#57 Just Keep Going Straight to the End.
Mercenary Tower's basement level 3. There was a massive training room reserved for executives. Choi Kang-ho nodded as he surveyed the roughly 10,000-square-foot space.
"Not bad."
"Right? We put a lot of thought into the training facilities. The guild members' hall is even bigger." Im Cheol-bae grinned and strode to the center. He always favored suits. His two-meter frame was packed solid with muscle. His short hair and thick beard had turned pure white, but his sturdy bone structure and iron-hard muscles were his pride and joy. Especially those fists. His massive hands, two or three times the size of an average person's and callused to hell, looked like they were gloved in boxing wraps from a distance. It all reflected his character. Im Cheol-bae was renowned as a training fanatic. The promising talents he raised in the guild had to endure his signature regimen—and Kang-ho knew it well.
"Cheol-bae, that training method of yours is pretty solid."
"Yeah?"
Kang-ho nodded at Cheol-bae's response.
"King's gotten a lot tougher."
"Heh, the human body gets tougher the more you hone it." That was Cheol-bae's creed. He shrugged off his suit vest and tossed it aside. Rolling up the sleeves of his white dress shirt to his elbows, he cracked his knuckles with a sharp thwack-thwack.
"It's been a while—let's spar, friend."
"Sure."
Kang-ho set down Seol-a, whom he'd been cradling. Her eyes went wide as she glanced around, then looked up at him.
"Seol-a, you can watch from over there."
She toddled obediently to the spot he pointed out and plopped down. Kang-ho turned back to Cheol-bae, stripped off his jacket, and flung it aside.
"!"
Seol-a spotted it and scampered over, scooping up the jacket and hugging it tight.
Whoosh! Cheol-bae gathered his heavy fists. He bent his knees slightly and thrust out his right fist. Solid as a mountain—no gaps anywhere in his stance.
Kang-ho eased into position.
"Ready?"
"Come at me."
Thud! Kang-ho kicked off the floor and charged. His style was pure aggression; Cheol-bae's was perfectly balanced orthodoxy, fundamentals honed to the absolute limit. Kang-ho whipped in like the wind with a punch. Cheol-bae blocked steadily and fired back a straight punch.
Whoom! The oppressive straight sliced the air. Kang-ho ghosted aside, launching a mid kick. No mana, but these SS-rank Hero 5 bodies were transcendent on raw physicality alone. Cheol-bae absorbed the kick and countered with another straight. Kang-ho crossed his arms to block.
Boom! An explosive roar echoed. Kang-ho's body jolted back, skidding across the floor. Cheol-bae pursued like a charging bear—silent but thunderous.
Kang-ho spun midair, kicked off a central pillar, and rocketed back.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Fists clashed with fists, kicks with kicks. Human flesh colliding like clanging weapons, the thunderous booms relentless.
"Eee!"
Seol-a watched from afar, tail perking up. Her heart pounded. She loved Kang-ho, but she loved fights just as much. She bounced to her feet, hopping excitedly.
Me too! Let me join!
In the blink of an eye, dozens of exchanges flew. Kang-ho flowed freely, formless brawling; Cheol-bae was rigid orthodoxy. Half a century of dogged basics yielding flawless counters at perfect timings. The brutal, breathless fight dragged on for nearly 30 minutes.
Suddenly—
Whoooosh! Cheol-bae's fist surged toward Kang-ho's gut. Just before impact, it halted abruptly. Kang-ho's wrist was already at Cheol-bae's nape.
"......"
"......"
Cheol-bae stepped back slowly.
"Whew, still the same. You're even faster now."
"That's my line."
Cheol-bae nodded crisply.
"In a real fight, my head would've been gone."
"If you'd landed one for real, something would've shattered."
Cheol-bae was drenched in sweat, white steam rising from his body. He stared at Kang-ho.
Not a single drop on him.
Exhausted, he trudged back and slumped onto the floor.
"The wall's higher than I thought."
"......"
"Lately, I keep wondering if this is it. If my methods were wrong all along."
