Holy shit. What the fuck.
Even if I used every English-language curse I knew, I still couldn’t express how fucked things were.
Thirty-two times in a single week.
An outrageous number. And that was only what Magic Johnson had managed to find out.
I didn’t know the exact count, but it was bound to be higher than thirty-two.
Yeah. Maybe this was inevitable.
The United States was ninety-eight times the size of Korea and had nearly twenty times as many Gates.
It had been Demon King Asmodeus’s top-priority target during the Great Cataclysm and suffered tremendous damage throughout the war.
Ironically, what had restored the United States to its position as the world’s greatest power was what the war had left behind: Gates.
Oil fields.
Modern Gates were, quite literally, a new and far more abundant kind of oil field.
More than thirty years had passed since the disaster that swallowed the world. Monster byproducts had long fetched high prices, and Magic Gems had become an environmentally friendly energy source.
The survivors had built a civilization even grander and more dazzling atop the ruins of the war.
But…
“The party seems to be over.”
As Magic Johnson had put it, the winners’ lavish party was over.
The oil fields called Gates had caught fire. Explosions would soon erupt all over the world. No—they were already happening.
For now, an invisible hand was hiding them all.
“Ah, fuck…”
The words came out like a groan. I turned to Team Leader Choi.
“Things aren’t like this in Korea too, are they?”
What I meant was: had other incidents happened without my knowing, like the ones in the United States?
Team Leader Choi thought for a moment before answering.
“I always keep unexpected possibilities in mind, but as far as I know, there aren’t any.”
“Team Leader Choi, we need to be sure.”
“I know. That’s why I’m thinking of arranging another meeting while I have the chance.”
Magic Johnson, who had been listening, asked, “A meeting? With whom?”
“Some people I’ve come to know through circumstance. I doubt they lied to me, but you never know what people are thinking.”
“True. Especially politicians.”
Team Leader Choi nodded quietly at Johnson’s offhand remark.
“So you knew.”
“Choi looked awfully busy at Mr. Lee’s national funeral. A lot of people were looking for you.”
Team Leader Choi and I had attended Lee Jungryong’s national funeral and paid our respects. Our private feelings were another matter, but maintaining our public image wasn’t the only reason we had gone.
“They’re looking for a new shadow to shelter under,” Team Leader Choi said. “That’s what I wanted, too.”
Figures from politics and business, along with key members of mid-sized and large Guilds that Ares Guild had kept under its thumb, had shown enormous interest in us.
More than half of them had approached me first, of course. But I’d known from the start what I would say.
Don’t talk to a nobody Hunter like me. Talk to our Team Leader Choi.
Earning a place at Lee Jungryong’s national funeral, where every kind of heavyweight had gathered, meant they were people who had claimed their own victories in society after fighting tooth and nail.
They understood exactly what I meant and immediately set about arranging meetings with Team Leader Choi.
“The powerless are ignored,” Johnson said. “But people reach out to the powerful from every direction. The world may have changed, but that hasn’t.”
It was the sharp truth.
No one had sought out Team Leader Choi or me before. Now the Peace Guild had risen to become the only force capable of standing against Ares Guild.
The public might not know it, but the people at the top of society knew it better than anyone.
By now, political and business figures were probably calculating what they stood to gain from a fight between the two Guilds—and whose shadow would be cooler to stand in.
The owners of the mid-sized and large Guilds probably wanted to use this opportunity to escape Ares Guild’s excessive monopoly as well.
Team Leader Choi had gained new allies and the power they held.
It was his first step toward digesting the entire feast that was Ares.
Perhaps that was why, when he spoke again, the voice that emerged from between his immaculate lips carried more strength than ever.
“I won’t turn away the hands they’ve offered.”
Magic Johnson studied him for a moment, then spoke up.
“So… it seems the rumor was true.”
“What rumor?”
“That rumor. The one saying that Choi is connected to him.”
“There’s no reason to hide it anymore. It’s true.”
Johnson’s eyes widened.
“I didn’t expect Choi to admit it so easily. Have you told everyone else you’ve met recently?”
“No. But even without saying it, they know, and I know. We know whose blood runs through my veins.”
A quiet laugh escaped the Grand Mage’s thick lips.
“Right. No one can deny that fact. He’s the only pureblood in existence in the twenty-first century.”
No living noble or royal could compare to Team Leader Choi. Not even if the haughty Prince Felix of the United Kingdom became king.
If his ancestor had built a vast empire upon which the sun never set, then Cheon Taemin was the savior who had allowed billions of people to see the sun rise on another day.
“And it was wise not to mention him directly,” Johnson said. “People trust a man who keeps his own counsel and doesn’t reveal himself too easily.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
“No need. It’s the truth.”
There was no trace of Johnson’s usual playful manner. He went on in a calm voice.
“But Choi, keep this in mind. Your grandfather, wherever he may be now, and I have always known what came first. We risked our lives and fought for a better future. Is that what people in the East call a greater cause?”
“…!”
He was telling Team Leader Choi, without saying it outright, that the crisis on our doorstep had to come before Ares Guild.
