Chapter 34 – Shadow

“B-Brother, are you saying that to me right now?”

“Yeah.”

At Se-min’s cool gaze, Jin Bu-sik retreated a step.

“You will regret those words.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

Twitching his lips, Jin Bu-sik turned abruptly and walked to the room. Se-min cackled at his back and entered the restroom.

The middle-aged man from earlier was standing at the urinal, looking up at the ceiling.

There were two urinals.

Se-min stood beside him.

The middle-aged man looking up suddenly spoke.

“Thank you.”

It seemed he had heard the conversation between Se-min and Jin Bu-sik.

Se-min replied, looking at the ceiling.

“Don’t mention it.”

With those words as the end, silence hung in the air.

Se-min, who finished his business first, shook himself, washed his hands, and left the restroom.

When he returned to the room, everyone’s gaze gathered. The atmosphere was chaotic. It seemed Jin Bu-sik had said something. With an uncomfortable expression, he was muttering incomprehensible words to himself.

Ryu Gwan-cheol poured his own drink in silence.

Se-min chuckled and searched for the mobile phone he had left at his seat. He had returned for this. He had no intention of staying longer either.

“Hyung-nim.”

“Mmh.”

“I have some business, so I think I must leave first.”

“Go ahead.”

Amidst the atmosphere tinged with discomfort, Se-min spoke to Jin Bu-sik.

“Hey, Jin Bu-sik.”

“What?”

At his informal speech, not only Jin Bu-sik but also the Raiders of the Limitless Association glared at him.

Se-min did not care.

“Become a human before a Raider, you pathetic bastard.”

“This punk!”

The Iron Horse Company members stopped the Limitless Association Raiders who were about to stand up.

Se-min asked Ryu Gwan-cheol.

“Hyung-nim. Do I still seem like a cool young man?”

Ryu Gwan-cheol, who was looking down at his liquor glass, raised his head. A smile was laced on his face. Laughing even more deeply, he raised his glass.

“My eyes were not mistaken.”

“Thank you.”

Se-min grinned.

Jin Bu-sik appealed to Ryu Gwan-cheol as if it was unfair, but he drank his liquor without saying anything.

Just before closing the door, he met Bang Yu-bi’s eyes.

For some reason, it was an anxious look.

Se-min just gave her a wink.

***

Se-min raced along the road on his scooter. Through the wireless earphone plugged into his ear, Yoo Sang-heun’s nagging continued.

“[You punk, why did you pick a fight with the Limitless Association? I’m getting calls here!]”

“What do they say?”

“[They told you not to even think about setting foot in the raid industry in the future. You’re going to be completely ostracized.]”

“That’s good.”

“[What? I can’t hear you well!]”

“I said that’s good.”

“[Are you on the road now? I heard you drank?]”

“I washed out the alcohol with my aura.”

“[What kind of technique is that again?]”

“I have my ways.”

Se-min grinned. He pulled the throttle. As he increased the speed, the frame of the worn-out scooter vibrated.

Now that he had paid off all his debts, had the time come to change his scooter to a bike?

Somehow, he felt good.

“Please book some raids.”

“[Which ones?]”

“Anything.”

“[How many?]”

“Just like I always do.”

“[Are you serious?]”

He was a Platinum-mark now. The situation was different from the Blue-mark raids he used to do. In the past, he had faced weak magic beasts compared to his skills, but now he had to fight upper-class species that could not be easily dealt with.

“Yes.”

And that was what he intended to do.

Slaying magic beasts, getting stronger.

Although he had reached the Platinum mark through the Tai Chi Wisdom, the core was the same Lee Se-min as before. He was not a great hero or a saint. He just couldn’t stand seeing what displeased him, and only did what he thought he should do.

And what he hated most was magic beasts that killed humans.

If it was dealing with those bastards, he could do it any number of times a day.

“[It’s better not to do them with the Limitless Association, right?]”

“I don’t care. I’m not scared of those guys at all.”

Of course, the same went for those who became monsters themselves while facing monsters.

“[Got it. Come to work early tomorrow.]”

“Yes. For your information, I’m on my way to the company.”

“[To use the training hall?]”

“Yes.”

“[Strange punk. I’m leaving work.]”

