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Chapter 315: What on Earth is That…?!

Here, the security at the Hobak Guesthouse is strict. A freshly promoted C-rank Hunter wouldn’t be granted entry so easily; the fact that the boy passed through the gate indicates his achievements are way above that level.

“Could he be a master from the martial arts world…?!”

There are stories of seasoned martial artists returning to youthful appearances, but could he really be one of those beings? Thinking this, his unwavering composure at such a young age made sense.

“Come on, hurry up, mister! You said you’d guide me!”

“I never said…! Sure, I’m quite knowledgeable about the area, but I don’t work for free, kid!”

“Exactly! That’s how you should talk. Wow, this mister knows how to be a Hunter!”

Taken aback by the sudden compliment, the man squinted his eyes as if he’s seen the weirdest of characters. However, Yeon-woo continued without a care.

“Alright, the best guide in this area. How much do you charge?”

“Uh? Uh… I charge around two hundred dollars an hour.”

“Sounds good. Let’s go for two hundred dollars an hour. Done? Let’s go.”

As Yeon-woo casually threw himself toward the gate, the man stood there dumbfounded for a moment before quickly following after him.

It wasn’t a lie that he charged two hundred dollars an hour. It didn’t mean he was trying to rip off a clueless kid.

But with such a refreshing acceptance, a thought crossed his mind… Did I maybe charge too little? That’s probably a human instinct.

“Hey, can you just sit still for a moment!!”

The awkward mix of addressing him as a boss or a kid slipped out from the man’s lips.

*

“So this is it.”

It was hard to describe the scenery as beautiful. The sandy wasteland was cracked open, and a peculiar, sinister energy seeped through the fissures.

While others would simply say the aura felt bad, Yeon-woo could precisely identify what it was.

A stench accompanying death energy. It wasn’t the land that was lifeless; it was due to the countless corpses buried beneath it.

‘…Of course.’

This place is at the very edge of the land. Surely a final stand was made by warriors trying to evacuate civilians, keeping the demons at bay.

This land is soaked in their blood. They could hardly be buried properly, so it was only natural that the stench and death energy arose from the rotting corpses.

‘Even with the martial arts guild cleaning up whenever they came on expeditions, it still looks like this.’

How many strong warriors have perished here? How many resentful spirits are buried in this place?

As such thoughts raced through his mind, the mana from the gate behind Yeon-woo began to fluctuate. It seemed the guide who claimed he would show him around finally arrived.

‘Honestly, it’s unnecessary.’

If he could gain insights from the Sword Saint’s sword marks, he planned to adjust and experiment afterwards. It could not be labeled as an efficient expenditure.

Well, two hundred dollars an hour wasn’t a huge amount for Yeon-woo, but it wasn’t insignificant either.

Still, if he could gain insights from the sword marks and end up defenseless, having someone to protect him wouldn’t hurt, and besides, he needed an informant as well. Hiring him wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“Ugh, crazy kid. I’ve never seen anyone burst in like that before! Hey, are you confident?! Huh?!”

“If I wasn’t confident, I wouldn’t be here. By the way, mister, what’s your name? I’ve hired you but forgot to ask.”

“Pfft, if you’re going to hire me, you should at least write a contract and introduce yourselves! What, are you in such a rush?!”

Seems like he’s really angry. I managed to infuriate him. I wanted to enter and hire him, but I hadn’t written a contract yet, and if I didn’t enter, I’d feel worried.

With several knife scars on his face, he was quite the soft-hearted gentleman.

“So, what’s your name? I’m Choi Yeon-woo. Have you heard of me?”

“Ras Alexanderson. Choi Yeon-woo, I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere…?”

Huh. Sounds like a name that would come out of a fighting game. Must be Nordic, right? Thinking so, he indeed had a Viking-like face.

His expertise is at the beginner level of Aura Expert, but it was understandable why his mana was minimal.

It must be the ancient sorcery of Berserk known in Northern Europe. No one realized that what was considered simple folk sorcery could evolve into a type of mana technique once humanity awakened to mana.

I remember hearing that the Northern European academia was thrown into disarray because of that.

“…Well, regardless. If you’ve offered to hire me, I can’t say no. Just try to speak casually with me. So what do you want to do? Where do I guide you?”

“Do you know the spot where the gate is most visible?”

“…Hmm? Ah, I get it. A kind of pilgrimage? There are indeed those who come searching for the traces of the Sword Saint. Some achieve remarkable insights, while others leave utterly clueless. If that’s the case, I know a very good spot.”

Nodding in understanding at Yeon-woo’s question, Ras moved without hesitation.

With the sandstorm masking visibility, Yeon-woo quietly followed behind him. It’s best to leave things like this to the professionals.

