Chapter 249
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 249.
"...Hah! A fight!"
It was a day later when Tugwi, who had lost consciousness, finally woke up.
Even for someone like him, two straight days of battle seemed to have taken their toll.
"……."
Tugwi looked around with dazed eyes.
The mansion was eerily silent. There was no sign of anyone around.
—They’ve already left.
"Who’s there?!"
—Oh my! This brat dares to hit his ancestor!
Tugwi swung his leg with full force toward the source of the voice.
The one standing there was an old man.
"You…"
—Not ‘you,’ but ‘you, sir,’ you insolent brat!
"An old man with a familiar face. Yeah, you look like the geezer my father showed me a long time ago."
—Exactly! I’m your ancestor, you fool!
The old man snorted.
Tugwi, on the other hand, looked indifferent.
"I see. So, where did that guy go? The one I was fighting."
—He left. He wasn’t from this world to begin with, so he couldn’t stay long.
"He left?! How dare him?!"
Tugwi erupted in anger.
To run away while he was asleep!
"The fight wasn’t even over yet!"
—What do you mean ‘not over’? You were utterly crushed.
"I didn’t lose!"
—You did, you dimwit descendant!
"What did you say?!"
The two engaged in a childish squabble.
Despite neither being young, their bickering made them seem like little kids.
—In your current state, you can’t beat that guy! Not even if you died and came back to life!
"Only a real fight can decide who’s stronger, you senile old fool!"
—No! You haven’t fully mastered the Battle Demon techniques. There’s no way you can win against him. I guarantee it!
"……."
Tugwi fell silent.
It was true—he hadn’t fully mastered the techniques.
To be precise, he had inherited the power but hadn’t refined the skills.
—You stopped honing your skills. Too arrogant, thinking you were already the strongest! Typical!
Did he really need to learn more? He had stopped because he thought there was nothing left to master.
That was his fatal flaw.
In truth, the techniques he used were limited compared to his predecessors’.
—I’ll teach you.
"You?"
—Yes. Follow my training diligently, and I’ll make sure you can defeat him.
"Hmm."
Tugwi hesitated.
But only briefly.
"If you’re lying, I’ll stop the training immediately. Understood?"
—Of course. But in return, you must obey everything I say without refusal.
"...Fine. I’ll follow your lead."
The old man answered confidently, and Tugwi slowly nodded.
—Then start by cleaning the mansion. It’s a mess—I can’t stand it.
"What?! You dare order me to do menial labor?!"
—Do you expect me to teach in this dump? Clean it up now!
"Grrr!"
Reluctantly, Tugwi obeyed.
The old man watched with satisfaction.
‘He was arrogant, unaware of how many true powerhouses exist in the world. Has he finally realized?’
Tugwi had been a frog in a well.
It had always saddened him, which was why he had stayed in this mansion. But Yoo Baek-jun had opened Tugwi’s closed eyes.
—The Martial God.
He, too, had fought the Martial God, lost, and learned many things.
Perhaps it was fate, tied by blood.
—But…
The old man looked in the direction Yoo Baek-jun had left.
—The Martial God, who transcended humanity, is dead? Can that really be true?
It was hard to believe.
Even when they fought, the Martial God had already surpassed human limits.
Back then, he had become a transcendent being, overcoming mortality itself.
‘Then was he killed by someone?’
That was even more unthinkable.
The old man frowned.
‘There must be something complicated at play here—something beyond my understanding.’
But it was another world’s affair. Not his concern.
—You brat! Can’t you clean properly?!
"Damn it!"
His only duty now was to pass on his final teachings to this foolish descendant.
The old man turned away.
***
Return to the Family
Work awaited Yoo Baek-jun upon his return after conquering the Gate.
A woman greeted him in his office.
"Family head, remember the Staggler’s case? We’ve found their hideout this time."
"……."
"Family head?"
In Yoo Baek-jun’s office, Jeon Soo-yeon reported as soon as he entered.
But Yoo Baek-jun remained silent.
"Sigh…"
He let out a deep breath.
"No one’s as unwelcome as you when you show up like this."
"Th-that’s too harsh…"
"Work the moment I return? Unbelievable."
"You’re not even paying attention?!"
Jeon Soo-yeon was shocked.
Yoo Baek-jun, immediately burdened with new tasks, had no energy to spare for her.
"Alright, alright. What’s the matter now?"
"After all the effort to get this intel, this is the reaction… An Song-hyuk, bring the documents."
"Yes, Chief."
An Song-hyuk, waiting behind her, quickly handed over the files.
Yoo Baek-jun was impressed.
"Oh, you’ve got the aura of a boss now, huh?"
"Ahem, right?"
She was adept at handling subordinates.
Yoo Baek-jun reviewed the documents.
