Chapter 60: Hwiryong (2)

The man burst into the Guild Leader’s office, slamming the door open with enough force to shatter it. He was a middle-aged man with a full head of impeccably groomed white hair and a sharply tailored suit. His eyes, with their fiercely upturned corners, locked onto Ko Youngmin, his gaze as cold as frozen ice.

Ko Youngmin stammered, his voice trembling uncontrollably, “G-Grandfather?”

“I warned you not to use familiar titles here, Guild Leader Ko Youngmin,” the man’s voice cut through the air like a sharpened blade.

Swallowing hard, Ko Youngmin instinctively snapped to rigid attention. “W-what brings you here, Honorary Guild Leader Go Geonho?”

He uttered the name of his great-uncle, Hwiryong’s first Guild Master, the most renowned Necromancer and Blood Mage in South Korean history.

“Honorary Guild Leader, what brings you here?” Ko Youngmin swallowed hard, bowing his head low.

“You should know better than anyone, Guild Leader Ko Youngmin.”

“Uh…”

“The reason I’ve set foot in this place again after three years.”

His voice was monotone, devoid of any discernible emotion.

Yet Ko Youngmin cowered even further under the imposing aura radiating from the middle-aged man with the slicked-back hair.

Go Geonho, the Nine Heavens Bone King.

Though he had entrusted Ko Youngmin with full authority over Hwiryong and retired from the Hunter community, he was once a legendary figure who stood shoulder to shoulder with Shinwa’s Cha Taesu and Hwarang’s Ma Daechun.

Ko Youngmin knew better than anyone that the old warrior’s indomitable spirit hadn’t dulled in the past thirty years.

Finally, he stammered, “Y-you heard about the sparring match today, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

Go Geonho’s deeply lined eyes narrowed to slits. He continued in a low voice, too quiet for Jo Yongtae, standing some distance away, to hear. “Tell me exactly what you’ve done and why this mess has erupted.”

Ko Youngmin’s eyes widened. “Uncle… How did you find out? You were supposed to be overseas, beyond the reach of news…”

“Shut your mouth, you worthless fool.”

The quiet menace in Go Geonho’s voice silenced Ko Youngmin, his face a mask of despair. Any lingering hope that his uncle might have come to his aid vanished completely.

Contrary to the grim image typically associated with necromancers, Go Geonho was a man who valued integrity, diligence, and a steadfast heart above all else.

Go Geonho knew everything: how Jo Yongtae had sold the Lich’s Bone Chamber to Bae Hyeon-su for a fortune, how Taejun had caught him in a compromising situation and gained leverage over him, and how these events had led to their current predicament. Given all this, there was no way Go Geonho would side with them.

Moreover, Go Geonho had never liked Jo Yongtae, even before his Awakening. He saw him as nothing more than a street thug who had scraped by on the fringes of society.

In fact, Go Geonho was rather inclined to…

“Vice Guild Leader Jo Yongtae.”

“Y-yes, Honorary Guild Leader,” Jo Yongtae stammered, startled by the sound of his name. He had been cautiously avoiding eye contact, but now he jolted and stared at Go Geonho.

Go Geonho’s frosty gaze pierced through him. “Take out what you’re hiding in your pocket.”

“I-I don’t have anything in my pocket,” Jo Yongtae protested weakly.

”…Nothing at all?”

Under Go Geonho’s icy glare, Jo Yongtae’s face contorted. Slowly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a dried leaf.

“I heard today’s duel is between you and Lee Taejun to see who’s better at wielding Undead Skills,” Go Geonho said.

”…”

“Does dried Asteria leaf count as one of those ‘Undead Skills’?”

Of course not.

Asteria leaves were items that temporarily reduced the Mana cost of Skills.

In other words, Jo Yongtae was trying to duel Taejun while doped up.

“H-Honorary Guild Leader… that’s…”

Before Jo Yongtae could stammer out an explanation—

Whoosh!

“Ugh!”

The leaf in his hand burst into crimson flames, burning with a blood-red intensity.

In an instant, a doping item worth tens of millions of won turned to ash and scattered in the wind.

Jo Yongtae grimaced, grinding his teeth in frustration.

“Hmm.”

Go Geonho glanced again at the spot near Jo Yongtae’s ribs.

The Vice Guild Leader swallowed hard, gripping the charred stem of the leaf.

After a brief silence, Go Geonho turned away.

“Let’s go down. I need to see this for myself.”

He swept his snow-white hair back and murmured, “To assess the true extent of Lee Taejun’s abilities as a Necromancer.”

The lobby of the Hwiryung Guild headquarters.

After reading the message, I chuckled softly and slipped my smartphone into my pocket.

The lobby was completely deserted, not a soul in sight—not even at the reception desk. The guild member who had gone to inform Ko Youngmin of my arrival showed no sign of returning.

Manager Mi’s patience finally snapped.

“Just let it go,” I replied casually to her grumbling as I stood up and walked toward the elevators.

Occasionally, someone who appeared to be affiliated with the Hwiryung Guild recognized me.

I turned away, feigning indifference.

No one approached to greet me or offer directions.

They must have already received their orders from Ko Youngmin.

Still clinging to his pride, huh?

He probably wants to undermine my spirit before the sparring match even begins.

