Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Zealot Hunt #6
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⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ The trial has been cleared. The status window notified him that the trial was over.
Do-yoon approached Eira, who was faintly trembling her shoulders, and gently stroked her head.
"Hiiing."
The deeply buried sorrow wasn't easily washed away, so Eira buried herself into Do-yoon's arms with an expression that couldn't cry or smile.
"Kuh, is it... over...?"
One dazed hunter stared at the status window while gasping for breath.
"Seems like it."
The skinny hunter said.
They had defeated the pinnacle of the priests, the High Priest—so that meant...
In other words, the 'trial' was over.
'After this.'
Do-yoon quietly looked down at Eira, the object.
Was it nearly time to part ways?
The thought brought a sudden wave of bitterness crashing over him.
This too must be a result of the resonance.
Do-yoon naturally traced the emotion back to its source.
-Step.
He turned toward the approaching presence from behind and locked eyes with the hesitant Lakia Bells.
"You did well."
"....Eut."
Do-yoon honestly expressed his gratitude for her help.
When the priests had blocked the escape route.
She had swung the axe in her hand to clear a path for him.
'I could've broken through alone.'
Still, what mattered was her intent to help.
It was a far cry from their first encounter, when she'd tried to slap him for being a weakling.
"Y-you, I have no intention of opposing you after coming this far."
"What?"
"...You hold the key to clearing the trial. And, and..."
Lakia Bells subtly swept her gaze over the floor before finally looking back up at Do-yoon with difficulty.
Perhaps still caught in the battle's afterglow, her cheeks were faintly flushed.
"Among us, you're the strongest and most superior, Do-yoon."
'Why is she suddenly acting like this?'
How long had it even been since they met, and now she was turning passive all of a sudden.
Was this really Lakia Bells?
In such a short time, he'd seen so many sides of her.
A cool-headed warrior, a melancholic woman—and now, a loyal subordinate standing before him.
'Good is good.'
At any rate, the fact was that the woman who'd seemed deaf to the world had become obedient.
"....."
Eira watched the scene with coldly cooled eyes, unaware as Do-yoon plopped down onto the floor for a moment to catch his breath.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Rewards received. Hidden Piece ▶ Memories of the Progenitor ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ Hidden Piece conditions achieved. Receiving greater amount of rewards. At that instant, Do-yoon's stamina, which had been crawling along the floor, began to refill.
✨ LEVEL UP! ✨ "Oh."
But before he could happily check his stat window, the same notification rang out once more.
'Huh?'
Two times.
The status window signaling level up had rung twice, so Do-yoon's suspicion wasn't a mistake.
✨ LEVEL UP! ✨ Lv.6 → Lv.8 "Crazy."
Two levels at once.
Do-yoon reflexively opened his stat window.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ ⚡ Strength: 25 💨 Agility: 17 ✨ Magic Power: 20 💪 Stamina: 23 The stats stood out, massively increased compared to before.
With gains like this, he instantly understood why fresh vitality had surged through his body.
Eira looked up at him with an innocent expression, still unaware of the situation.
"What am I ever gonna do with you."
The world suddenly felt beautiful.
Freed from the hunters' deaths and the priests' madness, pure joy over the rewards filled Do-yoon's heart.
"Happy?"
"Yeah."
Do-yoon pulled the young progenitor Eira into a tight hug filled with gratitude.
"Hehe."
Eira hugged him back even tighter, delighted by the sudden embrace.
"Uh uh...!"
"Hi, Hidden Piece...? I-is this for real?"
"Kahahahahaha!!!! Hidden Piece!! What incredible luck!!!"
'Oh, that guy's still around.'
Do-yoon glanced at the massive muscular hunter roaring in triumph.
He hadn't noticed amid the fighting, but it seemed the guy had been pulling his weight out of sight.
"Hey, hunter! You're one tough bastard!! I like you!!"
"I don't like you, though?"
"What?"
"Joking..."
"Wahahahaha!!! Joking even when beat? That's the leisure of the strong! Wahahaha!!"
My ears are gonna fall off.
Eira seemed to feel the same; wrinkles started forming between her delicate brows.
Do-yoon smoothed them out with his finger while subtly giving the musclehead a hint.
"Let me sort out the situation real quick. Go on."
"Kahahaha!! Got it!!! Gotta follow the strong one's orders!"
The shift to favorable gazes wasn't limited to the musclehead and Lakia Bells.
A subtle respect now colored the looks directed at Do-yoon.
From scorning him as an Earthling to honest awe after witnessing his feats and the rewards.
'Aren't they being a bit too materialistic?'
Lives were on the line, so maybe it made sense—but the abrupt atmosphere shift left Do-yoon with a strange sense of disconnect.
"...."
Suddenly, he yearned to return to his cozy dorm-like lodging and crash.
His body felt grimy, and his stomach was growling.
Wash it all off in hot water, hit up the association cafe—or maybe the gym—
He was missing those Earthly comforts.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ There are unclaimed rewards! 'Can't ignore that.'
He hated the power plays with the other hunters, but browsing the tower's rewards delivered maximum dopamine.
