NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 96. Rumors
One Friday afternoon.
“Whew……”
Seonwoo-yeon, an employee of the Association, was sitting at home after finishing work.
One hand held a green tea while the other was gripping the mouse, enjoying her leisure time.
“Hmm?”
She stopped the mouse after spotting a post on SNS.
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No way people are going to think I caught the boss~~
We didn’t kill the Baron!
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A post by a famous hunter with 88 comments underneath.
If it mentions the Baron, it must be referring to what happened yesterday….
‘Hmm.’
Drrk, drrk.
Seonwoo-yeon scrolled through the opinions on the post.
However, no matter how much she searched through the SNS, Kim Gi-ryeo’s name was not mentioned.
In other words, fortunately, it seemed the citizens still didn’t know the identity of the Appraiser.
“Hmph.”
The thought suddenly occurred to her that Kim Gi-ryeo, who wished to live quietly, might feel uncomfortable even with this little attention.
‘Trying to help us, only to attract unnecessary attention…’
But what could be done?
If she had to find fault, this was the hunter’s own doing.
‘With those skills, how could he not be noticed?’
Slurp.
Seonwoo-yeon sipped her tea, recalling the events of that day.
After all, she was completely taken aback.
That F-Class hunter, who had been absent for a while, suddenly appeared at the incident scene.
-Seriously, how long are we going to mess around with just this barrier?
As soon as he arrived, he scolded them for struggling with such an easy task.
Later, when she got the explanation, the Hanshin incident was indeed absurdly simple, just as he had said.
-You asked how we caught Baron Hwa-won?
-Yes.
-He died because of the barrier maintenance cost. Once we lost the magic stone, mana was drained into the barrier.
-What? That can’t be…….
-Why?
-It’s just that until now, removing the magic stone didn’t cause that to happen…….
-Then it must be because of the reckless expansion of the domain. After this guy escaped, didn’t the barriers slowly increase?
Looking purely at their actions, it seemed they had only picked up a fallen magic stone.
However, Seonwoo-yeon discerned Kim Gi-ryeo’s abilities from that.
‘Huh.’
From the moment he set foot on the scene, he had emitted an air that this was an easy task.
This was evidence that Kim Gi-ryeo had seen through the entire situation long before coming to the barrier.
In short, the Baron’s futile death was clearly part of his calculations.
‘Right. From the very beginning…’
Then, regardless of the possession of the appraisal skill, it’s truly astonishing.
‘How on earth?’
To think he could instantly recognize weaknesses in the barrier just by watching a brief news report of the scene.
She found herself unable to properly follow his thoughts anymore.
Kim Gi-ryeo always acted as if he could see 2 or 3 moves ahead in every situation.
‘His perspective is entirely different from that of ordinary hunters.’
At this point, it was terrifying.
Yeah. That Awakened one is truly frightening and makes people shrink back…….
“I just can’t figure out what he’s thinking.”
Sometimes, he helps others without expecting anything in return, making him a real mystery.
“Whew.”
Why does Kim Gi-ryeo behave so altruistically? Is it just for fun?
Of course, regardless of the reason, it’s a fact that things had gone well this time thanks to him.
Thanks to his overwhelming hunt of Baron Hwa-won, everyone was able to leave work on time without any trouble.
‘By the way, did I properly thank him?’
But upon deeper reflection, it wasn’t just about yesterday.
Whenever she was involved with the Awakened Kim Gi-ryeo, things always worked out.
‘…….’
So perhaps was ‘that incident’ the same as well?
Seonwoo-yeon put down her teacup and fell into a moment of contemplation.
*
The next morning.
“Are you done saying what you wanted?”
“Is security here really up to par?”
“Sir, please don’t drag out the conversation……”
I was having a quarrel early in the morning.
Because a dangerous creature, resembling a tiger, was lurking right outside my front door.
“Um… First, thanks for your concern. But coming all the way to my house is a bit uncomfortable.”
It was a complicated situation to explain, but I was currently having a sudden visit due to Baron Hwa-won’s incident.
Kang Chang-ho had barged in to check on my condition.
