Fools' Extortion and the Cheonmu Rockets
"This time it's really dea—"
"Shh. Cut it out. It might come back."
The giant rat lay motionless after the final explosion.
Was it dead? Without a notification sound, there was no way to tell.
But the massive Korean machine had reverted to human form. That meant it was probably dead.
No one would release their transformation leaving a dangerous foe alive.
"Everyone okay?"
"Just some bruises."
As they checked themselves over, a vibration like an earthquake rumbled through again.
Rumble rumble rumble.
"It's not over yet!?"
The panic was short-lived. The terrain shifted, all the surrounding doors vanished, and a new exit appeared—one they hadn't seen before.
It was the entrance to the tunnel where Taejeong had first entered.
"Is that the exit? Everyone, pull out your manastones. Let's see how many we got."
At Ikuzo's words, the hunters opened their inventories one by one and retrieved the stones they'd collected. The pitiful blue gems gathered in the small box totaled just 39.
A meager haul for the number of people.
"Total loss. If we're lucky, this'll cover the ship fare."
"Hey, we survived. That's something. And shouldn't we at least say thanks?"
"Thanks? Why should we? We pulled our weight too. And don't you think that detonator was tampered with by that guy?"
"Now that you mention it... yeah, that makes sense."
"Hey, everyone gather up. I've got a good idea."
They huddled and muttered briefly before Ikuzo alone approached Taejeong with a bow.
"Thank you. We survived thanks to you. Thanks. Uh... Korean friends. Good."
He threw every bit of English he knew into the gratitude. Taejeong responded in kind.
"You guys worked hard too. That last aggro pull? Not bad, Osaka man."
Taejeong gave him a thumbs-up. Ikuzo scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
Right then.
The rear hunters vanished in a blink, encircling Taejeong.
All of them had skills primed, ready to unleash hell if he twitched.
What the hell? These bastards. Now what...?
The hunt was over, the exit open. They'd even fought side by side through life and death.
He couldn't fathom the reason.
"Hey, Korean. Thanks for the kill, but you can't leave without settling up."
Taejeong whispered to Gerard at the man's words.
"Can you translate this?"
Affirmative.
"What'd he say?"
He says to settle up before leaving.
"Settle up? What the hell for?"
The rest of his statement is pending.
"Yeah, keep translating live."
Acknowledged.
Leaving the translation to Gerard, Taejeong watched what the man would say next.
"It's frustrating when we can't communicate. See this, Korean?"
Ikuzo tilted the small box to show it off. Faintly visible manastones.
Now Taejeong got the picture.
"We spent billions coming here. And this is all we got? Elis are our exclusive monsters. You killed them, so hand over your share. Fair's fair."
That's what he's saying.
No need for the translation—he'd known the moment the box came out.
But hearing it confirmed was infuriating. This was Korean soil, yet foreign hunters demanding a cut under claims of exclusivity?
Beyond shameless—they were insane.
"Come on. Hand 'em over. You got the blue shiny ones, right? Gimme."
Taejeong shrugged innocently, playing dumb despite understanding every word via Gerard.
That instant, the hunters freaked and closed in tighter.
"Don't try anything funny, or your head rolls."
These cowards sure talk big.
But the situation favored them. He'd stowed the mech too soon. No weapons in hand.
All he had was the exoskeleton legs—but useless when surrounded like this.
Should've pre-summoned the Blaster. Tricky spot.
Even a twitch set them off; no chance for skills.
They'd turn him into Swiss cheese at the slightest change.
As he pondered an escape, Ikuzo menaced again.
"Hand over the goods. You understand, you're just pretending, right? Play stupid and you die. FYI, I'm infamous back home for my cruelty. Kids stop crying at my name. So don't hold out—cough it up before I skin you alive."
"……"
"Guess my words ain't sinking in. Fine. Witness the wrath of cruel Ikuzo right here on Jeju."
He channeled mana into his gauntlets. Azure aura blazed—steel-slicing energy.
Massage-ma rushed to him in alarm.
"Hey, you really gonna kill him?"
"No choice. He's hiding 'em tight."
"You've never killed anyone."
