Chapter 60
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 60 - How to Deal with Abnormal Situations (9)
Shin Bareun was directly responsible for leading us.
“Shin Baran, your posture is awkward. Just because it’s safe doesn’t mean you’ve lost discipline, right?”
“Y-Yes! I apologize!”
She could have left us to another hunter, though.
She must be busy as the captain of the fortress, but the reason she takes the time to volunteer to be a ‘mentor’ is probably because of Shin Baran.
This fortress, ‘Bucheon Seoul-Incheon Fortress’, was built at the location of the Seoul Junction of the Seoul-Incheon Expressway.
After the tower was built in the middle of Seoul, protruding gates often appeared near it.
Because of this, Seoul was instantly on the path to destruction.
Those who managed to escape to the outskirts of Seoul felt the need to stop the invasion of monsters coming out of Seoul.
Accordingly, the government designated Seoul and some of its border areas as ‘danger zone’, then Incheon and Gyeonggi as middle zones. They also built huge fortresses at strategic points outside the danger zone.
At least, it was one of the measures to prevent monsters from coming out of Seoul.
However, the range where extrude gates appear has gradually expanded. Therefore, by the time the fortress was completed, the danger zone had become a land of death where gates frequently occurred.
The fortress also came into direct contact with the danger zone.
Therefore, it’s said that the fortress was also reinforced to prepare for the gate that might appear in the middle zone.
“We can really see the monsters with the naked eye…!”
“I can also see the houses in the middle zone.”
Min Jaeyoon let out an exclamation, and Shin Baran responded.
…In fact, eight years ago, the ‘Yongin Gate Incident’ occurred in which a gate occurred in the middle of the middle zone.
The occurrence of extrude gates is slowly expanding as if it’s swirling around the Tower of Desire in Seoul.
Fortunately, the speed of change wasn’t rapid and predictions were possible based on previous patterns.
Therefore, the government allowed people to live in the middle zone, where the possibility of gates occurring was relatively low.
If you take into account those who slightly cross that line and live illegally, it would be safe to say that people live roughly in the entire middle zone.
I opened my mouth.
“The houses we see here are probably squatters’ houses!”
“Is… that so?”
“Mmhm. I used to live in the middle zone.”
I even went to the place where the illegal residents were.
Do you know that?
In this world, if you don’t have citizenship, you can’t live even in the middle zone. If you are caught living in an area that’s not permitted by law, you will be immediately deported.
It didn’t matter to me because I was registered right after birth thanks to my parents, but the same was true for my teachers and younger siblings at the orphanage.
Calmy seemed to think about my words for a moment, and then he asked very carefully.
“…May I ask where you lived?”
“Hmm…I was so young that I don’t remember the details of the area! Only a vague impression remains.”
Looking at those houses reminds me of the past when I was beaten up for no reason.
When I spoke with a calm smile, Calmy made a strange expression and said something strange.
“Sorry.”
“Hm? What does Siwoo have to be sorry about?”
Anyway, ‘Yongin Gate’ was a gate that occurred unexpectedly, deviating from the vortex pattern, and no one could have predicted.
Looking at the conspiracy theories surrounding the Yongin Gate that are still circulating, I can see how sudden and incomprehensible the incident was.
Therefore, that terrible gate caused a lot of damage, many casualties, and many crimes.
…also many orphans.
Shin Bareun, who had been frowning the whole time we were talking, gave a warning as if she couldn’t take it anymore.
“Stop chatting.”
“I apologize!”
I smiled brightly and pretended to be a student excited to be outside with my friends.
If I didn’t do that, I felt like I would just sink into memories of the past.
It’s an exciting field trip, right?
“We don’t have time to see everything. Hurry!”
“Yes!”
I hurried my steps to chase after Shin Bareun, who was moving at a fast pace. I felt Calmy’s gaze behind me.
I made him worry for no reason, didn’t I. It will get better in a little while, so I hope he leaves me alone.
The place where Shin Bareun led us was at the very top of the outer wall of the fortress, where cannons were installed. There were huge cannons almost as big as street trees.
“This is the GAH series, the cannon that protects the fortress.”
The huge cannon was a dark, neutral color similar to the gray walls. There was a hole next to the cannon to put something in, and next to the hole was a sturdy box that appeared to be for putting a magic stone in.
