Chapter 67: Federation General Assembly (3)
The Federation General Assembly was scheduled to be held in Kaesong, where reconstruction efforts were in full swing.
The purpose was to demonstrate that the Republic of Korea had purified its contaminated zones and was reclaiming its former territories.
On top of that, it would also serve as an opportunity to showcase the technological prowess of the Shin Yang Group.
Since reconstruction of the city had only recently begun, buildings were rising one after another.
There was one week remaining until the assembly.
They had deliberately set aside ample time, taking into account attendees coming from distant locations.
With time to spare, Jin-young first headed to the secret research facility.
“I heard you purified the Hongcheon Contaminated Zone, Hunter-nim.”
Jeon Yu-hwan greeted him with sparkling eyes the moment they met.
He already looked thrilled at the prospect of crafting manastones from a disaster-grade monster.
“Unlike ordinary monsters, it didn’t have a heart or brain—instead, there were these stones.”
Jin-young took out the red and blue stones to show him.
Jeon Yu-hwan carefully examined them, even channeling mana through the stones as he inspected every detail.
After a long while, he finally spoke.
“I can’t do anything with these. They’re already completed manastones.”
Jeon Yu-hwan looked at the red and blue stones with a disappointed expression.
Jin-young had more or less expected this, so he wasn’t particularly surprised. He had simply needed Jeon Yu-hwan’s confirmation.
“Then I can absorb them right away without issue.”
“That’s true, but… they contain an enormous amount of energy, so caution is necessary during absorption. If you try to force it all in at once, you could fall into qi deviation.”
Jeon Yu-hwan added quickly after realizing who he was talking to.
“Of course, for you, Hunter-nim, that probably isn’t a concern.”
But Jin-young didn’t let the remark slide.
While his psionic energy and mental fortitude far surpassed human limits, his hunter abilities were still in the process of growing.
Just as he was about to absorb the manastones—
Jeon Yu-hwan hesitated before speaking.
“Um… Hunter-nim…”
“What?”
“Were you planning to absorb the manastones in the training room?”
“This place has good energy.”
“Ah… if that’s what you prefer, then…”
As Jeon Yu-hwan quietly slipped out of the workshop, Jin-young immediately extended tentacles from his chest.
Chwaaaak—
『Definitely on a completely different level from 1st-grade manastones. This is going to be delicious.』
The tentacles promptly began absorbing the black mana embedded within the manastones.
Since they had resided inside a disaster-grade monster, the quantity of black mana was substantial.
The density was also far greater than that of ordinary contaminated zone monsters, so the tentacles didn’t let even a single drop go to waste.
『My subspace feels even more comfortable now. The residents will be happier too.』
‘Are they actually happy?’
『You already know after talking with Jacob.』
‘Hmm…’
Jin-young recalled Jacob, who had seemed quite satisfied with life in the subspace.
Before he could even question whether imposed happiness truly counted as happiness—
Shssss…
The true power contained within the manastones began flowing into Jin-young’s body in earnest.
Fwoooosh—
A tremendous gale whipped around him. His hair and even his suit fluttered as though they might tear off.
He could have controlled it with psychokinesis, but Jin-young wanted to feel the manastones’ power with his entire being.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa—
A mana storm soon raged in all directions.
The table and equipment Jeon Yu-hwan had securely fastened trembled as though they might fly away at any moment.
Kwaaaaah!
As the essence of the manastones poured in, Jin-young’s body heated up intensely.
His skin flushed red, proving just how overwhelming the influx was.
The empty vessel of his body was filled in an instant by the manastones’ power.
Amid the dizzying torrent of energy, excitement surged in Jin-young far more than anxiety.
His chest burned hot, yet his mind remained coldly rational as he evenly distributed the power throughout his body.
The red power gradually stabilized, and his physical abilities smoothly reached 6th-grade.
But in the next moment—
Kwa-ga-gak!
The blue power symbolizing mana forcibly tried to squeeze into his already full mana vessel, attempting to shatter its limits.
His mana had already reached 6th-grade, yet it was trying to break past that ceiling by brute force.
Jin-young tried to divert the remaining power to the tentacles, but they stopped him.
『This is actually an opportunity. Trust your unique energy.』
‘Is it okay to force it?’
Artificially interfering during rank ascension carried considerable risk.
Especially with something like the mana vessel—once damaged, recovery was said to be nearly impossible. Precise control was essential.
Jin-young channeled psionic energy into his body and seized the rampaging blue power.
He held it firmly, refusing to let it run wild.
Absorbing the manastones’ energy was a first for him, but it wasn’t difficult at all.
Psionic energy was something he handled far better than a spoon.
Kwa-tz-tz-tz—
Jin-young controlled the blue power with his energy, rapidly expanding his mana vessel.
He had widened his own limits.
The remaining power flowed in stably, and his mana, which had just reached 6th-grade, surged straight into the early 5th-grade range.
Of course, since his physical abilities were at 6th-grade, a formal hunter rank measurement would probably place him around 6th-grade overall.
But that didn’t matter to Jin-young.
Sssss…
Soon, the blue and red waves enveloping him subsided.
