Fourth Training (1)

Near Yuri Land.

Today, too, on his way back, he got off the Safe Limousine early and quietly entered while checking the situation.

He had wondered if it might be the case, and sure enough, he saw The Abyss’s truck loaded with plenty of Master K’s goods.

In any case, Jeonghwa Guild’s trucks also came this way, and trucks from all sorts of forces came as well, so there was nothing strange about it.

Master K had a fairly long history of selling goods without leaning toward any particular force.

Of course, there were differences in grade and level. These days, he had also been tending to take better care of The Abyss.

Even so, Jeonghwa Guild could not threaten Master K or put him beneath them.

He was already an irreplaceable domestic purchasing route for “non-narcotic” painkillers. There were no side effects either.

Considering that the painkillers sold by pharmaceutical companies had side effects as clear as their effects……

One should not do anything to offend Master K.

Moreover, Yuri Land as a whole was like one enormous fortress, so it could not be invaded carelessly.

It was only because Kang-hoo was a key, related party that he could go in and out as if nothing were wrong.

What if someone from Jeonghwa Guild who came as a buyer crossed the fence and entered Yuri Land without permission?

At that instant, not only would traps that reacted to outsiders activate, but the hidden sniper gunners would also pull their triggers.

There had already been quite a few cases where hunters who stubbornly acted that way had gone to the afterlife and greeted King Yeomra.

‘Once I see Master and spend about a day here…… next is straight to North Korea. Dark Energy farming.’

Since Celestial Assassin had said they would proceed with training as soon as he returned, the training schedule could not be avoided.

Considering that Celestial Assassin had mentioned the title “fourth training,” it did not seem like it would be light training.

Of course, Celestial Assassin’s training had never once been easy. It was just that now that an official title had been attached to it, he thought he would have to be prepared to die.

‘It might not be bad to stop by Dungeon No. 17 in Nampo Direct-Controlled City on the way up to North Korea and sweep through it.’

Even this would not waste his route.

And since he had received the conquest license from Jang Si-hwan, he only had to notify him that he would be going.

If there was a team that had already entered earlier, it would not work, but if not, receiving permission again would not be difficult.

There was also no room for it to look strange just because he had companions beside him.

Park Dong-jae was already a buffer who was rapidly gaining a fair amount of fame domestically through word of mouth.

As for Ayane, her name was only unfamiliar domestically; any hunter interested in Japan would have heard it at least once.

The decisive factor was the recent incident where she had blown off the Hayabusa Guild master’s head with a snipe.

After that, Ayane’s name had also been spreading rapidly within Japan. For that reason, negative attention had followed as well.

Tuduk.

A pebble caught at the tip of Kang-hoo’s foot as he quietly walked along the trail and rolled weakly to the side.

It was not particularly intentional, but another topic naturally came to mind.

‘Right. I’ll use the two Stones of Readjustment I brought from Japan after going to North Korea. I just need to take Jang Si-hwan’s first-priority and second-priority dungeons. There’s no need to think about it in a complicated way.’

If there were benefits or fortuitous encounters he could take from Jang Si-hwan, the most important ones had to be the first priority.

Since Kang-hoo knew Jang Si-hwan better than Jang Si-hwan himself, he had already thought of the dungeon candidates early on. He only had to visit the nearby areas and activate the stones.

However, because there was a process of infiltrating while avoiding surrounding eyes, he simply could not execute it right now.

‘Once I receive all the information related to Chu Ye-seong from Takashi, I can move on to China. I have to stake everything on advance reconnaissance.’

The China schedule he would move on due to Yu Cheonghwa’s request was also waiting. Once he obtained the information, he would immediately begin.

Aside from that, there were truly many things to do.

The partnership contract with Groo Guild still had one remaining round.

There was also the third request being discussed with Lars Abel. In addition, there were two dungeons secured from Stark Guild.

On top of that, he had to visit England at least once because of the Hematite, and he needed to investigate White Joy Ice Palace as well.

He also had to consider the timing to properly utilize the anklet he was currently wearing, “Guardian of Balance.”

If that happened, he would also need to make plans to kill Oscar Wolfram of Germany or Tian Yunha of Taiwan in connection with the anklet’s wanted option.

‘If my current life became a novel, it would need hundreds more chapters before it could end. There’s a damn lot to do.’

Kang-hoo let out an empty laugh.

It was funny to talk about becoming a novel when he had possessed someone inside a novel. It was nonsense.

It was not as if someone would serialize a novel with a title like , would they?

However, as a former writer, when he thought about the situation he was in……

Judging from his current course of action, he felt like at least 500 more chapters would have to be written before it reached the ending.

It was not a vague guess, but a plausible calculation made as a seasoned novel writer.

‘Yun Sang-mi seemed to be doing well in Groo Guild. I wonder if Seo-yeon is doing well. I hope…… she’s healthy.’

Many faces came to mind today. They were faces that had once been close to him, and that he still always thought of.

It had also been a long time since he had seen Jeon Se-hyuk and Ban Se-yeong, so he did want to meet them once.

Since the two had joined the military faction The Abyss, if he had occasion to meet Lee Hyun-seok, they would naturally reunite. Along with Min Su-hyun with the pink hair.

