Parasite (1)

The next day.

“They’re heading your way!” Namgung Yoon shouted, using his fire to herd the monsters.

“Got it.”

Bae Yeon-woo and I finished them off.

I’d never heard of monsters appearing inside Blue Forest’s gate, so I assumed there wouldn’t be many.

“Mwoooooh—!”

But if you searched every nook and cranny, they eventually showed up.

We found a cave while wandering through the gate.

Not bad, I thought. Maybe we’ll sleep here tonight. That’s when we discovered the monsters hiding deep inside. I guess what looks like a good spot to us would look good to them, too.

The monsters let out guttural roars, the first we’d seen in a while. Their sudden appearance stunned us for a moment, but who were we? Monster-shredders.

After dealing with them cleanly, we examined the corpses. But…

“They’re already wounded. And these aren’t from us.”

“And they seemed terrified, didn’t they? They don’t normally act like this.”

“A higher-tier monster? Or—”

“Humans. Awakeners, to be specific.”

“Vice Guild Master, are there any high-tier monsters here?”

“Not in the records. But it’s possible they just haven’t been discovered yet, so they wouldn’t be recorded.”

“Usually, in situations like this, it’s Awakeners,” Song Gi-woo spoke up. For the record, Song Gi-woo had extensive experience as a mercenary.

He continued, “It’s something that happens fairly often in unregistered gates… They slip in, set up a base in a remote area, and then carry out their true objective.”

Their true objective…

“In the worst-case scenario, it could be a foothold for a takeover. Or maybe they’re gathering intel. Their goals can vary…” He glanced at me.

“Even if you’re running the gate loosely, you have to deal with this kind of thing. Otherwise, you’ll take the fall.”

“Take the fall?”

“The blame for any organized crime that happens inside a gate… usually falls on the organization that manages it. So they can pin the crime on you. Or they might even pretend to be the owners of the gate and conduct their own business.”

“They’re complete… parasites.”

“That’s what people call it.”

“So we have to catch them, is that it?”

“Ahem. Normally, the managing organization should have dealt with this sort of thing in advance… but what’s done is done.” Namgung Yoon, the Vice Guild Master, suddenly avoided my gaze.

“You heard him, right?”

“Me? Honestly, I… No. I’ll say something about the security arrangements. Right. Since I’m the Vice Guild Master.”

“Good. So… shall we hunt them down? Where do these parasites usually live, Gi-woo?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“You were explaining it so well just a moment ago. Our dear Gi-woo has plenty of mercenary experience, right? So, were you one of the parasites, or did you hunt them?”

“…I’ve done both, but I mostly hunted them. I specialize in buffs and debuffs, right? So I’d join the fight once the parasites were located and the assault began. Their goal is infiltration, not combat, so someone like me, who’s suited for battle, was usually—”

“Alright, alright. I won’t judge you even if you were a parasite, so don’t worry. Now, where do they set up camp?”

“Can I see the map?”

The map was covered in winding lines. Most marked the terrain, but a thick border indicated the current extent of our exploration.

“They’re usually outside this line. The black market probably provides maps, even if they aren’t detailed, right? They find a decent-looking spot in the unexplored territory and settle there.”

“So we just have to circle this entire perimeter?”

“No, I don’t think so. The monsters were terrified, remember? They must be somewhere around here.”

“Oh, nice.”

That could have been a pain. This is perfect. If we just—

“It’s not nice.”

“Hm? Why not?”

“There are only five of us.”

“Ah. …So what?”

“What do you mean, ‘so what’? This many people is enough to handle monsters, but it’s risky against other Awakeners. We need to request backup before we go in. We have no idea who we’re up against.”

“Mmm…”

But I don’t have time.

Requesting support would mean going back, deciding who and how many to bring, planning a strategy, and so on. The problem was, time was tight.

In two days, I had the Lightning Elementalist meeting, and the Fire Elementalist meeting four days after that. Then, I had to start preparing for the Expeditionary Force’s gate expedition.

In the end, Lee Han-gyeol’s life… took priority.

Of course, I could call on the Awakeners from Blue Forest who were on standby, but aside from maintaining secrecy, the bigger issue was that they were still weak.

Unlike the members of Narak, who could be considered a small, elite force, the members of Blue Forest were still just riffraff.

Because they were short on people (admittedly, because I got rid of them), they had to recruit any Awakener they could find, which meant a lot of E and F-ranks. Their average combat strength was low.

And calling in more people from Narak… If I could have, they’d already be here. Everyone was busy with their own affairs.

