Something feels off.
-The Rania Beekeeping Zone Gate is closing.
Not long ago, I went to clear out some pests at the Director’s request.
While there, I saw honeybees that only lived in Rania.
The Butterfly Queen, whom I had previously encountered as a dungeon boss, was also a creature that lived in the Rania Territory.
Questions I’ve had for a while. Lingering curiosities that remained unsolved.
I think there’s a connection.
‘Maybe…’
In the first place, a Gate is a passage connecting that world to this one. And a Core, granted authority by the System, summons a dungeon.
“Anything happening in the territory?”
At my words, Karin answered while munching on a biscuit.
“Hmm, for now, the territory is fine. Business as usual.”
“Is that so? That’s a relief then.”
Lately, Karin has been looking into the territory whenever she has a spare moment.
From what I’ve heard, many new menus have appeared in addition to the ones she originally had.
-Training: Train the soldiers.
-Messenger: Communicate with residents via mail.
-Relief: Provide supplies to the residents.
-Personnel: Grant titles to residents.
-Territory Expansion: Expand the territory.
-Politics: Decide on territory management.
-Community Development: Temporarily increase all production and labor.
-Economy: Manage agriculture, fishing, livestock, commerce, mining…
“In the past, I’d have to worry about invasions from neighboring territories, but it’s great having the territory all on its own. Heheh.”
“While the territory might not be invaded, it’s crawling with monsters.”
I once took Karin and Seo Hyun-ji there to hunt honeybees.
When Seo Hyun-ji saw that, she nearly had a fit.
I didn’t know the reason back then, but thinking about it calmly now, I think I understand.
The honeybees of Mount Rania are unusual. No, it’s not just them; some of the animals living there possess intelligence.
In simple terms, they are monsters.
“Monsters? They’re all our precious residents.”
Perhaps she felt something during the last honeybee incident, because Karin ‘recruited’ the monsters.
It wasn’t like this was some Romance of the Three Kingdoms game.
Between the one doing the recruiting and the monsters being recruited…
At first, I thought it was ridiculous.
Even looking at the dot graphics, there was a clear avoidance of the newly recruited monster residents.
However, after they shared some ramen and soju together, they became close.
Wait, soju?
How did she buy that and put it in there?
I looked down at Karin.
Did this brat buy alcohol despite being a minor?
Anyway, there was a Sentinel Rabbit patrolling to maintain public order.
A Researcher Turtle conducting magical research for agricultural development.
A Gentleman Chicken who loved playing with children.
Well, seeing them all living in harmony, I suppose it’s fine.
I’d be glad if it was just my premature worrying.
The Floating Island is still flying over the city center.
People who were initially terrified are now taking photos with the Floating Island in the background as if it’s a tourist attraction.
“Good, production is steadily increasing. The population too. Capitalism really is the best. It’s amazing!”
After dumping a massive amount of food into the territory, Karin had a beaming smile like a supreme leader who had tasted the Red Flavor.
I can understand that feeling to some extent.
When you play simulation games that evolve civilizations, seeing a city develop after sparking something like a cultural revolution gives you a surge of achievement.
Well, for now, there don’t seem to be any problems on Karin’s end.
I’ll just assume it was all my oversensitive worrying.
Soon, the delivery food Karin ordered arrived.
Karin, who quickly snatched the service coupon that came with the food, was once again wearing a wide grin.
Oh, girl who has been dominated by capitalism.
Eating only delivery food isn’t good for one’s physical balance.
Considering the nutrition of Karin, who is still in her teens, I’ll have to pay attention to the food from now on.
‘I should go grocery shopping.’
Karin, who has grown accustomed to stimulating flavors, might not like it much.
But as I have the responsibility of a guardian, I’m concerned.
I’ve made quite a bit of money while working as a Hunter.
With that money, I’ve been running a joint business with the Star Center Director, but I’ve also been donating to welfare organizations.
The reason I donate?
Hunters make a lot of money.
While there are looks of envy, there are also looks of jealousy.
I am currently building my brand image and increasing my value.
Right now, I am being highlighted as a Hunter with a rapidly rising heroic side.
If not for that, would I have been able to get my hands on judicial authority as a Special Guarder?
I earn a lot of money, but at the same time, I am supporting the weak while giving back to society.
It gives me a great justification.
Especially the fact that I am an orphan. My past of growing up in a center became known, and public sympathy was on the rise.
Thanks to that, an image was created where even people who were desperate to bash me felt like they couldn’t.
And in fact, there’s a great benefit for me as well.
-Assimilation Rate is 61%.
By digging into my personal funds to donate and support people in need, my Assimilation Rate increased.
I was actually unsure if this could be considered an act of a Hero, but the System acknowledged it to some extent when someone was saved by my donations.
Thanks to that, I recovered several of the Authorities I used in the past.
Enhanced Immunity, Enhanced Resistance, and my only mid-range attack skill, Lightning Bolt.
I also recovered the Sacrifice skill, but I really don’t want to use that one.
Even if I spend a lot of money on donations, it’s not a big problem for me.
Honestly, all my equipment is provided for free by the Hanul Guild’s laboratory.
It’s partly because I’m the guild’s franchise Hunter, but that was the contract between me and the Demon King in the first place.
But the problem is, it’s stuck at 61%.
Just in case, I donated another 300 million. Even so, my Assimilation Rate didn’t budge.
When I donated before, there was a change in the rate, but not now.
I waited a bit, but there was still nothing.
Why?
I began to suspect that the donation money I sent might be leaking somewhere.
‘There are all sorts of people out there.’
Looking at recent news, a CEO who received a lot of donations under the pretext of an animal welfare industry didn’t support the dogs at all, but instead spent it all on their own luxurious overseas trips and entertainment.
