Chapter 605
—’I’m on my way right now.’
—’Jacob, how’s the situation there? You didn’t get hurt, did you?’
On the hologram TV, a young East Asian female anchor with heavy eyeliner questioned the muscular Black reporter at the scene. He smiled and winked.
—’Thanks to your concern, Jenny, I’m safe. So is everyone else.’
—’For a mutation gate event, things look unbelievably peaceful.’
—’That’s right. No injuries, and it ended quickly. Plus, this is Texas. Everyone here—man or woman—is tough as nails.’
—’Haha. That’s good to hear. But where’s the hero who saved the day?’
—’Jenny, I must apologize to you and our viewers. The hero of the hour, Magic Johnson, already left. I tried to stop him, but no luck.’
—’Oh no.’
—’He refused the interview, said he had urgent business, and disappeared. Honestly, I thought he was off to meet a secret lover.’
—’I see… So, Jacob, do we know what exactly caused the mutation gate—’
A secret lover, huh.
Leaning back on the sofa, I hummed absentmindedly while watching the hologram TV.
“Daddy kisses goodbye when he leaves for work. Magic Johnson comes to Korea for a kiss.”
‘Shwip. CRASH!’
I ducked just in time. A crystal glass whizzed past, barely grazing the back of my neck, and shattered the hologram TV.
Shards of glass scattered across the floor, red liquid pooling at the base. Across from me, Team Leader Choi, whose eyes met mine, spoke in an eerily calm tone.
“Oh. You dodged it. Just so there’s no misunderstanding—it was definitely on purpose.”
“…You’re not even going to pretend it was an accident?”
“It wasn’t. Also, such a shame. Just a bit faster, and I could’ve cracked your skull.”
“Whoa, whoa. Why ‘skull’? Don’t talk about people like they’re objects.”
“When you run that mouth of yours like that, you deserve to be called a skull. Honestly, even that word’s too generous for a blockhead like you.”
“Excuse me? Skull? Mouth?”
“If you ever fall asleep in front of me again, I’ll pour cyanide in that mouth.”
Was this a punchline or an assassination threat?
The venom in his words nearly made me choke. For a moment, I seriously considered pulling out a universal antidote.
Instead, I calmly raised my hands in surrender.
“Team Leader Choi, please. Calm down. I admit it—I was wrong.”
“Do I look calm to you right now?”
“Well, it’s not like I had a choice. You saw the news. He said he was busy with a gate issue. I had to lure him somehow.”
“And you used ‘my lips’ as bait?”
“Come on, I couldn’t exactly offer ‘my’ lips.”
‘Shwip! CRASH!’
Okay, that one was actually dangerous.
Dodging the second glass narrowly, I screamed in panic.
“Stop! Team Leader! That’s enough!”
He grabbed a third crystal glass and replied coldly.
“Shut your mouth and stand still.”
“You didn’t even kiss! It didn’t happen!”
“But it ‘almost’ did!”
Just as Team Leader Choi prepared to throw the third glass with a lion’s roar—
‘SLAM.’
The door burst open without a knock. Skeleton King stood there brimming with anticipation, while Magic Johnson looked glum behind him.
“We’re done here. Time to hit the club?”
“Choi, I have feelings too, you know.”
Facing the club-hungry undead and the wounded romantic mage, Team Leader Choi sighed and lowered his arm.
—
Magic Johnson wasn’t just a War Mage. He was an archmage—capable of wielding a wide range of magic.
Once we contacted him, he teleported to Korea without hesitation. Then we explained everything.
‘Mr. Johnson, we need to move something…’
‘Whatever the reason, I don’t care. But first—I want that kiss. You ready, Choi?’
‘I’m not ready, never will be, and never was. Not now. Not ever.’
‘That’s a problem. I don’t know what kind of secret thing you’re trying to move, but—’
‘It’s not a thing. It’s a person.’
‘Wait, what? A person? Are you hiding someone?’
‘I’m not sure I’d call it hiding, but… something like that.’
‘Who? Don’t tell me it’s a wanted criminal or a secret lover?’
‘It’s my grandfather.’
‘…Oh shit. Sorry, Choi. Didn’t mean—wait. Your ‘what’?’
Even after hearing the full explanation, Magic Johnson stayed silent for a while. Only after seeing Cheon Taemin’s face did he finally speak.
‘Goddamn. What in the hell…?’
‘Exactly. A total shitshow.’
‘I understand why you couldn’t explain this over the phone. Alright, let’s deal with the urgent part first. Choi, where are we moving him?’
From there, it all went smoothly.
Using the coordinates provided by Team Leader Choi, Magic Johnson cast the teleportation spell. All of us—well, everyone conscious—relocated to the home where Cheon Taemin had once lived.
A homecoming after more than twenty years.
‘I’ve layered spatial distortion, defensive barriers, and basic temperature and humidity controls…’
Reciting spells nonstop like a wandering bard, Magic Johnson finally concluded breathlessly,
‘That’s everything I can do for now. More enhancements will follow.’
Skeleton King, sulking about missing the club, muttered,
“It’s impressive, sure. But how secure is it, really?”
‘Unless a fellow archmage or two or three S-rank Hunters come to destroy it intentionally, he’ll be perfectly safe.’
“Damn. Now that’s serious protection.”
I agreed. Magic Johnson had done everything possible to keep Cheon Taemin’s presence and location hidden.
Even most S-rank Hunters wouldn’t be able to sense him.
‘Martial and magical paths are different, after all.’
Just like martial arts had no end, magic was the same.
