Purchase shards
Balance: 
0
0<SYSTEM: You’ve killed the Gate Boss ‘Sehun.’ You gained 5,931,476 (+30%) experience points.>
<SYSTEM: As a reward from ???, you gained 2,965,708 (+30%) additional experience points for 50%. Your experience is full.>
<SYSTEM: You leveled up. Your basic stats have increased, and the status window has been updated.>
<SYSTEM: Acquired a Skill Book as a reward for defeating Sehun. You can find it in your inventory.>
<SYSTEM: As a reward from ???, the content of the Skill Book has changed. You can find it in your inventory.>
[Skill Book: Lv. 3 Manacassol]
-Proud flesh is healing, so~ Manacassol! You can heal yourself or the target's wounds by consuming mana. The bigger the damage, the more mana it'll take, but the effect is great. (Cooldown: 72 hours).
[Woah. You got another Skill Book.]
“Hmm, it feels like a product placement instead of a skill, but it'll be useful right away.”
It wasn’t a skill I had heard about before my return.
Looking at the notification, it seemed this was a new reward from the system administrator due to the changed Boss, like in Daeseong Mountain.
I used the skill right away to mend my injured shoulder.
<SYSTEM: Lv. 3 Manacassol was used. Cooldown 71 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds.>
A faint light enveloped me, and in an instant, new skin sprouted over the exposed bone, and the pain disappeared.
It worked pretty well. When I moved my shoulder, there was no resistance at all.
If a large wound was treated with vitality potions, some aftereffects remained, but this skill seemed to have none.
I decided to check the status window now that the heated battle had concluded.
“Status Window.”
[User: Lee Byeong-gi Lv. 46]
[Titles: One at a Time, Two Hearts, Shining SOLO, Faster Than a Rabbit, I Like Popping, Night Hair Starting Point, Blacksmith, Relentless Hunting.]
-Title Effect: (One at a Time) Increases critical strike rate by 10%.
-Title Effect: (Two Hearts) Recharges when magic power is exhausted and reaches 0. (Cooldown 24 hours)
-Title Effect: (Shining SOLO) Increases EXP by 30% when hunting solo.
-Title Effect: (Faster than a Rabbit) Increases attack speed by 10%.
-Title Effect: (I Like Popping) Increases damage taken by the target by 15% when attacking with explosive-type skills.
-Title Effect: (Night Hair Starting Point), (Active) Gives a continuous hair growth effect to a specific area of the designated target.
-Title Effect: (Blacksmith) Additional stats are randomly assigned to crafted items (10% chance).
-Title Effect: (Relentless Hunting) No effect.
[Vitality: 117, MP: 182 (+18.2), Dexterity: 21 (+16.3)]
[Skill: Lv. Max Insight (Passive), Lv. Max Mana Drain (Passive), Lv. Max Advanced Potion Crafting (Passive), Lv. Max Mana Shield, Lv. 5 Enhancement, Lv. 3 Electric Pika, Lv. 3 Manacassol]
With so many titles and skills, I couldn’t read through the status window all at once.
It wasn't like this when I was level 50 before I regressed. I didn't have any titles or additional skills back then, so I couldn't compare it to now.
Just then, I saw Yoo So-eun running closer. There were still quite a few remaining monsters, but she didn't care and came running.
She was hopeless. A character like that was definitely a nuisance.
I let out a sigh.
I used the Heavenly Demon Replication to take down the monsters running toward Yoo So-eun and took her to the side.
“What are you doing? Do you want to die?”
"You're worried about me right now... Mr. Byeong-gi? Your shoulder!”
“It’s no big deal. Don’t worry."
Yoo So-eun made a fuss about it, but it was just a lot of blood. The wound had already healed.
“No big deal? Look how much blood... huh? There’s no wound.”
“I have a healing skill.”
"What? How many skills do you have?”
“Isn’t it more urgent to wipe out the remaining monsters than to discuss this?”
“Ah, I was worried about you—”
“I don’t think now is the time to worry about me.”
“What’s wrong with you? I'm just asking because I'm worried."
Yoo So-eun’s expression became sullen.
***
The Gate was cleared, and the Boss monster was dealt with, but it took two full days to clear out the remaining monsters.
It took time to find and deal with those that had come out of the Gate and hid in the city. Many civilians were also harmed during this process.
The damage inflicted on the hunters during the battle was substantial.
But it was nothing compared to the destruction caused by this event when it had happened in the past.
