“I’ve got nothing better to do, so maybe I should try processing this.”
He looked at Aryong’s blood in his hand and worried about what to do.
Then he suddenly remembered the herbology book the system had given him.
‘Maybe there’s something written in it?’
Ichan, bored, looked at Sinhyeok, who had taken something out, and asked.
“What are you doing?”
“Research.”
“Me too~ me too.”
He squeezed into the gap and came over to watch.
“What’s that?”
“Blood. They say it’s good for your body if you drink it, so I’m thinking about how best to consume it.”
“Ugh~”
Ichan scowled and backed away.
“You totally seem like a middle-aged man.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Ignoring him, Sinhyeok opened the book and looked for anything that might help.
One entry caught his eye.
‘Chimera Potion.’
『Name: Chimera Potion
Effect: Intended for fusing biological factors of different species. It helps suppress the side effects of rejecting biological factors and aids in perfect fusion. The necessary ingredients are as follows.
1. Biological factor to be fused
2. Petals of the Flesh-Blood Grass that blooms in hell
3. Frost Lotus powder
※ Caution: If the biological factor to be fused is too different from the subject, severe physical rejection may occur. Be careful. If rejection occurs, mix Red Mana Grass and Blue Mana Grass in a 1:1 ratio and use. Then, you might survive.』
“This is it.”
After reading the contents, he understood at once.
He closed the book, flicked it into his subspace, and laid his head on the pillow.
‘But they’re all rare items.’
He worried about what to do.
“What should I do? It’d be hard to go around finding them one by one, so should I just buy them?”
‘I don’t have much money…’
Thinking of money reminded him of his canteen. He summoned it and shook it.
“Since top-grade ones are worth several thousand.”
It was solved in an instant.
He bolted upright, about to go get mana grass, then immediately sank back down.
“Ah, I can’t go out.”
He remembered that he was in the middle of training.
‘Oh, wait, I have an outing pass.’
“Okay, then let’s talk tomorrow.”
“Hyung! Me too! Me too!”
At the bright, eager eyes looking at him from the side, Sinhyeok turned his head.
“Who are you?”
“Ah, come on, don’t be like that! We’re in the same squad!”
At the squad spiel, Sinhyeok snickered. And then he said this.
“Then get permission from the squad leader.”
Formally, the squad leader was Baek Arin.
Hong Ichan made a sullen expression at being told to get permission from Baek Arin.
“You’re doing this on purpose.”
“Of course.”
Just then, the door opened and Baek Arin came in.
“What is it? I’ll go with you.”
Ichan grinned and said.
“He definitely said we’d go together.”
Sinhyeok looked at the two with a headache-inducing expression.
“You really want to go?”
“Yeah.”
“Where are we even going?”
* * *
The next morning.
He went straight to the administrative office and explained the situation, requesting an outing.
The senior instructor stood up, stroking his chin.
“Well, that’s not bad. Anyway, personal maintenance starts from today, so if you want to train on your own. Wait a moment……”
He headed straight to the battalion commander’s office.
Shortly after, the senior instructor returned with a bright expression.
“Go see the battalion commander now. He says he’ll let you go.”
When they arrived at the battalion commander’s office, Captain Kim Chan-yeol looked at the three of them.
“The three hottest names these days want to go somewhere?”
Sinhyeok took out the corrupted Aryong’s blood and said.
“I’m trying to make this into a potion.”
Then the battalion commander nodded as well.
But he looked puzzled at the two trainees standing beside him.
“But will they be of any help?”
“……….”
At the strange silence, the battalion commander snickered, then took three outing passes from his drawer and stamped them with a loud thud, saying.
“Well, since you are all skilled, I will permit the outing. Dress neatly, and I hope you don’t cause any accidents. Do you understand?”
“Yes! Understood!”
And so, the three grunts escaped the 99th Brigade.
“Sssss, haaaaa~ civilian air.”
Sinhyeok felt deeply moved, having come outside for the first time in several days.
Of course, Hong Ichan’s eyes also sparkled as he looked around.
“Hyung, hyung, can’t we stop by a PC bang first?”
“Mister, I want to stop by Olive Young first, just to buy one thing.”
Baek Arin added to that. Sinhyeok looked at the two with cold, dead eyes.
