Chapter 606
“Damn it.”
I muttered a curse under my breath and asked urgently,
“What about the casualties? Could it be that the news deliberately withheld the damage…”
I trailed off, unable to finish my sentence.
The recent incidents had been a string of disasters.
Even if they couldn’t compare to Seok Go-jun’s case, if a B-rank Hunter from a terrorist group had absorbed an unrefined A-rank magic stone, it would have caused considerable damage on its own.
And in response to my worry, Magic Johnson replied in a calm tone.
“Whoa, calm down, Jin. The news reports were all true. Thankfully, there was no major damage.”
“Is that really true?”
“There’s no reason for me to lie to you. Right?”
“But how?”
“Because of this incident, the entire world is on high alert. Identity verification and magic stone regulations have become several times stricter, and the terrorist who got caught tried to absorb the magic stone as a last resort. Guess what happened?”
Magic Johnson sipped the mixed coffee from his paper cup and continued.
“The result was simple. The guy couldn’t withstand the power within the stone. By the way, this coffee is great.”
“That’s not the point. If that’s what happened, wouldn’t it have caused a mutation like with Seok Go-jun?”
[Mana] and [Magic] are like water and oil—forces that can never mix. (T/N: Yup, I know its weird. Magic requires mana, right? So I’m not sure what the author implies here but base from the raw material, 마력 (魔力) directly translates to Magic. Unless you guys have other terms I can use. What do you think? )
Even Seok Go-jun, a certified S-rank Hunter who had mastered modern mana cultivation techniques, ultimately couldn’t fully absorb magic.
The real issue was the temporary surge in power that followed—and the mutation waiting afterward.
‘And yet, you’re telling me the result was simple?’
The claim that there was no damage felt even more suspicious.
Then came Magic Johnson’s unexpected reply.
“No. He exploded.”
“…What?”
“Literally. He blew up into pieces. Boom! Bang bang!”
Magic Johnson tapped a spoon against a stone pot and shrugged.
“And that was the end of it. All I did at the scene was shield people from the explosion’s aftermath.”
“In a way, yes. You could definitely call it a suicide bombing. But that was all.”
Hearing that, I murmured internally, coming to a realization.
‘It wasn’t like Seok Go-jun—it only worked because it was Seok Go-jun.’
I had misunderstood from the start.
It was ultimately a matter of capacity—not personality or virtue, but the ability to hold and contain great power.
And in that sense, Seok Go-jun had been a large enough vessel.
He could not only partially absorb the magic but also contain it—if only temporarily.
‘But even Seok Go-jun eventually mutated.’
After absorbing two S-rank magic stones at once, Seok Go-jun’s vessel lost its balance, and mutation occurred.
Had I not intervened directly, he likely would’ve died soon after.
‘So it’s not even worth mentioning for average Hunters.’
The terrorist in today’s news, despite being a B-rank Hunter, couldn’t endure the power and exploded on the spot.
That meant he couldn’t control even a bit of the magic within the stone.
“Hey, Jin. You’ve got that look like you’re finally getting it.”
I let out a short laugh as I looked at Magic Johnson, who was grinning.
“That’s a relief.”
“It is. From now on, unless someone’s a complete moron, no one’s going to try something like that again.”
Magic Johnson had accurately pinpointed the bigger picture.
The lack of casualties in this attack was fortunate, but more reassuring was the fact that this would prevent similar future incidents.
“The terrorist group probably realized it too. To be blunt, this wasn’t a good deal for them either.”
A trained Hunter is a valuable asset, and a magic stone is an energy source of immense value.
We don’t know how the terrorists got their hands on an unrefined A-rank magic stone, but they failed spectacularly today.
They lost both a valuable asset and a magic stone worth billions.
“They’ll likely revise their strategy. Like before, they’ll probably go after helpless civilians using whatever method they can think of. But we can’t let our guard down yet.”
Magic Johnson let out a small sigh and continued.
“The truth is, there’s been some suspicious activity from terrorist groups lately. Especially in Africa and the Middle East—experiments using Gates or magic stones have been reported. This information came directly from the Pentagon, so it’s legit.”
Skeleton King, who had been quietly fiddling with his smartphone without joining the conversation, suddenly perked up his ears.
“Pentagon? Are we going there now? Is touchy-touchy highly likely?”
“…Just to be clear, it’s not a club.”
“Damn it. I thought I was finally going to meet some hot girls.”
Don’t even dream of it, you bastard…
The Pentagon is the U.S. Department of Defense headquarters.