“I don’t have time to wait around for all that…”

“Still, it’s better than getting hurt. They’ll fight like cornered rats if they run into us.”

“…What’s the usual level of these ‘parasites’? It’s not like a top-tier Awakener would be holed up in a corner like this, right?”

“That’s true, but…”

“Alright. Then let’s charge in.”

“What?”
“Huh?”
“We’re going in?”

The simultaneous outbursts… Great. It seems I don’t inspire much confidence.

But I had—

[Trait: One Soul, Two Minds, Two Bodies
Sub-trait: Elemental – Flame
-Skill (A): Elemental Link
Sub-trait: Elemental – Lightning
-Skill (A): Elemental Link]

—something I was counting on.

I clenched my fist, concentrating Essense into it. Slowly, a flame began to flicker to life.

I did the same with my other hand. As I clenched my fist and gathered Essense, the element of lightning crackled around my arm like tiny sparks.

“Whoa, what’s that?”

Skill, Elemental Link.

It allowed me to link the elements I could wield as an Elemental Mage with my various succubus skills, like Body Enhancement.

This was the Seo A-gyeol version of the ‘One Soul, Two Minds, Two Bodies’ trait.

For reference, through ‘One Soul, Two Minds, Two Bodies,’ Lee Han-gyeol had gained traits corresponding to ‘Optimal Physique,’ ‘Demonic Seduction,’ and ‘Yin Mark.’

“It’s a… new trait I just got.”

“Wow, that’s incredible.”

“So, your right hand is fire… and your left is lightning?”

That was Bae Yeon-woo and Namgung Yoon, respectively. Bae Yeon-woo was an Enhancement-type, and Namgung Yoon was a Fire Elemental Mage. Neither could tear their eyes away from the sight of fire and lightning blooming from my fists—a scene that looked like a mix of an Enhancement-type and an Elemental Mage.

“I need to test this out.”

Seeing this, Song Gi-woo sucked in a breath, deep in thought.

“What, you scared?”

“Scared of what? What did you say your rank was?”

“Me? I’m unregistered.”

“Unregistered? Why?”

“Well, there are circumstances.”

“Ah, your trait is—” Song Gi-woo couldn’t finish his sentence, his mouth just opened and closed like a fish.

The non-disclosure pact we’d made through the skill ‘Verbal Contract’ prevented him from revealing that my trait was ‘Succubus’ in front of others.

“You know, right?”

“Cough, ahem, khm, right. But you seem like you’d easily be a B-rank.”

“Probably? So why ask about my rank?”

“If you’ve just gotten a new trait, you need to practice with it, and right now is the perfect time for that.”

“Perfect?”

“You don’t have to hold back,” Bae Yeon-woo suddenly interjected.

“I’m saying this as an Enhancement-type, but honestly, for us, real combat is better than sparring. You improve a lot more by risking your life and cycling mana to smash monster heads than by holding back in a duel. Of course, you don’t actually have to risk your life since I’m here.”

What’s with the sudden flirting?

Song Gi-woo shot Bae Yeon-woo a glare before continuing.

“So, it’s a perfect opportunity for practice, but the most important thing is not to get hurt. If your rank is high enough, the chances of you getting injured by other Awakeners are… low.”

“Aha. I have physical recovery abilities anyway, so I’ll be fine.”

“Really? Then why are you unregistered?” Bae Yeon-woo chimed in again.

Ah, does Bae Yeon-woo not know I’m a succubus? That’s right. I never told him, did I?

“With your skills, even if you don’t have a government rank, a guild would easily give you an A-rank.”

“I told you, there are circumstances. So, anyone opposed to charging in right now?”

A hand shot up. It was Kim Hee-an.

“Hm? Why?”

“We should rest first. I need to make some potions. If we’re up against Awakeners instead of monsters… I need to change the formula a bit.”

“Oh? How many hours do you need?”

“Ah, we’re only resting for a few hours?”

“It’s better to press our advantage now that we’re on their tail.”

“Is it? Then… Ah, screw it. Let’s just go.”

“Alright. So… how do we find them?”

I turned my gaze to Song Gi-woo, who looked back at me with a ‘Me?’ expression.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Is our guild going to be okay like this?

Lee Han-gyeol: Diligently giving a briefing.

Seo A-gyeol: Parasites? Then they die.

…

“Well… the simplest way would be to look for a light after it gets dark…”

“…You mean like that one over there?”

“Huh?”

A light was visible in the distance.

…Come to think of it, the way I acquired this gate was also by charging in impulsively.

Oh well. As long as things work out, that’s all that matters.