"When does the boss room open?"
According to the intel he'd gathered earlier, clearing the trial granted immediate access to the boss room.
"Open it?"
"Huh?"
Eira mumbled from where her face was buried in Do-yoon's chest.
Before he could fully process it.
-Crackle!
Eira gestured at the empty air, tearing open a rift large enough for the hunters to pass through.
Born from the object's gesture, it seeped into the ground and summoned a massive magic circle.
'Boss room.'
Do-yoon instinctively grasped its nature upon seeing it.
'Right away, huh.'
This was likely the object's authority, not Eira's.
A being closely tied to the tower lord's actual life, yet reconstructed by the tower's system.
Eira's identity straddled a profoundly complex boundary.
'Preserve it for now.'
He snapped a photo of Eira beaming at him expectantly after conjuring the boss room.
One more weapon stockpiled to mess with the Wine Lord later.
"Hah, heok...!"
"...Hold on. Straight to the boss room from here?"
"Nah, not that."
Best to pull out for now.
All goals in the forbidden zone achieved—and considering the other hunters' fatigue, heading back to the village made sense.
"Let's head back first."
"I agree. Better to regroup, rest up, then tackle it later."
"Eira."
"Yeah?"
"This thing... it disappears later, right?"
"No! I can make it stay open!"
He nodded at Eira's confident reply and scanned their surroundings.
He spotted people gazing sadly down at the fallen hunters.
"What about the dead?"
"Standard procedure is to move them to a safe zone for senior hunters to recover."
"Got it?"
Hunters from every world, so they'd handle it their way.
Do-yoon rose to his feet, getting the gist.
"Ung."
But a tugging sensation pulled him back down.
"Eira?"
"Don't go..."
The young Wine Lord gazed up at him with a gloomy expression, on the verge of tears.
'Gotta collect this one too.'
-Snap!
Not missing a beat, Do-yoon snapped the photo and stroked her head.
He had a pretty good idea where her gloom came from.
Short time, but they'd shared so much.
Even with the Wine Lord's meddling, right now they felt as close as family.
So.
"Let's go."
"Uh, yeah?"
"Do-yoon, you can't mean."
The skinny hunter watching his actions faltered.
"You're not thinking of taking the object along, are you?"
"I am."
"...This guy's nuts."
"C-can I... come too...?"
He looked at Eira's cautious question.
What reason not to?
Forbidden zone objectives cleared; right now, Eira was just another victim of that horrific incident.
Can you control it?
The hunters' stares seemed to ask.
But Do-yoon was confident.
"If I couldn't, we never would've reached this point."
Eira was a girl far removed from the monster everyone knew her as.
"Let's head back."
"Do-yoon, it could be dangerous—"
"Don't worry."
As he spoke, Do-yoon came up with one idea.
#
📰 Boss Mob Gallery Title: Our baby is too cute ㅠㅠㅠㅠ (Photo of Eira beaming happily) — Anonymous No thumbs up nnnnnnnnnnnn — Anonymous Block that too nnnnnn — Anonymous Wine Lord rushing over? Mega rec gg — Anonymous Lmao so damn cute — Anonymous Really, unlike some others, her eyes are full of life lololol — Anonymous Kyaaaaaaa~ — Anonymous Newbie—is he a god??? Newbie—is he a god??? Newbie—is he a god??? Newbie—is he a god??? — Anonymous Newbie beat the armbands too, wins everything, Newbie's a god and invincible — Anonymous Gallery-wide Newbie worship activated — Aged Wine is... ...Don't take pics — Anonymous Serious mode from the jump ㄷㄷ — Anonymous Ah lmao dropped the concept straight to phase 2 lololol — My Post Too good to keep to myself ;;; 📰 Boss Mob Gallery ㄴ Fr, way cuter than the Wine Lord? — Anonymous Well... that was her early childhood days... — Anonymous Ha; was a Wine Lord fan but I'm switching. Eira Protection Squad effective immediately — Anonymous Promote Eira to armband — Anonymous Current armbands too busy with their concepts and beating users, but Eira heals just by breathing ㄷㄷ — Paper Enthusiast No newbie, what are we supposed to do when you keep tossing in firewood— — Aged Wine is... As of now, large-scale disinfection in progress. Do-yoon unleashed poison—no, a blessing—upon the gallery.
The devastating power of the object the tower had kept tightly hidden.
Everyone began melting under the cuteness of the empowered Eira.
He briefly set Eira down in his arms and coaxed her into one more pose.
"Kimchi."
"Kimchiii!"
Eira cutely spread two fingers into a V and faced the camera.
She definitely had idol potential.
📰 My Post Title: Wine Lord, listen up. Come bursting out right now so you can send me a private message Otherwise, massive Wine Lord memes incoming — Anonymous ㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷㄷ — Anonymous Declaration of war on the armbands ㄷㄷㄷ;; Do-yoon decided it was time for the conversation with the Wine Lord he'd been denied until now.
'What the hell have you been up to.'
The things happening around him, her interference with the system—
There was still so much he needed to learn.
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