Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: The Four Apostates
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Northwest of the Tranpeion Continent.
A fierce blizzard raged across a snowy mountain range shrouded in dark, heavy clouds.
On one of the peaks, in a natural fortress that seemed to permit no life, four unbelievable silhouettes appeared.
Among them, a handsome young man with long golden hair shouted with bravado.
"Kuhaha! We're finally all gathered!"
The cold and the blizzard seemed to bypass the four, as if they existed in a world of their own.
Just then, a woman in a light, sleeveless dress walked to the center.
With an alluring posture, she blew a breath toward a spot covered deep in snow.
"Hoo."
Whoosh-!
Her light breath transformed into a great gust of wind, instantly blowing away all the surrounding snow.
Where the snow vanished, a large, rectangular table carved from rock was revealed.
There were also backless stone chairs, five in total.
"It's been a while since we've gathered like this. Let's talk for a moment."
The boy said as he sat down on a chair.
"Are we on such terms that we can afford to chat idly?"
A muscular, middle-aged man, shirtless and wearing leather pants, asked with a gruff, heavy voice.
The countless scars covering his body made his question feel even more threatening, yet no one was intimidated.
"Balan, sit down. Do you think it's fitting for you to spout such nonsense when you were the last to arrive?"
The boy had an innocent face, but the middle-aged man couldn't say a word back. He simply scowled and sat down.
The woman in the dress and the handsome young man, who were still standing, also took their seats.
"The fact that we've awakened must mean the seal has weakened significantly."
"It means more than four have been broken!"
"The day of Lord Gellahan's revival is not far off."
"Ah… my master…!"
The four humans simultaneously thought of a single being.
A great being, one who had betrayed the Ascetics and driven a world to the brink of destruction.
They were thinking of Gellahan.
"We must prepare for the day Lord Gellahan returns."
The boy looked at the other three with an expression that didn't suit him.
His eyes held a ferocity and malevolence that was hard to believe for a child who looked no older than ten.
"Hah, hah… I want to see my master… I want to bear my master's child…"
The woman in the dress said, squirming.
Her breathing grew increasingly ragged.
"Tsk, you crazy woman. Now is not the time for that. All the humans have been wiped out."
"Bedeia is the same as ever, isn't she? Kuhahaha."
The muscular man spoke with a displeased expression, while the handsome young man laughed heartily, sweeping back his long hair.
So, who were these individuals?
They were humans who had attained divinity through Gellahan, the four Apostates who were sealed away with him by the hands of the Ascetics at the end of the Hundred Years' War.
The golden-haired young man was Havik of Choice.
The woman in the dress was Red Purity Bedeia.
The boy with crazed eyes was Ridirian, Dream of the Wraiths.
And finally, the muscular middle-aged man, Beast King Balan.
The four were Gellahan's loyal servants, who had stained the continent with blood.
"Don't worry. There are more than enough humans."
"Where? All I've seen are filthy subspecies."
Balan asked in response to Ridirian's words.
Ridirian looked toward the empty chair and spoke.
"Before he was sealed, Lord Gellahan discovered a new world."
"A new world…?"
"It's a place completely different from here. A world where mana did not exist. A world where only humans and animals existed."
"Which means that's no longer the case."
"Yes. Lord Gellahan exhausted all his remaining power to create a point of contact with that world, and the cowardly Ascetics used that opportunity to seal him away."
The other Apostates were surprised by Ridirian's words.
However, only Balan continued to speak; Havik wore a beautiful smile, and Bedeia an insidious one.
"But why didn't we know? And how do you know, Ridirian?"
"Who was the first to stand by Lord Gellahan's side? And who woke up the earliest? Balan, do not forget the gap between you and me."
"Ahem… So what is it you want to say?"
"Our power is not yet whole. The aftereffects of the seal remain. But it won't be long before the seal breaks completely. Before that, I want to seize this continent, which is without the Ascetics."
Ridirian clenched his fist.
The air around him began to tremble.
Balan bit his lip, and Havik crossed his arms and legs.
Bedeia ran her hands over her face and said.
"Hah… I can't take it anymore…!"
"Wait, Bedeia. There's something you need to know. The weakening of the seal also means the Ascetics' power will return. And the Ascetics are tied to that other world. This is the perfect time for us."
"Fine… can I go now? Hah… hah…"
Bedeia shot up from her seat.
Her face flushed red as she gripped the hem of her dress tightly.
"I'll call you again when the time comes. Bedeia, Balan, Havik, I'm counting on you."
"Everything for Lord Gellahan!"
"For Lord Gellahan."
"Hah! Lord Gellahan…!"
Their short meeting concluded, the Apostates vanished one by one into the blizzard.
***
A man pulled his hood down as he got out of the car.
"Do-jae! Do well on your scan and get that S-rank! You can do it!"
"See you later! We'll come pick you up after we're done shopping!"
A man and a woman cheered from the rolled-down window.
The man, his head bowed low, waved at them as they drove away.
*I told them I'd go alone…*
Friday, early morning.
The parking lot of the Seoul Regional Hunter Administration.
The man lowering his hand as the van drove away was Do-jae.
"S-rank? Like S-rank is some neighborhood dog's name."
"I know, right? In this day and age, is he expecting a miracle?"
People whispered as they looked at Do-jae.
Dressed in shabby clothes with a hood pulled over his cap, it would have been difficult for anyone to recognize him.
