Chapter 73. The Departure

The inside of the stem was a vast world. Similar to the roots, it was a completely different space from the outside, albeit on a much larger scale. As such, it was quite different from dungeons, which one could enter and exit relatively easily.

“There are monsters there, too. Also, watch out for the White Elves. It’s quite dangerous,” Elena said.

“I see.”

Vroom

—

Kim Do-Joon smoothly turned the steering wheel as he responded. Siwelin and Elena sat in the back seat. They were going to enter the stem that day. Right now, they were on the way to pick up Hwang Hyun-Woo, who ultimately decided to join them.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

“You said there were humans who went in before us, right? There shouldn’t be any immediate danger. They should’ve cleared a path by now,” Elena said.

Kim Do-Joon nodded. Just like she said, catching up to the expedition team wouldn’t be a problem. The real issue would start after that—when they had to separate from the team and head toward the domain of the Fire Lord. From that point, they would be forging their own path.

“Don’t worry too much. I know the White Elves’ territory inside out. We just need to be careful about the monsters,” Elena said.

“That’s reassuring.”

Kim Do-Joon smiled slightly as he stared at the traffic light, which had turned red. Despite the reassuring words, he couldn’t let his guard down. They were about to enter a place filled with beings like Eldora. Moreover, it was his responsibility to figure out how to persuade the reclusive Fire Lord.

“Hey, Hyung!”

Before long, Kim Do-Joon saw Hwang Hyun-Woo waving at them. He stopped the car in front of him. Hwang Hyun-Woo, who was about to get into the front seat, hesitated when he saw it was occupied. He opened the back door instead.

“Ah, hello.”

Hwang Hyun-Woo greeted cautiously as he got in. He was unusually nervous. Two strikingly beautiful women were already in the car, after all.

“

Hmph

.”

With a small huff, Elena turned her head to look out the window. Her prickly demeanor made Hwang Hyun-Woo shrink back a bit. Then he glanced ahead.

“Wait, aren’t you the clerk from Hyung’s store? Wasn’t your name Si-Ah?”

Hwang Hyun-Woo recognized the person in the passenger seat. His mind was spinning. Why was the part-timer from the store headed for Hwaseong?

— Nice to meet you.

Siwelin quickly scribbled a greeting on a card. Then, she showed it to Hwang Hyun-Woo, smiling. He blushed seeing her smile—moreover, her card seemed to carry a pleasant scent.

“You better be nice to her. She’s our Healer.”

Kim Do-Joon teased him, and Hwang Hyun-Woo looked surprised.

"Ms. Si-Ah, were you a Hunter?" Hwang Hyun-Woo asked, surprise evident in his voice.

“She’s not a Hunter, but just an Awakener. I asked if she could join this time, and I got permission,” Kim Do-Joon replied.

"Permission? From the Association?" Hwang Hyun-Woo asked incredulously.

"Yes, directly from the President, so there’s no problem," Kim Do-Joon confirmed.

"Wow!" Hwang Hyun-Woo stared at Kim Do-Joon’s back with newfound admiration.

He had only been away for a short time, and now Kim Do-Joon was connected with the President of the Association.

I definitely made the right choice tagging along!

Hwang Hyun-Woo clenched his fist in determination. Kim Do-Joon saw this in the rearview mirror, noting his expression.

Thankfully, he doesn’t seem too scared.

Kim Do-Joon thought that excessive fear or overconfidence could both lead to accidents. However, Hwang Hyun-Woo seemed to be in a balanced state—nervous but not to the point of losing his fighting spirit.

What about the other two...?

Kim Do-Joon glanced at Elena and Siwelin to assess their states. However, he quickly realized there was no need to worry about them. Elena looked as calm as if she were heading back home. Siwelin, on the other hand, appeared quite tense, but that was because she was watching a drama on her phone.

[How dare you! Don’t think someone like you can marry my son!]

