WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
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◈ Xianxia Cultivation with a Dragon Heart ◈
Chapter 82: The Maigubra Settlement
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The proposal for long-range reconnaissance seemed to be treated as far more important and dangerous than Han Yujin had expected.
‘That must mean they’ve had that many failures.’
There might be results unlike anything before if an S-Rank Hunter attempted reconnaissance, but if such a precious S-Rank Hunter were harmed in the process, it would be a grave matter.
Korea already had far fewer S-Rank Hunters than Japan or China, so every one of them was invaluable.
Of course, that was not enough to make Han Yujin abandon the idea.
Unless he encountered truly dire danger, he was confident he could survive somehow. The Dream Illusion, Mind-Only divine ability alone allowed him to deal with almost any danger, so there should be no major problem as long as he did not overextend himself and moved carefully.
He had expectations beyond simply identifying dangers as well.
A new Mana Stone mine, for example. Or Karma he might earn by reporting something particularly significant.
And so Han Yujin's special reconnaissance mission was decided.
Because of it, Korea's other S-Rank Hunter, Choi Gangbaek, who had been guarding the Great Rift base fortress in northeastern South Hwanghae Province, came to see him.
It was admittedly very late for them to meet and exchange greetings. Setting aside the still-young Lee Wonhui, there were only three S-Rank Hunters in the country. They could hardly remain strangers forever.
Choi Gangbaek in particular was an elderly person who had been active since nearly the beginning of the dimensional collision crisis, a legend in the Hunter world and the commander of the Great Rift Pioneer Corps.
‘Come to think of it, I should have visited them first.’
Han Yujin wondered if Choi Gangbaek might already be offended by that.
Fortunately, however, the Choi Gangbaek he met in the base fortress's conference room was not that sort of person at all.
“Ha ha... Mr. Han Yujin, it’s wonderful to meet you.”
Choi Gangbaek smiled and offered a handshake, radiating enough goodwill that Han Yujin could have felt it even without Six Paths of Samsara.
Choi Gangbaek had a dark complexion and was barely 170 centimeters tall. Their build was sturdy, but the marks of age were plain to see, giving them the unmistakable air of someone in the twilight of life.
Choi Gangbaek's overall impression was practically the opposite of Park Seryong's. Still, as befitted an S-Rank Hunter, there was no lack of strength even in their bearing.
The weapon Han Yujin glimpsed was a halberd clearly custom-made from mana alloy. Its front had an axe blade, its rear a hammer, and its top a pointed spearhead, making it a melee weapon capable of attacking in all manner of ways.
Though Han Yujin had only looked at it briefly, Choi Gangbaek seemed to notice his gaze and explained.
“You need a weapon like this to handle monsters well. Some only hurt when you stab them, some are easier to deal with if you hit them with a hammer, and some have many parts that need to be cleanly severed...”
“It certainly looks versatile.”
The difference from the martial world was striking in this regard. The enemies they primarily faced were not people.
As they continued talking, Han Yujin came to feel that Choi Gangbaek had mistaken him for a great patriot.
The moment he had completed his S-Rank Hunter certification, he had been deployed to stop the Great Rift Wave incident. After that, he had worked tirelessly on extermination operations.
It was all in pursuit of Karma, but to those unaware of that, Han Yujin certainly appeared exceptionally devoted to the Pioneer Corps' missions. And a young man who put off enjoying wealth and glory in order to dedicate himself to Hunter work could easily be seen as patriotic.
There was no reason to shatter Choi Gangbaek's illusion, so Han Yujin played along appropriately while building rapport.
Then Choi Gangbaek said something that made him feel vaguely guilty.
“You’re remarkably thoughtful. It feels like I’m speaking with a friend nearly as old as myself. Ha ha ha...!”
Once their idle chat ended, they naturally began discussing long-range reconnaissance. Choi Gangbaek had brought the relevant materials stored in the base fortress under their guard.
“There’s quite a lot... It’ll take days to go through it all.”
