One Shot Shatters the Golem
The chamber was silent as a grave.
Tanaka was panting heavily, his head slightly bowed in a daze, while Baek Moon-seong's voice echoed through the International Hunter Alliance video conference from Korea.
"Effective immediately,"
"......"
Even as Korea declared the signing of the "accord" with Japan, Tanaka wouldn't so much as meet anyone's eyes.
Baek Moon-seong signed the accord via the System and continued reading the declaration.
"The Republic of Korea will provide military support to Japan."
The moment those words left his mouth,
- KABOOOOOM!
"!!!" "!!!" "!!!"
Right there on the screen everyone was watching,
the diamond golem exploded.
The diamond golem exploded.
"W-what the hell is this?"
Japan's Rank 1, Sato Kenji, faltered for a moment and readjusted his grip on his katana. Tension was written all over his face.
Cheon Seung-hyuk drew his holy sword, looking more exasperated than surprised at this point. "Beats me. It's that guy you've been scheming behind the scenes about, licking your chops over him."
"!!!"
Unregistered.
The off-the-charts combat power that had wrecked Korea's lakeside defense. Ever since the Cartibes fight, he'd started drawing attention worldwide, including from Japan.
Kenji had seen footage, but this was his first time in person.
He hadn't expected this level of overwhelming presence.
How did he do it? How the hell?
No matter how hard he'd poured his killer moves into it, the diamond golem hadn't taken any meaningful damage. How could it shatter so utterly in one hit?
He wanted to check the gate clear status, but Barog's Thought was right there in front of him, reaching out with the claws of death in real time.
Is this the real deal...!
Regaining his composure, Kenji charged at Barog's Thought, leaving Cheon Seung-hyuk behind.
Yamata no Orochi - Second Tail, Ice
Spam-firing his killer moves was taking a toll, but Kenji had no other options.
"Hah!"
- SHWOOOOOSH!
Overwhelming chill poured from Kenji's katana, flash-freezing Barog's Thought in an instant.
Out of the corner of his eye, Cheon Seung-hyuk hefted his signature "Giant's Sword" and brought it down on Barog.
- BOOOOM...
Barog's frozen left arm cracked deep into the bone and dangled limply.
"Fighting together, your damage output's pretty solid. Would've been a cakewalk last time if you'd done this. Right, samurai?"
"......"
What was driving Kenji mad was Cheon Seung-hyuk's subtle nonchalance. The diamond golem's instant destruction had been a jaw-dropping shock to him, but Cheon acted like it was just another day.
Even in this life-or-death brawl with Barog, there was no sense of urgency.
Then, in a flash, Barog broke free of the ice, grabbed its severed arm, and began regenerating it with pitch-black mana.
- GRRROOOOAR!
The ground-shaking roar sent dragon fear-like pressure rippling through Fukuoka.
At that moment, four Japanese high-rankers arrived late, hurtling toward the scene at breakneck speed.
But Cheon Seung-hyuk actually stepped back from Barog.
"Is this how you act when it's not your country's problem? No conscience at all?"
"Pot calling the kettle black, don't you think?"
Cheon replied to Kenji's rebuke in a flat tone.
"You bastard...!" Kenji snarled as he charged Barog, but Cheon called from behind.
"Part of it's 'cause it's not our country, but... bad feeling about this. Better keep your distance."
"What?!"
In that instant,
- SPLATTTTT!
"!!!"
Barog's Thought's body shattered into chunks of meat. The nearby high-rankers rushing in got caught in the blast, taking damage and getting flung back.
Unique Boss 'Barog's Thought' Cleared [1/1]
MVP = Unregistered
"......" "......"
Kenji and the Japanese high-rankers fell silent. Some were even bleeding from the Barog explosion.
Cheon Seung-hyuk connected directly to the Management Bureau mid-air. Korea's, of course.
"Team Leader, Japan situation resolved."
Good work. Head back.
"Wasn't much trouble."
Beep. As he wrapped up the brief report, the Japanese high-rankers stared at him.
"What?"
"This is that Unregistered guy?"
"Told you I don't know. Business done, I'm out. Oh, and."
Turning to head back to Korea, Cheon glanced at Kenji and the others.
"Don't call too often, it's a hassle. The clause says Korea doesn't even need entry procedures for Japan anymore. Figure it out yourselves."
"You bastard...!"
With the crisis over, Kenji and the high-rankers unleashed their belated fury.
Cheon ignored them completely, waving dismissively as he grabbed Yoon So-i—who'd been dutifully handling cleanup—and headed back to Korea.
Korea and Japan.
The International Hunter Alliance's Holy Relic Accord, packed with countless clauses, was now officially sealed between the two nations.
The accord, amended by Tanaka's last-minute refusal, also included this:
The requesting nation (Japan) shall fully cooperate with the supporting nation (Republic of Korea) in all domestic hunter power-related businesses to facilitate smooth deployment and minimize force losses.
Cheon Seung-hyuk and Yoon So-i returned to Korea.
A woman in a black dress with long hair stood beside them—Seol of Hongmaehwa.
She stared at Cheon Seung-hyuk's back before scoffing.
"Ego must be bruised. You're Rank 1, after all."
"......"
Cheon didn't reply. No high-ranker was blind to the shift after his recent team-ups with the Unregistered.
The stubborn warrior who'd shouldered all of Korea's burdens like he was the one true king was starting to lighten up.
He wouldn't hate it, but as a warrior, those subtle feelings were inevitable.
"It's not that."
"Whatever."
Yoon So-i sighed worriedly at his broadening shoulders.
Seol shrugged and headed to her hideout, business done.
I've gathered enough intel on the Holy Relics.
She had a packed schedule domestically to keep her plans rolling. Unregistered investigation pending too.
Then,
"Hongmaehwa."
