Chapter 115
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Gate (4)
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Blessing of Ifrit.
One of the two Ancient Artifacts I received from the Collector, it was a necklace imbued with the power of a fire spirit.
Being an accessory, its performance wasn't particularly outstanding.
But its unique ability was quite overpowered.
[Spirit Possession]
It was an item that allowed a high-ranking spirit to possess my body, raising my affinity to a level close to that of a high-ranking spirit. They say Ifrit created it for the mid- to low-ranking spirits.
Thanks to this effect, I gained an affinity almost identical to that of a high-ranking spirit.
The spirit possession also greatly increased my mana, bringing my current level to A-rank.
In addition, I had already set up the ancient magic amplification circle taught to me by the Princess.
It was a single-use magic formula; by using a pre-determined spell on top of this circle, its damage could be dramatically amplified.
Setting it up was harder than I thought, so it took a while.
Thank goodness I finished before the Corpse Collector fell. Phew.
*Fweeeeee!*
I watched the magic circle expand endlessly. It was almost complete.
"Seoyul?"
Glancing to my side, I saw Yuhwas utterly bewildered expression. My current state must be quite shocking to her.
I did tell her beforehand that I could use Ancient Artifacts. But then, hearing about it and seeing it for yourself are two different things.
"Let's talk details later. We're short on time."
Twenty seconds had already passed since I took hold of the Blessing of Ifrit.
Now, only forty seconds remained.
There was no time for explanations.
*Kang!*
Finally, the magic circle stopped expanding.
Preparations complete.
"Here I go. Get ready."
In that moment, my mana surged.
A fusion of red and white mana.
The beautiful sight almost captivated me.
"Wait! What are you trying to do?"
"I'm going to wipe out the entire horde of undead that poured out."
Yuhwa gasped in astonishment.
"That's impossible! There's no way a spell exists that can cover this entire vast area!"
Her voice trembled slightly.
"Even if you could use such a spell, this is a city! If there are still civilians who haven't evacuated"
"I know."
I cut Yuhwa off.
"I know all about it, so don't worry. I'll handle it."
""
Yuhwa pressed her lips together.
I immediately closed my eyes.
I had already determined the range.
Now that I had an affinity comparable to a high-ranking spirit, the power of my fire magic had roughly doubled.
Additionally, my mana consumption was reduced by about sixty percent.
I poured all my mana into the ground.
With a mana boost, I poured out all of my A-rank mana.
*Fwoooosh!*
With increased power and decreased consumption, its efficiency had soared, and on top of that
*Fwaaat!*
Thanks to the magic amplification formula, its power continued to grow.
"Oh my god."
Feeling the overwhelming torrent of mana, Yuhwa stammered.
Soon, even the wings on my back faded, beginning to be absorbed into the ground as a wisp of mana.
The very earth I stood on was churning like magma.
"Hoo"
With that, ten seconds remained.
I took one last deep breath and opened my eyes.
*Fwoosh!*
"Kyaaah!"
In that instant, flames erupted, centered on me. Crimson and white flames. They spread out endlessly, as if they didn't know the world had limits.
Their power grew as if to burn everything in existence.
The horde of undead that touched the flames had their skin scorched in one second,
their rotten organs exposed in two,
and their entire bodies turned to ash and scattered into the sky in three.
"Success."
Scorching Earth.
The high-level fire magic taught to me by the Princess.
It created an explosive synergy with the spirit race's 'affinity' and the 'magic amplification magic circle.'
Because I focused on range, the firepower wasn't overwhelmingly strong.
But the undead horde's weakness is fire. This was more than enough.
"It's not hot?"
Yuhwa murmured in a trembling voice. She was looking at the crimson and white flames flickering around her in bewilderment.
"A spirit's flame burns only what I want it to burn."
Be it living, non-living, or even mana.
"You mean it's a flame that only burns the undead?"
"Yes."
This was my master plan.
In the original story, this undead gate caused immense damage.
The combination of the immortal horde and the Corpse Collector was difficult to handle without holy and fire attribute magic, their weaknesses.
That incident led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians, and over sixty percent of the guilds and superhumans based in Gangnam were wiped out.
With so many superhumans dead, it became difficult to stop the Great Gate Outbreak that occurred later.
My goal was to prevent the pointless deaths of the superhumans.
