Chapter 306

As the enormous fuselage of the Boeing 747-8 VIP lifted into the sky, Jin Taekyung, who had been bouncing excitedly in his seat, sprang up and began roaming the cabin.

“Wow, this isn’t a plane. It’s practically a hotel suite! Team Leader, look over here. There’s even a bed!”

At his endless exclamations, Choi Minwoo pressed a hand to his forehead. Anyone watching would think they were going on an overseas vacation instead of heading to a battlefield.

“Um… Mr. Jin?”

“Hang on. I’m going to ask what kind of liquor they have.”

The private jet sent by China’s Central Committee had three Chinese flight attendants. Jin Taekyung called one of them over and began speaking to her in fluent Chinese.

No way. He’s practically a native speaker.

His command of the language was so natural that he could have been born and raised in China.

Choi Minwoo also had a talent for languages and spoke several fluently, but he was nowhere near Jin Taekyung’s level.

He had heard Taekyung was terrible at school. When on earth had he learned to speak Chinese that well?

Then a thought flashed through Choi Minwoo’s astonished mind.

Come to think of it, he talks to monsters too.

Jin Taekyung was, after all, the man who could speak the Demon Realm language—which even renowned linguists struggled to decipher—and curse fluently in it to boot.

When Choi Minwoo had asked how that was even possible, the only answer he received was that it was a trade secret.

…Let’s just stop thinking about it. That’ll be easier on my mind.

Giving up always made life easier. Besides, this was hardly the first time something like this had happened. Taekyung would tell him when the time came.

Resigning himself to that, Choi Minwoo accepted the glass the flight attendant poured for him.

“What is this? It’s clear, so I assume it’s some kind of vodka.”

“First Dew Fresh.”

“…”

“Heh. I didn’t expect it, but they actually had soju¹. First Dew tastes best on the rocks.”

Jin Taekyung dropped onto one of the cabin sofas and downed glass after glass. Appalled by the way he kept knocking them back, Choi Minwoo asked, “Are you possessed by the ghost of someone who died of thirst?”

“I’m drinking in advance. Going back and forth is a hassle.”

“Excuse me?”

“Never mind. It’s nothing.”

After muttering that cryptic remark, Jin Taekyung asked, “You said it would take five or six hours, right?”

“That’s how long it should take to reach Chengdu International Airport in Sichuan Province. It could take longer in an emergency.”

“What kind of emergency?”

“What else could it be?”

The emergency Choi Minwoo meant was the Lich’s monster army occupying Chengdu.

“Of course, that’s highly unlikely. By now, enormous numbers of People’s Liberation Army troops and Hunters should be defending the city.”

One hundred million people lived across an area twice the size of the Korean Peninsula.

Chengdu was the administrative capital of Sichuan Province. If Chengdu fell, it would be as good as losing the entire province.

Jin Taekyung waved a hand after listening to Choi Minwoo.

“Come on. You can’t rule something out just because it’s unlikely. If we could do that, Monster Waves wouldn’t happen in the first place.”

“Of course, that’s true, but…”

“Always assume the worst. Don’t count on the best.”

He tossed out the words casually. Anyone could have said them, but coming from Jin Taekyung, they somehow felt different.

How should Choi Minwoo put it? Beneath all that carelessness lay meticulous caution and the hard-earned instincts of a seasoned veteran.

He’s a strange man.

There were times when Choi Minwoo found Jin Taekyung uncanny.

It wasn’t a matter of skill or combat experience.

Whenever they talked, Choi Minwoo would suddenly get the feeling that Taekyung had survived far more than just one or two crises.

Even though he’s younger than me.

Noticing Choi Minwoo’s contemplative stare, Jin Taekyung paused with his glass halfway to his lips.

“What? Want some vodka instead?”

“No. First Dew is fine.”

“Right? It has such a clean taste…”

Jin Taekyung trailed off and scowled.

“This bastard’s throwing another fit.”

“…”

“I wasn’t talking to you, Team Leader. Some asshole won’t stop squawking.”

Choi Minwoo glanced at the flight attendants and lowered his voice.

“The Skeleton Warlord?”

“Yeah. He’s been raising hell about not wanting to go to China.”

“Because of the Lich.”

“Even if they’re both Named Monsters, they’re in completely different classes. And the Lich is a high-ranking undead monster, too.”

If the Lich was a big shot, the Skeleton Warlord was a nobody. Becoming a Named Monster did not change the vast difference in their origins.

Besides, the Lich that had appeared this time was powerful enough to stand apart even from those seen during the Great Cataclysm.

Choi Minwoo’s expression grew serious.

“Mr. Jin.”

“Ah, shut up already! Sorry, what?”

“Something has been going wrong lately.”

“Did you throw out your back?”

“No. I mean the way things are going in the world.”

“Oh, the atmosphere. Same here. I want to live peacefully, but all these pieces of shit keep raising hell from every direction… Ah, I wasn’t talking about you, so shut up.”

A headache struck Choi Minwoo without warning. He rubbed the space between his brows.

“I’m talking about Gates and monsters.”

“Oh.”

Jin Taekyung looked up from his argument with the invisible Skeleton Warlord.

“It is strange. Normally, we might see one Named Monster every few years, but two of them have shown up in the span of a few months.”

“Gate accidents have also risen sharply this year. The media, always eager to tear someone apart, are blaming careless Guilds and individuals. But I’m not convinced. The International Gate Research Institute has reached the exact opposite conclusion.”

Choi Minwoo handed him a tablet. Across its screen, in large, bold letters, were the words Investigation Results: Sudden Increase in Gate Mana.

