Chapter 26: Episode 26

“Welcome back, Yusin!” Bora chirped.

“Welcome back, Tower Master,” Seojin greeted me formally.

I had returned to the Magic Tower after my classes to find Bora and Seojin already hard at work. Bora was crouched before a large cauldron, testing a new potion recipe, while Seojin was surrounded by open books from the library, his fingers flying across his keyboard.

“Tower Master, I have a critical report,” Seojin announced, his tone serious.

“A critical report?” My gaze shifted to the ancient-looking tomes spread across his desk. “These are history books from the continent of Erendel. Did you find something?”

“I did. I’m sorry to ask, but could you come over here for a moment?” Seojin angled his laptop screen so I could see it better. Bora, her curiosity piqued, drifted closer to peer over my shoulder. A moment later, Ea materialized from thin air to join us.

“To get straight to the point,” Seojin began, “I’ve discovered that we can partially predict future disasters on Earth by analyzing the calamities that occurred on the continent of Erendel.”

“You can’t be serious. So that hypothesis was correct?” I exclaimed.

“It’s not a one-hundred percent certainty, but allow me to show you an example.” He tapped a few keys, and a professional calculation program filled the screen, dense with countless numbers and buttons. “The numbers you’re looking at now are our Magic Tower’s ‘mana coordinates.’ Are you familiar with the concept?”

“Of course,” I confirmed. My Spin Guide Arrow spell relied on them. Magic used these coordinates to specify a location, not the terrestrial ones we used on Earth.

“Then this will be quick. Please look here.” Seojin pointed to a passage in one of the books. It was a historical text detailing events on Erendel, and the location of a particular incident was recorded in coordinates. “Erendel used its own unique coordinate system. I will now convert this into mana coordinates using a positional calculation formula devised by their Imperial Society for Spatial Magic Research.”

He entered the incident’s coordinates into his program. After a moment of processing, a new set of numbers appeared.

“Now, I will convert these mana coordinates back into Earth’s coordinates,” he explained, his voice steady. Erendel coordinates to mana coordinates, then mana coordinates to Earth’s. After inputting several variables into the complex formula, Seojin clicked the confirm button. A final set of numbers materialized on the screen.

“So… what does this mean?” Bora asked, her expression completely blank.

“It’s done. Now I’ll show you the location these coordinates point to.” Seojin opened a world map application and plugged in the numbers. The screen zoomed in rapidly, and a pin dropped onto a spot on the globe.

“Where is that?” I asked, leaning closer.

“Melbourne, Australia.”

Melbourne? That was the exact site of the Baphomet incident.

“Wait a second,” I said, my mind racing. “The incident whose coordinates you just entered… don’t tell me it’s…!”

My eyes shot back to the history book.

“Yes,” Seojin confirmed, his expression grim. “It’s the Baphomet incident of the Aland Kingdom, which took place on the continent of Erendel.”

The realization struck me like a physical blow. The Baphomet incident in the Aland Kingdom and the Baphomet incident in Melbourne, Australia—their mana coordinates were identical.

“Whoa,” Bora breathed, rubbing her arms. “I’ve got chills.”

“Of course, as I mentioned, not all disasters from Erendel follow this rule,” Seojin clarified, revealing the results he had prepared before my arrival. The screen filled with windows, most of them flashing ‘Mismatch’ in red text. The blue text indicating a ‘Match’ accounted for only about ten percent of the total. “Only a limited number of cases can be accurately calculated with mana coordinates alone. There must be other rules or variables at play. I will continue my research.”

“You really are the brains of this operation,” I said, genuinely impressed.

“Of course. This is my specialty,” Seojin replied, the corners of his mouth lifting in a satisfied smile. It was the exact compliment he had been waiting for.

“Hmph. For a guy who turns into a muscle-bound hunk the moment he takes his shirt off,” Bora grumbled under her breath, but even she couldn’t deny his achievement. Even if it was only ten percent, the ability to glimpse the future calamities that would strike Earth was an enormous advantage.

“Using this method, I have predicted several disasters that will occur on Earth,” Seojin continued. “I will show you the one that is set to happen most recently and has the highest correlation with the elements of the Baphomet incident.”

He brought over another history book from Erendel and turned to a page marked with a sticky note. It featured a grim illustration: a menacing gravestone stood in the center, surrounded by people clutching their heads, their faces contorted in agony.

“That’s grim. What happened here?” I asked.

“The Undead Outbreak in the Zinos region. It was a large-scale infection where the inhabitants of a quiet rural village all turned into zombies.”

I took the book and read the passage myself. As the number of undead swelled and the village militia was wiped out, the Vatican dispatched the Holy Knights. The knights succeeded in exterminating all the undead, but the dead of that land simply rose again and again.

In the end, the Vatican declared the village completely sealed off and designated it a ‘forbidden’ area. The undead, for their part, never ventured outside the infected zone.

“Don’t tell me this is…”

“You’ve noticed,” Seojin said, nodding. “It’s a phenomenon remarkably similar to Earth’s restricted areas.” He pointed to a monster encyclopedia he had already opened. “Only these two types of monsters appeared.”

’Rank-3 Zombie. Undead-type monster. Weak to fire and holy magic.’

’Rank-3 Corpse spider. Undead-type monster. Weak to fire and holy magic.’

A dark laugh escaped my lips. “Hey. Doesn’t this smell like money to you?”

