When I Returned to Farming, National-level Big Juniors Flock - Chapter 23



Only Krnovel

23. Reunion

Oh Hyeon-seong spent his days diligently.

While farming with the spirits, he often went down to the village to socialize with the townspeople, ate with Kwon Kyung-min’s family, and helped out at the Yu siblings’ farm.

When I got home, I had a delicious meal and when it rained, I lay down comfortably and enjoyed the scenery.

Leisurely but fulfilling days.

But when the day’s work was over, he continued his practice consistently and without exception.

As he continued his rehabilitation, his physical condition improved and he was not at his limit yet.

Thanks to this, his physical condition had improved considerably.

Ta-da-da-dak!

“Hoo!”

Oh Hyun-seong, who had stopped in his tracks, glanced down at his left leg.

As a result of running vigorously up the mountain, my muscles started to ache, but they weren’t so sore that they would loose strength like before.

Once I could tolerate some pain, I was able to run at a reasonable speed.

It’s also much easier to maintain balance during intense movements that I couldn’t do before.

‘With this, combat is possible. Well, I won’t be involved with gates or monsters again anyway.’

Oh Hyun-seong was extremely satisfied with his current life.

As a hunter, I have no intention of returning to the bloody battlefield.

Of course, even so, it would have been better to have at least some ability to protect oneself.

Although it is nothing compared to the early days of the Gate incident, the world is still a dangerous place.

No matter how well the system was established, it was incomparable to a world without monsters or Awakened people.

Of course, this town feels like it’s one step away from such things.

Because it was so peaceful as usual.

As a former hunter, he often wondered if it was okay for him to be like this.

Squeak.

Oh Hyun-seong returns home.

He put down the firewood he had brought in a corner of the yard.

This is firewood prepared for the winter.

It’s a little embarrassing, but it’s a dream he’s had since he was little.

Oh Hyun-seong, who had roughly finished organizing, shook his hands and turned around.

“came?”

Then, Joo Ji-hye appeared on the veranda of the annex, limping.

Oh Hyun-seong looked dumbfounded at her sloth-like appearance.

“I thought you’d be there since I saw a car outside… You’ve really set up your home.”

“It’s cold outside, so I don’t feel like waiting outside.”

“Why are you here all of a sudden? When we ran out of strawberries, you said you’d send them right away if I just called.”

“I didn’t come here to get strawberries! This time, the filming location in the province happened to be close to here. I drove here right after filming ended.”

Joo Ji-hye said with a bright smile.

“This filming was a huge success! The drama will be airing its first episode soon, so make sure to watch it live. It will definitely be a huge success.”

“Confidence is good. Anyway, so you just came to hang out because we’re close by?”

“My condition has improved a lot, so I wanted to show you this. Now I don’t have any trouble sleeping. It’s all thanks to you, Master.”

“I told you not to call me instructor, so now you’re my teacher?”

“Uh… Then should I call you teacher?”

“No, just don’t call me.”

Oh Hyun-seong left her behind and headed to the warehouse.

Then Joo Ji-hye stuck her head out and said.

“How have you been while I was away? I brought you a gift.”

“How have you been?”

“What about Master Suyeon? She’s not here.”

“That guy is always busy. He went with you the day you went up.”

“Oh, you haven’t been back since then. I was just curious about the news these days.”

“That news?”

“There was a scary rumor going around. It was not the prosecution but the management office that deliberately raided Daesung Group this time.”

“ah.”

Oh Hyeon-seong nodded at Joo Ji-hye’s words.

He also heard the news about Daesung Group, which was making headlines a while ago.

An incident in which all sorts of illegal crimes were committed in order to control Hankyung’s food business, and even the chairman was indicted.

‘The exact target wasn’t revealed, but given the timing, the strawberries I was delivering were probably the target. Still, I didn’t know they would go this far, but I was quite anxious about business. It could have been a nuisance.’

The hunter power of large corporations could never be ignored.

It wasn’t all about operating dozens of people at the headquarters level; it was common to create a separate security company to operate hunter units on a large scale.

In this day and age, the need for hunters is increasing, no matter where or what business is being done.

