Chapter 37
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Blue Bee Honey Temple (4)
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I couldn't help but marvel at whatever master had left behind such traces.
"A formation...?"
"No way... That's impossible."
Dang Hwa-rin looked utterly baffled. She couldn't fathom how anyone could fill an endless mountain range with a formation technique.
But it was right there before her eyes, impossible to deny.
"..."
Si-woo, coming from a modern world rich with information, wasn't as shocked. He'd experienced similar things indirectly through comics, movies, and countless other media.
Even a top-tier hunter might struggle with something like this...
He pondered it briefly, but it wasn't what mattered right now.
He called out to the hairy guy staring up at the drone in the sky.
"Hey."
"Uh, yeah?"
"Not chasing the Thousand-Li Bee?"
"Oh...! Damn it!"
The dazed man bolted off in a panic.
As he watched him go, Dang Hwa-rin whispered to Si-woo.
"Is it okay to show him something like this?"
"This much is fine."
Being known as someone with wondrous gadgets wasn't so bad. He was curious how much karma fame would bring anyway.
Ignoring the departing hairy man, he focused on the screen.
"Found it."
He spotted a cliff packed with hives. It was about 150 meters tall—not a challenge for him.
Dang Hwa-rin's head tilted upward toward the cliff.
"Whoa... That's pretty high."
Si-woo flashed her a confident grin.
"Don't worry. I'm good at climbing cliffs. Wait here."
Si-woo shifted the attributes of his Mixed Origin Qi.
Suction, Lightness.
He grabbed his trusty pickaxe and drove it into the cliff face. The ease compared to before made his growth palpable.
Dang Hwa-rin watched in awe as he scaled it like a monkey up a tree. Even a first-rate master wouldn't climb that effortlessly.
"Wow...!"
She called out amid her admiration.
"Still, be careful. Don't let your guard down."
"Got it. Wait there."
It took only minutes to reach the top.
Piece of cake.
Si-woo crested the cliff lightly and surveyed his surroundings in wonder.
Innumerable cliffs jutted up everywhere, each flanked by a sunken basin.
Those are all palm prints...
-Bzzz bzzz
A buzzing sound came from behind. Blue-tinged bees eyed him curiously before flying off somewhere.
Just like they said—pretty docile.
The few remaining bees headed to another cliff. The hives seemed packed despite the sparse bees.
Huh?
In a blind spot the drone had missed, someone lurked.
Si-woo tensed and looked over. A woman was glaring intently at a hive.
She wore red robes over a well-toned figure.
Someone beat me here... Wait, what?
-Fwoosh!
Flames erupted in her hand, and she torched the hive. As the burning mass tumbled, she spotted Si-woo.
She eyed the sudden intruder warily.
"...! Who are you?!"
"You first—why are you burning the hives?"
Si-woo's eyes narrowed. Could this woman be the one who attacked the gatherers?
She eyed him suspiciously in turn.
"You climbed this cliff...? A gatherer? Suspicious."
"Heh, says the pot calling the kettle black."
Mutual wariness stalled the conversation.
Si-woo pondered briefly before speaking.
"How about we just settle this with a fight?"
"Ha! I like the sound of that."
No one stays quiet after a fight's decided anyway. Calm talk might've worked, but they skipped it.
Her realm was peak second-rate.
About Si-woo's level. Sparring her might yield clues to first-rate.
Flames flickered at her fingertips. Si-woo heightened his focus.
They clashed wordlessly, glaring.
Unlike Choi Jun-pil's wild flames, her fists came sharp and precise.
Her straight punch met Si-woo's sword thrust.
Not dodging?
Bare-handed or not, her fist showed no hesitation. Si-woo met it head-on after a split-second thought.
-Clang!
His hand tingled.
The sound was off for flesh against steel—like metal on metal, heavy and resounding.
Flames bloomed where sword met fist.
