The Unconquerable Gate (2)
An unconquerable raid had been cleared.
Such rumors began circulating in the community.
Naturally, people did not believe it. However, someone personally went to the source of the rumor, verified the facts, and uploaded proof to the community.
As a result, the rumor became the truth.
― Current situation at Lake Lefroy, Australia. (Photo attached)
―> [Photo] See this? It’s completely cleaned up here now. The spider webs are all gone, and it’s back to the way the salt lake used to look. The mana field still seems to be maintained due to the influence of other areas, but Arachne is certainly gone.
- Where did Arachne go? Was she really killed?
- If she’s not there, then it seems like she was killed. But who did it? Did the U.S. step in?
- The U.S. suddenly killing that? That seems unlikely. Sure, some gates are called unconquerable because they truly cannot be conquered, but for some of them, it’s just that even if conquest were technically possible using every available method, the damage would be too massive, so they were simply left alone. Arachne was exactly that kind of case. But for the U.S. to endure the damage and take her down now? Hard to believe.
- If not the U.S., then did China step in? Or maybe Korea?
- Even the U.S. would have to accept considerable losses. For China or Korea, it goes without saying. If anything, the U.S. stepping in is more plausible.
- Either way, it feels completely out of nowhere. Could there have been some hidden loot information about Arachne that we didn’t know about?
- If that’s the case, then the possibility goes up a bit.
- But is there really almost no chance that a private raid team did it instead of a nation?
- Not zero, but it was a monster that even countries left alone because they couldn’t handle the damage. There’s no way a private raid team would take on massive casualties just to kill her.
- What if they found a way to kill her without taking damage?
- That’s not possible. If she were the kind of raid monster that allowed for that, she would never have become a Surviving Being in the first place.
- A private raid team made up of people who value their own lives above everything else has zero (0) chance of challenging an unconquerable gate.
- Then, where the hell was she killed?
- It’s mentally easier to just assume the U.S. did something.
…….
…….
The community was thrown into chaos like this exactly one week after Seon Yul hunted Arachne.
Meanwhile, Seon Yul himself had already finished the Arachne hunt, completed all the cleanup, returned to Korea, and was resting comfortably.
Through the Arachne raid, Seon Yul gained more than just experience.
He obtained not only the ‘Arachne’s Thread’ he had wanted, but also a large quantity of magic stones and even a legendary-grade item.
If all the loot Seon Yul obtained was organized, it looked like this:
[Super-Giant Tarantula Arachne Loot]
―> Indestructible Iron Wall Shield <Legendary> / 1 Supreme-Grade Magic Stone / 1 High-Grade Magic Stone / 49.6kg Intermediate-Grade Magic Stone / 5 Bundles of Intact Arachne’s Thread
The most important item here was, of course, the ‘Bundles of Intact Arachne’s Thread.’
The reason he considered this more important than a legendary-grade item or even a supreme-grade magic stone was that it matched exactly what Seon Yul had hoped for… no, it exceeded his expectations and pleased him even more than he had imagined.
[Bundle of Intact Arachne’s Thread <No Grade>]
― A clump of Arachne’s threads bundled together. If all the threads in the bundle are combined, their total length is 10 meters. The thickness of the threads is thinner than a human hair, yet their strength rivals that of adamantium.
[Base Effect] None.
[Granted Skills] None.
A material item without even a grade.
But to Seon Yul, this was not just a simple material item.
The biggest reason Seon Yul had initially wanted to obtain Arachne’s Thread was that it was classified as a ‘wire.’
Before attempting the Arachne raid, he had already purchased 1 centimeter of Arachne’s Thread from the market and confirmed this.
Therefore, he had believed that if Arachne dropped intact bundles of thread, that alone would make the raid worth attempting… and in the end, his prediction proved correct.
Seon Yul had obtained no fewer than five of these bundles.
Combined, that amounted to a total of 50 meters.
Based on current market prices, the total cash value of these five bundles was close to 100 billion won.
Of course, the reason Arachne’s Thread was so expensive on the market at the moment was because of its rarity. If supply increased, the price could drop from tens of millions of won per centimeter to merely a few million. Nevertheless, it still held a value of hundreds of billions of won.
“But I have absolutely no intention of selling this!”
Inside Absolute Space, Seon Yul was playing around with Arachne’s Thread and practicing control when he gave a slight smile and shook his head.
He combined the five bundles into one and compressed them as much as possible.
Surprisingly, it compressed down to about the size of a baseball.
Then, from that compressed mass, he pulled out strands of Arachne’s Thread one by one and controlled them freely, just as Arachne had once sprayed her webs.
Chwararararak!
The Arachne threads were easily controlled according to Seon Yul’s will, and as a result, he handled Arachne’s threads, her webs, even more perfectly than Arachne herself.
The dignity of a Wire Master.
Indeed, ‘Master’-type abilities were second to none in this regard.
After playing around with the thread for a while, Seon Yul spread it out and wrapped it around both of his forearms.
Since it was so thin, winding it around his forearms made it completely invisible from the outside.
