Chapter 335: The Perilous Wasteland
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 335: The Perilous Wasteland
What should have been an ordinary Tuesday morning was shattered by the sound of sirens blaring across Seoul.
Several low-rank gates located throughout the metropolitan area had suddenly escalated to A-rank.
Citizens stared with pale faces at the news anchors delivering the emergency broadcast, breaking into a cold sweat as disaster alerts flooded their phone screens.
South Korea, recognized worldwide for its gate disaster safety management, was thrown into chaos overnight. Seoul descended into pandemonium, a tangled mess of panicked citizens and police officers trying to control the situation.
The shelters were so packed there was no room to even stand, and nearly a million people scrambled to evacuate the city.
In response to this unprecedented disaster, an emergency response committee was formed, led by the government and including the Hunter Association, high-rank guilds, and the Church.
After a brief but heated debate, the Association and the guilds designated their top priorities: three gates predicted to break within the next three hours, and the gate near Mt. Gwanak, where the Magic Tower's first-year students were conducting their field training.
However, a problem remained. All four of these high-priority gates were perilously close to A+-rank.
A gate of that level would require the combined forces of two main parties from a high-rank guild to clear. Furthermore, while they were lower on the priority list, there were still other gates scattered across Seoul that required urgent attention.
The absence of the Magic Tower professors, including the Gray Tower Lord, was a painful blow.
But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining.
A glimmer of hope appeared when the Three Great Families promised their cooperation.
And so, thirty minutes before the guilds' parties, backed by immense support, were scheduled to begin their raids, someone slipped past the government and Association's surveillance network and entered the gate at Mt. Gwanak.
*
Early that morning, I was woken up by the loud ringing of my phone.
In my drowsy, half-asleep state, a single missed call caught my eye.
[Caller: Marna Hircus]
It was from Marna Hircus, the 1st-grade alchemist who had created Cheon Yeo-hwa's antidote and the grandmother of Lumina, a fellow member of my research club.
Wondering what could be so urgent this early, I tried calling her back. But after a long wait, all I heard was the mechanical tone of the voicemail system.
“...What's going on?”
It was a little strange, but I dismissed it as nothing important, figuring she was just busy.
If it were truly urgent, she would call back later.
But the moment I left my bedroom and turned on the TV as usual, I finally understood why she had called me so early in the morning.
—This is a breaking news report. Several low-rank gates in the metropolitan area have, for unknown reasons, transformed into A-rank gates. I repeat, several low-rank gates in the metropolitan area have suddenly escalated to A-rank, and authorities have declared a state of emergency.
Ding, ding, ding, ding.
Right on cue, disaster alerts began to flood my phone.
The list of dangerous gates included the E-rank gate at Mt. Gwanak, where the first-year students had gone for their field training.
“Hoo...”
I calmly took a breath and checked the time.
It was 8:24 AM.
About ten minutes had passed since the gate's rank had escalated.
According to Han Lael, the first-year field training was supposed to start at 7 AM, which meant they would have already passed the entrance area long ago.
At this point, it was practically impossible for them to escape the gate on their own.
The only silver lining was that they probably weren't all dead yet.
The Magic Tower professors and, as a precaution, some Association hunters were accompanying them on this training, so they should be able to hold out for a while.
Besides, the government, the Association, the guilds, and even the Jinryu Han Family would do everything in their power to rescue the mages, especially Han Seoah.
From a rational standpoint, there was no reason for me to take the risk and get involved.
More importantly, magic alone wouldn't be enough to clear an A-rank gate, let alone a B-rank one.
I would have to use my martial arts, and I didn't want to reveal my hand yet.
Even now, under the protection of the Seongbuk Choi Family, I was constantly receiving offers from various powers, including governments and guilds from around the world.
If I revealed my martial arts on top of everything else, their objective could shift from simple recruitment to eliminating a competitor.
Marna Hircus probably knew I couldn't help and decided not to call again for that very reason.
