Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: A Question of Trust
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The land of monsters.
In a place the empire itself had given up on conquering, a human rebellion was beginning.
Just two people.
Moving as one, the pair wiped out a hundred Black Wolves that had nested and expanded their territory.
Boom!
As a powerful explosion erupted, the light of life vanished from the eyes of the pack leader, which had held out until the very end.
Thud!
The battle ended as its massive body collapsed.
“It’s a superior-grade mana stone.”
A mana stone of a higher grade than even high-grade ones. And it weighed a full kilogram.
“But it looks like there are no items.”
Min Ha-na asked a question that had been on her mind for a long time.
No matter how much they hunted in the Decartes Mountains, they couldn't get any items.
“The items these creatures treasure are at least legendary-grade. The kind we'd classify as S-Rank in our world. Only something of that caliber would they preserve instead of just devouring.”
“That’s not what I mean. I’m talking about the items you get from killing monsters.”
In Gates, items drop when you kill monsters.
For hunters, it was like a windfall, and in high-level Gates, you were guaranteed to get at least one item.
Only then did Wang-sik seem to understand.
“Did you think these things had items inside their bodies?”
“Well…”
Min Ha-na answered, embarrassed.
“I guess it is a bit strange. But they dropped in Gates, so…”
“Do you remember the treasure that sustains a Gate?”
“Yes. You said it supplies mana.”
Wang-sik felt the need to explain clearly and spoke.
“For a typical Gate, a certain amount of mana is needed for activation. Once activated, the treasure that supplied the mana crosses over with it. Until the Gate is fully open, the monsters fight over the treasure competitively, but it usually ends up in the hands of the strongest one. That one is often the boss.”
Min Ha-na understood perfectly.
So, treasures weren't random drops but necessities for activating a Gate. It was only natural that high-grade Gates yielded good items.
Activating a powerful Gate required a treasure with powerful mana.
“Are there that many treasures here?”
“It’s like electricity in our world. Just as we produce electricity through technology and research, these beings produce mana. And it's not just humans. This land has various races.”
There were more varied methods, but Wang-sik only explained the most common case. The principle was simple, so Min Ha-na quickly understood, but one last question remained.
“There’s something I don’t get. What do they gain from the Gates?”
Wang-sik thought for a moment before answering.
“Ultimately, they want to consume Earth. In the short term, it’s for producing Life Stones.”
“Life Stones?”
“When a monster from a Gate kills a living being, that life force accumulates in the Gate creator’s mana stone. A mana stone that has stored life force like that is called a Life Stone.”
“Then a Gate is…”
Just hearing about it sent a chill down Min Ha-na's spine.
“So the purpose was to kill people. To steal their life force.”
“Something like that. That's why it was initially called devil's alchemy here, too. But now, Life Stones are the most valuable resource. I don't know the details, but I've heard their applications are immense. You can create stronger, more terrifying treasures with them. Then those treasures are used as materials for more Gates, consuming more lives. It's a vicious cycle for us. The people here call it a virtuous cycle. That's why there are many corporate magic guilds that specialize in this.”
“To think they see us as an energy source…”
“If their Gate research develops further, they’ll try to consume our world. Then we’ll truly be farmed and extinguished as an energy source. After all, Gates can be opened within the same dimension.”
In fact, the Azelan Continent went through a hellish period for a long time due to such incidents.
Now that the empire was established and the magic guilds had grown powerful, monster Gates no longer occurred within the same dimension. Both the empire and the magic guilds treated it as a top-tier crime and hunted down the perpetrators to the very end.
However, there were no sanctions against attacking other dimensions.
“They have something called Gate gambling here. It’s a bet where they create Gates at the same time and see whose mana stone fills with more life force.”
Min Ha-na’s body trembled. Using people's deaths as a tool for betting.
The sound of teeth grinding came from her clenched jaw.
“Those bastards…”
“Do you see what we have to do now? Just defending will eventually lead to our downfall.”
“We have to get stronger. To smash those bastards’ heads in.”
“Exactly.”
Fighting spirit rose in her expression. Seeing this, Wang-sik spoke.
“First, let’s collect the mana stones.”
“Ah! Right.”
The two of them extracted the mana stones from the scattered wolf carcasses.
* * *
The battles, moving between the Level 3 and Level 4 areas, continued for another month.
After about a month, they were conducting most of their hunts in the Level 4 area. By the time half of their three-month schedule had passed, they had established a foothold quite deep within the Level 4 zone.
Swarms of A-Rank monsters were swept away by the fiery vortex Min Ha-na created.
The flames spread to the nearby trees but were extinguished before they could expand. It wasn't raining or anything; the fire simply shrank on its own and naturally vanished.
“This is kind of humiliating. A fire that can’t even burn trees.”
“There must be a reason. They said even the empire failed, so burning down this forest must be difficult.”
Wang-sik didn't know the reason either. And there was no time to think about it further.
Because another wave of monsters was approaching.
“We should deal with these and then head back.”
The sunset painted the sky.
Night combat was dangerous, so they returned to the lab when darkness fell.
The nights in the Decartes Mountains varied by season but lasted about seven to eight hours, and Min Ha-na felt even this time was a waste.
“I think it would be fine to go hunt in the Level 3 or Level 2 areas.”
“Let’s deal with these guys first, then think about it.”
Wang-sik was unusually focused.
It was a different side of him from the one who usually eased the tension with jokes and a relaxed demeanor.
In response, Min Ha-na also tensed up and dealt with the approaching monsters.
