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Chapter 141

Humanity’s front lines, hunting cities located all around the world centered around the Academy, share a surprisingly peculiar commonality.

They all have a gate connected to an underground passage that rarely opens, nestled within the walls that surround the city.

Children would often gaze at that gate, dreaming of it as the grand entrance for mighty hunters or for transporting enormous monsters, or something like that.

Of course, while that was one of its purposes, anyone with an interest in the hunter world would know exactly what circumstances would cause that gate to open in this modern age.

Today’s hottest spot in Harmony City, without a doubt, was the top of the city walls. People of all ages climbed up to the southern walls to gaze at the horizon.

Dust began to rise beyond the horizon. Something huge was charging towards the walls.

Kim Hyun-soo stood outside the gate, watching the scene unfold. He was preparing to act just in case it wasn’t some harmless creature that was coming.

“Looks like they’re on their way. Please get ready to open the gate.”

Pressing the button on his walkie-talkie, Hyun-soo spoke briefly. The next time he communicated via radio, it would signal the gate’s opening.

Fortunately, there was no need to dispatch hunters to open the massive gate. It looked like just a huge iron door, but with its engraved magical engineering designs, it could be easily opened and closed once the security protocols were passed.

‘It’s a bit of a hassle, but it does have style.’

Whenever the academy’s competitions are held, Oceanic Academy always arrives on that ship—the magical vessel, “Black Horizon,” that can run across the land like it’s sailing on the ocean.

Of course, the crowd watching that grand scene wasn’t just the citizens. Choi Yeon-woo wouldn’t miss the chance to show the kids the vessel of Oceanic Academy, the Black Horizon.

Other students thought the same, but the most important part was that using Aura Master abilities could increase one’s vision beyond compare with other Awakened.

Thanks to that, instead of climbing the bustling walls packed with people, Yeon-woo, Tae-oh, and Shar chose to head up to the rooftop shared with the hunters.

Though they did run into an unexpected visitor already on the rooftop.

“Oh my.”

The student council president, Ain Libertas, turned around at the heavy creaking sound of the rooftop door. She appeared to be resting her arms on the railing, watching the dust kicked up by the Black Horizon.

With Ain’s vision, she could definitely see the Black Horizon from here. She hadn’t expected to find someone else, but if it was anyone, it was likely Ain.

“Hello, President. Were you watching?”

“Hmm? Why did you think that? I wouldn’t generally expect to see it from this distance.”

“Uh….”

Yeon-woo felt a twinge of panic. Upon reflection, it was a problem he often revealed too much information as if he already knew things from before his regression. It seemed he hadn’t completely fixed that habit yet.

At this time, the uniqueness of the student council president was likely unknown to those outside of the student council. As Yeon-woo struggled to find words, Ain chuckled softly.

“Hehe, why are you so tense? Yes, I was watching. You all seem to have come here to watch too?”

“Yeah, that’s about it. I thought we could see it from here without going to a crowded place.”

“Hmmm, that’s convenient.”

As she said that, Ain rested her chin in her hand and gazed beyond the horizon where the dust was billowing. A slightly strange atmosphere arose, but Ain wasn’t the type to chase people away just because they were interrupting her viewing, so Yeon-woo approached the railing with Shar and Tae-oh on either shoulder.

“By the way, I heard you were selected as the representative for the first years? That’s impressive.”

“Receiving such praise from you, President, makes me a bit embarrassed. Aren’t you also participating as a representative?”

“No, I won’t be.”

“Eh? Why not?”

“Um… I have a lot to do?”

Ain said that while giving an ambiguous smile. Did she have her own story? He didn’t quite know since he hadn’t been able to watch the academy competitions back then.

“That sounds tough.”

“If you’re just going to say clichés like that, why not just keep watching?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Feeling nervous from Ain’s gaze, which seemed to be filled with some intimidating magic, Yeon-woo turned his head. Fortunately, Tae-oh and Shar were completely focused on observing the Black Horizon, not paying attention to his conversation with Ain.

He was thankful, but it did stir a hint of sadness in him. He hoped his father would pay him some attention too…

But he understood that feeling. What had emerged in front of the gust of dust was a colossal black ship. It moved across the ground, raising dust as if it was sailing over the waves.

The Black Horizon couldn’t fly, but it was an artifact capable of moving on land and water, and even diving beneath the surface.

It was said to have been acquired from the ancient underwater civilization’s gate long ago, serving as a flying carrier in this age of magical engineering. It was the identity of Oceanic Academy.

Of course, it wasn’t just Oceanic Academy that made such a spectacular entrance.

Other academies were expected to arrive within a day or two, but today’s main event was indeed the Black Horizon.

“Wow! I want to see the inside as well!”

“Hmm, that might be difficult. Oceanic Academy is strict, so unless a current student invites you, they won’t let you in.”

