Chapter 164
Chapter 164
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: The True Form of the Artifact
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Chapter 164
"Looks like this is the artifact, right?"
Nod.
Ji-hee nodded in agreement at Jeong-hyeon's question.
What they were looking at now was a necklace hanging on a branch of a massive tree in the middle of the sanctuary.
It was tailored to lizardman senses, so it felt a bit flashy for hunter gear, but there was nothing else that screamed artifact.
Ashurek's claymore had vanished along with its corpse, after all.
Rustle.
Jeong-hyeon reached out and pulled the necklace from the branch.
Then, an unexpected change occurred.
"Huh?"
"......?"
Both Jeong-hyeon and Ji-hee were startled.
Just as light seemed to emanate from the necklace adorned with lizardman teeth and various flowers, it faded, transforming into a small green ring.
'Is this... how it's supposed to be?'
Jeong-hyeon gazed down at the ring with a troubled heart.
But there was no one to ask inside the gate.
This was Ji-hee's first mission clear, and the same for the other party members.
Jeong-hyeon was the only one with artifact experience, but even he had only cleared mission gates three times before this, so he wasn't exactly seasoned.
That realization made him feel embarrassed for reacting like a newbie to the necklace changing, so he gave an awkward smile.
"Ahaha, seeing it transform confirms it's the artifact. Nothing else would do that."
His attitude was painfully awkward to anyone watching.
But Ji-hee just nodded calmly, oblivious or unconcerned by Jeong-hyeon's odd behavior.
If it wasn't an artifact, there'd be no reason for such a phenomenon anyway.
Jeong-hyeon's guess wasn't certain, but it was hard to call it wrong.
Still, feeling a pang of self-consciousness, he hurriedly changed the subject.
"A gate appeared over there. We can get out now."
They'd secured the artifact(?).
The only remaining task from the sanctuary was finding the exit gate.
Though "finding" was a stretch, since it had quietly spawned right next to the tree where the necklace hung.
Jeong-hyeon told Ji-hee to wait here with the ring and went out to the clearing to gather the party members.
Su-chan and Yun-ho could move on their own, more or less, while Jeong-hyeon carried Yeon-hee on his back since she still hadn't regained consciousness.
"Wow, is this the artifact?"
"Yeah, probably."
His arm still hurt, but it was Su-chan's first time seeing an artifact up close, so his eyes went wide.
It looked like a plain green ring, but artifacts like this fetched tens of billions at minimum.
Of course, they'd need a proper appraisal outside to confirm its true value.
Meanwhile, Yun-ho seemed inwardly intrigued but said nothing, his guilt still lingering.
With all party members having confirmed the artifact, there was truly nothing left to do in this gate.
Jeong-hyeon scanned them with a tense expression.
"So... shall we really head out?"
"?"
The party members looked puzzled, thinking his demeanor was a bit much.
Hadn't they just taken down the lizardman warrior chief, who seemed like a demon from hell?
As the main players, they should be basking in triumph, yet Jeong-hyeon acted like they were entering a new gate.
'Ha... do we really have to go?'
It was a doubt they could harbor only because they didn't know Jeong-hyeon's full situation.
Crossing that gate meant unknown agony awaited, so hesitation was inevitable for him.
An S-Rank, two A-Ranks, and one C-Rank worth of adaptation pain.
But no amount of worry would change the unalterable future.
Jeong-hyeon bit his lower lip hard.
The single step through that gate felt more daunting than his initial charge at Ashurek.
'Yeah, if we're going, better to get it over with first!'
Better to take the hit head-on, as the timeless rule went.
Recalling that, Jeong-hyeon stepped through the gate ahead of the others.
And then.
'Ah, the sky.'
As soon as he returned under Upo Swamp's fresh air and sky.
"We made it out! Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon!"
Amid a chorus of cheers, gasps, and echoing shouts.
[The temporary unlock of 「Trait Shop」 granted for anomaly difficulty adjustment will now end.
Coins spent inside 'Lizardman Sanctuary' and temporarily used traits will be restored.
※Caution: Adaptation pain from temporary traits will now begin. Proceed carefully.]
"Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon? Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon... Han Jeong..."
He passed out on the spot.
***
"Ugh..."
When Jeong-hyeon opened his eyes, he was surrounded by white.
A hospital room.
"Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon!"
Still wincing from lingering pain, the first thing Jeong-hyeon saw was none other than Section Chief Choi Nam-sik.
Seeing him awake, Choi grabbed his arm and called his name urgently.
"You're okay... Is this a hospital?"
"Yes. You collapsed right after exiting the gate—do you know how startled we were?"
'Bullshit.'
Remembering how Choi had been nowhere to be seen when they entered due to some "urgent matter," Jeong-hyeon's irritation flared.
The gate's difficulty adjustment was solely due to his EX-Rank 「Trait Shop」, but seeing someone absent during trouble always grated.
If not for the tingling pain throughout his body, he might have grabbed Choi by the collar right then.
Either way, inspecting Choi more closely now that things had calmed, Jeong-hyeon noticed his face was far more haggard than usual.
