Chapter 32
Community (1)
Woo-oo-ong──
Between the towering vertical trees, green wisps floated lazily.
“Whoa…!”
Sehyun let out a short groan as his foot slipped.
Bits of bark crumbled beneath him.
He was at a height so great it was impossible to even estimate.
The forest was so densely packed with colossal branches that neither sky nor ground could be seen.
This rift was known as the “Floor Forest.”
The interwoven branches of giant trees formed layer upon layer, resembling an enormous building or tower.
Since each new rift spawned them on a different floor, all Sehyun could sense was that they were unimaginably high above the ground.
Sehyun was moving across the layers of the forest, collecting materials.
Squelch─!
He scraped off jelly-like sludge clinging to a branch and stuffed it into his sack.
It was the byproduct of the Floor Forest’s exclusive boss monster, the “Giant Forest Jellyfish.”
“Ugh, sticky.”
The harvesting process was unpleasant, but in terms of value, the substance was worth more than any other material.
After all, something truly incredible could be crafted with it.
With a satisfied look, Sehyun tied off the sack and moved to another floor.
Three days had already passed since that incident.
As expected, the matter involving the Collector had completely shifted into the Foundation’s jurisdiction.
‘Well, I did nudge it that way.’
Even if he hadn’t, they were bound to intervene anyway. But Sehyun had chosen to act first.
He had used Phantom and Chester as the front, having them report the case and steer the investigation.
Of course, while keeping his own existence thoroughly hidden.
The inquiry seemed to have included some harsh interrogations, but in the end it wrapped up well enough.
The real problem, however, lay elsewhere.
‘Hopefully that side wrapped up cleanly too.’
He still had something to collect from them, so it nagged at him.
Sehyun recalled what had happened.
Three days ago.
When he finished work and arrived at the docks, the retainers of the Wales family were waiting.
There weren’t many—surprisingly few, in fact, for a noble household.
Such was the state of a fallen family, unable even to form a proper community.
As Sehyun thought this, one of the retainers greeted Phantom respectfully.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Yeah, yeah, just take her and scram.”
Passing over the unconscious girl, Phantom waved his hand dismissively.
The retainer receiving the girl handed bags of money to both Phantom and Chester.
Originally, those funds should have gone to the Collector.
But since the two had completed the request, they were paid instead.
Then, the retainer also handed a bag to Sehyun.
“I heard you helped us. Please accept this.”
“Keep the money. Instead, I’d like you to do me a favor.”
From inside his coat, Sehyun pulled out an item wrapped in black cloth and held it out.
“Th-this is…!!!”
When the cloth was removed, a pure-white glow spilled forth.
It was unmistakably the Inheritance Stone that should have been in the Collector’s possession.
“You mean… you took this? From him?”
The retainers couldn’t hide their shock.
They had likely half given up on ever reclaiming it.
Since it had been given as a contract fee, once the deal was void, technically it should have been returned. But if the Collector simply denied it, there would have been no way to retrieve it.
He was a powerhouse, while they were merely remnants of a ruined house.
If a dispute over the stone leaked out, the ones in trouble would have been the Wales family, not him.
That was why they were stunned to have it returned so easily.
“…Why are you giving this back to us?”
“It’s just going back to where it belongs.”
Not that he had done it out of pure goodwill.
‘It’s useless in my hands.’
This much stellar energy was difficult for him to wield, and he had no safe place to store it.
Keeping it would only paint a target on his back.
Better to return it, earning their favor in the process.
“When this girl wakes up, contact me. That’ll be my payment.”
“…Thank you.”
With a final request to keep the incident secret, they left the docks.
Watching them depart, Chester clicked his tongue.
“tsk. Didn’t you lose out big time?”
Phantom chuckled.
“Don’t underestimate him. Nam Sehyun isn’t the type to take a loss. Right?”
Phantom was right.
He hadn’t asked for contact just to check up on the girl.
‘Clairvoyance.’
The Wales’ Inheritance Stone granted more than just control over light—it allowed the wielder to see everything.
In time, the girl would inherit that power.
So when Sehyun asked them to contact him, it was basically a request for access to that ability.
‘Not useful now, but someday it will be.’
And besides, if the full truth of the incident came out, it wouldn’t just be the Wales family in trouble—Sehyun would be, too.
Sehyun tapped Chester’s shoulder.
“So, clean up the loose ends for me, Chester.”
“…Me? What’s in it for me?”
“I’ll give you that.”
Sehyun’s gaze flicked to the weapon Chester held.
The artifact [Astrapē].
“What, you’re serious?”
“If you don’t want it, forget it.”
“N-no, that’s not what I meant… You’ll really give it to me?”
“Only if you tie things off properly.”
It was a waste to give away an artifact, but it was smarter to let the right person wield it and get something valuable in return.
‘Better to trade than cling to it alone.’
Trade wasn’t a zero-sum game.
It created ties, and those ties returned greater benefits.
In his previous life, Ha Ilhwan had monopolized such trades. This time, things were different.
“Hehe, don’t worry. We’ll handle everythi—”
“Why bother with all that?”
Phantom cut him off, giving Sehyun a sly look.
“Forget the family. Why are you always hiding?”
“……”
“If it was because you’re weak and needed to survive, I’d get it. But you’re not weak. You even took down the Collector.”
“That was just dumb luck.”
The Collector had become pure light after absorbing the Inheritance Stone, and Phantom’s shadow ability had turned out to be the perfect counter.
In other words, the Collector had basically defeated himself.
“Bullshit. No one gets that far on luck—not even me.”
At Phantom’s exasperation, Sehyun just smiled.
He had hidden because he had been weak at first.
