Chapter 72: 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 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: 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: 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.
[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: 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….
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."
Chapter 76: Chapter 76
'Wait a minute. This, just what on earth is….'
What happened just now?
Manager Jeong Ki-Soo ended the call with Baek Yun-Ho and tilted his head.
It was already a pretty surprising thing that a rank E Hunter stepped forward to get re-evaluated, yet the Master of the White Tiger Guild wanted to find out about the result of that test right away as well.
'Maybe, there is something going on for real here…'
It wasn't just anyone but that Baek Yun-Ho. And he was being quite serious, so Jeong Ki-Soo couldn't help but wonder if something big was about to happen.
But soon, he shook his head dismissively.
'Eii…. There's no way.'
The phenomenon of 'Re-Awakening' was a very rare occurrence.
How many months had it been?
There was this incident a few months ago when the whole Association had been in an uproar over a potential candidate who had gone through a Re-Awakening. Of course, it was all a big fat nothing.
That just served to illustrate how rare the real thing was, and plenty of so-called 'Re-Awakening' all turned out to be nothing more than just simple misunderstandings.
'I mean, it's not just one or two kids who come here mistakenly believing that they had gone through a Re-Awakening, only to walk out of here after paying the cost for the test out of their pocket….'
Perhaps the White Tiger Guild was seriously mistaken about something here. Still, considering Jeong Ki-Soo's 'relationship' with that Guild, he just couldn't refuse outright to humour the Guild Master Baek Yun-Ho's request.
"Hey, listen. I have to go somewhere for a little while."
"Pardon me? Where are you going, Manager Jeong?"
"I just remembered this little thing I gotta take care of in the Block B."
The term 'Block B' was a sort of code word used by the Association employees to refer to the building where the magic power evaluation took place.
"Okay, I understand."
"If something happens, call me right away."
"Yes, Manager."
Even though Jeong Ki-Soo was thinking 'Re-Awakening, my a*s', he nevertheless headed towards Block B while picturing the face of Baek Yun-Ho, who should've left the Guild offices by now.
Jin-Woo parked his butt on the very last spot available of the waiting room's bench. Currently, there were three people waiting for their turn here.
All of them looked quite tense, nervous.
Jin-Woo could sympathise with what these people were going through inwardly at this moment.
'Well, the directions of their lives would be decided with the results of today's evaluation, after all.'
The first time Jin-Woo came here, he was thinking about the exact same things as these people.
….What if I was a rank A, no, even a rank B – or, could it be, I'm a rank S?
Swimming in a happy daydream, only to be shocked to the core after receiving the evaluation of rank E.
Thinking back to that day four years ago, Jin-Woo couldn't help but smirk slightly.
'What is he smiling about?'
'How can you even think about smiling here?'
Others waiting around sent him weird looks, but Jin-Woo didn't pay them any mind.
'Was he born with a steely heart or something?'
'Maybe, he's not feeling nervous at all.'
Seeing Jin-Woo's undaunted attitude, others became a bit sheepish and tilted their heads this way and that, before shifting their gazes away.
'Nothing much has changed since then.'
Jin-Woo also remembered something similar happening back then.
Back then, he started paying attention to the person sitting next to him for no reason, and he also became curious about what other people's evaluation was going to be like.
Jin-Woo continued to smile while slowly studying the interior of the waiting area. Just like the people waiting inside, the building didn't change much, either.
The Hunter Association itself was established less than ten years ago, so perhaps unsurprisingly, the building was still clean and neat as if it opened its doors only yesterday.
The interior layout was pretty much the same as back then, too.
If there was one thing different, then it'd be….
'Those people over there.'
When Jin-Woo quietly stared at a contingent of men and women decked out in clean-cut business suits across from where he was, an ahjussi sitting next to him opened his mouth. (TL: ahjussi = 'uncle', or older man)
"They are all from various Guilds, apparently."
"Various Guilds, is it?"
"Yes. Well, Hunters don't usually seek out smaller Guilds, so they resorted to sending people over here and set up camp, just so they can sweet-talk Awakened like us after we're done with the evaluation."
Indeed, there was a certain chilly, unfriendly and competitive air circulating among those folks.
'And, the way they are looking in this direction is pretty predatory, too.'
