abcnovels
Chapter 140
Chapter 140
Chapter 140
Argo. The sea dragons. Also known as imugi or sea serpent, this large monster was particularly famous in East Asia. It broke through a dungeon under the sea and dealt a heavy blow to the coasts of East Asia, including China, Japan, and South Korea. It was so fierce and destructive that its rating started at B+ regardless of how small it was, and the Argo in Choi Yeonseung’s vision seemed to be grade A or A-.
-This is an emergency! A sea dragon is heading toward Jeju International Airport! Summon the hunters!
-It’s hard to do that! That bastard is changing the weather around it!
-Dammit! Why didn’t anyone notice such a huge bastard coming from the bottom of the sea?
The Argo violently tore the ground and engulfed concrete while sending winds and rainstorms around it. It was a terribly destructive force.
“... What crime did Jeju Island commit to make these monsters frequently come here?” Choi Yeonseung murmured when his vision ended, sounding troubled.
Jeju Island had traditionally been topographically damage-prone. The monsters that couldn’t be taken down in Shanghai, China, and Nagasaki, Japan all came to Jeju Island. Was there honey here?
-It is pretty strong, but it seems nothing compared to constellations.
-Have you forgotten that I can’t use the power of my existence or my concentrated energy right now? Either way, huge beasts like that cause a lot of trouble for those around them.
Inside a dungeon, he could avoid its attacks as much as he wanted. However, in the outside world, avoiding attacks meant letting them hit buildings and civilians.
-Since you are now known as a household member, why don’t you pretend to borrow the power of your constellation?
-That’s not a bad idea, but it will still be difficult to stop it from going on a rampage. Ah, seriously…
Unbelievably enough, despite having received powers from many constellations like Goddess’ Medical Treatment, Future Sight, Red Illusion, Dignity of Light, and others, none of them were useful for this situation.
‘No... Wait.’
Choi Yeonseung thought about the power skills he had and remembered the one he got when he became an intermediate-ranked constellation.
[Undefeated Incarnation's Realm Declaration]
It was a strong power skill that drew opponents into his territory. He only ever used it to challenge a constellation in single combat, but now that he had thought about it, it was very useful for the current situation.
‘Isn’t it better to trust in myself than other constellations?’
-Successor, you have too few power skills. Don’t rely on force alone. Hone your power of existence and create more power skills.
-I will keep that in mind.
As the goddess had said, Choi Yeonseung was certainly too indifferent to his power as a constellation. He spent years focusing solely on combat! It wasn’t wrong, but it would be nice to have multiple abilities so he’d be prepared for more diverse situations.
-What power skills do you think I could create?
-Maybe a cooking-related one.
-Don’t joke around.
-I’m not, though?
-... Really?
-You’ve worked so hard on it that it has become highly likely. You might also create a training-related one.
-Training...
Choi Yeonseung thought about it.
A training room made out of his power of existence. It would be filled with all types of training equipment, and monsters would pop out according to the user’s imagination. The flow of time would also be incredibly slow…
[Enlightenment comes from experience.]
[The power skill ‘Open Training Space’ has been created.]
[Immerse yourself until you attain complete enlightenment.]
“!”
As the goddess said, a power skill was quickly created due to the experience he had accumulated.
-That’s not bad, but... why didn’t the cat constellation or manipulator constellation tell me about this?
-... Isn’t it because it’s such a basic concept that they thought you would already know about it?
[The ‘Cat of Lava and Magma’ dumbfoundedly asks if it has to tell you how to breathe!]
He already had a plan anyway, so he felt much more at ease. Choi Yeonseung took out his smartphone and texted Gyeongryong.
‘I’ll make preparations just in case.’
-Hyung. I think an Argo will appear here at Jeju Island. I don’t know the people here, so don’t scare them and just prepare quietly.
-... Don’t send out important details so lightly, you madman! My heart almost dropped!
“Hmm… Is there something wrong with the way I texted him?”
Choi Yeonseung reflected on himself.
He had to text one more person—Lee Changsik. Choi Yeonseung hadn’t revealed his secret to Lee Changsik yet, but Lee Changsik would certainly keep it a secret if Choi Yeonseung asked him to.
-Changsik hyung. I got confidential information from the clan. It seems an Argo might appear at Jeju Island. It's graded A, so South Korea should prepare for any possible situation. This is top-secret information, so please keep it a secret and prepare quietly.
“Uh, this is hard. Isn’t this too stiff?” Illeya asked curiously from where she was sitting next to him.
“What are you worried about?”
“I’m trying to send a text, but it seems too stiff. I’m worried.”
“In that case, use emojis.”
“Should I?”
Choi Yeonseung listened to Illeya’s words and added an emoji.
-This is top-secret information, so please keep it a secret and prepare quietly. ^^ :)
‘That’s much better.’
***
The monster made him uncomfortable, but he couldn’t stop the exchange exhibition. Moreover, in case the monster didn’t show up, this would’ve been a waste of time only for Choi Yeonseung, so he had to do his best in this event at least.
“Now that I think about it., there are Chinese and Japanese hunters here.”
“Yes.”
“If they compete with the Korean hunters, I will help the Korean hunters.”
Even thou Choi Yeonseung had spent the last 10,000 years wandering in the Abyss, his identity as a Korean hadn’t disappeared. If China and South Korea fought over monsters, he would side with South Korea.
“Why are you helping those weaker than us?”
“Ignore him.”
“If you want to help... Why shouldn’t we?”
