บท 60: A Disciple?

Ji-woo knew how low his chance of winning against the man in front of him would be if a fight broke out between them. Now, after he carefully looked at the man again, he felt a faint trace of Mana. The thickness of Mana inside the man's body was monstrous, even if it seemed like it got suppressed.

Ji-woo's eyes were full of vigilance, and stormy waves suddenly surged inside his heart. Just now, he could sense a very sinister aura coming from the man after that momentary contact. It was like a crouching python that seemed to be ready to strike and tear him at any time. He felt familiar with that kind of Mana. But at the same time, he couldn't recall what kind of Mana it really was.

"Is something wrong?" The man raised his voice slightly.

Ji Woo gulped. "Nothing. I think I'm just overreacting. Sorry for my rudeness, sir."

The man felt a lot of time wasted on something useless. He did not prolong the matter and adjusted his sunglasses. He didn't know why Ji-woo acted like that, and he didn't think much of it either. After all, the opposite side didn't provoke or start a fight with him.

Ji-woo clenched his fists. He had never imagined meeting someone of that caliber in a mere cemetery. His choice was right to pursue full power. Only with Nullifier's true strength could he have the confidence to stand at the top of the hierarchy among these hunters.

After exiting the cemetery's inner area, the man's burner phone rang. He then received the call as he continued walking.

"Speak."

"I'm just bored. The others have left. Just me and Gluttony. Well, in the end, he decided to leave too, going to Germany."

An English-speaking female voice came over the phone with a Japanese accent. The man frowned. "I don't need to know that. What I want to know is why are you calling when it's not something important!?"

"Tch! Why!? I can't do that!? You're the same as Gluttony. Boring! I don't want to be alone. Ah, right! Are you in South Korea? I'll visit you."

The man kept walking even though he didn't like the woman's plan. But, he abruptly stopped his steps again as he did before. He kept the phone away from his ear, ignoring the woman's talk. He looked back at where the cemetery's inner area was.

'That youth from before. I felt a similarity through our eyes. Yet, I'm sure there's no Mana in that brat's body.'

The man fell into deep thought. He remembered the look on Ji-woo's face when the strange behavior occurred. Such a face was only showed up when you encountered something dangerous.

'Is that brat treating me as a danger!? It shouldn't be possible. He couldn't sense Mana if he didn't have Mana itself. Furthermore, no one can sense my Mana if I hide it, and no one can conceal their Mana from me either.'

The man had his own pride as someone that reached the pinnacle among the hunters. People who could fight him on an equal footing only counted on one hand in this world.

The man threw away his thoughts, feeling it was nothing. And he continued on his way in a foul mood after realizing the woman had hung up the phone. "This woman is so troublesome." He wasn't happy with how the woman behaved even though he said they could do whatever they wanted. Maybe only a few knew their faces, but they were all definitely high-tier hunters. He didn't want problems to arise while they were laying low.

The man knew why only a few people recognized their faces. It happened because their existence was related to the truth or the actual occurrence of the first year Portal Gate. So, their information got restricted by International Hunters Association for the irrelevant people, whether it was the hunters or the public. The man also had no interest in telling the world about it. It was just a trivial matter that didn't need his attention at all.

The atmosphere at the cemetery was as calm as ever. Not long after the man left, Ji-woo went back to his mother's food stall after visiting his father's graveyard. On the way, he kept thinking about that brief and strange encounter.

Ji-woo was sure he had felt that sinister Mana in the Magical world before. A rare Mana, which was wicked, coercive, and most importantly, discarded one's empathy for living beings. It was slightly similar to his Nullifier. Its discrepancy with the Mana of the hunters he had encountered so far. Which was tranquil, flowed like water within the body, and in harmony with nature. However, he could only recollect that much despite having rendezvoused with it before.

That was a shame!

Ji-woo returned to reality when he saw his mother's food stall coming into the view. He then put the man's Mana problem aside. He needed to convince his mother about becoming a hunter first now.

"Mom, you can rest and visit dad's grave or take a trip with the three of us. I have some money. So, Mom can relax for a bit."

Elijah looked at her son after hearing the sweet talk. "Eomma doesn't want you to work as a hanter or danter, or whatever it's called. Eomma can still earn money for our living expenses without letting you do anything dangerous. We can eat, and Eomma can still pay off our debt diligently every month."

Ji-woo fell silent at his mother's firm disapproval and distaste for the job of a hunter. He knew he couldn't rush to persuade his family. He needed to take it slowly. Sometimes something forced would not end very well.

Elijah also knew her son hadn't given up on working as a hunter even now, seeing that he didn't answer or confirm his agreement with her.

Later that night, Ji-woo tried to convince his mother and sister once again about working as a hunter. The answer was the same as before, complete refusal from his two family members. There was not a trace of hesitation either from both of them as they expressed their disapproval.

The next day, Ji-woo and his family had a quiet breakfast with no chatter about the hunter job. He knew it would be annoying to talk about it all the time. He believed his family would change their minds over time despite being rejected several times.

Ji-woo, as usual, helped his mother bring some necessary necessities to the food stall. However, he did not stay and instead returned to his home. He still needed to look up some information on the internet for his further plans and tried to contact mister Lee Ik-jun for his help.

When Ji-woo was back home, Dong-hyun visited the food stall and accompanied Elijah for an hour. They talk about various things to pass the time.

The followed two days, everything went the same way as before. Ji-woo still got a rejection from his family, and Dong-hyun continued to visit the food stall. In those two days, his family had softened a bit because of his determination to work as a hunter. And he also knew that Dong-hyun came to visit his mother's workplace with the purpose of seeking for him to learn how to fight.

Ji-woo refused Dong-hyun's request to teach him something. He didn't want to have another homework on his list. He also had no reason to help Dong-hyun since he had already returned the favor by saving Dong-hyun and Demigod Team 3 from the Dual Owners.

The fourth day after the revelation of Ji-woo's job as a hunter,

Dong-hyun came to the food stall as usual while Ji-woo took his time to make a call after helping his mother arrange the stuff. And then Elijah started asking him about his work with Ji-woo. He answered happily.

"To be honest, it was our first time working together inside the Portal Gate. However, as soon as we entered, we met with disaster. All the hunters were not optimistic about getting out of the dungeon alive.

"It wasn't until Ji-woo hyung showed up. He defeated all those monsters and saved the team. I was able to live thanks to hyung's power. If he wasn't there, our team might be get wiped out."

Dong-hyun showed delight on his face. He felt fortunate to know how strong Ji-woo was. And he didn't find it strange discussing the topic with Elijah without knowing Ji-woo didn't even tell his family about it at all.

Meanwhile, Elijah was startled and scared after hearing Dong-hyun's words. She couldn't believe Ji-woo would do such a thing. She knew that her son had changed a little, but not so drastically. A timid, weak, and kindhearted child become a powerful and violent person.

Shortly, Elijah's worry eased a bit after thinking carefully about what Dong-hyun had said. Her husband, Ji-woo's father, always taught their son to do a good deed and help people in need even if it was limited.

Although somewhat changed, Ji-woo was still the child Elijah knew.

On the other hand, Ji-woo returned to the food stall after confirming his meeting with mister Lee sometime later. He saw Dong-hyun talk with his mother.

That day made the fates of Ji-woo, Dong-hyun, and mister Lee Ik-jun intertwined for the future.