Chapter 26

Chapter 26

While Baek Cheon-myeong concluded that Deus was an idiot,

Kang Ha-min looked at Deus's pleased expression and felt that things were going in a positive direction.

He misunderstood me as someone connected to the government.

Well, it made sense.

How many people would suddenly treat Deus like this?

Even to Kang Ha-min, it was an understandable misunderstanding.

And through Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong, I can contact Mr. Shin No-seop whenever I want.

Shin No-seop was practically available twenty-four hours a day.

If Ha-min contacted him,

getting government cooperation probably wouldn't be difficult.

If Deus is thinking in that direction...

Then all Ha-min had to do was play along.

And now that he knows I saved his life, he probably won't act recklessly.

For now,

the priority was stopping Deus and Baek Cheon-myeong from fighting.

"Yes. We secretly waited after hearing that you had arrived in South Korea, Mr. Deus."

So Kang Ha-min confirmed it.

Without knowing what those words meant to Deus.

"As expected."

Deus nodded with a look of understanding.

"This is quite an interesting place. I never imagined a skill like this existed."

He looked around with an expression that was almost refreshed.

"And my body feels better than before. That's because of the medicinal herbs too, right?"

Deus tested him again.

"Yes, that's correct."

Ha-min admitted the truth.

"As expected!"

And with that,

Deus's misunderstanding deepened.

Now Korea's hidden doctor has figured it out.

That rookie Baek Cheon-myeong really had been created by this man.

And by revealing this man's existence,

South Korea was trying to protect the image of Baek Cheon-myeong.

"I'm grateful. I owe you my life."

Deus was arrogant,

but he did understand basic morality.

A debt of life had to be repaid.

The Korean government must have considered that and treated him so generously.

Because a debt from Deus is valuable.

Those Koreans.

They were clever.

And for now,

playing along wasn't a bad idea.

"It was nothing. If something happened to you, Mr. Deus, it would be a loss to the entire world."

"Haha, is that so?"

Deus's expression immediately relaxed.

"Korea's doctor understands things well. I'll repay the favor for helping me."

Huh?

Korea's doctor?

Kang Ha-min tilted his head.

Something about the conversation felt slightly off.

...I don't know what it is, but I guess this is going well?

Deus looked pleased.

That was probably enough.

"Mr. Deus, if possible, regarding what happened here..."

"You want me to keep quiet about it. Even if I told people, they probably wouldn't believe me anyway. Fine."

Deus had no reason to make an enemy of Kang Ha-min.

Someone who possessed medicinal herbs of this quality was a person Deus would rather maintain a good relationship with.

This is probably part of Korea's plan too.

But it wasn't a bad deal for him either.

Deus was still a Hunter.

He was the kind of man who risked his life to become stronger.

He wanted to buy as many of Kang Ha-min's medicinal herbs as possible in the future.

More importantly,

"South Korea is going to become much stronger."

This was someone who could produce herbs capable of strengthening even Deus.

The Korean government would probably soon start secretly selling those herbs on the international market.

If even one herb like this appeared at auction,

the price would explode.

And before long,

the entire world would cling to South Korea's market.

The Korean Hunter market would grow on an entirely different scale.

Showing me this man is probably their way of telling me to cooperate if I want smooth business in the future.

It felt like he had knowingly stepped into a trap created by South Korea.

But what could he do?

If he became enemies with this man,

he might end up isolated from the Hunter world.

If anything, I'm lucky I learned about him this early.

Even though many unexpected things had happened,

coming to South Korea had been the correct decision.

My judgment really is incredible.

No wonder people called him a god.

Deus praised himself and stood up.

Meanwhile,

Kang Ha-min looked at Deus with relief.

I think this somehow ended well.

Deus was a complete disaster on social media.

But in reality,

he was surprisingly reasonable to talk to.

Is it because I saved his life?

Well,

there was probably nothing more important than having your life saved.

It was fortunate that Deus knew how to repay a favor.

[He probably just decided the moment he saw Master that you weren't someone he could casually fight.]

Baek Cheon-myeong suddenly added.

...What? Me?

[Did you not notice? The mana flowing from Master's body has already surpassed ordinary standards by a ridiculous amount.]

What was he talking about now?

[You underwent Body Reforging. Someone at Deus's level could naturally sense Master's qi, no, mana.]

Why didn't you tell me that?!

[Hmm. Does a strong person really need to hide their power?]

This ridiculous difference in common sense!

Only then did Kang Ha-min understand part of Deus's misunderstanding.

A massive amount of mana was naturally leaking from his body.

A skill that brought someone into a strange space.

Medicinal herbs capable of healing fatal injuries.

To anyone watching,

he clearly looked like an extraordinary Hunter.

In modern society, I need to hide it! You know how to suppress mana, right, Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong?

[I do.]

Teach me the moment this is over!

[Very well.]

So he had unknowingly pressured Deus just by standing there.

No wonder Deus, a social media addict and troublemaker, had been strangely quiet.

"Then I'll take you outside now."

