Chapter 19 – Is Aptitude Important?

Se-min, who had zero dating experience, turned his attention away from the lovers and drank beer alone.

It was cool.

It was that sensation he hadn’t felt in a long time. The beer hit his throat and went down. Drinking beer made him think of chicken.

“Bucket list achieved.”

“Is beer your bucket list, brother?”

“I filled a hundred items with food. I will eat them all.”

“Tell us some heroic stories. Did you really return from beyond the gate? Living with magic beasts?”

“Yes. I thought I would never be able to return.”

“Oppa. Since you are older than Jae-young, I will call you oppa. Then what mark are you? If you stayed there for three years, aren’t you at least Gold Mark or higher?”

Her eyes were subtle. Se-min held the beer in his mouth to feel the coldness and then swallowed it again.

“No Mark.”

“No Mark?”

“I don’t have a Raider license.”

“Huh? Why is that?”

She tilted her head, sipping her beer. Hyun Jae-young said.

“It’s due to circumstances, but his skill is Gold Mark or higher. He appeared while catching the Drake, I tell you. I thought I was going to die today.”

“Really? Then you will get a Raider license soon?”

“Since it is a rare case, won’t they issue it immediately? A skilled person like him is rare.”

“Amazing. Cool. Jae-young is a chronic Blue Mark though.”

“I will get Green soon.”

“Always saying that. Se-min oppa, shall we do somaek?”

“Huh?”

“Give us a bottle of soju here, please!”

“Hey, are you okay?”

“I drink well. You can pass on the glass, oppa.”

Suddenly, he made eye contact with her. Se-min avoided her eyes. For some reason, the beer tasted bad.

The cheerful Kim Ye-na raised the atmosphere. Large draft beers were added, and soon soju bottles began to pile up.

As they talked about various things, the bottles piled up. Hyun Jae-young, perhaps weak to alcohol, quickly got drunk and dozed off. Kim Ye-na tapped his head.

“Oppa. Are you sleeping? Are you drunk?”

“Uung…”

“Can’t even drink. Tsk.”

“I will rest a bit…”

Kim Ye-na frowned.

Se-min stood up from his seat.

“I will go to the restroom.”

“Yes! Go ahead!”

Se-min stood at the urinal, letting out the water and sighing a breath laced with alcohol.

Just yesterday, he was listening to the wails of magic beasts and looking up at the two moons floating in the sky, but today he was looking at the graffiti written in a pub’s restroom. For some reason, it felt unrealistic.

After washing his hands and leaving the restroom, he saw the backs of Hyun Jae-young sleeping face down and Kim Ye-na fiddling with her phone. The coat Hyun Jae-young had wrapped around her was crumpled between the two.

When Se-min appeared, she also stood up from her seat, saying she was going to the restroom. Soon she returned.

She sat in the seat next to Se-min.

“Se-min oppa. So, did you really live in a place where there was no one and only magic beasts?”

“Yes.”

“You must have been very lonely. Didn’t you have a girlfriend before you went?”

“No.”

“Mmh, really? Why? You are quite fine. You also have ability. If you are Gold Mark, wow.”

“Originally I was a shut-in who weighed over a hundred kilograms and had social anxiety.”

“Ahaha, that’s a lie, right? I can’t imagine it.”

“It’s not a lie.”

“Hmph. I can’t believe it.”

She stared at Se-min, smiling brightly. Suddenly, he felt her chest against his forearm.

Se-min emptied the remaining glass.

“Because people change.”

And standing up from his seat, he tapped the shoulder of the dozing Hyun Jae-young.

“Jae-young. I am leaving.”

“Mmh… yeah.”

“I will take a taxi, so come back on your own.”

“Oppa, are you leaving already? Play more before you go!”

“I must go. It’s late.”

Se-min tidied the seat. He pulled out Hyun Jae-young’s wallet, paid with his card, entrusted him to Kim Ye-na, and got into a taxi alone.

On the way to Hyun Jae-young’s house, Se-min bought a notebook and a pen.

***

Se-min reflexively opened his eyes at the sign of dawn.

The morning broke.

Leaving the room and placing his ear to Hyun Jae-young’s bedroom, the sound of breathing came. He was still sleeping soundly.

“He did come in.”

Se-min turned on Hyun Jae-young’s computer.

There was no password.

Just in case, he searched for the avi extension, and a fairly vast amount of materials was hidden. Se-min memorized the location of the hidden Brown-eared Bulbul folder.

