Chapter 39

A Crisis Can Be Created

Time flowed like water.

Training was repeated.

Dungeons were visited regularly.

[You have acquired ‘Green Lizard Tail’ (C-grade).]

[You have acquired ‘Crime Wolf Fang’ (D-grade).]

[You have acquired ‘Crime Wolf Claw’ (D-grade).]

[You have acquired ‘Cursed Quiver’ (D-grade).]

…….

All the miscellaneous materials obtained from the Dungeon went into the alchemy furnace.

Iron ingots, silver ingots, thread, cloth, leather, and so on.

Stockpiling materials for future item crafting.

And raising Bone Six’s proficiency.

Truly killing two birds with one stone.

‘Let’s take it slow.’

The Old Man was sulking for a while.

But after I gave him two massages in a row, he was miraculously cured.

Ah.

Not just miraculous, is he really a ghost?

“You rascal.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Don’t daydream. How many more times do I have to explain that immersion is the most important thing in any training?”

Indeed, the Old Man was a ghost.

A ghost who had even awakened mind-reading.

Whoosh!

I swung my sword.

Today, I was back to building proficiency in ‘Slashing.’

Raising the grade of a single skill was not an easy task.

‘Chop’ (C-grade).

My level of slashing was still insignificant and humble.

“Huff, huff!”

I was pouring sweat and swinging my arms like crazy when.

“You rascal.”

The Old Man stopped me.

“Huff, what is it again? I was in the middle of concentrating.”

“There are only 5 minutes left, you rascal. So, I have a question for you.”

The Old Man narrowed his eyebrows.

Judging from his expression, he seemed to have something he wanted to say.

Clang!

I also placed the bone sword borrowed from Bone One on the floor.

There was plenty of time to train anyway.

The conversation with the Old Man, which I could only have for 1 hour a day, was more precious to me.

“Yes, please speak, Elder.”

“I’ve been wanting to say this for a while, but that girl over there. The girl who challenged me.”

“Gi So-yul, you mean?”

“Yes, how long are you going to keep her by your side?”

“…….”

The Old Man continued calmly.

“You need to become stronger. You may think you’ve become strong now, but you’re still not even close to Myriad skills’s toes. But, you have an inappropriately strong presence guarding you right now.”

“Are you saying there’s no crisis?”

A weed that grows in a harsher environment than a greenhouse flower is tougher.

Was that what he wanted to say?

However.

“Hmm, Gi So-yul has a promise with me, but… she’s staying because she wants to, too?”

More accurately, it’s because of you, Old Man.

I swallowed those words inwardly for no reason.

Swish!

I felt Gi So-yul’s presence nearby.

She must have been bothered when her name came up.

But she wouldn’t be able to hear the Old Man’s voice anyway.

“You have to send her back somehow. You, who received the ‘Han’ of me and Tae Yang-chang, aren’t afraid of getting hit by someone, are you? You can do that much, can’t you?”

“That’s true, but…….”

Actually, it is.

The guys who are after me.

Honestly, I don’t even care about them these days.

It’s already a headache just focusing on my training and Bone Six’s proficiency.

“A talent will reveal itself in due time. No matter how much you cower, the world will recognize you and be jealous of you. Are you just going to hide behind someone every time?”

“Elder…….”

I opened my lips.

“Do you… want me to show myself to the world?”

I am currently hiding my grade.

I am not doing any activities and only focusing on training.

Training ground, Dungeon, training ground, Dungeon, repeated.

Especially in the case of Dungeons, I moved in a way that would not reveal myself as much as possible.

The Old Man didn’t seem to like that.

“Yes, that’s right. You rascal. If you do that, you will have something to protect. And you wouldn’t be talking about learning the craft of a weak blacksmith.”

“Huh?”

This Old Man, could it be.

Is he still sulking?

If that’s the case, he’s really petty.

“But, it’s okay.”

“What is?”

“I also learned a lot this time.”

“Suddenly?”

