“Hello… How have you been?”
“You… who are you?”
I faced Maeng Seong-yong while wearing an improvised skeleton mask made of bones.
“From my experience, guys wearing disguises usually have a lot of baggage… Wait a minute. Are you a goblin?!”
“Goblin? Ah… do you mean ‘Do’? I’m not affiliated with those trashy ones.”
“Hmph! We’ll find out if there’s any relation after I beat you up properly!”
“I came out nicely, and you didn’t even deviate from my expectations by an inch.”
I thought that, somehow, I would have to show my strength. But I figured it wouldn’t be right to ambush him from the start and make him harbor malicious intent if I didn’t intend to end things with Maeng Seong-yong after just one encounter.
“Fighting someone who went this far into hiding is quite constant in your nature. But I value my time.”
[Lightning Step]
Unleashing all my movement techniques, I charged straightforwardly at Maeng Seong-yong without any fancy moves.
Maeng Seong-yong reacted as I approached, but his body lagged slightly after his mind.
I seized that gap and landed a solid hook to his jaw.
Crack──!
“Kuuk──?!!”
Boom, crash, bang!!
Knowing well that his defense was formidable, I poured magic power into my punch. The sensation of striking his jaw lingered heavily on my fist. He wouldn’t be getting up easily.
As calculated, Maeng Seong-yong stayed down flat on the training ground, unable to rise, and after delivering another punch to his jaw, I activated [Corrupted Green Binding] to tie him up tightly.
“Ughhh…”
Maeng Seong-yong, suppressed without even being able to retaliate properly.
He couldn’t regain his senses for quite a while, and the ancient Ent’s vines made sure he couldn’t move an inch.
“I thought it was possible with my head, but I didn’t expect it to be this easy to overpower him.”
Maeng Seong-yong was clearly a lesser Hunter compared to Hwang Tae-wook.
Yet in my mental image, Maeng Seong-yong still seemed like an insurmountable strongman, and I found myself surprised again.
“Cough… Why are you… a strong guy like you…!”
“I came because I have a question. I heard from a good person that you know a lot. How about we establish a pact first?”
“Grrk! Why would I make such a ridiculous pact—! Ugh…”
Seeing him fuming and resisting at the sight of the pact I presented, his commotion gradually subsided, and from some moment on, he just stared silently into my eyes.
I wondered why this human, who seemed about to bite me at any moment, was behaving this way, but since there were no particular anomalies in the flow of mana, I met his gaze.
I soon noticed that his eyes were shaking violently.
“Huh? What’s this? I feel like I’ve seen this look before… Ah! That time!”
The gaze I saw when the Shadow Organization member ‘Mi-yeon,’ had been enchanted by me back then.
“Seriously, why does this have to happen with a guy too?”
It was odd since I had never encountered anything like this before; pondering it made me recall that I had subdued Hwang Tae-wook and obtained Haseirin’s skill, [Temptation of Strife], which had boosted my charm while in a disguised state.
“This is ridiculous… I have zero interest in men, seriously.”
“I don’t care, Maeng Seong-yong. Let’s make the pact.”
“Wh-why should I have to make the pact…?”
“For sure, you’re weaker now.”
While it wasn’t the same as feeling intellectually charmed like Mi-yeon, he definitely showed signs of decreased willpower.
“Ugh… ugh…”
His head kept swaying to the side; he seemed unwell, unable to maintain his balance properly.
“The effectiveness is more substantial than I expected… this could be quite useful going forward. Activating the skill might amplify the effect even more.”
I had thought it would be a useless skill, but it increased the strategies I could use, and my mood lifted.
“If you tell me what I’m curious about, I’ll give you the corresponding item. It’s written in the pact, so read it.”
“······ A potion that increases stats by 30% for an hour… You’ll give me this just for answering?”
“Right. So, what do you think? Not bad, huh? With that potion, you could take on boss-level monsters you usually wouldn’t dare to face. You could just keep it as insurance.”
“Ugh… It’s definitely a potion made in some trashy way like that evolved creature.”
“Give me a chance; I can guarantee that’s not the case.”
I wrote additional provisions for the suspicious Maeng Seong-yong and handed it back.
“O-okay, but! Coming out shadowy, attacking out of nowhere, and suddenly trying to make a deal is not persuasive enough…!”
“Honestly, it was you who attacked me first after I greeted you politely.”
“······.”
“Anyway, you’re going to do it, right? The pact?”
As I drew closer, holding his gaze quietly, Maeng Seong-yong’s eyes frantically lost focus.
“Uh… I can’t reveal the things I’ve kept secret anyways.”
“You only have to tell me what you can.”
“Ugh, it’s unavoidable then. I’ll just have to comply.”
‘Not that I plan to kill you. My judgment of you remains neutral.’
Maeng Seong-yong reluctantly made the pact under duress.
“This is ridiculous. To easily suppress the once-mighty Maeng Seong-yong like this. I came prepared for a life-and-death struggle, you know?”
Though I felt a bit deflated, getting what I wanted from such a warm-up battle was just splendid.
“Will someone else come to this training hall? I saw other examiners at the adjacent training hall. Or is chatter leaking out?”
“This is my personal training hall. There’s no way that could happen… However, staff members do come for work-related duties. Someone will probably arrive shortly regarding the promotion since level-up battles are resuming tomorrow.”
‘He’s spilling even things I didn’t ask about.’
“Is there a quieter place? Somewhere that could keep secrets protected would be nice.”
“······ Follow me.”
