EPISODE 143

Yoo-seong was instantly reminded of a Dragon Pearl, a mysterious crystal ball that a dragon held under its chin, which contained the power to control the weather.

The crystal before him was slightly smaller than a bowling ball and had a bluish-green hue, the color of the sea. In addition to the water that blanketed his body, Yoo-seong felt another sensation against his skin. It was the familiar feeling of CE flowing out of the pearl.

The CE of veteran hunters normally felt different than that of others.

Veteran hunters had years of experience, and with it, their accumulated CE amount was high. However, their CE felt light against the skin, as if it had been polished over the years. Yoo-seong had felt it when he encountered some of the Chinese Ship Zone members and masters.

Strangely, the CE of the Turtle Dragon and the Thunder Ape had felt the same. It was also the same feeling that the Dragon Pearl was giving off right now.

However, Yoo-seong was still not convinced that monsters had Aura like humans did.

When he’d fought both the Fire Dragon and the Lightning Ape, he’d not had any time to concentrate on his senses either during or after the battles. However, two days ago, as he tried to experiment with Won Jeong-cheon’s bow and the Thunder Ape’s horn, he discovered something.

‘Doesn’t this horn feel just like a human core?’

It was not just a matter of how much CE the horn could hold. The purity of the CE it contained was the same as a veteran hunter’s core, one who had used CE for a very long time.

The same thing could be said of the Habaek’s Dragon Pearl. Although CE was originally a raw material extracted from monsters, there were no studies regarding monsters that actually manipulated CE. But transcendent monsters like the Habaek, the Turtle Dragon, and the Thunder Ape seemed to have organs that corresponded to human cores.

While it was interesting information, it was the least of Yoo-seong’s concerns at the moment. As his lungs were straining from holding his breath underwater, his mind was also faced with a struggle.

‘What should I do with this?’

If this had happened two days ago, Yoo-seong would have just placed it in his slot without thinking. He would just have waited for an opportunity to synthesize the Dragon Pearl into another weapon. However, just yesterday, when he faced the hunters from Tenz, he’d learned something: using his core, he could absorb another person’s CE directly.

Following the logic that this monster organ acted just like a human core, he would be able to absorb a tremendous amount of CE with it. The amount of CE the Habaek had accumulated would be more than those two Ship Zone hunters’ CE combined.

‘Should I use the Dragon Pearl to form another legendary piece of equipment?’

‘Or should I absorb massive firepower into my core?’

Before long, he made the decision and took his loot.

***

“Huh… Heo-ooh!”

“Are you okay, Director? If you are tired, you can take a rest,” said a worried subordinate to the panting Yang Chang-guk.

Instead of answering, Yang Chang-guk waved his hand. They were climbing the Habaek’s back.

An hour ago, Yang Chang-guk had reached the control center, and all he’d heard was the same thing.

—The President led the hunters and went to see the corpse of the monster.

It was all they’d said.

The officials left at the control center had not explained any of the circumstances to Yang Chang-guk. Before he left, the President must have threatened the employees to keep their mouths shut. No matter how hard Yang Chang-guk appealed to them using his authority, they had only repeated their President’s words as if they were parrots.

Yang Chang-guk had soon given up and decided to investigate the situation himself by going to the scene.

Of course…

“Heo-wook! Ugh!”

It was not just because he was climbing the monster’s corpse that he was running out of breath. Yoo-seong had been here. Nobody mentioned anything about it, but Yang Chang-guk was sure of it.

The Habaek was surely dead.

Its size far exceeded their estimates and projections.

In addition, considering the extent of damage to the surrounding terrain, the monster’s ability had also been as enormous as its size.

Hankwang Hunting International would not have been enough to kill it. Yet, above all, the sky was clear. The unclosed crack was gone. There was only one person who had the ability to close cracks that even pulse breakers couldn’t.

‘I’m glad Yoo-seong was able to stop the monster and close the crack, but…’

The problem was President Han Kwang-ho. Why would the old man have come here himself?

Looking at the operation area, it was evident that the Hankwang hunters had been in great danger. Yoo-seong’s arrival must have been their salvation.

Usually, in this case, it was common for the person who had received the help to transfer all the operation loot to their rescuer. However, Yang Chang-guk was sure that President Han Kwang-ho would never do that. The president would surely have provoked Yoo-seong by saying that the monster belonged to them.

‘Yoo-seong is a wise person. I believe he would not have acted rashly,’ Yang Chang-guk said to himself.

However, considering President Han Kwang-ho’s personality, Yang Chang-guk had no idea what the sly old man might have said. It was another reason he was now heading to the operation site to somehow protect Yoo-seong from whatever the President might say.

Despite his screaming joints and a sore ankle, Yang Chang-guk finally reached the end of his ascent. A bluish-green lake was spread out before his eyes.

“Huh?”

“Director Yang Chang-guk of the Special Defense Agency?”

A group of hunters was coming up from the opposite direction. There were five of them. Among those who introduced themselves, Yang Chang-guk saw a familiar face.

“Han Jae-gyu?”

It was President Han Kwang-ho’s grandson. And on his back…

“President Han Kwang-ho? What is going on here?!”

Yang Chang-guk felt astonished. The hunters turned to look at Han Jae-gyu as if waiting for his response.

Then Han Jae-gyu spoke.

“Excuse me. My grandfather is in critical condition. He needs to see a doctor quickly.”

