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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 46
São Paulo, Brazil. Hero Association Rift Monitoring Center.
Beep Beep Beep Beep!
“The Rift has been shut down!”
On the giant screen, one of the red markers suddenly turned blue.
The team leader, eyes fixed on the massive screen that mirrored the map of Brazil, reacted at once.
“BA016?”
He tilted his head as he confirmed the marker had changed to blue.
That was the biggest headache of this entire operation.
Even Chairman Daniel Lopez had personally mentioned it—they were so short on personnel, they planned to close off that area ’last’ after handling all the other Rifts.
“It’s not a system error, right?”
The team engineer answered firmly, confident there was no mistake.
“What the hell is going on? That was supposed to be the last Rift to close...”
Unable to get a clear sense of what was happening on-site, the team leader could only feel suspicion creeping in.
“Did something change out there?”
In any case, a Rift shutting down meant one less problem on their list, and the Association’s entire operation was going more smoothly.
“Report this to Strategic Planning right away.”
Having finished his job, the team leader decided he didn’t need to worry about it any further.
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On the other hand, when the Strategic Planning Team Leader got the report from the Rift Monitoring Center, he thought he was hearing nonsense.
“The BA016 Rift has been shut down?”
He paused, then asked his subordinate—
“...Why?”
“Sorry?”
The subordinate blinked at him, confused, and only then did the Strategic Planning Team Leader snap back to his senses.
“Are you absolutely sure?”
“Yes, sir.”
“There’s no way… there’s no WAY...”
Muttering like a lunatic, the Strategic Planning Team Leader started frantically rifling through a stack of documents on one side of his desk.
Finally pulling out what he needed, he practically shouted—
“Look at this! The BA016 Rift—that’s the one where the Korean heroes went in!”
So what? What does that even mean?
The subordinate’s blank, almost annoyed face seemed to be asking that question silently.
“Um… the Korean heroes aren’t ’supposed’ to shut down a Rift?”
He asked in genuine confusion.
“It’s not that…”
The Strategic Planning Team Leader nearly spilled classified info known only to the chairman and the top brass but quickly shut his mouth.
They were supposed to be throwaway pieces—just a delaying tactic, basically a human shield to buy time.
That was the current situation for the Korean heroes who’d entered BA016.
“Is there some classified intel I don’t know about?”
“Classified, my ass!”
Snapping at the subordinate’s question, the Strategic Planning Team Leader waved his hand as if to shoo him back to his desk.
That was the universal sign for ’get lost, I’m too busy for this’.
As he watched his subordinate leave with a puzzled face, the Strategic Planning Team Leader fell deep into thought.
’The Chairman clearly decided the Rift near Santarém would be closed only after gathering the best elite teams from each country…’
If they’d changed the plan, surely he would have been informed.
’Did those Korean heroes really close it?’
He quickly pulled up data on the S-Rank heroes who went in: Seo Dojun and Hyun Jooyeon.
Hyun Jooyeon didn’t even need a second look—she was already a well-known name, and her abilities had been proven beyond doubt during her recent mission in the UK.
“Seo Dojun, though…”
Young, with barely any career to speak of, but suddenly ranked S-Rank.
There was something secretive about him, and the Korean Hero Association seemed to be keeping his details under wraps.
Not that he could blame them.
Brazil, too, had heroes who were nothing like what they showed to the outside world.
Call it a trump card or a hidden weapon, maybe.
“Besides, there were consistent statements from both sides that he beat the living daylights out of Ryouma Takashi single-handedly, so maybe he’s not lacking in real ability after all.”
That combination—with another S-Rank hero like Hyun Jooyeon—might actually have some promise.
’Maybe they just got lucky inside the Rift.’
The Strategic Planning Team Leader thought.
They might have destroyed the Rift core without facing too many monsters.
He nodded to himself and stood up.
One way or another, a Rift they’d considered a serious pain had been shut down.
Like the old saying goes—doesn’t matter how you get there, as long as you arrive.
The result was all that counted, and by that measure, this was a win.
