Episode 154
Bishop Museum.
It was the largest museum on the island of Honolulu, containing the long history of Hawaii.
It was a popular destination for tourists, and its halls were filled with people looking at related to the island’s natural history. However, none of those people knew that the island’s real treasures were in a place never revealed to outsiders: the innermost basement of the museum, a place so deep that even artificial lighting could not reach it. Instead, flame torches filled its dark stone walls.
Ali was waiting for Yoo-seong in the dark and quiet chamber.
“Welcome to the Hall of Hawaii’iloa.”
“Should I say thank you for inviting me?”
“You don’t have to. You earned your right to enter this place.”
“Indeed.” Yoo-seong nodded as he looked around the room.
The stone chamber was shaped like a can of tuna. Twelve pillars lined up in a circle to support the ceiling, and the overall area was about two hundred square meters.
Other than the pillars and the torches, Yoo-seong could see no other items or structures within the room. However, he knew that he was standing in a vault of treasures.
“Here”—Ali gestured toward the chamber’s stone walls—”are our ancestors who laid the foundation to support this island.”
On the surfaces of the walls and pillars, there were paintings of human figures. They were depicted standing side by side and linked arm to arm. Countless patterns were engraved in each human silhouette.
These were the treasures that this place held. These were the tattoos containing Hawaiian Tech.
“The Tech’s power differs depending on the area it is carved into and what the pattern is,” Ali explained.
“Is there anything like a manual I could use?”
“No.”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"}) Ali seemed a little embarrassed at that question, but he continued speaking with a firm voice.
“Danny and I will give you the oral history of each tattoo, as well as its abilities. Then, once you have decided on which one you prefer…”—Ali took out a bottle containing a shiny black pigment—”I’ll use this to engrave it on your body.”
Ali’s heart pounded. Soon, Yoo-seong’s body would be covered with tattoos.
‘These tattoos are our pride. To engrave them on a foreigner…’
Still, he knew that Honolulu and the Kowala Company owed Yoo-seong that much. Moreover, Ali felt that they were gaining more than Yoo-seong would from getting a tattoo.
Oh Yoo-seong’s ability as a hunter was already complete. His skills were considered to be the best in the world. But even for him, learning a new Tech was tremendous and could catapult him to an even higher level.
However, in return, the Kowala Company’s traces would forever be on Yoo-seong’s body.
Ink was an indelible imprint. The tattoos were the Kowala Company’s pride, and with Yoo-seong’s body covered with Hawaiian tattoos, wouldn’t he bring pride to them as well?
As time went on, Yoo-seong would keep getting bigger and bigger. The whole world would remember not only his name but also his appearance.
And, on the once-in-a-generation hunter’s body…
‘Our pride will be inscribed.’
Ali shook his head and began discussing the engravings on the walls.
“A battle-related technique may not hold much meaning for you. Let’s start with utility-related tattoos. We don’t have much time. It would be good if I could point out only the essential parts and attributes and move on to the next design.”
“No.” Yoo-seong stared at Ali before he continued. “Describe each design to me, one by one, and don’t just go through by type. I want to learn about them properly.”
“…….”
Ali considered his words for a moment. But there was nothing wrong with what Yoo-seong wanted, so he agreed.
“Alright. Then… let’s begin.”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"}) Ali began pointing out each mural and explained the meaning and abilities contained in each pattern. Both he and Yoo-seong were so immersed in the tattoo designs that they didn’t notice that over three hours had passed.
“That was everything. Now we’re going to select which tattoos will go onto your skin.”
It was a process that only natives of the island had gone through so far, a complicated procedure with permanent results. A hunter would have to live the rest of his life with the combination he selected. The presence of another tattoo pattern, after all, could greatly impact the other tattoos.
Hence, creating a synergy was complex, and reviewing the possible patterns would easily take another four or five hours.
“If you want, I can advise you on some proven combinations,” Ali offered.
He had learned the most common yet effective combinations through his twenty years of battle experience and the knowledge his ancestors had passed down to him. However…
“No, I won’t need that.”
“What?”
