Mission: Black Society
Yoo Wan-seop, seated in the passenger seat of the jeep, opened the lid of the wooden box.
Kim Jun watched the guild master's face closely. He didn't want to miss the expression the moment he laid eyes on the White Spear.
There was no change whatsoever.
Not even a flicker in his eyes.
It was a completely different reaction from the team members—or himself—when they'd first seen the spear. It seemed even an item worth tens of billions wasn't enough to surprise this man.
Well, he's the top Raider in the country, after all.
He recalled an interview he'd seen once.
In it, Yoo Wan-seop had declared his goal: conquering an S-rank dungeon raid. Korea had only one such dungeon, in Daejeon.
To Kim Jun, who was just now challenging a D-rank dungeon, Yoo Wan-seop was a towering mountain of a figure.
A man worth aspiring to.
Having such a person as guild master right by his side was a stroke of luck.
The master looked at Kim Jun.
Kim Jun gave a very brief explanation of how the spear had arrived at the raid center via courier.
"Hm."
Yoo Wan-seop scratched his chin with his finger.
The White Spear floated up into the air. He'd lifted it with a burst of internal energy.
In midair, the spear began to rotate slowly, like the Earth.
Yoo Wan-seop extended his left hand and gripped the spear.
No flash erupted. No light poured out.
"The spear itself is fine. It's pristine. Whoever sent it must be one hell of a fan."
"There was something a bit strange that happened."
"What was that?"
Kim Jun confessed to touching the spear on the way to Association HQ. He also detailed how Yeon Chung-jae's memories had surfaced as a result.
The master held out the spear.
The moment Kim Jun cautiously grasped the pure white orb, light poured forth.
A refreshing energy seeped in, and in an instant, he was no longer in the jeep's driver's seat... He stood in that forest.
Squirrels scampered along the branches overhead. One leaped from a branch here and landed lightly on another tree branch nearly two meters away.
Droplets of water rustled down from the leaves.
A shout rang out.
Kim Jun walked toward it and saw Yeon Chung-jae practicing the Yeon Ga Shipil Geom.
He was still stuck at the final stance.
"Oh ho, interesting."
A voice from behind.
Kim Jun turned and was at a loss for words.
There stood Yoo Wan-seop. Even more astonishing... was his right arm. The arm he'd lost on Devils Day was intact.
Sensing the gaze, the master spoke.
"This is Yeon Chung-jae's memory, but it's also a space created by my subconscious."
"...How did you get in here?"
"The world is wide, and there are many skills."
It meant he had a skill that let him worm his way into someone else's thoughts.
"Can I learn that too?"
"More importantly..."
Yoo Wan-seop stepped forward, arms crossed, observing Yeon Chung-jae as he trained.
He turned to Kim Jun, staring intently.
"To me, it's blurry—just outlines. The scenery here looks like a watercolor painting. To you, it's vivid, right?"
"Yes."
"Yeon Ga Shipil Geom?"
The master pointed at Yeon Chung-jae with his finger.
Kim Jun nodded.
"Fascinating. For now, let's leave it at that and get out."
"I still don't know how to leave."
"Is that so?"
Yoo Wan-seop suddenly closed in. The speed was so blinding that Kim Jun had no time to react.
Thud.
A fist buried in his abdomen.
The moment excruciating pain flooded in, the forest's scent and humid air vanished.
"...That hurts."
Pain lingered in his gut.
"I hit you so it would."
For some reason, emotion laced the words. Kim Jun furrowed his brow.
What did I do wrong? Oh, right—I touched the spear without showing it to the guild master first! That's why he's mad.
Yoo Wan-seop used his internal energy to maneuver the spear back into the box and close the lid.
Then he looked at Kim Jun.
"Why does the spear only react to you?"
"I'm wondering that too."
"It's been imprinted."
Kim Jun stared at the master. He wanted to know what "imprinted" meant.
"You're its owner now. They probably got hold of some hair or blood of yours and had the spear absorb it."
Kim Jun was too stunned to speak.
So, this "big fan" had obtained his hair or blood and fed it to the spear.
How had they gotten his hair or blood?
"You've been in the hospital often, so it wouldn't have been hard. The real question is why they'd go to such lengths just to send you the spear. That's the key."
The master watched Kim Jun.
Kim Jun realized immediately that he was expected to provide an answer.
He didn't need to think deeply. Recalling the changes from the spear brought the answer popping up.
"...Because of the memories?"
"Bingo."
The master smiled faintly.
Kim Jun didn't smile.
The person who'd sent this White Spear... knew that Yeon Chung-jae's memories had transferred to him via the Thunder Brain Sword. The White Spear would greatly aid in absorbing those memories quickly, but what was their goal?
"If they can move them once, they can do it twice."
The master's words cleared his mind.
And at the same time, a tightness gripped his chest.
Someone with the resources to courier a White Spear... was targeting him—no, the memories of Yeon Chung-jae within him.
And only a tiny few knew that fact.
How had they found out?
"Don't waste your energy worrying about it. Leave that to me. You focus on the Sokcho raid. Understand?"
"Yes, Master."
He answered, but his mind was still a tangle.
"Whoever it is, they won't touch you until you've recovered most of Yeon Chung-jae's memories. You have to wait patiently for a ripe, sweet watermelon. Be grateful instead. You needed a breakthrough anyway. No matter their scheme, just get strong enough."
Those last words struck home.
