Chapter 333: The Calm Before the Storm
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 333: The Calm Before the Storm
“This is...”
Upon seeing the demon's pendant, Ryu Gaeun's eyes lit up with a peculiar glint.
They were shining so brightly it was hard to believe she was the same person who had been sulking just moments ago.
It was curiosity, one of the most powerful urges a mage can feel.
“This pendant, where did you get it?”
“Uh...”
I was at a loss for words at Ryu Gaeun’s question.
Could I tell her I’d met a demon in a gate?
The Hunter Association had asked me to keep it as secret as possible, but I hadn't signed an NDA or anything.
Besides, she didn't seem to have any friends, so I figured it would be fine to tell her.
“Well, I went into a gate a while back, and there was this black mage...”
I summarized the story for Ryu Gaeun, leaving out the parts I had to and only sharing what I could.
A B-rank gate.
An encounter with a black mage.
The appearance of a demon who called himself Purpur.
And how the pendant had absorbed the demon's residual demonic energy, turning it into the black pendant it was now.
“...No way.”
After hearing my story, Ryu Gaeun muttered as if she were in a daze.
“Not a Baron or a Viscount, but a Count-rank demon descending directly to the mortal plane...”
“To be precise, it was possession.”
If that demon hadn't possessed the black mage and had instead descended to Earth with its own body, Noel and I might have been the only ones to make it out of that gate alive.
And it would have been years before I could return to Earth.
It was a known fact that demons couldn't fully wield their original power on the mortal plane.
Some called it 'the price for crossing worlds,' but to me, it felt like a penalty deliberately imposed by this world to give humans a fighting chance against demons.
“Still, it's unbelievable. The last time a demon of Count rank or higher appeared in person was over a hundred years ago. No matter how I think about it, that's not something a mere black mage could summon on their own.”
“True...”
If summoning demons were that easy, the Earth would have fallen into the hands of black mages long ago.
“Of course, it'd be a different story if that black mage was a high-ranking executive of ‘Belmoras’... but that's unlikely. Their top members are all criminals designated as S-rank villains.”
Ryu Gaeun glanced at me, then shook her head.
For a moment, I felt the urge to smack her, but she wasn't wrong.
Maybe now I could, but back then, it would have been impossible for me to face an S-rank villain.
The gap between S-rank and A-rank is far more than just a single level.
“By the way, what’s Belmoras?”
“Huh? Oh, you can just think of it as a criminal organization made up of black mages.”
I’d never heard the name before.
But I didn't find it strange. While they might be active in Europe, the US, or South America, it was extremely rare for black mages to appear in East Asia.
Besides, the ones stirring up all the trouble in this part of the world were Hongik and the Southeast Asian Liberation Army.
“Well... I guess we don't need to worry too much about it, right? It's not like black mages running rampant is anything new, and since the matter is so serious, the Vatican said someone important would be taking action personally.”
This was a Saint, one of the most powerful figures in the Vatican.
Now that he—no, she—had personally decided to act, worrying about something that had already passed was inefficient.
“...I wonder.”
Ryu Gaeun fiddled with the pendant and murmured softly.
“I'm the type who doesn't trust the church.”
In that moment, I could feel the deep-seated distrust etched in her eyes.
It was a remnant of emotion so intense that I was unconsciously drawn to it, but I forced myself to suppress my curiosity.
We weren't particularly close, and prying into her personal affairs was something neither of us would want.
“Anyway, there’s something strange about this pendant.”
“Strange how?”
“Take a look at this.”
Vwooom—
At that moment, Ryu Gaeun’s fingertips darkened with demonic energy. The energy was then sucked into the pendant as if being absorbed.
But nothing else happened.
It was the same as when it had absorbed my demonic energy.
“It's clearly an artifact that absorbs demonic energy, but there's no reaction, is there? In cases like this, it's one of two things. Either it needs more demonic energy, or it needs a different kind of demonic energy.”
“A different kind?”
“Yeah. You know how every person has a different mana wavelength, right?”
Just as Ryu Gaeun said, like fingerprints, every person’s mana wavelength is unique.
Thanks to that, mages and hunters could be identified by their mana wavelength alone, without needing an ID card.
“If it became like this after absorbing a demon's energy, it probably needs to absorb the energy of another demon.”
“Another demon's energy...”
“Of course, that's just a hypothesis, so you can take it with a grain of salt. It might just be that it needs more energy and that’s why there’s no reaction, you know?”
I gave a noncommittal nod at her words.
But in my mind, her hypothesis was solidifying into an established fact.
I had already poured more than enough demonic energy into it.
The fact that there was still no reaction made it highly likely that, as Ryu Gaeun claimed, it needed a demon's energy.
‘I should just stick it back in my inventory.’
Not only did I have no intention of hunting demons, but I didn't even know where to go to find one.
Besides, it didn't seem like an artifact worth going through all that trouble for.
“Well, I’ll be going now.”
“Ah...!”
The moment I collected the pendant and stood up, Ryu Gaeun let out a small cry.
“What is it?”
Her reaction made me puff out my chest a little.
I thought she was sad to see me go.
“...That pendant. Could you leave it with me? If I take the time to study it, I might get different results.”
“...”
Of course.
Talk about counting my chickens before they hatched.
“No.”
I shoved the pendant into my pocket.
“...Stingy.”
Even if she looked at me like that, no meant no.
I’d put it in my inventory for now, but as I traveled through other worlds, I might run into a demon or two.
For that reason alone, I couldn't entrust the pendant to Ryu Gaeun.
