Chapter 27
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 027
Chapter Title: Stirring
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A vivid review post that went up on the Hunter Community.
·····It's fucking good, no doubt, but for that price, you're better off hiring a B-rank mage or just not using it at all.
These days, gate clearances have become pretty standardized.
Barring any interference from Corrupted Awakeners, it's rare for experienced hunters to suffer major injuries during a raid.
That's why the top priority for hunters nowadays is, naturally, raid efficiency.
Isn't that the truth?
Think about it—asd123's scrolls first gained fame thanks to their insane cost-performance ratio.
The rumor that Kim Ji-seok had replaced a B-rank mage in a B-rank gate for a mere 3.2 million gold.
And yet, he'd cleared a Class 3 Danger Management gate even more stably than usual.
After that, the hype exploded thanks to the special scroll called [Purification].
But that was just a fad. A temporary craze that was bound to die down eventually.
In the end, if the scrolls fell short on cost-efficiency in actual raids, people would turn away.
'That's why I've only been taking commissions non-stop all this time...'
No demand for the supply. That was Park Ha-jun's biggest worry.
Of course, recently, the [Barrier] circuit had sold for a ridiculous 240 million, easing those concerns a bit...
'...But at this rate, it might backfire instead?'
Back then, Park Ha-jun had doubled the price repeatedly because he needed to quickly gauge the scroll's value while mass production of a perfect [Barrier] was still out of reach.
But buyers wouldn't care about his intentions.
It could paint asd123 as a greedy scammer jacking up prices on a hyped name.
'Hmm...'
Not entirely wrong, was it?
Either way, he needed a way to turn this around.
Would flooding the market with decent [Barrier]s at a cheap price solve it now?
'...That might make the backlash even worse.'
Those who'd already shelled out top dollar would shape the public opinion, putting him in a real bind.
'Then there's only one way.'
Boost asd123's reputation even higher, once more.
Prove to the world that whoever bought a [Barrier] for 240 million would never regret it.
Using Park Ha-jun's geometric methods, with overwhelmingly superior performance.
Conveniently, the stage was already set for him.
He had no idea how the Association President would use the [Barrier], but...
If he could infuse it with 'Order'—which had sparked such explosive reactions before—it should be enough to quell the current backlash.
But he needed to hurry.
'Make it before the backlash hits.'
With renewed determination, Park Ha-jun closed the community site and dove back into his circuit research.
The next morning.
Arriving early at work, Park Ha-jun stopped short at the bizarre creature slumped against the lab door.
...It was Kim Ah-hyun. Clutching a single sheet of paper like a treasure, dead to the world.
Park Ha-jun carefully pried the paper free to check the circuit.
'She revised... every single one?'
All-nighter in one day? Her haggard appearance confirmed it. He admired that tenacity.
As Park Ha-jun examined the circuit with interest, Kim Ah-hyun twitched at the presence.
"Ugh..."
Park Ha-jun flashed an awkward smile at the startled girl.
"...Shall we talk inside?"
Still half-asleep, Kim Ah-hyun spotted the paper in his hand and could only nod.
······
Inside the lab.
"Whoa..."
Kim Ah-hyun gazed around with fascination.
The communal desk was buried under stacks of printed papers.
The researchers' personal desks looked like study carrels in a library.
She loved the scholarly vibe filling the room.
Park Ha-jun let her soak it in before asking at the right moment,
"...What do you think is the ideal [Barrier], Ah-hyun-ssi?"
Kim Ah-hyun snapped to attention, her face turning deadly serious as she pondered.
She loved diving deep into circuit talk, after all.
"...One that protects its target from any harm at all?"
A textbook answer. Not what he'd hoped for.
"I see. But drawing a circuit like that is nearly impossible. Can we call it ideal?"
Kim Ah-hyun smirked, as if she'd been waiting for that.
"If you're only looking at it from the [Barrier]'s perspective, sure."
She gave a teaser of the data she'd gathered from countless clients.
She wasn't about to share her signature secrets with a professor she'd just met.
But she didn't know Park Ha-jun. He could extract ideas from a mere taste and refine them into reality.
Precisely because he was asd123...
"Do all hunters want the same kind of [Barrier]
?
The point was that a [Barrier]'s form and function should adapt to the hunter's needs.
Their traits, the monster types, aerial or ground combat...
"For example, take a melee hunter who can reliably tank 50 damage facing a monster that hits for 100..."
When a 100-damage attack lands on an imperfect 'shield'-type [Barrier], internal damage is inevitable.
"But what if it's not a shield? What if it's an intercepting offense instead of pure defense?"
If the [Barrier] absorbs 50 damage and the hunter counters the remaining 50?
No internal damage.
