Chapter 70
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Someone's Glory Days
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Thud, thud.
The badger's footsteps back to its cave felt unusually heavy.
The badger's home was a cozy burrow dug beneath the roots of an old zelkova tree halfway up the mountain.
Huddled alone inside the cave, the old badger's eyes flickered with the image of the chicken it had just seen.
'Cock-a-doodle-doo!'
The badger knew that scruffy native chicken well.
Not long ago, it had been a frail thing chased around by mountain rabbits.
Yet now, it was shattering tough tree bark.
Clumsy as it was, those pathetic-looking wings carried clear determination.
That desperate flapping, those awkward kicks.
"......"
In that sight, the badger saw echoes of its own distant past.
Once, the badger had been called the shadow of this mountain.
True, it hadn't ruled with the overwhelming might of those ferocious giant deer from the old days.
But the badger had sharp claws and abundant wisdom.
Foolish wolves that invaded its territory met miserable ends in traps.
In its youth, the badger's claws tore zelkova bark like paper, and its teeth crushed wild boar bones.
Back when it was a force no one on this mountain dared underestimate.
Rustle...
As the badger lumbered its sluggish body, it made a sound like crumbling dry leaves.
It gazed down at its dulled front claws.
When had it started?
Not fighting anymore.
Not challenging anymore.
Time had worn away not just its claws, but its passion too.
A milky film clouded its eyes, and its joints ached on rainy days.
Now, the badger was just an old loser, hiding away, hoping to avoid starvation and the eyes of stronger beasts day by day.
"Cluck!"
The chicken's resolute cry echoed from afar.
That chicken wasn't born special or strong.
It was only natural it was weaker than an old badger like itself.
Yet that foolish, pure will refusing to give up, endlessly tempering itself...
It was stirring something long dead deep in the old badger's heart.
Maybe, just maybe...
It could still fight...
No, with this body?
A sluggish body never keeps up with the heart.
Dull, frizzy fur stripped of luster.
Sagging belly fat without strength.
A scarred, worn body, chronic wounds festering or not—who could tell anymore.
"......"
Yes, it was already this old.
Realizing its pathetic reality once more, the old badger simply sighed deeply and curled up in the darkness.
Its past glory was now just a distant fairy tale.
To survive from here on, it had to bow to the strong.
It recalled the bizarre group that chicken belonged to.
The overwhelmingly powerful giant deer, the tiny dust ball that even made that deer flinch, and the walking elixir.
And at the center of it all, the human man.
That man had to be the master of those terrifying beings.
The old badger instinctively knew it had to catch that human's eye to survive.
No matter how it thought, clinging to him was the best way to avert danger and live on.
That was the way for the old and weak to survive.
"Cock-a-doodle-doo-!"
The morning began with the chicken's crow.
I got up and headed to the field.
After planting the Heart Seedling of the Sun Bird,
the field could now freely control yin and yang energies, so it was time to test that power.
"Let's check it with some new crops."
I pulled out seeds I'd gotten from a nursery in town.
Crispy asparagus.
Beets, called jewels of the earth.
And a few days ago, the neighbor grandma had given me some sweet potato seedlings, saying these days' sweet potatoes are sweet as honey.
Scraaape, scraaape—
I plowed the field with the Lazy Fairy's Dewdrop and planted the seeds.
Then I drew in the hot, pure yang energy flowing from the Heart Seedling of the Sun Bird.
Fwoosh...
Golden energy rose like heat haze from my fingertips.
Not as fierce as blazing flames, but gentle and warm.
I gathered it and let it flow softly over the entire field.
Flash!
The field's crops absorb the energy of the Sun (☉).
The cold yin energy held in the Moonlight Soil neutralized with the hot yang energy, achieving perfect harmony.
'I can feel it.'
Fierce vitality awakening from deep underground.
Yang Attribute: Upon consumption, reignites the burning passion and motivation of first starting something in those feeling lethargic or stuck in a rut.
The newly planted seeds were reacting to the energy.
Yang attribute infuses the asparagus.
Yang attribute infuses the beets.
Yang attribute infuses the sweet potatoes.
A satisfied smile formed.
Just one night, and I could harvest these new spirit herbs.
Phantom Guild Asia Branch, emergency strategy meeting.
"......So, what's the total damage?"
Jayden Smith's voice barely suppressed his rage.
The finance team leader flipped through the datapad with trembling hands.
