WeTried Translations
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor: BlueMangoAde
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 874: F-Rank Hunter Jeon Myeong-hoon (13)
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Whoooooosh-
High above the blue sky.
Jeon Myeong-hoon closes his eyes and feels something resounding from the depths of his soul.
Crack, crackle!
Crackcrackle!
Crack!
The seal wrapped around his soul.
The shackles suppressing his Immortal Rank begin to split apart under Heart Lightning. Once cracks form, the soul rank of an Immortal Lord emerges, and at last, the seal shatters completely.
Earth’s life forms cannot even comprehend the lofty standing of a Great Divinity.
Only the shattered Kim Cheol-su below can sense that standing, his head repeatedly bursting apart and recovering through Immortal Body.
High in the sky.
Jeon Myeong-hoon suddenly feels it.
His consciousness is swiftly summoned upward.
Swish, swish-
Inside an enormous Celestial Sphere Chart.
Jeon Myeong-hoon sees beings resembling otherworldly Constellations, demons, angels, and fairies occupying places throughout the chart.
Summoned onto a stage-like space at its center, Jeon Myeong-hoon hears a fairy-like being holding a microphone and calling out amid thunderous applause effects.
[Please give him a round of applause! The Divinity Red Vermilion Turning Heavenly Lord, from Hope World, has entered another world and completely broken free of his seal in just four months!]
Crackle, crackle...
Jeon Myeong-hoon regenerates his material body through the power of his Immortal Rank and silently listens.
[Our A-tier clients who bet on his unsealing within ten years have made a tremendous profit. Congratulations! Our B-tier clients who bet on one hundred years have unfortunately lost out, while our C-tier and D-tier clients who bet on one thousand or ten thousand years will have to wait for another opportunity. And... um, our E-tier clients who bet that he would not break free even after ten thousand years... Our condolences.]
Ooooooh-
Faint snickering and what sounds like wailing echo throughout the Celestial Sphere Chart.
However, when several beings at its highest level begin to hum, all the chart’s inhabitants promptly fall silent.
[Ah, it seems the Great Divinities had wagers of their own?]
Rumble!
At the Celestial Sphere Chart’s uppermost level.
There is a star of darkness so black it reminds him of the Future King.
A star mixed with crimson and black.
A violet star.
A star seemingly blended from thousands of colors.
A silver star.
And stars brimming with vitality, radiating green energy. Their authorities crash against one another in low hums.
After some time, a pulse that seems to carry delight hums from the black star.
[Ah, it appears the Ruler of Wonam Palace has made a fine profit. My personal congratulations. As for the rest of you, we will arrange another story on our side, so please calm your anger. There will be endlessly many such games in the future, will there not?]
It seems they opened a gambling table over when Jeon Myeong-hoon would regain his authority. Apart from those who won their stakes, countless Constellations glare at him with hostile eyes.
Feeling those gazes, Jeon Myeong-hoon links his Immortal Rank to the Origin Essence of Heavenly Punishment and growls.
: : Vermin dare...! At whom do you think you are showing your anger...! : :
Rumble!
Thunder resounds through the entire Celestial Sphere Chart, and Jeon Myeong-hoon reaches toward the fairy.
Crack, crackcrackle, crack!
The System’s power rises around the fairy and blocks Jeon Myeong-hoon’s hand, but when he draws out the power of Origin Essence, the System shatters.
The fairy cries out in terror.
[H-how can you break the System made through the authority of the Great Divinity of Contracts...? N-no!]
Crunch!
Lifted by the scruff of its neck in Jeon Myeong-hoon’s hand, the fairy flails and chokes.
[P-please calm down! Our Merchant Guild merely received payment from Hope World to lease you! This is only the content of a legitimate transaction. If you violate the transaction, the authority of the Great Divinity of Contracts will punish you!]
: : I do not know what sort of god that is, but does leasing me mean you may insult me? : :
Cracklecrackle!
Jeon Myeong-hoon’s authority of Heavenly Punishment constricts the fairy’s neck and blankets the surroundings with enough force to collapse the Celestial Sphere Chart.
: : Whether you leased me or not, how you treat me afterward is your responsibility to bear. If you dared make a clown of me and use me as a piece in your gambling game for profit, should you not naturally have expected to endure my wrath before purchasing me? : :
[K-keek... N-no... S-save...]
