White Burn (1)
The soft tapping continued.
Tap.
Tap.
“Are you still staring at your phone?”
Tap….
“He’s not even your ex. Why are you waiting for his call like this? No matter how much of a benefactor he is, this isn’t like you, Director.”
Assistant Manager Kim Min-jung couldn’t understand her superior at all.
Ever since the Monkey’s Den raid, Lim Won-young had seemed like a different person.
She was still full of jokes, still a heavy smoker—no, a passionate enthusiast for cigarettes—and still the ambitious career woman who threw herself into her work. But every now and then, she would stare out the window for a long time or glare at her phone like she wanted to devour it.
Just like right now.
She called him a guide, right? And apparently one with incredible skill… Honestly, I’m not sure how far I should believe this.
Guides were usually the kind of role given to hunters whose skills were lacking or who couldn’t stomach brutality. They handled pathfinding, scouting, trap removal, and other miscellaneous tasks. But these days, other specialized positions had taken over most of those duties, so the job had lost much of its prestige.
When she first heard that such a guide had saved the elite Raid Team A from certain doom, she had been stunned.
At the time, she had been overseas on a business trip and missed the incident. She only received the news later and rushed back to Korea this morning…
At least the man was found safely and taken to the hospital. If he wanted compensation, he should have contacted us the moment he was discharged. So why is she so anxious?
Unable to contain her curiosity, Kim Min-jung muttered under her breath.
“Or maybe the guide was ridiculously handsome?”
“He was. Extremely.”
The voice came from behind her. Kim Min-jung jumped and spun around.
“S-Section Chief So!”
It was So Seong-hae, the second-in-command of Raid Team A.
His perpetually exhausted eyes from endless overtime were his most striking feature.
“Even a man would feel jealous looking at that face. If I had a face like that, I wouldn’t have had to suffer like this…”
The other team members around them nodded in agreement.
“He was handsome… yeah, he really was.”
“Even with a bad leg, he never showed it. Just quietly opened the path for us. It was like a painting.”
“He was tall, too…”
“And his personality was decent, right?”
“Damn it. The more I think about it, the more jealous I get. Min-jung, what was he like back in academy?”
“He was disgustingly popular. Girls from both upper and lower classes came just to see his face. I heard he even got street-cast a few times.”
“Fuck.”
“The world really isn’t fair…”
Complaints erupted from every corner.
“But no one could ever make a move on him.”
“Why not?”
“He had a girlfriend since he was young.”
“He put up an iron wall?”
“It was perfect. The female students had no chance to get close. Well… it didn’t end well, though.”
“End?”
“There’s a story there.”
Kim Min-jung couldn’t keep up with the rapid-fire conversation flying between the team members.
But one thing was clear.
They might grumble and complain, but they were clearly hiding their goodwill toward Jang Lee-hyun.
A graduate of the academy becoming a guide? Who the hell is he?
And on top of that, handsome?
Kim Min-jung was also an academy graduate. She racked her brain, flipping through the mental alumni directory to figure out who they were talking about.
But no one came to mind.
Most of them had either commissioned or, if they left the service, joined major guilds.
“Um, what was that person’s name…”
Just as Kim Min-jung tried to ask the team members,
Vrrrr!
The phone Lim Won-young had been glaring at suddenly rang.
An unregistered number.
All eyes turned toward it.
Lim Won-young cleared her throat lightly, then slowly picked up the phone.
Click.
“Hello?”
The voice that came through the receiver made Kim Min-jung’s eyes widen slightly.
It sounded strangely familiar.
* * *
A certain café in Seongsu-dong, Seoul.
Jang Lee-hyun sat alone, sipping coffee. He wore plain blue jeans, a black hoodie, and a blue cap.
At least, that was how he looked to everyone else.
To Lee-hyun, it was different.
What the hell? You’re just going to hand it over and that’s it?
Across the round table sat a pure white baby monkey.
It held a fork in one hand with complete confidence.
Yes.
That’s it? You didn’t ask for a ring, a blade, nothing? You didn’t even request any specific functions?
He’ll make it well on his own. He’s always been like that.
Lee-hyun had just come from Docheol’s Workshop. He had handed over the finger and staff taken from the Yellow Wind Demon.
Once again, the old blacksmith Docheol had silently accepted the items and focused entirely on his hammering.
Sun Wukong was incredibly curious about the relationship between Lee-hyun and the old man. How could two people communicate without speaking?
Was something like that really possible?
For a moment, Sun Wukong thought of the face of a certain monk who used to recite sutras, but he quickly shook the image away.
More importantly, Great Sage.
What?
Aren’t you full?
Why would I be full?
You ate this much.
Lee-hyun looked around the table with a slightly fed-up expression.
On the round table sat eight plates that had once held slices of cake.
All of them were Sun Wukong’s handiwork.
Hmph. How laughable. This much doesn’t even register in my stomach.
…You already ate a ton on the way here.
Lee-hyun had been forced to offer up all the snacks he had promised in the dungeon—bungeoppang, churros, macarons, the works.
And apparently that had only opened the floodgates. The moment they arrived at the café, Sun Wukong had ordered every flavor of cake on display.
As a result, Lee-hyun’s wallet was now completely empty.
Incidentally, Lee-hyun hadn’t gotten to taste a single one of those snacks…
That stomach is that stomach, and this stomach is this stomach! Don’t you dare try to skimp out on offerings! Your disrespect toward the god you serve is truly insolent!
…What kind of offering is this?
It is an ancient custom to offer cakes to the Buddha… Oh! New cakes are coming out. Buy those!
In the end, Lee-hyun had no choice but to go back to the counter and order several more slices.
He decided to ignore the strange look the barista kept giving him.
Nom nom nom.
