Chapter 429

“Should we head there right away?”

As soon as the press conference ended, the acting Head of Security—no, Xiao Shen—came over and asked. I nodded.

“Let’s do that. You know where he is, right?”

“Yes, I do. Then let’s go.”

Dozens of security officers led by Xiao Shen formed a circle around me and slowly began moving.

Chaos erupted around us at once. Reporters from various networks came swarming over with cameras and microphones in hand.

“Mr. Jin! Is it true that you’re close to His Highness Prince Felix?”

“Jin-san! Jin-san!”¹

You’re the real jinsang here, asshole.

The reporters from various countries hadn’t been satisfied with the press conference and latched onto me, but they couldn’t break through the Hunter security detail.

Though, of course, one man did manage to push close enough to keep shoving a microphone in my face.

“Mr. Jin Taekyung! We’re both Korean, so please, just one interview…”

There was always someone like this wherever you went.

“Oh, sure. Since we’re both Korean, please move aside.”

I gave him a halfhearted answer and was about to walk past when his familiar face made me stop. I held Xiao Shen back as he moved to block the reporter.

“Wait. Are you with Daspatch?”

“……!”

“I thought so. You published an article about me, didn’t you?”

“N-No, I didn’t.”

That confirms it. You son of a bitch.

I’d been wondering where I’d seen him before. He was the reporter who had posted an article about me having been single my entire life and called it an exclusive.

Ever since then, whenever I searched my name on a web portal, “Jin Taekyung single since birth” appeared as a related search.

“Shen.”

Xiao Shen, who had been standing there bewildered because he couldn’t understand our conversation in Korean, bowed his head.

“Yes, hyung.”²

“Crack down on him.”

“Yes, sir.”

Xiao Shen answered energetically and grabbed the Daspatch reporter by the wrist.

“Sir, I will enforce balance.”

“W-Wait!”

It was already too late. The reporter went airborne under Xiao Shen’s tremendous strength and dropped into the crowd. Several cameras shattered, and curses in languages from around the world poured down like hail.

I exclaimed in admiration at the feast of profanity spanning five oceans and six continents.

“So this is the global village.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing. Let’s keep going.”

The public-security officers who had been waiting nearby rushed over to join us, clearing a path.

Under the crowd’s watchful eyes and the protection of an impenetrable escort, I headed for my destination.

A short while later, I met him in a suite at the five-star hotel where the VVIPs were staying.

“Johnson.”

“Oh, Jin. You’re earlier than I expected.”

Magic Johnson had been studying something with a grave expression, but he rose from his seat with a bright smile.

He clapped a thick hand on my shoulder, guided me to a seat, and asked, “So, did the press conference go well?”

Judging by the question, he probably hadn’t watched the press conference himself.

I accepted the canned beer Johnson handed me and answered,

“It was all right. I gave them some reasonable answers and wrapped it up in thirty minutes.”

“Ha-ha. I doubt the reporters were very happy.”

“They probably like me a lot more than they like you. At least I held a press conference.”

As soon as the war ended, Magic Johnson had shut himself away in his accommodations and refused to show himself.

Unlike Faye Chen or Prince Felix, the other S-rank Hunters, he hadn’t appeared anywhere. Some people had even begun spreading rumors that he was dead.

Only after things reached that point did he post a brief comment on his official social-media account. That was the full extent of his public activity.

I am researching something new.

It is as mysterious and magnificent as the victory we achieved this time.

Most people had probably nodded and moved on without understanding what he meant, but I was one of the few who knew what that “something new” was.

“So? How did it turn out?”

The corners of Magic Johnson’s mouth twitched.

“Who knows?”

“Oh, so it was a success.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You’re doing a terrible job of hiding that you’re holding back a laugh.”

“I’m not. Not at all.”

Yeah, right.

His eyes were shining with anticipation. I let out a quiet laugh.

“I heard you weren’t happy about it at first.”

“You didn’t come to see me then. Did Choi tell you that?”

“Who else could have told me? At the moment, this secret is known by only three people: me, Johnson, and Team Leader Choi.”

“Ah. But Choi got one thing wrong.”

“What?”

“I didn’t refuse at first.”

Magic Johnson drained his five-hundred-milliliter³ can of beer in one gulp, then continued gravely.

