Chapter 142
Chapter 142
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: Disruption and Negotiation
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"Hey, mister."
"Are you calling me?"
Pelos answered, flustered by Do-jae's call.
The gathered Titans murmured amongst themselves, watching the top of the stairs.
"This coming-of-age ceremony, is there more to it?"
"We must carve his name into the hall, offer a prayer to the goddess, and finally, hold a celebratory procession…"
Do-jae listened quietly, then stroked his chin and slapped his thigh.
"In the end, it's all just ceremonial nonsense."
"W-What did you just say? Ceremonial nonsense?"
"Now that I've said it, I realize it was a mistake. I sincerely apologize for my rather harsh words."
Do-jae placed a hand on Teus's shoulder.
He had been going for the feeling of an adult comforting a child, but with Teus standing over two meters tall, he had to stretch his arm out just to rest a hand on his shoulder.
In any case, Do-jae admitted that his use of the derogatory term 'ceremonial nonsense' out of frustration was a slip of the tongue and offered a polite apology.
For a small community like the Titans, rituals could be an important tool for building bonds, and looking down on that was clearly a disrespectful attitude.
"Anyway, I saw this kid take down that Thunder Tiger with my own two eyes. And that was before I gave him anything to eat. So, I hope you can acknowledge that your son has become a warrior and we can simplify the ceremony to finish it early."
Do-jae gave Harkes a look.
A silent signal to wrap up the agreement quickly.
After all, no matter what he, a strange foreigner, said, they would just ignore it.
"Pelos, I apologize for the disturbance. The ceremony… let us proceed, but in an abbreviated form. I will gladly accept the punishment for my actions afterward."
"Hmph... You'll have to take responsibility for this. The mood of the people is not good."
Just as Pelos said, the atmosphere among the Titans gathered in the square had grown cold.
Among them were Titans cursing Do-jae for suddenly appearing and ruining the ceremony, while a few voices of concern for Teus could also be heard.
"Isn't that the high elf from before? That bastard! What does a high elf think he's doing!"
"Poor Teus. What's he going to do? His once-in-a-lifetime ceremony has been ruined like this…"
Do-jae shrugged once and moved behind the stone tablet inscribed with a strange language.
He decided to leave the rest to Pelos and Harkes.
Anything more from him would only worsen the situation.
Though it was already quite bad.
"Oh…"
A massive picture was carved into the stone tablet.
Not just one scene, but several, divided into sections.
Since this was a tablet inscribed with the names of all past Titan warriors, the scale of the drawing was beyond imagination.
"Is this the beginning?"
After moving along the side for quite some time, Do-jae finally found a drawing at the end of the tablet depicting the sun and the moon.
The drawing, which had been re-carved and repainted many times, showed the passage of time.
It had clearly been restored and re-engraved by the hands of many Titans over the years.
"Humans or Titans, our myths are pretty similar."
The drawings were arranged in chronological order, like watching a short comic.
The greatness of nature was expressed through gods, whom the Titans worshipped.
Next, a distinctly drawn, handsome Titan appeared, with countless other Titans bowing to him.
The Titans were shown carving out a village in the rainforest and building high stone walls.
The process depicted conflicts and wars with monsters and other races, and moving a little further, a woman finally appeared.
"That is the goddess Eurabia."
Harkes, who had appeared beside Do-jae at some point, pointed to the drawing of the woman and spoke.
Do-jae knew at a glance that the woman in the drawing was Eurabia.
Because the scene depicted behind her was identical to his Subspace.
"It's certainly similar, but…"
Do-jae stared intently at the drawing, then opened his Subspace.
A small rift in space formed behind his back.
"What do you think?"
Harkes looked back and forth between Do-jae's Subspace and the drawing on the tablet.
Then, as if he had realized something, he pointed at the drawing and said.
"It's different. There's a slight difference between yours and Lady Eurabia's. Especially this part."
Harkes pointed to a section of the drawing.
The stark difference between Do-jae's Subspace and the ability of Eurabia in the drawing.
How perfect of a sphere it formed.
"Your ability is best described as tearing space open. It's an oval, no, more like a vertical eye. But Lady Eurabia's ability forms a sphere. And around it, there are patterns drawn like a cracking egg. They're similar, but the shape is different."
Do-jae nodded.
It was a drawing on a stone tablet, so it might not be perfectly represented.
Even so, if the person who drew it had seen it firsthand, they wouldn't have drawn an oval as a perfect sphere.
And then there was the background.
A sky filled with black clouds was drawn.
Other parts were faded and difficult to make out, but the overall feeling was very similar.
"Altein, is Eurabia the next Ascetic? …Altein?"
He tried asking Altein, but there was no answer.
"Ruiden…?"
Ruiden, too, remained silent.
That meant they either couldn't say or wouldn't say.
Do-jae had been thinking Eurabia wasn't an Ascetic, but their reaction increased the possibility that she was.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing. So what difference does it make to you whether my ability is Eurabia's or not?"
