I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 22.
Yoo Jung-yeon left the remaining tasks to Yoo Baek-jun and went back first.
Instead, Yoo Baek-jun decided to guide Jin Seo-yeon and the other visitors to their lodgings.
“Nothing has changed since I came here as a child.”
“This is my first time. A Hanok, hmm. In a way, it has some similarities to our Magic Tower.”
The Magic Tower was built using the World Tree.
It was constructed with all kinds of rare materials, making its exterior extremely lavish, but the branches of the World Tree wrapped around it, giving it a very eco-friendly feel.
Well, Hanoks are eco-friendly too, I guess.
“Is this where we’ll be staying?”
“Yeah, there are servants inside, so if you need anything, just tell them.”
“Not bad.”
Jin Seo-yeon nodded in satisfaction.
‘Should I say her tastes are a bit unique?’
From her favorite foods to her preferences, Jin Seo-yeon had a strong liking for Hanoks and traditional cuisine.
As far as I know, she’s a half-blood.
“So, we can unpack and go right away?”
“Young lady, are you saying you want to leave right now?”
“Yeah, there’s no need to waste time. I want to start accumulating magical power right away.”
“That’s……”
The mages beside Jin Seo-yeon were taken aback.
They seemed to have assumed they would leave tomorrow.
Yoo Baek-jun thought the same.
“Whether we leave today or tomorrow, there won’t be much difference, young lady. How about resting today and leaving tomorrow morning?”
“I don’t want to waste even those few hours. Let’s go now.”
“Young lady……”
The mage looked troubled.
Jin Seo-yeon in this state wouldn’t listen to anyone. Wondering what to do, they glanced at Yoo Baek-jun.
“…….”
“…….”
Yoo Baek-jun felt an unspoken pressure.
It was as if they were pleading with him to persuade their young lady, no matter what it took.
He let out a deep sigh.
‘Tch, fine.’
Yoo Baek-jun stepped forward. Jin Seo-yeon’s gaze turned to him.
“Seo-yeon, Seoraksan Mountain at night is full of monsters, So it’s annoying… no, dangerous. Why don’t we leave tomorrow morning instead?”
“How dangerous is it?”
“Enough that whether we leave now or tomorrow morning, we’d arrive at around the same time.”
“…….”
Jin Seo-yeon thought for a moment.
“Alright, I’ll trust the word of someone who lives near Seoraksan Mountain. We’ll leave tomorrow.”
“Huh? Tomorrow? Are you serious? Ah, yes! Understood.”
The Mages were stunned.
Jin Seo-yeon was quite stubborn. Once she made up her mind, she rarely changed it.
So they thought persuading her would be difficult.
‘She just gave in after one word?’
They couldn’t help but be baffled.
And Yoo Baek-jun felt the same.
‘She’s not the type to listen to others easily.’
Jin Seo-yeon was proud and headstrong.
It was strange for such a character to comply so readily.
Could it really be true, as Choi Seung-min and Han Seong-ah said, that they weren’t on bad terms when they were younger?
“For the guide… Instructor Han Seong-ah, could you take care of it?”
“Yes, young master. I’ll guide them.”
“Alright, everyone should rest well today, and we’ll leave tomorrow around 10 a.m. Oh, and…”
Yoo Baek-jun handed Jin Seo-yeon a gift box. She opened it curiously.
Inside was a box of high-quality yanggaeng (red bean jelly).
“Hmm.”
A faint flush appeared on Jin Seo-yeon’s otherwise expressionless face. She seemed to like it.
“See you tomorrow.”
Yoo Baek-jun turned and headed toward his residence. Jin Seo-yeon stared intently at his retreating figure.
* * *
Yoo Baek-jun spent the night preparing what he needed.
This time, he would take Jin Seo-yeon to the cave where the Ice Spirits of Seoraksan Mountain resided.
There was a guardian spirit protecting that cave—none other than the Snow Tiger he had recently acquired at an auction.
“By now, it’s probably wreaking havoc.”
He needed quite a few things to deal with it.
