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chapter 103
The car slid smoothly across the Geumho Bridge.
“So, Director Ho, can you believe it? That guy tormented me throughout my entire vacation! Is that even normal? Who treats an office worker like that…?”
Kim Min-jung’s eyes, fixed on the wheel, were as lifeless as a dead fish.
‘…I just want to go home.’
When she first accepted Executive Im Won-young’s request, she’d been motivated.
But now, all she wanted was to collapse on her bed and binge all the OTT shows she’d missed.
“Noona, you’re listening, right? You’re listening? Huh? Huh? What am I supposed to do in a situation like this?”
It was all because of the man in the passenger seat, chirping away like a sparrow.
Section Chief Eom Ki-seon.
He proudly called himself the “left arm” of Team Z.
Apparently, he’d “graciously leave the right arm” to someone else.
The corniness was unbearable.
‘I should have remembered him the moment I heard Astra was coming…’
Even now, he was chattering nonstop about what he’d done during vacation.
How could someone this talkative ever have turned into the silent training-ground zombie she once knew?
‘Come to think of it, this was one of the reasons I drifted apart from him, wasn’t it?’
A textbook ISTJ, she recalled the nightmare of dating an ESFP, pressing her fingers against her temple.
“Section Chief Eom.”
“There she goes again…”
“We’re on company business. Please refrain from personal chatter.”
“You drag me out during vacation and still act so uptight? No way.”
“…”
“Alright, alright, it’s a joke. Relax a little, huh?”
Even faced with her icy tone, he grinned like a fool.
Kim Min-jung’s fatigue only deepened.
Still, she glanced at him sideways. His arms were covered with bruises and bandages.
Apparently, he hadn’t rested at all during his leave, dragged away by Director Ho for endless sparring matches.
“…Is your arm alright?”
“Oh? You’re worried about me?”
“Forget it. I take back the question. Instead, about the Astra rep we’re meeting soon—”
“No, no! I’m fine, seriously.”
He mimed a quick round of shadow boxing.
“They kept chewing me out for still not being a Ranker. I got tossed around like a ragdoll.”
“…As if that’s so easy.”
“Exactly! Less than 10% of Hunters worldwide make it to Ranker! And because I’ve been stuck at the threshold for years, they keep nagging me nonstop!”
Kim Min-jung thought she could see how much Director Ho cared about Eom Ki-seon.
It wasn’t disdain, but concern—a talented, passionate man still fumbling to find his path.
“What about you, Noona? Something’s up, isn’t it? Have you already reached Ranker…?”
“Not yet. Still preparing.”
She realized too late that she’d dropped formal speech but decided to ignore it.
“Really? At your level, you could totally take a shot already.”
He quickly sized her up.
Aside from Lee Hyun, she was the fastest-growing Hunter these days.
“I prefer playing it safe.”
“True. You never attempt anything until you’re fully prepared. Still, it won’t be long. Congratulations in advance.”
“…”
A strange feeling crept over her.
Cheering for someone who had already surpassed you, even while you yourself had failed for years—
Could she ever do the same?
Of course, it wasn’t that Eom Ki-seon had no jealousy. He was fiercely competitive, sharpening himself with grit and stubbornness.
But he held no inferiority complex.
That, Min-jung thought, was admirable.
‘…What am I thinking? Get a grip, focus.’
Shaking her head, she changed the subject.
“Tell me about Michael Shepherd. You said he used to be your superior?”
Michael Shepherd.
Leader of the Astra delegation they were about to meet.
Eom Ki-seon’s expression instantly hardened.
“You know him too, don’t you? Didn’t you meet him once?”
“I did. But only in passing on the battlefield.”
She already knew the basics.
Codename: Overzero.
Born in New Jersey, 38 years old. Former U.S. Special Operations Command strategist. Over ten years with Astra. A seasoned veteran and high-ranking Hunter.
His Patron Spirit: Archangel Gabriel.
Gifted with foresight through revelation.
‘That foresight… always the tricky part for us.’
Indeed, when Cheong-roe happened to meet him a month before the Gangneung incident, Shepherd had left behind a cryptic remark:
— The fiercer the flame, the swifter the ruin. (Live fast, die young).
‘If he’s here to read something in us again…’
Min-jung’s gaze darkened.
Eom Ki-seon scratched his head irritably.
“Hmm… how should I put it…”
Then his lips twisted.
“Trash?”
Pfft.
Min-jung chuckled.
For someone so bad at explanations, that single word said plenty.
“Need me to elaborate?”
“No. That’s enough.”
Her eyes gleamed cold as she pressed the accelerator.
“That’s more than enough.”
The car cleared the Geumho Bridge.
Lee Hyun was tearing his way through the Tower of the Five Elements.
[You have gained the recognition of the 2nd Floor Guardian, Red Demon Monkey.]
[You have passed the second trial.]
[The gate to the 3rd floor has opened.]
Red Demon Monkey—master of yin-yang and trap-setting.
But only so long as its forest lair remained intact.
With its home reduced to ashes, it was helpless.
In the end, the creature that had once sneered at Hyun for being human was beaten senseless.
‘Faster.’
Without delay, Hyun cleared the 3rd floor as well.
That mission: swim across a vast lake like an ocean.
But whirlpools and surging waves threatened to drag him under.
