Chapter 145: God’s Sacrificial War

With a serious look, Lee Ji-Tae, the chairman of the Hunter Association, addressed everyone in the conference room.

“As all of you know, the current situation is very serious.”

Too many things have happened in the past month or two. From a bizarre crack in an abandoned city, to the attack on the Hunter Academy by an SS-rank monster. Just last week, an SSS-rank gate appeared in the sky over Seoul, from which a phoenix-like monster emerged.

Thankfully, the phoenix retreated without causing any damage. Still, he hated to think what would've happened if it had actually descended on Earth. It could’ve easily become a second Despair Dragon incident all over again.

Lee Ji-Tae rubbed his wrinkled forehead. “The public opinion has been going downhill. There are even sporadic rallies happening, denouncing the Association’s incompetence.”

“Clearly, Ms. Miracle’s spot is tough to fill.”

Miracle, Lim Mi-Rae, was one of South Korea’s greatest seers. When she was still active, she predicted the outbreak of gates and dungeons with near-perfect accuracy. But not even she could foresee the descent of the Despair Dragon.

“It’d be best if we accelerate the project’s development. The HW tournament is also two months away. Why don’t we try to shift the public opinion with a high score?”

Hunter War was an international competition held once every two years, where Hunters from different countries competed against each other. In this time and age, this event was even more heated than the Olympics or World Cup.

Turning to his secretary, the chairman of the Hunter Association asked, “What are the opinions of those Hunters getting promoted to S-rank?”

“I’ve listed the names of top-performing A-rank Hunters and Hermits as candidates. Here it is.” The secretary circulated the name list to the executives around the table.

One of whom took a look at the list and scratched his head. “Huh? Why is there a B-rank Hunter in the list? His name is Yu...Il-Shin?”

***

Ever seen a mountain of sweet and sour pork? Well, I have.

In fact, there was one in front of me right now.

I thought one serving would be enough. However, I’d overlooked the fact that there were too many mouths I had to feed.

Ding!

[The people of the Holy Nation of Gayami are complaining of hunger.]

That’s right. I’m God Yu Il-Shin, the sole breadwinner for the hundreds and thousands of mouths in the Holy Nation of Gayami.

“Uhm, this is the Importance of a Happy Family, right? I’d like to add fifty more servings of large sweet and sour pork. Huh? No, this isn’t a prank call.”

I ordered more in a hurry, wanting to bestow them not only to the people of Gayami Nation, but also to Il-Ho.

Holding a piece of the sweet and sour pork in hand, Anty’s eyes sparkled.

-Waaah! God Yu Il-Shin! It’s sweet, but also sour! How divine!

-Kyak! Kyak kyak!

-Kya~ Kya~!

Nodding in agreement, Akdol and the Angel Soldiers frantically gobbled up the food. Even the people were cheering.

-Gosh! Such heavenly flavors exist!?

However, there were some who were unhappy with the situation as well.

Clack clack!

The resurrected Skull Chickens were pounding the ground with their feet.

Ding!

[The Skull Chickens are enraged at the sight of the fried meat.]

-God, how could you betray us?

Their faith in me had begun to waver. Thus, I solemnly explained to them, “Rest assured. This is pork meat.”

Clack clack!

[The Skull Chickens did a joyful dance, saying that they were right to believe in you.]

I watched them with delight as they did their little bone dance. Suddenly, someone elbowed me on my side.

It was Sung Mi-Na. Despite being older than me, her short build and cat-eyes made her seem like a younger sister. She stared, pointing at Lin Xiaoming who was using chopsticks.

“Hoo, Korea’s Guo Bao Rou[1] sure is delicious.” Lin Xiaoming said with admiration.

See? Even Chinese mainlanders gave their regard to Korea’s sweet and sour pork.

“W-what is that crazy bitch doing here?”

I scratched my head and answered coolly, “It just happened. Kind of.”

“Are you out of your mind? Didn’t she try to kill you before?!”

“Well, if you put it that way, didn’t you try to kill me as well, Mi-Na noona?”

Her face turned pale instantly, dumbfounded. “T-that’s... B-But I didn’t really intend to...”

Sung Mi-Na eventually dropped her shoulders and head. “I’m sorry...”

I was just joking, but she looked about to cry.

“I’ve put you through a lot as well, so let’s call it even. Besides, I was just joking. Oh, right, would you like some dumplings? They’re tasty. Here, aah~”

I picked up the pan-fried dumplings and fed them to Sung Mi-Na.

“Ah~!” She accepted it with her mouth open.

“How is it? Isn’t it delicious?”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Hehe, right? Do you want to try the sweet and sour pork too?”

“Yeah.”

I dipped a piece of sweet and sour pork and handed it to her. Sung Mi-Na’s small mouth chewed on it, making me feel like a mother bird feeding her baby.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiaoming watched us with astonishment, then carefully asked, “Uhm, are both of you... lovers?”

Sung Mi-Na turned bright red, shaking her head vigorously. “N-no way! We aren’t in that kind of relationship!”

“Well, the fact that you came looking for him at this hour, and Mr. Sword God is lovingly feeding you... Are you sure?”

I mulled over her words. I did it out of habit. I’d been taking care of her when she mentally regressed into an infant, after all. But surely, only lovers typically feed each other.

Meanwhile, Sung Mi-Na glanced at me while munching her food. She seemed to have something to say. Well, she was probably embarrassed due to the misunderstanding. She was also a celebrity who went on broadcasts and even filmed commercials.

I decided to clear up Lin Xiaoming’s misunderstanding.

