“It’s been a while since we’ve met,” Jaehwang said, greeting Mr. Choi however, Mr. Choi didn’t seem so pleased to meet him. His hands were trembling and he could feel his thoughts conflicting. It was obvious that he was tired but he still wanted to speak with Jaehwang.

“You… How did you do it?” Mr. Choi asked. He wanted to know the details about Jaehwang’s attacks.

Jaehwang then shrugged his shoulders and said, “Just a little something I learned…”

Mr. Choi was not satisfied with his answer. He thought that Jaehwang could be some kind of a monster, even just the thought of it gave him some chills and goosebumps. He just placed his hand on the sword sitting next to him, his sense of hostility still haven’t disappeared.

“How surprising,” Mr. Choi said with a tone full of admiration.

“I guess it’s just luck.”

“Yep, just luck…” Choi replied. He thought that if he meant it as a joke, it wasn’t a good one. “Well, I’m going to talk to Gwanjae.”

“Okay, see you another time,” Jaehwang said goodbye and returned back to his seat. Mr. Choi, on the other hand, thought of someone as he walked away. Jaehwang reminded him of someone he used to know a long time ago.

‘Dustin’

They were one of the two most powerful hunters in the world, Dustin… He was a very secretive person. Mr. Choi got a strange monster-like feeling the first time he met him as well.

***

“Phew…”

Jaehwang finished taking a shower and got into bed.

‘Three weeks?’ He suddenly thought of his mistake and he couldn’t get it out of his head.

—Spirit? Are you there?

—What is it?

—How much time do we have left before we visit that place again?

Jaehwang asked and after thinking for a moment, the spirit replied.

—About ten years… Maybe even up to 15 years. I don’t know how it could be done in a short amount of time. In that place his skills are limitless.

—Limitless…

Jaehwang thought about what she just told him. He was the successor of their strength. He expected to find some traces of it in Baekdusan. It was what his ancestors left behind and he even tried to use a high-altitude transport vehicle in an attempt to get ahold of it.

After hearing what the spirit said, he was able to put together a few more things. Of course, at first, Jaehwang was perfectly handling everything on his own however, he stopped when he ran out of clues. There were places that he couldn’t just go because of the dangers that it possessed.

During that time, they used their various connections with the army to get that kind of vehicle and after a week, they were able to learn the basics of high altitude diving. It was as expected of them because they were high-ranked hunters and they could learn things instantly. Jaehwang was also faithful with their training and he even told the others what he knew.

Jaehwang settled down in that place for some time before he went to a place called Samju. He spent his time every day looking for some traces and when he finally found some, he knew that he was ready for his real journey.

He followed those traces and it led him to a giant shaped door. He initially thought that it was a door leading to the Alousu since it looked just like one but it didn’t seem like it was a hole into the other worlds. That’s why he asked the spirit to open it with his magic so they could get through.

Then…

He thought that he was going crazy… Jaehwang was able to meet his ancestors from years ago through that door.

Finally, he was able to meet them and find out what they were hiding. Jaehwang was surprised. The sky was completely covered and but the entire place was dark and moist, it was as dense as a rainforest.

The sun seemed so far away and all of the leaves of the trees were on the ground along with a lot of trash. A strange smell filled the place, making it unbearable to the others except for the monsters that were there.

Being there was like going back to a past memory. Jaehwang just stood still, looking at all the scenery.

—We need your magic.

—Okay.

If the spirit wouldn’t be able to help him gather those monsters, then he would just have to wait.

He walked through the door and he soon encountered a few houses along a path. They didn’t see anyone else but they thought that maybe, they could find some to start their journey.

Soon enough, they found the place that they were looking for. They began to see someone in the distance as they walked further. That someone was covered in armor from head to toe and he was a holding a weapon in hand.

“That weapon in his hands…” As they got a little closer, Jaehwang was surprised to see that the person was holding a bow and arrow.

He couldn’t believe it. It looked just like an arrow that his father once gave to him.

He politely greeted him when he got closer but that person looked at him and said, “You’re not qualified. Go away.”

He had an annoyed tone in his voice.

—He’s one of them…

—Who is he?

—One of your ancestors! Be careful!

The spirit warned him.

— Stay sharp, you could be in great danger.

—Got it.

Jaehwang replied. If they were to interfere with anything then they may not be able to ever escape that place. That guy was strong. He could even be stronger than Gwanjae… That guy was like a monster.

Jaehwang couldn’t even use his tiger hunter skill because the guy might try to attack him with his deadly arrows if he tried to do so.

Although he wasn’t too sure about his skills since he haven’t seen them yet but then, he suddenly noticed that an arrow was already stabbed into his arm.

—I think he’s onto us!

—What?!

—Let’s go!

Pong! Pong!! Pong!!!!

The guy continued his barrage of arrows as Jaehwang ran away.

Pong!!!

The arrow flew through the wind at the speed of light and it followed Jaehwang’s every move like a missile as it left behind a trail of smoke. Jaehwang could recognize that it was a guided arrow just like the one he had used so many times. The arrow didn’t hit him directly but its impact was enough to knock him off his feet when it crashed into a nearby wall.

“Darn it!”

His ancestor tried to launch another arrow as a counterattack but fortunately, Jaehwang was able to move out of the way in time.

Jaehwang caught his arrow with his hand as it flew past him.

—He’s really strong!

—I told you so.

Jaehwang was shocked as he could never have imagined how strong he actually could have been. Words couldn’t even describe how powerful his ancestor was. There was no way that Jaehwang could even think about competing against him.

He couldn’t think about escaping. Jaehwang just stayed in hiding until the attacks had stopped. He planned to heal himself once he got himself out of there.

—I have to do something.

—Like what?

—I’ll just… We need to use a spell on him to at least weaken his powers for a moment… But what kind of spell could we use…

The spirit said as she tried to think of something. For their attack to have any effect, they would have to use a high ranked spell. Things just got harder when they realized that they can’t just escape that place.

—It’s so dangerous here.

The spirit said.

His ancestors seemed to be devoid of mercy. All of his shots were delivered with an intent to kill. Jaehwang felt like he was actually really lucky because he could have died if just one arrow made its mark. He couldn’t relax at all.

But, he cheered himself up and smiled.

—This is good.

—What?

—This is my chance to observe and learn something from them.

He looked towards his ancestor and realized something, he felt happier all of a sudden.

—What if you challenged him. How long do you think you would last?…

—Ha, I have no idea…

Jaehwang replied as he kept his eyes on him. It took a moment but he got up and walked towards his ancestor once again.

He was ready to begin the Challenge. There was no telling what might happen and then, he was able to complete it.

The Successor 3, The end.