A Time-Honored Korean Word

"Mr. Chairman, an unforeseen situation has developed."

"What?"

Lee Kangcheol, chairman of the Daehan Group — one of the foremost conglomerates in the country — felt his brow crease at the unexpected report from his subordinate.

"You couldn't foresee it? You people?"

It was astonishing. Their numbers were few, but in a certain sense the chairman trusted his hidden shadows more than his own children. And those praetorians had made a mistake?

"My apologies."

"No. I'm just surprised. What on earth happened?"

Curiosity overtook anger. These were people who had not disappointed him in a very long time. There had to be a reason.

"It concerns the alchemist you told us to watch from a distance. Karen."

"Hah... him again?"

Even now, the mere thought of that man made the chairman's head throb. When had Daehan last been slighted like this? And not by a rival faction — by a single individual.

"It was work enough just keeping those press mongrels quiet."

However the reporters had caught the scent, they had come sniffing hard, and it had taken everything he had to hold them off.

What made it worse was this: until they confirmed whether the liquid that man had used on his son was a plague or not, they could not even touch him.

"What special development could there possibly be? I only told you to watch him for the time being. Probe him quietly if an opening presented itself."

"Yes, sir. We probed him as instructed. Then a variable appeared."

"How did you go about it?"

"We quietly leaked information to Dr. Wang Chun — that this Karen was superior to him."

The plan had been to filter the information through dozens of layers and quietly stoke that arrogant man's jealousy. But his response had blown past every prediction they had made.

Of all things, we never imagined he would pull that stunt on HunTube.

There were a handful of places even they could not touch, and HunTube was one of them. The moment Wang Chun used it, the matter had left their hands entirely.

"Two lunatics making trouble side by side. Damn it."

The chairman tipped his chair far back and let out a long sigh. Still, he could not simply dress down his shadows for this.

They called him Dr. Wang Chun as a courtesy. In truth, the man was a madman who could ricochet in any direction at all.

"It couldn't be helped. There isn't a soul alive who can predict that creature. So how did it go? What was the original intent?"

"We meant to provoke Wang Chun's jealousy and set the two of them competing. Instead... Wang Chun attacked Joseon Pharmaceuticals."

They had never intended to throw the two men at each other head-on. The original purpose had been simple enough: put them in competition and see what abilities this Karen actually possessed — and whether he was hiding something.

"No, wait... this might actually work in our favor."

The more he thought about it, a direct collision did not sound so bad. A gleam came into the chairman's eyes.

"There's no evidence we leaked the information, I assume?"

"Of course not. It passed through dozens of stages. They will never trace it back."

"Good. We were going to have to deal with Wang Chun eventually anyway."

No one knew this except himself and his shadows, but when Daehan Pharmaceuticals was first established, he had made a single deal with Wang Chun.

The data that man handed over back then is what let us develop a new drug and break out of the pack.

Even Daehan had found it hard to start as a latecomer in an unfamiliar pharmaceutical market. What Wang Chun had brought them then was a revolutionary anti-inflammatory. Building from that compound, they had branched into joint medications, asthma treatments, and a dozen other fields, and only then had Daehan Pharmaceuticals found its footing.

Insolent bastards, both of them.

One of them, without the slightest sense of his place, had kept demanding money on the strength of that old transaction. The other had dared to pick a fight with Daehan without a shred of fear.

"Whichever of them fights, I'll be grateful if one of them dies. If they both die, nothing could be better. Leave them. Do nothing."

"Understood."

"Hahahaha. So this is how the pieces fall."

It felt like a bad tooth finally coming out. The chairman laughed, genuinely pleased, for the first time in a long while.

"This is what they call getting it done without lifting a finger."

Aboard the plane Joseon Pharmaceuticals had prepared, we were flying toward the man's hideout with every scrap of information ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠locked down tight.

"Age ninety-six. His real name really is Wang Chun, and he's originally from old China."

The president of Joseon Pharmaceuticals had brought me the reports they had on him. The part that startled me most was his age.

Ninety-six. Never mind that he was not acting his age — I would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have guessed sixty or seventy at the outside. The man had the face of someone decades younger.

"He's known as an eccentric scientist steeped in some bizarre ideology. His stated goal is to revive the Qin Dynasty, and he dreams of crowning himself ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Qin Shi Huang."

"...He's actually insane."

The very concept of nations had vanished after the Cataclysm, and this was the nonsense he was spouting? And not even China — the Qin Dynasty? Hadn't that one collapsed almost as soon as it unified the country?

"He talks so much garbage and commits so many deranged acts that even people from the old China can't stand him. Which means if we kill him, there won't be any conflict on that front."

"Hah. Who would like a man like that?"

"The Hunter Association has him listed as an A-rank villain, but they don't have solid information, so even they aren't certain."

Strictly speaking, there was no record of Wang Chun ever stepping forward to fight in person. Typically some underling would appear, or a grotesque experimental subject would start wandering around, or something that defied all common sense would happen — and if you thought, Ah. Wang Chun again, you were usually right.

At the announcement I rose from my seat.

"Are you certain about this? Even now, if you need support—"

"Don't need it. There are hostages. Just keep everyone's mouths shut."

I shut down the president's concern in a single stroke. There had never been a choice here. Cleaner to go alone and handle it myself.

"Don't worry on that score. These are people I truly trust."

"And if he runs with that strange light again? Do you have a way to stop him?"

