117

Chapter 117 — Across the Border

The aircraft had been in the air for nearly four hours when the initial excitement of the international mission finally settled into a quieter rhythm. The Association transport was considerably larger than the vehicles Subin had become accustomed to using for dungeon expeditions, with enough room for equipment, emergency supplies, mana-monitoring devices, and a small command section. Through the windows, the landscape below had gradually changed from dense urban areas to wide stretches of land, and eventually the familiar scenery of their home country had disappeared completely.

Subin sat beside Yerin, occasionally looking at the tablet in his hands. The latest information about the Kazakhstan anomaly was displayed on the screen: satellite images, mana-density fluctuations, reports from local Awakeners, and photographs of the black crystals discovered around the affected region.

He had already gone through the information several times.

Something about the mana movement bothered him.

Not because it was particularly dangerous, but because it was too organized.

The crystals were positioned across a large area, yet their mana output changed almost simultaneously. That suggested some kind of connection. However, there was no evidence of a central control point, and the measurements were still too limited to determine whether the network was naturally occurring or had formed because of the dungeon's evolution.

Yerin glanced at his screen.

"Still studying it?"

"Yes."

"You've been looking at those readings for almost an hour."

"They don't make sense."

"That's probably because we don't have enough information."

Subin nodded. "That's what bothers me."

Yerin leaned slightly closer to the screen. "What are you seeing?"

"The transfer rate."

He enlarged several graphs.

"Look here. When the mana leaves these crystals, the surrounding density decreases. But instead of dispersing, the mana appears somewhere else."

Yerin studied the graph for several seconds before looking at him.

"So it's being redirected."

"Possibly."

"By another crystal?"

"That's the problem. We haven't identified where."

Yerin smiled faintly. "You sound like you're trying to solve a puzzle."

"I'm trying to understand the environment."

"Same thing."

Subin considered that before returning his attention to the screen.

Across the aisle, Min-seok had been listening.

"Are you two going to spend the entire flight discussing mana?"

Ara looked up from her own tablet. "Probably."

Min-seok sighed. "We should be relaxing. This is an international mission."

Jae-hyun, sitting beside him, didn't look away from the information in his hands. "You're the one who has spent the last twenty minutes asking Tae-won whether his shield can stop your axe."

"It was an important question."

"You asked him four times."

"And he still hasn't fought me."

Kim Tae-won, sitting a few seats ahead, turned around with an amused expression. "I'll fight you when we get back."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Min-seok seemed satisfied.

Hae-rin, who had been studying aerial reconnaissance information, suddenly spoke from the opposite side of the cabin.

"There's something else."

Everyone looked toward her.

She turned her tablet around so the others could see.

"The local monitoring station recorded this pattern yesterday."

A series of mana readings appeared on the display.

Subin immediately leaned forward.

The readings rose sharply, remained stable for several minutes, and then dropped.

"How often?"

"Every eleven minutes."

Subin's eyes narrowed.

Yerin noticed his expression.

"Something familiar?"

"Yes."

He remembered Greenfall.

The underground mana river there had experienced periodic surges at roughly eleven-minute intervals. At the time, those surges had been connected to the dungeon's environmental circulation.

But the Kazakhstan readings were not identical.

"The timing is similar," Subin said, "but the pattern isn't."

Hae-rin nodded. "That's what I thought."

Subin studied the graph again.

"Greenfall's mana moved through an ecosystem. This looks different."

"Could it be a dungeon?"

"Maybe."

"What else could it be?"

Subin shook his head.

"We don't know yet."

Jae-hyun finally looked up.

"That's probably why we're going."

Subin nodded.

The conversation ended naturally.

Nobody tried to invent an answer.

That was one of the biggest differences between their current expedition and the early days after awakening. Back then, everyone had been forced to make decisions with almost no information. Now they had satellite monitoring, mana scanners, specialized Awakeners, international communication systems and organized response teams.

Humanity was learning.

Slowly, but steadily.

Several hours later, the aircraft began descending.

