1.

A hospital in Kitakyushu City...

A room in a place now ruined and a scourge that even animals did not wander into was filled with dim light. The dim light was from a candle. The blazing light was brighter than someone thought. It was thanks to the candlelight. A man sitting on a single bed in a private hospital room was able to read his pocket notebook freely thanks to candlelight.

'Musashi is strong, and Japan is also capable of hunting the blue-grade monster at this point, and there was actually a record that they have already hunted it.'

The main character of the pocket notebook was Kim Tae-hoon.

'First of all, the relic grade of the Kusanagi is first, and its value is legendary. The success rate that Musashi will kill the Eight-tailed Fox is more than forty percent, I can guess.'

In addition, the pocket notebook was a checklist that Kim Tae-hoon had written down the last time he had seen his death, the information he had gotten from his death, and the contents of the checklist he read now were about the relics of Japan. The first thing he saw was a record of the Kusanagi.

==[The Kusanagi]

- Relic Grade: Grade 1

- Relic Value: Legend

- Relic Effect: It consumes the Energy of the user and produces a powerful cutting chi that can slice anything.]==

The option itself of the Kusanagi was plain. However, there were more contents on the checklist made by Kim Tae-hoon.

'It is a great weapon.'

The Kusanagi.

Kim was able to gauge its power only through letters, but he could not help but be surprised by its power. It was an amazing weapon that turned crazy monsters that survived in a missile bombardment into a T-bone steak baked rare.

'The problem is the price. The time for an Awakener with the Energy rank of A+ can maintain the Kusanagi is up to 59 seconds...'

But it was a weapon that demanded a huge price for its tremendous power.

The time for a person with an Energy rank of A+ could use the Kusanagi was just less than a minute!

'Even if he uses relics and items to increase the speed and total amount of Energy recovery, it will be just over a minute. On the other hand, when he enters the battle, he will endure the fear and consume a lot of Energy to display his superhuman ability. At this point, even if Musashi is supported by the great power, the time he can use the Kusanagi is around thirty seconds.'

It was not a weapon that could be used at will.

Of course, Kim was confident. 'Well, thirty seconds to kill is enough.

'59 seconds is a short moment for an ordinary person, but that time is like an eternity for a hunter who is about to kill.'

Thirty seconds was enough to kill!.

Kim Tae-hoon immediately looked at the next relic.

==[The Black Armor of Oda Nobunaga]

- Relic Grade: Grade 2

- Relic Value: Special

- Relic Effect: It is the armor that the legendary hero wore on the battlefield. It has the power to resist any horror.]==

The Black Armor of Oda Nobunaga.

This was also an item that Musashi had at this point. In addition, the value and level of relics secured by Japan at this time were not much behind those secured by Korea.

'Moreover, if he can properly use the Seven-Branched Sword, a relic of the same grade as the Golden Altar of the Konjikido… he can actually lower the Eight-tailed Fox to the level of the blue-grade. If he pulls it down to the blue-grade level... If I look ahead this far, the chance of success in the Eight-tailed Fox hunting is over seventy percent.'

The power of Japan was enough to hunt the Eight-tailed Fox, which was the weakest among the dark blue-grade monsters.

Musashi and his aides knew that too. If they tried to hunt the Eight-tailed Fox, there would be some sacrifices, but if they took those sacrifices, there was no reason they could not kill it.

'Because of that calculation, Japan is trying to hunt the Eight-tailed Fox.'

If, in common sense, the hunting of the Eight-tailed Fox was unsuccessful, and there were only sacrifices, Musashi, who thought he was chosen by God, would not have forced the Eight-tailed Fox hunt.

Musashi was arrogant, but he was not a stupid man without end.

'That's the reason they've survived.'

Kim did not ignore Japan's power. They had survived in a place which had become hell. That was a surprise.

If there had been no Kim Tae-hoon in the land of Bucheon, Korea on December 31, 2016, what would have been the future of Korea now? So, he questioned at this moment.

'Then, why did he fail?'

Obviously, Japan's hunt for the Eight-tailed Fox was a failure. But given the circumstances, there was no chance that the hunting would fail simply because of its lack of capability. It was clear that there was a mistake if it failed.

'There's something about it.'

It was now Kim's job to figure it out. He should not reverse the mistake. Above all, the Eight-tailed Fox hunt was very important to him.

'If I eat Eight-tailed Fox's crystal… I may be able to elevate my Telekinesis to a higher level.'

