Jung Tae-hyung followed me on the ‘Sky Craft.’
Whenever I had a moment, I would push from behind while supplying mana, so our speeds roughly matched.
Had we been moving for about two hours?
Out at the far end of my widely spread senses, a massive creature was suddenly detected.
“Whoa… this is insane. It’s stupidly huge.”
There, in the distance, was a thing that let out a horrific roar while scattering gray smoke.
The wings it unfurled were overwhelmingly wide.
“Gray Smoke.”
It’s a type of monster referred to as ‘괴조’ (Gwaejo) in our country.
Monsters that we’ve usually classified as such had historical records and were thought to be something an S-rank Hunter could handle or defeat on their own, but nowadays that classification seems meaningless.
While the level of S-rank Hunters has slightly declined, monster combat power increases day by day.
Now, after several decades, it has become common for even a multitude of S-rank Hunters to struggle against just one monster.
Especially that one, classified among the very top-tier beasts.
It’s a creature with insane combat power, ranking right below the ‘Spike Hippopotamus.’
Considering that the ‘Spike Hippopotamus,’ which is regarded as close to a great beast, couldn’t be halted by just two-digit S-rank Hunters, you can easily gauge how formidable ‘Gwaejo’ really is.
In fact, its size was 1.5 times that of the ‘Spike Hippopotamus,’ making the sheer weight of it feel suffocating just by looking.
“I wonder how much health it has.”
It’s known that typically if a monster is larger, its health stat is proportional.
“My Master, is there an issue?”
Jung Tae-hyung cautiously asked, seemingly noticing the subtle change in my mana flow.
“It’s ‘Gwaejo.’ 30 km away.”
“How can you sense something 30 km away… Truly, you are my Master. But still, it can’t be close enough for it to recognize us, right?”
“No, surprisingly, it just noticed us. But it doesn’t seem too concerned. Looks like it sees us as beneath it.”
It couldn’t be helped.
I’m hiding my power, and it’s a creature that Tae-hyung alone could never catch.
“Haha, us? No matter how much of a ‘Gwaejo’ it is, it’s overly confident.”
“As far as reported Gwaejo go, there have been dozens. That one seems pretty strong. It’s got a right to be confident.”
“………”
“But this time, it picked the wrong opponent.”
Srrreeeeeng──
I pulled out a long sword gleaming with a water hue from my dimensional space.
“Wow… it’s really clean. The energy feels so clear and pure, it almost feels wrong to use it.”
It’s a bit longer than the great sword I usually use as a blacksmith.
Swish—
It feels really good in my hand.
“What… what is that…?”
They say you can only see as much as you know?
Jung Tae-hyung seemed to instantly grasp the value of this sword.
“Fufufufu… you mean this sword?”
“I’ve seen many weapons, but I’ve never seen anything that has even the slightest similarity to the aura that sword emits.”
“That makes sense. This sword, you see, is truly special.”
What makes it so special?
Touching the sword yields neither a name nor an explanation.
In a word, it’s an unnamed sword.
A sword that the system cannot define could either be complete trash or something entirely beyond imagination.
– A special weapon filled with the dwindling essence of the Goddess of Water Irmana.
– Prove it’s a small incarnation of Irmana and name the sword.
The message that had been flickering in my mind since I came to my senses at home resurfaced.
“Huh— Should I give it a shot?”
I know well the significance of bestowing a name.
It’s just a weapon, but since it’s said to contain the essence of Irmana, that weight isn’t light.
“If something happens, run away and leave me.”
“What do you mean…?”
It was something I had put off attempting because I couldn’t dare take the risk near home.
“I can’t hold off any longer.”
– Prove it’s a small incarnation of Irmana and name the sword.
Right now, I’m going to give it a try.
“This sword’s name is… Cheongwol (靑月). I call it Cheongwol.”
It doesn’t have any particular meaning.
It just had an impressive blue hue.
