The Hard Work Deserves a Reward
White particles drifted through the air, scattering as the gate—now bereft of its master—dissolved into pure mana and faded away.
"…"
Kim Jin-seong approached the spot where only a handful of blood remained and picked up the crimson jewel lying beneath it. It was the item left behind where a gate's boss fell—a Level Upper brimming with vast stores of mana.
Lee Myeong-won was dead.
The being that had drained human mana, fused with the gate, and become something beyond mortal comprehension had met its end inside that sphere of pitch-black blades.
Baek Han-seol's ominous prophecy. The constellation known as the Blood Demon. Plenty of unanswered questions still lingered, but they were not concerns for this moment. For now, he simply offered a quiet prayer for his friend—Lee Myeong-won, who had chased power like Icarus flying toward the sun, only to burn himself to ash.
"Is it over?"
"…For the time being, yes."
Kim Jin-seong offered a faint smile to the staggering Kim Do-yoon and turned to look behind him. The hunters who had received treatment from the healers were gradually coming back to their senses, one by one. Of everyone present, only Kim Jin-seong and Kim Do-yoon had managed to cling to consciousness through the world-shaking battle between the Blood Demon and the Heavenly Demon. Anyone who had not seen it with their own eyes would never believe the tale, and there was no need to trouble Wiji Yeon over it.
"Lee Myeong-won fell fighting alone. In the process, some entity seized his body—but we were the ones who finally granted him rest."
"That works for me."
Kim Do-yoon nodded. Kim Jin-seong let out a long breath and started walking toward the other hunters.
"In any case, the casualties were severe. We're going to be busy for a while."
"Whatever the process, the gate raid succeeded… but."
"Something about this feels wrong. …This S-class gate had far too many irregularities to simply call it another vessel prepared to birth an Ancient Species, the way they were in the past."
"You mean—"
"It could be the beginning of a new Great Calamity. Even without the one who called himself the Blood Demon, something of comparable, overwhelming mana would likely have appeared regardless."
Kim Do-yoon's expression hardened. He had never traded blows with an Ancient Species himself, yet the power they had just faced in Lee Myeong-won had felt far beyond that of a mere Ancient Species. If entities stronger than those of the past kept emerging through gates like this one, humanity would inevitably walk the path to extinction.
"Still."
A warm smile filled with reverence rose on Kim Jin-seong's face. He strode forward without hesitation and approached Kim Na-yeon, who sat slumped among the hunters. Even through her exhaustion, a mother's smile lingered on her face—and nestled in her arms,
soft, even breaths.
A tiny black-haired girl slept soundly, her little snoring rising and falling.
"As long as Cheonma-nim is with us, we need not worry about the future of this country, at least."
Gently, Kim Jin-seong pressed the blood-red jewel into the sleeping girl's small, soft hand.
The S-class gate incident that had erupted in the Chogye Basin was over.
They had defeated the anomalous Ancient Species that had seized Lee Myeong-won's body, but the price had been catastrophic for Korea's hunter world. The Jeokpung Guild had lost its master. The Hanseong Guild had lost its master and every one of its high-ranking hunters. Two of the nation's five great guilds had suffered devastating blows.
Hunters began to gather around the three guilds that had avoided major losses in strength—Bukhae, Suryong, and Hana. With Busan's Hanseong Guild collapsed, its remaining members were absorbed into Daegu's Bukhae Guild. Seoul's Jeokpung remained silent for now. But a Jeokpung without its master no longer possessed the power to call itself one of the five great guilds of Korea.
And rising in their place as the new center of gravity in Seoul was the Shingyo Guild of Kim Do-yoon—the emerging S-class hunter who had fought alongside Kim Jin-seong in the recent battle.
"I can't believe they're spinning it as Lee Myeong-won playing a major role, even though he's dead."
"They had to say something to keep people on edge. They announced that the possessed Lee Myeong-won managed to hold back the Ancient Species' power in his own way, didn't they?"
"Fair enough."
Kim Na-yeon and Kim Do-yoon's voices drifted faintly to my ears.
"…Yeon-ah. Are you really okay?"
Kim Na-yeon called to me, full of worry.
"Uuuugh…"
I answered with a groan.
"She's not even going to training, even though she used to be so obsessed with it. She's been like this for days."
At present, I was sprawled bonelessly across the office sofa. Lee Da-yeon came over and clasped my hand tightly.
"Yeon-ah. Let's go play at the welfare center."
"I am not in the mood."
"Are you really okay? You can't get sick."
"The body is one thing, but it is the heart that aches most of all."
I had lost my driving force for growth. I had sprinted without rest, eyes fixed solely on the splendid body that Rebirth of Bone and Muscle would grant me—yet what remained was still the flesh of a small child.
Of course, my physical stamina had grown tremendously. My bones had hardened. The amount of internal energy I could store in my dantian had exploded. But still.
