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nTrap (2)

nIt was biting cold that awaited Arthur and the other Matap guild members as soon as they crossed the gate.

n“Gasp!”

nThe hunters who set foot on the ice swallowed their screams one after another.

nThey suppressed the pain, which was like carving their flesh, with superhuman patience.

nThey couldn’t reveal their presence to the target, and they didn’t know how near he might be around.

nArthur looked down at the terminal.

nThe current temperature is indicated.

n“Negative 63 degrees?!”

nIn the visible range, the only thing that they could see were white glaciers.

nIt was a world where everything was covered with thick ice walls.

nArthur pondered for a moment.

n‘It’s a temperature that’s impossible for ordinary people to move around.’

nHe looked at his party members.

nEveryone was above SS-Rank.

nThere was nothing to worry about the hunters freezing to death with that temperature when they had already surpassed normal human beings’ state.

nBut it wasn’t like they didn’t feel the cold, so Arthur immediately cast his magic.

nWide-Range Cold Resistance (Rank: SS)!

nAs the Mana wave gently wrapped around the surrounding, the hunters’ faces, which had been distorted, returned to normal.

nAt the same time, Arthur’s Mana began to be consumed slowly.

n‘We’ll have to deal with him as quickly as possible.’

nArthur didn’t doubt that once Seo Jin-Wook was in his hands, he would spit out everything he knew.

n‘It didn’t matter if he’s an SS-Rank. No one has endured it so far.’

nIt wasn’t his first time to torture an SS-Rank hunter.

nHe was confident that no one could stand the harsh methods he had mastered over the past two decades and that he was sure that he knew better than anyone else in the world how to provide maximum pain to an Awakened.

n‘A naive boy who’s still so young has been acting cheeky in front of me. I’ll make you beg for me to kill you while you’re squeezing out your tears and mucus.’

nWhen he glanced at the wizard, he nodded his head and cast out a spell again.

nTrail Seeker!

nUpon initiation, the wizard’s eyes turned transparent, and a blue light lingered.

nHe focused while observing in all directions.

nThe effectiveness of the magic that overcame the Penetration type weaknesses was limited to a certain distance. It showed non-physical footprints that displayed the path anything had traveled.

nThat time, the wizard’s gaze turned to the sky instead of the ground.

n“… Already more than two kilometers away.”

nThey opened their mouths only after confirming that their voices wouldn’t be heard.

n“Already?”

nThe wizard continued, his eyes still glancing far away.

n“He’s flying.”

n“Is it Levitation? Has he mastered magic skills? No, did he copy it from someone else?”

nIf it was true that he could copy others, it was a sign to raise the evaluation of Seo Jin-Wook’s unique skill to a higher level.

n‘There’s no one around here who uses Levitation right now. Can he remember a skill that he once copied a long time ago? What kind of unfair skill is that–!‘

nThe wizard, who was observing, soon shook his head.

n“I don’t think it’s magic. No magic can make you grow wings out on your back, is there?”

n“Right. it must be an item!”

nHis eyes flashed.

n“What is his flight speed?”

n“Only a Levitation of S-Rank and above can catch up.”

nArthur’s expression cast a deeper shadow of greed.

n‘It’s a performance that I’ve never heard of before!’

nIf it’s an item comparable to S-Rank magic, it would be priced tremendously.

nArthur was so impressed but then…

nThe Stardust Wing performance was more than that, and there was no way that he could know that Seo Jin-Wook was deliberately flying slowly.

nTate, the only close-ranged hunter among his men who entered, offered his opinion.

n“If the distance is already wide and he has flight-type artifacts, wouldn’t it be better to wait outside the gate and strike him when he gets out? He’d be caught off guard if we did that.”

nThe place they were in wasn’t a favorable battlefield for the close-range hunter who couldn’t use Levitation or master cold resistance.

nHowever, Arthur flatly rejected Tate’s proposal.

n“He is the hunter that the Korean government values the most. If he suddenly disappears, it’s a given that they will put all their efforts into searching for him- Even if the illegal invasion of dungeon charges is considered. If there are any traces left of us being involved, it will become troublesome. It’s best to deal with it in the dungeon.”

