Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 113

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Even Hastily Made Ones Keep Stacking Up as EX-Rank (113)

 

Pink Coral

 

Guardian of Light. He was a Hunter that Lee Si-hyeok knew well too.

 

When Korea was in chaos due to the sudden appearance of Gates, he was the S-rank Hunter who appeared following Hunter Baek Min-ji.

 

Thanks to his combat style of wrapping his entire body in dazzling light and wielding it, he had gained quite a lot of popularity. That’s also how he got the Hunter name “Gwangmyeong” (Light).

 

Due to his distinctive sacred aura, he had appeared quite frequently in the mass media, so there was a certain sense of inner familiarity.

 

Of course, he had no intention of showing that.

 

“Nice to meet you for the first time. I’m Lee Si-hyeok.”

 

“I’m Pasuin. Please take care of me.”

 

After finishing the handshake, he began to move forward first.

 

Lee Si-hyeok slowly followed behind him.

 

“I received contact from the Association. I heard that you, Mr. Lee Si-hyeok, received the first exploration rights to the Gate?”

 

“That’s correct. I was lucky.”

 

“You’re being modest.”

 

“By the way, may I ask some questions while we’re walking?”

 

“Yes, of course you should. That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?”

 

“Then first, I’d like to hear about the current situation of the Gate.”

 

Pasuin answered as if he had expected this.

 

“First of all, all the boss monsters have been eliminated. Three intermediate bosses and one final boss. We defeated the last boss at dawn today.”

 

“What about the regular monsters?”

 

“Regular mobs, you say. To be honest, there are still quite a few remaining. Clearing was the top priority, after all.”

 

“So you’re saying you advanced while only killing the dangerous monsters?”

 

“Exactly. You know quite a lot for someone who isn’t even a Hunter.”

 

That made sense, since before awakening, Lee Si-hyeok hadn’t only studied artifacts, but had also absorbed knowledge related to Gates.

 

“So most of the non-lethal monsters are still alive. Don’t worry though. There won’t be any danger.”

 

That was natural since none other than Guardian of Light Pasuin was accompanying him.

 

Just as Lee Si-hyeok was about to ask his next question, he spoke as if remembering something.

 

“Ah, come to think of it, there was one strange thing.”

 

“A strange thing?”

 

“Yes. It’s not something we discovered during the raid, but something we found out after the raid was completely finished.”

 

“After it was finished…”

 

“The thing is, the Gate hasn’t been cleared yet.”

 

Lee Si-hyeok’s head tilted.

 

“What? The Association clearly said the raid was finished.”

 

“To be precise, it would be correct to say the raid is finished but it hasn’t been cleared.”

 

The explanation that followed was this:

 

They had defeated all existing boss monsters and even finished all the confirmation kills afterward, but the clear message never appeared.

 

Moreover, even though the boss mobs had disappeared, the Gate still hadn’t vanished.

 

Of course, there was still about a day left before it would disappear, but they weren’t even seeing the usual signs of that.

 

“So the other research institutions are in an uproar. It’s like the Corridor of Selection, you know? An extremely rare special Gate.”

 

“…The academic world will inevitably be greatly impacted by this.”

 

“However, all of that has been blocked because of Lee Si-hyeok. The Association had already decided to provide those exploration rights to Lee Si-hyeok a long time ago.”

 

“….”

 

“I’m also an Association Hunter, but this is truly surprising. I’ve never seen such special treatment in nearly 20 years of work.”

 

They never did this for me either. The Pasuin added that comment and picked up the pace.

 

Lee Si-hyeok followed closely behind, organizing his thoughts.

 

‘Others might not know, but this isn’t particularly surprising to me.’

 

〔Necrosis〕. Because he knew that creature’s main body was hiding inside the Gate.

 

In other words, there was still one more boss monster remaining. That was probably why a proper clear message hadn’t appeared.

 

The Gate’s disappearance only begins when all bosses are dead.

 

“Ah, I can see it now.”

 

The mountain path was finally coming to an end. Beyond the uphill slope, the flat basin came into view.

 

And the black rift located in its center.

 

The Nari Basin Gate.

 

“Let’s stop by the outpost in front of the Gate first. We need to go through the authentication process there.”

 

As they approached the small container box, there were several Association staff members on standby. Given that this was a Gate of astronomical value, they were probably putting considerable effort into maintaining security.

 

When he presented his ID card to one of them, authentication was completed immediately.

 

“Huh, Lee Si-hyeok’s face must be his ID card. You passed as soon as they saw you.”

 

“Isn’t that the same for you?”

 

“That’s true.”

 

In terms of recognition, the Pasuin wouldn’t be far behind either.

 

They passed the outpost and stood in front of the Gate.

 

“So, do you have any more questions before we go in?”

 

“No, this should be enough.”

 

“Good. It’ll be faster to see the rest directly inside.”

 

Just as the Pasuin was about to take the first step.

 

“Ah. Wait a moment before we go in.”

 

A voice from behind stopped him.

 

The Pasuin quickly turned around and soon tilted his head in confusion.

 

For some reason, Lee Si-hyeok had suddenly knelt down and was rummaging through his bag.

 

“Hmm? What are you doing?”

 

“Here, please take this before you enter.”

 

“This is….”

 

A moment later, the Pasuin’s eyes widened as he received the large hammer Lee Si-hyeok handed him.

