Chapter 49
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: What’s Needed is Background Music and Flower Petals
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“If we’re going to the snowy mountain, how about riding that?”
Yu Beom pointed to the Parrot Poison Bird under the tree.
The bird that had been sleeping since their time in the northern sea was finally awake. Its eyes met Cheon Doun’s, and it rose to its feet, approaching with its massive body.
“It’s a high-altitude area, after all. It’ll be faster to search from the sky than to run on foot.”
It was a good suggestion. As he approached the bird, the Parrot Poison Bird rubbed its face against Cheon Doun’s body.
A different reaction from when it was forcibly subjugated.
It even lowered its wing to make it easier for him to climb onto its back. This, too, was a reaction he had never seen before.
“Oh, right. About the bird’s name. How about Blue?”
“Blue?”
“Its feathers are blue, aren’t they? My sister and I kept thinking about it, and this seemed like the best one. If you don’t like it, you can name it something else.”
Cheon Doun looked at the bird’s feathers. As if infused with pearl dust, they shimmered blue depending on the angle.
“That’s fine. It fits.”
A name chosen without a moment’s hesitation for the first time.
Cheon Doun climbed onto the back of the Parrot Poison Bird, which had now been named Blue.
With a tug of its feathers, Blue shot into the sky in an instant. The siblings followed close behind.
They reached a high altitude, enough to look down on the entire snowy mountain.
Cheon Doun switched his vision to an avian type. As he zoomed in on the ground below, he paused at an unexpected sight.
“A Gate…?”
A Gate had opened halfway up the mountain. Its color was blue.
Hunters emerged in a line from the artificially created Gate.
For such a large-scale force to head for a high-altitude area, their objective could only be one thing. Cheon Doun gently tugged on Blue’s feathers.
“Fly above them and stay on standby.”
The Parrot Poison Bird couldn’t understand human speech.
But from the degree of Cheon Doun’s pull and its experience so far, it astutely grasped what he wanted.
*Screeeech!*
Blue circled above the snowy mountain, awaiting the next command.
* * *
A group of Hunters ascended the snowy mountain of the Demon World in a single file line.
One hundred and fifty A-rank Hunters. They looked around their surroundings with bored expressions.
“Even for a high-altitude area, with 150 A-rank Hunters gathered together, it feels like a walk in the park.”
“I know, right? With this many people radiating mana, even the monsters are keeping their distance. Haha.”
“Don’t let your guard down. We’re only halfway up the mountain, so there aren’t any strong monsters yet. You all know that.”
Even the one issuing the warning had a relaxed expression.
“Ah, where’s that kid? The one who supposedly just awakened.”
“In the center, toward the back. Isn’t he the dark horse of this mission? We have to protect him as much as possible.”
“But is that kid really okay? The rumor is that he’s being mind-controlled by a puppeteer ability.”
One of the Hunters asked in a hushed voice.
“There’s also talk that his ability was amplified. Judging by his age, he must have just awakened. Does it even make sense for an F-rank to cross a Gate and not die?”
Those who had just awakened couldn’t properly handle their mana.
Crossing a Gate in that state should have resulted in death from a nosebleed, just like an ordinary person.
“You need to be at least a D-rank to cross a Gate safely. Isn’t that strange?”
The Hunters glanced back. In the middle of the line, a small-statured boy was walking with a dazed expression.
He wasn’t even wearing any proper armor.
No matter how you looked at it, the situation was abnormal. But not a single person voiced this concern.
If they succeeded in this mission, a massive sum of money would be paid out as a reward.
There was no one here who would give up that money for some boy they didn't even know.
“Halt! We will carry out the operation here.”
The man at the front raised his hand and shouted. The Hunters formed a circle as planned.
The plan was to teleport the Mandragoras into this encirclement. Capturing them was the objective of this mission.
“Sonic attack countermeasures! Activate your abilities!”
About forty of the Hunters activated their respective abilities. The area was enveloped in mana, blocking any sound-based attacks.
“Good. At this rate, the Mandragoras’ scream attack will be useless. Begin.”
The order came from the puppeteer.
The dazed boy extended his hand toward the center of the formation. With vacant eyes, he activated his ability.
* * *
It was a warm noon. Roots were rolling around in a snowy field on the mountain.
Their backs were cooled by the snow, while their fronts were warmed by the gentle sunlight.
The peaceful sunbathing of the roots was shattered in an instant.
*Huuung?*
A shadow rippled beneath the roots.
The shadow spread wide, turning into a swamp and beginning to sink the Mandragoras.
*Huu, huuung!*
A hundred or so Mandragoras were submerged in an instant. They passed through a dark passage and emerged halfway up the mountain.