The stack of documents Choi Gangbaek took from a hard case was indeed substantial. For an ordinary person, even saying it would take days might have been an understatement.
Fortunately, Han Yujin was not ordinary.
Tap.
Tap.
He moved stacks of dozens of documents at a time to the side. Park Seryong appeared to have guessed something, though he still seemed doubtful, while Choi Gangbaek looked completely baffled.
“So there has been a fair amount of reconnaissance to the south?”
“Yes, but did you just read that? How?”
“It’s one of my abilities. I don’t need to open and examine them one by one.”
“Huh...”
Choi Gangbaek was astonished by the answer, while Park Seryong seemed to feel a hint of awe.
A short while later, having reviewed every document and learned even the finer details through various questions in less than an hour, Han Yujin announced on the spot that he would depart on the mission immediately.
‘Reconnaissance results to the northwest are the weakest, and there have even been many disappearances.’
Then it was only right to investigate that direction first.
After discussing whether he needed the Special Task Force's assistance, whether there was any equipment or other item he wanted, and a few smaller matters, he left the conference room. He then collected Muyong, who had been asleep in his quarters, tucked the creature into his arms, and left the base fortress.
He hoped to find something, yet also felt strangely that it would be fine to find nothing. That would only mean the area was safe.
* * *
As he traveled a great distance, Han Yujin naturally thought of the Wind-Cloud Spirit Tiger, which had been more comfortable to ride than expected.
But this was not an outing, and stealth mattered more than mobility. So he used Wind Escape Art himself, concealing his presence with the Dream Illusion, Mind-Only divine ability as he traveled.
It was a slightly inconvenient method, but one that allowed him to move quickly while remaining thoroughly hidden.
Only Muyong, sheltered by Han Yujin from the turbulence and gusting wind, remained completely at ease in his arms, yawning broadly and even falling asleep.
If the creature were not cute, it would have been utterly unforgivable.
In any case, once he truly entered regions that had never been properly surveyed, he could savor the feeling of becoming a great explorer or adventurer of the age.
There was something truly special about being the first human from Earth to see and experience a place no one else had ever set foot in.
Of course, he was not merely enjoying himself.
As required by his reconnaissance mission, he had to record everything detected by Divine Sense that was worth documenting. He also had to collect specimens of certain things and place them in the special containers he had brought.
It was not particularly tiresome or difficult when he thought of it all as Karma. And striking down every monster he saw with the Origin Power Great Hand was ideal for relieving stress.
A week passed in the blink of an eye as he focused on his mission.
It might seem like a short time at first glance, but considering his terrifying speed, it was not short at all.
He was currently resting in a suitable clearing, timed to coincide with nightfall.
This was one of the convenient things about being a cultivator. He needed no food, sleep, water for washing, or even the warmth of a fire, so he could wander freely wherever he went, just like an immortal.
Muyong was still only at the Entry Stage, so the creature was something of an exception. But as long as Han Yujin brought spirit liquid wine and carried Muyong in his arms, every problem was solved.
Even now, though it was deep into the night, the creature's eyes were wide awake after having slept soundly while they traveled during the day.
Squeak! Squeak!
“...You want your clothes?”
Since returning from the martial world to present-day Earth, Muyong had not worn clothes even once. The creature had asked for them several times, but when Han Yujin said they should save them, Muyong had readily agreed and not expressed that wish again.
Apparently, Muyong especially wanted to wear them today.
Han Yujin obediently took out the clothes that had been carefully stored in one corner of his Storage Pouch and put them on the creature. Muyong wriggled its nose with delight. Yet when the creature looked up at the star-filled night sky, its mood seemed to darken a little.
Han Yujin silently nodded at the feeling conveyed through the Spirit Beast Training Formula.
“I miss them too, of course.”
Squeee...! Squeak!
“When people meet, they part. If I keep walking the path of immortality, there’ll be more of this in the future.”
