Chapter 45
Inside the circular barricade, four or five attendants seemed to be attached to each person, tending to them. It felt a bit like watching famous actors gathered on a movie set? In fact, they were people I often saw in photos on the Awakened Gallery too.
Wow, it's that person.
Even the people who always turn up in hunter battle montages on YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels. Famous Hunters from all over Korea were really gathered here. And....
"Ms. Eve, the check is complete. Your heart rate and... oxygen saturation are both fine. Your breathing rate is steady too. Your blood pressure is a little low, but still within a safe range."
"Ah, thank you..!"
I came here with the Nova Guild, so Nova's dedicated medical team ran all sorts of tests on me before I entered the dungeon structure. Kind of like a condition check? My heart was pounding like crazy, but was that really okay?
"You seem a little nervous. Shall we take one deep breath together?"
"Hoo, hoooh...."
As I calmly took deep breaths and looked around, there were really so many people here. Even blacksmiths had come to tune hunters' personal weapons, and on one side a giant mounted familiar was wolfing down feed with tremendous force.
The boar monster Giant Rune Boar, about the size of a rhinoceros. It's the monster tamed by A-rank Hunter Jang Hyungjun, who's always mocked as Hog Rider on the Awakened Gallery.
It gulped down the wooden feed trough with its mouth wide open, smashing it apart as it ate—enough to gouge the ground deeply.
ㅡBEEP!! BEEP-BEEP!!!
"Huh? What's up, Daengdaeng."
ㅡBEEP!
Daengdaeng, who was watching with me from the side, must have felt competitive toward the Giant Rune Boar, because it kept scraping the grass-covered ground with its tiny paws, but... with such a small body, it only dug a tiny hole about half the size of a baseball.
"Hey, what are you doing? Stop bullying the dirt and come here. You'll get your paws dirty."
ㅡBeep..
A little thing with such a small body, yet such a huge competitive streak. What a cute one.
Unnie Chaerin was going from person to person, talking with them almost like a fan meeting, and since all of them were famous people, the instant anyone so much as made eye contact, the reporters' cameras would go click-click-click.
"Princess."
"Ah, yes! Ophelia. Did something happen?"
"In this battle, I plan to move proactively to protect the princess. Please consider our available forces limited to Suri, Minyum, and Daengdaeng."
Ophelia wasn't going to fight from a distance like an ordinary summon; she planned to stand by my side and focus on guarding me. For a summoner, the master's safety comes first, so it couldn't be helped. But that's fine!
"Minyum, how are you feeling?"
ㅡClack!
As always, Minyum nodded and, with a crisp, disciplined motion, raised her right thumb. Today's Minyum could show power on a completely different level from before.
"Do you want to try using it once?"
ㅡnod-nod
After Minyum nodded and clenched both fists, a mechanical sound came from behind her back as metal wings made of rare metal sprang out. They weren't like real bird wings such as Suri's, but more like paddles designed to redirect thrust.
ㅡWhirr..!!
"O-ohh..!"
The reason today's Minyum was truly different! With support from the Ohseong Group, which even has a foothold in the defense industry, we'd managed to get our hands on an engine that had actually been used in fighter jets—an old model, yes, but a real one!
In an instant, Minyum, blasting blue flames from her back, floated about a meter up into the air.
Thanks to Ophelia's stock-market profits and Unnie Chaerin's influence, we barely managed to get it. A knight with a fighter jet engine attached? Unless it was at least SSSSS-rank, that wouldn't make sense.
In fact, Minyum had the engine installed near the end of the first week of training, and after that, every training machine in the A-rank training room started getting wrecked, so I urgently changed all the rental bookings I'd made for the A-rank room.
And now, the most important part!
"Heehee, Minyum. You're super excited, aren't you?!"
ㅡWhirr!
"I'm excited too! What's it going to be like?!"
That means 400 grams of high-grade mana stone and 10 kg of rare metal had arrived for Minyum. With this, we were going to upgrade Minyum into a super-strong knight and have her put on an amazing performance.
