Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 131
#131. What the Compass Pointed To
2022.12.09.
"Huh, there's still one left?"
At the end of the silence, the first to speak was Ayeon.
"What, I thought you all took care of it. Disappointing."
Shriiiik.
A small shuriken formed in Ayeon's palm.
She intended to find and dispose of the last one.
Since there was only one left, she could probably handle it herself.
"No, we caught every single one."
Yoo Hwan stopped her.
Yoo Hwan, who seemed to be thinking about something, cast a glance at Yijun.
"Maestro, is there any chance the monsters you were controlling were counted as allies?"
It was well-known information that Maestro Baek Yijun handled pheromones.
In fact, he had witnessed him using his unique ability to command a large number of 'Guardians of the Altar' like summons.
"There's no such possibility. I instilled in them the command to self-destruct the moment the 'domination' effect ended."
Yijun, putting on the gloves he had taken off, answered firmly.
The monsters Yijun controlled could not defy his commands while the 'domination' effect was active.
It was true that the stronger the command, the more rapidly Yijun's mana and mental strength were consumed, and conversely, the duration of the 'domination' effect decreased sharply.
It wasn't something that could be controlled like a slave just by injecting pheromones.
It was a delicate task that required accurately predicting and controlling the mana consumption.
That was why Yijun had only injected pheromones into a portion of the monsters, not the entire group.
Just in case the 'domination' effect wore off in the middle.
As a result, all the 'Guardians of the Altar' Yijun had been controlling had burned away on that golden scale.
Without a single one left.
Yoo Hwan fell into thought once more.
'I also didn't miss a single one.'
However, the system window before him still displayed only 665 out of 666.
"Perhaps a boss monster will appear."
Siwoo said.
"If that were the case, a boss monster appearance window would have popped up. At least a loading screen."
"Well, we can't completely rule out the possibility that it's hiding somewhere."
Hiding? Where on earth?
This field, which looked like a temple, had no place to hide.
Now that all the silver-armored monsters were gone, all that remained were the flat marble floor, the massive golden scale on the distant stairs, and the pillars supporting the ceiling.
Among them, if a boss monster were to hide...
Yoo Hwan slowly clenched his fist.
And,
"Hup!"
He struck the nearby stone pillar forcefully.
Kwaang—!
White stone fragments rained down on the marble floor.
A massive crack spread across the pillar.
Yoo Hwan rubbed his right fist and approached it.
As expected, the inside of the pillar was not empty.
Meaning, it wasn't a structure where something could be hidden inside.
"First, it would be best to split up and meticulously check the field for anything suspicious, or if we missed any monsters. Time will continue to flow while we stand here blankly."
At Yoo Hwan's words, everyone scattered throughout the field.
Though the possibility of finding something even after a thorough search was remarkably low, there was nothing else they could do right now.
Eunha also separated from them for a moment and looked around the temple.
Clack, clack...
"..."
Then she suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Eunha lowered her black gaze.
A strange woman... holding a black parasol and wearing a frilly dress.
Eunha stared blankly at her own reflection on the flawless white marble floor for a long time.
Come to think of it now, what bothered her wasn't just the attitude of the black tigers when she was trapped in the Unknown Gate.
The fact that the Association's measuring device, which had never malfunctioned before, was the only one to judge Eunha's rank abnormally.
The fact that Eunha's terminal, which was said to be fine, strangely failed to recognize experience point acquisition.
And...
'The Princess of Dark Flare is a monster that appears in ghost stories. It's famous among hunters.'
The ghost story about the 'Princess of Dark Flare' that Jehwi had once told her.
'A dear friend who went missing on Bokgye Mountain long ago. I never thought he'd be alive, but to meet him again like this...'
'The One Who Lost Their Name' whom she had met on Bokgye Mountain.
"..."
Eunha averted her gaze from her reflection on the marble floor and slowly lifted her head.
[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' peeks its head out. Curious as to what you are thinking, it approaches slowly with its tail raised.]
Suddenly, a yellow message window popped up before her.
Since their meaningful conversation before entering the South Coast Gate, the number of times the cat had spoken to Eunha had noticeably decreased.
Whether it was because it was sulking that Eunha suspected it, or because a thief was caught in the act, or if there was another reason, she couldn't tell.
The cat, which had been lying low for a while, had suddenly reappeared and started to peek at Eunha's complexion.
'What am I thinking, you ask.'
Eunha gazed at the massive object visible beyond the yellow message window.
'The Altar of Eternal Rest'.
It was a dazzlingly brilliant golden scale on a white staircase.
The silver-armored monsters defeated by the S-Classes had disappeared without a trace in the white flames above it.
One by one, all 665 of them, except for one.
'Could that one be—'
Eunha faintly shook her head.
...No, that couldn't be.
Though she had suddenly awakened and gained superhuman physical abilities and the unique ability of flames, not for a single moment had she forgotten that she was human.
Even in the moments she endured by tearing and eating monster meat while trapped in the Unknown Gate for a long time, and even after making a contract with the cat and giving up her name, she had always been the human, Cha Eunha.
'...It was definitely so.'
However, that conviction, the moment her eyes met the woman who resembled her, reflected on the marble floor, slowly blurred again.
'It must be... so.'
Actually, she didn't know for sure.
There was more than one thing that bothered her.
"Kitty."
Eunha asked the yellow message window.
"The moment I lost my name, did I lose something else along with it?"
For instance...
"My identity."
Squeeze.
Eunha furtively tightened her grip on the parasol.
And she waited for the cat's answer.
A second felt like a minute, and a minute felt like ten.
In this field that looked like a temple, a faint organ sound was still audible from somewhere.
