< Chapter 73: Action (2) >
Suddenly, ancient relics?
That came out of nowhere.
“You don’t need them?”
“Well, I do.”
I’m taken aback as I hadn’t expected that at all.
“You heard it too, right?”
“…?”
“That’s right. The case of the Great Labyrinth can be settled with that.”
What does she mean?
“You don’t want to leave a record of purchasing or possessing ancient relics, do you, Seo-yul?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Given that I had secretly requested the Fierce Tiger’s Gauntlet and asked for smuggling at the collector’s trade, it was natural for Yu Hwa to deduce that. If I had previously mentioned my desire for ancient relics, she would naturally know.
“Is there a way?”
Is there a brilliant method to obtain ancient relics without leaving a record?
“There are plenty of ways. There are a few in the Korean underworld. If you spend enough, you can also smuggle them from abroad.”
I had thought of that too.
“But if I keep buying like that, won’t there be a high chance that my information will leak eventually?”
There’s no such thing as an eternal secret.
Even if a deal is kept off the books and secret, the ‘seller’ who accepts the deal obtains some information. If it’s just one or two people, it might be okay. But as trades continue and the number of traders increases, a secret becomes not so secret.
“Exactly. If you continue to buy, there’s a high chance that only the government won’t know.”
That’s one reason I’m not too concerned about money. Given my status as an academy student from an orphanage, I can’t officially purchase expensive ancient relics.
“If I act as a mediator, rumors would spread like, ‘The Bihon Guild is collecting ancient relics for some purpose.'”
“That’s likely.”
At least the underworld merchant I bought the mana-engraved fang from last time seems trustworthy. Secretary Jang personally knows this merchant, and he’s known for his reliability in that circle.
Well, nothing is absolute. If a knife is put to one’s throat, they’d spill the beans.
For these reasons, I’ve mainly categorized the acquisition of ancient relics into [Direct Acquisition] or [Trade with an individual owning countless ancient relics (Collector)].
There’s also the acquisition through truly trustworthy people, like Yu Hwa or Jia.
“No matter how much I think about it, buying is a secondary solution. I’m grateful, but…”
“Who said we’d buy it for you?”
“What?”
Maiden scoffed.
“I’m Maiden, the dungeon creator. I make a fortune even when I’m just sitting around.”
The five dungeons Maiden Critinus owns are literally cash cows. It’s an unimaginable amount, beyond my puny imagination.
“What do ancient relics have to do with having a lot of money?”
“What does that have to do with buying?”
“There are a few ancient relics that I’ve acquired from historic sites or dungeons. I didn’t even register them, just stashed them away in a warehouse.”
“…Pardon?”
“I never wanted to go through the annoying process of registering, finding a buyer, and dealing with even more annoying trade procedures just for a small profit.”
Maiden chuckled.
“So, I secretly stored them in my home warehouse.”
“Isn’t that illegal?”
Ancient relics are required to be registered.
“You know that saying in Korea? If you get caught, it’s illegal. If you don’t, it’s legal.”
“…”
It’s hard to argue with that logic.
“Anyway, the important thing is that there are ancient relics buried deep in my basement warehouse. To be honest, I don’t even know how many there are. I’ve never been interested in such useless antiques.”
“You’re giving them to me?”
“Yes, all of them.”
…Is this real?
“But in return, I have one request.”
“A request?”
Maiden’s voice wavered with a playful tone.
“Clear your schedule this Saturday. Let’s go out for a drink.”
* * *
I made an appointment with Maiden for 10 a.m. on Saturday.
She said she would hand over the ancient relics then.
Could I be this lucky?
“Right? Goldie?”
“Meow.”
It’s currently 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
Before bedtime, I was rolling around in bed with Goldie.
“What kind of relic from which race will it be?”
I’m excited.
The tattoos engraved on my body represent the races of elves, beastmen, angels, spirits, dragons, and giants.
Except for the angel, they are all green.
It doesn’t matter what I get.
“Just let anything come~”
As I was quietly murmuring to myself…
Buzz-
My phone vibrated.
I thought it would be Jia, Si-yeon, or perhaps Ms. Yu Hwa.
“A school notice?”
Surprisingly, it was a school announcement.
[Notice to all first-year cadets. Tomorrow’s class will be replaced with practical training. Attend the class wearing actual combat equipment, not training gear.]
“Aha.”
The message meant that the practical lesson scheduled for Thursday was moved to Wednesday.
* * *
Wednesday morning.
