Chicken Bliss and the Penthouse Raid
Right after coolly blasting away the boss in the Tower's 10th-floor boss room and returning home, I was buried deep in my plush sofa, slurping on a golden chicken leg from delivery.
"Kruuuh, nothing beats chicken after a fight."
As the crispy batter and juicy meat danced in my mouth, I took a big swig of cola poured into a glass packed with ice. The fizzy thrill racing down my throat drew out an uncle-level groan all on its own.
"Kyaaaah—!"
A one-armed beauty with an empty sleeve flapping on one side, gnawing chicken and chugging cola—anyone seeing it would call it freaky, but this was my personal sanctuary.
I lazily used Void Grasping to pull my smartphone from the table right in front of my eyes. Time to bask in the afterglow and check community reactions, Gyu-yeon style.
But the moment I turned on the screen, it buzzed wildly, and a blood-red popup filled it completely.
Korean Hunter Association Official Account - Emergency Disaster Notice
• Massive damage and collapse on Tower 10th-floor outer wall.
• Investigating unknown ultra-high-heat explosion.
• Civilians within 5km radius advised to evacuate.
"...Huh?"
I stared blankly at the red text, unable to swallow the tender chicken meat in my mouth. A hollow flash zipped through Gyu-yeon's mind.
...Ah, that.
The finishing move that devoured light and sound, vaporizing the Orc Lord's upper body in one go. A single finger-flicked annihilation shot. For me, it was a perfectly controlled, minimal damage output with all my power squeezed down tight.
But by the world's standards, it was a disaster-level event that outright erased part of the Tower's outer wall structure.
I forced a casual chew on the chicken in my mouth and scrolled down the communities. World Murim Gallery and the Hunter forums were already a total madhouse on the verge of exploding.
"Haha. Yeah, no way they'd pin it on me for sure. Netizen detectives aren't gods or anything."
I let out a hollow laugh and went to set down my cola glass. That's when it happened.
Weeeeng—!
My phone blared a disaster alert tone that nearly ruptured my eardrums.
Hunter Association awakeners dispatched to your residence vicinity. Target: Cease resistance and await instructions.
"..."
I froze like ice. My hand gripping the cola trembled faintly. An instinctive chill crawled up my spine.
I didn't even wipe the chicken sauce from my lips before bolting to the window and yanking open the blackout curtains.
"Holy shit..."
From the high-rise penthouse, the streets below were completely locked down—no people, no cars, not even an ant in sight. Surrounding the building in layers were Hunter Association awakeners in full black mana-resistant body armor, lined up at the ready.
Dozens of mana-detection drones and thermal-tracking drones swarmed the air outside the penthouse windows like a hive of predator bees hunting prey.
"This is bullshit..."
A curse slipped from my mouth unbidden. I'd been too complacent.
It'd only been 20 years since awakeners, the system, and 'hunters' appeared in this world. Back in the day, I'd inwardly sneered at them as rootless upstarts compared to our Murim Alliance's centuries of history.
But their progress over those 20 years, blending modern science and magic engineering, was downright miraculous. Especially that damn tracking system!
Turning off the stream and flying straight home was a fatal mistake. The hacking drone's IP, the unique serial on the lingering mana drone, the faint residual waves from ripping space—clues were piled high.
And where was this? The pinnacle of the old Murim Alliance. The inviolable sanctuary built with national funds by the Alliance Leader to honor Sword Master Lee Gyu-yeon: the Cheonmu Penthouse.
But right now, inside that sacred space, a silver-haired teen girl version of me was munching a chicken leg with one hand while watching anime.
"I'm... I'm just a shut-in weeb chilling in my room..."
I clasped my remaining right hand and prayed to the heavens. But the world doesn't grant peace to retired absolutes.
Woooong...
My beloved sword, the Mugyeok True Sword, shoved carelessly in the living room corner, began to tremble faintly. The spirit dwelling within sensed the encroaching killing intent as a crisis for its master.
