The Cheongryong Sword Sect (1)

The reason I couldn't release my footage last episode was simple.

Early-model recorders can only retain their internal data for about a year.

Gong Gi-hyun buying up the research records and completing the technology happened more than a year after the B-rank gate incident.

But this time was different.

Before the data inside could volatilize, I went to Gong Gi-hyun myself and had the technology completed.

And the logo embedded in it wasn't some Chinese company's — it was the genuine article, Cheonseong's own.

Today, I made my declaration.

'Since the era of Hunters dawned, the technology all of humanity has craved — Cheonseong built it.'

And the first beneficiary of that technology was none other than me.

"I trust that will serve as an answer."

I forced the words out, suppressing the heat rising in my chest.

"For anyone who believes the footage was doctored, I'll gladly provide the raw analysis data at any time. For a 'reasonable' fee, of course."

"……"

"I believe that will be more than enough for today. …Ah, one moment — just one last thing."

I stared straight into the camera's lens.

I intended to use the moment when the whole nation's eyes were fixed on me to leave a message.

For you, and for all the rest of 'you,' watching from somewhere out there right now.

"As for you in particular — I'm going to destroy you. You damned rat bastard."

Consider that a declaration of war, you cursed bastards.

After Lee Tae-hyun's press-conference-turned-exposé and invention showcase came to an end, the Republic of Korea burst back into flames.

The 'Gate Recorder' that Lee Tae-hyun had so abruptly unveiled was shocking news not only in Korea but across the entire world.

Footage from inside a gate.

Until now, records that had existed only through hunter testimony, written logs, and sketches could now be stored far more concretely — and far more easily.

It would be a massive leap forward for the stagnant field of gate research. Academies would be able to source educational materials with ease. And hunters would finally be able to record their raids in case of the unexpected.

Once the announcement, the demonstration, and the experts' verification were all complete, Cheonseong's name soared into the heavens all over again.

In a single stroke, it obliterated the narrative that Cheonseong wasn't what it used to be.

"Hah…!"

Lee Jin-sung let out a hollow laugh.

"So he really did keep his promise."

The 'image restoration of Cheonseong' that Tae-hyun had promised. He had actually pulled it off.

A reversal so complete that the string of back-to-back declines now felt like a lie.

'And he even went and finished a project I'd written off as a failure, just to bring it back to me.'

He'd never shown it outwardly, but after admitting the Re Project's failure, the loss had gnawed at him badly. Beyond the money and time invested, the hope he'd held for the hunter society that could have been had simply guttered out.

And then Tae-hyun had reignited it.

A single ember, still smoldering inside ashes he'd believed were long dead.

"The times are going to change."

Lee Jin-sung wore a bittersweet smile.

The technology was complete, and the foundation had been laid for Cheonseong to leap back to its throne as king of the industry — and yet no joy came.

Because now he knew what that success had been built upon.

"…Tae-hyun."

The fear of death.

It was more than enough to change a person.

Lee Tae-hyun's innocence had been proven.

The incident that had turned Lee Tae-hyun — once dismissed as a Century-end personality wreck and a serial troublemaker — into a national figure people wanted dead. The victim of that incident, the evidence now showed, had been Lee Tae-hyun himself.

With his heaviest stigma stripped away, room for public opinion of Lee Tae-hyun to slowly improve had begun to appear.

And amid all of it, one sinister topic began to circulate.

A gate closing meant that no hunters remained inside.

That implied only two possibilities.

'Either he died in there, or he came out alive.'

Most people concluded that Jung Min-chul was dead, and no further investigation was ever conducted.

"That's what everyone will think."

Inside a black van gliding down the highway, I slowly opened my eyes and murmured those words.

'Before my regression, I'd assumed he was dead too.'

Jung Min-chul was alive.

And in the absolute worst form imaginable.

'A grotesque monster, its body and soul twisted together.'

That was the Jung Min-chul of the future.

Uncovering why he had become such a thing — and just who had commissioned the murder — that was the homework my regression had handed me.

'…That day.'

The day the monstrous Jung Min-chul was subjugated by the allied forces of the Magic Towers.

'It' had left these words behind before it died.

They were the ramblings of a monster whose mind had disintegrated into nonsense.

No one had paid the words the slightest attention… but the situation was different now.

"Monarch."

It had spat out a word that could no longer be brushed aside.

If there was even the slightest thread to pull, I had to chase it.

'Well… I already fired off a grand declaration of war, anyway.'

The water had already been spilled.

All that remained was to grow stronger — until the Jung Min-chul of that era appeared before me.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

…Okay, this is my limit.

Right now I had earphones jammed into both ears, blaring deafening music at full volume.

Not because I enjoy rupturing my own eardrums.

"Nngh… finally……"

This, too, was a form of training.

Maintaining inner calm while listening to ear-splitting music.

A meditation technique with its efficiency cranked to the absolute maximum — one I invented myself before my regression.

It was the simplest of all the trainings that could raise my resistance stat.

"My… my ears. I can't hear a thing."

Even with the earphones out, all that reached me was a shrill beeeep.

Thankfully, my hearing trickled back slowly — but still.

"…Not something I could ever do twice."