"Information on Staggler."
"Yes, photos of their golems."
They had fully mapped the golems’ locations and even obtained internal images.
Yoo Baek-jun examined the golems Staggler had prepared.
"There’s a disgusting number of them. How did they smuggle this many?"
"There seem to be more traitors inside than we thought. That Harun guy seems quite capable."
"Not good for us."
Yoo Baek-jun smirked lightly.
"But more than Harun… I’m more concerned about those behind him."
"Staggler?"
"Well, them too."
But even beyond them—
The Black Shadow and the Evil Dragon.
"Staggler is a large organization. They’re dropouts from the Magic Tower, but that title actually helps them in the underworld."
"Magic users flock to learn from Tower dropouts?"
"Exactly. That’s why their influence is bigger than expected. And it’s still growing."
Staggler was formed by Magic Tower exiles.
They operated globally like mercenaries… and were obsessed with magical artifacts.
‘Did we clash when I bought Seol-ho’s corpse? My memory’s hazy.’
He might’ve crossed paths when gifting Han Seong-ah a magic book.
They had gathered allies to strike back but were instead crushed.
"A group willing to commit crimes for magical artifacts, growing in power…"
"Considering Staggler’s goal is to ‘liberate’ the Magic Tower, this isn’t good."
"Hmm."
The Magic Tower and Staggler were destined to collide.
Not just because Staggler were Tower exiles.
‘Their ideologies clash.’
The Tower strictly controlled magical knowledge.
Only the authorized could access it.
Staggler opposed this.
"Everyone should freely use magic. It’s not knowledge to be hoarded."
An idealistic belief.
The problem? It only sounded good in theory.
"Given how many dangerous spells exist in the Tower, that’s nonsense."
The Tower’s history was long.
Jin Baek-cheon had collected countless spells, many of which were dangerously unstable.
Forbidden magic—taboo spells.
‘That’s what Staggler is after.’
Magic shouldn’t be forbidden.
All mages should share such knowledge.
Whether good or evil.
‘Even the Tower’s internal control isn’t perfect—traitors like Harun slip through. If that knowledge spreads…’
The thought alone was dizzying.
Yoo Baek-jun sighed.
"Harun, Staggler. Birds of a feather. We need to deal with them fast."
"Min Yi-jae and other intel agents are on standby. What’s the plan?"
"Well."
Yoo Baek-jun pondered.
Wipe out Staggler? Impossible.
‘The Tower’s rebellion needs to happen. It’s the only way to purge the troublemakers at once.’
The real issue was minimizing the Tower’s casualties.
‘We need the rebellion but with minimal damage…’
He clicked his tongue.
"The golems are the problem."
"Exactly…"
Jeon Soo-yeon took out an item.
"Jin Seo-yeon sent a gift. She said you’d need it and to hand it over when you returned."
"A gift? Ah, I see."
Yoo Baek-jun accepted it—a small orb.
When he channeled magic, tiny sparks burst inside.
"Looks like bugs."
"Call them fireflies. It’s a sort of hacking device."
"Hacking?"
"Yeah, magical-based… Wait, is this even possible? I’m not sure."
He examined the orb skeptically.
Would it work on reinforced golems?
Jin Seo-yeon must’ve modified it specially.
"It might work, but we should prepare backups just in case."
"She also asked you to use it where the golems are gathered."
"Easier said than done."
Jin Seo-yeon couldn’t move herself, so there was no choice.
"So, what’s the plan?"
"What else?"
Yoo Baek-jun exhaled deeply.
"Time to work. Damn it…"
Work right after returning.
He could feel a headache coming on.
***
"……."
Yoo Baek-jun arrived on the island.
A volcanic island far from Korea, abandoned after terrain shifts from Gates caused the volcano to emerge.
"...Why so grim?"
"Just troubled."
Min Yi-jae, beside him, noticed his expression and asked.
"Looks like a normal island. Just with a random volcano."
"True. But…"
"Things change underground. Shall we go?"
Jeon Soo-yeon pointed downward.
The island was a typical uninhabited place—just a few trees and nothing else.
But below was different.
"Let’s head up."
"...Move carefully. They’re monitoring the surface with magic."
The three activated stealth and vanished.
Their destination was the volcano at the island’s center.
"...This is dormant, right?"
"For now."
"It’s known to switch between active and dormant."
Yoo Baek-jun grimaced.
For good reason.
"Is that… lava?"
Deep inside the volcano, a crimson liquid churned.
"What the hell are those lunatics doing underground? Is this even habitable?"
"...We’ll see when we get there."
"Sigh."
Yoo Baek-jun exhaled.
Well, this wasn’t his first rodeo.
"...Let’s go down."
Yoo Baek-jun descended into the volcano.