Chapter 43

Siyoon stood motionless before Jinhwan, the president of Haind.

He couldn’t afford to make a careless move.

The killing intent radiating from all directions pressed down on him with crushing weight.

Yet the moment he let his guard down even slightly, he felt he would be sliced to ribbons.

“Hah.”

Jinhwan’s face, glaring down at Siyoon, contorted like a vengeful spirit.

Meanwhile, a twisted smirk settled on his lips.

It wasn’t born of joy; it was a blatant sneer of derision.

“It seems a long time has passed.”

“……”

“For something less than a worthless insect to dare bare its neck before me.”

Sallang.

A breeze blew.

In an instant, shorter than a single heartbeat.

Siyoon tilted his head to the side.

He couldn’t clearly explain why he did it.

But it was a kind of instinct forged by his survival instinct and sharpened senses.

Then it happened.

‘Ah.’

A bright crimson line appeared.

It sheared off a few strands of Siyoon’s hair that he couldn’t quite dodge.

As if slicing through the dark night sky itself, it carved through the space.

Only after a brilliant spark of light erupted did Siyoon realize it had been a sword strike.

Kugugugung.

Cold sweat dripped down his back at the unbelievable sight.

The strike Siyoon had just dodged left a deep gash in the pavement and cleaved an entire building in half.

The already crumbling ceiling shattered from the impact.

“You have quite good instincts.”

Kwak!

At that moment, Jinhwan grabbed Siyoon by the throat.

Lifted into the air with a single hand, Siyoon’s mind spun.

‘What monstrous strength…!’

He couldn’t breathe.

In a completely different sense than before.

From his crushed windpipe, only the groans of a man on the verge of fainting escaped instead of air.

Swaeaek!

At that instant, Euntae, who had been standing still, lunged at Jinhwan.

He seized the opening created when Jinhwan was distracted by Siyoon.

His action wasn’t to save Siyoon.

It was to save himself.

Escaping alone in this situation was impossible.

Their best chance was if the two of them joined forces, and even that was a stretch.

The odds of it being impossible were far higher.

But there were no other options, so Euntae took a gamble.

Ultimately, it was the wrong choice.

Pakang!

Light flashed once more, and Euntae’s sword snapped.

But there were no other options, so Euntae took a gamble.

Though the result was a disastrous failure.

“If you had stayed still, you would have lived a little longer.”

Jinhwan’s deadpan eyes shifted to Euntae.

Simultaneously, a sword plunged deep into his stomach.

“Keugh!”

It all happened in a flash.

No matter how strong they were, the gap in power was absurdly wide.

‘I can’t… die here.’

Siyoon enhanced his arm.

Once or twice wasn’t enough.

He needed more power than that right now.

[ You have enhanced your ‘Arm’ three times. ]

[ Overwhelming power seeps into your arm. ]

[ The next physical enhancement may fail. ]

[ Upon failure, a severe penalty will be applied. ]

[ Do you wish to enhance? ]

The System warned him, but Siyoon ignored it.

He was about to die; he couldn’t afford to worry about some penalty.

Accepting the risk of failure, Siyoon attempted to enhance again.

[ You have enhanced your ‘Arm’ four times. ]

[ Herculean strength temporarily inhabits your arm. ]

[ Your body has reached its limit due to the enhancement. ]

[ Maintaining this for an extended period will cause physical overload. ]

Ppudeuddeudeuk.

Fortunately, the enhancement didn’t fail.

A total of four stacked physical enhancements.

His muscles tightened to the point of bursting, and tendons bulged grotesquely beneath his skin.

Yet, even this wasn’t enough to pry the hand from his throat.

‘Damn it…’

As the oxygen to his brain diminished, his vision gradually blurred.

“I’ll send you both to the afterlife together.”

The pressure on his neck intensified.

Desperate to break free, he clawed at the grip.

He couldn’t die here.

He had clawed his way to survival by any means necessary until now.

He couldn’t be tripped up at the final stage of his plan.

Then it happened.

Swaeaek!

From somewhere, a flying dagger-like sword shot toward Jinhwan.

It was a visibly powerful display of swordsmanship.

Jinhwan released Siyoon and Euntae to deflect the strike.

Jjeoeong—.

The moment the swords clashed, a shockwave erupted from the point of impact.

Sent flying, Siyoon rolled across the floor alongside Euntae.

“Keugh!”

“Cough, cough…”

Euntae clutched his stomach and vomited blood.

He was in agony, but thankfully still breathing.

Siyoon maintained his composure even in that situation.

He needed to understand at least how the current events were unfolding.

To survive, he couldn’t stop thinking for even a moment.

“What is the meaning of this?”

Perhaps angered by the interruption.

A chilling killing intent oozed from Jinhwan as he deflected the masked stranger’s sword.

“You haven’t changed, Mr. Jinhwan.”

“On Taebaek.”

Through the ruined entrance, a man appeared with escorts, a smile gracing his lips.

“I came to see your face after so long, must you be so inhospitable?”

“You must have a death wish.”

Jinhwan’s eyes narrowed into slits.

He looked ready to pounce and tear him to shreds at any second.

However, the man’s expression remained unchanged.

‘On Taebaek… I’ve heard that name before.’

Siyoon’s mind raced right then and there.

On Taebaek. It was the name of the president of Serpa, the pharmaceutical company Siyoon had contacted.

He didn’t show it, but he was inwardly surprised.

He hadn’t expected him to appear at such a dramatic moment.

“I came to discuss business. How about you have a conversation with me instead?”

