Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: 091
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Other people wouldn't be able to endure this. I figure most of them have already lost their minds to some degree by now.
"In the worst case, thirty percent."
Once I finish this job, the number of hunters left standing might drop below thirty percent. No matter how fast I move, there's no helping it. I'm not teleporting—I'm running on my own two legs.
I ignore the cliffs. I ignore the pain spreading through my entire body. Like a racehorse charging ahead, I don't stop running for a second.
Every time a hunter dies, the odds of clearing Jaun Valley drop a little more. One. Then another.
I keep ignoring the hallucinations popping up everywhere as I smash the focal points holding the magic circle together.
And finally. I drive my spear into the last remaining focal point, pour my mana into it, and shatter it completely.
Yeah, good work doesn't even cover it. I let out a small sigh and wiped the sweat from my brow. I'd been moving so frantically that my mind felt as exhausted as my body.
"Please tally up the number of surviving hunters."
Now, I headed toward where Han Sang-ah and Jeong O-hun were waiting.
"Hey, you're all still alive."
I pushed through the thick fog until Han Sang-ah and Jeong O-hun came into view. Han Sang-ah spotted my face, hesitated for a moment, then swung her sword with all her might.
The tip of my spear met her blade. With a slight flick of my wrist, I deflected the attack, sending Han Sang-ah stumbling off-balance.
"It really feels like it connected. Like, it actually hit."
"Come on, even for verifying if someone's real, who charges in swinging for the neck right away?"
After a few more swings, Han Sang-ah nodded and sheathed her sword.
"It's Yoo Chan-seok. Jeong O-hun shackled his own ankle. Looks like we need to go free him."
Jeong O-hun had shackles locked around his ankle. I chuckled as I said,
"What, you develop a taste for SM play or something?"
"Chan-seok, cut the crap and unlock it. Let's get out of here."
He said that, but he still wouldn't let go of the gun in his hand.
"Hey, you're pointing that at me."
At my words, Jeong O-hun obediently aimed it at me. He examined the shackles for a moment before asking,
"Key?"
"Smashed it."
Smart move. If there'd been a key, he might've unlocked it in a hallucination. I turned to Han Sang-ah.
I don't know what it's made of, but damn, it's sturdy. Smashing it outright might take Jeong O-hun's ankle with it.
"I'll dial back the Paradox Flame for a sec. Both of you, hold your breath."
At my signal, the two held their breath. I extinguished the Paradox Flame around us, then ignited it in my palm and brought it to the shackle. As it burned away the shackle's durability, I reignited the flame over our heads to burn the fog, then tapped the shackle with the spear tip.
The shackle shattered like glass, scattering across the ground.
"Alright. That confirms it. No one else could pull that off."
Jeong O-hun lowered his gun, rubbed his ankle where the shackle had been, and stood up.
Damn it all. I knew it would be like this. Still, with my current abilities, I can burn away mental trauma like this. I'll have to go back and restore those twenty percent suffering breakdowns.
"Found the Erosion Core yet?"
Han Sang-ah's question.
"Near Zhangweitan Ski Resort."
That was as far as reverse-tracing the magic circle got me. But with all the surviving hunters mobilized to comb the area, finding it shouldn't be hard.
The entrance to an Erosion Core isn't exactly small.
"I want to deliver the finishing blow."
Jeong O-hun immediately reacted to Han Sang-ah's words as we moved.
"No, I'll do it."
Jeong O-hun and Han Sang-ah locked eyes. Watching them, I cut in simply.
"Cut the dogshit. You two didn't half-kill the core after barging into the Erosion Core or anything, did you?"
Nothing's set in stone about how this plays out. And you're already bickering over that? They both looked at me.
"Whoever gets the chance to kill it, jump in and snap its neck. This isn't some prize-shooting game with BB guns."
What, you gonna let a guy on the brink of death live and wait for someone to yield the kill? That's villain playbook number one for screwing themselves.
I don't play that. Who lands the final blow doesn't matter—cutting off its air does.
"As long as it's alive, there's a chance it'll do something. The moment it turns into a corpse, it's done."
With that, I ended their pointless staring contest and followed the operators' guidance back to Harbin.
"You okay?"
Seeing Adakawa Nanami's face twisted my expression. She must've suffered quite a bit from the hallucinations.
