The King's Seat and the Swamp's Shadow

Filial piety is so easy.

"Whoa... that's so badass. Hyung, can I get some photos of you?"

Hyundo shoved his action cam right up in my face.

I was a little embarrassed, but I let him take a few shots anyway. I even threw up a V with my fingers.

"Huh? Wait a minute... now that I think about it, the ring never showed up, did it?"

(Unique) Blood-Tinted Luck was supposed to arrive today, too. The insane item that boosted Luck by 20 in exchange for slashing every other stat by 10 — and for me, an absolute jackpot of an item.

When I checked my phone, sure enough, it was supposed to arrive today along with the Throne of the Immortal King.

I filed an inquiry with the Exchange.

A little while later, an apology came back citing a missed delivery, along with 1 million won in HuntRed cash.

Financial first aid, like an ointment for the wallet. A million won as compensation for a shipping mistake.

Not bad, honestly. Time to send Dad an allowance.

I opened my banking app and sent my father 2 million won.

The reply came instantly.

....

After a brief back-and-forth of checking in on each other, I placed a courier delivery request.

....

"Ah, come on..."

Since the destination was Upo Wetland — a place everyone avoided — no driver would take the job. Guess I'd been too greedy.

In the end, the new delivery date was set for one day later. Tomorrow. Destination, of course, Upo Wetland.

They at least seemed to have made some effort, promising the earliest available slot.

"Ugh, what a hassle..."

If I'd come in the Bentley, I would have gladly picked it up in person at the Okcheon HuntRed Fulfillment Center, but I'd ridden here in Tess-hyung's car, so that was off the table.

Think positive. These things happen.

"Hyung, seriously, this is so freaking cool. The aura is insane. You look like some demon king. But wait — what's it actually for?"

Hyundo had probably already snapped over a hundred photos, and his reaction lifted my mood a little.

"If you're asking what this is, it's called the Throne of the Immortal King. A legendary item. You wear it on your belt."

"A l-legendary item?! That's insane... Man, the camera just can't capture this aura properly."

"See, Hyundo, you've got a good eye."

Just then, the police car Tess-hyung was in glided up alongside us. His passenger window rolled down.

"Doosik, that chair's completely bonkers, eh? You liking it?"

"Yes, I love it. You heading out, hyung?"

"Yeah. Gotta swing by the West office. Some things to check on because of Park Wonchang. Call me tomorrow. You said you're hunting here, right? You should put in a good 24 hours at least."

"Sure, whatever..."

"Right. Go grind some levels."

"Yes, sir. Safe travels."

Hyundo gave a polite bow.

"Take care out there, Tess-hyungnim!"

Tess-hyung didn't even acknowledge Hyundo — just whooshed off.

Hyundo looked a bit awkward.

"He's not a bad guy. Just... not entirely normal."

"Yep."

"Summon."

Truly the Throne of the Immortal King. MP was consumed, and in the same instant MP came flooding back like crazy.

While I was at it, I summoned every remaining skeleton. Ten of them, excluding the three working part-time at the forge.

With the ring lost to a delivery mishap, I probably couldn't lift it — but it never hurt to try.

"Lift the throne."

First four skeleton soldiers tried, then eight, and when they clearly couldn't manage it, even Hansik latched on and grunted along with them.

The throne hovered about ten centimeters off the ground — but the dais beneath it was trembling like a leaf.

"Stop, stop. Keep this up and I'll throw my back out again. Ha... I really did need that ring."

"Hyung, should I give it a try?"

At that, Hyundo rolled up both sleeves and stepped forward.

Secretly I'd been waiting for exactly this, but I feigned indifference and made a show of declining.

"Nah. Let's just leave it here. Who's gonna walk off with it? It's fine — wanna go catch some leeches instead?"

Hyundo pushed back immediately.

"Hyung! You're leaving something this precious just lying around? Forget it, I'm carrying it."

"Ah, you really don't have to."

"I'm strong!"

