The Price of a Miracle
"W-what on earth is going on?"
The moment she climbed into the passenger seat, Kang Mina asked me.
"Out of nowhere, you want to look into Gakseonghoe?!"
"Now, now. Calm down and listen."
I calmed Kang Mina down with a smirk.
"I figured out why Gakseonghoe has been avoiding the Hunter Bureau."
Gulp.
Kang Mina stared at me, her face tense with anticipation.
"W-what is it?"
"Park Kangsu."
"Yes...?"
"He's a total cult leader bastard."
"...!!!"
Kang Mina gasped in shock.
But I wasn't done yet.
"Unlike what he spouted in his interviews,"
"..."
"it turns out both awakening and strengthening require a 'price'."
"A price...?"
"Contribution points."
Crack.
Kang Mina's expression fractured.
If I weren't sitting right in front of her,
she looked ready to spit out a stream of colorful curses.
"C-contribution points...?"
Kang Mina asked, barely managing to regain her composure.
"He demanded half of all the contribution points I earn in the future."
"That motherf—... Ah, I'm sorry."
Kang Mina quickly covered her mouth.
I didn't mind.
I was thinking the exact same thing.
"And that's not all."
"...There's more?"
"Yes."
"Then..."
"Apparently, his followers hand over ninety percent of theirs."
"What a crazy son of a b—... Sorry."
Kang Mina covered her mouth once again.
A brief silence fell over the car.
The air inside the vehicle grew heavy and oppressive.
"So that's why they avoided the Bureau."
"Exactly."
"To collect contribution points in the gray zone..."
Indeed.
If the followers were offering their contribution points voluntarily,
it wasn't technically illegal.
Since the points were given in exchange for awakening and strengthening,
it was closer to a legitimate transaction.
For now, at least...
I shrugged.
"Since the followers are handing over their points on their own, they have no use for the Bureau."
"That makes sense. They'll definitely keep avoiding us in the future..."
"When I saw the interview, I thought they might actually be helpful."
"That was probably just a ploy to recruit more followers."
Being a Hunter was lucrative.
Extremely so.
That was why everyone wanted to become an Awakened.
However,
because they couldn't bring themselves to risk their lives,
they simply couldn't enter the Tower.
But,
if they could awaken without ever stepping foot inside the Tower?
Who would refuse?
They would gladly throw away contribution points, which seemed useless to them at the moment,
just to awaken first.
Without having any idea that it would return to haunt them as a massive debt.
"Park Kangsu might be a much more dangerous person than we thought,"
Kang Mina muttered with a grim expression.
"If we leave him be, there's no telling what he might do with all those contribution points..."
She was right.
The things one could do with contribution points were endless.
Most notably, purchasing items from the System Shop.
Though the cost was astronomical, they could also be used to enhance stats and abilities.
That was why I, too, was hoarding my contribution points, saving them for a rainy day.
With the amount he's pulling in, Park Kangsu might have already gathered enough points to boost his own abilities to insane levels...
He wasn't collecting them for no reason.
He definitely had a plan for them.
The problem is, what exactly is that plan?
Whatever it was, it certainly wouldn't be anything good.
"Will you be alright?"
"Don't worry, Hunter Lee. The Bureau will look into Park Kangsu."
Kang Mina quickly forced a bright, determined smile.
"Let me know if you need any help."
At my words, Kang Mina nodded, looking so touched she seemed on the verge of tears.
"As expected of South Korea's national treasure! Hunter Lee Taepyeong!"
"Don't overdo it."
"Yes, sir..."
Ugh.
Why did the chants praising Park Kangsu suddenly echo in my head?
Was this PTSD?
The sight of those followers weeping, laughing, and frantically worshiping him
had been a deeply disturbing spectacle.
I honestly thought they had all gone mad.
"Thanks for picking me up today."
"Of course! Call me whenever you need me!"
Kang Mina gave me a big thumbs-up.
"Right. And if you find out anything about Park Kangsu..."
"The moment any information comes in, I'll share it with you immediately!"
"Thanks."
"No, thank you!"
Soon, Kang Mina's car sped away and vanished from sight.
"..."
Park Kangsu.
That parasitic bastard...
Sticking a straw into innocent people
and sucking out their contribution points like a parasite.
It leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Why?
Because in the end,
a parasite always kills its host.
Before that happens...
Should I just kill him?
Inside the main hall, where a massive fragment of the Babel Tower hung suspended.
Beneath the glittering chandeliers,
Park Kangsu slowly stepped up to the podium.
"My beloved brothers and sisters."
As Park Kangsu spoke, the soft piano music playing in the background came to a halt.
And then,
the hundreds of followers who had been bowing their heads in prayer looked up in unison.
"Do you know how many nights I have spent in prayer for you?"
"Ah, Leader...!"
"To share the light of awakening with you."
"We believe!!"
"To make you even stronger!"
"We believe!!!"
"So that you may survive the Babel Tower!"
Park Kangsu's voice grew increasingly impassioned.
"Have I not poured out all of my contribution points to bestow these blessings upon you?!"
"Long live the Leader!!!"
"Long live the Leader!!!"
The followers cried out for their leader, their faces flushed with emotion.
Park Kangsu watched them with a benevolent expression, but then,
"However."
In an instant, his gaze turned chillingly cold as he looked down at the crowd.
