Chapter 93
Chapter 93
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Yugeon's Growth and the Gate Crisis
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Yugeon seemed to pick up right away that I wasn't all that thrilled with the weapon I'd gotten from him.
Of course, that was before I checked its info.
"Naturally, I'll wait."
If Helcannon hadn't been standing right in front of me, I would've done three backflips on the spot while squeaking like a dolphin.
I stowed the relic-grade sword in my inventory and scooped Yugeon up into my arms.
Yugeon looked immensely relieved.
A relic-grade weapon!
You constellation prick who ragged on my gear being trash—you're toast now.
I asked Yugeon.
"But how do they rank relic-grade weapons anyway?"
"Relic-grade weapons are the ones constellations used back when they were alive. Since constellations wielded them as humans, they're incredibly human-friendly."
"Constellations? Back when they were human?"
"Yeah. There are spirit-grade and divine-grade weapons above those, but no human can use them."
Confusion crashed over me.
The way Yugeon put it, constellations sounded like some upgraded version of humans or something.
Is that why that constellation asshole had been dissing me?
"But you've already got divinity, so you might be able to wield them in this lifetime. That's part of why I chose you."
"......What?"
The words hit me like a thunderbolt, scattering my jumbled thoughts.
Yugeon said.
"I told you that you have the 'qualification.'"
"When?"
"Back when I—the one they called the Demon King in Lowguard—fought you."
It rang a faint bell.
There had definitely been something like that in the automatic translation popping up against my will.
I was sitting there gobsmacked in a vortex of bewilderment when Yugeon, nestled in my arms, glanced at me timidly and mumbled.
"And I have a favor to ask..."
"......What?"
"To grow fast, I need a ton of your affection. My last owner was overflowing with aggressive dark attributes, so I've been cut off from light for ages."
Ah.
So that's why the [Affection Detected] alerts kept firing.
Yugeon's overall assessment had popped up right after bonding, complete with the epithet 'Beggar of Light.'
Does that mean I don't have to hold back anymore?
An urge tugged at me from inside.
I'd already been agonizing holding back from those glutinous rice cake-soft, fluffy kid cheeks dangling right in front of me.
Mwah.
"!"
Yugeon's eyes went saucer-wide as I planted one on his squishy cheek.
I said.
"It's only natural for a kid to need grown-ups' love and support until they grow up. Don't feel bad about your body being too young to be useful."
"...."
Nod nod.
His Messiah-like face bobbed so adorably that my heart didn't just melt—it felt like it was bubbling up my throat.
Cute cute cute.
[High-density affection detected!]
[Energy charging rapidly—next growth condition fulfilled.]
[Growth prep complete.]
[Deep sleep required.]
Yugeon flinched at the alerts, his golden eyes flaring wide.
"?! Y-You're incredible! Even in my infant form when it barely takes any energy, I never dreamed you'd trigger my growth this quick!"
"Call me Noona."
"Why call my master Noona, thaa aah waa...."
'Okay, got it, Noona,' I guessed.
Yanking those mochi cheeks stretched his already lispy speech into total mush.
I was blissfully squishing those pink-tinged rice cake cheeks when—
Knock knock.
Helcannon, who'd been gazing at us with some entranced, warm look, glanced at the door and stepped aside.
Bang.
"Ga-hyun! Baby clothes are here!"
I'd wondered where Kim Je-hyun was headed when he stepped out earlier—it looked like he'd sent someone to grab kid clothes in the meantime.
Yugeon slipped into the clothes Kim Je-hyun brought, nodded off sleepily, and conked out fast.
* * *
Four gates opening at once threw Korea into a brief state of emergency, but luckily none were high-rank.
One in Busan, one in Incheon.
And two in Seoul, ripping open alongside an earthquake.
With first Babel Tower entry looming, the three guild masters huddled up and pooled their strength.
Gate ranks: Busan D-rank, Incheon F-rank, Seoul E-rank and F-rank.
GodGold covered the situation.
["The guild alliance deems F-rank gates low-risk and has decided to send each guild's low-level hunters to use them as leveling dungeons."]
["It's not just about training guild members—mining resources from gates is huge."]
["Word is, after UEM revealed gate resources' real value, they inked an exclusive deal with Fullminak."]
["That's right."]
["Gates are money-makers, but killing the boss closes them."]
["No more cash then."]
["Can't leave them open forever, though—civilians could get hit while rankers are in Babel Tower."]
A map popped up on screen.
Busan's D-rank: fast clear and close.
Incheon and Seoul F-ranks: drag time as leveling dungeons for lowbies, secure resources.
["Seoul's E-rank is drawing eyes now."]
["Public's worried about not closing an E-rank right away."]
["Eh, E-rank's nothing."]
Fullminak claimed Seoul's E-rank.
Their help aiding Fullminak, SpaceKing, and Goldbunker inside gates gave them the justification—other guilds went along.
