Chapter 39
“Urgh!”
The moment I opened my eyes, a groan escaped my mouth.
It felt as though my entire body had been shattered.
Yes, that was only natural after being swept head-on by such a massive tidal wave.
In fact, my left arm was twisted at a grotesque angle, and my entire body was covered in wounds.
Needless to say, aside from my left arm, I had probably suffered bruises all over my body, and there were likely many places where my bones had cracked or broken.
‘Still, surviving is what matters.’
I was satisfied with the result.
Since I had been swept away by a tidal wave, getting away with only this much was already a win.
I pulled out the [Healing] card and attempted self-recovery while looking around.
Fortunately, there were no enemies in sight.
A mountain behind me.
The sea in front of me.
It seemed I had been washed ashore onto a sandy beach, in other words, the coastline.
‘It brought me here?’
The area of Jebudo where a mountain foot and a sandy beach coexisted was the northwest side of the island.
The tidal wave had struck us from the east, yet I had somehow ended up in the northwest out of nowhere, so I could not help but find it absurd.
This was probably due to the effect of the [Fog Labyrinth] as well.
Boom, booom!
Thud thud thud!
Explosions sounded in the distance.
Fighting must be breaking out everywhere……
‘I hope everyone is safe.’
I knew that hoping they were safe even after being swept away by such a tidal wave was a shameless wish, but it was worth placing hope in.
Right before we were swallowed by the tidal wave.
The [Luck] card had blessed not only me, but everyone.
Luck increased by 110%.
For now, I had no choice but to place my hope in that.
SHHH!
The recovery power of the [Healing] card was astonishing.
I could feel the pain rapidly subsiding.
‘I have to do this myself, right……?’
I gritted my teeth, grabbed my twisted left arm, and turned it.
CRACK!
With a chilling sound, my twisted left arm returned to its original position.
“Urgh.”
For a moment, the immense pain made my mind go faint.
Then the [Healing] card healed my left arm, and the pain quickly diminished.
‘It is better than most Healing ability users.’
I was surprised.
The [Healing] card performed better than I had expected.
Perhaps there was no need to go out of my way to work with Hunters who possessed Healing abilities……
I slowly rose while checking my surroundings.
‘Nothing is lost.’
Because the gun had been slung over my shoulder, I had not lost it, and although I did not have plenty of ammunition, I had enough for two or so fights.
‘First, I need to find a way out……’
No sooner had that thought occurred to me than one card slipped out of the [Deck of Infinity] and floated before my eyes.
The [Search] card.
Inside the card, an old man holding a staff in one hand and a lantern in the other was drawn.
When I had used it before, I thought there had only been a single lantern drawn on it……
In any case, since it was revealing its presence as if telling me to use it, I felt that ignoring it would be discourteous, so I picked up the card.
SLIDE!
An old man holding a staff and a lantern slipped out of the card and respectfully bowed his head.
“My lord, I shall illuminate your path.”
“M-My lord?”
I hurriedly waved my hands.
I was not rotten enough as a person to feel nothing after being called “my lord” by an elder who looked at least eighty years old.
“Please just call me Eunseong comfortably.”
“You are the master of infinite power. How could I dare address you by your honored name so casually?”
“Someone else even jokes around with me……”
I said that while thinking of Helkiyan, that is, the [Mutation] card.
“Are you saying there was one who dared joke with you, my lord?!”
The old man who had come out of the [Search] card flew into a rage.
If the person in question had been in front of him, he looked ready to beat him mercilessly with his staff.
“Ah, it was nothing serious, so you can just pretend you did not hear that.”
“But……”
“By the way, Elder, what is your honored name?”
“I…… suppose you may call me Lumos.”
“Then I will call you Elder Lumos. And you do not need to call me my lord, so please treat me comfortably. You may call me by name too.”
“What are you saying? You are the master of infinite power. Naturally, it is only proper that I call you my lord.”
“I have my own position too…… Would another title besides my lord not be possible?”
“Then would it be acceptable if I called you my liege?”
“That is a little embarrassing too. Hmm.”
After thinking for a while, I came up with a suitable form of address.
“Then could you call me Young Master?”
“Young Master, you say? Hmm!”
Lumos stroked his beard as if he found it unsatisfactory, then nodded as though he had no choice.
“Since it is your command, I shall call you that from now on, Young Master.”
Young Master was still embarrassing, but it was better than my lord or my liege……
“Young Master, do you require guidance?”
“Yes.”
“Then this old man shall be your guide.”
“Thank you.”
“There is one of your comrades nearby. Shall we go there first?”
“Please do that.”
I nodded at the welcome news.
Even for me, finding a path inside the [Fog Labyrinth] was impossible…… wait.
The very act of summoning Lumos, who was a guide, was part of my ability.
Then did that not mean that finding a path inside the [Fog Labyrinth] was also my ability?
‘Perhaps it is not Lumos finding the path, but me……’
With that thought, I began walking after Lumos.
***
The large-scale Transference Crisis that broke out on Jebudo turned not only the Republic of Korea, but the entire world upside down.
