Chapter 63 - The Brat of the Cheolyeong Sword Family (1)

Elysion's Castle, the third quest area in the Abyss.

This place was called the tomb of rookies.

This was because if one failed to overcome the wall of the Doppelgänger, their access to the Abyss would be restricted for a whole year.

Thus, Elysion's Castle became a region where the significance was often placed on just passing through, and Hunters who left a prominent mark here were treated as one of two things.

Either an incredible eccentric, or an incredible genius.

‘I guess I fall into both categories.’

In any case, this trip to the Abyss became an opportunity to make my name known nationwide.

My record was a whopping 7 stages.

Since the record that had been stuck at 6 stages for over half a century was broken, it was only natural for the industry to be in an uproar.

The media praised me as a valiant rookie.

‘A rookie.’

This title was a bit absurd, but since my father was so happy, I decided to just let it be.

My father didn't show it much on the outside, but rumor has it he's been searching for news articles about me and reading them all day. Of course, the source of this news was my mother.

My second older brother, Seo Ji-won, had a lukewarm reaction, dismissing it as a trivial matter, saying it was natural for the original to beat a copy.

I agreed with that to some extent, and it was actually true.

The Doppelgänger did show a different side from the real me.

Anyway, what was important now was not Seo Ji-won, but Seo Ji-hoon.

Since I hadn't gone to see him first, I still hadn't seen his face once within the family.

‘It seems about time for a reaction.’

It had already been three days like that.

There was still no reaction from Seo Ji-hoon.

It turned out he had gone on a dungeon expedition with the Wolyeong Knights two days ago, but surely he wasn't avoiding me.

It didn't matter.

He wasn't someone who would break a promise, and it wasn't an urgent matter.

Thus, I was spending my days as usual.

The Spring of Elixir. As always, I soaked my body here, operated my mana heart technique, and healed my body.

“Hoo.”

My body, contaminated by dungeon radiation, was now noticeably healed.

A sense of elation rose day by day.

As my body recovered, I could gradually accelerate the process of accumulating mana in my dantian.

While I was having such a pleasant time, a certain voice pierced through the thick fog and stimulated my ears.

In fact, when soaking in the Spring of Elixir, one gets to hear all sorts of chatter, but it's common to just listen and let it pass.

However, if my name was being mentioned in the conversation, the case was different.

I heightened my senses further and listened to their conversation.

“Seo Ji-han of the Haewon Sword Family?”

“Yeah. That crazy bastard. Honestly, this is the first time I've heard of Seo Ji-han.”

“True. He’s hardly been exposed to the media until now. But a crazy bastard?”

“Is it even possible for a sane person to challenge up to 7 stages in the Doppelgänger quest? It's impossible unless you're a crazy bastard.”

“Maybe he's a guy with nothing to lose. To the point where it doesn't matter if he can't come to the Abyss for about a year.”

Me, with nothing to lose? Since I became famous, I get to hear all sorts of things.

“But there's one thing that's a bit disappointing.”

“What is it?”

“I heard that Seo Ji-han guy is one batch ahead of me in the license exam. If the timing had been right, we would have met.”

“True, if you had met that guy at the exam hall, Ju-seok, you would have put him in his place. Of course, you would have been the top of the batch too.”

At that moment, a memory from the past flashed through my mind.

Im Seong-jun had said he lost the top spot of the batch because of Song Ju-seok from the Cheolyeong Sword Family.

“Anyway, the guys from the Haewon Sword Family are really lucky. Just the fact that those rootless guys consistently make it into the 10 great sword families is something.”

The moment I heard this, my blood boiled without me realizing it.

Come to think of it, it seems I've become a member of the Haewon Sword Family now.

‘This won't do.’

I took out the Human Skin Mask from my Inventory, put it on, and walked step by step towards the source of the voices.

Beyond the fog, two people were visible in my Mana Eyes.

One of them had a particularly larger aura, and that must be Song Ju-seok.

I broke through the fog and nonchalantly soaked my body in front of them.

“The Spring of Elixir is particularly crowded today.”

For now, I approached them naturally.

The two showed signs of discomfort at my sudden appearance, but soon continued their conversation amongst themselves.

The topic of conversation was still me, Seo Ji-han.

They were putting me on a chopping block and mincing me.

Both of them were rookies who had just obtained their licenses. From the perspective of fellow rookies, they were displeased that the public's attention was focused on me.

Especially Song Ju-seok of the Cheolyeong Sword Family seemed to have a lot of complaints about me, whom he had never even met.

“Hey! No matter what, Seo Ji-han can't be that pathetic.”

When I cut off their conversation, Song Ju-seok asked with a look of disbelief.

“By the way, who are you?”

“Ah, just a nameless, unknown Hunter. From what I hear, one of you two seems to be from the Cheolyeong Sword Family?”

“Yes. Well.”

Seeing Song Ju-seok's expression, he seemed to be subtly wanting to reveal his identity.

Something like, in fact, I am the successor of the Cheolyeong Sword Family, Song Ju-seok.

But I continued to speak without a care.

“I'm not defending Seo Ji-han, but isn't it a great achievement to have defeated seven Doppelgängers?”

“Great my ass. The opponent he fought was probably as shabby as Seo Ji-han himself.”

Song Ju-seok. This young brat even started speaking informally.

He must have looked down on me since I introduced myself as a nameless Hunter.

“How can you say Seo Ji-han is shabby? He's the direct heir of the Haewon Sword Family, and I heard he got a perfect score on the license exam.”

“That was probably a trick pulled by the Haewon Sword Family. Well, since their financial situation is quite good.”

“No way.”

“Then does it make sense for a person to change so suddenly? I looked into it, and that Seo Ji-han guy was said to be on his deathbed, counting his last days, just a few months ago.”