They were inside the circular formation surrounded by the Hunters.
“Ooh, they really appeared! He actually teleported them.”
“Is that a wild Mandragora? It looks pretty hefty. The cultivated ones are only as thick as a pencil at best.”
“What are you all staring at! Capture them!”
At the command, the Hunters with capture abilities activated their powers.
Thirty nets of light formed from mana materialized in the air. They descended upon the hundred-odd Mandragoras.
“We got them!”
The Hunters cheered.
*Huuung!*
The Mandragoras cheered as well.
They had been suddenly transported to a strange place, and now a spread of thirty different side dishes was laid out before them.
It was like being invited to a buffet.
*Huung?*
But their cheers soon turned to puzzled tilts.
It was a buffet, all right. But the quality of the food was poor.
“Pull! Open the containment boxes!”
The Hunters pulled on the nets of light. As they were dragged along, the trapped roots’ eyes widened.
*Huuung!*
This is dangerous. We have to get out of this net.
Even for a gentle species, they possessed a sense of danger. The roots clung to the nets and began to fight back.
*Huuuung!*
Nom, nom. It doesn’t taste good, but we’ll eat it to tear open the net.
*Blech… ptui.*
It tastes bad, so we’ll spit it out. As they repeated this, the mana-made nets began to sag and dissolve.
“Wh-what is that?”
The Hunters were bewildered. The roots that escaped the nets gathered in one spot, avoiding the Hunters. The leader root looked around.
They were surrounded. Too many enemies. What should they do to break through this encirclement?
*Huuung!*
If there are too many enemies, just focus on one. Let’s break through their line and escape that way.
The leader root gave the order.
In response, the hundred or so Mandragoras charged in unison toward the Hunter directly in front of them.
“Hmm? Me?”
The targeted Hunter was taken aback. He was being targeted by over a hundred monsters.
It was the first time he hadn't felt scared while being targeted by monsters.
The sight of the chubby, teddy-bear-like creatures waddling toward him was almost laughable. His nephew would love one of these.
“Hey, what are you doing! Move!”
“What’s all the fuss? How are those things a threat?”
“Didn’t you see them sucking up mana earlier?”
“I saw. But I’m not that type of ability user.”
The Hunter drew the massive blade from his back. It was a greatsword as wide as a child’s torso.
“I’m a physical-type Awakened. To these root things, I’m their worst nightmare!”
The Hunter grinned confidently and swung his blade.
The Mandragoras couldn’t withstand the wind pressure and were sent flying backward.
“It worked! They’re weak physically. I’ll beat them until they’re unconscious! Don’t just stand there, you guys do it too!”
The man flattened his blade. As if striking with a steel plate, he swung it at the nearest plant root.
As long as it’s still breathing, it’s fine. It might look cute, but it’s still a monster. As long as the root doesn’t burst into pieces, it won’t die.
Just as he thought that and swung, a shadow fell over him.
When he looked up, he saw a giant bird. And something leaping down from it.
“Uh…?”
What is that? By the time he had that thought, something heavy had already landed on his blade.
“Ugh!”
*Thud.* The blade, unable to bear the weight, slammed into the ground.
A weight that even he, a physical-type Awakened, found difficult to lift. This was no ordinary weight. It was a weight pressed down with mana.
“Wielding something so ugly.”
A low voice was heard. He lifted his head to see a young man pressing down on his blade with one foot.
“What… What the…! Get off!”
He didn't know who it was, but it must be one of the Hunters who came here with them.
If he was trying to steal his prize, he’d picked the wrong person.
The man summoned all his strength. He tried to pull his blade out of the ground, but a look of bewilderment slowly crept onto his face.
‘Wh-what is this? Why won’t it move!’
The foot pressing down on the blade didn’t budge an inch. Meanwhile, the other Hunters, having come to their senses, shouted.
“That guy’s not on our team! Who is he?”
“Dammit, the information was leaked! He’s from an outside guild!”
“He’s here to steal the Mandragoras! Stop him!”
Hunters from all sides began to draw out their mana.
Cheon Doun revealed his power as well. A heavy energy pressed down on the entire area.
“Ugh!”
*Crash.* The man whose blade was pinned by Cheon Doun fell to his knees. His mouth hung open at the sensation of gravity multiplying several dozen times over.
Following his lead, the 150 surrounding Hunters collapsed like dominoes, forced to their knees.
The effort of just resisting the force was so overwhelming that not a single one could use their abilities.
Cheon Doun lifted his foot from the blade. He picked it up and struck the man across the face with the flat of it.