Kang-ho watched him quietly. No one could say his stagnation came from lack of effort. Maybe he'd hit his absolute limit. But Kang-ho glimpsed untapped potential.
He walked over and sat beside him. Seol-a toddled up and burrowed into his lap. Cheol-bae smiled at her clutching Kang-ho's jacket.
"Must feel good these days."
"Yeah, it's been a while."
Kang-ho stroked her cheek.
"Like you said, maybe that's your ceiling. Maybe you'll never cross it."
"......"
"But your balance is better than 15 years ago."
Cheol-bae's eyes lit up.
"Really?"
"Not just to cheer you up. You've matured. Grown."
Kang-ho petted Seol-a's head.
"Growth at your level means your way isn't wrong."
"......"
"Just keep going. Stick to what you've done all this time."
Kang-ho smiled faintly.
"No half-baked temptations. Stay steadfast and stubborn. That's my take."
Cheol-bae nodded after a moment.
"Got it."
"......"
Kang-ho paused thoughtfully, then added,
"Maybe."
"Hm?"
"Just maybe."
"Yeah."
"Something tempting might come your way. Sweet power."
Cheol-bae blinked at Kang-ho's flat tone.
"What?"
"Forbidden forces from other worlds. Touch them, and half a century of work goes poof."
"......!"
Cheol-bae didn't get the details, but the meaning hit home. Recently, intel said one of Napa's stolen items held bizarre otherworldly power. Phantom the master thief's doing.
"......That thing Phantom swiped?"
Kang-ho nodded slowly.
"Those powers are trickling in. War with other worlds might be soon."
Cheol-bae nodded.
"We're debating it daily. Especially the new demon realm—gates are spiking. Probably same everywhere."
"Demon realms have monsters. Might even give me trouble."
Cheol-bae's eyes widened.
"For real?"
Kang-ho nodded.
"The one I caught recently was insane. Like fighting heaven-beyond-heaven elites—casualties would be huge. Maybe worse than Daybreak 50 years ago."
A chill ran down Cheol-bae's spine. Rare for Kang-ho to say this.
Kang-ho gazed into the distance.
"World's changing again after 50 years. Like we changed before, time to change again. But no need to ditch what's right."
"......"
"You've walked straight without dirty shortcuts. Sweat doesn't betray. So—"
Kang-ho extended his fist.
"Just keep going straight to the end."
Cheol-bae stared, then grinned and bumped fists.
"......Yeah."
He asked suddenly,
"You waited 30 years in Cheorwon for the egg to hatch."
"Yep."
"What kept you going?"
"Just day by day..."
Kang-ho smiled.
"Doing what I always did, hoping purely."
Leaving Mercenary Tower, dusk had fallen. A few messages on his smartphone.
Kang-ho sighed faintly at the profile pic, realizing it was Smith, and headed to Yeongdeungpo 21st Street. Smith looked flushed with excitement.
"I've analyzed the material. Luckily, similar metal on hand—easy to adapt."
"Similar metal?"
Smith gestured. Two dwarves brought a metal gear and Kasumus's scale.
"Chainmail made from strong magic stone metal. Rare here, mined on Mu continent."
Kang-ho knew it vaguely.
"This is for Baekya's Lee Hyuk. Keep it secret?"
"Sure."
Chainmail—a light linked armor. Smith infused mana.
Clink-clink-clink! The links expanded like sprouting scales into full plate.
"Used like this. Super light and tough... kinda transforms?"
Kang-ho nodded, getting it.
"Kasumus's scales are similar. Problem is..."
Smith hesitated.
"What?"
"Uh... needs a ton of magic stones to process?"
"Hm."
Kang-ho crossed his arms, pondering.
"You mentioned before—your body can't handle mana."
"Yeah."
"This might help a bit. High magic stone needs means good mana resistance. Could buffer overload to a point—my guess."
Tempting.
"Time to research?"
Smith's eyes sparkled. Kang-ho eyed him steadily.
"How many magic stones?"