Chapter 68
Chapter 68
10. Starting Line -3
The core of the Republic of Korea reconstruction plan I'd discussed with Team Leader Park ultimately came down to increasing military strength. We'd have to sweep away all the weeds occupying the country before anything else could happen.
In that sense, strengthening the hunters under my command wasn't something to put off.
I headed straight to Hyejin. I figured there was a nine out of ten chance she'd be at the training ground, and today was no exception.
Lee Hyejin had been doing push-ups while engulfed in roaring flames when she spotted me, stopped her workout, and ran over. She patted out the still-smoldering sleeves of her school uniform as she spoke.
"Noah? It's been noisy since morning—what did you do?"
"You heard?"
"I didn't hear any specifics. Minsik's nowhere to be seen. I tried poking around with the ones who got called in, but they said they weren't going to reveal anything themselves, that there's an embargo, and I should ask you."
"So Minsik and Team Leader Park had already gotten ahead of it. The thing is."
I gave her a condensed explanation that I'd become able to strengthen Earth hunters' abilities. Hyejin was startled at first, then her expression turned serious and she murmured.
"Wow, if that leaked out even by accident, it'd be a disaster. One wrong word and non-awakened citizens would've swarmed in asking if they could awaken too, right? If hunter abilities can be strengthened, then couldn't they be strengthened too?"
"That does seem possible eventually."
"⋯⋯⋯⋯?!"
If I could just figure out how to bestow, I'd be able to grant skills to people who weren't hunters too.
Of course, unless there were some strange ordinary person who ground their body down training relentlessly without even awakening an ability, strengthening my hunters who'd been training consistently would be the better return.
But in my opinion⋯⋯ I also thought maybe I could use this in reverse. Just as hunters had been thirsting for growth, there were more than a few citizens hoping they could become hunters themselves.
Couldn't I use this as a kind of reward to boost work motivation?
"So I'm planning to deliberately let it leak out quietly. The ones who are going to think it's strange will twist it no matter how clearly you explain it, right? And later on, we might end up short on people rather than abilities to bestow."
"That's an incredibly luxurious worry, Noah. So that means⋯⋯ in the distant future, you could turn all the citizens into hunters?"
"Exactly."
"⋯⋯It doesn't feel real. Even though I know you're not someone who makes empty promises."
Hyejin was happy at the hope for the future, but she looked at me with a strangely troubled expression. Clear worry was settled in her eyes.
"If it goes that far, how should I put it, hmm. I'm scared it'll feel a little distant."
"⋯⋯Distant?"
"Yes. Even now, Noah, you could beat ten of me attacking you, but that's still within the category of human. But if—like you said—all of that comes true."
If he becomes something close to a god, would I still be able to treat him this comfortably?
It wasn't a groundless worry. In reality, after hunters appeared in this world, and through the process of collapse⋯⋯ among citizens, the view of hunters as completely different creatures from themselves had grown.
Even in the old days when people were divided into nobles and commoners, they'd called it "blue blood" and revered it—so a species of hunter that actually shattered concrete and wielded bizarre powers would be, yes, unfamiliar.
The stronger I became, the more "unfamiliar" I'd become to the citizens and my subordinates. Hyejin seemed to be worried about that.
Honestly, I'd thought about it too. If I could climb all the way to the rank of an A-rank hunter, would I—like that burning giant sitting cross-legged with a planet as its seat—escape the concept of being human?
My answer to that concern was this.
"Don't worry. Nothing's going to change much."
"Really?"
"Whether it was when I received that ridiculous ducal title during the Hunter Monarchy, or now when I'm serving as Seoul's president and defense minister⋯⋯ only a few letters in front of my name changed. There's never been a single moment when I wasn't Noah Won, right?"
"⋯⋯That's true, since you've always been hanging off the lightning rod. Thanks, Noah. I'm relieved."
Hyejin smiled, clearly relieved.
"So then, shall we try strengthening my ability?"
