By the time Kang Yoonchan arrived at the scene, Lee Minwoo was a breath from dying.

A few teeth were broken. His nasal bone was fractured.

Good.

Unlike Kang Yoonchan’s fear, it didn’t seem like Lee Taeho intended to kill him.

Lee Taeho—who had trained his body for a long time—was more patient than expected.

“Master Blacksmith Hyunsoo must have it rough, too.”

Of course, his first burst of rage was because someone had tried to kill Takashi.

And Lee Taeho genuinely liked Hyunsoo.

Ssireum wasn’t a popular sport.

So it never got much attention.

But Hyunsoo had walked the path of a blacksmith—a path everyone else turned away from.

And now he was loved by everyone.

Even his stories were unbelievably cool.

And Kang Yoonchan had told Lee Taeho what had happened to Hyunsoo’s father.

“That fucking lunatic!”

Lee Taeho raged as if it were his own life.

Kang Yoonchan thought, Isn’t that a bit much?—then shook his head.

Anyone would get furious hearing it.

They’d done that to Hyunsoo and Hyunsoo’s father, and now they’d even come after his teacher.

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect Elder Takashi and Master Blacksmith Hyunsoo.”

Watching Lee Taeho burn with determination, Kang Yoonchan let out a small laugh.

...Is this another connection Hyunsoo created?

Someone—truly, sincerely—said they would protect him and stand for him.

And that someone had once been the strongest man in the ssireum world.

Kang Yoonchan offered his own compensation.

“I’ll raise your security fee. I’ll make the reward for this incident generous, too. And if you want to join Hyun’s Forge, we’ll accept you. And....”

Lee Taeho’s eyes lit up.

“...I’ll tell Hyunsoo to eat only at Premium Soup House for a full month.”

“...Th-thank you!”

Lee Taeho looked happier than he had at any other words.

Because he’d get to see his idol, Hyunsoo, up close every day.

Anyway, it was the moment Hyunsoo—who’d done nothing(?)—was sentenced to a month of soup.

After parting ways, Kang Yoonchan told the truth only to Takashi, Hyein, and a few others.

The conclusion they reached:

“Let’s not tell Hyunsoo for a while.”

At Takashi’s words, everyone nodded.

He thought that if Hyunsoo learned there had been a murder contract on him, Hyunsoo might collapse.

He might end up suffering overwhelming guilt.

“We’ve increased security personnel, so something like this won’t happen again.”

“Why the hell would that bastard....”

Takashi narrowed his eyes.

They already believed it was highly likely the same person who had once set fire to Hyunsoo’s Forge.

“If he targeted me, that means he knows a lot about me, too.”

In this case, since Hyun had become famous, maybe the “justification” was to crush his momentum.

But what Takashi couldn’t understand was this.

“Years ago, why in the world...?”

What did he even gain from doing that?

“I’ll look into that. You all should focus on the game as much as possible.”

Kang Yoonchan decided it was better for him to investigate alone than for many people to worry at it.

After they dispersed, Kang Yoonchan—the king of information—began to move.

He posted in TelegrTalk.

[Code 1: About five years ago, a fire occurred at a forge in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. CCTV records were deleted. Restore all CCTV footage. Victim Kang Hyuntae is currently in a vegetative state. Need to confirm all suspicious circumstances, including grudges and personal enmities.

Currently secured the TelegrTalk content related to the contract killing.

Requesting help from hackers and location-tracking specialists.]

The name of that chat room was Shadow.

It was a place where the world’s best information brokers gathered.

And the one who created it was Kang Yoonchan.

That was one of the reasons he could possess limitless information compared to others.

All kinds of people were inside.

The FBI, the NIS, white-hat hackers, and more.

A gathering place of the greatest information brokers.

And they didn’t sell each other out.

Because the key details of requests didn’t leak, even if they learned that Hyuntae was Hyunsoo’s father, there would be no backlash.

And it was because Kang Yoonchan existed that they could exist, too.