“I was about to fire off a spell.”

“Ah.”

“I’m not joking. Put yourself in my position. You probably would’ve blown the whole suite apart.”

“If it had been me, I would’ve demolished the hotel.”

The only reason the suite—and the hotel—remained intact was that Magic Johnson was a Grand Mage.

Humans were said to be creatures of curiosity, but mages were curiosity incarnate. That went without saying for a Grand Mage who stood at the pinnacle of magic.

And when presented with an offer involving a “new thing” he had never seen before, he readily accepted it.

“Even after Choi explained everything and I saw it with my own eyes, I couldn’t believe it. This is truly…”

Magic Johnson murmured with a dreamy look in his eyes, then suddenly shook his head.

“No. This won’t do. Come and see for yourself.”

“Good. I nearly died of old age waiting.”

I set down my half-empty beer and rose. Without hesitation, I crossed the spacious suite and stopped in front of one particular spot.

“It’s here, right?”

Magic Johnson nodded. It wasn’t particularly surprising that an S-rank Hunter sensitive to the flow of energy could sense that something was off.

“That’s right. You really know your stuff.”

“Even someone fairly observant would have a hard time noticing this.”

To the naked eye, it looked like an ordinary section of the room.

But I had known from the moment I stepped into the suite.

It was magic that blocked every sound and sight.

“Wait a moment. I’ll dispel the magic right aw—”

Whoosh! Slash!

Magic Johnson’s eyes widened before he could finish speaking.

The edge of my hand, wrapped in Force, swept down through empty air, and the various spells he had laid out split apart cleanly.

“Jin. What on earth…?”

During my battle with the Arch Lich, I had opened my Middle Dantian and gained the ability to see the texture of qi.

That had made things like this possible, but I offered no explanation. I simply stared straight ahead.

As the magic was dispelled, a single layer peeled away from the space before me.

Beyond it stood a man.

“Ah, eh, ee, oh, oo. Hellow. Nishe to meet you. I like rice-soup freaks. I wuv kimchi.”

The blond foreigner had been standing in front of a full-length mirror, holding something as he practiced Korean with awkward pronunciation. He spotted my reflection and turned around.

A hint of laughter crossed his pretty-boy face.

“At last, you have arrived, vile human.”

Look at this bastard pronouncing only that perfectly.

For a moment, I considered hitting him. Instead, I let out a quiet laugh.

“You’ve gotten better-looking since I last saw you.”

The blond foreigner—the Skeleton King—replied smugly.

“You have become even uglier since I last saw you.”

“…….”

“Ugly as hell.”

“……No, you son of a bitch.”

Where the hell had this bastard learned Korean?

“Hmm. Beautiful, as expected. Nothing about him looks out of place.”

Magic Johnson kept smiling in satisfaction like a plastic surgeon in Gangnam.⁴

“Even after seeing him again, I have to say he’s an unprecedented masterpiece. I may be the first mage in human history to carve a Magic Formation into a Skeleton’s bones—and not merely a Skeleton, but an entirely new Named Monster.”

This wasn’t just a surgeon praising his own handiwork. It was true.

Glossy blond hair. Mysteriously gleaming golden eyes. A well-balanced build nearly 190 centimeters⁵ tall, with long limbs bearing just the right amount of body hair.

And that wasn’t all.

His muscles and veins stood out clearly, and his body responded naturally whenever he breathed or swallowed.

Even I had to study him closely to notice anything unusual. The Skeleton King looked completely human.

“…Wow. It actually worked.”

I’d made the request thinking I had nothing to lose, but I hadn’t expected the result to be this perfect.

I swallowed hard in amazement and reached out to touch his blond hair.

That was when—

Swish.

The Skeleton King took one step back and looked at me arrogantly.

“Take your filthy hand away. You will damage my hair.”

“…….”

“Will you take responsibility if I go bald?”

This bastard really is human now…

I was too dumbfounded to speak.

Ignoring me, the Skeleton King admired his reflection in the full-length mirror and smiled in satisfaction.

“Hmm. Insanely handsome.”

“I’ve been wondering this for a while. Where did you learn expressions like that?”

“On the Internet.”

“The Internet?”

“Indeed. I spent a whole week browsing the shit out of it.”

“Wait. Do you have a phone, too?”

