Chapter 10 – Some strange bastard appeared (3)

“Ah! Let me get this straight. You met this guy near the Devil’s Tower today?” The owner of the house aggressively tapped his finger.

Hahn Jimin, the young man who had met Lee Gun, monitored the mood of his friend. His friend was a high-rank disciple from Korea’s first rank Gemini temple, the same temple the rich kid Lee Gun beat up belonged to. Moreover, this friend was also a huge fan of Lee Gun, but he wasn’t in a very good mood right now.

Why?

It was all thanks to the man who was eating fried chicken in a carefree manner.

“You're saying that this man killed mutated monsters by himself? The type of monsters that only a lot of high-rank disciples can deal with?”

“Y-yes,” Hahn Jimin replied to his friend.

His friend continued to ask, “Moreover, he took care of a high-rank disciple who was smoking a cigarette while walking on the street?”

“Yes.”

“Then, as if to make things worse, he came to my house and destroyed all the holy items here? Is that what you are saying?” Chun Sungjae again asked Hahn Jimin. He expressed his anger as he pointed toward the pile of holy items that Lee Gun had destroyed. Moreover, those were regular holy items. “Hey! Do you know what those are? Those are the precious items Lee Gun-nim used twenty years ago.”

“They are poor replicas.” Lee Gun interrupted him.

“What?” Chun Sungjae looked at Lee Gun in surprise. What did you just say?”

“I’m just saying it's ‘Made in China.'” Lee Gun said in an annoyed voice as he picked at his ear. Moreover, since Chun Sungjae wasn’t eating his chicken, Lee Gun took it.

Lee Gun's words shocked Chun Sungjae so much that this young man almost got a headache. He was already taken aback when a stranger was lying around in his home, but now this stranger was saying his items were fake? He asked, “Do you know how much I had to pay for—”

“Yes. You were swindled. Congratulations!” Lee Gun again cut him off.

“Hey!” Chun Sungjae was already in a bad mood because someone had humiliated a rich kid in his temple. Of course, he was more upset by the fact that they had lost a rare S-rank holy item. He wasn’t really upset about a fellow temple member being beaten up.

‘Those idiots besmirch Lee Gun-nim’s name!’ However, there was no evidence to refute them, and Lee Gun-nim wasn’t present to dispute that claim. In the end, Chun Sungjae had to overlook that fact. As for the parasite that had currently infested his house, it was a different matter.

‘He took care of the mutated monsters?’ Moreover, this man had crushed a disciple under the protection of protective holy items with just one finger? Chun Sungjae thought that his low-rank friend had easily been duped. Unlike Hahn Jimin, Chun Sungjae was a high-ranked disciple. He couldn’t let go of the subject.

Everything his friend said was out of the realm of possibility. ‘This guy is a swindler.’ Therefore, Chun Sungjae continued to ask Lee Gun, “Which temple are you affiliated with?”

“I don’t have anything like that!”

“Then which Zodiac christened you? Which Zodiac awakened you?”

“Why would I be christened by those bastards?” Lee Gun expressed his annoyance.

“Then what is your awakened class?” Chun Sungjae asked with a puzzled expression.

“Awakened class?”

“Yes, if you truly got rid of the calamity earlier tonight, you should at the very least be a battle-type tanker or a melee class.”

“I’m not sure. If I have to put a label on it, I’m a maker?” Lee Gun had never thought of himself that way.

Chun Sungjae’s face was a sight to behold. It was to be expected. Makers or manufacturers couldn't participate in raids; most of them were workers who couldn’t fight. “What’s your weapon?”

“My comrades stole all of them.”

“What about your comrades?” Chun Sungjae asked.

“I’m not sure? I've heard they are well off. Ah! All of them except one.” Lee Gun’s laughter made Chun Sungjae’s hands shake.

As the man spoke more and more, his story didn’t add up. In the end, Chun Sungjae laughed in derision. “Alright. What’s your name?”

Lee Gun laughed as he answered, “Lee Gun.”

As soon as Lee Gun gave his answer, both young men's faces changed for different reasons. This was especially true for the young man who had accompanied Lee Gun. He massaged his face as if he wanted to die. ‘This Hyung said the same thing at the karaoke room!’

Mr. Hwhang had also asked for Lee Gun’s name back at the karaoke. At that time, Lee Gun had answered him while cackling. ‘My family name is Lee. My name is Gun. I am Lee Gun.’

