Chapter 92

092. Desire (2)

It has already been two days since I was admitted to the hospital.

Considering that I prevented an incident that caused a stir not only in Japan but worldwide, I was told to take absolute rest, but I couldn't do that.

The visits from various politicians, including the Japanese Prime Minister, who came with journalists to express their gratitude, were somewhat manageable.

However, ...

The real problem was the constant ringing of my smartphone and the journalists who swarmed the hospital.

People who didn't even know me were contacting me non-stop, making my smartphone buzz incessantly.

The journalists outside were even gathered by the window, holding their cameras as if they were stalking me, trying to get a shot of me.

Of course, I immediately drew the curtains to prevent them from taking any pictures, but ...

"Well, with this, I can't even go outside the hospital..."

I guess the advantage of resting in the hospital has disappeared.

Wearing slippers, I dragged my feet and moved to the hospital rooftop as inconspicuously as possible.

Being confined to the ward, I felt suffocated without breathing the outside air.

The weather was chilly, and except for one patient, there was no one on the hospital rooftop.

However, the problem was that the one patient was someone I knew.

The man, wearing a black mask and leaning on a cane, was a familiar challenger I had seen several times.

"Mr. Kim Seung-hoon."

"…?"

"It's me, Han Seung-yun."

"Oh, it's the Sword Ghost (劍鬼)."

Kim Seung-hoon looked at me and then chuckled, saying that.

"…Sword Ghost? What's that?"

"It's a nickname they've been calling you in Korea and Japan, but it seems you didn't know."

"…Sword Ghost? I've never heard of it."

"Well, with the Japanese Prime Minister and various politicians visiting you for two days, you must have been too busy to find out."

It seemed like Kim Seung-hoon was acknowledging my hard work as he took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered me one.

"Would you like one?"

"No, I don't drink or smoke."

In the past, I had abstained from alcohol, cigarettes, and even unhealthy foods to boost my physical abilities.

'Of course, even with all that effort, my stats didn't change at all.'

Due to that habit, I still try to avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and other unhealthy things.

"You take good care of yourself. It would be good if you did the same in battle."

"It's not as easy as it sounds."

"No matter how tough and regenerative a Hunter's body is, there are limits."

"…"

"Regardless of what skills you have, if you push yourself to the point where it becomes a habit, it will ultimately lead to death."

"You sound just like Catherine."

"Anyone who sees you pushing yourself to the limit would say the same thing."

Indeed, when I fought with Namgung Hyuk, I realized that I was pushing myself to the point of death.

I had died and come back to life several times in that one battle, which must have been shocking to others.

"Well, since you're still fine, it seems you're barely staying on the right side of that line."

He said that and then took off his black mask with one hand, placing it on the railing.

The mask, which had taken a direct hit from Namgung Hyuk's punch, was cracked like a spider web, but ...

I smiled wryly at the face of Kim Seung-hoon, which I saw for the first time.

A middle-aged man with a rugged appearance?

'I can see why he wears a mask to cover his face.'

To have such outstanding looks on top of being one of the top Hunters?

By wearing a mask, he at least gets less attention; if he took it off, he would draw everyone's eyes, whether good or bad.

"…Why are you staring at me like that? Is there something strange about me?"

Of course, Kim Seung-hoon couldn't read my thoughts.

"You seem to have taken a hit from Namgung Hyuk, but it's surprising that you're still in such good condition."

"Oh, this mask is a good item, you know."

"I see."

"Of course, it's almost broken now, so it needs to be repaired... But it's fine. There are plenty of repair items."

After saying that, Kim Seung-hoon lit a cigarette with a lighter.

It seemed quite cumbersome for him to do so with one hand while leaning on a cane, and his movements were awkward.

"…It seems you were quite injured in this battle, Mr. Kim Seung-hoon."

"Can't be helped. I had to fight a monster. To be honest, Namgung Hyuk was on a different level from other challengers in the martial arts dimension."

"…"

"At least among the martial arts dimension challengers I've seen, there was no one like Namgung Hyuk who could do such unbelievable things."

"That's true."

Namgung Hyuk had reached the 20th floor of the tower and was said to be much stronger than other 20th-floor level challengers.

Even if I couldn't defeat him, sending him back to the martial arts dimension was almost a miracle.

Kim Seung-hoon seemed to know this vaguely and remained calm despite not being able to defeat the monster.

After a moment of silence, Kim Seung-hoon, who had already put out his cigarette, spoke.

"…So, what do you plan to do now?"

"I'm not sure. To be honest, I don't have a clear goal."

"…"

"Maybe I'll just go back to the tower soon."

"You're so unemotional. After facing a life-threatening situation, you don't even want to rest?"

"Well, I'm fine now. By the way, what do you plan to do, Mr. Kim Seung-hoon?"

"Coincidentally, we have the same idea. I'll return to the tower after my leg injury heals."

I chuckled and changed the topic.

"Do you know anything about Catherine or Oh Chun-seok?"

At that, Kim Seung-hoon narrowed his eyes and said.

"I haven't really talked to her, so I don't know much. As for Oh Chun-seok… It seems he will only grow in the dungeon of the guild I run."

A guild he runs…?

"…Wait, you run a guild?"

I had only thought of Kim Seung-hoon as one of the top Hunters.

Seeing that he runs a guild, it seemed he was a high-ranking Hunter capable of running a guild.

Finally, Kim Seung-hoon nodded, understanding my confusion.

"Oh, I see. I haven't told you who I am."

"…?"

Kim Seung-hoon introduced himself as if it was no big deal.

"I am the S-class Hunter of Korea, the Thunder Emperor (雷帝)."

