Jeju Island (2)
[The special dungeon of the Drake Queen has been completed.]
[The Drake Legion Gate is changed to an Elite Drake Legion Gate.]
[The Drake Queen is changed to an Elite Drake Queen.]
[The mana field zone expands significantly.]
[All mana users inside the mana field zone are marked. The mark disappears when leaving the mana field zone and reappears upon entering.]
[All drakes display extremely strong hostility toward marked targets and have enhanced combat abilities when fighting opponents bearing the mark.]
[The gate and all drakes increase in rank, and the rewards are greatly upgraded.]
……
……
In the end, disaster struck.
Not only had the S+ Drake Legion Gate evolved into an SS-rank Elite Drake Legion Gate, but even the Drake Queen had become not an ordinary queen, but an Elite Queen (SS).
And that Elite Queen began mass-producing special drakes with the prefix ‘Elite,’ rather than ordinary ones.
It was the calamity brought on by endless greed.
Moreover, with the addition of the strange mechanic called the ‘Mark,’ the drakes grew even stronger… and incredibly persistent and intelligent.
If the previous drakes had been little more than tasty prey, the drakes now had instead become hunters of users.
They were already difficult monsters to catch because of their ability to fly. But once they became stronger and began moving in groups while relentlessly using their heads, users had no choice but to panic.
The tables had suddenly turned.
Fortunately, many powerful experts had gathered on Jeju Island, so the users were not completely overwhelmed at once. But to anyone watching, it clearly looked as though the positions of hunter and prey had been reversed.
***
“Jeju Island’s situation has become serious.”
An emergency meeting was convened at the Headquarters of the Republic of Korea Gate Management Bureau.
The meeting was hosted by Director Min Jae Yeol of the Busan Branch, the chief official overseeing the southern region.
There were four attendees in total: Director Jeong Yeon Woo, the overall head of the Republic of Korea Gate Management Bureau; Cha Seong Hyeon, who served as both Head of Magical Research and Vice Director; and finally, Go Won Tae, Commander of the Strike Force.
“We’ve been receiving reports… but what is the current situation?” Director Jeong asked with a grave expression.
“Since the dungeon was completed four days ago, ordinary drakes are almost impossible to find. Various types of elite drakes are roaming around… and instead of being hunted, they are now hunting users… setting traps or hiding and launching surprise attacks.”
It was Director Min who answered.
“Haah… This is why I said the Drake Legion Gate should never be mined….”
Director Jeong let out a deep sigh.
For a long time, he had insisted that a legion gate of high-tier monsters like drakes should absolutely never be used for resource mining.
But each time, his position was blocked by lobbying from major corporations and pressure from large guilds with strong influence.
With other high-tier monsters, perhaps there could be debate… but when it came to drakes, their stance was that mining was mandatory.
Among high-tier monsters, drakes were considered the most lucrative treasure trove. A legion gate overflowing with such a ‘honey pot’? In their eyes, abandoning it made no sense.
The compromise had been five months of mining.
While other legion gates could be mined for up to a year, drakes were to be mined for no more than five months before the gate was destroyed.
“But even in Jeju, there are four members of the Twelve Heavens present… and quite a few skilled individuals from top guilds and large corporations as well, aren’t there? If it’s them, then surely….”
Strike Force Commander Go Won Tae tilted his head slightly as he spoke.
But Director Min cut him off mid-sentence.
“Cheonha Group and Daehan Group withdrew their personnel and fled on the very first day after several teams were wiped out when the lair was completed. Seeing that, the Hongyeom Guild and Ace Guild also decided the cost-effectiveness was poor and quickly pulled out on the first day as well. And….”
Director Min shook his head as he continued.
“Woosung Group is seriously considering withdrawal, and Uranos has retreated to the Seogwipo area to observe the situation for now… but we don’t know what they’ll decide afterward. At least the Hero Guild and the Hell Team are known to still be active within the expanded mana field, but even they may withdraw at any time.”
The Hero Guild was led by the Eighth Heaven, “Han Woong,” and the Hell Team was the raid team led by the Ninth Heaven, “Dandan.”
“Isn’t the Third Heaven ‘Dok Sik’ currently in Jeju?” Director Jeong asked.
“As you know, Dok Sik’s whereabouts cannot be tracked. And even if he is there, he’s a solo user who only cares about his own interests. He wouldn’t be much help.”
“This is serious.”
After hearing the report, Director Jeong shook his head.
What was truly serious was that the very ones responsible for creating this situation were now quietly pulling out one by one as soon as it erupted.
No matter how much user activity was fundamentally based on individual freedom, this was selfish behavior.
“Wasn’t it obvious what kind of people would cling to the Drake Legion Gate for mining in the first place? Since it happened to be filled with forces that pursue nothing but extreme profit, what could have been resolved easily has instead become increasingly tangled.”
Director Min’s words were one hundred percent factual.
Not all users were like that, but a significant number of users and factions viewed gates purely as a means of making money.