Immediately after, she swept the shadow from her face and filled the empty space with anticipation. It looked like stars were twinkling in her eyes. Fast at switching gears.
I don't think I'd said a single word about coming to strengthen her ability⋯⋯
Well, at this timing, there really was no other reason for me to seek her out. She's got a sharp side, I swear. I smiled faintly and told her to sit down.
Plop.
Hyejin sat down the instant the words left my mouth, then couldn't hold back and asked about the next step.
"Is there anything I need to do? Like meditation?"
"It'd be good if you stayed calm and focused. I'm going to try to imbue you with something dozens of times stronger than what I granted the others."
"Special treatment, huh? Is it because I'm B-rank that I'm benefiting?"
"You'd have gotten it even if you were D-rank. Because you deserve it. This—like I said briefly earlier—is power you can only digest in proportion to your effort. In all of Seoul, only Minsik and you could accept this."
"Heh."
It was a snort that carried pride in her own effort. Translated, it felt like "That's right, who else could accept it besides me and Minsik?"
I sat down on the spot and looked at Hyejin, who was staring with wide eyes, and prepared the ability enhancement.
I'd already split off 『Flame Goat Gauntlet: Flame Emission』 beforehand. It wasn't that I'd meant to burst it—I'd tried my best to turn it into a proper skill⋯⋯ but I'd failed. I couldn't even begin to imagine succeeding at that.
It wasn't a matter of difficulty. Just as even the most skilled artisan can't turn graphite into diamond with bare hands, it felt like I simply lacked the power required for formal skill creation itself.
To formally process a high-tier single-use skill, I'd need an enormous amount of Magic Power to hold the skill together so it didn't scatter. In other words, one more reason to advance to C-rank hunter.
But the opposite was possible.
The reason the damaged series could strengthen Earth hunters' abilities was because they'd been torn into small pieces. So didn't that mean the more finely I ground down a single-use skill, the higher the absorption efficiency?
I'd gotten a feel for it through the grunt work in the lab. It wasn't damage. It was breaking down and splitting the skill into a state that was easy to absorb—a so-called refinement process.
No point in delaying. I released 『Refined Flame Emission』. So that it would be drawn in naturally, pulled by the same attribute.
Whoosh—!!
Unlike 『Damaged Wind / Water』, which had only burst out with a bit of wind or water, the remnants of Flame Emission became a goat-shaped blaze and were absorbed into Hyejin as if leaping toward her.
"Ugh, ah⋯⋯!!"
Fwoosh-!
The flames blazed up. Lee Hyejin's 『Azure Flame』 wrapped around her body and spread of its own accord, then gradually grew in size. In the wavering shape of the flames, the form of a goat flickered into view.
Her firepower was rising. The flames swelled to three times their previous power. It was enough that hunters under my command, wondering what was happening, approached at the sight of the firelight visible from afar.
And I⋯⋯ saw it.
*Crack.*
Along with a sound like something—a lock—cracking, I saw a strange blue light flash from Hyejin's body and then vanish.
That blue light was alien, as if it didn't exist in this world.
It wasn't the color of Magic Power. It wasn't a skill. The scent of camellia flowers brushed past my nose. It scattered quickly. I instinctively activated 『Download -2』 to its limit. I had to catch that.
It wasn't that I wanted to obtain it.
I felt malice and menace from it. It was an excessive guess for now, but perhaps. I thought that thing might be the "something" that had been blocking Earth hunters' growth. So.
I had to at least get a clue as to what it was⋯⋯!!
[-> Download Slot 1: 『■』 (Downloading⋯⋯ 1%)]
[-> Download Slot 1: 『■■■』 (Downloading⋯⋯ 2%)]
[-> Download Slot 1: 『■■■■ ■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■』 (Downloading⋯⋯ 3%)]
Whoosh—!!
"⋯⋯⋯Kh?!"
