Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: Spear King Jin Ja's
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Whoosh! Whoosh!
Tweet! Tweet tweet!
The crashing waves and chirping birds sounded refreshingly alive.
The beach of the Mysterious Island, located in western India.
"Suuuuh!"
I took a long, deep breath.
"Huuuuh!"
And let it out with force.
The crisp air rinsed my lungs clean before scattering into the sky.
'Ah, how sweet.'
I'd been through countless dungeons.
Some were tropical rainforests, others forests inhabited by elves.
But nothing beat Earth.
"Keuh."
How could I forget this taste?
After crawling through dungeon after dungeon, you realize even air has a flavor.
"Hooah!"
I exhaled coolly and refreshingly.
Ah!
I shouted inwardly.
It's finally over!
Back when we had conscription, did the sergeants who finished their full term feel like this?
I savored the sense of relief washing over my entire body.
Brother and sisters of Seoul's Five Stars!
This Joo Dong-hoon has done it.
We made a promise, right?
That I'd make it no matter what.
Not just make it—I finished with flying colors!
As I was patting myself on the back like that.
"Hoon!"
"Team leader!"
From way off in the distance.
My teammates came running.
Seeing them all gathered, it looked like they'd been waiting for me.
"Whoa, Hoon! You're the last one out, so... you really did the full five hours?"
Olena, who reached me first, winked playfully.
"Would he not? What kind of guy is our team leader?"
"Right. We varied from stage one to three, sure. But our team leader on stage three? That'd be weird, right?"
Max and Miao Hana chimed in agreement as they approached.
"What bullshit is that?"
That was when Vladimir's brow furrowed.
"You think our team leader is some lightweight? Just five stages? Bullshit! Don't you dare judge our team leader's limits on your own! Our team leader is the guy who shatters those molds! You think he'd clear just five stages because that's the limit?"
"Come on, sure, but didn't Vladimir drop out at stage three?"
"That was me! Team leader is team leader! Right, team leader?"
He stared at me with fervent eyes.
The other teammates watched with subtle, expectant gazes.
"Ha, haha."
I scratched my head.
These guys.
Five stages was already insane, and here they were treating me like some 'god'?
'But.'
It didn't feel bad.
If anything, it felt pretty good.
What they were doing went beyond just acknowledging me.
It was the kind of admiration that could only come from looking up to someone.
Hunters were basically walking egos by nature.
It got worse the higher the rank.
Even A-rank was a realm no ordinary person could ever reach.
And these weren't just any hunters.
They were ranker candidates, handpicked and approved by the top five rankers.
Shim Pan-chang was a disciple of the Spear King, no less.
Olena was Oxford's top graduate.
People who'd lived diligently.
People who'd lived blameless lives in their fields.
And they were looking up to me? Of course it felt good.
"Whoa!"
Olena shouted.
"Look at that smug head-scratch! And he didn't even deny it! This is real! It's real! Vladimir was right!"
"Really?"
"See? What did I tell you! That's our team leader! Hey, team leader! So what comes after stage five? Stage ten? Twenty?"
Fine.
I'd admit it.
That I was pretty damn impressive.
As the team leader of this intake.
And as much as my teammates were impressive.
I just had to become an even greater existence.
That was the path for them, too.
"Haha, where's there a 'next'? I just hung in there as best I could. Anyway."
I said.
"You all did great. Sincerely."
At that, they all dropped their playful expressions.
And smiled in unison.
"Right, we did."
Shim Pan-chang nodded contentedly.
We'd beaten out fifty candidates.
And I'd claimed the all-time record for the ordeal.
'And me.'
Joo Dong-hoon, the perennial E-rank hunter.
Everyone had looked down on me.
I'd scraped by doing odd jobs at a low-tier mercenary guild.
Even when I trained in the empty lot, the guild folks thought I was just chasing pipe dreams.
But not anymore.
Now I could hold my head high to the world.
I'd really given it my all.
This was the result of real pain, real hardship.
"We're all rankers now, huh?"
Olena grinned.
"You know? Check your phones, everyone. It's almost the new year in US time."
New year.
The hunters' festival.
The day minors shed their status and adults received new 'unique abilities.'
And the day.
The world ranking board underwent massive changes.
"You all know about the board, right? It updates a bit whenever someone dies, and skills get reflected at the start of each month... but at the start of the year, it flips completely."
"Yeah, we know. New Year's update is basically an apocalypse."
"Heh heh, can't wait. Ranker! Me, a ranker...!"
My comrades' faces flushed with excitement.
Thump.
My heart pounded too.
Ranker.
The dream I'd harbored in my heart for three years.
"Heh heh, I gotta head out quick."
Middle-aged Max said.
"New Year's Eve is for family. My daughter's waiting."
"Whoa, Uncle Max has a daughter?"
Vladimir raised his brows in surprise.
"Didn't I mention? Got two."
"Well, with your pace, two daughters sounds about right?"
"Heh heh heh, funny."
"Not a joke. Anyway, I should go too. My gang might be bawling without their boss."
Vladimir glanced at me.
"Anyway, let's meet again sometime. Especially you, team leader. Okay?"
"Yeah, sure."
And so, one by one.
We promised to reunite and parted ways.
Max, Vladimir, Kapu, and Miao Hana teleported beyond the island using spatial magic.
Left on the island were just me, Olena, and Shim Pan-chang.
'I should.'
Head back too.
I had to check on the Demir Workshop I'd neglected.
And sort out everything I'd overlooked while charging forward in growth.
Bone Arm, unsealed but ignored.
Kaden and Dana, who awakened this time.
New skills.
Training with the old man.
