[Cracked Magic Stone (2)]
I pulled out the cracked magic stone from my inventory. As if sensing something, Peace showed wariness with a small growl. Chirp also stared with round eyes. Though his eyes were always round.
“A magic stone…?”
Yuhyun said, slightly furrowing his brow. Like Peace, he seemed uncomfortable — perhaps there was some unpleasant energy leaking from the cracked magic stone that I couldn’t sense.
“It belonged to the one who contracted with you.”
“…What?”
His expression, which had been merely dubious, twisted sharply. He seemed both surprised and angry. Judging by his gritted teeth, it was the latter.
“Why do you have that? To run into someone capable of L-rank curse contracts… damn it!”
“Well, you could say we met. Calm down and listen.”
“That damn Seonghan, if he couldn’t even protect you properly-!”
He growled as if ready to storm into the Sesung Guild right now, but he didn’t actually dash out. Instead, he turned to me with eyes mixed with worry and anxiety.
“…Were you really only hurt in the leg? Be honest, brother.”
Yuhyun asked, grabbing my wrist. I assured him I was fine when he pressed about whether I had been affected by curses or other skills. My actual body really was only injured in the leg.
While calming my brother, I explained what had happened. Skipping the sudden kidnapping incident, I explained how we fought off MKC and Sudam’s attack, and after I released Seonghan’s contract, the dragonkin appeared.
“The master of the Venom and Curse Dragon King used a mental skill to capture me, but the system creator appeared and saved me. Touching me was some kind of rule violation, so they killed that lizard’s master and gave me the magic stone.”
That they saved me was true. Looking at his still rigid face, I continued.
“I was in a bit of danger, but thanks to that we caught the lizard bastard. It worked out well, right? Lighten up.”
“A bit?”
“It wasn’t my real body, and the system side came right away. They’re really looking out for us, you know?”
I should make sure to silence Droplet and the newbie if they ever meet him.
“It’s already over with no problems anyway. More importantly, you knew our world wouldn’t last long too, right?”
“…I heard roughly.”
“You must have also heard there’s a way to escape if you’re among the top ranks of S-rank.”
“I heard, but since it wasn’t relevant to me, I don’t remember well.”
This is ridiculous. I know your grades inside and out. Someone as smart as you wouldn’t forget such important information.
“What do you mean you don’t remember! Why did you just flatly refuse instead of at least pretending to cooperate like Seonghan, just in case?”
Yuhyun looked at me somewhat sulkily.
“If I was going to accept that, I wouldn’t have distanced myself from you in the first place. I wouldn’t have needed to.”
“But if you were alone, you could have been safe.”
Back then too, if he hadn’t looked after me. My molars clenched unconsciously. My stomach hurts a little.
“…Even without you, he was an unpleasant bastard. I wouldn’t have continued holding hands with him anyway.”
“He talked too much and was stupid too. He definitely wasn’t someone worth associating with for long.”
I said with a light laugh.
“But thanks to him, I could learn how to save the world too. Well, not completely save it, but if we manage the dungeons well and endure, he said we’ll be safe for about a hundred years.”
“A hundred years?”
“Yeah. It won’t be easy since dungeon difficulty will keep increasing, but if we can hold out for about five years, we’ll get a hundred years of peace~. We don’t know what’ll happen after a hundred years, but would I even be alive then?”
But Yuhyun would be alive, and might be able to leave this world. I just need to lay the groundwork so he can.
Well, maybe our world’s people will be able to endure well again after a hundred years too. They’ll have accumulated experience and information by then.
“That bastard talked like the chances were low, but we just need to endure?”
“Yeah. I’m sure. We got rid of the lizard master who was an obstacle, and the system creators said they’ll help, so it shouldn’t be too hard. Most importantly, we have monster mounts. We’ll raise monsters well, and Myungwoo will make weapons too. We’ll find people with special skill aptitudes — you’ve heard of Seok Hayan, right? Once their team’s research results come out, it’ll be a huge help in managing dungeons.”
Even to my own ears, my voice was light and bright.
“We just need to struggle for five more years. Then comfortably, what shall we do? Is there anything you want to do?”
His consistently rigid gaze finally softened.
“Hmm, what about you?”
