Chapter 74

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Translator: MJK

Chapter: 74

Chapter Title: High Dragon's Eye, Martial God's Ink

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Okinawa, a quiet beachside.

I sat on a cliff overlooking the emerald sea, letting the sea breeze wash over me.

"This is the prime spot."

The ash-gray forest had turned a deep green, and the blackened beach had revealed its pristine white sands once more.

It was a truly beautiful sight.

Click-

I raised my film camera and captured the scene on film.

A peaceful moment.

"Kki-yot!"

"Hm?"

Just then, Gorani hopped through the small dimensional gate I'd left open behind me, an empty basket in its mouth.

It looked like it'd just finished a delivery to Old Man No's place, but there was something inside the basket.

"What's this?"

Inside was a small box accompanied by a short letter.

[Jang, this is from Valhalla. Install it at home, and you can check on the family from afar. It'll be great.]

I'd heard about it over the phone from Old Man No a few days ago.

Valhalla had earned a special bonus for taking over the National Hunter Management Bureau's rift management authority.

"If you got it, you should use it yourself... why send something like this..."

Flipping the letter over revealed more.

[This is all thanks to you. So you use it, Jang.]

There was some hurried scrawl too.

Old Man No seemed thrilled that Valhalla was taking over rift management.

I could picture him diving into work like a fish to water.

Imagining that, I chuckled and pulled out a gemstone that resembled a dragon's eye, sparkling iridescently.

"Let's designate the countryside house..."

I activated the artifact and set the farmhouse as the target.

Suddenly, an unbelievable scene unfolded before my eyes.

"Hm?"

As if I were a transparent ghost, my viewpoint appeared right in the middle of the farmhouse yard.

And with just a thought, I could move the viewpoint freely.

'Zoom in.'

The view instantly closed in on a chicken wandering the yard.

The resolution was incredible—even the texture of individual feathers was crystal clear.

"Kokko's put on some weight."

I hadn't noticed by eye, but the broken wing had healed perfectly without a scar.

The once-skinny body was now plump, especially around the chest and legs.

'What about the others?'

I shifted the view to Muryong and Hasuo napping on the porch.

Muryong was smacking its lips in sleep-talk, while Hasuo fanned it with its leaves like a dutiful attendant.

"Hasuo's such a good kid."

Hasuo followed Muryong around like a mother, tending to it devotedly.

Not just Hasuo—all the household did the same.

Even the fearless Gorani tread carefully around Muryong.

Satisfied, I turned off the artifact.

"What a view."

Night had fallen on Okinawa before I knew it.

The iridescent energy emanating from the [Abyssal Gluttonous Tree] mingled with the starlight, enveloping the entire night sky like an aurora.

"...She's still in there, huh?"

A forest filled with grotesquely twisted trees—the Forest of Remorse.

"Ugh... huff... huff!"

Park Jin-su didn't even have the energy to curse.

Trapped in endless illusions replaying his own misdeeds, he muttered bitterly in rage.

"What did I... do... wrong?"

Yet he still felt no remorse whatsoever.

"If it weren't for that idiot...!"

Instead, his hatred for Jang Kang-hyun, who had imprisoned him here, burned fiercer than ever.

Kwaaa!

A far more horrific and massive monster's roar echoed from behind Park Jin-su.

"Uwaaaak!"

Screaming, Park Jin-su began another endless flight.

His remorse hadn't even truly begun.

A few days later, a message arrived from Shin Seung-ah on Tower Market.

I vaguely remembered seeing Xiao Lin collapsed during the Okinawa Great Rift incident.

Xiao Lin was famous as a mysterious figure who avoided media exposure.

Among hunters, she was known as the Gravity Sword Emperor—an S-Rank who wielded a greatsword as tall as herself like a feather.

Could it be?

I thought of China's S-Rank healer, Liu.

The tragic genius afflicted with the same Dragon Curse as Yu Jin-hyuk.

She had performed miracles, reviving the dying and captivating all of China, only to collapse and fade into obscurity within a year.

I pondered for a moment.