The fairy tries somehow to push away Jeon Myeong-hoon’s arm with the System’s authority, but Jeon Myeong-hoon bares his teeth in anger.
: : How do you think you can do anything to me with the power of a System that borrows this world’s strength? A world is only on the scale of a Heavenly Domain. Do you think I cannot truly blow it apart? : :
Just as Jeon Myeong-hoon, truly enraged, draws out the authority of Heavenly Punishment as though he is about to destroy the world.
Crackcrackle-
Flinch!
A violet curtain spreads from the violet star and covers the surroundings.
Sizzle-
‘This is...?’
Jeon Myeong-hoon frowns as he realizes the surrounding Celestial Sphere Chart has been completely drawn into that being’s [new world].
Within the power of this violet world, Jeon Myeong-hoon’s Heavenly Punishment is forcibly suppressed.
[Calm yourself, young Transcendent of Hope World.]
Jeon Myeong-hoon glares up at the Celestial Sphere Chart.
[They are a believer in contracts who borrows the authority of the Great Divinity of Contracts. You are right that they insulted you, so it is permissible for you to pressure and torture them. Killing them is another matter. You will be punished at once. This is advice for your sake, so do not take it lightly.]
As he looks upward, Jeon Myeong-hoon sees another silver star several levels beneath the Celestial Sphere Chart’s highest level.
‘...That must be Silver Basket.’
When he looks toward Silver Basket’s avatar, a whisper comes from there as well.
[The Master of the Purple Tower is right. They are famous. It has been a long time since they were annihilated, yet their corpse and legacy alone still affect even Great Divinities from countless star worlds. In life, they were one of the foremost beings among innumerable otherworlds. Even Creator Gods at the level of Great Divinity were devoured if they broke their promises with them. It would be foolish to casually kill believers borrowing the power of their legacy.]
: : ...... : :
Jeon Myeong-hoon falls silent, releases the fairy, and suppresses his standing.
[Do not affront my dignity again...!]
[T-thank you...!]
The fairy bows and hastily flees from Jeon Myeong-hoon.
[A-anyway...! You will be our Merchant Guild’s guest. However... it is true that we received the right to lease you for ten thousand years! If you wish to leave, you must provide something of corresponding value!]
[...I have no intention of leaving. Now that I have recovered my Immortal Rank, a mere ten thousand years is nothing. Still...]
Jeon Myeong-hoon looks up at the Celestial Sphere Chart and asks.
[I would like an explanation. What exists in these countless otherworlds? Where are those beings from? Why is Mount Sumeru called Hope World... Well, I can roughly guess that much. In any case, what you want from our world, and so on...]
[Y-yes...! If you wish, as much as you want... First... Ahem. In fact, we have an event prepared for the Constellations. A spar between your soul body and several Constellations...]
Crunch...
Jeon Myeong-hoon’s face twists, and the fairy hurriedly shrinks back.
[A-ah, honored Constellations. My apologies, but the event...]
[Fine, let us do it. Otherworldly Divinities are Constellations, are they not? I want to see what gods beyond Mount Sumeru are like. I assume this is a spar with strong opponents who can measure up to me?]
At Jeon Myeong-hoon’s words, the fairy breaks out in an even colder sweat.
[Th-that is...]
Then the System sounds, and the fairy checks its contents.
The information is originally visible only to the fairy, but Jeon Myeong-hoon’s senses read even that secret in full.
[Mage, Escapee from Ognatam Forest, returns their ticket.]
[Mage, Dimensional-Travel Machine Developer, returns their ticket.]
[Ruler, Spirit God of Pale Star, returns their ticket.]
It appears tickets to fight Jeon Myeong-hoon’s soul body had been sold to about three Constellations.
Jeon Myeong-hoon vaguely recalls what Silver Basket said about the authority of dimensional wanderers, Travelers.
‘Mages are powerful mortals. Rulers travel between planets and conquer solar systems and galaxies... Divinities are at the level of True Immortals, while Great Divinities are at the level of Governing Immortals. Then this one is now... putting me in an arena with mortals at or below the Star Shattering stage...’
