Chapter 132: Rise of the Necroplasm

– The guild master of Changcheon Guild, Cheon Seung-heon.  

– The guild master of Mir Guild, Cheongryong.  

– The two guilds joined forces to clear the Rank 9 Gate in Mongolia, the Great Prairie of Destruction.  

– In response, the Mongolian side expressed their sincere gratitude to both guilds….  

– Along with this, the rankings of Cheon Seung-heon and Cheongryong, who had been hovering around 5th and 6th place, saw a significant rise.  

– It was confirmed that this was thanks to the Vulcanus Equipment they had received as a result of their alliance.

Cheongryong and Cheon Seung-heon.  

Their rankings rose.  

Naturally, the reason was the Vulcanus Equipment.  

Using it, the two guilds successfully cleared the Rank 9 Gate together, so their rise in the rankings was only to be expected.  

As a result, Spirit Emperor was pushed back to 6th place once again.  

[6th place: Kim Nara]  

Spirit Emperor didn’t stay idle either.  

With the support of the Vulcanus Guild, she led his team and worked hard to clear gates.  

Because of this, she kept pushing her way into the top 5, where the named rankers competed fiercely.  

– The rankings changed once again today!  

– Lately, there hasn’t been a single day when the rankings stayed the same.  

–  That means Korea’s combat power is rising rapidly, right?  

Because of this, Korea’s rankings changed every single day.  

Unlike foreign countries where rankings had stagnated and become rigid, Korea was fiercely competing and growing rapidly.  

Until recently, Korea had been considered a hunter pharmacy, but now it was proudly recognized as a hunter powerhouse.  

“It’s a relief she hasn’t been completely pushed out.”  

Hearing the news, I involuntarily sighed in relief.  

Spirit Emperor, who had originally been stuck in 6th place, had risen as high as 4th place thanks to my equipment.  

I was secretly worried that she might fall back down to 6th place because of my equipment again.  

But thankfully, she hadn’t been completely pushed out and was still fighting for her rank.  

In fact, the current hunter ranking system now felt like the barrier wasn’t just up to 5th place as before, but had extended to 6th place.  

“Maybe it’s time to start making foreign equipment as well?”  

Douglas, the number one ranked in the United States.  

It was about time to produce his equipment.  

Recently, the U.S. government had been requesting it repeatedly, and both the Korean government and the Hunter Association were keeping an eye on the situation.  

Moreover, they promised to give two SS-Rank Materials as a reward, so there was no harm in making it.  

They had even promised to give one more SS-Rank Material if I made Legendary-grade equipment, but it wasn’t really necessary.  

Wow.  

SSS-Grade equipment sets are more than enough.  

It would be hard enough to get the number one in the U.S. to form an alliance like Cheongryong and Cheon Seung-heon and follow my lead.  

So, I judged there was no need to make L-Rank equipment.  

After finishing the meal with Blaze, I was about to start the work in earnest.  

– Master.  

“Skinning No. 1?”  

I heard Skinning No. 1’s voice after a long time.  

Nothing had happened recently in the Mines, so there had been no reports from the Mining Team.  

It was a voice I hadn’t heard in a while.  

“Is something wrong?”  

– It seems we found an anomaly.  

“What kind of anomaly?”  

I had gathered the Mining Team before to train them about anomalies.  

I told them that anything other than normal mining activities inside the Mines was an anomaly and must be reported.  

For a while, they made meaningless reports like ‘I found an unfamiliar stain’ or ‘I found an unfamiliar rock fragment,’ so I gave them additional training.  

Then, there were no reports for a long time until this one came in after a long break.  

I wondered if this would be another useless report.  

– We found something like a gigantic corpse.  

“A gigantic corpse? How gigantic?”  

– It’s blocking the passageway, but for now… only the side is visible, so we can’t confirm it properly.  

It seemed this time it was for real.  

“Jiphahap!”  

***

The Production Team was working hard producing mass equipment.  

The Mining Team was vigorously mining in the Mines.  

The Combat Team was receiving instruction from the two Statues right after defeating monsters in Zone 5.  

I called all my assistants together.  

I didn’t know what kind of trial awaited, so I gathered every assistant I could use.  

“Click.”  

Everything.  

The equipment I would use.  

The crossbow and arrows of all types were prepared.  

So that I could respond perfectly no matter what happened.  

Of course, at this opportunity, I also upgraded all the assistants’ equipment to match my level.  

I also increased the number of assistants according to my level, so this was the strongest force I could muster now.  

“Skinning No. 1, lead the way.”  

“Understood.”  

Following Skinning No. 1, I entered the Mines after a long time.  

Zone 4 of the Mines.  

The floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of bones and skin—an abnormal zone.  

When I first entered here, I was quite shocked by the grotesqueness.  

Other zones were strange as well, but compared to Zone 2 made of sinew or Zone 3 made of wood, Zone 4 made of skin was extremely unnatural.  

“This way.”  

The Mines had become much larger than I had expected.  

The space had expanded by cutting the skin open.  

Since the zone itself was wider, we walked longer than expected.  

“This is it.”  

Finally, we arrived at the destination.  

I wondered what this “gigantic corpse” could be.  

It was literally a gigantic corpse blocking the path.  

Even though the walls were made of skin all around, what stood in front of us was undoubtedly a corpse.  

The important point was—    

“As you can see, the sword doesn’t penetrate at all.”  

“It’s real.”  