Well, I’m Lee Taejun—a man who wouldn’t bat an eye at such petty tactics.

Smiling, I reached the elevator at the end of the lobby.

Ding.

The doors opened at just the right moment.

The elevator was still empty, without a single guild member to guide me.

Even the floor directory seemed to be missing.

Without hesitation, I pressed the lowest button: “B7.”

Then I sent Ko Youngmin a text: “Heading down now.”

“No.”

“You’d know if you hadn’t dozed off during the ‘History After the Great Change’ class at Hunters Den.”

Now that technology is so advanced, we can build training grounds specifically for Hunters anywhere, as long as we install the appropriate Mana generation devices.

But in the early days after the Great Change, when such technology didn’t exist, training grounds were often constructed on sites where Mana naturally lingered—usually the ruins of Erosion-type Dungeons.

I nodded.

And so…

Ding.

The elevator doors slid open to a swarm-like murmur.

”…!”

”!@#$%!”

Before me stretched a vast cavern, utterly detached from the mundane world.

The colossal space, spanning 100 meters wide and 15 meters high, defied belief, considering its location beneath the heart of Seoul.

As if to proclaim its origins in a dimension entirely separate from Earth, the solid rock walls of the cavern glowed with an oily, auroral light.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Hunter Lee Taejun,” Ko Youngmin greeted me, standing before the elevator bathed in the natural auroral light.

Of course, his expression didn’t exactly convey the impression that he’d been waiting eagerly.

I grinned. “My apologies. I seem to have arrived sooner than expected.”

“Ah, no, it’s quite alright. The sparring preparations are already complete,” Ko Youngmin said, gesturing behind him. “We’ve remodeled the Training Ground to align with the purpose of the sparring match proposed by Hunter Taejun, and all the Guild Members are in their seats.”

His words rang true. Tiered seating encircled the perimeter of the Training Ground, resembling a miniature Roman Colosseum more than a typical training facility. The Hwiryung Guild Members sat in these makeshift bleachers, their voices buzzing with anticipation.

“Let’s go,” Ko Youngmin said, leading the way. I followed him slowly to the center of the sparring arena, where the collective gaze of the Guild Members above instantly locked onto me.

Today’s spar was a test of my ability to prove myself worthy of leading them. Naturally, their eyes were filled with a tangled mix of doubt, curiosity, and wariness.

Rather than feeling overwhelmed by the atmosphere, I simply felt sorry for these Necromancers.

“Um… Taegoon-nim?”

That was understandable.

“Now that I think about it, why are all these people… bald?”

It was true.

Every member of Hwiryong’s Guild seated above had a gleaming bald head.

This created a majestic sight along the edge of the Colosseum, resembling rows of eggs neatly arranged in a refrigerator.

“Ah, could it be…”

Because I remained silent under the gazes of Ko Youngmin and the others, Manager Mi took it upon herself to deduce the answer.

“Do humans from Earth have to endure such severe side effects to internalize Dark Attribute Mana?!”

Undead-type Skills could only be cast by using Dark Attribute Mana.

However, due to its peculiar nature, Dark Attribute Mana placed a considerable strain on the body.

The most common side effect was hair loss, affecting both the scalp and body hair.

Manager Mi trailed off, unable to find the words, and instead sent an emoticon.

I recalled something she had told me recently: hair loss remained an incurable condition, even in the most technologically advanced civilizations across all the dimensions where the Status Window had been deployed.

So that’s why 95% of Necromancers are bald.

Within Hwiryong, Ko Youngmin seemed to be the only one who had evaded the curse of hair loss.

Our destination: the very center of the Colosseum.

”…”

A massive man stood there, having arrived ahead of us.

Vice Guild Leader Jo Yongtae of Hwiryong also sported a gleaming bald head.

As we approached him, I leaned in behind Ko Youngmin and whispered:

“Aren’t there any safety measures in place at the training ground?”

“Safety measures?”

“What if the duel escalates and they try to kill each other? Or if the shockwaves reach the spectator stands?”

After all, my position and reputation were on the line.

Jo Yongtae would likely lose his temper and try to beat me to a pulp.

And those poor bald guys—no, the Hwiryung Guild members—might get caught in the crossfire.

Moreover, we needed to be wary of Jo Yongtae, cornered and desperate, resorting to self-destructive techniques that would drain his life force.

“I think we need safety measures to control such situations.”

“Ah, you don’t need to worry about that,” Ko Youngmin said, shaking his head.

Suddenly, he stared at a corner of the spectator stands, his expression turning somber.

“Someone who can handle any situation came to see us,” Ko Youngmin said.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Well, he’s kind of like… a security guard,” Ko Youngmin mumbled awkwardly.

Before I could press him for details, he stopped walking. We had unknowingly reached the exact center of the training ground. Jo Yongtae stood just a few steps away, facing me. I considered offering a greeting, but Jo Yongtae’s piercing glare quickly dissuaded me.

”…”

He stared at me with predatory intensity, radiating undisguised contempt.

There we stood in the heart of the Colosseum, a frigid amphitheater of stone, facing Jo Yongtae.

“Now, before we begin, let me briefly explain the purpose and rules of today’s spar,” Ko Youngmin announced to the guild members.