Just get strong enough!
His swirling thoughts cleared in that instant. It didn't matter who sent the White Spear or why. If he grew far stronger than now, the problem would vanish.
How could he get stronger?
Right now, he wanted to master Jungchwi as soon as possible.
"I want to learn Jungchwi, but I don't know how to train it."
"The second stance of the Yeon Ga Shipil Geom, right?"
"Yes."
"I can help with that. There's a separate sword for mastering chwi. I have one at home. Let's go."
The master really is a swordsmanship expert!
* * *
On the drive home, Yoo Wan-seop pondered the one who'd sent the White Spear, over and over.
The first name that came to mind was 'Yeon Un-jae.'
Patriarch of Yeon Ga, and Yeon Chung-jae's brother.
Yeon Un-jae had already kidnapped Choi Min-su's son to reclaim the Thunder Brain Sword. Once isn't hard; twice... thrice is human nature.
The issue was Yeon Un-jae's recent actions.
Yeon Un-jae had given Kim Jun the Yeon Ga armor, which he'd kept secret for so long. Sure, there was the condition of fighting a challenger once a year, but it didn't change the fact that Kim Jun could use the painstakingly crafted armor freely.
Why?
The reason was obvious.
To use Kim Jun to provoke Yeon Ga's Raiders.
As a result, Yeon Ga's martial artists were already training furiously for next year's challenge.
Not only that—Yeon Un-jae had even taught Kim Jun the Cheon Noe Byeok skill.
A skill even current heir Yeon Jong-ho hadn't learned.
Looking at this series of decisions, Yeon Un-jae had clearly planned to use Kim Jun long-term.
It didn't fit with sending the White Spear to accelerate memory absorption, then swooping in to steal Yeon Chung-jae's memories... like some shadowy figure.
If not Yeon Un-jae, then who?
A second name surfaced.
'Mae Gyu-pil.'
As Yeon Un-jae's client, he knew Yeon Ga well and had been acquainted with Yeon Chung-jae. He could've pieced it together from the Thunder Brain Sword Kim Jun acquired in the dungeon and the changes afterward.
No hard evidence, but the hunch was strong.
Information is priceless, but when data is scarce, you lean on intuition.
If Mae Gyu-pil was targeting Kim Jun, was killing Oh Jae-gyu about silencing a whistleblower?
How did he know?
If it was a hit, who ordered it?
If Mae Gyu-pil was an assassin, there must be a sophisticated organization behind him. Could it be tied to the Black Society?
Did Mae Gyu-pil send the White Spear on his own, or on orders from his backers?
The questions chained endlessly.
He arrived home without clear answers.
Pressing a button opened the garage door.
Yoo Wan-seop parked the Rolls-Royce inside and headed to the underground training room via the living room.
Kim Jun followed.
Yoo Wan-seop pushed open a door in the wall and pulled out a long, thick metal lump standing inside.
Typical training swords weighed around 3 kilograms.
Real combat swords were 1 to 1.5 kilograms.
Cheongmyeonggeom was on the heavy side at 2.3 kilograms. But this monstrosity, barely worthy of being called a sword, weighed a full 33 kilograms.
This heavy sword, infused with dense wyrium and ulpian, was a grotesque custom job Yoo Wan-seop had commissioned from an item maker.
Lifting it after so long sent a tingling buzz through his wrist and elbow.
He'd once swung it like a whirlwind.
"Here, catch."
Yoo Wan-seop tossed the heavy sword lightly.
It spun several times in the air, flying toward Kim Jun.
The moment Kim Jun caught it one-handed, his wrist buckled.
33 kilograms of force. The off-center weight made his whole body wobble, and he hurriedly gripped it two-handed. His face stiffened, caught completely off guard.
Yoo Wan-seop barely suppressed a laugh.
Why was it funny?
The scoundrel who'd stolen his daughter's heart was in a spot of trouble—how could he not laugh?
The punch to the gut when exiting Yeon Chung-jae's memory... He'd belatedly realized it carried an angry father's emotions.
He couldn't tell his daughter.
She'd just give him that disappointed look, like I thought you were different, Dad.
So instead, he'd torment this guy.
Until the father's heart eased over losing his daughter, the kid deserved it.
"How is it?"
"...It's really heavy."
"Once you can swing it like the Thunder Brain Sword, Jungchwi will come easily."
Kim Jun fell silent.
When he didn't understand something or needed explanation, he'd shut his mouth and stare like this.
Yoo Wan-seop liked that attitude.
Speaks little, knows patience, stays focused—all virtues to cultivate.
But thinking of Min-jeong made the virtues vanish, highlighting flaws that needed fixing right away.
Separate guild master duties from personal.
"Three elements matter in mastering martial arts. First: imagery. You need a vivid image to move internal energy. For Jungchwi, find how to operate Thunder Brain Technique yourself—like you did for Po-noe Strike."
"Got it."
Kim Jun's eyes sparkled.
"Second: the body. Even with perfect imagery, you need a body forged for real combat to wield a swift sword. This heavy sword will help condition your frame and muscles. Third: experience. Hard to explain in words. Follow me."
Yoo Wan-seop led Kim Jun to the adjoining room in the training hall.
Two simulators sat inside.
"Get in."
Yoo Wan-seop mounted one first.
A massive stele was engraved with 'Daecheong Peak,' beyond which snowy mountains stretched like raging waves into the distant white clouds.