I tilted my head.

“Actually, I was also overlooking the fact that the world I lived in and the world you live in are different.”

“…….”

“If it was a world where items were made with just one skill, I wouldn’t have stopped you back then.”

Ah, that’s right.

I had shown the Old Man Bone Six’s refining and alchemy process.

I still can’t forget the Old Man’s shocked expression at that time.

“This world is more mysterious and dangerous than the world I lived in.”

“Why?”

The Old Man stroked his chin at my question.

“Both me and Tae Yang-chang were absolute beings in one world during our lives. Beings without rivals. No one could interfere in my world.”

“But here…….”

“Yes, it’s a place where countless other worlds are intertwined. And that’s not all? It’s a world where Transcenders intervene in the name of ‘Skills.’”

Transcender.

That’s what the Old Man was calling the System.

‘That’s right.’

We don’t know the existence of Transcenders.

Just like ants in a laboratory cannot know the existence of scientists.

We can only speculate that they are beings from another dimension, or ‘Gods.’

The Old Man must be dumbfounded.

Hunters who don’t even know ‘Ki.’

Are using the Essence of enlightenment that can only be obtained through decades of effort with just one ‘Skill.’

“Therefore, you must become stronger than me. You must become more great. In order to prove that Myriad skills is the strongest, you must exist solely above not only my world but all worlds.”

“I see.”

I nodded.

Because I understood why the Old Man was saying those words.

‘He’s impatient.’

I don’t know why the Old Man is so obsessed with ‘strength.’

There may be some reason, or it may just be an infinite pride in Myriad skills.

‘One thing is certain.’

The Old Man’s will and my will coincide.

In addition, the Old Man is a much more experienced and stronger being than me.

That alone is enough to follow him.

“Okay.”

The decision was quick.

The only thing the Old Man wanted.

Was to get out of Gi So-yul’s protection.

“But.”

“But?”

The Old Man turned his head.

“That medium Dungeon, you know?”

“Are you talking about the root of racial conflict or something?”

“Yes.”

[Item: Root of Racial Conflict]

[Grade: A]

[Type: Medium]

[Description: A root that can uncover the secrets of a hidden ruin.]

[Effect 1: Can open the Dungeon, ‘Forest and Rock.’]

[Effect 2: Item bound to Hunter, ‘Ju Dong-hoon.’]

[Effect 3: This item can be activated from Hunter grade C or higher.]

A-grade medium.

Now that I’ve become a C-grade Hunter, I can challenge it enough.

I opened my mouth.

“I’ll challenge it right away. If there doesn’t seem to be a crisis, I’ll create one. The difficulty is tough, isn’t it?”

The last Dungeon was B-grade.

The difficulty was Tae Yang-chang.

A difficulty of ‘Unmeasurable.’

Honestly, I was nervous.

How difficult will this Dungeon be?

How much more will it make me grow?

“Haha, you rascal. You’re finally starting to understand me.”

The Old Man nodded, seemingly satisfied.

“I was waiting for those words to come out. You may gladly leave.”

Gi So-yul surprisingly understood easily.

“Hellhound is a cowardly Ranker.”

“…….”

“That’s why he’s cautious. As long as the Seoul Five Stars are still strong, he will never appear in front of Hun.”

Actually.

If it weren’t for Hellhound.

Gi So-yul’s protection is a bit excessive.

“Thank you for protecting me so far.”

“Don’t mention it. I got help as much as you did. It was also a promise.”

“Still, I’m grateful.”

I bowed my head with all my heart.

Even though we’ve gotten a little closer these days, a Ranker is a Ranker.

And.

Even with billions of won, it’s hard to get a Ranker’s protection.

“However.”

Gi So-yul said.

“Yes.”

“You must let me observe the training whenever I want.”

“Hmm? You can observe it whenever you want, can’t you?”

She is a Ranker.

She is at a level where she can hide and watch without being noticed by someone like me at the current level.

Of course.

“You want me to watch secretly? That’s not polite.”

