Chapter 38: The Golden Tiger and the Weak Cub

Taebaeksan, Gangwon Province.

This was now a place no one visited anymore.

About seven years ago, the gate collapsed, making human access impossible.

Monster or beast attacks?

Not at all.

It was a virus.

An unknown virus made living here impossible.

Because it caused coughing and high fever, followed by symptoms in various blood vessels over time, eventually threatening the airway, the government designated the area around Taebaeksan as a no-access zone and only maintained continuous surveillance using drones.

As a result, the entire Taebaeksan region began to change gradually due to the magic stones seeping from the gate.

Experts called this phenomenon the petrification of the mountain vein.

In fact, this phenomenon wasn’t first discovered in Korea.

It was occasionally observed in the U.S. and China as well.

This was why they dominated 50% of the global magic stone market.

Other countries had to climb the deadly Tower just to obtain a small amount of magic stone, but with just one pickaxe, they could mine it directly.

In a way, it was not a curse but a blessing.

However, Korea was different.

That damn virus had them cornered.

But now, since they started consuming Honey Jelly, there was no longer anything obstructing them.

They could finally mine magic stones they had long dreamed of.

The “time is coming” magic stone—that was exactly what it meant.

So, as a preliminary survey, everyone visited Taebaeksan together.

The more magic stones, the better.

If Honey Jelly could be mass-produced, this entire Taebaeksan would become one giant mine!

“Later, are we going to buy up all the land around here?”

“Yes. Since no one can live here anyway, the prices are incredibly cheap.”

I asked Dohyun, who was driving while sitting in the passenger seat.

Strictly speaking, we were here to look at the land.

I heard it would take about two hundred billion won to buy this entire area.

Considering the size of the land near Taebaeksan, it was definitely cheap.

“Ahaha, I really appreciate everyone making time for this.”

Once we arrived at our destination, Dohyun, wearing a green hiking vest, laughed heartily.

He looked very much like a department head I had seen somewhere before.

“That’s right. I didn’t expect Seolha and Woo min to come as well.”

Seo Rin, who had come along on this rare day off to the mountains, said with an obviously displeased expression.

“If I had known, I would have just gone to work. At least I’d be making more money then.”

At least it was fortunate that Seolha and Woo min were here.

“Hey, don’t be so sour. The air is nice and refreshing.”

It was refreshing, indeed.

It was just that ordinary people couldn’t come here.

Instead, since there were no people, the place had become even cleaner.

“Come on, everyone, let’s get moving.”

In truth, Dohyun was excited for a reason.

He was an officially recognized hiking lover.

As he aged a bit, he found that enjoying the natural scenery was quite pleasant.

If he got up early on weekends and went hiking, his whole day would feel refreshed.

The only thing was, up until now, he hadn’t been able to invite anyone else.

But now, this was his chance.

Might as well enjoy it.

Something he could never have dreamed of before.

Pushing Seo Rin forward, Dohyun set off toward the mountain.

Seolha, Woo min, and Sahyungje followed behind.

Maybe because they were all players, their stamina was outstanding.

Even the rough mountain paths were traversed smoothly.

After a while, the scenery began to change gradually.

Even the ordinary stones scattered on the ground shimmered faintly.

Magic stones.

And quite pure ones at that.

Are these really circulating from the entrance?

Just how many magic stones are flowing around inside?

“We’re almost there.”

Dohyun said, brushing the dirt from his forehead.

No matter how you looked at it, it felt like a gentle breeze.

Well, whatever.

Since we came all this way, we might as well enjoy it.

“I brought packed lunches, too.”

He was very thoughtful—very thoughtful indeed.

Gimbap, cherry tomatoes, and all.

Anyone could tell they weren’t here for work.

They were definitely here to relax.

“I brought yubu chobap…”

Even Seolha had done the same.

At this point, I didn’t even know anymore.

Let’s just have fun.

The scenery and the air were nice.

The homemade lunches were bound to taste delicious.

“Ugh, can’t help it.”

Eventually, Seo Rin joined in.

She pulled out a large bottle of Makgeolli from her bag.

There were cups and a kettle too.

She tried to act as if it were nothing, but she was actually the most sincere about it.

Yeah, since it was a rare day off, they might as well drink to their heart’s content.

“Woo min, did you know?”

When the atmosphere had grown mellow, and a few cups of Makgeolli had been downed, Dohyun, his face flushed with alcohol, spoke to me familiarly.

“Know what?”

“Do you know how much magic stone is here?”

“Write it down. Maybe about a million tons?”

Right.

We came here to investigate, after all.

These magic stones spread over such a vast area.

How much could there really be?

“About fourteen million tons.”

“Fourteen million?”

“Of course. That’s why people’s eyes went crazy, and they even made the Baekshin.”

This wasn’t even comparable to the genetically modified oils with their numbers.

The core raw material of the current industry was magic stone.

That’s why they called the price of oil worthless.

Just by mining the magic stones here, it would cover several years of South Korea’s budget.

The magic stone nation surpassed even the oil reserves.

“But what good is it if we mine the stones with robots if we can’t get them out?”

He clicked his tongue in disappointment.

In fact, attempts to mine the Taebaeksan magic stones had been made hundreds of times.

Who wouldn’t know about these treasures?

But no matter what they tried, there was no proper method.