He was reminded of something Eun Miryeong had once said. Before that, it was also something Han Yujin had encountered in miscellaneous books found in the ruins of the Five Elements Sect.
“This must be what they mean by the gulf between immortals and mortals...”
Perhaps it was because he had spent so long exploring the wilderness within the Great Rift, where there was not a single person in sight. Or perhaps the starlight in the night sky was especially brilliant tonight.
Countless memories rose to his mind, making him sentimental.
How long had he been resting, immersed in longing?
Suddenly, Han Yujin used Object Manipulation Art to pull Muyong, whom he had briefly let down, back into his arms. At the same time, he pushed Divine Sense and Spirit Vision Art to their limits as he searched the skies in every direction.
In the darkness, only his pair of eyes glowed faintly blue, a mysterious sight that was also slightly chilling.
‘...Was that my imagination?’
He thought he had felt someone's gaze from the sky.
It was such a faint feeling that he might have failed to notice it and simply passed by if he had not been quietly resting in thought. It was difficult to judge whether he had truly felt it or was merely being overly sensitive.
But he trusted his senses quite a bit. At least in this situation, there was no real downside to believing them.
As he swept his gaze over the sky again with greater certainty, something finally entered the incredibly broad range of Divine Sense that had spread far beyond what one would expect from a Dharma Soul Stage cultivator.
At that instant, Han Yujin's figure seemed to vanish with a rush, leaving behind only a single streak of wind.
* * *
Kweivnak.
As one of Maigubra's proud Watchers, she was once again observing the area around the settlement through the Night-Shadow Thousand-Tentacle Beast bound to her by a spirit beast contract.
It was a tedious, predictable duty she performed every day. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, her shift ended without anything happening. And even in that one case, it was usually nothing of significance when investigated.
Still, everyone in the tribe knew how important the duty was.
Thus, the position of Watcher was never treated lightly, and all Watchers worked to avoid even the smallest mistake.
Kweivnak was no exception. If anything, she was unusually devoted to her duties, even among the Watchers.
That was why, as she faithfully performed her duty as always today, she discovered something that could not help but make her tense.
The figure was quietly still in the dark forest, and she might have missed him. But he was located in a clearing where the sky was not obscured, allowing her to spot him at the last moment.
‘A human...!’
Maigubra had already discovered that humans had built fortresses and settled in several places throughout the vast Kachallika Great Forest.
But those humans had remained unaware of their existence until now...
Yet one of those humans had now approached disturbingly close to the settlement.
‘Did he come here knowingly? Or was it just a coincidence?’
As far as she knew, there had been several similar incidents in the past.
This was likely the first time anyone had approached so closely, but humans had attempted to scout in this direction a few times before. Kweivnak had heard that Maigubra had quietly eliminated them directly on several occasions.
‘We can quietly eliminate him this time too, right?’
No matter how the matter was resolved, she, the first to discover the intruder, would receive great credit. Perhaps she would even be assigned a beast with which to form a new spirit beast contract.
She was thinking that, becoming a little excited despite herself, when the person she had been watching suddenly did something strange. The moment she tensed and focused again, he vanished.
It was as though everything she had seen so far had been the trick of a wandering spirit.
But it could not truly have been such a spirit's trick.
‘Where did he go...?!’
As she hurriedly moved the Night-Shadow Thousand-Tentacle Beast bound to her by contract to search every direction, the human suddenly appeared right before the contracted beast's nose, making her flinch.
Before she could react, she thought she saw purple light explode from his eyes.
Then.
“Gasp...!”
She abruptly opened her eyes on her bed, drawing a sharp breath as though waking from a nightmare.
“...Ha.”
It had all been a dream.
She sighed, though it was unclear whether from relief or disappointment, lay on the bed a little longer, then soon rose.
She had quite a lot to do today. She would probably need to travel almost all the way around the settlement.
‘The reason is...’
Her mind felt slightly foggy for some reason, but she soon successfully recalled why. Shaking her head, she left the room.
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