Skinning No. 1’s sword didn’t cut in.  

Even though Skinning No. 1’s sword was an SSS-Grade item made of Adamantium.  

I never expected that sword wouldn’t cut through.  

“May I try?”  

“Combat 1? Sure, go ahead.”  

At that moment, Combat 1, who had been watching behind us, stepped forward.  

As soon as he stepped forward, Combat 1 emitted his Attack Aura.  

He hadn’t just been wasting time in Zone 5.  

Swinging the Attack Aura he had properly learned from the Statues with full force—  

“Skeuk—.”  

The skin was cut, even if just a little bit.  

Compared to Skinning No. 1’s strikes, which hadn’t cut at all, it was a meaningful attack.  

As Combat 1 prepared to swing the Attack Aura again—  

“Master, this is my role.”  

“Hm? Doesn’t matter.”  

“I want to try too.”  

“Do as you please.”  

Skinning No. 1 stood next to Combat 1 and began swinging his sword.  

Apparently, getting skin from Zone 4 was his job, so it bothered him that Combat 1 was performing better than him.  

However, unfortunately, Skinning No. 1’s sword still couldn’t cut the skin.  

Nothing.  

It seemed that relying on item performance alone wasn’t enough.  

At least, without using Attack Aura like Combat 1, it was impossible to cut that skin.  

Was I mistaken?  

I thought I heard a faint chuckle from Combat 1.  

Could it have been a sneer?  

Nah, it can’t be.  

No way.  

“Crack.”  

Still, somehow Skinning No. 1 seemed to be putting even more strength into his hands.  

Swinging the sword stronger and more precisely than usual.  

No matter what, that thick skin couldn’t be cut.  

It couldn’t be cut, but—  

“Wooong—.”  

Light began rising from Skinning No. 1’s butcher’s knife.  

Magic power flowing from the blade.  

That definitely meant—  

“Attack Aura?”  

A dark brown Attack Aura.  

Compared to Combat 1’s Attack Aura, it looked unstable, but it was definitely Attack Aura.  

Moreover, Skinning No. 1 was a skinning expert.  

From the beginning until today, he had consistently lived cutting only skin.  

Even if his Attack Aura was somewhat unstable, he knew better than anyone else how to cut skin.  

The direction of the grain that must be cut.  

The angle of the blade.  

The appropriate strength.  

The speed.  

Except for the power of the Attack Aura, everything was one step ahead of Combat 1.  

No, ten steps ahead.  

Swinging his sword while manifesting the unstable Attack Aura, Skinning No. 1’s blade—  

“Seokeok—.”  

“Oh!”  

Made a meaningful mark on the corpse’s skin.  

Though the mark wasn’t very large, it was definitely a much clearer cut than the slash made by Combat 1.  

This is how it goes—difficult at first, but much easier after that.  

Riding on the momentum, Skinning No. 1—  

“Seogeogeok!”  

Repeatedly swung the dark brown Attack Aura, starting to cut away the skin.  

He had reported this as an anomaly, saying it was impossible to cut.  

Yet now, Skinning No. 1 was cutting away the corpse’s skin, making me question the situation.  

“I lost.”  

“I won.”  

“No, what are you winning and losing at? Stop fighting.”  

It was a relief that Combat 1 cleanly admitted defeat… or rather, I didn’t understand why they were fighting over something like this.  

Anyway, thanks to Skinning No. 1’s realization of Attack Aura, the skin was being cut smoothly.  

“Shall I enter first?”  

“…Wait? Production Team, shields up! Begin entry!”

“We’re entering.”  

I let the Production Team go in first through the opened hole.  

Sorry to the Production Team, but what if I entered first and it turned out dangerous?  

The shield formation should go in first in cases like this.  

The Production Team entered with shields raised, but no unusual noise came from inside.  

So I entered after the Combat Team and smelled a foul odor.  

Looking around, it felt like we had truly entered inside the corpse, with bones and skin visible.  

Fortunately, I couldn’t see grotesquely rotting organs or muscles spread out thickly.  

“Grotesque.”  

Moving inside the corpse’s body, I couldn’t figure out what the corpse actually was.  

I simply followed the path and—  

“Thump—.”  

Felt a strange heartbeat from somewhere.  

I wondered if I was mistaken, but as I advanced, the heartbeat became clearer.  

“Battle stance.”  

“Click.”  

At my command, sensing something suspicious, all my assistants prepared for battle.  

And shortly after—  

I was able to confirm the source of the heartbeat inside the corpse.  

[Necroplasm]  

What should I call that?  

A lump formed from mucus and flesh?  

A swollen tumor?  

No, “tumor” fit best.  

A tremendously huge tumor at that.  

I didn’t know if this tumor was the cause of the corpse’s death, but one thing was clear—inside the corpse that had already expired,  the tumor was still very much alive.  

“Thump—.”  

“Chwarurururur—.”  

The moment we discovered it, the heartbeat intensified, and blood vessels spread like roots around the tumor.  

Then—  

“Guuuuh~.”  

Monsters formed through the dark red blood vessels.  

Not only slime-like monsters but also humanoid forms and unknown beast-like forms appeared.  

Many monsters were created.  

“Begin combat!”  

I ordered my assistants into battle as well.  

I didn’t know what those monsters were.  

I didn’t know what monster this field’s corpse belonged to.  

The important thing was—  

[Hephaestus’s Forge]  

Behind the tumor was a stone gate leading to Hephaestus’s Forge.