Chapter 68

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Translator: 8uhl

Chapter: 68

Chapter Title: Summoned Beast's Evolution (1)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

"...?"

The Pluto who had just risen from her seat widened her eyes and glanced back and forth between the clock and Kang Sa-hu.

But no matter how many times she checked the clock, it had been less than 30 minutes since Kang Sa-hu entered the gate.

The gate behind him dispersed and vanished smoothly, and even if it was a phenomenon she'd never seen before, she could instinctively tell that the clear was complete.

That said, it was already absurd by common sense standards for anyone to solo-clear a gate, and clearing an F-rank gate in a mere 30 minutes was even harder to accept.

She had even checked to make sure no gate break had occurred, but there wasn't a single monster corpse—not even a single strand of fur—to be found. Staring blankly at Kang Sa-hu, she finally spoke.

"N-No way... You just cleared the gate right now?"

"Yes. Since this gate had been left open for so long, I took the time to check for any differences from other gates, but there were no particular anomalies. I've confirmed everything there is to confirm, so now I'll pick up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the pace a bit."

"...You can go even faster from here...?"

She was already stunned that he'd solo-cleared it so quickly, but hearing him say he'd speed up even more made Pluto feel a wave of dizziness.

As Pluto clutched her head and staggered, Kang Sa-hu swiftly approached like a gust of wind and supported her shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

"U-Uh, yeah... I'm fine..."

In truth, she was anything but fine, and part of her wanted to scream, This is ridiculous! Are you messing with me right now?!

But since it was Kang Sa-hu, the chances of it being a joke were slim, and she knew it—so she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud.

Kang Sa-hu watched her with a serious expression, worry creasing his brow.

Ms. Pluto is this shaken up. I need to clear them even faster.

Thinking her dizziness was a lingering effect from keeping the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gates open for so long, Kang Sa-hu steeled his resolve and helped her into her chair.

"The next gate, please."

"A-Already? How about resting a bit first?"

"No, I'm not tired at all. Right now, clearing the gates quickly seems like the priority."

What a terrifying guy.

He'd just hunted monsters alone inside a gate spanning several kilometers in every direction, yet he showed no signs of fatigue—in fact, he seemed even more motivated. Pluto clicked her tongue in amazement.

"Alright. Then, opening the next gate."

With a wave of her hand, the second F-rank gate moved in front of Kang Sa-hu.

"Thank you. I'll be off, then."

Kang Sa-hu bowed politely and stepped into the gate.

As she recovered the spirit attached to the gate, Pluto hurriedly activated the stopwatch function on her wristwatch.

Just what is Sa-hu...?

Even before awakening, he'd been an exceptional necromancer on his own, and now, having awakened, he was showing even more astonishing growth. Thinking of him, Pluto shivered.

Inside the gate, Kang Sa-hu tossed the soul cores he'd prepared in his pocket into the air like scattering seeds.

Ukkikik!

Kyung kyung kyung!

Kueh...

"Hmm. The King Forest Lizard isn't suited for this place, it seems."

Surveying the wide, open plains around him, Kang Sa-hu immediately returned the King Forest Lizard to its soul core.

For a split second, he thought he saw a look of bewilderment on its face, but with the situation moving so quickly, he brushed it from his mind.

"Hurry up."

Ukkiki...

Kyung!

At Kang Sa-hu's curt command and the urging intent he conveyed, the apes responded listlessly, while the Giant Hounds barked energetically with full enthusiasm.

Tadadatak, tadatak!

The Giant Hounds and apes vanished from sight in an instant.

Soon after, screams of monsters echoed from all directions.

Choosing the right monsters for the situation is important too.

Recalling how he'd summoned the King Forest ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lizard only to reverse-summon it right away, Kang Sa-hu stroked his chin.

The new summons I'll add going forward—trolls and orcs. Trolls should be fine, but orcs are bipedal too, so they won't be as easy to use in cliff-heavy terrain like this.

He'd already confirmed that trolls could scale cliffs easily with their powerful grips and leg strength inside gates, but he couldn't say the same for orcs with certainty.

His thoughts reached that point, and Kang Sa-hu glanced down at the soul core pouch in his hand, continuing his train of thought.

Come to think of it, I don't have any monsters suited for aerial or underwater combat either.

He hadn't encountered any yet, so he had no experience with air or water battles, but there was no guarantee he'd only ever fight on land.

Kang Sa-hu nodded as he mulled it over.

This might be the perfect opportunity.

He'd hunted many gates by now and encountered all sorts of monsters in the process, but none had been as appealing as the ones he carried in his soul cores.

Still, hunting the gates Pluto had on hold might lead him to different monsters, so Kang Sa-hu placed his hopes there.

If I find ones I need, I'll turn them into summons.