For her own upgrade celebration performance, Minyum pulled off a windmill spin. She was whirling about 1.5 times faster than Uncle Minho.
"Heehee. Let's hurry and do it."
ㅡClack!
"Ophelia, but... there are a lot of people here. Is it okay if we do it now?"
Ophelia slowly nodded at my question. The last time we made Ophelia, for some reason I felt like it had to be kept secret, so we even left the bodyguard unnie outside.
"It's fine. In fact, by demonstrating your abilities, it is also possible to prove the princess's value."
"Hmm, I see. Got it!"
The mana stone and 10 kg of rare metal the Nova Guild staff brought came rattling over on a handcart toward me. Everyone was busy carefully sharpening their weapons and preparing to enter the gate, so when this solid block of metal suddenly came in, of course it drew attention.
"Huh? What's going on over there?"
"Film it for now. It's something the Nova Guild is doing."
"Yes, sir."
The giant cameras of several reporters standing near the closest access-control line all turned this way. Now all that was left was what I was good at...
Let's just do exactly as I was trained..!
Among Ophelia's special training was the effort to restore the princess's dignity. You know, the thing Suri told me before—speak like a princess.
"Ahem..! Minyum! I hereby appoint you as an official knight! By my command.. uh..."
"You shall swear eternal loyalty to the royal family."
"Ah, swear eternal loyalty to the royal family!"
ㅡThwack!
Ophelia was facepalming beside me, but at this rate it was 95 out of 100. I only swapped the order of two words, that's all. Cut me some slack.
ㅡClack!
Minyum knelt before me and nodded, and I also stepped up to the materials beside me, placed my hand on them, and said.
"Golem creation, merge with Minyum!"
ㅡFlash!
The materials were definitely fewer than when we made Ophelia. But I could feel the amount of mana being drained away at a tremendous rate, and I wasn't just standing there doing nothing either. I could handle this much.
"Nngh..!"
The tremendous amount of mana pouring out in an instant filled the materials with blue light, and then the materials, having lost their original shape as if they had melted, flew toward Minyum.
And then....
[The level of the EX Skill Golem Creation has increased. Lv.8 -> Lv.10]
[The EX Skill Golem Creation has reached a critical threshold. A perk has been applied.]
[Recovered part of the fragments of the fallen kingdom. {Time remaining : 1:59:57} ]
"Eh..?"
Where had the ridiculously overpowered, super-strong knight robot gone? Just like when we made Ophelia last time, only Minyum's core remained floating in the air. Ophelia, who'd been watching from the side, also spoke as she looked at Minyum.
"This is.. unexpected."
"What?! Even Ophelia didn't expect this?!"
About thirty minutes from now, Team A would enter. And our team is Team C, so we'd go in an hour later... Since completion still had two hours left, we wouldn't be able to use Minyum for the first hour after entering.
If I'd known it would turn out like this, I would have made her at home and brought her here..!
"Princess, please don't panic. There are many eyes on us."
"Ah, right..!"
If I got photographed while flustered and babbling, all the princess's dignity I'd shown so far would disappear. For now, stay calm....
"Su, Suri... what do I do..? Are you going to do it all by yourself..?"
ㅡEek..
Suri shook her head back and forth. For about an hour after entering the gate, I might have to rely only on Suri's combat abilities. Of course, Ophelia was there, but I'd just be watching from far behind. And Ophelia would stick right next to me to protect me....
"There's no helping it. Until Minyum's creation is finished, I think I'll just have to move around a little more."
"E-even so, will you be okay..?"
Since I was participating in the Nova Guild assault team as an outsider, I had to show some kind of result, or Chaerin unnie, who had recommended me, would be in trouble too. Ophelia quickly went over to Chaerin unnie, who was preparing for battle, and they talked about this and that.
Chaerin unnie also hurried over here with a slightly flustered face.
"Eve? Is that Minyum?"
"Y-yes.. It ended up like last time..."
"I-I see.... You said two hours, right? Hmm~..."
