Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Connecting Worlds
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BOOM!
As the Spider Queen's charge was blocked by the shield, Sa Seon-gi scraped past its thorny foreleg.
Startled, the Spider Queen retreated, only for a fireball to fly at it as if it had been waiting.
After enduring the flames, the Spider Queen shot a web and climbed to the ceiling.
In response, Min Ha-na launched dozens of fireballs like a barrage, and the Spider Queen repeatedly fell back to the floor.
The three were cautious but relentless.
Grrrr.
The Spider Queen's slitted eyes darted around.
Its target was clear.
The human who moved like a shadow and the mage who wielded flames.
The one with the shield was impossible to break through, so it had to target the other two.
But they gave it no openings.
In the end, the Spider Queen had no choice but to make a risky move.
Kiiiaaa!
Springing forward, the Spider Queen's charge was once again blocked by Wang-sik's shield.
Swoosh!
As a wound opened on its blade-like foreleg, it didn't retreat for the first time and instead aimed for the man of shadows.
It intended to slice the shadow apart with its other, unharmed foreleg.
Zzzzt!
But its foreleg wouldn't move.
A chain had shot out and bound its leg.
That's when it started.
The three calm humans changed their tactics.
“Spread out!”
Four chains bound two of its forelegs and its neck. Then, a tug-of-war began, as if they were pulling an ox.
Kiiiaaa!
It was confident it could send a single human flying, but it was mistaken.
The shield-wielding human shifted his weight from side to side, refusing to be dragged.
BOOM! BOOM!
From then on, magic with precise targets rained down. And sharp metal dug into its torn wounds.
It wanted to see the two attacking humans, but it didn't even have a moment to turn its head.
With its movements restricted, its weaknesses were exposed.
Its monstrous screams and desperate struggles posed no threat to the three humans.
Eventually, the pain began to consume its consciousness.
“Finish it!”
With that command, a final impact shattered the Spider Queen's consciousness.
Wang-sik approached first to confirm the Spider Queen's death.
“Good work.”
“This has to be an A-rank boss monster, right?”
“It is.”
It was a top-tier A-rank boss. Stronger than even a standard S-rank monster, yet it couldn't even properly counter the trio's assault.
“I think we're crazy strong.”
“Of course we are.”
The three could clearly recognize their strength while fighting monsters.
“Let's check that out first.”
They left the Spider Queen's corpse and went to inspect the light emanating from the cocoon.
After clearing away the webbing, a fist-sized crystal orb was revealed. Inside, a blue light swirled chaotically, leaving afterimages.
“What is this?”
Wang-sik held the item and checked its details, but nothing appeared.
Usually, items with mana could be appraised, which meant this was something different.
‘I'll have to take this to the black market.’
For now, Wang-sik took the crystal orb.
“Alright, let's clean up.”
They skillfully dismantled the Spider Queen's corpse.
Min Ha-na returned to Korea through a gate, while Wang-sik and Sa Seon-gi went to Oh Min-jae's trading company.
This was the real reason Sa Seon-gi had postponed caring for his younger sibling to come here.
“Seon-gi!”
To Sa Seon-gi's surprise, Oh Min-jae ran over happily and hugged him.
“You must be tired from the journey.”
“Not really.”
“Hehe. Welcome. I missed you.”
Thanks to Oh Min-jae's warm welcome, Sa Seon-gi found it easy to adjust to the atmosphere.
‘I couldn't have done this before.’
Back at the orphanage, Sa Seon-gi wasn't close to anyone. But now, he had already befriended Min Ha-na and felt comfortable with Oh Min-jae.
‘If I had opened my heart when I was younger...’
Perhaps he and his sibling wouldn't have been so lonely.
“Come on, come inside. We can talk about work later.”
Oh Min-jae postponed the serious discussion and started talking about what they'd been up to.
Sa Seon-gi's mission began the next day.
“I'm going to hand over all the necromancer's records now. I've persuaded them not to betray us as best I can, but I don't trust them.”
No one was better at surveillance than Sa Seon-gi.
“I want to know everything—their conversations, who they meet, and what they're thinking.”
“Understood.”
Sa Seon-gi simply accepted the task without asking any questions.
So, Oh Min-jae handed the records to Gellick's group, and Sa Seon-gi began his surveillance nearby.
Meanwhile, Wang-sik went to the black market and requested an appraisal of the crystal orb.
But he received an unexpected answer.
“We'll need to look into this one.”
“Is there anything you people don't know?”
At those words, Jackal's pride seemed wounded, and his eyes sharpened.
In the end, Wang-sik left the item with them.
They had a reputation for handling these matters cleanly, so he had nothing to worry about.
‘Then I guess I should clear out the dungeon.’
He needed to check the Armored Spider's nest one more time. Once the gate was complete, it would become their main base on the Azelan Continent.
Wang-sik heard the appraisal results a month later.
“It's a peculiar item.”
Jackal said, handing the crystal orb back to Wang-sik.
“It appears to be a key.”
“A key?”
“It's an object that reacts when it's in a specific area. We ran various tests, and the light inside the orb responds to soul energy. It will likely change significantly when it nears a specific source of soul energy.”
“And you don't know where that is?”
“We have no information at all. It's the first time we've seen an item like this.”
Wang-sik studied Jackal's face as he spoke but couldn't read his expression.
“Can't be helped.”
As Wang-sik took the crystal orb, Jackal made a proposition.
“How about leaving it with us? If you tell us where you found it, we'll find the location for you.”
What would his reaction be if he said the Decartes Mountains?
That place was still an area untouched by humans.
