Chapter 71
Yu Jin-Ho was taken by surprise.
‘….The Red Gate?’
Why was the story of the Red Gate brought up here, out of the blue?
Since the incident had been talked about non-stop in mass media, even Yu Jin-Ho knew what had happened. But, this timing was suspiciously coincidental and so, he found it difficult to figure out where his father was going with this.
‘And this man here…’
A man who was supposed to be a survivor of that incident.
Why did the survivor that the media was madly scrambling over to find appear here? Yu Jin-Ho’s curiosity continued to balloon greatly.
After staring at his son for a little while, Yu Myung-Han slowly opened his mouth.
“Looks like you haven’t heard of it yet.”
“Pardon me?”
Yu Myung-Han disregarded the still-confused Yu Jin-Ho for the time being and shifted his gaze over to Goh Myung-Hwan, sitting there in nervousness.
“Mister Hunter.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
“Please inform my son who was there besides the White Tiger Guild’s new recruits on that day.”
“Understood.”
Goh Myung-Hwan’s stare now was directed to Yu Jin-Ho.
Unintentionally, Yu Jin-Ho met Goh Myung-Hwan’s gaze, and a question mark floated up on his face.
Goh Myung-Hwan opened his mouth.
“There was a young female Hunter who looked to be a high schooler, and…..”
‘A young female Hunter?’
Even then, Yu Jin-Ho couldn’t imagine just whose name would pop out from Goh Myung-Hwan’s lips.
“….And, Mister Seong Jin-Woo.”
Tumble.
Yu Jin-Ho thought that he could hear his own heart fall to the pit of his stomach.
‘H-hyung-nim was there at the Red Gate incident?’
What was going on here?
He was already feeling quite confused, but now, his thought process devolved into an even more complicated mess. In the middle of his confusion, he suddenly remembered something.
‘Wait. Now that I think about it, a few days ago….’
….Hyung-nim was conversing with such familiarity with Hahn Song-Yi, someone whom he didn’t even share a casual greeting before that day.
“Do you still remember the name of that female Hunter, by any chance?”
“It was Miss Hahn Song-Yi.”
How can this be?
Yu Jin-Ho’s jaw dropped to the floor.
To think, there was such a secret to the mysterious relationship between those two people…..
‘Wait, if that’s the case, then…?’
Then, the identity of the potential helper the news outlets were talking about was….
As if he knew what Yu Jin-Ho was about to ask, Goh Myung-Hwan quickly confirmed the truth.
“We, the members of the White Tiger Guild and Miss Hahn Song-Yi, could escape from the Red Gate all safe and sound thanks to Mister Seong Jin-Woo.”
‘Hah, haha, ha…’
….Hyung-nim, just what did you do in there?
Yu Jin-Ho formed an expression comprised of half surprise and half joy. He even forgot that he was in front of his father, and asked out loud.
“What happened inside the Red Gate?”
Goh Myung-Hwan glanced to his side, to the head of the dining table.
Yu Myung-Han nodded his head.
Goh Myung-Hwan carried a face of a man dying to open his mouth until then, and as soon as the permission was given, he began to tell his story with great relish.
“So, what happened was….”
Yu Jin-Ho’s eyes twinkled as he listened.
“At first, everyone was taken back somewhat, after learning that a pair of rank E Hunters were coming to observe the new recruit training process. But then….”
Goh Myung-Hwan began describing what happened that day with a hyped-up voice reminiscent of a little kid proudly showing off to a friend the brand new toy he got as a gift.
However….
“He did what to a rank A Hunter??”
Goh Myung-Hwan wasn’t the only over-excited person in the room.
“Exactly!! With his palm, he went like, Pah!! He smacked the back of Kim Cheol’s head, and….”
“Huh….”
As he listened to the exploits of hyung-nim, Yu Jin-Ho’s heart beat faster as if he was there, experiencing everything personally.
‘As expected of hyung-nim….’
To him, hunting down high-ranked monsters was nothing. Well, he could knock out a rank A Hunter with a single slap, after all.
Yu Jin-Ho felt so moved and proud at the same time after realising that such an incredible person had been standing by his side until now.
Meanwhile, Goh Myung-Hwan continued on with his story.
“….I really thought that we’d die for sure when dozens of Ice Elves showed up. But then again….”
Was he paying too close an attention to the story? Time flew by really quickly. The definitely-not-short story of that day’s events was finally coming to its end.
The excited Goh Myung-Hwan’s voice became louder.
“So, what I’m saying is, this whole thing is just too unfair. Mister Seong Jin-Woo saved our a*ses back there. He’s my life’s saviour.”
Yu Jin-Ho unconsciously nodded his head in agreement. He could understand where Goh Myung-Hwan was coming from. He also had received similar help before, too.
“But then, I’m not supposed to reveal the existence of Mister Seong Jin-Woo? I find it difficult to accept the decision of the White Tiger Guild. However, Chairman Yu has given me a call out of the blue, and so, here I am.”
It was at this point that Yu Myung-Han stopped Goh Myung-Hwan in a dignified manner.
“Goh Myung-Hwan Hunter-nim.”
“Yes?”
“I believe that should be sufficient.”
“Ah. My apologies, sir. I got carried away.”
Goh Myung-Hwan embarrassedly lowered his head.
Yu Myung-Han’s stare then shifted over to his son, Yu Jin-Ho.
“In the process of investigating more about Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, a name that I never expected to hear popped up.”
At the ends of Yu Myung-Han’s pointing finger….
His index finger pointed to a piece of paper with Yu Jin-Ho’s name written on it. And it was none other than the raid records Yu Jin-Ho handed over to his father.
His index finger pointed lower and stopped at the three words ‘Seong Jin-Woo’ next.
The raid leader, Yu Jin-Ho. The raid member, Seong Jin-Woo.
This was irrefutable evidence.
‘….I’m busted.’The origin of this chapter’s debut can be traced to N0v3l–B1n.
The truth about hyung-nim helping him out during the process of acquiring his Guild Master licence was now out in the open. Yu Jin-Ho’s expression hardened.
“Hunter Seong Jin-Woo aided you greatly during your attempt to earn the Guild Master licence. Do you acknowledge this fact?”
“…..Yes, Father.”
“Is there anything else you want to add?”
“…”
Yu Jin-Ho’s vision darkened.
Now that the matter of hyung-nim lending aid was out in the open, it was impossible to convince his father that he was the right person to take on the position of the Yujin Guild’s new Master.
‘……..’
He sensed his father’s strict eyes bearing down on him. In the past, being subjected to that withering glare, Yu Jin-Ho would lose all strength in his legs.
‘However!’
He couldn’t give up like this. For the first time ever, Yu Jin-Ho summoned his courage in front of his father.
He lowered his head and raised his voice.
“Can you entrust the Yujin Guild to me, Father?”
“I will.”
“Eh?”
At that refreshingly simple answer, Yu Jin-Ho hurriedly raised his head.
“I shall entrust the Yujin Guild to you.”
“But, why….?”
“Didn’t you say it yourself? It is too risky to entrust the Guild to an outsider. With you here, is there a reason to take on that risk now?”
“B-but, I tried to deceive you, father.”
“You thought I’d scold you and kick you out because of that?”
What was going on here?
Yu Jin-Ho thought that his father was smiling, for some reason. But, Yu Myung-Han’s lips would always remain in a straight line, no matter what the occasion was. So, how come?
“If you entered the dungeons without any plans whatsoever, then I’d have done just that. Because I don’t remember raising an idiot son like that.”
Yu Jin-Ho’s face became hot at that moment.
‘If I hadn’t met hyung-nim, then I’d be getting scolded by father right about now….’
No, wait – he’d be dead long before that.
Yu Jin-Ho spat out a sigh of relief inwardly.
“However, I have a condition.”
“Yes, Father.”
“This Hunter Seong Jin-Woo… can you bring him over to Yujin?”
Yu Jin-Ho’s eyes opened wider.
“You mean, hyung-nim??”
‘….Hyung-nim?’
The light within Yu Myung-Han’s eyes flickered a little just then. But that didn’t last for long.
“That’s correct.”
Yu Jin-Ho became speechless, then.
‘Groan…’
Even a snot-nosed brat would know that now was the right time to confidently say something in order to leave behind a positive impression. However, the one they were talking about was none other than hyung-nim.
Yu Jin-Ho could ask, sure, but he wasn’t confident of anything else besides. So, he replied honestly.
“I can’t be certain.”
“Very good. There is no meaning if the challenge is too easy for you.”
The Chairman Yu Myung-Han took a sip of water and lightly wiped the corners of his lips with a handkerchief.
“If you fail, I shall hand over the Guild to your brother. So, how about it? Will you accept?”
Yu Jin-Ho’s expression became grave.
‘This is the shot I struggled so hard to get….’
If he backed out now, then he wouldn’t be able to show himself in front of hyung-nim, who helped him right until the end for this opportunity.
Yu Jin-Ho became deeply earnest as he replied.
“I accept, Father.”
“Good.”
With that reply, the negotiation between a father and a son had come to a conclusion. Yu Myung-Han wordlessly nodded his head, and Yu Jin-Ho stood up, bowed his waist, and left the room.
Yu Myung-Han took the handkerchief away from his lips. It was getting harder to suppress the smile trying to form on his lips.
‘This kid….’
This boy wanted Yujin Guild.
He suspected something was up when they agreed to meet today, but he didn’t expect his son to be this daring.
‘Indeed, a tiger’s cub is still a tiger at the end of the day.’
The smile finally began to spread on Yu Myung-Han’s lips.
