Chapter 45: The Fourth Study: Joint Cemetery (1)

Gate Incident. Day 30.

I had left the Research Institute to secure the Saintess.

From what I’d heard, she hadn’t awakened her abilities on the very first day of the Gate Incident, but rather, awakened them quite recently.

The Saintess, real name Yeonhwa.

Her trait was “Chorus of Angels.”

As expected, it was an S-Rank ability, but since it wasn’t a combat skill, her growth had been slow. At least, that’s how it was before I regressed.

“So… you’re saying you’ll help me develop my abilities, Teacher? Because you think I have a lot of potential?”

“Yes.”

The Saintess before me tilted her head with a puzzled look.

I suppressed the urge to flinch at the sudden pang of anxiety.

Now that I was face-to-face with the Saintess, memories from before regression surged up like bile…

“It’s not like it was this person’s fault, but…”

Looking at her face again, I felt sick thinking about the time of the urban warfare.

The Seoul Urban Warfare that erupted before regression was the most horrific incident following the Gate Incident.

It happened just before the Research Institute collapsed.

The death toll alone was at least in the hundreds of thousands.

“Why?”

The Saintess’ voice was gentle but firm.

It was similar to before my regression, only stripped of years of despair and fatigue.

“Let’s call it management.”

Out of all the Fifth-Rank Awakened I’d seen so far, the Saintess was the youngest.

The Hunter Association President, the Holy Knight, even Dr. Wi whom I’d found before—they weren’t old, but all of them were already professionals.

But this one was just an ordinary college student.

Well, in truth, she didn’t look entirely ordinary at a glance.

There was this inexplicable sense of eeriness, as if she were seeing ghosts.

Her long, pale hair, and her ashen face.

Her gaze, sharp as if piercing through people.

It wasn’t that her eyes were sharp—the very gaze itself was cutting.

“Should I call it a problem with her gaze?”

The Saintess absentmindedly inspected her fingernails.

What did the Awakened we’d gathered all have in common? What did they desire?

The Hunter Association President had ambition.

The Holy Knight had resolve.

The Astrologer had curiosity.

“What bait could I use to persuade her?”

What did the Saintess desire?

My plan was to bring the Saintess to the Research Institute or the Hunter Association and help her grow, but she didn’t seem particularly interested yet.

“I saw it on YouTube. They say you’re the mastermind.”

“People say that?”

“Apparently, the Government, the Military, even the Hunter Association are all puppets now, just pieces on a chessboard. They say the real person controlling the response to the Gate Incident is someone else.”

“You watch that kind of thing?”

I scratched my head, flustered.

I understood why people might think that, but I wasn’t some sort of mastermind.

I just fought like hell against the damn Gate and those Gate-worshipping lunatics.

“At least it’s fortunate the Hunter Organization hasn’t become a mass celebrity yet.”

The bizarre Media ecosystem surrounding the Gate Incident hadn’t fully taken root yet.

“I saw the Association’s recruitment announcement, but I haven’t gone. I’m scared to fight.”

“They do pay a lot, though.”

“Really?”

Was it my imagination, or did her eyes shine for a moment?

Even before all this, mercenaries from special forces deployed in war zones could earn billions in annual salary.

Of course, now, with so many Awakened around, supply had increased and the price had probably dropped.

But for Senior Awakened, earning hundreds of millions annually wasn’t hard.

“You said you’re scared of fighting, but a Gate can open anywhere at any time. Isn’t it safest to be on site, fighting alongside comrades and armed?”

“…Now that you mention it, that’s true.”

This time, the Saintess scratched her head.

She crossed her legs and began pondering.

It wasn’t an easy decision, after all.

“What should I do first?”

“For now, it’d be good if you participated in a Gate exploration. I’ll accompany you and help you level up.”

“I thought this was a serious conversation, but somehow it sounds like you’re recruiting raid party members for a game?”

“Ahem, well, games are modeled after reality. To accomplish a Task, you obviously need colleagues with diverse abilities, and it’s only natural that experience increases your skills…”

“Doctor, you always say the right things.”

That’s my job.

It was a coincidence that I Awakened, but I do get paid to say the right things.

In the end, it’s not about anything else.

“It’s just how the System works, isn’t it?”

I gazed at the Saintess without saying more, and she let out a small sigh at my stare.

“Oh, right. Feel free to speak informally. Since we’ll probably see each other often, you don’t have to keep using honorifics.”

I nodded.

That settled one thing. Now that I’d recruited a new character, it was time to go item shopping.

This time, because we’d retrieved so many weapons during the urban warfare, as well as Magic Stones and Monster corpses and such, we could craft a number of Hunter Weapons.

“Then. Let’s head to the Research Institute.”

It was time to really make use of her.

***

I headed to the basement of the Research Institute with the Saintess.

Though she had agreed to join, the Saintess still eyed me with suspicion.

“It’s only natural for her to be wary.”

“Where are we going?”

“To get items.”

The Supernatural Science Research Institute has a separate route for ordinary outsiders—one where there’s nothing strange to see.

Don’t all Government facilities that handle classified information have such arrangements?

“Did you really resolve all the Gates that have opened so far? Lots of people seem to think so.”

“I did go to all of them.”

This is the Underground Firing Range of the Supernatural Science Research Institute.

Actually, it’s the weapons Laboratory.

