Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 121

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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 (121)

 

Just One Punch

 

Finally met you. Lee Si-hyeok smiled as he climbed down from the golem’s shoulder. Due to the considerable height, sand and dust scattered around as his feet hit the ground with a thud.

 

Squinting his eyes and raising his head, he saw Pasuin with his mouth agape.

 

“I wandered around a bit looking for you. Please stay still.”

 

He knew the location, but the arena itself was just too massive.

 

Even though he had ridden the golem around for quite a long time, he hadn’t even explored half of it yet. Finding him, who would be about the size of a small dot in the middle of all that, was bound to take time.

 

“….”

 

However, making such complaints seem pointless, Pasuin couldn’t utter a word.

 

Was it because of the wounds covering his entire body? That didn’t seem to be the case.

 

He was just staring blankly at Si-hyeok with wide eyes, as if seeing a ghost.

 

Even the sound he managed to squeeze out with difficulty was nothing more than an incomplete sentence.

 

“How, how are you…?!”

 

“Pasuin-ssi jumped into the lake without saying a word. I just came to help.”

 

“No, that’s not.”

 

“Are you asking if I sent you down without explanation? Yes, that’s right. But since we’ve met again like this, isn’t everything fine? You don’t seem to be badly hurt either.”

 

“….”

 

His ear was half severed, and there was a large hole in his abdomen. Not only that, but his entire body was so battered that calling it tattered would be an understatement.

 

And yet he said there were no serious injuries?

 

As Pasuin’s eyes widened and his teeth ground together, Si-hyeok added a brief comment.

 

“You’re an S-rank Hunter after all. Won’t you recover almost completely in just a few hours?”

 

Si-hyeok said this while raising the corners of his mouth and narrowing his eyes.

 

‘Does he think I don’t know?’

 

Until just recently, he had lived with Isaac Reynolds.

 

He too would sometimes return from solo Gate raids covered in injuries, claiming he was maintaining his combat senses. He said he deliberately allowed attacks to create wounds.

 

He heard it was to maintain his characteristic sharpness. But even such wounds would be completely healed in just one hour.

 

The powerful mana condensation existing near the heart.

 

It circulated throughout the body to heal injuries, and the higher the rank, the more the effect exceeded imagination.

 

“Moreover, Pasuin-ssi is a Hunter specialized in close combat. I understand your recovery speed is superior even compared to other S-ranks. I also know that the light called ‘Bright Light’ aids in recovery.”

 

So Pasuin’s current state was likely an intentional scheme.

 

Of course, being trapped in a dilemma and facing certain death if Si-hyeok hadn’t appeared would have been the near future.

 

By now, shouldn’t he have been given enough time to catch his breath? At least that dangling earlobe should have recovered and then some.

 

As Si-hyeok leaned against the golem and stared at him intently, Pasuin clicked his tongue.

 

Then light began to flow out and seep into his wounded areas. The absorbed radiance stopped the flowing blood and began to fill in the flesh again.

 

“Wow.”

 

Si-hyeok let out a small exclamation of admiration. Meanwhile, the golem seemed bored with the situation and was picking its nose.

 

“That was quick. It didn’t even seem to take a few seconds.”

 

“…It’s just a temporary measure. It may look fine on the outside, but the internal injuries remain.”

 

“Well, even that much is something.”

 

As he shrugged his shoulders as if relieved, Pasuin grimaced and awkwardly approached.

 

In front of the golem’s legs.

 

Not far from where Lee Si-hyeok was leaning against, on that sandy ground, lay the hammer that the Pasuin had dropped while fleeing.

 

“Ah, I’ll pick it up for you.”

 

It seemed he was thinking of departing again. It was the moment he willingly bent down to grasp the hammer’s handle.

 

Beyond his gaze fixed downward, he suddenly felt something unsettling.

 

“…?”

 

He immediately turned his head.

 

In that split second.

 

A stream of black magic power shot from the Pasuin was flying toward Lee Si-hyeok at high speed. Red sparks crackled and spread around it. It was the exact opposite color of the light from 『Bright Light』.

 

Lee Si-hyeok’s calm pupils trembled finely as he immediately raised his upper body and retreated greatly backward.

 

[『Subspace』 is activating!]

 

[〈Phagethesis〉 protects you from a powerful attack!]

 

[Attack type: Mental / Domination / Illusion]

 

[Nullifying the attack….]

 

However, the skill message that had immediately activated was cut off abruptly. As the tentacles that had been bursting out from the crack in mid-air stopped completely, bewilderment crossed Lee Si-hyeok’s face.

 

That was brief.

 

―Whoooooosh!

 

Tremendous wind pressure struck as a sandstorm erupted throughout the surrounding area.

 

Lee Si-hyeok reflexively closed his eyes at the sandstorm that covered his vision and activated his protective artifact.

 

When his eardrums, which had been muffled by the tremendous sound of tearing air, returned to normal, a cruel sound reached his ears.

 

Squelch….

 

The sound of crushed flesh separating helplessly from whatever it had been stuck to.

 

When the dust cleared and he slowly opened his eyes, the scene before him was the Pasuin, flattened and compressed in the golem’s fist, dripping blood from his entire body.

 

[〈Phagethesis〉 activation has been canceled.]

 

[Your golem, ‘City Guardian’ has successfully nullified the attack directly!]

 

“….”

 

Lee Si-hyeok swallowed hard after confirming that gruesome scene.

 

Just.

 

With just one punch, it had reduced a person to that state. Even though he had continuously witnessed the process of slaughtering monsters, when the target was a human, the feeling couldn’t help but be different.

