding his enormous power. His quiet and mysterious image was merely a veneer that hid his ruthless nature.


    The Undefeated Incarnation of Training had climbed the ranks on Earth extremely fast, and yet he had somehow managed to conceal his identity from the other constellations!


    The beast had finally revealed his true form, and his power was unimaginable.


    The power of existence he had honed, the fighting power he had hidden, and the powers he had obtained from other constellations through deceptionthe combination of these powers resulted in a monster that could overwhelm any constellation.


    Bam!


    !


    The moment Choi Yeonseung disappeared, the explosion constellation instinctively went on the defensive.


    As his concentrated energy decimated the explosion constellation, Choi Yeonseung also jumped in to hit the explosion constellation directly.


    [The Explosions that Tears Through Space...]


    The explosion constellation struggled to use his power. He completely gave up on defending himself, letting his very existence get shredded, and instead aimed for Choi Yeonseungs vital points. His attack had a terrifying destructive power.


    However, Choi Yeonseung wasnt fazed by it; he merely shook his head, predicted its path, and evaded it.


    Choi Yeonseung had dealt with many fierce attacks in his numerous fights in the Abyss, so he knew how important it was not to get hit.


    He continued to suppress the explosion constellation without giving him time to attack. His offense was unrelenting!


    With multiple thuds and cracking sounds, the explosion constellation was blasted away. Every time he sent the explosion constellation flying, Choi Yeonseung got on top of him and struck him again before even landing on the ground.


    Choi Yeonseung linked his Origin of the Celestial Divine Arts flawlessly. With every vicious attack, the existence of the explosion constellation was growing weaker and weaker.


    Ah...Gha...


    -Dont be fooled!


    Of course, I dont intend to listen to anything he has to say.


    Choi Yeonseung was going to end it here. He had no intention to listen to the explosion constellation beg for mercy. He had to eliminate his opponent now that he knew his true identity!


    -Successor, youre the only ruthless constellation disguised as a human!Finish him off!


    Choi Yeonseung charged forward as he listened to the encouragement of the goddess of sloth. He dodged various explosions that went off at the same time and used the Origin of the Celestial Fist.


    The explosion constellation crumbled as his existence was shattered.


    Snap!


    There was a cracking sound and Choi Yeonseungs attack pierced the torso of the explosion constellation. He could no longer withstand any of Choi Yeonseungs attacks.


    [Endless Linked Explosions is defeated!]


    [The existence of Endless Linked Explosions will disappear!]


    The explosion constellation stared at Choi Yeonseung with flickering flames in his eyes. These were the eyes of someone who had finally come to terms with their defeat.


    It is my defeatIt is your despicable victory...Undefeated Incarnation of Training!


    As far as despicable goes...


    But dont look down on the other constellations...There are many who are more despicable and evil than I am.You...I dont know if you can beat them...Cough!


    Choi Yeonseung didnt want to hear it and swung his fist.


    Even though hes about to be gone, hes still running his mouth uselessly.

 Chapter 364

    Chapter 364


    However, the explosion constellation didnt disappear right away. Rather, he was slowly fading away as he continued to murmur. Constellations generally didnt die instantly; it took a certain amount of time for one to completely disappear.


    Among the evil god constellations, the ones to be especially wary of are the quiet ones.The quiet ones are actually stronger.Of course, you know that...Ugh.


    Why hasnt he died yet?


    Choi Yeonseung was a bit taken aback. The explosion constellations power of existence was clearly evaporating gradually, but it took a lot of time because he was a constellation.


    Why are you making such a fuss?


    Dont you know?Constellations who already have great power arent easy to deal with.A constellation as young as me has to shake up the board.


    The words of the explosion constellation were persuasive. After all, hadnt Choi Yeonseung felt that as well?


    In the world of the Abyss, it was hard to make a name for yourself after only ten thousand years. When it came to constellations, people usually first thought of the constellations who had taken over the countries of Earth, but as it could be seen with the Master of Slowness and Silence, strength and fame werent necessarily proportional.


    Among the top twenty constellations on Earth, some of them werent known by the public, but that didnt mean that their power could be underestimated.


    Do you know why I attacked the Demon of Contract and Order?


    Because you were jealous and felt inferior to him?


    ...Because he has been allied with other constellations for a long time.


    Ah.


    Choi Yeonseung knew there was a secret alliance between some constellations and that it was unlike the one he himself had with other constellations.


    That secret alliance had been formed before the Abyss gate was created on Earth!


    It was safe to assume that that secret alliance had opened the gate on Earth. Those constellations had created a path to the Abyss, a vast realm of swirling chaos, and connected it to Earth. Therefore, the constellations of that alliance had to be quite strong.


    At one point, the goddess of sloth had actually suspected that the Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead was a member of that alliance


    [The Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead is shocked that you had such doubts!]


    -N-no I was just considering all possibilities!


    The goddess of sloth quickly made an excuse, but in her defense, it was true that the goddess of balance seemed strange from the outside. After all, it was unusual for a constellation of the Abyss to harbor such perverted desires for a mortal.


    -The other constellations thought similarly!


    [The Cat of Lava and Magma is pretending that it wasnt a part of it.]


    -......


    Regardless of strength, the Demon of Contract and Order has connected Earth to the Abyss with his power.I couldnt let him go, said the explosion constellation proudly.


