Dimensional Rift

While running on the treadmill, Seong-min watched the Cheonseong Guild's announcement playing on the personal TV screen and cracked a wry smile.

The way this is turning out is just ridiculous...

Im Seong-woo had stepped forward claiming he would settle everything in a single match for the sake of the public, yet in the end it had resolved into a situation where only Cheonseong Guild pursued its own interests. Considering the value Monster Holes provided, the gains they had secured went far beyond substantial—it was an outrageously favorable outcome. From Cheonseong Guild's perspective, they had plucked an enormous fruit.

But the gazes that followed were scorching. Beyond Cheonseong Guild securing exclusive rights, the subsequent announcement of the Liberty Project's implementation only drew even more hostile stares.

They're right, of course. Opportunities have increased, but the number of Monster Holes available to enter has been cut in half...

If half of them fell under Cheonseong Guild's exclusive rights, the Liberty Project's influence would effectively be halved as well. From the Awakeners' standpoint, it was a massive loss. Watching them finally buckle and make such an announcement, Seong-min found it amusing.

Kang Jung-gil is something else, too. He looked like he was on the back foot, yet he made such a bold decision like this.

What surprised Seong-min most was the Liberty Project itself. They said the announcement kicking it off had come last winter—which meant he might have anticipated something like this would happen in advance. If so, it was truly impressive.

How much stronger has he gotten in the meantime?

Seong-min wondered how much stronger Kang Jung-gil had become over the past year. In that time, Seong-min himself had worked incredibly hard and run full tilt. Even now, he was pouring everything into leveling up through exercise like this. Kang Jung-gil wouldn't have been sitting idle either.

Sky, huh...

While looking up information on him, Seong-min had learned that Cheonseong Guild's Im Seong-woo might have ascended to the Sky. Ten percent of the Awakener guilds existing in the country were said to be Line Guilds under Cheonseong Guild. And the term "Line Guild" itself had originated from Cheonseong Guild. It meant guilds that operated within Cheonseong Guild's sphere, following their lead.

Im Seong-woo—heir to the top-ten conglomerate Cheonseong Group and master of Cheonseong Guild. Rumor had it he might have reached the realm of the Heavenly God, known as the Sky.

By Awakener standards, how strong have I become?

The only benchmark Seong-min ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had for gauging his own level was last year's confrontation with that Kim Dong-woong of the Gangrim Guild. He had been the strongest guild master in Gangrim Guild, and Gangrim Guild had been the largest in Seoul at the time. Of course, it was only about a tenth the size of the current Gangrim Guild that boasted over a thousand members, but in the early days last year, even surpassing 150 members made for a formidable guild. And among those 150, the strongest had been Kim Dong-woong.

I subdued him without much difficulty.

And the him of now had grown incomparably stronger than back then. With his workout finished, Seong-min stopped the treadmill and opened his Status Window to allocate his ability points.

His level was advancing toward the three-thousands, and his Appearance and Vigor stats were both at 300. Considering they had been at 200 last year, that was another 100 points each. Raising them by that extra 100 had taught Seong-min something: a penis did not grow longer and thicker indefinitely.

Once it surpassed 17 cm and became a respectable size, it stopped growing any further. It had halted at a size that wouldn't make women feel burdened. He knew that if the length and girth got too extreme, more women than expected found it overwhelming. On that front, Seong-min considered himself truly fortunate.

And with Vigor at 300, his sexual stamina had become so outstanding that he no longer needed to raise the stat any further. If he put his mind to it, he could ejaculate up to thirty times a day without his erection flagging. Thinking about whether he could even manage thirty rounds if he went at it all night, his Vigor was more than abundant. Thus the length and size were perfectly satisfying as well.

It was similar to how raising his Martial Power had sculpted his body not into the bulky frame of a bodybuilder, but into something balanced and refined. Rather than bulk, the quality of his muscle improved and its density increased, evolving the power the same amount of muscle could generate to an enormous degree.

He still hadn't touched the Speech stat. Having heard the explanation from Kang Jung-gil, he felt no immediate need to invest in Speech, so he had left it alone. Instead, he had concentrated his points into Martial Power, which could make him stronger, and Physicality to support that power.

Compared to last year when Jung-gil's Martial Power had been 500, the difference now exceeded 600. Seong-min's Martial Power stood at 1121.

Honestly, I can't even begin to estimate how strong I've become anymore.

He had never fully unleashed this power, so how could he know? More than anything, just today his Martial Power had risen by another 5. He was still growing stronger by the moment.

After finishing his workout and showering, Seong-min returned home. That evening, he thoroughly enjoyed the dinner Hye-suk had prepared.

"So you've decided to go to Sokcho this weekend?"

"Yeah. It's been a while since I've seen the ocean... so I guess that's why we settled on it."

"Min-hyeok said the same thing today. That picking Sokcho was a good call."

"It's a shame... It would've been nice if you could come with us, Seong-min."

"The director's birthday falls on that day, so it's hard to skip out..."

