[Corpse of an Elicro Warrior]
Rank: D+
Condition: Intact
A corpse that can be used to craft humanoid or medium-sized undead.
*A Boss Monster’s corpse. Attributes are slightly enhanced when used to craft undead.
*Contains a small amount of Dragon Essence. [Spirit Sight]
D+.
As expected of a Boss Monster.
【What is good about having a plus attached to its rank?】
“It should be stronger.”
【That is a peculiar answer.】
“I have never tried it, so I do not know either.”
I had seen individual parts with a + bonus.
However.
I had never seen an entire Boss Monster corpse sold intact.
【That is surprising.】
“What is?”
【You seem to have been active as a Hunter for quite some time.】
“Because people strip away every valuable part and sell only what remains.”
An intact Boss Monster corpse.
It really was precious.
I had cleared a D-rank Gate alone.
And taken the Boss Monster’s entire corpse for myself.
Something I could not have imagined a month ago had become reality.
“Kehehehe!”
【Please refrain from such undignified laughter.】
No one was watching. What was the problem?
Was it not better to laugh honestly?
【Not at all.】
How firm.
【Then you should make that corpse into a subordinate as well.】
“I will hold off on that for now.”
【Why?】
Its tone was surprisingly forceful.
“I need to find out what Dragon Essence is.”
【I do not know what that is.】
Ah.
Come to think of it, Sir Isra could not see it.
We could share status windows.
But it could not see the additional options revealed by Spirit Sight.
【Hm. For a mere crocodile to possess Dragon Essence.】
Sir Isra tilted its head.
Dragons were not ordinary monsters.
Drakes and Wyverns, lesser dragon species, were all S-rank.
Compared to them, the Elicro Warrior truly deserved to be called a mere creature.
“I feel the same way.”
Dragon Essence.
It was a concept I had never encountered before.
I did not know how to use it.
And there was no need to rush.
I would preserve the corpse carefully and study it over time.
【Then you will not make it into an Armed Zombie Warrior?】
“Not for now.”
I had cleared an unpopular D-rank Gate alone.
And I had done so with just two subordinates!
Unless I became caught in a Break incident.
For most D-rank Gates, Sir Isra and the Armed Zombie Warrior alone would be enough.
【That is a complacent mindset.】
“What now?”
【Did you learn nothing from this battle?】
“My subordinates fought quite well.”
【Haha, that is only natural.】
Sir Isra laughed heartily, then let out an exclamation.
【Ah. I nearly fell for your trickery.】
What trickery?
I did not understand why it was putting on such a serious expression.
“Get to the point.”
【Do you remember when that crocodile-headed creature charged?】
“When it ignored you?”
【What would you have done if it had bypassed your subordinates and attacked you?】
“I would have counterattacked.”
Honestly, I had been a little afraid then.
The Elicro Warrior’s presence had been overwhelming.
Still.
I had gripped one of the spare Bone Swords, thinking I could withstand at least one exchange.
“I have the swordsmanship you taught me.”
【That mindset is mistaken!】
Excuse me?
What did you say?
Normally, would you not praise me for being brave?
【Why would you try to swing a sword when you have subordinates?】
“Was that not why you taught me swordsmanship?”
Heavenly Martial Physique.
And Imperial Swordsmanship.
They were powerful skills that any warrior-type Hunter would want.
With enough combat experience.
I was confident I could at least hold my own.
【My lord. Please consider swinging that sword a last resort.】
“Like if all my subordinates are destroyed?”
【Precisely. Failing to protect my lord once in my previous life was enough.】
Hm.
I could not argue with that.
A knight still haunted by its failure to protect the lord it had sworn loyalty to.
I could understand, at least a little, why it was becoming so worked up.
【With that in mind, should we not reinforce our forces quickly?】
After going in circles, it had returned to the topic of crafting more undead.
I shook my head.
“Besides the Dragon Essence, there is another reason I cannot.”
【What is it?】
“The Armed Zombie Warrior nearly exploded.”
【Ah.】
The crafting method had been incomplete.
The Spiritual Energy Circuits had overloaded, and it had nearly exploded.
Without the Fragmented Soulstone.
