Chapter 36
The Myungga Guild.
One of the top five guilds in South Korea’s hunter industry.
Its leader, Heo Jae-woon, had a single weakness.
“I’ve got this younger brother, a reckless brat. The kind who never feels satisfied unless he copies exactly what his older brother does. Greedy to the bone.”
Heo Jae-woon turned the hatchet in his hand back and forth, examining the blade.
“And the worst part? He hates putting in the effort. Never once thinks about the blood, sweat, and time I pour into getting something. All he cares about is the results—and then he whines, demanding I give him the same thing.”
The blade gleamed blue, sharpened to a razor edge on the whetstone.
“Then, wouldn’t you know it—he went and caused a mess. I was going to investigate a dungeon properly before entering it, but he slipped in ahead of me. And of course, he couldn’t resist grabbing the fossil I’d locked away in my vault.”
Swaak… swaak…
The man listening was tied securely to a chair, gasping shallow breaths.
“He must’ve thought there was something there, so he took his raid team inside to try and beat me for once. But then…”
“…he went and got himself killed.”
The bloodied man raised his head with effort.
So swollen from torture, his face was almost unrecognizable.
“I told you… I don’t know… I don’t know your brother… or who the hell he even is…”
Heo Jae-woon crouched down to meet his captive’s eyes—Go Jin-woo’s eyes.
He pressed the hatchet’s sharpened edge under Jin-woo’s jaw.
Drip—
A thin line of blood trickled down.
“You don’t need to know. He was my brother, sure, but he died stupidly. In this business, even the brightest prodigies vanish overnight—it’s nothing new.”
Heo Jae-woon smiled.
A cold, devil’s smile.
“But there’s one thing I can’t stand—losing my belongings. So just tell me. Where is it? Where’s my property?”
The blade scraped lightly along Jin-woo’s neck, close enough to sever an artery at any moment.
But Jin-woo didn’t flinch.
“I said… I don’t know…”
Heo Jae-woon’s lips twisted.
“Such loyalty—it’s rare these days. You really won’t open your mouth easily, huh? Fine. We’ll start with a finger.”
The smile vanished from his face.
“Hold onto that loyalty to the very end. It won’t be any fun if you give in too quickly.”
Heo Jae-woon raised the hatchet high.
Jin-woo squeezed his eyes shut.
He had endured torture training back in his Cheongroe unit days, but—
“Lee Hyun, you bastard… I’m going through this hell because of you.”
Watching his body being chopped apart? That was something he couldn’t steel himself for.
“So don’t come here. Whatever you do, don’t come.”
The hatchet came down without hesitation.
Squelch!
“That brooch… it belonged to your doctor, didn’t it?”
“Yes. That means Jin-woo hyung must be in danger.”
Without proper rest, Lee Hyun grabbed his bag and boarded the subway.
Saojeong, who didn’t know Jin-woo, quietly listened to their exchange.
“You said he went to the black market, right?”
“Yes.”
To be precise, Hyun had asked him to go.
Hyun pressed his lips tightly together.
“So… it happened there?”
Hyun nodded silently.
“Any leads?”
He shook his head.
He had asked Jin-woo despite knowing it was risky, because Jin-woo was the expert in that field.
‘Back in the unit, whenever we had spoils of war that were hard to handle, Jin-woo was the one who took care of them.’
An orphanage kid who had learned to work in that line of business.
He was also well respected, since he sometimes treated hunters who couldn’t go to proper hospitals.
But after the Cheongroe unit disbanded, he had cut ties with the hunter world and even quit the black market—
‘Because of me.’
Hyun bit down on his lip.
“Nothing at all?”
“There’s one thing, but… it doesn’t add up.”
The original owners of the item Hyun had asked him to sell—
The Myungga Guild.
“I made sure to erase every mark or trace that could identify the original owners before handing it over.”
“You’re certain?”
Hyun nodded.
This wasn’t his first time doing something like this.
And Jin-woo was no amateur who’d leave a trail.
Besides, in the black market, it was an iron rule never to ask about an item’s origin.
That was what made it contraband, and that never changed.
Which meant—something else was at play.
“Do you even have a way to face them? You said they’re no pushovers.”
If the Myungga Guild was truly involved,
and if Guildmaster Heo Jae-woon himself was acting out of vengeance for his dead brother,
then Hyun had no chance of handling it alone.
“I’ll have to find a way.”
“What about asking that girl for help?”
He meant Im Won-young.
Hyun shook his head.
“She would help if I asked, but… this is personal. I don’t want to drag her into it. I’ll find a way myself.”
He had just faced off against Director Jung moments ago.
To then expose a weakness? Impossible.
“And it’s not like I’m without options.”
Hyun glanced into his inventory.
The fearsome goblin mask seemed to grin back at him.
Bang! Bang!
“Old man, I’m here.”
Instead of going straight to the black market, Hyun stopped by Dochul’s smithy first.
Dochul, as usual, ignored him and focused on hammering steel.
“I’m just taking a few things.”
Bang! Bang!
Without waiting for a response, Hyun went into the storage and found his box.
He had meant to keep it sealed until he regained his full strength, but—
‘Right now, I’ll need everything I’ve got.’
Hyun was prepared to go to war.
Of course, he couldn’t take too much. His body still wasn’t strong enough to handle excess power.
So he chose carefully. Just a few pieces.
