The entire territory of South Korea was swept up in a festive atmosphere.
Was this how the public might have felt during the 2002 World Cup if South Korea had not merely reached the semifinals, but actually won the tournament?
No.
Perhaps the impact was even greater than that.
For the first time since the Ruin System appeared, South Korea had successfully cleared an Ancient-grade Ruin.
Politicians from both the ruling and opposition parties rushed to offer congratulations and words of gratitude.
Major corporations held all kinds of events and advertising campaigns celebrating the Ancient-grade Ruin clear.
Famous singers and idols even performed celebratory stages at official events.
How wonderful it would have been if South Korea had continued receiving nothing but good news.
Instead, an urgent report suddenly arrived at the Hunter Administration, which had been basking in the excitement.
“Commissioner! We have a serious problem!!”
The Chief of Staff’s voice was more urgent than ever.
Yoo Jeong-tae’s heart lurched, and he answered tensely.
“Why? Did something happen to Hunter Jeon Jae-woo?”
“No, that is not it.”
So nothing had happened to Hunter Jeon Jae-woo.
That alone was a relief.
From the Hunter Administration’s perspective, the worst possible scenario would be something happening to Jeon Jae-woo himself.
“Then what happened?”
“China has just unilaterally expelled all of our Hunters from the Legendary-grade Ruins we jointly owned.”
“……”
Hmm.
It was certainly not the worst possible scenario, but it was still an extremely serious problem.
Upon receiving the shocking news, the South Korean government immediately began investigating the situation.
As mentioned before, Ruins could be cleared jointly.
In fact, joint clears were the norm. Ruins had never been designed with the expectation that one person would clear them alone.
Jeon Jae-woo, who had even cleared an Ancient-grade Ruin by himself, was simply an extraordinary exception.
Then how were the rights to a Ruin’s rewards divided when multiple parties cleared it together?
Ruin ownership worked similarly to corporate equity in a capitalist society.
If Hunters who had participated in clearing a Ruin banded together and collectively held more than fifty percent of the ownership shares, then asserted their ownership over the Ruin?
They could expel the remaining parties and manage the Ruin however they wished.
The Ruin System automatically calculated each Hunter’s Contribution Rate during the clear, so there was no room for disputes over the numbers themselves.
However, when countries or corporations cooperated to clear a Ruin, they normally signed an agreement beforehand specifying how the profits from the Ruin would be distributed according to each side’s contribution.
That was because no one could know in advance which group would end up holding the larger ownership share once the clear was complete.
Even if one side appeared overwhelmingly stronger on paper, it was entirely possible for the other side to receive a greater contribution share after the clear and thereby gain control of the Ruin.
Such agreements were made as a form of risk management.
China, however, was indisputably a Hunter superpower, and in every Legendary-grade Ruin it had jointly cleared with South Korea thus far, Chinese Hunters had ended up with the greater share of the contribution.
Now China had suddenly violated its prior agreements with South Korea, invoked the authority granted by the Ruin System, and expelled every Korean Hunter from those Ruins.
The moment the devastating news arrived, the South Korean government immediately summoned the Chinese Ambassador.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also lodged an unusually forceful protest with China.
But no matter how hard South Korea pushed, China refused to budge.
The Minister of the Ministry of Disaster Administration, who had sat down with Yoo Jeong-tae to discuss the matter, let out a long sigh.
“It seems the Chinese President is extremely angry.”
“No. Why would he suddenly be angry at us? It is not as though we did anything to provoke them.”
“Hunter Jeon Jae-woo cleared the Ancient-grade Ruin. China was particularly determined to claim this month’s Ancient-grade Ruin, was it not? It seems they are furious because they believe it was stolen from them.”
Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae looked dumbfounded after hearing the explanation.
“We never promised not to clear the Ancient-grade Ruin. And they are doing something like this because of that…”
“What can we do? When people with power choose to behave shamelessly, there is very little anyone else can do.”
The South Korean government found itself in an extremely difficult position.
China was a Hunter superpower.
Even when it behaved like a thug, there was little South Korea could do beyond issuing diplomatic protests.
And the greatest problem was the Magic Stones being extracted from the two Legendary-grade Ruins.
South Korea desperately needed those Magic Stones in numerous sectors.
Without the Magic Stones produced by those Legendary-grade Ruins, several of the most important projects being pursued by the government and major corporations would have to grind to a halt.
And if they tried purchasing replacements from overseas, the materials were far from cheap. South Korea would have to pay an enormous premium.
Yoo Jeong-tae sighed and muttered.
“…We barely have any Magic Stones stockpiled either. What are we going to do?”
“It is only a temporary measure, but could we substitute Magic Stones from Rare- or Common-grade Ruins for the time being?”
Yoo Jeong-tae firmly shook his head.
“Not for the projects currently underway. The materials used there absolutely have to be Magic Stones from Legendary-grade Ruins. Even the ones produced by Rare-grade Ruins are too low in quality to be usable.”
“Haaa…”
Faced with a situation that seemed to have no answer, the Minister and Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae sighed at the same time.
There was no other choice now.
They would have to clear one of the newly appeared Legendary-grade Ruins that produced Magic Stones.
And there was one person whose help would be indispensable if they wanted to do that.
“What is Hunter Jeon Jae-woo doing right now?”
“I have not contacted him since I helped sell the Spiritual Elixirs from the Ancient-grade Ruin.”
“Contact him immediately and request his cooperation. We absolutely have to secure this Legendary-grade Ruin.”
“Understood.”
Both the Commissioner and the Minister intended to borrow Jeon Jae-woo’s strength somehow.
***
Meanwhile, Jeon Jae-woo was inside the Ancient-grade Ruin that now belonged to him.
Why had he entered a Ruin whose exploration was already complete?
