Purity

The gate opened. Soldiers poured out from beneath the black wall. The sound of hooves striking the stone pavement overlapped as it echoed along the gorge walls.

Their weapons and armor varied. That was only natural for the Regional Defense Corps. Mounted, they were cavalry; carrying spears, spearmen; aiming crossbows, crossbowmen. And that made them even more effective when fighting barbarians.

Togwol was a typical barbarian. Yashin had been born with a caution unbecoming of a barbarian, and Siseum with the cruelty befitting one, but Togwol was faithful to his instincts.

They were a nomadic people who knew how to tame magical beasts, so they appeared wherever magical beasts could be found. Pamagok, teeming with magical beasts beyond all standards, was the finest hunting ground they could desire.

After the Great Chieftain's death, Siseum scattered in all directions. These men must have been among the groups that infiltrated Pamagok to claim his territory. I had found traces of them when I went on patrol with Bunhui, so their appearance was hardly sudden.

"Captain."

"Hm?"

"The barbarians behind us—that is, those six-star barbarians."

"The Hunter Association?"

I would have to standardize our terminology soon. It was embarrassing to hear a name I'd coined for fun being repeated by my subordinates at such an important moment.

Chunsik, who had brought his warhorse alongside mine, spoke about the group from the Hunter Association that we had left at the military tent.

"They followed us out through the gate a little while ago. It seems they have people they left behind at our destination and are chasing after us. What should we do?"

"Leave them. By the time they arrive, everything will be over anyway."

What strong camaraderie these barbarians had. Someone muttered as much, and every soldier nodded in agreement.

I was glad they didn't seem to hate the hunters as much as before. My subordinates were the sort who, if I ordered them to jump into boiling oil, would at least hesitate before fleeing at full speed. No, wait—isn't that only natural?

In any case, they would obediently die for me as long as the order wasn't quite that unreasonable, but each of them was bound to have their own likes and dislikes. Some had lost their families to barbarians, while others had failed to protect their comrades.

Even the most veteran soldier, Park Gyu, hated barbarians intensely. His wife had once had an affair with a barbarian, after all.

Both sides had such complicated circumstances tangled up in the matter, so I had uncharacteristically swallowed my embarrassment and given a speech. Fortunately, it seemed to have gone over well. Everyone looked cheerful.

As we descended the slope toward the place where I had discovered the Petrifying Serpent, we soon spotted the hunters surrounded by Togwol and the magical beasts he led around.

Three hunters, men and women, moved back and forth across a blue barrier that was developing cracks, struggling to protect the purple rift they had emerged from.

"Don't let those bastards get in!"

"Damn it, what kind of monster is this? Why is it so strong...?"

"Aaaah! When is Lady Shin Yuyu coming? It's breaking! The barrier is really breaking!"

Could it be that she had truly heard the woman's plea? Countless talismans rained down from the sky. The colorful talismans that flew in from behind us soon carpet-bombed the ground. When I looked up, Shin Yuyu was already flying through the air.

At the same time, my subordinates, led by Cheukmu, fired their arrows as well. This time, their target was Togwol's head, not Shin Yuyu.

"Aah!"

"That flag..."

"The Great General! The Great General is here!"

Thwip! Thwip! Before the barbarians could recover from the volley of arrows, the vanguard drew their swords and clashed with Togwol's warriors.

One side was swept away in an instant by the overwhelming martial aura. That was only natural, since they were mere rabble who had broken away from the group, not elites led by the Great Chieftain.

"They're running! They're retreating!"

"I'll finish things here, so pursue them to the end."

"Yes, sir."

When they began to scatter, I left the cleanup to Chunsik and greeted Park Ingyu's party as they came running up late, panting for breath. They couldn't hide their amazement as they watched the soldiers sweep away the enemy without suffering a single wound.

"Th-thank you so much, Great General. How can we ever repay this debt...?"

"Don't mention it. Since they had set foot in Pamagok, they were people we needed to deal with anyway."

"Even so, thanks to you, our hunters were able to remain safe. Ahem, this is my business card."

Park Ingyu quickly took a business card from the breast pocket of his suit and handed it to me with both hands while I sat on my horse. At that moment, something purple glinted from inside his jacket.

A mana stone covered in blood and bits of flesh was sealed in a ziplock bag. Sensing my gaze, Park Ingyu immediately pulled it out and apologized.

"Ah, this... I have committed a crime deserving of death! Everything that comes from this land belongs to the Great General, to whom His Majesty the Celestial Emperor has entrusted full authority. I dared to take it without knowing my place..."

Talk about a lightning-fast change in attitude. Now it would be impossible to find fault with him over any ordinary matter, even if I wanted to.

In truth, the Association could hardly have urged a diplomatic relationship that might be considered humiliating, at least from our perspective. That meant Park Ingyu, trusting his own instincts and acting on them, was quite a resourceful man.

He had probably said he wanted to serve the Cheonyu Empire on his own initiative. If so, it would be best to give him some room to breathe and make him an ally.

"It doesn't matter. Take one."

"Are you serious!?"

"But don't take any more of the ones scattered on the ground right now. And from now on, be sure to get permission in advance."

"From now on...? Thank you so much!"

His face lit up at the mention of a next time. Then he remembered something, and his expression darkened for a moment as he cautiously offered me some advice.

"Um, there is one thing I must report..."

"What is it?"

"We aren't the only ones who can come here."

"Didn't you say only people from your country could come?"

"That's true, but there are people within our country who hold all sorts of opinions."

Ah, I see. So regardless of which faction they had backing them, anyone with Korean nationality could access this place.

I could understand why he was trembling as though he had already committed a crime. They had gone to all that trouble to build a peaceful relationship, only for some madman to come in and start causing a scene. That would ruin everything.

