Kim Seo-jun felt as if his body was about to take flight.
For over half a year, he hadn’t been able to run freely because of that dreadful condition.
But now, he could run without any worries.
He skipped over four or five steps of the stairs in the stadium stands all at once.
When changing direction, he planted one foot on a tree and soared into a somersault in midair.
Right now, Kim Seo-jun’s mood was at its peak.
A new life gained at the edge of death.
He was ten years younger than before he died, and his parents were alive and well.
Perhaps he could meet his master, friends, and cherished younger siblings again here.
Even if they weren’t exactly the same as before, seeing those he thought he’d never see alive again might help heal the torn wounds in his heart just a little.
Kim Seo-jun thought this was the first and last chance heaven had given him.
‘Here, I will protect everyone.’
Not only the lives of his parents and friends, but also the happy future he would share with them—he wanted to protect it all, no matter what.
Before he knew it, he was standing in front of the subway station after running without a break.
Kim Seo-jun enjoyed the dazzling neon signs around the station and the fragrant smell of food wafting from all directions as he descended the subway stairs.
From the academy to home was five subway stops.
Since the distance was quite close, it took less than twenty minutes to reach Jeungsan Station, where his home was.
Before he realized it, Kim Seo-jun was walking slowly outside Jeungsan Station.
‘How on earth has this guy been using that incredible Shibi all this time?’
Kim Seo-jun was recalling the Shibi he used to knock out Go Han-seok—Yeokbalsan Gigaese.
Yeokbalsan Gigaese was truly an amazing Shibi.
Though it only allowed the user two seconds to absorb attacks, during those two seconds, the surrounding time slowed down infinitely.
In reality, the world wasn’t slowing down; his dynamic vision increased tremendously, and his movement speed multiplied many times over.
Kim Seo-jun felt more than anyone how incredible this was.
For two seconds, he could suck in the destructive power of the opponent’s attack with his hands and then bounce it back with double the force—that was Yeokbalsan Gigaese.
Even though young Kim Seo-jun suffered from oxygen poisoning, if he had used this properly, there would have been no chance of being ostracized at the academy.
‘Kim Seo-jun, this stupid idiot, had a brilliant Shibi but didn’t even figure out how to use it properly.’
He was laughing at himself for insulting himself.
Anyway, the young Kim Seo-jun’s memories were full of using Yeokbalsan Gigaese only defensively.
Yeokbalsan Gigaese wasn’t a defensive Shibi; it was a thoroughly offensive one.
If used timidly, its power would naturally be minimized.
The bolder the user, the greater the power it could unleash.
‘Still, Go Han-seok… that bastard won’t just sit back and take it.’
He didn’t regret at all knocking Go Han-seok down even once.
He was only slightly worried about the aftermath.
If that guy planned revenge against him, it wouldn’t matter.
As always, all he had to do was smash any obstacles that stood in his way.
Kim Seo-jun was concerned that Go Han-seok might escalate this matter to involve his father’s workplace.
His father, Kim Joo-hyuk.
In fact, he was a Hunter.
Though he was DC-ranked, Kim Seo-jun was immensely proud of his father.
When referring to Hunter ranks, the first letter indicates the level of mana, and the latter letter indicates the rank of the awakened Shibi.
That meant Kim Seo-jun’s father, Kim Joo-hyuk, was a mediocre Hunter with D-level mana and C-level Shibi.
But Kim Seo-jun never thought of him that way.
Kim Joo-hyuk’s Shibi, ‘Multiplayer,’ was a support-type Shibi that enhanced concentration, allowing him to handle multiple tasks simultaneously.
Although he now worked as the office manager handling administrative tasks at a reputable guild, back then he used this Shibi to boost the destructive power of his fellow Hunters’ Shibi, playing the role of a supporter.
Thanks to Kim Joo-hyuk’s Shibi, it was possible for a D-ranked Shibi to reach C-ranked destructive power, which made him quite well-known as a supporter.
But mana held him back.
Kim Joo-hyuk’s mana had not improved at all from D-rank.
To raise mana, one had to kill monsters and absorb mana stones from their hearts.
Higher mana increased the power of Shibi and sometimes extended its duration.
However, no matter how much mana Kim Joo-hyuk absorbed, his mana never increased.
It was stuck at the number 59 and didn’t budge even a bit.
The mana value could only be seen by the individual, but there was also a ‘mana scouter’ that allowed others to see it.
