Even if I Make It Roughly, Ex-rank Items Continue to Accumulate - Chapter 174

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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 (174)

Kidnapping

When he came outside holding the completed 〈Primordial Fire Crystal〉, he saw hunters kneeling in a group. They were maintaining discipline while raising their hands in surrender.

When Lumibra, who spotted Lee Si-hyeok, gestured slightly, their arms all came down in unison.

“Child. Is it finished?”

Instead of answering, Lee Si-hyeok showed her the crystal orb with flames burning inside. Lumibra admired it and raised the corners of her mouth.

“Perfect. It’s exactly like what I saw in the Great Creator’s workshop. No, perhaps it might even surpass that…”

“You’re too kind. But where is the Snow Flame Empress?”

He asked since she wasn’t at the outpost.

“She’s outside. She said she’d go get some fresh air, but seeing as she hasn’t returned yet, it seems she had quite a hard time these past few days.”

The hunters flinched at those words. Lee Si-hyeok asked Lumibra.

“Could you possibly bring her here? I have something to discuss with these people.”

“Of course. Have a comfortable conversation.”

After Lumibra left, the hunters finally seemed relieved and got up.

“Phew. She’s finally gone.”

“I almost died.”

“Even after all this time, she’s still a terrifying senior.”

While everyone seemed grateful to Lee Si-hyeok for sending her away, there was exactly one person. One hunter who kept glancing at Lumibra’s retreating figure while forcing out anger.

“How dare you give orders to our senior! This ill-mannered black-haired beast…”

“You don’t need to do that. She’s already gone.”

“Ahem. Cough. Is that so.”

It was the Leader.

Flattery is only useful when done where that person can hear it – what’s the point of doing it after they’ve already left?

He awkwardly averted his gaze.

“Anyway, what’s this about having something to say? I have nothing to discuss with you.”

“You will.”

“…?”

Lee Si-hyeok pulled over a chair and sat in front of him.

“The ruins under the Apocalypse Order Headquarters. That was your goal, wasn’t it?”

“…I suppose you heard it from those bastards.”

“Yes. That there’s been conflict for quite a long time. What’s the reason? If you pass all the trials of those ruins. What’s there that makes it worth it?”

He still couldn’t guess.

The Great Creator’s ruins. The 『Oraculum Orb』 that Baek Min-ji had hidden somewhere in the desert. And the conflicts between various organizations over artifacts.

Everything seemed organically connected, yet it was difficult to reach the truth. He needed information.

However…

“We don’t know either.”

The Leader let out a bitter laugh.

“We don’t know what’s beyond that door either. The senior probably doesn’t know either.”

“…”

“So your question is wrong from the start. We’re not after what’s there – we just want to know what’s there.”

Lee Si-hyeok swallowed and briefly looked down at the Primordial Fire Crystal in his hand.

“Then. Why were you trying to fix this?”

He thought there must be some method. He thought they had a plan in mind when trying to restore the Primordial Fire Crystal. Just like Lee Si-hyeok needed the Primordial Fire Crystal to pass the trials.

“To destroy it.”

“…Destroy it?”

The Leader’s mouth twisted up. It was the expression of a vicious hunter.

“We don’t have the ability to pass the trials and reach the final door like you do. It would be the same even if we used the Master over there. So we were going to use the power of flames to completely destroy the entire ruins.”

“That seems like too crude a method.”

“Sometimes you can break a rock with an egg.”

“…”

Lee Si-hyeok had no choice but to keep quiet.

Whether it was possible or not aside, there was tremendous conviction in those words.

‘Perhaps.’

If the power of the Primordial Fire Crystal was fully unleashed.

Then it might be possible.

“On top of that, we’re fighting with those Absolute Dream Guild bastards. If we could recover the lightning-containing artifact they took, it would have been worth trying.”

The Leader glanced at the Primordial Fire Crystal regretfully.

“If only you hadn’t been there. Thanks to our senior, that artifact ended up in your hands.”

“Too bad for you.”

“Right. Don’t you have any thoughts of returning it even now?”

“Not at all.”

At the same time as those words, he opened his subspace. A rift appeared, tearing through the air and sucking in the Primordial Fire Crystal. The Leader, who had been staring blankly at the sight, twisted his lips.

“Thief.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

He clicked his tongue and turned his head away as if he didn’t want to talk anymore.

However, before silence could settle, Lumibra returned.

“Junior. Why are you acting like that again?”

“Huk.”

The Leader hurriedly got up and ran over.

“Did you say something harsh to our child?”

“N-no, senior.”

“That’s a relief then. Child, I brought that girl. We can depart now.”

“Yes. Lumibra.”

Let’s go. After saying that to the Master who was standing behind, Lee Si-hyeok took the lead and left the outpost.

Now his business at the settlement was finished. There were still many things he was curious about regarding the hunters, but Lee Si-hyeok had many things left to do.

The questioning could continue later.

He immediately got into the jeep that had been left in a corner of the settlement.

They said it was the car the Snow Flame Empress had come in, but since Kim Jin-seok wasn’t coming to pick them up this time, they had to take this.

After watching Lumibra discipline the hunters one more time, they departed for headquarters in the car.

* * *

They had various conversations on the way.

Since he had experience as a transport driver, Lee Si-hyeok took charge of driving, and Lumibra went back into subspace, so it was entirely the chatter of the father and daughter riding in the back.

Both became more talkative once they left the settlement, perhaps because their tension was relieved.

“I’m glad you’re safe, daughter.”

“No. This is all thanks to our benefactor coming at the right time.”

“…”

Burdensome gazes.

Still, thanks to that, at least it wasn’t boring.

While crossing the desert under the blazing sun, an unexpected variable occurred.