“They haven’t made an official announcement, but the matter is already considered settled. Mana density has been rising rapidly inside a considerable number of Gates.”

“That’s the real cause of the recent spate of Gate accidents?”

“Yes.”

Mana was the source of a monster’s power. If the mana density inside a Gate increased, the monsters within it would naturally grow stronger.

And above all…

“I’ve got the proof right here.”

At Jin Taekyung’s words, Choi Minwoo nodded.

The Skeleton Warlord. According to what Taekyung had told him a few days earlier, the Named Monster had evolved.

The change had been so sudden that even the Warlord himself did not know why it had happened.

“The Lich that appeared this time may have experienced the same growth in power.”

“I expected something like that to some extent. But…”

Jin Taekyung swept back his long hair.

“This is going to be fucking brutal.”

“That’s why we need adequate countermeasures. According to some of the information I obtained regarding this incident…”

“I’ll look at it later.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’ve got a lot to catch up on right now.”

“Catch up on? Right now?”

The Boeing 747-8 VIP was cruising at an altitude of twenty-five thousand feet.

What overdue business could he possibly deal with up here?

Jin Taekyung’s answer only left Choi Minwoo more baffled.

“I’m going to sleep.”

“Sleep? At a time like this?”

“I haven’t been able to sleep at all lately.”

“W-wait a moment.”

“Don’t wake me under any circumstances. This is the answer for now.”

What kind of person was this?

Before Choi Minwoo could stop him, Jin Taekyung crawled into the bed inside the cabin. Choi Minwoo could only gape.

“Oh, right. Team Leader Choi.”

Jin Taekyung poked his head back out, his expression grave.

“Please turn off the lights.”

“…”

The moment his head touched the pillow, Jin Taekyung fell peacefully asleep.

Watching him, Choi Minwoo thought:

The profit split is nine to one. No exceptions.

Ding.

System

Login complete.

I opened my eyes to the hardness of a wooden pillow and bed instead of a soft pillow and mattress.

Above me was the wholly unfamiliar ceiling of a Murim Alliance pavilion.

I’m back.

A full month had passed since I left. In the Murim, not even two shichen² would have passed.

I turned my head to the right and saw a small old man fast asleep.

Even with sunlight streaming through the window and shining directly on his face, he—the Fire King, Jeok Cheongang—did not stir.

“I’m back, Old Master.”

I had just murmured the words and started to rise when—

“Oh. Mm. Ah.”

“…”

“There. That’s good. Yeah.”

I stared down at Hyuk Mujin, who was writhing like a worm in the corner of the room.

I’m pretty sure I left him on guard duty before logging out.

I told this lunatic to stand guard, and he was having a wet dream.

My greatest regret in life was that I couldn’t record this and share it in the Jin Family of Taiyuan group chat.

I could still kick him in the ass, though.

Bam!

“Urgh!”

“Wake up, you Tokyo Hot³ bastard.”

The pain jolted Hyuk Mujin out of his blissful dream, and he sprang to his feet.

“Captain, you’re awake!”

“Yeah. Looks like you just got up too.”

Hyuk Mujin’s eyes darted around as an awkward smile crept across his face.

“Ah, well. Something came up.”

“…”

Did something come up, or were you about to come?

I glared at Hyuk Mujin in disgust and let out a deep sigh.

Fine. This was all my fault for trusting him.

“Whew. How long were you asleep?”

“Not long. I swear.”

“Then nothing unusual happened while you were awake?”

“Yes. Until two shichen² ago, I kept watch so thoroughly that I wouldn’t have let even a single ant get inside.”

I thought about that for a moment.

“If it was two shichen² ago, wasn’t that when I had just fallen asleep?”

“Well, now that you mention it… But I really wasn’t asleep for long.”

“Right. Two shichen² isn’t long.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Our Mujin followed me into my dreams to protect me, huh?”

Hyuk Mujin nodded furiously.

“That’s right! I, Hyuk Mujin, Vice Squad Leader of the Jin Dragon Squad of the great Jin Family of Taiyuan, pledge my unwavering loyalty to you, Captain!”

“My, what a good boy.”

I chuckled and picked up the flower vase beside the bed.

“Then why did you make such strange moaning sounds while guarding me in my dream?”

“Gasp.”

“Who did you meet? Mimi from Honghwaru⁴? Kirara from Tokyo-ru⁵? Or the filial daughter from the soft tofu restaurant?”

I’d had it. Just looking at that bastard made rage burn in my chest until I could barely breathe.

I raised the flower vase high, and Hyuk Mujin cautiously backed away.

“P-please let me off just this once.”

“I’ve let you off five hundred times already.”

“Then since you’ve let me off five hundred times, just one more time…”

“Hold still.”

Whoosh!

At that moment, three things happened simultaneously.

First, the flower vase in my hand shot forward with tremendous force.

Second, it narrowly grazed the crown of Hyuk Mujin’s bowed head and flew toward the door.

Third, with impossibly perfect timing, the door opened and someone walked in.

“How is Great Hero Jeok’s condi—”

Bam!

The squat old man carrying a small cloth-wrapped bundle could not finish his sentence.

His eyes went slack as he stared at Hyuk Mujin and me. His lips moved several times before he slowly crumpled.

Thud. Crash!

The flower vase that had struck him squarely in the forehead rolled away, while acupuncture needles and all manner of medical instruments spilled from his bundle.

“…”

“…”

The Luoyang Strange Physician had come at first light to check on Jeok Cheongang’s condition.

And that was how he collapsed with a concussion.