Of course, if viewed as a single incident, the Jebudo incident was not a situation that would become a major issue.
However, the story changed if there had been someone who predicted this Transference Crisis in advance, and if that person was a mysterious 10-Star Hunter.
As the existence of the mysterious 10-Star Hunter [Supernova], who had only been discussed on Hunter Link, and his statements became known to the world, the entire world stirred.
The media outlets of the Republic of Korea and countries around the world wrote major headlines about Supernova, and the incident seized the attention of people across the globe.
Through this, the people of the world came to know.
That a 10-Star Hunter existed.
And that he was called Supernova.
***
While the large-scale Transference Crisis was unfolding on Jebudo, the government of the Republic of Korea, or more precisely the inside of the Defense Strategy Department, was moving with extreme urgency.
Even without looking inside, one could tell from what was visible outside.
Vroom, vroom!
“Delivery!”
“Who ordered green-onion chicken?”
Delivery riders gathered one by one at the main gate of the Defense Strategy Department.
It was a common sight whenever a large-scale Transference Crisis occurred.
There was something called the [Delivery Index].
It was an unofficial indicator used to gauge the intensity of overtime work among Hunters, soldiers, civil servants, and others affiliated with the Defense Strategy Department.
They ordered delivery food to relieve their hunger during all-night work in emergencies, and the more serious the situation became, the more the number of delivery riders gathering at the Defense Strategy Department increased exponentially.
There was even a joke that once the [Delivery Index] surpassed three digits, the situation was equivalent to a national emergency.
“Who ordered Bulgama sweet and spicy chicken bites?”
“Here. But are you not Duhyeon?”
Captain Im somehow recognized Kim Duhyeon and spoke.
“Do you know me?”
“Were you not the person who worked as a security guard at the apartment where Eunseong resided?”
“Huh? That is right.”
“I thought that motorcycle looked familiar.”
Captain Im recalled how Eunseong had visited the Defense Strategy Department on Duhyeon’s motorcycle and gave a bitter smile.
Of course, Duhyeon did not understand what Captain Im meant.
“I heard a large-scale Transference Crisis happened on Jebudo?”
“For now, yes.”
“What about Brother Eunseong…… no, Eunseong? Nothing happened to him, right?”
“That is a security matter, so I cannot tell you. I apologize.”
“Ah, right.”
Duhyeon recalled that information about Hunters contracted with the Defense Strategy Department was confidential and nodded.
“Then please drive safely. Thank you for the delivery.”
Captain Im took the food Duhyeon had brought and left as if fleeing.
“Surely he is not on Jebudo right now. If he is, that would be seriously cursed luck……”
However, Duhyeon’s thoughts about Eunseong did not last long.
Ding, ding!
Duhyeon’s phone rang nonstop.
[A delivery request has arrived!]
[A delivery request has arrived!]
[A delivery request has arrived!]
Delivery calls were pouring in.
That meant that, because the situation was serious, the people working at the Defense Strategy Department had given up on leaving work early and were all ordering delivery food.
“Oh!”
The moment Duhyeon accepted the request closest to the Defense Strategy Department, he immediately twisted the throttle of his motorcycle.
VROOOOOM!
The old motorcycle belched acrid exhaust smoke and raced away excitedly.
***
Lumos guided me with the lantern in front.
The route he led me on was impossible to predict.
We would walk normally, then suddenly turn in a strange direction. At times, it even looked as though we were taking a detour, so I wondered if this was really right.
That made me trust him even more.
As long as the [Fog Labyrinth] lay thickly over the area, moving along a normal route would be the wrong direction.
“Young Master, enemies will soon appear.”
“They will……?”
“This old man shall deal with them, so please remain at ease, Young Master.”
Lumos smiled as if there was no need for me to step forward.
Soon, the enemies appeared.
“Click, clack!”
“Clack, clack, clack!”
Tatatatatatatata!
Dozens of hermit crabs the size of calves suddenly began charging toward us at terrifying speed.
They were ones I knew.
Man-Eating Pincers.
They were monsters that commonly appeared when a Transference Crisis occurred in mudflat terrain, and they had excellent attack power as well as Defense.
‘How is he going to deal with them?’
The question crossed my mind.
“How dare you block the Young Master’s path!”
Lumos roared and swung his staff.
CRUNCH!
The pincer of the Man-Eating Pincer that had charged at us first burst apart as if exploding.
“You insignificant creatures!”
Lumos swung his staff again and struck the home of the Man-Eating Pincer whose pincer had been destroyed, in other words, its conch shell.
CRACKLE!
That hard conch shell shattered into pieces.
“Wh-What is he?”
I was shocked.
The conch shells of Man-Eating Pincers were notorious for their hardness.
They were tough enough to lightly deflect bullets, yet he shattered one by swinging a staff?
However, it was still too early to be surprised.
Lumos’s performance had only just begun.
CRUNCH!
CRACK!
CRACKLE!
Lumos wove through the Man-Eating Pincers and smashed them apart indiscriminately.
“He is…… a guide, right?”
A doubtful mutter escaped me on its own.
Rainy Lotus
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