One Friday afternoon.
“Whoo…”
Seonwoo Yeon, an employee of the association, is sitting at ho after finishing her shift. She was enjoying her leisure ti, holding a cup of green tea in one hand and holding a mouse with the other hand.
“Uhm?”
She ca across a post on social dia and stopped the mouse.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
I’m sending it out, but if I do this, people will think I’ve caught the boss~~
We didn’t kill the Baron!
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
A post written by a famous hunter and 88 comnts below it.
If it’s the Baron, he’s definitely talking about sothing that happened yesterday…
‘Hmm.’
Drrk, drrrk.
Seonwoo Yeon scrolled through the comnts under the post. However, no ntion of Kim Kiryeo’s na could be found no matter how much she searched through social dia. In other words, fortunately, citizens do not seem to know the identity of the appraiser yet.
“Hmm.”
It suddenly occurred to her that Kim Kiryeo, who wanted to live quietly, would feel uncomfortable even with this small attention.
‘He tried to help us, but it only attracted unnecessary attention…’
But what can she do about it? If she were to judge right or wrong, this was the hunter’s own gain.
‘With such skills, how could he not attract attention?’
Gulp.
Seonwoo Yeon sipped the tea and pondered the situation at that ti again.
Anyway, she was surprised yesterday. That F-Class hunter who hasn’t been seen in a while suddenly appeared at the scene of the incident.
– I an, how long are you going to keep struggling with just a barrier like this?
As soon as he arrived at the scene, he urged and said, “What if you struggle with such an easy task?” After listening to his explanations, she found out that the Hanshin incident was really as ridiculously simple as he said.
– You ask how I capture the Flower Baron, right?
– Yes.
– He died because of the barrier maintenance costs. When he lost his mana stone, all his mana got sucked into the barrier.
– Huh? No way…
– Why?
– Well, so far, removing the magic stone hasn’t done that….
-Then I guess excessive expansion of territory was the cause. After this guy escaped, it secretly increased the barrier, right?
In fact, judging by his actions alone, he really did nothing other than pick up the fallen magic stone. However, based on that, Seonwoo Yeon noticed Kim Kiryeo’s skills.
‘Huh.’
Didn’t the man give off the vibe that ‘this is easy’ from the mont he first set foot on the scene? This is evidence that Kim Kiryeo saw the entire situation clearly even before coming to the barrier. In short, the Baron’s aningless death would have been according to his calculations.
‘That’s right. From the very beginning..’
If that’s the case, it’s truly impressive, regardless of whether he possesses appraiser analysis skills or not.
‘How on earth?’
She never thought he could figure out the weakness of the barrier in an instant just by looking at a brief segnt of the scene reported on TV. She could no longer keep up with his thought process. Because Kim Kiryeo always acted as if he could foresee a situation two or three tis ahead.
‘The perspective itself is different from that of ordinary hunters.’
At this point, it’s frightening. Yeah, that awakened person is truly terrifying, making people feel intimidated and shrink back…
“I don’t know what you’re thinking.”
Also, sotis, he helps others without getting anything in return, so she really doesn’t know what’s going on.
“Whoo.”
Why on earth does Kim Kiryeo go around doing good deeds? Just to kill ti? Of course, whatever the reason, it is true that things worked out well this ti, thanks to that person. Thanks to his overwhelming hunt for the flower baron, everyone got ho safely and on ti.
‘Now that I think about it, did I say thank you properly?’
But co to think of it, it’s not just yesterday. When an awakened person nad Kim Kiryeo becos involved, things always turn out well for him.
‘….’
Then could ‘that incident’ also be like that? Seonwoo Yeon put down the teacup and fell into deep thought for a mont.
***
The next morning.
“You’re done talking now, right?”
“Is the security here properly set up?”
“Sir, please don’t drag out the conversation for no reason…”
I had been arguing since early morning. There was a dangerous creature lurking like a wild beast in front of the entrance.
“Um… First of all, thank you for your concern. But it’s a bit inconvenient for you to co all the way to my house like this.”
It’s really hard to explain, but I was currently making a fool of myself by using the excuse of going to the scene of Flower Baron’s incident. This was because Kang Changho suddenly ca to check on my condition.
