Chapter 129.

I opened my eyes to a white ceiling .

My mind felt hazy and my vision was foggy .

Was I dreaming? Or did I wake up from a dream?

The boundary between reality and dreams was ambiguous .

However, the smell of cigarette smoke on my body woke up me to the truth . The painful reality that I hoped wasn’t true flooded into my mind .

I couldn’t deny reality no matter how much I wanted to .

“Hng . ”

Chae Nayun sniffled . Letting out a sigh, she looked outside the window . Perhaps because she let out her pent up feelings, the current of emotions that seemed to be eating away at her disappeared, leaving behind calmness .

“You’re up?”

At that moment, a soft voice rang out . Chae Nayun turned to the direction of the voice .

“…Master?”

Yoo Sihyuk’s calm eyes were looking down at her . Chae Nayun stared at him with widened eyes .

Yoo Sihyuk sighed .

“Haa… . You can come back to the mountain whenever you want . For now, take your time and rest . ”

Yoo Sihyuk rarely let go of disciples he accepted . Chae Nayun and Chae Jinyoon were two of the few disciples he acknowledged .

“Ah… . ”

Unaccustomed to Yoo Sihyuk’s kindness, Chae Nayun only stared at him blankly .

“What, got a problem?”

“…No, not at all . ”

Chae Nayun quickly shook her head .

“Good, then­—”

“Actually…”

Chae Nayun cut Yoo Sihyuk off and raised her upper body . Seeing the black mourning clothes she was wearing, she felt her heart throb, but she didn’t want to waste any more time lying around .

“Once the burial ends, I’ll go back up right away . ”

She clenched her fists .

Strong determination and conviction rose up from her heart .

Yoo Sihyuk shook his head with a concerned expression .

“No, you shouldn’t push yourself…”

“I heard he was murdered . ”

Chae Nayun clenched her teeth .

Her father didn’t explain much, only that an unknown assailant attacked Chae Jinyoon .

“…I was told so as well . ”

Chae Jinyoon was one of Yoo Sihyuk’s beloved disciples . The chilling rage he felt was noticeable even by Chae Nayun .

“…Don’t think about taking the matter into your hands, Master . ”

Chae Nayun looked down at her small and calloused hands .

Finally, she found something she had to do with her hands .

Furthermore, it was something only she had the right to accomplish .

“I will find him and kill him myself . ”

“… . ”

Yoo Sihyuk calmly looked at Chae Nayun murmuring in rage .

“Oh right . ”

Suddenly, Chae Nayun widened her eyes as though she remembered something .

“Before then, please give me four days . ”

“…Sure . ”

“Ah, no, maybe a week is better . So um… is a week okay?”

“… . ”

Yoo Sihyuk narrowed his eyes . However, he couldn’t say anything to Chae Nayun, who was doing her best to hide her sorrow and show her anger .

“Just contact me whenever you’re ready . ”

“…Thank you, Master . ”

“Hmph . ”

Yoo Sihyuk got up from his seat and opened the door to leave .

Yoo Yeonha was also walking in .

“Ah, hello, Sir Yoo Sihyuk…”

“I don’t need to be addressed so politely by a kid . ”

“Ak . ”

Yoo Sihyuk poked Yoo Yeonha’s forehead before walking past her . Yoo Yeonha watched him leave with a pout, then approached Chae Nayun’s bed .

“…Yeonha . ”

“Hey, Nayun, are you feeling better?”

“Yeah, I feel a lot better now . By the way…”

Chae Nayun didn’t finish her sentence . However, Yoo Yeonha knew what she wanted to say .

“That person went back home . ”

“Ah… I see . Where’s my smartwatch?”

Yoo Yeonha pointed at the shelf . Chae Nayun grabbed her smartwatch, then grinned .

“Hey, which information guilds are good nowadays?”

It was clear what she wanted to do .

Yoo Yeonha put on a serious face and spoke .

“Leave it to me . ”

Yoo Yeonha announced proudly .

“I’ll take responsibility and find out who did this . ”

“Oh~”

Hearing Chae Nayun’s exclamation of awe, Yoo Yeonha smiled .

“Since we’re friends, I’ll give you a 30% discount . ”

“…What?”

**

Chae Joochul, the president of Daehyun group, had a unique hobby that was famous throughout the world .

His hobby was collecting castles, and Chae Joochul the Immortal already had over a hundred castles of various styles .

“Ho… . ”

In France’s Centre-Val de Loire region was a famous castle Chae Joochul purchased .

This castle called Chateau de Chenonceau was built during the Renaissance and was an important landmark in the city .

As one of Chae Joochul’s favorite castles, it was naturally where he liked to stay . Currently, Chae Joochul was sitting on a throne inside the castle .

“To think this old man would lose his grandson at this age… . ”

Although Chae Joochul was well over 80 years old, no one other than himself would dare to call him an old man .

His abundant white hair was pushed up neatly, and his well-built body was adorned with a luxury suit .

The only thing that made him look like an old man was the cane he carried around with him .

“…Secretary Kim, what do you think I’m feeling?”

Chae Joochul placed the question on his secretary who was bowing in front of him .

