Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Eye of the Storm (2)
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Sahara Desert.
The night, stripped of the day's scorching heat, was bone-chillingly cold.
A scorpion darted swiftly across the sand permeated with frigid air.
Thud.
Despite there being no obstacles in sight, it bounced back as if struck by something and veered off to the side.
Crunch, crunch.
Trailing behind it came a blonde woman and a man, walking across the sand.
Chris and Monjiro of Pentagram.
Monjiro spoke into the empty air.
"Isabelle. It's us."
The air, which had felt utterly undisturbed, rippled and formed a passageway.
As Chris and Monjiro stepped forward, the passage swallowed them whole, then seamlessly blended back into the desert as if nothing had happened.
Step, step.
The underground space they descended into via the passage was worlds apart from the desert above.
It brimmed with cutting-edge equipment, and at the center stood a round table with a holographic world map hovering over it.
Rankers who had already arrived were seated there.
This was Pentagram's headquarters, known only to its elite rankers.
Isabelle, the woman with sea-blue hair, beamed as she welcomed Chris.
"Boss! Good work out there!"
"Yeah."
Monjiro spoke up at Isabelle's reaction.
"Am I invisible or something?"
"Doesn't matter if you show up or not."
"Wow, I busted my ass just like her, and this is the thanks I get? Harsh."
"Hmph. Think about your usual antics."
"Where else are you gonna find someone as diligent as me?"
Isabelle glared at Monjiro with narrowed eyes.
"Diligent? You mean the guy who snuck out a 'spatial' artifact from the guild vault when there were only a few left?"
Monjiro flinched.
It was true—he had given Kim Gunja the dimensional dagger, Zarathu, on his own judgment.
There were no procedural issues.
As one of Pentagram's rankers, he had the authority for that much.
But Isabelle, who hadn't met Kim Gunja yet, was irked that Monjiro was being unusually generous to a newbie.
Of course, Monjiro had his own defense.
"You think I'd do that on my own? I was just following the boss's orders not to skimp on support. Right, boss?"
Isabelle's gaze naturally shifted to Chris, who nodded.
"Yeah. That's right."
Monjiro shrugged smugly, as if to say "See?"
Chris's endorsement softened Isabelle's stance a bit.
"Still, he's barely joined, so maybe don't favor him too much."
"Hey, hey, the guy's so efficient it makes 'newbie' sound wrong. He's getting what he deserves."
"That's exactly why I'm suspicious. I've never seen an Awakener grow that fast. It's straight-up abnormal, right?"
"Well... his growth is quick, sure... But nothing to worry about. He contacted me—says he's become a target for the Slayers."
Isabelle's pupils dilated.
Being targeted by the Slayers carried huge implications.
It meant he'd faithfully carried out Pentagram's missions while also proving skilled enough to catch the eye of Slayer's archbishop.
Monjiro smirked at Isabelle.
"So, ease up a bit."
As Isabelle opened her mouth to retort—
"You can trust the newbie."
Chris said calmly.
Recalling the warmth in the hand that had once belonged to the previous boss.
Isabelle dropped it there.
"Got it."
"So, greetings over?"
Andrey, seated at one end of the round table, wrapped it up, and the three took their seats.
Chris spoke on behalf of the fully gathered group.
"Let's begin. Isabelle."
"Yes."
Isabelle's demeanor shifted completely from moments before.
This was Pentagram's official ranker meeting.
Even in their freewheeling guild, they knew when to observe basic decorum.
Observer Isabelle.
She monitored global gate trends, serving as Pentagram's eyes and the central hub for most classified intel, often moderating these meetings.
Responding to Isabelle's mana, the world map hologram transformed into three rings.
There were three Master Rings in total.
Below them, the current owners' names and the entities they wished to contract with were listed.
While Kim Gunja met Geum Jinung and went on the expedition, Pentagram had luckily secured one more Master Ring.
"As you all know, with just one Master Ring, the info we could get was extremely limited."
One allowed an Awakener to wield power beyond their level through contract.
The other granted entry to Bloody Gates.
These were facts revealed when the previous boss contracted with her Master Ring.
"So we had high hopes with three Master Rings now..."
Pentagram had been confident that acquiring an extra one would yield more intel.
After all, they could now communicate with three entities instead of one.
But that was a misconception.
Isabelle trailed off with a faint sigh before continuing.
"...To cut to the chase: the entities bound to the Master Rings aren't capable of proper conversation."
The owners, Andrey and Jerina, nodded in agreement.
They'd initially thought Chris's entity was special.
But no—all three Master Ring entities were the same.
Arrogant, steeped in pride, they refused to answer any questions before contracting.
Despite trying persuasion, threats, leading questions—every tactic—they'd failed to extract more info.
Isabelle addressed the gathered Pentagram rankers with conviction.
"Conclusion: It's impossible to get any information from Master Ring entities through talk before contracting. Even if the owner is a Single Number."
All eyes turned to Chris, who nodded.
The Master Rings dismissed even Single Numbers until contracted.
Pentagram's rankers swallowed hard at that stubborn arrogance.
Park Chunduk Academy director's office.