Yoo Baek-jun rummaged through the family warehouse, gathered the necessary items, and then called Choi Seung-min.
“Seung-min, go to Busan and check if this person still lives there.”
“Should I mobilize the family’s people?”
“That’s fine too.”
Choi Seung-min bowed and left.
And the next morning.
“Did you sleep well?”
“…Cold.”
Jin Seo-yeon shivered.
The magic surrounding the estate kept the snow at bay, but it couldn’t block the cold.
She stared blankly at the sky for a moment before casting a spell to ward off the chill.
“Haa, are we leaving right away?”
“There’s no need to delay, so let’s go. Are you taking them with us?”
Yoo Baek-jun pointed at the mages behind Jin Seo-yeon.
She shook her head.
“No, they’re here to repair the magic circle, so they’re irrelevant. If you really want to bring them, you can.”
She stared at him intently.
Yoo Baek-jun thought for a moment. Would bringing other mages along help?
No, the more people there were when climbing Mount Seorak, the more troublesome it would be.
‘Just Jin Seo-yeon alone is enough.’
Yoo Baek-jun nodded.
“Let’s go together, just the two of us.”
“Young lady, that’s dangerous……”
“Do as I say.”
“…….”
The mages, who had been about to protest the danger, were dumbfounded.
‘Why has she been acting like this since yesterday?’
‘She’s not usually this compliant.’
Even if they were close as children, this was something else entirely.
It felt like they were looking at a completely different person, sending chills down the mages’ spines.
“Young master. Here, the items you requested.”
“Mhm.”
Yoo Baek-jun took a small pouch from Han Seong-ah and shouldered a large backpack.
Jin Seo-yeon looked at it curiously.
“What’s in that backpack?”
“You’ll find out when we get there.”
Yoo Baek-jun opened the gate. Jin Seo-yeon left the worried mages behind and followed him.
Whoosh!
The snow outside engulfed them.
‘I’ll clear the event by tomorrow and get everything I can.’
Using Jin Seo-yeon.
For some reason, it felt like boarding a bus, and his mood suddenly lifted.
“Let’s go up.”
“Yeah.”
Yoo Baek-jun and Jin Seo-yeon began their climb.
* * *
After the gate appeared, the climate of Seoraksan Mountain had become terrifyingly erratic.
Today, of all days, a blizzard was raging. There was no point in leaving early in the morning like this.
‘On top of that, monsters come out to hunt more actively on days like this with blizzards…….’
Among the monsters living in Seoraksan Mountain, there are those unaffected by blizzards.
For them, days when blizzards rage are even more suitable for hunting.
‘That’s why I brought these things.’
Yoo Baek-jun looked at the blizzard. He couldn’t see an inch ahead, and the sound of beasts echoed from afar.
It must have been freezing, unbearably cold.
‘Glad I’ve got this Black Ghost.’
If not for this robe…….
Yoo Baek-jun glanced at Jin Seo-yeon.
She was using magic to block the cold.
“I can’t see ahead. Where are we going?”
“Up. As for visibility…”
Yoo Baek-jun held up a scroll.
As he channeled magic power into it, the scroll glowed blue before bursting into flames.
Whoosh!
The moment the scroll vanished, his vision suddenly cleared.
“Arcane magic?”
“Yeah.”
Arcane—a spell that ensures visibility in any environment.
Yoo Baek-jun looked at Jin Seo-yeon.
“Can I leave the monsters to you?”
“There’s no magic I can’t use. These ones here are ice-type. Easy.”
Jin Seo-yeon summoned flames.
Well, it was an unnecessary worry. In other routes, Jin Seo-yeon was an all-powerful magic genius.
That’s why she’d be terrifying as an enemy.
“……”
“……”
The two climbed Seoraksan Mountain in suffocating silence.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely without incident.
—Grrroar!
—Human flesh! Bite them!
Monsters attacked, too.
The monsters of Seoraksan Mountain were diverse and cunning. They loved using the blizzard to conceal themselves while striking.
‘Aishio, Small Wendigo.’
A massive dog covered in icy spikes—Aishio.
