ALL NOVEL
Chapter 94:
It’s already been two days since the strange mutation incident occurred.
“Hehe.”
In the meantime, the bright red magic stone was sold safely, and the Neo Sisters even sent a small reward separately.
So, adding up all the rewards from the [Dimensional Treasure Vault] incident and everything else, my balance now totals…
【Deposit/Withdrawal Account: KRW 318,230,054】
I looked proudly at the numbers stamped on my bankbook.
A whopping 318 million Korean Won! Considering the days when I would tremble over a bowl of soup, isn’t this a huge improvement?
‘It’s already over 300 million won, even though winter hasn’t even arrived yet.’
Of course, I still have a long way to go. I have a grand purpose of buying a dragon’s lungs, and until I achieve that, I must save money however I can.
“Hmm..”
It seems I’ll be staying in this old one-room apartment for quite some time. Still, it’s a decent enough place to live. There’s no demanding boss pushing for overtime, I can have meals regularly, and besides, there are plenty of interesting things on Earth too.
‘Now that I’m thinking about it, should I watch Y-Tube?’
I turned on my phone and launched a familiar app. Although this video streaming platform offered a wide range of content, I found myself using it primarily for news.
‘It is difficult for an alien like me to distinguish between truth and lies in information…’
News is good culture. It’s relatively trustworthy, and the medium of video captures the eye with entertaining fun.
‘Which channel should I watch today?’
I swiped the screen of my phone and chose something to see.
‘Mhm?’
But something seems a bit strange. Usually, video content varies by broadcaster, but today, no matter which one I click on, I see the same screen…
[[●LIVE] 8 o’clock news – Hanshin Guild situation worsens, what is the situation on the ground?]
[“I feel like I had a nightmare”… Victim Interview]
[A shopping mall turned into chaos. How much damage is it?]
I turned on the video marked as live and focused on the report being heard.
[A reporter is currently at the scene of the incident. Reporter Kim ○○?]
[Yes. I’m here on a street in Seogyo-dong where the ‘Hansin Incident’ occurred. As you can see, the area is currently under citizen access control…]
Anyway, it was broadcast so loudly that the scene was cleaner than I expected.
What is immediately visible on the screen is a properly laid sidewalk block.
Clusters of gray buildings huddled together. And wedged in between them was… a massive barrier?
‘Uhm?’
I frowned and looked closely at the screen, but even when I looked again, the results didn’t change. What filled the street was none other than a wide barrier.
[What you see in the distance is the boss monster who is the culprit of this incident. This is ‘Flame Baron.’]
The reporter soon explained in a clear voice.
The ‘Flame Baron’ was originally a creature living in a privately owned gate belonging to a certain guild. However, one day this guild committed a serious mismanagement.
[Meanwhile, strong criticism is pouring in against the Hanshin Guild, which triggered this incident.]
The boss escapes due to the winning bidder’s mistake. This was a rare human disaster.
‘It’s such a strange accident…’
I thought briefly and stood up. It was to get water from the refrigerator.
‘Huh?’
But immediately after that, I froze in place, leaving the refrigerator door open.
[△△ Meat Restaurant]
That red sign just caught on the news screen… Surely, I’ve seen it somewhere before, haven’t I?
‘The restaurant in front of the ATM where I used to withdraw cash every day!’
In other words, the scene of the incident being reported on the news was quite close to this place. How could I have not realized this sooner…? I watched the familiar neighborhood on the broadcast with curiosity, and then the screen transitioned to the next scene.
-Dududududu…
That scene is a cityscape seen from a helicopter.
[What is the situation now?]
[Emergency summoned hunters are currently in fierce struggle to hunt down the ‘Flame Baron’,’ but as of now, there have been no significant achievements.]
The Flame Baron was indeed a quite troublesome monster. Because it hid inside a solid barrier and constantly harassed the hunters outside remotely.