The temperature outside was significantly lower than what Subin was accustomed to. The moment the aircraft doors opened after landing, a cold wind swept across the runway.

Subin stepped outside and immediately noticed the difference in the mana density.

It wasn't particularly high.

But it was uneven.

Certain directions carried slightly more mana than others, almost as though invisible currents were moving across the landscape.

Yerin stepped beside him.

"Do you feel it?"

"Yes."

She looked toward the horizon.

"Which direction?"

Subin raised his hand and pointed north.

"There."

Hae-rin approached them.

"Our scanners detected the strongest fluctuations in that direction."

Subin nodded.

The local Kazakhstan Awakener Authority had already prepared a temporary command center several kilometers from the anomaly. Their representatives greeted the Korean Association team and began explaining the situation through translators.

One of the local officials, a middle-aged man named Arman, spread several maps across the table.

"The anomaly began approximately three days ago. At first, there were only small changes in mana density. Then the crystals appeared."

He pointed toward several marked locations.

"Local hunters encountered monsters around the area. Most were normal creatures, but some had unusual physical characteristics."

Ara examined the photographs.

"How unusual?"

"One wolf-type monster had crystal growths along its spine. Another had unusually dense mana circulation. Their levels were estimated between ninety and one hundred twenty."

Min-seok frowned.

"Any casualties?"

"Two scouts were injured. None died."

Yerin asked, "How far did they enter?"

"Approximately five kilometers."

"Why didn't they go farther?"

Arman's expression became serious.

"The terrain changed."

Subin looked up.

"How?"

"The ground was frozen when they entered. Less than an hour later, sections had become soft and covered in water. Then the temperature dropped again and everything froze."

Subin immediately understood.

"Environmental mana fluctuation."

Arman nodded.

"That is our assumption."

Subin looked at Yerin.

"We shouldn't send everyone into the center immediately."

Yerin agreed.

"We'll establish a perimeter first."

Jae-hyun looked toward the map.

"How many local Awakeners are available?"

"Thirty-two combat-capable Awakeners in the nearby region. Most are C-rank or B-rank. There are three A-rank Awakeners available, but we have not sent them inside because we don't know what we're dealing with."

Director Kang's decision became even clearer.

They weren't here to replace the local Association.

They were here because the anomaly was beyond the region's current ability to investigate safely.

Yerin began organizing the team.

"Tae-won and Hae-rin stay with the outer group. Hae-rin monitors mana fluctuations and monster movement. Tae-won handles emergency extraction. Ara, Min-seok and Jae-hyun will move with Subin and me."

Jae-hyun nodded.

"Fine."

Min-seok grinned.

"Finally."

Ara rolled her eyes.

"You just want something to hit."

"That's not completely wrong."

The first reconnaissance operation began an hour later.

The team traveled by armored vehicles until the terrain became too rough, then continued on foot.

The landscape was quiet.

Too quiet for a region with such high monster readings.

Subin walked near the front with Yerin while Hae-rin monitored the surroundings from behind. The further they moved, the more noticeable the mana currents became.

There were no obvious monsters.

Instead, small black crystals appeared occasionally between rocks and patches of frozen soil.

Subin stopped near one.

He crouched and examined it without touching.

The crystal was about the size of his palm.

Mana entered from the eastern side and exited toward the west.

"Same structure as the photographs," Ara said.

Subin nodded.

He drew Simple Edge and carefully touched the ground beside the crystal rather than the crystal itself.

He could feel the mana beneath the soil.

It was moving.

Not randomly.

It followed a path.

Subin closed his eyes for several seconds.

"The network is larger than we thought."

Yerin asked, "How large?"

"I can't tell yet."

Jae-hyun stepped closer.

"Can you follow it?"

"Not with certainty."

That answer surprised him.

Subin usually had an answer.

Jae-hyun smiled faintly.

"Good."

Subin looked at him.

"What?"

"It's nice to know you can't understand everything immediately."

Min-seok laughed.