“Oh boy…”

Se-min took a deep breath and opened the internet browser.

Even after returning to reality, he wanted to check immediately, but he had been anxious and couldn’t check.

The Transcendent Network.

The dimension-connecting community that made him who he was today.

He had worried about various useless things, like whether it was a dream, or if the error had been corrected over time and the authority of the incompetent Lee Se-min to access had vanished.

Se-min stared at the familiar start screen of MangoNet, and then made up his mind.

He recalled the Transcendent Network.

He prayed to big brother Dokgo Cheonma, big sister Iana, and the many transcendents he knew.

And.

The hourglass rolled.

Welcome back, Member Lee Se-min the Deserter.

Transcendent Network.

A community that connects transcendents of each dimension.

His eyes widened.

The Transcendent Network was the same.

Why have you accessed after such a long time? We grant 100P as a service.

Please visit often!

Furthermore, it even presented him with additional points, asking why he was so late.

Se-min felt like tears would fall, recalling his past hardships.

The Raider qualification exam, military life, the fight with Noh Hak-jae, and the memories of enduring in fear every day in the otherworldly dimension passed by like a panorama.

Welcome back once again, Member Lee Se-min the Deserter. Clapping.

As if it knew his status had changed, his title changed from jobless slacker to deserter. Confetti fluttered on the monitor along with the sound of applause.

This was indeed the only place that welcomed him like this.

Se-min wiped his eyes and firmed his lips. He was a man. A man does not cry easily.

“*Hiccup, hiccup*…”

Suppressing his tears, Se-min moved to the general board.

Most of the transcendents he knew were still there.

Se-min immediately pressed the write button.

It was time to inform them.

The new wave born of the Transcendent Network, the man reborn by their grace, the return of the rehabilitated Lee Se-min!

Title: I have returned.

Writer: Lee Se-min the Deserter

Se-min sniffled, blew his nose with a tissue, and continued writing.

It’s me. It’s Lee Se-min.

I passed through a dark tunnel and escaped the abyss of blackness. Awakening the death-like silence, like the dawn of a distant morning, I, Lee Se-min, have suddenly returned.

Even while sleeping with death every night, I carved the names of the transcendents, brothers and sisters, on each star. You are my North Star, my Polaris, the giving pine tree that always embraces me at that spot!

If not for your warm memories, I would have grown cold in the land of monsters long ago. Every single day was a day of debt, owing my life. How can I repay this debt?

To tell you what I experienced… (omitted)

Drenching the keyboard, Se-min began to write about his hardships in detail.

Meanwhile, Hyun Jae-young, who woke up from a strange sound, was startled to find Se-min sitting at the computer.

He was crying.

It was a bizarre thing.

Wondering what he was looking at, he glanced at the monitor.

“…!”

Was he not covering his mouth and crying while looking at the Brown-eared Bulbul folder he treasured?

It was rare to shed tears while looking at such things.

No, there was no such case.

It must not be.

Hyun Jae-young deduced desperately.

He recalled two hypotheses.

Either he was a huge fan of the actress in the folder he collected and was so happy to see her.

Or.

“Could it be due to the influence beyond the gate…”

Had his manhood stopped responding…?

***

An immense number of comments were posted on the post Se-min left.

Everyone remembered him.

Se-min was moved once again.

The one who posted the first comment at light speed was none other than big brother Dokgo Cheonma.

The Best Devil of All Time, Dokgo Cheonma: Were you alive? A tenacious fellow.

Iana, Fersen, and other transcendent brothers also welcomed his return.

Sword Demon Fersen: Se-min!!!!!!!! haha You came!!!! haha I thought I would die of boredom because you weren’t here, ya punk~~~!! haha

Dragon Lord Imuncazer: Yo…ung…ster… no greeting to big brother… if you don’t come regularly in the future… you die…~! Traitors… are executed…~! Report your survival…~!

Grand Wizard Iana: I thought you were dead. You rolled like that yet barely became a deserter?

Shadowless Slayer Dam Woo-gwang: Hahaha. You went through a lot. It is all precious experience that becomes blood and flesh. (Green Tea)

All-Knowing Beggar Kim Bong-hak: The ruffian has returned. Hmph!

Night Emperor Alastar: shiver shiver Everyone welcomes him, who is he? An oldbie? shiver shiver Newbie greets you shiver shiver

Where would he receive such a welcome? Moved, Se-min replied to each comment and accessed the tip board.