“Denied. We need to buy mana grass first.”
“Ah.”
“Hmph.”
The two disappointed fellows shuffled along behind Sinhyeok.
Sinhyeok looked down at the military uniform he was wearing and let out a deep sigh.
“To think I’m a grunt. It’s lamentable no matter how I look at it.”
“Hyung, it suits you incredibly well.”
Ichan, who was following behind, chipped in.
“That’s terribly rude.”
“Mister, anyone can see you look like a grunt.”
Grind.
Sinhyeok hurriedly took out his smartphone and checked his appearance on the screen.
“Tch.”
Unfortunately, he looked like a grunt.
There was absolutely no sense of dissonance with those words.
Feeling annoyed, Sinhyeok quickly walked off first.
“Ah, hyung! Let’s go together!”
“I don’t play with grunts. Go away, hah.”
Baek Arin leisurely chased after him from behind and asked.
“Mister, but where are we going?”
“Seoul Herbal Market.”
At the word Seoul, the two rookie grunts’ eyes sparkled.
“Seoul?!”
“Seoul!”
“Hey, hey, hah, you country bumpkins.”
Sinhyeok looked at the two, whose eyes were shining, and said just in case.
“We’re not going to play.”
“Yes!”
“Yup!”
* * *
Vroom.
Snore snore.
Inside the bus heading to Seoul, the crude breathing sounds of the two grunts could be heard.
Sinhyeok let out a long yawn.
“Haaaahm.”
He was tired, but it felt so good to be outside.
As he spent time watching the scenery, they arrived at their destination before he knew it.
Having arrived at the market, Sinhyeok looked around lightly and spoke.
“First, let me tell you my plan.”
“Yes.”
“Yeah.”
The two had been restless since arrival.
Their gazes scattered everywhere as if hooked on something.
At their puppy-who-needs-to-poop appearance, Sinhyeok just gestured for them to go.
“Forget it, just go. But we meet back here in two hours. Give me your numbers before you leave.”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
At his words, the two buzzed with excitement.
“Mister, see you later then!”
“Hyung, I’ll go play for just a bit!”
The two grunts, having had their fill of civilian air, ran off in a flash.
At that sight, Sinhyeok chuckled and empathized.
“Yeah, I was like that too……”
Immersed in memories, he recalled the past as he walked down the medicinal herb street.
“Then I’ll buy mana grass first, immediately make a top-grade potion, splash it around, and multiply my money.”
It was a viable method because making mana potions didn’t take that long.
First, he looked around and found a merchant who seemed to deal in Gate-sourced herbs.
“Hm.”
Looking around, he discovered a place with a sign that said ‘We Buy and Sell Gate Herbs.’
“Excuse me, do you have mana grass?”
The male owner glanced at Sinhyeok in his military uniform and asked a question with a delighted face.
“Are you a soldier?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Wow, I was in the Army too. Where are you from?”
“Ah, I’m still at Nonsan. I’m in training.”
The owner asked with a puzzled expression at the words ‘in training.’
“But you can go out?”
“It’s a special outing. But do you have mana grass?”
The old owner slapped his thigh and laughed heartily.
“Oh, I forgot. But I don’t have any mana grass right now.”
“What? You don’t have any at all?”
“None. It’s all sold out right now.”
Sinhyeok tried to go find another store with disappointment, but the owner stopped him.
“You won’t find any at other places either. Mana grass is dried up these days.”
He was very puzzled by the words that mana grass had dried up.
“Has the supply run out?”
“Tut~ goods still come in occasionally, but someone’s been sweeping them up these days, so it’s hard to get.”
Sinhyeok was puzzled by the mention of someone sweeping them up.
‘They’re sweeping up both the red and blue ones? Then let’s see if there’s anything else.’
He had been thinking of buying them after multiplying his money, but he felt he needed to secure other herbs immediately, even if he had to go into debt.
“Then, owner, the names might be unfamiliar, but Yeonyuk Blood Grass and.”
“Frost Lotus?”
When the familiar herb names came out of the owner’s mouth, suspicion flooded in.
“Don’t tell me you don’t have those either?”
“Oh my. Young man, those are gone too. These days, only the things you mentioned are being swept up.”
It overlapped strangely.
‘The purpose of this.’
