Chapter 53

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Translator: 8uhl

Chapter: 53

Chapter Title: Confirmation of Possibility

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After Kang Sa-hu's shocking declaration landed.

Some people reacted with momentary resistance to his words, but Han Si-yeon, who grasped his intentions first, turned to the soldier hunters under her command and issued orders.

"Everyone, prepare for battle!"

"...!"

"A-are we really going in?"

One of her subordinates stammered in bewilderment, and a vein pulsed faintly on Han Si-yeon's forehead.

'I think I know why Guild Master Kang Sa-hu gave that order.'

At first, even she couldn't understand why Kang Sa-hu, who could clear the gate single-handedly, would issue such instructions.

It didn't make sense that he simply wanted to share the credit with them—after all, he wasn't joining to clear the gate together; he was stepping aside entirely.

And that mystery unraveled right then, through her subordinate's question, which treated it as obvious: 'Guild Master Kang Sa-hu is strong enough, so isn't it right for him to clear it alone?'

Feeling a pang of shame at realizing she harbored the same thought deep down, she raised her voice.

"Aren't you all hunters?!"

"...?!"

Her sudden outburst drew not just her subordinates' gazes but everyone's attention, but that was exactly the situation she wanted. She kept shouting at her subordinate in a loud voice.

"Guild Master Kang Sa-hu already scouted the gate's interior, the environment, and the monsters' levels! From here on, it's our job to hunt!"

"Ah, no, that's..."

Her subordinate, who couldn't muster a single rebuttal to her scolding and had only asked the question, floundered helplessly.

Meanwhile, Wi Dae-an, who had been quietly watching her, clenched his fist tightly and turned to his guild members.

"We're Korea's strongest guild, the Daehan Guild! Right?!"

"Wh-what?!"

Maeng Yu-na stared at Wi Dae-an in disbelief at his sudden, confidence-brimming pep talk.

His Daehan Guild members felt the same, but when Wi Dae-an flashed a grin at her, Maeng Yu-na quickly caught on to his intent and let out a scoffing chuckle.

Turning to her own guild members, she shouted.

"Did you hear that?! He says the Daehan Guild is Korea's top guild! Does that make us Dragon Guild second place?!"

"What kind of talk is that!"

"Of course the Dragon Guild is the best!"

"...?"

Kang Ji-ye watched the two guilds competitively yelling that their own was the best, her face twisting in exasperation.

Soon, that expression shifted to competitive fire, and just as she was about to shout, 'No! Afterlife Guild is the best!'

Kim Ho-myeong, who had been covering Lee Yu-rim's mouth, rushed over and clamped his free hand over Kang Ji-ye's mouth as well.

"Mmph! Mmmph!"

"Ji-ye, please! Hold it in for now!"

As Kim Ho-myeong restrained Kang Ji-ye and Lee Yu-rim, both burning with rivalry...

The guilds, now ignited with competition, began to move.

"Let's go! We can do this!"

"The moment has finally come!"

"Time to show what all that grueling training has made us!"

The hunters began their hunt.

"It's going just as you planned, Guild Master."

Bae Deok-ho grinned as he stood beside Kang Sa-hu, watching the hunters dive into the hunt.

Rather than freezing in fear, the hunters were moving of their own volition, fired up with determination—just as Kang Sa-hu intended. He gave a small smile.

"Shall we get going too, Guild Master?"

"No need to rush. We have things to do anyway."

Kang Sa-hu replied while eyeing the bone throne and magic circle he'd painstakingly created.

Though he hadn't dismantled the bone throne yet—in case the gate's boss proved unexpectedly strong beyond expectations—his instincts told him he wouldn't need to invoke Domain Declaration in a C-rank gate.

Instead of reverting the bone throne to a soul core, Kang Sa-hu summoned Giant Hounds and Corpse-Eating Apes from other soul cores and issued a command.

"Patrol around and gather any resources in the gate."

Woof! Woof!

Kii...

The Giant Hounds barked excitedly, while the apes responded weakly, dreading more pickaxe work. They departed.

Kang Sa-hu, now alone with Bae Deok-ho, pulled the Monolith core from his pocket and handed it over.

"Mr. Bae Deok-ho. Could you check this out?"

"Huh? What's this, Guild Master?"

Bae Deok-ho blinked in confusion at the smooth, glossy stone that seemed vaguely familiar.

"It's the Monolith core."

"Oh, the Monolith... What?!"

He started to respond casually but jolted in shock upon realizing what it was.

"Where'd you get this?!"

"Last time Director Lee Jae-man prepared a Monolith to remeasure my abilities. I got it then. Of course, keep it secret."

"...As expected of our Guild Master."

Bae Deok-ho took the core, dumbfounded by how nonchalantly Kang Sa-hu described such a monumental feat.

"But why this? Wanna check my stats?"

"That's one thing, but more importantly, I want to see if you can access the shop function in this Monolith core."

"...How do you do that?"