And a yeti the size of a human, covered in snow-white fur—Small Wendigo.
Both were creatures adapted to blizzards.
—Today’s a feast!
A horde of monsters attacked at once.
Yoo Baek-jun adjusted his stance, wearing the C-rank gloves his family had prepared.
Aishio charged first.
—Grrroar…!
Yoo Baek-jun met it with a soccer kick to the head.
Then, he rushed at the Small Wendigo behind it—closing the distance in an instant.
Crunch!
He smashed its skull.
His fist pulverized flesh and shattered bone before he swiftly snapped its neck.
Moving quickly, he dealt with the monsters trying to approach Jin Seo-yeon.
“There’s a lot of them.”
Jin Seo-yeon, having finished her incantation, unleashed magic as if shaking off bugs.
Ssskrt!
The sound of a lighter’s flint being struck. And then….
KABOOM!
Pillars of fire erupted beneath the approaching monsters.
Not just one, but many.
The engulfed monsters burned instantly, the stench of charred flesh filling the air.
‘Flame Pillar. A B+ rank skill, wasn’t it?’
Whether skills or stats, up to B-rank, there were no plus grades—just straight promotions.
But from B-rank onward, it went B+, A, A+, and so on.
‘At this rate, she’s almost at A-rank. She must’ve maxed out her proficiency.’
To be this strong so early in the game…
It was frightening to imagine how powerful she’d become with time. Building rapport with her was a must.
“Hm.”
Yoo Baek-jun glanced at the dead monsters, then peered through the blizzard.
More were coming.
“Are these beasts controlled by the yeti?”
“Yeah. They capture creatures roaming Seoraksan Mountain and train them to obey.”
“Then those things are…”
Jin Seo-yeon looked beyond the blizzard.
Large, bird-like creatures walked on the ground, their crystal-like eyes fixed on them.
“Crystal Birds. They’re like hyenas. They wait for fights to end, then scavenge the corpses.”
“What if we don’t give them the corpses?”
“They’ll attack.”
Not like there were any dropped items anyway.
Processing the corpses for materials wouldn’t be bad, but for now…
Yoo Baek-jun tossed the bodies over.
The Crystal Birds swarmed in, eagerly tearing into the flesh.
“Fascinating. The monsters have their own ecosystem…”
“Everything’s fascinating to you. Let’s move.”
Yoo Baek-jun quickened his pace.
To Jin Seo-yeon, everything looked like a vast white wasteland, but Yoo Baek-jun strode forward as if he knew the way.
“……”
Jin Seo-yeon stared at him.
He’d gained quite a bit of muscle. Back then, he’d been so thin he looked sickly—timid, even.
Now, he seemed far more confident.
“You’ve changed.”
“Changed?”
“Yeah. You used to follow me around, calling me ‘Sister’ all the time. Now you’re cocky.”
So he had called her ‘Sister.’
The original Yoo Baek-jun would’ve done that. The current him hadn’t, though.
“When was the last time we saw each other?”
“Middle school, maybe? After the engagement was called off, there was no reason to meet.”
“Why? Didn’t you want to see me?”
“See you? We weren’t engaged anymore. What for?”
Yoo Baek-jun quickly racked his brain.
‘Even if we were engaged, it wasn’t a romantic relationship, right? Just friends?’
It had been a typical political engagement. Personally, they’d just been ordinary friends.
Not a bad relationship.
“And… I was busy.”
Jin Seo-yeon fiddled with her snow-white hair. Seeing that, he remembered her backstory.
Her hair had turned white as a side effect of her father Jin Baek-cheon’s teachings.
She absolutely hated it.
“How far up are we going? Surely not all the way to the top?”
“We’re almost there.”
Yoo Baek-jun exhaled a white breath.
Looking down, he saw a frozen stream. Following it would lead to a cave.
The problem was the sheer number of monsters from this point onward.
“Be careful. From here, it’s a monster den.”
Squeak!
The sound of a monster came from nearby, along with countless other presences.
Yoo Baek-jun pulled up his slipping gloves.
