Chapter 335: Epilogue 1

Exactly one year had passed since Yusin’s sudden disappearance.

Billions of people had tragically perished, and an incalculable amount of crucial infrastructure had been utterly destroyed. However, as they always did, the survivors stubbornly rose back up like resilient weeds. After all, they still had to keep living.

Humanity had been completely liberated from the apocalyptic calamity. Although rift phenomena still occasionally appeared, they showed a consistent, steady downward trend. Scholars confidently predicted that within five years at the earliest, rift phenomena would completely vanish from the Earth forever.

Naturally, the overwhelming demand for active hunters sharply plummeted as well. Awakened individuals no longer obsessively clung to the dangerous profession, instead branching out to find their own ordinary livelihoods. Society slowly began to function again, and the economy miraculously revived. People were steadily adapting to a brilliant new era permanently freed from impending disaster.

Of course…

There were still those who poured out buckets of sweat every single day in an unyielding pursuit to grow even stronger. Panting heavily and dripping with exhaustion as she walked down the stairs was a strikingly familiar red-haired woman.

It was none other than the former Association President, Hong Yeon.

“Hey! Perfect timing, right?”

As Hong Yeon scrubbed the dripping sweat from her forehead with a towel, someone comfortably seated at a breakroom table happily waved at her. Hong Yeon’s exhausted face instantly lit up.

“Bora! You really don’t have to come out here so often…”

“Oh, come on. We were literally in the same class at the Academy. How much longer are you going to keep being so ridiculously formal?” Jin Bora grumbled good-naturedly as she popped the lid off a packed lunchbox. “Whatever, I made you a high-protein meal prep box, so hurry up and eat.”

“Ah, thank you so much.”

The two women sat down together and shared a quiet meal. Jin Bora meticulously scrutinized Hong Yeon from head to toe before finally speaking up.

“Jeez, just look at those dark circles and how much weight you’ve lost. Please, take a break every once in a while.”

Despite Jin Bora’s scolding, Hong Yeon firmly shook her head.

“I owe Yusin my life. I have absolutely no idea what kind of agonizing torment he might be enduring at this very moment, so I can’t just rest easy all by myself.”

“…You literally say the exact same thing every single time.”

True to her word, over the entire past year, Hong Yeon hadn’t rested for a single day. Watching her rapidly shovel food into her mouth as if the time spent eating was an unforgivable waste, Jin Bora let out a quiet sigh.

“You’re practically a female Kim Yusin at this point.”

A startled laugh slipped past Hong Yeon’s lips, and she quickly covered her mouth. “That’s not exactly an honorable nickname.”

“Ahaha!”

Still, because Hong Yeon was working so desperately hard to find a way to save Yusin, Jin Bora was doing absolutely everything in her power to support her.

“Tell me how the other members are doing.”

“Hmm, should I?”

Yusin was gone, but the world somehow kept spinning.

Jeong Seojin, having fully stepped up as the next Magic Tower Master, rapidly stabilized and reorganized the massive faction. In place of the vanished original Magic Tower, he had erected a colossal skyscraper in Sanggye-dong to operate the sprawling corporate group. Recently, he had been spearheading the aggressive construction of an automated monster defense grid based entirely on the android Adam, aiming to systematically replace human hunters.

Eunsol happily returned to a normal school life, just like any other ordinary girl her age. Although she used to be incredibly prickly and cynical toward everyone except Yusin, it seemed she had recently made a ton of new friends. She frequently sent Jin Bora bright, smiling photos from their trips to the beach or the local amusement park.

Ha Yerin was fiercely growing the Sky Castle into a powerful independent faction, heavily focusing her efforts on hunting down any surviving remnants of the demonkins. Currently, with Jeong Seojin’s full blessing, she was actively making a bid for global guild status.

Samia did not return to Tanzania. Instead, she chose to remain in South Korea to spearhead the warp gate business. She eventually became the CEO of Gate, the next-generation flagship enterprise within the Magic Tower group. Uniting the world seemed to give her a profound sense of fulfillment and duty.

Cha Doyeon was promoted to a certified rank 2 hunter. Now, moving beyond her position as the Minister of Magic, she was next in line to become the first-ever mage to serve as Association President.

Pharaoh Han Yoonjeong halted her conquest of Africa, choosing instead to lead a massive continental reconstruction project. Recognized in both name and reality as Humanity’s Strongest, she kept the self-righteousness of the United States and China in check, maintaining the global balance of power.