The sense awakened there was smell, seemingly irrelevant.
‘If the problem’s the stench of the sea, then I just have to neutralize it.’
Luckily, Hyun had a way.
[You activate the Relic: Frozen Veil and summon the Ice Spirit.]
[Ice Guard Samiin has been summoned.]
A crystal of snow materialized into a small fairy—
a translucent figure in a helmet, holding a spear.
Not the towering two-meter soldier from the <Palace of Ice>,
but still convenient, easier to conceal from enemies.
Strangely, summoning a spirit felt familiar,
perhaps due to his ice affinity or the deepening tale of the Snow Queen.
Instinctively, he knew what to do.
“Freeze all odors. Still the waves so I can cross easily.”
Cold immunity kept him safe, and thanks to the spirit,
the 3rd Guardian, Blue Monkey of the Storm, was swiftly dealt with.
[You have gained the recognition of the 3rd Floor Guardian, Blue Monkey.]
[You have passed the third trial.]
[The gate to the 4th floor has opened.]
“Haha! Praise from the Bright, scolding from the Red… truly, the King chose curious Apostles.”
Blue Monkey’s personality was bold and cheerful.
Even after a fierce battle, he bore no grudges—
a rough but keen spirit Hyun found likable.
“What’s your assessment of me?”
“Fun! Honestly, I prefer you to our petty king!”
“Are you supposed to say that?”
“Oh—guess not?”
Scratching his head, the monkey thumped his chest with a laugh.
“Ah, whatever! It’ll be fine! Narrow-minded as he is, the King’s never cast us out!”
“On that point, I agree.”
“Right? Hahaha! I hope we meet again someday!”
“So do I.”
Leaving the monkey’s farewell behind, Hyun reached the opposite shore.
Before him rose a fortress atop a hill.
[You have entered the 4th floor.]
He evaporated the moisture clinging to him with a wave of heat, then focused again.
[Your consciousness of taste awakens. Sealed sense unlocked: Taste.]
[Progress toward unlocking all five senses: 4/5.]
As he neared the fortress, music and laughter spilled out.
A banquet was underway.
‘I think I see where this is going.’
At the gate stood monkey soldiers.
“Are you here for the banquet, sir?”
“Seems so.”
“May I see your invitation?”
“No invitation, no entry?”
If they said no, Hyun was ready to hurl his axe at the roof and bring the fortress down.
Why play along with their stage if he didn’t have to?
That was what he’d realized:
burning the forest in the 2nd floor, freezing the lake on the 3rd—
nullifying their setups was actually to his advantage.
But the guard said instead:
“Not necessarily… Perhaps you’d care to try this first?”
He offered a plated dessert.
“The banquet hall inside is filled with noxious miasma harmful to humans. Eat this, and you’ll gain immunity.”
“…This is poison.”
“Yes.”
Hyun frowned.
They wanted him to eat poison to withstand poison?
“Ah, you misunderstand. By eating it, your body develops resistance, letting you enjoy the feast safely. Will you partake?”
Hyun suspected this was the real test.
‘All the better. Resistance training isn’t easy to come by.’
The moment he swallowed it—
“…!?”
Pain like lightning surged through his nerves.
[You have ingested poison laced with the Seed of Lightning.]
[Your Divine Staff attempts rapid recovery, expelling toxins. Resistance gained.]
[Curse Immunity (SS) neutralizes most of the toxin, raising body resistance.]
[Poison Resistance (S → SS).]
[Electric Shock Resistance (B → A).]
“…!!”
Such intense poison, it raised his resistances outright.
Though dizziness made him sway, the guard quickly steadied him.
“Are you alright? Shall I call a physician?”
“No. I’m fine.”
Hyun widened his eyes at the messages.
‘A poison this strong? With curses and status ailments mixed in… this is a blessing for me.’
His resistance growth had slowed lately, but now he’d stumbled upon a jackpot.
‘Does that mean the miasma inside will be even better?’
Eager, he asked:
“The banquet—can I just walk in?”
“Certainly. Medicine is also available inside should you need it. Please, this way.”
Hyun entered.
The hall opened into a grand ball: dancers in tuxedos and gowns, masked faces swirling to music.
He scanned for the examiner.
‘The last of the Apes was the Six-Eared Macaque, right?’
The trickster who once disguised himself as Sun Wukong, even fooling Heaven’s gods, matching Wukong blow for blow—
until his true identity was revealed and he was slain.
Even so, he remained the strongest of the Apes.
But here, everyone wore masks, identical in physique and movement.
How was he supposed to find the real one?
Only subtle differences showed: each behaved as if intoxicated, revealing small quirks and habits.
[To honor your climb through four trials, the Examiner has prepared this banquet.]
[Food, desserts, wine, and music abound.]
[Find the Examiner before the feast ends.]
[Special events await you throughout. Enjoy them freely.]
Hyun wondered how taste and finding the “real one” connected.
‘Well, doesn’t matter. I’ll just eat everything anyway.’
Surveying the tables of food and wine, his lips curled.
If even the tasting dessert carried such venom,
how much stronger, more exotic, were the poisons in the banquet spread?
“Heh heh.”
A trial designed to torment an Apostle—
to him, it looked like the perfect training ground.
“Heh heh heh.”
Had Min-jung seen his grin, she would’ve muttered: “Here he goes again.”
