Chapter 88
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Translator: MJK
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Salvation Comes Suddenly One Day
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MK Sphere, Yu Jin-hyuk's exclusive training ground.
Bang! Boom!
The steel shield slicing through the air moved with ferocious speed.
Drenched in sweat, Yu Jin-hyuk relentlessly shot down training drones without a moment's rest.
Kaboom!
As the final drone shattered and tumbled across the floor, Yu Jin-hyuk caught his breath harshly and wiped his sweat with a towel.
Shin Seung-ah approached, handing him a cool bottle of water and a fresh towel.
"Great work, Hunter."
"Thank you."
Yu Jin-hyuk downed the water in one go and asked,
"Executive Director. What happened with the Xiao Lin hunter situation?"
"Gorani-man stepped in personally. He's made contact with Xiao Lin, and things are progressing positively from what I hear."
"...As expected."
A faint smile crept across Yu Jin-hyuk's lips.
"I knew he would. He's not the type to turn away from someone in need."
He knew it firsthand.
What made Gorani-man greater than the power he wielded was how he used that power and his mindset.
If he were just strong, Yu Jin-hyuk wouldn't hold him in such respect.
"Then, is there nothing I can do to help?"
"Pardon? You, Hunter?"
"If Gorani-man is treating Liu Hunter, the Chinese side will surely put up fierce resistance. No matter how strong he is, dealing with diplomatic friction or physical interference in a foreign country would be a hassle for him."
"You're right."
Shin Seung-ah nodded.
"It's also true that official support in MK's name would be tricky. We have to consider our relationship with the Chinese government..."
From Shin Seung-ah's position, she had no choice but to tread carefully.
Moving as a guild rather than an individual wasn't something she could decide on her own.
"Isn't there any way I can help unofficially? As a comrade who suffered the same pain three years ago... and as someone who owes Gorani-man a debt, I can't just sit idly by."
"I'll mention it to Gorani-man. That Hunter Yu Jin-hyuk is eager to assist in any way he can."
"Thank you. I want to be his shield so Gorani-man can focus solely on the treatment without worry."
His eyes held unwavering resolve as he spoke.
Absolute loyalty to the benefactor who had reconnected his severed lifeline and rebuilt his shattered pride.
Even if the man himself didn't want it, they burned with the will to clear any obstacles in his path.
Shin Seung-ah smiled, knowing she couldn't dampen that determination.
"Understood. I'll make sure to pass that along."
Hunter Yu Jin-hyuk wants to help with the treatment. Whether it's physical protection or mana support, he's willing to lend any assistance he can.
'Classic Yu Jin-hyuk.'
That nosy habit of rolling up his sleeves for others' problems as if they were his own.
There was good reason people called him a hero and went wild for him.
Of course, he didn't need to rush to China right this moment.
But with Yu Jin-hyuk's reputation and massive fame... it might prove useful somewhere.
Then I'll gladly ask for help when I need it.
Ding!
Another message arrived on Tower Market.
Gorani-man! Thank you so much for the [Golden Corn] you sent this time! The researchers ate it and are overflowing with energy—they're even volunteering for overtime. Thanks to you, we've shaved a whole week off the new product development schedule.
It was Yu Seo-jin from Valhalla.
She always sent these detailed reviews every time she received crops.
She took pride in it as a VIP's proper etiquette.
How would you like this month's payment? Rare materials or artifacts like last time, or cash?
Deals with Valhalla were mostly barters.
Yu Seo-jin always tried to give back far more value than the crops I sent.
She seemed to have something impressive lined up this time too.
'Perfect timing.'
I thought for a moment, then replied.
For this month, instead of items, could I get something else if possible?
Of course! Just tell me what you want.
Do you have access to Valhalla's Mana Core Emergency Repair Kit?
Mana Core Emergency Repair Kit?
Yu Seo-jin sounded puzzled.
[Mana Core Emergency Repair Kit].
Valhalla's crown jewel bestseller and the legendary medical artifact that hunters worldwide valued like their own lives.
The ultimate failsafe that temporarily froze a destroyed or rampaging mana core to halt its collapse.
Though single-use, a mana core was like a hunter's heart, making it priceless.
Its sky-high price and minuscule production made it hard to obtain even for the wealthy.
You know Liu Hunter, right?
Liu Hunter? If you mean the genius S-Rank healer, of course!
No one in the industry could be unaware of her.
The prodigy healer who received the youngest-ever S-Rank certification upon debut.
The miracle girl who instantly restored a dying raid team to full condition.
Once called the Hand of God, guilds worldwide had lined up with blank checks to scout her.
I'm helping with her treatment this time. If something goes wrong with her mana core during the process, I need a way to respond immediately.
Removing the seed inside Liu was an extremely risky procedure.
In case I failed to control my internal energy or her body couldn't endure, I needed a final insurance policy.
Valhalla's tech-packed kit could hold onto her life even in the worst scenarios.
I see the situation. Of course, you must have it. I'll send the most stable model.
Liu Hunter... I admired her personally too. I hope she makes a full recovery.
No sooner had she finished than the item arrived.
"Best if I never have to use this."
This was for the next phase.
First, wake Liu up.
Sizzle—
I tore the scroll connecting to the Xiao family.
Soon, the familiar antique garden of the Xiao family estate unfolded before me.