About halfway to headquarters, they discovered merchant Kim Jin-seok trudging through the middle of the desert. He seemed to have suffered a serious injury as he was dragging one leg.

Screech!

He immediately stopped the car in front of him.

Kim Jin-seok, whose reactions had become sluggish, only then stopped hesitantly.

“Oh my…”

His voice had no strength at all.

“Isn’t that Mr. Si-hyeok? And in the back are the Master and Deputy Master…? What in the world is this…? Am I seeing things…?”

“That’s what I want to ask. Why are you here like this, Mr. Kim Jin-seok?”

The Snow Flame Empress immediately got out of the car. She gently infused mana into his body and helped him into the car.

“The thing is… our headquarters was attacked…”

“What?”

“What did you say?”

“What did you just say?”

This time all three asked back simultaneously. Kim Jin-seok answered with difficulty while feeling the mana flowing through him.

“Keuuk. It was the Absolute Dream Guild. Not long after Lee Si-hyeok left, they suddenly started swarming from all directions… We were helpless…”

“Leader. What happened to the Execution Squad Leader?”

He was referring to Aurelie del Lumiere, the Master’s wife.

“I… I have no face to show you, Master…”

“Don’t tell me.”

“Keuk! Those bastards looted all the artifacts from the ruins, and in the end they even dragged away the Execution Squad Leader… I wanted to pursue them to the end, but I had to deliver this news somehow…”

“Rest now. It’s not your fault.”

“Ahh…”

Kim Jin-seok closed his eyes under the Snow Flame Empress’s mana. Her mana caused a recovery reaction to his accumulated damage, making him briefly faint.

“…We’re departing.”

The car began racing forward.

* * *

Throughout the journey, no one made a sound.

The excited atmosphere from earlier disappeared as if it had been a dream, and only the sound of sandstorms quickly sweeping by filled its place.

They arrived at headquarters in the settled silence.

“Oh, no.”

“…”

The headquarters fit the description of a complete wreck. The buildings had been crumbling originally, but not to this extent. The shabby houses had been completely destroyed.

Building debris rolled around everywhere. The extent of the fierce battle that had unfolded was beyond imagination.

While blocking the dusty wind that pierced their airways and looking around the village, they could find people who had collapsed. They were all sprawled about, seemingly having suffered serious injuries.

Lee Si-hyeok called out Lumibra and the golem to help the father and daughter rescue them.

‘No one is dead.’

Was that fortunate, at least?

Though everyone was in serious condition, they were still breathing.

It seemed they had come for the artifacts and quickly struck and fled. The fact that there were no deaths could be considered fortunate, but…

“Mother is missing.”

There was a missing person.

One person.

The Execution Squad Leader of the Apocalypse Order, the Snow Flame Empress’s mother, and also the Master’s wife.

Aurelie del Lumiere had disappeared.

‘Damn it.’

He felt a sense of crisis. Seeing the Snow Flame Empress’s eyes reddening made it worse. Though they hadn’t known each other long, he thought they had grown somewhat close during the few weeks they’d spent together.

She had shown Lee Si-hyeok much kindness, and even if it stemmed from gratitude for a favor, it would have been impossible without genuine fondness.

But…

That same person had disappeared.

And she had been dragged away by an evil criminal organization.

It was the moment Lee Si-hyeok’s fist clenched tight.

Kurung.

A massive movement occurred beside him along with the sound of the earth’s axis shaking. When he turned his head, he saw the Master with his face twisted viciously, emanating mana from his entire body.

“…”

Without uttering any words, he was only gathering his fists. With the momentum to kill anyone he encountered.

He spoke a single word in a voice filled with killing intent.

“I’m going.”

Simultaneously, his footsteps fell. Before he could kick off the ground and soar into the sky.

“Stop.”

Lee Si-hyeok’s words caught him first.

“What.”

He stopped his half-bent knee and looked back at Lee Si-hyeok.

His eyes were completely different from before. Blazing killing intent completely enveloped his pupils.

Lee Si-hyeok read the resolve to kill him if he spouted nonsense, and spoke calmly.

“Even if you go alone now, there will be no results.”

“Why? I just need to kill them all.”

“Because you’re in an agitated state.”

Lee Si-hyeok took a step closer to him.

“The opponent is the Absolute Dream Guild. It’s the stronghold of mental-type Hunters. They won’t fight you head-on. Absolutely not.”

“Are you… looking down on me?”

“You need to look at the situation calmly. If this could be solved with force from the beginning, you could just send Lumibra. But there’s a reason you don’t.”

He deliberately paused. Given time to think, the Master found the answer himself.

“Because of the hostage.”

“Yes. They have the Execution Squad Leader. Even if Lumibra completely destroys their headquarters, if the hostage dies before that, everything becomes meaningless.”

“Damn it…”

The Master’s fist slowly unclenched.

Only then did he face the situation directly. This wasn’t a matter to ruin with excitement. The Snow Flame Empress also bit her lips tightly and fell into deep thought.

“Then you, do you have some good method?”

“Not yet. I need to think of one as quickly as possible.”

It wasn’t just to rescue the Execution Squad Leader.

The artifacts that had disappeared with her. Lee Si-hyeok couldn’t just watch those precious treasures being carelessly handled by those bastards.

That’s when it happened.

“Lee Si-hyeok! Master! Vice Master!”

From the village entrance, Kim Jin-seok came running urgently while limping.

“What is it?”

“So-someone has come to visit the village.”

“Who?”

“Well…”

But it was before he could continue his explanation.

From behind Kim Jin-seok, a bear-like figure appeared. A familiar face.

“It’s Ray Wen.”

He stared directly at Lee Si-hyeok and spoke.

“I’ve come to propose destroying the Absolute Dream Guild.”

“…!”

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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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