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Chapter 62
I Came Back And Conquered It All
Sensation
Ring, ring!
Immediately after parting with her, the terminal on my wrist rang. It automatically searched and showed the phone number of the caller. It was the line used by the Constitutional Department. It must have been the officer in charge who guided us.
After finishing the final grading, the officer advised us to stop by the center. Upon receiving the SS-Rank, the Constitutional Department database was updated, even though the entire department seemed chaotic. All he wanted us to do was to stop by and chat with the high people, but I didn't plan on doing so. As he failed to persuade me, he went back to the center by himself, and of course, he must have been severely scolded by his superiors who were expecting him to bring me with him.
"Jin-Wook, won't you answer the call?"
"It's all right."
Just in time, the unmanned vehicle I called stopped in front of us.
"Come on, let's go."
*
Secretary Kim, who was driving alone after secreting Yoo Kyung-Jae into a hidden place, turned his gaze to the suddenly noisy terminal ringing incessantly.
"Hmm? Isn't this a guild number?"
Even though he'd taken the day off, he still allowed emergency calls through, which meant that it was an emergency or someone was causing a scene again.
"Is the Guild Master acting up again?"
Just a day or two ago, Seo Gyu-Cheol tossed him around, as he was assigned as Seo Jin-Wook's security, but he couldn't help but frown at times like these.
"Since we are operating the guild like this in 2038, it's no wonder hunters keep trying to leave. A company that calls and bothers on vacation…."
He stopped grumbling and answered the call.
"Yes, this is Kim Byung-Ho."
"Hey! Secretary Kim! Did you know of this?"
The voice was that of a Senior.
"Huh? Senior Choi? It's my day off today…." He protested, but the other guy didn't bother to listen.
"About Seo Jin-Wook! Did you know or not?"
Secretary Kim tensed at the mention of Seo Jin-Wook. He knew that he was going to the promotion review today. Did something happen there? Or did Seo Gyu-Cheol come running faster than expected and confronted him after hearing the news?
"What about Team Leader Seo?" he asked, masking his confusion.
"He lost the title of Team Leader a long time ago ever since he took a leave of absence, what Team Leader…? You really didn't know?"
"If you keep talking like that, this conversation could go on all day."
"Look at the news, you punk!"
Secretary Kim pulled over to the shoulder. While keeping the call on, he manipulated the terminal to display the video. It was a news channel.
The reporter's voice followed: "This is information consistently being heard through several people involved in the Hunter Management Department. A spokesman said that he would make an official statement within the day. Unlike previous gossip, it is almost certain that they did not immediately deny them. I repeat. Upon today's regular examination held at the Hunter Center in Seoul, information that Korea's first SS-ranked Awakened was found is rapidly spreading among hunters. The Awakened person is known as Mr. Seo, the eldest son of the nation's leading Hunter Guild, 'Celestial Dragon.'
Secretary Kim gasped instinctively and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. The subtitles remained unchanged, and he blinked his eyes in frustration.
'Korea's First SS Hunter is born? He is the eldest son of Celestial Dragon Guild, Mr. Seo.'
"The eldest son of the Celestial Dragons."
There was no point in using an alias. A single search would bring up all his personal information.
"No, even if that's true, but…."
He knew that what he showed was not an ordinary level of growth. Even though he didn't know how it was done, not only did he fight against Park Chang-Hee of A-rank, but he also showed the amazing ability he experienced for the first time.
But this was unexpected. An SS-Rank!
"It seems that the Guild Master received the information in advance through the connections he planted in the Hunter Management Department. Everyone tried to dissuade him, but he already ran to the center. There's a whole bunch of reporters out there right now!"
"Ah…."
That was certainly a problem. In those days, Seo Gyu-Cheol's words and actions were not presentable in front of the press.
'No.' Secretary Kim immediately changed his mind. 'Is it rather better?' He roughly knew Seo Jin-Wook's plan. Secretary Kim laughed quietly. 'Maybe it's a chance for our Team Leader.'
*
Hunter Center, Seoul.
In front of the center, adjacent to the Hunter Management Department complex, reporters had already gathered for the coverage. Having many excellent hunters was equivalent to national power, and the birth of a high-rank Hunter had always been news that shocked the country. In the crowd, there was a stream of grumbling where people were standing shoulder to shoulder.
"Jeez, won't they open the press center? Why are they telling us to wait outside?"
"That place and the lobby on the first floor is already full of reporters. They told us to wait here since they're trying to make the room as we speak."
"What? That big place is full?"
"It's like all the journalists in our country are gathered."
A black vehicle then arrived in a public parking lot used by the center and the Hunter Management Department.
"Oh, there's the Celestial Dragon's Guild Master!"
"It's Seo Gyu-Cheol!"
Click-click-click! The cameras flashed all at once.
"It's rather a good thing we waited outside!"
Reporters rushed to Seo Gyu-Cheol and pushed the microphone in his face.
"Guild Master Seo Gyu-Cheol! There's news that your eldest son, Hunter Seo Jin-Wook, has received the SS rank this time. How do you feel?"
The reporter's face, who had barely won the physical struggle and had asked the first question, gradually stiffened.
Seo Gyu-Cheol did not say anything but looked at the reporters, who had blocked his path, with a cold gaze.
'What kind of stare is this!'
The reporters were taken aback. Seo Gyu-Cheol was famous for his cold attitude, but he at least kept his courtesy to the media. Known for his obsession with his reputation of being Korea's No. 1, he was aware of the importance of the media. He was famous for gathering reporters and holding a press conference at every opportunity, even if a small achievement was made—a person of a very pro-media inclination.
'This is…!'
Most reporters handling Hunter-related issues were familiar with Seo Gyu-Cheol, but were still taken aback with his gaze. It was completely different from his usual face—a beastly gaze filled with hostility and hatred. And…. and even madness flowed out of his eyes. Seo Gyu-Cheol's fierce eyes were captured in the camera.
Everyone felt the murderous stare. The gathered reporters felt the weight of the air pressed on their lungs. As they were not Awakens, they were overwhelmed by Seo Gyu-Cheol's explosive aura.
Then, a crushed voice rang their ears, "You better back off."
Reporters and cameras made their way for him as if the sea were splitting. In between, Seo Gyu-Cheol walked silently. All those scenes were being broadcast live and nationwide through the camera.
*
"Come on, Guild Master! What were you thinking of doing so outside?" The Assistant Secretary of the Hunter Management Department welcomed Seo Gyu-Cheol instead of the Minister who was called to the Blue House, or the Presidential Palace, for a meeting of officials.
Seo Gyu-Cheol said with fiery eyes without paying respect while standing up without waiting for him to sit down, "You can't do this to me, Mr. Secretary. Consider how much money I have given to the Hunter Management Department so far!"
Like the reporters, the assistant secretary felt chills as he was standing in front of the beast. Without realizing it, a cold sweat flowed down his back. He spoke, barely holding on to his spirit, "I don't know what this is about, but let's calm down and talk."
Only then did the vice-minister feel that heavy atmosphere, that had been heavily weighing on the room, disappear. He took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat off. After hesitating, he sat face to face with Seo Gyu-Cheol.
"The scene where you just confronted the reporters was broadcast live across the country. Whether looking at the Guild Master's expression or the tone, it seemed like an Awakened Hunter was threatening a powerless civilian. Anyone could see that. You broadcast yourself that way when we are trying so hard to improve the image of the Hunters!"
Seo Gyu-Cheol did not wait to listen to all the words.
"Why was the news that my son came here delivered so late? And you just let him go without knowing where he was headed to?"
The vice minister also had a lot to say. To sum up what the employees said, the speed at which the words leaked out to the Celestial Dragon was their best, and there was no excuse for the officials to hold the SS Hunter down when he insisted that he should go.
"I mean, wait a minute. Guild Master, you're not doing this because of Hunter Seo Jin-Wook, are you? Is it because of that rumor lately going around? The rumor that the government is interested in the Celestial Dragon's stake? I told you there's nothing we can do about it. The stake purchase itself is carried out by a different department from the Hunter Management Department, and it reflects the intention of the people above…."
