Don't Buy That
A pamphlet lay in front of the auction house.
He picked one up and flipped through it. An advertisement for the Ohodanmundo stared back at him.
"Whoa, what is this?!"
Lee Se-ah gasped in pure shock.
"What now?"
"It says this is Manbakza grade two! No wonder—I was already wondering how even Daeseong Market could draw this many people!"
"…Manbakza?"
Kang Hyun tilted his head. Lee Se-ah lit up and launched into an eager explanation.
"He's a Chinese hunter with a special ability. They call him Manbakza—the Ten-Thousand Arts Appraiser—because he can see through the rank of any martial art."
"There's every kind of freak out there. How high is grade two?"
"Grade nine is the bottom, grade one is the absolute peak. But honestly, grade-one manuals never hit the open market. So grade two is the real top tier. And today, one of those grade-two pieces just went up for sale!"
"Impressive."
"Impressive doesn't even cover it. Every S-rank hunter in Korea right now is stuck with techniques that Manbakza rates grade three or lower."
So grade two was world-class territory.
Well…
The Ohodanmundo had every right to sit there. As a secret art of the Habuk Paeng family, it had commanded real respect even in the Murim. By Kang Hyun's own standards, grade two was fair.
"How come I've never heard of this Manbakza guy?"
"It's not an official global ranking. China's a superpower, sure, but nobody really wants to admit it, you know?"
"It's not that they don't want to admit it. They just don't."
"That's something only you can say, Mr. Kang!"
He understood. Korea, of all places, would never quietly swallow a standard China had cooked up on its own.
"Let's head inside first."
Kang Hyun had zero intention of buying the manual. He only had two hundred million left, and the entire art already lived in his head—why waste money?
Still…
He wanted to see exactly how a high-ticket manual changed hands. Sooner or later he would have to put Lee Se-ah out front and sell a few of his own.
Even entry required a process. Random masks and voice-modulating mics—privacy measures, they said.
Smart.
In the Murim, a good manual always brought bloodshed. This was the bare minimum to keep robbery and targeted hits in check. Only then would the rich open their wallets.
Kang Hyun was scanning the market's systems, filing every detail away, when the floor itself began to shake.
Thud. Thud!
What now? He looked up. A mountain of a man was striding toward them from the far side.
What the hell?
Even for a big guy, walking alone shouldn't make the ground rumble. Was he using Thousand-Jin Sink with every step?
"Huk."
"Hiiik."
Lee Se-ah and Baek Yu-yeon both sucked in sharp breaths at the sight of the giant. Everyone nearby dropped their eyes and edged away.
Kang Hyun was genuinely stunned.
Damn… that face…
How could a human being look that vicious? His gait called up a bear walking on two legs, and dark hair covered every inch of exposed skin. The face itself was pure nightmare fuel. If looks had cultivation stages, this man had already reached the Transformation Realm with his face alone.
"…That's Ma Chul-woong," Lee Se-ah whispered, stepping close.
"One of Korea's seven S-rank hunters. Famous for his savage temper. His main weapon is a saber, so he must be here for today's item."
"For someone who supposedly came for the auction, he's walking straight at us."
"…I know. Why is he doing that? It's terrifying."
Thud. Thud. Ma Chul-woong kept coming until he towered right in front of the three of them.
Baek Yu-yeon went completely pale and froze. Lee Se-ah let out a tiny "Ah!" of sudden realization.
And Kang Hyun…
"What are you staring at?"
The words came out on pure reflex. That was Murim law. Some nobody with no real skill strutted up, full of killing intent, right into your face? That was a silent invitation to have your throat cut.
H-he's insane…
Baek Yu-yeon's jaw dropped. Wait—Professor! He'd been drinking whiskey the whole ride over. No wonder he'd been throwing money around and buying her that huge acupuncture set. He had to be completely wasted. Nothing else explained picking a fight with an S-rank hunter.
But then—
Whoosh!
Ma Chul-woong's massive hand clamped around Kang Hyun's. Kang Hyun felt no killing intent in the grip and simply waited.
