Chapter 297

Inhale. Exhale.

Choi Minwoo took a long, deep breath.

As he accepted the qi permeating the air, he awakened the mass of qi sleeping in his lower abdomen.

Mana.

The source of an Awakened’s power. Their greatest weapon against monsters.

But Jin Taekyung, the man who had taught him the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique, called mana by another name.

Internal energy.

Jin Taekyung was a mysterious man. The more Minwoo saw of him, the more mysterious he became. He had carried out and succeeded at things no one else would have dared to imagine.

There was no way anything taught by such a man could be ordinary.

Dantian, internal energy, circulating his qi, the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique…

Minwoo was surprised every time he encountered another side of Taekyung. This time, however, he was even confused.

He taught me the Mana Cultivation Method as if it were nothing.

Choi Minwoo knew how extraordinary the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique was.

No. Any Hunter—or even an ordinary person with the slightest bit of knowledge—would realize it immediately.

If a Hunter was a sword, the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique was a whetstone.

Even a dull sword became sharp when honed against one.

Considering both the technique’s effectiveness and its rarity…

Its value would quite literally be astronomical.

The sheer boldness to casually hand over such an incredible secret art, the skill to defeat a Named Monster alone, the courage not to back down even before Lee Jungryong and the Ares Guild… Is there anyone else like him?

Day by day, Choi Minwoo was realizing just how remarkable Jin Taekyung was.

And how incredibly lucky he himself was.

I can’t disappoint him.

That was why Choi Minwoo devoted himself to practicing the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique, even cutting into his sleeping hours.

And the results were appearing even now.

Swoooosh.

He had been so focused on circulating his qi that he had lost track of time. The immense qi flowed through hundreds of acupoints, swelling ever so slightly.

It was an energy whose very existence he had not even known about until a week ago.

For a moment, the conversation he had shared with Jin Taekyung that day flashed through Choi Minwoo’s mind.

“Wow, Team Leader.”

“Yes?”

“Did you happen to eat anything good when you were young? Ginseng, perhaps, or one of those round pills?”

“Not at all. My meals were always organic, but I never took anything separately.”

“You probably never even caught a common cold from childhood until now. Right?”

“That is correct. How did you know?”

“Your muscles and bones… No, I mean, your body is just exceptionally well-built.”

“Is that so? But every Hunter should have a good body, shouldn’t they?”

“It isn’t because you’re a Hunter. Your physical abilities are simply outstanding to begin with. In my opinion, perhaps your grandfather did something for his grandson.”

“My grandfather…?”

“Yes. Doesn’t anything come to mind?”

“I’m not sure. I was too young, so I don’t remember much. Butler Kim told me that my grandfather came to see me once in a while, but… that’s all.”

“Hmm. Personally, I think that’s the only answer.”

Choi Minwoo suddenly thought of his grandfather. Was the last time he’d seen him before he started elementary school?

The face he remembered was blurry, while the photographs uploaded online were clear. In many ways, the two of them had clearly been far from a close grandfather and grandson.

But if such a huge mass of energy had been hidden inside me… Could my grandfather really have done something?

The unexpected trace of his grandfather made Choi Minwoo’s heart pound.

As if responding to him, the energy coursing through his body trembled.

The enormous qi Jin Taekyung called one jiazi¹ made one final, sweeping circuit before settling gently into the dantian beneath his navel.

At that moment, Choi Minwoo opened his eyes, a tingling pleasure running through him.

“Phew.”

The afterglow of circulating his qi lingered in his long exhalation.

Choi Minwoo did not know it, but he had just reached Four Stars in the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique. It was an astonishingly rapid achievement, one that was hard to believe he had accomplished in only a week.

Yet it had been possible because Choi Minwoo possessed one jiazi of immense internal energy and such exceptional Muscles and Bones that even Jin Taekyung had nodded in approval.

The others aren’t done yet.

When Choi Minwoo looked around, he saw three people still absorbed in circulating their qi.

They were seated at regular intervals around the room: Butler Kim, Song Song, and Im Kkeokjeong.

The fact that all four of them were learning the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique was an absolute secret.

They were currently in Choi Minwoo’s privately owned training room, which had ironclad security.