On that day, Seong-min had arranged to visit the orphanage with Yoo Ji-ah. It was the birthday of the director, Kim Geum-rye, and he had already called ahead last time to say he would come. Ji-ah knew that perfectly well, of course. As class president she had looked after and helped Seong-min a great deal, and as his closest friend she had often visited the orphanage herself. So when they had gone to see Haengboki one last time, not only Ju A-ram but Director Kim Geum-rye had been truly delighted to see her. That girl had grown up so beautifully and come back.

"Don't worry about not being able to join us. Just go, give the director her gift properly, and have a good time..."

"I will..."

"And we can always go together next time, right?"

"Next time I'll definitely treat everyone to something nice."

"Hoh hoh hoh, can I trust that?"

"Of course~"

Enjoying the delicious dinner, Seong-min felt truly relieved that Hye-suk seemed to be finding her footing again. In the meantime, A-reum and Min-hyeok had dropped by now and then, and they had spent good times together.

And so the weekend arrived.

Seong-min loaded a gold-packaged box of wild mountain ginseng extract gold, worth about a million won, that he had bought at the department store for the director into the trunk, then climbed into the driver's seat.

"Text me when you get there?"

"I'll call if I can."

"Alright..."

Seeing him off, Hye-suk watched as Seong-min headed for the one-room apartment where Yoo Ji-ah lived. Watching the car leave the alley, Hye-suk smiled.

"I should get ready myself."

Min-hyeok would be coming to pick her up soon.

"You're here."

When he arrived and called, a well-dressed Yoo Ji-ah came down.

"Is that a gift?"

"Yeah. I had a summer suit tailored that I thought the director would look good in."

"Must've been expensive?"

"A little over seven hundred thousand won."

The price had indeed been substantial.

"The director doesn't like flashy clothes much."

"I figured, so I went with a calm design. Navy blue, since it's for an important occasion."

"Good choice."

"What about you, Seong-min?"

"Wild mountain ginseng extract gold."

"How much?"

"A little over a million won?"

"You really put thought into it."

"I figured wild ginseng extract would be better than red ginseng."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"The director will love it."

Besides that, Seong-min had prepared a check for five million won in an envelope, telling them to put it toward the orphanage. She would surely refuse, saying it was fine and that it was too much of a burden, but he knew the orphanage needed no small amount of money, so he had prepared it.

"Is Auntie still home?"

"Min-hyeok should arrive a little after we leave."

"Next time we should all go together."

"Definitely. Auntie wants to see you too, Ji-ah."

He had already told her plenty about Ji-ah, so she knew enough, and he had shared that with Ji-ah as well.

"I want to meet her in person too. From what Min-hyeok and Unnie A-reum say, she seems like a wonderful person..."

"She's an amazing person. She took me in and helped me when I was in a tough spot. Just like..."

"Just like?"

"Like when you helped me as class president when we were kids."

Ji-ah gave a bitter smile.

"Shall we head out?"

"Yeah..."

They slowly pulled out of the villa parking lot, entered the road, and headed for the orphanage.

"Whoa~! You dressed up so prettily!"

When Hye-suk opened the front gate and stepped out, Min-hyeok raised a thumb and grinned.

"Hoh hoh hoh. It's been so long since I've been to the sea—I have to dress nicely."

Hye-suk was wearing the light sky-blue A-line skirt and white blouse ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Seong-min had gifted her. With a gold bracelet, necklace, and earrings, she fully displayed her elegant, mature beauty. Min-hyeok personally opened the rear door for her.

"Thank you."

Thanking Min-hyeok for opening the back door, Hye-suk climbed in and looked at A-reum, who was already seated in the back.

"Hello, A-reum."

"...Yes... Hello..."

"Did you sleep well?"

"...Yes... I did..."

"I'm glad you slept well..."

Smiling, Hye-suk turned her head to look at the passenger seat.

"Ah, hello..."

The pretty woman with brown hair sitting in the passenger seat greeted her awkwardly with a smile.

"You're Mi-ju, the one Min-hyeok mentioned?"

"Yes. Please feel free to speak casually with me too..."

"Alright then, Auntie~ Just talk to her casually. She hates formality."

"Don't say weird things."

"What weird thing did I say?"

"Just ignore what Min-hyeok says... And I'd like you to speak casually to me the way you do with Unnie."

"Shall I, then?"

"Yes..."

"She's got a bit of a prickly side, so be careful. She insisted on coming along even though—ugh..."

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Min-hyeok suddenly stop talking, Hye-suk looked puzzled.

"Min-hyeok must've gotten bitten by a mosquito...! There was one buzzing around earlier that was being a real nuisance. Right, Min-hyeok? I should open the window a bit."

"Mosquitoes don't—ugh..."

"Oh my? It bit him again? Mosquitoes these days are so aggressive."

Watching Min-hyeok flinch, A-reum tilted her head.

"Hoh hoh hoh."

Hye-suk burst into laughter, as if she understood exactly why Min-hyeok was acting that way.

"Alright~ Min-hyeok. Let's get going! We have to get to Sokcho, and if we don't leave now the traffic will be terrible~!"

Feigning innocence, Mi-ju urged Min-hyeok to hurry up and start driving while cheerfully fastening her passenger-seat seatbelt.