Kim saw his future, and in the future death, he could not hunt Eight-tailed Fox. In other words, the surest way to change the future was to kill it.

'And my death may change.'

Kim needed to change his future, somehow, and why he died.

'No, I must change it. Once again… once again, I cannot die of the curse of the dragon.'

If Kim's death were due to the curse of the dragon in his next dream, he didn't even know what to do.

On the contrary, at this moment, Kim had a different way of thinking. 'I'd rather see the future through someone else… If I am forced to die from a dragon's curse, then I will have someone else drink Napoleon's Golden Glass...'

But the question of how to do it was not long.

Clump…

Kim heard footsteps inside the hospital, where there was only one patient. He stopped worrying and waited for the owner of the footsteps to appear before his eyes.

Soon afterward, Sergeant Lee Hyung-woo presented himself. "Master Sergeant Kim So-hoon, Kyushu branch manager Hiyoshi is coming here."

When he said that, Kim gave an order while covering his pocket notebook. "Prepare for the play."

"Yes."

2.

As soon as the Eight-tailed Fox was scheduled to hunt, a state of emergency was declared throughout Japan. Japan's archipelago actually entered a state of war.

The hail began to fall on the calm lake like a shower, and of course, everyone began to bounce the abacus before the Japanese Empire's monumental historical event called the Eight-tailed Fox Hunt. The people who finished the calculation quickly took action.

'Damn it!' Among them, Hiyoshi finished his calculations the fastest and moved the fastest.

'What the hell is wrong with me?'

Until he succeeded in hunting the Turtle, succeeded in recapturing Hakata Port, wrote about the situations and submitted the report, Kyushu branch manager Hiyoshi was inflated with anticipation. 'Maybe I could go to Tokyo!'

However, the answer from Tokyo was that the power for hunting the Eight-tailed Fox would arrive in Kitakyushu City, and be prepared to welcome them. At the moment he received the order, the mind of Hiyoshi went blank.

'Why on earth so suddenly...?'

To be honest, Hiyoshi did not even know that the answer to his report was "Eight-tailed Fox hunting."

'No, I don't mind that.'

On the contrary, it was enough to calculate how Eight-tailed Fox hunting would affect his situation.

'I need to get rid of Master Sergeant Kim So-hoon first.'

Sooner or later, a large number of influential people and powerful people who represented the Japanese Empire would come to the city of Kitakyushu. If Kim So-hoon and his men were found by them, it would be obvious what would happen to Hiyoshi. That was why he had to get rid of Kim.

"Now that this is the case, keep your presence hidden during the Eight-tailed Fox hunt."

That was why the Kyushu branch manager Hiyoshi was facing the haggard face of Kim, who had raised his upper body arduously in the bed of the ruined hospital room.

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Because of that reason, Kim also protested against the words of the Kyushu branch manager Hiyoshi.

"Isn't this different from your promise? If we risked our lives and succeed in hunting the Ghost Turtle, you'd risk your life and introduce us to the head of the Imperial Hunting Unit, Matsumoto Kanyo?"

What Hiyoshi wanted for Kim and his men was simple: be ghosts until the end of the Eight-tailed Fox hunt, and wait in a desolate place.

"So this is the right time, isn't it? It's nothing else, and Matsumoto Kanyo himself will come! But you're hiding us!... It's nonsense!"

It was a completely different story from the promise. Kim and his men did not hunt the Ghost Turtle with their lives because they wanted its monster stone. It was the sincerity, the expression of the will, and a payment of the price that they showed to lean on Japan, as they had to find a new place to lean on because they were driven out of Korea as rebels.

"I can't accept it!"

In such a situation, the notification of Hiyoshi was not any different from violating the promise he had made.

"I can't help it, this is not what I expected." Kyushu branch manager Hiyoshi knew that well.

'As expected, he resists strongly. But I can't help it.' He was well aware that he was making a cold, hard look.

"And if you continue to be uncooperative, I'll be forced to be uncooperative as well." As his face looked, he began to threaten now, not a notice.

"What the fuck is… 'cough, cough!'" Kim, who was shouting something toward Hiyoshi, began to cough suddenly and violently.

"Master Sergeant!"

The cough made the surroundings of Kim, who had barely raised his body in the bed, reddish. Lee Hyung-woo, who was waiting nearby, was scared and ran over to Kim, who was soaked in the blood that he had spit out.

"Cough, cough!"

"Are you alright, Master, Master Sergeant? Master Sergeant!"

"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay..."

The viewer saw the symptoms of anemia, and Kim's blood was the proof.

