The residents of Heaven Lake Village were unable to leave even after the representatives from the Association had arrived.
‘For now, we’ll report what happened first…’
The representative’s reaction was as wild as Lee Jun-Kyeong’s actions had been absurd. He had said all of this while smiling.
‘I also thought the same way as you had when I rescued them.’
‘If, by chance, I had brought them here and there had been any issues…don’t you think that would ruin my reputation as well?’
‘Therefore.’
In advance.’
‘I made sure.
To make them sign a mana contract.’?
Lee Jun-Kyeong had ended his explanation there, making sure to emphasize every word.
Eventually, the employee had to ask them to wait again as they reported to their higher-ups once again.
“Yaaawn.”
For the first time in a long while, the residents of Heaven Lake Village were lazing around peacefully.
"Is this heaven?" some of the residents asked as they reveled in their new surroundings.
For them, who had only been able to eat potatoes and similar bland foods every day.
For them, who had only been able to eat unseasoned boiled foods because they couldn’t get any seasonings.
This was a brand new place, full of stimulus and mystery. Especially because they hadn’t even been able to eat properly when North Korea was fine.
As they mentioned earlier, to them, this place might have actually been heaven.
All of them were able to breathe and have a peaceful time.
“Grr."
“…”
–Let go.
“I don’t want to.”
–I said to let go!
As for Fenrir, the wolf was running around playing with Sangun.
Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t know when that had started. Apparently, the two had begun playing while Ungnyeo was busy taking care of the residents.
Fenrir was in his human form with the current baby Baekho—no, Sangun, whose form resembled a small puppy, as they wandered from place to place.
“Yawnn.”
There was another that yawned lazily.
"Is this really heaven?"
It was Jeong In-Chang.
Normally, their lives were just a continuous barrage of tension and crises, but now, things were different. Whether it was the monsters that Lee Jun-Kyeong had killed on their way out and back from the veil or all of the monsters that the man in black had sent to Mt. Baekdu under the thrall of Madness, the front was currently barren as a result of them slaughtering them all. The only sound on the plain was an empty breeze.
“I’m starting to…”
Jeong In-Chang, who had asked Lee Jun-Kyeong if where they were was heaven, was a Hunter by nature.
“...feel like my body is getting stiff.”
He was someone who couldn’t stand being still and already seemed eager to hunt.
"So do I.”
The same was true of Lee Jun-Kyeong. He had gained quite a bit from China and had grown well beyond where he had been before this journey, but because of that, he wasn’t able to hunt any further.
‘My level has pretty much stayed in place.’
Although he still knew he could be stronger, at least for now, he wasn’t able to take any further steps.
“Let’s make sure we stay busy when we return,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said with a smile.
“I… I take back what I said…” Jeong In-Chang muttered in a low tone as he turned around awkwardly like a robot and began to walk away.
Lee Jun-Kyeong looked around.
The quiet place all around him would soon become hell.
It wasn’t just here either.
Korea, or even the whole world, would all turn into hell.
It was an unstoppable progression.
It was a truth that wouldn’t change, no matter how much he spoke with these people.
Therefore, he thought to himself.
‘Let’s enjoy the present for now.’
Thinking so, Lee Jun-Kyeong turned back.
Bump.
However, he soon ran into something. After looking down, he saw who he had run into.
“How did you avoid my senses?” he asked in surprise.
The person behind him was Ungnyeo.
“Choi Yeon-Seo…”
"What?" he asked.
She explained, "It's my name."
Lee Jun-Kyeong paused for a moment. Come to think of it. He had never heard her name before.
After hearing the name and musing over it, Lee Jun-Kyeong praised it with a sincere heart.
“What a pretty name.”
Ungnyeo’s cheeks turned red at the compliment, but all of a sudden, Lee Jun-Kyeong regained his cold demeanor and spoke again before she could say anything, “What is it? Also, how did you avoid my senses?”
Lee Jun-Kyeong was able to sense almost any flow of mana around him because he always had his mana stream enabled. But, even with his senses always flowing, he hadn’t noticed her until they had physically run into each other.
If she had been an enemy, he could have died in the instant.
He felt a chill run down his spine.
