51. Omnipotent Rune (4)
HunGyo finally understood why Resonance Demonic Art was called a demonic art.
‘What horrifying pain.’
It was a process of forcibly pushing forward something that should have been impossible by staking his own innate true qi and life force on it.
Naturally, pain was bound to follow.
— Kghhhhhh!
The firepower piled up over four hours by Explosive Dragon Sorcerer wearing the full Omnipotent Rune set met the cold energy of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians and shattered HunGyo’s body from the inside.
Under normal circumstances, he would have been reverse-summoned immediately.
But the profound principles of Resonance Demonic Art were forcibly holding his body together while converting those two enormous powers into pure, refined energy.
‘Focus!’
HunGyo gritted his teeth.
Of course, he greatly wanted to save that girl and be of help to his lord, but...
HunGyo had an even greater desire.
‘I want... to become stronger too.’
Like Explosive Dragon. Like Aso.
He might be standing at the forefront right now, but he knew the day would come when he would be pushed aside.
He was the Training Instructor. As the name implied, he specialized in training others.
‘But…’
What if he absorbed that vast energy?
He too could become a main force!
Not just someone who taught others, but someone who could stand beside his lord through martial strength!
He could even accompany him to the 100th floor of the Tower of Trials one day!
‘Just kill me already.’
Kwa-gagagagaga!
HunGyo let go of the reins of control.
He opened both pathways and drew in the energy without restraint.
The dual forces of yin and yang ran wild inside HunGyo like a maddened bull.
Puhwak!
It was as if every blood vessel in his body had burst, and his entire body turned bluish-purple.
And that was not the end of it.
Blood streamed from every opening—his eyes, nose, mouth, pores, every hole in his body.
— I-Is he going to be okay?
Explosive Dragon Sorcerer panted, her face pale with shock.
“........”
Baek Jinwoo watched HunGyo’s suffering in silence, pained by the sight.
This was not something being forced on him.
It was his own choice. That choice had to be respected.
‘Still…’
Glance.
The girl, who had been groaning intermittently, looked noticeably more at ease now.
“Haah... haaahhh...”
The yin energy was coming out.
That meant HunGyo’s treatment method was truly working!
In other words, HunGyo was bearing the pain that the girl herself would originally have had to endure.
How much time passed like that?
At some point, HunGyo closed his eyes and shut his mouth.
— Nghhh.
Even in agony, he endured without screaming.
— Jinwoo, I’m done.
Thud.
As she removed the staff, HunGyo’s arm dropped limply.
Srrk.
He also released the girl’s arm, which he had been gripping tightly.
— All the energy of the Explosive Dragon Wave has gone into that side.
If that was true, then the same would be true for the girl.
Her constant groans had disappeared, and color had returned to her face.
The yin energy of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians had vanished completely, and as a result, the frozen blood vessels had thawed and resumed functioning properly.
The treatment was perfectly complete.
The problem was HunGyo.
Thump!
HunGyo collapsed, his eyes closed.
Judging by the fact that he had not been reverse-summoned, he was not dead yet.
But Baek Jinwoo knew. He was going to die soon.
Until death came, he had been trying to cram as much internal energy as possible into his own dantian.
‘You’ve been through so much.’
He truly was a grateful summon.
Honestly, what benefit would there even be for him personally to become stronger?
‘The one who benefits is me.’
His summon’s combat power would become that much stronger.
In other words, HunGyo was enduring all that pain solely for Baek Jinwoo’s sake.
“You bastard... thank you.”
Baek Jinwoo murmured quietly.
Had HunGyo heard that voice even through the pain?
The corner of his lips lifted ever so slightly.
* * *
Flash!
In the end, HunGyo was reverse-summoned. That meant his HP had dropped to 0.
Baek Jinwoo was curious about what had become of him, but...he had to wait five hours before he could summon him again.
Baek Jinwoo reset the summon times of Lamba, Explosive Dragon, and Gale Slayer, and had them start building stacks again.
After that—
Click.
He opened the door and stepped outside.
As soon as he left the room, which had been filled with heat because of HunGyo, a cool breeze wrapped around his whole body.
Waiting in front of the door with a worried expression was Jasim.
“I-Is it over?”
How worried must he have been?
The expression on his face showed traces of how he had desperately endured for five hours, suppressing the urge to open the door at the sounds coming from inside.
