CH 11

Chapter 11: Some strange bastard appeared (4)

When Hugo read the article, his heart instantly sank. It shocked him so much that he broke his cup of espresso. It was to be expected.

‘It’s Lee Gun!’ Moreover, the incident had occurred near Gwanghwamun. ‘Shit! That’s right next to the Devil’s Tower!’

Hugo moved his hands in a desperate manner. The north of Seoul past Kaesong was an inhospitable region for humans. Therefore, the Cheong Wa Dae and the central administrative agency had moved to the south a long time ago. The Devil’s Tower was near the front line, so only watchtowers and investigative units of the temples resided near it. Only a few people could appear in that region, yet someone claiming to be Lee Gun had shown up.

‘It really might be Gun.’ The time and the location made it very likely. Hugo’s hand shook as he pressed the link. However...

- Ah! For your information, I said it was Lee Gun, but you guys know he’s a fake, right?

└ What? Of course! Who would really think it's Lee Gun?

- Anyone who thinks this is real is an idiot.

‘Fuck! I’m sorry for being an idiot! Why are they bamboozling me like this?’ Hugo knew there was a possibility that this sighting was a fake. However, his heart couldn’t take it in his current situation. Lee Gun keeping a low profile meant that he was about to do something big.

‘I remember when the image of him grabbing an army general by the neck made the newspapers' front pages.’ Lee Gun had told the general to have a conscience since he was being worked like a dog every day. He had told them to leave him alone for a day so that he could sleep. Hugo was worried since he knew Lee Gun’s temperamental nature.

‘That bastard might attack the temples of the twelve Zodiacs!’

This incident had telltale signs. The person who Lee Gun had beaten was a part of the Gemini Temple. To make things worse, it was a temple under the direct management of a Zodiac. In other words, the people there were underlings of the twelve Zodiacs. They were like family. The twelve Zodiacs had created dependents to grow their power. Hugo almost wanted to applaud the man for having such a stroke of bad luck. However, the other people reacted a bit differently.

- He wasn’t beaten up in the streets. Anyone with middling power bows toward the Gemini. Moreover, we are talking about one of their high-rank templesㅋㅋㅋ

└ You're right. Their entrance exam is very hard. The twelve Zodiacs test anyone who'll serve directly under them.

- I heard you have to kill a person to be able to enter that place. This might be some psychotic and difficult test that they administerㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ That has nothing to do with difficulty. It's a whole different problem. ㄷㄷ

- Anyway, this is all manipulated bullshit.

- Didn’t they say it was a Lee Gun lookalike? What if it was indeed the real Lee Gun? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ ㅋ

- Are you fucking with me.ㅋㅋㅋ This is so overblown. That person is probably telling bullshit because he failed the entrance test.ㅋㅋㅋㅋ If this Lee Gun manages to defeat the twelve Zodiacs, I’ll personally donate ten million won to his shrine.ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

Everyone dismissed the matter in a joking manner. However, cold sweat flowed down Hugo’s face. ‘Idiots! You shouldn't say such words against Lee Gun.’ What if Lee Gun was watching? In the end, it was fine since Hugo wasn’t doing it.

“I’ll clean it for you.” A part-time worker approached Hugo, who had been picking up the broken pieces of the coffee cup. Suddenly...

“Kyahhhhk!”

Hugo aimed for the employee’s neck with the broken piece of glass. Thankfully, the cafe didn't have anyone else besides him, so it didn't lead to a commotion. The part-time worker's voice became flustered. “C-customer?”

“What are you trying to pull?” Hugo shouted.

“What?”

“Stop the bullshit! Get out of her.” As soon as Hugo spoke those words, the lips of the part-time worker formed a grin.

[I hid it well. How did you know?]

Hugo laughed in disgust. “A good-for-nothing told me how to distinguish if a person is possessed. You're a pervert for only going into women’s bodies.”

That was how it was. This person was none other than the Sheep from China. He had a Divine skill that allowed him to possess his believers, who were scattered around the world.

[Whatever! Why aren’t you picking up your phone?]