The call ended.

The employee who used the training hall most frequently at SH Company was Se-min. Next was Hyeon Jae-yeong, who was dragged along by Se-min, and the rest were rarely seen.

Soon, Se-min arrived at the company. The office was empty. He opened the door of the training hall.

Hyeon Jae-yeong was there.

“Hyung?”

“You’re working hard, huh?”

Perhaps because he gained confidence upon rising to the Green mark, he was now aiming for the Gold mark.

If there was no reward for effort, one resigned themselves. That was the destination for the majority of Raiders. However, Hyeon Jae-yeong had the Hak-jae Divine Art and Se-min’s guidance. Thanks to them, Hyeon Jae-yeong was experiencing the effects of training while filling in what he lacked.

“I heard you did the Odoros Raid today? How was the Black-rank magic beast?”

“It was trivial.”

“Tell me a bit. Did you meet Raider Ryu Gwan-woo?”

“Hey, don’t even talk about it. That person, I mean…”

Se-min explained the unexpected person and what had happened today.

Hyeon Jae-yeong sat down on the floor and listened intently to his story.

“Isn’t that a lie?”

“It’s true. He was the gym Hyung-nim.”

Hyeon Jae-yeong doubted the relationship between Se-min and Ryu Gwan-cheol.

Granted, it was a hard-to-believe encounter. However, sometimes reality is stranger than fiction. Hyeon Jae-yeong shook his head.

The conversation moved to the Limitless Association.

“Hyung is really no ordinary person either. Will you be okay after falling out with the Limitless Association?”

“We were bound to become like this since the Kesia incident. Those things are not human. I can’t stand seeing such things.”

“Raiders do have that side to them.”

“You aren’t going around behaving like that too, are you?”

“Hyung, I received a good upbringing. I’m from Cheonghakdong. Since I was diagnosed as having aura aptitude, my parents sent me there first, you know.”

“And a guy like that did a rebound relationship…”

“It’s not a rebound!”

Hyeon Jae-yeong was now seeing Min Ji-hyun of the Raider Bureau. Although it could not be said that she and Se-min were on good terms, what could be done if the two liked each other?

According to Hyeon Jae-yeong’s words, his former lover Kim Ye-na accepted the breakup without any particular reaction upon hearing him ask to break up. Hyeon Jae-yeong seemed even more perturbed because of that. Seeing how easily she accepted the breakup, he was rationalizing his choice, saying it was clear she didn’t love him after all.

Of course, Se-min’s thoughts, having experienced Kim Ye-na albeit for a short time, were different.

She must have clenched her teeth and pretended to be fine to protect her pride.

She was that kind of woman.

“Birds of a feather flock together.”

Whether it was Hyeon Jae-yeong or that woman, they were all strange people in Se-min’s eyes.

Se-min realized that the reason he had no connection with romance was because of the law of like attracting like. Wasn’t it because there was no woman of the same kind who could handle a man like him?

If he had to find one, there was only one.

Iana Nuna, love forever.

“Hyung. Be careful for the time being. The rumors about the Limitless Association aren’t good.”

“It’s not just rumors; they really are no good in reality.”

“No, I mean I heard they have deep ties to the underworld.”

“Underworld?”

To speak of the image of the Big Three, Hosan Company is entertainment, CCC is the military. The Limitless Association is a martial arts dojo.

They were also the ones who established and first distributed the Korean-style aura method. The national aura method used by most Raiders was also their work.

“It’s a rumor I heard at a Green-mark gathering…”

According to Hyeon Jae-yeong’s explanation, the Korean-style aura method that the president of the Limitless Association, Seol Mu-jin, supposedly created was in fact nothing more than a modification of a Chinese cultivation method.

In the case of Korea, the majority of martial arts books were lost due to foreign invasions, but the case was different for China. They possessed vast resources. Thanks to that, when the Gate era opened, China was able to surpass neighboring countries in the fields of martial arts and aura methods.

Such a China was connected to Seol Mu-jin, the president of the Limitless Association. Seol Mu-jin received secret manuals from China, established his company in Korea, and a Chinese organization was in the background.

The Triads.

That was it.

“Isn’t that just a rumor?”