nHe decided to track him before he got away any further.

n“We are chasing him right away! Tate needs to be taken care of by someone!”

nThree wizards and a swordsman flew through the cold air.

nWhoosh!

nAs the flight began, their body temperature decreased faster, and every time it did so, the cold resistance spell sucked up Arthur’s Mana even more.

nGulp.

nHe took a sip of a Mana Potion and watched the front.

nAs he did that…

n“I have a vision on him!”

nIndeed, ahead of them was Seo Jin-Wook, who penetrated the cloudless sky in a straight line.

nA pair of wings made of powders of light could be observed over a huge backpack covering half of his body.

n“What’s that backpack? It’s too big to be a typical combat backpack.”

n“Oh! he’s lowering his altitude.”

nSeo Jin-Wook began to lower himself toward the ice-covered land.

n“Do you want us to take him down?”

n“As soon as he lands and stops moving, let’s immediately cast a restraining spell.”

n“Yes, sir.”

nWhile the Awakened of the Matap was staring at his diagonally falling trajectory…

n“What is that?”

n“…!”

nBeyond the white horizon, a structure appeared, which stood out profusely.

nIt was a giant building made of transparent ice.

n“Doesn’t it look like an altar?”

nIt was similar to what usually appeared in prophecy-type dungeons.

nThe difference was that it seemed to be carved from a giant chunk of ice.

n‘If something like that appears in the dungeon, it’s usually…‘

nIt meant that it was a point where people could receive expensive items and acquirement.

nArthur reserved his plan to attack immediately.

n“Wait. Let’s observe what he does in there first.”

nJust by considering the Aurora of Stability and the flying item on his back that was unknown to the world, it was clear that Seo Jin-Wook had some kind of secret to discovering several items that others didn’t even know existed.

n‘Could it be that that altar might be involved?‘

n“Don’t you think he will spill everything if we just catch him and torture him to say everything he knows?”

n“If we don’t specify the question and start with torture, it’s less efficient. If we want to be able to tell if he’s still lying or hiding, it’s better to start after securing as much data as possible from the perspective of the one that will torture him.”

n“Ah… Of course!”

nThey observed him quietly, using stealth-type magic.

nIn an invisible gaze, Seo Jin-Wook walked to the center of the altar.

nIn there was something that nobody expected.

n“… Flame?”

nInstead of an altar roof, transparent ice covered the structure, which seemed to reflect sunlight and concentrate on a point like a magnifying glass.

nThere was a torch made out of ice where the solar heat gathered, and a light green fire was fluttering on top of it.

nThe fiery green flames that burned in such a cold and windy environment couldn’t be normal.

n‘It’s definitely an item!’

nFurthermore, it was burning on top of the ice.

nThe mysterious altar scene overlapped to create an unusual atmosphere.

n“Oh, that! I see!”

nArthur finally recognized its identity as a memory flashed in his head like lightning.

nThe reason why the Hunter society had been so famous those days!

nHe shouted its name quietly.

n“It’s the Vital Flame!”

nFrom the moment the Senator provided supplies to more than a thousand customers, hidden secrets between the rich could no longer be maintained.

nThe rumor about the item that was useless to high-level Awakened but many wealthy people were frantically looking for it had spread to the hunters. Those that sensed the enormous value of it searched in the dungeons around the world.

nThe Washington Market shut its mouth about the source, and if they pressured them by force, they would be making the black markets around the world into enemies. That was why there was only one way, which was to pry around dungeons.

nDespite the endless search of hunters worldwide, the source couldn’t be found. The treasure worth the highest bid price remained out of their hands.

n“Wait, that’s where it comes from? I could have never imagined!”

nA delighted look spread among the hunters.

n“Yeah! It’s common sense for items like that to be mined in fields covered with flames and magma! This is way out of the box.”

nWhen Seo Jin-Wook took out a branch from his backpack, green light spread from the ice altar.

nAfter putting it in a special container, Seo Jin-Wook spread the wings of light.

n“What do we do? Should we ambush him now?”

n“Wait a minute.”

nArthur’s gaze deepened.

