Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 126

Several days had passed since Hoi-ju’s constitution had been improved.

Hoi-ju deliberately stayed within the territory, taking some time to recover.

And after about a week, I began preparing to leave.

“Thank you for helping me with the adaptation training, Young Master Lee Cheol.”

“Hoi-ju, you followed along very well. It’s not a complete systematization of mana arts yet, but I believe you can definitely do it.”

“Thank you again.”

Hoi-ju bowed deeply.

I shook my head.

“It’s nothing. In the end, you’re the one who achieved it.”

“…You could do your training here.”

I shook my head at Hoi-ju’s regretful words.

“I have someone to meet.”

“You mean the person you mentioned before, Young Master Lee Cheol’s person.”

I drew Black Night from the rack and fastened it to my waist.

I slung the luggage I had brought beforehand over my shoulder and faced Hoi-ju.

“Please take good care of the information I told you.”

“The trends in Europe, Man’gwi Mountain, and those few weapons, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

I had asked for some information while helping Hoi-ju recover.

This was a confirmation of those things.

Then, Natalia politely opened her mouth.

“There are branches of the Black Turtle Society in Europe, but they don’t have much influence. Now that Hoi-ju has recovered, they will slowly increase their power there, but it will take time.”

“It’s okay. It’s not urgent information. Please just focus on the information about Man’gwi Mountain and the weapons.”

At my words, Hoi-ju and Natalia nodded simultaneously.

“Just a moment.”

Before I left, Hoi-ju called out to me.

Natalia had returned to the cabin.

“Yes, what is it?”

Hoi-ju tiptoed and whispered something in my ear.

I blinked at those words.

“That just now……”

“That’s right. It’s what my father left me before he passed away. I heard it from Natalia recently.”

I recalled her voice lingering in my ear.

What Hoi-ju whispered was her name.

“How is it?”

Hoi-ju, with a playful expression, took a step back and asked me.

“It’s a fitting name.”

Hoi-ju had just told me her name, which she had never been able to use.

Hoi-ju smiled brightly.

Unlike when I first saw her, it was a lively smile befitting her age.

“Call me by that name next time. We’re friends now, right? Lee Cheol?”

I smiled and nodded.

With that, I said goodbye to the Black Turtle Society’s Hoi-ju and left the forest.

I slowly walked towards the outside of the forest.

Thanks to having walked through the forest several times already, I knew the way.

And then.

Swish-.

Even though it was morning with the sun high in the sky, it suddenly turned dark.

And the forest and mounds of dirt moved, taking on a shape.

-Human… are you leaving now?

Leshy [a forest spirit in Slavic mythology].

The being that had shown hostility when I first saw it slowly approached me and bowed its head.

“Yes, because the work is done.”

-I express my gratitude. And I apologize for what happened during our first meeting. You truly kept your promise. You corrected the faults of the many spirits…….

“Your help was significant.”

-What I did was something anyone could have done. But you accomplished something that no one else could.

Leshy slowly reached out to me.

A brilliant cluster of light lingered at Leshy’s fingertips.

-As promised, I will bestow a blessing upon you.

-This will be a mark. From now on, no spirit will reject you…….

-As long as you do not harm nature, nature will not harm you…….

Numerous voices echoing in layers wrapped around my body.

I couldn’t really feel what had changed, but I could feel a warm energy lingering in my body.

When all the light that Leshy had breathed into me had faded, Leshy opened its mouth.

-Be careful. Always be awake. Lest it swallow you whole… You who carry what humans cannot possess. I hope you can control that greed well…….

With those words, Leshy slowly disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

I bowed my head slightly towards the forest where Leshy had disappeared and set off.

* * *

Waiting for me when I came out of the forest was Baek Gyeong-hui.

She bowed deeply once again.

“Thank you, Young Master Lee Cheol.”

“I didn’t do much. Hoi-ju is the one who worked hard.”

“Still, thank you.”

I got into the car that Baek Gyeong-hui had brought.

