The Aheti of Maigbra
The intelligent beings of the Maigbra Settlement were not human.
Their body structure was bipedal and broadly similar to humans, yet their skin was entirely covered in a mottled, yellowish-brown pelt that left no bare flesh exposed. Their ears were large and elongated, reminiscent of a fennec fox. Their facial features carried the traits of a feline beast while vaguely resembling humans—cute at a glance, yet subtly unsettling.
They called themselves the Aheti. According to the transcendent interpretation provided by his abilities, the name meant “Masters of the Mountain Range.”
True to their name, their settlement sprawled across both the surface and interior of the mountain range. There was almost no sign of advanced scientific technology; instead, mysticism filled that role, guaranteeing convenience in daily life. Their population appeared to fall just short of one hundred thousand.
It was the scale of a mid-sized city in some region of South Korea—neither too small nor overwhelmingly large.
Their combat techniques were distinctly unpleasant. They primarily involved forcibly summoning contracted beasts or inflicting all manner of damage directly upon the soul.
The number of combatants was slightly over ten thousand. Most seemed to possess strength ranging from B-rank to A-rank Hunters, with roughly thirty individuals at or above S-rank.
Among them, the chieftain Maigbra Aurak far surpassed an ordinary S-rank. If measured by the standards of a Refiner, he was estimated to have reached the Decisive Stage.
However, the chieftain had suffered severe injuries decades ago in battle against another alien race—long before the dimensional collision event occurred on Earth—and his wounds had yet to fully heal.
All of this information had been obtained through the observer Kuibnak.
She had fallen victim to the Dream Illusion Mind Snatching Art reinforced by Monghwan Yusim. In the dream realm, she experienced over two months of subjective time in what was merely a short period in reality, surrendering every piece of information she possessed to Han Yujin.
Among that trove of data, several points stood out as particularly noteworthy.
For instance, the revelation that the Aheti were the hidden force behind the Wave phenomenon, whose cause had remained unknown until now…
Nor could one overlook the fact that the chieftain planned to launch a major assault on the Hunters once he fully recovered.
Yet what drew Han Yujin’s greatest attention was the information regarding their dimensional wandering mystic art.
Shockingly, the Aheti were capable of independently exploring and traveling to other worlds suitable for their survival.
As a result, the Aheti existed as tribal units scattered across a great many dimensions. Their Great Chieftain was therefore inevitably a being of immense power, capable of exerting influence over multiple dimensions at once.
Even through Kuibnak, he had been unable to obtain precise details regarding the Great Chieftain’s strength. Still, by any reasonable estimate, the being would be at least at the Nascent Soul Stage, and possibly even beyond the Soul Formation Stage into the Body Integration Stage.
The mere fact that they held sway across multiple dimensions was reason enough to consider such possibilities.
Fortunately, I won’t need to worry about the Great Chieftain while dealing with these creatures.
If the Great Chieftain could intervene at any time, the Aheti would never have found themselves in their current predicament—hiding in fear while their chieftain lay incapacitated for decades, unable to recover from his injuries.
Perhaps for that very reason, their attitude toward humans was less one of outright hostility and more of cautious defensiveness.
They harbored a degree of fear born from ignorance of Earth’s total military strength. At the same time, they looked down on the observed capabilities of the Hunters. Yet the prevailing sentiment was one of prudence: they would wait until their chieftain recovered.
The periodic Waves they triggered were less an attempt to destroy humanity and more an effort to suppress human activity. If they allowed humans to roam freely within the Great Rift, maintaining their concealed existence would become impossible.
If this had been a world I visited through my Awakening ability, I might have considered revealing myself and approaching them directly…
But this was reality. Death here meant the end of everything.
Even their strongest—the chieftain—was merely a wounded Decisive Stage practitioner. While Han Yujin was confident he could win, there was no reason to take such unnecessary risks now.
It would be enough to return, inform the Pioneer Corps, and intervene once a decision had been made. The Aheti were not yet an existential threat that demanded an all-out life-or-death struggle.
Even if they were the true culprits behind the Wave phenomenon.
Even as these thoughts ran through his mind, Han Yujin continued to keep Kuibnak trapped in the dream realm, steadily extracting more information. A short while later, he made his decision.
He judged that maintaining the spell any longer would be difficult. It was time to eliminate this witness. Since he had cast the technique through a spiritual link with a contracted beast rather than confronting her directly, he had reached his limit.
The method of elimination was obvious. These beings were skilled in manipulating souls; only by completely destroying her soul could he erase all traces.
Consider it the karma of your tribe.
This was simply the elimination of a hostile force. Nothing more.
The six realms of reincarnation unfolded. An overwhelming storm of emotions—joy, anticipation, sorrow, rage, hatred, and despair—savagely battered and carved away at her soul.
Kuibnak, who had been flailing helplessly within the dream, suddenly experienced the world around her transforming entirely. She alone was hurled into a completely alien realm, as if she had undergone dimensional travel.
It was the world of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Before she could even shake off her shock, she was swept away by a terrifying emotional tempest.
Happiness, expectation, sorrow, rage, hatred, and despair swirled madly, mercilessly battering and scraping at her soul. In reality, less than a single second had passed. To her, it felt like days.
It was not a divine ability that a being who had barely reached the level of an A-rank Hunter could endure.
