Rattle!
An unusual sight unfolded in front of Lee Jun-Kyeong, and it was something so rare that it couldn’t easily be seen even if someone paid money.
Rattle!
These skeletons made the sound of grinding bones every time they moved, and they were the source of the weird noises. They moved without rest, swinging their swords relentlessly while taking down their fellow undead. However, on closer inspection, there were signs that they were different from the skeletons around them.
Rattle!
The normal white skeletons were being hunted by skeletons with bones that glowed a dark blue. They seemed similar, but they were different in every way, even down to the stats. The ones that glowed were much faster and much more powerful.
Rattle…
However, one of the blue skeletons collapsed.
‘It can't be helped, it was outnumbered.’
Although the blue skeletons were definitely more refined than the white skeletons and superior in all respects, they were significantly inferior in number. There were well over a hundred white skeletons, while there were only seven of the blue skeletons, or at least, there were seven before one had been attacked.
‘Would it be six now?’
The six blue skeletons began to be pushed back even though only one of them had fallen, their bones falling off and being reattached repeatedly. Although the fight seemed to be coming to an end…
–It's not over yet.
The white skeletons didn't have a commander, while the blue skeletons did. The leader was a skeleton that had been protected by the six blue skeletons so far. The only difference between them was the dark blue glow emitting from one of its eyes.
‘Hyeon-Mu.’
Lee Jun-Kyeong’s Familiar made its move. It was different from the other blue skeletons. Instead of wielding a crude sword and shield, it carried nothing. However, its hands were glowing with blue light.
Hahahaha!
A light gleamed within the dark cemetery. Waves of blue and black that seemed to come from the abyss soon swept away the white skeletons that had an overwhelming numerical advantage.
Rattle!
The blue skeletons quickly moved to take care of the stragglers.
Clap, clap, clap.
Lee Jun-Kyeong applauded at the scene.
Clink.
Soon the skeletons started to fall apart, leaving behind a single skeleton that stood remaining, Hyeon-Mu.
–Was it to your liking?
Lee Jun-Kyeong had thought it was a joke when it was only a skull that floated around, but looking at it now, it was quite different. Although it was still the same skull, seeing it move around with a body, whether it was its attitude or its mannerisms, it seemed very archaic.
Lee Jun-Kyeong smiled. "I'm satisfied."
Whether it was with Hyeon-Mu’s growth, newfound ability, or all of it, he was truly satisfied.
Lee Jun-Kyeong smiled broadly, and Hyeon-Mu's dark blue eyes curved up into a grin.
***
Lee Jun-Kyeong looked at the bracelet on his wrist. It was a grotesque bracelet decorated with two skeletons. Still, looking at it now, he felt as if it was a treasure worth billions.
‘I wasn’t satisfied before, but…’ Lee Jun-Kyeong looked up at the sky. The Familiars that would be gifted by a Sponsor were generally impossibly strong and unmatched. However, A Skull That Contains Souls, the Familiar he had been gifted by <The Sky of the Apocalypse>, was only gaudy from the very beginning, as was Hyeon-Mu, who had appeared at the end.
‘There were many shortcomings.’
He hadn’t shown much anticipation of its future growth, but, from the very beginning, there was a difference between the other impossibly strong and unmatched Familiars and Hyeon-Mu. His Familiar had no particularly defining abilities beyond its control of water and a fairly decent hunting aid. However, this Hyeon-Mu had ended its first growth and had transformed into something completely different. It was a change so great that it shook Lee Jun-Kyeong to the core.
Hyeon-Mu’s power to raise skeletons was originally supposed to be an Authority. Although it wasn’t able to raise many, it was similar to an Authority that the Demon King had. In fact, the Demon King was able to raise an army of undead. However, that army was not raised not by the power of a Familiar, but by the power of the Demon King itself.
This power was why people and Hunters had called him the Demon King. However, unlike the Demon King, Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t have the ability to create an undead army by himself. He had been hoping that someday, <The Sky of the Apocalypse> would give him a similar Authority.
‘Hyeon-Mu, how many skeletons can you maintain at the same time?’
– As you can see, currently, the maximum is seven.
Hyeon-Mu had obtained the ability to create skeletons, but it was still not powerful enough to form an army. Fortunately, there was another, better difference between its power and the Demon King’s.
