Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Turmoil in Shin Gangnam
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About a month had passed since the Shin Gangnam incident.
Whether thanks to technology and the power of Awakeners, or simply because they poured in that much funding, the northern frontlines—devastated from battles with the Slaughter King's minions—had been fully restored.
In contrast, reconstruction efforts were still in full swing in Shin Gangnam.
And Korea was still abuzz with talk of the golden armored knight who had suddenly appeared, taken down an S-rank monster, and dragged one of the Big Three guilds, the Seoul Guild, into the abyss.
The Association had already upgraded it to an SS-rank Demon in their records, and in the new order that had settled in, people were chattering away on the internet and X-Tube.
[Title: Hey, isn't it actually better that the 'Golden Armored Knight' shook things up?]
Those Shin Gangnam bastards were total assholes anyway—felt damn good watching them get wrecked. Plus, he took out an S-rank Demon and an S-rank monster, making him a hero, right? Better than the Big Three guilds always hoarding S-rank Hunters and jerking off to their power.
-You idiot, don't you know how precious S-rank Hunters are?
-Whatever, the Shin Gangnam blow-up was satisfying as hell. Place is a total warzone now. Lol.
-Don't go to the southern barrier construction site even if they offer big money. Scavengers and monsters under 'Constellation Sanggejeong' are swarming in like it's their chance—it's a battlefield.
-Bullshit as always. But why isn't it on the news?
-The Shin Gangnam residents are suppressing it to stop land prices from tanking, dumbass.
Thanks to the Shin Gangnam incident, the area had turned into a disputed zone over the past month, with Scavenger clans and minions of Constellation Sanggejeong probing for chaos.
Shin Gangnam's backers were using all sorts of pressure to keep these stories from leaking out, but it was already common knowledge not just in Korea, but in neighboring countries too.
"Damn! Damn! Damn! Damn! That bastard Park Soonwon—I'd chew off my own hand! Damn it! I just want to wake him up right now. Arghhh!"
"Apostle of Sanggejeong, A-rank monster Girmaark, incoming attack! Danger!"
"A mysterious Scavenger group has kidnapped workers at the Shin Gangnam construction site!"
"X-Sun Ilbo's chairman says they can't keep suppressing the media much longer!"
"They need support on-site. No matter how much more money we throw at them, they can't do double shifts anymore..."
Oh Kyung-hoon, who had ousted Park Soonwon and taken over as guild master, was buried under an avalanche of tasks—his face gaunt and hollowed out.
The Shin Gangnam backers wanted to quickly rebuild the barriers and solidify their stronghold once more, but hostile monsters and Scavengers were thoroughly sabotaging every effort.
With the situation like this, they needed constant security on standby, but the number of available Hunters for these duties was dwindling by the day, creating a vicious cycle of ever-tightening schedules.
"Still no word from the Association or the other guilds?"
"Well, they're all swamped too, and the temporary management outpost hasn't gathered as many Hunters as we'd hoped. We're barely holding the line with help from just the Ministry of National Defense, but as you know..."
Modern firearms and gear had advanced through research and improvements to hunt monsters, but the primary issue was cost-effectiveness.
No matter the upgrades, it was inefficient to rely on Hunters deploying mana stones, magic tools, rune engravings, smelting, alchemy, and other consumables just to take down monsters.
Of course, for citizen safety and protection, they had no choice but to ignore efficiency and use it for defense. But for offensive operations and subjugation, the apostles of Constellations leading the monsters were clever and often had special abilities.
Conventional weapons were either nullified outright, impossible to aim, or ineffective against their evasion capabilities with explosive ordnance—making Hunters indispensable in the end.
"Nothing's going our way."
"What about Girmaark, sir?"
"Any guilds bidding or applying to take it down? Hand it off to them."
"Well... none."
"Haa~ Damn it! Damn it! If it weren't for that fucking Golden Armored Knight bastard!"
If the Shin Gangnam incident hadn't happened because of the Golden Armored Knight, they wouldn't be suffering like this.
Of course, digging deeper, it was Chairman Bae's fault—but that was a noble hobby of the Shin Gangnam backers, so they couldn't complain.
Even after this mess, the backers remained influential, continuing their hobbies unabated.
"Haa~ Looks like I'll have to handle Girmaark myself. Gather the A-rank folks. We'll drive it off in one go."
"Yes, sir."
"That Golden Armored Knight punk! Just you wait! Someday, with my own hands—no, in the name of Shin Gangnam, I'll crush you flat! Anyway, Secretary Kim, handle things here in my stead! I'm heading to the site!"
Oh Kyung-hoon, already overwhelmed by paperwork and leadership duties, now had to lead a raid too. He ground his teeth watching the Golden Armored Knight on the news.
His secretary, who hadn't heard the word "quitting time" in a month, empathized and took over the work.
***
At the same time, in the DMZ East Coast region.
And what was Yoo Seongwon—the man who had thrown the world into massive chaos—up to right now?
Lazily casting his fishing line by the seaside, taking in the ocean view, and enjoying a quiet moment.
Why the sea after saying he'd head to the mountains? The jungle there was too dense and serious, full of old landmines, booby traps, and even drone cameras to block Scavengers and wild monsters—making it far less livable than he'd imagined.
"Ahaha, sorry. I didn't think it through either. Unless you're buying the mountain with your own money, it seems impossible."
"Yeah, I think so too."
