The Returner -
Chapter 290
Chapter 290
The Gates were vibrating even harder now .
Park Seong-Chan, who had ran off to a far-off distance earlier, hurriedly dashed towards Choi Jeong-Hoon and asked a question .
“W-what’s going on here? What’s gotten into those Gates??” (Park Seong-Chan)
Choi Jeong-Hoon replied in a flat voice .
“A large monster is probably coming out soon . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“How can you sound so disinterested about it??” (Park Seong-Chan)
“Well, whether one comes out or not, there’s not much I can do about it, anyway . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
For a moment there, Park Seong-Chan got confused if he was talking to Yi Ji-Hyuk instead of Choi Jeong-Hoon .
‘Why did you learn stuff like that from him?’ (Park Seong-Chan)
You should’ve learned good points from him, yet why did you go and learn how to be sarcastic, instead?
… . Ah .
Now that I think about it, I can’t tell what you could potentially learn from him . Maybe he doesn’t have any good points to begin with?(Park Seong-Chan’s inner monologue)
“Okay, so a large-scale monster is coming out?” (Park Seong-Chan)
“Is this the first time you saw a level 6?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“… . Well, uh, I haven’t seen that many . ” (Park Seong-Chan)
“I guess that’s normal . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Park Seong-Chan saw how curt Choi Jeong-Hoon was with his reply and sensed that something had gone terribly wrong . If this dude was behaving this way, then there was no future for the NDF .
“Excuse me, stop playing around and think of a suitable countermeasure!” (Park Seong-Chan)
“A countermeasure, is it… . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon glanced at Yi Ji-Hyuk .
“Well, we do have one on standby, so… . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“Ah… . ” (Park Seong-Chan)
Indeed, that’s a pretty solid countermeasure, alright .
With Yi Ji-Hyuk here, even that level 6 Gate doesn’t feel all that threatening anymore . Still, I can’t help but wonder if you’re too lacking in the tensions department, but… . (Park Seong-Chan’s inner monologue)
“I’m sure it’ll work out . ” (Park Seong-Chan)
“Pardon?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“It’s nothing . ” (Park Seong-Chan)
Park Seong-Chan shook his head .
Rather than engage these folks in a chat and try to stop them, it’d be more preferable to just sit back and watch, and do the things he’s been asked to do . That was the best way not to get p*ssed off and lose his mind .
“Isn’t that thing vibrating even harder now?” (Park Seong-Chan)
“… . And it’s not just one of them, either . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Just what kind of grand monsters were about to show up that the Gates were behaving in that manner?
“Shouldn’t we get ready?” (Park Seong-Chan)
Park Seong-Chan asked, prompting Choi Jeong-Hoon to nod his head .
“Yes, we should . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Although, I can’t be sure how much of a help we can be . (Choi Jeong-Hoon’s inner monologue)
Choi Jeong-Hoon switched on his smartwatch and issued a new order .
“Director-nim?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
– “Yes?” (Seo Ah-Young)
“We’re requesting your assistance . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
– “But, weren’t there a lot of monsters?” (Seo Ah-Young)
“That’s not the current issue . Large scale monsters will soon emerge . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
– “…… . Excuse me? I can’t hear you all of a sudden?!” (Seo Ah-Young)
“Director-nim!!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
– “Argh, okay, fine . I got it . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
This ahjumma, she’s getting more and more crafty nowadays .
Choi Jeong began thinking that everyone in the NDF had become a lot more crafty than before as he glared at the Gates .
They were now distorting, too .
“That’s frightening . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
With them looking like that, he was indeed growing apprehensive about what might come out from them .
“Lala~ . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk next to him was whistling, though . Unlike him, however, Choi Jeong-Hoon was a normal man who didn’t forget his liver back home before coming here today . Anyone with their brains screwed on properly would be scared by this situation . And when considering the number of monsters that appeared earlier, that fear should be even stronger .
“By the way, Mister Yi Ji-Hyuk?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“Yes?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“At this rate, wouldn’t we have to deal with those eleven Gates all by ourselves, since the North Korean b*stards have all ran away?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Yi Ji-Hyuk tilted his head .
“Huh, is that how things worked out?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Choi Jeong-Hoon stared back at him with less-than-impressed eyes .
“Well, sh*t can happen, you know . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“What do you mean, it can happen?!” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Yi Ji-Hyuk raised his eyebrows .
“Are you arguing with me?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“No, not really . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Sure, he was arguing back, but how could he honestly voice his reply?
