NOVEL WEB Chapter 141
The next morning. Due to its extraordinary size, the horn of the ceratops couldn’t even fit in the clan storage, so hunters gathered on the roof to check it out. However, as soon as the horn began to emerge from the dimensional space, the crowd had to step back quickly. After a while, when it finally revealed its grandeur, the hunters couldn’t help but gasp in awe.
“Wow. What is this?”
No wonder they reacted that way. Could they even grasp that one horn was about the size of an ordinary whale? The hunters shivered, naturally conjuring images of its legendary stature from life.
“You’re telling me this was caught in a dungeon?”
When Woo Taek asked, Hong Yu-ri simply nodded with her arms crossed. The truth about the fantasy world was, of course, a secret, so they just pretended they went to a random dungeon.
“…I’m glad we cleared it.”
Woo Taek genuinely thought that. He had the eerie feeling that it could have gone south real quick.
“Yeah.”
“Huh?”
Hong Yu-ri shook her head as if it was nothing.
Among them was Kang Tae-jun, who was reading various information about the horn through his emotional glasses.
‘Volcano Ceratops horn, huh…’
Its hardness was beyond question, and since it was tempered with lava, it made for the best weapon in itself.
‘If only I could wield it.’
Of course, swinging something weighing tons around was an impossible feat. But with some proper crafting, they might just create a weapon more extraordinary than an executioner’s scythe.
‘This is beyond imagination.’
For something like this, it was worth spending a fortune. Kang Tae-jun calculated the value of the horn in his mind.
As the crowd marveled at the horn, Hong Yu-ri nodded as if it was only natural. They’d gone through hell to capture this thing… enduring the Great Magic three times, and it still maintained its original form. If they knew that, would their admiration really stop at that?
‘Anything made from this is bound to succeed.’
Since she was planning to head to the Square anyway, she decided to think about the specifics there. Just then, Hong Yu-ri tilted her head. While other hunters wouldn’t dare to say anything, she was puzzled why Kang Tae-ho hadn’t said a single word.
His broken sword was a clear indicator that he must have something to say…?
‘Does he have something in mind?’
Maybe he found a new one? Not that it mattered. Instead, it was Kang Tae-jun who spoke up.
“It’s a precious item. Are you willing to sell it?”
“…Clan Leader?”
“Of course, I don’t need the whole thing. Just enough for a sword will suffice. I recognize your ownership, so if you need anything…”
Now that she thought about it, Kang Tae-jun had also lost his sword. When she said she’d agree, his face lit up for a rare moment.
Considering his preference for quality, especially since he even had glasses from the Square, it was no surprise he coveted the horn.
“Looking forward to it. And…”
As the deal was sealed, Kang Tae-ho, who had been fidgeting, cleared his throat and stepped forward.
“Hey, what about me? My sword is broken, you know?”
“……”
“No! I’m sorry! I really feel bad…”
After giving him a long glare, Hong Yu-ri sighed and nodded. Even though there were lingering issues, she couldn’t let such things disrupt everything. Kang Tae-ho’s expression transformed into one of surprise.
“Oh. Really? For real?”
“I said I’d give it to you.”
Had he been played for a fool this whole time? Seeing him click his tongue, Kang Tae-ho frowned.
“…How much are you asking for it?”
In his eyes shone the certainty he’d be overcharged, and Hong Yu-ri sighed.
“I’m not ripping you off. So, don’t worry about that?”
She barely managed to hold back the urge to curse. Regardless, she couldn’t afford to lose her cool in front of the clan leader. Now that she thought about it, given her current circumstances, there was no need to be suspicious. After all, she had enough money to last a lifetime. Though a price would be asked, it wasn’t urgent.
“…Did you clean up your attitude or something?”
As she frowned at this nonsense, the hunters, including Kang Tae-jun, began to disperse to tackle their respective tasks. With fewer people left on the roof, Hong Yu-ri crossed her arms.
‘The trouble is how the heck to cut this.’
It was unreasonable to transport it like this if Kang Tae-ho wasn’t coming along. At the very least, they had to cut it in half… When she discreetly glanced at Kang Tae-ho, he tapped it with his fist and then shook his head.
“I can’t cut it.”
And no wonder, it was holding its form against the aftermath of the Great Magic. True to its name, the horn of the ceratops neither broke nor chipped. Even if Kang Tae-ho’s sword were intact, it wouldn’t have been an easy task.
“Then what about the Clan Leader…”
“I bet you’d have a hard time too?”
Kang Tae-jun had lost his sword as well. Of course, he had the executioner’s scythe, but it was a mystery whether he could cut it with that. After all, it wasn’t meant for that job. No matter how much magic was infused, a regular sword would likely not even create a scratch. That’s why they were eyeing the ceratops’s horn. While they were brainstorming, Hong Yu-ri sighed as if surrendering.
“…Call him.”
“Who are you talking about?”
Hong Yu-ri frowned at Woo Taek, who looked puzzled.
“Who else?”
With a tone that implied he should’ve known, Woo Taek’s eyes widened in realization.
“You mean he’s actually here?”
“Then?”