Chun Sungjae glared at Lee Gun. ‘When I saw him walking around with Lee Gun-nim’s mask, I should have known!’ Chun Sungjae had seen it in the news. This man was probably a Lee Gun fanatic.

These people weren’t anti-social, but they tormented the twelve Zodiac Saints. They blamed the twelve Zodiac Saints for Lee Gun's death. This group wasn’t well known. However, when the twelve Zodiac Saints tried to besmirch Lee Gun’s name, the group rose like wildfire. They attacked the twelve Zodiac Saints in retaliation. Then there was the problem of the Lee Gun imposters increasing in number recently. There had been a lot of newborns named Gun, so that part didn’t matter.

“Hyung, I told you that you shouldn’t say this name anywhere you go,” Hahn Jimin said to Lee Gun.

“Why?” Lee Gun asked.

“What do you mean why? You’ll get on the wrong side of the S-rank disciples who support the twelve Zodiac Saints! Do you realize how much the Zodiac Saints try to avoid talking about Lee Gun?”

The twelve Zodiac Saints were officially the strongest humans. Yet, for the past twenty years, they had constantly been compared to the standards set by Lee Gun.

‘Well, I did read that some fanboys and fangirls legally changed their name to Lee Gun.’ Unsurprisingly, Chun Sungjae was baffled by the revelation. “Your name is really Lee Gun? That’s your real name?”

“Ah! That name is bad, right? I take it back,” Lee Gun muttered.

“Then…” Chun Sungjae waited for him to finish.

“You can call me Lee Gun-nim instead. Nice to meet you.”

“Hey!”

Lee Gun cackled. Chun Sungjae pushed down on his anger. He did it because the man in front of him had saved his friend. "This is my last question. What is your relationship with Lee Gun-nim?”

“I am him!”

In the end, Chun Sungjae exploded in anger. He turned to his friend, “Hey! Where the hell did you find him? Why did you bring him home?”

“Sungjae! Calm down!” Hahn Jimin tried to cool him down.

Chun Sungjae glared at his friend for bringing home a crazy person. “He broke items of this house, and he dares to impersonate Lee Gun-nim! It's obvious! He’s a charlatan trying to get money using Lee Gun-nim’s name!”

Glaring at Lee Gun, he continued, “Get out before I call the police on you for impersonating someone else!”

When Hahn Jimin heard these words, his eyes turned round. 'Why did he bring that up first?' “Hey, Sungjae, shouldn’t the fact that he broke your stuff be more important to you?”

“How dare you imitate him of all people! Since my friend owes you a favor, I won’t call the police! However, I want you to leave!” Chun Sungjae shouted at Lee Gun.

The man in question, Lee Gun, was lying down on the floor. There was no way he was going to leave without making a fuss. “Hey, let’s talk about this after we sleep. Your hyung has to go somewhere early in the morning tomorrow. It has been a while since I’ve interacted with people, so I’m tired right now.”

Chun Sungjae only heard the last sentence, and it left him dumbfounded.

“You aren’t the only one who’s tired. Hurry up and leave!” Chun Sungjae became annoyed.

“Yes. I understand. It can’t be helped.” Lee Gun got up in resignation as he went toward the front door.

“You go sleep outside.” He tried to send Chun Sungjae out the front door. This man was shameless enough to boot the owner from his own house.

Lee Gun's shamelessness surprised Chun Sungjae. Chun Sungjae was baffled, but it didn’t matter. “Yes. I’ll force you out.”

Hahn Jimin became frightened at his friend’s savage magical energy.

Chun Sungjae’s eyes flashed. “You're probably the one who turned that idiot rich kid of our temple into a mummy,” he angrily said.

“!” Hahn Jimin was taken aback. He had told a lie, but it seemed he couldn’t deceive his friend. “Are you going to take Hyung into custody, Sungjae?”

“There is no way I’ll let that charlatan alone!”

“But—”

“But what? You said he killed the monsters with bare arms. He beat up a disciple with a flick of his fingers. Moreover, you said he destroyed the holy items. Bullshit! He probably has a skill related to hypnosis or deception!”

Chun Sungjae slammed open the front door as heat emanated into the room.

Kwhang!

When the door opened, Lee Gun, who was still lying on the floor, furrowed his brows.

‘Fire?’ He felt intense heat and a powerful energy wave rushing around. It was most definitely magical energy and a Divine skill. Moreover, this was the strongest energy he had felt today. He probably should've expected what came next.

