Episode 18
Nam Gyuil brought the Poison Knife home.
The jade-green blade glinted under the fluorescent light.
Nam Gyuil threw himself onto the sofa, lying down blankly as he stared at the ceiling.
‘Han Duchol, chairman of the Steel Guild.’
He had simply released mana infused with fighting spirit, yet an immense pressure was felt.
It was to the extent that Nam Gyuil couldn’t even tell how great the gap between them was.
‘Hunters tempered through proper training will be stronger than me. They must have trained for years.’
Moreover, Han Duchol was someone who had been active when Gates first appeared in the world.
Putting aside the fact that he had grown stronger through proper training, his combat experience was clearly far greater than Nam Gyuil’s.
‘Well, still, I gained something from the spar.’
He realized that the chairmen of large guilds were stronger than he had thought.
‘There are probably people among the guild hunters who can use Mana Sword…’
Or at least, there would be those who had reached the level where they could learn it.
‘Anyway, it means I can’t let my guard down. It also means I have to work even harder to get stronger.’
Nam Gyuil rose from the sofa.
It was true that the core executives of large guilds were stronger than him, but even so, the mana knowledge they possessed was limited.
On the other hand, he obtained abundant information from the Akashic Records.
In short, if he was given just a bit more time, he could easily surpass them.
And there was already a way to get stronger in one go.
‘Elixirs, of course.’
Since he had the Heart of Decay and the Cobra Stone, he could make a Poison Resistance Elixir.
‘Well then, shall we make it?’
Nam Gyuil began processing the Heart of Decay.
He opened the refrigerator, poured a low-grade elixir into a pot, and boiled it vigorously.
He added the Heart of Decay and infused his own mana into the pot.
Black water flowed from the Heart of Decay and mixed with the elixir, soon becoming a bluish liquid before vanishing.
‘The process is going well.’
Nam Gyuil infused even more mana.
This process was extremely important.
Because that black water was what caused the poisoning symptoms.
He had to extract it all from the Heart of Decay.
Then only the source of tenacious vitality would remain, becoming the elixir ingredient.
He had boiled it for about an hour when no more black water flowed from the Heart of Decay.
It had all been neutralized by the low-grade elixir.
Nam Gyuil took the Heart of Decay out of the pot.
It already looked sufficient, but…
‘Just in case, one more time…’
Nam Gyuil put low-grade elixir in a new pot and began processing the Heart of Decay again.
Another hour passed.
‘Now it should really be safe, right?’
Nam Gyuil fished the Heart of Decay out of the pot.
This time, he took out a blender.
He added the Heart of Decay, the Cobra Stone, and the low-grade elixir, then turned the motor.
The resulting dark brown liquid emitted a foul stench one could only smell from food waste that had been sitting for days.
The elixir that raised poison resistance was finally complete.
Even if it looked unappetizing, that is.
‘If I just drink this, ordinary poisons won’t work on me at all, right?’
According to knowledge obtained from the Akashic Records, it was said to also raise his internal mana.
Glug, glug.
Nam Gyuil drank the Poison Resistance Elixir.
Suppressing the urge to retch that rose up instantly, he forced it down.
‘What kind of taste is this? Even eating food way past its expiration date would taste better than this!!’
Enduring the agony, he barely finished it all.
“Ugh.”
He felt like vomit was rising in his throat, but he somehow held it back.
Then he settled into a cross-legged position and began mana cultivation.
Somehow calming his stomach and focusing, he felt changes in his body.
He felt the blood flowing through his veins surging turbulently.
Heat rose for no reason, his head grew hot, and a faint headache rushed in.
Even sweat trickled down.
His skin turned slightly bluish, as if bruised.
But he didn’t mind.
‘These are normal symptoms after drinking the Poison Resistance Elixir. They’ll all disappear when the mana cultivation is finished, so it’s fine.’
Nam Gyuil did not stop his mana cultivation.
