Chapter 197
Translator: uly
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: Part 2 Episode 60
“What do you need help with?”
Pyo Sang-hun asked calmly, slightly taken aback by the immediate request for help the moment he saw her face.
Though he didn’t show it, Seol Do-yoon’s plea for assistance was a bit frightening. It felt like she might kill him and use him as bait for the monsters.
“Could you bag this guy up for me? Make it easy to carry.”
“Huh...?”
Seol Do-yoon pulled a massive sack from her inventory and tossed it to Pyo Sang-hun.
“Please.”
Pyo Sang-hun watched her brightly smile and resume tinkering with the water mirror, hesitating before speaking up.
“Unauthorized capture of monsters is dangerous and illegal.”
Seol Do-yoon paused her work, smiling warmly as she spoke in a gentle tone.
“Sang-hun, I’m not in great shape right now.”
“...”
The end of Seol Do-yoon’s gaze felt chilling. Her eyes smiled, but somehow it felt cold.
For some reason, Pyo Sang-hun felt that disobeying her would lead to real trouble, so he nodded and followed her instructions.
He was curious what she’d been doing alone in a place like this, but she looked in poor condition due to her critical injuries, so he kept his mouth shut.
After stuffing the reptilian monster into the sack and tying it securely, Pyo Sang-hun slung it over his shoulder and spoke.
“I’ll help you to the treatment team. Let’s get out of here quick.”
Seol Do-yoon glanced at Pyo Sang-hun, who was urging her to leave, but silently continued adjusting the water mirror.
Honestly, she’d dealt with Hwang Ki-tae appropriately enough and could just head home like this.
But Seol Do-yoon decided to stay and participate in the gate raid.
She’d been in the Arctic too long, leaving her hunter record stagnant.
She needed to meet the minimum activity quota, and this was a perfect chance to fill it all at once.
With three gates clustered together, she figured she could rack up achievements effortlessly by making good use of the water mirror that Hwang Ki-tae seemed to have created.
The water mirrors made by Abyss monsters served as a means of communication and sharing field info.
From earlier, when Hwang Ki-tae had attacked Byeon Woo-jin from here, it seemed possible to handle all gates at once from this spot.
Unfortunately, attacks through the water mirror seemed exclusive to monsters—nothing happened when she tried influencing the gates reflected in it.
Like a boss monster empowering its minions, Hwang Ki-tae’s ability was probably inherited from the entity that stole his powers.
It might even be one of his original abilities. When she placed her hand on the water mirror thinking that, sure enough, shattered text alerts popped up.
Out of curiosity, she fiddled around and found that while using abilities was impossible, editing was allowed.
So after knocking Hwang Ki-tae out, she spent some time fine-tuning the water mirror ability’s settings.
And finally, she discovered the setting that let her affect the gates on the other side of the mirror.
Snap!
Seol Do-yoon snapped her fingers, and the water mirror’s surface smoothed out, emitting a clearer glow.
[Water Mirror Edit Complete!]
Confirming the alert that seemed to announce the edit’s completion, Seol Do-yoon stepped back a few paces and looked at the water mirror.
Seol Do-yoon closed one eye and pinpointed the locations of the core monster stones in each gate.
Three monster stones glimmered in the pitch-black mirror. Boss monster stones.
‘Soul Magnus Bow.’
[Soul Magnus manifested.]
A dark blue haze formed around Seol Do-yoon, taking shape and settling into a wooden bow on her pale hand.
The wooden bow was enormous, reaching from Seol Do-yoon’s feet to her shoulder.
Lifting the massive bow, Seol Do-yoon straightened her back and assumed position.
Her body, already imperfect from multiple critical wounds, screamed in agony from the excessive mana drain.
[Warning! Mana overload in progress.]
[Warning! Excessive mana consumption.]
[Warning! Mana reserves critically depleted.]
‘Turn off alerts.’
The warnings grew annoying, so Seol Do-yoon shut them off entirely.
Seol Do-yoon slowly inhaled, swallowing the pain along with her breath.
‘Indigo Arrow.’
Three indigo arrows appeared in Seol Do-yoon’s hand. She nocked them to the bowstring and drew back.
Kreeeeeng!
Seol Do-yoon’s massive bow vibrated, emitting an eerie sound.
She had just enough strength left for one shot.
Firing three arrows in different directions demanded immense focus.
