# Chepter 003

The heart of the Blade Ostrich was chewy but savory. Stir- frying made it for much better food than the chicken liver fry that I used to enjoy while drinking. The only thing the spiritual world was lacking was the presence of ‘soju’. 

***

Gyungho woke up quietly and looked down at Jisook sleeping next to him. It was still an unfamiliar and dream-like sight to see. But Jisook’s illness was getting worse by the minute, and so he needed to find a way to heal her. This required more information.

‘Let’s go out and look.’ thought Gyungho as he checked Jisook’s pulse. He created a barrier over the room and left the restaurant. It was past eleven at night, late enough that there weren’t many people on the streets.

‘There’s not usually many people anyway, since this is a dangerous area.’ thought Gyungho. There had been a few high-rise buildings before, but they had been destroyed by the frequent Ruptures. The only thing remaining was the lonely alleyway in which Jisook’s restaurant was located. 

‘I will need to find people if I’m to find any information. Let’s see if the marketplace is still there.’ thought Gyungho. Gyungho was about to head toward Dongdaemun Market when he sensed something in the distance. 

“Wait. This must be a summoning dungeon. The demonic energy seems weak, but that may be because it’s Earth. Let’s go check it out,” said Gyungho.

Within a few seconds, Gyungho had disappeared from the spot where he was standing.

***

This place used to be known as University Road but, due to the frequent appearances of dungeons and ruptures, it had been classified as a danger zone.

“There it is. But that one…” Gyungho mumbled to himself from the top of a tree, a location chosen for it’s clear view of the summoning dungeon. Interestingly, the tree branch did not even bend even with Gyungho standing on top of it, as if there was no weight to push it down.

“The demonic energy sure seems faint, but it’s a summoning dungeon for sure. What the hell are those people doing though? Why aren’t they closing it down? Are they just going to leave it be?” Gyungho mumbled to himself. 

In its efforts to invade other realms, the Demonic Realm had created a passageway. These passageways took the form of ruptures and dungeons. Ruptures opened through sudden dimensional harmonization, and dungeons were created when demons used magical runes in order to send armies or demonic beasts through these ruptures. 

Among them, summoning dungeons were of a slightly different nature. Normal dungeons and ruptures can carry demonic beasts when open and will disappear after the job is done. Summoning dungeons, meanwhile, serve as a summoning rune for stronger demonic beasts by increasing the concentration of demonic energy within the dungeon.

Gyungho began to wonder about the various machines, and the people maintaining them, that were near the summoning dungeon.

“Those machines seem to be the reason for the low levels of demonic energy. What are they doing?” said Gyungho. There were temporary buildings forming a sort of office, filled with people. Even with little information, it was easy for Gyungho to realize that these people were in control of the dungeon.

“I won’t find out if I sit around here. Let’s go check it out.”

There were surveillance cameras and guards by the entrance, but this posed no issue to Gyungho. Gyungho was beyond human in his abilities, and he was able to travel at such speeds that even a machine could not detect him.

Gyungho then disappeared from the branch he was standing on.

***

“It definitely is a summoning dungeon,” said Gyungho.

There were quite a few demonic beasts roaming around the summoning dungeon as Gyungho entered its interior. A summoning dungeon usually held a large amount of demonic beasts in order to increase the concentration of demonic energy, before using it all to summon more powerful beings. 

It worked just like when Gyungho had been summoned into the Spirit Realm. The Guardian, Mir, had needed to use his divine energy, his life energy, and the power of the dragon orb.

“Blade Ostriches. Didn’t think I would see them again here on Earth,” said Gyungho as he was faced with a dungeon full of 2nd Grade Danger Class, Blade Ostriches, somewhat pleased to see them again.

If any other hunter were to hear him they would think it was absurd, but there was no one other than Gyungho to overhear.

The Blade Ostrich was an ostrich-like demonic beast that had whose beak and talons were as sharp as blades. It was a difficult demonic beast to deal with, one that required at least three or more C Rank or higher hunters, and there were more than three dozen here. This was a situation that would require a guild’s raid team in order to even stand a chance.

“Well, at least the heart of a Blade Ostrich is very good for replenishing health. Plus, I won’t need other special ingredients to neutralize its demonic energy. This is the best thing to feed mom right now.”

