Chapter 75

Chapter 75

You—where are you?

I'm coming to find you right now!

You read it and didn't reply. ㅡㅡ

If you don't answer, I'm taking that as you've awakened your gift.

So, is Immunity to All Poisons nice?

Ignoring me, huh.

[Package delivery scheduled]

[Gift certificate]

I even pulled out my last-resort techniques—the package and the gift certificate—but the bastard Berserker didn't bite.

I set down the silent smartphone and clicked my tongue.

"...This guy really did awaken Immunity to All Poisons, didn't he."

Considering Berserker's personality, I was 100 percent certain.

That lunatic must have been confident he could take me, then suddenly came to his senses.

Immunity to All Poisons—a legendary gift that blocks any status effect.

For an Awakened confident in their own combat power, Immunity to All Poisons was a shield that could block any poison, any mental confusion, any debuff.

It was a gift I desperately wanted too. But to get it, I'd have to find that bastard Berserker.

"Just looking at him, he's clearly gone into hiding."

Where should I go to catch him?

He's a villain, so he's been circling the outskirts—hard to pin down his residence. He's probably banking on that, using the left-on-read strategy to buy time. Does he seriously think time is on his side?

That if he builds up his strength in the meantime, he can beat me?

...Come on, he can't be that stupid.

But even if I find him, the next problem was what came after. To obtain Immunity to All Poisons, I need to get his heart-blood—so do I have to kill him? Or is there another way to get the blood?

This is something I'll need to think about. He's too useful to just kill outright.

For now, the most important thing is figuring out where Berserker is.

That got resolved easily enough while I was talking with Lee Sehee.

"There's a way to find out, of course."

"Really?"

"Yes. The smartphone Berserker is carrying is registered under your name, Junho."

"Right, it was."

Come to think of it, I'm the one paying the bill, too. He uses it for free and leaves me on read? Maybe I should downgrade his plan.

What Lee Sehee mentioned was a "location-tracking app."

Since the phone is registered under my name, tracking it isn't difficult.

Berserker, you bastard—I'll be seeing you soon.

As expected of Lee Sehee. When something's blocking me, she resolves it cleanly.

Under my gaze, Lee Sehee smiled and crossed her legs the other way, showing off her leg line.

"The boxed meal company matter—you stepped back from it, Junho, but it's being handled on a surprisingly large scale."

The company, of course, but also the civic groups that pushed for its selection and the relevant departments at Seoul City Hall were being raided, she said.

In particular, the deputy mayor had been dismissed and the Mayor of Seoul himself had stepped forward to give explanations—the scale of the case was considerable, and Lee Sehee said this reflected the President's intentions.

"The President's more fiery than I thought."

"He's using this opportunity to firmly reestablish discipline."

"In his own party?"

"Yes. Even within the same party, not everyone shares the same thoughts and intentions. Especially since Blue House power has a time limit, and the next power is a newly rising force—so there's bound to be a struggle for initiative."

So they're trying to stick a knife in the father's back to secure power succession, and the father is slapping his son's cheek saying it's too early.

It was fascinating—even within the same faction, they were waging such fierce internal power struggles.

Whatever their goal is, it's not my concern.

"Anyway, that was unexpected."

"What was?"

"I didn't think you'd make the decision to sit back and watch, Junho."

"They said they'd handle it actively, so I'm watching. If they don't handle it properly, I can move then."

Part of it is aiming for a deterrent effect.

Still, more often than not things don't change—but when that happens, I can just step in.

Unless I'm going to track down and handle every single thing myself, it's more efficient for self-correction to occur naturally.

I suppose I've now been equipped with refined forcefulness—no longer killing recklessly at the drop of a hat.

"With the Mayor of Busan going down like that, the opposition party will be in chaos, and the pro-President faction will gain dominance in the ruling party. It's not a bad development for you, Junho."

"Not bad."

"Yes. They've learned that touching you costs them dearly. They'll want to stay on good terms with you rather than fall out."

"Honestly, I don't want to get tangled up in politics."

Even if the opposition candidate wins the next presidential election, as long as they don't specifically provoke me, I plan to get along fine.

Who someone is matters more than what party they belong to.

Lee Sehee agreed and said it wasn't easy.

"Party ideology matters too. You end up following that ideology within the larger framework."

"If they don't want to die, they'll fix their ideology too."

"...That is, well, true."

Few people refuse to bend their convictions in the face of death.

That's why I cherish Jung Dahyun.

