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Expensive and Useless (2)

‘Perhaps the reason why this was the first thing that came to mind when I thought about items that would be money was because of my past life?’

I laughed bitterly at the thought. At the last moment, unlike my colleagues, who were all SSS-Ranked, I was facing aging alone and could not benefit from [Vital Flame].

“What this is, is…….”

I explained briefly to Hibiki and Nate about the effect of the item. From the moment the flame was attached to the core, the reversal of aging began, and youth could be restored. The state continued until all Potential Mana was consumed.

“Instead of being young and maintaining great physical abilities like a Hunter, who is B-level or above, it only rejuvenates a person. It’s about exchanging the rejuvenation with growth as a hunter through the activation of Mana. It’s not something we need.”

Hibiki tilted her head as she listened, “So, it only works on an Awakened. People who might want this are rich old people who are Awakened and don’t go to dungeons.”

As expected, she understood it at once.

“That’s right.”

“But then, isn’t it hard to sell the Awakening Stones to anyone? To prevent the Awakening of those who can’t be active as Hunters. Are there that many Awakened old people in the world?”

The physical conditions at the time of the Awakening affected everyone, even after the Awakening. In short, an older man in his 90s couldn’t do 100 meters in five seconds like a hunter in his 20s. Therefore, most countries were controlling the distribution of Awakening Stone. Most of them, but not all.

“Not every country has strict control over the Awakening Stone like Korea does. Even in areas like the Middle East and Africa, only the powerful and the rich have all Awakened. If one has a lot of money in those places, one can be exempted from being hunter recruits in case of a national emergency.”

They were not worried about conscription anyway, so they freely Awaken.

After my explanation, I put the [Vital Flame] on the red-black branches I had packed earlier. Then the fire that the stone had held spread to the branches, and nothing was left in the broken rock.

“Now, we’re going to go around a few more places like this.”

Hibiki sighed, very shallowly, when I said we had to fly again.

*

During the two-hour trek around the island, Hibiki hunted for the Fire Lizards, and Nate practiced Mana control over the rocks. When the stone broke and a new flame came out, I kept transferring it to the branch I was holding. Then the flame, which was smaller than a fist at first, grew as big as three human heads combined.

“Well…. I don’t think I can make them a subordinate.”

Unlike the troll, the Fire Lizards could not be zombified. It seemed to be because of the nature of their whole body burning up. I knew in advance, from my previous life’s experience, but I advised Nate to try. He needed to experience things by himself. Nate, who had moved away from Fire Lizards’ dead body, looked at me as I lit the branch, and asked, “That thing, doesn’t that go out?”

“Don’t worry. It’ll never go out.”

I thought this was enough.

“At this size, at least 50 elderly people can be rejuvenated.”

Of course, my plan was to use a middleman to sell [Vital Flame], instead of meeting all end-customers. I planned to sell them all to the Senator. He would act as a wholesaler. He’d find the best customers, but we would not release this amount to the market at once. Little by little, he would test the waters and increase the prices according to the demands.

‘This is the best condition to sell. After two years, it would be found in other countries’ dungeons, so then the supply will be even greater and the profit will be less.’

The fire-lit tree branch was inserted into the box-type artifact, and sealed, and then fed to ‘snake 2.’

“Come on, let’s go back.”

Nate’s eyes widened, “Huh? Aren’t you going to go Clear this place?”

“I’m not here to Clear. We’ve collected enough flames.”

The target condition of this dungeon was to eradicate all monsters on the border.

“It’s a C-Class dungeon, so the extra compensation won’t be worth it, and the monster’s low population density will take up a lot of time.”

Hibiki nodded as if she understood.

“So that’s why you told us that we’re going around all three dungeons in a day? We will literally just go around and not Clear?”

I shook my index finger from side to side, “Don’t be so argumentative. We will move until Clear for the next dungeon.”

When we came out of the gate, Hunter, who was guarding the door, nodded.

“It really must have been just a field trip,” He couldn’t imagine that we finished item farming successfully after coming back in two hours, “Well, the procedure is a procedure. So, I’ll check your belongings.” The procedure was to check whether items such as Mana core, Awakening Stone, etc., or dungeon creatures, controlled by the state, were carried out. “Yes, they all match exactly what you all had when you entered. Thank you for your cooperation.”