Having realized that, Jeon Myeong-hoon is genuinely irritated.
They put the soul of an Immortal Lord into an arena with mere mortals?
Being in an arena at all is unpleasant, but he endured it once because he expected to fight renowned Great Divinities or Divinities from other worlds.
And they meant mortals?
: : By my name, I command... : :
Rumble-
The Celestial Sphere Chart, overlaid with the violet world, begins to tremble.
Beyond Origin Essence.
The system of [Immortal Cultivation], one of the three pillars supporting Mount Sumeru, draws the attraction force of fate toward Jeon Myeong-hoon.
A winged robe drapes over both his shoulders, and through it, the power of Mount Sumeru’s time and space shines through.
Just as the Future King’s ascension made prophecies of fate possible regardless of whether one is a Heaven Immortal or Earth Immortal.
After the First King’s ascension.
There are authorities that can be used regardless of whether one is an Earth Immortal, Heaven Immortal, or Flower Immortal.
History is projected.
Within Mount Sumeru’s history, the lifelong nemesis in Jeon Myeong-hoon’s story appears through the Origin Essence of Heavenly Punishment.
The Origin Essence of Heavenly Punishment partially erodes Jeon Myeong-hoon’s soul.
In exchange for that erosion, the power of a being from history descends upon Jeon Myeong-hoon.
The authority of the Heavenly Punishment Supreme Deity bursts wildly from his entire body.
Rumble!
: : Those who insult the God of Heavenly Punishment shall be punished...! : :
The violet world bursts apart.
The entire Celestial Sphere Chart cracks, and the otherworldly Constellations scream and scatter in terror.
Even Silver Basket’s avatar shouts something resembling a curse and flees about, yelling for Jeon Myeong-hoon to stop. Jeon Myeong-hoon ignores it and scatters lightning everywhere.
Only the beings at the Celestial Sphere Chart’s highest level calmly block the remnants of Jeon Myeong-hoon’s lightning, which are not directly aimed at them.
They merely watch with fascination while seizing and devouring several fleeing Constellations.
Rumble!
The entire world hums and trembles. Fairies scream as they are scorched, while some submit to Jeon Myeong-hoon.
[F-forgive us, forgive us...! Please consider the name of the Great Divinity of Contracts...]
: : I do not know who that is...! : :
Rumble!
Just as Jeon Myeong-hoon scatters Heavenly Punishment in rage, intending to destroy the Celestial Sphere Chart and kill all the fairies.
Crackle!
In an instant.
Jeon Myeong-hoon flinches when he sees a being that has blocked one of his Heavenly Punishments standing before the fairy.
Astonishingly, that being has used Sword Spear’s authority.
: : Who are you...? : :
[Allow me to introduce myself, God of Heavenly Punishment of Hope World. I am a direct contractor of the Great Divinity of Contracts and one of the Merchant Guild’s ten deputy leaders. Please forgive our branch manager’s rudeness.]
Hum, hum, hum-
: : That authority is...? : :
[It is the right to use an attack sold by the Goddess of War, who appeared as Hope World’s representative. I may use an attack called Sword-Guided Star Rain ten times.]
: : ...... : :
[It seems my subordinate sold tickets to mere Mages without considering the God of Heavenly Punishment’s standing. I will take this one away and educate them, so please grant your forgiveness.]
When the deputy leader bows, the fairy trembles in tears.
[Y-your Majesty the Fairy King. I am sorry. I am sorry...]
It seems this deputy leader is the fairies’ king.
[Apologize to the God of Heavenly Punishment.]
Watching this, Jeon Myeong-hoon asks.
: : What if I say I intend to punish them? : :
[Then...]
At that, the deputy leader straightens from the bow and speaks to Jeon Myeong-hoon.
[From that point onward, there will be a fee.]
: : ...What? : :
[The destruction thus far is a loss our side must bear, because our Merchant Guild branch manager clearly affronted the God of Heavenly Punishment’s dignity. However, should you take the branch manager’s life, the causality of Mount Sumeru, which the Divinity of Hope World calls such, will pass to our side in proportion to your actions.]
: : Hah...! Then if I destroy your Merchant Guild so thoroughly that it can never rise again, there will be no causality to pass over... : :
[It is unfortunate, but if you destroy us, the debt will merely pass to the Great Divinity of Contracts, including the full value of destroying us.]