“Still… those Korean heroes who were basically throwaway pieces might have delivered the first success of this operation?”
That thought made the Strategic Planning Team Leader let out a bitter laugh.
＊ ＊ ＊
Dojun had planned to delay closing the Rift for as long as possible.
Starting with harvesting the Blue Croco’s heart, he wanted to secure as many monster by-products—things nearly impossible to obtain in Korea—as he could, so he intended to stall for time just as Chairman Daniel Lopez wanted.
But with the sudden appearance of Dark Mana, he changed his plans.
’Unexpected variables are never a good sign.’
Especially when that variable was Dark Mana, there was nothing more to say.
Fortunately, once they left the Rift, there were no traces of Dark Mana.
’So it only applies within the Rift itself…’
Honestly, even Dojun didn’t know what to make of it.
Back in the ruined world, there hadn’t been any Rifts at all.
Maybe this was a feature unique to Earth?
Dojun couldn’t shake a vague sense of irritation scratching at his nerves.
“I… I think I need to rest for a bit.”
Jeong Injoo hesitated, unable to even get close to Dojun, whose expression looked sharper than usual.
“Rest?”
At his curt reply, Jeong Injoo started explaining, tripping over her words in a rare show of nerves.
By the time she was done rambling, Dojun summed it up bluntly.
“So basically, you’re exhausted and injured, and you need a break. That it?”
“…Yeah.”
She nodded, fatigue written all over her face.
“Go ahead.”
At Dojun’s permission, she gave a grateful smile. But that smile soon twisted.
“Just wait at the hotel and rejoin me later.”
“What do you mean?”
“I have a few things I need to check. I’m going to take another look around the Rift.”
“By yourself?”
Dojun’s expression seemed to ask ‘You think I can’t?’—which made Jeong Injoo frown.
“Still, we’re a team here… shouldn’t we stick together? No matter how strong you are, you’re still human, right?”
When she tried to argue that HE should rest too, Dojun chuckled.
“I haven’t even warmed up yet—heck, I’m not sure I’ve even gotten started. Anyway, don’t worry about me. Just go rest with the others.”
With that, Dojun unpacked everything from his hiking backpack.
He laid out the container holding the Blue Croco’s heart, mana stones, and various monster by-products—emptying the bag completely.
Then he refilled it with ten empty containers that could store more monster hearts, plus a liquid-nitrogen freezer.
’If only I could get my hands on a subspace pouch…’
Regrettably, Earth didn’t have subspace pouches at all.
No materials to make them, no artisans to process them.
Well, the artisans could maybe be found somehow.
The real issue was the materials that were absolutely essential to creating subspace itself.
“By any chance, have you ever heard of a monster called Lepaus?”
“Lepaus?”
Jeong Injoo tilted her head, never having heard of it.
“What about Brimunata?”
She shook her head again, just as lost.
Dojun listed other monsters that could theoretically create subspace, but even Jeong Injoo—who usually had encyclopedic knowledge—had no clue. Either those monsters had never been discovered on Earth, or they simply didn’t exist here.
Clicking his tongue in disappointment, Dojun asked her for a map of the Rift near Santarém.
“You really plan to go alone?”
As she handed him the map, Jeong Injoo’s face showed clear worry.
Dojun just gave a slight nod, as if to say ‘What’s the point of asking?’ before slipping the map into his pocket and turning on his GPS receiver.
The GPS device, provided by the Brazilian Hero Association, displayed detailed coordinates of all the Rifts slated for closure during this operation.
Even without a guide, he could easily reach his destination thanks to it.
Hearing from Jeong Injoo what was happening, Hyun Jooyeon rushed over urgently.
She strongly insisted on going with him.
“Do you really think you can keep up with me looking that dead on your feet? I’m just going to take a look around—go get some rest.”
In fact, of the whole team, Hyun Jooyeon was the most exhausted.
She’d been hunting monsters non-stop, pushing herself to the limit just to be of some use to Dojun—until she was completely spent.