"Don't change the subject. I'm here to talk about Seo Jin-Wook!"
Upon hearing his words, the vice minister was beyond being baffled and was now speechless.
'So, he really came here to complain about his son?'
The look on his face suggested he was ready to kill a few people right now. And the subject of the complaint was… why wasn't his son held down here? Furthermore, he didn't seem to be interested in the government's plan to buy stakes that could easily be a bone of contention.
The vice minister said hesitantly and cautiously, "Excuse me…. Guild Master? Don't misunderstand my words and listen. From the way I see it, I don't think you need to do this here, but perhaps some professional counseling.
The vice-minister made a note to instruct the staff after Seo Gyu-Cheol left. 'As soon as rumors spread that his mentally ill son was completely cured, this time, the father went crazy. Man, they're an ill-fated family.'
The vice-minister planned to instruct people to dig into the rumors that Seo Gyu-Cheol's reputation was flawed. More precisely, to focus on the rumor that his mind was fluctuating.
*
The Internet was riled up. Media, social media, and communities were all talking about the newly born SS Hunter.
'Yeah, this much attention is natural.'
The more I became the center of attention, the better. In the course of looking into such news, I found an unexpected article.
"Hmm?"
Along with Seo Gyu-Cheol's photo, a provocative title continued:
'Threatening words and actions shown in front of the press by Seo Gyu-Cheol, the head of the Celestial Dragon Guild.'
'Why did he appear alone in the Hunter Management Department on the day his son received the SS rank?'
'The discord between the father and son on the rise.'
That crazy person. He must have gone to the center himself to find me. In the process, he even caused a scene with the media. I clicked my tongue inwardly and turned off the hologram just as a call came through the line.
'It's the Gate Keepers!'
I answered the call immediately, "Yes, this is Seo Jin-Wook."
*
More than 1,000 dungeons were opened in Korea every year, but the Clear was carried out by priority. The dungeon was not always infested with monsters, the difficulty of Clear is different, and there was a difference in stability and change patterns. Based on the monsters' characteristics, if the risk at the onset of the break was fatal, the ranking was high, and if the word 'unstable' was attached to the state, it was of top priority. Falling behind in the priorities was precisely the opposite. Especially if it was difficult to ascertain the conditions for Clear in the dungeon.
'The government allocates the gates to a guild for up until a year. After that period, they have to bid again among the guild, and there are some gates where no one bids, for various reasons.'
Dungeons were less profitable because they were difficult to attack compared to the ranks of their hunters. Simultaneously, the dungeon was either 'very stable' or 'stable,' so there was no need to set up a team.
'Gate Keepers Guild volunteers to manage the doors to those dungeons.'
For some of those dungeons, I would get a license to use as an individual this time. To train the two people and mine the treasure buried there.
"Yes, thank you. I'm looking forward to it."
I ended the call with a Gate Keepers Guild member, introduced by Lee Ji-Soo, and I smiled satisfactorily, "All right."
I could feel the gaze of Hibiki and Nate staring at my face. They must have been curious after hearing the contents of the call. As soon as I looked at them, Hibiki asked, "Was the place that we could train decided?"
I nodded, "Yes, there are only three."
Nate's face was filled with expectation, "Wow! Three? From when?"
"Right now."
"Yay!"
Hibiki said, "I heard that dungeons used for training are usually borrowed one to two weeks at a time. It's going to take a month to go around, right?"
"No, what are you talking about?"
How can you say that, for a month?
I said with a smile, "By the end of the day, we will finish all three."
"Yes?"
The contract with the Gate Keepers Guild was made through electronic documents using the terminal, without the need of a face-to-face meeting, and was effective upon deposit. The destination entered in the vehicle's navigation was the nearest dungeon.
"Sleep in the car to ready yourselves; for the next 24 hours or so, you won't have time to sleep except when you're on the move."
Training would be tough from the outset.
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Ranobes » Updates » I Came Back And Conquered It All » Chapter 63
           
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Chapter 63
I Came Back And Conquered It All
Expensive and Useless (1)
A Gate Keeper hunter was waiting at the destination, clearly contacted in advance. No official from the Hunter Management Department was present at the gate, so he alone welcomed us.
"Welcome."
Looking at the way they worked, it was difficult to consider them as an organization that simply, after earning money, regularly checked the gate's status message, or went inside the gate to inspect the internal structure of the dungeon instead of Clearing it by themselves. And if there were guilds or individuals who wish to mine or clear, they could sell their fixed-term licenses at a reasonable price. Dungeons postponed by the big guilds did not easily collapse, but they often succeeded as well. Such a case once appeared from the type of dungeon that could not be taken by force.
"You're really an SS-Rank! Congratulations."
After confirming my Hunter's license, whether he had already heard the news through the Internet or not, he exclaimed without any notion of surprise, "This is a real national celebration." His eyes contained a mixture of envy, curiosity, and admiration. He looked at me with such intense eyes and asked, "Don't you have to go back to Celestial Dragon right now and prepare for the press conference? We don't have much contact with your side. But I know that the Guild Master is a man who cares a lot about those."
He must have seen the news about me, but I guessed he hadn't heard Seo Gyu-Cheol's information yet. Seo Gyu-Cheol was now poised to be made a villain by all reporters. With public antipathy, I laughed bitterly.
"I have some personal matters."
Hunter tilted his head and said, "Well, alright. Then…. you must have already received the basic information about the dungeon. By the way, you only paid for one day's fee. Then it'll end after you guys have a hard time at the entrance. Even if the three of you take turns using levitation, you can't go far because of the potion shock."
Even though all the dungeons protected by the Gate Keepers were like this, there was also a reason why the attack on this site was slow.
"Well, it's not for mining or attack; it's for some sort of field trip."
"Ah, for sure…. all three of you don't have extensive careers yet."
He nodded as he saw our members' Hunter's card.
"It's definitely one of Korea's rarer dungeons."
Today's dungeon exploration would not be very useful for the three of us, but we chose places where the acquisition, which makes a lot of money if sold, came out. As with other goods, the value of most artifacts over time.
'In the future, the price may fall or become worthless, but now, the price is as we demand.'
While he was checking Nate and Hibiki's belongings on behalf of the public official, I glanced at the ring on my finger, a ring that I reported as an ordinary artifact.
It was the compensation I received when the S-rank, Siheung 8 dungeon Clear, was over. It was also an item that could not be traded, as it was invaluable. I recalled the moment when I got my hands on the ring.
*
When I was summoned to the place where I selected the additional rewards, after annihilating the third stage dungeon monsters, my heart went crazy.
'It's SSS-class!'
This was because, among the numerous options, the item matched the SSS-Rank standard in Mana concentration, as would be expected. Nonetheless, I couldn't decide and hesitated.
I'd never seen such a pattern, either in my past or present life! It was not a type used for offense, and it was not a defensive type, or a support type. It was hard to guess. I was even more perplexed because there were many SS-Rank items that I was already familiar with.
Having no clue, I still had to choose.
But it was an item whose performance I was vaguely aware of, so I was sure I could upgrade my battle power if I carried it around. And it was an item I was sure to be of an SSS-Rank, even if I didn't know its effect. But then I saw a description of the ring's in my hand; I realized that it was not something I could sell to the Senator or hand over to anyone else.
The item description was as follows:
[Door of Hope] – Item Description: The last emperor of the Sebrarian Empire secretly instructed his aides in preparation for the final war. It was to find a way to evacuate all the citizens in case of emergency.
Thus, the miraculous legacy was born, after the best brains and powerful men of the Empire gathered together. Unfortunately, the emperor's evacuation plan was never put into practice. By the time R&D was over and mass production was available, there were no dimensions left for them to evacuate.
※ Note: 1. If the correct coordinates are not entered, there is a risk of being swept away by the dimensional storm.
Movement within the same dimension is impossible due to the operating principles that leverage the population resources between dimensions.
The farther the destination dimension is from the origin dimension, and the more the population there is to be transported, the more Mana cores are consumed.