The Flame Baron’s weapon was mental attacks. In other words, if someone got too close to the barrier, it would use mind-control magic to make allies fight each other. However, the scope and power of the brainwashing was considerable…
[Mental attacks usually don’t mean much to awakened people, right? But why is there so much confusion this time?]
[According to explanations from Hunter Association officials, the ‘Flame Baron’ was a creature that gradually grew stronger in proportion to the time it appeared.]
[Is the monster growing?]
[Yes. Therefore, the monster’s brainwashing unusually affected even intermediate level awakeners, and the strength of the barrier also appears to have increased as well.]
In the end, even the range of hunters that could be mobilized was narrowed.
“Hmm.”
However, I just shrugged my shoulders and said nothing, even as I saw the announcer’s serious expression. Why? Well, that’s because I don’t feel any sense of crisis.
‘No matter how close the scene is, it didn’t happen in my house right away…’
I thought while quenching my thirst with water taken from the refrigerator.
‘It will be resolved over time anyway.’
The announcer may fuss about how strong the brainwashing is, but aren’t there still a few hunters responding to the Baron’s barrier even now? Whether they surround themselves with brainwashing resistance items or call upon A-Class entirely. The awakened people here had plenty of choices.
“It will be fine.”
So, I figured the Earthlings would take care of this and just grabbed some lunch. I heated up some retort curry and rice…
“It’ll be okay, right?”
But for some reason, the news was noisy even after I finished eating.
“….Is this okay?”
And by the time about 3 hours had passed, my feet were already on fire.
[(Breaking News) The scope of influence of ‘Flame Baron’ expands, residents in the area are advised to evacuate]
Damn it! I never thought Earthlings would be so incompetent!
‘You’ve never been able to break through that barrier?’
I jumped up, unable to continue watching the broadcast. While the hunters were struggling due to the barrier, Flame Baron was expanding its sphere of influence.
‘No!’
At this rate, even Kim Kiryeo’s house might get caught up in the accident.
So I made up my mind. I decided to go to the scene of the incident to instruct the hunters on how to deal with the barrier.
“Phew, anyway, these primitive things!”
Is there anything I can do about it even if it’s annoying?
[●LIVE News: Real-time chat]
[What are the hunter brats doing?]
[Are they just shooting missiles??]
[Anyway, people who haven’t done anything dangerous are just playing around at home…Tsk. If you’re so frustrated, go ahead and solve it yourselves~ Don’t blame the hunters for nothing.]
As they say here, if you are really frustrated, you should take action yourself.
***
After arriving at the scene shortly after, getting in wasn’t as difficult as I had thought. In this world, the position of appraiser has considerable influence.
‘It’s so easy to get permission to enter by making a phone call to the association…’
I crossed the police line and looked around. Then I saw a familiar face.
“Seonwoo Yeon-ssi!”
“Huh?”
The B-Class hunter, who was in the midst of reorganizing the control line, raised her head in surprise when she heard my voice.
“Hunter Kim Kiryeo?”
It was clear from her expression that she was wondering why I was there.
“I came out because I was frustrated. Just frustrated.”
“Yes?”
“I mean, how long are you going to keep struggling with just a barrier like this?”
I approached Seonwoo Yeon and explained the whole story. As an appraiser, I’m here to help analyze the barrier.
“I see!”
When Seonwoo Yeon heard this, a blush spread across her face.
How could she not be happy that a high-ranking appraiser, whose services are difficult to call due to their high price, had come forward to offer assistance?
“I will guide you toward the barrier.”
Seonwoo Yeon readily took the lead and briefly described the current situation.
“So, you’re saying that even with an A-Class strength coming at the barrier, it won’t break?”
“Yes. I have no idea where that much mana could be coming from.”
“Hmm.”
“Besides, the number of hunters gathered here is a bit… Initially, we urgently gathered people under the authority of the Association…”
“Is it really just two A-Class?”
“We can’t just keep overusing our summoning rights. The request for reinforcements is currently blocked at the higher-ups.”
Instead of listening to the story, I asked a question.
“Then what about the Magic Tower guild leader?”
