Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: An Anticlimactic Conclusion
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It was an ending so anticlimactic that his legs went limp.
However, Kang Jin-hyuk didn't hold the beastkin accountable for this outcome.
He already knew that in this other world, scrap metal used for tin cans was revered as orichalcum.
Of course, he hadn't braced himself for such a twist to actually happen.
"Just keep it."
Kang Jin-hyuk decided to play the gracious part, since taking it would be useless anyway.
"Pardon?"
As expected, Silva shook his head vigorously in surprise.
"No! How could we do that? Please accept it!"
"It's really fine, so just hold onto it. I'll take your sincerity to heart."
After several back-and-forths, Silva finally agreed to take back the gift.
'He wasn't interested in the item from the start.'
Silva deluded himself into thinking that what Kang Jin-hyuk truly wanted was the sincerity behind the apology.
In Silva's mind, Kang Jin-hyuk was now portrayed as a paragon of virtue, unswayed by material desires.
"Then allow us to prepare another reward."
"I told you, no need to keep insisting."
"We can't send our benefactor away empty-handed."
Not only had they received his grace, but they'd also committed a grave discourtesy.
Silva couldn't rest easy without offering proper recompense.
"Haa..."
Even seeing Silva's strong resolve, Kang Jin-hyuk felt no joy.
It was bound to be something bizarre again.
Kang Jin-hyuk had abandoned all expectations ever since being handed aluminum as a treasure.
Better to wrap up this farce now than witness another outlandish item.
"Take care of your villagers first. I have some business to attend to, so I'll come back later."
"Business?"
"Uh, well..."
Truth be told, it wasn't so much business as him not having the thick skin to laugh it off with the ones he'd just beaten down.
Having blurted out an excuse to slip away, Kang Jin-hyuk racked his brain on the spot.
"I need to investigate why the climate in this area changed so suddenly."
"Aah."
Hearing Kang Jin-hyuk's response, Silva was moved once more.
To think he'd go out of his way like this for their sake—emotion swelled within him.
"Understood. We leave it in your hands."
Silva bowed deeply as he expressed his gratitude.
Finding that reaction burdensome, Kang Jin-hyuk averted his gaze, avoiding eye contact with Silva.
* * *
As Kang Jin-hyuk stepped out of the village, the dragon, who had been waiting invisibly, dispelled its transparency spell and revealed itself.
Kang Jin-hyuk nearly yelped at the dragon suddenly materializing from thin air.
Regaining his composure and calming his startled heart, he was then met with the dragon shoving its face right up to his.
『I've found it.』
"Found what?"
『You told the beastkin you'd find the reason for this area's climate shift.』
The dragon knew everything Kang Jin-hyuk had done and said in the village.
It was possible only because a dragon wielded magic so freely.
"Y-Yeah, I did say that."
『I've investigated the area and pinpointed the cause.』
"How? You said there wasn't even a trace of mana before."
『When you mentioned coming from another dimension to the beastkin, it sparked a realization.』
Assuming it wasn't ordinary magic but a phenomenon tied to dimensions, the dragon had reinvestigated the surroundings.
And while Kang Jin-hyuk was buying time with the beastkin, the dragon had achieved results.
『It seems that when you, Messenger, connected to this dimension, the backlash affected the area.』
"...What?"
Kang Jin-hyuk furrowed his brow at the dragon's words.
It sounded like he was being called the culprit.
"Got any proof?"
Irritation seeped into Kang Jin-hyuk's voice.
But the dragon paid it no mind and stated the facts as observed.
『The climate-altered region is divided from the rest with boundaries as precise as if measured with a ruler.』
That was unmistakably artificial.
The dragon had circled the cardinal directions, mapping out the boundaries and extent fully.
As the dragon murmured something lightly, a map materialized squarely before Kang Jin-hyuk.
Defying gravity, it floated in the air, displaying the local terrain to him.
『From my investigation, the affected range is as follows.』
With the dragon's words, a red line traced across the map.
Lucia, peering at the map from behind Kang Jin-hyuk, let out a small gasp at the line.
"That's the same spot as that weird wall around the village."
"So that's the boundary caused by dimensional magic?"
"Exactly. Looks like my guess was right."
If both the dragon and Lucia agreed, Kang Jin-hyuk had no choice but to accept it.
But one point nagged at him.
"Isn't dimensional magic just a type of magic? Then why were there no traces of mana?"
『The residual mana from the spell flew off to another dimension.』
Even a dragon couldn't track mana traces that had escaped to another dimension.