“Still… going alone?”
She couldn’t get the rest of her protest out.
Calling it ‘dangerous’ didn’t really seem to apply to someone like Dojun.
“If you really want to help me, then get your condition back to 100% first.”
Patting her lightly on the shoulder, Dojun vanished in an instant.
“…What the?”
His movements were so fast it felt like he had literally disappeared.
Both Jeong Injoo and Hyun Jooyeon stood there stunned, as if they’d been struck in the head with a hammer.
’I couldn’t even track him with my eyes…?’
Up until now, how much of his true ability had they ’actually’ seen?
Even just witnessing his movement speed made Hyun Jooyeon realize she couldn’t begin to measure Dojun’s limits.
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Meanwhile, Dojun was running with a refreshing sense of freedom he hadn’t felt in a long time.
The only thing allowing him to reach speeds no high-end supercar could match on mere human legs was the power of mana.
It let him lift tens of tons, run faster than a supercar, and block everything from bullets to missiles.
Humans might be born the weakest of all creatures, but mana gave them the potential to become the strongest.
A true hero, more than anything, needed to understand mana.
’If there had been more people like that, the world wouldn’t be in this state now.’
But Earth’s heroes were obsessed only with the power in front of them, convinced that was all there was.
From Dojun’s perspective, it was downright pathetic.
’Not that it’s any of my business.’
He thought.
After all, they’d managed to get by just fine with what they had.
Still—
’If this sort of thing keeps repeating, then things will have to change.’
If he felt that Earth’s safety was truly at risk, he would make sure those around him changed—even if it meant forcing them.
As he checked the GPS receiver and arrived at the next Rift, Dojun frowned.
The entrance to this Rift was identical to the one he’d just closed.
Like a layer of black covering over a blue entrance.
And the closer he got, the denser the concentration of mana felt.
On a hunch, he looked around carefully, then pulled out his phone and made a call.
It took a long time for someone to answer, and when they did, the voice sounded half-asleep.
Considering there was a twelve-hour time difference, it was only natural—it was 3 a.m. in Korea.
- Hello?
“I need you to check on something for me. Is that alright?”
At the sound of Dojun’s voice, the person on the other end suddenly sounded startled and flustered.
- Hero Seo Dojun?
“That’s right.”
- I can’t believe you’re calling at this hour… ah, right, it must be afternoon where you are. So you wanted something checked?
“I’d like to know if there have been any unusual changes in the Rifts in Korea.”
- When you say changes, could you be more specific?
“Anything at all, even the smallest detail.”
Maybe it was too vague, because the person hesitated for a moment.
- Would it be alright if I double-check and call you back?
“I’ll wait.”
After they hung up, about ten minutes passed before Dojun’s phone rang again.
- Sir, there haven’t been any notable changes.
“Not even things like the color of the Rift entrance changing?”
- No, there’s been no change reported.
“Has any hero returned from a Rift hunt yesterday or today?”
- That actually took me some time to confirm. About two hours ago, Hero Yang Chang-seop came back from hunting in the Cheongju Rift. I spoke with him directly, and he said he didn’t notice anything unusual inside.
“Is that so… hmm. If possible, I’d also like you to look into any changes in Rifts overseas.”
- Overseas Rifts, sir?
“Nothing too detailed. Just find out if the color of the Rift entrances has changed—especially if they’ve turned black.”
- Um… has something happened in Brazil?
At the cautious question, Dojun wondered for a moment if he should answer, then decided he would.
“It’s not confirmed yet. If you can, try to get information from the Brazilian Hero Association. And don’t overlook even the smallest rumor.”
That was all he could say for now, so Dojun ended the call.
For Deputy Director Min Hong-gi, who’d been sleeping soundly, it must have felt like a bolt out of the blue—but given the situation, Dojun believed the information would be necessary in the end.
As he debated whether to check out another Rift, he finally turned and stepped through the entrance.
Even if he planned to head somewhere else later, he couldn’t just leave this unsettling Rift alone in front of him.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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