Chapter 107
Chapter 107
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Chapter 21: Grave Robber (7)
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‘This isn’t a space that could be built overnight.’
It was already surprising enough that a facility this massive had been constructed without other countries finding out.
But even with a place like this, the vested interests had chosen to flee to the Atar Empire, shouldering the blame—that just didn’t make sense.
The situation was getting complicated in all sorts of ways, furrowing my brow without me even realizing it.
“What d’ya mean by strange, exactly?”
To sort through my thoughts, I shared what I knew with Yang Tae-ho as well.
“Huh? Where’d you hear a tale like that?”
“Less heard and more read, really.”
Whenever I flipped through history books in my spare time, Rashaar and Jordan would curate materials for me.
They’d even brought records stored at the church headquarters.
Thanks to that, I had a firm grasp on all the major events in Bihal after the monsters appeared, organized chronologically.
I sifted through that pool of information, checking if I’d missed anything.
Of course, even as I mulled it over, the work of killing evolved species in the facility and destroying mesos continued unabated.
Fortunately, a few hypotheses emerged in the process.
‘The Kairot king wasn’t exactly a trustworthy ruler.’
He’d indulged in tyranny and extravagance, with a cruel streak to boot.
Combined with his fiery temper and hatred of being slighted, it led to frequent clashes with other nations.
But surely not all his ministers shared his temperament.
‘At least divided into two factions.’
Ones who fawned over the king, and ones who resisted.
‘If the latter banded together and invested?’
Building a facility like this wouldn’t be impossible.
They would’ve been vested interests with money and power too, after all.
It even made sense that those at odds with the king would keep the bunker’s existence a secret.
I went back and forth between deduction, prediction, conjecture, and imagination, piecing together several scenarios.
That led me to yet another question.
‘Why did a facility this size fall apart?’
I hadn’t spotted a single blue dot anywhere while roaming the underground facility.
Meaning no survivors here.
A place someone had deliberately built, crumbling away pointlessly after just four years?
The grain still left in the warehouse—even rotten—was far from scant.
‘It was set up for long-term survival, enough to last at least a few years.’
So why were there no survivors now?
“Ah…….”
Fortunately or unfortunately, the answer came soon enough.
I spotted divided remains—upper and lower halves—and crouched down.
‘The rips in the armor line up roughly.’
Not the upper and lower bodies of two different people, but one person’s torso and legs.
Something had bisected this individual.
I ran my hand along the wall beyond the remains.
‘Four scratches, evenly spaced.’
Traces of something like a trident or claws, maintaining consistent gaps.
Deep gouges like tofu carved out, bisected remains, and a knife embedded in the wall.
Staring at the clues, the events here came vividly to life in my mind.
‘Not bolpo.’
Bolpo evolved species couldn’t produce this kind of damage.
‘If these are claw marks, the count doesn’t match.’
Bolpo only have three claws.
The tragedy here had nothing to do with bolpo evolved species.
Time to factor in a completely different variable.
‘Another monster.’
The short phrase snapped my loosened tension taut.
My gaze sharpened on the map as a result.
‘Not many in number.’
On the map—grayed out with no paths or terrain marked—the black dots floating around weren’t that numerous.
Continued hunting had drastically reduced the bolpo count.
Mission info said two mesos left.
Based purely on the intel I had, it wasn’t a dire situation.
‘But no harm in staying cautious.’
Sizing up the scratches on the wall, the spacing was about twice my hand’s width.
‘If these are fingernails, the thing’s build maxes at 3 or 4 meters…….’
The tunnel was so spacious that even at that size, movement wouldn’t be an issue.
Hands or feet abnormally large, so let’s assume a minimum of 1 or 2 meters.
‘Just from the traces, could be a 3- or 4-star evolved species or higher.’
Visualizing the hypothetical monster in my head, I drew my spear and spoke.
“From here on, we’ll proceed assuming dangerous combat.”
Yang Tae-ho, who’d been silently watching my actions, wordlessly adjusted his shield and checked his backup weapons.
About five minutes after resuming movement?
We reached a passage piled high with an unusual number of remains.
‘This is practically a graveyard…….’
Just eyeballing it, there had to be thirty or forty bodies.
What stood out was that remains clad in weapons or armor outnumbered those in plain clothes.
Both groups equally dead, of course.
Bones jutting out irregularly, draped in cobwebs and dust.
Yet strangely, their presence wasn’t diminished.
Every step I took made shadows flicker in the torchlight, looming especially large.
Unlike shadows from ordinary structures.
Made purely of shade without a hint of color.
As if proclaiming these were born from human remains?
Just shadows, yet they sent chills down my spine, eerie and unsettling.
“Tch.”
