Six Years Later (2)

“Fuck. Twenty billion for one business trip, and that’s not bad.”

Kim Bongpal muttered to himself. His plan was to go to someone who knew where Seo Hayeon was and ask them. That was all. What was special about finding where your debtor was?

However, it was a little peculiar that that person was Lee Kang-chul, the peak of the Korean hunter world.

Tuck, tuck.

Kim Bongpal was fiddling with his smartwatch to find information about Lee Kang-chul. It really felt like a long time ago since they last faced off. But maybe it was only natural that now he felt he needed to prepare. His opponent was Lee Kang-chul, and though the last time they met was long ago, those memories hadn’t faded. Time wouldn’t have dulled his skill, but that was the same for Kim Bongpal.

Anyway, Kim Bongpal headed for the Loess Plateau, an area once part of China.

*

Loess Plateau no longer belonged to any one country. The Puyi County, which was separated from China, once occupied it, but it had been a while since they gave up their ownership. It would be more appropriate to say that it was taken away rather than given up.

Hunters from around the world gathered there to subdue the Dragon Lord, and the Gate appeared following their battle. It was a matter of course that no one country could claim ownership of the Gate, even if it did appear in their territory. After the Outbreak, the international community was no longer a place to sate one’s greed. Thanks to this, the Loess Plateau was now a neutral zone where each country’s territorial claims were frozen. It was an idea that had once seemed impossible for the world.

Because of that, Loess Plateau was known under a different name: the Boundary.

Huff-

Kim Bongpal took a deep breath and looked around the Boundary.

‘Fuck. Why are there so many hunter bastards here?’

That was Kim Bongpal’s first impression. He’d seen many hunters in his life, but it was his first time to see so many gathered in one place like now. They appeared to be from all over the world. Quite a few of them must also work for Lee Kang-chul.

When he left El Plades, Kim Bongpal kept pondering how to find Seo Hayeon. For a hunter, planning for the hunt was just as important as the act of hunting.

Kim Bongpal was also a hunter and a pretty skilled one at that. So what he planned was-

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Are you Korean? That guy named Lee Kang-chul, do you know where his company is?”

A frontal attack.

*

“Is it here?”

Thanks to the successful response to the Outbreak, as well as the opening of the Gate to the other world, Korea’s status in the international community increased considerably. Because of that, Lee Kang-chul’s Iron corporation, the best in Korea, occupied a reasonably large area within the Boundary to match its reputation.

Kim Bongpal looked around before marching into the quarters of the Iron corporation. This place was, in a way, an enemy camp for him. Nevertheless, his stride carried no hesitation. Rather, he seemed as comfortable as if it were his house.

Kim Bongpal was a person whose impulses often outweighed his reason, but common sense hadn’t fled him entirely. He knew he was a great Hunter but couldn’t handle dozens of enemies with one hand. Moreover, Lee Kang-chul was a formidable enemy that he might not be able to defeat in a one-on-one fight.

However, there was a reason why Kim Bongpal went in without hesitation despite knowing this. He knew the rules of the Boundary applied here. Murder is never allowed. Duels to settle disputes are permitted.How simple and perfect it was. Unless this opponent rushed him with the intent to kill, Kim Bongpal was confident he would survive. Reflecting on this, he approached what appeared to be an information desk and said to the receptionist:

“Hey, pretty lady.”

There was no time for the receptionist to be surprised by the tacky remark she couldn’t believe that a handsome man in his 20s spat out.

“You know Damn-chul? He’s the boss here. Call that guy here, I need to talk to him.”

What he said next drew the focus of some hunters in the building lobby.

*

“D-Damn-chul?”

The receptionist asked back with clear surprise. But before Kim Bongpal replied.

“Wait a minute. Let me deal with him.”

Someone said from behind Kim Bongpal.

“Long time no see, Butcher.”

He was even someone who knew Kim Bongpal.

“Let’s see, twenty-five years? I think it’s about that, right?”

The person called Kim Bongpal the Butcher was a middle-aged man exuding an aura of incredible mana.

Kim Bongpal slowly scanned the man’s face. Although he had aged a little, it was a face that remained faint in his memory. It had been 25 years, according to him. That fact he could remember this guy’s face after all that time meant he was not someone normal.

