Chapter 740
The essence of a Breathing Technique isn’t only about strengthening Internal Energy.
Clearing out waste that naturally builds up in the body and calming the mind are also among the many benefits a Breathing Technique can provide.
And of course, in a state of ultimate concentration, the five senses are heightened to their limit.
‘This is…’
Step. Step.
Someone’s footsteps sounded like thunder.
The moment I sensed the identity of the uninvited guest lingering outside the door, I gathered my Internal Energy.
[Ding.]
The system notification announcing the end of my Breathing Technique had barely faded when the doorknob behind me moved.
Click.
A strong smell drifted in through the carefully opened door.
Finishing with a long breath, I opened my mouth.
“I thought I told everyone not to come in until I came out. Is the Skeleton King a monster that can’t understand people, or does it just not want to understand?”
The uninvited guest—Skeleton King—hesitated for a moment, then cleared his throat.
“Ahem. How did you know it was me?”
“Presence.”
“Presence?”
“Yeah. It’s like you’re not breathing because you’re already dead.”
“…It’s strangely convincing, but I still feel bad.”
“I don’t need to make you happy.”
I turned around and pulled on the tracksuit I’d carelessly tossed nearby. Skeleton King stood there like a butler, holding a shiny silver tray.
“So, what did you come for?”
Normally, he’d be sulking with his mouth sticking out a mile.
But today was different. He glanced at me cautiously and set the silver tray down on the floor.
“Eat. I brought it myself.”
“I told you not to bring things like that.”
“But haven’t you been starving for more than three days?”
More than three days?
At the unexpected words, I looked around without thinking.
A room sealed on all sides, without a single window. Maybe it was because I came in without my phone. Maybe I just didn’t have the mental space for it.
‘Has it already been that long?’
Humans really are strange. The moment I realized how many days had passed, hunger hit me—late, but sharp.
But…
Do I even deserve to feel hungry?
Thousands were dead, tens of thousands injured. I didn’t know what kind of lives they’d lived, but most of them were innocent.
They were the ones harmed because of what I did. They died, were injured, and lost precious family and friends.
People who had praised me as a hero until recently turned away one by one, and the arrows of blame even struck the people around me.
Just because they were close to me.
‘What went wrong, and where did it start?’
To solve the question that wouldn’t leave my head, I locked myself in here alone. I spent my days in Breathing Technique and contemplation, without eating or sleeping.
And finally, I found an answer.
Not one that solved everything completely, but an enlightenment that let me breathe for a moment.
“It smells good.”
“Huh?”
“Not you. The food.”
Skeleton King stalled at my sudden comment, then replied.
“Uh… yeah. Soybean paste stew and braised short ribs.”
I could tell who made it just by the smell.
Thinking of my mother—who had been worrying and cooking for me these past few days—I lifted the lid covering the tray.
Click.
I stared at the steaming food for a moment, then scooped up the soybean paste stew I hadn’t had in a long time.
And the instant it touched my tongue, I spat it out.
Ptui!
“Huh? Why—why?”
What is this?
Looking back and forth between the flustered Skeleton King and the stew, I asked with a deadpan face.
“Who made this?”
“Your sister.”
“…Ah. I see.”
“Is there a problem?”
A problem. Yeah. A serious one.
But instead of answering, I laughed without meaning to.
I didn’t know why. I just did.
“I’ll eat and go.”
“What?”
“I’m just going to eat this and leave. Oh—and take a shower.”
Skeleton King stared as if he couldn’t process my words, then hurriedly nodded.
“Huh? Uh, okay. Then I’ll…”
“Okay. See you later.”
Watching him close the door and slip away like a thief, I let out another laugh—just as inexplicable as the first.
I set down the spoon and grabbed a piece of braised short ribs, taking a big bite.
Fortunately, the braised short ribs were made by my mother.
===
“I beat up some vicious dogs that were biting people, and now two even crazier dogs showed up.”
Team Leader Choi Minwoo, who had been moving his lips as if to speak at my first words in days, nodded.
“That’s right. Those two crazy dogs bit even more people.”
“Team Leader Choi Minwoo, do you think it’s my fault too?”
“Crazy dogs are crazy dogs. In the end, it’s timing and justification. They would’ve bared their fangs at people anyway.”
“But the result is that I gave them the chance.”
“If you really want to blame someone, blame us too. It’s not like Jin Taekyung did it alone.”
“That’s right. I also made a big contribution in the desert.”
At Skeleton King’s sudden interjection, Team Leader Choi Minwoo shrugged.
“So he says.”
“It’s not about blaming myself. I just need to make it clear.”
Every event has a cause and an effect.
And since so many people died and were injured, I can’t pretend I’m not part of the cause.
I don’t intend to.
“I understand the people who criticize me. I’m grateful to the people who support me.”