Soon, the bluish bruise marks on his skin disappeared.
The sweat stopped flowing as well.
The heat subsided, and the headache vanished.
“Hoo.”
Nam Gyuil let out a long breath.
It was done.
He finally had poison resistance.
Nam Gyuil stood up and reinforced his body with mana.
The corner of his mouth rose slightly.
‘My internal mana has increased.’
The sensation he felt when clenching his fist was different.
Power surged wildly.
When he thrust his fist forward, he could feel it much more clearly.
‘My speed and power have increased even more.’
This was the best.
With this, he wouldn’t have to worry about fighting even stronger monsters.
‘If I’ve grown this strong, couldn’t I learn Mana Sword too?’
He felt strong enough.
And he felt that now was the time to leap forward to the next step.
Nam Gyuil closed his eyes again and focused his mind.
Along with a subtle floating sensation, his consciousness grew hazy as he entered the Akashic Records once more.
***
A library lined with vast, towering bookshelves.
It was a scene now all too familiar to Nam Gyuil.
He looked through the bookshelves.
It was to obtain information on Mana Sword.
『The Birth of Mana Sword』
『Mana Sword Training Methods』
『How to Coat Objects with Mana』
He selected these three books.
Nam Gyuil turned the pages and read each one carefully.
‘Hmm.’
The core of Mana Sword was coating objects by infusing them with mana.
But unlike when making the Poison Resistance Elixir, where he simply infused mana, what mattered was controlling it enough to maintain that state.
‘It looks incredibly difficult.’
Mana could be infused into any substance as long as it had form.
The problem was that the process of connecting the substance with his internal mana was extremely complex and difficult.
Moreover, there were too many abstract expressions.
It took quite some time to understand those phrases one by one.
After racking his brain like that, he barely summarized the explanation into two sentences.
- Consider the weapon a part of your body and flow mana into it.
- Concentration is important. Extreme concentration is the key.
Nam Gyuil fell into thought for a moment.
Arnia’s mana body reinforcement technique was deeply related to concentration.
The purity of internal mana.
A fighting style that concentrated mana into parts of the body.
‘Could it be that all of this was a series of processes to learn Mana Sword?’
That was how he felt after reading all the books spanning three volumes.
He closed the books.
He now roughly understood the Mana Sword training method.
All that remained now was effort.
Nam Gyuil returned to reality from the Akashic Records.
He opened his eyes blearily.
His room came into view.
He immediately picked up his longsword and focused.
Consider the weapon as part of his body.
‘Flow internal mana into it!!’
Nam Gyuil intensely unleashed his mana as he stared fixedly at the longsword.
“Damn it!”
His internal mana briefly permeated the cold metal but soon dispersed into the air.
‘As expected, it isn’t easy.’
Extremely delicate mana control ability was needed.
Nam Gyuil exhaled a long breath as if releasing strength, repeating what he had seen in the books.
Relax.
With a sense of naturalness.
While thinking of the weapon as part of his own body.
Instead of forcibly shoving mana into the weapon, he controlled his mana naturally while relaxed.
Then, a subtle change occurred.
Mana flowed into the longsword.
Nam Gyuil watched the blade carefully.
He could feel energy.
His mana enveloped the blade.
Soon, the blade began to glow blue.
‘I-I’ve succeeded.’
Nam Gyuil observed his Mana Sword.
At that moment, the blue light coating the blade vanished in an instant.
‘Son of a bitch!’
Nam Gyuil swallowed his curses internally.
He had succeeded in making a Mana Sword but couldn’t maintain it for long.
‘Is my mana insufficient?’
No.
If that were the case, he should be gasping for breath by now.
He wasn’t tired in the slightest.
‘My internal mana reserves are sufficient, but is this a case of lacking control ability?’
That seemed highly likely.
‘The time I can maintain Mana Sword is less than one minute at best.’
It was to the extent that it was difficult to use in combat.
