Lee Kang-chul

As Park Yeon-sung said, six years is a long time, and 25 years is even longer. In other words, it was enough for Park Yeon-sung to forget one memory. In fact, it wouldn’t have changed even if he had remembered. After all, back then, he was just a rookie compared to now. At that time, Park Yeon-sung couldn’t reach this position as Lee Kang-chul’s right arm.

No, he was a middle-rank of the many hunters Lee Kang-chul had. Of course, Park Yeon-sung’s position at that time wasn’t that small. He was still the most promising prospect in Lee Kang-chul’s group, although his position was only a middle rank. Although he wasn’t a first-generation Awakener, he’d grown to the point of threatening some from the first generation.

But in other words, he didn’t know. Why did so many people who lived in the first generation compete so much, even if only Kim Bongpal appeared? How was Kim Bongpal able to attack Lee Kang-chul like it was his own house all these years?

There was a reason why Lee Kang-chul didn’t take any action even though many people got injured because of Kim Bongpal at that time.

‘This guy is dangerous.’

Of course, some people here didn’t know more about Kim Bongpal than Park Yeon-sung.

“Ha? I’m speechless. Sir, isn’t this crazy? I heard that his ability is that he doesn’t age. Doesn’t it mean he screwed up? Come to think of it, did he grow senile?”

One of the Hunters said to Park Yeon-sung. Hearing those words, Kim Bongpal’s eyes widened.

He didn’t feel threatened or anything like that; it was because the person who spoke seemed to know Kim Bongpal’s abilities. Kim Bongpal went to the Boundary on what amounted to an impulse. He had no contact with anyone else until he met Park Yeon-sung in the lobby and came up here. He couldn’t find a hint of contact with Park Yeon-sung from any other time either.

So, they anticipated his visit. Park Yeon-sung, or maybe Lee Kang-chul himself.

“It’s fun.”

With a deep smile on his lips, Kim Bongpal’s eyes darted around.

‘Let’s knock them all down first and find out which one of them it is.’

Eight people surrounded him, including Park Yeon-sung. No one drew their weapons. Hence, Kim Bongpal didn’t intend to draw his sword. Of course, it wasn’t important for him. Kim Bongpal preferred to use the sword in battle not because he was particularly good at handling it but because it was convenient. Kim Bongpal could cut off someone’s head with his bare hands if he wanted to. Or crush them.

“Fun, you say? Ha! You must be senile. Do you think this is funny now?”

The man who appeared to be the most senior of the Iron hunters surrounding Kim Bongpal boosted his mana. He was an Awakener who rose to the top of the A-Class by honing his special ability called Rigid Body.

Rigid Body was actually a common ability. Because of that, he couldn’t reach S-Class, but if he trained it to the extreme, it no longer became something common. How could it be common to have a body that was a weapon? A weapon that would never break, at that. In fact, his fighting power was the highest in Park Yeon-sung’s hunting team.

“Haha. Is it funny, you ask?”

Kim Bongpal asked. An unbearably pleasant smile hung on his lips. That was right; he was enjoying this situation.

The man met Kim Bongpal’s smile with a frown. He was also an experienced Awakener, and he could sense this wouldn’t be an easy opponent. Besides that relaxed attitude…the man wrapped one more layer of mana around him.

The intense density of his mana showed how deeply he had trained his abilities. What he was showing now was enough to withstand even a direct hit from a small missile. Yes, it should have been.

Baaaaang-!

“Right, it’s funny. You fucker.”

Instead, he was thrown into the wall with all his mana scattered by one attack.“How dare you speak informally like that? You rookie youngster.”

*

At that moment, the Iron corporation hunters stopped thinking.

“W-what?”

Someone shouted. That was the most durable Awakener in Park Yeon-sung’s hunting team. However.

“Chief Shin!”

He was now buried in rubble, unconscious. Just once. He was only hit by one attack. However, if there was anything special about it, it was that no one here properly understood the principle behind it. Otherwise, how could a person with the special ability of Rigid Body collapse so easily under a single attack?

Someone once wondered what made the first-generation Awakeners that great. Didn’t they just awaken a little faster than everyone else does? However, the current scene was telling them clearly what those first-generation Awakeners would look like if they were still in their heyday.

But it was only for a moment that they were confused. They were also hunters who had been through their own battles, and the first to rush forward was Park Yeon-sung. He, possessing the Pyrokinesis ability, lit a fire over his palms. It was difficult for any hunter to deal with elemental powers.

However, there were some exceptions. For example-

Tap-

If you couldn’t be hit, it wouldn’t matter.

“Huff!”