Fwoosh──
The moment I named it, all the mana in my body was drawn into the sword.
“Uugh! What the heck is this?!”
Even the senses I had spread out to 30 km were suddenly cut off.
“Are they merging?!”
Amazingly, the mana absorbed by the sword and the energy of my senses fused for a brief moment.
Simultaneously, a storm began to swirl around the sword.
“Kraeek!! Master! Master—”
“………”
Jung Tae-hyung was blown away by the winds produced by ‘Cheongwol,’ his voice fading into the distance.
“Ugh…! How much do you want to take?!”
Now, even the elemental powers that had been sleeping within me began to be stripped away by ‘Cheongwol.’
Lightning, rock, nature, wind, death…
Everything I could handle or had potential over.
But the flame energy couldn’t be fully taken.
Something deep within that calls forth ‘Black Flame’ scoffed and repelled ‘Cheongwol’s’ call.
Immediately, hundreds of whirlwinds erupted beneath me, connecting the sky and the sea.
“………”
With a mysterious force that left me unable to utter a word, I could do nothing but surrender my body to the storm’s center.
– Kyaahhhhhhhh!!
In the distance, ‘Gwaejo,’ which had been arrogantly flying in the sky while looking down on me, suddenly jolted and flapped its wings frantically.
“Nowhere to run to……”
I gripped the sword as if entranced.
Just like I’d done countless times in my previous life, I split the world.
──────
A line was drawn beyond the horizon.
Semp—–!!
The body of ‘Gwaejo,’ which had been trying to escape the wave of senses, was cleaved in two, falling into the sea.
– You have become the first to defeat the ‘Gray Smoke’ variant monster!
– Your level has increased!
– Trait [Thievery] has activated!
– Obtained trait [Gray Wing Flap]!
– Obtained skill [Gray Storm]!
– Achievement [Pioneer] has activated!
– All attributes have increased by 2!
– You have accomplished the astonishing feat of defeating a being close to a great beast in one hit!
– Obtained achievement [Monster Hunter]!
– Trait [Obsession] ravenously claims loot.
– Obtained high-grade mana stone (large)!
– Obtained high-grade mana stone (large)!
– Obtained Rune of Absorption (legendary)!
– Obtained artifact ‘Feather of Gwaejo’!
“……….”
I fell into the sea without even properly seeing the flood of messages that continued to rise.
Splash—!
I was conscious.
But instead of acting to stop my fall into the depths, I deemed it much more important to engrave the miracle I had just created into my heart.
“What the heck was that… the power of ‘Cheongwol (靑月)’ granted to me by the Goddess Irmana?”
The videos Yeon-hee had shown me long ago came to mind.
The spectacular swordsmanship of Hyun Joong-gil, who had severed the monster ‘Spike Hippopotamus’ in one blow.
Amazingly, I had briefly stepped into that realm.
“No… maybe I even surpassed it…”
I split a monster 30 km away cleanly in half.
The moment I swung the sword, I was certain of it.
It felt akin to the sensation that arose when ‘foresight’ activated.
Shivers—
My whole body trembled violently.
For a fleeting moment, I tasted the realm of the Transcendent.
“I want to know… more…”
The thought was interrupted by Jung Tae-hyung’s desperate shout.
– … Master! Master!!
Within a certain distance, the echo rang like an alarm bell, making it hard to ignore.
“Couldn’t you just call out a bit later?”
Regrettably, there was no choice.
Raising my sinking body, I looked towards the sky.
“Shall we go…”
I thought, gathering my mana, but.
Bububluble—
“Eh? Why am I sinking again—”
– Mana has been completely depleted. The end of existence approaches.
“…What the hell?!”
I was a body that couldn’t be maintained without mana.
The remaining mana was akin to a mere ant’s tear.
“What kind of sword takes its holder’s power until death?!”
As I flailed my arms and legs desperately, something like a rope slowly descended from above.
