The sole heir to a ruined world

Chapter 18

A vast green meadow over 200 pyeong wide.

In the center, there was a huge tree stump, large enough to cover half the area.

A long stream of water flowed from the stump, circling the entire land before returning to it.

In front of the stump, there was an apple tree, and beside it, a small field about 5 pyeong in size.

It had been only a day since a seed was planted, and a sprout had appeared.

“Wow.”

Hank-yul stared in amazement at the tomatoes and strawberries growing in the field.

In just a little over a day, the tiny sprout had grown into a full plant and was already bearing fruit.

It had taken less than three days from planting the seeds to full growth.

“This is crazy. These all look fully ripe.”

Hank-yul stepped closer to the field and blinked at the tomatoes.

Beside him, two farmers stood proudly, as if showing off their work.

Hank-yul picked a tomato and checked its details.

“Asgard’s Tomato”

A perfect balance of sweet and sour taste.

Restores fatigue when consumed.

It was just a regular tomato grown in Asgard, but now it had the name “Asgard” attached to it.

And just like apples, it had special effects.

Although he couldn’t see exact numbers, the tomato could restore fatigue.

Curious, Hank-yul picked a strawberry and checked its details.

“Asgard’s Strawberry”

A perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors.

Improves eyesight when consumed.

This time, the effect was improving eyesight.

“Do all crops grown in Asgard have these kinds of effects?”

Considering the results so far, it didn’t seem impossible.

Hank-yul took a bite of the tomato.

“It’s delicious.”

He couldn’t really tell if his fatigue was being restored.

After all, in Asgard, he never felt tired in the first place.

While chewing on the tomato and strawberry, Hank-yul looked over at the bag of seeds he had brought.

“What if I plant all of these?”

There were many different types of seeds.

He tapped his thigh a few times, then prepared another field.

“Let’s grow different crops in each field.”

“Yes! Yes!”

The farmers nodded enthusiastically.

As the villagers ran toward the new field, Hank-yul looked down at his own hands.

Crackle.

Sparks flickered from his fingers, soon forming into lightning.

He could feel it.

The powerful energy within the lightning.

And the rapid depletion of his mana.

Hank-yul tried to maintain the lightning for as long as possible.

After 10 minutes…

“Lightning Authority Lv1 (0.02%)”

His proficiency increased by only 0.01% after 10 minutes.

Was this efficient or not?

Well, if he had enough mana, it wouldn’t be a bad way to train.

“But the problem is, mana drains too quickly.”

Mana: 12,335.

His mana had once been close to 40,000, but now he had only about 12,000 left.

“I need more mana stones.”

The best way for Hank-yul to increase his mana was to absorb mana stones.

That meant he needed to hunt more monsters.

Time until invasion: 3 hours 21 minutes.

The main source of mana stones was Corruption Invasions.

He obtained mana stones by killing goblins that appeared from Corruptions.

But he couldn’t make Corruption appear whenever he wanted.

It required time.

Hank-yul felt that waiting was a waste of time.

Now that he had a way to become stronger, sitting around felt like losing valuable time.

“Should I enter a gate outside?”

Hank-yul looked at the lightning in his hands, thinking deeply.

Normally, he wouldn’t even consider going into a dangerous gate.

But now, things are different.

“If I get mana stones, I can increase my mana.”

“If I increase my mana, I can become stronger.”

In this world, strength was necessary to survive.

That meant going into a gate was something he had to do, even if it was risky.

“I need to go into a gate and gather mana stones.”

But there was no rush.

There were still 3 hours left until the next Corruption.

And there was also the Black Mana Stone.

Hank-yul dispersed the lightning and turned around.

“Maybe the delivery has arrived.”

He had ordered new potion bottles—200 of them.

“It’s easier to list a lot at once and not worry about it.”

Thinking that, he stepped outside.

When he opened the door, he found an empty hallway.

“Mm?”

The package hadn’t arrived yet.

Usually, deliveries arrived within a day, which meant he hadn’t even been in Asgard for a full day yet.

“I should bring a clock to Asgard…”

Hank-yul made a mental note and closed the door.

Inside, he spotted his smartphone on the dining table and picked it up.

He rarely used it since he had no one to contact.

He hadn’t even thought about it before.

“But I can just check the date with this.”

Now, he no longer needed a clock.

Hank-yul turned on his phone and started searching for information about gates.

When he had been paralyzed, he never cared about such things.

But now, it was something he needed to know.

