Chapter 143
Chapter 143
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: Chapter 143 - #31_도시생활(3)
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 143
Chapter Title: Urban Life (3)
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Whoever coined the term "tropical night" must have had an incredible flair for language.
Tropical + night—the image springs to mind instantly, doesn't it?
At 2 a.m., Shin Siwoo, idly twiddling his thumbs to pass the time, stepped out in front of his building to buy cigarettes, just like any other night.
It didn't hold any special meaning. Just a walk.
Back during his slave days, exhaustion had kept him from it, but Shin Siwoo often headed out into the night streets to clear his tangled thoughts or shake off a funk.
As long as he wore his eyepatch, no one could spot his stigma with the naked eye, and few inside Gehenna even knew he could wield magic. So, as long as he didn't kick up a fuss outside, even a chance encounter with an exile shouldn't pose any issues.
With nothing happening amid these lazy days, he trudged along with a far more relaxed mindset than in the early days after his return.
The bustling district where Shin Siwoo's officetel stood buzzed with cicadas that seemed to have forgotten the night, crying out amid the garish lights. But just a short detour away lay a dim, quiet neighborhood of one-room apartments, utterly deserted.
Utility poles and tangled power lines—rarities in modern new developments—stood alongside grimy sodium lamps that lit the path at his feet.
"Still so damn hot."
Muttering under his breath, Shin Siwoo flapped his shirt collar and scanned for a vending machine under the streetlights.
A routine was key to keeping walks from getting boring.
As everyone knew, land in Seoul was insanely expensive.
To make use of these narrow, pricey plots, they'd carved apartments into the hillsides. As he climbed one such steep incline, he spotted a citizen's park preserving the hill's summit.
The rundown vending machine at the park entrance was Shin Siwoo's routine checkpoint.
He'd climb up here, grab a drink, smoke a cigarette, and ponder which route to take for the night's stroll.
"Cola."
Without a second thought, Shin Siwoo punched in for a can of cola and lit his cigarette.
The sweet, fizzy carbonation spread through his parched body, letting him catch his breath a bit.
"Ah, this is fucking uncomfortable."
Climbing the slope had worked up so much sweat that it pooled damply where the eyepatch met his skin.
"Screw it, why couldn't it just be on my balls? Witches get theirs in their wombs, so why me...?"
Living everyday life with one eye covered was a real hassle.
As a spirit body, stubbornly sticking to a single eye wouldn't degrade his vision, but depth perception still suffered.
Yet ditching the eyepatch revealed his stigma-etched, gleaming golden iris—a total aggro magnet.
Showing it to normals was fine, but if some ill-intentioned exile spotted it...? Predictable trouble.
Gulping down the cola, Shin Siwoo suddenly noticed something.
Would he have picked up on it sooner if he'd removed the eyepatch and looked from afar?
The air currents around him were tangled.
Like threads floating in water, or more precisely, like dense clumps of cotton wool.
To put it accurately, the ambient mana had stagnated.
Mana was inherently an enigmatic "flow" without physical form.
Yet it wasn't entirely immune to external influence; in normal conditions, the mana drifting in the air flowed smoothly like a gentle river.
Not now.
It lingered within a fixed radius, convecting like liquids of different temperatures trapped in a cup.
"........."
Shin Siwoo pocketed his eyepatch and flicked away his cigarette butt, rising to his feet.
It might already be too late, but he cranked Orgel's range and intensity to the max.
"Pierce."
⟨ Shadow's Law ver. 2 ⟩
His heart pounded.
Shin Siwoo had experienced this phenomenon firsthand before.
The water bottle crafted by Ea Sadalmelek—the "Hidden Realm Barrier."
A type of barrier that carves out one world and overlays another atop it.
In Gehenna, already severed by Duke Keter, it merely dampened magical signatures. But here in the present world, it was different.
The space severed by a Hidden Realm Barrier became another world entirely, isolating everything within from the present realm.
In simple terms, space A was replaced by its duplicate B.
No need to overcomplicate it.
What mattered now was handling the sudden situation.
The mana he'd drawn to its limit instantly morphed into black shadows.
Shin Siwoo's most reliable magic—the freshly reformulated Shadow's Law ver. 2.
From those shadows, he forged armor and clad himself in it.
Sleek plate armor in form.
It might not look impressive defensively, but its performance outclassed any protective gear in existence.
Full armament complete, save for a vision-obstructing helmet.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Was it the adrenaline surging at the crisis?
His heart, dulled by the monotonous grind of daily life, now pumped hot blood to his extremities.
Like when he'd faced the smugglers at the inn, the homunculi in Latifundium, or Ea Sadalmelek.
All just like this.
As far as Shin Siwoo knew, there were two causes for a Hidden Realm Barrier suddenly unfolding in the present world.
"An exile?"
One was, naturally, a witch.