“Right? I have to help. Let’s just leave Antony alone.”
“N-No. Choi Yeonseung. We should cooperate with hunters of the same clan…” Antony replied weakly. He had no intention of losing, but there was a limit to hunting alone while everyone else was playing as a team.
“So what usually happens in these friendly matches?”
“Who knows? It varies from clan to clan.”
It wasn’t held by one clan continuously. Several clans took turns sending invitations, calling people, and choosing locations. Hence, the matches’ nature was different every time.
“The last exchange I went to, it was tennis and baseball.”
Tennis and baseball but with magic were simply brutal. The pitcher threw fireballs, and the batter used a dark sword.
“That would’ve been interesting. Who’s hosting this exchange exhibition?”
“The Golden Blood Fish.”
“The Golden Blood Fish?”
That was the clan of the corporate spy Kim Chanseong, whom he met in the past. Their clan leader was Jeong Wonuk, a hunter Choi Yeonseung had also met 30 years ago. The Golden Blood Fish’s clan leader is Jeong Wonuk.
"Uhh… Don’t tell me we’re going to go hiking?”
“What nonsense is that?”
“He loves hiking.”
“... R-Really?”
Antony was starting to get an ominous feeling. Clan leaders were usually dictators in their clan, giving a lot of influence to their taste. Really...
He wasn’t going to have to hike after coming here, right?
***
‘Eh. Isn’t that Changuk?’
At the hotel restaurant, several hunters were already eating and drinking.
Choi Yeonseung found a familiar face there. He thought they were hunters of the same clan, but this wasn’t the case.
On one side were Chinese hunters, and on the other were Japanese hunters. They were talking to each other in their native language.
‘What are they talking about?’
“Do you know how many successful raids our raid team had completed this month? A whopping fifteen. That’s like completing one raid every two days.”
“Hah... Bragging with numbers... Aren’t you embarrassed? E and D-grade dungeons can honestly be cleared in a few hours. Meanwhile, we successfully cleared a B+ grade dungeon.”
“An A-grade hunter was in your raid team!”
“What’s wrong with that?”
‘Nothing has changed.’
The first thing hunters from other countries did when they got together was show off. How many monsters they had killed, the rating of a dungeon they had cleared... It seemed funny at first glance, but this was a really important battle of egos. If not, when else would they try to beat their opponent?
However, Lee Changuk just sat silently with his mouth shut. Considering his personality, he obviously wasn’t good at boasting.
“I’ve been beating B-grade hunters lately.”
“What nonsense are you saying... Gasp.”
China’s C+ grade hunter, Wang Yalong, flinched when he saw Choi Yeonseung. Choi Yeonseung had become so famous recently that Wang Yalong immediately recognized him. That was partly due to Choi Yeonseung’s UHC matches, but the biggest reason was the martial arts video he uploaded.
There were still many martial artists in China and South Korea. Hence, the impact of Choi Yeonseung was bound to be greater there. Moreover, he was the closest to becoming an A-grade among the current martial artists.
“Hunter Choi Yeonseung?”
As expected, it was the same B-grade hunters who could stand up against B-grade hunters. The B-grade hunter, Chen Yuwei, stepped up and extended his hand to Choi Yeonseung. Chen Yuwei was one head taller than other hunters, and his muscles were so developed that they pressed against his suit.
‘Is he a close-quarters combatant?’
As Choi Yeonseung had guessed, Chen Yuwei was confident in his strength. He didn’t intend to lose even if the other person was a martial artist who recently gained fame.
Tighten grip.
‘How’s my strength?’
‘Is this guy crazy?’
From Choi Yeonseung’s perspective, Chen Yuwei was just being ridiculous. There were probably quite a few retired martial artists in China, but he couldn’t believe they were doing ridiculous things like this. When Choi Yeonseung tightened his grip, Chen Yuwei’s expression distorted. Hence, clicking his tongue, Choi Yeonseung let go of Chen Yuwei’s hand.
“Your strength is okay.”
“I-Is that so?”
Chen Yuwei’s expression brightened when Choi Yeonseung acted considerate, allowing him to avoid embarrassment.
“Didn’t you just frown?”
“I didn’t frown, you bastard.”
After looking at the grumbling hunters of two different countries, Choi Yeonseung sat down.
“Why aren’t you bragging?”
“... I’m not good at it.”
“It can’t be helped, then. By the way, do you know what the friendly match is?”
“How would I know that?” Lee Changuk asked, puzzled. Friendly matches were a secret that would only be divulged once the hosting clan leader had announced it.
The conversation between the two was quite interesting, so the chattering hunters from other countries also joined in.
“It will probably be single combat.”
“I doubt. That would cause a lot of drama.”
“We’re in South Korea, so it’s probably archery.”
The conversation led to different assumptions. Curious about Choi Yeonseung’s opinion, Chun Yuwei asked, “Hunter Choi Yeonseung. You are the oldest and most experienced hunter here—”
“Are you saying that I am old now?”
“N-No. No!”
The other hunters were surprised when Chen Yuwei, who had a bad personality, backed down. The pressure exuded by Choi Yeonseung was qualitatively different from other hunters. Such a level of pressure weighed on their hearts.
“You’re not starting an argument?”
“I was just asking because I’m curious about what you think.”
“We’re probably going hiking.”
“... Pfft!”
“Pfft!”
The ridiculous conjecture caused bursts of laughter. Even Lee Changuk stared at Choi Yeonseung with a perplexed expression.