Before Deus became more suspicious,

Ha-min decided to send him out quickly.

He created a door and guided Deus outside.

Deus quietly followed.

Once outside,

Deus looked around.

They were in an area slightly away from central Seoul.

Ha-min couldn't exactly bring him to his home,

so he had entered the Secret Floor from here.

"Mr. Deus, if you're still planning to fight Baek Cheon-myeong, then since you said you would repay my favor, could you please reconsider?"

In the end,

Kang Ha-min's goal was still to stop Deus and Baek Cheon-myeong from fighting.

When Ha-min even brought up the debt,

Deus clicked his tongue.

"You don't need to emphasize it that much. I was already planning to let it go. Even a god has principles."

Thank goodness.

Kang Ha-min finally relaxed.

Deus turned around.

"Deus isn't just a name. It means god."

"This Deus is personally acknowledging the situation and letting it pass."

"You should consider it an honor."

Even while retreating,

he protected his pride.

"Besides, right now I have more important people to punish."

Rough anger appeared in his eyes.

People who had dared challenge a god.

There was no doubt.

He was talking about the group that had attacked his private jet.

Kang Ha-min was curious about that too.

"...Are you talking about the people who injured you?"

Deus's private jet had crashed.

And Deus himself had almost died.

It was obviously a deliberate attack.

Who on the surface could injure Deus like this,

unless they had already achieved Tower Ascension?

"Normally, even I wouldn't have been beaten like that."

Deus's pride had clearly been hurt.

He glared angrily.

"Someone with a bad compatibility against me attacked at the perfect timing. That's why I ended up like this."

Just remembering it seemed to make him furious.

But even if it had been an ambush,

the attackers had managed to injure Deus this badly.

They couldn't be ordinary people.

"Returnees."

Kang Ha-min's eyes widened.

"People who returned from Dimensional Breaks joined forces and did this."

The attack on Deus.

It had been carried out by a group Kang Ha-min had never expected.

Several years had passed since Dimensional Breaks first appeared.

During that time,

people disappeared in many different ways.

One type of disappearance involved people being sucked into dimensional cracks during Dimensional Breaks.

Most of them were declared dead.

The reason was simple.

When someone was pulled into a dimensional crack,

their body usually couldn't withstand the dimensional force.

They were torn apart and died.

Researchers studying Dimensional Breaks had confirmed this directly.

But sometimes,

very rarely,

there were people who were sucked into those cracks

and still returned alive.

Those people were called

Returnees.

However,

most Returnees no longer remained ordinary humans.

Dimensional cracks released something similar to radiation, called dimensional rays.

Their bodies were often altered like monsters,

or they lost part of their humanity.

That was why even if someone returned from a Dimensional Break,

their life usually didn't end well.

Returnees...

To Kang Ha-min,

that word carried a special meaning.

The reason was simple.

His childhood friend had disappeared after being caught in a Dimensional Break.

Ha-min had once believed that friend might return as a Returnee.

Because of that,

he had studied Returnees for a time.

How they lived after returning.

How cruel modern society could be toward them.

He knew those things well.

...Most Returnees are used as research subjects.

Returnees had come back from Dimensional Breaks.

Countries desperate for information about Dimensional Breaks would never simply ignore them.

Of course,

most people considered that idea nothing more than a conspiracy theory.

Kang Ha-min didn't.

During his years as a civil servant,

a Returnee had once appeared after a Dimensional Break.

There had been no breaking news.

No public announcement.

Agents sent by the government had simply taken the Returnee away.

They had even received orders from above to keep their mouths shut.

The Team Leader had warned everyone not to get involved.

At the time,

Kang Ha-min hadn't been able to do anything.

What could one ordinary civil servant possibly do?

All he could do was hope the Returnee remained safe.

Even though he had entered the Hunter-related department because of his childhood friend,

he had hated himself for looking away from that reality.

And now,

those Returnees had formed a group

and attacked Deus.

"...Why would they attack you?"

Kang Ha-min looked at him with a complicated expression.

He was glad he was wearing a mask.

There was nothing good about showing his current face.

"I don't know. But at the very least, I don't think I was their only target."

Deus sounded certain.

"They're definitely aiming for something bigger."

Deus had personally fought the Returnee group.

Even if it had been an ambush,

they had still managed to injure him.

That meant they were extremely strong.

"Korea should remember that too. If you only focus on business, something might happen later."

With those words,

Deus left.

How was he planning to return to the United States?

Ha-min wasn't going to get involved that far,

so he didn't stop him.

He felt relieved that Deus had left without fighting Baek Cheon-myeong.

But a new problem had appeared.

A Returnee group.

What exactly were they trying to do?

"Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong, could they be one of the Tower's Trials you mentioned?"

[That should be separate. It seems this world is also slowly beginning to distort.]

This world too.

Did that mean Baek Cheon-myeong's world had been the same?

Several years had passed since the Tower first appeared.

Yet the world still couldn't escape constant disaster.

Are you still safe?

Kang Ha-min remembered his childhood friend for the first time in a while

and smiled bitterly.