I shouldn’t disturb them.

Jin Taekyung had already drilled the danger of qi deviation into his ears until they practically hurt.

Choi Minwoo slipped out of the training room as carefully as possible, then picked up the cell phone he had turned off for a while.

Less than a minute later, his jaw dropped.

Breaking news was updating across his phone screen at a blinding speed.

• The return of a Named Monster! Korea in crisis!

• An anomaly at the A-rank Gate, Black Wizard’s Black Forest.

• Jin Taekyung volunteers as bait. Witness testimonies: “He possesses a noble spirit of sacrifice.” “A Benefactor I will never forget.”

• Hunter Association formulating a response and preparing to dispatch a rescue team.

• Peace Guild representative: “We are currently unable to reach the leadership…”

• Netizens unleash criticism over the Association’s sluggish response. Jin Taekyung has been isolated for twenty minutes.

• Will a miracle occur?

“W-what is this?”

What did they mean, sacrifice? And what did they mean, isolated?

Jin Taekyung was supposed to be running the Gate with his Guild members. Why were they calling it a sacrifice?

And where had this Named Monster come from all of a sudden?

Choi Minwoo stood frozen with his eyes wide, then hurriedly pulled himself together.

This isn’t the time for this.

He knew Jin Taekyung’s abilities well enough.

But if Taekyung had volunteered as bait and sent his Guild members out first, then he must have been facing an overwhelming threat.

This is… really dangerous.

Just as Choi Minwoo gripped his phone hard enough to crush it, the firmly closed door of the training room opened, and three people emerged.

“Ah, that feels refreshing.”

“Uncle, doesn’t my skin look better?”

“Ah, Young Master. You were already out—”

“Butler Kim!”

One urgent cry was enough.

The three of them immediately sensed that something serious had happened, and their faces hardened.

Butler Kim calmly asked, “What happened?”

“We have to go to Jin Taekyung. Right now!”

The entrance to the A-rank Gate, Black Wizard’s Black Forest, was already swarming with people.

Hunters from the Association and other Guilds who had been dispatched for safety. Even reporters who had come to risk their lives for an exclusive story.

The voices of well over several hundred people filled the area with a constant murmur.

“Do you think Jin Taekyung is dead?”

“It doesn’t look good. We haven’t heard a thing for an hour now.”

“But he already defeated a Named Monster once…”

“Ah, that Wyvern? He was incredible, sure. He was incredible, but…”

The Senior reporter who had been speaking with his junior tapped the ash from his cigarette.

“You’re a Hunter-section reporter in name, so think about it. Didn’t you hear the interview with the Peace Guild members who were with Jin Taekyung earlier? They said there weren’t just one Named Monster, but several hundred more monsters. That’s a completely different situation.”

“It was that bad?”

“Hey, the only reason things have gotten this far is because it’s Jin Taekyung. If it were anyone else, we wouldn’t even be saying things like ‘probably’ or ‘it’s difficult.’ What Hunter do you think could hold out alone for an hour? Rescue preparations, my ass. They’d already be preparing to recover his body.”

The junior reporter let out a low groan.

“So it’s really that bad.”

“We’re completely fucked. And we’re crazy too, hanging around here trying to scribble out an article in the middle of all this.”

“Still, they wouldn’t have allowed reporters in if some degree of safety wasn’t guaranteed, right?”

“Can’t you see them over there? More than thirty A-rank Hunters came.”

The Senior reporter gestured with his chin. Dozens of Hunters who looked impressive at a glance had gathered there.

The ones who stood out most were the Hunters wearing an emblem of a crossed sword and shield over their chests.

“The Ares Guild sent people too.”

“They just got here. They’re the kind of bastards who would blow off even the government if they decided the odds weren’t in their favor… I have no idea what brought them here.”

“Did they come to rescue Jin Taekyung?”

“Who knows? Maybe. Or maybe they want to swallow up the Named Monster for themselves.”

Named Monsters were worth an unbelievable amount.

Even the Wyvern Jin Taekyung had killed most recently, One-Eyed Carus, had been worth a trillion-won-level sum despite having only just awakened as a Named Monster.

