Chapter 162: The Misty Sea Tribe (3)
“…Negotiate? Do you think that’s even possible?”
“Of course it is. If I tell that jellyfish I’m willing to make a contract instead of you, it’ll probably jump for joy.”
Choi Seokwon’s face twisted into a doubtful expression.
“You think you’re worth that much?”
“I’m leagues beyond some common S-rank. Why are you so suspicious? You’re going to waste what little time you have left by dying with nothing but question marks on your face?”
For someone with only a day left, he sure was relaxed.
“Anyway, it’s not like you have anything to lose. Unless, of course, you’ve suddenly decided life isn’t worth living anymore. In that case, I won’t force you. I can recommend some good books and music for you to enjoy during your last hours.”
“This isn’t some ploy to buy time, is it?”
“I don’t have the stamina to spout nonsense for an entire day. I can get you in front of the jellyfish right now. What do you think?”
“Right now? You’re saying you can summon it here?”
“Not here, obviously. But any dungeon will work. Once I send the signal and enter the dungeon, it connects to where the jellyfish is.”
I deliberately raised my voice so that my brother could hear. But then I immediately regretted it. The current Yuhyun didn’t have any knowledge of the traitors’ dungeons. He wouldn’t have suddenly regained his memories… right? Still, I didn’t have another plan.
Choi Seokwon wasn’t a monster yet—he was still an awakened. That meant he could enter a dungeon.
“What are you trying to do, Hyung?!”
A desperate cry reached me. I wanted to tell him it was fine, that there was nothing to worry about. I’d return safely, so he should just focus on getting his wounds treated.
“You’re noisy.”
Choi Seokwon muttered irritably. A mist gathered in his hand, morphing into a long blade. This damn bastard.
“If anything happens to my brother, I’ll make sure you die too.”
“And how exactly will an F-rank like you manage that?”
“Don’t you know that a contract like this has to be willingly accepted? If it could be forced, that jellyfish would’ve already taken me without asking.”
“Is that so?”
A twisted grin spread across his face. And then—
Swish!
The blade flew toward me. A stifled groan escaped me as searing pain erupted, like my insides had been torn apart.
“You bastard.”
“I didn’t kill you. Originally, I was planning to tear everyone apart, but I held back.”
I didn’t respond, only taking in ragged breaths. My vision, reddened and blurry, refused to clear.
“…Are you going to keep wasting time like this?”
“I thought about taking care of a few people as an example in case you decided to change your mind later.”
“An F-rank weakling like me might die from sheer frustration. Don’t bother.”
He snickered maliciously.
“Any dungeon will do?”
“Yes.”
Let’s just get this over with. A weak voice kept calling for me, tugging at my heart. I forced myself to ignore the desperate plea. The bastard turned his mocking gaze toward Yuhyun.
A chill ran down my spine as I wondered what he might do next. Fortunately, Choi Seokwon only grabbed me and turned away. Behind us, I could hear my brother’s anguished cries growing more distant.
BOOOM!
With a casual wave of his hand, the dungeon building ahead of us was obliterated in an instant. It was swept away like straw in a typhoon, revealing the gate below, glimmering faintly. Choi Seokwon shoved me toward the gate.
“Send the signal.”
I shot him a quick glance and then knocked three times on the gate.
“All done. Now you just have to go in.”
“That’s it? That was way too easy.”
“It’s my personal gate. You’ll see once we enter.”
Still gripping my arm, Choi Seokwon dragged me through the gate. A chilling cold enveloped me as snow crunched beneath my feet. A pure white forest stretched out before us. He gazed around with slightly surprised eyes.
“So, it really is somewhere else.”
His footsteps were heavy, and I was forcibly dragged along. It was about time now…
And finally—
“A monster?”
Choi Seokwon reacted first as an ice spear flew toward him. With his level, he easily shattered the spear, unlike when it was Yuhyun throwing them. He released me and darted forward.
Crunch!
Choi Seokwon’s hand grabbed something invisible and crushed it with precision. The stealth skill dissipated, revealing a toy soldier dressed in vibrant red with gold accents. It resembled a nutcracker from a storybook.
The toy soldier shattered instantly, its pieces scattering across the snowy ground. Choi Seokwon turned toward me with a smug expression.
“You didn’t bring me here thinking something like this could stop me, did you?”
“Believe it or not, that thing was S-rank. You’re so harsh. Oh, and this is a trap.”