"How many days have I been out?"
"Ah... It's been four days total. Over four and a half since you entered the gate."
More time had passed than Jeong-hyeon expected.
'Half a day passed inside after we entered?'
What surprised him most was the time spent in the gate.
Gate internal and external time didn't flow 1:1 strictly, but twelve hours?
That must be why Section Chief Choi had rushed to Changnyeong upon learning of the delay.
Twelve hours was more than enough to tentatively declare a raid failure.
From outside, it looked like a normal gate poised to swallow two S-Ranks, a disaster for the Association.
'And three days in the hospital... well.'
Waking after three days in the hospital felt par for the course.
The pain upon exiting was so vivid, just recalling it sent shivers down his spine.
In hindsight, he'd take another fight with Ashurek over that agony any day.
The greatest human blessing was forgetfulness?
Jeong-hyeon was certain that saying—whose origin he couldn't recall—was dead wrong.
The greatest human blessing was passing out.
'What? "Proceed carefully"?'
No time to heed cautions when adaptation pain hit.
He'd blacked out only because it exceeded biological limits; otherwise, it'd be a funeral home, not a hospital.
Cause of death: shock.
Anyway, beyond adaptation pain, the accumulated fatigue and injuries from the raid weren't trivial, so waking after three days wasn't shocking.
"What about the other party members?"
Jeong-hyeon shifted topics entirely.
Choi, who had looked relieved as if all worldly problems were solved now that Jeong-hyeon was awake, began explaining.
"Ah, Hunter Hong Yeon-hee and Hunter Park Su-chan are in full recovery now. They might come rushing once they hear you're awake."
Whatever happened inside must have been quite the shock.
Jeong-hyeon nodded at Choi's added remark.
How could it not be shocking?
Preconceptions build with experience.
Having cleared mission gates before, the absurd difficulty had to hit hard.
Still, they were A-Rank hunters treated lavishly everywhere.
The prowess of Jeong-hyeon and Ji-hee, witnessed firsthand, must have exceeded imagination.
'Even I don't fully grasp what I did; can't blame them.'
But his concern wasn't those two.
"What about Yun-ho?"
At Yun-ho's name, Choi's expression hardened.
Four days out, they should've pieced together the internal events.
"He... probably can't continue as a hunter."
"Is that what he wants?"
"Sort of. Association disciplinary action aside, he's banned from gates for half a year. He doesn't want to enter anymore."
Jeong-hyeon had half-expected as much.
Hunters in associations or guilds are evaluated on performance.
Showing subpar results demands accountability.
Standard penalties: gate access ban, license suspension, revocation.
'Half-year ban isn't too harsh.'
A gate ban could be seen as lenient.
Among disciplines, it was near the bottom.
Even as a disciplinary committee member, Jeong-hyeon would've ruled similarly.
The lizardman warrior chief was unsolvable for typical level 5 gates, and they cleared it regardless of how.
A disciplinary record hurts transfers or public activities, but in this case, no one would care.
Yun-ho choosing to quit hunting altogether was another matter.
As a healer, he could still find purpose outside gates.
"And Ji-hee?"
"Ji-hee... perfect timing, I have news on that."
At Jeong-hyeon's next question, Choi looked troubled and rummaged through his briefcase, pulling out two sheets of paper.
'Typical office worker.'
From first sight, that bag spat out any document on demand.
Anyway, Jeong-hyeon took the papers without protest.
"These are ownership documents for the artifact from the gate."
"Ah."
He'd been too out of it to think about the artifact.
More accurately, he hadn't had the chance yet.
Jeong-hyeon skimmed the contents.
The first page detailed the necklace-turned-ring artifact's performance and value.
"Mana stabilization and magic efficiency boost?"
"Correct."
That alone made the next page's purpose obvious.
Anyone could see where it was headed.
Sure enough, the second page was a contract for transferring ownership and compensation.
It offered 50% of appraised value in exchange for Jeong-hyeon's artifact share.
"Well, doesn't matter to me."
The effects were useless to him anyway.
He'd felt magic's utility this gate but didn't rely on it, and his mana was stable.
Ji-hee, however, needed trait stabilizers just for normal combat—highly unstable.
Magic efficiency was gold for any mage.
Especially since Ji-hee tended to overpour mana when casting.
Seeing Jeong-hyeon seemingly amenable, Choi brightened.
"Ah, so you'll approve?"
"Her getting stronger benefits me. But—"
Of course, it didn't go that way.
Jeong-hyeon grinned, handing back the unsigned contract.
"This appraisal seems a bit low."
Flinch.
Hit a nerve?
Choi's shoulders twitched at the remark.
"Ahaha. Mana stability's great for Hunter Choi Ji-hee but useless for most magic traits. So it's slightly undervalued."
"Oh, undervalued, huh."
"For you specifically, per the Association President's orders, there's a special bonus for this gate clear—"
"Just give it. 65% contract."
"......"
Special bonus was separate.
Artifact valuation was its own math.
Jeong-hyeon's eyes dripped with that intent.
In the end, Choi had no choice but to rummage through his briefcase again.