"…Benefactor!"
"What?"
"It is you! Benefactor!"
"I'm somebody's… benefactor?"
While Kang Hyun tilted his head, Lee Se-ah hissed urgently.
"Leviathan…!"
The two S-rank hunters who survived that day—one of them was this Ma Chul-woong!
"Come this way a second."
Ma Chul-woong cheerfully steered Kang Hyun toward a quieter corner, away from the crowd. The two women hung back at a distance.
"Hahahaha! Never thought I'd run into you here!"
There wasn't a shred of malice in Ma Chul-woong's voice. Despite the terrifying first impression, the big man carried himself with a strangely unwrinkled, open-hearted air. Kang Hyun almost laughed.
In the Murim, a face like that almost always ended up in the Black Path or the Green Forest. The ugly mug would have earned him every unfair suspicion under the sun until he finally snapped and went bad. Why would this world be any different?
People judged by first impressions here just the same. After a lifetime of prejudice, a man should have turned bitter or twisted—yet this giant's energy was surprisingly clear and simple.
Kang Hyun liked that. It meant the man had weathered every storm without losing himself.
Or maybe not.
On second thought, how many people on earth would dare pick a fight with that face? One scowl and everyone probably tiptoed around him. Maybe that easy peace had simply shaped his nature.
"I heard you'd woken up, but Director Kim Hyung-seok had you locked down so tight I couldn't find a way to visit. Allow me to greet you properly once more."
He bowed with genuine respect.
Kang Hyun had been unconscious at the time and remembered nothing, but Ma Chul-woong had seen it with his own eyes—the way one palm had shattered the sea monster that five S-rank hunters couldn't touch.
"Forget it. I don't even remember."
Kang Hyun waved it off lightly.
That guy's supposed to be savage?
Lee Se-ah's words floated back, and he snorted inwardly. A man who sought you out on his own two feet and bowed first just because he owed a debt—how savage could he really be? The world had taken one look at the shell and started screaming.
"If you don't mind me asking… how old are you?"
Ma Chul-woong asked carefully. Kang Hyun answered without much thought.
"Thirty-three."
"Hah! So you really are my elder brother!"
"…What?"
Kang Hyun's eyes widened for once. Had he misheard? That face was younger than thirty-three? It looked like it had taken every storm of the years head-on.
"I'm thirty-two! Since I already owe you my life, I'll serve you properly as my big brother from now on! Hahahaha!"
"Who said you could call me brother?"
"Come on—you already dropped the formal speech with me. That means you've accepted me as your little brother, right?"
"I talk casually to every kid."
Kang Hyun drew a hard line, but Ma Chul-woong's eyes stayed dead serious. He was determined to keep the connection alive no matter what.
"Anyway, what brings you here?"
"You first."
"Ahaha, I came for the Ohodanmundo going up today."
Ma Chul-woong scratched his head.
"Don't tell me Brother came for the same thing? Well, if you're after it I'll naturally step aside… but someone at your level shouldn't really need a saber art, right?"
"I'm not buying. Just here to watch."
"Whew—thank god!"
Ma Chul-woong let out a genuine sigh of relief.
"Then come with me, Brother?"
"Why?"
"There's a VIP box reserved for S-rank hunters only. If you come with me, we can watch in comfort."
No reason to refuse. Kang Hyun nodded.
"Fine."
"It's an honor! You have no idea how hard I've been saving just for one grade-two manual to appear!"
From a distance the two women watched Ma Chul-woong chatter away, practically glowing.
Impossible.
Baek Yu-yeon still couldn't calm down. Ma Chul-woong never showed that side to anyone except a tiny handful of close friends. He stonewalled reporters, and if something annoyed him he would walk off mid-broadcast. Yet here he was, grinning like a fool in front of the professor?
And "benefactor"…?
What on earth did you have to do to become an S-rank hunter's benefactor?
Just… who are you really?
Under Ma Chul-woong's guidance they entered the second-floor VIP box. Special glass gave a clear view of the entire first-floor auction floor, and best of all—they served whiskey.