It felt like someone had shoved a deflated balloon into my head and was blowing air into it with all their might. At the knowledge "inflating" so rapidly, I clutched my temples and immediately canceled the download.
It was because I had a gut feeling that if I went any further, my head might physically burst. Or I'd go insane.
"Look at this, Noah! The flames are really incredible⋯⋯!! At this level, even that ruined Hunter Support Agency would've given me an A-rank⋯⋯ Noah?"
"⋯⋯Uh, yeah. Congratulations."
"Is this ability enhancement something that puts strain on your body? If so, you should've told me earlier⋯⋯."
"No, this is a different issue from that. I, uh, got dragged into being studied for half a day and got worn out, so I had a sudden wave of drowsiness. Once work's done, I should⋯⋯ get some sleep. Haha⋯⋯"
I lowered my head while making up a plausible excuse so as not to worry Hyejin. It was because I needed time to chew over the information I'd just obtained. I secretly wiped away the cold sweat trickling down.
That long sentence displayed in the download slot had been a single 『Skill』. That's what I thought, anyway. Some being had merely declared something, and that entire Word Command had become a 『Skill』⋯⋯ and had settled into Hyejin.
It probably wasn't just Hyejin. Perhaps this "lock" was settled into every hunter.
I couldn't even begin to guess what level one had to reach for that to be possible.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
In the process, I'd barely managed to salvage just a scrap of a name. The name of the "being" that had shoved the entire human race of Earth into a cage with a limited height was—
It was called 『Cheongdongbaek』.
While cradling my throbbing head, which had nearly burst, I got some fresh air and talked with Hyejin. There were a few things we needed to discuss, even if briefly.
Minsik was the one overseeing my hunters in all areas, but Hyejin was the one who managed the training. So improving the training curriculum in line with the hunters' ability enhancements needed to be discussed with her.
And on top of that, hadn't it just been revealed that training volume and enhancement limits were proportional? We'd need a better structure than the current system.
After roughly sorting out that part.
Hyejin stretched her arms way out and said.
"Uuugh⋯⋯ Oh, right. Did you hear about the letter?"
"Yeah, I heard. Another letter came from the east?"
"Yes, yes. And this time too, the letter was completely empty."
Around the time I'd first started training in 『Rite of Order (制度禮)』, before I'd even learned 『Glass Sword』, Seoul had received a mysterious letter from the east.
It had been carried in a small hot-air balloon that flew in from the eastern sky, and while the sender field said Count Yeon Arang, there was no content. That bizarre letter had been arriving steadily every few days⋯⋯ and this was already the fourth one.
And all of those letters had no content.
The sender did seem to be Count Yeon Arang. The very fact that she could send multiple letters like this was proof of that.
In this era, a hot-air balloon was an enormous luxury. Even a small one used enough fuel that if it were used for winter heating, dozens of households could stay warm for a week—such waste was impossible at an individual level.
Since her city was the only force of that scale in the east, it was probably safe to consider it fact rather than speculation.
But⋯⋯ if so, that made my head hurt even more. Because Count Yeon Arang wasn't the kind of person to burn resources on a prank like this. I recalled a passage from a conversation I'd had with her in the past.
-Noah Won, I told you to make sure you took the supplies coming out of the monarchy, didn't I? I understand it might hurt your pride—but you have to eat to live. The goods themselves aren't guilty.
-Excuse me? I've never heard anything about that.
-⋯⋯Looks like someone in the middle deliberately omitted it again. Still, you have to cling stubbornly to your own share. That's negligence too. Look into things more as you live.
-Ah, yes. Understood⋯⋯
As if she had some peculiar obsession with resource management, whenever I got pushed around in political fights and received less support than other nobles, she'd swoop in like a ghost and dump all sorts of nagging on me before leaving.
At first, I'd kept my distance, wondering if she had the heart of a great minister who'd fully immersed herself in the Hunter Monarchy system and wanted to make this country run properly.
But seeing as she'd joined the coup later, that didn't seem to be it either. I'd concluded that she was simply someone who couldn't stand it when frustration and inefficiency caught her eye.