Just as they finished dealing with all the Ruby Bugs and Shadow Pumas, a brilliant light enveloped Wang-sik’s body before fading away.
“No way…”
The aura emanating from Wang-sik’s body grew noticeably stronger.
“A Rank Up.”
It was the first time Min Ha-na had seen it with her own eyes. It was an incredibly rare phenomenon.
“From now on, you can call me a B-Rank Hunter.”
That was why Wang-sik had been so focused. Having experienced it a few times before, he had a feeling he was about to Rank Up.
“For now, let’s head back today.”
Having achieved their goal, they returned to the lab.
Monsters still appeared on their way back, and by the time they dealt with them and reached the lab, it was already night.
* * *
Their rest took place at the house on the deserted island.
They hadn't strayed too far from the research facility yet, so there was no need to camp out.
After a shower, extreme fatigue would invariably wash over them, and they would fall asleep after a quick check of the day's major news.
It was to check if there was anything they needed to help with.
That day, too, Min Ha-na collapsed onto her bed after a shower. Usually, she would fall asleep immediately, but not today.
‘A Rank Up.’
It was a strange feeling.
She was happy for Wang-sik's growth, but also envious.
‘Well, we did kill that many monsters.’
She hadn't calculated it precisely, but in terms of Gate clears, they had dealt with a number of monsters equivalent to clearing over a hundred A-Rank Gates today.
‘It would be strange if he didn't Rank Up.’
However, her next rank was S-Rank, so the required experience was on a whole other level.
‘Could I do it too?’
It would be a lie to say she hadn't thought about it.
Every hunter had probably imagined becoming S-Rank.
‘Should I ask him?’
For some reason, she felt like Wang-sik would give her an answer.
‘Let’s just leave it for today.’
She didn't want to spoil Wang-sik's joy. She stopped worrying and closed her eyes.
She doubted she would be able to sleep, but her exhausted body soon pulled her into dreams. While Min Ha-na slept, Wang-sik sat on the sofa and opened his status window for the first time in a while.
A status window completely different from the Mark of the Guardian appeared.
Bae Wang-sik. B-Rank Iron Castle.
Passive
—Iron Skin Lv. 5, Defense Increase
—Indomitable Spirit Lv. 5, Recovery Increase
Active Skills
—Taunt Lv. 3, Taunts a specific monster
—Iron Shield Lv. 3, A shield of iron
—Iron Protect Lv. 3, Instantaneous defense increase
The skills up to this point were the same. However, with the Rank Up, his passives had increased by 2 levels and his actives by 1 level.
“The passive increase is huge.”
The always-on passive skills were excellent.
The defense boost from the 2-level increase was even greater than he had thought. He had already confirmed the improved health recovery on the way back.
“The actives are useless.”
He had no use for Taunt or Iron Shield.
Taunt was less effective than the Pulse of Hatred from the Mark of the Guardian, and Iron Shield was inferior to the Holy Shield on his shield.
He could use them separately, but there was no need.
At least Iron Protect sharply increased his defense for about a minute, but the aftereffect of consuming a massive amount of stamina made it more of a risk.
“There’s one more.”
A new skill had appeared with the Rank Up.
—Suppression Lv. 3
—Lowers the opponent's abilities. The effect increases depending on the target's condition.
It was a type of single-target debuff.
‘Not bad.’
His chains had a similar effect, but if he could use them at the same time, he could aim for a stacking effect.
‘It means a target that’s been hit will have their abilities lowered even more.’
He closed his eyes and ran a combat simulation in his mind.
‘This will actually be easier to use than the chain’s enervation effect.’
Thankfully, he had gained a useful skill.
“I’ll have to test it tomorrow.”
Wang-sik went to bed, looking forward to the next day.
* * *
Thump!
The surrounding air instantly grew heavy, and it felt as if gravity had suddenly intensified.
The eyes of the Giant Munk in front of Wang-sik wavered, and the speed of its swinging fist dropped sharply.
Seizing the opening, Min Ha-na’s flames blew the Munk’s head off.
CRASH!
“You got a new skill.”
Min Ha-na immediately recognized the skill, Suppression.
“This one’s useful. Though its short range is a drawback.”
The range of Suppression was about a five-meter radius.
Still, it had a definite effect on those within its range. As Wang-sik cut open the Giant Munk’s heart and took out the mana stone, Min Ha-na kept watch and asked.
“So you’re B-Rank now, right?”
“Yes.”
“Can you tell me? Why you’re so strong.”
It was a question she had held back for a long time.
Until now, Wang-sik had told her everything he knew about the Azelan Continent without hiding any secrets.
But this time was different.
“I’ll tell you when we have a more trusting relationship.”
Min Ha-na was disappointed by that answer.
“Are you saying we don’t have a trusting relationship?”
“No. I trust you, Min Ha-na. It’s just that telling you this secret requires absolute trust.”
“Is it that big of a secret?”
“Yes.”
Min Ha-na decided it wasn't an issue she could press further. But there was one thing she wanted to confirm.
“When will that be, when I can hear it?”
Min Ha-na waited for an answer, and Wang-sik gave one.
“When we’re close enough to drop the formalities.”
“Wang-sik, let’s just be friends…”
Seeing Wang-sik’s expression sour, Min Ha-na stopped talking.
“Tch. You’re difficult.”
“I’m picky about my friends.”
Watching Wang-sik turn away, Min Ha-na felt a needless surge of frustration.
‘That’s the one thing I’m worst at.’
The truth was, she had no friends.