I had already absorbed the mana core, and he could not have guessed that the snake wrapped around my wrist had momentarily swallowed the [Vital Flame].

*

The next dungeon was just around the corner. The Gate Keeper Hunter guarding the gate was a man with a slightly irritated impression. But he greeted us sincerely, “As you must have heard, you should never go up the mountain. That is a non-Clearable area! Even if you’ve received an SS-Rank.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“But… are you sure you’re okay with only three of you? That’s supposedly a five S-ranked man dungeon.”

The Hunter looked anxious. We were only allowed to enter the gate because I received an SS-Rank. If I’d got a mediocre rank, the entry would have been impossible. As I pretended not to hear, we entered the 2nd dungeon for the day.

Weeing!

The system message popped up:

Dungeon information

1. Level: S
2. Maximum number of entrants: 5
3. Clear conditions: Combining characters to complete the prophecy.
4. Time to evolve: 9 years, 16 days, 7 hours, 44 minutes.
5. Status: Stable

Moving on to the dungeon, the first thing I saw was a sky full of dark clouds, and a field full of an unknown grass. In the center was an altar made of wood, and behind it was a tall, wooded mountain.

I explained, “This is a prophecy type dungeon.”

Nate asked, “What’s that?”

“A kind of treasure hunt type dungeon. Within the boundary, metals are hidden, carved with the alien world’s characters. When they are gathered and combined at the altar, the rest of the sentences pop out, and the prophecy is completed. It is mostly about when, where, and which level of dungeon appears. It’s not an easy dungeon for a general Hunter because not only does the combination change every few days, but it also keeps disappearing and then appearing in different places.”

It was not too long ago that humanity, of the previous life, depended on the prophecy type dungeon. Angelica, the prophet, shared a much more accurate and detailed future-telling with humankind than the Book of Revelation. Of course, it was actually Han-Seol’s prophecy that Angelica had manipulated and used to imprison.

Hibiki frowned as if she didn’t understand, “It tells the Dungeon breaks in advance? ··· I guess it’s the system that designed all of these, right?”

“That’s right.”

She was lost in her thoughts for a moment, and then she continued, “I don’t know the purpose of it. If it’s the system that made the dungeon and the system intended to collapse…. Can’t it just stop the dungeons from opening or collapsing, rather than helping us with something like a prophecy?”

It was one of the topics that we agonized a lot in our previous life. Was the system something that made fun of humankind like a cruel deity? Or was it an intelligent creature that uses us for unknown purposes with a mysterious plan? I couldn’t figure out the answer. I thought my life had given me some answers: ‘When I was Awakened as Seo Jin-Wook, I saw them at the Altar of Trials… They were shaped with Mana. It was not a mechanical message. It said they were Ministry Spirits, serving a sentient being.’

I let go of my thoughts that filled my head, and spoke to Hibiki, “It’s clear that whatever the purpose of the system is, there’s no immediate intention of annihilating humanity. The prophecy proves it. Of course, we still don’t know whether all of this will ultimately benefit humankind or not.”

In my previous life, everything ended in vain. So, what would happen of Angelica had disappeared? Rather than worrying and guessing, I only tried not to repeat the same thing. That was the goal of this life. I moved my steps.

“Let’s go.”

Nate asked, “Where?”

I answered back as I pointed my finger, “Over there.”

There was a high mountain where the Gate Keepers Hunter warned us not to go.

*

“Squeaaal!”

The mountain was like an Orc field. I purposely let my two companions take care of it without interfering in the battle. Hibiki’s spell froze, burned, fried, and carved the Orcs. In the previous dungeon, Nate, who took a step back from the battle, was also as active as he could manage.

“Uhhhhh….!”

“Uhhh….!”

Zombies, who ran faster than Orcs, bit the monsters mercilessly. It was a completely different movement from the Dungeon Zombies, as noticed in the fight with the Trolls. Also, their bodies were much harder and more flexible than any other monsters. The bone blade, which popped out from the limbs, boasted efficiency beyond sword-type artifacts.

“Squeal!”

The battle was, of course, overwhelmingly against the Orcs. However, like most monsters in the dungeon, they rushed to death as if they had no retreat strategy.

“Oh! It’s over!”