“That kind human over there bought me one. Thank you, Johnson.”

Magic Johnson, who was using a translation spell, nodded with a pleased smile.

“I wish you every success in your new beginning, Mr. King.”

“Thank you, Johnson.”

Thank you, Johnson, my ass. When did he learn basic English, too?

I immediately rounded on Magic Johnson.

“Wait. You even bought him a phone?”

“Hey, Jin. What’s the problem? My youngest daughter is five, and even she uses a smartphone.”

“That’s your youngest daughter. He’s the Skeleton King.”

“Hold on, vile human. I apologize for interrupting your conversation, but this must be said.”

The Skeleton King cut in with a grave expression.

“From now on, you will call me Stone-King.”

“What is this, another thing that’ll get you pelted with stones?”

“It is my new name. Stone King. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States…”

I muttered as I felt a headache coming on.

“Should I just kill him? I’m seriously about to.”

“Would you kill a citizen of the United States?”

“Who’s an American citizen, you lunatic?”

“Perhaps not right now, but I can soon obtain United States citizenship.”

“You should write a web novel for KakaoPage⁶ instead. What kind of idiot comes up with that bullshit?”

Magic Johnson shyly raised one hand.

“Jin, with my connections, it should be entirely poss—”

“Ah! Aah! Aaaaah!”

This was driving me insane.

I clutched my throbbing forehead and turned to Magic Johnson.

“Johnson.”

“Hmm?”

“What I asked through Team Leader Choi was for you to make him look human. That was all.”

“Of course. That was your request. But I heard our friend here desperately wanted this.”

All of this had begun shortly after I first regained consciousness, at the Skeleton King’s insistence.

He had loudly complained about how long he was expected to remain trapped inside the cramped Inventory.

His position was that he deserved an appropriate reward in light of his major contributions during the battle. From Team Leader Choi’s perspective and mine, that was a perfectly reasonable demand.

He protected Team Leader Choi and Xiao Shen during the battle with Lei Fei, and we managed to defeat the Arch Lich thanks to him.

I had already been thinking about how to repay the Skeleton King.

Besides, giving him human form would make many things easier.

He would no longer need to hide, and he could sign a contract with the Peace Guild so that both sides could benefit.

But…

“For starters, this isn’t the East Asian appearance I asked for. There may be a lot more foreigners in Korea these days, but he’ll still stand out. Especially looking like this.”

Before Magic Johnson could answer, the Skeleton King cut in stiffly.

“I asked him to change it.”

“What? Why?”

“I saw it on the Internet. Handsome white men do well everywhere in the world.”

“…And what exactly are you planning to do with that?”

“I wish to date.”

“Oh, God.”

Magic Johnson patted my shoulder as I groaned.

“It’s all right, Jin.”

“What do you mean, it’s all right? Do you have any idea how terrifying social media is these days? What if netizens dig up his identity and discover that he wasn’t born in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, but is actually a native of the Demon Realm? Does that make any sense? Why did you agree to a request like that?”

“I wanted to try making a face that suited my tastes.”

“What?”

“That face is my ideal type.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake…

I was still at a loss for words when the final blow snapped what remained of my patience.

“Do you feel wronged? Ugly as hell.”

“You son of a bitch!”

Crack!

I launched myself forward and drove my fist into the crown of his head.

The Skeleton King let out a strangled groan. He may have bitten his tongue, because bright red blood spurted from the corner of his mouth.

Red blood? Is that part of the illusion magic too? He really did an incredible job recreating—

No, that wasn’t the point.

“Die! Die!”

“Ghk! Guhk!”

The moment two burly men started rolling around, the suite became a disaster zone.

A desk caught in the chaos collapsed with a splintering crack, and the stack of documents Magic Johnson had been examining came cascading down over my face.

“W-Wait! Vile human! I cannot see!”

“I’m going to teach you some manners today…!”

Then, in the next instant, I froze.

Among the sheets of paper obscuring my vision, I saw a set of strange yet familiar symbols.

This is…

I left the Skeleton King where he was and rose from my seat, dazedly picking up a sheet of paper printed with the symbols.

Sichuan.

There was no mistake.

It was the exact pattern I had seen in Sichuan—not the modern Chinese province, but Sichuan in Murim.