“But… with this many people, shouldn’t the rescue operation be starting now? We have enough forces.”

“We do. But I doubt those guys see it that way.”

“What?”

“Never mind. Forget it.”

The Senior reporter fell silent after that.

He had worked in this field for nearly twenty years and was a veteran among veterans. Eyes and ears were everywhere around him, and he had seen and heard plenty as a result.

Jin Taekyung must have gotten on their nerves.

He had recently heard some strange news from a reliable source.

There were signs of unusual tension between the Myeongdong and Peace Guilds.

Only a handful of people knew about it, and the rumor had quickly been exposed as nothing more than trash gossip. But the reporter’s instincts, honed over many years, whispered that something was happening.

And then there’s the Ares Guild.

There was nothing strange about Korea’s largest Guild stepping forward when a Named Monster appeared.

But something felt wrong. It was an uneasiness he could not explain with words.

The reporter was looking toward the gathered leadership when he suddenly frowned.

You’re going to rub your palms raw, you idiot.

The Seoul Branch President, who could be considered the person in overall charge of this operation, was busily rubbing his palms in front of a man who looked to be in his thirties.

What was that guy’s name again? Plaster statue? Go Jun?

He was supposedly the Ares Guild’s security team leader. The man was said to be Lee Jungryong’s right-hand man, practically no different from the Guild Master himself.

Watching the Seoul Branch President fawn over him as if he would cut out his own liver for the man, the reporter could vaguely understand why the rescue team was being delayed.

“These bastards sure are having fun.”

That was what the Senior reporter muttered in a voice barely loud enough to hear before grinding out his half-smoked cigarette.

“The Peace Guild!”

“What? Where?”

“Hey, hey! Get the cameras ready!”

With the crowd’s commotion and the cries of the broadcasting crews, everyone’s attention turned toward one place.

Four people.

Three men and one woman carved their way through the crowd like they were parting the Red Sea, then stood before the Gate.

Until Hunters from the Seoul Branch moved to stop them.

“Get out of our way.”

The low, steady voice of the young man at the front, Choi Minwoo, was answered by the Seoul Branch President, who had hurried over.

“Safety has not yet been confirmed. We need more time before we can begin the rescue operation…”

“More time? Here?”

“Just a little longer. Just a little will be enough.”

“Nearly an hour has already passed.”

His voice was calm, but his eyes flickered with flames. The three people behind him looked the same.

“We have to save him now.”

“Not yet. Follow procedure.”

“Whose procedure? The Association’s? Or…”

In the brief instant that followed, Choi Minwoo’s gaze swept over Go Jun, standing behind the Association president.

Clenching his lips tightly, he continued.

“Withdraw the Association’s Hunters. The Peace Guild will enter on its own.”

“You know that would violate regulations.”

The president answered in an authoritative tone and snapped his fingers.

Hunters belonging to the Seoul Association surrounded the Peace Guild members, their expressions openly displeased.

“It won’t take much longer. Be patient and wait.”

Those words snapped the last thread of Choi Minwoo’s patience.

He shouted as if spitting out a ball of fire.

“My friend is in there!”

Click. Flash!

The cameras captured the scene, and dazzling flashes erupted.

Choi Minwoo paid them no attention. His furious shouts continued.

“He could die! We have to save him!”

When he thought of Jin Taekyung fighting for his life against a Named Monster leading an army of hundreds of Skeletons, his anger erupted like an active volcano.

“Get the hell out of the way, you fucking bastards!”

The Skeleton Warlord spoke in a majestic voice.

• In the commander’s name, I order you. Rise, my loyal subordinates. My army’s mighty soldiers!

At that moment, someone struck the Warlord’s skull with lightning-fast hands.

Whack!

“Damn it, seriously. That spell is pointlessly fucking long. I told you to make it quick.”

• ……

“Are you not going to answer?”

• …Yes, sir.

The Warlord muttered in a resigned voice.

• Come on, grow. Skeletons, skeletons…

Whoooosh!

Demonic qi burst from the Warlord and spread through the Black Forest.

A bright smile appeared on the young man’s lips as he watched Skeletons spring up one after another from the clearing.

“Wow. Another bumper harvest.”