生活助手

The day all boundaries crumbled, the government collapsed.

Monsters swarmed in. Martial artists caused chaos due to sudden dimensional integration. The empire appeared alongside wizards.

And gods, spirits, and druids.

They had no power to handle any of it.

When the government fell, people left to find their own ways to survive.

Thus, North Korea formed city warlords.

Although lumped together as Old North Korea, it could be seen as a union of multiple warlord factions.

However, many sought this place.

Countless monsters.

Weather reminiscent of the Arctic.

This was hell, but also North Korea’s lifeline.

Mana stones unique to this place, growing only in cold areas and filled with cold mana.

These stones could only be found here.

It was not strange to call them a specialty.

They were also the energy that spirits consumed.

That was North Korea’s main source of income.

And they drew power from it.

Despite bordering China, they rejected their martial arts.

Despite bordering Korea, they rejected magic and martial arts.

They studied the science of dreaming life in barren land.

Druids.

Masters of spirit arts.

With that power, they adapted to the cold of the Arctic.

And a being was born.

Ice imbued with the energy of the North.

One who wielded its power.

Starting as a soldier, he unified the surrounding warlords and was called the master of the North.

Eventually, he unified all the warlords and established a small nation.

Grand Duke of the North, Jung Kimoon.

The person in front of him now was that very being.

“What brings you to the North, Head of the Han family, Han Seojin?”

“…What is that?”

Han Seojin had a bad feeling.

The characters were familiar.

He had used them annoyingly often in his third life.

So, he could understand.

The meaning behind that name.

‘No, damn it.’

Head.

Building a castle with heads.

The reason for the prefix ‘family’ is simple.

Because he collected the heads of those families.

‘No.’

While Han Seojin was bewildered, Jun Kimoon looked at him.

How many families had he destroyed?

First, he brought down the Namgoong Clan.

Next was the Wi Clan.

Although it was done by the head of the household, as soon as Han Seojin entered, the head executed a bloody purge.

And lastly, the Iron-Blood Sword Clan.

Though some said it was a famous sword clan in Korea, the head was a Supreme Realm monster.

There were also many monsters who had reached the High Realm.

The martial arts world had lost its martial skills, and many things disappeared, but a family of that caliber had its own strength.

If we were to speak of North Korea, it was a force strong enough to threaten one’s own power.

‘There are even rumors that a transcendent being has intervened.’

Han Seojin, the head professor.

The mortal most cherished by the transcendent being, Kwon Sora.

The speed at which he transcended realms was unbelievably steep.

Han Seojin, who was struggling as a mana novice, suddenly began to grow stronger at an incredible rate.

It took only half a year.

Even so, according to the powerful, it wouldn’t be strange for his strength to reach the highest rank.

Such a being visited this place.

The Grand Duke of the North, Jung Kimoon, canceled all his schedules.

He welcomed Han Seojin as a distinguished guest.

Meanwhile, Han Seojin, who was being treated as a distinguished guest, frowned.

Head of a clan.

A very odd nickname that seemed to conjure someone.

That’s one thing, but.

‘Is that the Northern Grand Duke?’

Han Seojin frowned.

Black hair and blue eyes.

Cold as ice. A face that resembles winter.

But the body didn’t match.

Grand Duke?

More like.

‘Doesn’t he look more like a fat duke?’

That thought came naturally. His face was quite handsome, but below it, it’s different. His belly protruded, and his limbs were thin.

‘He’s definitely a man.’

He looked like a woman with a pregnant physique.

“Don’t look at me strangely. This is a side effect of my trait.”

“That’s really dreadful.”

A physique like that affected not only appearance but also deeply impacted accumulated knowledge.

“More importantly, Head of the Clan.”

Han Seojin frowned at the Northern Pig Duke’s words.

No matter how much he thought about it, that didn’t seem right.

“If you call me by that nickname one more time, I’ll kill you.”

“…Why, why are you like this? Isn’t it a cool nickname?”

“Cool?”

That thing?

As he looked at him incredulously, the Northern Pig Duke, who was looking at Han Seojin with a jealous expression, spoke.

“Yeah. Isn’t it a valuable nickname for someone who has harvested the heads of those stiff-necked guys? I’d like to take it for myself if I could.”

Please take it.

Han Seojin only thought to himself.

Since that Northern Pig Duke already called him that, the nickname had spread everywhere.

‘I’d rather be called the Blue-Eyed Martial Emperor or the Pretty boy.’

He actually thought so.

Han Seojin sighed and got to the point.

“Do you know why I came here?”

“I don’t.”

“Because this place is a terrorist den.”

“Terrorists… hmm, are you saying that all the people in our northern region are terrorists… referring to those corpse bastards?”

“Vampires.”

“We’re more accustomed to calling them corpse ghosts here. Anyway, you mean you’ve come all this way to deal with those vampire bastards.”

The Northern Grand Duke squinted his eyes briefly and said,

“Sorry, but we don’t know much about them either. Even though we are the most cohesive and powerful warlords in this area, as you know, the old North Korean land has many unknown territories.”

Old North Korea was one of the less modernized places.

Was that why?

Excessive mana was gathered there.

Countless practitioners secretly set up their bases here, and there were also many unnamed monsters.

Sometimes, there was even a joke that a national power-level monster capable of overthrowing a country alone could be found here.

In the meantime, druids and spirits gathered.

Those who enhanced their affinity with nature and harmonized with it.

Thanks to them, this place was becoming even more vibrant.

As a result, even the Grand Duke of the North, who ruled over North Korea, could not know everything about the North.

“Hmm.”

Certainly.

