Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Necromancer of the Sword Clan
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"Ah, you've arrived."
The Association staff member standing in front of the conference room lit up with a smile at Shin Yu-hyun's appearance.
The Hunters stirred quite a bit as well.
Because Shin Yu-hyun was a direct descendant of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan.
The prestige of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan among Hunters in the country was immense.
It was the group led by Shin Sung-il, the Iron-Blooded Sword King, one of the handful of Masters in the world.
"Hello. I'm Shin Yu-hyun."
Shin Yu-hyun gave a slight bow in greeting.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Kang Yu-chan."
"I'm Kim Woo-sung."
Starting with the 4-star Hunters, Shin Yu-hyun exchanged names with everyone in the conference room and moved to take a seat.
At that moment, the staff member who had guided him quickly stepped forward.
"I'll pull out the chair for you."
"It's fine."
Shin Yu-hyun pulled out his own chair and sat down.
Lee Sung-jae, one of the Association staff on the podium, watched with a glint of interest in his eyes.
'Different from the other direct descendants.'
The direct descendants of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan received their Hunter licenses from the Association upon reaching 3-star.
The same went for disciples who reached 3-star.
So the Association always treated visiting direct descendants with the utmost courtesy.
Yet Shin Cheol-jin had once picked a fight, complaining that the Association's service wasn't good enough.
Because of his antics back then, the Hunter Association had become even more cautious in dealing with the clan's direct descendants.
They never knew when another tantrum like his might erupt.
But Shin Yu-hyun was different.
Unlike the others, he had an unpretentious air about him.
If it had been Shin Cheol-jin just moments ago, he would have snapped about why his seat wasn't set up in advance.
Perhaps because of that.
Lee Sung-jae, the team leader in charge of managing Hunters at the Association, looked at Shin Yu-hyun with favorable eyes.
But Shin Yu-hyun was focused on something far more important.
'Namdu Group's eldest daughter, Nam Yeon-ah.'
As Lee Sung-jae began explaining the details of this investigation team's mission from the podium, Shin Yu-hyun's gaze settled on one female Hunter.
A beauty in her early twenties, wearing a modern fusion hanbok blending black and red, draped over with a white lab coat like a scientist.
Her long, lustrous black hair cascaded down to her waist.
And she was a magitech engineer to boot.
Which explained the faint dark circles under her eyes and her somewhat hollow-cheeked look.
Magitech engineers were the kind who devoted themselves entirely to R&D on artifacts like barrier coats, forsaking food and sleep.
In the modern world, artifacts—the crystallization of magic and science—were standard gear for superhuman Hunters.
Countless corporations poured resources into developing them, and Namdu Group, one of Korea's leading conglomerates, was at the forefront of artifact innovation.
Nam Yeon-ah was hailed as a magitech genius at Namdu Group, carrying the weight of great expectations.
But.
'She didn't make it back.'
Of the investigation team sent into the unidentified dungeon gate in Gangneung, only one 4-star Hunter survived.
It was a major incident the Hunter Association desperately wanted to bury.
And to top it off, it involved the Namdu Group's heiress.
That's why the Hunter Association and Namdu Group downplayed and covered it up.
To protect their images.
'I only learned about it later myself.'
At the time, Shin Yu-hyun had been confined to his residence.
And soon after, he was expelled from the clan, so he had little access to outside information.
Plus, with the Hunter Association and Namdu Group suppressing the details, he couldn't get the full picture.
He only knew it was a colorless dungeon rated 3-star, with one survivor, and strangely shaped magic beasts.
'That's enough to go on.'
He didn't know exactly what happened in that colorless dungeon.
But he could guess.
The survivor of the colorless dungeon, whose name and face were unknown.
Several rookie Hunter parties he joined had been completely wiped out.
When the Hunter Association grew suspicious and investigated, they uncovered he was the culprit.
Leading to rumors that he had massacred the colorless dungeon investigation team.
But.
'This time will be different.'
Shin Yu-hyun smiled quietly to himself.
Unlike his previous life, he was part of this investigation team.
And if he saved Namdu Group's heiress, Nam Yeon-ah, during this expedition.
'It could be useful to me.'
Her skills as a magitech engineer and Namdu Group's financial power.
If he could get close to her, his standing within the clan would rise sharply.
The artifacts developed in Namdu Group's labs boasted impressive performance.
'The problem is...'
Shin Yu-hyun glanced at the two mid-4-star Hunters seated at the center table of the conference room. Both were around thirty, with similar builds and skills.
'Which one is it?'
One of those two was surely the Joker, the villain.
After hearing the broad outlines in the conference room, the investigation team departed for Gangneung.
"Is this thanks to Ms. Nam Yeon-ah and Mr. Yu-hyun? We're traveling in style."
Kang Yu-chan, one of the 4-star Hunters wearing noise-canceling headphones, chuckled cheerfully.