Finally, the last Orc fell. Nate and Hibiki were gasping among the bloodstained Orc corpses. Hibiki drank Mana Potion, and Nate, who had relatively little Mana consumption, moved on to the next stage with a familiar move. His body was engulfed in a red Mana when he activated his unique skill.

[Traces Across Boundaries]

I could see a handful of Mana coming out of his core. It seeped into fallen Orc corpses everywhere.

Swoosh!

“Uhhhhhhh….!”

“Uhhh….!”

Half of the dead Orcs became zombies.

Swish!

The wind blew, and all the Orc zombies disappeared into Nate’s shadow. With this increase in the number of ‘subordinates,’ he would now rarely use his ‘friends’ who suffered together in the laboratory.

Just like he did in the past life.

“Hmm.”

Nate looked closely at the bodies on the floor that didn’t zombify and said, “As expected, if their body is ruined too much, I can’t make them my subordinate.”

The remaining bodies’ commonality was that their heads were blown away or were damaged beyond recognition by being torn apart or shrunken by flame. Nate tried the skill one more time in front of the charred Orc, but there was no response.

“I see.”

I knew this, but I nodded my head and agreed. I absorbed the recovered Mana core while the two rested.

“It’s still amazing, no matter how many times I see it.”

Hibiki asked while catching her breath, “Didn’t you say we had to collect pieces of text like a treasure hunt to clear?”

“That’s right.”

“But why have we been…”

She meant to ask why we were climbing the mountain, and not looking for the pieces.

“You’ll soon find out why.”

Hibiki continued, still keeping her eyes fixed on the Orc carcass, “By the way, the higher we go up the mountain… I think the weirder the states of the monsters get.”

That was perceptive.

“At the entrance to the mountain, they were only blindly rushing, but it feels like they’re getting more and more like they’re being chased by something?”

I corrected her words, “They’re not being chased; they’re frightened, to be exact.”

“Frightened? Of what?”

Suddenly, I could hear the sound of something flying from afar in my ears—the sound of heavy wings, “Speak of the devil.”

After a while, Nate heard it, and after some time, Hibiki seemed to notice it.

“What is that sound?”

The question was answered by a terrifying roar.

“Kuaaaaaaaaa!”

The air trembled, the forest rumbled, and the ground shook. All the flying animals hidden between the branches flew up in unison. Orcs screamed loudly in the highlands of the mountain. Hibiki frowned and covered her ears, and Nate opened his eyes wide toward where he heard the sound.

Whoosh!

Sweeping by our faces, a harsh wind began to blow. The origin was the top of the mountain. It wasn’t just the flow of air that changed. The shadow that covered the top of the mountain quickly began to descend to where we were.

“That…….”

It was huge, and from our perspective, as big as the mountain. But what we thought to be an illusion of perspective became reality as the creature flew from the summit. It really was as big as the mountain.

And, roaring again.

“Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

The next moment, the sky, which was filled with clouds, was engulfed in darkness. The body of the huge creature that flew over us covered everything.

“Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

My ears felt like they were being torn apart and I frowned.

“It’s damn noisy.”

A system message came up in front of me:

– [The Successor’s Eye] Defends [Dragon Fear]’s Psychological Interference!

However, Nate and Hibiki stiffened as everyone’s eyes were on the monster that covered the sky.

Hibiki’s lips opened, “D…. Dragon! She noticed something strange about it, recalling her studies about the dungeons.

“This is an S-class place! But why is there a dragon?”

The fact that she could communicate, even with the effect of [Dragon Fear], meant that she had a strong mind. Meanwhile, Nate was gazing up at the dragon with his mouth wide open. That reaction was different from Fear.

‘They’re both not completely fine, but I don’t have to worry about them panicking.’

I answered Hibiki, knowing this kind of conversation helped to relieve the Fear’s effects, “This is an S-Class because you can Clear the dungeon without knocking that down. That’s a kind of trap set up in this dungeon.”

The original textbook strategy of attacking this dungeon was to collect the pieces of characters that have been scattered throughout the field as quietly and carefully as possible to complete the prophecy without waking that dragon up.

In other words, if you didn’t pay enough attention or made too much noise, you would encounter the dragon. Perhaps, destroying the dragon was not something the designer of this dungeon considered in the first place.

And then. A black dragon, floating in the sky, sent telepathy ‘like a strike.’