"Well, if you insist... Alright, skeletons, give him a hand."

And so Hyundo stepped up to the dais.

The moment he lifted the front edge — yep, stat-junkie strength.

"Whoa — whoa."

The dais tilted, and my whole body slid back against the armrest.

The skeleton soldiers scrambled to cling to the side and rear corners, and —

"Ooooh..."

— we were stable.

My eye level had shot way up. Was this why nobles in the Joseon era rode around in palanquins?

Ride quality that gave a Bentley a run for its money. The air was different up here — every breath felt crisp and open.

"Thanks, Hyundo."

"Hyung, shall we head into the gate?"

"Yeah. Let's go!"

The moment we entered the gate, that trademark stench burrowed into my nostrils. It was fine. From experience, you get used to it after about thirty minutes. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Think positive. The air will feel that much sweeter on the way out.

"Hmmm..."

First, I scanned the surroundings with the Oculus's Eye — and sure enough, it detected multiple Hydras.

Shall we put the throne's performance to the test?

The throne didn't just inflate MP recovery. There was another reason I'd had to buy this thing.

Every summon got faster.

"Hansik. Three Hydras in that swamp over there. Can we take them?"

Hansik answered in sign language.

Ninety-nine percent? It's three Hydras. And we've only got ten skeleton soldiers.

So this is what they mean by gear-carrying, huh?

Can't let that stand. "Execute."

The skeleton soldiers, having carefully set down the throne, charged at the Hydras.

As expected, their speed was dramatically higher than usual — and with Fortitude now in effect, the skeleton soldiers' current stats stood at Strength 7.3 / Agility 6.2 / Vitality 6.2, which meant they'd officially surpassed my own raw physical stats.

And among them, the fastest of all was Hodu, now a hellhound. But that, too, was pure gear-carrying.

Hodu tore across the swamp, dodging every attack in a blur, and in one instant clamped his jaws onto the nape of a Hydra and ripped into it.

The limitation of the Hydra — a one-trick pony that only spat deadly venom — was laid bare. My skeleton soldiers were the Hydra's unambiguous counter.

The shape of the battle had changed completely from before. Money really does buy happiness.

"Wow... I can't believe I'm seeing this again.... You have no idea how terrifying this thing was the first time."

"Sorry."

Come to think of it, at this rate I wouldn't need to detour around monsters all the way to the leech swamp anymore. Just full-on attack mode.

"Summon."

"Arf!"

Hodu reappeared and charged again, ferocious as ever.

MP refilled at a blistering pace.

.......

"Easy money. Summon."

To think I could do this much even without the ring.

Hansik, meanwhile, simply stood silently at my side the whole time.

Whoa!

I'm only Level 2, and my skill level is 8. A single skill level-up had given me eight more skeleton soldiers.

Nice. Now we're talking.

"Numbers 7, 8, and 9. You're on vacation."

The guys threw their bony hands up in a salute of celebration.

Father, your son's proxy filial piety is on its way.

The skeletons on vacation changed into their outing gear — biker suits and helmets — while Hansik and Changsik looked on with unmistakable envy.

"Listen well to what Father tells you!"

The guys snapped a crisp salute! and headed out through the gate.

A five-ton truck came rolling in, wobbling on its axles. Anyone could see the front wheel was bent out of shape — and even that tire was completely flat.

The garage owner, who'd been seriously contemplating scattering nails on the road just to drum up business, came sprinting out.

Big catch.

He waved the truck deep into the lot, and as the engine cut out, a man covered head to toe in irezumi tattoos climbed out of the driver's seat.

Even as he got out, he was muttering something vicious under his breath.

"If it weren't for this damn mana-restriction anklet... Kim Taesu, you son of a bitch. Someday, I swear, I'll kill you..."

The garage owner flinched, but greeted him with a warm smile all the same.

"Glad you made it here safe, sir."

"Hey, boss. How long's this take?"

