Chapter 310
Chapter 310. Introduction (2)
According to Ahn Yoonseung, the Beast—who had disappeared for a while—had reappeared across parts of Europe and started causing havoc once again.
However, the report that Yoonseung’s SNS acquaintance claid to have seen didn’t make sense from the very beginning. In other words, it was completely impossible.
‘What the heck? How did the Beast, who’s already dead, end up in the news?’
But there was no way I could show that I knew the truth in that situation. I did my best to finish the dinner smoothly, then headed straight for the temporary residence. Towards the number one ranked apartnt, which might just be the safest place in South Korea.
And when I investigated the situation that Ahn Yoonseung reported in more detail, what was revealed in the process was even more shocking...
***
I really can't figure it out.
[Breaking news. Once again today, “Beasts” have caused chaos in Pays de la Loire, France...]
About three hours later, a report played on the 6.8-inch screen.
I returned to the residence of Jung Haseong, where I'm temporarily staying. And as you can see, I'm now watching that evening news on my phone—but there wasn't even ti to brag about how the screen on this brand-new model looks so refreshingly wide thanks to its slim bezels.
“Oh my.”
That's because the story coming from the YTV channel was far stranger than I had imagined.
‘Not just one, but many?’
First of all, to start with the basics—a Beast appeared sowhere overseas. And what's more, there were multiple of them.
[This ti, there were three individuals claiming to be the ‘Beast.’ Their race and age remain unclear, and they recklessly seized Gates that already had designated conquerors.]
Judging by the footage captured by a certain reporter's cara, one person at the center of the group did have a physique sowhat similar to the real Beast.
‘Seems like the group included ones that were either excessively bulky or about half the usual size.’
Looking at it again, it seed like they were all Beast impersonators.
‘Then it makes sense.’
If I considered the possibility that this was tied to impersonation and fraud, then everything started to make sense.
The true owner of the na “Beast” was Brooklyn Morgan. However, the signature bone mask she wore as part of her double identity wasn’t so custom-made item. Now commonly referred to as the [Beast’s Mask], that large ornant was just an item—And with a rarity rating of only Common, it wasn’t even that hard to acquire if soone really set their mind to it.
‘I think I once read sowhere that in countries like the U.S., they even banned the trade of that mask due to concern
was just an item—And with a rarity rating of only Common, it wasn't even that hard to acquire if soone really set their mind to it.
'I think I once read sowhere that in countries like the U.S., they even banned the trade of that mask due to concerns about imitation terrorism or sothing like that.'
A common-grade bone mask. And calling soone the Beast, when they draped themselves in pitch-black rags—whose material couldn't even be identified as any known animal hide—and began pack hunting. Upon hearing this news, most mammals on Earth naturally assud that the spatial-rift criminal they knew had found accomplices.
But I know. Among them, not a single true Beast exists.
'That dual-attribute user nad Brooklyn Morgan—I definitely killed her back in that cave.'
I rolled my eyes.
'Of course, I borrowed the power of the charged Legendary, but such a difference doesn't change the causality of what already happened.'
From within the thick hide, I moved my eyes in succession and sank into contemplation for a while, but even after spending a fair amount of ti, no answer ca to .
Since the mask is a mass-produced item, if soone were to simply prepare a separate skill-based illusion, then imitating the Beast really wouldn't be all that difficult.
nding a fair amount of ti, no answer ca to .
Since the mask is a mass-produced item, if soone were to simply prepare a separate skill-based illusion, then imitating the Beast really wouldn't be all that difficult.
'Then why?'
Why? I couldn't get a feel for that part.
The Beast is publicly known as a body thief who was caught transporting the corpses of foreign Hunters.
So if soone carelessly pretends to be that kind of person, they'll end up shouldering the bla for all the cris she committed in the past. What on earth do they even stand to gain from doing sothing like that?
[Anonymous Bulletin Board]
[👈: 180-1 popped up again. Whoa, what if that's actually KGR hunter though?]
[👉: When that breaking news ca out in the evening, soone posted on social dia that that person was having chicken and beer in Seoul. Wouldn't the distance and ti not match up?]
[👈: Dude, the Beast literally uses teleportation though;;]
[👉: Oh, that's right]
The newly erged Beasts, much like the previous Brooklyn, primarily caused incidents in Western Europe. Therefore, serious discussions about them haven't taken place in Korea, where the damage has been relatively minor.