Lee Sehee pouted her lips.

"Don't just look after Dahyun—look after me a little too."

"Is there something you want?"

"I'll think about it."

Whether that was what she'd wanted to hear, Lee Sehee grinned broadly and brought up an upcoming event.

"Speaking of which, I heard you're going to Tokyo soon?"

"Yeah. Why?"

I wondered if there was some special issue, but Lee Sehee closed her mouth, seemed to organize her thoughts, then spoke carefully.

"Going is fine, but there are a few things I'm worried about."

"What worries?"

"I don't know what the government intended by announcing it, but the Awakened belonging to the World Transcendent Association mostly look at you with eyes full of doubt, Junho."

What's there to doubt?

As I made a puzzled expression, Lee Sehee held up three long, white fingers.

"First, the pro-China Awakened don't look kindly on you for eliminating Zhang Zidong. Second, there are people who believe the hunting intel on Nuri wasn't properly provided. And lastly, there are people who don't believe in your abilities."

"My abilities? Why?"

"Because so many of your achievements are hard to believe."

"Making a fuss over killing one monster."

"That monster's caused an enormous amount of damage to the world, you know?"

Not long ago, Harmful-class Level 8 monsters similar to Nuri appeared all over the world.

The damage from that was said to be severe, and the Nuri hunting briefing had been helpful while simultaneously becoming the trigger for growing doubts about my abilities.

The gap in level compared to existing Harmful-class Level 8s was so great that a new grade—Level 8 Plus—had been created.

Making such a big deal over killing one monster.

"The problem is they're weak."

"That is the fundamental problem. But those people might try to test your abilities."

"Why bother?"

"Because it's human nature to poke at something to see if it's shit or soybean paste."

That phrasing feels aggressive. It's not because of me, is it?

Anyway, these people not believing in my abilities and carrying on like this—I don't think much of it.

If they haven't seen it with their own eyes, of course they can't believe it. But if they try to test it while not believing, they'll have to pay the price.

Nothing in this world is free.

"I don't care. I'll just kill them all."

"All of them...?"

"If they try to test me. They doubted without being prepared for that, right?"

"I don't think they're prepared."

"Then they die."

"...You really haven't changed, Junho. A storm is going to sweep through."

Are they treating me like a troublemaker?

I guess it's because Lee Sehee hasn't seen what real trouble-making looks like.

And I've come to my senses and haven't caused a single incident, too.

Deciding to deal with anyone who comes at me after I get to Tokyo, I returned to the original topic.

"Tell me how to track Berserker's location."

"Okay. Give me your smartphone."

Lee Sehee operated it so she could look up Berserker's location.

This guy—he was currently at Ttangkkeut Village, Haenam.

Don't tell me he went far away to avoid me. Did he think I couldn't reach Ttangkkeut Village?

Just as I was thinking it was about time to go catch him—

Lee Sehee, as if a forgotten fact had surfaced, spoke to me.

"Oh, and there's Director Jung Juho's confirmation hearing."

"Why does that matter?"

"There's a high chance your name will come up at the hearing, Junho. Because Director Jung Juho is your superior."

My name? Is there anything about me that could be a weakness?

Jung Juho will handle it himself.

Lee Sehee had merely been passing along that it could happen.

Now, shall I go catch Berserker?

* * *

Berserker considered his life to be, fundamentally, one that began with endless freedom.

Driving his camping car—his trusty steed, so to speak—freely roaming the entire country, and when he got bored, sometimes moving around with nothing at all, bare-handed.

Then if he spotted a villain, he'd just crush them, and if he saw a hunting team making a sorry sight of themselves, he'd kill anyone not worth dealing with.

Someone has to take out the trash, after all.

When money ran low, he'd hunt monsters and sell them on the black market, getting by that way.

Since he didn't even haggle, Berserker was a welcome customer.

So even living as a villain, Berserker's life wasn't particularly lacking.

Sometimes family came to mind, but even that didn't mean much.

As long as this life continued and he glimpsed his moment of the star, that was enough. He quite liked this moment—unbound by anything.

Except.

"Mmm."

He'd thought he'd glimpsed his moment of the star when he obtained Immunity to All Poisons, but that had been nothing but an illusion.

It was just the euphoria he'd felt when acquiring a gift—not enough to call it a moment of the star.

That's why the message he'd sent Choi Junho stung.

Immunity to All Poisons was merely a means to let him fully unleash his combat power—it hadn't made him stronger.