“…Got it. I’ll go find him.”
As he went down, Hong Yu-ri couldn’t help but feel a tinge of self-pity.
She felt pathetic that she couldn’t even handle what she just received, leading her to resort to calling someone else.
***
“Huh? Sunbae?”
Euna, who was coming down from the roof, waved at Woo Taek. He was about to ask if she knew where the Alpha was, but his eyes blinked at something that sprouted next to her, inserting coins into the vending machine.
“Is something up? It looks like a lot of people are coming down from the roof.”
“That’s what I’m here for…”
Woo Taek’s gaze met the wolf’s as it tilted its head. It didn’t come to him at first, but upon a closer look, he recognized the face he had crossed paths with a few times. Thanks to them, he had saved his neck in Jirisan before. When Euna asked what was going on, Woo Taek told her that they had a problem cutting the ceratops’s horn, and they needed Alpha’s help.
“Got it.”
He was slightly dazed by the wolf’s effortless response. He had heard it before, but it was the first time he ever actually heard him talk. The wolf climbed up nonchalantly, and Euna followed closely behind. Soon, as she climbed the stairs, she turned her body and tilted her head.
“Sunbae, aren’t you coming?”
“Uh, uh.”
***
When they arrived on the roof, the massive horn of the ceratops lay flat, with Hong Yu-ri and Kang Tae-ho standing beside it. Next to the colossal mass, they looked conspicuously small in contrast.
“I brought him.”
“Oh. You came?”
As Kang Tae-ho nodded, Hong Yu-ri asked,
“Do you think it’s possible?”
“Yeah.”
Came his candid answer, causing Kang Tae-ho to blink in disbelief as he asked again.
“Wait, are you serious? Can you really do it?”
He looked uneasy, probably because he was expecting to do the cutting himself. The presence of the Void meant that things like the hardness or strength of the object wouldn’t be an obstacle. Technically speaking, it was about devouring rather than cutting, but the outcome wouldn’t really differ much. I extended a thin tentacle.
“How do we cut this?”
Hong Yu-ri drew a line, and I transformed the tentacle, hardening it to make it as thin as possible before placing it against the horn while stabilizing it with another tentacle.
‘As thin as possible.’
I focused on controlling the Void. The shimmering heatwaves grew fainter as they enveloped the tentacle’s surface.
Slowly but surely, the ceratops’s horn was being cut, leaving the crowd staring in wide-eyed astonishment.
“It really is cutting it…”
That’s right, and very sharply too. Technically, it was more like devouring it, but to them, it looked like cutting.
‘…Huh?’
How was something like this possible? Euna, watching closely, noticed the surface of the tentacle rippling lightly. This had to be due to Alpha’s power. With her hand raised as if spellbound, she quickly furrowed her brow.
‘What the hell…’
She could usually follow along quickly with most things, but this was on a whole different level. Not only could she not keep up, but it also felt terrifyingly beyond comprehension. Even watching it made her feel like she was going to be consumed by the phenomenon. Her hands were trembling without her knowledge. Her instincts screamed for her to stop. To not go further.
‘Here?’
After a moment of hesitation, Euna bit her lip. It felt greedy, but her curiosity slightly outweighed her fear of the unknown. Eventually, she focused her eyes and infused her magic, feeling something distant looming ominously. The night… no, even the concept of light itself seemed to be devoured and vanished. It felt like walking alone in a deep darkness despite it being broad daylight. The longer she looked, the more she felt herself falling into an abyss… But just a bit more. Just a tiny bit more… As she concentrated, Euna swayed at the sensation of something breaking, like it was misaligned.
“Euna, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
It wasn’t nothing; it was more accurate to say there was nothing. She completely couldn’t comprehend it… However, she did come to understand one thing. That this was a power she could never hope to touch. A different realm altogether. Just the act of trying to see it felt like her mind was fracturing. It wasn’t mental exhaustion; it was as though her very spirit had been devoured… Ignoring her instincts’ warnings, when she crossed that line, Euna glimpsed fragments of an unknown world, shuddering in disbelief.
‘Things like that…’
Alpha was handling it without a care. It was a moment when she truly felt the magnitude of that difference. But the wolf, too, was looking on with disbelief. He had known there was talent, but with that one action of attempting to glimpse the Void, Euna gained a new skill. —Insight. Technically, it could be seen as a lower version of emotion or intuition, but since both the White Deer and Hong Yu-ri possessed it, it was indeed a quite useful skill.
‘I’m a bit envious.’
When was the last time she obtained a new skill through action rather than skill points? She couldn’t even remember.
In the end, as they managed to cut the ceratops’s horn, Kang Tae-ho’s eyes popped wide open.
It was hard to tell whether he was shocked or delighted. Holding the severed ceratops’s horn, he burst out laughing. After all, it was going to be a material for a new weapon.
The trouble was that processing it wouldn’t be easy, but that was for him to figure out. There was no way she’d be that hands-on.
“…Thanks.”
It sounded somewhat curt at first. When she turned her gaze, Hong Yu-ri had cast a temporary spell on the severed horn, storing it in an expanded bag, and the wolf nodded silently to her.