“Me? Well…”
The white tree and white bird came to mind.
“Maybe I’ll go traveling. I’ve never been except for school trips.”
“That would be nice.”
I looked at my brother’s smiling face. For now, I should only think about what’s here. There’s a lot to do. It’s piled up.
“Give your spirit a name. You haven’t named it yet, right?”
The fire lizard was circling around Yuhyun’s shoulders. Though still a young spirit, it’s the purest flame born from an egg. That lizard master bastard knew quite a bit about spirits thanks to being a sorcerer from a world without a system.
The hatching conditions were good, and it matched well enough with Yuhyun to contract immediately. If he can break free from the system’s framework, he could become stronger much faster than before the regression.
“Don’t just give it any name, think carefully and ask for its opinion too.”
“Do I really need to go that far?”
“Hey, do you know how precious it is? It’ll be a huge help going forward, so raise it well.”
“I’m already feeding it well. It even devoured tens of billions worth of equipment in one go when I took my eyes off it in the equipment storage room.”
…It must have gulped down several high-grade items. High-grade magic stones would be better than items. What a dangerous fire lizard. Just then, I got a text message. Checking, it was from Seok Gimyeong.
[I would appreciate if you could tell the Guild Leader to answer his phone.]
“Team Leader Seok says to answer your phone.”
There wasn’t even a vibration. Did he turn it off completely? At my words, Yuhyun pulled out his phone reluctantly and took the call. From what I could hear, it seemed there were complaints about destroying the A-rank dungeon building and its surroundings. Moreover, it seemed there was talk because we just left after causing such chaos.
“I’ll be back shortly.”
“It’s fine.”
“For the sake of peace five years from now, don’t make unnecessary enemies. We’ll need many people’s power, so we should try to get along smoothly when possible. It’s not that hard to just show your face once.”
Though he made a completely unwilling expression, he got up. Looking at him, I thought maybe Yuhyun, like Liette, wasn’t suited to moving alone by nature. If I hadn’t been there, maybe he would have. I’ve held him back in many ways.
After Yuhyun left, I put Peace and Chirp down on the sofa and stood up. They pattered along behind me as I headed to the bathroom. When I closed the door to keep them out, I heard dissatisfied whining and chirping.
“Wait just a moment.”
I stood in front of the sink after calming them. The cracked magic stone, and one more. I pulled out another magic stone from my inventory. The SS-rank magic stone from the dragonkin.
The master of the curse dragons. Diarma combined magic stones to create new curse dragons. I know the method from seeing his skills. Though I’m not sure if I can use it.
‘The foundation isn’t bad.’
Dragon Slayer and Perfect Nurturer. Breaking free from the skill effects the system shows, if you only consider their characteristics, they’re suitable for raising dragon species.
‘Suppressive power that can contain even while holding a curse dragon’s magic stone. Power to nurture growth. And finally, combination… should be possible with the teacher skill.’
It’s a skill that can connect two different things. Having these three things means I have potential.
The remaining lacking parts could probably be filled with Diarma’s magic stone. Just like how Diarma also received help from a kindred teacher when young.
‘Make the dragonkin’s magic stone the core.’
The stats of the dragon species to be born are based on the average of the magic stones, varying with the sorcerer’s capability. So it doesn’t matter which one is primary, but I didn’t want to merge mainly with that Diarma bastard. Though it’s just a dead magic stone now, that bastard who touched my brother can serve as material.
The closer to the heart the magic stone is held, the better the effect. I unbuttoned my shirt and took out a short knife. The body reflected in the mirror was smooth without any scars. After the regression, I could receive potion and healing skills freely. But the wound I’m about to make now can’t be healed. That Diarma bastard was also covered in wounds despite his rank.
I lightly pricked above where my heart beats with the knife tip. When I pressed the cracked magic stone to the wound, it absorbed the blood, widened the wound, and settled inside. There wasn’t much pain. Peace scratched at the door, probably having smelled blood.
“It’s okay, Peace.”
So far it’s going smoothly. I moved mana while tracing Diarma’s memories. Consuming several mana potions, I pressed the white magic stone down over the black wound. The black magic stone enveloped the white one as if swallowing it. Then the wound closed, leaving only a small scar.