The mana concentration here was strange.

Excessive, too excessive.

‘It’s not quite like a spirit vein, though.’

It’s absurd that it could be compared to that.

It felt as if something was forcibly trapping mana here.

Han Seojin looked at the Grand Duke of the North.

“Then please just cooperate a little.”

“Cooperate? Of course, I can do that. We’re rooting out those terrorists, after all. We can also reinforce supplies and personnel.”

“…It’s strange for me to say this after asking for cooperation, but isn’t this a bit too cooperative?”

“Well, you could think that way, but consider me an ardent fan of yours.”

“Fan?”

“And I also want to make a good impression on Ms. Kwon Sora.”

“Of course, it’s about that.”

“Who knows.”

After speaking in a peculiar tone, the Grand Duke of the North just laughed.

The Grand Duke of the North provided support with personnel.

In case it was needed, he also provided supplies.

A person who appeared to be in charge showed up.

Brilliantly shining blonde hair.

And eyes as blue as a lake.

The cold impression reminded one of the Grand Duke of the North.

‘No, that would be rude.’

Unlike the Grand Duke of the North, whose belly jutted out like a pregnant woman, this person was well-trained.

“Mr. Han Seojin, everything is ready.”

“Ah, I see. What’s your name?”

“I’m Jung Gaeun.”

“Really?”

They seemed to be father and daughter.

Their temperaments were similar, making it hazy, but they had the same surname.

“But.”

Was this supplies?

I looked around at the items and asked back with a blank expression.

‘Supplies…?’

Usually, it means provisions or something like that, but the Grand Duke of the North sent me strange items.

‘No, I’m sure of this.’

Although a bit rusty and old-looking, there were plenty of grenades and bombs.

There were also claymores and submachine guns.

‘Silver bullets.’

They contained a very faint holy power.

It’s like calling something a peach drink when it only has a peach scent.

‘This should be useful when fighting vampires, right?’

Such thoughts naturally came to mind.

“Quite decent.”

“I’m glad you’re satisfied.”

“Now the problem is the location of the vampires.”

“If it’s that, I have some information.”

“Huh?”

“Corpse ghosts… No, those vampires grew up feeding on the blood of our North Korean people. Our resentment towards them runs deeper than you might think.”

“I see.”

“Thank you for that. Those vampires are so troublesome that it was difficult to handle them with our own strength.”

“Is that so?”

“However, there is a problem.”

Jung Gaeun hesitated for a moment.

She found it difficult to speak, as if saying this would cause trouble.

“What problem?”

“Vampires are naturally troublesome beings. But if that was all, His Excellency wouldn’t have provided so many resources.”

“So, it’s not just the vampires that are troublesome.”

“Yes.”

“Who else is there?”

“There are demons.”

“Demons?”

He frowned.

If there were demons, it would indeed be a bit troublesome.

Demon clan.

They served the Demon King. Some people classified vampires as a clan of demons, but they were not exactly demons.

The difference between demons and other races.

The way to distinguish them was simple.

‘Is there a Demon King leading the tribe or not?’

Demon King.

A monster standing at some pinnacle, like the Insect Dragon King.

The clan they led.

That was what demons were.

And.

“The Insect Dragon Tribe. Those disgusting bugs are cooperating with them.”

An ill-fated relationship was beginning once again.

‘Annoying creatures.’

Han Seojin smiled.

Insect Dragon Clan.

They were always annoying.

His ill-fated relationship with the Insect Dragon King.

Besides that, they had also meddled with the Empire in his second life.

They were the ones who devoured an entire kingdom.

They offered countless sacrifices to summon their king.

That’s why they were annoying.

They were always entangled with him.

Even before the Bloodshed of Mount Hua in his third life, there were traces of them.

‘Although they didn’t come forward themselves.’

A place he was drawn to by a strange attraction.

There were traces of them there.

And now, they’re with the terrorists who were targeting him?

‘Really, it’s so tiresome.’

Han Seojin’s lips curved slightly upward.

It was a sly smile.

“But.”

Jeong Gaeun looked at him as if puzzled.

“Why are you preparing a wreath?”

“To hold a funeral.”

“What?”

“Don’t you know it’s customary to send wreaths for the dead?”

“Well, yes, but.”

Ignoring Jeong Gaeun’s bewildered voice, he prepared the wreath.

Lilies imbued with mana that only grow in the north.

A wreath for them.

So he hoped they would receive it well.

‘I thought of something quite interesting.’

The bombs given by that Grand Duke of the North.

The space-related ability of Severance.

‘Originally, it’s a power that cuts through space itself.’

The user was a person named Han Seojin. He cleverly twisted the power of the trait.

Into a force for movement.

It was possible because the trait of Severance was initially designed for movement as well.

But since people couldn’t move, it wasn’t very useful.

Now it was different.

‘Along with the wreath.’

He put in bombs filled with silver energy.

He enchanted them himself.

He meticulously embedded the magic formula.

The flame of Harmony.

That’s what’s contained.

‘Originally, the power of Brilliant Blazing Fire isn’t meant to be used in places like this.’

The focus of Brilliant Blazing Fire was harmony.

And recovery.

It was an attack magic that simultaneously contained the power of recovery and harmony.

So, it was rarely used for offense.

‘The opponent is a vampire and a demon.’

Thus, the power of the Sun contained in the Pyroclasm boasted an extremely adverse compatibility.

“Heh heh.”

A bad connection.

Those annoying bastards.

So, as a gesture of revisiting past enmities, this was a gift to them.

An eye for an eye.

A tooth for a tooth.

‘For terrorism.’

Indeed, terrorism was the answer.