Even before the Gate Incident, we used to make experimental weapons here, like the Gauss Rifle Prototype.

It’d be nice to bring other S-Rank Awakened, but today, it was just the Saintess.

“It’s too risky for now.”

If an accident occurred, it would be a problem for the nation’s Hunter forces. Besides, gathering multiple Fifth-Rank Awakened in one place isn’t a good idea.

They’re Hunters, so there’s no need to avoid the battlefield, but it’s better not to cluster together in normal times.

“We’re suiting up before entering combat, right?”

“Yeah.”

The Saintess was lucky.

Unlike the other S-Rank Awakened, she could gear up properly right from the start.

“Your main weapon is a staff, right? The one you got when you Awakened.”

“Yes.”

The default weapon you receive when Awakened isn’t powerful.

Fortunately, we had several staffs we’d recovered or found, and the Research Institute had made a few as well.

“The basic principle of a staff is to act as a medium between reality and magic. That’s why a staff’s head contains a magical Artifact, a Magic Core.”

“Yeah.”

“From a magical perspective, the staff connects the user’s inner world—that is, their mana—to the external world, allowing it to influence reality.”

Like how a nuclear core contains radioactive material.

She seemed to listen intently, even though my explanation was getting long.

“So is that why a staff is about the same height as a person?”

“The real reason a staff is person-sized is so you can bash an enemy’s head in if they get close.”

Um…

That’s the truth.

A staff originally doubled as a spear.

Some people even attach spikes or blades to the head.

I took out a staff that had been sealed in the armory.

The Saintess quietly watched me without a word.

“This one’s a staff from a Goblin Gate.”

It was a wooden staff.

Since it was a bit short, I extended it and reinforced it with metal spikes.

The Magic Core was a green Magic Stone from the Goblin Gate.

The staff’s head was adorned with Brass.

Now, after some modifications, it was an A-Rank Item.

The Saintess carefully picked up the staff.

“It has a better weight than the one I used before.”

She inspected the staff, and when she tapped it against the floor, a warm, white light radiated from the head like sunlight.

“Same as the Holy Knight’s.”

So this is what holy power feels like?

As I pondered for a moment, the Saintess smiled and spoke to me.

“This is definitely better.”

Items had basic rankings, but each one had its own strengths.

A high rank didn’t always mean better.

The second staff was from a Machine Steel Spider Gate.

Not that I was trying to sell it.

Somehow, this felt like a sales pitch.

“This staff is from a Steel Monster Gate. Made from Steel Monster materials, and the Magic Stone is a Blue Crystal.”

“Amazing.”

Made from steel and Machine Steel Spider parts.

The Magic Core was several crystals extracted from a Steel Spider’s Heart, fused together in a triangular shape with molten glass.

Incidentally, the head of the staff was shaped like an Occult Symbol that Dr. Wi insisted on.

The Saintess picked up this staff, too.

“It’s kind of heavy.”

“Well, it’s just steel.”

If you were going to use it as a melee weapon, it’d be fine, but for her, it was better not to fight.

“This one’s out.”

There was still one left.

“A wooden staff. Made with Calcite Magic Stone grown in the Laboratory, and the handle and head are decorated with Mammoth Ivory.”

“Mammoth? Which Gate did a mammoth come from?”

“Not a Gate. Just Siberia.”

Cheaper than elephant ivory.

“Not even illegal.”

The Saintess picked up the staff and tried to draw out light.

That yellow Magic Stone was grown by Dr. Ryoo in the Laboratory from the remains of a Tentacle Dragon.

“Thanks to that, we managed to get a Magic Stone the size of a fist pretty easily.”

“I like this one the most… Do I have to pay for it?”

“Consider it an initial investment.”

The Saintess nodded as if she understood.

“Blessing of Divinity.”

Mana wrapped around the staff and was soon absorbed.

Come to think of it, the Saintess could not only cast support magic on people, but also bestow blessings on objects.

“This is much better than the one I used before.”

I wasn’t sure what exactly she meant by “better,” but it was good that she liked it.

Anyway, there were still a lot of items to choose.

Next up was defense items.

“Do I need a cloak?”

“It’s a defensive magic item. Not just for decoration.”

“I see.”

It couldn’t be helped.

It might be cumbersome, but if you’re not going to wear ballistic vests or plate armor, a cloak is essential.

“Just in case you get hit by a gun or explosion.”

Of course, at higher Levels, you could block those too, but not yet.

This cloak was recovered from the corpse of a Kobold that died fighting a Tentacle Dragon. It was reinforced with Ballistic Fiber on top of defensive magic.

“This should definitely stop bullets.”

It was a bit heavy, but that was unavoidable.

You can never be sure you won’t have to fight people.

“Amazing.”

Now for the last part.

It might sound a bit odd, but in real combat, it’s best to carry at least one sidearm for emergencies.

This one was a Submachine Gun with very reliable recoil control.

The bullets have Iron Needles at their core, so they can pierce body armor, and the magazine is large enough to hold a lot of rounds.

Accuracy and effective range aren’t great, but against Monsters or other Hunters, you’ll mostly end up fighting up close anyway.

“Do Monsters die if you shoot them?”

“It’s better than having nothing.”

You can never predict the environment inside a Gate, and there are plenty of situations where you might have to fight people, so it’s best to be prepared.

“The fourth Gate will open soon.”