And such people tended to favor easy hunts, again and again.
However, if they went this far in prioritizing only their own gain, the Bureau could not simply sit idle.
“Cheonha and Daehan will receive strict warnings and penalties under consideration. As for Hongyeom and Ace Guild, block their participation in all Bureau-led projects for the time being. Additional sanctions can be discussed later. What matters now is stabilizing Jeju as quickly as possible….”
Director Jeong turned to Cha Seong Hyeon, the one who was usually quickest to find answers in situations like this.
“…First, I believe the Commander-in-Chief should immediately assemble the elite strike force and move to Jeju.”
As if living up to expectations, Cha Seong Hyeon began answering calmly.
“I’ve already issued the mobilization order.”
Each member of the Republic of Korea Gate Management Bureau’s elite strike force possessed strength equivalent to at least a Hunter-grade combatant.
And though Commander Go Won Tae had not yet reached Noblesse rank, he was a formidable powerhouse close to it. If they advanced together into Jeju, they would undoubtedly be of significant help.
“In addition, perhaps we should contact the Second Heaven and Fifth Heaven, who are on friendly terms with us…”
“We can’t. They’re both overseas.”
Director Jeong immediately cut him off with a shake of his head.
“Ah, then… hmm… What about AbsoluteSafetyFirst?”
Seong Hyeon thought that if the Second and Fifth Heavens were unavailable, there was only one second-best option left.
“AbsoluteSafetyFirst? Would he agree to our request?”
“I believe he would. Frankly speaking, even in an emergency, the supplies I sent him during the invasion event were… enormous. If he considers that a debt, there’s a high chance he’ll grant this request.”
“If he steps in… that would be best.”
“I’ll try my best to persuade him.”
“Just in case, reach out to other hyper-rankers as well… and arrange entry to Jeju via Mokpo aboard a high-speed naval patrol boat.”
“Yes, sir.”
After responding, Cha Seong Hyeon immediately left the meeting room.
Right now, the most urgent matter for him was contacting AbsoluteSafetyFirst… no, Seon Yul.
—
To state the conclusion first, Seon Yul agreed to head to Jeju.
There were two major reasons.
The first was exactly as Cha Seong Hyeon had said… Seon Yul himself felt that he owed the Bureau.
However, if that had been the only reason, he likely would have refused this time.
It was because a second reason was added to the first that refusal turned into acceptance.
The second reason was his cousin, Jang Jun Hyeok.
Jun Hyeok was currently believed to still be in Jeju.
Seon Yul had already received a worried call from his aunt saying she couldn’t reach Jun Hyeok. Then, as if by fate, Cha Seong Hyeon contacted him immediately afterward.
Thanks to the situation in Jeju that Cha explained, Seon Yul understood why Jun Hyeok had been unreachable.
He could repay his debt to the Bureau, confirm Jun Hyeok’s safety, and finally… try hunting drakes himself, which were said to taste excellent.
By his reckoning, that made it almost a case of killing three birds with one stone.
But although he agreed to go to Jeju, there was one larger-than-expected problem.
How to get there.
In truth, Cha Seong Hyeon had told him they would escort him to Mokpo and then enter Jeju aboard a high-speed patrol boat.
Seon Yul refused.
From the start, he had absolutely no intention of revealing himself to anyone.
If he happened to be seen unavoidably, that was one thing… but deliberately showing himself was out of the question.
Because of that, getting to Jeju became a problem.
Faced with this unexpected issue, Seon Yul thought long and hard.
He even seriously considered not going at all if it meant he couldn’t reach Jeju without revealing himself.
But as he pondered further, an idea came to him.
A surprisingly ingenious method.
If successful, it was something he could use from time to time in the future as well.
Though it would likely consume a considerable amount of magic stones… one method came to mind.
So Seon Yul told Cha Seong Hyeon that he would make his way to Jeju on his own.
Naturally, Cha insisted several times that the fastest way was by the patrol boat they had arranged.
Seon Yul knew that, under normal circumstances, it would indeed be the fastest method.
But it was not a method he could use.
In the end, when Seon Yul firmly insisted he would handle it himself, Cha reluctantly backed down.
At the very least, AbsoluteSafetyFirst did not seem like someone who would lie… so Cha chose to believe he would truly come.
After ending the call, Seon Yul immediately began preparing the method he had conceived.
It was a method he had once used before.
But after Absolute Space shifted from a free service to a paid one, he had not dared attempt it again.
That method was carving the entrance of Absolute Space onto an object.
Of course, simply carving the entrance onto an object was not enough… the object itself had to be transported to Jeju.
But that could be resolved more easily than expected.
His cousin, Jang Jun Hyeok, was currently in Jeju.
By using him, the issue of transporting the object could be solved at once.
In the end, only one task remained: no matter how many intermediate magic stones it might consume, he would have to repeatedly open and close the entrance to Absolute Space until the entrance adhered perfectly to the object he planned to send to Jun Hyeok.
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