‘….That famous Chairman Yu Myung-Han is actually smiling!!’
Goh Myung-Hwan’s eyes were growing large as he witnessed everything.
The widely-known nickname of Chairman Yu Myung-Han was ‘Pokerface’. He was famed for never showing any emotion whatsoever, whether it be a joyful occasion or a sorrowful one.
When Goh Myung-Hwan continued to stare utterly mystified, Chairman Yu Myung-Han turned to him and asked.
“Hunter-nim. Was there anything you wanted to add?”
Suddenly finding himself on the receiving end of that stare, Goh Myung-Hwan got flustered and hurriedly shook his head.
“N-no. Not at all.”
….47, 48, 49, 50.
With a frightening clearing speed, Jin-Woo climbed up the floors.
[You have killed the Mid-Ranked Demon.]
[You have earned 300 experience points.]
[You have acquired (1) Soul of Demons.]
…
….
…….
[You have killed the Mid-Ranked Demon.]
[You have killed the Mid-Ranked Demon.]
He didn’t feel tired at all when looking at the total experience points and the accumulated number of souls climbing up higher every time he hunted a monster down.
[Collected Number of Souls: 4,388/10,000]
‘It’s not even at the halfway mark yet, huh.’
He had been endlessly hunting demons down ever since entering this place, but as expected, the wall of ten thousand souls was indeed high, and difficult to overcome.
However, what about his level?
[Level: 69]
In the space of one day, it had risen by another two.
The levelling up speed had slowed down compared to the beginning, but it could still be considered as blistering when looking at the rate of collecting the required souls. Even now, the experience points were quietly piling up.
“Kiieehk!”
[….Killed the Mid-Ranked Demon.]
[You have earned 300 experience points.]
[You have collected (1) Soul of….]
“Whew!”
After finishing off the last demon still standing before his eyes, Jin-Woo stretched his back and scanned his surroundings. Beneath the confidence-inspiring shadow soldiers standing around him, the countless corpses of mid-ranked demons could be seen littering the ground.
Clap!
Jin-Woo smiled deeply and clapped his hands.
“Nice work.”
The soldiers who fought hard for him all returned to his shadow in an instant. The magic crystal could be collected by them, sure, but loot had to be manually collected by Jin-Woo.
[Will you take…..]
Well, he had to manually click ‘yes’ on every System message that popped into his view, that was why.
‘This is a bit cumbersome, isn’t it.’
So, that was why when there weren’t that many demons, he took care of them himself real fast. And, when there were in a big group like this time, he fought together with his soldiers.
As soon as the battle was over, he’d start collecting the loot right away.
‘Just what’s so fun about this that Yu Jin-Ho insisted on doing it?’
Jin-Woo extracted a piece of loot from the dead demon and smirked to himself.
There was one more cumbersome thing about this place; it was impossible to extract shadows inside the Demon’s Castle.
Didn’t matter whether it was a mid-ranked or low-ranked, the black fog-like thing that denoted if he could perform the shadow extraction or not didn’t rise up from the demon’s corpses.
‘Even when I’m staring at the remains, too.’
[This Mana is tainted.]
[It’s impossible to perform shadow extraction.]
Nope, he only got some messages saying that he couldn’t extract shadows because Mana was supposedly tainted.
‘Is there anything I can do about this?’
Just as Jin-Woo scanned the remains of the demons with a helpless expression on his face, a new message popped into his view.
Tti-ring.
[You have discovered 29 ‘Item: Horns of Mid-Ranked Demon’.]
[Will you take them all?]
Jin-Woo grinned brightly.
‘Of course!’
Jin-Woo quickly shook away the regret he felt over the shadow extraction problem, with the help from the abundant loot falling on his lap.
‘Nothing I can use directly among the pile, eh.’
In that case, sell them all!
As soon as he sold off all the japtem, more Gold got neatly deposited into his bank balance.
[Current Gold: 914,690,772]
‘Heok!!’
Jin-Woo checked his Inventory without thinking too much, only for his eyes to shot open real wide. The amount of Gold sitting pretty in there had shot past 900 million already.
‘Well, each pair of demon’s horns are worth about 200,000, and I hunted down well over 4000, so….’
Not to forget, he also sold off other unnecessary japtem on his way here as well, so it was understandable that Gold would accumulate at a frightening pace.
‘Should I buy a rarity S weapon or armour?’
Before long, though, Jin-Woo shook his head.
He wasn’t in a need for one, so no real need to force himself to spend money just because he had some.
‘Right, there will come a time when I need to splurge on something.’
Jin-Woo closed the Inventory window and lightly dusted his hands.
He was done with cleaning up his surroundings.
He had procured the important entry permit for the 51st floor a long time ago. So, the only thing remaining was to get to the floor-transfer magic circle and go upstairs, but….
Jin-Woo’s sight shifted towards the pillar of light. More specifically, a short distance in front of that pillar.
And a massive demon, plus scores of high-ranked demons, were standing there, waiting.
Jin-Woo raised his sight up higher.
And he could see the giant demon’s name, floating in the air in a deep crimson hue.
[The Sovereign of the Lower Floors, The Avaricious Vulcan]
That thing consisted of a huge mess of fatty flesh that must’ve weighed dozens of tons. No, maybe even several hundred, instead. And then, the massive club this thing was holding in hand looked rather horrifying as well.
However, a smile was etched on Jin-Woo’s face.
‘So, that’s the mid-boss of this place, huh?’
He held only the nicest memories of the bosses found inside the instant dungeons. They all gave him plenty of experience points as well as wonderful items.
Compared to the boss-level monsters found in regular dungeons that required lots of hard work to kill but little reward to show for it, these boss monsters of instant dungeons were more like boxes of gifts, all nicely wrapped up.
So, then. What items would that guy cough up?
Gulp.
Jin-Woo smiled brightly and began drooling.
Chapter 72
‘Should I get started, then?’
Shadow soldiers were summoned behind Jin-Woo. Not just the regular foot soldiers, but also the magic soldiers, the beast soldiers, as well as the two knights, too.
And in front of them stood Jin-Woo.
The two knights strode forward and stood on either side of him. Jin-Woo took a glance at Igrit to his right, and Iron to his left, and a grin formed on his lips.
‘Feels so reassuring.’
Even though this was his own skill, the fact that he had comrades watching his back helped greatly to calm his mind.
However….
‘Still, it’s a bit too much to go with a frontal assault, isn’t it?.’
The whole thing looked kinda dangerous. And that was all thanks to that wooden-looking club held tight in Vulcan’s grip.
‘It’s just unbelievable that a tree that big actually existed, right?’
He guessed from the size of Vulcan and the wooden club that one swing from the demon would be enough to wipe away his entire platoon.
‘It’s fine if they get swept away, but….’
The real problem would be the MP required to regenerate the fallen soldiers. Without a doubt, continuously regenerating his soldiers that got repeatedly obliterated by that thick blunt weapon would bottom out his MP in no time at all.
In that case, there was only one way to do this.
‘I’ll have to take care of the boss.’
In other words, he’d let his boys deal with Vulcan’s underlings, while he himself would fight the boss.
This was the best plan he could think of.
‘Well, all I have to do is hunt it without getting hit.’
Unlike with his soldiers, Jin-Woo was confident of dodging Vulcan’s attacks. In order for his plan to work, though, he had to separate Vulcan from his underlings first.
Jin-Woo ordered his magic soldiers to initiate the assault first.
‘Use the ranged attacks to summon Vulcan’s lackeys over here first, and I’ll fight that big guy lumbering along at the rear.’
It was a simple enough plan to carry out.
‘Now.’
When Jin-Woo gave his signal, flames flew out from the hands of the magic soldiers.
Swiiiish…
Swiiish….!
Kaboom!!The roots of this story extend from novell bìn origin.
The flames exploded near the subordinates of Vulcan, signalling the beginning of the operation.
Tti-ring!
[The Sovereign of the Lower Floors, the Avaricious Vulcan has discovered the intruder!]
[Vulcan’s loyal guard has discovered….]
[Vulcan’s loyal guard has discovered….]
Tti-ring, tti-ring, tti-ring!!
The warning beeps resounded out in his head at a frightening pace. And at the same time, Vulcan and its lackeys all turned their heads towards Jin-Woo and his army.
‘Alright…’
He succeeded in drawing their attention.
In order to hit Vulcan coming up from the lackeys’ rear without getting discovered, Jin-Woo activated ‘Stealth’ and hid himself.
Shururu…
Everything seemed to be unfolding according to plan.
That’s what he thought, but then….
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!!!
‘…..?!?!’
Vulcan broke his expectation and bolted forward like a streak of lightning.
‘What the hell?? What is up with that movement? It’s like I’m looking at video footage sped up several times!’
Quite literally, in the blink of an eye! Vulcan had ran past its lackeys and arrived before the shadow soldiers.
‘Oh, crap!!’
Jin-Woo’s eyes widened considerably.
This demon with a huge, mountain-sized body mass managed to exceed his imaginations.
“M-mm!”
Vulcan lifted the club up high.
Just before the club pointing to the sky fell down on the defenceless magic soldiers, Iron jumped out of nowhere and raised his black shield.
Whoosh-!!
Kwajeeck!!
The attack was defended against somehow, but…. Both arms of Iron were shattered into pieces. The sturdiest, toughest among the shadow soldiers couldn’t withstand a single attack and was rendered unable to fight any further.
Scatter….
The shattered pieces of Iron’s arms fell to the ground and scattered away.
“M-mm? M-mm?”
