Chapter 110
Translator: MJK
Chapter: 110
Chapter Title: The Rejuvenated Hero Descends!
Pink frilled apron and all, but I-hana could see right through to what lay beneath.
Countless scars etched into his skin peeked out from under his sleeves—marks of a brutal life spent dancing on the edge of death.
The heavy aura of killing intent that only someone who had crossed countless lines of mortality could possess.
And then there was the espresso tamper he held lightly in one hand. An ordinary tool, yet it looked like it could smash a man's skull without a second thought.
'Eek...!'
I-hana unwittingly held her breath.
The overwhelming pressure nearly buckled her legs, threatening to send her crumpling to the floor.
'Should I run?'
Her instincts screamed a warning.
But she quickly pulled herself together. This was right in the heart of Seoul, in a perfectly ordinary café. What did she even have to fear? She'd done nothing wrong.
Creeeak—
At that moment, the kitchen door behind the counter swung open, and a familiar voice rang out.
"Hey, Yaso, could you tweak the bean grinder settings? The grind's too fine... Huh?"
A man in an apron, rag in hand. It was that unemployed guy from cooking class, Kang-hyun.
"...Huh, Kang-hyun?"
"I-hana?"
Their eyes widened in unison.
As Kang-hyun approached with a delighted grin, the feral pressure radiating from Yaso vanished like a lie.
'He was on guard... because of me.'
Only then did it click for I-hana.
The moment she'd walked in, sensing her mana probe sweeping the shop, that hulking man had instantly picked up on it with uncanny sharpness and countered with his own intimidating aura. The guy had freakishly sharp instincts.
"No way, this is your place, Kang-hyun?"
"Yeah. Kinda ended up opening it. But what's with the face? You okay?"
"Oh, n-no. I'm fine now."
I-hana let out a sigh of relief, patting her chest.
A demon lord's lair vibe, and it turned out to be Kang-hyun's shop. Once Yaso realized Kang-hyun knew her, he gave a silent nod and returned to the espresso machine.
"Thanks to you back then, I got out of Phantom clean. No penalty fees, and I even snagged a bonus."
I-hana sat down and spilled the details.
Following Kang-hyun's advice, she'd held off on rash moves and waited. When Phantom crumbled, she'd walked away with everything she could grab.
"Did you see the official announcement yesterday? Phantom's Asia branch is on full dissolution track."
The fallout from Jayden Smith's blunder was bigger than expected.
The illegal mana disruptors he'd set up to catch Gorani-man had wreaked havoc on the local ecosystem in Gyeonggi Province. The government slapped them with an immediate shutdown, like they'd been waiting for it. Add in the astronomical losses from the main server explosion and the data leaks.
Headquarters shut down the Asia branch on the spot and sued Jayden and the entire management team, from what she'd heard.
"Rumor has it Jayden's stuck in the hospital for life. Thanks to that, hunters like me who were playing it safe got to walk free without penalty worries. The mighty number-two guild vaporized overnight... Feels like pulling a bad tooth, y'know?"
I-hana chuckled as she spoke.
"You're my benefactor, Kang-hyun. I can coast on unemployment in style for a while now."
"Glad to hear it. Congrats."
Come to think of it, he was curious about her next move.
"So, where to next? Bet you're getting love calls left and right."
"Eh... To cover living expenses, I'll have to go somewhere..."
I-hana trailed off.
Kang-hyun gazed at her thoughtfully.
Mana sensitivity.
The eyes to read invisible flows and discern their patterns.
Separate from raw combat power, this was a rarer, more valuable talent than even most S-Ranks possessed. An ultra-high-end skill for navigating complex dungeon mazes via shortest paths or spotting minute mana gaps in elite monsters.
"Anyway, I hear the lychee aide here is killer. Mind if I try a glass?"
"Of course."
Moments later, I-hana took a sip of the lychee aide Kang-hyun brought out himself and squeezed her eyes shut.
'No, it's even better than the rumors...!'
A festival of fruit juice exploding in her mouth.
Her first taste of fresh fruit aide this divine.
But her moment of bliss was short-lived; her brows furrowed again.
She carefully set down the glass and glanced alternately at the ceiling and floor.
"Kang-hyun."
"Yeah?"
"This place... the energy's no joke."
"Ah, you felt it?"
Kang-hyun gave an awkward smile.
"Got some security stuff upstairs. Tried to tone it down as much as possible, but it's leaking through?"
"It's overflowing with energy."
I-hana pointed at the ceiling.
"The mana stone powering it must be top-tier. Balance is perfect, but the purity's so high it's spilling out."
Kang-hyun nodded.
