“Just—Master Mage...?”
Trrr—
At that precise moment, Kim Sinhwa’s phone cut off Jang Hyundeok’s words.
“This is an important call.”
“B-But—”
Kim Sinhwa turned, making a decisive gesture: wait. A hand motion beyond polite—it was an order.
“Uhm....”
“Yes, Madam, it’s me.”
A stream of cheerful curses greeted him. It was Yeom Geumja.
“Ah, I see. So you did interfere after all? A fight? You shouldn’t have—regrettable. No, honestly, I half-expected it. Don’t press in further; pull your forces back and simply encircle. I’ll be right there.”
Yeom Geumja’s ensuing tirade indicated she’d bristled at being anticipated. She cursed so loudly that some of her insults pierced through the phone to Jang Hyundeok’s ears. He gathered that some subordinates were injured, some insane, some killed.
Kim Sinhwa replied calmly,
“I told you from the start this operation carried risk. Once this is done, your reach will extend to Unjeong Station. Yes. You understand, right? Then none of the three heads of the Triad Council can ignore you anymore. Isn’t that what you wanted all along? As for problems? Oh, monsters? Didn’t I say I’d lend you my power? Trust me and don’t worry.”
His tone began with mild irritation but soon grew low, soft, and seductive—like a demon’s whisper, like a lover’s entreaty. His Charisma stat had reached humanly impossible heights. Even his most casual acts now became an enchantment.
“I’m glad you understand.”
In the end, Yeom Geumja was appeased.
Kim Sinhwa hung up and pocketed his phone. Though he’d achieved his aim, he looked anything but pleased—just momentarily bothered. He clicked his tongue.
“Let’s go, Hyundeok. The schedule’s changed. We need to hurry to Unjeong Station.”
Suddenly, another explosion sounded.
“Uah!?”
Startled, Jang Hyundeok turned. It wasn’t close. The blast came from about 2.7 km to the northwest.
Kim Sinhwa understood its meaning. Chae Taewon had begun his assault. It was merely mopping up the remnants—success would be good, failure acceptable. So he ignored the successive blasts and told Jang Hyundeok,
“Hyundeok, let’s move.”
“Hm, Master Mage?”
“Yes?”
“Well...”
Jang Hyundeok rolled several words across his tongue before settling on the simplest.
“Um, is something upsetting you?”
“No.”
Kim Sinhwa answered curtly, then after a pause added,
“It’s perfect now.”
By then, Kim Sinhwa had secured nine victories in a single day—some quest-linked, some not—but most with fitting rewards. He had steamrolled through: seized future enemy strongholds; destroyed their future weapons; torched supply lines; stolen their summoning tools; assassinated their future leaders. Enemies had fallen before raising weapons, and he had won without fighting.
How could he be anything but satisfied? Soon his goals would be achieved.
“But...”
Jang Hyundeok’s voice faltered. What did he want to say? With so little time—yet Kim Sinhwa waited.
“Master Mage, you seem... not in the best mood.”
The question provoked unaccountable displeasure. Kim Sinhwa turned and began descending the mountain.
“...”
Ordinarily he’d have fallen silent at that portentous shift—
“Master Mage? Um, Master Mage?”
But Jang Hyundeok was not one to give up.
“Master Mageee! Master Mageee!”
He called after Kim Sinhwa in loud, nonsensical cries.
“Master Mage! Master Mage! Do you hear me?”
He neither touched Kim Sinhwa nor seized his arm, yet—
“Hello? Hello? Yoohoo!”
His behavior exceeded all expectation.
“Yahoo! Master Mage! Master Mage! Hey! Yeeeep! Master Mage! Kyao! Kyaooo! Master Mage! Kyaoooo!”
“Ah, stop that! What’s with the ‘kyao’!?”
At last, Kim Sinhwa’s attention was snagged by Jang Hyundeok’s meaningless shrieks.
“Haha, you finally looked back. That’s my victory.”
Jang Hyundeok beamed with triumph. He’d somehow bested Kim Sinhwa—this was likely Kim Sinhwa’s first defeat of the day.
“What happened?”
“Nothing happened.”
“Ah, something did happen, right?”
“I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but could you please at least make sense? And stop yelling.”
Kim Sinhwa tried calmly reasoning, but Jang Hyundeok ignored him, as if believing a victor had limitless license.
“Whatever it was, cheer up. Need help with anything?”
“From you?”
“Yes. Thanks to you I’m now Super-Hyper-Magical Jang Hyundeok, right?”
“Heh.”
Faced with unexpectedly childish babble, Kim Sinhwa could only laugh hollowly.
“Super Hyper what?”
“Super Hyper Magical Jang Hyundeok. Yeah, Super Hyper Magical Jang Hyundeok.”
Delighted by its rhythm, Jang Hyundeok repeated “Super Hyper Magical Jang Hyundeok” several times. Before Kim Sinhwa could react, he continued,
“You evolved me, right? With something like an Evolution Stone. Now I’m ridiculously powerful—Super Hyper Magical Jang Hyundeok.”
“What evolution... you’re a—ah, never mind.”
Only then did Kim Sinhwa realize he’d been drawn in.
He took a deep breath. Right. He had done that.