Hidden Realm Barriers originated before Gehenna's birth, developed by Duke Keter from homunculus research and widely disseminated.
Back then, witches' power rivaled natural disasters, and their clashes wrought apocalyptic fallout.
For instance, the Black Death that ravaged 14th-century Europe, killing a third of the population, was said to stem from curses spread during repeated clashes between the Plague Witch and Keter.
Ancient records, so take it with a grain of salt—but witches in the present world always declared a Hidden Realm Barrier before hunting or fighting here.
"A homunculus?"
The other was a homunculus.
As evident from Duke Keter's research, their "cores" embedded a constant Hidden Realm Barrier formula.
That's why humans never noticed them prowling the present world, and even witches struggled to hunt them.
Scanning the barrier's surface—a massive hemispherical dome—he kept vigilant watch.
Eyeballing it, the diameter was about 100 meters.
Encompassing not just the citizen park but part of the one-room village too.
The barrier's weave wasn't as intricate as Ea's water bottle.
No horrific spells to melt escaping prey either.
Best option: slip out cautiously.
"No."
Shin Siwoo shook his head. That wouldn't cut it.
This wasn't Gehenna.
No one in the present world could help him directly, so he had to brush off the sparks on his own clothes himself.
Spot a potential threat and bolt without confirming it?
Safety now, sure.
But lacking intel could blindside him later, leaving no room to prepare.
Confirming Orgel at full extension, Shin Siwoo ascended the park stairs.
Orgel's effects were top-notch.
It blocked mana waves, presence, and sound while making him blend into the scenery like camouflage.
A kind of ghillie suit.
Ready to flee or fight at a moment's notice, he advanced one careful step at a time.
The facilities, old as they were, weren't great.
Exercise equipment along the slope rusted from disuse, who knew when last touched. Even the wooden steps, built for easy climbing, rotted in spots.
A bit farther up the trail, a rustling presence stirred.
Actually, calling it a "presence" wasn't quite right.
Because it wasn't human.
Orange sodium lights.
An observation deck overlooking the nightlife district, the main boulevard's university hospital, and the campus.
Hunched above it loomed a beast.
Roughly the size of a large dog.
If it stretched out and reared up, it could easily paw Shin Siwoo's head.
"........."
Not some rural backwater or mountain—this was Seodaemun's urban hills. No way a wild animal that size roamed here.
The enveloping Hidden Realm Barrier sealed his certainty.
That it was a homunculus.
Lowering himself further, he observed closely.
No fur covered the homunculus's hide.
Instead, thick rubber slicked with molten tar gleamed atop it, a single red-glowing eye embedded between its brows.
So pitch-black it lacked depth.
"........."
Shin Siwoo held his breath.
Homunculi warranted sanctioned hunts only at rank 15 or higher—when autonomous defense activated.
Without an official stigma, he lacked autonomous defense and precise rank gauging.
But judging by knowledge gleaned and comparisons, his own level hovered around 14-15.
He might barely take it down—or get taken down instead.
It hadn't noticed him yet.
Slip away quietly, and he'd get home scot-free.
He'd hunted one in Latifundium before, but that was pure luck.
The twins' blinding aid bought time, its Shadow's Law weak to high-compression mana was a clear flaw, and mana essence nearby refilled his reserves.
Now?
Just his lone body.
Even with vastly improved spells, homunculi varied wildly in combat power by individual.
Diving in recklessly could end in a humiliating reversal.
Leave it and bail.
That was Shin Siwoo's conclusion.
Until he saw what the monstrosity was doing under the orange glow.
-Crunch, munch, crack, grind.
Shin Siwoo's brow furrowed.
Not even confirmed yet, but the eerie sounds boomed disproportionately in his ears.
Like rummaging through meat, or gnashing something hard.
Instinctual revulsion and disgust forced him to glance back.
-Grind, crunch-crunch, gnash.
Now it registered.
The trees around the seated monster glowed unnaturally dark red.
Those rope-like things strewn about? Intestines, yanked forcibly from a gut.
No doubt.
It was eating a "human."
His mind blanked.
He'd been half-dead before, but never seen a corpse.
By the time he snapped to, Shin Siwoo was already on his feet.
Now it was crystal clear.
Probably some middle-aged guy out for nighttime exercise.
His cheap hiking gear shredded to rags.
His gut, nearly hollowed out, splayed open like a tattered curtain.
The shock that had straightened Shin Siwoo from his crouch ignited like struck flint.
Seeing a fellow human torn apart by a mere beast like this homunculus stirred nausea and rage before fear or terror.
"You... fucking bastard..."
"Grrr..."
The homunculus, mid-meal moments ago, whipped its neck around.
A rotation impossible for any living being's joints.
Twisting its head 180 degrees to face Shin Siwoo, the beast's growl mingled two emotions.
Irritation at the meal's interruption.
Joy at fresh prey appearing.
Shin Siwoo gripped his spear.
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