Besides, since Do-jae had refused all photo shoots and interviews, it was only natural they didn't know who he was.
It wouldn't have mattered if he showed his face, but Young-jin had insisted he wear it, putting the cap on his head himself.
*It's quite crowded.*
Do-jae entered the building, took a number, and sat down.
Though it was just past nine, there were already many people waiting.
*Shopping should take at least an hour, so that should be enough time.*
Do-jae thought of Young-jin and Ji-yoon, who had gone to buy groceries.
One might wonder why they were suddenly shopping, but it was because the entire Guardian Guild had decided to go on a trip.
At Young-jin's strong suggestion, the guild members had decided to take a day off.
Ahead of moving into their new office next week, they had decided to go on a two-day trip to Busan.
Insisting they move forward with a fresh start, he had pestered Do-jae into getting a re-evaluation, and in the end, Do-jae had no choice but to come for a mana scan.
"Hm?"
He had only been sitting for a moment when someone entered the examination area.
As soon as he walked in, he drew the attention of everyone waiting.
"You're that famous Im Seo-jun, right? I heard you already joined Great Tiger even before your evaluation?"
"How did you get into Great Tiger? It's because of that incident, isn't it? Right?"
"I saw it on the news! Wow, you're amazing for someone so young!"
A high school student was surrounded by the people waiting.
The young student, wearing the uniform of the same high school Do-jae had attended, had a troubled expression on his face.
*To be level 97 at such a young age.*
It wasn't just the uniform that had caught Do-jae's eye.
It was his level and skills.
At only seventeen, he was near level 100 and possessed over a dozen skills.
*Is this what it feels like to raise a boosted character… In any case, he's a blessed one.*
Young age and powerful abilities.
It seemed that 'Great Tiger', Korea's number one guild, had recognized his potential and snatched up the kid named Im Seo-jun.
*So that's why it was so crowded outside. It was because of him.*
Guilds today were different from the past, when they operated solely by hunting monsters.
A star like Im Seo-jun, who could receive an A-rank on his initial evaluation, could contribute greatly to a guild's image.
Seeing the large crowd outside, Great Tiger must have already made their move.
Ding-dong.
Do-jae headed to the counter.
Coincidentally, the next number was also called, and the student sat down next to Do-jae to fill out his paperwork.
*Good, I can get out of here easily.*
If he could just make sure the examiner in the testing room kept his mouth shut, he could slip out, and all the attention would be on the student.
***
Kim Sang-gu was a civil servant working at the Seoul Regional Hunter Administration.
He wasn't an Awakened, just an ordinary human whose job was to analyze the reports from the mana scans and assign ranks.
*I hope I can make some extra cash today.*
If a person's stats were borderline or ambiguous, he could raise or lower their rank depending on his mood.
Since a single rank change could alter which dungeons one could enter and which guilds one could apply to, it was truly a position of great power.
Thanks to that, he received a fair share of bribes and lived a comfortable life.
"I'm here for an evaluation."
Kim Sang-gu looked at the man standing in front of the scanning room.
Shabby clothes, a cap pulled down low.
He looked at the man's file on the monitor and cheered inwardly.
*Yes! A sucker!*
A C-rank man, here for his third mana scan.
His first was an F-rank, but his second was a C-rank, which suggested there had been a mistake during the first scan.
Back then, such mistakes happened from time to time, so Kim Sang-gu figured the man had lived his life doing other things without knowing his true rank, only to receive a C-rank this time around.
"You may go in."
The scan began, and a moment later, the man's mana composition chart was printed out.
Looking at the numbers on the paper, Kim Sang-gu blinked his eyes.
*What did I just see?*
Kim Sang-gu rubbed his eyes vigorously and looked at the paper again.
But the numbers on the paper didn't change.
Tremble, tremble.
Kim Sang-gu's hands wouldn't stop shaking; he couldn't contain his astonishment.
In all his years working here, he had never seen numbers like these.
"He… Hello? Right now… an S… S… Mmph!"
Kim Sang-gu was calling to report to his superiors right away.
But the man who came out of the mana scanner covered Kim Sang-gu's mouth.
"Mmph, mmph!"
"I'll let you go if you promise to be quiet."
Kim Sang-gu raised his arm and made an 'O' with his fingers.
The man slowly released his grip.
"Mmph… Hah…"
"I have a favor to ask."
"W-What is it?"
A request from an S-rank.
Kim Sang-gu replied with a trembling voice.
"I don't want to cause a scene, so could you please process my rank quietly?"
"…Do you think I have that kind of control? Once I submit the data, everyone will see it anyway. News will spread in an instant. By the time you walk out of here, this place will be swarming with people."
"Hah… Is that so?"
The man hung his head low.
Then, he made a phone call somewhere.
After exchanging a few words, he hung up.
"What should I do? Other people need to be scanned, and I have to upload the data quickly…"
"Could you wait just a moment? It won't take long."
At the man's words, Kim Sang-gu had no choice but to wait.
No, he took out a pen and paper.
This was a man who would soon become the most famous person in South Korea.
He had to get his autograph now.
"Excuse me… Mr. Lee Do-jae, could I trouble you for an autograph…?"
However, Kim Sang-gu's wish was not granted.
Because in that short time, the highest-ranking person here appeared, panting for breath.
It was none other than the President of the Hunter Administration