He was able to read one more tip due to the dormant account activation event.

Se-min had only practiced Tai Chi Wisdom and Xing Yi Quan during that time.

What Noh Hak-jae taught him was helpful, but what truly made him grow was what Dokgo Cheonma told him. The more he practiced it, the newer it felt.

The Basics of Sword Art. Three Talents Sword Art.

Se-min also knew about the Three Talents Sword Art. Horizontal cut, vertical cut, stab. The basic of basics representing heaven, earth, and human.

It might be unnecessary for him, who was already familiar with the sword.

However, big brother Dokgo Cheonma told him to learn the Three Talents Sword Art once his Xing Yi Quan matured.

There must be a great meaning.

Se-min immediately paid for the Three Talents Sword Art. The Three Talents Sword Art was added to his list of purchased posts.

Tai Chi Wisdom. Xing Yi Quan. Three Talents Sword Art.

“I’m already excited. *Huff, huff*.”

Se-min reflexively looked for his sword in excitement, but remembered he had left it at the repair center.

“Sword, sword, sword! Where is the sword!”

The violent Se-min stood up from his seat to wake Hyun Jae-young.

However, he was already standing behind Se-min.

Knowing that the Transcendent Network was not visible to others, Se-min asked with a calm face.

“What are you doing?”

However, Hyun Jae-young’s expression was strange.

It was a look of infinite sadness and sympathy.

“Brother…”

“Why?”

“Even so, don’t cut it off with a sword…”

“What?”

Suddenly, Hyun Jae-young hugged him. Se-min was flustered.

“What’s wrong with you? I asked you to lend me a sword?”

“No! Brother! There must be a way!”

“No…”

“You must pee standing up!”

“What nonsense are you talking about!”

***

Only after hearing the whole story from him could he understand the situation. Se-min fiercely denied his suspicion.

“Really not?”

“Are you crazy? Want me to show you? Shall we go on a tour of the Brown-eared Bulbul folder together?”

“N-No need.”

Se-min shook his head.

“Right, anyway, good thing you woke up. You don’t have a raid today, right?”

“If I go to the company, they will give me work. Why?”

“Rest today.”

“Is something going on?”

Se-min stared at Hyun Jae-young. The sight of him and Kim Ye-na from last night came to mind.

“You, ya punk, need human remodeling.”

“What remodeling?”

“You said you would get Green Mark?”

Only then did Hyun Jae-young’s expression change.

In raid society, passing down one’s technique to another person was extremely rare.

“Brother, thank you!”

“Forget it. Where do you train?”

“The company training ground.”

“Then let’s go there. Bring a spare sword.”

“Let’s go after eating breakfast. I will make beef for you!”

“I told you I’m tired of beef.”

They headed to Hyun Jae-young’s company.

It was a small company located on the outskirts of Seoul. Such small companies usually acted as manpower offices. The place Hyun Jae-young belonged to was on the better side of treatment, and there were many companies without even a training ground.

Hyun Jae-young’s Ferrari stopped in the parking lot.

Even if it was small, a Raider company was different. The cars in the parking lot were all foreign imports.

They entered the office.

A man welcomed them.

“Hello. I’m here.”

“Oh, Jae-young. You came at the right time. A raid happened in Guro, want to go?”

“No. I’m going to train today.”

“Train? Who is that beside you?”

Se-min bowed casually.

“Hello.”

He was wearing his treasure bought yesterday, the dragon Sukajan jacket. On the outside, he looked like nothing but a thug.

“Yes. He is the brother who decided to teach me.”

“Teach you? Is he a Raider?”

“That is…”

Since Hyun Jae-young had contacted him about what he experienced yesterday, the man nodded once the message was roughly conveyed.

“Strange. That person is him?”

“Yes.”

“Understood. Let’s have lunch together later. Bring him along so we can talk.”

“Will do.”

When Se-min asked, that man was the president.

“Was that man a Gold Mark before retirement?”

“How did you know?”

“I know everything.”

There was no one in the training ground.

The training ground was a dome structure with the sky blocked. It was divided into a central stage and outer private rooms, which he said were used when privacy was needed so others couldn’t see the techniques.

“What aura method do you use?”

“The one taught at the academy.”

“The National Method?”

“Yeah, that.”