n“He doesn’t seem like he would return right away.”

nHis prediction was right.

nSeo Jin-Wook, who flew up, turned around and started moving farther away instead of returning to the gate.

n“What if there were a few more altars like that?”

nThe size of the flame they just saw was ridiculously small compared to the amount released in the market.

nRecognizing his intentions, his men nodded.

n“Okay. You’re saying we should keep tracking him, right?”

n“Yes, we will keep an eye on him.”

nArthur started flying again as he quietly smiled at Seo Jin-Wook’s back.

n‘He’s a treasure trove beyond my imagination.’

nThe smile around his mouth deepened.

n‘Go on! Go ahead and dig up all you’ve got right in front of me!‘

nWhile traveling in that manner, the temperature was getting lower and lower.

n*

nAfterward, Seo Jin-Wook got another item that looked like the Vital Flame, and the process was the same.

nAfter collecting, he soared into the sky, and again, instead of heading toward the gate, he changed his direction a little and moved away.

nBut at that time, the travel time was longer than before.

nUnlike when it was only a few minutes, 20 minutes had already passed.

n“Well… Guild Master.”

nA subordinate carefully spoke up.

n“I think you should make a decision now.”

nThe problem was that the temperature had begun to drop rapidly after reaching a certain point.

nThe terminal was already showing negative 100 degrees.

n“The cold air has begun to break through the resistance spell.”

nThe chill made even the SS-Class hunters curl up and slow their movement.

nArthur grumbled.

n“We can’t hold on any longer. Seo Jin-Wook, that bastard, did he cover his entire body with cold-resistant items? Well, I’m sure he would have fully prepared if he regularly went in and out of places like this.”

nHe nodded his head then issued an order.

n“Instead of waiting for him to land, we take him down in mid-air. Before we attack, everyone must make sure that your Mana capacity is at the maximum using potions.”

nTheir Mana was quite worn out because they maintained their Levitation for a long time, and Arthur, who was continuing the cold resistance, consumed even more.

nGulp, gulp…

n“Now then.”

nJust before the interception…

n“Huh? He’s going down.”

nSeo Jin-Wook began to lower his altitude as if he had been waiting for the opportunity.

nLooking at him, Arthur spoke.

n“Good timing. Whatever’s here, the tracking stops here.”

n“Yes!”

nSeo Jin-Wook quickly stepped on the glacier-covered land.

nIt was after they already had made quite a distance from the Gate.

n“Huh?”

nA wizard mumbled, bestranged.

n“There’s nothing here.”

nUnlike where Seo Jin-Wook landed until before, there was no ice altar in sight.

nThey scanned beyond the horizon, but there was nothing around them.

n“There’s no more room to continue observing. Capture him right away.”

nArthur, who was looking down saying that, flinched for a moment.

n‘… What is that bastard doing?’

nSeo Jin-Wook stood still with no expression as if he was waiting for him.

nThat was a completely different attitude than how he had been acting busy so far.

n‘It couldn’t be!’

nThe four people who were chasing Seo Jin-Wook were completely hidden.

nThey landed on the ground, maintaining their stealth. Three people, excluding the close-range typed, also prepared the spell in unison.

nThe moment when the Rune Stone shone…

nPaht!

nTheir Mana boiled up, and the stealth that they were maintaining was broken.

nAs they did so, Seo Jin-Wook’s glance moved and stopped at them slowly.

nThe hunters sensed discomfort when they saw his expression.

nThere was no sense of danger, bafflement, agitation, or horror in his face.

nWhoong!

nThe three wizards invoked the spell in unison.

nNeutralizing Chains (Rank: S)!

nThe moment the three magic circles covered the sky, the swordsman blocked his path in preparation for the instance that Seo Jin-Wook would rush in. However, his eyes grew bigger at what Seo Jin-Wook did.

nThe gap that momentarily occurred at the onset of activation was enough time for any SS-Class hunter to dig in.

nBut Seo Jin-Wook stood his ground.

nCha-ka-cha-ka-chak!

nThe air was twisted, and a thick chain was summoned to tie up Seo Jin-Wook’s body.