After the Gate disappeared and all the monsters had been wiped out, the media started to cover the Forest of the Dead incident.
- Ruined Guild Association; Annihilation of the Top-Ten? -
The civil damage was minimal due to the Gate warning system, but the Guild Association is in ruins.
The bodies found at the Association’s HQ are assumed to be the Top-Ten, and the National Forensic Service has been requested to provide DNA analysis.
Around 8 am yesterday, the so-called 'Forest of the Dead' Gate that had been created near the K-Communication Umyeon Research Center in Yangjae-dong decimated the Korea Hunter Guild Association.
According to the Hunter Management Bureau, this Gate surpassed the S-Rank. This S-Rank is a revision of the existing Gate classification system...
…Fortunately, due to the newly developed Gate warning system and the quick response from the Hunter Management Bureau, collateral damage was significantly reduced.
Director Koh Tae-wook asked nearby citizens to move to the nearest shelter immediately upon receiving the national disaster text message from the Gate warning system.
In a recent update, the body of Park Yong-ro (ranking: 4th) was found severely damaged in the ruins of the Guild Association building.
Several of the other bodies have yet to be identified. The National Forensic Service says that forensic test results are expected to be available in two weeks.
Reporter So Yujin
Several articles mentioned the Gate alarm system, the Forest of the Dead Gate, hunters who had become Undead, the emergence of new Monsters, and the Guild Association.
Funnily enough, the Meeting of Nine I had killed became victims of the battle. Though when I handed over the Association's data, Director Koh Tae-wook had strong suspicions about the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
He thought I had killed them. Admittedly, I had.
Anyway, I denied it because I thought it would be a hassle to tell him the truth, but he laughed and said he would take care of it.
That's how Koh Tae-wook intentionally leaked information to the media.
The press accepted it without much doubt because monsters had severely damaged their bodies, and they were strong and numerous enough for it to sound reasonably possible.
Only Park Yong-ro, who died inside the building, was less damaged by monsters.
I crushed him, but it seemed they could identify him because he was so large and distinctive.
The data I collected was related to the Oh Yeong-seok case, and the Meeting of Nine’s fate was made official due to the DNA test.
Korea was once again greatly shaken by this incident. Many people in the political and business worlds were summoned and investigated.
Kim Sujin, Oh Young-seok's secretary, was used as a key witness to prosecute them.
Two years before I quit, which was thirteen years from now, the opposition party mobilized the Taegukgi (Korea's flag) unit again, claiming it was a conspiracy by the ruling party, but... Thinking about it all just brings confusion to my mind; I'd rather just leave the politics alone.
This incident increased public anxiety, as an S-Rank Gate and new monsters had appeared, and the hunters they once relied upon, had all perished.
The Hunter Management Bureau tried to reassure the public by promoting the new Gate warning system, but the anxiety in the general public didn’t go away easily.
On the other hand, in various hunter-related internet communities, there was a debate over the fact that several missing hunters turned into Ghouls.
Director Koh Tae-wook, who had heard about it through me – I hadn't mentioned anything about the Gate or system manager - guessed that it was the Heaven’s Way Guild’s fault but decided to postpone an official announcement until it was clear.
Apart from this, posts saying the rankers should be readjusted began to overflow, and there was a movement to appoint Director Koh Tae-wook as the new top ranker.
Around this time, a video on MyTube, an Internet video site, gained a lot of views.
It was a high-definition video filmed with a drone, and the editing and narration were amazing.
The content of the video focused on me wiping out the Ghouls and Wolf Chimeras, which was in stark contrast to how the hunters were pushed back at the start.
Only the after-images from my Heavenly Demon Replication were visible from the battle, but the moment I had a conversation with Seong-jin was captured and reproduced as a still screen.
Next, there was a scene that compared this to Koh Tae-wook's battle video.
As the number of views was high, I checked some top comments.
Isn't that manipulated?
Whoa, that's cool! That person will be number one in the rankings if this is real.
Right. The top rankers were wiped out.
Koh Tae-wook is still left.
He’s better at fighting than Koh Tae-wook.
That guy is the one who won the B and C-Ranks in the Probies Ranking Matches.
B, C-Ranks combined winner is that strong?
Everyone! You know this is all lies, right? Oh Young-seok and the Association's corruption are all fabricated. Click the link below to see the truth.
You’re getting paid, aren’t you?
Do not click on the link. It's a porn site.
This bastard is also getting paid.
