Infernus (4)

Since stat allocation wasn’t an urgent matter at the moment, Kang-hoo, after a rough review, went to find the bereaved family.

After expressing his gratitude once more, he held each of their hands in turn and reaffirmed his resolve.

“I will make sure to use this talisman to its utmost, so as not to tarnish the reputation of its original owner. I sincerely thank you for giving me the opportunity to encounter this talisman.”

Then, a woman who seemed to be the mother of the Hunter who originally owned the talisman replied, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Our child said this… that it was a talisman too overwhelming to bear, and that it held too many secrets.”

“I believe that may be true. I couldn’t quite grasp it myself either.”

“There’s something called the Gate of Hell… and they said that even constellations are affected inside that hell. That’s the only piece of information they ever shared with me openly.”

“……Thank you very much. You didn’t have to tell me any of this.”

“I’m only sorry I could not share more.”

It was undoubtedly a talisman full of secrets. It seemed the previous owner couldn’t speak freely about many things either.

These were things Kang-hoo would have to uncover moving forward. Things that couldn’t be known no matter how much he pondered them now.

And with that, the bereaved family left.

They said the money they’d received in return for offering the opportunity to other Hunters would be donated to a rare disease research center in their home country.

Since their son had also suffered from a rare disease, they wished to make meaningful use of it.

Though Kang-hoo wouldn’t have minded if they had pursued profit, he wholeheartedly supported and respected their decision, given the noble intent.

Meanwhile—

Thanks to the consideration of Kang Bok-hwa and Jung Yuri, Kang-hoo was able to take a bit more rest in the secret room.

It felt like the roles were somewhat reversed, but lying down on a wide sofa, his body felt comfortable.

Though the process of binding the talisman earlier hadn’t taken long, it had apparently consumed a great deal of mental energy.

He’d only lain down to relax for a moment, but he had dozed off. That’s how worn out he had been.

After about 10 minutes of short but deep sleep—

Kang-hoo opened his stat window and carefully examined the stats he would raise in sync with the talisman. It was time to allocate them.

‘If I tune Toughness to exactly 66 more… that’ll put it at 1,000.’

Toughness at 999 and 1,000 yielded noticeably different system evaluations—like a rank-up in item terms—so he had a reason to hit exactly 1,000.

That didn’t mean boosting it to 1,010 or 1,020 made any additional difference.

At that point, only minor coefficients were adjusted.

So he chose to match the most efficient benchmark value.

‘That leaves me with 434 distribution points. First, max out Magic Resistance. That makes 300, right?’

Since exceeding 300 in one category wasn’t allowed, 300 was the maximum boost to Magic Resistance.

Then he had 134 points left.

Strength seemed like the best choice.

He felt Agility was already well covered by adding 1 point every time he leveled up.

Raising Strength would directly boost the damage of Kang-hoo’s “one-hit” skills, so it seemed useful.

Stamina was already in a good spot, and investing even 1 point in Mana felt wasteful.

Once the stat distribution inside the talisman was finished, he thoroughly reviewed the updated stat status.

“Looks good.”

Seeing the Toughness stat line up exactly to a round thousand gave him an odd sense of satisfaction. Was this what they called the thrill of numbers?

At the same time, it made him crave 2,000 in Magic Resistance and Toughness next.

Because with those stats, crossing each 1,000 threshold unlocked a whole new world.

“Phew. Done.”

Kang-hoo lay back down on the sofa and gently brushed his hand over the talisman.

Who would’ve thought such a tiny charm the size of a thumb would contain not only massive stats but a trove of unknown secrets?

It would likely take quite some time to grow familiar with the talisman’s secrets—and the “Eye” residing within it.

Of course, just like he promised the bereaved family, he fully intended to find a way to utilize the talisman to its maximum.

Uncovering the secrets hidden inside the talisman would be part of that too. There was much more to be done.

After getting sufficient rest—

He stepped out the door, thinking he might take a look around the VVIP-only floor where the secret room was located.

Standing in front of the door was Baek Seon-tae, whom he had only briefly seen earlier. It seemed Kang Bok-hwa had tasked him with security.

Kang-hoo couldn’t help but wonder if it was really okay to trust someone like Baek Seon-tae, given he was from the Yeosu warlord faction.

When Kang-hoo first met Baek Seon-tae, the man had only just arrived here, even though he’d left Yeosu.

But Kang Bok-hwa wasn’t someone who would trust just anyone. So maybe this meant Baek Seon-tae was someone connected to Kang Bok-hwa?

In any case, as Kang-hoo stood and fixed his gaze on him, Baek Seon-tae bowed his head and cautiously began to speak.

“It’s good to see you again.”

“Been a while.”

Kang-hoo had completely forgotten about Baek Seon-tae until just before seeing him today.

It had always been Baek Seon-tae who took an interest in Kang-hoo—not the other way around.

Still, since it wasn’t their first meeting, Kang-hoo responded with an awkward smile and a friendly greeting.

“I’ve kept up with every bit of news about you, Shin Kang-hoo. You’ve become far more famous and incredible than when we first met. You’re truly amazing.”

Baek Seon-tae was being excessively deferential, almost to a fault.

Truthfully, they had never fought, and all Baek Seon-tae had done was witness Kang-hoo’s abilities once.