Perhaps finding its previous attack not to its liking, Vulcan tilted its head this way and that, while staring deeply at its club. But that was only for a brief period.
The b*stard slammed down with the club once more.
“M-mm!!”
Kwajeeck!!
Iron, who had lost all means to defend himself, as well as the magic soldiers behind him, were crushed to oblivion next.
Crack.
Witnessing that event unfold, something inside Jin-Woo loudly snapped into two.
‘This son of a b*tch dares to….’
Jin-Woo bit his lower lip.
What he did next wasn’t because his head told him to do it.
Paht!
When he regained his senses, he was already in mid-air, leaping towards Vulcan.
His target was already set. And that would be that surprisingly beady little head attached atop the mountainous body.
Jin-Woo twisted his body in mid-air. The muscles of his shoulder and the arm cocked rearward ballooned up. When he focused all his might on his clenched right fist, ‘Stealth’ came undone automatically.
“M-mm??”
Belatedly, Vulcan discovered Jin-Woo.
Too bad, Jin-Woo’s fist was not slow enough for the giant monster to dodge when it was already near its nose.
Swiiiick!!
His fist punched out like a bullet and slammed into the side of Vulcan’s face.
KWABOOM
Vulcan was flung away. The giant demon rolled away on the ground for a long, long time, before crashing into the skeletal remains of a building and came to a stop.
Rumble, crash!!
Then, the barely-standing remains all tumbled on top of Vulcan, burying the demon underneath.
Tap.
Jin-Woo lightly landed back on the ground, his eyes quite wide open.
‘Why did it fly away that easily??’
Unable to comprehend what just happened, he stared at his own fist in disbelief. He couldn’t even spot a single nick or a scratch on his fist that managed to blow away such a huge creature.
Then, he suddenly recalled something.
‘Ahh… now that I think about it….’
Jin-Woo raised his head. He summoned the Stat Window, and it quickly floated up there.
[Stats]
Strength: 150
Endurance: 109
Agility: 139
Intelligence: 109
Perception: 111
‘….That’s how it was.’
He may have learned several assassin-related skills, and his Class was set as a magic type, so he had been forgetting about a crucial part until now.
[Strength: 150]
‘…….’
He had been using up all the spare bonus Stat points on Intelligence, yet Strength was still ahead by 1.5 times.
‘Well, uh, I really did invest in Strength blindly, didn’t I?’
On top of this, his level had increased explosively, as well.
Just from checking out each of his Stats, he could definitely feel the results of all that grinding. One of those results was this.
Jin-Woo stared at Vulcan, still buried underneath the rubble with a dumbfounded face, before a wry chuckle left his lips.
“Huh…..”
It was hard to feel it when he was busy massacring the ‘regular’ monsters, the Low-Ranked and Mid-Ranked Demons. But, after punching the boss-level creature, he was certain of it now.
‘I’ve definitely…. become stronger.’
Clench!
He felt strength flowing into his clenched fists. Heightened excitement filled every inch of his body.
It was then.
The familiar mechanical bleep rang inside his head.
Tti-ring.
‘What was that?’
Jin-Woo raised his head.
“M-mm? M-mm??”
The fallen Vulcan used the club to prop itself and stood up from the rubble.
‘Did the warning chime go off because the monster is getting up?’
Was his System that friendly, to begin with? As Jin-Woo tilted his head, the culprit for that beep popped up in front of his eyes.
[The Sovereign of the Lower Floors, the Avaricious Vulcan, has activated ‘Skill: Rage’.]
‘Uh??’
Tti-ring, tti-ring, tti-ring.
The warning chime went in his head one after the other.
[The ‘Rage’ state will be continuously maintained.]
[All of Vulcan’s Stats will be increased by 50%.]
[Vulcan will feel less pain.]
‘Isn’t that skill from…?’
Even before Jin-Woo managed to recall the memories of Cerberus, Vulcan, with its two reddened eyes, rushed towards him like an unstoppable tidal wave.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!!
The ground rumbled, accompanied with the loud rumbling footsteps.
Jin-Woo sneaked a glance behind him. Vulcan’s lackeys were currently engaged in a bitter battle with the shadow soldiers there.
“Krooar!!”
“Kiieehhck!!”
In the midst of this confusing melee, Jin-Woo still could locate Iron. The impact force must’ve been too great, because Iron was still in the middle of regeneration.
“Iron!”
Jin-Woo called out.
Iron quickly threw his shield to Jin-Woo.
After catching the shield, Jin-Woo shifted his glance away to find Vulcan standing right before him.
‘If I back off here, my soldiers will get wiped away.’
Without his soldiers, it’d become far too difficult to hunt down Vulcan and its subordinates. So, Jin-Woo chose the method that could ensure the safety of his soldiers.
He raised the shield, and his arm muscles tensed up.
“M-mm!!”
Shortly thereafter, Vulcan slammed down with its club.
Slam!!
Kwang!!
Boom!!
Fearsome attacks that rocked the earth landed several times in a row without rest, but Jin-Woo patiently endured them all. His high physical defence and Endurance Stat allowed him to block these attacks.
“Mm? Mm??”
When its attacks did not work, Vulcan became even more frenzied and pounded away with that massive club.
Slam!! Kwang!! Boom!! Kaboom!!
However, Jin-Woo was steadfast and his knees buckled not even once.
‘Still….’
Still, standing around like this blocking all the time wouldn’t let him hunt the boss down.
Deep frowns formed on Jin-Woo’s forehead.
The thing was, unlike how it was with Cerberus, Vulcan’s ‘Rage’ skill didn’t have a time limit, the trade-off being the skill not as overpowered as the gatekeeper’s version.
Meaning, he couldn’t remain passively defending forever like this.
Slam!! Boom!!
Jin-Woo gritted his teeth.
‘Constantly getting pounded on isn’t my thing, either….’
Kwang!!
Just as the club bounced off of the shield for the last time….
Jin-Woo had been getting ready to counter-attack and took the opening to leap towards Vulcan’s head.
However, he wasn’t the only one waiting for an opening.
“Mm!!”
Matching the timing of Jin-Woo’s jump, Vulcan quickly leaned its upper torso back.
‘What?!’
And then, the club flew in towards him from the side while drawing an arc in the air.
‘….He got me.’
If there were places where his hands or feet could touch, the story might have been different, but there was no way he’d be able to dodge the attack in the middle of air.
And, even if he managed to block it, who knew just where he would end up from the rebound?
Swooosh-!!
As the time slowed down in his perception, Jin-Woo stared at the club approaching ever closer and leaked out a groan.
‘A way…. There must be a way!’
If he could move his body, then surely, he’d be able to dodge this no problem.
When his thoughts arrived at this point….
‘Moving my body?’
An idea suddenly popped up in his head.
There was no time to think about this. As soon as the idea formed in his head, Jin-Woo activated the skill ‘Ruler’s Reach’ and pushed at Vulcan.
“M-mm?”
Of course, the power behind the skill ‘Ruler’s Reach’ was far too low to move the massive body of Vulcan. However, the rebound meant that it was Jin-Woo who was pushed back, instead.
Whoooosh!!
The tip of the club missed him by a hair’s breadth.
‘I did it!’
Jin-Woo was flung away some distance and rolled on the ground a few times, but compared to what might have happened when hit by that club, his landing this time should be seen as far, far gentler.
“Whew-!”
Jin-Woo managed to find his balance and sighed in relief.
“M-mm?”
On the other hand, Vulcan’s expression had crumpled quite unsightly. It attacked, feeling proud and all, but in the end, it was all for nothing. That fact caused its fury to reach the peak.
“M-mm!! M-mm!!”
Jin-Woo scratched the side of his head while staring at Vulcan’s reddened face.
‘Now what should I do about this?’
If he jumped to its front, the d*mn thing would evade him with not much difficulty.
But then, attacking other body parts instead of its head didn’t look like he’d be able to critically wound it, what with all those layers of flesh getting in the way.
‘Is there a way to make it impossible to dodge?’
It was at this point that yet another, and an arguably excellent, idea popped up in his head.
The corners of Jin-Woo’s lips arched up.
Suddenly, he turned around and ran. Vulcan mistook this action as him trying to escape, and hurriedly chased after him.
Rumble, thud, thud, thud!!
Jin-Woo moderated his running speed so Vulcan could chase after him. As soon as he discovered a suitable remnant of a building, his eyes began gleaming brightly.
‘That one.’
On the other hand…
“M-mm!!”
When the distance between Vulcan and Jin-Woo closed up, the giant demon lifted its club high up in the air behind it.
To squash this bug-like creature!
Finally, the chance to crush this annoying pest once and for all was here!
A disgusting smile formed on Vulcan’s face.
And so, as the club came down with a whoosh…
The insect-like creature suddenly sped up and ran up on the outer wall of the destroyed building.
“M-mm??”
Something felt wrong here, but it was too late for the demon to slow down the descent of the club.
“M-mm?? M-mm??”
In an instant, the insect had run up high enough to be at the demon’s eye line, before he powerfully kicked the wall.
Crack!
As the spiderweb-like cracks spread on the wall, something shot towards this demon with never-before-seen speed.
It was none other than that insect.
“M-mm!!”
Vulcan’s eyes grew wider.
A smile spread on Jin-Woo’s face as he looked into those large eyes.
The ‘Baruka’s Dagger’ gripped tightly in his right hand sliced past the bulging artery of Vulcan’s neck.
Slice!!
From the blood vessel as thick as a grown man, blood spurted out like an overflowing fountain.
“M-mm?! M-mm!!”
Vulcan hurriedly discarded the club and tried to stem the loss of blood with both of its hands.
