Let's Go Home
Let's go home. BOOM!!! Flying debris or shockwaves should've been a nuisance, but I didn't have time to worry about that. I calmed my mana and started tending to my internal injuries. As I gently stroked my meridians, a thick, blackish clot of blood rose up my throat.
"Urk!"
Even with half a dragon's body thanks to Iron Man, here I was in this state. It was beyond ridiculous—utterly absurd. I felt sick to my stomach.
Pseudo Steel Ring... you crazy fuck.
It was a blatant display of Hyun-chung Jin-in's rage, leaping realms like jumping rope without a thought for self-preservation just to land one hit on the Cheonma. What the hell was a Steel Ring? A superb technique only usable in the Fire Realm. He'd manifested it arbitrarily at the peak superb level, foreshadowing the Manifest Realm abilities through some reversal process. My tongue went numb at the sight.
The internal circulation method of One Style Two Extremes Dragon Claw must've been prepared for exactly this. I let out a hollow chuckle and rummaged through my pocket. Amid the trembling, I pulled out a potion at my fingertips and poured it into my mouth. The injuries outside the meridians I'd been controlling with mana gradually improved.
Fuck. Without that dragon bone, I'd be 100% dead after pulling this off...
As I resolved to give Plang some grateful womb-squeezes later, the dust cleared, slowly revealing what had once been the ogre. A massive crater with a swirling sub-crater inside. All that remained, rolling lonely in the center, was one ogre toe.
Tsk. Kinda wasteful.
It was an A-rank boss monster, after all—the corpse alone would've fetched a fortune. The bitter taste lingered as I regretted not grabbing it. Sure, the money sucked, but missing out on boss-grade materials stung the most. I smacked my lips in lingering disappointment when a rustling sound and footsteps made me turn. Park Jisu stood there behind me, eyes wide as saucers, having come down at some point.
"O?! You saw that? Heh heh."
"Cr-crazy fuck..."
Her eyes trembled, but those endlessly upturned lips made her pride in me crystal clear. Having witnessed my power firsthand, she'd realized I was way beyond a simple A-rank.
"Heh heh. Now you get how great your hubby is, right?"
"Nyaaang."
"Bullshit."
"Hehe. Anyway, good job, President Kang."
Park Jisu stretched up on her tiptoes to fix my messy hair. Her eyes carried a hint of fatigue—probably from petting me as hard as she could. With everything settled, it was time to get out and rest.
"Let's go."
"Yeah!"
Leading the way with Park Jisu leaping eagerly into my arms at my words, a massive gate of light unfurled before us. Park Jisu and I exchanged thick smirks and slowly stepped toward it.
+++
"Uh... so you're saying it's a forfeit?"
"That's right."
"No way, why?"
Instructor Park Jongcheol stared at me with eyes that went beyond bafflement into sheer disbelief.
"You think you'd wanna scrap with a guy pulling A-rank—no, probably higher—tech?"
I imagined a barrage of sword auras raining down on me at his words, and a shiver ran through me involuntarily. My mouth opened before I knew it.
"You nuts?"
Thwack!
"Kuh!"
The instructor smacked his own head, then clutched his hand and hopped around in pain. How does an instructor even think of hitting a cadet...? The future of Korean education looked bleak.
"Fuck... anyway, isn't this like a global kids' talent show where everyone's just flinging sword auras at best, and suddenly an ecosystem-disrupting invasive species pops up out of nowhere? The outcome's obvious as hell."
"But doesn't that make Korea dead last?"
I get it was unavoidable for me, but as national reps, coming back from this setup would leave a sour taste in everyone's mouth. I wondered about my reception back home. But contrary to my worries, Instructor Park Jongcheol smirked slyly, slung an arm around my shoulder like we were bros, and pulled me close. The musky dude-stink wafted right up my nose.
"Kang San."
"Yes, sir."
"Name a country that has an A-rank hunter in their 20s—hell, a provisional S-rank."
"Uh... Korea?"
"Besides ours?"
"...Probably none?"
There might be outliers if you dug deep, but they'd have stuck their nose in the Grand Prix by now if so. I shot him a look conveying that certainty, and he ruffled my hair with a mischievous grin.
"Korea's losing its shit right now. Provisional S-rank in a sea of B-rank scrubs? Forfeit was inevitable, they say. National pride's got 'em so drunk they're invading foreign forums to troll. Full-on internet war."
"Fuck."
My standing in Korea had risen to my target level, which was satisfying, but the overseas backlash from this clusterfuck burned in my gut. That "Fairy King" nickname started abroad too... Regret and helpless wistfulness floated away.
"Anyway, lay off communities for a bit. Tell Jisu to pack. No point sticking around making everyone awkward—let's head home."
"Yes, sir..."
I'd wanted tournament cheers and "Kanko-ku sugeee!" chants, but somehow the bodycam footage alone smashed my goals. I peeked at my personal community app—alarms were off the charts, uncountable, lagging just opening messages. Sighing, I checked the Academy community. Tongue-tied at the app splash: my bodycam highlights MIXed into a max national pride vid.
They slack on real work but crank out national issues overnight...
Overdid the main character vibe. Sigh...
Still in the coastal city, feeling the perception shift online, I scratched my head and headed to the hotel where Park Jisu waited. All the way, familiar gazes of awe, envy, jealousy—feels good. Keeping a stern poker face, I returned to the dorm. Thanks to the support team's hustle, the flight seats were worlds better outbound. Park Jisu and I boarded.
Thus, we returned to Korea with "last place" title barely after the event started. At the airport, hordes chased "Fairy King" like Pied Piper rats. Only after a natural presidential lunch did I reach home. Tongue out at how it all crammed into hours, I crashed on the bed.
Fuck. So damn tired...
Surrendering to crashing sleep, my mind blanked instantly.
+++
Awake with a clearer head, I slowly opened my eyes to an ornate mansion ceiling. Stroking the silky fur under my hand, the pup in my arms purred to announce herself.
"Grrrng."
She tilted her head at the drastically different scent on me versus before, but since I'd bathed in the real world, no complaints—she snuggled right in. Alone together, her unabashed craving for affection melted my lips into a smile.
"Tier."
"Hm?"
She paused rubbing her head on my chest and glanced up, eyes like a cute critter mismatched to her size. With a soft smile, I leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"Time to get up?"
"Grrrng... no."
Before leaving to deal with Daphne and Plang, I'd given Tier special treatment for days—now her cuteness was exploding.
Or is she marking territory?
I treated Tier as principal wife openly, but no woman takes it at face value. Daphne, a side wife, bore my child (spirit). Plang, the baby, hogs my side with overflowing aegyo more than Tier... Her whiny pout irked me faintly, but the cozy playfulness—unlike reality or murim—warmed my heart.
Yeah. This world's got that charm.
Too long in murim, plus real-world ogre scrap, had frayed my nerves unconsciously.
Gonna heal here awhile.
Resolved, I gripped Tier's ass tight in my arms.