Jeon Myeong-hoon lets out a hollow laugh.
: : Is your god a living being? : :
[No. But they are not a being you can dare disregard. Promises with them are part of their story. Their Divine Art. Though only their body remains, the moment a debt passes to them, the enforcement of causality enters the realm of [absolutes]. By [any means], you must pay the price for your actions, with interest.]
: : Hah... : :
He shakes his head.
‘What troublesome bastards.’
To be honest, he does not know what Divine Arts are.
Jeon Myeong-hoon thinks that, among the Enders, no one but Oh Hyun-seok and Seo Eun-hyun knows much about them.
Even Oh Hyun-seok only knows they are something tremendous, not their details. Seo Eun-hyun seems to understand them well, but he too says they are a frightening power.
A power frightening even to Seo Eun-hyun.
Jeon Myeong-hoon glares at the Fairy King for a moment, then nods.
[...Fine. I will stop here. But there must be no such insult in the future.]
[I promise. Before the name of the Great Divinity of Contracts, I promise that you will never again be insulted.]
Clank-
As the Fairy King speaks the Great Divinity of Contracts’ name, Jeon Myeong-hoon sees deep darkness descend behind the Fairy King’s back, countless patterns of red eyes floating within it.
Flinch.
Jeon Myeong-hoon feels considerable pressure from those eyes.
‘It must be an extraordinary being...’
The Fairy King retreats with a respectful apology. Jeon Myeong-hoon later receives a modest compensation, then revives the fairies he made submit to him and killed.
Afterward, within the restored Celestial Sphere Chart, he spars with several otherworldly gods.
The Great Divinities at the chart’s highest level do not descend. Most of the opponents are beings at the level of Divinity.
Then Jeon Myeong-hoon frowns.
[Hm?]
An otherworldly Divinity facing Jeon Myeong-hoon’s soul body speaks.
[Perhaps you did not realize because you used your power within the violet world made by the Master of the Purple Tower. Every Traveler is restricted by that world when they are in an otherworld that is not their home dimension.]
Jeon Myeong-hoon frowns as he receives the Divinity’s power pushing against his soul body.
[On average, they are restricted to fifty percent of their strength. No matter how strong they are, they can use only half their power compared to beings native to that world...]
Crackle!
Jeon Myeong-hoon blows up the chattering Divinity with lightning, then sequentially blows up the other Divinities as well.
After the event prepared by the Merchant Guild ends, the branch manager respectfully asks whether it may use the Gate installed in Jeon Myeong-hoon’s body for profit. Jeon Myeong-hoon casually permits it.
Afterward, Jeon Myeong-hoon hears from the fairy branch manager why Divinities and Merchant Guilds gather otherworldly causality.
Then he descends from the Celestial Sphere Chart, the space where the Constellations’ System converts this world’s power into magic power and skills, and returns to Earth.
Crunch, crackle!
With his Immortal Rank, Jeon Myeong-hoon erases the day’s events from everyone except those connected to him.
Considering their connection today, he allows the Ant Queen to move to the Middle Realm inside his body if she wishes.
Then, after receiving an appropriate tribute from the ants, he heads down to Jeju Island.
Soaking in a famous bathhouse near Yongduam, Jeon Myeong-hoon recalls the branch manager’s words.
‘The reason Divinities gather causality...’
Causality.
More precisely, it means each world’s unique energy.
Its unique power.
Magic power, mana, vital energy, heaven and earth spiritual energy, devilish energy, dark energy, ether, psychic energy, power force...
Countless worlds possess countless powers.
And since the laws of each world are all different.
Even if both worlds have energy called magic power, each world’s magic power has different properties.
Travelers collectively call the force maintaining the laws of each world causality.
And.
Just as the Divinity who sparred with Jeon Myeong-hoon’s soul body said.
Otherworlds.
Travelers who journey across the countless otherworldly realms that the Merchant Guild calls [Eternal Basket] have half or more of their authority suppressed by a world’s causality when they enter another world.
If their affinity with that world is poor, ninety to 99.99 percent of their power, or even more, can be suppressed.
Still, the average seems to be half.
‘And...’
