Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 23

And just like that, the Doppleganger vanished in a single point, as if being sucked into a black hole. To be precise, it was absorbed into itself.

Still, since it was at least a living creature that was absorbed, I calmly surveyed the insides, but aside from the dark mana caused by the heartache, everything seemed fine.

Of course, that only referred to the inside; the outside was a complete mess. Both of my arms were swollen, as if they had been battered and bruised, while my right arm looked like it had been dipped in hydrochloric acid and pulled out.

The skin had melted away, exposing the bright red muscle, which was in a state of disarray too.

[Is… is it okay?]

‘Not okay, obviously.’

[I’ll gradually heal it with mana. However, I think it’s better to numb the pain with mana first.]

I agreed with Shar; it really hurt like hell. I channeled the little bit of mana I had left into my aching arm. As I blocked the pain pathways with mana, I felt the agony dulling. At last, I felt I could somewhat breathe again.

Although I had suppressed the pain for now, leaving it like this would only lead to more significant trouble later on. I turned to check on Baek In-hwa.

She stood dazed in the deep part of the cave, getting hit by falling snowflakes. The silver-haired girl gazing up at the sky on the frozen ground truly looked like a painting.

The problem was that it wasn’t snowing in the cave. The sparkling powder that looked like snow was actually the remnants of the monsters Baek In-hwa had frozen and shattered. Really scary.

Could it all be a lie? It was hard to imagine that such a frightening girl would die soon. It was certain, however, that she had died in her past life; after all, a body had been found.

“…She took care of it all by herself.”

“Yeah, because no one helped her.”

“She could do it by herself, so it’s fine. But why did you put your hand in at the end?”

Baek In-hwa frowned, looking at me as if she couldn’t understand. She must have seen my arm.

I’m not looking! I won’t look! That’ll ruin my appetite!

“That thing explodes at the end. I had no choice but to stop it.”

“…I see.”

Baek In-hwa nodded. Well, there was indeed such an intention behind it, so it wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t that there wasn’t a way to prevent the explosion, but it required preparation, and in Yu Yeon-woo’s current state, the only way to prevent an explosion was to kill it before it self-destructed.

“Then let’s finish this up quickly so we can treat you.”

“Sure.”

Baek In-hwa said that and began to take off her thin white gloves, folding them neatly. That was it!

‘Ice White Divine Palm.’

The head of the family used blue ones, while the heir used white ones. At first glance, they looked like plain gloves without distinct features, but they proudly symbolized the rightful heir of the Ice Palace. In the novel, they appeared as the name of a martial art, but in that world, they were referred to as gloves.

I could infer a lot from what I knew, but it was quite a famous tale. The story of the Ice White Divine Palm and the first Ice Palace lord.

The first Ice Palace lord got lost in a blizzard in the North Sea of that world. At some point, the storm cleared, revealing a silkworm moth that looked as if it were made of ice.

Where the moth had been, two bundles of thread made of ice and snow were found, and as long as you held onto those, the blizzard would never strike him again.

Believing that to be a sign from the heavens, the first lord made the spot where the moth had been the foundation of the Ice Palace and created gloves from the two bundles to make them treasures of the Ice Palace.

And those two gloves are the Ice White Divine Palm that has been passed down to this day.

Strictly speaking, the head of the family’s pair is the Ice White Divine Palm, while the heir’s pair is referred to as the Snow White Divine Palm, but only the Ice Palace uses that distinction…

“Is that Ice White Divine Palm?”

“…How did you know?”

Baek In-hwa looked at me with wide eyes. I backed away involuntarily; her feeling was more enormous than anything I’d seen before. But really…

“The white gloves used by the Ice Palace’s heir… obviously, it’s the Ice White Divine Palm, right? What, you didn’t believe me when I said the Ice Palace was famous on the first day?”

“…Ahem.”

Looking at Baek In-hwa as she coughed and turned her gaze away, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Baek In-hwa, who had neatly folded the Ice White Divine Palm into a box, extended it toward me.

“Just look. Don’t touch it.”

“Why can’t I touch it?”

“If a person who isn’t the rightful owner touches it, they freeze.”

“The gloves?”