"—All right, let's begin the auction proper!"
Early lots of lesser items flew by quickly: monster cores, expensive gear. Whenever curiosity struck, Kang Hyun asked.
"How do they guarantee authenticity?"
"Daeseong Market's name is the guarantee. If anything turns out fake, the Daeseong Group pays triple the hammer price."
Lee Se-ah and Ma Chul-woong took turns answering every other question. The miscellaneous lots finally ended.
"—Ladies and gentlemen, you've waited long enough! The main event of today's special auction!"
The lights died. A single spotlight fell on the center of the stage.
Inside a glass case rested one weathered old book.
"—A legendary saber art that dropped against astronomical odds from an S-rank dungeon in Colorado, USA! The original manual of the Ohodanmundo—Five Tigers Cleaving the Gate Saber—rated Manbakza grade two!"
The hall erupted in murmurs. Ma Chul-woong scooted to the edge of the sofa and swallowed hard.
"—This manual has been authenticated by the American Hunter Association. For your full confidence, we will now display the first five pages of the original on the main screen!"
Flash!
The giant screens covering the auction-house walls lit up with high-resolution images of the book's opening pages. Hunters and guild officers throughout the hall leaned forward, eyes locked on the text.
Ma Chul-woong, who had apparently studied classical Chinese, read until his eyes nearly popped out.
"Khhh!"
He let out a low whistle of awe.
"Just the opening formulas already radiate that tyrannical force, don't they, Brother? This is perfect for me!"
While Ma Chul-woong buzzed with excitement—
Hmm?
Kang Hyun's brow twitched.
What is this?
The early formulas looked convincing enough on the surface. But—
That is not the Ohodanmundo.
No one who had memorized every single character of the real Ohodanmundo down to the bone could be fooled. The art burned through internal energy at a brutal rate and hammered the meridians so hard that anyone who rushed into it would almost certainly die of qi deviation, body exploding from the inside.
That was why the genuine preface of the Ohodanmundo always carried this exact warning:
To open the Ohodanmundo, one must first master the family's foundational saber art—the Geongon Yeonhwan Talbaekdo—to at least eight-tenths proficiency, expanding the meridians thoroughly, before beginning training!
The manual on the screen carried no such warning. The preface itself was pure garbage.
Kang Hyun was about to snort when—
"—Starting bid: ten billion won!"
The auctioneer's cry set the hall on fire.
"—Twelve billion!"
"—Fifteen billion!"
"—Twenty billion!"
Bidding panels flashed like lightning as the price rocketed upward. Ma Chul-woong's bloodshot eyes locked on the bid button as he hammered it without mercy.
"—Twenty-five billion!"
"Shit… thirty-two billion is my absolute limit."
Ma Chul-woong was ready to pour every last coin he owned into this. Kang Hyun sipped his whiskey in silence, weighing the choice.
Do I tell him?
Murim iron law: never stick your nose into another man's deal. If some fool poured money into a fake without noticing, that was on him.
Yet Kang Hyun's gaze settled on the rough, scar-covered back of Ma Chul-woong's hand. Just moments ago this bear of a man had called him benefactor and insisted on treating him as elder brother. It was painfully clear how hard the big idiot must have worked to scrape that fortune together.
Meddling, sure… but still.
Kang Hyun spoke quietly.
"Ma Chul-woong."
"Yes, Brother! Ah—just a second, the bidding's insane right now… thirty billion!"
"Ma Chul-woong."
The low voice made the giant flinch.
"Why are you calling me?"
"You guided me well and gave me a good seat. So I'll give you a gift."
"A gift?"
"Don't buy that."
At the sudden words Ma Chul-woong's eyes went round as saucers. Lee Se-ah and Baek Yu-yeon both turned to stare at Kang Hyun in equal shock.
"What? What do you mean? That manual is the lifelong wish of my life. Don't buy it…?"
Facing the flustered giant, Kang Hyun spoke with flat calm.
"It's a fake."