Time passed and Lee Tae-sung summoned the Ascendants again.
They had originally promised to do this.
‘Summonable… still only three.’
After using the skill many times, he had a rough sense of it.
Right now, the threads of fate shot across dimensions were three.
Only the Flame Emperor, Goeseung, and Mad Demon.
It seemed he still hadn’t succeeded in attracting Hakseon.
Still, he called the Ascendants to hear about their progress.
And the Ascendants who appeared in the living room looked unusually downcast.
“…I’m sorry, Disciple.”
The Flame Emperor couldn’t even raise his head in front of Lee Tae-sung.
For someone always so confident, this was unimaginable.
But this time, he had suffered a bitter failure.
When he said he would bring Hakseon to help Lee Tae-sung, he had been so confident…
+ Interest
“Even if you… never call us again or confiscate the tablet, I will humbly accept it….”
From what the Flame Emperor had experienced, honestly, their help wasn’t really needed on Earth.
The monsters that appeared under the guise of Gate incidents were things that Peak Realm Lee Tae-sung could handle with a single strike.
Moreover, the problem was when they appeared in city centers; if they appeared in deserted areas, they would melt under modern firearms.
If he was careful and moved quickly, Lee Tae-sung alone could protect Korea without issue.
Goeseung glanced sideways at the Mad Demon.
“Mad Demon, how about you try the honey trap once more? It seems there’s no other way.”
“…Ugh. I really don’t want to though.”
The Mad Demon acted as she pleased, but Hakseon was practically her only natural enemy.
So even though she thought she should help Lee Tae-sung, the previous operation had failed.
“What exactly happened?”
“Well, you see…”
Lee Tae-sung heard the detailed story from the Flame Emperor.
And he came to a conclusion.
‘What? That seems easy.’
It was easier to solve than he thought.
“He said he hates dramas because they’re like Peking Opera? Then what about reading?”
“Reading? The only reason he can’t read is because he has no books.”
“There are more than just drama services on OTT. There are also subscription bookstores. Maybe he would like something like this?”
These days, you can subscribe to books and read as many as you want for a small monthly fee.
Lee Tae-sung immediately installed the relevant app on the tablet the Flame Emperor was holding and even completed the subscription.
“I’m not sure if he’ll like e-books…but why don’t you take this and show it to him?”
Not knowing what Hakseon might like, he downloaded books from various fields.
Economics, politics, science, religion, art, history, etc.
“Hmm… alright. I’ll go try again.”
The Flame Emperor took the tablet with a determined expression, as if he would succeed this time.
*
Hakseon was quietly absorbed in reading in his room.
The book he was reading now he had already read over ten times, but still he read it with a reverent heart as if reading it for the first time.
That’s how much it presented new perspectives and insights each time.
Deep reading was one of Hakseon’s favorite hobbies.
An even better hobby was voraciously reading a huge number of books, but unfortunately, that was impossible in Cheonoecheon.
That was why he had developed the habit of reading the same books many times.
All.
‘Hmm. Good.’
Hakseon smiled softly.
Since his reading had been interrupted by uninvited guests earlier, this time he felt deep satisfaction.
But soon, his senses detected something outside.
“Uninvited guests again. I should set up a formation to drive away flies around here.”
Hakseon stood up with an annoyed expression.
He had clearly sent them away earlier, so why were they back?
If it had been one presence, he might have welcomed it, thinking maybe the young lady Mad Demon had come alone, but this time he sensed three presences.
“They’re back again? They must think I’m a pushover just because I read books.”
Various characters faintly rose around Hakseon.
Seeing that, the Flame Emperor was startled and raised both hands.
“Stop! We didn’t come to fight!”
Hakseon, with his hobby of devouring all kinds of knowledge, had mastered countless fields.
The martial arts knowledge and magic in his head were immeasurable, and once he got angry and started exerting his power, attacks that defied common sense poured out.
If his opponent used flames, he would use water or ice magic that had an elemental advantage; if they used fire-based martial arts, he would use powerful demonic arts as a counter.
So once you got into a fight with him, it became extremely troublesome, making him someone you’d rather not touch if possible.
“I just want to give you this gift!”
“Are you telling me to watch that Peking Opera again? I clearly said I dislike that. I’d rather use that time to read a book.”
“This time it’s not Peking Opera! There’s a book inside this!”
“?”
“Look!”
The Flame Emperor held up the tablet.
On the screen at maximum brightness, letters were densely packed.
“This is something called an e-book. In the lower realm called Earth, many people read this way instead of paper books.”
“……”
A book containing knowledge from a completely different lower realm.
Hakseon had no choice but to admit.
‘I’m insanely drawn to it.’
This was an irresistible temptation.
But since he had sternly driven them away once, accepting a mere book would sting his pride a little.
“And it’s not just one or two books. They say this e-book thing contains nearly an infinite number of books.”
“…Let me take a look.”
At the Flame Emperor’s final push, Hakseon eventually gave in.
The Flame Emperor grinned and handed over the tablet.
“I’ll explain how to use it. This is called an app, and you touch and press like this…”
Hakseon’s learning ability was extraordinary.