Ali was rendered speechless by Yoo-seong’s answer, and he felt that he was being made fun of. However, what he saw on Yoo-seong’s face was something that didn’t match the man’s reputation and abilities.
It was an expression that didn’t have a trace of pride. Instead, it was full of respect and admiration for the knowledge Ali had just passed to him. It was the very same expression that rookie hunters got on their faces the day they chose their tattoos.
“To be in the presence of such treasures… this… this is just great,” Yoo-seong muttered in Korean. Then he took a large piece of folded paper and a pen from his pocket.
The paper was wide enough for a man to lie down on.
Ali was instantly alarmed.
“W-What are you doing?! Didn’t you understand? All the patterns engraved here are confidential knowledge! It is not permitted to copy even a single stroke…”
“Of course I understand. I have no intention of committing such an unthinkable act.”
With a strange smile, Yoo-seong looked up at Ali.
“What…?”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"}) He didn’t even wait for Ali to finish his sentence.
Swish-!
He twisted his body slightly, to an angle where Ali wouldn’t see him move his hand, and pressed the button.
Auto-Hunt took over immediately.
“……!!”
“Wow…”
Neither Danny nor Ali could help but feel astounded at the subsequent movement.
Yoo-seong’s hand was moving so accurately and efficiently it was hard to describe it as “drawing.” It would be more accurate to call it “printing.”
Yoo-seong’s hand was not using the pen like a normal human would, by creating lines across the paper. Instead, his hand was moving from end to end of the wide paper, putting the pen down in places where a mark should be, just like how a printer works.
As the swings of his arm gradually descended from the top of the paper to the bottom, Danny and Ali began to see the shape of the pattern.
“This… this is just…” Danny couldn’t find the words to describe what he was seeing.
It seemed that Yoo-seong’s superpowers were not limited to hunting.
Ali recovered first and made a move to hold Yoo-seong back but suddenly realized something. The pattern being gradually completed right before their eyes wasn’t something from the murals that surrounded them. It was nothing he had ever seen before.
“What… nonsense…”
The tattoos contained Tech that had been passed down from generation to generation, and in the process, it was not uncommon for the knowledge to get degraded. Eventually, only the principles of engraving the designs had remained, and the method of developing more designs was lost in transmission.
Being an island that kept to itself, and with the value of Salamander fluids only recently discovered, the Kowala Company didn’t have the funds to invest in research and development. So the process of learning about the combinations was one of trial and error, involving a warrior’s entire life.
Despite realizing the value of research and development, Ali had put it off again and again. It didn’t help that the number of cracks had increased during his time. But he’d comforted himself that one day, if there were enough room for him to do so, he would definitely make sure to improve their Tech in earnest.
Not even in his dreams had he imagined seeing a “new” tattoo being created right in front of him.
Seokko-
Seok-
Seok-
Yoo-seong’s pen continued to scratch upon the paper’s rough surface, birthing tattoos that had never existed before.
Seokko-
Finally, his drawings were complete. The paper quickly sucked up the ink and dried off, and Yoo-seong raised it to Ali’s eyes.
“What’s in this isn’t anything you have here, right?” Yoo-seong confirmed. “Thank you for the opportunity to see and learn about your tattoos. Based on the knowledge you gave me, I made my own design. I won’t deny that the inspiration was from these murals, but this is mine alone.”
Ali trembled. Uncontrollable emotions flowed through his chest. Then Yoo-seong handed him the folded paper.
“This… are you…” he stuttered.
“Ah, no, I’m not giving you this design,” Yoo-seong chuckled. “You have to engrave it on my body.”
***
Without taking a break, not even a sip of water, for hours, Ali focused on engraving the patterns on the oily skin before him.
Frustration rose within him. No matter how much he looked at the design Yoo-seong had made, he couldn’t understand what it was. It just seemed to be made up of random lines and shapes.
The tattoo Yooseong had designed was unmatched by the basic tattoos in its sophistication and complexity. It didn’t follow any of the logic that Ali had speculated on and studied for the past two decades.
The only way to know how it worked would be to see it in action.