Talking to himself was a habit Gyungho had picked up while living alone in the spiritual realm for the last ten years. Blade Ostriches, even when they noticed Gyungho mumbling, only shrieked from a distance and did not charge at him.

“Hey, move out of the way first,” said Gyungho.

Even though they were vicious demonic beats, they instinctively felt Gyungho's powers and cowered as they moved out of the way. The summoning dungeon would disappear if the core of the summoning rune was destroyed, so Gyungho did not go out of his way to attack the demonic beasts.

‘I don’t need to get their feathers in a ruffle by attacking them,’ thought Gyungho.

When he reached the end of the dungeon, there was a giant summoning rune waiting for him. He did wonder if dungeons might work differently here on Earth, but he could hardly let the dungeon be when there was a chance of it summoning a demon. 

‘Yeah. It’s better I deal with it now,’ said Gyungho. He then reached out with one hand and channeled his mana into the summoning rune. With a loud exploding sound, the place where the rune once stood was destroyed, leaving nothing but a larger crater. 

[Power used exceeded the System tolerance.]

Just like when Gyungho had destroyed the rupture, another message popped up before his eyes.

[The Guardian wishes to summon you to confirm your presence.]

‘A Guardian? Is there someone like Mir watching me right now?’ thought Gyungho. He gathered a large amount of energy, and the silvery words of the System disappeared into smoke. 

“Stop using that annoying magical rune! I don’t have any need to see you, so why don’t you come find me?” Shouted Gyungho.

With the core of the dungeon gone, the energy that maintained the dungeon began to overload.

“Let’s get a Blade Ostrich heart and get out before the dungeon disappears,” said Gyungho. He then quickly approached one of a nearby ostrich that was shivering in fear. With a short squeak from the ostrich, Gyungho pulled out a heart the size of a human head. He pulled out two more hearts and stashed them in an interdimensional space before rushing out of the dungeon. He then headed right back home.

[Lucky Diner.]

Gyungho’s mother had chosen the name in the hopes it would bring good luck to their customers.

‘Where’s the luck when she’s going to get evicted?’ thought Gyungho. He now had the ability to make enough money for them both, but he didn’t want to see the restaurant destroyed. Not when it held the memories of his childhood, and it was the place where his mother had spent ten years waiting.

“Yeah. I’ll be able to find a way. If not, I’ll just buy off the entire neighborhood,” said Gyungho. He was certain that he would be able to do such a thing with his power. He then walked upon the restaurant door and went inside. 

At once, powerful mana swept the area and the interior of the restaurant changed into a large cave-like place.

‘Space warping? I guess it found me then.’ Gyungho thought as he saw a giant, house-sized silver wolf crouched in front of him.

‘Is this the Guardian?’ He wondered. But, after checking out the state of the giant wolf, Gyungho became uncertain. The wolf had cloudy eyes and many parts of his silver coat had turned a dull gray.

‘He’s not in a good shape.’ It was easy to see that this giant wolf was slowly dying.

“The god’s prophecy truly is a wondrous thing. I had not known a being like you was amongst humans.” The voice of the wolf rang within Gyungho.

“What the hell are you talking about? The god’s prophecy?” said Gyungho. It was then, a silvery color of mana rose from the ground, surrounding Gyungho.

“Damn it! What the hell is this?” shouted Gyungho, watching another message materialize before him.

[Succession of the Guardian of Planet 717-Axis A1002-B ‘Earth’ is initiating.]

***

Kanis de Lupus

The Guardian of the Earth, and the loyal dog of the gods. He had been tasked with maintaining Earth by the gods when humanity began to flourish. As a loyal servant, Kanis had kept the Earth free from extraterrestrial or interdimensional dangers for the past ten thousand years. But for some time now, Kanis had been focusing most of his energy on human themselves. This was because humans had become the number one threat to the Earth, destroying their home world faster and more carelessly than outside influences could. 

Kanis had deployed various methods to put a stop to humans’ destructive behaviors, but their technological advancement had eventually surpassed that of Kanis’ effort. And soon, it brought disaster to Earth. Because of human advancement, Earth had lost its spirits and spirit beasts. Kanis, too, had lost his divine energy and became weak.

