Chapter 168: Heading to America

Description

“…Your experiences don’t seem like they’ll be of much help to me. Isn’t there something more practical you can do to assist me directly?”

Lee Tae-sung asked again, trying to suppress his jumbled emotions.

Still, these beings were Ascendants.

If he could receive even a fraction of their lofty Enlightenment, he might be able to ascend to the Transcendental Realm.

With that thought in mind, Lee Tae-sung laid out his experiences in detail.

He explained how, in the Flame Great Spirit Realm, he had absorbed the pure energy of flame as mana, and thanks to that, an immense amount of mana had accumulated in his body.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t been able to break through the wall, but he had managed to create a small crack in it.

Additionally, he had encountered a master of the Flame Realm called Cheonwang and felt something beyond words from that meeting.

The Flame Emperor tilted his head.

“With that much, shouldn’t you just be able to step into the Transcendental Realm? If you just focus and meditate for a while, it should happen.”

“…I’m not my master.”

Lee Tae-sung clenched his fists.

He understood deep in his heart why the Flame Emperor’s reputation was so notorious across the continent.

‘Didn’t he want to punch him once?!’

“No, no. This isn’t about talent, I’m being serious. The amount of mana inside you right now rivals that of a Transcendent Expert. In fact, you probably have more. Your physical conditioning is just as solid. So what are you lacking compared to a Transcendent Expert?”

“Enlightenment?”

“Exactly. Insufficient Enlightenment. Normally, that’s something you gain in the realm of the subconscious after experiencing a wide variety of real combat. Those without talent never obtain it their whole lives, and honestly, most humans just don’t have that talent.”

Sure, he said “varied experiences,” but even people who spent their entire lives on the battlefield often died without ever gaining Enlightenment.

Throughout the history of the Dream World, there were countless Peak Absolute Masters who ultimately failed to break through the wall.

That was precisely why the Transcendental Realm was so revered and venerated.

“Go out, have diverse experiences, and work hard”—that was advice you could hear anywhere.

It was a bit disappointing.

He’d expected someone of Ascendant status to offer better counsel.

Then, as if reading Tae-sung’s disappointment, the Flame Emperor continued.

“However, Earth has something a bit peculiar, doesn’t it? That should be of use to you.”

“What is it?”

“The power left behind by the Outer God. That Black Mist. It operates on a mechanism entirely different from humanity’s. If you accept it and feel it, as a reciprocal effect, you should be able to sense the power sleeping deep within your body down to the finest detail.”

An ordinary human doesn’t know how their heart beats every second, how their muscles move, or how their cells operate.

You could learn about it through knowledge, but you couldn’t directly see and feel the series of processes happening inside your own body.

It was, in a sense, a field completely unknown even though it was your own body.

But inside the Black Mist, it was different.

That bizarre power, so unlike humanity’s, could instead have the effect of allowing you to focus even more intensely on your own body.

Of course, this was only possible if you had at least reached the Peak Realm or higher and could endure within the Mist.

‘This is… worth trying?’

Now that he had some breathing room within the Dream World.

He’d been planning to seek out the Black Mist in reality anyway.

The steles obtained from the Black Mist were relics directly connected to the Outer God.

He had used Hakseon’s power to create a path connecting to the Outer God’s apostles, and the more steles there were, the farther away the apostles he could connect with, eventually allowing him to approach the Outer God’s main body itself.

Besides, if left alone, the Black Mist would throw Earth into chaos and the Outer God Vanguard would invade, so he needed to eliminate it anyway.

‘And while I’m at it, I can take out those Corrupted Hunters who’ve come to believe in the Outer God. I’ll stabilize Earth a bit too.’

He’d been living so busily that he’d never once gone on a proper trip.

He had strength and money now, so he might as well treat it as a world tour and go.

“So? Was that helpful?”

While Tae-sung was lost in thought, the Flame Emperor asked cautiously.

Naturally, Lee Tae-sung gave a thumbs up.

“Yes! As expected of my master!”

“Then I don’t have to keep following that bald monk around, right?”

The Flame Emperor said with pleading eyes.

There were plenty of mountains in Cheonoecheon, but he no longer wanted to stay holed up in the mountains following Goeseung around.

Lee Tae-sung nodded.

“Of course.”

“Uhahaha! Thank you, my disciple! You have no idea how glad I am that you’re my disciple!”

The Flame Emperor jumped up and pulled Tae-sung into a hug.

“Is there anything else you need? I was planning to tell you to stop staying with Goeseung-nim starting today anyway.”

“Then could you buy me some game DLC?”

The Flame Emperor shook the game console he was holding, as if he’d been waiting for that moment.

“See this character? If you buy the DLC, it gives you a skin, and it’s really pretty. Go ahead and make the purchase.”

“Understood. I’ll buy them all up.”

“Ooh!“

The Flame Emperor grinned with excitement.

To think the one and only disciple he’d ever taken in his entire life would be this pleasing.

This must be why countless people from his days in the Lower Realm had bragged about their disciples so passionately that they spat while talking.

The Flame Emperor also felt like going around shouting, “This amazing kid is my disciple!”

---

rrring

Lee Tae-sung called Section Chief Song Sang-yeop.

As far as he knew, there was no Black Mist in Korea.

He’d also taken care of the Black Mists in nearby Japan and China.

That meant he needed to go to countries further away, and rather than investigating and searching on his own, it was better to get some help.

