Chapter 041
< Khalif's Great Grimoire >
The next morning, I woke up and headed to the herb garden.
Hasuo was already up, dozing next to the [Earth's Lullaby Music Box].
“Hasuo, good morning. But where did Muryong go?”
“Pwa-aeng?”
Hasuo also tilted its head as if it didn't know.
“······.”
A sense of unease crept in.
When it's quiet, that fellow always causes some sort of trouble.
“Muryong!”
I hurried into the house.
And then, a loud noise coming from the next room.
Scritch, scratch, thud!
Muryong was frantically digging into a box with its front paws, making unusual sounds.
“Muryong!”
-H-hmyoot?
Muryong's body stiffened, looking exactly like a thief caught at the scene.
“This is······.”
It was the artifact I received from Shin Seung-ah.
Just like with the hand axe last time, it seemed to have a particular obsession with items from MK Sphere.
Fortunately, it didn't seem to have torn it open yet.
When I opened the box to check.
[Item: Tactical Analysis System ‘ODIN’]
[Rank: A]
[Form: Thin Ear Cuff type]
[Description: A personal assistant AI connected in real-time to MK Group’s supercomputer. It analyzes accumulated data to suggest the optimal course of action to the user. (Special Note: It is in a special state where ‘location tracking’ and ‘data recording’ of the user are impossible, having gained complete freedom.)]
The special note part felt like Shin Seung-ah had personally pulled some strings.
Seeing as she modified the existing artifact specifically to be more convenient for me, it meant she valued me as an important trading partner.
-Hmyoot?
Muryong's eyes sparkled as it saw the ear cuff on my ear, and it jumped up onto my shoulder.
Then, it began to tap it "tuk, tuk" with its small front paws.
“It’ll break if you do that.”
Just as I was about to stop it.
Cr-crackle-!
A tiny spark flew from the tip of Muryong's front paw.
In that instant, the pure energy from Muryong was sucked into the intricate mana circuit of the ear cuff.
A rainbow-colored circuit rose like a haze over the silver surface and repeated appearing and disappearing before finally stabilizing.
“Is this okay?”
When I cautiously held it in my hand again.
-Static······.
A crackling static sound was heard a few times.
“Did it break after all?”
To think an A-Rank artifact was blown away so hollowly.
Just as I thought this artifact had become a piece of scrap metal that couldn't perform any function.
- [Reconnection, complete.]
Instead of a mechanical voice, a much deeper, neutral voice of unknown emotion was heard.
- [Accessing Khalif's Great Grimoire.]
And the system window popped up again.
[Item: Death Throes of One Who Peered into Dimensions]
[Rank: EX (Measurement Impossible)]
[Description: Long ago, the Great Mage Khalif began recording everything in the world into a Great Grimoire to imitate the Akashic Records. Although it is merely a degraded version incomparable to the Akashic Records, it has been connected to Khalif's Great Grimoire. It searches for and answers the truth recorded in response to the user's questions.]
This artifact had completely transformed its existence.
‘Khalif's Great Grimoire?’
I didn't know what it was, but if anything, it felt like it had become better, not worse.
“I’ll have to go test if this is real or not.”
Satisfied, I laughed and headed to the Tower with my new partner.
* * *
From the 20th floors of the Tower, the strength of the monsters becomes overwhelmingly powerful, but it's the tricky mechanics that catch the hunters' ankles.
A place where one can never clear with pure combat power alone.
Most of the floors required intelligence, wisdom, and even a bit of luck.
[Entering the 22nd Floor, ‘Temple of False Prophecies’.]
The 22nd floor was also such a hellish mechanic-type floor.
Dozens of stone statues placed everywhere.
Only by finding the single ‘statue that speaks the truth’ among them will the door to the next floor open.
A place where an instant-death class curse is activated if you talk to the wrong statue.
Even more so, the reason this floor is notorious is that every time you enter, the position of the truthful statue and the logic puzzle method to find it change completely randomly.
It meant that even if you knew the raid method, it was useless.
- [Among the 50 entities ahead, 49 follow the causality of falsehood.]
A dry, emotionless voice flowed from the ear cuff.
“Can you tell me? Which one is real?”
- [Impossible. Truth is not an area of logic, but an area of choice.]
“······You sure have a way with words.”
In the end, it meant I had to find it myself.
Even in the Bureau data, the solution for this floor was only written as "luck."
But I have another way, don't I?
“Fine. Then, search all information related to the history of this temple.”
- [Understood. Starting search of Khalif's Great Grimoire.]
Following my command, the rainbow circuit of the ear cuff began to glow intensely.
- [······]
- [······]
After exactly 3 seconds of silence, a voice flowed out.
- [Search complete. 3,472 years ago, Kalias, the high priest of this temple, committed suicide leaving behind the paradox ‘I am a liar’. The stone statue imbued with his soul always gives prophecies mixed with truth and lies to prove his paradox.]
- [Conclusion. Third row, fifth statue. It is simultaneously telling the lie ‘I speak the truth’ and the truth ‘all other statues speak lies’. That entity is the unique variable.]