I followed Maeng Seong-yong, who staggered and struggled to walk, as he led me to a hidden smaller space in the corner of the training hall.
Creeeak—
Inside, there was absolutely nothing but an iron chair and a desk. It looked like an interrogation room.
‘Why do humans who manipulate magic enjoy hidden spaces so much?’
Anyway, having entered a place without interruptions, I immediately threw out my main question to Maeng Seong-yong.
“Tell me about the entrance to another world being pursued by the association.”
“?!! H-how do you know that?!”
‘Isn’t your reaction a bit weird?’
Usually, he wouldn’t have reacted this way, but in his current state, he was close to being in a ‘charmed’ condition, meaning he wasn’t in his right mind.
“Spit it out quickly. I need to go to another place.”
“W-where are you going?”
“That’s none of your business. So, I’ll start with a small question.”
He didn’t seem to be in a right state, so narrowing the scope might save me time.
“I’ve been curious: is the road to the other dimension really the path to the blue-eyed ones?”
“?!”
As I began my serious inquiries, Maeng Seong-yong started sweating like a rain shower.
“I believe it is. No, I trust that it is.”
“You trust that? You have quite a bit of faith in ‘The One Who Shows the Way,’ huh?”
“Uh…?! How do you know that person? W-who are you!? What do you know?!”
“As you can see, I possess some decent abilities. So, please, refrain from being surprised every time.”
I chuckled while thinking for a moment.
‘The One Who Shows the Way must have built up trust in the association for a long time. That’s why no one doubts it.’
Since I didn’t know about that process, I began to distrust her intentions.
Of course, whether her guidance will benefit our world or not would remain uncertain until I meet her directly.
But for now, it makes sense to suspect the risky paths.
“Alright. Second question, is there a condition to use the path you claim to have opened or discovered? If so, what is it?”
“······.”
“So you can’t speak, huh?”
In this instance, it seemed his body reactions were being controlled due to the pact.
‘Hmm…’
[Temptation of Strife]
“Ugh?!”
Just in case, I activated the ability.
From the explanation alone, this skill could only be active when a couple was present, but from my previous life, I knew well that the methods displayed by the system didn’t need to be limited.
“Ughhh…”
As the ability activated, the body of Maeng Seong-yong, once controlled, began to tremble violently, showing signs of change.
“Maeng Seong-yong… do you have someone you’re meeting, or someone you like?”
“Shut up!”
‘Gotcha. Is it Shin Young-ah?’
If it’s true, then I’ve done something quite apologetic to her.
“I’ll ask again. What is the condition for using the path?”
“I… you can tell by my reaction that I’m not allowed to speak about it!!”
“I have a suspicion about one of the conditions.”
Previously, Maeng Seong-yong had made a suggestion to Yeon-hee, who was of a much lower rank than him.
Yeon-hee’s summoning ability was exceptional, and her growth rate was steep, but she shouldn’t be good enough to be taken to the dimension with blue-eyed beings.
“Perhaps… do you need a unique-class Hunter as a sacrifice?”
I threw out the question and observed him attentively.
“Uhh… uh…”
A clear change in his response compared to before the [Temptation of Strife] activation.
‘His gaze lowered slightly. The vibrations of magic subtly stabilized. The rate of blinking increased by two times per minute.’
These were signs I could recognize without even using my sensory abilities.
“Are you using a unique-class hunter as a sacrifice?”
“······.”
‘Seems that’s not the case. Rather, they intend to use it as a key to open the door, not to let them die, huh?’
“Have you ever used that path?”
“I’ve heard about it once.”
“When did that happen?”
“Twenty-seven years ago.”
“Wait, what? That long ago? So you didn’t open that path, did you?”
“Correct. They said it was opened during the First Wave.”
Something felt slightly off compared to the information we knew. That damn Maeng Seong-yong had twisted the information just enough.
“Wait a minute… 27 years ago… If we’re talking about a portal to another dimension…”
“??”
Suddenly, something came to mind.
‘Wasn’t that when Azraelon got caught by Grandma Ham Eun-young? But I heard that she accidentally overpowered Azraelon after falling into the demon realm…’
“Reflux…”
“Huh? Reflux?”
‘This guy seems genuinely clueless… Talking about 27 years ago like this seems a bit of a stretch.’
But if my assumption was correct, three possibilities arose.
1. The party associated with ‘Reflux’ possibly captured Azraelon 27 years ago in a place that wasn’t the demon realm. Thus, the path is indeed about moving to another dimension, which could include blue-eyed beings.
2. The path might lead to the demon realm, but isn’t the route to the blue-eyed beings.
3. The path might be legitimate to the demon realm, and the blue-eyed beings might exist within it.
‘If it’s case 1, then there aren’t major issues. But if it’s case 2 or 3, things complicate matters.’
Cases 2 and 3 suggest that ‘The One Who Shows the Way’ dug a trap to send key members of the association to the demon realm, which would be quite troublesome.
‘There’s bound to be high-level monsters like Azraelon roaming the demon realm. I absolutely can’t let Yeon-hee get caught there. Yeon-su’s warnings were indeed right.’
If case 3 were true, it raised another question.
“The fragment of the Seeker tainted by chaos was the dimension I traveled to. That place was ruled by blue-eyed beings, but it surely wasn’t the demon realm. Could blue-eyed beings exist across multiple dimensions?”
Of course, it was merely a hypothesis, but if such a tremendous entity does exist, it could be plausible.
And if their main body were divided across several dimensions, then it would also make sense of the master’s claim that they’re beings that can never truly be killed.
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