Perhaps because he had formed so many connections in various ways, looking back on his past life had its own meaning.

Like that, until he reached the villa where Celestial Assassin was, Kang-hoo walked and walked, immersed in past memories.

“You came well, you little rascal. You keep wandering outside because you don’t want to train, don’t you? I’ll properly set your discipline straight today.”

The choice of words was quite threatening, but the master’s face as he looked at his returned disciple was filled only with smiles.

It was a reaction he could not hide.

To Celestial Assassin, Kang-hoo was a commendable fellow who gave him joy beyond whatever he taught.

On one hand, he was also the benefactor who had saved his life, and he was also an admirable disciple who was uprightly carving out his own fate.

So he could not help but feel even more affection for him. There were more times when he felt regretful that his disciple was busy.

“It’s not that I don’t want to train…… ugh!”

Before Kang-hoo could even finish speaking, he was dragged by Celestial Assassin’s arm toward the back of the villa.

He had always trained at the training ground in front of or beside the villa, but today the location had changed.

Wondering what was going on, he followed and found a newly created space. It was a space that had not existed until recently.

“It’s a special training ground. A secret space I specially asked K to make. It’s also a space that can’t be filmed.”

When he examined the surroundings, several interference devices had indeed been densely arranged.

If someone tried to film this place from the sky, it would probably come out blurry because of the interference devices.

Moreover, it was located too deep inside Yuri Land to approach and observe, so it was impossible for anyone except related parties.

In other words, as Celestial Assassin said, it truly was a secret space. Only someone who had been here could know the space’s purpose.

Celestial Assassin asked.

“What do you feel?”

“Dark Energy is incredibly abundant. Even Ground Zero at the peak of its Extreme Period probably wouldn’t reach this level.”

“You saw well. It’s an extremely easy space for handling Dark Energy. Quite a lot of lives are buried beneath this place.”

“……Did you kill Black Guides or Black Shadows and bury them?”

“The method is a bit tricky. But if you kill and bury them well, you can make Dark Energy very useful.”

“So we’re standing on the site of a massacre.”

“What a comparison.”

Celestial Assassin shrugged.

Looking only at the context, it was true.

In any case, the reason he had made the Dark Energy abundant was clearly for the purpose of using it in this training.

As Kang-hoo kept focusing without taking his eyes off Celestial Assassin, the excited Celestial Assassin continued speaking.

“Not every combat situation will be arranged conveniently for you forever. The more an assassin grows, the more they have no choice but to face harsher conditions. That is their fate.”

Kang-hoo nodded.

In the past, there had been many enemies who stupidly showed him their backs despite being at the same eye level and lost their lives emptily.

Now, needless to say, he faced enemies who were always on guard and always went around accompanied by escorts.

A representative case was when he had assassinated the brothers Gwak Hyeong-su and Gwak Hyeong-seok. The situation had been very tricky.

Following Celestial Assassin’s hand, things similar to black specters appeared in several branches. At the same time, their number gradually increased.

He described them as specters, but they felt more like silhouettes that closely resembled the shape of people.

Although it had not been explained in detail in the original work, he knew that Celestial Assassin had that kind of ability.

Celestial Assassin was a being known as a named figure even among assassin-type professions. He was a hunter for whom handling Dark Energy was as easy as breathing.

So freely controlling Dark Energy and creating things like specters was nothing to him.

“The enemy will become increasingly meticulous and solid. They will never loosen up, nor will they become sloppy.”

“That is true, Master.”

“If an assassin only moves within situations they desire, can that be called assassination?”

“No.”

“These days, young people call such assassins burden-sassins, do they not? I think the same.”

“I agree as well. They may be able to preserve their lives as hunters, but as assassins, it’s the shortcut to dying.”

“Then you should be able to guess what I am about to do with these things. Think it over.”

There was no need to think for long.

It would be some special and harsh training where he had to deal with many specters simultaneously.

Naturally, he thought it would not be easy. That was why he looked forward to it. The harder it was, the more there was to gain.

“I am ready, Master.”

“You are ready already? How extremely arrogant and insolent. Are you truly confident?”

“I am confident that I can roll around and work hard. I am not confident enough to dare say I can surpass your teachings, Master.”

“You weakling. You do not even dream of the student surpassing the master?”

The sight of his master overflowing with fighting spirit today, to the point that it was exploding, felt fascinating and pleasing to see.

He once again felt the preciousness of this moment.

If Celestial Assassin’s life had ended as a terminal one, this day would never have come.

Was that why?

He felt that as long as he was with his master, he would be happy even if he had to roll through a field of shit. Sincerely.

“Now. I will begin with seven for now. There is one objective you must complete against these specters.”

“What is it?”

The specters that Celestial Assassin had already warmed up each moved swiftly while making sounds like wind.

Like watching Kang-hoo’s movements when he had entered an accelerated state, the specters were fast and nimble.

Soon, Celestial Assassin clearly conveyed the purpose of the training to Kang-hoo.

“Not being hit even once by the specters’ attacks. Maintaining that state for at least 5 minutes or more! That is the beginning and end of this training. Until you complete it, sleep is forfeit.”

As expected, the gates of hell opened.