Colossus Hunter – Chapter 73

Ch 73: The Rapidly Changing Modern Era（3）

It seemed that doing public activities with my bare face wasn’t a very good choice. Unless I was planning to open a ‘door’ that no one had ever set foot in, I would need a plan of action, one way or another.

But it’s not a negative thing. At least I could roughly understand what Min-shik’s aim was.

‘To make the Awakened ones assimilate into society as quickly as possible.’

In the past, there were many problems. There was no way to control the suddenly increased number of Awakened ones. They clashed and fought, and as a result, various groups were formed.

It took more than 3 years for them to sort themselves out. Even after most people awakened, the remnants of the fighting remained, and the already small land was divided into dozens of factions.

We can’t go through that process again. So, that guy Min-shik was creating a cartel centered around himself. He’s aiming to be spotlighted as the most powerful hero, and at the same time, create an image of the Awakened, and slowly draw people into the doors, naturally uniting their power.

‘It’s nice of him to do my job for me.’

If Min-shik wasn’t around, most of these would have been things I had to do.

Of course, there would have been differences in the method.

There’s a slight concern. Although the intention is clearly good right now, will it really not be corrupted?

‘When people gain power, honor, and authority, they become corrupted.’

I’ve seen that happen too many times. Min-shik’s will was firm right now, but there was no guarantee that it wouldn’t be corrupted.

Because I almost did too. Because I received countless temptations.

No, if all the heroes hadn’t died due to Uriël Diablo’s descent, I would have definitely been corrupted. Their deaths were on my shoulders, so I couldn’t change.

But… will Min-shik be the same?

‘That guy is rising to a position where he’s even more susceptible to temptation than I am.’

If he starts running now, there will be no one to stop him. Absolute power. Even now, he’s moving the government, the business world, and even the media. The Apocalypse Guild was transforming day by day. If it expands beyond Korea and into the world like this, I couldn’t even be sure if Min-shik would be able to maintain his current will.

So.

‘I can’t leave everything to him after all.’

I stroked my chin quietly.

The Apocalypse Guild shouldn’t monopolize everything. The harms of a monopoly were obvious without needing to explain the results.

I had to choose one of several options.

‘Either plant someone in his guild, or intentionally push another guild to grow, or I could create a guild myself.’

It’s easy to plant someone using the Dominator’s Authority. If I dominate a few of his closest aides, I can slow down or hinder his growth to some extent, according to my will.

But I don’t like that.

There’s a limit to that kind of method.

Creating and growing a guild myself would take too much time. Now is a time when I’m busy growing myself.

I had no choice but to consider pushing someone else.

‘Push someone. To do that, I need a suitable person…’

My brain went into overdrive.

The right people to create and grow a guild are already stored in my head.

I narrowed it down, and narrowed it down, and chose a few candidates.

“Human Cultural Asset Lee Moon-joo, Magitech Engineer Kim Ah-yeon, Great Master Park Sa-bu, Saint King Oh Chae-ryeong.”

I rolled my pen and wrote it on the paper.

These are the four that came to mind right away.

They are worthy of being called heroes, and they are people who are specialized in leading others.

But at this time, there was no way to know where these four were.

Still, I wrote down the relevant information on the paper as I remembered it.

Thump! Thump!

The space gem I had placed on the desk began to shake violently.

I slowly ran my hand over the space gem once, and soon, a light swirled around it, and Itaqua appeared right next to me.

Krrreung!

As soon as he appeared, Itaqua snorted.

It felt like the room was full with just Itaqua alone.

Even when he lowered his head, his head touched the ceiling. It was a scene that would make anyone who saw it freak out. Who would ever think of letting a dragon loose in their house?

It seemed like I should refrain from doing this when Itaqua gets a little bigger.

“Okay. Let’s eat first.”

I shook my head and got up from my seat.

I remembered that there were ramen and canned food in the refrigerator. That should be enough to satisfy my hunger.

◈◈◈ * *

As I sat down at a cafe near Gangnam Station, a woman wearing a hat, sunglasses, and a mask cautiously sat down in front of me shortly after.

“Did you commit some kind of crime?”

“I’m not in the mood for jokes, Han-sung-nim.”

I chuckled.

Syria’s personality was still the same.

She took off her mask, opened the lid of the cup in front of her, and downed the Americano in one go.

“You must have been very thirsty.”

“Of course. I had to avoid the guild’s eyes, and people’s eyes…”

“How have you been?”

“I haven’t been well.”

Syria’s voice was very haggard. It seemed she had been through more hardship than I thought.

“I’d like to hear a little about the progress you’ve made so far.”

“I successfully caught Zombie King Achsiss. Thanks to Han-sung-nim’s advice.”

“It wasn’t that difficult of a task.”

