I came for Healing, but a Gate Appeared

Chapter 23 : In the Fog, to the Tower

In the Fog, to the Tower

"Nnh? You're leaving Hao with me? That's great! But where are you going, hero?"

Haeyeon widened her eyes excitedly.

"I've told you not to call me Hero. I'm meeting that former coworker from earlier for a bit. It'll probably take two or three hours. Is that all right?"

"Of course it is. For me, any time spent with Hao is pure joy. Hao, come here!"

Just as expected, Haeyeon accepted readily.

Hao was nuzzling close against Haeyeon, rubbing his abundant fur all over her.

It looked like there was nothing to worry about with the two of them.

Ian now turned to Jeongnam.

"Mr. Jeongnam, since you're here on a business trip, you probably need some time to take care of your own matters, right?"

"Yes. In fact, I was just about to go start my work. Shall we meet again in about three hours then?"

Jeongnam said, checking the time.

"Sounds good. Where should we meet? Should we meet up where we parked earlier?"

At Ian's suggestion, Haeyeon replied, "Ah! I'll take Hao and wait at Hangang Park. Since Hao is so big, it's hard to take him into a cafe or something like that."

"That sounds best."

Ian nodded.

He'd been worried about where Haeyeon should go, considering how big Hao was, but Haeyeon had thought things through even faster than Ian.

"Then I'll drop you and Hao off at Hangang Park before heading to work,"

Jeongnam said, offering to drive the two over — which was a relief.

"Let's plan to meet at Hangang Park in three hours then."

Ian gave Hao's head a quick pat and looked up.

"All right, see you in a bit."

"I'll take good care of Hao!"

Woof woof.

The two and Hao left for Hangang Park.

Ian headed off to meet Kang Taehun.

Although it was just an excuse to go check out the Tower on his own, he couldn't just stand up someone he'd asked to meet.

'I'll just stop by for a short bit.'

He intended to spare just about ten minutes.

But his meeting with Kang Taehun lasted longer than Ian had anticipated, since Kang Taehun, waiting at the cafe, was just facing a new phase in his life.

Kang Taehun was sitting with both hands held out before him, as if holding something invisible in the air.

Between his hands, a bluish aura hovered.

It wasn't a vivid blue light—no one but Ian would have noticed it.

It was very faint.

But Ian knew exactly what it was.

'Oh! That's Praeri energy? So this is the moment an earthling becomes an awakened?'

It seemed that out at the scene earlier, Kang Taehun had absorbed the Praeri energy released by the slimes and thus obtained powers.

Upon getting closer, Ian could see Kang Taehun's face was flushed. He seemed excited.

"Oh, you're here?"

After greeting Ian, he turned his attention right back to his hands.

He was so fascinated he couldn't take his eyes off them for a moment.

"Ahn Bin, look at this. Can you see it? Something is flowing between my hands. It's like—some kind of current."

Kang Taehun spoke, brimming with excitement.

"I see. Looks like you gained an ability during today's hunt."

Ian answered evenly.

"Ah! So you recognize it, Ahn Bin? This is an ability, right? A real superpower? Wow! I can finally become a real hunter now!"

Kang Taehun was overjoyed.

"Have you figured out what kind of ability it is?"

"No, not yet. I can definitely feel some sort of force in my hands, but I have no idea what I can actually do with it."

It was only holding a faint Praeri energy; seemed he hadn't tried controlling it yet.

"Congratulations,"

Ian told him anyway. Given how happy he looked, he must believe it's a good thing.

Ian didn't really understand why earthlings were so desperate to get powers and become hunters.

But thinking about it, if it's something no one else has ever had, it made sense to want it.

Suddenly, a voice echoed in his head.

'Of course it's exciting! Of course it's joyful! You're getting a new power!'

It sounded like Ahn Bin.

'Hmm?'

As if Ahn Bin had jumped in to explain, seeing Ian couldn't empathize properly with how earthlings were feeling.

The emotion was so vivid. Ahn Bin's feelings as he understood Kang Taehun's joy surged powerfully into Ian's own.

'Guess this guy's really alive and well in my head, huh?'

It even felt like Ahn Bin was jealous of Kang Taehun for awakening his ability.

Which was kind of ridiculous — after all, in this body—Ahn Bin's own—there was a veritable trove of abilities.

'Just trust me. Rely on me.'

Still, Ian felt he'd come to understand earthlings a bit better.

There were so many things Ian now realized he'd come to take for granted, living as a Praerian for so long.

But now he understood.

'Fine, I get it. Getting a unique power must be that thrilling.'

After tidying up his thoughts, Ian looked back at Kang Taehun.

Taehun was still brimming with emotion, his eyes even tearing up.

"I was so jealous after watching your hunting videos, Ahn Bin. I can't believe I'm a hunter now, too."

It was nice to see Kang Taehun so happy, and Ian was ready to share in his joy—but he didn't have much time.

He had to get to the Tower soon.

"That's great news. Make sure to find out what your ability is and work on developing it."

With those words of encouragement, Ian started getting ready to leave.

He handed over the remaining mushrooms and herbs to Kang Taehun.

"These mushrooms will help you develop your new ability. Use the herbs if you get hurt."

"Thank you, Ahn Bin."

Kang Taehun's eyes were still glistening with emotion.

"And could you send over a few Galapagos hunting blankets?"

