169 – The Sacrificial Ritual – 2

Slaughter was, of course, a great skill when used against living creatures, but its true value was best revealed when dealing with carcasses.

Eun-shin, who was resting after the exhausting battle, watched with his mouth agape as Gi-jun skillfully separated the hide, bones, and flesh of the Divine Beast.

“Hyung, your butchering skills are also the best.”

“Who does it in your party now? Is it Brother Su?”

“We’re just all taking turns. Hmm—still, if possible, the male members try to do it.”

“As I thought.”

Perhaps because it was a party formed by Koreans, a strangely old-fashioned mindset was shared in Ye-min’s party even now, when the tutorial was completely over.

The tacit understanding that the dirty work should be done by the men was just that.

On the continent of Leta, where gender distinctions were meaningless in terms of ability, Letans or other Summoned would have snorted at this, but since the party was formed before they had even shed their modern habits, and all the male members had easygoing personalities, it had continued that way.

……Though it was also because Gi-jun, who could be seen as the biggest victim of that mindset, had tried to silently shoulder it all alone out of consideration for his party members—and furthermore, due to his inferiority complex toward Ye-min.

“Come to think of it, our party was a bit distorted.”

“I think the current Lumen party is the same, though. You do everything, Hyung.”

“……Huh?”

Gi-jun, who was about to reply that it was simply because his related skills were the most outstanding, ended up shutting his mouth.

He had intended to say that he left the parts he could not cover with his own skills to the other party members—but he was reminded once again of the fact that most things could be handled somehow with his skills and the power of the spirits.

Of course, he could find plenty of arguments to refute that.

Unlike the old party, the current party members were united in their desire to help Gi-jun and struggled to find things they could do with him somehow.

However, saying that would be akin to accusing his previous party of dumping everything onto him.

……No, that was actually somewhat true, but still.

‘Everyone was too overwhelmed back then. They probably didn’t have the luxury to look around and be considerate. Just carrying their own weight and staying on their feet was hard enough.’

At least he was able to share some of his struggles with Mok-su, who was older.

Although Eun-shin was also a kind and honest kid, he could not very well lean on his younger brother.

Ye-min’s nerves were always on edge because she was acting as the party’s representative, and Ji-hye, for better or worse, had a strong magician temperament, making her hopeless at anything outside her area of expertise.

Individually, they were all good people, but it could be said that circumstances had continually forced Gi-jun to shoulder the heaviest burden without being able to let it go.

“……Ah.”

As he kept his hands busy while reminiscing about the not-so-pleasant past, the giant wolf carcass before his eyes was already disappearing.

Perhaps because his Slaughter skill had grown significantly while hunting the Eye earlier, he was able to secure a substantial amount of hide, bones, meat, and even some blood, even though he had assumed there would be some loss in butchering since he had left the hunt to Lora and Eun-shin.

Most of them were of grades ranging between Legendary Minus and Unique Plus.

‘But the loot is still stingier than Hati’s.’

—Yeah, you’re right. No wonder he felt noticeably weaker than Hati; the loot is pretty poor too.

At Lucy’s words, Gi-jun unconsciously nodded in agreement.

It felt a bit wrong to say this, as it seemed to diminish the value of his party members’ struggles, but Skoll was clearly weaker than Hati.

Although he was indeed of the Legendary grade, it was as if he had barely managed to step foot into it.

To put it bluntly, if he had been a powerhouse of the same caliber as Hati, Lora and Eun-shin would never have been able to defeat him with just the two of them, no matter how much they were blessed by the protection of light.

‘It must be because of the Eye, right?’

—Of course. You remember too, Contractor? As soon as Hati woke up from his seal, he swallowed the moon, the symbol of the ruins. That wasn’t a real moon, but it was the core energy source supporting the ruins, and its abundant yin energy awakened Hati’s true power.

In Ragnarok, the end times of Norse mythology, Skoll and Hati were depicted as wolves that swallowed the sun and the moon, respectively.

In other words, only by swallowing them could they accumulate the achievements befitting their status.

However, Skoll had been unable to complete his purpose due to the false god already nestled in the volcano.

What he had ultimately failed to swallow was likely the ‘Essence of Uralta’ left behind when the Eye disappeared.

Meanwhile, the false god had also been unable to gather power more actively because of the Divine Beast, and with Gi-jun’s appearance, it had met such a dramatic end.