But there was progress.
If he kept training like today, there would come a moment when he could properly use Mana Sword.
‘And someday, monsters that guns and shells won’t work on will appear.’
Right now, Earth’s mana was insufficient, so the monsters that could come out of Gates were inevitably weak.
But as time passed, Earth too would become rich in mana.
The problem started from then.
When that time came, monsters against which attacks other than mana were ineffective would appear. Without Mana Sword, he wouldn’t even be able to wound them.
‘If things come to that, it’s impossible to stop monsters with the army.’
Well, that was something very far in the future.
‘Surely an orc legion won’t suddenly appear.’
If it did, the Republic of Korea would be turned upside down.
Orcs also strengthened their bodies using mana.
They were ignorant and savage, but possessed monstrous strength that made them dangerous.
The only attacks that worked on them were Mana Swords and magic.
Monster-related books read in the Akashic Records described orcs like this:
- A walking green calamity.
Fortunately, there were still no signs of orcs appearing yet.
Although increasingly strong monsters were appearing from Gates, at this rate, the appearance of orcs was quite a while away.
‘Well, anyway, I just have to train like hell with Mana Sword as my goal from now on.’
Nam Gyuil thought so.
It was then.
Ring, ring.
His smartphone rang loudly.
‘Who is it?’
Checking it, I Chanu’s name appeared.
He answered the call.
“Yeah. What?”
-Hyung! What happened with the Steel Guild? After you’re discharged from the Hunter Bureau, are you going to join them?
“No. I refused.”
-I see. Well, I wouldn’t like being told to enter another life-and-death Gate either.
I Chanu misunderstood the reason on his own.
Nam Gyuil smirked.
“It’s not that I’m not joining a guild because I’m scared of Gates.”
-Then why?
“I plan on founding a guild later.”
For Nam Gyuil, who needed a force of his own, founding a guild was essential.
I Chanu seemed to hold his breath in surprise.
Then…
-Hyung, then put me in an administrative position. These days the job market is tough, and I’ll end up unemployed after getting discharged from the Hunter Bureau.
“Not as a hunter? Administration?”
-I’m really scared of going into Gates.
“You punk, then get a job at another company!!”
-I can’t.
“Why?”
-Because I partied and drank in college, so my GPA is 2.1.
“……!”
I Chanu’s choked-up voice could be heard.
It was a GPA that made one wonder if he had received academic probation, so Nam Gyuil couldn’t say anything either.
“I’ll think about it later.”
Nam Gyuil said so and tried to hang up.
Then I Chanu shouted hurriedly.
-Hyung, don’t hang up!
“What now?”
-The Team 01 folks are out eating chicken right now, and it’s boring without you, hyung.
“Let’s eat together later. I’m tired today, so I need to rest.”
-Agh~! What’s the fun in eating without you, hyung!
“Just eat your fill.”
Nam Gyuil said so and hung up.
Beep.
But the smartphone rang again.
Calls came from various people.
Hwang Ilsu, who spoke little and had a faint presence but was always composed.
Hong Sinu, who said he admired Nam Gyuil.
Han Gangsu, who was inwardly disappointed about him really not joining their guild.
There was one reason they called like this.
It was to say they were hanging out and were bored without their hyung.
“These punks, seriously…….”
Having no choice, Nam Gyuil hastily threw on his clothes and went outside.
***
Major Bak Huiryeong of the Hunter Bureau.
He reviewed the achievements Team 01 had shown recently.
“How many days has it been without accidents?”
Impressive.
Sitting in his chair, he threw the report he was reading onto the desk.
‘How can such results keep coming out? When I asked Nam Gyuil, he said there was no secret method.’
Bak Huiryeong tapped the desk with his index finger and thought deeply.
There was a reason he had to worry like this.
‘The consecutive accident-free records have drawn attention from above.’
The probability of retiring from the Hunter Bureau completely unscathed was thirty-seven percent.