The mana scouter was an artifact made by adding special monster tissues to a mana stone from a monster, but its price was so high that individuals rarely owned one.
Kim Joo-hyuk had been measuring his mana regularly using the mana scouter owned by the Hyeonmu Guild and knew well that it had stopped at 59 for the past eight years.
This fact spread widely within the Hyeonmu Guild.
After learning about Kim Joo-hyuk’s stagnant mana, the guild leadership gradually reduced his assignments in the field.
Due to a lack of mana, Kim Joo-hyuk’s Shibi could not boost the power of higher-ranked Shibi.
Also, for Hunters whose mana waves didn’t synchronize well with Kim Joo-hyuk’s, it was hard to expand their perception.
Eventually, he was demoted from a combat Hunter to an administrative Hunter.
People said Kim Joo-hyuk managed to avoid expulsion from the guild thanks to his friendship with Deputy Guild Leader Go Tae-hwan.
But Kim Seo-jun knew that was far from the truth.
Deputy Guild Leader Go Tae-hwan treated Kim Joo-hyuk like a nuisance.
Though not very useful to him, Go Tae-hwan couldn’t stand to see others using Kim Joo-hyuk.
Worse, within the guild, Go Tae-hwan made Kim Joo-hyuk work like a slave.
He tightened the screws endlessly, holding Kim Joo-hyuk’s son Seo-jun’s future as leverage, demanding absolute obedience to his orders if he wanted to keep his high salary.
The mocking phrase ‘Like father, like son’ that Go Han-seok used suited the Go family more than Kim Seo-jun.
Go Han-seok’s vile, petty, and selfish personality was a perfect copy of his father, Go Tae-hwan.
‘If only Dad’s mana had properly increased…’
If that had happened, Kim Joo-hyuk could have become known as the strongest supporter.
‘Why doesn’t the mana increase?’
Suddenly, Kim Seo-jun became curious.
Thinking about it, he now had the ability to check what problems his father’s body might have.
Just as he immediately diagnosed what was wrong with his own body, if he used the great internal strength of the Sun Divine Skill skillfully, he could easily find abnormalities in his father’s body.
‘I should do a filial act for my parents today.’
Kim Seo-jun resolved to use the Sun Divine Skill to perform chugung-gwahyeol on both his father and mother when he got home.
Chugung-gwahyeol with the Sun Divine Skill expels accumulated toxins from the body and breathes life into sick cells.
It might even produce unexpected effects during the process.
Kim Seo-jun’s steps toward home were livelier than ever.
*****
Apartment 1802.
Kim Seo-jun stood in front of the door, steadying his breath.
‘Mom must be inside, right?’
Though young Kim Seo-jun had seen her this morning, for 29-year-old Kim Seo-jun, this was the first time in twenty years meeting his mother.
Naturally, his heart pounded wildly.
He kept wondering what words to say first when he saw her face.
‘Anyway, let’s go in.’
Biting his lip tightly, Kim Seo-jun entered the door code on the digital lock.
Beep beep beep. Beeeep.
With a cheerful sound, the lock disengaged.
Kim Seo-jun opened the thick front door and stepped inside.
“Seo-jun, is that you? You’re a bit late today. I thought you’d be out with your friends for a Friday night, but you came straight home?”
As soon as he entered the living room through the inner door, his mother, Lady Baek Yeon-ji, greeted him.
Her round face with slight wrinkles near her eyes.
A petite figure under 160 cm, but with such good proportions that she never looked small.
Though a bit older than the early-30s version Kim Seo-jun remembered, Lady Baek Yeon-ji’s face was exactly the same as back then.
Seeing his mother’s face, Kim Seo-jun felt a surge of emotion, nearly bursting into tears.
In his timeline, she had been brutally killed by Cheon Kang-woo twenty years ago, never to be seen again.
“Mother!”
Kim Seo-jun hugged Baek Yeon-ji tightly.
“Oh, dear? Why are you being so gross? Suddenly calling me ‘mother’—did you do something wrong again? Or do you want allowance?”
Baek Yeon-ji tried to pull away gently, but Kim Seo-jun squeezed her even tighter.
Whether it was because she loved her son, Baek Yeon-ji softly wrapped her arms around his waist and patted him gently.
“Ugh… you smell of sweat! Go wash up and eat first.”
“Wait, just stay like this. Just a little longer…”
Kim Seo-jun held his mother, who barely reached his chest, in his arms, standing like that for a long while.
“Are you done now?”