“M-mm!!”
Unfortunately, it was insufficient to block the overflowing of blood.
At that moment, there was a visible tremor shaking Vulcan’s eyes.
“M, m-mm??”
Before it had the time to notice it, Jin-Woo had climbed up the demon’s back, and buried the blades of his daggers deeply into that thick neck.
‘I guess, once isn’t enough, huh?’
Jin-Woo tilted his head and pulled the daggers out, before activating his skill once more.
‘Vital Points Targetting!”
Two daggers stabbed deeply into Vulcan’s neck again.
Stab!!
Stab!!
Only then did the messages he was waiting for pop up.
Tti-ring.
[You have killed the Sovereign of the Lower Floors, the Avaricious Vulcan.]
[You have earned 150,000 experience points.]
[The souls of demons trapped inside Vulcan’s stomach have been released.]
[You have acquired (72) Soul of Demons.]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
Chapter 73
THUD!!
Vulcan fell to the ground, hard. Jin-Woo relaxedly walked out from the thick, ash-grey dust clouds rising up, and took a look around him.
He was thinking of assisting the Shadow Soldiers right away, but even they seemed to be getting close to finishing up, as well.
“Kiiechk!!”
“Khekeck!!”
“Kheeck!”
As the shadow soldiers hacked away with their swords, the number of Vulcan’s underlings rapidly decreased.
‘Status.’
Jin-Woo studied his Status Window. Since he had levelled up only a moment ago, both his HP and MP were full.
‘I’ve plenty of Mana, so I don’t really need to help out, huh.’
As long as there was sufficient Mana, shadow soldiers would be exactly like immortals. Now that was the true power of an undead army.
Leaving the mop-up of the remnants to his trusty soldiers, Jin-Woo turned around in order to collect the loot.
“Hmm.”
Was this feeling similar to unwrapping a gift? Seeing that dead body of Vulcan, a smile automatically formed on his lips.
‘I wonder what’ll come out this time?’
He could spy several lights sparkling on the body. Just like before, Jin-Woo extended his hand towards the lights. Then, item acquisition messages popped up in his view.
Tti-ring!
[You have discovered ‘Item: Demon Sovereign’s Earrings.’ Will you take it?]
[You have discovered ‘Item: Bead of Avarice’. Will you take it?]
[You have discovered ‘Item: Vulcan’s Horns’ x2. Will you take it?]
[You have discovered ‘Material Item: Fragment of the World Tree’. Will you take it?]
He had been feeling rather optimistic about fighting Vulcan, even before the battle started. And as he expected, items were quite literally pouring out from the dead demon.
Having checked the list only once, Jin-Woo’s face was brightening up considerably already.
‘I can pretty much tell that Vulcan’s Horns should be japtem.’
From its name to the total number he found, it wasn’t that hard to guess that ‘Vulcan’s Horns’ were japtem only good for additional Gold, just like the Demon’s Horns he got after killing various demons.
Which meant the remaining three were the ‘real’ items….
And there was this one item that attracted his attention more than the others.
[You have discovered ‘Material Item: Fragment of the World Tree’. Will you take it?]
‘What is this Material Item thing?’
What could he possibly make with something like that? Or, was the System trying to imply that it might be something related to a quest?
Jin-Woo’s curiosity roused from its slumber after reading about a type of item he hadn’t heard of before. If he wanted to read the explanations on the items, he had to acquire them first. So, he chose ‘yes’ on all the item acquisition messages.
“Take them all.”
The lights glittering from different parts of Vulcan all morphed into items and appeared near his feet as soon as he said that.
A pair of earrings, a red marble-like object, and timber as big as a grown woman. He could immediately tell which one was the ‘Fragment of the World Tree’ among them.
Jin-Woo looked at the timber. When he did, the information on the item popped up.
[Material Item: Fragment of the World Tree]
Rarity: ??
Type: Material
Remaining part of ‘Vulcan’s Club’, originally fashioned out of a branch of the World Tree, after the contaminated portion had been removed. Timber from the World Tree possess extraordinary magical energy, and is seen as top material for the crafting of the very best magic tools available.
‘Top material for the very best magic tool, is it?’
He was curious about just what could be made from this piece of wood, but too bad, that wasn’t disclosed. Still, there was no doubt this thing was no ordinary item. Simply by standing near it, he could sense a powerful aura coming off of it.
‘This timber… I think it’ll come in handy later.’
Instead of selling off this ‘Fragment of World Tree’ to the Store, he decided to store it in his Inventory.
After he finished doing that, Jin-Woo confirmed the details on the other loot as well.
[Item: Demon Sovereign’s Earrings]
Rarity: S
Type: Accessory
Endurance +20, Stamina +20
When worn together with ‘Demon Sovereign’s Necklace’ and ‘Demon Sovereign’s Ring’, set bonuses will be unlocked.
Set bonus effect 1. (locked)
Set bonus effect 2. (locked)
‘This one has hidden set bonuses?’
If only its additional Stat boosts were concerned, then it was not that different from the ‘Gatekeeper’s Necklace’ in terms of usefulness, but this ‘Demon Sovereign’s Earrings’ had hidden set bonus effects as well.
Even if those set bonuses were ignored, the item itself was still quite brilliant. Both his Endurance and Stamina got a boost of 20 points, which was considerable.
‘Every level up gives me 5 Stat points, so….’
He’d need to level up 8 times to get that many Stat points, in other words.
Feeling genuinely pleased now, Jin-Woo picked the earrings up.
[Will you equip ‘Item: Demon Sovereign’s Earrings’?]
‘Equip.’
Just like with other items, earrings disappeared from the view, but their options still activated with no problem. A satisfied smile formed on Jin-Woo’s face after confirming the rise in his Stats.
So, the accessory set of a demon sovereign, then.
‘Other accessories should be around here somewhere. Right?’
What with the word ‘demon’ in their names, he could easily guess that those items must be somewhere inside the Demon’s Castle.
Just what kind of set bonuses would be unlocked if he managed to find the other two? He had found only one part of the set, but there was nothing he could do about his anticipation soaring higher.
However, Jin-Woo’s smile didn’t last for long.
‘What is this now….?’
[Item: Bead of Avarice]
Rarity: A
Type: Magic Tool
Bead created by solidifying superior demon Vulcan’s blood. Will strengthen all magical effects and cause greater damage.
Effect ‘Appetite for Destruction’: x2 magic damage
It was a spherical red object the size of a billiard ball.
Jin-Woo tightly grasped the ‘Bead of Avarice’. But, there was no change to his Stats.
He then summoned and checked the Class-related skill windows, since those were the only things that could be called ‘magic’ in his repertoire, but he saw no change to the number of shadows he could extract nor the number that could be stored.
‘Maybe it’s not something I can use?’
Jin-Woo’s head tilted this way and that.
An increase of 100% in magic damage. That kind of performance was quite incredible, indeed.
Now originally, tools that boosted magic cost an arm and a leg, so only a few mage-type Hunters could afford to use them. Even then, Jin-Woo had never heard of an item that could double the power of magic among all those uber-expensive artefacts.
If there were, then it’d been utter chaos, with headlines and special reports and whatnot. So, there was no way he’d be unaware of one until now.
However, this ‘Bead of Avarice’ or whatever could supposedly double the amount of magic damage.
‘But, so what? It doesn’t really help me, anyway.’
Jin-Woo licked his lips.
An item that doubled magic damage but did nothing else, would not have any effect on him. Both his ‘shadow extraction’ and ‘shadow storage’ had nothing to do with damaging something, to begin with. And the rest of his skills weren’t magic-related, either.
At this point, he’d rather prefer to have an item that raised his Intelligence Stat, instead.
‘Tsk.’
Jin-Woo formed a wistful expression and lightly tossed the Bead of Avarice up and down in the air. Meanwhile, his soldiers arrived near him one by one after taking down Vulcan’s remaining underlings. The first one to arrive was Igrit.
In the right hand, three, and another three in the left; he carried a total of six demon heads and placed them before Jin-Woo.
“…..”
Jin-Woo looked at Igrit kneeling before him and scratched the side of his head.
“Uhm, hey man. Can’t you stop doing that?”
Of course, Igrit and his gravely-lowered head didn’t reply.
“Because of you….”
Jin-Woo’s gaze slowly shifted over to Iron.
Nobody could tell just when he did it, but Iron had cut Vulcan’s head off and dragged it all the way to Jin-Woo, before kneeling on the ground
“….This guy is starting to imitate you, you know.”
More importantly, Jin-Woo hunted Vulcan down, not Iron!
Jin-Woo spat out a long groan while keeping his stare fixed to Iron. It was at this point that an amusing idea popped up in his head.
‘Just like how I used Iron’s shield, maybe should I try and let these guys use this Bead of Avarice?’
What a good timing it was, since he spotted the magic soldiers slowly walking behind the regular infantrymen. They were far slower compared to normal shadow soldiers, never mind the two knights.
Jin-Woo summoned the first of the three magic soldiers to arrive in the vicinity.
When he beckoned with his hand, the magic soldier decked out in the black robe hurriedly walked towards him.
‘….Maybe I should go there myself.’
Jin-Woo lightly shook his head and took large strides towards the magic soldier, before handing over the Bead of Avarice. And then, pointed at the remnant of the building he used to run up during his battle against Vulcan.
Since all shadow soldiers could be controlled via his will, he didn’t really need to issue any particular commands here. Jin-Woo simply gave the signal.
“Fire.”
Right at that moment, a ball of flames that was double the size of the usual attack suddenly materialised at the tip of the magic soldier’s raised hand.