"All 120 low-frequency mana disruptors installed across Gyeonggi Province were completely destroyed. No recovery possible. Losses alone are about 24 billion won."
"......"
"And... the main situation room server was utterly destroyed by a backflow sonic attack. Recovery will take at least three months, costs estimated over 50 billion won. Worse, the aftermath has employees complaining of tinnitus, and treatment costs alone..."
"Enough."
Jayden raised a hand, signaling he didn't want to hear more.
'Damn it!'
Just to lure out one giant deer, and he'd blown nearly 100 billion won into thin air.
He never imagined his perfect plan would fail this catastrophically.
Bang!
Then, the conference room door burst open.
"Jayden Smith."
The man who entered was Cha Do-min, Phantom Guild's sole Korean S-rank, known as the Alchemist.
"Hunter Cha Do-min? We're in a meeting right now."
"Shut up and listen."
"......Pardon?"
Cha Do-min shoved in Jayden's face the footage from a recent interview.
-Soon, you'll see Gorani-man teaming up with Phantom.
"What the hell is this?"
"Wh-what's the problem...?"
"Handing out checks you can't cash, making the whole guild a laughingstock? Everywhere I go, thanks to you, I'm hearing nothing but mockery about when Gorani-man's joining. It's beyond infuriating."
"No, that's..."
"You know it's standard for S-ranks like me to plant a spy or two in any guild, right?"
Cha Do-min slammed the datapad on the table.
Inside was an unofficial report detailing how Jayden had illegally deployed mana disruptors to track Gorani-man and failed miserably.
"What the hell is this?"
Cha Do-min had joined Phantom for its vast resources, but he despised the guild's arrogance and frivolity.
"Seeing you approach a real powerhouse like Gorani-man with such dirty tactics? This guild has no future."
"Wh-what are you saying?"
"I'm leaving Phantom. I'll pay the penalty."
"!"
The bombshell declaration brought instant silence to the room.
Jayden snapped out of it, pale as a ghost.
"Ar-are you serious?"
"No, Hunter! Please!"
An S-rank defection.
A loss incomparable to the 100 billion in damages!
"W-wait, Hunter! Think it over again...!"
"Quiet."
Cha Do-min turned away, refusing to hear more.
He shot Jayden one last contemptuous glance.
"That arrogant belief you can buy everything with money? It won't last long in Korea."
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
"Aaaargh!"
Jayden smashed his fist on the desk amid splitting-headache stress.
Making up for billions in gear and server losses was maddening enough—now an S-rank was leaving?
'Why is everything going so wrong?'
That damn giant deer hadn't even snagged Gorani-man—instead, it was ridiculously overpowered!
Everything was falling apart.
Lazy afternoon.
Under the porch shade, Jang Kang-hyun's household was all lost in sweet naps.
Snore, snore...
Muryong slept on Kang-hyun's belly, breathing softly.
Hasuo shaded Muryong with its leaves.
Phew...
Gorani huddled its massive body, twitching its round ears in sleep-talk.
The chicken dozed on the warmest spot on the shed roof—perfect peace.
Swish—
The old badger watched from afar, as always.
It wanted to approach but lacked the courage to disturb those great beings' tranquility.
Then, the presumed master on the porch opened his eyes.
He beckoned the badger and called softly.
"Come here."
"!"
The badger tensed briefly but sensed no hostility in the voice.
Pat-pat-pat—
Cautiously stepping over dry dirt, it crossed the yard to the porch.
Kang-hyun silently stroked the badger's back.
Then offered a fully ripened honey sweet potato.
"Like sweet potatoes?"
The badger took the offered potato in a daze and ate.
Crunch!
"!"
Sweet and warm.
In terms of taste alone, an incredible flavor it'd never experienced.
Ecstatic sweetness and warmth spreading through its body.
It had lived its whole life on this mountain, eating every rare root and fruit, but nothing like this.
A taste awakening every cell with joy.
The badger meekly nestled in Kang-hyun's arms, munching.
"Good eater."
Come to think of it, it'd never been held like this by a human before.
Not once in all its years.
It thought at this age, no new experiences left.
Awkward, yet strangely comfortable.
"......Whine, whimper..."
The badger made small puppy-like sounds.
From the warm energy in the sweet potato?
Or this gentle stroking hand?
Something forgotten stirred in the old badger's parched heart, after so long.
Drip—
Overwhelmed by the unfamiliar emotion, a hot tear rolled down its wrinkled eye. This warmth was the first gift in the badger's harsh life.