Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 113
#113. Necropolis Activated
2022.11.21.
"【...What?】"
Yijun, who had been stirring his teacup with a teaspoon, slowly lifted his head.
Andrea, sitting opposite him, spoke again with a slightly downcast face.
"【I saw black clouds covering Bokgye Mountain.】"
Bokgye Mountain... Colony of the Dead.
Yijun narrowed his eyes slightly.
Besides that, Andrea explained in detail to Yijun the scene he had witnessed with his Wise Eye.
As always, the information that could be inferred solely from his prophecy was extremely limited.
Black clouds, laughter, red lanterns, hot flames, grudges, resentment (恨), and...
"【There's 'one who has lost their name' there.】"
"【One who has lost their name?】"
"【I don't know the details myself. Whether it's a monster's name, or some kind of hint. But what's certain is...】"
Andrea, hesitating for a moment, glanced up at Yijun.
"【She was standing under the black clouds.】"
There was only one person Andrea referred to as 'she'.
'Eunha.'
Though no reaction came from Yijun, Andrea saw it.
For a very brief moment, a crack spreading across his face.
He already knew that hunters hoping to participate in the South Coast Gate operation were undergoing a qualification test there.
But Eunha there?
No, what on earth were the black clouds Andrea mentioned?
Could something have happened to her...
Thump!
Suddenly, Yijun stood up from his seat.
Due to the rebound, tea spilled from the teacup neatly placed on the table.
An expected reaction.
Andrea, pulling out a tissue from nearby, wiped the table with a nonchalant face and said.
"【Catherine should be waiting outside.】"
At Andrea's words, Yijun sharply turned his back.
And soon, bang!
The sound of the door closing was heard.
Andrea threw the tissue he used to wipe the table into the trash can and lifted his head.
Yijun, who had rushed out like an arrow, was already gone.
Has he finally decided to act a little more honestly?
Andrea muttered, looking at the closed door.
"【Anyway, Johann is the type to bring trouble upon himself.】"
Isn't that so.
He'd make such a face upon hearing the prophecy, yet why was he so... in front of her.
Shaking his head, Andrea approached the window.
A birdcage placed on a small table.
The white bird inside tilted its head curiously.
Andrea gently stroked the surface of the iron bars with his slender fingers and smiled silently.
"【Isn't that right, William?】"
"Are you alright?"
Eunha, who was walking ahead, turned around and asked.
"This much is no problem."
Clown Ahjussi replied with a good-natured laugh.
Contrary to his relaxed answer, beads of sweat had formed on his forehead.
Despite this cold weather.
"Ugh," he grunted, re-shouldering the bundle firmly and moved on.
He was carrying a total of three bundles.
Each bundle was packed with over 200 cores.
Their weight alone must be considerable.
Another problem was the altitude of this mountain.
The higher they climbed, the less oxygen there was, and the path became steeply inclined, making them breathless even after walking a short distance.
No matter how much an Awakened's physical abilities surpassed an ordinary person's, it must be arduous for him, a low-ranked individual.
Furthermore, they had formed a party and hadn't taken a single break until now.
Nevertheless, Clown Ahjussi followed Eunha well without a single complaint.
Honestly, even Eunha was a little surprised.
"Let's rest nearby for a bit."
She was getting hungry, and a stream was visible nearby, so it was a perfect time to take a break.
Eunha, after confirming there were no monsters nearby, gathered the bundles and backpack under a nearby tree.
"Young lady, then I'll set up some traps around here and gather some kindling."
At Clown Ahjussi's words, after roughly organizing his luggage, Eunha slowly turned her head and looked at him.
She had also confirmed that there were no monsters nearby...
Assuming he didn't stray from this vicinity, Eunha possessed enough sensory ability to immediately know if anything happened to him.
"...Don't go too far."
"Of course. I wouldn't dare, out of fear."
Haha.
Laughing, Clown Ahjussi rolled up his sleeves and prepared to leave.
"The red lid is tuna kimbap, and the blue lid is spicy pepper kimbap, so take whichever you like."
Eunha, seeing Clown Ahjussi off, leaned against the tree shade and rummaged through her backpack.
As she took out the lunchbox and opened the lid, the pungent aroma of sesame oil hit her, and a forgotten hunger surged.
"I'll eat well."
The moment Eunha, muttering softly, was about to break apart her wooden chopsticks.
[1]
Appearing before her eyes... a system window?
Eunha, who had stopped breaking her chopsticks, paused and looked at the window.
The number 1.
That was all there was to its content.