I smiled sweetly. Sorry if it was underwhelming—I really did put some effort into it. Choi Seokwon smiled back, a savage grin that looked ready to chew me up and spit me out.
“You’re dumber than I thought. You should’ve waited until the gate closed before saying something like that.”
“What kind of guild leader doesn’t carry a gate stone? Didn’t expect that.”
“You’re all talk for an F-rank. I’ll rip off your arms and legs, then make you beg for death in front of Han Yuhyun—”
Thunk! Choi Seokwon’s outstretched hand slammed into an invisible wall.
“Hah, you think something like a barrier will stop me?”
This time, he clenched his fist and punched the transparent wall with full force. But despite the loud noise, the wall didn’t budge. His expression twisted. Again and again, he slammed his fists into the barrier.
I watched him coldly as he flailed in anger. When he felt my gaze, his neck flushed red with rage, and he screamed at me.
“You piece of trash! Get out here right now!”
[Honey!]
At that moment, a volleyball appeared. With a fierce expression—odd for its round form—it shouted loudly.
[Everyone, assemble! Merge!]
“What the hell is that now?”
Choi Seokwon looked on in disbelief as small and large toy soldiers began gathering from the forest. Their ranks ranged from B-grade to S-grade. The colorful soldiers crowded together and fused, forming a single knight figure.
The resulting knight was clad in a vibrant red uniform with golden epaulets, a billowing white cape, and an impressive sword sheathed at its side. It looked regal and imposing. I used my Promising Talent skill to assess it.
[Toy Knight Commander ? SSS-grade
Contractor — □□□□□]
Not just a knight, but a commander. The volleyball sprang up with excitement.
[Go!]
At its command, the knight commander elegantly drew its sword. The blade gleamed as it pointed directly at Choi Seokwon.
Seeing this, Choi Seokwon smirked confidently and raised his mist-formed blade.
“What a ridiculous—”
Thunk.
He didn’t get to finish. Without giving him a chance to react, the knight commander’s sword pierced through his chest. No blood flowed from the wound. Instead, thorny vines burst forth, wrapping tightly around Choi Seokwon’s body.
“Arghhh!!”
A scream filled with pain erupted from him. But it was brief. His form was entirely consumed by the writhing vines, which then condensed into a large cocoon. The cocoon shrank rapidly, eventually becoming no larger than a soccer ball.
‘Even though he was also SSS-grade.’
The disparity in power was overwhelming. He couldn’t even put up a proper fight. Then again, even at SS-grade, he hadn’t been as powerful as one would expect from his rank. Perhaps his abilities were on the lower end compared to others of the same grade.
[Honey, Honey! What just happened?!]
The volleyball rolled over to me, clearly flustered.
“He was someone who made a contract with the jellyfish. But is it really possible to become that strong just by sacrificing some lifespan?”
There weren’t many S-rank Hunters in the world, but they weren’t exactly rare either. Even now, there were hundreds worldwide, and their numbers would only continue to grow.
If many of those S-ranks started appearing as SS-rank or SSS-rank, it would become a serious problem. How could anyone handle that?
[It’s not ‘some’ lifespan, Honey. He was an S-rank awakened, remember? People like that wouldn’t willingly make such a sacrifice. And the jellyfish also used a loophole.]
“A loophole?”
[Yes. The jellyfish—what was it again, Senior Deer? Oh, right! The Misty Sea Tribe. They spread mist to devour the memories of other species. It seems the jellyfish turned that man into part of its tribe and gave him some of its mist. Since the mist was granted by the King of Harmless, it probably had extraordinary power to convert memories into strength.]
Memories. My heart skipped a beat as I grabbed the volleyball and asked urgently.
“My brother’s memories! Yuhyun’s memories—did that bastard take them too?!”
[Calm down, Honey!]
“I need to get them back! If he dies, will the memories return to their original owner? They won’t disappear forever, right?!”
[How long has it been since the memories were taken?]
“Not long. An hour or two at most.”
[Then it should still be fine. Knight Commander!]
At the volleyball’s command, the knight commander approached with the thorny cocoon in its hands. The top of the cocoon split open, revealing its contents. Inside were hundreds of small orbs, densely packed together.
[Some of the memories may have been lost, but most of them look intact. If you place them near their rightful owner’s body, they’ll naturally absorb back in. The larger the orb, the more memories it contains.]
