Chapter 488
Chapter 488. Temporary Alliance (6)
He ntioned that the cause of the gate was none other than an extraterrestrial life form. In response, Kim Giryeo shot him a cold, piercing glare. It was an uncharacteristic reaction for soone who had been incredibly humble just monts ago.
'Since this started in a fairly serious atmosphere, he probably wouldn't dismiss it as a lie out of the blue...'
Normally, when soone talks about the existence of aliens, people at least show so curiosity. But he wasn't scared. He wasn't uneasy. The brazen S-rank hunter across from him kept a blank expression for a few seconds, as if not the slightest bit of confusion had touched him. The blonde man was simply quiet and composed, as usual.
'As expected, his reaction isn't exactly ordinary this ti either.'
So Kang Changho fell silent for a mont, trying to guess what the other was thinking.
***
'Aaaah!'
At the sa ti. A scream began to rise from a temporary office furnished with cheap secondhand furniture bought through an online marketplace.
'Damn it! The 'what if' I kept worrying about... it was actually true!'
I try my best to keep the shriek from escaping my throat.
'That human really knows reality all too well.'
He personally knew, for his own reasons, that extraterrestrial life truly existed in this world. And since Kang Changho had just blurted out sothing like that—sothing he probably couldn't be fully certain of on his own—this line of reasoning naturally flowed in my mind. To be honest, I'd always thought that if this planet had developed its own scientific technology, there might be so other kind of breakthrough.
'As expected, space research centers like N*SA has already uncovered the truth about the gates to so extent!'
Moreover, a small wealthy class, like Kang Changho, might have been sharing that information all along. As that thought crossed my mind, the emotion that followed imdiately was a sense of chill. Naturally, cold sweat broke out across my back.
'I've spent so much ti worshipping my phone lately, I'm starting to wonder if this mystical device really was made by grinding up aliens or sothing.'
If Earthlings had beco aware of the existence of aliens, then from my perspective, there could be no news more frightening than that.
'If this planet's scientific technology is at a level far higher than I expected, then what on earth am I supposed to do!'
It was a rare mont showing weakness. I got lost in thought and montarily released control over my facial muscles. So unintentionally, I kept a blank expression.
“An alien invasion……”
For now, let's continue the conversation like this. I spoke to Kang Changho, who was sitting in a chair.
“Sohow… um… sothing extrely far-fetched has co up. I… never even considered the possibility that the beings who made the gates ca from outer space.”
“Sohow... um... sothing extrely far-fetched has co up. I... never even considered the possibility that the beings who made the gates ca from outer space.”
“So what, did you think they were born in Agartha or sothing?”
“Then, may I ask what made Hunter Kang Changho start thinking that way?”
“Hmm?”
“Still, if there's even a single piece of objective evidence, I'd be able to believe that story pretty quickly.”
It was rather strange, steering the conversation like this when I was living proof of extraterrestrial life myself. For now, I wanted to look as unrelated to aliens as possible. So I forced myself to swallow the urge to tremble and continued speaking.
“I'm open-minded, so if possible, I'd like you to share any evidence you have of extraterrestrials.”
But I hadn't expected to get an answer like this.
“Evidence? What evidence? There's nothing like that.”
At this point, there was sothing that needed a brief explanation. Because today, I wanted to extract solid information
"Evidence? What evidence? There's nothing like that."
At this point, there was sothing that needed a brief explanation. Because today, I wanted to extract solid information from Kang Changho. And I had already prepared a ans of lie detection. And that detection thod consisted of various forms of physical enhancent.
'Sharpening my hearing enough to check heart rate, or analyzing the surrounding magic fluctuations with extre sensitivity, befitting an archmage.'
By observing another person's physical reactions in this way, it was possible to catch falsehoods with a fairly high degree of accuracy. Of course, compared to outright casting a lie-detection spell, the level of detailed accuracy would naturally be lower.
'If not a single judgnt of "lie" cos up, that's when I can start to question the credibility.'
A mammal that had spent almost several months overseas could show an overreaction just from approaching. Besides, I was also carefully wary of the other party's [Super Regeneration]. For now, the best course was simply to examine his words without drawing attention. Using my enhanced body, I silently watched for any changes in his deanor.
"It's not like I reached this conclusion after conducting any particularly ticulous research."
The result that ca back was straightforward. It was the truth.
It’s not like I reached this conclusion after conducting any particularly ticulous research.
The result that ca back was straightforward. It was the truth.
I’m just roughly thinking this way based on a few personal experiences.
Fortunately, this wasn’t a lie either.
Besides, just look at the gates that appeared on Earth. It’s hard to believe that modern humans could have made them, and bringing in concepts like a Creator or whatever feels way too far-fetched, doesn’t it?
So the final conclusion you ca to is aliens?
Yeah.
Even in that long chain of reasoning, there wasn’t a hint of falsehood.
If you think about it rationally, that’s actually the more reasonable conclusion.
It was simply Kang Changho’s consistently blunt, straightforward attitude.
“I thought you might have gotten a tip-off from sowhere like a national aerospace agency...”
“That’s not the case at all.”
But that brief reply alone still didn’t satisfy my curiosity.
“Hunter Kang Changho. Then I’d like to hear about those so-called personal experiences now.”
“What?”
“You said there was a definite trigger that led you to the idea of an alien invasion.”
Kang Changho’s magic began to stir. So for a mont, I wondered if this creature had decided to lie.
‘What the?’