["Everyone knows Korean hunters are freakishly strong worldwide. And Fullminak's taking the E-rank this time."]
["Yep. No big worries."]
Goldbunker shaping opinion.
To quash early debate on guilds chasing self-interest by leaving an E-rank open.
Fullminak had proven they could handle E-rank without rankers anyway.
If not, they'd close it themselves—but for now, low risk.
Unique to Korea, but worry gates might suddenly up-rank, so guilds entering to verify firsthand.
["Not sure if it's just us, but these gates feel way easier than expected."]
Korea weathered urban warfare, but abroad a first gate C-rank wiped a village.
Neighboring hunters teamed up to fix it.
["Even our first-stringers survived an S-rank as noobs, so unless something higher pops, Korea's fine."]
["Honestly, that was thanks to Gotka, but... anyway, Korea's awesome."]
One guy chugged nationalism; the co-host cracked up.
Map zoomed on Busan.
[Busan (D-rank)]
Commander: Dart
Goal: Close
—SpaceKing 1st, 2nd squads
—Goldbunker 1st, 2nd squads
—Fullminak 2nd squad
["Busan's the real deal—rest are small fry. Two F-ranks? Hunters galore even without top-100 rankers."]
["But can they close Busan's D-rank in just two days?"]
["That's the question."]
["Worst case, deploy ultimate weapon Kaisha—no sweat."]
["I believe in you, Kamen."]
Screen shifted to Seoul map, zooming big on its gates.
[Seoul (E-rank)]
Commander: Kaisha
Goal: Risk assessment, mining
—Fullminak 1st, 3rd squads
["Kaisha's diving in personally to gauge E-rank threat."]
["Time for a deep clean?"]
["Goldbunker's 3rd on Seoul F-rank, SpaceKing's 3rd on Incheon F-rank."]
["Guilds paying hunters proper salaries starting this gate op—hunters are hyped."]
["Hunters are a real job now."]
["Feeding salaries to all those guildies means guilds gotta rake in gate cash. Sucks they gotta rush D-rank closure for Babel schedule."]
["Safety first, though."]
Gate mining tied straight to national wealth now.
But risking only up to E-rank.
["Enough on these low-end gates—even if there are four, nothing above C. Real talk's Babel Tower."]
["What's the new Babel channel? Another world waiting for rankers like folks guess?"]
["Feels like global hunter siege—perfect for Korea-first patriotism since we're entry #1—"]
Co-host nudged the nationalism-brewer.
["Wha, what, why?"]
They checked monitors.
Goldbunker guildies relayed breaking news from Busan gate.
[D-rank gate front: SpaceKing clashes with military. Brass eyes cash value, gets greedy]
[Tried mining while hunters fought—Dart blows up]
[Chaos at gate]
Absurd.
Hunters barely okayed one E-rank trusting Kaisha/Fullminak—now military, sworn to civilian safety first, eyeing D-rank loot.
["No... time's tight already—what the hell..."]
Civilian nuisance.
Hosts eyed each other.
They typed to Gilgamesh, segued smoothly.
["Anyway, GodGold's scouting Babel interior broadcast options, but gear ain't ready—don't get hopes up."]
["Too bad. No way to peep inside together?"]
["For real. Whatever's in there, prime entertainment."]
["Abyss idol teaser dropped too."]
["Babel delays activities big-time, but bright concept for debut album? Shocker."]
["That sly vibe screams fraud—can't wait."]
["Wording's sus."]
["Misunderstanding."]
Hosts bantered, killing time.
Gilgamesh replied soon.
[Fought military? Mention post-urban war SpaceKing passion pay issue, fact-bomb to own narrative.]
[Don't know how it'll play—medium roast on Medium.]
Medium.
Bare facts, no personal spin—but frame pro-hunter.
Hosts nodded.
["Breaking: Military vs. SpaceKing at D-rank gate."]
["Busy times, but bad blood was brewing between SpaceKing and brass."]
["Yeah. Military ran SpaceKing on near-volunteer wages forever; Dart, who bent over backward post-hero fiasco, finally snapped."]
["Pushed too far."]
["Tell me about it."]
Distant site photo appeared.
Something went down amid the crowd—too packed to tell what.
["Call in Kaisha?"]
["Gov stepping up, but hunter treatment still sucks IRL."]
["Human decency: close gates first, fight after. Time's short."]
["Nah, that's the fight—military wants close, they say no resources."]
["Right."]
["Hoping they sort before Kaisha carpet-bombs—watching this unfold."]
Post-GodGold, anti-military sentiment surged; brass shut up, backed off.
No countering "citizen safety" banner.
Seeming clash de-escalated fast as hunters eyed Babel—issue shelved.
But SpaceKing hunters' Hunterz posts post-incident suggested military-SpaceKing rift lingered.