Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The Mark Evolves
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“Yawn.”
Han Yu-ra came out into the living room, sipping the orange juice the housekeeper had given her. She was heading for the bathroom when she spotted her mother on the sofa.
“Mom.”
Han Young-im, who was watching TV from the sofa, turned at her daughter's call. But upon seeing her mother's face, Yu-ra froze.
“Oh, it really is you, Mom. I thought you were a zombie. Is it Halloween today?”
This wasn't the always-immaculate mother she knew.
She had dark circles under her eyes, and they were bloodshot.
“Yu-ra, you're up early.”
“Mom, it's seven o'clock.”
“Oh, is it that late already?”
“Mom, did you stay up all night? Watching TV?”
Yu-ra's gaze shifted to the living room wall.
On the 80-inch wall-mounted TV, five animal-shaped robots were just combining.
Earth Defense Force Animal Bot.
“Mom, you said I wasn't allowed to watch this stuff…”
Han Young-im discreetly picked up the remote and turned off the TV.
“I was doing research.”
“Mom, you've been watching nothing but this for a month.”
Feeling like her secret had been exposed, Han Young-im couldn't answer. Yu-ra pressed her further.
“I saw it when I went to your study to find a book. What was it on your laptop? Space Hero Stone Man? It was playing.”
“I was just watching for a moment.”
“I saw the paper next to your laptop, too. Secret Agent Shark Five, Earth Guardian Color Man, Ocean Hero Dolphin Seven, Solar Protector Spirit Man. What else was there? The list had over thirty titles. Half of them were crossed out.”
She had crossed them out after finishing the series.
Even a child like Yu-ra could figure that much out.
As Han Young-im's face, already shadowed by dark circles, turned red, Yu-ra's eyes narrowed.
“Mom, are you addicted to this stuff?”
“W-well, about that.”
“You always said family shouldn't lie to each other.”
The final blow.
Han Young-im had no choice but to be honest.
“It's your mother's hobby. Can you respect that?”
“This is your hobby?”
“Are you… disappointed?”
Yu-ra looked back and forth between the turned-off TV and her mother, lost in thought for a moment.
“Then I want to watch Magical Princess Angel Moon. I'll watch it instead of my violin lesson.”
“What?”
Mother and daughter stared at each other with fierce eyes.
“Fine. We have a deal.”
Han Young-im extended her hand first, and Yu-ra took it with a smile.
Her hobby exposed by her daughter, Han Young-im got ready for work and stepped into the waiting car.
“Madam Chairwoman, you look tired.”
“I suppose so. I should get some sleep.”
“I'll drive slowly.”
As the car started moving, Han Young-im, who had closed her eyes for a moment, suddenly took out her smartphone and made a call.
Guseong Construction.
President Jang Seok-chan was just entering the headquarters.
Although it was still an hour before work officially started, no one was surprised to see him.
Barring any special circumstances, he always came in at this time.
He had started in sales and risen to the position of president through his recognized diligence, making him one of the people Han Young-im trusted most.
—If it weren't for President Jang Seok-chan, I would have sold off Guseong Construction.
That was how highly Han Young-im spoke of him.
In fact, she had delegated full authority over construction matters to Jang Seok-chan, never getting involved unless it concerned finances.
He acknowledged the employees' greetings with a wave as he walked briskly, then stopped in the middle of the lobby.
“Yes, Madam Chairwoman.”
He had received a call from Han Young-im.
He stood still, taking the call. The conversation was brief, but his expression was more serious than ever.
“Call for Director Park.”
After giving the order, he sighed and went up to the president's office.
A moment later, a man in his early thirties with a neat appearance entered the president's office.
He was a key figure at Guseong Construction, one who earned a higher salary than President Jang Seok-chan himself.
Having studied abroad through the Guseong Group's scholarship program, he had turned down numerous scouting offers to join the company and, in just five years, had his abilities recognized and became the director of a key department.
The main blueprints and designs for the overseas projects that had made Guseong Construction famous were all his work.
“President, is something wrong?”
Director Park asked cautiously, noticing Jang Seok-chan's grim expression.
“Can we build an underwater city?”
“Ah…”
He understood everything from that one sentence.
“You received a call from the Chairwoman.”
Jang Seok-chan nodded.
“She's asking if we can build a sixteen-acre underwater city at a depth of 200 meters. A transparent, semi-circular dome with a view of the outside is mandatory.”
“A transparent dome covering the entire city, I presume?”
“That's right.”
“With current technology, there's no transparent material that can withstand that much water pressure.”
Hearing it was impossible, Jang Seok-chan let out a long sigh.
“Listen, Director Park.”
“Yes, President.”
“This is her way of telling me to leave, isn't it?”
Director Park couldn't answer.
“First, it was a submarine, right? Calling a construction company and asking us to procure a nuclear submarine. Next was an artificial island. A moving one, at that. And after that…”
“It was a sky garden. A floating garden that could be hidden entirely by artificial clouds.”
Director Park's voice grew somber as well.
“And now, an underwater city. It seems the Chairwoman is being considerate, giving me a chance to step down on my own. I suppose with the group growing so rapidly, it might be better for an old-timer like me to get out of the way.”
Jang Seok-chan opened a drawer and took out an envelope.
“I suppose it's time to give her this. Still, I should thank her in person for everything, so I'll go myself.”
It was his resignation letter.
“President…”
Director Park bowed toward Jang Seok-chan, who was getting up from his seat, his eyes filled with sorrow.
Tears were welling up in their eyes.
That afternoon.
After returning from the main headquarters, Jang Seok-chan called for Director Park again.
“President.”
Director Park, who had entered with a somber expression, saw that Jang Seok-chan was wearing a peculiar look.
“What happened?”
“Have a seat first.”
