Chapter 68
I hurriedly flew to the research institute in Cheonan where Ms. Gyuseon was.
I mean, I literally flew. In a helicopter.
“Ms. Gyuseon.”
“Yes, CEO.”
For someone who’d just dropped that bombshell, she looked perfectly fine.
“A T-Transcendence Quest? Is that for real?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Good heavens.”
A Transcendence Quest only unlocked once a class-specific skill’s proficiency reached Master rank and certain conditions were met.
As far as I knew, no one in alchemy had reached the Transcendent grade yet.
No, more than that...
There wasn’t even anyone who’d met the conditions for a Transcendence Quest in the first place.
In other words,
this woman, whose eyes were darting around right in front of me...
was currently at the pinnacle of alchemy.
What shocking news.
[Great Feat ─Ars Magna (ARS MAGNA)─]
That was the name of the alchemy Transcendence Quest she’d told me about.
What an overblown name.
I wonder what my Necromancy Transcendence Quest is called.
“But how did it unlock?”
“After researching Nectar, I saw a message saying there was one condition left. But... the moment I reached level 33, it opened.”
So the conditions were extracting Nectar and reaching level 33?
“I think it’s best if we keep this information between us.”
“Yes, understood.”
Knowing Ms. Gyuseon, she’d want to share it with the academic community, but that would mean revealing Nectar’s existence.
As the owner and sole producer of Nectar, she was probably following my wishes.
Still, I hadn’t expected her to be level 33 already.
Even without clearing dungeons, production classes could gain experience and level up just by using their skills.
The problem was that the amount was pitiful...
But she’d accumulated that pitiful experience and gotten close to my level.
Just how much research had she done...?
“Anyway, what did you need my help with? If you need research funds, use as much as you like.”
“...That’s a pretty tempting offer... *slurp*... No, it’s fine...”
She was drooling at the unlimited research budget and swallowed it back, right?
“Hehe, actually, it says I have to clear a Gate.”
“A Gate?”
“Yes, with one companion.”
At least it showed some consideration.
If it had ordered a noncombat alchemist to clear a Gate alone, it would’ve basically been telling her not to bother.
“It says I can only bring someone level 38 or lower.”
“...Whew.”
I nearly got screwed.
I was level 36 now, so the timing was perfect.
I almost missed the chance to help Ms. Gyuseon with her Transcendence Quest because I was busy clearing Gates.
“Which one do we have to clear?”
“First, it says to clear the level 33 Gate in Colombia, ‘The Empire of False Gold.’”
“Colombia’s level 33...”
I checked the international Gate database that most Hunters used...
“The Gate at a place called Lake Guatavita? Oh, it’s uncleared.”
Clearing Gates classified as impossible was my specialty.
I contacted Zephyros right away.
“Please look into the level 33 Gate ‘The Empire of False Gold’ at Lake Guatavita, Colombia.”
─Colombia? Why are you going to that hellhole?
“It just worked out that way.”
─... Is life so easy for you that you go looking for hell?
“Is it really that crazy there? Don’t people live there?”
─There were a few countries I never went to clear Gates, even when I was active. Colombia was one of them. Hunter or not, if you get unlucky and die there, they won’t even find your body. It’s more dangerous outside the dungeons than inside them.
That was a little intimidating.
“Even so, if you absolutely have to go...”
─Sigh... Well, fine. You can at least take care of yourself.
“...Ms. Gyuseon has to come with me, too.”
─What? Are you crazy? Have you lost your mind? Who are you bringing?
“Well...”
Zephyros was first startled to hear about the alchemy Transcendence Quest, then let out a deep sigh.
─Sigh, of all places, why there...
“Tell me about it.”
If you had to name the biggest difference between the Awakened era and the one before it, it was that any country with a large enough population could field a certain level of fighting force, regardless of its wealth or technological development.
Of course, if it had an absurdly ‘huge’ population compared to its dungeon supply, like China or India, that was another problem.
A moderately large population translated directly into a country’s military strength.
With a population of 52 million—the second-largest in South America—Colombia had produced plenty of Hunters.
And shady business was always more profitable than legitimate business.
Colombia’s Awakened, the Hunters, naturally joined the cartels.
As a result, Colombia’s cartels boasted power beyond comparison with the pre-Awakening era, and even the U.S. didn’t dare touch them.
It was different from the old days, when any suspicion of supplying drugs to the U.S. would bring in the DEA or U.S. military to smash the cartels.
Taking on cartels strengthened by Hunter forces meant the U.S. would have to accept some pretty heavy losses, too.
─The population there is similar to ours, so I guess they have about as many Hunters as we do?