If the user to whom the item is attached is transferred, the item will also be sent to the destination dimension.
It was an unexpected item for real. The words 'dimensional storm' was taught by the system in my previous life. I was told these dimensional storms had once been on Earth as well. Much like sailing a ship, in this case through dimensional waters in the midst of a storm, the purpose was to navigate in such a way as to not cause a collision and leave oneself stranded or even 'shipwrecked'.
In the explanation of this ring, the Empire named Sebrarian, was mentioned, another familiar word. It was a unique noun that was also described with the [Stardust Wing], which was rated SS. It was a huge empire that existed in a different dimension, in the past, and had several planets in its territory.
As I looked at the explanation, I realized it was an item that made it possible to move between dimensions; a tool that opened the door directly to the destination without passing through dungeons, just like when the alien race had sought to invade the Earth. It was a treasure I have never encountered in my previous life.
After attacking the Siheung 8 dungeon, I returned to my place and tested the ring's function.
Wooong!
The condition to wake the Artifact up was simple. Just like other things, I did it by simply injecting Mana. The ring naturally slipped off my finger, and grew in size, making a hoop-like shape large enough for a person to enter. The void inside the rim was filled with blue light.
'It looked like a gate.'
Then, the telepathy of the Artifact flowed into my brain.
– Please enter coordinates.
I paused.
Coordinates? What coordinates?
I had no information on the correlation between specific dimensions and their coordinates. Right now, I didn't even know the coordinates of the Earth dimension I was in. I could not enter any number and jump in, or else I could be swept away by a dimensional storm if I entered an incorrect coordinate. So, with no intention of entering the door, I entered a random number in the group of lights floated by the Artifact and looked at what results it gave.
And then…
– Coordinates confirmed. A Mana core containing 890,000 Mana is needed to transport one human species to the destination you entered. At that moment, I unconsciously checked my Mana.
– Active Mana: 55,500 (+23,400)/32,100
– Potential Mana: 96,100
The minimum condition for SS rank promotion is 30,000 active Mana, and my potential Mana was already several times that. It was clear that my growth would go beyond anyone's expectations from this moment on. Nevertheless, if I had a core of 890,000 Mana in my hand, I would surely absorb it with [Mana Drain].
After that, I put in random coordinates a few more times and eventually just closed the door. And back in the form of a ring, [Door of Hope] remained in a sleeping state.
Perhaps the Artifact's reason to require a tremendous amount of Mana was that the destination was a great distance away. The greater the distance, the more Mana would be required. It was not even possible to estimate how much core it would need for a nearer dimension, and I had no least amount of material to experiment with. But I knew it was a really great item, but nothing I could use at that moment.
While I was thinking of the past, the Hunter of the Gate Keepers called me up and woke me up from my thoughts. All preparations were completed.
"Well, have a safe trip."
We entered the dungeon.
*
A terrible heat greeted us as soon as we crossed the gate.
"Blargh!"
"I-It's hot."
Nate immediately zombified his whole body to stop feeling the intense heat. The process killed all his nerves. To be fair, it was not a bad choice with the temperature being too high, because it would slow down decay or rather sterilize it, but I didn't like it.
[Heat Resistance!]
As I cast the spell onto everyone, only then did they give a look that suggested they could stand it. Nate returned to his original form.
He asked, with his eyes wide open, "It's completely different from the place where we took the test."
"Since it's a different dimension."
The scenery beyond the blazing haze was filled with red magma. This dungeon was a kind of volcanic zone. Magma rivers, covering the dry land, flowed everywhere. There were no sign of living creatures or organic lifeforms, at least for now, except for a few dark red trees with their roots on the ground.
"How can a tree live in this hot weather?"
"That's not a carbon-based creature, like a tree on Earth."
I approached the huge tree and cut off a branch. Instead of sap on the cut surface, something like a dark red jewel glistened.
"Oh… I see."
I put the branch in my backpack instead of throwing it away.
"Jin-Wook, why are you taking that?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
This dungeon's Clear was difficult because it was hot, but the overland route was often cut off over a long distance due to the river of magma flowing here and there.
I thought of using levitation, while preventing a potion shock, but the distance I could move forward, in a day, was limited. But, of course, I didn't intend to waste Mana that way.
Weing!
I opened the [Stardust Wing].
If I controlled the speed well, my exceptionally efficient Artifact would be far greater than a levitation spell. Nate opened his mouth at the sight of particles of light gathering to form six wings.
"Are you going to fly by holding onto both of us?" he said, incredulously.
"Yes."
Hibiki paused, "Wait, hold… and fly?"
*
Whoosh!
I relied on the map in my head to put my passengers onto an island-like ground floating around the magma. While flying in my arms (Nate enjoyed flying), Hibiki said nothing, but stiffened her entire body. I didn't recall her having a fear of heights in the previous life. I wondered if she had overcome it later.
"Shh! Shh!"
There was a huge, hill-like rock on the island. On the surface of the rock, lizards, whose whole bodies were wrapped in flames, were sleeping with their bodies close to the rock. As we approached, they remained vigilant.
"It's a Fire Lizard. They have a bad reputation with zombies, so Hibiki, take care of it alone."
"Okay," Hibiki, who was catching her breath, nodded with a firm expression and immediately prepared the spells. The Runestone I gave her shone, and huge magic circles appeared in front of her—three at the same time.
[Ice Spear]
[Freeze Arrow]
[Blizzard Storm]
Ice spears and arrows stretched out from her hand and penetrated the Fire Lizards while an ice storm enveloped and trapped them.
Swish!
Even those who managed to avoid the fierce attacks slowed down in the ice storm, and the attack hit accurately. In the process of overlapping several ice-based magic, the freezing effect was maximized, so we forgot the heat for a while, even if we were a bit distant.
"Ugh! It's cold."
Even the [Heat Resistance] overlapped, so it reached the point where even a slight chill could be felt. After Hibiki finished all the monsters and recovered Mana Cores, I asked Nate, "You see that big rock? The ones where the lizards were resting against."
"Yes."
"Can you please cut the rock about two meters from the surface? Don't break it completely, just two meters."
"Two meters?" he quizzed. It was clear he was not familiar with the metric system. I showed my sword energy in a long stick shape to illustrate the length.
"This is the length."
"Yes, okay."
This was also Mana Control Training. He concentrated his mind, rallied Mana at the end of his hand, then shot it. When the wave reached the huge rock's surface, it caused a violent shock and smashed the rock.
Boom!
"That's too bad; it needed just a bit more."
"Man!"
He couldn't cut as much as I wanted him to, and the shock wave of the psychokinesis stopped along the way. I shaved off the remaining stones by blowing a shock wave. Then, the thing that was hidden in the middle of the rock was revealed.
"Huh? There's a fire hidden in the stone?"
It was a brilliant green flame, rumbling in the middle of broken, exposed rock. The flame was held by the rock. This is why the lizards gathered here and were standing close to the rock.
"Would you like to come closer?"
The expressions of the two, who were walking, changed. Strange heat surrounded them.
"My body…. feels good and warm," Hibiki said admiringly.
"Has your fatigue gone away and do you feel energized?"
"Yes."
"Wow, Jin-Wook. What's this?"
When exposed to the effect, the item description comes up:
[Vital Flame]
– Item description: This flame, which restores fatigue just by being up close, burns stronger, consuming the sleeping potential Mana in the Mana core when it is contacted.
The enhanced heat generated during combustion heals damaged cells, stimulates cell division, and recovers the gene's telomeres. If it consumes all of the potential Mana, the effect stops.
Most hunters would avoid it because of the description that it burns up the potential Mana when it was attached to the core, but some of the world's Awakens were not interested in dungeon exploration. Some wealthy people were Awakened just because they wanted to have a healthy body and a slight increase in life expectancy.
"What this is...." I began, thinking that this was an item that was expensive but useless to me, in my previous life and my present life, I didn't need it for different reasons. I continued, "It's the medicine for rejuvenation."