“If you didn’t want me to come, then you shouldn’t have acted so bravely.”
How dare a primitive person like him pressure someone like me, a Great Mage!
Anyway, judging by how he came here before any knights arrived, it was clear that this S-Class henchman had connections in the Association.
But now wasn’t the time to look for such lackeys.
“Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter, you better open the door properly.”
“The place isn’t tidy, so I’d rather not…”
I calmed down the S-Class in front of my door. To be precise, one could say I persuaded him.
“No, listen to me. I distinctly called before heading to the scene, right? You just didn’t pick up.”
“Oh.”
“And if the Baron had pushed into our house, how could I just stand by…….”
However, Kang Chang-ho cut me off and shamelessly replied.
“Still, you should stay quiet until you respond. If it seems really dangerous, I’ll come right away.”
Am I crazy? To expect your help?
‘He’d probably rush over, but only to backstab me and activate the Enhancement Heart!’
I had long since lost trust in Kang Chang-ho due to the recent [Dimension’s Treasure Vault] incident.
I realized that depending on him to survive came with many risks.
“Why do you have that expression? I promise, I really will come.”
So I nonchalantly ignored his words.
But in that moment.
An alarming noise suddenly jolted me out of my thoughts from behind.
–Drrrrrring, drrrrrring.
Oh no.
The ringtone I changed in my sleep was unexpectedly loud.
“Just a moment.”
I dashed into the room to check the caller. Suddenly, three familiar letters appeared on my phone screen.
‘Seonwoo-yeon?’
It was quite early for her to be contacting me.
*
An hour later.
I found myself in the park in front of my house.
I had a sudden weekend appointment because of that earlier call.
After sitting on a bench to kill some time, the face I was waiting for soon appeared.
“Kim Gi-ryeo Hunter?”
With her neat bangs and long hair, I stood up to greet Seonwoo-yeon.
“Hello.”
“Ah, hello.”
Now it was time to discuss things.
“So, about the documents?”
I settled on the bench and began with my question.
I had already got a rough idea of what topics would be discussed from our earlier call.
“This is it.”
Seonwoo-yeon quietly pulled out a document from her bag.
“As I mentioned earlier, this is data regarding the terror incident caused by Nachalsawon. Please take a look.”
The papers Seonwoo-yeon handed had densely packed words written in black ink.
Moreover, there was a common point among that information.
[Minotaurus]
[Rank: B]
[Origin: Labyrinth Rabintoth (Seoul, Jung-gu, Sejong-daero ###-#)]
[Some exhibited behaviors using axes and tools, occasionally casting magic as a mutated specimen.]
‘The other side is all just descriptions of monsters?’
At a glance, these documents looked like the results from the Analyzer’s monster search.
But looking closely, there was a curious entry labeled ‘Origin’.
‘Origin?’
Not knowing the significance of that entry, I tilted my head. Then, Seonwoo-yeon added an explanation.
“Do you remember the Dungeon Break terror that occurred in August?”
‘Oh, that’s when Jeong Ha-seong got injured.’
“It was such a huge incident that it took the Association this long to fully get to the bottom of it.”
“…….”
“During the process, some strange points were discovered.”
She swallowed hard and continued.
“Boss monsters that should have been present disappeared.”
Bosses disappeared?
“When there’s a Dungeon Break, all the monsters inside the Gate should come out, right?”
“That’s right.”
“But later checks revealed that, in the August terror, the corpses of the boss monsters were almost never found.”
“…!”
“Because of this, all previously occurring artificial Dungeon Breaks were thoroughly investigated. Likewise, many cases were found where bosses simply vanished.”
Hearing that, I finally understood the full significance of this document.
This is a list of the missing bosses.
Daejeon. Ulsan. Jeju.
Moreover, the areas where disappearances occurred were more diverse than I expected.
“Hmph.”
As I fell silent, Seonwoo-yeon continued the conversation with a calm face.
“By the way, the monsters listed in this document could not be tracked even with my [Seocher] skill.”
“Aha.”