That was what the Hunter Association was there for.

-Yes, Guild Leader. This is Song Sang-yeop.

“Section Chief. Been doing well?”

-Yes. Not bad.

Song Sang-yeop said that out of courtesy.

“Been doing well,” he asks?

These days, the Korea Hunter Association was incredibly busy.

The Multiple Gate Incident—Korea was fine, but the Black Mist Incidents happening all over the world… no, that wasn’t it.

Inquiries about Lee Tae-sung were flooding the Association.

What was his real skill level, was the Association monopolizing and hiding him, were they treating him properly, and what would they do if he left Korea because of how they managed him?

Advice disguised as inquiries poured in from all kinds of media outlets, institutions, and civic organizations.

Over fifty percent of the Association’s recent work was answering phone calls, to put it plainly.

There were even contacts made through emails and personal connections.

‘And yet Hunter Lee Tae-sung’s voice sounds perfectly relaxed…’

While the Association was struggling this much, the man himself was completely unbothered.

It was a bit infuriating, but what could he do?

That was just the lot of the underling.

“Then, by any chance, are there any requests for support coming in from overseas?”

-Of course there are. In fact, there are so many that it’s a problem.

Since the Black Mist was a place that nullified a Hunter’s power, they couldn’t deal with it and were just leaving it alone.

If a Black Mist appeared in wasteland, that was one thing, but when one appeared in an urban center, the problem was serious.

The losses grew astronomical with each passing moment.

In the midst of that, Lee Tae-sung had eliminated Black Mists in Japan and China one after another.

Countries that had obtained that information had long since been working to invite Tae-sung to their nations.

But how could they just let Korea’s talent leak overseas?

Since Tae-sung was affiliated with the Association, all contact had to go through them, and naturally, the Association side refused everything, considering Tae-sung’s safety and circumstances.

China had the Megafactory, so there was no choice but to go there, but there was no need to go on expeditions to other countries like that.

“Ah. Good. Then could you narrow down the countries that offered decent conditions?”

-…Are you planning to go on an overseas expedition?

“Yes.”

He had his master Flame Emperor’s advice, and he needed to eliminate the Black Mist to reach the Outer God anyway.

And if he received compensation from other countries in the process, wasn’t that killing three birds with one stone?

-Th…well…understood for now….

Section Chief Song Sang-yeop stammered.

For a moment, an ominous thought flashed through his mind—that Tae-sung might go abroad and then naturalize in that country.

The possibility was extremely low, but it wasn’t entirely impossible either.

-You still like Korea, right, Guild Leader?

“…? Of course.”

Lee Tae-sung answered without hesitation.

It was a comfortable and good country to live in if you had money.

With that answer, Manager Song was able to feel somewhat satisfied.

-Understood. I’ll narrow down the list and send it to you right away.

---

The list of countries that Song Manager sent over with support requests was a mountain.

There were many nations in need of help, and that didn’t discriminate by form of government.

Aside from democratic nations, even dictatorships sent love calls.

Those countries, in particular, could only maintain their approval ratings if the Black Mist Incidents were resolved, so they offered enormous prices to invite Tae-sung.

In the end, however, the country Tae-sung decided to visit was the United States.

The compensation was the most generous, and he’d had a connection with America for a while now.

He’d healed one of the Astral Guild’s Rankers and, in return, received various rewards and a private jet.

He was still putting that private jet to good use, so his feelings toward America were favorable.

Generous compensation and good feelings. Wasn’t that enough of a reason to go?

Meanwhile, the public opinion in Korean online communities about America these days was a bit amusing.

America had always been the top nation on Earth, and even now that the Hunter Era had begun, it remained a country that held onto the number one position.

However, not too long ago, some people had started mocking America.

-kkkkkkk so you guys don’t have Lee Tae-sung, right?

-From now on, the strongest Hunter nation is ‘Republic of Korea’!

-Yeah. Even China acknowledged it, so America would obviously acknowledge it too.

-American bastards say they can’t handle the Black Mist kkkkkkk.

-Black Mist? If that appeared in Korea, it would’ve been gone ages ago.

-Who knows. It might have already appeared and Hunter Lee Tae-sung got rid of it before anyone even had a chance to hear about it.

-Oh damn, that could actually be true.

It was a sense of national pride he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Public opinion about him was so good that if anyone dared to badmouth Lee Tae-sung for fun, they’d be hunted down and killed as traitors.

And then, an article came out.

[Exclusive Report! Lee Tae-sung, the World’s Strongest Hunter, Goes to America!]

-According to information obtained by this reporter recently, Hunter Tae-sung has accepted a request from the United States to eliminate Black Mist and has decided to head to America. Specific conditions and duration of stay have not been finalized.

…(54)…

People who saw the article were taken aback.

-He’s going overseas? In this day and age?

-No…Tae-sung, man! Where are you going, leaving Korea behind!

What kind of country was America?

A nation of multicultural fusion.

Was the world’s strongest Hunter in another country? It was a nation where making an offer like “So, would you like to naturalize?” was extremely easy to do.

If Lee Tae-sung went to America, how many temptations would they throw at him?

Even ordinary people with no inside knowledge could easily guess.

-He’s not going to naturalize, right?

-Of course. Of course. Tae-sung wouldn’t do that.

-But…couldn’t he just not go to America at all even if they offer support…I wish he’d stay in Korea…