If Daesung’s hunters had made a move, Oh Hyeonseong would have been quite annoyed.

Of course, there’s no need to worry now.

All the hunters who had been involved in the crime scene were subdued by the management bureau and thrown into detention.

It is unknown whether the chairman will go to prison, but if the opponent is Han Su-yeon, he would have reached a humiliating agreement while holding onto several of her weaknesses.

Daesung will not want to even look at the strawberry issue from now on.

‘Indeed, the potato effect is certain.’

Oh Hyun-seong nodded with satisfaction.

Since I asked you to do this last time, you must have already taken action, such as raising the security level by making moves not only within Daesung but also within the Hankyung Group.

If she was watching over me, I wouldn’t have to worry about leaks.

“Haha, my connections are the ones with the power to even suppress conglomerate presidents.”

“Are you already talking about connections?”

“We’ve had a deep bond over the past seven days. It’s something that only comrades can feel…”

Thud!

A heavy sound came from the warehouse.

Joo Ji-hye shivered reflexively.

“How are you, Jeong-il?”

“Well… I’m doing well. I thought you were really happy to see me get better? You didn’t usually show it on your face, but I think you’ve gotten a little brighter lately…”

“That’s good.”

Oh Hyun-seong returned from the warehouse with weight bags.

Joo Ji-hye stepped back, startled by the unforgettable training equipment.

“Don’t worry, it’s not yours.”

Oh Hyun-seong had pockets all over his body.

It felt much heavier than when it first started, and Joo Ji-hye was surprised to see it.

It is because the weight written there is unusual.

“Are you keeping it?”

“I’m also in rehabilitation training. I’ve been training ever since you left. Thanks to that, I’ve already gained 5 weights.”

“What, what is that? Why is my name coming out like that?”

“Huh..!”

Oh Hyun-seong started training as usual.

You can’t just skip training just because guests are coming.

But Joo Ji-hye’s gaze towards him was unusual.

‘That’s ridiculous. How can you hold that much weight on your body and still be able to pose like that?’

It’s not just about weight.

There was no unnecessary detail in each movement, and there was not a single tremble as he found the exact stimulation point.

Precision as if a machine were moving.

‘That guy is a hunter who has been retired for several years…’

A body that is not used will eventually rust.

Hunters are sometimes called superhumans, but in the end, they are no different from ordinary people.

If you don’t go out into the field, your senses will inevitably become dull, and your untrained body will deteriorate.

Because of that, there was a really big difference between the active and retired people.

However, the intensity of the training that Oh Hyeon-seong was currently undergoing was such that even if he brought in a top-tier hunter, he wouldn’t be pushed back at all.

‘Even if you bring all the Aegis’s martial arts hunters, there won’t be many who can do as much as that.’

I only knew that he was Han Su-yeon and Choi Jeong-il’s senior.

I was even more surprised because I had never heard of his achievements or stories as a hunter, and had never seen his skills firsthand.

So why is it that there is absolutely no story left about Oh Hyeon-seong?

A bigger question arose in Joo Ji-hye’s mind.

“for a moment!”

At that moment, Oh Hyeon-seong, who was in the middle of practicing, suddenly stopped.

His gaze turned back and met Joo Ji-hye’s eyes.

“But why are you just watching?”

“…yes?”

“You’re not fully recovered yet. Are you going to stop training and just eat strawberries until the aftereffects completely go away?”

“Huh…? Ha, but… it’s been a while since I’ve been down here…”

Joo Ji-hye’s face turned pale.

I tried waving my hands belatedly, but of course that wouldn’t work.

***

“Eeeeek…”

Joo Ji-hye, who was holding onto the wall, retched.

The trembling legs looked like those of a newborn deer.

“If you feel like throwing up, go to the bathroom. If you throw up, go around again.”

“I… have nothing to come out of.”

Joo Ji-hye barely managed to get onto the floor.

My eyes were spinning and I couldn’t move.

With the weight getting heavier than last time, and trying to keep up with Oh Hyun-seong’s tempo, I really feel like I’ve just taken a quick look at the underworld.

