Chapter 74

Encounter

It seemed the ministry spirit even imagined that I could see this map and could remember it flawlessly. Frankly, right after the 3-dimensional map appeared, it was hard to recognize it since my mind was clouded. Of course, thanks to [The Successor's Eyes], it came back to me in no time.

'So, it is true that the unique skill of an Awakened cannot be opened.'

At that moment, possibilities pass through my mind.

'Wait, if that's so!'

I recalled the SSS-Class item that I received, as an additional reward, after Clearing Siheung 8 Dungeon. [Door of Hope]. The artifact was said to be prepared by the Emperor of the Sebrarian Empire for interdimensional evacuation. I gave up the last time I tried to activate it because I did not have a way to input the exact coordinates. And when I tried to input a random coordinate, the response was that it required an unbelievable amount of Mana.

'But then, what about the case of a nearby dimension?'

The map that the Ministry Spirit was looking at didn't seem to contain every single existing dimension. Still, it was a tremendous amount, even only for dimensions near to Earth.

'What if I input these coordinates in the [Door of Hope]?'

Thanks to the Ministry Spirit, I scored an unexpected victory.

'I can definitely make good use of this!'

In the early stages of the tutorial, the contact with alien races was minimal, but as the quest progressed, the exchange with nearby dimensions became more frequent. The two dimensions that met each other would relationships, whether friendly, neutral, or hostile. The only passage that the Awakens could travel through the two dimensions was dungeons that had collapsed.

'That common idea can completely be invalidated!'

The possibility of traveling even to a dimension not connected to a dungeon...

'If I have to fight with the aliens who were the enemies of Earth. The possibilities of the usage, including spying, ambush, extortion, and assassinations, make it limitless.'

The key was how much core was needed to get to the nearest dimension. Right after memorizing everything, the Ministry Spirit spoke to me.

- Now, the list is as follows.

My eyes were widened by the hologram she opened.

"You're saying there are that many of them?"

- Yes, it was quite peculiar. Somehow, many of the alien races that were through with the tutorial seem to be interested in this dimension.

She suggested that an Awakened, from a dimension where the tutorial had ended, had visited Earth before I got cursed.

"And all the more, you're saying that all of them are still on Earth, right?"

- Yes. Looking at their behavioral patterns, I believe some are assigned there with the mission of spying.

Before I heard the Spirit's words, I was also prepared for the possibility that the perpetrator had gone back to its dimension so there would be no more way to track it down. But their current location, as indicated on the list, was unexpected. Every one of them was still living on the Earth!

'One or more among them may definitely be related to the curse.'

I had to feel even more ridiculous while I looked closer on the list.

'While there are aliens hiding without contact with humans, there are aliens who are boldly disguised as humans!'

Some of them were strangers that I'd never heard of in my entire life.

'What, this guy was an alien?!'

There was also a mix of very famous top-tier hunters. I had never encountered them in my previous life. This was because they went mysteriously missing shortly after Angelica appeared in the world.

'Could the reason they disappeared so suddenly was because they came into contact with Angelica? Then there's a good chance these Hunters aren't the source of the curse. The Awakened that achieved the state to modify a living thing and upgrade the unique skill can't be considered weaker than the immortal.'

I had one unanswered question. Why did the so-called great alien that stayed on the Earth for a long time let Angelica be in my previous life?

Or... was that situation also intended?

'I couldn't find an answer just by thinking alone. I didn't have any leads.'

Based on the list I'd now obtained, I would find a clear answer if I followed where they lead.

- Well, I've given you a list. Next is the item.

"Yes, I'll tell you what I want." I calmly recited the list of artifacts. I did not mention the items that I was sure I knew which dungeon I needed to Clear to get my hands on. The ones that I demanded now either had insufficient quantity released, or I'd seen an alien race that used it but was never supplied, on the Earth, in my previous life.

As it was quickly typing down the list I dictated, the Ministry Spirit paused for a moment.

- ······Hold on. You want me to give you five of [Renace's Ring]?

"The condition was 10 of SS-Class items, not of 10 kinds. You did not mention that it's not allowed for me to request for multiple quantities of the same item."

That was a necessary item. In the past life, the alien race that was hostile to the Earth had it, and the strongest of them was wearing it, so we had a lot of trouble.

- Hmm... I can't do this.