My new attempt would have come to nothing.
【Then we should buy that item!】
Buy what?
How was I supposed to purchase an account-bound item?
“I cannot make one for now.”
I either needed to refine the Armed Zombie Warrior’s crafting method.
Or.
I needed to obtain a Fragmented Soulstone from Challenge Zone.
The first option would take some time.
The second might be quick if I put in the effort and luck was on my side.
【Hah. Then let us go immediately!】
“I already entered a Gate today.”
I was tired.
I had struggled through a swamp.
And I wanted to rest after remaining tense throughout the battle.
【Nonsense! Did you not merely watch from a safe place?】
“You were the one who told me not to consider drawing my sword.”
【Claiming fatigue is an excuse!】
“No. I am not going.”
I had already cleared one Gate.
Did it expect me to do two runs in a day?
Besides, I had plenty to do.
I needed to infuse the Elicro Warrior’s corpse with Mana and examine it closely.
And I needed to study how to improve the Armed Zombie Warrior’s crafting method.
“You only need to swing your sword.”
【Are you treating honorable chivalry as something insignificant?!】
“I am saying that we work in different fields.”
Whew.
I was tired.
Still, there was one point where I agreed with Sir Isra.
I needed to secure more subordinates.
I could make ordinary Zombie Warriors.
But Death Space had ten slots, and since I was filling them anyway, I wanted to store powerful undead.
I should visit Challenge Zone soon.
But it required a five-person party to enter, so I would need to find a last-minute raid party.
That was troublesome.
“Ah.”
Those people existed.
The Hunters who had not breathed a word after I asked them to keep my secret.
I had their contact information.
I should send them a message tomorrow to see whether they were free.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK—
“Mister! Come eat corn!”
The voice of the all-powerful figure, the landlord’s daughter, came from outside the door.
“I will be right there.”
“If you are late, I will eat all of it!”
Oh no.
That was not an exaggeration.
Kim Yeondu, who had Awakened a speed-based ability, ate remarkably quickly as well.
【Corn?】
“Yes. The steamed corn Madam makes is delicious.”
【I would like to taste it someday.】
An undead tasting food.
Sir Isra was no ordinary dead being, so perhaps it really was possible.
“Five, four, three……”
“I am coming.”
I could not resist corn.
I had to get there before Kim Yeondu ate it all.
***
The Rift Management Agency, located in Gwacheon.
It was a government ministry established alongside the Great Cataclysm.
Rift was the Korean government’s official name for Gates.
As its name suggested, it handled every matter related to Gates.
[Response Bureau]
—Manages at-risk Gates and subjugates monsters when Breaks occur.
[Personnel Bureau]
—Handles Hunter registration and Hunter crimes.
[Management Bureau]
—Tracks Gate conditions.
Regardless of the department.
The Rift Management Agency was a place where overtime was as routine as eating meals.
“A C-rank Gate in Sokcho has exceeded 90% Mana Distribution! An emergency request has come in.”
“What has the Management Bureau been doing?”
“It was only at 72% this morning.”
“What idiots got themselves killed in that Gate?”
“I will put a helicopter on standby.”
Shouts rose from every direction.
“Would you like coffee?”
“Make it a Blue Cow.”
The people with hollow eyes seemed to have forgotten the meaning of leaving work. They drank energy drinks as though they were water.
The lights at the Rift Management Agency headquarters never went out.
Did Gates care about working hours?
They were disasters that could appear anywhere at any time.
There was no end to the work: locating newly appeared Gates, assigning them to Guilds, offering reward bounties, and more.
Lee Myeongho, the person in charge of [Deep Swamp] Gate at Hanam Park, was one such pitiful civil servant.
“Ughhh.”
“Working late again?”
“Yes. I think I can finish it today.”
“What? The Gate in Hanam was cleared?”
“That is what happened!”
“Oh, congratulations. You suffered quite a bit because of that one.”
The [Deep Swamp] Gate in Hanam had been a long-uncleared problem.
Because Elicros were powerful monsters?
They ranked among the stronger D-rank monsters.
Still.
They were no match for C-rank Hunters.
The problem was the Gate’s entry restriction.
