Chapter Fourteen: The Heart of the Gate
The air in the cavern, though free of the Gate Echo's spectral presence, still thrummed with a raw, unstable energy emanating from the Shadowheart Ore. It pulsed, a dark-red crystal the size of a human head, nestled amidst jagged obsidian growths, its malevolent hum almost a siren song to Minwoo's heightened senses. He knew this crystal. Not from official reports, the carefully curated half-truths the Hunters Association fed to the public, but from the hushed whispers and fragmented data he'd pieced together in his past life. This wasn't just ore; it was the very heart of this Gate's corruption.
He'd once seen records, black market chatter, about similar stones. The Hunters Association never divulged the precise methods of clearing particularly volatile Gates, preferring to maintain an air of mystery and control. But the whispers always pointed to these unique crystals. They were the source, the mass-producers of the creatures that spilled forth. The ones that spat out everything from Level 1 Slimes wriggling through cracks in the pavement, to the more aggressive Level 3 Cave Crawlers that scuttled through dark alleys, each wave escalating in difficulty as the Gate destabilized further. He remembered one such crystal, salvaged from a particularly nasty D-Rank Gate in the ruins of Cheongju, fetching an astronomical sum on the black market – a price that spoke volumes about its power and scarcity, a relic of primordial chaos.
Minwoo's eyes narrowed, a cold, calculating glint in their depths. The [Urgent Mission: Shadowheart Ore Acquired] still glowed, a silent command in his mental interface. This wasn't about fighting every monster; it was about cutting off the supply. Remove the crystal, and the Gate, like a severed limb, would wither and eventually close. It was a surgical strike, a precision maneuver, rather than a prolonged war of attrition.
He turned to Yuna, who was still slumped against the wall, pale and trembling, her breathing ragged. The turquoise light had faded entirely from her eyes, leaving only a dazed, confused brown. The temporary power of the Wind Spirit had drained her, leaving her vulnerable once more. "Yuna, can you stand?" he asked, his voice firm but laced with a new urgency that masked his concern. "We need to move. That crystal… it's the source. It's what's been making all the monsters appear."
Yuna pushed herself up slowly, groaning slightly as her still-mending leg protested. Her face was etched with exhaustion, her eyes wide with a lingering fear and the residual shock of the Wind Spirit's brief, overwhelming possession. "The… the source? But how do we…?" Her voice trailed off, her gaze fixed on the pulsating, ominous red stone. It felt wrong, malevolent, even to her un-Awakened senses.
"We take it," Minwoo interrupted, already moving towards the pulsating ore. Every step was deliberate, cautious. His Sense skill, now boosted by his recent level-ups, tingled with the raw, untamed power radiating from it. It felt cold, almost predatory, an entity with its own will, but also profoundly magnetic, drawing him closer with a dangerous allure. He reached out, his bare hand hovering inches from its surface. He could feel it trying to resist, pushing him back with a wave of static, almost electrical energy, but his heightened stats and the subtle hum of his nascent shadow powers, kept tightly leashed beneath the surface, allowed him to push through the ethereal barrier.
Just as his fingers made tentative, almost brushing contact with the cold, crystalline surface, a system message flared, a blinding red warning that filled his mental interface, overriding all other thoughts.
[System Message!]
Shadowheart Ore Acquisition Initiated!
Warning: Direct contact with 'Shadowheart Ore' may induce 'Corruption' status. Initiate extraction protocol.
Minwoo flinched, his hand recoiling instinctively as if seared by an invisible flame. There was no physical burn, no searing pain, but an immediate, sickening internal chill that spread from his fingertips. Corruption? He hadn't accounted for that. In his past life, these crystals were usually handled by specialized teams, their bodies encased in arcane-lined suits, or extracted with specific, consecrated tools designed to contain or neutralize such insidious effects. He was just a Level 13 Hunter with a basic dagger, some potions, and a few newly unlocked, untested skills.
He looked at his hand. A faint, almost imperceptible dark vein seemed to pulse beneath his skin, radiating a dull, cold ache up his arm, already worming its way towards his core. It was already beginning. The Shadowheart Ore was fighting back, infecting him on a spiritual or magical level. He cursed under his breath, a low, guttural sound of frustration. This wasn't a simple pickup, a casual grab. This was a challenge designed to stop any unauthorized removal.
"What is it, Min?" Yuna asked, her voice laced with renewed alarm, seeing his sudden recoil and the raw grimace on his face. She hadn't seen the system message, but she could sense the immediate shift in the cavern's atmosphere, a sudden spike in the ore's oppressive aura.
Minwoo shook his head, pushing past the discomfort, the nascent cold spreading through his veins. He couldn't let it deter him. This was the only way to clear the Gate, to get the Moonlight Sword completed, and to truly prepare for the inevitable future that was only weeks away. He looked around the cavern, his eyes scanning every shadow, every glint of stone. There had to be a way. He needed a tool, or a method to bypass the direct contact. His eyes fell on his Hunter's Steel Dagger. It was just steel, mass-produced and uninspired, not imbued with any special properties, but it was solid, sharp, and, crucially, not his hand.
He weighed the dagger in his hand. It was a risk. The metal might conduct the corruption, or break, or simply be ineffective. But he couldn't afford to get fully corrupted before he even left this place, potentially jeopardizing his entire plan, his reason for coming back. He had to be precise, minimize contact, and use what he had. He took a deep breath, focusing his heightened Agility and Strength, channeling them into a precise, controlled movement. He envisioned the extraction, mentally rehearsing the angles, the force, the clean break he needed to make. This crystal wasn't going to defeat him, not after everything he'd already sacrificed. He wouldn't let it.