“So the Association concluded that it’d be better to focus on other matters, rather than looking for these bosses…”
Seonwoo-yeon slammed her leather bag forcefully onto the bench.
“To be honest, it’s just too unsettling if we leave it like this. That’s why I called Gi-ryeo. I was wondering if the Appraiser’s perspective might reveal something.”
I didn’t think I could uncover what Seocher couldn’t do.
“Have you ever seen any of the bosses on that list before?”
“Let me take a look.”
I carefully checked the documents to answer Seonwoo-yeon’s question.
“Are the boss photos attached next to this?”
“Yes.”
Of course, as I had expected, I had never encountered these bosses directly either…….
Except for one thing.
There was a point that stood out.
[Imugi]
[Rank: A]
[Origin: Reservoir Gate (Daejeon…)]
[Strong resistance to water attributes. Be cautious as its magic power increases when it preys on generic monsters around it.]
[Large turtle]
[Rank: B]
[Origin: White Sand Beach Gate (Gangneung…)]
[Summons minions (small turtles) every 4 minutes upon recognizing an enemy.]
I stared blankly at the descriptions of these two bosses for a while.
Before long, cold sweat began pouring down my back uncontrollably.
I was starting to grasp what they might be doing.
“Why are you acting like that?”
A monster that grows under certain conditions mysteriously disappeared one day.
And this happened along with another monster that was capable of periodically satisfying its conditions.
Moreover, the Nachalsawon, the root cause of all this, possessed techniques for removing the entrance to dungeons…….
‘Damn.’
I quickly realized the terrorists’ intentions.
“Could it be that they’re raising monsters inside the Gate?”
Exactly. That was why they repeatedly conducted experiments related to the Gate until now.
‘They want to use the closed Gate as a breeding ground for monsters?’
Moreover, I was already predicting where the grown Imugi would be used.
“This Imugi monster is classified as A-rank, so if they started raising it in August…… it might have already reached levels close to S-rank.”
“Eh?”
“They’re preparing for a terror far beyond what happened in August.”
However, to Seonwoo-yeon, my assertion seemed somewhat absurd. She quickly asked back with a startled expression.
“Why would Nachalsawon do something like that?”
“Ah.”
“Could it be that the cult leader is a spy sent from abroad, just as others say……?”
Why Nachalsawon was committing terror was a question raised for quite some time.
So now, it’s time to uncover the reason for it.
“That might be….”
I covered my mouth and pondered.
“Have you ever received flyers from the cultists while walking down the street?”
“What do you mean?”
“If you look closely, there are the doctrines of Nachalsawon written there.”
“Doctrines?”
“Dungeon Shock is the judgment of the Sky upon humanity, and the creatures inside the Gate are Apostles meant to awaken us. Something like that.”
“Ahh.”
“So all hunters suppressing monsters are the devils that need to be eliminated…”
Perhaps some in Nachalsawon might consider this doctrine simply a provocative slogan to attract believers.
Yeah. So that’s a relief.
It’d be better if, as Seonwoo-yeon said, this quasi-religious group were blinded by money and profits.
However, unfortunately, Nachalsawon would ultimately reach a disastrous destination.
Because this group was effectively controlled by this particular individual.
As long as he plays the lead role, any immediate accumulation of wealth or pursuit of power is merely a process of this ideology.
“What I found out while investigating that drug addict was that Su Ye-hwi of Nachalsawon is 100% a Mind Control Awakened.”
“Mind Control… what?”
“He uses a brainwashing technique to copy and paste his thoughts onto others.”
There are two major types of brainwashing magic.
One can autonomously input commands as desired.
And the other is Mind Control.
Especially the latter is remarkably low on mana consumption, making it an excellent way to brainwash groups.
However, there’s a limitation that only thoughts sincerely believed by the user can be used as material.
“Still not getting it? Well, Su Ye-hwi is an Awakened who infects others with his ideals.”
That limitation has devolved into a source of terror today.
“But here’s the problem.”
“….”
“The brainwashed believers I’ve met all believe this doctrine fervently, so what does that mean?”
“….”
“And the second thing—what role did Su Ye-hwi serve in Nachalsawon…?”