Using Mount Sumeru as an example.
Two immortal cultivators, one in the True Devil Realm and one in the Vast Cold Realm, cultivate with devilish energy and spiritual energy, respectively.
Then the cultivator who trains devilish energy comes to the Vast Cold Realm and has about half their power suppressed. The reverse is also true.
However.
What if a devil cultivator who cultivated devilish energy comes to the Vast Cold Realm and cultivates an orthodox Dao method?
What if a cultivator from the Vast Cold Realm goes to the Devil Realm and cultivates devilish arts?
Even without cultivating devilish arts or an orthodox Dao method to the original level of their own cultivation.
The moment they begin to learn even the basics.
They can begin at fifty percent of their original cultivation in each world and gradually draw out higher percentages.
‘So if one cultivates power suited to that world’s system, the otherworldly authority one can draw out grows.’
Thus, a cultivator from the Vast Cold Realm enters the True Devil Realm and cultivates devilish arts to their peak.
Then, in addition to the strength of those devilish arts, it seems they can draw out up to ninety percent of their original authority.
‘In other words, otherworldly causality, otherworldly power, is effectively permission to use power in another world.’
There is one further characteristic.
Suppose there are the Vast Cold Realm, the Nether Ghost Realm, and the True Devil Realm.
A cultivator from the Vast Cold Realm enters the True Devil Realm and uses fifty percent of their original authority.
However, suppose that cultivator masters devilish arts in the True Devil Realm and can draw out ninety percent of the power of the cultivation method learned in the Vast Cold Realm, in addition to those devilish arts.
What happens if that cultivator then goes to the Nether Ghost Realm?
The suppression of worlds mentioned earlier should activate, and the cultivator’s total authority, devilish arts and orthodox arts combined, should both be displayed at only fifty percent.
But here, an anomaly occurs.
‘When two or more powers are combined, the degree of suppression changes even when one falls into a completely unrelated third otherworld.’
When a cultivator who has learned both Vast Cold Realm orthodox arts and True Devil Realm devilish arts falls into the Nether Ghost Realm, they are not suppressed to fifty percent. Only about thirty percent is suppressed.
In other words, seventy percent of their power remains.
And once they begin learning the ghost path cultivation method of the Nether Ghost Realm, it rises to ninety percent again.
‘The maximum power that can be used in a completely different otherworld is ninety percent. Depending on one’s traits, one may use more than ninety percent, but they said one cannot easily reach one hundred percent.
‘But if one stacks the powers of star worlds, that is, otherworldly causalities, as distinct layers, resistance against otherworldly suppression steadily strengthens, rising from seventy percent and approaching ninety percent?’
In theory, if one stacks the powers of countless worlds within one’s body, one should be able to immediately unleash power approaching ninety percent in any world.
And that is why otherworldly Divinities, including the Merchant Guild, seek otherworldly causality.
Because they do not want to be suddenly attacked and killed by a monstrous Divinity in whatever otherworld they visit!
To travel through infinite star worlds and otherworldly realms.
To see, record, and enjoy more things while having a safe journey.
For new adventures!
“Right. This must roughly be why Sword Spear uses otherworldly causality to block the doorway.”
The otherworldly causality Sword Spear reportedly received from the Merchant Guild must be power of roughly this sort.
Besides the entertainment they offer Divinities, the Merchant Guild appears to buy and sell this otherworldly causality too.
Of course.
At the level of Great Divinities or Creator Gods, otherworldly causality itself does not seem necessary, and entertainment seems somewhat more important.
The fairy branch manager calls the way each world restricts power, and the way the restricted power converges toward ninety percent as more otherworldly powers are layered, [Restriction Causality], or [the World’s Expulsion Order].
‘Restriction Causality...’
Jeon Myeong-hoon had sensed it vaguely as well.
Still.
“Hmm...”
Jeon Myeong-hoon draws lightning over his hand.
It is not this world’s skill, but the power of the Origin Essence of Heavenly Punishment connected to Jeon Myeong-hoon’s soul.
At the same time, he feels the world trying to restrict that power.
“...Ha.”
Jeon Myeong-hoon understands why the Immortal Art of Immortal Cultivation allows one, once they cultivate power and become a True Immortal, to avoid being restricted even in wholly unrelated otherworlds.