Just as he said, the President’s face looked awful. Yang Chang-guk immediately got out of their way. He could not help but think the worst.

“By any chance…”

If what Yang Chang-guk was thinking turned out to be right, if Yoo-seong was the reason the President was now in a critical condition…

“Oh Yoo-seong…”

Just then…

Kwaaaaa-!

A sudden roar came from the lake.

A whirlpool?

The violent flow of water covering the lake’s surface continued to turn towards the center. It was as if a stopper had been removed somewhere at the bottom; the water in the lake was being sucked downward with tremendous momentum.

Koooo-!

The lake floor was soon exposed.

“Huh?”

Yang Chang-guk could not believe his eyes. Someone was standing right in the center.

Yang Chang-guk turned to Han Jae-gyu, but he and the hunters were already gone.

Right now, his only option was to go down to the lake. At its banks, he saw Hankwang hunters talking among themselves and staring at the lake’s center.

Some of them recognized Yang Chang-guk as he slowly made his way toward the now dried-up lake. Right in the middle was Oh Yoo-seong.

With a crystal ball the size of a person’s head in his hand, he turned towards Yang Chang-guk, who was fast approaching him.

“Is that the loot from this hunt?” Yang Chang-guk said as he pointed at the Habaek’s Dragon Pearl in Yoo-seong’s hand with his chin. Yoo-seong shook his head.

“You’ve seen it, haven’t you?” Yoo-seong asked.

“Seen? What?”

Yang Chang-guk was confused, but after a while, he realized what Yoo-seong meant.

“President Han Kwang-ho.”

Yang Chang-guk just grew more curious.

“Did you do that to him?”

“It is a little complicated but to begin with, no.”

Yoo-seong then proceeded to explain.

He told Yang Chang-guk about what had happened before President Han Kwang-ho and the Hankwang hunters arrived.

He also talked about how the President had made a foolish decision.

“I see. This is not looking good for President Han Kwang-ho.” “It could be good for me. Maybe even for you,” Yoo-seong said calmly.

“What? What’s that?” Yang Chang-guk couldn’t believe what Yoo-seong had just said.

“He will not go back to normal. When I took off his suit and checked his Aura, the flow was disrupted.”

Yang Chang-guk gasped.

CE was the basic bioenergy of life.

Of course, it existed even in ordinary humans. It had already become quite common medical knowledge that any changes in one’s CE would greatly affect the person’s health.

If Yoo-seong was right, it was highly likely that the President had suffered irreparable damage. At that moment, a thought passed through Yang Chang-guk’s head.

‘A lot of…’

A lot of things were about to change.

The first thing that came to mind was that Hankwang Hunting International could no longer be reckless.

Even if a company had a huge political or social impact, it was still driven by the direct connections and lobbying of its superiors, including the head of the company. One of the reasons why Hankwang seemed “untouchable” was President Han Kwang-ho’s “direct contacts.”

However, now, with the President incapacitated, those connections were good as gone.

Even if Hankwang’s power remained the same, the government would regain its influence once Hankwang’s connections, which had all been made by President Han Kwang-ho after showing off the group’s abilities, collapsed.

Yoo-seong was right. The “loot from this hunt” was more than it seemed.

Han Jae-gyu and all the other hunters on site had already taken Yoo-seong’s side. In addition to their testimonies, if he exerted a “little” of his influence as the director of the Special Defense Agency, perhaps the ownership of Habaek could even be handed over to Yoo-seong!

“And now they’re all coming to their senses,” Yoo-seong said.

“What?”

Yang Chang-guk raised his head at Yoo-seong’s words.

“Rumors will start spreading. The news of President Han Kwang-ho being directly involved in the operation will surely spread out.”

Even news of Yoo-seong being with him at the scene would surely be part of it. Stories would surely arise. Even if Yoo-seong had done nothing to the President, his issue with the Japan Prime Minister would definitely be brought up.

People would start trying to connect the dots on their own.

Yoo-seong was sure that there would be rumors of him being involved in the circumstances that led to the fall of President Han Kwang-ho.

“I do not want that kind of misunderstanding to happen,” Yoo-seong said.

“It would probably result in something good,” Yang Chang-guk objected.

Yoo-seong looked into Yang Chang-guk’s eyes.

“Compared to this…”

Yoo-seong looked down at the Habaek’s Dragon Pearl in his hand.

“That’s not much of a reward at all.”

Pot-!

The orb disappeared into Yoo-seong’s slot.

As he looked at Yoo-seong’s eyes, Yang Chang-guk suddenly felt goosebumps.

‘Uh, maybe…’

Yang Chang-guk thought that Yoo-seong could have rescued President Han Kwang-ho sooner when he had fallen into Habaek’s lake. However, it seemed Yoo-seong had delayed rescuing him until the President was in an “appropriate” state.

‘No!’

Yang Chang-guk shook the horrible speculation out of his mind.

‘Are you out of your mind? Why are you thinking that way?’

Looking up, Yang Chang-guk saw Yoo-seong staring at him. Yoo-seong had a sad smile on his face as if he were reading his thoughts.

“Well, let’s leave it at that,” Yang Chang-guk declared.

Squeak-!

“Huh?”

Yoo-seong’s body suddenly fell forward.

“Oh Yoo-seong!”

Yang Chang-guk was quick to support Yoo-seong’s sagging body. Then he saw it.

Blood was dripping from a gaping wound on Yoo-seong’s lower abdomen.