 

Did he feel sorry?

 

No, that wasn’t it.

 

Even if the golem hadn’t intervened, Lee Si-hyeok would have dealt with it himself anyway. It was the other side that had attacked, and it was the other side that harbored malicious intent.

 

It was just the difference in destructive power.

 

What was visible was different from simply responding with a mental attack. It felt several times more destructive than Isaac Reynolds’ covert assassination techniques.

 

And the opponent was even an S-rank Hunter.

 

“Master. That bastard tried to attack you.”

 

“…I know that too.”

 

“That’s a relief then.”

 

As Lee Si-hyeok let out the breath he had been holding and looked at the golem, the creature proudly lifted its head and puffed out its chest.

 

At that sight, he was quite dumbfounded, but then thought it was rather fortunate. Truly terrifying destructive power. Enough to turn even S-rank into pulp.

 

However, if he thought about it the other way around, didn’t that mean such an existence was solely on his side? If 〈Phagethesis〉 could counter mental attacks, then he had gained a reliable ally who could defend against physical attacks.

 

‘However…’

 

He didn’t know how long it would last. Since it was a golem discovered in a Gate, and a Hidden Stage at that, he would have to check again what would happen when they left the Gate.

 

According to Lee Si-hyeok’s prediction, there was a possibility its power might weaken.

 

Still, just having the creature with him in this dangerous space for now put his mind much more at ease.

 

Lee Si-hyeok patted the golem’s leg a couple times, then approached the Pasuin who was sprawled flat on the ground.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

“…Ugh…Grrgh…”

 

The Pasuin was still alive.

 

His entire body was literally flattened and he couldn’t even twitch a single finger, but at least he was still breathing and only letting out faint groans.

 

Lee Si-hyeok moved a bit closer to examine his injuries.

 

As he knelt down on one knee, he could see wounds slowly recovering on the body covered in sand and blood.

 

Whoooong… A dim light seeped in, slowly but surely healing the injuries.

 

‘Does it work even in this state?’

 

It was truly befitting of an S-rank skill. Moreover, since it possessed the unique property of ‘light’, perhaps it had recovery power comparable to that of a paladin.

 

Lee Si-hyeok, who had been watching this, stroked his forearm. As his palm touched his skin beneath the rolled-up sleeve, he felt slight goosebumps.

 

He asked the golem behind him.

 

“Do you remember just now? The mana that was flowing out of this person.”

 

“You mean the black mana streams?”

 

“Yeah, that. How did it look to you?”

 

“It looked dangerous.”

 

“No, not that. Did it look sacred… I mean, did it seem related to ‘light’?”

 

It took some time for an answer to come back. Lee Si-hyeok continued searching the Pasuin’s body, and soon the golem finished pondering and answered.

 

“There wasn’t. Any relation.”

 

“I thought so.”

 

He hadn’t been mistaken. 〈Phagethesis〉 had also clearly described it as mental, domination, and illusion-type mana, and now even the golem was testifying to that.

 

‘There was a hidden special skill.’

 

Of course, that fact alone wasn’t particularly surprising. Special skills were like unique abilities of awakened individuals, so it was natural not to reveal them easily. In fact, Lee Si-hyeok hadn’t revealed his to anyone either.

 

However…

 

‘This case is a bit different.’

 

Even excluding the fact that it was completely opposite to his existing image, an uneasy feeling still remained.

 

Mental, domination, and illusion types.

 

At least as far as Lee Si-hyeok knew, hunters with these abilities never operated individually. They were all bound to belong to one group and move collectively.

 

Specifically, the Chinese hunter guild called ‘Absolute Dream Guild’.

 

“…Is it a coincidence?”

 

Lee Si-hyeok rolled various questions around in his mouth.

 

Soon he shook his head, put the Pasuin’s hammer in his bag, then instructed the golem to take care of the unconscious man.

 

There was no reason to think about it further. The present had its own matters to deal with. In that case, it would be sufficient to worry about it later when the time came.

 

‘Besides, I can’t be certain yet.’

 

Tap, tap.

 

He rubbed the blood clinging to his palms against the sand to wipe it off. It had dried sticky and didn’t come off easily, but even that much made the unpleasant feeling subside somewhat.

 

“Let’s get moving again. They’re probably starting to worry outside the Gate about why we’re taking so long to come out.”

 

“Understood. Where should we go, Master?”

 

Climbing onto the golem’s palm and rising high into the sky, the vast expanse of the sand arena came into view at a glance.

 

Despite the massacre he had just carried out, countless monsters were still visible. About 3,000 or so. Even so, the space itself was so massive that what he could see resembled the atmosphere of a vast desert.

 

After observing for a while, Lee Si-hyeok pointed in one direction.

 

“Do you see that? At the end in the eastern direction.”

 

The golem slowly turned its massive body to look.

 

“I see it. Far over there. There’s a cabin.”

 

“Right. The place that’s heavily guarded by monsters. That’s where we’re going.”

 

“Not moving on to the next trial?”

 

“Let’s go there first. I’ll explain the reason later.”

 

“Understood.”

 

The golem nodded and immediately began to move.

 

Watching the monsters fleeing in all directions from the vibrations that shook the entire space, Lee Si-hyeok’s lips curled into a grin.

 

The closer they got, the more he could feel the immense magic power.

 

Inside that cabin, which the Creator of this trial grounds had undoubtedly arranged, something slumbered that even Lee Si-hyeok himself couldn’t possibly fathom…

 

“An artifact.”

 

…An artifact was sleeping there.

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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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