Back then, even against someone like Yoo Taehoon, he had barely scraped by throwing everything he had at him.
But now things were different.
He didn’t even need to worry about Inha anymore.
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s about time.”
Perhaps it had been his own reluctance, clinging to excuses to keep a quiet, ordinary life.
“Full already?”
Sehyun wiped the sweat from his brow.
The sack was now stuffed to the brim with sludge.
BOOM─!
A sudden explosion rang out.
Looking up, Sehyun saw Inha battling the massive jellyfish that floated between the trees.
“She’s handling it well.”
Now she could manage a satellite-level boss on her own.
Meanwhile, Sehyun had been safely collecting sludge.
With his sack full, it was about time to head back.
“Inha!”
At his call, Inha landed nearby, holding a bear cub in her arms.
She’d named it “Ung,” if he remembered right.
‘Why does that little furball always irritate me?’
Ever since swallowing a soulstone, the cub had been changing—almost like a rift beast.
It still looked the same outwardly, but it only ate plants imbued with stellar power inside rifts, and sometimes even craved more soulstones.
At this rate, it might even awaken powers of its own.
“Weren’t you exhausted?”
“No. I just drew its attention and ran around a bit.”
Easier said than done.
She hadn’t just distracted it; she’d kept it occupied so Sehyun could harvest sludge.
The giant jellyfish, once its HP dropped below half, would cling to trees and absorb their life force to heal.
That healing process produced sludge.
So to harvest steadily, they needed to keep the monster draining energy, carefully managing its HP.
Too much damage, and it would change tactics.
Grrrrrr──
“Huh…?”
The jellyfish’s cry echoed through the forest.
It was the sound it made when near death.
‘Why now…?’
Just a moment ago, it had seemed fine.
Rumble─!
The jellyfish contracted its body, then expanded violently.
WHOOOOSH────!!!
A storm of poisonous mist erupted like a shockwave.
Click─
Sehyun hurriedly opened the Dead Ringer.
He had preset its hands for just such emergencies.
[2 o’clock: Frost Blossom]
An ice barrier wrapped around him and Inha.
The toxic mist slammed against it and dispersed.
“This is bad.”
“Sorry, I must’ve hit too hard…”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then…?”
“Someone else is here.”
From above came a shout.
“Take it down!!!”
Half a dozen players swung down on wires, charging at the boss.
The jellyfish spewed more toxic mist.
“Wind current!”
A wind-user reversed the airflow, dispersing the poison.
Another trapped the boss with fire, restricting its movement.
Then, their apparent leader aimed his finger like a gun.
“Clean shot!”
A compressed air bullet fired from his fingertip.
The jellyfish’s body was pierced in multiple places before it plummeted, scattering debris.
The man blew smoke from his finger and looked down at Sehyun.
“If you can’t even take down a boss like this, maybe you should’ve left already.”
…What?
Did he think they hadn’t killed it because they couldn’t?
Who just swooped in to steal the kill, then bragged like that?
His party landed around them one by one.
“So this is the famous Chae Inha? Hmph, disappointing.”
He singled her out directly.
‘Not again…’
Sehyun sighed inwardly.
Inha had become quite well-known lately.
After running rifts with Sungcheol, her name had spread among players.
Invitations from teams and communities had poured in.
Most were respectful, but some always crossed the line.
Some ambushed her after rift clears, others even intruded on rifts already claimed and acted out.
Just like these guys.
“Quit playing hard to get and join our team already.”
“…So that’s what this is about?”
Sehyun’s tone dripped with annoyance.
How many times would they use “recruitment” as an excuse to harass her?
Sehyun himself had chosen to remain unaffiliated.
But Inha was the one paying the price.
He hated dragging her into this.
“You got in here using Sungcheol’s name, right? How long do you think that trick will last? Stop clinging to your pride and—”
“Who said she’s alone?”
Sehyun stepped forward protectively.
The man sneered when he noticed Sehyun’s sack.
“Hah. A pack mule, scavenging garbage, dares to butt in?”
Sehyun’s face twisted.
…What?
Garbage?
The bracelet around his arm glowed blue.
Squelch─!
“Ugh! What the hell is this?!”
Sticky sludge clung to the man’s face.
“That’s not all.”
Sehyun infused it with stellar power.
The sludge hardened, sealing his nose and mouth.
“Mmhhphhhh!!!”
He thrashed wildly, suffocating.
Thud─!
One kick sent him dangling by his wire.
“You dare call this revolutionary material trash?”
Insults to himself he could tolerate.
People said things, that was life.
But dismissing this material as worthless? Unforgivable.
Did they not know how precious it was?
“You people only care about soulstones. Do you even know what this is?”
One of the teammates muttered hesitantly.
“Uh… w-waste…?”
Smack─!
“Don’t you even know about shape-memory fluid, you idiots?!”
He slapped another with sludge, then launched into an impassioned rant.
He explained how sludge hardened under stellar energy, how it could “remember” shapes through special processing, how it could alternate between liquid and solid states to form a kind of piston mechanism—
“With the right design, you could build an engine out of this! Do you plan to keep running around rifts on foot forever, huh?!”
Everyone listening thought the same thing: What the hell is he even talking about…?
But none dared say it aloud.
The best way to deal with a lunatic was to stay quiet.
The man dangling from his wire shouted hoarsely:
“Y-you’ll regret this!!! We’re part of a commu—mmph!!”
Another glob of sludge silenced him.
“…Ha.”
That damned word again. Community, community.
“This won’t do.”
Being unaffiliated was turning out to be far too tiresome.
The endless pests buzzing around, the constant hassle of dodging them… it was wearing him down.
The solution was obvious.
“If it’s that much of a problem… then I’ll just make my own community.”
