Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 128
#128. The Passage
2022.12.06.
South Coast Gate Interior, North Sector.
[The 'Guardian of the Boundary' has been defeated by the 'Phantom Thief'!]
[The Blessing of Life effect is dispelled.]
[The passage connected to the Root of Incubation is activated.]
[ - - - Loading - - - ]
A blue system window appeared before the special mission unit members gathered there.
And of course, before Siwoo as well.
Since their assigned sectors were different, it wasn't easy to grasp the situation, but he could make a rough guess.
Though he didn't yet know what the 'passage' the system window was referring to was, the Phantom Thief, that is, that arrogant girl, had found some kind of 'key'.
The fact that the Sucker Parasites' level-ups stopped after the system window appeared was proof.
Though the number of individuals was still large, the regeneration cycle also seemed to have clearly shortened.
'Is the end in sight?'
Siwoo, standing alone in an inconspicuous place, carefully surveyed his surroundings.
By the special mission unit's standards, no major injuries were visible so far.
It was perhaps a natural result.
The special mission unit was composed only of hunters who had undergone the Wolf Guild's unique high-intensity training.
Though they couldn't be compared to Trickster's seven-member unit in terms of individual ranks, in terms of cooperation, judgment, and crisis management ability, they were pros among pros.
Moreover, since the one leading the special mission unit on the surface, in Siwoo's stead, was Wolf's Vice-Master Lee Hagyun, no major accidents would occur against Level 30 monsters.
'However...'
His blue eyes, peeking out from under his hood, momentarily sank coldly.
Though the number of Sucker Parasites was no longer increasing, conversely, it wasn't decreasing either.
No matter how many they defeated, they respawned again up to a certain number.
Like a heart supplying the necessary amount of blood to the body, this land, this space, was 'generating' monsters.
Even if an A-Class or higher hunter, or an S-Class hunter, stepped forward and annihilated a large number of monsters at once, it would only buy a little time.
"Young Master."
Thud.
The man in the black mask, Hagyun, landed lightly beside Siwoo.
"What's the situation?"
"As you commanded, I had the hunters with the insight skill check... and it seems Young Master's prediction is correct."
Hagyun added in a low voice.
"They say that massive root seems to be absorbing stamina."
"So."
"We tried to destroy the root, but it was impossible. It seems the system doesn't allow it."
"..."
Siwoo gazed at the root that enveloped this entire space.
It was so massive and thick that one might wonder if it were the root of the 'World Tree' from legends.
"Did you confirm the direction the root is absorbing stamina from?"
"Upwards."
At Hagyun's answer, Siwoo slowly lifted his gaze.
If their prediction was correct, the place they were in now was the 'First Gate'.
...Meaning.
'The 'Second Gate' is waiting above this.'
Siwoo, without taking his eyes off the root, said.
"There's probably someone in the other units who has noticed. A message will come soon. As long as the number of monsters doesn't decrease, we can't all move. Select the personnel who will remain here, and move with only the useful ones."
"Yes."
"And—"
His blue gaze, fixed on the root, flickered towards Hagyun.
Siwoo, who was about to say something, hesitated for a brief moment.
"Give your command."
Hagyun waited for the words to follow.
However, Siwoo averted his gaze from him.
"No. It's nothing. Go."
...He was about to order him to go and find out the situation of the support unit in charge of the southern sector.
Because among the five units that had entered the gate, it was the unit with the lowest combat power, excluding the healing unit.
And because it was the unit led by Sunbae.
'...Will she be okay?'
She'll be okay. She must be.
It's Sunbae, of all people.
Nothing can possibly happen.
While repeating it like a mantra, Siwoo had already taken a step in the southern direction.
'...Should I just pretend not to know, and just check on her as if passing by?'
Right.
Moreover, Trickster and Phantom Thief, and even Maestro are here.
There's no telling what they might do to Sunbae.
Just for a moment, just check on her condition briefly from afar.
As if having decided so, he swung his legs forward, but then, not long after, he froze in place.
'No.'
Siwoo bit his nails.
The content of his last conversation with her was still vivid.
That night the Association held a simple send-off ceremony.
He still remembered too clearly what nonsense he had spouted, uncharacteristically drunk.
If he were to face Eunha right now, he was at a loss as to what expression, what voice, and what topic to start the conversation with.
Just imagining it made his heart sink and his face flush, and Siwoo washed his face with his dry hands out of habit.