Only D-rank Hunters could enter, which was why it had been left unattended for so long.
“The combination of swamp terrain and Elicros was the worst.”
“Still, someone cleared it. Was the Hunter from one of the Five Major Guilds?”
“No. It was a name I had never seen before.”
Rift Management Agency employees were expected to know the names of every notable Hunter from the Five Major Guilds.
There was a high chance they would become involved with them in some way.
“If he has talent, he will become famous soon enough.”
“Indeed. An S-rank advancement recipient has appeared recently as well. There may be a major shift in the industry.”
“Do you think that Hunter might be the rumored S-rank?”
“Impossible.”
“I was joking.”
Lee Myeongho gave a brief laugh at his superior’s joke.
Talented Hunters always shook up the industry.
The current Five Major Guilds had risen to prominence because they possessed several Hunters of overwhelming talent.
Did the Rift Management Agency not also search fervently for promising Hunters?
‘It has nothing to do with me.’
Recruiting Hunters was the Personnel Bureau’s responsibility.
If he wrote it in his report, they would handle it themselves.
TAP. TAP.
Only at nine in the evening did he finish all of his paperwork.
After pressing the send button, Lee Myeongho muttered, ‘Ugh, my stomach,’ and headed for the restroom.
Whew.
Perhaps because he would soon be saying goodbye to overtime for a while.
Even his business was unusually smooth today.
The happiness he felt when he washed his hands and came out—
Melted away like snow the moment he saw the person standing before his desk.
“Are you Assistant Manager Lee Myeongho?”
“Ah, ahh. Yes, sir!”
“Do not be nervous. Please relax.”
The man waiting for him stood over 180 centimeters tall.
His sharp eyes suited his lean, tightly built frame.
‘D-Director Jeong Seungil? Why is he here?!’
Jeong Seungil, Director of the Response Bureau.
One of the legends among Korean Hunters.
And one of the people responsible for making the current Rift Management Agency what it was.
―A powerful Hunter who always ranked first in debates over Korea’s strongest Hunter.
―During the Paju Monster Wave, he single-handedly held back a monster army for five hours, buying time for civilians to evacuate.
―During the Break incident at the A-rank Gate [Ironclad Tomb], he hunted thousands of monsters alone.
…….
A living legend who had achieved countless other feats!
It would not have been strange for him to become the Agency Commissioner long ago, but he had remained in the Response Bureau by personal choice.
They said he had the temperament of a field agent.
The problem was.
An influential man, untouchable even in political and business circles, had come to see him.
“There is nothing serious. I came because I have a question about your report.”
“Yes, sir!”
Though he was such a high-ranking figure, he always used polite speech.
Lee Myeongho froze.
“You do not need to be nervous.”
How could anyone relax around a legend of the Rift Management Agency?
He wanted to cry.
“[Deep Swamp] Gate was cleared.”
“That is correct.”
“The Hunter was Park Minho, correct?”
“Yes, sir!”
Lee Myeongho shouted from sheer nervousness.
Director Jeong Seungil did not appear to mind.
He questioned Lee Myeongho about every detail of what had happened.
The Hunter’s appearance.
The type of abilities he used.
He questioned him thoroughly in a flat, emotionless tone.
‘Ugh. This is draining the life out of me.’
After finishing his questions, Director Jeong Seungil gave a brief hum.
“It is almost certain.”
“Pardon?”
“What Assistant Manager Lee saw must remain secret for the time being.”
Regarding information about the [Deep Swamp] clear.
Lee Myeongho did not ask anything further and simply answered, “Yes, sir!”
Why would he need to know the reason when such an important person had given an order?
In office life, ignorance was often bliss.
‘Park Minho.’
Jeong Seungil repeated the name several times.
The Hunter who had received an S-rank advancement evaluation.
And the one who had achieved an SSS-rank clear.
He was no ordinary person.
Had there been any Hunter in recent years who had distinguished himself so dramatically?
‘We must bring him in.’
Even if they could not recruit him into the Rift Management Agency.
They needed to establish some sort of connection.
Director Jeong Seungil was known for being cold and composed.
But at this moment, even he could not completely hide his emotions.