After a brief silence, Team Leader Choi answered, “I’ll remember, Mr. Johnson. But I’m not going after Ares Guild for personal reasons alone.”
“I know what kind of man Choi is. You want to weaken Ares in case the worst happens and build up the Peace Guild’s own strength. Teeth like yours aren’t enough to swallow a tiger.”
Team Leader Choi smiled bitterly.
“A hyena… I can’t deny it.”
Lee Jungryong might be gone, but Ares was still Ares.
The Peace Guild had grown rapidly, its name seared into minds around the world because of me. But we couldn’t bring down the impregnable fortress Ares Guild had spent decades building in a single blow.
“Keep building your strength, so long as you’re not doing it for personal glory,” Johnson said. “The Wizard Guild and I will help. If you need it, I can introduce you to a few friends of mine, too.”
“Yes. That’s what I intend to do. The bad blood from the past hasn’t run its course.”
“You mean that young fellow. Mr. Seok.”
Magic Johnson suddenly drew his brows together.
“I haven’t spent much time with him, but I know he isn’t particularly kind. Isn’t that right, Jin?”
I nodded at once.
“He’s a fucking asshole.”
“I had a feeling from his surname. Even the way it’s pronounced sounds like ‘suck.’ And I didn’t like it when he attacked Jin at the Arch Lich’s stronghold while we were still investigating…”
Johnson’s expression grew serious.
“He gives off an even more dangerous smell now than he did before. Jin, you were right in front of me. Didn’t you notice?”
“…”
“Jin?”
I hesitated before answering. “Well, I did fart in front of you.”
“What the fuck…”
“Even so, there’s no need to swear. And Go Jun was already a dangerous bastard to begin with.”
“Whew. True. But please try not to fart when I’m standing behind you from now on.”
“…Yes.”
I had been uneasy about having Magic Johnson at my back too, but I had been the one to fart in the end, so I had nothing to say.
I looked away as I answered. Johnson’s nose twitched.
“All right. That’s enough for today. Whatever anyone else thinks, I want you two to know I trust you completely.”
He looked warmly at Team Leader Choi and me, then turned to the two standing there blankly—no, the one man and one monster.
“You two as well, of course.”
The Skeleton King and Im Kkeokjeong answered at the same time.
“Just don’t take us to a gay bar.”
“I-I don’t speak English.”
“…Very reassuring.”
Johnson’s face said otherwise. He pulled a small glass bottle from inside his clothes and drained it.
I recognized it as a potion to replenish spent mana.
“Are you leaving?”
“I should get back. I’m going to be busy from now on, too. There are friends I haven’t seen in a while whom I need to contact.”
“Friends?”
“The ones I mentioned earlier. About half have retired, but they can still be a great help. Oh, if Choi wants, I could take you to them right now. What do you say?”
Team Leader Choi hesitated under Magic Johnson’s eager gaze, then quickly shook his head.
“N-No, that’s all right.”
“What a shame. My friend Joseph was interested in Choi.”
“I’m disappointed too, but maybe next time… Wait. Did you say Joseph?”
“Unless your hearing’s gone, you heard right.”
“Then… do you mean former United States President Joseph Biden?”
“That’s right. He retired quite a while ago, but we meet for a drink about once a month. He’s so old he can hardly drink anymore, though.”
“…!”
Team Leader Choi wasn’t the only one shocked. My mouth fell open, and so did Im Kkeokjeong’s.
“That Joseph Biden?”
“Ah, I know! I know Joseph Biden!”
I didn’t care whether the name of the American president was Chakumba Okumbo or Kim Cheol Soo, but I had heard the name Joseph Biden many times since my days at the Hunter training camp.
The Great Cataclysm had struck during his presidency. He’d had it worse than the mayor of New York in a superhero movie.
Would you look at those connections.
In the United States, he was practically a second Founding Father after George Washington.
I knew Magic Johnson was a big deal, but I hadn’t realized his connections were this impressive.
“Don’t look at me like that. Joseph and I have been ball buddies for nearly fifty years. Most people don’t know we’re close.”
“…!”
Team Leader Choi froze. Johnson hurriedly added, “Forget the ‘ball’ part. We’re just friends. Best friends.”
“Whew.”
“Shit. Do I really have to explain myself?”
“Mr. Johnson, we have a saying in Korea: you reap what you sow.”
“Damn it. I really got what I deserved. So, what are you going to do, Choi?”
Team Leader Choi answered without hesitation.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you up on your offer.”
“Good idea. You might get a little motion sick traveling between continents, though.”
“What’s a little motion sickness compared to this?”
Team Leader Choi answered calmly and took the hand Magic Johnson held out to him.
With a light nod, an enormous amount of mana wrapped tightly around their entire bodies.
Whoooosh!
At that exact moment, a blinding flash erupted and sent their figures flying somewhere else.
Brrrrrrr.
All three smartphones left behind—Im Kkeokjeong’s, the Skeleton King’s, and mine—began vibrating violently.
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