"..."
Then, thud, he dropped his hands.
Right... of course, it didn't seem like Sunbae would care about such things.
There was a high possibility she had already completely forgotten.
He might be the only one feeling this embarrassed, ashamed, and awkward.
What was funny was that even the thought that he might be the only one feeling this way felt embarrassing, shameful, and awkward.
—Really, I'm going crazy.
Siwoo lifted his large hand and slapped it over his eyes.
An inexplicable, stuffy feeling filled his chest.
Unable to bear it, he finally let out a slow sigh.
"Young Master?"
"...!"
Startled, Siwoo removed the hand covering his eyes and snapped his head around.
Hagyun, who had disappeared after receiving his command, had returned.
Whether it was because Siwoo had been pacing back and forth, then washing his face, and now even letting out a long sigh, Hagyun's gaze from behind his mask was peculiar.
"...Is there a problem?"
Siwoo, feigning composure, lowered his voice.
"The eastern sector, Monkey King's 1st unit, has sent a message."
A message.
At that word, Siwoo's slightly parted lips closed.
East Sector.
"Mister, a 'passage'? What do you mean?"
Minju, who had arrived after hearing the message, tilted his head at Yoo Hwan.
Seeing him mention the 'passage', it seemed the same system window had popped up for Trickster, who was in charge of the western sector.
"I called you to talk about that."
Yoo Hwan, after confirming the faces gathered here, spoke.
He explained in detail about discovering the magic circle leading to the 'Root of Incubation' where they were standing, and how the 'passage' had opened the moment Phantom Thief defeated the guardian inside.
"The passage the system window is talking about seems to be this."
He glanced behind him.
There was a magnificent golden door.
This door had appeared as if waiting, as soon as Ayeon, who had dealt with the guardian, returned to the 'outside'.
Its location was the underground of the gate's eastern region.
Exactly where they had discovered the magic circle.
A massive door, not attached to a wall, floor, or even the ceiling, but simply floating in the air.
On its surface, a crest of a sword and scales was engraved.
"According to the Phantom Thief, who entered the Root of Incubation, she didn't obtain any particular information about the 'passage'."
Yoo Hwan cast a glance at Ayeon.
He had only thought of her as a selfish and irresponsible kid.
Though that evaluation itself hadn't changed, it was undeniable that this girl was, in name and reality, one of Korea's S-Classes.
Ayeon, returning from defeating the guardian, showed no signs of injury, not even a change in her complexion, and was checking her inventory with a smirking grin.
Did she get some decent item?
Anyway, it was hard to believe that she had just returned from a battle in a field covered in poisonous mist.
Yoo Hwan, averting his gaze from Ayeon, spoke to everyone again.
"Like this Root of Incubation field and the place where the monster called the guardian was, there's a possibility that this 'passage' also connects to another dimension. Before, thankfully, Phantom Thief was able to return here after clearing it, but well, what about this time."
Yoo Hwan narrowed his red eyes and carefully examined the mysterious door.
On the door's surface, the crest of a sword and scales was also engraved.
Of course, no one here knew the meaning of that crest.
They didn't know where this 'passage' connected to, or even what lay beyond it.
"Perhaps there's another passage inside the passage, or maybe it leads to a completely different space. In short, it's a damn frustrating situation. But one thing is for sure. Unless we charge in and check, there's no answer as it is."
Yoo Hwan cast his gaze over the faces gathered around him.
Roje, Minju, Eunha, Ayeon, Hagyun, the tall young man from Wolf he had talked to at the send-off ceremony,
And—.
"..."
Even Maestro Baek Yijun.
After confirming everyone's faces, Yoo Hwan grinned.
"For reference, I'm planning to go."
He had confirmed it enough at the Root of Incubation.
Whatever lay beyond this, it would be no match for even a considerably skilled hunter.
A task that was impossible for Jaemin was only resolved after the S-Class Phantom Thief stepped up.
So this time too, he had to expect that level of difficulty, or even higher.
"It seems it's time for the big shots to step up."
A short silence followed Yoo Hwan's words.
Everyone seemed to be lost in thought.
Of course, none of the 'big shots' gathered here were frightened.
However, they had to contemplate whether it was right to jump into a 'passage' with no information, leaving their units behind.
"Can't we just all go together?"
Minju, who had been rolling his head, came up with a simple and clear answer.