– The skeletons will share experience and my ability.
These undead were not foot soldiers that would move as a troop, but rather, they were a small group of elites.
‘All right.’
Lee Jun-Kyeong wasn’t disappointed.
[A Skull That Contains Souls is currently disabled.]
A Skull that Contains Souls still remained as it had formed again after the birth of Hyeon-Mu. He wasn’t sure how many of these would form, but it seemed they would form a party of elites.
‘Even with two, it looks like I’ve earned some great party members.’
Furthermore, it was a party formed by Familiars that would never stab him in the back. It was an ideal end result, precisely what he had wanted.
"Hyeon-Mu,” Lee Jun-Kyeong called out. He looked straight into the skull’s eyes.
"You'll have to hunt hard from now on,” he said in a hopeful voice.
***
Lee Jun-Kyeong had joined Asgard, verified Hyeon-Mu’s ability after its growth, and had ascertained his current physical condition.
‘What’s left is…’
There was another thing that he had to do, and it was the most pressing matter too.
‘Muspel's Spear.’
It was the thing he couldn’t be without now—a weapon.
He had to go show Muspel’s Spear to Park Jae-Hyun.
‘I have to identify the black beads as well.’
It was imperative that he identified the black beads that were stuck in his body and showed no signs of movement. They were unusual, strange, and grotesque. Furthermore, they were something that even he didn’t know. And that was considering the fact that he had a bank of knowledge that even a scholar would be proud of.
After all, he had information about the future and from the Book of the Demon King. The strangest part of them was that he was able to feel them while he was in the undead dungeon that he had entered for Hyeon-Mu.
‘They swallowed death energy.’
The black beads devoured death energy, which was an ability that most Hunters couldn’t use. In fact, even only a few Hunters could handle death energy. It wasn’t the concept of purifying or replacing it with mana, either. They just swallowed it.
Lee Jun-Kyeong was sure that there weren’t any changes to the black beads after they devoured the death energy. He had checked them over and over again with his mana stream. The black beads were clearly charged with death energy, but Lee Jun-Kyeong couldn’t feel any traces of it. It was an incomprehensible situation. He had decided that regardless of the identity of the black beads, he had to find out quickly. Therefore, Lee Jun-Kyeong found himself there again.
Knock, knock.
As expected, he didn’t come to answer the door, and Lee Jun-Kyeong had to push the door open without saying a word.
Screech.
The unlocked door opened. Soon, he ran into Park Jae-Hyun.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Like always, Park Jae-Hyun stood smithing. He kept hammering furiously as if he was concentrating heavily on the task at hand. Lee Jun-Kyeong found a quiet corner to sit down in and settled down so as not to disturb him.
‘I can see it now.’
There were more than a few things he noticed after returning to the smithy after undergoing growth. Not only did he feel as though the grade of the weapons around him were higher than he had initially thought, but also he thought that Park Jae-Hyun's mana was denser than he had imagined.
There was another thing.
‘Is that the ability of blacksmiths?’
Just like how not just any Hunter could become a blacksmith, he had also heard that blacksmiths, who had to mold mana, needed special skills.
‘So the mana flows into the iron and the flames according to how they hammer.’
Lee Jun-Kyeong was able to see the secret once he activated his mana stream and felt as though he could imitate it as well, even if it would be a bit clumsy.
[You have discovered mana infusion.]
Lee Jun-Kyeong laughed to himself at the notification.
“Huh? What is this.”
Then, the man had caught sight of him.
"Long time no see,” Lee Jun-Kyeong greeted.
“…”
He stared at Lee Jun-Kyeong for a long time, and then all of a sudden, Park Jae-Hyun asked a question, "Are you really famous?"
“…” Lee Jun-Kyeong was taken aback.
The smith then asked, "They called you the Underdog?”
Lee Jun-Kyeong blushed. Although nicknames were a necessary part of earning fame, they often embarrassed the person involved. Lee Jun-Kyeong was no different.
‘They keep calling me Underdog, underdog, to the point that I feel like a dog…’
Truthfully, he was feeling strange due to the nickname that included the word dog.
“I heard you beat Heracles, too?” Park Jae-Hyun asked.