    So do you know who those allies are?


    Why should I tell you?


    Fair enough.


    Beware of the constellations who have realms connected to Earth.


    ...


    Choi Yeonseung was a bit flustered, but he didnt stop the explosion constellation because he was curious about what he was about to say.


    Wait... If so, is the Warrior Stained with Madness and Blood also a part of the alliance?


    No.He is just a stupid clown.


    ...Ah, is that so?


    There were pushovers even among the evil god constellations. Some of them were oblivious as to what was going on and made contracts by which they only offered their strength.


    Listen carefully.I saw a realm beyond the realm of the Demon of Contract and Order.So...Beware of gluttony.


    !


    After revealing the constellation that belonged to the secret alliance, the voice of the explosion constellation faded.


    Undefeated Incarnation of Training...Tear apart the old constellations of the Abyss.Kill those arrogant bastards with your despicable means!


    With these words, the explosion constellation disappeared, and Choi Yeonseung suddenly felt an enormous amount of power of existence welling up within him.


    [As your power of existence increases, your dignity has gone up one level.]


    [The constellations are afraid of you.]


    [The Seed of the Realm is vibrating.]


    [Despicable is engraved on the seed.]


    ?


    -?


    No


    Choi Yeonseung was truly baffled. He wasnt surprised that his power of existence and rank had risen, but to gain the realm of despicability It made no sense


    [The Manipulator of Dreams and Desires says despicability is a powerful realm in the Abyss and it isnt a bad thing.]


    [The Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead comforts you not to worry too much about this realm.]


    [The power Explosion that Tears Through Space has been acquired.]


    [New people are coming to your kingdom!]


    What are you doing? asked Odaigon, confused.


    This bastard is ignoring me while Im trying to teach him magic! shouted Hwang Gyeongryong.


    Well, human magic has always been a bit... Odaigon trailed off, his expression that of arrogance. Compared to the magic of goblins, human magic was mediocre and undignified.


    Let me teach you, offered Odaigon.


    Shake shake.


    ...You freaking!


    Dont bother. Apparently he likes martial arts, said Hwang Gyeongryong.


    Odaigon was about to curse, but he held off upon hearing martial arts.


    Ah, if he wants to learn martial arts instead, I understand


    But martial arts is a trash skill...


    How dare you!!


    What are you on about? Im close enough to Choi Yeonseung to be able to say that! Hwang Gyeongryong exclaimed.


    [New people are coming to your kingdom!]


    ...!


    W-what?


    The kingdom shook and expanded, and the terrain of the Abyss started to change. There was only one explanation for this sudden change: two constellations had fought and the victor had been decided!


    It was clear that the kingdom of one constellation was being transferred to the kingdom of the other constellation!


    [Never-ending Explosion Industrial Complex has entered the kingdom.]


    !


    A kingdom of factories emitting smoke appeared before them. Mortals from the Abyss worked in those factories; they seemed tired and distressed.


    They must be the servants of the explosion constellation! exclaimed Odaigon, quickly realizing what this was about.


    The explosion constellation treated his kingdoms like some kinds of factories. Those factories produced explosions for him to use and sell!


    Isnt that messed up?


    Hwang Gyeongryong pointed to the factory with a puzzled expression. It was essentially a prison that enforced eternal labor upon its prisoners; the day never ended, and neither did the work.


    It was terrible just thinking about it. Tormenting mortals like that was despicable even for evil god constellations.


    Odaigon nodded in agreement.


    Yeah, its too much. Goblins dont work more than two hours a day. Making them work like this Its truly a barbaric system.


    ...


    Hwang Gyeongryong suddenly started sweating. Was... Was that so? Was it too much for people to work more than two hours?!


    Hey, but arent eight hours reasonable?


    What nonsense... Are you talking about the evil god constellations?


    Odaigon hit Hwang Gyeongryong in disbelief. He hadnt expected him to do such an inhumane thing.


    Hwang Gyeongryong shouted, In any case, go and help them!


    Dont worry. Im going now.


    Odaigon grabbed his staff and went to the factories.


    Listen up, mortals! Your master has now changed!


    !


    I-Is that true?!


    Yes! Odaigon shouted vigorously. He felt proud as he looked at the mortals looks of gratitude and adoration.


    This was the generosity of the incarnation of training!


    Hooray! I dont have to work any longer! Yes! Its ridiculous to have to pay like this for just killing a hundred commoners!


    Thats what Im saying! Do you think its easy to meet a king like me? I cant believe they said I was a tyrant! Isnt it extremely generous that I allowed those peasants to keep one tenth of their income?


    In any case, were free!


    ...


    The conversation of the mortals brought Odaigon to his senses.


    These mortals were actually scum It turned out that those who had committed serious crimes in the Abyss had been sent to this factory.


    ...What freedom? Sinners like you deserve even the horrific punishment of working four hours a day!


    Hwang Gyeongryong was dumbfounded as he listened to Odaigon from behind.


    What are you saying? Increase it!


    Then... six hours a day?


    There are twenty-four hours in a day! Just have them work the same hours theyve been working until now!


    Odaigon looked at Hwang Gyeongryong with a mixture of dismay and horror. The latter felt he was being judged unfairly.