Chapter 39
Time flowed like a river.
Training repeated.
Dungeons came regularly.
[You have obtained ‘Green Lizard Tail’ (C-rank).]
[You have obtained ‘Crime Wolf Fang’ (D-rank).]
[You have obtained ‘Crime Wolf Claw’ (D-rank).]
[You have obtained ‘Cursed Quiver’ (D-rank).]
…
Every scrap of material I pulled from dungeons went straight into the alchemy table.
Iron ingots, silver ingots, thread, cloth, leather—piling them up as future crafting materials while raising Bone Six’s proficiency.
Two birds with one stone.
‘Take it slow.’
The old man had sulked for a while, but after I let him give me two massages in a row, he got over it like magic.
Ah—no, not like magic. He really was a ghost.
“You brat.”
“Y-yes?”
“Quit daydreaming. I’ve told you a hundred times—no matter the training, immersion is everything. Do you need me to hammer that into your skull again?”
Yep. A ghost who could read minds.
Whoosh!
I swung my sword.
Today’s focus: grinding proficiency in “Slash.”
Raising the grade of a single skill was no easy feat.
‘Cut’ (C-rank).
My swordsmanship was still painfully low.
“Huff, huff!”
I was slashing like mad when the old man stopped me.
“Brat.”
“Huff, what now? I was in the zone.”
“You’ve got five minutes left. So let me ask you something.”
He narrowed his brows, looking like he had something heavy on his chest.
Clang.
I lowered the bone sword I’d borrowed from Bone One.
Training time was endless.
But the old man only stuck around for one hour a day, and that was more precious.
“Yes, Master.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask. That woman beside you—the one who once challenged me.”
“You mean Soyul?”
“Yes. How long do you plan to keep her around?”
“……”
He continued calmly.
“You must grow stronger. You may think you’ve come far, but you haven’t even reached the toenail of the Ten Thousand Arts. Yet you let a being far beyond your level hover at your side.”
“You mean… there’s no crisis.”
A weed in the wild grows tougher than a flower in a greenhouse.
That was his point.
But—
“Soyul has her promise to me… but she also stays of her own will.”
Though honestly, it was mostly because of him.
Sst!
I felt Soyul’s presence nearby.
She must’ve pricked her ears at the mention of her name.
Though she couldn’t hear the old man’s voice.
“You need to send her away. You’re not the type to cower from a beating—you even survived taking on Sunny’s resentment. This much you can handle.”
“Well, yes, but…”
He wasn’t wrong.
Lately, I barely thought about enemies hunting me.
I was too busy with training and Bone Six’s growth.
“The world will notice you sooner or later. Even if you try to stay low, envy will come. Will you keep hiding behind someone’s back?”
“Do you want me… to step into the world?”
I had been concealing my rank, keeping myself out of sight.
It was always training ground, dungeon, training ground, dungeon.
Especially in dungeons, I avoided drawing notice.
The old man clearly didn’t like that.
“Yes. Exactly. That way, you’ll have something to protect. That way, you wouldn’t be whining about wanting to raise a blacksmith.”
“…What?”
He was still sulking about that?
If so, he was petty.
“But it’s fine.”
“What is?”
“I’ve learned something too.”
“…All of a sudden?”
I tilted my head.
“I had forgotten—the world I lived in and this one are cut from different cloth.”
“……”
“If in my world items could be created instantly with skills, I wouldn’t have objected.”
Ah. Right.
He had seen Bone Six’s smelting and alchemy firsthand.
I still remembered the shock on his face.
“This world is stranger and harsher than mine.”
“Why?”
He stroked his chin.
“I, and Sunny too—we were absolute rulers in life. No equals. In our worlds, no other force interfered.”
“But here…”
“Yes. Here countless worlds are woven together. And worse—transcendents meddle under the guise of ‘skills.’”
Transcendents.
That was what he called the system.
‘Makes sense.’
We couldn’t know what they were.
Just as ants in a lab couldn’t recognize the scientist.
Maybe gods, maybe something else.
Even for him, it was absurd.
Hunters who knew nothing of Qi wielded with ease what others needed decades of enlightenment to achieve.
“That’s why you must surpass even me. To prove the Ten Thousand Arts are supreme, you must stand not only over my world, but over all worlds.”
“I see.”
I nodded.
I understood now.
‘He’s impatient.’
I didn’t know why he obsessed over strength.
Maybe he had a reason. Maybe it was pure pride.
‘What’s certain is—’
Our goals aligned.
He had more strength and experience than I ever would.
That alone made it worth following.
“Alright.”
I decided quickly.
He wanted only one thing.
That I free myself from Soyul’s protection.
“But—”
“But?”
He turned.
“That dungeon medium. Remember it?”
“The Root of Racial Conflict?”
“Yes.”
