I Became the Successor of the Martial God Chapter 98

I Became the Successor of the Martial God

Chapter 98.

The words that flowed from his mouth were a confession.  

“I wish I could pass it on to you. But I just can’t.”  

“Why?”  

“Because I’ve done nothing right by that worthless son of mine. I was a truly pathetic father, wasn’t I?”  

“No, to me—”  

“But to Tae-yeon, I was.”  

Words confessing his sins.  

Song Dae-san was never a good father. He knew—and felt—that he bore great responsibility for the way Song Tae-yeon had turned out.  

“That kid always wanted the Golden Lion. I want to leave it to him as a final gift, as atonement.”  

“Then what about everyone else? If Tae-yeon inherits it, the guild will collapse!”  

“Then prepare for it.”  

The Golden Lion was Tae-yeon’s dream.  

And, of course, the inheritance he should rightfully receive. As a father, he couldn’t take that away.  

“If, by any chance, the Golden Lion Guild collapses, take care of the people there.”  

“Uncle.”  

“I’ve asked others as well. Even if it falls, I’ve made arrangements to minimize the damage.”  

Yoon Song-ha let out a hollow laugh.  

Not a word about supporting the Golden Lion—just a request to look after the remnants if it crumbled.  

‘Times have changed.’  

Song Dae-san looked up at the ceiling.  

The Golden Lion, the Sword Saint’s family, the Magic Tower, the heads of various families and guilds—all were passing on their positions.  

Their era was ending, and now their children’s era was beginning.  

‘No point worrying about what happens after I die.’  

That useless son of his would have to figure it out himself.  

If the Golden Lion fell, it would be sad, but that too would just be fate. It would be Tae-yeon’s burden to bear for failing to manage the guild properly.  

All he could do was mitigate the damage.  

“I’ve left word with Yoo Baek-jun. Tell him to repay those who helped the Golden Lion Guild grow to where it is.”  

“Uncle…”  

“I’ve left things for you too. You’re already a successful hunter, so money won’t be an issue, but take it anyway.”  

Song Dae-san patted Yoon Song-ha’s shoulder.  

“And go to Yoo Baek-jun.”  

“Join him, you mean?”  

“That man is extraordinary. There’s something about him—hard to describe, like a whirlpool of fate.”  

Song Dae-san had a unique ability.  

Foresight. The ability to vaguely predict distant futures through hazy, dream-like visions.  

It was a power that had greatly contributed to building the Golden Lion Guild.

Though now, due to the curse’s influence, he could no longer see clearly.  

“You said you hated quiet, didn’t you? Under him, your life will be anything but quiet.”  

“I hate mountains, though.”  

“Go and train your mind there. Might even mellow you out a bit. Hahaha!”  

Song Dae-san laughed heartily. 

Yoon Song-ha looked at him bitterly.  

“You’ve lived a long time.”  

Now exhausted, Song Dae-san lay down on the bed.  

“I thought I’d lived a failed life, accomplishing nothing properly…”  

Yoon Song-ha grasped his hand.  

“But even so, having you here is a comfort.”  

A smile crept onto the old man’s wrinkled face. 

Yoon Song-ha held his hand tightly, swallowing back tears.  

“Stay with me until morning.”  

“…Alright.”  

That night,  

The two talked until dawn, sharing all the words they’d left unspoken.  

* * *  

Song Dae-san was putting his affairs in order, and Yoo Baek-jun had no role to play in that.  

They weren’t close enough for him to intervene—doing so would cross a line.  

“Just had to handle the assets, that’s all.”  

After settling Song Dae-san’s requests, Yoo Baek-jun immediately headed to the Demon Realm.  

The floating landmass still hovered over Seoul.  

“Young Master, the government has requested that we remove the Demon Realm by the end of this month.”  

“The sunlight obstruction is getting severe, isn’t it?”  

“Yes.”  

The massive landmass was blocking sunlight from properly reaching Seoul.  

The fact that they’d given until the end of the month was already a considerable concession.  

“Still barren as ever.”  

The Demon Realm remained undeveloped, with no progress made.  

“The hidden demons have all been dealt with.”  

“That’s good news. Is that a temporary building Bigtums setup? Looks like it.”  

“Yes, so I’ve heard.”  

Near the mine entrance leading underground, a makeshift structure stood.  

Inside, as expected—  

“Hahaha! Another great haul today!”  

“You’ve dug up quite a lot.”  

Bigtums and the dwarves were there, covered in grime as if they’d been in the mines for ages.  

“Oh! Look who it is! Our human friend!”  

“You seem in high spirits, Bigtums.”  

“How could I not be? Look at this!”  

The building was filled with ore.  

Jet-black ore, mined by Bigtums and the dwarves from the Demon Realm’s depths.  

“Heheh, just thinking about what to make with these has my old heart racing.”  

“Then let’s start crafting right away!”  

“Hold on! We don’t have a forge!”  

“Then build one!”  

The dwarves bickered. They had the ore but no way to work it—an unbearable situation.  

“Then build one.”  

“Well, it’s not that simple—”  

“I’ll provide the resources. Just focus on crafting the finest equipment.”  

The dwarves all turned to look at Yoo Baek-jun.  

“Oh, really?”  

“Hahaha! Now that I think about it, the Sword Saint’s family is filthy rich! Much more generous than this stingy old Bigtums!”  

“Stingy? Who are you calling stingy?!”  

Bigtums, despite his flashy appearance, had a notorious penny-pinching streak—especially when dealing with fellow dwarves.  

“Ahem. Well, if you insist…”  

“Of course. By the way, Seong-ha, who’s managing the Demon Realm now?”  

“Lee Jun-woo is handling it.”  

“Coordinate with him, then.”  

