Chapter 11

After that day, Chakra Cubes continued to be delivered to the house Kang Yuseong had prepared.

When word got out that he was buying unfortunate dungeon stones—which, save for a few popular colors, rarely even found buyers—people eagerly rushed to place their bids.

‘Roughly 50kg of green cubes, 150kg of ochre…’

Colorless Chakra Cubes contained about 3 Chakra Force each, ochre ones about 7, and green ones about 15.

These were average figures; the exact amounts could only be determined by melting them down.

Kang Yuseong gathered all the Alcra Flowers he could find, along with the Chakra Cubes.

After about three days, roughly 400kg of Chakra Cubes were stacked in the basement, and a considerable amount of Alcra Flower petals had also been collected.

During that time, Kang Yuseong had set up equipment in the basement to melt the Chakra Cubes.

Several large pots and a powerful stove capable of heating them instantly.

After three days of accumulating materials, Kang Yuseong decided not to post any more purchase requests for a few days.

He also spread the Chakra Cubes across the garden, took a picture, and uploaded it as proof.

This was to prevent others from growing suspicious.

With all preparations complete, Kang Yuseong dumped all the colorless Chakra Cubes into a large pot.

The water was already boiling furiously over the roaring fire, and as soon as he added the Alcra Flower petals, the cubes dissolved instantly.

While the first large pot cooled, Kang Yuseong placed ochre Chakra Cubes into another pot and lit the fire. Melting all the green cubes took approximately three hours.

By then, the first batch of melted water had cooled to lukewarm.

Kang Yuseong poured it into water bottles, filling the refrigerator, intending to drink it instead of regular water.

It was impossible to drink it all at once, so he planned to sip it frequently.

Simply drinking it would allow the Chakra Force to be absorbed into his body effortlessly.

Gulp, gulp—

He drank the entire contents of a small water bottle.

A bitter taste stimulated his tongue as the liquid, infused with Chakra Force, smoothly slid down his throat.

Flash—

A holographic window instantly appeared before his eyes.

[Chakra Force acquired.]

The Chakra Force dissolved in the single bottle he’d just drunk was approximately 900.

This was because the water contained 3kg of dissolved Chakra Force.

Kang Yuseong drank as much as he could.

He drank until his stomach was full and he couldn’t drink any more. Checking afterward, he found he had accumulated approximately 2400 Chakra Force.

This total included the Chakra points he had gained from his previous dungeon run.

Considering that a single Level 1 Chakra Cultivation skill requires 500 points, he could cultivate about four basic Chakra skills.

‘Whew…’

Frankly, people at this time were cultivating Chakra Force haphazardly, learning by trial and error as they faced reality, leading to many wasted points on unnecessary areas.

That’s why no absolute powerhouse had emerged yet.

The establishment of Chakra Cultivation methods and the subsequent flood of research results would not occur for several years.

However, Kang Yuseong already had all that knowledge meticulously stored in his mind.

This was one of the reasons he could refuse the Immortal Guild’s offer.

Knowledge that could easily surpass a guild like Immortal Guild, if he put his mind to it.

Because Kang Yuseong possessed it.

‘Fundamentals are crucial.’

People were desperate to raise more powerful skills rather than focus on the fundamentals.

It couldn’t be helped.

Because that was the only way to get ahead of others, at least initially.

Yet, even at this time, there were those who recognized the importance of fundamentals and diligently delved into them.

Ironically, these were the people who later became the strongest Hunters and established themselves as legendary figures.

The fundamentals of Chakra Cultivation were that important.

Though not immediately apparent, the inherent power of Chakra derived from these fundamentals would ultimately dictate a Hunter’s growth.

‘Chakra, Primordial Calm.’

Cultivation methods also differed for each individual.

Some realized them while hunting monsters, others while simply walking down the street.

It varied wildly from person to person.

That’s why every Hunter possessed different skills. While there were many commonalities, ultimately, they followed the cultivation methods they themselves had discovered.

From the Chakra Cultivation methods he had discovered in his past life, Kang Yuseong activated Chakra, Primordial Calm.

This was the most fundamental Chakra, regardless of whether one was a Chakra User, Magic User, or Psychic User.

While some never realized this Chakra Cultivation method, it was known as the most excellent foundational Chakra, supporting the power to harness all Chakra Force.

Flash—

With 500 points expended, Kang Yuseong realized Chakra, Primordial Calm.

[You have realized Chakra, Primordial Calm. Physical activity becomes more vigorous. All stats increase. You can link this to further Chakra Force realizations.]

Chakra like ‘Chakra, Primordial Calm’ was also called ‘Simbeop (Core Technique)’.

It was likened to the ‘Simbeop’ that ancient martial arts masters were said to have realized.

There were countless types of Chakra, but without a foundational Chakra like this ‘Simbeop,’ the body simply couldn’t endure.

Simbeop Chakra allowed one to accept Chakra Force more naturally and opened the path to manifesting it, enabling the generation of powerful strength.

‘What next?’

Kang Yuseong had three choices.

A Chakra User, who purely harnessed Chakra’s power.

A Magic User, who processed Chakra’s power into spells for manifestation.