Cheon Seung-hyuk's voice came from behind.
"?"
Turning, she met his intense gaze. "What? You're making me uncomfortable. Spit it out."
He spoke with complicated eyes.
"Need you to come somewhere with me. Personal favor."
"Personal?"
A personal request, not a mission? Who else had ever gotten that from Cheon Seung-hyuk? This was intel territory, not just interesting.
"Ah... help with your Unregistered inferiority complex?"
"Told you it's not that."
Seol smirked and nodded dismissively—a yes.
Yoon So-i headed to the Management Bureau, while Seol and Cheon Seung-hyuk went somewhere.
.
.
.
They arrived at Seongsan Ilchulbong on Jeju Island.
Deep below lay the filth mass dungeon.
"......"
Seol's expression turned peculiar.
"Figured you'd see it too."
Before her eyes floated a blue soul.
It resembled a middle-aged Western man covered in scars. Long hair neatly reached his waist, his beard exuding noble poise. A black sword like pure darkness hung at his hip.
『......』
The soul stared silently at Cheon Seung-hyuk, as if unable to speak.
"The guy I fought in undead form."
Seol approached without a word. The soul didn't react.
After inspecting it thoroughly, she turned to Cheon with odd doubt.
"You beat this?"
"No."
He confessed the skeleton nameless was stronger than any serpent in close/mid combat, taken out by the Unregistered before revealing all his power.
Meanwhile, the blue soul stood statue-still, gazing at Cheon.
"What do you want."
"Gotta fight him again."
"You?"
"Yes."
Hongmaehwa waved him off.
"Don't. You'll lose."
"......"
Cheon drew his holy sword.
"Even if I lose, you can keep me from dying, right? You could."
"......"
Not impossible. Just extremely risky.
Seol pondered—never had Cheon begged her help like this—then sighed deeply and laid out ritual tools around the blue soul.
She placed more around Cheon at intervals, like a mini exorcism rite.
"Don't move."
"......"
The tools demarcated a bounded space enclosing Cheon and the soul.
"You know this is a curse."
"......"
"Lasts one hour real-time. Could be years for you. You might die thousands, hundreds of thousands of times. Got it?"
"Yes."
Unable to dissuade him further, Hongmaehwa closed her eyes and chanted. The tools glowed red, dome-enclosing Cheon and the soul.
Shamanic
Asura Realm Seal
This was a curse.
A real-world manifestation of the Asura Path hell, binding souls to eternal combat.
Inside the barrier, souls could kill endlessly without body damage or true death—repeating the fight forever.
The world's cruelest curse.
- RUMBLE...
One hour in reality.
Seol knelt, focusing her mind.
Cheon Seung-hyuk. You crave growth.
Bedroom command center.
When I sensed the two ultra-high gates popping in Japan, I had no urge to help. My stance was domestic defense only. But,
Captain! Fukuoka has a faint flow similar to the Power Fragment! Very weak, but yes!
- Advance immediately.
ROGER. / Yep!!!
Quick round trip to Fukuoka, Japan.
"Good work......"
"Captain did all the work! We didn't do a thing!"
Jenny fanned me worriedly, sweat beading on my brow,
"Lucky yo! Captain's shot nailed it in one go yo!"
and Ollie prepped the battle debrief, thumbs-upping with both hands.
Japan trips were tense; Jenny's space warp barely reached Fukuoka—distance was iffy.
Ollie's upgraded radar needed tweaks, so I steeled myself.
If not for the 32x scope, no chance.
Range training helped, and the diamond golem's size made standard sniping viable for hit and kill.
But Barog's Thought was smaller, zipping through the sky fast, so I used honed "guidance."
- Whirr...
In combat, Barog's body glowed green faintly, locking as my target. Bullet followed its path relentlessly on fire.
Applied [Ally Inclusion] to Cheon and angles risking friendly hits, boosting shot confidence.
Need more training to weave skills/titles in real fights.
Always hits home. Split-second calls mid-snipe; one mistake means civilian deaths.
This one cleared safely, barely.
Regret: no Power Fragment. Ollie checked byproducts—nada.
Holy Relics overlapped, forming that aura. Still good news. Linked relics to fragments somehow.
Then,
Level up.
One ultra-high was Jackal Mask spawn—no XP; only the other counted.
'Unregistered' Growth
■ Player (LV 81 → 91)
• New Skill: Precision
■ Shelter (LV 81 → 91)
• Function Upgrades
- LV 85: Noise Control
- LV 90: Meditation
• New Facilities
- LV 90: Infirmary
- LV 100: Security Office
Been slacking on level-up reviews lately.
Past unlocks undone (NBC shelter, explosives). Time to apply upgrades, boost agent welfare.
Before new facilities, activated [Function Upgrade] "Game" that Ollie'd nagged about.
A simple glass door appeared by the window—not outside view, but internal facility.
LEDs and flashy lights everywhere... a game room.
"Ooooh!" "Eh?"
Ollie bolted in, cigar in mouth, eyes wide.
"Jenny. You'll like it. Go learn from Ollie."
Jenny blinked cluelessly. Kids need hobbies. Girl might dig it.
Street Fighter, Pac-Man, Tetris from childhood; even Tekken perfectly emulated. Arcade-style PC zone like a net cafe.
"Holy crap."
Legit game room. Shelter upgrades never aid survival—annoying—but performance top-tier.
Back corner: small door, "Authorized Personnel Only." Tried entering—[No Access] system message.
What now?
Just an upgrade/game room spot; nothing crazy. Later.
"Play nice, no fighting."
"Yes, Captain!" "ROGER!"
As agents brawled sneakily in the game room,
I reviewed shelter expansions.
One part kept drawing my eye.
LV 100: Security Office
This one.
......Just 10 levels left.