Chapter 89
Chapter 89
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Gate, Because I'm a Hunter
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dragon.
When picking the world's strongest monster, it's the one chosen every single time without fail.
A dragon heart would be the heart of one of those dragons, right?
It was one of the most precious materials in the world, no question.
Tap tap.
[No listings found.]
"Hmm."
No wonder there were no listings available.
Well, it wasn't like there were absolutely none—I did find a few from B+ to A- line dragons that were close to low-grade ones...
'But those won't cut it at all.'
According to the God of Breeding, I needed an ultra-ultra-ultra-ultra-ultra-ultra pure dragon heart.
That's six 'ultras' attached to it.
Even an A-rank side dish wouldn't reach Seolbaek's liver.
In conclusion, what I needed was the heart of an S-rank dragon.
Tap tap.
[No listings found.]
"...None. There are none."
But since it's such a rare commodity, no matter how much money you have, you can't just snap it up. That's the reality.
Who knew there were really things in this world that money couldn't buy.
Well, S-rank materials were generally like that.
They were treated like strategic assets. Nations or major corporations usually snapped up all the supply.
Take S-rank dragon hearts, for example...
[DXD Engine Made from Dragon Heart Succeeds in First Test Launch... Jupiter Manned Mission Countdown Begins]
[Russia Succeeds in Dragon Heart Nuclear Explosion Test... Global Tensions Rise]
See? The insane potential of that material was obvious.
No way they'd let individuals buy it out of pity.
Occasionally, they did show up at auctions, though.
Some hunters figured they'd make more money selling at auction than to a nation.
And obviously, I couldn't just wait around indefinitely for one. I was insanely busy.
'Plenty of other people would be after it besides me.'
Even if I joined an auction, there was no guarantee I'd snag it.
The most recent one had been back in January of last year.
[Saudi Royal Family Wins Dragon Heart Bid at 550 Billion Won]
"...That's crossing the line."
Even so, 550 billion was too much.
Experts had valued an S-rank heart at around 200 billion...
Of course, that price had been pumped up by some oil baron joining in.
In reality, they usually went for around 300 billion or less.
Hmm. 300 billion.
That's eleven zeros. I'd have to sell about 600,000 Molrangtoris to get that much in my pocket.
Sure, I adored and cherished Seolbaek to no end...
'But burning 300 billion is a bit much.'
It wasn't a price I could fork over lightly.
I could handle up to 30 billion out of love, but 300 billion? That's tough.
So, auctions were cleanly off the table!
Naturally, that turned my gaze to Yongyong and Mir...
Kuuuaaaah!
"Got it, got it. I never even had those evil thoughts... so just wait here nicely, okay?"
Kuuuaaaah!
Still, killing my babies didn't sit right with me at all.
No matter how much they said I could summon new monsters, there was affection built up. Memories we'd made together.
Plus, no one treated their companion monsters as well as I did, right?
'The money I've sunk into monster welfare...'
I'd even built top-tier lodging for them inside Molrang Park, maintaining it all to minimize their stress.
Mir and Yongyong, who flew around carrying people every day—it was stress relief in itself.
Dragons were such intelligent monsters with great social skills. Interacting with people gave them a sense of happiness.
Like how a dragon guarding treasure in a cave for eons would welcome a human visitor after a million years with insane hospitality.
Anyway.
Extracting hearts from Yongyong and Mir? Absolutely not.
Catching a new dragon and harvesting it didn't appeal much either.
As I said before, it's that parental affection.
Summoned monsters were one with me. Connected by the red thread of fate.
Killing one of them just for materials...
'Ugh, horrifying.'
It gave me chills all over.
So, I even considered making a dragon whose heart could regenerate, but I gave up on that too.
Gutted and stitched up every time I harvested a heart? Way too cruel.
Screeech!
That's why the last resort brought me here to Jeju Island.
"Saebyeok, let's go. I rented a car."
Just before dawn, when the sun was barely peeking over the horizon in the dim twilight. I'd come to Jeju with Seojin.
"Alright, Mir. I'm heading out?"
Kuuuaaaah!
While everyone else was asleep, I'd flown here in seconds on Mir's back.
Originally planned to take a plane... but hey, I'm kind of famous now, right?
Didn't want the hassle, so I indulged in some dragon riding for old times' sake.
Molrang Park was closed today anyway.
Flap! Whoooosh!
Mir flapped its wings and soared into the sky. It planned to wait for me at a high altitude where no one would spot it.
Thud!
"Saebyeok, buckle up. We're heading out right away."
"Drive safe, driver oppa."
"Hahaha... I'll do my best."
Vrooom!
As Seojin hit the accelerator, the car smoothly pulled forward.
Our destination was the S-rank gate 'RCHR', about 20 minutes away.
It was the only S-rank gate open to civilians in Korea.
I think it was owned by a Chinese guild or an American one.
Anyway, my chosen method was to use a gate.
After all, I am a hunter.
So, I figured I'd go on a proper hunt for once. Dragon hunting, no less.
