Chapter 26: The Corpse Storage Room

Kim Jae-sik had been good at everything since he was young.

Whether it was studying or sports, he would hear that he had talent after just trying a little.

That was thanks to the Rank 8 skill ‘Superhuman’ he had possessed since birth.

As soon as he finished the compulsory middle school education, he had made up his mind to become a Hunter right away.

Because he believed he could be good at hunting too.

If not for his parents’ absolute refusal, saying it was too dangerous, he would have definitely done it sooner.

Jae-sik became a Hunter after graduating from high school and reaching adulthood.

Not long after, he quickly rose to Rank 6.

“Chuuh, huuuu…”

Kim Jae-sik took a deep breath and looked ahead.

Three giant ants were crawling toward him in a zigzag pattern.

They felt fear.

But the being they were afraid of was not him.

It was the man named Kom Ji-meo, who killed two or three giant ants every time he swung his sword in front of them.

That man was Baek Do-woon, a Hunter who had returned to hunting this time after being injured.

From Jae-sik’s point of view, Do-woon was definitely not a Rank 0 Hunter.

What kind of Rank 0 Hunter could single-handedly kill countless giant ants pouring in all at once and keep moving forward?

Could they adjust the number of monsters for the people behind them?

At first, one at a time.

When one was down, two would come.

And if those two were also defeated, three would be sent without killing any.

“…Hapbuh.”

“A Rank 2 Hunter with that kind of skill?”

“Ridiculous! He’s at least a Rank 8 Hunter!”

Baek Do-woon had said he returned this time because of his injury.

Surely, after being hurt, he must have put in bone-breaking effort to reach that level.

What about himself?

He had just relied on the little talent he was born with, wasting his high school days saying he could get stronger anytime.

If he had worked hard during those three years, Jae-sik, with the Superhuman skill, would have already been a Rank 0 Hunter by now.

Maybe even a Rank 8 Hunter.

“Sorry…huh…Do-woon hyung.”

“Huh? What’s that?”

He didn’t know why he said that.

He just wanted to apologize to Baek Do-woon, who was waiting for him.

When Do-woon asked what he was sorry about, Jae-sik had no answer.

He felt embarrassed.

When his older brother was working hard to return as a Hunter, he was just wasting time playing around.

Unable to say that, Jae-sik added once more, “Sorry…”

*****

He sliced through the rushing giant ants.

He did not use any gentle touch or complex sword techniques.

Though there were many, just swinging the longsword was enough.

The longsword Yu Jae-i had given him cut through the giant ants’ bodies like cutting tofu.

He hadn’t realized it in the hurry of the Holy Gate, but the reputation of being one of the Hundred Great Captains was not an empty boast.

Even without putting strength into his body, the longsword effortlessly cut through the giant ants.

That was the excellent sharpness of the longsword itself.

“Hapbun.”

I watched Kim Jae-sik fight the giant ants, shouting with fighting spirit.

He was fighting the ants I had deliberately let pass without killing.

He was testing his strength by handling only what he could manage.

At first, it was one ant at a time.

Now, he was so skilled that he fought three at once.

Indeed, Jae-sik’s strength was outstanding for a first-year Hunter who had already reached Rank 6.

He looked like he could soon become Rank 0.

Beyond that, I didn’t know.

It was an area I had never experienced.

There was even a saying that going from Rank 0 to Rank 8 was like plucking a star from the sky…

“Sorry…huh…Do-woon hyung.”

“What?”

“Sorry… You’re purposely letting a few ants pass to match me, aren’t you?”

“Oh, you noticed that?”

I thought he wouldn’t notice because he was busy fighting the giant ants…

The fact he noticed meant he was constantly checking on me even while battling.

He didn’t look relaxed fighting the giant ants.

That meant Kim Jae-sik had a wide field of vision to check his surroundings even during a fight.

It also meant he could act according to the party members’ movements during battle.

With experience, he would be able to anticipate the next play and move accordingly.

That was essential for party play.

Hmm. Since things are like this, how about we advance in that style?

“Jae-sik.”

“Feel free to call me hyung.”

“Hmm, alright. I will. Can you move in sync with my actions?”

He hesitated for a moment after the question.

But it wasn’t long.

Jae-sik gripped his spear tighter and answered.

“Nev.”

“Good. Then—”

More giant ants appeared.

Yeah, what’s the use of explaining? Life is a battlefield!

Without finishing my explanation, I charged at the giant ants.

I felt Jae-sik panic behind me.

He slashed the giant ant in front of him sideways, then diagonally cut the ant to the right.

The first ant was cut in half and died, but the second one was only sliced on the leg and didn’t die.

The surviving one rushed at me.

That was when—

“Hapbun.”

Jae-sik stabbed his spear through its neck.

He killed the ants he could finish off completely, and for those he couldn’t because of the angle, he just injured them to finish the job himself.

I smiled because he played exactly the role I hoped for.

Honestly, I was surprised.

I didn’t expect him to do it right away without a proper explanation.

I thought he might not be able to cover me, but if this is how it is, I can raise the speed a bit more.

Swinging faster than before, I cut down the ants and moved forward.

Jae-sik followed a little behind, finishing off the ants I missed by breaking their necks.

Even while panting and chasing, he did his job.

After advancing for a few hours like that, the number of giant ants appearing gradually decreased until none appeared anymore.