“If you didn’t want coming, you shouldn’t have been so brave.”
To think primitive beings would pressure an archmage like ! Anyway, there was no article, but seeing as he ca right away, it’s definitely this S-class trash in the association. But right now is not the ti to look for such an underling.
“Hunter Kim Kiryeo, just open the door properly.”
“I haven’t tidied up the room, so that’s a bit…”
First, I cald down the S-Class in front of the door. To be precise, it would be right to say that I persuaded him.
“Wait, please listen to . I’m sure I called before going to the scene, didn’t I? It’s just that you didn’t pick up.”
“Oh.”
“Besides, if I hesitated, the Flower Baron would have barged into our house. How could I just sit still…”
However, Kang Changho interrupted and answered shalessly.
“But from now on, just stay still until I reply. If it seems dangerous, I will co right away.”
Am I crazy? Expecting your help?
‘You must be running in a hurry. You’ll hit in the back to activate your improvent!’
It has been a long ti since my trust in others was shattered due to the last [Dinsional Treasure House] incident. I realized that there were many risks involved in trying to survive by relying on Kang Changho.
“Why are you looking like that? I promise. I’ll really co.”
So, I listened to the other person’s words with a bored expression.
But at that mont, a noise behind my back suddenly caught my attention.
-Drrring, drriing.
Oh my, the bell tone I changed in my sleep is louder than I expected.
“Wait a minute.”
I ran into the room and checked the caller. Then three familiar letters appeared on the phone screen.
‘Seonwoo Yeon?’
It was a fairly early call for her.
***
An hour later, I arrived at the park in front of my house. It was a sudden weekend plan that ca up from our earlier call. As I sat on the bench, passing the ti, the face I had been waiting for soon appeared.
“Hunter Kim Kiryeo?”
With a neat bang and long flowing hair, I stood up from my seat and greeted Seonwoo Yeon.
“Hello.”
“Ah, hello.”
Well then, now is the ti to have a conversation.
“So what about the docunts?”
I sat down on the bench and took the initiative to break the ice. As for what topic will be discussed today, I already heard a rough outline of it during the phone call earlier.
“This is it.”
Seonwoo Yeon quietly took out a docunt from the bag she had brought.
“As I ntioned earlier, this is the data on the terrorist attack caused by the Rakshasa Temple. Please take a look at it.”
The paper Seonwoo Yeon handed over was densely filled with black ink writing. Moreover, the information displayed so sort of common thread among them.
[Minotaur]
[Grade: B]
[Origin: Labyrinth Labyrinthos (Sejong-daero, Jung-gu, Seoul ###-#)]
[There are mutant entities that appear to use tools such as axes and sotis use magic.]
‘The back pages are all about monster descriptions?’
At first glance, this data looked like the results of an analyzer’s monster search. However, if I look closely, an unusual item called place of origin has been added.
‘Origin?’
I tilted my head, not knowing what the item ant. Then, Seonwoo Yeon finally added an explanation.
“Do you rember the Dungeon Break terror attack in August?”
“Ah, where Jung Haseong got injured.”
“Maybe because it was such a big accident, the association has only just finished investigating the truth.”
“….”
“During that process, they found sothing strange.”
She swallowed her dry saliva and continued her words quietly.
“The bosses that were supposed to be there have disappeared sowhere.”
Boss disappears?
“That…when a dungeon break occurs, all monsters inside that gate should co out, right?”
“Yes.”
“However, upon further investigation after the August terror incident, it was found that the bodies of the boss monsters were hardly discovered.”
“…!”
“Because of this, we thoroughly investigated all the artificial dungeon breaks that had occurred so far. Similarly, there were many cases where bosses disappeared.”
After hearing that, I finally fully understand the aning of these docunts. This is a list of bosses who have disappeared without a trace.
Daejeon, Ulsan, Jeju.
Moreover, the regions where these disappearances occurred are more varied than we thought.
“Hmm.”
As I remained silent, Seonwoo Yeon continued the conversation with a calm expression.
“By the way, the monsters listed in this docunt couldn’t be tracked even with my [Searcher] skill.”
“Ah.”