So they'd ended up here, tucked away in a remote corner of the East Coast where neither drones nor human feet reached.
He periodically bought supplies or traded mana stones from nearby monsters at the Slaughter King's shop, so it was surprisingly hassle-free.
"Ah~ So relaxing."
He'd fixed up an abandoned house just enough to live in comfortably, and Akaron handled the internet, so there was zero inconvenience from modern life—it really felt like camping or vacationing.
With no exhaustion or stress, just pure peace, Yoo Seongwon's face naturally brightened.
"Whew~ But the problem is, I can't make this my permanent home."
It was great, but regrettably, this beach spot couldn't serve as more than a temporary base.
For one, being seaside meant exposure to the outside. And since it wasn't his land, building a proper residence was tricky.
"But living here helped me figure out what I really want. This is it."
Whoosh~ Crash!
The only sounds were waves and seagull cries—a serene, peaceful daily life.
Over the month, he'd occasionally checked outside news, caught fish, spruced up his place, and cleaned the surroundings—that was it. But it brought him immense mental relief.
"And that Chairman Bae's brother turned out to be such a scaredy-cat that he listened well. Even tried to take care of me in return—had me on edge for a while."
After causing a scene at Chairman Bae's funeral, luckily the timid Executive Director Bae Jung-su had sincerely compensated all victims. The funny part? Yoo Seongwon, registered as an E+ Hunter, was listed as a victim too, so they went nuts trying to track him down.
"That guy was so persistent, it doubled the annoyance."
(Ah, if you don't accept, I'm dead meat! For real! No retaliation, I swear! Please come get your apology and compensation! Please, sirrrr!)
"Well, I brought it on myself, so karma."
On the flip side, if he was that thorough with Yoo Seongwon, the other victims were surely well cared for—which actually put his mind at ease.
Excluding that one issue, the past month had been utterly peaceful.
Once he shook off the disappearance rumors, he planned to buy a mountain or whatever and build his real home.
"Mountains sound good."
The sea wasn't bad, but Yoo Seongwon, craving even more quiet, had long envisioned mountain living.
A month by the sea revealed its downsides for permanent residence, and catching up on media during his rest confirmed mountains were better for hiding away.
"Mountain home. My nest~ La la la~ Ah~ If only every day could be like today~"
After some light fishing and grilling meat, Yoo Seongwon hummed contentedly in the breeze, savoring his quiet life.
"Shatter and vanish! Judgment Fist!"
[Th...at... fist... too... weak.]
BOOM!
Stumbling back near his temporary home, he found fully armored dragonkin knight Krokbane clashing with Shin Ayoung, geared in martial robes and gauntlets.
No longer hiding them after parading during the Shin Gangnam incident, he'd formally introduced the knights.
Learning each rivaled an S-rank Hunter, Shin Ayoung immediately made them her training partners.
"Huff... huff... I... I lost! Ack!"
[Still... improved... a lot... Ayoung... At this level... you'd make... a fine soldier... under me...]
The knights weren't cold enough to refuse an ambitious young person's request, so they took turns sparring whenever she asked.
Despite the overwhelming gap in strength, her endless challenges impressed them—they offered advice freely.
'No matter how I look at it, doesn't she fit my Knight trait better than me?'
Unyielding spirit even after tasting death's fear. Endless drive for self-improvement and a sense of justice against evil.
She was prime material for a Constellation's chosen, fighting for the world—far more suited to the Knight trait than someone like him. It left him a bit wistful.
"You're working hard again today~ Time for dinner, so wash up and get ready."
"Yes! I'll go wash!"
[Master... should... train too... Body looks... stiff.]
"This morning's splash fight in the sea with you guys—was that training?"
Yoo Seongwon hadn't just lounged around this month.
He gathered intel on C-rank dungeons ahead of time, trained combat and command with the knights in the mornings, then relaxed in the afternoons.
He still wanted his home and sanctuary, but his thirst for level-ups and pushing growth limits remained.
"Anyway, leaving that aside—what about her? Any potential? Or does she need a level-up after all?"
[As you say... master... She's maxed... her potential... But no matter how... sparingly or efficiently... used... a single bucket... can't match... a river... or the sea.]
Krokbane's assessment of Shin Ayoung: She'd reached B-rank max, but that was her limit.
Conclusion: Level up to boost stats, or her Constellation steps in. But if that were happening, things wouldn't have dragged this far.
A B-rank Hunter was upper-tier, sure, but ambiguous for wielding true overwhelming power.
[Her drive... unswayed by temptation... Such straightness... Pity her strength... pales compared... to her other qualities.]
"Not knight material, but a wasted seedling, huh?"
[Indeed... master. The others... agree.]
Krokbane spoke for Gaulp, Seom-myeol, and Akaron too.
Hearing this, Yoo Seongwon pondered deeply, then steeled his resolve.
After setting the table, he approached her as she emerged washed and changed.
"Ha! Feels great. A glass of milk after training and a shower! Uh, huh?"
"You done? Here, this is for you."
He pulled something from his inventory and handed it over. She stared at him in surprise.
"...What's this?"
"Legendary-grade skill book: Phoenix Dance. Dropped by the S-rank monster Leghorn."
Shin Ayoung's eyes widened, flicking between Yoo Seongwon and the skill book.
As expected, Yoo Seongwon calmed her first, then calmly explained why he was passing it to her.