What a rotten world this was .
“I didn’t do that deliberately, you know . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
‘That’s why I told you to do nothing!’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“And let’s be honest here, them being around won’t be much of a help, anyway . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“M-mm… . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
He could be right on that one, though .
Choi Jeong-Hoon nodded his head .
This wasn’t disparaging the North’s ability users . The truth was, didn’t matter which nation it was, none would prove to be all that helpful when monsters streamed out from level 6 Gates nonstop .
Even the NDF would’ve been left helpless when all eleven Gates opened up simultaneously while Yi Ji-Hyuk wasn’t around . Anyone looking at the deluge of monsters would think the same thing .
But now, large-scale monsters?
It’d be a relief if they didn’t run away .
‘This is just too insane . ’ (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
A lone level 6 Gate would be more than enough to threaten a country’s survival, yet why were eleven of them opening up here all at the same time?
Even if one was praying for the destruction of a country, shouldn’t there be a limit to the excessiveness or something?
“Have they opened yet?” (Seo Ah-Young)
The NDF agents had created a cordon in front of Yi Ji-Hyuk before long, and Seo Ah-Young among them walked in closer while looking a bit hesitant .
“… . Your escaping back looked rather beautiful, I must say . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“Well, I was… . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
“You were running so hard, I was worried that you might pull a leg muscle or something . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“You actually saw that? You have a good pair of eyes, then . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
“Well, you were running the hardest in the very front of the pack, so . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“What a stalker, even observing things like that . If you’re interested, you can just ask, you know?” (Seo Ah-Young)
“…………”
Choi Jeong-Hoon quietly glared at her, causing Seo Ah-Young to awkwardly avoid meeting his eyes . Everyone was also running away at the time, so why was he so cruelly singling her out like this?
“Looks like they are finally opening up?” (Seo Ah-Young)
“Mm… . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Choi Jeong-Hoon stared at the Gates with a hardened expression .
“What will come out this time?” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
He wouldn’t get surprised by whatever crawled out from the Gates at this point, though .
Wuuuonng-!!
The Gates distorted almost halfway out of shape and some things were lazily coming out from them .
“Uh?” (Seo Ah-Young)
Seo Ah-Young’s flustered voice could be heard next .
“What are those?” (Seo Ah-Young)
“Even if you ask me… . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“Hul . ” (Seo Ah-Young)
She looked back at the frontlines with a dumbfounded look on her face .
Not one large monster appearing out of a Gate so far came across as familiar to her . Well, every single one of them happened to be rare monsters that she couldn’t even think up of even in her wildest dreams .
She thought that it’d be the same case today .
However, what came out from the Gates now possessed a completely different outer appearance compared to their predecessors .
“… . It’s kinda small?” (Seo Ah-Young)
“You’re right . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
“Is it another spirit?” (Seo Ah-Young)
“Doesn’t look that way, though . ” (Choi Jeong-Hoon)
Click .
It was then, Yi Ji-Hyuk wordlessly pulled out a cigarette and lit it up .
“Fu-wuuu… . . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
He breathed out a lengthy trail of smoke and frowned slightly as he stared at the frontline .
“Hah… . . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Shururu… .
Erukana made her appearance from his back and settled down comfortably on his lap .
“H-mm?” (Erukana)
She too was carrying a displeased expression while staring at the mysterious thing coming out of the Gate .
“What is that?” (Erukana)
She tilted her head as if she couldn’t understand it either .
That was par for the course, though – the thing that came out from the Gate wasn’t a lifeform .
“It’s a mass of Mana?” (Erukana)
Every single one coming out from the eleven Gates was pure masses of Mana emitting white light .
Their density was so high that these masses were actually emitting bright light .
These masses that resembled Spirits of Light escaped from each Gate and began gathering in one spot .
Fu-wooo… .
The blue-grey smoke Yi Ji-Hyuk breathed out scattered in the air .
“It stinks . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“This is no coincidence, don’t you agree?” (Erukana)
“Hmm… . . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk turned his head and looked at Affeldrichae .
“Oiii, lizard lady . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Yes?” (Affeldrichae)
“You know something?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“No, I don’t . ” (Affeldrichae)
“Of course not . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk chuckled . However, quite at odds with how he sounded, there was this air of mockery permeating within his expression .
“It just reeks of something bad, you know . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“I really don’t know anything . ” (Affeldrichae)
Since she was a Dragon, she probably wasn’t lying . Well, this overgrown lizard wouldn’t lie to him, anyway . Still, he could sense this slightly off feeling from the way she spoke her denial .