"But will there be a dragon inside the gate?"
"If we look, there should be at least one."
"They say it's pretty big. Like 1,000 times the size of Yeouido."
1,000 times Yeouido...
Just how big was that?
The news always threw around "Yeouido N times" comparisons, but even as a Seoulite, I couldn't really picture it.
Why Yeouido of all things? Jeju Island would make more sense.
Anyway, I got that the gate interior was huge.
"It's fine."
I was confident we'd find one.
We had Seolbaek with us, after all.
Kiiing!
I'd bought the tongue of an Ancient Wing, the S-rank dragon that appeared in RCHR. For a cool 100 million won.
With Seolbaek memorizing its mana, that should be enough.
Seolbaek had incredible senses for detecting and distinguishing mana signatures.
And since we'd come all this way to feed Seolbaek, it had to find it itself, right?
It was the number one principle of Molrangmol: Those who don't work, don't eat!
"But Saebyeok... you sure about this?"
"Sure about what?"
"I mean, an S-rank dragon... can the two of us really take it down?"
Hey, Seojin. The almighty 'Solo Play Lover' getting cold feet?
She'd just ranked up to A recently, and I'd given her a fat bonus...
Never thought I'd see this so-called 'eggnog' side of her that popped up on the forums sometimes.
Of course, it was understandable.
From her perspective as a mere A-rank mortal, an S-rank monster was an unclimbable mountain, an uncrossable river.
"It's fine. I've got you covered. I'm an S-rank hunter. Not just an S-rank awakener."
But who am I?
A hunter association-certified S-rank hunter.
Not every S-rank awakener was an S-rank hunter.
The title was only given to those proven capable of taking down S-rank monsters.
"Okay... I'll trust you."
"Just make sure you protect me properly."
I did have a clean plan for hunting the dragon, but my physical abilities were still those of a pure little girl.
That's why I'd brought Seojin along. To act as bodyguard.
With Molrangtex tooled up, there shouldn't be any major injuries.
Hayoung and Jina... honestly, they wouldn't help in combat, so I'd left them behind.
Screeech!
"No one around here?"
"It's unmanned, they say."
"Even so, no visitors at all?"
"Probably because it's an S-rank gate."
"Makes sense?"
Unlike other gates, S-rank gates could only be entered with an S-rank hunter accompanying you.
Too dangerous.
They were crawling with vicious monsters.
"Seolbaek, we're counting on you."
Kiiing!
Before getting out of the car, Seolbaek scattered mana around us.
Nothing fancy—just to block CCTV from capturing us clearly.
Not full-on recognition block, just making it hard to identify us.
Not illegal or anything. It was a trick S-rank hunters used when they wanted to enter gates incognito.
Especially since S-rank hunters always had fans trailing them.
Beep!
I held my hunter license up to the gate entrance, and the door slid open.
Ding!
Entry fee deducted from the account simultaneously.
[JH Hunter Love Check (4213) Han*byeok 2/27 07:10 2,000,000,000 KRW charged -(Ltd) CMPD (Gate Entry Fee)]
"Eeek...!"
Whoa, look at that ruthless price.
An entry fee of 20 billion? Insane.
Probably because there were no visitors, but still, way too pricey.
They take a cut of the material profits on top of that.
Thieves, every one of them. At least it's just per-person entry.
"Really unmanned all the way inside?"
As Seojin said, there was truly no one inside the gate barrier.
Normally, you'd have appraisers or dismantlers around.
Whirr! Whirr!
Here, machines handled it instead.
"That's why I picked this place."
"First time seeing something like this. Machines better than people?"
"Who knows. Anyway, let's head in quick. Gotta get out before it closes."
At my urging, Seojin started prepping. Me too.
Snap!
I slipped into my pre-customized Molrangtex. Double-layered, even!
Gates sometimes had monsters ambush you right at entry.
Molrangtex equipped. Molrangtail checked. Molrangtori fully stocked.
"Let's go!"
Humm...!
Fully prepped, we stepped into the gate interior.
Being S-rank, the disorientation hit hard.
"Whoa... feels kinda empty."
And as Seojin said, just vast, empty plains greeted us. Nothing special.
"Saebyeok, which way? We walking? Or summon a mount monster?"
"Saving mana just in case."
"Then... we really walking?"
What kind of nonsense is that?
How do you search a gate 1,000 times Yeouido's size on foot?
Solo Play Lover, you're really disappointing me today. No sense at all.
"That's why I came prepared."
I reached into my Molrangtori like it was nothing.
And shuuuup!
"Ta-da!"
Out came the four-wheeler ATV I'd prepped for this. Off-road model! Latest for gate exploration!
It could hit up to 100 km/h.
"Driver oppa, safe driving again, please."
I hopped straight into the back seat.
Ooh, spacious and comfy. Sturdy belts and handles—nice.
Seojin let out an awkward haha, sat in front, and fired it up.
Vrooooom!
Let's go! Dragon hunting starts now.