Chapter 98: Season of the Harvest (4)

He ignored the call at first, too focused on the notion of six billion won to allow himself a distraction. However, the ringing did not cease, so he finally answered it, snapping at the person on the other end.

“What is it?!”

[Boss, it’s big! The Hunter Bureau kids have hit the workplace. They’ve got search warrants, Boss. I can’t stop them…they want to see the business data…they’ll find out what we’ve been up to!]

“What?”

Park Moo-cheol turned pale.

In other words, it meant that the public power (公權力) had moved. On the surface, Moo-cheol Park ran Hunter Cash cleanly. He paid taxes and averted the attention of the authorities with the facade of a law-abiding organization. However, beneath the surface were irregularities. Like his ideas for Sang-Hoon – he was seduced by tantalizing prey and would break the law to attain what he wanted.

The fire hit the back of his foot.

Hunter Cash was a sizable business, but it would not be easy to survive after being investigated by the Hunter Bureau. That wasn’t the only problem. He had received dozens of missed calls, not just from the last number.

Park Moo-cheol called one of them, “What’s going on?”

[Cho Dong-pil’s job went wrong this time.]

“What went wrong?!”

[I’m not sure. I thought I had him shackled, but he approached me with evidence that we were trapped in legalities. There was an uproar. Do you know what he’s like? In the past, we quietly paid for his wife’s medical bills, but when he found out, it got ugly…]

“Alas.”

Moo-cheol felt dizzy, as though all of the blood was running out of his body. Cho Dong-pil was a similar case to Sang-hoon. He was a renowned reinforced warrior with a considerable reputation as a mercenary. However, when his wife’s treatment required enormous operating expenses, he sought out Park Moo-cheol intending to borrow money for a while. That was the beginning of the trap. Park Moo-cheol somehow blocked Cho Dong-pil’s way of making money, and Cho Dong-pil was in a difficult situation due to the mounting interest. In reality, he would have been perfectly capable of making money if it weren’t for the viper-like disturbance of Park Moo-cheol.

“Fuck this.”

It was a big problem. The Hunter Bureau would rob him of his fortune, and his life was at risk against an enemy like Cho Dong-pil. He was on a cliff’s edge. He looked at Kang Min-hyuk.

“You bastard!”

He was the root of the problem. The moment Kang Min-hyuk got off the phone, Hunter Cash began to unravel. He was afraid to answer the phone after all he’d heard.

“Didn’t I tell you? If you refuse the opportunity I gave you, you will regret it.”

“You bitch, you bastard. You were coming for me all along! All of that preparation, you never intended a deal!”

“Think of it as you please.” Kang Min-hyuk laughed.

Murderous intentions hovered in Park Moo-cheol’s eyes.

Moo-cheol’s world had already collapsed. What could he do? There was only one other way.

Park Moo-cheol revealed his fierce teeth.

“Attack!”

His men, waiting for the order, attacked Kang Min-hyuk.

* * *

“Die!”

“Cheeky baby!”

Park Moo-cheol’s men split the air with their weapons – the aura that blazed from their blades seemed as though it would hack into Kang Min-hyuk’s body immediately. Before anything could touch him, however, he disappeared.

“Blink!”

Pop.

“Wh…where’s he gone?”

The men were disoriented. Blink was yet to be discovered in the fortified civilization, which had no experience of ‘space magic.’

When Kang Min-hyuk reappeared a few steps away, he raised mana.

“Fire, Canon!”

Hwaaak.

The light from the back of Kang Min-hyuk’s hand turned into a powerful flame as he used engraving magic. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Kwang!

Rumble!

“Ah, ah, ah!”

Park Moo-cheol’s officers were swept away in flames. Reinforced warriors are protected against many forms of magic, but Kang Min-hyuk’s was different. Fire Cannon was of the 5th circle and showed the sixth circle’s power, capable of defeating A-class monsters; Park Moo-cheol’s officers couldn’t stand it.

“Wow, it’s hot!”

“Kill that bitch!”

Park Moo-cheol began to sprint. Pulling out the dagger in his arms, he rushed to Kang Min-hyuk with bloodshot eyes. His movement was really fast. Park Moo-cheol had fought many fights in his lair’s limited space. He was on his home ground. He didn’t know how Kang Min-hyuk moved through space and used magic quickly, but Park Moo-cheol was convinced that he could break Kang Min-hyuk’s neck with brute strength.

Park Moo-cheol approached. The moment he tried to stab Kang Min-hyuk, the Fire Cannon’s remaining flames turned into magic.

“Fire Arrow.”

The flames followed Kang Min-hyuk’s will, sending dozens of Fire Arrows exploding at Park Moo-cheol; he fell back as though in flight.

Quang!

Rumble!

Kang Min-hyuk saw Park Moo-cheol’s men and women rushing back to him, but their intentions weren’t fulfilled.

Kang Min-hyuk’s casting was quick. Using magic that could skip casting prevented Park Moo-cheol’s officers from approaching, and in no time at all, the powerful fifth circle magic emerged and swept through them. Park Moo-cheol barely approached and swung his sword when Kang Min-hyuk disappeared far away with Blink.

“Uh, how is he doing this?!”

Park Moo-cheol’s eyes shook. He couldn’t believe it.