There was absolutely no other reason.
“By the way, senior.”
“Hm?”
“I'm a fourth-year now. Doesn't that make me the senior?”
At the Magic Tower, it wasn't uncommon for a fourth-year to be younger than a first-year.
“Hmm, so should I call you ‘senior’?”
“Yes.”
“...Really?”
When I nodded, Ryu Gaeun asked again, looking flustered.
Honestly, what guy doesn't want to be called 'senior' at least once?
“A-ahem...”
Ryu Gaeun cleared her throat for a moment, then cautiously approached me.
“...Senior Hyun-woo.”
Her voice trembled faintly as if she were embarrassed.
But coming from her, it didn't really have the impact I'd hoped for.
“...That felt a little underwhelming.”
“Isn't that a bit harsh?! Hyun-woo, you asked me to do it, so I swallowed my embarrassment and forced myself to say it!”
“I’m kidding.”
Though I was only half-joking.
Leaving the glaring Ryu Gaeun behind, I left the club room.
To be honest, she had given me information about the pendant, so I felt a little bad for refusing her so coldly.
Just a little bit, about the size of my fingertip.
‘...Should I ask Sister Lael to increase the research club's budget?’
The club was so broke that its president had to work part-time jobs. That seemed like a fair enough reward for her help.
The problem was that Han Lael was someone who strictly separated her public and private life.
Still, I wasn't too worried.
This time, I would be requesting appropriate support for the Magic Tower as a 2nd Grade Elementalist.
Plus, there was the matter with Han Seoah, so I had a feeling she would agree.
‘...But where do I go now?’
I had planned to hang out in the club room until after school, but it was a bit awkward being alone with Ryu Gaeun, so I left.
Just like that, I was left in the lurch.
I had no choice but to head to a nearby café, but just then...
“Hyun-woo!”
Someone came running toward me, calling my name.
It was a male student, a rare sight at the Magic Tower.
I was sure I’d seen him somewhere before, but I couldn't remember his name.
“Phew! I finally found you.”
“...Son Jinho?”
Seeing his face up close, I remembered.
He was Son Jinho, a classmate from my first year and the second son of the Cheonseong Group, which ranked 10th in the nation's business world.
We had greeted each other once when we first met, but he had also been the one to distance himself the moment my relationship with Han Seoah went sour.
Well, he wasn't a complete turncoat; we had eaten together in the cafeteria once or twice.
“Your reaction is a little weird... You didn't forget me, did you?”
“Of course not.”
I shook my head confidently.
I didn't forget him, I just momentarily blanked.
That can happen when you're living a busy life.
“Anyway, I thought all the first-years were out for field training right now.”
“Field training ended this morning. I came back because I have an afternoon lecture.”
I was a little surprised by his words.
If it were me, I would have just skipped class. For a third-generation chaebol, the guy was unusually diligent.
“So, what's up?”
“Ah, Hyun-woo, are you interested in entering a gate?”
“...A gate?”
*
Ironically, gates were both a disaster and a source of hope for humanity.
The various resources and byproducts from high-level magical beasts harvested from beyond the gates, combined with the Magic Revolution, had ushered in an era of prosperity for mankind.
As such, corporations had focused on conquering gates in cooperation with guilds.
And that was also true for Son Jinho's family, the Cheonseong Group.
'Cheonseong Gate Resource,' which had a contract with Seonghwa Guild, the 4th largest in the country, to conquer high-rank gates in the North Jeolla Province area, mine resources, and sell them domestically and abroad, had a revenue of 67.272 trillion won last year.
Of course, with great profit came great responsibility.
If they failed to manage a gate in their jurisdiction and a 'Gate Break' occurred, causing casualties and property damage, the Cheonseong Group had to partially compensate for the losses.
As a result, the Cheonseong Group was serious about conquering gates, but the problem was that the occurrence rate of high-rank gates had recently surged.
It had increased by a staggering 52% compared to last year, which in turn increased the burden on the Seonghwa Guild, who had to clear the gates. The Cheonseong Group had no choice but to hire additional hunters and mages.
But four days ago, another problem had erupted.
It was an A-rank gate that had appeared in Imsil County, North Jeolla Province.
Worse, Gigantic Golems, infamous for their high physical resistance, had appeared beyond the gate.
For the Seonghwa Guild, which was already short on mages, it was like a bolt from the blue. In the end, Son Jinho, the second son of the Cheonseong Group, had no choice but to roll up his sleeves and find a mage himself.
“Three billion won...”
I recalled Son Jinho's offer.
—If we succeed in clearing this gate, you'll be paid 3 billion won. We'll handle the taxes, so you don't have to worry about it. Plus, other mages will be there too, so you'll just need to provide party support from the rear.
It was certainly an attractive offer.
Not 3 billion won before taxes, but after. And a rear support role meant it wouldn't be too dangerous.
But in the end, I had to refuse his offer.
First, the fact that it was an A-rank gate, not a B-rank one, bothered me.
I had too much on my shoulders to take on the risk of an A-rank gate, where anything could happen.
‘...An increase of 52% compared to last year, though. Is that even possible?’
The occurrence rate of gates increased slightly each year, but it had never jumped so drastically.
After looking into it, I found out it wasn't just Korea.
Japan, China, Russia, the US, Europe.
The rate of gate occurrences was on the rise all over the world.
‘I heard the Northern Front is in danger too. Do they even have a plan...’
Click.
Just as I was lost in thought, the door opened, and a familiar face appeared.
“Sorry, the meeting ran long, so I’m a little late.”
It was Han Lael.