‘This… will definitely help when training psionic energy in the future.’
While expanding his limits with psionic energy, Jin-young discovered another possibility.
He might be able to rapidly increase the total amount of energy that had plateaued.
Of course, since quality mattered far more than quantity for energy, growing too quickly without depth could become poison.
If the depth was shallow, it would be as good as nothing.
At that moment, the tentacles spoke.
『How curious.』
‘What is?’
『The power contained in the disaster’s manastones seems to have resonated with the scale stored in subspace.』
‘And?’
『It feels like I’ve gained a special ability.』
‘What kind of ability? Show me now.’
After a brief moment of hesitation at Jin-young’s words, the tentacles replied.
『It’s dangerous right now.』
***
An endless abyss filled with darkness.
In a place where time flowed sluggishly, a man walked across a floor that wasn’t quite a floor.
Jacob Harrison—the first resident of the subspace.
Drawn by an incomprehensible force, he passed through a sandstorm and arrived at a point that was difficult to define.
“······.”
Floating in midair was an ominous artifact.
A golden scale came into view.
Jacob had never seen it with his own eyes, but he had heard of it.
It was the weapon wielded by the disaster of the Hongcheon Contaminated Zone—the Black Knight—during the operation he had once been part of.
He had no further detailed information.
Sssss…
The scale contained demonic energy so immense it defied imagination at a glance, yet none of it leaked outward.
Thanks to the great being that ruled this subspace, the artifact’s power had been completely sealed.
That was why Jacob could calmly examine it from every angle.
Then he noticed a figure approaching from the opposite side.
A man whose body was about half-covered in Creep.
It was the one GODS called a “variant.”
This was the first time the variant—who always acted alone—had approached Jacob first.
More precisely, it had been drawn here by the scale.
“······.”
The variant stared blankly up at the scale.
“Do you know what this is?”
At Jacob’s question, the variant’s gaze shifted to him.
“The Black Knight’s scale.”
“Have you met the Black Knight?”
“I’ve met all four of the disaster-grade knights.”
The variant’s eyes seemed to recall that time.
“Then you must know a lot about this scale too.”
“It is not an artifact a mere human can wield. Only a being that transcends humanity can harness its power.”
The variant couldn’t tear his eyes away from the scale.
“What power can this scale unleash?”
“Summoning Locusts, expanding contaminated zones…”
“Expanding contaminated zones is similar to your ability.”
At Jacob’s remark, the variant’s gaze returned to him.
“Godfather recreated me by modeling that very power.”
“I see.”
“But the scale’s true power is something else entirely.”
“True power?”
Jacob grew serious as the variant’s tone suddenly changed.
“The opening of the gates of hell.”
“…The gates of hell?”
Jacob wasn’t sure whether that was a metaphor or literal.
Gates of hell, out of nowhere?
GODS had originally planned to open some kind of portal in the Hongcheon Contaminated Zone, but Jacob had never heard anything about it being a gate to hell.
Even though he had been part of that operation, he hadn’t known.
“The portal they were going to open in Hongcheon… was it really a gate to hell?”
“No. That one connects to another dimension. The gate to hell literally leads to hell.”
Jacob furrowed his brow at the variant’s words.
He was curious what “another dimension” referred to, but the mention of hell sparked even greater interest.
“The hell that ordinary humans imagine?”
“It may differ from imagination, but the concept is similar.”
Jacob realized he would have a lot to talk about the next time he met Chae Jin-young.
“The other knights must have similar artifacts too.”
“Each possesses a different artifact. They don’t have the same effect as the scale, but all are catastrophic.”
Jacob suddenly had the feeling that the scale was just the beginning.
It wouldn’t be long before the subspace collection of the Four Knights was complete.
“By the way, it seems subspace has become quite livable.”
In the past, the variant wouldn’t have spoken at all, yet now he was chatting freely.
The variant suddenly looked up at the pitch-black sky and spoke.
“Thanks to the great being, I feel like I’m finally beginning to understand my purpose.”
“Hm. You’ve finally realized it.”
As the two continued their conversation—
Sssssss—
An evil power writhed from the scale, sparking dark crimson.
***
Chae Jin-young arrived at the Association after receiving a telepathic message from Chae So-young.
When he reached the lobby, just as she had said, hunters from the Chinese Association had already arrived.
They were the first foreign delegation to show up.
Less than a day had passed since the general assembly was announced, so it was impressive they had arrived so quickly.
He wondered why—until he saw Liu Qinglong.
The moment Liu Qinglong spotted him, he strode over with a serious expression.
Chinese hunters followed closely behind.
Thud.
Liu Qinglong stopped precisely in front of Jin-young with military precision.
Then he suddenly clasped his hands in a respectful salute and bowed slightly at the waist.
“Have you been well, Great Hero?”
“······.”
At least he hadn’t called him “Master,” which was a relief—but suddenly “Great Hero”?
‘Hey. Can you tone down the intensity a bit?’
『It’s now running on autopilot without my direct involvement, so I can’t help it. If you don’t want to hear that tone, the only option is to sever the mind control.』
‘I set him on the wrong path from the beginning.’