Shin Nara, the CEO of Garam Management, operated a retraining system for hunters. With the threat of monsters significantly diminished, she helped retiring hunters secure steady jobs and smoothly transition back into society.

Everyone was living their daily lives to the fullest, yet there was one lingering sentiment they all shared.

“It feels so empty.”

“It’s like there’s a hole in my heart.”

The profound sense of loss they all felt had yet to heal.

Jin Bora, who had been recounting everyone’s stories, noticed the mood dropping and quickly changed the subject.

“How are your circles coming along?”

“I’m at the Sixth Circle now.”

Reaching the Sixth Circle in just a year—mages around the world were beyond surprised; they were absolutely astounded by Hong Yeon’s progress.

Her achievements were so phenomenal that it left people wondering why she hadn’t learned magic sooner.

“But just as I expected, creation is difficult.”

Jin Bora noticed mana fragments drifting down from above and looked up. A Seventh Circle magic circle was tracing itself across the ceiling.

She’s practicing even while eating…

“It really makes me respect the other mages,” Hong Yeon murmured. “How did they reach such heights without a Guardian Trait?”

“A prodigy like you will never understand,” Bora replied.

The two women shared their meal, their conversation blooming with laughter as they caught up.

Perhaps it was because they shared an endless well of conversation in the form of Kim Yusin, but they clicked on a profound level.

“Come to think of it, how is your husband?” Hong Yeon asked.

Jin Bora’s elegant expression instantly crumpled.

“Don’t even bring that bastard up. It ruins my mood.”

“…Ahaha.”

Hong Yeon forced a laugh, a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek.

“Anyway, thanks for the meal. It was delicious. I’ll head upstairs now.”

“At least let your food digest first.”

“It’ll digest once I start training.”

Jin Bora sighed, throwing her hands up in defeat.

“I’ll be going now.”

Hong Yeon walked back up the stairs to the training ground.

Numerous magical training tools lined the spacious, soundproofed room.

In the middle of it all, a woman was fast asleep, sprawled out across the floor matrix. Hong Yeon walked over and shook her awake.

“Sarang. It’s time to train.”

“Uh, huh?”

The woman rubbed her eyes and sat up.

“Ughhh! Is it already that time?”

The strongest mage of the current generation to reach the Sixth Circle, certified rank 1 hunter Kim Sarang, scratched her messy hair.

“You’re seriously relentless. Let’s take a break, for humanity’s sake. You’re going to ruin your body at this rate.”

“I’ll increase today’s lesson fee by a hundred and fifty percent.”

“Let’s begin, my star pupil.”

Sarang shot up at the speed of light and sat across from her. Then, as if belatedly feeling embarrassed by her own greed, she buried her face in her hands.

“You’re an even stronger mage than I am now. Why do you still need my help so badly?”

“Because you’re the only one who can keep pace with me.”

“You only flatter me at times like this.”

Sarang let out a bitter smile and raised both arms.

A magic circle traced itself in thin air.

“Let’s begin.”

“Yes!”

The hellish days of training continued.

Hong Yeon had even abandoned her Scarlet Flare to fully commit to becoming a mage.

“That’s a failure! Do it again!”

She worked as if her life depended on it, never wasting a single minute or second.

She trained relentlessly during the day.

At night, she cast Instance Requiem on herself, lingering in her own consciousness to search for hints to unlock the Seventh Circle.

Her ultimate goal was the Eighth Circle, Chaos.

That was the only way to cut down Nemesis, whom Yusin had sealed away with his own body. In a way, Yusin was simply buying her the time she needed to grow.

Furthermore, Yusin had anticipated this exact situation. He had moved the materials from the second-floor Grand Library and stored them in Arcane. He had even left behind a handwritten manuscript titled The Revised Edition of the Fundamentals of Magic.

Hong Yeon read it over and over again, yearning for enlightenment, until the pages were worn soft and stained with her fingerprints. It was a level of mastery that was daunting to achieve even with the power of a Guardian, but she refused to give up.

Several more months passed. Finally, Hong Yeon became an Eighth Circle mage capable of casting Chaos.

Without taking even a moment to rejoice, she sprinted home. For the first time in months, she slipped into her hunter suit and strapped her sword device to her waist.

“Yeon.”

Just as she was about to head outside, she belatedly spotted her sister, Hong Yul, sitting in her wheelchair.

“Ah, Yul! When did you get home?”

“I dropped by for a bit yesterday.”

Tears quickly welled in Hong Yeon’s eyes as she looked at her older sister. She immediately ran over and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Look at you, struggling so hard you couldn’t even make time to see your sister,” Yul teased gently. “So, are you finally done?”