“It wasn’t difficult?

Syria clenched her fist slightly. Her original personality was showing. She was quiet and calm, but when she got angry, no one could stop her.

Then, Syria said as if she was dumbfounded.

“Min-shik. That guy is crazy. He’s putting the Devil’s Mark on people and controlling them. I’m immune to the Devil’s Mark because of my job, but… thanks to that, I’ve become a major surveillance target in the guild.”

I finally understood.

How he was able to organize everything so quickly.

And also why Syria came here in disguise.

Syria took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

“These days, I go up Nachalsan Mountain every day. Have you seen the news?”

“You reached the 25th floor, right?”

“No, it’s the 32nd floor.”

“The news said it was the 25th floor?”

I frowned for a moment. Already the 32nd floor?

There was a 7-floor difference from what was publicly known. Furthermore, the 33rd floor was a place where you could obtain equipment called ‘Paladin’. I obtained the Ascended One’s Mantle there, broke the Ascended One’s Ritual, and entered Nachal Hall, but…

“It’s for show. I don’t know why, but Min-shik is wary of something. He doesn’t try to show everything about himself.”

Ah. He must be worried about the remnants of Alleteia. He wasn’t ruling out the possibility that the Alleteia’s followers had regressed.

Syria continued to speak.

“I entered the 32nd floor two days ago. He says he needs to make full preparations for the 33rd floor, so he’s training under the guise of taking a break. He said he needs to be fully prepared.”

“Thanks for letting me know.”

“Is there anything else you’re curious about?”

“Is it okay to tell me all this confidential information?”

“Han-sung-nim is my benefactor, after all.”

Syria smiled brightly. She looked like she felt relieved.

It was a good thing for me. Syria had no intention of hiding anything from me.

The circumstances I was curious about were resolved. How Min-shik was moving the dinosaurs.

‘The Devil’s Mark, huh.’

To think he would resort to black magic.

I clicked my tongue inwardly. As a Magic Swordsman, it was possible to learn both black and white magic, but the reason I didn’t learn black magic in the past was because of its special nature.

Things called black magic have side effects.

The Devil’s Mark also puts a burden on the caster’s heart. I was a Magic Swordsman, and I also had to play the role of a swordsman, so there was no need for me to forcefully learn magic that would strain my body.

‘That means he’s that desperate.’

He wants to reform everything. He can’t do everything alone, so he’s trying to wind up the gears somehow, even by using the extreme measure of the Devil’s Mark.

“How have you been, Han-sung-nim?”

“I also went up Nachalsan Mountain.”

“Huh?”

“The 33rd floor isn’t easy. But if you don’t give up, you’ll be able to receive a reward that’s worth it.”

If Syria was going to reveal everything to me, I had no intention of hiding anything either. Was it because she was my lover in the past? Or was it because I had a strong perception that she was one of the few people I could trust?

After hearing my answer, Syria’s eyes widened like saucers.

Then, she leaned in and asked as quietly as possible.

“Wait, wait a minute. Then, how many floors did you climb?”

“I don’t remember that far.”

When I broke through the trials of the 33rd floor and opened my eyes again, I was already in Nachal Hall.

What’s certain is that Nachal Hall exists above the 90th floor. That was the result of various investigations. From the 90th floor and above, there is the ‘mountain’ of the Yacha, and there are also Greater Agui, but there were also many strong Yacha warriors. It meant that Nachal Hall wasn’t everything.

Syria’s eyes sparkled.

“Anyway, you climbed the 33rd floor, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh my god!”

Instantly, the attention of the people around us was drawn.

Syria quickly covered her mouth and lowered her head.

Only after all the attention had subsided did Syria carefully open her mouth.

“Then, it makes sense why a few of Alamuer’s warehouses were empty. We struggled so hard to climb, but… sigh.”

It was a big help that I was with Itaqua.

His physical abilities were formidable. I wouldn’t have been able to do it alone.

I shrugged once. It was fun to see Syria’s surprised expression. Because her expressions like this were very rare.

Back when she was a saintess, she was already an unparalleled powerhouse and wouldn’t be surprised by something like this. In that sense, she was definitely different. She was more fresh, or something like that.

“Is that all the advice you have for the 33rd floor? To not give up?”

“Just don’t give up before Min-gi does.”

“Why are you like this? I have some tenacity too, you know?”

“That’s a relief then.”

Syria smiled again. She had a very excited expression. She didn’t even try to hide it. Rather, she felt closer than the last time I saw her. She seemed quite starved for affection.

It was at that moment that the surroundings became noisy.

“Oh, what is it? Son Oh-hyuk?”

“Are you talking about the Fist Master Son Oh-hyuk?”

“Wow, he’s so handsome. He’s like a sculpture, a sculpture.”