The student council president replied to Shar’s excited voice. Shar let out a disappointed snort at those words.

Yeon-woo smiled and added a comment to Ain’s interjection.

“No, we can get in.”

“…You’re not planning to sneak in, are you?”

“What are you implying about me?”

“Wait, really!? Can we go in!? Tae-oh wants to see too!”

Tae-oh, caught off guard by his name suddenly coming up, nodded absentmindedly. He was good at forming alliances; with his innocent nature and wide-open eyes, he looked up at Yeon-woo.

“I know someone in Oceanic Academy.”

“…You know someone like that?”

“Yeah, Dang Sa-ryeon belongs to Oceanic. They should come out of the Black Horizon around this evening. Should we try to meet then?”

“Sounds good!!”

In reality, Yeon-woo wasn’t too keen on it. He was hoping to befriend them as rivals to some extent, but if he sought them out immediately, he’d be misunderstood. However, he couldn’t very well dismiss Shar’s eagerness.

“Are you okay with that, Tae-oh? We’ll have something delicious for dinner instead.”

“If it’s something delicious, then okay…!!”

Hmm, I need to choose the menu carefully. Since they would probably have dinner together with Dang Sa-ryeon, he wasn’t sure what they would like. Let’s discuss that when we meet.

As he gently patted the heads of the two kids, he noticed Ain watching him with a strange look.

“…Why are you staring at me like that?”

“…I was just surprised to see you actually acting like a father.”

Having said that, Ain seemed flustered by her own words and mumbled, “What am I saying?” before laughing and stepping away from the railing.

“It’s good to go have fun, but don’t do anything weird. It’ll be a matter of the academy’s prestige.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

Yeon-woo waved his hands, seriously. What kind of person did she think he was to say such things? Seeing Yeon-woo’s disgruntled face, Ain burst into a bright laugh, then cleared her throat.

“Sorry, I just said that for fun. That’s not the image I have of you at all. You understand what I mean, right?”

“I get it. President, you’re probably not that rude… I hope.”

“Ahaha, really sorry. Well, I’ll be heading off first. Good luck with the competition!”

Waving goodbye to Ain as she cheerfully ran off, Yeon-woo’s gaze returned to the Black Horizon, which had reached the city’s very outskirts. The impressive old-fashioned patterns and unique style stood out as it came into view.

‘That looks somewhat familiar….’

Of course, it wasn’t strange, given that gates often resembled Earth’s cultural forms…

But somehow it didn’t feel quite right, and with a puzzled expression, Yeon-woo continued to stare at the Black Horizon.

*

On the side of the city walls closest to the Dark Guild, a faded figure with a deep hood was standing. The man scratched his head while gazing absently at the towering walls.

After standing in place for a while, the man soon headed toward the walls. He approached to a distance where he could feel the cold air of the wall on his breath.

Taking one more step, he was now pressing his body against the walls. What a foolish action. Those walls were made from rare metals, stones, and everything tough imaginable.

Simply pushing a soft human body against them wouldn’t break the wall.

However, the blonde man showed no concern. If he wanted to enter the city, he could just go through the front gate; yet he stubbornly pressed his body into the wall as if he must enter the city illegally.

After such a foolish act, a sound was heard.

…Creak.

“What the hell is this….”

The patrolman looked at a hole that appeared to be almost human-shaped in the outer walls, sighing. His patrols were known for being comfortable, with hardly any significant damage found.

‘Why does it have to happen during my shift?!’

Of course, blaming the world wouldn’t change anything. The patrolman took out an item from his pouch. Temporarily sealing off the hole to prevent monsters from entering, he would report it to the authorities and have it repaired later.

Even though this was an easy task, the man also knew that a hole in the wall would lead to problems. He understood this work was about ensuring the citizens’ safety and comfort, so he couldn’t just brush it off.

The problem was that while his gaze was occupied with the reporting procedure, he forgot he had received a briefing from the previous patrolman an hour earlier, indicating that no unusual activity had occurred.

Who could have done such a thing? Without thinking about who or why anyone would do this.

Suddenly overcome with chills, the patrolman turned around. Standing behind him was someone wearing a faded hood that suited the term rags. The only discernible fact was a hint of blonde visible beneath the hood.

“Ah, a citizen? It’s dangerous right now, so please step away—”

Swoosh.

Before he could finish his sentence, the man swung his arm carelessly. In a motion akin to erasing a painting with an eraser, the patrolman’s body vanished along the path of the man’s hand.

The blonde man, Christopher, looked briefly at the split body of the fallen patrolman, scratching his head in annoyance with his blood-stained right arm, then left that spot.

“…I want to die… What did he look like again?… I forgot…”

Muttering as if he had lost his mind, he continued on.

(To be continued in the next chapter)

 

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