Well, there was a reason for that, of course.
"I'm telling you this because it might help you, but you see, it's better not to sign up with Guilds like theirs."
"Why not?"
"From what I hear, smaller Guilds take on lots of dangerous raids, and their Hunter fatality rate is far higher than average, too."
Jin-Woo nodded his head in agreement.
At the end of the day, the circumstances of smaller Guilds would always remain a bit ambiguous.
Unlike privately-organised freelancer-led raid parties, clearing low ranked dungeons wouldn't satisfy them financially, but then again, the skills of the Hunters signed up with them wasn't quite good enough to clear higher ranked dungeons.
So, 'accidents' happened frequently during their raids.
'Which means, recruiting new Hunters becomes doubly important for them.'
And so, they arrived at a point where they had to follow the potential newbies right into the Association building and prey on them.
"Ah, right."
Ahjussi dabbed the sweat drops away from his wide-open forehead with a handkerchief, and cautiously extended his had towards Jin-Woo.
"Well, it's fate that we meet like this, so how about we introduce each other? My name is Yun Jeong-Hoon."
"I'm Seong Jin-Woo."
Their introduction was kept to a minimum, and they quietly waited for their turns.
"Next, please."
Since the location for the evaluation itself was wide open, one could easily read the expressions on those who finished the test, as well as the employees performing the said test.
And the expression of the guy who had taken his test just now didn't look so good.
'I guess, it's either a D or an E….'
Those folks from the smaller Guilds must've thought about the same thing as Jin-Woo, because they showed no interest whatsoever even when an Awakened walked right past them.
Wasn't that too honest a reaction from them?
Jin-Woo even began wondering if there was another, more discreet way to find out one's evaluation result or not.
"Next up, please."
Yet another result came out.
This one also must not have been so good. The steps of the Awakened walking out of the building seemed heavy. But, that was par for the course, really.
'Well, if high-ranked Hunters appeared frequently, they wouldn't be paid big bucks, anyway.'
For regular citizens, even being a rank C would be a huge jackpot.
One could still earn a fair bit of money by entering freelancer raid parties, or if one's luck was good, then entering large Guilds was a viable option, too.
Indeed, there were four rank Cs among the White Tiger Guild's new recruits, weren't there?
If one successfully managed to enter a large Guild, then it was pretty much guaranteed that you'd earn an annual salary similar to what doctors or lawyers made.
Ahjussi next to Jin-Woo spoke again.
"I heard that you'd get a ton of money upfront when signing with a large Guild."
Ahjussi's hand, still holding the handkerchief, trembled softly.
"Actually, I… I owe some money, you see. Because of that, I had to separate from my little girl and must live alone for the time being. Maybe it's because of that, but I… I'm feeling really nervous."
Ahjussi mumbled to himself, before flinching grandly and bowed his head to Jin-Woo in a hurry.
"Aigoo…. Saying something unnecessary to a stranger I���ve just met…. I'm a bit of disgrace, isn't it? I end up talking a lot when I'm nervous, you see."
"No, it's fine."
Jin-Woo smiled gently and lowered his head, as well.
Ahjussi continued to take deep breaths, as if to reinforce the notion that his earlier declaration of feeling nervous wasn't an exaggeration.
Meanwhile, another Awakened walked out, and….
"Next up, please come this way."
…And, it was the turn of ahjussi.
However, ahjussi cautiously shook Jin-Woo's sleeve, his face full of cold sweat. Could he be feeling ill somewhere, thought Jin-Woo.
"Are you feeling okay?"
Jin-Woo asked, his voice sounding worried.
Ahjussi shook his head.
"No, no. It's not that, but…. Uhm, do you mind going ahead first? I'm, I'm too tense right now, you see….."
Ahjussi looked really desperate.
Was there a reason to refuse when someone wished to give up his spot in the queue? Jin-Woo quickly accepted the proposal.
Anyone would be feeling nervous if these few minutes determined the rest of their lives.
Jin-Woo stood up instead of ahjussi and walked over to the Association employee.
The employee spoke in a business-like manner.
"What is your name?"
"It's Seong Jin-Woo."
"Mister Seong Jin-Woo…. Right. Please place your hand on the black-coloured panel over there and wait for a little while."