“Is that all?”
“No. There’s still the most important thing.”
I continued calmly.
“No matter what the world says, I’m going to catch those crazy dogs.”
Skeleton King’s eyes lit up, and a faint smile appeared on Team Leader Choi Minwoo’s lips.
“You found your own answer.”
“It’s not a complete answer, but isn’t it enough of a reason to keep moving?”
“That’s enough. Then I can tell you some news with a lighter heart.”
“Some news…”
“We’ve been collecting information on Michael Silbert and the Odin Guild since before this incident. The results came in recently.”
Team Leader Choi Minwoo had been tracking the movements of other major guilds even before the Mana Cultivation Method was revealed. With his meticulous personality, that was only natural.
“What is it? Hopefully good news.”
“Unfortunately, there’s bad news too. Which do you want first?”
“It can’t get worse than it already is. Tell me the bad news.”
Team Leader Choi Minwoo chuckled and pulled a thick stack of documents from his drawer.
“I organized it as much as I could, but it’s still enormous.”
“What is this?”
“Information on the assets and businesses the Odin Guild controls. Many of them are hidden.”
“You mean under other names?”
“Yes. There’s no legal connection, but they’re essentially run as Odin Guild subsidiaries. Other major guilds and corporations do this too, but… their scale is on another level.”
I’m basically illiterate in this field, but even I could tell from the thickness alone.
Flipping through pages packed with words and sentences I couldn’t understand, I asked for the closest comparison.
“More than the Ares Guild?”
“You’d have to combine the Ares and Peace Guilds, then add three or four more major guilds on top.”
“Crazy.”
“Just counting the number of Gates the Odin Guild manages that way, it’s over two hundred worldwide. Since they’re permanent leases, they’re practically owned. And a massive amount of Magic Crystal Stones is pouring out through them.”
Even if a lot of it flowed through unofficial channels, owning two hundred Gates was on the level of a small country.
No—considering the Hunters under them, it might be even more.
‘…I wish they were just crazy dogs.’
To be blunt, Michael Silbert wasn’t just a crazy dog.
He was a Tosa among fighting dogs—and a smart one.
‘And he’s still a bastard who needs to be beaten to death.’
As I muttered to myself, a thought suddenly struck me.
“Then is there any chance the Magic Crystal Stones from those Gates were used in this terrorism without being refined?”
“No. At least not on paper.”
“On paper?”
“As Jin Taekyung knows, Michael Silbert is thorough. He has no reason to take the risk of smuggling Magic Crystal Stones, and even if he did, he wouldn’t leave a single opening. The Magic Crystal Stones used in the terrorism likely came from the Middle East or Africa.”
That made sense.
The Middle East and Africa had been hotbeds of terrorism and civil war even before the Great Cataclysm, and somewhere out there, people were still spilling blood at this very moment.
No one knew exactly how many Magic Crystal Stones were coming out of the Gates occupied by terrorists and rebels, or how many were unrefined.
And Michael Silbert wasn’t alone.
He had another crazy dog like himself.
A reliable accomplice.
“Prophet.”
At the name, Team Leader Choi Minwoo nodded grimly.
“We dug into him as well.”
“What kind of guy is he?”
I was genuinely curious.
The lunatic who beheaded the leaders of the two major terrorist groups, united the fractured factions, and shook the world.
But Team Leader Choi Minwoo’s next words fell far short of what I expected.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“Yes. Considering everything, nothing is known about Prophet. He vanished completely after that day’s declaration.”
“Wait. Not even the United States?”
“Not just the United States. The entire world is looking for him, and it’s still the same.”
I blinked, thinking.
Does that make any sense?
The bastard calling himself Prophet stirred up the whole world—and then disappeared without a trace, slipping past every set of eyes.
“Are they hiding it to protect confidentiality, even if they know?”
“I contacted Chuck Hagel a while ago. He swore to God he didn’t know where Prophet was.”
Chuck Hagel—who had been with me in the desert—was the U.S. Secretary of State before he was an S-class Hunter.
Unless he was lying, if the Secretary of State didn’t know, then Prophet had truly vanished into thin air.
‘What the hell is he doing?’
As I frowned, Team Leader Choi Minwoo continued.
“And one more thing. Mr. Johnson contacted me.”
“He said that among Archmages like him, he found someone who likely made contact with Michael Silbert.”
“He said we might be able to pull out more key information through that person.”
At least that was good news.
I hadn’t heard the name yet, but that Archmage would know something about Michael Silbert’s true nature.
A key figure who directly created the A Area of the Ares Guild and knew about Cheon Taemin’s condition.
One of only three Archmages in the world—a new lead.
Or so I thought.
Until Magic Johnson’s voice came through the phone Team Leader Choi Minwoo received shortly after.
– Goddamn it. He’s dead.