"It’s my ability..." she responded.
He nodded. “So it’s your ability..."
He decided that later, he would have to study her ability properly and learn how to break through its domain. As he thought about her ability, Ungnyeo—no, Choi Yeon-Seo asked him a question.
"What are you going to do now?”
Lee Jun-Kyeong's suggestion had been to share a mana contract with the Hunters of Heaven Lake Village. Through the contract, he was obligated to take responsibility for them and the residents of Heaven Lake Village.
In return, as long as Ungnyeo and Sangun were by his side, they would follow his orders.
That was the contract they had made together, but since then, they hadn’t spoken about what would come next.
Since some of the residents of Heaven Lake Village were likely to be anxious, Ungnyeo visited Lee Jun-Kyeong to find out their future plans.
“There’s nothing much left to do. Either way, we’ll end up going to Seoul.”
Now that the Association had uncovered that the residents of Heaven Lake Village and Lee Jun-Kyeong had signed a mana contract, Asgard, and Odin, would find out as well.
Therefore, there wouldn’t be much of a difference.
Lee Jun-Kyeong was a member of Asgard himself, nominally or not.
Therefore, he most likely would be allowed to bring all of those who were now under his command.
Therefore, they just had to wait.
"No, after that.”
However, Ungnyeo was apparently concerned about what would happen after that.
"First of all..." Lee Jun-Kyeong said, beginning to explain.
The time had finally come, the moment Lee Jun-Kyeong had been crying out and waiting for.
“We’ll be moving.”
“Moving?” she responded, bewildered.
“Yeah. And even after that, there are a lot of things we have to accomplish. All of the residents of Heaven Lake Village will have to play their parts.”
Her eyes trembled ominously.
Maybe she had made the wrong contract.
She was filled with anxiety, worried about the possibility that Lee Jun-Kyeong wasn’t the person she had imagined.
“Don’t worry. It’s not like that. I won’t force anyone who doesn’t want to contribute to do anything. However…”
Lee Jun-Kyeong's eyes quietly turned to the residents of Heaven Lake Village.
"If they want to protect their families, they'll have to obey me."
“…”
Ungnyeo thought for a moment and slowly nodded.
"Okay..”
***
The Association contacted them in a timely manner, and, as Lee Jun-Kyeong had predicted, they had decided to accept all of the residents of Heaven Lake Village. Furthermore, instead of the representative, they had sent a Hunter to lead them.
‘It’s not like it’s that far, though…’
He thought to himself. They really were taking so long.
Lee Jun-Kyeong clicked his tongue in irritation as he watched them handle everything in such a slow manner, as time was more precious to them than gold at this point.
However, that didn’t mean it was all bad.
‘At least everyone is resting well.’
The residents of Heaven Lake Village, tired from their hard lives, were recovering comfortably. Considering what awaited them in the future, this rest they were enjoying currently would feel even sweeter later.
‘As they’ll get busy from this point on.’
Furthermore, there were two others who were also enjoying the break that they were finally able to have after a long while.
‘Jeong In-Chang and Won-Hwa…’
Everyone was doing their best to take advantage of this rest in their respective places, while Lee Jun-Kyeong, on the other hand, was doing the opposite.
Thrum.
A reverberating electrical current-like pain ran through his entire body without stopping. He was training the flow of his mana through the simultaneous usage of internal qigong, Galdr, and his mana stream.
‘I can’t afford to take the time to rest.’
While the others could rest, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to.
Because he knew what would happen from this point forward.
Because there were people he had to protect.
Because he had a goal that he wanted to reach.
He couldn't rest.
He trained and trained constantly, barring the time he took to sleep—no, even including the time he had to sleep. His newly acquired abilities were trained over and over again because he had to uncover a deeper and even deeper understanding of them.
The mana stream was a difficult skill, so his understanding would still be lacking the more he uncovered about it.
In the process of training, his newly acquired abilities continued down the path to stability.
[The weak dragon heart stabilizes.]
Clench.
He wondered how strong he would be in his current state.
He struggled to find something he could compare himself to because he couldn’t see the exact level of his strength. There was one thing he could compare himself to.
‘Would I be able to beat Heracles when he’s under the thrall of Madness?’