I clicked my tongue deliberately to shake off the unease as I wove through the remains.
Not far off, something caught my eye.
Drawing closer revealed what had been hidden by other bodies.
‘Four black stars.’
Remains of an evolved species from a 4-star contamination zone.
I prodded its bones, checking hands and feet.
Arms dragging on the ground, four fingers of uniform length.
‘Width matches too.’
This was the culprit behind those earlier scratches.
Nearby, three 4-star evolved species remains versus dozens presumed human.
The site of fierce battle traces: in front of a half-collapsed, tilted iron door.
‘Looks like they were guarding it.’
What the hell was behind there?
What had all these people died protecting?
Questions swirling, I edged right up to the sagging door.
The map showed no monsters inside, but I didn’t let my guard down.
Map readings are based on my mana detection magic.
‘Detection level 3.’
Rigorous training had bumped the proficiency up a notch—range now a whopping 1km.
Expanded range meant more accessible info.
But mana detection isn’t omnipotent.
Monsters storing mana in their cores could evade it anytime.
Plenty of other ways too—like stealth spells.
Gripping my spear tighter, I slipped through the rattling iron door.
The moment I thrust in the torch to secure visibility, my body shuddered involuntarily.
Contrary to fears, no danger awaited us.
“Huh?!”
Instead, treasures glittered enough to drop Yang Tae-ho’s jaw as he followed me in.
Gold and jewels, buried in darkness till then, sparkled the instant the torchlight hit.
As if writhing to seduce the humans who’d brought the light.
Looks like this was the source of that recommended mission’s payout.
‘2.7 billion…….’
I already knew the approximate haul from spoils.
But seeing it firsthand had me swallowing dryly despite that.
‘Was gonna search after destroying all mesos.’
And here it was without even looking—good luck?
Having witnessed the carnage outside soured the mood a bit.
‘Money’s blameless, though.’
No reason for me not to take it.
I’d invested this much time precisely to claim it.
‘Still, better safe.’
Ahel had drilled trap magic warnings into my ears.
I pulled out a magic stone from the shop and crushed it.
Blue mist bloomed circularly from the stone, then vanished.
A spell to detect mana arrays in the vicinity.
‘No traps.’
If fixed mana arrays were around, the mist would’ve converged there.
No such phenomenon meant no magic-based dangers here.
No more delays—I scooped up a sack at my feet and said,
“Let’s collect and go.”
Behind me, Yang Tae-ho’s breathing—more ragged than usual—included a gulp as he swallowed.
But instead of turning, I grabbed a dusty sack from the floor.
Attached was a human arm, elbow-length.
More skeleton than arm now, with only bones left.
Staring risked overthinking, so I forced myself to move.
The sack was frayed but fine for small items like gold coins.
Shoving in coins and jewelry produced delightful jangling.
Hearing it softened my expression naturally.
Value-wise, Velego’s vault held far more.
But more money’s always better.
I gathered spoils with light, almost carefree motions.
“Hey, uh, y’know that thing…….”
Yang Tae-ho piped up suddenly.
“Help me move it, might catch fire or somethin’.”
Wondering what he meant, I glanced back.
“There’s limits, y’know. I got empty space, so…… I can take some.”
“…….”
“D-Don’t look at me like that, ain’t tryin’ to freeload. I really wanna help…….”
Yang Tae-ho flustered, words tumbling out.
My silent stare had sparked a misunderstanding.
To clear it, I replied lightly,
“It’s fine. Got the expansion pack.”
“……Expansion pack? What’s that?”
The reward from clearing my first recommended mission after servers linked.
‘Title: Grave Robber.’
Its effect: infuse mana to increase storage weight limit.
10,000 mana per 1kg.
Not exactly cheap.
‘10,000 mana ain’t a dog’s name.’
Absorbing that much meant killing 500-600 sub-bolpo.
Factor in church point deductions from mana, even more.
I’d regret it? Sure, but worth the investment.
Full gear set left storage perpetually short.
So over months, I’d steadily sunk absorbed mana into storage.
Plus, fully equipped now meant ample space.
No issue transporting this.
Even if there was, I wouldn’t borrow his storage.
He had his own stuff to store there.
“I’ll handle my share. Fill your empty spots with yours.”
“……Huh?”
I chuckled at his dopey reply, pointing to the remaining heaps of treasure.
“Don’t you remember? Thirty percent.”
Yang Tae-ho’s face flushed beet red in an instant.
Blood pressure-inducing suddenness.
Not that he actually had issues there.
Far from it—he started scooping spoils with unprecedented speed and precision.
Honestly, a tad regrettable.
‘But a promise is a promise.’
As he claimed his cut, I refocused on mine.
Still, keeping tension up, I kept glancing at the map.