Was that enough for him to decide Kang-hoo was on a level far above his own?

Baek Seon-tae was looking at Kang-hoo like an ordinary person staring at a celebrity.

“That’s too much praise.”

“Not at all. I was actually watching footage of your battles in the lounge earlier. You’re my role model.”

“Is that so.”

He felt like he should react with more enthusiasm, but it just wouldn’t come. So all that came out was a flat, “Is that so.”

“To be honest, I wanted to grow more, so I tried to join the Jeonghwa Guild. But I failed at the final screening.”

“You made it to the final round?”

“Yes. But unfortunately, I was cut at the very end. Things just don’t seem to go my way.”

“Making it that far means you nearly passed through the eye of the needle. You should be proud.”

Kang-hoo patted him on the shoulder and offered encouragement.

Failing at the final screening meant he had at least reached Jang Si-hwan’s review stage.

Jang Si-hwan must have spotted a flaw that didn’t meet his standards, which is likely why final approval wasn’t granted.

But getting that far already meant he had outperformed many strong candidates.

It made Kang-hoo reconsider—Baek Seon-tae’s skills might actually be pretty decent.

“If it’s not too much to ask…”

“Hmm?”

“Would you be willing to give me some feedback? As an assassin, I’d like to be evaluated by another assassin.”

“I’m still in the process of learning myself. I’m not in a position to teach anyone right now—especially not carelessly.”

Kang-hoo replied honestly.

At one point, he used to think he could offer advice to others, thinking he was good enough.

But ever since being taught by Celestial Assassin, his mindset had shifted.

That was arrogance. He was still a rough, unfinished assassin with a long way to go.

The only reason he’d managed to get by unscathed until now was because his rough edges had occasionally worked to his advantage.

He was sure that if he met someone skilled enough to read all his movements, like during the apple training, he’d be overwhelmed instantly.

“You really are… humble.”

“Thank you for saying that. And I appreciate it. I’ll take pride in being someone’s role model.”

“It may have been an unreasonable request, so I’m grateful you responded like this.”

“If we happen to meet again, I hope I’ll be skilled enough by then to offer you a few helpful tips.”

Kang-hoo meant it.

That’s how eagerly he was absorbing the Celestial Assassin’s teachings, like a sponge—eager to grow.

Baek Seon-tae was probably thinking along the same lines.

He likely wanted to somehow form a connection with Kang-hoo, to learn things like movement, judgment, and tactics.

“Thank you.”

The reason Kang-hoo found himself investing more words and thought into Baek Seon-tae than expected was simple.

He was someone Kang-hoo had coincidentally run into in this vast country—and happened to meet again.

And because he understood all too well how rare a skilled assassin was in reality.

They weren’t close by any means, but if they met again, he hoped to see Baek Seon-tae improved.

Maybe it was a kind of peer expectation? A strange feeling.

Afterward.

Kang-hoo left the Market Building with Jung Yuri and started heading toward a restaurant she recommended.

Since it had been a while since they last met, he thought it would be a good chance to catch up over a meal.

Come to think of it, aside from knowing she’d been working hard in dungeons, he hadn’t heard much about her lately.

While waiting in the massive crowd gathered in front of the popular restaurant—

Jung Yuri kept receiving calls, while Kang-hoo checked a newly arrived text from Jeon Se-hyuk.

[It’s set for 12 hours from now. To be exact, 04:00—4 a.m.]

Kang-hoo asked Jung Yuri for a moment and stepped away from the crowd to call Jeon Se-hyuk.

Since the operation date had been moved up, it meant Kang-hoo would need to act tonight.

– “Yes, Jeon Se-hyuk speaking.”

“I saw the text. So, early tomorrow morning?”

– “Yes. The forecast for heavy rain came earlier than expected. Also, the situation in Cheongju has started accelerating.”

“Sounds like ‘Black’ started collapsing sooner than expected.”

– “Eclipse seems to have deployed more troops. Word is their headquarters is practically empty now.”

“Just one thing—what happens if I take Cho Hwan-seong’s head before 4 a.m.?”

– “You don’t need to worry about that. Our forces are already in position.”

“I see.”

They had apparently advanced close to the Cheongmyeong Detention Center.

The fact that Eclipse hadn’t reacted meant they hadn’t realized the movement.

It showed just how serious Eclipse was about taking the Kimcheon Liberation Area, and how unprepared they were for a surprise counterattack.

– “Even if you fail to assassinate the warden, don’t overextend yourself. We can move in right after.”

“If I kill the warden and contact you, you’ll be ready to act immediately?”

– “That’s right.”

“Well then…”

Kang-hoo paused and steadied his breath. From the receiver, he could hear a gulp.

Jeon Se-hyuk was hopeful about the infiltration, but at the same time, worried about what might go wrong.

He wasn’t concerned about Cho Hwan-seong’s fate. His focus from the start had been Kang-hoo’s safety.

He didn’t want to lose a valuable assassin just for the sake of hitting a target.

Finally, Kang-hoo finished what he hadn’t said earlier.

“I’ll take Cho Hwan-seong’s head and contact you. I’ll move tonight. Before midnight.”

An assassination plan to sever ties with his dark past—

The die had been cast.