TGGCH 03

Chapter – 03

Oath

I expected I wouldn’t hear anything good, but…

“So you really want to die, boldly shoving your face in here. Fine! I’ll kill you myself!”

I didn’t expect him to explode like this.

“Father, please calm down first…”

“Calm down? Caaalm dooown??”

Father’s eyes sharpened fiercely.

Thick veins bulged on his neck.

“Do I look like I can calm down?! Because of you, Cheonseong’s image has sunk through the floor and is swimming in underground bedrock water!”

Corporate image was crucial.

It wasn’t for nothing that large corporations spent hundreds of billions every month on image management.

Especially since Cheonseong’s core business was in the Hunter industry, they were even more sensitive to public perception.

In this era, the biggest stars and celebrities were Hunters, no matter what anyone said.

If ugly rumors spread or a boycott movement started, and top-tier Hunters joined in, the damage would be catastrophic.

In fact, something similar happened in the future, causing Cheonseong to suffer a massive downfall.

To the point where recovery was nearly impossible.

‘Of course, that won’t happen in this life.’

I would risk everything to stop it.

“Even if you can’t take responsibility for what you’ve done, you should at least show some remorse! In all the time you’ve lived, have you ever once said ‘I’m sorry’…!”

“I’m sorry.”

“…What?”

I slowly bowed at the waist.

Lowering my head so the top of it faced my father.

“I’m sorry. Truly… I have no face left to show.”

“Ah, no…”

I could see Father’s brow twitching.

He clearly never dreamed I would actually apologize.

But what else could I do?

I had to beg for forgiveness.

“I won’t make excuses about wanting to look good in your eyes. Because of my actions, I damaged the name of Cheonseong… and ultimately caused hardship for you and the entire family.”

To the man who had endured my immature self.

“Once again, I am truly sorry.”

I did not kneel.

Because Father never liked men who knelt too easily.

“……”

Father paused for a moment with a bewildered expression.

It was so uncharacteristic of the man known as the ‘Cold-blooded Strategist Lee Jin-seong’ that he looked almost dazed.

“…You’re apologizing now?”

“……”

“You shouldn’t have apologized at all. If you truly wanted forgiveness, you should have shown action, not words.”

The atrocities I had committed couldn’t be resolved with a few apologies.

I knew that better than anyone.

Therefore—

I planned to show action starting now.

Thud!

My knees hit the floor.

“What… are you doing?”

Father’s face twisted fiercely.

He probably thought I was kneeling to beg for forgiveness since he didn’t seem ready to forgive me.

But what I was about to do wasn’t an apology.

“I have a request.”

“A request?”

“Yes. If you grant me just two things, I can completely erase the terrible reputation Cheonseong currently has.”

“…Hah, and what makes you think I can trust you?”

“I have no trust to offer you. I have nothing to put up as collateral. That’s why I’m offering you my knees.”

I looked at Father with resolute eyes.

“Because from today until the day I die, this will be the last time I ever kneel.”

For a moment, a spark flashed in Father’s eyes.

He had clearly sensed the sincerity in my actions and words.

He asked in a low voice.

“What is this request?”

“One month of grace period. And the clearing rights to the C-rank Gate that appeared in Daegu.”

“…What?”

I declared confidently, without the slightest hesitation.

“I will clear the C-rank Gate alone.”

***

After the storm called Lee Tae-hyun swept through the Chairman’s office.

Chairman Lee Jin-seong sat in his chair, slowly replaying the scene in his mind.

“…What the hell was that.”

It was as if he had become a completely different person.

Had some evil spirit possessed that wastrel son of his?

Otherwise, such a change couldn’t be explained.

Was it all an act to calm his anger?

‘No, that’s not it.’

If that was acting, Tae-hyun would have become a world-class actor.

Besides, his emotions hadn’t been faked.

At the moment when determination and resolve should have shone through—

‘He looked sad. At the same time… he also looked happy.’

In the end, blood really is blood.

Originally, I had planned to beat him half to death the moment I saw him.

“I’ve gone soft too.”

Lee Jin-seong picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number.

“Hey, it’s me. Is there a C-rank Gate that appeared in Daegu?”

He had grown curious.

Just how much were that punk’s knees really worth?

***

After leaving the Chairman’s office, the first thing I did was organize my belongings.

Luxury clothes, watches, luxury goods, and high-grade weapons I didn’t even use that filled my house.

I used to be obsessed with these things in the past, but now they were nothing more than random clutter.

“Wow. It’s really spacious.”

After cleaning everything thoroughly, the living room that used to feel like a soccer field now looked as vast as the Manchurian plains.

As I wiped the sweat from my forehead and felt a sense of satisfaction, an alarm rang on my phone.

[The sale of the requested items has been completed.]

“Oh, that was fast.”

I sold off the organized items as quickly as possible.

I could have gotten more money if I took my time selling them, but—

‘Time is life right now.’

A C-rank Gate.

Currently, I was only at the beginning stage of being an Awakened with D-rank potential.

The reason I insisted on clearing a C-rank Gate despite that was simple.

‘Because something pretty amazing comes out of that Gate.’

It was a truly unexpected event.

In my previous life, the clearing rights for that Gate had gone to the ‘Solion Guild.’

It was a mediocre mid-sized guild, but thanks to ‘that item’ they obtained from the Gate, they instantly became the talk of the industry.

‘Well, the ending wasn’t great though.’

It was such a shocking incident that I still remembered it clearly.