The aura method taught at academies was popular. As such, it was just a mediocre level, neither good nor bad. So it had the nickname of the National Method.

“Use this.”

Se-min threw the notebook.

“Keep it to yourself after reading.”

“This is…”

Written on the notebook was ‘Hak-jae’s Divine Art’.

It was the aura method Noh Hak-jae had passed down to Se-min. Se-min also didn’t know the exact name. Noh Hak-jae merely told him the oral secrets and circulation method.

“The savior who saved me passed it down.”

“Can you give me such a precious thing?”

“Since you are also my savior.”

At Se-min’s words, Hyun Jae-young embraced the notebook.

“Brother. Thank you so much.”

Hyun Jae-young’s aura measurement was around twenty thousand. Accumulating this much with a common aura method was proof that he had trained diligently.

“Just grasp the energy well. Even if I teach you, it is useless if you can’t do that.”

An aura method was not something that could be changed easily. A process of adapting the existing aura to a new method was necessary. If this failed, everything could go wrong, and he might suffer internal injuries.

“Let’s spar first.”

“Spar?”

Hyun Jae-young hesitated.

Since a Raider’s opponent was a magic beast, not a person, sparring was not very common.

“I will go easy on you. Don’t worry.”

“Won’t it be dangerous?”

“Even if you attack with all your might, I won’t get hurt, so don’t worry about useless things.”

When Se-min grinned, Hyun Jae-young nodded.

Although Se-min appeared while killing the Drake, he did not know his exact skill. It could be above or below expectations.

Se-min was a person whose reality could not be known. He seemed like a great person, but sometimes he just seemed like a swaggering guy.

Now it was time to find out about him.

His appearance swinging his old iron sword here and there was certainly that of someone whose swordplay was ingrained in his hands.

“Aren’t you using armor?”

“I don’t need to do that.”

His appearance smiling while pointing a sword in jeans and a Sukajan jacket looked like he was teasing.

Hyun Jae-young smiled combatively. He was not a man without personality either. All Raiders had pride and ego.

Hyun Jae-young equipped all his armor and held the spear he cherished.

In a fight against a person, a spear was more advantageous than a sword.

“I’m coming.”

“Come.”

Hyun Jae-young thrust his spear lightly, raising his aura. Se-min did not even move.

He scolded.

“Do it properly. You are terrified of hitting me, so you can’t even throw it properly.”

“Understood.”

Hyun Jae-young thrust deeper this time. Se-min was not hit. Hyun Jae-young extended further. Se-min continuously deflected his attacks with paper-thin margins.

Hyun Jae-young provoked him.

“Are you just going to keep avoiding?”

Pulling back to just avoid was not very difficult. Se-min smirked.

“You punk. You have pride, huh?”

And Se-min’s figure vanished.

Hyun Jae-young was looking for Se-min, when he was startled to feel cold steel touching his neck.

Se-min was standing behind him before he knew it.

“Brother, you are really strong…”

“You didn’t believe it?”

“I doubted it a bit.”

Se-min kicked Hyun Jae-young’s butt with a laugh.

“Try again. What do you think is your biggest problem?”

“Lack of aura, and simple attacks?”

“You must have heard that a lot, but it isn’t that. You don’t lack aura, but you can’t use it properly.”

“I can’t use aura properly?”

“Aura is one with the will.”

Se-min picked up the sword. A white haze flared up like a flash of light and vanished in an instant.

It was lightning-fast aura release and suppression.

“Unifying movement, will, and aura is first.”

This simple word was the essence of Xing Yi Quan.

“If you can move aura as you wish, the amount of aura is not a problem.”

Hyun Jae-young tilted his head. It was a word he seemed to know and not know. It was like the Zen dialogue that top Raiders did. They often talked about philosophy or Taoist magic.

“Attack again. The most immediate emotion is killing intent. Quickly raise your aura with the mind to kill me.”

The sparring resumed. Hyun Jae-young attacked with all his might. Se-min dodged or faced him appropriately according to his tempo.

After continuous sparring, Hyun Jae-young collapsed in exhaustion.

Se-min clicked his tongue.

“And stamina. The most basic is stamina.”

“My stamina is on the good side. You are the monster, brother…”

Se-min clicked his tongue at the collapsed Hyun Jae-young and picked up his sword alone. The aura of Tai Chi Wisdom spread through his body.