Upon hearing his introduction, I couldn't help but gasp in shock.

***

Thunder Emperor (雷帝).

Among the roughly thirty S-class Hunters in Korea, his title was in a league of its own.

Although he operates without revealing his identity, the Thunder Emperor's fame is widespread, known to both Hunters and civilians.

It's no wonder.

Unlike Hunters who only shout for power, the Thunder Emperor single-handedly destroyed the gates that appeared like disasters.

He destroyed gates at a speed that even other S-class Hunters couldn't match, always keeping his identity hidden, making it impossible for him not to become famous.

Currently, the Thunder Emperor is almost a hero in Korea.

However, ...

'Who would have thought Kim Seung-hoon was the Thunder Emperor?'

Back in the ward, I smiled wryly at the business card in my hand.

—If you need to contact me for any reason in the future, feel free to do so.

The business card I held was the contact information of the Thunder Emperor, Kim Seung-hoon.

—To be honest, you can consider it a recruitment. You can contact me for personal matters or non-personal matters.

"Recruitment."

The Thunder Emperor's guild is essentially a solo guild made up of a select few.

It was a guild created solely for the Thunder Emperor's activities.

If I joined the Thunder Emperor's guild, it would probably be beneficial in many ways.

However, ...

'I shouldn't rush into a decision.'

I still have a contract with the White Guild, and I don't feel particularly dissatisfied.

So, I decided to think about it later and started inspecting the equipment in a corner of the ward.

The old tuxedo of the vampire baron, which was damaged in the battle with Namgung Hyuk, was immediately repaired by the Japanese Hunter Association.

The Blood Heaven Demon Sword was undamaged from the start, and the other items didn't require much attention.

The real problem wasn't the items here but the large number of miscellaneous items in my one-room apartment.

"I came here to dispose of them, but I guess I'll have to go back without doing so."

Currently, I have returned to Earth using a low-grade Return Stone.

That means I have to return to the tower today, on the third day.

With only a few hours left before my return, I planned to enjoy the comfort of Earth as much as possible.

Of course, I could choose to return to the tower immediately using a Return Stone, but ...

I didn't particularly want to buy a Return Stone and return to Earth right away.

'Exploring dungeons and filling up my command slots isn't a bad choice either.'

However, I felt that even that time was precious, as I currently yearned for growth.

I knew better than anyone that the only thing that could satisfy this yearning was the trials of the tower.

So, I planned to return to the tower, face the trials, and grow through the rewards for breaking the trials.

I put on my equipment and lay on the bed, turning on my smartphone.

Ignoring the missed calls and unread messages, I started browsing the web.

I was curious about why Kim Seung-hoon said I was called the Sword Ghost in Korea and Japan.

And...

「Are all challengers this crazy strong?」

Soon, I found out why I was called the Sword Ghost in Korea and Japan.

There were videos and photos of me fighting Namgung Hyuk circulating on the internet.

For a moment, I wondered how someone could have captured this scene, but...

I quickly figured out the source from the angles of the captured videos and photos.

'Ah, they were taken from a helicopter.'

The angles seemed to be from a camera zooming in from above, which made it clear.

I wondered where someone could have been to capture the scene of the intense battle.

The Japanese Hunter Association had released the footage as news, and it seemed to have a significant impact.

Most of the articles related to me were similar in content.

「Who is this Hunter to fight so well?」

「Other challengers can't even stand a chance, but this guy is fighting so well.」

「He's carrying the whole thing alone. This guy practically solved the incident by himself, right?」

「Does anyone know about the Hunter named Han Seung-yun? Who is this guy?」

「Usually, when a big shot like this debuts, it's a big news story, but there's no record of Han Seung-yun, damn.」

Half of the articles were about who Han Seung-yun is and why he fights so well.

The comments were mostly the same as the articles.

└I think I know who this guy is. There used to be a player-only gym called White Lotus where he trained for 7 years.

└Yeah, right. He trained for 7 years without even entering a dungeon or taking the Hunter exam?

└No, really... He's a talentless player, and he was ignored in the gym. They say he couldn't even boost his stats after 7 years of training.

└How can a talentless player who couldn't boost his stats for 7 years now fight a monster that can destroy dozens of buildings in one strike?

Surprisingly, some netizens tried to guess my identity, but...

Most of their reactions were about how a talentless person could become as strong as me.

'Well, I'm surprised by how strong I've become too.'

I didn't deny it.

「Watching him fight, there's no one who can be called a real Sword Ghost (劍鬼). He fights like a ghost.」

「Does a normal person even think about crashing into something from the sky, prepared to be crushed?」

「He really fights incredibly well. At this level, he deserves to be called a Sword Ghost, lol.」

「I heard they couldn't capture the video of the end of the fight with Namgung Hyuk, which is the most disappointing part.」

「A historic battle in Japan, and they couldn't capture it on camera.」

From the articles, it seemed the Japanese Hunter Association couldn't capture the latter part of the battle.

'Well, when Namgung Hyuk was unleashed, even I couldn't handle it.'

When he sliced through dozens of buildings in one strike, I honestly thought I might die.

I felt the Japanese Hunter Association's courage was remarkable for surviving the battle and bringing back the footage.

"Anyway, I'm now quite well-known."

Sword Ghost (劍鬼)...

To be honest, it seemed like a title that would be used for a martial arts dimension challenger.

Soon, I chuckled, mulling over the title.

It didn't feel bad, but I felt I was not worthy of the title of Sword Ghost.

"To be called a ghost of the sword, I should be even stronger than this."

So—

「Time's up.」

「Returning to the Tower of Trials.」

It was time to become strong enough to match my growing reputation.