[Caution! Your opponent’s divine magical energy is about to explode!]

[His magical energy was borrowed from the Gemini!]

[You can partially absorb your opponent Saint’s magical energy for recovery!]

[You can acquire his data!]

Puhng!

A fierce fire erupted underneath Chun Sungjae’s feet. The fire kept increasing in size until it reached the ceiling. It resembled a giant bearing with an enormous cross and a circular brand on its back. The fire looked like an inquisitor hunting down heretics. A roar rang out as the giant’s large hand tried to wrap around Lee Gun.

Koo-goo-goohng!

The flustered young man quickly yelled at Lee Gun, “Hyung! Hurry up and run away! Sungjae might not look it, but he's a Bishop class! There are only a few of them in Korea! Moreover, he's a genius magician recognized by the Gemini!”

“What? Those words mean nothing to me.” Lee Gun wasn't bothered.

“Ah! Do you really not know? Even Lee Gun-nim would struggle against an A-rank magician—” Before Hahn Jimin could finish his words, the giant’s large hand came down in a frightening manner.

Kwahng!

“Hyung!”

The swirling heat instantly melted the nearby coke bottles.

Chun Sungjae laughed. ‘This should be enough to scare him off.’ The Divine skill he had used was awakened through the Gemini. It was called the "Witch’s Burning Stake." It was an S-ranked skill that had once chased off the world-famous Zodiac the Leo Saint.

Of course, Chun Sungjae had used it as a threat and made sure his target wouldn’t be harmed. However, that would be enough to make that man run away crying. Unexpectedly for him, the events played out differently.

“What? Lee Gun-nim will have trouble with this?”

“?!” Chun Sungjae became frightened.

Lee Gun didn’t get burned by the heat. In fact, he enjoyed it as if he were in a sauna. However, he did look a bit angry. “I don’t mind the sauna treatment, but you burned all my midnight snacks.”

“?!”

Lee Gun pointed toward the giant’s feet, which had trampled and burnt the chicken boxes. Then... “Move those useless feet out of here.”

Bah-gahk!

“!”

Lee Gun sent the giant flying with a kick. His kick had hit the giant squarely in its left, and the giant fell to the floor with a scream. That wasn’t all. Lee Gun appeared in front of Chun Sungjae like a ghost. “Kid.”

The frightened Chun Sungjae reflexively tried to call for the giant. However, Lee Gun didn’t care what he did. He just extended his finger.

It was embarrassing since Chun Sungjae was his fanboy. Moreover, it wasn’t as if Chun Sungjae would believe he was Lee Gun even if he spoke in a sincere manner. So, Lee Gun decided to let it go. “If you take this any further, the firemen will have to be called to put this out. Let's stop. Ok??”

“What!”

Lee Gun laughed at the young man's surprise. In a flash, he unfurled his finger.

Bah-gahk!

“Ahk!” A refreshing sound rang out as Chun Sungjae was sent flying. After receiving a hit on his forehead, Chun Sungjae slammed into the wall and crumpled to the ground.

Koohng!

At the same time, the giant and the fire dissipated. Lee Gun wagged the same finger as he laughed. Did he go easy because the kid was the owner of this place? Or maybe he went easy on the kid because the kid was his fan. Whatever it was, the hit only resulted in Chun Sungjae getting a bloody nose.

However, Chun Sungjae couldn’t stop shaking. He was so disoriented that he couldn’t get up. Moreover, he was having a hard time comprehending what had happened. ‘What the hell? Did he really hit me with a single finger?’

The man in front of him possessed monstrous strength. ‘This makes no sense. He’s a Maker class? The people with that class can’t do anything against calamities, yet this man did something like this? How high is his strength attribute!’

No. That wasn’t the problem. ‘Even the twelve Zodiac Saints can’t do what he did!’ Chun Sungjae was in a state of confusion.

The most surprising part was yet to come. Lee Gun picked up the holy items that he had destroyed. Chun Sungjae had claimed those replicas were Lee Gun’s items and shed some tears at their destroyed state.

When Lee Gun picked up the broken pieces, something surprising happened. Shocking both the young men, the broken holy items returned to their original state.

“H-he put those broken items back together!”

“How?”

Lee Gun became amused after he used his restoration ability. The reason was simple.

[A part of the Gemini’s magical energy has been restored.]

