By Zephyria The facilities for processing Corruption byproducts were only available to large guilds; small and medium-sized guilds all had to pay expensive fees to have them handled. Consequently, if the byproducts were deemed to have no value, there were times when they wouldn’t fetch any price at all.
The Sun Guild’s byproduct processing was conducted at a research facility within Hyunsan Hospital, which they had temporarily leased. They would only use it until the byproduct processing plant they were currently building was completed. They traveled directly from the guild by van to the research facility, and to their surprise, Lee Hyeon-myeong was waiting for them the moment they arrived.
“Welcome. I am Lee Hyeon-myeong, the director of Hyunsan Hospital.”
The hospital director himself came out to greet them? Dumbfounded, the Little Sheep team members bowed respectfully. Yohan, whose gaze met Lee Hyeon-myeong’s unusually warm and benevolent one, quickly bowed deeper.
“You all work hard doing difficult jobs. If you are members of the Sun Guild, your direct family members can also receive free medical check-ups at our hospital, so please come anytime.”
“Thank you, Director!”
Filled with pride for having joined the Sun Guild, the Little Sheep team members, in high spirits, became mere polite and deferential bowing dolls. Yet, they keenly noticed Lee Hyeon-myeong’s particularly kind and considerate attitude towards the agent. This further solidified their conviction that Yohan was an Abyss returnee. Yoon Seung-ryong and Joo Ho-young also expressed their thanks warmly.
“Thank you for coming all the way out here, Nuneum.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I was coming to the research facility anyway for some work. Seeing your faces is enough. Well then, enjoy your tour. I’d love to show you around myself, but I must be going now.”
Appearing busy and unable to stay longer, Lee Hyeon-myeong left with a hint of regret. It seemed she had come just to see Yohan’s face. While Yohan expressed his gratitude inwardly, Yoon Seung-ryong explained to the Little Sheep team members.
“Hyunsan Hospital is a partner hospital with the Sun Guild, so if you get sick or injured, you can receive treatment at a discount.”
Being able to get treatment and care cheaply through health insurance was a thing of the past. With the price of medicine skyrocketing, medical expenses were bound to be high. Although the situation was better than abroad, Korea had also become a world where one feared getting even a cold treated at the hospital. Therefore, everyone was delighted by Yoon Seung-ryong’s words. The biggest burden for Awakened individuals exploring Rifts was injuries and treatment costs. Many Awakened would endure pain and rely on their regenerative abilities instead of seeking treatment.
The research facility was quite spacious. Among its sections, the Corruption byproduct processing room was located in a space sealed off by three bulkheads. This was presumably because it dealt with Corruption.
“Ah, hello. I am Kim Jin-hyeok, the director of the Sun Guild’s future byproduct processing research facility. It’s nice to see some familiar faces after a long time! It’s truly an honor to meet you all again.”
A man with a rather young face for someone holding the title of research director greeted them warmly. He was a Support-type Awakened with detection abilities. Despite being intermediate-level, he was too afraid to explore Rifts, so instead, he had used his abilities countless times on Awakened individuals and various objects. As a result, his intuition had become exceptionally sharp, comparable to high-level Awakeners in the same category, specifically in the realm of detection abilities.
While Support-type Awakeners with detection abilities were typically specialized in exploring vast terrains and searching for and tracking monsters, he excelled at evaluating and sensing the abilities of people and objects. Kim Jin-hyeok prided himself on having no equal in this field, short of a High-level Awakener. Usually, he could discern whether an opponent posed a threat to him or not.
He had originally been working at the Sunrise Guild’s research facility but accepted the Sun Guild’s scouting offer without hesitation. The Annual Salary was more generous with bonuses, and Lee Hyeon-muk’s reputation alone was a significant draw. The Sunrise Guild was likely in quite a predicament now. A considerable number of their personnel had moved to the Sun Guild, and they had even severed their partnership with Hyunsan Hospital.
Of course, that was none of Kim Jin-hyeok’s concern. Laughing heartily, he thought, New recruits are visiting our guild for a tour. Then, he activated his abilities and subtly scanned the people.
‘Let’s see, a Low-grade Dealer, an intermediate Tanker. Oh, this one is about to become an intermediate Dealer… perhaps Fire-type? A Low-grade Supporter, and….’
While evaluating the newcomers with his support buff abilities, Kim Jin-hyeok’s eyes widened. His gaze stopped at Yang Yohan, who was looking around with a curious expression.
‘…What is this?’
Not a Dealer, not a Tanker, not a Supporter. He felt an overwhelming sense that this was a Healer-type High-level Awakener. Kim Jin-hyeok’s eyes wavered.
