Chapter 40: The Chosen One (Part 5)

Editor: Cherish

— Um… — Si Hoon felt the cold stone floor underneath him and opened his eyes.

'What happened?' He looked around and cocked his head sideways, confused.

Last he remembered, he was on his way to the bus stop to catch a bus home after he'd parted with his teammates.

— So then, what happened?

That was where his memories came to an end.

From the moment when he almost got to the bus stop and the moment he opened his eyes, he remembered nothing.

Si Hoon took his phone out of his pocket to check the time.

— It's been an hour.

The last time he looked at the time was an hour ago.

— Ah! — When he tried to remember what had happened within that hour, he felt a sharp headache.

Si Hoon grabbed his aching head and got up from the ground.

— Did I faint?

They'd met an unknown creature today while hunting at the Gate.

He was attacked by the monster when he tried to fight it.

'It was dangerous.' Remembering what happened, goosebumps rose all through his body.

The monster looked so frightening, it shook him to the core.

'I thought I was all healed.' Han Sol had said she healed everything, so he thought he was cured, but perhaps the wounds were worse than they thought.

'Who would have thought it would come to fainting…' He looked at his body and squinted.

'There's still a long way to go…'

Two weeks ago, when he first became a Player, the spirit of Musin awakened in his body.

However, he still has not been able to communicate with it or learn anything about this spirit other than what is indicated in the status window.

'Because I'm weak.' Si Hoon grinded his teeth anxiously.

He's too weak to use all the power that's sleeping inside him.

'I must get stronger.' He clenched his fists tightly and he had a determined glint in his eyes.

He had a good reason to be stronger.

Only then will he be able to finish what he started.

'Kim Yeong Hoon.' He repeated the name in his head.

That was the name of the deputy commander of one of the five most powerful guilds, the deputy commander of Mir Guild.

'Garbage.' When Si Hoon remembered this man, his anger would flare up subconsciously.

— Phew. — He took a deep breath to quell his anger.

'For now, I must endure.' If it was now, Si Hoon knew he would fail if he fought that man in battle.

— I wonder if I become as strong as Kang Yu, will that be enough? — He smiled bitterly as he remembered what he saw today.

Oh Kang Yu.

Si Hoon didn't know where exactly Kang Yu was hiding while watching over the party, but when he saw Kang Yu defeat the mysterious monster with a single blow, his strength was clear.

'He was strong.' Not only was Kang Yu at a high level, his special abilities also seemed high.

Even though Si Hoon himself had a special SSS-class ability that Kang Yu certainly didn't have, he was much weaker than Kang Yu.

'Still, he wasn't just strong.' He understood the reason why Dae Su was so devoted to Kang Yu.

He had a unique charisma that attracts people to him.

Just looking at how he went to a low-level gate to help his friends get better, he could tell Kang Yu had a good character.

'I think he's a good person.' When he thought of Kang Yu, Si Hoon smiled a little.

They hadn't met very long ago, but Kang Yu already made a lasting good impression.

'Kang Yu is a person I can trust.' Si Hoon thought it would be good to be friends with him as he walked to the bus stop again.

***

'That's right, I'm a good man.' Kang Yu, who was hiding in the alley, had been watching Si Hoon since he rose from the ground. He smiled. 'It was a success.'

Kang Yu wasn't 100% sure that his plan would succeed because the spirit of Musin lives in Si Hoon, but fortunately everything went well. Kang Yu has completely subdued the guy.

'If I'd found out about his secret later, the probability of failure would have been much higher.'

The Power of Subordination isn't that easy to use, because its effectiveness depends on the strength of both the person who applies it and the person it's applied to.

Kang Yu spent a lot of Magi to use it.

If he had learned about Si Hoon even a week later, the probability that he wouldn't have been able to make him his subordinate was many times greater.

There were several notifications.

[Subordination of the soul was a success. Kim Si Hoon is now registered as your subordinate.]

[Are there any instructions for the subordinate?]

— Delay the order.

[Order delayed. You may give an order to your subordinate at any time.]

Kang Yu, while reading the notifications, smiled even wider.

'Perfect. I can give an order anywhere and anytime.'

Otherwise, Kang Yu's efforts wouldn't have made a difference.

— Well, I've taken care of that myself… Now all I have to do is watch Si Hoon's development.

Kang Yu wasn't planning to interfere with his life.

No, unless something out of the ordinary happens, Kang Yu wouldn't use it at all.