'What is this?'
This was a first for Eunha too.
Reaching out her hand towards the window with a puzzled face, it quickly vanished with a srrk.
"..."
Eunha put down her chopsticks and looked around widely.
The scenery before her hadn't changed.
This time, she closed her eyes and concentrated.
[Passive ▶ 'Cat's Whiskers' Activated.]
...Southwest.
There was a presence, presumed to be Clown Ahjussi, not too far away.
The smell of blood wasn't mixed in the blowing wind.
Everything was the same.
Then, was that just now simply a system error?
A bug of some sort?
Anyway, it's a relief if nothing unusual is happening.
Eunha, opening her eyes, stared blankly at the empty space where the system window had disappeared, then picked up the chopsticks she had put down and began to eat.
As Clown Ahjussi said, the kimbap was very delicious.
Perhaps she felt that way even more because she was hungry.
Sitting alone by the forest stream eating kimbap, she recalled a memory from a very long time ago, when she went on a picnic with kimbap her mother had packed.
However.
Rumble, rumble—
Looking up at the sky, the weather was by no means suitable for a picnic.
The cold was intensifying, and whether it was because the forest had deepened or simply because night was approaching, the gradually darkening sky began to rumble lowly.
Eunha, who was bringing kimbap to her mouth, froze.
[2]
The mysterious system window that appeared before her eyes again this time also vanished quickly.
The wind is getting stronger.
Weather where it wouldn't be strange if thunder struck and rain poured down at any moment.
Whip.
Sharply turning her head, at the end of her gaze, a tall tree was swaying in the wind.
[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' aggressively fluffs its fur at an unfamiliar presence.]
The cat seemed to have felt it too.
That there was something behind that tree.
Eunha's eyes, looking at the tree, narrowed.
Her animal instincts were telling her.
'It' behind the tree was not a skeleton.
Whoooosh—
A suddenly blowing wind carried the smell of trees, and a pungent rotten smell.
Eunha, frowning slightly, quickly threw the chopsticks she was holding.
Fwip!
The chopsticks, leaving Eunha's hand, cut through the air in a straight line.
It was so fast that the chopsticks, hitting the tree surface, didn't break but instead embedded themselves there like an awl.
And.
Flutter...
'Something' hiding behind the tree gently flew up into the air.
'That's.'
Greenish wings.
It was the Tinkerbell, the giant moth Eunha had seen in the forest a few hours ago.
But now, she could tell for sure.
That thing was—
[Lv.30 'Devourer of Grudges' flees.]
A monster.
Eunha, convinced, shot up from her seat.
From afar, one might think it was an insect-type monster, but it wasn't.
Pupils completely black, without any whites.
Purplish skin.
Even thin, long antennae sprouting from its forehead.
That was a small person (小人) with wings.
In other words, a fairy-type monster.
She hadn't expected to encounter a monster type other than undead...
No, more importantly, Level 30.
Its level was high compared to the skeletons she had been facing so far.
A common gate error phenomenon?
No, this place was no longer a gate.
Then, was that a mutation?
'First...'
The fairy-type monster, flapping its wings and moving away.
Eunha, staring at the 'Devourer of Grudges', gripped the parasol she had placed beside her.
In any case, there was only one action to take now.
Fwip!
Tightening her grip on the parasol, she lightly kicked off the ground with her heels.
The startled 'Devourer of Grudges' flapped its wings even faster.
A movement as if trying to escape.
Did it not intend to fight?
But the creature's reaction didn't matter.
Eunha swung her parasol without hesitation.
A movement as swift and light as swatting a mosquito.
Thwack!
The monster, hit by the parasol, fell powerlessly like a fly directly hit by insecticide.
Eunha had faced countless Level 30 monsters until now.
To exaggerate slightly, she could catch them even while picking her ear with one hand.
However...
'Too weak, even for weak.'
Eunha, staring blankly at the creature that had fallen to the ground, poked it with the tip of her parasol.
Kkeueee... !
The creature thrashed about with a voice as tiny as its body.
The moment its scream cut off.
[3]
Another system window popped up before her eyes.
At that moment, a conjecture flashed through Eunha's mind like lightning.
'—Could this be.'
Just as Eunha snapped her head up,
"Young lady!"
Clown Ahjussi, who had been away, came rushing over.
"Ah, young lady, are you also getting strange number messages? No, no. First, pack your things quickly. We need to get down the mountain fast."
"What's wrong?"
Eunha asked, looking at the flustered Clown Ahjussi.
