There was a giant egg, so huge that even Heis’s torso could barely cover it.
The circumference alone was astounding—it was so large that it would take three grown men, stretching their arms wide and holding hands, to reach all the way around it.
“Just from the feeling of the overwhelming magical energy pouring out of it, this is no ordinary thing.”
Heis gently stroked his chin with a finger.
Even circling around the egg, it didn’t seem at all like the Mud Magician.
But to simply ignore it as a slightly unusual egg would be a mistake, given the terrifying level of magic radiating from inside.
“You’re saying you got goosebumps from the magical energy of just an egg?”
A strange sensation prickled at his arm, and when he glanced down, goosebumps were standing up on his skin. Heis’s brow quickly furrowed.
The last time he’d felt this kind of chill was back when Roy conquered the continent, displaying his power at its peak.
Even when surrounded by Kairus’s royal guards, it was only a heavy tension—not this.
“What’s with that egg? Oh, my whole body aches.”
While Heis was deep in thought, Earth and Charles climbed up to the top of the Cliff.
The two looked just as scruffy as Heis.
Earth, who was usually as light as a feather, looked at Heis’s unusually serious back and patted his own waist, tilting his head in curiosity.
“This is… With so much energy, how did we not notice it before?”
Then Earth, too, sensed that the magic within the egg was anything but normal.
Until they’d reached the summit, they hadn’t felt anything at all.
It was as if some kind of barrier had been placed over the area to conceal the egg’s power.
Earth narrowed his eyes and scanned the surroundings.
When he focused his senses, a sticky, unpleasant aura flooded through his whole body—something he hadn’t noticed even a moment ago.
“Mud Magician?”
Charles, drawing up his own magical power, quickly turned his head this way and that.
Atop the Cliff, beyond the clearing where the egg lay, a dense forest spread out.
The sinister magic drifting out of the woods like a mist was no illusion.
“He’s probably in those woods, right? The problem is, what do we do about this egg?”
They’d followed the Mud Magician’s trail here, and for the egg to be sitting right on that path made it highly likely it was related to him.
“Earth, you stay here with the egg. Charles and I will go check the forest.”
“By myself?”
At Heis’s words, Earth leaped in place like a startled cat.
But he couldn’t bring himself to object directly.
Earth could gather all the information in the world, but his direct combat ability was next to nothing.
Unless, perhaps, he could possess the body of a highly skilled Hunter.
Unfortunately, Joel’s abilities were currently heavily downgraded.
“It’s got tons of magical energy, sure, but it’s still just an egg, right? Doesn’t look like it can attack.”
When Earth’s face fell, Heis gave a reassuring grin and strode confidently toward the egg.
Even as he came up close, the egg showed no reaction.
But the instant Heis placed his right hand on the egg—
Whoosh—!
“Ugh…”
“Heis, are you all right?”
The unmoving egg suddenly erupted in brilliant flames, as if it had been waiting for someone to touch it.
Charles dashed over and yanked Heis back by the scruff of his neck.
The flames streaming over the egg chased after Heis even as he retreated.
Heis swung his sword, shrouded in sword energy.
Only after the fire was sliced apart by the blade did it slip silently back inside the egg.
The three stared at the egg. Despite the brief commotion, it looked no different than before.
It sat there in exactly the same way as if nothing had happened, which was even more chilling.
“Oh no. You’re burnt from head to toe!”
Earth sat down beside the sprawled Heis, fanning him.
No wonder, since smoke was rising from the top of Heis’s head.
Heis’s hair, usually with a gentle wave, was now charred here and there like a pig’s tail.
“Earth, you say that, but somehow you look kind of happy—am I seeing things?”
“Of course not!”
Earth quickly clapped her hand over her twitching mouth.
She couldn’t help but laugh—Heis looked like a total vagrant.
If Heis had really been hurt, he wouldn’t have found it funny, but aside from his burnt hair and flushed skin, Heis seemed mostly fine.
‘Thank goodness I shielded myself with magic at the last second. If I were a normal person, I’d have been roasted alive!’
It was quick thinking.
No matter how sturdy Heis’s body, the flame that burst from the egg was on par with an attack from the Spirit King of Fire, Mulkiber.
“Here, drink this.”
Earth pulled a Recovery Potion from her pocket. She’d swiped it from Yoo Taejin.
Roy’s companions could be given Legendary Weapons inside the Dungeon, but there were restrictions on Earth directly using weapons herself.
That was why even Recovery Potions weren’t easily obtained.
She could only use Roy’s inventory.
‘What a useless fruit I am.’
Suddenly, she was filled with self-doubt at her lack of combat ability and usefulness.
And the frustration of not even knowing why she existed—unable to trace her own roots—welled up inside her.