‘For him to go this far means it could be a very important place...’
There was no need to mention the Decartes Mountains.
“If I can't find it, I'll hire you.”
With those words, Wang-sik left the black market.
While Wang-sik was busy traveling between Earth and Azelan, Sa Seon-gi gathered various pieces of information about Gellick's group.
“It seems unlikely they'll betray us for the time being.”
Gellick's group hadn't formed any concrete plans. However, they also had no intention of sticking with Oh Min-jae forever.
“Their goal is to obtain information about Earth. After that, it seems they plan to join forces with someone powerful.”
In a way, it was a natural course of action.
Once he could build a dimensional gate himself and gain information about the other dimension, his options would expand significantly.
“That's a relief. At least they won't betray us until our plan is complete.”
“I'll keep watching them.”
“Thanks, Seon-gi.”
From then on, their precarious cooperation began.
There were a few problems, but the gate's construction proceeded as planned.
The biggest problem among them was the pressure from the Magic Tower.
The fact that Gellick's group was cooperating with the Mirje Trading Company had become known.
After it was revealed that they had come to Magit through a gate, mages launched an investigation and finally discovered Gellick's group's existence a month ago.
Fortunately, Gellick's group had cut ties with the dark mages and had essentially been cast out, so the situation didn't escalate to an extreme.
However, an investigation was launched to see if the Mirje Trading Company was involved with dark magic.
Oh Min-jae himself requested this investigation, and the pressure only ended after he received results confirming there were no issues.
However, he received a warning-like statement from Sodovan, a mage with whom he had a deep relationship.
“I hope you end that relationship soon.”
Oh Min-jae calmed the situation by saying it would be over within a month.
And today.
All preparations were finally complete.
Gellick's group and Oh Min-jae arrived at a place in the mountains where the walls of Magit were visible in the distance.
The Mirje Trading Company had purchased a long-abandoned hunters' lodge deep in the forest.
Construction was already finished, resulting in a much larger lodge than before, which had a secret staircase leading to a basement.
What lay below the stairs was the core of this place.
A large, empty warehouse.
This was where the gate connecting to the Decartes Mountains would be built.
“Hoo. Let's begin.”
Gellick let out a long sigh and began to lay parchment on the floor. First, he stabilized the mana in the basement and drew the outline of a circular magic circle.
Once the energy of the outline stabilized, the three of them put on special gloves that condensed mana and began to draw the inside of the magic circle.
As the magic circle grew larger, the energy began to run wild, and each time, they offered a powerful magical treasure as a sacrifice.
From then on, the complex work began.
“From this point on, we'll work alone. We need to concentrate.”
What he said was true, but there was another reason.
It was to hide their know-how.
“Go ahead.”
Oh Min-jae didn't object and went up to the first floor.
Giam Island, West Sea.
In the center of Giam Island, where a resort had been planned, a single-story rectangular building had been constructed.
The building was quite spacious, but it was a simple, prefabricated type.
However, the space beneath it was anything but simple.
Eight huge rooms faced each other along a straight corridor. Three people entered.
It was Wang-sik, Min Ha-na, and Han Young-im.
“This is it.”
As they entered the room closest to the door, a distorted space appeared before them.
Watching the space ripple like water, Min Ha-na reached out her hand.
It felt like putting her hand into a raging current.
“You just have to stabilize it.”
This was the mission given to her.
“Don't worry. We've already succeeded once.”
The gate connecting Magit and the Decartes Mountains was complete. This would be the second gate.
But its significance was not the same.
Because this was a gate that connected dimensions. For that reason, even the onlookers couldn't help but be tense.
“Hoo.”
Min Ha-na took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Unlike the mages of Magit, she didn't directly manipulate mana, so Min Ha-na attempted to stabilize it using a different method.
She created a flame in the distorted space and began to gradually increase its power.
A weak force had no effect, but when she created a human-sized flame, it reacted.
The space, which had been chaotic like a torrent, began to gather around the flame.
‘Slowly.’
Min Ha-na didn't rush and maintained that state.
After about ten minutes, a change in the energy was detected.
The power of the distorted space seemed to seep into her hand.
The sensation was so foreign that Min Ha-na felt an instinctive repulsion.
At the same time, the stabilization of the space began to unravel.
The energy started to run rampant.
Just then, someone placed a hand on her shoulder.
“I'm right here. Don't worry.”
At his voice, Min Ha-na smiled. And she accepted the foreign sensation without fear.
‘No matter how dangerous it gets, Wang-sik will protect me.’
It wasn't just faith; it was certainty.
From then on, it went smoothly.
The power of the distorted space condensed into Min Ha-na's hand.
The fully condensed power became a single point and emitted a strong vibration.
It felt as if Min Ha-na was holding space itself in her hand.
“Stand back.”
As Min Ha-na spoke, she unleashed a powerful flame. Simultaneously, the space held in her hand rapidly expanded.
PANG!
The space, which created a shockwave, settled into an oval shape.
A gray gate.
“You did it.”
It was just as Oh Min-jae had said.
“Now we wait. You worked hard.”
Wang-sik led the dazed Min Ha-na and stepped back.
“It's amazing.”
For Han Young-im, who wasn't Awakened, a sight like this still felt unreal.
“You'll get used to it.”
An hour later, the color of the lifeless gate began to change.
A reddish hue started to tinge the gray border, and after three hours, the inside became transparent.
“It's complete.”
It was five hours after Min Ha-na had stabilized the space.
Something broke through the space within the border and appeared.
“Hello, Earthlings.”
The person who appeared, waving his hand, was Oh Min-jae.