Musing over it, while it would be hard for him to dominate over the Hunter, he was confident that he would still win.
He had grown to that extent—from having managed to defeat the berserker by luck to being able to defeat him without any risks.
That was the growth that he had achieved.
"Whew..."
His mana flowed in accompaniment with his breathing, and as the mana gave him pain, the pain gave him growth.
‘If things continue this way…’
Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered if he would end up enjoying the pain one day.
He did admit that if that would mean that he could grow stronger, if it were for the purpose of getting stronger, then he would even be able to grow to enjoy this feeling too.
“Underdog!”
Then, one of the Hunters of the front line ran toward him and spoke.
"Someone from the association is here!"
Apparently, the Hunters, who had been dawdling, had finally sent someone.
***
“…”
“…”
The room was heavy with silence, and eventually, Lee Jun-Kyeong was the one to open his mouth first.
“How have you been?” he said in a warm and welcoming tone.
They had found themselves in another reunion, and it was one that felt even more welcoming than the last.
“Better than you, it seems.”
It was Yeo Seong-Gu, smiling as he replied to Lee Jun-Kyeong.
The person sent by the Association had been the Guild Master of the League Guild and a member of Asgard.
The Hero, Heimdall.
“Bald-headed Yeo Seong-Gu…”
"What?"
Yeo Seong-Gu frowned and looked at Lee Jun-Kyeong.
Lee Jun-Kyeong quipped, “It was just something I wanted to say if I came back alive. I’ve come back after undergoing adversity, so can’t you give me a break this one time?”
Yeo Seong-Gu’s nose furrowed as if he was uncomfortable.
“Ha…”
However, Lee Jun-Kyeong knew it was just an act.
‘So you’re happy knowing I’m back too, Hyung.’
Lee Jun-Kyeong smiled, knowing that Yeo Seong-Gu’s reaction was a habit that the Hunter did when he was in a good mood.
“Why are you so late? And what about the Association?” he asked.
“The Association is in a complete mess right now,” Yeo Seong-Gu said.
What he said next was more shocking than Lee Jun-Kyeong had thought it would have been.
"Almost all the people of Asgard have returned to Korea."
Lee Jun-Kyeong’s eyes widened. "What?"
The Heroes on expeditions had all returned to Korea.
He was sure that the man he had met before he had left, Baldur,?had said that he was enjoying his vacation after having returned from an expedition. After all, it wasn’t easy for him to get one.
Yeo Seong-Gu said that they had all gathered because of a special gate, which was a sign of the cataclysm.
Monsters that were much more powerful than the ones in conventional gates had appeared, and the aftermath of these gates was terrifying as well.
It wasn’t just Yeo Seong-Gu who had recognized this as evidence of the cataclysm either.
Even Odin, the President of the Association, had felt the severity of the situation and had brought the Heroes back.
Furthermore, the special gates were not only appearing in Korea but also around the world.
Yeo Seong-Gu had also heard that the Hunters from each country were also returning home after completing their expeditions.
“We had meetings for a few days. Meetings within Asgard, I mean.” Yeo Seong-Gu continued, “Of course, there’s the problem with you as well. Although we had expected you to return…”
Yeo Seong-Gu kneaded his brow as if Lee Jun-Kyeong was giving him a headache.
“We didn’t expect you to dig up a gold mine and come back."
Yeo Seong-Gu was referring to the Hunters of Heaven Lake Village as gold mines.
It was a matter of course.
The number of Hunters was small. Even if their numbers could be said to objectively be many, the supply of Hunters was vastly dwarfed by their demand.
Their lives were effervescent, not knowing when they would die on the battlefield, so new Hunters were always welcome in any country, which was why Lee Jun-Kyeong had thought it was okay for them to come out beyond the veil.
“The problem is that the gold mine is in your hands,” he finished.
Yeo Seong-Gu was referencing the mana contract.
1. Baekho (Lit. White Tiger) is one of the four divine beasts of the Eastern Constellations. As the White Tiger of the West, Baekho is the symbol of a coming Philosopher Emperor, someone who rules with absolute dignity and peace and represents power, military might, and stability of reign.