I’ll show you what happens when you touch my friend.

The world’s strongest information organization began to move.

*****

Meanwhile.

Kang Yoonchan wasn’t the only one who wanted to protect Hyunsoo.

They had separated after that, but powerful people in the real world began to move—solely for him.

The blacksmith who had been the most unrivaled in the generation before Hyunsoo.

Master Blacksmith Takashi.

He pulled out a roster he had kept long ago.

Even twenty years ago, there were quite a few blacksmiths around the world.

Unfortunately, Takashi wasn’t the type to keep in touch with them.

Whenever they met him, they always asked him to take them as disciples...

Anyway, he had attended the World Blacksmith Expo, collected the contact information of countless blacksmiths, and recorded it.

Most phone numbers had changed by now, but email addresses would likely be the same.

...One of them might be the culprit.

But Takashi was as seasoned as the years he’d lived.

If there is one, he’ll grow impatient instead—and that impatience might expose him.

And if not, that was fine, too.

Either way, he might find a thread explaining why someone did this.

With eyes sharp and practiced, he began to hammer the keyboard.

“O... l... d... t... i... m... e... s....”

The problem was that he typed with two fingers like a hunting eagle.

It took three full minutes just to type “Long time no see.”

Even so, he spent the night sending emails to everyone.

In other words, it was the moment communication began between Master Blacksmith Takashi and those who had once been blacksmiths across the world.

Considering Takashi’s personality, it was an unbelievable thing.

And proof that Hyunsoo had become a precious person to him as well.

Somewhere else.

Lee Taeha, the youngest son of Hansung Group, was truly furious.

He could say his relationship with his father, Chairman Lee Taeseong of Hansung Group, had gotten noticeably better than before.

And that was thanks to Hyunsoo.

After Hyunsoo showed his grandfather the Dragon Light Sword, Taeha and Taeseong had grown closer.

So Taeha forced his rage down and explained everything to his father.

“...Please help.”

Taeseong sat in his chair with his body turned, staring out the window in silence.

Then—

“...Are you still clinging to work that doesn’t even ‘make money’?”

“...Father!”

Taeha was stunned by how casually his father spoke.

In a sense, Hyunsoo was their benefactor—the one who had made his grandfather’s last days happy.

But Taeseong clicked his tongue.

“Letting emotion take you over and trying to use the company’s information network. Pathetic.”

The information a major corporation holds is greater than most people imagine.

Before the Russia–Ukraine war broke out—

People in each country didn’t know, but corporations were already pulling out.

That was corporate information power.

Corporations, in many ways, transcend common sense.

“This isn’t even hard for you!”

That was true.

For Taeseong, it was as easy as lighting a cigarette.

Of course, whether they could actually find the culprit was another matter.

The police had found nothing years ago.

Something this easy...

He was the man who always said they must move for corporate profit—not petty personal feelings.

Cold, and always saying money had no emotions.

But after Grandfather died, Taeha thought he had changed a little.

And now?

Taeha was disappointed.

Then—

“Secretary Lim.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Release our informants. If we find a lead and the culprit is arrested, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» wouldn’t the title ‘Hansung Group that protected the last master craftsman’ greatly improve our corporate image? And there would be a sales uplift effect from that, too, wouldn’t there?”

Secretary Lim fell silent for a moment.

He wasn’t sure it would be that valuable, but the answer seemed already decided.

“It will certainly help the corporate image.”

That’s what it was.

Taeseong still wasn’t good at accepting Taeha’s pleas and expressing affection.

On the other hand, he was showing that a company must not move ‘for nothing,’ and that you must not become trapped by something as small as an individual.

Secretary Lim asked,

“Shall I place the call?”

“...I’ll do it myself.”

“Th-thank you, Father!”

After Taeha left, Taeseong gave a bitter smile.

Even now, he couldn’t forget what he’d said that day.

He had patted Hyunsoo on the shoulder and told him—

You move forward. I’ll protect the last master craftsman.