“······You found out that quickly?”
Beyond the Tower's system, it pulled out records of history that existed in this space thousands of years ago and logically deduced the answer.
I immediately approached the statue the Grimoire pointed out.
[Successfully cleared 22nd Floor by finding the statue that speaks the truth!]
[Clear Time: 17 seconds]
[Raid Grade: EX]
It was too easy today as well.
* * *
As soon as Muryong’s 22nd-floor raid record appeared, Hun-Tube began to buzz.
[Breaking News] Muryong, 22nd Floor Temple of False Prophecies 17-second cut.
ㄴ 17 seconds? Isn't it a typo?
ㄴ No, the official record just went up. It's really 17 seconds.
ㄴ Crazy, that's a place where even S-Rank Sage Kwon Mu-seong took 3 days and 2 nights when he first cleared it.
ㄴ The probability of choosing one out of 50 statues is 2%, and he guessed it right in 17 seconds?
[Analysis] Is Muryong a precognitive user?.txt
A time of 17 seconds means, excluding the time to walk to the statue, they effectively knew the answer the moment they entered. This is likely a high-ranking mental ability to see the future or peer into the truth, rather than a physical ability.
ㄴ But they wiped out everything with a Gorani roar on the 2nd floor. Instant-death + Summoning + Precognition? Are they some kind of god alone?
ㄴ Maybe Muryong’s skill is a type of random ability manifestation. A skill optimized for the raid of that floor is temporarily created every time they enter.
ㄴ Isn't that even more of a cheat?
ㄴ Please tell me the lottery numbers, Muryong-god!
ㄴ But why is the name Muryong? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Isn't it a bit lame?
ㄴ Muryong is just cute? Don't bash our Muryong.
ㄴ Our Muryong-god is even perfect in wisdom now ㅠㅠ What can't they do!
ㄴ To celebrate the Muryong-god's clear, our fan club is buying chicken today! (First 100 people)
ㄴ (Moved) Even an E-Class can do it! Muryong-god is the hope for all of us!
Now, every time Muryong cleared a floor, they became a superstar everyone went wild for.
* * *
40th floor, Gangnam Finance Center, Yeoksam Station. The VIP lounge of the Hunter Guild Alliance Conference.
It was a flashy space where the Seoul night view was spread out like jewels beyond the floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
“You look like a mess, Shin Seung-ah. Have you been sleeping lately?”
Yu Seo-jin, who was sitting at the lounge bar, smiled mischievously as she saw Shin Seung-ah entering.
“······Yu Seo-jin.”
The two had many things in common.
They awakened around the same time, were beautiful and talented, and showed off brilliant potential.
Although the start was similar, the gap between them began to widen from the moment Yu Seo-jin completed an A-Rank artifact blueprint in just one year.
Yu Seo-jin was always a genius flying in the sky, and Shin Seung-ah was a hard worker desperately chasing her back.
Valhalla and MK Sphere.
1st and 3rd.
That gap was the invisible wall between the two.
“It’s been a while?”
The subtle atmosphere flowing between the two was precarious.
“I heard you're putting quite an effort into the National Hunter Management Bureau. It seems the No. 1 guild has already reached its limit?”
“Shin Seung-ah is so diligent she knows everything~ You guys are the ones busy recruiting hunters lately, right? Since the one S-Rank you have isn't exactly pulling his weight.”
In the middle of the cynical conversation, Yu Seo-jin asked nonchalantly.
“But really, is that Hunter Yu Jin-hyuk still bedridden?”
Shin Seung-ah’s expression froze coldly.
It was MK Sphere’s most painful wound.
However, she soon regained a relaxed smile and pulled out her hidden card.
“Don't worry. Our Hunter Yu Jin-hyuk’s condition is at its peak lately. Because he's receiving special crops sent by Gorani Man 12.”
“What?”
This time, Yu Seo-jin’s expression trembled minutely.
“Oh my, I guess you didn't know? There’s a premium product called [Carrot of Life] that is currently being exclusively supplied only to us. Are you perhaps still struggling just to buy tomatoes?”
At Shin Seung-ah’s petty bragging, Yu Seo-jin’s mole below her lip twitched as she spoke.
“······Ho-oh. Then, that means you met him directly. That Gorani Man?”
“Of course. He was a very special person.”
Shin Seung-ah felt a thrill of pleasure at having created a crack in that genius's face.
“So, how much is that carrot?”
“Well. Since we decided to trade exclusively with only our guild.”
“Liar.”
Right as the childish psychological war was going back and forth, the atmosphere of the lounge subsided heavily.
An image of the giant Rift in the Okinawa sea appeared on the screen above the podium.
“······Respected guild masters and stakeholders. Right now, we are standing before an unprecedented crisis where the survival of humanity is at stake.”
The Bureau Director was giving a passionate speech about the seriousness of the situation and the need for international cooperation.
The heads of each guild gathered in the lounge were each tapping calculators with complex expressions.
