“…I’ll go with that.”
“Got it. Is there anything else?”
“Ah, could you visit Branch Chief Seo Sunwoo soon? He mentioned there’s something urgent to discuss.”
“You’re talking about that person from the Hunter Association, right? Understood.”
“Yes. The exact timing can be decided by Hunter Yu Parang when he visits.”
“Okay. I’ll hang up now.”
“Take care.”
Click.
“Phew…”
Parang sighed deep enough to shake the ground after hanging up.
In many ways, she was feeling tired these days.
She had to save the world, deal with those lunatics at the Hunter Association, and on top of that, the world government was gunning for her, and just yesterday, they kidnapped the original protagonist.
Technically, it was somewhat far from the word ‘kidnapping,’ but still.
Though she hadn’t particularly expected it, Silo had failed to restore Marian’s mental state.
Parang could have expected at least that much.
Even during the Brachium Shock, Silo was just twiddling his thumbs regarding abnormal states, so it was no surprise he couldn’t do anything about someone like Marian.
Thus, the conclusion Silo reached was to put her to sleep for now.
He planned to hibernate her in the deepest, most secretive place of Silo, and then check after some time to see if her abnormal state had lifted.
In Parang’s view, it was a reasonably logical conclusion. Permanent abnormal states barely existed, aside from really special cases. It would last at most around six months.
If by some bad luck it didn’t show any signs of lifting after that, then they would have to find another way.
The only other thing Silo could do was to draw blood to extract skill information.
In fact, that alone was quite a remarkable skill.
Until Silo’s appearance, no one even knew such information could be engraved in blood.
Whether he dove right into work last night, this morning, Parang’s phone had already received the files.
Of course, this matter was classified as top-secret, known only to Parang, Oceanos, and a few high-ranking executives from Silo.
Anyway, Marian’s case was being wrapped up for now.
Honestly, it was hard to tell if it was a blessing or misfortune.
The existence of survivors among the Slayers was definitely good news, but in conclusion, what was most needed, ‘memories,’ had gone completely missing.
Moreover, there were also consecutive bad news coming from the remaining Oceanos members who had gone exploring other Hives.
Russell: “I dug through about five times, but there wasn’t even a trace.”
Russell: “Did it really get transferred?”
Xiao: “It’s the same here. Oh, but I found one artifact.”
Xiao: (photo of a red-glowing wooden shield)
Xiao: “The ‘Rebellion’, right?”
Parang: “Seems like it matches.”
Diego: “This side was a bust too. Searching while shrunk was more difficult than I thought.”
Remaining are Elvira and Vertea.
If those two also retired, things would be really bleak… not completely dark, but definitely dimmed down.
The only somewhat hopeful news was that the repairs for the ‘evidence’ were almost complete.
According to Silo’s estimate, it would be done within a week at the longest.
Parang sighed deeply again and sprawled out on the sofa.
“Ah, should I check that?”
Parang tapped on her phone and opened a saved file.
– Marian Lindberg.png
[ Status Window: Marian Lindberg ]
[ Personal Skills: Creation, Steel, Madness ]
[ Something alive is targeting you. ]
[ Above all things that are not alive. ]
As expected, her personal skills had changed just like Alexandra’s.
More ambiguous, even more difficult to understand, some incomprehensible, bizarre skills.
Moreover, that risk.
‘Targeted by the living.’
There was one point that had puzzled Parang when she saw Alexandra’s changed personal skills.
[ You are hated by those not on the ground. ] it stated clearly.
‘Thing’ was mentioned.
Not ‘things.’
She had brushed through that feeling somewhat uneasily back then, but now, checking Marian’s skills confirmed her doubts.
Whether it was something not on the ground or something living, it seemed highly likely they referred to either the same entity or, at the very least, two closely related entities.
The problem was that she had no idea what it was.
It couldn’t be the pit that the Slayers fought.
That was stuck in the ground and wasn’t alive.
‘Or maybe that small monster fish from back then?’
That oddly-shaped, ultra-small monster fish.
It had gone crazy fast after just one hit, causing the Slayers to have a hard time.
Sure, that wasn’t on the ground and looked just as if it were alive.
But,
‘Wouldn’t that be too beneath the level of being targeted and hated by such things? If it were the Kraken, it would make more sense.’
‘Ascension Ritual.’
Parang closed her eyes.
Something from the abyss was indeed suspicious, but this ascension ritual was equally dubious as well.
Prior to reading the novel or before knowing of the Slayers’ demise, she had just brushed it off as “oh, that’s how it is.”
Making people ascend to become gods was also strange.