“I’m the one who’s hurt, so why do you look so down? Just a second ago, you were fighting back a smile.”
A warm hand ruffled Earth’s hair, snapping her out of her gloomy thoughts.
Heis, already feeling better after draining the Recovery Potion, was comforting Earth.
“Didn’t you say before you could set up a kind of barrier?”
He even offered words to boost Earth’s mysteriously diminished self-esteem, as if he could see right into her heart.
She really had.
Like Heis said, Earth couldn’t use her abilities directly due to many restrictions, but using the local terrain to distort people’s perceptions was very possible.
“I can! Should I do it right now?”
“Yes. If we mess with that egg ourselves, this whole area could go up in flames.”
Just a touch had caused flames to burst out as if from the pits of hell.
Heis and Charles had gotten Earth an ID to use here, but they’d rather not draw the Association’s attention with some big incident.
“Okay. Just leave it to me.”
Earth made a determined face, closed her eyes, and began to concentrate.
Luckily, there were plenty of materials here for distorting human perception.
Normally, barriers in Eastern magic were created using stones and trees.
“All done!”
“Hm… It doesn’t look like you used magic. How curious.”
Heis glanced around, checking for any changes.
A barrier would show its flaws if someone came too close or if the creator wasn’t skilled.
But even watching Earth make the barrier up close, nothing felt off.
“If you’re not sure of the difference… Charles, would you step outside this line?”
***
After opening her eyes, Earth drew a line with a branch some distance from the egg.
“Sure.”
Charles stepped over the line as requested.
“Amazing.”
He looked around.
Just moments ago, Heis and Earth had been standing nearby, and the huge egg filled his view.
Now, right in front of him stood a giant boulder. Charles slowly reached out and touched it.
“It feels real, too.”
Cold and hard, with the faint grit of dirt—he could feel the texture under his palm. Truly remarkable.
He’d worked with people who could erect barriers on the Continent of As, but he’d never seen anyone this skilled.
“What do you think? Pretty seamless, right?”
As Charles quietly marveled, Earth’s face popped out from one side of the boulder, as if his body was buried inside with only his head sticking out. It looked bizarre.
“You can really do this? Earth, your ability is stronger than I thought.”
Heis popped out beside Earth and stood next to Charles, tapping the boulder with his sword.
Pebbles crumbled from the tip—it was indistinguishable from real stone.
“It won’t last that long. Maybe… about a month?”
“A month is plenty. Didn’t the Captain decide to film around here?”
“That’s right. If we investigate with Roy, we might figure out what that egg really is.”
Roy’s knowledge was one thing, but he also had the Spirit Kings with him.
Even the flighty Ber had lived for a length of time unimaginable to humans.
With the Spirit Kings, it might not be hard to identify the egg.
And the premonition was correct.
“Wow, it’s my first time in Gangwon Province.”
***
Lee Hajun, stepping out of the car, couldn’t help but marvel at the vast sea spread before him.
Then, seeing the line of monsters briefly surfacing and vanishing on the water, he swallowed nervously.
“There are as many monsters as there is ocean.”
He was reminded of his first trip to an island for “Vote for Your Hunter Idol,” riding a boat to the shoot.
It was a memory he could call nostalgic, but the terror of seeing house-sized monsters was still vivid.
Even now, though he had enough power to deal with dozens of those monsters, the memory lingered.
“What kind of mission will it be? I’ve been binge-watching all the summary clips of PD Shimjun’s programs, but every show has a totally different vibe.”
Song Doyoon mimed adjusting glasses he wasn’t wearing, lowering his voice.
“Hm. I bet it’s going to be building a house.”
Kim Jaewoo, who’d been quietly listening to Song Doyoon’s speculation, chimed in.
“Why build a house? There’s nothing here.”
Song Doyoon cocked his head.
The spot where Kkoribyul was parked was a wide, deserted beach.
Staff were unloading and preparing filming equipment nearby.
The High Cycle members hadn’t arrived yet.
As the members looked around to get their bearings, PD Shimjun approached with a broad, unassuming smile—but the members couldn’t shake an odd sense of unease.
{He’s the most two-faced person I’ve ever met. Not in a bad way, but…}
Roy nodded at Earth’s voice echoing in his mind.
Shimjun looked completely ordinary, the kind of face you’d see on the street.
Aside from his perpetually smiling, friendly face.
‘But what kind of simulation was running in his head?’ That was the real question.
“Did you all have a comfortable trip?”
It took quite a while to drive from Seoul to Gangwon Province.
Sometimes, if a Dungeon opened near a highway, the whole road would be closed.
Shimjun’s words were just a simple greeting.
His car had been following right behind the one carrying Kkoribyul.
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