Instead, at the end of the corridor, a hole appeared leading downwards.

From the hole came a rotten stench and a visibly strong poison gas.

“What do you think this hole is?”

Jae-sik was gasping, unable to breathe properly with the stench rising.

He nodded his head.

Carefully regulating his breathing to handle the poison, he didn’t sit down to rest.

He was preparing for monsters that might suddenly appear.

Seeing the rotten smell vibrate in the air, I guessed it was probably a corpse storage room.

“Then…should we turn back now?”

“We should. There’s a living ant in the corpse storage room… Uh?”

“Hyung? What’s wrong?”

Jae-sik didn’t look at me when he called out.

My gaze was fixed on the blue message window.

[The World Tree’s Keeper requests permission to enter the ant nest’s corpse storage room.]

—Corpse storage room? Why?

I scratched my chin, trying to understand the purpose behind the message sent by the World Tree’s Keeper.

A corpse storage room was literally where the corpses of giant ants were piled up.

Only corpses and rotting filth.

It was strange to want to enter such a place.

“Wait a moment, okay?”

“…Yes. Could you stay a little farther away?”

“Do that.”

When my energy dropped, Jae-sik immediately moved away.

It seemed he couldn’t bear the stench of decaying corpses and poison gas.

Thanks to the World Tree’s Keeper skill, I didn’t feel as bad.

It seemed the bad smell and poison were treated as severity levels.

[The World Tree’s Keeper requests permission to enter the ant nest’s corpse storage room.]

Reading the message, I took out my smartphone from my pocket.

Unable to understand the Keeper’s intention, I wanted to ask directly.

Just as I lowered the screen to send a message, I froze.

“…What are you doing, you two?”

Two blue dragonflies flew down, standing as if they had their arms akimbo.

It looked like they were saying, ‘Trust what I say, Keeper!’

They even had a commanding presence.

Their look was so cute it made me chuckle.

I still didn’t know why they wanted it.

But, well…

I thought I’d let them in this time.

After all, I had resisted the Keeper’s advice until now; it was time to comply.

“Jae-sik, I’m going down there for a bit.”

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“If it feels dangerous, run away right away, okay?”

“Wait, wait! You’re really going down…”

Ignoring Jae-sik’s shocked face, I jumped into the hole.

“Alright.”

Jae-sik’s voice became quiet as I descended to the corpse storage room.

It was so dark I couldn’t see anything ahead.

I felt my feet touch the ground.

I could tell I had reached the floor.

I took out the luminous stone Jae-sik gave me at the entrance of the ant nest from my magic pocket and illuminated the surroundings.

Guest

As expected, the corpse storage room was piled high with the bodies of giant ants.

Actually, “piled” might not be the right word.

The corpses were decomposing and melting in acidic liquid, forming one massive lump.

It was literally a ‘massive ball of poison gas.’

[It is advised to sprinkle soil sent by the New Decay Post to purify the poison gas.]

“…I see.”

I realized what the Keeper wanted.

What would happen if soil was spread over such a huge poison mass to purify it?

The skeletons in Holy Gate were inherently impure.

Purification meant death.

But this huge poison ball in front of me was different.

Even if purified, the energy itself wouldn’t disappear but remain.

In other words, a ‘huge energy source’ would be created.

“How is our Keeper so smart?”

As I lowered my smartphone, the Keeper stood with its two dragonfly wings spread wide as usual.

Just like always.

Still, to me, that looked like a victory sign.

I opened the package and pressed the receive button.

Soil started pouring out from the smartphone in a flood.

This time, I stood firm not to get buried by it and sprinkled the soil evenly over the giant lump.

The foul aura and stench gradually disappeared.

Instead, I felt a refreshing sensation as if walking in a forest.

“Uh, huh?”

When the soil was all spread, the huge poison ball completely vanished.

Yes.

All the piled-up giant ant corpses that had filled the corpse storage room had disappeared.

Instead, a round ‘lump’ about the size of my fist lay on the floor.

[The New Decay Post expresses satisfaction.]

“What is this?”

Was it enough to just satisfy the Keeper?

Judging by its shape, it looked like an elixir, but it didn’t look appetizing.

Until now, it had been a giant ant corpse, so it felt gross even as it was.

Well, I’d better have it analyzed to know exactly what it was.

After deciding that, I put it into my magic pocket.

I was about to explore the thousand layers of holes again.

“If I jump, will this pull me up?”

Bending my knees and pushing on my feet, I caught sight of white bones.

They were a skeleton.

Not the remaining giant ant corpses left outside the purification range, but human bones left after flesh rotted away.

“Why is this here?”

The Mujugae Ant Nest was a specially managed area by the Hunter Association.

Not even civilians, nor Hunters without quests, could enter casually.

Having a skeleton there meant that within a year—a time not weathered by the Rank 6 dungeon mana—a Hunter who received a quest entered and died there.

“We are veterans who have kept the ant nest dungeon perfectly cleaned for two years without victims…”

…It reminded me of what Kim Jung-chul had said.

No way.

Right in front of the bones were slash marks.

“A stab wound on the back…”

“Everything Jung-chul does is disgusting.”

Kim Jung-chul, Kwon Oh-seok, Han Gi-hae.

Those guys were Hunter bounty hunters.