Chapter 56
Drip.
As soon as the sound of a droplet falling is heard, a dark red energy begins to flow out from Kim Ji-young's lower abdomen.
The energy that had been arbitrarily absorbed, gone berserk, and remained behind - the energy that had been eating away at her flesh - was now being expelled from her body.
As seen earlier, it started as a tiny single drop.
However, after 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes had passed, a sphere about the size of an adult male's fist had emerged from her body.
'Now...!'
Lee Seong-jun immediately stretches out his left arm and emits blood energy.
Whoosh-!
The blood energy flowing from his arm slowly envelops the dark red energy.
At times, the dark red energy would convulse and try to escape, but it could not break through the veil of blood energy covering it.
Finally, after completely enveloping the dark red energy with blood energy, Lee Seong-jun clenches his outstretched left hand without hesitation.
'It's over.'
Crack-!
With a sound of something breaking, the sphere covered in blood energy is crushed and smashed, disappearing into thin air.
Just as Lee Seong-jun, with a bright smile on his face, lifts his hand from Kim Ji-young's back...
Woong-!
Along with a resonant sound, a blinding light flows out from Kim Ji-young's body.
The power contained in the Spirit's Tear had completely purified her body.
It meant that the treatment for the mana syndrome, which she would have had to live with like shackles for her entire life, was over.
"Would you like to try moving?"
Kim Ji-young, who carefully raised her body, couldn't close her mouth.
"...My body feels light."
The sensation that had always weighed down her entire body was gone without a trace. To exaggerate a bit, she felt as light as a feather.
Tears began to well up in Kim Ji-young's eyes at the clearly changed state of her own body.
"Thank you... thank you."
She had hidden it for fear of becoming a burden to her family, but she had been fighting extreme pain almost every day.
But now, she no longer needed to endure such pain alone.
Her whole body was full of vitality, and her vision, which had always been blurry, was now bright and clear.
The family's eyes widened at Kim Ji-young's intense reaction and overflowing vitality.
"Is she really all better?"
"...Is the treatment already over?"
It was an understandable reaction.
Even when treated by those called mana experts, treatments could take anywhere from 10 hours at the shortest to 20 hours at the longest.
Yet Lee Seong-jun had completed the treatment in just over ten minutes.
"Yes, the martial arts I've learned are specialized in this area."
It's a reality that's difficult to readily accept.
However, they couldn't deny the reality unfolding before their eyes.
"Huh huh..."
Seeing Lee Su-hyeok unable to hide his surprise, Lee Seong-jun declares with a smile:
"This is just the beginning. I'll earn more money, find a better house, and make sure our family can live happily without any worries."
Normally, this would be considered just a child's ambitious aspiration, to be met with a smile and taken lightly.
However, perhaps because they had just witnessed Lee Seong-jun's abilities firsthand, it didn't sound light at all.
It was firm.
He had clearly set his own path and was walking it.
'...I guess you've really become an adult now.'
It wasn't just the atmosphere that was felt.
Unlike the past when he only dreamed, he now possessed excellent abilities to pioneer his own future.
A bright smile spreads across Lee Su-hyeok's face at the sight of his son, Lee Seong-jun, who has become so dependable.
"Thank you, for growing up to be so wonderful..."
Certainly, he had developed abilities that were worthy of being called excellent.
However, he doesn't think this is solely his own achievement.
'I couldn't have done it if I wasn't my father's son.'
Lee Su-hyeok was a person with a very sharp mind.
He just hadn't been given proper opportunities, but he had quite remarkable intuition.
In fact, it was thanks to Lee Su-hyeok's efforts that the family had managed to endure and avoid the worst-case scenario of being scattered in difficult circumstances.
Lee Seong-jun too, having inherited Lee Su-hyeok's genes, was able to intuitively delve into situations better than others.
He accepted and understood situations coolly, and found what he could do.
He couldn't have reached the position of Blood Demon with talent in martial arts alone.
That's why Lee Seong-jun always felt sincere gratitude.
"It's all thanks to father and mother."
"Thank you for saying that."
Just as Lee Su-hyeok nodded with an awkward smile on his face, Lee Seo-yun's cheerful voice was heard.
"Mom, you really don't hurt at all! Let's have a celebration party! A celebration party!"
Having finished talking with Lee Seo-yun earlier, Kim Ji-young immediately nodded and agreed.
"Then shall we all go grocery shopping together?"
"Yes, we can't let such a good day pass just like that."
Seeing Lee Su-hyeok nodding readily, Lee Seo-yun immediately turned her head and asked.
"You're coming too, right, big brother?"
There was no reason to hesitate.
As with all things, the joy that comes after hardship feels even sweeter.
"Of course."
Lee Seong-jun nodded with a bright smile on his face and began preparing to go out.
* * *
That night, at Incheon Port.
Park Sung-hoon, an A-rank hunter and consulting lawyer who assists Kim Seok-hoon, the chairman of the Honor Group, closer than anyone else, unlocks the lock on a square large container storing cargo.
Creaaak-!
With the sound of hinges, the firmly closed iron door opens, revealing the scene inside.
What's inside is none other than a living being, and a human at that.
Of course, even at a glance, it wasn't the appearance of an ordinary person.
Bloodshot eyes, hair spread out like a beast's mane, countless scars all over the body as if it had been slashed.
Confirming the appearance of the man who looked almost like a beast, Park Sung-hoon nodded and opened his mouth.