“Hehe! As expected of the Tower Master,” Seojin chuckled in agreement.

Bora just stared at us, her expression a perfect mask of bewilderment. “Have you two lost your minds? How can you smell money when we’re talking about zombies?”

“Think about it,” Seojin explained patiently. “To them, it was a ‘Forbidden Land.’ To us, it could become prime real estate.”

Bora, who had been pondering with a finger on her lips, suddenly widened her eyes in realization. “No way… are you planning to turn that place into a private hunting ground?”

A restricted area was an area teeming with monsters that hadn’t met the criteria to become an official hunting ground. To qualify, several conditions had to be met: the types of monsters had to be consistent, no overly dangerous creatures could appear, and most importantly, hunting there had to be profitable through byproducts or mana stones.

A land filled with zombies and corpse spiders seemed to fit the bill perfectly. And according to Hunter Association regulations, the first person to discover a hunting ground or dungeon gains ownership. Since we knew the time and place of the impending disaster, we could secure the rights to that land faster than anyone.

“As you both know, grade-3 hunting grounds are rare in this country,” Seojin added. “If we can acquire and manage that place, it will be a massive boon to the Magic Tower’s finances.”

“We could also use it as an exclusive hunting ground for our own people,” I mused aloud.

Excitement surged through me. I slammed my hand on the table and shot to my feet. “You’ve done a tremendous job, Seojin.”

“Thank you.”

Today, I could even tolerate that smug smile of his. He was definitely earning his salary.

“The location?”

Seojin opened the map program and entered the coordinates. “Here it is.”

“Paju, Gyeonggi Province… The location’s good, too. When does the disaster start?”

“Tomorrow.”

We didn’t have much time. I looked at my team. “Everyone, get ready. We’re heading to the site first thing tomorrow.”

* * *

The next afternoon, we arrived in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

“We’re here,” Seojin announced as he parked the car.

I stepped out and surveyed our surroundings. The area was dominated by a large reservoir. From the map, I’d expected a completely rural landscape, but it was a proper residential complex with concrete buildings and the skeletons of various amenities.

Of course, most of them were abandoned or empty. It had an atmosphere similar to the neighborhood around the Magic Tower in Sanggye-dong, though it wasn’t nearly as deserted.

“Oh, it looks like people do live here after all,” Bora remarked, examining a plastic ’makgeolli’ bottle rolling on the ground. “The expiration date isn’t that old.”

“Probably people from the slums,” I said. The emergence of monsters—a natural predator that fed on humans—had drastically altered society. Densely populated cities with well-established systems were fine, but the monster problem was severe on the outskirts and in rural areas. Realistically, the Hunter Association couldn’t protect every inch of South Korea. Monsters were constantly appearing all over the country, and it wasn’t feasible to permanently station high-level personnel like hunters just to protect a few villagers in the countryside.

Consequently, places that didn’t meet a certain population threshold were designated as ‘non-protected areas’ by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. restricted areas and ghost towns like this one were the result.

“This is unexpected,” Seojin observed, scanning the town. “A town of this size should have been able to receive hunter support.”

“It’s a matter of psychology,” I countered. “Even with hunters, there’s no guarantee of safety. Rather than live in constant fear, most people just leave for the big cities.”

“Then why do the people here stay in such a dangerous place?” Bora asked.

I crossed my arms. “It all comes down to survival, doesn’t it?”

Moving to a secure city presented its own problems. It was safe, but the taxes required to support the hunters were astronomical. An ordinary person might grumble about the increase, but for the vulnerable—the disabled, orphans, and the elderly—it was an insurmountable barrier.

In a society where all resources were focused on survival, social welfare was regressing by the day. People with disabilities struggled to find work in the city and couldn’t afford the taxes, so they sought refuge in these non-protected areas. The world was becoming an increasingly harsh place for the weak. This was a global trend, not just a Korean one.

“So if this place becomes a dungeon, the slum dwellers will have to find somewhere else to go,” Bora said softly.

“Yeah. It’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped. The only thing we can do is minimize the casualties,” I said, then turned to Seojin. “What’s the time?”

“About ten minutes left.”

“Let’s hurry.”

According to the books in the Great Library, the incident would begin when a well’s water turned into an infectious poison. As if on cue, the water in the small reservoir next to the town began to turn murky. It was unlikely anyone would drink it directly and get infected these days, but the sign was unmistakable.

I called the Hunter Association to report the discovery of a dungeon, giving my name and affiliation and explaining the ominous signs. I added that we had already encountered and killed monsters. The staff member on the other end sounded skeptical, but after we sent a photo of the reservoir, he seemed to come around.

“If monsters have already appeared, that’s a serious matter. Understood. We’ll send a team to assess the situation,” he said.

“How long will that take?” I asked.

“As soon as the personnel dispatched to Cheorwon finish their current assignment, they will head to the reported area.”

’Damn. That’s going to take a while.’

“Understood. Yes, thank you.” I hung up and looked at Bora, who was watching me with hopeful eyes.

“How did it go?” she asked.

“The report has been officially registered,” I told her. “And, of course, we’re the first.”

“Yahoo!” she cried, jumping up and down with glee. “So, are we going to be rich now?”

“It’s too early to pop the champagne. We need to evacuate the people and clear the dungeon before other players show up.”

“I know, I know. Let’s go!”

I turned my head and stared at the gloomy, gray city. ’Do people really live in a place like this?’

* * *

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