“It looks like you watch TV,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said, trying to change the subject.
The smith shrugged. "Yeah. Well, wait for a minute for now.”
However, Park Jae-Hyun just started hammering once again, and it was only after some time that he could complete the weapon he had been working on.
***
"What is this…"
Park Jae-Hyun was as flustered as the time when he had first seen the Dragon’s Bloodstone.
“What the…”
He was inspecting every inch of Muspel’s Spear after Lee Jun-Kyeong laid it down.
"It could be dangerous,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said to him as he recalled some bad memories.
Park Jae-Hyun retorted," All weapons are dangerous. If you're trying to find something that's not dangerous, go visit ‘DaisOh.’”
Lee Jun-Kyeong closed his mouth. Despite Lee Jun-Kyeong’s repeated warnings, the smith repeatedly inspected Muspel’s Spear with eyes full of curiosity.
“Hmm… What the hell did you do to this spear?” he finally asked.
To be honest, Lee Jun-Kyeong was afraid of the ax-eyed Park Jae-Hyun’s reaction.
He muttered, "I spread something on it…”
But he couldn’t lie about it. It would only be fixable if the smith knew its exact condition. Weapons were just like humans.
"So what was it?" Park Jae-Hyun asked slyly.
Lee Jun-Kyeong responded hesitantly, "You wouldn't know even if I told you… it was an ore that shines red."
The smith blinked. “Um… something like a ruby? No, that doesn’t seem to be the case. What, the Dragon’s Bloodstone you brought before? Is it something like that?”
Lee Jun-Kyeong sheepishly replied, “Well, it’s true that it was something as unique as the Dragon’s Bloodstone.”
“Then..." Park Jae-Hyun continued while lifting Muspel’s Spear, “That must be the secret behind how you beat Heracles.”
“...”
“Heracles was defeated by the spear that I had made,” Park Jae-Hyun said to himself.
“Pfft…” The smith began to chuckle before exclaiming with genuine delight, “Hahahaha! Good! Good! It looks like there was some good in smithing you a weapon.”
"Yu-Jin would want to come back if she knew this!"
“…”
He then put down Muspel’s Spear and looked over at Lee Jun-Kyeong as if he had thought of something.
"Ah! You're famous, right?"
Lee Jun-Kyeong grimaced. "Well, that’s..."
"Do… and you have a relationship with the Association?" Park Jae-Hyun asked.
"Something like that…?”
To think he would suddenly shift to asking these sorts of questions after crazily laughing while inspecting Muspel’s Spear. Lee Jun-Kyeong thought that Park Jae-Hyun was even weirder today than usual.
"Then..." But his question soon followed. "Can you find a person?"
Lee Jun-Kyeong laughed.
Park Jae-Hyun hastily interjected, "I'll make sure to pay you back. I have some money saved up... It was a little hard to find someone I could trust."
Lee Jun-Kyeong briefly pondered if he should just tell him the truth. But he wasn’t such a fool as to give away free stuff. "What kind of reward?"
The smith frowned. "Money? Or... Is there anything you want? If you find that brat, I’ll do one favor that you want.”
“This is a promise, right?” asked Lee Jun-Kyeong slyly.
“Are you going to find her for me?” Park Jae-Hyun asked, his eyes shining.
"If you promise me a reward,” Lee Jun-Kyeong responded blithely.
"Yes! As long as you don’t ask me to give you my life or to do something weird, I’ll do whatever you want!”
At his wild offer, Lee Jun-Kyeong briefly pondered what compensation to expect.
‘Should I ask him to make me armor?”
No, the smith would make him armor as long as he brought him any items that would satisfy him.
‘Money?’
No, he already was overflowing with it. So far, he’d only been targeting gates, and he hadn’t had a single moment to spend any of it.
‘Fealty?’
No, that was too severe. The only thing that would result in asking for something like that in return for just finding someone would be that their relationship would be ruined. After much consideration, Lee Jun-Kyeong decided on the desired reward.
“Then should we first talk about who you’re looking for?” he asked in a devilish manner.
He had decided.
‘I just want to hit him once.’
1. Referring to Daiso, a famous dollar store chain in East Asia. Its name is a homophone for “I have everything” in Korean. Daiso Korea has split from Daiso Japan, however.