"Don't encourage him."

Subin ignored both of them.

He focused on the mana again.

There was a faint transition beneath the ground.

The flow moved east, then split.

One branch traveled north.

Another moved downward.

A third returned toward the south.

Subin opened his eyes.

"The network is branching."

Yerin looked at the surrounding area.

"Then we shouldn't follow one path blindly."

"Agreed."

Before they could continue, Hae-rin's voice came through the communication device.

"Movement ahead."

Everyone immediately became alert.

"How many?" Yerin asked.

"Six. No—eight."

A pause.

"Levels between eighty-seven and ninety-five."

Min-seok lowered his axe.

"Finally."

Yerin gave the order.

"Formation."

The eight creatures emerged from behind the frozen rocks.

They looked similar to wolves, but their bodies were covered in dark gray fur and thin black crystal formations. Mana flowed visibly through the crystal growths whenever they moved.

Subin watched them carefully.

"They're connected."

Yerin understood immediately.

"To the network?"

"Yes."

The wolves spread apart.

Instead of attacking directly, they positioned themselves around the team.

Jae-hyun noticed it too.

"They're surrounding us."

Min-seok tightened his grip on his axe.

"Then we'll break through."

The first wolf lunged.

Yerin intercepted it with her spear, redirecting its body sideways. Min-seok immediately followed with a sweeping axe strike that forced another wolf backward, while Ara released a compressed burst of magic that disrupted two more.

Subin moved between them rather than toward a single target.

The wolves weren't attacking independently.

Their movements were connected through the mana network.

When one moved, another adjusted.

When one was injured, the others changed formation.

Subin recognized the pattern.

"Don't chase them."

Yerin immediately understood.

"Everyone hold position."

The wolves attacked again.

This time, the team maintained formation.

Subin waited until the moment one wolf shifted its weight.

Then he moved.

Simple Edge passed through the air and struck the mana connection between two wolves.

The connection broke.

The formation immediately became less coordinated.

Min-seok took advantage of the opening.

His axe struck the ground in front of two wolves, forcing them backward.

Ara trapped another with a narrow wall of compressed mana.

Jae-hyun intercepted one trying to circle behind them.

Yerin finished the final exchange by striking the largest wolf's shoulder and forcing it to the ground without killing it.

The remaining creatures retreated.

Nobody pursued.

Subin looked toward the direction they had fled.

"They aren't protecting territory."

Yerin lowered her spear.

"Then what?"

"They were testing us."

Jae-hyun frowned.

"Testing?"

"Not intentionally. Their behavior is being influenced by the network. Something changed their movement patterns."

Ara looked at the black crystals growing from the wolves.

"Then this isn't just environmental mana."

Subin nodded.

"Something is affecting the creatures."

He walked toward the largest wolf.

The creature remained on the ground, breathing heavily. Its crystal growths were slowly dimming.

Subin didn't attack.

Instead, he watched the mana flowing through its body.

The flow was unstable.

Then it changed.

For a moment, the mana inside the wolf moved in the opposite direction.

Subin's expression became serious.

"The network isn't simply transferring mana."

Yerin looked at him.

"What else is it doing?"

Subin stared toward the distant horizon.

"It is changing the direction of mana."

The realization settled over the group.

If the crystals could redirect mana, then the entire environment could potentially be altered by the network.

Temperature.

Monster evolution.

Mana density.

Even the terrain.

They had not yet reached the center.

And already the anomaly had begun affecting them.

Yerin looked at the team.

"We return to the command center."

Min-seok looked disappointed.

"We just got here."

"We have enough information for the first report."

Subin nodded.

They had accomplished what they came for.

There was no reason to push deeper simply because they could.

The team began returning toward the perimeter.

As Subin walked beside Yerin, he glanced back once.

The black crystals remained scattered across the frozen land.

Mana continued flowing through them.

Quietly.

Steadily.

The anomaly wasn't waiting for them.

It was changing on its own.

And tomorrow, they would decide how far they were willing to follow it.