Chapter 182

For nearly a month after that, Taewoon relentlessly wiped out the Aberrations of the Tehesa region, engaging in life-and-death struggles with all sorts of bizarre entities.

He couldn’t gain much from Aberrations of ambiguous levels, such as the Demon of Wishes or the Forest Behemoth, but it was common to acquire unexpected results or spoils from those more powerful than them.

“…….”

The aforementioned ‘Nameless Mask’ was also in the process of transforming into a form significantly different from before, having absorbed the traces of several anomalies since then.

The Well to Hell, the Color-Craving Deer, the Demon of Shalm, and so on.

Over the past month, Taewoon had faced numerous Formidable Foes, and in the end, it was Taewoon who survived.

‘Now, all that’s left are…’

Only those who were clearly below him, or the beings of the “Heaven beyond Heaven” who were far above him.

Ultimately, this was the second crossroads of the Theater.

He could either challenge the sliver of possibility and make those beings his targets, or leave them alone for a while and move toward another goal.

And the latter was what Taewoon chose.

‘…I thought it was strange from the start.’

Sure enough, Taewoon was not the only First-Class Solver currently performing a mission in the Tehesa region.

While he didn’t know exactly what mission the opponent had been assigned, the other Solver was clearly acting with a purpose different from Taewoon’s.

Taewoon had been able to notice this series of facts from his journey over the past month.

‘…The Society must have their own plans.’

It was inevitable that he felt curious, but interfering rashly could lead to unfavorable results.

However, on the other hand, Taewoon did not trust The Society one hundred percent, nor did he intend to follow their will entirely.

Taewoon had a clear objective, and in the end, he had to choose the option that would be even slightly helpful toward achieving it.

‘Jain said that The Society would try to resurrect the Dawn Sun God by any means necessary.’

In other words, the other First-Class Solver in Tehesa might also be moving according to that objective.

If he dug into that person’s trail, he could obtain a definitive clue regarding the steps The Society would take in this Theater.

‘Alright, I’ve decided.’

In the first place, the core keyword of the Dawn Sun God was information he wouldn’t have obtained if it weren’t through Jain’s mouth.

Having managed to seize core information, wouldn’t it be ridiculous not to utilize it?

After some deliberation, Taewoon made up his mind to track the movements of the other First-Class Solver dispatched to Tehesa.

Ektis. One of the most active cities in the Tehesa region.

Of course, it was no longer as crowded and vibrant as its brilliant past, but despite that, the city’s beautiful scenery had not lost its luster to this day.

‘It was definitely around here that I clashed with the Demon of Shalm.’

Though not certain, looking at the tracks so far, there was a high possibility that the other First-Class Solver was garrisoned nearby.

Since he couldn’t even predict when the man might move his destination again, Taewoon was in a position where he had to track the traces as quickly as possible.

‘Aquila, what do you think?’

[The probability that the Solver being tracked is staying in this city is 64.8%, and the probability of them leaving the city within 3 days is 42.3%. I recommend first circling the area and collecting as much information as possible.]

Having come up empty-handed in the two cities he visited previously, he felt a strong desire to achieve results this time.

Following Aquila’s advice, Taewoon began wandering through various parts of the city to collect rumors about Aberrations in the vicinity, and in the process, he managed to obtain some quite interesting information.

‘A jar containing a Calamity is here?’

The Jar of Calamity.

A wicked Aberration that appears beside a person who is alone during the dark of night or the deserted dawn, inducing them to take out the Calamity contained within the jar.

Taewoon had heard rumors about it several times before, but because its appearance sites were so scattered, it had been impossible to grasp its actual form.

‘Furthermore, it is…’

None other than one of the targets the ‘Apocalypse Society’ was eyeing.

In the research logs found at the garrison of the Apocalypse Society Followers who had captured the Forest Behemoth, there had been content regarding the jar.

‘Perhaps I’ll encounter the Apocalypse Society once more in this city.’

It was a somewhat cumbersome situation, but for Taewoon, it was actually a favorable circumstance.

Since they were a force standing at the opposite pole of The Society, the information they possessed was quite valuable, and for the current Taewoon, every single piece of such information was precious.

‘By the way, is it a mere coincidence that the trails of the Apocalypse Society and the Solver overlap?’

A First-Class Solver secretly dispatched by the orders of The Society—that meant it was consistent with the idea that there was something he needed to obtain in this Tehesa region.