“So the Association concluded that instead of trying to find these bosses, it’s better to just focus on other matters…”
Seonwoo Yeon put her leather bag down firmly on the bench.
“Honestly, it’s really uncomfortable as it is. That’s why I called you, Kiryeo-ssi. I thought maybe with the eyes of an appraiser, you might be able to find sothing.”
I don’t think I can do sothing that even a Searcher couldn’t.
“Have you ever seen any of the bosses on that list outside the dungeons, Kiryeo-ssi?”
“I’ll take a look first.”
I carefully checked the docunts to answer Seonwoo Yeon’s question.
“Are these the boss photos attached here?”
“Yes.”
Of course, as expected, I also never encountered these bosses in person…
There is just one thing that cos to mind.
[Imoogi]
[Grade: A]
[Origin: Reservoir Gate (Daejeon…)]
[Strong resistance to water attributes. Be cautious as the boss’s magic power grows when it devours nearby regular monsters.]
[Great Turtle]
[Grade: B]
[Origin: Beach Gate (Gangneung…)]
[Summons minions (small turtles) every 4 minutes upon detecting an enemy.]
I stared at the descriptions of those two bosses for a while, and gradually, cold sweat poured down my spine. I began to sense what they had been up to.
“What’s wrong?”
A monster that grows under specific conditions suddenly disappears one day, along with another monster that could periodically satisfy its conditions. And the mastermind behind all this, the Rakshasa Temple, has the ability to remove dungeon entrances…
‘Damn it.’
I soon realized the terrorist’s purpose.
“Could it be that monsters are being raised within these gates?”
Yeah. That’s why they repeated the experint related to the gate.
‘To use the sealed gate as a cradle for monsters…?’
Moreover, I had already predicted where the grown Imoogi would be used.
“This Imoogi monster here is born at A-Class. If they started raising it since August… it might have reached a level close to S-Class.”
“Yes?”
“These guys are preparing a terrorist attack that cannot be compared to last August.”
But to Seonwoo Yeon, this claim sounds a bit absurd. She imdiately asked back with a surprised face.
“Why would the Rakshasa Temple do such a thing?”
“Ah.”
“C, could it be true what others are saying, that the cult leader was a spy sent from abroad…?”
Why is the Rakshasa Temple committing acts of terrorism? This has been a lingering question for so ti. So now, it’s about ti to gradually uncover the reasons behind it.
“That might be…”
I sighed, covering my mouth with my hand.
“Have you ever received those leaflets from those cults while walking along the street?”
“What are you talking about?”
“If you look closely, they have doctrine from the Rakshasa Temple written on them.”
“Doctrine?”
“Like how dungeon shocks are a punishnt from heaven to awaken humanity, and the creatures inside the gates are disciples ant to enlighten us, sothing like that.”
“Aah.”
“So they say the hunters who suppress monsters are considered servants of Satan who must all die or sothing…”
Perhaps so of the Rakshasa monasteries may think of this doctrine as simply a provocative slogan to attract believers.
Yeah. If so, that’s a relief. As Seonwoo Yeon said, it would be better if the pseudo-religious group were blinded by money and profits. But unfortunately, the Rakshasa temple has no choice but to reach its final, ruinous end.
Because it was this person who actually controlled the group. As long as he acts as head. Right now, whether it’s spending money or coveting power, it’s all just an interdiate process of this idea.
“I found out during the investigation of that drug dealer last ti that Rakshasa Temple’s Soo Yehwi is 100% transferring his thoughts.”
“Transferring…what?”
“They use a brainwashing technique where they copy and paste their own thoughts onto others.”
Brainwashing magic is largely divided into two categories. One is an autonomous indicator that inputs propositions as desired. And the rest is this thought transferring system.”
In particular, the latter thod significantly reduces mana consumption, making it an effective way to brainwash groups. However, it has its limitations, as it can only use thoughts that the individual genuinely believes in as material.
“Still not quite getting it? Well, Su Yehwi is soone who infects others with his own beliefs.”
That limitation has now beco a cause for fear.
“But here’s the problem.”
“….”
“All the brainwashed believers I t believed this doctrine very passionately, but what does this really an?”
“….”
“And the second. What was Su Yehwi’s role within the Rakshasa Temple…?”
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