Se-min frowned. The Limitless Association took great pride in having created the Korean-style aura method. It was hard to believe that those bastards who so loved slogans like ‘descendants of Baedal’ or ‘children of Dangun’ were in fact on the same side as the Triads.

“It could be, or it could not be. The person who told me seemed to say it half-jokingly, but it sounds plausible, doesn’t it?”

Certainly, if this conspiracy theory was true, it made sense that the Limitless Association possessed numerous martial arts.

After thinking for a moment, Se-min shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know. Let’s just train.”

He was eager.

After returning from the other world, Se-min had not seen a stronger person than him clearly. However, Ryu Gwan-cheol was different. He was stronger than Se-min. Along with respect, a competitive spirit surged.

Se-min took a spot away from Hyeon Jae-yeong. He recalled the martial arts he learned in turn.

A phrase from the Tai Chi Diagram Explanation passed by.

‘This is not about comprehension. This is not about talent. This is not even about strength.’

Se-min was not a genius. Although he might have had talent better than others, in the end, he remained within the boundaries of an ordinary person who could not escape standard deviation. Therefore, he held a sliver of fear that perhaps he might not be able to complete the great divine art, the Tai Chi Wisdom.

However, the Tai Chi Diagram Explanation said otherwise.

‘Rocks break to become sand, and sand solidifies to return to rocks. The moon wanes once full, and water from high places flows to low places. It is not constrained by high and low, big and small. Just as a butterfly’s flapping wings become a typhoon, and the typhoon fades back into a handful of whispers, Tai Chi is temporary yet also circulates eternally.’

Incomprehensible words continued. This was not a martial arts book. However, Dokgo Cheonma had told him to master the Tai Chi Diagram Explanation. What did that signify?

There was something inside this. The answer had to be found by himself. He couldn’t obtain advice even if he asked Ryu Gwan-cheol or other Raiders.

Now, Se-min’s martial arts ran on a completely different track from anyone in modern times.

The teachings of modern Raiders were clear. The conditions to become an upper-mark Raider? Talent, time, and martial arts. A proportional equation of three variables.

One who possessed talent repeatedly practices martial arts. Skill was derived according to which martial art was learned, how outstanding the talent was, and how much time was invested.

The only thing one could change on their own was time. Countless Raiders poured in time, and resigned themselves in the end.

The past Se-min was also the same. He was born with severed meridians, a quality close to zero regarding aura. Thus, he became a dropout. Even after obtaining the Tai Chi Wisdom and correcting his constitution, his comprehension did not change.

A mediocre quality, but a Raider who strove constantly. That was Se-min.

If not for the severed meridians, and if he had gone down the path of a Raider normally, he would have stagnated at the Gold-mark level.

However, upon meeting Dokgo Cheonma, everything changed. His martial arts were different.

“The harmony of all creation…”

Spending time in the other world, he had vaguely realized it. Harmony existed everywhere. Balance existed even in that terrible ecosystem where magic beasts ate and were eaten. He had survived for three years buried within it.

Nature.

That which is so of itself.

However, the Tai Chi Diagram Explanation desired more than what he had realized.

“Nothing in the world is easy.”

It would be nice if he could just strike everything down with a fierce martial art like in wuxia novels. The name could be something like the Asura Heaven-Rending Sword.

However, as depth was added to the martial arts, Se-min knew that it was nothing more than a convenient imagination. The principles of the world were mysterious, and cause and effect do not lose their clues. If he had obtained that kind of martial art, a trade-off would be lurking somewhere.

That was why the Tai Chi Wisdom was a divine art.

“Jae-yeong.”

He called Hyeon Jae-yeong, who was groaning alone far away.

Through his teachings, Hyeon Jae-yeong had begun to master Se-min’s way. Through the Hak-jae Divine Art, he was feeling that martial arts was not simple training, but a path of self-perfection.

“Is it going well…?”

Hyeon Jae-yeong replied with a grin.

“No!”

“I see…”

Both were in a slump. Both Se-min and Hyeon Jae-yeong were facing their respective walls. Breaking this would lead to a higher realm, but no one knew how they could overcome it.

“What about Hyung?”

Hyeon Jae-yeong asked.

To maintain his pride as a master, Se-min replied confidently.

