Solo Resurrection

Chapter 40 – Guild Establishment (1)

Lich Daience, who escaped from Choi Dong-woo. He hid in an F-grade dungeon called ‘Kurka Village’ located on a hill in Gyeonggi-do Province.

After killing all the ability users who were attempting to clear the dungeon and subjugating all the Kurkas, Daiences fell into contemplation.

‘Who am I…’

When he was inside the dungeon called ‘Daiences Laboratory’, there was only the instinct to protect the dungeon and kill ability users.

But the moment the dungeon’s main core was destroyed, he realized something was off.

‘I can’t remember anything. And this blind killing intent…’

He couldn’t remember anything except his name.

His mind constantly screams to kill humans.

‘Originally, the undead hold grudges against the living, but it shouldn’t be this severe…’

It seemed like he was about to find an answer if he thought a bit more, but he couldn’t think of anything as if someone was blocking his memories.

‘An uninvited guest at a time like this…’

Just as he was about to see a clue, he felt the Kurkas under his command stirring.

-Gather everyone.

At Lich Daience’s order, the Kurkas with red eyes moved in unison.

“Lich Daience.”

Simultaneously, a man appeared along with numerous ability users.

“Come under my command.”

Lich Daience, who was sitting in an arrogant posture, raised his bone-white hand.

-To utter such nonsense before me. I’ll praise your courage at least.

“Who do you think freed you from that dungeon?”

-Freedom, huh…

“What can you do alone? You’ll be hunted down soon. But if you come to me, you can achieve what you want in a stable place.”

Lich Daience, irritated by the words of the speaking man, Choi Min-jun, rattled his skull nervously.

-What foolish words. There are only two types of humans. Those who will serve me. And those who will die by my hand.

Daience used mind control.

But the red magical power that rose from Choi Min-jun’s body easily deflected Daiences’ mind control.

“I didn’t come looking for you to see such trivial skills.”

-Go.

Ignoring Choi Min-jun’s words, Daieens flicked his hand. Then, the lined-up Kurkas rushed out like mad.

“Kuruk, Kuruk.”

“Kuraak!”

Nearly a hundred monsters were rushing, but Choi Min-jun’s expression was calm.

The red magical power that deflected Daiences’ mind control moved again.

“Kuruk!”

In an instant, all the rushing Kurkas were caught by the magical power and struggled.

“It seems we can’t communicate. Let me make you realize your situation.”

As Choi Min-jun nodded his head, his subordinates began to massacre the Kurkas.

***

Ippotranslation

***

“The meat here is really delicious! Yum yum…”

“I’m glad it suits your taste.”

Kang Hyeon, who hadn’t had a proper meal since entering the hospital, was feasting.

“So… You’re saying I should become a government affiliate?”

“Yes. As I said before, it’s not compulsory.”

Kang Hyeon pondered, recalling the proposal Shin Tae-gil had made during the meal.

“Then specifically, what’s in it for me?”

“We’ll do everything we can as a government. We’re not just ordinary civil servants. We’re a special organization created by the government to prepare for the future.”

Special Ability User Management Team.

It was an organization created by the government, gathering ability users who passed the tutorial with high scores or those who grow faster than others.

“The government thought it would be foolish to control all ability users. It’s also impossible.”

In a world where about half of all adults are ability users, it’s difficult to rashly regulate anything.

They couldn’t force dungeon clearance either.

So, following the global trend, the government moved ability users as gently as possible by giving rewards.

“Instead, we decided to establish organic relationships with the best ability users. A relationship where both sides benefit.”

“Don’t speak vaguely, please be direct.”

“In case of any issues with your safety, we’ll honor you with a medal and treat you as a person of national merit, taking responsibility for your remaining family members for life.”

“…”

“Besides that, we provide financial support, and to some extent, freedom from legal constraints. The benefits are endless if I were to list them all.”

The endless stream of benefits.

Kang Hyeon, who honestly didn’t expect much, was inwardly surprised.

“It’s certainly drastic.”

“Yes.”

“But great benefits mean there are many obligations, things to do, right?”

“I won’t deny it, but we won’t make unreasonable demands or force you to do many things.”

“…”

“Mr. Kang Hyeon, you just need to maintain your current lifestyle. Just move when we request help, only then.”

“Hmm…”

As Kang Hyeon seemed to be considering, Shin Tae-gil drove the final nail.

“Choi Dong-woo, the chairman of the Ability User Alliance. Han Se-yeon of the Dangun Guild. They’re all working with us. Besides them, there are many other excellent ability users, so it will surely be helpful for you too, Mr. Kang Hyeon.”

After hearing everything, Kang Hyeon nodded.

“Alright. What the heck, I’ll join.”