The man wasn’t worth his time. Hugo created a flame in his hand, and this surprised his opponent.

[What? Do you still think we had a hand in killing Lee Gun?]

Hugo couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

[Hey! Don’t be like that. We are being killed here trying to fulfill the request from the gods. We are running at a deficit.]

Hugo let out a cold laugh. 'Deficit, my ass!' “You're living a good life thanks to Gun’s keepsakes.”

Lee Gun had possessed unique items. As a Maker, he had created his own weapons, and to him, all these creations were like his children. Lee Gun was the twelve Zodiacs' ally in the battle, but the twelve zodiacs considered him as their tool. However, they and even their gods coveted Lee Gun’s rare items. Around twenty years ago, the twelve Zodiacs had taken Lee Gun’s items by claiming that they had received Lee Gun's inheritance.

Even if there were many useless items amongst Lee Gun’s possession, these items were popular amongst the rich. Everything got sold at extraordinary prices in the blink of an eye. Thanks to the popularity of Lee Gun’s items, Hugo had a hard time stopping the others from taking everything.

[Let’s stop talking about the boring stuff. I heard that the tower was destroyed. Do you know anything about it? Do you know if Lee Gun is alive...]

“Fuck off if you're going to talk a load of rubbish.”

[Wait…!]

The burning flames surrounded the employee’s body. As soon as the employee fell over, she regained consciousness. Soon, she let out a scream. Hugo had caught her before she hit the floor, and it seemed the woman recognized him.

“You... you're the Archer…!”

Hugo quickly put on his hat as he exited the cafe. ‘They are shameless.’

He quickly checked more posts related to Lee Gun. It seems the gods were making a big deal about this, so Yang Wei was probably coming to Korea. Suddenly, a comment oddly drew his eyes, and an odd expression appeared on Hugo’s face.

- Where can I find Lee Gun’s keepsakes? From: Lee Gun the Best]

- Huh? You don’t know? Lee Gun’s museum!ㄱㄱ

└ They are displayed next to Lee Gun’s shrine!ㅋㅋ ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

└ I’m not talking about those: Lee Gun the Best

└ If you're talking about the real keepsakes, nobody knows. All the countries are hiding the information.

└ Ah! I know of one place for sure. I’m not sure if it's the Chinese or the Japanese, but one of the two head temples has one for sure.

└ I’m pretty sure the Archer also has one.

└ I heard that both made a lot of money from the worker ants.

└ Really? Sons of bitches!: Lee Gun the Best

Hugo was baffled by what he saw. He didn’t care about the others, but he felt aggrieved to be slandered like that. ‘Where the hell did they get these rumors?’ The person spreading the lies was on the same level as the one who believed that lie. However...

- Anyway, thank you for the information. I’ll use it well: Lee Gun the Best

└ ㅋㅋWhy are you asking these questions?

└ I’m going to find my stuff and kick some ass!^^:Lee Gun the Best

Hugo froze in the streets for a moment. 'Wait a minute? It can’t be him, right…'

* * *

Lee Gun clicked his tongue as he posted the comments on the community board. Smartphones were not that difficult to use. He quickly picked up on how to use them. In the process, he also tried a game called Pokopang where you had to line up three animals to slaughter them. However, all that did nothing to solve the problem in front of him.

‘This is going to be a bit tedious.’ Storming the twelve Zodiacs' bases wouldn't be difficult for him. However, several factors made him reluctant to do so. First, the world now had loyal believers, who propped up the gods. ‘If they get drawn into the fight, it’d become a bit annoying.’

Moreover, without the help of his items, his movements were restricted. That wasn’t all. Lee Gun checked his body's status.

- A small penalty has been placed on you because of your body's complete reformation!

- Penalty: 50% Reduction in Physical Ability (Remaining Time: 998 Hours)!

Lee Gun didn’t know how much the penalty would affect him, and it was his biggest problem right now. ‘I can't test it out anywhere.’ He could easily gauge his own power if he could fight against someone significantly powerful. It was the same for his skills. However, nothing like that was available to him right now.