When I grabbed it and pulled, I was suddenly thrust into the air.
Swoosh—!
Before long, I emerged back above the sea.
“Wow— I really almost died. Dying there would have been a pathetic death.”
“Are you alright, Master?!”
Jung Tae-hyung helped pull me up, asking with concern.
“Thanks! I owe you my life!”
“Haah… I’m so relieved. When I was blown by the wind and returned, I happened to see where you were falling.”
“That’s why I wanted to come with you. Haah—”
I had just briefly experienced being non-awakened, and I had to take a deep breath.
“… You’re shaking a lot. Is it mana exhaustion?”
“That’s right. But aren’t you shaking too?”
“Well! After seeing something so ridiculous… I still can’t believe it even after witnessing it myself. How did you take down a ‘Gwaejo’ in one shot? Haha— for now, let’s get on over there.”
“Clap, Clap, Clap.”
Since I had become nothing but a flailing mess of limbs, I had no choice but to let myself be taken on the Sky Craft.
“This thing can’t be used for a while.”
The ‘Cheongwol’ I pulled out again from the dimensional space was clearly emitting a brighter light than before.
Fortunately, the power it had taken from me was gradually returning.
“A double-edged sword…”
Mana aside, I couldn’t even activate my senses anymore.
Isn’t it a weapon that must be handled with the spirit of duality and coexistence?
Brrrooooow──
At that moment, I saw the sky far away covered in something black.
“Uh… what’s that sound? Ethereal Stringers?!”
“Turn back! Shit, hurry and run! If you get your mana taken now, it’s game over!”
“Yes! It might get a bit bumpy!”
A swarm of Ethereal Stringers was flying toward where ‘Gwaejo’ had perished.
They became invisible for a while, but is this another one?
Ultimately, we veered to the right and moved away from that spot.
“I can’t help with that.”
“Such clustered enemies are no good for close combat. It’s best to dodge that crap.”
“Yes.”
And after an hour of traveling on the Sky Craft, we finally approached the Chinese mainland, passing between Hong Kong and Macao.
“Are you alright?”
Currently, my condition was not even at 30%, but it was enough to manage some movement.
“Don’t worry. Still, fighting is out of the question, so if anything happens, handle it for me.”
“Understood.”
“Guangzhou… before the ‘Monsters’ settled there, it was the largest trade city in Southern China.”
Since it had taken a long time for the monster to establish itself without causing any issues, maybe that’s why.
Recently, the government has been working on a restoration in the area, and perhaps because of that, security was exceptionally tight.
“There are so many detection facilities. How much money did they spend?”
There was far more than the information I had seen online.
Of course, that wasn’t really a problem.
“Put on the cloak and hold on tight to me. We’re going in a flash.”
“Yes, Master!”
I held onto Jung Tae-hyung and plowed through the spaces between detection facilities.
It was a terrible space tangled with countless spells and barriers, but I navigated through it leisurely.
However.
Wiiiing─── Wiiiing────
“Uh? Huh? We’ve been spotted.”
The blaring alarms were loud enough to burst my eardrums, activating everywhere simultaneously.
But it wasn’t because they detected me.
“I’m sorry… it seems like the cloak’s energy has worn out.”
“That was expected. For now, let’s run.”
As soon as I set my foot on the ground, a minesweeper game began.
Hunters were gathering like packs of dogs everywhere I went, so I had to maintain speed while finding the safest route, sometimes engaging in close combat with the Chinese.
“Ugh…!”
“Slow down a bit, Tae-hyung. If you do that, someone’s going to die. Let’s refrain from unnecessary killings.”
“I’m sorry. After what happened with the ‘Apex’ guild before, I might have gotten a bit emotional.”
“Apex? You had a time like that too?”
The ‘Apex’ guild, formed mainly by Korean-Chinese and mafia forces.
It’s no surprise that they contributed to creating villains like Jung Tae-hyung.
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