But even those few were unmatched anywhere else.
[Cloak of the One-Legged Goblin]
A goblin with only one leg, fierce and combative to hide its defect, a lover of wrestling.
Wearing this grants overwhelming combat ability and fearlessness.
-
Type: Armor (Upper)
-
Origin: Folktale Seonghosa Seol
[Tiger-Pattern Garb of the Goblin]
The one-legged goblin loved to wrestle tigers and race leopards. When it won, it would skin them and inherit their strength.
Wearing this grants brute strength and agile movement.
-
Type: Armor (Lower)
-
Origin: Tale Pobakja
[Blue Skin of the Goblin]
Some goblins had red or blue skin. Bracelets made from their skin hold mystical powers—said to build bridges across rivers overnight.
Wearing this bracelet draws countless mysteries to follow you.
-
Type: Armor (Bracelet)
-
Origin: Legend Samguk Yusa
…
Hyun’s stash included not just armor, but also weapons and trinkets.
The Goblin Set.
Once his trademark gear.
His standard battle loadout.
Seeing them again made his heart pound.
Thump-thump.
The same gear he had worn when fighting the Snow Queen—now fully repaired, no, improved.
Click. Click—
Hyun strapped them on, one by one.
Thankfully, his body still remembered how.
[You begin equipping the legends of the Goblin.]
[The narrative of the <Snow Queen> lingers in your mana. The two tales resonate, amplifying each other.]
[You can now imbue your attacks and defenses with fragments of the Snow Queen’s saga.]
…
The Goblin Set synced perfectly with his current skill tree.
[Fighting spirit rises.]
[Aggressive tendencies added.]
[Defense greatly increased.]
…
And then—
“This too.”
[Cheoyong’s Sacred Dance]
Cheoyong, the goblin who drove out plague spirits with his dance by the sea, calling forth the dragon of the East Sea.
Those marked as enemies by his dance could only kneel before its grandeur.
-
Type: Sacred Relic (Earring)
-
Origin: Folklore Song of Cheoyong
Hyun fastened the eerie earring with its twisted ghost engraving.
At that moment—
Ding! Ding!
[Cheoyong’s legend fuses atop the Goblin’s set!]
[Goblin-related narratives surge into activity.]
[Strength temporarily +20]
[Agility temporarily +19]
[You have reawakened the legend <Goblin’s Dance Arena>!]
“Haaah…!”
Hyun steadied his breath, calming the surge of mana and heightened senses.
With full equipment and legends awakened,
he had ascended to an entirely new tier.
Crackle! Crackle!
Lightning crackled across his skin—blue-white bolts, symbol of the ghostly Dueoksini.
Hyun rose to his feet, weighed down by the force of the legends.
‘I’d like to take Jwi-gwi or Bihyung-rang too, but… Goblin and Cheoyong will do for now.’
Even so—
Confidence filled him.
Even against top-ranked hunters, he wouldn’t lose. No—he could crush them.
Crackle!!
“Come to think of it,” said Sun Wukong, eyes glinting golden, “I once heard about a god in the distant East. As fierce as India’s yaksha, yet mischievous, mingling with common folk and bringing them prosperity. Not revered as a deity, but sometimes treated like a wandering spirit. Strange lot, I thought. And that’s the very legend you’ve inherited, isn’t it?”
Wukong thought it suited Hyun perfectly.
Deadly serious when he needed to be. Savage when roused.
But when he smiled—he smiled like a pure child.
‘Maybe that’s why he can get along with us—monsters with yokai blood, or that blacksmith with a monster’s legend.’
As Wukong pondered, Hyun closed the box and stepped outside.
“Old man?”
Dochul, who should’ve been hammering away, was standing at the door.
He tossed something to Hyun.
Hyun caught it, surprised.
“What’s this?”
A white coat, adorned with elegant golden patterns.
Dochul didn’t answer, just went back to his forge.
Bang! Bang!
Hyun examined the coat.
[Dochul’s Thunder-Gold Garb]
A coat made of metal infused with lightning.
Forged by the fierce beast Dochul, white and gold in tone, densely layered with thunder-gold plates for superb defense.
Despite its look, it carries a feral nature.
-
Origin: Folklore The Four Fiends – Dochul
A custom item—clearly meant for him.
‘To conceal my identity.’
Dochul knew Hyun wasn’t ready to reveal himself.
This cloak, covering him fully, would do just that.
Likely crafted in advance, as a gift for his return to the field.
“Thank you, old man. I’ll wear it well.”
Dochul only hammered harder.
Bang! Bang!
Hyun knew it was just his way of hiding embarrassment.
Rustle—
He slipped on the coat. Long enough to reach his ankles, it hid all his gear.
Then—
Clack!
He put on the mask of the Golden Arhat.
No trace of Lee Hyun remained.
Only the Apostle of Zeus.
[Activating the Dark Step of the Duskfiend—your presence fades!]
Swoosh—
A veil of shadows wrapped around him.
‘If even a hair on hyung’s head is harmed…’
He stepped into the darkness.
‘I’ll kill them all.’
His eyes blazed like twin goblin-fires.
“Oh?”
“Our Apostle seems properly enraged. This is a first.”
Even Wukong and Saojeong were startled by the vicious鬼火 blazing around him.
And then—
Swoosh—
The twin flames vanished.
As if they’d never been there.
A ghostly chill lingered in their place.