***

Ippotranslation

***

After finishing his conversation with Shin Tae-gil, Kang Hyeon was lost in thought as he headed home.

“Actually, I think something will happen soon.”

This was because work had come up as soon as he joined the Special Ability Management Team.

“The government has caught the tail of the forces causing dungeon terrorism. Soon, when we uncover their leaders, there will be a major attack. We’ll need your help then, Mr. Kang Hyeon.”

The group causing terrorism.

It was a place that had quite a persistent bad relationship with Kang Hyeon as well.

‘I was planning to deal with them anyway, so this works out well.’

Kang Hyeon vowed that when that moment came, he would definitely take revenge.

“For now, I need to go home.”

As he was looking for his keys to head home, a thought suddenly struck Kang Hyeon.

“Ah! Bentley 2…”

Kang Hyeon had fainted in front of the dungeon and was immediately taken to the hospital.

His beloved car, Bentley 2, would surely be sleeping in front of Daience’s laboratory.

“Whatever. Let’s just take a taxi.”

It was then.

“Huh?”

A woman with long black hair tied in a ponytail blocked Kang Hyeon’s path.

‘It was the woman I met at Daience’s lab. What was her name again…’

After pondering, Kang Hyeon opened his mouth.

“Ms. Shin Soi?”

“It’s Shin Seong-a.”

“Ah! Yes. Ms. Shin Seong-a.”

“I’ve been looking for you, Mr. Kang Hyeon.”

Kang Hyeon looked puzzled at the sudden statement that she had been looking for him.

“For me? Why?”

“Here are the magic stones recovered from the dungeon.”

“Ah…”

Come to think of it, he hadn’t received the promised magic stones due to the sudden dungeon explosion.

“You could have just kept them.”

“No, I couldn’t possibly do that after receiving your kindness.”

In fact, Shin Seong-a had barged into the office of Choi Dong-woo, the president of the Ability User’s Union, to find Kang Hyeon’s whereabouts.

Unaware of this incredible background, Kang Hyeon smiled without much thought.

“Well, if you insist.”

Shin Seong-a handed over the magic stones one by one from her inventory. Kang Hyeon received them and transferred them directly to his own inventory.

“Is that all?”

“Yes.”

“It’s more than I expected.”

Kang Hyeon smiled broadly at receiving more magic stones than anticipated.

While Kang Hyeon wasn’t as obsessed with money as he used to be, he thought such free income was always welcome.

“Well then, I’ll be going now. Take care.”

“Mr. Kang Hyeon.”

As Kang Hyeon was about to leave after finishing his business, Shin Seong-a stopped him.

“What…”

Kang Hyeon turned around and faced Shin Seong-a, who had come very close to his face.

Seeing Shin Seong-a’s burning eyes, which were almost uncomfortable, Kang Hyeon took a small step back.

“Please take me in!”

“Excuse me…?”

A moment of brain freeze.

And Kang Hyeon’s face contorted grotesquely.

‘What the hell is this nonsense?’

Contrary to Kang Hyeon’s inner thoughts, Shin Seong-a looked very serious.

“Please, I want to become stronger!”

When Kang Hyeon hesitated without answering, Shin Seong-a knelt down.

‘I thought she wasn’t normal from the start, but… She’s crazy. I should get away quickly.’

Leaving Shin Seong-a with her head bowed, Kang Hyeon tried to pass by naturally as if he didn’t know her. However, Shin Seong-a quickly caught up and knelt in front of Kang Hyeon again.

“Please!”

“No. What do you want me to do?”

A young, well-dressed woman was kneeling and pleading on the street.

People’s gazes quickly gathered at this scene, rarely seen even in dramas.

“What’s going on?”

“Just accept her!”

“The woman is pretty too, this is too much.”

“Look at the man’s expression. Isn’t he a loan shark?”

Kang Hyeon roughly ran both hands through his hair.

‘Shit…’

He looked up at the sky to see white clouds floating leisurely.

“Alright, stand up.”

As Kang Hyeon reached out his hand to help Shin Seong-a up, applause erupted from the surroundings.

“Woohoo, how cool!”

“Have a beautiful love!”

“…”

At that moment, Kang Hyeon’s patience, which was about to return, fled again.

Kang Hyeon pulled out Ogre’s Giant Hammer.

-Kwaaang!

Even though he swung it down lightly, the vibration was strong enough to make nearby people stagger.

“Everyone, get lost.”

A single command uttered quietly.

“He’s crazy!”

“Kyaaaa!”

***

Ippotranslation

***

After many twists and turns, Kang Hyeon was finally able to take a taxi home.

Of course, Shin Seong-a was with him.

Kang Hyeon brought out some simple drinks, offered a seat, and the real conversation began.

“What do you want from me?”