She came out harder than I thought. I tried to protest because it sounded like she was breaking a promise, but I couldn't help but listen to what followed.

- We only have two of these in stock now.

In stock? It was a word containing many facts. Did it mean that even the system cannot just print out the items as many times as it wished?

"If there is a concept of stock, is there a concept of production as well?"

- It's something I can't mention.

She was keeping her mouth shut again, not revealing critical information.

- Once again, a total of 7 items, including the other items and 2 of [Renace's Ring], can be provided right now. What would you like to do with the other three?

If this happened, this was out of my calculations. I thought about it for a while and made a decision. Okay, let's hand over the remaining three to the Spirit and the system.

'Come to think of it, neither [Stardust Wing] nor [Door of Hope] were items that were unknown to have existed. Artifacts that have never been found in my previous life, but they have tremendous performance.'

What they had in common were certain words that appeared in item descriptions.

'I'm sure there are other items like this. The problem is I don't know their names.'

But the system would know. Since it was going in this direction, I decided to give it a try.

"I plan to leave the other three to the system."

- ···Hmm? That's unexpected. Well, okay. Then for me, I could easily...

"No, wait a minute. There's a condition," The Spirit looked at me with a nonchalant expression, "I'll request 3 of SS-Class items which have the keywords of 'Sebrarian Empire' in the item description. When objectively analyzed, it must be of an equal or better performance from [Stardust Wings]."

This was somewhat of a gamble. It left open the interpretation of equal or of better performance to the system.

'Come on, surprise me.'

- ·······Sebrarian Empire. Oh, my. I feel like I'm starting to hate you since you're trying to get the best of me.

Hearing that, I thought I was going in the right direction. The Archid text on the screen waved, and the conditions I was talking about seemed to be entered.

And the result immediately came up.

- Here you go.

There were ten lights in front of me. My choice acquired seven items, and the system selected three items. All of them were SS-Class.

- Sigh. Whenever I meet Mr. Seo Jin-wook, it takes too much of my time. I've got a lot of work to do right now, and I can't believe I'm stranded on this one dimension for such a long time.

That being called the Spirit must have been dealing with a large amount of work; whenever it opened its mouth, it was always of the same story.

She glanced at me and said,

- I hope we won't meet again like this.

I answered with talent, "Next time, I'll see you after I've stopped an S-Class break."

- ·······hmph.

The darkness parted, and her figure disappeared, indicating she had had enough of me. Suddenly...

Whiz!

I came back to the dungeon in a flash.

"Jin-Wook!" Nate's eyes widened.

"What did you pack up so much?"

"Take this first!"

I handed Nate the small items I'd received this time.

"What is this?"

"Hold on to it for now. And Hibiki!"

"Yes!"

What I threw at her was one of the two [Renace's Ring] I'd received.

[Renace's Ring (Rank: SS)]

Item Description: A ring that reduces the user's Mana consumption by 30%.

※ Even if items with the same function are worn together, the effects are not overlapped, and only the item with the most significant effect is applied.

Item effects are similar to the devil's sword, the [Devil Slayer].

Items that reduce Mana consumption.

This artifact was valuable because it was applied, by any method, whether it was the sword energy, magic, psychokinesis, or unique skill.

'In fact, it's the same effect as increasing the Mana capacity.'

If Hunter had finished the Mana activation and couldn't increase the total Mana by training, he or she has no choice but to rely on these items.

'Later on, everyone would go crazy, even about artifacts that have a 10% reduction. To have 30%...'

The larger the basic Mana capacity, the more efficient these items are. I put the other of the two rings on my empty finger.

- Active Mana: 72,800 (+34,700)/38,100

- Potential Mana: 139,700

'There are 70,000 active Mana now... but no matter what skill I use, only 70% of Mana will be consumed, so it's the same as having 90,000.'

On top of that, it is a great synergy considering the amplification effect of the sword energy by the devil's sword.

"Hibiki. What are you doing? Put it on. It's an artifact that reduces your Mana consumption," I urged Hibiki, who hesitated for some reason.

"Ah! I see. Yes."

It was more efficient for her than Nate since she was equipped with a 50,000 Mana capacity after activation. After distributing the items, I fed the rest of the items to the snake. A noticeable change was happening to the red burning gate.

"Now they're crawling in. They're too slow."