It could be said that because the two had kept each other in check, Gi-jun and his party were easily able to hunt both of them.

―Kee, keee…….

Ur, who was always mature and gentle, unexpectedly rushed over and snuggled into his arms as soon as his work was finished.

He must have been very exhausted mentally.

Gi-jun chuckled softly and stroked his head.

“Shall we sleep together tonight, Ur?”

―Kee.

―Ah, then me too, Contractor—!

Turning around while cradling and comforting Ur, Gi-jun ignored Lucy, who was whining that she wanted to sleep together too, and spoke to his party members.

“Everyone did a great job. Since the overflow seems to be over, let’s go get our rewards and rest.”

“Thank you for your hard work—!”

Eun-shin shouted, raising his arms in celebration.

When Lora and Tilla looked at him in surprise at his sudden action, Eun-shin slowly lowered his hands and made an excuse.

“It’s just a habit from my previous party…….”

“It’s all because of Brother Su, who gave useless early education to a kid who hasn’t even served in the military yet.”

“You’re right, it’s because of Uncle.”

“He did seem a bit strange.”

“He seemed to like alcohol excessively. It pained me to see you being pestered by him, Jun-nim.”

Gi-jun and his party members, who had strengthened their bond by badmouthing someone who wasn’t there, returned to the city under the collective gaze of the Summoned surrounding them from afar.

As rumors that the Lumen party had hunted the Divine Beast had already spread far and wide in the meantime, the gazes directed not only at Gi-jun but also at his party members were unusual.

“They will definitely go to the Empire.”

“No, won’t they bypass the Empire and go straight to the Frontier? If it were me, I’d rush to recruit them.”

“But they’re too outstanding. If it’s the current Frontier, they might try to nip them in the bud before they grow any further…….”

“Don’t say such unlucky things. Do you want to get kicked out of Uralta?”

“Bud? It looks like the flower has already fully bloomed.”

While the Letans were purely in awe of the immense achievements of the Lumen party, the word ‘Frontier’ was frequently mentioned among the Summoned.

The Frontier was a kingdom of the Summoned established in the pioneered lands of the western continent, where truly powerful Summoned were said to operate—the front line of Leta in name and reality.

Of course, Gi-jun had no intention of hastily heading to the Frontier.

Although the Letans were said to avoid civilization wars between the Light factions, would that really hold true in the territory of the Summoned?

Even in Gratia, which was ruled by Letans, Gi-jun had suffered headaches due to issues that had arisen between the Light factions.

He did not even want to imagine the kinds of troublesome things that would happen if he went to the Frontier.

But there was a bigger reason why he was reluctant to go to the Frontier—

“Do you have any thoughts of going to the Frontier, Jun?”

Tilla, who was smiling gently right beside Gi-jun.

“No.”

“If it’s because of me, I’m really fine.”

“No, even if we go, it will be much later—when all of us have the strength to protect ourselves. There’s no need to think useless thoughts, Tilla.”

Her civilization had a small population but was extremely strong, and because of that, it was systematically ‘hunted’ and brought to ruin once its weakness was exposed.

Where else would there be a group of Summoned capable of leading such a hunt?

It was precisely the Summoned who operated in the Frontier.

Of course, they said the leadership of the Frontier Kingdom was not involved in it, and it would indeed be a major problem if the key figures of the kingdom, which was practically a collective of multiple Summoned civilizations, had actively participated in hunting other civilizations… but there was no telling what the reality was.

Seeing Gi-jun showing a complicated expression as he recalled the materials he had read previously, Tilla spoke with a bitter smile.

“Yes. The Frontier is certainly dangerous, but it’s also a land of opportunity. Since I am ready at any time, please do not hesitate when the time comes.”

“……Okay.”

The group soon entered the city.

Although things had collapsed here and there and the roads were cracked because lava had erupted and volcanic rocks had swept through, the barriers protecting the critical facilities of Uralta seemed to have functioned properly, suppressing any building collapses.

“Jun-nim!”

Unika, who had been frantically giving orders buried in the middle of a crowd, brightened up and ran over when she spotted Gi-jun.

“Thanks to you, we were able to defend the city! After speaking with the dwarves, the volcano seems to have completely stabilized, and it looks like Uralta’s vitality will return…….!”

“That’s a relief.”