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

I didn't want to get dragged into anything troublesome, but her desperation to save a fellow curse-bearer like Yu Jin-hyuk felt all too familiar.

I'd been the same way when it came to So-ye.

Shin Seung-ah linked an item.

An intriguing phrase caught my eye.

Martial artist, huh.

It might be related to Internal Energy.

Meeting once wouldn't hurt.

A few days later, at the fairy-lit U-Hwa-Ryeong.

"It's an honor to meet you. I'm Xiao Lin."

A space where voices and forms distorted.

But my eyes saw Xiao Lin's true appearance clearly.

Jet-black long straight hair, skin pale to the point of pallor, worn and shabby clothes.

Even so, they couldn't hide her noble beauty.

She was a stunning beauty straight out of a Chinese film.

"Thank you... for meeting me like this."

To convey her sincerity, she spoke in halting Korean without a translation artifact.

"Please save my friend Liu."

Tears welled in her eyes, ready to fall at any moment.

Her face, as if she'd wept for three days straight, was deathly pale.

Liu Liu.

I remembered that name.

There had been a time when the whole world buzzed about her.

The genius healer who shook the world with near-resurrection healing upon S-Rank awakening.

Now just a forgotten name.

"I have one question."

"Yes."

"Why offer a family heirloom for a friend who's not even blood?"

Xiao Lin bowed her head and began her story.

"Liu... it's because of me that she ended up like that."

"..."

"Three years ago, China was obsessed with being the first to conquer Tower Floor 70. They treated affiliated hunters like machine parts, forcing reckless assaults without rest or resupply."

Xiao Lin's voice trembled.

It was laced with anger and sorrow.

"That day, I was supposed to challenge Floor 70. But my wounds from the previous raid hadn't healed yet. Liu found out and... she went in my place."

"In your place?"

"That's what Liu said. 'You're China's future—you need to be perfect, without a scratch. Leave the dirty work to me.' And then... she barely returned, afflicted by the curse. Surviving at all was a miracle."

"So she first contracted the Dragon Curse then?"

"Yes."

"That's odd."

I mulled over Xiao Lin's words.

There was definitely something off.

"In Hunter Yu Jin-hyuk's case, the curse built up over three years. A single hit shouldn't have worsened it that much. The Dragon Curse isn't that lethal. Proper treatment back then would have prevented this."

Common sense dictated China wouldn't skimp on support for an S-Rank.

"It was just once, but it didn't mesh well with Liu—made it more severe than expected. And besides..."

Xiao Lin's expression grew grave.

"...The country abandoned Liu."

"What?"

According to Xiao Lin, China had initially scolded Liu's independent action but promised full support for her treatment.

"But the curse on Liu was far more lethal than imagined. It demanded unimaginable resources with no progress."

"..."

"So they changed tack. Claimed injuries from unauthorized actions weren't their responsibility and cut off all but minimal treatment."

"That doesn't add up. Someone of Hunter Liu's caliber—China wouldn't want to lose her."

"They feared exposing their own failures more. Better to scout new S-Rank prospects than pour water into a leaky jar. To them, a single life is just replaceable parts."

A comrade pushed into the jaws of death in her stead.

And guilt and regret over the abandoned friend.

That hellish time had gnawed at Xiao Lin's soul.

That's why she'd wandered the world for three years to save Liu.

"And this is the promised item."

Xiao Lin offered a wooden box with a resolute expression.

"I intended to give this just for meeting you. It's my sincerity."

Her words rang true.

Even before opening it, the extraordinary aura emanating from within was palpable.

Snap-

I opened the box and took out the [Ancient Martial God's Ink].

Then I channeled a faint trace of Internal Energy into it.

The base description was the same.

And then...

The true revelation appeared.

True mastery of a Heart Method?

"Is there an ancient tome or something passed down with this ink?"

I urgently asked Xiao Lin.

"An ancient tome?"

"Yes, like old training manuals."

"Oh, that kind of thing? Our family library has mountains of them."

Mountains of them.

How many was that exactly?

"Take whatever you like."

She was incredibly accommodating.

No reason to refuse.

There had to be something worthwhile I could recognize.