It seemed that by putting a magic stone there, it would activate a small filter next to the box and assign properties to the user’s mana.
And I know the prototype of that filter, albeit in a different form.
Wow, what day is today? Why are they showing me this at this time?
I can feel Choi Garam looking sideways at me.
I suddenly wanted to laugh. Not because I’m happy, but because I’m dumbfounded.
[Nahyun, Mom will protect people through research.]
There are degrees of misfortune.
[And Mom wants to leave her name in history.]
After coming here, only incidents that stimulated the trauma of the past were happening. My head was pounding.
At that time, I felt a hand grabbing my arm. It was Calmy.
“Are you okay?”
I smiled at Calmy, who was whispering in a low voice, and nodded my head. Then, I tried to come to my senses, looking at Shin Bareun again.
“As everyone knows, the GAH series is a cannon that uses the ‘GAH filter.’ The GAH filter is an invention that dramatically increases the efficiency of using magicite, helping to extract mana without loss even from the smallest magicite fragments.”
I can feel Choi Garam’s gaze glancing in this direction. No, I mean, don’t pay attention to this side, just look at your superior.
“Another special advantage of the GAH filter is the conversion of mana properties. If you insert a magic stone of a certain attribute into the filter and then inject mana of a different attribute, it will be converted into mana of the same attribute as the magic stone in the filter.”
I know. Because that filter is also inserted into my gun.
To be precise, GAH filters are inserted into all advanced weapons, such as meister weapons or money-consuming military weapons.
Why?
“Therefore, if you prepare the magic stone, you can respond favorably in various situations.”
Because it’s just as I said.
The GAH filter is such an important tool. It’s safe to say that the survival rate of hunters changed before and after the invention of the filter.
Even if you roughly fill it with cheap magicite fragments, if the amount is the same, it gives almost the same efficiency as using a large magicite.
It’s an amazing invention that is easy to install.
The person who actually invented it died before it was commercialized.
“Anyone want to try it?”
Min Jaeyoon and Shin Baran quickly raised their hands at Shin Bareun’s suggestion. Shin Bareun looked at them both as if she was reluctant, yet she explained to them step by step how to use it. I also tried using it once while listening to instructions on how to use it.
Boom—a loud sound that seemed to tear eardrums was heard, and a monster seen in the distance fell down.
“Whoa! You got it right…!”
“Hmm, hm… Not bad!”
I’ve used something similar before. But I smiled and trembled humbly.
“It must be because of the job! Your job is a sniper, that’s why your firearms are slightly calibrated.”
However, Shin Bareun poured cold water on us who were having a friendly conversation.
“Shin Baran, you didn’t get it right in one try. Why?”
She flinched at the cold tone and responded.
“Y-Yes! sorry!”
Seeing that, Shin Bareun frowned and spoke.
“Haa… You were always like that. Extremely slow. How pathetic. In emergency situations, archers must also change positions to catchers. Keep that in mind.”
“I understand…”
Shin Bareun glared at Shin Baran, who lowered her head, then turned around and tried to walk away.
At that moment, I smiled brightly and spoke to her.
“Wow, I think we only had one chance to practice, yet to think that she puts pressure for grades. Captain Shin Bareun is very strict.”
Shin Bareun looked back at me. I could feel the shocked looks of Shin Baran, Min Jaeyoon, and Choi Garam.
“If she had the skills, she would have gotten it right in the first attempt.”
“Isn’t skill built through effort? We decided to call skills that can be demonstrated without any practice, talent.”
Wait there. The child is shaking, you know.
Shin Baran trembled and grabbed my sleeve. Mmhm. It’s fine. Stay behind. I pushed her behind me.
Shin Bareun, who was looking at that, scoffed and spoke.
“Do you think you want to say that you’re very talented?”
“Yes, well. I’m kind of. And the difference in job adjustment must also be taken into account.”
“Do you want to confront your mentor? It’s not good that you can’t distinguish between public and private matters.”
I said those words indifferently.
“I’m confronting Shin Baran’s older sister, not my mentor. And I wonder who was the first to fail to distinguish between public and private matters.”
“Aren’t you afraid of the repercussions?”
“It seems that you’re the kind of person who can’t distinguish between public and private matters?”
Someone gasped at my provocative words.
The silence continued, as if even a single needle would fall and all eyes would turn to that area.