Even if we exclude Jung Haseong or Kang Changho for personal reasons, someone like her should be able to call autonomously. However, Seonwoo Yeon soon hardened her expression.
“Hunter Esther? Unfortunately, she is entering the gate now.”
“Oh my.”
“The people at the Magic Tower say it will probably take half a day to conquer.”
It seems there are several sad stories behind the failure to capture the Flame Baron.
‘Phew.’
In that case, from now on, there’s no choice but to go back, even if it’s troublesome. The goal is to understand the structure of the barrier and find its weaknesses.
“Alright, here is the outermost edge of the barrier.”
When we finally arrived, the scenery at the scene was different from the TV screen.
Inside the translucent spherical barrier, the landscape is filled with pale, blue, and bright-colored flowers, without a single space to step in between.
“T, the actual size is bigger than expected, isn’t it…?”
However, in the center of this flower field, there stood a creature with a sturdy appearance reminiscent of Shilla’s T’ou.
‘Is it a living creature?’
The Flame Baron revealed its form. Its gleaming white body, like glazed porcelain, made the monster appear even more alien.
‘Hmm.’
So, here are my thoughts on the boss.
‘I have to stop watching because it’s scary.’
I turned my attention to the Baron’s barrier.
A shimmering light formed from clustered mana particles. Just by looking at this, it doesn’t seem much different from other barriers…
“Hmm?
Thud!
At that moment, suddenly an unidentified noise rang out from somewhere.
“What was that just now?”
“Ah, I’m sorry. Now that I think about it, I should have let them know that the appraiser was here.”
But fortunately, it wasn’t a noise in a bad sense. This was the sound of the summoned hunters hitting the barrier.
“Hunters! Please pay attention!”
Seonwoo Yeon ran in the direction where she heard the sound and soon delivered the news.
“Everyone, please stop attacking the barrier!”
“Yes? Why?”
“A high-ranking appraiser came here. So, please wait a moment until the analysis is completed.”
“Oh~”
The hunters all turn their heads at Seonwoo Yeon’s words.
Fire attribute, attack power enhancement, lightning type. Even though the skills they use are different, they are all B-Class or higher, so it feels a bit burdensome.
“I’ll take a look at it right away.”
I got to work as quickly as possible so as not to disturb that elite group.
‘Hmph, a barrier like this is nothing when you’re dealing with an Archmage…!’
But this damn creature barrier turned out to have a structure I’ve never seen before.
‘Huh?’
A difficult structure that is clearly different from the barrier of the Magic Tower.
I swallowed hard for a moment. I confidently boasted it would be over soon, but if some F-Class ended up wasting time unnecessarily here…
“Wow, by the way, appraisers come to all these places.”
“I know right.”
“You seem to have a high level. Please endure the brainwashing well.”
“Everyone, stop talking. Our guild doesn’t have any appraisers, so this is my first time seeing the real thing, you know?”
I hurriedly moved my hands amidst the chatter of high-ranking awakened individuals. I attempted to make direct contact with the barrier to reduce even a second of analysis time.
But unexpectedly, right after that, an unimaginable situation unfolded.
Whoosh—
Because I passed through the barrier with my hands outstretched.
“Huh?”
“Eung?”
“Hmm?”
As soon as they see that scene, the people around them make dumbfounded noises. But this one is just as absurd.
Wait, why is a barrier that even made A-Class restless crumbling so easily…!
‘Huh!’
At that moment, the basic principle of the barrier appeared in my mind.
Barrier.
The magic excludes anything that could be harmful to the caster. However, no matter how harmful it is to the body, can the barrier filter even a single particle of dust flying in the air?
The tighter the barrier, the more expensive it is to maintain. Therefore, magic is usually designed loosely on purpose for the sake of efficiency.
‘They don’t necessarily filter out small bugs or dust that don’t have magical power.’
So, in a word, this situation is like this.
‘This barrier does not recognize F-Class as enemies.’
The Flame Baron must have considered me no different than dust!
“….”
Wait, what did I just get treated like?