It was like it was excitedly barking, [Master! Finally our turn to shine!]
"Hey! Don't get cocky now. Starting a fight here means we're socially buried for real!"
I panicked and tried to pin down the Mugyeok True Sword with Void Grasping. But the sword, elevated to divine artifact status thanks to its Mugyeok master, mistook my desperate restraint for pre-battle hype.
Woooong—!!!
The vibrations exploded in intensity, and azure sword qi began spewing from the thin, razor-sharp blade. The entire penthouse shook like there was an earthquake.
"Shut uuuup!!!"
The instant I couldn't hold back and yelled—
Kwaaaang—!!!
The hefty penthouse front door, made of special alloy, ripped clean off like it'd been hit by explosives and tumbled across the living room floor. Hunters poured in through the dust cloud in perfect formation.
"Cease all movement and get on the floor now!"
The leader barked with full bravado. But then—
Thud—!!
Every hunter let out a sharp cry and slammed to the floor simultaneously. It was as if an invisible iron slab weighing dozens of tons crushed their shoulders mercilessly—they face-planted into the marble, unable to twitch a finger.
"Eh?"
I blinked in a daze. It was my Intent Qi. The sudden intrusion of armed forces and killing intent triggered my body's ingrained defense mechanism, forcibly compressing the space pressure in a 10-meter radius.
Every breath I took cracked the marble floor like spiderwebs. The hunters groaned, trying to lift their heads amid bone-crushing pain.
"Aaaagh...! W-what is this aura? Top-tier hunter gear's mana resistance isn't working at all!"
I hurriedly retracted my energy and waved my hands frantically.
"Sorry! I swear it wasn't on purpose!"
As the pressure lifted, the hunters gasped ragged breaths and struggled to raise their heads. Their gazes landed on me standing in front of the sofa.
Shimmering silver hair glowing softly. Unrealistically clear blue eyes. Slender build and dangling empty left sleeve. A fragile girl who looked utterly harmless to anyone.
Thick bewilderment clouded their eyes. Cognitive dissonance hit hard—the idea that this delicate girl had just unleashed that horrific spatial crush was impossible.
But they'd forgotten the Murim adage: beware children, elders, and women.
"Why's a civilian here...? No, where's the target?!"
The leader aimed his gun at me and shouted urgently. They didn't suspect me at all. They couldn't even put me on the suspect list.
In their common sense, no powerhouse capable of blowing out the Tower's 10th-floor wall would ever inhabit the shell of a 'silver-haired one-armed girl.'
Plus, this was humanity's hero's residence. Sword Master Lee Gyu-yeon's home. Everyone remembered him as a man with black hair, thick brows, and a sharp, piercing face.
No idiot in the entire Hunter Association could mistake this frail one-armed kid for that legendary hero.
I was about to desperately explain myself when—
Woooong...!!
The Mugyeok True Sword behind me finally caused a massive incident. The azure glow from its thin blade flooded the living room blindingly, then projected a massive Intent Inscription into the air.
Sword Master
I clawed at my head with my remaining right hand and the flapping empty sleeve.
"You clueless idiot sword! I told you not to show off!!"
The hunters' pupils dilated massively. Their eyes darted between the hovering Mugyeok True Sword and me. Confusion. Horror.
"Why is Sword Master's divine artifact hovering around that kid?"
As the hunters panicked—
Step.
Step.
Heavy, overwhelming footsteps echoed from beyond the wrecked entrance hallway. Each step made the air hum. The second made their mana flicker and fade like candles.
I heard my heart drop to my feet. That oppressively familiar aura. An inner power depth only one person in the world could emit.
"Oh god."
The footsteps stopped at the shattered door. Through the settling dust, a presence like transplanting an entire mountain range swallowed the entrance.
Snow-white beard and hair. But skin taut beyond age-guessing and piercing eyes. The World Murim Alliance Leader. Fist Venerable Jang Mu-yeol.