Gi So-yul next to me was a very strict person to herself.

Well, I nodded.

“Yes, then tell me every time you come. It doesn’t matter much since you’ve seen it so far anyway.”

“And there’s one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“You must ask Parang for help whenever a crisis strikes.”

“…….”

“I’m saying this out of concern, but Hun is sometimes unreasonably reckless.”

“……I’m sometimes reckless.”

I scratched the back of my head.

Certainly.

There were many dangerous moments without Gi So-yul.

Both in the Dungeon and in Seonyudo.

“You must remember. Hun’s opportunity is not only Hun’s. Surely I have a stake in it too.”

“……Okay. I understand.”

It’s a big advantage for me if I can make her my ally.

And a reliable ally.

For her too.

If I die, she will lose the clue to her blocked skill improvement, so it will be certain.

“Then be careful.”

With those words.

Swish!

Her figure disappeared like snow melting.

It was a mysterious technique no matter how many times I saw it.

“Hmm.”

After she disappeared, I took a short break.

I took the root out of my pocket.

“I was told to plant this in the ground?”

Root of Racial Conflict.

As I planted the medium in the training ground with my energy.

Rumble!

At the same time as the space shook, trees began to grow rapidly.

The roots supported the floor.

The pillar grew to create a ‘door.’

[Would you like to activate the ‘Root of Racial Conflict’?]

[You can open the Dungeon, ‘Forest and Rock.’]

[Caution!]

[This Dungeon is a 1-person Dungeon.]

Thump, thump.

My heart was beating.

What kind of trials await me beyond that ‘door’?

No one can be sure.

I can’t get advice from anyone.

It felt like looking into the abyss.

If it were a normal Hunter, they would be very scared.

But.

‘I don’t back down.’

If I worry, I’ll shrink back.

There’s only one answer anyway.

It’s better to jump in and face it without worrying.

‘Whatever trials come, I’ll overcome them and become stronger.’

Flash!

A dazzling light occupied my vision.

“Hmm.”

An office inside a luxurious building.

A man in a black suit was sitting in his seat, holding his chin.

[Director Shin Jong-oh]

The man’s name was Shin Jong-oh.

A C-grade Hunter and the grandson of the chairman of Oseong Group, one of the top 10 companies in Korea.

He was grinding his teeth at the news that his favorite Ranker, Gi So-yul, was in love with someone.

“Have you investigated Ju Dong-hoon?”

“Yes, I have.”

Opposite him, a woman who appeared to be his secretary raised her glasses.

“There was some difficulty in approaching him because of Dark Emperor…….”

“Don’t worry. Gi So-yul, she can’t hurt me anyway.”

No matter how powerful Parang is.

Oseong Group is also a big whale.

They weren’t on such bad terms that they would bleed to fight.

The secretary cleared her throat.

“Ahem, according to the investigation, his movements were simple.”

“Really?”

“Yes, he only went back and forth between the training ground in the back mountain and the Goto Mall underground shopping center every day. The Dark Emperor’s guard became more fierce at other times…….”

“Hmm, wait a minute.”

Shin Jong-oh’s eyebrows went up.

“Goto Mall? Did he get some money or something?”

“I don’t think so. The place he goes to is called ‘Smith’s Blacksmith,’ which is a workshop concept where novice production workers rent expensive equipment.”

“A production worker…….”

Shin Jong-oh’s brow furrowed.

‘What is it? Is he some kind of special production worker?’

Could it be.

Is that why Gi So-yul is interested?

“Phew.”

He let out a short sigh.

Anyway, he was relieved.

Whatever his Unique Ability is, he is a C-grade Hunter.

Even if he fights, he won’t be embarrassed by a production worker.

His vigilance eased slightly.

At the same time, anger rose.

‘I was pushed back by a mere production worker?’

Clench!

Shin Jong-oh clenched his fist.

‘Keke, I should start taking care of him.’

A bitter smile appeared on his lips.