[♚: Oh, that's right]
The newly erged Beasts, much like the previous Brooklyn, primarily caused incidents in Western Europe. Therefore, serious discussions about them haven't taken place in Korea, where the damage has been relatively minor.
Even so, I kept feeling curious about sothing. Maybe it was because, even after coming to this foreign land, the scholar's temperant embedded in my soul just wouldn't fade.
'What is the driving force behind that group of fake Beasts?'
But sitting in a guest room like this and racking my brain wasn't going to solve anything. More importantly, I had no desire to get myself involved in the affairs of such dangerous individuals.
'Is it just so kind of performance put on by violent awakened individuals?'
Tuk.
After thinking for a long while, I turned off my phone screen. As I had just recalled, the appearance of a new Beast was a problem that couldn't be understood through simple contemplation alone.
'For the ti being, I'd better stick close to my temporary landlord.'
If necessary, I'll just beg the national hero to save !
I decided not to agonize over an unsolvable problem and just put it off for now. For reference, the Ranking No. 1 I thought of earlier—who had been sowhat distant since the Tower of a Hundred People incident—had recently started asking , albeit rarely, what I was doing every ti I left the house for long periods. Of course, I hadn't given a proper answer to that either—I put it off as well. Not just for a simple reason. Unfortunately, if a disciple shows dependence on their instructor, it's better to correct it beforehand.
'If I get Esther to take over and start collecting tuition, my financial situation will ease up. Then I'll be able to quickly save up enough money to buy that 8-billion-won house I've been eyeing, including the maintenance fees.'
Still, it seems that the task of “making a certain black-haired primitive sorcerer strong” is being concluded quite successfully.
Soon, I got up from my seat and began roughly preparing to wrap up the day. At this point, I still intended to take things slowly and carefully gather more information as the situation unfolded.
[Chat room]
[P: I checked the ssage.]
[P: Let's start.]
[SPECTRUM: Is it really next? Still?]
[SPECTRUM: By the way, with this incident, all of Korea's S-rank hunters will definitely rise up. I'm not sure if they'll be able to stop it, though.]
[P: Just separating even a single one took quite a lot of effort.]
[P: So, as a personal wish, I truly hope you'll successfully take control of the remaining three.]
***
Weekday, 7 a.m. Once again, the bustling sounds of people heading to work echo from outside the window.
Chirp, chirp, chirp.
I absentmindedly fiddled with sothing in my hand as I watched the mammals heading to work through the living room window. It was a newly released analyzer from the U.S., and I'd bought this latest model just for fun—apparently, it ca with so noticeable upgrades compared to the previous version.
"Let's see, does this an the update is complete?"
And the identity of the new feature that the parent company confidently announced...
[PIXY: The powerful analyzer, the fifth series of a different dinsion revealed]
[O Dungeon Completion Alert Feature]
Alright. Though it's wrapped up in all kinds of fancy phrases, the explanation is actually simple. This device is supposed to send a separate clear signal to challengers once a gate has been fully conquered.
'Oh~'
After digging deeper, I found that the principle behind it is this: the device detects a specific elent that appears when a new "exit" erges in another realm, or when a dungeon begins to collapse by triggering an automatic escape function—like what happens with the White Pagoda. And if you ask why hunters would even need such a function, it all traces back to the gradual changes that have been happening in dungeons. Especially recently, when 'mining' has beco a trendy new way to make money on Earth.
Mining. This refers to the act of extracting resources from cleared gates where all the monsters have already been defeated. For reference, F- and E-rank hunters are the ones playing a leading role as miners. Since the interior of dungeons is often structured in a way that makes it difficult for heavy equipnt to get in, the fastest thod ends up being people physically going in and digging up the materials themselves.
'This was a news article topic I'd been keenly following recently, so I knew this well.'
Unfortunately, my Plan B in life—changing careers to beco a miner—was no longer an option. That's because the so-called "dead gates," where both the boss and all the minor monsters had been completely wiped out and no respawning occurred, were being squatted in like living rooms by the hosts. From Gisimche's perspective, that was naturally an eyesore. Now, on a global scale, cases of gates automatically triggering the exit spell right after being cleared have reportedly increased.
'Co to think of it, I have seen a similar example. Wasn't [Imitation City] exactly that kind of format?'
reportedly increased.
