Chapter 60
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 60.
Yoo Baek-jun gathered all the guilds that had previously joined him in raiding Barwe.
Pengga, Crimson Crusaders, and the Magic Tower.
The three guilds readily responded to the summons.
"Ah, hello…."
Yoo Baek-jun had prepared a space in the family’s reception room.
The first to arrive was Pengga’s heir—
Peng So-young.
"Ah!"
She hesitated as she entered, but her expression brightened when she saw Yoo Baek-jun’s face.
It seemed she was relieved to see a familiar person.
"Long time no see! The last time was during the meeting, right?"
"Yeah, you’re early."
"Well, I didn’t have anything else to do…"
Peng So-young smiled and sat across from him.
"I didn’t even participate in the gate raid, so coming here feels a bit awkward."
"There’s no need to feel awkward. If you had circumstances, you couldn’t have come anyway."
"It’s not like I had circumstances…"
Peng So-young turned her head slightly. She hadn’t participated purely because she lacked the ability.
Admitting that out loud would have been embarrassing.
‘Ah, now that I think about it, I promised to help her with her magic power problem too.’
With everything going on, he had forgotten.
Yoo Baek-jun checked Peng So-young’s status window again.
[Peng So-young]
[Stats]
Strength: B /
Agility: B
Stamina: B
Magic power: C+
[Unique Ability: Physical Enhancement (A)]
[Traits: Late Bloomer (S), Dull Blade Talent (S), Magic Blocked Diantans (S), Magic Insensitivity (A), Innate Bone Structure (B), ….]
No matter how many times he saw it, her status window was fascinating.
Her talent for blade techniques was exceptional, but her mana couldn’t keep up.
All because of Magical Blocked Diantans.
‘A trait that severs the pathways through which magic flows, making it impossible to circulate or accumulate magic.’
Pengga’s skills were overwhelmingly destructive, consuming vast amounts of magic.
Without sufficient magic, Peng So-young couldn’t properly wield Pengga’s blade techniques, which was why she was considered talentless within the family.
‘Her situation is similar to mine, though.’
Maybe that was why Peng So-young felt a kinship with him.
But objectively, she was still in a better position than he had been—he had been completely talentless.
"Hmm…"
The saving grace was that Peng So-young was a playable character, and he had experience clearing the game even with her limitations.
There was a solution.
"Hey, Peng So-young. Sit here for a sec."
"Huh?"
Peng So-young obediently sat in front of Yoo Baek-jun. He placed a hand on her back.
"W-what? What are you trying to do?"
"Stay still."
"This is weird… Isn’t this weird?"
Yoo Baek-jun channeled mana into her body. As it flowed slowly, he could sense her internal condition.
‘Wow, severed, clogged… It’s a mess.’
Every magical pathway in her body was either completely blocked or severed.
Born incompatible with magic, it was no wonder she struggled to sense it.
‘I overcame this back then…’
Yoo Baek-jun recalled his past struggles.
"Your body is inherently incapable of handling magic. You must’ve had trouble accumulating it too."
"Y-yeah. When I was young, the person teaching me said there was a problem with my innate physique—that I’d never progress beyond a certain point…"
"Especially since you’re from Pengga. What about elixirs?"
"Yeah, I took a lot, but… did it even matter? It was just a waste of money. I stopped taking them recently."
Peng So-young muttered gloomily.
Elixirs weren’t just hard to come by—they were also absurdly expensive.
The fact that Pengga had fed her so many meant they had invested heavily in her.
‘Honestly, it’s a hassle, but…’
Fixing Peng So-young’s constitution would bring significant benefits.
Eliminating the flaw of Pengga’s sole heir would make the family indebted to him.
It would be a huge help in the future.
"Hmm… Hey."
"Y-yeah? What? Can you take your hand off first?"
"Recently, I took down some unusual criminals called Treasure Hunters. While dealing with them, I found out something…"
Yoo Baek-jun unfolded a map and marked a spot.
"Take some of your guild members and head here. There should be a usable elixir there."
"An elixir? I don’t need elixirs—"
"Just retrieve it—don’t take it. Then bring it to me. I have something to do with it."
"Bring it to you?"
Peng So-young looked puzzled.
"You wanted to know how I got better, right? This is part of the method, so bring it."
"U-um…"
She fell into thought. But after a moment—
"…Alright. I’ll talk to them."
She agreed.
Given her desperate situation, she’d cling to any lifeline.
‘And… I should clear that event too.’
There were two things needed to treat Mana Blockage:
A special pill made by combining elixirs, and Mind Technique.
There was a mind Technique created by someone from another world’s martial arts society who suffered from the same condition.
Combining these two would allow her to overcome her Magical Block.
‘Since I’m doing this, I’ll make sure the debt is properly recorded—and collect interest in full.’
He didn’t need the Mind Technique for himself.
The Heavenly Destruction Mind Technique, inherited from the Sword Saint lineage, was top-tier, making other techniques redundant.
That mind Technique only mattered for Peng So-young.
"Hey, can you take your hand—"
"Ah, right. Sorry."
Yoo Baek-jun was about to pull his hand back when someone entered.
"Am I interrupting?"
It was Jin Seo-yeon.
Her usual indifferent gaze swept over them.
Yoo Baek-jun shook his head.