To survive beyond the gate, he had to practice Tai Chi Wisdom every moment. Even so, he still couldn’t know the end of this divine art.

Suddenly Noh Hak-jae came to mind. Noh Hak-jae was the only one who had advised him on the Tai Chi Wisdom. And he was pierced in the chest by an unidentified demon in return for destroying the ominous hole in North Korea.

It would be difficult for him to be alive.

“Hey, get up.”

“Just rest a bit…”

“Aren’t you ashamed as the successor of Hak-jae’s Divine Art! Get up immediately! Ahem!”

“Ugh…”

As he kept lingering, Se-min brought a kettle and splashed water on his face.

“Uwoh, *splutter*.”

Floundering, Hyun Jae-young eventually rolled over and took Se-min’s shower on the back of his head. He washed his face once with both hands, and when the stream of water stopped, he stretched out again.

Se-min touched his body with his foot.

“The elder who passed down Hak-jae’s Divine Art was a true man. What are you doing?”

Hyun Jae-young slowly opened his eyes. Se-min was pristine, without shedding a single drop of sweat.

“Why are you fine without even sweating, brother?”

“Do you sweat just from walking a few steps?”

“Haha, so I am barely at that level?”

Hyun Jae-young stood up, holding Se-min’s hand.

Then the training ground door opened and someone appeared. A man and a woman. They were in Raider attire, but not equipped with armor.

They were Jang Hyun-hwa and Park Jung-won, Hyun Jae-young’s colleagues.

Jang Hyun-hwa found Hyun Jae-young and walked over with large strides.

“Jae-young!”

“Hyun-hwa is here.”

“What do you mean ‘is here’, you idiot!”

She glanced at Se-min once, but walked straight to Hyun Jae-young and struck his chest with her fist.

Hyun Jae-young fell.

“Uh, hey. I just hit you lightly? Are you sick?”

“We trained violently…”

Hyun Jae-young stood up falteringly again.

“Why are you angry again?”

“Right. Are you still meeting that woman?”

“Ye-na? I meet her…”

“Oh, you frustrating guy. You idiot. I grow old because of you.”

“Why again?”

“Do you know what she is doing right now?”

“She went to play with friends.”

“Do you know what friends?”

“Ye-na’s friends, probably.”

Jang Hyun-hwa closed her eyes and held back her anger once. And taking the phone of the man standing beside her, she manipulated it for a moment and held it out to Hyun Jae-young.

It was a photo.

Two men and two women were posing with the beach as the background.

Among them was Hyun Jae-young’s girlfriend, Kim Ye-na.

Hyun Jae-young was indifferent.

“What about this?”

“I told you she is strange, right? She is someone who chases after Raiders!”

“I am a Raider.”

“She isn’t satisfied with you, so she clings to Green Marks. The guys here are all Jung-won’s peers and acquaintances across a bridge, and she went because they are Green Marks!”

“I didn’t know they were Raiders. I heard. She went because she is close to Ye-na’s friend.”

“Haa.”

Jang Hyun-hwa held the back of her neck and pretended to collapse.

Watching that scene from behind, Park Jung-won talked to Se-min.

“Hello.”

“Yes. Hello.”

“I heard. They said you are a gate returnee.”

“I suffered a bit.”

“Let’s have a beer sometime. I am curious about the gate story.”

“Good.”

“I am Park Jung-won. I am a Blue Mark Raider.”

“I am Lee Se-min.”

They shook hands. The weight felt from the grip was different. Se-min shrugged.

“It’s lunch, want to eat together?”

“Yes. Those two…”

Jang Hyun-hwa had forced Hyun Jae-young to sit down, taken his spear, and was poking him with the shaft. Hyun Jae-young was oppressed by her and requested rescue with his eyes.

Park Jung-won stepped forward.

“Hyun-hwa, let’s go eat.”

“Yeah. After hitting this frustrating fellow a bit more.”

She kicked Hyun Jae-young one last time.

While Hyun Jae-young showered, Se-min talked with the company members in the office.

Questions about how life was beyond the gate followed. Se-min wiped his eyes and spun his tale of hardship.

“I endured cold and hungry days. I fought every day with bizarre monsters that weren’t even registered in the magic beast illustrated guide. One day, looking at myself reflected in the water, I saw that I had also become a beast…”

The president, Yoo Sang-heun, listened to his story intently.

When Hyun Jae-young came out, they headed to a nearby Chinese restaurant. The five ordered their respective menus along with sweet and sour pork.