Park Yeon-sung took a deep breath. Kim Bongpal didn’t counter his attack with great skill; he simply pulled himself back out of the attack’s range and slipped into Park Yeon-sung’s blind spot. It was something anyone could do.

That was unless their opponent was an S-Class Hunter like Park Yeon-sung.

Baaang!

It felt like a log hit Park Yeon-sung’s stomach. Mana was protecting his body, but it paled against how much Kim Bongpal concentrated in his fist. It was surprising considering that the total amount of Park Yeon-sung’s mana was incomparably higher than an ordinary hunter’s, thanks to his use of Mana Stones. However, it was a matter of quantity.

It must be difficult for Park Yeon-sung, an S-Class, to summon enough fire to burn people at a distance. So, he invested most of his mana in a close-range attack and used the rest for defense. However, Kim Bongpal’s fighting style was slightly different, and more than 90% of his total mana was packed into his fist.

Dash!

Kim Bongpal, who blew away Park Yeon-sung with one attack, quickly backed off. He dealt with six people, excluding the two who’d already been knocked out. Even if they were all chaff, they were still chaff that had ripened to some extent. Being surrounded by them all was too much for him.

“You fucking bastard!”

Some of the Hunters shouted. Unlike before, when there was no murderous spirit, each attack now attempted to kill. All special abilities, such as Telekinesis and Swordsmanship, could easily crush a person who flew in. The fact that Kim Bongpal had neutralized the two most potent of them dyed them with fear.

In response to the change in the air, Kim Bongpal drew his cheap sword. His mana covered the blade in perfect form without an ounce of waste.

Kim Bongpal avoided the attacks flying toward him and deflected the others. His conversion of mana was terrifyingly perfect.

‘Is this the skill of an old man who retired 25 years ago?’

The swordsman who faced Kim Bongpal looked frustrated. His entire arm was numb after hitting his blade once.

Pats-The swordsman felt something brush against his left arm. But that thought soon changed. It wasn’t brushed.

The swordsman had a quick look at his left arm. For a moment, he couldn’t understand. Was his left arm that just fell to the floor, separated at the elbow?

‘Fuck…how am I supposed to catch a bastard like this?’

He thought he had blocked the blow, and he had. But a second attack, which flew in from a trajectory he couldn’t understand, cut off his arm. No, was it right to say that it was cut off? Wouldn’t it be more accurate to say that it was disbanded?

At that moment, such a thought crossed the swordsman’s mind.

Clank-clank!

A great shock hit his body. That was all the swordsman was capable of remembering that day.

*

Spit!

“Fuck. It’s been a long time since I’ve moved my body, so it feels like I’m choking to death.”

Kim Bongpal spat on the floor and rubbed the back of his neck, stretching. It was a pretty strange sight. A total of eight people lay defeated around him. Four were S-Class hunters, and the other four were A-Class. Among them, Park Yeon-sung and the strong one with Rigid Body were the only ones who kept their limbs intact. All those desperate to attack him had at least one of their limbs cut off by Kim Bongpal.

What he did after creating such a gruesome scene was mill about and stretch.

“What the? It’s not fun.”

Kim Bongpal turned around and looked at Park Yeon-sung.

“Finger Shit, is this all?”

“…”

“Did you prepare anything else? Or do you want to call some more?”

Park Yeon-sung gave him a fed-up look. His lips trembled. Kim Bongpal smiled as he took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

Tap- Sizzle-

“I guess you don’t have any. Shall we finish this? Choose it.”

As obscure as that phrase was, Park Yeon-sung knew instinctively what he meant.

“Your fingers won’t do this time, right? Let’s see. One arm would be perfect, but which one would you prefer? If it’s right, it’s good because it will make it balance, and if it’s left, it’s good because you’re left-handed. What do you want to do?”

Park Yeon-sung’s expression crumpled. It wasn’t because of the fear of the pain to come, and it wasn’t because he would take one of his arms. It was just…the unbearable humiliation.

“Haah. Or do you want me to pick for you? Let’s see. Eeny Meany…”

Through the cigarette smoke that Kim Bongpal exhaled, he could see Kim Bongpal pointing back and forth. The helplessness that he couldn’t do anything in front of this first-generation Awakener dominated Park Yeon-sung.

“Catch the rabbit by the….”

But it was then.

“Stop there.”

Kim Bongpal’s playful spirit changed. His hand rested back on his sword. He couldn’t help it now that there was a big shot.

“Excuse the rudeness of our side, Butcher. Can’t you stop there?”

A familiar voice, and a more familiar mana, called out. Lee Kang-chul, the pinnacle of Korean hunters, appeared.