Chapter 186
Chapter 186
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: ACT.34 What Can Be Stopped (2)
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“M-Mind control?”
They must have cast it during our last fight and activated it at dawn.
That's how Min Dan-ah left her residence and went to them on her own. It all added up.
My exhaustion yesterday kept me from thinking that far ahead, and it had come back to bite me.
“Ah, ahh…”
Min Ji-ah swayed and collapsed.
Lee Min-hwa, who was nearby, helped her up, but she was in no condition to stand on her own.
Lee Min-hwa gently furrowed her brow.
“Come to think of it, Seong Woo-hyeon-nim mentioned something yesterday. He said that whenever he tried to use his power, he felt something interfering with his mind, preventing him from using his true strength.”
“It’s impossible to completely take over the mind of an S-rank player. That must have been the limit of their control.”
Still, it would have been enough to deal with Seong Woo-hyeon.
For Seong Woo-hyeon to show his true power, he needs to ‘transform,’ and that requires considerable mental strength.
Even the slightest mental interference would render him unable to use it properly.
*Even so, their own power must be strong enough to match an untransformed Seong Woo-hyeon.*
The face of the woman who had cheerfully declared she would handle Seong Woo-hyeon came to mind.
If they used mind control to lure Min Dan-ah out, it meant she was still somewhere on the outskirts of Seoul.
[A Main Quest has been generated.]
[Ch.17 Madness]
Beware of it.
The moment you let your guard down, it will devour you.
Will you be eaten, or will you do the eating?
That is up to you.
Seeing the title of the newly appeared main quest, my lips twitched stiffly.
To think the Guide of Madness would appear even after all this.
In the end, is the Guide of Madness fated to appear no matter what?
*…No.*
I studied Min Ji-ah.
As long as Min Ji-ah has the Madness Suppressor, there's no way she'll awaken as the Guide of Madness.
A quest with no specified failure conditions or rewards.
That might mean the outcome could change depending on my actions.
“If the enemies had such a power, then that must be it. But as for where Min Dan-ah-ssi disappeared to…”
“It’s fine. I have a rough idea of where she might have gone.”
“Huh? You can track her?”
“I’m fairly certain. Because I know their objective.”
All eyes focused on me.
Among them, Min Ji-ah’s gaze, filled with desperation, was fixed on me, unwilling to look away.
It was almost burdensome.
“…I see. The process may have changed, but if the result is the same, the destination will be as well.”
Hwang Chan-jin seemed to understand immediately, uncrossing his arms.
*L-Team's objective is still the Guide of Madness.*
Then it would be advantageous for them to lure her to the place where they conducted that research.
The third and largest of the mines owned by Paradise.
That place is filled with research facilities related to the Guide of Madness.
The mine itself may have collapsed, but the surrounding research facilities weren't destroyed.
The place where Min Ji-ah was held captive wasn't the only research facility, after all.
*Weren't they retreating?*
They couldn't possibly still be here, especially given Roberto's condition.
But at the same time, they couldn't give up on their goal here.
Which meant.
*They split the team.*
A few of them stayed behind to keep interfering with us.
To interfere just enough and then retreat when the time is right, they'd need a teleporter.
They could just return after moving Roberto, so it was safe to assume at least two members of L-Team were still here.
“If things go south, they might give up on Min Ji-ah and try to create an incomplete Guide of Madness using Min Dan-ah.”
“My sister doesn't have that! If it were possible, they would have tried to kidnap Dan-ah too!”
“Don’t you know? Mental illnesses are often hereditary. They kidnapped you because you had the greatest aptitude for it, not because it was impossible for Min Dan-ah… What’s wrong?”
“Oppa, you can’t say it like that…”
That idiot…
Hwang Yu-jin tried to stop Hwang Chan-jin in a fluster, but Min Ji-ah had already heard everything.
Her face was so pale it looked drained of blood.
“Then we must rescue her at once. I’ll go too.”
Lee Min-hwa, who had been watching Min Ji-ah for a while, raised her hand and stepped forward.
It wasn't just Hwang Chan-jin.
Lee Min-hwa also had a past where she had to watch her younger sibling die before her eyes.
Looking at Lee Min-hwa's expression, I couldn't help but recall that part of her backstory.
But, no.
I spoke, mixing in a lie.
“No. Their retreat itself might have been a feint. If too many of our forces leave to retrieve Min Dan-ah-ssi, they could attack this place immediately. Besides, you must have felt it last time. For some reason, those bastards know how to counter you.”
We were bound to clash with the remaining members of L-Team while searching for Min Dan-ah.
Bringing a guild master along would be counterproductive.
“That’s all the more reason for me to go. We need to find out how they know so much about us. Above all, this happened inside the Hongryeon Guild’s building. I have to make them regret ever messing with Hongryeon.”
Even though there was no wind inside the building, strands of Lee Min-hwa's hair briefly floated up before settling back down.
Lee Min-hwa didn't become a master simply because she was strong.
She had the charisma to match.
I looked into Lee Min-hwa's deep vermilion eyes and nodded.
“Understood. Then let's decide quickly and move out. The longer we delay, the more time they'll have to do something to Min Dan-ah-ssi.”
The Manas are products of the research related to the Guide of Madness.
They are all byproducts, failed experiments in the attempt to create the Guide of Madness.
If we weren't careful, there was a very real possibility that Min Dan-ah could become one of them, just as Hwang Chan-jin said.
***
After appropriately dividing our forces, it was decided that I, Hwang Chan-jin, Min Ji-ah, and Lee Min-hwa would go together.
