December (1)

‘That was close!’

Kang-hoo let out a cheer when he saw the newly obtained skill, Wrath of the Thunder God.

If he had not had a single lightning-related skill, it would have been a useless passive skill.

But Kang-hoo already possessed Thunderstrike Tremor, a skill that made very effective use of electric current.

Although the existing Thunderstrike Tremor was classified as a lightning-element skill, there had been something slightly lacking in terms of damage.

It worked well against weak monsters or hunters, but it had been insufficient against monsters or hunters with a certain degree of anti-magic resistance.

But if the damage amplification worked like this.

Then Thunderstrike Tremor seemed like it could be used not merely as an area attack, but as a true lightning skill in its own right.

The fact that, thanks to the maximum proficiency effect, the amplification value had skyrocketed from 1.8 times to 3.3 times also made Kang-hoo smile.

The Extinguishing Fire skill itself was not actually useful to Kang-hoo. His fire resistance was 100%.

However, it still had meaning when an ally was exposed to flames, or when terrain and structures were caught in fire.

Since flame was the most common attribute among mage-type hunters, an opposing skill like Extinguishing Fire was important.

Perhaps greatly encouraged by having attempted skill synthesis three times at once and succeeded twice.

The constellation Creation, which usually did not speak much, suddenly made a proposal to Kang-hoo.

A sudden suggestion to synthesize hidden skills.

Kang-hoo let out a hollow laugh and asked back.

“What’s the probability?”

“Back off.”

He waved his hands at once.

This much luck was enough.

He did not want to use hidden skills as sacrifice material in a result that was no different from tossing a coin.

Even “Shin Kang-hoo correction” only worked once in a while. Things could not go his way every time through sheer luck. At that point it would be a novel, and outright cheating.

“And you wouldn’t take responsibility if it failed.”

“Right. You’ve worked hard.”

Kang-hoo wrapped up the conversation appropriately and started walking toward the way out of Cheongmyeong Detention Center.

He had rested enough, and now he intended to return to Yuri Land.

“Put up the barricades! Block it off properly so not even one person can get through! They won’t be crossing over there anyway!”

The overall atmosphere of Cheongmyeong Detention Center was not good.

Now that he had finished clearing the seven dungeons that had been promised after the battle to retake Cheongmyeong Detention Center.

He had no real lingering attachment to the detention center. He buried the memories of the detention center in one corner of his heart as well.

‘Choi Chang-hyeon and Hwang Gyo-seon too?’

At the scene, no less than two of Lee Ye-rin’s trusted subordinates had come as well. It showed a clear determination to block even accidental clashes.

Their eyes met briefly.

And they exchanged greetings with nods.

Seeing their hardened expressions, it felt like the calm before a storm.

He began to think that an all-out war between Heuksaja and the Cheong-an Mercenary Corps might break out much earlier than expected.

The forces capable of overwhelming the other side at any moment were staring each other down right in front of them.

It would take only one second for peace to turn into crisis.

Then Kang-hoo returned straight to Yuri Land, and as always, he stopped before entering the entrance.

That was because the entrance was always crowded with customers and their vehicles who had come to trade with K.

In the past, he had seen Choi Sara and the trucks sent by Jeonghwa Guild there, but today the customer was different.

‘Park Sang-oh.’

It was Park Sang-oh of The Abyss.

He was Lee Hyun-seok’s trusted subordinate, and also the unofficial line Lee Hyun-seok had attached to Kang-hoo.

Through him, Kang-hoo could easily contact Lee Hyun-seok at any time. He had exchanged messages with Park Sang-oh once or twice as well.

Still, since he did not particularly want to reveal that he was here, he kept a suitable distance and watched.

There were goods being loaded in amounts nearly three times, no, four times, greater than the volume Choi Sara had purchased from K before.

They were all herbs, stimulants, painkillers, and the like, but unlike Choi Sara, Park Sang-oh was not buying the refined narcotics.

‘As expected, The Abyss’s capital operation seems pretty stable too. Otherwise it would be hard to pay for that much merchandise all at once.’

The Abyss simply did not reveal itself on the surface, but the ways it made money were varied and, in another sense, ingenious.

Among its main sources of income was synthetic narcotics, which Jeonghwa Guild members openly dealt in.

Originally, The Abyss never touched drug sales, but there was one and only exception, and that was Jeonghwa Guild.

A poison to make the enemy rot from the inside. That was what they had secretly spread within it.

After a while.

Only after The Abyss’s vehicles had left the scene did Kang-hoo enter through the main gate.

K had already been outside because of the transaction, so when he saw Kang-hoo, he greeted him with a delighted hug.

“You’re here?”

“Yes, I’m back.”

“You were watching from over there again like last time, weren’t you?”

“You knew?”

“No, it’s your trademark. Sneakily and gloomily watching in secret, then once the work is done, you just slide in.”

“Please phrase it as consideration so as not to disturb an important transaction. What do you mean, gloomily?”

“Hahaha. Good to see you. I’ve been waiting.”

Perhaps because Kang-hoo’s reaction to the joke was cute, K stretched Kang-hoo’s cheek, which did not even stretch much to begin with.

Even Kang-hoo himself was surprised. His gaunt cheek stretched slightly without much elasticity, then returned to normal.

