Chapter 65: Land of Ice Pt. 5

“Whew…”

“...”

Jeong In-Chang looked like his spirit had left his body, and, surprisingly, it was the same with Lee Jun-Kyeong. Even he had an expression on his face that seemed as though his soul had been sucked out.

–Master…

Even Hyeon-Mu, who had been quiet until now, sounded as if it was terrified. The main character who had made everyone flabbergasted, shocked, and embarrassed, the princess, cried out loud, “Gooongje!”

It tore apart the twin-headed ogre and another ogre that stood next to it.

“Prinnnncesss!”

Then, it cried out, calling itself a princess.

‘What kind of princess is that?!’

Lee Jun-Kyeong couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There wasn’t a single princess like that in any fairy tale. This princess had red eyes and tore her enemies apart, which was decidedly not princess-like. He swallowed the words he had wanted to say.

‘It would probably eat a dragon if one tried to catch it.’

The red-eyed ogre mage was truly something else.

“This is some sort of scam…” Jeong In-Chang smiled and muttered as if he was mocking himself.

[The gate has been cleared.]

[ looks at everyone with a happy smile on its face.]

[ shakes its head in disbelief.]

The gate had been cleared. Jeong In-Chang looked defeated; he hadn’t even had a chance to use his new Hero’s power before everything was done.

“This… Is this really okay…?” he asked.

“Well… I guess so?” Lee Jun-Kyeong answered tentatively, unable to say anything else in response. The gate slowly collapsed around them.

“Whew… Well, please tell me now. What did you come to find me for?” Jeong In-Chang asked after he had calmed down a little.

Lee Jun-Kyeong shook his head and just got to the point. “We have somewhere we have to go.”

Jeong In-Chang frowned slightly. “Somewhere we have to go?”

“Yes.”

“Where would that be such that you would come all this way…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong smirked slyly before responding, "It's China."

"…?"

Jeong In-Chang stood there with a dull expression. After that, a roar rang out.

“Gooooongje!”

The princess was running over towards him.

***

[Three days later.]

Finally, the long-awaited message from Yeo Seong-Gu had arrived, that he was ready to go to China. Lee Jun-Kyeong had also been slowly preparing for the trip.

‘Is this really happening?’

It all felt surreal. No one knew better than he did how dangerous China would be at this moment. Most of the other Hunters had never been to China after its collapse.

In fact, the Demon King had described in detail what had happened in China. After all, he was one of the Heroes who had established himself firmly after the cataclysm. Any traces of him before then were obscure, and most people didn’t have any idea of his past or even his name. But he had suddenly appeared and was strong enough to astonish everyone.

In the midst of the cataclysm, his presence shone.

‘At that time, the Demon King…’

That was in China. It was an incredibly dangerous place, but it was also a place where one could grow. High risk, high return.

The Demon King had originally been strong, but his experiences in China had allowed him to become even stronger. Lee Jun-Kyeong was also planning to go to China, which would be the center of the cataclysm. In addition, he had prepared a lot in order to do so. Although the presence of the black beads had delayed the timing a bit, it didn’t deviate significantly from his prepared plan.

“Okay. I’ve listened to what you wanted to say.”

A voice came toward Lee Jun-Kyeong.

“You plan on going to China?”

A man spoke while looking at countless piles of papers. It was the Hunter Association President, Jang Hyo-Jin, Odin.

“And what’s your reason? There’s no way you wouldn’t know about the situation in China.”

Even Odin was wary of China.

“Can’t you tell me why?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong chose to be silent again.

"Hahaha." Eventually, the Association President burst out laughing. “You really seem to know me quite well."

He took his eyes off the document in front of him and looked over at Lee Jun-Kyeong.

“It’s as if… It feels as if you’ve known me for a long time. That’s right, what are you going to surprise me with this time?” he said to Lee Jun-Kyeong in a voice full of anticipation and curiosity.

The president continued, “I won’t ask you about anything else. As you’ve requested, I’ve granted the request for the Bifrost, but is there anything else you want?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong was no longer a foreigner to Asgard. He was someone who had properly joined their ranks. In fact, he had wanted to join them for the purpose of getting access to China.

In addition, there were things that he needed to obtain before going there. Not many places would have what he needed as they were all precious and priceless.

“I need help,” he admitted candidly.

Asgard was the secret organization that ruled Korea, so it was well-suited to give Lee Jun-Kyeong the support he wanted.

“If it’s some help that you want… is it with an item? Or…” Odin mumbled to himself as if he was mired in a riddle. Looking at him acting that way, Lee Jun-Kyeong was struck again by what a crazy bastard the Association President was.

It all seemed as if it was a joke to that man. Everything was just a device to satisfy his own twisted curiosity, and it seemed as if he only made a move according to his selfish interest. However, it wasn’t as if his behavior was incomprehensible.

‘If you have that sort of power…’

It was to be expected. If one had the confidence that they could never die, if one had the confidence that nothing could harm you, then someone like that would be able to chase after any stimulus. For him, everything would be the same.

Even something like China.

‘It would at most be something inconvenient.’

He wouldn’t make a move for anything that wouldn’t benefit him, and it wasn’t as if he was afraid that China would be something that could threaten him either.

“Have you already been to China, sir?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked.

“...”

He was sure that the Association President had been to China– no, he would go soon again. Because he wasn’t one to hold back his curiosity.

“That’s right… I did go,” the older man replied. He didn’t ask how Lee Jun-Kyeong knew, but rather just waited for his answer with an interested expression.

Lee Jun-Kyeong added, “Then, I think it would be good if you could provide an appropriate level of support that you think is necessary. I know what the situation in China is, but I’m not sure of the details. It would be greatly appreciated if you could provide a level of support as appropriate.”

