The Countdown Begins
One of the elixirs born from the World Tree.
A miraculous elixir infused with potent restorative life force.
Effect:Completely restores an organism worn down by extreme strain, returning their biological state to match their actual physical age.
Caution:This elixir restores damaged vitality to its natural state; it does not grant biological rejuvenation or reverse age.
In short, it was a miraculous cure capable of rolling back the physical deterioration of anyone pushed past their breaking point, aligning their worn vessel with their true calendar years.
Jeon Jaewoo dropped the fruit straight into the Homunculus’s glass flask. A rich, emerald brew immediately began to bubble and hiss within the vessel, and before long, the boiling subsided, leaving behind a finished, luminous potion.
Cradling the freshly concocted glass bottle in his palm, Jaewoo glanced toward the Lich King.
“Did it come out well?”
“Magnificent, my Creator. Every trace of latent toxicity and harsh recoil hath been excised, refining it into a flawless tonic.”
The raw elixir had been successfully refined into medicine that any invalid could safely digest.
No matter how many times I watch it happen, it never stops being fascinating.
Jaewoo felt like patting the tiny Homunculus on the head as a reward, but the little creature's body resided entirely within the sealed glass flask. No matter how much he coaxed it, the creature showed zero intention of venturing out into the open air.
“You did great work. Good job.”
The tiny silhouette inside gave a pleased little flutter, happily bobbing within its liquid habitat at the praise.
“Still, what do you plan to demand from them in return for handing over such a draught?” the Ego Sword chimed in, its voice echoing telepathically with skeptical curiosity.
“Well… I certainly can't give it away for free, but…”
To be completely honest, Jaewoo’s biggest dilemma was that he did not actually want for anything. When it came to hunter necessities, gear, and resources, he was fully capable of supplying everything himself without leaning on the Korean Hunter Administration for a single handout.
“I’ll figure that out as we go. For now, let’s go save a life first.”
With the potion tucked safely into his coat, Jaewoo headed back to the headquarters of the Korean Hunter Administration.
Commissioner Yoo Jeongtae stared at the small glass vial handed to him, his hands trembling as he managed to squeeze out a raspy whisper.
“Is this… the potion you spoke of?”
“Yes. If you’d like, feel free to inspect its properties right now.”
Yoo Jeongtae wasted no time. He immediately summoned the Hunter Administration's elite mana pharmacologists and potion appraisers to examine the concoction. Seconds after conducting their analytical spells, the experts went pale, their jaws dropping in unison.
“T-This is impossible…”
“W-Well? What does it look like?” Yoo Jeongtae pressed, repeatedly wetting his parched lips as sweat beaded along his forehead.
“It is unbelievable, Commissioner! No, ‘unbelievable’ doesn’t even begin to describe it! This goes beyond miraculous!”
“To think a potion capable of completely regenerating burned-out mana circuits truly existed in this world…”
“With this, Hunter Han Seongjae will make a full recovery in no time!”
Every single expert shook their head in sheer, speechless awe. Seeing their ecstatic reactions, Yoo Jeongtae’s anxious scowl melted into an incandescent grin.
That left only one remaining hurdle: whether they could afford whatever price Jaewoo demanded for it.
“Hunter Jeon! The Hunter Administration will pay whatever astronomical sum you ask for this potion. No, if there is anything else you desire—anything at all—please name it!”
“……”
Jaewoo fell into quiet contemplation. He had racked his brain the entire ride over trying to think of an appropriate compensation, but nothing particular came to mind.
“Do you happen to possess any more Extra Clear Tickets?”
Yoo Jeongtae’s face instantly fell, his head sinking with profound remorse.
“I am terribly sorry, Hunter Jeon… If only our nation possessed greater authority and influence, we would have procured whatever you wished on the spot, but…”
That made sense. Even the world’s preeminent hunter superpowers barely held a handful of Extra Clear Tickets among them; there was no way South Korea had one lying around in reserve. If the administration had possessed such a priceless relic, they would have dangled it long ago to recruit him as an official government operative.
After another moment of thought, Jaewoo spoke up again.
“Does the Hunter Administration have any leftover monster carcasses stored away?”
“What? Why, of course! We have more monster corpses than we know what to do with!”
Aside from extradimensional ruins, mundane reality dungeons ruptured on a daily basis across the country, requiring constant subjugation forces. As a result, the agency's cold-storage facilities were overflowing with beast remains. While not as precious as magic crystals, monster carcasses were still vital strategic commodities. Granted, an endless stockpile of high-grade magic crystals was always preferred, but beast materials had plenty of practical utility.
“Would it be alright if I combed through them and took whatever catches my eye?”