“Probably.”
─No, one and a half times as many as we do.
“...How?”
─By our standards, even people who aren’t suited to combat have no other way to make a living, so they grudgingly become Hunters and develop their skills and combat techniques however they can. And what percentage of those Hunters do you think belong to cartels?
“...Ten percent?”
─More than 50 percent. It’s practically a failed state. So...
Even in the capital, Bogotá, there were areas the government couldn’t even touch—hellholes in their own right.
The provinces were even worse.
─There’s no way we can avoid going, so I’ll pull every string I can to look after you, but please be careful.
“...Understood.”
Over there...
I had a feeling I wouldn’t be able to take my hand off my staff.
**
After making a few preparations, I headed to Colombia on a private jet with Ms. Gyuseon and Senior Choi Kang, who would be guarding her.
“It’s our first time going abroad together, isn’t it?”
“Oh, you’re right.”
We’d been together quite a while, but we’d never gone abroad together.
It was just a problem that our first trip was to a place like this.
It was pretty fun in its own way.
The fact that everything the two of us had to talk about was bacteria was something to think about, though...
We chatted and played with Kkyu, too.
And then we arrived.
After a long flight, we landed at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia.
The airport had been named after El Dorado, literally the city of gold.
The person welcoming us at the airport was a white man wearing a floral short-sleeved shirt and shorts.
“So this is the famous Kim Segyun. Ironwall and I have met before, haven’t we?”
“I remember you. I think we met in Bolivia or somewhere?”
“Yes, yes. You’ve got a good memory.”
“What brings you to such a rough neighborhood?”
“What do you mean, what brings me? This is my hometown, after all. Ha ha. Nice to meet you. I’m Fernando Lopez, a retired Hunter.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Segyun.”
After exchanging casual handshakes, Lopez let out a small sigh.
“So, you’re going to Lake Guatavita?”
“Yes.”
“It’s not hard to guide you there, but there’s one problem. A pretty big one... It’s cartel territory.”
“...Is there any part that isn’t cartel territory?”
“Honestly, no. If you already know that, you don’t need a guide in Colombia, do you?”
Damn cartels.
“There’s one thing in our favor.”
“What is it?”
“I know another narco (drug lord) who’s close to the narco who rules the Guatavita area.”
Not some distant relative by marriage, I hope?
“That narco is a huge fan of the Korean Wave.”
“...Pardon?”
“He loves Korean food, music, all that stuff... He even likes Korean Hunters. I think he’s a fan of yours, Ironwall.”
...Should I have brought Zephyros?
“He probably likes you too, Kim Segyun.”
“So we win him over and use that to approach the narco in Guatavita?”
“That’s right.”
This felt like it was going to make the distribution chain needlessly complicated.
“Can’t we just go straight to the narco in Guatavita? He’d benefit from the pacification effect, too.”
“There are two Gates in that area classified as impossible to clear. Clearing them won’t bring the pacification effect. And that narco isn’t the sole ruler of the entire region, either.”
“So there’s no point in doing a favor for someone else.”
The strategy was to befriend distant powers and attack nearby ones.
People living close together were usually enemies.
The narco ruling Lake Guatavita and the one in the neighboring area were probably rivals.
“Phew, understood. So where is this narco?”
“Get in the car.”
...It doesn’t look like a car that can fit three of us, including Senior Choi.
It was a clunker, the first one I’d ridden in a while.
After always riding limousines, luxury sedans, sports cars, and hypercars, it was a novel experience.
We squeezed in somehow and arrived at a mansion that looked outrageously extravagant from the outside.
It was literally a mansion that looked like it had been built by throwing money at it.
“This is Diego Montero’s mansion. I’ve already contacted him, so he should be coming out now...”
Right on cue, a man came striding out, surrounded by a large number of Hunters armed with swords, bows, guns, and the like.
His rugged beard contrasted with his crisp, perfectly pressed dress shirt, its sleeves rolled up.
A Swiss luxury watch peeked out from under his rolled-up sleeve.
If this had been before, I wouldn’t have even recognized it. Kim Segyun, you’ve come a long way.
“Welcome. It’s an honor to meet the famous Korean Hunter everyone’s talking about these days. And you must be... Ironwall! Welcome!”
“Nice to meet you.”
I shook hands with them one by one, starting with me.
But when I shook hands with Ms. Gyuseon last, his gaze seemed a little strange.
Was I being oversensitive?
“So, the reason you’ve come all this way... You want to clear that Gate in Guatavita?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s Raul’s territory. Even I can’t just do whatever I want there.”
“I heard you’re close with Raul Garcia.”
“We meet up for a drink now and then.”