Following the instruction, Jin-Woo walked over to the measuring device and placed his hand on the black panel.
'….Uh? This guy's already been evaluated as an Awakened ranked E?'
The employee took a look at the documentation and glanced at Jin-Woo with a mystified expression. Just why were almost all the Hunters coming here to retake tests all rank E?
The employee's expression changed to that of apathy, as he activated the measuring device.
SFX for a button being pressed
Bzzzz…..
The magic energy measuring device buzzed noisily, and a short while later, it stopped its operation. The results appeared on the display monitor.
'Huh? What's going on here?'
The employee tilted his head this way and that, before speaking to Jin-Woo, as the latter was about to take his hand off the panel.
"Hold up, please."
"Yes?"
"I'd like to run the test one more time."
"Okay."
Jin-Woo placed his hand back on the panel.
SFX for a button being pressed
'HUH?'
But, something like this never happened before?
The expression of the employee gradually hardened. Why was the measuring device malfunctioning all of a sudden?
The employee asked for Jin-Woo's cooperation once more.
"I'm truly sorry. But, one more time, please."
"….."
Even before he was asked to take the test again, Jin-Woo had already decided to wait and thus didn't bother to lift his hand away from the panel.
SFX for a button being pressed, repeated
'W-why is the device behaving like this?!'
Cold sweat drops formed on the employee's forehead.
Murmur, murmur….
People observing from the waiting room gradually grew aware of the fact that something weird was going down right now.
'What's going on? Did something happen?'
'How many times did he activate the measuring device just now?'
'Kinda looks like there's a problem here, doesn't it?'
When everyone's gazes focused on him, the employee became completely soaked in cold sweat.
SFX for a button being pressed
'Argh, c'mon now!! What do you want from me?'
Just as the employee was becoming a nervous wreck….
"What now? Where is Chang-Sik? Why are you alone here?"
The employee quickly looked behind him. And he found Manager Jeong Ki-Soo from the rank evaluation application department standing there.
"Manager Jeong!!"
Relief formed on the employee's face after an unexpected reinforcement made his entrance.
"The senior officer went to the bathroom just now."
"That fool, how dare he vacate his position in the middle of office hou….?"
Jeong Ki-Soo couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence.
'….Huh, I'm the same, isn't it?'
Hmm, hmm.
Whatever the case may have been, he did arrive at the perfect time. The poor newbie employee was sweating out buckets while the senior was nowhere to be seen. Perfect, indeed.
Time for a veteran to step forward, then.
"Okay, so what's going on?"
Jeong Ki-Soo displayed a bit of interest and took a step forward.
"The measuring device is acting a little weird."
"The device is what now?"
"Please, take a look. This error message keeps popping up."
Once the employee took a step back, Jeong Ki-Soo stood in his stead in front of the monitor that displayed the result of Jin-Woo's measurement.
And right away, Jeong Ki-Soo's expression froze up.
"…..How long have you been working here?"
"It's been around six months, sir. Did I press the wrong button?"
"Nope. Just call Chang-Sik and tell him to get over here right now."
"Excuse me?"
"I'm saying, his toilet break or whatever isn't important anymore, so tell him to get his a*s over here right away!"
Jeong Ki-Soo raised his voice.
The employee flinched and asked.
"W-what's the matter, Manager?"
"This isn't an error message, but it's saying 'impossible to measure'! Don't you understand what that means?"
"Ehhhh?! But, that wasn't an error message?"
Why was every single newbie employee such a dumba*s?
Jeong Ki-Soo's gaze left the employee and landed on the person taking the evaluation test.
'How can such a thing….'
Seong Jin-Woo.
The Master of the White Tiger Guild wanted to know about this man's reassignment evaluation results.
Jeong Ki-Soo's gaze remained locked on Seong Jin-Woo as he opened his mouth to speak to the newbie employee.
"You idiot. This message means that this device can't measure that person's magic power."
"Excuse me? B-b-but, but, doesn't that mean….?"
Did this newbie say it had been around six months since he started working here?
Forget about six months, something like this had not happened in the past two years, so of course, it wasn't surprising at all to see a newbie employee being completely oblivious.
Jeong Ki-Soo's voice trembled as he replied.