Unnie Chaerin stroked her chin and nodded, then came over and took my hand with a smile.
"Don't worry, Eve. Then... for about an hour, just stay right by your big sister's side. Then Ophelia can fight, right?"
"Even so, is that okay..? I feel like I'd just be dead weight..."
"No, it's fine. Your unnie will be fighting from the rear too, so it'll hardly be any different from what I originally planned."
"Uuuh.. I'm sorry..."
* * * * *
[ㅇㅇ : What the hell is our Ansan Huangling gallery god doing
Why is he there lol]
-갸홍 : The princess is way too cute ㅍ퓨퓨퓨ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
-ㅇㅇ : What, it's real
-맥햄통 : Wait, it's the first mission and they're bringing a brand-new A-rank?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : They did say this time it's just insanely big and a bit easier, though ㅇㅇ
ㄴ 맥햄통 : I heard it was a cakewalk, but wow
The Awakened Gallery was in the middle of watching the live broadcast of the Desert Mausoleum, which had just started streaming in real time. It's being called Ansan Huangling now, because that's easier to understand and more convenient than the dull, scholarly name.
Stand aside, Qin Shi Huang's Tomb.
[램즈카빌GOA : Who's the person next to the gallery god, though
She's quite lovely, yeah. Is she my wife]
-ㅇㅇ : What's with the maid outfit lol, is that cosplay?
ㄴ 도슝좍 : Surprisingly, she's a real maid
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : (severe punishment mode)
[ㅇㅇ : Where the hell did that gigantic model kit from just now go?
It flashed and vanished, what the hell]
-ㅇㅇ : Exactly, it just went poof and disappeared
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : The gallery god looks super flustered; is this okay lol
[ㅇㅇ : What? An elementary-school girl is an A-rank Hunter?
(Photo of a suited man loosening his tie)
Come back when you've grown up a little more]
-ㅇㅇ : Lol, ○○ hyung really held back there
-엘르엘 : Still, not messing with grade-schoolers is GOAT...
ㄴ ㅇㅇ: Fact) He hasn't even gone after middle schoolers either...
ㄴ 가갤입단 : You crazy Awakened Gallery bastards are at it with the dirty jokes again
* * * * *
Oh-ho—
"How is it, are you feeling a little calmer now?"
"Ah, yes!"
I guess I can see why they had even the hunters who wouldn't be going in gather this early. When we first arrived, there were so many people that my head was spinning and I was incredibly nervous.
As more and more people went in and it got quieter, my body somehow felt stiff, and I got the feeling that I wanted to get to fighting right away. I'm warming my chilled body a little with cocoa.
When hunters enter a gate, they say survival rates are much higher if you're more aggressive than if you're tense and cowering.
"Team Leader Yu! Did you see this? They said Team B just ran into the mid-boss."
"Really? Let's watch together. Eve, do you want to watch too?"
"A mid-boss? I-I want to see too!"
Watching the team that went in ahead of us keep racking up victories, I can feel the tension easing and my morale rising.
[Recovered part of the fragments of the fallen kingdom. {Time remaining : 1:03:46}]
"Hmm..."
Still, I'm worried because Minyum still hasn't come back. If I spent cash to instant-complete it, wouldn't that work? I've got plenty of Robux....
"Team C, please enter!"
"Phew, finally."
This is Nova Guild's assault team's makeshift lounge. It was made through one of those devices that turns the container on the back of a super-sized truck into a house by sliding it out sideways and stretching it longer and longer.
When an employee from the Hunter Management Association shouted outside to call us, the elite Nova Guild assault team lounging in the makeshift room began moving with groans.
"Ugh, ugh. Let's hurry up and go already."
"I thought we were going to go home waiting around."
Even if they said that, you can see morale overflowing from their whole bodies. As expected of the elite assault team of Korea's strongest guild.
"Eve, don't worry. Got it?"
"Hoo... yes! Understood!"
Of course, right now I'm one of them too.
Praise the princess.