“Oh, that robot guy? Got it.”  

Bigtums grinned broadly.  

They were already mining for free, so charging extra would’ve been awkward. Sometimes, to keep goodwill, you had to compromise.  

“First, show me the mine.”  

“Right, right, this way!”  

Bigtums led him inside.  

The elevator, rails, and mining equipment—all installed by the dwarves—filled the space.  

“Mmm, that ore scent. Lovely.”  

“I thought you hated mines?”  

“Of course I hate mines! Don’t get it twisted. It’s the new ore I like, not the mine itself!”  

“Ah, right…”  

Yoo Baek-jun followed Bigtums deeper inside. 

The area, once abandoned by demons, had been thoroughly organized by the dwarves.  

“Those demons left all this ore just lying around. Too troublesome to handle, I guess.”  

“Really?”  

“Wasn’t easy to mine either. Requires specialized skills—no way those underground-dwelling brats had that.”  

Only us dwarves could do it!  

Bigtums laughed heartily. Yoo Baek-jun simply smiled and listened.  

“What about magic stones?”  

“Hmm! There was a spot the demons were mining, but they’d already taken most of it.”  

“Do you have a map of the underground?”  

“Actually, we made one. Here!”  

Bigtums pulled out a map of the underground, charted by him and the dwarves.  

Yoo Baek-jun studied it intently, then pointed to a few spots.  

“Dig here.”  

“Here? Why?”  

“Who knows? Maybe something good will come of it.”  

Bigtums marked the spots with a pen, tilting his head.  

“Is that it?”  

“What is?”  

“People these days say you’ve got future sight or something.”  

Yoo Baek-jun smiled ambiguously.  

Like Yoo Jung-yeon before, they were misunderstanding his unique ability.  

Originally, he hadn’t had one, but it wasn’t unheard of for unique abilities to manifest later due to special circumstances.  

‘If they want to misunderstand, I won’t stop them.’  

It made things easier.  

Instead of fabricating excuses for every action, it was simpler to let them assume his ‘ability’ was the reason.  

“So the rumors weren’t baseless?”  

“Who knows? I never said anything.”  

“Heheh, your face says it all.”  

Bigtums tucked the map away.  

“Alright, we’ll do as you say! More dwarves from my guild will arrive soon—I’ll form another team to investigate.”  

“Let me know if you need anything. Any inconveniences so far?”  

“Inconveniences? None for us. But…”  

Bigtums stroked his ample beard.  

“The humans staying here seem to be struggling. As you know, this land’s a bit barren—just exposed underground, really.”  

“That’s true.”  

“Seems they’re having trouble adjusting.”  

Yoo Baek-jun nodded.  

Understandable. Though expelling the demons had improved things, the land was still saturated with demonic energy.  

“That’ll be resolved soon too.”  

“Resolved? How?”  

Yoo Baek-jun smiled.  

“By planting a tree.”  

A World Tree.  

* * *  

After inspecting the Demon Realm, Yoo Baek-jun headed to the Magic Tower. Before leaving, he tried calling Jin Seo-yeon but noticed a text waiting.  

“A message?”  

It was from Peng So-young.  

[Got all the elixirs you mentioned. But Dad worked too hard… ended up with a lot.]  

[Can I head straight to your family’s place?]  

[(Cat smiling emoji)]  

He checked the timestamp—yesterday.  

“Oops…”  

More messages followed.  

[It’s been a while… did you get my text?]  

[No signal? Mine’s fine… Oh, maybe yours is bad? Right, the Sword Saint’s family on Seoraksan.]  

[Can I call you?]  

[(Hesitating emoji)]  

That was 12 hours ago.  

[Calling now?]  

[Really calling?]  

[(Crying emoji)]  

The latest one, just moments ago.  

“……”  

Couldn’t she just call without asking? But then again, this was very much like her.  

Before her Diantan Treatment, she’d been insecure and timid.  

[Just saw these. Been busy lately. Sorry, I’ll call you back later.]  

He sent a reply.  

The Diantan Treatment event would take time, so he couldn’t address it now.  

Next, he called Jin Seo-yeon.  

—What is it?  

“Heading to the Magic Tower now. Wanted to check if you’re still in Seoul.”  

—No, I’m back. The remaining work doesn’t need me.  

“Good. Mind if I come?”  

Silence from the other end.  

“Hello?”  

—You were supposed to come for a favor I asked about two months ago. Am I remembering wrong?  

“That was when I picked up Seol-yeong, so yeah.”  

—And you’re only coming now… sigh. 

Jin Seo-yeon exhaled deeply.  

Yoo Baek-jun had no retort. She’d asked for help long ago, and he was only now responding.  

“But you probably haven’t resolved it yet, right?”  

—Well, yes. It wasn’t urgent. I was about to handle it myself…  

“Then it’s fine. See you soon. Let Jin Baek-cheon know I’m coming.”  

—Alright.  

As he was about to hang up, Jin Seo-yeon hesitantly added:  –

—You’re bringing it, right?  

“Huh? Oh, yeah. If I don’t, it’ll bite me. It’s gotten feisty lately.”  

—Good.  

Click.  

She hung up immediately.  

“……”  

—Mrrow?  

Yoo Baek-jun looked at Seol yeong, sitting on his lap.  

“She seems to really like you.”  

—Mrow?  

“Make sure to act cute when we get there.”  

—Mrrow? Chomp!  

As he fiddled near its mouth, Seol-yeong’s eyes followed his hand—then chomped down.  

Sharp pain shot through him.  

“Ow, you brat.”  

Even if Jin Seo-yeon hadn’t asked, he’d have brought Seol-yeong along. 

It would play a key role in the World Tree event—a crucial player.