nIt was the skill Seo Jin-Wook used against Park Chang-Hee and the Black Dragon before.

nThe chain beyond the laws of the material world was conjured and restrained his movements thrice.

n“…”

nSeo Jin-Wook’s face was calm even when his body was tied up.

nArthur Clifford’s sense of discomfort had filled all the way up to the top of his head.

nHis senses continuously rang warning signals, telling him that something was wrong with the situation.

nAnd… it’s dangerous.

n“… What is he hiding?”

nThe question had an overlapping meaning.

nWhat was his secret in discovering a bunch of rare items swiftly?

nAnd in that situation, why did he keep such a relaxed expression?

nThud, thud.

nThe anxiety that pressed his temples, following the heartbeat, was rising from an area of instinct.

n‘That can’t be true. Even if he’s an SS-class hunter, he can’t get out of this situation!’

nSeo Jin-Wook finally opened his mouth.

n“What are you going to do with me?”

nArthur’s eyes turned fiercer.

n” You’re a cheeky little boy. You better cooperate and spill out everything you know. About the Aurora of Stability… and the Vital Flame! Tell us everything else you’re hiding as well.”

n“Otherwise? Are you going to torture me?”

nArthur smiled mischievously.

n“You know of your destiny well.”

n“Then are you going to take me to England like this?”

n“Yes!”

n“Then, are you going to take me to the seventh basement floor of the Matap headquarters? Right next to the torture chamber where your old subordinate was trapped in? The room next to the man who has been suffering for years because of your erroneous orders?”

n“… How could you?!”

nAt that moment–

n“Huh?”

nThe swordsman searching through Seo Jin-Wook’s bag, convinced that the opponent was incapacitated, sounded horrified.

n“T- this!”

nThe special container was opened, but there was no green flame in it.

n“No way!”

nArthur gritted his teeth.

nTangled in chains, Seo Jin-Wook continued in a calm tone.

n“Yeah, it was fake. I can’t believe you fell for such basic illusion magic…. You guys tend to rely too much on Analysis magic. That’s a magic spell that can’t even be triggered unless it’s within a meter away.”

n“Eek!”

nArthur tried to suppress his surging anger.

nA question filled his head.

n‘Why the hell?’

nWhy did he lure them all the way there by utilizing a bunch of fakes like that?

nArthur didn’t know, but the answer to his question was already ‘storming’ its way to their location.

n“H-huh?”

nThe wizard cried out in bafflement.

nSwoosh!

nThe atmosphere changed rapidly, and strong winds stormed around them.

nAnd then.

nZap!

n“The terminal!”

nThe cold air, strong enough to pierce through the SS-Class cold resistance magic, froze and destroyed their belongings.

nSeo Jin-Wook, who was waiting for the extreme turbulence that was supposed to blow into that place at that time, quietly smiled.

n“Good job coming all this way.”

nHe checked on his opponents and murmured internally.

n‘One SSS-Class, and three SS-Class, huh.’

nSilently, he activated his skill.

nPaht!

n“No way!”

nOne-third of the chain pile that was restraining Seo Jin-Wook disappeared in an instant.

n“De-spell?!”

nArthur’s thoughts were complicatedly intertwined.

n‘Who the hell did he copy that from? No one in Korea has mastered S-Class De-spell!’

nHe barely swallowed his bafflement.

n‘Let’s stay calm!’

nThree wizards cast a spell in unison, one of which was canceled.

nTo invalidate one S-Class magic required a tremendous amount of Mana.

n‘Yes, the magic of the remaining two is intact and well. He can’t touch even those because of his Mana–!’

nDe-spell.

nPaht!

nDe-spell.

nPaht!

nArthur couldn’t believe his eyes.

nS-Rank De-spells were cast thrice, one after another.

nWhile that was happening, the opponent didn’t even drink any Mana potion.

nIf that was possible…

n“T-that’s not the Mana capacity of a human!”

nThe sharp frosty air that stormed in even at that moment consumed Arthur’s Mana at a rapid pace.

nBefore he could finish speaking…

nSwish!

nSeo Jin-Wook held up his sword and charged towards them!

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