A perfectionist who, if she passed someone with a wrinkled necktie, couldn't rest until she'd fixed it. She'd also glare at me with sharp eyes every time she saw me⋯⋯
"She was a cool person. Count Yeon Arang."
I murmured as I recalled that icy, piercing gaze.
"Huh? Isn't she a really gentle person?"
"⋯⋯What?"
"To me, whenever we ran into each other, she'd say I seemed like I was having a hard time and press two pieces of candy into my hand before leaving. And she spoke so softly."
What was she talking about.
In front of me, she was clearly seething with venom, like an accountant facing year-end tax settlement⋯⋯
"So she was only like that to me?"
"Did you do something to get on Count Yeon Arang's bad side?"
"I don't think so⋯⋯?"
Anyway.
Whatever Yeon Arang's original personality was, there were suspicious aspects—but we weren't in a leisurely enough situation to move just because of an empty letter. If what was written on it had been a clear request for rescue, that'd be another story.
That said, I had no intention of completely ignoring it. I'd soon become a C-rank hunter, so around then I'd probably pay a visit at least once. We'd need to discuss the matter of city integration too.
I would become stronger.
And to do that⋯⋯ yes. I'd have to prepare my farewells. With the large and small D-rank connections I'd no longer be able to see.
First, I'd get some sleep, and when I woke up, maybe I'd reach out to see how Sohye was doing these days.
One of the three key figures of the Hunter Monarchy coup, the hunter Yeon Arang who led the city-state Donghae built in the eastern part of the Republic of Korea—was biting her nails while staring at the western sky.
"I've already sent five support request letters, so why isn't there any contact⋯⋯?"
"Duke Noah Won is ignoring the request⋯⋯"
"No, if it were him, he would've come to help. And even if he didn't come, he would've replied somehow. He's been famous since way back for keeping promises with his fans to a ridiculous degree."
The Noah Won of his active idol days was a man who'd even done a live broadcast of hiking Bukhansan because of a trivial promise he'd made with a fan. Even if the times had changed and circumstances had shifted, he would still be the same.
Even suppressing her long-held fan feelings and thinking coldly, he was a man of his word. So there was no way he'd be unresponsive. The letters probably hadn't reached him.
"Send one more."
"But, Countess Yeon Arang, if we do that, the fuel⋯⋯."
"We're in a situation where we can't survive without support from someone anyway. And the only ability that could break through this situation⋯⋯ is his 『Download -2』."
Yeon Arang raised her telescope and looked at the forest beyond the northern hill.
The forest that her hunters were guarding with strict vigilance, its depths. There, a Gate emitting strange energy was crackling, open nearly at ground level.
Gates normally opened in the void, in the sky. But that chillingly blue Gate was open almost flush against the ground.
And while its size was increasing as time passed, not a single monster had emerged so far. Looking at it, Yeon Arang was reminded of water slowly rising against a dam.
It gathers. It rises. The moment that water, risen to the chin, is released⋯⋯ she didn't need to see what kind of hellscape would unfold in this Donghae.
She had to find out what that anomalous Gate was and how to deal with it. But now that the nation had collapsed and researchers had scattered in all directions, the people who could shed light on such a strange phenomenon could be counted on one hand.
Oh Sanghun, the genius scientist who'd once been famous as a pioneer leading the Republic of Korea's hunter research⋯⋯ but who'd emigrated to New York the moment his market value peaked.
Park Sihu, a member of the coup trio, who'd gone south in the Republic of Korea and built a city.
And Noah Won, who'd awakened the strangest ability in the world.
Among these, the only one who was relatively close and had any chance of providing help was Noah Won. Yeon Arang waved her hand as if to say hurry and send another letter.
"Yes, I'll send it immediately!"
One of her hunters stepped forward, bowed politely, and disappeared.
That subordinate hunter's ears⋯⋯ were long and pointed.