There was no training with Instructor Pi Jin Ho today. It’s one of the instructor’s principles not to unnecessarily exhaust our strength, especially when a real battle is imminent.
“I’ll start by explaining the Yeoncheon field.”
Today’s practical training is a field hunt, just like we did last time.
Last time, it was in the Gangwon-do field, and this time it’s in the northern part of Gyeonggi-do, Yeoncheon. The Gangwon-do field is the easiest in terms of difficulty level, but after the appearance of Mephisto, it was completely sealed off. Hence, this place was chosen as an alternative. This field is relatively easy too.
“The terrain is mountainous. The monsters that appear are all beast-type…”
While listening to the instructor’s TMI (Too Much Information), my mind wandered elsewhere.
“Seo-yul, what’s that carrier you have?”
Ha Si-yeon, who was also not paying much attention to the instructor, whispered to me.
“It’s a hidden weapon.”
“A hidden weapon?”
It’s a relic from the beastmen that I brought just in case, thinking about the previous Mephisto incident. It’s called ‘Promosium Dagger’.
I packed it as a precautionary measure, so I brought it for that purpose.
“I brought it just in case, but I probably won’t need to use it. My main weapons are…”
I touched the ‘Horn of the Sleeping Dragon’ hanging on my hip and the ‘Elysium Bow’ strapped to my back in succession.
“As usual, these two.”
“You’re not using the spear?”
“No.”
I didn’t bring the long spear today.
Carrying the carrier made my load too heavy, and bringing the long spear would have been too much.
“Are you two showing off that you’re on the same team?”
Jia chimed into our conversation.
“Ah, Jia, the only one assigned to a different team.”
Ha Si-yeon replied with a playful smile.
“……”
At that, Jia’s eyelids twitched in annoyance.
The practical exam this time will be conducted in groups of six, as usual.
Ha Si-yeon and I are in Team 2, while Jia is alone in Team 1.
“It’s quite fascinating. I’m now ranked 37th, yet I’m grouped with Si-yeon, who’s 2nd.”
I’ve climbed to the 37th rank after receiving bonus points from the recent commendation from the chairman.
Every time there’s a team assignment, I always end up with Si-yeon.
“It’s not fair.”
Jia’s cheeks puffed out a little.
She must be feeling something akin to jealousy.
She looks up to me, after all.
Seeing Jia like that, Ha Si-yeon teased.
“Isn’t it because of my exemplary behavior?”
Ha Si-yeon poked Jia’s cheek playfully, laughing innocently.
“……”
Annoyed, Jia suddenly jabbed Ha Si-yeon’s side.
“Ouch! Jia, that’s sneaky!”
Seeing them like this, they have indeed become close.
But they shouldn’t be making noise!
“… You two.”
Sure enough, Instructor Pi Jin Ho noticed.
Well, he probably knew all along that we were goofing around but chose to ignore it.
“I don’t mind if you play around, but don’t cause trouble for the other cadets.”
“…Yes.”
“We’re sorry.”
Both of them bowed their heads.
I expected as much.
Their red ears showed they were quite embarrassed.
“Lastly, I will explain the prohibited areas in the field.”
Instructor Pi Jin Ho spoke with a serious expression.
“Everyone spread out the map of the Yeoncheon field that you’ve been given.”
The area near the ceasefire line in northern Yeoncheon was marked in red.
“You all should know, but the section adjacent to North Korea is off-limits. Don’t go there under any circumstances, or it’ll becomes an international issue.”
The Yeoncheon field connects with the Jangpung-gun field in North Korea beyond the ceasefire line.
Even in this world, North and South Korea are at war, and crossing the ceasefire line causes international problems.
And one more thing:
“Also, within this red area, disaster-class monsters reside.”
The disaster-class monster ‘Tyrant Drake’.
It’s a creature that sprawls across both North and South Korea, centered precisely on the ceasefire line.
This creature positioned itself between the two countries currently in ‘ceasefire,’ so neither side can send an extermination team. Whether dispatched from the North or South, either side could interpret it as an act of aggression.
Indeed, there was an incident where the North formed a superhuman extermination squad to supposedly subdue the Tyrant Drake. However, they crossed the ceasefire line in the guise of doing so.
“While the Tyrant Drake won’t harm anyone unless they enter its territory, it’s ruthless to intruders. Do not enter under any circumstances.”
“Yes!”
Of course, the pathways leading to the restricted areas are thoroughly blocked, so even if one were to attempt crossing, it would be challenging.