That promise was still valid.

*****

Meanwhile.

The man who had commissioned the contract killing was also meticulous—and held tremendous power.

But he was panicking.

Information poured in through the brokers connected to him.

The best in the world were moving.

How...?

He couldn’t understand it.

No matter what, Hyunsoo was just one user.

And it was strange that a corporation had released information brokers, too.

Faced with the overwhelming power of those who wanted to protect Hyun, he began to fear.

And he realized it.

He had become prey.

*****

Hyunsoo logged into World Ares, looked at the crafting method for Ten Thousand People and the Oath Ring he had received, and smiled with satisfaction.

General....

He had given something Hyunsoo should never have been able to obtain, using his own authority.

And Hyunsoo focused on the Oath Ring’s use.

One time, I can receive his help.

Even at the end, Hyunsoo hadn’t been able to check the General’s level.

Maybe the General was a “Transcendent” like the Overlord Luxiu had mentioned before.

If he has power that great...

This was a truly tremendous reward.

One chance to receive help from an absolute being of the present era.

How could he use it?

When the Transcendence-class Gremory invades.

When I fight kings who lead other eras.

When I fight a monster I can never defeat at my level.

“Ha!”

Just imagining it sent a thrill through Hyunsoo.

It filled him with limitless love and limitless respect.

And he looked back on how he’d spoken a bit roughly before—“If you don’t like it, come see for yourself!” or “What?”

Not only for that.

The General had bestowed on him something precious beyond any crafting method or money.

And if they truly became allies, it would be an incredible thing for Hyunsoo.

Next time I meet him, I need to serve him properly...

Then Hyunsoo made a puzzled face.

Suddenly, the General’s voice brushed across his mind.

...Why hasn’t the Myriad Mile Bird returned?

Hearing that, Hyunsoo felt genuinely sorry.

The Myriad Mile Bird clearly seemed precious to the General.

And they... they...!

Hyunsoo had seen it.

The moment KyooKyoo flicked its wing(?) from where it was sitting, the bird brought over a toy like lightning.

“Kyoo~”

KyooKyoo looked exactly like an older brother saying, Nice ramen you cooked.

On the other hand, kind Lucky Lump shared a dog chew with the Myriad Mile Bird that was being bullied by the second child.

...Why would a bird eat a dog chew?

Anyway, that wasn’t the important part.

“W-why is it here?”

Lucky Lump and KyooKyoo explained.

You wanted a younger sibling... so you made one?

And even their words were outrageous.

“You named it yourselves? Its name is Kkoko?”

The Myriad Mile Bird was a bird from legend.

But now it was the youngest, and its name was Kkoko.

[Lucky Lump is satisfied.]

[KyooKyoo admires you.]

Wh-why are you two satisfied, and why are you admiring your own naming sense...!

And they weren’t even thirty months old.

Hyunsoo felt that if he left things like this, his relationship with the General might be completely ruined.

No. Noooo!

He hurriedly hugged Kkoko—no, the Myriad Mile Bird.

He had to return it to the General right now.

What is this—over a bird like this...!

DING~

(Myriad Mile Bird)

Grade: Legendary

Type: Pet

Level: 389

Attack Power: 451

Defense: 364

Special Abilities:

·Passive Skill: Bird-Brained.

·Passive Skill: Deliver-You-There.

·Active Skill: Can Go Anywhere.

·Active Skill: Fire Bird.

Description: A Myriad Mile Bird that can go anywhere and knows a vast number of places. Although it currently cannot eat fire insects and cannot exert the same power as before, after meeting a new older brother, it is slowly regaining its original strength.

At times, it may be able to guide its owner to wherever the owner desires.

“...?”

Hyunsoo carefully set the struggling Myriad Mile Bird down on the ground.

[You have changed the Myriad Mile Bird’s name to Kkoko.]

That’s right.

Kkoko was an insanely amazing bird to just “send back.”

It was the moment Hyunsoo became an accomplice to a kidnapping.