Yoo Jeongtae nodded frantically, practically bowing in relief.
“Aigoo, but of course! You may take the entire inventory if you so please!”
Exchanging a mountain of rotting monster parts instead of irreplaceable magic crystals for a miracle potion that could restore an S-rank strategic pillar was practically highway robbery in the government's favor.
Though I wonder what on earth he plans to do with so many monster carcasses… Yoo Jeongtae mused quietly.
Jaewoo’s motive, naturally, was fuel for Heaven's Box. High-grade monster remains served as premium foundational ingredients for fabricating and mutating brand-new summoned beasts.
Once Jaewoo handed over the potion, medical personnel administered it directly to Han Seongjae without a moment’s delay.
Not even twenty-four hours later, Han Seongjae’s shattered mana pathways were knitting back together at a terrifying velocity. The rate of cellular and arcane regeneration was so absurd that the attending high-rank healers were left utterly dumbfounded.
“Nnnh…”
With his physical vessels restored and no further need to keep him under an induced coma, the doctors halted the sedatives. Soon after, Hunter Han Seongjae slowly opened his eyes.
“Honey!”
“Dad!”
Through the cracked doorway of the intensive care suite, the tearful cries of Han Seongjae embracing his weeping family echoed out into the hall. Standing outside the room, Jaewoo rubbed the tip of his nose and smiled quietly to himself.
Well. That actually feels pretty nice.
Was this what society referred to as wielding a positive influence?
The moment Han Seongjae was back on his feet, Yoo Jeongtae stepped in to shower Jaewoo with endless bows of gratitude on the hunter’s behalf.
“We have also wired the settlement for the latest batch of elixirs to your account, so please check it when you have a moment.”
Jaewoo regularly brokered bulk sales of the World Tree’s general mana-boosting elixirs to the Hunter Administration. While the sum deposited was astronomical, Jaewoo rarely bothered to check his bank balance these days; he had already amassed so much wealth that counting the zeros had become an exercise in futility.
“Commissioner. Which company did you say was processing the elixirs I handed over previously?”
“Yeongmyeong Company. It’s the enterprise founded by Hunter Kim Junha. I trust you’re familiar with it?”
“Ah, of course.”
Yeongmyeong Company was one of South Korea's premier hunter enterprises, established by veteran S-rank hunter Kim Junha. However, as a figure from the older awakened generation whose personal ruin raid tickets had long been exhausted, Kim Junha no longer entered ruins himself, focusing instead on corporate processing and potion distribution.
Come to think of it, do I really need to entrust my elixirs to outside companies anymore?
Now that he possessed the Homunculus, he could simply brew flawless, high-yield potions in-house and supply them directly to the state. It was the sort of business realization that would have made any private potion mogul faint on the spot, yet Jaewoo contemplated it with total nonchalance.
Regardless, Yoo Jeongtae found himself in high spirits for the first time in months. Thanks to Jaewoo’s intervention, Han Seongjae had been pulled from death’s door, and the brokerage fees collected from distributing World Tree potions on Jaewoo’s behalf lined the administration’s coffers handsomely.
Yet, completely contrary to Yoo Jeongtae’s fleeting optimism, a dark cloud was about to descend over the entire globe.
The mysterious ruins that had served as mankind’s bottomless gold mine for decades were quietly preparing to become the ultimate apocalypse of human civilization.
A month flew by following the recovery of Hunter Han Seongjae.
With the turn of the month, fresh ruins materialized across the globe, sending national raid forces scrambling once again to conquer them. Jaewoo, on the other hand, chose not to expend any extra raid tickets. Instead, he holed up inside an ordinary dungeon, dedicating every waking hour to rigorous swordsmanship drills.
Even with his transcendent physical stats, training under Myeolgeop was nothing short of grueling. Beyond the sheer intensity of the physical regimens, Jaewoo was learning firsthand just how agonizingly difficult it was to climb the trait ladder through pure effort.
Myeolgeop had explained that elevating a trait to S-rank was akin to a comic book protagonist attaining enlightenment. Ascending one tier from A-rank to S-rank was at least ten times harder than jumping from B-rank to A-rank.
To think everyone else has been putting in this much brutal effort just to raise a trait by a single grade…
Jaewoo felt a fresh pang of appreciation for how ridiculously easy his journey through the ruins had been up to this point. While other hunters risked life and limb, he had simply stood safely in the backline, letting his army of summons obliterate everything before him.
Truthfully, his desire to raise his swordsmanship wasn't even meant to conquer ruins more efficiently. The summons would always handle the vanguard; he was merely heeding Myeolgeop’s counsel to secure a reliable, self-sufficient baseline of defense in the event of an unforeseen catastrophe.