“It seems like the rumor that he’s the face of the Apocalypse Guild isn’t a lie.”

A sturdy man appeared at the entrance of the cafe.

Then, he looked around and looked in my direction.

Then, the man, who was striding over, stood in front of Syria.

“Syria-nim. I’ve been looking for you for a while. Let’s go back together.”

Syria sighed.

“Can’t I even drink coffee at a cafe as I please?”

“It’s my role to assist Syria-nim.”

“You mean monitor, not assist.”

“And who is this man?”

Son Oh-hyuk turned his gaze towards me. He had a confident face. A natural expression that only someone who has been praised by those around them can make.

Syria threw her sunglasses on the floor and stood up from her seat.

“Hey! Who I meet is none of your business, right? Strictly speaking, you’re not qualified to assist me or monitor me, are you?”

“Didn’t I confess to you? Stop playing hard to get now.”

“Wait… didn’t I clearly reject you? Are you a goldfish or something?”

At the same time, the surroundings became noisy.

People were murmuring, saying things like, “Syria? That Saintess Syria?”, “Wow, this is a huge scoop,” and “The rumors were true?”

Syria showed her annoyance.

Nevertheless, Son Oh-hyuk didn’t care.

“I know you’re just playing hard to get.”

“What kind of confidence is that? I absolutely hate your type.”

“There’s no way a woman would reject me, right?”

It was an enormous amount of confidence.

It didn’t seem like it was my place to interfere.

And I didn’t want to get involved in that kind of mess.

I cleared my throat once and got up from my seat.

“Then, I’ll go first…”

“If you thought you could make me jealous by meeting a man like this, you’re mistaken. He doesn’t suit Syria-nim at all. Just by looking at him, he’s a weakling, and his face isn’t anything special, is it?”

“Are you done talking?”

Clusters of light began to gather around Syria.

Such clear light. She had summoned all of the light spirits.

Even though she was a recovery type, it didn’t mean she couldn’t attack. She was capable of basic strikes using the spirits.

A fierce gaze. It was proof that her anger had reached its peak.

“You’re speaking so carelessly just because you have a mouth, but I’ll seal that mouth of yours.”

“Do you think you can beat me, who is called a Fist Master, in a head-on fight?”

“Shut up.”

The light spirits began to move.

I could see them. Normally, they shouldn’t be visible to anyone other than the contractor, but after realizing the concept of infinity, I could see the spirits.

I quickly stood between Syria and Son Oh-hyuk.

Then, I looked at Syria and said.

“Whoa, whoa. There’s no need to fight, right?”

“But…”

“It’s not like he had any malicious intent. It’s getting late, so we should go back, right?”

The reason Syria was angry in the first place was because Son Oh-hyuk insulted me.

When I, the person involved, stepped in, Syria closed her mouth, pondered for a moment, and then nodded.

“… Okay.”

“Thanks.”

Then, I turned around and looked at Son Oh-hyuk, extending my hand.

“Son Oh-hyuk-ssi. It was nice meeting you. I’m a fan, so can I shake your hand?”

“What? A handshake?”

He was clearly looking at me as if I were a bug.

He was probably from a wealthy family. He was handsome, and he had gained power, so he was probably someone who was afraid of nothing. A guy like that.

His potential was decent, but he was a newbie. A guy like that wouldn’t last long.

Then, Son Oh-hyuk smiled slightly, as if he had thought of something else.

“Hmm, okay. I’ll give you a handshake.”

Son Oh-hyuk also grasped my hand.

Tzzuaak!

Then, he gave it his all. He probably wanted me to scream. He was putting his strength into it with the intention of crushing my bones.

But my expression didn’t change at all.

As Son Oh-hyuk was wondering about this, I also started to put strength into my hand while smiling.

“……!”

Son Oh-hyuk’s face was gradually turning red.

He wanted to scream, but he was holding it in because it would hurt his pride.

Paddeudeuk!

He was grinding his teeth, and his eyes were bloodshot.

His whole body turned bright red like a tomato.

Still, it was commendable that he didn’t scream until the end.

Then, I very slowly let go of his hand.

His muscles and bones were crushed, so he wouldn’t be able to use his fist for a week. He would also be eliminated early when climbing the 33rd floor because of this injury.

Since you can only challenge the 33rd floor once, it was a painful loss.

“Hoo! Hoo!”

As soon as his hand was released, Son Oh-hyuk quickly grabbed his reddened hand. Cold sweat was dripping down his face.

He looked at me with a disbelieving expression, his teeth clenched, and I turned my head, as if Son Oh-hyuk was not even in my eyes, and smiled at Syria.

“Then, see you later.”

I put my hands behind my back and leisurely walked out of the cafe.

（73/251）