Jin-young had no intention of releasing mind control just because of Liu Qinglong’s attitude.
A well-behaved Zero-grade Chinese hunter was useful in many ways.
“I’ve been fine. Anything happen?”
“I have devoted myself solely to training. The cancerous spread of GODS within China is being cleaned up by my disciple.”
Liu Qinglong turned to look at the man standing directly behind him.
Originally, the Chinese Awakener Association had been thoroughly infiltrated and controlled by GODS elements within the Communist Party, led by figures like Zhu Yinchang.
But after Liu Qinglong’s ruthless purge, a massive reshuffle had taken place, and the Association President had been replaced by Wang Lei, a 1st-grade hunter.
“Ah, you lot should greet him too.”
Liu Qinglong spoke to Wang Lei and the other Chinese hunters.
Wang Lei respected Liu Qinglong more than anyone—his master—but his current expression was far from pleased.
He clearly didn’t understand why he had to bow to this Korean.
Of course, he couldn’t disobey the words of his master, the Association advisor, and China’s top hunter, so he reluctantly bowed to Jin-young.
“I am Wang Lei, President of the Chinese Association. And you are?”
Smack!
Before Liu Qinglong even finished translating, he slapped the back of Wang Lei’s head.
Wang Lei clutched his stinging scalp.
“W-Why, Advisor?”
“How dare you speak to the Great Savior of Humanity in such a manner, you filthy thing.”
“······.”
Wang Lei looked back and forth between Liu Qinglong and Jin-young in utter bewilderment.
What on earth had happened between these two for the usually aloof, arrogant, and ill-tempered Liu Qinglong to behave this way?
He had heard about the incident in Taiwan, but that alone couldn’t explain this.
Jin-young didn’t particularly want to spend more time with Liu Qinglong or the Chinese hunters, so he sent them off.
“I’m fine, so go settle into your lodgings or do whatever. Just don’t cause any trouble.”
“Of course not.”
Liu Qinglong bowed once more, then led the Chinese hunters away.
Once they were gone, Chae So-young, who had been standing nearby, approached.
“I heard you purified the Hongcheon Contaminated Zone. How was it?”
“What do you mean?”
“The scenery… the atmosphere…”
Chae So-young seemed to be fondly recalling memories from Hongcheon.
“Well… it’s probably better for you to see it in person than for me to explain it.”
“Let’s go together after work today.”
“Sure. We’ve still got some time before the general assembly.”
Jin-young nodded.
The two left the lobby and entered an empty lounge.
“By the way, how’s your psionic energy training going?”
“I’m finally getting the hang of psychometry.”
“Really?”
At Chae So-young’s confident reply, Jin-young searched through his subspace for something suitable.
After a moment of thought, he pulled out a large ore.
A manastone.
As soon as he placed it on the table, Chae So-young rolled up her sleeves and placed her hand on it.
Closing her eyes, she released psionic energy.
Sssss—
The psionic energy flowing from her hand gently enveloped the manastone.
Soon after, the memories embedded within it began flowing into her mind.
At first, there was only pitch-black darkness—likely because it had been stored in subspace for so long.
As she traced further back—
“I see the contaminated zone. There’s Hee-yeon unnie and some man. Mines too. There’s fighting going on around them.”
“Hm, accurate. Keep going.”
Chae So-young had precisely grasped the events in the Buan Contaminated Zone where the manastone was first discovered.
She focused even harder.
“Some men are handing over the manastone. To the scavengers we saw in the contaminated zone.”
“Dark Horse, huh.”
“So this must be their hideout. It seems to have been stored in a dark place for a long time…”
Furrowing her brow as she concentrated further, Chae So-young eventually opened her eyes.
“Ah, this seems to be the limit.”
“Still, you did pretty well.”
Jin-young thought that if Chae So-young grew a bit more, she might even be able to read the memories in the ashen orb or the suspicious demonic sword.
‘The Black Knight’s scale… that one’s probably too dangerous.’
The tentacles were currently stabilizing the scale’s power, but even once that was done, it wouldn’t be easy.
If the scale contained memories tied to the Demon King, it could inflict massive mental damage on Chae So-young.
Of course, with more psionic energy training, she might be able to endure it.
But for now, it was too soon.
After leaving the lounge, the siblings decided to part ways in the lobby again.
His sister still had work to do.
Buzzing chatter.
“What’s going on? Did someone else arrive?”
Chae So-young murmured while looking toward the center of the crowded lobby.
The crowd blocked the view.
“We’ll find out when we get closer.”
Jin-young headed toward the commotion with his sister.
There, hunters from the United States and Europe had gathered.
Familiar faces like Hannah Adams and Marc Diaby were present.
But the woman with long red hair and a black eyepatch over one eye stood out above all.
Jin-young recognized her from media coverage before his regression.
Prophet Michelle Graham.
He had thought she had retired from being a hunter, so her appearance at the assembly was unexpected.
‘I wonder what brought her here.’
Just then—
His gaze met Michelle’s remaining eye.
Without speaking, she mouthed the words to him.
‘Who are you?’
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