"No, not really. You’re a bit late, though."
"I came as fast as I could. Don’t you remember giving me a troublesome task?"
Yoo Baek-jun had asked Jin Seo-yeon to bring something with her.
She jerked her chin toward the door.
Thud! Thud!
A massive soldier squeezed through the doorway. Clad head-to-toe in plate armor, it wielded a sword and shield.
"W-who’s that?"
"Who do you think? Say hello."
"…Hello?"
Peng So-young asked nervously, and Jin Seo-yeon smirked. Yoo Baek-jun sighed.
"Do you greet golems too?"
"That was a golem? I thought it was a Hunter."
Peng So-young’s eyes widened. Yoo Baek-jun walked up to the golem and examined it closely.
"Is this the golem you mentioned?"
"Yeah."
"You finished it faster than I expected."
“There was already a manufacturing facility. I just had to decode the blueprints and adapt them.”
Jin Seo-yeon made it sound trivial, but it was far from easy.
She must have had to decode the golem’s manufacturing method.
"It’s a unique golem. Its anti-magic capabilities are exceptional. Strong against spells, more defensive than offensive—that kind of golem."
"Exactly what Magic Tower wanted."
"Right. The people at Magic Tower are grateful to you. Especially my father…"
Magic Tower actively utilized golems.
Since mages needed time to chant spells, they required protectors—and golems fit that role perfectly.
"Father wants to meet you. He asked if you could visit when you have time. When are you coming to Magic Tower?"
"Well…"
He had originally planned to go.
But he had a lot on his plate. The Magic Tower visit wasn’t urgent.
Right now, he intended to go after finishing the Great Invasion event.
"I’ll go. Once this matter is settled."
"Hmm."
Jin Seo-yeon nodded in acknowledgment.
“I’m the last one, huh.”
Finally, Ryu Il-woo arrived.
His armor was stained with blood—likely from hunting monsters. Thud! He dropped into a chair.
"Sorry for the state I’m in. I came straight after hunting, so no time to wash up."
"Not at all. You’re not even the last one."
"Huh?"
As Ryu Il-woo looked puzzled, another figure entered.
A man in a suit.
"It’s an honor to meet you all again, haha."
Chae Jeong-jun, head of the Hunter Association’s Gate Response Strategy Division.
He greeted everyone with a smile.
"The Hunter Association? Why’d you call them?"
"What’s this about? Something to do with gates?"
"I wouldn’t know. I’m just here because Yoo Baek-jun asked me to come."
Ryu Il-woo and Peng So-young looked confused.
Their questioning gazes shifted from Chae Jeong-jun back to Yoo Baek-jun.
Their eyes asked: Why did you gather us?
"Why do you think I gathered this group?"
"……"
Ryu Il-woo scanned the room.
Everyone here had attended the meeting about the red gate. Gathering them could only mean one thing.
"Demons?"
"Correct. Screen."
At Yoo Baek-jun’s signal, a waiting attendant projected an image onto the screen.
It was a map—marked with several locations.
"A map. There are markings…"
"These are the same red gates we saw before. I had the Sword Saint family’s branches investigate because it was suspicious."
"Goodness, we had no idea."
Chae Jeong-jun sounded embarrassed.
Of course they wouldn’t know.
The investigation had been minimal—Yoo Baek-jun had simply sent inspectors to confirm the gate locations he already knew about.
The Hunter Association couldn’t have known.
"Busan, Gwangju, Daegu, Jeju… Hmm! They’re all over. If demons like the ones we fought before appear again, it won’t be easy to deal with."
"They won’t be on Barwe’s level."
"Oh? How can you be so sure?"
"I think the gates appearing now are a trap."
"A trap?"
Yoo Baek-jun nodded.
"As you know, demons have appeared in the past. Back then, red gates also appeared all over."
"Just like now."
"Right. Because of that, the Hunters at the time went to raid the regional gates. And then…"
"The demons actually attacked Seoul."
Chae Jeong-jun finished the sentence.
Everyone turned to him. Their eyes asked: How do you know that?
The Hunter Association didn’t exist back then.
"There are records left with the government. I looked into it because it seemed relevant. It’s a forgotten incident now, but it was a big deal back then."
"What did the records say?"
"Well, exactly what Yoo Baek-jun just said. While Hunters were away raiding regional gates, the demons attacked Seoul."
"That’s strange."
Jin Seo-yeon rested her chin on her hand.
"From the sound of it, it’s like they used a decoy to draw Hunters to the provinces while the main force struck Seoul?"
"Yes. I don’t know what people thought back then, but that’s how I see it."
"Hmm…"
Jin Seo-yeon glanced at Yoo Baek-jun. He spoke without hesitation.
"Sounds familiar? There’s no rule saying past events can’t repeat themselves."
"So, Yoo Baek-jun, you’re saying…"
"Right."
Yoo Baek-jun nodded.
"A Great Invasion by the demons might be coming."
"Great Invasion…"
A heavy term.
Though things had been quiet in modern times, humanity had always been at war with otherworldly monsters since the gates appeared.
Some had even invaded nations.
"……"
"……"
The room fell silent.
In that atmosphere, Yoo Baek-jun spoke.
"We must prepare for that invasion."
Now, it was time to get to the point.