Shin Seong-a bowed her head at Kang Hyeon’s irritated tone.

“I’m sorry for being forceful. But I really wanted to be with you, Mr. Kang Hyeon.”

“Why?”

“I thought that if I did, I could surely become strong like you.”

“Look, is there any guarantee you’ll get stronger just by hanging around me?”

“Well…”

“I’m not finished speaking.”

Shin Seong-a tightly closed her mouth at Kang Hyeon’s words.

“You want to get stronger. Fine. I’m not going to dig into your personal circumstances.”

“…”

“But doing that on the street isn’t right, is it? I’m not particularly polite myself, but this is too much.”

“I have nothing to say about that. I’m sorry…”

Shin Seong-a seemed genuinely sorry.

Seeing this, Kang Hyeon’s heart softened a bit, and he sighed.

“Huh… Let’s say we hang out together for now.”

“Thank you!”

“Listen to the end, please.”

“…”

“Even if we hang out, you saw how I hunt, right?”

“Yes.”

“Are you confident you can keep up?”

“…”

“Do you have like ten lives or something? Or do you have some skill that makes you stronger just by watching?”

Shin Seong-a couldn’t say anything in response to Kang Hyeon’s words. Because they were all true.

“I don’t go alone for no reason. You’re not planning to just follow me around collecting magic stones for the rest of your life, are you?”

There was a reason Kang Hyeon had insisted on hunting alone until now.

Kang Hyeon recovers when injured and revives when killed. And he grew up in an environment where he couldn’t survive without utilizing these abilities.

As a result, Kang Hyeon’s combat inevitably had a different level of toughness compared to others.

“But I’m confident I can do well as support.”

“What, you think just being my support will make you stronger faster than now? Are you sure?”

“No.”

“Then why are you doing this?!”

“That’s…”

Just as Shin Seong-a was about to say something, Kang Hyeon’s smartphone rang.

“Sorry. Just a moment.”

“It’s fine.”

The name An Yu-seong appeared on the smartphone screen.

“Oh. What’s up?”

-Bro! I heard you made quite a scene? Hehehe.

Hearing the playful voice over the phone, Kang Hyeon frowned at the sudden, out-of-nowhere remark.

“Made a scene? What are you talking about?”

-Making a woman kneel in the middle of Seoul, causing a disturbance with a giant hammer. Is this okay for an ability user?

“What…?”

-Wow, they came up with a good headline for this one.

After hanging up, Kang Hyeon hurriedly accessed a portal site.

After a quick search, he found the news article An Yu-seong had mentioned.

-Urgent need to reinstate the death penalty

-I was there, the woman was kneeling and begging to some guy who looked like a loan shark, it was crazy

-The end times are here…

-He definitely looks like a thug loan shark.

Kang Hyeon’s forehead veins popped as he saw the comments coming in real-time.

“I’m sorry.”

Shin Seong-a, who was watching the news beside him, apologized, realizing it was because of her.

“Stop. Don’t say anything.”

Extreme stress and a headache.

He felt like this must be how it feels to take out your brain, hammer it, and put it back in.

Feeling anger rising sharply for the first time in a while, Kang Hyeon pressed his temples.

‘Let’s think calmly.’

Shin Seong-a, who caused misunderstanding by kneeling in front of people.

Kang Hyeon, who threatened citizens and caused property damage by swinging a hammer in the city center.

The journalist who posted speculative articles without knowing anything.

The internet warriors who babble without knowing anything.

‘It’s not just one person’s fault. It’s everyone’s fault…’

Kang Hyeon nodded slowly.

‘So I’ll just have to take care of them all.’

Just as Kang Hyeon was vowing to deal with all involved parties, his smartphone rang again.

“What now?!”

-This is Team Leader Shin Tae-gil.

“Ah… Yes.”

-I heard you made quite a scene right after parting ways with me.

Kang Hyeon laughed dejectedly at Shin Tae-gil’s words.

“So you called to make fun of me too?”

-No. We’ll take care of this matter, so don’t worry about it.

“Pardon?”

-Manipulating public opinion is nothing for us. With enough source material on Kang Hyeon, a day should be sufficient.

Kang Hyepn nodded with a bewildered face at Shin Tae-gil’s words.

“Ah, sorry for being grumpy. Someone just picked a fight with me earlier.”

-It’s fine. However, your name and face will be exposed to the public. Is that alright?

“Yes… I don’t mind, do what you need to do.”

-Understood. Then, goodbye.

After ending the call, Kang Hyeon sighed.

“Hah, what a headache…”

-Buzz buzz

As the phone rang again, Kang Hyeon irritably picked up his smartphone.

“Yes!”

-Bro. Why did you hang up? I wasn’t finished talking.

“What is it now?”

-Want to go party hunting with us?