[Advance skills available for use]

- Gaze of a God (F)

[Advanced skills that can be unlocked]

- Creation Workshop (Production) ※ Need S rank or above to manufacture holy items!

- 13th Sense (Special) ※ Insufficient Conditions

- Bull Instinct (Battle) ※ Insufficient Conditions

‘I have to unlock all these skills.’ He was referring to his newly-evolved Advanced Skills. Unlocking them didn't seem too hard, but it did put him at a slight disadvantage. Aside from the Creation Workshop, the other skills were battle-related. He'd unlock them if he got into a fight. This meant he needed a worthy opponent who could fulfill the requirements.

‘I can’t unlock them from catching mosquitoes.’ The best way to unlock them was fighting a monster above the middle rank, but... ‘I can’t just wish for a monster to show up in the middle of the city.’

Moreover, there was no way monsters would appear here. Lee Gun grabbed a large case of coke as he continued to think. He was standing in front of the cashier at a big-box retail store, nonchalantly and discreetly putting his items into the cart.

His gaze fell on the two young men, who had yet to realize that he was with them. One of them was handsome, but he had a prickly personality. The other one was gentle. Lee Gun was staying with them because it would be difficult for him to acquire a house right now. On top of that, one of these kids was affiliated with a temple directly managed by a Zodiac. The kid was a good source of information.

However...

“Hey, Sungjae. What if that hyung is really Lee Gun-nim?”

“What? Are you joking with me? He’s almost the same age as me. Moreover...” Flames sparked within Chun Sungjae’s eyes. “Lee Gun-nim wouldn’t have decapitated my figurines! He wouldn’t act like a savage!”

“…”

Chun Sungjae's friend, Hahn Jimin, didn’t say anything as he put the items on the counter. “The calamities that appear early in the morning no longer appear, and this happened when Hyung started living with us. Even you and your noona were having trouble with those monsters… That's why… Maybe, he is...”

“Bullshit! It's all a coincidence! Anyway, I’ll definitely chase out that imposter today.”

“You said that earlier, but it resulted in him taking your food… In fact, he took a week's worth of food.”

“Ahhk!” Chun Sungjae raged once again as he thought about Lee Gun. He had to empty the refrigerator sooner or later, so he didn’t mind losing food. However... ‘How could he consume all the salt and soy sauce?’

Both young men had been startled in the morning when they had checked their kitchen.

“Anyway, that person isn’t Lee Gun-nim. There’s no way Lee Gun-nim is alive. We have definite proof that he died.”

'Definite proof?' The alive-and-kicking Lee Gun tilted his head in puzzlement. However, Sungjae’s friend accepted the words. It was to be expected. Chun Sungjae’s father was an old ally of Lee Gun. He was the famous Archer. That was why if Chun Sungjae said he had proof, it was a hundred percent true.

“You're deluding yourself because that hyung is pretty good at fighting. There’s a difference between beating up a human and killing a monster!! Didn’t you see the footage? Even Lee Gun-nim had a tough time killing monsters,” Chun Sungjae explained to Hahn Jimin.

“Still…”

“It’s fine. Just hurry up and put the items on the counter... Hey!” Chun Sungjae let out a string of curse words. The counter was full of bread, cookies, and pouched products. There was even a large case of coke! “Really? Why did you bring all this junk food?”

“No! I thought you put it there!” Hahn Jimin was confused as well.

“What? It wasn’t me, and you're the only one here with me!” As Chun Sungjae's voice fell, the wallet in his hand disappeared. Chun Sungjae quickly turned his head in surprise.

‘Scorpio!’ He was sure it was a pickpocket. However, he furrowed his brows when he couldn’t find the culprit. It seemed the thief had hidden in the crowd. ‘Shit! Thief-type Saints with high-rank abilities are hard to track down!’

In fact, he couldn’t feel his opponent’s presence at all. This thief was a woman in her twenties, and she had used her divine skill to steal the wallet. After succeeding in stealing, she let out an easygoing smile. She seemed confident in her skills.