The guild master had gone on a rampage and killed all his guild members before being subdued.

In this life, that wouldn’t happen.

‘The second reason… is proof.’

My current image could be summarized as a coward or a deserter.

The guy who abandoned his party members in a B-rank Gate and ran away alone.

But there was a hidden story behind it.

Even if I revealed that story now, it would only sound like an excuse or a trick.

To add weight to my words, I needed to prove myself to them.

Solo-clearing a C-rank Gate would be an impactful enough event.

Even though it was called C-rank, clearing one alone was equivalent to B-rank difficulty.

“To do that, training comes first!”

I lifted the corners of my mouth and checked the amount deposited in my account.

After scraping together and selling everything in the house, I had roughly 13 billion won.

“I sold them for a decent price, huh?”

As expected of Cheonseong.

They were extremely thorough when it came to money.

‘Then with this money…’

I first ordered a large quantity of top-grade recovery potions.

Each bottle cost about 10 million won, so 100 bottles came to 1 billion.

‘Buying good elixirs with this money is impossible.’

Any elixir worth mentioning started at a minimum of 30 billion.

The Volcanic Sect’s ‘Purple Salve Pill’ from martial arts Gates was even more expensive, and Shaolin’s ‘Great Recovery Pill’ was priceless.

Even if I consumed such elixirs now, it was unfortunate that I wouldn’t be able to fully enjoy their effects.

On the other hand, buying cheap elixirs that matched my budget would be—

‘Like drinking seawater.’

It might quench my immediate thirst, but in the long run, it would be poison for my growth.

Above all, at this stage, taking one more step and training for one more minute was far more effective than consuming a single high-grade elixir.

“Hoo… Hoo!”

I simply ran another full lap around the park.

From 2 a.m. to 9 a.m., I ran a total of 895 laps without stopping.

“Haaahk, haaahk.”

My legs were shaking and my lungs felt like they were about to burst.

At times like that, I would open a potion bottle and wet my cracked lips.

[You have consumed a Top-grade Potion.]

[All fatigue has been recovered.]

The fatigue clinging to my body disappeared cleanly.

Then I started exercising again.

“Whew, refreshing.”

After running about 1,000 laps like that, I returned home.

After lightly washing off the sweat and dust in the bathroom, I used the exercise equipment in the living room.

‘Because it would be a big problem if people recognized me.’

My notoriety was still strong.

In my previous life, until ‘that incident’ happened and my name was buried, it was hard to even walk around outside freely.

Every time I pushed my body to the limit, my Body stat rose.

“This… is amazing?”

I put down the dumbbell I was holding and clenched my fist tightly.

Then I lightly stepped forward and threw a punch.

Shuk!

Shushuk!

His fists sliced through the air with sharp sounds.

“My body’s balance is perfect?”

Simply raising stats wasn’t everything.

Time was limited, and there used to be seven stats. Even narrowed down to physical stats, there were still three.

Inevitably, depending on the weapon or position used, one of Stamina, Strength, or Agility would become disproportionately high.

‘That’s where the limit shows itself.’

If balance is lost, you eventually fall.

But raising all three equally?

That just makes a small triangle.

“The change in the status window… seems like a far greater opportunity than I thought.”

On the other hand, the physical balance gained through the Body stat was pure gold.

It didn’t lean excessively toward any one side, nor was it mediocre in all areas.

The three powers were in proper balance and creating synergy.

“Should I… test it out?”

A mop leaning against the wall caught his eye.

It was a bit dirty from being used for cleaning, but its length was quite suitable as a makeshift spear.

“Hoo…”

Sweat formed in his palms.

This was the first time using spear arts in this life.

His previous life’s body, doped with all kinds of elixirs, was physically stronger, but—

‘With this balance…’

I might be able to reach a whole new realm.

Grabbing the mop, I unfolded the spear technique engraved in my soul.

The basic movements of spear arts.

“Hup!”

Lan — Rotating the spear and striking outward to deflect.

Whoong!

Na  — Drawing inward like a coil and pulling down to suppress.

Whooooong! Whung!

‘And…!’

The rapid piercing thrust.

Zha (扎).

Kwaaaang!

“Huh?”

Right after executing Zha, an unbelievable sight unfolded.

The tip of the mop had completely pierced through the wall of the house.

Not only that.

“The surroundings are a mess too.”

All the heavy exercise equipment had been knocked over.

‘This much power with these stats?’

Even he was stunned.

If what was in his hand had been a real spear instead of a mop…

“…I should practice spear arts outside from now on.”

Doing this twice might bring the whole house down.

[3rd Achievement ‘Healthy Mind, Healthy Body’ Cleared!]

[You have obtained 3 Exp!]

“Oh.”

The achievement reward came through properly too.

As he pulled out the embedded mop and was about to call a repairman—

[You have acquired the skill ‘Lan-Na-Zha ’]

An unbelievable message appeared.

A skill? Wait… a skill?

“What the…?”

In his previous life, there were many Awakened who used spears.

In China, there was even a guild called ‘Unjang ’ that only accepted spear users.

‘They used to pick fights every day claiming to be the greatest spear under the heavens. Annoying bastards.’

However.

Not even among them had anyone acquired ‘Lan-Na-Zha’ as a skill.

That was because Lan-Na-Zha was the most basic of basic spear movements: deflecting, seizing, and thrusting.

It wasn’t some special technique or fancy spear dance.

“And it’s even an A-rank skill.”

I opened the detailed information of the skill.

What the hell is this?

This is totally overpowered?