When he thinks about why such an ability exists at all.
“Was it one of the powers the Future King developed to target, hunt, and kill otherworldly Divinities and Creator Gods...?”
Of course, he feels no restriction in drawing out his power. Yet the power actually exerted in another world is around ninety percent.
‘Of course, it would not matter if I drew out enough power to destroy the whole world, Expulsion Order or not...’
Mount Sumeru’s True Immortals can probably display ninety percent of their strength in any world without needing to layer powers.
Of course, those who learn a world’s power, or Divinities who make that otherworld their home, can display a perfect one hundred percent of their strength there. And if the world supports them, as Kim Cheol-su was recently supported, they can draw out more than one hundred twenty percent.
‘But it does not seem that outsiders cannot learn another world’s power. We can simply cultivate that world’s power too... Heh heh.’
A True Immortal goes to an otherworld beyond Mount Sumeru.
Their power is only ninety percent, while the otherworldly Divinity displays one hundred percent of their authority?
Then that True Immortal merely has to cultivate the otherworld’s authority there and rise to the level of Divinity.
Ninety percent of their original authority, along with one hundred percent of that world’s authority, can be displayed in that world. They should be able to survive in any world.
‘Exploring otherworlds... Earning foreign currency is interesting too. That Sword Spear bastard was doing something this fun only with Seo Eun-hyun.’
At some point, Jeon Myeong-hoon has forgotten that he himself once threw a tantrum about not wanting to earn foreign currency.
“When I return after ten thousand years... I should ask to be sent to some new otherworld... And...”
Within the bathhouse, Jeon Myeong-hoon looks at what sleeps in his hand.
Once a lump of charcoal, it gradually grows as it consumes Jeon Myeong-hoon’s authority.
“...Let us spend these ten thousand years together.”
* * *
One month after Kim Cheol-su, the SSS+-Rank Hunter who fought an unidentified monstrous organism that emerged from an SSS+-Rank Gate, falls into a coma.
Led by Elizabeth of the Nature Guild, a Hunter who has grown to SS+-Rank, the S-Rank Hunters argue that they should first speak with the beings within the Gate rather than invade it.
With Kim Cheol-su unconscious, the opinion that armed conflict with those beings would be foolish swiftly becomes the majority view.
And in the hospital room where Kim Cheol-su lies unconscious.
Over the past month, Kim Cheol-su’s obsessive fans, politicians, and acquaintances have flocked to visit. Now, interest has gradually faded, and no one remains in his hospital room.
Someone enters Kim Cheol-su’s room with a basket of flowers.
He sets the basket down in one corner of the room.
Crackle, crackle...
A faint current sparks from the flowers in the basket.
“They are called Thunderclap Flowers. I brought them from inside my body. They will help you regain consciousness. Wake up soon. If you show promise even without the world’s help, I will take you as my disciple.”
It is Jeon Myeong-hoon.
He bestows a small blessing upon Kim Cheol-su, whose head exploded several times upon confronting Jeon Myeong-hoon’s Immortal Rank.
Even without the world’s blessing, if Kim Cheol-su wakes up, Jeon Myeong-hoon plans to reincarnate him in Mount Sumeru and use him to restore the Golden Divine Heavenly Thunder Sect.
When Jeon Myeong-hoon turns around.
He sees Shin Ah-young, whose face has stiffened.
“Ah, it’s been a while.”
Her voice trembles as she asks.
“I heard... from Mr. Cheol-su. He said you’re an otherworldly god.”
“Mm.”
“You must be like a Constellation, right? What did you do to Mr. Cheol-su? And... what are you going to do with this world?”
Jeon Myeong-hoon shrugs.
“I don’t particularly intend to do anything. You seem to have come to visit him too, so look at his face before you leave. If you have something to say to me, I’ll be at the cafe in the building across the street. Come there.”
Shin Ah-young watches Jeon Myeong-hoon pass by her, then sits beside Kim Cheol-su and looks at his unconscious form.
“Mr. Cheol-su... Wake up. You... You have to wake up to stop that being. For the world... and... for our child...”
She strokes her stomach, caresses Kim Cheol-su’s hand as he still does not open his eyes, and leaves the hospital room some time later.
