Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: 044. Difference (2)
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In a certain underground cave in China.
Amid rows of massive glass tanks, three people(?) were having a meal.
Suddenly, the man with hollow sockets where his eyes should be paused, setting down his utensils.
A bug with its head burst open was pushed out from the empty eye socket by other bugs.
The man caught it.
One of the eleven Homunculus alchemists.
The Insect Master's alchemist, Zhukov, opened his mouth.
"The puppet is dead."
At Zhukov's words, the woman in a cheongsam slit high enough to bare her thighs sliced into the blood-soaked meat with her long nails, replying without a hint of emotion.
"Of course. With all that commotion in Korea and no contact, it had to be."
Zhao Lin, the Face-Changing alchemist, had lips reddened further by the meat's blood.
"All it knows is playing with dolls—can't do anything right. So, what's the cause of death? Who did it?"
Staring into empty space with his eyeless gaze, Zhukov replied to Zhao Lin's question.
"Unknown."
"What? The bug said nothing?"
"No. 'Uncertain' is more accurate."
Saying that, Zhukov popped the dead bug into his mouth and rolled it around on his tongue like he was savoring a dish.
As if trying to discern something.
Then, he recited the fragments of emotions and information felt by the connected bugs, one by one.
The information from the bug was fragmentary.
Zhao Lin furrowed her brow at Zhukov's words.
There was a word that shouldn't have been there.
"Flight? The puppet ran away? Even with the marionettes prepped in the lab?"
Swallowing the bug he'd been savoring, Zhukov replied.
"Probably."
"If it was gonna die, it should've at least self-destructed. Doing something so pathetic and embarrassing all by itself. What, did a Single Number show up? Not White Flame or Chris, I bet."
"Unknown. Whether it clashed with another Single Number-tier Hunter or one of the Slayer archbishops. The problem is our plan to strike Pentagram has gone awry."
"Hmph. Wasn't expecting much anyway. That guy in Korea—Kim Gunja, was it? Lucky bastard. Stumbles on the lab right after the puppet flees and dies, instantly becomes a hero."
"Not just a failure, but stupidly paving the way for others before dying."
"Any new candidates to replace it?"
"We'll see."
"Tch, annoying."
Grumbling irritably, Zhao Lin glanced at the fat man gorging himself beside her.
Chomp, chomp.
"Heehee, heeheehee, heeheehee."
"Ugh, seriously. Hey, stop drooling."
Zhao Lin kicked Chao Chao, the Chaotic Flesh alchemist, with her pale leg.
Thud, thud, thud.
Bouncing across the cave floor like a rubber ball, he still kept shoving food into his mouth.
Disgusted, Zhao Lin set down her meal.
"Ruined my appetite. For real. I'm going out for some fine dining."
"Don't cause a scene. Things here are nearly wrapped up."
"Try not to treat me like one of those puppet idiots or the fatty."
"I trust you."
Snorting at Zhukov's words, Zhao Lin flicked her long nails a few times.
Her facial skin split grotesquely in places, peeling off to the floor.
Beneath it emerged the face of a stunning beauty.
"Shall I go with this one today?"
Licking her lips with a red tongue, Zhao Lin flashed a seductive smile and headed out of the cave.
To enjoy city delicacies and procure fresh test subjects.
A month had passed since his discharge.
Today, as always, Kim Gunja cleared a B-rank gate, then excused himself from the after-work drinks under the pretext of training and slid into the car.
"To Hero Guild."
"Yes, sir."
Choi Jinseung, behind the wheel, had streaks of gray in his hair lately.
And unlike a month ago, his once-thick mane had thinned considerably.
Seemed like hair loss was setting in.
Noticing, Kim Gunja asked,
"Got a lot more grays. Been stressed lately?"
Choi Jinseung bit the inside of his cheek hard at the question.
It irked him that Kim Gunja knew exactly who was to blame yet asked anyway.
Over the past month, Choi Jinseung had made time to visit Kim Gunja's friends, seeking forgiveness with apologies.
Door-slams were standard, salt showers and water buckets not uncommon.
He'd penned heartfelt letters, sent pricey gifts regularly—but they all ended up in the trash.
Moving people's hearts wasn't like solving math problems with neat formulas; for someone like Choi Jinseung, it felt not just hard, but impossible.
His mental stress lately was indescribable.
Every day felt like headbutting bare ground or throwing eggs at rocks.
The agony of approaching first despite knowing the abuse only those who've endured it could understand.
"Want a hint?"
At the offer of a clue to this unsolvable puzzle, Choi Jinseung perked up.
"No answer? If you don't want to..."
"I'm all ears."
Kim Gunja chuckled at Choi Jinseung's uncharacteristic eagerness.
"Think about what you really want."
"...?"
"Not the apology you want, but the one my friends want. Reflect on how you've acted this past month."
At Kim Gunja's words, Choi Jinseung blanked out, then gasped in realization.
"Th-thank you."