[The special attribute of "The Man Who Pounds on All Creations" has acquired a part of your opponent’s data.]

[Gaze of a God (F) has been activated.]

- Chun Sungjae

- Awakened name (Christened name): One Who Punishes

- Punishes evil that escapes justice.

- Effect: Deals critical blow or gives paralysis status to anyone with evil tendencies.

Punisher’s Skills

[Witch’s Burning Stake! S rank (Gemini)]

[Seal of Perpetual Snow! Rank A (Gemini)]

…

Rented Skills

[Hidden Protection! Rank A (Gemini)]

[Portrait Maker! Rank B (Virgo)]

[Figure Maker! Rank C (Aries)]

…

Odd information regarding his opponent appeared in his mind. However, Lee Gun was interested in something else.

Chun Sungjae’s Personal Attributes

[Genius: Studying Effect 200%]

[Future Prediction: Look 1 sec into the future]

[Persistent Obsession: Tracking Specialization, Increased Thoroughness, Increased Success Rate]

[Idol Worship: All personal attributes will increase when working with an idol]

Personal attributes showed an individual’s disposition. They were a form of buff. Moreover, they had the chance of evolving into advanced skills when a person reached the master level, like Lee Gun.

Lee Gun didn’t read too much into it, but he knew others couldn’t obtain such information even if they wanted to. It was something that couldn’t be analyzed, yet he was able to see it. Lee Gun was amused. He picked up the red crystal with a grin.

Well, that didn’t matter right now.

“I’m saying this since the owner of the room is here,” he suddenly said.

“?”

Lee Gun went into Chun Sungjae’s room. Grinning, he picked up something. It was one of his figurines that had been excessively beautified. “I have some issues with these.”

Chun Sungjae got an ominous feeling, and his feelings were justified.

“Let me take off the head for now.” As soon as Lee Gun spoke those words, a sharp crack rang out. The sound of the figurine being decapitated reverberated in the room.

Chun Sungjae screamed, “Ahhhk! That’s my Lee Gun-nim!”

Lee Gun looked as if a weight had been lifted off him. He finally crawled into the bed. “Ah! I can sleep in peace now.”

Chun Sungjae was baffled. “Hey! What do you mean you're going to sleep? Do you realize what you just did?”

“What? It was unpleasant because the face was too pretty,” Lee Gun nonchalantly said.

“What?”

“Just replace the face. You’ll have to replace them eventually.”

“What the hell? Hey!”

Much to Chun Sungjae's annoyance, Lee Gun shamelessly fell asleep.

* * *

Brrr! Brrr!

It was ten in the morning. Chun Sungjae scrunched up his face when he heard his phone ring this early. His noona hadn’t returned home, so he had once again tried to chase out Lee Gun. However, it resulted in him getting beaten up again.

Thanks to the beating, he was unable to fall asleep. Now, someone was calling him this early on a Sunday morning. Moreover... Moreover, it wasn’t his phone.

‘Fucking Hahn Jimin! Where the hell did he pick up that man? Did he borrow money from that guy?' Chun Sungjae moved when the phone vibrated over forty times. “Shit! Hey, Hahn Jimin! Your phone!”

In the end, he had to barge into his friend’s room and pick up the phone. His friend was asleep.

‘!’ Chun Sungjae’s face crumpled in an odd manner when he checked his friend’s phone. The caller was none other than the Archer Saint, Hugo. Hugo had been searching for Lee Gun and calling this phone from his personal phone.

Chun Sungjae frowned when he saw the number. “Jeez! How did Dad find out his number?” In the end, he ended the call, then blocked the number.

At that point in time...

- The customer cannot pick up the phone.

Hugo, who had arrived at Korea’s Incheon airport, put his hands on his face in despair. He had finally arrived in Korea after an eleven-hour flight, yet his attempt at contacting Lee Gun was a dud.

[Hey, Archer. How about picking up your phone?]

In contrast, the ones he didn’t want to contact kept sending him messages. At this point, Hugo was losing his mind. He was already having trouble with his son, who was in his adolescence. Now, this other problem was eating away at him too. ‘There’s no way he’ll lie low. I’m sure he’ll cause some big accident.’

“!” Hugo had been monitoring the community message boards and the news to see if there were any Lee Gun sightings. He was looking for every bit of information. After an exhaustive search, he came across a certain article that startled him. The article was about Lee Gun.