It was something he had already been told, but perhaps K wanted to emphasize it one more time, because he conveyed the situation again to Kang-hoo.

“Big brother is already at the villa, and Haemi is doing well too. And someone sent by Shinwol has arrived as well.”

“Shinwol didn’t come personally?”

“That would be… difficult, wouldn’t it?”

Of course, Kang-hoo had not been expecting to meet Shinwol personally. If anything, it was the opposite.

If Shinwol had come in person, he would have begun to doubt her qualifications themselves.

For the head of a secret organization to easily reveal her face and movements was the greatest taboo of all. Everything had to be a continuous chain of disguise and deception.

“Then who came?”

“December. The youngest of Shinwol’s five trusted aides.”

“Ah. Then I suppose the other aides’ names are probably similar to December.”

“That’s right. January, April, May, September, December. As far as I know, those are the times they joined Shinwol, though I suppose that’s not the important part.”

“That’s interesting.”

It was common to hide one’s real name and use an alias. Kang-hoo himself had used the name Jung Sun-kyu before.

But using a time period like December as a naming scheme felt distinctive.

It was like using things like Spring, Summer, Autumn, or Winter as an alias.

She had probably chosen a date that held great meaning for her. There must be some story contained in it.

“How was Australia? What’s the atmosphere over there like?”

“It seems the hybrids are spreading frighteningly fast. Since there’s so much abandoned land, there are that many more mutants too.”

“So it must not be easy to find a host like the Swarm Queen.”

“The land is just too vast. Even in the hybrid zone I went to, there was no host. There were only a great many hybrids mutated by a host.”

“I suppose so. Nearly the whole western part of Australia has become hybrid territory… compared to that, North Korea is almost cute.”

“How is North Korea?”

“I called it cute, but in reality North Korea isn’t that different. The deeper you go in, the more unimaginable things appear.”

“I see.”

“This is only a rumor, but there’s even a story that North Korea’s former leader, who lost his life right after Judgment Day, was turned into a hybrid too.”

“It seems he wasn’t fated to rest peacefully in his grave.”

“That’s right. There haven’t been any eyewitness accounts yet, so for now people are wondering whether it’s just someone’s wish that turned into a rumor.”

“By the way. What was the reason The Abyss placed such a large order this time?”

“It seems The Abyss is planning to enter Ground Zero in earnest.”

At that moment, exclamation marks seemed to appear in Kang-hoo’s eyes. He thought it was an extremely timely expansion of power.

Of course, no place in North Korea was a field that should be taken lightly. But the rewards there were just as certain.

If The Abyss expanded its power to the north of Ground Zero and seized the dungeons and magic stone mines there.

It would become an organization in a far wealthier environment than it was now.

That, in turn, would also serve as insurance, firmly establishing its foundation as a counterweight to Jeonghwa Guild.

Since he had come to live Shin Kang-hoo’s life.

If there was one future Kang-hoo thought he had done the best job changing with his own hands.

It was changing the future of Lee Hyun-seok, who in the original story had been fated to be assassinated by the internal traitor Moon Yu-seok.

That butterfly effect had continued steadily until now, becoming a suppressor that blocked Jang Si-hwan’s dreams and future.

The more Jang Si-hwan became absorbed in conflict with The Abyss, the wider the scope in which Kang-hoo could move.

The way things were turning out was interesting.

Before long, after arriving in front of the villa, Kang-hoo had a joyful reunion with Celestial Assassin, who came running outside in one dash.

Without either one moving first.

The sight of them running to each other and embracing tightly carried a stirring emotion that went beyond the bond of master and disciple.

Perhaps because of that, K, who was watching the scene, even wiped away tears with a handkerchief.

He had never known that Celestial Assassin, whom he had thought had not even a speck of affection, would cherish his disciple so deeply.

“Master, have you been well?”

“Of course. I have to stay well for your sake too. You’re not hurt anywhere, are you? I heard you went to Australia.”

“Yes. I returned safely.”

“Good. You’ve worked hard.”

If Kang-hoo’s guess was right, his master Celestial Assassin also had at least one hidden skill.

He had never shown it, but in the past he had once given off the impression that he possessed a hidden skill.

However, seeing that he was not speaking about hidden skills here, he clearly seemed to be exercising caution in his own way.

There was an outsider, December, inside the villa right now, and there was no need to unnecessarily reveal the fact that hidden skills had been obtained.

It seemed Ju Haemi had been overcome with emotion in the meantime, because she was crying.

Seeing the tears flowing beneath her blindfold, he thought about whether he should heal her eyes.

Of course, since the most important thing was the will of the person herself, he intended to ask her one-on-one when the opportunity arose.

If he used Call of Radiance, he would be able to restore her permanently lost sight.

“Shall you go inside and receive the guest?”

“No, Master. Before that, I’d like to speak with you separately. I feel there are things I need to hear from you.”

Meeting December was important too.

But before that, Kang-hoo wanted to hear everything about Shinwol from his master, Celestial Assassin.

Because the only person who could explain Shinwol’s light and darkness exactly as they were, and exactly as he had felt them, was his master.

“Right. You want to hear about Shinwol, don’t you?”

Celestial Assassin nodded.

A story that could be called short or long.

It seemed the time had come to speak about the organization “Shinwol,” something he had never explained in detail to anyone in the world.