After the video went viral, the netizen investigation team discovered that I belonged to the BnS Guild.
Thanks to that, the BnS Guild and I became famous, and the media requested interviews.
I declined all interview requests but allowed coverage related to the BnS Guild.
Seong-jin took advantage of this opportunity to promote our guild.
And after a few noisy days like that, Director Koh Tae-wook contacted me.
-You should take Oh Young-seok's place.
“Will the other hunters agree?”
-Did you see the video?
"Yeah."
-They must have seen it. All you have to do is measure your magic power again in their presence.
"All right. Please take care of it, sir.”
-Okay. And I think it's better not to form a party for a while. If you become the top ranker at that level, there will be a lot of talk.
“Noted.”
-Thank you. See you then.
I believed that Director Koh Tae-wook intentionally spread that video to stir public opinion.
It seemed he was trying to highlight my existence to put the public opinion to appoint him as a top ranker to rest.
A few days later, I measured my magic power in the presence of other rankers, and it was judged to be above S-Rank.
It was twice the amount of magic power Oh Young-seok had had. That, too, was much higher than the amount possessed by the world's No. 1.
Fortunately, no hunters tried to personally check my level after that.
That's how the ranker rankings in Korea were readjusted. Apart from me and Koh Tae-wook, everyone else's rankings dropped.
There was a suggestion to settle the rankings through a direct battle, but Director Koh Tae-wook quickly shot it down.
There were no rankers who could beat him. The difference in level was too significant.
Anyway, as I made it to S-Rank, Korea became noisy again.
There were still concerns about the level of the Top Ten falling compared to other countries.
However, when it became known that I had more mana than the world's top-ranked player, that concern turned into pride.
It seemed like the world's number one held an official press conference to respond, but I didn't care.
I cut off contact with the outside world due to the annoying media and the stares of the people around me.
[Kukuku. You finally stopped hiding your power like a fool.]
“This way, those targeting me will find me by themselves.”
[That could be a suitable method too.]
“There is just no other way now.”
After the Forest of the Dead case concluded, it was no longer possible to pursue the existence of the Gate Managers or the dark forces Koh Tae-wook talked about.
There were still three major guilds in Japan, but I planned to check them out in the friendly matches between Korea, China, and Japan to be held in Japan in a few months.
Director Koh Tae-wook said he had found evidence related to the Guild Association and Japan's three major guilds but noted that further investigation was impossible.
It was impossible to investigate guilds and hunters in other countries unless it was an on-site arrest.
“There are two months left until the matches. Until then, I will practice.”
[Of course, did you intend to play around?]
“Didn’t you say I was abnormal the other day?”
[Yes. It's clear you're at the beginning of the Harmony Grade, but, indeed, you don't know the basics of martial arts.]
“I want to supplement that before I participate in these upcoming matches.”
[That's a good idea.]
“I want you to pass on martial arts to Seong-jin Hyung and our first team, as well.”
[I don't like that as much. You probably won't have enough time to train... Is there a reason why?]
No grandiose reason, but the Gate Manager’s comments bothered me.
I needed to build up power.
I thought there would be a lot of chances to deal with them in the future.
It wouldn't be a big problem if I became stronger, but I would be at a loss if I were forced to deal with the small fish by myself.
If Lee Seong-jin and Team Seolhwa became stronger through martial arts, they would be able to make up for that, and the risk of them getting injured or killed would be reduced.
I didn't want to see someone I knew get hurt or perish.
Even though the Heavenly Demon agreed with my reasoning, he was still unwilling.
He seemed reluctant to share the martial arts he had accumulated throughout his life with others.
Well, even in the Martial Arts Society, it was extremely rare to pass on one's martial arts to others...
The Heavenly Demon pondered for a while, and then he came up with a solution.
[If that's what you think, let's do this.]
"What?"
[Learn what to teach them first and teach them yourself. And then you’ll correct the imbalance in your martial arts.]
There was a difference between knowing and telling others what you know.
If I taught others and organized the knowledge I learned, I could gain new knowledge in the process.
Through that process, the Heavenly Demon hoped for me to organize my skills and gain new enlightenment.
[That's it. I intend to tear you apart from the foundations. However, it will not be easy as you have already reached such a high stage.]
“It’s what I asked for, so I have to accept it.”
[Now, then, I guess you should start by making an energy center for those kids.]
"You're not telling me to do what I did to Seol-ah before, are you?"
LOGIN TO SEE COMMENTS