Seol Do-yoon held her breath, aligning each arrow toward the memorized monster stone positions. Once the angles perfectly matched.
Thwoooom!
Releasing her fingers unleashed a powerful shockwave, sending the three arrows hurtling toward the water mirror at ferocious speed.
The arrowheads were precisely aimed at each gate’s boss monster stone.
* * *
Hunters were vanishing one by one amid the unexpectedly brutal Hysis Gate difficulty, suffering severe injuries or dying.
Lee Yoo-hyun, slightly panicked, issued orders to the hunters while receiving gate updates, then checked the Korea Gate app.
[Hysis Gate]
*Suspected disguised structure.
[A-Rank] Emission-Type Gate
[A-Rank] Emission-Type Gate
[A-Rank▲] Base-Type Gate
The base-type gate, marked B-Rank, had finally risen to A-Rank.
The emission-types, disguised as A-Rank, regained their full might, and now even the base-type shed its disguise, emitting mana at its true grade.
The situation worsened by the minute.
Woo-jin was missing, Woo-hee had been silent from the boss area for hours.
Se-rim was unconscious, and Kyung-seop was trapped in the boss area with his team—but given the rising gate rank, his teammates were likely dead.
The assault team on the Abyss-free side had aborted and returned, all severely injured.
That left more emitted monsters piling up, pushing Ji-yoon to her limits.
Lee Yoo-hyun contacted the international hunter association for backup.
They’d arrive in an hour, but she couldn’t predict the state of things by then. It felt hopeless.
In the midst of despair, her phone buzzed.
The Korea Gate app refreshed, updating with new info.
[Hysis Gate]
*Suspected disguised structure.
[B-Rank ▼] Emission-Type Gate
[C-Rank ▼▼] Emission-Type Gate
[B-Rank ▼] Base-Type Gate
The gate difficulty had plummeted dramatically.
* * *
After sending the gravely injured Mun Se-rim out first, Lee Kyung-seop was left alone in the boss area. His teammates who entered with him were all dead.
Lee Kyung-seop pressed his deep shoulder wound hard with his opposite hand to staunch the bleeding.
Staggering to his feet, he stared at the winged humanoid chimera monster before him.
Horns protruded from its short-cropped hair, smeared with his teammates’ blood.
They’d been evenly matched at first, but after killing his team, it grew much stronger.
There was nothing Lee Kyung-seop could do now. If he had to name one thing: survive a second longer.
The A-Rank base boss area’s door was sealed tight—no aid could reach him even if it came.
‘Guess I’m done for...’
His vision shook as he clung desperately to life.
[Fight back like before! Come on, fight back!]
The monster, spinning around him like a toy, drew a massive axe and swung at his legs.
He barely dodged by jumping, but sustained a deep leg wound.
Collapsing to the floor, Lee Kyung-seop clutched his stomach, laughing as he eyed the slowly approaching monster—Oh Min-ji.
It felt strangely familiar. Maybe because it was a communicative humanoid. With dialogue possible, perhaps he could tame it.
He had no other options.
“M-Monster. What’s your name?”
Lee Kyung-seop asked cautiously, and Oh Min-ji smirked.
[Oh my... Pathetic. You’re really grasping at straws since you’re about to die.]
His ploy was seen through instantly.
It was pretty out of nowhere, honestly. As Lee Kyung-seop racked his brain, his eyes darted wildly.
Lacking confidence in persuasion, he quickly recalled people good with words.
First, Association Chair Lee Yoo-hyun.
‘Everyone has selfish sides and selfless ones born from them. Kyung-seop, you seem to focus more on the selfless. Know what? That’s no easy feat. I think it’s a talent.’
Next, Sae-byeok.
‘How to persuade? Even bullshit logic works if you hammer it relentlessly.’
Lee Kyung-seop shouted.
“You’re actually nice!”
[What?]
“I know you’re actually a good being!! I believe it!!”
Oh Min-ji began faltering at Lee Kyung-seop’s absurd claim.
“You’re not bad!! You’re good!!”
[Why would I be good?]
“I saw it in your eyes!! You don’t really want to attack us.”
Oh Min-ji’s vertically slit pupils flinched in shock, wings flapping.
[You’re right... How’d you know?]
“See?! That means you don’t want to kill us... You’re good! I know it!”
[I’m a bad one...]
“No! You’re good!”
Desperate not to die, Lee Kyung-seop spewed words wildly. Oh Min-ji’s pupils trembled.