Jang Seok-chan opened his laptop and plugged in a USB drive.
“The Chairwoman told me to watch this. She said it's a project we absolutely must complete.”
Soon, a video started playing on the laptop.
Earth Hero Video Man.
They had opened the door to a new world.
* * *
“Only a week left.”
First, a month on the Azelan Continent, then a six-month break.
Of their seven-month schedule, only a week remained.
They were hunting monsters swarming in a Phase 5 region.
*Fwoosh!*
The S-rank monster, a Durant, was pierced by a spear of lava falling from the sky.
The five-meter-tall monster, holding a different weapon in each of its eight arms, melted in the lava, turning red before dissipating into smoke. All that remained were a mana stone and the eight weapons the monster had wielded.
“This one drops a lot of extra loot.”
It was a monster that typically dropped B-rank weapons.
It occasionally dropped A-rank weapons as well, making it a special find for them, who usually only got mana stones.
Most monsters used their own skin, hide, or bones as weapons, which had to be harvested as byproducts, but some, like this one, dropped finished products.
But unlike the satisfied Wang-sik, Min Ha-na seemed displeased, looking at the blue flames flickering in her hand.
“Isn't it a bit rough? It feels slightly coarser than usual.”
Their conversations had changed.
They had become friends.
It was a change that came about after Min Ha-na learned the meaning of consideration. Wang-sik had accepted her as a friend, and over time, their conversations became more natural.
“What does it feel like, exactly?”
“When I cast my spells, I'm putting in more power than I intend to.”
“But you're overflowing with power?”
“Huh? How did you know? Did you crawl inside me?”
“Do you really have to touch yourself there while you say that?”
“I was just fumbling around and ended up here. Can't you take a joke?”
“You've never joked around with friends, have you?”
Min Ha-na was at a loss for words. Wang-sik was her first-ever friend, so of course she hadn't.
“I'm not picking on your weakness. Friends are supposed to have each other's backs.”
“I'm pointing it out because we're friends. It's fine in front of me, but you shouldn't do that in front of others.”
“If we're friends, you should be nicer to me! You jerk!”
“I didn't become your friend because you're pretty. Though I'm sure you became my friend because I'm handsome.”
“Oh. Is that what a joke is?”
Min Ha-na asked incredulously, but Wang-sik's expression was serious.
“Wow, seriously, stop it. You're making me want to take back being friends.”
“You can't take it back. That's what friends are. As long as you don't betray each other, you're friends forever.”
Min Ha-na was about to retort, but Wang-sik spoke first.
“You're close to ranking up.”
At those words, all other thoughts vanished from her mind.
“Rank up?”
“Your current symptoms are a precursor to ranking up.”
“I'm going to become an S-rank?”
“Well, according to the weaklings' ranking games, yes.”
Who cares if they were weaklings?
It was S-rank.
Her heart began to pound at the news that this was a sign she was about to achieve her dream of becoming an S-rank.
“Well, considering how many monsters we've killed…”
She had tried to calculate it once.
There were too many for an exact count, but she could get a rough estimate.
“In terms of A-rank gates, we must have cleared over twenty thousand of them.”
Numerically, that was definitely the case.
When she had done the math, the number had been so unbelievable that she'd checked it several times.
The result was four thousand a month.
Over seven months, even accounting for various circumstances and breaks, they would have cleared at least twenty thousand.
“At this rate, it'd be strange not to rank up.”
No matter how she reasoned it, she couldn't help but feel excited.
“Focus and keep up. If you want to rank up within the week, you'll need to stay sharp.”
“Got it! Just tell me what to do!”
“Stay calm in battle.”
“Hoo. Understood, Captain. You can work me like a slave until I rank up. I'm ready.”
Wang-sik ventured deeper into the forest with his new friend.
* * *
A week later.
They set out to hunt early in the morning.
“It's definitely going to happen today.”
Her heart felt like it was about to explode, filled with a powerful energy. She'd been feeling this way since yesterday, but she hadn't ranked up.
Today was the last day.
Min Ha-na was determined to rank up, even if it meant extending her break.
“It should happen today.”
“I believe in you, friend!”
“Friend?”
“Master! Let's go! Your flame slave is ready!”
Wang-sik smiled and began the battle.
Around noon, they were hunting an S-rank boss monster.
It was the guardian of a massive swamp in the forest.
A Devil Worm.
It was 100 meters long, with an earthworm-like body seven meters in diameter.
Its mucus-covered skin was studded with sharp, venomous spines, making its entire body a weapon.
The battle raged for a full hour.
Not just the swamp but the surrounding area was overturned into ruins, and the nearby forest was blackened by the poison it had sprayed.
“Carefully now.”
Wang-sik fought much more slowly than usual.
Instead, he focused on a solid defense, and Min Ha-na, following his lead, prepared powerful single-shot spells rather than rapid-fire ones.
The fierce battle finally ended after she landed five lava spears.
“Hoo.”
Having exhausted all her strength, Min Ha-na collapsed on the spot.
Just then, a bright light flooded her vision.
“Huh? Finally…”
It was a blue light.
A mystical blue light, as if the ocean itself had been condensed, filled her sight.
*Thump!*
As her heartbeat thundered in her ears, the light slowly faded.
S-rank.
Finally, S-rank.
Unable to hide her excitement, Min Ha-na opened her status window.
—Min Ha-na. A-Rank Flame Mage.
She thought she'd misread it. But no matter how many times she looked, the letter 'A' didn't change.
“A-rank?”
Her mind went blank.
“Is it possible to fail a rank-up?”
It was then.
The blue light that had filled her vision transformed into the shape of a strange rune and was absorbed into Wang-sik's body.
“It evolved.”
It was the moment the Mark of the Guardian evolved to its fourth stage.