‘Heok?!’
Jin-Woo’s eyes opened super-wide. Without giving him enough time to get shocked, the ball of flames quickly flew out from the magic soldier’s hand.
Swooooosh–!!
KWABOOM!!
“Huh?!”
Jin-Woo’s jaw dropped to the floor.
The building was swept up in the grand explosion and collapsed like a house of cards. And the ferocity of the burning flames didn’t show any signs of weakening at all afterwards.
Jin-Woo stared in pure shock at the roaring flames, before he hurriedly took the Bead of Avarice back from the magic soldier. He then quickly checked the item information once more.
‘It’s not there. It’s definitely not there.’
He went through the explanation several times to make sure, but without a doubt, there was nothing about him being prevented from lending this ‘Bead of Avarice’ to someone else.
Didn’t this mean he could potentially sell this item?
Gulp.
Jin-Woo swallowed his dry saliva, before his gaze shifted back to the burning building.
Rumble! Crackle!!
Yet another part of the still-burning building issued a loud rumble and collapsed to the ground. Seeing that, the corners of Jin-Woo’s lips began quivering uncontrollably.
‘Well now. This is…’
Mage-type Hunters would definitely go mad with greed over this thing.
His previous wistful look was long gone by now, replaced by the expression of anticipation slowly filling up his face.
In the middle of a sunny afternoon.
“The young man from the apartment 902, you say?”
An auntie tilted her head and replied a short while later.
“Hmm, I’m not sure. I haven’t seen him lately.”
“Ah, is that so? Thank you for your help.”
Hyun Ki-Cheol lowered his head and said thanks.
It had been four days since he began waiting for Hunter Seong Jin-Woo near the youth’s old apartment building. However, he hadn’t run into his target until now.
At this point, Hyun Ki-Cheol was beginning to feel that making veggie juice every morning was a bit of waste now. He let out a helpless sigh and pulled his phone out.
Ring…. ring….
Shortly afterwards, the recipient answered the call.
- “I’m here, Ki-Cheol.”
“Section Chief.”
The recipient was, of course, the Section Chief Ah Sahng-Min.
“Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim is nowhere to be seen. Residents of the building say they haven’t seen him lately, either.”
- “Really?”
“Yes, sir.”
- “It can’t be helped, then. From tomorrow onwards, come back to the office.”
“Understood.”
Click.
Ahn Sahng-Min ended the call and tilted his head.
Just where did Hunter Seong Jin-Woo go to?
No one could contact him for the past few days now. Wondering if he was avoiding phone calls for the time being, Ahn Sahng-Min had dispatched Hyun Ki-Cheol over to where Seong Jin-Woo lived, but the news wasn’t good. No one had seen the young Hunter for a while.
Ahn Sahng-Min couldn’t help but wonder if something had strange happened.
‘I can’t figure out why I should be worried about him, though.’
In any case, this kind of felt rather weird to him.
Tap, tap.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and when he turned around to look, he found Hunter Park Hui-Jin standing to his side. She opened her mouth first.
“Apparently, he told his little sister that he’d be going on a trip with his friend for a week or so.”
“You mean, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim said that?”
“Yes.”
“In that case… he’s probably not on Earth anymore.”
“Pardon?”
Park Hui-Jin’s eyes opened wide. Ahn Sahng-Min quickly explained himself.
“We haven’t found any evidence of him going overseas. And there is no record of him drawing money from his bank or using his credit card, either.”
“You can even find out things like that?”
“Well, it’s our job to follow around various Hunters, after all.”
“….Oh, my god.”
“Anyways. On top of this, according to the Association’s last known location records, the communication with his phone was cut off in the middle of the city, as well. And that happened about five days ago. Doesn’t all this sound too mysterious to you?”
“He couldn’t have been kidnapped, right?”
Park Hui-Jin inadvertently voiced her worry in the ensuing confusion. However, the gazes of the two people soon met, and they began chuckling almost at the same time. It was hard to tell who started first.
Seriously now. Just who was Seong Jin-Woo?
He was none other than a Hunter who soloed a high-ranking dungeon. Not only that, a Red Gate, to boot.
Ahn Sahng-Min scratched his cheek and spoke up.
“If you want to kidnap Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim, well, you’d need at least the rumoured Chinese special forces to show up. You know, the one supposedly made up entirely of high-ranking Hunters.”
Park Hui-Jin nodded her head in agreement.
Ahn Sahng-Min continued to grin, but then, found something rather odd and asked her.
“By the way, how did you find out about him going on a trip?”
“Ah, that. It’s from Hahn Song-Yi. I talk to her often, you see. She goes to the same school with Mister Seong Jin-Woo’s little sister, so I asked her for a favour.”
“Aha….”
With Ahn Sahng-Min’s reply, their conversation came to an abrupt end.
And then, they began thinking the exact same thing.
‘Just where did that guy disappear to?’
Chapter 74
‘The upper floors are altogether on a different level, aren’t they?’
Jin-Woo began recalling the first – and so far, the only – boss-level monster he had encountered since he set foot inside the Demon’s Castle, Vulcan.
That guy’s title was ‘the Sovereign of the Lower Floors’.
As soon as he went past the fiftieth floor that demon resided in, the difficulty curve suddenly spiked up.
Before this, he’d climb up over ten floors in a day. As much as 20, even. But his clearing speed had decreased so much so that he found it hard to even clear 7 or 8 floors in a day now.
He was currently standing on the 74th floor.
The High-Ranked Demons now appeared as regular mobs now, and along with the infrequently-spotted Superior Demons, these two types of monsters displayed sizes and abilities that were worlds apart from those found on the lower floors.
Stab!
A High-Ranked Demon the size of a two-story building slowly collapsed on the ground with a dagger stuck to its chest.
SLAM!
[You have defeated a High-Ranked Demon.]
[You have earned 1,700 experience points.]
[You have acquired (1) Soul of Demons.]
Jin-Woo pulled the ‘Baruka’s Dagger’ out from the dead demon’s chest.
This one was the last. Yet another battle had come to an end. The victorious shadow soldiers crowded around Jin-Woo as well.
Jin-Woo surveyed their conditions.
There was no way that this was true for an undead army, but for some reason, he thought they all kind of looked exhausted.
Indeed, that was how strong the monsters had been on the upper floors.
Actually, this last battle happened to be on the easier side, simply because no Superior Demons showed up.
‘Each one of those guys is on the level of a boss.’
This wasn’t some random guess he just cooked up without any evidence, either.
The ‘Bead of Avarice’ he got after killing Vulcan. The explanation attached to this marble-like item said that it was created from condensing and solidifying the Superior Demon Vulcan’s blood.
If those words ‘Superior Demon’ denoted Vulcan’s grade, then it was about on the same level as regular monsters found on the upper floors. Because, since the 70th floor, Superior Demons appeared far more often than not.
‘Well, it’d been fine if it were only the monsters’ levels that had increased, but….’
No, there was another problem here, as well.
The surroundings began changing gradually the higher he climbed. From the 51st floor onwards, the ruined cityscapes were burning in flames. And the higher the floor, the fiercer the flames got.
When he finally went past the 70th floor, the surroundings had gotten so hot that, simply from standing still, he lost Stamina like sweat drops pouring out of his pores. Just from moving for a tiny bit, his Tiredness Stat shot up.
This place was no ‘Demon’s Castle’, but more like the ‘Burning Tower’.
The feeling he got before entering this dungeon was proven to be correct.
‘….Let’s get out of here.’
This was as far as he could go, this time. He urgently needed to find a way to block out the flames first.
‘Looks like I’ll have to find an artefact that can defend against fire-type magic.’
Equipment used by high-ranked Hunters was ruinously expensive. And, there was no need to even mention the cost of an item imbued with defensive magic, as well. He remembered hearing that a really expensive item could go for several tens of billions of Won from a news program in the past.
He managed to earn a fair amount of coin while clearing dungeons with Yu Jin-Ho, but even then, he couldn’t help but worry a bit about whether he’d be able to afford an artefact like that or not.
That was why he needed insurance.
‘Selling this guy should be more than enough.’
Jin-Woo smiled while looking at the ‘Bead of Avarice’ he oh-so-carefully tucked inside his Inventory. Any mage-type Hunter would drool non-stop at this item.
How much would this bead of avarice go for if he put it up for auction?
He guessed that, as long as he could properly demonstrate its effect, high-ranking Hunters would form a long queue in order to buy it.
Jin-Woo unsummoned the Inventory window.
The goal for entering this instant dungeon, to level up lots, had been successfully met. That was why he didn’t feel too bad about delaying the clearing of the dungeon to another time.
However, one thing did make him hesitate a little.
Jin-Woo’s gaze drifted upwards.
[Collected Souls of Demons: 9,624/10,000]
‘Less than 400 souls remaining….’
If he could collect a little more of these Souls of Demons, then he’d be able to clear this quest.
And today just so happened to be the sixth day. One more day should be enough to clear this quest.
One of the advantages of the upper floors was that killing a single demon netted him multiple souls. Meaning, collecting 400 should be a cinch.
‘I’ll go home after clearing the quest.’
Making up his mind, Jin-Woo turned around.
Maybe because he had a clear goal now, his steps felt doubly energetic.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.
[Floors 1 to 74 have been opened.]
[Which floor would you like to transfer to?]
Jin-Woo stood in the middle of the magic elevator, no, floor-transfer magic circle, and spoke up.
“75th floor.”
What kind of good fortune was this?
A smile spread on Jin-Woo’s face as he stared at the monster guarding the distant floor-transfer magic circle.