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Ranobes » Updates » I Came Back And Conquered It All » Chapter 64
           
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Chapter 64
I Came Back And Conquered It All
Expensive and Useless (2)
'Perhaps the reason why this was the first thing that came to mind when I thought about items that would be money was because of my past life?'
I laughed bitterly at the thought. At the last moment, unlike my colleagues, who were all SSS-Ranked, I was facing aging alone and could not benefit from [Vital Flame].
"What this is, is...."
I explained briefly to Hibiki and Nate about the effect of the item. From the moment the flame was attached to the core, the reversal of aging began, and youth could be restored. The state continued until all Potential Mana was consumed.
"Instead of being young and maintaining great physical abilities like a Hunter, who is B-level or above, it only rejuvenates a person. It's about exchanging the rejuvenation with growth as a hunter through the activation of Mana. It's not something we need."
Hibiki tilted her head as she listened, "So, it only works on an Awakened. People who might want this are rich old people who are Awakened and don't go to dungeons."
As expected, she understood it at once.
"That's right."
"But then, isn't it hard to sell the Awakening Stones to anyone? To prevent the Awakening of those who can't be active as Hunters. Are there that many Awakened old people in the world?"
The physical conditions at the time of the Awakening affected everyone, even after the Awakening. In short, an older man in his 90s couldn't do 100 meters in five seconds like a hunter in his 20s. Therefore, most countries were controlling the distribution of Awakening Stone. Most of them, but not all.
"Not every country has strict control over the Awakening Stone like Korea does. Even in areas like the Middle East and Africa, only the powerful and the rich have all Awakened. If one has a lot of money in those places, one can be exempted from being hunter recruits in case of a national emergency."
They were not worried about conscription anyway, so they freely Awaken.
After my explanation, I put the [Vital Flame] on the red-black branches I had packed earlier. Then the fire that the stone had held spread to the branches, and nothing was left in the broken rock.
"Now, we're going to go around a few more places like this."
Hibiki sighed, very shallowly, when I said we had to fly again.
*
During the two-hour trek around the island, Hibiki hunted for the Fire Lizards, and Nate practiced Mana control over the rocks. When the stone broke and a new flame came out, I kept transferring it to the branch I was holding. Then the flame, which was smaller than a fist at first, grew as big as three human heads combined.
"Well…. I don't think I can make them a subordinate."
Unlike the troll, the Fire Lizards could not be zombified. It seemed to be because of the nature of their whole body burning up. I knew in advance, from my previous life's experience, but I advised Nate to try. He needed to experience things by himself. Nate, who had moved away from Fire Lizards' dead body, looked at me as I lit the branch, and asked, "That thing, doesn't that go out?"
"Don't worry. It'll never go out."
I thought this was enough.
"At this size, at least 50 elderly people can be rejuvenated."
Of course, my plan was to use a middleman to sell [Vital Flame], instead of meeting all end-customers. I planned to sell them all to the Senator. He would act as a wholesaler. He'd find the best customers, but we would not release this amount to the market at once. Little by little, he would test the waters and increase the prices according to the demands.
'This is the best condition to sell. After two years, it would be found in other countries' dungeons, so then the supply will be even greater and the profit will be less.'
The fire-lit tree branch was inserted into the box-type artifact, and sealed, and then fed to 'snake 2.'
"Come on, let's go back."
Nate's eyes widened, "Huh? Aren't you going to go Clear this place?"
"I'm not here to Clear. We've collected enough flames."
The target condition of this dungeon was to eradicate all monsters on the border.
"It's a C-Class dungeon, so the extra compensation won't be worth it, and the monster's low population density will take up a lot of time."
Hibiki nodded as if she understood.
"So that's why you told us that we're going around all three dungeons in a day? We will literally just go around and not Clear?"
I shook my index finger from side to side, "Don't be so argumentative. We will move until Clear for the next dungeon."
When we came out of the gate, Hunter, who was guarding the door, nodded.
"It really must have been just a field trip," He couldn't imagine that we finished item farming successfully after coming back in two hours, "Well, the procedure is a procedure. So, I'll check your belongings." The procedure was to check whether items such as Mana core, Awakening Stone, etc., or dungeon creatures, controlled by the state, were carried out. "Yes, they all match exactly what you all had when you entered. Thank you for your cooperation."
I had already absorbed the mana core, and he could not have guessed that the snake wrapped around my wrist had momentarily swallowed the [Vital Flame].
*
The next dungeon was just around the corner. The Gate Keeper Hunter guarding the gate was a man with a slightly irritated impression. But he greeted us sincerely, "As you must have heard, you should never go up the mountain. That is a non-Clearable area! Even if you've received an SS-Rank."
"Yes, I understand."
"But… are you sure you're okay with only three of you? That's supposedly a five S-ranked man dungeon."
The Hunter looked anxious. We were only allowed to enter the gate because I received an SS-Rank. If I'd got a mediocre rank, the entry would have been impossible. As I pretended not to hear, we entered the 2nd dungeon for the day.
Weeing!
The system message popped up:
Dungeon information
Level: S
Maximum number of entrants: 5
Clear conditions: Combining characters to complete the prophecy.
Time to evolve: 9 years, 16 days, 7 hours, 44 minutes.
Status: Stable
Moving on to the dungeon, the first thing I saw was a sky full of dark clouds, and a field full of an unknown grass. In the center was an altar made of wood, and behind it was a tall, wooded mountain.
I explained, "This is a prophecy type dungeon."
Nate asked, "What's that?"
"A kind of treasure hunt type dungeon. Within the boundary, metals are hidden, carved with the alien world's characters. When they are gathered and combined at the altar, the rest of the sentences pop out, and the prophecy is completed. It is mostly about when, where, and which level of dungeon appears. It's not an easy dungeon for a general Hunter because not only does the combination change every few days, but it also keeps disappearing and then appearing in different places."
It was not too long ago that humanity, of the previous life, depended on the prophecy type dungeon. Angelica, the prophet, shared a much more accurate and detailed future-telling with humankind than the Book of Revelation. Of course, it was actually Han-Seol's prophecy that Angelica had manipulated and used to imprison.
Hibiki frowned as if she didn't understand, "It tells the Dungeon breaks in advance? ··· I guess it's the system that designed all of these, right?"
"That's right."
She was lost in her thoughts for a moment, and then she continued, "I don't know the purpose of it. If it's the system that made the dungeon and the system intended to collapse…. Can't it just stop the dungeons from opening or collapsing, rather than helping us with something like a prophecy?"
It was one of the topics that we agonized a lot in our previous life. Was the system something that made fun of humankind like a cruel deity? Or was it an intelligent creature that uses us for unknown purposes with a mysterious plan? I couldn't figure out the answer. I thought my life had given me some answers: 'When I was Awakened as Seo Jin-Wook, I saw them at the Altar of Trials… They were shaped with Mana. It was not a mechanical message. It said they were Ministry Spirits, serving a sentient being.'
I let go of my thoughts that filled my head, and spoke to Hibiki, "It's clear that whatever the purpose of the system is, there's no immediate intention of annihilating humanity. The prophecy proves it. Of course, we still don't know whether all of this will ultimately benefit humankind or not."
In my previous life, everything ended in vain. So, what would happen of Angelica had disappeared? Rather than worrying and guessing, I only tried not to repeat the same thing. That was the goal of this life. I moved my steps.
"Let's go."
Nate asked, "Where?"
I answered back as I pointed my finger, "Over there."
There was a high mountain where the Gate Keepers Hunter warned us not to go.
*
"Squeaaal!"
The mountain was like an Orc field. I purposely let my two companions take care of it without interfering in the battle. Hibiki's spell froze, burned, fried, and carved the Orcs. In the previous dungeon, Nate, who took a step back from the battle, was also as active as he could manage.
"Uhhhhh….!"
"Uhhh….!"
Zombies, who ran faster than Orcs, bit the monsters mercilessly. It was a completely different movement from the Dungeon Zombies, as noticed in the fight with the Trolls. Also, their bodies were much harder and more flexible than any other monsters. The bone blade, which popped out from the limbs, boasted efficiency beyond sword-type artifacts.