Three years ago, the invasion by the Demonic Realm, known as the Cataclysm to the people of Earth, had happened. In his last-ditch attempt to save Earth from the Demonic Realm, Kanis had employed an Awakening System that was similar to certain class systems in the ‘computer games’ that humans are familiar with. As a result, Kanis had lost the last of his remaining divine energy and even his life energy. 

‘If I am to die now, then the Awakening System will become a mess,’ thought Kanis. If that were to happen, then the Earth, barely managing to fend off the Demon Realm’s invasion as it was, would inevitably fall.

‘Is this it?’ thought Kanis. He felt guilty that he couldn’t fulfill his duty of protecting the Earth, but he also felt free from being released from his ten thousand years of service. For all those years, the god had never again shown himself after bestowing Kanis with his task.

‘My master, are you truly going to let me die like this?’ He had now lost faith and become disloyal. All he had left was the regret and resentment of wasting his entire life protecting humanity.

In his lair, Kanis unleashed his rage and screamed as loud as he could.

“Have you truly given up on Earth?! Wasn’t there a reason you made me the Guardian? I will die soon. Who will become my successor then? Is there a plan?! Please!” Kanis shouted, expecting no answer. While he was still panting in anger, a message popped up within.

[The hero who returned home will save the Earth.]

It was a message that did not convey much feeling or information, but it was the first response from the god since Kanis had become Guardian.

‘Ugh. But how am I supposed to find this hero?’ thought Kanis. He checked the System to see if there was anyone that fit the description, but he couldn’t find anyone.

‘I only have six months of my life remaining.’ He had no time, power, or circumstance helping him. Kanis roared again, but no more answers appeared. With no change, Kanis continued to use his remaining life force to maintain the Awakening System. Until, one day, a system alert arrived.

[System Error – Over-limit energy use detected from unknown human.]

“What? That’s impossible. A human can’t use that much energy.”

The System was the one that could create the Awakened, so there was no way that a human could use energy beyond the Awakening System’s own power. Kanis then quickly checked  where the energy was located.

“W-what?!”

Kanis was able to witness a human destroying a giant rupture in just one swing of their fist. It was hard to believe, so Kanis checked again, but it was definitely a human.

Kanis quickly sent summons to bring him back to his lair, but the human easily ripped apart the magical rune and disappeared.

‘How did he manage to ignore the magical rune?’ Kanis thought. He became more curious about this man. Another system alert soon appeared, detected another unauthorized use of energy. This time it was from a dungeon close by. Again, it was the human.

Kanis was astonished to witness a man so easily destroy the core of a powerful, mana-filled dungeon. 

“It’s something I couldn’t do, even in my perfect state. How can a human be that strong?”

Kanis sent another summons while also checking on his status. The man once again destroyed the summons, but Kanis was able to see his status.

<Status>

Name: Gyungho Choi

Age: 35

Class: Hero [Mythical]

Level: 99

Strength: 999

Agility: 999

Vitality: 999

Mana: 999

Spiritual Power: 79

Divine Energy: 42

Special Skills:

Sword Mastery Lvl 10

Archery Lvl 10

Stealth Lvl 10

Psychokinesis Lvl 10

Telekinesis Lvl 10

Amplification Lvl 10

Karma: 12,374,264,303,028,342 (Good)

“H-hero?!” 

Kanis, even as a Guardian, had never seen a Mythical class being either. 

“How can a human wield both spiritual power and divine energy? Even I can't do something like that. And he has over twelve quadrillion karma?”

Gyungho’s status proved that this was not something that could be obtained through the Awakening System. Kanis had to check multiple times to make sure he had not mistaken numbers. Of course, he wasn’t mistaken, rather he was just too shocked to even say a word.

‘Is this truly a state that can be created by a human?’ The sheer amount of karma was the most amazing of it all. Karma was a rating assigned based on the good and evil actions of a living being. Gyungho alone, who had defeated the Demonic Realm, had more karma than every human on Earth combined. 

‘He has over quadrillion karma. Maybe he is the one who will become the next Guardian. That’s right! This must be the one the god told me about!’ thought Kanis. Of course, the position of Guardian wasn’t something that should be transferred easily, nor it was simple to give away even if wanted. But if certain criteria are met, it is possible.

‘Yes. I will fulfill my master’s prophecy.’ Kanis’ cloudy eyes began to clear in excitement.