Overwhelmed by the information gap, Bae Deok-ho struggled to keep up, so Kang Sa-hu gave a concise explanation.

Meeting the Prophet through the National Intelligence Service.

Learning from the Prophet about the hidden job change and shop systems in the Monolith core.

And forcibly unlocking the locked systems through overwhelming mana and control.

Every detail was world-shaking info. Bae Deok-ho's jaw hung slack the whole time.

"Huh, whoa..."

After the full rundown, Bae Deok-ho stared at the core anew.

From the story, this core was prepared for Awakeners, yet certain functions were deliberately locked for some reason.

...But why?

"We don't know the reason, of course. But not everything about Awakeners and gates has been revealed yet, right?"

Reading Bae Deok-ho's expression, Kang Sa-hu summarized succinctly.

"For now, since we've gained more info on this Monolith core, the priority is using it effectively."

"...By any chance, is the Captain's scythe from here too?"

Bae Deok-ho glanced at the Blood-Drinking Scythe of Hell's Craftsman Demadros—radiating presence like a summon—and Kang Sa-hu nodded.

"Yes, exactly."

"Whoaaa..."

Having heard it all, Bae Deok-ho stared at the core for a moment, then grinned.

"Then let's test it right now!"

Bae Deok-ho infused mana into the Monolith.

"Ooooh!"

Bae Deok-ho let out a cry of awe at his stats, overwhelmingly higher than before.

Brimming with excitement, he reported—no, boasted—his stats in detail to Kang Sa-hu.

Kang Sa-hu, listening intently, smiled in satisfaction.

"Looks like the function works fine. Congrats on the level up."

"Thanks, Guild Master! Haha, all that rolling around was worth it!"

Suddenly recalling how he'd nearly died to trolls in a B-rank ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gate before barely surviving.

Back in reality, following Kang Sa-hu's and the NIS's orders, he'd hunted gates like meals every day. Pride swelled in Bae Deok-ho.

Gazing at his stats, a thought flashed through his mind, and he turned.

"By the way, Guild Master. You said you can't check your stats through the Monolith?"

"Yes, that's right."

Kang Sa-hu nodded readily, and Bae Deok-ho pursed his lips in pity.

"Shame. Seeing I'm at level 51, you must've hunted way more gates—gotta be at least 70."

"Could be."

Bae Deok-ho lamented the inability to confirm, but Kang Sa-hu felt no regret.

Though he couldn't see it visually, he knew it intuitively.

He was now strong beyond comparison to before.

And there was ample potential to grow even stronger.

"Now, let's move on."

Kang Sa-hu guided him on channeling ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mana to activate the shop function. Bae Deok-ho followed suit.

With security bypassed and systems unlocked by Kang Sa-hu, Bae activated the shop easily.

But...

"Ugh... G-Guild Master. This... mana drain is insane."

Just activating and maintaining the shop guzzled mana like crazy, turning Bae Deok-ho's face pale.

Kang Sa-hu quickened his words.

"Once activated, you'll see items. Focus on them, prioritize recommendations, and buy what you can afford with your points."

"G-got it. Ugh...!"

He'd been thrilled about level 51 moments ago, but the shop's mana drain left his face ashen.

'Even using the fully unlocked shop the Guild Master prepped is this tough? And he broke the security, activated everything, and bought stuff?'

Truly feeling Kang Sa-hu's vast mana, Bae Deok-ho hurriedly scanned items.

Unlike Kang Sa-hu's description, he saw no chained items.

But the real issue...

'Wh-what the hell are these prices...!'

The top-recommended bow cost a staggering 15,000 points. Bae Deok-ho paled further.

He'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hunted gates nonstop, yet this was impossible.

'Quick, something else...!'

He scrolled down like a mouse wheel.

Finally spotting something affordable, he checked it.

It had just one line of description, but Bae Deok-ho's eyes lit up.

It was exactly what he needed most right now.

'Quick! Quick!'

He ordered the quiver, barely affording the arrows below it too. Instantly, the core shut down from mana depletion.

"Gah!"

"You okay?"

"Huff, huff... G-Guild Master."

Bae Deok-ho, mana-drained to the brink, trembled with a ghostly pale face.

Showing Kang Sa-hu the quiver, arrows, and potions he'd bought, he rasped.

"It... worked..."

With that, Bae Deok-ho's head lolled weakly.

Kang Sa-hu rushed over, checked his condition, and sighed in relief—pure mana exhaustion, no major issues.

He summoned a Giant Hound, which pitifully eyed him, hating proximity to Bae Deok-ho. Gently using its tail as a pillow under Bae's head, Kang Sa-hu picked up the core with a bright smile.

"This confirms it."

Others could use the Monolith core—even the shop—he'd fully unlocked.

Simple on the surface, but monumental inside.

"Not just me. All guild members can use the shop from the Monolith core."

Mulling that potential, Kang Sa-hu gripped the core tightly.