『Ideal climate change with no detectable mana traces, dimensional boundaries, and the Messenger's arrival from another dimension.』
Everything the dragon listed was evidence of dimensional magic.
『It's undoubtedly the result of your dimension colliding with this region.』
There was no room to argue against the dragon's claim.
Denying it here would just be unsightly thrashing.
Kang Jin-hyuk let out a small sigh.
"So this is my fault?"
To confirm, the dragon denied it.
『I don't think so. Simply crossing dimensions wouldn't cause this.』
"Then what's the cause?"
『Typically, this happens when a large-scale dimensional spell fails.』
"A large-scale dimensional spell failure? There's no way something like that happened in our dimension..."
Kang Jin-hyuk trailed off mid-sentence.
Glancing aside, he saw Lucia, sweating coldly just like him.
"Is dimensional magic... really that wide-reaching?"
Kang Jin-hyuk sidled up and whispered. Lucia nodded vigorously.
"It was a massive magic circle meant to relocate an entire temple, after all."
Kang Jin-hyuk had poured a huge amount of MP into that circle.
Not mana, but MP. Infused with power from another dimension, it was no wonder the effects rippled here.
If anything, they should be grateful it ended at this level.
"So I really am the culprit..."
The region where the beastkin had hidden turning frigid.
The dragon seeking out this cold land and settling here.
All of it stemmed from the dimensional magic circle Kang Jin-hyuk had unwittingly botched.
"Wait a second!"
Turning pale, Kang Jin-hyuk suddenly had an epiphany.
Even a rat hole gets some sun— he saw this as his one shot at salvation.
"I activated the magic circle just a few days ago at most. But this place turning cold happened years ago."
The timelines didn't match at all, so he pulled out his final defense.
『Your dimension and this one may have different flows of time.』
"That's just a possibility, not certainty."
Lucia, who had been listening to the exchange, spoke up with a sliver of hope.
"Do you know how many years it's been by human reckoning?"
The dragon pondered the question, calculating the days since it awoke.
『By this region's imperial calendar, it's the '32nd year of Gavin.'』
"'Gavin'?"
Lucia was confused by the unfamiliar term.
"By the way, how many years ago was the '15th year of Protessor'?"
『You're referring to quite ancient history. That's over 500 years ago, by a previous era name.』
Lucia's head spun at the answer.
The empire's name had persisted, so she hadn't realized the passage of time.
To think not only the era name had changed, but over 500 years had flown by.
It had been less than a year since Lucia crossed to Kang Jin-hyuk's dimension.
In that short span, her world had shed centuries.
Likely, all the humans she knew had long passed from old age.
"Looks like it really is our doing."
"......"
Kang Jin-hyuk had realized it even before Lucia spoke.
The moment he heard her era name was 500 years past, he'd given up defending himself.
Unwittingly, he'd committed a grave nuisance across dimensions.
"What do we do now."
『This doesn't seem like something for you to worry over, Messenger.』
"Got a solution?"
『No.』
"Then why say it's not worth worrying about?"
Despite Kang Jin-hyuk's retort, the dragon remained utterly calm.
『Just don't tell the beastkin.』
Why volunteer information that invites blame?
Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.
So thought the dragon.
It was eminently reasonable, but Kang Jin-hyuk couldn't bite.
Unlike the dragon, which weighed only profit, his conscience still held its triangular shape.
If it had worn down to a circle, maybe—but now its edges pricked, stirring guilt.
"I think it's not worth agonizing over either."
Even Lucia sided with the dragon.
But her reasoning differed slightly.
"You can just take them all with you and take responsibility for their upkeep."
"Me, feed them?"
"Why act so shocked? That was your plan from the start. You wanted to fill out your guild with beastkin."
Though the beastkin had been powerless against Kang Jin-hyuk, their physical prowess rivaled most hunters.
Purely in terms of bodily ability, they were at least A-rank Hunter level.
Having them lend their strength would be more than welcome for Kang Jin-hyuk.
"Would that even solve it? I'd just be using them for my own gain in the end."
"Just pay them well and let them live comfortably. You saw how they were living."
The beastkin village was the epitome of a backwater hamlet.
A population barely scraping 100, constant monster raids leaving no respite.
Without their exceptional physiques, they'd have been wiped out long ago.
"I say giving them a better life beats a mere apology."
Lucia had a point.
But Kang Jin-hyuk wasn't convinced.
Hadn't he nearly gotten mobbed as a slaver just for suggesting it once?
No guarantee they'd listen now.
Still, no guts, no glory—he turned back toward the village.