“In the future, I will cooperate as the head of the Black Turtle Society’s Korean branch for any work needed in Korea. If you need it, I will assign a few members of the society to you.”

“That won’t be necessary. If I need it, I will come to you first.”

With that, I ended my short life in Russia and returned to Korea.

I felt like I needed to meet Jeong Jin-soo for a bit.

It had already been several months since we last met properly, so I wanted to know the progress and discuss establishing a cooperative system with the Black Turtle Society.

‘Once that’s all done…….’

I’ll go into training for a while.

I reflected on what I had gained and headed to Korea.

* * *

Jeong Jin-soo was driving furiously towards Chungcheongnam-do [a province in South Korea].

‘Hoo, I really can’t figure out Young Master.’

Not long ago, Jeong Jin-soo received a visit from Baek Gyeong-hui.

The chairman of the Hunter Association had come to visit.

He wondered what she was going to talk about, but the answer came easily.

She explained it first.

But from Jeong Jin-soo’s perspective, it was absurd.

‘Chairman Baek Gyeong-hui is the head of the Black Turtle Society’s Korean branch? And Young Master cured the Black Turtle Society Lord’s illness, and the Black Turtle Society has decided to fully cooperate with Young Master? What does that even mean?’

At first, it was so unbelievable that he thought she was trying to scam him.

He heard the explanation, but he didn’t hear the details.

Baek Gyeong-hui only left a message saying, ‘That’s just how it happened, so contact me anytime you need help. You can hear the details when Lee Cheol comes.’

And yesterday, he suddenly heard that Lee Cheol was coming to the Black Turtle Society’s secret airfield.

Jeong Jin-soo tried to hide his bewildered feelings and drove the car himself to the location given by the Black Turtle Society agent.

“Huh, there’s an airfield in a place like this.”

Jeong Jin-soo looked around and entered the airfield.

And not long after, he saw a plane landing.

At this point, isn’t it practically illegal immigration?

Jeong Jin-soo even had such useless thoughts.

“It’s been a while.”

Jeong Jin-soo chuckled as he watched Lee Cheol get off the plane.

Indeed, Lee Cheol was getting off with Baek Gyeong-hui.

“Why the expression? Didn’t you hear the explanation?”

“No, I heard it, but……”

Then Baek Gyeong-hui smiled again and approached Jeong Jin-soo.

“I look forward to working with you in the future, President Jeong. Please contact me.”

“Ah, yes. Chairman…… no, Branch Manager.”

“Please call me comfortably. I’m willing to help in either capacity.”

Baek Gyeong-hui greeted him with a smile, but Jeong Jin-soo still received the greeting with a bewildered expression.

“Um……”

I chuckled at Jeong Jin-soo’s eyes, which seemed to be asking for an explanation.

“I’ll explain it slowly later.”

With that, I sat in the car that Jeong Jin-soo had driven.

In the car, I briefly explained the events leading up to Mirenae Village and the Black Turtle Society.

And.

“……At this point, I’m starting to feel scared of you, Young Master.”

Jeong Jin-soo swallowed hard.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Even though you’ve only been out on the Murim path [a martial arts cultivation path] for the first time…….”

Jeong Jin-soo recalled the stories he had heard from Lee Cheol and the processes he had gone through.

It had only been a little over half a year since he started on the Murim path.

During that time, Lee Cheol had accomplished so much.

He brought down Baek Cheol-soo and sold that information to Lee Jae-hak.

He befriended Valerie, the direct disciple of the current Magic Tower Lord and a quasi-3rd class mage, who is considered a head seat in the Magic Tower’s alliance.

In Mirenae Village, he formed a relationship with the Mystic races who had cut ties with humans for centuries.

And this time, he established a cooperative system with the Black Turtle Society.

“I would believe it even if you told me that Young Master had been reincarnated or had seen the future.”

“Cough!”

I suddenly choked.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Did I say something too absurd?”

“Ah, no, it’s okay. It’s possible. I was just lucky. Anyway, that’s how it is. If you need any information in the future, feel free to ask the Black Turtle Society for cooperation.”