“Yes, it’s over.”
Baek Jinwoo smiled at Jasim.
Ah.
Was this how a doctor felt after successfully completing surgery?
Even though HunGyo was the one who had done all the hard work, something swelled up in Baek Jinwoo’s chest.
“The treatment succeeded, and your daughter is safe.”
“K-Khrrrk!”
Thud!
In the end, Jasim collapsed to his knees.
At the same time, he reached out with both hands and tightly grasped Baek Jinwoo’s hand.
What more needed to be said?
Jasim was certain.
At this very moment, this was the happiest moment of his life.
“Really, truly? Thank you. Uheuk!”
“This is no time to be doing this out here. Go inside and check on her.”
“A-Ah, understood!”
As if he had wanted to do that from the start, Jasim hurried into the room.
Snore...
The sleeping girl slowly opened her eyes.
“...Dad?”
It was the first time.
For the first time, words came from his daughter’s mouth without a groan mixed into them.
And that was not all. There was no trace of the cold aura that had always flowed from her.
Her face was no longer pale either, but full of life.
“My daughter! Are you really okay?”
“Dad, I... it doesn’t hurt anymore. I’m not cold at all now.”
“Khuk, khuhuhuhuk!”
Jasim hugged his daughter and burst into tears.
Baek Jinwoo watched silently for a moment, then turned away. He was giving them space for their moving father-daughter reunion.
* * *
A short while later.
“There’s nothing special, but please eat.”
Before Baek Jinwoo was a feast of delicacies he had never seen in his life.
“No, you really didn’t have to do all this.”
“You are the benefactor of both me and my daughter. I do not know how I could ever repay this kindness. First, here are the five Top-grade Omnipotent Runes we agreed upon.”
Jasim initiated the trade and placed the runes into the window.
There was no doubt about it—they were unquestionably genuine Top-grade Omnipotent Runes.
“Thank you.”
Baek Jinwoo smiled and pressed accept. At last, he had gathered eighteen Omnipotent Runes.
“And please accept this as well.”
Jasim placed something else into the trade window.
It was a curious summon.
Interpreter Bird (B-rank).
A limited-edition summon that could only be obtained through rewards from the Tower of Trials.
If that fellow sat on your shoulder, all humans within range would be able to communicate with one another.
“I would be shameless beyond measure if I let it end at that. You said five Omnipotent Runes would be enough, but I cannot feel that way. Please understand the heart of a man who wants to do something, anything, for the person who saved him...”
“...Then this is where I draw the line.”
As he had said before, he had no desire to exploit the heart of a father who loved his daughter and gain excessive profit from it.
But?
He was not so free of material desire that he would refuse something being forced into his hands.
Especially that bird...
It did look rather useful.
“Hahahaha, thank you! Then you must be hungry, so shall we eat first?”
“No, I appreciate the thought, but... I think I overdid it, so I’d like to rest for now.”
“Ah, is that so?”
The truth was, he was hungry, but he had no appetite.
Until he checked on HunGyo’s condition, he did not think food would go down his throat.
‘...What a modest man.’
Jasim was moved as he looked at Baek Jinwoo.
How many frauds had come looking for him up until now?
There had been charlatans claiming his daughter had been cursed and that he needed to offer up an enormous fortune.
There had also been those who demanded absurd amounts of wealth in exchange for treatment.
‘Spending money on someone like him would never be a waste.’
Jasim?
The only thing he had was money.
The oil produced every year and sold all over the world kept piling up his wealth no matter how much he spent.
They said he was Yoobaek of South Korea.
Jasim made a decision in his heart.
Every year.
He would find rare items helpful to Players and send them anonymously to Yoobaek.
* * *
South Korea, Player Zone.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
A ranker clenched both fists and shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Hey, you lunatic. What the hell are you doing out in public? Can’t you keep it down?”
“I’m thirsty! I’m thirsty! I’m thirsty, I’m going crazy from thirst!”
People whispered among themselves as they looked at the two rankers shouting while wandering between the buildings.
“...Aren’t those guys...”
“Carpe Diem?”
“Isn’t that Gi Jaehyuk and Kang Jihoe?”
The two were famous as high school rankers.
Now that they had even been selected for the national team, their value was soaring without limit.
“Everyone recognizes us, you know. Keep it down a little.”
“Haaahhh, sorry, hyung.”