If Skeleton King’s identity were revealed, the Pentagon’s researchers would throw a party overnight—
Of course, it’d be a party of experiments in a highly secured lab, trying all sorts of touchy-touchy with every tool available.
“Hmm. If we took him to the Pentagon, I bet they’d love it.”
“It wouldn’t be so great for you or me.”
“True. We’d probably be charged with violating international law. If the terrorists caused an incident during the trial, it might all be swept under the rug though.”
Life’s never easy.
Solving one problem only brings another, as always.
‘Terrorist groups, huh.’
After the incidents caused by Seok Go-jun became public, the world was shocked into caution—but for terrorist groups, it became just another weapon.
If the intel Magic Johnson received from the Pentagon is correct, they’ll stop at nothing to find a way.
“…Of all times.”
At my muttering, a question mark appeared on Magic Johnson’s face.
“Of all times, what?”
Should I say it or not… I hesitated, then shook my head.
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
“Sounds like something, and I’m really worried now.”
“It’s just… there’s something I’ve been preparing. But after hearing you talk, I’m starting to hesitate.”
“Something you’ve been preparing?”
I gave a small nod.
I hadn’t told anyone yet, but it was something I had decided on after returning to the modern world.
Something I’d prepared for after much hesitation—for myself, and for everyone else.
‘But now things are different.’
After the Great Cataclysm, humanity regained peace, but that didn’t mean the world was peaceful.
With the emergence of mana and the Awakened, the survivors restructured the world according to their own rules, and conflicts that were thought to have ended still continued.
‘No, people even say it’s gotten worse.’
Magic stones had more value and utility than oil, and Gates were mines constantly producing those diamonds.
Naturally, conflicts surrounding them were unending—whether led by corporations, guilds, or rebels.
And terrorist groups in the Middle East were even more dangerous.
They saw awakening as a divine blessing, and used it as proof of God’s existence.
You could argue all you wanted about atheists awakening too, but logic was never going to work on people like that.
‘Warriors chosen by God! Advance!’
‘God wills it!’
Which god and which doctrine told them to do such moronic things, I’ll never know.
But just like singers sing and blacksmiths forge metal, idiots keep doing idiotic things.
Those idiots kept fighting all over the world, becoming either dead or disabled.
And even now, nothing has changed.
‘Fucking bastards.’
Skeleton King is much better in comparison.
He may have started out as a monster, but by now, he’s shown as much sacrifice and dedication as any other Hunter.
‘Good guy.’
With those warm feelings in my gaze, Skeleton King glared at me viciously.
“You just insulted me in your head, didn’t you?”
“…No, I’m speechless.”
“Be honest. I’ll let it slide.”
“Johnson. Can’t we just send this guy to the Pentagon?”
Magic Johnson grinned as he answered.
“Should we?”
“You hear that? You’re done for, you lab rat.”
“Well, now that it’s come to this, going right now doesn’t sound too bad.”
“Tell them to get the pot ready. I’m going to boil some broth out of this guy.”
“I don’t know about the pot, but the lab is always ready.”
For some reason, we were really getting along today.
Magic Johnson smoothly went along with my words, pulling out his staff.
“Well then, now that we’ve eaten, shall we get going?”
“That doesn’t sound ba—wait a sec.”
I had reflexively agreed, but frowned as I sensed the mana circulating through Johnson’s staff.
“Uh… there’s no need to go that far.”
“There’s a Korean proverb, right? If a gay pulls out his magic wand, he has to at least pierce a radish.”
That’s gotta be some weirdly exaggerated interpretation.
I was confused by this so-called traditional proverb I’d never heard before and swallowed nervously.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. Seriously.”
“You’re not joking?”
“Two days ago, the Pentagon officially sent a request. Jin, they want your consultation and assistance—as soon as possible.”
“…What?”
I blinked, then gave a hollow laugh.
“Oh, I get it. This is an American joke.”
Magic Johnson stared at me with the eyes of a profound gay man.
“How’d you know? I never even showed it.”
What the hell is he talking about…
Stunned, I frantically waved my hands.
“…No, I mispronounced. I meant ‘joke.’ A gag.”
“I know. That was my joke just now.”
Magic Johnson flashed his white teeth in a grin and added, “But the thing about the Pentagon—that’s not a joke.”
“Let’s go. Looks like someone else is already prepared, right?”
Following Johnson’s gaze, I turned my head.
With a familiar presence, a man entered my field of view.
Choi Minwoo responded in a calm voice.
“Of course, Mr. Johnson.”