Because he intended to consume some of the various Spiritual Elixirs produced within it.
Even after selling several Spiritual Elixirs through the Hunter Administration, plenty remained.
According to the Elder Lich, the World Tree Fruits would grow back even after being harvested.
Of course, it took a considerable amount of time for them to bear fruit again.
In any case, the ones Jeon Jae-woo had sold to the Hunter Administration were mainly Spiritual Elixirs used for healing or increasing a person’s total Mana capacity.
He had kept the ones that could reverse a person’s physical age and similar effects.
And the Spiritual Elixirs growing on the World Tree had far more varied effects than just those.
The Elder Lich examined the fruits for a while before picking several and bringing them over.
“Maker, I believe it would be wise for you to consume Spiritual Elixirs of this caliber as well.”
“Hmm. Should I?”
“Of course. It is important for the Maker to improve your own abilities rather than relying solely upon us.”
Jeon Jae-woo was also quite interested in Spiritual Elixirs.
They were treasures so rare that most Hunters would struggle to taste even a single bite in their entire lives.
Any Hunter had probably imagined at least once what it would be like to consume a precious Spiritual Elixir and gain tremendous power.
“All right. Then which one should I eat first?”
The Elder Lich abruptly held out one of the fruits it had brought.
“I believe this one is ideal for the Maker in your current state.”
However, the moment Jeon Jae-woo checked the Spiritual Elixir’s effect, his eyes trembled.
[World Tree Fruit: Alters the consumer’s body into a constitution that can more easily accept and manipulate Mana. Extreme pain may occur during the transformation process, so caution is advised when consuming it.]
“…Do I really have to start with that one?”
The Elder Lich tilted its head.
“Is there some problem?”
“No, but eating that is going to hurt like hell, is it not?”
It was a Spiritual Elixir that produced an effect similar to Body Reforging from martial arts novels.
And its side effect was apparently identical to what people undergoing Body Reforging experienced.
Excruciating pain.
Think about protagonists in martial arts novels who reached a higher realm and underwent Body Reforging.
Protagonist or not, most of them writhed in agony as though every bone in their body were being shattered.
The Elder Lich nodded as though that were only natural.
“Hmm. It will probably be extraordinarily painful. Most likely, it will be the greatest pain the Maker has ever experienced in your life.”
“What?”
“But good medicine is bitter, so do not refuse it.”
The Elder Lich picked up the Spiritual Elixir and slowly approached him.
“No, wait.”
Jeon Jae-woo tried to retreat, but it was useless.
Myeolgeop had quietly moved behind him at some point and wrapped its arms tightly around Jeon Jae-woo, restraining his entire body.
When its master’s well-being was involved, Myeolgeop did not hesitate even to restrict his actions.
[I apologize, Creator.]
“What? No, seriously, wait. Myeol—”
Before he could finish speaking, the Elder Lich shoved the Spiritual Elixir into its master’s mouth.
The moment the Spiritual Elixir entered his body, Jeon Jae-woo felt the effects.
‘This is insane…’
A moment later, the sound of human bones cracking rang out, followed by Jeon Jae-woo’s screams echoing throughout the Ancient-grade Ruin.
The cycle of agony continued for a full five hours.
He would suffer pain comparable to that of a terminal cancer patient, stabilize briefly, then be struck by another wave of unbearable agony before stabilizing again.
Throughout the process, Jeon Jae-woo nearly lost consciousness several times, but passing out in the middle of this would have been dangerous.
In truth, Myeolgeop and the Elder Lich were continuously tending to him from beside him, so Jeon Jae-woo’s life was never actually at risk.
The problem was simply that the pain was so severe that he felt as though he were dying.
‘This hurts so damn much.’
The agony was so overwhelming that he briefly wondered whether dying would be preferable, Spiritual Elixir or not.
But he had only just awakened and earned an absurd amount of money.
Driven by the single-minded determination that he had to spend all of it before he died, he somehow endured.
After writhing in agony until his shattered bones had reformed—
“Haaaa…”
Jeon Jae-woo’s Body Reforging finally ended.
‘Ah. My jaw hurts.’
He had clenched his teeth so hard while enduring the pain that his jaw now ached.
Despite surviving such tremendous agony, Jeon Jae-woo had not gained more Mana or awakened any new Traits.
Still, he could clearly feel that something in his body had changed.
It felt as though someone whose body had been steeped in all the impurities of worldly life—alcohol, cigarettes, and the like—had instantly become the healthiest person alive.
‘But my body is clean.’
Normally, after undergoing Body Reforging, were people not covered in foul-smelling impurities expelled from their bodies?
“Ah. I removed all of the impurities with Sorcery as they emerged.”
What a remarkably useful form of Sorcery.
“In any case, I am glad it ended safely. You both worked hard.”
The Elder Lich responded by picking up another Spiritual Elixir.
“Then would you care to continue with the next Spiritual Elixir?”
Jeon Jae-woo flinched and desperately stopped it.
“Whoa, whoa. It is already late today, so let us rest and continue tomorrow. It must be tiring for you to keep taking care of me too, Lich.”
“No, I am not particularly—”
This time, Myeolgeop agreed with Jeon Jae-woo.
[Elder Lich. It is not good for the Creator’s mind to become exhausted either. We can prevent the Creator’s body from collapsing, but we cannot provide the same support for his mental state.]
“Tsk. I suppose it cannot be helped.”
Jeon Jae-woo finally managed to leave the Ruin alongside the visibly disappointed Elder Lich.
But when he emerged and checked his phone, he found another flood of messages and calls.
Naturally, the person who had contacted him dozens of times was none other than Commissioner Yoo Jeong-tae.
‘What is it this time? I have not even caused any trouble recently.’