To stop the Great Gate Outbreak in four days, they absolutely could not die here.
Just then, the scorching earth stopped expanding. It must have covered the entire Gangnam area.
Fortunately, the plan seems to have been a success.
*Ping*
"S-Seoyul!?"
The moment I felt relieved, a wave of dizziness washed over me. Was it from excessive mana use?
As my body collapsed, Yuhwa caught me with her own.
*Bzzzzzt!*
To make matters worse, the usage time for the Ancient Artifact ran out.
With a powerful spark.
[Error! Error! Unknown Error!]
An error message filled my vision. I desperately fought through the pain, took the 'Blessing of Ifrit' from my neck, and threw it into the 'Artisan's Simple Forge.'
"Seoyul! Snap out of it! Seoyul. Seoyul!"
That was my last memory.
***
When I opened my eyes, the first things I saw were the familiar scenery of the Bihon Guild's master office and a slyly smiling Meiden.
"You awake?"
And Yuhwa, who was looking at me with an incredibly serious expression.
"Um are you feeling unwell anywhere?"
"Ah, no. I'm fine."
I had only passed out from mana exhaustion, so there was no real problem.
I sat up on the sofa.
"You worked hard. If it weren't for you, kiddo, our Hwa would've been undead food."
"Sis, is that really what you say to your sister who just went through all that?"
Yuhwa pouted.
Meiden chuckled and gently patted Yuhwa's shoulder.
"I'm kidding, you punk. I'm glad you're safe."
Then, with a dead-serious face, she hugged Yuhwa.
"Sis"
I stared blankly at the scene.
"What is it, kiddo? You want a hug too? As a reward?"
Meiden, noticing my gaze, quickly reverted to her playful expression.
"I'll pass."
"Huh? Look at this kid. So you're saying you don't want a hug from an old lady?"
Meiden pulled away from Yuhwa and flashed a wicked smile.
"No, that's not it"
It was just that there was no need for it.
"Whatever. Fine. Phew. It's tough being old."
Meiden's smile widened. It was obviously a teasing smile.
Reacting would only encourage her, so I decided to just stay quiet with a blank expression.
Then, breaking the silence, Yuhwa spoke up tentatively.
"Sis don't joke around too much. You're making Seoyul uncomfortable."
I'm not uncomfortable at all, though?
"Uncomfortable, my foot. Can't you see he's looking at me like I'm his nephew at a talent show?"
Meiden scoffed.
"Forget it. Just stop. There's no fun in teasing this one. No fun at all."
She clicked her tongue one last time before returning to her seat, leaning back on the sofa and crossing her legs.
"So, what happened?"
"What do you mean, what happened?"
"What's with the Gray Out, and what was that gate that opened today?"
Meiden stared at me with an intensely serious expression.
"Why are you asking me that?"
"Ha. Look at this guy. Who do you take me for, a fool?"
Meiden raised one corner of her mouth.
"Listen, kid. You think I don't know you? Showing up at that timing and even using an Ancient Artifact says it all, doesn't it? And"
Meiden tilted her head up and snorted.
"It's written all over your face right now. 'I know everything~.'"
"Haha."
I guess it was obvious.
"So let's not beat around the bush and make each other tired. Let's get to the point. What in the world is happening right now?"
Well, I never intended to hide it in the first place, so I didn't bother controlling my expression.
"First, there's something I need to ask before I say anything. Please don't ask how I know."
"Alright. I won't ask."
"And this must stay between the two of you."
"Of course."
"Yes, of course."
The two nodded simultaneously.
"And also"
"There's more? How many things are there?"
Meiden frowned.
"This is the last one."
I smiled faintly.
"No matter how absurd my words may sound, you have to believe me."
***
After Kang Seoyul left.
Meiden and Yuhwa, now alone, were lost in thought with serious expressions.
*Tap, tap.*
The rhythmic sound of Meiden tapping the table with her fingernail echoed. They were both busy mulling over Kang Seoyul's words.
"Hwa."
Meiden spoke first.
"Yes."
"What do you think?"
"Honestly, it's hard to believe. If anyone other than Seoyul had said that, I would have kicked them out immediately."
Yuhwa sighed.
"What about you, Sis?"
"Same here. No matter how much I trust the kid, it was a hard story to swallow."
Meiden sighed as well.