Kim Gunja had removed his Majesty Ring briefly to converse with the Master Ring entity.
But,
The entity calling itself Iliya wasn't giving straight answers.
It just kept pushing the contract, but Kim Gunja had no intention of that.
'Why contract with some unknown when there's an easier way?'
Instead of replying, Kim Gunja slipped the Majesty Ring back on.
Iliya's voice cut off again.
Was it lacking learning ability?
Or just clueless about who held the knife.
The Majesty Ring, as before, inquired whether to convert the Master Ring to points.
Treating it as mere artifact fodder, regardless of what it was.
Maintaining this state briefly, Kim Gunja recalled his short exchange with Iliya.
Iliya had called the Majesty Ring "that thing."
'From the way it spoke, it doesn't know what the Majesty Ring is...'
That was unexpected.
In contrast to Austin and the investors who knew about Master Rings.
Austin had dismissed them as derivatives—which was putting it mildly.
'Derivatives? Hardly.'
It was far worse.
Majesty Ring versus Master Ring.
The gap was like a subject—no, a slave—prostrating before a king.
Unable to even whimper, head bowed, voiceless.
He didn't know the exact force at play between the rings, but it clearly wasn't pleasant for Iliya.
After a suitable pause, Kim Gunja removed the Majesty Ring again.
Regaining its senses amid agony, Iliya desperately called out.
'Well...'
He'd expected it to work, but not this well.
After just two encounters with the Majesty Ring, Iliya was meek.
Kim Gunja asked.
"Can I ask questions now?"
First, he asked why it hurt so much when he wore the other ring.
He was dying to know what flipped its arrogant attitude so fast.
Iliya answered immediately.
"Fading?"
Hearing Iliya's terrified words gave Kim Gunja a hunch.
He'd seen artifacts vanish during point conversion many times.
Iliya probably perceived it as annihilation.
'Makes sense... Every artifact I've converted has truly ceased to exist.'
If the Master Ring was Iliya's foundation, its destruction meant Iliya's end too.
Blocked by the Majesty Ring, Iliya had likely felt that power firsthand.
"Anyway. Next question."
Kim Gunja smirked at the swift attitude shift and probed about the Master Ring and Iliya.
Iliya answered obediently.
Some questions stumped it, though, leaving Iliya flustered.
At first, he'd thought it akin to Customizing Room investors, but differences emerged.
'Memory's incomplete. No clear purpose.'
Investors had intact memories and defined goals.
That's why Ma Ilcheon called himself a mere mortal after losing to the Heavenly Demon, and taciturn Staine turned chatty upon entering the dungeonized zone, badgering Kim Gunja for his son.
Iliya lacked that.
Somehow.
Strong survival instinct, but no other ambitions or desires.
'Is this why they called it a derivative...?'
If investors were complete products with full memory and power, Master Ring entities felt like flawed ones—powerful but memory-garbled rejects.
'Jeez...'
A bittersweet feeling settled over Kim Gunja.
What good was power if it left you blindly craving contracts, memories lost?
Not a pleasant vibe.
And Iliya didn't even realize it.
He asked how it entered the Master Ring—nothing.
Sorting his thoughts, Kim Gunja reassured the fidgety Iliya.
"I believe you. Relax."
With basic info on Iliya and the Master Ring in hand, Kim Gunja removed it and stored it in his coat's subspace.
Point conversion could wait; no rush.
Variables might arise later.
'Next upgrade needs 70,000 points...'
Converting the Master Ring would leave just 20,000.
Not a big deal for Kim Gunja, who could hunt A-rank gates steadily.
'With Hero Guild and Pentagram support, two months tops.'
But he wasn't upgrading blindly this time.
Time to invest in balance, raise proficiency, solidify foundations.
Grow strong enough for contingencies.
Recalling tomorrow's hunt and his promise with Hong Sua, he organized his schedule and left the office.
To spar lightly with Yeji and loosen up.
The next day.
The scheduled A-rank gate was near a bustling market in the city center.
Kim Gunja arrived early.
Someone to meet before the hunt.
Market entrance.
Stepping out of the car, he told Choi Jinseung to head back first.
"I'll meet friends right after hunting today. Stay if you want to join."
Choi Jinseung barely hid his grimace and left.
Kim Gunja wove through the market alleys to a small basement eatery.
The cramped space, packed with just three tables, held a woman and an elderly man.
Hong Sua rose to greet him.
"Kim Gunja. Long time no see."
"Yeah. You okay?"
He asked since it was their first meeting since the amusement park.
"I wasn't hurt much."
Hong Sua smiled and glanced at the elder.
"Grandpa. This is Hero Guild's Kim Gunja..."
"I can see fine, girl. Yeah. Been a while."
The elder, Mountain King Hong Gyuhyeon, extended a hand with a pleasant smile.
"Honored to meet again."
As Kim Gunja shook it, light flickered in Hong Gyuhyeon's eyes.
The grip felt different from their handshake before the multi-gate.
'Truly... terrifying growth rate.'
Hong Gyuhyeon's gaze deepened with gravity.
A strong premonition that this meeting might spark a bigger storm than expected.