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chapter 64
[Event: Lightning Collector]
[As a goblin, you have begun to collect, understand, and master various types of lightning.]
[Collect 99 bolts of lightning. When your collection is complete, a new path will open before you.]
[Success: ???]
[Failure: Divine Punishment]
[Currently Collected Lightning (3/99)]
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Duokshini (Specter)
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Zeus (Diois)
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Indra (Vajramudha)
After using the cursed inscription of Energy Drain to steal Indra’s lightning,
Lee Hyun was now capable of seizing and wielding different types of lightning.
If he could take the lightning of great deities like Zeus and Indra,
why wouldn’t he be able to seize the thunder god of the Heavenly Sect, who was only at the level of a mid-tier deity?
The best part about this event was that the longer he held on to a collected lightning, the deeper his understanding of it became.
That was why Indra’s lightning, which at first had been displayed as “???” in his collection,
later revealed its true name—Vajramudha, meaning “divine thunder.”
Lee Hyun’s lightning carried a wide array of attributes and traits.
From the start,
this was a fight Ma Ryong could never win.
‘Not that he’s ever once beaten me anyway.’
He knew all too well that Ma Ryong resented him.
In fact, anyone from Cheongroe knew.
It was that obvious.
That’s why Lee Hyun could easily predict that once he revealed his tail,
Ma Ryong would be the first to come rushing in.
‘But if you walk straight into the trap this easily…’
Lee Hyun swung down his flaming demonic blade with violent force.
“Almost makes me feel sorry for you.”
Boom!
Ma Ryong hastily swung his drumstick weapon upward.
An explosion burst out.
“Urgh…! Guhh!”
He was blown backwards, coughing blood as his insides turned to chaos.
“H-how… how is this possible…!”
That drumstick was a sacred relic bestowed by the thunder god himself.
[Drumstick of Thunder Law]
A drumstick wielded by the Thunder God to strike thunderbolts from within the clouds. Every strike summons lightning that paralyzes the enemy.
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Type: Sacred Relic, One-handed Weapon.
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Origin: Myth of the Thunder God.
The Drumstick of Thunder Law unleashed violent thunder, shaking opponents and even damaging their nervous systems enough to induce paralysis.
But now, its effects didn’t manifest at all.
The lightning was being absorbed into Lee Hyun before it could even trigger.
Crackle! Zzzap! Boom boom boom!
The red lightning that should have surrounded Ma Ryong was being sucked into Lee Hyun, swirling together with his own bluish-white bolts.
For Ma Ryong, who had lived his life with pride as a disciple of the Thunder God,
the sight was devastating.
[The Thunder God expresses confusion over how someone could steal his lightning.]
[The Thunder God looks at his disciple with contempt for so easily losing control over his thunder.]
“Damn it!!”
Lee Hyun’s assault didn’t stop.
When his flaming demonic blade rained firebolts,
the Fangs of Dochul slipped into the gaps, striking down with thunder.
Ma Ryong was forced back with every clash,
until he experienced the humiliation of his mana circuits drying out in an instant.
The more mana he tried to use, the more lightning was drained away. He had no chance to react.
“Why… why can’t I take back lightning!? If you can steal mine, then I should be able to steal yours—!”
Lee Hyun thought he understood the principle behind his absorption:
Magnetism.
In an electromagnetic field, like poles repel, and opposite poles attract.
But that only meant that the one with finer control over the field had the advantage.
KABOOM!
“Ghhhk!”
Lee Hyun’s axe smashed down onto Ma Ryong’s drumstick.
He could no longer endure and dropped to one knee.
‘…He’s better than me? Even in delicate control…?’
His eyes shook violently.
Four years ago, when it became clear he couldn’t match Lee Hyun’s raw output,
Ma Ryong had chosen to hone control instead.
He believed that if he could handle violent thunder with precise mastery,
he could counter Lee Hyun’s overwhelming power.
But…
‘That was a mistake!!’
Slice!
Fwoooosh—
“Arghhhhhh!!”
Lee Hyun’s flaming blade severed his right arm.
The drumstick flew into the air.
[The Thunder God glares coldly at the disciple who lost his sacred relic.]
‘N-no…!’
Lee Hyun reached for the weapon.
Ma Ryong desperately thrust out his remaining left hand.
If he lost that relic, it truly was the end.
But the drumstick was pulled to Lee Hyun by the same magnetic force.
He planted his flaming blade into the ground and snatched the relic out of the air.
[You have obtained the Sacred Relic: Drumstick of Thunder Law. The relic reacts violently!]
“It’s been a while.”
Even as he claimed the relic, Lee Hyun’s face showed little interest.
After unlocking the first seal of the Ruyi Jingu Bang,
mere weapons barely caught his eye anymore.
‘As for the Thunder God… I couldn’t care less.’
[The Thunder God cannot hide his disappointment in his disciple. He forcibly revokes the disciple’s position.]
[The Thunder God attempts to offer apostleship to the new wielder of his relic…]
Lee Hyun shoved it straight into his inventory before the message could even finish.
[Congratulations! You have successfully comprehended the myth: “The One Who Strikes Thunder from the North.”]
[You have awakened the Thunder God’s lightning attribute.]
[You have successfully added this lightning to your collection.]
[Currently Collected Lightning (4/99)]
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Duokshini (Specter)
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Zeus (Diois)
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Indra (Vajramudha)
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Thunder God (Thunder Law)
Glancing at the updated list,
Lee Hyun buried his axe into Ma Ryong’s right shoulder.
Boom!
Crackle!!
“This… can’t… be happening… my lightning… I’m Pingxin… I can’t die here…!”
