Episode 153: Treatment (3)
* * *
Around that time.
“hmm. “This is the video obtained from the scene, right?”
“yes. Because it was a bad day, the picture quality is not very clear.”
“it’s okay. This isn’t difficult to figure out. “Anyway, this is a video of Jeungseonrak being harmed.”
“you’re right.”
Yu Qinghua was watching a video handed over to him by his subordinate.
It was a video of the scene where Jeung Seon-rak, an executive of the Shinsu Guild, was attacked by Kang-hu at the first research institute.
She had always been interested in the Shinsu guild because it was a satellite guild of the Shintu guild she belonged to.
In particular, Jeung Seon-rak has been watching him since he was a promising player. Although it has become a name now.
There was little interest in the fact that the target was the main gate constraint. Because this kind of thing is common.
However, the fact that Jeung Seon-rak was attacked by an unidentified assassin greatly aroused her curiosity.
“This defense line. “Isn’t this the side that deploys spirit hunters?”
“you’re right. “This is to hold them here even if the outer defense line collapses.”
“But this assassin in the video just passes by without even stopping once?”
“yes. It seems my expectations were completely shattered there. “It would have been the same for Jeung Seon-rak.”
“Well, I don’t think I’m washing items. “It seems like you were able to overcome temptation and deception through pure ability?”
“yes. That’s right.”
“Furthermore, there is something unique about the use of skills. “For an assassin, the use of skills is too diverse, right?”
“I presume he is not an ordinary assassin. There is also a possibility that they are mercenaries from overseas.”
“Who the hell is this?”
Yu Qinghua tilted her head.
There was one assassin that immediately came to mind.
Shin Kang-hoo. This is the assassin who tried to mentally scan Yu Qinghua several times before, but it didn’t even work.
However, it was difficult to connect with the assassin in the scene video.
First of all, the level of Jeungseonrak is high. According to the information Kanghu learned through Eclipse, the gap is too severe.
Additionally, the face was covered with a mask, making it impossible to get a proper image.
Kang-hoo’s face came to mind, but the connection was weak. I also thought it was an excessive leap.
If someone who knew about Ganghu’s shadow walking skill had seen the on-site video, their reaction would have been different.
However, she did not know exactly about Ganghu’s skill composition. I just know that it’s not unusual.
The subordinate asked.
“Shall we find out more?”
“Yes, find out secretly. “I don’t want other guilds or mercenaries to be interested in it for no reason.”
“Yes, I will.”
“Jeungseonrak was hit… That’s interesting. “I don’t know what kind of assassin he is, but the ransom price will be high, right?”
Yu Qinghua had a curious expression. It is clear that he is a skilled assassin.
* * *
morning.
Kang-hoo received a call from Master K and was heading to Ground Zero.
Thanks to his consideration, I was able to board a safe limousine and the trip was very comfortable.
There was enough time until the night I promised to meet Park Dong-jae, so there were no problems meeting him.
When we arrived at Ground Zero’s ‘Glass Land’, the scenery was the same as last time.
Numerous workers were busy harvesting, protected by an equal number of guards.
Master K’s meticulous consideration stood out as he thoroughly wore safety equipment and went to work.
Meanwhile, Kang Hu tilted his head when he saw an unexpected person come out to meet him.
“welcome. I will take care of you. “The Master is waiting.”
“There’s someone else here.”
“yes. Hyungseo Moon has gone north.”
“You mean you went to North Korea?”
“you’re right.”
The person who replaced Hyungseo Moon was a woman who appeared to be in her early 40s. Of course, this is our first meeting.
However, looking at the constellation information, he was a hunter of a similar level to Moon Hyeong-seo.
The main field seemed to be gunners like Ban Se-young. Constellation options are focused on accuracy and concentration.
“okay.”
“Please follow me. “The guide has changed to me, but everything is the same.”
“Excuse me, but what’s your name?”
“This is Hwang Bo-hye.”
“yes. It seems like I come here often. “I thought it would be a good idea to know his name in advance, so I asked.”
Bohye Hwang.
If Moon Hyeong-seo is not available, a person will appear on behalf of Moon Hyeong-seo. In that case, it would be safe to say that he is Master K’s second confidant.
Wherever Hwang Bo-hye followed, K was there, just like before.
As soon as the meeting took place, Hwang Bo-hye immediately left the place and the personnel guarding the area were also bitten.
It was a promised arrangement to ensure the security of the conversation. All work was done in an instant.
K, who saw Ganghu, was the first to shake his hand and say goodbye.
“Your complexion has worsened since I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“I overexerted myself yesterday. “It looks like your already bad complexion has gotten worse.”
“uh. Anyone who sees me will think that I came here with white powder on. “You worked your body to the limit, right?”
“That’s right.”
Trying to hide my physical condition in front of K seemed pointless.
Even after seeing his changed complexion, he immediately realized that he had overexerted himself due to mana hypersensitivity.
It is hard to say that he overlooked it because of the intuition he has shown so far. Rather than suspecting it, I thought it was natural.
“Hyungseo must have been greatly stimulated by you after visiting Ulleungdo, so he left for training.”
“I heard you went to North Korea.”
“There is no better place than that land to become stronger.”
“Isn’t it dangerous? Even at the Hunter Security Agency, North Korea has given up on checking monster vegetation.”
“It is also a land of opportunity. “After people no longer lived in North Korea.”
K was right.
After the era of hunters began.
Unlike other countries that quickly adapted to reality and formed their own power groups.
North Korea viewed Hunter’s appearance itself as a crisis of overthrow of the regime. To them, hunters were their enemies.
However, there was no way that the hunters who had gained unprecedented power would die obediently.