Normally, the team would have gone by car.
But with Namdu Group's heiress and Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan's third son aboard, the team flew to Gangneung in a Chinook transport helicopter.
They arrived in less than an hour.
'Neither looks like a villain...'
In the meantime, Shin Yu-hyun had been sizing up the 4-star Hunters.
Kang Yu-chan was outgoing and talkative, while Kim Woo-sung was quiet but seemed prudent.
Both exuded the dignity befitting 4-star Hunters.
Judging by appearances and personalities alone, neither seemed like the type to massacre an investigation team and wipe out rookies.
The remaining six Hunters were mid-to-high 3-star superhumans.
Around their mid-to-late twenties.
This alone showed the high caliber of the Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan.
Even Jeong Tae-seong's group that ambushed Shin Yu-hyun were mid-to-high 3-stars in their early-to-mid twenties.
'I'll have to search once we're inside the dungeon.'
The most suspicious were undoubtedly the 4-star Hunters.
But with no way to tell which one, he needed concrete evidence.
As Shin Yu-hyun pondered, the team arrived in Gangneung and disembarked from the Chinook.
"That's the colorless dungeon..."
One of the 3-star Hunters muttered tensely.
Far off, at the entrance to Gangneung City, the unidentified dungeon gate shimmered.
Even from a distance, the zigzagging spatial rift leaking white light was far larger than typical gates.
Beyond it stretched a barren wasteland.
Gangneung's current state, devastated by a 6-star-plus boss-level colossal magic beast.
'An undeveloped danger zone.'
Shin Yu-hyun surveyed the vast plain before them.
The stampede phenomenon, where hordes of magic beasts poured from dungeon gates.
Gangneung had been unlucky.
A 6-star dungeon gate appeared, and shortly after, a stampede hit.
Vast numbers of magic beasts accompanied a 6-star boss-level behemoth.
Gangneung suffered catastrophic damage, reduced to ruins, now prowled by magic beasts of various ranks.
No one dared touch the Gangneung area rashly. It could stir up unnecessary trouble.
Barricades surrounded the colorless dungeon, with Association-deployed superhumans monitoring the former city's wasteland.
'In my previous life, I couldn't even approach Gangneung.'
Years from now, countless dungeon gates would spawn in Gangneung.
Another stampede would follow, filling Gangwon Province with magic beasts and swallowing Seoul.
'Thanks to Getia, of course.'
By then, Getia had already crossed into this world.
Superhumans fighting magic beasts fell endlessly before Getia.
'At least the colorless dungeon spawned at the outskirts.'
This one had appeared just before the city entrance.
So they didn't need to venture into the beast-infested urban interior.
"We're entering the dungeon now. Finish your final preparations."
Arriving at the unidentified dungeon gate, Kang Yu-chan addressed the 3-stars.
He was the investigation team's leader, with Kim Woo-sung as vice-leader.
As 4-stars, it made sense.
In the law-of-the-jungle superhuman world, higher ranks could condescend to lower ones.
Among 3-stars, they treated each other as equals regardless of sub-rank.
Thus, Kang Yu-chan and Kim Woo-sung naturally spoke down to the 3-stars.
"As discussed with the Association, we'll split into two teams upon entry."
But Shin Yu-hyun and Nam Yeon-ah were exceptions.
Their statuses differed.
Shin Yu-hyun was a candidate heir to one of Korea's four great sword clans, Heaven-Splitting Sword Clan, and leader of the Four Directions Guardian Sword Halls.
Nam Yeon-ah was Namdu Group's heiress, a promising magitech engineer from Korea's top artifact R&D conglomerate.
Despite lower ranks, their backgrounds set them apart.
"Understood."
Shin Yu-hyun nodded politely. They outranked him, so this was basic courtesy.
And among superhumans, Kang Yu-chan and Kim Woo-sung were relatively courteous.
Which ironically made identifying the Joker harder.
"As planned, if the colorless dungeon is 3-star, we'll split into two teams for investigation. Avoid combat if possible."
"If it's 4-star or higher, we retreat."
Kang Yu-chan and Kim Woo-sung addressed the 3-stars in turn.
Colorless dungeons had unknown ratings beforehand and unpredictable hazards.
3-star meant conquerable, but they split for maximum intel.
4-star required immediate withdrawal.
Too risky otherwise.
"Then, let's enter."
With preparations complete, the team stepped into the colorless dungeon leaking white light.
Shin Yu-hyun felt his body float.
The familiar sensation every time entering a dungeon gate.
A few seconds more, and they'd transfer to the battlefield humans called a dungeon.
That moment.
A puzzling system message appeared before Shin Yu-hyun's eyes.
And...
"Where is this?"
Upon completing the transfer, Shin Yu-hyun realized he was in an unknown place.