Good thing I’d brought it just in case.
“Then you’ll like this, too.”
As I opened my inventory...
Click-clack! The sounds of pistol slides being racked and bowstrings being drawn came from all around us.
Fuck, talk about hostile.
Montero raised a hand slightly, and the people who’d aimed pistols and drawn bows lowered their weapons.
“You shouldn’t open your inventory carelessly around here, my friend.”
I just gave a small nod at his advice.
“May I give you a gift?”
“Of course.”
When I handed over what I’d taken from my inventory, the drug lord let out an exclamation.
“This...! Isn’t this...!”
“That’s right. Cheonsang.”
“That liquor that costs over $200,000 a bottle! I couldn’t even try it because of that crazy old man Kaiser!”
“You won’t be able to from now on, either.”
“Huh?”
“We’ve decided not to export it outside Korea anymore.”
“What? Why?”
“Domestic demand is enough.”
Though I wasn’t sure whether it would really be enough.
Anyway, that was the decision.
He eyed the bottle of liquor in my hand greedily.
“If you share a few drinks of this with Raul Garcia, won’t he be in a good mood and let us clear the Gate?”
“Ahem... If you’re offering that much, I’ll certainly have to try persuading him.”
After thinking it over for a moment, he seemed to make up his mind, then opened his mouth with a hearty laugh.
“Ha ha, very well. But I have one condition.”
A condition?
“Leave that woman behind. It’s a rough place, so she’d be better off staying here.”
This son of a bitch?
Talk about asking a cat to guard the fish...
The curse rose to my throat, but I held it in and smiled.
“That’s impossible. She’s someone who has to clear the Gate with me.”
“That can’t be. She’s not a combat-class Awakened, is she?”
“She’s a mage.”
“Heh heh. Even if she’s a magic-type, combat mages all have a certain look about them. Like you.”
“Regardless, she’s clearing it with me.”
“If you don’t leave that woman behind, I won’t allow it.”
After holding his gaze for a long while, I jumped to my feet.
I put the bottle back into my inventory, too.
“I’m sorry. You don’t seem like someone who can help us.”
Negotiations are over, asshole.
As we tried to leave...
Hunters holding swords blocked our path.
“...What are you trying to do?”
“Sit down. The invitation isn’t over yet. Where do you think you’re going?”
“You have an invitation that stops guests from leaving?”
“In Colombia, we do.”
After a brief pause, he curled his lips back in a snarl.
“No one leaves until I give permission.”
Somehow, I knew it would come to this.
I walked back to the sofa without protest and plopped down.
Ms. Gyuseon looked at me anxiously, while Senior Choi Kang was already starting to crackle with little sparks.
“Are you confident?”
“Confident? What, is the person in front of me Kaiser? If it were ten years from now, I might be scared... but not now.”
He liked Korean food, Korean movies and dramas, and Korean Hunters...
There was no reason he couldn’t like Korean women, too.
But...
“You’re going to make an enemy of me over a woman, like some horny dog?”
“...You’ve already been rude to me. But I’ll forgive you with a generous heart. And let me ask you this in return. Are you really going to make an enemy of me over one woman?”
I took a breath.
“I’m sorry.”
“Ha ha ha! That’s more like it.”
“I have one question.”
“A question? Ask away.”
“Have you ever killed anyone before?”
“What?”
The unexpected question caught him off guard for a moment.
Then Diego burst out laughing.
He turned to his underlings and shouted, roaring with laughter.
“This guy’s asking if I’ve ever killed anyone!”
“Pwahahaha!” Laughter mixed with mockery erupted all around us.
“Is that answer enough?”
“Plenty.”
“Heh heh. Why bother asking that?”
“Because...”
This might end up being the first person I’d ever killed...
I thought it’d feel kind of wrong to kill an actual human being.
“If I’m going to make my first kill, I might as well start with a bastard, right?”
At the same time,
mist spread out in every direction from my entire body.
The Hunters started drawing on their mana as if they’d prepared for this, but it was useless.
Weapons, armor, and defensive skills alike...
They began turning to dust and scattering in an instant.
Diego’s cartel members vanished without even being able to scream.
“...Huh?”
It was a surreal sight.
All those people who’d definitely been standing there...
I blinked, and they no longer existed.
“Guhhhh...”
Only one person was still managing to hold out.
A barrier of aura extending from his dantian, the source of his mana, was barely holding it back.
And it was only... one-hundredth of Gluttony.
When the Gluttony that had devoured everyone else latched onto him,
he disappeared just like his subordinates, without even a scream.
The space where countless cartel Hunters had been...
And... there was no one left.