“It’s going well. Because I’m a genius!”

***

Se-min was trudging toward the convenience store. Something was caught in his energy perception.

“They’ve come again.”

Since the Odoros Raid, a strange presence had been tailing him. It was not a fan.

“Hmm.”

They were practicing concealment techniques. If Se-min had not been sensitive to aura, he wouldn’t have been able to feel even a presence. The unidentified tailers monitored his every move from afar.

“Could it be…!”

“Is it Misspatch!?”

Misspatch was an entertainment magazine that dug into the private lives of Raiders. They tracked down even unexpected secret meetings, so there were rumors that the reporters were aura aptitudes.

Friction with them was the destiny of a popular Raider.

Se-min sighed.

“Since I am diligent, there won’t be any articles no matter how much they tail me. What a pity. Only my reputation will get higher.”

After tracking a Raider for a certain period, if they had no gain, they even announced that fact. It was a proof of being a diligent Raider.

In Se-min’s case, let alone a girlfriend, he didn’t even have other hobbies. Raids and training were his entire daily routine.

“Should I try to make a deal?”

Se-min recalled a scene he had seen in movies. The big shot provides article fodder, and the reporter helps him through the media. It was a relationship like a crocodile and a plover.

He wanted to become the protagonist of that scene. Shouldn’t he at least see the faces of those tailing him?

Se-min bought a few cans of beer at the convenience store. The convenience store part-timer requested an autograph. He was a new recruit.

“It’s a valuable autograph, so keep it as a family heirloom.”

He gave autographs every time the part-timer changed, and the frequency was high. The store owner’s treatment must not be very good.

“Keep up the good work.”

Se-min left the convenience store. The presence was still monitoring him from afar. Although quite covert, it was not to the extent of deceiving Se-min.

He was a Raider and at the same time a possessor of high-tier martial arts. In terms of senses, he surpassed ordinary Raiders.

Se-min walked down a path different from his usual route. The presences followed him.

Se-min soon used the Shadow-Dwelling Walk to hide beneath the shadows.

Losing Se-min’s trace, the flustered tailers stopped in their tracks. Some waited, while others resumed their movements to track him.

Se-min caught the back of one of them at a suitable spot.

The opponent was a man in ordinary attire. He looked just like a neighborhood resident. However, Se-min could tell he was an aura aptitude.

“Hey.”

He spoke suddenly. The opponent, startled, attacked Se-min.

It was a lightning-fast reaction speed.

“Huh?”

An instinctive counterattack was not the habit of a reporter.

Se-min scanned him again. His gaze was insidious. Judging by his hand hovering near his waist, he carried a weapon.

Knowing the opponent was Se-min, the man looked flustered.

Se-min approached. The opponent’s posture was strangely familiar. The way he lowered his waist while guarding against Se-min reminded him of the Limitless Association Raiders he had seen not long ago.

“Why is the Limitless Association following me around?”

At the probing words, his expression froze. Se-min did not miss that minute split second. Having identified the enemy’s affiliation, it was not difficult to guess their purpose either.

“I just wanted to have a beer together…”

Se-min said, shaking the plastic bag from the convenience store.

“You don’t look very pleased.”

The man had no change in expression. He scanned the surroundings out of the corner of his eye. It was a deserted alleyway. Realizing there were no watching eyes, he moved boldly.

A dagger flew at him.

Se-min twisted his body to avoid it.

He hadn’t thought they would attack directly like this. Furthermore, it was his first time facing an opponent who used hidden weapons. It was a technique prepared to deal with humans, not magic beasts. Se-min was also inwardly surprised.

A technique for killing humans.

Hyeon Jae-yeong’s words that the Limitless Association was connected to the Triads came to mind.

Se-min’s face distorted.

“There is something I hate as much as magic beasts. Do you know what it is?”

As Se-min avoided the sneak attack as if it was nothing, the man fumbled.

“It’s those who do nonsense with aura.”

Se-min had felt one thing ever since he first manifested aura. It was an unknown sense of obligation that aura must not be misused.

“You need to have an interview with me.”

The man backed away, preparing to buy time. The surrounding tailers were assembling here.

Se-min lunged at the man. Another hidden weapon was launched from his chest. Se-min avoided all the sneak attacks and approached right in front of his nose.