"Squeal!"
The battle was, of course, overwhelmingly against the Orcs. However, like most monsters in the dungeon, they rushed to death as if they had no retreat strategy.
"Oh! It's over!"
Finally, the last Orc fell. Nate and Hibiki were gasping among the bloodstained Orc corpses. Hibiki drank Mana Potion, and Nate, who had relatively little Mana consumption, moved on to the next stage with a familiar move. His body was engulfed in a red Mana when he activated his unique skill.
[Traces Across Boundaries]
I could see a handful of Mana coming out of his core. It seeped into fallen Orc corpses everywhere.
Swoosh!
"Uhhhhhhh….!"
"Uhhh….!"
Half of the dead Orcs became zombies.
Swish!
The wind blew, and all the Orc zombies disappeared into Nate's shadow. With this increase in the number of 'subordinates,' he would now rarely use his 'friends' who suffered together in the laboratory.
Just like he did in the past life.
"Hmm."
Nate looked closely at the bodies on the floor that didn't zombify and said, "As expected, if their body is ruined too much, I can't make them my subordinate."
The remaining bodies' commonality was that their heads were blown away or were damaged beyond recognition by being torn apart or shrunken by flame. Nate tried the skill one more time in front of the charred Orc, but there was no response.
"I see."
I knew this, but I nodded my head and agreed. I absorbed the recovered Mana core while the two rested.
"It's still amazing, no matter how many times I see it."
Hibiki asked while catching her breath, "Didn't you say we had to collect pieces of text like a treasure hunt to clear?"
"That's right."
"But why have we been…"
She meant to ask why we were climbing the mountain, and not looking for the pieces.
"You'll soon find out why."
Hibiki continued, still keeping her eyes fixed on the Orc carcass, "By the way, the higher we go up the mountain… I think the weirder the states of the monsters get."
That was perceptive.
"At the entrance to the mountain, they were only blindly rushing, but it feels like they're getting more and more like they're being chased by something?"
I corrected her words, "They're not being chased; they're frightened, to be exact."
"Frightened? Of what?"
Suddenly, I could hear the sound of something flying from afar in my ears—the sound of heavy wings, "Speak of the devil."
After a while, Nate heard it, and after some time, Hibiki seemed to notice it.
"What is that sound?"
The question was answered by a terrifying roar.
"Kuaaaaaaaaa!"
The air trembled, the forest rumbled, and the ground shook. All the flying animals hidden between the branches flew up in unison. Orcs screamed loudly in the highlands of the mountain. Hibiki frowned and covered her ears, and Nate opened his eyes wide toward where he heard the sound.
Whoosh!
Sweeping by our faces, a harsh wind began to blow. The origin was the top of the mountain. It wasn't just the flow of air that changed. The shadow that covered the top of the mountain quickly began to descend to where we were.
"That...."
It was huge, and from our perspective, as big as the mountain. But what we thought to be an illusion of perspective became reality as the creature flew from the summit. It really was as big as the mountain.
And, roaring again.
"Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
The next moment, the sky, which was filled with clouds, was engulfed in darkness. The body of the huge creature that flew over us covered everything.
"Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
My ears felt like they were being torn apart and I frowned.
"It's damn noisy."
A system message came up in front of me:
– [The Successor's Eye] Defends [Dragon Fear]'s Psychological Interference!
However, Nate and Hibiki stiffened as everyone's eyes were on the monster that covered the sky.
Hibiki's lips opened, "D…. Dragon! She noticed something strange about it, recalling her studies about the dungeons.
"This is an S-class place! But why is there a dragon?"
The fact that she could communicate, even with the effect of [Dragon Fear], meant that she had a strong mind. Meanwhile, Nate was gazing up at the dragon with his mouth wide open. That reaction was different from Fear.
'They're both not completely fine, but I don't have to worry about them panicking.'
I answered Hibiki, knowing this kind of conversation helped to relieve the Fear's effects, "This is an S-Class because you can Clear the dungeon without knocking that down. That's a kind of trap set up in this dungeon."
The original textbook strategy of attacking this dungeon was to collect the pieces of characters that have been scattered throughout the field as quietly and carefully as possible to complete the prophecy without waking that dragon up.
In other words, if you didn't pay enough attention or made too much noise, you would encounter the dragon. Perhaps, destroying the dragon was not something the designer of this dungeon considered in the first place.
And then. A black dragon, floating in the sky, sent telepathy 'like a strike.'
Humans? Hahaha! It has been a long time since I saw your kind. My collection will expand again!
Nate and Hibiki's faces were distorted. It would have been their first time to be exposed to telepathy this violent. However, it was not a big deal for me, who had become accustomed to the devil's sword's behavior recently.
Many people have settled in first so that you won't be lonely!
A huge magic circle appeared in front of the body of the Black Dragon. As seen in the records, it was trying to capture us alive instead of killing us. I didn't wait for the magic circle to be completed.
Whoosh!
In an instant, I opened the [Stardust Wing.] The six wings of light particles were formed. Flying vertically, I dug into the heart of the dragon-like a retrograding meteor before it could respond to the speed.
Weing!
My sword was engulfed in purple energy.
[Artha's Sword Dance!]
Pat!
The closer I got, the more I saw this overwhelmingly large dragon. I glared at a part of the huge body.
'You don't have to avoid hunting it because it wasn't left to be not hunted!'
The purple sword energy wrapped the sword, spread, and wound around my whole body, and I became a stream storm and thrust myself into the dragon's heart.
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Ranobes » Updates » I Came Back And Conquered It All » Chapter 65
           
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Chapter 65
I Came Back And Conquered It All
Expensive and Useless (3)
Zing!
The attack was prevented by a huge magic circle that suddenly appeared in front of the Dragon's chest.
Woong!
– What?!
As the speed was unexpected, the telepathy rang with mixed bafflement.
When conditions were ideal, the activated magic circle quickly sucked Mana from the Dragon's core and created defensive magic. As a result, an opaque energy barrier was created, blocking the sword right in front of the Dragon's chest. Substantially, the dragon was like a moving barrier and a breathing composite magic circle.
The Mana absorbed from the cores was enough. A great purple glow of power was concentrated on one point. With a boiling high-density pressure! Defensive magic and sword energy collided. There was a gruesome sound and sparks caused by friction. The contrast between the Dragon's black, giant body and solid shining lines were reminiscent of a flash of lightning in a dark thunderstorm.
Grrrrng!
The more Mana I injected, the stronger the sword's pressure. The surrounding air fluctuated, and a haze arose. The wall that protected the Dragon began to lean in like a bubble prodded by a finger.
-No…. Way!
And finally. Rumble! I broke the shield with a loud noise. But the moment my sword was about to pierce the Dragon's chest…
[Polymorph!]
The body of the massive dragon suddenly disappeared from the air.
As I'd seen in my past life, it was a magic that was activated instantly. Mana's movement was so fast that my speed of perception barely kept up. The thing that activated [Polymorph] reappeared as the image of an elf, floating in the air away from my sword.
Swoosh!
In that state, he made the distance in a flash and unbelievably returned to the Dragon's giant body as fast as lightening.
– You, bastaaaaard!
Angry telepathy shook our heads.
Crrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!
The Dragon opened its mouth. Mana's torrent flowed from the heart.
Boosh!
A torrent of blue light emitted from inside the Dragon's body, where the Mana was concentrated, and a scarlet river of fire crossed the sky. It was both intimidating and disturbing to my eyes.
Swoosh!
The fire that passed through where I stood evaporated the dark clouds that filled the dusty sky and distorted the air. I flew at almost the speed of teleportation towards the bottom of the Dragon! Hot steam flowed from the mouth where the breath stopped, but he failed to see me, mainly because of its physical size and shape. I swung the blade over my head again, which was wrapped in energy, and as if tearing the sky, I sliced at the dragon's gut, leaving a purple-colored slash on the Dragon's chest.
Whiz!
Booooom!