The same goes for the underprivileged.
In the end, I came to a conclusion.
‘Let’s go see for ourselves.’
It had actually been weighing on my mind, so while I’m out for groceries, it would be good to check.
To see if my money is really being used properly.
Leaving Karin, who was preoccupied with territory management, at home, I went out alone.
I stopped by the guild briefly to check a few documents that needed approval that day, then headed back outside.
“What is this? Oh my god.”
“What do we do…”
“Don’t take pictures! I told you not to take pictures!”
The Guild Town square, where various guilds are clustered, is particularly noisy today.
Well, not that it was ever quiet.
Blood is splattered across the square floor.
And a forensic team is gathered, collecting pieces of flesh.
Beyond the riot police who were pushing the crowds back as much as possible, something caught my eye.
It seems someone died.
In broad daylight, on a roadside like this?
I’m curious about what happened, but there’s something strange within my sight.
‘A Magic Stone?’
I see fragments of a Magic Stone mixed in with the gruesome pieces of flesh.
However, it’s not the color of any Magic Stone I know.
Deep purple.
Usually, Magic Stones differ based on their attribute.
Fire is red. Water is blue. It’s categorized so it’s easy to recognize.
It might be the System’s consideration to make it easy even for elementary schoolers to understand.
Regardless, that purple itself is a color not included in the six major elements.
That is…
‘Pollution?’
It’s the color of a polluted Magic Stone.
I slipped through the gaps in the crowd and approached the scene.
The foul scent of the Magic Stone has yet to fade.
“Excuse me, you can’t come in here. Hey!”
Ignoring the riot police blocking the way, I stepped inside the fence.
“Hey, you idiot. What are you doing not stopping him!”
“Huh? Hunter Lee Hyun-bin?”
Seeing me suddenly barge in, the people who were blocking the way recognized my face and opened a path.
There was no need to deliberately block someone with a Special License.
I picked up what was at least the largest fragment of the Magic Stone.
“Um, you shouldn’t just touch that recklessly…”
“Leave him be, he’s a Special License Hunter.”
An explosion?
the Magic Stone exploded. Just like a bomb.
Judging by the traces and range of the blood, it sprayed out from the alleyway ahead.
Why?
I looked around at the traces.
-Activating Insight skill.
-Kim Il-ho’s status: Pain, Fear, Salvation.
The dead person’s name must be Kim Il-ho.
I felt an illusion as if the lingering scent of the Magic Stone was constantly drawing me in.
The traces he left behind remain here.
As if he wanted to make his actions known.
Unknowingly, out of habit, I read the traces and deduced the situation.
He was moving desperately. Trying to move to a place where there would be no civilian casualties.
Soon, he met his death.
In other words, the explosion of the Magic Stone must not have been something he wanted.
Then, for what purpose?
-The level of Insight increases.
Just in time, it rose from Level 2 to Level 3, and a new function opened.
-Insight: Extrasensory Perception is triggered.
My brow furrowed involuntarily.
An almost sickening level of thoughts entered my consciousness.
I want to live.
He cries out and wishes for it countless times.
“Damn it.”
Kim Il-ho’s consciousness flowed into me.
Kim Il-ho was young.
A complete kid.
A child who should have been under someone’s protection dragged his dying body all the way here for someone’s sake.
An obsession and tenacity that couldn’t be seen as belonging to a child.
I hear the faint wish of the dying child.
“….”
The dead child is not an Awakened.
Nor is he a child suffering from Magic Stone Disease like Kim In-ho’s child.
“You crazy bastards.”
There are people who forcibly perform Magic Stone procedures on orphans.
“Sister…”
A young child, so gaunt they were just skin and bones from not being able to eat properly, clung to the older girl’s hand.
The child called ‘Sister’ was not in a sound state either.
Filthy clothes, a haggard appearance.
Eyes that showed at a glance that she had not been raised with normal care.
“Where is Brother Il-ho? Why isn’t he coming?”
The girl didn’t say anything.
“I’m hungry… Brother said he’d bring something to eat…”
Where the two children were was a bare concrete room.
In that room where even common wallpaper was missing and only dry emotions were conveyed, only the two of them existed.
They couldn’t leave this place.
Because iron bars were blocking their freedom.
“You’re hungry too, right, Sister?”
The child quietly whimpered, clutching her starving stomach, and curled up on the floor.
A prison where not a single ray of light entered.
There was only one way to get out of here.
To stop moving.
The girl… no, I-ho, was not Sam-ho’s biological sister.
The same went for Il-ho.
Just as the names they held suggested, they weren’t proper names.
They were merely designations for what number they were when they were dragged into this institution.
There were many children in this institution.
In fact, there were more at first.
However, quite a few children gained their freedom and went outside.
Of course, they wouldn’t have been able to enjoy that freedom.
The days here are always the same.
They perform very painful treatments. They couldn’t refuse or say they hated it.
Because the adults here were so worried about the children that they forcibly administered the treatments.
They said some children got better after surgery and went to live outside.
The younger Sam-ho was upset that they left without saying goodbye, but Il-ho and I-ho trembled in fear.
No one said it, but they knew instinctively.
-I’ll bring adults who can save us. Just hang in there and wait.
Saying so, Il-ho escaped from hell, leaving his younger siblings behind.
I-ho didn’t stop Il-ho.
In fact, she knew he wouldn’t be able to return.
It wasn’t some kind of guess or reasoning.
It was an absolute premonition.
Tears streamed down I-ho’s face.
She thought that just maybe, Il-ho might survive and truly save them.
Because this place was so terrible.
Because the fear was so bone-deep.
She thought that if they did something, things would change.
I-ho sobbed silently so as not to be heard by the younger sibling beside her.