Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Encounter
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"Tukatak purik tahul salkata."
An old Gray Human stepped forward and spoke.
The one clutching a staff uttered an unknown language.
"Salkakga tapuk okaktu...?"
He raised a finger and pointed toward Ha Tae-seong.
He had been walking forward without stopping, but he halted at the gesture of the Gray Human at the very front.
A palpable tension flowed between the Gray Humans and Young-jin, who were facing off at close range.
"Tae-seong, what do you think they're trying to do?"
"I have no idea what they intend. This is the first time I've seen anything like this..."
Young-jin and Ha Tae-seong watched the old Gray Human, their guards still up.
He kept talking, but communication was impossible, which only made the situation more difficult.
The thought even crossed their minds that it would be better if they were still trading blows, their lives on the line, like a moment ago.
"Halkak salkak."
The old Gray Human slowly lowered his staff to the ground.
As if to say, 'I have no intention of fighting you.'
*Clack-.*
*Clatter-.*
Then, the other Gray Humans also placed their weapons on the ground.
They then took a step back, distancing themselves from their weapons.
"It's what I think it is, right?"
"Yes... I believe so..."
*Shhhk-.*
*Thud-.*
Young-jin and Ha Tae-seong also disarmed themselves.
If the others had no intention of fighting, they figured they should at least try to communicate somehow.
Even if the outcome was already decided.
*Step, step-.*
The old Gray Human shuffled forward.
The other Gray Humans' eyes filled with worry, but the old one continued to approach Young-jin and Ha Tae-seong.
When about three meters remained between them...
The old Gray Human stopped and crouched down.
*Scrape, scrape-.*
He then began to draw a picture on the ground with his hand.
It was the most intuitive way to convey one's intentions when languages differed.
"Huh?"
"This is..."
It was a crude drawing made of just a few lines, but as the outline took shape, Young-jin and Ha Tae-seong could clearly see what it meant.
A human wearing armor made of stone.
Anyone could see it was undoubtedly Do-jae.
"The boss?"
"The Vice Guild Master..."
Young-jin and Ha Tae-seong stared at the old Gray Human with wide eyes.
The smiling creature completely shattered their perception of monsters.
"The otherworldly beings the boss mentioned... could they know him?"
"Chief, I don't know what to make of this..."
The old one began to draw again.
A short dagger clutched in Do-jae's right hand.
He then started pointing back and forth between the drawing and Ha Tae-seong's 'Sraka's Fang' on the ground.
"Tae-seong, your dagger!"
"Yes, it must be because of the dagger the Vice Guild Master gave me."
"What should we do? If they know the boss, we can't hunt them."
"...What do you think the Vice Guild Master would do?"
"The boss?"
Young-jin thought hard.
What would Do-jae have done?
"If it were him, he would have hunted them quickly and made the dungeon disappear..."
The Do-jae Young-jin knew was someone who didn't hold back.
Young-jin had always seen him as someone who mercilessly hunted monsters to protect himself and his guild members.
"But they seem to be acquainted..."
"That's the problem. He's also endlessly merciful to those he's close to."
On the other hand, Do-jae cherished his allies.
He would get genuinely furious if someone by his side was hurt, and he always looked at them with a gentle gaze.
That's why he couldn't figure out what to do with this old Gray Human.
What if not just this one, but all the Gray Humans watching with worried eyes from behind were also connected to Do-jae?
Unable to kill them, yet also unable to just leave them and risk a dungeon break, Young-jin was in a real bind.
"Then let's leave it to this Gray Human. It's the first time we've seen a monster act like this. Maybe they came out because they have a solution?"
"Right, that's a good idea. The boss said these otherworldly beings were under the control of that Gellahan guy, right? If they've broken free from that control, maybe they know how to resolve the dungeon break?"
"That sounds completely unrelated, but... anyway, let's try to convey our intentions."
Young-jin and Ha Tae-seong tried their best to explain their intentions.
Hand gestures, foot gestures.
They drew pictures and said simple words, struggling to communicate with the old Gray Human.
"...We're not getting through at all, are we?"
"It seems so. I have no idea what this drawing is supposed to mean."
The last picture the old Gray Human drew.
He then looked at Young-jin and Ha Tae-seong and nodded with his lips pressed firmly together.
"It looks like the monsters here..."
"What could these symbols mean..."
The old Gray Human dusted off the dirt and stood up.
He smiled once more and returned to the other Gray Humans.
The Gray Humans started picking up their weapons again.
"Chief Young-jin! Tae-seong!"
Ji-yoon ran over with the other guild members.
They took their positions next to Young-jin and Ha Tae-seong, assuming an attack stance.
"Ji-yoon, wait. Everyone, hold on a moment."
Young-jin equipped his Golem Armor and stopped the guild members.
The Gray Humans had picked up their weapons, but they weren't turning towards them. Instead, they turned to the fallen monsters behind them.
And they began to gather the monsters that were still breathing.
"What are they doing now?"
"We're not sure either. They don't seem to want to fight. And we just found out they seem to know the boss."
"Really? Then what about the fight we just had?"
"We didn't know then, so it couldn't be helped."
"No, that's not it. Think about the guild members who got hurt because of them. So-eun was seriously injured and had to leave the dungeon, and look at all the others who are hurt."
"We killed a lot of them, too..."
