Ryoo stared at the screen in disbelief.
His face was filled with awe.
“If you look here, the Hawks gene is similar to that of a frog. But if you look closer, the key difference is the repeated occurrence of gene 646, which defines the formation of the eye.”
“Oh, you’re right…!”
Of course. The Tentacle Dragon has many eyes.
It was only natural.
Ryoo fell into a daze, lost in thought. Since I had a hunch, I searched for the Chitin Gene again.
Sure enough, chitin was present as well.
Mammals cannot produce chitin, but the cell walls of fungi are largely composed of chitin.
The reason for the error lay in attempting forced replication and base sequencing in a situation where genes from various organisms were mixed together.
That was the conclusion.
“That’s fascinating. Dr. Lee, how did you know about this?”
“Inside the Tentacle Dragon’s body, a type of fungus lives in symbiosis with the Tentacle Dragon. That’s why when it bleeds, black slime-like stuff grows.”
“That… that does make sense…”
“So the genes of the fungus in symbiosis and the Tentacle Dragon’s own genes are intertwined, and that’s what we’re analyzing.”
Ryoo nodded.
The Tentacle Dragon was a creature in a symbiotic relationship with fungi. It could very well be in a symbiotic relationship with other organisms, too.
That’s why wherever the Tentacle Dragon’s blood was spilled, black slime grew. Because of the fungi living in symbiosis with the Tentacle Dragon.
Now, the question was, what is the Tentacle Dragon’s weakness?
“An antifungal agent? Is that too simple?”
I tried to rack my brain a little.
There are literally hundreds, thousands of types of poison in the world.
The main problem is finding a poison that will kill what we want without harming people…
But aside from antifungal agents, nothing else really came to mind.
There was no time to dwell on it. Let’s just try an antifungal agent.
I climbed onto Pineapple again.
At first, I thought only of antifungal agents used as medicine, but after looking into agricultural antifungal agents, I found a few that fit.
Apparently, there are several diseases caused by fungi among crops. Which means they can be sprayed on a large scale.
“Pyraclostrobin.”
A type of medicine that prevents fungal diseases in some crops and, as a side effect, is known to kill frogs.
Perfect—two birds with one stone for us.
Of course, it’s not exactly good for people.
But for a Monster that shares genetic traits with amphibians like frogs, and lives in symbiosis with fungi, it should work.
The greatest advantage is that it can be mass-produced.
With this, the work at the research institute was finished. We’d prepared the equipment needed to bring into the Gate, and found the Monster’s weakness.
Now, we only needed to find one more Awakened to go into the Gate with us. This time, instead of the Hunter Association President, I wanted a new person…
I had a few names in mind.
When it comes to negotiations, appearances are everything.
And seeking out an Awakened is the same.
At the point just before my Return, over 1,500 days had already passed since the Gate incident began.
Awakened at that point no longer feared conventional weapons at all…
But things are different now. They’ll still listen.
It’s only been about two weeks since the Gate incident started, and there are still quite a few Awakened who haven’t even seen a Monster yet.
So—
Three military helicopters arrived at an apartment in Daejeon.
The target was a perfectly ordinary man in his 30s named Baek Ji-soo.
His alias was the Holy Knight. Later, when he was revealed to be a traitor, he became known as the Black Holy Knight.
Unfortunately.
Before the Return, he was also an S-rank Awakened. He wasn’t strong right away, but the more experience he gained, the stronger he became.
So toward the end, before the Return, this guy was a real headache. Monsters, you could just bash and be done with.
But Awakened like this guy were the real problem.
Anyway.
I adjusted the necktie of my suit and knocked firmly on the door. Next to me, National Intelligence Service agents were standing by.
From a distance, it might look a bit funny, but I wanted to show off our strength. After all, I needed to persuade the Awakened.
Especially this man.
“Huh?”
He looked bewildered.
He didn’t seem scared, befitting his alias. I stared at him as shamelessly as I could.
I had no intention of lying or putting on a false front anyway.
He was a bit different from the Association President.
Before the Return, he quickly turned into an enemy.
For someone like this, I needed to speak honestly, rationally, and without putting on airs. So he wouldn’t be disappointed later.
“Mr. Baek, if I may ask, are you interested in exploring a new world…?”
When Ernest Shackleton was recruiting for his Antarctic expedition, he left words like these behind: always dangerous, low pay, harsh conditions, long dark winters, survival not guaranteed—
But the chance to explore a new world, and fame and glory if successful. Hunters, at least, are paid well.
Unlike Shackleton’s expedition.
***
Baek Ji-soo awkwardly bowed his head.
Several unmarked military helicopters and government agents in black suits had come right up to the door of his humble home.
Half frightened, half suspicious, Baek Ji-soo looked at the government agent standing before him.
“Mr. Baek, if I may ask, are you interested in exploring a new world…?”
“Huh?”
There were no grand promises.
Just the question about exploring a new world, and the implied threat—not exactly a threat, but still—of military equipment mobilized to his doorstep.