‘Those idiots can't find me.’ She let out a wicked laugh. She wanted to rob another victim, so she looked toward a nearby man. ‘He seems like easy prey.’ Her hand brushed the man’s back pocket, but...

Ba-gahk!

“Kuh-huhk!” Receiving a kick, she instantly flew into the air, then crashed on top of the counter.

“Kyahhhk! What the hell!”

“What's up with this woman!”

It didn’t matter whether the people around him were startled or not. The man who had kicked the woman yelled in anger, “Fuck! Who told you to touch my expensive butt? You wanna die?”

Chun Sungjae almost screamed. It was understandable. The man who had kicked the thief was none other than Lee Gun. “H-hyung! Why are you here?”

Lee Gun let out a lazy smile as he kept the thief in place. “I thought you would forget to bring coke. I need coke with my leftover chicken.”

When Lee Gun patted the case of cola on top of the counter, the expression on Chun Sungjae’s face was a sight to behold. ‘He’s the one who put it up there!’

Soon, Lee Gun took out something from the woman’s pocket, surprising Sungjae.

“That’s...”

“Ah! It’s Sungjae’s wallet!”

“Did he catch someone from the temple of the Thieves?”

The wallet's appearance surprised everyone. Lee Gun tossed the wallet toward Sungjae. “You should be careful.”

“…!” Chun Sungjae couldn’t believe his eyes even as he received the wallet. ‘No way! How did he catch a disciple under the god of thieves in such a short period!’

The thief was also shocked, but she could do nothing as security hauled her away.

Chun Sungjae was flustered, but he thanked Lee Gun, “Thank you very much for finding my wallet… Huh?”

Lee Gun fluttered his hands toward the counter. “Are you going to thank me with only words?”

“…” The muscles on Chun Sungjae’s face twitched. He hated the cheeky expression on the face of the man in front of him.

“I want a handsome reward..”

There was no way this bully could be Lee Gun-nim. In the end, Sungjae had to buy all the snacks Lee Gun wanted.

“You're quite good. You caught a disciple from the temple of thieves. They are quite hard to catch.” Someone approached Lee Gun.

However, the one to be surprised was Chun Sungjae. Then, the people around them broke out in a loud murmur.

“My god! Isn’t that Min Sunghoon?”

“He is the S-rank disciple of the Gemini temple!”

For some reason, Min Sunghoon was here. He was one of the very few S-rank Users in Korea. Moreover, he was a part of the Gemini's elite troop. Above all else...

‘This bastard always brags about having Lee Gun-nim’s divine item. Why is he here?’ Aside from having a terrible personality, Min Sunghoon boasted about Lee Gun’s item, which he had received from the Gemini. ‘He has the gall to say he's fit to wield Lee Gun-nim’s holy item.’

It was the reason Min Sunghoon wanted to kill the Lee Gun imposter who had stolen an S-rank holy item from his temple. Chun Sungjae glanced at Lee Gun.

Min Sunghoon gave Lee Gun, who had been targeted by the thief, a once over. “I can’t feel the energy of a god from him. At best, he’s an average User.” He then glanced at the people around them, who were praising Lee Gun, and decided to give this man a warning. “You were lucky this time. You should call the police if you encounter something like this again. You shouldn’t take matters into your own hands...”

“...”

“Otherwise, you’ll get hurt.” Min Sunghoon finished his sentence.

Lee Gun tilted his head at Min Sunghoon’s arrogant laughter, while Chun Sungjae furrowed his brows.

“Let’s get out of here, Hyung.” Chun Sungjae was about to open the door with the groceries.

“Hey, Sungjae! Open the door!”

For some reason, the door wouldn’t open. The other people who had been about to exit the store became restless. They didn’t have much time to question what was going on.

Koo-goong!

“Kyahhhhhk!”

Suddenly, the store shook. It was a large earthquake. The city's downtown had received the blessing from the gods, so an earthquake shouldn’t have happened here. Yet, it had. People started to scream.

“Look out, Hyung!”

Something fell from the sky.

[Caution! A harmful calamity has appeared!]

[The ability of the Serpent Bearer has been activated!]

Lee Gun laughed with an amused expression.

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