Finally, when that sound stopped,
[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' asks you.]
The cat said.
[—Sister, do you want to be human?]
Quite some time had passed since they had entered the 'Scales of Choice' and annihilated all the silver-armored monsters.
The S-Classes, having each finished their search of the surroundings, once again gathered under the giant golden scale, in the center of the field.
Of course, as expected, there were no results.
In this field, apart from the five of them, not even a single ant could be found.
"Could it be something like this? That there's a hidden condition for the last monster to appear? You know, the system of this field loves that kind of annoying stuff."
Ayeon said, lightly clapping her hands.
She was the only one among the five who was thinking so carefree.
"Hmm... if not that, then it could just be a simple error."
However, even the great Ayeon lowered her voice slightly at the grimly hardened atmosphere.
"...Phantom Thief. You, who go around robbing gates that are worth money, don't you have at least one useful item for a time like this?"
Yoo Hwan asked Ayeon, grasping at straws.
Among them, Yoo Hwan had known Ayeon the longest.
He knew that, like a squirrel storing food, she usually collected useful items in her inventory.
And that she made a hefty profit by selling them at the annual auction.
"I don't have anything like that."
"Just take a look. A gate-moving scroll or... well, anything is fine."
"No, mister. Do you even know how much one of those scrolls costs?"
He also knew well that she was an annoyingly calculating person and would not open her wallet... no, her inventory, unless absolutely necessary.
However, thinking of Roje and the others who were holding out on the 'outside' until their return, he could no longer afford to delay here.
Yoo Hwan held up three thick fingers before Ayeon's eyes!
"When the mission is over and we're out of the gate, I'll pay you three times the price of the item."
"...To be clear, I really don't have a scroll."
Wait a moment.
Ayeon lightly tapped the air.
As if checking her inventory, her pink eyes began to wander back and forth.
About a minute passed like that.
"Hmm, how about this? I'm not sure if it'll be useful, though."
A gleam shone on Ayeon's palm.
Soon, where the haze of light had disappeared, a small compass appeared.
[Item Details ▶ 'Gulliver's Compass' │ Consumable Item (Etc) │ Rarity: Rare │ A compass that a legendary adventurer always carried with him. It seems it can't be used when lost. There must be another use for it...? │ Remaining Uses: 1]
This was an item Ayeon had stolen... no, obtained, from a Gwangju B-Class gate 3 years ago, a 'detection-type item' that indicated nearby dangers.
Though it was useful for finding traps or hidden monsters, the item itself wasn't even hero-grade, let alone relic-grade, and with only one use left, it was an ambiguous item to sell.
'Since he'll pay three times the price, it's a sweet deal.'
It would be best to get rid of this troublesome item at this opportunity.
Ayeon slid the compass towards Yoo Hwan.
"If a monster is hiding somewhere invisible, this will tell you. As you can see, for an item, it's quite analog, so it can't tell the coordinates, but the direction is accurate."
"Alright. Let's try it."
Yoo Hwan, taking the compass, used it without hesitation.
Drrrrrrk...
The sound of the compass needle spinning walked over the silence.
Ayeon and Yoo Hwan stood motionless, their gazes fixed on the compass, while Eunha, Yijun, and Siwoo waited silently for their reaction from a short distance away.
Thwack!
The needle stopped.
"..."
"..."
However, Yoo Hwan and Ayeon showed no reaction.
For some reason, their backs looked stiffly frozen.
Siwoo, who had been silently watching them while leaning against a nearby pillar, slowly uncrossed his arms.
"What happened?"
Siwoo asked.
If they could at least know the location, or even just the direction, of the last remaining monster, finding and disposing of it would be no trouble at all.
However, they gave Siwoo no answer.
They were still standing motionless, their gazes fixed on the compass.
Siwoo's brow furrowed strangely.
"Could it be that there are no monsters left?"
"No..."
Yoo Hwan's voice was uncharacteristically faint.
Siwoo, frustrated by his trailing words, strode over to them.
"Let me see."
Whip.
Siwoo took the compass from Yoo Hwan's palm and fixed his blue gaze on it.
And.
"..."
Like Yoo Hwan and Ayeon, he froze solid like stone.
Once again, a faint organ sound began to spread throughout this field.
A strange melody, blooming profusely in the silence.
"...Where did you pick up such junk."
Siwoo, who had been frozen for a long time, finally threw the compass to the floor.
As if there was no need to look at it anymore.
Normally, Ayeon, who would not have hesitated to berate him, asking what he was doing to her precious baby, didn't do so now.
She just blinked, looking at the compass rolling on the floor...
Swoosh—
Something cut through her vision quickly and disappeared.
"...?"
The moment Ayeon snapped her head up, thwack!
A dull sound came from her right.
Eunha had swung her parasol widely and struck 'it', which had flown at her.
Finally, thud, what fell to the ground was—.
'A white snake...?'
Ayeon, confirming the snake writhing on the floor, slowly lifted her gaze again.
"Why is no one talking?"
Clack, clack...
The sound of shoes on the marble floor drew closer.
Yijun, walking slowly, picked up the compass that was rolling on the ground with his gloved hand.
Beneath his light beige eyelashes, his ash-gray gaze slowly fell.
The target the compass needle was pointing to was...
"As expected."
Yijun, muttering lowly, let out a deflated laugh.
And he slowly lifted his gaze from the compass.
"I thought something was strange from earlier. No... from the beginning."
His strangely wavering ash-gray eyes were directed precisely at one person.
Swoosh.
Yijun, with his gloved hand, slowly, but surely, opened his palm towards that place.
"Because she died that day."
