Chapter 71: Manastone

A simple statement, but it made the atmosphere in the room even heavier.

If the future of Dong-San truly was filled with danger, those holding the power to protect this city would also have to bear responsibility for countless lives. Kim Woo Jin’s prophecy proved that this city, Dong-San, was anything but simple.

Moon So Yeon spoke slowly:

"The Black Rose Guild has failed. Dong-San can no longer be entrusted to a Guild that has lost most of its strength."

"But that doesn’t mean the Crying Ghost Guild has the right to decide on its own." Irumi replied coldly. "The five major Guilds need to hold a vote."

Moon So Yeon looked at the three people before her, then let out a laugh.

"So you all had already made your decision before coming here to ask for our opinion?"

No one answered.

Because that silence itself was the clearest answer.

The Crying Ghost Guild had taken over the Dungeon in Dong-San, but that didn’t mean the city belonged to them. To officially obtain protection rights, the Guild needed approval from the Korean Hunter Management Association, as well as the consensus of the other major Guilds.

In other words, the battle inside the Dungeon was only the beginning. Now was the real fight for the city of Dong-San.

Moon So Yeon leaned back in her chair, her blue eyes turning cold.

"Dong-San hasn’t decided to belong to any Guild yet. We only came to help the Black Rose Guild."

Lucas narrowed his eyes slightly.

"So what does the Crying Ghost Guild plan to do?"

"Wait until our guild master returns, then we’ll talk."

Moon So Yeon answered calmly.

"Kang Ian is the one who directly handled that Dungeon. The final decision belongs to him."

"It’s just a city about to be promoted to SS rank." Lucas sneered. "Surely the Crying Ghost Guild doesn’t need to rely on its guild master to hold onto it?"

The benefits of Dong-San were too great. Moon So Yeon couldn’t stop other Guilds from coveting it. She thought she should probably feel lucky that today, only the vice masters of the major Guilds had come.

Those guild masters of the major Guilds were nothing but troublesome, troublemaking people!

...

Kei was happily eating dinner with Sora.

Too many things had happened today, leaving his whole body feeling exhausted. But just one phone call with Kai was enough to lift Kei’s mood considerably.

Sora looked at the smile on Kei’s face and felt more at ease inside.

"That phone call just now seems to have made you quite happy, huh?"

"Yeah." Kei nodded. "It was just Kai calling."

He didn’t explain further. Sora didn’t ask more either, only quietly picked more food into Kei’s bowl. Seeing him so happy put Sora at ease.

After dinner, Sora returned to her room to rest. Kei cleaned up the shop, then sat down at the work desk.

Night had fallen outside the window.

Kei set the E-rank energy stone in his hand down on the tabletop. He closed his eyes and sensed for a moment, then smiled softly.

"Almost done."

The energy inside the stone had been processed almost entirely. With just a little more time, Kei would be able to use it to craft an E-rank space ring.

By then, he would officially advance to Craftsman rank E as well.

This speed was already much faster than originally anticipated. However, tonight Kei didn’t plan to continue processing this E-rank energy stone.

He took out several black stones and placed them on the table. Those stones had rough surfaces, with faint crimson lights flickering inside like blood flowing through the night.

Kei looked at them, his gaze gradually turning serious.

For the hunters of this world, this was probably the first time they had ever seen such strange stones.

But Kei had come into contact with them countless times.

"Manastones from magic beasts..."

Within these stones lay an enormous source of magical power.

Kei picked one up, slowly probing its internal structure with his mana. The red energy immediately trembled, as if responding to his presence.

In the old world, Manastones were an extremely important resource for mages. They could be used to replenish mana, craft items, and operate magic circles.It was even used as a material for high-level magic.

For a mage who had lost nearly all of his mana like Kei, its value was greater than ever.

Kei looked at the black stone in his hand, a strange feeling gradually rising in his heart.

The Dungeon was changing.

Not only were monsters similar to those from his old world appearing, but Manastones were beginning to appear as well.

"What in the world is happening to this world?"

Kei muttered.

He didn’t know whether something else would change next.

Would other types of magical beasts appear? Familiar items? Or even people who once existed in his old world coming here just like Kai?

The more he thought about it, the more unsettled Kei felt. But at least for now, the appearance of Manastones was still a great blessing for him.

Kei placed the stone back on the table, his eyes gradually brightening.

"This is the best source of mana replenishment for a mage."

As long as he could absorb the energy within the Manastone, Kei’s mana recovery speed would be much faster, without having to extract mana from hunter energy at that damnable 1:10 ratio.

If he had enough Manastones, he could even shorten the time needed to restore his own magical power.

Kei reached out and touched the stone, and the red glimmers inside immediately flared up. A scorching stream of Mana surged into his body, going straight to the brain where his mana was completely depleted.

Kei gently closed his eyes for a while.

The sensation was like someone who had been thirsty for a long time finally getting to drink a sip of cool water.

He absorbed only a small amount and then immediately stopped. His current body still couldn’t withstand too much mana at once.

But even just that little bit was enough to make Kei feel far more alert.

Once again, he looked at the Manastones on the table.

"Hmm...It seems I need to learn more about the Dungeon."

If Manastones were truly beginning to appear in this world, then the changes to come surely wouldn’t stop here.

Kei didn’t know what the future would bring.

But for the first time since setting foot in this world, he felt that he was no longer completely powerless against the transformations happening around him.