Golem though he was—or perhaps precisely because he was a calculated machine—Myeolgeop’s instructional prowess was peerless.
No longer fluttering weakly like an unstable flame, Jaewoo’s mana condensed into a rigid, unshakable blade of pure light.
Manifested Sword Gang (S).
His agonizing efforts had finally borne fruit.
“Whoa…”
Staring at the dense, crystallized aura encasing his blade, Jaewoo let out a boyish gasp of admiration. This was the pinnacle of martial energy. In the vernacular of fantasy novels, this was the exclusive hallmark of a true Sword Master.
[I offer my sincere congratulations on your martial breakthrough, Creator.]
Myeolgeop’s notification popped up with its usual flat mechanical tone, yet it somehow carried an undertone of genuine pride.
“Congratulations, Master!” Novum chimed in, bouncing merrily.
“Hmph. You finally look somewhat presentable,” the Ego Sword scoffed telepathically.
Every single one of his summons offered their congratulations in their own unique manner. Even the sharp-tongued blade couldn't conceal its satisfaction.
Binding: Jeon Jaewoo
Classification: Ego Weapon
A divine blade possessing an autonomous soul. It faithfully serves its master, cutting down all creation under heaven to safeguard its wielder. If the wielder’s realm is insufficient, the weapon's true potential remains sealed.
◈ Manifested Sword Gang (S) [UNLOCKED]
◈ Telekinetic Sword Flight [SEALED]
◈ Unity of Sword and Body [SEALED]
◈ Sword Spirit [SEALED]
◈ Mind Sword [SEALED]
True to its nature as a living weapon that evolved alongside its master, the Ego Sword’s first trait had finally unsealed. Naturally, Manifested Sword Gang was an enlightened state of martial aura; Jaewoo could project it through a cheap standard-issue steel sword just as easily. However, an ordinary blade would never replicate the overwhelming destructive output channeled through the Ego Sword.
He had finally attained a combat trait on par with the nation's premier awakeners, yet looking at the status screen, Jaewoo let out a weary sigh.
“Thinking about how much hell I’ll have to go through to unseal the rest of those traits makes my head spin.”
“Which means you must redouble your training regimens going forward,” Myeolgeop reported promptly.
“……”
This damn mechanical mouth of his. Always finding a way to drain whatever motivation I just built up.
Just breaking through to Manifested Sword Gang had pushed him to the brink; imagining the hellish road required for the realms beyond was exhausting. Even Myeolgeop had failed to unlock the deeper traits when wielding the Ego Sword.
Will I even manage to unlock all of them before my life runs out?
Still, having Myeolgeop guiding every strike provided absolute certainty that he was walking the swiftest and most precise path toward mastery.
Wiping off his sweat, Jaewoo wrapped up his dungeon training session and stepped back into the staging area.
“Huh??”
Powering on his smartphone, which had been switched off throughout the secluded training, his eyes went wide at the sheer avalanche of notifications. The lock screen was completely clogged with dozens of missed calls and urgent text alerts.
Did something happen to my parents…? No, it's not them.
His heart had leaped into his throat for a brief second, but he quickly calmed down. If anything had truly threatened his family, Myeolgeop and the Lich King’s preemptive wards would have triggered an immediate telepathic alarm. Furthermore, Novum had severed a small portion of its slime body, attaching it inconspicuously to his parents as a protective familiar that shielded them with constant natural blessings and defensive wards.
The individual desperately spamming his phone with dozens of calls was none other than Commissioner Yoo Jeongtae.
What's gotten into him all of a sudden?
Up until recently, the commissioner had been swamped managing the nation's new ruin raids, checking in only with brief courtesy texts. Had another crisis blown up in the government's face?
It felt like the Korean Hunter Administration never had a single quiet week. Was this simply the tragic fate of a non-superpower nation?
However, the moment Jaewoo opened an internet portal and skimmed the global news ticker, he realized the storm wasn't localized to South Korea at all.
[GLOBAL CRISIS: Worldwide State of Emergency Declared as Countdowns Begin on Uncleared Ruins.]
[Uncleared Legendary-Grade Ruin 'Wings of Freedom': First Assigned Raid Force Confirmed as the United States.]
[Time Remaining Until Catastrophic Dungeon Break: Exactly 7 Days.]
“…What the hell is all this? Countdowns? Uncleared ruins?”
The sudden flood of international panic was dizzying, but as Jaewoo rapidly pieced the reports together, the horrifying reality dawned on him.
The ancient ruins that nations had left untouched and neglected for decades due to fear, politics, or insufficient power had just turned into ticking nuclear warheads—and their timers were counting down toward zero.