Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: From the Belly of the Beast
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Swept into the mouth of a massive sea monster I'd never seen before, along with the seawater. The water drained out completely, leaving only me inside its mouth, and the beast started chewing me up with gusto. Of course, those teeth couldn't pierce my body. This unidentified monster was huge and strong to match, but not enough to penetrate me now that my level had risen.
The problem was that every time I tried to attack it, I was tossed around so much I couldn't get into position. I tried digging my fingers in, but some slippery fluid was protecting the inside of its mouth.
Satisfied with chewing me enough, it soon swallowed me down its esophagus with a gulp. The esophageal muscles squeezed me like they were trying to crush me. Any normal prey would have dodged the teeth by luck only to get pulverized here, ready for digestion.
I passed through the esophagus and dropped into its stomach. My body was submerged in strong gastric acid, but it only stung a little.
The stomach was cavernous, fitting its massive size. The air inside its organs was full of toxins, but breathing was the more urgent issue right now. My poison resistance meant this level of toxin wouldn't hurt me much anyway. It was mostly gas with scant oxygen, but I was grateful even for that. Of course, it would've been better if I hadn't been swallowed and had just surfaced instead.
"I came to stop an earthquake, and now I'm inside a monster's gut... Sigh."
When luck's not on your side, nothing goes right. Still, no matter how I thought about it, I couldn't figure out how such a gigantic monster had ended up in the sea here.
Gates usually open in populated areas. That's why they never appear in the middle of the ocean. This guy must have come from a gate on some other country's coast and drifted here.
In my previous life, I'd never heard of a beast like this. Did it live only in the deep sea? Or maybe it died in the explosion.
I stopped pondering and focused on how to get out.
Outside, various constraints had kept me from responding properly, but inside its belly was different. I placed my hand on the stomach wall and absorbed life force while growing gigantic. As my body expanded, I pushed out its stomach.
As I grew and pressed against the stomach walls, gastric acid poured down from all sides.
In pain, the monster thrashed violently.
I perked up my ears and felt a pulsing above my head. Its heart.
I coated both fists with aura, forming thirty-centimeter blades. Small compared to my enlarged size, but enough to slit its belly.
Then I stabbed both hands into the stomach wall toward its heart.
I sliced horizontally through the pierced spot, then kicked the gaping wound wide open top to bottom.
Blood gushed out like a dam bursting, as I'd hit some blood vessels.
The monster convulsed wildly, but it had no way to deal with me inside its belly.
After several more slashes, its heart appeared before me. A massive heart, befitting its size.
Pressed against its flesh, I plunged my blade into the heart and tore it open long at an angle.
The monster's body spasmed hugely once, then went completely still.
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
As expected from its size, I got a ton of experience points—enough for two levels.
Now I just needed to escape. But since I'm already here, I might as well grab the mana stone.
Once I could absorb life force, I could sense the life force contained in mana stones. Plus, this one's was enormous, making it easy to locate.
After slicing the heart a few times, I found the mana stone—about the size of an adult's head. Fitting its huge body, the stone was huge too. Even broken up and sold, it'd fetch billions, but whole, its rarity would command even more.
I'd had no intention of gaining anything from this incident, but I leveled up a skill, got some serious cash, and things progressed with Nayoung too. A pretty fruitful week overall.
I cut through its flesh and emerged outside. When I surfaced, the Japanese fleet was gone. The monster's death throes must have carried us out of that sea zone.
I released Gigantification, shrinking my body and covering my head with the suit. Time to head back where everyone was waiting.
* * *
"Where'd you go?"
Nayoung asked as I returned after being gone for so long.
"Just to the sea for a bit."
"I told you to drop the formal speech."
"Got it. Not used to it yet. Check this out. Found it."
I showed her the mana stone.
"No way... Something this big was in the sea?"
"Yeah. I was diving around and it was just lying there."
No need to worry the already concerned people by admitting I'd been eaten by a sea monster, killed it, and taken this. Especially not while hiding the mana stone engine story.
"Boss! Is this a mana stone?! Where'd you get it?!"
Jaenin spotted it, her eyes sparkling as she rushed over.
"Picked it up in the sea."
"...I believe you. Can I use it?"
She clearly didn't buy it. She must've guessed I'd hunted a monster for it.
"What for?"
"Everyone's researching mana stone engines these days. I wanna make one to power the workshop."
Suddenly, my mind flashed to the submarine exploding—except it was our workshop next to the house.
