Yeo Hyungsook let out a series of deep sighs, his expression full of anxiety as he rapidly tapped away at his phone with his index finger.
Across from him, seated comfortably on a wide sofa, Lim Sayul pushed up his glasses and spoke.
"Can you stop tapping like that? It's distracting."
"I can't calm down, alright? I literally can't."
Yeo Hyungsook's lips were dry as he licked them, his expression betraying barely-contained impatience.
How else could you explain Korea's top guild master, a man in his 40s, shaking his leg anxiously like a nervous child?
Sensing this urgency, Lim Sayul clicked his tongue.
"Tsk. If you're that worried, why don't you just go meet him yourself?"
"…Should I?"
Yeo Hyungsook began to rise to his feet.
And then, with a sigh, a chill of icy energy burst from Lim Sayul's hand, freezing the area around Yeo Hyungseok's ankles.
The technique was incredibly fast and precise.
But Yeo Hyungsook wasn't surprised.
It was Lim Sayul, after all.
Out of all the Awakened in Korea, he was one of the few Yeo personally acknowledged as the best. If he couldn't pull off something like that, it'd actually be disappointing.
Still, he couldn't help but be irritated.
"Are you messing with me? You just told me to go see him."
"That didn't mean 'go sprinting out the door right now.'"
Lim Sayul sighed again as he spoke.
This decisive, proactive side of Yeo Hyungsook was the very reason he had chosen to follow him.
But his impulsiveness… was definitely a problem.
"We've already sent several messages. If he still hasn't responded, then that means he never had any intention of coming to Baekdu in the first place."
Lim Sayul explained calmly.
"So what, we just sit around and let him go to another guild? Just let No-Name slip through our fingers? Are you crazy? How long are we going to let Baek Mu-hak keep pulling the strings? You think Cheonhae and Imoogi are going to just sit back and do nothing? Those bastards are just as impatient as I am!"
As soon as the names "No-Name," "Baek Mu-hak," "Cheonhae," and "Imoogi" came pouring out, Lim Sayul furrowed his brows even deeper.
"No-Name is definitely Yang Soohyook."
"Of course. Who else would it be but that guy you wouldn't stop raving about? It's not just you or me—everyone who needs to know already knows."
At the very least, the guild members who had trained that last batch of recruits would have figured out No-Name's true identity. The reason it hadn't become public knowledge yet was simply because no one wanted it to spread further.
No one had claimed him.
No one had signed him.
Until a contract was on the table and a stamp was on the page, Yang Soohyook didn't want his identity revealed.
If that was Baekdu's stance, it was likely the same for other guilds as well.
"Even if he's not, it doesn't matter. The potential Yang Soohyook has shown is on par with No-Name, if not better."
"Don't drag this out. You know how impatient I am."
"Just hear me out. You and that vice president of yours—how many times have I told you two to get a grip?"
Yeo Hyungsook started to speak with visible frustration, then crossed his arms and nodded.
"…Fine, go on. You've got a plan, right?"
As expected of Lim Sayul, the tactician.
Listening to him before acting had never gone wrong.
That had always been the case—and likely always would be.
There was trust in Yeo Hyungsook's gaze.
"You're panicking over nothing. Even during training, Yang Soohyook wasn't particularly social. Ignoring messages and calls from guilds fits that pattern. Whether it's 100 days or even a year, it's unlikely anyone will be able to sign a contract with him."
…
"Action is important, but it doesn't have to be direct. That's a tactic for amateurs."
Lim Sayul's eyes gleamed as he adjusted his glasses with one finger.
"Shahar Kal Eluriat."
Yeo Hyungsook shivered slightly at the unexpected name.
"Her? Why?"
"She was the instructor in charge of Yang Soohyeok's training. She won't admit it, but I think they shared a meaningful connection."
At that, Yeo gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"There's no way I can convince her. She's not even human."
"I'm not telling you to convince Shahar. I'm saying Yang Soohyook wasn't the only trainee under her."
Finally, the conversation started to open up.
A spark lit in Yeo Hyungsook's eyes.
"Oh ho, so he seems to have bonded with another trainee as well?"
"These are the call logs. I can't say how close they are, but they've definitely been in contact."
Lim Sayul pulled out several documents from inside his jacket and laid them on the coffee table in front of the sofa.
Thud.
At that crisp sound, the ice encasing Yeo Hyungsook's ankles shattered as if sliced apart by a sharp blade.
At the same time, the documents on the table rose into the air and aligned themselves upright before Yeo's eyes.
Swish—!
The stack of papers began flipping pages rapidly, as if being pushed by an invisible force.
Glancing at them, Yeo Hyungsook muttered a name.
"Baek Iyeon."
A familiar name.
A rookie from the last batch of trainees, and someone Baekdu was already considering making an offer to.
While most of the calls seemed to be one-sided, with Soohyeok as the receiver, the call logs were clear. That alone made it different from other numbers that had only resulted in missed calls.
"She's the only one outside of his family. Worth reaching out to, don't you think?"
"And once we reach out?"
Yeo turned to Lim Sayul with a question.
"We get her to sign with Baekdu Guild. She's got enough potential to justify it. And even if we fail, her value alone is worth the effort."