Yoo Sang-heun asked Se-min suggestively.

“Se-min, you didn’t have an affiliation originally, right?”

“Right. Strictly speaking, the Army?”

“Then why don’t you work at our company?”

Everyone’s eyes gathered. Yoo Sang-heun dipped an onion in black bean paste, put it in his mouth, and continued.

“Not to settle down, but to work like a freelancer, taking work under our company name when there is a job. Since you are staying with Jae-young for the time being, it won’t be bad.”

Jang Hyun-hwa raised her thumb.

“Good idea.”

“We don’t have many people because of vacations and such. I ask as a favor.”

Se-min looked at Hyun Jae-young. He shrugged. Se-min nodded with a serious face.

“You mean to use me as a mercenary.”

“Correct.”

“It reminds me of big brother Cayenne the Black Lion, the man who was the mercenary king.”

“Yes?”

“To live is to die, and to die is to live. Understood. I will throw myself into your company.”

“Then Se-min oppa is our company member from today?”

“Welcome, brother.”

Alcohol could not be missing. They ordered kaoliang liquor and received their glasses.

They raised their glasses. Jang Hyun-hwa suggested.

“Since a new member came, let’s do a Biryong Covenant.”

The name of the Chinese restaurant was Biryongbang.

Everyone shook their heads.

“He hasn’t even signed a contract yet, it’s burdensome…”

“Don’t overdo it.”

However, Se-min, who liked situational roleplay, couldn’t resist the urge and stood up. And he shouted.

“Though we were not born on the same day and year!”

“…!”

“…!”

Everyone stood up falteringly, holding their glasses.

“We die together! Biryong Covenant!”

“C-Covenant.”

“Covenant…!”

“Fighting…!”

Se-min drank a glass in one go and asked.

“By the way, what is the company name?”

***

Jang Hyun-hwa and Park Jung-won left for a raid. Only the president, Yoo Sang-heun, Se-min, and Hyun Jae-young remained in the company.

“I will go to the Bureau, so practice Hak-jae’s Divine Art. Watch out for reverse flow.”

“Will you be alright, brother? I will drive you. You don’t know the way.”

“I’m not a primitive man, you punk. Give me the card.”

Se-min took a taxi and headed to the Raider Bureau.

He rolled down the window and felt the wind.

The path ahead was familiar.

The past came to mind.

He once checked his status here every year. It was also on such a day that he met the Transcendent Network. He was rotting away, despairing in reality.

Many things happened.

Now he was not the incompetent, half-baked Lee Se-min of that time.

Suddenly, a few open-topped cars passed from the opposite direction. It must be a crowd of Raiders stopping by the Raider Bureau.

Some of them burst into laughter.

If it were the past him, he would have thought they were laughing at him due to habitual inferiority, but now he merely laughed quietly. They must also have good things.

He was no longer bound by others’ standards.

Their voices were heard.

“Look at that bastard putting on airs in the taxi.”

They were laughing at him. Se-min whipped his head, but they were already far away and not visible.

“Scurvy bastards.”

When he cursed, the taxi driver in the driver’s seat began to watch him. Feeling apologetic, Se-min changed his words.

“We should drive safely. Right?”

“Y-Yes.”

“…”

Se-min just closed his eyes.

When he arrived at the Raider Bureau, the person in charge was waiting for him. They said he was an official from the main office of the Raider Bureau. A major in military uniform was also standing beside him.

They asked again about what Se-min had testified and typed the details.

The voices of Se-min and the employee echoed in the quiet interview room.

“Major Ri Gil-han attacked, and you lost consciousness in the process, and when you woke up, you were detained in a prison. Is that what you mean?”

“Yes.”

“How did you go beyond the gate from there?”

“I heard vaguely that they were conducting some experiment. One day I was dragged away with my eyes covered, and I thought I was going to be executed, but I felt like I was falling somewhere, and when I regained consciousness, it was another world.”

Since there was a promise with Noh Hak-jae, Se-min hid everything that happened with Noh Hak-jae.

It was not entirely a lie.

The Hellgate was a type of gate. And looking at their reactions, they also seemed to know about the Hellgate to some extent.

They did not pry further about the experiments or other things.

Se-min asked.

“By the way, what happened to the other comrades?”

The employee glanced at the soldier.

The major answered readily.

