Chapter 108: Master K (4) |
Rumble.
Suddenly, a heavy downpour accompanied by thunder and lightning struck the area around Ground Zero.
The rain hitting the window poured so heavily that it was almost impossible to see outside.
Although I was focused on the conversation with K,
I thought it would be difficult to return to Seoul today because of the heavy rain.
Of course, this wasn’t the problem at hand.
K poured another cup of steeped Fortis tea for Kang-hoo and asked,
“How’s the tea?”
“It’s good. It feels like my emotions are not fluctuating and are merging into one.”
“I guess I wouldn’t be able to see right from wrong.”
“Right. Whatever I sell outside, it’s all mixed with drugs. What the heck is the Hunter Public Safety Bureau doing…”
“It’s just the second division of the Jeonghwa Guild anyway.”
“I can’t deny that since it’s not wrong. Of course, they are my main customers, hahaha.”
K laughed.
Then, he continued the conversation they had before the deal in the now warm atmosphere.
“To a hunter who had buff overreaction syndrome, I tried applying both buffs and debuffs at the same time. It wasn’t lethal, but I applied a debuff skill.”
“Did it work?”
“Yes. The overreaction disappeared. Now, do you get a sense of how we should approach this?”
“If we make as much mana flow out as we draw in…”
Kang-hoo trailed off.
According to the mechanism explained earlier, that would be the correct approach.
However, congenital mana hypersensitivity has the advantage of quickly recovering mana at the cost of side effects.
If we solve it by releasing an equal amount of mana, it essentially becomes a moot solution, ending up with zero net gain - a foolish resolution.
A situation that results in neither pain nor gain is useless.
K, sharing Kang-hoo’s thoughts, nodded and cleared up Kang-hoo’s doubts.
“I know. If we do it that honestly, it becomes a foolish method. But what if we release fake mana?”
“Is that possible?”
“Sorry, but this part is just a hypothesis. It’s just a primary idea. But theoretically, it’s possible.”
“I’d like to hear more about the concept of fake mana.”
This story had never appeared in the original work, so Kang-hoo’s eyes sparkled more than ever.
The world was created even in places where the original author’s consciousness and the content of the original work did not reach.
From Kang-hoo’s perspective, it’s a situation of ‘knowing everything except what is unknown.’ And this hypothesis was an unknown story.
“The force that rotates around the heart. We call it mana or magical power.”
“That heart is also called a mana heart. There are various nicknames, but officially.”
“Yes. That is real mana. There’s no doubt it’s mana.”
The core of the matter had not yet been revealed.
Kang-hoo slightly tilted his head in curiosity, and K turned on the tablet PC that had been placed on the stand on the table.
He quickly entered a few search terms and found a reference image.
It was an image of the mage, Gong Tae-su, who had previously lost his arm.
“Do you know who this is?”
“The blood butcher of Ulsan, Gong Tae-su, isn’t it?”
“You know well. He lost his left arm not too long ago. They say the arm was worth billions.”
“…”
The owner of those billions was right in front of him.
But, except for Lee Ye-rin, no one knew the truth, so there was no risk of the secret leaking out.
“The master of the Jeonghwa Guild seems quite interested. Who could have possibly taken the arm of someone like Gong Tae-su, he wonders.”
“I see.”
“They seem to be reviewing everything from the CCTV footage at the scene. They even asked me if I knew who it was.”
“Since it was a mercenary, their face would have been covered, making it not easy to identify.”
“But there are records of the skills used at the scene. Cross-referencing them could eventually lead to identification.”
“That makes sense.”
“We ended up discussing Gong Tae-su. You know he had a magic stone embedded in his forearm, right?”
“I understand it was a high-level human modification technique.”
“Right. It’s a procedure that can have many side effects if done incorrectly. But he successfully underwent the surgery, though he did lose his arm.”
“Did you do it yourself?”
“Who did it is a secret. However, if you can implant a device that releases mana in the body like that.”
“It would act as fake mana.”
“Exactly. For that, we need a micro talisman-type item, especially one with an emission option.”
“The requirements are getting more complicated.”
“Yeah. That’s the first hurdle. Plus, you’ll need to have the talisman engraved into your body later.”
“The hypothesis is plausible enough to be appealing.”
“Right? I think so too. Hahaha.”
Just because the hypothesis seems plausible doesn’t mean we can celebrate prematurely. But there’s also no need to be pessimistic.
“Micro. Talisman. Emission option.”
“Right. I’ll look into where we can purchase or obtain one and let you know.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t get your hopes up too much. Even if we find one, the hypothesis could still be wrong, and finding it could be difficult.”
“Having hope is enough.”
It was Kang-hoo’s sincere thought.
In a long and dark tunnel, seeing a single ray of light at the far end is enough to give hope.
The same is true now.
Compared to resigning to and accepting the side effects of congenital mana hypersensitivity,
The possibility of resolving the side effects, even if it’s not 0%, is much better.
“You mentioned earlier that you have an arm item, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
He planned to sell the item he had obtained by killing the troubleshooter while he was here.
The estimated appraisal value was 30 billion won.
After selling it, his balance would exceed 110 billion won, allowing him to purchase another Rank 2 item.
‘I need to go to Seoul for an interview related to the Hell of Judgment. While I’m there, I can check out the market in Seoul.’
His next schedule was set for Seoul. The plan was straightforward, leaving his mind uncluttered.