A roaring sound noised around us, and then a shockwave followed, as a result of the barrier blocking my sword. The Magic Circle sucked the Dragon's Mana frantically, and a blue beam rampage covered the entire Dragon's body. The stronger I applied force, the faster the Mana moved. But in the end, my strength went beyond the limits of the spell.
Shatter!
The Dragon avoided an attack to the heart, but instead, the shield was broken again. Every time a shield was shattered and recreated; it consumed a huge amount of Mana.
– It….!
Once again, the Dragon spread its wings and shot out its breath.
Boosh!
Heat and flame waves were intensely condensed as the murky sky turned red. I escaped with a shield around my body. The situation was dangerous even if I was not directly hit by the explosive attack. The heat storm along the dragon's breath's path was enough to burn me to ashes in a second.
I approached, taking advantage of an opportunity. I drew another stroke of the sword. After another blast of power, the shield broke.
This was the third time.
magic lines and Mana patterns surrounding his body were clear. The Dragon was now defenseless, as if it were stripped of all his armor. Shocked, the Dragon's lost balance, tilted, but alarmingly, pushed back.
Its telepathy revealed just how confused the creature was, as the Dragon's eyes flashed with a certain determination.
– Where did a bastard like you…!
Dragons had strong egos, and unlike other dungeon monsters, they did not rush into death. He had an instinct for self-preservation. Therefore, though exceedingly rare, these dragons ran away immediately if there was any indication that it might be in danger. This fact was unknown to humankind because there are only a few talented people who could realistically threaten a dragon.
Whooooooooooh!
In its vast heart, Mana took shape and flowed. I knew the spell it was making.
[Teleport]
It was attempting to flee, but before the Mana was concentrated, and the Dragon's spell completed, I also fired a spell.
[Counter Spell!]
A cloud of light flashed, surrounding the Dragon's tail, and disappeared in an instant. Now, the Dragon's eyes flashed a look of horror. Clearly, it was baffled.
– This is··· No way····!
Teleportation was the least efficient SS-Rank magic that consumed 30,000 Mana for one activation. Even Hibiki wouldn't use the skill since she said it was a waste of a skill slot, requiring one to have a dragon-sized Mana capacity.
– You saw through this?
To invalidate a spell, [Counter Spell] of the same or higher rank was required. But more Mana was consumed than the Mana used by the subject.
The Dragon shouted with a furious mind wave.
– You! You're not human!
It was common knowledge that the Mana capacity of the human species would not be as big as the dragon believed.
'No, I'm a human. The one prepared to end you.'
Right now, I'd absorbed a vast amount of Mana core. Instead of wasting the cores collected in the U.S. on the output test, I'd absorbed them all at once after the promotion review.
As a result,
– Active Mana: 63,900 (+28,000)/35,900
– Potential Mana: 102,300
Even though I had just consumed a large amount of Mana, it was still over 60,000.
I looked at its core with [The Successor's Eyes].
'Every time the shield is broken, the Mana was wasted, so the available mana was only 40,000.'
It had enough Mana to use Teleport once more.
'But considering the thinking process of the self-preserving Dragon Race···.'
It didn't know how much of my Mana was left. Once it had realized that I had surpassed ordinary humans' limitations, it was impossible to gauge how many times I could use [Counter Spell] to thwart its plans.
"Kaaaaaargh!"
Suddenly it howled, shaking the mountain.
"Squeallll!"
The cry of a creature, other than a dragon, responded. Along with the tremor, a flock of Orcs began to form and poured down like waves from the mountain's highlands. A roar and a murderous shout resonated, and the echo shook the very ground. They fell into a state of rampage due to the Dragon's influence [Dragon Fear]. The Orcs, which were blind with wrath, stepped on the backs of those that had fallen. A few seconds later, the Orc that fell to the ground became a clod of blood. Some were even killed instantly by hitting their heads on trees and rocks because they couldn't orient themselves properly. It was chaos at its best. The number was so large that they looked like muddy water sweeping down a ridge during the rainy season. I didn't care how fiercely the Orcs attacked me since I stayed afloat.
However, my gaze turned towards Nate and Hibiki, who were left on the ground.
Swish!
A rough wind blew.
"Oh, that bastard…."
I saw the Dragon's tail as it ran across the horizon, drawing a black line. Nate shouted from the ground.
"It's running away!"
I gestured to Nate. He understood the meaning. Nate's optimistic voice was heard from below.
"Come on, Hibiki? Should we move in for now?"
She stammered, unlikely of her, "Oh, Nate. W-wait a minute!"
Swoosh!
His shadow shook.
There were two zombies, whose skin was melting. One grabbed Nate's ankle, and the other completely escaped from the shadows and walked towards Hibiki.
"W-wait! Hold on! Wait a minute! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!"
Hibiki screamed and shouted in Japanese, revealing her panic. The zombies quickly grabbed Hibiki's wrist.
Swish!
The two zombies disappeared into Nate's shadow. The place where the two were standing left only the shadow of Nate standing on the ground. It was a technique using the sub-skill [Shadow Grave].
The flock of Orcs gathered from the mountain, maintained their craze even if the object disappeared, and ran down the mountain with a roar, past where Nate was.
I glared in the direction in which the Dragon flew away. If it crossed the boundaries of the dungeon, I would miss out on catching him. Monsters could come and go at will, but hunters couldn't cross the line.
I focused plenty of Mana in my [Stardust Wing]. It was the largest Mana used on it since the day it was first acquired.
Shhhhhhh!
The landscape instantly changed. My body flew freely from gravity and resistance. Rather than recognize myself as moving, I slipped through the air smoothly. I approached below the Dragon's giant body as it was flying away, but it sensed a sudden change in the atmosphere and became conscious of my presence.
– What…!
The distinctive pointed eyes of the Dragon chased after me. It sensed the danger, and it contracted. As if it would not be fooled twice, the Dragon immediately stopped flying and prepared the spell. Its gaze and mine looked at each other obliquely.
But it was already too late.
[Neutralizing Chains!]
The magic skill of S-rank was unexpectedly cast. A web-like chain was summoned around the Dragon's body as kit flew and wrapped around it. But I could not hold the Dragon's giant body for long.
Buzz!
When the chain, which was made of substances that do not belong to this world, was exposed to the [Counter Spell] of the Dragon, it broke into pieces and seeped into the air. Magic could not completely stop its flight, but it succeeded in delaying the movement for a short time.
That was enough.
Gooong!
I drew the sword path in my head with my eyes wide open. I saw it. I threw a wave of sword energy over my head, aiming for a window of opportunity. This time there was no defense circle to protect it. An unprotected chest was revealed.
[Artha's Sword Dance!]
A blow from the bottom to the top, and the sword, this time, pierced the Dragon's heart without resistance! With a scream that shook the atmosphere, the Dragon breathed out a dry cough. The next inhaling breath did not follow.
*
Whoong!
I used my psychokinesis to keep the dead Dragon from falling. In that state, I absorbed its Mana Core first.
[Mana Drain!]
In terms of the Dragon Race, it was clear that it was a young one. As I had noticed, there was more potential Mana than active Mana. And this time, if I was lucky, the potential Mana absorption rate, which was up to 10%, was triggered to the limit.
– Active Mana: 67,100 (+31,000)/36,100
– Implied Mana: 139,200
Its potential Mana exceeded 300,000. My potential Mana also increased by more than 30,000, thanks to the absorption of 10 percent. No matter how much I continued to activate, there was no window for the potential Mana to decrease.
Originally, it was normal for potential Mana to decrease and activated Mana to increase as I grew. But [Mana Drain] was stopping both from growing. Rather, it made me think that the speed of converting potential Mana into active Mana was slower, which was different than the beginning.
'Hunting and core absorption is good, but I'll have to focus more on activation.'
I flew back to the place where my two companions were, dragging the Dragon's corpse using psychokinesis.
'If I had brought the sword, I would have finished it faster and consumed less Mana.'
From the day I returned from the Siheung 8 Dungeon, the devil's sword changed its strategy and tormented me with telepathy, using curses and profanities. It intended to make me give it up. It was brainwashing anyway, but the telepathy, which was constantly talking nonsense, was irritating.