A single blow. It looked like a light swing, but the A-rank Hunter was sent flying a great distance before tumbling across the ground.
“I hit you just enough not to kill you. Just like you were about to do. It didn’t burst, did it?”
His head certainly hadn’t burst. He had just rolled his eyes back and passed out.
He casually tossed the blade aside and turned to the Mandragoras.
*Huung, huung!*
*Huuung!*
The young Mandragoras were having a festival in the mana that Cheon Doun had spread across the area.
What is this? Why is it so delicious? The small roots stuck out their bellies and began to sample it.
At this sight, the Hunters’ faces turned pale once more.
All those Mandragoras were absorbing his mana simultaneously. And yet, the force crushing them didn’t waver in the slightest.
Was that thing even human?
“What? Is it over already?”
With the sound of great wings beating, two figures descended from the sky.
At the appearance of the siblings, the Hunters felt a new wave of despair.
Unlike Cheon Doun, the siblings who grew up inside the Gate didn’t bother to hide their aura.
Having lived among monsters, they displayed their power openly as a means of intimidation.
Two disaster-class monsters. Humanoid, no less. Intelligent beings that could speak.
The Hunters’ gazes turned to Cheon Doun.
So he wasn’t human either, but a monster. Amidst this misunderstanding, Cheon Doun surveyed the Hunters.
While everyone else was on their knees, one person remained standing with a blank expression—a young boy.
He was the only one Cheon Doun had not applied pressure to.
“I thought it might be when I saw from above. It is him.”
O Bongsu. The boy with a rustic name who worked as a guide in the slums.
Unlike before, he now emanated the aura of an Awakened. At that, Cheon Doun’s expression vanished.
“Why is a kid who awakened less than a month ago here?”
He scanned the kneeling Hunters with his mana. He walked over to one of them.
“It was you. The one who amplified his ability.”
“Ah…?”
“You couldn’t have been unaware of the dangers of your own ability. Did you get his consent?”
“Th-that’s…”
The Hunter couldn’t answer. His teeth chattered.
He had never heard such a monotone voice sound so terrifying. A chill ran down his spine, a sensation like insects crawling under his skin.
“Of course not. If you had, you wouldn’t have needed to use a puppeteer ability.”
Cheon Doun turned his gaze to a man on the opposite side.
The Awakened who had controlled O Bongsu’s mind. The color drained from his face.
‘How did he know it was me?’
The true value of a puppeteer ability lay in its subtlety.
The more one honed the power, the more the presence of the manipulator behind the scenes was erased.
At the A-rank level, it was impossible to identify the person behind the curtain unless they revealed themselves.
That was how it was supposed to be. That common sense had just been shattered.
The man’s decades of pride crumbled as he was identified instantly.
Cheon Doun looked at them with a blank face, then turned away.
“Set those two aside. We’ll use them as ingredients to save the kid.”
Use them as ingredients? What did that mean? The chilling words made them shudder, but only for a moment. As the siblings grabbed them by the scruff of their necks and lifted them, the Hunters’ jaws dropped.
“Ugh…!”
Cheon Doun’s oppressive aura was still in effect.
Forcibly lifted in that state, the Hunters couldn’t withstand the pressure and passed out.
Cheon Doun looked at the remaining people. He had no particular grudge against them. He could decide what to do with them later.
‘The problem is that kid, O Bongsu. He’ll die if left like this. To revert his condition, I’ll need…’
Cheon Doun’s thoughts were cut short by a gaze he felt on his back.
When he turned, he saw about a hundred Mandragoras feeding on his mana.
Except for one root.
There was one root that wasn’t eating his mana, but was only staring at him.
From the moment Cheon Doun had appeared, the root had not taken its eyes off him. Its leaves trembled minutely at the unbelievable reality.
My great helper. Is it you? You always come whenever I’m in danger.
Their eyes met. In that moment alone, the root felt as if the sounds of the world had ceased.
A breeze blew between them. The white string tied to its leaf swayed in the wind.
*Huuung….*
The root took a step toward Cheon Doun.
One step. Then another. It walked toward the helper it was meeting again after sixty long years.
Cheon Doun, who had been frozen, also turned his body toward the root.
“You…”
Cheon Doun was at a loss for words. He had come looking for it, but he never thought it would actually be here. Nor did he think it would still have that white string.
What was he supposed to say in a situation like this? Cheon Doun’s lips moved slightly.
Just as he was about to say something, he heard the voices of the nearby siblings.
“What’s with this mood? Feels like we should be playing some heart-wrenching background music. Should I just hum something myself?”
“You handle the background music. I’ll be in the back, tossing flower petals.”
The bickering siblings whispered from behind.