Chapter 63
Chapter 63
Hyunseok didn’t find it particularly difficult to deal with the werewolves.
By now, the Inha Guild members had each reached a level where they could perform their individual roles perfectly.
At least when it came to fighting werewolves, that much was certain.
Besides, werewolves gave quite a lot of experience.
If you killed a whole pack at once, you could even earn an Achievement.
They were also the only monsters in the field that dropped Yellow Stones, making them rather precious prey.
After a month had passed, the Korean Union had finally done it.
Following full-scale negotiations with the Korean government, they had successfully secured official recognition of Monster Stones as private property.
Up until now, Monster Stones had been legally considered the sole property of the state.
There had only been a few exceptions to that rule.
First, when someone kept one secretly, since enforcement was practically impossible in such cases.
Second, using Monster Stones for item enhancement was permitted, but only if you reported their acquisition to the local ward office beforehand. (Of course, in reality, hardly any Slayer ever bothered with that.)
And finally, there was the black market, illegal Monster Stone trade that had been rampant for years.
In truth, most Slayers had always preferred selling through black markets rather than trading with the government.
But that was no longer the case.
Private ownership of Monster Stones had now been officially legalized.
Of course, it wouldn’t take effect immediately.
Implementation would begin gradually, starting with the rarer Yellow Stones whose circulation numbers were still small.
Most experts expected that brokers who had operated in the shadows would now openly step into the light.
Hyunseok spoke.
“So, you finally pulled it off.”
Sunghyung smiled, slightly flushed with satisfaction.
“Yeah. It’s all thanks to you. Without your help, the Korean Union and Slayers wouldn’t have been able to negotiate from a position of strength.”
“You’re giving me too much credit.”
As both the Union Leader and major shareholder of Sori Corporation, Park Sunghyung looked visibly pleased.
“Sori Corp will now, alongside the Union, handle the purchase, sale, and distribution of Monster Stones, on behalf of the government. I expect this will generate some serious capital.”
“That’s great. Up until now, you’ve been covering the Union’s expenses out of your own pocket… We’ve never collected any kind of tax or dues from guilds.”
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the Korean Union, which had originated from Jongwon’s Eradication Squad, had grown this far almost entirely thanks to Sunghyung’s capabilities.
If it had been Jongwon in charge… it probably would’ve ended with the Eradication Squad.
Sunghyung asked,
“Tomorrow’s the full moon again. What about Minseo?”
“That’s what I’m struggling with. It’s exam season, should I really bring her along?”
“Honestly, I think it’s fine. She loves Slaying, and besides, she’s about to hit 100 Intelligence, isn’t she? Once she does, she’ll be able to use at least High-rank skills. That’ll benefit not only you, but the whole guild.”
It was true that Minseo was close to reaching 100 Intelligence.
But she was intentionally holding back.
Whenever she and Hyunseok fought together, they earned at least Challenging or higher Achievements, and there was a strong chance her “Challenger of the Impossible” title would evolve if she reached a new threshold.
That’s why she was deliberately saving her remaining stat points.
It wasn’t as if she desperately needed an immediate stat increase anyway.
Still, participating in Slaying would be good for her too, Hyunseok admitted inwardly.
But no matter how successful or renowned he was as a Platinum Slayer, he was still her older brother.
He couldn’t quite bring himself to drag his younger sister away from something as important as exams just for monster hunting.
He knew full well that someone like Ha Jongwon would scold him for being “old-fashioned” or “overprotective.”
Still, knowing something in your head didn’t mean it was easy to act against your heart.
After much thought, Hyunseok finally decided to let Minseo participate in the Slaying.
Tonight will probably be quiet again.
Ever since werewolves began appearing, the streets had become eerily deserted on nights with a full moon.
At least, in areas where werewolves tended to show up.
Working late was practically banned, and anyone seen walking the streets after dark would be labeled insane.
Sunghyung said,
“Even Gangnam Style is planning to make another attempt tonight.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“They’re not like you. They’re working directly with the military this time, getting support with modern weapons. Not just weapons, either. They’ll also be using special gear, some kind of custom-made vests optimized for werewolf Slaying. They’ve studied the werewolves’ habits thoroughly. As long as they’re careful, they should manage.”
Last month, a Gold-ranked Slayer had failed to Slay a werewolf.
But humans were creatures that learned.
If an item didn’t exist, they’d make one.
Even the Inha Guild used five-meter-high electric walls to hunt werewolves safely, primarily to protect Minseo and Pyeonghwa.
Werewolves mainly used two attack patterns:
Leaping high to slash downward with their claws, or charging straight in to bite at the neck or shoulder.
So, as long as you protected your crown, nape, and shoulders, you could avoid fatal injuries.
“So actual equipment is more effective than in-game shop items, huh,” Hyunseok remarked.
“Exactly. Sori Corp is already mass-producing werewolf-specific gear. We’ve even patented it. Sooner or later, werewolves will start appearing all over the world.”