Especially against an opponent like Choi Junho, it was even more of a poison.

Berserker placed his hand over his heart. There was no particular wound, but it had been throbbing for a while now. Full Recovery had healed it cleanly without even a scar, but his futile thrashing in front of that bastard had left aftereffects that lingered for quite some time.

"That bastard is after my gift."

He still couldn't forget those eyes that had recognized Immunity to All Poisons and looked at him.

The eyes of a predator eyeing tasty prey.

He knows the bastard can steal others' gifts. If he gets Immunity to All Poisons, the Head Breaker would wield absolute martial might while immune to any status effect.

It's like a monster sprouting wings and then mounting a laser beam on top of it.

Given that bastard's nature, he'd mercilessly kill him and steal the gift.

He doesn't fear death, but he fears dying like a bug—trampled without being able to do anything.

That's why Berserker decided to leave him on read.

"Buy time. Train until I feel it's enough, then face him."

At least enough that his end wouldn't be pathetic.

He wants to crack that smug face. At the very least, he wants to leave a big scar.

Then the bastard will think of him whenever he sees that scar.

If he can't win, he wanted to leave behind a mark that couldn't be erased.

Suddenly, his own situation felt ridiculous.

"Heh, thinking about leaving nothing but a scar."

Not long ago, he'd been agonizing over how to kill his opponent.

He'd gotten tangled up with a truly nasty bastard.

But he didn't hate it. The existence of a massive wall he couldn't possibly overcome became a goal that pushed him to strive harder instead of being satisfied.

After arriving at Ttangkkeut Village, Haenam, Berserker killed the villains lurking nearby, seized their base, and stayed for a few days.

"......"

Training while gazing at the endlessly stretching sea wasn't bad at all.

Choi Junho wouldn't know he was here.

Roaming all over the country like this, staying out of sight—that was his newly established strategy. The bastard was a busy man. He hoped Junho, tangled up in this and that, would forget about him for a while.

But why did he feel so uneasy?

He tried to shake off the lingering discomfort, but it wouldn't go.

Haenam was a good hiding spot. Not only was it far from Seoul, but there were few safe zones, making it hard for witnesses to exist.

But his senses were sending him warnings with strange intensity. It was something science couldn't explain, but in cases like this, staying put for long rarely ended well.

"Is the land bad here? I should move."

Not ignoring the growing sense of wrongness, he drove his camping car out of Haenam that night.

He set his new destination as Yeosu. He planned to hole up there and not move an inch if possible.

The car raced down the empty road without hesitation.

Normally it would be a refreshing sight, but strangely, the unease only grew.

"What's the problem?"

What on earth was happening? Absentmindedly, he let go of the steering wheel and looked at his palm—sweat had pooled there.

Eventually, his hand was trembling.

After driving half out of his mind, the car entered Yeosu.

Berserker killed a few monsters loitering nearby, parked the car in an open clearing, got out, and fixed his gaze on the sea.

"Phew!"

The sea, unchanging as always, helped him collect himself. But this time was different.

Rather, his senses were sending louder and louder warnings.

Get out of here. Run, escape quickly.

"Are you telling me to flee outside the world or something?"

He'd come from Haenam to Yeosu, yet instead of easing, the unease only grew stronger—what was he supposed to do?

But the warnings from his senses grew stronger and stronger, reaching their peak.

Thump, thump.

Eventually, fear beyond excitement began to consume his entire body.

His whole body was on edge, his mouth bone-dry. His chilled spine grew damp with cold sweat.

He'd felt this way only three times.

His first hunt, when he got married, and—

When he met that bastard, Head Breaker Choi Junho.

Maybe his senses had gone strange after obtaining Immunity to All Poisons. If they expanded like this and he gained something close to precognition, that'd be fine—but he couldn't rule out the possibility that it was an abnormal reaction.

It had to be that, right?

That bastard is far away in Seoul. The bastard doesn't even know where he is. Yet his body reacting like this meant it couldn't adapt and was being thrown into confusion.

Just as he turned around, thinking it was an overreaction of his senses—

A voice that should never be heard burrowed into his ears.

"Does Immunity to All Poisons come with other Intuition-like effects too? Your senses seem to have gotten pretty sharp. As expected of a legendary gift."

"......!"

Seeing the figure sitting atop the camping car, Berserker was struck by a shock that felt like his breath would stop.

The ghost's face, smiling warmly as it looked at him… was Choi Junho's.

How did this bastard get here?

"I came to get a gift."