And finally, a Psychic User, who combined Chakra’s power with their inherent human abilities.

Each possessed very distinct characteristics, and all three were extremely powerful.

But Kang Yuseong had already made his choice.

[You have activated Chakra, Swordsman’s Mindset.]

Investing 500 points, he activated another Simbeop Chakra of the swordsman lineage.

From this, swordsman-type Chakra skills would derive.

He had been an unparalleled swordsman in his past life, and that experience was still deeply ingrained in his body.

It was merely that he lacked the Chakra Force to powerfully support it.

There was no need to take the long, difficult path when an easier one was available.

By realizing Chakra Force and balancing it with his physical body, he would be able to regain his former strength.

Three years had passed since the Mega Shock, and catching up to the Hunters who were already ahead required decisive action.

Kang Yuseong immediately activated the next Chakra.

[You have acquired Chakra, Critical Strike.]

Critical Strike.

For swordsmen, it was the most crucial skill in the early stages.

A formidable technique that gathered Chakra Force into a single point and unleashed it.

For a Level 1 Chakra Cultivation skill, it possessed significant power and a short cooldown, making it quite useful.

[You have acquired Chakra, Meteor Stab.]

For his last Chakra skill, he acquired Meteor Stab.

Meteor Stab was a good skill, but Kang Yuseong hadn’t activated it for its own sake.

The strongest Level 1 area-of-effect skill derived from Meteor Stab!

Chakra, Starlight Storm.

That was what he was looking forward to.

Once Starlight Storm was activated, group hunting would also become possible.

Having activated these skills, Kang Yuseong placed the Chakra Force-infused water into the refrigerator.

He was too full to drink any more at the moment.

There were still many Chakra Cubes left, and he could drink them over time.

After tidying everything up, Kang Yuseong came up from the basement, carrying only a few water bottles.

The time was slowly approaching.

‘Should I test out my skills?’

From now on, he needed to get used to his senses again.

Because D-98-A Dungeon was not yet a place he could challenge.

Having made up his mind, he immediately went to a nearby Hunter Market and selected some useful items.

The first thing he chose was a sword.

As a master of the sword, he picked out the two best swords in the Hunter Market, hanging one on his backpack and fastening the other to his waist.

He kept his backpack as light as possible, mostly empty.

Leaving the Hunter Market, he unfolded a map.

‘Nearby…’

As he scanned the map, a C-rank dungeon caught his eye.

D-9 Dungeon.

Kang Yuseong checked the information for the C-rank dungeon on the smartphone he had recently activated.

Size: Large. Difficulty: Medium.

It was a dungeon with a randomly changing type.

‘Is there a party trying to enter?’

The Hunter Helper app, developed and distributed by the government, was very useful; all tasks like finding parties or hiring mercenaries could be handled through it.

After a brief check, Kang Yuseong’s eyes gleamed.

‘There is.’

There was a party of Hunters intending to enter D-9 Dungeon immediately.

Ten members.

Even though it was C-rank, D-9 Dungeon was difficult to clear with just ten Hunters.

Of course, if there were high-level SS or S-rank Hunters, that would be a different story.

It seemed they were looking for mercenaries.

‘Suitable.’

This should be just right.

A C-rank dungeon, while tough, could usually be cleared with about fifteen Hunters.

Kang Yuseong immediately applied as a mercenary and headed towards their location.

To reawaken his senses, an all-out brawl, a ‘dogfight’ as some called it, was the best method.

In that regard, D-9 Dungeon was perfectly suitable.

When he arrived at D-9 Dungeon, a group of Hunters was waiting.

“Kang Yuseong-ssi?”

A man with a thick beard was looking at him.

Kang Yuseong nodded.

“Yes.”

“You have your license, don’t you? Given the dungeon’s difficulty, it would be a bit problematic without one.”

Without a word, Kang Yuseong pulled out his license from his pocket and showed it.

“Oh, you have it… Ugh!”

The man, who had merely glanced at the white license and was about to nod, suddenly widened his eyes.

“S… S-rank…”

Kang Yuseong immediately cut him off.

“Confirmed?”

The man nodded.

“Ah, y-yes, of course.”

“Hey, why are you so surprised?”

“What’s going on?”

As the man reacted in surprise, the other Hunters approached with curious expressions.

“It’s nothing. Right?”

Kang Yuseong, not wanting any unnecessary attention in a place where he’d simply come to stretch his limbs, grinned and looked at the man.

The man nodded.

“N-nothing. Nothing at all.”

Kang Yuseong grinned once more.

“Please take care of me. I’m Kang Yuseong.”

“Ah… yes, please take care of us too. But you don’t have a Porter?”

Another man asked, tilting his head.

“Just… came for the experience…”

“Oh, so you’re a beginner at hunting!”

“Myeong-hoon, is that why you were surprised?”

The men then looked at Kang Yuseong.

They had likely hoped for an experienced and skilled Hunter to join, and their disappointment was evident.

“I look forward to working with you.”

Kang Yuseong said nothing else.

There was no need for excuses.

He would simply show them with his skills.

Among them, the man named Myeong-hoon merely alternated uneasy glances between the Hunters and Kang Yuseong.