On the other hand, Oh Hyeon-seong still had some stamina left.

Normally, I would have started the next cycle right away to completely drain all my remaining stamina.

But he only did this far.

Kuung!

The weight bags attached to his entire body fell to the floor with a dull sound.

Feeling his body relieved, he sat down in his seat.

‘I’ve improved my physical condition quite a bit, so now it’s time to start working on my magical power.’

Magical power surged around Oh Hyeon-seong.

Continue breathing calmly and slowly circulate your magical power.

Then, Joo Ji-hye, who had been lying down, quickly raised her upper body and looked at him.

‘Huh? It wasn’t like it had no magic power?’

Joo Ji-hye’s surprised eyes.

That’s understandable, the hunters could feel the ‘magic’.

This means that you can sense and read not only the magical power you use, but also the magical power accumulated by others.

The act of reading ‘feelings’ between hunters mostly meant this case.

The representative weakness of the Hunters with superior firepower was that their presence was easily read.

The greater the amount of magical power a hunter possesses, the more disadvantageous it is for them to erase their own presence.

This is a clear weakness compared to martial arts hunters who have much less accumulated magical power and whose main strength is physical ability.

And Joo Ji-hye felt no magical power from Oh Hyeon-seong.

It’s impossible to lie when you’ve been living in the same house for a whole week, let alone just disappearing for a moment.

But the amount of magical power that I felt from him right now was not at the level that a martial arts hunter would possess.

Woohoo!

‘I feel like my body is filled with magic… It’s been a while.’

Oh Hyun-seong is neither a martial artist nor a supernatural being.

During his active years, he was a hunter who was not classified into any of the categories.

If you didn’t have any magical power to begin with, there’s no way you could maintain a contract with hundreds of spirits.

But the reason Joo Ji-hye didn’t feel it at all was because he had maintained a state where all of his magical power was consumed.

Oh Hyeonseong sealed all of his magical power except for the amount allocated and consumed through a contract with the spirit.

The reason is simple.

Because his body, weakened by injury, cannot store magical power.

In a situation where the body is unable to recover beyond a certain level due to aftereffects.

If Oh Hyun-seong were to store all of his immense magical power, it would inevitably put a tremendous burden on his body.

In short, it means that an empty state was intentionally created so as not to burden the weakened body.

But now it’s different.

As I raised my physical condition, I was able to handle a certain amount of magical power, and I was trying to pull out some of the magical power that had been isolated.

“Phew.”

Oh Hyun-seong stopped using his magic and exhaled.

I feel the magical power rising within my body.

By creating a ring in the dantian inside his body, he was able to gain more magical power than most other supernatural hunters.

‘Well, the spirits that are currently under contract are all those without combat abilities, so they can’t be used with their special constitutions, but there are many ways to utilize them even with just basic operation, so it’s better to take them out in advance.’

The body’s condition is stable.

Fortunately, there was no need to spit out the magical power I had worked so hard to expend.

But at that moment.

Woohoo!

“uh…?”

Their gazes turned at the same time.

This is because a phenomenon that even Joo Ji-hye, who was dumbfounded, and Oh Hyun-seong could not have predicted occurred.

Suddenly, the air around them became as cold as ice, and a powerful magical force swept through the cold air pouring down in white.

And then a blurry shape appeared between them.

“You, you…”

Oh Hyun-seong’s surprised voice trembled.

Albern, the water spirit.

His old partner, who was thought to have disappeared, has appeared.

***

Kkudangtang!

The staff jumped to their feet at the sudden sound of the alarm.

It was an anomaly captured by the management office’s gate detection system, and the alarm that had just sounded was not the alarm sound that would normally be heard.

As expected, the employee’s face turned pale as he checked the screen.

“Wavelength scale detected outside of measurement range! S-rank… S-rank gate!”

He quickly grabs the microphone and reports the situation.

The employee, who had been moving around frantically, soon looked back at the screen.

But he had to doubt his own eyes.

The intense waves that had been covering the entire map just a moment ago were gone.

“…disappeared?”

For the first time in the history of observations in the management bureau, the staff stood there dumbfounded for a while.

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