“I wouldn’t dare imagine . ”

The secretary answered . Chae Joochul then got up from his throne .

“You’re right . ”

Chae Joochul’s apathetic eyes fell on his secretary . Unable to withstand these eyes, the secretary lowered his upper body even more .

“Shinhyuk should be holding a funeral right now . ”

“Yes, President Chae Shinhyuk is handling the retrieval of the corpse and investigation of the suspect . He said he wanted to take care of it quietly . ”

“…Is that so?”

Koong .

Chae Joochul’s cane knocked on the ground .

“Seeing as how my hot-tempered son is staying quiet, something must have happened to my grandson . ”

Chae Joochul didn’t react coldly at his grandson’s death . Rather, he sounded apathetic .

The secretary asked .

“…What shall we do?”

“Mm… no matter the situation, someone touched the Chae clan’s blood . If I let him off the hook, that won’t reflect very well on me . ”

Chae Joochul’s voice lacked any semblance of emotion . He spoke calmly, as though it was the most natural thing to do .

“Call Yoo Jinhyuk . ”

“Yes, understood . ”

Chae Joochul smiled lightly .

Yoo Jinhyuk . Although he was a member of the Yoo clan, he was kicked out because of a great mistake he committed in the past . But because of his useful ability, Chae Joochul had kept him alive .

Since it looked like he made quite a name for himself, Chae Joochul felt it was time for him to pay back his debt .

“In that case, how shall we gauge the price?”

“…Price?”

For the first time, Chae Joochul’s expression changed, as he furrowed one of his brows .

But soon, in the most relaxed manner, he rubbed his chin as though he was in thought .

“Price, you say…”

Then, he made a sinister laugh and spoke coldly .

“If he dares to ask for a price, tell him to carefully consider why he is still alive . ”

**

Winter .

Four days had passed since Chae Jinyoon’s three-day funeral .

Currently, I was in Seoul Grand Park .

Chae Nayun said she wanted to meet me here . When she said Chae Jinyoon was buried in a memorial in this park, there was simply no way for me to refuse .

“It’s so cold… . ”

I could see my breath as I waited on the bench . Currently, it was 3:10 p . m .

Ten minutes had already passed since our promised time, but Chae Nayun was nowhere to be seen .

“…I shouldn’t have come . ”

I murmured in regret at the poor decision I made .

At that moment, something warm touched my shoulders, and something sharp fell on my head .

“…?”

When I glanced up, Chae Nayun was pressing down on my shoulders with her hands and resting her chin on my head .

“What are you doing?”

“Sorry, were you waiting for a long time?”

“…No, not really . ”

Chae Nayun sat down next to me with a smile, then leaned against my shoulder . Suddenly, she sniffed my clothes and frowned .

“You smell like cigarettes . ”

“…Kuhum . ”

I scratched my neck .

I’ve been addicted to smoking lately . It was worse than when I smoked in the past, which wasn’t too surprising given the situation I was in .

But what surprised me the most was that cigarettes had a temporary effect of raising the perseverance stat . A single cigarette raised it by 0 . 3 points for about an hour . I’ve spent some time to look for the best brand as well .

“But you better not . ”

I couldn’t help but laugh as I said that . I never thought I’d say something so pretentious to a girl .

“But I’m already smoking it indirectly . ”

“… . ”

Without replying to her, I raised my right shoulder, which Chae Nayun was leaning on .

“Ah, ow . ”

Chae Nayun was pushed away .

She glared at me with a pout, then suddenly bit my shoulder .

“Ak, what’s wrong with you?”

“Yummy . ”

“Don’t say strange things . ”

Chae Nayun pulled her head back . I looked at her quizzically and noticed that she was scanning my clothes from top to bottom .

“Hehe, I can see that you chose your clothes carefully . ”

“No, I normally wear these . ”

“Please, you’re usually only wearing the cadet uniform . By the way, they look good on you . ”

We talked as though everything was normal .

Chae Nayun and I both didn’t bring up anything from that day .

“Hey, I’m… going back . ”

Chae Nayun suddenly changed the topic .

“Going back where?”

“To Baekdu Mountain . ”

“…Will you be okay?”

Only a week had passed since Chae Jinyoon died . When I thought about it, I became stifled for breath and my hands began trembling . I could only imagine how bad it was for Chae Nayun .

“Yeah, of course . ”

Even so, she gave such a cheerful reply .

I could at least be somewhat relieved .

However, Chae Nayun seemed to have something else to say, as she poked my shoulder .

“What now?”

“So um…”

“Yeah?”

“…Wait for me for just a month and a half . ”

A month and a half . That was how long Chae Nayun’s training would take .

Knowing what she was implying, I suppressed the throbbing pain in my heart and feigned a smile .

“What’s in it for me if I do?”

“…I can’t tell you that . ”

“Haa . ”

I sighed .

From this point on, everything was an uncharted territory .

It was a story I couldn’t imagine or write down .

I could only wonder how Chae Nayun and I would see each other at the end of this story .

“Don’t worry, I at least won’t run away until then . ”

That was the only assurance I could give her .

“Really?”

It was then .