Anyway, I'd already squeezed out everything this training method had to give.

I shoved the eyesore earphones into a corner of the van and pulled up my status window.

Mind up by a whole 5 points.

I wasn't yet at the point where I could use the ring with room to spare, but it was enough that I could bring it out in a pinch.

Was it worth trading for my eardrums, though? Hmm…

Right on cue, a message arrived.

I'd fished out that pine staff and a handful of magic stones from the Graveyard of Knights and put them on the market.

Incidentally, Introduction to Necromancy was still safely tucked away in storage.

It had research value, after all.

"Fifty million for a staff… isn't that inflated even accounting for the bubble?"

C-rank equipment sells at a premium.

Mage wands and grimoires in particular are priced absurdly high for their grade.

Supply falls overwhelmingly short of demand — and the reason is simple.

'Because mage equipment can't be crafted.'

The Blacksmithing skill can only produce gear suited to warrior types — swords, spears, shields, and the like.

Only after the Magic Crafting skillbook was discovered did prices finally stabilize; until then, gate drops were the sole source.

"…Oh ho?"

A wicked little idea flashed through my mind.

Under the pretext of wrapping up the contract, we'd met in person — and at that meeting, I recruited Gong Gi-hyun into Cheonseong's research team.

With, of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠course, the best compensation in the industry.

"Um… m-me?"

Our bashful Mr. Gi-hyun refused at first.

"Honestly, I'm not sure… I know joining wouldn't leave me short on research funding or money, but I want to build the things I want to build, so…"

"Oh my, is that so. What a shame."

"Y-you're… giving up on me…?"

"Can't be helped. Ah, but you do know how wildly popular that recorder has become lately, right? And the person holding that technology is, in practice, you and you alone… Mmm, this really ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠does worry me."

"……?"

"You heard about that blacksmith who died under mysterious circumstances in Switzerland recently, yes? You're probably thinking it was a simple fall — but it was, in fact, an assassination."

"An-as an assassination?!"

"It's the age of superhumans. Good technology, incredible information — plenty of people would rather destroy what they can't possess. And… the recorder doubles as a crime-prevention device, so… criminals with a grudge could come knocking on your little workshop, just like that! Ohh, how frightening. If you joined Cheonseong's research team, we could protect you — but otherwise, we'd have no real grounds to……"

"AAAGH! F-fine, I'll do it! I'll join the research team!"

A little persuasion, and he was reeled in at once.

Grinning, I slid the contract I'd prepared across the table.

"Then please, sign on the dotted line."

Well — did I say a single untrue word?

In the future, the real Gong Gi-hyun would have his technology ripped from him by an assassin sent by a Chinese corporation, then be quietly murdered.

For all the name of Magic King, it was a pitifully shabby end.

Scritch-scratch!

Gong Gi-hyun finished signing with a face gone pale as ash.

"Then from this moment on, we're family?"

"W-well, I… suppose that's how it works…"

"Looking forward to working with you."

I ran my tongue over my lips and seized Gong Gi-hyun's hand.

"H-hiiik!"

His palm was drenched in cold sweat — but I felt not the slightest discomfort.

After all, he'd be doing a great deal of work for me going forward.

A great deal of work.

Sooo much work……

With the misunderstandings cleared up, I ached to meet my family and mend what was broken — but time is fair to everyone.

My Body stat was already creeping up on the D-rank growth ceiling.

For the time being, reinforcing my overall strength had to come first.

Clear skies, and a forest of deep green.

Standing at the foot of the mountain as it unfurled before me in all its grandeur, I gave a light stretch.

"Hnnngh! It's been a while, this place."

This was Mount Taebaek.

Home to the Cheongnyong Sword Sect, one of the Four Direction Sects.

For the events to come — and to hunt down the unknown mastermind whose shadows already threatened my life — completing the Nameless Spear Art was non-negotiable.

At its core, the Nameless Spear Art was a martial discipline forged upon the techniques of the Four Direction Sects.

Last iteration, it had been refined in an incomplete state, and the side effects had been brutal.

"But this iteration's Four Direction Sects haven't fallen yet."

I would receive their arts in full, then rebuild the Nameless Spear Art upon that foundation.

That was the purpose of my sect pilgrimage.

And the reason Cheongnyong Sword Sect came first…

'Is because this sect is about to be destroyed.'

In the not-so-distant future, the Cheongnyong Sword Sect would vanish from Korea.

The cause was none other than its sect master — currently absent without a word.

My incident had shaken him that badly.

'The pride of Korea's hunter world — and the largest, most influential sect among them, simply gone.'

It was nothing short of a national loss.

In truth, that was the moment the entire sect system had begun to wobble.

"This time around, it stays in Korea."

And if possible, I'd seat a sect master to my own taste while I was at it.

The name of Cheongnyong Sword Sect had plenty of uses, after all.

Well — that was only a secondary objective.

Seven Forms of the Azure Dragon.

The Azure Dragon's secret arts, obtainable only within the Sword Sect itself.

The sword art destined to become the first piece of the Nameless Spear Art.

And to claim it, first…

"I'll just have to smash every last one of those disciples into the dirt."

Sorry about that. It can't be helped.