He thought that by chasing the Jar of Calamity, it might be possible to make contact with at least one of the two parties.

Two days had passed since Taewoon arrived in Ektis.

During that time, Taewoon had busily moved around collecting information in various ways, but unfortunately, he had not yet produced any clear results.

‘Could they have already left the city?’

Just making contact with one of the three would make the situation much better than before, so he felt utterly frustrated.

If they had all left this place, there was no reason for Taewoon to remain in the city either.

In the next two days—at least within that timeframe—he absolutely had to reach a conclusion and take his next action.

‘The search… ends today.’

As always, after scanning the entire city, Taewoon began patrolling the sparsely populated outskirts, and while doing so, he was able to detect a certain anomaly different from usual.

‘What is this energy? It feels different from any Aberration I’ve encountered so far.’

It wasn’t that it spoke of pure logic of power, but regardless, there was no room for disagreement that it was a very unfamiliar energy.

And in this vicinity, there was only one anomaly that would emit such an energy.

‘There it is! Has the thing finally revealed itself?’

Leaping over an alleyway and landing on the ground, a jar with a monotonous appearance revealed itself before Taewoon’s eyes.

Its size was slightly smaller than the average height of an adult male, and to the naked eye, it looked like nothing more than an old jar.

However, the alien energy felt from within it was certainly something he had never experienced anywhere.

[According to rumors, there is a high possibility that it will vanish immediately if an action other than the given options is performed.]

To open the lid, or not to open it.

As Taewoon stood before these two diverging paths, a group that had arrived a step late revealed themselves.

“…Found it. It’s the jar.”

“But it seems there is a guest who has already taken a seat?”

“It certainly looks that way.”

An elderly middle-aged man and two mysterious women following behind him.

Judging by their behavior and their unique patterns, they were clearly Apocalypse Society Followers.

“Did you come for the jar?”

“Indeed. You don’t look like a Solver from The Society… If you have no particular greed, I would ask you to step aside.”

Even as he spoke, the man seemed to think that Taewoon would not easily back down.

However, defying the opponent’s expectations, Taewoon nodded and stepped aside, leaning his body against a nearby wall.

If they had a means to suppress the jar’s ability and obtain it, he decided he would confirm that first and then seize the jar again.

“…Thank you.”

Leaving Taewoon behind, the old man took something from his robe and began throwing it toward the jar; soon, the rattling jar grew quiet and appeared to be tightly bound by the rope the old man had thrown.

“Master, that man……”

“Yes, I wondered if he might, but it seems he had this intention from the start.”

Taewoon, who had been watching the situation, drew Barata and subtly blocked their path, but surprisingly, the man did not seem particularly flustered.

“It seems I let you mislead me… What I felt uneasy about was not you, but the jar. If you withdraw now, I will not lay a hand on you, but……”

“Let’s not drag this out and just start. The conclusion won’t change anyway.”

By hunting high-ranking Aberrations of Tehesa, including the ghost in the well, Taewoon had gained considerable growth and confidence.

Now, even if his opponent was a First-Class Solver of the Association or a Bishop-level Follower of the Apocalypse Society, he didn’t feel like he would easily lose.

He was becoming accustomed to fighting Formidable Foes.

“In the end, do you invite meaningless wrath……”

As the middle-aged man pressed his palms together, an indescribable Giant Force swept over Taewoon, beginning to strongly crush the space where he stood.

However, Taewoon, using the power of The Red Man, was already no longer in that spot.

Looking at Taewoon, who was emitting a dark red mist while wearing the Wax Mask on his face, the Apocalypse Society Followers began to let out voices filled with panic.

“Hmm……”

“That mask and the Crimson Mist are……”

“He is an unusual enemy. Shall I step forward first?”

The two women stepped forward, taking a stance to protect the man, but the man stopped the two of them and slowly shook his head.

“I misjudged… That man is the Aberration Hunter of Tehesa.”

“What?”

“Master, but……”

“Can you not recognize him? The number of Aberrations torn apart by that spear reaches dozens. According to rumors, he is the one who subjugated even the Well of Hell and the Demon of Shalm. He must possess power and abilities that transcend humanity.”

Perhaps because Taewoon had been running rampant in the Tehesa region, it seemed they had already obtained information about him in advance.

Ultimately, after some deliberation, the middle-aged man changed his mind and began to make a proposal to Taewoon with a much more polite attitude.