“Not all gates are dangerous, huh?”

He learned many new things.

When registering as a hunter, there were certain duties.

It wasn’t just about answering government requests ten times.

Every hunter had to enter at least 20 gates per year.

If they failed to meet this requirement for three years, their hunter license would be revoked.

Once that happened, they would lose access to the hunter marketplace.

It wasn’t just a government rule—the system itself would prevent them from using it.

That’s why illegal underground markets for unregistered hunters exist.

Hunters have two main duties:

1. Answering 10 official calls.

2. Entering 20 gates per year.

“So, since I chose to live as a hunter, I must enter gates as part of my duty.”

This realization made Hank-yul feel a little less worried about gates.

Of course, there were benefits as well.

First, hunters receive huge tax reductions.

Compared to regular citizens, they pay almost no taxes.

Even so, the government doesn’t lose money because hunters pay with the byproducts of their hunts instead.

Another benefit is free access to government-provided facilities.

The quality of these facilities depends on the hunter’s rank.

But even the lowest-ranked F-rank hunters get to use facilities far better than what regular citizens have.

Other benefits include free legal assistance and easier travel visa approvals.

Considering all these perks, not registering as a hunter would be a loss.

However, because hunters receive such great treatment, becoming one isn’t easy.

Even a minor criminal record makes it almost impossible to register as a hunter.

People with records must go through a strict process and undergo personality tests.

Also, they must have the ability to use mana.

Mana is a basic power that all hunters must have.

If someone fails the mana measurement test, they cannot become a hunter.

There are other requirements too, but Hank-yul didn’t need to worry about them since he was already a hunter.

What he needed to focus on was gates.

Gates are ranked from F to S.

Any gate ranked higher than S is considered a disaster, requiring national-level response teams to handle it.

Hank-yul carefully read the information about gates.

Currently, there are millions of gates around the world.

Each one has a different rank and a unique ecosystem inside.

F-rank gates are the lowest and safest.

If a regular person trains properly and gets good equipment, they can clear an F-rank gate.

That’s why the military usually takes care of them.

Hunters rarely enter F-rank gates because the rewards aren’t worth the effort.

Meanwhile, S-rank gates have strict entry requirements.

Only A-rank or higher hunters can enter, and at least 10 people must go in together.

Otherwise, entry is impossible.

This rule exists because if a gate isn’t cleared within five attempts, an Outbreak happens.

Finally, there are gates ranked above S-rank.

In over 100 years since the Great Cataclysm, only two of these have ever appeared.

One of them completely destroyed Africa.

The other is still in Russia, where three attempts to clear it have already failed.

Since an uncontrolled gate could cause a national disaster, the world has banned anyone from entering the Russian gate until they are fully prepared.

“But that’s not my problem. I only need to worry about F-rank gates.”

F-rank gates are the safest for hunters to clear.

Maybe Hank-yul could clear one too.

Of course, he had to prepare well first.

He needed to stock up on Life Water and train his lightning abilities more.

With that thought, Hank-yul put away his smartphone and returned to Asgard.

He had learned all the information he needed.

Later, as he sat on the Asgard tree stump, eating tomatoes, strawberries, and apples—

[The Invasion has begun.]

It was already the seventh invasion.

[Corrupted Goblin Soldier has appeared.]
[Corrupted Goblin Soldier has appeared.]
[Corrupted Goblin Soldier has appeared.]
[Corrupted Elite Scout Goblin has appeared.]

Hank-yul looked at the corrupted goblins standing before him.

At first, he hated fighting them.

Even though he couldn’t die in Asgard, he could still feel pain.

Mentally, it was exhausting.

There were times he hoped no invasions would happen.

But now, things are different.

Now, he was glad to see them.

There’s a saying—

“Pain that doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.”

As long as these goblins couldn’t kill him, they were simply a source of mana for him.

Crackle! Crackle!

Hank-yul summoned lightning.

A small, pinky-sized bolt of electricity appeared in his hand.

Then, he threw it with full force.

Zap!

His eyes widened at what happened next.

A goblin in heavy armor had a clean hole burned through its chest.

The lightning had pierced through metal armor!

[You have defeated a Corrupted Elite Scout Goblin.]

A confirmation message appeared.

Hank-yul looked at the lightning in his hand again and let out a slow breath.

“If my lightning is this strong… maybe clearing a gate won’t be that hard.”

His lightning was stronger than he expected.

He gripped his lightning tightly, determination in his eyes.

Next…