Young-jin pointed to the fallen Gray Humans.
Just as Ji-yoon said, the guild members who had been hurt by the Gray Humans still couldn't understand Young-jin's attitude.
However, between Young-jin, Ji-yoon, and the Park-Ha-Gong trio.
The number of Gray Humans killed by Guardian was over a dozen.
And they hadn't lost a single person.
Young-jin used his authority to stop the guild members from attacking the Gray Humans.
"Still, this is... no matter what, they're monsters. Chief Young-jin, are you trying to cause a dungeon break?"
"Ji-yoon, trust me and wait a little longer. There's something about them."
"...Ugh! Really! I honestly don't get it! Even if you are my brother, I can't wrap my head around what you're saying! Monsters and otherworldly beings? What's the difference? They're the ones who wiped out our Unit 2!"
Ji-yoon burst out in frustration.
Her clenched fists were trembling.
"The boss said it himself. He went to the other world to find a fundamental solution. I believe he can do it. We just have to trust and wait."
"Hoo... Is that really all we have to do?"
"Yeah. So you should trust the boss too, Ji-yoon, and let's wait and see what these Gray Humans do."
Young-jin turned back and watched the Gray Humans' movements intently.
Ji-yoon gazed at Young-jin's back, wondering when it had become so broad.
*Step, step-.*
The old Gray Human approached.
The Guardian Guild members aimed their swords and arrows at him, but lowered their weapons again at Young-jin's gesture.
*Step-.*
Young-jin also took a few steps forward to meet the old Gray Human.
"Pukatuk."
"This is...!"
The old Gray Human took something from his robes and handed it to Young-jin.
Taking it, Young-jin was surprised, but also thought it was a good thing he had waited.
"I can't believe I'm getting this back like this."
*Click- click-.*
Young-jin repeatedly flicked the switch of the dead LED flashlight.
Then, Young-jin also took something from his pocket and handed it to the old Gray Human.
"Well, I don't know how useful it'll be, but as a token..."
A small card.
It was Young-jin's Hunter license.
He didn't have anything else to give on the spot, and since he was planning to renew his license anyway, he handed it over.
"Paktatsal hurikatap."
The old Gray Human took the Hunter license and offered a greeting.
Of course, Young-jin could only perceive it as a greeting and couldn't be certain, but the emotion in the voice was conveyed nonetheless.
*Scrape- scrape-.*
Young-jin stepped back, and the old Gray Human smeared monster blood on the ground.
Then, he placed the last living monster on that spot.
All the Gray Humans stepped inside the shape drawn with blood. The old Gray Human began to mutter and chant an incantation.
*Fsssss-.*
Black smoke began to rise from the blood-drawn figure. The living monsters died on the spot, rapidly decaying and emitting a huge cloud of black smoke.
*Fwhoooosh-!*
The Gray Humans were engulfed in the immense smoke.
Bright streams of light pierced through the smoke from within.
*Flash-!*
Soon, with a brilliant flash of light, the black smoke scattered in all directions, and the Gray Humans vanished without a trace.
"They're gone..."
Young-jin stared at the deeply gouged ground, wondering if the Gray Humans who had vanished, space and all, had truly returned to the other world, and if Do-jae was doing well there. He then turned to his guild members and said.
"Let's head back! Good work, everyone!"
***
The Titan village, Impos.
Unlike the bustling streets, the building on one side was quiet.
And breaking that silence was a grumbling man.
"Hey... isn't this a little inconsiderate?"
Do-jae leaped up onto the enormous chair.
It had been so long since he'd experienced his feet not touching the floor that he couldn't even remember when.
"Do we really need to sit at the desk?"
"I have materials to show you. Please wait a moment."
"You've got a lot to show, huh."
Do-jae sat on the chair and waited for Harkes.
The desk was shoulder-high, allowing Do-jae to barely peek his face over the top.
"This won't do."
Do-jae took out a large amount of stone and sand from his Subspace.
And he cast and equipped his Golem Armor.
*Ruuuumble-!*
Chunks of rock began to stack layer by layer over Do-jae's body.
The rocks piling under his feet increased his height, and the ones on his chest bulked up his frame.
At Do-jae's will, 'Blood Armor of the Golem' and 'Skeleton of the Golem' activated, and his Golem Armor grew to a size comparable to Harkes.
His body, enlarged by the Skeleton of the Golem's ability, could move naturally.
*Creak- creak-.*
Perhaps because he had experienced this size before.
It felt awkward, but not uncomfortable.
"Golem!"
Harkes appeared, holding a bundle of papers.
He was startled upon seeing Do-jae and dropped the papers he was holding.
"Ah, sorry if I scared you. It's me."
"What in the world is that form?"
"What do you think? About the same size as you now, right? We're perfectly eye-to-eye."
"Y-yes, so it is."
Now, Do-jae and Harkes were finally facing each other at the same eye level.
Harkes picked up the scattered papers he had dropped.
Do-jae helped him pick them up, his eyes drawn to the drawings on the paper.
"The art style is similar to the drawings I saw on the stone tablet earlier."
"That is correct. And this is the drawing that was erased from the tablet."
"The erased drawing?"
"Indeed."
Harkes began to arrange the papers in order on the desk.
And he spoke to Do-jae with a voice full of firm resolve.
"From now on, we will go in search of the sealed goddess."