Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 115

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Even Hastily Made Ones Keep Stacking Up as EX-Rank (115)

 

Deep Sea

 

Meanwhile, above the lake.

 

Lee Si-hyeok nodded his head as he watched the Pasuin struggling and falling.

 

‘So I was right after all.’

 

It was a few hours ago that he had speculated there would be a hidden space in this Gate, in other words, a ‘Hidden Stage’.

 

Before departing for the lake, when he briefly climbed to the top of Fossil Hill.

 

At that time, while checking the overall appearance of the Gate and getting the feeling that it was like being ‘underwater’, this thought suddenly occurred to him.

 

‘If this place really was underwater, where did all that seawater go?’

 

Wasn’t that right?

 

The water that filled this vast space couldn’t have all evaporated in an instant.

 

Then it would be more correct to assume that all that water had moved somewhere as it was.

 

So the candidate location he thought of was precisely that lake.

 

While making such deductions, he quietly examined the lake’s mana while the Pasuin was chattering away…

 

‘A barrier.’

 

…Some kind of barrier had been discovered at the bottom.

 

It had such a subtle presence that it would be difficult to even notice unless you observed very carefully. Such a delicate barrier had been positioned there pretending to be the bottom of the lake.

 

‘The Pasuin probably didn’t know it was a barrier until he swung his hammer.’

 

So when the Pasuin swung his hammer according to Lee Si-hyeok’s instructions, that barrier shattered completely and revealed the entrance to the Hidden Stage.

 

It had quite a sturdy construction, but when an S-rank Hunter’s power combined with Lee Si-hyeok’s artifact, it couldn’t withstand it at all.

 

“…”

 

Having finished his thoughts, Lee Si-hyeok looked down at the lake with sunken eyes.

 

By now, all the water that had filled the pond had completely drained out.

 

It had all flowed down into the deep void revealed below.

 

Only an abyss whose end could not be fathomed was visible.

 

“By now probably…”

 

The Pasuin should have reached the end of that abyss by now.

 

Though he had fallen without being able to resist, if Lee Si-hyeok’s expectations were correct, he wouldn’t have suffered any injuries.

 

As for psychological shock, well, he was an S-rank Hunter in name, so there was no way he couldn’t overcome that much.

 

In the end, he had sent him down first because there was a plan for everything.

 

Lee Si-hyeok, who had been observing the dark underground for a moment, turned his head.

 

Under his research coat, he activated the self-defense artifact attached to his shirt. Click—a button was pressed once, and the spreading mana armor instantly covered Lee Si-hyeok’s entire body.

 

A translucent blue light enveloped his whole body.

 

‘This should be enough.’

 

It was an artifact he had newly crafted in subspace not long ago.

 

Since 〈Phazesis〉 couldn’t defend against physical damage, he had built this into his shirt in preparation for that.

 

Unless an S-rank boss monster came charging at him immediately upon going down, he should be able to protect his life at least once.

 

And once he gained that opportunity, he could immediately start responding with 〈Phazesis〉.

 

A moment later.

 

Having finished his preparations, Lee Si-hyeok stood right in front of the lake.

 

A precipice with no visible end stretches ahead.

 

“Whew….”

 

Though it was something he had planned, he couldn’t help but feel nervous.

 

His heart pounded and cold sweat flowed.

 

Feeling this emotion that was an appropriate mix of anticipation and tension.

 

Thud!

 

Lee Si-hyeok jumped with great force.

 

Soon his body began plummeting at tremendous speed.

 

* * *

 

How far had he descended?

 

Before he knew it, the light around him began to completely disappear.

 

A sinkhole of enormous size, revealed as the bottom of the massive lake collapsed entirely.

 

Naturally, light from the sky should have been shining down, but at some point even that brilliance had completely vanished.

 

All that was visible was pitch-black darkness.

 

Whiiiiing!

 

An ear-splitting sound of cutting through air could be heard.

 

While falling downward at insane speed, cutting through the air.

 

Lee Si-hyeok struggled to raise his hand and check his smart watch. Due to the wind resistance, even the simple motion of lifting his wrist required considerable effort.

 

Small text was visible on the panel.

 

[Current Location: Underground 1,000m]

 

‘…Have I already descended this far?’

 

The speed was faster than he had expected.

 

As if something invisible was pulling him down.

 

1,200m.

 

1,400m.

 

1,500m.

 

As he watched the exponentially rising numbers with narrowed eyes, that speculation became more and more certain.

 

Something was definitely at work.

 

The speed was so fast that it was difficult to properly discern, but considering the strange mana he could feel, there seemed to be a large-scale magic device somewhere below.

 

If not, it was a speed that couldn’t be explained at all.

 

Whoooooong!

 

2,000m.

 

2,500m.

 

3,000m….

 

As the numbers climbed madly like that, and when he finally began to feel his senses becoming strange.

 

“…!”

 

Something new began to appear before Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes as he held onto his consciousness.

 

That pitch-black depths below.

 

Though it was dark with not a single ray of light entering, he felt that something was ‘rippling’ down there.

 

At the same time, he caught a salty scent in his nostrils.

 

That humid yet salt-laden smell that could only be encountered at the seaside.

 

‘Have I arrived…!’

 

It was exactly the seawater he had been searching for all this time.

 

His joy at the sight becoming clearer as he descended was brief, as Lee Si-hyeok’s actions soon became busy.

 

He pressed the buttons of the activated self-defense artifact in a specific sequence. Left, right, center, center. After clicking four times total, the propulsion device attached to his shoes released mana with a whoosh!

 

At the force released in that instant, Lee Si-hyeok’s body, which had been falling upside down, flipped back to its original position.