Probably because he'd dumped all those S-Grade mana stones White Snake had hoovered up from Tower floor 23 without holding back.
"Normals won't notice, but sensitive types might feel oppressed or overwhelmed. Could draw unwanted guests too."
Someone mana-sensitive like I-hana wouldn't pass it by.
"Ever heard of mana feng shui?"
"Mana feng shui? Yeah, I've heard of it."
If regular feng shui reads wind and water flows to pick sites, mana feng shui tunes the mana wavelengths flowing through a space.
Flush stagnant pools, smooth sharp edges, optimize the whole area's energy efficiency.
A premium technique mainly for big guild HQs or S-Rank personal estates.
"I can do it. Mind if I take a look?"
I-hana flashed a confident smile.
But Kang-hyun hesitated.
"I hear pro feng shui consultations like that cost a fortune, though."
Few could even do mana feng shui; rates were fixed sky-high.
A specialist consulting on a building? Industry rates meant nine-figure commissions—you name your price.
"Feels weird getting it for free."
I-hana waved it off with a laugh.
"Come on, don't be like that. After the severance you helped me score? This is nothing. Gotta repay favors properly."
She was firm.
Compared to what she'd gained, this was a joyful nothingburger.
"Alright then. Please do."
I-hana rolled up her sleeves.
A gift only she—with talent rivaling S-Ranks, beyond most—could offer.
Whiiiir—
Winter nights in the mountains were merciless.
In the suffocating darkness where all life held its breath, a small shadow huddled in a rock crevice.
Mottled patterns, sharply pointed ears.
Perk!
A civet cat, the mountains' little hunter.
But right now, it looked nothing like the proud predator.
Its lusterless fur was matted stiff with dirt and snow, its ribs stark against a frame shivering like an aspen in the unrelenting cold.
"Urgh..."
The civet wrapped its tail tighter around its nose, curling into an even smaller ball.
Hunger it could endure.
But this bone-chilling cold piercing to the marrow? Unbearable.
"Kiiing..."
A few days back, a massive moon bear's paw had been about to pulp its skull.
Then that old badger appeared out of nowhere, blocking the way.
For a civet who'd spent its life in a eat-or-be-eaten world, someone protecting it was a first.
Ever since, the civet had trailed the badger's scent.
But the badger had gone down to the human village long ago.
Wary by nature, the civet couldn't follow that far, endlessly waiting at the mountain's edge for its return.
Whiiiir—
The longer it waited, the more its body heat drained away.
Luck saved it last time. Who knew about now.
As night deepened, the presences of starving beasts drew nearer.
Rustle!
"Kyaaak!"
Even a tiny leaf crunch sent the civet leaping in terror, claws out.
But its slashing paw had no strength left.
Exhausted.
Worn down and broken.
Its old nimbleness gone, reduced to a pathetic old tomcat flinching at the wind. Pitiful.
Stagger...
It finally shuffled to move.
A familiar scent somewhere.
The badger's old earth den.
But it was long abandoned, cold as ice.
"......"
Still, the civet lay down there.
The faint lingering scent was its sole comfort.
Blink, blink.
Body temp dropping, mind fading.
It knew sleeping now meant never waking, yet its heavy eyelids wouldn't lift.
Slump.
The civet's head lolled weakly to the ground.
Only its faint breaths proved it still lived.
Utterly defenseless.
And a shadow that had doggedly awaited just this moment lurked nearby.
Rustle!
Two yellow eyes gleamed in the dark.
A hunter who'd hidden in the bushes near the old badger's den, waiting days for the civet to drop.
"Kii..."
Bursting from the thicket: a massive mutant weasel.
Three times a normal weasel's size, fur red as spilled blood.
The mountain's hyena equivalent.
A healthy civet would've fled without meeting its gaze, but this one was cunning.
It watched with sticky patience until weakness and sickness felled its prey. Now it emerged.
"Sniff."
The weasel licked its chops, approaching the fallen civet.
The mighty civet meets its end.
Flesh of a once-mountain-ruling beast.
Devouring it would make itself stronger. Greed blinded it.
Step, step.
The weasel bared fangs for the nape.
Drool dripped from sharp canines onto the civet's frozen fur.
One bite, and done.
"Kiiik!"
The weasel lunged for the throat—
Thud.
From the dark, a rough, thick paw shot out and casually gripped the weasel's head.
"Kii?!"
No scream escaped as it was hoisted into the air.
Vice-like grip threatening to crush its skull.
Terror-stricken, the weasel rolled its eyes upward.
There.
"Oldger."
Stood a beast in yellow-and-black striped honeybee garb, backlit by moonlight, gazing down with chilling eyes.