‘Could it be a trap set by something from the abyss…?’
That, however, seemed unlikely.
No, could it really not be?
In the original work, the ‘Ascension Ritual’ was a quest presented by the status window.
To Hunter Han Siwoo directly.
[ Great Journey (S) ]
[ Quests activate sequentially. Penalties imposed on failure. ]
[ Receive appropriate rewards upon quest completion. ]
This was Hunter Han Siwoo’s personal skill.
From [ Catch the Wolf ] to [ Create a Masterpiece for the History Books ], it tossed out quests like crazy.
A quest just for me, something like that.
Anyhow, his personal skill’s last quest was precisely [ Ascend. ]
The quest right before that, [ Kill the God ], offered the scroll detailing the method for the ascension ritual as a reward.
Thus, until now, Parang hadn’t suspected much about the ‘Ascension Ritual.’
No matter how much the original story changed, it didn’t seem to change enough to affect Han Siwoo’s status window.
But now that things had reached this point, it seemed Parang had to admit it as well.
There was bound to be something behind the ‘Ascension Ritual.’
‘Am I really going to delve into the secrets of the status window now…?’
For now, Parang threw that topic far back in her mind.
Not something to worry about now, and even if she worried, it didn’t seem like anything would be resolved.
There were priorities to take care of.
One by one, she decided to handle them step by step.
“Alright, let’s at least set a date with the branch chief.”
As she thought about it, just then, she opened her phone, and ding! ding!
Two messages arrived simultaneously.
One was from Vertea.
Vertea: “Sorry. I couldn’t find it. I really gave it my all.”
“Tsk…”
Parang knew well how hard Vertea had been digging through the Hive thanks to her broadcasts.
Vertea had poured nearly 60 hours into the Hive exploration while live streaming.
In 60 hours, it was enough time to circle the North Sea Hive about seven times.
If she had worked that hard and still couldn’t find it, it must’ve really been absent.
After sending a comforting text, Parang checked the next message.
This time, thankfully, it was good news.
Elvira: “Found it.”
Elvira: (picture)
Elvira: “Where should we meet?”
Xiao: “Where are you right now?”
Elvira: “North Arctic Hive. Left back pocket of the jeans.”
Xiao: “I’ll head there.”
Parang packed her things at lightning speed and dove into the sea.
#
Arctic Sea.
The coldest sea on Earth, completely covered in ice.
If you go about 4 km down from the sea surface, you can find something that juts out at a slight 30-degree angle.
What you discover upon closer inspection is the front end of a wooden ship that has been broken in half and embedded in the ground, sharp at the tip, thickening as it goes back, the top rough and the bottom smooth.
Of course, this isn’t a shipwreck. The Arctic Sea is not a place where wooden ships can enter.
And importantly, there has never been a wooden ship of this size on Earth throughout history.
Yes, this is the Arctic Hive, the ‘Dress Room.’
Why is it called ‘Dress Room’ instead of ‘Ship’ or ‘Ark’? Because it literally is a dress room.
When you’re guided inside by the warm yellow light seeping through the planks of the deck, the image of a ship disappears, replaced by a dress room filled with clothes.
Inside are modern clothes like t-shirts and jeans, as well as plate armor, bike helmets, hanbok, jumpsuits, swimsuits, and Nazi uniforms, all sorts of unidentified outfits.
The warm yellow glow from the lights above creates an incredibly cozy atmosphere.
Of course, that thought would vanish quickly when looking at the monster fish poking out here and there among the clothes, peering out from pockets or under shoes.
Anyway. Oceanos had gathered there.
It was less than three hours since Elvira’s text.
They were now huddled inside a left back pocket of jeans.
It was dark, the space wasn’t very spacious, and the atmosphere was formlessly grim, but no one paid much attention to that.
They were solely focused on the corpse in front of them.
Kang Yuri.
A university peer of Hunter Han Siwoo.
The second member of the Slayers and Han Siwoo’s first heroine.
Oceanos was surrounding her body with serious expressions.
Though it wasn’t as bad as Alexandra’s, Kang Yuri’s condition wasn’t good either.
Her clothes were torn in various places, and her body bore countless stab and cut wounds.
Moreover, there were even some scorched marks on her left shoulder.
You could tell how tough of a time she had gone through.
Especially considering her role was as a close combat fighter and tank.
“Scorched marks. Could it have been from a monster fish?”
“Let’s just find out. Let’s begin.”
“…Got it.”
Everyone closed their eyes, and,
“Dive.”
With Xiao’s solemn voice, their consciousness plunged deeply below.
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