[The Guide of the Departed Souls, Metus]
Just from looking at that name alone, he could tell that the monster was a boss.
Also, that guy was very eye-catching, what with it wearing a jet-black robe and a shiny silver necklace.
‘I’m sure that is the Demon Sovereign’s Necklace.’
He originally was thinking of completing the quest, but at this rate, he should get to collect another part of the set equipment, too.
However, that item wasn’t the only thing making Jin-Woo smile here.
Even if it was a monster that would cough up some great loot, it’d be meaningless if he couldn’t hunt it.
Jin-Woo grasped his two daggers tightly. And then, he ran forward.
Soon enough, the skeletal mage decked out in the black robe discovered Jin-Woo’s presence.
Tti-ring!
[The Guide of the Departed Souls, Metus, has discovered the intruder!]
Fitting for a boss-level monster, it instantly finished chanting its magic spell. As soon as a crimson magic circle formed beneath its feet, an ominous aura rushed all around it.
[The Guide of the Departed Souls, Metus has activated ‘Skill: Accursed Voice’.]
Heeding Metus’s call, an army of undead suddenly rose up from the ground. And they numbered several thousand!!
A normal person would’ve been left breathless by the sight of this horrifying army, but when he found himself surrounded by so many enemies, Jin-Woo didn’t even panic for a second.
‘As I thought….’
Just as he expected.
There were endless streams of black smoke rising up all around the boss monster. Seeing that, it wasn’t all that difficult to guess what kind of monster this Metus happened to be.
‘The Guide of the Departed Souls, is it?’
And the monster’s title only helped to further confirm his suspicion.
Sure enough, Metus summoned a powerful undead army.
Too bad, Jin-Woo just so happened to possess the best type of Class within this field.
“Rise up!!”
Uwaaaaahhhhh-!!
Accompanied by painful screams, soldiers began rising up from the shadows of the undead. Their numbers were in the several hundreds!
Compared to Metus’s army, this number seemed completely ill-matched, but it was actually more than enough for him.
Because the real deal was somewhere else, that was why.
“Create a path for me!”
Soldiers emerged from Jin-Woo’s shadow. These guys were the real deal.
While the hundreds of soldiers created from the skill ‘Shadow Extraction’ bought them time, Jin-Woo’s direct subordinates, the ones he paid careful attention to levelling up ever since his entrance into the Demon’s Castle, carved out a path for him.
His destination was obvious!
Igrit and Iron took the lead and with frightening speed and destroyed the opposing undead creatures.
The distance to the boss, Metus had closed up in an instant.
‘This should be enough.’
Jin-Woo quickly shoved past and rushed out into the front.
‘Dash!’
[Skill level of ‘Dash’ has increased!]
Thanks to him running around all over the huge Demon’s Castle, the ‘Dash’ skill had risen up a level.
‘Nice.’
A grin formed on Jin-Woo’s face.
Jin-Woo escaped from the undead army’s siege and stood before Metus in an instant. Their gazes collided mid-air.
‘You didn’t expect this to happen, did you?’
Jin-Woo’s gaze was filled with victor’s leisure, and Metus could only flinch from that. No, he thought that the monster flinched.
‘Do monsters feel fear?’
Such a thought only lingered for a second, before Jin-Woo’s daggers left behind dozens of afterimages.
Plop.
The boss-level monster weakly fell to the ground.
He already knew through experience that mage-type monsters relying on controlling others to fight were very weak when the battle became one on one.
The moment he saw Metus in the distance, he had envisioned this end.
Jin-Woo returned the daggers to his Inventory.
Soon, the expected message popped up.
Tti-ring.
[You have defeated the ‘Guide of the Departed Souls, Metus’.]
[You have earned 200,000 experience points.]
[You have discovered Souls of Demons sealed within Metus’s pendant.]
[You have acquired (220) Souls of Demons.]
[Level up!]
[Level up!]
Jin-Woo clenched his fists tightly.
220 souls in one go.
Now that was an unexpected windfall.
[Collected souls of demons: 9,971/10,000]
A thick smile floated up on Jin-Woo’s lips.
‘Not much remaining now.’
He only needed to collect less than 30 now. It was a small enough amount to quickly fill up by hunting down a handful more demons.
Jin-Woo really wanted to quickly finish this quest and so, he hurriedly retrieved all the loot and entered the floor-transfer magic circle.
[Which floor would you like to transfer to?]
“76th.”
The Eastern United States.
Hwang Dong-Su writhed this way and that as if he was having a nightmare, before he shot up from the bed.
‘…..??’
The first thing he saw was the white ceiling.
Hwang Dong-Su tilted his head at these unfamiliar surroundings.
“Is this…. a hospital?”
…It wasn’t…
…It wasn’t a dream?
Hwang Dong-Su wiped the strand of cold sweat travelling down to his chin. It was at this point that he discovered the patient gown he wore, and the IV needle stuck to his arm.
Hwang Dong-Su’s expression hardened in fury.
And then, he spoke in a cold voice.
“If you have something to say, hurry up and say it, and leave.”
The deputy director of the Hunter Bureau was there with him in the room. A middle-aged Caucasian man, with more white than black on his head, slowly approached Hwang Dong-Su’s bed.
“There is something I wanted to ask you personally, so I waited for you to come around.”
What did he want to ask?
Hwang Dong-Su raised his head.
The deputy director held his gaze without backing down and asked.
“That man named Seong Il-Hwan… was he really a monster?”
“Do you think I’d attack someone who was a human?”
“I’m not saying that I don’t trust you. Only that, I wish to confirm what I saw with my own eyes.”
The deputy director pushed forward his phone towards Hwang Dong-Su.
A certain video footage was playing on its screen.
“And this is….?”
“Footage captured by CCTV cameras nearby on that day.”
In the footage, one could see an Oriental man rescuing employees from the collapsing Hunter Bureau building.
There was no need to ask who that man was. How could Hwang Dong-Su forget? That face was the last thing he saw before he blacked out.
That man was Seong Il-Hwan.
The deputy director’s complexion darkened.
“I… have never heard of a monster rescuing humans before. Is there no change to your opinion that this man is a monster?”
“…He’s definitely a monster.”
“….Understood.”
The deputy director pocketed the phone.
“Once you’re discharged from here, stop by the Bureau. There are a couple of documents you need to sign.”
Hwang Dong-Su asked the deputy director as the latter was about to turn around and leave.
“What happened to that man?”
“He disappeared after fighting you. We’re in the midst of tracking him down, but he’s powerful enough to knock you down easily, so whether he could be caught or not is, well….”
Just before he stepped out of the hospital room, the deputy director opened his mouth again, sounding more troubled than before.
“By any chance, do you have any idea where that man might head off to?”
“…..”
Seeing Hwang Dong-Su resolutely keep his mouth shut as if he had nothing more to say, the deputy director quietly left the room.
But, once he was gone, Hwang Dong-Su furiously yanked the IV needle out of his arm.
“F*ck!!!”
What a humiliating defeat that was.
Even before he could figure out what happened, he found his neck trampled on by Seong Il-Hwan. Not only that, shamefully cowering on the floor, too!
Just as he began gasping for air, Seong Il-Hwan spoke to him.
- Don’t come to Korea. This isn’t for my son, but for your sake. You won’t be able to close your eyes, even in death.
And that’s where his memory ended. Once he regained his consciousness, he found himself here.
‘Can’t close my eyes even in death?’
What did he mean by that?
Was that a threat to kill Hwang Dong-Su in such a brutal way that he’d be unable to close his eyes?
‘How dare he…. threaten me?!’
Hwang Dong-Su’s clenched fists began shuddering in rage. Not only did he lose to a ‘monster’, but that man also managed to inflict an unforgettable disgrace on Hwang Dong-Su, as well.
‘I know where he will go to.’
Hwang Dong-Su would do anything to catch that man.
But, how?
Didn’t matter whether that b*stard’s identity was a monster or not, there was no denying the fact that he was strong.
‘I need better equipment if I want to kill him.’
Thankfully, it wouldn’t be hard getting his hands on that equipment.
‘I should call my Guild.’
The Guild Hwang Dong-Su was a part of, Scavenger, was one of the very best in the world.
Hell, there was even a joke doing the rounds that, if one were to tally up the value of all the artefacts in possession of the Scavenger Guild, it’d easily exceed the annual budget of a small nation.
‘If I get my hands on some artefacts, there shouldn’t be a problem.’
Madness burned bright within Hwang Dong-Su’s eyes.
To South Korea.
That was Hwang Dong-Su’s next destination.
[You have defeated a Superior Demon.]
[You have earned 2,200 experience points.]
[You have acquired (1) Souls of Demons.]
[You have acquired (3) Souls of Slave Demons.]
‘I did it!!’
Jin-Woo couldn’t hide his elation.
His luck was good, and he acquired four souls from the very last demon he killed. With that, he was able to meet the quest clear goal.
[Collected Souls of Demons: 10,001]
Tti-ring.
[You have completed ‘Normal Quest: Collect the Souls of Demons! (1)’]
[Your rewards are now available.]
[Will you confirm the rewards?] (Y/N)
‘Obviously.’
Once he made his reply, the list of rewards popped up in his view.
Tti-ring.
[The following rewards are now available.]
- Any one item available in the System
- +20 Bonus Stat points
- An unknown reward
[Will you accept them all?]
Other rewards did catch his eye, but right now, the first one on the list demanded the most of his attention. It wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration to say that he completed this quest solely for the first reward, too.
‘Accept the first reward.’
Tti-ring!
[You can choose from any of the items available from the System.]