Seeing how engrossed she was, Kim Do-Joon knew worrying about her was pointless.

It's more concerning that she likes those kinds of shows...

At home, she always chose dramas with such intense lines.

"Don’t you feel nauseous?" Kim Do-Joon asked Siwelin casually.

— ...

Siwelin vigorously shook her head, signaling that she didn’t want to be disturbed. Her intense reaction made Kim Do-Joon chuckle softly.

And so, with Elena staring blankly out the window, Siwelin absorbed in her drama, the naturally quiet Kim Do-Joon, and Hwang Hyun-Woo itching to speak but unable to, the four of them continued their journey toward Hwaseong, where the stem was located.

***

“We're here,” Kim Do-Joon announced.

A short while later, the four arrived at their destination: Gyeonggi-do, Hwaseong, in front of the black tower known as the stem.

Gulp

.

As he got out of the car, Hwang Hyun-Woo gulped and took in the sight of the tower. Normally, even the appearance of a root would lead to immediate barricade installations, but the stem was on another level.

Instead of just barbed wire, there were tall, thick barriers, and the number of personnel monitoring the area was several times that of a typical root. Military police patrolled with rifles slung over their shoulders. The security level was akin to that of an S-rank dungeon. In other words, the government and the Association deemed it a threat of at least S-rank.

For a moment, Hwang Hyun-Woo was overwhelmed by the atmosphere. But soon, he snapped out of it.

I shouldn’t be feeling this way. Get a grip!

Hwang Hyun-Woo slapped his cheeks lightly as he looked at the unfazed expressions of Kim Do-Joon and the women.

“Hey,” a voice called out. It was Son Chang-Il, who approached them.

“You arrived earlier,” Kim Do-Joon replied, shaking hands with him.

Son Chang-Il’s gaze shifted to the people Kim Do-Joon had brought along. He skipped over Elena, whom he already knew. Then, his eyes briefly paused on Hwang Hyun-Woo, before settling on Siwelin. Like Hwang Hyun-Woo, he had the same question.

“And this is...?” A frown appeared on Son Chang-Il’s face, looking at Siwelin.

Despite his age, he was still a man. He would not have forgotten a beauty like her, recognizing that she was the clerk working at Kim Do-Joon’s store.

“So, she is the Awakener with healing abilities?” Son Chang-Il asked.

“Yes. She had some circumstances, so she was working at our store,” Kim Do-Joon explained.

“Oh, I see. But is she going to be alright? She looks quite young...”

Indeed, Siwelin appeared the youngest among them, looking barely older than a college student.

“She’ll be fine. Among the people I know, no one has better healing abilities than her,” Kim Do-Joon reassured him.

“Well, if you say so...” Son Chang-Il nodded.

Then a thought crossed his mind. He was sure that Kim Do-Joon was acquainted with Shin Yoo-Sung, having seen them together at a previous expedition.

And yet, Kim Do-Joon spoke highly of Siwelin. Son Chang-Il wondered if Kim Do-Joon meant to say that Siwelin was even better than Shin Yoo-Sung.

No, that can’t be...

Son Chang-Il dismissed the notion with a chuckle. It was a foolish thought. How could this young girl surpass Shin Yoo-Sung? Kim Do-Joon must have exaggerated a bit in his introduction.

“Hurry up over there! It’s getting late!” a voice shouted from the front.

Kim Do-Joon turned to see a man clicking his tongue and looking away.

“He’s the A-rank Hunter who volunteered this time,” SonChang-Il said.

“So, there were volunteers?” Kim Do-Joon asked.

“Yes, but only one A-rank. Besides him, there are four B-ranks,” Son Chang-Il replied.

The total was nine with one A-rank, four B-ranks, and Kim Do-Joon’s party of four. Compared to the first expedition team, this was a modest group. After all, the first team had an S-rank leader and several A-ranks.