Healer-type ability users were extremely rare. Excluding Purifiers, there was only one other class: Healers, who greatly accelerated regenerative abilities. This meant there were only two High-level Awakeners in the Healer category combined.
‘The High-level Healer currently active in Europe, and….’
The other one was Park Seung-min, a High-rank Purifier who had recently emerged. Kim Jin-hyeok became utterly confused. Another High-level Awakener in the Healer category? Had the Sun Guild secretly recruited yet another High-level Awakener? But could a High-level Awakener appear so quietly?
Or perhaps… maybe… was this the reason Lee Hyeon-muk and the others returned safely? If this speculation were true…
Kim Jin-hyeok involuntarily glanced at Yoon Seung-ryong and Joo Ho-young and let out a gasp. The Little Sheep team members looked bewildered by the research director’s strange reaction. Yoon Seung-ryong gave an awkward smile to Kim Jin-hyeok, whose face had turned pale and was sweating profusely. Then, he quietly moved his lips and mouthed silently.
‘Right, I tried my best to hide it, but without Lee Chan-ha, it’s bound to be obvious.’
“……!”
Joo Ho-young next to him raised his index finger to his lips and made a shushing gesture. The quick-witted Kim Jin-hyeok hastily turned his head away. I saw nothing. I absolutely saw nothing…
“W-Well then, since the Corruption byproduct processing is almost finished, shall we… go?”
Kim Jin-hyeok’s words faltered, and he stumbled slightly as he moved. He looked fine at a glance, but Yohan worried if perhaps that person was somewhat Corrupted. Passing through a long corridor, gas masks, safety goggles, and dust masks were lined up on the wall.
“Civilians would need to wear protective suits, but since you are Awakened, safety goggles and dust masks should suffice.”
Kim Jin-hyeok explained kindly, trying his best not to look at Yoon Seung-ryong and Joo Ho-young. He also suppressed his urge to keep looking at Yohan. His mind was in turmoil, but his body moved out of habit. After confirming everyone had put on their safety goggles and masks, he pressed a button, and a bulkhead rose with a whirring sound.
“Ugh…”
Even with a mask on, a nauseating stench wafted through. The room beyond the bulkhead had metal walls on all sides. In the center was a large, sunken structure resembling a metal cauldron, and some of the newcomers who peered inside gagged.
“Ugh! What is that…?”
“It’s disgusting…!”
“It’s not a very pleasant sight, is it?”
Kim Jin-hyeok, having regained some composure, forced a smile and said. Inside the large metal structure lay the byproducts collected from the first Rift exploration. The collection team had selected usable parts from the site and transported them to the research facility. As soon as they were transported here, the serious Corruption removal process began. Hundreds, thousands of mealworms were poured onto the byproducts.
This was a processing method that utilized the characteristics of Corruption: it adhered much more readily to living things than to dead ones.
In the past, animals like rats or rabbits were used, but due to accusations of animal cruelty, coupled with concerns that it might breed dangerous monsters and the inefficiency of wasting food resources, they were replaced with crawling insects like mealworms. Naturally, uncontrollable flying insects were never permitted.
Kim Jin-hyeok explained kindly to the newcomers, whose faces had turned pale.
“The mealworms are replaced every twelve hours. If left longer, even mealworms will become difficult to process due to mutation. All mealworms past the twelve-hour mark are killed without exception and disposed of in Rift areas. Even if a mutant mealworm that rapidly pupates during the Corruption removal process occurs, it is safely killed by heating this metal room to a high temperature.”
Seeing the newcomers’ grim expressions, Kim Jin-hyeok made a joke.
“Compared to animals, these brown mealworms are quite safe. Most of them just nibble on people, but there are almost no cases where they kill them, hahaha!”
Naturally, no one laughed…
Feeling awkward, Kim Jin-hyeok momentarily forgot the presence of the monstrous Yoon Seung-ryong and Joo Ho-young and examined the mealworms closely. Seeing that almost no Corrupted individuals were visible, it seemed the Corruption had been largely removed. Yoon Seung-ryong, whose eyes gleamed as he watched the wriggling insects, spoke.
“It would be truly troublesome if something like this leaked outside.”
“Oh, absolutely. It’s a terrible thing. How difficult would it be if you encountered such voracious monsters during a Rift exploration? It would be a nightmare for the guild responsible for each Rift area, so we must always be careful not to let it leak.”
After cautiously agreeing, Kim Jin-hyeok said to the newcomers, who were on the verge of vomiting.
“Um… we are about to heat this area to a high temperature now, so shall we head out?”
As Yoon Seung-ryong gazed into the structure teeming with monstrous mealworms, a red glint flashed in his eyes. The amount of Corrupted mealworms suddenly decreased significantly, but Kim Jin-hyeok didn’t notice and simply waited for everyone to leave.