 

And his falling speed gradually slowed.

 

The wind that would have torn flesh if he had hit without any preparation was now just a gentle breeze.

 

And a few seconds later.

 

Splash!

 

Lee Si-hyeok’s body fell straight into the water.

 

With a splashing sound, white foam spread across the pitch-black surface.

 

‘…Did it work?’

 

He slowly opened his eyes, which he had unconsciously squeezed shut while falling.

 

No matter that he was falling onto water, he couldn’t just crash down like that. At minimum, instant death. Given the ridiculous speed he had built up, his entire body would have burst upon hitting the surface and then some.

 

So he had slowed down as much as possible, and seeing how intact he was, it seemed to have succeeded.

 

Fresh air flowed in through the armor covering his face.

 

An artifact that combined diving functions. Lee Si-hyeok calmed his mind and slowly exhaled deeply.

 

After regaining his composure like that, he began carefully moving and observing his surroundings.

 

The entire space was endlessly filled with water. Based on the smell and sensation, it seemed like seawater, but he couldn’t even gauge just how vast the amount was.

 

It felt like he had descended to the depths of the deep sea.

 

And that too alone without even a submarine, floating in the pitch-dark depths where there was nothing but darkness.

 

The only thing visible was the small light coming from his smart watch.

 

“…”

 

Quiet silence enveloped his ears.

 

Suppressing the fear that suddenly washed over him, Lee Si-hyeok tensed his body.

 

After all, hadn’t he come here to find Necrosis’s main body?

 

He couldn’t just freeze up in fear like this.

 

Since he couldn’t see the Guardian Hunter who should have come down long ago, it seemed they had moved somewhere.

 

Lee Si-hyeok descended even deeper.

 

Relying on the small light on his wrist. At the same time, detecting all mana with his eyes as he carefully swam.

 

When he had advanced about 500 meters like that, Lee Si-hyeok’s eyes widened slightly.

 

‘A pillar?’

 

A single pillar rising tall from somewhere.

 

And around it, faint light was extending outward.

 

Opening his mouth slightly, he moved closer.

 

Then he was able to discover where that pillar was erected from.

 

Cliff Zone.

 

In the deep sea that had seemed endless, a vast cliff zone had been formed.

 

Moreover, a long brick road had been built along the edge of that cliff precipice, and several pillars identical to the one he had just discovered were erected here and there along that road.

 

They were pillars of the architectural style that was often built in ancient times.

 

‘…What is this?’

 

Lee Si-hyeok tilted his head and swam down.

 

A moment later, it was the instant his feet touched the brick road.

 

Ding!

 

As soon as he landed on the ground, a cheerful notification sound rang out.

 

[Your location has been changed.]

 

[You are currently very close to the location where 〔Necrosis〕’s main body is hidden!]

 

The expression that had changed from the modifier “closer” to “very.”

 

Confirming that change, the corners of Lee Si-hyeok’s mouth slightly rose.

 

‘So I really had to come down all the way here.’

 

What if he hadn’t thought of the lake?

 

What if even after thinking of the lake, he hadn’t thought to break through its bottom?

 

He probably would have wandered around the Gate for quite a while without ever finding it.

 

Lee Si-hyeok nodded with satisfaction and closed the message.

 

Being happy was one thing, but the work wasn’t finished yet.

 

He immediately activated 『Eyes that Pierce the Essence』 and examined the surrounding area.

 

First, the brick road was damaged here and there, but it seemed to have become this way over time rather than someone intentionally breaking it. The pillars were the same.

 

There was also one part he discovered only after activating the skill.

 

‘The end of the brick road.’

 

As he slowly moved his gaze along that road, a massive temple-like structure came into view at the end.

 

Since the surroundings were pitch black, he couldn’t clearly confirm its color, but the shape was certain.

 

Similar to the pillars, it was a structure that could only be seen in ancient temples. It looked like damaged pillars here and there were supporting a heavy roof.

 

He even confirmed that the large door in the center was slightly open.

 

‘…It seems like the Guardian Hunter went in there.’

 

Along the brick road, he could sense traces of the Guardian’s distinctive mana.

 

That distinctive quality that was sacred yet seemed mixed with something different from light.

 

It seemed the Guardian Hunter had also fallen and wandered around looking for an exit before entering there.

 

Lee Si-hyeok was about to swim after him when…

 

Stop.

 

He stopped moving.

 

Then he quietly turned his gaze to the end of the cliff zone.

 

He looked down below that precipice.

 

“…”

 

He had examined this entire area with 『Eyes that Pierce the Essence』, but this was still the only region that remained impossible to grasp.

 

He could sense faint mana even from the pillar he had discovered earlier, and his ki sense was sharp enough to detect traces of Pasuin.

 

Yet from down below, it felt as if something was completely blocked off—he couldn’t sense anything at all.

 

‘That’s strange.’

 

Suspicion arose. There was no reason for mana to be blocked without cause, and all the visible buildings were constructed on top of the cliff, weren’t they?

 

It was at that moment when he was expanding his thoughts in that direction.

 

As if reading Lee Si-hyeok’s deduction, the system displayed messages in succession.

 

―Flash.

 

[You have discovered a hidden passage of the ‘Hidden Stage’.]

 

[This is a shortcut that no one has ever discovered, known only to the stage’s creator.]

 

[Through this, you can enter the Hidden Stage 〈City of Hunters〉 much faster.]

 

[Checking new information….]

 

[Check complete. The original creator has currently disappeared. Ownership of the ‘Mana Charging Golem’ existing in the shortcut is transferred to you.]

 

[Please check the golem that is waiting for you directly.]

 

“…Golem?”

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