Healing After Sweeping Spirits with an Almighty Skill - Chapter 54
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 54
54. Monster Wave: Hyeonmu
Waaaaaah-!
The sound of sirens wailed through every Guild House in the Waystation.
The so-called “Disaster Siren”—a sound that rang only when an event grave enough to shake the very foundation of the Waystation had occurred.
Hunters, who had only ever heard this siren during training drills, descended to the first floor of the Waystation with tense faces.
“Oh, look—Hunters!”
“What? Where are they all going?”
“Is this some kind of drill?”
The tourists, oblivious to what was happening, clicked away happily with their cameras. Watching them, one Guild member clicked his tongue.
“Shouldn’t we be evacuating the people from the first floor?”
“If we order an evacuation so suddenly, it’ll only cause panic and more people will get hurt.”
“Still, shouldn’t the siren at least sound on the first floor?”
“The Grand Lord will have thought it through.”
The Grand Lord—the master of the Waystation and second-in-command of the Round Table. If anyone, he would surely have the power to evacuate the Waystation’s entire population outside the Gate in a single moment.
Exit Six of the Waystation.
Management Bureau staff, using training as cover to restrict civilian access, watched as Hunters from each Guild began arriving in steady streams.
Among them, the Guild Masters had gathered in an empty room near Exit Six—a makeshift conference hall set up with the Grand Lord’s permission.
In a conference room filled with Masters from countless Guilds—Hanyang, Busan Alliance, Wuchan, Shield, Guardian, and others—Jin Noa, Master of the Bangju Guild, asked in disbelief.
“A Monster Wave, you said?”
Management Bureau Chief Jang Dae-in nodded gravely.
“Yes. So far, we’ve only detected one massive monster, but even if that’s all there is, the scale of damage would be beyond imagination. There’s no difference in calling it a Monster Wave.”
Jang Dae-in distributed printouts of a photograph to the Guild Masters. It showed a massive monster walking through the Wasteland.
“Code name: ‘Hyeonmu.'”
The Guild Masters fell silent upon seeing the photograph.
“A monster the size of an apartment building?”
In the photo was a monster silhouette truly mountainous in scale.
Legs that looked as if they could crush a human like an ant, a massive body on which hundreds could easily play, and three spines the size of buildings protruding from its back.
“Are you sure the scale was calculated correctly?”
One Guild Master pointed at the photograph, which showed only the creature’s silhouette.
“A monster of this size has never been discovered—not inside the Tower, and not abroad.”
“Unfortunately, it’s the result of multiple calculations. The scale is accurate.”
Silence fell over the conference room once more.
Where the previous silence had been shock and disbelief, this one was despair and resignation.
“And we’re supposed to face that…?”
“We’d be better off abandoning the Waystation altogether.”
At that defeatist lament, Jang Dae-in could only clench his lips. Even he could see the situation was hopeless—there was no point invoking the favors the Waystation had done for them.
“Do we have any chance of winning?”
Yet grasping at straws, his desperate question was met with nothing but negative responses.
“We’ve never conducted combat training against an ultra-massive single entity of this scale.”
“And in a joint operation rather than a single Guild… the survival rate would be…”
“I’m sorry, Bureau Chief. No, actually—we shouldn’t be the ones apologizing, Bureau Chief.”
Even as they all spoke of defeat, the monster drew steadily closer.
Boom. Boom.
Watching the coffee in a paper cup ripple in time with each footstep’s vibration, Jang Dae-in was forced to admit defeat.
“…I’ll issue an evacuation order to the citizens. As for abandoning the Waystation, I’ll try to persuade the Grand Lord about it.”
It was just as Jang Dae-in, having raised the white flag, was about to contact the Grand Lord who was watching all of this from the fifth floor.
“Wait—isn’t that direction where the Spirit Quarter is located?”
Jin Noa’s murmur pierced his ear.
“Oh!”
At those words, Management Bureau Chief Jang Dae-in startled and immediately called Jeong Ryong.
The Spirit Quarter was the centerpiece of a major government project currently underway. It was absolutely a place they could not afford to lose to such an absurd incident.
Ring. Ring.
With each ring of the connection tone, Jang Dae-in’s anxiety burned hotter.
— Hello? Bureau Chief?
“Ah, Jeong Ryong! Are you alright?!”
— Ah, yes! I’m almost there already!
“What? Almost where?”
— The Waystation! Near Exit Six!
Had he evacuated to avoid the monster? And yet Jeong Ryong’s voice carried no tension or fear whatsoever. Rather, his voice was filled with excitement—pure, unbridled joy.
— They’ll be here soon! Are you outside by any chance?
Thud-thud. Thud-thud.
Suddenly, Jang Dae-in realized something else peculiar: the monster’s footfalls overlapped—one reaching his left ear, another reaching his right ear pressed against the phone.
…….
Jang Dae-in peered closely at the silhouette of Hyeonmu captured in the photograph.
Four massive legs beneath an enormous body, and three building-sized spikes jutting from its broad carapace.
Now that he thought about it, the Spirit Fortress had three large structures.
Jang Dae-in ventured a question.
“Is the Spirit Fortress moving as a whole?”
— Oh, how did you know?
“The boundary barrier that was opaque would have turned transparent.”
— You know that much? Are you somewhere nearby watching?
…….
After a conversation that stretched on, Jang Dae-in scratched his head with the phone. Then he gave an order to the staff member beside him.
“Send all the Guild Masters back.”
“Sir?”
“Send back all the guild members outside too, and lift the emergency order.”
“…Sir?”
Sigh.