“Of course, the sacrifices made while stopping the overflow are not small, but even so, today’s battle can certainly be called a great victory. It is all thanks to you, Jun-nim!”

“It feels a bit cliché, so I’m hesitant to say it—but we protected it with everyone’s strength. Especially you, Unika, you did a great job leading the people before you could even get used to Uralta.”

“T-Thank you…….”

Lowering her head in embarrassment at the direct praise, Unika cleared her throat with a cough, and spoke while trying to maintain a calm expression.

“Please rest for now. We plan to first report to His Majesty via communication, finish the urgent recovery work, and then proceed with the award ceremony after receiving the kingdom’s approval. The quest will be completed then.”

“So the quest can’t just be completed immediately.”

“Of course. It’s no ordinary quest, after all. Especially since it’s a quest related to defending the city, it will require coordination between the system and the kingdom.”

Indeed, if every favor done for a Letan was processed as a quest and rewarded, there would be too much room for abuse.

However, while Gi-jun and Unika were conversing, someone interrupted them.

It was the dwarf Glittertoss.

“I know you’ve had a hard time fighting a mythical battle until now, but even so, there’s something I want to ask of you right this moment.”

“What did you say?”

Unika’s expression stiffened.

Wearing an aristocratic expression she had never shown when facing Gi-jun, she blocked Glittertoss.

“You are being rude, blacksmith.”

“I’ll do whatever I can for you. But I really hope you can grant my request somehow.”

Looking at the dwarf’s desperate expression, a thought suddenly crossed Gi-jun’s mind.

When he raised his head and looked around, sure enough, the other dwarves were also looking at Gi-jun with similar expressions.

Convinced that his hunch was correct, Gi-jun shrugged his shoulders and spoke.

“Tell me for now.”

“As expected! I believed in you, VVIP!”

“Jun-nim, you shouldn’t be too generous. This dwarf has already caused you a great inconvenience.”

Unika glared at Glittertoss with a fierce expression.

However, Gi-jun shook his head.

“This probably isn’t just Glittertoss’s personal wish. Shall I guess…… is it the ritual?”

“That’s right.”

Glittertoss nodded in agreement with a bitter smile.

“Every single one of us was deeply shocked. To think the god we believed in and served as Ptah was actually a fake……. We cannot just sweep everything under the rug like this. Our pride has been deeply wounded.”

“Pride?”

Unika asked back with a puzzled expression.

Glittertoss clenched his fists tightly and shouted, as if building up anger as he spoke.

“Yes! Now that we know our sincerity and skills did not reach Ptah-nim, how can we just let it go!”

“Is that really the issue right now?”

“I don’t know about anything else! We just want to be recognized by Ptah-nim somehow!”

Unika wore an expression that clearly said these dwarves were out of their minds.

Actually, Gi-jun agreed with her on that, but he could not entirely fail to understand the frustration and unfairness felt by the dwarves, who had realized they had been engaged in a monumental waste of effort all this time.

“So what is it you want to ask of me? Don’t tell me you want the materials obtained from the Eye or the Divine Beast?”

“No, no, of course hide, bones, and fire are the specialties of dwarves. But dwarves must speak with metal. ——I want you to bring ‘that’ which I spoke of.”

There was no need to state what that was.

It referred to the legendary metal, Orichalcum, which had been used to make the sacrifice—no, the offering—50 years ago.

“Right, I figured it was that.”

“I know you’re tired and exhausted, but can we ask you right away? And if possible, I’d like to borrow that hammer…… Ptah-nim’s divine artifact as well.”

“I expected that from the beginning.”

Gi-jun paused and looked back at his party members.

None of them were in peak condition—but in the end, they nodded as if they had no choice.

Gi-jun also nodded, then looked at Glittertoss and spoke.

“Glittertoss, I’ll accept the quest. You know what I’ll demand as payment, right?”

“If you succeed in mining more than the required amount, you can keep all of it. I’ll make whatever you want with it, VVIP.”

“That’s not enough. Including the trouble you caused my party and me this time, you will have to swing your hammer until your arms get sore. For free, of course.”

“…….”

At Gi-jun’s words, the party members instantly regained their vitality and perked up.

On the other hand, Glittertoss, knowing that Gi-jun already had a pile of byproducts to request work for, turned pale, but ultimately nodded anyway.