"Jo Se-hyeok, 28 years old, once the most promising hunter in the Death God Guild and..."
After confirming Jo Se-hyeok's expressionless eyes, Park Sung-hoon uttered the words he had cut off.
"SS-rank villain, Rookie Slaughterer."
Of course, the alias 'Rookie Slaughterer' wasn't given for no reason.
Jo Se-hyeok was a madman who had killed many hunters, especially rookies who could be called the future of South Korea.
He was a man who had gained such notoriety that in the past, the Blue House had mobilized all its forces to try to arrest him.
But one day, suddenly, he vanished without a trace.
There were various rumors - that he couldn't suppress his own madness and took his own life, or that he was killed by another villain hired by some guilds who had lost rookies - but in fact, he had escaped to China with the help of the Honor Group and Park Sung-hoon, avoiding the surveillance of the Blue House.
Of course, they didn't help Jo Se-hyeok escape to China without any purpose.
'A sword for the Honor Group.'
The Rookie Slaughterer, Jo Se-hyeok. As a villain with a somewhat bizarre mentality, he was a double-edged sword that could cut even the user handling the blade if not careful.
'...That's why I didn't want to use him if possible.'
Whether it was intentional or not is unknown.
But because of the wind caused by that guy, Lee Seong-jun, not only the young masters but also the chairman himself suffered direct damage.
'If we just ignore this...'
The prestige of the Honor Group would hit rock bottom.
It meant that annoying situations would occur where fools who don't know their place would dare to challenge them.
To prevent such situations...
'We must definitely retaliate.'
That's why Park Sung-hoon smuggled Jo Se-hyeok back into Korea.
"A new rookie has appeared in South Korea."
"...Who is it?"
As Jo Se-hyeok's eyes, which had been blankly staring into space, began to focus, Park Sung-hoon opened his mouth as if he had been waiting.
"Lee Seong-jun of the White Tiger, the guy who defeated Song Seung-jun, whom you couldn't hunt because of Yoon Min-su, and took first place. He's being praised as a super rookie."
Park Sung-hoon, with a grim smile on his face, handed over the documents he had kept in his pocket to Jo Se-hyeok.
Inside were a photo of Lee Seong-jun's face and a brief profile.
"Lee Seong-jun... Super rookie."
The moment his busy moving eyes stopped, Jo Se-hyeok's eyes became bloodshot, and a strong killing intent flowed out.
* * *
The celebration party, though suddenly planned, was not unwelcome.
No, rather, it was something I had been hoping for.
From the beginning, the reason for returning to Earth was to try to spend time with family and create memories together.
In fact, I was able to enjoy the greatest happiness in a short time.
The next morning after spending such a fulfilling day.
"Hmm..."
Lee Seong-jun, who should have been hunting in the gate, was sitting on a chair at the living room table, lost in thought.
'35 billion.'
The cash assets formed thanks to the 25 billion I already had, plus the 10 billion given by the White Tiger Guild as a reward along with the Spirit's Tear.
It was an amount that could make one's heart feel abundant just by looking at it.
However, that's why I couldn't just keep looking at it.
'Just keeping it as cash like this is a loss.'
I'm not particularly greedy, but to achieve everything I want, I need more money than I have now.
That's why I had to contemplate.
'Where should I invest...'
There's a saying that money begets money, and it's not for nothing.
If you manage your cash assets well, you can inflate your wealth in an instant like a snowball.
'The safest investment is still...'
Real estate.
It's the investment that could be called an unbeatable myth.
In the past, it's said that there was a time when it crashed due to interest rate hikes in the U.S. and population decrease, but for humanity now, who have lost land to monsters, it was truly the best asset and investment.
In fact, houses located in Seoul, the safest area, and especially in Mapo, Dongjak, Seongdong, and Jung-gu, which are in the very center, were skyrocketing in value day by day.
The problem was that this fact wasn't known only to me, Lee Seong-jun.
'Everyone in the world knows it.'
It's information that even those called laymen in investment can understand.
That's why people who have houses in good locations don't put them on the market unless it's really urgent.
Therefore, I had to consider other options.
'Excluding houses... what else is there that's safe and can definitely bring profit?'
Lee Seong-jun, with his eyes tightly closed, continues to ponder.
As it's an area that requires deep contemplation, normally it would have been difficult to find an answer easily.
However, as it was a problem I had been constantly thinking about whenever I had time, it didn't take long to find the answer.
'There's only that one thing after all.'
Something stable and that can definitely bring profit.
That was investing in oneself, in one's own body.
In a world where strength directly translates to money, aren't high-ranking hunters earning hundreds of billions, or even trillions of won a year?
Of course, you can become stronger quickly just by leveling up, but there was no reason to exclude methods that could accelerate growth speed.
Moreover, the method was clear and simple.
'Consuming elixirs.'
Elixirs like Ten Thousand Year Wild Ginseng, Thousand Year Snow Ginseng, and Sky Blue Stone Oil, whose effects are evident just from their names, are traded at high prices of hundreds of billions of won, so I can't buy them with my current balance.
But I might be able to get semi-elixirs that have effects not inferior to the aforementioned items.
'No, there's no need to speculate alone like this.'
Having made his decision, Lee Seong-jun got up without hesitation and put on his clothes.
The destination was in front of Eastern Shrine Gate.
The reason was simple.
After the day of the great change, that area, which used to be a wholesale market in the past, had turned into a general market where merchants from other dimensions sell their goods.