"Set the shield to just detect attacks, and replace protection intent with offensive magic..."
Kim Ah-hyun caught herself mid-explanation and cleared her throat.
"Ahem... Anyway, custom orders like that mean you don't need a conceptually perfect [Barrier]. That's the direction makers should aim for."
Park Ha-jun had to nod at the intriguing perspective.
'Using the shield purely for detection and offensive magic for actual defense? That ties into the harmony the Association President mentioned...'
With that realization, he saw Kim Ah-hyun's true talent.
Her drive to hit high grades through all-nighters was impressive, sure, but...
'She said she'd been awakened for 6 years.'
She was a walking commercial database. Vast data from countless clients...
'...Fascinating.'
So he had to ask,
"Oh ho... Excellent. Tell me, Ah-hyun-ssi, were you a good student back in school?"
Flattered, Kim Ah-hyun puffed up a bit.
"Ahem. Honestly? Not bad. Even after awakening in my sophomore year and slacking off, I never dropped below second in my class..."
"Oh ho... And what do you do these days?"
Kim Ah-hyun felt a sudden gloom.
"...Lately, just holed up researching circuits."
Some clients had jumped to asd123, thinning her commissions.
Park Ha-jun, unaware, thought something terrifying.
'This is... prime researcher material...'
Nodding, he placed prepped documents on the desk.
"You're hired. Your revisions are outstanding, and you're the most intriguing person I've met. Sign here, and we can dive deeper..."
The praise barrage hit Kim Ah-hyun's recently plummeting self-esteem like rain on parched earth.
"Hehe... Really? I get that sometimes..."
Then it hit her—this felt off.
Right after signing [Kim Ah-hyun].
"Huh...? Why did I sign this...?"
"Ah-hyun-ssi, just two more strokes here..."
True to a fading department's lab manager skills.
Kim Ah-hyun signed everything in a daze.
Partly Park Ha-jun's sales prowess, but mostly Kang Eun-ho's rapid growth and the professor's clever problems had hooked her.
But by 9 AM...
"Ugh..."
"Ugh..."
Seeing zombies shuffle into the lab, she felt a twinge of regret.
That evening, in the Association's conference room.
Lee Dong-gyu compiled the intel and drew a conclusion.
"...It's a ritual. The more people exposed to the blood-red mist fall into chaos, the sooner the break happens."
A few weeks back, rumors swirled that Fire Spirit Guild's shaman had vanished.
Turned out he'd become a Corrupted Awakener. Shame—he was skilled.
"Since isolating hunters exposed to the blood-red mist, the gate break timeline has stabilized."
Lee Dong-gyu had been exposed too, but learning the criteria stopped him from panicking at Corrupted moves.
He was here as a witness rep.
The execs showed unease at the revelation.
"Corrupted acting this bold? Almost unheard of."
"Clashes inside gates, sure, but outside? Rare."
"...Thought they had some reason to lay low."
······
They voiced their anxieties.
But with only 15 days to break—and possibly less...
The Association President dismissed it.
"Changing Corrupted patterns isn't our focus now. We need to handle that gate first."
The room fell silent as Lee Dong-gyu ventured,
"...Should we ask asd123-ssi to extend the deadline?"
The President shook his head.
"No, we can't delay for asd123's scroll in this mess. Don't assume the Corrupted are done here."
Once they move, they finish the job.
"If not waiting..."
"I'll go in myself. Within two days."
"President, but...!"
Lee Dong-gyu shot up as someone burst in.
"President! Blood-red mist has appeared in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province!"
The mood grew heavier; only the President sighed softly.
"...Too late."
A bustling street in Suwon.
People whispered, staring at someone.
"That guy's skin tone..."
"Isn't that a Corrupted?"
······
The murmurs didn't stop at one spot.
As if on cue, Corrupted spaced evenly apart pierced their own hearts.
Their silent corpses released blood-red energy like mist.
That instant.
Pzzt-
Several large screens on the street switched to a broadcast.
The reporter on-screen, face drained white, twitched her lips spasmodically.
"...Today, humanity welcomes a new era. The nine serpents that stirred the sea of chaos have descended to awaken us fools... Hiiik...!"
Boom.
She never finished. Her head exploded.
Sticky blood trickled down the studio wall. Yet the broadcast dragged on.
Witnessing it, street crowds descended into chaos. Those exposed to the mist began losing reason.
The gate under Association control.
Vmmm. Vmmm.
The ominous hum quickened.
Fwaaah.
The gate contracted wildly. Shrinking again and again, then spewing its contents in heaving bursts.
And at the end... a serpent the size of a 15-story apartment emerged.
Its roar dyed the sky red.
Fiery rain began pouring down.