“Was that so?”

“You're not well-informed about rumors.”

It seems this stigma of being a sickly person just won't wash off.

Anyway, as I was contemplating how to cook this Song Ju-seok guy, a good idea came to mind.

“By the way, the Hunter from the Cheolyeong Sword Family has an extraordinary aura. You must be a promising figure within the family.”

This lip service was a stepping stone to draw out a coming-out.

Not disliking my words, Song Ju-seok let out a smirk.

“Well, it's true that I'm receiving high expectations regardless of my bloodline.”

As he said that, he nodded.

“Bloodline? Then could you be…”

“I don't think there's a need to hide it. Yes. That's right. I'm Song Ju-seok, the youngest son of the Cheolyeong Sword Family.”

“I thought so!”

As I recognized him right away, he smirked once more.

Seeing him get cocky over something like this, I felt like laughing too, but I held it in for now.

Well then, it's time to get to the main point.

“From the looks of it, you don't seem to have good feelings towards the Haewon Sword Family? And you don't seem to like Seo Ji-han either.”

“Well, that's true.”

“Then there's one way to resolve that refreshingly.”

As if hooked by my words, he showed interest.

“A way to resolve it?”

“Yes. It's to request a Bimu with the Haewon Sword Family.”

“Hoh!”

He immediately slapped his knee.

“I heard there's a tradition where the successor of one of the 10 great sword families chooses an opponent from a renowned sword family to make their Bimu debut after obtaining a license. Is that right?”

“Well, that's usually the case.”

“Let's use that tradition. The Haewon Sword Family must have a promising prospect of their own, so pick a suitable one, crush them brutally, and humiliate them. How about it?”

“A good idea! It would be perfect if the Bimu opponent was Seo Ji-han.”

“As you know, that won't be easy.”

Honestly, if I had my way, I'd personally accept the Bimu and disable one of that guy's arms, but a Bimu between the direct bloodlines of renowned sword families is a very sensitive issue. The possibility of it falling through is too high.

In that case, it's better to guide it towards a feasible direction and give them a huge embarrassment.

“True. The Haewon Sword Family guys wouldn't have the guts to accept.”

“Even if you just completely crush their top prospect, the prestige of the Cheolyeong Sword Family will rise sufficiently.”

“There happens to be a suitable guy. The one who took second place in my batch was probably from the Haewon Sword Family, right?”

Bingo.

He remembered Im Seong-jun too.

With this, Song Ju-seok had taken the bait.

“This is a very exquisite situation. A Bimu between the top and second place, and with the names of the two sword families added, it's a guaranteed hit. If we subtly leak it to the media, that is.”

“Hoh. That's a good idea too!”

I looked at him and gave him a wide grin.

***

Late in the evening.

As usual, I spent the end of my day in the physical training room.

Now that my body's external condition had almost reached the level of Johan Raven's era, there was no need to spend a lot of time on weightlifting, but consistent body management was still essential.

Every time I moved the high-weight equipment imbued with the power of Mana Stones, the muscles all over my body danced a dazzling dance.

Clank!

Just as I was in the middle of weightlifting, the door to the physical training room opened.

The one who appeared was Seo Ji-hoon.

It was our first reunion in several days.

“As expected, our little brother was here today too.”

“I heard you went on a dungeon conquest.”

“I'm just on my way back.”

His appearance, stained with sweat and fatigue, seemed just like that.

“It's been really hard to see your face lately.”

“I've been busy. These past few days.”

I don't know why he was busy specifically these past few days, but I didn't nitpick about it.

Seo Ji-hoon continued to speak in his characteristic low, deep voice.

“Congratulations. And don't misunderstand. I came to find you, my youngest brother, to keep my promise.”

“I know. I didn't think you would welsh on it, big brother.”

Still, his feelings must have been complicated.

The fact that Seo Ji-hoon hadn't shown any reaction to me was likely intentional.

In any case, the fact that he came to find me first must mean he had sorted out his feelings.

As expected, he handed me the map that guides to the Hatchling's Nest without delay.

“Here, this is the promised item.”

An old parchment.

At a glance, it was a map with magic cast on it.

Light was seeping out from all over the unfolded map.

One more peculiar thing was that the map was a blank sheet with no pictures, terrain, or symbols.

[In 4 days and 14 hours, a portal leading to the Hatchling's Nest will be marked on the map. The duration of the portal is 40 minutes.]

Only this phrase appeared at the top of the map through the harmony of magic.

“A strange map indeed.”

“Isn't it the mystery of the Abyss?”

“But what happens if I miss the date indicated here?”

It was a problem worth addressing.

Although it was in the near future, you never know what might suddenly happen in four days.

“You don't have to worry too much about that problem. It will be renewed with a new date anyway."

“So it will guide me to the Hatchling's Nest one way or another, at least once."

“That's about right.”

The remaining time was 4 days and 14 hours.

If there are no other issues in the meantime, I plan to enter right then without waiting for the next renewal date.

If I had my way, I wouldn't mind going in right now.

Knock knock!

At that moment, someone else came to the physical training room.

Usually it was Choi Ho-joong, but today, unexpected people appeared one after another.

This time, it was Im Seong-jun.

“What is it?”

“Something suddenly came up that I need to discuss with you, Unit Leader.”

“I'm asking what that is.”

“A Bimu request came in for me.”

“A Bimu request?”

A hollow laugh escaped me.

He was quick.

I wondered how he could handle things so fast when it had only been a few hours since we parted at the Spring of Elixir.

That Song Ju-seok kid from the Cheolyeong Sword Family. He must really hate our Haewon Sword Family.

I still don't know why.