Chapter 35
Part 34
“You said your sister started becoming sick three years ago?”
Woojin had told him she had been perfectly healthy before then.
“Yeah. Exactly three years and two months ago.”
“Was she attacked by someone around that time?”
“Huh? How did you know? She was attacked by a monster.”
“A monster?”
Yugeon tilted his head.
That was not the answer he expected.
“More precisely, the monster attacked her, but an Awakener saved her. He pushed my sister away and killed it.”
“...”
“Do you remember who saved her?”
“Yeah. It was even on the news. You can probably find him online.”
Yugeon took out his phone.
He searched for articles about Seonghwa Corporation.
Then narrowed the search to reports involving the CEO's daughter.
There are quite a few.
He quickly scrolled through the articles.
Kim Deokbae. Thirty-one years old. Member of the Flame Guild...
Yugeon carefully looked at the Awakener making a V-sign in the article photograph.
He remembered what had happened to Kang Woojin in his previous life.
The guild that turned him into a puppet.
And Kim Deokbae, the man who had supposedly saved Kang Yena.
This bastard.
Kang Yena's condition was External Mana Rejection.
A disease that should not appear for another twenty-five years.
As the world approached destruction...
Humanity became desperate.
And people came up with a cruel idea.
Artificially creating Awakeners.
They extracted pure mana and injected it directly into ordinary humans.
Every test subject eventually died.
The illness created during those experiments was called External Mana Rejection.
From the outside, it looks similar to Mana Poisoning.
Because of that...
At first, people tried treating it with White Spirit Incense, Meteor Stone, and Red Blood Root.
But External Mana Rejection could not be treated that way.
The mana had been artificially injected in the first place.
When I sent my Inner Energy through her body earlier, several pathways were blocked.
Pathways that natural Mana Poisoning could never block.
Whoever did this had probably never expected someone to examine her body by directly circulating Inner Energy through it.
These two groups are definitely connected.
Yugeon did not have hard evidence yet.
But he was almost certain.
The Emperor Guild...
The same guild that lied to Kang Woojin...
Had probably done this to Kang Yena.
Woojin said Kim Deokbae pushed his sister out of the way.
That must have been when he injected the mana.
But before hunting them down, there's something more important.
Yugeon placed a hand on Woojin's shoulder.
“Hmm?”
Woojin looked over.
“You want to save your sister, right?”
“Of course.”
“Then I'll give you the chance to help. Come with me.”
Originally...
Yugeon planned to save Kang Yena entirely by himself.
Now...
He needed Kang Woojin's help too.
[Floor 34: Great Canyon of Rapids]
Dash dash dash.
“Hyung, this way.”
Woojin ran ahead.
He read the coordinates and moved through the flooded terrain without hesitation.
BZZZZ.
BOOM!
He's incredible.
When Woojin redirected a falling boulder...
Yugeon was genuinely impressed.
That had not been magic.
Woojin was a Mage, yes.
But that ability came from his Unique Ability.
Spatial Calculation.
Spatial Control.
Gravity Control.
Those were Woojin's innate powers.
A moment ago...
He had slightly bent the space above his head and caused the boulder to bounce away.
Yugeon could have come here alone.
But he had brought Woojin partly to observe his ability.
It was even more impressive than expected.
“Hyung, turn right here.”
“All right.”
They continued running.
Five minutes later...
“Hyung, this is the destination you described.”
Thanks to Woojin's coordinate-reading ability...
They had taken the shortest possible route.
Yugeon checked the time.
Then laughed in disbelief.
Normally...
Even moving at maximum speed...
It would take at least fifteen minutes to reach this location.
The terrain constantly shifted.
There were traps everywhere.
Even Yugeon, who remembered the floor, still had to navigate around them.
Woojin had brought them here in five minutes.
“Good work.”
“Hyung, why did we come here? There's nothing.”
Woojin looked around.
No monsters.
No hidden terrain.
Only a dead end.
At most...
There was one ruined structure.
Calling it a structure was generous.
All that remained was one strange disc-shaped stone lying on the ground.
“An item that can treat your sister is sleeping here.”
“What?!”
BZZZZ!
Woojin immediately activated his ability.
Holographic displays appeared around him.
“There isn't any hidden space...”
He searched thoroughly.
Nothing.
No hidden room.
No item.
No monster.
Nothing but a dead end.
“You won't find it like that.”
Yugeon smiled and walked toward the disc-shaped stone.
The item he needed was not hidden in a secret room.