[Item: Root of Racial Conflict]
[Rank: A]
[Type: Medium]
[Description: A root that reveals the secrets of hidden ruins.]
[Effect 1: Unlocks the dungeon, ‘Forest and Stone.’]
[Effect 2: Bound to Hunter Joo Donghoon.]
[Effect 3: Requires C-rank or higher to activate.]
An A-rank medium.
Now that I was C-rank, I could attempt it.
I said,
“I’ll challenge it right away. If there’s no crisis, I’ll make one. The difficulty alone is brutal enough.”
The last dungeon had been B-rank.
Its difficulty had been “Sunny”—unmeasurable.
Honestly, I was nervous.
What would await me this time?
How much stronger would it make me?
“Heh, now you’re talking.”
The old man smiled, satisfied.
“I was waiting for that. Go, gladly.”
—
Soyul accepted it surprisingly easily.
“Hellhound is a cowardly ranker. Cunning, but timid.”
“……”
“So he won’t come near you as long as the Five Stars of Seoul stand strong.”
Truthfully—
Without Hellhound, her protection was overkill.
“Thank you for guarding me until now.”
“Don’t thank me. I’ve gotten plenty out of it. And it was a promise.”
“Still. I’m grateful.”
I bowed deeply.
Even if we’d grown friendlier, she was still a ranker.
And you couldn’t buy protection from one, no matter how much money you had.
“Just one thing.”
“Yes?”
“Let me watch your training whenever I want.”
“Hm? But you could already if you wanted, couldn’t you?”
She was a ranker.
She could hide her presence and observe me whenever.
But—
“Spying would be rude.”
She was strict about that sort of thing.
I nodded.
“Alright. Just let me know when you come. Doesn’t bother me.”
“And one more.”
“What is it?”
“If a crisis comes, you must call on Parang.”
“……”
“I say this out of concern—you’re reckless sometimes.”
“…I do tend to go all in.”
I scratched my head.
Truth be told, I’d already had plenty of close calls.
In dungeons, at Seonyudo…
“Remember this. Your opportunities aren’t just yours. Part of them are mine too.”
“…Okay. Got it.”
Having allies was nothing but gain.
Especially ones I could trust.
For her too, it made sense.
If I died, she’d lose the key to her own progress.
“Take care, then.”
With that—
Ssst!
She vanished like melting snow.
Her techniques never ceased to amaze.
“Hm.”
Once she was gone, I rested briefly, then pulled the root from my pocket.
“So I plant this in the ground?”
The Root of Racial Conflict.
I planted it into the training ground soil, channeling my energy into it.
Rumble!
The earth shook as a tree sprouted rapidly.
Roots spread, a trunk rose, forming a “gate.”
[Activate ‘Root of Racial Conflict’?]
[You may open the dungeon, ‘Forest and Stone.’]
[Warning!]
[This dungeon is for solo entry only.]
Thump, thump.
My heart raced.
What trials lay beyond?
No one could say.
No one could guide me.
It was like staring into the abyss.
Any other hunter would have trembled.
But—
‘I don’t back down.’
Hesitation only makes you shrink.
There was only one answer.
Charge in headfirst.
‘Whatever comes, I’ll endure—and grow stronger.’
Flash!
Blinding light filled my vision.
—
“Hm.”
Inside a luxurious office in a high-rise building, a man in a black suit sat stroking his chin.
[Director Shin Jongoh]
That was his name.
A C-rank hunter, grandson of the chairman of one of Korea’s top ten companies, the Ohsung Group.
He was grinding his teeth at news that his beloved ranker, Soyul, was fixated on someone else.
“Have you investigated this Joo Donghoon?”
“Yes.”
Across from him, his bespectacled secretary adjusted her glasses.
“There were obstacles due to the Shadow Empress, but…”
“Don’t worry. Soyul won’t harm me.”
Even if Parang was a powerhouse guild, the Ohsung Group was a whale of its own.
Neither side would risk bleeding themselves over this.
The secretary cleared her throat.
“Ahem, according to our findings, his movements are simple.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. He goes only between a back-mountain training ground and Gotomall’s underground arcade. Beyond that, the Shadow Empress’s watch made further surveillance difficult.”
“Wait.”
Jongoh’s brow arched.
“Gotomall? Did he come into money?”
“Unlikely. He visits a place called Smith’s Forge. It’s more like a workshop rental for beginner production hunters—very expensive.”
“Production class…”
A crease formed between his brows.
‘Could it be some rare production class?’
Could that be what caught Soyul’s eye?
“Phew.”
He let out a short breath.
At least that was a relief.
Whatever his innate ability, Jongoh was a C-rank hunter.
He wouldn’t be humiliated by some production brat.
His guard eased slightly.
But his anger flared higher.
‘She chose a production-class nobody over me?’
Clench!
His fist tightened.
‘Heh. Time to put him in his place.’
A cruel smile curled on his lips.