Before concluding his private meeting with K, he exchanged parting words with Kang-hoo, offering a kind smile.
“The fact that my granddaughter felt warmth from your ice-cold blood means you, too, have a warm essence.”
“Yuri has been a good stimulus for me. She possesses many emotional nuances that I lack.”
“Right. Don’t just look after my granddaughter as if she were a child. But do offer her a lot of support. She thrives on encouragement and cheering.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“And you know, consultations like this will cost ten million won per hour from next time. You catch my drift?”
“That’s quite cheap.”
“Haha, is it? Then next time, make sure to deposit the advance payment before coming.”
“I’ll remember that.”
“Just like Yuri said, you take jokes seriously. That’s why she finds it no fun.”
“…”
Kang-hoo responded with silence to the pointed remark.
It’s true. Even to himself, he seemed dreadfully dull.
The rain, as Kang-hoo had anticipated, didn’t stop but instead grew heavier.
This was also due to his lack of interest in weather forecasts.
Turning on the weather news, he saw that a short-term heavy rain warning had been issued early for the central region.
As a result, Kang-hoo and Jung Yuri ended up staying a day at K’s villa, thanks to his consideration.
To be precise, they planned to leave once the rain stopped, but it was uncertain when that would happen.
“Brother, it’s ready! Just wait a moment! I made a lot, thinking you’d want seconds!”
Ignoring Kang-hoo’s okay, Jung Yuri ‘insisted’ on showcasing her cooking skills by making tomato pasta.
The aroma itself wasn’t unpleasant, but it’s a known fact that the true test of food lies in the tasting.
Kang-hoo’s expression was a complex mix of emotions as he eyed the meticulously decorated and served pasta.
Should he be honest if it tasted bad, or would it be better to lie?
Then he pondered, how could he arrange his facial expressions to lie convincingly… While he was lost in thought,
Jung Yuri’s fork was already lifting the abundantly twirled pasta to his mouth.
Pasta consumed under duress.
Although the taste was mediocre, Kang-hoo chose to lie for Jung Yuri, who had put in so much effort.
“It’s good.”
However,
“It would taste better than your expression suggests, even if I were eating crap. Tch…”
Jung Yuri was visibly upset.
Kang-hoo, usually adept at lying in tricky situations, found it unexpectedly hard to tell a harmless lie.
Some time later,
“…”
“Hmm…”
Kang-hoo and Jung Yuri sat idly in front of a floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at the garden lawn visible outside.
Call it a ‘rain daze’ – that trance-like state induced by watching the rain.
It was surprisingly comforting. Maybe it was the sensation of their mental clutter momentarily clearing?
Just then,
Both Kang-hoo and Jung Yuri’s smartphones rang at the same time.
The notifications were emails.
【From Jeonghwa Guild Dungeon Management Team to Mr. Jung Sun-kyu】
【You have passed the document review for the Hell of Judgment expedition. Please come to Jeonghwa Building 5 near Samsung Station by 12 PM tomorrow.】
【The interview will take place in the Rosemary Hall of Building 5, where you will be directed right from the entrance.】
“Is it common to notify about an interview the evening before?”
Kang-hoo chuckled.
As expected, he had passed the document review. It seemed Jung Yuri had also passed her document review.
“What time is your interview?”
“Noon.”
“Mine is at 6 PM! After the interview, I can head straight to Sindorim Station.”
“Do you have a dungeon schedule?”
“Yeah. I’ve packed my schedule tight until the Hell of Judgment raid! Today is my only day off!”
“I see.”
“They say the rain will stop by dawn, so let’s leave then. Maybe we should get some sleep now?”
“That sounds good.”
Sleeping in the car is uncomfortable.
With nothing else to do but zone out, now was the perfect time to sleep.
Following Jung Yuri’s suggestion, Kang-hoo headed towards a dark room visible in the corner.
The villa was so spacious that there were countless rooms, making rest no issue.
At 2 AM,
After confirming that the rain had stopped, Kang-hoo and Jung Yuri left the villa in the same secure limousine they had arrived in.
Since the driver and bodyguard had been on standby, no preparation time was needed.
On the way to Seoul,
The audio being somewhat uncomfortable for Jung Yuri, she turned on the small TV installed in the middle of the back seat.
A hunter-related news broadcast caught Kang-hoo’s attention, with an impressive headline.
【A massive battle occurred at Jeonju’s Jeondong Pharmaceutical building. Revealed to be the work of ‘The Sun’.】
“It seemed like it was bound to happen.”
Kang-hoo nodded without surprise.
Jeondong Pharmaceutical, nominally a pharmaceutical company, was actually central to the distribution of narcotic stimulants.
Moreover, it was notorious for illegal modifications and secretive human experiments.
The force that had been backing Jeondong Pharmaceutical was the guild ‘Paradise’.
And this time, they were apparently attacked by ‘The Sun’.
The Sun was a fairly large criminal organization in the Jeonju area, larger than the infamous Eclipse.
And,
‘Major Kang Tae-yang is also Kang Dong-hyun’s half-brother.’
An organization that also held secrets known only to the original author.
This was an organization that, recalling related memories, had more reasons to be displeased than pleased.
‘The south will become noisy.’
Kang-hoo’s gaze deepened, foreseeing the future.
Of course, in his memories, Kang-hoo was diligently searching for fragments that could benefit him.
Chaos often signifies opportunity.