“Yes. I can use Eighth Circle magic now.”

Yul patted Hong Yeon’s back.

“Yusin must be waiting. You’d better hurry up and bring my brother-in-law back, hm?”

Hong Yeon fell silent. She wiped the corners of her eyes and nodded.

“I’m sorry. And thank you, for everything.”

She caught a taxi. Her destination was already set.

The Gate headquarters of the Magic Tower Group, located in Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

Not only the Grand Library from the second floor, but also the technology and facilities of the Dimensional Hall from the fifth floor had been relocated to South Korea.

Gate was currently emerging as an alternative to Alchemia, which had recently seen a decline in revenue. They were test-operating warp gates for the general public across more than twenty countries.

When her taxi arrived, Samia, who had been contacted beforehand, was already waiting to greet her.

“It’s been a while, hunter Hong Yeon.”

“Have you been well, Princess?”

“When are you going to drop that title?”

The two walked together, sharing a pleasant laugh. They headed toward a massive warp gate that had been created by retrofitting an entire industrial facility.

“This is the only means in the entire world to travel to another dimension,” Samia explained as she fastened a necklace-like artifact around Hong Yeon’s neck.

“What is this?” Hong Yeon asked, touching the metal.

“A dimensional coordinate receiver, identical to the one hanging around hunter Kim Yusin’s neck. The principle is simple: when you step into the warp gate, the dimensional receivers react to each other and guide you directly to his location.”

Hong Yeon nodded, her expression hardening with resolve.

“I will ask you one last time,” Samia said, turning to look at her with grave seriousness.

“Is this a decision you’ve thought through carefully? Once you warp, you cannot return without the Magic Tower’s transfer protocol. More importantly, there’s no guarantee the warp will be entirely successful, nor is there any assurance you’ll even arrive in the same world as the tower. You could become lost forever, wandering aimlessly through the void between dimensions.”

“I know.” Hong Yeon met Samia’s gaze with resolute eyes. “Even so, I’m going.”

“…Understood.”

Samia knew it was useless to try and stop her.

As Samia relayed an order over her radio, the warp gate flared to life, its magical power swirling into a vortex.

It had begun. Hong Yeon took a slow, deep breath and stepped up to the warp. Lowering the radio, Samia spoke.

“I’m sorry I’m the only one here to see you off.”

“Not at all. There’s no reason to make a huge fuss over my departure.” She looked back at Samia and smiled. “I’ll be back.”

“Please stay safe, Hong Yeon.”

She nodded once, then threw herself into the swirling gate without a hint of hesitation.

She had a final promise to keep.

*

The interstellar warp was a horrendous experience.

Trapped in a narrow, infinite pipe within a fractured space of violently shifting, abstract colors, she felt as though she were being sucked away for all eternity.

Fortunately, there was an end. Her body shot out of the cosmic pipe, hurtling headfirst toward a blinding brilliance.

Her vision faded for a moment.

Sensation slowly returned to her limbs. Seeing as she was still breathing, the warp seemed to have been a success.

Blinking her eyes open, she lifted her head.

The sky was pitch-black, suggesting it was the dead of night. All around her, structures that looked like primitive houses were engulfed in flames.

Was it normal for houses in this world to be on fire? Did the people here just casually set things ablaze?

Shaking off the ridiculous thoughts, she looked forward.

She was rendered speechless.

She froze in silence.

Strange creatures stood before her, clutching jagged bladed weapons. They had spindly limbs, protruding potbellies, and tadpole-like tails dragging behind them.

Glancing behind her, she spotted a group of humans. Though their skin tones and eye colors were slightly unusual, they were undeniably human.

Hong Yeon swallowed hard and cautiously raised a hand. “Excuse me. Where is—”

“Aaaaah!”

She had only spoken a few words, but the humans immediately started screaming and scrambling away.

Startled, Hong Yeon reached out to them, which only made the terrified villagers scramble to hide behind fences, tripping over their own feet in their desperation to escape.

“@#$!”

“#%$&$@&!”

…She couldn’t understand a single word they were saying.

Just in case, she tapped the translation function on her earpiece, but it yielded nothing but static. Pulling the device out, she tucked it into her pocket and let out a heavy sigh.

Suddenly, a middle-aged man stepped forward and hurled a rope lasso. The loop clamped securely around Hong Yeon’s arms, yanking her to the dirt.

She was completely bewildered.

Hong Yeon blinked from where she lay on the ground.

She was genuinely caught off guard.