The Tai Chi Wisdom dwelled in his palm.

He snatched the man’s neck. The man struggled under Se-min’s grip. Saliva dripped from his mouth. The man tried to take something out of his pocket.

Before he could do anything foolish, Se-min struck his abdomen with his other hand.

The man went limp.

He threw his body onto the ground. The approaching presences became urgent. They were running toward Se-min at a fast speed.

Se-min searched the body of the fallen man. No particular items came out. There was no wallet or mobile phone. Only a radio plugged into his ear.

As Se-min cleared the fainted man to a corner of the alley, four men soon blocked the alley.

“It’s good to see me close up after only chasing my tail, isn’t it?”

Se-min grinned.

Without a word, they placed their hands on their waists. Hidden weapons would fly. Se-min had no intention of letting them prepare leisurely.

Se-min moved.

At the same time, hidden weapons embroidered the air. Se-min kicked off the wall and flew in the air. As if they had been waiting, they launched hidden weapons once more.

If intercepted in the air, there is no way to resist. Originally, that should have been the case. However, Se-min possessed the Cloud-Ascending Steps.

He changed direction in midair and rushed forward. The enemies’ eyes widened. It was a physically impossible movement. Before they could respond, Se-min was already close beside them.

Meeting the opponent’s fearful gaze, Se-min grinned.

“Don’t you know how to punch?”

No sooner had those words finished than a fist flew. Se-min caught his wrist and snapped it. He slumped down, but he did not scream.

Another guy tackled Se-min. Se-min struck his face with his knee. Teeth flew. The opponent lost consciousness and fell.

“Not a Raider…”

Raiders do not learn this way of fighting. Aura aptitudes who fail to pass the Raider qualification exam fall into other paths. In those cases, their aura and skills were not very outstanding. It was a quality that could not have become a Raider in the first place.

Yet their skills were on the level of an ordinary Green-mark.

“Say something. Huh?”

Se-min walked toward the remaining two.

Perhaps sensing defeat, they immediately turned back and ran.

Se-min pursued them. No matter how fast they were, they couldn’t match Se-min. It was just before Se-min caught the back of their necks.

A sedan lunged toward Se-min. Se-min rolled on the ground to avoid the collision.

“Ugh!”

Smelling the car exhaust, Se-min frowned.

The remnants boarded the car and were moving away. Se-min looked around. Between the piles of trash lay a dented aluminum baseball bat.

He threw it.

The fiercely spinning bat broke the rear window of the car and entered inside. The man sitting in the back seat was seen collapsing. However, the driver was unharmed.

The vehicle, which lurched once, soon moved away leisurely.

Se-min clicked his tongue. There was not even a license plate attached to the car.

Se-min returned to the alley. The three tailers he subdued lay collapsed. Perhaps one of them had regained consciousness, as he wriggled on the ground.

“Get up.”

“Ugh…”

“Who sent you guys?”

There was no way he would speak. Se-min showed his fist, but he did not open his mouth. Se-min nodded.

“I have my ways.”

The man’s eyes grew fierce.

“Are you planning to torture me?”

“Oh, you know how to talk?”

“Torture does not work on us.”

Se-min chuckled.

“You seem to have watched too many noir films.”

Se-min held up his phone. He possessed reliable friends. They were dedicated volunteers who helped not only Se-min but any citizen in distress.

“Is this the police?”

***

“We meet again.”

“Indeed.”

“It is humble for a Platinum-mark to sit, but take a seat.”

Se-min looked at him in surprise. Kim Gyu-jin continued to speak with an expressionless face.

“It’s a joke.”

“I-I suppose so.”

The Raider Crime Division escorted the tailers. The person in charge was indeed Kim Gyu-jin.

Se-min sat opposite the table in Kim Gyu-jin’s office. He seemed to receive much better treatment than when he was in the military.

As Se-min looked around and smiled contentedly, Kim Gyu-jin knitted his eyebrows strangely.

“Their skill was out of the ordinary.”

“I’m somewhat like that.”

“I’m talking about the assailants.”

The evidence that the men had attacked Se-min was clear. In the alley, hidden weapons were embedded in the walls, and weapons and shurikens that had not yet been used came out of their pockets.