Sori Corp had already become a global enterprise.
It had started with the Smart Dogam, but now produced all sorts of items, and with Monster Stone management and distribution added to its business scope, its influence was growing faster than ever.
That night, Hyunseok led the entire Inha Guild into another large-scale werewolf Slaying operation.
Once again, not a single casualty occurred.
Across the country, about thirty areas were suffering from werewolf outbreaks.
Three of those zones were cleared by the Inha Guild alone, and one more by Gangnam Style.
This time, Gangnam Style succeeded too, though rumors said there had been several close calls.
There were still some military and police injuries, but that much was inevitable.
[Breaking News Headlines]
Werewolves, No Longer the Symbol of Fear!
Platinum Slayer’s Achievement, Gangnam Style’s Daring Success!
Military & Police: Effective Countermeasures Found Against Werewolves!
Deaths from werewolves dropped sharply.
Once humanity had found effective countermeasures, the panic began to fade.
Civilians, too, gradually lost their sense of alarm.
Lightning strikes were among nature’s deadliest phenomena.
If you were hit, survival chances were slim, but that didn’t stop people from going outside.
The probability was simply too low.
Werewolves had become the same, terrifying if you met one, but the odds of encountering one were near zero.
Bit by bit, they faded from public fear.
And then,
News broke from Japan: two Giant Turtles had appeared.
Strictly speaking, Giant Turtles weren’t especially dangerous while their shells remained intact.
But that only applied before their shields were broken.
“They appeared in a large industrial complex?”
“Yeah, they’re using cranes and heavy machinery to hold them back.”
The Giant Turtles were enormous.
Their shells were so wide that four or five five-meter-tall Cyclopes could stand on top of them.
They stood around five meters tall themselves, making them the largest monsters ever recorded.
In other words, they had immense mass, like living battering rams.
And since they only moved in straight lines, if left unchecked, they could easily destroy entire industrial zones.
Japanese Slayers were losing their minds.
Unlike Cyclopes, Giant Turtles could be Slain, at least in theory.
As long as you had proper shields and avoided direct skin contact with their acidic venom, they were killable.
Not without casualties, but doable, once their shell was broken.
The problem was, no matter how hard they hit, cut, or blasted, the damage just didn’t register.
Frustrated Slayers cursed aloud:
“Aww, hell! I’m done with this crap!”
It was the first time they’d ever encountered such absurdly high defense.
If it were a terrifying monster like a Cyclops, they could accept it.
But this slow-moving turtle that wouldn’t take damage?
It was infuriating.
Eventually, the Slayers gave up.
But then, Japan did something no one expected.
“Wow… only Japan would think of that.”
They decided to capture the Giant Turtle alive and raise it.
They were planning to build a giant theme park around it.
Because the Giant Turtle’s movement speed was incredibly slow, barely five meters per hour, it was practically harmless.
You could close your eyes and stumble around and still not get crushed.
When attacked, it “charged” forward at a glorious speed of five meters per second, if that.
In short, they didn’t even need a huge facility.
By adjusting the turtle’s direction once a month, they could keep it “contained.”
And since it didn’t eat, or attack to feed, just like werewolves, it was practically the perfect tourism exhibit.
The theme park became wildly popular.
For ordinary people, monsters and Slayers were stories from another world.
Now, they could see a real monster with their own eyes.
Even foreign tourists flocked in droves.
The Giant Turtle Theme Park became an overnight sensation.
The Japanese government, basking in soaring tourism revenue, was delighted.
❋ ❋ ❋
Meanwhile, Inha Guild continued its regular expeditions into Training Dungeons, never wasting an opportunity.
After all, nothing raised Skill Levels and proficiency faster.
Recruiting Myunghoon had proven a stroke of genius, he was, so far, the only known Trapper capable of locating Training Dungeons.
But when they exited their latest dungeon, the world was in uproar.
A major incident had occurred at Japan’s Giant Turtle Theme Park.
At first, there had been skepticism toward the idea of “raising” such creatures, but the park’s popularity skyrocketed, with exponential profits from domestic and international tourism alike.
For ordinary citizens, monsters were practically mythical.
Seeing one up close, especially a gigantic, dinosaur-sized creature, was mesmerizing.
And when the Giant Turtles began mating, the park’s fame exploded.
Videos of the massive creatures’ mating scenes went viral worldwide, surpassing 500 million views.
It became one of the most-watched clips in human history, and a massive tourism boost for Japan.
But ninety days after their initial appearance, disaster struck.
The once docile and timid Giant Turtles suddenly turned violent.
Exactly on the 90th day, they went berserk.
Hundreds of tourists taking photos nearby were sprayed by acidic fluid and dissolved on the spot, leaving no bodies behind, making identification impossible.
Though the final death toll was uncertain, confirmed casualties already exceeded 180 people.
The Japanese Self-Defense Force scrambled jets to divert the monsters’ attention, but that was as far as they got.
(End of Chapter 63)
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— Translated by Prime Works —