It was definitely the Chimera Potion.
Its effect was to fuse biological factors of different species and suppress rejection and side effects.
And the Chimera was clearly a product of black magic.
“By any chance, do you know where the people buying them up are?”
“Hah, we wouldn’t know. Who comes here naming specific things to buy? It’s mostly people who use small amounts.”
At the owner’s explanation, Sinhyeok asked just in case.
“By any chance, when do those buyers come?”
“They come when the goods arrive, so morning and evening. It’s different people every time.”
Having heard that much, Sinhyeok stepped back for now.
‘Current time is three o’clock. What should I do?’
Just in case, he checked all the nearby stores dealing in Gate herbs.
But they all said the same thing.
Every morning and evening, only four herbs were swept up.
“Hah. Wouldn’t it be too meddlesome if I stepped in?”
He wondered if he should step in, but worried it might just be meddling.
“Sss, but reporting them just for sweeping up herbs is a bit…”
It was ambiguous.
‘Then what about my herbs……?’
His thoughts veered elsewhere.
Since it would be hard to come out again, he absolutely had to get the herbs today.
‘First, I’ll track them and check. If it’s fine, I’ll negotiate.’
If not—if this truly warranted intervention—then he would have to take action.
‘First, let’s call the kids.’
He immediately sent a text to the numbers he had gotten earlier.
Thirty minutes after sending the text, there was still no word.
“Tssss.”
He called. But they didn’t answer.
The two were quiet. No, they had gone dark.
“Hah, they’re thoroughly enjoying themselves……”
He could tell what was going on without even looking.
Sinhyeok subtly looked around.
He quietly summoned his canteen.
When he shook it, it sloshed a bit.
‘There’s not much left in this either.’
He let a single drop fall.
As it entered his mouth, a heavy dark mana violently struck his body.
‘Ugh. Disgustingly nasty.’
[Beginning mapping.]
He spread two crystalline search probes in all directions.
‘Where are they.’
While searching the vicinity, he discovered the two.
‘Located Hong Ichan and Baek Arin.’
He reined in his mana and went to find Hong Ichan first.
Going up to a PC bang, he found Hong Ichan thoroughly immersed in a game.
“Aaaa! That idiot! Why are you using that there!”
Hong Ichan, who was raging wildly, locked eyes right with Sinhyeok, who had opened the door and come in.
“Ah!?”
Sinhyeok smiled brightly and waved his smartphone.
Only then did Hong Ichan check his phone.
“Ha, ha, ha…… that hyung-nim?”
“Yes, let’s go.”
“Aaaack! My rank! My rank!”
Sinhyeok dragged Hong Ichan down.
“So, sorry! Ra, rank!”
“Come on, we have work. Let’s find Baek Arin first.”
Baek Arin was easy to find.
He just stood still and she was visible.
She was running around here and there.
“Ah! Kaymak! I almost forgot!”
With her hands full of dessert paper bags, she was darting around everywhere.
“Aack! I forgot the waffles!”
She immediately ordered the kaymak for takeout and dashed right out.
Baek Arin’s gaze snapped toward the big and small familiar things on the street.
“Oh my.”
“Yeah, stop eating and let’s do some work.”
Baek Arin glanced longingly at just the kaymak shop.
“Mister, just that one thing for me.”
“Sigh. Fine, go get it quickly.”
At his words, she excitedly went to get the kaymak.
When the three gathered, Sinhyeok cautiously explained.
When he spoke about the suspicious points and the Chimera Potion, the two’s expressions changed.
“Then, are those people black magicians?”
“They might be, or they might not. So let’s check. If it’s true, we’ll report them and take action. If not, let’s just negotiate.”
Sinhyeok checked his watch and devised an operation.
“First, since they said they come to buy in groups in the evening, they’ll gather roughly in an hour. Plus, since different people sweep the street every day, there are many targets to track.”
Sinhyeok gave an instruction to Ichan, who was listening attentively.
“You controlled phantoms last time, right?”
“Huh? Yeah, right.”
“Attach those phantoms to people and track them. I’ll do a rough wide-range scan from afar.”
Baek Arin quietly raised her hand.
“Then what about me?”
“You stand by. Just be ready to run at any moment. If the situation turns into a headache, you’ll have to track them from close range.”