"Ah, of course. I'll send plenty so the Mount Jiri hunters can use them."

Perfect. The volunteer patrol members would be delighted.

With that, Ian brushed himself off and got up.

"Come visit Mount Jiri sometime."

"Sounds great. I'll definitely go."

"Then, see you next time."

Leaving the still overwhelmed Kang Taehun behind, Ian exited the cafe.

Finally, it was time to head to the Tower.

***

Arriving at the base of the Tower, Ian tilted his head back and looked up.

A close-up view of the portal and the Tower. He could see exactly why earthlings called it a "tower".

The portal looked as if the sky had been torn open longways, leaving a gaping hole—massive in scale.

A gate shimmering with bluish light.

Beyond that, the space spiraled upward in layers of a twisted coil.

A unique shape, but what else could you call it but a tower?

'That inside must be the Praeri dimension, but it looks like it's anchored onto Earth.'

The Tower stretched almost all the way down to the ground, but the lower part was shrouded in mist, as if with fog.

Without stepping into that milky, indistinct fog, there'd be no way to get a sense of the situation.

Nearby were apartments, a courthouse, a hospital, and a park. Some of the buildings appeared to overlap with the base of the Tower.

It was hard to tell clearly because of the fog.

At the moment, Ian was observing the gate and the Tower from the park.

'Time to enter the fog, I suppose.'

The area around the Tower was heavily guarded by the military—on alert in case monsters appeared.

But instead of standing below the Tower and in the fog itself, the military held a perimeter further out.

Ian had thought he'd have to sneak in to get closer, but that wasn't the case.

The soldiers weren't stopping citizens from entering their camp. They didn't encourage it, but neither did they forbid it.

Just like in the polluted zones.

Getting close to the Tower was allowed.

'That's unexpected. They don't block people from going in.'

Maybe the government was hoping to see more people awaken by letting them approach the Tower.

According to Jeongnam, while the government didn't officially attempt to conquer the Tower, they did secretly hope hunters would go in on their own.

But there weren't many citizens that brave.

The area was nearly deserted.

A stroke of luck for Ian.

Of course, all the apartment buildings, courthouse, and hospital within the fenced area had been evacuated.

This zone was the very first to be attacked by slimes.

Some buildings were partially destroyed; some looked to have vanished without a trace.

It was the heart of a bustling city, but with collapsed structures and abandoned streets, it felt as desolate as doomsday on Earth.

'This is so strange. I can't get used to it.'

Ahn Bin's memories echoed with unfamiliarity.

According to those memories, this place had once boasted the highest real estate prices in the area.

But, no matter how valuable real estate might be—can it really be more important than life?

What remained here after everyone had fled wasn't expensive property, but just barren concrete skeletons.

'Some might say it's a shame for nature, but as for buildings like that, well...'

That's how Ian felt.

In any case, if a hole opens up in the sky overhead, no one wants to keep living there.

He'd lived a thousand years—had Ian never seen something like this before?

A different dimension suddenly forcing its way into another world. Of course he'd experienced it.

In the end, people always found a way to get through it. Still—

"With this much severe spatial distortion, even Praerians would be wary and afraid."

Even beings with a deep understanding of the universe, enough to travel between dimensions through portals.

The Tower before him radiated a deeply ominous aura.

Fragments of space, broken into multiple shards, spiraled upward in stacked layers.

A tower straddling the gate, spanning two dimensions.

Perhaps each layer of that Tower wasn't even from the same dimension. Maybe pieces from different dimensions were stacked up together.

Just as a two-dimensional being can't really understand three-dimensional space, earthlings probably wouldn't be able to grasp a space that transcended the Earth dimension.

'It could be a space totally different from what's visible to the eye.'

Even Ian had to admit he couldn't fully trust his senses—in this human body.

He didn't even know how a dimension travel portal could malfunction and create such multidimensional distortion.

"Anyway, I'll figure something out once I go inside."

Ian began slowly walking into the milky fog.

***

The moment he entered the fog, he sensed a strong, pungent energy.

As expected, this fog was not just ordinary moisture.

'What is this?'

It was different from the pollution caused by slicing open slimes.

Something strange and murky was here. The deeper he went into the mist, the more uneasy the disturbed air became—but it wasn't dangerous to Ian.

He took a deep breath and drew up the Praeri energy from within his body.

'Wind, arise.'

The air began to move. As the wind picked up, the tainted air was blown away and his vision gradually cleared.

Before his eyes stood an apartment building. Or rather, what had once been an apartment building.

It was cracked and deformed in several places, connected to the lower part of the Tower.

Between the rooftop of the apartment and the Tower's base, the empty space was filled with some kind of dark mass.

"What's that?"

It was nothing like the concrete structure.

It looked more like a natural substance.

It filled the air in a liquid, shifting state, gently wobbling as it moved.

Ian headed toward the apartment entrance.

He'd have to go through the apartment to climb up, and from the rooftop maybe he could figure out what that thing was.

Though no one lived there anymore, the place was still under external control.

The glass entrance demanded a password.

It was a bit comical: some parts of the entrance were broken, yet the lock remained perfectly functional.

Either way, getting to the rooftop from inside the building was out.

Ian circled the apartment building for a closer look.

He soon found a spot where that dark, sticky substance had dripped down almost to ground level.

Thick and viscous liquid—he now had a pretty good idea what it was.

"Slime?"