At that, Clown Ahjussi told her about the group of hunters he had encountered while setting up traps nearby.
"They said they found a Level 30 monster while disposing of skeletons. B-Class and C-Class hunters are taking the lead and hunting them, but... the weather, and the strange system window, the forest's signs are ominous. It's everyone's opinion that it's best to report to the Rose Guild at the mountain entrance first. Now, let's hurry."
Clown Ahjussi hastily gathered the luggage under the tree and stood up.
A Level 30 monster, was he talking about that fairy-type monster 'Devourer of Grudges' she had just killed?
Listening to Clown Ahjussi, it seemed it had been discovered elsewhere too.
The 'Devourer of Grudges' wasn't a very threatening existence to Eunha, but it could be sufficiently troublesome for more than half of the hunters gathered here.
It was understandable why they were rushing down the mountain.
Eunha thought, gazing at the bundle Clown Ahjussi slung over his shoulder.
'I probably have enough cores too...'
It should be fine to return at this point.
Eunha decided to go back the way she had come with Clown Ahjussi.
But it was strange.
"Huh? This is definitely the right way..."
Clown Ahjussi, stopping his steps, tilted his head.
A large tree with a handkerchief tied to it was visible before them.
It was a place they had passed about 10 minutes ago, and this was already the third time they had reached this tree.
"This is like being tricked by a ghost."
He muttered, looking at the map app on his phone screen.
He had been going around in circles for a while now...
Now that he looked, wasn't it marked as out of range (圈外)?
Meanwhile, it seemed Eunha and Clown Ahjussi weren't the only ones who had lost their way.
A short distance from where the two were currently located.
Several hunters who had already started descending were gathered there.
"What, this wasn't the way?"
"Check properly. At this rate, the sun will set."
All of them were looking around with bewildered faces.
[4]
A system window, appearing simultaneously before each of them as if by agreement.
The situation of not being able to find the way, and this unsettling number, somehow, the premonition wasn't good.
The hunters, pretending not to see the ominous number before them, diligently tapped their terminals and phones.
"Won't the Rose Guild send reinforcements?"
[5]
"I can't tell what's going on outside at all... Is anyone's terminal working? Mine is dead."
[6]
"Mine isn't working either. It was fine until just now... What's wrong?"
[7]
The pop-up frequency of the system window was gradually increasing.
The number had already surpassed 7, then 8, and then 9.
What that number signified, how far it would increase, and what would happen at the very end if it did increase—no one there knew.
As if they shouldn't even harbor such questions, no one mentioned the number.
However, everyone knew.
The fact that all of us were intentionally averting our eyes from it.
It was because they were afraid that they too might be consumed by this darkness gradually encroaching upon the forest.
"X damn, are we trapped here?"
The moment someone, unable to bear it, let out a small curse.
"It's a fairy!"
A hunter shouted, pointing far away.
Flutter...
Between the dense trees, greenish wings could be seen fluttering.
Level 30 'Devourer of Grudges'.
It was the very same fairy-type monster Eunha had defeated earlier.
"I saw it first."
As a hunter in a white hood quickly stepped forward, a hunter wielding a staff followed him.
B-Class hunter 'Gunslinger' and 'Shine J'.
Perhaps these two were the highest-ranked hunters among those gathered here.
'Lucky.'
Gunslinger, chasing the creature, bared his teeth in a grin.
Fairy-type monsters were a rare kind, difficult to even encounter.
Who knows?
Maybe this one will drop a relic-grade item.
Like Pixie Powder, for instance.
To think such a windfall was hidden in this place, which he thought would only be teeming with Level 5 skeletons.
Moreover, Level 30?
For him, a B-Class hunter, it was an easy opponent.
A bonus stage, so to speak.
Whether they could descend or not, that wasn't important right now.
He had lost the previously discovered 'Devourer of Grudges' to another party, so he couldn't miss this one.
Gunslinger, pulling out a pistol from his hip, aimed it at the creature in the blink of an eye with flashy hand movements!
And.
Baaang—!
[10]
...
Only the sound of nameless birds fluttering away after the loud gunshot was heard.
"Hey, could this number possibly be..."
The moment someone hesitantly spoke.
Rumble, rumble, rumble—
The ground began to tremble frighteningly.
Trees shedding their leaves like rain.
A scream seemed to have been heard from not too far away.
[Hidden Achievement Unlocked - 'Devourer of Grudges' 10 kills!]
[Dungeon Necropolis Activated.]
Black clouds completely covered Bokgye Mountain.