However, if he went outside Absolute Space in this state, the control ability would vanish, and the threads would droop limply. Still, as long as the Wire Master ability remained active, he could maintain tension indefinitely.
“For a user with the Wire Master ability, this really feels like a near-mythical item…”
This was the firm conclusion Seon Yul had reached after handling Arachne’s Thread for several days.
That was how good it was.
“Of course, this shield is good too.”
After wrapping the thread around his forearms, Seon Yul picked up the shield standing nearby.
[Indestructible Iron Wall Shield <Legendary>]
― Forged by refining adamantium through a special process, spreading it thin, layering it sixteen times, and engraving a special magic circle upon it, this massive shield can never be destroyed.
[Base Effect] Defense +200 / Defense +100%
[Skill A] Indestructible (Passive): Absolutely cannot be destroyed. Infinite durability.
[Skill B] Wall of Shield (Active): Using the shield, you can create a shield wall in front of you for 3 seconds. This shield wall reduces all types of damage by 70%. Cooldown 10 minutes.
[Penalty] None.
This shield, too, was a treasure to Seon Yul.
It was only pushed down in priority because Arachne’s Thread was so exceptional; otherwise, it would have been the most satisfying reward.
“Still, I did use quite a lot of intermediate-grade magic stones this time.”
Seon Yul muttered as he organized the magic stones stacked nearby.
6 Supreme-Grade Magic Stones. 19 High-Grade Magic Stones. Approximately 810kg of Intermediate-Grade Magic Stones.
That was his current stock, and it was clear that his intermediate-grade supply had decreased significantly.
But considering the three K9X units and one K3 stealth tank stationed in the combat zone of his Absolute Space, along with the two GAU-8s, it was an expected outcome.
In fact, given the sheer volume of various ammunition types stacked everywhere, it was almost surprising that he still had as much as 810kg of intermediate-grade magic stones left even after such heavy consumption.
“I can always gather more magic stones.”
Ever since he gained free access to Australia’s Death Field, Seon Yul had not been particularly worried about the supply of intermediate-grade magic stones.
Fundamentally, his hunting ability surpassed that of any other user, so as long as he secured a good hunting ground, there was nothing to worry about.
In fact, at the moment, Seon Yul was contemplating tackling another unconquerable gate.
If chosen properly, it seemed likely to yield rewards as sweet as honey, but the concern was that it probably would not go as smoothly as the Arachne raid every time.
“It seems unconquerable gates aren’t all the same.”
The more he researched unconquerable gates, the more complex factors he discovered.
That was what made it all the more difficult to decide.
“I’ll rest for two more days… and then start by finding a hunting ground in the Death Field.”
Since no one was clearing those gates anyway, there was no need to rush.
Seon Yul intended to thoroughly consider, study, and analyze before making his next move.
***
Australia, Lake Lefroy.
When Arachne had existed there, hardly anyone visited this place, but not long ago, quite a few people had come here for various reasons.
Now that everything had been fully confirmed, it had once again become a place people did not visit.
Yet at this very location, several individuals appeared.
“Whew, it’s damn far.”
The man who muttered the complaint as he slowly stepped into the Cambolda West area looked around.
Two men in black suits and one woman.
Wearing sunglasses as well, they looked unmistakably like agents from some kind of organization.
“Hm, I can see some traces of battle…”
The Black man who had first spoken muttered while glancing at the White man beside him.
“The preliminary investigation was already completed by the Australian Administration.”
Among the three, the highest-ranking was the Black man, and the White man was his direct subordinate.
The Black woman standing quietly beside them was a magic user dispatched from another department to assist them.
They were agents belonging to the United States Gate Administration.
“And that investigation turned up nothing?”
“It’s not that nothing turned up. Most of it was unreadable, so they were only able to confirm that a battle took place. No other anomalies were discovered.”
“Hm… Looks to me like someone deliberately erased the traces.”
After carefully surveying the surroundings, the Black man nodded and murmured.
“Yes. Not just here, but most traces around Lake Lefroy were erased as well. That’s why the Australian Administration couldn’t obtain any specific information.”
“I don’t know who did it, but someone definitely carried out the Arachne raid here. And they even succeeded… but erased the traces? That’s hard to understand.”
“Could it have been China?”
“China? But even if it were China, would they need to hide this? If anything, they’d probably boast about it everywhere to show off their power.”
“But if it wasn’t us and it wasn’t China, no other nation comes to mind that could raid Arachne.”
“Right, exactly. That’s why we… or rather, this young lady, are here.”
Nodding, the Black man turned to the woman who had been silently standing beside them.
“Rewind, shall we start from here?”
At the Black man’s request, Rewind quietly nodded.
Then she extended her hand toward the collapsed recreation center in Cambolda West.
Her ability was exactly as her nickname suggested… ‘Rewind.’
The moment her awakened ability activated, both of her eyes turned completely white, and hologram-like images of past events that had occurred in the designated area began to appear.
Then the hologram rewound in reverse, playing backward and revealing, one by one, all the events that had taken place at that location in the past.
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