"Uuuugh… Why did I not grow…"
Kim Na-yeon came closer and scooped my limp, squid-like body into her arms.
"Yeon-ah, you did go through Rebirth of Bone and Muscle, right?"
"I did. And yet I am still like this."
"Pfft. Well, even if the body gets reconstructed, a kid suddenly growing up overnight was never going to make sense."
"Uuuugh…"
I glared up at Kim Na-yeon with resentful eyes, then buried my face in her chest in surrender. Fine. Whatever happens, happens. If I am doomed to live as a child, I may as well throw every tantrum I please.
"Putting the mood aside—how's the body?"
"Oof… every joint aches."
"Pfft. You sound like an old man."
"It is exactly as you see, Na-yeon unnie."
"Did you push yourself that hard over there? Enough that even a body after Rebirth of Bone and Muscle struggled?"
"That is the nature of the true Mind Sword. One needs a body of at least the Harmony Realm simply to endure it."
Internal energy alone cannot construct a mental world. My body, which had become a pure conduit for will itself, had screamed in considerable agony. Had I used it before reaching the Harmony Realm, my flesh would have shattered outright.
In the end, to wield every last shred of my power, I would need a divine body. Two more rounds of Rebirth of Bone and Muscle, and then the Natural Realm. The road ahead was still long.
Even so, the Harmony Realm was enough for now. Did I truly need to race toward a divine body? Even after further rebirths, this small frame would remain unchanged. …Thinking of it that way, I may have been too impatient. Had I known, I would have waited until my body finished growing first.
"So when do you think you'll be able to move properly again?"
"I do not know."
"Hmm…"
Kim Na-yeon looked troubled. Seeing someone who usually overflowed with energy now slumped in both body and spirit could not sit well with her. Then a mischievous smile suddenly curved her lips.
"Want unnie to give you a massage? You worked so hard in that gate this time, so this is your reward."
"…A massage? A reward?"
"Yep. It'll loosen up those knotted muscles and make your whole body feel better."
"Oh."
My heart, wounded by the despairing reality of living forever in a child's body, was one matter. But if Kim Na-yeon would knead the muscles and bones still reeling from the passage of the world's will, that would certainly help.
Na-yeon laid me down on the sofa.
"Turn over."
"Mm."
I flipped onto my stomach, stretched my short body out long, and turned my face to the side. Kim Na-yeon's hands approached my lower back.
Press, press.
"Nngh…"
It felt wonderful. A sigh escaped on its own.
"Haaah. Excellent. Press harder still."
"Does this spot feel good?"
"Ooooh. Haaah—ah, there, there is also good."
"This feels like I'm massaging some old man."
I wriggled and kept letting out cries of delight. Kim Na-yeon giggled but never stopped her hands. Before long, Lee Da-yeon had edged closer as well, watching me with curious eyes.
"Yeon-ah, does the massage feel nice?"
"Mmh… it feels amazing."
"Unnie, when you're done with Yeon, do me too, please."
"Hm? Pfft. Sure. Just wait a bit."
Press, press.
After twisting and moaning for a long while, I soon found myself craving even greater stimulus.
"Harder. Press even harder."
Pressss.
"Mmh. Na-yeon unnie's grip lacks strength."
"I'm pressing plenty hard."
"This Seat's body has been strengthened through Rebirth of Bone and Muscle. Ordinary force can no longer satisfy This Seat."
"Heh. The flesh is still soft, though."
"The bones are hard, you see."
"Fine. Hold on."
Kim Na-yeon climbed astride my prone form and rolled her shoulders once.
Pressss.
The pressure increased a little.
"Harder!"
"Ugh."
Stubborn pride edged into Kim Na-yeon's voice.
"So this still isn't enough… Can unnie use her special move?"
"Special move? What is that?"
"It'll feel incredible, but the shock might startle you."
"Oh. Proceed."
Her hands slid down toward the lower part of my back—just above the tailbone, where the spine begins. Anticipation fluttered through me. Both of Kim Na-yeon's thumbs pressed slowly into that spot above my tailbone.
And then, in a single instant—
Crack!
What?
A bone-cracking sound had just come from my waist.
"Ghk—!"
My back arched like a shrimp. My mouth fell wide open. My limbs, flung toward the empty air, trembled violently.
"Eek! A weird sound just came from Yeon's back! Yeon-ah! Yeon-aaah!"
"Huff, huff. S-so? How is it? Heh."
"Hey, you didn't seriously use that on a kid, did you?!"
Lee Da-yeon's nearly fainting voice, Kim Na-yeon's voice laced with smug triumph, and Kim Do-yoon's startled shout as he came running in alarm all tangled together.
"E-eh."
I let out a soft moan with my mouth hanging open. Then I went completely limp.
The Left Guardian's special move is truly formidable.