The Owner of the Healing Therapy Shop Is Ranked 0th in the World - Chapter 77

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

The Owner of the Healing Therapy Shop is World Rank 0

Chapter 77

Faced with the worst indicators in the history of South Korea’s hunter community, the meeting room was engulfed in suffocating pressure beyond heavy silence.

Association President Maeng Seokwoo rubbed his face with trembling hands and spoke with dejection.

“…In the end, must humanity once again hope for luck disguised as a miracle?”

His voice sank powerlessly to the floor.

But Yuin-a, the guild leader of Magic Tower, was different. She coldly flipped through data panels and spoke resolutely.

“There’s no time to wait for miracles. First, let’s deploy an attack team to the most urgent and irregular ‘Seokchon Lake Gate.’ We must establish strategies for the remaining 54 gates based on real-time combat data obtained from conquering that location.”

Gangjinseong and Ohyeongtaek in the meeting room also nodded heavily.

S-rank hunters had no choice in the matter.

But the most sensitive and sharp topic erupted afterward.

Which guild would send whom first into the jaws of death?

“So, is there a guild willing to take full responsibility for the Seokchon Lake Gate?”

Maeng Seokwoo’s question fell, but the leaders of each guild sealed their lips tight as if by agreement.

The cause was noble, but reality was cruel.

No leader wanted to push their precious guild members into an irregular gate where survival couldn’t be guaranteed.

Currently, Korea’s available S-rank personnel numbered only three: Hunter Association’s Gangjinseong, Shilla Guild’s Ohyeongtaek, and the newly awakened unaffiliated Seondonguk.

Jinseong was already fatigued from just conquering the Maze Gate, and Seondonguk was a patient who had just risen from his sickbed.

Naturally, all eyes turned to Shinnara and Ohyeongtaek.

But Nara stubbornly kept her mouth shut.

She knew better than anyone that the situation was dire, but she couldn’t send Hyeongtaek, who was like a younger brother to her, into danger with her own hands.

Eventually, Maeng Seokwoo sighed deeply and pulled out a card he didn’t want to use.

“…There’s no choice. I’m invoking the National Emergency Management Act equivalent to wartime conditions. The Association will demand hunter conscription from each guild by authority.”

With unanimous approval from the guild leaders, Ohyeongtaek’s mandatory selection was finally decided.

Nara frowned deeply and resisted until the end, but under the pouring gazes and pressure, she had no choice but to sign the consent form.

Only after agreeing that each guild would conscript A-rank elite hunters did the hellish meeting come to an end.

Nara and Hyeongtaek, who had left the meeting room, walked side by side through the cold hallway.

It was Hyeongtaek’s characteristically bright voice that first broke the heavy silence.

“Wow, am I going to become a hero like Jinseong hyung now? This is actually pretty exciting, you know?”

“Hey, are you joking right now? I really don’t want to send you.”

When Nara let out a deep sigh, Hyeongtaek playfully laughed and patted her shoulder.

“Come on, noona. Are you worried I’ll die? I’m an S-rank too, you know.”

“Who’s dying! Watch your words!”

When Nara burst out angrily, Hyeongtaek scratched the back of his head with an awkward laugh.

“It’s a joke, just a joke. I’ll figure something out. I’m the youngest S-rank in South Korea – a gate boss is nothing.”

“That overconfidence is the most dangerous thing, you fool. You’re going in first like a lab rat, and who knows what might happen to you… I’m going crazy with frustration.”

Hyeongtaek briefly observed Nara’s worried expression, then clapped his hands as if he had a good idea.

“Then how about asking Yebichnna noona? Just like she made exclusive items for Jinseong hyung, we can ask her to make one for me too!”

Nara’s brow furrowed. She knew Yebichnna’s items were powerful, but there was no guarantee they’d help with this gate.

“Well… the gate is so irregular.”

“Nothing to lose! When we went to the market last time, noona promised to make me an item. With her skills, she’ll definitely give me something amazing.”