Honestly, if I hadn’t unlocked my middle Dantian, we wouldn’t have found Cheon Taemin this easily.
‘By the way… anyone know who built that secret space? A-Zone? The enchantments weren’t below my level.’
“I wouldn’t know, human.”
I gently patted Skeleton King’s shoulder after his hasty response.
“He asked if anyone knew. Not any monsters.”
“You bastard.”
Huh. His vocabulary’s getting better.
‘Smack!’
As a reward for his growing vocabulary, I slapped the back of his skull and turned to Magic Johnson.
“I’m curious too. Any idea who might’ve made it?”
‘Well, realistically, only another archmage could pull off something of that scale.’
“Then could it be…”
‘You’re thinking of ‘those two’, right?’
I clamped my mouth shut, doubtful. Magic Johnson shook his head with a serious look.
‘Probably not them. But… I ‘do’ have someone in mind.’
“You do?”
‘Mm.’
Lost in thought, Magic Johnson eventually added,
‘I won’t say more for now. It’s too soon to be sure. But I’ll pay the others a visit. Been a while since I’ve seen their faces.’
“I’d appreciate that.”
That was welcome news.
If Magic Johnson—an archmage with unmatched insight—took it upon himself to find the truth, that meant we might actually get answers.
‘There are only three archmages in the world.’
If one of them accepted Lee Jeong-ryong’s commission, fully aware of his plans…
That would be unforgivable.
We’d have to hold them accountable—for the sake of just one person.
“Team Leader.”
Despite my call, he stood still, unmoving.
His gaze fixed on the oval-shaped cryo-pod made of cold metal, he stared silently at his grandfather, still trapped in deep slumber.
Then, he finally spoke.
“I’ve waited for so long… but he still won’t wake up.”
No clumsy words could console him. So none of us said a thing.
The immortal hero, Cheon Taemin, still had not regained consciousness.
‘For over twenty years.’
No one knew the cause. And unfortunately, everything Team Leader Choi had been told by Song Chunwoo turned out to be true.
Lee Jeong-ryong and Song Chunwoo—both ambitious men—had once desperately tried to wake him, but failed.
There was only one thing we could say now.
“There must be a way.”
‘Jin’s right. Nothing happens without cause. The same goes for illnesses.’
“Chin up. He’s not dead yet. And even if he does die, I could always bring him back as a Death Knight—”
The murderous glares from Magic Johnson and me made Skeleton King freeze mid-sentence.
“I-It was meant to be comforting…”
“That’s ‘comfort’ to you, you psycho?”
‘Monster motherfu—’
Startled by the idea that Cheon Taemin might be hearing us, Skeleton King shrank into silence.
Then, Team Leader Choi smiled faintly and opened his mouth.
“It’s alright. We’ll find a way somehow. The fact that he’s still alive is more than enough for now.”
Smiling didn’t always mean happiness.
Even Magic Johnson and I—and even Skeleton King, who lacked anything resembling social sense—could feel the emotion behind Team Leader Choi’s words.
Then, as if planned in advance, we all fell silent.
And from that silence, his voice gently reached our ears.
“But… just for today, I’d like to rest. Thank you all. Really.”
He looked at each of us and bowed his head sincerely.
Recognizing what that bow meant, I was the first to quietly walk toward the exit.
It had been over 20 years since their last meeting.
Even if they couldn’t speak to each other now, grandfather and grandson deserved some privacy.
—
One of the most important things to Koreans: food.
You ask, “Have you eaten?”
“Let’s grab a meal sometime.”
Even swear words have “bap” (rice) in them.
Which is why, once a job’s done, Koreans eat.
Preferably with soup.
‘Gukbap? What’s that?’
Suspiciously eyeing my mom’s homemade soondae gukbap, Magic Johnson set his spoon down.
‘Hey, Jin. You got any toast?’
“Don’t be like that. Just try it.”
‘I’m good. Not hungry.’
‘Gurgle.’
‘…Are you sure there’s no toast?’
“Even if there was, there isn’t. Just try the soup at least.”
‘Damn it. This is Korean soup? Why’s it look so freaky?’
Grumbling, he awkwardly scooped up a spoonful and took a sip.
And with that—the game was over.
‘Khhh—F”’ yeah.’
Letting out an exaggerated “f”’ yeah,” Magic Johnson devoured two bowls of soondae gukbap with a satisfied grin.
‘So many incidents today. I’ve been busy non-stop. But I finally feel alive again.’
“I saw the news. You handled that mutation gate, skipped the interview, and came straight here.”
‘Mutation gate? Did you watch the whole news segment?’
Nope. The TV got annihilated by Team Leader Choi’s crystal glass.
I shrugged.
“Why?”
‘Because if you had, you wouldn’t have said that.’
Picking up a toothpick, Magic Johnson continued,
‘To be precise… it wasn’t a mutation gate.’
“…What?”
What the hell does that mean?
My question was short-lived.
Because the word Magic Johnson casually tossed out next made my eyes go wide.
“Terrorism?”
‘Yep. Terrorism. The culprit was an Arab man who forged a Hunter license to access the gate. Turned out he was part of a Middle Eastern terror group—a B-rank Hunter carrying an unpurified A-grade mana crystal.’
“…Wait. That sounds…”
‘Familiar, doesn’t it? Right, Jin?’
I didn’t answer. My lips were sealed.
But in my head, recent memories surged.
Seok Go-jun. Song Chunwoo.
And two catastrophic monster waves.
Events that should never have happened—
And yet they were happening again.
“They were aiming for a monster wave…”
‘No doubt. That’s exactly what they were trying to do.’