Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: All Magic is Equal. But My Magic is a Bit More Equal - 1
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Rifts are anomalous phenomena that appeared about twenty years ago.
Passages for monsters to enter this world.
That was the goal countless Awakened were climbing the Tower to strengthen themselves for.
[Near Gangnam Station in Seoul, around Gangdong District Office.
Seogu in Daejeon, Dongseong-ro in Daegu. Near Geumnam-ro in Gwangju. All confirmed as B-rank or higher rifts, so evacuate immediately if you're nearby.]
Whether I checked the gallery, the internet, or looked around, everywhere was buzzing with talk of rifts.
"Alright, alright. I'll guide you to the safe zone."
Was he a public service agent?
Or just a civil servant?
A middle-aged man wearing a yellow armband was waving a glow stick to direct people.
-Kiiiiiik!!
"Monster!!"
One of the monsters that had emerged from the rift was heading this way.
People hurrying to the shelter—a designated safe zone—picked up their pace even more.
"Kyaaaaak!!"
"Yoon-seo!!"
As a massive monster charged toward them, the middle-aged man shouted, and a woman who had been helping evacuate people from one side sprang into action.
The sword at her waist gleamed.
-Kyaaak!!
An orc?
Right, an orc.
It matched the monsters that came out of rifts from what I'd heard before.
Climbing the Tower would probably mean running into those too.
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
The woman called Yoon-seo approached me.
Looking closely, orc blood had splattered onto my clothes here and there.
"Sorry about that. Your clothes got dirty."
"I see..."
"Really sorry. I'll cover the cleaning bill..."
"Nah. It's not that expensive anyway."
It was just a T-shirt I bought for five thousand won on Coupang.
"Hahaha..."
"By the way, why was that orc here?"
"Who knows. Weird stuff's been happening lately. Monsters showing up outside rifts, impossible things occurring."
Yoon-seo let out a deep sigh, looking pretty exhausted.
"Hey, hang in there."
"Sigh. Yeah, thanks."
"Hm... Not sure if this'll help."
I pulled out a holy water ampoule I'd made earlier from my pocket.
It was in a 100ml bottle, might come in handy somehow.
If not, oh well.
"What's this?"
"Holy water."
"Ahaha..."
Yoon-seo gave a dry laugh.
"Um. You're not into some cult or anything, are you?"
"Pardon?"
"Hate to say it like this, but holy water, relics, talismans—none of that works on monsters."
Damn, she's so blunt.
"And this stuff's all scams, so don't put too much faith in it. Your group isn't asking for money, right?"
"No, not at all..."
"I've seen too many cults. If you run into any issues, give me a call. Some of them even kidnap people."
With that, Yoon-seo handed me her business card.
Sea Guild.
A fairly famous guild that had been mentioned a few times in the gallery.
"Our guild handles busting cults too. Call if anything comes up."
"Sure, sure."
I told her no several times, but she wasn't listening.
Dealing with people like this isn't hard.
Just go along with it—yes, yes—and it's done.
"Anyway, it's dangerous here, so evacuate quick."
"Got it."
Yoon-seo Hunter waved with a smile and headed off elsewhere.
Hm. But are my creations really useless against monsters?
I kinda want to test that out...
Checking the internet, the rift in this area—Gangdong District—was still open.
So wandering around nearby might let me run into more monsters like that one, right?
Experiments are important.
Better check now before something happens later.
"Arthur."
-Grrrk...!!
Arthur said no problem, so let's go.
Slipping out of line was easy enough.
Luckily, the shelter wasn't far from home, so getting back was no issue.
The problem was finding monsters...
Will this work?
"Let's see..."
I looked up how to make a simple pendulum in the grimoire.
Not difficult.
Just tie a string to some wood, a gem, or metal, and you're done.
Hell, you could tweak a necklace a bit and use it as one.
I had the necklace from when I left the orphanage, so that'd do.
"Arthur. Mind helping?"
-Grrrk...!!
To make the pendulum work properly, I needed a few special materials.
One was a fragment of shadow.