“The person.”

“Ah, I see.”

I must definitely not touch it.

Well, when it comes to artifacts, it’s common for items to choose their owners. It wasn’t too hard to understand. It didn’t mean I wasn’t scared, though. A little fear crept in as I observed the Ice White Divine Palm from a careful distance.

There were none of the distinctive markings typical of magical weapons. The strong presence usually emitted by artifacts… was also absent.

However, it felt like the cold of a snowstorm was contained inside the box, causing my body to shiver. The lack of seams made it look like it had been made as gloves from the very beginning.

‘It’s genuinely like a snowball, this.’

[Yes, it’s an object made by nature itself. Speaking of which, Dad subconsciously awakened the Dragon Eye…]

Dragon Eye? What is that?

[It’s the eye that sees the essence of objects. Dragons are beings that can tune the world.]

Such a thing exists? Nodding my head, I figured it must be a good thing, even if I didn’t know what it was.

All I did was concentrate my mana on my eyes. Maybe it was because I used the mana from the Dragon Heart in my eyes.

‘With this, I can’t watch the illusion magic show.’

I might get caught stealing the know-how and banned from entry.

“This is an incredible item.”

“Can you tell?”

In response to my unconscious muttering, Baek In-hwa brightened up.

“Of course. Isn’t it the famous Ice White Divine Palm?”

‘Nobody seems to recognize it, though.’

I wondered how she knew. Thinking that, I followed Yu Yeon-woo as he headed toward the doorway formed where the darkness melted away deep within the cave.

*

The qualitative and quantitative value of the treasures found in a gate depends on the gate’s owner.

To give a simple example, there’s the gate known as [Relin’s Archive].

The gate’s owner, essentially the boss monster, is the ‘Homunculus of Relin’. A powerful mage, Relin, created this humanoid creature believing she needed a librarian for her archive. Not only does she manage the books, but she also serves as a guardian of the archive, making her physical and magical abilities exceptional.

And naturally, as she is the librarian guarding the archive, the treasure that opens upon defeating her is filled with high-quality magical books. Since she is humanoid, the items she used can also be considered treasures within the vault.

Now then, …what’s the name of this gate? The Pit of the Doppleganger? What treasures could possibly be inside?

“…An open area?”

No, more than that….

“…It looks like a junkyard… no, more like a beast’s lair.”

Just as I said.

Several weapons with melted holes lay scattered around. Including the pickaxe held by the shadow puppet at the entrance, there were three.

If I remember correctly, there were four missing persons, and I suspected that the pickaxe belonged to the first missing person, the Doppleganger itself. It must have been a kind of bait.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

I lightly bowed my head toward the dead’s belongings. I knew it didn’t mean anything… but it was a habit. I wondered if one of them might be a ghost with a lot of wishes.

Although I didn’t have enough time to offer anything properly, I decided to convey my feelings in my heart. They became hunters for their reasons, but they were also seniors who wished to eliminate monsters and correct the world.

Baek In-hwa, who had been looking at me with a dazed expression, also cautiously bowed her head. It felt like the heaviness weighing on her heart lifted a little.

Yu Yeon-woo raised his head and cast his gaze behind him. In reality, this space was a disguise. It might be closer to a restroom. The Doppleganger feeds on the identity of objects.

I didn’t know how it ate or what precisely, but once it consumes an identity, it no longer needs it, and the object that has had its identity consumed no longer needs that identity thereafter.

What remained after devouring that identity were exactly these things. And also the shadow puppets. A being devoured of one life, one identity, merely repeating the actions it performed while alive….

A pile of magical stones scattered haphazardly. Now turned into ice powder by Baek In-hwa, they must have belonged to the monsters. Sometimes, there are fools who are misled by the notion that the monsters are humanity’s only enemies, thinking monsters don’t fight among themselves. But the ecosystem is this strict.

‘Where could it be?’

Yet, Yu Yeon-woo did not stop searching. There should be something. No, it couldn’t not exist. It was one of the rules of treasure vaults.

The treasure vault holds the most precious item to the gate’s owner.

The goblin village’s treasure vault is filled with various treasures.