Compared to that, their leader was only an E-rank, and they had just one A-rank. Moreover, Elena and Siwelin didn’t even have Hunter licenses. However, Son Chang-Il wasn’t overly worried, knowing that Kim Do-Joon’s abilities far exceeded those of an average A-rank.

"Catching up to the advance team shouldn’t be a problem," Son Chang-Il said.

Besides, the advance team should’ve already dealt with the dangerous monsters. Son Chang-Il thought the purpose was just to pass on Elena's information about the stem to Shin Yoo-Sung to ensure safer exploration. Had Son Chang-Il known Kim Do-Joon’s real goal was the Fire Lord’s domain, he would’ve strongly opposed it.

“Well then, take care.”

“Alright.”

After parting with Son Chang-Il, Kim Do-Joon’s group stood before the barrier. Waiting there were the A-rank and B-rank Hunters.

“Hello,” one of them greeted.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Choi Ji-Chul,” another said.

The four B-rank Hunters there welcomed Kim Do-Joon warmly. They already knew that Kim Do-Joon was taking the special promotion test, and that he was the party leader for this mission. Despite his E-rank, he was undergoing a special promotion endorsed by the President, making him superior to most B-ranks.

However, the A-rank Hunter grumbled.

“How can a leader be this late?”

“Sorry about that. I’m Kim Do-Joon,” Kim Do-Joon introduced himself.

“...I’m Seok Dae-Kyung,” the A-rank replied.

Kim Do-Joon extended his hand. Not expecting him to apologize so readily, Seok Dae-Kyung clicked his tongue and then shook hands. He stared at Kim Do-Joon briefly, before scoffing and turning away.

Hwang Hyun-Woo noticed Seok Dae-Kyung's demeanor was similar to Elena’s when he first met her. However, Elena didn’t seem to be interested in Hwang Hyun-Woo. To be more precise, Elena had no interest in anyone other than Kim Do-Joon.

“The leader is an E-rank, and there are two unlicensed women... You’ve got to be kidding me,” Seok Dae-Kyung muttered discontentedly.

His comment made Hwang Hyun-Woo and the other B-ranks uneasy, like a shrimp among whales.

Shortly after, the gate of the barrier began to rise with a rumble. Beyond it, laid the darkened land with the imposing black tower at the center.

“Hurry up. We’ll have to move quickly in order to catch up to the advance team,” Seok Dae-Kyung said, striding forward briskly.

“Let’s get going,” Kim Do-Joon said, and his group followed, heading toward the tower.

***

"We need to push forward."

"Push forward? Easier said than done!"

Inside the large tent, a heated argument was taking place. The people involved were of varying heights and appearances, but they all shared one thing in common: they were drenched in blood.

"So, after coming all this way, you suggest we retreat? With nothing to show for it?"

"What do you mean there’s nothing to show? Mapping out this area alone is a significant achievement!"

"How is that a significant achievement? Have you forgotten how the Chinese secured an entire relic site? Try saying ‘significant’ to that!"

Voices grew louder and more heated. Amid the chaos, a man sitting with a grim expression finally spoke up.

"Oh Tae-Jin, what do you think?” asked the man, Shin Yoo-Sung.

His voice, tired and cracked, caused everyone to fall silent. Only the man called Oh Tae-Jin responded quietly.

"You're asking me?"

Oh Tae-Jin smirked, as if amused by such an obvious question.

"Yes, tell us," Shin Yoo-Sung said

Oh Tae-Jin chuckled and replied, "I think a mere scrap of a map is far from sufficient."

As people heard his response, some people clicked their tongues and lowered their heads, while others glared fiercely.

Shin Yoo-Sung closed his eyes, deep in thought. What was going through his mind? As the tension in the air thickened and mouths went dry, he finally spoke.

"By tomorrow, I'll ensure the injured are back to a hundred percent condition. The operation will commence the day after."

Shin Yoo-Sung’s eyes were weary, but his voice carried determination.