Originally, only Hwang Chan-jin and I were supposed to go, but Lee Min-hwa had made her case so strongly.
“…She’s not in good shape.”
Lee Min-hwa stared worriedly at Min Ji-ah's back.
Min Ji-ah was walking as if in a daze, constantly muttering something to herself.
Just as Lee Min-hwa said, she was like a glass of water filled to the brim, ready to overflow at any moment.
“Min Ji-ah-ssi?”
“Yes? What is it?”
“No, I just called out to tell you to be careful. The ground is uneven.”
But she hadn't completely lost her grip on reality.
She responded immediately when called, and her conversation was normal.
Lee Min-hwa, who had called out to her, resignedly stuck close to Min Ji-ah's side.
“Didn't you say she was wearing the Madness Suppressor?”
“I did.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about. There’s no need to doubt that blacksmith’s skill.”
Hwang Chan-jin cut off the conversation as if there was nothing more to say.
That was true.
It was an item made by two of the most renowned individuals in the country, no less.
Doubting it would be a mistake.
However, what puzzled me was something else.
Was it really necessary to kidnap Min Dan-ah?
If they were going to use mind control, it would have been more efficient to use it on Min Ji-ah.
By using mind control to manipulate her memories, they could have easily awakened her madness.
And they could have removed the Madness Suppressor from her arm, too.
*…They’re after something else.*
L-Team knew a lot.
I, too, could be caught off guard if I only relied on my existing knowledge.
Having seen Min Ji-ah last time, it was highly likely they realized what she was wearing was a Madness Suppressor.
“Min Ji-ah-ssi. Could you give me the Madness Suppressor for a moment?”
“Didn't you tell me never to take this off?”
“It’s fine. I'll give it right back to you once we find your sister.”
Min Ji-ah seemed to think for a moment, then unfastened the suppressor and handed it to me.
“Nothing has happened so far, so taking it off for a little while should be fine. Here you go.”
The Madness Suppressor was in perfect condition.
I carefully placed it in my pocket.
“Looks like we’re in the right place.”
My gaze shifted at Hwang Chan-jin's words.
A collapsed mine. Mostly destroyed facilities.
Despite that, a few buildings remained intact.
And among them, there was one place with its lights on.
As if inviting us inside.
“Dan-ah is in there…”
Life returned to Min Ji-ah's eyes.
I thought she would excitedly rush forward, but instead, I saw her bite her lip, her fighting spirit blazing.
[Activating Skill, ‘Extreme Eye’.]
The building's colors faded, turning to black and white.
Between the geometric shapes formed by lines, beings with mana appeared as white figures.
“Min Dan-ah-ssi is on the third floor. Let's go.”
“And them?”
“Two of them. Probably the teleporter and the mind controller.”
“Not the ones with overt physical strength. Not that kind of combination.”
Their abilities themselves might be.
Their stats were likely near the limit, and the key would be how their other traits were configured.
Especially that hulking teleporter.
An ability's performance can vary wildly depending on how it's used.
It wasn't difficult when we fought briefly last time, but their goal wasn't to win that fight in the first place.
If they came at us seriously, things could be completely different.
“…Hold on a moment.”
Just before entering the building, Lee Min-hwa's expression hardened as she carefully peered inside.
“It’s filled with killing intent. It seems there’s a trap.”
Lee Min-hwa picked up a stone from the ground and threw it.
*Click.*
*Shwiing!*
The stone that landed on the floor was suddenly sliced in two.
A sharp object had shot out from an opening in the side wall, slashing across the lower section.
Min Ji-ah flinched and took a step back.
“Stalling for time? They can't possibly think a trap would work on S-rank players.”
“They might have prepared for the possibility of us bringing a large force.”
Just as Lee Min-hwa said, the place was packed with traps.
There was one every two or three steps.
Hwang Chan-jin, looking unfazed, summoned a white energy in his hand.
“I'll just freeze everything.”
“You want us to freeze to death? Leave it. I'll do it.”
*Clank.*
I moved forward, using darkness to destroy parts of the trap mechanisms and disable them.
Neither Min Dan-ah nor the two L-Team members were moving.
There was no way they didn't know we were here.
A bad feeling slowly crept up my spine.
“You said this was the research facility for those monsters from before… the Manas.”
“Ultimately, yes.”
“But, I don't see any Manas?”
“Kang Dae-ho brought them all out and was neutralized, so there probably aren't any left.”
Paradise wasn't in a position where they could afford to keep reserve forces.
It would be stranger if there were any Manas left here.
*Still, this is strange.*
I disabled a trap that would have made the floor collapse and scanned the surroundings.
Other than the traps, there were no other obstacles.
Did they really think these traps alone would be enough to stall and stop us?
Of course, each of the traps was lethal.
Triggering them could lead to explosions, dismemberment, or instant death.
But we weren't rookies, and they knew there was a veteran player here. They couldn't be relying solely on traps.
“Ah, maybe it’s that.”
I snapped my fingers, and Hwang Chan-jin, seeming to have caught on, stroked his chin.
“…So there’s that. It’s only been a day since the mine collapsed, so it should still be alive.”
“I know. I'm counting on you, then.”
“You could go yourself.”
“I have the Madness Suppressor.”
I took it out of my pocket and waved it for him to see.
I could have given it to Hwang Chan-jin and gone myself, but I had no intention of doing so.
Hwang Chan-jin scowled deeply.
His eyes were cursing me out in every language imaginable.