Lee-hyun watched Sun Wukong focus on inhaling the cake (!) with an incredulous gaze, then pulled a thick book from his bag.
It was an ancient tome filled with characters that looked like Chinese characters but held no recognizable meaning.
You’re learning the skill here?
There’s no reason to put it off.
It was the Threefold Divine Wind skill book he had received as an additional reward for clearing the dungeon.
Threefold Divine Wind (D)
A wind-attribute skill once used by the Yellow Wind Demon in the myth of ■■■■. It summons a fierce sandstorm that steals the breath of all living beings within range.
Type: Skill Book
Origin: Myth — Journey to the West
Note: This is a copy that leaked from the dungeon. Its power and effect may be significantly lower than the original.
Even though it was labeled a copy, Lee-hyun didn’t care. He placed his hand on the cover.
After all, he had no intention of using this as a simple skill.
Flash!
The skill book vanished in a burst of light, and messages appeared.
You have acquired a skill book.
Would you like to add ‘Threefold Divine Wind (D)’ to your skill list?
Sun Wukong watched Lee-hyun’s actions with keen interest.
He was curious to see how his apostle would make use of his old enemy’s skill.
But then—
No.
…!?
An utterly unexpected decision.
Sun Wukong’s eyes widened.
However,
Lee-hyun was smiling.
‘Threefold Divine Wind (D)’ has not been generated.
Threefold Divine Wind (D) has been dismantled. Its components have been absorbed into ‘Dueoksini’s Breath (B)’.
The Relic: Hwaan Geumjeong has activated, analyzing the dismantled components of ‘Threefold Divine Wind’ in greater detail.
Congratulations! The elements of Threefold Divine Wind have been added to Dueoksini’s Breath (B), evolving it into ‘Dueoksini’s Sigh (B+)’.
Dueoksini’s Sigh (B+)
The emotions of a vengeful Dueoksini sometimes manifest as lightning, other times as fierce gales, bringing all kinds of disasters.
Type: Skill, Magic Power Control
Proficiency: 0%
Origin: Legend — ‘Curse of the Seven Star Rock’
It was the first time his main skill—the one he had used since his days as a ranker—had changed.
A spark of interest flashed in Lee-hyun’s eyes as Sun Wukong let out a dry laugh.
Using the Fiery Golden Eyes to break a skill down to its components and only taking what you need to increase efficiency?
There will be many more myths to explore in the future. I can’t take every single skill.
Not bad. You actually used your head.
Sun Wukong sounded impressed.
Of course, I was born with such talent that I could learn hundreds of abilities without any problem. But for you, it’s smarter to focus on your strengths and only take what’s practical.
It was more bragging about himself than praise for Lee-hyun, but since it was all true, Lee-hyun simply nodded.
From the beginning, Threefold Divine Wind was not a skill he could properly digest.
It was certainly tempting—it could reshape the dungeon environment and devastate an entire raid party—but it didn’t mesh at all with his current resistances, attributes, or skill tree.
So Lee-hyun had boldly abandoned the skill.
Instead, he had planned to extract only the usable parts and strengthen his main skill.
Of course, while the explanation was simple, the execution was anything but.
Breaking down a skill was difficult, and the process of selecting what to keep and what to discard required countless calculations.
But Lee-hyun had set one clear standard.
Resonant Lightning.
Just as he had infused Dueoksini’s Breath with resonant lightning, he only needed to confirm whether Threefold Divine Wind could also be absorbed into it.
I thought Threefold Divine Wind would work well as a support skill. I could use the swift wind to accelerate my movement speed, or create windless zones to strengthen stealth skills.
Or you could generate a sudden gust at the point of a lightning strike. A wise choice.
Thank you. Honestly, without the Fiery Golden Eyes, I wouldn’t have even attempted this.
Well, this old man is pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.
Lee-hyun watched Sun Wukong puff up with pride and flexed his fingers.
He was itching to enter a dungeon and test out his newly evolved skill.
Luckily, it seemed that opportunity wouldn’t be far off.
Right on cue, the café door swung open.
Every head in the shop turned toward it.
Men and women alike.
“Who is that? An idol?”
“Are they filming something here?”
“Idiot! That’s Lim Won-young! The Mountain Tiger!”
Wearing a stylish suit and sunglasses, she walked straight toward him. It was like watching a runway show.
The woman following behind Lim Won-young was just as beautiful. Her tanned skin and intelligent eyes left a strong impression.
And she looked strangely familiar.
“Kim Min-jung?”
“Senior? It really is you, Senior?”
Kim Min-jung stared at Lee-hyun with wide eyes.
“Well, Assistant Manager Kim is one class below Hunter Jang, so of course she would know him well.”
“Ah, yes… a little.”
While Kim Min-jung trailed off awkwardly, Lim Won-young took the seat across from Lee-hyun.
“Sorry I’m late. Did you wait long? It’s Friday, so the traffic was terrible.”
“It’s fine. I only arrived a short while ago myself.”
Lee-hyun pulled his gaze away from Kim Min-jung and looked at Lim Won-young.
“If you only just got here, why are there so many cake plates?”
Lee-hyun considered answering ‘There’s a glutton here,’ but when Lim Won-young suddenly lowered her sunglasses and looked him up and down, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“By the way, Hunter Jang… why do I sense magic power coming from you…?”
“I managed to regain it somehow.”
“…!”
Lee-hyun politely returned the Talisman of Protection that Lim Won-young had given him.
His intention to repay the help he had received from her and White Burn many times over had not changed in the slightest.
Grace with grace. Grudges with even greater grudges.
It was the first principle of life that Lee-hyun had never forgotten, from childhood until now.
“That’s why, even though it’s shameless of me, I have a favor I’d like to ask of you, Team Leader.”
For a brief moment, a sharp glint flashed in Lim Won-young’s eyes.