Even after Baek Yeon-ji spoke, Kim Seo-jun didn’t move, so he was finally hit hard on the back.
Tchahk.
“Stop smelling like funky sweat and go wash up already!”
Kim Seo-jun was pushed toward the bathroom by Baek Yeon-ji.
Twenty years.
Not a large house, nor too small, but located in Seoul, the apartment was extremely expensive.
Half a year ago, Kim Seo-jun’s parents had overextended themselves to buy this house for his comfortable academy life.
At the time, Kim Seo-jun had told them not to overdo it since he could live in the dormitory, but the parents had a different opinion.
Though it wasn’t right in front of the academy, and five subway stops away from the station, they were willing to sacrifice anything if he could eat home-cooked meals while attending the academy.
Their devotion didn’t stop there.
They worked tirelessly day and night.
To properly attend the Hunter Academy, expensive equipment and various artifacts were necessary, so Kim Joo-hyuk and Baek Yeon-ji both worked as apartment cleaners in the early mornings to ensure their son could have an enviable academy life.
Because of this, neither Kim Joo-hyuk nor Baek Yeon-ji was in good health.
Baek Yeon-ji, now in her early 40s, was already stooping with arthritis causing her great suffering.
Kim Joo-hyuk suffered from frequent dry coughs and chest pains but refused to see a doctor.
No matter how tough Hunters’ bodies were, they weren’t invincible.
Overwork, weakened immunity, and severe obesity.
Despite the obvious symptoms, Kim Seo-jun’s parents cared only for their son, Kim Seo-jun, before themselves.
‘So this is how it feels to have living parents.’
Kim Seo-jun was moved to tears under the warm shower.
Having lived twenty years fueled by revenge for his parents, his longing for them was profound.
But waking up anew at the edge of death, meeting his living parents here—how could he possibly express his joy in words?
He clenched his fists as tears mixed with the water running down his face.
‘I can never lose this happiness.’
Resolved, Kim Seo-jun changed into clean clothes and enjoyed the meal prepared by his mother, Baek Yeon-ji.
His father, Kim Joo-hyuk, who was working late again, wouldn’t be home for another three hours.
After eating, while Baek Yeon-ji washed the dishes, Kim Seo-jun entered his room and resumed practicing the Sun Divine Skill.
Since the internal strength of the Sun Divine Skill had only just begun to form, he had to frequently stimulate his dantian, or oxygen poisoning might recur.
Sitting cross-legged, Kim Seo-jun practiced breathing exercises and circulated the Great Meridian five times before stopping his mental cultivation.
‘The effects of the Sun Divine Skill are truly incredible.’
Before, he hadn’t dared to use his internal strength freely due to the danger, but now that was no longer a concern, allowing him to practice heart cultivation boldly.
As a result, he could feel the effects even more clearly.
The dantian, once as small as a millet seed, had grown to the size of a fingernail.
With ordinary internal strength cultivation, it would take at least a year to form such internal power, but he had done it in a single day.
‘If I maintain this, I could reach first-class master level within a year.’
On the Earth where he used to live, it took at least ten years of internal strength to be recognized as a first-class master.
In other words, the Sun Divine Skill was a tremendous internal strength cultivation method that could form ten years’ worth of internal strength in one year.
Finishing his short breathing exercises, Kim Seo-jun sat at his desk.
He turned on his computer and started browsing the internet.
Although he retained all his memories from his younger self, many details remained unclear, so he needed to see them firsthand to recall.
First, he confirmed that the time zone here was the same as where 29-year-old Kim Seo-jun had lived.
May 19, 2034.
The day he fought his final battle with Cheon Kang-woo.
However, the time here after experiencing death and regaining consciousness flowed about ten years slower.
Though the time and date were the same, the people lived as they did ten years ago.
Kim Seo-jun searched for anything related to martial arts.
He confirmed once again that martial arts didn’t exist in this world.
‘Here, it’s only something seen in movies or novels; martial arts don’t actually exist.’
That was the conclusion Kim Seo-jun reached.
He felt relieved.
He had practiced many martial arts for twenty years.
From the devil’s cultivation method, the Sun Divine Skill, to swordsmanship, boxing, Daoist techniques, and divine arts—he knew countless martial arts that alone would have made his name.
Since he could learn the Sun Divine Skill here, he could also learn others, which meant he would be the only person capable of using actual martial arts in this world.
‘Having something only I can do is definitely a huge advantage.’
