ocean-life Chapter 78: To Busan
Chapter 78: To Busan
[translator - hestia]
[proofreader - kaya]
chapter 78: to busan
"a sacred relic with a proper framework at an earlier time than expected. as expected of the arhan guild. when it comes to giving, they don't hold back and give it all, do they?"
'this ceo... i don't know if there's any profit left with this kind of business.'
burp—
"thanks to you, i ate well."
〔contractor. what are your next plans?〕
'there's no immediate opportunity to seize, and i was thinking of gathering forces at ground zero...'
〔you were thinking?〕
'now that our forces have been strengthened, wouldn't it be okay to expand our radius of action?'
the original plan was to take a breather.
the situation where the territory has expanded too much in a short period.
because of that, it was difficult to move more boldly due to the decrease in power, such as putting fafnir on defense.
'ground zero, the border area, and even yeonpyeong island.'
the plan to eat only a part of the red spider's business failed due to the riot of small-scale organizations.
with the help of the shadow broker and madame, i ate most of the spider's territory.
the border area is relatively less important, but it must be maintained as a buffer zone to block the remnants of the former north korean military that exist in addition to the awakened.
if a variable like one-eyed appears, i'll have to give it up without regret.
'the most important place at the moment is yeonpyeong island.'
a strategic point that controls the flow of the gyeonggi coast.
if it goes according to the history before the regression, wouldn't it be long before the human hunters succeed in crossing the sea and take over yeonpyeong island?
although the owner of the island has changed due to yoojin's intervention, there's no way those guys will give up their greed with that level of variability.
'if i take fafnir out, the defense of yeonpyeong island won't hold.'
there are many reasons to protect yeonpyeong island besides its geographical advantage.
there is a temple dedicated to kronos.
thanks to the relics that appear frequently, it is a supply source that periodically supplies rare by-products such as the scales and tendons of lesser drakes.
the reason for deploying fafnir to yeonpyeong island despite the power consumption.
'but what a surprise this is?'
i gained so much from the double dungeon strategy.
the quality and scale of the undead army have all increased due to the sacred relics.
【there's no way i'd lose to mere mortals...!】nôv(el)b\\jnn
although he's not reliable when he speaks, one powerful force named song myeongseok has been added.
he's two steps below fafnir wearing dragon scale armor.
if he wasn't wearing it, would he be about one step below?
if all the buffs are applied, he has the power of the beginning of 5 stars, so he can handle most opponents sufficiently.
〔isn't the skeleton named jo seungchul also the same 4 star?〕
'the unique characteristics and skill sets are different.'
jo seungchul had 4 star stats, but lacked the spells to utilize those stats.
the maximum firepower is the 3 star spell fireball.
he needs to learn 4 star spells to be able to exert firepower befitting his rank.
'martial artists are less restricted by rank when learning skills.'
"even song myeongseok, who was a 3 star in his lifetime, learned the a-rank skill 'spectral sword,' didn't he?"
his mana control was poor, and his physical abilities were lacking, so he couldn't utilize it in actual combat.
comparing the spectral sword and the rank of magic, it had to be at least 6 star.
〔to bring out its power, you need to acquire various spells.〕
'the important thing is money.'
the minimum unit for a 4 star magic skill book is 1 billion won.
why is it so expensive when there aren't many hunters who have crossed the wall?
it's because supply is less than demand.
'martial arts hunters can make up for it by infusing mana even if they don't have high-level skills.'
on the other hand, the special advantage of the magic system is [multi-computation].
if you can deploy two or more spells at the same time, it is advantageous for creating variables.
unlike martial arts, it was difficult to expect a dramatic increase in firepower just by crossing the wall.
〔the addition of that skeleton means that the vacancy of the warrior has been filled.〕
'that's right. so now, it's okay to proceed with one more task.'
〔has an opportunity that needs to be preempted come to mind?〕
'it's not an opportunity, but i'm going to save someone.'
〔hahahaha. it doesn't suit you. the contractor saving someone.〕
‘excuse me.’
who was the one who saved jang miseon, who was standing in front of the grave, wondering whether to go in or not?
the person yoojin was trying to meet was in a similar situation.