I let out a thin sigh. For now, it’s successful. Though I don’t know what kind of dragon species will be born yet. Suddenly, I pulled out a glass bottle from my inventory. The red magic stone inside rattled slightly.
“Hello, Blackie.”
If it’s born safely, I’ll let you out soon too.
-Groooowl
After cleaning up thoroughly, as soon as I opened the bathroom door, Peace clung to me. Chirp, with his low stats, seemed puzzled, probably unable to smell the blood.
“I’m fine, really. It’s nothing. Chirp, you come here too.”
I picked them both up and returned to the living room sofa.
I told Yuhyun it wouldn’t be too difficult to endure, but of course that wasn’t true. Fifty S-rank people wouldn’t be nearly enough. Quality matters more than quantity.
The fortunate thing is that I have the ability to raise Hunters. On top of that, I now have some knowledge too. So there’s definitely possibility.
‘Why did the unfilial children tell me to gather 50 people instead of raising them?’
Wondering about this, I opened my status window. At some point they’d touched it again, removing little things like arrows and “fighting” text. Among the skills, I checked the final recompense skill.
[Final Recompense (L) — When a keyword influence target dies, receive their skills and stats at double efficiency
Duration 7 days
※Cannot stack]
Double, and being Venom and Curse Dragonkin, double again. I touched the scar under my clothes. I still don’t want to use this method. But I need at least one last resort. A means to protect my brother, and to go find him.
“Since tomorrow will be busier, shall we rest well today?”
I lay down on the sofa, hugging Peace and Chirp.
The next day, I couldn’t return to the Breeding Facility until evening. I had to be tied up all day dealing with the aftermath of MKC and Sudam.
Two S-rank Hunters conspiring to kill another S-rank Hunter.
Naturally, it wasn’t an ordinary matter. Though it hadn’t gotten out to the public yet, it was the kind of incident that would be talked about on the 9 o’clock news for days. Thanks to this, Chief Song Taewon looked tired throughout despite being an S-rank Hunter. It seems mental fatigue was unavoidable.
Since I finished the interview with Seonghan yesterday, today was my turn. Excluding the story about Seonghan’s contract and the Filial Duty Addicts, I explained similarly to what I told Yuhyun yesterday. In Liette’s case, it was handled as her quitting after learning the truth while employed by MKC.
“Sudam will probably take most of the charges as the mastermind.”
Chief Song Taewon said with a sigh mixed in.
“MKC still has strong backing, so though they’ll take a hit, they won’t collapse.”
“They live quite comfortably. Will the Sesung Guild Leader let this slide too?”
When Seonghan was mentioned, Chief Song Taewon’s expression darkened further. He must have been quite troubled.
“How could he? There will be an underground war for a while. He was already scratching at MKC over your kidnapping, and now he’s caught another big one…”
His sigh was so heavy it could sink the ground. Looking at Chief Song Taewon like that, I casually threw out words.
“The Association’s stance would be to let it slide, right?”
“Yes. They don’t welcome the balance between major guilds being disrupted. They want the competition to continue.”
“Even so, to overlook clear criminal acts. As a Hunter, it’s inevitable that trust in the Association will crumble.”
“…On that point, I can only apologize, with nothing else to offer.”
His heavy voice was bitter. Certainly, leaving the current Association as is would be disadvantageous in many ways. When Hunters need to become stronger and unite, they would just hold things back.
‘If the Seonghan from before the regression chose the path of blocking and enduring dungeons, he might have been the one who killed Song Taewon.’
Though it would have been a waste of an S-rank Hunter, it would have been more advantageous to collapse the Association and have Haeyeon take over Korea to create a Hunter-centered society. He could have tried explaining the inside story and persuading him, but did it not work? Or was there another reason?
“Honestly, it’s not reassuring that the Association President is a non-awakened. If Chief Song Taewon had been the Association President instead, it would have felt more reliable.”
At my words mixed with laughter, wrinkles formed between Chief Song Taewon’s brows. Without answering, he moved on to detailed talk about compensation.
From his distinctly cold reaction, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be easy to draw him in.
And when I returned home, Myungwoo was collapsed on the living room floor.
–TL Notes–
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