The orc village’s treasure vault often contains rare herbs or elixirs.

And in the treasure vault of the Doppleganger…

‘I found it.’

Locating a black orb rolling around like junk in the corner, Yu Yeon-woo stood in front of it.

Baek In-hwa, having noticed it, asked.

“……What’s that?”

It seemed she had little experience participating in gate assaults? I thought that as I figured she should have guessed what this roughly was if she knew the rules of the gate.

I hadn’t had much experience with it in my past life, so it felt awkward, but this was the term people generally used to refer to such an object.

“It’s a boss item.”

*

Boss item.

Though the term originated from games, Yu Yeon-woo thought that it made sense. Even if feelings didn’t describe the item name and description like in games, all treasures found in vaults were the owner’s unique items.

So, ironically, this boss item was the biggest trap in treasure vaults.

Depending on the individual, sometimes it could turn out to be a completely useless piece of junk.

As someone who had killed plenty of Dopplegangers and cleared gates in his past life, this was the first time Yu Yeon-woo had encountered an object like this. A black sphere—the surface was smooth and shiny, almost like a metal sphere.

“Is that the possession of the gate’s owner?”

“They are called that as well.”

The item left behind when the owner dies is regarded as a keepsake. The formal name, that is. I guess it really is the first time I’m seeing one. Given that Baek In-hwa focused more on stabilizing the area than on clearing the gates.

“Do you have any idea what it does?”

“Well….”

What had turned up in the past? Masks that could be used for illusion magic, a peculiar solid that hardened when swung… who had used one of those as a whip again?

If I had to classify it, it felt closer to the latter, but honestly, I had no clue.

“Is it a dud…?”

“I’ll just pick it up for now…. Ouch, hot.”

As she picked up the orb, she flinched, trembling, and dropped it. Yu Yeon-woo was startled, catching the falling orb with his hand. Since he had blocked the pain, he could hold it, but since it was hot, he didn’t really want to. He brought the orb up to his shoulder for a moment.

…What? It’s not hot at all?

As Yu Yeon-woo thought that and looked at Baek In-hwa, she asked as if something was bizarre.

“…Isn’t it hot?”

“No, not at all….”

A slight silence lingered. Meanwhile, Baek In-hwa reached out toward the orb, only to appear burned instead.

“…It seems like it’s rejecting me.”

“It looks like it’s an item that chooses its owner. I’m kinda excited about this.”

“I don’t know what it is, but you take it. Just give me half of the reward from the magic stone we got here.”

“Will that be enough? If you weren’t here, we wouldn’t have been able to clear it.”

“You said you had no money. Instead, next time we go to a gate, take me with you. I want to boost my performance.”

With a somewhat aloof expression, Baek In-hwa said that. It was a nice sentiment for her, but…

“Alright. I’ll add it to the ledger.”

She said, echoing things Dad would say, and Baek In-hwa smiled faintly.

In any case, having this unknown boss item and half of the magical stones from the monsters, even if I couldn’t find a human-sized stone, I was able to reap rewards that were almost worth even more.

And the presence that could appraise this unidentifiable boss item was also nearby.

‘Shar, can I ask you?’

[Heh, don’t you worry!]

*

The way back was slower than it had been coming. My arm and mana were totally wrecked, so I couldn’t return quickly.

“So, why did you hide the fact that it self-destructs?”

“…Huh?”

“Originally, it was an opponent I was supposed to fight, right? Tell me quickly why you hid that.”

“Uh… must I?”

“Depending on your answer, I might be willing to leave out the part about you trying to trap me in a letter to Father.”

“Oh, well, about that!”

With a heart intent on letting the Reaper go, Yu Yeon-woo had to reveal everything he had thought.

[Honestly, I can’t understand why you hid it at all.]

‘Well, it’s because Baek In-hwa might have been scared…’

[Let’s keep that as a secret between us, Dad.]

She was definitely going to lose a friend over this, I think… There was a hint of disdain in Shar’s words toward Yu Yeon-woo.

…….

“…I’ll let it slide this time.”

Having heard Yu Yeon-woo’s story, Baek In-hwa said that with a sigh. It must have been quite a long story, filled with many exaggerations and downright lies, making it impossible to hear without shedding tears. Fortunately, there was no need to mix in any falsehoods.