〔oh. if left to the original flow, it means that fate is to struggle in the swamp of misfortune.〕
'you'll get a sense of it when you hear that guy's nickname.'
〔nickname?〕
'executioner.'
this title was the complete opposite of labels like 'sword saint' or 'arhan's supernova'.
"our team will move to the border area."
"will it be alright?"
"it's quite safe to hunt in the fog. if it gets urgent, we can lure them towards the undead."
kang minho said nonchalantly with a carefree laugh.
‘these guys. when i first saw them in the ancient garden, they were frozen by the appearance of the zombies. it hasn't even been 3 months, and they're saying they'll use the undead as a shield. are they mentally strong or have they become dull? considering the formidable reputation of the mirror hunter before the regression, it must be the former.’
yoojin's gaze turned to the side.
"you go with them."
"partner, where are you talking about?"
"why are you pretending you don't know after just hearing it?"
"why would a researcher go to such a dangerous place!"
"hunting monsters is perfect for leveling up."
classes like blacksmiths and alchemists gain experience points according to their research or crafting achievements.
that's why their rank goes up even if they don't enter the gate.
instead, the problem is that it's difficult to learn combat-related skills, and even if they learn them, they don't reach their full potential.
"they say you should seek out hardship when you're young."
"seeking out hardship is not my style. and don't say such things when you're younger than me."
"hmm. i thought it would be a good opportunity to test the golem alchemy, but it's a shame. you guys go on your own."
yoojin finished his words in a disinterested manner.
the last words he threw stimulated shin joonseok's ears.
"come to think of it, there was the golem."
"no. pretend you didn't hear. although there's no better teaching material than actual combat, with your ability, you'll be able to improve the golem's performance sufficiently."
"the border area. i'll go with you."
"no. i'm really okay. why are you doing this?"
the two of them are arguing.
the little runts team standing next to them shook their heads from side to side.
"that mister is so pitiful."
kang minyeong's lament echoed emptily in the air.
* * *
the cries of seagulls irritated his ears.
the salty smell tickled his nose.
although he couldn't see anything because of the blindfold, it was easy to tell that his current location was near the sea.
"come out."
thud—
a rough hand grabbed his right arm.
judging from the strength transmitted to his forearm, it was about the level of a 2 star martial arts hunter.
although he could resist if he wanted to, yoojin didn't bother struggling and came out.
flap—
the cloth covering his eyes was abruptly pulled off.
the blue sea and the sky, seagulls soaring through them, and finally, a small fishing boat approaching from afar came into view.
'is it a problem if things are handled too perfectly?'
madame had disguised yoojin as a debtor in just one day, as promised.
she used the id of a missing person.
not only the photo, but also any other details that could be a hindrance were all matched to yoojin.
'and then she handed me over to the seagull group.'
she said she got help from the shadow broker to sell the debtor.
when she told mr. black, he said he would be happy to help yoojin and acted proactively.
he even had a suspicion that the point where the guy felt joy might be somewhere else.
〔hahahaha! how does it feel to drink a bitter cup?〕
'damn it. i didn't have this kind of experience even before the regression.'
it's called labor at best.
this is practically a modern-day revival of the slave trade.
they covered his eyes with a blindfold all the way down to busan.
they checked everything, even his underwear, for suspicious items.
one fortunate thing is that they couldn't take away the ring of darkness, which was in a bound state?
'should i be grateful that they didn't cut off my finger?'
yoojin held back a sigh.
it's the easiest way to infiltrate the seagull group, even if it's troublesome.
there were five debtors mobilized for labor.
if he gets on that fishing boat, he should be able to go to the place where the future 'executioner' is doing penal labor.
〔will it be alright?〕
'i've endured it this far. what's not going to be alright?'
〔that's not it. i'm talking about the small human called the executioner.〕
'what about him?'
〔i doubt you can control him as you please, even if you do him a favor, if he was called by such a sinister name.〕
'you'll change your mind if you know the origin of the nickname.'
yoojin slowly told the story he had heard before the regression.
[translator - hestia
[proofreader - kaya]