High Grade, Too High
It's good when the grade is high. Just not too high. The hunters considered upper-tier are 6th grade. From that point on, they feel like they've transcended humanity. Naturally, each grade above that carries an enormous gap. Roughly speaking, it takes about ten people from the lower grade to stand a chance against one from the next tier. Some say five if the compatibility is perfect, but since no one has ever fought to the death, the truth remains unknown. The five-to-ten estimate became famous because of reports from hunters who had to retreat after clashing with awakened criminals and villains.
In that context, an 11th-grade master stone? The highest grade ever captured so far was only 9th. The entire world would be screaming that they've got a massive scoop on their hands. I just wanted to live a quiet, healing life with my inhabitants, laughing and enjoying ourselves, but that clearly wasn't going to happen.
Well... it's not like I can't use it.
I had wanted master stones in the first place to expand my territory. So I immediately opened the status window and checked the territory management tab. Using the 11th-grade master stone let me expand the territory enormously—almost three to four times its current size. In practical terms, that meant a circular area covering half of Heugildo. Of course, expanding in a perfect circle would wastefully include far too much ocean, so I decided to be selective.
First, I connected a straight line from our current location, where Skywalk was, all the way to Heugildo. Then I designated a one-kilometer stretch of sea around Heugildo as territory. I also added Ttangkkeut Village, which I'd already registered with the association. Even after all that, I still hadn't used up half the stone's power.
"Wando is still too early. I'd rather expand downward and aim for Nohwado."
I drew a straight line from Heugildo down to Nohwado. It was much larger than Ttangkkeut Village—the island itself was bigger than my current territory. Since it was an uninhabited island with no residents, using Heugildo as a stepping stone and developing Nohwado seemed like a solid plan. Heugildo was fine, but I had no idea how many more inhabitants I'd end up with, so more land was always better.
Sea monsters? If I summoned and stationed Asne the Siren there, what could they possibly do? Of course, there was one problem: Asne could swim through the ocean, but Miya and I couldn't. Still, since I had no intention of expanding toward the mainland, I focused on extending the territory to Nohwado. I wanted the entire island, but after claiming roughly half, I couldn't expand any further. According to the records, Nohwado's area was 25.01 square kilometers. My initial territory had only been about three to four kilometers across, so it made sense that I couldn't claim everything.
"I wonder if this will taste good? Miya, let's drain the blood by putting it in the sea."
"Got it!!!"
I also had to deal with the corpse of the Big-Mouth Saw, minus the master stone. I could have just put it up for sale at the market, but someone might recognize it, so I decided to eat it instead. It hadn't been long since we'd caught it, and the winter weather kept it fresh. Meat always needed the blood drained to reduce the fishy smell, so I asked Miya for help. She grabbed the tail and dunked it into the sea.
"I'll clean it."
"Thanks."
Asne used her water manipulation to wash the carcass. While we were handling it, lights appeared in the direction of Ttangkkeut Village.
"Asne, can you and Miya hide for a while?"
"That's easy. Miya, come here."
"Okay!!!"
Asne took Miya's hand and led her into the sea. It was a shame to wash the meat only to dunk it again, but we could always rinse it later. For now, I needed to deal with the approaching people. Following the broken path of rocks toward Ttangkkeut Village, I saw multiple lights. Quite a few people were searching the area with lanterns.
"There's someone here!!!"
"What are you doing out here?"
"What was that huge noise we heard nearby? Did you cause it?"
About thirty hunters. How did I know? They were all wearing fantasy-style outfits that didn't match the current era. I raised both arms to show I meant no harm—the classic "hands up, or we'll shoot" pose police and soldiers used.
"My name is Kim Minsoo. I'm a 1st-grade hunter, and I registered with the Haenam Hunter Association today to reclaim Ttangkkeut Village. The noise came from a whale-like monster that attacked the mountain over there. I just happened to witness it."
I explained the situation, though I did twist a few details. It had been slammed into the mountain, but a physical attack was still an attack.
"A 1st-grade hunter? Jeong, check it!"
"Yes!"
The man who seemed to be the leader gave the order. Jeong pulled out his phone and verified. Naturally, I was a registered hunter, and my story checked out. He nodded.
"Sorry for being cautious. We heard a loud noise all the way to the mainland in the middle of the night and came to investigate, then spotted a suspicious figure. I'm Lee Kang-jae, 6th-grade hunter and guild master of Haenam's Ttangkkeut Guild."