The reason he had to be shown this stone tablet.
Do-jae was curious about that reason.
"The Titans are currently in a crisis. It has not been announced to the people, but a great threat is sure to come. I had hoped that if Lady Eurabia descended, she would protect us."
"So you were hoping I was Eurabia, or her representative?"
"...I hate to rely on a high elf, but yes..."
Harkes's eyes were filled with worry.
Do-jae instinctively realized that this was related to what was happening in his own world.
"Can you tell me about this crisis? I might be able to help."
"Really? Why would a high elf help a Titan..."
"Because I'm an adventurer. Aren't adventurers supposed to save those in danger? Well, I know you don't think highly of me, so if you don't need my help, just say so."
"...No, thank you. I will now tell you about the situation of the Titan tribe. Follow me."
***
After the Busan suppression battle, the number of dungeons had steadily increased.
At present, the number of confirmed dungeons had nearly tripled compared to a month ago.
Guilds were suffering from a severe labor shortage, with no weekends or holidays, while the number of newly awakened individuals was woefully insufficient.
As a result, the number of hunter deaths skyrocketed, and small-scale dungeon breaks became frequent occurrences.
The news was a constant stream of special reports on the matter, and the tension was palpable even for ordinary civilians.
This wasn't just a problem for South Korea.
With the rapid increase in dungeons worldwide, some cities had begun to transform into monster dens beyond government control.
And as always, criminals thrived in such chaos.
In the United States, a gang had even destroyed a state capitol building and taken the governor hostage.
In comparison, public safety in South Korea remained relatively stable, thanks to the all-out efforts of the Hunter Association.
And the Suppression Corps.
"I didn't expect to see you again so soon."
"The feeling is mutual."
In the office of the Suppression Corps' Chief of Staff.
Two middle-aged men sat facing each other with warm tea.
One was the owner of the room, Chief of Staff Seok Jun-yeop of the Suppression Corps.
The other was the President of the Hunter Association, Jeong In-gon.
"So… what brings you all the way to this place you find so unpleasant?"
"Haha. Unpleasant? Chief, is that how you always see me?"
"Is that so? I thought you were the one who found it unpleasant, given the way you always look at me."
"Of course not. How could I feel that way toward someone who works so hard for the public good and development of South Korea?"
Sip.
An invisible war of nerves played out between the two.
Considering the relationship between the Hunter Association and the Suppression Corps, their meeting in such a short period was a highly unusual case.
And the fact that Jeong In-gon had personally set foot in the Suppression Corps headquarters meant he was the one in need.
"I heard your daughter joined a small, nameless guild. You must be worried."
"Nameless? It's a decent enough guild."
"Still, it must not meet your standards, Mr. President."
"Not at all. It seems you're not very interested in growing guilds, Chief."
"Why would I be? I'm simply focused on ensuring our Suppression Corps can fulfill its duties."
Sip.
"On another note, it seems the Suppression Corps is going through a lot of trouble because of our Association's shortcomings."
"Trouble? We're just doing what we've always done. In fact, I'm glad we're finally able to fulfill our proper role."
"Is that so? That's a relief. We will strive for faster clears by communicating constantly with the government."
"As expected of you, Mr. President. The future of South Korea is bright with you here."
More meaningless conversation followed.
But for the two of them, it was a fierce battle of wits, gauging each other's mood, condition, current situation, and how much the other knew.
To an outsider, it might look like they were just wasting time, but the reality was completely different.
"Thank you. I heard on my way here that you're busy with a general reorganization of your forces?"
"Yes, we're racking our brains trying to figure out how to efficiently overcome the current situation. Isn't it the same for the Association? It seems the major guilds are forming more and more alliances."
"That's right. The guilds are forming various relationships and focusing on clearing dungeons. The news is calling it unprecedented."
Currently, the top ten guilds in South Korea were building unprecedented relationships and continuously joining forces.
Some claimed it was just a show for the guilds to pursue their own interests, but the top ten guilds were indeed moving that way.
Ever since the incident with the prophet, Helen Lopez.
"In response, we are also reorganizing to divide and strengthen our forces in more detail. Once it's complete, the public will be able to rely on and trust the Suppression Corps even more."
"In that case, it would be good to speak with the Hunter Administration as well. As you know, the Administration has a sensitive relationship with the Suppression Corps, doesn't it? We can act as a bridge to ensure the Association, the Administration, and the Suppression Corps can communicate organically."
"Your words alone are reassuring. Then our Suppression Corps will also strive to cooperate with the Association as much as possible."
"Is that so? I'm truly grateful to hear that. In that case…"
Jeong In-gon suddenly trailed off.
Seok Jun-yeop realized his mistake.
He understood that the words he had just uttered would work greatly to Jeong In-gon's advantage.
"The Mana Accelerator the Suppression Corps is developing… I was wondering if you would share it with us. For the safety of South Korea."
Sip.
Jeong In-gon took a sip of his tea, a faint smile on his lips.