Thanks to the Senator's timely delivery of the statue I ordered, the devil's sword, to be precise, the 'cognitive being' contained in the sword was now in 'mental education.'
"Oh, Jin-Wook!"
Nate waved at me. His eyes, which had just witnessed the battle, were sparkling. I also saw Hibiki sitting next to him, her face extremely pale. Come to think of it; I'd never been in that shadow. It would have been nice if I had been hiding in that when I was climbing the tower in my previous life, when I had no power. Still, it was impossible for me because if someone other than the subordinate entered the shadow, the Mana of the person would be consumed, too.
I slowly laid the body of a giant dragon on the ground. There was only one reason why I hadn't totally destroyed the dragon, but neatly penetrated the heart to kill it. I asked while looking at Nate, "What do you think? Is it possible?"
He understood what I meant right away. A big smile spread over his face. Nate looked first at the Dragon's body, then to me, and exclaimed clearly and firmly.
"Yes! Totally possible!"
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Ranobes » Updates » I Came Back And Conquered It All » Chapter 66
           
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Chapter 66
I Came Back And Conquered It All
Expensive and Useless (4)
"Does it mean that we can control that dragon, too?" Hibiki's gaze shook slightly. Of course, what else would it be?
"Then, let's get to it."
I handed a Mana potion to Nate, and he found his stance after he chugged it. There was no instance that a dragon was made a subordinate in the previous life, so we were stepping into new territory here.
In a few years from now, humanity's workforce would strengthen much more than now, and dragon hunts, which are classified as a natural disaster to mess with them, would become active. The Mana core of a Dragon was called the 'Dragon Heart,' and it had much Mana, incomparable to any other out there, which was technically much more valuable than connecting thousands of small cores to create similar outputs.
This was the reason why humankind became obsessed with hunting Dragons.
Young Dragons were rare. By the time that Nate began to be active, they were almost extinct. On the other hand, those strong Dragons that did not get hunted were impossible to make a subordinate.'
In other words, this was the only chance.
Woong!
Sweat fell like a waterfall from Nate's body. The most violent reaction of Mana that I'd ever seen. The red energy emanated from him and wrapped the Dragon corpse.
Rumble!
The mountain began to shake.
Slither!
The huge Dragon slowly moved.
"Ah!" I exclaimed.
The Dragon that once lost its life, and crossed the border between life and death, moved its body. The scene was more like a geological re-enactment, mimicking the formation of a mountain range but in time lapse.
Rumble!
The long neck rose as if it were to pierce the sky.
"Undead Dragon!"
It was not the kind of small Dragon that we saw in the Siheung 8 Dungeon. Nate had made a real dragon into an undead. A concept that existed only in theory. It was my first time seeing it in person.
"Phew."
Nate's sweat poured out as he spent his Mana to the limit. I hurriedly handed him a potion.
"Take only half of it. The shock might kick in."
"Okay."
He took the potion, chugging at the powerful elixir. His eyes were fixed on the Dragon; its shiny black scales, covering its entire body, shimmered slightly, but it was clear the creature was alive, in a fashion. The two black horns placed on its forehead, and the sharp wings were the same as when it was alive.
'The rate of decay will be delayed from now on.'
Even if its tissues disappeared as it decayed, it was of little concern. Like the other monsters that I saw in the past life, it would pledge its loyalty, as a subordinate, even if it was only left with bones.
I asked Nate, "How is it? Can you handle this?"
He did not respond but nodded, focusing on the task at hand. Afterward, he experimented by moving the Dragon around.
A few minutes after.
Swish!
Seeing the Dragon open its wings and fly, Nate spoke, "It's done!" He proudly placed his hands on his hips.
"How's the Mana consumption?"
"I think it does require more than when controlling smaller monsters."
That was understandable. I would encourage him to keep experimenting on how much of its original power could be reanimated, and how much Mana would be consumed from doing so. In the case of humans or Orcs, after they were made subordinates, they became stronger than when they were alive, in exchange for Nate's Mana.
How about the Dragon? How strong would Nate's Mana capacity allow it to be?
"But I think it's manageable… Huh?"
Then, as he looked up at the Dragon, Nate's expression changed.
"What's wrong?"
He frowned and put his hand on his forehead. His brows furrowed as if his head was throbbing. There was still Mana that remained, so he was not exhausted.
Something came into my mind.
'Oh, already?'
Nate spoke, "Jin-Wook, that thing…. I think it did something awfully bad to the people who came here before us. I just…. see it. Those kinds of scenes."
His face froze when he saw the undead dragon on a test flight from far away.
'There was already another sub-skill that opened.'
Through the sub-skill, [Memory of the Dead], some of the Dragon's living memories flowed into him.
'It's much faster than the period in a previous life.'
No matter how young the Dragon was, at that size, it would have the largest collection of memories compared to creatures previously subordinated. It seemed to be the aftershock of having successfully made that Dragon his subordinate. Nate shook his head and muttered, looking at the memory of the Dragon.
"Perhaps… they're all dead. If it was that bad."
That judgment was correct. There would be no survivors.
"Let's go to the lair that it used."
*
There was a lair entrance disguised with a barrier spell, by the Dragon, at the top of the mountain, but it didn't fool me. The rock wall swayed and split, creating an entrance. Analyzing the internal structure through [Penetration], I first headed to the place where it was used as a prison.
"Ah!"
The scene in front of me was devastating.
"Euup!"
Hibiki couldn't stand it and ran outside and I could hear her vomiting outside the door. On the other hand, Nate was quietly watching the scene in front of him; silently taking everything in. He didn't shout, and he didn't run wild, being unable to control his emotions, but his breathing indicated he was the most upset now from ever since he was rescued.
I murmured, "That's cruel."
Inside the prison, made of transparent glass, the gruesomely twisted and reassembled human bodies hung on hooks like butcher's meat. From the traces left on their corpses, I could concur that they lost their lives after being disturbingly tortured. One corpse had more than 30 suture marks on the abdomen, all of which have different levels of scarring. It meant it had been tortured for a very long time.
"That son of a bitch."
This was where the Hunters that entered this dungeon, and climbed the mountains before us, had found themselves after facing the Dragon. Nate's eyes remained long on the incisions that remained throughout the corpses. I could guess what he was thinking. They would remind him of his past, when he'd suffered from biological experiments.
Swish!
I broke all the magic barriers that protected the display case by blasting with sword energy.
"Are you going to move them outside?"
I shook my head, "All the Orcs held up by the Dragon ran away. This mountain is empty now, so I think it is better to leave it to the government to take care of the rest. Let's report the situation here after the Clear. Instead, let's destroy all the barriers for those who come here after us."
Nate and I began to break down the artifacts that protected the display cases, one by one. Hibiki, who came after calming herself, helped us.
*
After taking preliminary measures to ensure that the government's follow-up team could move freely, we moved to the Dragon's treasury. There were no artifacts that humans could use, but instead, there were various jewels. Some of them were elemental crystals that did not exist on Earth. In addition to jewelry, we saw artworks, such as sculptures, showing traces of civilization.
Habitually, the Dragon must have gathered these things from all over the middle dimensions and piled them up in its lair. They would act as a magnet to any would-be hunter, and so encourage them to enter. We swept it all up. Some were fed to the five snakes; some were kept in Nate's shadow.
In the middle of doing so, Nate asked suddenly, "Jin-Wook?"
"Yes?"
"If a dungeon break occurs… and if this dungeon were to collapse."
"Yes."
"The Dragon here could've come out to the Earth, right?" The scene he just saw must have remained heavy on his heart.
I answered, "Yeah. These dungeons will evolve to SS-Class and then collapse. Since there was a monster that did not fit the S-Class dungeon, which was the Dragon."
Nate thought of something and said, "The reason why we do all these… is to prevent that from happening, right?"
"Of course." I had fully explained the purpose of why we did what we did.
Nate, who was thinking about something, said in a determined voice, "I'll work harder from now on."
I grinned, "You just have to keep it up as you're doing now."