It hadn't been that long, but dark circles hung under her eyes. If Adakawa Nanami looked this bad, no need to check the others.
"Get some rest."
Stumbling a bit, Adakawa Nanami replied to me.
"I'm fine. Still full of energy!"
She looked like a cabbage soaked in salt, but at least she could talk back. Still, this was just fatigue from ghosts and hallucinations—not insanity.
I headed to where the deranged hunters had been isolated.
"...Oof."
More than I expected. Burning away all their traumas will take time. But it's not a bad thing.
Burning traumas from this many people with Paradox Flame will release a massive amount of mana in the process.
I can use that mana to accelerate reinforcing the meridians in my body.
"The Undying Legion's driving me nuts."
Beijing isn't that far from Korea. Knowing those monstrous undead are swarming there makes it impossible not to feel rushed.
"Need to upgrade my weapon too."
The spear I'm using now isn't bad at all. Weapons have fixed lengths, but mine lets me adjust freely.
From a 30cm dagger up to 6.5m like a sarissa. Being able to match exactly what I need right now is huge.
"For now, I've recovered the spear."
I'd retrieved the spear from that Seonghong guy in the Undying Legion earlier and sent it to Choi Seung-gi at Daebak Scrap Dealers. As I burned traumas from the clustered hunters with Paradox Flame, I called Choi Seung-gi.
"Just checking on the spear I sent you. How's the analysis going?"
Choi Seung-gi let out an "aha."
Figured as much. I coveted it the moment I saw it. It's not some spear with special powers. Some top-tier weapons are just that—no frills.
It's faithful to the basics as a weapon, and so damn good at those basics that it qualifies as luxury. Seonghong's spear is exactly that.
Incredibly durable, flexible despite that, perfectly balanced, blade sharp enough to chill you.
"You already have the analysis data on the spear I'm using now... Think you can synthesize them?"
A catalyst worthy of melting and fusing the materials from both spears.
What I want is to keep the free-length adjustment from my current spear while preserving as much of Seonghong's premium quality as possible.
As Choi Seung-gi said, a cheap catalyst would likely strip away most of that quality.
"Got it. If we find a decent catalyst, we'll give it a shot."
I have to push through Jaun Valley with my current spear anyway. Reforging them into one can wait.
"Maybe get some help from Jeong O-hun."
With his nickname "Jeong O-mul," and the solid help in tackling Jaun Valley, he might know where to source something via black markets.
"Hunter Yoo Chan-seok..."
As I burned away their traumas, the hunters who'd gone a bit mad started coming to their senses one by one. But overcoming trauma doesn't mean they're instantly ready to fight again.
This isn't a computer game. Not many have the mental fortitude to jump right back in after recovery.
"If you don't want to continue, pay the penalty fee and go."
At my words, a few who'd snapped out of it in their isolated tents glanced around nervously.
"No need to be embarrassed."
Forcing someone who realizes it's not for them to stay would be idiotic. They wouldn't fight well anyway.
"But the penalty fee..."
"You have to pay it. No exceptions."
We had a contract. They agreed. If they can't follow through, they pay up.
"I'm not a bad guy. I'll take exactly what we agreed to pay upon completion."
This counts as a subcontract, so penalties are usually twenty percent of the fee. But hunter contracts can demand up to double.
Simple reason. This isn't painting a fence. Failing means deaths, destroyed buildings, ruined local economies.
"I can't do it anymore."
"Damn, it gave me chills down my spine..."
Some hunters had decided they were done. I continued gently.
"We've pinpointed the Erosion Core. We should wrap this up in a few days."
No clue how it'll end yet. But quitting now might leave you regretting it later.
Of course, I'll respect whatever they choose. Lives are precious. If they want to pay and leave alive for sure, what excuse do I have to stop them?
"Once your penalty is confirmed, those who want to go can leave. Also..."
I dropped the gentle tone for something cold and rigid.
"Run without paying, and you're really dead."
Pay up and go. If you're bailing to survive, pay the price for it.
Thinking you can just vanish mid-job? This ain't a TOEIC study group.
Don't pay, and I'll make your life hell in Korea by any means necessary.
"That's all. Oh, and from now on, no need to stick around here. We'll assault the Jaun Valley Erosion Core once everyone's had sufficient rest."
With that, I bowed and left the tent.