This time, Xiao Lin waited with her parents.
Xiao Jian and Ming Yuan.
Once titans who dominated China's hunter world.
"Welcome, Gorani-man. Thank you for coming all the way to our humble home."
Xiao Lin's father bowed deeply and politely.
"Liu is like a daughter to us. Please... take good care of her."
"Really, could our Liu ever open her eyes again?"
Xiao Lin's mother asked in a trembling voice.
Her eyes were exhausted from countless false hopes.
I answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Yes. She will definitely wake up."
Firm conviction.
It was the greatest comfort I could offer them now.
"Entrust her to me, and I'll make sure you meet her smiling again."
Then, I headed to the annex with Lin.
"As you instructed, we've cleared everyone from around Liu's annex. No one will disturb you."
"Good. Let's go in now."
"Um, Gorani-man."
As I moved to enter, Lin grabbed my sleeve.
"Should I prepare some of our family's secret elixirs? I want to do everything I can..."
"No, that's fine. What you gave me is more than enough."
"Did that heirloom help?"
"Of course."
Thanks to the [Ancient Martial God's Ink], my internal energy manipulation had become even freer.
Creeeak—
Opening the annex door revealed Liu's pale face on the bed.
Still deep in slumber, utterly motionless.
But my eyes could see it.
The massive energy coiled deep in her chest.
"Time to take a look at you."
I closed my eyes and circulated the [Soul Fusion Heart Method].
'Become formless wind, slipping through the cracks of a closed door...'
The characters of the heart method awakened by the [Martial God's Ink] came alive in my mind.
My consciousness left my body, delving deep into Liu's mental world.
'...'
An endless darkness.
A bottomless abyss where nothing was visible or audible.
Within it, I sensed a faint flickering thread of light.
Whoosh—
I channeled internal energy, carefully unraveling the tens of thousands of tangled consciousness fragments in the dark.
Terror, despair, resignation.
Parting the vines that bound Liu, I reached for the tiny, fragile ripple cowering beyond.
Gently and cautiously, like pulling a single thread from the ocean depths.
And then.
'Found you.'
I plunged fiercely toward that light.
In the darkness.
Liu floated in an endless void of pitch black.
'Where is this?'
She couldn't remember.
Why she was here, or how long she'd been in this place.
Only the oppressive darkness enveloped her.
Flicker—
Then, a dim light flashed in the gloom.
It began illuminating shards of forgotten memories.
Three years ago.
Tower 70th floor, the Forgotten Gods' Garden.
Liu stood there.
Before her loomed a massive ancient tree, withered and twisted.
—I was waiting.
The tree spoke.
Or could it even be called a tree?
—Vessel of pure life.
Something in the shape of a tree was more accurate.
'...'
Liu simply stood frozen before it.
An overwhelming power.
A colossal, divine aura that even an S-Rank hunter like her couldn't lift her head against crushed her.
—A soul as mighty as yours... I've waited so very long.
As if fate decreed from the dawn of time, a red beam erupted from the tree's core, shooting toward Liu's chest.
'...!'
Instinctively, Liu resisted at first.
She knew her body couldn't contain such power.
But the light ignored her will, burrowing into her heart.
Splatter!
It burned.
Her veins felt like they were aflame.
Her heart pounded as if to burst, and agony tore her flesh apart.
'What... is this power?'
Impossible to gauge.
Too vast for mana, too domineering for vitality.
An infinite, destructive energy that seemed to devour chaos itself.
Crackle!
It took root deep in her mana core.
Simultaneously, Liu's consciousness began to blur.
Devoured by the immense will, her very self was on the verge of erasure.
'No...!'
In her final moment.
Liu desperately slammed shut the door to her own consciousness.
To avoid total assimilation, she imprisoned herself in the deep abyss.
There was no other way.
Thud...
Thus, three years passed.
Liu's world had stopped.
But now.
Cracks formed in the once-impenetrable wall of darkness.
Dong!
Someone was knocking from outside.
A warm, intense energy.
A gentle voice awakening her sealed mind.
—Liu.
At that voice, Liu's closed eyelids quivered.
'There's light.'
Light from the outside world, felt for the first time in three years.
She slowly reached toward it.
"!"
Liu's eyes snapped open on the bed where she'd lain like the dead.
"Liu, Liu!"
The distant voice sharpened into Lin's clear cry by her ear.
Liu instinctively placed a hand near her heart, where her mana core resided.
Thump, thump.
She felt it.
The unknown entity that had invaded her body three years ago.
It still lived and breathed here.
"...Lin."
"Liu!"
Unlike Xiao Lin screaming and tearfully rejoicing beside her, Liu's expression was astonishingly calm.
'For three years... I've been with this thing.'
A curse.
For three years, fused as one, she had existed as its host.
Everything clicked into place.
"...?"
But something even stronger than fear gripped her senses.
The voice that called her.
And the presence now standing by her side.
'This power...'
Unlike the curse implanted in her body.
Vast and overwhelming, yet it harbored no intent to harm her.
An absolute power that had gazed steadily at her without faltering.
"?!"
Liu instinctively turned her head.
And met it.
The owner of the voice that had called her from the darkness.
The warm, intense energy that had knocked on the door of her consciousness, sealed for three years.
'This person...'
And she knew intuitively.
This was the savior who had pulled her from the stopped time.