After listening to a bit of explanation from the Flame Emperor, he quickly grasped how to apply it and started browsing book titles.
After a moment, he chose the first book to read.
[Basics and Understanding of Physics]
‘Physics? Is that some kind of technology from that lower realm?’
At the thought of devouring new knowledge, a smile played on Hakseon’s lips.
*
Lee Tae-sung was startled by the sudden sensation of the ‘thread of fate’ and looked up at the sky.
‘A new bond… has been added!’
It was clear that Hakseon had used the tablet, meaning the Flame Emperor’s persuasion had worked.
But just because a thread of fate had formed, he didn’t plan to summon him immediately.
Hakseon needed to have a definite interest in Earth first, so that he would be of great help when summoned later.
Lee Tae-sung didn’t think it would take that long.
‘I think 2-3 days will be enough.’
The books downloaded in the app weren’t that many, so once he finished reading them all, he would likely want to come to Earth.
All.
From that point on, Lee Tae-sung took his attention off Cheonoecheon and focused on his own tasks.
His task was simple.
Gathering Ascendant maintenance tickets!
If he summoned Hakseon, tickets would become even more scarce in the future, so he had to prepare for that in advance.
And while Lee Tae-sung was spending his time like that, a rather lively topic was circulating in internet communities.
The topic was ‘Why is Korea the only safe place?’
It was such a big topic that even Lee Tae-sung took a look.
“Think about it, it’s strange. Unless Grandfather Dangun is protecting us, overseas is all chaos – how are we fine?”
“Where is Grandfather Dangun, you idiot.”
“That’s what I’m saying! There isn’t! But then why is only our country fine?”
“Are you a traitor? Are you dissatisfied with the country being peaceful?”
“No. I’m just purely curious. My stocks invested overseas are hitting daily lower limits, so why is the KOSPI holding up? Does this make sense?”
“That is a bit strange.”
The beginning of the global chaos was the multiple Gate incident.
In many advanced countries, dimensional barriers collapsed and Gates formed.
Among them, some were generated in city centers, so the fact that had been a secret to the public—’Monsters can appear even in modern cities!’—spread.
Naturally, society became chaotic, and many overseas countries were struggling with hoarding or preparing for the apocalypse.
No matter how hard the governments tried to stabilize things, it wasn’t easy, and it would probably take some time.
However, this didn’t apply to Korea.
“They say the sky turned red and strange mist appeared recently. I heard many Hunters died in Japan and there were huge casualties.”
“That place is going to collapse soon, isn’t it?”
“Seriously, it might happen, but that’s not something to be happy about. If the world’s third-largest economy collapses, the shock will sweep our country and shake it severely.”
Even though Korea, China, and Japan are in a snarling relationship, if one country actually collapses, the others can’t remain unscathed.
That’s how closely modern nations are connected.
“Honestly, it sounds ridiculous. But maybe there’s some insane super Hunter protecting our country?”
“What nonsense is that?”
“It means there’s an incredible powerhouse who can block Gates before they even appear. Maybe they even stopped the black mist that way.”
“Does that make sense?”
“Then does Grandfather Dangun protecting us make sense?”
A rumor spread that there was a superhuman Hunter in Korea.
Since Korea wasn’t top-tier in the world in terms of pure skill, this rumor was also imbued with the people’s hopes.
Lee Tae-sung chuckled.
‘That’s not entirely wrong.’
In the past, maybe not, but now Lee Tae-sung had become a Hunter who could be called a secret weapon.
He had never seen the top-tier Hunters in the world in terms of martial power, but he didn’t really think he would lose.
*
For Lee Tae-sung, it was a few fruitful days where he could focus on farming Ascendant summon maintenance tickets.
And for ordinary people, a few days passed filled with all sorts of speculation and rumors.
Lee Tae-sung felt the thread of fate vibrating more strongly.
He instinctively understood that the time had come.
“Ascendant Summon.”
He called upon the newly formed bond in the living room of his house.
kwa-jang-chang!
The air shattered like broken glass, and from beyond it, an old man dressed in scholar’s attire and wearing a crown walked out.
It was the moment Hakseon first set foot on Earth.
Lee Tae-sung inwardly admired him a bit.
‘That person is Hakseon…!’
Anyone could see he looked like a scholar who had devoted his life to learning.
His demeanor was the same.
The other Ascendants had been momentarily distracted by the house and furniture style completely different from the Dream World, but he, mindful of courtesy, looked around and then lightly performed a fist-and-palm salute to Tae-sung.
“Pleasure to meet you. I am called Hakseon.”
“I am Lee Tae-sung. I have heard much about you, Elder.”
“Sorry to ask on our first meeting, but may I make a request?”
“Yes. Anything I can do.”
Lee Tae-sung nodded, thinking it was a good sign.
“I read the book called ‘Basics and Understanding of Physics,’ and I would like you to get me the next books. The Flame Emperor said they can’t be downloaded because it’s offline, but he said it would be possible if I came to Earth. Can you do that?”
“Of course. It’s a very easy task.”
“Good. Physics is very interesting. I want to study more and try making those missiles myself someday.”
“…Yes?”
Seeing Hakseon smile brightly, Lee Tae-sung flinched.