"Someone has appeared who doubts my blessing."
The air in the hall froze.
"He calls our miracles a scam!"
"..."
"He rejects the will of God!!"
The crowd began to murmur in agitation.
"He wishes only to prosper alone!"
"What a lunatic?!"
"Kill that bastard!!!"
"With such a wicked heart!"
Park Kangsu raised both hands and shouted.
"There is one who refuses to share his contribution points!"
A volatile rage filled the hall in an instant.
"..."
Park Kangsu paused for a moment.
The eyes of the followers, burning with blind faith, locked onto him.
"Everyone."
Slam!!!
Park Kangsu slammed his hand down on the podium as if to shatter it.
"What should we do with this man?!"
"..."
A brief silence.
And then,
"Let's kill him!!!"
"He must die!!!"
"He is the enemy of our Leader!!!"
"Selfish bastard!! Kill him!!!"
The fury erupted.
Mad shrieks shook the main hall.
"Heh."
A smirk played on Park Kangsu's lips at the sight.
"Indeed."
Park Kangsu nodded slowly.
"Everything my brothers and sisters say is correct!"
"Long live the Leader!!!"
"Long live the Leader!!!"
The followers screamed at the top of their lungs.
"If that is the case,"
Park Kangsu continued, as if he had been waiting for this exact moment.
"what should be done with the contribution points held by this wicked man?"
"They belong to the Leader!!"
"They must all be given to the Leader!!"
Park Kangsu's eyes flashed.
"Correct!"
He slammed the podium once more and roared.
"Who will carry out this glorious mission?!"
Without exception, every single follower raised their hand.
His eyes quickly scanned the crowd.
Finding the right candidates wasn't difficult.
The followers were seated in order of their level.
"Brother Lee Baekjung."
A man sprang to his feet.
"Brother Kim Sangyeop."
Another man stood up abruptly.
"Brother Eom Gyeongseok."
A third man rose quickly.
The three named followers stood up.
All of them had been stuck in the level 20 range,
but had broken through to level 30 thanks to Park Kangsu's blessing.
"Brothers, step forward."
The three followers naturally knelt before Park Kangsu.
Park Kangsu placed his hand on each of their heads, one by one.
Flash!!!
And he began to bestow his signature 'blessing'.
A brilliant light seeped into their heads through his hand.
"Gasp!!!"
As their abilities were enhanced in real-time, the three followers rolled their eyes back.
It was a sensation like their blood flowing backward,
like a fire being lit in their bellies—
an intense, overwhelming feeling!
"Whoaaaaaa!!!"
"Long live the Leader!!!"
"Long live the Leader!!!"
Witnessing the miracle, the followers cheered at the top of their lungs.
And then,
Park Kangsu pulled back a red cloth embroidered with gold thread depicting the Babel Tower.
"Oh, ohhh...!"
There stood the jar used to absorb contribution points, which normally only appeared after the service was over.
A jar with darkness swirling inside.
"Bring back the head of the blasphemer in this."
Gulp.
The followers looked up at Park Kangsu with tense faces.
Their target was a super rookie who had already cleared several major raids.
Even if they were at the same level,
and even if it was a three-on-one fight,
attacking him was foolish.
But Park Kangsu's blessing was instilling an irrational sense of loyalty in them.
"We will surely take the blasphemer's head!"
"We will retrieve the contribution points and offer them to you, Leader!"
"We will spread the name of Gakseonghoe throughout the Babel Tower!"
The followers shouted in booming voices.
Their response deepened Park Kangsu's smile.
"I, Park Kangsu, will use the blasphemer's contribution points..."
Park Kangsu raised the contribution-absorbing jar high.
"to build a world where every member of Gakseonghoe prospers!!!"
"Long live the Leader!!!"
"Long live Gakseonghoe!!!"
And so, the night deepened for Gakseonghoe.
"Yaaawn."
Ah, why does my body feel so stiff?
Ever since returning from the snowy mountain,
was it because I had done nothing but roll around at home for the past few days?
Crack.
Pop.
Every time I cracked my stiff neck,
Imir flinched, startled as if he were the one getting hit.
"Hey."
"Yes, Master!"
"Are you done peeling the garlic?"
"I'm almost finished!"
Indeed.
Today, Do Sangjin said he was going to prep the garlic,
so I offered to do it instead.
Well, my servant, to be exact.
I mean, it would be weird to let a servant just rest all the time.
If you have one, you might as well use them.
"Water, then."
Imir immediately stopped peeling garlic and rushed over with cold barley tea.
Gulp. Gulp.
Ahhh.
Refreshing.
"I'll give you five minutes. Finish up and get ready to go out."
"F-five minutes is a bit..."
"Tsk."
"Too much time! Just give me two minutes!"
"Okay."
Imir began peeling the garlic at a frantic, breakneck speed.
While he peeled, I finished getting ready to head out.
"Let's go."
"Pant, pant, yes...!"
Reeking of garlic,
Imir vanished into the void stone attached to the Sword of Calamity.
And right on cue,
"Are you going somewhere, Hunter-nim?"
"Just going out to play."
"So you're heading to the Tower."
"How did you know?"
Do Sangjin smiled as he set down his luggage.
"Oh, and I peeled all the garlic."
"You really did all that by yourself?"
"Of course."
Of course Imir did it all by himself.
"So, I'm going to go have some fun."