“No, we’re not lovers. We share more of like...a father-daughter relationship? Hahaha.”

Lin Xiaoming then let out a sigh of relief, but Sung Mi-Na seemed about to explode.

“You idiot!” Sung Mi-Na’s soccer kick came flying at the back of my head.

Thud!

I thought my head was going to split open! I rolled on the floor clutching the back of my head.

“Idiot! Dog! Piece of shit!” Sung Mi-Na cursed me and stormed out of the room without looking back.

Slam!

“Ugh, what the hell is wrong with her?”

Tears of frustration streamed down my face as I caressed the painful bump...

Bam!

The door flung open once more, and the hot-tempered Sung Mi-Na returned.

Flinch!

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

“W-what?”

Scared, I shook uncontrollably/ Then, she threw a set of documents at me.

“I forgot to deliver this to you! Take it! Your dungeon raid schedule has been set!”

“Huh? Dungeon raid?”

I did hold a B-rank Hunter’s license, but that was only temporary so that I could teach at the Hunter Academy. Why would they call me in for a dungeon raid out of the blue?

“What are you talking about?”

“Shut it! Don’t be late tomorrow! Come to the designated place at 10 AM! If you don’t show up, prepare to die! And you! You crazy bitch!” Sung Mi-Na scowled at Lin Xiaoming. “I’ll kill you the next time I see you!”

Baaam!

Sung Mi-Na then rushed out, slamming the door shut louder than before. Seemingly unable to withstand her violence, my front door creaked, looking about to fall apart any moment.

What’s wrong with her? She’s just trying to kill everyone at this rate. Is it late puberty?

“I wonder how much this will cost.”

Just as I was worried about the cost of repairing the front door, Lin Xiaoming spoke, “Don’t worry Mr. Sword God. Lin mei doesn’t mind being the second wife.”

Haa... What’s wrong with this one?

“Okay, we’re done here. Please go home now.”

***

I went to the location listed on the document Sung Mi-Na gave me yesterday. It was a building near Mangwon station, barricaded by police and those who appeared to be Hunters.

“Stay away, everyone. An A-rank dungeon is about to appear.”

Just as I was trying to figure out how to get inside, Sung Mi-Na came rushing to me, glowering.

“Why are you late?!”

“I-I was stuck in traffic. But it’s only five minutes late...”

“Five minutes is more than enough time for thousands of people to die during an emergency.”

It was the voice of a rough and dry man.

Clack! Thud! Clack! Thud!

A large, burly man, clad in black armor seemingly out of place in the 21st century, approached. When he stopped before me, I realized he was much bigger than I’d expected. He was probably at least two meters tall.

Glancing down at me, he said, “You’re not cut to be a Hunter.”

He looked familiar. I’d seen him in the last Hunter meeting where I picked up Akdol. Well, he was also widely known in South Korea, so it was hard not to recognize him. His name was Gal Joong-Hyuk, an S-rank Reinforce-type Hunter.

Sung Mi-Na pointed at him and said, “Say hello. This is Hunter Gal Joong-Hyuk, your supervisor for today.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Did you not read the document I gave you? Huh? W-who’s that kid on your back?” Sung Mi-Na pointed at Seong-Yeon in surprise, who was fast asleep on my back.

“Oh, this is my niece, Seong-Yeon. My noona left her in my care because she had to attend a last-minute seminar. Ugh, what am I? A nanny? Haa, I’m only holding back because she’s cute.”

“R-really? Thank god...no, how could you bring a kid to work!”

“Shhh! Keep your voice down, I just barely put her to sleep.”

“Mm.”

“...Haa, what is going on here? Call me when you’re ready.” Gal Joong-Hyuk shook his head, unwilling to get involved.

Sung Mi-Na went on with her explanation. Basically, the Hunter Association had decided to select new S-rank Hunters, and I was on the list of candidates.

“...So, one of the requirements for your promotion is to clear an A-rank dungeon or gate. According to the prediction, an A-rank dungeon will occur here in the next three hours. Once you’ve completed this mission, you will become an S-rank Hunter. How is it? Are you excited?”

Oddly enough, I didn’t feel anything. I might be if it was in the past, but I didn’t really have the desire to become an S-rank Hunter. I’d let go of my attachment to worldly wealth and prestige. My guts told me it was because I’d become a Mid-tier God.

But still, it’s best to deal with these dangerous dungeons.

“But does he really have to be my supervisor? Can’t you do it instead?”

It was customary to have an active S-rank Hunter to accompany the candidate as a supervisor just in case of emergency during the raid.

“We’re acquainted, so It’s against the rules. But don’t worry too much. Mr. Joong-Hyuk might be blunt, but he still gets things done.”

Well, I guess it didn’t matter that much. I didn’t expect anything to happen to me in an A-rank dungeon. But there was something else bothering me for a while.

What’s that lingering smell? And it seemed to be getting stronger...

Sniff sniff—

Sung Mi-Na looked at me, scrunching her nose.

“What’s wrong?”

“Noona, don’t you smell that fishy odor?”

Rather than a fishy smell, it was something far more foul and unpleasant, and it only grew stronger.

That was when God-Maker responded.

[Warning!]

[High-tier Malevolent God Ruler of the Abyssal Swamp requests to engage in a God’s Sacrificial War with you!]

A God’s... Sacrificial War?

Ruuumble!

At the same time, the ground shook as if hit by an earthquake.

1. A Dongbei-style sweet-and-sour pork from Harbin in northeastern China, made of small bite-sized pieces of pork or sometimes chicken, dusted with cornflour and fried then coated with a sweet and sour sauce. ☜