"Just tie a small piece of yours here."
-Grrrk...!!
Arthur cut off a bit of himself and tied it to the pendulum's string.
The rest was strong light.
I turned on the 500-lumen flashlight I'd bought for Arthur last time and shone it intensely on the pendulum.
"O light. O darkness. Reveal the hidden and find what is concealed. The spirit's wind shall make it so here."
⟨ Pendulum Ritual ⟩
I kept shining the light until the shadow fragment fully melted and seeped in.
Good. That's it.
It's a simple one, but performance shouldn't be bad.
"Find me a monster from the rift?"
It started moving.
Seemed to be pointing one way.
"Let's see..."
Not too far, apparently.
In the time it took to make the holy water, staff, and pendulum, I'd whipped up a few talismans too, so I grabbed those and headed out.
I followed where the pendulum led.
The rift had opened pretty far away, yet its effects reached here. Amazing.
What even are rifts, and why is the world like this?
-Grrrk...!!
Arthur emerged.
Probably meant a monster from the rift was nearby.
No sound of fighting, so no Awakened around?
-Kyaaak!!
Three orcs chasing someone.
Civilians?
Can't just stand by then.
"Hya!"
I threw one of the talismans I'd made.
A simple one using holy water and incense, but it flew straight and hit the orc's massive shoulder.
-Kueeeek!!
The orc clutched its shoulder and rolled on the ground.
A curse amplifying shoulder stiffness.
Hey, it works.
"You get indigestion curse. You get headache curse."
The pre-made talismans were hitting harder than expected.
Next up, holy water?
I splashed some on the orc groaning and clutching its stomach from the indigestion curse.
-Kaaaaaaaak!!
The moment it hit holy water, it screamed and rolled on the ground.
Like I'd doused it in acid.
"Didn't mean to make it hurt that much. Hm... Arthur?"
-Grrrk!!
Better end it quick.
At my gesture, Arthur's sword moved.
"Good job."
-Grrrk...!!
Arthur's definitely strong.
Though the cursed orcs probably didn't put up much fight.
-Grrrk...!!
"Go back in for now."
After dealing with the orcs, their bodies turned to smoke and vanished, leaving mana stones behind.
Guess I'll trade these at the Association later.
"Um... Th-thank you."
"Oh? Ah, you were the ones chased by those orcs earlier?"
"Yes. We couldn't evacuate properly... We were at home and got caught by those orcs on the way out."
"I see. No worries. No monsters around here now."
I checked with the pendulum, but nothing registered.
Internet said the rift was closing anyway, so no issues.
"Thank you so much!"
"Aw, no big deal."
"But... what Awakening do you have?"
"Huh? Can't you tell?"
I grinned confidently at the puzzled survivors.
"I'm a mage!"
Everyone's curious and praising me.
Ah, this feels great.
What did I even do?
.
.
.
.
The next day.
I headed to the Hunter Association with the mana stones.
I'd worried about ID stuff, but it was no big deal.
Summoned the grimoire a few times, they drew some blood, and it was approved.
"For new Awakened registrants, we can create a new identity if you want."
"Huh? Why?"
Great for me, but is this okay?
"Lots of people try to leech off Awakened..."
"Ah."
Can't be helped then.
"Then the mana stones... Ooooh!! Th-this big mana stone...?!"
"What rank did you clear to get this?!"
Shocked exclamations.
I enjoyed the admiring stares.
"Ahem. Nothing much."
"Amazing!"
"You're a mage, right? Any guild in mind?"
"Not sure yet. Still thinking."
"I-I see... If you find a good one, the Hunter Association's direct guild isn't bad either..."
"By the way, I heard you have to do missions after registering. What kind?"
"Ah, yes. This one."
Hospital security duty?
"I know it sounds ridiculous, but there's a reason."
"A reason? What reason makes them stick Hunters in a hospital...?"
"This hospital treats people who go in and out of rifts. The staff are all healer-position jobs."
"Oh... And?"
"But here's the thing."
The staffer glanced around and whispered.
"Ghosts are appearing."
"...Pardon?"