"No way. Experiment with F-rank goblin stones underground first. Succeed with those, and I'll give you a big one."
I snatched the stone from Jaenin's hands. She looked crestfallen, but no choice. A fist-sized core had caused an earthquake; god knows what this would do if it blew.
"And when you work on it, I'm always with you. Plus, I have something to give you later."
Analyzing the dried-up mana stone engine core's components could give hints for development. And with me there, I could suppress any overload, making experiments safer. Done right, we could succeed in a few years.
On the way home after vacation ended, I searched news on my phone, but nothing about the East Sea incident.
They couldn't exactly advertise a secret experiment.
For now, that mess was settled.
Without my intervention, the whole country would've been in emergency mode from the disaster by now, but outside the window, everything was peaceful.
* * *
I'd overcome so many trials that I'd grown stronger faster than planned. Now I just needed to handle minor events while preparing for the future. I'd always felt chased, but for once, I had some breathing room.
With time to spare, I tagged along when Nayoung and Sanghun went to renew their hunter licenses. They were both D-rank now. Not B-rank like me, but still an outrageous pace.
Hunters don't level up or raise ranks just by clearing tons of gates. Past a certain level, low-level monsters give no more EXP, so you need higher-rank ones.
Without good skills or high stats, fighting stronger monsters is a death wish, so plenty of hunters give up leveling and stick safely to their current rank.
I had no intention of letting those two do that. Once they got their new licenses, I'd take them to D-rank gates for training, then C- and B-rank under my watch.
Waiting in the first-floor cafe, the Awakening Bureau was unusually bustling today. Lots of people rushing around, noisy as hell.
"Bro, something going on today?"
"Yeah. Total chaos."
"Let's go."
Sanghun and Nayoung finished renewing, so we headed for the main entrance.
That's when several hunters entered, escorting a few people.
"Oh, some big shot must've arrived."
I couldn't believe my eyes at the escorted group passing by.
Hood up from the cloak, but recognizable. Tall frame, golden blonde hair and emerald eyes peeking out—a beauty elf named Helen. The guy a bit taller than a goblin, sturdy build, long brown beard: dwarf Adam. Trailing them, the white-looking pair were Richard Calroy and Paul Alexis. I'd seen them in my previous life—they were otherworlders from that other dimension.
No idea how these guys, who didn't show up for years in my past life, were here already. In that life, they'd come and shit all over our world. Without them, we might not have won the monster war, but we wouldn't have been wiped out ten years early. We could've fought decades more, maybe even built up the strength to win.
We were right in their path to the elevator.
"Hunter Lee Ji-seok, hello."
Bureau Chief Baek Youngshin spotted us and greeted.
"Director, hello."
I relaxed my expression as much as possible.
"Is he a hunter too?"
Helen asked, looking at me.
"Yes. A very capable one. He made a huge contribution stopping the recent Gate Break."
The chief boasted proudly about me.
"Is that so? Impressive aura."
Helen scanned and complimented me.
"My hobby's hunting down and killing those who harm Earth."
I said, staring straight at Helen.
"Is that right? Keep it up, then."
"I'm a bit busy now, but let's have tea sometime."
The chief left that farewell and guided Helen's group past us.
"Never seen anyone that pretty before. But she's a foreigner—her Korean's amazing. Born here?"
Helen looked white and spoke Korean fluently, so the mistake was understandable. Her perfect Korean came from interpretation magic. Their otherworld didn't have awakening blessings like ours, but mana was abundant, so they'd long researched magic and magic tools. Few could use it, but they had more varied spells and higher-quality items.
"Sanghun, Nayoung, licenses renewed?"
"Yeah."
"Now we're hitting C-rank gates."
"Huh? Why? You said D-rank today."
"No time. Gonna need your strength soon."
* * *
The next day, their photos hit the internet, followed by the government announcement.
"A delegation from the otherworld Tellus has arrived. They seek peace and face the same gate disaster as Earth. We're currently negotiating an alliance with Tellus. We'll share information and cooperate with Tellus to fight the gate catastrophe together."
Reactions were explosive. Otherworld existence and异種族 were enough to grab global attention.
Especially elf Helen's beauty—the internet went wild, calling her the incarnation of fantasy elves.
Watching that made it hard to stay calm. In my previous life, they'd been treated like heroes too. The tech they'd bring was new to us, with tons of applications, so they'd get hero treatment for a while. Seemed good on the surface, but the problem was we never figured out their true purpose back then.