 

A large hammer with a length comparable to a human body. It was one of the weapons the Guardian of Light usually favored using.

 

“…Why are you suddenly giving me this?”

 

“You never know. What kind of situation might unfold inside the Gate. I’m not saying you have to use it right away, but I thought it would be good to have as a spare.”

 

Even though he had 〈Phazesis〉, there was no guarantee it would work anytime, anywhere.

 

In fact, it had clear limitations in the ‘mental interference’ field.

 

So it was right to prepare for any risks that could be prepared for.

 

“Wow, what’s with this weight. It feels like there’s nothing in it.”

 

“How is it?”

 

“It’s the best, absolutely the best. Whoa, this is really moving.”

 

“That’s a relief. I actually worked pretty hard on it yesterday.”

 

That’s what he said, but it actually took less than 30 minutes. Now that he was eyeing Origin Artifacts, something like a Legacy Artifact was nothing.

 

However, Pasuin, who didn’t know this fact, was only more moved.

 

“Then let’s really go now.”

 

“Yes.”

 

Pasuin pushed his body through the rift first.

 

Whooom! With a brief ripple, he disappeared.

 

Soon after, Si-hyeok also went through the same process and entered the Gate.

 

“…”

 

As soon as he entered, he activated 『Eyes that Pierce the Essence』.

 

He immediately narrowed his eyes and observed the surroundings, and Pasuin seemed to sense this as he waited for a moment.

 

The overall tone felt like a ‘Coral Colony’.

 

It was as if an underwater coral reef had been lifted directly onto land. The air itself was sticky with humidity, and steam was actually rising here and there like boiling water.

 

‘Another peculiar thing is…’

 

All the coral was only pink.

 

In various places, coral had grown tall like trees, forming forest-like structures, and even those were all pink.

 

“Isn’t it fascinating? In all my time as a Hunter, this is the first time I’ve seen such unique terrain.”

 

“It certainly is. The damp and sticky feeling makes it seem like walking underwater.”

 

“Plus the sky is pink, the forest is pink, the coral is pink… everything being pink is amazing too. Oh, come to think of it, there’s exactly one thing that isn’t pink. The lake.”

 

“There’s a lake?”

 

“Yes, but we’ll have to walk quite a bit. That’s where I defeated the final boss.”

 

Pasuin began to set off first.

 

The destination was the lake where he had defeated the boss. However, he planned to examine any notable byproducts or monsters along the way.

 

‘And before leaving, I absolutely must find Necrosis’s main body.’

 

Even while walking on the squishy coral, Pasuin’s mouth didn’t rest.

 

It wasn’t useless chatter. He shared information that Si-hyeok, who had arrived after the conquest was complete, couldn’t know – like the characteristics of monsters encountered here.

 

Then, suddenly, Si-hyeok’s steps stopped.

 

“…Oh? Looks like you found something.”

 

On the branch part of coral that stretched like a tree.

 

There, a semi-transparent crystal was growing like a fruit.

 

Si-hyeok immediately approached it.

 

―Flash.

 

[『Eyes that Pierce the Essence』 analyzes the identity of the material.]

 

[Combining with your knowledge to derive an appropriate conclusion.]

 

[Coral Branch Activator – Semi-transparent Crystal Fragment

 

A mana fragment very rarely found in the branch areas of coral-type creatures. It forms when the internal mana circuit collapses once as the coral dies, then recrystallizes.]

 

[When exposed to mana of a specific wavelength, it generates spider web-shaped circuits.]

 

He inwardly let out an exclamation of admiration.

 

To think it could naturally generate mana circuits without direct design.

 

Moreover, if it was a spider web-shaped circuit, it would be quite complex, making it a material with much better performance than expected.

 

At least among the things Lee Si-hyeok had seen, there was nothing like this.

 

‘They said it would be full of A-rank or higher byproducts.’

 

What the Association staff had said back then was really true.

 

Lee Si-hyeok took out a knife from his bag and carefully cut only the tip of the active substance. So as not to damage the inside. He packed the material he had cut into his bag.

 

The bag had been completely empty except for the hammer from earlier, and this was to fill it entirely with materials.

 

“Are you finished?”

 

“Yes, let’s start moving again.”

 

After that, Lee Si-hyeok continued forward, examining the materials he could see one by one.

 

Coral Heart, Liftia Sap, Spear Lumen, and so on.

 

Materials that he had never seen in any research paper were scattered everywhere.

 

Ecological succession. The speculation that the main body of Necrosis sleeping in this place had changed the ecosystem was gradually becoming a certainty.

 

‘Because otherwise it can’t be explained.’

 

How much time had passed?

 

When about half of his bag was nearly filled, Lee Si-hyeok straightened his back and looked around. In his hand was an ore he had just picked up.

 

“What’s wrong, all of a sudden?”

 

However, he couldn’t answer right away. Lee Si-hyeok slightly opened his mouth and stared blankly ahead.

 

What is it? The Pasuin who was watching him furrowed his brow.

 

Following his gaze, there was nothing but the pink sky.

 

However…

 

In front of Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes.

 

Right in front of him, a completely unexpected message had appeared.

 

[The unconscious memory absorbed from 〔Necrosis〕 finds its main body.]

 

[You are currently in close proximity to the location where the main body is hidden!]

 

“…!”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————