“In 5 minutes, we will begin the practical training for field hunting. Gather with your teams and prepare. That’s all!”
With that, the area instantly became noisy.
“The instructor sure knows how to scare us. They’ve set up barriers, so we can’t go even if we wanted.”
“I heard that in the past, some cadet wanted to prove his strength and forced his way through the barrier into the Drake’s territory.”
“What? Someone actually did that?”
I heard there was one such person ten years ago. Because of that cadet, the Yeoncheon field was excluded from practical training sites for a while.
“Seo-yul, what should we do?”
Team 2, including Ha Si-yeon, gathered around me.
“But before that, let me confirm one thing. Does anyone have objections to me being the team leader?”
Everyone remained silent.
Looking at their expressions, it seemed no one had any complaints.
“Even though it’s a practical training, it’s a training with credits attached. Who would have a problem with that?”
“Exactly. It’s actually a blessing.”
“Having Seo-yul give orders is a huge benefit.”
I smiled faintly as I was showered with praises.
“Okay. I’ll take the role of the team leader.”
I spread out the map and pointed to a specific location.
“We’ll target this area.”
“…Isn’t this place famous for the frequent appearances of elite monsters?”
“Correct.”
Even though the Yeoncheon field is usually crowded with all kinds of superhumans, the zone where elite monsters appear is even busier. The reason is simple.
“The place where Honey Bears appear.”
To hunt Honey Bears. Precisely, to obtain the ‘honey’ that the Honey Bear holds within.
“You’re aiming for the honey of the Honey Bear?”
“Yes.”
The Honey Bear’s honey is a panacea, an elixir so rare it’s nearly impossible to find.
“Usually, the place would be full of professional superhumans, but today it’s exclusively reserved for our first-year students, right?”
The field was entirely booked for the practical training.
“The maximum competitors would be 492.”
“Not all teams will come.”
Not all teams would be targeting the Honey Bear. So, the maximum would be around 150 people, probably.
“Of course, considering the appearance frequency of the Honey Bear, there’s a 99% chance we won’t encounter one. But there’s no loss in trying.”
“…Indeed, it might be worth aiming for. Even though elite monsters are strong, with you two, there won’t be a problem.”
The male student pointed at both me and Si-yeon as he spoke.
“Elite monsters have a basic high score. So, even if it’s not the Honey Bear, we still gain.”
“I agree.”
“Me too.”
Everyone agreed.
“Great. Then our team will target elite monsters, and if possible, the Honey Bear.”
* * *
The central forbidden zone on the armistice line connecting Yeoncheon in South Korea and Jangpung-gun in North Korea.
In that place, a man and a woman were in awe.
“Wow. It’s worthy of the name ‘Tyrant Drake’, isn’t it?”
Sword Spirit.
“Brother, look at those teeth. If it bites, it’d be instant death.”
Ghost Spirit.
They were villains under the Maestro, belonging to the Saviors of Truth.
The two were laughing continuously as they faced the master of the Yeoncheon field, the Tyrant Drake.
Its size isn’t that big, roughly about twice the size of an elephant. However, the oppressive feeling from its eyes, and the electrifying aura from its entire body, proclaimed that it was an unbeatable existence.
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Such a being was standing there with its eyes dimmed, void of light.
“Little sis, if we fight, we’ll obviously lose, right?”
“Yep. One gulp, chomp chomp. Don’t provoke it needlessly. It might start moving immediately.”
They both knew better than anyone that they couldn’t win, unless their superior, the Maestro, stepped in.
“Are you planning to fight? I have my plans.”
“You had a brain?”
“You wench?”
However, neither of them initially came here with the intention to fight.
“Anyway, little sis. I’m counting on you.”
“Leave it to me.”
The younger sister, Ghost Spirit, stepped forward. A chilling aura descended simultaneously.
“Spirit Possession.”
At the same time, the once majestic body of the Drake froze in place.
Ghost Spirit’s special skill was to control a specific target by possessing it with a ghost. However, it couldn’t be used on beings with a strong will, like humans.
“As expected, just as Maestro said. Its inner psyche is too strong, so it seems I can only manipulate its cognition a little.”
“That’s enough. We just have to kidnap Shin Jia in the confusion caused by it rampaging.”
Sword Spirit, with eight swords floating around him, smirked.
“Possession Manipulation. Cognition Alteration.”
A cold ghostly aura flowed from the body of the Drake.
“Territory Recognition Range Modification.”
A sharp light emitted from Ghost Spirit’s eyes.
“The entirety of Yeoncheon.”