"Now focus on driving."
"...Got it."
Watching Choi Jinseung refocus on the road, Kim Gunja thought he was sharp-minded, no doubt.
Grasping the meaning from a single phrase.
'Problem is he's only used that brain for bad."
Leaving the driving Choi Jinseung behind, Kim Gunja checked his status as usual.
Reaching A-rank had definitely slowed base stat growth.
A month in, no major changes.
But other areas had advanced significantly.
'Heaven-Shattering Sword and Divine Art each leveled up once, and Shadow Arts, Shadow Body, and dagger arts rose quickly too.'
The sword and divine art growth came from training focused on maximizing 'Descent' sensations.
Shadow arts, body, and daggers leveled fast too—thanks to black mana absorption from hunts, but also heavily to Shadow Lord Stein's guidance.
'Like in that siege last time...'
Stein never used investor alarms.
But whenever Kim Gunja wielded Heaven-Shattering Sword well, he'd issue special quests to impart his techniques.
— Special Quest! The Shadow Lord deems your dagger skills too crude! Use daggers to...
— Special Quest! With five fingers, why only three daggers? The Shadow Lord is frustrated! Wield four daggers simultaneously...
What to call it?
Felt like scolding for inadequacy, but the rewards fueled Kim Gunja's growth, so it wasn't unwelcome.
Stein steadily offered advice on shadow arts and daggers via special quests.
'Boosted sync rate and related levels nicely.'
Sync rates: Ma Ilcheon's Right Arm at Lv 8, Stein’s Left Leg at Lv 4.
Kim Gunja hadn't spent points on Customizing Room upgrades, saving them.
'About 20,000 points now.'
Huge compared to 2,000 in half a month before.
Hero Guild and Baek Jincheon's support made it possible.
Kim Gunja's quick A-rank rise and Homunculus incident resolution prompted Baek Jincheon to ramp up aid.
No reason to stint when every investment yielded results.
Kim Gunja took all support as magistones: ~6,000 from hunts and quests, 14,000 from guild.
'Sell the hero-grade artifact from Monjiro for magistones, and...'
Upgrade within the month, he calculated.
'Not sure about perks this time, but...'
Beyond perks, one exciting prospect.
Over the month visiting Customizing Room, Kim Gunja recalled Austin's words.
Austin was confident.
Lv 3 materials would exceed imagination.
On Ma Ilcheon, unlike before, Austin gave a rough answer.
"— Can't discuss investors/debtors, but Descent-unlocked info is fine.
— Descent needs prerequisites, like investor-master sync rate.
From that, Kim Gunja hypothesized:
'Higher sync strengthens me as master, but boosts investor's 'authority' or 'stake' too.'
Enabling investors to 'demand' things from masters.
Perhaps manifesting as physical changes.
Vague guesses, nothing solid yet.
Recalling Ma Ilcheon's final words, Kim Gunja rested briefly in the car.
For the training ahead.
Hero Guild.
As Kim Gunja entered the lobby, Hunters greeted him warmly.
"Hey, at it again today?"
"Who's the sacrifice today?"
"By rotation, Team 7? Team 11 got smashed yesterday."
A month in.
Now publicly known, Kim Gunja was a beloved rookie in the guild.
No, a full-fledged fellow Hunter.
No one was unaware of his training mania.
It started with Team 8.
After sparring Kim Gunja, they groaned about aches the next day.
Next, Team 9 via smirking Guildmaster Gil Jiho's intro met the same fate.
Then Team 12.
Dojo-crawling(?), yet Kim Gunja always polite.
Diligent, courteous, never grimacing despite endless hunts and spars—no Hunter hated him.
Kim Gunja smiled back.
"Team leader Kim Jiyong of Team 6 agreed to help today."
Laughter erupted.
"Gonna hit Team 5 for real?"
"Eh, upper echelons are too much. Different league."
"True..."
Referring to Hero Guild's top five teams, core forces.
Kang Inhyeok was in one, away on US expedition.
As Kim Gunja greeted Hunters and headed to the training room.
Thud, thud.
A tall middle-aged man entered the front gate, flanked by a man and woman.
Striking appearance.
Ponytailed long hair, three swords dangling left and right.
"Huh? Hey! That guy..."
"M-my god..."
"No way...!"
Ignoring the gasps, Sword Saint Jin Wei paused.
Right before Kim Gunja.
"Hoo..."
Interest lit Jin Wei's eyes.
"A swordsman's sword, building its own domain. Rare these days."
Probably Chinese.
Six swords made identity obvious.
Even without, Kim Gunja would've known.
An absolute powerhouse.
His 'domain' warped and invaded by the opponent's.
As Jin Wei eyed Kim Gunja curiously,
The woman beside him asked in Korean,
"Do you know where Hunter Kim Gunja is?"
All Hunters' gazes snapped to Kim Gunja.
Jin Wei's casual curiosity sharpened intensely.
As if itching for a sword clash right then.