My Catastrophic‑Level Summon Devours Gates - Chapter 65

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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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Episode 65

What would happen if I strengthened an undead’s bone frame with mana forging?

It was an idea that suddenly came to me on the way home.

【I’m not sure.】

【Iron Head. At least pretend to think about it.】

【Why don’t you use that brilliant mage wisdom of yours to find an answer?】

【I don’t know about metallurgy or necromancy either.】

Whoa. Whoa.

Don’t fight.

“I won’t know until I try it myself.”

It’s just a hypothesis after all.

Mana forging effects vary drastically depending on the enchantment style.

I’d need to improve my understanding before I could apply it to vassal enhancement.

Actually, no.

“I could apply it to the Armed Zombie Warriors right away.”

Except for Unit 1, I had installed additional mechanisms to make armor removal and attachment easier.

Though I’d have to make new armor.

Plus, I could strengthen my forces without making additional Zombie Warriors.

Somehow my workload just keeps increasing.

It never seems to decrease.

【The girl is also waiting for the day when the blessing of enhancement will grace her.】

Yes.

Yes.

I’m confused whether I’m serving my superiors or commanding vassals.

After returning home and taking a shower, I felt drowsy.

“Ugh. I’m tired.”

Suppressing the urge to head straight to bed.

I went to the Hunter Market online store and ordered the necessary supplies.

【600kg of Owlbeast Bone. That’s quite a lot.】

【What will you use the Runic Bear for?】

“I want to try it as a substitute for Owlbeast Bone.”

There’s no need to make Armed Zombie Warrior armor exclusively from Owlbeast Bone.

Even among large species, each byproduct has subtly different properties.

“So I need to experiment.”

【Won’t you check with Spirit Eye?】

“I can’t purchase everything individually each time.”

And you know what.

The Spirit Eye skill isn’t omnipotent either.

I can see the options embedded in byproducts.

But I couldn’t see through to the effects that occur when combining each part.

To find the optimal combination, I have no choice but to try it directly.

【Increasing your workload is just like you, Lord.】

“Sir. Should I change you back to your old body?”

【Your attitude of constant self-improvement is admirable.】

Being able to spot modification opportunities at a glance is thanks to experience built up through 5 years of hardship.

Don’t ever belittle my manual labor again!

* * *

[Withered Garden]

[Entry Restriction: C ~ D rank (Maximum 10 people)]

A Gate where plant-type monsters appear.

Sundew Salma, a plant-type monster resembling a frilled lizard, swayed its bull-sized body.

“Fireball.”

Boom!

Caught in the flame explosion, Sundew Salma charged forward with furious momentum.

Its widely spread neck frill.

No.

The similarly shaped tissue split into dozens of branches.

Long tentacles with viscous liquid coating their tips.

The name Sundew really suited its appearance.

【Hmm. Not something I’d want to cross swords with.】

【Iron Head. You’re not disgusted by it, are you?】

【S-surely not!】

Right.

Right.

I felt it when I first saw him too.

Sir Isra was unexpectedly fastidious about cleanliness.

He had quite a bit of resistance to exposing his bare body(?) too.

[Unique Technique – Eclipse]

[Flame Beat X 10]

[Wind Cutter X 5]

[Modification – Slash]

A crimson blade compressed with contained flames cut Sundew Salma in half.

“Unique Technique. No matter how many times I see it, it’s amazing.”

To kill a C-rank monster in one hit with a combination of E-rank magic.

It’s an act that overturns common sense in the Hunter industry.

【It’s thanks to Master giving it a Fireball first.】

【You know your place well, mage.】

【The knight who backed away because he was scared of tentacles should stay quiet.】

【Gah! Are you insulting chivalry!】

[Physical Enhancement → Mana Emission]

Swoosh!

The Seremis magic sword danced brilliantly.

Thud thud, all of Sundew Salma’s tentacles were cut off.

【Not bad at cutting grass. You could manage a garden.】

【A knight only wields his sword for his lord.】

The two vassals competed to defeat Sundew Salma.

“Grrrrr.”

Draco opened his mouth wide as if bored.

There’s no place for you to step in.

“Coo coo coo. Let’s eat this.”

I held out the bundle of tentacles that had fallen to the ground.

Look at them wriggling.

Draco opened his mouth wide.

Chomp.

He slurped up the tentacles like noodles.

[Predation Stack – 23]

The predation ability I had also granted to Draco.

Maybe because the model was a Ghoul with the [Cannibalism] skill.

It had good compatibility with predation.

[The nature of this individual and the special ability are well matched.]

[The synergy effect increases the enhancement effect from Predation stacks by 50%.]

Oh my.

I should have given the Predation ability much earlier.

Ghoul-type undead absolutely must have Predation.

I’d like to recommend it to Sir Isra too, but.

As if that fastidious gentleman would listen if I told him to eat corpses.

【Still, it’s regrettable to miss out on a means of strengthening our forces.】

“There might be more special abilities.”

Only one can be granted per individual.

We might acquire additional special abilities that match well with Sir Isra.

Wouldn’t it be a waste if we couldn’t learn them because of the Predation ability?

【Such foresight to look toward distant goals. As expected of Master!】

No.

I’m just rationalizing because Sir Isra would absolutely refuse to eat them.

“Grrrr?”

Draco tilted his head.

You’re the only one who understands my heart.

“Their fighting is always a work of art to watch.”

“Ugh. I still feel like my arms are tingling.”

The Support Team glanced at the battle while harvesting magic stones from the Sundew Salma corpses.

I understand.

The training was pretty intense.

“Still, if you grit your teeth and endure the hardship, you can become stronger.”