And so it ended.
One observer, while carrying out her mission, died in a secret chamber within the settlement—her soul shattered for no apparent reason.
Even if the most capable chieftain himself stepped forward, determining exactly what had killed her would prove nearly impossible.
Having safely returned to the base fortress, Han Yujin spent several days writing his report. The harvest had been substantial, and he needed to document not only in text but also in detailed illustrations everything he had learned.
Though he had never formally studied drawing, his Refiner-level abilities allowed him to produce professional-quality diagrams with ease.
Naturally, the subject he lavished the most effort on was the Aheti race.
And, just as naturally, the Pioneer Corps leadership that received the report fell into complete chaos.
Discovering living alien beings was shocking enough. The fact that these creatures had been secretly observing humanity for a long time and had even used Waves to keep them in check was truly staggering.
Moreover, the personal opinion Han Yujin had attached to the report was more than enough to cause an uproar.
If they could obtain the Aheti’s knowledge of dimensional wandering, it might be possible to overcome the “Rift Passage Shock” phenomenon that had yet to be solved.
That would mean being able to bring all manner of modern technology into every Rift, including the Great Rift. Vehicles, heavy machinery, electronic devices, firearms, explosives—everything.
This was clearly not something South Korea could handle or swallow alone. The enemy’s military strength alone made that impossible.
“This… will require careful discussion with the government. It will most likely be treated as an international matter.”
Park Seryong, who had come to his quarters in person, spoke with a serious expression. Han Yujin nodded as if it were only natural, then asked,
“How do you think things will proceed after that?”
“There will be multiple rounds of information verification. However, since the verification process involves provoking a hostile force, there is a strong possibility that an international coalition subjugation force will be formed from the very beginning.”
After saying this, Park Seryong hesitated for a moment before cautiously asking,
“Just how did you obtain the information in that report? You said you didn’t reveal your identity…”
“Are you afraid some of it might be lies or exaggeration?”
Though asked in a joking tone, Park Seryong looked deeply troubled. He clearly wanted to deny harboring such disrespectful thoughts, yet the matter was far too serious to ignore.
“It’s all true, so there’s no need to worry. The information about their dimensional wandering art is also factual. No matter how esoteric that knowledge may be, overcoming something like Rift Passage Shock should certainly be within reach, don’t you think?”
It did make sense. A mystic art capable of traversing dimensions would naturally be able to resolve such a relatively minor issue.
“Even if that weren’t the case, simply acquiring the Aheti’s mystical knowledge would be more than enough to satisfy every nation. Especially if it concerns the soul.”
It was no exaggeration to say that the soul was currently one of the fields humanity understood the least. Its value was immeasurable.
Once Park Seryong left, Han Yujin returned to his usual routine.
A few days later, when he stepped outside the Great Rift, he witnessed the phenomenon his report had caused.
A single glance at the internet revealed that the entire online world was consumed by discussion of the Aheti race and the potential gains that could be obtained from them. Conversations about the accompanying dangers were equally heated, with intense debate over whether the international community could unite to subjugate them.
There were also lively discussions about whether the alien race truly needed to be subjugated at all, or if peaceful exchange might be possible. Experts from every field—politics, economics, society, culture, science, and medicine—had emerged, each offering their own opinions.
It seemed only a short time remained before full-scale international discussions would begin. The media frenzy was simply the process of shaping public opinion.
As a side note, he had refused all the frenzied interview requests and invitations from various countries that flooded in after he was identified as the discoverer. When an S-rank Hunter was determined to refuse, there was no one who could force him.
It was around that time.
Karma, which had been strangely quiet, finally began to accumulate as if some unknown condition had been satisfied.
The sensation was profoundly mysterious yet overwhelmingly exhilarating. It was far more intense than anything he had experienced before, to the point that he nearly felt dizzy.
This alone is already a jackpot!
Upon gauging the amount, he realized it was easily more than double the total he had accumulated before entering the martial world of Kangho Murim.
It was more than enough to bring back the results of reaching the Decisive Stage through his Awakening ability and manifest them in reality.
Such a massive influx of Karma showed just how significant the discovery of the alien race known as the Aheti within the Great Rift truly was. If he successfully subjugated them and their knowledge was disseminated, he could expect another enormous harvest of Karma at that time.
By then, it should be more than enough to retrieve the Cheonwonryeongbo from the Ohaeng Sect ruins, right?
His heart began to race, and heat rose in his chest. The Cheonwonryeongbo, which had once felt as unattainable as a rice cake in a painting, now seemed within his grasp. It was an unavoidable reaction for a Refiner.
Reaching the Decisive Stage was already a foregone conclusion.
Therefore, there was one thing he could no longer postpone preparing for—the Primary Life Treasure, which could be called the very symbol of the Decisive Stage.
After meeting Lee Won-hee during the day, asking about her life at her new school, strengthening their bond, and bidding her farewell,
he returned to the safe house, set up the Illusory Maze Formation, lay down on the bed, and prepared to use his Awakening ability.
If I go after reaching the Decisive Stage, I might stand out too much…
He intended to visit Cheonwonseong while still at the Dharma Soul Stage and attend the lecture on talisman techniques.
He might even need to visit consecutively and finish the talisman art lecture in one go.