CH 156

Six months could feel either long or short, depending on one’s perspective. For Yu-Seong, it was not a short period of time at all. After being possessed by the novel, he believed that he was working a lot harder than when he had been working overtime at the game company.

There were many contributing reasons. Firstly, Helen was still missing even though she was expected to return soon. Additionally, the demon in Pyongyang was still alive despite being hunted by the punitive force.

The demon was alive because of one simple reason. As Yu-Seong expected, it was a Count of the Demons belonging to the upper class among demons who had been summoned in Pyongyang.

The problem started with the fact that Clarius, a Count of the Demons, had different characteristics from other noble demons. Clarius was also known as the Megalith. This powerful demon boasted a size that covered half of Pyongyang city, and was well described in the original novel, [Modern Master Returns], with a simple title.

‘A Guardian Demon.’

The combination of ‘Demon’ and ‘Guardian’ was truly incongruous, but there was no better way to describe the twin demons—Clarius and Elarius. Generally, demons only thought about attacking. However, Clarius and Elarius were among the few demons dedicated to defending against the invasion of enemies.

The original novel did mention that, after Kim Do-Jin had defeated the Demon King that invaded Earth, he prepared for an invasion of the Demon Realm.

Clarius and Elarius had the characteristics of a Guardian Demon even though they were only Counts in rank. However, their actual combat capability was on par with that of a Marquis. Thus, they had strength that went above its noble rank. But of course, such great power also came with a penalty. This was why they had been given the nickname ‘Megalith.’

In other words, Clarius couldn't move until an enemy invaded its territory. Only then would it shed its stony exterior to become a living being. Otherwise, it was usually solid like a massive stone statue.

Due to this characteristic, South Korea was cautious. Clarius was a demon that posed no major threat unless it was provoked first. If they unnecessarily stimulated it, then the national power could be consumed.

Before realizing this fact, South Korea had gathered hunters of A-rank or higher who could be mobilized. They had even declared that this was the country's greatest emergency situation.

However, Clarius had already taken over the land and turned the area around Pyongyang into a wasteland. It then transformed into its usual form of a statue, only moving once again when battle aircrafts were dispatched reconnaissance. Otherwise, it usually stayed silent. In this situation, was it necessary to consume national power against such a powerful evil?

Of course, it was somewhat threatening to have a demon in the North that might become a threat at any time. However, South Korea had always been able to maintain the country despite similar threats all year-round. After all, even before this era of monsters appearing, South Korea had lived with the threat of North Korea's nuclear weapons.

Eventually, the South Korean government came to the conclusion that Clarius was a kind of immovable dungeon and ordered an intervention.

From Yu-Seong’s perspective, this was a disconcerting event especially since he did not know whether Helen was alive or dead.

However, even Choi Woo-Jae positioned himself to take the government’s opinion regarding this situation. If national power fell, business would inevitably be disrupted. Ultimately, for a corporation that had roots in South Korea, there was no reason to stir up unnecessary conflict.

Of course, that didn't mean Woo-Jae had given up the opportunity to profit from being the first to know about the demon’s appearance in Pyongyang.

For the past six months, the Comet Group had shaken the business of the Cheon-Ji Group, which had firmly maintained its position as the number one in South Korea. Also, the group had recorded a stock price ceiling and quickly achieved the highest amount in domestic corporate value evaluation. This rapid growth might seem excessive, considering that it had been achieved in six mere months. However, there was no sign of stopping the Comet Group’s organized upward movement.

Naturally, both domestic and foreign evaluation had gone on to announce that the Comet Group was now slightly ahead of the Cheon-Ji Group, but also admitted that the Comet Group’s president had made significant preparations for the present.

Aside from taking action to check if Helen, who had not yet returned, was safe or not, Yu-Seong had also become busier for another reason.

The Comet Guild had been established, rapidly becoming the top guild in the country. Of course, Choi Mi-Na was the guild master. The positions of vice-master and the board of directors were occupied by hunters who were highly regarded S-rank hunters and above in South Korea. Among them were those who had originally been guild masters of the top 10 guilds but had failed to resist Choi Woo-Jae’s persuasion to take up positions with the Comer Guild.

In the early stages of the Comet Guild's establishment, there had been many evaluations of it being unstable and uncertain. However, with Choi Mi-Na's overwhelming charisma and Choi Woo-Jae's mercenary skills, its future shone brightly. Before three months had gone by, all the guild members were already wholeheartedly devoting themselves to the name of Comet.

Of course, Yu-Seong had been given a position of team leader for Hunting Team 8. Although he did not have as much authority as Mi-Na, he was occupying a rather significant position.

But in reality, only six people including Yu-Seong himself were a part of Hunting Team 8.

‘The Jin siblings, Chae Ye-Ryeong, and Yoo Jin-Hyuk.’

Originally, Choi Woo-Jae had intended to bring in a few more characters, but Yu-Seong had not agreed to it. His decision was quite wise, since including someone who was not trustworthy could potentially cause problems in the team or harm the other members.

Additionally, Choi Woo-Jae had also given Yu-Seog a challenge to raise the entire team to at least A-rank by the end of March next year.

‘It would have been more difficult if there were randoms like Tom, Dick, and Harry.’