“You don’t underestimate people when you say you’re worried you can’t control the situation….”

Baek In-hwa rubbed her throbbing temples. Ah? Is this feeling anger? Is it possibly anger? It must be anger. It was like I had just been told that something weird was going to happen with a classmate.

Still, deciding to let it go in the end, it was because Yu Yeon-woo handled the Doppleganger by himself.

Given her slightly arrogant nature when entering a fight, she figured that could happen.

I didn’t honestly know how powerful the self-destruct would be, but Yu Yeon-woo had directly plunged his hand into the darkness of that thing. And seeing how terrible his arm had transformed in just a few seconds made me think he wouldn’t be able to stop it without taking any damage.

Other than that, everything else was secondary; the self-destruct was the real deal.

“I’m sorry for hiding it. Still, I thought of multiple ways to stop it from impacting you. In any case, think of it as a cheap lesson since it only cost you one arm.”

“…Okay, fine. If you say it was all for my sake, then what can I say?”

“Why do you speak like that? Are you upset?”

“I’m not upset.”

“Aw, you’re upset, aren’t you? Want some candy?”

“I told you I’m not upset…!”

A hint of frustration leaked from Baek In-hwa’s voice, and Yu Yeon-woo couldn’t help but retreat awkwardly. No matter what happened, it was clear that he had certainly irritated her.

‘But why did you go so far to save me?’

Baek In-hwa glanced at Yu Yeon-woo’s right arm. It must hurt. It would hurt a lot. Burns are said to be the most painful of all injuries. With that extent, he would have felt like screaming from the pain.

But Yu Yeon-woo didn’t scream. Rather, at that moment, he was smiling, as if trying to calm someone down.

‘…Oniichan.’

Even the older brother who had pushed her away and was bitten by a huge alligator was smiling to soothe the girl he had saved.

…Somehow, her eyes began to water, and Baek In-hwa rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

*

In a room resembling a reception room, there were no shadows.

There was light. The tattered chandelier hanging in the center cast a hazy glow reminiscent of past glory.

And yet, there were no shadows.

[Oh my.]

A gigantic voice resonated through the empty space. No, it wasn’t that the voice was gigantic; it should be said that the being who made the sound was colossal.

As if children were playing shadow puppets, the shadow of a throne appeared on the wall….

The giant sitting on the shadowy throne emanated a bizarre and gigantic presence that was unbelievable to be just a shadow and merely existed there….

As if being chased by the man’s voice, the light raced away. The trembling light lurking in a corner of the shabby palace looked horrifyingly pitiful.

“…I bow before the Shadow King.”

A shadow flowed down the wall and took on the shape of a human, bowing low before the shadows. Its voice was so indistinct that its gender was hardly identifiable, but its outline was clearly evident even before the shadow.

[The first has perished.]

“…Is that what the prince said?”

[Yes, but what has returned to me is barely a fraction. By the looks of this, it seems you couldn’t even manage to self-destruct. How intriguing. Very intriguing indeed.]

The shadow’s mouth formed a sinister crescent. The bowed shadow, drenched in inexpressible terror, didn’t dare lift its head, tremble its legs, or flee. It simply awaited the king’s words.

[I never sent him there. How did he find out…? How could he know…? Does he perhaps know something, Kai?]

Called by the king, the man named Kai answered with his head bowed.

“Everything is as your majesty said.”

[Indeed, that is the case.]

Mmm, the Shadow King scratched his chin exaggeratedly. Kai didn’t even move. It wasn’t loyalty. The relationship between the king and the man wasn’t merely built upon loyalty.

[Find out. Who killed the prince, how he died, and where the remaining parts went.]

“…Yes.”

A wild and rugged order that one would have a hard time believing a child had perished. Kai nodded simply, with no choice but to comply.

He rose and glided silently against the wall. In the reception room, only the Shadow King, who smiled wickedly, and the countless shadow puppets bowing before him remained….

[[Glory to the Shadow King! Glory to the Shadow King! Glory to the Shadow King! …….]]

(To be continued in the next episode)