“Even so, would it be okay? Of course, you made the Lord owe you a debt, but…….”

“Of course, there has to be something in return for what we receive. As I said, it’s not that we’re entirely receiving help. It will be a mutually cooperative relationship.”

The Black Turtle Society is still secretly operating below the surface.

Now that the Lord has completed overcoming her constitution, she will slowly prepare to rise to the surface, and after sufficient force and foundation are established, she will reveal herself to the world at once.

And in that process, the foundation created by Jeong Jin-soo will also be helpful.

“There are many industries under the Black Turtle Society, so it wouldn’t be bad to cooperate with them. I hope you will cooperate closely with Chairman Baek Gyeong-hui.”

“Hoo, it seems like every time Young Master comes, the workload just keeps piling up.”

I chuckled.

He said that, but Jeong Jin-soo’s eyes were sparkling.

He had an expression as if he was calculating how to use the created materials one by one.

“More than that, how have you been?”

“I’ve been busy. Madly.”

Dark circles were deeply embedded under Jeong Jin-soo’s eyes.

“And there have been results to match. I succeeded in shorting a few big times, and I succeeded in increasing the amount in the futures market a few times. Currently, 40% is in stocks, 30% is in physical assets such as gold or elixirs, and 30% is divided into cash. I was impressed by Young Master’s foresight.”

“My data was quite useful, I see.”

“Was it just useful? It was shocking. I had to recruit a few dealers from Wall Street to manage Young Master’s assets.”

I had organized some important points and handed them over to Jeong Jin-soo.

I don’t know all of history either, so it was just information in the form of ‘if such and such a trend occurs, such and such a thing will happen,’ but Jeong Jin-soo succeeded in analyzing and utilizing it.

Thanks to that, he seemed to have grown the business once again.

“Young Master’s net worth alone is probably at the level of a single corporation. Of course, there aren’t that many assets that you can move freely…….”

“Don’t get too caught up in making money.”

“Yes, I know. You mean money is just a means to an end, right?”

Jeong Jin-soo smiled.

“I plan to grow quickly and solidly so that I can firmly support Young Master. I’m slowly selecting a few companies to prepare for acquisition.”

After that, business-related stories continued one after another.

There was already enough and more money in my possession.

Jeong Jin-soo was more capable than I thought, and he was using the data I gave him much better than I expected.

“What are you planning to do from now on?”

“For about a year…….”

I looked out the window.

“I’m thinking of training.”

“Training…… are you saying? When are you planning to go?”

“Once the business-related work is finished, I’m planning to go right away.”

I recalled the complicated events that had happened.

‘I’m not strong enough yet.’

As Jeong Jin-soo said, it had only been half a year, but I had really felt and seen a lot.

And now I was confident that I could climb even higher.

‘Now is the time to look back.’

I recalled the old stories about the mountains that I had heard from Chief Butler Choi.

I had been running like crazy for more than half a year and had gained so many things.

Now the moment had come to look back and make them my own.

“If you’re talking about training…… where are you thinking of going?”

In modern society, where everything is overcrowded, there aren’t many places where you can train comfortably.

But there is one good space that is allowed only to those who live by the sword.

“I’m thinking of going to a dungeon.”

“Are you talking about a dungeon……?”

Jeong Jin-soo shuddered.

Dungeons are places where you have to risk your life, not places for training.

‘No. Young Master is from Soongmoo [likely referring to a martial arts lineage or school].’

Jeong Jin-soo decided to get used to it.

And he focused only on fulfilling his duty and asked calmly.

“Then shall I arrange a few 6th class dungeons? I heard that there are a few new ones in the north recently.”

Lee Cheol shook his head.

And at the words that followed, Jeong Jin-soo gasped.

“I’m thinking of going to the Busan, Class B dungeon.”

I took a long breath as I looked at the shocked Jeong Jin-soo.

For the next year.

I’m going to live only to stabilize that dungeon.