*
After obtaining the items to be sold through the Senator, there was the last assignment left for the dungeon to be dealt with.
Dungeon Clear.
I wandered through the field with Penetration and telepathically told Nate and Hibiki the location of the pieces of text to be collected using the [Battlefield Command]. We scattered to gather the text, but this process didn't take long because I gathered the pieces while flying with the [Stardust Wing].
The reason why the dungeon has not been Cleared so far was because of the Dragon as well, but the contents of the prophecy periodically changed, and all existing pieces disappeared every time. In other words, if the treasure hunt process were too slow, you would have to do it again from the beginning.
"I found another one! You said this was the last one, right?
"Yes."
Nate handed me the last piece. It was a metal cube embossed with otherworldly characters.
We immediately moved to the altar. Then we stopped in front of a rectangular metal plate located at the center of the altar.
"That's the prophecy."
At the top of the long plate, there was a row of grooves. After placing all the cubical pieces in the air by psychokinesis, I found the ones that matched the symbols on the grooves and inserted them. In that instant…
Whoo!
Below the first line of the text, new lines of lettering began to appear until the entire metal plate was filled with letters.
At that moment, the system message rang.
You've met the clear conditions of the dungeon!
– Clear condition: Combining characters to complete the prophecy
– The boundaries of the dungeon are weakened.
Then a message popped up that only I could see.
– The user's contribution to the Clear is number one (Contribution Rate: 95%).
– Additional rewards are available according to your contribution. Do you wish to accept it?
Nate asked, "Are we going back to Earth now?"
"We first need to take the prophecy and rewards." I pointed to a metal plate with completed sentences.
Hibiki, who was looking at it carefully, said, "The inscription here doesn't belong to Earth, does it?"
I nodded my head. This was called the Archid script, written in the prophecy. I didn't know what dimension it existed in the past, but I knew for sure that it has a very deep connection to the system. For example, like this prophecy, this text was often observed with means by which the system, such as this, explicitly intervenes with hunters.
"Well, should we use an Evaluation scroll to read?"
Human beings of this period had yet to decipher the Archid script fully. They needed help with skills or items.
"That's usually the case."
But I didn't have to tear a scroll or to use [Analysis] magic. Of course, it couldn't normally be interpreted until the characters were read using [The Successor's Eyes]. Then how did I read it? It was simple. I already knew this text.
"The top three lines are simple information explanations. In 191 days, about six months from now, an S-Class dungeon will open, and there will be about three months left until the dungeon break takes in. Everything written under it is a kind of number. Those translate to values that refer to the latitude and longitude of the Earth."
"Wow, you know how to read those? Jin-Wook is really amazing," Nate said with a truly admiring expression.
On the other hand, Hibiki still had an expression that indicated it was hard to figure out what she was thinking.
Beep!
I took out the terminal and converted the values of the prophecy into Earthly values, "The place is in London." I clicked my tongue, "The prophecy is unpredictable like this. Time and place… don't come out in the nearest order."
Swoosh!
I took out a dagger and wrapped Mana around it, and then I started to carve the metal plate.
Swish!
"Huh?!"
Blue sword energy made numerous string-like lines and crosses across the prophecy. As Nate couldn't understand what I was doing all of a sudden, his eyes widened, "Jin-Wook, why…?"
After some time had passed, the surface of the prophecy had completely changed. In the place where the Archid Scripts were grooved in, the original symbols disappeared, and only the newly engraved letters that I grooved remained.
Hibiki spoke, guessing my intentions, "Did you write a different prophecy from the original content?"
"Yes."
What would happen to the S-Class dungeon due to opening in London, I knew from the future experience. It appeared as 'very unstable' from the moment it opened, so they hurriedly gathered high ranking hunters, and they succeeded in Clearing right before the break took place.
There were no prophecies, and it was before the period that Angelica appeared, but they defended the catastrophe with humanity's potential power.
But…
"I wrote down something more urgent and much more dangerous, so people would know right now."
I could read it since I'd written it myself, but I experimented to see if the contents could be clearly delivered to others as well.
[Analysis]
I activated a spell. It showed what kind of explanation it would give if other people would use [Analysis] spell on this prophecy.
'That's done right.'
The exact contents that I had carved appeared. It said that a month from now, a gate would be opened in a rural city in Korea that connected to an A-Class dungeon. That gate, which would appear in a 'very unstable' state, unlike the one that will appear in London, will give enough time of three months, it will turn right away to the break state.
Those dungeons were called this by humanity: 'Immediate Break type Dungeon.'
Now, it was time to choose a reward, "I'll be right back, so don't panic if I disappear."
Shortly after that, I disappeared, leaving Nate and Hibiki with blank expressions. My view changed, and instead of the altar that I was standing on, I could only see thick-textured darkness.
– Please select a reward.
White stars were scattered in the dark space. I looked around calmly at the fragments of light. 'That's too bad. There are no SSS-Class ones.'
It was disappointing considering that the compensation could be offered at a higher level from the dungeon's difficulty.
'Is there was a mechanism that I didn't know about yet? Why was it offered, even with a lower contribution rate in the Siheung 8 Dungeon, but not offered here? Perhaps, simply luck?'
Thinking in that manner, my gaze stopped at one of the starlight's clusters as I looked around.
'SS-Class skill.'
I was able to predict the identity by observing it closely.
[Teleport (Rank: SS)]
It was a skill that the Dragon used to escape before it died. Some magic skill cards are given in the form of mastery, while others come in the form of single unit spells. For the former, if one takes up the [Fire Mastery] skill of a particular rank, it allows multiple spells such as [Fireball] and [Flame Field] to be used as a package, so it was preferred, but the power of the spells did not go over certain standards.
On the other hand, the latter spell, which did not belong as a mastery card, was magic with a powerful or unique effect, beyond the standards mentioned earlier.
As precious as it was…
'I'll pass on this.'
I'd seen this skill even before I met today's Dragon. It was the same I had learned since I saw the scenes of it being used by alien races in my previous life. However, it was inefficient for other colleagues besides me to learn.
'Is there anything else?'
In the meantime, my eyes fixated on another place.
'Yeah, that would be better.'
"I'll choose this."
A mechanical system message answered me:
– Granting user-specified rewards. Thank you for your hard work.
A white star came up to me out of the black sky, and it circled and seeped in me by sprinkling powder of light. After the white glow had been completely soaked in, what remained was a small marble that glowed in amber.
I held it in my hand.
I Came Back And Conquered It All
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Natsu-gildarts
Natsu-gildarts23 Apr 2021, 03:19
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An artifact/item obviously.
Each book is a new life filled with new adventures.
Wuxia, Xianxia, XuanhuanCompleted novels
I Came Back And Conquered It All
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Natsu-gildarts
Natsu-gildarts23 Apr 2021, 03:11
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NOooooooo, nope, you're just not doing this, a guy with an A-class mana capacity trying to get a Bone Dragon, nope, just not possible.
Each book is a new life filled with new adventures.
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Natsu-gildarts
Natsu-gildarts23 Apr 2021, 03:03
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Don't tell me he's gonna one-shot a goddamn dragon.
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Natsu-gildarts
Natsu-gildarts23 Apr 2021, 02:55
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I mean you can have a practically infinite amount of potential mana, but still, why would you wanna use this?
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feildmaster5 Jul 2021, 20:50 ➥ Natsu-gildarts
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I wouldn't say he wants to use it for himself, but to rent the use to other people to burn their own potential for a younger body.
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Natsu-gildarts
Natsu-gildarts23 Apr 2021, 02:45
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Nate's face was filled with expectation, "Wow! Three? From when?"
"Right now."
"Yay!"
Hibiki said, "I heard that dungeons used for training are usually borrowed one to two weeks at a time. It's going to take a month to go around, right?"
"No, what are you talking about?"
How can you say that, for a month?
I said with a smile, "By the end of the day, we will finish all three."
"Yes?"
Now he's acting like the MC from Kill The Hero towards his only friend/companion.
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Each book is a new life filled with new adventures.
Wuxia, Xianxia, XuanhuanCompleted novels