Guild hunters had almost no casualties, so national hunters were compared to them all too often.
The Ministry of National Defense considered this a disgrace.
In fact, this was the top reason the Hunter Bureau was criticized.
It was the same reason people didn’t want to become national hunters.
‘Increase the number of accident-free days.’
This was the Hunter Bureau’s greatest objective.
These days, national hunters had even started deserting by deceiving their superiors.
Claiming they didn’t want to die.
‘Deserters have gathered and even formed criminal organizations…’
Unlike Team 01, whose mood was good due to consecutive accident-free records, reality was a mess.
Bak Huiryeong folded his arms.
‘What is the reason Team 01 keeps achieving accident-free records?’
Nam Gyuil had reported that accidents didn’t happen because they fought according to Hunter Bureau manuals.
At first, Bak Huiryeong had judged it as either combat experience shining through or luck.
‘At this point, it can’t be luck.’
It seemed Nam Gyuil’s command ability had risen based on his combat experience.
‘Then, what is the reason the accident-free record continues? No matter how good Nam Gyuil’s command is, there must be a limit.’
A certain person came to Bak Huiryeong’s mind as he worried.
It was none other than Han Gangsu.
Wasn’t he the Awakened born with outstanding talent as Han Duchol’s son?
Bak Huiryeong thought he had figured it out.
‘That’s it! Now I get it.’
The corners of his mouth twisted upward.
‘There was a reason Team 01 kept their accident-free streak. It was possible because Nam Gyuil handled the brains and Han Gangsu handled the brawn!’
Bak Huiryeong jumped to the wrong conclusion.
But it was natural for such a baseless deduction to come out.
He didn’t have a single piece of accurate information.
‘Han Gangsu moved under Nam Gyuil’s orders, which let them close Gates easily.’
Bak Huiryeong nodded.
‘The accident-free record was a collaborative achievement between an outstanding commander and an outstanding soldier.’
As he was thinking that, his phone rang.
“Comm secure. This is Major Bak Huiryeong of the Seoul Hunter Bureau.”
-Comm secure. Loyalty, this is Captain Gang Siu of the Chungcheong Hunter Bureau.
“Ah, Captain Gang! Long time no see. So, what did you call for?”
-It’s just that many Gates have appeared in our jurisdiction, so I’m contacting you.
“A support request?”
-Yes. I sent an official document as well, but the situation is urgent, so I made this call.
Bak Huiryeong clicked his tongue inwardly.
He worried that if he sent support to the Chungcheong Hunter Bureau and a problem arose in Seoul under his jurisdiction, what would he do.
If a Gate Break occurred while personnel were short, it would be a headache.
It could cause setbacks to his promotion, the most important thing.
‘But if I coldly refuse, we’ve known each other for quite a while.’
Bak Huiryeong worried inwardly.
Gang Siu, reading his inner thoughts, threw out a proposal.
-During this year’s military-wide property inspection, I will help you, Major Bak Huiryeong.
The military-wide property inspection was conducted on a four-year cycle, examining all items in the Hunter Bureau and checking every single number thoroughly.
It could be seen as a kind of inventory check.
What was important here was that if item quantities and management conditions were a mess, the higher-ups would crack down on them mercilessly.
Especially since weapons couldn’t be freely brought in and out due to the nature of Gates, the inspection inevitably had to be stricter.
Bak Huiryeong rested his chin on his hand.
“Hmm. Tell me how you plan to help.”
-I obtained a few daggers through connections. Use them for this property inspection.
“Is that true!?”
The corner of Bak Huiryeong’s mouth shot upward.
“Good, then I’ll send support to Chungcheong Province. How many do you need?”
-Ten will be enough.
“I’ll select them and send them tomorrow.”
-Thank you.
Bak Huiryeong ended the call.
As he worried about whom to send, a smirk tugged at his lips.
‘Since I’m sending them anyway…’
It seemed best to send the best team.