Jang Dae-in was already dreading all the reports he’d have to file because of this.
* * *
When I arrived at the Waystation dragging the moving Spirit Domain with me, countless people were waiting.
Thud, thud.
The Spirit Fortress folded its legs and settled to the ground upon reaching its destination. The legs positioned below the gate stretched long and extended downward, serving as a drawbridge.
“Wow! How did you know I was coming? I never expected such a welcome!”
Seeing the gathered crowd filled me with both bewilderment and a curious sense of pride.
At moments like this, I couldn’t help but think I’d built quite a favorable image.
“Ah, you really didn’t need to come all this way to greet me. But thank you all the same!”
[Whoa! What’s with this welcome crowd?]
[Waah! Hi there!]
[Oh!]
The spirits trailing behind me also waved with bright faces.
“Keh, keh-hehehe…! What a sight…!”
“What’s this? Has my banishment revenge story already begun?”
The members of the Matap Guild were following along as well.
As I walked down the drawbridge, someone pushed through the crowd and rushed forward. It was Jang Dae-in, the Management Bureau director.
“Jeong Ryong!”
“Ah, Director.”
“What’s the meaning of this? Has your skill evolved?”
“Yes, something along those lines. Now the Spirit Domain has the ability to move.”
People’s jaws dropped at my words.
In the moment I wondered if this crowd might not be here to celebrate after all, an idea flashed through my mind.
“Ah, Director. There’s one clause in our contract I’d like to clarify.”
“Right here and now?”
“Would you come closer for a moment?”
The contract between myself and the government was, of course, classified. With an uneasy glint in my eye, I whispered into the ear of Jang Dae-in standing on the drawbridge.
“The clause stating that the Spirit Domain’s boundaries prove my land’s property rights.”
“Ah. The private property special clause, you mean.”
“As you can see, my boundaries are now moving. In such a situation, surely that clause still applies, yes?”
…….
In Jang Dae-in’s eyes as he looked at me, there burned an enormous resentment—the look of someone facing a superior who’d just doubled his workload.
But I wasn’t one to back down from such a look. I met his gaze with the innocent, naive eyes I’d learned from the spirits. The skill called Innocent Eyes.
Sigh.
In the end, it was Jang Dae-in who yielded first.
“I’ll have to dig through various legal documents. I’ll need to contact legal experts as well.”
“Haha. I’m always grateful. And before that, I’d like to make a public announcement. Would you help me?”
“Pardon? What else do you mean to say?”
After asking Jang Dae-in for confirmation and receiving it, I turned to the many Hunters still staring at me blankly.
“Everyone, this moving domain you see before you, known as the Spirit Domain, is land belonging to myself and my spirits alone. Our Spirit Domain has freedom of movement and the right to be free from interference. Be assured that anyone attempting to attack my spirits or invade our domain, or otherwise pose a threat to us, will face strict consequences.”
I smiled wickedly, watching the Hunters’ dazed faces.
“Put simply, it’s my land, so you’d better understand that.”
[Understand? This place is ours!]
[Ohhhhh!]
[Long live the Spirit Quarter…!]
Poonghogi fluttered about in high spirits, Tohhogi clenched his fists with determination, and Suhogi squeaked timidly from the crook of my arm.
I smiled softly and opened my Skill Window.
┼ ??? Condition (1/3)
└ Domain Declaration (1/1)
└ Lord Inauguration Ceremony (0/1)
└ Peerage Sword Crafting (0/1)
One question-marked condition had been simply filled.
* * *
The spectacular event had ended. Onlookers dispersed, and the Matap Guild members began making their way back to the Waystation.
“I truly cannot thank you enough, everyone from the Matap Guild.”
“Just call on us anytime! What else are we here for?”
“Long live the Spirit Quarter!”
“I love you, Tohhogi! Go mine more Mana Stones for me!”
[Hm?]
Finally, I exchanged parting words with Jeon Woo-chi.
“Thank you again, truly.”
“Please, no need for more thanks. We gained something and continue to gain, so we were simply glad to help.”
“Mutual aid… that’s what it is… keh-heh-heh….”
“Haha. I shall be certain to invite everyone from the Matap Guild without exception to the festival I’m planning.”
“A festival?”
“I’m thinking of arranging a grand celebration to commemorate this auspicious occasion.”
The Lord Inauguration Ceremony—one of the expansion conditions.
I intended to make it a magnificent festival that would live long in the Waystation’s history.
Once everyone had left and I’d sent the spirits off to their shifts at the laundry, I checked my Skill Window.
Buildable List
┼ Water Source LV.5
└ Material: Fishing Rod (0/1)
└ Condition: Washboard (0/1)
└ Condition: Water Spirit (25/25)
┼ Smithy LV.3
└ Material: Memory Chip (0GB/8GB)
└ Material: Mana Stone (13kg/50kg)
└ Material: Mithril (50kg/50kg)
┼ Storehouse LV.3
└ Material: Iron Door (0/1)
└ Material: Steel (10kg/10kg)
└ Material: Stone (30kg/30kg)
Even as the Spirit Domain evolved and strengthened, my work remained unchanged: endless expansion and growth of the domain itself.
For that, the most crucial first step was to quickly classify what I could DIY and what I couldn’t.
‘The fishing rod and washboard should be simple enough to craft. A memory chip, though… no matter what, the smithy can’t make that.’
As it became a Spirit Domain, the flow of required materials and conditions shifted once more.
Having sorted through what I could craft myself and what required time and patience, I headed first to the smithy.
“Good. Shall we go build some structures?”
It was time to return to my true work.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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