‘That’s why I hate this . ’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk got up from the spot .
“Darling . ” (Erukana)
“I know . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Those Mana masses were basically like a feast prepared for Yi Ji-Hyuk .
He felt that they hid poison somewhere, yet he couldn’t tell what kind it was . Except that, he just couldn’t refuse such a scrumptious feast all laid out before his eyes .
“I can’t let that go to waste, now can I?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
If this was Berafe, leaving it alone would’ve been one of his options . Too bad, this was Earth, not Berafe . Mana didn’t dissipate in Earth’s atmosphere . It scattered away at an incredibly slow rate, so if a passing monster managed to absorb that, then it’d lead to a massive-scale disaster .
“How amusing . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk smirked to himself .
With this, he was half-sure of it now . There was someone deliberately opening these Gates . A creature with high intelligence was aiming for this place and had opened these portals .
And quite likely, this creature, it knew about Yi Ji-Hyuk, too .
“You didn’t have to send me presents, though . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
He began cackling away .
The monsters coming out of the Gates were perfect types for him to subdue and use, and after that, this unknown being even sent him a large lump of Mana as well .
If he was told that this mysterious ‘benefactor’ held good intentions, he’d have totally believed it simply from this set-up alone .
“But then again, it just stinks, you see . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk’s gut instinct, which was more often right than wrong, was busy telling that he’d get a tummy ache if he went ahead and devoured this feast .
“I think the same as you, darling . ” (Erukana)
“You too?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Ng . Let’s just let it rot . ” (Erukana)
Yi Ji-Hyuk shook his head .
“No can do . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Even if it was poisoned, a feast was a feast still .
It was a common sense in his household that, if he tried to flip the dining table full of food, his back would light up from his mom’s palm smashes .
“It’s not cool to be a picky eater . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Yi Ji-Hyuk cackled and strode forward, and Erukana began giggling away boisterously while wrapping her arms around his neck .
“My darling, you’re so manly . ” (Erukana)
“… . Tsk . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
Should he say her reactions were just too one note, regardless of what he did? Well, that was one good point about Erukana, anyways .
With her tagging along on his back, Yi Ji-Hyuk walked towards the large mass of Mana .
“H-mmm… . . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
A familiar scent of Mana wafted in .
It was a bit difficult to pinpoint exactly what was so familiar about it, but this Mana certainly gave him the impression that he got in a tangle with it in the past . Which meant the source of this Mana would be a place he’d been before… .
“… . Berafe . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
If that was the case, then he could understand it, but the monsters that came out from the Gates weren’t found in Berafe .
Sure, some monsters from that world was mixed in among the horde, but in all honesty, the majority of them were types he hadn’t seen before .
In that case, just where were these creatures coming from?
“How complicated . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
He slowly shook his head .
This feeling of something unfolding with him in the centre – he had felt it a while ago . But, as the feeling slowly turned into a certainty, the mystery was deepening, instead .
The biggest contributing factor here for his confusion was that there was nothing to gain by targetting him like this .
If he was some kind of a legendary Dragon possessing a fabled Dragon Heart, then sure, why not . But what would the other party gain by ‘investing’ in him like this?
“Maybe it’s a god who’s in love with me . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Darling, it’s time for your medicine . ” (Erukana)
…I hope it’s the vitamins?
You ain’t talking about some psychoactive chemicals or something, right? Erukana?(Yi Ji-Hyuk’s inner monologue)
Yi Ji-Hyuk smirked again and approached the mass of Mana .
‘It’s pretty huge . ’ (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
He thought this might be his first time seeing Mana coagulate like this and give rise to a physical form . A high-density lump of Mana that easily rivalled the dark Mana Yi Ji-Hyuk condensed and used was buzzing about in the air, it’s size as big as a house .
“This is kinda heavy load, isn’t it?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
He formed a somewhat serious expression .
“Darling, you might get indigestion from this . ” (Erukana)
“H-mm, well, stay back for a minute, Erukana . ” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
“Ng . ” (Erukana)
Such pure Mana was indeed kind of like poison to someone like Yi Ji-Hyuk or her who used dark Mana .
“Is that guy trying to assassinate me by feeding me?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
He thought that such a method would be pretty smart, and extended his hand out to the Mana .
“Drain . ”
< 290 . Well, let’s see if they can sort it out, then -5 > Fin .
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