Swuk.

Saying so, Taebaek glanced toward Siyoon.

The quick-witted Siyoon swiftly poured a potion over Euntae’s stomach.

It was to heal him so they could make their escape.

Since he couldn’t carry him on his back and run, they both had to move their own legs.

“Who gave you the right to decide?”

“Well. Are you trying to vent your incompetence on that small fry?”

“You bastard!!”

The enraged Jinhwan roared.

The sheer force of his aura pushed the surrounding escorts backward.

“Am I wrong? If you had investigated a bit more thoroughly earlier, things wouldn’t have escalated to this point.”

“You run your mouth just because you have one. Do you want your head separated from your shoulders?”

“Am I wrong?”

Taebaek flashed a grin.

Despite his words, Jinhwan didn’t attack him rashly.

It was likely because he was a fellow president.

With Haind’s stock price having plummeted, attacking the president of an affiliated company was dangerous.

It wasn’t about reputation or image.

It was literally dangerous.

Jinhwan’s authority as a corporate president had diminished.

No matter how strong he was individually, it was useless against an organization.

Taebaek probably knew this and deliberately showed himself before him now.

“Well, I can’t say I don’t understand how you feel. Unfortunately, however, I’m short on time.”

“……”

“I trust you understand what I mean.”

Seureuk.

Siyoon quietly headed toward the blown-out wall alongside the slightly recovered Euntae.

He could feel Jinhwan’s glare, looking ready to kill.

But he didn’t pursue or attack them.

“…Fuck, this hurts like hell.”

After escaping far enough that the building was out of sight.

As soon as they got into the car parked far away, Euntae vomited blood again.

His internal injuries hadn’t fully healed.

“Haa. Let’s get the hell out of here while we can.”

“…Right.”

He swallowed painkillers and an extra potion before slamming on the accelerator.

Siyoon sighed and looked up at the dimming sky.

Chased by a pursuit team, destroying the Smart Farm, and raiding the warehouse.

An incredible amount had happened in a single day.

But even those events were finally drawing to a close.

Bu-ung.

Siyoon stared at the road, lost in thought.

A tumultuous day was fading, and a new one was dawning.

* * *

Siyoon devoted himself to recovery for a while.

No matter how much his stamina and injuries healed, his body’s fatigue had simply accumulated.

Furthermore, he had used Enhancement dozens of times, even causing explosions.

The Enhancement explosions alone would have killed an ordinary hunter several times over.

A week had passed since he entered his recovery period.

For the record, the pursuit team hadn’t chased Siyoon since that day.

The reason was simple.

Haind had collapsed.

「Haind, unable to cope with consecutive accidents.」

「Is it the CEO’s incompetence? Or a series of unfortunate accidents?」

「Plummeting stock prices lead to eventual delisting…」

Delisting.

It was a headline splashed across internet news articles.

‘Well, they couldn’t have held on any longer in that situation.’

After Siyoon completely destroyed the Smart Farm and the warehouse.

The already teetering Haind suffered a fatal blow.

Of course, they still had two Smart Farms left.

But making up the output of one Smart Farm across two locations was unreasonable.

Medicinal herbs weren’t something that could be easily cultivated.

It was only a matter of time before they crumbled.

Production dropped due to a lack of medicinal herbs.

Quality plummeted even further due to hastily procured materials.

Add to that the failure to deliver potions on time.

As these issues continued to pile up, Haind eventually closed its doors.

Even if they had held on longer, the public would have turned away from their potions anyway.

Better potions at better prices were already everywhere.

In that situation, there was no need to buy Haind’s products.

And so, Haind was eventually delisted and entered the process of liquidation.

Of course, there was also a curious article.

It was a rumor that the pharmaceutical company Serpa was acquiring Haind.

It wasn’t confirmed. Just a rumor that it might happen.

‘Good.’

Regardless, the fact that Haind had gone under was what mattered to him.

Siyoon clenched his fist.

Finally.

Following Min Seolah, he had achieved his second successful revenge.

Siyoon was overjoyed.

He had brought down a mid-sized corporation with his own hands.

He had accomplished a goal that had seemed impossible.

Though he still couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

‘Besides, I’ve grown quite a bit from this ordeal.’

Siyoon smiled broadly and checked his messages.

[ You have won a battle against multiple enemies. ]

[ Your schemes and exploits shined brilliantly! ]

[ All stats increase by 20 points. ]

[ Intelligence increases by an additional 10 points. ]

[ You have won a battle after pushing yourself to the absolute limit! ]

[ Stamina increases by 20 points. ]

[ Strength increases by 20 points. ]

[ Willpower increases by 30 points. ]

All his stats had increased significantly.

It was to the point where Siyoon could feel it immediately.

His body felt healthier, his strength had grown, and he became more flexible thanks to the increase in agility.

His intelligence had also risen, allowing him to understand things much faster and in greater detail.

‘Willpower was related to mental fortitude before, so it’s probably that.’

In Willpower’s case, it was tied to Siyoon’s mindset.

He could focus quickly, and even when injured, he wouldn’t easily panic or waver.

This was a tremendous advantage.

It was evident just from his encounter with Jinhwan.

While Euntae immediately stiffened, Siyoon moved.

As a result, both of them survived.

If Siyoon had hesitated even slightly, they would have been wiped out before Taebaek arrived.

Anyway.

Not only had his stats grown, but his most important skill had also leveled up.

“Skill Window.”

Siyoon summoned the window to check his upgraded skill.