“Huh?”

“Still the same. Your face, it’s still the same.”

“Oh, you’ve become a little old, haven’t you? What is your name…?”

“…I’m Park Yeon-sung. You once cut off one of my fingers.”Park Yeon-sung raised his left hand. On his left hand, a blue finger which seemed to be made of the raw material of a monster corpse took place where his ring finger should’ve been.

Hiccup-

It was then the receptionist watching their conversation hiccupped. In fact, how could she not be? Who was Park Yeong-sung? He was Lee Kang-chul’s right arm, his hunting dog, an S-Class hunter said to be the second strongest in Korea. Then the person who cut off one of the fingers of such a man was right before her, using some fairly outdated terms.

Kim Bongpal didn’t seem to care about the receptionist’s reaction.

“Oh, is that so? I wondered who did it to make such a clean cut. Was it me? Shit, I must’ve.”

He just shrugged.

“…”

There was silence between the two for a while. Park Yeon-sung was angered by Kim Bongpal’s response but soon returned to a calm look. Then, a smile split his lips.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to talk here. Would you like to go upstairs?”

The Iron corporation, or to be precise, the several hunters who previously belonged to Lee Kang-chul’s group, had built many ties to Kim Bongpal. They weren’t good ones, so what Park Yeon-sung suggested was a clear provocation.

If you are confident, follow me and come upstairs. Only if you have the confidence to return alive from Lee Kang-chul’s hunters, the hunters of the Iron corporation. That was his true intention.

“Fine. Hey, pretty lady. See you next time.”

Kim Bongpal responded. He didn’t even forget the cheap remark to the receptionist. Kim Bongpal, having lived in El Plades, thought such a thing worked well for women.

*

The place where Park Yeon-sung guided Kim Bongpal was a vast room occupying half the floor. To guess its purpose, it was the training hall of the hunters belonging to the Iron corporation, or it could be a sparring arena. There was no doubt that the place where he was guided was here. Actually, now Park Yeon-sung was openly revealing his mana.

However, Kim Bongpal kept an attitude as if nothing was wrong. Instead, he looked around and said:

“It looks great. You guys are making some money, aren’t you?”

Park Yeon-sung slowly nodded, his smile growing wider.

“Well, of course. From the beginning, you used to be like this. Haha. But Butcher, you know what?”

Kim Bongpal didn’t answer Park Yeon-sung’s question. He just smirked.

“The world has changed. A lot of things have changed, really. Especially since six years ago.”

Park Yeon-sung made his mana swell around him. It was several times more than Kim Bongpal remembered him to be capable of. Was it because Park Yeon-sung worked hard on his training for 25 years? That wasn’t it.

“There used to be two ways to gather mana. Defeat monsters or build it up naturally in your body. But not anymore. There’s one more.”

As if Park Yeon-sung’s words were a signal, a group of hunters entered the room. Surprisingly, a couple were S-Class, and the rest were all A-Class. They were part of Park Yeon-sung’s team, known as the Hounds inside the Iron corporation.

“Mana Stones. You may have heard the name, but there is something called a Mana Stone in this new world.”

Park Yeon-sung, glancing at them, turned to Kim Bongpal and continued.

As he said, the world had changed. A lot, too. Although it was still a technology dominated by several hunter companies worldwide, it was now possible to inject mana from the outside through a Mana Stone.

“Sir. Is it this guy?”

“Yeah. Don’t be too hard on him because he must not die. Keep that in mind. Ah! I will not touch your fingers due to my respect for a senior, Butcher.”

Park Yeon-sung said with a nod. Then, the other hunters surrounded Kim Bongpal. However, his attitude remained unchanged, and he didn’t even put a hand on his weapon.

“Hey, you, Finger Shit.”

Kim Bongpal, who was looking at the hunters surrounding him, said.

“Are you going to trust these useless people and leave?”

Then, Kim Bongpal smirked. That smirk stimulated a line from Park Yeon-sung’s buried memories. For a moment, he felt a tingling sensation in the ring finger of his left hand.

“As expected, it’s fun. Fighting Kang-chul’s foolish men.”

Of course, he couldn’t take back the words he had already spit out.