"We're affiliated with the Hunter Association, and we don't share the same goals as the other guilds, especially the top guilds. We've kept the conditions for entry completely secret so far, but who knows how long that will remain possible..."

"Don't act rashly."

"Pardon?"

"You're worrying about something that hasn't even happened yet. Go."

"Ah, understood. Then please excuse me."

Well, that was something we could worry about when the time came. Honestly, I didn't think other guilds or hunters would come flocking here like clouds, as Park Ingyu had suggested.

For good reason. What value did Pamagok have? It was the most barren and dangerous land in the entire empire.

There were no resources here. The only things in abundance were magical beasts and barbarians. At least my subordinates and I might count as a worthwhile fighting force from their perspective, but even that wasn't an immediate concern. They couldn't cross over from this side, after all.

'Still, an opportunity will arise.'

The civilizations in the other Hidden Stages could apparently travel to and from Earth. If we went over now, it might look as though we were trying to invade them, so I decided to find out how to do it later.

*

The day after the Strategic Countermeasures Headquarters' investigation team returned, the Hunter Association's smoking room was fairly crowded again.

They had rescued all the captured members of the Birang Party and even managed to hold a meeting with the Great General of the Cheonyu Empire. Even so, there was some grumbling within the Association, and it was once again because of Park Ingyu's decision.

"Is Director Park Ingyu going to get fired? He was clearly authorized to form an alliance, nothing more."

"The Cheonyu Empire? I hear they call us barbarians."

"So did we become their vassal state?"

"A vassal state? Ngh...!"

"Agh, my head...!"

The notion that they had begun serving an empire whose very name was unfamiliar to them was difficult to comprehend. While several employees writhed in pain from the agony etched into their genes, Park Ingyu was explaining his actions to the president of the Association.

"Director Park Ingyu, this is a major incident that will go down in the history of South Korea."

Kim Sangguk, the president of the Hunter Association, couldn't hide his displeasure.

"The Association, not to mention the government, is in an uproar. Why did you act independently and do something like that?"

"At the time, I judged it to be the best course of action. To be honest, I still haven't changed my mind."

"But did you have to lower yourself quite that far? You know this, don't you? The residents of a Hidden Stage aren't like ordinary NPCs."

Some floors of the towers contained villages and NPCs. However, since they never acted contrary to their identities, they were merely arrangements designed for the players' convenience.

"You put us in a position where we won't be able to refuse if they ask us for something. That will create serious problems for our diplomacy going forward."

"That won't happen..."

"Can you say that with certainty? Really?"

Honestly, Park Ingyu couldn't say so with certainty. He had seen Yoo Hyun's side as the Great General, but it was still too soon to judge him based on that alone.

Although Yoo Hyun didn't seem particularly interested in them at the moment, he might suddenly change his attitude and begin making active use of South Korea and the Hunter Association.

"On the other hand, what can we hope to gain by serving them?"

"We did bring back a mana stone. It looked unusual, so I've entrusted it to the research team for analysis."

"I'm not talking about something as trivial as that. What about weapons or the dispatch of troops to stop the towers from overflowing?"

"Their weapons weren't anything special. They didn't use magical tools like we do. And as you know, dispatching troops is..."

It was impossible for now. Certain special conditions had to be met.

"So in the end, we have nothing to show for it."

"..."

Shin Yuyu had seen the potential of their fighting force, but that too was far from an immediate benefit.

Just as Park Ingyu was breaking into a cold sweat at the thought of being fired—or, worse, branded a traitor—a research team leader in a white coat knocked on the president's office door and entered.

"Excuse me. The purity analysis of the mana stone Director Park Ingyu entrusted to us is complete, so I've come to report the results."

"Can't you see we're discussing something important? Come back later!"

"I'm very sorry, but the figures are a little strange... I think you should see them for yourself, President."

Kim Sangguk snatched the documents the researcher had brought him and put on his glasses to read them. Park Ingyu, checking the copy beside him, soon noticed something strange as well.

"What does it say here?"

"Two thousand seven hundred percent."

"What?"

"Compared with an existing mana stone of the same size, it produced approximately twenty-seven times the energy efficiency. It seems to be due to an unidentified energy layered over the mana."

The researcher said they had suspected a measurement error and run the stone through the magical-power measuring device imported from France several years earlier, but the result had been exactly the same.

"Considering that it's a Grade Four mana stone, the efficiency should increase exponentially for higher grades. At this level, isn't its purity unprecedented across the entire tower? We're extremely confused ourselves."

"..."

"..."

Silence settled over the president's office.

Kim Sangguk slowly rose from his chair. He walked around the desk, stopped in front of Park Ingyu, took both his hands, and said,

"So, is the Great General Yoo Hyun in good health?"

"Pardon?"

"I heard there was a battle at the end. He must not have been seriously injured. If even a single wound marred his person, wouldn't that mean we failed to attend him properly?"

"Yes...?"

"Why are we standing around like this? Hurry and bring back the next Great Worm. This time, get a bigger one—one large enough to hold something inside. What would make a good tribute? Ah, yes! My son-in-law grows wild ginseng. I should tell him to set aside a box of the finest quality."

"..."

A few days later, it was officially announced that the mana stone Yoo Hyun had given them possessed properties capable of advancing magical engineering in South Korea—or rather, throughout the world.

As key figures from guilds stationed overseas hurriedly returned home, the Association's smoking room was empty, unlike before.

Beneath a poster that read Do Not Spit on the Floor, the blank space below had been filled with the words <We are the Cheonyu Empire's first tributary state> and <We'll show you what hospitality means>.

Someone had written beneath the poster: <We are the Cheonyu Empire's first tributary state>, <We'll show you what hospitality means>.