A lasso? What era was this weapon from?

“$%@#!”

As the man raised his arm in triumph, the villagers cheered.

“@#%@&!”

In response to the noise, the goblin-like creatures behind them reacted aggressively, brandishing their weapons. Feeling threatened once more, the humans backed away in fear.

I don’t really know what’s going on here, but…

Her fingers twitched. A faint blue light shimmered over the rope, and the knot seamlessly untied itself.

Mana definitely exists in this world, too.

Rising to her feet, she deployed a magic circle on the earth beneath her and stepped onto it.

<Gaia>

The earth shot up like a massive pillar right between the humans and the monsters.

Seeing the humans fall back in shock, it was clear that magic was not a common power in this world. The monsters, in particular, scattered in absolute terror, shrieking as they fled toward the mountains.

Seeing them crying buckets of tears out of pure fright, she couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the creatures.

Having chased the threat away, Hong Yeon turned back to the villagers.

“I apologize for startling you. To ask again—”

Hong Yeon stopped mid-sentence. She finally registered the expressions on their faces.

They were pale with terror. They stared at her as if she were some hideous extraterrestrial lifeform.

She was an outsider from another dimension. Whatever she said wouldn’t get through to them anyway, so it was probably best for everyone if she just backed off for now.

Yielding to the tension, she gave the crowd a slight bow and began walking out of the village.

Everyone held their breath as they watched her go. They clearly wanted her to leave immediately.

“#%$!”

Suddenly, a village child broke from the crowd and trotted over to Hong Yeon.

The adults screamed, trying to call the child back, but the little one didn’t stop, marching right up to her legs.

“@#$@!”

There was no way to know what the child was saying.

But they were smiling.

She crouched down to meet the child’s eye level and offered a gentle smile in return.

“#$&@!”

The child threw their arms around her neck. Hong Yeon was startled for a moment, but then she softly laughed and hugged the child back.

[You have acquired the Otherworldly Language trait.]

“!#$@Thank#^&@.”

Now, she could understand them, even if just a little.

*

She learned the local language and basic common knowledge from booklets she obtained from the villagers. Thankfully, Hong Yeon’s rapid learning ability functioned perfectly even in another dimension.

The name of this world was Medium.

Its dominant inhabitants were humans and demonic beasts.

Perhaps it was a ripple effect of stopping Nemesis on Earth, but fortunately, Disasters and rifts did not exist in Medium.

Monsters did roam the lands, but unlike on Earth, they hadn’t crossed over from other dimensions. Rather, they were a collection of indigenous demonic beasts that had devolved due to an over-saturation of mana.

The entire planet of Medium consisted of a single supercontinent, encompassing four massive inland seas. Three major empires and twenty-two smaller kingdoms maintained a bizarre, precarious balance of power.

Although it was only one continent, the planet itself was actually larger than Earth. A grueling, endless march was to be expected.

To put it bluntly, there was a high probability she wouldn’t be able to find Yusin even if she wandered for the rest of her natural life.

Even so, she began her long journey to find him.

“A woman wandering the forest alone? Is this your way of begging to be made a slave?”

“I don’t do business with women. It’s bad luck.”

“How dare a lowly commoner!”

Human rights, needless to say, were downright atrocious.

With underdeveloped sewage systems, city streets were littered with filth, and contagious diseases broke out constantly. The overall hygiene standards were abysmal.

She heard rumors that far up north, there was a kingdom boasting advanced science and highly developed steam engines, but the overall technological and cultural average of Medium sat roughly at the level of Earth’s Middle Ages.

In such a world, a woman traveling alone was entirely unthinkable, and Hong Yeon frequently found herself caught in the middle of countless troubles.

Not a single day was easy.

But she pushed forward, as if determined to prove the entire world wrong.

[The Hundred Years’ War Ends!]

[The Vicious Duke Slev is Dead!]

[A Dragon Slayer is Born!]

[Beelzebul Demonic Beast Formation Decimated!]

She completely smashed her way through all of it.

“She’s too strong!”

“Please, become our chieftain!”

Entire tribes of demonic beasts surrendered their leadership to her.

“From this day forth, you are an eternal friend to the spirits.”

She even met the Spirit King.

“His Imperial Majesty has bestowed a county upon you.”

She was offered high-ranking noble titles.

She refused it all, taking only what was strictly necessary to continue her search for Yusin.

This world was impossibly vast, but information moved at an agonizing crawl. Without the internet, even rudimentary newspapers were poorly circulated.