And so on.
A mountain of things to organize.
As I mentally tallied them up.
Sss.
I sensed a presence behind me.
"Hup!"
I swallowed reflexively.
An absolutely overwhelming aura.
'Who is it?'
Were they waiting for one of the examiners?
Me and Olena.
We'd sensed it too, turning around with tense expressions.
"Master."
Shim Pan-chang clasped his hands in a formal bow.
"How did you come all the way here?"
Huh.
Shim Pan-chang's master?
I widened my eyes, staring at the approaching figure.
The black-haired elder with the spear looked mystically like an immortal sage.
"No way, that's...!"
Olena cried out in shock.
"The head of the Assembly of Immortals and world rank ten, Spear King Jin Ja?!"
That was right.
The powerhouse known worldwide.
One of Earth's top ten strongest.
"......"
I marveled inwardly.
They say you see as much as you know?
In the past, all rankers looked amazing.
Now I realized how laughable that was, having grown myself.
Like an ant judging which is brighter between a lantern and the sun.
I'd truly known nothing.
'As expected, an incredible person.'
Every movement flawless.
The aura he emanated so vast it choked the breath right out of me.
"Hm?"
Did he sense me?
The Spear King's brow furrowed.
"A ranker I've never seen. Who might you be?"
He asked me directly.
......Pardon?
Ranker?
Just hearing the Spear King say it made my heart race.
"Were you here looking for a disciple too? Or perhaps one of the examiners Delaila occasionally hires?"
Indeed.
The great Spear King wasn't seeing me as a candidate.
He was treating me on the level of an examiner.
"Master! No, he's a close friend I made this time! A candidate from the same intake as me."
"......A candidate? Not an examiner, but a ranker candidate?"
The Spear King's brow creased even deeper.
Hmm.
In my judgment.
That look in his eyes was a bit like our old drunkard's.
The hungry gaze for good timber.
No, even more.
Was there a hint of jealousy mixed in?
"Yes, Master. Truly impressive. This disciple of yours...! I have much to report when we return."
"For even you, the aloof one, to acknowledge him...?"
Jin Ja's enigmatic eyes scanned me.
Unlike Shim Pan-chang, who judged killers.
And despised the wicked.
His master's eyes evoked a snake.
A slight chill?
"Yes. My friend especially wields the spear, quite different from our Pear Flower Spear yet undeniably strong. Much to learn from him."
"Hoo?"
The Spear King's lips twisted in interest.
"For the continent's genius with such pride to acknowledge a spear art."
Swish!
He raised his spear.
An exorbitantly expensive-looking golden spear.
"Curious."
Boom!
In that instant, an immense aura erupted from his body.
"Master?"
Shim Pan-chang looked slightly flustered.
"Hmm."
I frowned too.
All good, but this was too sudden.
Showing up out of nowhere and pointing a spear?
Even for a world-class ranker.
That was rude.
"Master. What is this...!"
"Be silent."
"Pardon?"
"The Pear Flower Spear is the continent's strongest spear art. Yet yours hasn't fully matured... Don't we need to correct that first?"
The words were flowery, but the conclusion simple.
Our Pear Flower Spear is the best.
Come at me again.
I'll show you the gap.
Right?
"Hoo......"
I let out a shallow breath.
No matter how strong the opponent.
Things were different now.
I wouldn't dodge a challenge.
As I moved to raise my spear.
Thud thud thud......
A propeller roared across the sky.
"Huh? Look over there!"
Olena, who'd been watching, pointed at the sky.
The helicopter bore the 'White Money' mark.
And atop it, a figure was leaping down.
"Crack hahaha!"
With a booming laugh.
"You senile old stick! Age has finally driven you mad!"
Screeeee!
Faster than gravity's pull, the man's fist plunged down, adorned with ornate gauntlets.
"Rank ten, my ass. What's with the disgrace? Leave the kids alone and fight me!"
KABOOM!
His fist slammed into the ground.
Rumble rumble......
The earth quaked like an earthquake, dust billowing in clouds.
"Crazy......"
Olena gasped.
"A crater... formed."
At his landing spot, a massive twenty-meter-wide hole gaped.
"That's......"
"I mentioned him before, right? The Berserker. Looks like he came to pick me up."
I scratched my head.
Honestly, surprised.
Grateful just for the recommendation, but coming here to get me?
"Berserker."
World rank twenty.
Berserker Jang Dae-woong.
The Spear King muttered as he gazed at the man.
"Yo, Zhen Zi-yi, old timer. Fancy meeting you?"
"Still as rude as ever."
"You're the rude one, geezer. Brandishing a weapon at another country's ranker out of the blue? You know that could start an international incident?"
"Ahem, is that kid your disciple?"
"Disciple? Nah, just my little bro."
"Little bro......"
"Anyway!"
BOOM!
The Berserker slammed his fist into the ground again.
"No matter how strong you are, you know you can't leave me out, right? Wanna fight? Fight me! New Year's right around the corner—perfect timing. Let's shake up the world with the ranking shake-up!"
"......"
The Spear King scowled.
Not so much from being outmatched.
More like he wanted to avoid the lunatic.
"Crack hahaha! What's that face! Scared? You scared?!"
"......"
I stared at them in bewilderment.
No, hyung Dae-woong.
Didn't you say you couldn't even beat rank nineteen? Why this?
"That remark......"
That was when the Spear King's eyes turned icy cold.
"You mean it?"
Swish.
He raised his spear.
And murmured.
"That counts as a declaration of war on the Assembly of Immortals, right?"
"......"
I sighed inwardly.
What was this?
The moment I step outside, why does shit twist like this again?