His face looked familiar from the news. A 6th-grade hunter was quite the celebrity—someone among Korea's top two hundred strongest. In rankings, 6th grade usually sat around 150th to 200th place. His guild was well-known in South Jeolla Province, with roughly fifty combat members. The fact that thirty of them had gathered at this hour showed impressive unity for an emergency call.
"Nice to meet you. My introduction is the same as before."
"Right. You said you saw what happened?"
Lee Kang-jae looked to be in his mid-to-late forties. Hunters tended to look younger than ordinary people, so he was probably older. His casual speech didn't bother me.
"Yes. I checked just now—there's a huge mark left on the mountain over there."
"Hmm... a mark, you say. You mentioned a giant whale?"
"Yes. It attacked from far out at sea."
"Whew... so a boss monster went on a rampage again. Any other movements after that?"
"No. It was quiet, so I went to check secretly."
He gathered his guild members and discussed with me. In short, they believed the whale was the cause of Ttangkkeut Village's destruction. It had suddenly leaped from the distant sea, sprayed water onto land, destroyed the harbor, and then the Sea Groks had gone wild.
"Whew... the reason I founded the guild was because I used to live in this village. That's why it's called the Ttangkkeut Guild... though, as you can see, we couldn't achieve much."
The guild members gathered here were either former residents of Ttangkkeut Village or connected to them. That was why they'd assembled even at this late hour past eleven.
"Do you know roughly where the mountain is?"
"It's the mountain near where Skywalk used to be."
"I see. Thanks. It's late tonight, and we don't know when the boss monster might rampage again, so we'll check again at dawn tomorrow. Everyone heard that? Let's disperse! Hunter Kim Minsoo, thank you for your cooperation."
Kang-jae led his guild members away. Their investigation was complete. If they hadn't known the cause, they would have pressed on despite the risk. Their expressions had been deadly serious.
At least we won't be attacked again, but there's no need to tell them that.
If they'd stayed to investigate further, things would have gotten complicated. But the Ttangkkeut Guild withdrew immediately. Their guild master had good judgment. I watched them all drive away before heading toward the ruined harbor.
"Asne~? Miya~?"
"We're here."
The two emerged from the pitch-black water. Strangely, they weren't wet at all. When I asked why, Miya answered excitedly.
"Whoa!!! We could even breathe underwater! Lady Siren is amazing!!!"
"Oh... you can let people breathe underwater?"
"Yes. I can freely control the water in a certain space."
"Could you use that ability to reach the island over there?"
"It's simple."
I'd been wondering how we'd travel, and now the problem was solved. I should have asked Asne properly from the beginning. She could already create whirlpools and waterspouts with seawater, so making an air pocket underwater would be easy for her.
"Then... I'll go recover the tent. Can you move the Big-Mouth Saw to the island first?"
"Of course."
Miya and I went to retrieve the tent while Asne transported the carcass. By around one in the morning, we had everything packed. As I headed down to the sea, I ran into Asne climbing up the mountain. She'd been waiting in the water and came to meet us.
"Sorry for making you wait."
"No. I'm the one who couldn't wait and came. There's no need for you to apologize, my lord."
Asne said she'd come because she simply wanted to see me. How could she make even that sound so lovely?
"Shall we head to the island, then?"
The three of us went to Heugildo first. Cutting through the water felt refreshing, though it would have been nicer with sunlight. Unfortunately, only darkness surrounded us. When we arrived, Heugildo's village was completely destroyed. At least being on land had made a difference compared to places the hunters couldn't protect. The island was smaller than Ttangkkeut Village, and seeing its miserable state left me feeling heavy.
"Let's stay here tonight and go to Nohwado tomorrow."
With Asne here, we were safe now. We decided to rest on Heugildo tonight and head to Nohwado in the morning. We set up at the ruined harbor, pitching the tent on flat ground.
"How should we make Asne's nest?"
"Could I have more cloth?"
"Of course."
I bought as much cloth as Asne wanted and gave it to her. She floated the fabric on the water and quickly shaped it into a tent. Apparently she could also fix the water in place—the underwater tent looked neat and clean.
"I'll sleep inside this."
"Oh... so it won't be visible from outside."
"That's right."
By the time we'd set up our temporary shelter on Heugildo, it was past two in the morning.
"Before we sleep, I was thinking of summoning an inhabitant. Want to join me?"
"Yeah, yeah!! I wanna, I wanna!!!"
"Yes. I'll stay nearby as well to check on the new inhabitant and make sure the territory isn't affected."
I was exhausted, but since it wouldn't take long, I decided to finish it quickly. I wondered who the third inhabitant would be. Hopefully... something impressive. Really impressive.