'Co to think of it, I have seen a similar example. Wasn't [Imitation City] exactly that kind of format?'
So, Pixy developed this feature. For your reference, I looked into the principle, and it seems it doesn't directly recognize the automatic escape spell embedded in the dungeon itself. Instead, it senses the mana around the body becoming unstable when exposed to that effect, and then displays the ssage, 'You will exit the dungeon in 10 seconds.'
'Dungeon Clear Alarm.'
Of course, I'm already worried about how many tis fake hunters—those who've completely faked their rank—will end up using this feature. Besides that, this latest model has been refined through repeated research to be lighter, more portable, and sturdier, so maybe it's worth having at least one.
'It's plain. I really don't understand the design tastes of Earthlings.'
Sparkle.
I stared at the new analyzer made from dungeon materials, then turned around. By the way, today I'm the one who has to look after this large house all by myself. The so-called national hero had finally fulfilled a lifelong dream of securing a ho, yet for so reason, that still wasn't enough. Just this morning, he'd already left the house again at dawn for yet another raid.
'Well, I did make up an excuse that I was planning to rest for a while due to recent overwork and fatigue, but being a c
a ho, yet for so reason, that still wasn't enough. Just this morning, he'd already left the house again at dawn for yet another raid.
'Well, I did make up an excuse that I was planning to rest for a while due to recent overwork and fatigue, but being a complete slacker is actually more conspicuous than I expected.'
Should I at least clean the bathroom today? But if I went and used a high-grade miracle like 『Clean』 in a place shared with Earthlings, it would probably raise suspicion.
I stretched to loosen up my body. In that process, I thought it over and ca to a conclusion. Yes, I'll clean in the ordinary Earthling way.
So, a few minutes later, I sprayed mold remover in the hallway bathroom, planning to kill so ti web surfing while waiting out the instructions' recomnded wait ti.
"Hmm?"
By now, I had visited the video streaming app so often that I'd morized its layout. Normally, I would've brushed past the flood of entertainnt on the ho screen, heading straight for the news, consuming only the information I cared about. But this ti, my gaze landed on an image—and as if under a spell, I tapped on it without thinking.
Normally, I would've hesitated dozens of tis before clicking on such an unofficial video link. But the image captured in that small screen was sothing I simply couldn't ignore.
Normally, I would’ve hesitated dozens of tis before clicking on such an unofficial video link. But the image captured in that small screen was sothing I simply couldn’t ignore.
‘Purple, long hair.’
They say you can even tell zebras apart if you see them often enough. And she has a pretty striking appearance even among the mammals living in this world.
The video began to play quietly. And soon, what appeared on the screen was...
– This f*cking... xx...!...craz....
Judging by the architectural style of the buildings captured on screen, it appeared to be a street likely in Korea, where a familiar figure was shouting vehently.
It was Esther. And on top of that, she seed truly furious, repeatedly shouting at the top of her lungs while pointing at sothing. Judging by how her usually pale neck had turned red as if sunburnt, the intensity of her anger was easy to imagine.
However, I couldn’t bring myself to pay attention to her emotions—even though it was the wrath of a curse mage.
Right now, I had no room to spare for things like human expressions or shouting.
“Huh?”
Because the woman in this newly uploaded video—had a deep wound running across her face.
Could that injury possibly include damage to her eye? That thought crossed my mind, as Esther was desperately clutching one side of her face in agony. The video ended with a final shot of her running off into the distance.
‘What did I just see?’
I was left speechless. A video of South Korea’s second-ranked S-Class hunter, her shoulder soaked in blood, furiously yelling at soone? More than that—does this an there’s a gate out there right now, in the middle of this world, capable of injuring the leader of a major guild in broad daylight?
‘She clearly ca running from the direction of that gate at the beginning of the video.’
I haven’t heard any warnings about the appearance of an S-rank beast.
My mind was in a whirl for a mont. In fact, the certain anomaly I had just witnessed was still rapidly unfolding.
I haven't heard any warnings about the appearance of an S-rank beast.
My mind was in a whirl for a mont. In fact, the certain anomaly I had just witnessed was still rapidly unfolding.
Wuuung.
Just a few seconds later.
[☎ Seo Esther]
Because the na I had saved on my new phone appeared.
Author's Thoughts
Hi, from now on, I will update this novel 3 chapters/week. Thank you for all your support so far:)
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