Chae Nayun wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me in .

Her face filled my vision .

At a distance close enough for our breaths to mix and our noses to touch, Chae Nayun smiled bashfully .

“Then I can be at ease . ”

With that, she placed her forehead on my chest .

After rubbing her head a few times…

“Uuu, you smell like cigarettes…”

She shot up with a frown and turned around .

Although she was trying to hide her face, I could see her bright-red ears .

“Your face is going to explode . What did you do that for?”

“W-What about my face!”

Chae Nayun stuttered .

I made a bitter smile and got up .

Standing side by side, we looked at the park’s scenery .

Under the cold winter sky, the park was bustling with countless people .

**

The news of Chae Jinyoon’s death swept through the entire world . However, Daehyun Group didn’t reveal much information . As a result, only unfound rumors and speculations existed on the web .

Naturally, none of them were even remotely close to the truth .

“Here you go, Kim Hajin-ssi . ”

“Thank you . ”

Today was January 27th .

I came all the way to the post office to receive a letter . It was because Chae Nayun didn’t know my home address and sent her letters to the Seoul Post Office .

Sitting down in front of a desk nearby, I opened the letter .

Although her personality was like a man’s, her handwriting couldn’t be more girly .

[How are you doing? I’m doing fine .

…Well, to be honest, what happened pops into my head every time I sleep . I don’t know if I can last any longer .

But what’s funny is that training is just as hard, so it’s actually making things okay .

Also, the food here is at the 3-star Michelin level . The ingredients are all highest quality because of how rich this place is in mana . It’s super good ㅋㅋ .

Oh right, I tried smoking a cigarette . I stole one from an instructor . ]

“Eh?”

I widened my eyes and continued reading .

[I can’t believe you can smoke this thing . It was so bitter that I threw it away immediately . ]

…Should I say I’m glad?

In any case, I was almost at the end of the letter .

[Can you write back more often? Unlike the others, I can write letters once every four days . I’ll write another one then . ]

When I put Chae Nayun’s letter down, I could see another piece of paper behind it .

It was a blank letter .

If I remembered correctly, this letter was a magical item . Once I wrote something on it, the same thing should be shown on a letter in Baekdu Mountain .

“… . ”

I looked at the letter .

Before coming here, I thought over and over again .

I wasn’t sure if I was I allowed to accept her letters or write to her .

I thought about just running away, disappearing from Chae Nayun’s side .

However, no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t get anywhere…

—Kyaaaaak!

At that moment, a sudden scream rang out .

I looked out the post office window .

“What?”

Monsters were climbing up from the manhole in the middle of the road .

I didn’t expect to see monsters in the middle of Seoul, but I wasn’t too surprised . After all, now was around the time monsters would start appearing more frequently .

“… . ”

I furrowed my brows and observed the world outside .

Since Heroes would arrive soon, I knew I didn’t have to take the matter into my own hands . But at that moment, I caught sight of a vicious-looking mole rat chasing after a kid .

Before I could even think, my body moved .

I left the letter behind and ran out of the post office . At the same time, I took out the Desert Eagle from Stigma .

I pulled the trigger immediately .

The bullet I fired pierced through the head of the mole rat chasing after the kid .

“Sunghyuk!”

The mother of the kid quickly ran over and took him away .

Ordinary people began to scream and run away at the sight of the monsters .

However, I walked in the opposite direction and transformed the Desert Eagle into an assault rifle .

“There sure are many of them . ”

70 or so monsters had already come out of the manhole . Although they all looked different, the strongest one among them only seemed to be at intermediate-rank grade 7 .

That being the case, I aimed my gun forward and fired . I didn’t need to move the gun in any way .

Curve Shot .

The bullets I fired curved in all sorts of angles, flying in all directions . It was as though each bullet was alive and chasing after its prey .

The time it took to kill 70 monsters was no more than one second .

As soon as the gunshot sounds subsided, the road became completely silent .

I infused Stigma’s magic power into the Desert Eagle and put it away .

“…Ah, don’t take pictures . ”

I admonished people who were trying to take pictures . With a slightly disappointed look, they began to furiously type .

I saw something amazing in Seoul—

I saw someone killing monsters with a gun—

They were probably writing things like that .

I couldn’t stop them, and since it was common knowledge that there was a Cube cadet using a gun, I simply returned to the post office .

When I was agonizing over what to do with the letter, an interesting piece of news came up on the post office’s TV .

[Essence of the Strait’s leader, Yoo Jinwoong, let’s his daughter take on important guild matters . ]

[The world’s rank 2 guild, Essence of the Strait, caught in grave arrogation . Suspected nepotism and abuse of authority . The person in question is a 17-year-old minor?]

[Emergency . Monsters have invaded various parts of Seoul’s underground system . Although the danger level is low, civilians are recommended to stay home…]

“Ah . ”

Although the timing was a bit delayed, it finally happened .

But since I already had all the ingredients to prepare a counterpunch, I wasn’t too worried .

In fact, Yoo Yeonha would use this opportunity to purge or placate all opposition, paving way to her absolute rule .

“Haa…”

The more important matter was this letter in front of me .

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