“Oh, by the way. You seemed to head straight here, but did you bring talismans and purification papers? You’ll last a bit longer with those.”

“Uh, ah, yes, I brought them.”

“What do you mean ‘brought them’? As long as you’ve got them, it’s fine.”

There’s no way I needed it and brought it. Seeing Ras, wrapped in a white cloth like a mask, Yeon-woo glanced down at his legs.

It seems like those talismans or whatever are being substituted by his prosthetic, while the cloth acts as one of the additional abilities of Dragon Heart’s catalog that stretches for dozens of lines.

This is life.

*

The wasteland of martial arts was shorter than expected. Moving cautiously made the pace slow, allowing for greater clarity.

It was merely about 2km, right? At this distance, with clear hills as conditions, they could definitely view the gate.

“Wow, what a chaos.”

“By your reaction, it seems you don’t know much about the martial arts dimension?”

“Just general knowledge. Since it’s come to this, how about a travel guide?”

“I don’t know if this could be called a trip… Well, since you’re paying two hundred dollars an hour, I’ve got no reason to decline.”

The two stood in front of a forest, now tinted purple due to mana. They had reached the forest because there were no equipped terrains in the wasteland.

He had seriously considered creating a hill with magic, but that would attract the Demon Cultists.

Wishing not to disrupt someone else’s business, he had silently made his way here…

“Well, this is commonly referred to as the front line of the forest. There are Demon Cultists loitering in the wasteland, but they tend to gather around here.”

“Is this ‘Stand Out, Forest of Demon Cultists’?”

“What’s that?”

You don’t know that? There’s a problem here.

With a strange expression, Ras grabbed the axe hanging from his waist.

Is he going to swing it at my head, saying, “Don’t talk about what you know”? Thinking so, but it wasn’t the case.

Ras’s arm swung back and in an instant, like a whip, threw the axe away from his hand, which flew past Yeon-woo’s face and struck the head of a demon emerging from the forest.

Purple blood splattered, and a horrific scream faded away.

“I don’t know what it is, but you’re right; it’s not an incorrect expression. They really pop out.”

“Seems like it.”

“…Wow, you’re the first person I’ve met who doesn’t even blink. Alright, I won’t be entering the forest. That would just be a hassle. Let’s move along the outskirts.”

With that, Ras headed off to retrieve the axe stuck in the face of the demon, and Yeon-woo responded.

“Understood~ By the way, was there anything special done to that axe? It took out that magically inflated demon quite easily.”

“You can’t fight without this sort of thing. This one is… Hup, it’s the lowest of the low, so it works well. The blade is coated with true silver. It cost me a fortune to do these two.”

As he spoke, Ras raised his axe confidently. It had some residue on it, but after a quick shake, it was clean. Seems like coating it in true silver improves the cutting edge?

“This kind of weapon is great to have. Remember that.”

At those words, Yeon-woo thought for a moment and then spoke up.

“Would this be okay too?”

Of course, what Yeon-woo brought up was White. Although it wasn’t at the level of true silver, it held its own in terms of momentary attributes.

“…Are you rich? Well, paying two hundred dollars an hour confirms that, but what is…?”

“It’s a solid one-piece White sword.”

“…Of course it’s okay. I’d want to try something like that too.”

Usually, those who possess something like this would be lusting after it, yet he showed no signs of such.

He hadn’t intended to test him, but it just ended up happening. Is fortune in interpersonal relations on my side this life?

As they strolled along the outskirts of the forest while chatting, the ground began to rise. Shifting his gaze, an impressive cliff came into view, ready for a line reminiscent of “One day, the battlefield will shake.”

“Is that the sightseeing point?”

“Yep. It doesn’t have a name, but for convenience, people call it the Sword Saint’s Observation Point. Basically, the only reason to climb that cliff is to get a good look at the gate.”

“Oho, looks like the view is great.”

Even with such intense sandstorms, the gate was still visible. Did the Sword Saint carve a hole just here, or was it because of the aura at the gate?

“Well, take a look. For a swordsman, it should be a nice experience.”

Saying that, Ras climbed the hill without hesitation, and Yeon-woo followed behind. True to his words, upon reaching the peak of the cliff, the sandstorm began to thin, and the gate became visible.

It was literally a ‘sword mark’. A sight that looked as if space had been cut out with scissors. The beauty of such a wound was too exquisite to be attributed to a mere individual.

Flowing through the cracks was the sheer notion of dimensions, a perfect scar.

The moment that image captured his eyes, Yeon-woo found himself frozen. It was as if the world had stopped; only the gate had the right to occupy his sight.

“…Wow.”

“Isn’t it incredible?”

Standing next to the astonished Yeon-woo, Ras casually remarked. Yeon-woo nodded. It felt like there was no way he could replicate it.

(To be continued in the next episode)

 

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