“Most died. Kim Gyu-jin. Yoon Woo-jae. And you, three survived in total.”

“Is that so.”

Kim Gyu-jin was expected. He was the owner of terrifying martial force.

He had seen a sword stab Kim Gyu-jin’s body, but even in that state, he seemed to have found a path of life in the end.

Yoon Woo-jae was unexpected. He had pushed Se-min and run, but with his skill, it didn’t seem he could survive alone until returning to the unit.

It was good.

“Now I want to hear how you lived beyond the gate.”

“Beyond the gate…”

It was nothing.

He fought, killed, and ate every day.

He did not despair or give up, but endured until the end.

He also became a magic beast, living tangled among magic beasts. In the process, the gate opened, and he was sucked in along with the Drake.

That was all.

It was a miraculous survival.

“That is all.”

The employee stuck out his tongue.

“You went through a lot. Welcome back once again, Lee Se-min.”

“Thank you.”

“We will contact you separately regarding several matters, so please organize your memory and deliver them. Your experience with unidentified magic beasts will be of great help to all Raiders.”

“Yes.”

They shook hands.

“And as you know from signing the pledge, you must not disclose what you experienced to the outside.”

“Uh, I already told a few places.”

“Haha, please refrain in the future. A secret is a secret. You can be court-martialed.”

“Yep. I will shut my mouth.”

Following the employee, the major said.

“You will be processed as discharged, Se-min. Please understand that we cannot grant you a medal.”

As Se-min’s identity was restored, a Raider license was also issued.

“Without needing to take the exam, we will issue you a license. By regulation, it is issued as a Blue Mark. The promotion exam can only be taken after six months, so please understand this point.”

“No. Thank you for your consideration.”

Processed as deceased on the computer, he now became a proud reservist sergeant and Blue Mark Raider Lee Se-min.

Before parting, Se-min asked them.

“I have one question.”

“Yes.”

“That operation I did, what was it for?”

They did not answer.

They did not speak about the unidentified ominous gate the North Korean army possessed, nor about the Raiders who gained power from it. They merely shook their heads.

“It is a secret.”

It was only that word. Se-min nodded.

“Understood.”

Thus, Se-min left the Raider Bureau.

Spring was coming.

Walking away from the Raider Bureau, Se-min touched his chest.

The outline of the necklace situated beneath his T-shirt touched his fingertips.

“A secret…”

Se-min grinned.

“Everyone has secrets.”

He didn’t say everything either.

***

As soon as his identity was restored, Se-min opened a phone. He sent a message to Hyun Jae-young.

This is my number, save it, ya punk

Wow, how did you open it?

With your card.

That means…

There are many good phones lately ^^

—

“That bastard, I passed down the priceless Hak-jae’s Divine Art, yet he pouts over this.”

Se-min pressed another number. It was a number his body remembered.

He was about to press the call button, but couldn’t press it and turned it off.

It was the number of his parents’ house.

The reason Se-min didn’t go to his parents immediately was because he wanted to keep the promise he made to himself.

That declaration that he would return as a Raider.

Now he was a Raider.

His parents would believe he had died in action. How should he return? Since the sun was setting, going immediately was difficult.

Se-min took a taxi and returned to Hyun Jae-young’s house.

Hyun Jae-young was not there.

Se-min accessed the Transcendent Network, commented, posted a post explaining the events in more detail, and placed his mouse cursor on the quest tab.

His past mission was this.

Quest

Pass the Raider qualification exam and become a formal Raider.

Quest Reward 100P

He didn’t take the Raider qualification exam, but he became a formal Raider.

What happened to the quest?

Congratulations! Lee Se-min the Deserter has become a Blue Mark Raider.

We grant 100P of Transcendent Network Points as a quest reward.

The nickname is changed from Lee Se-min the Deserter to Raider Lee Se-min.

Please use it in a useful place!

He thus gained 100 points.

Se-min ran to the refrigerator without a word and drank a can of soda in one go as a ceremony instead.

The martial arts he wanted to obtain were not just one or two. The three he prioritized were:

Treatise on Fist and Foot. Cloud-Ladder Step. Taiqing Sword Art.

“Let’s see for now.”

He opened the Three Talents Sword Art post recently. He decided to decide on the next one after mastering the Three Talents Sword Art a bit more.

Se-min refreshed the quest screen.

It was time to proceed with the next quest.

The quests he couldn’t clear for three years, he would smash them all starting from now.