“Relax. I’m not going to kill you.”
Lee Hyun smiled coldly.
“I still have a lot of questions for you. Did you really think I’d kill you?”
“……!!”
The wound cauterized instantly, burning to blackened charcoal.
His circuits were destroyed; his body ruined.
He would never act as a hunter again.
[Cursed Inscription: Full-Body Paralysis]
The curse struck, and—
Thud!
Ma Ryong collapsed pathetically, unworthy of his fearsome reputation.
“Haaah…”
Lee Hyun exhaled roughly.
The first hunt had ended in success.
He had tried to fight with calm detachment,
but emotion had surged stronger than expected.
Still, Ma Ryong was alive.
‘That’s enough.’
He hoisted the limp body over his shoulder.
WEE-OO, WEE-OO—
Sirens echoed in the distance. Police, alerted by the chaos, were on their way.
[You invoke the Specter’s Trust.]
Before things could escalate, Lee Hyun vanished.
Only the sweltering heat of battle lingered behind.
* * *
“Breaking news. In Dongdaemun District’s Jeonnong-dong area, two hunters, suspected to be of Ranker level, have clashed…”
“Tch. What kind of idiots fight in broad daylight, in the middle of the city no less?”
At the Lee Gunsan residence, Go Jinwoo clicked his tongue as he folded laundry.
“They think they won’t get caught? Idiots like that—”
“They won’t get caught.”
“Sh—shit! You scared the life out of me!”
A voice came suddenly from behind.
Jinwoo nearly dropped dead on the spot.
He spun around to see Lee Hyun standing there with a blank expression.
“At least make some noise when you show up! I thought I was about to keel over from a heart attack!”
“If a doctor dies of a heart attack, doesn’t that make him a Darwin Award candidate?”
“A doctor’s still human, dammit! And why are you even here, without a word?”
“Better question: why are you here?”
The conversation ran circles.
Jinwoo frowned deeply.
“Because someone got me fired and jobless, so now I’m working here part-time just to get by. Satisfied?”
“That part-time job being… housemaid?”
“Goddammit! Stop with the nonsense and answer me—why are you here?!”
Lee Hyun grinned at Jinwoo’s usual temper.
“Got you a present.”
“A present?”
“This.”
He dropped something from his shoulder onto the floor.
“Hey! My laundry—!”
It was so blackened that Jinwoo didn’t recognize what it was at first—
then he froze.
“Holy shit. That’s a person!”
“Are you really a doctor? You’ve got a weak heart, no guts, and nothing seems to work properly with you.”
“Quit with the—!”
“Save it. Just check his face.”
Grinding his teeth, Jinwoo inspected the charred features.
His eyes darkened.
“…Wei Gangning.”
“You recognize him?”
Even burned, there was no mistaking the bastard who had tormented them endlessly back in Cheongroe.
“That’s a big fish.”
“He’s hurt?”
“As you can see.”
Lee Hyun held up his unscathed arm.
Jinwoo gave a hollow laugh.
He had heard Hyun was away on a dungeon expedition for half a month…
‘And now he’s come back as a Ranker?’
The Jet that had vanished years ago was finally returning.
Then he remembered the breaking news.
“So that’s already being reported, huh? I thought I slipped away quickly.”
Lee Hyun chuckled at the TV footage, showing his fight with Ma Ryong—
filmed by a bystander’s phone.
“Hey… don’t tell me—”
“Relax. My face won’t show.”
“What?”
Jinwoo looked closer.
Unbelievably, Hyun’s face appeared blurred out like digital noise.
Even on trending videos across YouTube,
every angle showed the same distortion.
└ Wow… a Ranker fight in this day and age? Insane.
└ Hoho, quite a rare sight.
└└ Rare? Are you nuts? The whole district’s in chaos right now!
└ Must be lightning mages. East Seoul’s suffering a total blackout.
└└ And the subways are paralyzed from system failures.
└ Who the hell are these guys? With that much power, they can’t be unknown.
└ One of them’s clearly older, but the other looks… young? Lots of noise on his figure.
└ From some clips, he seems like a young man, but his face is always hidden.
└└ Even if it’s radio interference, why is it only affecting him?
└ Bet he’s good-looking under there. I’m jealous.
└└ How can you tell? You can’t even see his build.
No matter how high the resolution, Lee Hyun’s face was always concealed as if by magic.
[Cursed Inscription: Cognitive Impairment, Mountain upon Mountain]
Thanks to the curses he had spread across the area,
no one could clearly perceive his appearance.
“Instead, I made sure Ma Ryong’s face was crystal clear. Don’t you think Chairman Peng will love that?”
“…Unbelievable.”
Jinwoo shook his head, looking at Hyun’s smug smile.
Ma Ryong wasn’t just any Ranker—he was part of a Chinese state agency.
His identity being exposed was inevitable,
and Korea’s intelligence agencies were no doubt in a frenzy already.
“The Chinese special forces chief who staged a terror attack in downtown Seoul… Yeah, it’ll be chaos.”
Other nations hungry to see China embarrassed would be delighted.
As much as he loved his younger brother in arms, Jinwoo thought—
if they were enemies, Hyun would be terrifying.
‘To think he’s only now begun to move, after four years of silence… those years must have been long indeed.’
He stood up with a shake of his head.
“You brought him here for interrogation, right?”
“There’s a lot to discuss.”
“Discuss, huh… I doubt he’ll be willing to talk. Anyway, the General’s down in the bunker. Follow me.”
Jinwoo tossed the ruined laundry back into the basket.
“The General said he had something to show you too.”