Determined to expand his unique advantage, Kim Seo-jun planned to take out each martial art from his mind and learn it himself.
‘First, let’s check on Lady Baek’s health.’
Kim Seo-jun went to the living room.
Just then, Baek Yeon-ji, who had finished tidying up the kitchen and was engrossed in a K-drama on the sofa, didn’t even look up and said:
“There’s fruit juice in the fridge. Take some and drink it.”
“What about you, Mom?”
His previously intense emotions had calmed, and he returned to the usual young Kim Seo-jun.
Baek Yeon-ji smiled knowingly at her son who suddenly called her ‘Mother.’
“You hate fruit, so you can drink it all. Leave just a little for your dad.”
“Yeah, but you secretly pick and eat fruit peels.”
“Don’t you know all the nutrients are in the peel? And it’s not secret; I eat it openly.”
“Ah, whatever. If you have nothing to do, lie face down on the sofa.”
Kim Seo-jun was trying to become the child he once was.
At nine years old, he had lost his parents.
So even though his mind was twenty-nine, his heart was nineteen, and he wanted to treat his mother like a friend.
“What good would lying face down do? My back hurts lately—planning to give me a massage?”
“You have a sixth sense like a ghost. I will really give you a massage, so lie down quickly, Lady Baek.”
“Really? You’re acting strange today. First, you pretended to be a runaway kid coming back after several years, now you’re playing the dutiful son?”
Baek Yeon-ji said this but immediately lay flat on the sofa.
Even then, her eyes never left the K-drama playing, making Kim Seo-jun smile.
What he planned was not a simple massage but chugung-gwahyeol.
By applying internal strength through his fingertips and softly stroking the body, he would drive out turbid Qi, find problem areas, and breathe regeneration into them.
If properly received, even mild illnesses could vanish as if washed away, and serious conditions would recover quickly.
Kim Seo-jun carefully scanned Baek Yeon-ji’s body, infusing internal strength into key acupoints.
As expected, Baek Yeon-ji’s body was quite weak.
Especially in the joints, turbid Qi had accumulated, slowly eroding her vitality.
Kim Seo-jun didn’t rush but slowly and attentively treated each point.
He cleared blockages, pushed the turbid Qi into her internal organs, and burned it off using the Sun Divine Skill.
Baek Yeon-ji twitched slightly, probably because of a tingling burning sensation.
“Hey! You didn’t break any bones, did you?”
Kim Seo-jun narrowed his eyes at his suspicious mother and chuckled inside.
“Do you feel any pain? Any stiffness anywhere?”
Baek Yeon-ji tilted her head, stretched out, then widened her eyes.
“Oh my! My body feels like it’s flying! So light!”
“What about your knees and wrists?”
She bent and straightened her knees several times, stood up and sat down repeatedly, and swung her arms around like stretching exercises.
Joints that had cracked with every move while washing dishes now moved smoothly, and Baek Yeon-ji could only keep saying “Oh my, oh my.”
‘Since she has no internal strength, this is the extent of the effect.’
If Baek Yeon-ji had internal strength, the chugung-gwahyeol would have also enhanced it, but it was a slight regret.
Still, seeing her plump skin and revitalized complexion made Kim Seo-jun feel deeply relieved.
“Feels great, right? I’ll do this often from now on.”
“Oh, really? It’s nice that you’re at such an expensive academy. I see you learn massage techniques like this too.”
“Ah, yeah… something like that.”
Baek Yeon-ji smiled innocently, thinking the chugung-gwahyeol was a massage technique taught at the academy.
At that moment, a buzzing sound came from the door.
The front door opened as the porch light flicked on, revealing a stout middle-aged man shuffling in.
Kim Seo-jun stared at the sudden appearance.
He wore a common black suit with a bulging belly hiding the belt below it.
His chubby cheeks looked like two mounds, his neatly parted 3:7 hairstyle was amusing.
His plump cheeks seemed stuffed with dumplings or something.
Tired eyes with deep dark circles completed the picture.
“I’m home.”
“Oh, honey! You’re back earlier than I thought.”
Baek Yeon-ji greeted her husband, Kim Joo-hyuk.
“Well, it worked out that way. But, Kim Seo-jun, are you and Mom still watching dramas?”
His casual remark made Kim Seo-jun swallow hard.
‘Father…’
Kim Seo-jun’s face was filled with joy, emotion, and deep gratitude as he looked at his father, Kim Joo-hyuk.