The residents of Heaven Lake Village were unable to leave even after the representatives from the Association had arrived.
‘For now, we’ll report what happened first…’
The representative’s reaction was as wild as Lee Jun-Kyeong’s actions had been absurd. He had said all of this while smiling.
‘I also thought the same way as you had when I rescued them.’
‘If, by chance, I had brought them here and there had been any issues…don’t you think that would ruin my reputation as well?’
‘Therefore.’
In advance.’
‘I made sure.
To make them sign a mana contract.’?
Lee Jun-Kyeong had ended his explanation there, making sure to emphasize every word.
Eventually, the employee had to ask them to wait again as they reported to their higher-ups once again.
“Yaaawn.”
For the first time in a long while, the residents of Heaven Lake Village were lazing around peacefully.
"Is this heaven?" some of the residents asked as they reveled in their new surroundings.
For them, who had only been able to eat potatoes and similar bland foods every day.
For them, who had only been able to eat unseasoned boiled foods because they couldn’t get any seasonings.
This was a brand new place, full of stimulus and mystery. Especially because they hadn’t even been able to eat properly when North Korea was fine.
As they mentioned earlier, to them, this place might have actually been heaven.
All of them were able to breathe and have a peaceful time.
“Grr."
“…”
–Let go.
“I don’t want to.”
–I said to let go!
As for Fenrir, the wolf was running around playing with Sangun.
Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t know when that had started. Apparently, the two had begun playing while Ungnyeo was busy taking care of the residents.
Fenrir was in his human form with the current baby Baekho—no, Sangun, whose form resembled a small puppy, as they wandered from place to place.
“Yawnn.”
There was another that yawned lazily.
"Is this really heaven?"
It was Jeong In-Chang.
Normally, their lives were just a continuous barrage of tension and crises, but now, things were different. Whether it was the monsters that Lee Jun-Kyeong had killed on their way out and back from the veil or all of the monsters that the man in black had sent to Mt. Baekdu under the thrall of Madness, the front was currently barren as a result of them slaughtering them all. The only sound on the plain was an empty breeze.
“I’m starting to…”
Jeong In-Chang, who had asked Lee Jun-Kyeong if where they were was heaven, was a Hunter by nature.
“...feel like my body is getting stiff.”
He was someone who couldn’t stand being still and already seemed eager to hunt.
"So do I.”
The same was true of Lee Jun-Kyeong. He had gained quite a bit from China and had grown well beyond where he had been before this journey, but because of that, he wasn’t able to hunt any further.
‘My level has pretty much stayed in place.’
Although he still knew he could be stronger, at least for now, he wasn’t able to take any further steps.
“Let’s make sure we stay busy when we return,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said with a smile.
“I… I take back what I said…” Jeong In-Chang muttered in a low tone as he turned around awkwardly like a robot and began to walk away.
Lee Jun-Kyeong looked around.
The quiet place all around him would soon become hell.
It wasn’t just here either.
Korea, or even the whole world, would all turn into hell.
It was an unstoppable progression.
It was a truth that wouldn’t change, no matter how much he spoke with these people.
Therefore, he thought to himself.
‘Let’s enjoy the present for now.’
Thinking so, Lee Jun-Kyeong turned back.
Bump.
However, he soon ran into something. After looking down, he saw who he had run into.
“How did you avoid my senses?” he asked in surprise.
The person behind him was Ungnyeo.
“Choi Yeon-Seo…”
"What?" he asked.
She explained, "It's my name."
Lee Jun-Kyeong paused for a moment. Come to think of it. He had never heard her name before.
After hearing the name and musing over it, Lee Jun-Kyeong praised it with a sincere heart.
“What a pretty name.”
Ungnyeo’s cheeks turned red at the compliment, but all of a sudden, Lee Jun-Kyeong regained his cold demeanor and spoke again before she could say anything, “What is it? Also, how did you avoid my senses?”
Lee Jun-Kyeong was able to sense almost any flow of mana around him because he always had his mana stream enabled. But, even with his senses always flowing, he hadn’t noticed her until they had physically run into each other.
If she had been an enemy, he could have died in the instant.
He felt a chill run down his spine.