Sinhyeok handed him wireless earphones bought from a nearby convenience store.
“Put them in and set up a group call. Let’s stand by from now on.”
Sinhyeok checked the remaining time and waited at a nearby café.
Baek Arin glanced out the window and took a large bite of cake with her fork.
“Mister, did you do this kind of thing at Hongik too?”
“A few times inside Gates. Outside, just once.”
Sinhyeok drank his coffee and periodically checked the medicinal market street.
“Really? Military Awakeners really do all kinds of things.”
“Of course. To survive inside a Gate, you have to do everything.”
Time passed,
and around the time Ichan was dozing off with his head on the table…….
“They’re here.”
Suddenly, a group of people flooded the street as they watched.
There was no unifying characteristic. However, something about them seemed strangely awkward.
They didn’t look natural on this street.
“Ichan, wake the specters.”
Hong Ichan jumped up.
“Huh? Uh, just a sec.”
Ichan looked out the window and pulled out specters.
His black pupils changed and were dyed purple.
Leaking dark mana subtly, he summoned several hazy specters.
“Hyung, they’re attached.”
“Yeah, I’ll watch the rest.”
Sinhyeok drew mana from his still-activated body and spread it out.
He closed his eyes tightly and focused.
[Initiating Mapping.]
Rough movements flowed clearly into his head.
Those who had arrived at the market were buying medicinal ingredients.
‘They’re still buying.’
One group quickly finished purchasing the ingredients.
Before long, they scattered at once.
Seeing them scatter in all directions, Sinhyeok immediately stood up.
“Let’s move.”
They immediately went outside the café.
Looking out, the personnel had scattered even more widely.
Sinhyeok focused and only grasped their approximate locations.
‘There are way too many of them.’
Because he was simultaneously tracking multiple targets, his head throbbed.
‘Stop. Please stop.’
As he walked down the street, he pleaded inwardly, and they stopped.
‘What are they doing?’
He checked the person who had stopped first.
He looked around, put an envelope in an unmanned locker, and sent a text to someone.
‘Are they doing a drug deal?’
His suspicion immediately intensified.
The others also successively hid envelopes containing medicinal ingredients in secret locations and sent texts to someone.
“Hyung? Should I keep the specters attached?”
“Wait a bit.”
Sinhyeok gave up on the people and intensively observed the locations of the medicinal ingredients.
‘Where is it?’
Someone approached the person who had hidden the medicinal ingredients last.
‘There!’
“Ichan, tell the specter with its head caved in by an axe to attach to the approaching people.”
“Huh? Uh, okay!”
Sinhyeok locked onto one target and immediately gave orders to Baek Arin.
“Baek Arin, get ready to pursue.”
At his words, Baek Arin took off her beret and held it out to Hong Ichan.
“Hold this.”
Sinhyeok immediately gave directions.
“Three o’clock, three hundred meters. Target is a black sedan, license plate ends in 3345. Chase it.”
Tap.
She wrapped her body in a faint aura and climbed onto the buildings rather than the street.
She launched her body from the rooftops and tracked from above.
“Ichan, let’s go too.”
Sinhyeok closed his eyes tightly as his mana gradually solidified.
“This is insane. It’s been a while since I’ve had to wrack my brains like this.”
Ichan and Sinhyeok ran diligently.
But there was no end.
After chasing for a while, Baek Arin spoke.
“It stopped. In front of the Samgang Guild building.”
Soon, the three gathered on the rooftop of a building far from the Samgang Guild building.
“Mister, he went in there.”
She said, pointing at the building.
“Let’s take a look. See what they’re doing.”
Two Mapping probes flowed into the building.
They slowly descended from top to bottom.
The moment they entered the underground, the crystal serving as Mapping’s probe trembled.
‘Hmm?’
But it wasn’t blocked.
The moment he focused intently on the underground, a secret laboratory was revealed.
Grrr.
There were bizarre beasts and people locked in makeshift iron cages in the corners.
A man sitting at the table inspecting the medicinal ingredients glanced at a single pellet.
[The probe has been destroyed.]
[Mapping is terminating.]
Just like that, Sinhyeok’s mana crystal disappeared.
Sinhyeok opened his eyes and stared at the building.
“Those bastards…….”