Rattle!
An unusual sight unfolded in front of Lee Jun-Kyeong, and it was something so rare that it couldn’t easily be seen even if someone paid money.
Rattle!
These skeletons made the sound of grinding bones every time they moved, and they were the source of the weird noises. They moved without rest, swinging their swords relentlessly while taking down their fellow undead. However, on closer inspection, there were signs that they were different from the skeletons around them.
Rattle!
The normal white skeletons were being hunted by skeletons with bones that glowed a dark blue. They seemed similar, but they were different in every way, even down to the stats. The ones that glowed were much faster and much more powerful.
Rattle…
However, one of the blue skeletons collapsed.
‘It can't be helped, it was outnumbered.’
Although the blue skeletons were definitely more refined than the white skeletons and superior in all respects, they were significantly inferior in number. There were well over a hundred white skeletons, while there were only seven of the blue skeletons, or at least, there were seven before one had been attacked.
‘Would it be six now?’
The six blue skeletons began to be pushed back even though only one of them had fallen, their bones falling off and being reattached repeatedly. Although the fight seemed to be coming to an end…
–It's not over yet.
The white skeletons didn't have a commander, while the blue skeletons did. The leader was a skeleton that had been protected by the six blue skeletons so far. The only difference between them was the dark blue glow emitting from one of its eyes.
‘Hyeon-Mu.’
Lee Jun-Kyeong’s Familiar made its move. It was different from the other blue skeletons. Instead of wielding a crude sword and shield, it carried nothing. However, its hands were glowing with blue light.
Hahahaha!
A light gleamed within the dark cemetery. Waves of blue and black that seemed to come from the abyss soon swept away the white skeletons that had an overwhelming numerical advantage.
Rattle!
The blue skeletons quickly moved to take care of the stragglers.
Clap, clap, clap.
Lee Jun-Kyeong applauded at the scene.
Clink.
Soon the skeletons started to fall apart, leaving behind a single skeleton that stood remaining, Hyeon-Mu.
–Was it to your liking?
Lee Jun-Kyeong had thought it was a joke when it was only a skull that floated around, but looking at it now, it was quite different. Although it was still the same skull, seeing it move around with a body, whether it was its attitude or its mannerisms, it seemed very archaic.
Lee Jun-Kyeong smiled. "I'm satisfied."
Whether it was with Hyeon-Mu’s growth, newfound ability, or all of it, he was truly satisfied.
Lee Jun-Kyeong smiled broadly, and Hyeon-Mu's dark blue eyes curved up into a grin.
***
Lee Jun-Kyeong looked at the bracelet on his wrist. It was a grotesque bracelet decorated with two skeletons. Still, looking at it now, he felt as if it was a treasure worth billions.
‘I wasn’t satisfied before, but…’ Lee Jun-Kyeong looked up at the sky. The Familiars that would be gifted by a Sponsor were generally impossibly strong and unmatched. However, A Skull That Contains Souls, the Familiar he had been gifted by <The Sky of the Apocalypse>, was only gaudy from the very beginning, as was Hyeon-Mu, who had appeared at the end.
‘There were many shortcomings.’
He hadn’t shown much anticipation of its future growth, but, from the very beginning, there was a difference between the other impossibly strong and unmatched Familiars and Hyeon-Mu. His Familiar had no particularly defining abilities beyond its control of water and a fairly decent hunting aid. However, this Hyeon-Mu had ended its first growth and had transformed into something completely different. It was a change so great that it shook Lee Jun-Kyeong to the core.
Hyeon-Mu’s power to raise skeletons was originally supposed to be an Authority. Although it wasn’t able to raise many, it was similar to an Authority that the Demon King had. In fact, the Demon King was able to raise an army of undead. However, that army was not raised not by the power of a Familiar, but by the power of the Demon King itself.
This power was why people and Hunters had called him the Demon King. However, unlike the Demon King, Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t have the ability to create an undead army by himself. He had been hoping that someday, <The Sky of the Apocalypse> would give him a similar Authority.
‘Hyeon-Mu, how many skeletons can you maintain at the same time?’
– As you can see, currently, the maximum is seven.
Hyeon-Mu had obtained the ability to create skeletons, but it was still not powerful enough to form an army. Fortunately, there was another, better difference between its power and the Demon King’s.
