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.

The more Choi Minwoo saw of Jin Taekyung, the more mysterious the man seemed. He turned ideas no one else would have dared imagine into reality—and made them work.

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

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

Each new side of Jin Taekyung came as a surprise, but this time, Minwoo was downright bewildered.

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 knowledge of the field—would recognize its value at once.

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

Even the dullest blade could be honed sharp.

Considering both the technique’s effectiveness and its rarity…

Its value would quite literally be astronomical.

The sheer nerve it takes to casually hand over such an incredible secret art. The skill to defeat a Named Monster alone. The courage to stand his ground against Lee Jungryong and the Ares Guild… Is there anyone else like him?

With each passing day, Choi Minwoo realized more clearly 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 sleep.

And the results were already beginning to show.

Swoooosh.

After spending so long circulating his qi that he lost all track of time, the immense energy passed through hundreds of acupoints and swelled ever so slightly.

Only a week ago, he had not even known it existed.

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 special when you were young? Ginseng, maybe, or one of those round pills?”

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

“And I bet you’ve never caught so much as a common cold, from childhood until now. Am I right?”

“That is correct. How did you know?”

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

“Is that so? But wouldn’t that be true of any Hunter?”

“It’s not because you’re a Hunter. You were born with an outstanding physique. My guess is that your grandfather did something for you.”

“My grandfather…?”

“Yes. Does anything come to mind?”

“I’m not sure. I was too young to remember much. Butler Kim told me that my grandfather came to see me occasionally, but… that’s all.”

“Hmm. Personally, that seems like the only possible explanation.”

Choi Minwoo suddenly thought of his grandfather. Had the last time he saw him been before he started elementary school?

The face in his memory was blurry, while the photographs online were crystal clear. By any measure, they had 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 shuddered.

The enormous power Jin Taekyung called one jiazi¹ made one final sweeping circuit, then settled gently into the dantian beneath his navel.

At that moment, Choi Minwoo opened his eyes as an electric thrill ran through him.

“Phew.”

The lingering afterglow of circulating his qi escaped with 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, almost impossible to believe after only a week.

Yet it had been possible because Choi Minwoo possessed one jiazi¹ of immense internal energy and such exceptional Muscles and Bones that even Jin Taekyung had nodded in approval.

The others aren’t finished yet.

Choi Minwoo looked around and saw three people still absorbed in circulating their qi.

Seated at regular intervals around the room were Butler Kim, Song Song, and Im Kkeokjeong.

The fact that all four of them were learning the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique was the strictest of secrets.

They were currently inside Choi Minwoo’s private training room, protected by ironclad security.

I shouldn’t disturb them.

Jin Taekyung had warned him about the dangers of qi deviation until he was sick of hearing it.

Choi Minwoo slipped out of the training room as carefully as possible, then picked up the phone he had switched off earlier.

Less than a minute later, his jaw dropped.

Breaking-news alerts were updating across the screen at a blinding pace.

• 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 was this about being isolated?

Jin Taekyung was supposed to be clearing the Gate with his Guild members. How had that turned into a sacrifice?

And where had this Named Monster suddenly come from?

Choi Minwoo stood frozen, eyes wide, before hurriedly pulling himself together.

This isn’t the time to stand around.

He knew Jin Taekyung’s abilities well.

But if Taekyung had volunteered as bait and sent the Guild members out ahead of him, then he had to be facing an overwhelming threat.

This is… really dangerous.

Just as Choi Minwoo gripped his phone hard enough to crush it, the tightly shut 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 shout 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 get 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 had been dispatched to secure the area. Reporters had even risked their lives for a scoop.

The voices of hundreds upon hundreds of people filled the area with a constant murmur.

“Do you think Jin Taekyung is dead?”

“His chances aren’t good. We haven’t heard a thing for an hour.”

“But he’s already taken down a Named Monster once…”

“Ah, that Wyvern? Impressive, sure. Very impressive, but…”

The senior reporter speaking with his junior tapped the ash from his cigarette.

“If you’re going to call yourself a Hunter beat reporter, then use your head. Didn’t you hear the interview with the Peace Guild members who were with Jin Taekyung? There wasn’t just a Named Monster. They said there were hundreds of other monsters too. That changes everything.”

“Is it really 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.”

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

“Still, they wouldn’t have allowed us to cover it if they couldn’t guarantee some degree of safety, right?”

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

The senior reporter gestured with his chin toward several dozen Hunters who looked formidable even at a glance.

The ones who stood out most wore emblems of a crossed sword and shield on their chests.

“The Ares Guild sent people too.”

“They only just arrived. Those bastards will blow off even the government if they don’t like the odds… No idea what brought them here.”

“Do you think they came to rescue Jin Taekyung?”

“Who knows? Maybe. Or maybe they’re planning to claim the Named Monster for themselves.”

Named Monsters were worth an unbelievable amount.

Even One-Eyed Carus, the Wyvern Jin Taekyung had most recently killed, had been valued in the trillions of won² despite having only just awakened as a Named Monster.

“But… shouldn’t the rescue operation be starting by now? We have enough firepower.”

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

“What?”

“Never mind. Forget it.”

The senior reporter fell silent.

He had spent nearly twenty years in the field and was a veteran among veterans. He had eyes and ears everywhere, and he had seen and heard plenty over the years.

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 story had quickly died down as idle gossip. But the instincts he had honed over many years whispered that something was going on.

And now the Ares Guild shows up.

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

Still, something felt wrong. It was an uneasiness he could not put into words.

The reporter was looking toward the assembled 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?³

He was supposedly the Ares Guild’s security team leader—the right-hand man of Lee Jungryong, the Guild’s de facto Guild Master.

Watching the Seoul Branch President fawn over him as though he would gladly cut out his own liver for the man, the reporter began to understand why the rescue operation 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!”

The crowd erupted into commotion. Broadcasting crews shouted, and every eye turned in the same direction.

Four people.

Three men and one woman carved a path through the crowd as though parting the Red Sea. They made it all the way to the Gate before Hunters from the Seoul Branch moved to stop them.

“Get out of our way.”

Choi Minwoo stood at the front, his voice low and steady. The Seoul Branch President hurried over to answer him.

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

“More time? Here?”

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

“Nearly an hour has already passed.”

His voice remained calm, but flames flickered in his eyes. The three people behind him looked no different.

“We have to save him now.”

“Not yet. Follow procedure.”

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

For one brief moment, Choi Minwoo’s gaze swept over Go Jun, who stood behind the Association president.

He clenched his lips, then continued.

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

“You must know that would violate regulations.”

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

The Seoul Association’s Hunters surrounded the Peace Guild members, open reluctance on their faces.

“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!

Cameras captured the scene as dazzling flashes burst all around him.

Choi Minwoo paid them no attention. He continued shouting, his voice thick with fury.

“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 fuck out of the way, you bastards!”

The Skeleton Warlord spoke in a majestic voice.

“In the commander’s name, I order you. Rise, my loyal subordinates. Mighty soldiers of my legion!”

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

Whack!

“For fuck’s sake. Why does your incantation have to be so goddamn long? I told you to make it quick.”

“……”

“No answer?”

“…Yessir.”

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.”