The man shot straight into casual speech without warning. But thanks to the tattoos having already lowered any expectations about his character, the owner's friendly smile held firm.

"We'll need to run a full inspection. If we have to order parts, I'd say it'll be done by tomorrow. May I ask how it ended up like this?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll give you three hours. Fix it."

"I'm sorry — three hours? Uh, as you can see, this isn't just the wheel and tire — there's the steering system, the suspension, plus an alignment and..."

CRASH.

Park Wonchang grabbed the garage owner by the nape and slammed him into the side of the truck.

"Hkk—!"

"Hey, boss. Do I look like I've got time to spare?"

It was exactly what Kim Taesu, Detective, had done to him.

"Kgh — s-sir, why are you doing this... AAGH..."

"Three hours. Is that a problem now?"

Park Wonchang tightened his grip. The scream that came back was only natural.

"Okay! Okay! GAHHH!"

"Then why'd you say it couldn't be done?"

"AAAAHHH!! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

Nobody got into the garage business expecting to be brutalized. Left defenseless against sudden, unannounced violence, the owner could do nothing but quake in terror.

The truth was, this was nothing more than Park Wonchang blowing off steam.

♪

What finally freed the owner from Park Wonchang's grip was the ringtone of Park Wonchang's own smartphone.

"Ahem. Hello?"

"What are you talking about..."

"Ah... right, damn it."

It suddenly came back to him. It had been sitting on the passenger seat.

All because of that bastard Kim Taesu...

Park Wonchang scratched his head furiously, cursing in his head. Curse out your boss while on conditional-release parole and you got fired.

Park Wonchang was a master of calibrating his tone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and switching stances on the fly.

"It slipped my mind, sir."

"Ha... fine, fine. Then what do I do about this? Do I have to take it back myself? Ha — my truck's busted right now, so I don't think I can."

Truthfully, it wasn't the truck he was worried about. It was the thought of running into Tess-hyung again if he went back to Upo Wetland.

"Something happened. So what's the plan here? With this?"

"Here? Changnyeong."

He scratched his head again. It was doable — but there was a problem.

Kim Taesu was the problem. He absolutely did not want to risk crossing paths with that bastard again.

But just then —

Yeee-yong, yeee-yong, yeee-yong—

A siren came screaming toward him at impossible speed, then whooshed past in a swirl of dust and vanished.

Kim Taesu.

He was certain of it.

Which meant Kim Taesu was no longer at Upo Wetland.

Well, well. That changed everything, didn't it.

"Understood. So I just need to bring this box over tomorrow between 8 and 10, right?"

"Yes, yes, got it. Bye now."

"Yes, sir."

Conditional-release parole meant Park Wonchang used his polite speech at work and kept up at least a minimum of courtesy.

Hanging up, Park Wonchang turned to the garage owner.

"Mister, I'll be generous and give you five hours. How's that?"

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Fix it up nice and clean. There a motel around here?"

"No motels, but there's an inn... over that way, the Daehwajang..."

Park Wonchang didn't even ask for an estimate, spat on the ground, and sauntered off in the direction the owner had pointed. Then a certain memory suddenly floated up — something he'd overheard earlier.

'Hey. Aren't you getting paid to do this? Work for free, huh? You know who the hell I am, talking to me like that on a first meeting, you little shit? If you're a delivery boy, act like one — snap your verification photo and get lost.'

Weak-willed punks who'd apparently known Kim Taesu.

"Ha, fucking shits, every last one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of them."

Park Wonchang, connoisseur of bullying the weak and groveling to the strong, had been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠disrespected by those beneath him.

Come to think of it, that really pissed him off.

Just then — ding — a text message arrived.

Spam.

And yet Park Wonchang stared at it for a long, long moment — and then broke into a wide grin.

"Finally! Heh heh. Whatever — once I own this scene, it won't matter anyway."

The bottom-rung delivery boy was giddy beyond reason at the thought of making Tess-hyung eat dirt.