"It’s my ability..." she responded.
He nodded. “So it’s your ability..."
He decided that later, he would have to study her ability properly and learn how to break through its domain. As he thought about her ability, Ungnyeo—no, Choi Yeon-Seo asked him a question.
"What are you going to do now?”
Lee Jun-Kyeong's suggestion had been to share a mana contract with the Hunters of Heaven Lake Village. Through the contract, he was obligated to take responsibility for them and the residents of Heaven Lake Village.
In return, as long as Ungnyeo and Sangun were by his side, they would follow his orders.
That was the contract they had made together, but since then, they hadn’t spoken about what would come next.
Since some of the residents of Heaven Lake Village were likely to be anxious, Ungnyeo visited Lee Jun-Kyeong to find out their future plans.
“There’s nothing much left to do. Either way, we’ll end up going to Seoul.”
Now that the Association had uncovered that the residents of Heaven Lake Village and Lee Jun-Kyeong had signed a mana contract, Asgard, and Odin, would find out as well.
Therefore, there wouldn’t be much of a difference.
Lee Jun-Kyeong was a member of Asgard himself, nominally or not.
Therefore, he most likely would be allowed to bring all of those who were now under his command.
Therefore, they just had to wait.
"No, after that.”
However, Ungnyeo was apparently concerned about what would happen after that.
"First of all..." Lee Jun-Kyeong said, beginning to explain.
The time had finally come, the moment Lee Jun-Kyeong had been crying out and waiting for.
“We’ll be moving.”
“Moving?” she responded, bewildered.
“Yeah. And even after that, there are a lot of things we have to accomplish. All of the residents of Heaven Lake Village will have to play their parts.”
Her eyes trembled ominously.
Maybe she had made the wrong contract.
She was filled with anxiety, worried about the possibility that Lee Jun-Kyeong wasn’t the person she had imagined.
“Don’t worry. It’s not like that. I won’t force anyone who doesn’t want to contribute to do anything. However…”
Lee Jun-Kyeong's eyes quietly turned to the residents of Heaven Lake Village.
"If they want to protect their families, they'll have to obey me."
“…”
Ungnyeo thought for a moment and slowly nodded.
"Okay..”
***
The Association contacted them in a timely manner, and, as Lee Jun-Kyeong had predicted, they had decided to accept all of the residents of Heaven Lake Village. Furthermore, instead of the representative, they had sent a Hunter to lead them.
‘It’s not like it’s that far, though…’
He thought to himself. They really were taking so long.
Lee Jun-Kyeong clicked his tongue in irritation as he watched them handle everything in such a slow manner, as time was more precious to them than gold at this point.
However, that didn’t mean it was all bad.
‘At least everyone is resting well.’
The residents of Heaven Lake Village, tired from their hard lives, were recovering comfortably. Considering what awaited them in the future, this rest they were enjoying currently would feel even sweeter later.
‘As they’ll get busy from this point on.’
Furthermore, there were two others who were also enjoying the break that they were finally able to have after a long while.
‘Jeong In-Chang and Won-Hwa…’
Everyone was doing their best to take advantage of this rest in their respective places, while Lee Jun-Kyeong, on the other hand, was doing the opposite.
Thrum.
A reverberating electrical current-like pain ran through his entire body without stopping. He was training the flow of his mana through the simultaneous usage of internal qigong, Galdr, and his mana stream.
‘I can’t afford to take the time to rest.’
While the others could rest, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to.
Because he knew what would happen from this point forward.
Because there were people he had to protect.
Because he had a goal that he wanted to reach.
He couldn't rest.
He trained and trained constantly, barring the time he took to sleep—no, even including the time he had to sleep. His newly acquired abilities were trained over and over again because he had to uncover a deeper and even deeper understanding of them.
The mana stream was a difficult skill, so his understanding would still be lacking the more he uncovered about it.
In the process of training, his newly acquired abilities continued down the path to stability.
[The weak dragon heart stabilizes.]
Clench.
He wondered how strong he would be in his current state.
He struggled to find something he could compare himself to because he couldn’t see the exact level of his strength. There was one thing he could compare himself to.
‘Would I be able to beat Heracles when he’s under the thrall of Madness?’