However, with team members who he had personally selected and the assistance of Support Team 8, Yu-Seong thought the challenge would be quite manageable. In fact, if Hunting Team 8 had solely pursued growth, they would have all surpassed A-rank by now.

But for now, aside from the Jin siblings who had already reached A-rank, Yu-Seong had held back his own growth, as well as that of Chae Ye-Ryeong and Yoo Jin-Hyuk until now. This was due to a realization that he had after thinking about the case of himself and Kim Do-Jin.

‘Just blindly raising the rank is not the answer.’

Yu-Seong had initially believed that ranking up was the only answer to becoming more powerful. But after having experienced it for himself, he realized that he had thought wrong.

‘B-rank can also display the fighting power of S-rank.’

This meant that, if Kim Do-Jin of B-rank could achieve S-rank, he could even overpower the hunters of SS-rank easily. The higher the rank, the slower the growth would become. And it was a fact that some people who failed to pass the promotion test would become frustrated and give up. However, what if the foundation of training and general enlightenment would be added through the accumulation of basic training?

‘This is the secret of the real strong people in this world.’

Yu-Seong was further convinced of this after looking at Emilia, who was non-human. When he thought about it even further, the majority of the admirers of the Demon King, including the Master of Hexagrams and the Twelve Dark Kings, were those who had lived for a very long time and had honed their own strength in various forms. Their powerful force easily surpassed those of the same rank. They might have been talented, but the merit of training should never be underestimated.

In fact, there was no point in rushing the process of ranking up. Yu-Seong himself had slowed down his growth in rank due to various crises. That in turn had helped him stabilize his growth in rank even further through building a stronger foundation.

Although luck and knowledge of future information had possibly played a significant role, it was worth considering whether Yu-Seong could have defeated Emilia, a formidable S-rank player, as a C-rank player if he had only focused on raising his rank.

‘Come to think about it, Kim Do-Jin is already a returnee, so his foundation is already solid from the very beginning.’

That was the reason why Yu-Seong had placed some limitations on the growth rate of all four of them.

With the remaining time he had, Yu-Seong focused on training. He hired a suitable master for each of their abilities. After all, there was nothing to lose by trying. Anyway, if their only intention was to increase their rank, then the only obstacle for the four of them was time.

Starting at a high rank with the already strengthened abilities that have adapted to the higher rank would be easier than having to train from the basics all over again to rebuild a stronger foundation.

The outcome was remarkable: not only did the Jin siblings who had previously hit a wall in their ranking progress, emerge victorious over their former S-rank instructor, but Chae Ye-Ryeong and Yoo Jin-Hyuk had also gone head-to-head for the first and second spots on the C-rankings board.

How about Yu-Seong himself?

‘I've gone up to B-rank.’

Even though hunting was a slow and tedious process, all of the experience would accumulate. Yu-Seong had reached C-rank before naturally achieving B-rank not too long ago.

This time, since there was no disturbance from Loki or the other gods, Yu-Seong could clear the extreme difficulty level with ease to pass the promotion exam. In fact, the reward was still rather satisfying too.

『Special skill, Imagery Training B.

Fusion not possible.

With the activation of the skill, player Choi Yu-Seong can set a virtual opponent as his target.

Mock imagery battles are possible.

During imagery training, the flow of time was slowed down to one-third of reality.

The duration is three hours.

Cooldown Time – 24 hours. 』

Among all forms of training, real-life experience was the most effective. However, real-life experience was not always easy to come by, especially in dangerous situations where one's life was at risk. Such experiences were not necessarily ones that Yu-Seong enjoyed.

‘I’ve already gone through many such experiences.’

However, Imagery Training offered him a way to experience dangerous situations without the actual threat to his life. Although he couldn't physically move his body, the mock battles that took place within his mind were surprisingly realistic, providing him with a great sense of excitement and stimulation. The most helpful aspect of Imagery Training for Yu-Seong was the fact that the flow of time would be slowed down by three times compared to reality.

‘Since I have a lot to train, the more time that I have the better.’

Yu-Seong also needed to become familiar with handling Cu Chulainn's Secret Spear Skills, the gunfire technique that Jenny had started to teach him, as well as controlling the Chakra of Thunder and Wind.

No matter how much time Yu-Seong could organize and prioritize, even if he devoted all of his time, he simply could not complete all of his training due to the lack of time and physical energy.

In this situation, the Imagery Training skill was a great help. Yu-Seong had risen to the B-rank through his training, so he had some level of confidence.

‘If it were me now, I could have competed with Kim Do-Jin back in Pyongyang.’

Yu-Seong had the potential to display the same level of skill as the original novel's strongest character, Kim Do-Jin. What if the results of Deep Training were added to his ability? His potential for future growth would only increase.

Nevertheless, Yu-Seong couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing. At a time when changes were already burdened by the butterfly effect, Emilia and Helen, who had a great impact in the original novel, had disappeared. Moreover, he was hearing absolutely no news regarding Rachel. And in such a situation, powerful demons had even appeared in Pyongyang.

Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original.

He was not aware of when some new variable would appear, so he should keep everything in check.

Fortunately, not all the news was disturbing. In addition to his growth alongside his colleagues, the ancient relics that he had sought to obtain by supporting additional funds for the Hidden Team he had sent to various parts of the world were steadily entering South Korea. There were already eight of them now.

Of course, they were all his property.