"Right…. He's a rank S."
Rank 'S' – 'Special'.
This rank had been in wide use so people mistook it for an actual official rank, but in reality, this rank simply existed to group those Awakened who couldn't be measured by any device.
"That's why, call Chang-Sik right away. Hurry."
"I'll call him immediately!"
A short while later, Kim Chang-Sik ran over in a fluster after receiving the call. His breathing was heavy and fast, and he was even trying to fix his falling pants.
"Pant, pant! Okay, let me see."
After confirming the monitor, Kim Chang-Sik's complexion paled immediately. And then, when he looked at Jin-Woo, Kim Chang-Sik's eyes quaked powerfully.
'This man is the tenth in South Korea….'
Kim Chang-Sik quickly walked over to Jin-Woo.
It was only at this point that Jin-Woo withdrew his hand away from the black penal.
"Excuse me…. Mister Seong Jin-Woo, with the current device….."
Kim Chang-Sik immediately remembered that Jin-Woo was already a Hunter, so he changed the way he addressed the youth.
"No, wait. Allow me to start over. It's impossible to measure your magical energy output with this device, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim. We need to ask for permission from the higher-ups if we want to use the precision measuring device, so would you mind if you come and visit us again in three days' time?"
Kim Chang-Sik followed protocol and spoke the official line. He couldn't even remember properly the last time he said those words. Jin-Woo was an experienced Hunter himself too, and he immediately figured out what those words meant.
'Fine.'
Postponing the evaluation.
Or, in other words, once the test result of 'impossible to measure' also pops up in the precision device three days later, then he'd definitely be ranked as an 'S'.
'This is for the better.'
If he was judged to be a rank A now, then he'd have to raise his Stats again and come back here again.
However, being a Re-Awakened was already an incredibly rare thing, so what would happen if he were to say that he Awakened once more on top of that?
People would see his 'Re-Awakening' as luck, but if something like that were to happen again, he'd no doubt receive gazes of suspicion. He definitely wanted to avoid getting mired in annoying complications and waste his valuable time.
'Whew….'
Jin-Woo sighed in relief inwardly after seeing this rather fortunate turn of events. And then, when he turned around to leave….
"….Huh?"
Everyone present inside the building was looking at him weirdly.
"Aigoo, I know that you're an extremely busy man, so it'd be fine even if you didn't come personally to visit me, you know?"
"Eii~. Even then, you're the one and only Chief Park of the Hunter Association, so how could I dare to use a mere phone to speak to you? It's only correct and proper that I come to see you personally."
Choi Jong-In smiled with his eyes and buttered up to the other guy, 40-something Chief Park, causing the latter to let out a gentle chuckle.
Just who was this man in front of Park?
He was none other than man leading South Korea's top Guild, 'Hunters'.
Also known as the 'Ultimate Weapon', Choi Jong-In. Just one word from him, and the country's most powerful raid team would mobilise like a slick, well-oiled machine.
A man like that was fawning over you, so how could anyone feel bad about that?
Choi Jong-In pulled out a cigarette and asked.
"Will it be fine if I light one up?"
"Oh. Please, go ahead."
"What about you, Chief Park?"
"I'm fine, thank you."
Choi Jong-In, relaxedly sucking in the cigarette, exuded the air of a man who had achieved everything there was to achieve pretty early on in his life.
'Is this that elusive thing called charisma?'
As the Chief Park stared at him as if he was bewitched, Choi Jong-In threw out a question.
"By the way, it sounds like Block B is a bit noisier than usual today."
"Block B, you say?"
Chief Park looked out the window and at Block B.
Truth be told, Chief Park couldn't hear anything at all.
However, Choi Jong-In was a rank S Hunter. His five senses should never be compared to that of a regular person's. If Choi Jong-In said it was getting rowdier down there, then something must've happened for real.
An honourable guest had come to visit, so what a shameful blunder this was. Chief Park frowned slightly and spoke up.
"Let me go and find out what's happening."
"No, wait."
Choi Jong-In discarded the cigarette and killed it with his foot.
"I'm also getting curious, so…."
Choi Jong-In raised his head, and a mysterious flash of light could be seen in his eyes for a moment. And an equally mysterious smile formed on his lips.
"Why don't we go together?"