She walked until her feet blistered and bled. At night, unable to light a fire due to the threat of monster attacks, she had to huddle into a tight ball, shivering violently against the freezing cold while sleeping with one eye open.

Even for someone as strong as Hong Yeon, living in the wild for so long was agonizingly difficult to endure. She collapsed and lost consciousness countless times.

But each time, she gritted her teeth and forced herself back to her feet.

She could bear the physical hardships. Her only true concern—the fear actively eating away at her soul—was that Medium might not be the world Yusin had descended upon after all.

Whenever the thought crossed her mind that Yusin might not be under this very same sky, she was wracked by a dreadful, shuddering sense of absolute isolation.

“…Yusin.”

Inside her makeshift cloth tent, her breath pluming white in the freezing air, she meticulously made checkmarks on a map she had painstakingly acquired.

The fingers holding the parchment were completely wrapped in frayed cotton bandages.

“Ah!”

A biting gust of wind suddenly ripped the cloth tent open, snatching the map right out of her hands and sending it flying into the dark night.

“No!”

Gritting her teeth, she dashed outside barefoot. The night wind was incredibly fierce, and the forest canopy was dense. Shrouded in darkness, she could barely see her surroundings.

Channeling mana into her eyes, she sprinted through the brush like a madwoman.

“Hah! Hah!”

The freezing dirt steadily sapped all sensation from her feet. Her entire body became covered in bleeding scratches from the sharp brambles tearing at her clothes.

She didn’t care about any of that. She just ran with all her might, desperate to find the paper.

Sensing a sudden presence, she abruptly halted and ducked. A heavy halberd cleaved through the air where her neck had just been, severing a few strands of her crimson hair.

An arrow streaked out of the darkness and embedded itself deep into her thigh. Blood rapidly stained her pant leg as she let out a sharp groan.

“Found you, pretty little missy.”

From the shadows, a burly man with a bushy brown beard emerged, waving a piece of paper in his hand. Assuming it was her map, she gritted her teeth, fully prepared to lunge at him, but…

“I ain’t got no grudge against you, missy, but I do need the coin.”

The man flipped the paper around to show her. It wasn’t her map at all; it was a wanted poster bearing her face.

“The higher-ups slapped a multi-million bounty on your head. You must’ve made quite a few powerful enemies. That’s why you should’ve kept your head down and stayed quiet, instead of poking your nose where it doesn’t belong…”

“Please,” she whispered, practically pleading as she stared at the pack of bandits now stepping out to block her path. “Please let me go. I’m begging you.”

“…Did you not hear a damn word I just said?” The man scoffed, making a show of scratching his head. “I said I need the money!”

Taking that as their signal, the bandits hiding in ambush all lunged forward at once.

Through her desperate tears, Hong Yeon’s golden eyes flared with an eerie, terrifying brilliance.

“GET OUT OF MY WAY!”

The world flashed as blindingly bright as midday, and then instantly plunged back into silent darkness.

That night, Calago, the so-called Bandit King, and the massive pack of thieves he led were wiped from existence without leaving a single trace behind.

The local villagers, who had long suffered under Calago’s vicious tyranny, rejoiced at the news and immediately set out to welcome Hong Yeon.

“Thank you! Oh, thank you, crimson-haired Hero!” The village chief bowed repeatedly as he approached her.

“Thanks to you, our village is finally free from those bandits’ horrible oppression. Please, allow us to repay—”

Covered head to toe in dirt and blood, Hong Yeon ignored him, frantically digging her bare hands through the soil. She finally looked up at the crowd with dry, red-rimmed eyes.

“…Please help me.”

“E-excuse me?”

“The map… I need to find my map.”

Stunned by her desperation, the village chief quickly nodded and mobilized the entire village to scour the forest floor.

“Uh, isn’t this it?”

A young man waved a dirt-stained piece of paper he’d just found snagged in a bush. Hearing his voice, Hong Yeon sprinted over in a frantic rush.

“Ah…”

It was unmistakable.

It was her map.

“This is what you’re looking for, right?” he asked.

“…Thank you!”

Her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the ground, clutching the crumpled map to her chest as she broke down into loud, heaving sobs.

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you…”

The young man awkwardly scratched his head while the rest of the villagers looked down at the weeping hero with deep pity.

“I wonder what kind of tragic past she has…”

“Rumor has it she’s from another dimension entirely.”

“People like us probably couldn’t understand her burdens in a hundred lifetimes.”

Stepping forward, several villagers gently patted her trembling shoulders to console her, while others quietly draped warm blankets over her battered body.

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