[Is there an item you want?]
An item he wanted, was it?
Of course, there was one.
From the moment he saw the details of this quest, Jin-Woo was thinking of a certain item.
What kind of a result would be facing him now if he chose differently back then? He was curious about this ever since that fateful day.
However, he didn’t know whether that thing was treated as an item or not. Still, it didn’t hurt to try, at least.
[You can choose from any of the items available from the System.]
[Is there an item you want?]
The System asked him again, as if to urge him on.
After a short deliberation, Jin-Woo made his reply.
“The Cursed random box.”
Chapter 75
Back when he found himself standing on a crossroad, Jin-Woo chose the ‘Blessed random box’ instead of the ‘Cursed random box’.
And the result of that decision was the key to the Demon’s Castle.
Thanks to that, he gained entry to this instant dungeon and earned a lot. His level had risen up greatly, he acquired lots of items, and as for Gold… Well, it was overflowing to such an extent that he was beginning to think he should start spending some very soon.
‘Even if I was given a chance to do-over, I’d have chosen the same.’
However….
However, just because he chose to take this path, that didn’t mean he was not curious about the potential result of choosing a different path.
The ‘Blessed random box’, supposed to give him what he wanted, and the ‘Cursed random box’ that was supposed to give him what he needed.
Just what could be inside the latter?
‘I did get what I wanted from the Blessed random box, that’s for sure.’
And so, the perfect chance to satisfy that curiosity once and for all had landed in his lap.
‘…..’
His heart began beating a little bit faster than before; Jin-Woo quietly waited for the System’s answer. He thought that its reply was slower than usual.
Tti-ring!
His anxiety turned out to be groundless, though, because the System did reply pretty soon afterwards.
[You have chosen ‘Item: Cursed random box’.]
[The chosen item is now available.]
Shururu….Ñøv€lRapture marked the initial hosting of this chapter on Ñôv€lß¡n.
A small box slowly materialised in front of his feet.
‘Yes!!’
His heart beating much quicker now, Jin-Woo hurriedly picked the box up. However, he was suddenly overcome with this feeling that the weight of this box was rather familiar to him.
Could it be?
He quickly ripped the lid open and confirmed what was inside, only for his eyes to grow very large.
“…..Isn’t this…?!”
Upon exiting the Demon’s Castle, Jin-Woo headed home right away.
He just wanted to take a shower and clean himself.
While he was stuck inside the dungeon, he didn’t even get to wash his face once. He could buy all the water he needed from the Store, sure, but there was no space or time to wash inside the dungeon.
‘I mean, there are monsters everywhere in that place, so just where would I find the leeway to take a shower….?’
Pshuoooosh…..
Arriving home, he immediately entrusted himself to the cascading warm water. Only then did the fact that he left the dungeon feel like reality.
‘Yup, being home is the best.’
Changing to a new set of clothes, Jin-Woo left the towel on his wet hair and settled down on the edge of his bed. It was now time to get some things organised.
First of all, he summoned his Stat window.
‘Status.’
Tti-ring.
A long, long wall of text that managed to almost disorient him popped up in front of his view. Jin-Woo’s gaze stopped at the Status column.
[Stat points available to distribute: 20]
The additional Stat points he earned as the quest completion reward were still waiting for him. And of course, he put them all in Intelligence.
Tti-ring.
[Stats]
Strength: 178
Endurance: 137
Agility: 147
Intelligence: 149
Perception: 119
Finally, Intelligence had exceeded other Stats.
It was still some ways off Strength, but when considering the fact that he didn’t even pay attention to the Intelligence Stat until recently, this growth could only be called lightning fast.
Strength, Endurance, Agility, Intelligence, and Perception. A good balance between them had been established now.
‘Not one of these Stats are useless to me.’
As it so happened, he had gone through stages of seriously investing in each of his Stats. And now, he knew full well the effects and advantages each Stat brought to the table.
‘Hold on….’
Now that things had come to this, how about him raising all of his Stats equally from now on, instead of focusing only on one?
An All-Stat Player.
Suddenly, the desire to become one gripped him tightly.
What a happy dilemma to have this was, something only possible because it felt like not one of his Stats was lagging behind others now.
‘Once Intelligence rises past Strength, I should start slowly raising the others, too.’
Making up his mind, Jin-Woo shifted his gaze to the Skill window next.
That’s where he discovered the third reward.
[Reward 3: Unknown reward]
He thought that the first reward ‘the item he wanted’ and the second reward ‘bonus Stat points’ were more than enough, so he didn’t pay all that much attention to the third reward.
Maybe, he was just mildly curious? Was that about it?
But well, he already got the reward, so no need to be shy now, was there?
[Reward 3 has been made available.]
Along with that message, a scroll similar in size to the ‘entry permit’ appeared in his hands.
‘What’s this?’
Jin-Woo’s eyes opened wider at this unexpected type of reward, and he unfurled the scroll right away.
[Recipe: Divine Water of Life]
You can learn the crafting methods of ‘Divine Water of Life’.
Jin-Woo’s eyes widened even further.
‘I can craft an item… with this?’
And here he was, thinking that only those who had Awakened as mage-types could craft weapons containing magical energy… Now that he thought about it, though, he was also a mage-type, wasn’t he?
‘Still, to think, there was a way to craft something with just a recipe like this….’
Jin-Woo heart began palpitating. But, a question formed in his head at the same time. Just what could he make here, anyway?
‘What is this Divine Water of Life?’
Jin-Woo read the information on this ‘Divine Water of Life’ written inside the recipe.
[Item: Divine Water of Life]
Rarity: S
Type: Consumable
A mysterious liquid medicine that cures any and all illnesses through the powerful magic contained within. The effect will only manifest after one whole bottle has been consumed.
‘Cures…. any and all illnesses?’
The moment he read that information, he thought about his mother, still confined to the hospital.
He had already confirmed through Yu Jin-Ho multiple times that effects of various potions still worked on other people. If he could truly make this ‘Divine Water of Life’, then it meant that he’d be able to save his mother.
His hands holding the scroll trembled from excitement.
The ingredients were also on the simpler side, so to speak.
‘Fragment of the World Tree.’
He earned that after killing Vulcan on the 50th floor.
‘Spring Water from the Forest of Echoes.’
He got that after killing Metus the necromancer on the 75th floor.
And finally….
‘…..Purified Blood of the Demon King.’
This item hadn’t shown up, yet.
However, thinking back to the two ingredients that had come out so far, he could easily guess where he might find some of this ‘Purified Blood of the Demon King’ from.
The upper floors.
‘I’m sure it’s with the final boss of the Demon’s Castle, probably on the top floor.’
In other words, simply by clearing the Demon’s Castle dungeon, the ingredients to craft the ‘Divine Water of Life’ would fall into his lap one by one.
It happened, then.
“….Ah.”
A gasp of epiphany leaked out of his mouth, completely unbeknownst to him. That’s how surprised Jin-Woo was.
Could it be that… the item he wanted as per description on the Blessed random box said – could that be this Divine Water of Life?
‘Mom….’
Thinking about the possibility that he’d get to see his mother again all healthy, his eyes began welling up with emotions.
Then, a new message popped up.
Tti-ring.
[You can learn Crafting Skill via ‘Recipe: Divine Water of Life’.]
[Will you learn this Crafting Skill?]
The mechanical beep brought him back to his senses, fast.
In order to craft this Divine Water of Life, he needed to clear the Demon’s Castle first. Meaning, he had quickly get himself prepared and return to that place. He had no time to waste on sentimentality like this.
“….I’m learning it.”
[You have acquired Crafting Skill for ‘Item: Divine Water of Life’.]
‘I’m not dreaming, right?’
As if to imply that his memories were functioning fine, a new column called [Crafting Skill] appeared on the Skills window.
[Crafting Skill]
Consumable: Divine Water of Life (2/3)
The numbers behind the name probably indicated the two ingredients he already possessed – the ‘Fragment of the World Tree’, and the ‘Spring Water from the Forest of Echoes’.
‘Ah, right. Next up….’
Jin-Woo summoned his Inventory and retrieved an item stored right next to the spring water. It was a necklace, seemingly carved out from skulls of various small creatures.
[Item: Demon Sovereign’s Necklace]
Rarity: S
Type: Accessory
Agility +20, Intelligence +20
When worn together with ‘Demon Sovereign’s Earrings’ and ‘Demon Sovereign’s Ring’, set bonus effects will be unlocked.
Set effect 1: (locked)
Set effect 2: (locked)
The ‘Spring Water from the Forest of Echoes’ wasn’t the only loot he got from killing the Guide of the Departed Souls, Metus. Indeed, this rather vile-looking necklace also came out, too.
‘Why are the designs of all the necklaces I found so crappy….?’
Jin-Woo frowned deeply while recalling the appearance of the dog collar he was currently wearing. He slowly brought the ‘Demon Sovereign’s Necklace’ closer to his neck.
Tti-ring.
[Will you replace ‘Gatekeeper’s Necklace’ with ‘Demon Sovereign’s Necklace’?]
Both necklaces boasted rather similar additional effects. Both raised two of his Stats by 20 points each. However, the demon sovereign’s also had the set effect to consider, as well.
‘Replace.’
Shururuk…
[You have equipped ‘Item: Demon Sovereign’s Necklace’.]
The skull necklace disappeared from his hands, only to be replaced by a dog collar.
He quickly shoved that dog collar inside his Inventory, and checked the newly unlocked set effect of the ‘demon sovereign’s accessory set’.