Is it a crisis, or an opportunity?
“Surely, Valhalla isn't thinking of dispatching both of your proud S-Rank Hunters, are you?”
“Depending on the situation, we might have to.”
“You're even prepared for that much?”
“You know. This isn't just a problem for our guild.”
Yu Seo-jin’s voice subsided heavily.
“The amount of mana being emitted from that Rift is already exceeding the record of the Nevada incident. Furthermore, it's an unstable deep-sea type.”
“Unstable deep-sea type?”
“The internal environment is completely unknown, and if we touch it wrong, not just Okinawa, but Jeju Island and the entire southern coast could be swept away by a mana tsunami. Sending one S-Rank means nothing more than reconnaissance now. To surely close that thing, we must pour in everything we have.”
Shin Seung-ah also kept her mouth tightly shut.
Because she also felt the seriousness of the situation deeply.
“Still······ it’ll be a touch-and-go matter.”
Yu Seo-jin muttered nonchalantly while looking at the real-time search keyword ranking on Hun-Tube.
Number 1 was still Muryong.
“If only Muryong would suddenly appear and help.”
“That won't happen. Seeing as they still haven't revealed their identity, they must be the type who isn't interested in the world's affairs. Look at the Tower. They climbed to the 20th floor in a single stroke, but it's quiet again after that. They could reach the high floors in no time if they put their mind to it.”
Both agreed.
Anyway, both knew that with the current state, their identity could never be found no matter what means were used.
Yu Seo-jin said while shaking her champagne glass.
“Well, just a small wish that they would suddenly appear and solve it? It's something that would raise our national prestige, and the rare resources coming from there are immense. In such an international disaster situation, 전리품 (spoils) distribution is possible according to contribution, so wouldn't it be possible for an individual to monopolize them?”
“It wouldn't be an entirely impossible thing. If Muryong accomplishes all that, that is.”
Shin Seung-ah laughed bitterly.
But at the same time, another calculation was being made in her head.
A calculation that now, when everyone is distracted by Japan, might be the perfect opportunity to pressure the National Hunter Management Bureau.
* * *
A few days after returning from the Tower.
I began to notice the Gorani’s amazing growth rate.
‘Looking at this fellow, it’s a waste of talent to just leave it like this.’
The Gorani’s body, having eaten its fill of garden crops and Moon-White Spiritual Water, was now in a state hard enough that average high-rank monsters couldn't even sink their teeth in.
It was a body that made feeding it feel worthwhile, one might say.
“Gorani, come here.”
I thought about applying the most basic monster training methods I learned during my Bureau days to the Gorani.
If I taught it techniques like evasion maneuvers or weak point attacks, it would surely be able to become strong much more efficiently than now.
“Sit, roll.”
“Kkiyot?”
“······.”
But the Gorani didn't understand my words at all, and just wagged its tail excitedly, thinking I was giving it snacks.
‘······The intelligence is the same.’
I let out a hollow laugh and cleanly gave up on the training plan.
Right, is there a need to forcibly teach techniques?
The charm of our Gorani is exactly that mindless pure power and wildness itself.
“Let’s just play to our heart’s content, just like we’ve been doing.”
Rather than teaching something by force, just feeding it lots of delicious things and letting it jump around happily.
I believed without doubt that was the method that suited the Gorani best.
Crunch, crunch!
During the day, it chewed the crops grown in the herb garden with terrifying momentum, and if thirsty, it ran to the spring and gulped down the Moon-White Spiritual Water.
Pa-pa-pak!
And when night fell, unable to suppress the overflowing power, it ran all the way to Seoul city center for a vigorous run and then slept like the world had ended until the next morning.
Grrr··· phew······
It was a perfect gym routine of eating the best health supplements, finishing the best cardio, and getting beauty sleep.
Thanks to that, it was becoming stronger day by day.
* * *
At the same time, Yanbaru National Park, Okinawa, Japan. The center of the giant Rift.
The center of chaos where the sky was torn and the sea was screaming.
A miracle was happening in the middle of a storm where no living organism seemed able to exist.
The chaotic mana pouring out from the Rift acted as a nutrient instead, and a sprout bloomed deep inside the ground, between the gaps of small stone roots.
Flash-
It was a red flower.
Vivid like blood, a flower that emitted light and heat on its own as if it were alive.
Disaster Flower (재앙화).
A legendary spiritual herb said to bloom only in the middle of disasters, embracing the powers of destruction and creation simultaneously.
Slither-
A giant sea-serpent monster that crawled out from the Rift discovered the newly bloomed flower and approached greedily.
“!!!”
But the moment it got close to the flower, the monster flinched in instinctive fear and recoiled in surprise.
Kieee-ck!
As if a lowly bug had faced the sun.
That giant frame fell headlong to the bottom of the sea while convulsing.
The energy of a mythic-class existence that cannot be dared to be approached.
The flower was blooming loftily in the middle of the storm, waiting for its one and only master to pluck it.
< Khalif's Great Grimoire > END