Staying out of this would be in my best interest.
...Or so my past self would have thought.
I believe that in choosing a path in life, risk isn't just a burden, but the weight of a choice.
Life is a series of choices that must be made at every moment, and I was now at another crossroads.
“Are you going?”
A familiar voice called out.
It was Noel and Jeon Seoha.
“I have to.”
“Then I'm going too.”
“Me too.”
“...What?”
I was momentarily speechless at their replies. Noel walked over with a smile.
“What kind of master goes to the battlefield and leaves their summon behind?”
Noel's expression was more serious than I had ever seen it.
The same was true for Jeon Seoha.
“I want to be of help to you too, Hyun-woo. Besides, I've taken down dozens of A-rank monsters when they crossed the front lines, so I won't slow you down.”
Seeing their stubbornness, I couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
I could feel their concern for me.
It was true that Noel and Jeon Seoha, having fully absorbed the elixirs with the help of the Great Mind-Spirit Art, were now among the top-tier of A-rank fighters.
Facing the unknown danger of an A-rank gate, there was no reason not to take them with me.
“If you push yourselves and get hurt, I'm leaving you behind.”
“You know the same goes for you, Master, right?”
Noel smiled, her face full of mischief.
Jeon Seoha, on the other hand, still wore a grave expression as she hugged my arm.
“I'll protect you, Hyun-woo.”
I patted the head of Jeon Seoha, who was nearly two heads shorter than me.
“I'm counting on you.”
*
An A-rank gate is practically a small world unto itself.
The smaller ones are about the size of Jeju Island, while the larger ones can be bigger than Hokkaido.
They are teeming with high-level monsters of B+-rank and above, and their extreme environments lie in wait, ready to swallow hunters whole.
Scorching deserts, frozen tundras, jungles swarming with poisonous insects.
An A-rank gate was a place where even high-level hunters couldn't guarantee their survival without proper preparation.
Squelch—
“Kiiieeeek!!”
Thud.
A deafening screech echoed as a massive body collapsed, splattering purple blood everywhere.
It was a Death Worm, an A-rank monster known as the ruler of the desert.
Its hide was so thick and hard that its physical resistance was higher than a Gigantic Golem's, but it couldn't last long against a sword strike coated in Aura.
The stench of rotten entrails wafted past my nose, making me frown instinctively.
I pulled up my hood and stepped onto the carcass.
“Good view from up here.”
A wasteland reminiscent of the Grand Canyon stretched out beyond the horizon.
All I could see was the rugged earth, steep canyons, and ferocious monsters.
An hour had passed since I slipped past the Association's surveillance and entered the gate. I had no choice but to accept it now.
What had been a mere E-rank gate had transformed into an A-rank one overnight.
But for a gate that the Association had inspected multiple times for the Magic Tower's field training to suddenly escalate in rank was, as far as I knew, unprecedented.
Moreover, according to an Association staff member I'd overheard, the gate's magic power level was close to A+-rank.
If that was true, this had the potential to become a global catastrophe.
If A+-rank gates could appear simultaneously on this small patch of land, there was no reason it couldn't happen in other countries.
“Master!!”
A familiar voice echoed through the canyon.
Standing atop a stone pillar, Noel was pointing somewhere.
“A pack of monsters!”
At her words, I immediately extended my magic detection.
Soon, the life signatures of monsters sprinting across the wasteland at speeds rivaling a motorcycle appeared on my senses.
'A four-legged, beast-type monster... a Bear Wolf?'
A pack of Bear Wolves, known to be particularly ferocious even among A-rank monsters, was charging toward us.
Confirming the staff member's words that the gate was close to A+-rank, there were a staggering twenty-six of them.
Just as I was about to reach for my sword hilt, I noticed that Jeon Seoha, who had been nearby just a moment ago, was gone.
“Noel, where's Seoha?”