“What?” Odin said with a flustered expression.

“Hahaha!”

He soon burst out into laughter.

“Good. Well, I’ll prepare it as I see fit.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded. He wished for Asgard’s support, but he had no intention of giving up his intentions or knowledge. He would get the support he wanted in this sort of roundabout method.

‘It will be a very different China from the one you experienced.’

The Association President should have already been to China, but he’d only seen one side of it. Therefore, he was sure that Odin would go back.

***

“Did you arrive?”

For some reason, Park Jae-Hyun, who always seemed to be hammering, was taking a break today.

“...” Lee Jun-Kyeong silently gazed at the smith, as if he was seeing something novel for the first time.

“What are you looking at like that?” Park Jae-Hyun asked while muttering.

“Hehe…”

Nevertheless, his face was full of smiles. As Lee Jun-Kyeong looked over to see what was going on, he saw something in the smith’s hand.

‘A letter?’

In his hand was a letter adorned with an unusual flower. The smith waved it around.

"Do you know what this is?" Park Jae-Hyun asked.

Of course he did.

“Did you get a letter from Ms. Park?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked slyly.

It was something that anyone could have noticed if they had any awareness.

“...”

“...”

“How boring."

After a moment of silence, he stood up.

Park Jae-Hyun surprisingly apologized, "I'm sorry for doubting you. Did you really meet Yu-Jin?"

"Is there anything about me in the letter?" responded Lee Jun-Kyeong.

"Yeah."

He smiled strangely and looked over at Lee Jun-Kyeong.

"Don't tell me what it says,” Lee Jun-Kyeong interjected.

"…"

He was a bit annoyed, but it wasn’t as if he was curious either. He had already received his payment, so he couldn’t hit him again. For a second there, he considered it.

‘Should I just hit him?’

But then he moved on.

“You came to get your spear, right?” asked Park Jae-Hyun. As if he had guessed by looking at his expression, the smith immediately changed the topic and headed over to the anvil. Muspel’s Spear was placed in the midst of the other weapons he had made.

“It changed a lot, didn’t it?” he said while holding the now clear spear aloft.

Muspel’s Spear had become very different in form and appearance. In the past, it was completely red and had become a little more beautiful with the addition of the Dragon’s Bloodstone, but that was completely different from what it looked like now.

The smith added, “It took a little work.”

Now, the tip of the spear had split in two and had become even sharper, and the blood-red decorations were scattered here and there between them. The lower along the body he inspected, the more glamorous it became.

“I also added a changyoung. It’s the mane of the Catalyon? You gave it to me earlier.”

A changyoung was a tassel tied under the spearhead that lined up with the sharp tip and was meant to prevent the blood of the enemies from traveling down the body of the spear. Originally, Muspel’s Spear didn't have one. The smith had added it by using the mane of Catalyon as Lee Jun-Kyeong had given him that alongside some other items the other day.

“There shouldn’t be any issues with blood dripping down the spear anymore. Well, it’s not like I had to do much otherwise. The rest is something this thing did on its own,” Park Jae-Hyun said as he tapped the ground with the spear.

There was also some red material decorating the body of Muspel’s Spear along the area where its wielder, Lee Jun-Kyeong, would place his hand.

‘Is that the red ore?’

As Park Jae-Hyun had said, it wasn’t something that seemed to have been forged by human hands. It looked as if it was something that had flowed down and hardened, and it reminded Lee Jun-Kyeong of the red ore.

“I’m telling you, it’s really mysterious, the world of arms, I mean,” the smith said as he looked over at Lee Jun-Kyeong.

“Look at the ability details yourself.”

Swish.

Park Jae-Hyun immediately threw Muspel’s Spear after he spoke. Lee Jun-Kyeong held it aloft after catching it in mid-air.

He grunted, “Ugh…”

“It’s heavy, right?” Park Jae-Hyun teased.

As Lee Jun-Kyeong came to his senses and was about to examine his spear, Park Jae-Hyun continued to explain, “Don’t be afraid of your own weapon.”

“...”

“Don’t confuse which one of you is the weapon and which is the wielder.”

“...”

He continued speaking with a serious expression on his face that Lee Jun-Kyeong had never seen before, “The second you show a little fear… you’ll be consumed. Consumed by that spear.”

***

“That thing is now out of my hands. I mean, I’ll still help you if you need it, but the big man from above said something as well, to be careful with it. It’s something that happened because of you, so take responsibility for it.”

Park Jae-Hyun’s words were filled with the gravity of the situation. It just went to show how much Muspel’s Spear had changed. It was a change that occurred from the combination of the Dragon’s Bloodstone and the red ore, and there was as much of a risk as there was an increase in ability.

‘I won’t get consumed.’

Of course, he had no intention of losing to a weapon.

“But…”

After thinking for a moment, Lee Jun-Kyeong asked Jeong In-Chang, who was standing in front of him, “Do you really plan on going like that?”

“Pardon? Why do you ask?” the other man replied.

Jeong In-Chang stood there in shorts and a t-shirt. Even though he had most likely prepared some armor, Lee Jun-Kyeong still reminded him, “It’s cold there.”

Jeong In-Chang looked confused. “What? Isn’t it summer?”

“Right now, China is…” Lee Jun-Kyeong took something from his inventory and tossed it over to the Hunter. It was a thick parka. “It’s an endless land of ice.”

Jeong In-Chang nodded and caught the parka, and then, they heard a voice speaking to them.

“Are you the Underdog?”

1. This is slightly in contrast to what the author had said about being wary of China earlier.