At Hyeongtaek’s optimistic words, Nara reluctantly nodded.

As soon as the two left the Hunter Association main gate, countless camera flashes erupted.

Reporters had swarmed together, and at their center, Sohee was surrounded by guards, suffering through their harassment.

“Enchanter Shinnara! With 55 gates about to burst simultaneously, will you again give items exclusively to S-rank Hunter Gangjinseong?”

“What do you think about public opinion saying you should disclose item crafting methods for public benefit or distribute them to all hunters!”

Rude questions poured out.

However, Sohee calmly gave a textbook response.

“I’d like to give them to everyone if I could, but my mana is limited. Reckless crafting without knowing each gate’s attributes could actually be harmful. I’ll do my best to support the conquests.”

Watching Sohee disappear under the guards’ escort, Nara sighed with relief.

“I’m so glad Sohee is standing in for Yebichnna instead of me. How could anyone endure that chaos.”

* * *

At that moment, inside the remodeled store.

I was devoted to registering item recipes in my workshop.

Even after clearing the homework Mimi gave me, I had already succeeded in registering 6 more new recipes.

Just as I was feeling proud watching the sparkling items pile up neatly in the display case, my whole body froze at the news sound flowing from the break room TV.

[Breaking news. The mana levels of 55 gates nationwide have exceeded critical points!]

I sat in front of the TV with trembling hands gripping the remote.

“…Mimi, is this the kind of beginning you were talking about?”

Mimi, who had climbed onto my lap, answered in an unusually serious voice without her typical playfulness.

“I told you, didn’t I? The gates would raise their level further to counter your powerful abilities, Yebichnna. This is also a result you brought about.”

I gulped down dry saliva.

“What kind are bursting this time? Seeing how quickly the mana levels are rising, are they time attack gates?”

“No, they’re much more vicious than that.”

Mimi’s golden eyes gleamed coldly.

“They’re ‘Predator Gates.'”

I dropped the remote I was holding to the floor with a thud.

Predator Gates. During my training academy days, these were the gates instructors ranked as the number one ‘disaster they least wanted to encounter.’

With regular gates, if you fail to conquer them, you just get bounced out, but Predator Gates feed on the mana of entering hunters to strengthen the boss in real-time.

In other words, failing to conquer meant not only the hunter’s death but also releasing a stronger monster into the world.

“There are 55 of those… nationwide?”

I asked with a trembling voice.

“Then, do all the gates have the same terrain and monsters? That might make conquering them a bit easier.”

I tried desperately to find hope, but Mimi cruelly shook her head.

“No, all 55 have different terrain and monster attributes.”

“All of them are different…?”

Despair crept up from my toes.

But instead of collapsing there, I gritted my teeth and stood up, rushing back to the workbench.

If the terrain and attributes were different, I just needed to make universal items that could counter that terrible ‘predator’ structure itself.

I rummaged through my materials, thinking of items that could prevent mana from being stolen or even reverse the gate’s mana flow.

Then, Mimi, who had slowly followed me in, murmured quietly.

“Thinking about it again, I really chose well with you.”

“What are you talking about, all of a sudden?”

The moment I turned my head in confusion, a brilliant golden window appeared before my eyes.

^[Main Quest Generated!]^

^[Support the conquest of all gates before they completely collapse!(0/55)]^

^[Upon Success: 5 Stat Points, 630,000 Coins]^

But what really surprised me wasn’t the reward.

It was the newly created [Detailed Information] tab below the quest window.

There, terrain information for all 55 gates nationwide and the attributes of appearing monsters were simply listed.

“Mimi, you…!”

As I shouted in excitement, Mimi swished her tail and climbed onto the workbench.

“As much as you don’t give up and keep trying, the system will throw you corresponding ‘materials.'”

I examined the countless data displayed in the information window, my eyes shining. From now on, it was a race against time.

I clenched my fists and stood before the workbench.

The fate of this world was practically hanging on my fingertips.

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