Eventually, a civil war broke out, and in the process, hunters who should have been the future force died in vain.
As a result, there was not enough power to subdue the monsters that appeared in the dungeon explosion in each area.
The result is right now.
Most people who lived in North Korea moved to China. And North Korea became a playground for monsters.
In fact, this is only one side of what is known, and there were also rumors that undead hunters exist.
Or, there was a story that hybridization with monsters resulted in the creation of an unimaginably unique species.
‘There should have been a lot of North Korean rice cakes in the original work. If you look at the rice cakes sprinkled around, there’s nothing strange about it.’
Kanghu burst out laughing as he remembered the original story.
What’s so weird is that when I left a review, did readers ask where on earth I got the North Korean rice cakes from?
The comment about North Korea received more than three times more likes than the author’s final review comment.
K changed the topic.
“Anyway, everything Hyungseo saw about you on Ulleungdo is going to make his mouth heavy. “You don’t have to worry.”
“I’m not worried. “There would be no reason to do such nonsense.”
“yes. In this harsh world, the heavier your mouth is, the longer your life will be. “We know that physiology well.”
K nodded.
Then he handed Kanghu something that was on the shelf next to him.
I haven’t heard the explanation yet, but I felt like I knew what it was right away. As expected, K immediately added an explanation.
“It’s a combination of a colorless talisman and a core of emission. “I learned the crafting method directly from Shinryeong a long time ago.”
“Have you known each other before?”
Friendliness was evident in the way K called Kim Shin-ryeong without any formality. I don’t feel like I’ve called it once or twice.
“Well… would it be better to say that we almost got married? “Past tense.”
“ah.”
You broke off your engagement. Or maybe they broke up before committing to marriage.
Anyway, it seems like they once loved each other.
For a moment, K’s eyes sparkled. I guess it’s because it reminds me of a relationship I had when I was young. I understood.
“Anyway, I made it using the crafting method I learned from Shinryeong. “I’ll tell you in advance, but don’t expect too much.”
“Because I am much more pessimistic and negative than you might think. “I don’t have any expectations.”
Ganghu nodded.
I didn’t completely lower my expectations, but if I were to express my expectations as a percentage, it seemed like it would be around 10%.
“okay. Let’s take it easy. Now, let’s go to the sterile room and perform the procedure. “You have to be careful about bacterial infections.”
“yes. please.”
The special sterile room that followed K was prepared to perform small, if not major, surgeries.
Moreover, implanting a very small amulet on the body could be performed without any problems.
The process of administering local anesthesia and planting the amulet was completed faster than expected.
I thought I might have to talk to K to relieve my boredom, but I was worried for no reason.
K finished the suturing and disinfection meticulously and carefully prayed to Kang-hoo.
“Try using your skills. If possible, it is better to continue using it to induce mana recovery.”
“yes.”
Kanghu immediately started using skills one after another.
Skills like frantic healing. In other words, it was mainly used as auxiliary skills that were not connected to attack actions.
Normally, mana is consumed in an instant and recovery occurs rapidly, causing an overload on the body.
That is, pain is caused.
If K’s hypothesis is correct here, the talisman will emit fake mana and lower the overload.
It’s like taking a breather.
It is true that mana is restored to normal, but the pressure on the body is reduced as much as possible.
Soon, Kang-hu, who felt all the changes in his body from beginning to end, let out a short sigh.
“hmm.”
“how is it?”
“I didn’t feel overloaded for about 5 seconds. But after that it’s the same.”
“As expected…”
“And it seems like the 5 second benefit is not restored right away. “There will likely be a waiting time.”
“Would you mind…waiting?”
“yes. “Please do so.”
30 minutes have passed since then.
Then, just as the talisman had done before, it had the effect of temporarily removing the overload.
The waiting time is about 30 minutes.
After that, it seemed like I could get a chance to get rid of the overload caused by mana hypersensitivity for about 5 seconds.
Considering that I thought there would be no results, it was a pretty good result. Kanghu thought so.
“It’s worse than I thought.”
“Because you can’t fill up after the first drink. Still, I can indirectly experience it for 5 seconds every 30 minutes.”
“Are you completely free from pressure?”
“yes. It won’t cause the slightest overload for 5 seconds. Mana recovery is normal.”
“It means that the conclusion of the hypothesis itself is not wrong.”
“I guess that means we need continuous emission power.”
“that’s right. The amulet we made now doesn’t have that capability. “Because the output is low.”
“Are we going with the second hypothesis that a higher level colorless talisman and emission core are needed?”
“haha. … yes.”
Even though K was smiling, he had an uneasy expression on his face.
This is because although the direction has been established, the means to pursue that direction are usually not difficult.
He has such high sensitivity that he was able to obtain the current colorless talisman from Kim Shin-ryeong.
It is highly likely that it will not be easy for Kim Shin-ryeong to achieve a level higher than that. It’s quite a difficult task.
“I feel good.”
Unlike K, who seemed disappointed, Kang-hoo’s reaction was positive.
Opening the door to change.
Didn’t it cause a crack in the congenital mana hypersensitivity that I thought couldn’t make even the slightest change?
So what if the missing information is filled and confidence and experience are built here?
Because it was clear that things would definitely be better than they are now. It won’t be negative.
Perhaps because Kang-hoo’s positive reaction was unexpected, K smiled and answered.
“You said I was much more pessimistic and negative than I thought, but it was me, not you, who had a dark view.”
“I think this is just the beginning.”
“that’s right. “It would be right to think that a good start is better than being disappointed.”
“That’s right.”
“I was foolish.”
It was a small reflection that made K feel good too.
Yes, change has begun.
The two were confident that congenital mana hypersensitivity was an incurable disease and would not last forever.