“I wonder if he’ll teach us that swordsmanship too.”

I think that might be a bit much.

Even I, who inherited the Heavenly Martial Body, couldn’t understand the mysteries of the Isra Style.

I think learning Imperial Swordsmanship on top of that would be an incredible stroke of fortune.

“Grrrr!”

[Fire Breath]

Whoooosh!

The clustered Sundew Salma were annihilated in one breath attack.

Wow.

Refreshing. So refreshing.

This is what Gate clearing is all about.

[You have cleared the Withered Garden.]

[Grade ― SSS]

“SSS as expected.”

“It feels natural now.”

“It’s Min-ho hyung after all.”

“I worked hard preparing the briefing, but you didn’t even give me time to talk.”

After finishing the clear and coming outside.

A familiar coffee truck was waiting for us.

“Good work, Hunter Park.”

“You worked harder, President Baek.”

“What’s so difficult about waiting?”

President Baek naturally started grinding coffee beans without being asked.

“Would you like to enjoy the authentic flavor this time?”

“Let’s save it for next time.”

President Baek clicked his tongue in disappointment.

Even during the meeting, I didn’t know he was this serious about it.

Sip.

“It’s delicious.”

But when you taste it, his pride is justified.

He’d probably be hugely successful if he opened a cafe.

“Boss, do you have grapefruit ade?”

“I’ll have lemonade!”

President Baek efficiently prepared drinks for the Support Team Hunters too.

The agency’s benefits are amazing.

“It’s not a benefit.”

“Excuse me?”

“5,000 won per cup will be deducted from your settlement.”

What.

So it wasn’t a benefit after all.

Capitalism is cold.

Sob sob.

“I’ll go inside to clean up the monster corpses.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

I slowly drank my coffee while watching the Support Team enter the Gate.

“Hunter Park, I have something to tell you.”

President Baek spoke up when we were alone.

His expression looked a bit serious.

“Did something happen?”

“An unwelcome guest has interfered with our Gate booking.”

An unwelcome guest.

Three question marks appeared above my head.

“The Gate we applied to clear. Mir Guild has submitted a duplicate application.”

“On purpose?”

“Yes. It’s quite common in the industry.”

It’s a method frequently used when guilds have conflicts with each other.

“But I’m unaffiliated.”

It must be a coincidence.

Mir Guild is one of the Domestic Big Five.

They did pull some tricks at the last meeting, but.

There was no reason for them to desperately go after a single D-rank Hunter.

President Baek shook his head after hearing my thoughts.

“You’re underestimating Guild Master Yong Cheon-woo.”

I’m not particularly underestimating him.

I’m not bold enough to look down on a Hunter who’s called the strongest S-rank in our country.

“Guild Master Yong Cheon-woo is wary of Hunter Park’s growth potential.”

“Come on. That seems like a stretch.”

You’re joking too much.

That is… a joke, right?

“Huh.”

One of the Domestic Big Five keeping a fledgling Hunter in check.

It was as absurd as the saying about doing your best even if your opponent is an elementary school student.

“You’re too modest, Hunter.”

“Objectively, I don’t think it’s to that extent.”

“Solo clearing at an overpace, and receiving consecutive SSS ratings at that, is unprecedented.”

Even Jung Shin-ho, who was a promising member of Chilseong Guild, couldn’t show such insane performance.

Insane Jung Shin-ho.

Ah.

Aah.

If I keep thinking like this, I’ll go crazy.

“No. I declared myself freelance, so why are they doing this?”

“We don’t know if you’ll still be freelance in five years, or if you’ll join a guild.”

It’s not like only Mir Guild would do this.

Good grief.

This is ridiculous.

“What would be the best approach?”

President Baek held up his index and middle fingers.

“The first method is to request mediation from the Rift Management Agency.”

Gate monopolization and contract interference are subject to sanctions, he said.

It’s something guilds often do when they’re fighting for power.

If confirmed, they could impose fines on Mir Guild.

“It’ll take about a month.”

“What about the second method?”

After hearing President Baek’s explanation.

I spoke without even thinking about it.

“Let’s go with this one.”

* * *

Yong Cheon-woo reviewed HR Director Hong Yu-ri’s report.

“We couldn’t block everything.”

Tsk.

He had ordered them to interfere so Min-ho couldn’t get any gate contracts.

About one-third couldn’t be intercepted by Mir Guild.

“And he cleared all the gates he did get.”

“…Yes.”

“Interesting guy. Wouldn’t it have been more fun if we’d brought him over?”

“I’m sorry.”

HR Director Hong Yu-ri bit her lips tightly and bowed her head.

“What do you think he’ll do?”

“He’ll file an objection with the Rift Management Agency.”

“When do objections usually get resolved?”

“Typically within a month.”

“Drag it out to two months.”

If it were an ordinary hunter, it wouldn’t be difficult.

The problem was that their target was someone causing a stir in the domestic hunter industry.

Yong Cheon-woo was aware of this fact too.

“Understood.”

But Hong Yu-ri didn’t add any further comments.

She was the one responsible for the failure in the recruitment war.

Buzzzz—

A mobile phone rang at the worst possible timing.

“Seems urgent. Take it.”

“I’m sorry.”

After taking the call, Hong Yu-ri’s expression completely hardened.

“Guild Master. Hunter Park Min-ho has made a counter-proposal.”

Hong Yu-ri explained the contents of the call.

After listening to the whole story, Yong Cheon-woo let out a “Khat!” and laughed.

“That guy’s completely insane, isn’t he?”

“What should we do?”

“Give him what he wants.”

Yong Cheon-woo smiled.

“Isn’t it a senior’s duty to show him who’s on top with this opportunity?”

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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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