Kang Jihoe, the one a year younger, ran a hand through his hair.
Actually, the two of them had been waiting only for the national team call-up.
The only day of the week when they could receive Baek Jinwoo’s instruction.
‘But then?’
Because of Baek Jinwoo’s personal circumstances, the schedule had been canceled.
Unable to bear the emptiness of it, he had ended up shouting.
That was how desperate they were. Even now, they were still roaming around the arena, letting out heavy sighs.
Then, at that moment—
“Hm? What are you two doing?”
Someone who knew them spoke to them.
“Oh, Ari noona!”
Gi Jaehyuk recognized her immediately. In truth, there was no way he wouldn’t.
Hong Ari, the master of the Arirang Guild and ranked No. 3 in Korea. She was a Player more famous than the president.
“Noona, were you missing hyung too?”
“W-What are you talking about?”
“If not, why are you hanging around the arena?”
“......”
Hong Ari flinched as though he had hit the mark.
The truth was, those ten hours of training had been a whole new world for her too.
In fact, after receiving that training, she had gone back and completely overhauled the internal training system of Arirang, which said it all.
After that, she had been waiting only for the national team call-up, when suddenly the schedule was canceled...
And so, she had found herself coming to the arena almost on instinct.
“And what about you two...? Why are you here?”
“We already admitted it honestly. We miss hyung.”
“Haah, yeah, fine! That’s right! Seriously, does it even make sense to suddenly cancel the schedule? If that was going to happen, then why did he take 1 trillion won in state money?”
In the end, Hong Ari admitted it too and grumbled.
“Noona.”
That was when Gi Jaehyuk’s eyes lit up.
“Hm?”
“There’s actually something we’ve been thinking about.”
“What?”
“We were wondering if maybe we should just go directly to Yoobaek.”
“Huh?”
Hong Ari frowned.
What kind of nuisance would that be?
Going to find him in person just because he didn’t show up?
She absolutely hated obsessive stalker fans, so the idea repulsed her even more.
“Isn’t that crossing the line a bit?”
Even as she said that, honestly, she wanted to go too.
She wanted to go ask why it had been canceled, and she also wanted to ask about the things she had been stuck on all week.
“No, didn’t you feel it too? That hyung... when he teaches us, he’s not really teaching us properly.”
“Hm? What are you talking about? It’s been incredibly helpful.”
“No, I’m a hundred percent sure. He’s just teaching us casually, half-heartedly. The only reason it feels helpful is because our level is way too low compared to hyung’s.”
Gi Jaehyuk had felt it.
Should he say it was the kind of look someone gave kindergarteners?
It was not the gaze of someone teaching gifted students, but of someone teaching Players who were below standard.
“Seriously, think about it. From hyung’s point of view, just because the country pays him, there’s no real reason for him to teach us sincerely.”
“...Even if he got 1 trillion?”
“1 trillion is 1 trillion. Teaching people from other guilds—not even your own guild—like true disciples is a completely different matter.”
“So what are you trying to say?”
“I said it earlier. I want to go to Yoobaek.”
“And then?”
“We ask him to teach us properly. We’ll do whatever it takes. Hyung said it himself, didn’t he? The thirsty one digs the well.”
“.......”
Hong Ari could see the sincerity in Gi Jaehyuk’s eyes.
‘Well…’
He was not wrong.
Even from a third party’s point of view, Baek Jinwoo’s abilities were world-class.
Compared to that?
‘We might be called rankers, but we are only rankers within South Korea.’
South Korean rankers, who are considered low-level on the world stage.
To put it simply, frogs in a well.
Become Baek Jinwoo’s true disciple and aim for the world rankings?
Hong Ari clenched her fist tightly.
There was no reason not to go, was there?
In fact, she became impatient.
What if Baek Jinwoo gave those brats permission and started teaching them properly?
Then even her barely maintained No. 3 ranking would be stolen by them.
“...When are you going?”
“Since the idea came up, should we go right now? We can check out the famous Yoobaek headquarters too.”
“Um... can Sunyoung unni come too? Orang, Oh Sunyoung.”
After getting thoroughly wrecked last time, she had already become a devoted Baek Jinwoo fan.
At Hong Ari’s question, Gi Jaehyuk smirked.
“Why are you asking us for permission? If she wants to go, she goes.”
Even if they were turned away at the door, even if they ended up disliked, that was each person’s own burden to bear.
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