The government, which had been watching the situation outside, ordered them to enter only after seeing the break termination message.

*

Two Hunters came through the gate. It was Seo Moon-Ga-In, of the Destructional Blade Guild, and Lee Dong-Hyun of the Gate Keepers. The two were dismayed and stiffened by the scene in front of them.

"W-w-w-What on earth is this!" The stuttering Seo Moon-Ga-In struggled for words.

Lee Dong-Hyun looked around the inside of the dungeon with a keen eye. Looking at them, I thought.

'They should be dumbfounded.'

Soon after the break, the hunters would have confirmed their contributions. No matter what they think about it, they'd notice that the figures were weird.

'Even if they caught a giant who ran out of the gate by groups, the individual Hunter's contribution should be 1%. In reality... Must it be 0.01% at best?'

Unless they are fools, they would have noticed what happened. The truth that there were more monsters than they'd seen, as with other breaks. But they would realize the majority of the monsters were destroyed by someone instead of the four guilds that formed the first defense line.

"Oh, my God!"

Charred and chopped up corpses of plague giants covered the ground. The three of us stood in the middle of the endless sea of death.

Seo Moon-Ga-In and Lee Dong-Hyun noticed us. Our gaze crossed. Seo Moon-Ga-In recognized my face and exclaimed, "···Seo Jin-Wook!" The following words were beyond my comprehension.

"You were in Korea?!"

*

I didn't give them enough time to watch the scene closely. The impressive scene of the giant corpses extending endlessly was enough.

'I'd burned them with the breath, but if they look closely, they'll notice a hole where the core was supposed to be.'

Seo Moon-Ga-In repeated the same thing several times with an incredulous expression, "This break, by three of you... Only three of you killed these mountains of monsters?!"

I answered calmly and brazenly, "Yes, that's right."

At the same time, I thought, 'Yes, you guys are the witnesses. You've clearly witnessed the achievement that is close to a miracle, that only three of us stopped it, with your own eyes.'

The system message rang.

- Soon, the gate will close.

I told both Nate and Hibiki, "Let's go back to Earth before the door closes. We're not sure if the returning stone will work in the collapsed dungeon, are we? Farming is impossible under these circumstances anyway."

By ordering Nate beforehand, we left the Mana cores of a few bodies nearby. Lee Dong-Hyun, who was looking around, murmured in a slightly suspicious tone.

"That's... Right."

Seo Moon-Ga-In sighed.

"It's tough to believe, but seeing it with my eyes like this, I have to admit it. Did you sneak in through the first line of defense? But it would be considered as direct insubordination ignoring the government's instructions. They'll need an explanation."

"Don't worry, the explanation will not be made to the four major guilds, but by the Hunter Management department as they hold the commanding power."

The answer was already ready. Furthermore, as a result, it was the right choice to stop the giants in the dungeon. If so many giants had poured into the Earth, of course, the plague would have raged.

"Come on, let's go back."

*

Among the hunters of the first line of defense, a shock-induced chill flowed into the atmosphere as they saw Hibiki, Nate, and I, suddenly coming out of the gate. The first to recognize me was the Celestial Dragon Guild members.

"What, Seo Jin-Wook?! Why is he coming out of there!"

Lee Dong-Hyun explained to everyone while scratching his head, "Oh, oh, I can't believe it even with my own eyes. I think these three have stopped the rest of the monsters. What we saw inside was."

As they were being explained to, the Hunters' faces were distorted by the facts, and their complexions changed color. At the end of Lee Dong-Hyun's words, Kim Kyung-Rok, the Guild Master of Grand Croix, shouted in an unfriendly tone.

"That's why our contribution is this way!" He pointed at me and shouted, "This is an act of complete disregard for the government's command! Do you believe that in the first place, those three stopped the break? It must have been a prank by the Celestial Dragon. Isn't it that they prepared an SS-Class item that no one knew? By abnormal means to monopolize contribution!"

Then, a man cut through the crowd and came to me at a rapid pace.

"Hey, wait! Seo Gyu-Cheol! Explain this!"

But Seo Gyu-Cheol didn't answer back and didn't even bother to look back. He walked toward me, glaring at me with his eyes, step by step with weight. And as he stood in front of me, he spoke in a whisper, "We finally met." His gaze was that of a man unprepared to give anything away.