– The skeletons will share experience and my ability.
These undead were not foot soldiers that would move as a troop, but rather, they were a small group of elites.
‘All right.’
Lee Jun-Kyeong wasn’t disappointed.
[A Skull That Contains Souls is currently disabled.]
A Skull that Contains Souls still remained as it had formed again after the birth of Hyeon-Mu. He wasn’t sure how many of these would form, but it seemed they would form a party of elites.
‘Even with two, it looks like I’ve earned some great party members.’
Furthermore, it was a party formed by Familiars that would never stab him in the back. It was an ideal end result, precisely what he had wanted.
"Hyeon-Mu,” Lee Jun-Kyeong called out. He looked straight into the skull’s eyes.
"You'll have to hunt hard from now on,” he said in a hopeful voice.
***
Lee Jun-Kyeong had joined Asgard, verified Hyeon-Mu’s ability after its growth, and had ascertained his current physical condition.
‘What’s left is…’
There was another thing that he had to do, and it was the most pressing matter too.
‘Muspel's Spear.’
It was the thing he couldn’t be without now—a weapon.
He had to go show Muspel’s Spear to Park Jae-Hyun.
‘I have to identify the black beads as well.’
It was imperative that he identified the black beads that were stuck in his body and showed no signs of movement. They were unusual, strange, and grotesque. Furthermore, they were something that even he didn’t know. And that was considering the fact that he had a bank of knowledge that even a scholar would be proud of.
After all, he had information about the future and from the Book of the Demon King. The strangest part of them was that he was able to feel them while he was in the undead dungeon that he had entered for Hyeon-Mu.
‘They swallowed death energy.’
The black beads devoured death energy, which was an ability that most Hunters couldn’t use. In fact, even only a few Hunters could handle death energy. It wasn’t the concept of purifying or replacing it with mana, either. They just swallowed it.
Lee Jun-Kyeong was sure that there weren’t any changes to the black beads after they devoured the death energy. He had checked them over and over again with his mana stream. The black beads were clearly charged with death energy, but Lee Jun-Kyeong couldn’t feel any traces of it. It was an incomprehensible situation. He had decided that regardless of the identity of the black beads, he had to find out quickly. Therefore, Lee Jun-Kyeong found himself there again.
Knock, knock.
As expected, he didn’t come to answer the door, and Lee Jun-Kyeong had to push the door open without saying a word.
Screech.
The unlocked door opened. Soon, he ran into Park Jae-Hyun.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Like always, Park Jae-Hyun stood smithing. He kept hammering furiously as if he was concentrating heavily on the task at hand. Lee Jun-Kyeong found a quiet corner to sit down in and settled down so as not to disturb him.
‘I can see it now.’
There were more than a few things he noticed after returning to the smithy after undergoing growth. Not only did he feel as though the grade of the weapons around him were higher than he had initially thought, but also he thought that Park Jae-Hyun's mana was denser than he had imagined.
There was another thing.
‘Is that the ability of blacksmiths?’
Just like how not just any Hunter could become a blacksmith, he had also heard that blacksmiths, who had to mold mana, needed special skills.
‘So the mana flows into the iron and the flames according to how they hammer.’
Lee Jun-Kyeong was able to see the secret once he activated his mana stream and felt as though he could imitate it as well, even if it would be a bit clumsy.
[You have discovered mana infusion.]
Lee Jun-Kyeong laughed to himself at the notification.
“Huh? What is this.”
Then, the man had caught sight of him.
"Long time no see,” Lee Jun-Kyeong greeted.
“…”
He stared at Lee Jun-Kyeong for a long time, and then all of a sudden, Park Jae-Hyun asked a question, "Are you really famous?"
“…” Lee Jun-Kyeong was taken aback.
The smith then asked, "They called you the Underdog?”
Lee Jun-Kyeong blushed. Although nicknames were a necessary part of earning fame, they often embarrassed the person involved. Lee Jun-Kyeong was no different.
‘They keep calling me Underdog, underdog, to the point that I feel like a dog…’
Truthfully, he was feeling strange due to the nickname that included the word dog.
“I heard you beat Heracles, too?” Park Jae-Hyun asked.