Feeling the slight numbness in his arm, Si-woo grew excited. What technique made flesh this hard?
And the flames sparking on every block—fascinating.
She grimaced faintly and charged again.
Her palm grabbed Si-woo's sword, trying to wrench it away. He countered.
Suction.
She faltered, pushing to close in, but her hand stuck like glue.
Off-balance, she took a kick to the gut—weight amplified on impact.
-Thud!
"Guh...!"
The blow must've hurt, but she rolled with a landing technique and sprang back at him. Tough.
Her eyes sharpened after the hit. She charged recklessly, body-checking the blade.
-Clang! Clang!
Fist and sword rang out like steel.
Dozens of exchanges in, flames scattered like fiery feathers.
"Hah!"
As Si-woo sensed something off, she shouted. The red feathers rained toward him.
"...!"
Si-woo accelerated his Mixed Origin Qi. It spun on his skin—a defensive spin honed against Choi Jun-pil, perfect for deflecting.
Ignoring the flames, he thrust at her.
Swift, Sharp.
-Slash!
His delayed strike was faster.
The flames hadn't even reached him halfway before his sword kissed her throat.
She halted the feathers, glaring. Clearly unsatisfied.
His Mixed Origin Qi's sharpness intensified. A bead of blood welled on her neck.
Her eyes wavered. Forcing open reluctant lips, she spoke.
"...I lose."
Si-woo felt a pang of regret seeing her grimace, pride wounded.
Too easy—no real grasp of first-rate.
As he pondered what to say—
-Boom!
Dang Hwa-rin shot into the sky and crested the cliff.
Sensing the fight, she'd climbed up.
"What's going on?!"
Seeing Si-woo's sword at the woman's throat, she approached, somewhat relieved.
"Who's she?"
"Dunno. About to find out."
The red-clad woman bit her lip as Si-woo glanced her way.
*
Si-woo nodded at her silence.
"Alright. Name?"
"...Ju Seol-ran."
"Ju Seol-ran. Good. What were you doing here?"
"..."
She clamped her mouth shut. Si-woo sighed, twitching his sword.
"Bit late to clam up now."
She sighed at the blade at her throat.
"I'm from the Murim Alliance's Vermilion Bird Unit."
"Murim Alliance?"
She pushed the sword away.
"I've got the alliance token in my robes. Mind removing this?"
"Show it."
She slowly drew a gleaming silver token.
Si-woo took it and handed it to Dang Hwa-rin, who examined it gravely.
"Hmm... Looks genuine."
"Yeah?"
Ju Seol-ran relaxed slightly at his mild reaction. At least not Alliance enemies.
Si-woo withdrew the sword from her throat.
"Explain in detail."
"Got intel about danger in these mountains. Came to investigate."
Si-woo glanced around. A single token wasn't fully convincing.
"Why alone? Isn't the Murim Alliance huge? Covers the whole martial world?"
"..."
She paused, then retorted.
"And you? A gatherer climbing this high? Why gather with that skill?"
Si-woo shrugged.
"I'm here on a commission to investigate the incidents in these mountains."
That broke her hesitation.
"Sigh... Fine. It's not classified anymore... My mother told me."
Si-woo chuckled at the absurd answer.
"Don't make that face. My mother was a prophetess."
"...Prophetess? Why past tense?"
She bit her lip briefly.
"...Ten years ago, her prophecies started failing."
Ten years?
"At first, one in ten missed. Now none in a hundred hit. She swore this one was real... No one believed her, so I came."
Even if her hit rate was zero now, Si-woo knew from the quest something weird was afoot here.
"She prophesied danger here?"
"Yes. I was checking oddities and burned the hive. Most suspicious thing around."
Si-woo pulled out the controller. Time for a proper scan.
The drone rose higher, scanning all around.
Ju Seol-ran's jaw dropped as he focused on the screen.
Huh? That's...
The hairy guy from the bet earlier was fleeing for his life.