An answer that only the elite Corps Guild could reach.
"That's impossible."
Roje shook her head firmly.
"The place we're standing now is, so to speak, near the entrance of the gate. As long as we can't completely exterminate the Sucker Parasites, it's reckless to empty this place entirely."
There was merit in that argument too.
It seemed Roje was worried about civilians being harmed by a gate overflow phenomenon.
A gate overflow phenomenon was, simply put, a phenomenon where the number of monsters inside a gate increased to the point where they eventually broke through the exit and poured out like a flood.
This phenomenon mainly occurred in gates that had been neglected for a long time, or in cases where subjugation failed or took a long time.
"We need to leave enough forces here to maintain the number of Sucker Parasites so they don't increase any further. At the very least."
"Hmm... If what Aunt says is true, then not all the S-Classes can move either. If we all cross the passage, the remaining dregs will have to take care of this place."
D-dregs...
At his master's uninhibited remark, Junhwan, who was beside him, coughed loudly.
He understood well what Minju was trying to say.
He was probably worried that the moment all the S-Classes left, this place would face a crisis of its own.
"Both sides are right."
Yoo Hwan, who had been listening to their conversation, nodded.
"The choice is free. Whether to enter the 'passage' or to stay here and face the Sucker Parasites with your unit members is up to you. I'll say it again, I'm going."
Saying so, Yoo Hwan took a step towards the mysterious, massive door, the 'passage'.
Ayeon lightly stepped behind him.
"I'm going too."
Though it hadn't been long since she returned from the Root of Incubation, that didn't matter.
She didn't know what this door led to, but it would at least be better than this place, teeming with bugs.
That conviction moved Ayeon.
"I'll go too."
Wolf's Hagyun also stood beside them.
There was no word more unfitting for Wolf than retreat.
He judged that it was right to advance, whether it turned out good or bad, rather than just twiddling his thumbs at the entrance.
"...I'll stay here. Since it's a battle with no end in sight, the role of the healing unit will be important."
Roje decided to stay, and,
"Our Corps will also stay."
Minju... to be precise, Junhwan, also decided to stay.
Because he was still worried about Minju, who had been seriously injured in an Unknown Gate before.
"Huh? Why? I'm going."
Minju, whose eyes had been sparkling with curiosity about what lay beyond the passage, looked at Junhwan with a deflated face.
Junhwan, unusually for him, shouted.
"What are you saying, Master? You promised us you wouldn't overdo it in exchange for letting you stubbornly participate in the South Coast Gate subjugation."
"..."
As long as there was no information about what lay beyond the door, he couldn't recklessly send his master there.
Not until he was six feet under, absolutely not.
Besides, Minju, Trickster's skills were mostly wide-area attacks using grenades or bazookas.
As such, they were a huge help in a war of attrition against the Sucker Parasites.
"Anyone else?"
Yoo Hwan, standing before the door, asked.
In the end, only Yoo Hwan, Ayeon, and Hagyun, three people, decided to enter the 'passage'.
"...I'll go too."
Clack—
With the clear sound of heels, Eunha spoke.
'If this is really an Unknown Gate.'
The reason Eunha was trapped there that day, information about the cat that wasn't included in the 12 divine beasts, perhaps she could obtain something else.
However, as long as she remained here at the root, she would gain nothing.
'The support unit is a bit of a concern, but...'
Now that the high-level monsters were cleared, if the other S-Classes stayed here and led the hunters together, it would be fine.
Securing a passage to enter the center of the gate should be the priority.
"I was wondering why you weren't stepping up."
Yoo Hwan smiled with satisfaction at Eunha's support.
Meanwhile, Siwoo, who had been quietly watching the situation from a corner, raised an eyebrow, unnoticed by others.
'...Sunbae?'
Is she planning to enter the passage?
'If so, then I too—'
Pause.
Siwoo, who had been about to follow Eunha without realizing it, barely stopped himself.
...Among the people gathered here, only a very few knew Siwoo's identity.
While the captain-level hunters were volunteering to enter the passage, if an unidentified man followed them, it would surely arouse suspicion.
So it was right to just stay still.
There was no need to step forward.
Right, come to think of it, there was no need to step forward at all.
However, that resolve of Siwoo's was soon to crumble down in a ridiculously absurd way.
"I'll go too."
The man who strode up beside Eunha.
Maestro Baek Yijun.
The moment he saw him.