[I always thought... I was a bad guy... To be good... I shouldn’t kill people...?]
“Y-Yeah!! Change your mind now and you’re good!!”
Prostrated on the floor, Lee Kyung-seop nodded furiously.
Oh Min-ji tilted its head thoughtfully at the persuasion, then suddenly grinned wide.
Cackle cackle!
Playing along, Oh Min-ji burst into laughter.
It spun the axe excitedly and swung at Lee Kyung-seop’s neck. He dodged by a hair.
He hadn’t really thought this would work. But it bought him 40 more seconds.
He could whittle away time like this, stretching his survival.
Lee Kyung-seop believed in miracles.
The Abyss Project’s end was a miracle, gaining a big family when his dad abandoned him was a miracle, reaching rank one was a miracle.
Cursed with bad luck early in life, it seemed miracles happened often for him.
So he believed one would come if he held on.
In this nauseating monster-overrun era, peace would miracle in someday—and he’d be alive for it.
With everyone he loved.
Lee Kyung-seop pondered surviving the next two seconds.
The familiar-looking monster approached, whirling its huge axe.
[Haha! How pitiful!]
Crawling away on the floor, Lee Kyung-seop suddenly sobbed.
“Sniff... I-I sent Se-rim out first for nothing... Sh-She could live a better life than me.”
He tried thinking positively, but failed.
Expecting miracles only worked the first couple times.
Facing encroaching death, his suppressed true feelings bubbled out in mutters.
No one was around to call him good anyway.
The whirling axe drew closer.
Lee Kyung-seop gripped his sword tightly with trembling hands, thrusting it toward Oh Min-ji.
‘No, I did send Se-rim off right. The Chair and Sae-byeok will praise my sacrifice.’
Tears streamed from Lee Kyung-seop’s eyes.
‘Idiot. Praise? From where? Your funeral? You won’t hear it. Useless then. What if everything ends at death? What if you don’t even become a ghost?’
His sword tip shook.
[Graaaah!]
Four seconds later, the miracle happened.
An arrow pierced Oh Min-ji’s solar plexus viciously.
* * *
Yeo Woo-hee, checking outside from the deep pit, passed out completely atop the exhausted sleeping Dun, her injured leg propped comfortably.
She’d lost consciousness from over-mana depletion and exertion backlash.
Meanwhile, one arrow passed through the area interior. The monsters hunting intruders inside had dwindled sharply.
* * *
One arrow streaked through the emission-type gate’s boss area, piled with corpses.
The area’s intricate traps vanished one by one into the walls.
* * *
Seol Do-yoon staggered after firing three powerful arrows at once.
Sweating and panting raggedly, she stumbled toward the sack containing Hwang Ki-tae.
“Sang-hun.”
Sitting and leaning against the wall, Seol Do-yoon called to Pyo Sang-hun.
Pyo Sang-hun had been staring in awe at the water mirror showing the gate interiors, then turned to her.
“Yes.”
Seol Do-yoon smiled weakly. Her eyes kept drooping. She’d truly reached her limit.
“When I wake up, if this guy’s gone, you’re gone too. Got it?”
“...Yes.”
Pyo Sang-hun, who’d been plotting to secretly kill the monster in the sack, averted his gaze as he replied.
Feeling consciousness slipping, Seol Do-yoon pulled a fluffy pillow and mat from her inventory.
She spread the mat neatly on the floor, placed the pillow, and lay down.
Soon, even Seol Do-yoon—sustained by sheer willpower—lost consciousness.
Pyo Sang-hun approached the water mirror. It showed the situations inside all gates.
The gate interiors viewed over Seol Do-yoon’s shoulder were a sight.
One gate was just piled with corpses, Yeo Woo-hee was missing from hers, and Lee Kyung-seop was moments from being sliced by the monster.
‘If I go out now to tell the Chair and bring hunters, it’ll be too late. Especially Kyung-seop hyung—he’ll die first.’
Pyo Sang-hun sparked electricity at his fingertips. Yellow and white sparks intertwined.
He pulled from his pocket the item Dun had given him last time he visited.
A potion that temporarily amplified mana and versatility upon consumption.
‘When Do-yoon hyung lowered the gate power with those arrows, I can...!’
Recalling the gate situations from Seol Do-yoon’s arrows and what he could do, Pyo Sang-hun downed the potion Dun gave him.