Immediately afterward.
Kim Cheol-su’s fingertips twitch.
* * *
On the first floor of the cafe across the street, Shin Ah-young sees Jeon Myeong-hoon feeding someone ice cream.
A woman.
Some woman opens her mouth like a baby bird and accepts the ice cream Jeon Myeong-hoon feeds her.
Seemingly intrigued by the flavor, she chews it and touches her cheeks. Then, perhaps fascinated by the feel of her own cheeks, she kneads her face.
Jeon Myeong-hoon looks pleased as though he finds her adorable and fondly touches various parts of her body.
Shin Ah-young approaches them and says.
“Lewd conduct in public is a crime.”
Jeon Myeong-hoon responds with a serious expression.
“As you know, I have a mental illness.”
“...What?”
“I had something like a hand fetish. Someone precious to me died, and only her hand remained. I gave affection only to that hand until I developed a hand fetish. But now that I’ve found her again, I’m trying to give the affection I gave only to her hand to all of her. It’s part of my treatment.”
As he speaks, he does not touch her hand. Instead, he touches her elbows, hair, shoulders, and other places, smelling her.
‘What the...’
Shin Ah-young feels dizzy at the thought that this lunatic is an Outer God and sincerely begins worrying about the world’s future.
Shin Ah-young sits before the two people stuck together like rice cake and asks.
“...So, what did you do? No one but me remembers anything about you. Not even the beings who saw your face that day. And you manipulated all the CCTV footage too, didn’t you?”
“I altered history a little. So that those with no connection to me would forget me.”
“......”
Shin Ah-young breaks out in a cold sweat at Jeon Myeong-hoon’s authority as he casually says he altered history.
“What are you going to do with this world?”
“What do you mean, what? I told you earlier. I have no particular plans. If no one touches me, I’ll leave it alone. For about ten thousand years.”
Ten thousand years.
It is an unbearably long time for someone like her to comprehend.
Nothing will happen in the immediate future. No, nothing will happen even after her lifetime and those of her grandchildren’s grandchildren’s grandchildren, after generations have passed.
But she still asks.
“Will you rule the world after ten thousand years?”
“Rule what? After ten thousand years, I’ll return to the dimension where I originally lived.”
“...What?”
She blinks and asks.
“B-but... Mr. Cheol-su said you’re a dangerous Outer God...”
“Tch. I said I’m going back. Have you watched too many movies? Why do you think Outer Gods must invade worlds or cruelly commit massacres?”
“......”
Jeon Myeong-hoon tightly embraces the woman beside him and gives her a scalp massage as he speaks.
“There are probably more Outer Gods like me than you think. Many of them must come without a trace, enjoy themselves, then leave. What would be the point of destroying a world? It’s not as if we’re lunatics.”
“......”
“I don’t hold a grudge against any of you, so I won’t cause any greater damage. I’ll probably just clear low-rank Gates now and then and slowly raise my Hunter rank.”
Shin Ah-young lets out a low groan at Jeon Myeong-hoon’s words, then says.
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
“What will you do if you don’t? Report to the government that I’m an Outer God? Other than you, Kim Cheol-su, Park Su-in, and a few others, no one even remembers me.”
At those words, her body trembles.
She bites her lip hard.
“Mr. Cheol-su... What did you do to Mr. Cheol-su? He hasn’t regained consciousness since that day. If he never wakes up, then I, even if you’re an Outer God, will never...”
“Don’t worry. He’ll wake up. In a few months at the earliest, or around next year at the latest.”
“...!”
Jeon Myeong-hoon scoops up ice cream and puts it into the embraced woman’s mouth as he speaks.
“He’s evolving. He has faced an Outer God’s true soul, so his soul is likely digesting that wisdom and growing. He’ll be stronger than before when he wakes up, so don’t worry.”
“...!”
More than the fact that he will grow stronger, Shin Ah-young is relieved to hear that Kim Cheol-su will wake up.
“...Thank you.”
“If you’re grateful, give me money.”
“...What?”
“Give me money. I have no money.”
“Uh, but if you’re an Outer God...”
“What, do you think Outer Gods go around creating gold out of thin air? Though yes, I can make gold.”
Crackle-
Electricity rises from Jeon Myeong-hoon’s hand, and the spoon turns yellow.