"Then we open a path to talk with No-Name."
"Exactly."
Lim Sayul smiled.
"Heh."
Yeo Hyungseok let out a short laugh and casually walked back to the sofa to sit down.
His gaze toward Sayul was filled with amusement.
"You sneaky, manipulative bastard."
"What? You don't like it?"
"Are you kidding? Start immediately."
The guildmaster's go-ahead was given.
***
2.
While interest in Soohyeok steadily grew, he was pouring himself deeper into hunting.
"Il-nyeom Tong-am." (One-Mind Penetrating Fist)
With the final strike of the the expression of internal power (qi) through the hands technique, a giant mantis-like monster—its body torn open at the core—collapsed to the ground without even a scream.
Thud—!
[You have mastered the A-rank skill,the expression of internal power (qi) through the hands.]
A satisfying system alert rang out right afterward.
"Not even 'Advanced'—it says 'Mastered'?"
Not that it mattered. To Soohyeok, it was just semantics. He nodded to himself.
In just one month, his skills had taken yet another dramatic leap.
He had now reached the level of a peak martial artist, with even greater freedom in controlling his internal energy.
At this stage of martial mastery, one can temporarily manifest qi in a semi-tangible form. Just a short while ago, he could only achieve that using the power of the Demon Sword.
Naturally, intangible qi and tangible qi are worlds apart in quality. Even if the form was still vague, the fact that it had form meant power had gathered—and if harnessed properly, it could shatter a tiger's claw barehanded.
In other words, with no technique, through raw power alone, he could now take down a tiger.
From this point onward, he was no longer merely human.
But still, Soohyeok was thirsty for more.
Because the road ahead was far longer than the one he had already walked.
Still, this moment's success wasn't insignificant.
He had truly mastered the expression of internal power (qi) through the hands—a sign that it was time to move on to the next technique.
He already had one in mind.
But it was a high-level martial art, and to fully wield it, he would need to break through yet another wall.
"If I start preparing now, I should be ready in about three months…"
Lost in that thought, Soohyeok approached the corpse of the giant Manthetis with calm eyes and began his dissection.
Specifically, he swiftly removed its two front legs and strapped them to his back.
Then, he cracked open the central part of its head with a dagger—and there it was: a blue mana stone.
"Lucky. Today's a good day."
Most of a Manthetis's body was worthless.
But its two bladed forelimbs were prized by craftsmen, often fetching prices close to a Grade 2 mana stone—about 10 million won per pair.
And to top it off, he got a mana stone as well.
All in all, just from clearing this one portal, Soohyeok had earned over 50 million won.
"Nice, nice."
Humming, Soohyeok finished harvesting the stone and turned his attention to something previously hidden behind the giant Manthetis corpse—a small, pure white stone.
To his surprise, the stone floated midair, trembling softly.
There was something strangely pitiful about its appearance.
"Is that… this world's cosmo-energy?"
Even after defeating this dimension's boss monster—the Manthetis—the world had not collapsed.
Instead, this white stone appeared, wrapped in the energy of the world.
It was, for all intents and purposes, the core of this dimension—and it made no effort to hide its hostility toward Soohyeok.
Its intent to kill was so intense, it could almost be called resentment.
This world… hated Soohyeok.
If that stone had enough power to take on a physical form, it would have surely become a horrifying specter.
It was tragic in a way—but ultimately, it couldn't be helped.
Soohyeok didn't turn away from that emotion.
After all, if he hadn't stopped it, the monsters from this portal would have poured into Earth and killed people.
A clash between beings that can never accept one another… always ends in tragedy for at least one side.
It was a terrifying consequence born from the interconnection of dimensions.
Soohyeok fully acknowledged those thoughts and feelings—and yet, all he did was casually toss a single dagger.
"Well then, farewell."
With that, he offered a final parting message to the white stone—the cosmo-energy of this world.
The white stone, which had been trembling in the air pitifully, began to crack the moment it collided with the sharp dagger infused with Soohyeok's inner energy.
Crackkk—!
It was the sound of a world falling apart.
Soohyeok immediately lunged toward the ATV (all-terrain vehicle) he had hidden in the bushes and started the engine.
Loaded with monster corpses, mana stones, and other valuable loot, the ATV roared with a vicious engine sound.
The pungent smell of burning fuel filled Soohyeok's nose.
And then—the ATV launched forward, tearing away from the collapsing world.
VROOOOOM—!
The roar of the engine and the sting of wind against his skin surged all around him.
Soohyeok pressed the accelerator even harder as he raced toward the portal exit still far off in the distance.
The terrain suddenly shifted—a deep dip in the ground opened up before him—but the ATV didn't slow down. Though the impact jolted him, the vehicle quickly stabilized and responded with an even deeper growl, accelerating faster.
Crashing, breaking, collapsing—the portal world was in complete disarray. But it only took about a minute for the ATV to cover the more than 4 kilometers to the exit.
As soon as he saw the portal, Soohyeok reached toward the side compartment of the ATV. His fingers brushed against a now-familiar texture: the Iron Robot mask, golden and red, made of hard plastic.
In one fluid motion, he pulled it over his face.
At that moment, the ATV soared out of the portal like it was flying.
BOOM—! SCREEEECH—!