On the contrary, the mont he opened his mouth, those subtle movents stopped. In other words, the words that followed imdiately after were far from falsehood.
What the?
On the contrary, the mont he opened his mouth, those subtle movents stopped. In other words, the words that followed imdiately after were far from falsehood.
“I honestly don’t know why you’d ask sothing like that… but well, since Hunter Kim Giryeo says it’s fine, I might as well tell you the truth.”
Drrrk.
The massive man leaned his body forward slightly.
“Back when I once stopped by Hawaii for a short trip.”
Ah. But wait a mont. I feel like I need to address this carefully. Surprisingly, that single line he just spoke seed to contain the first lie. It wasn’t the beginning of the sentence, but sowhere in the middle to the end, an irregular pulse was detected.
‘So he didn’t go there just for tourism...’
In other words, this is the state of the truth. With that particular anomaly noted, I continued listening to the story.
“Actually, I did illegally poke around a few of the nearby gates back then.”
“And then?”
“After that, I happened to encounter a strange monster inside one of the overseas gates. If I had to na the mont that made certain about the existence of a ‘gate owner,’ that monster would be the example.”
“What was so special about it?”
“There was a creature that was unlawfully using a human body.”
Fortunately, the conversation so far was entirely truthful.
No—wait a mont. But given how the story was unfolding, it didn’t feel right to call it simply “fortunate.”
“For the record, the reason I judged that whatever was inside the Hawaii gate wasn’t a [Doppelgänger] is actually very simple.”
“Hmm.”
For the record, the reason I judged that whatever was inside the Hawaii gate wasn't a [Doppelgänger] is actually very simple.
Hmm.
What I encountered in that dungeon was the face of a famous S-rank individual who had held their funeral just a few months ago.
....
If you're interested in gate information, you'd probably know this. A monster called a [Doppelgänger] normally just copies the face of a 'living person' who enters its territory, right?
When I stayed silent, his one-sided explanation continued for a while.
Anyway, what I encountered was inherently aggressive. It even had the intelligence to use traps to trouble humans it ca across.
Sounds like a nasty character.
Honestly, if that had been its only trait, I wouldn't have had much more to say. But... I see. Finally, I can reveal this in front of soone like you.
Reveal what?
“Honestly, if that had been its only trait, I wouldn’t have had much more to say. But... I see. Finally, I can reveal this in front of soone like you.”
“Reveal what?”
“That being, while not particularly skilled, could imitate human speech to so extent, though rather sporadically.”
“Ah.”
“That thing, with a voice like a zombie’s, looked at and actually called ‘an Earth human.’”
At that point—it was enough to be considered genuine confirmation.
“Even so, do you really think it’s strange that I’d co to suspect the existence of outsiders?”
Kang Changho lifted his head.
“So what happened after that?”
I posed a brief question to the mammal that had acted that way.
“After that? Sorry, but that was the entirety of my conversation with the monster.”
“Not the conversation. If you encountered a creature like that, surely there must have been sothing more that happened afterward.”
But Kang Changho replied at once.
“That was the end of my interaction with it.”
“Really, there was nothing more?”
“I told you from the start that that unusual case was extrely aggressive.”
“That’s true, but...”
“When the other side is charging at you with the intent to kill, you can’t exactly take your ti exchanging introductions... And besides, even before ‘that thing’ could properly open its mouth, it attacked relentlessly without any room for questions or answers.”
“Wasn’t it difficult to escape from a monster like that?”
“When did I ever say I ran away?”
“Hm?”
“I killed that special monster with my own hands. Creepy as it was, its body was surprisingly soft.”
“I see.”
“Well... of course, as befits a being that seed closely tied to the gate phenonon, it did use so bizarre powers, so it wasn’t easy.”
“What kind of bizarre powers?”
“Sothing like an attempt at a rare skill such as [Summoning]. But setting all that aside, what really matters is this: it had enough intelligence and malice to deliberately lure humans into traps and cackle while doing it.”
As he spoke those words, the owner of the [Dragon’s Eye] didn’t blink even once.
“An animal that wears a human form, yet isn’t on humanity’s side.”
I wasn’t quite sure why he was suddenly staring so intently into my eyes.
“Honestly, at this point, I think you could call it a pretty perfect example of an alien.”
But I thought to myself without deliberately avoiding the glare he had begun to direct at .
‘Even the story so far doesn’t deviate at all from the traits of a conventional [Gisimche]....’
Based on Kang Changho’s explanation just now, it was impossible to infer the true identity of the gate’s owner. There was even the possibility that the entity he had seen was nothing more than a fake, created by imitating the behavior of a [Possessing Gisimche]. After all, a feeding ground is, by its very nature, a factory for counterfeit products that copies just about anything.
‘If I had encountered the entity not inside the gate but out in the city, it might have been a bit more accurate.’
s just about anything.
'If I had encountered the entity not inside the gate but out in the city, it might have been a bit more accurate.'
I asked Kang Changho if he had any additional information on this, but the reply was underwhelming. The mammal with bluish-purple hair shook his head, saying he had nothing more to say, taking the initiative to cut off.
“By the way, can I ask our Mr. Kim just one question now?”
Of course, asking was perfectly fine.
“It's not really a big question. I just found myself wondering—what reason do you have for going around collecting all this curious information, Hunter Giryeo?”
The Earthling in front of straightened up. With that strangely colored gaze embedded with the [Dragon’s Eye], he looked over. And only then did I notice a new detail. There was no lens covering his eyes.
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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