Shortly after he made that decision,

Confirming the message that the gate was cleared, Kang Sa-hu waited a moment, and his dispersed summons quickly returned to him.

Ukki.

One ape handed him the gathered soul cores.

Kang Sa-hu checked the pouch he'd given them to fill—it was stuffed full—and stared at one of the soul cores.

Kang Sa-hu skimmed the soul core's details and summoned it experimentally.

A chicken corpse about the size of a golden retriever appeared.

He also confirmed the corpse of this gate's boss monster, the [Steel Claw Wild Cock], before making his decision.

"Good work, everyone."

As Kang Sa-hu sent the thought, the apes and Giant Hounds, understanding him, grinned widely in delight.

Having practiced the skill Telekinesis in his spare moments to raise its proficiency, Kang Sa-hu deftly levitated the Wild Cock soul core and fed one to each summon.

Odododok, odok...

Ppakduk!

The summons chewed and swallowed the soul cores contentedly in their own ways, and Kang Sa-hu promptly returned them all to their soul cores before exiting the gate.

The moment he stepped out, he was greeted by Pluto staring at him with a dumbfounded expression.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"T-Twenty-three minutes...!"

"...?"

Kang Sa-hu tilted his head at Pluto, who was gaping and alternating between him and the clock just like before.

Every time Kang Sa-hu emerged from clearing a gate, Pluto would measure the time in shock, but after he'd steadily increased his speed and cleared 20 F-rank gates that way, she finally gave up and stopped checking the clock.

In the end, he cleared the last F-rank gate in just 17 minutes as his body fully warmed up, and before they knew it, all the F-rank gates were done.

"Looks like all the F-rank ones are finished now."

"Yeah... You're incredible, Sa-hu."

Her face somehow vacant, Pluto praised him listlessly.

Kang Sa-hu's growth and increasing strength were undoubtedly good things.

But it made her past struggles—waiting helplessly for gate breaks because she couldn't enter, then scrambling to handle monsters with death knights and dullahans—feel utterly pointless.

"Thank you. But there are still plenty of gates left, and since the ranks are getting higher now, it'll take a bit more time."

As Kang Sa-hu eyed the 12 E-rank gates, Pluto snapped back to reality and flailed her crossed arms frantically.

"Wait, hold on! You're not thinking of tackling E-rank right now, are you?! You'll get hurt! No way!"

"I'm not tired yet."

It wasn't empty words; the ones who'd run around like mad inside the gates hunting monsters were his summons, so Kang Sa-hu hadn't broken a sweat.

Pluto confirmed he was still perfectly fresh, but she shook her head vehemently anyway.

"No, no! Rest now! I'm worried about you!"

"Hmm..."

Kang Sa-hu pulled out his phone to check the time.

Even if they were just F-rank gates, there had been so many that a good amount of time had passed. He didn't want to worry Pluto unnecessarily.

But he truly wasn't fatigued at all, and he wanted to ease her burden even a little faster, so Kang Sa-hu shook his head.

"Then how about just six more hunts, and we call it for today."

"No, absolutely not! Didn't you hear me?!"

Even as she protested, hearing him insist on hunting six more E-rank gates made Pluto put on a deliberately angry face. Kang Sa-hu thought for a moment.

"But hunting when my body's this warmed up feels more comfortable and efficient. Hmm, how about this? Just one more."

"...Just one?"

As Pluto gazed at him with genuine concern, Kang Sa-hu smiled faintly and nodded.

"Yes, just one."

"Sigh. Fine. Don't push yourself! Be careful."

Grumbling at how Kang Sa-hu, whose head had thickened a bit, was ignoring even her—the Pluto—and being so stubborn, she moved an E-rank gate in front of him.

"Thank you for your concern. Once I clear this one, let's rest together."

Kang Sa-hu smiled as he stepped into the gate.

Swoooong—

Inside the gate, Kang Sa-hu naturally summoned his beasts.

The apes appeared exhausted, with dark circles threatening under their eyes, while the Giant Hounds still wagged their tails vigorously.

"Hm."

Noting how particularly worn out the apes were, Kang Sa-hu turned to the Giant Hounds.

"Can you handle clearing this gate?"

Kyung kyung kyung!

The Giant Hounds barked vigorously as if to say, Trust us!

Confirming their resolve, Kang Sa-hu returned the apes to their soul cores.

Interesting. Giant Hounds are a higher rank than the apes, but they've been hunting together...

As he examined the difference between the two summons curiously, a sudden thought struck him, and he gazed intently at a Giant Hound.

Kyung?

The Giant Hound's tail spun like a windmill in excitement at its master's sudden attention.

But Kang Sa-hu wasn't looking at the wagging tail—he was focused on the summon information floating before his eyes.

"...Evolution?"

A new description he'd never seen before lit a spark in Kang Sa-hu's eyes.