"Don't worry about that either. The moment you touch down, we'll drop Mana Disrupters around the area. I don't know how he did it last time, but he won't be fleeing the same way."

A Mana Disrupter still could not directly seize control of an Awakened's mana, but it was more than enough to scramble something as delicate as teleportation.

The real problem was that the devices had only just been developed — they were scarce and ruinously expensive. The president had solved that with his connections and a generous surcharge.

The technology itself is impressive, I'll give them that.

Everyone who had watched the footage had been stunned when those assailants appeared in a burst of light. This was not like beaming an object the way a delivery service might. Until now, no one had possessed the means to move people like that.

"We'll start with them at the foot of the mountain and tighten the ring as you advance. Inside the Disrupters' range, though, short-range teleportation will still be possible."

"Good. That's enough. Well done."

"They kidnapped our people. Of course we would."

The kindly manner from our first meeting was gone. I could hear the anger trembling faintly under his voice. Fair enough. He had every right to be at least as furious as I was.

I thought it was absurd, and I'm the one he came for. For Joseon Pharmaceuticals it must be worse.

From their side, some madman had thrown a punch and vanished into thin air. Of course they were reeling.

Once Samsaek authenticated the transaction record for the first F-Rank potion I had ever made, the man sent us his location by note.

No wonder no one had ever found him. True to his origins, his hideout was on the old Chinese side.

The Cataclysm had shrunk that land, but it was still vast, and he had buried himself in a place where dozens of mountains clustered together. Of course no one had been able to track him down.

"I'll signal you when it's over. Have the pickup ready. I'm going in alone."

I did not know his temperament, but if we arrived in a crowd he might bolt in some way we had not anticipated. That would be a serious headache.

"Kku-ing, I wanna come too."

"You? Fine."

Whatever came out of this, it would not matter. He had told me to come alone, but he was hardly going to panic over one extra cat.

With the announcement, the rear hatch of the converted military transport yawned open.

"Here, you'll want this—"

One of the staff held out a parachute. I shook my head, settled Samsaek on my shoulder, and refused it.

"Hold on."

I shaped a shield into a sphere around us, like a soccer ball, and jumped without a second's hesitation.

"Whoa! Master! We're flying!"

It was a brutish waste of mana, but I had been devouring rare herbs for so long that the reserve piled up in my body was a mountain. It did not matter.

We descended at a leisurely pace, touched down at the foot of the mountain that held his hideout, and started the climb.

They'll be setting the Disrupters about now.

That was precisely why we were taking the mountain from the bottom, nice and slow.

"Hah. Living in a place with air this clean, and still he acts like that."

Plenty of trees, at least. I could always try planting a little grove around here later.

"Master, want a ride?"

Samsaek swelled himself up to the size of a fully grown tiger. Come to think of it, it had been a long time since I had seen him like this.

"So you really are a Spiritual Beast. Not some cursed cat after all."

"Master!"

"All right, I'll ride."

Samsaek dropped into a crouch so I could mount easily. I hopped up onto his back.

"Oh, this is actually great. Way more comfortable than a horse."

In Belial, no matter how fine the saddle or the mount, my backside had always ached. This felt like sitting on a marshmallow. The fur was soft, too — a natural cushion if I had ever felt one.

"Kku-ing, I'm only letting you ride because you're my master! This is the first time I've ever given anyone a ride, you know."

"Yes, yes. I'm honored."

Judging by his face he was not straining in the slightest. If it were not for the stares, I would have ridden him around the neighborhood on ordinary days. A waste, really.

"Hey... have you put on weight?"

I had never noticed when he was small, but compared to the Samsaek I had first seen in that pit, he had definitely filled out.

"...I have been eating a lot lately."

Samsaek glanced down at himself and answered in a wilted little voice.

But there's just so much delicious food.

Once he started ordering his own meals, restraint had gone out the window. He drank churu treats like water, and lately even dog food had been tasting so good he could not stop himself.

It has a different charm from cat food.

"Keep that up and you'll be rolling around like a cotton ball."

"Kku-ing! I'll exercise. But Master, can I do just one thing?"

"What."

Of course. There had to be a reason this creature, who loafed around all day enough to get fat, had suddenly decided to tag along.

"I want to film!"

"No. Didn't you say that internet stream of yours has like a hundred thousand people?"

"Followers are not the same as viewers."

"Still no."

"It's not a stream, it's filming! I'm not showing it to anyone."

"Huh?"

"I've been taking photos and videos as a hobby lately."

Oh? Come to think of it, ever since he started broadcasting he had been getting more and more interested in that sort of thing.

"And what are you going to do with the footage?"

"I've been practicing editing, so I need raw material. This job is perfect for it."

"Fine. That much is all right."

As long as he did not show it to anyone, I did not care. The moment I agreed, Samsaek stabbed at his watch. A camera drifted up and began to hover over his head.

"Master, look at this! Brand-new streaming watch! Better picture than the regular model, and the recording time is longer too."

"Yes, yes."

We were still chatting when we reached about mid-slope, and that was when I started to feel them. The peaceful hike ended here.

"Time to go look that man in the face. Samsaek — what was that word you told me they use for this? The one with a long history in Korea?"

On the way here, Samsaek had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠taught me a word he claimed ran deep in Korean history.

"An IRL."

"Right. Let's go IRL on him."

"Kku-ing, people have a newer phrase these days too."

"What's that?"

"We're going to give him a real education."

Fine. Whatever they called it — time to get it done.