Baek Ji-soo hesitated for a moment.
You can’t trust public officials. There’s even an old saying from the Korean War about not trusting soldiers during chaos.
But these people hadn’t really promised anything.
All they’d done was ask one question. The message sent by the agents, the guns, and the helicopters was blunt, but honest.
Baek Ji-soo recalled the Status Window that had suddenly appeared a few days before. The trait he received was ‘Holy Knight’s Resolve.’
The more powerful the enemy, the greater the danger to his life, and the purer his faith, the stronger he could become—an infinitely growing power.
He’d gained a bit of experience over the last few days.
But the bottom line was, to grow, he had to enter a Gate and fight Monsters. To explore a new world, just as the man said…
Baek Ji-soo let out a sigh.
Still, it might be better to just give it a try.
“All right. Please explain what’s going on.”
“Great fame and glory await, sir.”
“…Ha, yeah.”
Who was this shameless weasel of a man, anyway?
But hearing him spout such nonsense—no promises, no talk of giving anything—it didn’t seem like he was a scammer.
Unless he was a robber.
***
I finally breathed a sigh of relief at the Holy Knight’s response. At least it seemed like he’d come to the Gate.
He didn’t look thrilled, but that couldn’t be helped. Maybe it was just his personality. Before the Return, he’d become a villain, after all.
The Holy Knight stepped outside.
“A Gate has opened in Daejeon. We’re assembling a Hunter team to enter and clear the Ruins inside.”
“There are Ruins inside the Gate?”
I nodded.
It wasn’t that information about the Gate wasn’t on the Internet, but not everything was public either.
In some ways, it was a military secret. There were mountains of mysterious rumors and lies about the Gate.
“Who built the Ruins?”
“I don’t know.”
Again, I shamelessly shrugged, and the Holy Knight frowned. Maybe that would make him want to go even less?
He didn’t say it, but his eyes showed curiosity.
“Is there anything I need to prepare?”
“No. All the equipment will be ready on site.”
“Anything else?”
“Just come.”
Getting a Status Window isn’t much of a title, really. Just show up.
I got a good ability myself, but it’s not all that different.
***
After some twists and turns, everything was ready.
We finished preparing to enter the Gate and returned to Daejeon. The Gate party, the robot assistant, the equipment—everything was set.
We gathered in front of Gate No. 3. There would be four of us going in: myself, the Holy Knight, the Association President, and Pineapple.
I carried the Hunter Rifle, the Holy Knight wielded a Silver Hammer about waist-high, and the President held a Staff.
We each carried a tank of antifungal pesticide on our backs.
There was also a tank tied to Pineapple’s back.
The robot’s feet were fitted with large shoe-like structures to walk on the muddy ground. If the robot’s legs sank into the mud, that’d be a problem.
“Let’s go. You know how to use the radios, right?”
The Holy Knight and the Puppet Master nodded. I checked our equipment one last time and stepped toward the Gate.
Leaving behind the mass of soldiers and equipment surrounding Gate No. 3. The sound of the robot’s footsteps was the loudest.
Clank, clank, clank.
We entered the Gate.
As soon as we stepped inside, the Holy Knight and the Puppet Master looked around. Just as I promised the Holy Knight, it really was a new world.
“No time for sightseeing. Let’s move.”
I climbed up onto Pineapple.
The President looked at me from behind, as if dumbfounded.
“We’re walking?”
“Yes. There’s only one ride.”
We walked briskly through the Black Forest. Since we’d been through once already, the path was more familiar than expected.
The President followed behind me.
“The main Monster here is the Tentacle Dragon, right? With very high defense and regeneration?”
“Yeah.”
“If we spray the pesticide, will it die?”
“It’ll slow down a bit.”
It won’t die instantly just from spraying the pesticide.
Using the pesticide might weaken the Tentacle Dragon a little, but killing it will still take at least several hours.
It’s too soon to relax.
The Holy Knight quietly surveyed the surroundings.
The President still seemed to have a lot of questions.
“By the way, have you been here before, Doctor?”
A shadow passed between the trees of the Black Forest.
A group of Tentacle Dragons was following us.
“The Monsters are on our tail.”
“Yes, it seems so…”
“We’ll engage them when we reach the Ruins.”
Maybe it was because there were so many people that they didn’t approach, or maybe they were just stalking us… We couldn’t stop moving.
Clank, clank, clank.
The robot was extremely loud.
We moved as fast as possible. The fact that there were still many Monsters here meant the Gate was still dangerous.
We’d have to lure them out and take care of them.
A few minutes later. Between the strange plants of the Black Forest, the Ruins of great stone appeared—
I held my breath.
Until now, the Holy Knight had been silent, and the President had been chatting, but now both let out small gasps of surprise.
“Wow…”
“Now’s not the time to be amazed. Get ready.”
The sound of wind slicing by. And then—
I reloaded the Hunter Rifle and ducked behind Pineapple. Several Tentacle Dragons were approaching.
The Holy Knight and the Puppet Master readied their weapons for battle.