Among the orbs, one stood out—it was significantly larger than the rest. That had to be Yuhyun’s. He had been closest to Choi Seokwon and inhaled the densest mist. This must be his memory.
I took out an empty bottle and a pouch from my inventory, carefully transferring the orbs, including the large one that likely belonged to Yuhyun. At the bottom of the cocoon, I spotted a dimly glowing magic stone. Picking it up, I examined it. It was SSS-grade, but it was small and dull for its rank.
“Doesn’t look very useful.”
Its odd state made it hard to sell or gift to anyone. Maybe Yu Myungwoo could use it for crafting weapons?
[Honey, you can combine it with your monster stones. It’s weak for its grade, but you could still create something S-grade or higher.]
“I can’t. It’s not a Venom and Curse Dragonkin stone.”
[What? Why not? Honey, you’re the nurturer, not the owner of the Venom and Curse Dragonkin species. The type doesn’t matter.]
“…What? It doesn’t matter?”
[Of course not. You’re already raising humans, dragons, griffins, horned lions, and so on!]
The volleyball spun in circles as it responded. Still, the skill was originally intended to combine Venom and Curse Dragonkin stones. Was it really okay to use other types? I stared at Choi Seokwon’s magic stone in my hand.
“Even if it’s possible, this one feels… wrong.”
This wasn’t a monster’s magic stone—it was a human’s. That made it uncomfortable to use.
“So, does an awakened human gain a magic stone at SSS-grade? Or is it because his species changed?”
[Usually, magic stones start appearing at SS-grade. It signifies surpassing the natural limits of their species. Monsters, on the other hand, aren’t part of your world’s species, so they get magic stones randomly, regardless of rank. That’s the gist of it, though it’s more complicated.]
I decided to keep Choi Seokwon’s magic stone for now. The volleyball warned me that there wasn’t much time left. Normally, the summoned space lasted about 30 minutes, but since we had entered back-to-back, the duration hadn’t reset. Recovering the lost time would take about a week, apparently.
[Take care, Honey!]
Before the volleyball could finish speaking, the surrounding scenery shifted. A desolate plain unfolded before me. Yuhyun must be worried—I needed to return quickly.
— Grrrr.
The growl of a beast reached my ears, and I immediately dashed toward the gate. But I had barely taken a single step before something heavy slammed down on my back, pinning me to the ground. Damn it.
“Ugh, no point asking questions, ah, damn it!”
I could vividly feel sharp teeth sinking into the nape of my neck. More monsters appeared in front of me as I struggled uselessly. I activated my Promising Talent skill.
[Grade 2 Land Wolf Species ? Longtooth Wolf
Current Stat Grade: A
Awakening Potential Stat Grade: B~A]
Choi Seokwon, you bastard. So this was an A-rank or possibly S-rank dungeon. Damn that piece of trash. Of course, the fact that monsters came at me so quickly was largely due to the magic stone in my chest. But still, it was all Choi Seokwon’s fault. If he’d chosen a calm C-rank or lower dungeon, I wouldn’t be in this mess.
I was dragged away, claws tearing into my body, with the gleaming gate just five steps in front of me. The monsters clawed and gnawed at me, trying to dig out the magic stone. Grace’s damage nullification was set to around A-grade, so it should last quite a while. My only option was to play dead, endure, and wait until they gave up and let go. I hoped they’d give up soon, for the sake of sparing my gate stone.
But weak bites here and there started leaving small cuts, and blood began to flow. The scent drove the monsters into a frenzy, and they grew even more violent, snarling and baring their teeth at each other as well. There was no sign of them calming down. I sighed, resigned to the fact that I’d have to use my gate stone, when—
— Ka-kang!
The monster pinning me down let out a shrill scream. A sharp smell of burning flesh followed.
“Yuhyun!”
My brother had come for me. As I tried to push myself up, Yuhyun collapsed to his knees in front of me, as if falling into place. He extended his arms and pulled me into a tight embrace.
“Hey, are all your injuries healed─”
I couldn’t finish my sentence. A faint, trembling sob escaped from him, silencing me.
–TL Notes–
Tired of seeing Ads? Then please support me on Patreon! Any tier of subscription will make it so you won’t get any ads!
If you want to support me or give me feedback, you can do it at patreon.com/MattReading
Join my Discord! https://discord.gg/BWaP3AHHpt