"'In four days, dozens of gates will open simultaneously all over Korea without any warning.' It's not something you can just easily believe, is it?"
"Right"
Kang Seoyul's words were nothing short of shocking. Or perhaps, it was more out of the blue than shocking.
No, just predicting the opening of a gate was surprising enough, but to say that dozens would open at the same time? From a common-sense standpoint, it was hard to believe.
"This doesn't seem to be related to the Seekers of Truth, either."
While Kang Seoyul had nearly 100% accurate information when it came to the Seekers of Truth, this incident seemed to have no connection to them.
"Yes. No matter how capable the Seekers of Truth are, they wouldn't have the technology to control gates."
Not everything about gates had been fully understood yet. At best, they could be imperfectly replicated. That was all. To control and use such an unknown concept to their liking? It was impossible.
"If those bastards had that kind of technology, humanity would have been destroyed long ago."
A brief silence fell.
"But it's not like we can just dismiss it either."
"Yes. Considering everything Seoyul has shown us so far."
It was hard to simply dismiss Kang Seoyul's words as mere delusion.
He was a person worthy of trust.
"And his point that the Gray Out is a phenomenon that synchronizes with gate openings to distort mana also made sense."
"Yes. The part about it causing physical dissonance and reducing stats by about thirty percent was also plausible. My stats really did decrease by exactly thirty percent."
"Tsk. This is difficult. So difficult."
But Kang Seoyul's request wasn't simple enough to grant based on his word alone, without any proof.
"Ah, this is driving me crazy. If it were an easier favor, I'd just go along with it"
Meiden ran her hands through her hair in frustration.
"He wants me to call 'Master' to Korea in four days?"
Superhuman name: Master.
Real name: Caribma Nerista.
The guild master of the world's top guild, 'The One.'
Kang Seoyul had asked Meiden to summon him to Korea.
"Easier said than done."
As if calling the strongest man in the world, ranked number one in the superhuman rankings, to another country was a simple task.
"But you can call him, can't you, Sis?"
"I can call him. I can, but"
Meiden let out a sigh deep enough to make the ground sink.
"Agh."
***
When I arrived home, Geumho and the Princess greeted me.
You have returned. Well, were there any major problems with the plan?
Nope. Handled it cleanly, just as planned.
I gently stroked the Princess's head.
How many times must I tell you that touching a princess's head is a disrespectful act?
Sorry. It was a reflex.
Be more careful next time. Or at least stroke along the grain of my hair.
I will.
The Princess, who used to resist fiercely at first, had been letting me stroke her head without complaint lately.
Whether she had given up or just gotten used to it.
Either way, it was a win for me.
The Princess's hair had a different charm from Geumho's fur.
"Nyaang."
Geumho rubbed against my leg, acting cute.
"That's right. My Geumho."
I lifted Geumho into my arms.
"After you finished setting up the magic circle earlier, did you get back okay?"
"Nyaang!"
Geumho perked up his ears and nodded.
A little while ago, after finishing the magic circle installation with Geumho's help.
I thought there was a high chance his identity would be revealed if he stayed around, so I quietly sent him back first.
I was a little worried, but it was needless concern.
He rang the doorbell and held his face up to the camera. It startled me.
I told him to do that.
I stroked Geumho again.
What about Baek-nyangi?
Sleeping.
Isn't she sleeping too much lately? How many hours a day?
Hmm. It seems she sleeps about twenty hours a day.
Really?
Is she trying to grow bigger than Geumho?
She sleeps a lot.
You. How long do you intend to stand in the entryway?
Ah. Sorry. Let's go in.
I casually took off my gear. I took off my shoes first, then my armor, and finally, I threw off the gloves I was wearing.
Hm?
In that moment, the Princess's eyes widened.
You. That tattoo on the back of your hand
On the back of my hand, the tattoo signifying a 'fire spirit' had reappeared.
Right. Using the Blessing of Ifrit gave me the trait, and the tattoo came back with it.
A mistake.
Hmm. This is
What should I say?
Should I say it's just a fashion tattoo?
Since she's an innocent princess, she'll probably just let it slide.
Alright. Let's keep it simple.
This is just a fashion tat
I was about to make that excuse when.
That shape. Is that the Stigma of Adam?
What?
The what of Adam?
< Gate (4) > End