[Item: Demon Sovereign’s Necklace]
Set effect 1: All Stats +5
Set effect 2: (locked)
‘All of my Stats rose up by 5 points.’
He only managed to unlock one set effect, yet he received a boost similar to levelling up five times. And then, he still had one more unknown effect to go, the one he’d receive after gathering all the accessories.
‘The Demon Sovereign’s Ring….’
When considering the possibility that the last unlocked set effect from all three accessories being in one place should be even greater than the individual parts on their own, this really was already an amazing performance.
However, acquiring accessories rated at S was only a part of the harvest he enjoyed after entering the Demon’s Castle. The real profit was his level jumping up so high.
Jin-Woo stared at his level that had climbed up to 77 and smiled in content.
‘I levelled up 16 times inside a week.’
Such a levelling up speed was unthinkable when entering rank C dungeons. He had definitely extracted suitable compensation for going through hell (?) for seven days.
He still had some unfinished matters there, but well, this week’s conquest of the Demon’s Castle should be called a roaring success, regardless of what.
‘Just that….’
Except for one – there was one thing he couldn’t really figure out yet.
Jin-Woo let the light from the lamp fall on the object that came out of the cursed random box.
‘Just what the hell is this thing?’
It was a pitch-black key that seemed to absorb all light. No information popped up in his view, either.
‘This is the first time seeing an item with absolutely no information….’
The keys to instant dungeons could be seen as pretty common, since he got them from random boxes every now and then. But this guy here, he had never seen anything quite like it.
‘Where am I supposed to use this?’
Perhaps because it came out of a box named Cursed random this-and-that, he couldn’t help but think that there was this ominous aura circling around the key.
He acquired this key through so much hard work, so he couldn’t even throw it away.
‘Well, I’m sure I’ll get to use it sooner or later.’
The Cursed random box was supposed to give him something that he needed, after all.
Jin-Woo stored the mystery key back inside his Inventory and got up from the bed.
He needed to purchase a few artefacts if he wanted to completely conquer the Demon’s Castle.
‘And, I’ve got something to sell, too.’
However, there was a problem. And that was – things would become quite complicated if a rank E Hunter wanted to buy and sell high-ranked artefacts.
Who wouldn’t suspect something was off when a low-ranked Hunter – no, someone right at the bottom – tried to sell an item that even the top Hunters found hard to acquire?
It was the same story if he wanted to buy something.
As long as the title of rank E followed him around, there would always be questions regarding the sources of his income.
‘And, it’ll be hard to answer when someone asks me about what I’m planning to do with expensive artefacts, too.’
Several troublesome situations would unfold at this rate.
“Which means, I should….”
Time to stop pretending to be a rank E, then.
Time… to get the rank reassignment test.
It was now time to get the rank that matched his current set of abilities.
Jin-Woo’s expression became serious.
‘With my current level, surely I won’t get jerked around by someone else.’
That was his original aim, to begin with.
In order to avoid situations where he was being under the thumb of someone stronger, he continued to act as a rank E, while taking on all the inconvenience that came along with it.
However, what about now?
He didn’t even falter slightly when Baek Yun-Ho, the Guild Master of the White Tiger, stood in front of him. Hell, he was pretty confident of not cowering no matter who stood in front of him now, be that Baek Yun-Ho or anyone else.
He saw no reason to hide his powers anymore.
Thump, thump, thump….
When he made up his mind to finally get rid of that irksome rank E tag for good, his heart began beating faster and faster.
‘….But, before that….’
There was something he had to confirm first.
Jin-Woo switched on his Hunter-only smartphone. It was his first time powering the device on in a week, so naturally, there were quite a lot of missed calls and messages waiting for him.
The majority of those numbers he failed to recognise. It was an unfortunate thing for those callers, but well, he didn’t have the time to manually check each and every one out.
‘If they are in a hurry, I’m sure they’ll contact me again.’
Thinking coolly like that, Jin-Woo scrolled down the list of contacts and eventually located the number he wanted. He dialled this number.
[Lalala~♩♪]
The bright, energetic pop song didn’t even get to play for a second longer, before the other side hurriedly answered the call.
- “Hyung-nim!!”
….Maybe, Jin-Woo stayed inside the dungeon for far too long?
Because he was surprised by how nice it felt to hear the kid’s voice again. A smile spread on Jin-Woo’s lips as he spoke.
“Did the talk with your father go well?”
- “Yes, hyung-nim! It went very well!”
‘Oho?’
Now that was a good piece of news to hear.
Jin-Woo made this call to confirm, because he couldn’t go ahead and do the rank reassignment test if Yu Jin-Ho hadn’t made a deal with his father yet.
However, if the matters of that side were taken care of, then there really was nothing holding him back at this point.
He guessed the good news just from hearing the kid’s excited tone of voice, but now that he got the confirmation from the horse’s mouth, Jin-Woo was feeling really happy as well.
- “Hyung-nim! Actually, I wanted to come and speak to y….”
Click.
‘….What was that?’
The phone call abruptly came to an end, and when he checked, the battery in his phone was flat.
‘Oh, right….. Even before entering the Demon’s Castle, it didn’t have much charge left, didn’t it?’
Well, at least he got to confirm what he wanted to confirm, so that was a relief.
Jin-Woo fixed his clothes and prepared to leave.
The main building of the Hunter’s Association wasn’t too far from here. He should be able to go through the reassignment test pretty quickly.
“Oh, hang on a second….”
Jin-Woo was just about to leave the apartment, but he hurriedly came back inside. He had forgotten all about his little sister.
Since she might get worried if her oppa left home again without saying anything, he scribbled a simple memo and placed it on the dining table. Well, he only came back home after a whole week of absence, after all.
- I came home, but need to go out again. Sorry.
With a satisfied smile on his face, Jin-Woo turned around to leave.
It really had been a while since Jin-Woo last came to the Awakened rank evaluation application kiosk.
‘Has it been four years already?’
Or, maybe it was close to five now?
Jin-Woo’s expression was full of reminiscence as he stood in front of the employee manning the reception kiosk.
The employee didn’t even bother to look at him and spoke.
“Please jot down your identification and contact details, and give them to me.”
Jin-Woo still remembered most of the process so he had prepared them before coming here. He readily presented both his identification and the contact details.
‘Mm?’
The employee’s head tilted this way and that after taking one look at Jin-Woo’s choice of identification.
“Isn’t this a Hunter licence?”
“It is.”
Employee formed a confused expression.
“If you are unhappy with your assigned rank, you should head over to another depar….”
“No, it’s not that. I wish to take the reassignment test.”
“Ehhh?”
The employee continued to alternate his gaze between the Hunter licence and Jin-Woo’s face, before raising a trembling finger in the air.
“P-please, wait for me here.”
The employee then quickly ran over to a middle-aged man with a scowl on his face sitting somewhere behind him.
“Manager? A Hunter-nim wishes to take a reassignment test.”
“A reassignment test? What’s that person’s rank?”
“It’s an E.”
The manager craned his neck out and took a look at the waiting Jin-Woo’s face over by the reception desk. He then reverted back to his previous posture.
“There are guys like that every now and then. Hunters who are not satisfied by the reality of their situation, and swim inside daydreams, before coming back here hoping against hope.”
“So, is that guy also….?”
The manager nodded his head.
“Reawakened, my foot…. Others are busy raking in the dough as Hunters, getting famous and all that, but well, he drew the short straw and he ended up as a nobody. So, he’s just trying to escape from reality.”
“Aha.”
“Dealing with guys like that will only tire you out. So, just tell him that he’ll be paying the fee for the test and send him on his way to the measurement room.”
“Roger that.”
The employee no longer looked like he was suffering from abdominal pain, and returned to his seat.
Meanwhile, the manager alternated his gaze between the employee and Jin-Woo, clicked his tongue, before shifting his attention back to the computer monitor in front of him.
However….
The fingers of the manager stopped typing on the keyboard.
The name written on the Hunter licence… why did it feel like he had heard of that name before from somewhere?
‘Where was it?’
Once the young Hunter left for the building with the measurement room in it, the manager sneaked in closer to the employee and asked him.
“That rank E Hunter just now, what was his name again?”
“It’s Seong Jin-Woo. Do you know who he is?”
“No, it’s not that. But….”
But, he just couldn’t get over this feeling that he had heard of that name before, for sure. The manager did his absolute best to jog his memories, and then, his eyes widened as something did enter his mind.
‘….Ahh!!’
‘That man’ asked for a favour, didn’t he?
‘That man’ asked the manager to give him a call if a Hunter named Seong Jin-Woo ever showed up here. Why couldn’t he remember that sooner?
The manager sought out a deserted corner and hurriedly pulled out his phone.
Ring…. ring….
- “Hello, it’s Baek Yun-Ho speaking.”
“Ah, hello there, Chairman Baek. I’m calling you because of the Hunter you spoke about the last time, the man named Seong Jin-Woo. He really came here today. But, how did you know that he might appear here?”
- “Did you just say that Mister Seong Jin-Woo came there?”
“Yes. He was here just now, applying to get a reassignment test.”
- “…..”
The conversation came to an abrupt halt and an awkward silence pervaded the line. However, only a short while later, an urgent voice came out from the phone’s speaker.
- “Even if it’s only for a short while, can you somehow delay the measurement process? I’m on my way over there right now.”
The manager began tilting his head.
Did he just mishear that?
The Master of the one-and-only White Tiger Guild was speaking with an anxious voice?
‘Well, I’ll be.’
Besides all that, though – the evaluation process was out of his hands, already. The manager could only sheepishly reply while scratching the side of his head.
“That man must’ve entered the measurement building by now.”
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