“It looks like you watch TV,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said, trying to change the subject.
The smith shrugged. "Yeah. Well, wait for a minute for now.”
However, Park Jae-Hyun just started hammering once again, and it was only after some time that he could complete the weapon he had been working on.
***
"What is this…"
Park Jae-Hyun was as flustered as the time when he had first seen the Dragon’s Bloodstone.
“What the…”
He was inspecting every inch of Muspel’s Spear after Lee Jun-Kyeong laid it down.
"It could be dangerous,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said to him as he recalled some bad memories.
Park Jae-Hyun retorted," All weapons are dangerous. If you're trying to find something that's not dangerous, go visit ‘DaisOh.’”
Lee Jun-Kyeong closed his mouth. Despite Lee Jun-Kyeong’s repeated warnings, the smith repeatedly inspected Muspel’s Spear with eyes full of curiosity.
“Hmm… What the hell did you do to this spear?” he finally asked.
To be honest, Lee Jun-Kyeong was afraid of the ax-eyed Park Jae-Hyun’s reaction.
He muttered, "I spread something on it…”
But he couldn’t lie about it. It would only be fixable if the smith knew its exact condition. Weapons were just like humans.
"So what was it?" Park Jae-Hyun asked slyly.
Lee Jun-Kyeong responded hesitantly, "You wouldn't know even if I told you… it was an ore that shines red."
The smith blinked. “Um… something like a ruby? No, that doesn’t seem to be the case. What, the Dragon’s Bloodstone you brought before? Is it something like that?”
Lee Jun-Kyeong sheepishly replied, “Well, it’s true that it was something as unique as the Dragon’s Bloodstone.”
“Then..." Park Jae-Hyun continued while lifting Muspel’s Spear, “That must be the secret behind how you beat Heracles.”
“...”
“Heracles was defeated by the spear that I had made,” Park Jae-Hyun said to himself.
“Pfft…” The smith began to chuckle before exclaiming with genuine delight, “Hahahaha! Good! Good! It looks like there was some good in smithing you a weapon.”
"Yu-Jin would want to come back if she knew this!"
“…”
He then put down Muspel’s Spear and looked over at Lee Jun-Kyeong as if he had thought of something.
"Ah! You're famous, right?"
Lee Jun-Kyeong grimaced. "Well, that’s..."
"Do… and you have a relationship with the Association?" Park Jae-Hyun asked.
"Something like that…?”
To think he would suddenly shift to asking these sorts of questions after crazily laughing while inspecting Muspel’s Spear. Lee Jun-Kyeong thought that Park Jae-Hyun was even weirder today than usual.
"Then..." But his question soon followed. "Can you find a person?"
Lee Jun-Kyeong laughed.
Park Jae-Hyun hastily interjected, "I'll make sure to pay you back. I have some money saved up... It was a little hard to find someone I could trust."
Lee Jun-Kyeong briefly pondered if he should just tell him the truth. But he wasn’t such a fool as to give away free stuff. "What kind of reward?"
The smith frowned. "Money? Or... Is there anything you want? If you find that brat, I’ll do one favor that you want.”
“This is a promise, right?” asked Lee Jun-Kyeong slyly.
“Are you going to find her for me?” Park Jae-Hyun asked, his eyes shining.
"If you promise me a reward,” Lee Jun-Kyeong responded blithely.
"Yes! As long as you don’t ask me to give you my life or to do something weird, I’ll do whatever you want!”
At his wild offer, Lee Jun-Kyeong briefly pondered what compensation to expect.
‘Should I ask him to make me armor?”
No, the smith would make him armor as long as he brought him any items that would satisfy him.
‘Money?’
No, he already was overflowing with it. So far, he’d only been targeting gates, and he hadn’t had a single moment to spend any of it.
‘Fealty?’
No, that was too severe. The only thing that would result in asking for something like that in return for just finding someone would be that their relationship would be ruined. After much consideration, Lee Jun-Kyeong decided on the desired reward.
“Then should we first talk about who you’re looking for?” he asked in a devilish manner.
He had decided.
‘I just want to hit him once.’
1. Referring to Daiso, a famous dollar store chain in East Asia. Its name is a homophone for “I have everything” in Korean. Daiso Korea has split from Daiso Japan, however.