He’d patched and rebooted Heo Sanghyun like a malfunctioning machine and then told him to think and desire freely.
‘Damn. I shouldn’t have done that.’
A brief pang of regret.
‘No matter what this world does to me, I vowed I wouldn’t lose my humanity.’
But there was no time for deeper anguish. He had no leisure for meaningless irritation.
Carefully stashing away his annoyance, Kim Sinhwa spoke to Jang Hyundeok,
“Hyundeok.”
“Yes.”
“Like you said, something did happen—”
“Yes, and?”
“So I got a bit irritated.”
“Yes, you were really irritated with me.”
“Right. I’m sorry. Listening to you, it was—just as you said—a ridiculous irritation.”
“Ah, ridiculous irritation.”
“So it’s fine now.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. And if any problem arises, Super Magical Jang Hyundeok will handle it.”
“Super Hyper Magical Jang Hyundeok.”
Kim Sinhwa laughed aloud, a dry echo in the mountains.
“All right. Anyway! Our Lady Yeom Geumja is indeed in danger. Let’s go rescue her.”
No point apologizing further or turning back.
‘Let’s not repeat that mistake.’ Kim Sinhwa beckoned Jang Hyundeok—a warm, friendly gesture.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay. But Master Mage—about calling me ‘ridiculous’ earlier...”
“Hurry up! Hurry, it’s urgent!”
“No, Master Mage! Please hear me out!”
“I said let’s go! Man! I was wrong—so hurry up!”
“But what exactly is wrong with Lady Yeom? What crisis did that bastard cause?”
“...”
Kim Sinhwa paused, recalling Yeom Geumja’s words:
– “That fucking son of a bitch is screwing with the site! He’s X-ing it up!”
– “That bastard X! X! X!”
She had repeatedly shouted vulgarities for male anatomy at deafening volume. Jang Hyundeok must have heard it too.
“I’ll explain slowly. You know that abandoned apartment near Unjeong Station?”
“Oh, the one with the lien issues?”
“Yeah, that one. Let’s head there.”
Unjeong New Town featured sleek apartment complexes—if only all buildings had been completed safely. But Paju was perilous. On the outskirts, dozens of half-built towers stood as skeletal husks from developer bankruptcies.
‘Monsters and cultists run rampant here. Construction firms face huge risks.’
Among those, Akdu had a secret base in one. Unforeseen trouble had arisen there.
Soon Jang Hyundeok and Kim Sinhwa arrived at the deserted construction site.
“The atmosphere is intense.”
“Focus on the mana, not the vibe.”
“Ugh, what is that?”
Unpleasant, flickering evil aura burned in every direction. The old Jang Hyundeok would not have noticed, but now he could.
“It’s about time we caught something big.”
By design, the site had been abandoned for at least ten years. The structures resembled apartments at a glance, but the gray concrete ruin earned the name “hovel.”
Around it, dozens of thugs stood. And Yeom Geumja’s voice rang out in all directions.
“You fucking bastard! What the hell do you expect me to do with these X-filled assholes? They’re just X!”
“That... that’s a real monster. ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) A real monster, I tell you!”
“It bursts from their bodies like worms!”
“Those worms that pour forth tried to burrow into us too!”
“The likes of us can’t handle this! We need a fixer! Call the fixer!”
Fed up with her subordinates’ murmurs, Yeom Geumja exploded again,
“When the hell will that Destroyer bastard arrive!?”
Whether perfect timing or the worst possible, she’d stalled too long.
“Madam, Madam. Your fixer is here.”
Kim Sinhwa did not expect the mood to lighten, yet her reaction was excessively warm.
“You bomb fiend! You asshole! You said it’d be safe! You X—”
“Please, could you tone down the genital talk a bit?”
“Shut your X mouth!”
At last one of her subordinates stepped forward.
“You! Explain!”
“Um, greetings.”
He was Ryu Jaegun, one of Yeom Geumja’s lieutenants. He had no notable role or special ability; not worth remembering—except for the fact he could speak without cursing. In this place, that alone made him invaluable.
“A terrible curse and sorcery have been laid across the entire apartment complex.”
Ryu Jaegun continued, eyes wide with fear,
“Beneath the ground, massive worms... the size of trains. They burst out, and there were even... human-like things.”
“They crawled through bodies?”
Ryu Jaegun shuddered,
“Y-Yes. From every facial orifice—eye, nose, mouth, ear—countless worms poured out. They seemed controlled by the worms...”
“I see.”
Kim Sinhwa nodded. He understood what had appeared here.
“Even the guns— the ones you gave us, Master Mage—were useless. These were dreadful monsters! The worms spewed from their bodies tried burrowing into us!”
“Destroyer! We’ve heard enough—guns won’t work! What now? Our men can’t face such monsters! If there’s no solution, we’re pulling out!”
Yeom Geumja’s fear was justified. If mana-stone-projectile guns failed, she presumed magic would too.
But it was hardly a problem.
“Madam, calm yourself. Help me with the preparations, and I’ll clear them all within twenty minutes.”
“Preparations?”
“Yes. Nothing major—just something simple.”
Kim Sinhwa said, then began explaining his plan.