"S-so what? Just... close my eyes and done. I'm Ikuzo! I do what I say."
"Crazy bastard. How you gonna live with the guilt? Guy I know still has nightmares a decade after one mistake. Could fuck you up bad, for real."
"So we go home empty-handed?"
"Nah, the Korean's got a point—he used all his strength."
"So?"
"Ask for half. Fair play."
"Half? We're thirty strong, he's solo. Not fair."
"Seven-three then? But he'd hate giving seven."
"Six-four. No more concessions."
"Deal. Six-four it is."
After conferring with Massage-ma, Ikuzo explained to Taejeong.
"Look here. Ten stones total. Four yours, six ours. Got it? Give us six from yours. You keep four—still more than us. No loss. Understand? I like Myeongdong Namsan. So pay up quick, Korean."
Taejeong, who'd heard it all via Gerard, nearly laughed inwardly.
They seemed a screw loose.
Are these idiots for real?
Robbers should rob like robbers. Seven-three? Six-four? Considering the victim's side? Absurd.
But robbers were robbers. He subtly activated a skill—stealthy, invisible, palm-sized.
"Hey, idiots. You're lucky."
Ikuzo snapped irritably.
"Stop babbling nonsense and hand 'em over! Six-four. Fine, five then. Leave with five. I'm tired."
Ikuzo held up five fingers. Taejeong mirrored him.
That moment.
The biochemical dispersal grenade hidden in his hand dropped, exploding softly.
Smoke billowed, filling the tunnel instantly. Ikuzo realized too late and barked orders.
"Grab that bastard!"
Quick reaction, but no one moved. Poisoned, bodies unresponsive.
"Wh-what the...?"
"Can't move."
"So sleepy... zzz."
Half collapsed, half frozen like statues.
"You bastard, what did you do!?"
"Relax. Just paralysis for humans. Anyway, you're lucky."
"What're you on about?"
"Planned to cloak and wipe you all. But your antics were cute—sparing you. Instead, I'll take this."
Taejeong snatched Ikuzo's box.
Ikuzo freaked. "No! We're bankrupt!"
"Not my problem."
Taejeong sauntered past to the exit, hunters staring blankly.
As he reached the mouth, he remembered something and turned.
"Hey, idiots."
"……?"
"Jeju is Korean soil."
Emerging atop Baekrokdam, Taejeong low-flighted off the mountain swiftly.
Gerard queried.
You're just leaving them?
"Why bother with idiots."
Infuriating, but 39 manastones covered their "fee." If they'd gone lethal, he'd have reciprocated.
He rocketed to Jeju Port, his arrival point.
"Oh yeah, new weapon unlocked."
Halting descent, he opened the skill menu.
H-Type Cheonmu
Cluster Guided Missile
Sealed Speed: 530km/h
Rocket: Multi-launch cluster guided missile
Range: 200m
Area: 150m
Damage - Submunitions: 10,000
Max Launches per Use: 8
Cooldown: 1 hour
Mana Cost - Mother Warhead: 15,000
"Whoa, check this out. Quest skills are top-tier. Gerard, compatible with Blaster?"
Compatible skill.
"Yeah? Let's test it."
Confirmed by Gerard, Taejeong activated it. His Blaster expanded massively, eight ports opening on the sides.
"Ooh, wings got bigger. These holes are launch tubes?"
Correct.
"But firing this'll shred my arms, right? Too close."
Cheonmu features extension; barrel elongates up to 2 meters on launch.
"What's mother warhead and submunitions? New terms."
Mother warhead is the primary projectile; submunitions are metal pellets inside. Typically, mother detonates, dispersing subs via blast—the most primitive cluster type.
"So big shell packed with little ones. How many subs per mother?"
200 per mother warhead.
"What!?"
Taejeong gaped. He'd expected a handful; 200 was insane.
Sub damage: 10k each. 200 meant 2 million DPS burst.
Not pure single-target, but fixed damage across soccer-field width? Revolutionary for area denial.
"Perfect for territory wars. Cheonryong-1's obsolete."
Eager now, his eyes locked on a target: a massive ship docked at port—the Japanese ferry.
"That'll do nicely."