“Huh? Big Sis Seoha is right over there.”
I looked where Noel was pointing and saw Jeon Seoha charging toward the pack of Bear Wolves.
She was holding a large saber (刀) in her hand.
'She's ridiculously fast, just like a wolf beast-girl.'
Even running on two legs, Jeon Seoha was significantly faster than the Bear Wolves. In no time, she collided with them head-on.
CRRRR-UNCH!!
The battle was completely one-sided.
The Blade Aura (刀罡) enveloping Jeon Seoha's saber scattered in all directions, tearing the Bear Wolves apart like a wolf's fangs.
Her saber technique, which she had learned from her family along with swordsmanship and Claw Art (爪法), had reached a considerable level.
After turning the entire pack of Bear Wolves into a pile of bloody flesh in an instant, Jeon Seoha looked at me and waved.
She was like a hunting dog showing off its catch, waiting for praise.
'Cute.'
Including the Bear Wolves Jeon Seoha just handled, the number of monsters we had hunted now exceeded sixty.
Normally, we would take a break to regroup, but I couldn't afford to waste a single moment. I had no idea how much longer the Magic Tower students could last against this extreme environment and the endless waves of monsters.
“Krarararak!!”
“Kyaaaak!!”
“Kieeeek!!!”
While I was lost in thought, another group of monsters appeared from the southeast.
“I'll take this one!”
Noel gripped a giant battle-axe and charged toward the monsters.
[Bloody Minotaur's Two-Handed Axe
Grade: Epic
Allows the use of 'Berserk'.
Allows the use of 'Earthquake'.]
It was the 'Bloody Minotaur's Two-Handed Axe' I had obtained after defeating a minotaur in the underground labyrinth long ago.
BOOOOM!!
When Noel's monstrous strength combined with the axe's special ability, Earthquake, a small sandstorm swirled across the wasteland.
While the two of them dealt with the monsters, I pushed my magic detection to its limits, focusing on finding the students.
'...Just please be alive.'
I didn't want to see the students who had been my classmates until just recently as cold, lifeless bodies.
*
Slice—
A monster's head flew off from a sharp slash.
“Hah, hah...!”
A considerable number of monster corpses were piled up around Riyal, her light purple hair fluttering in the wind as she gasped for breath.
Despite her efforts, the situation showed no signs of improving.
The endless stream of monsters appearing from nowhere and her dwindling stamina and magic power were telling her she was at her limit.
Riyal gritted her teeth.
“Minha, you have to run!”
Behind her, Shin Minha was collapsed on the ground with an injury to her side.
With a pale face, Shin Minha shook her head.
“...A summoner can't just abandon her summon and run away.”
“What are you talking about!”
Riyal rarely shouted at Shin Minha, but she already knew the truth.
Surrounded by high-level monsters, injured, and with almost no magic power left, it was practically impossible for Shin Minha to escape on her own.
'...Dammit, if only I could break the seal!'
Riyal seethed with frustration.
Bound by the restrictions of the Phantom Beast Realm, she couldn't use her full power on Earth.
Until now, she had managed to fight off the monsters with her divine-level dagger skills, but with her magic power so low she could barely maintain her Aura and her physical abilities nerfed by several levels, her limit was fast approaching.
“...Riyal, it's not too late. I'll consent, so break the contract.”
Shin Minha's meaning was crystal clear.
She was telling Riyal to break the contract between summoner and summon and escape to the Phantom Beast Realm.
But Riyal didn't answer.
She could have escaped on her own with her abilities anyway.
The reason Shin Minha was suggesting they break the contract was because she was worried about the backlash Riyal would suffer from her summoner's death.
Grip—
Riyal gripped her dagger with all her might and charged forward, slicing the necks of the monsters.
Her back, tracing beautiful lines with a violet Sword Qi, was a picture of desperation.
“Hyaaaaaaaaa!!!!”
This is Riyal, Shin Minha's summon.