'The injury must be serious, and I think that blood transfusion is impossible here... and I'm sure he will soon be dead with this condition.' On the contrary, Hiyoshi was convinced at the pathetic appearance of Kim.

'With this display, it's easy to tell.' Nothing was as easy as threatening a weak human being. Now, Hiyoshi, who had the power to decide the death of Kim, made the final notice to Kim, who was like a candle in front of the wind.

"When the Eight-tailed Fox hunt is over, there will be a major reorganization in the Kyushu branch, and my position will be different. If the hunt succeeds, I will be able to go back to Tokyo. So if you stay with me, you'll naturally be able to settle here, but if I die, you'll all die."

With the notice, Hiyoshi took something out of his pocket. It was a leather pocket.

"I'm not going to throw you away. I will keep my word. I'll give you the crystal of the Ghost Turtle as proof."

And it was the crystal of the Ghost Turtle that filled it. The Kyushu branch manager Hiyoshi carefully placed it on the leg of Kim, who raised only his upper body while lying on the bed.

"I have kept my promise, and you and your men will show your own goodwill. I assure you, if I do well, it will not be bad for you. What can you do with that body, meeting Matsumoto Kanyo? Matsumoto Kanyo will never deal with a man that looks like a corpse, so I think you will be in the hospital for a while recuperating. I'll tell you about a nice hot spring nearby."

There was no further question about the notice. Kim took the leather pocket without saying anything. Hiyoshi released his cold expression.

"Please leave this place tomorrow, with your men. There shouldn't be any traces of you in Kitakyushu. Of course, I won't give you any specific orders. I know you'll do your best if you are the best elites."

After that, Hiyoshi left the hospital room, leaving silence behind in the hospital room.

Then the smiles began to spread in the silence.

"You have great acting skills. He's been fooled by a hundred percent. I was almost fooled along the way. I thought you were really bleeding!"

When Sergeant Lee Hyung-woo said that a smile, Kim smiled and shook his head.

Of course, Kim was fine. The haggard face was a disguise, and the image of a blood-splitting death was just an act. It was one of the few acts that Kim could do.

'This is how it helps to pretend to be dead when I was captured by the enemy.'

The best way to survive at the last moment was to pretend to be dead and to be sick.

It was the reason why Kim, who had survived better than anyone else, had to do better than anyone else.

"I think your performance has finished the operation neatly."

The reason for this performance was simple. In fact, the request of Hiyoshi was what Kim and his men wanted. It was not good that he and his men were exposed on the surface in the first place. Being just like ghosts was what they wanted.

If he obediently accepted the disappearance, he would be suspicious. So he acted.

'Now this is the end of the act.' His acting career was short.

"We're going to stage two, and inform the First Special Operation Unit and the mainland via the Okjo."

The next time Kim Tae-hoon revealed himself, Kim So-hoon would not be needed anymore.

"Yes."

"And you're moving to Kyoto."

"Yes."

"Don't forget to bring some coffee-tasting candy."

"Yes?"

At the last words, Sergeant Lee Hyung-woo looked surprised, and soon gave an excited look and answered with a salute. "Yes, I'll eat it the next time you need my help!" After that, Sergeant Lee left the hospital room.

Now alone, Kim put the green jewel in the leather pocket on his palm.

==[The Crystal of the Ghost Turtle]

- Health level will increase significantly when ingested.

- The proficiency of Defense rank is greatly increased when ingested.

- The power of a Ghost Turtle, [the Devil Shield] will be acquired when ingested.]==

And he put it right in his mouth.

Gulp!

The Ghost Turtle's crystal went down his throat, and he looked at his right hand.

======

[Basic Abilities]

- Strength: 765

- Health: 777

[Special Abilities]

- Energy: A- Rank

- Mana: B+ Rank

- Telekinesis: A+ Rank

- Defense: A- Rank

- Mana Resistance: B+ Rank

[Achieved Abilities]

- Devil Shield (Grade 4): With the power of a Ghost Turtle, you can give the power of the Devil Shield to everything you create with your own Energy, Mana, or Telekinesis. If the object is given the power of the Devil Shield, its resistance to fear and its defense greatly increase.

======

'Not bad...'

Kim was not impressed at this moment. There was no reason to feel that.

'It'll help in hunting a little bit.'

As said earlier, he no longer had to play Kim So-hoon. The only thing that existed now was the hunter Kim Tae-hoon. That was why he took out his diary again and prepared for the hunting.

On October 15, the hunting day dawned.