“It’s a gold spoon. Take it.”
“U-um... What?”
“Even if I make gold, I can’t find anywhere to sell it here in Korea.”
“Uh...”
When Shin Ah-young receives the spoon, it suddenly creaks and grows larger, changing into a gold bar.
‘This is insane...’
Even Hunters with material creation or transmutation abilities cannot create heavy metals such as gold or lead.
It is for the same reason gold is difficult to create in reality.
Without projecting planetary-scale energy, gold is difficult to create whether one possesses magic power or not.
Yet Jeon Myeong-hoon simply produces a gold bar while sitting here.
She accepts the gold bar in a daze.
Looking around, no one seems to have seen what Jeon Myeong-hoon did. They are all talking among themselves.
She breaks out in a cold sweat.
He truly is an Outer God.
“And make an identity for her too. She’s currently an illegal resident.”
Jeon Myeong-hoon points to the woman in his arms.
“...Who is she?”
“You read my psychiatric record, didn’t you?”
“...Yes.”
“It said I went around claiming a lump of charcoal was alive, right?”
“It did.”
“That’s her. I created a body and gave it to that lump of charcoal.”
“...!”
Shin Ah-young realizes that the being before her truly is a god.
In truth, creating a gold bar is more difficult than fabricating a human body.
But people react more strongly to the claim of creating a human body.
“...I’ll handle it.”
The Hunter Management Bureau possesses enormous authority during the Gate Wave.
As the chief of its Internal Affairs Division, she can use her connections to add one person to the administrative network without much difficulty.
“What is her name?”
At those words, Jeon Myeong-hoon fiddles with the woman’s ear and hair, then looks at her.
It is a warm and loving smile.
A smile Shin Ah-young has never seen from him.
“Jin So-hae. Her name is Jin So-hae.”
Jin So-hae.
As though the name itself is sweet candy.
Jeon Myeong-hoon seems to slowly roll it around his mouth.
“Is there anything else you would like me to handle?”
“No. Ah, and make it so even F-Rank Hunters can enter Gates. I’m trying to enter Gates and build magic power, but it’s irritating that they won’t let me in.”
At the irritation in Jeon Myeong-hoon’s voice, Shin Ah-young wipes away cold sweat and nods frantically.
“I’ll take care of it. The law will change soon. It’s the Gate Wave period, after all.”
“Fine, that’s enough. You may go now.”
“Yes.”
Shin Ah-young rises from her seat and looks at Jeon Myeong-hoon embracing Jin So-hae with a peaceful expression.
After greeting him and turning away, Shin Ah-young suddenly looks back at Jeon Myeong-hoon.
“...In the future, you truly won’t do anything to this world?”
“Right.”
“And Mr. Cheol-su... He truly will wake up?”
“Yes.”
“Then... how should we, how should I address you? As an Outer God, did you have something like believers? What did they call you?”
Jeon Myeong-hoon smiles at that.
“You don’t need to treat me that way. Just treat me as the human Jeon Myeong-hoon.”
“...That means...”
“Treat me normally. According to my identity. Yes...”
He gently takes Jin So-hae’s hand, softly stroking it as though savoring its texture, and continues.
“F-Rank Hunter Jeon Myeong-hoon. I’m F-Rank Hunter Jeon Myeong-hoon.”
“...I understand, Mr. Jeon Myeong-hoon.”
After speaking, Shin Ah-young decides to treat him as he requested and leaves the cafe.
Outside the cafe.
Shin Ah-young glances inside through the window once more.
Jeon Myeong-hoon is happily talking with Jin So-hae about something.
From the movement of her lips, Jin So-hae is calling Jeon Myeong-hoon “Your Highness” for some reason, and whenever he calls her by name, she seems awkward and asks him to call her lump of charcoal instead.
Jeon Myeong-hoon sternly says something to her, and she snickers.
They look happy.
Shin Ah-young turns away, feeling a small laugh escape her.
She decides to let go of her worries.
The current him truly is not the terrible otherworldly Outer God Kim Cheol-su warned about.
He is truly just a human living an ordinary life.
Yes.
An ordinary F-Rank Hunter.
F-Rank Hunter Jeon Myeong-hoon.
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