Even if they mined with robots, they still needed to distribute the usable magic stones.

No matter what sterilization or disinfection processes they applied, that damn virus never disappeared.

In the end, the Korean government gave up on the Taebaeksan area.

They decided the virus was an area beyond humanity’s control.

“But thanks to Uhyun, one of my dreams came true.”

Dohyun, filled with emotion, turned his head and wiped away tears.

Maybe it was the alcohol, but he was quite moved.

“Hey, team leader, you only say that when you drink.”

Seo Rin, watching him, sighed.

That damn Taebaeksan story.

He’d probably told it more than twenty times at company dinners.

By now, it was something she could recite by heart.

“Why, I’m just praising our top player, Woo min.”

“You know. Thanks to Woo min, so much has changed.”

The sudden round of compliments left me at a loss for words.

Well, it really was incredible.

Even just what he had accomplished so far was incomparable to others.

It was all thanks to our beast friends and colleagues.

I had thought I’d live my whole life as a mere laborer.

But now, I’d grown enough that no one would doubt me if I claimed to be a top man.

Just as I was getting drunk on pride, a roar echoed throughout Taebaeksan.

Kraaaaaa—

A deep, resounding roar.

The dizzying drunkenness vanished instantly.

Soon, the source of the roar appeared on the rock in a magnificent form.

Golden fur.

Black stripes.

It was the Taebaeksan Haran!

***

There was still much debate about whether tigers lived in Taebaeksan.

But one thing was certain: they used to be plentiful.

It wasn’t called the land of the tiger for nothing.

Haran who had grown up running around the vast mountain veins as if it were their home were the masters of the mountains and their guardians.

Our ancestors called such tigers “Chun San Gun.”

The Mountain Lord.

As the name implies, before humans, they were the true owners of the mountains.

But now, their traces had completely disappeared.

And yet, here one was showing itself before us.

Could this be the effect of a skill?

Bbyak was the first to respond to the appearance of the Chun San Gun.

Just like the immortal phoenix, he wasn’t intimidated even in front of a tiger.

“It seems like it’s asking for something.”

At that moment, Seo Rin reacted to the Haran’s cry.

Maybe because Haran was also a tiger, her owner Seo Rin seemed to understand what the Chun San Gun was saying.

“Asking for something?”

“Yes. And very desperately.”

What on earth was going on?

For the Chun San Gun to show itself directly in front of humans, it certainly wasn’t a trivial matter.

Bbyak then began explaining something eagerly.

The tiger seemed to understand, and cautiously approached me.

Then it stretched out its head.

Could it be asking to be touched?

Tap.

When I placed my hand on the tiger’s head, a status window appeared.

[Taebaeksan Chun San Gun]

[Rank] B+–A+

[Preferred Food] Meat, wild ginseng

No way the Haran was a beast.

The name was cool too.

Chun San Gun.

Could it mean “Mountain Lord under Heaven”?

The gate collapse in Taebaeksan hadn’t just caused petrification.

Boss-level beasts had also emerged.

And A-rank ones at that.

Ordinary players couldn’t even dare approach them.

But too much time had passed.

Seven years turned the Chun San Gun into the guardian of Taebaeksan.

But what exactly did it want to ask us?

Its voice sounded desperate.

“Follow me.”

Seo Rin, as if possessed, stood up.

The Chun San Gun was calling.

Please help.

Anyone, please, follow me.

“Are you sure this is okay?”

I grabbed Seo Rin’s arm.

For some reason, her eyes were reddened with tears.

“Huh?”

Only then did Seo Rin realize she was crying and quickly wiped her tears away.

It was brief, but I clearly felt it.

The Chun San Gun’s emotions.

“We have to save it.”

“Save what?”

“The Chun San Gun’s cub.”

Ah, so that was it.

The reason the Mountain Lord was so desperately asking for our help.

Its only cub was suffering from an unknown illness.

The young Haran was not as sturdy as expected.

Even small injuries from twigs had caused wounds and it was severely scolded by the mother boar.

Still, it was the offspring of the Mountain Lord.

No matter what happened, it stood up bravely like a true king of the mountain.

But this time was different.

The sick cub couldn’t get up.

Its body was burning hot, and it was gasping for breath.

Even when given its favorite meat, it wouldn’t eat.

Watching the cub wither away broke its parents’ hearts.

But then, here we were.

The people who could solve a problem it couldn’t handle on its own.

Four humans and beasts with a benevolent aura.

This was truly the last remaining chance.

“I understand. This isn’t just for Seo Rin, but for the Mountain Lord as well.”

As a beast trainer, how could I not know about this?

Let’s help.

If we turn a blind eye, everyone will be disappointed.

Not just humans.

Bbyak, Somi, Toto, Choco.

All of them will be disappointed.

We can’t let that happen.

I don’t know if I can solve it, but I’ll help as much as I can.

“Let’s go, Chun San Gun.”

At my words, the Chun San Gun nodded and moved somewhere.

Even so, it was considerate enough to take a relatively easy mountain path.

After going around steep cliffs and crossing a few high ridges, everyone was exhausted and breathing heavily when the Chun San Gun stopped.

Then it growled softly.

Grrrr.

A small cry.

It pointed to a roughly trampled bush.

There, lying down, breathing heavily, was a cub with orange fur and black stripes.

It was an almost exact replica of the Chun San Gun.