“I want to… How can I do what you just did?” Ali sighed as the needle in his hand continued to move.
“Hmm?” Yoo-seong looked at him with a frown. He had been gritting his teeth through the pain of the tattooing procedure.
Danny wasn’t around as only Ali and Yoo-seong could be present during the treatment.
Yoo-seong’s brows furrowed as he translated Ali’s words in his head before he finally found his response.
“Luck.”
“What? Luck?”
“Yes.”
‘What this?’ Ali shook his head from side to side and chuckled.
Of course, while Yoo-seong’s answer was short, it was extremely rational. He had definitely been lucky to be born with transcendent skills. Only then could he have gathered the knowledge to improve and develop Tech at one glance.
“It must be too easy for you,” Ali smiled.
Surprisingly, Yoo-seong replied immediately this time.
“No. Difficult.”
“Difficult how? Ah… never mind.”
Ali thought that Yoo-seong had misunderstood what he was saying. However, Yoo-seong had understood him perfectly, thus his answer.
Yoo-seong knotted his brows, and with as many English words as he knew, he tried to explain. “The difficult thing is to remain.”
After all, it was easy to take comfort in reality.
He was lucky, for he had received a cheat code that allowed him a limitless capacity. Yoo-seong could just keep getting stronger and stronger.
“Just… at what point do I stop?” he asked the silent Ali.
With Auto-Hunt, he could have lived a comfortable life as a simple hunter without much effort. He wouldn’t have needed to learn Tech. He wouldn’t have needed to be in strange relationships, face evil people, or be in situations that were of national interest. It wouldn’t have been a bad life. He could have just participated in operations from time to time and injected CE every few months, just like any normal hunter.
Perhaps, even without effort, he would have steadily grown until he reached the silver or gold rank by the time he retired. By then, he would have had enough money for the rest of his life. He would have been able to live the life of the upper class, with fancy dinners every night.
However, it would have been very difficult for Yoo-seong to do that. To be content with his current strength without exploring his maximum potential.
As the needle punctured his skin, Yoo-seong continued to mutter in Korean to distract himself from the pain. “In the past, I was very curious about why Auto-Hunt appeared to me. Why me? There must have been other people who were better than me.”
However, recently he had realized why.
“It was because I… do not know when to stop.”
It was neither self-praise nor self-pity.
“Even to the point of getting tattoos all over my body. If my mother sees me like this… she will be very upset.”
It was a self-analysis that Yoo-seong had never told anyone.
“…”
Ali was silent throughout the incomprehensible murmurs. Perhaps he felt Yoo-seong’s mood despite not understanding his words. He just moved silently and focused on the procedure until…
“Wooh-”
Finally, they were done. Yoo-seong slowly stood up and stared at his body in the mirror.
There were a total of six tattoos covering his body.
Both arms.
Both legs.
The front and rear parts of his torso.
The knowledge accumulated by Auto-Hunt so far and the principles of the Hawaiian Tech were burning on his bloody, reddened skin.
Yoo-seong then picked up his clothes. However, before putting them on…
“What if…”
He looked down at his body. Then he blinked.
Pop-!
“Huh?!”
A dumbfounded groan escaped Ali’s lips as he watched Yoo-seong. With just a blink of Yoo-seong’s eyes, the tattoo on his right leg had disappeared. Although his skin was still red, it was as if he had never been tattooed at all.
It didn’t end there.
Pop-!
Pop-!
Every time Yoo-seong blinked, the tattoos disappeared one after another.
He’d realized he could place them in his Slot.
“Thank God!” Yoo-seong sighed with relief with his face shining bright. “Tattoos aren’t that accepted in the culture where I’m from. Wooh!”
Ali still didn’t know how to react to what he’d just seen and simply stood there frozen, with his mouth wide open.
“Now then… I’ll see you next time I have a chance.”
With those words, Yoo-seong threw himself out the window. Many people saw him leaving the place, but no one saw him fall.
They only saw his rise.
***
Two hours later…
Yoo-seong landed on the West Coast of the United States.