'It's just a safety net.' So far, Si Hoon hasn't threatened him nor showed signs of betraying him.

On the contrary, he was satisfied with their first meeting and wanted to become friends with Kang Yu.

When he heard Si Hoon call him a good person, Kang Yu was certain that the guy was interested in developing a good friendship with him.

'There's no need to get a collar for a dog that doesn't bite its owner.'

Kang Yu was determined.

— I'll help you, so do your best to develop yourself, Si Hoon, — Kang Yu said with a big smile while watching him get on the bus.

If everything goes according to plan and Si Hoon keeps improving, he'll become a lot stronger than Pallock.

Since his Man Ma Jung is still sealed and Kang Yu has to find and fight the Devil's Teacher, Si Hoon would play a very important role.

It was especially important for him to keep hunting at the gate with Han Sol and Dae Su and protect them with his strong character and skills.

'I don't know when there will be another creature from Hell at the gate.'

Kang Yu couldn't go hunting at a low-level gate everyday and keep an eye on his teammates, so it's very convenient that Si Hoon has appeared, who can replace Kang Yu in protecting them at the gate.

'Also, by protecting his teammates, he will develop his skills much more quickly.'

Not to mention, now that Si Hoon was subordinate to Kang Yu, he'd be able to borrow some of his master's strength.

That means that the spirit of Musin who lives in Si Hoon will also be strengthened by Kang Yu's strength.

He would definitely develop faster than anyone else.

'Here it is, the need for mutual help between comrades.' Kang Yu smiled and nodded.

He felt no remorse for what he had done to his subordinate by force.

He's spent too much time in Hell to feel remorse for something liek that.

'I alone must reap the benefits from Si Hoon's power.' Kang Yu licked his lips and smiled a little.

Anyone would take advantage of this opportunity.

It was how he learned to survive in Hell.

'It's time to go home.'

Since the Power of Subordination required a lot of Magi, Kang Yu was completely exhausted.

'I wonder if Han Sol had dinner already.'

To celebrate Kang Yu's successful subordination of Si Hoon, Kang Yu decided to stop by a shop for something delicious. He took out his phone to figure out where to go.

— Huh? — As soon as he took the phone out of his pocket, a melody played. Someone was calling.

Kang Yu looked at the caller's name that flashed across the screen.

It was none other than Cho Dok Hyun.

The leader of the Andras Guild, who Kang Yu had asked to find out more about the Devil's Teacher.

— What is it?

— I'm calling because I have some information.

— Information?

— Yes, that's right.

— What did you learn about the Devil's Teachers?

— I'm… I'm not too sure about it.

— Tell me. — Kang Yu gazed into the distance as he got ready to listen.

— We found traces of Magi in some footprints.

— Footprints?

— Yes. But… those footprints couldn't have been left by a human being.

— You're saying they weren't human?

— Yes. It looks more like some kind of animal's paw prints.

Listened to Dok Hyun, Kang Yu rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Traces left by a monster that were imbued with Magi.

It was easy to guess what kind of beast it was.

'A Hellhound Guard?'

A creature that was called a splinter of the rift, here.

First the Hellhound, then the Demonic Wolf, and now, possibly, yet another creature.

— Where did you find these tracks?

— At the B-level gate of the state council.

— A level B gate… — The corner of his lips twitched.

'In that case, there's a good chance the Hellhound wasn't the most powerful monster to come from Hell.'

He'd already seen a Level C splinter in the Level C Gate and a Level D splinter in the Level D Gate. It was very likely that this monster is even stronger.

'Stronger than the Hellhound… It's likely to be a monster from the Second Thousandth Circle of Hell.' Like a hunter who was getting close to his prey, Kang Yu licked his lips with anticipation.

'When the Hellhound was killed, I leveled up by five units.' Kang Yu was quite certain of something. He was certain that he would get a lot more points for killing a rift splinter than for killing a Gate boss.

This time, if there was a monster from the Second Thousandth Circle of Hell, he would get even more points than for killing a regular monster at level B, and much more points than killing a Gate boss.

— That's…

Kang Yu opened the status window to check his level.

After killing the Demonic Wolf today, his level went up to 35.

If he were an ordinary Player, he would have had to hunt for a month or two everyday to go up by 5 levels.

However, ordinary logic and limits couldn't be applied to Kang Yu in any way.

'I think I'll get Rank 5 much faster than planned.' His lips curled into a smile when he thought about all the points he would get for killing off creatures from Hell.