He had fought multiple reinforced warriors in the very same space, and a wizard was outsmarting him! Over a dozen of his men had fallen to the floor and were groaning in pain. Even if he died, he had to get a hit in. Park Moo-cheol rushed again, and as Kang Min-hyuk used magic, he raised mana and confronted him head-on.

“Give flesh and take bones!”

Powerful flames flew forth. Moo-cheol tried to finish Kang Min-hyuk by diving into the slight delay after the wizard used magic. He moved through the flames and jabbed the dagger into Min-hyuk’s stomach.

“It’s over!”

He was sure of it. It wasn’t an attack that a wizard could prevent.

Kang Min-hyuk wore a calm expression, and Park Moo-cheol’s eyes shook violently. The dagger was stuck.

At that moment, Kang Min-hyuk disappeared like a mirage.

“Mirage.”

Passususu-!

The magic Kang Min-hyuk had learned from Dominic Green made Park Moo-cheol’s attack useless. Not only that, but as he attacked Kang Min-hyuk, Kang Min-hyuk appeared right in front of him.

“Burn Flare.”

Pop!

BOOM!

Park Moo-cheol fell at the force of the massive shock. His skin burnt to black, and Park Moo-cheol became unconscious. The kingdom of Hunter Cash fell in vain. The flames drowned the office.

Kang Min-hyuk grabbed Jung Sang-hoon’s documents there, and then came out and made a phone call.

“Good work. I’ll ask you to clean up.”

Go Young-cheol was the kind of person who could erase the events of that day, protecting Kang Min-hyuk’s identity, and concealing the truth of the bloodshed.

It was very easy to deal with the death of Park Moo-cheol, who had a lot of grudges.

* * *

Kang Min-hyuk immediately visited Sang-Hoon. After five months apart, Sang-Hoon was happy to see him, but his expression was hard as he checked the documents.

Kang Min-hyuk said, “I have a question. You must have known that I have a monopoly on red mana stones…why didn’t you sell them?”

“You’ve already done so much for me. I did consider you had a monopoly on the red mana stone and accumulated a lot of wealth. But did you not allow me to use it for training purposes only? I didn’t want to break your trust.”

It was an honest answer. Even though he was right, Sang-Hoon Jung bowed his head as if he were a sinner.

“It’s as you thought. I discovered the red mana stone’s secret, and I monopolized the market before people knew its value. I revealed the secret of the red mana stone.”

“Yes?”

Sang-hoon was surprised. As far as he was aware, the stone had been discovered of those suspicious about pricing them.

“After a month of purchasing the red mana stone, people began to question it. They didn’t know why, but they started to buy them according to the market trend. So, at the right time, I created a ‘virtual force’ to reveal the secret. That way, the price of the stone would skyrocket, and I would be able to gain enormous wealth. That’s how I became rich.”

Kang Min-hyuk must have accumulated tremendous wealth over a trillion units.

“Why are you telling me this?” Sang-hoon asked tentatively.

Kang Min-hyuk revealed his strength to Sang-hoon. “I knew Park Moo-cheol’s movement. But I stood by. I wanted to see how you navigated the crisis.”

Jeong Sang-hoon would make a name for himself as his student. If his integrity were less than he suspected, Kang Min-hyuk would have reconsidered his relationship with Sang-hoon.

“You have shown good judgment.”

He didn’t steal the mana stone and took responsibility for himself by inviting Choi Byeong-ho to help resolve his predicament. His process was excellent.

The day Kang Min-hyuk met Jeong Sang-hoon. His talent was notable. That was why Kang Min-hyuk chose him in the first place. He had many followers at the guardian gate…generally, time spent together builds trust, but trust can also be formed by reaching out first.

Sang-hoon lost his words; he didn’t know how to react. Should he be glad to have passed Kang Min-hyuk’s test? Or should Kang Min-hyuk’s omniscience give him goosebumps? While Sang-Hoon tried to catch up, Kang Min-hyuk picked up the debt documents and lit up.

“Fire.”

The debt documents burned out. He showed no mercy to Park Moo-cheol, who crossed the line. It made him a good leader – knowing when to be cruel and when to be kind. It was something he’d had a lot of practice of at Suhomun.

“Now you have no debts. I will offer you a new deal.”

“What is it?”

“Sang Hoon. Your father is a good man, but he’s not suited to the role of the head of the Jeong family. From now on, you take over the Jeong family. You told me Your goal is to raise your family’s name. You formed three circles at the age of only seventeen. When the world pays attention to you, let it know that their magical lord is still alive.”

There was a reason Kang Min-hyuk chose to stand by – it was a test. He hoped that Sang-Hoon would clear up the situation around him and turn the challenge into an opportunity. For him, his father was a stumbling block. He was a good father but a bad manager. His debt would have tormented Sang-hoon, culminating in a disaster that no amount of ‘good intentions’ could navigate. Goodness was superseded by bold decisiveness. Sang-hoon was capable of such cognition. A strong leader drives every strong force.

“What? Take over the family?”

Sang-hoon could see the truth in Kang Min-hyuk’s words. When he discovered his father’s debt, a part of him knew that he would decide to take over. That was why he took the debt; he placed himself in a role of responsibility. However, he could sense hidden intentions at the heart of Min-hyuk’s words.

“Are you beginning to implement your plan?”

Kang Min-hyuk paused for a moment before speaking, “Soon, yes; I’ll inform the world of a new tower.”

Jeong Sang-hoon had proved himself ready to become a true member of the true tower.

It was time to harvest the seeds that had been sown.