Refusing to make statements, they only repeated the request to call a lawyer.

“They are not Raiders.”

As Se-min guessed, they were not Raiders. He looked up their identities, but there was no record of them acting as Raiders.

What did it mean that those who possessed such skills did not act as Raiders? Kim Gyu-jin already seemed to know about them.

“They are bastards who worked in illegal organizations.”

“You mean they are gangsters?”

“Yes.”

“I guessed as much.”

The words Hyeon Jae-yeong had said crossed his mind. At that time, he had just thought of it as a trivial rumor, but they had actually appeared.

“Why did they attack you?”

“Their tailing got caught. I went first and spoke to them.”

If not for Se-min, it wouldn’t have been easy to notice their tailing. Se-min was sensitive to aura and energy perception. An ordinary Raider, even if a Platinum-mark, wouldn’t have felt their presence.

“Then, why were they tailing you?”

“Probably…”

Se-min spoke as if there was nothing to hide.

“Isn’t it because my relationship with the Limitless Association turned bad?”

“The Limitless Association.”

“Yes. I heard somewhere that the Limitless Association is actually connected to the underworld. It’s not certain, but that’s about all that comes to mind.”

Kim Gyu-jin tapped the table with his pen.

“Is that so…”

He stared at Se-min. It was an expression as if something came to mind. An unknown light lingered in his ominous white eyes.

“Regrettably, we cannot do anything about the Triads right now.”

Kim Gyu-jin immediately brought up the name of the Triads.

“Pardon?”

“There are circumstances pointing to their connection with the Triads. But they are only circumstances. Furthermore, since the Triads remain in the dark, they are difficult to investigate. We are always short of manpower and resources.”

The number of Raider Mobile Units that could handle aura aptitudes was not large. Therefore, selection and concentration were required. Unless they committed open illegalities, they did not bother to monitor aura aptitudes.

Kim Gyu-jin smiled faintly. The expressions he made were always faint like this.

“I will make a proposal.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“You solve it directly.”

He handed over a file folder. There was no cover label on the outside.

Se-min accepted it and opened the first page. A photo of a person popped out. It was a captured scene from a CCTV. The location was a convenience store, and a man was receiving cigarettes from a part-timer.

Se-min checked his profile. The man’s name was Park Seo-geon.

“He is suspected of distributing drugs. He operates an organization in Incheon, which I believe is a subordinate organization of the Triads. The bastards who attacked you are those who worked under this guy.”

“This…”

“Will you try to solve it?”

“Me?”

Case request.

It was the contract Kim Gyu-jin had spoken of in the past. To fill the shortage of manpower, they requested work from Raiders, and the Raiders obtained a prescribed reward.

In Park Seo-geon’s case, it was a bounty. Of course, the amount was not large. For Se-min, doing a single raid was more profitable.

“What is the reason you are entrusting this to me?”

“As I said, we lack manpower. There are more bad guys in the world than you think.”

Kim Gyu-jin gestured with his chin toward the wall. ID photos and the like were densely attached to the board. They were faces of people extracted from CCTVs or videos. Se-min realized that was Kim Gyu-jin’s priority.

“And…”

Kim Gyu-jin faintly raised the corners of his mouth again.

“Because you wouldn’t be a coward who is scared of guys like this.”

Se-min also ended up laughing. It was a clumsy provocation, just like the first joke he made. However, Se-min willingly decided to respond to that provocation.

“What if Limitless Association Raiders step in?”

“Then, they will be defined as a group threatening national security.”

“Whew.”

Raiders are strong. However, it was not that modern firearms did not work on them like magic beasts. The moment Raiders crossed the line, the military moves. Just because they were the largest raid company in South Korea didn’t mean they could fight the military.

In an era when Raiders became a privileged class, what made them obey the law was a stronger power.

“Understood.”

“Will you do it?”

“Yes.”

Se-min replied while scanning the materials on the person named Park Seo-geon.

“This fellow has done a lot of bad deeds. I dislike guys like this.”

Se-min thought of Jin Bu-sik. His laughter came to mind. Rather than that insipid laugh, he liked the expression of glaring at him more.

He was curious what Jin Bu-sik’s expression would be like after he finished these guys off.