Musing over it, while it would be hard for him to dominate over the Hunter, he was confident that he would still win.
He had grown to that extent—from having managed to defeat the berserker by luck to being able to defeat him without any risks.
That was the growth that he had achieved.
"Whew..."
His mana flowed in accompaniment with his breathing, and as the mana gave him pain, the pain gave him growth.
‘If things continue this way…’
Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered if he would end up enjoying the pain one day.
He did admit that if that would mean that he could grow stronger, if it were for the purpose of getting stronger, then he would even be able to grow to enjoy this feeling too.
“Underdog!”
Then, one of the Hunters of the front line ran toward him and spoke.
"Someone from the association is here!"
Apparently, the Hunters, who had been dawdling, had finally sent someone.
***
“…”
“…”
The room was heavy with silence, and eventually, Lee Jun-Kyeong was the one to open his mouth first.
“How have you been?” he said in a warm and welcoming tone.
They had found themselves in another reunion, and it was one that felt even more welcoming than the last.
“Better than you, it seems.”
It was Yeo Seong-Gu, smiling as he replied to Lee Jun-Kyeong.
The person sent by the Association had been the Guild Master of the League Guild and a member of Asgard.
The Hero, Heimdall.
“Bald-headed Yeo Seong-Gu…”
"What?"
Yeo Seong-Gu frowned and looked at Lee Jun-Kyeong.
Lee Jun-Kyeong quipped, “It was just something I wanted to say if I came back alive. I’ve come back after undergoing adversity, so can’t you give me a break this one time?”
Yeo Seong-Gu’s nose furrowed as if he was uncomfortable.
“Ha…”
However, Lee Jun-Kyeong knew it was just an act.
‘So you’re happy knowing I’m back too, Hyung.’
Lee Jun-Kyeong smiled, knowing that Yeo Seong-Gu’s reaction was a habit that the Hunter did when he was in a good mood.
“Why are you so late? And what about the Association?” he asked.
“The Association is in a complete mess right now,” Yeo Seong-Gu said.
What he said next was more shocking than Lee Jun-Kyeong had thought it would have been.
"Almost all the people of Asgard have returned to Korea."
Lee Jun-Kyeong’s eyes widened. "What?"
The Heroes on expeditions had all returned to Korea.
He was sure that the man he had met before he had left, Baldur,?had said that he was enjoying his vacation after having returned from an expedition. After all, it wasn’t easy for him to get one.
Yeo Seong-Gu said that they had all gathered because of a special gate, which was a sign of the cataclysm.
Monsters that were much more powerful than the ones in conventional gates had appeared, and the aftermath of these gates was terrifying as well.
It wasn’t just Yeo Seong-Gu who had recognized this as evidence of the cataclysm either.
Even Odin, the President of the Association, had felt the severity of the situation and had brought the Heroes back.
Furthermore, the special gates were not only appearing in Korea but also around the world.
Yeo Seong-Gu had also heard that the Hunters from each country were also returning home after completing their expeditions.
“We had meetings for a few days. Meetings within Asgard, I mean.” Yeo Seong-Gu continued, “Of course, there’s the problem with you as well. Although we had expected you to return…”
Yeo Seong-Gu kneaded his brow as if Lee Jun-Kyeong was giving him a headache.
“We didn’t expect you to dig up a gold mine and come back."
Yeo Seong-Gu was referring to the Hunters of Heaven Lake Village as gold mines.
It was a matter of course.
The number of Hunters was small. Even if their numbers could be said to objectively be many, the supply of Hunters was vastly dwarfed by their demand.
Their lives were effervescent, not knowing when they would die on the battlefield, so new Hunters were always welcome in any country, which was why Lee Jun-Kyeong had thought it was okay for them to come out beyond the veil.
“The problem is that the gold mine is in your hands,” he finished.
Yeo Seong-Gu was referencing the mana contract.
1. Baekho (Lit. White Tiger) is one of the four divine beasts of the Eastern Constellations. As the White Tiger of the West, Baekho is the symbol of a coming Philosopher Emperor, someone who rules with absolute dignity and peace and represents power, military might, and stability of reign.
